Community

I've started going to a new church since moving back to America.  One of the things that they really emphasize is the importance of community.  But not just community, in the sense of having lots of big church potlucks or tailgates or outings around town.  They stress Biblical community - a large group of believers gathering to worship, smaller groups of believers gathering together for encouragement and comfort, and even smaller discipleship groups, where you really get down to the nitty gritty details of spiritual growth and accountability.

I've never known community like this before.  The kind of community where people call each other up and pray with them on the phone on a regular basis.  The kind of community in which it's a rare week, indeed, when an unexpected meeting of believers and subsequent spontaneous worship of the Lord does not happen.  The kind of community that doesn't see it as unusual to have people encouraging and keeping each other accountable, but rather as the rule.

We are meant to be in communities that encourage us.  But what does that mean?  Merriam Webster defines encouragement as "giving help or inspiration" to another person.  But God intends it to be so much more than that.  The Greek word for encouragement is symparakaleo, which means "to call upon or exhort and the same time or together; to strengthen or comfort with others."  Sure, helping other people out is a part of encouraging them.  But Biblical, Christian encouragement is meant to be much more than that.  It's a vibrant give and take, an active expression of Christ's love in a tangible way to the people in your life.

It's important to remember, too, that it goes both ways.  God does not expect you to always be giving, always be strong, always be encouraging, without ever needing to be on the receiving end.  Encouragement means to exhort together, at the same time.  It means to keep each other accountable, to be honest and open with each, to admit to your flaws, and to be loved in spite of them.  That's true community.  That's Biblical community.  Is that what your life looks like?

Romans 1:8-12

8 First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for all of you, because your faith is being reported all over the world. 9 God, whom I serve in my spirit in preaching the gospel of his Son, is my witness how constantly I remember you 10 in my prayers at all times; and I pray that now at last by God’s will the way may be opened for me to come to you. 11 I long to see you so that I may impart to you some spiritual gift to make you strong— 12 that is, that you and I may be mutually encouraged by each other’s faith.

Blessed

It's amazing the differing interpretations that can result when there is a mistranslation in play.  I know this full well from my time studying languages.  I can't count how many times I learned a word in the classroom, memorized it, thought I knew it, and then used it or heard it in the "real world" and realized that it had a totally different connotation or definition from what I had thought.

And then, of course, there are words for which a translation simply doesn't exist, like the Indonesian word jayus, which is roughly translated as "as joke so poorly told and so unfunny that one cannot help but laugh," or the Scottish word tartle, which more or less means "the act of hesitating while you're introducing someone because you've forgotten their name."  Words like that throw a whole new level of confusion into the mix.

The Bible is like that, too.  We read the Bible so often in our native tongue, that sometimes it is hard to remember that it wasn't written in that language (unless, of course, you're reading it in Greek or Hebrew).  There are so many nuances, so many hidden meanings that are lost in translation.  The Beatitudes, which means "the blessings," in Matthew 5 are a good example of that.

I was always taught that the Beatitudes were a prescriptive list, something that should be aspired to in order to be blessed.  But the Beatitudes are descriptive, not prescriptive.  "Poor in spirit," which many people take to mean humble, is better translated as worthless or spiritually bankrupt.  Surely God is not telling us that we should strive for spiritual bankruptcy in order to receive His kingdom.  It's equally unlikely that a loving God would not actually want us to mourn, even if we do know that we will be comforted.  Even the rest of the Beatitudes, while not necessarily bad, are not attributes greatly prized by the rest of the world - things like meekness, mercy, and peacemaking are often considered weak, characteristic of doormats, of people who are easy to take advantage of.

The Beatitudes are not telling us what we should do to become blessed by God.  They are reminding us that we are blessed by God.  No matter what we have done in our past, despite our spiritual bankruptcy, even if we are mourning, regardless of our pain or frustrations - despite it all, we are still blessed, for God is good and has chosen to bless us, even when we don't deserve it.

If Jesus were speaking to us today, perhaps His Beatitudes would sound something like this (I borrowed this from my pastor; it's too good to not share!) :

Blessed are the unemployed, those who feel without purpose, 

for you are invited to participate in the greatest redemptive story ever told.  

Blessed are the addicted, who have struggled with sin and are caught in a web of flesh and lies, 

for in this place prisoners are set free.  

Blessed are the skeptics, the doubters, the wanderers, 

for your questions have answers and you can be satisfied.  

Blessed are the lonely.  You're invited to join a family 

that has more brothers and more sisters than stars in the sky.  

Blessed are those ashamed that someone might see your true face, 

for now your true face reflects the righteousness of Christ.  Hide no longer.  

Blessed are the homeless, blessed are the CEOs, 

blessed are those struggling to make rent next month, 

blessed are those tempted to put their trust in a huge bank account, 

for though your current state will fade away, you serve a God of abundance, 

and He has more than you will ever need.  

Blessed are those who made a bad decision last night.  

Rejoice, for today is the day the Lord has made, and His mercies are new every day.  

Blessed are the sexually broken, for in this kingdom you can be made whole.  

Blessed are those seen only as objects to be used, to be abused, to be discarded; 

by the grace of God you have a worth and a value 

that goes deeper than anything you could have imagined.  

Blessed are the insecure.  Security is yours - eternal security that can never be shaken.  

Blessed are the unattractive in the world's eyes, for you are beautiful.  

Blessed are the attractive in the world's eyes.  

You don't have to worry about growing old and losing your looks, 

for you have a value that can never fade.  

Blessed are you, sons and daughters, despite your sin, despite your rebellion, despite your fear, despite your insecurity, despite your disobedience.  All are blessed, for the kingdom of heaven has come near to you.  

Matthew 5:1-12

Now when Jesus saw the crowds, he went up on a mountainside and sat down. His disciples came to him, 2 and he began to teach them.

He said: 3 “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
4 Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.
5 Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.
6 Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.
7 Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy.
8 Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.
9 Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.
10 Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

11 “Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. 12 Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

Grasping at sand

When I was a little girl, I loved playing with sand.  I could sit for hours, making big piles, little piles, random designs, sand castles....it didn't really matter what I was making, as long as I had my sand.  I would squish it between my toes, drizzle it over my clothes, or watch it trickle slowly between my fingers.  I know it sounds bizarre, but sand had almost become a part of me.

In a way, sand can be seen as an analogy for how we live our spiritual lives, too.  It represents everything that we love, everything that we want to keep - our dreams, our hopes, our desires, our futures.  It represents things that we love so dearly, that we're so desperate to keep, that we will do anything to not lose them.  And so we clench our fists tightly in a ball, determined to hold onto those things that have become so precious to us.

But what happened to me in the playground as a child, happens in the spiritual realm, as well.  The tighter you clench your fists in determination to hold on to what you treasure, the more of it you will lose.  We stand there, watching all of our hopes and dreams slowly trickling out of our clutching hands, and we wonder in frustration what we are doing wrong.

What we don't realize, or so often forget, is that God wants to give us the desires of our heart.  But first we have to give our desires up to Him.  He wants to give us a new life, a new body, a new spirit.  He wants to give us new dreams, a new future, even better than what we had envisioned for ourselves.  But first we must unclench our fists.  We must open our hands and give to God everything that we are so desperately trying to do on our own.  Only then can you truly live in the freedom and blessings that God wants to give you.  Before you do that, you're just grasping at sand.

Romans 8:1-13

Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, 2 because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit who gives life has set you free from the law of sin and death. 3 For what the law was powerless to do because it was weakened by the flesh, God did by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh to be a sin offering. And so he condemned sin in the flesh, 4 in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fully met in us, who do not live according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.

5 Those who live according to the flesh have their minds set on what the flesh desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires. 6 The mind governed by the flesh is death, but the mind governed by the Spirit is life and peace. 7 The mind governed by the flesh is hostile to God; it does not submit to God’s law, nor can it do so. 8 Those who are in the realm of the flesh cannot please God.

9 You, however, are not in the realm of the flesh but are in the realm of the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, they do not belong to Christ. 10 But if Christ is in you, then even though your body is subject to death because of sin, the Spirit gives life because of righteousness. 11 And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies because of his Spirit who lives in you.

12 Therefore, brothers and sisters, we have an obligation—but it is not to the flesh, to live according to it. 13 For if you live according to the flesh, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live.

Tearing through the roof

I have struggled for years with chronic back pain, probably due to a combination of scoliosis, poor posture, and stress.  It's not something I enjoy, of course; but it is something that I have learned to live with, and I don't really even think about it much anymore.  It's just  become a part of who I am.

But anyway, some friends of mine heard about my back pain, and decided that they wanted to pray over me and ask the Lord to heal me.  So we met together on campus in the middle of the day, and just read the Bible and talked and prayed together.  It was really a special time.

One of the passages that we read was from Luke 5, in which Jesus healed the paralytic.  As I was sitting there reading this story with my friends, something seemed to almost jump off of the page to me - the incredible faith of the paralytic's friends.

This man had probably lived with his paralysis for many years.  It's likely (or at least highly plausible) that he, like me, had learned to live with his disability.  It's not that he didn't have faith in God; it's more along the lines that he had just come to accept that this was his lot in life.  In fact, he actually did show faith in Jesus when he immediately obeyed Jesus' command to stand up, take up his mat, and go home.

But it was the faith of his friends who were instrumental in bringing him (literally!) to healing.  It was the faith of his friends who brought him on the pallet to Jesus in the first place.  And it was the faith of his friends who, when they found that they could not enter the house because of the crowds, literally tore the roof off of the house in their zeal to see their friend healed.  

Is there someone in your life who needs healing?  Maybe someone who has struggled with something for so long that it has almost become a part of them?  Have they prayed for healing and for release, to no avail?  It doesn't have to be something physical - God can bring about all types of healing, whether it be physical, mental, emotional, or spiritual.  But perhaps the reason that they are still waiting on God to move it not because of a lack of faith on their part, but rather on yours.

God made us for community.  He made us to bear each other's burdens.  He made us to take care of and look out for each other.  Like the paralytic's friends, He wants us to bring to Him those who do not have the strength to do so themselves.  Who in your life is needing you to help them tear through the roof and lay themselves at the feet of Jesus?

Luke 5:17-26

¹⁷ One day Jesus was teaching, and Pharisees and teachers of the law were sitting there. They had come from every village of Galilee and from Judea and Jerusalem. And the power of the Lord was with Jesus to heal the sick. ¹⁸ Some men came carrying a paralyzed man on a mat and tried to take him into the house to lay him before Jesus. ¹⁹ When they could not find a way to do this because of the crowd, they went up on the roof and lowered him on his mat through the tiles into the middle of the crowd, right in front of Jesus.

²⁰ When Jesus saw their faith, he said, “Friend, your sins are forgiven.”

²¹ The Pharisees and the teachers of the law began thinking to themselves, “Who is this fellow who speaks blasphemy? Who can forgive sins but God alone?”

²² Jesus knew what they were thinking and asked, “Why are you thinking these things in your hearts? ²³ Which is easier: to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Get up and walk’?²⁴ But I want you to know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins.” So he said to the paralyzed man, “I tell you, get up, take your mat and go home.” ²⁵ Immediately he stood up in front of them, took what he had been lying on and went home praising God.²⁶ Everyone was amazed and gave praise to God. They were filled with awe and said, “We have seen remarkable things today.”

Persistence

It's finally November!  To me, the onset of November has always symbolized one thing - Thanksgiving!  There are many things about early November that I've always enjoyed.  I love the change of weather, the fall decorations, the anticipation of celebrating both Christmas and my 3 little siblings' birthdays; but most of all, at the beginning of November, the excitement that looms most in my mind is that of Thanksgiving.

Every holiday, in my opinion, has its own magic, and Thanksgiving is no exception.  The fun times spent with my mother cooking yummy things all day, the delicious smells that permeate the house, the relaxing and happy atmosphere, the sight of my entire family all together again; Thanksgiving holds a special place in my heart, indeed.

I thought it fitting, as I was waxing nostalgic about the holiday, to look up its origins.  I was surprised by what I found.  While the first Thanksgiving was celebrated in 1621, it would be hundreds of years later before it was observed by every state in the nation.  This was largely due to the efforts of one woman, Sarah Josepha Hale.  She campaigned and wrote letters to politicians - including 5 spearate presidents - trying to make it an official holiday, for nearly forty years!  She finally succeeded under President Lincoln's administration.

Can you imagine?  Spending 40 years working for something you believe in, and not seeing any results until the end?  What if she had stopped writing letters after 5 years, or 10, or 20?  November might be a very different month in America.  Her persistence is inspiring to me, to say the least.

I wonder if we would be that persistent in going after the things that God has placed on our hearts.  Of course we know in our heads that God will never leave us, and that He is always working behind the scenes for our good.  And, in many cases, we also know that God has called us to do something in particular, too.  But we want it done on our timetable, and if it doesn't happen within that particular timeframe, so often we give up, assuming that we must have misheard God, or maybe He just changed His mind and didn't tell us.

But God is not a God of confusion.  He will not lead you wandering around with no direction.  Even when the Israelites were in the desert, they had the pillars of cloud and fire to tell them exactly where they needed to go.  So if you are feeling discouraged, if you are feeling like what God has called you to do will never happen, take heart!  Remember that He is always with you, He will always guide you, He will always take care of you; sometimes it just takes a lot of persistence and patience to see the results!

Deuteronomy 29:1-6

These are the terms of the covenant the Lord commanded Moses to make with the Israelites in Moab, in addition to the covenant he had made with them at Horeb. 2 Moses summoned all the Israelites and said to them: Your eyes have seen all that the Lord did in Egypt to Pharaoh, to all his officials and to all his land. 3 With your own eyes you saw those great trials, those signs and great wonders. 4 But to this day the Lord has not given you a mind that understands or eyes that see or ears that hear. 5 Yet the Lord says, “During the forty years that I led you through the wilderness, your clothes did not wear out, nor did the sandals on your feet. 6 You ate no bread and drank no wine or other fermented drink. I did this so that you might know that I am the Lord your God.”
  

Freedom in Christ

Growing up, I had a very set notion of what "freedom in Christ" meant.  In my mind, it was applied on more of an ad hoc basis - God had forgiven you for whatever sins you had committed in the past, and would forgive you for whatever future sins you might also commit.  Some people even took this a step further, and looked at the concept of "freedom in Christ" as more of a get-out-of-jail-free card - "I can do anything I want," they rationalized, "because I know that God will always forgive me."  Perhaps that ideology was what the church had taught me, perhaps that was a product of myself, but that was where I was, regardless.

But the Lord meant for us to have such a greater freedom than that.  He meant for us to have freedom from our diseases.  He meant for us to have freedom from sorrow.  He meant for us to have freedom from condemnation.  He even meant for us to have freedom from sin, not just forgiveness of it.

How do we have freedom from sin?  We get it from the renewing of our mind, as He talks about in Romans 12:2.  Freedom in Christ means that we no longer want to "toe the line" between godly and ungodly behavior.  It means that He has given us a new heart, a new mind, a new desire for Him and His precepts.  It means that we now have the Holy Spirit living within us, who can prick our conscience even before we sin.  It means that we have Him as a guide to our lives, so that we no longer have to worry about whether we are making the right choices or not.

God never wanted the law to condemn us.  He wanted it to show us the path to true freedom - faith in Jesus Christ.  No one is perfect.  But because of the freedom that Christ has given us, we don't have to be.  He's constantly making us more and more like Him every single day.

Galatians 3:7-29

7 Understand, then, that those who have faith are children of Abraham. 8 Scripture foresaw that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, and announced the gospel in advance to Abraham: “All nations will be blessed through you.” 9 So those who rely on faith are blessed along with Abraham, the man of faith. 10 For all who rely on the works of the law are under a curse, as it is written: “Cursed is everyone who does not continue to do everything written in the Book of the Law.”

 11 Clearly no one who relies on the law is justified before God, because “the righteous will live by faith.” 12 The law is not based on faith; on the contrary, it says, “The person who does these things will live by them.” 13 Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us, for it is written: “Cursed is everyone who is hung on a pole.” 14 He redeemed us in order that the blessing given to Abraham might come to the Gentiles through Christ Jesus, so that by faith we might receive the promise of the Spirit.

15 Brothers and sisters, let me take an example from everyday life. Just as no one can set aside or add to a human covenant that has been duly established, so it is in this case. 16 The promises were spoken to Abraham and to his seed. Scripture does not say “and to seeds,” meaning many people, but “and to your seed,” meaning one person, who is Christ. 17 What I mean is this: The law, introduced 430 years later, does not set aside the covenant previously established by God and thus do away with the promise. 18 For if the inheritance depends on the law, then it no longer depends on the promise; but God in his grace gave it to Abraham through a promise.

19 Why, then, was the law given at all? It was added because of transgressions until the Seed to whom the promise referred had come. The law was given through angels and entrusted to a mediator. 20 A mediator, however, implies more than one party; but God is one.

21 Is the law, therefore, opposed to the promises of God? Absolutely not! For if a law had been given that could impart life, then righteousness would certainly have come by the law. 22 But Scripture has locked up everything under the control of sin, so that what was promised, being given through faith in Jesus Christ, might be given to those who believe.

23 Before the coming of this faith, we were held in custody under the law, locked up until the faith that was to come would be revealed. 24 So the law was our guardian until Christ came that we might be justified by faith. 25 Now that this faith has come, we are no longer under a guardian.

26 So in Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith, 27 for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. 28 There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. 29 If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.