MISCELLANEOUS

Miscellaneous,
If you read the first in the series; "Paradigm Lost". You saw the foreshadowing of the coming change. That change being the Kingdom of God, or the institution of the New Covenant in the blood of Christ. I will be continuing through the book of Matthew to show this paradigm shift being revealed in the earthly ministry of Jesus Christ.

But first, I must take a trip to Wichita. I will be gone all next week and will return and continue the series. In the meantime, enjoy some more of the beautiful scenery of Colorado Springs.

P.S. I have put a few links that I enjoy off to the right on the blog. I recommend visiting these sites as they have been very edifying for me.

God bless you all and have a great week.

PARADIGM LOST

Paradigm lost

The title of this article and the new title of my blog probably causes the reader to hearken back to John Milton’s 17th century epic poem; “Paradise Lost”. While I will admit to riding the coattails of the inspiring nature of that wonderful work, the title “Paradigm Lost” is only slightly connected to Milton’s classic.

The word “Paradigm” is an interesting word and according to Dictionary.com, it means

1. One that serves as a pattern or model.
2. A set of assumptions, concepts, values, and practices that constitutes a way of viewing reality for the community that shares them, especially in an intellectual discipline.

It is from the Greek “paradeigma”, from paradeiknunai meaning; to compare : para-, alongside; see para-1 + deiknunai, to show.

(Even my cat "Moshie" has trouble "thinking outside the box"...see picture above).

In the study of the bible there are often times paradigms that we get used to. Patterns of interpreting the bible whether right or wrong with which we become comfortable and eventually inflexible, often to our own hurt. It has been my experience that many Christians who grow and learn are taken down a road in which their paradigms are challenged and often broken before their eyes. I believe that this is the nature of the day and age in which our savior Jesus Christ came. He arrived on the scene in the heyday of the Pharisees, Sadducees, Scribes, the synagogue worship and the myriad of Jewish traditions and festivals. What Jesus did was both revolutionary and astonishing. His ministry was not a “live and let live” ministry, nor was it a passive wait and see. Jesus came with a “take no prisoners” approach. His words and deeds went so far in the destruction of the existing first century Jewish paradigm that they had no choice; they had to kill him for it.

A quick survey of the introductory book of the New Testament gives hints all along the way. Sixteen times the author tells us that; “This or that was done so that the words of this prophet or that prophet might be fulfilled.” (see Matthew 1;22, 2:15, 17,23, 4:14, 5:18,:8:17, 12:17, 13:14-15, 21:4, 24::34, 26:54-56,27:9,35) So right away we see that Jesus was preaching a day of fulfillment. This was disturbing to the Pharisees on many occasions. When John the Baptist came preaching in the wilderness Matt 3:1-13a, and 17.

“In those days came John the Baptist, preaching in the wilderness of Judea, and saying, Repent ye: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. For this is he that was spoken by the prophet Isaiah, saying, the voice of one crying in the wilderness, prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his paths straight. And the same John had his raiment of camels’ hair, and a leather girdle about his loins; and his meat was locusts and wild honey. Then went out to him Jerusalem and all Judea, and all the region round about Jordan, and were baptized of him in Jordan, confessing their sins. BUT when he say many of the Pharisees and Sadducees come to his baptism, he said unto them, O generation of vipers, who hath warned you to flee from the wrath to come? Bring forth therefore fruits meet for repentance: And think not to say within yourselves; We have Abraham to our Father: for I say unto you, that God is able of these stones to raise up children unto Abraham. And now also the axe is laid unto the root of the trees: therefore every tree which brings forth not good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire. I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance: but he that cometh after me is mightier than I, whose shoes I am not worthy to bear: He shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost and with fire: whose fan is in his hand and he will thoroughly purge his floor, and gather his wheat into the garner; but He will burn the chaff with unquenchable fire. Then cometh Jesus…And lo a voice from heaven, saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.”


Here in this passage we see Introducing Jesus and what he is about to do and what is about to happen. “Repent”! Revolutionary to the Jewish leaders whose message was “Perform”. “The Kingdom is at hand” Here, the Jewish leaders present were under the delusion that they ruled in God’s kingdom of Israel. If you wanted standing or status with the Jewish society of that day, you went through the rabbis, Pharisees, Sadducees, etc. John was not an establishment type, his clothing and diet were odd and out of place with the accepted norms. His message as well was disturbing to the Jewish leadership. John went on to tell them that old relationships that you may have been counting on, count for nothing.

“Do not to say within yourselves, We have Abraham to our father: for I say unto you, that God is able of these stones to raise up children unto Abraham.”

The Jewish people were trained from birth to count on and even brag on their link to Abraham. Here John tells them that this link is meaningless…you must be linked to God by way of his Son Jesus Christ. John did not make too many friends with his comments where he addressed the Pharisees and Sadducees as “Generation of vipers”…telling them that there is wrath to come. And in verse ten he continues by saying that NOW-not some far distant time in the future, but NOW the axe is laid to the root of the trees, warning them that their fruit will be judged, and the fruitless will be cast into the fire. If it were not for the crowd and the cloud, they probably would have killed John right there and then. But he was protected because the people, hungry to hear a sincere message from God flocked to him in huge numbers and the leaders dared not touch him. Then after baptizing the one who he was witnessing of, the one and only important witness and stamp of approval came with a thundering voice. “This is my Beloved Son in whom I am well pleased”. If John’s testimony was not enough, they heard from Jehovah himself.

All this by way of introducing a drastic shift; an incredible upheaval; a world shattering paradigm change that was to come. Rendering obsolete the old covenant in which the Jewish leaders were placing their faith and the institution of the New Covenant in the blood of their messiah and our savior that will be revealed as the only way for a person to approach God. Jesus in the process fulfills all of the law and the prophets. He is the New Covenant high priest…no further need of Aaron. He is the New Covenant Prophet foretold in Deuteronomy 18…no further need of Moses. He is the New Covenant King eternally ascended and sitting on his throne…no further need for a David, or Solomon or any other earthly king. Jesus fulfilled it all. The Paradigm shift has happened…I ask you; are we going to embrace the newness of Christ in the New Covenant, or are we going to hold onto the forms and shadows of the Old Covenant?


More to come on this amazing Paradigm change…stay tuned.

THE CURCH OF THE SELF-HELP

The Church of the Self-Help

It has not been long since the fad of “The Purpose Driven Life” has morphed into the “Purpose Driven Church”, and then again to the “40 Days of Purpose”, “The Purpose driven Marriage”, Purpose driven Child-Rearing”, and the list goes on ad infinitum, ad nauseum. Is this a marketing ploy? Is this a money making scheme?

I am naturally a cynical person but I am not going to impugn the motives of the authors in this case and say it is done for profit, or gain, (although this series has made its author very rich). I can imagine tables being turned over if Christ came to the lobbies of some churches that have turned into book sellers. Don’t get me wrong, I love books. I read many books. But self help books have never had much of an appeal to me.

Why is that you ask?

Well it is not because I am not in need of help. I certainly need help…but I have found self help to be empty and vain for the Christian. Human effort never accomplishes the work of God. I have moved four times to four different states since 2002 and the biggest challenge I have come up against has been finding a church that preaches Christ and him crucified, apart from the works of the flesh, and the work of man. Every where I have gone I have only found churches doing series on how to have a better marriage, how to raise good children, how to become successful and happy in your work, etc. All of these things are admirable and they certainly draw a crowd. But is that why Jesus died? To make marriages better? Certainly that may be a by-product, but is that the purpose of him going to the cross.

I submit that he came to seek and to save that which is lost. That Christ Jesus was in the world reconciling man to God. As a result of being reconciled to God perhaps we will become better parents, spouses, employees etc. But to hold out a hope of success in becoming pleasing to God through human effort is to make the work of Christ on the cross vain and empty. I am convinced that those who are exposed to the preaching of the cross will either leave in offense or they will be changed by the Spirit of God into the image of Christ. The successful Christian is the one who is being formed by God to more and more, day by day, resemble Christ. I am not one to lecture on marriage, or child-rearing. I have tried to be what I think God would have me be in these roles, but I must admit, I am not an expert nor a role model in either. By the grace of God I have seen some success in many areas of life, but this is not my doing.

So what am I saying? I am saying that we as Christians need to put aside human effort in the pursuit of these things and trust in the righteousness of Jesus Christ in whom all the promises of God in him are yeah and amen. I pray that the churches of this country will forsake the “self-help” gospel of humanism, and return to preaching Christ crucified and let God by his Spirit change his people by his grace and by his power which is always effectual, and whose word will always accomplish his purpose and never return to him void.

MY PATH

Greetings friends,
This is the north face of Pikes Peak on 16 September 2006. My youngest daughter and I went on a 10 kilometer hike on the trails in the shadow of PP. It felt like a crisp autumn day although the calendar was telling me there is still a bit of summer left to go. The Aspens were in full fall colors and the walk, although physically challenging with lots of steep hills, seemed more like a peaceful stroll. This has got to be the best time of year. It is certainly a time where being outdoors is a must. I have done a lot of hiking in the past, but I think that now I am hiking in the Colorado Rockies I am humbled that much of my hiking was nothing more than walking. But I think that I should not be too hard on myself. We all have our own path to walk. God gives us all opportunities and opens different doors at different times for each of us. Sometimes the doors we want most to open remain closed. And yet we must in faith walk that path that God has laid out before us. I have long thought of hiking as a small slice of life itself. We all must walk the path-run the race that we have been given. I cannot walk your path, you cannot walk mine. We each must do what we can; some can run a 3 hour marathon, others of us must walk parts run parts and settle for 6 hour marathons, and yet we must conclude that the 3 hour and the 6 hour marathon have both gone the same distance. That is the essence of life...to go the distance. As the Apostle Paul said, to "run the race, to finish the course..." Each has been called to his or her own path, run-or-walk as if your life depended on it. And give thanks and glory to God that he has given you the path that you are on. Grace to each of you who read, and run, or walk.

Jeff

THE BEAUTY OF THE CREATOR

Beautiful colors in the Garden of the Gods with Pikes Peak in the background. Colorado Springs, taken @ 7:10 AM Thursday, 14 September 2006. Enjoy the beauty of the creator every day...it is there as a gift to us.

FAITH AS A RULE OF LIFE

I am a big fan of the writings of William Huntington. I am also one who believes that the Christian today is being wrongly put under the Mosaic Law, not for salvation but for sanctification, righteousness and for a rule of life. I think all these uses of the law are illegitamate and diminish the value and preciousness of the work of Christ; who is our righteousness. Below is a condensed version-(edited by me) of the article by William Huntington, "A RULE AND A RIDDLE; OR, AN EVERLASTING TASK FOR BLIND WATCHMEN AND OLD WOMEN"

The short title is "A Rule and A Riddle". I like to call it, "Faith as a Rule of Life".

I would love to hear your thoughts.


WILLIAM HUNTINGTON(1745-1813)

We are to tread in the steps of the faith of our father Abraham, which he had being yet uncircumcised, Romans 4:9-12.
“The promise that he should be the heir of the world, was not to him, or to his seed, through the law," Rom. 6:12, 13, and yet affirms, that as many as are of faith are blessed with faithful Abraham.
And this promised blessing, and heirship, was given to Abraham, and to his seed-four hundred and thirty years before the law was given.
What rule did these pilgrims in the faith walk by? Who obtained so good a report (or so good a testimony) from God?
---We are told that Abel offered to God, and obtained witness that he was righteous by faith-then faith was his rule of worship. Heb 11:4, 12:24
---Enoch walked with God by faith-then faith was his rule of walk. Heb 11:5
---Noah condemned the world by faith-then faith was his rule of judgment. Heb 11:7
---"By faith Abraham, when he was called, went out not knowing whither he went"-then faith was the rule by which he took his journey, though he knew not whither, and his obedience was the obedience of faith. Heb 11:8-17
But if he had been living under the law as his only rule of life, he would have known where he was going, and he would not have gone in ignorance, and his obedience would have been the obedience of the law instead of faith.
---But Paul will have it that all Abraham's children are in the same condition that their father, Abraham was-for they walk by faith, not by sight. Rom 4:12-16
---But if the letter of the law is the only rule that the believer is to walk and live by, then he walks by sight, not by faith. Gal 3:2, 3:5, 5:18 2 Cor 5:7
---He looks at the things that are seen, not at the things which are unseen. Heb 11:1, 7
---It is by faith that Moses saw him who is invisible, and by faith we must look at the things that are not seen, which are eternal. Heb 11:27

Paul lays it out in the New Testament: (and other passages).
---"He that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him;" Heb 11:6
Then faith must be the rule of his coming.
---"We have access, by faith into this grace wherein we stand," Rom. 5:2
Then faith is the rule of our approach to God.
---"The just [man] shall live by his faith," Hab. 2:4
Then faith is the just man's rule of life.
---"We walk by faith, not by sight," 2 Cor. 5:7
Then faith is our rule of walk.
---"Thou standest by faith," says Paul, Rom. 11:20
Then faith is the rule of a believer's standing.
---"Whatever ye shall ask believing, ye shall receive," says Christ. Matt 21:22
Then faith is the rule of that branch of worship.
---"By faith Enoch had this testimony, that he pleased God; but without faith it is impossible to please him," Heb. 11:5, 6
Then faith is a rule that God approves of, and is pleased with.
---"Whatsoever is not of faith is sin” Rom 14:23
Then faith is a perfect rule of holiness.
---"He that believes is justified from all things, from which he could not by the law of Moses". Acts 13:39
Then faith is our rule of righteousness.
---It is by faith that we overcome the world. To lay hold on eternal life, is to fight the good fight of faith, according to Paul; "I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith" 1 Jo 5:41, Tim 6:12, 2 Tim 4:7
Then faith was the rule of his warfare, and the rule of his race; and it was the grace of God that made Paul obedient to that rule.
---"We have received grace and apostleship for obedience to the faith," Rom. 1:5,
That is, by Christ we have received grace to save our souls, and apostleship to be of use to the church, not as a reward of our obedience, but to furnish us with power, to make us obedient to the faith, among all nations for his name, Rom. 1:5
Then faith is the rule of apostolic obedience; for it cannot be called receiving grace for obedience to the faith, if faith be not the gracious man's rule of obedience.
---Paul counts all things but dung that he may win Christ, and he found in him; not having his own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, and tells us to" walk by the same rule, and mind the same thing," Phil 3:8
---If you take this rule of Paul's to be his pressing forward, or any of his attainments, it is answered, by faith he pressed forward, and by faith he attained; for else his pressing and attaining had been nothing but sin; for whatsoever is not of faith, according to Paul's doctrine, is sin. 1 Tim 4:6
---By faith Christ dwells in our hearts, and by faith we dwell in him; and in Christ Jesus neither circumcision availeth any thing, nor uncircumcision, but a new creature, which is Christ formed within us: "and as many as walk according to this rule, peace be on them and mercy, and upon the Israel of God," Gal. 6:15, 16.
---Faith is the rule of life according to the revealed will of God in Christ Jesus; "and this is the will of him that sent me, that every one which seeth the Son, and believeth on him, may have everlasting life, and I will raise him up at the last day," John, 6:40.
---Thus faith appears to be the believer's rule of life; according to the will of God in Christ Jesus; and the letter of the law is the bond-children's rule of life-"he that doth these things shall live in them."
---Let him do according to this rule and he shall live.
---The law is not the rule of believing, but of doing; "the law is not of faith, but of works, and the man that doth them shall live in them," Gal. 3:12.
---If to see the Son, and believe on him, entitles us to everlasting life according to God's will. John 6:40
Then faith must be the rule of that life; and one would think that, if he that liveth and believeth shall never die, faith must be a safe rule to live by.
---It is by faith that we apprehend Christ. Phill 3:12-13
---It is by faith we lay hold of him, as the hope set before us, Heb. 6:18.
---It is by Christ that we believe in God, 1 Peter 1:21, and "we receive the promise of the Spirit through faith," Gal. 3:14.
---By this rule we come to a saving knowledge of the Trinity; for the eye of faith is a light by which we see what is the fellowship of the mystery, Eph. 3:9.
---Without the assurance of understanding, there will be no true acknowledgment of the mystery of God [the Holy Ghost], and of the Father, and of Christ, Col. 2:2.

Romans 2:26 Therefore if the uncircumcision keep the righteousness of the law, shall not his uncircumcision be counted for circumcision?

Romans 3:21 But now the righteousness of God without the law is manifested, being witnessed by the law and the prophets;

Romans 4:13 For the promise, that he should be the heir of the world, [was] not to Abraham, or to his seed, through the law, but through the righteousness of faith.

Romans 8:4 That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.

Romans 9:31 But Israel, which followed after the law of righteousness, hath not attained to the law of righteousness.

Romans 10:4 For Christ [is] the end of the law for righteousness to every one that believeth.

Romans 10:5 For Moses describeth the righteousness which is of the law, that the man which doeth those things shall live by them.

Galatians 2:21 I do not frustrate the grace of God: for if righteousness [come] by the law, then Christ is dead in vain.

Galatians 3:21 [Is] the law then against the promises of God? God forbid: for if there had been a law given which could have given life, verily righteousness should have been by the law.

Philippians 3:9 And be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith: