Pondering Passover

Yesterday I found myself thinking about Passo ver, which we are a couple of days into at this point. Not being from a Jewish family, the significance of Passover is somewhat lost on me from a cultural perspective.

However, several years ago Lisa and I sat down with a group of friends and a former Jewish Rabbi walked us through a traditional passover meal, explaining each element as we went. The symbolism that is tied to each and every item on the table is quite meaningful. If you have the time, the video below from Jews For Jesus is similar to what we experienced.

It is important that I remember my spiritual heritage.
It is important to remember what I have been rescued from. 
I challenge you to pause and reflect on either your current spiritual state of bondage or freedom.
I pray that you will accept the freedom and deliverance found in Christ.

Below are two songs from Andrew Peterson that move me to remember all these things.

Passover Us


Lyrics for "Passover Us" by Andrew Peterson
Well, we all remember Moses on the banks of the river
He said "Pharaoh, you've got to let my people go.
You don't want me to have to tell you this ten times over--
Denial ain't just a river, you know"

So we all remember Pharaoh, he just wouldn't do it
So the plagues came upon Egypt one by one
His heart was hard and the other nine just couldn't move it
So the last was the worst: the death of the firstborn son

Oh but the Lord, he gave to Moses a word for the people
He said their firstborn sons would live to see another day
"Put the blood of a lamb on the doorway and death will pass right over"
That night all the children of Israel prayed,
They prayed,

"Lord, let your judgment passover us
Lord, let your love hover near
Don't let your sweet mercy passover us
Let this blood cover over us here"

So the years went by and the people they whined and they wandered
And only sacrifice atoned for the sins of the land
So you see the priest he placed upon the holy altar
The body of a spotless lamb
And he prayed,

"Lord, let your judgment passover us
Lord, let your love hover near
Don't let your sweet mercy passover us
Let this blood cover over us here"


Deliver Us

Lyrics for "Deliver Us " by Andrew Peterson
Our enemy, our captor is no pharaoh on the Nile
Our toil is neither mud nor brick nor sand
Our ankles bear no calluses from chains, yet Lord, we're bound
Imprisoned here, we dwell in our own land

Deliver us, deliver us
Oh Yahweh, hear our cry
And gather us beneath your wings tonight

Our sins they are more numerous than all the lambs we slay
These shackles they were made with our own hands
Our toil is our atonement and our freedom yours to give
So Yahweh, break your silence if you can

Deliver us, deliver us
Oh Yahweh, hear our cry
And gather us beneath your wings tonight

'Jerusalem, Jerusalem
How often I have longed
To gather you beneath my gentle wings'

The Fall and God's Love

Lydia's preschool teacher has a blog that she updates every day with lots of photos and updates on what they are learning and doing. This was how today's blog began:

Proud.
Humbled.
Blessed beyond measure.

"Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it." - Proverbs 22:6

A Poem About Daniel and the Lions

When Daniel was thrown into the den
Was he confident in Your plan for him?
Did his heart race fast with unchecked fear?

"Daniel's Answer to the King" by Briton Rivier

Did his eyes fill up with questioning tears?

Did he pray silently to You?
Was he afraid to make a move?
At what point did his fear subside?
When was he comfortable inside?

Did the lions nuzzle up to him in that place?
Did they sniff him out, breathe on his face?
Did they wander around in that place unbothered?
Did their ears perk up as he called to you Father?

When the king came calling, did the lions arise?
When he shouted his greeting, was there hope in his eyes?
When the response came, did his heart soar?
Was the moment punctuated with a lion's roar?

Daniel - servant, prophet, faithful
Lions - creatures, passive, powerful
King - tricked, trapped, released
A wonderful story of God, man and beast.

- Written 07MAY12

I encourage you to read the entire account of Daniel and the lions.

The Mystery of Mercy

This song has been playing in my head all morning, as I reflect on what Christ endured for me.

Lyrics for "Mystery Of Mercy " written by Andrew Peterson and Randall Goodgame, performed by Caedmon's Call:

I am the woman at the well, I am the harlot
I am the scattered seed that fell along the path
I am the son that ran away
And I am the bitter son that stayed

My God, my God why hast thou accepted me
When all my love was vinegar to a thirsty King?

My God, my God why hast thou accepted me
It's a mystery of mercy and the song, the song I sing

I am the angry man who came to stone the lover
I am the woman there ashamed before the crowd
I am the leper that gave thanks
But I am the nine that never came

My God, my God why hast thou accepted me
When all my love was vinegar to a thirsty King?

My God, my God why hast thou accepted me
It's a mystery of mercy and the song, the song I sing

You made the seed that made the tree
That made the cross that saved me
You gave me hope when there was none
You gave me your only Son

My God, Lord you are
My God, my God, Lord you are
My God

The Silence of God - TuesdayTunes

I absolutely love this song.

I have been reflecting on the sermon Pastor Bob delivered on Sunday (see Dan's Sunday AM Remix), particularly the section on waiting on God timing, and this song has been in my head throughout that process. Sometimes the silence we hear and feel when we seek direction/guidance from God can be quite unnerving. This is particularly true in cases where we approach God with a heavy emotional burden. And that is why I love the conclusion of this song:

And the man of all sorrows, he never forgot
What sorrow is carried by the hearts that he bought
So when the questions dissolve into the silence of God
The aching may remain, but the breaking does not 

Jesus understands what it is like to hear the silence of God. While in the Garden of Gethsemane, He pleaded for the Father to remove the cup of agony and pain he was about to experience from Him. (see Luke 22:39-46) Yes, we are told that an angel is sent to comfort Jesus, but the angel does not remove the suffering Jesus is encountering. Note that, after the angel appeared, Jesus then prayed more earnestly while still being in agony. "The aching still remained..."

Jesus then understood the silence of God in a way that we will never understand. While hanging on the Cross on Calvary, Jesus had His Father, whom He has been in communion with for all eternity past, turn his face from Him and pour out His wrath upon Jesus, as the sins of millions of people were cast upon Him and judged. In that moment of alienation, when Jesus Christ experienced the total silence of God, He cried out "Why have you forsaken me?" (see Matthew 27:45-46).

For years I always attributed this quote strictly as a natural response to that painful moment when Christ felt the absolutely foreign weight of sin cast down upon Him. However, in recent years, I have come to love the fact that Jesus was not merely responding to the moment, but was capturing it by quoting the beginning of a Psalm of David, which every Jew that surrounded Him would have instantly recognized and known how it progressed.

Read the following portions of Psalm 22 and see how Jesus was proclaiming His Deity and the faithfulness of God just prior to His death:

My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?

Why are you so far from saving me, from the words of my groaning?

O my God, I cry by day, but you do not answer,

and by night, but I find no rest.

Yet you are holy, enthroned on the praises of Israel.

In you our fathers trusted; they trusted, and you delivered them.

To you they cried and were rescued; in you they trusted and were not put to shame.

But I am a worm and not a man, scorned by mankind and despised by the people.

All who see me mock me; they make mouths at me; they wag their heads;

Be not far from me, for trouble is near, and there is none to help.

I am poured out like water, and all my bones are out of joint; my heart is like wax; it is melted within my breast; my strength is dried up like a potsherd,and my tongue sticks to my jaws; you lay me in the dust of death.

For dogs encompass me; a company of evildoers encircles me; they have pierced my hands and feet -

I can count all my bones— they stare and gloat over me;

they divide my garments among them, and for my clothing they cast lots.

But you, O Lord, do not be far off! O you my help, come quickly to my aid!

Deliver my soul from the sword, my precious life from the power of the dog!

You who fear the Lord, praise him! All you offspring of Jacob, glorify him, and stand in awe of him, all you offspring of Israel!

For he has not despised or abhorred the affliction of the afflicted, and he has not hidden his face from him, but has heard, when he cried to him.

All the ends of the earth shall remember and turn to the Lord, and all the families of the nations shall worship before you.

For kingship belongs to the Lord, and he rules over the nations even the one who could not keep himself alive.

Posterity shall serve him; it shall be told of the Lord to the coming generation; they shall come and proclaim his righteousness to a people yet unborn, that he has done it.

I can definitely relate to the "Where are you God?" portions of this passage. However, we must recognize, like the Jews on the hill that day, that Jesus was pointing out that the rest of this Psalm was His to proclaim as well. He was enduring exactly what was prophesied by David centuries before, so that he could also lay claim to final portion where the Lord is given the praise and honor that is due Him. Jesus wasn't merely proclaiming that He was missing God's presence in that moment; He was also proclaiming that He understood that the final outcome was that God would hear His cry and that Jesus would have his rightful place of authority restored.

This is one of the reasons why, immediately prior to his last breath Jesus cried out "It is finished." He had accomplished the task set before Him. He had endured the pain of the crucifixion, as well as the pain of judgement and isolation from God. There was nothing left for Him to do.

So the challenge that I have, that I place to you, is to consider "How do I wait on God?" Do I wait on Him with a sense of dread that He will not respond or that He might give me an unclear response, or do I understand like David and Jesus that God is faithful and He will fulfill all His promises to me? I struggle with remembering that my life is but a vapor and the only amount of significance that it obtains has been given to me by God, so that i proclaim Him to those around me.

For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal. - 2 Corinthians 4:17-18

The Silence of God by Andrew Peterson
It's enough to drive a man crazy; it'll break a man's faith
It's enough to make him wonder if he's ever been sane
When he's bleating for comfort from Thy staff and Thy rod
And the heaven's only answer is the silence of God

It'll shake a man's timbers when he loses his heart
When he has to remember what broke him apart
This yoke may be easy, but this burden is not
When the crying fields are frozen by the silence of God

And if a man has got to listen to the voices of the mob
Who are reeling in the throes of all the happiness they've got
When they tell you all their troubles have been nailed up to that cross
Then what about the times when even followers get lost?
'Cause we all get lost sometimes...

There's a statue of Jesus on a monastery knoll
In the hills of Kentucky, all quiet and cold
And He's kneeling in the garden, as silent as a Stone
All His friends are sleeping and He's weeping all alone

And the man of all sorrows, he never forgot
What sorrow is carried by the hearts that he bought
So when the questions dissolve into the silence of God
The aching may remain, but the breaking does not
The aching may remain, but the breaking does not
In the holy, lonesome echo of the silence of God

The G.O.S.P.E.L.

There is so much about this video that I love.
I have spent the past 2 weeks watching and listening to it numerous times.
Below I have captured just a few of the lines that struck me I have decided to include the entire text.

(HT: Zach Nielsen)

Here is my transcript from the video "G.O.S.P.E.L.":

It’s the full story of life crushed into four minutes.
The entirety of humanity in the palm of your hand.
And crushed into one sentence.
Listen, it’s intense, right?
God. Our. Sins. Paying. Everyone. Life.
The greatest story ever told that’s hardly ever told.
God. Yes. God.
The Maker and Giver of life – and by life, I mean any and all manner and substance.
Seen and Unseen.  
What can and can’t be touched:
Thoughts. Image. Emotion. Love. Atoms and Oceans.
God.
All of it His handiwork. 
One of which His masterpiece.   
Made so uniquely that angels looked curiously. 
The one thing in creation that was made with His imagery. 
The concept so cold, it’s the reason I stay bold.
How God breathed into man and he became a living soul. 
Formed with the intent of being infinitely, intimately fond
Creator and creation held in eternal bond.
And it was placed in perfect paradise until something went wrong. 
The species got deceived and started lusting for His job.  
An odd list of complaints, as if the system ain’t working    
And used that same breath He graciously gave us to curse Him.  
And that sin seed spread through our soul’s genome  
And by nature, your nature, your species, you participated in the mutiny of
Our, yes, our sins.  
It’s nature inherited. Black in the human heart.
It was over before it started
Deceived from day one and led away by our own lusts
There’s not a religion in the world that doesn’t agree that something’s wrong with us.
The question is “What is it?” and “How do we fix it?”
Are we eternally separated from a God that may or may not have existed?
But that’s another subject
Let’s keep grinding
Besides, trying to prove God is like defending a lion, homey – He don’t need your help.
Just unlock the cage.
Let’s move on how our debt can be paid.
Short and sweet: The problem is Sin. Yes. Sin.
It’s a cancer. An asthma.
Choking out our life force.
Forcing separation from a perfect and Holy God
And the only way to get back is to get back to perfection.
But silly us, trying to pass the course of life without referring to a syllabus.
This is us: “Keep up your good deeds”. Chant. Pray. Meditate.
But all of that, of course, is spraying cologne on a corpse.
Oh you can choose to ignore it, as if something don’t stink
It’s like stepping in dog poop and refusing to wipe your shoe
But all of that ends with how good is good enough?
Take your silly list of good deeds and line them up against perfection:
Good luck!
That’s life past your pay grade.
The cost of your soul. You ain’t got a big enough piggy bank.
But you can give it a shot.
But I suggest you throw away the list.
‘Cause even your good acts are an extension of your selfishness.
But here’s where it gets interesting:
I hope you’re closely listening, please don’t get it twisted, it’s what makes our faith unique.
Here’s what God says is Part A of the Gospel.
You can’t fix yourself, quit trying. It’s impossible.
Sin brings death.
Give God His breath back – you owe Him!
Eternally separated. And the only way to fix it is someone die in your place.
And that Someone got to be perfect or the payment ain’t permanent.
So if, and when, you find a perfect person, get him or her to willingly trade their perfection for your sin and debt
Clearly since the only one that can meet God’s criteria is God
God sent Himself as Jesus to pay the cost for us.
His righteousness, His death functions as Payment. Yes. Payment.
Wrote a check with His life but at the Resurrection we all cheered because that means the check cleared.
Pierce feet. Pierced hands. Blood stained Son of Man.
Fullness. Forgiveness. Free passage into the Promised Land.
That same breath that God breathed into us, God gave up to redeem us.
And anyone and everyone, and by everyone I mean everyone, who puts their faith and trust in Him
And Him alone can stand in full confidence of God’s forgiveness.
And here’s what the promise is:
That you are guaranteed full access to return to perfect unity by simply believing in Christ and Christ alone you are receiving life. Yes. Life.
This is the GOSPEL:
God. Our.Sins.Paying.Everyone.Life.

The Cross Takes Us Beyond Forgiveness

I think sometimes we look at the cross and think of it exclusively in terms of forgiveness. We should do that, because that's where our forgiveness for sin has it's basis. Without the cross, we would still be cursed for our sinful nature and sinful acts that come from it. But the cross takes us beyond forgiveness. We aren't just forgiven. We're righteous, free from the sinful nature that once bound us and the guilt that accompanied it. Because of Jesus' work on the cross, when God looks at us He sees the righteousness of Christ. The cross is the place where sin is exchanged for righteousness.

- pp 65-66 "Holy Vocabulary" by Michael Kelley

The Gospel Song

Lyrics:
Holy God in love became
Perfect man to bear my blame
On the cross he took my sin
By his death I live again.
 
(HT: Bob Kauflin)

A Crutch For the Weak?

Christianity isn't a crutch for the weak; it's a stretcher for the dead. We are so spiritually dead that we aren't even aware that we need to be saved. We need God to step into that deadness to make us aware of the peril.

- p. 49 Holy Vocabulary" by Michael Kelley

Repentance is Valuing Jesus Above All Else

But we can only walk away from something for so long. Eventually, just walking away wears us out. We get tired. We get bitter. We get angry. A moment must come when we aren't just walking away from something. At some point, we have to catch a vision, a breath, a taste of something that turns our attention and focus in a new direction. Only then can we truly leave things in the past and get excited about the future.

In order for repentance to hold, for it to "stick", we must be convinced that we're choosing something better than what we're leaving behind. Our motivation has to be turning toward something rather than just walking away from something else.

And this wraps it up:

Repentance is about choosing life with Christ over life with anything else. So repentance isn't about stopping what we're doing; it's about valuing Jesus more than what we're doing. That's why we turn; not just because our old ways are self-destructive, wrong, or immoral, but because of how much we value Christ. And how much we believe He's better than anything else.

- pp 45-46 "Holy Vocabulary" by Michael Kelley

It's About a Change in Being

That's why the Gospel is so much more than an attempt to change our behavior. The Gospel is about a change in being. In condition. In who we are. Because sin runs so deeply into the very core of who we are, the solution for sin can be nothing less than an absolute change of that same core.

- p. 38 "Holy Vocabulary" by Michael Kelley

The Standard of God's Love

The cross is the very definition of love:

"Love consists in this: not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins." (1 John 4:10)

Unfortunately, we are often taught to look upon the cross with guilt and shame because of the role our sinful nature played in putting Jesus there. But that couldn't be a more inappropriate response. The cross was a provisionary and self-sacrificing act; one in which God, in His benevolence, met our deepest need. This makes the cross the standard of God's Love.

- p. 24 "Holy Vocabulary" by Michael Kelley