Perspective is the manner in which objects appear to the eye in respect to their relative positions and distance.  The same is true when we apply this metaphysically to our emotional, intellectual and spiritual view points.  The key word when it comes to perspective is the word “relative.”  

We often use metaphors of rose-colored glasses to describe the optimist or a half-empty glass to describe the pessimist.  What we are really doing, of course, is making an observation about their relative perspective.  

Worldview is another way of describing perspective as it seeks to identify the way in which we view the world.  In other words, how do we view, experience and relate to reality?  While reality is objective and constant, our perspectives are relative and variable – or as I like to quip in scientific terms, our perspectives are dynamic.

So when it comes to prayer and the ways we approach our conversations with God, it is helpful to consider, evaluate, and perhaps even adjust our perspective on a regular basis.  The goal in this exercise is to bring our thinking more into alignment with reality, or truth.  The benefit of practicing this exercise frequently is that it helps to “course-correct” our dynamic, constantly shifting perspective.

One of the simple methods I’ve found to be helpful through the years in this perspective-realignment is the A.C.T.S. prayer model.

This model suggests beginning our prayers in a place of Adoration – expressing God’s beauty, grandeur, power, tenderness, glory and wonder.  We begin by acknowledging God’s attributes and character as revealed in Scripture and specifically as revealed in Christ.  In some cases this time of adoration can involve a connecting of our spirit with the Spirit of God in expressions or utterances “too deep for words”, as “deep calls out to deep.”  For some, this includes praying in tongues, while for others this can include alternative expressions of adoration, such as art or music.

Second, this model encourages us toward Confession – confessing that God is God and we are not.  This can flow very naturally out of adoration, as many of the declarations we acknowledge may include God’s uncontested divinity.  Confession can also include self-examination.  “Search me, O God, and know my heart; try me and know my anxious thoughts.” (Ps. 139:23)  We may be well aware of things we need to confess, but there may also be things we are unaware of – that we’ve not yet identified.  The Spirit of God can help us with this as well.

Next, this model encourages us toward Thanksgiving – expressing gratitude for all God has done, is doing, and will do in us, through us, around us, and even in spite of us.  We classically like to thank God for the “safe” things like family, friends and good health, and these are all good and valid.  James also encouraged the church to “Consider it pure joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance.  And let endurance have its perfect result, so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.” (Ja. 1:2-4)

Lastly, this model invites us into to a time of Supplication – of making our requests known to God.  This includes our petitions, our hopes and requests for ourselves, and this also includes our intercessions, our hopes and requests for others.

My honest inclination is to skip everything else and jump straight to the supplications.  But any time I’ve put in the hard work of realigning my perspective through Adoration, Confession and Thanksgiving, I’ve found my prayers to be infinitely more rich and infinitely more effective.  Perhaps you’ll experience the same?

“And which of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life’s span?  If then you cannot do even a very little thing, why do you worry about other matters?” (Luke 12:25,26)

Despite what we have been told, Jesus actually spoke very little about money or matters of the law.  While these were often the “launching points” or metaphors of preference, the underlying theme in much of Jesus’ teaching was about eliminating idolatry.

“You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might.” (Duet. 6:5)

“You shall have no other gods before Me.” (Ex. 20:3)

When we aren’t careful, we can mistakenly assume that idolatry is a thing of the past – relics from antiquity pertaining to simple-minded polytheistic pagans.  And so we wipe our hands and feel smug about our superior knowledge and cultural advancements over these barbaric cave men.

But when we read these words from the Torah – from Exodus and Deuteronomy, which Jesus himself quotes in Matt. 22:37, Mark 12:30, Luke 10:27, etc. – we see clearly that idolatry has a far broader definition than that of mere figurines and statues.  Anything at all that we allow to take precedence in our heart, mind, [soul] or strength before God is an idol – a false god we are bowing down to.

These idols enslave us and paralyze us.  They steal away our joy and pleasure.  They rot our brains and rot our souls, corrupting our humanity and purpose.

“But God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him shall not perish [in their idolatry] but have eternal life.” (John 3:16)

The gift of salvation is about freeing us from the bondage, sin, death and corruption of idolatry, and instead empowering us to live fully awake, alive and alert with joy, purpose and wholeness.

So it’s not a question of wanting us to stop having “fun.”  But rather it’s a question of wanting us to stop destroying ourselves.  Idolatry is dangerous, insidious and destructive.  

And perhaps one of the worst things about idolatry is how diverse and subtle it is.  In fact, most of our modern idols are things that are neither good nor bad by themselves, but rather neutral.  And so it is instead the way that we prioritize and worship them that turns them into idols.

For example, stewardship is one of the first facets of good and meaningful work that God had given man in the creation account, and in its proper relationship it is a beautiful and significant thing.  However, we can choose to worship that stewardship above God in different ways – through an excessive love of influence or relationships, work or finances, causes or passions, hobbies or talents, and the list goes on.

One of the most overlooked and least addressed idols plaguing humanity is the idol of worry.

Worry stems from a lack of trust – trust in God, trust in people, etc.

Worry is a debilitating and fruitless form of fear, and fear is what determines our psychological limitations.

Isn’t it curious that the most common greeting from visiting angels (as well as Jesus after the Resurrection) was “Fear not,” or depending on your translation, “Don’t be afraid”?  And isn’t it also curious that this greeting was never used until after the Fall – until after humanity worshipped its first idol (themselves)?

Clearly there is a link between idolatry and fear.  When we refuse to find our rest and peace in the true God, we are met with cheap imitation after cheap imitation, and with each “bait-and-switch” disappointment, we find ourselves less and less willing to trust anyone.  And as this mistrust grows and festers we find ourselves feeling more and more anxious and more and more worried.

But the anxiety and the worry are only cheap, disappointing idols themselves.  They achieve no good.  They produce no benefit.  They are not worthy to be called “god” nor to receive your worship – your willful, intentional focus and devotion.

“And which of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life’s span?  If then you cannot do even a very little thing, why do you worry about other matters?” (Luke 12:25,26)

The Greek rendering of this passage actually paints a more comical depiction: “Which of you by worrying can add to his stature one cubit?”  The word for “stature” is “helikia,” which refers to maturity either in years or in size.  And of course a cubit was a unit of measure equal to roughly 18 inches.  

This is meant to be an outrageously silly concept: “who can add 18 inches to their age or height by worrying?”  This hyperbole is intended to get our attention.  

Oh that we may begin to trust our wonderful Lord, and Him alone.  

Oh that we may begin to forsake our idols and the destruction they produce.

Oh that we may find life, and life abundant in Christ.

Oh that we may give up the idol of worry.

“Martha, Martha, you are worried and bothered about so many things; but only one thing is necessary…” (Luke 10:41,42a)

Economic recession, inflation, global pandemic, wars, rumors of wars, racism, political and social tensions, gun violence and natural disasters.  

News media makes a living by exposing us to the worst of the worst events in the world (the sensational), with little, if any exposure to the good, normal and best events in the world (the mundane and mildly sensational).  

This of course is because the sensational sells.  

Most people wouldn’t read an article about how a pastor remained faithful to his wife for 50 years, and continues to be a blessing to his local church and community.  And this may well account for 99% of local church pastors.  

But find that one in a million exception of scandal and disgrace, and whoa buddy, you’ve got some readers.

One of the things we know about the human brain and neuro-pathways is that the more we think and act in a particular way, the more natural and easy it becomes.  We even use the expression “second nature”.  This applies, of course, to our habits and disciplines, but it also applies to our influences and inputs.  In physics, the simple equation states that “input = output”.  In other words, what we input – or what we allow in to our mind, life, body, etc., will inevitably determine our output.

So when we are spending regular time in the Scriptures and prayer, in study and in uplifting community, this is what emerges when we are faced with pressure.

Likewise, when we are spending regular time eating junk food, watching trashy tv shows, and immersing ourselves in the hyper negative sensationalism of the news media, this is what emerges when we are faced with pressure.

If we don’t like the output, we must change the input.

There is plenty to be distracted by; plenty to be worried and bothered about, if that’s what we’re looking for.  What are you looking for?

“Martha was distracted… But the Lord answered and said to her, ‘Martha, Martha, you are worried and bothered about so many things; but only one thing is necessary, for Mary has chosen the good part, which shall not be taken away from her.” (Luke 10:40-42)

We tend to think in extremes, such as “all or nothing,” and I think that causes us to miss the point of this passage. 

Jesus wasn’t condemning hospitality, or any of the good things Martha was doing, but rather He was making a statement about prioritization.  Our one necessity – our greatest assignment is to sit at the feet of Jesus, enjoy His presence, and allow His Words to fill our soul.  Other things can come later, but this first thing must be first.

When our priorities are wrong, we easily slip into anxiety – we easily become worried and bothered about many things.

Perhaps we can take this simple lesson and follow Mary’s example to choose the most important thing first.  Perhaps we can give up our right to be worried and bothered.

We’ve been deceived, misled, duped into believing a lie from the enemy.

The social, philosophic and religious traditions continue to spread the hoax that sin is fun, enjoyable, pleasurable and really only bad if we get caught, or if we hurt someone in the process – although nobody seems willing to agree on what classifies as “hurt”.

The accuser (that is, the devil) has conned us into misunderstanding, and then falsely teaching that God the Father simply doesn’t like it when we have fun sinning.  It’s as if we’re a bunch of irresponsible children drinking from a chocolate fountain and then making a mess of the white furniture as we do.  We’re having the time of our life until the big bad mean God shows up and starts punishing everyone.

We’ve been conned into believing that God is actually the accuser, rather than satan, which is, of course, completely ludicrous.  

The Penal Substitution view of the Atonement has done great damage to the popular understanding of not only God’s character, but also of the nature of sin, salvation and the Great Commission.  This common view now demonizes God as the judge, jury and executioner for every “black mark” on our record, and effectively brings us back to the very human conception of “salvation by works,” where the goal seems to be simply doing more good than bad during our lifetime, and hoping it’s enough.  This is precisely what we would expect from a human religion or philosophy.  This is precisely what we should expect from the “father of lies,” whose goals are to deceive and to accuse.

But fortunately for us, God’s Word is full of light, truth and clarity.

In Matthew 1:21 we see that the Messiah would be called “Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.”

Notice here that He doesn’t save people from the punishment of their sins, but from the sins themselves.

In John 3:17 we are reminded that God didn’t come into to the world to condemn the world, but rather to save the world.

And of course Jesus’ whole ministry told a consistent narrative that we are not condemned for our sins, but encouraged to repent – to leave sin in the rear view mirror and not turn back.

It turns out that God is concerned about sin, but perhaps not for the reasons we thought.

The biblical word for sin roughly translates to “missing the mark”.  The natural question that emerges is “what is the mark?”  And unfortunately this is another thing people have a hard time agreeing on.

One way to answer this question is to look back to the Creation account and attempt to understand the original purpose of creation in general, and the purpose of humans in particular.  Among other things, we read that humans were made in the image of God, given meaningful work in the garden, and then walked/lived in close relationship with God.  So however else we would define each of these, we could argue that the “mark” involves bearing God’s image well, stewarding creation and walking in unbroken relationship with God.

Another way to answer this question is to lean into the invitation to discipleship.  “Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men.”  In Jewish culture the disciples of a particular teacher/Rabbi would do everything within their power to mimic/mirror/reflect the actions, words and character of their Rabbi.  So we could view the “mark” as “Christ-likeness”.  

Still others may choose different priorities as the “mark,” such as the pursuit of happiness, pleasure, accomplishment, or the old classic “eat, drink and be merry.”  

What if we started to hold up the definition of sin next to each of these “marks”?  

When we are missing the mark, we are failing to reflect God’s image, we are failing to steward creation, we are failing to walk with God.  

When we are missing the mark, we are failing to model our lives after our Rabbi.

When we are missing the mark, we are failing to find happiness, failing to find pleasure, and failing to accomplish our goals.  

Sin is antithetical to happiness.  

Sin bears no similarity to pleasure.  

Sin is not cute, funny or fun.

Sin is vile, wretched dog vomit (2 Pet. 2:22).  By grace we can eject poison from our system through vomit.  So how disgusting and dumb would it be for us to start lapping up poisonous vomit?

Paul sheds some wonderful light on the subject: “For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Rom. 6:23)

For years I had misread this text to say that the “punishment for sin is death.”  But that’s not what it says!  It’s the “wages”, not the punishment.

Picture a job interview.  When all goes well and the employer wishes to offer the job to a given candidate, they can then negotiate the terms of employment.  Both parties must be in agreement in order for the employee-employer relationship to begin.  A part of these negotiations inevitably revolves around wages/compensation.  What is fair?  What is expected?  When all parties agree, the work can begin, and over time the agreed-upon wages are given in accordance with the work.

The wages of sin is death.

We aren’t punished FOR our sins, but BY our sins.  But it’s even worse than that, because our fair wages are antithetical to the very core of our nature as beings created in the image of God – who of course is the creator and sustainer of life.  Sin isn’t just a problem because it hurts us.  Sin is a problem because it unravels God’s good creation.  Sin is a problem, because we were created to LIVE!

Many years ago I heard about a tactic that Arctic hunters would use to fend off dangerous wolves.  They would take a sharp knife and coat it in blood (from elk or some other game), and then wait for the blood to freeze.  After it had frozen, they would coat it in more blood, and repeat the process several times.  After several coats, they would go out into the tree line and secure the knife to the ground with the blood-coated blade sticking up.  Drawn by the scent of blood, a wolf would discover the blade and begin to lick it.  As the licking continued, the wolf’s tongue would get cut open, and before long, the blood it was tasting was its own.  Eventually the wolf would bleed to death from licking the bloody knife.

This is perhaps the best picture of sin that I’ve ever come across.

Sin is never good, never enjoyable, never cute and never fun.  But we can be deceived by the enemy into thinking that it is – just like the blood-coated knife.  

“But God so loved the world that He sent His one and only Son so that whosoever believes would not die, but have eternal life.”

I love how Paul finished his statement in Romans 6:23 – “The free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”  

We work for sin.  We work for death.  We work hard for disappointment.

But Christ offers us every good and perfect gift for free.

“Go and leave your life of sin.”  “Repent, for the kingdom [of life] is here.”

There really is good news in the Gospel, but it’s hard to find it until we’ve unmasked the real face of sin.

Some bright morning when this life is over, I’ll fly away.  To that home on God’s celestial shore, I’ll fly away.

Despite the myriad of teaching and instruction on the nature of heaven both in Scripture and early church literature, there persists much confusion about it.  

Even among many professing christians today, the dreadfully prominent view of heaven seems to be a mashup of cartoons and secularism – of harp-playing, cloud-hopping, winged cherubs playing around like fairies, flitting between their massive mansions and the pearly gates.

We’ve fallen for the trap of thinking that heaven is “far away”, somewhere “out there”.

We’ve fallen for the trap of thinking that if we say (fill in the blank) or do (fill in the blank), that we get to “go to heaven” when we die.

We’ve fallen for the trap of thinking that heaven is perfect, and outside of time, and somehow infinitely different from our life on earth.  “Earth is here, but it’s messed up, and heaven is “there”, and it’s perfect – we’ll know everything when we die, and never again experience challenges, never have to learn, never have to improve, never have to exercise free-will again.”

But this is un-biblical utopian escapism.

Perhaps one of the greatest contributors to the Western Church’s decline over the past century stems from a rise in practical escapist theology within the Church.  We’ve given up much of the personal responsibility for learning and growing in our biblical knowledge, heaving the burden onto the shoulders of a secular culture, with occasional  input from our local pastor or priest.  And as a result we’ve diluted and distorted the Gospel message.

We have sacrificed what is difficult and necessary for what is simple and easy.

But it’s time to arise.

“Wake up o sleeper, rise from the grave.”

In the creation account, the word for “heavens” effectively translates to “sky” or “skies”.  We don’t get any impression of a distinct location where God’s presence is more manifest and His will more honored.  We rather get the impression that heaven and earth were conjoined aspects of a single reality – a reality wherein the physical and the spiritual were united and cohesive.

It’s not until after the Fall that we see a “rift”, “chasm” “divide” enter in and distort the true, original order of reality.  It’s not until after the Fall that we begin to see a separation between spirit and matter.

And as we read through the Scriptures from the Old Testament to the New Testament, we discover a story of God’s relentless pursuit of His creation, and the attempt to reunite and reconcile reality back to wholeness.

Isn’t it curious how the enemy always seeks to divide, to separate and to distinguish? 

In His earthly ministry, Jesus encouraged His disciples to engage in the ministry of reconciliation – of manifesting and promoting God’s will on earth as it is in heaven.

At this point, the people had developed a theology to the effect of heaven being a spiritual place where God’s presence is more fully expressed and where God’s will is honored more completely.  But Jesus makes it clear that the physical realm – “earth” – remains a top priority for God’s kingdom.  

And of course as we read through the rest of the New Testament and come to the great hope at the end of the age, what we see is a portrait of ultimate redemption – the re-fusing of heaven and earth as a single reality once again.  

That leaves us to piece the “puzzle” together regarding our current status.  If the original created order is effectively the same as the “final” created order at the end of the age (namely that of a single, unbroken reality), we can draw the conclusion that neither heaven nor earth in their current broken state are perfect.  This is why there is good work for us to do, that we are invited into – the ministry of reconciliation, to be ambassadors of Christ, to bind and loose on earth so that it may also be bound and loosed in heaven.  We get to be a part of the work of bringing heaven and earth back together.  This is what it means when Peter says that we can “speed the Lord’s coming” in 2 Pet. 3:12.  The current, broken/divided relationship between heaven and earth will pass away, and the original created reality will be reunited as a “new heaven” and “new earth”.

And if we want to see what this perfected reality will look like, we can take clues from pre-Fall Genesis.  There will be growth, free-will, meaningful work, and plenty of nature to explore and beauty to appreciate.  There will be intimacy with God, opportunities for creativity (think of Adam naming the animals), and beautiful relationships with the animals, plants and other people.

If I dare say so myself, that is a reality worth fighting and working for.  It’s a ministry worthy of our effort and energy.  It’s a portrait of heaven and earth that makes sense.  And it’s a future that we can truly look forward to.

A lot of our disagreements originate from a failure to establish a shared understanding of the words we use.  A modern example of this is the word reconciliation.

Oh, we’re able to agree on a definition for the word – however you spin it, reconciliation is about bringing together rather than pulling apart – but the ability to agree on a definition is different from sharing an understanding of the word.

This goes back to the inductive nature of our world view formulation.  There is no such thing as a purely logical or unbiased person – our biases and opinions are much of what it means to be a thinking, free moral agent (we aren’t robots acting out a script).  

It is inductive because the many parts inform and shape our view of the whole, creating the “lens” through which we view the world.

Some of these inputs are logical, factual, historical, scientific.  Some of these inputs are  emotional, experiential, social and relational.  When any of these inputs differ from the inputs of another individual, there is a low probability of sharing an understanding without intentional effort.

Let’s look at an example.

Marxism – the precursor of Communism and Critical Theory (including Critical Race Theory) – presupposes an overly simplified and binary world view wherein a person is either categorized as an oppressor or as the oppressed – neutrality does not exist, and morality is effectively irrelevant.  If a thing could be said to be moral, it would be the endeavor of class and race and influence “reconciliation”.  

In practice, this looks like the “oppressed” rebelling against the “oppressors” and seeking to displace them, reversing their roles until the formerly oppressed are now the oppressors, and the former oppressors are now the oppressed, and then the cycle begins again.

The great and dangerous deception of this view of course is found in the misuse of the word “reconciliation”.  Practical Marxism/Communism/Critical Theory is actually all about creating and reinforcing divisions/separation, and it does so in a way that encourages/requires its subjects to be forever discontented.

And this is precisely what we’re seeing in our own country right now – a great discontentment with perceived injustices with regard to class, race and influence among others.  Many of the proposed “solutions” look like they could be coming directly out of a Marxist brochure and heavily emphasize “reconciling” the gap between the “haves” and the “have-nots”.  As long as you are the “oppressed”, you are the “good guy”, and as long as you are the “oppressor”, you are the “bad guy”.

And again, this is the exact opposite of reconciliation.

Let’s contrast this with a Biblical depiction of reconciliation.

“Therefore from now on we recognize no one according to the flesh; even though we have known Christ according to the flesh, yet now we know Him in this way no longer.  Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come.  Now all these things are from God, who reconciled us to Himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation, namely, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and He has committed to us the word of reconciliation.  Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were making an appeal through us; we beg you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God.  He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.” (2 Cor. 5:16-21)

It would appear that many things occurred in the Fall in Genesis 3.  One of the things that happened was a breaking of fellowship with God and His creation (which includes our relationships with each other).  From that time, and even today, our tendency has been to divide, separate, compartmentalize both in our interactions with the world, and our interactions with ourselves – the “inner man”.

In his letter to the Corinthians, Paul is expressing the nature of God’s pursuit of reconciliation with us and all creation.  Paul is also inviting the Church to take an active role as Christ’s ambassadors of reconciliation – to be “co-laborers” with Christ in undoing the curse of the Fall.  

Jesus gave us the same invitation as He was outlining the model prayer.  “Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.”  We are wrong to think of this as a passive request for God to “do what He will.”  Jesus’ original audience would have recognized this as an interactive request – “may Your Spirit  be glorified in me as I work with you to manifest Your kingdom and will here on earth in the same way that your kingdom and will are manifest in heaven.”  

N.T. Wright makes an excellent observation in his book, The New Testament in its World, 

“Jesus himself was all about the coming together of heaven and earth.  Splitting them apart, as has so often been done, is a sign of our times, more specifically of the Enlightenment’s separation of timeless truths from contingent historical realities, whether by skeptics of by their devout opponents.” (pg. 79)

It is remarkably strange that many modern Christians hold a belief in a remarkably separated heaven and earth, and conduct their lives so as to suggest an ever-widening gap between the two rather than the radical reconciliation of heaven and earth that Jesus lived, taught, and empowered us to live and teach.

So what does Biblical reconciliation mean?  Not Communism.  Not Socialism.  Reconciliation is not a social construct, but rather a spiritual construct.  It’s a spiritual movement – the reconciling of heaven and earth within us, in the inner man.  Then we can live as kingdom ambassadors, honoring all, and worshipping God alone.

I recently had the privilege to attend a wedding ceremony for some long time friends.  During the processional (when the bridesmaids and groomsmen walk down the aisle, climaxing with the entrance of the bride), I couldn’t help but think about words our pastor has spoken many times before.  Having officiated many weddings through the years, he commented that he has never seen an ugly bride (at least not on their wedding day).

Oh, sure there’s make up, and hair styling, and ornate garments, but it’s more than just that.  There’s an “inner glow” that is unmistakable.  It tells the tale of anxiety, nerves and doubts, as well as hope, joy and love.  It is the knowledge of two imperfect people coming together, but the faith that it can work so long as God is God in their relationship.  It is the fear of commitment and the sanctity of covenant.  It is the ending of one chapter, and the beginning of another.

Many passages in Scripture draw an analogy for the relationship between God and His covenant people to that of a groom and his bride.  Whether it’s the Israelites (Old Testament) or the Church (New Testament), the biblical language is unmistakably intimate, sacrificial and hopeful.  

Paul, in his letter to the Ephesians puts it this way: “…Christ loved the church and gave Himself up for her, so that He might sanctify her, have cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, that He might present to Himself the church in all her glory, having no spot or wrinkle or any such thing; but that she would be holy and blameless.” (Eph. 5:25-27)

Intimacy.  Sacrifice.  Hope.

“That He might,” and “that we may.”

But the testimony of Israel (see the Old Testament), the testimony of the church’s history, and even our own testimony as the contemporary church have not always been  particularly flattering.

In fact, the last of the northern prophets (prophesying to Israel), Hosea, provides us with a stunning and convicting account of the unfaithfulness of God’s covenant people, Israel:

“The land (of Israel) commits flagrant harlotry, forsaking the Lord.” (Hos. 1:2)  “You are not My people, and I am not your God.” (Hos. 1:9)

Hosea is called to love and marry a wife of harlotry (Gomer) as a prophetic analogy to the love of God for His harlot people.  The short book of Hosea unfolds much as we might expect.

First there is love and excitement – “someone loves me in spite of what I’ve done!  I’ll never take this for granted!”

Then comes familiarity, complacency and a return to former habits.

In Hosea 2, God speaks of His relentless pursuit of His people, and the way He tracks us down with love and tenderness (see verses 14-23).  Quickly following suit, Hosea goes and redeems/buys back his wife, Gomer, who had a left her family and sold herself back into harlotry.  

Then the cycle repeats.  Gomer (and Israel) return to their love and commit to remaining faithful.  But then they grow complacent again (Hosea 5) and turn away from Him.  

And then they return (Hosea 6).

And then they turn away (Hosea 7).

And so the cycle continues for them and for us.

I am so grateful that the book of Hosea ends with God’s unending pursuit, and the unending invitation to “those with ears to hear”:

“Whoever is wise, let him understand these things; whoever is discerning, let him know them.  For the ways of the Lord are right, and the righteous will walk in them, but transgressors will stumble in them.” (Hos. 14:9)

Despite the Israelites’ cycles of unfaithfulness, and despite the flaws and stains in the church’s history, and despite our imperfections even now, God is faithful, loving, relentless, and hopeful that we will be His beautiful bride, cleansed with the word, presented to Him as holy and blameless, without spot or wrinkle.

“On this rock I will build My church; and the gates of Hades (death) will not overpower it.” (Matt. 16:18)

Not only are we beautiful, but we are equipped with the power to overcome the gates of death (sin/evil/meaninglessness), to live in victory – even in this life.

About a year ago, I was driving up to Pinetop, Arizona but had to take a detour due to wildfires.  Among other places, this detour brought me through the “humble” town of Superior, which frankly had me feeling depressed – that is, until I saw a church located near the main road.  I became overwhelmed with gratitude for the faithful ministers of the Gospel, those who will probably never be famous or wealthy, but who share the joy and hope of life – the Good News of victory over death, shining light and truth in the darkness – a beacon – the beautiful bride of Christ!

May we follow suit.  Not for the accolades and aplomb of people, but from the abundance of our heart, knowing that we are loved unconditionally, pursued relentlessly and empowered unendingly by the Creator and Sustainer of the heavens and the earth.

Question: How many guitarists does it take to change a light bulb?  Answer: Only one, but ninety-nine to stand around and say “I could do that”.

That’s one of the silly jokes I learned back in music college, and I think of it every time I come across Matthew 14:22-33.  

You’ll recognize the scene.  

The twelve were in a boat on the Sea of Galilee, and had been battered by the waves “for the wind was contrary.”

Jesus came to them, walking on the sea, which was met with alarm and fear.  After reassuring them that He was Jesus, and not a ghost, Peter called out, “Lord, if it is You, command me to come to you on the water.”  And He said, “Come!” So Peter got out of the boat, and walked on the water, and came toward Jesus.

But the other disciples stayed in the boat.

Peter walked on water.

But the other disciples stayed in the boat.

Peter WALKED ON WATER!!!

But the other disciples stayed in the boat.

And then I go back to the ninety-nine guitarists standing around saying “I could do that.”  

That passage should have read that all of the disciples got out of the boat and walked on the water with Jesus, but it was only Peter.  

Perhaps the other disciples were content to merely watch the miracle.  Perhaps they weren’t interested in being A PART of the miracle.

And perhaps that describes most of us most of the time.

Ouch!

We can pray for miracles; we can pray for revival; we can pray for a mighty, “earth-shaking” move of the Holy Spirit – but if we’re doing it from the boat, we ought to lower our expectations.

God invited Abram to leave behind the land and people he knew and then to sojourn with God into a new land he would later be shown.  Abram accepted the invitation and moved before he knew his destination.  (Gen. 12:1-4)

The Israelites had to first step into the Jordan before the waters were parted. (Josh. 3:15-17)

Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah had to first stand up for their beliefs, refusing idol-worship in Babylon (which got them thrown into the fire, by the way) before they experienced the miracle in the fiery furnace.  (Dan. 3)

And Jonah had to first preach in Ninevah before he got to witness the miracle of revival. (Jon. 3)

Revival…

Did you know that the word “revive” literally means “to restore to life”?

That sounds an awful lot like the Gospel message, and the central theme of Jesus’ mission, doesn’t it?

“I have come that you may have life abundant.” (John 10:10)  “The water I give him will become in him a well springing up to eternal life.” (John 4:14)  “I am the bread of life; he who comes to Me will not hunger, and he who believes in Me will never thirst.” (John 6:35)  “The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and are life.” (John 6:63)  “In Him was life, and the life was the Light of men.” (John 1:4)

Indeed one of the major objectives of the Incarnation was to show us the way to live – the way to truly live, wide awake and full of abundant life.  It’s no coincidence that the early church referred to themselves as followers of The Way.

Part of what it means to be a follower of The Way (following the examples and teachings of Jesus in our every day lives) is to bring revival wherever we find spiritual death.  In fact, to experience this revival in one’s life is a very good description of what we mean by the word “salvation”.

“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old is gone, the new has come.” (2 Cor. 5:17)

This brings us to a critical revelation, revival isn’t something we should be asking to happen in the Church (for indeed to be in Christ is to be revived, full of abundant life and light), but rather it’s the spiritual “job-description” of the Church.  

“Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” (Matt. 28:19-20)

“Awake, sleeper, and arise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.” (Eph. 5:14)

So let us pray for the continual spread of revival – not in the Church, for it is (or ought to be) full of life and light (salvation) – but revival in the world around us – that people would “taste and see that the Lord is good.”

And this is no passive revival that we can observe from the boat.  

This is an active revival that requires us to step out of the boat and rely on Jesus.

Sometimes this is about this.  Sometimes this is really about that or the other.  But sometimes, it’s actually about this, that AND the other.

Aside from the events of the Passion narrative, it’s incredibly rare to find an occasion where all four gospel writers covered the same event.  One of these occasions is the familiar story of Jesus feeding the 5,000. 

(See Matt. 14:15-21; Mark 6:35-44; Luke 9:12-17; John 6:4-13 for full text)

I’ve heard dozens of sermons on this passage over the years, and they tend to focus almost exclusively on the miracle – Jesus’ provision for his disciples, as well as for the large crowd of roughly 5,000 men (which many scholars speculate could translate closer to 20,000 after accounting for women and children).

And THIS is what the passage is about.  But it’s not ALL this passage is about.

We have to remember that Jesus was a teacher and therefore sought every opportunity to instruct His disciples, knowing that these disciples would go on to build the Church.

So what was the lesson that Jesus wanted His disciples to gain from this experience?  

Mark’s account provides us with critical insight in the preface to this event.

And He (Jesus) said to them, “Come away by yourselves to a secluded place and rest a while.” (For there were many people coming and going, and they did not even have time to eat.)  They went away in the boat to a secluded place by themselves.  The people saw them going, and many recognized them and ran there together on foot from all the cities, and got there ahead of them.  When Jesus went ashore, He saw a large crowd, and He felt compassion for them because they were like sheep without a shepherd; and He began to teach them many things. (Mark 6:31-34)

If we back up in the text just a little further, we realize that these events are occurring in the wake of the wicked tetrarch’s (Herod Antipas) party.  His party was exclusive, pagan, and resulted in the death of John the Baptist, whom many of the Jews revered and respected.  With political leadership like this, and the apparent silence from Jewish religious leadership after these events (probably due to their fear of Herod), Jesus recognized that the people were like sheep without a shepherd – both politically and religiously.

As an interesting aside, it’s curious to note that Jesus’ “feast” was INCLUSIVE where Herod’s was EXCLUSIVE.  Jesus’ “feast” was centered on compassion and instruction in the ways of life where Herod’s was centered on hedonism and resulted in death.  Jesus’ focus was on others while Herod’s focus was on himself.

In light of the preceding events, and especially in light of Mark 6:31-33, I am amazed by Mark 6:34.  I can imagine the disciples feeling completely exhausted from their extensive ministry efforts, and looking forward to a day “off”, to rest and recuperate – only to arrive at shore and be greeted by even more work and ministry.  Even just reading the passage makes me feel spent, and maybe even inconvenienced for the disciples.

And yet, Jesus’ response was compassion!

How!?

Surely this is the lesson that Jesus had intended to teach his disciples – compassion, even when we don’t feel like it; compassion that is too great for our own efforts, and requires the grace of the Holy Spirit working in and through us.

And so this passage is also about THAT.  But this passage is not ONLY about this (the miracle) and that (the teaching).

Prior to crossing the Sea of Galilee, Jesus and His disciples were likely in Capernaum – a predominately Jewish trading village.  Crossing near the northern shore of the Sea of Galilee would have kept them near enough land to recognize and for regional towns people to amass on the other side of the shore, in the region of Bethsaida.

Bethsaida and the surrounding region were predominately Gentile (non-Jewish).  In addition to this, all four Gospel writers specify that they docked in a remote/“desolate” place, rather than in or near a large town or city.  Although there were several small villages in the region, even the largest towns would have only had about 3,000 people.

Well this leads to a problem.  When the day gets late and the people get hungry, what do you do?  To disperse a crowd of 5,000 – 20,000 people into small hamlets and villages would be absolutely crushing to the locals, who simply weren’t equipped to feed such a large group at such a short notice.  Add to that the likely resentment towards Jesus’ ministry that would have arisen in the minds of these gentiles – a resentment that could have even impacted their willingness to hear/receive the Gospel message from the Church.

In a best case scenario, the Gentiles would simply have to turn away the Jewish crowd, which would leave them with a long journey home on an empty stomach.

So Jesus’ compassion was for the Jewish crowd’s spiritual health, and also for their physical health, but it was also for the surrounding region – for the health and well-being of the Gentiles.  And that was always a difficult lesson for His Jewish audience to receive.

So there was a miracle (this), and a lesson (that), and a great consideration for how these few actions would affect a great many people (the other).  

So may we learn and grow from Jesus’ example in faith, compassion and wisdom.

Have you ever smelled a high-quality perfume?  

I’ve had and worn many different colognes over the years, but only just recently learned that there is a difference between cologne and perfume.  It’s not that one is masculine and one is feminine, but rather it is a designation of quality.  There are other designations as well, but the point is that the word “cologne” refers to a lower-grade fragrance while “perfume” refers to a higher-grade fragrance. 

A few years back I was gifted a sample assortment of high-end men’s perfumes, and since then I’ve purchased a full bottle of the one I liked the best.  Now I have this one perfume as well as one older cologne (that I can’t bring myself to throw away).  I used to be fine with the old cologne – several sprays of that and I was good to go.  It’s not a bad scent – probably still about 10 times nicer than Axe body spray.  But ever since I’ve experienced the higher quality perfume, the cologne just seems too harsh and cheap.

The first time I tried the new perfume, I tried two sprays… and was completely over-powered!  Come to find out that it takes much less of the better quality fragrances to accomplish the optimal accent.  And not only that, but one spray in the morning will last me the entire day, and still smell good in the evening, where my old cologne seemed to last only a few hours.  

I was pulling a shirt out of the closet a couple of weeks back, and realized that I must’ve gotten some of the perfume on the shirt, because it still carried the fragrance even weeks later.  I couldn’t even imagine how much more significant that might have been if I had poured out the entire jar!

And that brings me to Luke 7:36-50, with the “sinful” woman who brings a costly alabaster vial of perfume and anoints Jesus’ head and feet with it.  Mark’s account mentions that she broke the vial and poured out the entire contents.  John’s account records that the entire house was filled with the fragrance.  John’s account goes on to comment that this quantity of this particular perfume was worth roughly a year’s wages.  In modern terms, think of this as costing roughly $50,000.  (I didn’t spend that much for my perfume, in case you were wondering).

Now this was of course a beautiful and extravagant act of worship, as we’ve all read and heard.  But perhaps what we haven’t thought about before is: how long did this fragrance of worship last?  A day?  Several days?  Perhaps a week?  Maybe even several weeks?

Imagine walking through the supermarket wearing the residual fragrance of worship.

Imagine coffee breaks at the office while reeking of worship.

There’s an old tribal word that we’ve adopted into our western culture in recent years called “Ethos.”  While there are several definitions for the word, one of the ones that I like is simply: “The fragrance of a life.”  I suppose you could substitute “life” with “lifestyle” as well.

What is the fragrance of your life?  What is your ethos?

Would that we may be a people who’s ethos is the pure and lasting fragrance of worship – worshipping our Creator, and walking more closely with Him (Jesus) each day.