How Close?

It's neat when devotionals from one sister or brother inspire extrapolations, resulting in a whole new, but related, "penned" (or in this case, typed) praise to God. Thank you to the pastor/brother who shared his thoughts about the different levels of intimacy one can share with Jesus...and therefore with whom I share this devotional.

"Then Jesus said to them, 'Most assuredly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in you. Whoever eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life...'" (John 6:53-54)


"Take me into the holy of holies, Take me in by the blood of the lamb, Take me into the holy of holies, Take the coal, touch my lips, here I am..." (Kutless, "Take Me In" )

Not many people will argue over the fact that Jesus was real. "He was a teacher," "He was a good man," "He was a prophet," "He was a blasphemer," "He was a kook,"... "He was (is)...our Messiah/Savior." To those who perceive Him to be any one of the first five (or anything else similar to these), Jesus was really just a historical figure. To some a good one, to others not-so-much-so. And evidence does exist that Jesus was, in fact, part of history. However one cannot have an intimate relationship with someone who was just part of history.

For those who believe both that Jesus walked the earth AND that He did so...as God's Son...to rescue a sinful and dying world, there are different levels of intimacy with Him that can be shared. (Thank you, Pastor C., for illuminating these in your writing...)...

Many will bump up against Him as He makes His way through our world...

It is sad these days the ease with which churches encourage their congregants to declare Jesus as their Lord and Savior. Jesus Himself, in one of the many parables He shared with the multitudes, warned that before submitting to being a follower of Him, one needed to "count the cost" of precisely what this meant (Luke 14:27-29). Without the Holy Spirit-given understanding of what walking this narrow path entails (Matthew 7:13-14), many will in fact just "bump up against" Jesus as they hear about Him in church, talk about Him in small groups, and read about Him during quiet times. Not that any one of these things couldn't be used by God to draw a person nearer to their Lord and Savior (John 6:44); but unless this occurs, there will be very little intimacy with Jesus...if any at all.

Many will encounter Him, amid the curious crowd of on-lookers...

This description fits the many who came (and still come) to Jesus seeking "things": those who sought miracles and signs (Luke 11:29), the many who brought their maladies to Him to be healed (Matthew 4:24) and the multitudes who sat and listened to His teachings (Mark 1:21-22; Luke 9:10-11). Although there were some from this bunch who did end up, because spiritual sight was imparted (Ephesians 1:17-20), seeing something much deeper in Jesus and thus a greater reason to continue to follow Him, a great majority of these "on-lookers" may (or may not) have just gotten what they needed or wanted and gone back to their original lives (Luke 17:11-17). Does this still happen today?

But few will...fight their way close enough to be able to let their finger tips graze the hem of His robes...

And then there were those such as the woman who had been bleeding for many years (Matthew 9:20-22), or the sinful lady who washed Jesus' feet with her tears:

"Then He turned to the woman and said to Simon, 'Do you see this woman? I entered your house; you gave Me no water for My feet, but she has washed My feet with her tears and wiped them with the hair of her head. You gave Me no kiss, but this woman has not ceased to kiss My feet since the time I came in. You did not anoint My head with oil, but this woman has anointed My feet with fragrant oil...'" (Luke 7:44-46)

How many of us will actually touch, or grasp on and hold on to, Jesus' robe? Rub our cheek against His foot? Sit with Him as the world rushes wildly on around us (Luke 10:38-42)? How many will dare to go into the holy of holies, where only one's self is allowed to enter, carrying nothing except a cross and a yearning to meet with the Savior there (Luke 9:57-62, 14:25-27)? And it is a fight: against the world's ridicule (John 15:18-20), against the multitude of satan's obstacles (Ephesians 6:12; 1 Peter 5:8) , and against our lack of desire to take up our cross, which is His cross, and follow Him wherever He leads (Romans 7:18-25; Galatians 5:16-17; Psalm 51:10)...

...but it's worth it...

...after 12 years (and many doctors), a bleeding woman was instantly made well (Matthew 9:22). The uninvited lady (who far surpassed the pharisee in his lack of welcome to the teacher) was recognized by Jesus as having a love for Him exploding in her heart (Luke 7:47). And from nowhere else can solid love, peace, and joy (John 14:26-27; Galatians 5:22-25; 1 John 4:10)...and Eternal Life (John 10:10)...meaning Real Life...come but by sitting in the Presence of...with our Lord and Savior, Jesus.

How close will you come...?

"Then Jesus said to them, 'Most assuredly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in you. Whoever eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life...'"

"Jesus said...'come, follow me...'" (Matthew 19:21)

In His Love,

Terri

Sanitized

Sanitize: to make more acceptable by removing unpleasant or undesired features (Merriam Webster's Dictionary)

^"Then Jesus said to them, 'Most assuredly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in you.'" (John 6:53)

The other day I was sitting in a local Target and watched as people walked in and yanked hand sanitizer towelettes off the rolls provided, wiping off the handles of the carts used by previous shoppers. I thought to myself, "we spend so much time trying to protect ourselves from this and that germ, attempting like never before to keep ourselves as cleansed as possible, when all along there is a much deeper and more critical problem going on..."

Relationships with one another, and God, are being sanitized.

But then I had to consider, how does this perception fit in with the actual definition of something being sanitized? (And quite honestly, I'm still pondering that right now, so if anyone has any of their own ideas they would like to share, PLEASE feel free...). Several thoughts occurred:

One is that due to the fear of exposure; the risks involved in becoming intimate with someone; and quite frankly, the self-centeredness that God Himself warned would permeate our world-apart-from-Him (Matthew 24:11-12; 2 Timothy 3:1-5), we have (even beyond our own consciousness) chosen to engage in more sterilized interactions, making the deep fellowship and yes even sometimes resulting pain become the "unpleasant and undesirable features" we remove. Now relationships are easier...more "acceptable"...often more in line with our own needs and schedules. Facebook and Twitter, for example, tend to minimize the sound and touch of those with whom we "communicate." Replies are brief and entries are often self-centered, and both often get lost as they move down on the person's "wall." People are satisfied to accrue "friends," often who never even "talk" with one another. And the process itself causes us to sit in front of a computer screen, giving us the control of being "on" or "off" (line). It's scary to think that this may be becoming (already is?) the norm of relationships in our society. But it didn't start nor does it end there. Blinds of homes are shut; car windows rolled up; tv screens are hypnotizing; and hearts are being encased and hardened within the very tombs we are creating for ourselves, or which are being constructed for us:

For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, unloving, unforgiving, slanderers, without self-control, brutal, despisers of good, traitors, headstrong, haughty, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having a form of godliness but denying its power.

And yes, this sanitizing has definitely found its way into the Church/Body of Christ, satirized in this video attached here. The video is funny, but the message is tragic.

...And because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow cold.

The second thought that occurred (intricately entwined with the first) is that satan - in whom "lawlessness" is made manifest, and which is running rampant these days - plays orchestra conductor of these sanitized relationships. Satan works directly and he works through people, and he can definitely "encourage" the mass production and advertising of those things that can then separate us from each other (2 Corinthians 11:13-14: "You can't live without it!"). He also takes fear, mistrust, and hatred and redirects them onto and toward one another instead of allowing them to remain in their rightful places: on him and his demonic army (Ephesians 6:12). And all of these are part of his strategy to divide and conquer, to blind, and to dehumanize, so that when he manifests himself in the form of the antichrist - his one last clarion call before Jesus appears again - many will follow him, caring more for their own self-preservation (which he will deceptively offer) and unable (and perhaps unwilling) to rescue one another from the surrounding chaos, which will be disguised as peace (Revelation 17:8). And it makes total sense that satan would be involved in this sanitizing of relationships, since surely real love and intimacy with one another and with God are not only unpleasant and undesirable, but detestable to him since they challenge on the deepest level his master plan of destruction. Hair, clothing, and individual personality were considered undesirable to Hitler when he was led to annihilate millions. So he sanitized, and thus dehumanized and then ultimately destroyed, not only Jewish people, but all of those whom he perceived to obstruct his master plan. This is one highly visible event representing what satan is doing and will continue to do (John 10:10) until his own demise has come. And unless we turn to God, who is ready and willing to protect and empower us against these onslaughts (2 Chronicles 7:14), we too will fall prey (we are falling prey) to satan's holocaust (1 Peter 5:8).

So now why include the scripture verse above, spoken by Jesus Himself, about having to eat his flesh and drink his blood?

Because by contrast, this is about as intimate and unsanitized as you can get when it comes to having a relationship with someone. And in fact many ran from it (John 6:66; and I don't frequently go by these things, but notice that the very verse in which many turned from Jesus and walked the other way contains the same numbers as the mark that will be assigned to those who likewise are not covered by Jesus' blood, and therefore prone to follow satan's representative: "666" -- Revelation 13:16-18/worth reading is all of 1-18). God intended for our love for one another and our relationship with Him to go deep (John 13:34-35), so deep that He would have His Son tell us that unless we consumed Him, we would have no life in us. This is incredibly unsanitary, but this is how close we need to be with Him (and He invites that). And this is just about as close as we could be to one another (indwelled by Him). We must hear and believe this, because it's getting late.

If anyone has an ear, let him hear... (Revelation 13:9)

...Please...

In Jesus' Name,

Love,
Terri

Breathe In...Breathe Out

This is the air I breathe..."

"Keep in mind, there are other options.  I can breathe hatred into the world.  I can breathe suspicion.  I can breathe revenge.  I can breathe divisiveness...(or)...I can breathe life" ("The Little Black Book: Six-minute meditations on the Sunday Gospels of Lent [Cycle B], February 28, 2012).

This devotional was actually inspired by a devotional (portion above) written by Bishop Ken Untener.  In it, Bishop Untener spotlights the Spirit - the Holy Spirit of God - who comes to dwell within anyone (John 14:16-20) whose heart is turned back to God (Ezekiel 36:26); brought back Home to Him by the drawing of that very same Spirit (John 6:44)!

In the lyric which precedes the Bishop's quote, it is that very same living, loving, eternal Spirit about which the author sings.  It is only by "breathing in" the Holy Spirit of God that he is able to truly live; not attempting to survive on the increasingly polluted "air" (sustenance) the world has to offer, but turning his entire self (Matthew 16:25) in the direction - into the realm - of He Who fills our lungs...our whole person...with Life (John 10:10; Ephesians 3:20-21; Philippians 4:19).

This is why I liked Bishop Untener's devotional.  He takes the "breathing in" process a step further.  He emphasizes that the Life that is born (John 3:5-8; John 1:12-13) and that blossoms (Matthew 13:31-32) within someone who turns his or her earthly life back over to God (Mark 8:34-35) is refreshment and renewal that can be shared with others.  Instead of the myriad of other things that can be "breathed out" (complaints, condemnations, gossip, judgments, profanities, slander..."and the like" - Galatians 5:19-21), it is a sweet smelling aroma that can be exhaled by someone who has and knows the Holy Spirit of God (Ephesians 5:1-2).  He or she can truly breathe life onto others; and then, if that same Spirit intervenes, the fresh air within which those on the receiving end find themselves can awaken them to their own need for Him.  And once accepted, then they too will know the acquiescing and Life-giving "Ahhhhh" that comes from having Him Who is Eternal Life abiding within. 

"This is the air I breathe..." 

Thank you, Lord, for giving your life (and then coming back) so that we could become truly Alive: like Pinocchio being transformed from a wooden puppet into a real live boy, or the Velveteen Rabbit being loved so much, and by that love, receiving Real Life.  That's how much You have loved and love us...but oh so much more.  And for those who have in fact received this Life from You, may we constantly be humbled by Your Love, and then be willing to breathe out Your Life and Love...the Holy Spirit...to others. 

Thank you, Lord.

(In His Love), 

Terri