Obedience

“Does YHVH delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as in obeying the voice of YHVH? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, to pay heed than the fat of rams. 

For rebellion is like the sin of divination and stubbornness is like iniquity and idolatry.” 

(1 Samuel 15:22-23)

The key phrase in the center of these verses is “to obey is better than sacrifice.”  This is a simple phrase we can commit to memory to remind us of YHVH’s view regarding obedience.

In our modern societies, the term ‘obedience’ has taken on generally negative connotations. Our contemporaries seem to place high value on conduct such as individualism, non-conformity, vigilantism, and other essentially renegade or maverick behaviors.  People who behave this way are often pegged as heroes, trailblazers, and innovators.  People who are ‘obedient’ are usually seen as mindless automatons who cannot make choices for themselves.

Part of the reason this is so is because our human natures are not prone to be “obedient” – it sounds like “subservience” to our ears; and we want independence and autonomy – what we like to think of as “freedom.”

Obedience sounds like the opposite of that. It sounds like bondage to us.  So we reserve our “obedience” for things we say WE WANT to do.  

We generally believe we are being obedient only or mostly to our own desires and ambitions.  And we have been taught that is a good thing.  In fact, we have come to believe this approach to life is the best for us – to “look out for number one.”

But if we are honest with ourselves, we are already, every day, all day being obedient to forces outside ourselves – yet we nevertheless convince ourselves we are making choices for ourselves.

Think about this:  what really drives your choices – for fashion, for entertainment, for selecting a job, for what you eat, what you buy, what kind of car you drive?  

More often than not, there are aspects of pleasing or following others in nearly everything we do – our choices are based on what we think others will think of us – on what we think will make others happy or what we think will cause others to pay attention to us.

So, obedience is a bit of a complex aspect of human existence.  It is not something we can truly escape.

Bob Dylan captured the essence of this truth in his song, “Gotta Serve Somebody.”  The message of Dylan’s song boils down to something Yeshua said, “He who is not with me is against me, and he who does not gather with me scatters.” (Matthew 12:30)

We do not like to think in such bi-polar terms, but Yeshua is telling us here – we must choose – FOR him, or against him.  There is no middle ground, no matter how much we want there to be.

This echoes what YHVH told the children of Israel when they were preparing to enter the Promised Land (Exodus 40).  “Obey my instructions, and you will be blessed.  Don’t obey my instructions, and you will be cursed.”

He is not just trying to frighten us or intimidate us.  He knows what is best for us.  And he knows what it takes to live peaceably in his kingdom.  So, he encourages us to be obedient to his teachings, for our own sake, for the sake of his kingdom, for the sake of his holy name, and for his glory.

Far from causing bondage, following YHVH’s instructions is what brings us true freedom.  Outside the boundaries of his teaching, we are on our own.  The weight of the world distracts us and burdens us.  YHVH’s Word is our guide for how to live in this world and how to prepare for eternity.

Yeshua came to demonstrate obedience, and he calls us to follow him.  He said, “If you love me, you will obey my commands.”

Yeshua also said, “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Torah or the Prophets.  I did not come to abolish, but to fulfill.  Amen, I tell you, until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter or serif shall ever pass away from the Torah until all things come to pass.  Therefore, whoever breaks one of the least of these commandments and teaches others the same shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven.  But whoever keeps and teaches them, this one shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.”

Heaving Ho!

Confession:  Forgiveness is something I convinced myself I understood because to admit that I did not understand it would have been humiliating.

I was more than happy to accept the idea of being forgiven by YHVH for my sin.  I mean, that gets me off the hook, right?  So, by all means, bring on the mighty, amazing grace of Almighty Elohim!  I don’t mean to be flip.  His grace IS mighty and amazing, as well as eternal, unearned, and beyond human comprehension.  What can I do but accept it, even though I do not understand it? 

Nevertheless, my acceptance of YHVH’s grace is (way too) often easy, lazy, and self-serving.  I am certainly not thinking about what His forgiveness might be costing Him.  He is YHVH!  He can afford it regardless, right?  That’s what I am thinking without allowing myself to actually think it.  I am thinking primarily about how His grace benefits me.  According to ‘conventional wisdom’ (in some circles), I personally am THE reason He has done all the wondrous things He has done.  But, yeah, no, of course YOU also are THE reason…

On the other hand, when I am faced with a need to forgive others, how do I behave?  Unfortunately, I often (usually) take too long, and most of the time it seems I do not truly or completely forgive, which equates to an utter absence of forgiveness, by definition.  Partial forgiveness is not a thing.  My flesh wants to hang onto whatever slight, betrayal, offense, or damage I perceive to have been done to me or to others whom I love.  And, by the way, every “bad” thing that has happened to me was someone else’s fault.

Yet I cannot escape the simple instruction Yeshua included in the prayer he gave to his disciples when they asked him to teach them how to pray.  “Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us… For if you forgive other people when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you.  But if you do not forgive others their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.” (Matthew 6:12-15)

Wait.  What?!  When we refuse to forgive others, YHVH’s forgiveness toward us will be withheld?  That seems cold and harsh.  Actually, it seems downright impossible.  We think YHVH does not work that way.  If He loves us, why wouldn’t He forgive us, even to the point of forgiving us for not forgiving others?  Why?  His Word tells us point blank that is not how He works.

Look.  There is a powerful Kingdom principle operating here.

Many of us, perhaps most of us, have been taught that YHVH hears our prayers no matter what; that we can and should come to Him “just as we are”; that His grace abounds toward us despite our unworthiness.  All of these statements are true – with one important condition.  Yes.  Condition.  We must come to Him with contrite and repentant hearts, with pure motive, and with righteous intent. (Isaiah 1:15; John 9:31; Psalm 51:17)

So, we must be in a particular heart-state when we approach Almighty YHVH seeking forgiveness.  We must be repentant, and we must have forgiven others for the transgressions they have committed against us. (Matthew 5:23-24) We can come to Him “just as we are”; i.e., imperfect, human, broken.  But we must also come ‘clean,’ laying down our lives in true surrender, repentance, and forgiveness.  We cannot come to Him in defiance and rebellion.

Once again, English leaves us wanting.  “Forgive” is an okay word.  We mostly have a general idea of what it means to forgive.  But I believe we do not fully understand it.  It feels nice to hear that we are forgiven; and it is comforting to say that we have forgiven others.  What does that mean, though?

The words for “forgive” in the “original” languages, both Hebrew and Greek, mean something a lot more complete and irrevocable than our common usage of the English word “forgive.”  They mean “let go,” “leave behind,”  “separate oneself from,” “cover over,” “purge away,” “lifting up, carrying away.” 

We often say that we can forgive but we can never forget.  We even think that is acceptable and expected.  After all, we are only human.   Some things we just cannot forget.  So we say.

Look at those definitions again.  To forgive inherently includes forgetting.  I concede that our flesh will try to remind us.  But this is part of the action nature of the principle of forgiveness.  We put it aside.  We let it go.  We purge it away.  We forgive.  We forget.  We choose.

Somehow, in our English way of thinking, we cling to the idea that saying the word is enough.  “I forgive you.”  But the actual forgiveness does not happen at all without something happening in one’s heart and mind.  It is a conscious decision.  Forgiveness is not an automatic consequence of saying a combination of ‘magic’ words.

Like all principles of Kingdom life, forgiveness is a true action word. 

It is substantive.  

It means something.  

It is Kingdom currency.

Baggage and Filters

“Baggage” and “filters” are two of my favorite analogies for those things inside us that keep us from seeing truth.

Baggage – because over the course of our lives we have gathered bags full of ‘stuff’ that we carry around with us wherever we go.  The stuff may be good, bad, or neutral, but it all adds up to a heavy load.

Filters – because we will view every new input in our lives through the filters of our previous experiences, unless we consciously lower those filters.

Are you willing to test your beliefs?

If your beliefs are true and correct, and you confirm them to be so, then you can hold fast to them with even more devout conviction.  If your beliefs turn out to be incorrect, then you are better off for having discovered that, are you not?

Let’s start here:

Do you know who you are?

Are you sure?

Would you make a conscious decision to discover and recognize who you are? To organize the fabric of your identity? To celebrate the wonder of your authentic self?

This message. 

I am convinced I cannot overstate its importance in our lives, nor can I explain it in enough different ways to amount to overkill.

It is something that has been on my heart for many years.

I have mentioned it and discussed it in many previous conversations.

Here is the basic concept:

You are the product of the accumulation of your life experiences.  Everything you have seen, heard, smelled, tasted, touched, read about, heard about; every person you have known, met, befriended, loved, hated, ignored; books, movies, television, music - every kind of input that has touched you in any way has contributed to who you are today.

Some of these influences you have cherished and nourished, some you sought after, some just happened unexpectedly, some you have struggled to forget, some have haunted you relentlessly, some came and went like a whispering wind, some thundered and clamored and crashed into you and over you and through you.

In one sense, every scrap of it is vital to you, your identity, and your future.  In another sense, all of it needs to be examined and categorized as useful, extraneous, or toxic. You can decide what should stay and what needs to go.  Of course, deciding to put away some element of your personality, what you think makes you you, is a major turnstile in your life. Even when you have decided to lay something down, often it does not stay laid down.

At some point, in order to walk in freedom, we must put aside the things that prevent us from seeing who we truly are.  There are things we have learned or experienced or chosen to believe that are hindering us.  We must figure out how to face those things and lay them down in favor of the things that contribute to our authentic identity. 

You see, some of the things that have influenced you are lies.

Bold statement.  Am I right?

Do you doubt the truth of it, though?

All of us would certainly prefer it if, all through the course of our lives, we had only and ever recognized and retained truth.  But sometimes we have been convinced of the truth of something when in fact it was not true.  We have held tenaciously to untruths for years.  Decades.  Our whole lives.

I know for sure that I have advocated many things I was convinced were true.  I have persuaded others to believe them, too.  Now I know some of those things were not true at all.

It’s not like these things used to be true, but have somehow now become untrue.  They were always untrue.  I was just convinced otherwise.  In other words, I was deceived; and I was contributing to the deception of others.  All with the best of intentions, of course.  We like the (false) absolution of declaring the sterling sincerity and sanctity of our good intentions.

My point here is that none of us can claim honestly that everything about who we are and how we behave is based on nothing but the truth.  Many of us certainly want that to be the case.  Most of us will probably say we would do whatever it took to get as close to that ideal as possible; i.e., the ideal of living only in truth all the time.

Now that we have accepted - and I trust you have, however reluctantly, accepted - that we may have some elements of our identity that are operating according to faulty information, what do we do about that?  How do we know if something inside us is true or false?  What is our standard of truth?

For most, if not all, of my life, I have understood the prime standard of truth to be the volume commonly called The Bible.  Scripture itself has convinced me that certain things I once believed to be true are not true.  

How could anything we have believed based on The Bible not be true?  Let me remind you that the enemy of our souls, HaSatan, used scripture against YHVH’s only begotten Son, Yeshua.  Of course, Yeshua was not swayed.  Nevertheless, scripture can be used to convince us of all manner of things that are untrue.

Here is an example.  I was taught, and I believed for many years, that The Church replaced Israel as YHVH’s Chosen People.  We were told that Israel rejected Messiah, so YHVH rejected Israel.  Not true.

YHVH’s gifts and callings are irrevocable (Romans 11:29). 

His covenants are eternal.  He is a covenant-keeper.  (Genesis 17:7; Jeremiah 32:40; Psalms 105:8, 10; Luke 1:55; Hebrews 13:20, and many more)

Even when we are faithless, he remains faithful.  (2 Timothy 2:13)

We are grafted into an existing tree and root, which is Israel.  (Romans 11:17-18)

We are Israel. (Galatians 3:29)

Judah and Ephraim (kol Yisra’el) will be brought together as one in the end days  (Ezekiel 37).

Are you ready to understand that you are Israel?

Are you ready to explore what that means?

Shalom!

שלום

Heaven and Earth

I grew up hearing the expression, “He’s so heavenly minded he’s no earthly good.”[1] I internalized this to mean that taking action is a priority.  The focus and intention (in my mind) were on the power and benefits of doing “earthly good.”  Therefore, it was considered wasteful and even lazy to be “heavenly minded.” In other words, the message was: we can think and plan and hope and dream and pray and scheme, but nothing will actually happen until we DO something.  Therefore and thereby, my cultural default setting has been action and achievement.  “Do, do, do!”; which reminds me of something else I heard a lot in my early years, “Don’t just stand there! DO something!”  I was always being reminded to keep busy.

Over the years, I have heard and read many messages from both sides of this coin – heavenly-mindedness on one side and earthly goodness on the other.  Some focus on the idea that heavenly-mindedness leads inevitably to earthly goodness, while others focus on the perceived need to control one’s bouts of heavenly-mindedness to engage in active, productive work to contribute to the Kingdom’s progress.  Either way, the interpretation was generally pointing toward action; accomplishing something here and now.  That leads to a mindset that doing good works is more important than contemplating and pursuing the Kingdom.

Now, of course, scripture encourages us to action in many places – to go, to sing, to shout, to dance, to clap, to run, even to fight.  But it also instructs us to “be still,” to “wait,” and to “stand.”  There is a solidly healthy balance in scripture between getting things done and patiently waiting.  We are not to be afraid to take action.  But we are also, perhaps even more so, not to be afraid of being still.  In all cases, whether we are taking action or being still, it is about trusting and worshiping YHVH.  All of our biblical role models, when they are doing things, are doing what YHVH has told them to do.  They are not keeping busy solely for the sake of keeping busy.

More important, though, than the tension between doing something and being still, is the truth inside what it means to be “heavenly-minded.”  I believe the most common interpretation is that the “heavenly-minded” person is a daydreamer, thinking about future glory and blessings while there is always work to be done in the present.  But I think “heavenly-mindedness” is more truly about having your mind fixed on eternity.  And eternity is not about the future; eternity is about the constant now-ness of our existence.

The apostle Paul wrote to the Philippians, “whatsoever things are true, …honest, …just, …pure, …lovely, …of good report; if there be any virtue and if there be any praise, think on these things.” (Phil. 4:8)  Think on these things.  Have your mind set on these things.  Good things.  Heavenly things.  Paul also wrote to the Colossians, “Set your mind on things above, not on earthly things.”

The primary commandment is that we are to love YHVH with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength (Deut. 6:4-5; Matt. 22:37).  This means we are to be Kingdom-oriented people.  Always.  As we say these days – 24/7/365.  I think, then, by definition as Kingdom people, that we are to be “heavenly-minded.”  Does this type of heavenly-mindedness inherently preclude the ability to do good works in this life?  Not at all.  I believe having our minds set on eternal things enhances our ability to do good works.  Our good works will be motivated by something stronger and deeper than a sense of moral obligation, social duty, or rote habit.

Let me hasten to say, though, if our understanding or definition of heaven has to do with some future dwelling place, this could cause some problems.  If we are thinking about “somewhere beyond the blue” all the time, then we probably are not going to be much use in the here and now.  Unfortunately, much of our ecclesiastical culture for centuries has conditioned us to envision heaven as a cloud-borne destination in the sky, which we will eventually, someday, finally attain.  So, we dream about it, sing about it, emote about it, pray for it, hope for it, and just basically don’t expect to see it ‘Until Then.’  When we focus on that future resort life, we tend to neglect things that need to be done right now.

What I am saying is, you are a Kingdom person.  YHVH’s heir.  An eternal being.  Heaven is now.  Think on these things.

[NOTE: Proverbs 16:27, which is often rendered something like “idle hands are the devil’s workshop,” and which is also frequently quoted to encourage keeping busy, is one of those verses that suffers from faulty translation.  The English word ‘idle’ here is from the Hebrew word ‘be’liya’al,’ which actually means ‘worthless.’  It has also been translated ‘ungodly,’ ‘wicked,’ ‘evil,’ ‘naughty,’ and even ‘rascally’ and ‘mischievous.’ None of these translations carries anything like our 21^st century American English understanding of the word ‘idle.’]

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[1] Attributed to Oliver Wendell Holmes

New & Improved

We live in a staunchly change-oriented society.  Despite a much-professed antipathy to change in general, most humans expect and even seek change as a healthy part of the progression of our lives.  Honestly, I am not sure how well we would fare if we could not select new fashion trends, enjoy new recording artists, try new cuisine, make new friends, and surf channels on our televisions – not to mention the stupendous inundation of ‘fresh’ stimuli that defines the internet.  While claiming to hate change - especially as it relates to the subject of aging, we all acknowledge that change is inescapable.  In fact, we have developed entire professional disciplines around “change management.”

Conventional wisdom reminds us that “the only constant is that everything changes.”  This axiom has an impressive pedigree, dating back to at least the sixth century BCE, attributed to Heraclitus of Ephesus.  He wrote, “πάντα χωρεῖ καὶ οὐδὲν μένει,” which is variously translated but is essentially, “everything changes and nothing stays fixed.”  For the record, an alternate (and more popular) rendering of this thought is attributed to none other than that great American philosopher Louis L’Amour: “The only thing that never changes is that everything changes.”

Touting change is also a cherished marketing and business development tool.  How delighted are we to see “new and improved” on a given product?  OK, not all that delighted because usually nothing inside the product has actually improved, but still.  And although the buzzwords – uh – change, “innovation” is always highly valued.  We want to move on to the next great idea, whether it be clothes, cars, buildings, music, movies, books, entertainment, hair styles, and on and on.

Of course, there are those among us who claim that we would like it better if things did not change; or at least not so quickly.  I won’t explore in this brief blog entry the political divide these notions represent.  That would be WAY off topic.

So, what exactly is my topic?

It is this:   

How do we reconcile YHVH’s immutability (that he never changes)

with our ceaseless environment of change?

I mean, we are to LOVE YHVH with all our heart, soul, and strength.  It is comforting that He never changes.  That means he is reliable, trustworthy, solid, dependable.  But how are we supposed to pursue a relationship with him who never changes while we are in a constant state of change?  How does that actually work?

Well, the first thing that comes to mind is his instruction in Psalm 46:10 to “Be still…”  The action of being still forces us to, as much as possible, move into alignment with the Almighty’s state of being, which is “never changing.”  That is kind of like moving from the outer edges of the merry-go-round to the center.  You are still going in circles, but the force of the spinning is not as profound.

One of Jonathan Cahn’s meditations in his “Book of Mysteries” illustrates this principle.  He showed how we can walk through the day, and at various times the sun is at different points in the sky; sometimes it might be obscured by trees or buildings or mountains or even by our own hand.  Relative to us, the sun may seem to be changing, but it is not.  It is we who are in motion.  (OK, the sun is constantly “changing” in several ways, but stick with me for this illustration, all right?)

It is not that YHVH is distant from us.  He is not.  But he is so inestimably “Other,” that we sometimes are at a loss as to how we should relate to him.  Nevertheless, he is calling us to commune with him. How?  

TESHUVAH

What is TESHUVAH?  It means “repent” or “return.”  It can be interpreted, to turn around and face / move in the opposite direction.  In other words, “change.”

YHVH, the Unchanging One, calls us to CHANGE!  But, what is he really calling us to?  To himself.  To Be Still.  To turn and face toward him.  He promises to bring to us the ultimate change; to make us a new creation; to put in us a new heart; to give us a new song.  What could calm our spirits more than to be in relationship with the One Who Does Not Change?

Ponder this truth: we live in a condition of constant change while the Eternal One is calling us to himself, to his unchanging perfection and holiness and shalom.

Be. Still.

NOTE:  Scripture references about YHVH’s immutability: 

Numbers 23:19

1 Samuel 15:29

Isaiah 46:9-11

Ezekiel 24:14

Malachi 3:6

Psalms 33:11; 41:13; 90:2-4

John 17:5

2 Timothy 1:9

Hebrews 13:8

James 1:17

Shalom!

שלום