Move Forward In Your Understanding of the Bible: the Covenant stories (part 2 of 5)

"I will bless you, I will make you a blessing, and I will bless all the world through you."

How's that for a promise?

This is essentially how God initiates his covenant relationship with Abraham.

If we want to move forward in our understanding of the Bible, we need to remember the significance of the covenant stories.

There are five over-arching stories in the Old Testament: Creation, Covenant, Exodus, Kingdom, and Exile. They are ultimately tragic stories full of irony and hope. They are very human stories retold by ancient Israel as there way to remember where they came from and where they were headed amidst national uncertainty and existential wandering.

The many stories that make up the Old Testament are about the God of Israel and the outworking of their covenant relationship. It's a stunning covenant - the Israelites believe that the God who created the marvelous, beautifully dangerous, life-sustaining and wonder-inducing universe had chosen them to be his special people. With the gloriousness and unfathomable power of this Creation God, Israel struggles to come to terms with the covenant that he initiates with them.

Like all covenants there are blessings for keeping it and curses for breaking it. The Old Testament is the stories of them continually breaking the covenant and God creatively compelling them to return to keeping it. God demonstrates his loyalty to this newly created nation - undeserved loving kindness and faithfulness to a people who forget, complain, rebel, deny, and abandon him in droves. It's real humanity and a real God interacting in the real Earth amongst real tribes. The stories are shocking at times and inspiring. Much like our stories today.

What is a covenant relationship?

“A covenant is a solemn formal commitment made by one party to another party to one another; its seriousness is normally undergirded by an oath or rite undertaken before God and or before other people. A covenant is thus a little like a contract, but the commitment is moral, not legal. A covenant involves something more like a personal relationship, but no ordinary relationship: it presupposes a level of commitment not required of most relationships, and it involves a formalizing of that commitment that shows we really mean it.” [John Goldingay]

An obvious image of a covenant relationship is that of holy matrimony. The heart of marriage vows are moral commitments, not legal, though it is both. It's the binding together forever of two friends, though it will become unlike all other friendships. It has it's own symbols and public declarations to indicate the sincerity of those making the vows. It's a covenant that requires hard work to keep, which has it's blessings, and when broken has obvious curses.

But within that covenant relationship of marriage is a loyalty that transcends the keeping and breaking of the covenant. Repentance rebuilds trust and leads to re-keeping the covenant, which can lead to blessings that remove the curses. We see this promised in the Torah and throughout the Prophets.

In the Creation story we have the account of God making a covenant with Noah and all humanity to never respond to violence - no matter how vast and ugly the scale - with mass-scale extermination. The rainbow is a public sign of this vow. The creative God must now find other ways to subvert evil hearts and bring about peace in nonviolent ways.

The original covenant for Israel itself begins with Abraham in Genesis 12, 15 and 17. We have three successive stories where God introduces himself to Abraham, and their coming to terms with each other over what the promises and covenant will look like - not only now but in the far future.

The creative God picks a man from a moon-worshipping tribe and promises to make his descendants more numerous than the stars of the sky. This requires unbelievable faith. And some important questions from Abraham about how he and his aged and childless wife will give birth to a son, let alone a new nation. Secondly, they have no land, they have sojourned from Ur to Haran and have never been to Canaan - how and when will they settle into this promised land?

Covenant-encounters with God induce plenty of questions. And some doubt. And the scale of the promises are so grand that it's tempting to take matters into our own hands to help God out. Which lead to tragedy. The creative God is not thwarted by our bumbling faith, but there are consequences to our actions to which we must make the best of in our life.

It was the same with Jesus and his disciples. It took extraordinary trust for them to believe that he was of God and that his instructions and way of life would lead to a new exodus and God's kingdom on earth. When they took matters into their own hands, Jesus had to step in and intervene. And so it is with us today. We can barely believe that the way of Jesus is the best possible response to empire-evil and entrenched-injustice in our culture and economic systems.

Just as the covenant stories with Abraham increase the scope and understanding of the relationship requirements and promises of blessing, so it goes when God connects with Moses and the people of Israel. Prior to the Exodus God re-introduces himself and his covenant with Israel to Moses and to the descendants of Abraham in Egypt. They agree to the covenant and pledge to follow him out of slavery and into the promised land. The story is more complicated then that, as it always is, but they go along. The covenant is formally renewed in dramatic and public fashion at Mount Sinai, on the far edge of the wilderness.

It's here that God is covenanting - not just with a person like Abraham or Moses - but with a whole people, the twelve tribes of Israel and their families numbering in the thousands and thousands. At this encounter it's more then just promises of blessings and curses for keeping and breaking the covenant, but detailed instructions for the basics of life for this new nation so that they more clearly understand the covenant laws.

It starts with receiving the Ten Commandments in Exodus 20, and from there and throughout Leviticus we learn more and more laws for ancient Israel for keeping the covenant with God and one another. Much of Leviticus includes laws for what to do when you break the covenant, for God understands the reality of humanity and their penchant for failure.

Reading further into the Old Testament stories we continually learn how often Israel breaks the covenant and God is forced to bring about the consequences of curses. It's clear that Israel is struggling to keep the covenant with God. Moses and Joshua try their best. The judges that follow get progressively worse.

Samuel the prophet is effective for a generation. But his leadership prompts the people to beg God for a real live king like all the other "real" nations and tribes around them. This is a rejection of God as sole king of Israel and a further deterioration of their trust and allegiance to Him. God assents to their requests though, and eventually strikes up a covenant relationship with David and his family, promising that someone from his family would always be king of Israel. 

God is strained by this covenant, as the descendants of David descend into decadence over the centuries. Though God sends prophets to plead with the people to repent and keep the covenant, they end up declaring the coming doom due to the ongoing covenant-breaking. Injustice towards the poor and oppressed, the widows and orphans, the laborers and sick - all this increased the ire of the Lord.

He determined to initiate a new covenant with Israel, one that he introduced through the prophet Jeremiah. He declared that instead of inscribing his words on stone or parchment, he would put his laws into the hearts and minds of his people, drawing closer to them in order that they might keep the covenant and fulfill their destiny as a blessing to the world.

It's centuries though before Jesus of Nazareth walks the hills of Israel, recognized as a prophet who calls his people to repentance. Jesus is full of promises and hope: God's kingdom is coming, he will end the exile and bring forth a new exodus for all those who will turn away from covenant-breaking and recommit to keeping the covenant. Jesus affirms the centrality of love for God and neighbor as the heart of living out the new covenant. How far is God willing to go with helping his people keep the new covenant? Even when his people crucify Jesus, whispers of forgiveness and promises of his Spirit pour forth from his body. God is radically committed to helping anybody who wants to keep the covenant.

The covenant is attractive with its blessings and scary because of its curses. But the covenant-relationship is always initiated by God towards us, and it's about love and flourishing in community within this good yet corrupted world. There are natural consequences for breaking covenant with one another and with God - rarely are supernatural disasters needed to make a point. We create our own hell on earth through our disloyalty and immorality towards one another and God. But God in Christ through his Spirit is present everywhere at work to invite everyone into a covenant relationship.

To those that assent, they become part of a new covenant-people through whom God intends to bless the world. They are a blessing because of how they care for one another and their welcome of the stranger and their love for their enemy. They are a light to the nations for how laws can add to the flourishing of all instead of to the advantage of the powerful and the demise of the weak.

They become like priests who mediate between the world and God, connecting people to this covenant-inducing Creator of the universe. They mediate, not like a bureaucracy but rather as a picture of what God is like and capable of - his faithfulness and patience and creativity and wisdom. An example is worth a thousand words.

Covenant-stories originate in the Old Testament, but they explain the story of Jesus and the early church in the New Testament. The Gospel of Jesus is the proclamation and introduction of the new covenant through this king of Israel from Nazareth sent by God to atone for our sins and empower us to live by his Spirit as participants in the coming kingdom.

We are like kings in the way that Jesus was a king, using his royalty and power to heal and restore, connect and educate, welcome and send with good news. Jesus, and we in this new covenant-community, use power and knowledge to build people up and spread the way of love as a blessing. We are just as human as Abraham and Moses, David and Jeremiah and the people of Israel and Babylon and Rome. It is by grace that we can become kings and covenant-keepers, and this so that we can do the good works for which God has created us to be and do.

The corrupting idea today is that we enter into a primarily enter into a co-dependant relationship with God in order to be saved from hell for heaven. But this does not reflect the reality of the covenant-relationships that God initiated with Abraham or Jesus. The covenant-relationships are first about life now on this good-earth, about love of neighbor and stranger and enemy now. Covenant-relationship with God in Christ is about justice now, the humble awareness that we will be judged for our injustice now, and that it is only by grace that we can repent and make amends for our sins. The reward is not just later, but also now.

God has come to earth in Jesus and is always with us through the Spirit. The covenant-relationship is about this generation right now - and whatever rewards await us in the afterlife, they are directly connected to our love now. If we don't want God and his way of life now, we won't want it for eternity. But if we respond to God's grace and invitation to a covenant-relationship now, the rewards begins now and continues without end.

God's covenant-relationship with Israel was complicated and turbulent and reflected the real interaction between real humanity and a real God.

So it is with us, a real Jesus is really at work in this new covenant-people, redeeming us from our sins and reconciling all people to himself through us without forcing his will on anyone and patiently staying faithful to humanity despite our penchant for destroying creation and abusing one another.

Amidst this terrible tragedy is a new-covenant people who seek to move forward, bringing light and hope and faith and love into the world - themselves in need of it and willing to be an instrument of it. 

The invitation continues to be put out there: Jesus is the new king welcoming all who want to be in a covenant-relationship with him for the good of the world and love of God.

Move Forward In Your Understanding of the Bible: the Creation stories

"In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth."

It's a compelling and famous first line to the Bible. It's also the first word about God.

When Israel compiled the Hebrew Scriptures, the stories of Genesis, of their beginnings, they start with their dramatic and poetic retelling of Creation. But they do it in a unique way: they chart out the unfolding of creation in accordance with the days of the week, which culminates in the Sabbath, the seventh day becoming holy, set apart for rest, since the work is done.

Clearly the Creation story of Genesis chapter one is about much more then a scientific accounting of how the universe was formed. Israel clearly makes the claim that YHWH is the Creator of the whole universe - he is the one and only true living God who forms a universe where life begets life.

This is against the competing creation narratives that shaped the cultures around them. Whether they be Assyrian or Babylonian creation narratives, the story of Genesis is a stark contrast. Compare it to the remarkable and ancient Mesopotamian Epic of Gilgamesh, which dates back to around 1800BCE. Though the Hebrew Scriptures weren't gathered together in their final form until around 300BCE, the Genesis stories date back to the era of Gilgamesh. And it's easy to see the similarities. But it's the differences that matter. And understanding the culture and aims of ancient Israel will help us understand their poems and stories, their theology and beliefs, which is crucial to us in our believing and living in accordance with the Bible.

If we are going to move forward in our faith in Jesus Christ and our love for one another based on what we understand from the Scriptures, we need to move forward in our knowledge of the Bible. Not just what the Bible says, but why it says what it says. To best understand Jesus of Nazareth, we read the Gospel according to Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. To better understand the Christian context in which the Gospel was recorded, we read Acts and the Epistles of the New Testament, which predate the actual compilation of the Gospel according to MMLJ, but historically flow from the events recorded in them about Jesus. To better understand the early development of the church and the beliefs and culture of Jesus, we need to move forward in our understanding of the Old Testament and its world.

To help us move forward in our understanding of the Old (or First) Testament, I've identified five key stories that provide an overarching flow of the narrative in the Hebrew Scriptures. They point us forward to Jesus, who fulfilled the story of Israel in his life, death, resurrection and ascension.

The five stories are: Creation (Genesis 1-11); Covenant (Genesis 12-Deuteronomy); Exodus (Exodus - Ruth); Kingdom (1Samuel - 2 Chronicles/Psalms, Proverbs, Song of Songs) and Exile (Ezra - Malachai/Job and Ecclesiastes)

This is the first of five blog posts on each of these five over-arching stories. Gaining understanding of Israel through the stories, poems, and laws that they selected to be part of the Hebrew Scriptures gives us great insight into their life with God. Especially the story of Creation, of which their are at least three different accounts of the beginning of the world in Genesis 1-11.

If you notice, chapter 1 of Genesis seems to be a poem of sorts. It's not really a story, it's not a law-treatise, it's not your typical poem. But there are some unique features among the six days of creation: they are a move from chaos to order, of emptiness being filled, of work that is good and moving forward towards more life. It's obvious that the creation culminates in a day of rest, the seventh day is made holy, work - even good work that creates life - ceases and relaxes and enjoys the fruit of its labor. Clearly this chapter is not about science, but about an understanding about life and God at work in this world of ours. It's not an exhaustive recounting of Creation, for it has an emphasis all its own centered around the days of the week and the rhythms of life.

It is an interesting contrast to chapter 2 of Genesis, which is an obvious story about Creation, but one that ends in tragedy and even an early narrative of exile. There is very little overlap between the the first two chapters on the order of Creation, from a scientific point of view they don't correlate. But they are not meant to convey science, they are meant to convey knowledge about humanity and God and our relationship and purpose on Earth. It's a beautiful story that reveals much about how Israel understood God and themselves and humanity. It's beautiful and it resonates as true because we can see how those stories still play out today between men and women, husbands and wives, brothers, and humanity towards God (see chapters three and four.)

There is yet another Creation account in chapter five, a genealogy that traces history of humanity from Adam to Noah (and later one we'll have another genealogy that traces humanity from Noah to Abraham, the father of Israel). Genealogies are how you remember where you came from, they are a connecting of names and memories that shape your identity, that reveal your past so that you can better understand the direction of your life and those connected with you in your community. Without genealogies we have little sense of where we came from.

And that's one of the goals of Genesis: to lay out for Israel their understanding of where they came from, where the Earth and universe came from. We have recorded in elegant, sophisticated, brilliant form their Creation narratives. Even the dark story of the flood recorded in Genesis 6-9 is a creation story of sorts, for in it the whole world is destroyed by water due to God's anger towards humanity and their rampant evil that had corrupted his good creation. Through Noah and his sons, God makes a new covenant with humanity that he would never destroy the world by water again, no matter how full of evil it becomes. This is a new beginning for God and the humanity, with Noah, who is like another version of Adam. God binds himself to humanity, requiring massive creativity in his response to the unending, exponential infection of evil throughout the Earth.

Chapter ten is like another version of chapter 5, giving the forward looking genealogy of Noah, which ends up providing the introduction of the origins of Israel's arch-enemies: Assyria and Babylon. Chapter eleven becomes a very interesting chapter: it is our first story of Israel's enemy Babylon constructing an ingenious tower - but in defiance of God and fueled by human pride and ambition.

How does God respond to this evil but technically advanced collaboration now that he's made the covenant with Noah? Instead of destruction through violence, the story reveals the introduction of multiple languages such that the people were confused and could not communicate and thus not collaborate on their temple project. They then despaired of their tower and dispersed across the land.

This is Israel's accounting of why there are multiple languages, of the origins of Babylon, and a revelation of their belief about how God works in the world: he comes down to us. The men of Babel were seeking to go up to God in the heavens in an effort to exert power and dominion over humanity - which is in stark contrast to God's intentions that humanity work together for the flourishing of all creation and one another.

From a scientific approach to these eleven chapters, there are all sorts of conflicts. Whether it's geology or astrophysics or biology or botany or anatomy or anthropology or linguistics or any other branch of science, there are multiple points of disagreement with the narratives of Scripture. To insist that Genesis 1-11 must completely correlate with science is asking too much for what ancient Israel intended to convey. They sought to make sense of the world as best they understood it - not only accounting for the natural reality of the world, but the social, moral, spiritual, political, economic, domestic, and legal realities of their world.

We are doing similar work as they are: seeking to make sense of our life and world. We are building upon what they have started. But does the new knowledge we have gained about the origins of the universe and all that is in it made Genesis 1-11 less true? No. The sub-structure of the narratives, the ultimate points they seek to make about living are outside the aims of science. The narratives do point to a real reality of humanity in which the God of Israel is at work in the world as it actually exists.

There is more to learn about humanity and God from Genesis 1-11, we've only scratched the surface of what the narratives are seeking to reveal. It's not primarily scientific knowledge, but knowledge of life which profoundly shapes those who seek the truth - not only men and women of science, but for our community and for love, as revealed by the Lord.

We are introduced to the God of Israel through Genesis 1-11, and since Jesus is both a son of Israel and the son of God, we must submit ourselves to that reality as we seek to move forward in our faith and love of the Lord and our neighbor.

If nothing else, these Creation narratives should move us forward in our awe of the natural world and the vastness of the universes, humble us as we consider our place in the galaxy, but inspire us as we learn about a Creator who initiates life and a world that he made to be good. It is a dangerous world that has been infected by evil, and violent destruction is it's hallmark, but not the answer. There is a way to peace, but we don't learn about it in the first chapters - if nothing else we learn of it's origin and our desperate need for it. Which sets the stage for the unfolding story of Jesus.

A few takeaways for us: 

* science and faith in God do not need to be enemies. It is beautiful when our scientific inquiry reveals the complexity and wonder of the world. This can bolster our faith and gratitude towards God. It can both strengthen our faith in God the Creator while deepening our knowledge and curiosity of the universe. We can vigorously believe that the God of Israel is the Creator of the universe without being compelled to lay out the exact way he did it.

* reading the Old Testament is a task which pulls you into an ancient world that is intriguingly and confusingly different from our own, and yet full of similarities. To enter into the Old Testament with the expectation that it will speak directly and easily into our post-modern American life is naive and lazy. We must humble ourselves to learn about them in order for the narratives of the OT to speak into our existence. And they have much to say to us, if we will work and listen.

* the Hebrew Scriptures are trustworthy for revealing knowledge of God and for pointing us forward to Jesus. The Gospels repeatedly record Jesus teaching from the Hebrew Scriptures in order to help people see Him in it. The Apostles all teach from the Hebrew Scriptures to help people move forward in their faith in Jesus. We can benefit richly from the Old Testament when we make the effort to understand it on its terms.

* many of the stories and poems of the Old Testament have multiple layers of meaning. There is a thick richness to the truths and realities being conveyed to the reader about the Creator and Creation. Be open to always moving forward - in depth and in insight - as you immerse yourself in these old but true words of Scripture.

Strive

What are you striving for in life?

A better job? A better marriage? A better life?

What sets Christians apart is our calling - called by Christ to follow him, which is then a call to go into the world, sent by Christ to represent Him and partner in his mission to redeem all Creation. 

The call of the Christian somehow transcends ordinary life and yet permeates it with an extraordinary mission. 

Christians strive to help everyone connect with Christ, the one who rescues and transforms and inspires. 

This holy striving gets lived out as we seek better jobs, to improve our marriages, and grow up as adults. Somehow Jesus empowers and directs our striving so that his mission bears fruit in our ordinary life.

As you strive this week, let Christ energize your spirit. We get weary doing life, and it can get tiring trying to improve ourselves. By opening up our minds to the wisdom of Jesus, we get insights on how to sustain and succeed in our striving.

What good is it to strive for your goals but lose your soul?

To strive is to put great effort into obtaining success, however you define it. For Christians, ultimate success comes when the Gospel bears fruit in our life - through our praying and parenting, or playing and working, our winning and losing. 

Let Jesus strengthen your striving as you share in Communion each week, read the Scriptures each day, and pray always.

"We proclaim Jesus, warning and instructing everyone with all wisdom, so that we may joyfully present everyone fully anchored in Christ. To this end we vigorously strive with all the glorious strength Jesus empowers so energetically in us."
[my adaption of Colossians 1v28-29]

What Is God's Will For My Life? (a very small e-book with helpful comments for a very big question)

That's the question we ask when we want clarity and certainty about currently confusing circumstances or confirmation about hopes and ambitions for the future. I think God is pleased when we inquire of him what he wants for us. For anyone that has ever prayed The Lord's Prayer, we ought to be seeking answers.

But how do we get answers?

The original question can presume that you have no idea what to do next, or that your future is a complete blank. Or it implies that you know what you would do but you are not sure what God would have you do, as if they were two very different courses of action. But we can know quite a bit already about God's will when we start praying. 

The Scriptures obviously contain many stories, teachings, opinions, instructions and commands of God about his will. Becoming a student of Jesus opens up the Scriptures for you, helping you discern what God has already revealed to humanity about his will.

By becoming familiar with the Scriptures as a student of Jesus, you can begin to more confidently discern what is God's will for your life. As you begin to see the arc of God's covenantal work in the world, you put pieces together about what God is doing and why. Scripture teaches us that God is in a covenant relationship with Israel and all who follow Jesus. For those in a covenant relationship with God through Christ there are many promises and pledges made to us. There are also many words of wisdom for how to live and what to live for. These instructions deal with the here and now as well as the looming future.

Maybe you've been reading the Scriptures as a student of Jesus and you're still not sure what to do or think or feel. That's where finding a mature Christian friend or pastor can be so helpful. Connecting with others who have spent much time and energy studying the Scriptures as a wise student of Jesus can be a way forward in clarity. Both by their experiences in life and prayer they can help you sort out decisions and the will of God. They will provide more perspective for your situation - not only theirs but the perspective of others that have shaped their life. These conversations can open up the Scriptures to you in new ways, helping you see more clearly what God's will has always been for humanity, and what it is for today.

In letting Scriptures and other mature students of Jesus helping you discern God's will for your life, you are drawing upon experience, history, tradition and reason. Clearly the emotions of the moment can cloud your thinking, so letting others use reason to help you sort out conflicting ideas and confusing experiences is a gift. But sometimes the logical analysis leaves you paralyzed, and a friend can help you tap into those inner desires and passions that you believe come from God. But this is within the context of how God has worked through the years, the decades and centuries and even millennia. We need that perspective and wisdom to better understand God's will for life. 

You might have been hoping there was an easier way to know God's will for your life. Can't you just pray to God and he can just tell you the answer? If he knows the answer, and it's a good - even crucial answer, what kind of God would make you work for it or withhold it and make you wonder and wait? If God knows everything, and he sees so many people messing up, why doesn't he make his will more obvious and easier to access? Wouldn't people do the right thing more often if God was more obvious and effective in communicating his will?

That's where becoming with familiar with the Scriptures will give some insight into how humanity works. The people of Israel experienced God in mighty ways, they knew that their leader Moses was a friend of God, and yet they doubted God, rebelled against him, grumbled against him and tested him, despite the obviousness of God's provision and presence.

So it was again with Jesus - God in the flesh to teach us his will. Even when God became one of us, he was still misunderstood and mocked for his instructions about his will. And so we must learn from history and human reality. 

The context for asking God what his will is for your life happens within the context of a covenant relationship. A covenant is where two people (or in this case God and Israel and the disciples of Jesus) commit to a relationship with certain terms. God initiated this covenant with Abraham, solidified it in stone with Moses, and demonstrated his determination to keep it and even renew it with Jesus.

The deal of the covenant could be summarized like this: God's part of the covenant is to bless Abraham and all his descendants (which includes all those who believe in Jesus). God will bless them, he will make them a blessing, and he will bless the world through them. What was Abraham and his descendant's requirement for the covenant relationship? To be loyal to God, to follow his instructions, and be faithful to the covenant.

So what is God's will for your life? To let God bless you, that you might be a blessing, and so the whole world can be blessed because of you. How awesome is that life?! 

This obviously also means that God's will for your life includes wholehearted loyalty to Him and no other idols, that you will diligently understand and follow all his instructions for life, and that you will persevere in keeping your end of the covenant relationship.

In other words, love God, love your neighbor, and never give up on either.

Maybe you were looking for more specific guidance on particular current issues or complex problems affecting future situations? 

In light of what we've just reviewed, let's be honest about the nature of what we tend to ask God when we seek his will. At one level we want assurance that we will be making the right decision for our success. But we ask out of fear. 

We're afraid of making the wrong decision. Think about it: you are coming to God in fear that you will make the wrong decision unless he makes clear what he wants you to do. You then in your fear put the future decision in God's hands, relieving yourself of responsibility for it - if you make the wrong decision it's God's fault for not being more clear, and if it goes well, then clearly God answered your prayer.

But what is God's will for you? To trust him! How can you learn to trust him if you are asking him about your future in fear of failure?

We ask God's will for assurance in making the right decision. But, honestly, sometimes we ask God to reveal his will for issues and decisions that are pretty much about our personal ambition and accumulation of material goods that provide either more status or security. "Dear God, should I buy this house? This car? Go to this school? Take this job? Have kids? etc." If you want to know God's will so that you can get help in order to achieve the American Dream, then you may be on your own. God wants to bless you with something bigger and better then the American Dream. He has his sights on the Kingdom. 

For a lot of people I know, asking God for direction and help is an act of desperate trust. It comes from lives that are trying to survive their way through the world as best they can, hoping God can maybe help them out once in a while.

All I can say is that God wants to bless you and use you to bless others. It may not solve all your problems or always make everything easier, but God's will is definitely rooted in love for you and loving others through you. What do you want in your life? Success? A life of ease? Less problems? Happiness? or Love? For those that want more love in their life - and the power and energy and vision to love deeply and richly - that's what God's will is ultimately for everyone. 

At one level, it doesn't matter where you live, where you work, where you go to church, what you accomplish. If it is not done in love for God and neighbor, it will come to nothing. If you aren't seeking God's kingdom ahead of your own, you won't want God's will to prevail in your life. 

But at another level, everything you do and decide matters. People matter. Life matters. Our world matters. Our society matters. Where civilization is going matters. How your city and country is doing matters. This is our Father's World, and we believe that Jesus is the Lord and King, working to set everything right. Our work as students of Jesus is to learn from him in how to lead and love in this world that he is rescuing from evil and redeeming for good. It's here that every decision matters. But rather then creating more pressure to do the right thing, it opens up a freedom known as grace and peace. 

God's will is prevailing in this messy world through his love as demonstrated in Jesus. It's a messy world. If we're trying to avoid the mess and set ourselves up for success, we may asking God for direction that he's not interested in guiding. But if we're willing to let God use us to enter into the mess of this world - of our family and neighbors - with a commitment to upholding our covenant relationship of love, we will know what God wants for us. Once we gain clarity on the bigger picture, it will shine as light into our murky atmosphere.


Here are some wrap-up observations:
1. God will never reveal his will in such a way that it diminishes your trust in him. Whatever answer you are seeking from God, what he shares will then require more trust in him, not less. If you are looking for assurance for the present or future so that then you can go on your merry way and not really take God into consideration for awhile, well then you'll just have your luck to go on.

2. God wants you to dig deep and give more love to the people he has placed in your life. Whatever decision you are considering, is it motivated by love, will it enable love to flourish, or will it just help you get what you want.

3. Jesus is our best illustration of what God is doing in the world and what his will is for individuals and humanity. Bypassing Jesus and his life in the Gospels and just asking God for information - well it won't work. If you are looking for clarity for God's will in your life, but you aren't interested in learning more from Jesus, you misunderstand the point. God's will for you is rooted in following the way of Jesus. Will what you're asking for enrich your following of Jesus or just enrich you?

4. The Spirit of God that filled Jesus is present within us. We are not asking a God who is far away on the other side of the universe what he wants us to do now or next. We are pondering a decision with God who's Spirit is within us, making it's home in us. This Spirit of Jesus is who we are learning to let rule and lead our life. Which then means our questions about direction are more about submission then support for our ambitions. Which is it for you?

5. God's will for your life is that you will become more holy. When it comes to morals and ethics (money, power, sex, appetites, desires, lusts, vows, etc), God commands you to be holy. Not much squiggle room there. You'll know that you're resisting holiness when you're looking for loopholes. Or confident that you're more holy then everyone else. We can't become holy without God. He's the one who makes us holy. So if you're asking for wisdom on complicated and confusing situations, know that God wants to help you do more then just make the right decision, he wants you to desire holiness. 

6. God's will for your life is to be full of thanksgiving in all circumstances. Every good gift is from God. When you begin to see how much good is already in your life, you'll see how generous and present and active God is already in your life. Which increases your confidence about what ever is next.  Odds are you're confused about the present or near future because you're unclear about God's presence in the past. Begin to identify all the good that has been given to you - acts of grace from God that you didn't deserve but are from the one who is Love. (and if you think you're the main one responsible for what is good in your life, well then you probably won't like what God wants you to do next anyways...). As you begin to discern how big and beautiful this covenant relationship with God is becoming, how can you not be grateful always? 

7. God's will for your life includes being a blessing for your neighborhood and city, your friends and all the people Christ has connected to you. If you get the answer you are looking for, who all will be better off because of that gift? God's will for Israel was to bless the world. God's will for the Church (all Christians) is to join Israel in blessing the world through Christ. Is the direction of your life one of blessing for your community? Do the day to day decisions and desires result in you bringing more good gifts to the people in your life, or mostly just for you? Is the holiness and gratitude that is pouring out of you like a redemptive blessing for your neighbors and family and friends and enemies?

Look: with a God like this committed to blessing you and blessing the world through you as he transforms you into a blessing, you can't go wrong! 

He takes all your mistakes and sins and unholiness and he is the one that transforms it - that's what he promised to do. With the help of God's Sprit we daily choose loyalty, we can moment by moment choose obedience, and as we choose to persevere, we both learn our frailty and thus deep dependence on Jesus. But this adds a new kind of energy and hope and power from the Spirit of Christ which makes new things possible.

And isn't that what we really want when we wonder what is God's will for life? 

A few more details:
* If you ask God what his will is for you in a specific situation, he will probably not tell you the answer in the manner or time-table you desire. But when and how he does it will be brilliant and on time. Never early though, nor late.

* God wants you to know and do his will for your life - he will test you to see if you really want to know it. The harder you fight for it, the more you'll value and do what you asked God to tell you. The bigger the issue, the longer you'll need to spend in prayer with God about his will. If you want the answer, put in the time and energy.

* God answers by his Spirit through Scripture, other Christians, experience and circumstances, reason and emotion. It can be a slow dawning of realization or a sudden burst of insight. It might be a whisper or a clear command of direction. It's up to God on how he communicates it. We can trust that he never has a problem making his will known.

* When you ask God to reveal his will, remember that he is your Father who is working for his will to prevail throughout all the universe, including planet Earth. He's hearing your prayers and a few billion more. And he's working to answer them all at the same time, knitting together an unfathomable number of hopes and dreams so that His Kingdom comes in their lives. Our lives.

Remember: what ever direction you want for your life, the answer he provides is somehow tied up with the prayers and future of others. Keep that in mind when you wonder why it's taking so long or why it turned out the way it did. The answer God gives is impacting many more lives then you envisioned.

So there you go. Now you know more about what is God's will for your life. But, you probably still have more questions. Post them below in the comment. I'd love to interact with you about them. 

Communionity via Prayer

The Lord's Supper was not just about sharing bread and a cup of wine. It was also about sharing in the suffering of Jesus.

Three different times during their journey to Jerusalem from Galilee, Jesus told his disciples that he would be handed over to the temple authorities, tried unjustly, and crucified as a criminal. The warnings didn't seem to work, as the disciples one by one betrayed, denied, or fled their Lord, adding to his suffering instead of sharing in it with him. And this is why Jesus prayed for his disciples.

Prayer is a powerful way to share in the sufferings of others.

If Communionity is about unity with one another and communion with Christ, prayer is a crucial task for that relationship. In prayer we share with God the suffering of those near and dear to us. Prayer is what we can do when we can't end the suffering, when we can't stand the suffering, when we can't bear it any longer. No one suffered more on earth than Jesus, and so we can go to him in prayer, knowing that he will understand and empathize.

But more than that, we believe that Jesus can help. That's what community is all about - neighbors being there for one another in a time of need. That's the heart of the story of the Good Samaritan, the parable Jesus used to demonstrate what love of neighbor looks like. The one who had mercy was the good neighbor.

And so prayer can be a sacred work of mercy and neighborliness to those you see in suffering.

Jesus prayed for his disciples, that they might not give in to temptation. He prayed that they would be rescued from their disloyalty. He prayed not only for the men and women who had followed him up to Jerusalem, but for all the disciples who would ever live and breathe his name as Lord. Jesus has already prayed for you.

He has also taught us how to pray - to our Father in Heaven, for one another, and for those we see in need. And we have the words of his prayers in the Garden of Gethsemane where he wrestled to accept his coming crucifixion and interceded on behalf of his followers of all ages.

Another kind of prayer we think of during the Lord's Supper is where you intercede to God on behalf of someone in your life. Intercessory prayer is lifting up a need in a life up to the Lord. Jesus did this for his disciples, he did it for us following the dinner. And it ought to be something we do as part of our Communion - union with others in their need, with Christ who is present and able to help.

Intercessory Prayer is a spiritual practice that forms our soul, guides our hands, hearts. Intercessory prayer invites us into God’s care and concern for us, our families and friends, and the entire world. No concern is too trivial for God to receive with loving attention. However, intercession is not a means of manipulating God into doing our will. Rather, it is a way we become aware of God’s prayer for a person and join in that intercession.

Spiritual Formation thru Intercessory Prayer
* To turn my concerns and worries into prayer; to enter God’s heart for the world and then pray from there
* Get together with friends to pray for those in need
* Prayer walk through your neighborhood
* Pray for people caught up in the crises of the world
* Pray for people and situations as they come to mind
* Respond to Jesus’ invitation to pray with him for others
* Turn anxieties and sorrows into a dialogue of prayer
* Develop a rhythm for turning to God with requests
* Gain discernment on how the Spirit leads you to pray

Sometimes we don't know what to say to God about the suffering we see within others and all around us. We are wordless amidst the sorrow and pain, yet we believe that the Spirit of God within us intercedes on our behalf to our Father in Heaven. More than us, God wants to bring an end to all suffering - the one who loves us with a heart bigger than the universe.

Through Jesus, God has suffered with humanity, at the hands of humanity, for the hope of humanity. So when we cry out to God with pained whispers, the same Spirit that was within Jesus is there with us, to hear us, be with us, and point us forward in hope. When we go to God on behalf of someone we care about, it's not so much the words on our lips that matter as the faith in our hearts.

That we go to God is significant. That we surrender the pain and hopes we have for others to the Lord is more important than demanding resolution. Intercessory prayer is just as much about going to God with the suffering as it is bearing it with your friend. Communionity is sharing suffering with one another in communion with Christ. Pray for those you share the bread and cup with. Be with them, and share in their suffering.

And when we can't bear it anymore, we let Jesus help us bear the sufferings of one another. Intercessory prayer aren't a substitute for being present with someone else. It's what you do before, during, and after you are moved by the suffering of someone.

Intercessory prayer is marked by faith in the Lord Jesus Christ who bore our sins on the cross, who loved us to the end, who forgave us our betrayal and denials, and who was raised from the dead in order to lead us forward towards the reconciliation of all things.

We believe that in Christ all things will be worked out for the good of those that love God. And that ends up being a lot of what intercessory prayer becomes - looking to be used by God to help every ounce of suffering to be redeemed for our joy and God's glory. 

In the bread we remember the body of Jesus that was present with humanity amidst it's suffering, and we remember the blood poured out for a new covenant for the world with God - God is now with us, no matter what we do to him.

He is Jesus, who has come to save us. He is Immanuel, God with us.
Pray in confidence.

Communionity via Confession

The Lord's Supper was the last supper Jesus would have with his disciples before his crucifixion and resurrection. It's a meal where he will be betrayed by Judas while he is explaining how his sacrificial death will atone for the sins of the world.

It's a Passover meal where he embraces the role of the lamb that will be slain, the blood of his body smeared over the doorposts of the universe to shield us from death and open the way forward to life with God.

It's a Last Supper where he takes the bread and reminds them to share it generously, like he used to do.

It's a Last Supper where he takes the cup of wine and reminds Judas, Peter, and the other disciples how he has poured out his life for the forgiveness of sins - for any who will drink of it and join him in his kingdom of peace. That's what Communion is all about.

Communion with Jesus is with a Christ who came to the common man and common woman in the community - to be united with them, to reconcile them to God and one another, to redeem them from evil and rescue them from their pit.

Communion with Jesus ought to build unity with our community - for that is where Christ is at - in the community building unity with him and one another. Either the church can be part of this kingdom work of God, or it can be left behind.

The spiritual practice of confession and self-examination has long been a part of the church's understanding of communion. When Christians partake of the Lord's Supper, there is usually a moment of reflection and repentance for sin.

But it's mostly just a moment of penitence.

Confession, however, takes practice, it takes work, and it requires time to let the Spirit speak and convict and heal. If confession is to be a source of unity for the community, if self-examination is to further communionity, it will need more practice.

What if there was a way for a church to practice Communion so that the time spent in confession to the Lord and to one another taught us how to confess sin during the week as well? What if the Sanctuary became a safe place for self-examination - a practice that we could then be taught to do in the world where we eat and drink and work and live?

When we remember Jesus and what he did in the Last Supper - and through it - it's a memory that should shape not just a moment, but many moments throughout the week of our life.

When we eat and drink in memory of Jesus, we are eating bread by which we remember how he shared his life and bread with the hungry and the lost. We are sharing the cup by which we remember how Jesus poured out his life for many, for the forgiveness of sins.

When we eat that bread, we remember how much he has shared with us - and it prompts us to share with those at the table with us and those in the community not yet at our table. When we drink from the cup we remember how much we have been forgiven, and are prompted to forgive those who have sinned against us, to be reconciled with those we have wronged, and help those in our community who want to learn how to forgive and be forgiven.

What is the spiritual practice of confession and self-examination?

• To surrender my weaknesses and faults to the forgiving love of Christ and intentionally desire and embrace practices that lead to transformation
• Self-examination is a process whereby the Holy Spirit opens my heart to what is true about me, in love, to seek transformation with Christ for renewal and change.
• Admitting to God my propensity to rationalize, deny, blame and self-obsess
• Examine the “sin-network” in your life as evidenced in presumptuous sins, besetting weaknesses, self-centered habits and broken relationships
• Replace sinful habits with healthy ones, Seek God’s grace to change
• Confess sins by examining your life in light of the 7 Deadly Sins, 10 Commandments, Beatitudes, Fruit of the Spirit
• Keep company with Jesus as you respond to conviction of sins and confess them to God
• Have compassion towards others in their faults
• Think of yourself with sober judgment, aware of your blindspots

Other practices include:

• Ask some of your close friends or trusted family members to help you see your blind spots. Ask them questions like: "What do I do that hurts you?" or "How could I better love you?" or "What is it like to be with me?" or "Do I show interest in other or talk mostly about myself?" Let their answers guide you in a time of confession.
• Imagine the kind of person you would like to be in your old age. Look at your life now and consider what would need to change in order to prepare now for what you would like to be then.
• How in touch do you feel with our own sin? 
• Begin to notice your strong emotions.
• Use Psalm 51 as a guide to confess sins you are convicted of. 
• Seek out a pastor to pray with you and guide you forward in accepting forgiveness and God's love.

Jesus was able to redeem both Peter and Judas, though only one of them was willing to say "I'm sorry" and to hear the words, "I forgive you."

Which one are you?


For more guidance on spiritual practices, see the very helpful resource by Adele Ahlberg Calhoun, Spiritual Disciplines Handbook

Communionity via Control of the Tongue

Communion goes by many names. A common one is the Lord's Supper, also known as the Last Supper. This famous meal is introduced by the Apostle Paul to the Christians in Corinth this way: "The Lord Jesus, on the night he was betrayed..." [1Corinthians 11v23]. Whatever our thoughts are about this dinner, it ought to include a remembrance of the Jesus who ate and drank with men who would betray him, deny him, and abandon him.

Judas is the most famous of the betrayers, with Peter a close second in fame for his denial. The others ran away in the garden when the soldiers came to arrest Jesus. With their words, each man had pledged allegiance to Jesus, confessed him as their Lord, the Son of God, the long awaited deliverer and king who would rescue them from their oppressors, end the exile, and make everything right. And with their words, one at a time, they both promised their faithfulness and then voiced their disloyalty.

Judas discussed with the religious authorities how he might turn Jesus over to them. Peter vowed that he would never deny Jesus. The other apostles all swore they would stay with him to the end.

Jesus knew their hearts. He heard their words. He could see what they would do when the moment of truth would come. And he was still willing to break bread with them and share the cup.

The Lord's Supper was the last supper Jesus would share with any of his disciples before his crucifixion. It would be the last Passover meal he would share with anyone until he returns at the end of the age to make everything all-right and establish his kingdom.

It was the last of many meals he shared with tax-collectors and sinners, men and women from every strata of humanity, people near and far from God.

It was the last meal he would share with them before he died for them, before he let himself be crucified for their sins - for their betrayals, denials and disloyalty.

The Lord's Supper reminds us of the great lengths God will go to be with sinners. Jesus words remind us of his deep love for men and women of the world. Every word that Jesus spoke pointed people to God, to the truth, to love, to peace, to grace, to unity and reconciliation.

What do our words point to? If we are people who have participated in the Lord's Supper, if we have heard and received the words of Jesus, what kind of words pour out of our mouth into others? In what ways is the community better because of the words we speak? Do our words build up like Jesus? Or tear down like Judas?

Spiritual formation through control of the tongue is central to our communionity. Words matter. Letting the Spirit of Jesus re-form our heart and therefore our tongue are key to our building unity in our community. Communionity is when our practice of communion contributes to unity in Christ in our community. What could we strengthen communionity through control of the tongue look like ?

• To turn the destructive way I use words into authentic, loving and healing speech
• Control of the tongue involves an intentional awareness and governance of words as well as tone of voice in all communications
• Speaking truth in love
• Not speaking out of anger or irritability
• Using words to encourage and speak life into others
• Not yelling, cursing, belittling, gossiping, slandering
• Addressing critical nature as revealed in your critical tongue
• Notice how your words affect others
• Apologize and forgive with words
• Mean what you say and say what you mean
• Let go of verbal defense mechanisms
• Reveal Christ through the control of your tongue

Pay attention to what God's Spirit is prompting you to consider doing different. In what area with your words is he convicting you? Here are some other spiritual formation practices you may want to try:

• Work at saying "Thank you" and "You are welcome" as much as you can. 
• Don't hesitate to say "I am sorry" and "I forgive you." 
• Avoid words like "You always" or "You never" when you are arguing. 
• Remember it's better to say nothing at all if you have nothing nice to say. 
• Take three days to reply to a complicated, emotionally-charged situation. 
• Seek first to understand, don't focus so much on being understood. 
• It takes 10 genuinely positive words to undo the damage of 1 negative word. 

As people of God in communionity with each other, who eat and drink together who identify with the crucified and resurrected Lord Jesus Christ, we want to use words that flow out of our memory of him. We can be like Judas when we use our words to take matters into our own hands. We can be like Peter when we over-promise and under-deliver. Or we can be like Jesus, using words that build communionity.

Which one are you?

Communionity via Service

Jesus came to seek and to save the lost. That's his rationale for why he ate dinners with sinners. Zacchaeus found salvation after sharing a meal with Jesus. Jesus eats and drinks with us while we are lost in order that we may eat and drink with him when we are found. And often it is while we are eating and drinking together that we find salvation.

Being with Jesus is what changes everything.

What if communion became that place where sinners could be with Jesus? Those that are seeking Jesus, who want to be with Jesus, what if they were welcome at the table? It's an act of service to welcome sinners to the table, to host them and love them and care for them. It's an act of service from Jesus to the world to seek us out and save us. And it's an act of service for the Body of Christ to welcome at the table all who are searching, all who are wandering, all who are lost and want to be found.

The story of Zacchaeus reveals a sinner's heart searching for Jesus. While yet a sinner, Zacchaeus offers hospitality to Jesus. But it is then Jesus who serves salvation to Zacchaeus? The response? Zacchaeus responds to the generous salvation by giving half of his possessions to the poor and then paying back four times the amount to anyone he cheated. Communion with Christ produces service to the community - which connects them with Christ who desires communion with them.

Communionity comes by the service that Jesus and his followers offer up to one another and the community where they live. For those that eat the bread and drink from the cup in remembrance of Jesus, we follow up that remembrance with acts of service to those that Jesus is seeking to save. Acts of service are both the fuel and the fruit of communionity. It connects us with a Christ who is for the community.

The Spirit of Christ is still at work today in our community, seeking to save the lost and commune with them. Communionity comes about when Christians serve their community out of their connection with Christ, resulting in their community connecting with Christ.

We are shaped by the Spirit-prompted acts of service - we are changed by them, just as Jesus uses them to shape and change the community.

What does spiritual formation through service look like for you in your community?

• Reflecting the helping, caring, sharing love of God in the world
• Offering resources, time, treasure, influence and expertise for the care, protections, justice and nurture of others
• Walk the talk
• Collaborate with organizations in your community as a way to care for the widow, orphan and oppressed
• Mentoring
• Helping out your neighbor when a need arises
• Use your skills, interests, experiences, passions to better your church and community
• Inventory ways you are already serving. Surrender it to the Lordship of Christ
• Discover and utilize your spiritual gifts
• Partner with at least one organization through which you can help others based on your passions
• Adopt the attitude of Jesus Christ: he came to serve, not be served

Do you desire to be with Jesus? Let him serve you. And let him serve through you. In communionity with Him and your community. 

We are discovering, not a life of service, but life through service [Reggie McNeal].

Communionity via Simplicity

What are ways that the community where we live can benefit from the communion we have with Christ?

Communion with Jesus has tended to be a one way event - up and down spirituality between me and my savior. But when Jesus ate and drank, it was often with sinners. And in sharing a meal with them, they and their friends found salvation.

What would happen if Jesus-followers broadened their understanding of communion. What if every time a Christian broke bread and drank from a cup became a time of communion - with Jesus as Lord and whoever was there to share it with them, sinner or saint? As radical as this idea may be, it may better then the routine mass consumption of bread and grape juice that is received during some meditative music and prayers for forgiveness.

When Jesus shared communion with his disciples in the Upper Room, it evoked all the dinners he had shared in the years prior. Especially one of the more recent ones with Zacchaeus. In that encounter, by sharing a meal together, salvation comes to Zacchaeus. Jesus declares that this life-change is why he came - to seek and to save the lost. And sharing meals together was a powerful conduit.

And what is communion if it is not sharing in a meal together in the name of Jesus, to remember Jesus. But it's not enough to just remember Jesus - but to obey him and do what he asked us to do - which is to seek and save the lost. One of the ways we do that is by sharing communion with them. Communion can become a way that the lost become found.

Communionity is when communion connects us to our community through Christ. In the Zacchaeus story, we see that this communionity led to salvation for him and joy to his community. Communionity prompted Zacchaeus to give half of his possessions away and to repay four times the amount he cheated anybody. This act of repentance introduced the power of simplicity into his life.

Being freed of his sin, shame and guilt, being free of his past, he began to be free of his possessions, his money, his prestige, his reputation, his greed, his apathy to the poor. Communionity connects you with others in the community through Christ such that you find you need less stuff.

Communionity opens up your heart to the generosity of Christ who is willing to eat with you while you are yet a sinner. The generosity of Jesus, if received, requires us to shove out the windows and doors of our heart all the junk we've accumulated to make room for the love and peace of Christ - for others through us.

Alot of the stuff we've accumulated in our hearts is reflected by what we've accumulated in our homes. As we make more room in our hearts for Christ, we can make more room in our homes for our community - which means clearing out stuff we don't want or need and giving it away to those that might have use of it.

This simplifying of life is a way to become more free to respond to the communion we have with Christ and through him with the community.

Here are some examples of what spiritual formation through simplicity looks like:

• To uncomplicate and untangle my life so I can focus on what really matters
• Cultivate the art of “letting go” to bring freedom and generosity
• Set priorities that flow from loving God above all else
• Downsize on your possessions, give away to those in need
• Eat simple foods, enjoy simple pleasures
• Assess things or activities that keep life complicated or confusing – work to simplify
• Create more space in your schedule for serving others
• Declutter your house
• Limit your time with: TV/Facebook/Games, etc.
• Walk and listen
• Stop giving excuses
• Ask God to help you let go of _________

Consider which of these acts of simplicity the Spirit is prompting you to do as part of your growing participation in communionity - communion with Christ who is in the community. Simplicity flows from your Spirit-charged heart, and it overflows into the people in your life. You become more available to them, more free to be with them and for them.

“Simply let your ‘Yes’ be ‘Yes,’ and your ‘No,’ be ‘No.’” - Jesus