by RobertCummins | Mar 23, 2014 | 06. Shaped By The Word
My son, do not forget my teaching, but let your heart keep my commandments; for length of days and years of life and peace they will add to you. Do not let kindness and truth leave you; bind them around your neck, write them on the tablet of your heart so you will find favor and good repute in the sight of God and man. Trust in the Lord with all your heart and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight.
Paul an the law. Us and the bible
by RobertCummins | Feb 9, 2014 | 06. Shaped By The Word
Watch over your heart with all diligence, for from it flow the springs of life.
When I hear the directive to watch over the heart with all diligence I immediately think of Jesus as the Lord over the why’s of what we do. (more…)
by RobertCummins | Feb 7, 2014 | 06. Shaped By The Word
All things are being restored to Christ, through Christ in us (more…)
by RobertCummins | Feb 5, 2014 | 06. Shaped By The Word
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 seize 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.
by RobertCummins | Feb 4, 2014 | 06. Shaped By The Word
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 3, 2014 | 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.
