Got Fruit ?

Today’s post is bought to you by the letter "A" for apolitical, the number "1" (as in 1 life to live, so take the important stuff serious, & let the unimportant "just slide") &; from what started off as a comment to be left over at the blog of our good friend Pistol Pete of Necessary Therapy (link to actual post after Para. 3).

From his comments regarding his views on the war and specifically politics, or rather lack of views on politics, I’ve come to find out that Pistol Pete and I are actually very similar.  The exception in similarities being minimal: (he’s an older white Caucasian guy, I’m a 40-ish black guy (yeah I’m comfortable with referring to my skin pigmentation as "black" but for you squeamish "politically" correct types feel free to go with Negro), The Pistol is a married man with children. While I was a married man (I tried to get rid of the kids but the courts keep finding me), Yep!! Two regular Peas in a pod.

My apologies for the semi-comedic detour, I felt as though I needed some filler material before I dove right into today’s post, plus it sounds like a good excuse for stepping over to the not so serious side, if even only for a moment.

First, I need to confess my own quiet complicity in the current war.  I’ve had misgivings since we first invaded Afghanistan, but I’ve kept them to myself.  Here and there, I’ve pointed to some absurdities about war in general and this war in particular, but for me to now make judgments from higher moral ground would be just as absurd.

Maybe I should muster up the courage (now that my conscience is more keenly pricked) to jump in with some political rhetoric.  But I just can’t bring myself to do it.  It would only be contrived.  It’s just not me.  I find myself so thoroughly apolitical, that all I can do is nod in agreement, shake my head in disgust, or quietly walk away.  None of these translate well to blogging.

I think that my own uneasiness concerning this "war" is as you’ve intentionally or not pointed to; is the feeling that it appears to be motivated by politics, with being just, moral or even rightly warranted as second hand notions/ideas used to dress it up for public consumption.  Nothing new under the sun that many, more versed than I on the dealings of politics and policy haven’t already expressed.

My unease becomes compounded however when taking a look back at the warring that Old Testament Israel was involved in.  With God’s Word serving as the lens to peep back through what… 3 or 4 thousand years of history? (lazy guess on my part) I view it as, being in or of God’s wisdom.  There was a moral purpose behind the warring (surrounding nations were wrapped in sin, to it’s "full measure"; beyond the point of no return as I’ve come to understand from Bible reading and asking other, more Biblically knowledgeable folk). A justified war if you will, based on and by the standard of God.  For the record, I don’t believe that the term "Holy War" is used in the Bible, I don’t believe, endorse, nor am I implying anything in this post under such premise.  Here’s an explanation from the Pastor of my church if you care to take a look.

I say and understand that the wars/conflicts that the Israelites engaged in(as by God’s standard) were based on the fact that as the Israelites were God’s chosen people; God enabled them through their faithfulness to Him to defeat His/their enemies.  Israel’s enemies were actually enemies to God firstly, due to the fact that they were so full of sin.  It wasn’t only that the neighboring nations sinned, it was in fact that these nations entire character was completely engulfed in sin, they represented the epitome of wickedness and pure evil, spurned on by their lust for idols and pagan worship (Deuteronomy 7).  One could look at it as saying that there became no redeeming qualities left in these God-less nations that warranted God looking upon them as part of His creation.  The flip-side to this statement, is that whenever Israel disobeyed God, or flat-out turned away from Him, it seems likewise that Israel’s enemies were permitted by God to defeat them during times of conflict as well.

And then… there’s the current situation for America.  The song that rings in my ears, the one coming from the Patriotic Christian camp; those folks that appear to be more enamored with living with the creed of Country & God vs God & Country is this: "God i

s on oUr Side". My heart says to me perhaps it is "US" that are marching down the road to becoming the modern day equivalent of the sinful nations such as the Amorites, Hittites, or the Gergashites; "full" of sin.  Maybe it is US that is being allowed to simply fulfill, a part of the scriptures.  Maybe God is allowing a god< nation to affect the disobedient nations/peoples to cause them to turn their hearts and minds back to God (Hardening of Pharaoh’s heart in Exodus 4:21, or  Romans 9:18 come to mind).

Closing ideas on all of this?  As Christians our loyalty, our hearts, minds and souls belong to Christ we ought not confuse ideas of patriotism or feelings & emotions associated with national pride as equating to faithfulness to the Lord.

Patriotism is often an arbitrary veneration of real estate above principles.
- George Jean Nathan

Returning now to apolitical mode.

Grace and peace be with you.

Jesus said to him,”I am the way, the truth, and the life.No one comes to the Father except through Me.”
John 14:6

If you are walking daily with the Lord, you will not have to find God’s will—you will already be in it. If you are walking with Him in obedience day by day, you will always be in the will of God. The Holy Spirit’s role is to guide you step by step to do God’s will. Walking closely with God each day guarantees that you will be exactly where He wants you to be. You would have to reject all of the Holy Spirit’s activity in your life in order to get out of the will of God.

The disciples never had to ask Jesus where they should go next. They simply looked to see where Jesus was going and stayed close to Him. Jesus was their “way.” They didn’t need a map as long as they had Jesus. Too often, we would prefer a road map of our future rather than a relationship with the Way. It often seems easier to follow a plan than to cultivate a relationship. We can become more concerned with our future than we are with walking intimately with God today.

Jesus will never give you a substitute for Himself. He is the only way to the Father. That’s why it is critical that you clearly know when God is speaking to you (Isa. 30:21). If you are disoriented to how God speaks, you will not understand when He is giving you a new revelation about what He is doing. If you want to know God’s will, take time to cultivate your relationship with Jesus and learn to identify His voice. He is more than willing to show you the way.

Henry and Richard Blackaby
Experiencing God Day-by-Day

Not that I speak from want;for I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I am.
Philippians 4:11 (NASB)

Our world promotes dissatisfaction with our lives. We are constantly bombarded with newer and better things that will make our lives more complete if only we would obtain them! If we listen to the world, we will always be comparing the lifestyles and possessions of others with our own, and we will always be dissatisfied. If your contentment comes from possessions, activities, or other people, these can be altered or removed. If our contentment comes from our relationship with Christ, there is absolutely nothing that can take that away.

Paul had enjoyed power and status among his people. He had also been imprisoned and bound in stocks in the depths of a jail cell. He has stood before a king and been stoned almost to death by an angry mob. Paul had enjoyed the benefits and pleasures of life, yet he could give them all up and still be filled with the joy of the Lord. His contentment did not depend on his environment but on his relationship with Christ.

Contentment frees you to enjoy every good thing God has given you. Contentment demonstrates your belief that God loves you and has your best interest in mind. Discontent stems from the sin of ingratitude and a lack of faith that God loves you enough to provide for all that you need. Strive to be grateful for all that God has given you. A grateful heart has no room for envy.

Henry and Richard Blackaby
Experiencing God Day-by-Day

Tithes and or offerings, which I tend to view as one and the same; was a spiritual issue that I wrestled with for a while in a not too distant period of my renewed walk with Christ.  For a time, I would spend hours several days of the week, researching the subject; mostly via Internet resources, trying to find concrete Scriptural evidence to the question of whether we as Christians are bound to the "10% Rule".

The search wasn’t one of trying to find a loophole to refute tithing nor to even validate the claim.  At the time,I think that the root of my problem was that I was approaching my relationship with Christ from a legalistic vantage point, thus the spiritual turmoil if you will.  I was viewing tithing as "I think that I have to give 10%, so let me find out so that I can make sure that I’m not docked any Pious Points with God".  Like most if not all spiritual matters, the underlying issue is that of the condition of one’s heart.

As months went by, I found solace in the fact that I was prioritizing tithing as a spiritual habit and regardless of what amount or percentage offered, I was cheerful to offer, though in the back of my knucklehead mind I felt as though I could "do better".  Now, I had "heard" the expression "God loves a cheerful giver" before, however I’d never sought to confirm the notion with scripture, that would come later.  The important thing for the time being, was that I wasn’t beating myself up over the "10%" issue;this I think is a case of God working on my heart by providing me with a short-term resolution to a perceived problem or issue.  In the course of writing this post it occurs to me that perhaps God’s Holy Spirit was waiting for the time when I became more spiritually mature.

So here goes the part of the post where we play Connect The Dots.

About a week, maybe a week and a half ago, longtime friend & co-worker "Rono" and I are chatting it up.  As usual football is always discussed, the conversation eventually turns and we are discussing the statistics of tithing (something briefly touched on by my pastor maybe 6 months ago).  Apparently, among Christians in the West, statistics indicate that under 50% of regular attendees tithe, and of that percentage, the amount of their income is somewhere between 4% and 7%.  So that chit chat session ends and I go on, not reflecting on anything said at the time.

Note: Don’t quote me on the stats, the figures used are for illustration purpose and are really not relevant to the gist of this post.

This evening I read my devotional from Sparkling Gems which was over the burial of Jesus Christ, specifically His burial by two friends.  Though a bit long (the pot calling the kettle black) as he sets up the climax to his message; you can read the devotional by Sparkling Gems author, Rick Renner here.  For those not interested in reading yet another long entry [referring to this post ], the heart of Renner’s message is this:

Jesus taught, “For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also” Matthew 6:21. When these two men used their wealth to bury Jesus, they illustrated that their heart was with Jesus. He was their highest priority, so they invested their assets in showing their love for Him. They literally sowed their money into the ground when they bathed Jesus in one hundred pounds of those rare substances, wrapped Him in an expensive cloth, and then buried Him in a rich man’s tomb.

If people were to look at the way you spend your finances, would they be able to see that Jesus is the highest priority in your life? Do you treat Him with honor and respect in the way you serve Him, or is He the last priority on your list? According to the words of Jesus, what you do with your finances really does tell the truth about what you love the most. So what would He say that your finances reveal about how much you love Him?
-Rick Renner

After reading the devotional,still no connection is yet realized.  The final link would "happen" to fall into my lap later in the evening.  In my desire to become more familiar with the Old Testament, I turned after devotional time to reading from the book of Leviticus.  Progress went only as far as chapter 1, "The Burnt Offering" which begins:

Leviticus 1
1 The LORD called to Moses and spoke to him from the Tent of Meeting. He said, 2 "Speak to the Israelites and say to them: ‘When any of you brings an offering to the LORD, bring as your offering an animal from either the herd or the flock.

I understand that with Scripture the context of what is written must always be taken into account (Who, What, When, Where, How, Why,Culture,Circumstances etc;).  What’s shared is simply what I consider a revelation(deeper understanding) of Scripture by God’s Holy Spirit, the idea of which was alluded to earlier (last sentence of Para. 3)

In reading the 1st chapter of Leviticus here’s a few of the literal or obvious:

• the burnt offerings are an atonement to the Lord
• there were 3 acceptable offerings: from the herd (a bull), the flock (a sheep or goat), or a bird (dove or pigeon)
• In the case of the bull, sheep or goat, they were to be male and free from defect
• the burnt offerings were, made by fire, their aroma pleasing to God

After some pounding of the noggin on the desk, and rereading the chapter several times, there finally appeared  something deeper, something connective. I was so fixated on the details of the burnt offerings ritual as they were being described by God to Moses, that I missed what the burnt offerings were. A recollection of a verse from the book of Romans, finally got the gears in the ‘ole noodle cranking along.

Romans 12:1
1Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual[a] act of worship.

The animals were sacrificed, they were…  in the Old Testament literal sacrifices, but there appeared now the understanding that they were a metaphor as well!   See?  I think that from one perspective the burnt offerings was about giving our Lord our best in everything, but also, about having that desire to sacrifice for the sake of the Lord.   I think that these ideas turn to action in our lives when we remember that all that we have is because of the Lord.  It’s then that we express to the Lord, that it is He, not what we materially possess that is cherished most (missed in Romans 12:1); and this last thought is the revelation on tithing.

Grace and peace be with you.

Without a rich heart, wealth is an ugly beggar.
-Ralph Waldo Emerson