PATHWAYS Part 3

My previous posts in this series took us down two different paths.

First we looked at the path through the wilderness. Here we talked about those things that can be learned on that path. It is where we can learn about; His word, our worship, our walk, how to war and how to wait.

Secondly, we looked at the path through the valley. Here we saw God in action on our behalf to; judge His enemies, to lead guide and comfort, to perform His word and to reward those that seek Him.

In this study we are going to a higher place. It's time to go up the mountain.

Once again, you have probably already thought of a few mountains. So let's go climbing shall we?

I have read a few books about mountain climbing, in particular books about Hillary and Everest, as well as others. I've learnt some things from these books which I will touch on in places, but for now, let's turn to the Bible.

Whenever we see mention of a mountain in the Bible. It is usually either an obstacle or a place of revelation. It is this aspect of revelation that I want to focus on.

The mountain is a place where God is revealed. It is a place where he reveals something of  Himself,
or something of His intention to us.

On Mt Sinai, God revealed Himself to Moses through His law and His word. His truth was revealed. Exodus 19-22

On Mt Carmel,  God demonstrated His power. His authority was revealed. 1 Kings 18:20-39.

On the top of Peor,  God revealed himself to Balaam, the pagan prophet, commanding him to bless and not curse. His will was revealed. Numbers 22-24.

On Mt Nebo, God met with Moses one last time and showed him Canaan, the land over Jordan. His promise was revealed. Deuteronomy 32:48-49.

On the Mount of Transfiguration. The disciples saw Jesus glorified. His divinity was revealed.  Mark 9:2-7 and Luke 9:28-35.

Whatever your experience on the mountain, and these examples are just a sampling, you cannot stay there. This was the error Peter made. He wanted to make booths and camp there. You must come down. The atmosphere is rarefied, the weather is changeable, unpredictable and you are exposed. Above a certain altitude, the top of the mountain is called "the death zone", and for very good reason.

Bear in mind that Moses died on Nebo because of his disobedience in the wilderness (see Deuteronomy above). The children of Israel camped around Kadesh Barnea for forty years because they refused to enter the land. Numbers14. Perhaps we could view Babel as an attempt to manufacture a mountain experience.

Whatever we learn on the mountain, we must also learn to carry it down. It is a well known fact among mountaineers, that more deaths occur on the descent than on the ascent. This is where climbers become careless. The climb up and the elation of the summit have taken their toll. Fatigue sets in, ego overrules wisdom. You have never really conquered a mountain by simply reaching the top. You must now get off it alive. You have to come down, because the mountain is not the finish of your journey.

If you're taken up the mountain, go up.

If you're not, then don't.

When you're told to go down, go.

Because whatever you've learnt there, you will carry with you on the next part of your journey. There may be another wilderness to cross, another valley to go through, another mountain to climb. This journey will continue until we come to the top of the final climb. Mt Zion.

So keep walking. It's not time to stop just yet.


Images used in this post.
"Light Path"
Image courtesy of dan at FreeDigitalPhotos.net
"Mount Mckinley"
Image courtesy of bAll_llAd at FreeDigitalPhotos.net

PATHWAYS Part 2

My previous post in this series covered the path through the wilderness. If you haven't read it yet, you can scroll down or follow this link. At the risk of being repetitive and boring. Let me remind you again, that our Christian walk takes us down numerous pathways. We don't choose which path or when, but we can choose how we walk through them. Along the way there are lessons to learn. The wilderness path helps us to learn about God's word, about worship, warfare, our walk and how to wait.

In this study we take a walk along a new path. It is the path through the valley.

And no doubt, once again, your mind will hurry off to think about all the valleys you've heard about from the Bible. At least two or three in particular. Well, reign in your thoughts. We will probably touch on much of what you were just thinking, but there may be some surprises in store for you.

The valley of Decision. Joel 3:14. Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision. For the day of the Lord is near in the valley of decision.
I have a hunch, that this is one of those verses we are all familiar with, but don't understand. Because this is not a valley you want to find yourself in. This is not, as I suspect many of us may believe, a place of our decision. Where we get stuck while trying to make up our minds. This valley is also referred to as the valley of Jehoshaphat. It is the valley of God's decision, it is a place of His judgement. Look back at Joel 3:2 and you will see what I mean. It is a place where God brings down his judgement on the nations for their treatment of Israel. So again, you don't want to find yourself in this valley.

The valley of the shadow of death. Psalm 23:4 Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I will fear no evil for you are with me, your rod and your staff comfort me.
Okay, I quoted this from the NIV 2011 as I usually do. We are more familiar with the phrase "valley of the shadow of death". The Hebrew word that is used for valley in this verse means a narrow gorge. Deep in shadow. It is a place of foreboding and peril. Yet David knows that he does not walk this path alone. He knows that God goes with him, to guide, protect and comfort him.
A little side note, whenever you see a reference in the Bible about; a branch, staff, rod etc. It is often a metaphor for Jesus "the branch of Jesse".

The valley of dry bones. Ezekiel 37:1 The hand of the Lord was upon me, and he brought me out by the Spirit of the Lord and set me in the middle of a valley; it was full of bones.
Ezekiel found himself in a broad flat valley. This valley had no shadow of death. Everything in it was dead. Nothing but dry bones, and God asks Ezekiel (vs3) "can these bones live?"
God commanded Ezekiel to prophesy. To speak words of life into the dry bones. Soon there stood before him a vast army.

The valley of weeping. Psalm 84:6 As they pass through the Valley of Baca (weeping), they make it a place of springs; the autumn rains also cover it with pools.
The verse prior to this speaks of pilgrimage. It is thought that the "Valley of weeping" is a reference to the sap running from the balsam trees that grew in the valley. This is in fact a joyous passage. The references to autumn and pilgrimage speaks of the feast of Tabernacles. In fact this Psalm is filled with familiar verses, and is rife with it's longing after the house and presence of God.

A superficial glance at these passages might give us a picture of a valley, that speaks of gloom, sorrow, foreboding and death. But a closer examination reveals that God is present in all of them.

In Joel 3, He is present to bring judgement on his enemies, and vindication for His children.

In Psalm 23, He is present to lead, guide and comfort us.

In Ezekiel 37, He is present to perform his word, and bring life where all we can see is death.

In Psalm 84, He is present as a reward for those that earnestly seek Him.

The path through the valley is not always smooth. It is a path that needs your careful attention. Stumbling and falling is a common hazard. Quite a few years ago (about 25 actually), I went with a group of friends though a place in Sydney's Blue Mountains called Claustral Canyon. It was a tight narrow path following a stream. It required abseiling down three waterfalls. The water was very cold, and some times the only way through was to swim. The canyon is a beautiful place, but it is also narrow and treacherous. In some places it is almost possible to touch both side of the canyon walls at once.
But did I mention? This place is dangerous. On this trip, we started out following a wrong path, as a result one of our friends nearly lost his life to hypothermia.

You may be stuck in a valley right now. It may seem narrow, hard and lifeless. It may seem as though the narrow places have blocked out all light. That the hand of God rests heavily upon you, as you weep out your tears of pain, confusion and frustration. This is not the place to give up. Valleys have streams and rivers running through them. In the midst of this confined place, is a place of refreshing. Do not turn from the path, follow it. A valley will either bring you out into a broad place.

Or.

It will bring you up to the mountain.


Images used in this post.
"Rocky river between steep and lush mountains"
Image courtesy of Tuomas_Lehtinen at FreeDigitalPhotos.net

"Light Path" Image courtesy of dan at FreeDigitalPhotos.net

PATHWAYS Part 1

The Bible talks a lot, both metaphorically and literally, about the paths we travel. They might be called roads, or referred to as a 'way' or something else. But there is no doubt, that to embark on the Christian 'walk' is to start the journey on these paths.

This is the first in a series of posts on this subject. I'm going to look, one by one, at what I believe are the four major paths we must all walk along. We will look at the people in the Bible that also walked these paths. Hopefully we will learn something along the way, and understand the path we are walking right now.

So, are you ready? Good, lets get started.

First, we're going to look at the path through the Wilderness.

Wait, did you just think to yourself, testing? Well that's only part of it, so before you let yourself drift off with that thought. STOP.

Because the path through the wilderness is the path to beginnings.
Look at these five major figures in the Bible that had wilderness experiences. Each of them went into a wilderness setting before something new was released into their lives.

Moses was in the wilderness forty years before he became the deliverer of the Israelites.
Joshua was in the wilderness forty years before he led the Israelites into the promised land.
David was exiled into the wilderness before he ascended to the throne.
Jesus was in the wilderness forty days before he began his public ministry.
Saul (Paul) spent three years after his conversion in Arabia and Damascus, before he stepped into his apostleship Gal 1:17-18.

So the wilderness, is a place of preparation, it leads us to a beginning, a new thing.

There are a number of things we must learn on our way through the wilderness.

We must come to the tabernacle, to learn how to worship. As we learn to worship, we learn to lose ourselves.

We must come to Sinai to learn His word. As we learn His word, our relationship with God is revealed.

We must be led by the fire and the cloud, as we learn to walk. As we learn to walk, we learn to follow.

We must face down our enemies as we learn the art of war. As we learn to war, we learn to walk in our victory.

We must gather manna, and drink water from the rock, as we learn to wait. As we learn to wait, we learn obedience to God's sufficiency.

We will all go through this wilderness experience, and more than just once, it may be many times. It might be through sickness or injury, personal struggles, a career that seems permanently on hold, or that promise that you're still waiting to see come to pass. We may not always recognise it, but we learn something along the way, hold fast to God, and move on. The wilderness is a place of barrenness and emptiness. We experience that barrenness in our soul. If we are not careful, if we do not keep our focus centred on God, then we can so easily lose hope, we fall into despair and desolation.

The big mistake, is in not learning, not growing and not moving at the right time. Out of the entire nation of Israel, only two saw the opportunity God had placed before them. I am of course talking about Joshua and Caleb Numbers 13 and 14.

It is of very great importance to remember, that as barren, empty and lonely as the wilderness may feel, you do not walk this path alone. Deuteronomy 1:33 "who went ahead of you on your journey, in fire by night and in a cloud by day, to search out places for you to camp and to show you the way you should go."

You can't walk it alone. Because on your own you will not survive. You must be shown the way. Trust God to lead you to water, to sustain you. Draw from his word, lean in to worship. And above all else, don't be afraid to take the fight to the enemy.

As we have seen with the children of Israel. How we respond to the wilderness journey, will determine the length of the journey. Joshua and Caleb had an unbridled passion and faith in God's ability to take them into the land, but were held back for forty years by the fearful complainers and grumblers. After Jesus had faced down the devil, angels came to minister to him. Even while in exile David continually called on the Lord, who led him into victory.

As you walk out this pathway, remember you're not alone. God is there to guide you and provide for you. You will pass through.

Images used in this post.
"Light path"
Image courtesy of dan at FreeDigitalPhotos.net
"Mesquite Sand Dunes at Sunrise-Death Valley National Park"
Image courtesy of dexchao at FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Hashtag. All lives matter.

This past weekend has seen tumultuous, tragic events taking place.

Hundreds have died because of needless, senseless, hate filled violence. In Beirut, Nigeria and Paris to name just a few.

But all the focus has been on just one place, Paris.

And I have to ask why?

Why is all the focus, the outpouring of rage, the cries of injustice, the demand for a solution focussed on this one place.

You might have seen this photo, which was circulated by Angelina Jolie. This is a bomb blast that erupted in Beirut. (I'm not sure when this photo was taken, I can't guarantee it is current to these events) There was however a series of bomb blasts, suicide bombers, the action of ISIS in a Hezbollah stronghold. Many have died and hundreds were injured.

I didn't see the flag of Lebanon appear on Facebook profiles. So obviously we care less about this right?

Because that's just one terror organization attacking another. Here is an article posted in Time Magazine , because the people of Beirut are asking this same question.

There is also the report of some slayings in Nigeria. Well the problems in the African continent are many fold. The Sudan, The Congo, Somalia, Libya, Algeria, the list of trouble spots there is almost as long as the list of nations.

What about the war in Yemen, ongoing conflicts in Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria, Israel. Well, maybe Israel is a different story, because it is Israel that is tarnished with the fault, it's currently fashionable to blame Israel for everything, so there's no need to feel sad about that right? Oh yes, there's another one you probably haven't heard of, West Papua. Where the people are being brutally oppressed by a neighbouring country.

So why does Paris get all the attention? Is it because it's a place we would all like to visit? It's the city of lights, the city of love, the site of Jim Morrison's grave. The Eiffel Tower, Notre Dame, The Louvre, The Moulin Rogue. A cultural centre of art, history and romance.

I'm not trying to belittle this tragedy, and I am not sympathetic to Islamic extremism. I simply want to know why we responded the way we did.

Maybe we're tired of all those other, unfashionable places and their little troubles. Those places aren't romantic. They're not centres of art, history and culture. Well actually they are. Maybe it's just that none of them have the "Mona Lisa".

Most disturbing of all. Is what I see in social media. Post after post of retaliation, hate, anger. Sadly, so much of it from Christian friends. Some of whom incidentally, seem to have spent their Sunday watching two girls beat each other up for entertainment.

Even more disturbing. And this is the thing that has my real attention. Is this article about French Mayor Robert Chardon. He is calling for legislation to ban Islam from France. A sentence attributed to Mr Chardon is, "it's the only solution for most of France's problems".
It was only a generation ago that someone in Europe spoke about problems and solutions. That was in the 1930's. The problem, was the Jews. Except they weren't going around bombing people.
Is Europe on the verge of wholesale, systematic, state sponsored ethnic cleansing. AGAIN?

We remember the holocaust, that others try to deny. We say never again, not on our watch. But the language is starting to emerge, again.

To answer my first question. If there was not a current flood of "refugees" in Europe. Then the attacks in Paris might not be seen as part of a larger threat. The troubles in Beirut and Africa, are not really a threat to us, are they?

Do all lives really matter? Or just the ones from western democracies?

As a Christian, I have to say, yes they all matter. Because as a Christian, I want above all else, to be transformed.
I want the mind of Christ. I want to exhibit the nature and character of God. I want my DNA to be reprogrammed, overwritten with superior coding. I want to be like Him.

So what does God say? What does "the Christ within me, the hope of all glory" say, how does he respond?

Here's a few verses you can look up. Ezekiel 18:23 and 32, 33:11. I'll tell you what they say.
God does not take pleasure in the death of the wicked.

We care more about the deaths in Paris than elsewhere. Our grief is selective. No one was deserving of a horrible, fearful death. Yet who are we to say that the death of an innocent child in Beirut, is less tragic than a fan at a Death Metal concert in Paris? Did someone deserve it more?

Here's another verse. It's pretty much one of a kind.
Psalm 11:5 "The Lord examines the righteous, but the wicked, those that love violence, he hates with a passion."

God does not take any pleasure in the loss of a soul. And he abhors the act of violence, as much as he hates the act of retribution. Because in the end, everybody loses.

We cannot be selective in the outpouring of our grief. Nor can we advocate the act of retribution.
I saw a response to one of the many posts this weekend. One that said Pray for Paris, Pray for Peace.
The view taken, was that this was an ineffectual approach. Obviously they thought a good old bombing campaign was the answer.
Well maybe it is. If the god you pray to is impotent.

You've probably heard the phrase, "war is a necessary evil". I have always held to the view that war is not always necessary, but it is, always evil.

I've changed my view again.

War is made necessary, by the evil within us.

In the Drivers Seat.

A few days back, I was driving around on my way to pick up some people from the Airport. It occurred to me that I have two different driving styles.

Firstly, there is the way I drive when I'm on my own. Secondly, there's the way I drive with passengers. In fact, there's a third variation, which depends on who the passengers are.

It all got me thinking back to something I wrote in a book a few years back. The book covered some events in my life when I had broken my neck in a cycling accident. I was going through a fair amount of soul searching, when I had this conversation with myself.

“What would your day look like if you spent it in Joel’s company? (Joel is a senior pastor at Hillsong church. I say senior but he’s younger than me.) I realized, that the way I was living, my actions and conversation would be radically altered. Not that I was living a sin filled life, or that my speech was particularly profane, it just wasn’t what it could be. I, wasn’t who I could be.

Then this happened. (I’ll try to write it so you get the two simultaneous thoughts that ran through my head.)
 
It would be almost as if God was with you . . .    (You idiot God is with you)   . . . the whole day."        

(Excerpt from "I am Broken" by Leo Sandy. Available as an e-book on Kindle, iTunes, Kobo and Nook.)

Which brings me to ask. Where have we placed God? Where do we see him?
Is God remote, a disembodied spirit? Do we think of him as only being in heaven, sitting on a throne?
Do we really believe that he has a vital interest in our day to day waking life?

Because it seems as though a lot of us live with exactly these kinds of misconceptions.

Philosophical thinking would have us reduce God to an idea, nothing more than an abstract notion.
A set of noble ideals to aspire to. Certainly not a personal God that seeks after relationship, dialogue and involvement.

It's kind of like how we drive our cars when we can "see" that Police Car. But once it's gone, the law becomes reduced to an abstract ideal. We know the law exists, but because we don't see the agents of enforcement in our presence. It gets cast aside.

Wait. Am I suggesting that we don't consider God to be present, and that we have cast him aside from our conscious thinking? In many ways, yes.

My analogy of the police car serves us well here. Because we tend to forget the presence of the law, when we forget the presence of the agent.

I believe we've settled into a reductionist compartment view of God. God is in heaven. Jesus is up there too, because he ascended and took up residence in the throne room. As for Holy Spirit, well, where and what is he?

The Holy Spirit is God. In totality. It's a concept that our finite minds have trouble grasping, because we think in terms of solid objects. When we think of spirit, our thinking has been reduced by fairy tales and genies and such like, one thing in one place. Take it out of the bottle and put it back again.

But the Holy Spirit fills the whole earth.

Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence?
If I go up to the heavens, you are there; if I make my bed in the depths, you are there.
If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea,
even there your hand will guide me, your right hand will hold me fast. Psalm 139:7-10 NIV 2011.

David understood this idea of an all encompassing, ever present God. He knew, that God was always there. God is infinite and complete. It matters not wether we refer to him as; God, Father, Son, Holy Spirit. The name doesn't change the fact.

I think another part of the problem is with how we read a verse in Ephesians.

". . .the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption . . ."
Ephesians 1: 13b-14a. NIV 2011

That verse, when misread, becomes completely reductionist. We reduce the Holy Spirit to a "bit" of God. The KJV uses the word "earnest", which means a down payment.

Here's the problem. You can't cut God into pieces. God is infinite, without beginning or end.
Even if you were able to separate something infinite into component parts, each part would still be infinite. Because that is its inherent nature. (Now while you get your head around that, let me assure you. I have checked this with a friend, whose has degrees in Mathematics. He says this is correct.)

Too many Christians I fear live their lives from exactly this viewpoint. They have a "bit" of God. They have a "bit" of his power, a "bit" of grace. When we have a small view of God, (and it is entirely possible to know God is infinite and still hold him in a small view) then other things take the centre of our view. God gets pushed out to the periphery, he becomes a fleeting shadow.

We are not meant to live out our Christian lives as if God is only present some of the time. Only accessing His presence when we need it, or when we remember. God is meant to be fully seen, not just glimpsed at. This is why, when I had that moment with God, I realised that I was living "in part". I can't only live as a Christian among Christians.
We must live our lives in the fullness of the present, presence of God.

So, (if you will excuse me quoting from "The Cars") Who's going to drive you home tonight?