The Advocate

In yesterday’s post I included a prayer, part of which read: “Father...forgive me for setting myself up as Judge, rather than seeing myself as one in need of a good Defense Attorney. Amen."

In need of a good Defense Attorney; that’s me. That’s you, too. That’s all of us as we stand before a Holy God.

The ancient scriptures tell us "we will all stand before God's judgment seat. It is written: "'As surely as I live,' says the Lord, 'every knee will bow before me; every tongue will confess to God.'" So then, each of us will give an account of himself to God. Therefore let us stop passing judgment on one another."
Romans 14:10-13 (NIV)

I picture the scene, God sitting as Judge, the Prosecutor, bringing up every bad thought and wicked deed we’ve ever committed; or good deed we could have done, but failed to do.

Many of the ancients believe in an Enemy (the devil, Satan) and the Bible describes him as "the accuser of our brothers, who accuses them before our God day and night..."
Revelation 12:10 (NIV)

There we sit: guilty, scared, hopeless. And then, in walks our Defense Attorney, the Judge’s son, Jesus.

"My little children, I am writing these things to you that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate, one who speaks to the Father in our defense--Jesus Christ, the Righteous One; and He Himself is the atoning sacrifice for our sins; and not for ours only, but also for those of the whole world." 1 John 2:1-2

That is amazing! Even if we are found "guilty as charged", our Defense Attorney has already served our sentence, paying the price for our sins, and not only for "christians", for for the sins of the whole world!!

The word 'gospel' means "Good News". I am convinced that the Christian message of forgiveness and reconciliation is Good News for everyone, not just Christians.

In Isaiah 44:22, God declares, "Return to me, for I have paid the price for your freedom. Come on home, you are already forgiven!" That is good news indeed!

Turning the Tables

Jesus said to them, "I tell you the truth, the tax collectors and the prostitutes are entering the kingdom of God ahead of you... Therefore I tell you that the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people who will produce its fruit."
Matthew 21:31, 43 (NIV)

I have found during 25 years of ministry that the church, like the Pharisees in the New Testament, often falls into the trap of judging who's in and who's out. The words of Jesus should be unsettling for those who consider themselves "religious".

Who are the "tax collectors and prostitutes" of our day? Who are the outsiders, the ones the religious elite judge as having no chance of being part of the kingdom as they are?

"The kingdom", says Jesus, "will be given to those who produde its fruit". Those who indicate that the Spirit of God is with them and within them by producing "the Fruit of the Spirit": love, joy, peace, patience, goodness, kindness, gentleness, faithfulness and self-control. (Galatians 5)

Some modern-day Pharisees quote passages that indicate they are the gatekeeper to the kingdom, determining who is qualified, or not, to enter into it. Jesus had a way, and still does, of sending to the end of the line those who promote themselves as the arbiters of grace.

I often hear Christians dodge the charge of being judgmental by saying, "I not judging, I'm just inspecting fruit." Perhaps it's past time for the church to focus more on fruit production and less on fruit inspection--or stick to inspecting our own fruit and not that of our neighbor.

Father, as one who has received grace and mercy, help me not to withhold from others. Forgive me for setting myself up as Judge, rather than seeing myself as one in need of a good Defense Attorney. Amen.

Unraveling

Some have noticed that this blog site has been uncharacteristically silent for the past two and a half weeks (BTW, thanks for checking on me, B.D.). I've been in kind of a funk emotionally, and swamped with demands on my time, but who's not these days?

I have had time to get informed about Christian Nudists, as our friends over at Mr. Beale's Epiphany hosted a lively and informative discussion a couple of weeks ago. I'm not a convert, but had never heard of this before and find the whole "movement" interesting. I uncovered a new segment of the Christian sub-culture in America that I heretofore never knew existed.

My biggest problem is I've been reading Brian Mclaren again, which is always a dangerous endeavor for me. Things are beginning to unravel, which is not necessarily a bad thing. I blame my friend Tom. He warned me it would happen if I kept chasing some of my thoughts and ideas to their logical conclusions.

I guess for the past several month I've been going through a(nother) mid-life crisis. A new crisis of faith, or sorts. Or just the continuation of one that's been going on for the past twenty-seven years. I've been disastrous with relationships (which is not a good thing for a pastor), too frequently silent and/or absent during much of the past ten months.

Questioning everything. Sifting. Holding on the old treasures and tossing aside things proven to be no longer useful. Some "truths" lose their luster as time goes on. Real truth become more precious with the passing of time. When we do something for a long time we delude ourselves into thinking that's the only (or best) way to do it.

My blog on October 1, "The Glory of the Longing Heart" quotes the lyrics of a song by John Fischer. That is an apt description of where I've been most of 2007, but sometimes it feels far less than "glorious". I've been undertaking an outward makeover since my birthday, more out of necessity (make changes or die, literally) than vanity. All the while God has been undertaking an inward makeover of sorts. Destroying old assumptions and long-held, but misguided, "certainties."

Lately I have found spiritual resonance with King David of Israel who lived nearly 3,000 years ago:

"I love the LORD, for he heard my voice; he heard my cry for mercy. Because he turned his ear to me, I will call on him as long as I live." Psalms 116:1-2 (NIV)

I like to pray it back to God in present tense: "I love you, Lord, for You hear my voice; You hear my cry for mercy. Because You turn Your ear to me, I will call on You as long as I live." Amen.

The Glory of the Longing Heart

Once again, our friend John Fischer left a "Catch of the Day" in the FISCHTANK that is worth repeating:

"I have seen the burden God has laid on men. He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the hearts of human beings; yet they cannot fathom what God has done from beginning to end." (Ecclesiastes 3:10-11).

It is part of the supreme wisdom of God that he made us and put us here on earth to “seek him, and perhaps find him, though he is not far from any one of us, for in him we live and move and have our being.” Acts 17:27-28 (NIV)

In light of what it takes to find the truth, a longing heart is our most prized possession. And it is important to realize that seeking isn't over once you find. In truth it has only just begun.

The Longing Heart
O the glory of the longing heart
O the aching of the wind
The groping fingers straining in the dark
To know what lies beyond the end.
Eternity is trapped in time
Beauty tarnished by the beast
Hope expires at the finish line
Where the universe is creased.

State the answer; don the uniform
Throw conclusions at the soul
Cash the question; kill the unicorn
Press neatly at the fold.
But still it opens at the budding rose
Still it wonders at the child
Still it knows what it refused to know
Who makes wild horses wild?

O the glory of the longing heart
Casting questions to the wind
Let it carry the soul searching far
Let it bring it back again.
But not so far that it will lose its way
Not so near that it will scorn
Near enough to give itself away
Far enough to know it's torn.

So give the longing heart room to roam
Let the truthful seeker speak
For in the seeking it will find its home
And in the finding it will seek.
O the glory of the longing heart
O the aching of the wind.