Tuesday, September 11, 2018

You missed a passage in Isaiah

A piece in response to The Statement on Social Justice that too many people have signed.

Sounds like they're in denial.

Afraid of what they see as Belial.

Not sure

How to

Take the steps to

Make sure of survival.

Survival of their own case.

Is just like

The very mace.

That is used to

Beat down on

People cuz of race.

They don't see the world that hurts.

The world that stings, that burns.

While the pushed down

Lie breathless

As they wash their hands from dirt.

When will the Lord

Give taste.

Of Isaiah 58.

When fasting

For everlasting

Is in the way

He appreciates?

Sure we're all one race.

Just look at any place.

The equality

That sings through

As people

Discriminate.

My song is full of why's.

My heart is full of sighs.

It's ok

To admit that

We all fall for lies.

Lies about our skin

The entitlement within

Me first

Cuz I wear a shirt

Made by an Indian

Who has no supplies

Who believes in the lies

That he's worthless

So he's working

For five cents-

What a crime.

But in Jesus I will praise
as He quotes Isaiah 58

The brown man who

God has raised

To help us

Overcome this fate.

Please Lord

Will you show us.

Beyond our cafes and mochas.

How to sign a declaration

By joining hands with our brothers.

Show us how to build your church.

In a way that heals the hurt.

That stands up

For those who

The world has cast as dirt.

This piece references the following excerpts that are listed below (from the link https://statementonsocialjustice.com/):

Section on Gospel:

"WE DENY that anything else, whether works to be performed or opinions to be held, can be added to the gospel without perverting it into another gospel. This also means that implications and applications of the gospel, such as the obligation to live justly in the world, though legitimate and important in their own right, are not definitional components of the gospel."

Section on The Church:

"WE DENY that political or social activism should be viewed as integral components of the gospel or primary to the mission of the church. Though believers can and should utilize all lawful means that God has providentially established to have some effect on the laws of a society, we deny that these activities are either evidence of saving faith or constitute a central part of the church’s mission given to her by Jesus Christ, her head."

Section on Race/ethnicity:

"... While we are to weep with those who weep, we deny that a person’s feelings of offense or oppression necessarily prove that someone else is guilty of sinful behaviors, oppression, or prejudice."

Section on Racism:

"...We deny that the contemporary evangelical movement has any deliberate agenda to elevate one ethnic group and subjugate another. And we emphatically deny that lectures on social issues (or activism aimed at reshaping the wider culture) are as vital to the life and health of the church as the preaching of the gospel and the exposition of Scripture. Historically, such things tend to become distractions that inevitably lead to departures from the gospel."

Section on history and formation:

"The Statement on Social Justice and the Gospel grew out of a meeting that took place on June 19, 2018. Fourteen men met in Herb’s House coffee shop in Dallas, Texas, having all expressed our growing concern with much that was taking place within evangelical circles under the banner of “Social Justice.” "

Some wider commentary on The Statement on Social Justice:

https://www.christianpost.com/news/john-macarthurs-social-justice-statement-theologically-weak-misguided-some-conservative-christians-say-227276/

https://americanvision.org/16796/response-to-the-statement-on-social-justice-and-the-gospel/

https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/its-impossible-to-separate-social-justice-from-the-christian-gospel/2018/09/10/26764628-b528-11e8-94eb-3bd52dfe917b_story.html?noredirect=on&utm_term=.82b6090c00a6

https://founders.org/2018/09/04/the-statement-on-social-justice-and-the-gospel/

https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/conference/mlk50/

Isaiah 58 passage from the link https://www.biblestudytools.com/nirv/isaiah/58.html:

Isaiah 58

What True Worship Is All About

1 The LORD told me, "Shout out loud. Do not hold back. Raise your voice like a trumpet. Tell my people that they have refused to obey me. Tell the family of Jacob how much they have sinned.

2Day after day they worship me. They seem ready and willing to know how I want them to live. They act as if they were a nation that does what is right. They act as if they have not turned away from my commands. They claim to want me to give them fair decisions. They seem ready and willing to come near and worship me.

3 'We have gone without food,' they say. 'Why haven't you noticed it? We have made ourselves suffer. Why haven't you paid any attention to us?' "On the day when you fast, you do as you please. You take advantage of all of your workers.

4 When you fast, it ends in arguing and fighting. You hit one another with your fists. That is an evil thing to do. The way you are now fasting keeps your prayers from being heard in heaven.

5 Do you think that is the way I want you to fast? Is it only a time for a man to make himself suffer? Is it only for people to bow their heads like tall grass that is bent by the wind? Is it only for people to lie down on black cloth and ashes? Is that what you call a fast? Do you think I can accept that?

6 "Here is the way I want you to fast. "Set free those who are held by chains without any reason. Untie the ropes that hold people as slaves. Set free those who are crushed. Break every evil chain.

7 Share your food with hungry people. Provide homeless people with a place to stay. Give naked people clothes to wear. Provide for the needs of your own family.

8 Then the light of my blessing will shine on you like the rising sun. I will heal you quickly. I will march out ahead of you. And my glory will follow behind you and guard you. That is because I always do what is right.

9 You will call out to me for help. And I will answer you. You will cry out. And I will say, 'Here I am.' "Get rid of the chains you use to hold others down. Stop pointing your finger at others as if they had done something wrong. Stop saying harmful things about them.

10 Work hard to feed hungry people. Satisfy the needs of those who are crushed. Then my blessing will light up your darkness. And the night of your suffering will become as bright as the noonday sun.

11 I will always guide you. I will satisfy your needs in a land that is baked by the sun. I will make you stronger. You will be like a garden that has plenty of water. You will be like a spring whose water never runs dry.

12 Your people will rebuild the cities that were destroyed long ago. And you will build again on the old foundations. You will be called The One Who Repairs Broken Walls. You will be called The One Who Makes City Streets Like New Again.

13 "Do not work on the Sabbath day. Do not do just anything you want to on my holy day. Make the Sabbath a day you can enjoy. Honor my holy day. Do not work on it. Do not do just anything you want to. Do not talk about things that are worthless.

14 Then you will find your joy in me. I will give you control over the most important places in the land. And you will enjoy all of the good things in the land I gave your father Jacob." The LORD has spoken.

Saturday, June 9, 2018

Come to Me (Matthew 11:28-30)

Sing with me :)

Come to me
All who are weary
Come to me
All who are thirsty
Come to me

And I will give you rest
Oh I will give you rest

Take my yoke
For it is easy
Take my yoke
Its burden is light
Take my yoke

And I will give you rest
Oh I will give you rest

When you're weak
My strength will be perfect
When you're weak
I'll make you strong
When you're weak

I will give you rest
Oh I will give you rest

Take my yoke
And learn of me
For I'm meek
And lowly in heart
And you'll find

Rest unto your souls
Oh rest unto your souls

Come to me

(Music set to a piece heard on Bill Pearce's radio show, Nightsounds. Will update more once I find out the name of the piece.)

The unbiblical nature of white supremacy

The Bible is Holy-spirit inspired scripture that is used to guide and teach humanity:

From infancy you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for instruction, for conviction, for correction, and for training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be complete, fully equipped for every good work.
(2nd Timothy 3:15-17).

It teaches us about God's truth and love that extends to ALL people, regardless of skin color:

Abraham will surely become a great and powerful nation, and all nations on earth will be blessed through him.
(Genesis 18:18, NIV).

There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.
(Galatians 3:28, NIV)

Disturbingly, white supremacists have been using the cannonized Bible, as well as their own versions that greatly differ from the cannonized Bible, as means of supporting a movement that establishes one race's superiority over the other human races.

The Bible is not meant to establish white supremacy, brown supremacy, black supremacy, or any other kind of human supremacy over other human beings.

The Bible is meant to help human beings realize God's supremacy over ALL creation:

Then they will learn that you alone are called the LORD, that you alone are the Most High, supreme over all the earth.
(Psalm 83:18, NLT).

God's majesty is outlined in many more old and new testament verses, many of them discussed in detail in J.J. Packer's book, "Knowing God."

Going back to the Bible, Mark and other gospel writers note that Jesus said that all the past Old Testament laws hung on these two commandments: 1. Love the Lord with all your heart, mind, soul and strength, and 2. Love your neighbor as yourself (Mark 12:30-31). Nowhere in the Bible does it express the supremacy of one race over another. Even though Israelites are mentioned as God's chosen people, they are considered to be equal in value to other races from every corner of the earth, as God wishes to see that NONE should perish, but have everlasting life (John 3:16, 2nd Peter 3:9-10).

In addition to addressing errant theology put forward by white supremacist groups such as the Nazi movement, alt-right hate groups, KKK, and the Christian Identity churches, there are two main theological infections that we must be quick to treat:

1. The idea that White privilege does not exist:

The concept that all of humanity is one race, coming from Adam and Eve as our ancestors, is not mutually exclusive from the concept of acknowledging racial injustice that happens even today.

Stating the fact humanity has used skin color, despite our common origins described in the first few chapters of Genesis, to discriminate, oppress, and build empires does not undermine our common ancestry, but rather allows for those in disadvantaged backgrounds to move forward, with peace, with an accurate understanding of the past.

For example, we cannot ignore the historical fact that White slave owners in the United States systematically denied education, healthcare and other basic needs to African Americans, and some even used the Bible to justify their actions. Though slavery has been abolished, much of its repercussions continue to this day, with the term "white privilege," being used to characterize the aftermath of those who are of white skin color having inherited a more favorable standing in the eyes of men, though not necessarily in the eyes of God.

White privilege is a term that is not meant as a put-down for my white brothers and sisters, but rather a declaration of the racial bias and injustice that had been insitutionalized during the slave era in the united states, as well as numerous colonial empires in India and other countries. Racism is only now beginning to be slowly excised from our society. Just as one cannot excise a tumor without first acknowledging its existence, we must as humanity acknowledge how we have done wrong so that we can repent:

...if the wicked restores the pledge, gives back what he has taken by robbery, and walks in the statutes of life, not doing injustice, he shall surely live; he shall not die.
(Ezekiel 33:15, ESV).

White privilege is not a declaration that those in a more privileged position do not have struggles or have moments of injustice occur that is somehow lesser in its tragedy than an injustice experienced by a non-white brother or sister. Injustice weighs equally heavy on God's heart, no matter its origin:

"Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen:
to loose the chains of injustice
    and untie the cords of the yoke,
to set the oppressed free
    and break every yoke?
7 Is it not to share your food with the hungry
    and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter—
when you see the naked, to clothe them,
    and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood?
8 Then your light will break forth like the dawn,
    and your healing will quickly appear;
then your righteousness[a] will go before you,
    and the glory of the Lord will be your rear guard.
9 Then you will call, and the Lord will answer;
    you will cry for help, and he will say: Here am I.

“If you do away with the yoke of oppression,
    with the pointing finger and malicious talk,
10 and if you spend yourselves in behalf of the hungry
    and satisfy the needs of the oppressed,
then your light will rise in the darkness,
    and your night will become like the noonday.
11 The Lord will guide you always;
    he will satisfy your needs in a sun-scorched land
    and will strengthen your frame.
You will be like a well-watered garden,
    like a spring whose waters never fail.
12 Your people will rebuild the ancient ruins
    and will raise up the age-old foundations;
you will be called Repairer of Broken Walls,
    Restorer of Streets with Dwellings.

(Isaiah 58: 1-12, NIV)

White privilege is not something that non-white people want to use as an excuse (and should not, lest they discredit current endeavors towards racial reconciliation and restoration of racial equality in this country and other countries) to continue in their struggles and circumstances, but rather a lamentation, and a call for an evil to be recognized, brought to Jesus Christ for healing and justice:

Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them. Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep. Live in harmony with one another. Do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly. Never be wise in your own sight. Repay no one evil for evil, but give thought to do what is honorable in the sight of all. If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all. Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, "Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord." To the contrary, "if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink; for by so doing you will heap burning coals on his head." Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.
(Romans 12:14‭-‬21 ESV).

Perhaps then we can move towards the beautiful potential that God has created within each one of us:

For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.
(Jeremiah 29:11).

2. Equating white privilege with God's favor:

Several examples in the Bible contrast man-made privelege with God-given favor, but none more so than the Exodus of the Israelities from Egypt.

In Exodus chapters 1-14, God contrasts the uselessness of man-made privilege when compared to God-given favor through a series of plagues that affect the opressors and frees the slaves. The more privileged class is struggles to succeed in its attempts despite its technological advances (chariots) while the oppressed class sees the favor of God in protecting the land of Goshen during the plagues that affect the rest of Egypt. In the most epic scene, God parts the waters and the oppressed pass through safely, while the oppressors who pursue them are drowned by the same waters.

Placing our trust in man-made perks brought to us by whatever kind of privilege we enjoy can only last so long, and cannot stand up to the power and favor of God. God's favor rests on those who seek Him, and not the privileged status this world has to offer:

By faith Moses, when he was born, was hid three months of his parents, because they saw he was a proper child; and they were not afraid of the king's commandment.

By faith Moses, when he was come to years, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter;

Choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God, than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season;

Esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures in Egypt: for he had respect unto the recompence of the reward.

By faith he forsook Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king: for he endured, as seeing him who is invisible.

Through faith he kept the passover, and the sprinkling of blood, lest he that destroyed the firstborn should touch them.

By faith they passed through the Red sea as by dry land: which the Egyptians assaying to do were drowned.

(Hebrews 11:23-29,KJV)

Privilege is man-derived through colonialism, exploitation, oppression, and involves self-gain. God's favor is miraculous (against the probabilisitic nature of events), just, and unconditionally loving.

Privilege is sinful as it puts another group of people at a disadvantage, whereas God's favor is Holy, and expects those with many resources to help those without many resources (Luke 12:48).

Privilege reflects the fallen nature of man, while God's favor reflects the eternal nature of God. Privilege, whether by race, money, gender, property or any other man-made status, is derived from humanity in its fallen state (Genesis 3) and is not from God.

The purpose of privilege is man's glory without regard to God, no matter the kind of supremacy that is being endorsed. The purpose of God's favor is simply to show God's supremacy over ALL creation, and love for ALL of humanity regardless of skin color or nationality.

Please prayerfully consider the points in this essay designed to confront the sacrilegious nature of race supremacy. Please pray that Jesus Christ gives us all wisdom on how to deal with racial conflicts, especially if you are inclined to the viewpoint that one race is superior to another. God considers all of humanity to be His children, made in His image. He does not favor one race over another. May God help us all to truly understand and live out these truths in love. Amen.

Monday, March 19, 2018

Drowning in affluence

Oh to see the struggle
Of a soul that knows not
Its desperate needs

It is surrounded by food
Filled with first- world problems
And drowning in its own affluence

Gasping for air- for something
That its money cannot give
The languid soul ceases to live

Instead it stops flailing
For this unrecognized need
And makes just enough movement

To have a stable and steady
Source of mediocre existence
Just enough to be called a soul

Just enough to be called alive
Just enough to take comfort
In all that money can buy

Protecting its investments
And avoiding all risks
That would threaten its enterprise

Making a pretense
That it doesn't need anything
That this gaping hole

Shaped like a cross
Is just
The soul's imagination

Now and then this opulent soul
Scrunches up in confusion
When seeing a soul running free

On calvary's shore
That Christ has meant
For every soul to be free

Monday, January 1, 2018

Not just show bread

Show bread, also known as Shewbread or The Bread of Presence, is an Old Testament (OT) Jewish custom that has made a come back in many of our New Testament Christian lives.

What!?

Yes- many of us carry around the Bible, which

(a) is the word of God that reveals Jesus as the living bread (John 6:51), and ,
(b) Jesus says is more sustaining than earthly bread (Deuteronomy 8:3, Matthew 4:4),

as if it were for consuming only on the sabbath day, and then putting it back on our shelves or tables once we get back home from church. The process repeats every week, and has become part of a nonchalant walk with God who is not the center of our lives, but rather a consultant.

Even in the OT laws, show bread was meant to represent humanity's constant need for God, with the priests eating it on the sabbath day after placing freshly-baked loaves on the table as the Great I Am asked that this bread be in His presence continually (Exodus 25:30).

After receiving Christ, one understands that this show bread mentioned in the OT is actually an image of Jesus being continually in the presence of God, and who is broken for humanity's need for salvation from their original sin. And get this- we are asked to partake of this very living bread (Luke 22:19)!

But do we only partake of Jesus and His living Word only on certain auspicious days, when we are asked to take communion or during Sunday sermons?

Strangely, a certain OT king named David, who is not a priest, but a fugitive of Saul (1st Samuel 21:6), leads the way in setting an example for the Church on when and how to partake of the Bread of Presence, or in our case, the Bible. Jesus gives us this critical Bible study hint, about David and the Show Bread, as He declares to the religious leaders that Jesus has been given authority over the Sabbath (Matthew 12, Mark 2:26, Luke 6:4).

In 1st Samuel 21, David has gained fame after slaying Goliath and many other enemies of Israel, and this new, young, warrior brings the older Saul to an envious rage that pushes Saul towards trying to murder David. David flees Gibeah, returns, and then flees again after being warned about Saul's intentions of killing David by Saul's own son Jonathan, and is now hungry and desperate for help. He can't go back home and put his family in danger, and he can't go back to work in Saul's palace, so where does he go?

As pointed out by Max Lucado in his book, "Facing your Giants," David does not waste any time in going to the House of God to get help. He asks Ahimelech for bread, and makes things slightly awkward for the priest. The only bread that Ahimelech has on hand is the Bread of Presence that has been set apart for priests, as described in the very strict OT laws mentioned above. Yet, Ahimelech realizes that the bread, which is the representative answer for humanity's need for God, is truly needed here by this human flesh in front of him in the form of David.

He hands the Bread of Presence to David, and thus through mercy breaks the pattern of using the Show Bread for display purposes and priests- establishing by example that the Bread of Presence should be made available to everyone who is in need of God. Now David didn't just see the Show Bread with his eyes, but partook of it with his most intimate of the five senses, ate of it, tasted it, and digested the bread so it became an organic part of his own body and life.

So how can we, who are not priests, follow David's example? Maybe only priests and pastors are allowed to eat of the Bread of Presence, like in the OT? This is why what Jesus did for humanity is so radical- He serves as the only high priest (Hebrews 4:14-16) whom we have to go through, and furthermore, he calls the Church a royal priesthood (1st Peter 2:9)!

As Jesus tore the veil from top to bottom after His death on the cross, and then defeated death through His resurrection, he made all those who believe in this resurrection reality a royal priesthood. This identity is given to all those who recognize their brokenness due to Original sin (Genesis 3) and accept Jesus as the ultimate sacrifice that absorbs their sin as Holy justice took its course on the cross, and therefore is the only way humanity can come into a right relationship with God once again (Hebrews 9).

Wow. Now this is some good news as we start 2018. The Bread of Presence that was once reserved for priests to put on display and then symbolically eat to represent humanity's spiritual need for God as analogous to their physical need for food has now become offered as a gift to:

EVERYONE through Jesus's death on the cross.

So for those of us who believe that Jesus's resurrection has put us once again into holy communion with God, may we eat with enthusiasm our Bible daily with the Holy Spirit as our study guide, comforter and convictor. May we not just talk the talk but live out what Jesus asks us to do as an organic part of our lives! May we not just treat it as a showpiece but as a way of life that changes us as we eat it and partake of Jesus and His Holy Spirit. Thank you for the Holy Spirit's guidance as we read the Bible that helps mold us so we can Love God and love our neighbors more. Lord may you help us walk with You as our center as we read, eat and treat the Bible with reverence and awe everyday. Thank you God for our fresh, fragrant, delicious, daily bread and not stale, for display only, day-old bread. Amen.