What'd we do before tacos?

Seventeen days ago we watched Mom take her last breath.

Thirteen days ago we welcomed folks to participate in a service everyone dreads. Afterwards, we reminisced over ham and chicken salad sandwiches.

And every night since then, Mom - or more specifically planning her funeral - has been the subject of my dreams. Every morning I wake up and wonder why.  I wonder if others have experienced this phenomenon. I wonder if it is what the last 4 years have been like for her. Because it was four years ago this week, that we actually lost our mom.

 

She had a fairly routine surgery, but, as she said thousands of times since that day, “I just don’t feel like I ever woke up.” Which changed slightly as more memories were lost to, “I just need to wake up.”  

But she was as awake as she was capable of being. Somehow her dream world seemed to combine with her waking world, and decades old memories would collide with the current.  New information was incomprehensible and old information fractured into a thousand disconnected pieces.  With no short term memory she was left living with mostly now. Able to hold onto a thought train for maybe 30 seconds. Sometimes longer.  Sometimes less.  

For the past fifteen months she went to dialysis at least three days a week, maybe four. And after nearly every run she’d want to get tacos. She could remember that it was going to cost $5.38. But couldn’t remember that 30 seconds ago she’d asked, “what’d we do before tacos?”  If that was the train her thoughts were on, this question would be asked and answered countless times before getting home; where we would then have to convince her that the taco wrapper on the counter was, in fact, hers and Dad had not gone out to eat without her.

Looking back, we realize she was having trouble years before the general anesthesia finished the job. Becoming forgetful is normal right? Besides, what could we do about it?  I’ve since learned that “post operative cognitive dysfunction” is prevalent in the elderly, and most often seen when cognition is impaired prior to the surgical procedure. That a significant percentage of those experiencing it never recover. And that cardiac patients aren’t the only at-risk demographic.

I’ve spent the last four years saying goodbye to the lady who brought me into this world, (and played a major role in the person I am today) and working toward the goal of no regrets. I didn’t want our parting stained with my having said things I shouldn’t or leaving things unsaid that needed to be spoken. Tying up lose ends and giving credit where it’s due. Honoring her life and wishes by making the decisions I was entrusted to make.  The last four years afforded that opportunity.  

But I do have one regret. Not having spoken up in the oncologists office that October day in 2014.  

If I could do it again I would say, “Let’s wait on that lumpectomy. How about we schedule a mammogram in a couple months instead?”  “At 78 years old, just how much estrogen is this smaller than bb sized neoplasm going to have to feed on?”  I’m sure I would have made a few people mad, and been labeled an idiot… but those would have been small prices to pay to have had a different hand to play than the one POCD dealt her. Dealt us.

Maybe my dreams are pushing me to tell a story I never wanted to tell, in the hopes that others might avoid having one of there own.

Shake Things Up

Sometimes things become too familiar and before long the importance wears off. I think the Lord's Prayer falls into that category.  Its words are so often recited that their meanings are lost.  Today I'd like to slow the rote and reignite significance.

Our - yours AND mine. Prayer, at its best, is not ‘me’ but ‘we’ focused.

Father -Source and Giver of life. Our life. 

Who art in Heaven - the realm from which You operate is not the same as the realm we are limited to.

Hallowed be thy name -  You are worthy of honor and praise.  Your name is holy, set apart and unlike any other.  That is the name by which we are joined one with another.

Thy kingdom come - we suffer under the weight of a tyrant's laws but Your rule of law in this situation is our heart's desire.

Thy will be done on Earth as it is in Heaven - in our hearts, lives, and situations we, Your earth-bound children are doers of Your will, just as surely as Your will and desires are executed in the heavenly realm.

Give us this day our daily bread - we receive all that is necessary to empower and sustain us for today.

Forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors - we acknowledge and own our failures and inability to redeem ourselves asking only that You deal with us in the same manner and grace we use to forgive those who desire forgiveness from the pain they have brought in our lives.

Lead us not into temptation - not through tests and trials and proving and earning is forgiveness secured.

But deliver us from evil - but by You rescuing us, out of the evil trap(s) we find ourselves in.

for yours is the kingdom, power and the glory forever - This deliverance is wholly possible because Your kingdom is all powerful, true and eternal.   It's on the basis of this truth, this reality, this power we, Your children stand, as Your kingdom is ushered into and established on this earth.

Wouldn’t you agree that it’s good to shake-up the familiar from time to time? And because we live on this side of the cross, which made the presence of God’s Holy Spirit in the hearts of humanity a reality, our prayers are powerful indeed. 

It's a PR Issue

We feel alone and abandoned on this planet because it's hard to recognize God's presence. Remember the fellows who offered opinions and inaccurate conclusions based on false assumptions to Job in the time of his distress? They sincerely believed themselves qualified to represent and speak on God's behalf.  Those same opinions and inaccurate conclusions are as prevalent today as they were 5,000 years ago. How can that be?!

Me:   "You have the worst PR on the planet!"
God:  "I know. But, hey, there's always room in that department if you'd like to give it a shot."

Well, I thought, I can't do much worse.  But after accepting the challenge I discovered most efforts are stonewalled by my predecessors' widely accepted inaccuracies.  

A recent conversation is a case in point.

A beautiful, feisty, struggling, single mother was pouring out her heart's hurts and desires when she said, "I believe in something, but I'm not sure what.  If God is this all loving, powerful God, who is in control of everything, where was he when I was going through hell?  He didn't do anything!  I did it all by myself!"

I just listened.  It wasn't the time to preach truth, correct doctrine or dissect theology.  It was a time to listen to a broken-hearted warrior pour out her hurt.  Was that poor PR?  Time will tell.

Will this dearly loved daughter  ever encounter one who accurately represents Your adoration, acceptance, appreciation and unending love in a way that resonates Your truth in her wounded soul? 

When will she recognize that her tenacity, determination, desire, strength, and insight are the hallmarks of Your presence in her life?  Or that Your empowering grace proves she's not alone or abandoned?  When will she learn that You are secure enough to let her think she's accomplished such astounding feats with nothing but her own strength and wits?   Maybe today.  Maybe never.  Either way You remain the God Who goes before us, Who makes the way, Who is our strength, shield and defender, our source, wisdom and the One Who justifies.

Thank you Wonderful One for the life You have breathed into that beautiful, unaware one who represents You with such unconventional beauty.

Puzzling Pieces

I love the ah-ha moments when the pieces fall into place without having to force the fit; those

moments when things resonate harmoniously - the picture is made visible.

Two of my favorite study sites are: blueletterbible.org and thebible.org.   There are so many questions that keep me up at night  and these two sites are where I find myself digging for answers. Blue Letter Bible is a treasure trove of study aids. Click on a verse, the options appear. Click on an option and you're off to the races.

If you've read, What If The Cross Changed Everything, you know I present The Revelation of Christ Jesus as documenting the legal issues of humanity's redemption from the law of sin and death. Which doesn't agree with the mainstream interpretations currently being purported.

One ah-ha moment that helped in piecing my ideas together came with the study of the word 'righteous(ness)', and realizing that there are a couple definitions for the word that can't be interchanged without causing confusion.

Here's the deal.  Righteous, under the old covenant, had more to do with legal matters. In our western minds it helps to think, 'rights and privileges'.  Citizens of the USA, enjoy certain rights and privileges that citizens of other countries do not.   It is simply a matter of law, morality aside. (Rights can be lost or surrendered but that's a subject for another day).

A secondary definition has to do with morality.

This might seem like hair splitting, but sometimes that's how the picture is more clearly revealed. And we know that the Word of God helps us to separate bone from marrow and thought from intent. (Hebrews 4:12)

When things jump from Hebrew to Greek the definitions and weights are reversed; heavier on morality, lighter on legality. The two can go hand in hand and can complement one another, but they are not interchangeable concepts.  Attempts to do so has resulted in the 'doctrine of righteousness'; a two headed hybrid that is dealt with in Mark 2:18-22 and Revelation 3:14-22.

This leads to the challenge when studying scripture; determining whether to think and interpret using the legal or moral definition.  Clarity will often come when choosing one over the other.  We are made legally righteous by the Cross of Christ.  We live morally righteous in honor and appreciation of that Cross.

Jesus showed us how powerful life can be when it is rooted in the legal basis of citizenship in the Kingdom of God. It is who we are and allows The Father's attributes of grace, peace, integrity, authority, and love to flow. This is what the Cross accomplished. The way has been made for each person to reconnect with God -  legally righteous.  That connection empowers a life of moral righteousness.  Because of who I am, this is what I do.  To reverse the concept negates the cross. Galatians 5:4 says our attempts at attaining righteousness from our own self-effort is to fall from grace.  That's a tumble I want to avoid.

If you want to read more on this subject:
https://witcce.blogspot.com/2018/03/who-establishes-terms-of-redemption.html

Do You Take?

Back story - was reading a twitter thread yesterday and one person was discussing a very painful medical procedure he had just endured. He punctuated the point with 2 words. The first beginning with the letter 'g', the second ended with the letter 'm'.  And one of the guy's nearly 30,000 followers decided to reprimand him on his word choice.  She said it was offensive to her and that, for his best interests, he needed to stop taking the Lord's name in vain, that he was in danger of being eternally damned and she wanted to help the twitter post author stay in God's good graces.  I won't even begin to dive into the irony. Instead, let's explore what I believe is a fundamental fallacy. 

What if the commandment she referenced doesn't mean what we've been taught it means?

Traditional thought has told us 'thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain' means we aren't to say the word god in an inappropriate manner. Doing so, in my fetching-up years, would incur the mouth-washing-with-soap punishment. (Nearly as bad as the going to bed with no pillow punishment, but that's a subject for another blog).  The implication?  'Take' equals 'speak'.  

Ok, I learned to chalk that up as yet another  Biblical conundrum.  Who am I to question the experts? If you're like me, your brain has learned to automatically make the necessary definition adjustment from 'take' to 'speak' when it comes to commandment number three of the big ten. 

But, what if it means a whole lot more?

In the insistence that 'take' means 'speak', what if we have surrendered the true significance of God's wisdom and instruction on the sacrificial altar of inconsequential? 

What if take means take?

In any wedding ceremony, there are a couple of things that must be included for it to be considered legal and binding.  Think  matrimonial equivalent to the Miranda Rights.  One of those components is the 'do you take' query, when the wedded wannabe's are asked if they will take one another and become so connected that moving forward their identities will be forever intertwined as husband and wife. So much so that when people think of one spouse they are reminded of the other.

38 years ago, when I said, "I do" the person I was in the morning was not the person I was at 3:30  that afternoon washing down cream cheese mints with Hawaiian Punch. (Nothing says top-notch wedding reception quite like cream-cheese mints.) I took his name.  We did not take our new identities as husband and wife in vain.

What if that's the true meaning of the third commandment?  Don't approach or enter the process of adoption into God's family if you have no intention of embracing a new identity rooted in His; without every intention of living a life that honors and reflects His ways, His truth, His glory, His love, His laws?  You know, the kind of stuff that demands a lot more than a bar of soap to rectify.  

The Three Thing Challenge

A few months ago one of my teachers (yep, went back to school) made a suggestion in passing.  He said, "before falling asleep at night, ask yourself, 'What 3 things went well for me today?' "  I thought, why not?  Sounds simple enough.  Here I sit, 5 months later, and I don't think I've skipped  a night since.

The first week or so was kind of crazy.  Why?  Because my mind wasn't used to such an oddly focused question.  I've spent several decades recounting the the day's missteps, faux pas, and failures.  So wrestling back the controls from the Negative Nancy  so firmly ensconced in my brain took a little more effort than I'd anticipated.  

My head would hit the pillow, I'd pose the question, and before answer #1 could congeal into a cohesive sentence, little miss negative would be ya, but blah this and blah that.  "Maybe so", I'd say,  "but that has nothing to do with the question I'm currently seeking to answer, which is, 'What 3 things went well for me today?'  Tonight I'm not looking for a recap of the day's failures. I might look into it later but for right now I want to recall, 3 things that went well for me today."

Sometimes my mind would offer things that went well for others, or me 15 years ago. Nope, don’t fall for it!

After a few days of concerted effort, I no longer struggles to stick with the question. Synapses began forging new pathways in my brain. I could almost feel it happening. I know that sounds like an overstatement, but I kid you not.  Good things were happening.  I’d wake up throughout the night  aware of my mind still searching for things that went well.  In fact, I had a little trouble staying asleep when this experiment first started.  But I'm over that hump now. 

These days I find myself making note of the good things that happen throughout the day, just so I can report and recount them before falling asleep. 

2 Corinthians 10:5 encourages us to take every thought captive to the obedience of Christ for the purpose of demolishing arguments and pretensions that are contrary to the knowledge of God. And this simple challenge exposed an overlooked area in my life that wasn't enjoying the rewards of having that principle applied.  I encourage you to take the 3 thing challenge if you dare. 

Innocence & Grace

Listening to the radio the other day a line of lyric got stuck in my head (that's nothing new),. But the longer it banged around in there, the more problems I had accepting it as a statement of truth. 

The song's message is about the sufficiency of Jesus' sacrifice to pardon sin, completely on board with that.  But the line, which was repeated over and over again was: I'm an innocent, an innocent man. The innocent moniker is tripping me up.

Innocent means no crime was committed.  I have been pardoned, forgiven, set free, and been made righteous, for which I am eternally grateful (and will have all eternity to demonstrate that gratitude). I am not innocent and don't want to lose sight of the fact that guilt is redemption's qualifier.   

Maybe I am over sensitive on this subject after having spent several decades laboring under the delusion that sin was graded on a curve demanding justification of infractions. I'd get out the old scale and weigh the good against the bad, you know, just in case Jesus' sacrifice had lost its potency or relevance after 1950 years.  For those few whoppers I couldn't neutralize, I had developed a method of minimizing, blaming, (it's not me Lord it is so and so's fault) or hiding. Not unlike Adam's fig leaf couture. 

While I'm on this word-definition soapbox, let's turn the spotlight on grace. Another word that has been hijacked somewhere along history's path.  Grace is not interchangeable with mercy.  Grace has  to do with empowering ability to accomplish a task.  Think about a person performing their practiced skill and makes it look effortless:  dancer, musician, roofer, painter, calligrapher, barrel racer... you get my point.  Grace is needed to navigate this minefield called life without succumbing to the temptation fo

r compromise.  Mercy is extended when we fail the mission. 

Christ's righteousness is for the trusting. Forgiveness is for the guilty. Redemption is for the captured. Freedom is for the incarcerated. Adoption is for the fatherless. Grace is for the triers and mercy is for the failed.

To be pardoned is not the same as innocent. Pardoned means the record of guilt and failure has been expunged.  There's a difference.  It's a big one.  But it's unlikely that any songwriter could sell 'I'm an expunged, an expunged man'. Just doesn't have the same ring to it.  

The Plan Fulfilled

When people ask how I came to the conclusions I share in What If The Cross Changed Everything?, it was simply by approaching it as if I were a first century believer in Christ, and refusing to add 21st century speculative interpretation to it.  Of course, in doing so, that placed most all of the events (even the yet-to-come ones) in today's rear view mirror.   

Revelation 1:3 & 19 Jesus told John to write what he had seen, what he was currently experiencing, and what was to come.  It has been my experience that the most prolific expounders, currently in vogue, have allotted little to no space in their interpretations for what was (before Christ) and what is (at the time of the writing) and what was to soon take place.   

This oversight has led to speculations beyond comprehension. It has also completely violated the warning that was issued at the end of Revelation. In chapter 22 verses 18 & 19 we are clearly warned  to not add to or take parts away from what was written on that scroll. It was, like any legal document, to be unaltered.  Can you think of a single book from the Bible that has been added to and speculated on more than this one?  Weird huh?

History changing, life altering events took place in the courtroom of Heaven. They're described in Hebrews 9. Jesus offered his blood for our eternal redemption at the Throne of God. But the current myopic interpretations of John's Revelation of Jesus Christ has resulted in a fulfillment of its expressed warning: increased plagues and decreased life.  So maybe, today's  followers of Christ need to heed the warning. Stop adding speculation and current event interpretations to a prophecy that specifically warns against it - and stop taking away (or ignoring) all that was accomplished through the life, death, burial and resurrection of The Lord.    

Ok, got that off my chest - let's explore a few more ways God implemented the enemy-head-crushing plan to redeem His kids.

How was God going to:

 A)  Measure and qualify those who were true patriots of God's Nation? 

 B)  Accomplish this in a way that the enemy could not sabotage the outcome?

 C)  Flawlessly satisfy the demands spelled out in the law of sin and death within the confines of a human body?

Questions  A&B

144,000 was the number needed; 12,000 from 12 separate tribes.  But how had God determined these people were qualified to be counted among His Nation's patriots?  A standard of measure had to be adopted.  Hence, the law of Moses, which demanded participation in celebrations, feasts, and sacrifices as well as adherence to the 10 commandments.  None of which could make people righteous, but the enemy and the people participating in them didn't realize that.  They labored under the assumption that adherence to the laws would actually make them righteous.   

Question C

The promises contained in every new covenant God made with His creation brought the enemy-head-crushing-savior-of-the-world closer to reality.  But there were so many demands to be met that the experts of the Law were sure it was going to take more than one person to fulfill.  A lion and a lamb? From the tribe of Judah but also a priest?  From Bethlehem and Egypt?  The experts were torn, some said that Messiah would be one man others said no, it would require two.  That's why John the Baptizer sent his disciples to ask Jesus if he was the one (and only) or should they be keeping their eyes out for a second. Matthew 11:3

With so many variables it would seem impossible for one man to meet all the requirements. One that seemed particularly impossible was that Messiah would need to be a Priest, which, according to what God had said, needed to be a Levite and come from the line of Aaron (Moses' brother).  How was Jesus going to pull this off?

No surprise to the Creator of the plan - a.k.a. The One Who Goes Before To Make Provision. And that provision was laid out nearly 1,500 years earlier, and recorded in Numbers 6.  Anyone (male or female) who wanted to yield themselves completely for God's purposes (including Temple service) could do so, for a limited period of time.  They had to enter into the arrangement voluntarily,  abide by specific requirements and restrictions, and conclude their time of service with a sacrificial offering.

This little 'loop-hole' was how Jesus, from the tribe of Judah, was going to legally accomplish the duties of the High Priest from the tribe of Levi. Something that was genetically impossible. What were the requirements and restrictions the vow required?  No haircuts or consumption of grapes in any form.  No raisins, no juice, no wine. How do we know this was the route the Lord took?    Matthew, Mark, and Luke all recorded it. 

I am writing this on Maundy Thursday.   1,985 years ago today Jesus publicly announced at the last supper, before being arrested, his voluntary invoking of the Nazarite vow.

"But I say unto you, I will not drink henceforth of this fruit of the vine, until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father's kingdom." Jesus in Matthew 26:29

He voluntarily gave himself in service to God for a period of time and would commemorate the ending of that time with his earth-shaking sacrifice. 

In Hebrews 2:14 we learn that through His death He destroyed Satan (the one who had power of death).  By the way, there is no cosmic battle raging between God and Satan.  Any battles are in the hearts and minds of humanity.  And Hebrews 9:12 & 14 we learn that with His blood He redeemed us eternally ... and purged our consciences from the idea that dead works could be used in serving a Living God. 

The Cross changed everything!  It's high time we started believing it.  He's Alive! 

Redemption's Ratio

There's a lot to unpack before we celebrate the Lord's resurrection this coming Sunday. I'll only hit a few highlights, so if, by blog's end, your interest is piqued you can dive deeper into these ideas in What If The Cross Changed Everything?

The principles that were to be found at the Tree of Life were kicked to the curb when the unfortunate choice established the course for all humanity.  The planet's inhabitants would govern and be governed by the principles found at the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. Principles that came to be known as the law of sin and death. And God's pre-ordained plan began to take root.

We're going to explore answers to a few questions the next couple of days. 

How could God:
   1.  Re-insert Himself into the creation He had commissioned with authority and dominion in the Earth?
  2.   Secure the redemption of all humanity?

Question #1  Covenants

God will not (contrary to some folks' thinking) force His will on anyone. Doing so would violate the Laws of Love.  Here is where faith and promises a.k.a. covenants come in.  

Adam and Eve witnessed the declaration of that promise when God said to Satan:

"And the LORD God said unto the serpent, Because thou hast done this, thou art cursed above all cattle, and above every beast of the field; upon thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life: And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel."  Genesis 3:14 & 15

An ensuing result of that promise is learned in verse 16.  Sorrow will accompany conception. Why?  Because Satan would be targeting human offspring from that moment on, in his attempt to destroy the promised seed before it had a chance to take a breath.  But in spite of the potential heart-break, women were going to willingly bring new lives into the Earth.

I am fairly certain Cain had heard the story, and fancied himself to be the promised enemy head crusher.  But his delusion resulted in the crushing of his brother's head instead.  Hindsight being what it is, we now know that the authentic enemy head-crusher wouldn't come on the scene for another 4,000 years.  

Question #2 A sinless man AND a dedicated nation

This is where Abraham and Sarah come in. God needed a person who would give not only himself, but would entrust his posterity to God's plan. Genesis 18:19

For I know him, that he will command his children and his household after him, and they shall keep the way of the LORD, to do justice and judgment; that the LORD may bring upon Abraham that which he hath spoken of him. 

What was He going to do with a nation? Use it to bless all the other nations of the world. Genesis 22:18

Seeing that Abraham shall surely become a great and mighty nation, and all the nations of the earth shall be blessed in him.  

How could one nation bless all others?  

Deuteronomy 32:8 & 9
When the most High divided to the nations their inheritance, when he separated the sons of Adam, he set the bounds of the people according to the number of the children of Israel. For the LORD'S portion is his people; Jacob (whose name was changed to Israel) is the lot of his inheritance.

Now this nation wasn't simply made up of the offspring of of Abraham.  No! They had to walk in the laws of God.  Jacob (a.k.a. Israel) had 12 sons. And God had to have 12,000 from every one of those son's tribes who were proven to have only ever served The Lord God, never had they worshiped a god of the enemy.   144,000.   This took 2,000 years to complete but John records in Revelation chapter 7 verses 1-8 the day in Heaven's court when the count was made and the required number fulfilled.   

In verse 9 we see this happening:

After this I beheld, and, lo, a great multitude, which no man could number, of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues, stood before the throne, and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, and palms in their hands;

How many righteous are needed to protect the unrighteous? 

I don't know where to find the Heavenly statute but we get a glimpse of it in Genesis 18:32 I like to call it Redemption's Ratio... When God said if there were 10 righteous the entire doomed region would have been spared.  

Ten righteous would have bought more time for the unrighteous of the "5 cities of the plains" including Sodom and Gomorrah to have righted their ways.  Which begs the question, how much time was bought by the 144,000 righteous members of God's nation?  It appears to be the means by which God formed a legal loop-hole to rescue those who died before Christ's sacrifice.  

That is the purpose of mercy.  To extend time before a final, irreversible judgment is made.  I know this might sound far fetched, but I believe we have a mind blowingly brilliant God Who loves, loves, loves His kids.

We'll look at some answer ideas for a few more questions  in the near future.

Large Plants & Middle East Real Estate

We know God's intention was to redeem humanity, but we really have no idea how difficult that will be.  Go ahead, read the account again and again, and each time you can see another facet of the plan. Dirt, air, promises, and faith. 

found this image online at baddom24.blogspot.com

Most are familiar with the death warning attached to joining oneself to the knowledge of good and evil, illustrating God's desire that His creation choose to honor and serve Him as an act of free-will. But there is so much more packed in a few verses.

 Couple things to look at. Apparently the specifics of God's request were not communicated accurately. God told Adam to not eat (become one with) the fruit of the knowledge of good and evil (judgment)...  Genesis 2: 9, 16, 17

And out of the ground made the LORD God to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight, and good for food; the tree of life also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of knowledge of good and evil...And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die. 

But that's not what Eve told Satan in Genesis 3:2, 3:

And the woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden: But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die.

What?  Wait a minute.  Who said anything about touching?  And hello, news flash! There were two trees in the middle of God's garden;  life AND the knowledge of good and evil (judgment).   Talk about getting lost in translation!

I think Adam, in an attempt to protect Eve beefed up the warning (cuz God so needs our help).  Don't eat it, better yet, don't even touch it.... no, in fact don't go anywhere near it - steer clear of the tree that'll kill you - too bad the tree of life is right next door, but better safe than sorry. Tell you what, I'm making a new and better law; stay away from the middle of the garden. (Artistic license being liberally applied here)

And like every other time we think God needs our help, things got all messed up.

Another disturbing issue, definitions of death and life. 

Genesis 3:4, 5, 
 And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die: For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil. 

Seemed plausible.  Here was a creature that, by Eve's estimation, appeared to be alive.  It was breathing, speaking, and reasoning. Lesson to be learned: without an accurate definition of life, death is unrecognizable as well.  

Jesus cleared up the confusion in John 17:3
"And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent."

Life eternal is found in knowing God. If that isn't clear, we substitute knowing God with knowing good and evil and then we can be duped into thinking life is nothing more than having a body that continues to breathe.  

Point #3

Genesis 3:6
And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat.

Hold the phone.  What did God say about trees? They are good to look at and good for food.  They are not avenues for attaining wisdom.  

Proverbs 2:6
For the LORD giveth wisdom: out of his mouth cometh knowledge and understanding. 

By now I hope you realize that 'trees' are more than large plants,  Trees represent any number of intellectual, creative, fascinating, spiritual, physical, or economic pursuits. None of which are fountains of life or actual wisdom.  You have probably figured out that God's garden is in the hearts of humanity, not just a piece of Middle East Real Estate. 

By now I hope you recognize areas in your own life where you have a grip on something, maybe it's a profession, maybe it's a hobby, maybe it's an intellectual understanding or academic accomplishment. Go ahead. You can touch it, but don't be deceived into thinking it is adequate for defining you or being a life-source. 

By know I hope you know that Life is knowing God.  Once that issue is settled, all the other stuff is just stuff.  Not life-giving stuff.  Not wisdom-giving stuff.  Not purpose-for-existence stuff.  Not this-is-who-I-am stuff.  Not I-will-be-less-than-who-God-created-me-to-be-if-I don't-have-it stuff.  Stuff given richly for you to enjoy (I Tim. 6:17) not to judge the value of your life by.

Here we are, 6,000 years removed from that life altering, history defining event, and we find ourselves fighting the same battle. Only our 'tree' might look like a relationship, or a college degree, or a bank account, or a church membership, or a grudge, or a political platform, or a .....  But God remains the only true source of life, purpose, and wisdom.  Oh, did I mention that the Cross is what makes it possible for mankind to once again have access to the 'tree' that is Life?  Yep, That was the prize The Father had His heart set on and the Son recovered.  That is the prize we are tempted to diminish, overlook, or over complicate. I'm His. He's mine. That's it. What if The Cross Changed Everything?




  

Magnanimous Planner & A Magnificent Plan

Of course, we know that the ransom demands came as no surprise to God.  John writes in Revelation 13:8 that the Lamb (Jesus Christ) was slain from the foundation (establishment) of the world.

Standing here in 2018, we know that Jesus redeemed us, but I suspect the enemy would have seen no value in human beings  apart from what they could do in furthering his agenda.  They are, in his estimation, nothing more than the disposable vessels that carry the treasure he's obsessed with obtaining.

When I imagine Satan demanding the blood of a sinless man it becomes immediately apparent that humanity isn't what the enemy is most interested in.  Humans are so easily duped having proven themselves - throughout history - to be weak, powerless, and therefore worthless. Besides, if  God could actually deliver a sinless human being, there was a world full of these propagating expendables  just waiting to be deceived and incarcerated. Think about it, even if it was about liberating the enslaved and imprisoned, it wouldn't take but a generation to fill the emptied coffers.

Which begs the question; what if Satan thought he was negotiating the terms of redeeming the planet and not its inhabitants?  I can easily imagine Satan thinking God would be wanting to regain control of Planet Earth. Real Estate, that's a prize worth fighting for.  We see this throughout history - wars fought over dirt.  Also, this idea isn't too far fetched when we look at what he used in tempting Jesus: food to eat, power to wield  and kingdoms to rule.  Doesn't appear that the redemption of human souls made his list of temptations worth offering.

When it was declared that nothing less than the blood of a sinless man would satisfy a criminal's demand, God already had the plan and set about implementing it.   I don't think humanity's accuser had any idea what game he was playing.  Pride does that.  It's so focused on overestimating self, that others are automatically underestimated.

Psalm 24 is a great read and it starts off by establishing that the earth and what fills it belongs to the Lord. The word 'earth' as used by David was as encompassing as our usage of it today; as big as the planet or as small as a speck of dirt... Dirt! When God decided to create a race of humans specifically for the  purpose of tilling the ground (Genesis 2:5) whose life-force was the breath of God Himself (Genesis 2:7) what did He use?  Dirt. Thus insuring from before the very outset that humans could be counted among the Lord's sole possessions.  Colossians 1:26-27

Like the song says,  Your love is extravagant! 

He has no intention of leaving his children at the mercy of a cruel, merciless, captor. He has a plan so magnificent and magnanimous that 2000 years later we are still trying to grasp the magnitude of it.

Stay tuned... the Cross Changed Everything!

What God Can Do With A Pile O' Dirt!

Continuing on the theme of the Lord's legal accomplishments...

"We don't know who discovered water, but we know it wasn't a fish."  Marshal McLuhan

Every year our state's elected legislators head to the capitol to write the laws that govern our lives, most of which the governed population are ignorant of, until we find ourselves in violation of or stonewalled by in some way.  We then have several choices: conform our actions to fall within the stipulations of the law, abandon our plan, or ignore the law believing it either: a)doesn't apply to us or b) hope to not get caught violating it.  None of which have any effect on the law itself.  Laws effect me, I don't effect them.  (I do appreciate living in a nation where I have the right to affect the law, but that's another blog.)

Going back to the garden we have the law (do not consume the fruit from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil) and the consequences of its violation (in the day that you consume of it, you will surely die).  We all know the story.  Or do we?

"In an obscure, unspectacular moment of time, humans chose to live a life governed by what appealed to their physical senses and reasoning abilities. By rejecting the truths of Life governed by Love and embracing the dichotomous concepts of an existence governed by good/evil, right/wrong, punish/pay the world quickly descended into fear and death—an existence ruled by the laws of sin and death.

After hi-jacking the authority that God had delegated to humanity, the evil, dictatorial ruler of that miserable, lifeless existence was certain he had all of humanity locked up tight in his ‘iron clad’ penal system.

Thank God (literally) for the ‘dust-clad’ design He had up His sleeve; those few ambiguous loopholes set the stage for the implementation of His magnificent plan."  What If The Cross Changed Everything?  

Make no mistake.  The enemy never intended to lose his grip on the lives of God's image bearers. So when it came to negotiating the terms of redemption it's safe to assume pride convinced him that  he'd crafted a scheme inaccessible even to the Creator of the universe.

What was God left with to design a plan for humanity's redemption? Dirt, air, promises, and faith.
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Who Establishes The Terms Of Redemption?

Christ's Legal Accomplishments

If you've read my book, What If The Cross Changed Everything?, you know that my take on John's Revelation of Jesus is quite a departure from the eschatological explanations currently in vogue.

The interpretation I offer focuses on Jesus and his accomplishments made on our behalf. He was, in fact, a stickler for the law.  We read in Matthew 5:17 where he declared his intent and purpose at his first recorded public meeting, "I came, not to destroy the law but to fulfill it". And the last words he spoke before surrendering his spirit was to proclaim, "It is finished".  

What law was he talking about? What 'it' was he referring to?

Romans 10:4 tells us that He was the end of the law for righteousness. Sounds like this is the law we need to focus on.

The law for righteousness doesn't mean we are now guilt and sin free, squeaky clean and chaste as the driven snow.  I suspect this misunderstanding of 'being made righteous' has led to many disqualifying themselves from walking with God.

Reason enough to drill down on this concept.

To be made righteous means that things have been put to rights; back the way they were.  To be righteous means the way it was originally intended.  For human beings to be made righteous means we have been reunited with our Creator.  Making that a reality is what the cross was all about.

Prison at Castillo San Cristobal Fort in San Juan Puerto Rico
Yes, it really is as small as it looks.

Who established the terms of redemption?  For decades I credited God with that, but- just like everything else I thought I believed - decided to scrutinize this belief as well. Thankfully doing so didn't require too many brain cells to upend.

In any hostage, extortion, or incarceration situation who sets the terms of redemption?  Not the one against whom the demands are being made! Not the imprisoned. It's always the extortioner who makes the demands.  In the case of humanity's entrapment and captivity to the warden of the law of sin and death, the terms of our release were set by the captor.  The Bible records for us the 4,000 years it took (working in the earth and through human beings) to secure the demands made for our ransom.

Having this perspective completely revolutionizes the way one reads the Bible.  It means that God is not, as some mistakenly believe, a blood-thirsty, iron-fisted, narcissistic egomaniac undeserving of worship and service.  Nope.  Instead we see Him as any earthly father of an abducted, tortured child.

Stay tuned - my goal, between now and April 1, is to explore the magnificent ways Christ fulfilled the demands of our ransom.  It just might make the upcoming celebration of His resurrection more palpable than it is already.

 I would like to offer the readers of this blog series a PDF version of What If The Cross Changed Everything?  Click  to access your free gift.