He came to bring a sword

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One thing I have asked from the Lord,

that I shall seek;

that I may dwell in the house of the Lord

all the days of my life,

to behold the beauty of the Lord

and to meditate in His temple.

… my father and mother have forsaken me,

but the Lord will take me up. [Psalm 27:4, 10]

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I have become estranged from my brothers,

and an alien to my mother’s children,

because zeal for Your house has consumed me,

and the reproaches of those who reproach You

have fallen on me. [Psalm 69:8-9]

It would be a terrible thing for me to exhort us all to be ambassadors of heaven but to ignore warning of the implications that will inevitably affect those dearest to us, our family. Holiness is either offensive or it is attractive. I could define “holiness” as a verb: that which severs fleshly relationships yet enjoins heavenly relationships. Too seldom do I ponder, prepare, and pre-prayer for this though, and too often do I find myself terrifyingly tempted to avoid topics with them beforehand, or compromise during one, or become embittered afterward, wondering what all it was that led me to such darkness of heart. For it is our closest kin who have the greatest impact in our lives, and are those whom we care for the most; thus their voice has quite a foothold, and – hear me – this is not a negative thing, but is made to be an occasion for blessing! However, my question is how do we love Jesus whole-heartedly and obey His command to love others, when it is loving Him fully that frustrates and even infuriates those I love the most?

Because it’s not so much that I shy away from confrontations concerning my faith, as I take them to be opportunities to teach and to test and to testify; neither am I worried of how I may carry my own heart, knowing that God has anointed me with His fragrance; rather, what I fear is how they will react to the anointing upon my life – will it be to them as the aroma of death? Sadly, knowing that the story of the past continues even to the present, history would somberly advise me to not get my hopes up for their future. But the Spirit – ah! the life giving Spirit – gives hope to the hopeless and raises the dead. (And hope is not the same as wishful thinking, any more than faith could be likened to idly tossing coins into a fountain, only to stroll away unmoved.)

Praise Jesus for His Spirit, but my, what a paradox! For it is by His Spirit that I am born into His family and can now share in His emotions rightly, and because my home is Zion and Jesus my Husband, I desire to be with Him where He is, and as a child of God am able to, even presently; when in His presence, I become like Him – in His mannerisms, His beliefs, His heart – and because I am like Him, I desire that all would no longer see me in my thoughts or deeds, but only my holy Father who is in heaven; so I spend myself for their sakes, that they may bow the knee by love and not by unwilled submission; but in so doing, though I may never say a word, they detect about me His holiness, and consistently respond by shunning the love of Jesus, leaving me with no choice but to reply by praying, and fasting, and coming into His holy hill, which causes me to love Him and them more, but they Him and me less!

So, I’ve been meditating on John 7:5, which reads, “For even His brothers did not believe in Him.” What must have been His heart for these men whom He grew up with as boys under the same roof? I want to cry just thinking upon it. Were they in the crowd while their half-brother stood bloodied beside Pilate? Jesus was surely thinking about me while suffering on the cross, but a me nameless and faceless in the perhaps of dawning millennia; however, He must have had a clear image of His brothers while nailed there on that tree, and praying fervently for them who came from the very womb He too was nurtured in. And though as He grew they waned, Jesus never once showed them false mercy (acceptance of sins) or false justice (excusing sins); He lived a full life of love for His Father unafraid, knowing well enough that His obedience and extravagance would cause latent sin to awaken and become agitated in all (especially within His brothers) to the doom of many. That was a love for the Lord His God that I am largely unawakened to.

Jesus, help me in my weak sincerity! Lead me on the paths that I should go. And save my family members to the fullest, that they may serve you with thanksgiving for all their endless days. I ask for wisdom and strength to walk in righteousness, though by my walk many may resolve to follow you never, by their own choices and not mine own. Teach me the fear of the Lord, that I may gain all of You, and You all of me. Amen.

Ambassadors of the New Jerusalem

What did Paul mean that he was an ambassador for Christ (2 Cor. 5:20; Eph. 6:20)? An ambassador is more than just a trustworthy representative of his kingdom’s principles, but is a resident of that kingdom! As I wrote before, for one to “spiritualize” such weighty, foundational, and concrete truths would cause that one to be unable to fully live by the power of an endless life, but would always struggle with and dabble in sin. There is a major difference between the person who has only mentally ascended to a vision to live in light of eternity, and the person who takes that and then experientially ascends into visions of the Light in eternity; both are good and necessary, but only he who dwells in heaven will actually be a sojourner and a pilgrim on earth, being in the world but not of the world. If the world does not hate you, then they do not consider you to be an ambassador (or, a residential representative) of heaven. If we are not with Jesus where He is, can we ever have unity, or will the world ever believe in Him or what He has done for us all?

Those who have seen and heard of that which is within the city made by God do not fall to the temptations of the devil, nor become ensnared by the results of either the loss or gain of earthly treasures, nor do they give way to impatience or complaining or entitlement or elitism. They who have truly seen and felt the living light of the Lamb will faithfully walk in and by that light, hearing His commands and keeping them. The Lamb’s commands are summed up in this: love others as He loves you. This ever radiant, ever proceeding, ever increasing light is like oil used for a burning lamp, and the Lamb who is liberal in His giving gives to all who approach Him, that they would be made to be shining lights in the world. To be sent by God, one must first dwell with God; to dwell with God, one must be born of God; to be born of God, one must first receive the love of His Son. We love Him because He first loved us; we choose Him because He first chose us; we dwell with Him because He first dwelt with us, taking on flesh that we might become children of God.

Moses as a servant ascended Sinai, and came back down with a glowing countenance, but we have not come to Mount Sinai; we have come to Mount Zion, and those who are sons, having believed in the Son, can ascend this holy hill, not by works, but by grace through faith, and come back down transformed into His image. This is our inheritance who are in the Son, and not just for a select few saints – though this does not negate that we must still prepare ourselves to come into His holy city, for “there shall by no means enter it anything that defiles, or causes an abomination or a lie” (Rev. 21:27; see also 22:15). I suggest to those who already believe in the Son to take communion before contemplative prayer, confessing all sin that you would be washed clean, and resolving to walk worthy of a child of God. As it is written, “Blessed are those who do His commandments, that they may have the right to the tree of life, and may enter through the gates into the city” (Rev. 22:14). And in daily contemplative prayer, simply ask Your Father to lead you into His presence, that you would not just see, but hear, taste, feel, and smell heavenly things, that you would truly be an ambassador of the New Jerusalem, that all through you might believe.

See you there!

The ride of my life

A month ago I reached the end of what had been a wide plateau. A significant choice was about to be made, indeed, had to be made. It was as if I had been standing in line for the scariest roller coaster ride for three and a half years without really knowing what all that entailed, and suddenly had found myself facing that last minute decision to either strap myself in, or to step over and make my way down the exit ramp. With surprising clarity and sobriety, by the grace of God, I understood the importance of the moment.

Like the traveler in Frost’s poem The Road Not Taken, I was at a fork in the road and in the end chose the one less traveled by; yet unlike him, I was not sorry that I could not travel both – instead, I was sorry that I felt the less traveled path (to get on the ride) was an impossible one to choose. Not that it seemed impossible; it was impossible.

“Lord,” I said, “I long for You, and greatly desire for my Jesus to receive in me His full inheritance, but I know that it is not possible for me to get on this ride because I’m not yet ready, though it is what You would have me do. Help! Show mercy! Speak to me; assure me; embolden me!” And – praise Him – immediately He responded, “Just as Pharaoh had hardened his heart against Me, and so I upheld his ‘No’, you have hardened your heart for Me, and so I will uphold your ‘Yes’.” And the next thing I knew, I was locked in and clicking my way slowly up that mountainous track that all coasters begin with!

With arms raised and heart pumping, I await the plunge with eager excitement, knowing that it will carry me frighteningly fast, and far, and free.

To the angel of the church in America:

True seeker-sensitive churches lead to conversion.

Sensitive-sensitive churches lead to compromise.

Selah.

theBETTERcovenant

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Keep this question at the forefront of your mind:

“How much more then ought we?”

Too often I hear that the old covenant was physical and carnal, but the new is spiritual and pure. True enough, but how does that phrase cause you to live? Sadly, most are disarmed and few are empowered by this. Yes, we are a generation of priests; yes, I am the temple of God; yes, Jesus is both our Sacrifice and High Priest in heaven’s tabernacle. But do not “spiritualize” these truths, deceiving yourself that the priesthood according to the order of Melchizedek is somehow less than the priesthood of Aaron’s order. Do not think that the heavenly city of God is more easily approachable than the burning mountain of Sinai. And do not misunderstand God’s mercy; He does not overlook or excuse sin now, just as He did not before the cross. Do not confuse the new law spoken by Jesus to be more lenient than the old law spoken by angels.

Yes, Jesus’ sacrifice was better than that of what would have been endless animal sacrifices, but this does not mean that our priestly calling is less rigorous or demanding than what was required of the Levitical priesthood. Our cleanliness and strict attention to detail is more important now than it was for Aaron’s sons (cp. Lev. 10:1-3). The duties expected of us are more effective than those performed in the earthly temple, for we minister in the tabernacle of heaven with better sacrifices. And servants are surely not as bold as sons, yet sons ought to be more zealous for the law of their Father’s house than are His mere servants.

This is far from a yoke of oppression, for grace abounds all the more for those born again into His family (Rom. 5:18-21), that we would be able to shoulder the yoke that Jesus carries with us (Matt. 11:27-30). Grace is the unmerited divine strength to continue walking faithfully in holiness; it is not, as so many teach today, the Lord refraining from exacting punishment for sins committed, for God says, “Vengeance is Mine to recompense, and I will judge My people” (Heb. 10:30-31). If Moses was faithful in the old covenant by the power of the blood of goats, how much more then ought we be faithful who are in the new covenant by the power of Christ’s own blood?

Yes, we are sons of God; yes, we are in Christ; yes, we have access to the throne of grace by the blood of Jesus. But our free entrance into the Holiest of All in heaven is not without a period of waiting and careful preparation, just as Aaron was commanded. We still must diligently calm the winds in order to enter into the Sabbath rest of God (Heb. 3:7-4:16). Even now we are to go on to perfectness (Heb. 6:1), ever reaching to lay hold of the promises of the age to come. For when God found fault with the people of promise while they were yet under the old covenant, He promised to make with them a new and better covenant. However, were God to find fault with us now, there remains no other sacrifice for sins, for Christ was appointed to die only once.

How much more then ought we regard the blood of Jesus than they did of goats? How much more then ought we draw near to God through the veil of Jesus’ flesh than they did through the veil made of fine woven linen? How much more then ought we serve in the heavenly tabernacle made by God than they in the earthly tabernacle of goats’ hair? For if Aaron and his sons served in the shadow, then we who are the sons of God serve in the physical. And if the Levites were prevented by death, then we of Melchizedek’s order are enabled by the power of an endless life. To symbolize away such profound truths would be to make your life devoid of priestliness. There really is a temple in heaven where God’s throne resides, and we really enter into that throne room much in the same way that the Levitical priests daily entered the temple on earth. We cannot be casual or presumptuous about such weighty matters. For if those who offered profane sacrifices died by God’s consuming fiery presence under Moses’ law, how much more then ought we give worthy offerings, paying the more earnest heed to Jesus’ law? Therein lies true and abiding priestliness.