Merry Christmas (12/26/11)

Shalom,

I hope everyone had an enjoyable Christmas and was blessed with special moments of worship and family. We enjoyed our time at my mother's, sharing love and joy with our family. I will post a message next week. Hope you're praying and seeking Yahweh's guidance and direction for the New Year.

Blessings & Peace, Mike

The Spirit of Religion (12/19/11)

Shalom,

Please begin by reading Rom 3:19-24.

The spirit of religion drives people into many forms of religious performance in an attempt to perfect themselves through some sort of legalism rather than following the leading of the Holy Spirit. We have a tendency to grasp onto things which make sense to our finite minds and try to use them to please Yahweh. These things are rituals or specified prayers or legalistic standards or religious duties. The problem is that we elevate them above the Word of God. Instead of learning Yahweh's rules of conduct, we impose harsh directives to ensure that people are living right. The other side of the coin is that some refuse to impose any commands or rules on people, because we're free to decide for ourselves.

The Church has been attacked by the spirit of confusion, which is directly related to the spirit of religion. In our modern world Yahweh is clearly revealing his desire for his followers to become "one new man" (Eph 2:14-16). Those who are seeking him with their whole heart will be the forerunners for this prophetically revealed combination of Jew and Gentile. The Holy Spirit will spur these believers forward to open the way for the stragglers and those who will be saved in the future. Think of these forerunners like the 12 spies sent out by Moses to scout the Promised Land, and determine to be a Joshua or a Caleb. Look with your spiritual eyes and see Yahweh's goodness, not the scary giants.

If we don't overcome our religious thinking we'll get stuck in the past and be unable to discern what lies ahead of us. Once we become a Christian the spirit of religion will try to limit our advancement into Kingdom things. 2 Cor 11:3 warns that we could "be led away from our pure and simple devotion to Jesus, just as Eve was deceived by the serpent." The man-made religious rules move us away from the simplicity of following our Lord and listening to his voice. They complicate things for immature believers and hinder their spiritual growth.

The biggest strategy of the spirit of religion is to preserve the status quo. Many of us love certain traditions within the Church. What we need to remember is that the traditions and rituals are meant to point us to the realities of Yahweh's dealings with us. They're meant to be a dress rehearsal, not the real thing. When the tradition or ritual becomes more important than what it was meant to point us toward, we've fallen into the trap of the spirit of religion. We humans like to build secure places where things never change, so becoming bound in religiosity can happen very easily.

We need to remember that Yahweh works his wonders through change. In our world, if we're not changing, we're not growing. To stop the changes is to limit ourselves. If a newborn baby doesn't continue to grow and gain weight, we quickly take that child to the doctor. If a tree or plant doesn't continue to grow, it's cut down. Our security needs to be in our unchanging Lord God Almighty, not in things we foolishly grasp onto.

To battle this we need to be seeking and listening to our Father's voice. We need to be hearing the Holy Spirit's instructions so we can keep ourselves moving with the rivers of living water. We need to build our spiritual sensitivity so we don't get left behind and become overly attached to what was instead of what's to come. We can't passively sit on the riverbank and watch the good stuff float by. We've got to jump into the water and start swimming. That's where the life and joy and peace promised to us are found. The religious spirit will work to make us and keep us passive, where the only time we touch the water of life is when we dangle our toes in for a few seconds.

So how do we learn to develop true Christianity instead of getting hung up in religious legalism? We first need to avoid the idea that religion is always about a set of rules and regulations which requires our ongoing conformity to be effective. The Law was meant to point the way to Yahweh. It was to be a helper which taught us his principles of how to love and serve him as our Lord. The whole of the Law, not just the Mosaic Law but the Torah, is about how to live at peace with our heavenly Father and mankind. Most legalism only stresses limited portions of the Law.

The Law was never supposed to be about blind obedience done to appease our quick to anger God. It was meant to help us see Jesus when he came and fulfilled the requirements of the Law. It's to be our teacher, showing us Yahweh's guide to right living. Blind obedience doesn't allow us to think about the spirit of the Law, it only leads us to be bound to the letter of the Law. Yahweh never asked for robots who could only respond one way. Our Father desires thinking people who choose to love and serve him.

True spirituality is empowered by the pure love of Yahweh which knows following his commandments is the best way to live. Law-oriented religion is usually more interested in the extras we add to the Law to help us stay on the straight and narrow path. The Pharisees got in deep trouble with Jesus for doing this, so why would we also consider this a good thing to be doing? Yahweh would prefer we follow him because we love him rather than because we're scared to break some rules.

True spirituality knows that the judgments we make aren't about people's souls. We're to judge fruit, to help one another overcome sin, to give a helping hand to someone who's stumbled. Legalism and religiosity don't offer this kind of help and encouragement. They normally only condemn and criticize. A truly spiritual person will do all they can to help a fellow believer when they discern or judge that the person is struggling with a sin.

True spirituality helps us have an assurance of our faith. When we know Jesus as our Savior and Lord and we're working at walking closely by his side, we can feel secure about our salvation. Law-oriented people have many doubts. They often struggle with a sense of insecurity because their religion is performance-based. We do need to know that what we're doing is based in Yahweh's standards of holy living, but not get hung up on performance alone. When we're true seekers of Yahweh, we'll be praying and studying and ministering, walking out our faith in concrete ways. We don't do these things to earn brownie points, but because we love Jesus and want to please him.

True spirituality helps us become more forgiving, merciful, and compassionate. When we're passionately following Jesus, we'll act more like him in all our dealings with other people. Law-oriented people tend to be irritating, pointing out flaws without offering any help in correcting them. They often feel vexed and perturbed about the sinful humans all around them, and they show little or no mercy. Remember, we all used to be lost and spiritually blind, too. We need to be offering the same mercy Jesus gave to us. If we're only negative in our outreach, we'll chase more people away from our churches than we'll ever encourage to join them.

True spirituality helps us be led more by the indwelling Spirit than by our individual will power. Law-oriented people are usually relying too much on their individual will power to overcome sin. One of the most obvious things the Law was given for is to teach us that we can't be made right with Yahweh outside of what he's provided to help us draw near to him. Rom 3:20, "The more we know God's Law, the clearer it becomes that we aren't obeying it." We need the help of the indwelling Holy Spirit to be aware of our sin and to rightly repent. To remain close to the Father, Son, and Spirit requires ongoing confession of our sin. We can't atone for any of it through our religious rituals.

We need to ask our Lord to remove any legalism that stubbornly clings to us. We're made for freedom. We're made for mature decision-making based on our ongoing relationship with the One True Rule Maker. We can overcome the spirit of religion by trusting and obeying Yahweh's Word. This will bring us to the place where we do what's right because we love our Lord, not just because we're afraid of the consequences if we break the rules. Pray and ask the Holy Spirit to reveal any entanglements you have with the spirit of religion. When he reveals them, repent and close off any access you've given to evil spirits, allowing them to influence you instead of the Holy Spirit.

Gal 5:1 says, "It is for freedom that Jesus has set us free." Freedom means liberated from distress, domination, or oppression. We don't have to be confused, we can find full clarity through Jesus. We can be set free from the limitations imposed through legalism. We can walk in obedience out of our love for our heavenly Father and know this wonderful freedom. We can and should be individually strong in the Spirit.

Remember the warning of Col 2:23. "Such regulations indeed have an appearance of wisdom, with their self-imposed worship, their false humility, and their harsh treatment of the body, but they lack any value in restraining sensual indulgence." Following Jesus and walking in obedient faith is the way to overcome our indulgences, not the imposing of tough standards. If we love our Father, we'll want to please him and we'll do what honors his name.

Blessings & Peace, Mike

The Real Christmas Story? (12/12/11)

Shalom,

Please begin by reading Luke 2:1-7.

We all know that the current "spirit of Christmas" is extremely corrupt and virtually ignores the birth of Jesus. People are pepper spraying other shoppers to get the special sale item. A man in West Virginia died of a heart attack while other shoppers stepped over him to grab the special deal. Even in our churches too much time is spent on the decorations and not enough time on the power of the incarnation of our Lord and Savior. The Christians need to be praying and seeking their Lord for direction on how to overcome the influx of the world's influence into something that was meant to honor Jesus our Messiah and Master.

In Luke we see Joseph and Mary, normal Jewish people of their time, except of course for this virgin birth thing. Joseph had to pay taxes to King Herod. He also had to pay a Temple tax. But worst of all was that Rome also collected taxes. Caesar wanted more money, and to be sure that everyone was accounted for, he required all of them to return to the town of their birth to register in a census.

Thankfully, yes we can be thankful about taxes and government paperwork (1 Thes 5:18), our government collects census information by mail or by sending representatives door to door. Our government collects taxes from our payrolls, at the store, no matter what we think they find us. Caesar made everyone go to him, no exceptions. So Joseph, with his very pregnant wife Mary, had to travel to Bethlehem to register in order to have the privilege of paying another tax. The "very pregnant" wife is traditional thing. All we know is that it happened after the third month of Mary's pregnancy (Luke 1:56).

I know that the majority of Christmas cards and story books depicting their travel to Bethlehem show Joseph leading a donkey with Mary riding on it. It's all very gallant and gentlemanly, but also unlikely, because nowhere in the biblical account is a donkey mentioned. They probably walked to Bethlehem. Certainly there were rich Jews who had donkeys or horses or camels for transportation, but that was a luxury at this time. In fact, if Joseph owned one it's most likely that the donkey was used to carry his carpentry tools.

Their travel was tough and spartan. There were no motels along the way as they traveled the 70-75 miles from Nazareth to Bethlehem. They had to sleep in barns or stables or out in the open. This was the norm for people traveling at this time. When they finally arrived at Bethlehem they actually got what would be considered decent accommodations for their time, a stable. The innkeeper gets a bad reputation in most of our traditional stories, but again the biblical account doesn't even mention one. All it says is, "there was no room in the inn."

Actually, given the situation of Mary's pregnancy, they got a better deal staying in the stable. An inn (caravansary) wasn't very sanitary, with people and animals crammed into small spaces. The rooms were small and had dirt floors. It was likely a courtyard surrounded by rooms, without much privacy and a whole lot of noise.

Now there are all kinds of ideas and speculations about the stable. Some say it was a cave. Others say it was a barn made out of stone or dried clay bricks. Some even think it was a wooden barn. The only hint we have is that Jesus was laid in a manger, an animal feeding trough. If it was a cave, which is very likely given the way Bethlehem is surrounded by hills, then it was a trough carved right out of the limestone. If it was something else, then a wooden one would certainly be likely. No matter what, it was an extremely humble birth for the King of the Universe.

Now for the night of his birth. Most of our traditional stories tell us Mary was in labor the moment they entered Bethlehem. The Bible says, "While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born." That doesn't sound like such an immediate thing. They no doubt had time to settle in and find a midwife to help with the birth, or maybe an innkeeper's wife could actually fit into the story. We don't get tons of detail from the Scriptures. There's no date given, just a hint of the season. And the Magi didn't show up on the night of his birth, only the shepherds did.

The Wise Men weren't kings, but were court astrologers/advisors. They were men like what Nebuchadnezzar trained Daniel to do. They no doubt saw the star on the night Jesus was born, but they studied it a while before beginning their travels. And even if they'd started on the night of his birth, you don't get from India or Assyria or Arabia to Israel in one night riding on camels or horses or donkeys. According to he biblical account, they didn't arrive for almost two years. Why else would Herod kill all male children two and under? Compare the shepherds seeing the "baby in a manger" with the Wise Men seeing the "child in the house."

We can very well assume that there was hay, straw, and grain in this stable. If there were animals to tend, the innkeeper's personal ones or those of travelers or those of the owner, you would expect a supply would be on hand. There would be jugs or pails filled with water on hand also. Some was meant for caring for the animals, but it was also on hand for fire safety. It's likely there were lamps, open flames, and even though they were small, one accident could be disastrous. They also practiced fire safety, because we know barns are dangerous places where care is needed.

With fresh hay and straw, Mary would have had the best place available for giving birth. We really can't imagine the conditions people gave birth in during this time. They didn't know about germs and such things. They didn't have highly scrubbed sanitary birthing rooms. Sterile birth procedures weren't practiced until about the time of the Civil War. Childbirth was very private, and the only male in the vicinity would be the husband/father. But then again, doesn't it seem strange how some modern people invite their friends and relatives to witness the birth of their children, or that they videotape it for later viewing?

Luke's story specifically mentions a manger. Whether it was hollowed-out limestone or made of wood really doesn't matter. The humility of it stands out. But later Jesus would say, "Foxes have holes and the birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head" (Matt 8:20). The Sovereign King of all the Universe didn't come into this world in the lap of luxury, but in the situation of a normal person.

This is hard for us to imagine in our materialistic society. Jesus owned no car, telephone, TV, computer, VCR, DVD player, or any other such gadgets. He didn't have health insurance, a pension plan, or a bank account. And yet our Lord was content and walked in his Father's will without wavering. Throughout his life on this earth he trusted in his Father's care and had all his needs supplied. The incredible humility he displayed while living as a human on this earth should shame us all when we consider how we often demand privileges.

Think of our modern problems concerning this thing called Christmas. People get upset that they can't give much for Christmas presents or they can't be home for Christmas or they didn't get what they wanted for Christmas. There is rampant holiday depression out there, people who regularly have this seasonal ailment. Maybe we need to reconsider what Christmas really is. Maybe all the stuff that's been crammed into this season has been done without seeking the Father's will. When we look at Jesus, at his extremely humble birth, we should reevaluate our traditions. If we'll quit focusing on ourselves, we can overcome all of these problems and ailments.

On the night of his birth, the only extra visitors Jesus had were the shepherds. At the invitation of the angels, they go to see the newborn King, their Messiah. This lowly group who provided so much to their society, yet were looked down on as trivial and menial, got the invitation too the King's birth, not the elite of their society. The Good Shepherd's arrival is announced only to these local shepherds. But I believe that's very appropriate because of the mission of our Lord.

These shepherds weren't only told to go see this newborn King, they were told to spread the news around town. And the Bible says that's what they did. There may have been some other curious people who went to see their Messiah after the shepherds shared what they'd seen and heard, but again we have no biblical account of this. It says people were amazed at what the shepherds reported to them, but that's all.

In the center of this whole thing is Jesus. Whether or not your Christmas cards properly depict the biblical story isn't really important. Maybe even the celebration of Christmas isn't all that important. There are no instructions to do this in the Bible. And much of what we attach to the story of Christmas is extra-biblical. Maybe we need to reconsider what we do this time of year. Instead of joining in with the pagans and selfishly clinging to our traditions, maybe we should pray and ask the Father for his will.

No matter how sentimental the Christmas season makes you feel, the point needs to be Jesus. He's central to everything we do, whether we place him there or not. He must always remain central to our lifestyle, our worship, our devotion, our everything. Don't demand that the Father, Son, or Spirit bless your traditions because you claim to be honoring them. Seek their counsel and direction for what you do, and then know that they are pleased with your actions. Christmas may be very special to you, but are you sure they way you celebrate it is glorifying the One it's named after.

Don't take it for granted that this is a "holy" time of year because the Church says so. The Church has done a lot of things to dishonor their God and King at times. We need to be sure that we're obediently following our Master. So please pray and seek his will and then be radically obedient in following what you're told - even if he tells you to abandon your Christmas traditions. May Jesus be Lord of all you do and may you be blessed as you honor him throughout the year.

Blessings & Peace, Mike

Yahweh's Kind of Love (12/5/11)

Shalom,

Please begin by reading 1 Cor 13:4-8.

The examples given in this passage put Yahweh's love on display. And how Yahweh loves is the standard for any measurements we make when considering how we are to love. These are the holy standards set forth by the Great God Almighty, the Creator, our loving heavenly Father. If we're to love as he loves us, then we need to know how to do it. What's written in these verses is the best list ever compiled concerning love. This list is the best one to do a self-evaluation with, the one to use when checking out how we're doing. Don't use it as a measure against other people and their shortcomings. Use it to ensure you're doing well.

"Love is patient." The word patient has to do with the ability to exhibit internal and external control in difficult circumstances. If we're living out Yahweh's kind of love, we can endure the many slights and snubs and hurtful things we receive from other people. If we're living out Yahweh's kind of love, we can be wronged and not have to retaliate. This patience includes self-restraint, being able to put up with other people's inadequacies and idiosyncrasies. This kind of love can suffer the pain of betrayal without ceasing to love and care for others.

"Love is kind." This word has the coloring of being useful and morally excellent. Our heavenly Father's love always seeks to do what's good and right. The ultimate purpose of this kind of love is to seek to bless others and be concerned with their welfare. Kindness can always offer encouragement. This kind of love works to bring out the best in everyone. A root of this word translates directly as easy benevolence. We're kind because our Father is. It's just the right thing to do. And because of what Yahweh's love has done for us, in spite of our rebellious hearts, we can be kind to others without demanding a return on our efforts.

"Love does not envy." This word for envy is tinged with moral corruption. Envy isn't thinking about doing good for others, but has ill will and evil in mind. Yahweh's love never does that. It rejoices in the success of others. It's content with whatever our Lord provides, without trying to determine in our own minds what's fair. Being envious means we're not grateful for how our Father has met our needs, that somehow we're lacking and must grasp at more stuff. To walk out this standard of Yahweh's love we can't be envious of those who appear to be getting a better break than we are.

"Love does not boast." Yahweh's love subdues our pridefulness and keeps us from bragging. Our Father's kind of love prefers to esteem and bless others. It works in the background, helping others without expecting recognition. This love doesn't try to place itself in the spotlight, but humbly accepts its own blessings and success. This kind of love knows and avoids haughtiness. 1 Cor 8:2 says, "The man who thinks he knows something does not yet know as he ought to know." Can we do our Spirit-directed tasks without the need for special recognition? If we can say yes, we're on the right track.

"Love is not proud." Proud here means arrogant and puffed up. Yahweh's love isn't conceited and never accepts flattery. This kind of love won't dismiss the needs or feelings of other because it's too focused on itself. It will seek to have true compassion, and feel the hurts of those in true need. Yahweh doesn't love us for what he gets in return, and neither should we. Yahweh doesn't withhold from us unless we pour out excessive praise first, and neither should we. His kind of pure love is mainly concerned with what's best for others, and we need to learn how to live this way.

"Love is not rude." Rude means discourteous. Probably because our society has become increasingly rude and discourteous we should ensure that we avoid this and become more loving. Yahweh's love never treats other people dishonorably or indecently. It behaves with reverence and respect toward others. It holds true love as a precious thing, and never seeks to ask others to do something contrary to our Father's loving goodness. If we live in accordance with our Lord's principles of right living, we won't be rude and crude like so much of what see in today's comedy.

"Love is not self-seeking." The breakdown of the compound Greek word used here is self- possessive seeking. This is the epitome of the greed and entitlement attitudes in our current society. In spite of the general persuasion of most people, everything isn't mine or due to me. This kind of thinking causes us to look for how anything we do is to our advantage, even when we're "helping" others. Yahweh's love is the enemy of selfishness. It doesn't seek to possess for itself. It prefers to bless others, looking out for their interests and welfare. It's not ambitious for personal gain or influence, but works hard to lift up the Body of Christ. When thinking about this attribute remember J-O-Y: Jesus first, then Others, then Yourself.

"Love is not easily angered.

"Love keeps no record of wrongs." Yahweh's kind of love doesn't keep score, trying to determine who's ahead in the graciousness game. His love never thinks of revenge for wrongs done to us by others. It doesn't "get even" by heaping guilt on others with cruel words. It isn't jealous or suspicious. This kind of love doesn't suspect evil agendas, and it doesn't hold grudges when it encounters hurtful actions or words. Loving like Yahweh help us rightly forgive others, and then to also be wise in our future dealings with them.

"Love does not delight in evil." Yahweh takes no pleasure in hurting people, in spite of what some humans contend. His kind of love wishes no ill to anyone, and it won't condone evil either. If we love like our Father we don't enjoy the suffering or judgment of even the worst sinner. The obvious sins it encounters will stir up righteous action. It works to overcome evil instead of turning its head and ignoring it. This kind of love will deal directly with evil, speaking directly against the wrong done, trying to be just in its judgments and right in its actions. This means we can't let evil win by our lack of action.

"Love rejoices in truth." Yahweh's love desires to see the Gospel planted and rejoices when a person responds positively to its call for salvation. It takes no joy in sin, but rejoices and is delighted to see right living. This kind of love wants to see truth and justice rise to the top and fully influence all people. It honors those who live a biblically centered life, attempting to spread Yahweh's Kingdom wherever they go. It also readily recognizes truth, not being overcome by personal opinion or current societal acceptance of ungodly behavior. With this standard in place we believe in absolute truth which ultimately comes from our Creator God, who is Truth.

"Love always protects." This kind of protection takes endurance. It bears up under stress and strain. Yahweh's love is a shield against human flaws. It works to protect others from the anger and revenge so rampant in this world. This kind of love provides a shelter that withstands accidents and bad circumstances. It's a sheltering love providing saint and sinner with amazing grace, and especially offering the sinner another opportunity to repent.

"Love always trusts." Yahweh's love trusts first and acts in accordance with that trust. It doesn't hold back grace and mercy in doubt of how someone will or won't respond. It doesn't pre-judge situations or people. While it's not naive to the ways of the world, it's willing to give trust because it's fueled by faith in our loving heavenly Father, not in the person we're dealing with. This love loves the other person enough to give them a chance to receive a heavenly blessing by our hand. When we do this right we don't get all hung up in suspicions or conspiracies because we know Yahweh is sovereign over all things.

"Love always hopes." Yahweh's love always hopes for the best. It always trusts that the Father's goodness can be brought to bear in every circumstance and situation. It's willing to champion the cause of the underdog, to not give up when others might. This kind of love knows that failures aren't final because our heavenly Father gives many second chances. It doesn't bend to popular opinion and dash the hopes and dreams of others. It understands that our Father loves to give hope to the hopeless, and won't give up when the worldly view says that it's an impossible situation.

"Love always perseveres." Yahweh's love stands its ground, and stands strong. Though we may be mistreated, unappreciated, unloved, or not cared for - this love remains steadfast and true, seeking to do what's best for everyone. Through insult or abandonment it doesn't give up. Through trials and tribulations it keeps seeking the goal of Kingdom building. This kind of love may be shaken, but never broken. This kind of love endures because it's based on the Rock of Jesus, where we can always stand firm and secure. If we love as our Father does, it won't fade away with time or diminish with separation.

Yahweh's love is permanent. It's filled with grace. It always overcomes the world. While worldly things, even the best we humans have to offer, fade away and ultimately disappoint - Yahweh's love will endure to the end and retain its full glory. All our worldly possessions will someday be taken from us, but the love of our heavenly Father will remain with us throughout eternity. It's a precious gift we can receive and then partake of by giving it away. Blessed be Yahweh our Father who has lavished this great love on us. May we honor and glorify his name by sharing it with others.

Blessings & Peace, Mike