No Ordinary Thaw

The whole history of the Church is one long story of this tendency to settle down on this earth and to become conformed to this world, to find acceptance and popularity here and to eliminate the element of conflict and of pilgrimage. That is the trend and the tendency of everything. Therefore outwardly, as well as inwardly, pioneering is a costly thing.

-T. Austin-Sparks

Here’s a very small excerpt of something I read 22 years ago while in college that literally changed my entire life.  And therefore the lives of our entire family.  It totally changed how we viewed “church,” God, Jesus, His Will and Purpose for our lives and the lives around us…  We’d never really considered that the pattern of “the early church ‘did this’ so we need to ‘do this’” or “monkey see, monkey do” was not anywhere CLOSE to what God wanted.

Here’s something to think about: You can study what other people have done for years, but that doesn’t make you who they are. Painting the picture of some city or country far away from here doesn’t put us in that country. To be able to paint a portrait in the minutest detail of what the city of Jerusalem or the landscape of Galilee or any other place looks like doesn’t mean that we’re there.

This is the dilemma we face as we pursue the nature of the Church. To study in great detail all that they were, to know what they knew, even to believe in what they believed in, does not make us the people that they were. The people of God’s Church have substance, integrity, and a pure attitude of the heart. They are characterized by a unique perspective and priority system. Our lives are either hidden in Christ — or we just “know about” being hidden in Christ. We are either full of the Holy Spirit and wisdom, or we simply study people who were.
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This Psalm has been making the rounds lately. When Susy showed it to me the other day, I thought it was breathtaking:

1 I will sing of your love and justice, Lord.
I will praise you with songs.
2 I will be careful to live a blameless life –
when will you come to help me?
I will lead a life of integrity
in my own home.
3 I will refuse to look at
anything vile and vulgar.
I hate all who deal crookedly;
I will have nothing to do with them.
4 I will reject perverse ideas
and stay away from every evil.
5 I will not tolerate people who slander their neighbors.
I will not endure conceit and pride.

6 I will search for faithful people
to be my companions.
Only those who are above reproach
will be allowed to serve me.
7 I will not allow deceivers to serve in my house,
and liars will not stay in my presence.
8 My daily task will be to ferret out the wicked
and free the city of the Lord from their grip.

Psalm 101 NLT

I think sometimes we think that Jesus was “so accepting” of everyone. “Jesus didn’t hurt any feelings.” Wow. Look at what David wrote. Think of some of the situations he probably put himself in by living that way as expressed in Psalms 101. Do you think he ran across “well meaning” people whom he ended up rejecting because they in the end didn’t want to give up some perverse way? Jesus didn’t go around coddling people’s feelings either. I’m writing none of this to say we need to be “mean” to anyone. Jesus wasn’t a “mean” Person either. But He was serious about some things. He was serious about sin and leaven and He asked us to be too. David… a man after God’s own heart… was serious about sin. He was serious about what he allowed his eyes to see and his hears to hear even to the point of pre-determining the kinds of people he would even allow in his presence. This wasn’t a “good ol’ boy” who just “got along” with everyone. Do you think that had anything at all to do with God saying, “Here’s a man who mirrors my own heart.”

There’s a lot to consider here. :-) I know I’ve been considering it. There’s some cleaning up here to do. In work relationships, for example. I’m going to do it.

And CHECK OUT how David decides he’s going to be spending his energy in verse 8… WOW. Sounds a lot like Matthew 6:33 and Ephesians 5:8-14, doesn’t it?! Crazy good, breathtaking stuff.

Another quick “your time is your most valuable asset” thought I saw on another web site today. Just a simple thought, but goes right along with how much this is making an impression on me lately per a recent Tweet. Seems like a thread God’s got me on lately:

Act Now!

Now! Now is the time. It’s the only time-block within your control. The future is too big to get your arms around. The past is over. You can learn from it, but you can’t change it. All your opportunity is centered in the NOW. With the very next block of time you have in front of you, you can store up treasure in Heaven. You can make a vertical heart connection; or a secret, unseen, non-flashy act of kindness for a brother or sister. Now is the time to act. Your Now is the ONLY time you can act. You can’t do anything tomorrow, yet. : ) You can ONLY act now. “Today is the day of salvation” (2Cor. 6:2).

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An encouragement sent from a sister in another state who is standing strong in the midst of a lot of trials:

When people realize it is the living God you are presenting [and] not some idol that makes them feel good, they are going to turn on you, even people in your own family. There is a great irony here: proclaiming so much love, experiencing so much hate! But don’t quit. Don’t cave in. It is all well worth it in the end. –Jesus (from The Message)

The apostle Paul said “Curses on you if all men speak well of you.” If everyone likes you… if every unsaved or merely religious person in your physical family has absolutely no problems with you… maybe it’s not the Living God you are re-presenting to them at all? “A student is not above his Teacher.” If it’s God we’re truly re-presenting, there should be some people who hate it… and therefore hate the re-presenter. Even from your own physical family. According to Jesus. If not? Then we have to rightly question whether we’re truly representing Him.

It’s interesting that for a lot of people, we feel if we’ve “upset” someone that THAT somehow proves we are “unloving” and unlike Jesus. But in fact, it may actually be the ABSENCE of people being upset with us that proves we’re not really following and properly representing Him. I’m not talking about “provoking people” unnecessarily. LOVE THEM. And then watch in astonishment as they are upset with you and hate you in return. Not everyone responds positively when you try to “snatch them from the fire.” In fact, most don’t.

Remember… It only took 3 years for most people to get so completely fed up with the most loving Man who ever lived, that they eventually slaughtered Him like some farm animal in that short span of time. Isaiah says that by the time they went to put the nails in His hands, He was unrecognizable. :-(

Another alpha-numeric page of thought and encouragement I received in email form yesterday that has probably zoomed halfway around the world already… Shared here because it was well… good:

SELF CONTROL: FAITH, HOPE and LOVE
(an alpha-numeric communication amongst many Saints…)

So WHY did Paul, given the chance to speak to a king about Jesus, decide in the Spirit to speak to Felix of “righteousness, SELF CONTROL, and the Judgment to come”? (Acts 24:25)

What does “SELF CONTROL” have to do with anything — other than losing weight or other forms of difficult restraint? Surely we “buffet our bodies daily” and we “make our bodies our slaves” to the praise of His Glory. But, what is SO significant about SELF CONTROL that Paul, inspired by the Holy Spirit, would use such a limited and rare opportunity before the nations and its kings to speak of SELF CONTROL?

Self Control is far from some isolated “good character attribute” of athletes and Pharisees.
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Here is a quote from the introduction to a new book I am reading (called Truth In Translation: Accuracy and Bias in English Translations of the New Testament) that is SO applicable to so many things in christiandom aside from just biased and skewed translations:

The hardest bias to catch is one that is widely shared, and it is quite understandable that the modern views shared by Christians of many denominations would influence how the Bible is translated [or fill in the blank]. Understandable, but not acceptable. The success of numbers or of time does not guarantee truth.

Again, so so so applicable to many things, unfortunately, outside of just “translations.” The success of numbers (“the majority do it this way, so it must be right”) or of time (“it’s always been this way — who are you to question it?!!”) does not guarantee the Truth. Thank goodness for men like Martin Luther and others who saw it that way and the few who do today. We all can be like this if we choose to be. “Discerners” as the Bible states. “Understandable, but not acceptable” is the right attitude to have about it all. Understanding, love… absolutely. But no compromise either. “Love rejoices in the Truth” if it’s truly Love as God defines it.

:-)