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Posted in Different Scriptures, Different Thoughts, Uncategorized

Live Long & Prosper (part 4)

Posted on by Wick

It’s not simply sitting down to eat once in a while, smiling at how quaint these other generations are. It’s recognizing that we are not whole without them! We are called the “Body of Christ” collectively, not as individuals.

Titus chapter 2 verses 2 through 8 give us a great breakdown, admonishing older men, older woman, younger men, and younger women to live as part of one community. That together, united in Christ, they form the Body of which Christ is Lord, the head.

Romans 12:4-5 remind us: “Just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, so in Christ we who are many form one body, and each member belongs to all the others.”

When one member of the body of Christ pulls away, it’s not simply that member that is impacted by the distance from a covenant community. It’s the entire body, because we are no longer whole. In the same way, we don’t look at a member of our body that is suffering or experiencing brokenness and think less of them than ourselves. We see them as a part of our collective whole, and want to do whatever we can to help bring healing and wholeness to the body.

Are we beginning to see why saying “Honor your father and mother.” to the 7 year olds is missing out on a lot of what God is saying here?

The covenant as described in these verses has 3 primary aspects:

1. So that you may live long. – We’ve talked about how this is an obvious effect of a community that treasures and cares for it’s elders. We’ve also noted that this isn’t simply talking about Canaan – as part of the law fulfilled in Christ, this is pointing us to living long forever with Christ after we’ve experienced the transformation of resurrection!

2. That it may go well with you. – This comes from the reading of the same commandment in Deuteronomy 5:16, and Ephesians 6:2. This doesn’t mean that we’ll experience comfort and all the pleasures of this world – as some would love God to prosper them. Rather, it talks about this being “right” or “good”. This connects closely to what we would call the “right-ness” or “righteousness” of God. When we live in these ways, as Deuteronomy points out with several of the commandments, this is “right”. It may actually get us persecuted, as many in the New Testament and even today found out. But standing up and living differently than the world, according to the ways God has revealed to be our design, is always right, satisfying, and fulfilling. And when God returns to reveal His Kingdom completely, those who are living this way will find a very pleasant transition into the promised New Creation.

Which leads us to our final aspect of God’s covenant here, as we live as people who honor their father and mother:

3. In the Land the Lord your God is giving you. – We talked about how this is sooo much more than Canaan, the land flowing with milk and honey; and not a drop less. This also points to the inheritance of sharing in New Creation with Christ after receiving our resurrection bodies. This is a land that even those who are currently in Paradise with Christ look forward to, all of Heaven and Earth made new and joined together as never before.

Just as the people of God, receiving God’s word from Moses had a choice in how to respond – so do we. Over the rest of the Old Testament, we see there were times they trusted him, and lived according to His ways. Then there were times they chose their own way, and things did not go well.

We are called by God to announce a new way of living has been opened up to us! This is the promise and event we celebrate at Easter, and every Sunday throughout the year! The resurrection of Jesus declares Him as Lord over all creation, and through faith in Him we share in the inheritance and covenant of Abraham, and all of his descendants after him. We can be free from ourselves.

We can be free from the brokenness of sinful lives, and having our lives ruled by the impact of the sins of others. “Honor your father and mother” is just the beginning, and an exciting one when we realize it’s not a rule to be followed – it’s the offer of a life and community transformation.

Do you desire to be transformed? Are you willing to let go of choosing your own way, and follow His? Will you carry the covenant of God into a world, bringing with you the healing power of Jesus Christ???
I encourage you to make this your testimony. That you are accepting God’s covenant. That you will not simply follow His rules, but you want your entire mind and heart to be transformed by the presence of His Spirit. Be prepared, it may not be an easy road, but it WILL go well with you….

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12 days is fast.

Posted on by Wick

On the way to Vegas last month, I read an interesting article on fasting that stirred a desire in me to try a long-term fast. It seemed appropriate that my goal be 40 days, given the season of Lent, and so I would eat my last meal Feb. 27th, and fast until Easter. I’ll confess, it wasn’t a remarkably “spiritual” article, but a health and human body type focus. My fast began partially as an experiment to see what would happen to my body, and what God could do if I offered Him this exercise in self-control.

I ate nothing, drinking only water, and boy was I thirsty. 🙂 As many say, the first 3-4 days were tough, as my “hunger” faded. What most don’t say after that, however, is the amazing amount of appetite that remains. I didn’t want to give up routines, or being a good father/husband. So I would still help prepare/clean up meals, and being close to food was increasingly tough. The hardest times were when I attended a youth pizza party, catered meal, or went out to a sit-down restaurant….which seemed to happen more in these days than the previous year combined. 🙂

My energy levels remained fairly consistent. I still did pretty much everything the same, minus heading to bed early the first few nights. On day 6, I did allow myself to take communion at church. The small piece of bread tasted amazing, and the juice was sweeter than ever! I felt cleaned out and healthy, and after a week even felt a bit more alert than usual. But as time went on, the impact became more and more pronounced.

Toward the end of my 12th day, I made the decision to move toward food again. I say “move toward”, because after 12 days of not eating, the stomach isn’t ready for a bacon-cheeseburger. I ate a little spinach and carrots, and because it was my wife’s b-day party, a few crackers with cheese-ball, and couple bites of her cake. (I paid for eating that cheese-ball a bit. 🙂 )

I had lost 22 pounds in 12 days, which seemed a bit unhealthy, thanks to my high metabolism. My pants were sliding off, and people were asking me what I was doing to lose weight. It was hard to sit with my family, and still feel like I wasn’t quite “with them”, since as my 5 year old was saying, “Daddy doesn’t eat anymore.” My wife found out she was allergic to gluten, and was baking all sorts of new dishes – I could tell it was hard for her to not get any of my thoughts on this new menu for our home. I’d begun wearing socks at night, due to my feet being bricks of ice. The blood-flow had slowed to the point that even in the afternoon, my hands felt like cold fish. I could go on with more reasons, but don’t need to. The point is, I decided to stop. 🙂

I definitely recommend a fast of 1, 3, 5, or even 10 days. It’s right there with prayer in the Bible, but somehow we’ve let it go as something beneficial and God-given – not just for our spiritual, but our physical lives.

During this time, I gained a lot (except weight). I was reminded to have control of my appetites, since we live in a culture that goes way beyond satisfying hunger. We often “eat until we are full”, both literally and figuratively. I discovered fasting is not a magic spell to force God’s hand, but it does make it easier to get through the wall of “me” in my prayer life. I was even taught that perhaps the humility of choosing to stop, even though I’d told those who asked I was going to try 40 days – was good for my soul. Fasting is, after all, about letting go of self, not asserting self’s desire to succeed.

On a side note: This is best darned Naked Juice I’ve ever had. 🙂

Posted in Different Scriptures, Uncategorized

intro to a covenant reminder…

Posted on by Wick

(My sermon this past week began with this story, leading to God reaffirming his covenant with Abraham.)

“He was 99 years old. He’d had a rough day, and needed a laugh. His son was turning 13, and becoming a man. Abram could hear people whispering at the celebration. There was talk of this being an illegitimate son. Every year at this time, the memories returned. Memories of his servant Hagar, and the shame of knowing what he’d done. How she’d gotten pregnant, and ran away. But mostly, the curious things she said when she came back.

An angel had said to her “I will so greatly multiply your offspring that they cannot be counted for multitude.” She made sure Abram had heard that much, and he felt odd.

For 25 years now, God had been speaking to him. Speaking about covenant. Saying that he will bless Abram, and make his family a great nation. That through his family, all the families of earth would be blessed. That his descendants would be given all that God had made, and be so numerous they could not be counted, as the stars are in the sky.

Sure, there was a warning about a period of time where his descendants would be aliens in a land not their own. They would be slaves, even, for 400 years. But God was to bring them out with great possessions, and return to the land as God promised.

Sometimes, after dinner, his eyes would meet Sarai’s. He’d been sharing with her what God had been saying. She would smile, saying a thousand words in a simple grin. Her gentle demeanor always made him smile. She was truly a wife worth a thousand rubies. Somehow, God had chosen him, and together, they shared this promise of God.

He hasn’t seen that grin in over 13 years. Sure, they were still married. But her eyes had changed. He wished things had happened differently. She was an amazing woman, raising this boy as her own. But surely, this wasn’t what God had in mind, was it?

Was this boy really the beginning of God’s promise? He hadn’t heard from the voice of the Lord since it was spoken in promise to his slave-girl, Ishmael’s mother. Over 13 years, and he still couldn’t forget the tears welling up in Sarai’s eyes when she heard from the slave-girl. Humbled by God’s promise to make the girl fruitful, while Sarai continued barren.

Like I said, he was 99, and was in need of a laugh. Little did he know what God had in store…”

To hear what happened next, check out Genesis chapter 17, verses 1-7 and 15-16!