Archives for January 2014

Houston, I have a problem here. As you are aware, I am a Religion Consultant (RC) making this space venture at the request of the United States Government in its efforts to please everyone – atheists included – in the misguided efforts to help prove or disprove the existence of a Creator. In previous reports to you from my venture into outer space I have asserted that I will not know Jesus in the life hereafter by the wounds in His hand because Jesus’ glorified body will have no such marks of mortality.  It couldn’t have, otherwise it would not be a resurrected body The two terms, glorification and wounds are mutually antithetic; they are polar opposites. I have also postulated that the only reason Thomas (well-known now for his doubts that Jesus had arisen) could see the marks was by special dispensation: Jesus caused the wounds in His hands and in His side to reappear in order to bolster Thomas’s weak faith.

Now this is my problem, Houston: In Rev. 5.6 I read the following:

“And I saw in the midst of the throne and of the four living beings and in the midst of the elders, a Lamb standing, [in appearance] like a lamb that has been slain [bearing the wounds of the Cross in His glorified body]…”  (The New Testament, an Expanded Translation, Kenneth S. Wuest)

All the other versions of the Bible along with the King James agree with this, that the Lamb, which is Jesus of course, is standing there in the midst of the throne, and in the midst of the living creatures and the elders. But surprisingly it looks as if the Lamb had been slain. Now how could this be if Jesus (the Lamb) had a glorified body that would have no marks of human imperfection in it? Where have I gone wrong, Houston? I need someone to set me straight.

Well – never mind, you guys sitting comfortably there in Houston watching me hurtling off into space – you wouldn’t know a biblical solution if it hit you in the middle of space, let alone in your secure setting there in Houston… and anyhow, I think I have the solution to my problem. There is literally no tactile Hand to guide me, no visible eye of divinity searching a way through the void of space and no Voice deep and assuring to soothe and comfort me in this Tempest in a Teapot my mind has conjured up.

 

It is so very crucial to God’s Plan of Salvation to have the Lamb, which is indeed the glorified Jesus, appear continually in His bloody, sacrificial role. On that horrible sacrifice hangs humankind’s eternal destiny. The LAMB SACRIFICED is a vital key to our redemption from the penalty of sin. Without the Lamb’s gruesome sacrifice we would suffer an eternity of torment in hell. That Lamb Sacrificed is dear to the heart of God because the Lamb has forever paid (and is at this moment continually presenting to the Father) the price in full for humanity’s sins. God on His throne could never have rest if there were no atoning blood (His own blood!) shed for our sins. His love would not let Him rest until a way was made through mankind’s mountainous sins into an ages-long era of unending peace and joy with God.

Oh, by the way, Houston, mark this in your records: Sometime prior to this memo I mentioned that the Lamb Sacrificed was one key to redemption. There is another key without which the first key will be ineffective. The second key is FAITH in Jesus and what He did to pay for our sins.

That’s all I have to say right now, Houston; I think the message is clear, but I’ll recap it for you. There are these two things required for humanity’s salvation: 1) Sacrifice on the part of the lowly Lamb “slain before the foundation of the world,” and 2) obedience to (having faith in) Jesus on humanity’s part. With the keys of sacrifice (of the Lamb) and faith (by humanity) in the Lamb of God, no devil, no angel, no other creature can separate us from the love and salvation of God.

Oh, here is another “by the way”: it seems crystal-clear that man does not need to fly off into space or intermeddle with the Solar System to triumphantly bring this wonderful treasure back to earth. All that man needs is there on earth at his fingertips – or perhaps I should say, at his heartip.

That is all I have to report for now, Houston. I hope you will take this latest memo seriously; it is indispensable for mankind’s future existence in this universe.

P.S.  The early Russian cosmonauts contended they, in all their traveling into space, never saw the face of God. They are blind leaders of the blind. The face of God is everywhere one looks; it is near at hand or far off. God is always here; He is always there; He is in every nook and cranny of space and beyond, if there is a “beyond.” The Russian cosmonauts’ lack of sight is their own fault; one cannot see if one refuses to look.

Think on that a while, Houston…

 

I have aired my thoughts in a couple of recent posts on my blog Written Word,  The posts are A Truly Communal Church and You and I Are in the Same Family.  (Click the links to read the complete articles.)  They deal with the feeling of oneness there should be among the children of God. I feel an urgency about the matter because we who put our trust in Jesus and who are led by His Spirit are all one great Church; we are the body of Christ. But if we are fragmented by various insignificant pet beliefs, where then is the vaunted unity of the Spirit; where is the ONE body of Christ? The body of Christ is not split into a dozen different sects, each going their own way. I believe it is high time we got our act together.

“Getting our act together” does not call for a great historic conference; I am not referring to a modern day Nicene Council. All we need to do is to quietly and sincerely show real love for our brothers and sisters who put their trust and undying loyalty in Jesus as we do. The “we” in the preceding sentence can be you (whatever your religious affiliation and if you are a true follower of Christ) and me. We and the rest of our brothers and sisters can still indulge the minor differences among us – even among the cults – and we can humor our harmless pet hangups (e.g., “We will recognize Jesus in heaven by the wounds of His crucifixion” – a glorified body has no marks of wounds or other signs of mortality). The overriding priority is for us first to get to heaven. We will find there that these pet bones of contention will be moot, they will no longer matter, if they ever did.

The Church, the body of Christ, is a network on earth of millions of loving people, praying for one another and for the salvation of sinners. We should never get so focused on “we/us and ours” that we forget that we as a sect or a group of believers in Christ, are just that – we are IN CHRIST – and the individual members of the body of Christ are to be known by the love they have one for another.

Do you believe in Christ as your only Savior? You are my brother or sister even if I never see you in this life. We are family, bound by a blood tie stronger than any biological bond. I have possibly prayed for you now and then through the Spirit that prompts my prayer in “groans that words cannot express.” (Rom. 8.26, 27NIV) I do not know for whom I am praying, but “he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints in accordance with God’s will.” God has not left us dangling in the capricious winds of Chance. He sees to it that every saint is covered by the prayers of their fellow saints. Whenever you are desperate and despondent, take that to the bank.

Now, what spiritual efficacy is there in a denominational label? I am labeled a Pentecostal, but that does not guarantee that I will go sweeping through the gates of heaven one day. You may be Methodist or Baptist or Lutheran or Catholic, but neither one of us can trust in a label or a name tag. “They that are led by the Spirit of God, THEY are the sons [daughters] of God.”

I am glad that I was reared by parents of the Pentecostal persuasion because back in the early years of the 20th century there was a marked difference between the Holiness (Pentecostal) believers and the “denominational” adherents. Pentecostalism was not considered a valid denomination then; it was on the lunatic fringe. It was a cult and some groups of Pentecostals today still lean toward an extremism that is not required in the Bible. This is not to say one can be overly zealous in the service of God, but that one definitely can be overly zealous in one’s manner of demonstrating that one is a true follower of Christ. In our zeal we go overboard, sometimes going beyond the bounds of love.

But as I was saying before you (?) dragged me off point, I am blessed to have been raised in a Pentecostal home. When I was a child/youngster, the “Holiness People” (Pentecostals) of that time did live morally better lives than our counterparts in the denominational world. (I am speaking now solely from the African American viewpoint; I of course had no knowledge of how the white churches of the day were doing.) But that is no longer true. There are saved people in every religious group I can think of. And we all know that living holy lives does not save us; being saved causes us to live holy lives, no matter what name tag is hung on us.

Our lives are not perfect; that is why God placed preachers and teachers and prophets (the New Testament kind – 1 Cor. 14.3) in the Church. They are working on the Church to literally bring her to the perfection she already has by faith in Jesus Christ. When Christ calls His people to meet Him in the air, they will in an instant be perfected literally. It will go beyond the perfection that now comes by faith in Jesus, a perfection whose literal standards we have to continually strive to attain.

Don’t ever get discouraged if you are not perfect; you are at this moment perfect before God by your faith in Jesus Christ. All believers are clothed with the righteousness of Christ, but if you quit trying factually (this goes beyond faith) to live up to the impossibly high standard as exemplified by Christ and His written Word, your faith will have failed and a dead faith cannot save you.

The Way of the Cross undoubtedly entails a dying of the carnal nature within us, but it is also the way of abundant life. We die naturally while at the same time we are blessed with an overflowing spiritual life.

There are things I want to say further, but I will not try your patience any longer. The thought is that we are one body of believers and Christ died to save us all; therefore if He died for our salvation, you can be assured that He will do all within His power to keep that salvation for us. We simply can’t fail if we will not fail!

Now go out and/or go on your knees in prayer to help a fallen or needy brother or sister. If you keep them living for Christ, it is possible that some day they will lift you up when you have fallen. Keep them alive! You need them.