by RobertCummins | Nov 18, 2014 | 47. Wholeness
Mark 5:1-20
Is there anything we can learn from this account of the Gerasene Demoniac? At first blush, as moderns, we may stumble in imagining what that might be. Neither I nor anyone I know lives among the dead. No one I know cries out in anguish day and night mauling their own bodies. Are we certain of this?
It is truly amazing how adaptive and resilient human beings are. They can be found dwelling in a wide range of shelters; from the grandest of palaces to holes in the ground. Many years ago I regularly encountered a man who appeared to be in his 70’s in a wooded, hilly area where I was working. He always carried a paper sack and a hammer. He was dressed worse than any homeless person I had ever seen. I would try and speak to him but he was either unwilling or the devil had his tongue. I later learned from a newspaper article that this man was living in a hole near my project which he had insulated with paper. It would not surprise me if this poor man had not been tormented by a host of demons who had driven him to that place of torment to die alone which, sadly, was the occasion of the news article.
Just before my encounter with Christ in 1976, I was living alone in an apartment in an unfamiliar place among unfamiliar people. I had been living in darkness for some time and in spite of efforts to change, which to me at that time meant becoming happy and free of torment, I felt as though something strong and evil was pulling me into itself. I do not mean to be melodramatic. I just don’t know how else to say it. I had become a prisoner of some dark behaviors and I knew I was becoming progressively bound by something very strong. Drawing from scripture, observation and personal experience, I don’t really think demons care if their hosts lives in a palace or a hole in the ground as long as they can remain there and be left alone to their missions of distraction and torment. I think they feed on and promote the decomposition of human life. My life at that time must have been quite a feast.
I suspect one reason we do not see manifestations of demons as they did in the bible or as they still do in other cultures is because in the West demons achieve their mission of isolating and tormenting people without hindrance. Our modern society with its pace of life and materialism provides all the ingredients they need to isolate, preoccupy, torment and bind. Perhaps they trade their desire to feast upon and devour a single soul as in our passage today for a regimen of just snacking on us as a culture creating a lower grade of torment which is spread out over a longer period of time over a larger segment of society. The net effect of this demonic presence would be to reinforce the grand deception that man can rescue himself from the thing that is pulling him under. In light of that perspective, our western culture, contrary to the complimentary view we have of ourselves, may be as demonized as any culture in history.
Our physical proximity to others does not relieve loneliness and isolation. In our culture, loneliness and tormented thoughts are pacified with a mind numbing array of entertainment options where we can easily avoid the reality of our imprisonment and torment by diving into fantasy worlds of distractions and vicariously live the dreams that our culture plants in our minds.
I have a vision of the kingdom of God as it inevitably expands; where its awakened citizens (you and I) expose the demons that inhabit and feed upon our dying culture. Poor souls that had learned to adapt and survive their imprisonment through pornography, entertainment, gambling, wealth, etc. (suffice it to say “Legion”) will be set free by Life Himself. Like the liberated man from the tombs they may want to follow Jesus to some new remote place but Jesus will simply say to many, “Just go tell your story (among your people) of what great things the Lord has done for you and how He had mercy on you.” As it was with the Gerasene demoniac, these persons who society had written off will obey and will cause many onlookers to “marvel“.
Father, Permit us to see the lonely isolated ones around us liberated into your life. Help us identify those who are crying out, who have adapted to their own hell and are awaiting a certain judgement. May Satan’s ploys backfire on him and may You deliver not just one or a few tormented ones but rather legions of souls who can tell those in their networks what great things You have done for them. Amen.
by RobertCummins | Nov 17, 2014 | 47. Wholeness
Mark 5:24-34
There is a repetitive theme in scripture that greets us in the first two verses of this passage;
There was a great multitude and then there was just a few; (in this case just one, a woman)
The theme I am referring to has to do with the many and the few – the many being called who will not enter through a narrow way – that place where just a few are chosen and only a few find life. (Matt 7:13,14, 22:14) Have you ever wondered what distinguishes the few from the many?
Many were following Jesus because of what they wanted him to do for their nation. It was clear enough; a major prophet was in their midst. They knew prophets came to restore things to God’s righteous order. Their nationalistic zeal was being stirred. Their dream and heart’s desire was that the authority of this man (or likely any man) might increase so that their theocracy could be restored; godly men would take office and they could rid themselves of the unclean Roman oppressors. And, undoubtedly many were just curious; nothing this interesting had ever come along in their lifetime. They were not about to miss this show.
The few on the other hand were not just following Jesus. Like the suffering person in our passage, they were practically stalking Him. It was not zeal for the nation that motivated this woman; it was a debilitating physical condition that had backed her into a corner. She had exhausted her resources, pursuing conventional remedies and she was getting worse. No doubt she feared death and likely the impact her absence would have on her dependents. She was motivated by desperation. She simply needed Jesus. It didn’t matter to her if He was the Messiah, the long awaited King of Israel. It didn’t matter that He was a great prophet. She just wanted to become whole again.
She was seeking Jesus because, she had “heard about Him“. In her mind, the tiny seed of an idea had been planted. The soil conditions in this woman’s heart allowed it to somehow geminate and take root. It’s expression, as it blossomed was; “If I just touch His garments, I shall get well.” Had this woman been chosen? Had she just won the spiritual lottery – receiving the gift of faith and consequently her healing? Or was there something from her heart she contributed, helping to develop the tiny thought that distinguished her from the many, making her the latest from among the many to join the few – that grateful company of beneficiaries of God’s abundant and restorative life. I believe the answer is yes.
Jesus eventually explains that the reason she became well was due to her faith. I believe faith often, if not always, begins with the most minūte-sized seed being planted in our hearts. The Sower is sowing seeds everywhere, inviting many to discover Life in its myriad and wonderful forms but only a few respond to the invitations as they presents themselves so often in the subtlest of thoughts – practically a whisper.
There in that vulnerable live-or-die moment our hearts can say “yes” or “no” to that seed. Desperation was certainly a part of the soil conditions in this woman’s heart but in that critical and vulnerable moment, as this seed was suspended between heaven and earth; between eternity and time, when Satan was posing his doubtful questions to her heart, she separated herself from the many with her simple “yes” to Jesus.
That little seed sown in this woman’s heart, apparently unlike most, was not stolen by the enemy. It blossomed and bore fruit. I imagine this event did not go unnoticed by the multitude’s many who were themselves now seeing and hearing of Jesus. I suspect this event served to scatter new seed and to nurture other seeds He had sown. Others were now poised with their “yes”, prepared to invite this Man, a forgiver, liberator and healer deeper into their lives.
Just how large a plant might this seed ultimately become? Remember the mustard seed ? It became the largest plant in the garden providing safety for many. I believe the dynamic of watching Resurrection Life happen to those saying “yes” to Jesus, attributed, as much as anything to the many entering into the kingdom of God in the first few centuries. Check out; Mark 2:8-11, Eph 6:16, 1 John 5:4,5, Matt 13:31.
I pray that one day soon, in the inevitable expansion of Christ’s kingdom rule, more than just a few will respond to the Sower’s work. I pray there will be a growing and collective “yes” to the continual invitations Jesus is making into His life. In those critical moments when that seed is so vulnerable and we are tempted to agree with satan’s lies, we will instead recognize our complicity with the doubt and unbelief; we will repent and say, “Yes Lord. You are the same yesterday, today and forever. You do still save, heal and deliver!” I believe, In that moment, we will determine whether we will be among the many or the few. It is right then in that instant that we will partner with God in our choice in whether we are to be chosen or just called. In that often overlooked instant is when we shall determine if we will overcome the world and be counted among the blessed few . Check out Matt 2:8
Lord, may sufficient hunger for kingdom reality be birthed in us. May You grant us an acute awareness of our need for You. May it merge with a new resolve in our hearts to agree with You. May we see our faith arise, displacing every lie of the enemy with Your living truth so that Your Name may be glorified and honored in us, (those nurturing that “yes” in our hearts) – the victorious and overcoming children of the Living God. Amen.
by RobertCummins | Nov 24, 2013 | 47. Wholeness
Isaiah 26:1-15
The passage begins with, “In that day this song will be sung ………………” The theme of “forward looking” is not uncommon in scripture as different prophetic voices speak to the events of future days. The day that “that” is referring to here is “that” day when;
“….the Lord of host will prepare a lavish banquet for all peoples on this mountain; a banquet of aged wine, choice pieces with marrow and refined aged wine. And on this mountain He will swallow up the covering which is over all the peoples, even the veil which is stretched over all nations. He will swallow up death for all time, and the Lord God will wipe away tears from all faces, and He will remove the reproach of His people from all the earth; for the Lord has spoken. And it will be said on that day, “Behold, this is our God for whom we have waited; let us rejoice and be glad in His salvation“. (Isaiah 25:6-9)
OK….we know there will be singing in “that” day but what song are we to sing in “this” day, right now? This question might be particularly important if “right now” our hearts do not feel like singing. How do we compose music in our hearts without the gush of inspiration or when our appraisals are inclined to affirm dismal trends? I believe we can move toward an answer by looking at Isaiah 26:3,4;
“The steadfast of mind Thou wilt keep in perfect peace (shalom), because he trust in Thee. Trust in the Lord forever, for in God the Lord, we have an everlasting Rock.”
Back to this future banquet to be held in “that” day. I suppose that as much as anything I desire in this earth it is to attend this banquet. If there is anything that causes me to tremble it is my awareness that many invitations have been sent out for this affair and the RSVP of most indicated regrets that they would not be able to attend due to the engagements they had in this world. It causes me to tremble that some who were en route to the party ran out of oil and were not permitted to enter. And in some cases those who were being invited even killed those delivering the invitations!
I believe we RSVP daily for that banquet in the way we compose our song. It’s relatively easy to write music when circumstances are indicating promising trends but what do we do when we are in pain, or when the stock market crashes, or when the relationship is strained or (fill in the blank)? Here is a great irony and a potentially very encouraging truth; It is in these moments especially that our songs have the potential to become the sweetest of symphonies to the Lord’s ears.
If we will keep our minds and hearts steadfast by rejecting bitterness and resentment and just cast our cares upon Him, our inner conflicts can be transformed into lyrics of longing like those we find in this passage, saying that;
“Indeed, while following the way of Thy judgements, O Lord, we have waited for Thee eagerly; Thy name, even Thy memory, is the desire of our souls. At night my soul longs for Thee, indeed my spirit within me seeks Thee diligently; for when the earth experiences Thy judgements the inhabitants of the world learn righteousness.” (vs. 8,9)
I believe when the lights are brought up in the banqueting hall, there will be a dawning that will reveal that our circumstances and those of the world’s were always being influenced by the judgements of God. By this I mean that at any moment in time, for both individuals and nations, because of His readiness to save, there was redemptive potential hidden by a loving and sovereign Father in all our individual and corporate affairs; especially the painful ones. Some, by faith, will persevere and find themselves at this banquet hosted by the Lord Himself, surrounded by kindred spirits; but for others;
“Oh Lord, Thy hand was lifted up yet they did not see it.”
Father, help us to hear the music within us and discern its Composer. Help us to edit out the filth contributed by the world, our flesh and the devil. Help us to persevere until our lyrics are filled with hope, faith and joy; until the rhythms are in time with the Holy Spirit’s movements; until we hear the harmony created by the unity of Your children’s voices. Thank you that we can say even now that we rejoice and are glad in our salvation. Amen.
by RobertCummins | Nov 23, 2013 | 47. Wholeness
Psalm 23:1-6
As I read; “The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want“, my thinking backtracked to Thursday’s writing, when after some reflection on John 20:19-20, I asked;
What kind of God would lead us into circumstances so heartbreaking and dangerous and then come and say “Peace be with you?” Well…its the same God, who is also called the Prince of Peace who said, “Do not think I came to bring peace on the earth; I did not come to bring peace, but a sword“.
As I was reading this morning’s passage, “the sword” in Hebrew 4:12 also came to mind; “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“.
With my salvation came an understanding that I was no longer my own; that I had been purchased and now belonged to Another. With my salvation also came a spirit that had somehow become awakened to the scriptures. I assumed this was because the new Spirit in me was compatible with the Spirit who inspired those printed words in my bible. All this to say, as His, I gave Him, as best as I knew how, the freedom to use this sword, this Spirit of Truth, in my heart. This process, where the razor edge of truth and reality touch the untrue and darkened places of my heart, is what I have come to think of as “the circumcision that is of the heart, by the Spirit of Truth, that Paul mentions in Romans 2:29.
As I read Psalm 23 this morning it just seemed to invite me to consider how integral the Spirit and the Word have been as the Shepherd has used them in leading me though valleys with long shadows where I thought my soul had died and then into green pastures and quiet waters where my soul has acquired peace.
“I shall not want” is a large statement. I think if we were to sit down and write our “personal history of wanting” it would tell us much. I have come to believe that the sword with its cutting and mending process has had an effect on my wantings. As a young Christian, I began with almost no wants. I was totally happy just knowing I belonged to Him. Somehow over time things changed as I got busier serving the Lord. Wanting began to surface in my prayers, “Oh Lord, I want to please You. Oh Lord, I want a clean heart.” For many years wanting more of God characterized my longings and prayers.
It was just a few years ago, the Lord reminded me of my beginnings with Him that were so simple and free of want. Even now, I look across the page in my bible and see one of the first prayers that ever formed itself in my heart;
“One thing I have asked from the Lord, that I shall seek; that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the Lord, and to meditate in His temple.”
Ironically, at the peak of my religious zeal, I felt close to giving up. I was privately in despair regarding the idea that I might know Christ in a more intimate way. Fortunately, He had heard my prayer and never forgot it. Fortunately He is faithful when we are not. As the scalpel was withdrawn recently, and I began to mend, I noticed that my wanting level had gone way down similar to those days I had known as young believer. I attribute this to the Lord, having cut something away from my heart that was dead but was posing as something alive in the form of a zeal of wanting more of God.
Truth unbalanced can have a radical impact on the formation of our spirits. Even though as a new follower of Christ, I heard Him clearly proclaim His love for me and delight in me; I was simultaneously hearing from the establishment, by way of sermon and song, that my heart was inherently wretched and destined to stray. I was led to participate in somber ceremonies of remembrance and taught to deeply introspect about my fallen and depraved nature. I arose from the biscuit and the thimble, redoubling my commitment to resist my flesh and live for God. If I could create a formula for spiritual despair, this is it.
While it is true that in Adam I am a fallen man; it is truer still that in-Christ, I am a resurected one. Today, when I am tempted to think my heart is primarily wretched, I pretty quickly hear the Lord say that He is delighted in me and that my heart is clean before Him. The advocates of fallen-heart models of introspective-repentance will tremble for my soul because they believe that we must carry our cross of brokenness so that our sin will be ever before us like David. The thinking follows that if we do this He will not take HIs Holy Spirit from us. Their belief system mandates that loosing sight of the fallen nature will lead to heresy and/or unrighteous living. While this type of spirituality might look impressive, it only produces Pharisees and anxious saints who have not yet learned to rest in the finished work of the cross.
Many saints are rediscovering the identities God desired to impart to them at their rebirth. They have not lost sight of the reality that their fallen natures can be stimulated by sin but they have learned that introspection and doubling down on commitment is a trap. Instead of fearing and honoring the power of their fallenness, they are learning that a deeper Truth resides within them. They are discovering that Christ, the resurrected One is resident within them with HIs kingdom and that He alone is the hope of any glory and light that their life might produce. They are celebrating the fact that they are brand new creatures in Christ and that this is a far superior reality, when they learn to rest in it, than their depravity.
Father, as our hearts are awakened to the fulness of our salvation may we cast off our sackcloth and ashes. May we fill our lamps with oil and dress ourselves for the celebration feast that is set before us even now. May our lamps be continually full of oil and grow brightly with the joyful radiance of new life as we make our way triumphantly to that ultimate affair; the Marriage Supper of Your Lamb. May it never escape the notice of our hearts that we are not just guests at the feast; rather we are Your Bride. Consummate Your love in our hearts that we may glow with a holy fire. May this dying world see us as our heads are rested upon Your breast. Amen.
by RobertCummins | Nov 22, 2013 | 47. Wholeness
John 14:25-31
A few years ago I became acquainted with a marvel of creation called a carbon nanotube (CNT). This incredibly strong and incredibly small carbon molecule will radically alter the properties of other materials if and when they are introduced into them. But, as I have followed the story of CNT’s, I have watched the industries that will one day be dramatically effected by this technology demonstrate a peculiar indifference. “Yes”, they say, “We are aware that nano tubes exist and that they are truly amazing, but …until you demonstrate this to us on a very large scale, we are not going to divert our attention from what we are doing. We won’t invest our resources because we are content with the properties of the materials currently available to us. We are familiar with them and we are tooled-up to use them.”
It occurs to me that “peace” is quite a lot like a nano tube. Peace comes from the Hebrew word “shalom”. The meaning of this word is much bigger than our efficient english language conveys. It can best be translated as prosperity, tranquility, well-being, safety and security according to Jim Branch, the Blue Book’s author. He also says that our word “wholeness” is the closest word in our language to shalom.
Before Jesus ascended he said, Peace (or wholeness) I leave with you; My wholeness I give to you..so do not be troubled or fearful“. Wholeness of the type that Jesus has left us is like a nanotube in that it too is incredibly powerful and overlooked. Christians know it exists because the bible has told us so. We know it will radically alter lives and society if and when it is introduced, but we have never seen it on a broad scale, so we are not going to slow down to examine or invest much in something that seems to exist mostly in theory. Anyway, we are used to functioning without prosperity, tranquility, well-being, safety and security. We are so used to our lack of wholeness, we are not going to divert our attention from the ways we have tooled-up to cope and manage our lives.
However, just as there are innovators and early adopters in the realm of science and industry who make discoveries that change the world, there are also pioneers of this sort within the body of Christ. They are those who have not only read the bible and made profession of its truth; they have also determined that those truths were meant to be experienced and are giving themselves to that enterprise. In the same way the stock of the innovating nanotube companies are currently overlooked, I believe the kingdom of God, with its righteousness, SHALOM and joy is also overlooked and dramatically undervalued.
We know that His kingdom is an eternal realm. We know that it is within us. We know that its government will increase. But still, in spite of these things, many believe the kingdom is out of reach for man in his depraved condition therefore when we pray, “Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done“, we see the kingdom as a then rather than a now possibility. Because we are so preoccupied with our fallen natures, I think we believe the kingdom will have to be built by men after they have received their glorified bodies.
I am no theologian or scholar. I am just an investor with some “talents” I have been entrusted with. I am betting my talents that Jesus is a valiant warrior, a jealous lover and a benevolant, determined and loving Monarch who will see His Bride, the Church be glorified in this earth. I believe as the Church reevaluates herself through the lens of a now-kingdom of God, she will rediscover her royal identity, her inheritance and her destiny as the light of this world.
Even now as we are confronted with the unlikelyhood and seeming impossibility of God’s kingdom overthrowing the kingdoms of this earth, we can have the peace Jesus left us because;
“The Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father has sent in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all that I said to you.”
Father, may those of us who have buried our talents dig them back up again and reinvest them by faith into Your now-kingdom. Help us to realize Christ in us, the hope of glory. Help us to discover the resurrected life of Christ in us today. Help us to see ourselves as the new creations in Christ that we are. Raise up a new generation of kingdom innovators and early adopters who can help us to scale-up the righteousness, peace and joy of your kingdom so that the majesty of Your name would be acknowledged. Amen.
by RobertCummins | Nov 21, 2013 | 47. Wholeness
John 20:19-31
Once again Jesus just materializes in their midst! I wonder if they got used to His unannounced and sudden appearances. Or, perhaps some of them, whose hearts had stopped thought, “Man! I wish He wouldn’t do that! I could picture Jesus smiling, knowing perfectly well what they were thinking, saying, “Peace be with you“. He is on record as wanting peace in our hearts but an observation about Jesus I have, that seems like a contradiction, is that He is a disrupter. Things do not remain the same when He is present. This passage highlights that truth.
The disciples were, as far as we know, gainfully employed three years ago, minding their own business, hoping that the Messiah would come and redeem Israel. Each day for them looked pretty much like the last one. But, for the past three years each day had unfolded as a surprising adventure. Whether they realized it or not is doubtful but they were daily privileged to see what God the Father was like and how He wanted to relate to mankind. And with the passing of each day confidence was accumulating in their hearts for a new golden age of Judaism where they would have significant opportunities.
But, instead of taking their places in a royal court, this passage finds them in hiding because the One they had hoped would usher in the new era had just been murdered. They had lost their best friend and their highest aspirations. Their dreams were now utterly crushed because the so-called Son of Man was not powerful enough to overcome the Jew’s religious regime or the Roman’s political one. The disciple’s circumstances were utterly barren of hope. The system, as usual, had won. In the unseen realm, Death too was gloating over his most recent victim. And, to make matters worse, if that were possible, their lives were endangered because of their association with a Man, who claimed greater authority than Caesar himself.
I suspect all disciples, not just church attenders, those who have become authentic followers of Christ, have wondered as they surveyed their disrupted lives, “What have I got myself into?!” What kind of God would lead me into circumstances so heartbreaking and dangerous and then come and say, “Peace be with you.? Are you kidding?!” Well…its the same God, who is also called the Prince of Peace who said, “Do not think I came to bring peace on the earth; I did not come to bring peace, but a sword“. He is the same kind of God who says that “he who has lost his life for My sake shall find it“.
Question: I wonder how many people, who, over the years, have invited Jesus into their hearts on the premise that He had a “wonderful plan for their lives” came to a place of total bewilderment as they took stock of their not-so-wonderful circumstances?
In the midst of the disciple’s worst nightmare, Jesus shows up and says, “Peace be with you; as the Father has sent Me, I also send you. Receive the Holy Spirit….Blessed are they who did not see, and yet believed…..these things have been written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing you may have life in His name“.
I see God, as One reserving His right to appear suddenly or to ask us to trust in His presence even when He seems quite absent. Like the disciples, because our view of what He is actually doing is often flawed, He must come and disrupt our peace and even break our hearts if need be in order to rescue us from any misplaced expectations and affections. In His loving sovereignty, He comes and says, “Peace be with you. As you are working your salvation out in the midst of various trials go out and, as a herald of peace, BE the good news – let your light shine before men by trusting in My presence, acknowledging that the world-system will not prevail and that neither death nor trials will have the last word. It will be you, whose story I am writing in the presence of an unbelieving world, which will be read so that others may see and believe that I am the Christ and they too will find life in My name.
Father, do what You must to adjust our vision to see the world through the lens of Your kingdom. In the midst of our circumstances, whatever they may be, help us to glorify You by living in a supernatural realm of peace and joy and love. For Your name’s sake. Amen.
