This guy could be an adorable little old man. Really! He’s been retired about as long as Ive been alive, and I’m old! He can be sweet until he opens his mouth. What inevitably comes out is a blasting stream of political commentary born of ignorance and bigotry. He’s convinced that George Bush personally flew those planes into the twin towers. He gave me the DVD that proved it, some moronic radio “commentator” in the Ozarks whose presentation had so many spelling, grammatical and historical errors in the first 90 seconds I couldn’t take anymore. When I reported back to him, you would have thought I told him that Santa Claus doesn’t exist. Poor guy! He never met a conspiracy theory he didn’t like. I’ve told him clearly and nicely several times that such political discussions hold no appeal for me.

It’s not that he’s against Bush’s Republicans; he hates Obama equally. He’s an equal opportunity political bigot. In fact, I’ve never heard him say a single positive thing about any public figure. They’re all in one giant conspiracy against us.

“Say! Did you know that gas is going to $8 a gallon? I heard about it six months ago,” he said with smug satisfaction, hoping I would be thoroughly impressed with his impeccable sources.

“Hmmmm, “I said.

Hey! Do you know what country Obama is going to attack next?

I didn’t answer but he told me anyway. “Yemen. Y-e -e-e, m-e-e-n-n-n”, he drew it out, sure that I had never heard of the place. “Yessiree! I guarantee it. Yemen is next on Obama’s hit list.”

“Mmmmm,” I said, sure by now that my tongue was beginning to bleed inside my mouth.

Failing to get a rise, he decided to escalate and push what he knew would be my hot button. “So, what’s new in biblical prophecy?”

Forgive me, but I couldn’t take it any more. I turned around, looked him in the eye and said, “What’s new in biblical prophecy? Well, nothing that I know of. Last time I checked, the Bible was still saying the same thing it said 2,000 years ago.”

He momentarily looked stunned. I don’t think he expected that answer. But, I’ve got to give him credit. He can take shot after shot and never miss a beat. “Well, it’s all coming down right now, isn’t it?” convinced that we had just had a stimulating conversation.

My bagel arrived just in time for me to pay for it and be rescued from further meaningless exchange. I made my way to my seat to do my daily Bible reading. That’s when the first words I saw stopped me cold. These words.

Now these are the nations which the Lord left, to prove Israel by them …  Judges 3:1a

Sunday evening I was at the Midtown church we helped to start some years back. They had asked me to speak about the task remaining in God’s mission to the nations. I’ve taught this material many times, but the passion in me stirs each time. The nations spoken of so often in the Bible are the same as the all nations Jesus told us to disciple in Matthew 28:18-20. These are the panta ta ethne, or every ethnic group that make up the world’s population and have always been front and center of God’s heartfelt concern since the 70 Gentile nations were laid out in Genesis 10 shortly after Noah got off the ark. God has always had a heart for the nations. Even after the rebellious act surrounding the construction of the Tower of Babel in Genesis 11, God never lost his passion to reach the nations with his love. In the very next chapter, Genesis 12, he calls out an idolater in southern Iraq to go to a land that he would give to him. It’s not that God was discouraged with the nations and wanted to start over again fresh by forming the Hebrew people. He told Abraham that he was going to bless him so that all of the families of the earth – every nation, every ethnic group – would be blessed in him. He would bless him to be a blessing.

There are differing ways, of course, to categorize how many people groups exist in the world, but most missiologists use a figure of approximately 16,400, of which around 40% remain unreached or even unengaged altogether. You can get a list of which ones remain. (Operation World by Patrick Johnstone is a great resource, or you can find such information all over the Internet).

That list is what got me to thinking. Judges opens with a list of Israel’s incomplete victories. The opening words of chapter three lead to a list of the specific nations God left to test them. Hmmmm. God still has a list of nations, and I’m thinking he is testing us.

How are we doing? Well, let’s set aside the approach of the little old man I spoke of. If our mission is to preserve the American way of life, then probably the best thing we can do is to simply kill off anyone who is a threat to that objective. Sadly, this seems to the be the mentality that is harbored by the “Christians” that forward me emails of how all the Muslims in the world want to kill us and conquer our lands. The solutions offered for this problem are always political. I think a bunch “Christians” actually tried approach as they killed off as many enemies as they could in Jesus’ name back during the Crusades. It didn’t work out very well.

Another option is the one being exercised by the majority of Christians and churches – just ignore them, these other nations. I say this with authority, because less than ten percent of our missionary resources are invested in the 40% of the world’s population that has never heard. A leading missiologist recently assured me that 86% of the world’s Muslims, Buddhists and Hindus have never known a Christian friend, especially one from their own cultural background. Instead, we continue to send “missionaries” to plant churches in places like Brazil, Mexico, South Korea, etc. where they are now sending out missionaries themselves. Brazil and Korea, for example, are two of the leading missionary forces in the world. South Korea is now sending out more workers than the US, Canada and Western Europe combined. But, that doesn’t seem to deter us from our missionary strategy to reach the already reached.

Don’t misunderstand me. I am not saying that there is no need for the Gospel or new churches in those parts of the world already reached. There is plenty of need to go around. Research, though, indicates that once a people has about 2%  or so of genuine believers, they are usually quite capable of carrying on themselves the task of reaching the rest of their people. There are also opportunities to partner in specialized ways for training, coaching, joint ventures and other opportunities. My questions have to do with priorities of strategic planning.

I believe there is an alternative option, the one that has been in the Bible all along. God’s love for the nations and desire to be worshiped by them all equally has never dropped off his radar screen. Instead of fighting them or ignoring them, how about we ask God what he is already doing in those places to open doors for the Good News of Jesus Christ. What if we made ourselves available to him to be used in whatever ways he has in mind to finish the task?

I’m thinking that that list of unreached nations just may be a contemporary application of Judges 3:1.

Istanbul

Being a frequent traveler, people often ask my favorite country to visit. That’s a great question, but impossible for me to answer. As an eternal optimist and glass-half-full guy, I can find things to admire just about anywhere I wander. Well, that is, of course, with the exception of … you didn’t really think I’d tell you, did you?

Turkey is stunning! Definitely toward the top of most of my lists! A large country of over 72 million people, it is as geographically diverse as the people who inhabit it. The soil is rich and fruitful, the mountains are spectacular and snow-covered, the beaches are amazing and, and, and … you get the idea. Just about anything you could want can be found in Turkey. It is possible on any given day to find any climate within the borders of Turkey, cold to hot, wet to dry. You can Google Turkey and get the touristy info anytime you want; I’m not writing this to promote Turkish tourism. But, it is true that Turkey is a gorgeous place with world class cities like Istanbul and Izmir.

Right now I am thinking Bible and history. Outside of Israel, there is no nation that contains more biblical history. Noah’s ark is said to have touched down on those snow covered mountains of Ararat – in Turkey. Turkey’s position as the land bridge between Asia and Europe means that so many of the biblical peoples have been connected in one way or another with Turkey. The Apostle Paul was born in Tarsus – in modern Turkey. Followers of Jesus were first called Christians in the church of Antioch of Syria – also located in modern Turkey. When Paul wrote to the churches in the region of Galatia, he was writing to churches in Turkey. The letters that Jesus wrote in the Book of Revelation to the seven churches – yep, they are all in Turkey. For the first 1,000 years of the Christian faith, no city played a more important role than Constantinople (modern Istanbul), not even Rome. This is a short list, but the idea is to remind you (or inform you) that Turkey is sometimes called “the other Holy Land” for a reason.

So much of what you read about in the Bible took place in Turkey. Today, however, Turkey is one of the most resistant places on earth to the gospel. Estimates of genuine evangelical followers of Christ in this nation of over 72 million range from 3-4,000. There are many more members of traditional, Orthodox churches, and it must be assumed that there is a remnant of believers among them as in other places as well. In a few days we will commemorate the martyrdom of three men killed for their faith in Christ during a horrible incident almost four years ago in eastern Turkey.

Let me hasten to add that since the 1920′s the government of Turkey has been secular, and there is no official policy of persecution as long as people live peacefully among each other and don’t try to convert others to their religion. Most of the attacks that have taken place against believers in recent years have come from radical nationalists or religions fanatics. Before you are tempted to become a bit judgmental of those who perpetrate such attacks, let me remind you that it was through this country also that thousands of European crusaders roamed in their quest to recapture the Holy Land and Jerusalem. Along the way many were given to incredible displays of rape, rampage, cold-blooded murder, savagery and other barbaric acts with a ferocity that still brings pain to this day. Don’t say, “get over it”, or “that was a long time ago.” That very attitude is a great part of the reason that the wounds are fresh to this very day. You really can’t understand unless you have lived inside the hearts of those who live on the other side. Though there are plenty  of examples of excess to go around on all sides, there are also many poignant examples of Muslims protecting Christians and providing for them in these lands. Sometimes, the most powerful form of witness is to lay the arguments and blame aside and opt for a genuine, contrite humility and recognition of the common human problem of sin.

Please don’t think I am advocating a silent witness approach, or a passive, do-nothing presence. I am a follower of Jesus Christ and I live to share my faith. The question is how one goes about doing that. Loud and bold does not always equate to biblical and Christ-like, though sometimes it surely does. Just like in Bible study, context is everything. History shows that sharing faith at the point of a sword rarely works. How about something really radical, like living daily life in the power of the resurrection of Jesus Christ, and trusting God for open doors of “utterance” as Paul asked the Colossians (residents of Turkey) to pray for him? He also asked that God would grant him the grace to speak boldly, clearly and correctly. How about being channels of God’s love to all people regardless of whether or not they ever come to share our faith. We have the example of God himself who loved us even when we were yet sinners.

When I think of Turkey’s amazing biblical past, I make application to my life by being reminded that whatever I have done in the past for God’s kingdom’s sake is no guarantee that I am living in his power today. The same truth applies to congregations. A proud and storied history is great, but what about God’s working in and through us today? Looking back over my life, what are the landmark times of God’s power manifested in me? Are any of those times within the past year? Why, or why not? Those are the questions I need to ask myself. The answers are not always gratifying or comforting.

I am also reminded that no matter how beautiful a country, an individual or a church on the outside, there can be a totally different story beneath the surface. What is at the very core of my existence? Would it be my own selfish desire, or Christ and him crucified?

Finally, I am reminded to pray for Turkey and its peoples. I must pray for those followers of Jesus who live and labor there to witness the power of Jesus Christ in and through their lives. Some of them have suffered greatly and a few have paid the ultimate sacrifice. The least I can do is pray.

Agabus the Prophet

Long ago in a world far removed from our reality, long before cable TV and the Internet, before FaceBook could spawn revolutions and when only birds could tweet, a prophet named Agabus stood in the power of God’s Spirit to announce that a great famine would grip the Mediterranean basin.  And, it was so.

The famine was especially severe in Jerusalem and the larger area of Judea.  In those days not long after the resurrection of Jesus the Messiah,  the gospel had just arrived in the predominately gentile city of Antioch of Syria. In compassionate response to this humanitarian need, the disciples in Antioch determined that every one of them according to their ability would send relief to their brothers in Judea by the hands of the apostles Paul and Barnabas (Acts 11:28-30).

This benevolent offering actually occupies quite a prominent place in Acts, Romans, 1 and 2 Corinthians. Not only did it meet a very real physical and social need, God used it to bond both gentile and Jewish believers together in a time of considerable tension between them. Think for a minute of the lessons that God taught the Antioch church (and others) through their participation in this gift.

• This offering taught the church that there were needs beyond their own community for which they were responsible. Talk about a challenge to their world view!
• This offering taught the church in Antioch to be a generous church. Giving is merely an act by which God begins to teach us to be generous people by nature.
• The offering taught the Antioch church that the “church” was much greater than their own congregation. They began to appreciate that they had brothers and sisters in other places and totally different cultures.

Japan has been devastated beyond comprehension. The Antioch church did not respond to every need in the world, nor can we. But we can be sensitive to the leadership of God’s Spirit. Just days before the quake, we ordained a young Japanese man named Elisha in the presence of his senior pastor, head deacon and two friends from the Takiyama church in Japan. They traveled all the way from Japan to share this moment with us. Now, it is our turn to stand with them.

Over the past few days we have been in communication with Elisha and others. The Takiyama church members are fine physically, though the entire nation is affected by the tragedy. Food, gasoline, medicine and other basic items are becoming scarce and expensive. We have learned that some church members have family and friends in the areas of greatest need that are missing or affected. Right now they are working to assess needs and opportunities to help.

Today, KCBT began processing an immediate gift of $10,000 to the Takiyama church to use in the relief effort to their family, friends, other churches and other needs as they see fit. We can do this because our people have been faithful to give their tithes and offerings on a regular basis. No special offering is necessary because you have been faithful all along. While anyone can, of course, give above their tithes and offerings to specific missionaries and projects, at KCBT a good portion of the regular giving every week goes beyond ourselves.

What can KCBT learn from this?

• There are needs beyond our local assembly. We are a globally focused church whose outreach begins in our own community and stretches to the most remote places on earth.
• Every member should be generous. No exceptions. We should be generous givers both individually and corporately.
• We also have brothers and sisters all over the planet with whom we are organically related in Christ. As we are diligent to give, we advance the kingdom. Everyone who is a giver at KCBT is part of this relief gift to the Takiyama family of believers.

Still hanging around the back wall? Come! Join with us. Together we have a synergy far beyond what we can do as individuals. A grudging act of giving feels like a heavy obligation; becoming a generous person is liberating and can result in global significance!

“What can we do to help in Japan?”

Great question! I just got an email from a local mission organization asking how our church was responding to the mega-disaster in Japan. It’s a question I ask myself.

First and foremost, we can pray. My past two posts have focused on the need for prayer. In our third service this morning we had a special time of corporate prayer for Japan. Sometimes I think we don’t give prayer its proper due, treating it as an obligation, something we do while gearing up to really DO something.

This morning I sp0ke from Psalm 119 about the power of remembering. Let me call our KCBT community to remember how we began our focus on the K people. We simply prayed, not knowing what else to do. Remember that I told you not to ask when we would go or what we could do. We set aside an entire year to just pray. This is not the space or time to go into this, but we have been amazed at what God has done in these past couple of years. Enough to reconfirm that prayer is the first, not the last resort.

In the first post on Japan early Friday morning Kansas City time, I shared some thoughts about prayer from Colossians 4:2-4 that we used for a guide in last Tuesday’s prayer ministry. There is an aspect of Paul’s instruction there that continues to burn in me. He tells us not only to pray, but to watch in prayer.

Have you noticed how many times this theme of watching in prayer comes up in the scriptures? You find that in both Old and New Testaments. Jesus talked about watching and praying. I find this fascinating and wish that I better understood all that God means.

So, in response to the question, “What can I do,” I respond with a question of my own, “Are you watching?”

To watch in prayer implies a continued effort. This situation in Japan is very fluid and will not be over for a long time to come. Our attention span is short. We should watch in prayer.

To watch in prayer also speaks to me of watching to see what God is doing. I think this is one of the most important facets of our response to the tragedy in Japan. How will God use this event to advance his kingdom?

While watching, are you watching what God is doing in the Middle East and North Africa? How about the continued crisis in Ivory Coast? Not that long ago I was saying that what is happening in North Africa and the Middle East is one of the most significant events of my life time. I still believe that. We are all consumed with compassion for the Japanese, but let’s not stop watching what God is doing in that amazing situation in the Islamic world. In Libya, for example, rebels have been badly beat back these past couple of days. Will God give us an open door for the good news in these situations? Let’s watch!

Having said all this about prayer, we still pray to know what God would have us to do in a tangible way. We have some guiding principles as a church community in circumstances like these. We could easily spend all of our time and resources reacting impulsively to every need that comes along. Unfortunately, there is no shortage of tragedy and natural disaster in this fallen world. Therefore, we choose to reserve our best efforts for those times God opens a very clear door of opportunity to work with fellow believers on the ground.

In Japan, our best contact is the Takiyama church where Elisha ministers alongside Pastor Oki. You can see some of Elisha’s updates in comments on the past two posts. They are outside of the zones of greatest damage and just outside one of the areas evacuated because of the concern for the nuclear power stations. Their members have family and friends in the northeast area that bore the brunt of the devastating tsunami. They are also asking God for wisdom in how they might help. As they determine what practical steps they need to take, perhaps the opportunity to help them in some way might arise. You can be sure I’ll let you know if that does develop.

Meanwhile, if you are led to give, I suggest you stick with a group you know and can trust. The American Red Cross and Salvation Army come immediately to mind because they are well-equipped for immediate response, but there are others. Beware of groups that don’t have a proven track record, even Christian organizations. There are always those who rush to the battle without a clear battle plan, necessary contacts, expertise and experience to make a dent in the task. Japan is one of the most ordered societies on earth and as well-prepared to handle situations like this as any other nation. They don’t need a lot of  ”loose canons” running around and getting in the way of the larger, coordinated efforts at this stage.

Looking for ministry partners in Japan is difficult because the footprint of the church there is very small. There just aren’t that many evangelical believers. We are fortunate to have an ongoing relationship with the Takiyama church, one of the more significant works with which we could possibly team up.

Again, as always, feel free to share your own thoughts and ideas. Above all, we continue to watch and pray.

Google’s omnipresent clean, simple design of a few bright colors on a lot of white open space is a classic example of applied minimalism.

I’ve been thinking lately about what constitutes the bare essence of the gospel. This morning I mentioned how we share the tendency to create our own “Christian” culture. While there is nothing wrong with tradition, forms and cultural preferences, over time we often keep piling on until we lose the ability to separate biblical truth from our created culture.

Last month I spoke to students at both a university and a college about making our lives strategic. To do that we must understand what is important and what are the optional add-on’s. I gave an example from Luke 24 where Jesus appeared to a couple of his disciples returning to Emmaus late in the afternoon on Resurrection Sunday. Revealing his identity to his startled disciples, Jesus then began at Moses and all the prophets, expounding to them in all the scriptures the things concerning himself.

Can you imagine that? He went through all the scriptures explaining the essence of his story. After dinner in Emmaus, Jesus disappeared from among them and they still had time to travel back to Jerusalem that night to report to the Twelve. Calculating the time, this means that Jesus was able to explain the Old Testament in probably two or three hours at the most.

Obviously this was a minimalistic, strategic overview, skipping many of the wonderful details that delight us so. Could you give such a concise survey? The Bible is infinitely deep and there are indeed riches in the details. Often, though, we fulfill the old adage of not being able to see the forest for the trees. A good mental exercise would be to see if you could explain the essence of the Old Testament in an hour or two without sacrificing any of the essential elements.

In the Perspectives class last week, one of the teachers was explaining her participation in what missiologists call a church planting movement, a spontaneous and indigenous movement of churches reproducing themselves through multiplication rather than addition. These types of movements are fueled by the Holy Spirit and move so quickly, there is no time for workers to be in every church. Instead, they work to train leaders in the essence of the gospel.

Several missiological workers have taken all the commands of Jesus and categorized them into seven. Several groups use this or a similar summary to keep themselves on track. Her group requires its workers to memorize and fully understand the following seven commands of Jesus: Believe for repentance, be baptized, break bread, love, pray, give, go.

Think about it. You could add a zillion details, but that’s a pretty fair summary of what it means to follow Jesus. I’ve known many people who can recite fascinating biblical details and curiosities, but have gaping holes in one of the seven basic commands listed above.

Haven’t you seen a ton of websites with swirling doo-dads, thing-a-ma-jigs, and all sorts of links, colors, and details that turn out to be so beautifully complex as to be totally worthless? I fear that’s a bit like many of our forms of cultural Christianity. It makes perfect sense to those of us on the inside, but is so complex and convoluted as to keep others from entering in.

Google’s simple design is the portal to a vast world of information and connectivity. I’d sure like to think of my life as being simple, open and inviting as to be merely a portal to the eternal riches and glory of God. Maybe we could call that the Gospel according to Google.

I've had all I can take!

Sometimes people ask me what my typical daily schedule is like. I always try to be very sweet and sociable. On the inside I can’t decide whether I want to spit laughter right back in their face or just punch them in the face. Yeah, I know that is not the pastorally-correct response. I’m just being honest here.

I know if not their fault. They just think that the spiritual leader has got it all together and tied up into nice little packages with bows on top.

What’s the secret? How do you get every thing done?

I’m sorry, but I wouldn’t know a daily schedule if it bit me in the … well, let’s just say schedules and I just don’t get along. Schedules??? Really? Schedules????

I had a pastor friend once who was a schedule freak. He was so anal about his schedules, he had them written out in great detail. For example, 9:27 to 11:43am – study time. He would actually have his assistant lock his study door during those times. This is true; I lie not. And yes, it was really from some obscure minute to another. It wasn’t like from 9:30to 11:45 or something that normal people might have.

The poor assistant was terrified to interrupt him. Had there been a fire, there would have been fried pastor, because I am sure she would not have interrupted him even for that.

How on earth can anyone work with real human beings and keep a schedule like that? I mean, if you were making non-stick baking pans or something, you could maybe start the machine around 9:00am, run it to about noon, knock off for lunch and kick it on again until time to go home. You could stop by the gym for a bit, go home, eat dinner and watch TV until it was time to go to sleep. Does anyone really live like that anymore?

Last week’s Perspectives Intensive was as close to a schedule as I have had in ages. Get up at 6:30, jump in the shower to cleanse my filthy carcass, drive to the church, do my Bible reading, jot some illegible notes in my journal, go up to room 226 at 8:30, grab two slices of a muffin cut into four parts and a cup of coffee and then listen to the teachers until 4:30, wander in a daze for a few minutes, grab a cup of whatever with an extra shot at Portico and then go to the evening service of The Summit. Repeat for eight days.

It was during this semi-conscious/semi-comatose routine, about the time that my God-strength meter was down to a single bar, that I got an email from my sweet wife with the subject line “Words from Jesus.” I could tell she had just done our daily Bible reading.

Mark 6:30-56

And the apostles gathered themselves together unto Jesus, and told him all things, both what they had done, and what they had taught. And he said unto them, Come ye yourselves apart into a desert place,

and rest a while: for there were many coming and going, and they had no leisure so much as to eat.

Just want you to know what Jesus is expecting of you after this class is over. Another quote is “DO IT!”

In the King’s quaint English she was sending me a clear message. I appreciated her love, interest and sense of humor.

But, have you ever read the context of that chapter??? Geeze!

Jesus and his gang have come back to the Galilee area, and early Saturday morning Jesus is in his home synagogue teaching, stirring things up as usual. Afterwards, he heals a few folks, but is met with a wall of unbelief so thick that he takes his teaching to the surrounding villages. Then, he  sends out his disciples in teams of two to do some good old fashioned repentance preaching.

When the disciples report back, that’s when Jesus tells them it’s time to get away to rest a bit, because things are so crazy with folks coming and going that they hadn’t even had time to eat. (Sound familiar?) So, they jump into a boat and push off for a nice, isolated little retreat place on the other side with a lake view.

What they don’t count on is that the people are watching, figure out where they are headed, race down the lake shore, beat them to their little resort place and are waiting for them when they arrive.

So, what does Jesus do? He does what he usually does around people. He has compassion on them and begins to do some more teaching. I wonder if Jesus has some of those omnipresent plastic water bottles, because by this time his voice is probably getting a little spent. Do you ever think about weird stuff like that?

By this time time it’s going to be dark soon and the folks are hungry. This is when Jesus feeds the 5,000. Ever think about all the other stuff going on? I’m sure I would have been ramping up for days on end just to even think about feeding 5,000 people. For Jesus, this is just another time slot on his smart phone’s calendar.

Now, it is after all this that Jesus sends his disciples off again in the boat back toward the other side of the lake. They still haven’t had time to sit down for a nice latte at Starbuck’s! Can you even imagine that? No! This is the time when the disciples get caught in this horrible wind storm, think they are going to die and Jesus comes to the rescue walking on the water.

Really! For most of us, this event alone would merit a few days in Maui to recuperate.

Time for some relax time, right? Wrong! Jesus and the boys get to shore and there are crowds waiting. People heard he was coming and they are rushing in from all over carrying people on stretchers who need to be healed. Wherever Jesus turns, there are people rushing to be healed or even just to touch his skin. Good grief! Did you notice they didn’t even get a chance to sleep that night?

Some times are just like this.

It’s great to get away and rest. I want to do that when I get a chance. Yeah, I know what the books say. Right after my full 7.5 hours of sleep, I should head out for a nice retreat.

Man! That really sounds good. If it just wasn’t for these people who need to be healed. If it just wasn’t for having the example of Jesus and his doggone compassion. If it just wasn’t for … Yeah, well, I’ll find that time to get away.

But, until then, some times are just like this.

No, I’ll still find time to do my daily Bible reading, but I probably won’t be thinking to lead you through Leviticus. So, pay attention, class!

We’ve seen the five offerings in chapters 1-7. We saw them twice, as a mater of fact, both as a picture of Christ offered for us and then what we are to offer to him. Chapters 8-10 gave a view of the priesthood with a reminder that this has to with us, because in the New Testament we are all priests with direct access to God thanks to the finished work of Jesus Christ.

Now, the remaining chapters all have to do with with picturing how God has set us apart to be his special people. Holiness is the key word in Leviticus. Basically, all this stuff that begins with the difference between clean and unclean animals is to set us up to learn to distinguish between right and wrong. What in the world is chapter 12 all about??? Think this – there is something wrong with human birth; we need to be born again.

Brace yourself for chapters 13-15 and a ton of confusing verbiage about – leprosy? Why should you care? Leprosy is a picture of sin in the Bible (remember all those lepers that Jesus healed). Chapter 16  is the Day of Atonement casting a glance to Christ on the Cross, and you might want to check out some cross references in Hebrews.

Getting into chapters 17-22 you will face one of those bewildering lists of prohibitions and rules and be wondering how this affect us at all. As a set of rules, not so much. But, the point of these chapters is to remind us that learning to distinguish between right and wrong extends to every bit of life. We are not to compartmentalize life, but to live life as a single integrated system all to the glory of God.

Chapters 23-25 lay out the fascinating Hebrew system of feasts that portray God’s kingdom plan. The last chapters are some solemn warnings and promises. So, have fun! Remember, you will not understand it all the first time through. It’s OK!

I’ll look to see as many of you as possible this next week at The Summit. You really don’t want to miss this! Try to arrive a bit earl and enjoy some of the special activities planned even for the lobby, and maybe even enjoy a great cup of coffee. No service Thursday night, then Friday and Saturday nights, Sunday morning and Sunday night. Wow!

You have just seen the description of the five offerings – twice. Once from us toward God, and once from God toward us. Each offering symbolizes some aspect of Christ’s ultimate sacrifice of himself for us. And, it also symbolized what Christ requires from us in return. Chapter 7 puts the bow on the offerings, and chapter 8 introduces the next of the main themes of Leviticus – the priesthood.

The sinner needs a sacrifice for sin, and Christ is our sacrifice. Now, we offer back to him the sacrifice of our lives. The believer needs a priest, and Christ is our great High Priest, the only mediator between God and mankind. Because we have put our faith in him, we are now priests in that we have direct access to God to offer to him our sacrifices (2Peter 2:5; Hebrews 13:15-16). The high priest Aaron is a picture of Christ our High Priest; Aaron’s sons the priests are a picture of us as believers, priest and sons of God.

Every bit of these next few chapters symbolize characteristics of Christ our High Priest and us, too, in our role as priests. For example, the ceremonial washing is a picture of baptism (literally can be translated as washings). Every element of their ceremonial clothing is a picture some biblical truth. See if you can catch some of it. If you don’t get it, keep reading!

Notice this. One must be born into the priesthood, just like we are born again into God’s family. Then, the priest must be properly dressed and genuinely consecrated. Where do you find those truths in the New Testament? In chapter 9 you will see the glory of God appear. In chapter 10 you will see the amazing case of the strange fire of Nadab and Abihu. What is THAT all about?

That should keep you going for a while. Don’t give up now!

Now, we find ourselves in Leviticus. Stay in your seat and keep your seatbelt fastened, and I promise that if you can make it through Leviticus, it will be much smoother sailing ahead – most of the time. I do recommend that you keep your seat belt fastened at all times while you are in your seat, just like we do up in the pulpit.

Here are some hints to keep you from losing your religion. Leviticus literally means “that pertaining to Levi.” So, you want to get the red tabs and when measuring for length remember that they will shrink just a little the first few times you wash them.

Seriously, this is a book that explains the responsibilities of the Levites, the priestly tribe of Israel. This is important to us, since every New Testament believer is a priest, that is we have free access to God to offer our sacrifices to him (1Peter 2:5 and Revelation 1:6). There are many word pictures and symbols that point to our lives today.

Leviticus is quoted more than 40 times in the New Testament, so it must have something of substance to say even if you can’t figure it out the first few times you read it through. This book has more words spoken directly by God than any other book in the Bible. The key word is holiness, appearing 87 times in the book. Moses is the human author, and everything recorded in the book happens in the space of a month between Exodus 40:17 and Numbers 1:1. In Exodus God spoke from Mount Sinai; in Leviticus he speaks mostly from the tabernacle.

Leviticus describes h0w God lived in a tabernacle among his people. The New Testament tells how God came to live in his people on the basis of the finished work of Jesus Christ and his resurrection. In the New Testament the book of Hebrews gives insight into Leviticus more than any other.

Leviticus has two parts. Chapters 1-10 describe the offerings to be presented in the tabernacle. Each of them symbolizes a different aspect of our standing before God on the basis on Jesus Christ being offered as a sacrifice for our sin. The second part of the book, chapters 11-27,describes the rituals that illustrate how God has set us apart to be his special people.

Leviticus describes how God set aside sacrifices, priests and a special place. The New Testament describes how we are to be a living sacrifice, priests and the special place in which God lives.

Got it? … You’re welcome, but you don’t need to thank me. Just give a sacrificial offering to missions.

OK, here’s the tip of the day. Concentrate on those great passages in Psalms, Proverbs and the Gospels. Don’t worry about what you don’t understand in Leviticus. Just keep reading. If you are a pure nerd and have a few months to spare, I have taught through the entire book of Leviticus and you can probably get the mp3 files from Reality Living.

Some folks get discouraged because they hear me rattle off stuff like that above and think they should be able to figure it all out the first time they read through the book. I can’t tell you how many times I read through this book until I started to see a few things. I can’t count the books I’ve read written by those that can’t count the times they have read through Leviticus. Do you really think that I just glance through the book and just begin to vomit out all these factoids? Come on!

I used to read through the entire Bible every 30 days. Insane! I still couldn’t understand Leviticus. And, once I read some book that explained some of it, I had forgotten what I read by the next day. It just doesn’t happen overnight. Do you really just sit down and slickly slam together a 10,000 piece jigsaw puzzle? Or, do you sit and stare at it for long periods of time?

By the way, I no longer try to read through the Bible every 30 days.  I stopped that about the time they measured me for a straight jacket to match my Levis. Just keep reading the Bible. By the time you’ve been at it as long as I have, you’ll be understanding some things, too.

First, I always hate to miss Tuesday prayer. From Monday morning until Wednesday noon we are having our pastor retreat in Excelsior Springs – close to home yet far enough away from all the noise of daily life. I like to hang out with all the pastor guys. Last night we went to see The King’s Speech. Excellent! We seriously had the entire theater to ourselves. Not much Monday night movie action in Excelsior Springs.

So, wait a minute! Why am I here in Dallas? I had promised to be part of a meeting here tomorrow and was going to fly down in the morning and back at night. I’m at lunch with the guys today when my phone rings – my early Wednesday morning flight has already been cancelled due to the threat of snow in Dallas!

How does a seasoned road warrior handle these types of crises? Easy. Pay attention now and you’ll learn something. I take that same cell phone, make one simple call and say, “Emily, help!”

A couple of hours later I was leaving Excelsior Springs heading home to change clothes and then turn around and head back north to the airport. They are expecting several inches of snow here in Dallas overnight so the strategy was to get in before it started. I’m betting now that I can make it back home tomorrow night. We’ll see.

OK, here’s something I’ve been thinking about – blessing. There are many cultures, including the cultures in which the Bible was written, where a blessing holds incredible power and influence. Fathers blessed their children. Men blessed their neighbors and friends. Invoking God’s blessing on someone is considered a great gift in many cultures to this day.

Because we have so many different cultures in our church, there have been times when people from “blessing cultures” have asked me to bless them. They really mean it. I really do it. I’ve had to learn how, and it is something that gives me probably more pleasure than those whom I bless.

One thing is intercessory prayer that involves asking God to intervene in a specific way in a certain situation. Many of you remember how we recently have had special prayer on Sunday morning for Xavier Chacón and his bout with cancer. The past couple of weeks we interceded for Wagih and Samer, two of our brothers who minister in Egypt.

Another thing is to ask God’s blessing on someone. Think about the examples from the Bible, both Testaments. This morning in our Bible reading I saw Psalm 20:1-5 as an excellent template for blessing someone. Tradition says that this Psalm of David was written to express the blessing of the people on their king. Read it and meditate a bit on what power we hold in our lips to invoke God’s blessings on others. All I can say is that to bless someone like that is far preferable to using our mouth to criticize, demoralize, discourage, attack, lie, manipulate or spread rumors. What are some other examples of spoken biblical blessings?

The LORD hear thee in the day of trouble; the name of the God of Jacob defend thee; Send thee help from the sanctuary, and strengthen thee out of Zion; Remember all thy offerings, and accept thy burnt sacrifice; Selah. Grant thee according to thine own heart, and fulfil all thy counsel. We will rejoice in thy salvation, and in the name of our God we will set up our banners: the LORD fulfil all thy petitions. (Psalms 20:1-5)

Once you get the concept, blessings are all around. I’m sure many of you have heard or seen this old Irish blessing while looking through stuff at a Cracker Barrel or a home accessory story.

May the road rise up to meet you.
May the wind always be at your back.
May the sun shine warm upon your face,
and rains fall soft upon your fields.
And until we meet again,
May God hold you in the palm of His hand.

Here’s another example, said to be taken from the breastplate of the one we know as Saint Patrick. There are all sorts of legends about this man, many without much foundation. The truth about Patrick is that he remains one of the greatest missionaries in the history of the Christian movement. During the 400′s he began the remarkable Celtic missionary movement that lasted for centuries. You could turn this text around and give it back to someone as a blessing. Try it!

Christ be with me
Christ before me
Christ behind me
Christ in me
Christ beneath me
Christ above me
Christ on my right
Christ on my left
Christ where I lie
Christ where I sit
Christ where I arise
Christ in the heart of every man
who thinks of me
Christ in the mouth of every man
who speaks of me
Christ in every eye that sees me
Christ in every ear that hears me
Salvation is of the Lord.