Yesterday when I was young

            I had a youthful dream

My very own Prince Charming

            Would one day make me Queen

He'd do what Prince's do so well

            Slay dragons with one blow

Be very brave and daring

            And vanquish all his foe

He'd dress in Princely clothing

            And be pleasing to see

He'd take me 'round his Kingdom

            Oh, how grand 'twould be

He'd ply me with exotic foods

            And beautiful gifts, too

He'd take me dancing every night

            He'd make my dreams come true

          ~   ~   ~

It's thirty-five years later

            And asleep in his chair

My Prince is snoring loudly

            In tune with T.V.'s fare

He's dressed in faded flannel robe

            With flip-flops on his feet

I must admit he needs a shave

            And isn't very neat

The tours of our big Kingdom

            Are visits into town

To grocery marts and drug stores

            Which prompt his frequent frown

Exotic foods are burgers

            And other fast-food fare

The dancing is a shuffle-step

            From bed to easy chair

But I'm not disappointed

            Things aren't what they seem

For he's still my Dashing Prince

            And I'm still his treasured Queen

6/3/88 -  Phyllis DeWitt VanVleck

4'th ... Arkansas NPD 1989

6'th ... Arkansas NPD 1995

My neighborhood is the absolute perfect place to live.  My house isn't grand on any level.  It is a very modest 1800 square foot tri-level.  There really isn't anything distinguishing about it, except maybe our yard.  We have a great backyard for living in the city, complete with a creek, room for a massive garden, and  a great gate.  If something happened to my home, I think that I would insist on just rebuilding right on this same plot.  In fact, if all we could afford was a 1000 square foot home, I think I would settle b/c I just don't think I could move away from this section of town!  We live on the first street of an older subdivision.  Most of the homes were probably built in the 80s and 90s.  The houses on our street were from the 70s and then they seem to have kept expanding up a hill to the Country Club golf course.  If you go up the street to the golf course, there are about 3 sub streets in between our street and the golf course street.  As you go up the hill, the houses get more extravegant and taxes get higher.  But the thing I love about these houses is that each one is so unique!  They all have a certain style of architecture and they are sooooo beautiful to look at.  They yards are all beautifully kept because they have groundskeepers.  In fact, the houses on the actual golf course road are required to pay some fee to someone and their yards are mowed for them so that they get done on the same day.  And it is so eerily quiet...you feel like you are walking on some resort!  No one drives through at 5:30 in the morning.  Everyone is either out walking exchanging pleasentries, or on vacation I suppose.  I mean, if you can afford a house like that, surely you spend a few weeks of the summer "countryside!"   I feel as though I am regular "townsfolk" who can only afford to live on the outskirts of the kingdom.  But that's okay...my kids have a safe place to ride their bikes and I have a quiet and beautiful place to walk.  (See fitness journal)

Okay back on track.  So I am walking on the golf course road and it is raining.  It is starting to come down pretty heavily.  All of a sudden about 5 of these beautiful houses have sprinklers that kick on to water their yards!  Are they all on the same system or something?  I don't know.  What a waste of water (green side of me says).  What a waste of money (cheap side of me says).  Well, maybe they are on vacation and don't know it is raining (the less judgmental side of me says). So I started thinking...if these people are this rich, surely they can afford sprinklers with some sort of sensor that knows when it is raining. Do they make those? If not, someone is going to get rich doing it, because these people can more than afford it.  Hmmm...I wish I were more "crafty."

Anyway, this was a random thought....by Cinturon!

27 06 2008

God is revealed to us in scripture as a Trinitarian God. This is unique among all other religions. Another term is the Latin word perichoresis, which means the mutual indwelling, or interpenetration, which some call the divine dance (1). God is also immanent (2), although his home is in heaven, another dimension beyond our time and space, his spirit and presence is felt and acknowledged here on earth (3). His name, YHWH, literally means "I am who I am". This suggest that he cannot be referenced or defined in terms that relate to our existence. He is in his own category (4)

We, humans, are beautiful yet broken (5). We are beautiful because we are God's imagebearers (6). We are subcreators like our God made us. We are full of his creative impulses (7). Our community models his Trinitarian nature (8). We are broken because of the fall, because of the sin that has entered into the world through us. And because of this we are Salvific Storytellers. We tell the story of our past, about Jesus and his victory over sin and death. And of the future, of his glorious Kingdom, where every wrong will be made right (9).

The Kingdom of God can be summed as any place where his will and rule is taking place. Ultimately this will be fulfilled at some future date, unknown to any human. However we can experience and celebrate the coming Kingdom in myriad and diverse ways. We experience, celebrate, and express the Kingdom when we; hear and respond to issues of justice (10), quench peoples spiritual thirst with the pure water that only Jesus can give (11), learn to love our Christian brothers and sisters (12), and revel in the [incomplete] beauty of the earth (13).

In Revelation 21 the culmination of history takes place. The Kingdom comes down from heaven. It is a moment of renewal where new creation takes place. Every tear will be erased, every injustice will be made right. We will not only have renewed eternal bodies, but the entire cosmos, everything [from the stars to the plants and animals] will be made new and perfect (14). The new creation that began with Jesus' Resurrection is completed with his coming in power and glory with his Kingdom (15).

(1) Berten Waggoner, The Divine Dance (IW Master All, p 125)
(2) Wilt, Essential Worship Theology: The Nature of Worship, p 14
(3) Wright, Simply Christian, p 59
(4) ibid, p 67
(5) Wilt, Essentials in Worship Theology: The Nature of Human Beings, p 1
(6) ibid, p 4
(7) ibid, p 3
(8) ibid, p 5-6
(9) ibid, p 7, 9
(10) Wright, p 12
(11) ibid, p 26
(12) ibid, p 30
(13) ibid, p 46
(14) Wright, Voices On Resurrection and New Creation (IW Master All, p 313)
(15) Lewis, Voices On Resurrection and New Creation (IW Master All, p 313)

I love Proverbs 3:5-6 but I don’t know why. It’s like reading those “Make a million dollars in your first year!” adds and thinking “Wow! That could be me sitting by the pool sippin’ iced tea.” A dream…that vanishes when the reality of who you are smacks you upside the head. Satan has a way of making us see the cup half empty and thinking the other half is a bunch of crap.

Let’s be real. Trust is more than a bumper sticker. Sometimes it simply takes stepping into the unknown…wandering into a land you’re not from…going through with killing your only son…letting people spit in your face because you love them and on and on. Trust doesn’t always sound as sweet as the songs we sing about it.

The way of Jesus is like this sometimes. Hard. Difficult. I mean, we are up against some pretty evil and conniving regimes that are vying for ultimate power. Satan won’t make trust easy for us. He won’t let it be as smooth as a melody or as rhythmic as a poem. Life will miss notes and it will make our face cringe like when we hear those people on American Idol who don’t make it.

What do we do?

I guess, go with it. God, if I’m reading history correctly, will show up. He will come through. The pain and struggle of trust will flow into the realization of his concern. We may have to climb the mountain first, but he will provide the lamb.

by Steve Wohlberg

Romans 11:26 says, "And so all Israel will be saved." What does this mean?

Obviously, it doesn't mean every Jew will be saved. In fact, the same chapter says God hopes to "save some of them" (vs. 14). Judas was a Jew, yet we know he will be lost for betraying Christ. Jesus called him, "the son of perdition" (John 17:12). Jesus told many Jews, "If you do not believe I am He [the Messiah], you will die in your sins" (John 8:24). Not every Jew believes in Jesus Christ, thus many will "die in their sins" and be lost.

Many Christians today interpret Romans 11:26 as applying to the end of the seven-year tribulation when Jesus appears in the clouds at His Second Coming. In other words, they don't apply the verse to all Jews throughout history, but only to "all Jews" who are alive at the end. Supposedly, at the end of the tribulation, all remaining Jews in Israel will look up, see Christ coming in the clouds, realize He is the true Messiah, believe in Him, and thus "All Israel will be saved."

This is a false teaching, as I will attempt to show.

1. First, the context of Romans 11 is not the Second Coming.
2. "There is no partiality with God" (Romans 2:5-11). It would be an act of partiality to save "all Jews" at the end, but not "all Jews" in history. The idea is, "When all final Jews see Christ coming in the clouds, then they will believe." But this would give those final Jews a supposedly irresistible opportunity to believe in Jesus Christ which past Jews have not had. Nor would this be fair to "all Gentiles" living at the end. Why would God save all Jews at the end but not all Gentiles? All Gentiles will see Jesus coming just like all Jews.
3. When Christ finally appears in the clouds, IT'S TOO LATE TO BELIEVE IN HIM. Rev. 22:11,12 says that before He comes in the clouds, all decisions have already been made. Jesus said it will be like Noah's day (Mat. 24:37-39). In Noah's day the door of the ark closed before the flood came (Gen. 7:16). When the flood came, it was too late. To save all Jews AT THE SECOND COMING would be like saving all those outside the ark WHEN THE RAIN STARTED FALLING.
4. When Jesus comes in the clouds, this is the time of judgment upon ALL unbelievers who don't know God nor obey the gospel (2 Thess. 1:7-10; Jude 14,15).

So what does this mean, "All Israel shall be saved"? First of all, Romans 9:6 says there are two Israels. one is an Israel according to the flesh (Romans 9:3,4) and the other is the Israel of God (Galatians 6:14-16). The Israel of God is composed of both Jews and Gentiles who believe in Jesus Christ (Gal. 3:29). Gentiles who believe are grafted in. They become part of the "same body" with believing Jews (Eph. 3:6). Paul calls this unity of believing Jews and Gentiles, "the mystery of Christ" (Eph. 3:4).

The immediate context of Romans 11:26 is vs. 25. When "the fullness of the Gentiles has come in," then "all Israel will be saved." Or, to be exact, "And so all Israel will be saved." In other words, the coming in of the fullness or total number of the Gentiles results in "all Israel" being saved. Paul's idea seems to be that when all Gentiles (totally, throughout history) have come in, that is, have been grafted into the Vine, they, uniting with all Jews who have become believers, will form the total number of the saved. Paul also reveals that when Gentiles come in, God can use this to motivate some Jews to believe (verses 11 & 14). Vs. 25 calls this whole thing, "this mystery," which we have already proven to be the "mystery" of both Jews and Gentiles being united in one body through Christ (Eph. 3:4,6). Vs. 27 says all are saved because Christ takes away their sins through His covenant, which must be the New Covenant, which applies to all believers, Jew and Gentile. Thus the "all Israel" that is saved is the total group of believing Gentiles and Jews combined.

The "all Israel that is saved" does not apply to all Jews throughout history, nor can it apply to a select favored group who become instant believers when Jesus Christ comes crashing down through the sky. By that time, it is too late to believe.

http://www.whitehorsemedia.com/articles/details.cfm?art=54

 http://www.whitehorsemedia.com/articles/details.cfm?art=24

http://www.whitehorsemedia.com/articles/details.cfm?art=25

http://www.whitehorsemedia.com/articles/details.cfm?art=56

do see also http://postedat.wordpress.com/2008/07/24/who-rules-your-rulers-god-himself/

In 1972 President Richard Nixon stunned the world with his historic trip from Washington to China to meet with Communist Party chairman Mao Tse-tung. President Nixon observed that "the chairman's writings moved a nation and have changed the world." Chairman Mao more realistically replied: "I have not been able to change it. I have only been able to change a few places in the vicinity of Beijing."

This was the assessment of one of this century's most powerful rulers about the lasting effect of his ideas and reforms on the world's most populous nation.

In a later reflection President Nixon's secretary of state, Henry Kissinger, reflected that Mao "could not escape the nightmare that shadowed his accomplishments and tormented his last years: that it might all prove ephemeral, that the exertions, the suffering, the Long March, the brutal leadership struggles would be but a brief incident in the triumphant, passive persistence of a millennial culture which had tamed all previous upheavals, leaving little more in their wake than the ripples of a stone falling into a pond."

What a commentary about one of the century's most influential political ideas. Communism, like so many others, has risen and fallen on the tides of time. Like many other movements, communism may yet see itself consigned to the dustbin of history. Another effort at creating a utopian world will have been tried and found wanting, joining the many other political and governmental systems that failed to last even a few centuries, much less 1,000 years or more.

Yet there is one idea, first put to writing a few thousand years ago but not born of human imagination (2 Peter 1:21), that promises a world of peace and prosperity for all. It is the biblical teaching of the 1,000-year reign of Jesus Christ on earth. We call it, appropriately enough, the Millennium.

This truth, which connects with some of the Bible's earliest statements and is abundantly expressed by the Hebrew prophets, continues to hold the imagination of many over the centuries, in spite of attempts to undermine and explain it away.

God's promise of a millennial kingdom stands as a symbol of hope for mankind. A study of the sayings of Scripture and a review of efforts to overturn this teaching can help us understand our world and the promised peace of the Kingdom of God.

The future foretold

In the book of Revelation the apostle John records that after the second coming of Jesus Christ the saints will reign with Him for 1,000 years.

"And I saw thrones, and they sat on them, and judgment was committed to them. Then I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for their witness to Jesus and for the word of God, who had not worshiped the beast or his image, and had not received his mark on their foreheads or on their hands. And they lived and reigned with Christ for a thousand years ... Blessed and holy is he who has part in the first resurrection. Over such the second death has no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with Him a thousand years" (Revelation 20:4, 6, emphasis added throughout).

These verses summarize the Bible's many references to the age to come. It is from this verse that we can define the initial period as the Millennium, which simply means "thousand years."

The book of Revelation provides a summary of other biblical descriptions and promises about the millennial age and beyond. God, through His servants, foretold this period time and time again. It was the hope of Israel's prophets throughout much of that nation's history, especially during the nation's downfall and captivity. This same hope was shared by the apostles as they questioned Christ about the restoration of Israel's ancient kingdom (Acts 1:6).

Isaiah, writing during the time of Israel's decline, offered a clear picture of this future when he wrote of a time when Israel would be reunited under one leader and the knowledge of God would fill the earth:

"There shall come forth a Rod from the stem of Jesse, and a Branch shall grow out of his roots. The Spirit of the LORD shall rest upon Him, the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and might, the Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the LORD . . . The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, the leopard shall lie down with the young goat, the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; and a little child shall lead them.

"The cow and the bear shall graze; their young ones shall lie down together; and the lion shall eat straw like the ox. The nursing child shall play by the cobra's hole, and the weaned child shall put his hand in the viper's den. They shall not hurt nor destroy in all My holy mountain, for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the LORD as the waters cover the sea. And in that day there shall be a Root of Jesse, who shall stand as a banner to the people; for the Gentiles shall seek Him, and His resting place shall be glorious" (Isaiah 11:1-10).

Isaiah's stirring words remain unfulfilled. They have fired imaginations for centuries and crystallized the concept of the Millennium. His prophecies offer a glimpse of a new age and a new way of thinking that will encompass all aspects of life. Isaiah describes a complete change in the physical order. No part of the world we know will be left unchanged.

The nature of man will change to allow the building of a just world based on God's Word and His laws. The deception that has gripped the world will dissipate as the true knowledge of God's plan is spread throughout humanity after Christ's return.

Confirmation from other prophets

Ancient Israel didn't live to experience this prophesied transformation of society. This dream, this vision, never materialized during that nation's lifetime. Nor has it been fulfilled since.

Years later, from the bleakness of captivity and loss of Jewish national sovereignty, the prophet Daniel was given the promise of an enduring kingdom that would replace the failed efforts of human rule:

"And in the days of these kings the God of heaven will set up a kingdom which shall never be destroyed; and the kingdom shall not be left to other people; it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand forever" (Daniel 2:44, emphasis added throughout).

In yet another vision Daniel saw the promise of a literal kingdom encompassing the earth: "Then to Him was given dominion and glory and a kingdom, that all peoples, nations, and languages should serve Him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and His kingdom the one which shall not be destroyed ... Then the kingdom and dominion, and the greatness of the kingdoms under the whole heaven, shall be given to the people, the saints of the Most High. His kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and all dominions shall serve and obey Him" (Daniel 7:14, 27).

In the midst of the Babylonian captivity, God showed the Jewish people that a kingdom would come on the earth under a divine ruler. There was no doubt this promise was of a literal, earthly kingdom. The Jews expected the Messiah to restore their kingdom and national greatness. But, just as a fuller understanding of the words of Daniel's prophecies was for a future time, so would the coming of this everlasting kingdom have to wait.

Christ's promise to fulfill prophecy

Centuries after Daniel's day, the angel Gabriel revealed to Mary that her Son Jesus would be the head of this kingdom: "And He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of His kingdom there will be no end" (Luke 1:33).

During His ministry Christ spoke clearly of His destiny: to fulfill these scriptures. He showed that His followers would be among those who would reign in this Kingdom: "Assuredly I say to you, that in the regeneration, when the Son of Man sits on the throne of His glory, you who have followed Me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel" (Matthew 19:28).

The expectation of 2,000 years ago in the Holy Land was that a Messiah would overthrow Roman rule and restore an Israelite monarchy. Many who followed Jesus Christ, including his closest disciples, believed He was the One who would restore the Kingdom to Israel. But on the day of His death He said that His kingdom was not of that day and age. "My kingdom is not of this world. If My kingdom were of this world, My servants would fight, so that I should not be delivered to the Jews; but now My kingdom is not from here" (John 18:36).

The time for Christ's kingdom to be established was not at hand-not during the age of man-in "this present evil age," as the apostle Paul put it (Galatians 1:4).

The early New Testament Church preached the gospel of the Kingdom of God extensively in the following decades. It was the central idea and hope for which the followers of Christ gave their lives in devoted service.

Persecution and heresy

Near the end of the first century the Church and the truth of God's Kingdom came under severe attack from both within and without. The integrity of Christ's teachings was subverted by heresy. The Roman government killed many Christians, including Christian leaders. The apostle John was exiled on the Aegean prison island of Patmos.

At the height of this crisis John received Christ's revelation that affirmed the truths of the triumphal establishment of the Kingdom of God. The knowledge of the Millennium gave the Church encouragement, as it always has done for those who look to God for their hope (1 Peter 1:3; 5:4)

During this tumultuous epoch the teaching of the literal Kingdom of God on earth became mixed with forms of heresy and in some circles was discredited. In the second, third and fourth centuries the concept of a literal earthly reign of Christ came under the most severe attack.

There were misguided attempts by some to predict the time of the return of Christ, contrary to His own teaching (Matthew 24:36, 44; 25:13; Acts 1:6-7). Montanus, a self-proclaimed prophet of the third century, founded a movement predicting the imminent second coming of Christ. Some gnostics also adopted a form of millennial teaching.

Origen, the third-century Alexandrian thinker, arrived at a radically different conclusion about the Kingdom of God. The focus of his view "was not upon the manifestation of the kingdom within this world but within the soul of the believer, a significant shift of interest away from the historical toward the metaphysical, or the spiritual" (Encyclopaedia Britannica, 15th edition, "Millennialism").

Because of the influence of Origen and similar thinkers, the Kingdom of God came to be viewed not as a literal future kingdom, but as a spiritual kingdom subject to varying interpretation. The scriptural references were to be understood as symbolism and allegory, not to be taken at face value.

Holding fast

In the midst of these heresies, many still held to faith in a coming kingdom as it had been received from the apostles. "Bishop Papias of Hierapolis, a disciple of St. John, appeared as an advocate of millenarianism. He claimed to have received his doctrine from contemporaries of the Apostles, and Irenaeus narrates that other 'Presbyteri,' who had seen and heard the disciple John, learned from him the belief in millenarianism as part of the Lord's doctrine. According to Eusebius (Hist. Eccl., III, 39) Papias in his book asserted that the resurrection of the dead would be followed by one thousand years of a visible, glorious earthly kingdom of Christ, and according to Irenaeus (Adv. Haereses, V, 33), he taught that the saints too would enjoy a superabundance of earthly pleasures" (Catholic Encyclopedia, 1914 edition, "Millennium").

In these early centuries, among the last known proponents of the teaching of the 1,000-year earthly reign of Christ's kingdom was a bishop of Laodicea named Apollinaris. By the fifth century the doctrine was largely overwhelmed by the views of Augustine, the most influential theologian of the Catholic church. His teaching that the church was the Kingdom of God on earth replaced the biblical teaching that God would intervene in history and establish a kingdom that would never end.

In Augustine's view, God had already triumphed over Satan, and His Kingdom was a spiritual matter in the hearts of men, manifest in the role of the church on earth. "[T]he millennium had become a spiritual state into which the church collectively had entered at Pentecost-the time of the reception of the Holy Spirit by Christ's disciples soon after his Resurrection- and which the individual Christian might already enjoy through mystical communion with God" (Encyclopaedia Britannica, "Millennialism").

This coincided with Roman emperor Constantine's official adoption of Christianity as the religion of the empire. From this point there was no need for a literal belief in Christ's reign on earth. The church had become politically and spiritually wedded to the power of the empire.

What historian Edward Gibbon called "the ancient and popular doctrine" now became an appendage with little use or support. He writes: "But when the edifice of the church was almost completed, the temporary support was laid aside. The doctrine of Christ's reign upon earth was at first treated as a profound allegory, was considered by degrees as a doubtful and useless opinion, and was at length rejected as the absurd invention of heresy and fanaticism" (Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, Great Books Edition, Britannica Great Books, Wm. Benton, publisher, Chicago, 1952, p. 188).

A dark age descends

Augustine's view became the accepted teaching of the church. Whatever remained of the belief in the literal rule of the Kingdom of God on earth went underground. It was virtually unheard of for approximately 1,000 years, until the period that followed the Protestant Reformation. It is interesting that this medieval period has been called the Dark Ages of Western civilization. It is as if the lights went out on learning and the advancement of culture on all fronts. Historian William Manchester describes the period as a "portrait ... of incessant warfare, corruption, lawlessness, obsession with strange myths, and an almost impenetrable mindlessness" (A World Lit Only by Fire, Little, Brown and Co., Boston, 1992, p. 3)

A close look at this "medieval millennium" reveals a time during which religious authority took on the form of a literal, triumphant kingdom on earth. Manchester continues: "As aristocracies arose from the barbaric mire, kings and princes owed their legitimacy to divine authority, and squires became knights by praying all night at Christian altars. Sovereigns courting popularity led crusades to the Holy Land. To eat meat during Lent became a capital offense, sacrilege meant imprisonment, the Church became the wealthiest landowner on the Continent, and the life of every European, from baptism through matrimony to burial, was governed by popes, cardinals, prelates, monsignors, archbishops, bishops, and village priests. The clergy, it was believed, would also cast decisive votes in determining where each would spend the afterlife" (Manchester, p. 11).

During this time the advancement of Western civilization had largely ground to a halt, and "nothing of real consequence had either improved or declined. Except for the introduction of waterwheels in the 800's and windmills in the late 1100's, there had been no inventions of significance. No startling new ideas had appeared, no new territories outside Europe had been explored. Everything was as it had been for as long as the oldest European could remember" (Manchester, pp. 26-27).

Dawn of a new world

The Bible reveals that a world of light will result from the return of Jesus Christ. The social order effected by the establishment of God's Kingdom on earth will be far different from anything ever produced by human effort. Nations will seek out the way of God. Fear will be banished from among the peoples of the earth as righteousness-obedience to God's law (Psalm 119:172)-guides international relations.

Endless conflicts will disappear, and the art of warfare will be forgotten. Families will grow stronger with each generation and produce a tightly knit society that will not come unraveled (Micah 4:1-5). When God's Kingdom arrives, there will be nothing to deny its long-held promise and hope of bringing peace on earth.

As we have seen, the teaching of the Millennium begins early in the Hebrew Scriptures and continues through the book of Revelation. Christ's last words on the subject are perhaps the clearest and plainest in the Bible. Jesus Christ, the true author of the book of Revelation (Revelation 1:1), says there will be a period of 1,000 years during which the resurrected saints will reign with Him in a just and benevolent kingdom on this earth. Will we take Christ at His word and believe what He said?

Ideas are a powerful force in human affairs. They have sparked revolutions and toppled centuries-old dynasties. They can sometimes arise in the humblest of ways to create large followings. Mao Tse-tung took a relatively modern idea and with it ruled the most populous nation on earth. Yet by his own admission he failed to change a deeply rooted ancient culture.

The millennial age of Jesus Christ, an idea that is older than time, will endure and ultimately transform the world.

Nostalgia is where you recall a former memory or experience of a particular moment in your life. Something many of the old timer's do...frequently about the same thing over and over again without realizing it. Take into effect that it serves many purposes. A hopeless 47 yr. old drunk wash-up would babble "I cOuld hAve maaadE sooomeTING [hicup] of my F@%$in' seLF! But nooOOOoo! I eNded up.....". In this case, it would deliver self regret for what said drunk messed up. Mainly, life. It wouldn't provide any consolation, but would occupy their minds with enough "what if's"  to have them pass out instead of dying of alcohol poisoning. Ol' grandpa would recall the days of his youth. When he was once able to play marbles as a boy, go to his first school dance, and so many of those "when I was your age" stories. This scenerio gives gramps the ability to enjoy what he has experienced throughout his many years of life. Never able to go back to those "good old days", but still content. Adults bicker about the how gas was cheaper back when compared to now. They wish things were like before when it comes to those prices. Nostalgia will incure utter glee, a wistful sigh, or even head-splitting incense.

I'm still pretty young. Almost 17 yrs. of age now and soon going into my Senior (final as well) year of HIgh School. Social life has been at its best and keeps rising up. Quite a bit of family together-ness going on. Entertainment has been remarkable. All these awesome flicks coming out, soon being able to rock out on a real plasic guitar (not including plastic drums n mic), and YouTube outranking television. Life couldn't get any better for a gentile...the only problem is that I am no longer a FULL gentile.

I am what is considered a 'saved gentile' (made it up myself). I was of this world for roughly 14 yrs. of my life. I partook in what mainstream pop culture told me to do. Some things I am thankful for while others...not so much. I accepted Christ which made me a New Born person that has had many of his influences drawn from the world. So now, I have drawn my influences from mainly the Bible, but the world views still Linger. What this has resulted in for me is a spiritual life focused on God.

So I have an entertainment life, a social life, and a family life that are at their highest ever which would be great for any american teenager. While those pillars are amongst the clouds.....they simply tower over my spiritual life. It doesn't take a genius to notice a problem in their own life. It thought it would heal itself, but apparently it didn't. My role in my student ministry has diminished so badly that I have become aghast to how far I have fallen. Where I am at leaves me shocked and appalled...my strengths have become rusty, my knowledge about the End Times and Californication has dropped (californicaton tier 5 wasn't even written when it was released. i wrote the damn thing a half a year ago for god's sake). I am not even willing to extend my hand another 3 in. to reach my Bible, so I continue to play video games for hours on end. Thusly, I no longer have a desire to read anything at all.....what once began as a plateau in my spiritual life quickly transformed into a random up-hill, down-hill spiral where I keep finding myself content one moment and then begging for forgiveness down the road. I dwell in the fact that I was learning new things from God everyday. Steadfast in my relationship with Christ. I kept climbing the mountain. Finding no sight of the peak and hoping it wouldn't come soon. Clouds of glory prevented me from seeing how much higher I could go. This motivated me to clamber the mountain without fear nor hesitation. Even the struggles of winter kept me strong in my faith. As I would climb, the harsh bitter winds would try to knock me down. I would lose my grip every now and then, but stop I did not. Reaching that plateau was nerve racking and arkward. Falling down...even worse...

If I were to find the cause of all this, I couldn't say. But I do recall the day where everything took root. I don't remember the date exactly (too lazy to find out), but it all started the day before Senior graduation for 3 of my friends. I was up late working on a project I decided to leave up untill the last minute. It was an interview project that was already a week late and had to be turned in on Friday or I get a 0/300 points. THAT would have been a major pitfall for me in the future so I type up the last 4 interviews up on my computer to print out. It was about 1 am when I finished so I thought to myself "print it out, then finally go to bed!" Well, it turns out after I print out one of the 4 pages...the damn printer jams up! It keeps swallowing in the paper so most of it gets shoved in on one side. So I try to fix the thing, but it only infuriates me to the point of constant cussing and swearing. I kept trying to swear at a lower volume so I wouldn't awake my parents upstairs (still amazed they hear me). I literally took 3 hrs trying to make the damn piece of crap to work! So by then it's already 4 am so I decide to write the rest up at school. The plan was to ride the bus to school and feverishly finish it up there before classes started. I go to bed agitated, but pray nonetheless. I end up waking up at 5 am after having one of the strangest, perplexing things happen to me. This just confuses me so I put it off as nothing and go back to bed. I wake up late, missing the bus by an hour. This puts the original plan into shambles. So I end up having to endure my mom yelling at me while she drops me off at school which is never fun. I arrive at school at 8 am and worry about what I'm gonna do. I end up explaining to my history teacher that I'll have it in by the end of the day (may God bless her understanding!). After the joy of having one more chance to finish this paper arises, I remember I still have to finish a photography project the same day.....imagine the distress. The photo project was simply to develop some pictures I took in a dark room and show them to the teacher. The only solution to these two dilemas was to finish the paper first and then the photo project. I end up skipping most of my lunch to write this blasted thing, only to leave the library for a quick bite to eat. I literally spent but a mere 3 min. in the cafeteria. 1 min. to buy an overly priced, tiny cheeseburger. 1 min. to eat it. 1 min. to throw the paper and say farwell to my friends. Worst. Lunch. Ever. I end up skipping french class (no big deal, got straight A's there) to write the rest of the paper which did get completed. Due to the time limit, I actually had to make up an interview off the top of my head. All that was left was to turn it in by day's end and go to the photography room. The photo teacher (may God bless him as well) let me into the photo room to work on it. Apparently I was doing something wrong because I kept getting an all black image. I was there for about 2 hrs. and in that time 1 girl came in to do her work, she left, another 2 came in later, they leave, then a nice girl (not THAT kind of 'nice' you perverts). Since I was the only guy in there with the first girl, she kept giving off a  you better not try anything kind of vibe, which made me feel awkward and offended. Same thing with the other 2 girls. So by this time, I'm agitated, offended, and impatient. On the verge of blowing up, the nice girl (may God bless her has well) came in and started some friendly chit chat. Nothing flirty or anything like that, just friendly. She ended up giving me some advice as to how fix what I'm doing. Helpful...yes, but I had to go to civics class for part of our final exam. I go there, end up writing about half a page, mess up in the worst way. I had to start over, stay 5min. after class to finish next to a air conditioner that was freezing my ass off!! I had to go BACK to the dark room to finish up, couldn't remember what the nice girl told me to fix, so I stay an additional full hour there cussing and swearing in every sentence I made. I was pissed off in the worst way...had ZERO idea what I was doing wrong...it was literally Hell in there (it was all red in there...). I remember I need to take my science final exam which was my worst subject!! Imagine what was running through my mind!! I write a full paper, take writing exam, have eaten next to nothing, need to finish a photo project, and now take a physics final exam...I was pissed beyond belief!!! As things continue to unravel, I ask my one friend to give me a ride home which was cool with him. What wasn't cool was getting in his car jammed with another 8 or 9 strangers I didn't even know! So I end up walking home instead and avoid another yelling when I give my mom a flower I took from some neighbors garden (ace).

Anyways, (please bare with me) I end up going late to my friends' graduation ceremony which was in a church. I end up sittin' alone when I didn't find whom I was supposed to sit with. The whole ceremony thing was the highlight of the piece of shit day. Things could have really changed for the better after the ceremony. Unfortunately, it didn't. Since I only got an hour or so of sleep, I was beginning to fade out. I managed to congratulate my graduated friends (wouldn't have missed that for the world), but couldn't find a way home. My mom was at least an hour away from home and dad was at work. So it's already after 9 o'clock and I have no way of getting home which was a full 2 miles away. Walking through the dark roads to only stand outside my home with no keys...makes perfect sense. My one friend, Kedren (newly graduated), offered if I would want to go to the graduate after-party or something like that. It's all the way in another town over 10 miles away. If I was to go, I was to go with my one other friend, but he wouldn't even answer his phone. So it's almost 10 pm (dammit) and I don't give any answer to Kedren and just begin walking up to a gas station a couple of blocks away. I call my mom to get me there so I end up waiting for half an hour. Kedren worries about me and calls (such a good, good, friend she is), but I reluctantly tell her about my horrible day. I left out a few parts, but she got the main story. While at the gas station talking with Kedron on the phone, mom drives up. As we go home, the call breaks up. By then I really don't give a shit anymore. I get home, get a call from Ken, who heard about my day (such a good friend). I end up babbling some random junk that even I didn't know what I meant to say. Embaressed, I say good bye and said I was gonna be fine. I was not fine after that. I swore more than I did in a year that day, angry that God didn't help me in the dark room (not at Him, but what He didn't do), wasn't even caring about important stuff...

So in a nutshell, this is what happened:

Worked on paper until 1 am, but printer jammed. Wasted 3 hours fixing it. Woke up at 5 am and had an awkward and confusing experience. Missed bus, got to school late, skipped most of lunch to work on paper, spent but a minute in lunch to eat a tiny burger, finished paper, went to photography dark room, was being seen as a pervert in the dark room by 3 girls when I did nothing wrong at all, photos were coming out bad, had to leave to do a writing exam, got super cold in there, went back to dark room, ended up swearing with no signs of stopping, had to take a physics final exam, walk home, late to friends' graduation, sleep got to me, couldn't find way home, walked a few blocks to a gas station, got concern from friends but felt like I just lashed out at them, unintentionally insulted one of my friends...

Forgive me if I seem to be going off on a rant or rammbling on, but I just had to share this. That horrible day gave way to over a month of me messing up my spiritual life. As I remember over a year ago, when I went on a missions trip to New York City, I was at the top of my game. I had a passion for God. I wanted to serve Him with all my heart's content. Then I looked at myself. It gave me an incense of rage. O' how I wish to be like that again! I want to be close to God like never before. My other areas of life have gotten better, but that doesn't make me happy in the long run. God does. I know I have lost some authority and even respect...knowing I have gone so far off from where I once was saddens me. Recently, I wasn't allowed to go on a missions trip to Lebanaon (not the country) due to money. It only made me feel worse. I simply love serving the church there! I love every little thing about it! Maybe that's God in me, but hearing the gospel spread in both English AND my native toungue, Spanish.........it just feel's like Warmness on the Soul. Even though I didn't go, I still wanted to be part of it. I was discouraged to say farwell to the ones going because of someone and that caused a heavy feeling of sorrow on my heart. I wanted to send them off with something. I wanted to give some last minute advice to those who already went and those who haven't. The only thing I could think of doing was to have my encouragement be sent through someone else. I texted a friend of mine who was on the trip to do just that and that brought satisfaction over my soul. If she told everyone or not...knowing I at least made an effort makes me happy. I fully notice where I am at. I am not at my best. I fully accept that. I am stripped of certain privileges and opportunities...but I accept that. I am where I am at because I fully deserve it. And Justice For All...I am not going to justify my reasons when I know I deserve worse. For what I have done recently and in the past. I know I am a worthless sinner that deserves the pits of Hell. . .but I also know God puts me through these trials for a reason. For the greater good that is He. God is Good. God is Just. He will never forsaken me...As the hart pants after the water brooks, so pants my soul after you, O' God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God; when shall I come and appear before God? My tears have been my meat day and night, while they continually say unto me. Where is thy God? When I remember these things, I pour out my soul in me: for I had gone with the multitude, I went with them to the house of God, with the voice of joy and praise, with a multitude that kept holyday. Why art thou cast down, O my soul? and why art thou diquieted in me? hope thou in God for I shall yet praise Him fror the help of His countenance. O my God, my soul is cast down within me: therefore will I remember thee from the land of Jordan, and of the Hermonites, from the hill Mizar: Deep calleth unto deep at the noise of thy water-spouts: all thy waves and thy billows are gone over me. Yet the Lord will command His lovingkindness in the daytime, and in the night His song shall be with me, and my prayer unto the God of my life. I will say unto God my rock, Why hast thou forgotten me? why go I mourning because of the oppression of the enemy? As with a sword in my bones, mine enemies reproach me; while they say daily unto me, Where is thy God? Why art thou cast down, O my soul? and why art thou disquieted within me?  hope thou in God: for I shall yet praise Hime, who is the health of my countenance, and my God. -Psalm 42

Let me make things very clear, I am not being pious and I am certainly not holy nor anywhere near being a saint. I have the same joys, concerns and struggles, as usual, but right now I am discovering so much about God's kingdom here on earth as it is in heaven. Praise God!

What I want to share is that as I read scripture like Matthew 21:31, 43 (ESV), books like "The Secret Message of Jesus" by Brian McLaren, listen to bands like Audio Adrenaline, Switchfoot, Building 429, etc., observe the radical rantings of real Christians like Shane Claiborne, Chris Haw and friends (whom I was blessed to hear speak in person last night during a stop on their Jesus for President tour), I realize that I MUST transform to become the kind of me who God intended for me to be at the point of creation.

This new me, a new kind of Christian me, is still a sinner . However, this sinner is one with Jesus in spirit as I transform into someone who is suddenly concerned with real inner change and outwardly demonstrates the effects of the risen savior Jesus Christ living within me. I am the new kind of me who now loves people...all people. This demonstration of love begins with unconditional love of those closest to me, my beautiful family and extends to those who I formerly thought of as un-lovable or forgettable.

As mother Theresa said, "Being unwanted, unloved, uncared for, forgotten by everybody, I think that is a much greater hunger, a much greater poverty than the person who has nothing to eat."

If I am a new kind of Christ loving Christian, I am a new creation in Christ, who is concerned with his fellow laborer, so I am loving all of the people whom I work with.  In my case, as a teacher, I am also a better kind of teacher, who demonstrates love, kindness and patience with students, parents, faculty and administrators. 

This also applies if I am a cab driver. I am a better cab driver to my boss, co-workers and to all the fares that I pick up. As a better cab driver, I find a way (the Jesus way) to listen to people, make them smile, laugh, think or most importantly feel cared about. I might even help make them feel (dare I say)... loved.

   
This new me, a new kind of Christ follower, cares about social justice. I don't just talk about the homeless, the poor, the needy, the oppressed, the suffering, the alcoholic and addict, but I love them enough to do something about moving my lazy butt off my chair and do more than write a check. The new kind of me now dares to move in the direction of serving the needy and suffering in soup kitchens, food pantries, homeless shelters, downtown, next door, while on vacation, at the mall or at the grocery store.

I am not there yet and will probably be on this journey for the rest of my life, but what excitement comes from awakening to the reality that I have been completely wrong in terms of what I thought it meant to be a Christian, a follower and lover of Jesus.

That's it for now. I'm sure I'll have more rantings and ravings to come in the near future.

Many scholars have noted that Matthew forms chapters 3-7 as the grand announcement of Jesus.  This is usually explained as 3.1-11 as the introduction of Jesus from John, 3.13-4.16 as Jesus' preparation for His ministry, 4.17-24 as Jesus' announcement of His self arrival via calls for repentance and following Him, and 5-7 as the first teaching of Jesus.

I have not had the chance to review the relevant literature, so it is entirely possible, and quite likely, that this has been posited before, but I would like to suggest that the quote of Is 40.3 in Matt 3.3 is the key to this structure.  What I  think Matthew may be doing here is structuring His announcement of Jesus around Isaiah's prophesied announcement of YHWH returning to Israel after the Exile prophesied in the previous chapter.  

Is 40.1-2 seems to be a prophetic pronouncement of comfort after the Exile Isaiah described to Hezekiah in 39.5-8.  40.1-2 speaks of the end of warfare and the completion of Israel reception of punishment.  In vs. 3-5 we see the text John uses to announce Jesus.  Here there is a summon for a way to be prepared for YHWH and the appearance of His glory is spoken of.  40.9-11 give a command to pronounce the good news (a participial form of eujaggelivzw is used twice in v. 9 in the LXX) and to behold God as He comes.  With Him, God brings both judgement and reward.  He acts as a good shepherd to His people.  After what seems to be a praise chorus for YHWH's might act of coming back to His people in vs. 12-26, vs. 27-31 describe the justice and comfort He will give to the weak and down trodden.  It seems to me that this beginning section of a long poetic passage that stretches to 44.8 describes the return of YHWH's presence to His people after the Exile to bring their promised justice and salvation through the establishment of His Kingdom.  

I think Matthew shapes 3-5.12 around Is 40.  He records John announcement of the Kingdom's imminence in 3.2.  In 3.3 he quotes Is 40.3 to call to mind the narrative flow of the passage in which YHWH returns to His people to establish His Kingdom.  In 4.17 Matthew records Jesus echoing the John's call for repentance and the nearness of the Kingdom's arrival.  The justice and salvation promised for the weak in Is 40.27-31 are echoed in Jesus' beginning of the Sermon on the Mount, where He announces that in His Kingdom the poor, mourners, meek and others will receive comfort, satisfaction and mercy and the like.  

In light of this, I think what Matthew is trying to say in 3-5.11 is this: The Isaianic prophecy of the return of YHWH's presence to His people where He establish His Kingdom is about to happen.  That presence is Jesus, and the Kingdom that Jesus has come to establish is the one where the weak will be blessed, just as promised in Is 40.

What do you think?

As human beings, we have a sinful nature.  We are all sinners.  Jesus said that.  The Bible says that.  We are doomed to die and keep dooming ourselves even more.  Why would God come down in human form to save us?  If you really think about it, why would He want to be one of US?  Why?  Jesus came down to earth to show us how to live and we killed him for it.  How humiliating.

He lived a perfect life.  His life was meant to be a guideline for the lost.  For everyone.  Look up, and you'll be staring up into the face of love.  Pure love.

Love these days is rare.  It turns to hate so fast.

This world is lost.  The nations of this world are going to kneel before God in the days soon to come.  They will be crying out for salvation.  The eyes of the nations of this world are going to open.

"In the last days," God says, "I will pour out my spirit upon all people.  Your sons and daughters will prophesy.  Your young men will see visions, and your old men will dream dreams.  In those days I will pour out my Spirit even on my servants-men and women alike-and they will prophesy." -Acts 2:17-18

I believe this has happened, it's still happening, and it will happen even more.

God has called His people to ritcheousness. He has called His people to seek and find and save the lost.  God has called His people to spread the Word and to live according to it.  To set an example for the others watching.

I hope the Lord comes soon, because the world is falling fast and hard.

The King is near, and he's come for His kingdom.

Are you part of it?

Taken from the New York Times, November 25th 1977.

... Seek his kingdom and it's righteousness all the other things shall
be added. No wonder things are not being added. I haven't been
seeking, knocking, doing as I should.

I have been trying to write an essay to follow up my previous one on Constantinianism, but all efforts so far has been lacking. This concept is so wide and in depth that it cannot be covered in one essay, nor can I seem to condense the resources about it to create another. In fact, the subject matter is so wide that many, many books have been written on it.

No matter the incapabilities of the writer, I do wish to stress to you the importance of Constantinianism and how it does effect the way the Body of Christ operates and views itself with the world. However, the term Constantinianism is limiting in itself. The traditional relationship that Constantinianism has had is mainly that of violence. Theologians Yoder and Hauerwas have termed it so that it reads that Constantinianism is the legacy of Constantine I and his effects on the Church by yoking violence and corruption to it. I agree with their assessment, but the fault of the modern condition of merging of Church and worldly kingdoms does not rest solely on the shoulders of Constantine.

There is very little resources, that is primary documents, from the reign of Constantine during the Council of Nicea or on his private views of the Christian movement, or if he actually converted to it really at all. The only documents we have of the Council is from recollected memories years after the Council took place. So, to say that Constantine orchestrated the Council to suite his own needs is assumptive, but not totally without disproved. But the results of his reign and use of Christianity as a political tool has indeed taken it's tole on the Body of Christ.

There is the natural question of why did the Church allow itself to be used in such a manner? To be sure, the Church did have the choice to side with the Roman Empire. I'm not so sure what the general scholarly consensus is, if there is one, but I see it as a result of nearly 300 years of persecution by the Roman authorities. When the Church had the chance to be tolerated by the persecutors and possibly become the power that has oppressed them, they jumped at it.

As I have said, there is more to the matter than just Constantinianism. Violence is still yoked to the Church in some ways, but there is still the matter of what modern issues faces the church. To summarize much of what is now being said in the theological circles: the condition of the modern church faces is that nation-states and their economic systems are trying to set up itself as an alternative to the Body of Christ, a "nation-state religion". Now, this religion is not a religion that has a "God" or "place of worship", but rather, in the place of deities and the Body of Christ they have placed themselves as the church. They have created a narrative in which they mimic the Church's mission of providing an alternative to the world, by telling the people they provide safety in the face of the violent and unjust world. A way of accomplishing this narrative is to co-opt Christianity into helping it achieve these goals (Constantinianism).

The Bible tells the narrative of God's salvation through the history of His chosen people and the Church and the bringing about of His Kingdom. It also tells of how the Church is the witness to the Kingdom of God and is the alternative to the kingdom of sin that the world exists in. The nation-state however, tells a different narrative. The one they tell is that the nation-state protects it's collective citizenship from the "wars of religion". This can be seen in the founding of the modern European states and how these states and their offsprings continue the narrative of protecting it's citizens from the "war of the Islamic fundamentalist".

A second narrative that the nation-state tells is one of economic opportunity. The market of the nation-state mimics the Christian emphasis on meeting the needs of humanity, by developing the ideologies of capitalism and materialism. Where the Church meets the spiritual and material needs by communal efforts, the economies of the world try to provide it by "buying happiness" and suppressing inner want with "things". Where the Church is the temple to the God who provides everything, the world has made itself an empty shrine where only false security and materialism lay.

The Church is a force of humble and subversive change. Where the world has violence, greed, oppression, and hate, the Church addresses these and offers the alternative as the witness to the Government of God. The nation-states wishes to colonize the world in the false facade of trying to be the Church. It is the human attempt to offer the same substance as the Church without submitting to the Kingdom of God.

How does the Church respond? The first response is to realize the narrative being told by the nation-state is one that is indubitably skewed and a mimicking of the Body of Christ as a way to consolidate power by means of consoling the minds of the people and co-opting the Church into their narrative . The second response is to turn away from this "materialistic Christianity" as the answers to the problems of the world and look back to the Church. The third response is to help reform the Church by repeating the first two steps to where the Church is purged of its Constantinian yoke and nation-state's abuse of power and material greed.

The Church provides the alternative. We are the peaceable kingdom, the communal agent of assisting the poor, oppressed, downtrodden, and marginalized. Where the worldly kingdoms seeks to consolidate power and produce material wealth to suit it's own lusts and satisfy the wanting hearts of it's people, the Church must resist this by showing the alternative way. Where the worldly kingdoms looks down upon the poor and marginalized, and looking past the genocides, the starvation, the spiritual hunger, the Church must be the alternative and the servant of all as our Master has commanded us to.

The Kingdom

I tell you the truth when I say that the kingdom is on the way, on the way
I tell you the truth when I say that the kingdom is here today, here today

I think I found it,
An inspiration I can see a glorious nation
It's over there just above Zion
And it looks like Jerusalem

It's on the way, the date is set
It's here today, but not here yet
Can almost hear, can almost see
It's a banner caught upon the breeze

Upon it is a Lion...

I tell you the truth when I say that the kingdom is on the way, on the way
I tell you the truth when I say that the kingdom is here today, here today
Christ reigns now and don't forget that the kingdom is not yet!

It's getting closer
To fulfillment
But the kingdom began with the advent
He is reigning through his people
The first will be nothing compared to the sequel

No more war, no more crime, no more unemployment line!
And there is Christ upon His seat
Where mercy, truth and justice meet

And He will never falter...

I tell you the truth when I say that the kingdom is on the way, on the way
I tell you the truth when I say that the kingdom is here today, here today
Christ reigns now and don't forget that the kingdom is not yet!

And with one voice, we all will sing
(Yeah yeah yeah)
To the Prince of peace and King of kings
(Yeah yeah yeah)
His reign is everlasting
(Yeah yeah yeah)

I tell you the truth when I say that the kingdom is on the way, on the way
I tell you the truth when I say that the kingdom is here today, here today

I tell you the truth when I say that the kingdom is on the way, on the way
I tell you the truth when I say that the kingdom is here today, here today

Here today.

There is a simple dividing line present here.  Those who submit to the authority of the King are subjects of the Kingdom.  Those who submit to the authority of anything or anyone else are not. If Christ is the only Authority, then we must submit to Him alone.  The Kingdom of God is God’s people.  It isn’t an organization or a nation here on earth.  The Kingdom of God is the people who have acknowledged that “Jesus is Lord” and become His loyal subjects in His Kingdom.  There is a shift going on in the Kingdom.  I first saw this quote at Jesus Shaped Spirituality and Greg Boyd highlights this in a post on his blog:

Millions are waking up to the truth that followers of Jesus are called to love the unlovable, serve the oppressed, live in solidarity with the poor, proclaim Good News to the lost and be willing to lay down our life for our enemies.  Multitudes are waking up to the truth that the distinctive mark of the Kingdom is the complete rejection of all hatred and violence and the complete reliance on love and service of others, including our worst enemies.  Masses of people are waking up to the truth that followers of Jesus aren't called to try to win the world by acquiring power over others but by exercising power under others -- the power of self-sacrificial love.

Too many times we have forgotten the words of Christ in John 18:36, “Jesus answered, ‘My kingdom is not of this world. If my kingdom were of this world, my servants would have been fighting, that I might not be delivered over to the Jews.  But my kingdom is not from the world.’”  When Pilate tries to assert his authority in John 19, Jesus simply reminds him that his authority doesn’t exist without God’s permission(John 19:11).  The Kingdom of God is as far removed from power over others as the east is from the west.  The Kingdom of God is about service and humility.  It is God’s people, who are subjects of His Rule.

Unfortunately, this is a hard lesson in America.  We have religious leaders who are determined to exercise influence and power in the here and now.  They are seeking to create God's Kingdom here on earth using earthly methods.  Just today come the stories of Rick Warren and James Dobson to show how far we have fallen.  Rick Warren is going to host a forum with two presidential candidates to help people get to know the candidates.  He is going to find out how they address major issues for our nation:

"While I know both men as friends, and they recognize I will be frank, but fair, they also know I will be raising questions in these four areas beyond what political reporters typically ask," Warren said. "This includes pressing issues that are bridging divides in our nation, such as poverty, HIV/AIDS, climate and human rights."

Here is the kicker though.  Look at his list of responsibilities:

"In addition to my primary calling to proclaim the Gospel truth of salvation in Jesus Christ, these Civil Forums further three other life goals: helping individuals accept responsibility, helping the Church regain credibility and encouraging our society to return to civility," Warren said.

Then we have the wisdom of James Dobson and Albert Mohler discussing the coming election and deciding that maybe voting for the "lesser of two evils" is really a good thing:

"There's nothing dishonorable in a person rethinking his or her positions, especially in a constantly changing political context," Dobson said in a statement to the AP. "Barack Obama contradicts and threatens everything I believe about the institution of the family and what is best for the nation. His radical positions on life, marriage and national security force me to reevaluate the candidacy of our only other choice, John McCain."

Earlier, Dobson had said he could not in good conscience vote for McCain, citing the candidate's support for embryonic stem cell research and opposition to a federal constitutional amendment to ban gay marriage, as well as concerns about McCain's temper and foul language.

It is not my intention in this space to be highly political, but this goes to the heart of the issue of God's Kingdom in a sense.  The Bible is clear when it tells us how we are to treat those that God puts in authority over us.  But there is a wide variety of opinion on Biblical responsibilities of those of us who are priviledged enough to choose those authorities.  The Bible says that we have to give an account of ourselves before God (Matthew 12:36; Romans 14:10-12; 1 Peter 4:5) and I happen to think that extends to how we choose those who would lead our country.  Which is why I haven't voted for one of the two main party presidential candidates for the last couple of elections (I have voted by the way).  But, it is wrong to say that God even says we must vote.  It is an honor and a priviledge to do so, and I do it because I respect the sacrifice that so many have made.  It is an honor I don't take lightly however.  But I don't think I am ushering in God's Kingdom at the ballot box.

There is also the economic front of the culture war, where Christians seek to bully others into being more "Christian" by the force of our economic power.  We have created our own marketing niche and challenged retailers to cater to us as an economic power.  We have sought to influence corporations into doing things the way we want them to through the strength of boycots.  McDonalds is the latest to feel the wrath of overwrought believers seeking to make God's way the only way for a "godless" corporation.  Are we really trying to save McDonalds?  Can we save McDonalds really?  Or are we so hungry for a Big Mac that we can no longer eat in good conscience that we are going to bully them into submission? (so we can eat a Big Mac again! ).  This is just another way in which we become more obsessed with making our culture acceptable to God instead of seeking to be acceptable to God and teaching others to do the same.

The Kingdom of God is not an easy thing.  If you do a word search on the word Kingdom in just the Gospels in the Bible you get over 100 results.  Jesus spoke about the Kingdom a lot, mostly in parables.  Before we start building God's Kingdom here on earth, let's find out what Jesus said it should be.  The picture may surprise you.

When it comes to "the church that Jesus intended," there are a number of characteristics where we all agree.  These include the following:

• It is centered on the Kingdom of God
• It is focused on disciple-making
• It is on mission to seek and save the lost "glocally"
• It has love for the Father and for our neighbor at its heart
• It values obedience over knowledge
• It measures success by lives transformed not by mere numbers

These are the consensus characteristics.  But that prompts another question in my mind.

Can we ever be the church that Jesus intended and NOT reproduce?

I recently asked Bob Roberts this question in a seminar he was leading.  His response was that it was possible but only in a very rare instance, i.e., a church in a small rural town of 300 people.  This suggests that in the overwhelming majority of instances, Jesus would have expected His church to reproduce.

I concur.  The undeniable implication of Scripture is that the expansion of the Kingdom is, in some way, tied to the reproduction of the Church.  And yet, the wide majority of local congregations do not, and have not reproduced.  In our denomination alone, only about 5% of the churches are involved in planting other churches.  Can this really be what Jesus intended?

It's time for the Church to embrace its Kingdom mandate, and plant new churches that will in turn plant new churches--for the sake of our Savior and His Gospel.