Category: General

A temple is a divine dwelling place, the habitation of deity. It’s a special place because God’s awesome. Who wouldn’t want to stop by God’s house, and pay Him a visit every now and then? It sounds nice at first, but there’s a problem lurking here.

Thinking God has a house, a place we can go to be closer to Him, is also thinking that in every other place we’re farther away from Him. If we know where He is, we can get away from Him and keep Him at a distance. That’s a problem.

Fact is, God’s everywhere, all the time. (Ps 139:7) There isn’t any place He isn’t, where we can be any closer to Him or farther away from Him. He’s in our face, and we’re in His, every moment of every day. There’s no place to hide.

The real temple of the living God is the human heart, mind and soul. God dwells within each believer (1Co 6:19), and in a particularly powerful way, though believers united together in Him as a living sacrifice. (1Co 3:16) God doesn’t need, or even want, a house separate from us (Ac 17:24); there’l be no temple in eternity. (Re 21:22)

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God begs us by His mercies to present our bodies (plural) a living sacrifice (singular), holy, acceptable unto Him. (Rom 12:1) This isn’t a call to personal sanctification; it’s a call to a corporate sanctification, one which presumes intense, progressive personal sanctification in every member. It’s our only rational response to God.

To present our bodies as part of a living sacrifice, we must agree with a group of believers to offer ourselves up together to God to do with us as He pleases, totally given over to His will. This presumes that every member is already seeking to fully align themselves with God as individuals.

To discern His will for our particular assembly, we must submit to being transformed by God together (Ro 12:2), resisting the world’s expectation of religion, renewed in a common mind and purpose. (1Co 1:10)

This can only happen if we’re established in community on the foundation: Jesus Christ. We must be meeting together for Jesus, in Jesus, by Jesus and because of Jesus, hearing Jesus and being taught by Jesus in and through each other (Ep 4:21), in order to help each other know Jesus and walk with Jesus. (Php 3:10) In doing so we become a dwelling, a residence of the living God, as He incarnates Himself anew, to tabernacle on Earth again in and through us. (2Co 6:16) Nothing else will do.

Because this life of God is so amazing, beautiful and powerful (1Co 14:25), religion inevitably tries to imitate it, but only God can build His church (Mt 16:18), the tangible expression of His Being (Eph 5:30), unleashing His power to do His will, uniquely for His glory.

If you ever find Him doing this again, this side of Heaven, what would you not give, my dear soul, to taste Him there?

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Baptism is a basic concept of the Christian faith (He 6:1-2); evidently rooted in God’s instruction for the unclean to bathe when becoming ritually clean. (Nu 19:19)

In an outward physical way, ritual submersion in water naturally symbolizes the inward cleansing and healing of the mind, heart and spirit from the defilement of sin (Ep 5:27), such as in the instant of justification (Ac 8:36-37), as well as any major paradigm shift that occurs when rejecting an old life pattern and embracing a new one (1Co 10:1-2), or finding a break through in our pursuit of holiness. (He 10:22) As we’re freed from the pollutions of the world (2Pe_2:20) and the bondage of sin (Mk 1:4), baptism is an organic expression of spiritual reality, as we gratefully acknowledge God’s work in our souls. (1Pe 3:21)

Confusion enters as we try to imagine Christ launching a new religion (Jn 3:10), displacing Torah and giving us “an ordinance of the Christian church,” a rite to distinguish Christianity from all that came before. This isn’t Christ’s intent. (Mt 5:17)

In decoupling the Faith from Torah (Jud 1:3), taking it out of context, we pervert it. (Jn 4:22) Claiming sacramental power in what God intended to symbolize metaphysical transformation (Tit 3:5), twists ritual washing into something His early Apostles, orthodox Jews, would never recognize. (Ac 21:20)

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Why does God send others to do His work? (Jn_20:21) Infinite in knowledge, wisdom and power (Ps 147:5), He’s so much better at it than anyone else could possibly be.

The very fact that an infinite, omnipotent Being inhabiting eternity has left something undone in time is itself a bit of a mystery; we’re in the midst of unfolding, spectacular drama, and things are a bit messy at the moment … but He’s already at the end of time, enjoying the completion of all things. (Heb 4:3)

He’s evidently more interested in how things get done than in actually getting them done, pleased to do things slowly, through weakness (2Co 12:9), incognito, unobserved and undetected (Jn 1:10), transforming His own as He works in and through us. (Php 2:13) It’s His way of revealing Himself, in tangible ways we can apprehend. (Ro 9:22-23)

God sends us into life to live every moment for Him, bidding us to live in His name. (Col 3:17) Whether we’re setting captives free, moving mountains, or wrapping His loving arms around the helpless, being a vehicle of the Almighty for absolutely anything He wants to do is an indescribable privilege. It’s all the same to Him.

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To be offended is to feel upset, annoyed, and/or resentful at what is perceived to be a personal attack against our dignity or deeply held beliefs. It’s an inherently moral posture which perceives another’s ideas or attitudes a threat to our emotional well being.

Being unnerved by an opposing idea, or feeling threatened by another’s opinion, reflects a weakness in the inner man, a shallowness, a lack of grounding in truth and love. (Ep 3:16-19) It’s a desperate cover for emptiness, ignorance and darkness. (Ep 4:17-18)

Those who delight in God’s Law are never offended (Ps 119:165), but shine as lights in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation (Php 2:15), always ready to share their hope in Christ. (1Pe 3:15)

The wise comfortably and thoughtfully consider opposing ideas (Pr 1:5), and humbly grow from legitimate accusation. (Pr 17:10) They gladly incorporate truth, whatever it happens to be (Pr 9:9), without feeling intimidated or threatened (Ps 119:22), counting man’s judgement a very small thing (1Co 4:3) and shaking off every false way as they continue their journey rejoicing in God.

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It is commonly understood that Christ instituted a new ritual, the Lord’s Supper, partaking of bread and wine representing His body and blood, as a sacrament or ordinance of the Church. A very basic problem with this claim is that Christ never actually does any such thing, and neither do any of His apostles.

What Christ does, during that last Passover meal with His disciples, is explain that two of the key elements of Passover, the affikomen and the cup of blessing (or redemption) (1Co 10:16), represent His body and blood. He tells us that as often as we partake of these particular elements (Lk 22:19-20), contained in Jehovah’s Passover celebration, we show His death until He returns. (1Co 11:26) He never even hints at starting something new.

Paul affirms this by referring to Passover as the Lord’s Supper (1Co 11:20, 23-25), identifying the Communion elements in this way. As Scripture offers no other means to sanctify any particular set of elements as representative of Christ before God, any attempt to decouple them from Passover implies flagrant presumption; it can’t actually be done.

The modern concept of the Eucharist didn’t exist in the time of the Apostles; it evolved nearly a century later, a product of that awkward and painful era in which Gentile Christians were desperately trying to distance themselves from Judaism in order to avoid severe Roman taxation and persecution. Anything that might be used to identify believers as Jewish had to go: circumcision, the Sabbath, as well as God’s feasts and dietary laws. It was during this time that Christian theologies emerged claiming the abolition of Mosaic Law, separating us from this delightful treasure, contradicting Christ’s direct command  (Mt 5:17-19), and the original Apostolic witness. (Ac 21:24)

Jesus Christ didn’t start a new meal or ritual for the Church; what He did was deepen our understanding of an old one, and encourage us to enjoy Him in it: He’s our Passover. (1Co 5:7-8)

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Pursuing God is like running in a marathon where almost everyone is ignoring the course design and making up their own finish line. It’s an altogether unique dynamic: most running alongside us aren’t actually in the race, and there’s ultimately no sure way to tell who is. Finishing well requires knowing the correct destination, constantly focusing on reaching it ourselves (Php 3:13-14), encouraging others to come with us (He 3:13), and ignoring the pull of those who’d turn us out of the way. (1Ti 6:3-5)

Every spiritual question isn’t a good one; every religious topic isn’t a profitable one. Many call us to follow as they suddenly turn down a side street or head off into the woods. God hints at this when He exhorts us to avoid unprofitable topics (2Ti 2:14), and foolish, ignorant questions. (2Ti_2:23)

Discerning what’s profitable and worthwhile in our pursuit of God, where we should be spending our time and energy, requires clarity in God’s purpose for us: that we walk in love, holiness, and faith. (1Ti 1:5) Our objective is to know Him and please Him (Php 3:10), to be found in Him (Php 3:9), and to be like Him. (Php 3:11)

An infinite number of appealing distractions are offered us, so we must constantly be asking, “How will this help us know God, please Him, and be more like Him?” If it doesn’t line up with God’s purpose, then it’s ultimately wasting time … our most precious resource.

When we neglect to ponder the path of our feet, maintaining our orientation in light of our destination, we can easily find ourselves off course. At that point, it really doesn’t matter how fast we’re running, or how hard we’re trying … until we’re back in God’s race it’s all for naught. (1Co 3:15)

Let’s run with purpose (1Co 9:26); let’s run with deliberation. (Php 3:15) Let’s run to win (1Co 9:24) … to win Him. (Php 3:8)

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In the wake of Hurricane Irma, as we pack up and head back down to our home in Jacksonville, FL to survey the damage, I’m reminded God has a purpose in everything, even in storms. (Na 1:3) He’s in absolute control of all things at all times, and every detail fits perfectly into His eternal plan.

We know this instinctively (Ro 1:20), that God controls Nature and Man, inevitably asking “Why?” whenever trouble comes.

But God doesn’t owe us any explanation, and generally doesn’t condescend to explain Himself to us. What He does tell us is sufficient for me: that it’s for His pleasure (Re 4:11), to reveal His glory and wisdom (Ps 19:1), as well as His justice, wrath and power. (Ro 9:22)

If anything at all has a purpose, then everything has its purpose: to glorify God as He reveals Himself through it. If that’s all I ever understand, that’s enough. I can trust that God Almighty knows what He’s doing, rejoicing in Him and thanking Him for all things.

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Recently, I’ve been feeling impatient with those who don’t appear to listen well, only to find that I myself haven’t been listening so well — not carefully considering challenges before responding (Pr 18:13), allowing myself to be distracted by commotion in my soul rather than focusing on clear communication.

So often, the faults we think we see in others are simply projections of our own. (Ro 2:1) God gives us ears for a reason; we should use them. (Mt 11:15)

A listing ship is leaning; to enlist is to engage, sign up, commit. To listen, pay attention, to lean in with the heart and mind, to focus intently (Pr 4:20), requires humility and strength, a certain freedom from agenda and bias, being unthreatened and receptive, not agitated and fearful but quiet, calm, alert and sober.

God calls us to be swift to hear (Ja 1:19), to listen eagerly, deliberately, intentionally. He can speak to us through anyone, sharpening and refining us in any situation.

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I need a reminder that I’ll give account to YHWH for every word (Mt 12:36); whether speaking or writing, I should should check every impulse, weigh every syllable, seeking God’s pleasure (Ps 19:14) and assistance. (Col 4:6)

My lips aren’t mine (Ps 12:4), they’ve been bought with the blood of Messiah (1Co 6:19-20), I’m just a steward of them now.

Even in prayer, fewer words are better. (Ec 5:2) He knows what I need, and chattering before Him is evidently being inappropriately familiar, disrespectful.

I’m encouraged to speak with deliberation, almost reluctantly (Ja 1:19), as if each word is costing me. When my words are streaming forth en masse, unweighed, unchecked, it’s a sure sign of sin (Pr 10:19), that I’m not speaking with purpose to edify, encourage, build up, and move others toward God. (Ep 4:29)

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