1 Peter 2: 16
16Live as free men, but do not use your freedom as a cover-up for evil; live as servants of God.
“They were on their way up to Jerusalem, with Jesus leading the way, and the disciples were astonished, while those who followed were afraid. Again he took the Twelve aside and told them what was going to happen to him. 33“We are going up to Jerusalem,” he said, “and the Son of Man will be betrayed to the chief priests and teachers of the law. They will condemn him to death and will hand him over to the Gentiles, 34who will mock him and spit on him, flog him and kill him. Three days later he will rise.” Mark 10:32-34
A phrase oft repeated in Mark’s Gospel is “on their way.” There is an unmistakable movement in this Gospel. The geography and place names are not just window-dressing for the story. Jesus is really going somewhere and the destination is part of his vital mission. Here in this verse Jesus is going “up to Jerusalem.” This is the key essential destination for Christ. This trip to Jerusalem is the reason why Christ was born.
We also notice that the direction is going up. While we don’t notice the topography of Judea, the writers of Scriptures knew Jerusalem was on higher elevation.
Why were the disciples astonished and the followers of Jesus afraid?
Both responses may have been related to the previous encounter Jesus had with the rich young man, who sadly turned away from following Jesus, because of his wealth. Upon seeing the impossible task of pleasing God on our own, the disciples may have been astonished, and some even afraid.
Another explanation is that the astonishment came with the direction of the journey. In Mark 8:31, while they were in Caesarea Philippi, Jesus told them he would “suffer many things and be rejected by elders, chief priests, and teachers of the law and that he must be killed and after three days rise again.”
Peter, remember, tried to talk Jesus out of this. Peter did not understand that this was the whole purpose of Jesus life. He was going to suffer and die.
The glory of Christ is the Cross. His inauguration and coronation of his kingly rule is his passion. His crown is not the jeweled crown of a monarch, but a crown of thorns. The Roman soldiers did mock Jesus as he foretold. Each aspect of his kingliness was mocked and ridiculed. His throne was to be the rough hewn timbers of a Roman execution. But the mockery of men is the wisdom of God. The way of suffering by the Servant, was the way of his triumph over all his enemies, so that even death was conquered- in three days he rose again.
In pagan lands, far and near, there are ancient customs of dealing with death. In Latin America, there is a festival of the dead, where people dress up in costumes to disguise themselves from the deceased spirits. They believe if they make fun of death, then death will not bother them. There is in these cultures a strong emphasis on death, because they do not have the hope we have in Christ’s Resurrection. As the light of the Gospel loses its grip on our culture, I see the same emphasis upon death. Just look at the amount of decoration and seemingly harmless fun people engage in around Halloween. We see more decorations than on any other holiday and it’s all about death, sorcery and evil. Are we are not moving towards a neo-paganism with the kind of things we see today? As believers in the risen Savior we are moving in a different direction than the rest of the world. The world tries to deal with death by making fun of it. Jesus conquered it and broke its power and those in Christ live in the freedom of that triumph. There is in the Eastern Orthodox Church a tradition known as the Easter laugh. Christians can laugh in joy about Christ’s redemptive victory over sin and death. But, we don’t laugh with the world that lies in the grip of the fear of death and the darkness of sin.
Thursday, October 29, 2009
Monday, October 19, 2009
True Worship
“Guard your steps when you go to the house of God.” Ecc.5:1
God centered worship is aimed at the satisfaction of God – the One to whom all worship is due. Man centered worship is aimed at the satisfaction of the worshipper.
In the Bible we find that Canaanite worship of Baal was extremely engaging of the passions and the emotions so that the individual would always come away with a satisfying experience. Today, our culture defines worship according to the old pattern of the Canaanites. Baal worship is making a comeback under the new guise of freedom.
What is true worship? Biblical worship engages the whole person, heart, mind and body in a God-mandated, God-directed form for the corporate display of praise and satisfaction of our Triune God who is revealed as the Father who loves us, the Son who died for us, and the Spirit who fills us.
Weekly corporate worship of the called out ones (the church) is not optional, but the mark and vital sign of true authentic faith. We can no more absent ourselves from worship than we can cut off the vital beating of our heart or refrain from breathing. “You are not our own, you have been bought at a price…” (1 Cor. 6:19). Daily communion with God is always the daily supplement to the weekly essential sustenance of our souls.
God centered worship is aimed at the satisfaction of God – the One to whom all worship is due. Man centered worship is aimed at the satisfaction of the worshipper.
In the Bible we find that Canaanite worship of Baal was extremely engaging of the passions and the emotions so that the individual would always come away with a satisfying experience. Today, our culture defines worship according to the old pattern of the Canaanites. Baal worship is making a comeback under the new guise of freedom.
What is true worship? Biblical worship engages the whole person, heart, mind and body in a God-mandated, God-directed form for the corporate display of praise and satisfaction of our Triune God who is revealed as the Father who loves us, the Son who died for us, and the Spirit who fills us.
Weekly corporate worship of the called out ones (the church) is not optional, but the mark and vital sign of true authentic faith. We can no more absent ourselves from worship than we can cut off the vital beating of our heart or refrain from breathing. “You are not our own, you have been bought at a price…” (1 Cor. 6:19). Daily communion with God is always the daily supplement to the weekly essential sustenance of our souls.
Wednesday, October 14, 2009
Young Calvin
John was just 24 years old when he wrote a preface to a French translation of the New Testament by his cousin Olivetan. Such work was illegal at the time and considered heresy by the Church of Rome and treason by the State. Calvin makes no apology about the necessity of the Bible - which for him is the message of the Gospel.
“Without the Gospel, we do not know what God requires of us or forbids us to do; we cannot distinguish good from evil, light from darkness, or the commandments of God from the institutions of men. Without the Gospel we are all helpless and ineffectual; without the Gospel we are not Christians.” From the second preface of the French Bible translated by Olivetan
Go young Calvin!
“Without the Gospel, we do not know what God requires of us or forbids us to do; we cannot distinguish good from evil, light from darkness, or the commandments of God from the institutions of men. Without the Gospel we are all helpless and ineffectual; without the Gospel we are not Christians.” From the second preface of the French Bible translated by Olivetan
Go young Calvin!
Thursday, October 1, 2009
Samoan Tsunami
Isaiah 42:12 (KJV)
Let them give glory unto the Lord, and declare his praise in the islands.
The Samoan Islands were hit Tuesday by a large tsunami triggered by an earthquake centered between the islands of Samoa and Tonga. Apia is the main island of Samoa, an independent island nation, which is the burial place and former home of Robert Louis Stevenson, who wrote the classic Treasure Island. The islands of American Samoa, a territory of the U.S., are a beautiful group of islands where the largest concentration of people lives on the main island. Pago Pago (pronounced Pango Pango) is on the main harbor overlooking beautiful Rainmaker Mountain and served as a naval port during the Second World War.
I have a special interest in this place, because I lived there for 6 weeks while on a short term mission back in my college days. The history of missions in this part of the world is inspiring and a testimony of the power of the gospel to transform lives and whole nations. Like most Polynesians, the Samoans were fierce, warring cannibals. Men like John Williams, John Paton and a host of other Presbyterian and Congregational missionaries brought the gospel to this region of the world. Many paid with their lives or the cost of their families. In one decade of missions in the 19th Century Samoa would bow to the Sovereign rights of Jesus Christ. It became one of the most Christianized nations ever in history. Every village had a church and Sabbath observance was strictly and joyfully enforced. Today, many Samoan men end up playing NFL football in this country, because of their legendary size. The sport of choice in the islands is Cricket; one of the influences still seen from British missions.
The city of Pago Pago which is the home of Starkist Tuna, was badly damaged, as well as many villages. The island is essentially the top of a mountain and so most villages surround the island along the coast. We still don’t know the numbers who have perished. Pray for these dear people. Pray for a renewal of the Christian church, which because of nominalism (Christian in name only) and the advancements of cults (Mormons have built a temple there) there is a great need for the Gospel to be proclaimed in power and in Biblical faithfulness. Pray for a Tsunami of God’s power and truth to claim this part of the world as in olden days.
Let them give glory unto the Lord, and declare his praise in the islands.
The Samoan Islands were hit Tuesday by a large tsunami triggered by an earthquake centered between the islands of Samoa and Tonga. Apia is the main island of Samoa, an independent island nation, which is the burial place and former home of Robert Louis Stevenson, who wrote the classic Treasure Island. The islands of American Samoa, a territory of the U.S., are a beautiful group of islands where the largest concentration of people lives on the main island. Pago Pago (pronounced Pango Pango) is on the main harbor overlooking beautiful Rainmaker Mountain and served as a naval port during the Second World War.
I have a special interest in this place, because I lived there for 6 weeks while on a short term mission back in my college days. The history of missions in this part of the world is inspiring and a testimony of the power of the gospel to transform lives and whole nations. Like most Polynesians, the Samoans were fierce, warring cannibals. Men like John Williams, John Paton and a host of other Presbyterian and Congregational missionaries brought the gospel to this region of the world. Many paid with their lives or the cost of their families. In one decade of missions in the 19th Century Samoa would bow to the Sovereign rights of Jesus Christ. It became one of the most Christianized nations ever in history. Every village had a church and Sabbath observance was strictly and joyfully enforced. Today, many Samoan men end up playing NFL football in this country, because of their legendary size. The sport of choice in the islands is Cricket; one of the influences still seen from British missions.
The city of Pago Pago which is the home of Starkist Tuna, was badly damaged, as well as many villages. The island is essentially the top of a mountain and so most villages surround the island along the coast. We still don’t know the numbers who have perished. Pray for these dear people. Pray for a renewal of the Christian church, which because of nominalism (Christian in name only) and the advancements of cults (Mormons have built a temple there) there is a great need for the Gospel to be proclaimed in power and in Biblical faithfulness. Pray for a Tsunami of God’s power and truth to claim this part of the world as in olden days.
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