Mission Impossible: Replaced

The mission was impossible

(At least, that’s what was said)

The people were so long enslaved

They’d never understand

Despite this thought, the Prince, he went

And took the human guise

In stature and in wisdom grew

Won praise before our eyes

The mission went full well at first

The Prince he walked the land

Until betrayal from a friend

That seemed to end the plan

But treachery was not unseen

He used it for the best

Stormed through the fortress of the fiend

And stole the keys of death!

Now he walks into the room

That holds people full of fear

He frees the slaves and saves the doomed

And gives his life for theirs

But he who holds the keys of death

Can never conquered be

Three days it was and then returned

The Prince in full glory

The records now exchanged have been

Replaced by him, the Prince

Not just erased, but full exchanged

For his of truth and grace

Despite this all the enemy

Still thinks that he can win

He guards the broken fortress walls

To keep his prisoners in

But therein boldly strides the Prince

Ignoring dark and gloam

Penetrates the heart with ease

And brings his people home

The mission was impossible

(At least that’s what was said)

Until the Prince stepped into life

And let us understand

Back in May, when we finished the Program, we all had to make a "Stone of Remembrance" that represented something that we learned over the year and would take away with us.  For me, it was the picture above, albeit a very much rougher and uncolored picture.  Recently, I re-sketched and colored a new picture and wrote the poem to accompany it.  Together, they make up my "Stone of Remembrance."  A reminder that when Christ died and rose again, He did not simply erase my sin but rather replaced my record with His own.  I do not work from the emptiness of my own strength but from the fullness of His righteousness!

Beyond the Fork

The fork in the road is behind me now.  I walk along a path I did not expect to tread.  The trees cast long shadows over my course; the world is quiet.  Then, suddenly, the trees stop, ending with an abruptness that startles me at the edge of a barren desert.  The earth is baked to the hardness of iron, cracked for want of water.  Harsh sand blows through the air scouring the ground flat.  I look up, hoping for a glimpse of beauty in the heavens, but even the sky is bleached by the heat.  Where I long to see vibrant azure I see only washed out, pale, and dull blue.  My heart quails within me again.

“No, Lord!  Surely this cannot be the path you want me to follow!”  I look back to the richness of the forest, remembering the streams and wells to be found in the cool green depths.

“But it is,” comes the soft reply.  “You made this commitment long ago.  Will you yield your proud will to Mine even in this?”

My gaze drops to the ground at my feet where grass gives way to sand.  Tears start to my eyes.  “But why, Lord?  There was so much for me there.  On that other path…Here, it is so barren and I don’t understand.  Why?”

A gentle laugh touches my ears and a soft breeze caresses my cheek.  “Oh, My child.  Don’t you know?  Because the Water is sweetest in the desert.”

Rubik's Cube

I’ve frequently heard our understanding of God described as being like looking at a diamond.  Turn a diamond this way and that and you see different facets of the same jewel.  Look at God throughout the Bible and you see different aspects of His character, but still the same God.  I, however, have come to look at my understanding of God as being like a Rubik’s cube.

Allow me to elaborate.

When you first get a Rubik’s cube, all the colors are jumbled together.  You have a mixed up picture of what it is supposed to look like. Maybe one side is mostly scattered yellow blocks while another is predominantly green.  You can look at all the pieces, but it doesn’t quite make sense.  But you know it can and will.

Now, once you get that Rubik’s cube, you’re not going to just put it on your bedside table for display in its mixed-up state.  No, you’re going to mess with it, try to figure out how it works, try to get all the colors in the right spot.  And if you’re anything like me, you’ll work on it for hours without success.  At this point, you have several options.  You can put the cube down in frustration and decide it’s good enough as it is.  You can turn to the instructions and spend a good many more hours doing and undoing and maybe eventually getting it right.  Or you can turn to a master and have them teach you.

Similarly, when we first come to know God, our picture of Him is incomplete, jumbled.  Maybe we have a greater view of His love than His justice or of His holiness instead of His grace.  We have all we need to get a complete picture, the Bible and the Holy Spirit, but we don’t yet know how it all works together.

We’re not going to be content at first with our mixed up understanding of God.  We’ll try to figure Him out on our own, using the resources available to us in His Word.  But there is so much there, it is easy to get confused and frustrated and want to just say “Forget it!” and go on with an incomplete grasp of God’s character.  But if you turn to the Master, He can show you Himself.  Slowly, bit by bit, He arranges the pieces in their proper location.  Sometimes, you find that what you thought was a good picture of something, wasn’t really and it was actually still mixed up.  Sometimes, the arrangement doesn’t make sense—then with a quick twist, you see the design.  Day by day, as we study under the Master, we can see how all the pieces fit together.

Obviously, it isn’t a perfect analogy.  Some people can do a Rubik’s cube in seconds. And each side of a Rubik’s cube is a single color.  But if you imagine it as a 7x7 cube and each side as a magnificent painting, you get a better idea of the complexity of God’s character and the difficulties involved in attempting to sort it out yourself.  Especially if the picture on the box is torn and impossible to see clearly—something that happened to our grasp of God when Adam sinned.

So stop a moment and think: when was the last time you turned to the Master to have Him show you how the Rubik’s cube of His character is supposed to fit together?  Have you bothered to try to rearrange the panels to see the true picture?  Are you tired of trying to do it on your own?  Remember, there is only one Man who ever completed it on His own.  And He was God incarnate.  If you want to understand God, go to God and He’ll happily guide you on your way.

A Fork in the Road

With Program coming to an end, I’m more and more wondering what I’m to do next. I’ve never had to figure out something of this magnitude. Do I stay in here and commit to living here? Or do I return home to my family and start anew in my life with them? Would going home just be taking the easy route? Would I be able to hold true to what I’ve learned over this year or fall too easily into old habits? Can I live on my own, knowing that I’m not going back home at any particular point in time? What would I do for a job? It is all very confusing. Every time my life has changed, it has been as if I came upon a bend in the road and just went the only way I could. This time, I feel like I’ve come to a fork instead.

The road is overshadowed with trees and both paths disappear within a few yards. I’ve been along one path so I can guess what lies beyond sight. But I have changed so my footing is not as certain along the beaten way. The other road is new to me and I’m not certain if I am prepared to walk it. A hand descends on my shoulder and I look up into the face of the One who gave His life for me. “Follow Me,” He says.

“But how?” I cry. “I don’t know the way. I don’t know how to follow through the woods. I don’t know what You want me to do!”

“I am the way,” He says. “My word is the light for your path through darkness. Follow Me.”

“I don’t get it!” My heart cries back. “I’ve never had to do this before. I don’t know what I’m doing. I want to trust You but I’m afraid. I’m afraid of both paths. I don’t want to abandon my family but neither do I want to fall into old habits and lose sight of what You’ve taught me.”

“I will teach you in the way in which you should go. Come.”

With that, He is gone, though I know He has not left me. I stand still at the fork, trembling, wondering. Which is the path set for me?

The Battle for Holiness

Joshua has really been on my mind a lot these past few weeks. I know we’re studying Joshua and all but I didn’t think about anyone else nearly as much as I have Joshua. I really like him. But I think it is the picture I see of how the Christian life works that has followed me. In the book of Joshua, we see Israel fighting battle after battle to conquer the Promised Land. But for each one there is a recurring theme: the Lord God fought for Israel.

The first time in Joshua’s career that we see this fact is in his first battle with the Amalekites. So long as Moses held the rod up, interceding for them, victory belonged to Israel. When Moses tired, Israel faltered. At Jericho, with the most ridiculous battle plan imaginable (by human standards), Joshua led Israel to a resounding victory with the Lord as his banner. Then at Ai, they were defeated—because God did not fight with them. Each and every victory really belonged to God but He chose to use Joshua and the Israelites as His instruments.

We know that God does not need us to prove the glory of His name. Just look at the Exodus. Israel didn’t have to lift a finger in battle but mighty Egypt was defeated. Yet in the Promised Land, God chose to work through Joshua to fight the battles. With God, none could stand against him; without God, Joshua was defeated soundly. And Joshua knew that, as evidenced by his statements in Joshua 23:3.

For me, I think of it in relationship to our battle with sin and to become more like Christ. God chooses to have me work to grow holy but ultimately it is He who works in me even the will to do what He calls me to do (thinking of Phil 2:12-13). I can strive for holiness all I want on my own and I’ll get as far as Israel at the first battle of Ai. But if I follow God’s crazy battle plans, He will win the battle on my behalf. God is perfectly capable of doing anything on His own. I am not. But I am still called to put on my armor and go to battle so that He can fight for me.

A theme of the Program has been “It’s all about Him.” And so it is.  Even my sanctification is not merely for my benefit but for the glory of God.  Nor is sanctification my doing.  Rather, it is God who does the work.  I am not allowed to sit and wait for me to become like God though.  No, I must strive after holiness in order to bring glory to the God who enables me to be like Him.

One of the clearest pictures I see of this combination of my striving and God’s acting is in the first battle of Joshua against the Amalekites in the wilderness.  Joshua led the army of Israel in battle and I’ve no doubt but that they fought hard but it was only when Moses was able to hold the “rod of God” over his head in supplication that Israel was victorious.  All their fighting was in vain without God’s intervention.

Likewise, I can strive all I want for holiness, doing all the “right” things, Bible study, prayer, service, etc., but unless I let go of my own efforts and follow God’s lead, unless He works in me, all my “doings” will give me only self-righteousness.  On the other hand, unless I actively seek God and do endeavor to please Him, He is unlikely to work His holiness out in me.  I will not say that He cannot—for God can do anything—but based on His character and His Word, it would see that He will not.  But if I’m truly a child of God and I’m not seeking after Him, I’d better be ready for a 2x4 to the head or a kick in the seat because God won’t let me sit around and waste the life He’s given me.

Yet for all the fact that I am commanded to strive for holiness, there remains the fact that my righteousness is not my own.  “It is finished,” Christ said on the cross.  There, His death was sufficient to pay for my sin and provide for my sanctification.  Foolish and deceived as I often am, God looks on me with pleasure because of His Son.  He smiles at me.  He takes joy in me though I so little deserve it.

Some Themes Leading to Joshua

Genesis:          In the beginning God…

                        Adam sinned

                        God called Abraham and promised him land, seed, and blessing

                        From barren women and unloved wives, a family came

                        The family went to Egypt in a time of famine, but knew they would one day leave

                                   

Exodus:           A family of 70 grew into a nation strong enough to threaten one of the ancient world powers (Egypt)

                        That nation was enslaved by Egypt

                        God overwhelmed Egypt and pulled Israel out to make them a nation for Himself

                        Out of Egypt and in the desert, Israel complained and God provided

                        God made Himself known to Israel

                        God gives the first of the law

                                   

Leviticus:        The holy God prepares a way for His unholy people to dwell with Him

                        God gives His laws for approach, and men still try to come to Him on their own terms

                        Feasts and Sabbaths—times of rejoicing and rest are established

                        Consequences for disobedience described

Numbers:         A place for everyone and everyone in his place—the organization of the camp

                        Complaining and consequences

                        Refusal of the promise based on own strength instead of God’s—20+ never get to enter the Promised Land

                        More laws for Israel’s protection, distinction, and provision

                        The second generation prepares to take the land

Deuteronomy: Remember

                        A reminder of all that God has done and what He has promised He will do

                        Details on the plan God has for Israel’s conquest—not all at once so they’ll not be overwhelmed

                        If you are not with God, you are against Him—there is no middle ground

                        Blessings on Israel

                        Leadership transition—from the shepherd to the warrior

I'm working on a proper post or so on Joshua.  However, this was our first assignment leading up to that book so I thought I'd put it up as something of a refresher before I post Joshua.