light on a hill

Money, money and all that

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Interesting thought from a book written by Craig L. Blomberg on “A Christian View Of Possessions”, an academic, his expertise and fields of research are Economics and Hebrew he writes “More than a billion people out of the earth’s seven billion inhabitants live in desperate poverty.  Natural disasters, war, corrupt governments, lack of education, human greed, disease, unfair trade laws, false religions all play their part in creating this situation.   Conservatively, at least 200 million (1/5th) of these poor are Bible-believinng, born-again Christians”.

In taking on board his comments we today as Bible-beliveing Christians worldwide, heralding the coming of the Kingdom of God cannot see it as someone else’s responsibility be the answer, we must be part of the answer.   The Kingdom of God is not only miracles and healing, if this is our only focus we will be distracted from the fuller gospel of the Kingdom.

He goes on to say that just in America, let alone the remaining world “…over the last 30 years Christians have changed their spending patterns…the amount of money spent on non-essentials as sports and recreation, lawn care, video and computer games, home entertainment centres, pets and dieting has skyrocketed. At the same time Christians per capital giving to causes of all kinds has steadily declined in the last 40 years from just under 4% of their total annual income to barely above 2%”.

He then delivers a punch with “…trend watchers have made two staggering calculations…firstly if every USA Christian simply tithed, the additional amount of money that would be raised above and beyond current giving levels would be enough to eradicate world poverty in our lifetime.  Secondly the average age of major donors is now, for the first time ever, well over sixty-five.   Current Christian work is being funded largely by retired people.   Unless we change, in less than a generation the majority of ministries and good works will close their doors in reaching the poor.”

I write this with these thoughts, if we all saw the biblical, not tradition instruction on money, seeing the tithe as an answer not something to fight against, along with the biblical necessity of financial stewardship as part of a working answer perhaps a difference would dawn in our world.    If the whole church tithed worldwide, not just Europe or the West, but the whole church, we could eradicate world debt in less than 15/20 years.   What a powerful argument, of course we would need to agree to stop investing further in internal building programs, adding to men and women’s egos, running  bigger and better and getting more cut of the Christian market share.   We would need to distance our selves from the annual $7 billion Christian market but taking up the Apostolic & Biblical direction “never to forget the poor”.     Truly this would be the Isaiah 2:2, 3 “In the last days the mountain of the Lord’s temple will be established as the highest of the mountains; it will be exalted above the hills, and all nations will stream to it. 3 Many peoples will come and say, “Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the temple of the God of Jacob.  He will teach us his ways, so that we may walk in his paths.”   It will not be governments of politic or polices but the people of God that will have dealt with world poverty, this is truly the Kingdom of God coming to earth!

Before you get the wrong idea I am certainly not against buildings or exiting programs as we reach our world far from it.    However we are told that only 4/6% of the church worldwide actually tithes, and we all would admit the church downs amazing on that alone but the thought is not to affect existing budgets or support at all but just to apply the other 96/94% increase of giving and see what we can change?

 Join with us in changing our spending habits, join with us in making a difference with others while being the instructive Mountain of God, join and make  a difference rather than allowing the church to be something other than the Father has in his ultimate intention.    Being a different kind of people who creation awaits for sons of God led by the Spirit.
For the West he says lest get delivered from “…the already affluent becoming richer…” or let us not think about the well-to-do Christians “…trade places with the poor…” for both extreme prove un-biblical and prevent any action.
Let us join and become the Kingdom heralding, called out people of God bring a world answer!    Its time to truly study the scriptures and discover the real answers that has been outline there in about financial stewardship.

“Doing God” or prelude for Revival to become a “season of Restoration” in UK?

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The God Question in politics again, it hits the news again!    2012 has become a year that our Christian faith has been brought to the centre of many debates on many issues, it is certainly causing conversations and comments.    It’s not the church that has achieved this directly but the Prime Minister and the Queen.   The Guardian wrote  “At an Easter reception in Downing Street, David Cameron ventured where even Tony Blair feared to tread, quoting from the Gospel of Luke, speaking of ‘we Christians’, and welcoming the Christian ‘fightback’. ‘The values of the Bible, the values of Christianity, are the values that we need’, he said. In your view, is it acceptable for a modern prime minister to espouse Christian values so openly?”

Ok consider for your self, with David Cameron’s own words, what will resound into in our world, if declarations has any authority, the supernatural realm has certainly had many words from the Queen’s speech at Christmas,  Cameron’s words  at the celebration of 400 years of King James Bible, now more words from David Cameron.     We will all wonder what did the UK Prime Minister mean by this or that, what ever he has meant by these words he certainly has spoken of a regaining of Christianity at the forefront of the UK.

Are these just words or a contributing to a preparing Revival bringing about a season of  Restoration (Acts 3:19-21)?     Bringing Christ to the forefront of people’s minds in a country that is economically challenged , challenges on National identity what does it mean to be British, social challenges, young feeling isolated and more disenfranchised, education being undermined by budgets and Christ, faith being put right into the middle of it all.  An appeal for a Christ faith to take place in the ‘Big Society‘, perhaps to be the lead,  of a community of faith, a community of restoration, a community of recovery in the UK making a difference because of our Christ.

My next post will be David Cameron’s words read and consider your self

2012 – I am the New Year

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I came across the following while considering the two gift of God to us in Creation – TIME & PLACE they are a few words to consider at the commencement of 2012…
I am unused, unspotted without blemish
I stretch before you three hundred and sixty-five days long.   I will present each day in its turn, a new leaf in the Book of Life, for you to place upon it your imprint
It remains for you to make me what you will: if you write with firm, steady strokes, my pages will be a joy to look upon when the next New Year comes. If pen falters, if uncertainty, doubt or sin mar pages, it will become a day to remember with pain
I am the New Year  During each Hour of three-hundered-sixty-five days, I will give you sixty minutes that have never known the use of man, pure, I present them; it remains for you to fill them with sixty jewelled seconds of love, hope, endeavour, patience and trust in God
I am the new Year; I am here but once past, I can never be recalled
MAKE ME YOUR BEST

The Condition

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“Let there be light” is a part of the opening declaration of our Heavenly father, giving us some understanding of who, He is.    As we begin with this statement there is so much to draw from it.   While travelling to Sri Lanka, a number of the ministries we work and labour with on that beautiful Island, call me the “Genesis man” as they say I return back to Genesis especially chapter 1 so many times in my ministry.   My only defense is, if I require one that Genesis is the seed-bed of all Gods working, that within creation all the themes and workings of God are there in seed from.

I must admit I love Genesis 1 greatly, it sends a buzz through me, as I read and consider, it comes alive as I read the explosion of life and vegetation, I feel the exhilaration of the Father as he spoke and it happened.   “…Wham..bam..wow…bang…” feel the joy of the creation, the Holy Spirits’ joy, the manifestation of “…the Kingdom of God is…righteousness, peace and joy…” so the creation is full of joy!   Recently I saw a different slant on the Hebrew word for OBEY which is actually is to “keep intact” I think that is magnificent.   It opens up a whole other facet of obedience, keeping in tact!   I must not get way laid into that avenue at present may be another time but to look at the declarations of God in the “Let there be’s” of Genesis 1 as being the father speaking and in order to “keep in tact” with the declaration, it was.   Genesis becomes a canvas of “keeping in tact” the word, the spoken word of God, and the obedience to a declared utterance from the Father.

Genesis opens up with God, nothing more nothing less than God, for there was a time when there was God, there was no sound, actually no expression of God.   Genesis 1 heralds the first expression of God to us for out of…?…?…?…?, I am lost for words, out of where?   You see we are challenged, with our vocabulary, to communicate accurately the actual fullness of truth.   We are tempted to say that God, out of nothing, created, but we cannot do that, as there was nothing seen but everything was in an unseen condition, in God himself.    God had not given expression to himself prior to that time.   Creation opens up the expression of his love, we say in John 3:16 “God so loved the world he sent his Son”, in other words the Christ is the expression of his love.    Into time came the first sound a “…let…” the first expression in a seen dimension and this expression was the word, the first sound was the word of God the Son!     That is why he is the center of the Fathers attraction; His goal to fill all things with is Christ.    It is said in Hebrews’ that God is happy to dwell in bodily form in the Christ, as he is the first expression of God.  The expression of the Father had so much of his essence that it exploded into being and created, and all change came about!    Everything is measured by Christ, in us and in all we do, he has become the “horizon” the very line of God for all things.  Not our business of church or our activity by how much of this first expression, the word, the Christ is found in all our endeavours and lives.

This same expression is towards us today, his Son the word of God is here, he has been given to us, and with Him, the same ability to change things, the same expressions of transformation, God has invested in the people of God today.   The scripture encourages us come boldly to God, and become the expression of God, speaking and expressing him, according to his will.

More than this, truly what I wanted to write about is what happened when “…let there be light…” was expressed!   Things changed, darkness became altered as light made its impact.  Unfortunately for us light has become an object, it is a bright orb in the sky – the sun; it’s a bulb hanging in the middle of a room, lamps along roadways, a hand-held torch or just a simple candle – light has become an object.   Let me first say here, that we are dealing with not just light, but the very essence of God himself, as I read and understand God has two essences, light and love, and both are given to us.   We are to love one another “that the world might know” and we are to become “the light on the hill” (Matt 5) we are to become the extension of the essence of God in our world as we Restore it and bring it back to gods original intent, along with all of creation and the cosmos.

The Light that is introduced to us here is not an object, interestingly, the sun and moon had not yet been created as the objects of light, but here light is the very nature of God coming forth and making the changes and advances.  Sun and moon came three days later in the creative order, creation returns to this light filled setting in Revelation 21, 22 when the light once again is not dependent on an object but on a presence.    So if the objects of light had not yet come, what are we dealing with here is “ a condition”, the condition, the being, the very nature, the very essence of God.     Let there be light was the introduction of a condition and the condition was God.

Ever since this time, every dawning has been a re-enactment a reminder that the condition of God has come into the world.   Have you noticed how better you feel following a sunny day, or how much in general people are happier having been in the sun.   Some people suffer with a condition of depression if they do not get enough sun.   it is a picture to us of a realty that the condition of God is  anew day, the let there be light of  dawn is a reminder that the condition of God has come to us.

Here is where the rubber meets the road, we have been given a gift of the love and light of God, we have become the sons of Light, people of the day, have we not, this light on the hill.   We have been invaded with the condition of God, not a conditioning but the very nature of God.    This condition that dwells in us is to dawn from us.   Our task and goal is to take the condition of light into the places of our world and let the condition come.   Practically how then, through our words, actions, love, character, etc.

The light is the condition of God that will fill all, this is the Christ of God, we are people of the light we are immersed, baptized into the condition of God until his light dwells in all.

Genesis 1 brings a condition into our vocabulary not just an object of light, dispelling the darkness is bringing the condition of the Father to our world, we are created to be creation, Genesis people dispersing the condition of God.   If light dwells in us the condition of God dwells in us, is this not his image and likeness in us?

How does that impact you?   I am a child of a condition, O, boy my self-esteem changes, I bear the condition of God in me and so do you, light bearer!  

 

Stand up & be counted – Foundations

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“The priesthood of all believers” this was once well taught, Martin Luther in the early reformation took it as a central teaching. Yet after all this time we are still battling with it.     Today we have a professional priesthood or pastors more than ever and with it people are moved into a consumer approach to faith, where we come and get God served to us on Sunday mornings.   We all agree with the notion knowing we are all priest unto God.   The dilemma for us today is this, do we continue to live as we are, are we ‘consumered out’ and so hierarchically set that we have to live with a priesthood once again and thus remain with a professional priesthood ?

I know this is not our desire.  Today with the great cry for freedom  and liberty all around us, we should  take hold of our position through the love of God.

We have to become a priesthood to all creation, while maintaining a corporate people of God understanding and existence.    Some however have taken it to such an extreme that they have become islands of faith and individuals with no connections,  that is yet another extreme.   We are a community and family of priests unto our God, here to minister to one another and bring explanations of the Father to our world.    This is what  our High Priest the Christ has done before us.

Suppose that you gathered one Sunday morning, and some one stood before the congregation  asking, “Would any priest  here please stand?”   I am sure for some their historical backgrounds would determine the response.  Who would stand and who would you expect to stand?

Some would be comfortable to stand and others wait for those in the vocation or profession to stand.   Before you start looking to other denominations and saying ‘Ah they would….’ What have we slowly and subversively come to?   The question deals with the fleeting issue of ‘Image and Likeness’ and ‘Identity’.  This is central to all dealing with how we see and think of ourselves.  One of Gods central concerns, at this time, is to produce his image and likeness back into his world and humanity, that Christ might have supreme position in all – Restoration.   The Holy Spirit is working to bring about a people of image and likeness to the Father in the cosmos, it is an important issue today.

Heavens resources are working to bring the image and likeness of God back in view to all.

Back to the question on that Sunday morning, how many people do you think would rise? More important, would you stand?

You should! every believer is anointed to serve as a priest.

For the early Christian in the New Testament, the word priest is never used of a church leader; it is only used to characterise the role of all believers.  Imagine how it was received by the early Christians. When Peter wrote, “You are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s own people” (1 Pet. 2:9, RSV), he was writing mostly to people who formerly had nothing to do with Israel and its God. Peter confers on these new Christians both a Jewish heritage (“you are a holy nation, God’s own people”) and the privilege of priesthood (“you are a royal priesthood”). Such a notion would have shaken them to the soles of their sandals.

Perhaps to understand the privilege of being named a priest, we need first to examine what priesthood meant to those who had a history of understanding of the practice of Priesthood.     Why do I write on this, I believe that if we could catch our Image and Likeness, our identity, many challenges would pass and life would be lived very differently, its time to finally realise the goal of the Father in this.

A Favoured Person

Priests were chosen from among the tribe of Levi (one of the 12 tribes of Israel) to serve as mediators between God and His people. God told Aaron, the first high priest,

I myself have selected your fellow Levites from among the Israelites as a gift to you, dedicated to the Lord to do the work at the Tent of Meeting. But only you and your sons may serve as priests in connection with everything at the altar and inside the curtain. I am giving you the service of the priesthood as a gift. Anyone else who comes near the sanctuary must be put to death Num. 18:6-7

It was a tremendous privilege to serve as a priest in Israel—a gift. Priests enjoyed a special relationship to God: They alone could offer sacrifices; they alone had access to the holy portions of the tabernacle and the temple where God manifested His presence; they alone were the guardians of the Law.

Then, in the New Testament, all believers are called as priests. The book of Revelation says that Jesus “has made us his Kingdom and his priests who serve before God his Father” (1:6, 5:10, NLT). In a sense, when we are “born again,” we are born into a priesthood as if we were actually privileged descendants of Levi. In addition, with our new birth we receive an anointing, not with oil as Old Testament priests were anointed, but with the Holy Spirit (1 Jn. 2:20, 27). This anointing empowers us to serve God in this privileged and vitally important priestly role.

You won’t have to Kill a cow or a lamb.

Here are five ways we serve Christ as priests.

1. We offer sacrifices. Under the Old Covenant, priests offered animal sacrifices. They slaughtered a lamb on the altar every morning and evening, drained the animal’s blood, and sprinkled the blood on and around the altar. Then they cut the animal into prescribed portions and burned much of the meat (see Ex. 29:38-39). These costly and graphic sacrifices were a constant reminder of the deadly seriousness of sin and the need for cleansing and forgiveness from God. They were inadequate, however, to cover sins; they only pointed to the ultimate sacrifice.

This sacrifice was realised in Jesus who came as “the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world” (Jn. 1:29). The offering of His life on the cross was the final sacrifice. None other will ever be necessary: “He sacrificed for their sins once for all when he offered himself” (Heb. 7:27).

Because of Jesus’ sacrificial offering, priests no longer need to make animal sacrifices. But God does call us to sacrifice consider Romans 12:1 “I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual act of worship”.

As living sacrifices, we offer ourselves completely to God to use as He pleases.

In addition, instead of the aroma of a burnt offering, God longs for us to offer the pleasing aroma of praise: “Through Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise—the fruit of lips that confess his name” (Heb. 13:15). This too is part of our priestly service.   I have mentioned in a number of places remember that worship was not singing but a life of obedience, worship was obedience and there to be a sweet aroma to God.    Singing has a place, it helps us express and confess, yet without obedience it is just a sing along, for the sake of enjoying the music or the celebrations of songs

2. We read, interpret, and proclaim God’s . One of the extraordinary blessings of the New Covenant is that we have direct and immediate access to the Word of God. This truth led Christian leaders such as John and Martin Luther to translate the Bible into everyday languages so all people—not just the clergy—could read it, interpret it, and delight in it. God calls all of us to be like the priest Ezra, who devoted himself to studying God’s , practicing it, and making it known (Ezra 7:10).

3. We intercede for others in prayer.    We also have direct access to God—through our relationship with him.   Developing and deepening our intimacy with him.,  Because of our close relationship with Jesus, the great high priest, we can “approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need” (Heb. 4:16). At that throne, we believer-priests can serve others by interceding with God on their behalf.      God is still looking for those who will become the one ‘mankind’ who will stand in the gap, intercede and rule in the cosmos on his behalf.

4. We serve according to our giftedness. Not all priests will serve in the same way under this new priesthood. When God poured out His Spirit upon us, He gave us different abilities. God also has provided the church with a variety of gifted people (none of whom constitute a special order of priests) who encourage and prepare their fellow believer-priests to do the ministry. The Apostle Paul says that Christ has given gifts to the church “for the equipping of the saints for the work of service” (Eph. 4:12, NASB).     That the people of God transform the cosmos around by their empowering priesthood.

5. We mediate God’s presence to the world. Ultimately, we are channels of God’s blessing. One of our priestly sacrifices is to serve others: “Do not forget to do good and to share with others, for with such sacrifices God is pleased” (Heb. 13:16). We represent God’s presence to those living with us, those in line with us at the grocery store, serving us in restaurants, working next to us, or sitting across from us in our small groups. As we talk, pray, and live with them, we are fulfilling our priestly role as Peter described it:

1 Peter 2:9 “You are…a royal priesthood…[God’s] own purchased, special people, that you may set forth the wonderful deeds and display the virtues and perfections of Him Who called you out of darkness into His marvellous light.”

Knowing your true identity and role can have a powerful impact on your life. God has called you to a priestly position and has anointed you with His Spirit for this privileged assignment.