9-25-2012 Atonement

Star of David in Jerusalem

And it shall be a statute forever unto you: in the seventh month, on the tenth day of the month, ye shall afflict your souls, and shall do no manner of work, the home-born, or the stranger that sojourneth among you.

For on this day shall atonement be made for you, to cleanse you; from all your sins shall ye be clean before the LORD. It is a sabbath of solemn rest unto you, and ye shall afflict your souls; it is a statute forever.

And the priest, who shall be anointed and who shall be consecrated to be priest in his father's stead, shall make the atonement, and shall put on the linen garments, even the holy garments. And he shall make atonement for the most holy place, and he shall make atonement for the tent of meeting and for the altar; and he shall make atonement for the priests and for all the people of the assembly.

And this shall be an everlasting statute unto you, to make atonement for the children of Israel because of all their sins once in the year.' And he did as the LORD commanded Moses.

Leviticus 16:29-34

Jesus Praying at Gethsemani

Elohim Adonai, this will be a short entry – I suspect You have more to offer than I (as is always the case!) on this subject. Today is the observance of Yom Kippur – The Day of Atonement for Judaism. From what I have seen, we Christian believers tend to minimize or ignore this day – our scapegoat having been offered for the forgiveness of our sins in conjunction with another Jewish holy day.

But as I read back over the instructions You laid them out to Your people, my attention gets caught by several phrases. “It is a statute forever”; “And this shall be an everlasting statute unto you.”

Eastern Jerusalem and City of David

So if I’m reading this right… as a believer, grafted into my family whose God is the God of Israel; a God who came to earth to walk among His people as a Jewish man; who observed this day personally… I too should be observing this very special Shabbot.

“But wait Mark,” some of my friends might say. “You’re taking this stuff way too seriously. You are free from this. You can ignore the Old Covenants because that’s what the New Covenant says.”

Really? Lord, please help me understand. I don’t see anything in any of Your covenants that indicate one replaces another. I see instead that they build upon one another, adding too, not taking away from Your act of redemption for mankind. Where does it say in Your word that Forever and Everlasting… are not?

Service in the Quarters of Pilate

Portrayal of Jesus

In Jerusalem, I saw examples of what happens when people “adjust” Your statutes, bend Your rules, even make up their own rules and call them Yours: Desire for individual freedom, disagreement between sects, even recognition of other gods has divided Your Holy City. Wait, who am I kidding? All I have to do is look at the mirror; at my own example – at a thing we call in this country…Denominations; dividing even Your church into disagreement instead of yearning for unity. Forgive us YHWH. Forgive us all for we still don’t understand the need for atonement. Your grace and mercy pours over us even as we boldly sin, claiming that we boldly obey.

L'Chaim!!

So on this day of all days, I give thanks to You my Lord, Jesus. You did not let the rules of the day interfere with what You knew to be right and true. You have taught and are teaching me to follow Your example. So by Your example, I offer to You my life again, as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable only because of the sacrifice You first made for me. Because of Your selfless act, now I not only observe Yom Kippur, I celebrate it and invite others to celebrate with me in unity, this everlasting statute.

Mark C.

9-20-2012 Jigsaw Puzzle God

Mt. Herman on the border of Israel with Syria

I am the LORD, and there is no other, besides me there is no God; I equip you, though you do not know me, that people may know, from the rising of the sun and from the west, that there is none besides me; I am the LORD, and there is no other. I form light and create darkness, I make well-being and create calamity, I am the LORD, who does all these things.

"Shower, O heavens, from above, and let the clouds rain down righteousness; let the earth open, that salvation and righteousness may bear fruit; let the earth cause them both to sprout; I the LORD have created it.

"Woe to him who strives with him who formed him, a pot among earthen pots! Does the clay say to him who forms it, 'What are you making?' or 'Your work has no handles'? Woe to him who says to a father, 'What are you begetting?' or to a woman, 'With what are you in labor?'"

Thus says the LORD, the Holy One of Israel, and the one who formed him: "Ask me of things to come; will you command me concerning my children and the work of my hands? I made the earth and created man on it; it was my hands that stretched out the heavens, and I commanded all their host.

I have stirred him up in righteousness, and I will make all his ways level; he shall build my city and set my exiles free, not for price or reward," says the LORD of hosts.

                                                                                                           Isaiah 45:5-13

Jordan River source in Dan 

As we traveled around the country of Israel, a very clear picture came together for me, Adonai. To the north, lush forests with abounding water, in the west and middle sections, fertile, rich farmland. Separating East from West, two mountain ranges, and the further east and South we traveled, the more arid and dry The Land became. Add to this, an elevation change from North to South of 13000 feet and seasonal changes in temperature of plus or minus 50 degrees… it makes for a diverse environment of existence.

Worshipers at the Western Wall

I also saw this diversity in the people. I thought we were socially divergent in the United States (and we are!), but Your Land appears to be the original model of contrasting cultures; spiritual persuasions, ethnic backgrounds, family/tribal and political beliefs all contributing to a powerful mix of the human condition.

Herod's Quarters where Jesus was taken

And some in this diverse region, just like those in our diverse country, would argue that You too are flexible and different according to their needs. I have been told by some that You are an invented idea, conveniently made for the time and place of someone’s needs and desires. Many dismiss You, Lord as nothing more than an explanation for the ‘unexplained’.

When You are not needed, we would dismiss You away; when things go wrong in the world, we even demonize You as uncaring or diabolical (“After all,” they will say, “You must have caused the calamity or suffering because Your ‘soul’ purpose is to hurt and punish mankind.”). To some who think this way, You are to be manipulated, used and called upon only in the time and place of their choosing. To these people, Your character changes as necessary to justify their actions, desires and beliefs:You are to them, a Jig-saw Puzzle God – pieces of Your existence they would cut and fit to a pattern of their design.

Southern face of Masada

But You, Elohim, are the God of the dessert; You are the God of the mountains and plains and to those who live in each place. Perhaps we forget from time to time, that You are the God of all creation and Your ways are not our ways – beyond our understanding. Your way is not one of convenience – Your character does not allow others to shape You who are The Shaper.

Shrine at birthplace of John the Baptist

The Land helps me to understand better: You are not a mosaic of manmade images; I’ve come to realize that actually, we are Your puzzle, which is being completed with careful mysterious planning, loving kindness and correction. Just as the land changes and is reshaped over the course of time; just as it affects those who are bound to it; so I am cultivated and tilled by You. And I in turn become a source for others. It is not by my hands that You exist – it is by Your hand that I and all mankind, as well as Your earthly dwelling place, are offered redemption and renewal.

Gothic Church in Jerusalem

Now when I reflect on my journey from the heights of Mt. Herman, through the forests of Dan, into the fields and valley of Jezreel and beyond to the wilderness; ultimately up to Jerusalem; I begin to see the vast complexity and wisdom of Your plan. You are not to be defined or understood by one example or one scriptural reference or one feature within a place or one moment in time. You are God and Your puzzle must be completely finished, each piece placed as and when You determine.

"Look deeply at the hands that suffered"

Your desire is all that matters – a difficult thing to accept, Master; I would choose (and I confess I still try to choose) differently. Forgive me and thank You; praise You, that You, as God of all – sacrificed Yourself to The Land and to its people to shape a new creation.

I pray that all of us search the world for You with a hunger that will not be satisfied until the day the puzzle picture is complete.

Mark C.

9-2-2012 Within-Without

Within-Without

Trinity Tapestry in Shechem

"For behold, the day is coming, burning like an oven, when all the arrogant and all evildoers will be stubble. The day that is coming shall set them ablaze, says the LORD of hosts, so that it will leave them neither root nor branch.

But for you who fear my name, the sun of righteousness shall rise with healing in its wings. You shall go out leaping like calves from the stall. And you shall tread down the wicked, for they will be ashes under the soles of your feet, on the day when I act, says the LORD of hosts.     

                                    
                                            Malachi 4:1-3

You, Elohim, tell us that there will be “a time”, called “The Day” when prophesies which seem so distant in description, will unfold to those with eyes to see and ears to hear. I believe You are opening my eyes and ears and I praise You for it, Teacher, but now I have to use my newly heightened spiritual senses.

I have come to understand that, what seem like the ramblings of some crazy men (maybe even this crazy man) to some, are actually real events that have occurred or that are destined to unfold in the blur between the physical and the spiritual realms. With tongue in cheek, I even claim to You, Almighty, that there has been a whole book written about these happenings: Conflicts and warnings of things that either give hope to, or terrify my heart.

Minaret in Bethlehem

When traveling The Land, I saw many of the places and learned more about the people of which these things were written. Locations like Megiddo and names such as Ezekiel come to mind. Even you, my Messiah, spoke of “The Day of The Lord” and referenced often, “The End of The Age”. Perhaps to the casual observer these portents relate only as general statements suggesting how we will, over and over again…for lack of a better term…screw up. But You have not, for some reason, given me a “casual mind”.

Maybe there’s more to End Times and Spiritual Warfare prophesy. What if Eschatology suggests You want something beyond a simple confession of human faultiness, what if You are painting a picture of an ongoing battle, camouflaged by our insensitivity to truth and light?

I read and hear and see of things that are far more diabolical: Times of ultimate conflict, actions of final redemption all requiring one ultimate decision on the part of individuals and cultures. Israel is the center of examples, where You have intervened and acted repeatedly, but warning that a “bigger” even is beyond the horizon – not like any before.

Narrow Gate at Masada 

It begs several questions Master of Past, Present and Future; am I prepared? Am I ready, not just for some distant apocalypse, but am I living in a way and in a place that recognizes light from darkness and chooses consistently the former? There is an easy answer: “Of course…I’ve read those parts of the Bible. I know things are going to get ‘rough’”. And…there is also the harder answer: “I don’t know if I believe this is really relevant now – if I simply live my life as a ‘good Christian’, I’ll make out just fine.”

But then my answers aren’t really important, are they YHWH? Your truth is far more convicting and it’s right there in scripture.

“For then there will be great tribulation, such as has not been from the beginning of the world until now, no, and never will be. And if those days had not been cut short, no human being would be saved. But for the sake of the elect those days will be cut short.

Islamic proclamation in Nazareth

Then if anyone says to you, 'Look, here is the Christ!' or 'There he is!' do not believe it. For false christs and false prophets will arise and perform great signs and wonders, so as to lead astray, if possible, even the elect.

See, I have told you beforehand. So, if they say to you, 'Look, he is in the wilderness,' do not go out. If they say, 'Look, he is in the inner rooms,' do not believe it. For as the lightning comes from the east and shines as far as the west, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. Wherever the corpse is, there the vultures will gather.”                                                                                                                                        

                                                              Mat 24:22-28

   

Olive Tree and "beholder"  in Samaria

Am I willing to recognize this message being meant for not only for the hearers of old and possibly for those of some future apocalypse, but also for me…and my time, my culture? When I stood in The Land, I could see plenty of evidence to this. When I returned home, I could not deny the signs – in other words, King of kings, I do recognize Your work and also the active efforts of evil attempting to claim its share. It saddens me because I know any of us here on this planet, even if we claim You as Lord (maybe now, especially because we claim You), are at risk of suffering. And those who have not yet received You, Spirit, are in the greatest danger of all – not just of facing the cosmic powers of this present darkness, but of existing in an eternal Godless void never to be undone.

Traditional Oil Lamp

Master, I call on You for revelation; not only that I might better recognize Your plan and desire for me, but also for those whom are, at best, casual observers of the ongoing struggle between light and dark. Help me, and all those who believe to be more vigilant and as importantly, more vocal so that all may know You as their defender and protector.

Praying for The Active Peace of Your presence – within and without,

                                                                                       Mark C.