No One Knows
by Michael Sullivant
Christmas 2009

No one knows my love as I
The way she loves, giving her best
To her Lord, her clan, her friends
Grown children once held at her breast.

No one knows my love as I
The way she cries, giving her soul
To care about the trials and pain
That sometimes leave loved ones un-whole.

No one knows my love as I
The way she prays both day and night
Touching God, she intercedes
And moves His heart to show His might

No one knows my love as I
The way she lives on through the years
Straight and true she’s carried on
Surmounting all her youthful fears.

No one knows my love as I
The way she shines, a rad’ant glow
At her best and at her worst
Her amazing heart has kept its flow.

No one knows my love as I
The way she wins, giving her all
Though sorely tempted to give in…
She’s laughing loud, she’s standing tall.

The Nativity-My Christmas Repost

i never knew why the birth of Jesus was called the nativity--a bit
embarrassing after all these years. i figured it had some connection
to how we talk about someone's "native land". it comes from a latin
root word that means "arisen from birth". it's the place of birthing.
john, in his gospel, is writing out of an understanding of the
incarnation of Christ being the inauguration or "the nativity" of a
"new genesis". "in the beginning"--The Father and The Word and The
Spirit, acting in a trinitarian concert of love, brooded over the
chaos and brought forth the first creation. but now there is a
astounding new development in God's plan for the earth. The Father,
The Word and The Spirit are brooding again in Jn 1:14--conspiring to
incarnate their love--within a chaotic world--filled with brokenness,
pain, tragedy, injustice, hatred, war, man-made corrupted religion,
sin, guilt and shame...the result being the "new creation" with the
prototype of a "new humanity" present on the earth's stage...Jesus of
Nazareth. Immanuel--God with us...God become like us...a commentary on
His original design for humanity, His love for and enjoyment of
humanity (and even the fallen world we inhabit that yet reflects the
beauty of His original design) and His desired destiny for humanity.

now...the Word becomes flesh--fully human as well a fully divine--
unimaginable, unheard of (except in cryptic ancient prophecies not
even fully understood by those through whom it flowed), a mystery and
miracle of the highest magnitude. the incarnation of Jesus points
profoundly to new birth, a new beginning, a new genesis, for the
inhabitants of the whole earth and ultimately for the earth
itself--"good news of great joy that will be for all the people"--as
the angels proclaimed to the shepherds.

when God sent His chosen King...the eternally begotten Son...into the
world, what was encoded in the message of it all? mary prophesied the
essence of it in her inspired poem--the magnificat--"He has shown
strength with his arm; he has scattered the proud in the thoughts of
their hearts; he has brought down the mighty from their thrones and
exalted those of humble estate...." (Luke 1:51-52) when God personally
entered this world in Christ, He came to put it right side up,
establish His justice and shed abroad His mercy by bringing down the
proud and arrogant and exalting the humble folk of the earth.

this mission is clearly portrayed in the nativity story. the
professional priest, zechariah, responds with unbelief to Gabriel's
big news, while the simple young maiden welcomes the even more amazing
message to her with a spirit of trust and belief. the lowly shepherds
receive a divine visitation of angels proclaiming the secrets of the
kingdom of God while the "movers and shakers" of Bethlehem are left
out of the story. the elderly simeon and anna have the Spirit of God
on them with the power to discern and bless in the name of the Lord
and the religious elite are also bypassed and left out of the story.
later on, mysteriously inspired wise men from the east go on a long
and costly pilgrimage to pay tribute to the foreign and humble infant
King, while the reigning king of the jewish nation, is threatened and
murderously enraged simply by the fuzzy buzz about the birth of One
who would one day sit on David's throne by the will of God. it's a
story of unlikely heroes who were not great in their own eyes.

but the force that God exerts in bringing down the proud and exalting
the humble does not proceed from His anger, but from His amazing
kindness. He himself will model the way of humility. He will leave
behind the pristine beauties of heaven. He will enter the world
incognito. He will make Himself of no reputation. He will enter the
world as a vulnerable fetus--born to common folk--poor, oppressed,
unknown, but devout and faithful to their covenant with God. He will
come as a suffering Servant/King. God the Almighty will come to His
own creation as a humble king...and personally bear the heavy pains
afflicting His precious creation.

this reveals an amazing and compelling truth about the God of the
scriptures...the one and only true God is humble in nature. when the
logos calls us to humble ourselves, it comes out of the ethos and
pathos of His own willingness to humble Himself. and...if He can and
would do such a thing, how can we reasonably hold on to our pride--in
whatever form it shows itself. there's an amazing reality about
humility...we can choose it no matter what our situation. may we
choose it daily--even continually...for "God is opposed to the proud,
but gives grace to the humble."

The Romance of Romans-Part 90

Romans Chapter 13 cont'd

Because civil authority is an instrument of God for our good, we must give to it what we owe it. Pay all your taxes and tariffs, show proper respect to officers and officials, and honor all those in authority. Don't accrue any "debt to society" by breaking your contracts and commitments, but stay free to focus on giving to others what you truly "owe" them- love. If you learn to love, you will fulfill the essence and intent of God's moral law. Whatever specific commandment of God's you can name- "You shall not commit adultery", "You shall not murder", "You shall not steal", "You shall not give false testimony", "You shall not covet", or any of the others; they all are rooted in the concept of- "You shall love your neighbor as yourself." It is impossible for genuine love to perpetrate an injustice toward others. That's why it fulfills God’s moral law.

Comments:

Paul sets forth a basic conviction that God is sovereign over the civil governments and works through them to bring order and justice to a society. In most cases, civil laws can be obeyed as disciples of Jesus navigate within our cultures by simply allowing "what does the love of Christ look like" to inform our attitudes and actions. This will lead to the conversion of some, or even many, and will also introduce a necessary spiritual tension into the cultures in which we live.

Of course, the matter of "civil disobedience" always come into view when we take seriously Paul's teaching in Romans 13 and Peter's in 1 Pet 2:13-17--"Submit yourselves for the Lord's sake to every authority instituted among men: whether to the king, as the supreme authority, or to governors, who are sent by him to punish those who do wrong and to commend those who do right. For it is God's will that by doing good you should silence the ignorant talk of foolish men. Live as free men, but do not use your freedom as a cover-up for evil; live as servants of God. Show proper respect to everyone: Love the brotherhood of believers, fear God, honor the king."

What are, if there are any, the biblical limits to the biblical submission to civil authorities? Following is a link to an excellent article for further reading and some random quotes from some highly regarded teachers that will help set some parameters for civil disobedience from Scripture.

The Bible gives us numerous examples of civil disobedience in which God's people sought to do what is right in obedience to God in spite of violating a civil law or decree. The Hebrew midwives defy an order by Pharaoh to kill all Hebrew males at birth, covering their action with a half-truth to Pharaoh (Exodus 1:1 5ff). Rahab hides the Israelite spies and refuses to surrender them to the messenger from the king of Jericho (Josh. 2:1ff.) During several years of David's life he and his band of followers are fugitives from Saul, the civil authority of Israel (e.g. 1 Samuel 22). Daniel and his companions seek and gain permission from an official under King Nebuchadnezzar to set aside an assignment of the king to eat his delicacies and test their health with a simpler diet (Daniel 1). Later Shadrach, Meschach, and Abednego refuse to bow and worship King Nebuchadnezzar's image of gold (Daniel 3). Then under King Darius, Daniel refuses to obey the decree which prohibits prayer for 30 days to anyone except the king (Daniel 6). Likewise in the book of Esther, Mordecai refuses to kneel and pay honor to Haman, disobeying the command of King Xerxes (Esther 3). In all of these instances a supreme loyalty to God which includes his plan for his people prompts them to set aside obedience to a civil law in order to be obedient to the will of God.

http://www.epc.org/about-the-epc/pastoral-letters/civil-disobedience/

(This paper goes on to recount some examples from the New Testament and puts forth some practical applications for followers of Christ.)

"So we believe that civil disobedience is justified only when government compels us to sin, or when there is no legal recourse for fighting injustice. The reason we draw the line there is simply because all the scriptural examples of civil disobedience fall squarely into those two situations. Any other kind of activism has no precedent in the Word of God and violates the spirit of Romans 13 and 1 Peter 2." John MacArthur

[re. civil disobedience] "This can be for two main sorts of reasons: when the state commands us to do that which the Bible forbids; or when the state prohibits us from doing that which the Bible commands." D. A. Carson

"...here is 'laid down the principle of civil and ecclesiastical disobedience'. He continues, if the 'authority concerned misuses its God-given power to command what he forbids or forbid what he commands, then the Christian’s duty is to disobey the human authority in order to obey God’s'"....John Stott

"It is rarely good for a Christian to disobey even a bad law. That is why the Scripture so frequently urges Christians to obey even evil governments and laws that create trouble for them. Still, there are times when a Christian becomes thoroughly convinced that the total welfare of others would be significantly better if he disobeyed rather than obeyed a particular law. When that moment arrives he must obey God rather than man. God has commanded him to be concerned for the well-being of all human beings, and the well-being of human beings demands disobedience to that particular law at that particular time. The Christian in such a case must humbly, yet boldly, and with a prayer to God for forgiveness if he has judged wrongly, disobey the law and be willing to suffer the consequences of his disobedience." Kenneth Kantzer

The Romance of Romans-Part 89

Romans Chapter 13

Every person must live in submission to the civil authorities. For civil government has been ordained by God and he has overseen the installment of rulers into their offices. Therefore whoever rebels against their authority is rebelling against something that God has established and they will suffer very severe consequences for doing so. Such authority isn't intended to intimidate good citizens, only bad ones. So if you want to live free from this fear, obey the civil authorities and they will reward your good citizenship. They are servants of God, given for the good of society. But if you are a law breaker, you need to be afraid, for these God-ordained authorities have been called to use force, even deadly force when necessary, in bringing criminals to justice. We need to obey the civil laws for both the sake of avoiding punishment and keeping our consciences clear before God.

Comments:

The apostle Paul here addresses another very practical area of daily life...the disciple's relationship to civil authority and law. It's important to remember that he wrote these injunctions to believers who were living under the rule of imperial Rome! This was a human government that could be absolutely ruthless and violent. It was the government under which Jesus had been condemned to a cruel and unjust crucifixion. When, in fact, Jesus was being judged by Pilate, he essentially said to this ruler who was flaunting his power, "You have no authority except what my Father has given to you." Jesus understood how the sovereignty of his (and our) heavenly Father works in this fallen world and modeled a belief and a pattern for all who would follow him across the many cultures of the world in every generation. Though there are a number of thorny issues that emerge in a theological consideration of how followers of the Christ relate to and navigate within the frameworks of civil authorities of various kinds, there is an essential simplicity that underlies the appropriate discussion...God is sovereign over all human governments and he will work within them and through them despite their many flaws.

The Romance of Romans-Part 88

Romans Chapter 12 cont'd

Love others without any pretense. Hate what is evil and embrace what is good. Really care about your fellow believers and don't compete with one another except in the "holy competition" of honoring and promoting others instead of yourself. Don't be lazy and irresponsible, but fervently serve the Lord in every arena of life. Let the expectation of your glorious future in the presence of God be the source of joy that strengthens you to endure the pressures of this life. Fill your daily life with prayers, generously share your resources to meet the needs of fellow believers and eagerly show hospitality to others.
Don't curse those who persecute you, but bless them instead. Celebrate with those who are rejoicing and sympathize with those who are weeping. Be thoughtful toward one another. Don't value the "high and lofty" things of life that feed people's egos, but deliberately identify with "lowly" things and people. Don't consider yourself as "being above" or "too good for" such mundane and ordinary things. Save your energies- if you value lowliness, then no one can put you down! Don't return an injustice for an injustice- two wrongs don't make a right. Walk in integrity of heart before all people. As much as it is possible and within your control, live at peace with others.
Don't take personal vengeance into your own hands my dear friends. (You're not holy enough or smart enough to do it right anyway!) Leave room for God to act on your behalf according to his perfect wisdom and timetable. The scripture says, "Vengeance is mine to dispense; I will repay, says the Lord." Rather, disarm and convict your enemy by shocking them with kindness. Again the scripture says, "If your enemy is hungry, give him some food. If he is thirsty, give him a drink." Doing this is the best way of helping them get in touch with and turn away from the wrongness of what they are doing. Don't be overwhelmed by evil, but overcome evil with good. Don't curse the darkness; turn on a light!

Comments:

The fourth point of "reformation" that I see in this chapter is what I would call, A Set of Heartfelt Values. Since I was a new believer I have always been struck by the comprehensive nature of Romans 12 when it comes to "practical" or "pastoral" theology. Internalizing the spirit of the simply profound Christlike way of life recommended here is a way of becoming informed on a heart-level as to how we should navigate as spiritual people in a world (and a church world) that is dear to God, but never perfect.
Every sentence in this section of Romans 12 is loaded with meaning and exhortation for the gritty situations of our daily lives. Paul's first point is that we "love others without any pretense". You can view the rest of what's on the list as "teasing out" what that life of love looks like...how the love of Christ that genuinely courses through our beings leads us to respond to people of all kinds. It's a great passage to read over slowly, internalize and then rejoice over as the personal applications present themselves to our hearts and minds under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit.

The Romance of Romans-Part 87

Romans Chapter 12 cont'd

By the spiritual authority that God has vested in me, I challenge every person among you, not to think more highly of yourself than you should. We all need to receive "reality checks." God has given to all of us a sphere of life and ministry in which to function for which we also have been given the corresponding necessary amount of faith. Our physical body is one and yet it has many members, each having a different function. So the body of Christ is one and we, each of us, are one of its many members. But even though we have various roles to play, we are organically joined both to him and to one...Since we have different gifts, let us excel in using what we specifically have been given: if prophecy, then prophesy within the boundaries of genuine faith; if service, then serve in a way that you can do it graciously; if teaching, then teach in the areas in which you have true authority; if exhortation, then exhort according to your spiritual passion; if giving, then give from your heart without second guessing; if leadership, then lead with excellence; if showing mercy, then do it with the joy of the Lord.

Comments:

The third "reformational point" that I see standing out in this chapter is what I would call "A More Humble Ministry". An interesting way of studying the epistles of Paul is to dig into the background of the cultures of the cities and regions to whom he wrote and notice that the errors he sought to correct in the churches were a result of the cultures "baptizing" the church communities with their embedded evils. He labored to empower the followers of Jesus to stand against the sinful elements of these cultural tides.

Our culture at large has become deeply affected and oriented around "celebrity". We are bombarded with both head on and subliminal messages from every quarter that if we are to possess and achieve real meaning, significance and value, then we must strive to become noticed by many. And...there are all kinds of powerful tools available to us to assist us in "puffing" and "projecting" and "managing" our image. Still, most of us fail to garner this kind of attention and therefore kowtow to live under a satanic lie that we are living insignificant lives. This then makes us vulnerable to finding some possible way to "hook up" with someone or some group that is "significant"...or...we simply resign ourselves to the fate that we must embrace our "boring existence". That's when we become vulnerable to the plethora of the cultural "medications" that are available to dull our aching hearts.

The apostle would challenge us to embrace a radically different view of our lives and how we are to "be" and "do" in this world. We can live truly "significant" lives without seeking or achieving "celebrity". It begins by firmly rejecting the demonic lose-lose paradigm of life described above. On one hand, we must come to a point where we don't give a rip about how many people notice us or hear our voice. We must become oriented around living for the "audience of One"...and leave the degree of our impact on others in his capable hands. Simultaneously, we must not submit to a "false modesty" about what God has called and gifted us to offer to others. Neither should we absolutely avoid utilizing the tools available to us to offer our gifts to the people and world about us.

Humility is not about looking down on ourselves or pretending that we are less gifted, capable, experienced, intelligent or discerning than we are. Humility is realism...not posing. C. S. Lewis said that humility is grounded simply in standing next to something infinitely larger and higher than we are and noticing the difference.

The Romance of Romans-Part 86

Romans Chapter 12 cont'd

God has given to all of us a sphere of life and ministry in which to function for which we also have been given the corresponding necessary amount of faith. Our physical body is one and yet it has many members, each having a different function. So the body of Christ is one and we, each of us, are one of its many members. But even though we have various roles to play, we are organically joined both to him and to one another.

Comments:

Toward A More Healthy Community

The second "reformation point" of four that I am putting forward out of Romans 12 has to do with this vital issue of forming and living in a healthy network of relationships in our faith communities. The longing for belonging and inter-personal connectedness are basic to the way that we, as humans, have been created in the image of God. Because that image has been marred, though not eradicated, by sin...all our human relations are presently imperfect. God actually, and ironically, seeks to use this pain and ache to keep us from "relational idolatry" and longing, in a healthy way, for the new heavens and earth in which we won't be tempted to worship anyone or anything but him. This will provide a perfect balance and harmony in all our other relations as the love of God will perfectly govern all things.

Still, we are called to experience a substantial foretaste of and prophetically model this relational fullness yet to come through the realism of the love and unity of the Body of Christ that witnesses to the world of the inauguration of God's new creation in Jesus. Walking out the love of God in a practical way in our relationships with fellow believers should be a main priority for us, as it is fundamental to the release of so much good into everything else around us in this world. How often did the apostles of Jesus instruct us to "love one another"? This high calling and great challenge should be no wonder to us. May God empower us to learn well what this kind of love "looks like".

The Romance of Romans-Part 85

Romans Chapter 12 cont'd

God has given to all of us a sphere of life and ministry in which to function for which we also have been given the corresponding necessary amount of faith. Our physical body is one and yet it has many members, each having a different function. So the body of Christ is one and we, each of us, are one of its many members. But even though we have various roles to play, we are organically joined both to him and to one another.

Comments:

Toward A More Healthy Community

In his book, Connecting, Dr. Larry Crabb distills years of counseling experience, biblical research, intensive work of putting thoughts into words and a whole lot of life lived to help us consider the essence of healthy interpersonal relationships. He steers us away from extreme but popularized views of how people are thought to overcome their personal and relational problems and holds out to us a few simply profound and profoundly simple, yet too often overlooked, keys to this kind of health and holiness…a pattern leading to maturity in Christ.

The two extreme views are what he refers to as 1) the moralistic model and 2) the therapy model. The first focuses on challenging people (often with hardly any empathy or compassion) that they simply need to begin to make better choices by trying harder to obey God and the Bible. The second focuses on trying, in various ways, to help people uncover the dynamic (sub-conscious) pains of injustice they have suffered and reacted to. Larry acknowledges that we all certainly have made bad choices and that we have suffered injustices, but he posits the notion that most of us won’t ultimately overcome either kinds of problems unless we “connect” with others in a healthy relational circle…a community in Christ. We need to have our wills renewed by the Holy Spirit and our broken hearts healed by Christ, but do these kinds of things actually happen regularly without a vital connection to friends in Christ who can track with us through life's journey? Larry says, “No!”...through his astute observations and many years of helping people as a professional counselor.

Furthermore, he goes on to describe the three essential elements of the kind of Christ-centered interpersonal connections that we long to experience in our communities of faith. First of all, believers need connection with some others (even a few make us extremely wealthy) who genuinely delight in who they are without reference to their failures or battles. Second, we need to realize that we all have something “powerful” (the Spirit’s presence) in us that is able to speak profoundly to the “good” that is truly present (maybe hidden or buried) in a hurting or struggling friend in Christ and call that good up and out. Third, (and the order here is very important) we are called to gently and lovingly, and in a timely manner, expose the sin or the pain in one another that we may be blind to or in denial of. All three elements are essential for well-rounded friendships.

These three elements of healthy relationships create a context for spiritual growth and I am convinced that unless we seek after and find this quality of connectedness, then we will be very limited in our communities to affect the kind of personal transformation we tend to admire, but often fail to achieve. This is a normative and mighty way that the Spirit of God has always worked in and through the friends of Jesus Christ.

The Romance of Romans-Part 84

Romans Chapter 12 cont'd

By the spiritual authority that God has vested in me, I challenge every person among you, not to think more highly of yourself than you should. We all need to receive "reality checks." God has given to all of us a sphere of life and ministry in which to function for which we also have been given the corresponding necessary amount of faith. Our physical body is one and yet it has many members, each having a different function. So the body of Christ is one and we, each of us, are one of its many members. But even though we have various roles to play, we are organically joined both to him and to one another.
And since we have different gifts, let us excel in using what we specifically have been given: if prophecy, then prophesy within the boundaries of genuine faith; if service, then serve in a way that you can do it graciously; if teaching, then teach in the areas in which you have true authority; if exhortation, then exhort according to your spiritual passion; if giving, then give from your heart without second guessing; if leadership, then lead with excellence; if showing mercy, then do it with the joy of the Lord.

Comments:

The second "reformational" point that I am positing for us as believers and our groups out of this chapter is about moving toward...A More Healthy Community. This involves creating a different kind of relational culture than what has been generally modeled to us in our histories within our societies at large and...usually...within our families and churches as well. Unhealthy relational styles and patterns have been stamped deeply upon our souls to the point where it is often difficult and threatening for us to even be made aware of them. In the NT, the apostles of Jesus hold out to us some high ideals of what it looks like to glorify God in our inter-personal relationships...to genuinely walk in the love of God. Their basic model revolves around gracefully navigating the tensions of individuality and interdependence...honoring diversity while maintaining an essential unity in the community of faith. In his epistles Paul utilized the image of the human body to help us intuit and picture this dynamic.

Some years ago, I was privileged to become a friend, though separated by time and space, with Dr. Larry Crabb. Still...we significantly touched hearts. His books had already been making a deep impact on my life when we met and his writings have continued to help me greatly through the years. I believe the whole Body of Christ is indebted to him for his wonderful contributions (forged in the fires of his own vulnerable journey and musings) toward understanding both the sanctification process and healthy relationships. He has helped to identify the "radical middle" between the traditional "moralistic" (You must try harder!) and "therapy" (You are a victim!) approaches to these two vital issues by gleaning truths from each polar opposite and integrating them into a more biblical context for understanding and engaging our personal human life and our relationships with others. I will write more about some critical points from his book "Connecting" in the next blog.

My Article on Prophetic Ministry from a 2004 Publication

Thought you might enjoy this article from the past that is now available online:

http://www.pneumafoundation.org/article.jsp?article=/MSullivant-ProphecyInTheChurchToday.xml

The Romance of Romans-Part 83

Romans Chapter 12 cont'd

In thinking about the first "reformational" point for the western church in the 21st century, A More Holistic Spirituality, I don't think we could improve upon the way that Eugene Peterson translates these first two verses in The Message. (I have already commented extensively on these verses and this first point in my previous blogs on Chapter 12.)

"So here's what I want you to do, God helping you: Take your everyday, ordinary life—your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life—and place it before God as an offering. Embracing what God does for you is the best thing you can do for him. Don't become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking. Instead, fix your attention on God. You'll be changed from the inside out. Readily recognize what he wants from you, and quickly respond to it. Unlike the culture around you, always dragging you down to its level of immaturity, God brings the best out of you, develops well-formed maturity in you."

The "ordinary-ness" of most of our hours and our lives is not an automatic hindrance to engaging and enjoying a genuine interactive friendship with the holy Trinity in real time, or...true biblical spirituality The Father, Son and Spirit all promise to "be with us" and "go with us" in the full range of our being and activity. We are not called to strive to be "extra-ordinary", when it is sufficient for us to live fully human lives (with all its joys and sorrows...blessings and trials) and "let" God be his extraordinary Self to us. This kind of approach, in the end, does indeed lift us up to live lives that are supernaturally natural.

The Romance of Romans-Part 82

Romans Chapter 12 cont'd

I have "camped out" in Romans 12 for many years and have become convinced that it holds out to us a very relevant message and clear challenge for the expression of our faith here in the western world in 21st century. I believe that there are seed thoughts that can lead us into a needed "rebranding" of what it means and looks like for communities of people to genuinely follow Jesus Christ...a new reformation...if you will. Romans 12 is the beginning of the practical and logical response to who Jesus is and what he has done for the cosmos and all humanity...our part of the deal...which we can, in the end, only do well by the empowerment of the Holy Spirit. This kind of divine arrangement is what will save us from self-righteousness and yet allow us to progressively walk in authentic righteousness.

These are the four main reformational points of the chapter that stand out to me as ideals we are called to passionately pursue:

* A More Holistic Spirituality (Holistic simply means well-rounded, fuller kind of spirituality).

* A More Healthy Community. God has called us to belong to a spiritual family that is wise in the matters of relationship building and community building. We need to learn the skills about what makes for healthy relationships and what makes for long-lasting friendships.

* A More Humble Ministry. It seems to me that God has been dealing with the western church for years about pride in our lives and pride in our styles of leadership. We have allowed too much of the celebrity-mentality and arrogant entrepreneurialism to dominate our church cultures.

* A More Heart-felt Set of Values. There are some vital biblical values in this great chapter that have been generally overlooked in the personal and corporate expression of our faith in too many of our faith communities. May God help us to return with our whole hearts to the ancient simple and pure devotion to Christ that the first apostles taught and lived out.

Introducing Fully Alive Life Coaching

My dear wife, Terri, has put out her "shingle" as a life coach. She just created a new blog at: www.fullyalive5.blogspot.com. She's awesome! Her website will be up and running soon as well.

The Romance of Romans-Part 81

Romans Chapter 12 cont'd

Don't let the value system of fallen humanity mold or dictate your life or lifestyle. Rather, cooperate with God's agenda to transform you through the spiritual renewal of your thinking, so that you may be able to discern the will of God which is truly good, always acceptable and entirely perfect.

Comments:

2 Tim 1:6-7 For this reason I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands. For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit (or Spirit) of power, of love and of a sound mind.

Whenever I get the chance to preach about the Person of the Holy Spirit, I like to refer to this verse as a foundation. I believe that Paul is here referring specifically to the gift of the Holy Spirit rather than one of the gifts of the Spirit. As we survey the scriptures we indeed discover that He is a Spirit of power. He is a Spirit of love. These two aspects of the Spirit's Person and work are often referred to. And...this kind of language about him makes sense to us.

But then Paul says that the Holy Spirit is a Spirit of a sound mind, or discipline, or self-discipline...depending on the particular translation. To me, this language is strange and has inspired some further research and reflection on my part. It seems to be a neglected aspect of the Holy Spirit and yet it is as vital to a Spirit-filled human life as the first two.

It turns out that this passage is the only place in the whole Bible where this specific Greek word is used. Here is what Adam Clarke the commentator says about this word where I have also put my comments in ( ):

“Of a sound mind”, soophronismou (grk 4995), of self-possession and government, according to some. But a sound mind implies much more; it means a clear understanding, a sound judgment, a rectified will, holy passions, heavenly tempers (thoughts and feelings); in a word, the whole soul harmonized in all its powers and faculties; and completely regulated and influenced, so as to think, speak, and act aright in all things. The apostle says, God hath given the spirit of these things; they are not factitious (artificial, forced, engineered); they are not assumed for times and circumstances; they are radical powers and tempers (internal abiding realities); each produced by its proper principle (i.e. it is expressed from the inside/out).

Related ideas: discipline, self-control, sobering, safe, self-restraint, to admonish

My conviction that it is only by the indwelling of the Holy Spirit that this kind of virtue can become imputed and genuinely expressed through our lives. The pathway to self-government and self-discipline and a renewed mind begins with the presence of the Person of the Holy Spirit within us. He himself is the spirit...the animating secret...of the kind of sound mind and renewed thinking that living in Christ involves.

An astounding implication of this is that the Holy Spirit doesn’t by-pass and isn’t superimposed upon our personality, but He becomes deeply joined to us in a cooperative and interactive partnership. He literally dwells within us and works through our human faculties. As a result of this reality, we become "supernaturally natural"...maybe you've heard the term before? We are not the Holy Spirit (and this clear distinction between Creator and creature must never be confused), but he enables us to become our truest selves as the faculties of our entire beings come under his divine influences. God wants us to "be ourselves" and also want us to allow him to "be himself". I'm not him and he's not me...but we make a great team! Does this bring as much peace and joy to your heart as it does to mine?

One of the most encouraging experiences we can have in life is to serve others in counsel, prayer, presence, acts of love and kindness...along with many other possible avenues...only to later discover that the Holy Spirit was quietly inspiring what we assumed were our own ideas, words and choices that were simply flowing naturally from our hearts, minds and bodies. But the feedback we receive about how those encounters met the exact needs of folks that we didn't even know they felt, convinces us that it was more than "merely us" who was working in and through us. This is what it essentially means to be "supernaturally natural"... a style of living, relating and ministering that I heartily recommend.

The Romance of Romans-Part 80

Romans Chapter 12 cont'd

Don't let the value system of fallen humanity mold or dictate your life or lifestyle. Rather, cooperate with God's agenda to transform you through the spiritual renewal of your thinking, so that you may be able to discern the will of God which is truly good, always acceptable and entirely perfect.

Comments:

Or...as the NKJV puts it..."be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God."

Before I move on and make one more point about the renewing of our mind, I think it's important to point out that landing on God's will for our lives directly relates to our progressive personal transformation into the image of Christ. If we focus on becoming more like him, we will find ourselves "guided"...most often by a gentle and powerful invisible hand upon us. Most believers can testify, on the other side of a particular chapter of their lives, that they didn't realize how closely the Lord was guiding them until that season ended. And...how they came to know Jesus better through that life experience. Our job is to be the responsive sheep. His job is to be the Shepherd and...he does it very well!

The Romance of Romans-Part 79

Romans Chapter 12 cont'd

Don't let the value system of fallen humanity mold or dictate your life or lifestyle. Rather, cooperate with God's agenda to transform you through the spiritual renewal of your thinking, so that you may be able to discern the will of God which is truly good, always acceptable and entirely perfect.

Comments:

The most common question(s) that has come my way as a spiritual director is: How can I know God's will?...or sometimes...How can I hear God's voice to guide me? This is a wonderful question for each of us to ponder long and hard. Deep within the renewed heart of a Christ-follower is a dominant desire to know God better, to please him and to fulfill his plan for her/his life. There are many facets to the answer to such a question. There are also a lot of misconceptions in the minds of many dedicated believers regarding their expectations about being guided into the Father's will. An implication of the above passage exposes one of these misconceptions.

First, it is important to note that being guided begins with a generalized consecration of our entire being and life under the Lordship of Jesus...before we know the specifics of what God's plans for us might be. Second, we are called to find the courage to think and live and choose "outside the boxes" that our earthly cultures have prepared to slowly squeeze us into...to use us and keep us under it's sway. Third...as this passage makes clear...we come to know the will of God...most normally...by an internalized process, rather than by input from a over-powering external source...like a robot that mechanically reacts to its user's inputs. Spiritual guidance in the disciple's life is more of an art than a science...living out an unfolding colorful drama verses receiving a computerized printout of a comprehensive blueprint...a gracious and rhythmic "dance with our Guide" in contrast to a "goose-step march" to orders barked out by a militant dictator. Spiritual guidance, most often, integrates both divine inspirations and human faculties within its processes.

A vital lesson in New Covenant spirituality is embedded in the story of Elijah's discovery that the LORD was not "in" the whirlwind, the earthquake or the fire. Instead he came to Elijah in the "still small voice"...or within...the "sound of silence".

Because there is such a thing as a genuine experience of hearing the voice of God "from beyond", many believers imagine that, if they were really spiritually mature and truly intimate with God, then this would be the "normal way" that they would be guided by him and land on his specific will for their lives. But this assumption has become the source for confusion, disillusionment, frustration, self-condemnation...and even deception...for too many disciples.

The Romance of Romans-Part 78

Romans Chapter 12 cont'd

Don't let the value system of fallen humanity mold or dictate your life or lifestyle. Rather, cooperate with God's agenda to transform you through the spiritual renewal of your thinking, so that you may be able to discern the will of God which is truly good, always acceptable and entirely perfect.

Comments:

Or as the NIV says: "Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind." As followers of Jesus, we all yearn to become perfected people...to become like him. This longing for "metamorphosis" (the Greek root word for transformed) is a powerful motivation in our lives. (Sometimes it is exploited by religious teachers and movements that promise us powerful personal change and this is something for which we must be on guard.)

Paul here is emphasizing that the "renewal of our mind" is an important key to our personal transformation into the image of Christ. A good place to begin the discussion about this vital subject is with a parallel passage in Ephesians 4 that contrasts the old nature (self) and the condition of the mind with the new:

¹⁷Now this I say and testify in the Lord, that you must no longer walk as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their minds. ¹⁸They are darkened in their understanding, alienated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, due to their hardness of heart. ¹⁹They have become callous and have given themselves up to sensuality, greedy to practice every kind of impurity. ²⁰But that is not the way you learned Christ!— ²¹assuming that you have heard about him and were taught in him, as the truth is in Jesus, ²²to put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires, ²³and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, ²⁴and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness.

We can see in this passage how Paul viewed the place of the "mind" in the context of the broader fabric of our lives that includes the heart, the self, the manner of life and the desires. There is a seamless connection between the component "parts" of the human life...we are integrated beings. Additionally, in the approach to his challenge for us to put on the new self...that is already created (or "re-created") within the believer by regeneration...he refers to Christ himself and implies his real presence in the process of our spiritual development. We have "learned"...and must "learn"...Christ himself. We aren't merely taught "about" Christ, we are taught "in" Christ...we are taught by Christ, who indwells us.

There is a wonderful "assumption" that lies beneath an effective transformation in our lives, lifestyles and relationships. Christ is in us...really and truly! And explicitly, because he is, we are empowered within to respond to the challenge to put off the old and put on the new. This reality...and our awareness of it...sets the stage for us to allow and cooperate with the renewing of the spirit of our minds--the essence of our thinking.

The Romance of Romans-Part 77

Romans Chapter 12 cont'd

Don't let the value system of fallen humanity [lit. "the world"] mold or dictate your life or lifestyle. Rather, cooperate with God's agenda to transform you through the spiritual renewal of your thinking, so that you may be able to discern the will of God which is truly good, always acceptable and entirely perfect.

Comments:

I believe, in that we are called to follow in the footsteps of Jesus...the Prince of Life..., we are to model his example of detachment/engagement with the broken and sin-laden cultures around us without becoming entangled by the evil one and his ancient evil ways. We can all plainly see that Satan is having his way in this world quite significantly. Jesus came, as a human being, to face this enemy...of all that is whole and right and good...head on. In his incarnation, Jesus left the perfection of highest heaven and willingly entered this fallen age that is so full of lust, pride and greed...and unbelief. He came because of love...and to bring full renewal to his Father's good (yes, his very good original creation)...to swallow it up into the New Creation that his coming inaugurated and brought to birth. All of the sin, guilt, fear, shame, hatred, injustice, racism, tragedy, brokenness, relational breakdown, despair, sickness, doubt, hardness, disappointment of this old creation are..."digestible"...in the iron stomach of the Risen Lord of the New Creation. In his resurrection, he overcame death itself...a foretaste of the final eschatological meal yet to come!

Jesus certainly wasn't into sin, but neither was he intimidated by sin. He wasn't afraid of being spiritually "polluted" by befriending and touching folks. He saw beyond the sins and weaknesses of ordinary people and loved them where and as he found them. He saw what they might become by putting their faith in him. Besides...there are no sinless people for us to love in this world! He came to rescue us all from the death that was already present and at work in our hearts. He gave us all sorts of reasons to trust in him and love him back. He was free in his spirit to be vulnerable with, make friends with, build bridges toward, show compassion and respect to, make promises to, forgive, touch and be touched by, heal, serve, affirm the good within and have parties with the people all about him...even, and maybe especially, the people of other cultures than his own. He blessed all sorts of people that the religious establishment of his day considered "unblessable" by God. This radical attitude also gave him the spiritual and moral authority to expose and stand up to the evil spirits and arrogant bullies (especially the religious ones) that were drunk on their power over people.

So also we are free in Christ to now live "incarnationally" and engage the cultures of our world in the same attitude and by the agency of the same Holy Spirit...who is also working through us. Those who have been born again can "see the kingdom of God" that is all around us and witness to it seeping and, sometimes suddenly breaking, into the imperfect cultures of our world. Though our conscious goal is not to be been "seen" as culturally relevant, we likewise must not be seen putting culturally ignorant and/or insensitive communication barriers in the way of people that automatically hinder their ability to hear and connect with the good and great news of our Lord Jesus. Rather, we should do all that we can to break down those communication barriers (obviously, without compromising the trans-cultural and eternal values and essentials of God's kingdom) so that the message can more effectively find its way into people's hearts. If people are to stumble, let it be over..."Jesus Christ and him crucified"...not our uptight, self-righteous, fear-based, religious and spiritually non-essential cultural preferences.

We must land on the things that made Jesus so winsome, compelling, appealing and attractive to ordinary folks and seek to walk as he did in relating to them. May the Holy Spirit grant us a grand measure of the "magnetic personality" of Jesus as we live in his light today and for all our days in this world.

The Romance of Romans-Part 76

Romans Chapter 12 cont'd

Don't let the value system of fallen humanity [lit. "the world"] mold or dictate your life or lifestyle. Rather, cooperate with God's agenda to transform you through the spiritual renewal of your thinking, so that you may be able to discern the will of God which is truly good, always acceptable and entirely perfect.

Comments:

"The world" is a challenging phrase to properly understand in scripture...have you discovered this too? The apostle John says that "God so loved the world that he gave his only Son...." and later said to Christ-followers, "Do not love the world...." This simple juxaposition captures the essence of this challenge. How believers have handled this paradox has had huge implications for the lives and the sense of mission of many individuals and communities of faith throughout the centuries. Helpful sayings and word pictures have been used in an attempt to help believers to navigate this tension: We are not "of the world", but we are called to live "in the world". The Church is like a great ship that is in the water ("the world"), but it must not allow the water into the ship if it is to accomplish its purpose. But the application of such ideas takes some deeper thought, study, prayer and fellowship (with the Holy Spirit and our friends in Christ) to properly work out in our lives.

In the previous post I mentioned the concept of an essential "detachment" as a beginning point for a healthy understanding of biblical spirituality. This "world" (that is akin to "this age") is not the source of our life. Rather, the core of our being is vitally connected, by the Holy Spirit, to the invisible realm of highest heaven, where Christ is seated and reigning over heaven and earth at the Father's right hand. Neither do we allow the cultures of this world to define the essence of our value system or the worldview, by which we establish our bearings for living in this world. Our lives are grounded in the transcendent and eternal kingdom of God. And, there is a range of heart-beliefs and spiritual disciplines held out to us in scripture that, when embraced, continually reinforces this reality to our souls, minds and bodies.

Yet many believers and movements, usually out of a noble quest to be or become "holy" and not be "worldly", have taken this kind of "detachment from the world" to unbiblical extremes. Humorous, bizarre and tragic stories can be recounted that have emerged out of these religiously over-charged sub-cultures. Fundamentalism and, what I call "revivalism", have typically promoted a too negative view of the world (and thereby modeling an extreme "detachment") and...liberalism has typically reacted to this and denigrated any kind of "detachment" from the world in an attempt to not be "religious", like those fundamentalists. I am convinced that there is a "kingdom spirituality" that the Holy Spirit promotes (and is working in our day, as only he can do, to powerfully promote) that permits us to drop out of the traditional and boring fundamentalist/liberal "reaction-charged" debate. Reacting to human beings has never been a key to discovering true spirituality in Christ.

I have coined a phrase that I like to use to help my fellow pilgrims who long to find a kind of Christ-centered spirituality that provides a framework for holding and living out this paradox in our relationship to and view of this world. Here it is: We must be detached from this world in order to be engaged with this world without becoming entangled by this world.

As Romans 12/13 unfold, I think we'll find some practical wisdom from the apostle Paul that reflects this way of thinking, being and relating.

The Romance of Romans-Part 75

Romans Chapter 12 cont'd

Don't let the value system of fallen humanity mold or dictate your life or lifestyle. Rather, cooperate with God's agenda to transform you through the spiritual renewal of your thinking, so that you may be able to discern the will of God which is truly good, always acceptable and entirely perfect.

Comments:

These sentences capture something essential about and basic to the life and lifestyle of a authentic follower of Jesus. We are called to take our cues for life on earth from the invisible realm of highest heaven where Christ's reign as King of both heaven and earth is unquestioned. We know that it is only a matter of time before the just reign of the True King is fully applied to the kingdoms and peoples of this world. He is presently reigning...but..."in the midst of his enemies" (see Ps. 110 again) and mercifully providing them with the opportunity to turn to him and be saved.

The cultures in which we live exert a powerful pressure on us to conform to images, beliefs and ways of being and relating that are in conflict with the Lordship of Jesus the Christ. There is a kind of "detachment" from this present age that is fundamental to true spirituality. The "center" of our truest self is not bound to the fallen nature of this world and so we are free to resist the pressure to conform to the animating "spirits" of earthly cultures...things like the well known "seven deadly sins":

Pride is excessive belief in one's own abilities, that interferes with the individual's recognition of the grace of God. It has been called the sin from which all others arise. Pride is also known as Vanity.

Envy is the desire for others' traits, status, abilities, or situation.

Gluttony is an inordinate desire to consume more than that which one requires.

Lust is an inordinate craving for the pleasures of the body.

Anger is manifested in the individual who spurns love and opts instead for fury. It is also known as Wrath.

Greed is the desire for material wealth or gain, ignoring the realm of the spiritual. It is also called Avarice or Covetousness.

Sloth is the avoidance of physical or spiritual work.

But as we will see, "detachment" from the fallen cultures of our world is not an end for genuine spirituality, but rather, a beginning place that properly positions us to be effective ambassadors of the Living God and his great love to the people all around us.

Get a Life...Coach

My wife, Terri, is somewhat well known for her inspiring "fully-alive" teaching. So now she's taken a leap to "follow her heart" and become a life coach. I think she's going to call her effort "Fully-Alive Life Coaching" or something like that...which will also include a catchy tag line of some kind. (It will function as a sub-department of our little non-profit ministry called Radius.) We probably could have all guessed on that name for her practice anyway. She's has certainly been providing life coaching for me now for 32 years and look what I've become! Well...maybe you actually shouldn't look too closely...it might hurt her new, more deliberate, service to humanity. I don't know that I am yet "fully-alive", but I don't seem as "half-dead" as I used to be...maybe I'm up to 3/4 alive now...at least on most days. And I owe it all to her!!

What the heck is life coaching anyway? For some reason I tend to think of it as having regular time with Bobby Knight and him going berserk and yelling at me about not performing too well on the basketball court of life. Now Terri has a lot of passion, but she certainly is no irate mentor who cusses and spits out orders to people. (Actually, I have seen her spit strategically on very rare occasions..but that's the private stuff of married life!) But it is true that she has often lit a fire under my seat to get me moving forward. She thinks that people tend to get stuck living lives below their potential and that she can help them get unstuck by helping them discover how God has designed them and then help them map out a specific plan to move ahead in their life's work toward being more and more their "authentic self" under God. (But beware...rumor has it that God does sometimes whisper random insights to her about people's lives.) It all sounds good, but will it help pay the bills?!

As she has been dreaming about all of this, I have been present to point out all the times that I've seen people's plans for their life takes twists and turns that they could never have imagined. Take our lives for example! It seems to me that God doesn't often cooperate with this kind of planning. But she says her approach is different than the traditional approach somehow and she has some mysterious way of incorporating all of these surprising dynamics into her big picture of the art and craft of setting life goals. I guess we'll see about that. She certainly has been good at "mystery" through the years. I am regularly "mystified" by her to this day!

So now you know what Terri Sullivant is most recently up to. Yes...I live with a bonafide life coach. (Do you think this really is a good thing? I'm hoping and praying so.) She has a certificate and everything. She even received some personal training from the "Dave Ramsey" of life coaching on the national front. His name is Dan Miller. He and Dave live in the same city, go to church together, are actually buddies and regularly refer their followers to the other guy in his arena of expertise. Dave is around to "free" us up financially (ouch!) and, I assume, Dan is around to "free" us up in all the other stuff of life (more ouches?). Seems like a whole lot of stuff falls in Dan's bailiwick to me. (What is a bailiwick? Does anyone really know? But...my spellchecker didn't underline it, so there you go.)

I guess we all have a "life" to live and we all need some "coaching" along the way...so maybe this will be a good thing to add to the Sullivant repertoire of services to the people God sends our way. If you decide to hire her to do some life coaching for you...whether by phone, personal appointment or in one of her classes she's conspiring to host here at home (where am I going to live while all these people are meeting at my house to make plans to live?)...please let me know how it goes...I may decide to hire her myself. I may need to just to get some time with her!

So now I will really let the cat out of the bag and give you her email address just in case you might dare to give her a shot at helping you plan out...your entire future!
terrisully@gmail.com. God bless and...good luck.

Your friend,
Michael

P.S. "BAILIWICK - In general use, 'bailiwick' has come to mean your own province, particularly one in which experience or knowledge gives you special authority or freedom to act. However, it has had a very definite legal sense for centuries: the area of jurisdiction of a bailiff (sheriff's assistant). It goes back to Middle English 'bailie,' meaning 'bailiff,' and 'wick,' meaning 'village.' If you trace the origin of bailiff back to Latin, the poor chap suffers a loss in dignity since 'bailiff' is derived from 'bajalus,' the Latin word for 'porter.'" From the "Morris Dictionary of Word and Phrase Origins" by William and Mary Morris (HarperCollinsPublishers, New York, 1977).

The Romance of Romans-Part 74

Romans Chapter 12 cont'd

In the light of these magnificent mercies of God, I appeal to you dear friends to offer your entire being, including your body itself, to God as a living sacrifice. This is holy and acceptable to him and actually, living a life of worship is the only reasonable response to who he is and what he has done.

Comments:

Chapter 12 is the beginning of the "application" section of Romans. It is quite common in Paul's epistles for him to first expound on "believing rightly" and then lead his readers into "living rightly" in that light. Our core beliefs truly do affect our daily choices.

As those who have been swept up into the New Creation in Christ...a new temple/priesthood/sacrificial paradigm has been inaugurated. (The Book of Hebrews elaborates on this.) The "once and for all" sacrifice of Jesus...who decisively carried away all the guilt and shame of humanity in his death on the cross...trumped the past need for a stone temple, human priests to serve as mediators and animal sacrifices. Now each believer has become a temple of God (not made with hands), a priest of God and...on the basis of Christ's death...a "living sacrifice" to God.

Human beings, redeemed by Jesus, have been transformed into literal temples of the Holy Spirit. Our entire lives (spirit, mind and body) also have become mobile fiery altars where the very presence of God intersects with the passionate and intentional consecration of all that we are, have and do.

God goes with us into all of life and we are his agents and ambassadors. In our waking and sleeping; our work, rest and play; our public and private lives (whatever that means!); our thoughts, words, prayers and songs; our eating and drinking; our dealings and inter-personal relationships...we are living a life of worship before the Living God. ("Worship" is much more than attending gatherings to sing, pray, confess, give, read scriptures and receive instruction...as vital as those things are.) No more "dead" sacrifices are needed to take away sins...just a host of "living" sacrifices whose human lives...substantially, though not perfectly...bear and reflect the restored image of God in the midst of a broken and fallen world.

The Romance of Romans-Part 73

Romans Chapter 12

In the light of these magnificent mercies of God, I appeal to you dear friends to offer your entire being, including your body itself, to God as a living sacrifice. This is holy and acceptable to him and actually, living a life of worship is the only reasonable response to who he is and what he has done. Don't let the value system of fallen humanity mold or dictate your life or lifestyle. Rather, cooperate with God's agenda to transform you through the spiritual renewal of your thinking, so that you may be able to discern the will of God which is truly good, always acceptable and entirely perfect.

Comments:

Paul has completed laying out his inspired overview of the life, teaching, ministry, death, burial, resurrection and ascension of Jesus as Lord and Christ and put all this into the divinely re-contextualized kingdom construct based upon the now fulfilled Messianic Hebrew prophecies of scripture. It was no small task and its implications are revolutionary for human life on this planet. In the remaining chapters Paul begins to tease apart some of these important practical implications of "Jesus is Lord" for our lives, lifestyles and relationships.

With the coming of Christ there has been a fundamental shift in what the "temple of God" is all about. This "new temple" imagery is a major theme of the NT apostles that is woven into the fabric their writings. Through Christ, a new way of worship that is "in spirit and truth" and not focused upon ritual or confined to geography was inaugurated for the people of God. Jesus did more than hint at this in his interchange with the woman at the well in John 4.

The "tabernacle/temple" matters related to the manifest presence of God in this world and the proper way for the people of God to truly connect/commune with him in acceptable worship. On a practical level, it always revolved around divinely ordained priesthood and sacrifice. Jesus was himself the embodiment of the presence of God like no other "tabernacle" in the history of Israel. "The Word became flesh and "tabernacled" (lit.) among us (Jn 1:14)." Christ himself is...along with his body, the church, the new Temple of God. Also, he is the "high priest after the order of Melchizedek" prophesied in Ps 110 that signaled a massive shift in the nature and dynamics of the divinely ordained priesthood. Moreover, he himself became the "once and for all" substitutionary sacrifice...the Lamb of God...who took away the sins of the world in his death on the cross and his subsequent resurrection and ascension.

Here in the beginning of Romans 12, Paul dials up the image of "temple worship" and draws us into our proper role in the acceptable worship of the Living God through Jesus Christ. And...it begins on an intimately personal level.

More to come....

The Romance of Romans-Part 72

Romans Chapter 11 cont'd

Do you see the balanced personality of God, both his goodness and his severity? He dispensed severity to those who were unbelieving, but he has shown you his goodness. And he will continue to do so if you persevere in your faith. Otherwise, he will also cut you off. Likewise, if the Jews repent of their unbelief, they will be grafted in again, and God is able to do it. For if God is able to graft wild unnatural branches into a domesticated olive tree, surely he can graft the natural branches back into their own olive tree.
I am laboring this point because I don't want you to be uninformed about this divine mystery and thereby fall prey to spiritual pride. So here it is again: a partial spiritual blindness has befallen the Jews, until the fully appointed number of Gentiles are saved. At that time, the Jews will turn wholesale to Messiah Jesus as it is written, "The Deliverer will come out of Zion and turn Jacob away from his ungodliness. For this is my covenant with them- I will take away their sins." So, in relation to the good news, they are presently your enemies. But in the larger prophetic picture, they are a chosen people who are favored by God because of his unconditional promises to their fathers. And God will not and cannot renege on his sovereignly given gifts and callings.
Just as you, who at one time did not believe God, have now obtained mercy through their unbelief, even so they, who do not yet believe, will receive mercy through the mercy shown to you. For God has allowed all to experience the agonizing desolation of unbelief so that he might reveal his mercy, in no uncertain terms, to all people. So in the end, unbelief in some leads to mercy for others which, in turn, leads to the mercy that finally destroys all unbelief and causes mercy to triumph over all!
O the depth of the richness of both the wisdom and knowledge of God! His judgments are inscrutable and his ways are unfathomable. "For who has known the mind of the Lord? Who has counseled him into the right way?" Or "who has met God's needs in a way that God now owes him something?" For ultimately, from him, and through him, and back to him are all things. To him be eternal honor. Yes indeed!

Comments:

The Story kind of speaks for itself above. Paul concludes this powerful chapter by again putting the questions surrounding the Jews and gentiles, and their spiritual journeys, into the context of a historic and mysterious meta-narrative that he claims has now been made clear through the coming of Jesus Christ...and how he has fulfilled the OT scriptures.

The Story is significantly about the grandeur of God himself who is the One who has been guiding human history along with his invisible hand. It's an account of his power, justice, holiness and the spiritual weakness of humanity...left to ourselves...and of his kindness and love ultimately sweeping in to rescue us in Messiah from our unbelief in his wisdom, goodness and nearness. Mercy triumphs over justice...not only in our personal lives...but in the narrative of international history.

It's a bit hard for us to air drop into the same level of thought and emotion that swirled around this thorny issue that Paul has been attempting to address in Romans. But, if we immerse ourselves deeply enough in the scriptures, we are able to come to the place that we can identify from the heart with the massive historical/theological dilemma that the apostle is unraveling and the great mystery that he is revealing through the gospel of Jesus.

I can't say it better than my friend, Michael Flowers, has recently stated it...

“From a Pauline perspective (early church), ‘Christianity’ as a new religion did not cross his mind. Paul had come to see that in Jesus the fulfillment of all the promises of God in the OT had been inaugurated in Jesus the Messiah. The walls of ethnic exclusivity had been kicked down by the power of the resurrection, announcing the invasion of the New Age of the Kingdom into the present. His Jewish Eschatology had greeted him in person, on the Damascus road. Therefore, a Christless Judaism would be viewed as a thing of the past, an expression languishing within the pages of the Old Covenant, awaiting a fulfillment that had already occurred in Jesus the Messiah.”

...or the way that Eugene Peterson translates Eph 3:4-6 in the Message:

As you read over what I have written to you, you'll be able to see for yourselves into the mystery of Christ. None of our ancestors understood this. Only in our time has it been made clear by God's Spirit through his holy apostles and prophets of this new order. The mystery is that people who have never heard of God and those who have heard of him all their lives (what I've been calling outsiders and insiders) stand on the same ground before God. They get the same offer, same help, same promises in Christ Jesus. The Message is accessible and welcoming to everyone, across the board.

And all this leads Paul, and us, to two divinely strategic responses that are captured in the final paragraph: humility and awesome worship. May we simply take our place...on our face.

Prayer Hill

I have heard a story that has deeply touched my heart and wanted to capture it in writing.

She has been no stranger to some hefty relational disruption, pain, disappointments and sufferings. The challenges that come with all of this were in her face from the time she was still a child. But at around age twelve a goodness was set in motion that would inaugurate a tested and true redemptive narrative into the midst of her young life. She found Jesus. (Of course...we all know that he actually reached out through the Holy Spirit and found her!)

Her new community of faith became her extended family and throughout her teen years, she courageously chose to invest much of her time and energy into learning about knowing and following Jesus and serving the people in her life...both young and old...for the sake of her Savior.

When sorrows, fears and temptations would rise up to confront and and seek to overwhelm her, she would often retreat to a sacred space on the church property that is known as "prayer hill" to pour out her heart in conversation and communion with her heavenly Father. Up on prayer hill is a large cross that has helped the pilgrims to this place to find their center in Christ once again. It had obviously become a very special place for her and she continually grew strong in spirit and wisdom...despite a profound "alone-ness" that she would often struggle against. It was on prayer hill that she would hope and believe that she actually was not alone.

Now she is a vibrant and radiant young woman who is studying to become a family counselor at a college far away from home. A year and a half ago, she was pursued by a young man (who had already caught her eye) and they agreed to become boyfriend/girlfriend. Their friends and teachers could immediately see the good chemistry and good effects of this new relationship in both of their lives. This man had enjoyed both the favor of God and man from his youth and his heart had become full of Christ's love and passion. They were quickly falling in love in a deep way.

This summer, the young man has had the opportunity to go and work in her home town while she is doing an internship with her church's youth ministry. Some months ago, he had purchased a diamond ring that he was hoping to put on her finger sometime this summer...if she would say "yes" to making a commitment to spend their lives together and become "one flesh" in the sight of God and people. He, of course, had heard about "prayer hill" and knew the special place that it held in his lady's heart.

About three weeks ago, after he had gone to prayer hill to prepare a small table with some refreshments, he subtly suggested to the young lady that they make a trek to this sacred place during the beautiful sunset and to which she joyfully agreed. He followed her up the hill. When she saw the table, without looking back, she quietly informed him that they probably needed to leave as they were obviously disrupting someone's event. Then...as she turned to look at him...he was on his knee holding out the precious token of his love for her. The table had been set for her! It was a perfect moment in the midst of our quite imperfect world. An amazing day had dawned for them both and their lives would never be the same.

She said "yes" and they kissed. Then they prayed at the foot of the big cross and committed their love and relationship and its future to the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. It was on her special place on prayer hill that she would come to know and be reassured that indeed...she is not alone.

The wedding will happen at sunset May 28 next year in Phoenix AZ and guess where?...in the beautiful outdoor forum that lies beneath the shadow of...prayer hill. We are so pleased to be the parents of this wonderful young man, Mike Sullivant. And we are overjoyed to continue the journey of welcoming an inspiring and beautiful young woman, Jeri Jensen, into our family circle.

The Romance of Romans-Part 71

Romans Chapter 11 cont'd

This is an unchangeable spiritual principle: If the representative token of something is holy, so is the whole. And if the root of something is holy, so are its branches. So if some of the Jewish branches have been broken off from God's spiritually rich and succulent olive tree and its holy root system, and this has made a way for some branches from the wild and uncultivated olive tree of the Gentiles to be grafted into it, then you Gentiles had better not be arrogant toward the Jews. Just remember, you're not supporting the root, it's supporting you! But you might be tempted to think, "Hey, they've been broken off to make room for us." Yes, they were broken off for their unbelief and you are secured by your faith. So don't become proud, but fear the Lord. If God didn't spare the natural branches that fell into unbelief, do you think he will do less to the unnatural branches that fall into it?

Comments:

Paul is here painting a word picture that captures the essence of God's Big God-Story. In God's economy of his historical callings and dealings with humanity...there is essentially one dominant and everlasting covenant (the rich, ancient and well-planted "olive tree") that he has made with us...though there are nuances and admittedly surprising and progressive features to its outworking over the centuries. This belief is grounded in the way that Jesus and his apostles authoritatively rehearsed, interpreted and utilized Old Testament scripture. The covenant that God cut with Abraham...a non-Jew and the father of true faith...is central to this paradigm. Certainly the Law that God gave through Moses can be viewed as another "covenant", but our understanding of its purposes must be nested into the larger "Abrahamic" meta-narrative of redemption. (Galatians 3 and 4 deal with this head on...as does Romans 4.) This also holds true for our understanding of "covenants" that God made with Adam (in the original creation mandate), Noah (in the aftermath of the flood and reaffirmation of the creation mandate) and David (in God's promise to have one of his "sons" sit on his throne forever).

The fact that the Jews of the first century (and for many centuries since) have generally rejected Jesus as the promised Messiah and have thereby been "cut off" from the historic divine covenant does not negate God's faithfulness to his word or halt his relentless forward march to spread the fame of his name and accomplish his will in the nations of the earth.

The apostle then goes on to make two main points. First, the gentile believers must be mindful to not become proud about their new status in Christ and come down wrongly on the Jews as a people. This, sadly, seems to have happened all to often throughout the history of "Christendom"...and has left an understandably bitter taste in the mouths of Jewish people regarding the gospel of Jesus. We who follow Jesus should repent for this spiritual arrogance and lament that we have not well-represented the beauty of our Lord to them. Gentiles owe the Jews a debt of gratitude and respect because we, the "unnatural branches", have been grafted by God into the covenant that they historically enjoyed with God and worked and suffered to preserve. Our faith has rich and powerful "Hebrew roots".

Second...just as Paul laments that the "natural branches" (the ethnic Jews) have been lopped off from their own olive tree because of their active unbelief in Christ...he gives a sober warning that seems to apply in our day to people groups and "gentile" nations that have enjoyed the personal, family and cultural blessings that flow down from a wide historic reception of the gospel of Jesus. If an extended family of peoples reject their faith in Jesus, they will likewise be cut off from the the divine covenant and its attending blessings that once ruled over their lives and society. To me, this appears to be happening in a wide-spread way here in western culture.

And remember...its not the end of the story for the Jews...and their ongoing part to play in God's Big God-Story. Divine jealousy yet hovers over this people for the sake of their spiritual fathers and mothers and, of course, the glory of his Son!