Intimacy (Saturday) – Hosea 2:14-23

by RobertCummins | Aug 15, 2015 | 32. Intimacy

Intimacy – Hosea 2:14-23

That God is powerful goes without question. We look up at the stars, realizing the light we see was emitted lifetimes ago and has only now reached us. Nature’s proclamations faithfully give perspective to God’s power. We rightly conclude this God deserves honor and we respond, “Oh Lord, we worship You in Your power and might!” However, Hosea is revealing something at least as astonishing as God’s power, that is his heart.

God requires the prophet Hosea to wed Gomer, a prostitute, to graphically depict how his mysterious heart works. This woman is habitually unfaithful and deluded, believing her material needs are being provided by her many lovers. No doubt Hosea wept as he watched his wife sell her body to men who cared nothing about her. Hosea deserved fidelity but received only betrayal. All he could do was dream of the day when she would return to him. While she deserved to be stoned, he is dreaming of her redemption. Welcome to God’s heart.

As God dreams and projects His will, he anticipates a day when his beloved Israel will be brought into a wilderness where he will woo her with gracious words and gifts, even restoring the vitality of her youth. Most importantly her heart will somehow be changed and she will speak the names of her lovers no more. It seems the event of her restoration will be so glorious that God will initiate a new covenant which occasions blessing to spill over into nature and society.

We see married couples commonly restating their vows after years of marriage. It seems something similar is going to occur between God and Israel. In this long awaited ceremony God will betroth His Bride to Himself in righteousness, justice, compassion, lovingkindness and perhaps most importantly to the spurned Lover – faithfulness. Finally … Faithfulness!
Verse 20 says then Israel will know the Lord.

As God enjoys renewed intimacy with his beloved it appears creation will enjoy the gift of its own restoration. The scriptures say God will respond differently to the heavens, and in turn the heavens will respond differently to the earth, resulting in unprecedented fertility. My mind is drawn to the New Testament where Paul, in three places, expresses it this way….

God has ….. a view to an administration suitable to the fulness of times, that is the summing up of all things in Christ, things in the heavens and things upon the earth. (Eph 1:10)

Through Jesus God will reconcile all things to Himself, having made peace through the blood of His cross…whether things on earth or things in heaven. (Col 1:20)

Creation itself will be set free from its slavery to corruption into the the freedom of the glory of the children of God. (Rom 8:21)

Father, I’m sorry you have to use a prostitute to describe your beloved. I’m sorry that my heart has been untrue and even today has been unfaithful. And…. at the same time, I am profoundly grateful I have been grafted into your great heart. My own heart is both bowed low and lifted up, knowing even in the depths of my sin your love is constant. How stunning  that even in my betrayal you woo me! In my wildernesses, many which I have created, you have spoken kindly to me and rescued me. May the faithfulness and consummation you desire transpire in my heart. Permit me to journey further into your heart where Your power and Your love merge – transforming all they touch. Amen.

Intimacy (Friday) – Song of Solomon 4:8-16

by RobertCummins | Aug 14, 2015 | 32. Intimacy

Intimacy – Song of Solomon 4:8-16

Song of Solomon is about two persons, one royal, the other of common Shulammite descent. These two are obsessed with each other. There is room for nothing else in their hearts than each other. Theirs is an all-consuming love affair. In this passage it is royalty confessing his passion and desire. The spirit of his words is not a command; it is an invitation ….

                                                              Come away with me.

The King knows being alone with his beloved is where his desire will be satisfied. It is her choice to reciprocate.

The Song of Solomon may be instructive to courting and married partners but I believe the Spirit chose this imagery primarily because it paints the clearest picture of God’s passion toward us. It is scandalous that this is the kind of relationship God desires with man! A scandal you might ask? Think about how Jesus (God’s explanation and invitation) was received? His chosen responded to the invitation with unbelief, scorn and ultimately murder. She literally spit in his face, saying, “Leave me alone permanently!” The scandal is in God’s response, in Christ…..

                        Father forgive them for they don’t understand what they are doing.

Truly, what manner of love is this?!! I wonder what the scribes and Pharisees were teaching about Solomon’s Song when Jesus was on the earth? How did they instruct Israel to fulfill the primary command to love their God with all their heart and soul and mind and strength? As I understand it, they taught that fidelity was kept through obedience. Where fidelity failed there was sacrifice. They taught that God demanded compliance to the rules He had previously given plus a few hundred more thrown in as a hedge. I wonder if Jesus ever heard a single scribe say, “I love you Lord.”?

It was not long ago that an “I love you Lord” would have stuck in my throat too. How could I make such an audacious, emotionally dishonest claim with a heart as desperately sick as mine, inclined as it was, to stray always? No, with my selfish motives and secret sins all I could muster was, “God, I pray that someday I will love You in a way that is worthy of You.” During this season, when I sinned, I would recommit to holiness, doubling-down on obedience with brokenness and contrition as my backup plan. Unless I was working with a pretty good run of goodness I would not have the hutzpah to say, “I love you Lord”.

I have often thought, if Jeff Foxworthy had a Christian act, he would say, “You might be a Pharisee – if you struggle saying, ‘I love You Father’.” Or, “You might be a Pharisee if – you are more concerned with other’s performance than your own.” I see these two conditions operating in-tandem in the religious spirit. Religious persons make a mockery of God’s grace. They scorn his invitation “to come” when they think their performance has qualified them for his approval. I speak from personal experience.

I did all my bad religious-math at a deeper level than conscious thought. I didn’t awaken each day to go out and earn God’s approval; it was instinctive. Religion is systemic to our flesh. It is just as deadly but far more subtle than debauchery because it usually looks great, making its case for righteousness, one good work upon another. However, the heart steeped in religion produces only the temporal fruit of works, never the eternal fruit of rest. This is called deception.

Today, I am so grateful that the sentence, “I love You” rolls more easily from my lips! There is not enough space here to describe how I got into a religious performance-based relationship to God or how I was freed from it, but it is enough to say that being freed from religion has been like a drowned man being revived, taking in deep gulps of refreshingly clean, life giving air. Note: If this awakens something in you, the story of how the Lord un-entangled (and is untangling) my heart from religion is an ongoing theme at midlewithmystery.com (MwM).

MwM is inspired by the daily scripture passages presented in the Blue Book (BB). FYI: The BB is not copyrighted. No one profits from it. It is as unpretentious as the One to whom it points. It is a gift to the body of Christ by JLB. In simplicity it introduces us to a community of God -intoxicated Shulamites who will not live without their Beloved. Their condensed wisdom is shared in bite-sized portions, each echoing God’s invitation to “Come away.” It’s gift is its instruction, both direct and indirect, of how to respond to this invitation.

Father, expose and breakdown the religious stronghold lurking in our hearts. We know you desire intimacy not just our obedience. Where we have grown hardened to your invitation to come-away with You, please heal us. Persist until there is not room in our hearts for anything but you. Become our all-consuming passion. Persevere until our hearts declare “Oh God, how I love you!”

Intimacy (Thursday) – Revelation21:1-7

by RobertCummins | Aug 13, 2015 | 32. Intimacy

Intimacy – Revelation 21:1-7

                                                   And there shall no longer be any death.

I was attending a fellow contractor’s funeral wondering if the minister would remind us that one day, death, mourning and pain will be past tense. As I recall, the good man did cover this and more.

I know travelogue is discouraged but I am not writing for commercial acclaim. I am just documenting for my family, what the trail looks like at this bend. Our passage today is about new things – a new heaven and a new earth. I am currently 62 and I must say as I get older new things (bodies for example) are rapidly gaining appeal! And…. in today’s passage, John – The Revelator saw a whopping, big new thing……

the holy city, new  Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, made ready as a bride adorned for her husband.

Is this a metaphor? I have kind of hoped so. I am sure it will be stupendous but a massive cube of city descending from heaven has never inspired me. Since I am just finishing books about John Muir and John Coulter, I would prefer seeing a wilderness decending, not too unlike Muir’s beloved Yosemite, or Coulter’s Yellowstone, several galaxies cubed. Why not dream BIG! While real estate may not properly move me, I am very attracted to the idea of The Bride made ready. The revelation in chapter 21 is unfolding rapidly so I read on….

And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is among men, and He shall dwell among them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself shall be among them,

As enamored as a paving contractor might be with gold streets, I was far more attracted to the fact that God is dwelling among his people. As we entertain this reality I pray we are not just saying something foolish like, “Ah yes, the sweet bye-and-bye, it will undoubtedly be an improvement over current circumstances; I shall look forward to that day off in the distance. I pray, ‘If all goes well, I shall someday see it’.” I suspect if my deceased associate (who is now outside of time) could, he would report back that, as he has discovered, no man’s end is really off in the distance; rather, in light of eternity, we are each, at best, moments away from our ultimate passage. This is surely why scripture reminds us…

                                                           today is the day of salvation.

This means for all of us, at all times, the hourglass is nearly empty. It is only a mirage that time appears to spread out before us like a never ending road. These are the dice most of us roll every day but it is a fool’s gamble to assume that since we did not die yesterday, we will not die today.

Back to the funeral. The Lake of Fire might be a handy sermon-incentive but I believe fear is ultimately a poor motivator for us to come as you are. Decisions made in fear do not typically lead to intimacy with God. These types of transactions are more like little insurance policies which may or may not pay the death benefit anticipated. It is much healthier that we would come to a divine Person because we are drawn by their loving incentives than because we are driven toward a rescue net by wrath-filled disincentives.

The question always at hand is; will we take Jesus at His Word when He says….

               “I will give to anyone who thirsts from the spring of the water of life without cost?”

The wheeler-dealers of this world are going to radically undershoot heaven. While successful business dealings do not preclude heaven, perpetually investing one’s heart in the prospect of a temporal windfall will. A life grounded solely in time, motivated alone by profit will not qualify as the overcoming type of life which inherits eternity. Oh, if the minister only knew how many of us wheeler-dealers were present! He would surely remind us that missing heaven will have nothing to do with net worth or even the relative goodness or badness of a life. No, missing heaven will result exclusively from the fact that the timeless One had not reigned in that heart during its time.

    He who overcomes shall inherit these things, and I will be his God and he shall be my son.

That some believed evidence of God was scant, or that, even if it was adequate, he was unworthy of their attention, will not matter at the end when God wraps up the old business portion of this world’s agenda and pounds His gavel, closing the proceedings with these words…..

IT IS DONE! I am the ALPHA and OMEGA, the beginning and the end. My words are faithful and true.

After reading Revelation, we must allow that John was either hallucinogenic, a gifted charlatan, or a divine oracle. I’m betting on the latter. Even though scripture tells us that “eye has not seen, and ear has not heard, and which has not yet entered the heart of man, all that God has prepared for those who love Him”, I see that God has in fact revealed at least some of that which he has prepared for us. And, I believe he intended this sufficient portion to penetrate and influence our hearts.

God permitted John, who was in a trance or a dream, to leak some of these things which, at the very least, stretch our hearts and minds in the right direction. The book of Revelation was given to us for the same reason all scripture was – to penetrate our hardened and deluded, time-bound hearts. God’s words, which are outside of time, have graciously overlapped us. His words, always spoken in love, invite us to partake of Him who is both living water and bread for life.

Here I go with some ministerial – Monday morning quarterbacking; If I were the officiating minister (and a contractor),  I would say……

“I am sure it would be the desire of the deceased and his family for each of us to take this fleeting moment to consider; our relationship to time and to eternity; our relationship to the idols of this world and; most importantly, our relationship to the God of this world and the next. We contractors have been conditioned to think of life as a series of contracts, each with an alotted number of days to complete, each with their own unique incentive and disincentives. The similarities between our vocation and life are profound….

We too, as individuals, each have an allotted amount of time. However, in our contracts, we do not know exactly when the Owner will say, “Time’s up. It is finished“. We professional managers of time and risk must consider our lives from the Owner’s timeless perspective. He who is faithful and true is saying, “Today, this very moment, is all I have given you. You bargain drivers out there, understand this: receiving eternity as a gift is the best deal you will ever wheel.” I am sure our friend, who has gone before us, would encourage each of us, right now, to do business with the One to whom we will each ultimately give account.

I would then close in prayer…..

Father, may You continue to assault our time-driven illusions with Your eternal words. We shall pass… but your words will never pass away. Teach us to number our days that we may present to you hearts of wisdom. Teach us to embrace the unseen now so that one day we will be among those who overcame, enjoying a tearless, pain free, joy-filled eternity as a part of Your very own family. And….may you comfort the precious family of our friend who has gone before us. Amen.”

Intimacy (Wednesday) – Psalm 139

by RobertCummins | Aug 12, 2015 | 32. Intimacy

Intimacy – Psalm 139

Something magical exploded in my heart when I became a Christian in 1976. Fairy tails do come true! I initially felt as though I was the frog who had become a prince but that turned out to be a pale allusion. Reality had me bound over for execution only to find someone had paid my debt, enabling me to walk out of my chains as a free man. To my amazement, it was the Judge himself who had ransomed me. Neither was I released to just wander the streets. This same Judge had also adopted me; I was an orphan who had become a son of God! The Judge had become my Father! In view of my radically altered life, it is understandable that I would start my Christian experience with a huge “Yes!” in my heart. “Whatever You say God, whatever you ask, my answer will be “yes!” This was my heart’s true intention. Was I ever tempted to back crab on this commitment? Oh yes.

A place where I first started noticing this “yes” operating in my heart was when I read the scriptures. Prior to 1976, the Bible had been an indecipherable tome. Even though I did not grasp everything intellectually as I began reading, there must have been a spirit-to-spirit connection because I found myself agreeing, “Yes this is true; Yes this is life; Yes this is the way!”

Psalm 139 is a perfect example. It was the first passage of scripture that really grabbed me. I memorized it because of the mysterious and powerful “Yes” it elicited when I first read it. This psalm breaks down the overarching theme of intimacy into specifics. I will never regret that these realities were imprinted on my heart 39 years ago. Time and experience have only reinforced them. They have been indispensable reference points during those seasons when I could not see, which I have discovered are not uncommon for citizens of an invisible kingdom.

My heart dropped anchor into the following realities from Psalm 139;

1)  I am no accident. I exist because He intentionally created me.
2) I will exist on earth for the time he allotted me.
3) The job He did in creating me was awe-inspiringly wonderful.
4) Everything I do or say is known in perfect detail (even in advance).
5) He is always searching and working in my heart. (My permission does not hurt.)
6) The thoughts I have about Him will be numerous and precious in value.
7) Yet, bracketed as they are by mortality, my thoughts, however valuable, are too frail to grasp the fulness of God, in his immortality.
8) Even if I tried, I could not escape His notice and His care.
9) Even if things go dark on me, things are always well lit with God

Lightened by the weight of these words, my “yes” found its expression in King David’s own words which I adopted as my own…..

Search me O God, and know my heart; try me and know my anxious thoughts; and see if there be any hurtful ways in me, and lead me in the everlasting way.

In other words, “Please Father, don’t let anything interfere with the ‘yes’ in my heart!”

It is helpful to know that God’s memory is not faulty but it is selective. Once we repent of our sin, He forgets them, by choice. My point is this; our Journey Into intimacy begins afresh each day. While they may be troubling, our pasts are of no account. In fact, our deepest wounds and failures are to be our springboards into intimacy. No greater opportunity exists than in our personal darkness. Creation, though subjected to futility, intuitively longs to see the children’s transformation. It is Father’s heart that our sorrow be transformed into joy in the face of our enemy. Our light shines the brightest where we are liberated from personal darkness. It is Father’s heart that where evil has abounded, grace shall abound all the more.

When “intimacy” is alien to us, a heart-to-heart conversation with God is needed. No one who has ever come to Christ with honest questions has been turned away. I am amazed that, in his patience, he even listens to our bitterness and unbelief when we dress them up as questions! When the human heart turns toward God, even in disorienting pain, Christ is receiving some reward for His suffering…..

                                           If I be lifted up, men shall be drawn unto Me.

To enjoy intimacy with God, we must ultimately turn toward him with whatever is in us. We must say “yes” to this transparency. He sees it all anyway. It is here where we will taste and see that He is good. It is in this engagement where we will discover intimacy. Both the “yes’s” and the “no’s” of our heart will be refined in the awaiting encounter.

Father, that you freely offer yourself to us who were once condemned, is something we pray will never be lost on us. Search out the things that would dull our appreciation of you. Create and sustain our “yes’s”. Put our “no’s” to death. And with David, we pray that You would be exceedingly rough on our enemies – anyone or anything that would hinder our intimacy with you. Receive the reward for Your suffering – our intimate encounter with you. Amen.

Intimacy (Tuesday) – Song of Songs 7:10-13

by RobertCummins | Aug 11, 2015 | 32. Intimacy

Intimacy  – Song of Songs 7:10-13

                   I am my beloved’s and his desire is for me. Song of Songs 7:10-13

The Song of Solomon is about the intimacy between a king and a common girl who has become the singular object of his affection. He showers her with thoughtful gifts and tender words. While these initiatives are worth emulating this book is not just a manuel for marital intimacy.

There are many different types of love, each of them legitimate, having originated with God, who is love. There is familial love, fraternal love, and there is the intimate love between a man and his mate. The Spirit has chosen marital intimacy to say something about God’s love but I don’t believe it is sensuality; rather it is its integral passion and intensity which is the point. Even though it is imperfect, marital intimacy is the closest thing, though still comparatively weak, to convey the nature of God’s love for us.

God doesn’t just tolerate us and endure us. He is taken with us. It does not go unnoticed that the Shunammite women is far beneath the KIng’s social status.  Likewise, our fallen status is no deterrent to God’s affection. In Christ he has buried this and raised us up with new natures. Those who are in Christ are no longer bond slaves to sin; we are no longer rejected and condemned by God. When God looks upon us he no longer sees sinners; he sees Christ.  We still sin but that does not validate depravity’s reign. It is simply proof that we are working out our new natures with our choices which are essential to a love relationship.

So many believe the most important response to God’s love is obedience with holiness as its byproduct. Obedience and holiness are essential part of the normal Christian life but in no way does obedience produce holiness. In fact obedience as the mere setting of the will to comply is counterproductive. Obedience does not lead to intimacy. Obedience, in the sense of flexing our volitional muscles, may produce the appearance of holiness but it will be a man-centered, performance oriented affair which will fail to realize intimacy. Intimacy can only be received as a gift which will lead to holiness.

How do we partake of this gift? How do we shake this sense of being nothing more than a tolerated step-child, never quite measuring up? What is our part in this relationship that will contribute to shared intimacy with God? We simply live by faith, daily practicing our response to the unseen reality of God’s intimate love for us. We cultivate gratitude regarding His celebration over us. We stay at it, day-in and day-out, always deferring to ourselves in our thinking as “His beloved“. Life will become abundant for us when we grasp that the deepest and truest thing about us is that we are His. Gratitude is natural for the common one who has been chosen and embraced by royalty. By faith, we simply live presumptuously in regard to His affections and favor. This is the root of all true abundance and the cause of authentic obedience.

Father, may You bring into full view of all creation, the redemption of the sons of God – those whose identities, as Your children, have been and are being restored in the context of their intimate union with You. May You awaken us to Your invitations to come away with You and personally hear Your kind words, receive Your special gifts and enjoy Your undivided attention. Amen.

Intimacy (Monday) – Isaiah 62

by RobertCummins | Aug 10, 2015 | 32. Intimacy

Intimacy – Isaiah 62

In this passage, God is revealing things about himself through the foretelling of His servant Isaiah. The prophet is declaring a reversal of fortunes for Zion. The language is very strong! He is vowing, by His might and power, to cause this to come to pass. Zion will one day enjoy a windfall! Where she has viewed herself as forsaken and desolate, prophecy indicates she will one day see herself in a holy different light.

What will this look like? These are the words Isaiah chose; gloriously beautiful, royal, holy, desirable, an object of praise, worthy of God’s own rejoicing. How will this seemingly impossible thing come about? Isaiah chose the imagery of marriage to convey the answer. God’s might will originate in intimacy! It turns out intimacy, of the strength lovers enjoy, shall be the ways and means of God. Consequently, that Bride, secure in her identity as his beloved, shall become a marvel in the earth and a crown of glory to God Himself.

How could this come about? Not to belabor the point  🙂 but, have I mentioned the Blue Book lately? In its unassuming appearance Jim Branch’s devotional, at its core, is an invitation into intimacy. I will always view it as God’s somewhat nondescript yet personal invitation to the Marriage Supper. When people pick up on the spirit of this devotional, they discover that a feast has already been prepared. Yes, we must take up knife and fork, but the Blue Book points us to Jesus who is our feast. Intimacy with God is a gift but we must learn the process of partaking.

So many of us have been conditioned to think its a professional pastor’s job to prepare the meal and dish it out once or twice a week. Sadly, this idea is a broad path which leads too many into a complacent state of starvation. Where this apathy exists, the Blue Book can help stimulate the native hunger within a redeemed soul. Admittedly, it is a plain vanilla looking invitation but for those willing to engage, the Blue Book can lead to the discovery that the door into the Holy of Holies is wide open. Intimacy is not just the bread of select mystics. It is the inheritance of the redeemed. Intimacy is simply what Father wants with his children and has provided in Christ.

I do not attend a conventional (little “c”) church at this time although I consider myself to be a member in good standing of the (big “C”) Church – the Body of Christ. I have many friends who do attend church and who even lead in this setting. I do not seek to win them away nor do I really want them to try and win me back. I already know when I will return. It will be when I find a core of leaders who have successfully raised up disciples – men, women and children who have formed a living community by partaking of Christ in the ongoing affairs of their daily lives. They will not only tolerate the mystic’s notion that intimacy with God is possible; they will demonstrate how intimacy, since it is a gift, is normative.

Our passage suggests there is another behind-the-scene variable in the ways and means of Israel’s transformation. There are a group of people referred to as watchmen who would simply not be quiet nor would their souls find peace until Zion’s glory is evidenced in the earth. God has uniquely yoked Himself to these people whom He has appointed as reminders to Him and to others. Since God’s memory is fine it seems reasonable that his motive is, at least in part, to include men in this process of restoring identity and destiny to his children.

As a road contractor, I appreciate Isaiah’s,

                 Build up the highways, remove the stones, lift up a standard over the people.

I believe a watchman may be the equivalent to an inspector on a construction project. This person is the owner’s representative. The owner’s standards have created a vision in the watchful inspector’s mind and he knows what the project is supposed to look like when it is finished. The plans are always rolled out in his office and he has poured over them. His experience even enables him to understand the processes required to build the project.  And interestingly, he does not give himself, nor anyone else, rest until the project is completed according to the standards. I believe between now and the time the Church is fully glorified we will see more watchmen.

Note: He didn’t label them watchmen, as such, but Charles Swindoll identifies them in Parts 1& 2 of The Problem With Progress which I have included as an addendum to today’s MwM post. These pieces were originally offered in Crosswalk.com on December 6th and 8th of 2014. This content appeared originally in his book; Come Before Winter and Share My Hope. God bless you C.S.!

Isaiah was a watchman for Zion. Who are the watchman, the standard bearers today for the kingdom of God? I believe they exist. They are the ones who have rolled out the plans, in whose listening hearts God has whispered what He intends His kingdom to look like. Watchmen may appear troubled because what has been built to date does not resemble the standard God revealed to them in His word and by His Spirit.

You may be able to recognize them because they are coloring outside the established lines. With a glorious king and His kingdom in mind, they are envisioning new structures and concepts which to them, more closely resemble the vision that has been planted in their hearts. The hard questions they ask and the radical proposals they consider are warranted (in their view) because what they are observing seems incompatible with the standards as they have come to understand them.

Not all watchmen are atop the walls of the ancient city of Jerusalem crying out for the restoration of that nation or its real estate. Some are weeping and making petition for the Church and are not giving God (or others) much rest until this community resembles the glorified Bride of Christ referred to in Scripture. Some, who have the plans rolled out, see a day where a glorified church will be used to awaken Israel, by way of jealousy, to the intimacy of God’s love. Paul was one of these; in Romans 11, he aspires that…..

                    I might move to jealousy my fellow countrymen and save some of them.

Father raise up those watchmen who are holding up your standard, clinging to the vision You have of Your Bride and Your kingdom. Raise up those who hunger and thirst for kingdom realities. May the children of Zion awaken to Your call as they see glories of intimacy with God. May we individually and corporately see our appointments and pathway to intimacy. May we partake with many of our feast who is Christ Jesus. Amen.

The Problem With Progress: Part 1