We Need To Stop Using The 1940 Playbook

This morning I was listening to two of my children having a discussion concerning saddles in Minecraft. My 7 year old daughter was explaining to my six year old son that you cannot craft a saddle but instead you have to find it in a storage trunk or by fishing. My son was insistent that this saddle could be grafted with the right ingredients. Suddenly my daughter turned to me:

"Daddy, can you craft a saddle?"

I will admit that I "play" Minecraft with my children as a way of "bonding" with them in what interests them. But my knowledge of the game is restricted to mining, defending myself against bad creatures and planting crops. I like mining. So I had no idea about saddles and told my daughter as much. She quickly turned from me and spoke into the air:

"Hey Google, is it possible to craft a saddle in Minecraft?"

And Google gave a lengthy response of why it is not possible to craft a saddle and what a person can do to obtain one. 

Now, if you don't have a clue what I am talking about you are proving the point of this post. Things in this world are in constant motion, in society, in technology and in how people do things like relationship. Trying to stop these changes is as useful as trying to stop a speeding Mack truck by stepping in front of it. We need to suck it up and try to keep up. However, there is one thing that doesn't change.

Our Father never changes and the purposes of what he has created never change. For example, we were created to need people. Isolating ourselves will cause us mental distress. If we don't ever want to be with people it is a sign that there is already a brokenness in our function. I am not referring to a desire for alone time. I need alone time. Most of us do. But we are also designed to need people.

The principles of the Kingdom never change but methodology does. Looking at the example of my children, there is a new way to acquire knowledge. No longer are dad and mom the only source of knowledge. No longer do children need to hear the answer for "Why is the sky blue?", "because God made it that way". That may be the underlying reason but if a seven year old daughter asks that question to Google she will receive a length and complete answer from science. So, parents need to shift from being the source of knowledge to teaching children how to discover trustworthy sources of knowledge.

Kingdom people need to make this shift as well. The principles remain the same because they have been established by the unchanging King. But we cannot continue to operate from the 1940 play book. Methodology changes. Could this be why Jesus never healed two people the same way? Could it be that our Father wants us to use the imagination he gave us to see all possibilities in presenting his love to the nations?

There are certain methods used in the past, such as fear and manipulation, that should never have been used. We are dealing with the consequences of these past methods in the closed doors of today. The way people communicate is different today. The way people live out relationships is different. The need for relationship is still real but how we do it can be different.

There was a time that the Church cared for "the least of these" by building hospitals, orphanages and retirement homes, but the government has taken over most of these. But government is not good at relationship and we are. James says it is our purpose to "love and value our neighbour as we love and value ourselves". The question is, what does that look like today?

Preaching on the street corner has been changed up to preaching on social media. Gathering for worship has been shifting from a physical gathering to a digital gathering. Not all these changes are the most positive so it is up to us to lean into Father and his wisdom to find the best method today. The same is true for relationship.

I will be honest, I use many methods in building relationships but the most effective is still the face to face. There is something encouraging and pleasurable in the embrace of someone you love. There is something wonderful in seeing the twinkle in their eye. But the best method does not mean the only method because the best is not always available. There is great value in the encouragement of a video call, of the old method of a phone call, in the newer method of a text message. But it goes beyond just these kind of relationships.

I don't agree with it but there was a time when the methodology of communicating to the world their need for Jesus was to condemn them for their rebellion. We were mean and hateful, most of the time. We feared their sin and that fear provoked an unholy reaction. We need to seek Father for his wisdom for loving people who are unable to see in an ever darkening world. How do we give them Jesus' invitation in a way that they know it is sincere, better than what they have and what they desperately need and want? The old playbook does not work in a world that is bent on doing what it wants to do. 

For sure we need revival. But it's not what most of us think of as revival. We need to be revived to hearing Father's voice, to relying on him instead of our own understanding, to desiring his heart above everything else. We need to be revived to this dependent relationship and then from it's overflow the world will see the love of Father and will hear and be attracted to this invitation to drink from the Living Water. Methodology may change but the needs remain the same. 

A Peaceful, Prosperous Future With A Happy Ending

There are a lot of things in our life that want to provoke us into a reaction of fear. Change is a big one. There is so much fear that surrounds anything that is different from what has become our normal. And we do not have to look far to see that change.

The pandemic has changed almost everything for us but that is simply another layer to the shifting society of our lifetime. Many of these shifts are positive and have been overdue, such as the issue of gender and race equality. Some of the old mindsets must be reset and come into agreement with our Father's heart. Then there are other social changes that are in direct opposition to Father's heart. However, there is one fear provoking change that we all have in common and has been with us since the fall of humanity.

We are getting older. 

Our mind and body is in a constant state of change. First it is the change of growth but then we reach a stage where age means decline. The decline is often worse than it needs to be simply because we do not make the effort to look after ourselves. We wait far too late and only start taking it seriously when there has been some kind of health crisis in our body.

It is no different for our brains. After 50 years of age the processing power of our brain is not as fast but then again it doesn't need to be. By that stage we have accumulated so much experience that we respond from experience faster than we would have by processing. But this then explains why we struggle with any changes to what has always been normal for us. Changes need to be processed and because of this we need to exercise our brain to slow down the decline.

For citizens of the Kingdom of God, this time of aging should not be filled with fear. In fact, no change should ever provoke us to fear. We understand that the world will always be in a state of change because it is searching for something that can only be found in Father but the world lives in a state of rebellion. The answer is there but they would rather chase after shadows of truth than actual truth. However, citizens of the Kingdom have a foundation that is built on the Rock that never changes.

I use this wording only because it is part of our Christian vocabulary but in essence it means that we live by the unchanging principles of the Eternal One whose attributes never change because he is incapable of change. This means that as people governed by the principalities of this world begin to wonder if there is anything after death we have the assurance that the best is yet to come. 

What should these days look like for us then? Consider Psalm 37:

"But you can tell who are the blameless and spiritually mature. What a different story with them! The godly ones will have a peaceful, prosperous future with a happy ending."

Our ending should be the best bits of our life in this world, regardless of our circumstances. It is at this stage that we should understand that Jesus completed all the work and has brought us into his rest. We have learned what it is to trust the Lord in the best of times and the worse of times. We have learned to live a life of surrender and one that is not filled with condemnation. We know what it is to walk every day in the gifts of peace and joy. We have learned that relationship trumps situations. We have learned the freedom of forgiveness and the joy of celebrating other people's victories. We have learned that life is better as the supporting actor than the center stage star. We have learned what it is to walk humbly before our God and that our responsibility here has always been "To love and value our neighbour as we love and value ourself".

Ours is a happy ending because we know the truth of the reality that seems hidden from this world:

"But the Lord will be the Saviour of all who love him. Even in their time of trouble God will live in them as strength. Because of their faith in him, their daily portion will be a Father's help and deliverance from evil. This is true for all who turn to hide themselves in him!"

The ending is not a time of fear so don't let the enemy use fear to disturb your peace. Rejoice in the faith you have been given in the Holy One, your Father who will carry you to your last breath and then will bring you in to the better times to come. Now is the time to stand in your witness of his faithfulness, of his strength, of his joy and his peace. Now is the time to plant those seeds of encouragement and hope for those who will stay behind. Now is the time of worship, of praise, of sharing your testimony to a world that is desperate for hope.

Rejoice child of God. Take deep breaths in his atmosphere of peace. Relax. Rest. Rejoice. Change is not a thing you fear because the greatest thing in all of eternity will never change, Father's love for you. Nothing else matters. Rejoice!

Is Christianity About Working On Yourself?

Did you know that Christianity is not a self-help system? Most Christians will tell you that they know that. They will tell you that salvation is by grace and our transformation is a process of the Spirit. But what most Christians tell you and what they actually teach and live don't always match up.

Let's face it, most of humanity is made up of doers. We like to feel in control, powerful, in charge of problems and able to find solutions. This is so true and we are all that. We are fearfully and wonderfully made. Yet, our relationship with Father is one of dependence, trust, rest, and obedience to instruction. We are capable of finding solutions but the solutions the Lord wants to guide us to are eternal not quick fixes.

We like to work on ourselves. We like to see areas that need improvement and come up with a plan to do it. But the areas that need improvement are not areas that we can improve. It is beyond us. Instead, we are told to cooperate with the Spirit who will convict us according to righteousness. The work of change is his responsibility and we learn to submit and cooperate. That fact is, everything we need has already been planted in us when we received Spirit and Spirit teaches us how to let these seeds grow and to walk according to this new nature.

So what does that look like?

Let's use an example from James. In chapter two James teaches that our entire responsibility is summed up by the royal law, "To love and respect our neighbour as we love and respect ourselves". Of course this is not a love we are capable of but a love that comes from Jesus living through us. Paul describes this love for us in 1 Corinthians 13 and it is very radical compared to our watered down and limited version.

James goes on to talk about how this love is demonstrated in our faith-works. This is not a faith that remains a theory or talking point but a thing that operates in us, provoking us to action, every moment of our day for the rest of our lives. This is a powerful thing that has been seeded into us. It is not limited to kindness, but has kindness in it. It is actions we are provoked by love to take that goes beyond what we have resources to accomplish but still we do it trusting that Dad has us covered because this action is his righteousness. I hope you can understand the mumble jumble.

This is great in and of itself but the point I want to make is found in the third chapter. Here James addresses the issue of the words we use. He describes the power of the tongue, comparing it to a ship's rudder, the bit that controls the horse and the flame that starts a forest fire. I have heard many sermons from this passage and most teach that we need to learn to control our tongues. But the thing is James says we can't. He says that humanity has tamed everything in the world but we will never learn to tame the tongue. Still we persist in teaching that by our effort we can change.

What is the solution? James says consider the source. He says bitter and sweet water cannot come from the same source. So it is not a matter of taming the power of the tongue because if the source is good then the power will be used for good. Instead of tearing down it will build up. Instead of cursing it will declare blessing. Now, we do have something to do with the source.

The problem with the tongue is the same problem as our actions. Everything rests on what James says is our purpose : "To love and respect our neighbour as we love and respect ourselves". Jesus told us we would not be able to do anything outside of him and that we need to remain attached to the vine. The vine, Jesus, is the source. He constantly renews our heart. He constantly refreshes us. His joy is our strength. 

It is never about self-improvement. It is always about keeping step with the Spirit, being attached to Jesus, being renewed in him every day, being dependent on him, taking direction from him, living for his purpose and his glory.  James says the royal law sums all of this up and, to be honest, is a lot easier than being careful with our words. If I concentrate on my relationship with Jesus, my source of all things, then the powerful tongue will only ever speak words that love, respect and honour other people. Because the Source is sweet the water will be sweet.

Capitalism, Socialism, Or Another Ism?

There is much debate in Christian circles about capitalism and socialism. There is debate because we are often too occupied with the systems of the world to understand the culture of the Kingdom. There has even been such a watering down of Kingdom culture as current evangelism has mixed preferences for world systems in the spreading of the gospel. We need to surrender all opinion and seek Father's heart to get a clear understanding of the Kingdom.

There is one place I always like to start in Scripture when I want to get focused on Father's heart and Kingdom economics. I believe in Kingdom economics. I believe that the Lord intends for us to be prosperous in everything and to use this prosperity to bring a form of equality. In this he will be glorified to the nations. There will never be perfect equality because we live in a broken world but we should come very close to it in the Church, which is Kingdom culture on earth.

The place I like to start is in Deuteronomy 15 because here we can see the intention our Father had for Israel. Here in verse four he says that there will be no poor in Israel because he would prosper the people in their obedience to him. He promised them great stuff if they walked in obedience. Simple. But then a few verses later he gives instructions in case there are poor among them.

Father knew that not everyone would manage to walk in obedience so there would be those who failed to enter into prosperity. It was more than just a reward for obedience that he was promising. The Law itself was the building block for prosperity. A society based on honour would lend itself to the success of every citizen and that is where the Law would bring this nation, to a culture of honour.

Father knew some would fail but he did not tell the nation to cast those people out. He told them to surround them in loving support. He told them to share the wealth, to give to them whatever they asked for and not to resent it. This was the method by which equality would be achieved, that everyone would be honoured, and poverty would be destroyed. As I already stated, in this culture of honour God would be glorified to the nations. Perfect, right? It should have been.

The one great failure in all of creation is us. We keep getting in the way of our own success because we keep putting ourselves in the middle of everything. It is hard for us to take a supporting role. But when we see our role as helping other people become successful we begin reaching the pinnacle of our purpose. And in a culture of honour, as I am occupied with your success someone else is occupied with my success.

The Royal Law, as James calls it, is "Love and respect your neighbour as you love and respect yourself". Unfortunately, the self-centered attitude lends itself to mental illness so that we do not even love and respect ourselves. 

How about the golden rule, another one that Jesus gave us, "Do to others what you would have them do to you"? Once again our self-centeredness changes it to "I'll do to you whatever you do to me". 

This we can understand in a broken world. The only thing that will fix it is the transformation that Jesus offers. But this self-centered culture should never exist among brothers and sisters of Christ. It isn't the Lord's way so it shouldn't be ours. We realize that everything we have has been given for the benefit of the Body of Christ. Not for the most deserving but for anyone who is in need. Father does not qualify this directive to the Israelites but Jesus made it plan with the parable of the Good Samaritan.

A lot of judgement has crept into the Kingdom Culture which means it isn't Kingdom Culture at all but a cheap knock off. Father made it clear, mercy is greater than judgement. Jesus stated that the merciful are blessed and will receive mercy. He said that we will reap what we sow. He has made it clear to us, just as Father made it clear to Israel that those who receive blessing have the responsibility to share those blessings even with those they may deem to be unworthy.

The issue is not capitalism or socialism. The issue is, are we obedient citizens of the Kingdom of God, learning to live by his culture in a foreign land?

Can God Use Trump?

I can tell you right now that this is going to be a blog that doesn't satisfy anyone. It is not a political post nor is it pro or con Trump. I am not anti-politics, I just reserve my political views for face-to-face discussions. No, the purpose of this post is to state how the Lord can and will use anyone to move his will forward.

There has been a lot of debate about why Christians put their trust in someone like president Trump. From all appearances he is not a standard bearer for the righteousness of Jesus, King of kings. I don't need to go into the details because I believe most of us are overly familiar with his statements and actions. But does this mean that the Lord cannot use this man?

Just to get it out of the way, let's point out the "let who who has not sinned cast the first stone" situation. My past is filled with incidents where I fell far short of my Father's standard of love. I am still learning and growing so I am certain there will be other areas in which I fail. You too. Does this mean that I am no longer of any use to my King? Or you? Hardly.

The Lord knew what he was doing when he went to the cross for me. He sits at the right hand of Father today explaining why we get it wrong sometimes. He knows me, understands me and intercedes for me because he loves me. It is the same heart of our Father who desires that everyone would be reconciled to him. As Scripture says, if he is for us who can be against us?

Does this mean that President Trump is a Christian? I don't know but I do know that Christians, especially immature ones, have a lot to learn about the righteousness of our King. We know this to be a process and one that we are walking through in cooperation with the Holy Spirit. There is only One who is perfect in love and we are growing up into that maturity.

Now let's suppose President Trump is not a Christian. Does this mean that our King cannot use him to move his will forward? Hardly. Scripture is filled with examples of how Yahweh blessed and even increased unrighteous leaders in order to move his will forward or in order to keep his promises.

Just this morning I was considering the life of king Abijah who was considered a wicked king. He only reigned a few years in Judah but long enough that he was in a battle with the rest of Israel. He was outnumbered and surrounded but even though he was wicked, Yahweh still fought that battle for him and gave him victory because of a promises he had given to David. Yet there were other wicked kings that Yahweh refused to help. 

There is another reason why many Christians support Trump. It comes down to scripture that tells us to support and pray for the leadership, understanding that it is the Lord who raises and lowers governments. There are definitely times that the Lord will raise the world to take down a leader that has gotten out of control. But when the world comes against someone the Lord has established then he will defend that leader.

At the end of the day I cannot discern the will of my King simply because of someones words or actions. I need to be in tune with Father's heart and in step with the Spirit in order to understand the mind of Christ. We cannot afford to judge by mere appearances and must discern according to the will of our Father, which is readily available for us to know.

And this may be the reason why so many Christians feel compelled to support a man that appears to be at odds with the principles of the Kingdom.

How Can I be Sure I Am Saved

I am always amazed but no longer surprised by the number of Christians who ask me "How do you know if you are saved?" There was a time I would have given the simple answer that if they had called on the name of Jesus as Lord and Saviour then they are saved. But I quickly realized that they are missing the knowledge of what salvation looks like and what it looks like to be a child of God. So I have modified my answer.

To belong to the King of kings is to be citizens of a different country, a country that is not cannot be known by the citizens of this world. This world has become a principality of a false princve, one who came to steal, kill, and destroy. The King's Kingdom is based of principles that are much higher than the principles of this world. Many terms and words are similar but what they convey is something so much more.

Accepting Jesus as King means that we are given eyes to see the unseen and a mind to understand according to Father's heart. That means our perspective of this world and life in general is different. It changes. Everything of the Kingdom is planted in us as seeds so that we grow in our revelatory knowledge and our actions follow.

Many mistake that the commands of Jesus are like the Law of Moses, an external thing that we learn to obey. Instead those commands are like the blueprint of what a Kingdom citizen looks like and the King even set the example for us. The commands are actually written into our DNA so now it is natural for us to be like Jesus and for the immature not to be like him. The immature can decide to grow up but they can also decide to live by the principles of the principality instead. It is a matter of surrendering our old habits, old perspectives, old actions and giving prominence to the new. Unfortunately the people who are suppose to teach this new reality are still focused on the new Old Testament; still teaching people to try to conform to a law that we cannot do. 

The short answer is, if you still see life the same way before you started attending church you probably have yet to surrender to the King. You may like some of the stuff you see but not enough to surrender your life. 

However, if everything has changed since you called on Jesus, you love differently, you forgive easily, your compassion moves you to action, life has become a generous sacrifice, joy sustains you, peace constantly steadies you, you feel no need to judge, you make allowances for the Lord to do stuff and you live to see others discover the Kingdom and the King, you can be certain that you have the blessing of salvation. 

It is nothing you can earn or buy but it is a relationship that never leaves us the same and changes absolutely everything.

Simple But Not Easy

There is an underlying desire in most of us to have a simplified life. It is a desire that most of us complicate with our daily living and the messed up application of priorities. Those who know me have often heard me state that simple is not easy. I have taken that from many areas of scripture but none is as clear as Solomon's writings recorded in Ecclesiastes. Solomon wrote that Yahweh has made matters simple but we have looked for ways to complicate them.

Ecclesiastes is the writings of a king who had it all and then lost it. Proverbs is the sayings of a young king whose relationship with Yahweh was growing in obedience. Proverbs is filled with great wisdom of the Kingdom of God. Ecclesiastes is filled with confused observations of a heart that had wondered from Yahweh and the struggles of trying to make sense of things without the context of Creator. Yet, in this dark place we find little nuggets of insight, such as Yahweh has designed things to be simple.

The Kingdom of God is founded on the attributes of our King and include the foundational materials of love, respect and honour. We can even see this in the Law of the old covenant. If you examine the purpose of this Law you soon discover that it created a culture of honour, based on love and respect. This was all designed to create an atmosphere of prosperity. The rich would look after the poor so everyone would have plenty. Even the immigrants, the widows and the orphans would finf a culture that honoured them.

It works in simplicity. If I am occupied with you instead of myself, and you are occupied with me instead of yourself, then we move forward together. We move forward because we aren't tripping over the rotten stuff that comes with self-centeredness such as jealousy , envy, pride. We find this same Kingdom culture in the new covenant with greater clarity.

Under the new covenant we are told to honour everyone. We are told that the Kingdom is about considering other people more important than ourselves and, when we consider our own needs to also consider the needs of others. We are told that we celebrate the successes and triumphs of other people because in such an atmosphere it means everyone will also celebrate ours. The seeds of envy, jealousy and pride are never given the opportunity to take root.

Such an atmosphere allows for the attitude of success and prosperity. Instead of running after my self-interest I am occupied with yours. I will do everything I can to make sure you succeed. I can do this safely because I belong to a Kingdom where people are occupied with my success too. I don't have to watch my back while I work for your success because other Kingdom citizens are occupied with watching my back.

This is a simple system of love, respect and honour. But the reason simple is not easy for us is because we find it hard to say no to ourselves. Jesus said to walk in his Kingdom the first step is to say no to ourselves. It is not about trusting other people as much as it is about trusting our King and Father's design. So it is simple and easy for me to honour you because you honour me. Jesus said that this was a given and would not cause treasure to be laid up in heaven because our reward for that is here and now; the treasure of loving relationships. 

The complication comes when I honour you but you don't honour me. Now I am forced to watch my own back which puts us on the defensive and does not allow us to progress forward together. But this does not let me off the hook; I still have to honour you. Jesus says this is when treasure is being laid up in heaven, when we love those who don't love us back. In the well working Kingdom system we get to enjoy reward here but in a broken relationship there is reward but it is a delayed reward. Considering the condition of the world and the Church, many of us should be laying up a great deal of delayed reward.

Father has designed things well and simple. It is for us to discover this simplicity and value it enough to choose it for ourselves. It is the Kingdom system, the Kingdom currency and what allows us to move from a poverty mindset to one of prosperity. But we cannot fully operate in it until we learn to start saying no to ourselves because honour cannot happen until we can put the needs of others ahead of our own.

Prepare For Impact

What impact are you having on this world? A crazy question to wake up to, isn't it. It is a question I have been pondering all morning, ever since reading through the life of king Solomon. 

Solomon is a tragic figure in history. We can celebrate his beginning and mourn his ending but there are parts in between that can spark some interesting thoughts. For example, the visit by the Queen of Sheba.

She had heard of Solomon and traveled a long distance with a lot of stuff to gift to Solomon, all because she wanted to discover for herself if the stories were true. After she thoroughly examined everything she stated that the half had not been told to her. She was amazed by this man and the wisdom he demonstrated in every aspect of his life as king.

What struck me was how she saw his purpose. She didn't state that he was a fortunate man. She didn't point out the benefits of this wisdom for Solomon at all. Her conclusion was that Yahweh must truly love the people of the Israeli Kingdom because he had given them Solomon on the thrown. The king was a blessing to his people because he did not hoard the wealth but instead used it to make the whole kingdom and the friends of the kingdom prosperous. Solomon had a very positive impact on the atmosphere of the region.

Unfortunately he later had a negative impact on the same atmosphere that would be longer lasting than the blessings. 

It was because of his relationship, his obedience and dedication to Yahweh that Solomon was a conduit of blessing. It was from the overflow of this obedience that God's blessings flowed into everyone in the kingdom and the surrounding nations. Yahweh was pleased to do this. However, when the obedience stopped the blessings stopped. Solomon got distracted, forgot his place, made it about him and wandered away from Yahweh.

I sit here in this moment with the laughter of my children ringing throughout the house as they blissfully enjoy the innocents of their childhood. What they experience in this home has everything to do with my obedient walk with Jesus. It has everything to do with me keeping in step with the Spirit, being attentive to the voice of Father. It has everything to do with leaning into my King with a growing passion to act on his commands.

I am designed to impact the atmosphere of my home and community. But will that impact be one of blessings or strife? Father has designed me to be his conduit of blessings, encouragement and love to the people I impact. He has designed me to be his image bearer, to do what I have seen him do, and say what I have heard him say. He has brought me into a Kingdom of love, respect and honour so that I will impact my family and community with love, respect and honour. But this is so powerful, so otherworldly that I cannot generate this myself no matter how much I want to do it myself.

The impact on atmosphere I have been designed for is supernatural and the source is found in my relationship with Jesus. I am empowered by free flowing grace but it is not a stand alone thing. It is not a gift that was bestowed on me and then I am released on the world. Apart from Jesus I can do nothing because the source of this free flowing grace that empowers me is my connection to the Vine, my relationship with my King. 

That's where Solomon lost it and where I never want to. David knew this and that is why he cried out for Yahweh not to remove him from his presence, to not take his Spirit away. Without Spirit we are nothing and we have nothing. The greatest value we bring to the table of our families and communities is the passionate, obedient love we have for Jesus that then allows us to bless everyone with an impacted atmosphere that happens from the overflow of our blessed life.

If There Is Only One Thing We Can Teach Our Children, Let It Be This

If strength is wasted on the youth then wisdom is wasted on the aged. How many of us who are older have looked back on their life and thought "If only I had known..."? How many of us had thought that we would have done better if we had listened to the sage advice of the more experienced people in our youth? It's funny how that works.

I distinctly remember my middle school French teacher giving me some of this sage advice. I struggled with French more than my classmates. They used to elect me to do the daily reading because they loved laughing at my poor pronunciation. So as soon as the course became an elective I dropped it. I saw no use for it. My dear patient teacher told me that I would live to regret that decision. I laughed to myself. Why would I ever need French in Nova Scotia?

My outlook in life was limited by age and lack of dreams. I had not yet learned to dream beyond the moment I lived in and so I could not imagine the possibility of living anywhere other than my home province. I could not imagine living four years in Belgium and 21 years in Quebec (and counting). Yes, twenty-five years living in French culture, needing to read, write and speak French. That teacher was prophetic.

Unfortunately we do not always see the value in teaching wisdom to our children. We train them in Biblical knowledge, in academics, in life skills and even in people skills but wisdom itself we leave up to a vague notion of it being absorbed or something.

Even a casual perusal of Proverbs will leave you with the impression of the importance of training our children to value and pursue wisdom. Solomon credited his mother and father with his training but he recognized the real source was the Lord. His mother and father taught him the importance and shared with him what they had learned but this only became important when he realized his need. In knowing his need, he went to the source and asked for more wisdom from the Lord, and he received it.

Solomon in turn shared what he had learned with his children but emphasized that they would have to pursue it for themselves. The reason is because there is wisdom we gain from experience but the real wisdom of value is what the Lord gives to us through revelation and insight. James told us that this comes by asking, just like Solomon.

Our children may not take our advice. They may never even seek it. But we can instill in them the knowledge that the source is found in the Lord and we do not need experience to gain it. Wisdom is ours for the asking. Father wants us to have it because we need it in this world. Jesus told us that we were being sent out as sheep among wolves so we need to be wise as a serpent and innocent as a dove. Jesus enjoyed using images that seemed at conflict with each other. But this conflict is resolved in Spirit who is responsible for equipping us in this world. He equips us with wisdom so we know when we need to be either or both of these things in every situation of our life.

What is important to understand is that we will not find wisdom within ourselves or within the world. The wisdom we need is from another realm and is accessed by Spirit. We were never intended to live this life on our own. We were never intended to live without Father. We were designed to need him and to live in cooperation with him. This is the greatest lesson we could ever teach and instill in our children : we cannot do it alone.

It is not so much that wisdom is wasted on the aged, it is simply that we do not always understand our need for wisdom until we have gained in maturity. So let us teach our youth that they need more than themselves and that determination alone is not enough to change this world. We were intended and created  for union with our Creator, our Father, our Lord and our King. Let's teach them how to walk in step with the Spirit and they will never lack anything.

Overcoming Prejudice - Free-Flowing Grace

In this short series on overcoming prejudice I have spent a lot of time looking at the example Jesus gave us. It should be clear, by the amount of time and effort Jesus spent bringing the unseen people of society into the sight of everyone, that prejudice is not part of the Kingdom. This means it should not be part of the Church if the Church is the representation of God's Kingdom on earth. But telling someone they should not be prejudice is the same as telling someone they have to love or they have to forgive. Laws and commands do not change hearts. 

There should be no prejudice in the Body of Christ. Everyone should love and respect their neighbour. We should honour everyone. But just because Father said it does not mean his children will do it. Perfect obedience is only born from perfect love, and we are still learning, growing and maturing. 

Then what do we do?

The beginning point is desire. I want to love. I want to obey. I want to respect. I want to honour. Even if I am falling short. Desire will give birth to honesty, where we can confess these failings. These honest confessions open us to where we are willing to hear the Spirit, accept his convictions and surrender what we are powerless to change. This is a life long process as the Spirit is changing us, conforming us, with our cooperation, to be like Jesus.

I am going to end this series with a portion of scripture my friends and I have been meditating on this week. It comes from Paul's final letter to Timothy. He writes to Timothy:

"Live your life empowered by God's free-flowing grace, which is your true strength, found in the anointing of Jesus and your union with him." 2 Timothy 2:1

Until we recognize that we can do nothing outside of Jesus we will continue to fall short of the fullness we have been called to in Jesus. It is by grace that we were rescued from our life of rebellion. It is by grace that we were adopted. It is by grace that we were invited to enter the Kingdom. It is by grace that we have been called to represent Jesus to the world. So why would we think we would have to find our own way to live it? Crazy thoughts.

Live your life empowered by God's free-flowing grace. Freely we have received so freely we give. Freely we have received grace so freely we give it out. No one has to live up to my expectations in order to be loved by me. No one has to conform to my standards to be honoured by me. No one needs to earn my respect to receive my respect.

I did not deserve Father's love. I did not merit Jesus' death on the cross. I did not earn the gift of Holy Spirit. These were all acts and gifts of mercy and grace, flowing from Father's heart of love. This is how I am empowered by God's free flowing grace to love, respect and honour every person of every gender, culture and colour. It is not about humanity. It is not about my opinion. It is not about feeling good. It is not about world peace. It is not about being well thought of. It is about my Father's heart, his will and his desire. The source of this grace is not found in me. It is God's free flowing grace.

How do I overcome? I understand Father's desire by Jesus' actions. I see how much he loves me and everyone else. I choose to accept his love. It is love that empowers me to obey him. And when I find something that is not aligned with him I surrender it to him. Spirit is then able to overwrite that thing with Father's heart and I find in this relationship that I am empowered by God's free flowing grace to live out his heart.

This is what it is suppose to look like, and if it doesn't, we have some growing up to do. 

Overcoming Prejudice - Authorities

Being a follower of Jesus has its challenges in this world but the biggest challenge is overcoming the limitations we place on ourselves by the systems of this world. We do not have strong enough teaching to help children of God to understand that we live by higher standards, more powerful principles than the pale comparisons in the world. Our citizenship is in the Kingdom of God and the principles by which we live are founded there not here.

This is important to understand as I continue in my series concerning overcoming prejudice. We have been shaped by our society with ideas and attitudes that often rest below our conscience thinking but influence our actions. However when we bend our knee and recognize Jesus as our King, the Spirit births us into a new creation, and citizen of the Kingdom, governed by the rules of our King. There is a transformation that takes place and we are seeded with everything we need for godliness and living as his representatives in this world.

When this happens there is a rewiring that happens and the root of these ideas and attitudes from our society are cut off as the new seeds are planted. But we have lived with them so long that we live by habit and it is these habits that we need to surrender and have our thinking renewed. This is where we may discover the prejudices we didn't even know we were living with.

Jesus demonstrated his heart, Father's heart and the principles of the Kingdom by the way he treated people. We have account after account of how Jesus took the "unseen" people of the society of his day and brought them into the "seen". Jesus challenged what had become acceptable and taught by the rules of the day. At the same time, he continued to honour these rulers. 

Often times those who cry out against injustices and prejudices commit these same crimes against those they are protesting. The attitude of the Kingdom is clear as James wrote that we are to honour everyone. Authority may be wrong and we may have to protest to show it is wrong but we can still do it in a way that shows respect and honour.

I believe that many of us misread Jesus' encounters with the Pharisees and Sadducees. There certainly were times when Jesus called them out, giving them the label of "brood of vipers" and "white washed tombs" but Jesus did not show any prejudice with them. We see him going to their homes for supper. He met with them in secret. He have them opportunities to see the Kingdom of God demonstrated.

Jesus could have avoided them. He could have done the miracles when they weren't around so as to avoid provocation. But I don't believe Jesus was trying to provoke them. He wanted to include them, as much as they hated him. He wanted to give them opportunities to see and to understand. He didn't offer them insight and understanding because he hated them. He did it because he loved them and it broke his heart to see them missing the point.

At Simon's home Jesus took the time to help Simon understand the misalignment of his heart. In the synagogue, healing the man with the withered hand, Jesus wanted the Pharisees to understand the importance Father places on mercy over judgement and the need for compassion in relationships. Jesus took the time with Nicodemus. On many other occasions he patiently answered their many questions. He gave them miracles so they could see beyond his words. He became angry at the insincerity of their hearts.

If Jesus had been prejudice against these leaders and teachers he would have avoided them, remained silent, not visited them homes, not shared with them insights on the Kingdom. For certain the Pharisees did not belong to the "unseen" grouping of people. Their whole thing was to be seen but I point this out to you so that you can understand it is just as wrong to be prejudice against the authority as it is for them to be prejudice against one group of people. Hate does not destroy hate. We are told to overcome evil with good.

I am not saying that it is possible to bring equality to the world. That is not going to happen without Jesus. What I am advocating here is that it has to look different in the Body of Christ. The Church is the representation of the Kingdom in this world, governed by the principles of our King. We cannot be polluted by the wrong thinking and perspective of this world. We understand this as far as things like sexuality but we seem to fall short when it comes to the revelatory-knowledge of "Love and respect your neighbour as you love and respect yourself".

Jesus gave up his life to save us all. That is "all" not a chosen few. It is conditional on that whoever believes will be saved but everyone has the same opportunity to believe. Black and white, rich and poor, male and female, young and old, Jew and non-Jew. We can only function as one nation, united under our King, joined together by the Spirit, if love is our foundation. Jesus said, "Love each other in the same manner I have loved you", and then he went to the cross. He told us what love looked like and even told us that friends lay down their lives for each other. 

That is what it looks like in the Kingdom. That is what it needs to look like in the Church.  

Overcoming Prejudice - The Backstabbers

We all know the axiom "Keep your friends close and your enemy closer" but most of us keep our enemies far from us. No one would blame us for being biased about our enemies; it's normal. As I continue in this series on prejudice and the Kingdom of God , examining the example of Jesus, I want us to consider our bias against those who are plotting against us, the potential backstabbers, in the light of Jesus' example.

In this period of time in our history, as the West wrestles with it's systematic prejudice, it needs to be clear for the followers of Jesus, the citizens of the Kingdom, the only systematic anything in the Kingdom is systematic love. There is no room for a system of thinking and actions where we lift up one group of people above another. Jesus sees all of us in the same relationship as the children of Father.

In the Kingdom culture we are taught by the Spirit to apply love to everyone in the same measure and that measure is extravagant. Jesus taught us with his words to love our enemy and then he demonstrated what that looked like. We recognize this with the Cross and the prayer of forgiveness for his abusers but do we recognize it in his selection of Judas, the Zealot?

Zealots were haters. The object of their hate was Rome and her soldiers. Zealots were violent and plotted to overthrow by force Rome's dominance over Israel. Judas was a Zealot, in direct opposition to the message Jesus was presenting to Israel. Yet Jesus chose him. To my thinking, Jesus chose him understanding Judas had the potential to be the one to betray him.

This is a problem for any of us who subconsciously consider people a commodity. We evaluate, probably without realizing it, who can best contribute to our lives. We surround ourselves by friends who make us feel good about ourselves and soon kick to the curb anyone who becomes a non-believer in us. A little criticism can be absorbed but too much becomes something we want to avoid so we avoid the person.

Judas was not a great addition for Team Jesus. He was a thief and he held on to the belief that the objective was more important than the people. When Jesus failed to live up to his expectations and when he failed to provide maximum profit, Judas cut his losses and tried to cushion his future. Perhaps the disciples thought this was obvious, but Father holds no bias against anyone. He is the God of the "Whoever" and desires everyone to be saved from a disastrous end like Judas.

Now consider Jesus' behaviour toward Judas. He did not exclude him from the others. He too was sent to his home town with the authority to heal the sick and cast out demons, preaching the Kingdom message. He too returned excited that demons had obeyed him. He journey with the Master every day, ate with him, heard the lessons, asked the questions.

Consider this: he was still in the upper room when Jesus washed his disciples feet with the purpose of demonstrating what sacrificial love for each other looks like. Judas had his feet washed by Jesus who he was already plotting against. Jesus knew this and still loved on Judas. He knelt in front of him, in the position of a servant, took his dirty feet into his yet-to-be-pierced hands, and tenderly washed the dirt away. I wonder what that felt like for Judas.

One of the worse things about prejudice is when we deny a person or a group of people the potential of victory in their lives because of some ugly thought in our head. Many people feel justified in their choice to not include everyone. They evaluate the potential based on their own prejudices, thoughts and unproven opinions. Jesus could have looked at Judas and rejected him because he was a Zealot, opposed to his message and brand. But then again he could have rejected Matthew for being a traitor to Israel. He could have rejected Peter for being a Galilean. He could have rejected Mary or Martha or Mary Magdalene because they were women. But he didn't because that is not Father's heart.

The Kingdom of God is a wonderfully radical place to those looking in but it is the norm, the reflection of our King's attributes to those who have been birthed by the Spirit into the Kingdom. This world may measure the worth of a person by their contributions but in the Kingdom the contributions are the fruit of the worth the King places on us. We are a peculiar people, unbiased in love and energy that we invest in all people. 

We recognize that the Kingdom is by invitation. Some will accept this invitation and some will reject it but that does not give us an excuse to be selective in the application of Father's love. We are empowered by the free flowing grace that is sourced in our relationship with our King. And it is our King who strengthens us in the grace to represent him in every person we are connected with, friend or potential backstabber. 

  

Overcoming Prejudice - Our Enemies

Continuing in our series on prejudice in relation to the Kingdom, today I am considering prejudice against our perceived enemy. This is a really big subject. We all will admit that it is wrong to have bias against an innocent person, or group of people, who have never done anything against us. Unfortunately, many of us will excuse any similar bias against people who have harmed us, who we consider to be our enemy.

The Kingdom of God is a very odd thing compared to this world. Our King very specifically told us that love is beyond anything perceived by our flesh. We have a limited definition what we perceive to be love and then project this on our King. But the foundation of the Kingdom is something otherworldly, beyond our imagination, and sometimes beyond our acceptability. It is a love that says there is nothing special about loving someone who loves you and there is something perfect about loving those who hate you.

The apostle Paul was so convinced of this incredible thing that he said that unless it is the motivation of everything we do, the things we do have no power and are useless, having no value. The power is found in the love that provokes us into action because that love is sourced from Father himself.

Jesus was interrupted one day by a servant who said that his master needed his help. It turned out that this man's boss was a Roman centurion, the enemy that currently occupied and dominated the land of the Jews. They were cruel, hateful and often sadistic in the way they treated the enemies of Rome and there was no doubt the Jews considered themselves enemies of Rome.

Understand this : when Jesus showed preference for the Jews it was because they were the focus of his mission, not because he lacked any love for the other nations. Scripture said that salvation would come to the world through the Jews and Jesus had come to fulfill these scriptures. Paul repeated this often : first to the Jews and then to the Gentiles. But Jesus made it clear that salvation would be for everyone who believes.

Now Jesus is faced with this need from an enemy of Israel, a worshiper of multiple gods. We would have considered him justified if he had ignored this need. But he didn't. He responded to the one who considered his people to be the enemy. Note that Jesus came to demonstrate what life looks like as a citizen of the Kingdom. He came to reveal the heart of Father. He came so that we could see the Kingdom in his actions. He answered the prayer of his enemy.

Consider his own prayer as these same Roman soldiers drove the nails through his body and hung him on a tree in public disgrace : Father forgive them, they don't know what they are doing. Love your enemy. Pray for those who persecute you. What's so special about loving those who can return that love. The real power is revealed in loving those who can't return that love because of the hatred or fear that blinds them.

It is easy to be prejudice against those who we perceive are hating on us, being biased against us, mistreating and denying us. It is easy to focus on our rights in this world. It is easy to decry the injustices and make demands on others. But as citizens of the Kingdom we have been called to something greater, something beyond ourselves, something rooted in our King, flowing through us by the Holy Spirit. You and I are not capable of this otherworldly love that would have us love our enemy, but we are capable because of Jesus who gives us the strength and power to live it. 

Any of us can say we believe but faith is shown in our actions. Faith is living according to every word that comes from the mouth of our King. Faith is trusting that there is purpose and truth in Jesus' instructions even if it is contrary to our own thinking. Jesus says that it is possible to obey him because love empowers us. We cannot obey him from willpower. We cannot obey him from repetition. Obedience is empowered by love. That is how things work in the Kingdom and that is how we overcome our prejudice toward our enemies.

Overcoming Prejudice - The Hated

I am continuing in my series concerning prejudice and the Kingdom of God. We are examining Father's heart in relationship to lifting up one group of people over another. I have been doing this by looking at Jesus' actions. My attitude in this is as Moses had requested of Yahweh, show me your ways that I may know you. By his actions Jesus demonstrated the Father's heart and the priorities of the Kingdom.

If you have confessed Jesus as Saviour and Lord then you have confessed him as King. You have, by invitation, become citizens of the Kingdom. This Kingdom and her people are reflections of our glorious King, although not all of us have been taught or are living by these greater standards. It is important for us to look to our King for the example he has set so we know how to live by this new nature. 

Jesus spent all his time overcoming the prejudices of his day. He demonstrated how important it is for Kingdom people to bring the "unseen" of this world into the "seen". The strong are to carry the weak. The privileged to lift up the disadvantaged. The acceptable to include the outcasts. And this not in a "looking down" attitude but a equalizing heart.

We have already looked at the touch of the leper, the choosing of Jesus' looked-down on friends and the "seeing" of women but one of the strangest encounters is that of Zacchaeus.

Jesus already demonstrated his view of the outcasts in this society when he chose Matthew, the tax collector, traitor to Israel, as his close companion and future leader. Jesus, God, has always been attracted to these unloved, rejected, hated, people of this society. This culture showed no value in these people which should warn us to be careful with the attitudes of our own culture.

We tend to place value on people similar to ourselves, who have something to offer, contributors, producers of something. We place value on a friendly and kind neighbour, on a caring and sacrificial nurse, on an understanding politician, on a powerful and rich person, on the successful people in our community. We de-value those who are different from us, who live contrary to acceptability, the welfare recipient, the single mom, the mentally ill, the complaining neighbour. As far as our society goes these are the non-contributors who are a drain on our society, so they have no value and are ill treated.

Here we have Zacchaeus, the chief of tax collectors, traitor to Israel, outcast, rejected, hated, whose heart is drawn to this man Jesus. He is curious. And short. The crowd is huge and no one is going to show kindness to the traitor. No one will make way so that he can see. So Zacchaeus climbs a tree so he can look and evaluate this man, Jesus.

I find it amazing, in that entire crowd Jesus singles out one man to honour, one man to bring into the light, one man to "see". He calls out to this man and invites himself to his house. That man had one desire, to be "seen". Jesus placed value on him and Zacchaeus' heart exploded in gratitude, generosity and repentance. What a friend we have in Jesus.

Of course the "seen" people of society did not agree. I am sure they had thoughts about this situation as Simon had about Mary : "If he knew what kind of man this is Jesus would have nothing to do with him." But Jesus did know. He knew and still he lift him up and showed him his value. The Kingdom's value system is far superior to this world's.

Prejudice exists well beyond skin colour, even though skin colour is the issue being addressed today. The real problem is with value. How do we measure a person? How do we determine value? The Kingdom values people simply because they are created by Father and are the objects of his love. Even if they reject him it does not change his love or his focus.

The Kingdom is about people, relationships, love and all its manifestations. It is about reconciliation and the relationship of creation and Creator. Those who accept the invitation of salvation are invited into the Kingdom and into the mission of our King. It is our purpose to live out the Royal Law, "Love and value your neighbourhood as you love and value yourself." Even if your neighbour is different from you, belongs to a different culture, hates you, considers you an enemy, is a non-contributer. Those things do not add or take away value. Value is determined by Father's love. There is no room for prejudice in love.

Overcoming Prejudice - Women

It is hard for many of us in the Western world to understand Kingdom mentality because we have never lived in a Kingdom. As the children of God we need to allow Spirit to create a mindset so that we move from a democratic thinking to a Kingdom thinking. This takes a lot of surrender and the acceptance that it is a steep learning curve that we will not always succeed in living. Mistakes will happen.

A Kingdom takes on the character of the king. If he is a cruel king then the kingdom will be dominated by cruelty. If he is a kind king then the kingdom will be dominated by kindness. If he is a generous king then the kingdom will be dominated by generosity. So we can understand by these then that the Kingdom of God will reflect the attributes of our King.

We should note that there has been a lack of training in this understanding and revelation. We have many good people sitting in churches and living out there lives who have no concept that they are citizens of the Kingdom and that being such affects their entire thinking and approach to life. They have been recreated but are living according to the old habits because they do not understand the new habits of God's Kingdom.

I preface this blog entry with this explanation because if I do not then we will miss the significance of Jesus' actions. One of the various reasons Jesus came was to demonstrate the Kingdom. Sometimes we reduce this demonstration to the power that enabled miracles. But Jesus also demonstrated the mentality of the Kingdom, which is revelatory-knowledge of Father's heart.

One of the extraordinary things Jesus did was "see" women. This was a time when the Jews treated women very poorly. There is a whole list of things they did to put women down and treat them worse than cattle. The Pharisees were the worse examples of this culture of prejudice. 

How significant is this in understanding the Kingdom? Well, keeping in mind the treatment of women in Jewish culture, consider how many famous stories of Jesus were centered on a woman. Consider his acknowledgement and treatment of the women in his lives. Is it not significant that the recorders of the gospels left these encounters with women in the story of Jesus?

The Samaritan woman at the well was a dramatic encounter that probably is one of the first to come to mind but the one I want to highlight for you today is the woman who broke into Simon's home to wash Jesus' feet with her tears and hair. Simon was a Pharisee. But this woman had been so touched by Jesus that she needed to worship him regardless of the risk. To consider the significance of the moment we need a little background.

Women were not allowed to eat with Jewish men, especially when guests were over. On top of this, Pharisees, real women haters, would never acknowledge a woman, not even so much as a glance. Now realize what this woman of low repute, a prostitute, did. She broke into this Pharisees' home, entered into the dining area and began to touch Jesus. But how could Simon put a stop to this without acknowledging the presence of the woman? He tried to ignore her at the same time condemning Jesus in his thoughts.

There is a lot to this incident but considering all that I have mentioned maybe you can understand the significance of what Jesus said, "Look at this woman Simon".

WE know in reading the Scriptures that Jesus used this woman to teach Simon the proper response to sacrificial love and then he pierced this Pharisees' prejudice, lack of love, that encased this his heart and demanded him to look past his prejudice and see this woman : Simon, look at this woman". Jesus spent every day "seeing" the "unseen".

If you can get past the familiarity of this incident you will be awestruck by the actions of our King. There is no room for not "seeing" in the Kingdom. It is hard to believe that to this day women still have to fight to be seen. Nowhere is this more true than in some parts of the Church which is crazy. Instead of learning from our King and living the character of the Kingdom we have copied the behaviour of the Pharisees. Shame on us.

Now using this as our diving board, we jump into our current history.

The Church should not be in the background of this growing movement of "Black Lives Matter" because we should have been fighting for them to be seen from the beginning. That is our Father's heart, to fight for the "unseen". But it is more than that. If this is the character of the Kingdom, in the body that represents the Kingdom in this world they should never have been unseen. In our King, our Lord Christ Jesus, there is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female. We can add, neither white nor black, settlers nor indigenous because in Jesus we are all one. 

Does this mean that some will get special attention over others? You bet. Jesus loved Simon but Simon did not need the attention this woman did. She was "unseen" and needed to be brought into the light. Simon was "seen", privileged, and needed to be humbled. It did not lessen his value in the eyes of Jesus.

Black lives matter. That is rightfully the anthem for today because black lives need the attention right now. We all have the same value to our King, he loves us all very much. But many of us are in a position of strength, privilege, in our society and we need to give over some of this strength, privilege, so a disadvantaged group can rise up to their designed place. After this anthem cry there will be another group and we will need to give our strength to that group but for today it is "black lives matter".

Just a footnote : We should all understand that the vast majority of our world lives in rebellion to God's Kingdom. The only way to truly change a heart and a broken mindset is through the transforming power of the Holy Spirit. So, it is good to see these shifts in our society but the underlying problem remains as long as Jesus is rejected as King. 

 

Overcoming Prejudice - Friends

In the previous posts we have already established that there is no room in the Kingdom of God for prejudice. Simple verses such as we find in Proverbs where Solomon wrote that the one thing the rich and the poor have in common is that God created them both. We also have James writing that a person has no faith if he favours one group of people over another. But the greatest condemnation of prejudice is Jesus' life.

It goes beyond the "whosoever believes" of our salvation. Jesus demonstrated Father's attitude toward the unseen people of the world. These are the people who are easily ignored, disfavoured, trodden upon. Jesus took great delight in putting the spotlight on these people because that is what Father does. He lowers what is getting too much attention and lifts up what is not getting enough so that there is equality. Just read 1 Corinthians 12.

In the previous posts titled "Touch" I pointed out Jesus' treatment of the leprous man and how he did not just speak the healing but purposefully touched him. Jesus knew he had authority over this disease but he did it to make a point in a culture that isolated this poor suffering man. Now consider those who he chose to hang out with him, who he called to leadership.

This Jewish culture had a lot of prejudices. It wasn't just with the Romans, Greeks, and Samaritans but people within their own group. Galileans were a rough, hardy, determined working class of people. They did not pursue the book learning and finer aspects of life but instead were the fishermen and farmers of the day. They were highly educated in their own right but not recognized by the rest of society. They put food on people's tables but were also the butt of jokes.

Consider that Jesus chose people like Peter, James and John from this looked-down upon people. In fact, these three became his inner circle. They were so prominent that the whole group of disciples were considered Galileans. That was meant to be a derogatory label. It is not exactly a move that someone would make when trying to establish their ministry. Today we would only choose the best looking, best educated, most talented, most widely accepted people to help us reach success. Jesus was making a point that everyone in the Kingdom is valued and that Father has purpose for each person no matter the opinions of culture. But it was not just Galileans he chose.

Tax collectors were considered traitors. They were local agents of the occupying force. They not only forcefully collected the tax of this occupying army but they also took extra for themselves. So here is Jesus throwing all convention to the wind, choosing Matthew to be one of his students and future pillar of the Church. Remember the Church is the manifestations of God's Kingdom on earth, and we are that Church. Can I belabour this for a minute more?

In most churches today they have a standard for leadership and acceptability. Leaders must be professionals, highly esteemed and educated. They must be beyond reproach. Depending on the culture of that church, leadership is chosen from an acceptable group within their church. There is a lot of prejudice involved and the denial of the anointing. Father does not choose according to human ability, race, creed, education, good looks or colour. Also consider for a moment that Matthew, traitor to his nation, was also highly favored by being chosen to write one of the four gospels. Jesus saw him as he sees everyone else, marked for redemption. Everyone has value. But Jesus is not done yet.

Consider Judas. He was a Zealot. The Zealots wanted to throw off the Romans by force. This is not an attitude that would line up well with the tenants of the Kingdom. Not only that but Judas had a tendency to steal, placing his own needs above those of the community he belonged to. Jesus knew him. Jesus knew his heart. But Jesus showed value for every person he met. He knew that Judas had the same potential for redemption, the same potential for love, the same potential for grace. Judas' failure is his own. People will fail us. That is no reflection on their people group but on them as an individual.

This could be one of the most challenging things about overcoming prejudices in our life. We cannot afford to look at people with the eyes of this world. To love, respect and honour everyone we need to see with Father's eyes. We need to see the unseen that lay within each person. We have this ability to see. Since we are a new creation we have been given the seeds in us to bear Father's image, to see like him, to think like him. As Scripture tells us, we have the mind of Christ.

The way we overcome is first to confess our desire to love and respect like our Father has loved and respected us. It is a life of surrender, where we surrender our old way of seeing, thinking, feeling and understanding. So when we know we are getting it wrong we confess it and then surrender it. This allows Spirit God to overwrite the old habits with Father's heart. If we try to deny the old habits nothing will change but when we bring the old into the light then everything shifts.

Does your selection of friends demonstrated the value Father places on all people? Maybe you need to have a conversation with Spirit God on this one.

 

Overcoming Prejudice - The Touch

Laws are not going to change hearts. The best way to overcome the prejudices our society has instilled in us from infancy is by developing a culture of honour. Not where we honour just those who we deem worthy but honouring everyone based on the fact that they are alive.

The Kingdom of God has just such a culture even if we have forgotten to teach it or expect it from each other. I am not sure how we have forgotten our Kingdom culture but I think we have. To see how we are falling short of the new life we have been birthed into all we have to do is look at Jesus to see what it is suppose to look like.

Jesus accomplished many things in the short three years of his ministry. He revealed the Father's heart to us. He set the example of what life walking in Spirit looks like. He paid the price for our redemption. He laid the seeds for the birth of the Church. And he demonstrated to us the Kingdom of God and what that culture looks like.

There were a lot of injustices in Jesus' day. The poor were mistreated. Women were little better than dogs. Children were tolerated. The sick and the physically challenged were isolated. Jesus overcame these and many more. Maybe we don't see it because we have normalized the stories but when you are willing to see it from the Kingdom's perspective it is quite breathtaking.

One encounter that has moved me the most over the years is the one with the leper who knew that he could be healed if Jesus was willing. There were different levels of faith expressed by people when they encountered Jesus. Some were the basic level of "If you can". Others expressed a higher level of "If you are willing". And still others spoke the greatest faith of "Just speak Lord". But it wasn't the level of my faith that caught my attention but rather Jesus' response.

Ever since becoming sick this leprous man would have to call out "unclean" anytime he was in public. Talk about anxiety provoking. He would not have known human touch since the day of his diagnoses. He would have been removed from family and forced to beg for a living in a culture that would have ignored his existence. Isolated in a crowded room.

This is why it is so moving to read Jesus' responses to his pleas for help. It is not so much the words of our gracious King who said to the man "Of course I am willing", but his generous gift of a human hand upon his diseased flesh. Jesus could have just spoke, he did not have to touch. But what was the greatest need here, the rescue from the disease or the acknowledgement of his need for contact? Jesus did both, touching the man while assuring him of the willingness of our compassionate Father.

In one simple heart-felt gesture Jesus let it be known that the culture of the Kingdom is far superior to the limited culture of a broken world. He demonstrated that ever person has value, is important and is deserving of compassion and grace, regardless of their condition. 

Israel had a culture of division and prejudices. Jesus seemed to take great delight in destroying these one by one. Jesus highlighted those who had become invisible in this pious culture. He brought such people out into the light and honoured them in the sight of those who considered him their enemy. He demonstrated the culture of the Kingdom in which we are sons and daughters. Today we look to our King to know how honour overcomes prejudice and lifts up those who have been trodden down.

Over the next few days I want to highlight these actions of our King. I want to discuss with you the example of our Lord so we can better grasp his Kingdom. I want to show you the many faces of what a culture of honour looks like. Come take this important walk with me. 

What Does A Kingdom Of Honour Look Like?

So the Kingdom of God is a Kingdom of honour. We see it in everything our Father has said and done as recorded in the Bible. We see it in the Law he gave to Israel. We see it in the interactions Jesus had with everyone. We are taught it in the Epistles of the Apostles. But what does that look like?

How do we honour those who do not love us? How do we honour those who hate us and persecute us? How do we honour those who live in rebellion against Father? First we start by understanding honour.

There is an honour that we give to people in our society when they do something incredible. Recently we have seen the frontline health care workers honoured because of their daily sacrifice and risk on behalf of the sick and suffering. Then there is the honouring we do when someone has gone through unmerited suffering or death, such as those killed recently in Nova Scotia. WE also honour leaders we consider to be great. But a society of honour goes beyond spotlight honour.

A culture based on honour gives honour to everyone who is part of that culture. It comes in the form of attitude, actions and words. We show honour to people simply because they exist, breathe, dream, work, laugh. We recognized they have worth simply because they were created by Father.

In the KIngdom we recognize that everyone is the object of our Father's love. They have the freedom to accept or reject that love but it does not affect Father's love for them. We honour them because of that love. But in what way do we honour them? Is not honouring lifting up their actions and saying their rebellion is okay?

We honour people by recognizing their value to Father. Considering this value, we honour them with the various manifestations of Father's love. We are gentle with them, showing kindness and goodness. We forgive their offenses even if no apology is offered. We are patient with them, refusing to see ourselves better by realizing what we have received from Father when we have not deserved it.

We can start with the very basics: we were all created in the same way by our Father. We all bleed when we are cut. We all have the same insides, have the same need for oxygen, food, water. We all need shelter and clothing. We all need to be loved and to love. We need a sense of belonging, of being needed, of being useful and appreciated. 

Those of us who are willing will also recognize our rebellion against Father and our need for forgiveness and restoration. We recognize that while we were still in this rebellion that Jesus paid the price so that this rebellion could be forgiven and we could be restored to Father. This is not for a select few but everyone who decided to believe and enter into the fullness of that relationship. This is the part that becomes important when it comes to honouring.

The only difference between me and my rebellious neighbour is that I decided to surrender my rebellion and align myself with Father's heart through Jesus' sacrifice on the Cross. I am a new creation birthed by the Spirit but none of this was because I deserved it or because I worked for it. This was a free gift offered by the grace of my Father. It is because he loves me in the same way he loves my rebellious neighbour which means that free gift is still being held out to my neighbour.

My Father created me the same way he created my neighbour. He loves me in the same way he loves my neighbour. That is not affected by race, colour or creed. When James tells us to honour everyone it was because we were created and are loved in the same way and it is not affected by race, colour or creed. It is given to me, as a citizen of God's Kingdom, a child of my Father, a bearer of his image, to honour everyone.

If this is true then how much more is it my responsibility to honour a fellow citizen? How much more is it my responsibility to stand with them, to pray for them, to celebrate them, to forgive them, to rejoice with them? They are my brothers and sisters and I must honour them at all times.

No matter how you look at it the Kingdom of God is a Kingdom of honour and we are citizens of this Kingdom who honour each other and even those who are not yet citizens. We do not judge, we honour, trusting Spirit to teach, mature and guide us in these his ways.

We Are The Change Our Society Longs To See

We are pretty naive if we think the ills of our society will be fixed with marches in the street and op-eds in the newspapers or with FaceBook posts. Much of what we are seeing has been underneath the skin of our society since it's beginning. In the beginning it ruled our society but then disappeared beneath the surface to pop up every now and then when a camera happens to catch it. 

This is what happens when we try to control people's behaviour with laws. Wrong behaviour might be curtailed when people are watching but it does nothing about wrong thinking. Laws do not change the hearts of people. A mayor and police chief may be very good people with good hearts and best intentions but they cannot control the thinking of the people under them. The police chief is not there with that one patrol officer who is harbouring fear and hatred toward a certain ethnic group. That poor police officer may not even be aware of how society has shaped his thinking.

What we, the Church, must ensure is that we are doing the job of creating the culture of God's Kingdom among his people. We must help people understand the poison of wrong thinking that is systemic in our society and instead embrace a passionate relationship with the King. It is in this relationship that hearts and minds are transformed but we must understand the change this brings.

When we speak of the "righteous" it is not the "holier than thou" thinking but the "doing what is right according to my Father's heart" thinking. I choose to align myself to my Father and do what I have seen him do and say what I have heard him say. I can do this because my birth in the Spirit has given me the capacity to do this. Every citizen of the Kingdom has this capacity.

One of the key elements of the Kingdom is honour. When we look at Israel's laws we can see that they were based on honouring Yahweh and honouring other people. There was a huge emphasis on honouring those who were in weak positions. It was a law that created an atmosphere of prosperity. In a place where I watch your back and you watch mine there is a desire to see each other people succeed. But as I already stated laws cannot change the hearts of people. 

That's the beauty of the Kingdom; Jesus came to make it possible for the Law to become part of our DNA.  In loving him it makes it possible for his life to be manifested in us so that we do naturally what the law tried to force people to do. The reason we struggle is not because of the power of anything over us (that power was broken) but instead because of habit. Old habits can take a while to change. Spirit God has been given to us to train is in the new habits of the Kingdom. So this is to say that the Church should be an example to our society of what it looks like to be a people who honour each other.

Honour is not based on worth but on relationship. Because you are the object of my Father's love I value you. I find it much easier to honour the people I consider valuable. This is the Kingdom of God, where we consider others more important than ourselves, where we consider the needs of others along with our own, where we have each other's back, long for each other's success and celebrate the victory of others.

It is true that this ideal is not where we currently function in the Church but we can be because we have the capacity through Jesus, our King. Our allegiance is to our King, and his desires. We do not get to re-shape his Kingdom according to our opinions. We are here by invitation, because Jesus paid the price for our entry and even gave us our best friend, Spirit-God, to train and mature us in the Kingdom.

The Kingdom of God is demonstrable. The Kingdom of God is powerful. The Kingdom of God is here, seen through us and we carry this Kingdom wherever we go. This Kingdom cannot be forced on anyone but is available by invitation. We get to share this invitation while demonstrating the benefits of friendship with the King. It is why we are still here.

We are here to influence society but we cannot influence if we are no different. But we have the capacity and capability to be different because of Jesus in us. We have been re-created to be different. We have the answers our society needs. Peter said it best in 1 Peter 2:17 "Honour everyone". That is our King's heart desire because it comes from the Royal Law "You must love and value your neighbourhood as you love and value yourself."

Today, be what you were created to be. Be the change our society longs to see.      

George Floyd Knew The Solution

Hate and prejudice are ugly and have been a part of humanity since Adam and Eve were removed from the garden. It is an ugly side of human nature. No societal outrage, no laws, no Goodwill can change the heart of a person.

That is truly the sad part about the death of George Floyd, my brother in the Kingdom of God. We can accept a death when it has a purpose, when there is some greater good involved, but when it is pointless and preventable we are left angry. This was a wasted death like so many before it. There is no higher purpose here. There is no great change about to happen.

There are marches, protests, speeches, even riots but nothing will change. How many times have we seen this? If there had ever been an opportunity to see things shift it was when evil showed up and killed all those kids at that school in the US a number of years ago. But if society is not going to make the change after such a heart wrenching and horrifying scene, why would it shift over yet another death of a black man?

Are we shocked? We shouldn't be, not if we have been paying attention. Are we horrified? I hope so. The death of any innocent person should be horrifying to us but even more so when it is another innocent man taken from the Black community. They have faced too much already.

Yesterday I expressed my heart felt sorrow to the black members of my church family. They are my family by birth in the Spirit and I mourn with them. I sit in the public square with them and I bitterly weep because my heart is broken. But I can't feel what they feel. I can't know what they know because I have not faced what they face.

I can walk through my neighbourhood without being looked on with suspicion. I don't have people crossing the street to avoid me from fear. I don't have store security following me around the stores I shop in. I am not randomly stopped and questioned by the police just because I am alive. I don't have to educate my sons on what to do when they are stopped by the police. I don't have to watch my kids leave my house and have that nagging thought in the back of my head, will I ever see them again.

Saying that "I am not prejudice" is not making me part of the solution. In fact., it is saying that this has nothing to do with me. I am a product of my society and so are you. We have been taught prejudices even if we are not willing to admit it or aware of it. Instead I need to decide to become aware of how I see the world and why. All is not hopeless and there is a better way.

Anger and vengeance is often the result of a feeling of hopelessness and lack of power to be able to change anything. But George Floyd was not powerless and he knew the solution and from what I understand, he was working with the right people to see change brought to his beloved community. There are many more people out there just like him who are working the solution for their neighbourhood.

The solution is not found in laws, police, education, food banks and make work projects. These things can help but they are not the solution. The only thing that can change the heart of humanity, transform the minds of people is reconciliation with the One who designed us and created us with a great capacity to love. 

Certainly love is the solution but humanity is broken. We have all kinds of books, teachings, wise sayings, seminars and great schools of thought but we have a problem with application. The reason is because we need a love that we are not capable of generating in our brokenness. We need a love that manifests in forgiveness, redemption, mercy, grace, compassion; a love that applies all these even in the face of hate.

Jesus gave his life for the sake of the redemption of humanity because only such a sacrifice could provide the reconciliation and transformation that was needed. The humanity our Father created is broken and almost unrecognizable from his design. George Floyd knew this powerful transforming love and he desired to see his community transformed by it as well. But then the always destroying hatred and prejudice reared its ugly head in the form of the authority that is meant to serve and protect. That authority, twisted by hate, snuffed out a bearer of hope in a very dark world.

The Kingdom that George and I belong to is a Kingdom of honour and respect. Because of the great foundation of love, each life is valued and cherished, be it friend or foe. We belong to a Kingdom that holds out hope for every heart knowing that nothing is impossible for our Father. We belong to a Kingdom that, out of honour, loves our enemies and prays for those who persecute us. We belong to the Kingdom that tells us to do to others what we want to see them do to us (be the change you want to see). We belong to any awesome Kingdom that is governed by an awesome King, who remains the hope of this world; the only hope. 

Transformation is possible.