by RobertCummins | Feb 13, 2015 | 06. Shaped By The Word
2 Timothy 3:16-17
All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; so that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work. NAS
I thought I thoroughly understood this verse in 1976. It was clear to me then that it meant each verse was designed to impart a specific truth I needed in order to live a godly life. I believed if I would study and memorize and obey those individual verses that I would become a progressively better Christian. That is the point of living. Isn’t it?
I think I have fuller appreciation of these verses today. I don’t think what I believed was false; I just believe those early convictions were incomplete. That all scripture is inspired (breathed out) by God also means that the narrative as a whole (not just individual verses of books) is inspired. You might be asking yourself if there is really any big difference between studying the verses and the larger comprehensive story. I believe there is.
Taking in the narrative connects the reader to the times and circumstances and the other personalities with all their varied motives in a way verse-study can’t do. I believe its possible that some of our spiritual anemia may be a by product of us missing the narrative, particularly the gospel narratives.
The bulk of western christians have looked at Jesus in the gospels and have rightly seen that He is God Incarnate – the Lamb who came as a sacrifice. The efficacy of the atonement achieved by the unblemished Lamb was our salvation which we have mostly thought of as an upgraded life after death where suffering will cease and all our tears will be wiped away. Again, a truth, but a very truncated one.
Modern western Christianity often skips from the virgin birth to the cross. Consequently our sub-abundant existence turns out to be little more than an effort to manage our sinful natures (with a sprinkling of good works) until the day we are called home. If this was the point, why did God inspire four writers to leave narratives of Jesus’ miracle-laden life, telling about His every-day-walk-around adventure? Was that just for the sake of proving He was the Son of God? Was Jesus’ life story important chiefly because historical details must be known about a religion’s founder?
I believe if we can slow our pace down and wrench our attention away from our myriad distractions, we will find our hearts have the capacity to refocus on the story with Jesus as the Son of Man, who did the Father’s will as a human being like you and I. Those big chunks of the gospel between Bethlehem and Calvary were breathed into the story for our benefit not only to reveal Jesus’ divinity but to highlight His life as our example. Jesus wasn’t a divine historical anomaly. He was our reference point for the abundant life He promised us.
We are not going to facilitate a spiritual revolution through our cognitive mastery of the Bible. We can only recognize and involve ourselves in what God is doing and has always been doing, something that the narrative of the bible as a whole reveals. His original intention was to create a race of people in His image who would live in a loving eternal community. While the bulk of the bible story chronicles the breakdown of this plan, the new and latter part (the New Testament) captures the beginning of God’s restoration process, the process that is underway beckoning for us to come along.
Jesus came announcing the kingdom of God, telling us it had come in Him, implying that it was then and is therefore now; and that, astonishingly, it was in us who believe. While getting saved and going to heaven is good news, the kingdom truly is the ultimate mind-bending, wonderfully great news. He never told us to get saved, go to church and hang on until you die. He said, “As I am in the world so are you. Look at My life and go do as I did. Reread the narrative children. Live out the story I am breathing into Your life. It was good that I went away not just so I could prepare an eternal residence for you but that you, as My residence on earth, could go and do greater works than I did.”
We get saved and often leave Jesus behind, moving on to Paul who seemed to be the primary spokesman of the New Covenant with God. Most evangelicals consider Paul’s precise doctrinal discourses to be the prime cuts of gospel meat, yielding their nourishment to those with the best study skills. I wonder if Paul were living today if he wouldn’t be throwing up his hands, writing letters of correction to us. And I wonder if Jesus wouldn’t say,
You have studied my word but I have this against you; You have not yet discovered how to live out out of My life – a daily life of walking in My Spirit.
I so appreciate my friends who have encouraged me to see the gospel in the context of God’s kingdom and not the other way around, to see my life in the context of the larger biblical narrative, where God’s original intentions will not be thwarted, where all things are being restored to Christ, through Christ in us. This has some large implications for us beyond some holding pattern until we die or experience a rapture.
Again, Paul might say, “Its no problem for me to remind us,
Every part of Scripture is God-breathed and useful one way or another—showing us truth, exposing our rebellion, correcting our mistakes, training us to live God’s way. Through the Word we are put together and shaped up for the tasks God has for us.” MSG
Father, thank you for your word. Help us to fall deeply in love with this indispensable God-breathed story into which we have so mercifully been included. Continue to awaken our hearts to the whole council of scripture that paints us into an ever increasingly beautiful pallet of color and grandeur. So be it Lord.
2 Timothy 3:16-17
All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; so that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work. NAS
I believed I thoroughly understood this verse in 1976. It was clear to me then that each verse was designed to impart a specific truth which I needed in order to live a godly life. I believed if I would study and memorize and obey those individual verses that I would become a progressively better Christian. That is the point of living. Isn’t it?
If you read on today in MwM you will see why I believe a commitment to becoming a better Christian (as honorable as it might sound) can doom us to a mere existence as opposed to an abundant life such as has been promised to us by Jesus.
by RobertCummins | Feb 12, 2015 | 06. Shaped By The Word
Hebrews 4:12-13
For the word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart. And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are open and laid bare to the eyes of Him with whom we have to do. NAS
Hebrews 4:12 is as meaningful as any verse in scripture to me. As a new believer I memorized it and it has effected everything that has followed in my walk with Christ. I was and am fascinated by the idea of a living word. In a dying world could there be anything more relevant?
When I became a christian in 1976 I was not a reader. I had only read a few books in my life; my intellect was awakened at the same time my spirit was. The bible was the first book I had read with any kind of absorbed interest. When I read it, It was as though my heart stood to attention, saluted and said, “Amen.”
However, my “amen” caught in my throat when I encountered this passage. When I read these verses my earnest yet naive heart paused and thought, “Wait a second Father. What is the need for a sword?! Remember, I surrendered? I am holding nothing back. Could you please point that thing in the other direction? Somebody could get hurt here.” It turns out this thought was as naive as Peter’s, “Lord, with You I am ready to go both to prison and to death!” Here is how the Message says it…..
God means what he says. What he says goes. His powerful Word is sharp as a surgeon’s scalpel, cutting through everything, whether doubt or defense, laying us open to listen and obey. Nothing and no one is impervious to God’s Word. We can’t get away from it—no matter what. MSG
I liked the sword analogy better than the scalpel. I was going to wield that sword of truth and enter into manly warfare. The idea of a scalpel seems to have a different implication. I discovered as I walked on with Christ that He was endeavoring to make me into His likeness and that in spite of my new nature in Christ, there were thoughts and intentions, doubts and defenses imbedded in my heart that only a skillful surgeon and His scalpel could access. I have come to believe that to call Jesus Lord is in essence saying, “Lord, you have permission to operate on my heart at any time you deem necessary.”
While His Word is a comfort and encouragement it also exposes my own agenda. I have been shocked and humbled at just how frequently (as in always) within my motives there is a little something in it for me. His Word’s living nature exposes death even in its most subtle (but no less deadly) disguises. I have discovered that I can be as unlike Christ in the motivation behind a hidden sexual sin as I can leading worship while secretly craving men’s approval.
Perhaps the most death-infected and recurring thought which He has had to operate on over the years is my insistence that I have no secrets or hidden things in my heart. And the Lord says, “Really? Be still. This will only hurt for a second.” And the surgeon proceeds…
And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are open and laid bare to the eyes of Him with whom we have to do.
It is a transformational, game-changing revelation when it dawns on us that nothing we think or do can be hidden from Him, not even our motives – where the maturing disciples know the scalpel is most apt to incise. This awareness can be a source of ongoing humility, knowing that we are powerless to hide from Him. No matter where we are or what we are doing we are laid bare. Those intimate with Him know, always….
It is with Him whom we have to do.
Father as we walk on help us to realize however holy we perceive ourselves or not, however close or far from You we imagine ourselves to be, let the Spirit and the Word expose those silly and sinful ideas that exalt themselves above Your loving Truth. Whether its Your rod and staff or Your scalpel, help our hearts come to rest in Your comprehensive love and intentions for us. Amen.
by RobertCummins | Feb 11, 2015 | 06. Shaped By The Word
Joshua 1:1-9
The Lord spoke to Joshua, saying, “Moses My servant is dead; now therefore arise, cross this Jordan, you and all this people, to the land which I am giving to them. Every place on which the sole of your foot treads……will be your territory. No man will be able to stand before you all the days of your life. Just as I have been with Moses, I will be with you; I will not fail you or forsake you. Be strong and courageous, for you shall give this people possession of the land which I swore to their fathers to give them. Only be strong and very courageous; be careful to do according to all the law; do not turn from it to the right or to the left, so that you may have success wherever you go. This book of the law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it; for then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have success. Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous! Do not tremble or be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”
For Joshua, it was Canaan, the land of promise. For the believer its the kingdom of God. To us both, God says, “With your minds saturated with My words and your wills committed to them, go; possess the land and establish My dominion. Your enemies will flee before you. Put them to flight. I will be your constant companion so do not fear your opponents. Go, be strong and courageous. Validate my promises, vindicate my words.” To us both, He says, “You are great. Go and be great.”
I wonder if God isn’t also saying, “Moses’ and Billy Graham’s time has past. It is time for you to arise and recognize your destiny. Christ in you equips you with the promises I made to these men and more. Envision the earth responding to my words, seeing Me as Lord. Lock arms with your tribe – those I am connecting you to, and help each other to recognize and represent My kingdom. Moses and Joshua longed to see the new covenant I have given you – this door into My kingdom. You are the Church. Every where you go you shall be My Church. Through you, light and truth will put fear into the enemy’s heart. Keep thinking and praying, “Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.”
I could not help but think of the lyrics to Josh Garrels’ song – White Owl
When the night comes / And you don’t know which way to go / Through the shadowlands and forgotten paths, / You will find a road
Like an owl you must fly by moonlight with an open eye / And use your instinct as a guide, to navigate the ways that lays before you, / You were born to, take the greatest flight
Like a serpent and a dove, you will have wisdom born of love / To carry visions from above into the places no man dares to follow / Every hollow in the dark of night / Waiting for the light
Take the flame tonight
Child, the time has come for you to go / You will never be alone / Every dream that you have been shown / Will be like living stone / Building you into a home / A shelter from the storm
Like a messenger of peace, the beauty waits be released / Upon the sacred path you keep, / leading deeper into the unveiling / As your sailing, across the great divide
Like a wolf at midnight howls, you use your voice in darkest hours / To break the silence and the power, holding back the others from their glory / Every story will be written soon
The blood is on the moon / Morning will come soon
Child the time has come for you to go / You will never be alone / Every dream that you have been shown / Will be like living stone / Building you into a home / A shelter from the storm
From where we are to where we are going there will be a divide of darkness we must navigate that will require the Word and the Spirit but we will find the way. Our destiny is to take this greatest of all paths. The kingdom dreams that have been planted in our hearts will find expression connecting us to each other as a shelter of safety for whatever is to come. As messengers of peace with our love-born wisdom we shall call each other out into our appointed glory.
Father, may you reveal this part of our stories to the world – demonstrating the incomparable superiority of Your kingdom to any competing principality or power. Awaken us to the glory within. Help us to see ourselves as You see us. Amen.
Dearest brothers and sisters in Christ.
Middle With Mystery had its origin in my personal pain and frustrations. Preceding the words recorded here in the MwM blog there were decades of reading, prayers, tears and even screams. They were born of many things, not least of which are the divisions within the body of Christ creating territories each guarded by theologically well-armed sentries of Certainty.
The two divisions I seemed to encounter most frequently were the camps who would worship the Lord in Spirit and the other camp who preferred to worship the Lord only in Truth. Yet, the Lord said,
“An hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for such people the Father seeks to be His worshipers. God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.”
So when our debates are boiled down and the questions become, “Is it objectivity or subjectivity; Is it the cognitive or the intuitive; Is it study or meditation; Is it dreams or doctrine that equip us to worship God?” I hear the Lord settle the matter with a resounding “Yes!” I hear Him saying, “Furthermore….Certainty is not a kingdom citizen. He is an impostor and an usurper of faith.
When we approach our God with certainty about the rightness of our position and the wrongness of others we are no longer on solid nor holy ground. All this to say, if you would like to follow the artistic, imaginative, musical and mysterious Spirit trail in Truth you should check out the MwM post today, especially this link below which creatively depicts the wondrous mystery of our identifies and our destinies.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=FMaXzRZw3Ok
by RobertCummins | Feb 10, 2015 | 06. Shaped By The Word
Psalm 119:1-16
How blessed are those whose way is blameless, who walk in the law of the Lord. How blessed are those who observe His testimonies, who seek Him with all their heart. They also do no unrighteousness; they walk in His ways. You have ordained Your precepts, that we should keep them diligently. Oh that my ways may be established to keep Your statutes! Then I shall not be ashamed when I look upon all Your commandments. I shall give thanks to You with uprightness of heart, when I learn Your righteous judgments. I shall keep Your statutes; do not forsake me utterly!
How can a young man keep his way pure? By keeping it according to Your word. With all my heart I have sought You; do not let me wander from Your commandments. Your word I have treasured in my heart, that I may not sin against You. Blessed are You, O Lord; teach me Your statutes. With my lips I have told of all the ordinances of Your mouth. I have rejoiced in the way of Your testimonies, as much as in all riches. I will meditate on Your precepts and regard Your ways. I shall delight in Your statutes; I shall not forget Your word.
With poetic passion an unknown psalmist preaches, prays and vows with all his heart to abide in God’s word. In this longest chapter of scripture the statutes and law that are referred to are the Torah. I like to imagine what this author would have said had he been present when the Word became flesh and dwelt among us. With the new covenant as the backdrop I believe he might have said something to this effect…..
Oh Lord, that You have made me blameless in Your sight, inviting me into Your most holy presence has dumbfounded my heart. That You Yourself have become my great high priest is far more than I could have ever anticipated. This is such a glorious surprise! This new heart You gave me is spirit-compatible with Your Word. How utterly blessed I have become having Christ to explain You to me. When I ponder these things I am filled with wonder, boldness and joy!
All Your precious words I am treasuring in my heart. My heart has been made wealthy in You. Your words are my daily feast and the product of my lips. I dwelling in You? You dwelling in Me? Astonishing! Oh Lord, may the outward expressions of my life all reflect the untold inner-wealth of my heart. I am in awe of You! I am in love with You!
Father, please awaken the native hunger of our new hearts for Your Word. Help us to learn to feed ourselves, to personally discover and celebrate the blessed reality of our circumstance with You. I do celebrate You Lord! Thank You that You will never leave nor forsake me. Amen
by RobertCummins | Feb 9, 2015 | 06. Shaped By The Word
Colossians 3:12-17
Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body; and be thankful. Let the word of Christ richly dwell within you, with all wisdom teaching and admonishing one another with psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with thankfulness in your hearts to God. Whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through Him to God the Father.
Most Christians know George Barna’s name as it has been made popular through statistics he has published which have little good to say about the trends within the religion of western christianity: RWC. Although I am drifting, I am inescabably a part of the Oklahoma Synod of the RWC. (RWCOS on our placards) Being a life-member of the RWCOS I have had the opportunity to observe our culture and I do not take issue with Mr. Barna’s stats. As to his reports, I believe that if we can read them and weep there is hope.
Through what lens would the RWC christians George Barna polls interpret this passage and answer this question; “How do you let the word of Christ richly dwell within you?” It would naturally be through the lens of our experience. So, we RWC rank and file might answer Mr. Barna, “I let Christ’s word richly dwell within me by listening to my pastor’s sermons, by listening to teachers on TV and radio and by studying my bible” Some may even say, “by memorizing scripture.” But to discover what Paul truly meant isn’t it important to know what this statement meant to the Colossians who had no bible, no concept of a paid staff, no concept of practically everything we consider essential to doing Christianity.
It is likely that the first words of Christ heard by the Colossians were from Epaphras who likely was converted by Paul when he was teaching in Ephesus. The word of Christ came to them in the form of a transformed man and his story. Without the (advantages?) of modern travel, mass communication and structures with stadium capacity the new testament church was left with the primitive, yet obviously effective, means of a stripped down gospel of Christ crucified and Him resurrected and the story of those whose lives it had transformed. Oh yes, there was also the power of God.
Where modern christianity depends mostly on a pastor, his staff, and the programs they administer, the new testament church depended mostly on each other and the simplicity of a fuller and simpler gospel. Those Mr. Barna interviews probably look at the primitive church and think, “Oh what the ancients could have accomplished if only they could have enjoyed the advantages we have in accomplishing the great commission.” The reality which seems to be escaping us is that the new testament church and its simple stories and its simple gospel turned the world upside down. The Barna Group on the other hand is reporting the world has turned the church upside down.
If this is true (and I acknowledge that many would dispute it is not), what are we to do? It seems obvious that we each need to have a story. Like Epahras, we need to be able to give an account to our neighbors and family of the new hope within us. People don’t want us to invite them to church to hear someone else tell them about Christ. They want to see and hear of the resurrected Christ in our lives. Are those outside the Church not correct when they observe the RWC and think we have many convictions but not many stories? We, with our political agendas (which have so little congruence to Christ’s teachings) refer novitiates to this book or that sermon. Do they not look at as and see what Barna reports?
We, with our strong convictions are mostly living our lives vicariously through others. Is it not fair for outsiders to ask, “What is Christ doing in their lives that relates to me?” I believe the fields are white for harvest, full of people who simply want and need to connect with a body of people with a pulse, not and institution with a membership role. Here is a question that could get me lynched but is it possible the RWC itself might be the north forty of the field?
There is no hope of glory in this earth outside of that which is inherent in creation and that which will be progressively revealed through Christ in His Church. We are each called to work out our salvation with the sober understanding that our progress (or lack of it) is being observed by a great cloud of witnesses. At one point Jesus says, “If I do not do the works of My Father, do not believe Me.” Isn’t He saying, “If My life doesn’t match My claims, then you have a legitimate basis for your unbelief? My question is, “Have we – the RWC really given the world an accurate portrayal of Christ’s life? Or is it just a sanctified American dream (SAD).
While the current stewards of our existing wineskin-thinking would justify their ministries by the numbers on the roles or by money in the bank, I think Paul and his new testament cohort would suggest we adopt a new plumb line to measure from – the current stories of transformed lives. I am not only referring to those first chapters of new life where we were saved from hell, rather the fresh stories of how we are being redeemed from the selfish little hells within our own hearts, updates that chronicle the presence of the resurrected Christ in our lives today that evidence the presence of the Good Shepherd and His ongoing and intimate work in our hearts. Really, why should the world believe us if all we have is biblical convictions, conservative political affiliations and second hand truth?
Father thank You that You are present and accessible to us all. Thank you that wherever we are, in You, all can be well with our souls. Help us to discover that incredibly good news and may that revelation update and refresh our souls and our stories. May we allow Your word to have the run of our hearts to the extent that we individually and collectively reflect Your resurrection life to all those who are sovereignly watching our lives. Amen.
by RobertCummins | Mar 23, 2014 | 06. Shaped By The Word
For the word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart. And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are open and laid bare to the eyes of Him with whom we have to do. NAS
Hebrews 4:12 is as meaningful as any verse in scripture to me. As a new believer I memorized this it and it has effected everything that has followed in my walk with Christ. I was and am fascinated by the idea of a living word. In a dying world could there be anything more powerful?
It earned no other badge of honor other than the pointy hat on the kid with his nose to the wall, but when I became a christian in 1976, I had only read a few books in my life. My intellect was awakened at the same time my spirit was. So the bible was the first book I had read in earnest, hungry to absorb its content. When I read it, It was as though my heart stood to attention, saluted and said, “Amen.”
Today’s verses had their own peculiar punch though. The “amen” came a bit slower as my young and naive heart paused and thought, “Wait a second. What is the need for a sword?! “Lord, I have surrendered. I am holding nothing back. Could you please point that pointy thing in the other direction? Somebody could get hurt here.” It turns out this thought was as naive as Peter’s, “Lord, with You I am ready to go both to prison and to death!” Here is how the Message says it…..
God means what he says. What he says goes. His powerful Word is sharp as a surgeon’s scalpel, cutting through everything, whether doubt or defense, laying us open to listen and obey. Nothing and no one is impervious to God’s Word. We can’t get away from it—no matter what. MSG
I liked the sword analogy better than the scalpel. I was going to wield that sword of truth and enter into manly warfare. The idea of a scalpel seems to have a different implication. I discovered as I walked on with Christ that He was endeavoring to make me into His likeness and that in spite of my new nature in Christ, there were thoughts and intentions, doubts and defenses imbedded in my heart that only a skillful surgeon and His scalpel could access. I have come to believe that to call Jesus Lord is in essence saying, “Lord, you have permission to operate on my heart at any time you deem necessary.”
While His Word is a comfort and encouragement it also exposes my own agenda. I have been shocked and humbled at just how frequently As in always) there is something in it for me. His Word’s living nature exposes death even in its subtle (but no less deadly) disguises. I have discovered that I can be as unlike Christ in the motivation behind a hidden sexual sin as I can leading worship while secretly craving men’s approval.
One of the death-infected thoughts He has cut on over the years is that there is anything hidden or secret. That lie is exposed to the scalpel as the Spirit says, “And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are open and laid bare to the eyes of Him with whom we have to do.”
It is a transformational game changing revelation when it dawns on us that nothing we think or do is hidden from Him, not even our motives where disciples know the scalpel is often at work. This awareness can be a source of ongoing humility, knowing that we are powerless to hide from Him. No matter where we are or what we are doing we are laid bare; regardless, it is with Him whom we have to do.
Father as we walk on help us to realize however holy we perceive ourselves or not; however close or far from You we imagine ourselves, let the Spirit and the Word expose those silly and sinful ideas that exalt themselves above Your loving and all seeing eye. Whether its YOur rod and staff or Your scalpel, help our hearts come to rest in Your comprehensive love and intentions for us. Amen.
