The Great Commission.4

"If you believe in me, you will do the same works that I do."

--Jesus

Immerse yourself, for a moment, in this proclamation by our Elder Brother, Friend, Savior, Lord and Master.

Now combine that thought with this MacDonaldism:

"Jesus has a right to our absolute obedience."

If you, lover of truth, can handle the truth.  
If you, lover of truth, allow truth to stand in judgment of you 
              and resist standing in judgment of truth.

Then let this truth fill your heart: God has a design on our lives that goes beyond occupation, degree, matrimony, parenthood, community standing or history.  It is our birthright.

Notice at the top of this blog page the words: "Will and Obedience the perfecting link between God and man."

Think on the relationship between Perfect Father and Perfect Son.  Perfect Will.  Perfect Obedience.  Obedience is as divine as Will, Service as divine as Rule.  They are one in nature; they are both doing of the truth.  The Fatherhood and the Sonship are one, save that the Fatherhood looks down lovingly, and the Sonship looks up lovingly.  Love is all.

Think about the requirement of the kingdom of God: childlikeness.

Why childlikeness?  Consider the dull disciples arguing about "greatness" in God's kingdom.  Consider our own insecurity in relation to others of skill, wealth, humor, passion, leadership, athleticism, intellect, persuasiveness, experience, position or purpose.

Jesus tells the dull of all ages that the nature of His kingdom lies in the virtue of childlikeness. The very idea of ruling is excluded where childlikeness is the One Essential quality. It is to be no more who rules but who serves; no more who should look down upon his fellows from the conquered heights of authority, but who should look up honoring humanity, ministering unto it, so that humanity itself might at length be persuaded of its own honor as a temple of the living God. Nothing is required of man that is not first in God. It is because God is perfect that we are required to be perfect.

Stop then, this very hour, being a salesman for the local church you attend, the party you rally for, the team you cheer, the race of your birth, the ideology you hold, the doctrines you claim.  Be, from the core of your existence, the thing God designed you for and is perfecting in you: the obedient child of his heart.  Let your "belief" not be demonstrated in the loudness of your words, but in the quiet confidence of the works that tell the world I am like my brother, Jesus. I do his works.  I help, heal and save just like my Father.  Bring Light to dark places.  Bring hope to the hopeless.  

Be the sign of truth that lies in your childlike heart that the eyes that see you and the ears that hear you should be channels to the heart and wake in them the love that peculiarly belongs to the kingdom of God.

(from MacDonalds Unspoken Sermon vol. I, The Child In the Midst) 

The Power of Prayer.5

The prophet Isaiah has written: "My house shall be called by all nations, a house of prayer."--Jesus




Not a little pang we feel when a son shows some preference for a friend's family's influence: "They have a fun night!", "You should see their game room!", "Wow the vacations they take are awesome!", "Their mom is such a great cook!"

What is your house called? 

• House of fun? 
• House of horrors? 
• House of order? 
• House of chaos? 
• House of the unambitious and ill mannered? 
• House of opportunity? 
• House of the ill prepared and untrained? 
• House of responsibility & citizenship? 
• House of faith? 
• House of the immoral and impure? 
• House of kingdom values? 
• House of the vain and fashionable? 

The design possibilities of the external house are almost infinite. It is interesting that shows like "Extreme Home Makeover" focus on renovating the physical shell of the home. Why? Because we can, because its easier. But the true heart knows that the physical building is not the essence of home.

In a sermon I heard recently the pastor challenged the congregation to "Envision what you want your family to be." Let's say you have done that and your home is well on its way to achieving your vision. What would you do if someone or something invades your home and attempts to change its character? Instead of integrity and peace being the rule, deception & bickering begin to spread like a cancer engulfing the serenity you once enjoyed.

On two occasions in his earthly ministry, the elder brother,

Jesus, had to "clean house." With "hate-less vengeance" he forcefully evicted nefarious characters who had invaded the serenity of his Father's house. By symbolic act he demonstrated to the world his mission to rid the world of sin & misery.

If all the ills of the world could be identified in one single source it is this: the disruption between the Creator and the created. 

Perfect Will plus Perfect Obedience equals Perfect Love.

Jesus came to lead home to the heart of the Father many sons & daughters who long have sensed His presence but not known his arms; whose troubled hearts & lives yearn for his comfort. Those who walk, with fading hope, "through the dank mists of doubtful thought or the cold winds from the desert of foiled effort" and are hidden from the Light of the world.
But every now and then the blue pledge of a great sky breaks through the clouds overhead. Gradually they grow more capable of imagining a world in which every good thing thinkable may be a fact. Best of all, the story of Him who is Himself the Good News, the gospel of God, becomes not only more and more believable to their hearts, but more and more a minister to their life of conflict, and the assurance of a Living, Loving Father who hears when his children cry. (adapted from MacDonald, The Hope of the Gospel)

Take heart, then, you who sincerely want to know God and understand His work in the world but are besieged with woeful explanations of God's nature that repel a true heart. Jesus will come, once again, to clean house, expel the nefarious, and establish righteous order to God's House!