Mar 6:11 MKJV
(11) And whoever shall not receive you, nor hear you, when you depart from there, shake off the dust under your feet for a testimony against them.
What a confusing custom! I've read this verse many times, but today, I 'landed' on it. Does that happen to you? For some reason, all of a sudden I'm suspicious of a verse. It screams of mysterious significance. My first inclination was to start Googling the verse in attempt to find some rabbinic explanation. I really found nothing. The closest I got was 'some rabbis suggest...', or 'apparently this meant...'.
First of all, the Jews used to shake the dust off of their sandals when leaving gentile lands. From that, the custom morphed. Jesus told His followers to do it when they (and their message) were not received by a city.
Praying should always be our first resource. I am still learning that.
Dust is humanity. Man was made of dust. More exactly, dust represents a nation of children of faith (Gen 13:16).
Old Testament prophets were warned that to neglect delivering God's word to a people would result in having the blood of that people upon the prophet's head. But if the word was delivered - whether it was received or not - there would be no guilt on the head of the prophet (Ezekiel 33:6). To shake the dust off one's sandals means that the message has been delivered, and that the messenger does not 'carry' the burden of the people. If the dust of a city resides upon the shoes of the messenger, there is still work to do for that messenger because he still carries the burden of that city.
Shaking the dust off today is very much a stewardship issue. We are given so much time and resource for use in Kingdom work. The Holy Spirit guides us in how much time to spend on a certain person or group before we move on to someone who is receptive. The problem arises when we - in our impatient or judgmental humanity - decide to shake the dust off our sandals when God has not given up yet. We cannot be like Jonah, ministering with a very short (or non-existent) fuse.
Showing posts with label grace. Show all posts
Showing posts with label grace. Show all posts
Tuesday, April 19, 2011
Wednesday, March 30, 2011
Grace, the Great Accelerator
Growing up, I often heard "Thank goodness we aren't under the Law!" That made sense to me. I didn't like the rules, and I REALLY didn't like the punishments for breaking them. But now that I understand grace a little more, I'm not as sure. Grace demands much. Don't get me wrong. Grace is wonderful and I really would not want to be under the Law. Also... for those who are thinking that grace was always present - even under the Law - I concur. But for the sake of differentiation, I'll refer to the time before Jesus' sacrifice as the 'Law' and the time since then as 'Grace'.
Under the Law, a man was forbidden to commit adultery. He was not, however, prevented from 'mall-watching'. You know.. sitting at the mall and watching all the fine ladies walk by. As a kid... I really liked that, to be honest. It was harmless, right? Yes, under the Law. But not so much under Grace.
See, there was no higher standard to meet under the Law. No touch, no foul. Except that's really not so. God was unable to instill a 'perfecting' into His people under that system. The result? Those poor mall-watching Israelites in their Sinai camp spent 40 years just reaching their Promised Land (13 miles away). Nor did they learn how to worship with fervor until King David, hundreds of years later! Progress is slow when all you do is meet requirements (just examine your latest job performance review).
Grace is an accelerator. It prods us to "be perfect, even as our Father in Heaven is perfect." (Matt 5:48) As we are perfected, we are entrusted. We are moved to greater heights of stewardship and responsibility in the Kingdom. Have you reached 'perfect' yet? Me either! But that's the beauty of grace! Failure doesn't disqualify us from pressing on! Perfection is a process... not simply a state of being.
Under the Law, a man was forbidden to commit adultery. He was not, however, prevented from 'mall-watching'. You know.. sitting at the mall and watching all the fine ladies walk by. As a kid... I really liked that, to be honest. It was harmless, right? Yes, under the Law. But not so much under Grace.
See, there was no higher standard to meet under the Law. No touch, no foul. Except that's really not so. God was unable to instill a 'perfecting' into His people under that system. The result? Those poor mall-watching Israelites in their Sinai camp spent 40 years just reaching their Promised Land (13 miles away). Nor did they learn how to worship with fervor until King David, hundreds of years later! Progress is slow when all you do is meet requirements (just examine your latest job performance review).
Grace is an accelerator. It prods us to "be perfect, even as our Father in Heaven is perfect." (Matt 5:48) As we are perfected, we are entrusted. We are moved to greater heights of stewardship and responsibility in the Kingdom. Have you reached 'perfect' yet? Me either! But that's the beauty of grace! Failure doesn't disqualify us from pressing on! Perfection is a process... not simply a state of being.
Friday, August 13, 2010
Climbing the Wrong Ladder
If you are stepping on others in order to climb a ladder of self-promotion, then you are forfeiting grace as it would otherwise apply to you in that area of your life. We know that scripture says the Lord promotes a person:
Psa 75:6-7 MKJV
(6) For lifting up comes neither from the east, nor from the west, nor from the south.
(7) But God is the judge; He puts down one and sets up another.
If you climb into a prominent position by illegitimate means, you have not done so by circumventing God's will. You have done so by His allowance, and by your chosen path have removed yourself from the safety net of His grace.
This might be akin to jettisoning the parachute on your dragster in order to lighten your load and to win the race. You cross the finish line first, but then crash and burn because you have no means to stop. Rely on God for promotion - His discretion - His timing - His will.
Psa 75:6-7 MKJV
(6) For lifting up comes neither from the east, nor from the west, nor from the south.
(7) But God is the judge; He puts down one and sets up another.
If you climb into a prominent position by illegitimate means, you have not done so by circumventing God's will. You have done so by His allowance, and by your chosen path have removed yourself from the safety net of His grace.
This might be akin to jettisoning the parachute on your dragster in order to lighten your load and to win the race. You cross the finish line first, but then crash and burn because you have no means to stop. Rely on God for promotion - His discretion - His timing - His will.
Tuesday, May 25, 2010
Don't Be A Chess Piece
Exo 7:13 LITV
(13) And the heart of Pharaoh hardened, and he did not listen to them, as Jehovah had said.
Exo 7:22 And the magicians of Egypt did so by their secret arts. And Pharaoh's heart was hardened, and he did not listen to them, as Jehovah had said.
Exo 8:19 And the priests said to Pharaoh, It is the finger of God. And Pharaoh's heart was hardened, and he did not listen to them, as Jehovah had said.
Exo 13:15 And it happened when Pharaoh hardened himself against sending us away, Jehovah killed every first-born one in the land of Egypt, from the first-born of men even to the first-born of animals. On account of this I sacrifice to Jehovah every one of the males opening the womb, and I redeem every first-born of my sons.
Exo 14:8 And Jehovah hardened Pharaoh king of Egypt's heart. And he pursued the sons of Israel. And the sons of Israel were going out with a high hand.
When we wrestle with God, we do so in a swimming pool of His grace. There are volumes to be written of the grace of God, who allows us chance after chance after chance to choose righteousness. But like with Pharaoh, there is a pattern. Pharaoh had a choice to make - to work with God or against God.
Notice that Pharaoh hardened his own heart against God until the last instance... when it says "Jehovah hardened Pharaoh king of Egypt's heart". You get so many attempts before God allows you to stick with your choice. At that point, God says, "I wanted to use your surrender for my glory, but now I will use your defeat for My glory. You are now a chess piece."
Pharaoh's choices ultimately cost him his son, and later his own corpse washed up on the beach before all his former slaves. This is a typical result of going our own way.
(13) And the heart of Pharaoh hardened, and he did not listen to them, as Jehovah had said.
Exo 7:22 And the magicians of Egypt did so by their secret arts. And Pharaoh's heart was hardened, and he did not listen to them, as Jehovah had said.
Exo 8:19 And the priests said to Pharaoh, It is the finger of God. And Pharaoh's heart was hardened, and he did not listen to them, as Jehovah had said.
Exo 13:15 And it happened when Pharaoh hardened himself against sending us away, Jehovah killed every first-born one in the land of Egypt, from the first-born of men even to the first-born of animals. On account of this I sacrifice to Jehovah every one of the males opening the womb, and I redeem every first-born of my sons.
Exo 14:8 And Jehovah hardened Pharaoh king of Egypt's heart. And he pursued the sons of Israel. And the sons of Israel were going out with a high hand.
When we wrestle with God, we do so in a swimming pool of His grace. There are volumes to be written of the grace of God, who allows us chance after chance after chance to choose righteousness. But like with Pharaoh, there is a pattern. Pharaoh had a choice to make - to work with God or against God.
Notice that Pharaoh hardened his own heart against God until the last instance... when it says "Jehovah hardened Pharaoh king of Egypt's heart". You get so many attempts before God allows you to stick with your choice. At that point, God says, "I wanted to use your surrender for my glory, but now I will use your defeat for My glory. You are now a chess piece."
Pharaoh's choices ultimately cost him his son, and later his own corpse washed up on the beach before all his former slaves. This is a typical result of going our own way.
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