Alabaster jar or clay pot – it’s got to be emptied

The NT in a year reading today contained Ephesians 5: 8, “For once you were darkness, but now in the Lord you are light. Live as children of light”

It caught me that the verse doesn’t say I was “in” darkness, but that I “was” darkness. I am now not merely walking in light, but I “am” that light. The next verse explains it in more detail, that the fruit of light is light. I like it, but I have more meditating to do about that.

Yesterday, I had a thought while at YoGod (a Christ-centered, worshipful, yoga experience). Joye, our facilitator, read about the broken alabaster jar of nard that was poured out onto Jesus at the home of Simon the Leper. The devotional she read pointed out that the jar, an expensive product itself, had to be broken before the precious contents could be spilled out. While that was certainly a picture of what was about to happen to Jesus, the most precious of vessels issuing forth the most precious of anointing, it is also true of me. I more closely associate with the clay pots of Gideon than with any priceless jar, but the fact remains that I must be broken before what is inside, whether actually valuable or just prized by me for a temporary occasion, can be poured out. It is also only then, when I am broken and completely poured out onto Jesus, that I become the blessing to Him I was created to be, and come into the relationship I was built to maintain. I am broken and poured out, so that I can accept, freehanded, what Jesus was broken and poured out. I empty myself of me, and He empties Himself for and to me. I am all I am, and have all I have, for, to and because of Him. I do so love my Jesus! I do so wish to please Him.

Holy Father, make me more like the One to whom I belong – Christ Jesus, Your Son. Thank You for grace. Help me live in it and love with it.

I started today poorly, griping about the sleep I did not get, but You, who make all things new, please help me start again, lovingly sacrificing myself to the world around me rather than trying to claim what parts of it I feel are mine.

Warring with Flesh

I get very critical of myself for not being unified enough, for being duplicitous. There are two notes left on my bathroom wall staring at me every morning. One is of Isaiah 26:3, “You will keep in perfect peace him whose mind is steadfast, because he trusts in you,” and the other is Psalm 86:11, “Teach me your way, O LORD, and I will walk in your truth: give me an undivided heart, that I may fear your name.” They serve to remind me that, whatever progress I have made, I haven’t arrived at “finished” yet. Sometimes that realization can be overwhelming. There are days like today, when my defects and failures seem bigger than my goals, dreams, purpose or personal value. Even as I write just now, I recognize that I am merely listening to the wrong voice – the accuser rather than the Redeemer.

I still struggle with Step One, afraid to introduce myself at meetings as “a compulsive overeater” without clarifying that I am “gratefully recovering” or some other such disclaimer. I am not who I was. I am constantly being remade by a loving Creator. So how do I acknowledge what I was with the tendencies that still haunt me while being faithful to look forward to the work being done in me without feeling as though I should have two faces?

The Apostle Paul, the great missionary of the early Church, struggled with this too. The “New Testament in a Year” reading for today was Romans 7, known for Paul’s description of this inner battle. He concludes it saying, “So then, with my mind I am a slave to the law of God, but with my flesh I am a slave to the law of sin” (Romans 7:25b, NRSV). Apparently, as long as we are draped in the tent of these physical bodies, we are sentenced to drag around with us the tendencies that come with being made out of meat: craving, lust, inflammation, death and decay. There will be a point at which we are liberated from them though, and it is that Independence Day for which I now prepare. The more I live according to the Spirit today, the less alien I will be on the day of spiritual deliverance, and more at home I will be in my new accommodations. Heaven isn’t about the place anyway, but about the Host.

“²⁴ Wretched man that I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death? ²⁵ Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord!” (Romans 7:24-25a, NRSV)

 

Body, Soul, and Spirit – I Choose Alignment with God

Dear sponsor,

In preparation for our overseas travel April 15^th I had to change my plan of eating yesterday from four meals to three to accommodate an oral Typhoid fever vaccination which must be taken on an empty stomach. I will have to do this again tomorrow and Tuesday. Yesterday I did this by adding a couple higher-calorie healthy foods to my third meal. I put an ounce of walnuts and a serving of unsweetened Shredded Wheat N’ Bran on my dinner salad. In future occurrences, I plan to spread the calories of the fourth meal into the other three more evenly. This requirement was made of me at the health clinic where we got our vaccinations caught up yesterday. We are very excited about traveling to Africa!

 

 When Jesus heard this, he replied, “Do not fear. Only believe, and she will be saved.” (Luke 8:50, NRSV)

In today’s New Testament in a Year reading, I read the accounts of three miracles which all give some insight into the spiritual reality of man and this dark world. In the account of the demoniac known as Legion, I read of a man who was tormented such that everything in him possessed him to the exclusion of himself, his sanity, his physical well-being and self-care, and even his motor control. The story gives me more questions than answers, as I wonder why the pigs into which the “legion” of demons was cast immediately suicided themselves in the lake and why the demons would prefer that to “the abyss” into which they begged Jesus not to send them. Two things I learn from this: evil spirits are real and they have personalities, struggling to get what they want and to use man as their tool if they are able; and Jesus has authority over all of them, and they submit to Him even when He is casting them to their doom. On a side note, Jesus willingly allowed them to escape this “abyss” for a time, and granted their wish to go instead into the herd of pigs. This holds promise, because they and we know that the eternal condemnation of all evil is yet to come.

 

In the account of the hemophiliac, I read that the faith of the woman in the power of Jesus cured her rather than the will, words, or touch of Jesus Himself. When He asked, “Who touched me?” He announced that He didn’t know, but that He was cognizant of the fact that power had gone out from Him. There is power in those spiritual principles! God’s price for eternal, abundant life has been paid. It is ours to avail ourselves of it if we have the faith to receive it.

⁵ But he was pierced for our transgressions,
he was crushed for our iniquities;
the punishment that brought us peace was on him,
and by his wounds we are healed. (Isaiah 53:5, NIV)

 

Jairus’ plea and his daughter’s resurrection gives us a type by which we redeemed are also dead in the flesh and raised to walk in newness of life, but I read of a spiritual principle when I saw the words, “Her spirit returned”. The dead girl was without spirit. She wasn’t carrying a dead spirit, she was altogether without one. It had gone from her and was somewhere else. The Bible shows that, before Jesus conquered death, the spirits of the deceased took rest in a dark place of sleep, referred to as “the pit,” “the grave” or just “death.” This underworld of quiet rest was referred to in the original Hebrew as “Sheol” and in Greek as “Hades” and is not to be confused with Hell, (Greek: Tartarus, Hebrew: Gehenna), the place of eternal torment. The New Testament teachings indicate a different order – of being at home with the Lord when absent from the body (Philippians 1:23-24). There is what seems, on first reading, like a bit of a conflict when one reads of the dead in Christ rising on the last day (1 Thessalonians 4:16). It leads me to believe that the difference is one of soul and spirit (Hebrews 4:12). While one or the other sleeps at rest until the Day of the Lord, the other is with Him in paradise, as the thief on the cross was promised (Luke 23:43).

 

Whether in spirit (life energy, breath of life), soul (mind, will, and emotions) or in body (the tent that will be transformed from flesh into heavenly likeness), we are able to enjoy togetherness with God when we practice it now, aligning all three with Him and His will in ever-increasing measure and be transformed into His spiritual likeness (2 Corinthians 3:18).

 

Dear Father, today, I recognize that I am occupying a dark world that is not my home, but that You are King over all, even that prince of darkness who has limited rein in this age. I submit to You, Lord, and ask that You use me as an agent of Your will here on Earth. Bring about Your will for me, even as I am used to bring about Your will in the lives of those around me. Keep me from harm while I am employed in Your service, that I may be of better use to You and my fellows. Give me this day my daily supply, and protect me from evil, both from the spiritual attacks of the powers of darkness and from the deplorable rule of self in my mind. Help me live in Your liberty, and accept the gift of my voluntary service to You.

Purpose Powered for Life!

But he said to them, “I must proclaim the good news of the kingdom of God to the other cities also; for I was sent for this purpose.” (Luke 4:43, NRSV)

Jesus declares His purpose as proclaiming the good news of the kingdom of God. If that is His purpose, and I am His disciple, then it should be my purpose too. In John 10:10, Jesus describes His purpose this way:

“I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.”

The two are not contradictory. The Gospel of Jesus Christ brings abundant life! First it brings eternal life to the soul, then it gives power to live today according to Spirit, and last, depending on our level of submission to it, the Spirit gives life to our mortal bodies. According to Romans 8:11:

If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will give life to your mortal bodies also through his Spirit that dwells in you.

I’ve been doing a lot of thinking lately about the life of our mortal bodies, and this verse keeps coming up. Another one I received last night is Psalm 73:26:

My flesh and my heart may fail,
but God is the strength[or rock] of my heart and my portion forever.

We tend to stand in the way of our own good. At some point on that life continuum, our will sets God’s boundary. He wants us to live eternally with Him, but we want to have a little more fun with sin before we make a commitment, and the sin entangles the lost, who spends eternity without God. He wants us to live for more than just the escape from judgment, but we insist on behaving our way into grace and go through this present life frustrated until He draws back the veil of our lives and reveals it for the futile effort it had been. He wants us to have abundant life here and now, but we will not get off the couch, so we suffer from the inflammation of our own consequence, serving the will of the commercial and warping our spiritual gifts with neglect. He wants to heal us, but we doubt that He can, will, or wants to, so we suffer needlessly. God is always trying to turn up the gift of Life to us, and we are constantly turning it down in preference for another portion of our will, wish and way, this time with extra toppings please.

Dear Father, today, I trust you with my soul, my life, and my health. I offer myself a living sacrifice to You, and submit to Your will regarding my condition, my longevity, my power, my purpose, and my every step. Whether You decide that my flesh flourish or fail, I offer it all to You, that every heartbeat, however many You supply, would be devoted to Your purpose of translating the abundant life of Your Kingdom to the people of Earth. Make me fruitful, Lord Jesus, so that my life is an acceptable marker of Your love and life. I remain a devoted citizen of Heaven, and eagerly await Your collection of the saints, and the wedding supper of the Lamb.

Mary’s Song is Mine

⁴⁶ And Mary^[b] said,

“My soul magnifies the Lord,
⁴⁷     and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,
⁴⁸ for he has looked with favor on the lowliness of his servant.
Surely, from now on all generations will call me blessed;
⁴⁹ for the Mighty One has done great things for me,
and holy is his name.
⁵⁰ His mercy is for those who fear him
from generation to generation.
⁵¹ He has shown strength with his arm;
he has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts.
⁵² He has brought down the powerful from their thrones,
and lifted up the lowly;
⁵³ he has filled the hungry with good things,
and sent the rich away empty.

I started to only copy parts of the first two verses of this passage, but every phrase says something to me. I relate to the praise of thanksgiving in Mary’s heart for God’s goodness to me when I finally humbled myself before Him, and I relish the opportunity to call Him my Savior and Lord.

I started to omit the holy mother’s blessed declaration, feeling it did not apply to me, but from an eternal perspective, I saw that it does. There will be a day when all generations gathered before the throne of Heaven will call me blessed too, as I and the rest of the sheep are separated from the goats, and the bride of Christ, with me included, takes her place with the Lord.

From generation to generation, the invitation remains open for any who wish to avail themselves of God’s mercy to do so in the name of the One Mary was carrying. God’s demonstrations throughout history prove that He is greater than anything that comes against us and that He is faithful to His faithful. “He opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble” (Proverbs 3:34, James 4:6, 1 Peter 5:5).

When I was living according to my selfish desires, I occupied the throne of my life. I made myself king, even demoting the God I professed. I was an idol-worshipper, so verse 52 applies to me in both senses. He brought me down, so He could lift me up. He has never stepped on my neck or celebrated my humiliation. He is always faithful, when I submit myself at His feet, to lift me up as a child, hold me in His lap, and love me. His powerful arms protect me, warm me, and affirm my relationship with Him. I am included, provisioned, and prepared for His purposes, not as a slave, although I readily accept this service, but as His own heir (Romans 8:17; Galatians 3:29, 4:7; Ephesians 3:6; Titus 3:7).

When I esteemed myself as rich, He allowed me to wander to complete my fruitless search for what I wanted. When I recognized my emptiness, He welcomed me home, and filled me with abundance from His limitless provision. All the substitutes I had abused were shown for their futility in comparison with the magnificence of His authentic blessing.

 

Dear Father, I lift You up today, for You are great and greatly to be praised. You have brought me, and continue to bring me, out of the bondage of self. Help me to live in the liberty of Your grace, so that I will not wander back into the sensually appealing trap of that dungeon again. Secure my feet along the secure path You have for me, and let me not stray from Your Word. Thank You for protecting me while I wandered from you except that I would experience the pain of separation from You and the consequences of my own choices. Now that I have chosen You, reveal to me the parts of me that remain in need of Your corrective pruning. Make me more like You intended me to be. Your will be done in me, Lord. Only Your will! I submit the dead flesh of self at your feet for Your disposal. Take my spirit and cradle me in Your arms, Papa. I am Yours!