Being the Church

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Anti-Violence in Book of Revelation

Ever wonder why all the violent images are in the book of Revelation? If we believe God is love, how do you make sense of the "blood-bath" that is pictured? Biblical scholar, Greg Boyd gives an eye-opening understanding:

All the violent scenes in Revelation are symbols for the battle of truth and deception.  They never involve literal violence. In fact, they symbolize ANTI-VIOLENCE. The ingenious way John helps us get free of deception of trust in violent power is by taking a standard violent symbol and juxtaposing it with a symbol that undermines its violence and reverses its violent meaning. 

An interesting example of this is when John introduces the mysterious 144,000, which represent the army that fights with the Lamb. They are introduced in Revelation 7: 4: “Then I heard the number of those who were sealed: 144,000 from all the tribes of Israel.” The 144,000 was a well known Jewish symbol of the army that would accompany the Messiah in a violent uprising against Israel’s foes to restore Israel to its place as a sovereign nation. But this image of violence gets turned on its head. 

One example of this is found in Revelation 7:14: “These are they who have come out of the great tribulation; they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.” If you read Revelation literally, you have to wonder how washing a robe in blood could make it white. Taken literally its absurd, but interpreted symbolically its profound because this washing of the robes is a Jewish military metaphor. To be covered with another’s blood rendered you ceremonially unclean, so when Jewish warriors came back from battle covered with the blood of their enemies, they had to go through a purification bathing process before they could reenter society. Instead of washing OFF the blood of foes to become clean, these warriors are made clean by being washed IN blood – and it’s the blood of the one they followed into battle!

Many scholars believe John is not simply saying their sins are washed away by the blood of the lamb, though that is of course true. He is also saying that this army wears white linen because they shared in the blood of the Lamb. They were willing to suffer with Christ.  As it says in chapter 14, this 144,000 was willing to “follow the lamb wherever he goes,” even to the cross. While the standard image of the army of 144,000 following their messiah into battle was based on Babylon’s sword power, John has turned it on its head to communicate slain lamb power — the power of self-sacrificial love.

We are indeed part of an army, but not one that wins by shedding blood: we win by shedding our blood, just as Jesus did.

- See more at: http://reknew.org/2014/03/how-revelation-uses-violent-images-in-an-anti-violent-way/?

Is America God's Favored Nation?

This blog post comes from one of my favorite pastors, Greg Boyd of Woodland Hills Church in St. Paul, MN. Is money a sign of God’s blessing? If so then the more you have the more blessed of God you are. If a church has more money, then more of God’s favor is on it. If a country is wealthy, then we can claim God’s favored status. But is this the way God sees things? In the following, Greg offers a different perspective:
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“Jesus once told a parable about a rich farmer who “yielded an abundant harvest” (Lk 12:16). His crop was so plentiful he didn’t have enough space to store it. After thinking about the matter, the farmer decided he’d simply tear down his barns and build bigger ones to store his surplus food. He could then “[t]ake life easy; eat, drink, and be merry (vss. 16-19). In other words, with his stored-up wealth he could retire and live “the good life.”

I suspect most Western people would have thought the same way. The man frankly seems like nothing more than a good capitalist. What should you do if you receive an unexpected inheritance or win the lottery? Quit work, buy nice stuff, save for the future, and enjoy life. It’s the “American Dream.” It all makes perfect sense (if you’re thinking like a good capitalist). Yet, God called the man a fool (Lk 12:20-21).

Neither the OT nor the NT are against wealth itself. The problem was that this wealthy man was not “right toward God.” He did not submit his wealth to God but instead considered only how he and his family could benefit from his fortunate harvest.

All indications point to the conclusion that most Americans have become entrapped in this view of wealth. Studies have consistently shown that the richer we’ve become, the more we’ve kept for ourselves and the less we’ve given away. This isn’t to say that all Americans are greedy. Many individuals are incredibly generous. But as a nation, we’ve become entrapped by our wealth.

Many people claim that America is a nation uniquely favored by God. We are ‘blessed,’ they say, as is evident from the fact that we have an unprecedented amount of wealth. But consider how we spend enough on entertainment each year to feed all of the hungry people on the planet for a year. Almost two thirds of Americans are overweight, while close to a billion people on earth are malnourished, with 40,000 people dying each day from illnesses related to malnutrition and extreme poverty.

Jesus said, [W] to you who are rich…” And, “Be on your guard against all kinds of greed.”
Perhaps we should be careful about making claims about the favored status of our nation. One could argue that America is a nation positioned to be uniquely judged by God.

We’re conditioned to think that living with as much luxury and convenience as possible—the “American Dream”—is what life is all about. Whatever we may theoretically believe about God, we’re conditioned to find happiness, worth and security in things.

We who are committed to living under the reign of God are called to revolt against the consumer culture and the powers that fuel it. Though Jesus was rich, he made himself poor (2 Cor 8:9).

True joy, peace and wholeness is found in sacrificing for others. This shouldn’t surprise us since we are made in the image of the servant-God who divested himself of his privileged status to identify and sacrificially serve impoverished humanity. We are most fully human, most fully alive, when we reflect this image.”

Who is The Church for?

Too often we act as though the church is a country club; that it is only for the elite, prominent and successful ones in society. Jesus did call successful business people to be part of the church (see Luke 5). He called fisherman to be part of his "ekklesia" to help change the world. Luke follows with three stories that show who else Jesus calls to be part of the church. He reaches out and engages with people who would never be country club material – one is a leper, one a paralytic, and the third a tax collector. The first two Jesus miraculously heals and  word gets out. Crowds appear from all walks of life: needy people, poor people, sick people. And the third one is a "good-for-nothing" tax collector named Levi who invites Jesus to a party he is throwing with his friends.

The religious "country club" members, are disgusted with Jesus. They start saying to His disciples, "Hey, what's Jesus doing inviting them to be part of our club? He's one of us - not them. How dare He!" Ever felt this way about people whom God calls to be part of the Church? What is Jesus' answer? "Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick; I have come to call not the righteous but sinners to repentance." Jesus is saying, "Open your eyes to see that these are the very people I want in my movement. They realize their need for me - sadly you don't".

Country clubs are founded upon the concept of private membership and exclusion of the general public. Churches who ostracize people because of race, gender, sexual orientation, income-level (or any other reason) do not understand Jesus’ mission. Everyone is invited to accept God’s gracious offer to be saved and added to His church. A self-sufficient and satisfied church is only mentioned once in Scripture—the church of Laodicea.  And Jesus wanted to spew that sort of lukewarm church out of His mouth.

Be sure to read the parable of The Life Saving Station as a challenge to stay on mission with Jesus' intent for His Church.

Our Standing in Christ

If you need some encouragement today, take 5 minutes to watch this - The Mind of a Saint

Something's Stirring Within

I had the privilege of attending a LeadWorship workshop this weekend at Lincoln Berean Church (along with Tammy, Joy, and Paula). It was great! Well-known Christian artist and songwriter, Paul Baloche led it. He has written songs such as "Open the Eyes of My Heart", "Hosanna", "Your Name", "Today Is The Day", and "Above All". Here is a link to some of his video songs. Click here

You never know when you attend something like this. Will they try to teach you "how to do it right" or will they kinda show off and make you feel inadequate 'cause your church isn't able to pull off what they are doing? I'm happy to say there was NONE of that. Paul has such a humble, spirit-led, biblical  approach to leading the church in worship. He referenced 1 Chronicles 16:4 which says, "David appointed the following Levites to lead the people in worship before the Ark of the LORD by asking for his blessings and giving thanks and praise to the LORD, the God of Israel". The rest of the chapter is a song of praise that was sung to the Lord.

Paul said that leading worship needs to flow from our relationship with Christ. It is first "ministering to the Lord" before you can minister to others. What he means is that we can't lead others into something we aren't practicing ourselves. Worship at its best is when we do publicly what we've been doing privately. I attended a workshop called, "The Journey of the Song". This was about songwriting and the motivations you might have. If you only want to write in order to get your song published and recorded, probably not going to happen - but instead write a song to help keep your heart connected to God. Also write songs for your local congregation. This is a great way for the community to draw closer together as they are drawn closer to God.

I have to tell you, something within me is definitely stirring. Music is such a powerful way to worship and "minister to the Lord".

New Consequence of Online Porn

I wanted to share this because it continues to have a HUGE impact on both male and female, young and old:

One of the most devastating repercussions of pervasive online porn use by young men is its distorting effects on relationships. Men are finding that "real life" women are not as sexually satisfying to them as digital women. Some women feel pressured to act like porn stars to meet expectations. Damian Thompson, author of The Fix: How Addiction is Invading Our Lives and Taking Over Your World, writes about this 21st century malady:

Some women are finding it increasingly difficult to satisfy men, particularly those under 30. It's not their fault. Short of digitizing themselves, there's no way they could fulfill the needs of their porn-obsessed partners. Why? Because, to put it bluntly, their boyfriends [or husbands] no longer want to have sex with human beings. Their brains have been conditioned by fantasy. Sex with another person can no longer produce the same rush of dopamine and endorphins that [come from looking at online porn]. This is the logical endpoint for both sexes of an addiction to internet pornography ….