Reality of the Slain Lamb, Risen Lord, Coming King

Something that struck me this morning:

Isaiah 53:4-5, 7
Surely he has borne our griefs
and carried our sorrows;
yet we esteemed him stricken,
smitten by God, and afflicted.
But he was wounded for our transgressions;
he was crushed for our iniquities;
upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace,
and with his stripes we are healed.

He was oppressed, and he was afflicted,
yet he opened not his mouth;
like a
LAMB
that is led to the slaughter,
and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent,
so he opened not his mouth.

Revelations 5:5b-6a
"...behold, the Lion that is from the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has overcome so as to open the book and its seven seals". And I saw between the throne (with the four living creatures) and the elders a LAMB standing, as if slain...

Revelations 17:14a
...and the LAMB will overcome them, because He is Lord of lords and King of kings...

Revelations 19:11, 12, 13, 16
And I saw heaven opened, and behold, a while horse, and He who sat on it is called Faithful and True, ... and He has a name written on Him which no one knows except Himself. ... and His name is called The Word of God. ... And on His robe and on His thigh He has a name written, "KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS".

Isaiah 2:19
Men will go into caves of the rocks
and into holes of the ground
Before the terror of the Lord
and the splendor of His majesty,
When He arises to make the earth tremble.

Hosea 10:8
...Then they will say to the mountains,
"Cover us!" And to the hills, "Fall on us!"

Revelations 6:16
and they said to the mountains and to the rocks, "Fall on us and hide us from the presence of Him who sits on the throne, and from the wrath of the LAMB"

Luke 23:2-3, 9, 21, 29-30, 36-38
And they began to accuse Him, saying, "We found this man misleading our nation and forbidding to pay taxes to Caesar, and saying that He Himself if Christ, a King." So Pilate asked Him, saying, "Are You the King of the Jews?" And He answered him and said, "It is as you say."

And he questioned Him at some length; but He answered him nothing.

...but they kept on calling out, saying, "Crucify, crucify Him!"

[words of Jesus] "For behold, the days are coming when they will say ... to the mountains, 'Fall on us,' and to the hills, 'Cover us.'"

The soldiers also mocked Him, coming up to Him, offering Him sour wine, and saying, "If You are the King of the Jews, save Yourself!" Now there was also an inscription above Him, "THIS IS THE KING OF THE JEWS."

Here's the connection: The sermon last Sunday (which I mentioned in my last post) was on Philippians 2 passage, focusing on what Jesus gave up so that He could become incarnate. I was reading Luke 23 this morning and followed a few of the cross-references to some of these Revelations passages and such. Rev is talking about the Lamb, Jesus, the same One from Luke, and all throughout the Rev. passages the Lamb is lauded with unceasing praise and worship from the heavenly creatures. He is given so many names. He is futuristically seen in final powerful victory, receiving the full Honor due Him.
...friends, Revelations give us a picture of what He left to come to earth. Luke 23 shows us what He received in exchange. His claim to be King of the Jews, let alone His rightful position as King of ALL kings and Lord of ALL lords, was laughed at, scorned, ridiculed, dismissed and ultimately punished. His conviction was blasphemy, claiming to be that which He was not. BUT HE WAS!
This gives full contextual understanding to the phrase from Philippians 2:6 that He "did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped". But instead, "He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross" (v. 8). A death He did not deserve. For the conviction of a lie which was in reality TRUTH. All this for my sake.
I sit here literally trembling at the realization of the reality of these events, past, present and future. Maybe it's just the caffeine from my morning coffee, but in a very real sense, I am shaken by these realizations.
"He who testifies to these things says, "Yes, I am coming quickly." Amen. Come, LORD Jesus." Revelations 22:20

Reflecting On a Lovely Lord's Day

Wow! Where should I begin?

Church this morning was amazing.
To say that the fact that I awoke this morning with any energy and excitement was surprising would be a drastic understatement. I started at my new job on Friday: second shift at a book distribution warehouse. This means that I worked on my feet from 4:00 in the afternoon until 12:30 Saturday morning. After getting home and going to bed around 1:30, I woke up at about 5:45 to go to Massachusetts to help a friend with a moving project. What we expected to take just a few hard working hours, putting me home around 2:00, actually took all day long and we didn't get home until 6:30. I had a meeting to go to at seven, which I was late to, so I hurried and showered and grabbed some pizza Mom had brought home for dinner. Finally, after an enjoyable informative meeting, I went to bed.
Which brings me to where I started this blog. ... It usually takes me about an hour to truly wake up, a process which consists of dragging myself out of bed, showering, getting dressed, eating something, and moving and thinking and generally just 'being awake', before I actually FEEL like I AM awake. I know, I know, that sounds a lot like a woman, a contradiction, or both, but it's the hard, honest truth. But this morning, however tired I was when my alarm went off, I was awake and truly alert, excited, and joyful once my feet hit the floor and I got dressed. Call it a little thing, but I am calling it a big blessing, the first of many on the day. This was a day wherein I had no physical, human reason to be happy, joyful, or awake, but I was all three.

At church, I got excited. No reason, I just was energetic and hyper and excited. Worship team practice was kinda average. Teaching two new songs is not usually a good idea, but that is what we were doing, so stress was a little high. I had brought both songs home from school so I knew them well, two favorites, actually. "By Grace Alone" & "Oh Church Arise" These two songs hold such great truth and the power with which they present that truth is incredible. Today, it was overwhelming.

Between WT practice and the start of church, I was milling about talking to friends and generally spreading my good cheer. Moments before the service was to start, I sat down by myself for a moment. The thought popped into my head "Oh darn! I have so much energy today, and the worship set is really slow and reflective. That stinks. Why couldn't it have been a 'rockin' set today when I feel so up?" But immediately I scolded myself for such talk and reminded myself that my affections (aka: emotions) are not to be manipulated by style, feelings or mood, but rather are to be in response to the level of Truth being presented. It then struck me, that though these songs (both these two and most of the others) were a bit slower and melodically driven rather than beat driven, their truths were of the best and highest out there.

Then the message came and knocked me upside the head with so many different connections, truths, and reminders that I was overwhelmed. The cool thing was that the passage was Phil. 2:5-8 with other selected scripture as well. This is such a familiar passage to me, as a recent Bible College student. I have heard it so many times. I have heard it done well, and botched. Never have I heard it fully explained, but then again, I never will with this one. Today however, God opened His Word to my heart in a new way.
I'm sorry to leave you hanging without specifics, but I have rambled to long in this post, and I am not sure yet what to focus on specifically. suffice it to say that I am right now grateful for God's abundant gifts which truly are new every morning, for His church, and for Truth. These are mine through His Son, whom I am eternally indebted to and through whom I claim as mine these aforementioned good gifts.

Praise God!

Confession Prayer of a Grateful Son

Oh Gracious Heavenly Father,

I confess to you this morning that I am a whore1. I have run wild, prostituting myself to the world, using and touting Your goods as mine: health, smarts, athleticism, musical talent, knowledge, friends, family, American well-off-ness (even though I complain about being 'poor' as if I knew by experience what that actually means). I have trashed so many of Your good gifts2: 22.5 years' worth of days full of breath3, each with the luxuries of a home, roof, heat, bed, blankets, clothes4 and food, an excellent education, a loving church body. I call mine what you give me: sight to see, ears to hear, a nose to breath/smell (even if it's running more than a fire hose right now), a mind to exercise, money when I need it. In all these I have acted as if I was owed them but had to get them myself, as if I did get them myself but only because I wanted to, as if they were precious stones added to my monument5 of importance, and as if I could decide when and how I used them and for what.

I am that slut. I am that user, that addict. I am that snotty rich kid who doesn't know what hard work is but drives his own beamer, the replacement that 'daddy' got him after he crashed the Mustang. I am that bastard son who took Your valuables and left, drug Your name through the mud by including You in all my gallivanting.

Yet, you continually bailed me out. You paid off my debts6. You let me back in the house and provided a bed with clean sheets, replacing the ones I ... uh ... soiled. You set my favorite dinner in front of me, adopted me, and offered me a new name. You gave me, legitimately, Your riches6&7.

I know that aside from this, Your most gracious of offers, and Your tug8 upon me from within which screams, though muffled and suppressed underneath mounds of bilge, "this is your heritage. This is where you came from. This is what you were made for, how far you've fallen and how much you are loved", apart from that I know I would not be where I am today. I know I would not be what I am today.

'Cuz the truth is, I am recovering from that person I was9.

Thank You, Abba10 God,
...for loving me11.
...for forgiving me12.
...for relentlessly calling mesee 8.
...for Your sacrificial work just to reunite me to You13.
...for making me Your child14.
...for Your tireless work to transform me15.
...for Your Word and Your Son and Your Spirit that reveal Yourself to me and bring me to these understandings16.

I love You.
because of the mercy and grace of Your Son Jesus,
Amen17



1. Ezekiel 16:32; Ezekiel 23; Jeremiah 3:2; Hosea 9:1; Matthew 12:39 to name a few. Adultery and harlotry are huge, often very graphic Biblical illustrations of our sin against God.
2. James 1:17
3. Acts 17:25
4. Matthew 6:28-30
5. see Christian rock artist Showbread's concept-double-album project Anorexia-Nervosa. In the story, a character lives a works-based life and is allegorized by a person building a monument to herself/of her accomplishments. Very powerful! Incredible plot twist at the end that goes to show the futility of such an endeavor. I recommend it to a mature, discerning audience who can handle incredibly intense rock music. *Note that I said handle, not like. Even if you don't like hardcore rock, I would still recommend the project for a one-time listen. The story is that powerful and important. *Note: some very mature content.
6. Christ's substitutionary death literally payed for that which we could not: Isaiah 55:1; Mark 10:45, ransom = payment of price owed; Romans 6:23, sin has a "wage" or payment which Christ paid; Ephesians 1:7, redemption = buying back; I John 2:2, propitiation = satisfaction of debt owed from sin.
7. Psalm 112:3 and I am in the 'household of God'; Proverbs 22:4; Romans 9:23; 10:12; Ephesians 1:18; 2:7; 3:8, 16; Philippians 4:19; Colossians 1:27; 2:2; I Timothy 6:17
8. or "drawing" or "call" John 12:32; Ephesians 1; II Timothy 1:9; II Peter 1:3;
9. I Corinthians 6:9-11
10. Romans 8:15
11. John 3:16; I John 4:19
12. I John 1:9
13. Romans 8:32
14. John 1:12 see also link on adoption.
15. Isaiah 64:8; Lamentations 4:2; Philippians 1:6
16. John 1, 16:8; II Timothy 3:16-17 Hebrews 4:12;
17. It was time spent in Luke 15:11-32 that started this ball rolling this morning.

Proactively Putting an End to Paralyzing Fear

Often we approach a new year with what we call "resolutions" to live by for the next twelve months. These are meant to make us better people, easier to get along with, build our character, maybe even shape and strengthen our spiritual soul. This is not a blog intending to explore how we are all doing on ours, now that February has already come upon us. We joke all to often of those resolutions we brake before January is even up, let alone the ones we forget about halfway through the year. We joke, but it's all to true. I think that may be why I, for one, have rarely if ever braved the waters of making such commitments. I'm afraid that I'm going to fail myself.

This year was no different. Sort of. The challenge went out to our church, I ducked, and moved on. But this time it was different. Like a bad case of Taco Bell for lunch, or a good bowl of superbowl chili, the challenge came back around again when we as a church were "dared" if you will, to turn in to the pastor an accountability sheet with our specific goals, along with two listed accountability partners. And for some reason, when i ducked, a new thought hit me: "Why not?"

Ouch. I responded with the usual retaliatory ammunition, and then some new stuff: "There are too many unknowns this year. I don't have a job. I'm getting married. She doesn't have a job. We don't know where we're gonna be, or what we're gonna be doing. All of these things effect the goals one would make. Right?" I then realized that I was simply making excuses because I was afraid of falling short of a goal I set that might become obsolete with new circumstances. In reality though, this was masking the greater fear of putting forth the work to come up with good resolutions, and the prideful fear of failing to meet goals I have no excuse not to meet.

With that said, I realized that I could evaluate, re-evaluate, modify, and otherwise tailor my goals with changing circumstances. After all, the purpose of "resolutions" is not merely to be met, but for greater growth. Meeting these objectives falls secondary to my growth and maturity, the motivating factors and ultimate goal of any resolutions anyway.

So... following the outline given by the church, here are my 2009 Resolutions.

Worship - I will take action to promote my own private worship by focusing my attention Heavenward both first thing in the morning and last thing at night.
Community - I will take action to develop @ least 2 or 3 deep relationships that mutually foster both persons' spiritual health.
Maturity - I will take action to finish more books that will challenge, strengthen, and deepen my spiritual health. (I'm working on an exact number on this one. i.e. two such books per month?)
Service - I will take action to put forward the Biblical priority to love the unlovely and sacrificially serve the needy around me. ALSO I will take action to be more concerned with others spiritual health than their perceptions about me (either their like/dislike of me, or their assessment of my own spirituality). This is long-talk for involving myself unselfishly in being mentor in relationships.