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Buried By Desire

Wednesday, April 29th, 2009 | Author: Skip Moen

But the greatest among you shall be your servant.  Matthew 23:11

Greatest – Yeshua was a great rabbi; the greatest rabbi who ever lived.  But he wasn’t famous.  The difference is crucial if we are going to understand our role in the Kingdom.  The rabbis taught that “authority buries those who assume it.”  They exhorted disciples to “love work, hate lordship, and seek no intimacy with the ruling power.”  Just as Yeshua taught, they saw that the desire to assume control over others was a mark of ungodliness and a terrible danger to spiritual sensitivity.  God calls reluctant leaders; those men and women who are quite certain that they are not qualified and who would rather not have the job.  Why?  Because they know that their usefulness depends entirely on God’s grace.  Woe to the throng that follows the man who desires to lead.  His ego will bury them all.

Yeshua expanded the teaching of the rabbis with this simple statement.  The greatest will be a servant to all.  The Greek is megas.  The Mega-Man, the superhero of the Kingdom, is the least among us; the one at the bottom lifting others, the one in the shadow, not the limelight.  How hard it is for us to really hear this!  Standing in the pulpit, the center of attention or running the company or directing the program, we are constantly tempted to let just a little of the light fall on us.  Oh, we deflect the compliments with quick acknowledgments of God’s help, but deep inside there is always that little bit of interest in being recognized for how wonderful we are.  It is such a subtle trap.  Andy Warhol once commented that everyone wants fifteen minutes of fame.  He was, unfortunately, right.  Just tune into the latest “reality” TV show and you will see people clamoring for a moment of stardom.  A culture fixated on celebrities is a culture far, far away from the things of God.

Yeshua’s observation reveals something else about our popularized version of Christianity.  Servants are background people.  Even as a group, they do not command the spotlight.  They go quietly about the Kingdom’s work, seeking anonymity because they know that God’s grace is their only operating power.  Just as God’s hand proceeds secretly through human history in order to accomplish His purposes, so His children remain the hidden heralds of His power.  Once in awhile, God promotes a reluctant leader to a place of prominence, but that leader remains a servant, not a master, because he has spent forty years in the wilderness tending dumb sheep.  God doesn’t hire on the basis of a resume of accomplishments.  He chooses humility, demonstrated in a life of being unimportant.

One of the systems of this world that Paul pleads with us to avoid, is the desire for fame.  To seek fame is to accept the offer that Satan gave to Yeshua.  “Serve me and all these kingdoms I will give to you.”  He offers every follower of the Way a version of the same promise.  Of course, the offer is modified because we are not as worthy a catch as the Son would have been.  We settle for far less, don’t we?  Today is a good day to review your “fame” quotient, your desire to be someone, to be recognized, to move out of the shadows.  The path to greatness is to become invisible.  Is that your direction?

Topical Index:  character, servant, greatest, Matthew 23:11, megas, celebrity

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A Different Cloth

Sunday, March 22nd, 2009 | Author: Skip Moen

No one serving as a soldier tangles with the affairs of this life, so that he might please the one enlisting him.  2 Timothy 2:4

Tangles – You’re in the army now!  If you’re committed to following the Messiah, you made a voluntary decision to join His ranks.  That decision has some very big implications.  One of those is entanglement.  Paul uses a great word to get his picture across to us.  It is empleko.  You can think of our word “implicate,” but the root meaning is about weaving in connections.  Paul says that if you are in the army of the Most High, you are not woven into the affairs of the world.  You are a man or woman of a different cloth.

The synonyms of this Greek word help us fill in the picture.  They are words for ensnare, put into bondage, seduce, deceive or trap.  Isn’t that exactly what it feels like when the world gets its teeth into you?  You’re going along, just enjoying the blessings of living in God’s world, and suddenly something goes bump in the night.  You make a choice and then you see that you’ve been seduced.  You shout, “Entrapment!”, but it’s too late.  You’ve been deceived.  Something is trying to put you back into bondage.  That something is the world’s systems under the authority of the enemy of our God.  He runs this planet (temporarily) and he is doing all he can to coax you back into his fiefdom.  He just wants you to put on his clothes, the ones cut from the cloth that gets tighter and tighter with every step you take.

Paul has some friendly advice.  Don’t get entangled.  Don’t get implicated.  Remember who you serve and keep your focus on Him.  Of course, Paul is not telling you to retreat to your closet or run away from life.  There’s a difference between entangled and engaged.  We are supposed to be in the world.  That’s the plan.  But we don’t live according to the world.  We are not part of its warp and woof.  Thinking that you can put on a suit made with the world’s finest material and still serve the living God is a big mistake.  After all, our Champion’s life was notable for His lack of possessions and His humility.  What’s good for the Captain is good for me too.

This particular Greek word in this verse is a special tense, not found in English.  This is about self­-entanglement.  It’s not about those circumstances in life that come upon you, unanticipated and unwarranted.  It’s about deliberate choices to get connected to the world’s ways.  There is no trickery here, except for the deception that the ways of the world will lead to happiness.  This kind of entanglement doesn’t sneak up on you and grab you from behind.  You see it coming, but you don’t turn aside.  You let it happen to you.  Looking back, you wonder why?  Actually, there is no rational explanation.  Sin is insane.  It’s a deliberate choice to destroy yourself over time.  No one in his right mind would make such a choice, but then, sinners aren’t in their right minds, are they?  And each time you are confronted with the possibility of self-entanglement, you must remember this.  You can choose to go insane, or you can look to the God of order.  You can implicate yourself, or you can dress in a different cloth.

Topical Index:  cloth, implicate, entangle, insane, empleko, sin, character, 2 Timothy 2:4

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Competitive Advantage

Wednesday, March 18th, 2009 | Author: Skip Moen

Finally, brothers, whatever things are true, whatever things are honest, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good reputation  Philippians 4:8

Whatever – In the end, it’s the little things that count.  That’s particularly true when it comes to character.  Character is the focus of Paul’s comments about the occupations of our thoughts.  Paul knows that “character is much easier to retain than it is to recover.”  He knows that the competitive advantage in spiritual development goes to the ones who spend their time and energy dwelling on these things:  what is true, honest, just, pure, lovely and reputable. 

Paul introduces all these character qualities with a tiny Greek word, hosa.  It is a development word.  In this case, it extends an idea from one context to another.  In other words, it acts like a casting line.  I stand on the bank of the stream and cast the line far out into the water.  My thought moves from the edge of the bank to the end of the line in the midst of the stream.  In just this way, the energy I put into character needs a focal point, and that point, says Paul, is the line cast far out into the waters of truth, honesty, justice, purity, beauty and good reputation.  My attention moves along the line, looking for the signs it gives me from a distance.  In the same way, once I have cast my vision far into the realms of these character qualities, I will be drawn toward that point and encouraged to watch carefully what happens at the end of the line.

Notice, if you will, that the purpose of casting is to focus attention.  It does no good to throw the line anywhere and then ignore it.  I must aim, act and watch if my cast is going to produce results.  I must turn away from the distractions, ignore the dangers and dismiss the alternatives if I am to aim at the best place in the deep water.  My competitive advantage is lost if I do not concentrate on the cast.  In the same way, my character is damaged, and possibly lost, if I do not focus on the target.  Paul tells us to put aside all those things that could diminish character.  He warns us that once lost, character is seldom recovered without agony.  He exhorts us to guard against damage simply by concentrating on the direction of our thoughts.  Hosa is the connector that moves me from here to there.  “Whatever” I see in that deep water will be enough to guide my aim.  In fact, anything that is true, good and beautiful will lead me to more truth, goodness and beauty.  But for Paul, and for followers of the Way, the final cast sends the line right into the center of God’s character.  His character is the ultimate example of what is true, honest, pure, good, and worthy.  There is no better place to cast my attention than into the stream that reveals who He is.

This is important because it helps us remember that what really matters is who God is, not what God does.  We may not understand His actions.  We may puzzle over His decisions.  But we will be secure if we concentrate on His character.  When we can’t make sense of life, our confusion will be wiped away if we but look at who God is.  Character remains after everything else is put to rest.  Cast your line deep into Him and you will be drawn toward His eternal values.

Topical Index:  hosa, Philippians 4:8, character, cast, true, good, beautiful

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What Lies Beneath

Monday, March 16th, 2009 | Author: Skip Moen

and proclaimed, “YHWH, YHWH God, compassionate, gracious, long-suffering and great in goodness  Exodus 34:6 

Long-Suffering – Every word matters.  That’s the approach taken by the rabbis, and it’s the same approach that we must take if we want to truly mine the Scriptures.  That’s why it just isn’t adequate to stick with an English translation.  There is so much more to discover in the Hebrew or Greek text if we take the time to look.  This verse is another example of something that lies beneath the surface, never seen in translation.

The Hebrew for “long-suffering” is an idiomatic expression that literally means “long of nose.”  The idea is simple.  If God takes a long breath, His anger is delayed.  The longer His nose, the longer it takes for Him to come to judgment rather than mercy.  And God has a very long nose!

But that’s not all.  The normal Hebrew expression would be erech af  (singular).  God has only one nose (anthropomorphically) so we would expect a singular noun af.  But that’s not what the Scripture says.  It says erech apayim - literally “long noses.”  Is this a mistake?  Absolutely not!  The rabbis explain this apparent error by noting that God is equally long-suffering with the righteous and with the wicked.  He is long-nosed toward both.  His long-suffering has a dual character reflecting His personal forbearance toward both.  I will venture to guess that not a single translation of this verse in any other language expresses what we find in Hebrew.  It’s a shame, because this is part of God’s own declaration of His character.  We need to know that God is gracious toward the righteous and the wicked.  His attribute of mercy is not limited to those who have accepted His covenant.  It extends to all. 

Living in covenant relationship has but one goal – to imitate the character of God in life.  His character is our standard.  We are to emulate His compassion, His graciousness, His goodness, His mercy and His long-suffering.  Jesus says the same thing.  Paul declares imitation as a primary motivation.  So, unless we understand the depth of God’s own character, how are we going to set the course of our lives in the right direction?  Here, in this mixed-up word, we have another hidden exhortation toward holiness.  We are to exhibit double-breathing.  Our forbearance must extend to the righteous and the wicked in equal measure.  If God can breath twice, so must we.

Who do you tolerate?  Who do you put up with?  How do you act toward those who drive you crazy or who are morally repugnant?  Now you get to reconsider all of those short-breath reactions.  Now you must compare the length of God’s nose with your own.  Chances are there is work to be done – and confession to be made.

Topical Index:  long-suffering, erech apayim, Exodus 34:6, character, God’s nose

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Phantom Grapes

Friday, March 13th, 2009 | Author: Skip Moen

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control;  Galatians 5:22-23

Fruit – If you’ve been a Christian for any reasonable time, you’ve heard this verse.  We usually put the emphasis on the personal character qualities listed here.  We strive to be loving, joyful, peaceful and patient.  That’s good, but it might miss the real impact of useable fruitfulness.  Paul’s choice of the Greek word karpon is deliberate because it implies more than a storehouse of virtues.

Some time ago we looked at the word karpon (fruit).  We noted that the vine that produces the fruit is never nourished by its own production.  Fruit is always for the benefit of another.  In other words, the fruit of the Spirit, listed by Paul, is not for your personal well-being.  It is designed to be enjoyed by someone else.

Now this has an immediate and important implication.  My claim to produce the fruit of the Spirit is unwarranted unless other people experience the results.  Don’t tell me that you are loving unless those people around you verify the fact.  Don’t list patience on your spiritual resume unless the people who know you best vouch for the claim.  You get the idea.  The measure of your spiritual production is not how it affects you.  It’s how it affects those around you.  This is what it means to love your neighbor as yourself.   It is the Spirit in useable form, manifest in me.

Oh, by the way, you might reconsider the parable of the two sons.  Remember that story?  Jesus tells us about two sons, one who said he would do what the father asked, but didn’t, and the other who said he would not be obedient, but later did what the father asked.  Which one was the true son?  The one who obeyed in spite of his words otherwise.  So it is with the fruit of the Spirit.  Obedience brings results that show up in the lives of others.  The believer who says she has no self-control, but others see the characteristic in her life, is like the son who said “No,” but did the job anyway. 

There is one other point that we need to comprehend before we look at the list of virtues.  The verb is in the present tense.  This fruit isn’t going to show up some day.  The vine is not dormant in winter.  This fruit is the vine production right now.  It’s what the vine is producing today.  No one can enjoy an expectation vintage.  You either have grapes to make wine or you have nothing at all.  You can’t drink a future bottle of wine.  So, the test of your spiritual production is what’s happening today, not where you hope to be tomorrow. 

Perhaps we all need some further self-examination.  Do those closest to us enjoy the fruit of the Spirit manifested in us?  Would they list these characteristics on our evaluation form?  Unless they see the Spirit through us, any claims for fruit bearing are probably no better than phantom grapes.

Topical Index:  fruit, karpon, virtues, useable, Galatians 5:22, character

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Hebrew Poetry

Sunday, December 28th, 2008 | Author: Skip Moen

YHWH is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer.  I seek refuge in Him; He is my shield and the horn of my salvation, my high tower. Psalm 18:3  (Hebrew text)

Rock – If you looked at this psalm in the Hebrew text, you would see something unusual (for us, at least).  The letters of the words are spread out across the scroll in a design pattern.  No, it’s not typesetting justification of margins.  It’s written that way because these are lyrics to a song, a song of praise and thanksgiving for the God who rescued David from his enemies.  This pattern also helps us see something else.  Hebrew poetry is not about phonetic rhymes.  It’s about revealing nuances of the same idea.  In other words, each line in this song elaborates and expands the idea of God as deliverer, showing all the facets of this concept in tangible expressions.

YHWH is my rock.  What does that mean?  Well, it also means that He is my fortress and the One who delivers me.  When I seek refuge in Him, He becomes my shield and the trumpet that sounds battle reinforcements.  He is my high tower, a place where I can see all the approaching foes and from which I command advantage over them.  Do you see how each idea develops the others?  When I have finished with just this second line in the song, I have a formidable picture of God’s battlefield care over me.

Notice that this verse is thoroughly Hebrew.  There are no lofty intellectual concepts here.  We don’t find words like omnipotent, omniscient or immutable.  Hebrew is a language of the land.  God is described in everyday terms.  Rock, shield, trumpet and tower – that’s the kind of God who is in the midst of it all.  It is impossible for a Hebrew to imagine the god of the deists, the watchmaker who put the universe together and then stepped away.  No Hebrew could imagine a god who wasn’t intimately involved in the ordinary.  This is not the God who acts as moral policeman of the world, removed from the pain and struggles of ordinary people.  This is the God who finds me in the trenches and pulls me to safety.  This is the God who puts His arm around me on a cold night in hostile territory and listens to my fears.  And this is the God who comes into this world vulnerable, empty and obedient.  This is the God for me.

“Rock” is the Hebrew word sur.  In a language of consonants, it’s interesting to see that the same combination (S-U-R) has another set of meanings, namely, to besiege, to bind and to attack.  Context and grammar tell us which meaning to use, but I find it intriguing that the nuances of “rock” are found in battle language.  From weapons to fortresses, rocks are as solid a place of security as you will find on this earth.  Those granite boulders remind me of my God who is the Rock of all ages, the utterly reliable foundation of my life.  Standing on the Rock, I am battle-ready.

These days I need to hear a bit of Hebrew poetry.  I need to see God in my tent, in my job and in my family life.  I need the God who lives with me.  I need to put my head on a rock like Jacob did and be ushered into His presence.  I am also a child of the land, and sometimes what I need more than anything else is just rocks and dirt and solid earth beneath my feet – and the God who made all of it alongside me.

Topical Index:  Character

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Wise Guys (1)

Thursday, February 28th, 2008 | Author: Skip Moen

“you shall select out of all the people able men who fear God, men of truth, those who hate dishonest gain; and you shall place these over them as leaders of thousands, of hundreds, of fifties and of tens.” Exodus 18:21

Able – So, you’ve determined that you will stand against the culture of power and give away the authority God has granted you.  You’ve decided that the leadership leprosy that so infects the hallways of government, corporations and the church will not seduce you into isolation.  You know that God alone is King and all His people are equally priests in His kingdom.  But how do you decide who shall be given the authority vested in you?

Well, Jethro has a suggestion.  The first quality of those who are recipients of distributed authority is hayil (might).  Do you remember the umbrella of this word (Today’s Word February 12)?  “Able men” are those who put all their resources in God’s hands; that means their valor, influence, wealth, virtue and strength.  But, that’s not all.  God tells us that those who are truly able men demonstrate that their ability is not by might, nor by power, but by God’s Spirit.  When you find people like this, invest authority in them.  Give them what you’ve got.  If you don’t, you’ll prevent God’s will from being accomplished in their lives.

This is hard work.  First, it’s hard to give up the glory and the power.  Our natural desire leans toward advantage and self-protection, but we must resist this.  Just as God said to Cain, “Sin crouches at the door, ready to attack, but you must master it.”  The first battle of distributed authority is internal.  You must get God’s point of view on the matter.

Secondly, you are required to search out those who demonstrate complete reliability on the Spirit.  These people are not always easy to find.  Why?  Because they do not take the credit.  They are not self-proclaimers of ability and fame.  They are the behind-the-scenes servers of others.  By the way, that is exactly what it means to be diakonos (Greek for servant).  Jesus had a lot to say about these people.  They model His character.  The credit goes to God.  They are but unworthy servants.  So, you’ll have to really look to find these kinds of “able” people.

Finally, when you are ready to give and you have discovered who is ready to receive, you will undoubtedly meet considerable resistance.  “How can you suggest that person?  They aren’t qualified.  Just look at the resume!”  The world does not recognize servants, only celebrities.  Be careful.  This is a dangerous step.  Distributing authority to those whom the world counts for nothing will always bring conflict.  You, not they, will be held in suspicion.  If there is every a moment of obedience, this is it.  Remember, God grants.  All you do is distribute.

Moses, the most humble man who every lived, recognizes the godly advice of Jethro.  He submits to Jethro’s revelation – and let’s go of his authority.  If this doesn’t remind you of the words of John the Baptist, then you aren’t thinking in Hebrew.  “I must decrease so that He can increase.”  That’s the motto of God’s great leaders.  It should also be the watchword of those who receive authority through distribution.

Topical Index:  Leadership, Character

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What Does God Require?

Monday, February 25th, 2008 | Author: Skip Moen

And when we had heard this, we as well as the local residents began begging him not to go up to Jerusalem. Acts 21:12

Began Begging – Leadership doesn’t always mean that others will follow.  In fact, in some cases, the leader must blaze a trail alone, even when all the good advice suggests retreat.  How does the leader know when to go forward and when to listen to wise counsel?  Well, that’s a matter of character and obedience.

Paul understood only one thing:  Jesus Christ and Him crucified.  Paul’s purpose was to serve his Lord, no matter what.  So, when Paul receives the message to go to Jerusalem, he determines that nothing will stop him.  In this brief report, Luke tells us that on more than one occasion, Paul’s own friends begged him to reconsider.  In fact, they came to Paul out of spiritually-motivated concern for his well-being.  Agabus, at the direction of the Holy Spirit,  provided a physical portrait of the danger.  Luke pleaded with Paul.  Everyone around him believed that they were guided by God to prevent Paul from continuing.  They were right.  God did give them the message to warn Paul.  But Paul was required to be obedient in spite of the warnings.  He told them that he was already bound to the Lord, in life and in death.  So, to Jerusalem he must go.

The Greek verb here is very strong.  It’s a verb you would recognize – parakaleo – to aid, comfort, come along side, encourage, beseech.  Can you feel its impact?  Paul, beloved friend, rabbi and messenger of God, is undoubtedly headed for terrible times, perhaps even death.  Do you remember the circumstances surrounding Jesus’ last fellowship?  Only Mary understood the significance of the moment, and she prepared her Lord for burial.  The disciples were still arguing about who would be the greatest.  They missed the kairos moment entirely.  But now things have changed.  The followers of the Way are in tune with the Spirit.  There is grave danger for one dear to them.  Can you feel their concern, their tears, their fears?  God moved them to act in this way.  Do you understand what that means?  They were genuinely moved by the Spirit to ask Paul to change course.  They were not wrong or sinful or disobedient.  But in their actions, God transported Paul to his own Garden of Gethsemane.  “If this cup can pass from me.”  That’s what his closest friends suggest.  Paul must choose the way of the cross, even when God motivates others to offer another path.

Paul knows what to do because Paul knows Jesus.  This is first a matter of character; not Paul’s character, but the character of his Lord.  Jesus did not let the cup pass.  He could have, but He chose the will of the Father instead.  From character springs obedience.  That’s the way God wants it.  God is not so much interested in compliance as He is in character.  So, God engineers our lives so that there are many moments of character development.  Once character is in place, obedience is the natural by-product.  A leader with a heart for God will obey.  It’s just who he is.

When you face real trials, remember that God may offer paraklesis through others as a kairos moment for character development.  The advice may be good.  It may be truthful.  But decisions are made on the basis of the character of our Lord.  “What would Jesus do?” is still the right direction, even if no one else will follow.

Topical Index:  Leadership, Character

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