Repent

Living and loving through the New Covenant; eating and drinking the body and blood of Jesus our Messiah (reading and doing all of His Word). “Behold, the days are coming, declares the LORD, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah, not like the covenant that I made with their fathers on the day when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt, my covenant that they broke, though I was their husband, declares the LORD. For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the LORD: I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts. And I will be their God, and they shall be my people. And no longer shall each one teach his neighbor and each his brother, saying, ‘Know the LORD,’ for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest, declares the LORD. For I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.” (Jeremiah 31:31–34, ESV. See also Exodus 20:6; Deuteronomy 5:10; Ezekiel 11:19-21)

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Posted in Law • Whole Bible Christianity

Never were under the Law

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I’ve got some news for you. We never were ‘under the law.’ Humans have always been ‘under grace.’ Certain people try to get ‘under the law’ like Adam and Eve got under fig leaves. But that doesn’t mean law has gone away. The law has always been with us, just as grace always has. Grace and law go together. They are both from the same living and loving God. Law is supposed to be in our hearts, not over our heads.

Posted in Authority • Church • Whole Bible Christianity book

Whole Bible Christianity no church in the Bible

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From the book ‘Whole Bible Christianity.’

There is no church in the Bible. Yep, I know, I’m going to get some heat for this, but it’s true. Not a single one of the denominations, organizations, or clubs, Catholic or Protestant, that exist now, are mentioned anywhere. Every group calling itself a ‘church’ (or synagogue) uses the name trying to get biblical recognition and authority. The truth is that any group of people doing what God says is part of His One Body. Those who don’t are not.

It’s important to get your mind around this idea, because many churches (and synagogues) have usurped God’s authority, and have led people down a primrose path to a destination different than what He wants. Most churches are not living the new covenant, though they represent themselves as if they are. Some good has been done in the churches, but the main claim to fame for most churches is making more churches. “We’re important because there are a lot of us” seems to be the sentiment. Understand, I am not speaking of the many individuals who manage to find and teach God, who behave in many ways as He would want. But when people get together in a group, frequently the focus changes from the Bible to “the church.” We have to decide – are we going to defend our club, or cling to God?

Posted in Gospel • Riddles

Gospel riddle answer

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Answer to the riddle asked a few days ago, “Why is the Law called ‘the gospel’ in Hebrews 4:2?”

The ‘good news’ at Sinai was that God was going to live with His people, and the Law was part of it. In other words, the church at Sinai had the good news of ‘God with us’ preached to them just as we have.

The Law was to facilitate ‘God with us,’ a.k.a. the gospel. God, in His grace, was taking up residence, and following the Law was (and is) a loving response (faith) to His presence. Jesus is the good news or gospel because He is ‘God with us.’ The Law, His Word, facilitates His dwelling amongst us. His sacrifice makes it possible for God to dwell within us forever, and the Law helps us learn to live accordingly. So the living oracles are part and parcel of the gospel – God with us.

Posted in Bible Verse • Gospel • Whole Bible Christianity book

The Gospel at Sinai

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From the book manuscript presently titled ‘Whole Bible Christianity.’

Like the New Covenant, most ‘New Testament’ or part-Bible Christians cannot tell you what the gospel is either. We tend to think of it as a feel-good message about Jesus being our buddy and saving us from bad stuff. Then He allows us to do whatever we want.

The gospel, which means ‘good news,’ however, might really make us feel good, and it should, but the message is not about feelings. It is about ‘God with us,’ which is the meaning of one of the names of Jesus (Immanuel, Isaiah 7:14 and Matthew 1:23).

Did you know that the gospel was preached to Israel at Mount Sinai by God through Moses? So says the writer of Hebrews.

2For indeed we have had good news preached to us, just as they also; but the word they heard did not profit them, because it was not united by faith in those who heard. (Hebrews 4:2 NASB95)

Stephen calls the group at Sinai the “congregation in the wilderness” (Acts 7:38) and that they received “living oracles” to pass on to their kids. These living oracles were none other than the Law. So this is another way of saying the gospel was preached to the church at Mount Sinai.

Here’s a riddle for you. Why is the Law called ‘the gospel’ in Hebrews 4:2?

Posted in Feast of Tabernacles

Tabernacles 2012 last day

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Today is the last day of Tabernacles, and it’s a Sabbath. One of the things that is clear about observing God’s holidays – we are so out of sync with the rest of the world. We wake to a day of resting, while we listen to the traffic going to work like any other day. We spend time with the Lord while others buy and sell, marry and give in marriage completely oblivious to His will and ways. From a certain perspective we are different, weird, offensive, and intolerant. Though Tabernacles is also called the Feast of Nations (because of the 70 bulls that used to be offered for the nations at this time) the nations ignore it. Just like they ignore the Feast that is partly for their sakes, ignored the bulls, and just like they ignore the greatest sacrifice, the only begotten son of God, Jesus the Christ. It’s no wonder being in sync with God causes us to be out of sync with the world.

Posted in Feast of Tabernacles

Tabernacles impressions, Why Tabernacles?

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Sleeping outdoors during Tabernacles, with the sounds of traffic, sprinklers hitting plastic fences, small animals running around on secret business, air leaking out of the air mattress, aching muscles from odd sleeping positions, cold air seeping into the sleeping bag through a zipper gap, emergency vehicles honking and wailing just as you start to finally drift off, makes us wonder, “Why do we do this again?”

The simple answer is that we love God. We want to do everything He says as best we can. As we work our way through some light difficulties in obedience we are constantly reminded that we don’t ‘have’ to do this, we get to. It’s not Law, it’s the living Word of God. It’s not legalism, it’s love. We discover that the real difficulty is in our flesh, in our attitudes about God and His Word, and not in a few minor discomforts.

We re-learn that with the discomfort jiggling us out of our complacency also comes blessing. The full moon shining through the clear panes of our tent top. Delightfully crisp fall air after a hot day of work. Increasing silence as the crickets fall asleep for the winter and the frogs dig in for their three-month nap. The rustle of dry leaves in the pumpkin patch and corn stalks of our garden as a light breeze stirs them gently. Giggling grand kids jockey for position next to Grandma. The funny way six year-old Keira tells Grandma to “scoot over” as she tries to get in her sleeping bag.

The quietly joyful conversation with our Father as He joins us in our tent for His ‘camping trip.’

May God be with you also. Shalom.

Posted in Bible Verse • Feast of Tabernacles • Sukkot

Tabernacles 2012 day 2

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And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth. (John 1:14, ESV)

And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. (Revelation 21:3, ESV)

Second day of Tabernacles. So much meaning filling and overflowing a simple celebration. Praise God the Father and our Messiah Jesus the Anointed for giving us such wonderful and intimate ways to connect!

Posted in Bible Verse • Feast of Tabernacles

Tabernacles 2012

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Coming up on Monday – the Feast of Tabernacles. Eight days of parties and camping. We will be pitching a tent in our back yard Sunday afternoon and sleeping in it all week long. We’ll have fires in our fire pit, roast wienies (all beef of course) and marshmallows (s’more, please), singing and blowing the shofar for joy.

This feast causes us to remember what God did for Israel in bringing them out of slavery, rejoice in our freedom in Christ, and look forward to a time when He shall reign and the earth will have peace. Do we have a great God or what? Party, party party, all the time party. This is what He gives us when we stay within the loving boundaries of His wonderful, living Word.

Then everyone who survives of all the nations that have come against Jerusalem shall go up year after year to worship the King, the LORD of hosts, and to keep the Feast of Booths. And if any of the families of the earth do not go up to Jerusalem to worship the King, the LORD of hosts, there will be no rain on them. And if the family of Egypt does not go up and present themselves, then on them there shall be no rain; there shall be the plague with which the LORD afflicts the nations that do not go up to keep the Feast of Booths. This shall be the punishment to Egypt and the punishment to all the nations that do not go up to keep the Feast of Booths. (Zechariah 14:16–19, ESV)

Posted in Atonement • Bible Verse • Yom Kippur

Atonement 2012

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“And it shall be a statute to you forever that in the seventh month, on the tenth day of the month, you shall afflict yourselves and shall do no work, either the native or the stranger who sojourns among you. For on this day shall atonement be made for you to cleanse you. You shall be clean before the LORD from all your sins. (Leviticus 16:29–30, ESV)

Thanks be to God for the atoning sacrifice of His only begotten son Jesus our Messiah, who appeared in the presence of God on our behalf and will appear a second time to save those who are eagerly waiting for Him. We afflict ourselves by fasting today to remember what He did for us, what He is doing for us, and will do soon. Even so, come Lord Jesus!