The church was asleep in the light, is it now drowning in the river?
"I was in prison, and..."
Carline VandenElsen is a Christian believer here in Canada. On Deecember 19, 2003, an order from the Children's Aid Society in Halifax, NS, was drafted and issued nationwide for the apprehension of her baby girl... still unborn.
Carline and her husband have been in jail in Nova Scotia for the past year now. Their crime : resisting an order that obviously had no grounds. However, the machine was already set in motion, and ultimately, it would swallow the baby whole, leaving the parents to fend for themselves in court, abandoned by a system that's supposed to protect the children.
Carline is starting today the 4th week of a starvation campaign to bear on the Nova Scotia government to grant a public inquiry in the abduction of her daughter Mona-Clare.
How many believers have gone to visit her? How many Christian parents are supporting her fight for the sacredness of the family unit in Canada? How many are simply not trying to get behind what the media could present them, to ask the right question: what would Jesus do?
The story of these parents reads like a movie script where everything that can be thrown at a family by the court system is being used to destroy and dismember this family. Their crime? Resisting the apprehension of their breastfeeding 5 months old baby girl, with no reasons being justified, with no assessments being made about the safety of that child, ever. A very healthy and happy little girl, resting on her mother's bosom in a snugli, has been cut off from her with a SWAT team attack knife in Halifax last year.
Before you forget to gasp, remember that this baby girl was already wanted by the Children's Aid Society as she was still in the womb. Translation: someone contacted the CAS saying that this child, the fruit of a union of love between two loving and eager parents, "may" be in danger some time in the future. Neither parent had ever be found to be unfit parents, nor harmed their children. They had both unjustly lost their children to the CAS devouring machine previously, and now that they were trying to move on to a new life, the CAS sadistically came after them. Yes, it happened in Canada.
What cruelty is moving the CAS workers who say publicly that they are there to uphold the best interest of the children? What can motivate, and later justify, the destruction of lives by an agency that is supposed to defend the helpless? Mona-Clare Finck is now in her second foster home, having notably regressed in her development earlier this year. How is she doing now? Who knows where she is? Does she even know her name anymore? Is this a new twisted chapter in the drama of the Butter Box Babies?
A public inquiry is the only way we will be able to have the light shine on this case, so similar to so many other broken families, entraped in a system of law that is nothing but a defenser of the interest of the people it is supposed to help. The only best interest that keeps being defended is that of the justice system who cannot administer justice in this case, without feeling it will create a precedent.
Well, it's too late, a precedent has already been created, and it started with the first family that has fallen prey to unscrupulous workers in the CAS network years ago, using the law to their advantage to railroad children into adoption, leaving wounded people roaming the corridors of our society with the open unhealed scar of the tearing. Who can forget the mother wound? Some will never heal. Some will find some measure of healing after decades, and realize it wasn't their parents who abandoned them, but a faulty Canadian justice system which refused to acknowledge its mistakes, covering-up for a few rogue CAS officers who have lost touch with what it means to be human in Canada.
And those lost children will want to know who they are and where they're from. And what will we be able to tell them if they ask us what happened? When they will learn that there was something that could have been done to avoid their unecessary and artificial orphaning?
If prayer is part of your life, pray that the rulers of this system come to repentance and fear God enough to seek justice, even when they have gone too far. It's never too late to back-off from an error. It could change the world. And pray for those parents in jail for standing up against the only way they could by refusing to hand-over their baby girl, throwing her into a savage dance of abandonment and abuse, at such a young and tender age, like a lamb to the wolves, while her father and mother only wanted to nurture her to become a person of worth in the world where she would be growing up, surrounded by the safe harbour of a loving home.
What's wrong with us?
Regards and blessings,
Andre Lefebvre
http://www.familyheadquarters.ca
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Help all Canadian families by helping this one:
http://carlinevandenelsen.blogspot.com
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Starvation Campaign to request a public inquiry
http://starvingforthechildren.blogspot.com
http://newsroomwatch.blogspot.com
http://commentspage.blogspot.com
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The Canadian Book of Many Sorrows
http://www.familyheadquarters.ca
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EVERY CHILD COUNTS, EVERY SIGNATURE TOO....
http://www.petitiononline.com/babymona
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Saturday, June 11, 2005
Saturday, May 14, 2005
:: "...it amounts to nothing..." ::
I have been challenged lately to let these words roll through my whole thinking:
"... but if you don't have love, it amounts to nothing..."
Whatever changes we want to see happen, we do have to come to grip with the "liberation theology" that certainly seizes us with a zeal that drives our soapboxing. But how narrow is the narrow road? Yes, we need to walk through a season of expression of our hurts, finding our voice again. And of healing, finding our center again. But beyond that, we do have to REconnect with the simple commandement: love. And WHO IS MY NEIGHBOUR should be our question, and we should have the courage of our convictions and answer truthfully.
The process of finding out what's wrong with the system should lead to asking ourselves "what's wrong with me that I let myself be driven by a system and not the Spirit?" Because when we find that out, there is less chances we would let the Conversation lead us to another life driven by a system we're again unable to fully define. When in fact, it's a convenience to allow our human weaknesses to appear as simple and obedient conformity, meanwhile leaving us to our own devices as soon as we walk out of the circle of that system.
"According to its own seed" is a principle that is spiritually universal. Although we need all the forces and influences represented in a community, even at their infantile stage, ideally (dare I...?) we need the cohesion only the Holy Spirit can bring, and it's not a matter of the mind, but a matter of the heart. Beyond our questions and Conversation, we still belong to families and communities where the life of love should remain dynamic and fruitful.
And I have read here that many support this vision as a missional local way of life. And that, for me, is where we need to truly focus in the end: the tension between the acts of charity and what they speak to us about ourselves, the need for acts of charity and what they reveal about our communities' heart structures.
"... but if you don't have love, it amounts to nothing..."
Whatever changes we want to see happen, we do have to come to grip with the "liberation theology" that certainly seizes us with a zeal that drives our soapboxing. But how narrow is the narrow road? Yes, we need to walk through a season of expression of our hurts, finding our voice again. And of healing, finding our center again. But beyond that, we do have to REconnect with the simple commandement: love. And WHO IS MY NEIGHBOUR should be our question, and we should have the courage of our convictions and answer truthfully.
The process of finding out what's wrong with the system should lead to asking ourselves "what's wrong with me that I let myself be driven by a system and not the Spirit?" Because when we find that out, there is less chances we would let the Conversation lead us to another life driven by a system we're again unable to fully define. When in fact, it's a convenience to allow our human weaknesses to appear as simple and obedient conformity, meanwhile leaving us to our own devices as soon as we walk out of the circle of that system.
"According to its own seed" is a principle that is spiritually universal. Although we need all the forces and influences represented in a community, even at their infantile stage, ideally (dare I...?) we need the cohesion only the Holy Spirit can bring, and it's not a matter of the mind, but a matter of the heart. Beyond our questions and Conversation, we still belong to families and communities where the life of love should remain dynamic and fruitful.
And I have read here that many support this vision as a missional local way of life. And that, for me, is where we need to truly focus in the end: the tension between the acts of charity and what they speak to us about ourselves, the need for acts of charity and what they reveal about our communities' heart structures.
Tuesday, April 05, 2005
"The Packaging and the Fog Machine"
In answer to the magnificent and inspiring blog from RobbyMac titled: "Why Discuss "Post-Charismatic" Anyway?" , I have been responding in terms of the tendency we can have to "package" and label everything so it can be passed on.
Some people have been really hurt and sickened by the abuse and extremes commited by so-called "charismatic" groups and have elected to separate themselves and now we speak of a new movement: the post-charismatics. Rob brings a needed balance to the wounded and suggests:
"Someone once said that the antidote for bad theology was not "no theology", but rather refined theology. I submit that the same is true for those of us who self-identify as "post-charismatic" -- the answer to the abuses and errors within the charismatic movement should not lead us to abandon all things Spirit-led, whether by conscious choice or by passive neglect, but to invest time in separating the chaff from the wheat, so that we can function as people of the Spirit in a healthy, vigorous, gifted, compassionate and Spirit-led way."
I deeply embrace that.
And so I share a few of my own thoughts on the dynamics of the packaging of the Holy Spirit and the use of the Fog Machine syndrom which makes things seem more "heavenly".
I see the problem as being the works of "The Packaging Civilization". The need to "package" something so it can be sold to others. Holy Spirit is alive in us, and reminds us what Jesus taught. He is also the true sign, for me, that I have been "saved", He is the source of the power of change for without Him, I'd be dead. (As far as my past, I am an "ex-everything" with regards to the stuff I did that almost got me killed by my own hand. Pleasures shmeasures... freedom shmeedom...)
But since the era of 'rediscovery" of the Holy Spirit, and since we aren't burnt at the stake anymore for speaking in tongues, the Holy Spirit's name has become a trademark for certain denominations who have taken the focus from Christian character to Christian spiritual performance.
Lately, through the renewal, a new wave of carpet-baggers has infested the Church, the same "Hey, it's easy! Just get those Injuns drunk and steal from them!" has been madly at work. The charismatic Bride has been drunkened to a stupor and violated. And that's why the emergent dynamic is so vital for all: "let's talk about this problem or that theology."
Sure, others will say: "but look here at all the good stuff we have instead of focusing on the bad..." My answer: "Well, I'm sorry: not while my Lord's Bride is being abused."
The charismatic movement has become a bit nebulous, and maybe we need to relate to Holy Spirit, not as a force or spiritual endowment, but as a Person. First there was the rediscovery of Jesus (personal Savior), and then of the Father's Heart of God (love of the Father). Great.
However, like Richard Wurmbrand so simply put it: are we disciples or customers of Christ?
Bookstores and the CD industry have racked in hundreds of millions since 1994, and created a follow-up and copy-bands all over. The thirsty and the hungry are a target group, a focus group... Are we not environmentally aware? The abuses decried at World Trade Organization rallies have moved in the Church a long time ago. Environment also describing our social environment, the Church is not so healthy and busy.
If we break free from the molds that our denominational generation has created to "manage" us into a state of religious stupor (pay tithe, attend meetings, go to conferences, become pastor or evangelist or worship leader) then we start connecting the dots and suddenly the shape of the enemy may appear against the fog machine's last blast.
Charismatic means someone who affects others, someone who has charisma, who stands out.
"This is why it is said: “EMERGE from your sleep, O sleeper, rise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.” (Ephesians 5:14 Frenchman's Version).
Some people have been really hurt and sickened by the abuse and extremes commited by so-called "charismatic" groups and have elected to separate themselves and now we speak of a new movement: the post-charismatics. Rob brings a needed balance to the wounded and suggests:
"Someone once said that the antidote for bad theology was not "no theology", but rather refined theology. I submit that the same is true for those of us who self-identify as "post-charismatic" -- the answer to the abuses and errors within the charismatic movement should not lead us to abandon all things Spirit-led, whether by conscious choice or by passive neglect, but to invest time in separating the chaff from the wheat, so that we can function as people of the Spirit in a healthy, vigorous, gifted, compassionate and Spirit-led way."
I deeply embrace that.
And so I share a few of my own thoughts on the dynamics of the packaging of the Holy Spirit and the use of the Fog Machine syndrom which makes things seem more "heavenly".
I see the problem as being the works of "The Packaging Civilization". The need to "package" something so it can be sold to others. Holy Spirit is alive in us, and reminds us what Jesus taught. He is also the true sign, for me, that I have been "saved", He is the source of the power of change for without Him, I'd be dead. (As far as my past, I am an "ex-everything" with regards to the stuff I did that almost got me killed by my own hand. Pleasures shmeasures... freedom shmeedom...)
But since the era of 'rediscovery" of the Holy Spirit, and since we aren't burnt at the stake anymore for speaking in tongues, the Holy Spirit's name has become a trademark for certain denominations who have taken the focus from Christian character to Christian spiritual performance.
Lately, through the renewal, a new wave of carpet-baggers has infested the Church, the same "Hey, it's easy! Just get those Injuns drunk and steal from them!" has been madly at work. The charismatic Bride has been drunkened to a stupor and violated. And that's why the emergent dynamic is so vital for all: "let's talk about this problem or that theology."
Sure, others will say: "but look here at all the good stuff we have instead of focusing on the bad..." My answer: "Well, I'm sorry: not while my Lord's Bride is being abused."
The charismatic movement has become a bit nebulous, and maybe we need to relate to Holy Spirit, not as a force or spiritual endowment, but as a Person. First there was the rediscovery of Jesus (personal Savior), and then of the Father's Heart of God (love of the Father). Great.
However, like Richard Wurmbrand so simply put it: are we disciples or customers of Christ?
Bookstores and the CD industry have racked in hundreds of millions since 1994, and created a follow-up and copy-bands all over. The thirsty and the hungry are a target group, a focus group... Are we not environmentally aware? The abuses decried at World Trade Organization rallies have moved in the Church a long time ago. Environment also describing our social environment, the Church is not so healthy and busy.
If we break free from the molds that our denominational generation has created to "manage" us into a state of religious stupor (pay tithe, attend meetings, go to conferences, become pastor or evangelist or worship leader) then we start connecting the dots and suddenly the shape of the enemy may appear against the fog machine's last blast.
Charismatic means someone who affects others, someone who has charisma, who stands out.
"This is why it is said: “EMERGE from your sleep, O sleeper, rise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.” (Ephesians 5:14 Frenchman's Version).
Friday, March 25, 2005
:: THE TEARING :: Passover meditation
THE TEARING
There was a day, and there was a night… and it was the last day, and the first night… after these, the universe would never be the same, for the rightful heir was to be enthroned… but for now… the darkest curtain was falling… and the stage was set…
Yeshua ben Yosef drew sin out of people like a mega-magnet would scream out of a wall all the nails holding it up. That day, the bottomless pit of all the rampant twistedness that followed him around, a marked man, a marked God, threw away all restraint in a public display of hellish arrogance, revealing the heart of hell it spewed out all forms of disfigured insanity, unrighteousness, perverse horrors that bottom-dwell in the hearts of hardened sinners, and there, for all to see, he was butchered in full view, in plain daylight.
All his life had crawled to this still point of death, God now a nail being hammered into the depth of human flesh, so deep it disappeared from our sight, the hammer ripping the flesh inward in an effort to really drive the nail’s head under the skin… and so it was…
Many were his followers… most fled the scene. Mothers however had a strange understanding and resilience, despite their helplessness they followed and shared the pain… What could one do? This was such a strange turn of events, and we were unprepared for it. Nothing made sense, and we needed logic, stability, grounding, but there was none to be found. Nobody could really fathom the meaning of this drama, suddenly this wasn’t about us anymore, something else was up, and we weren’t prepared for it… no…
NO. Our senses were assailed by barbaric and deadly waves of people oozing out of Jerusalem, people screaming like beasts making no sense, a Babel of intents, raving about things they didn’t know, whipped into frenzy by slogans they could not take time to understand and weigh, only the madness mattered, it was contagious.
Thousands were dragged, as if in a stupor, to the place of execution, actors in a play they could not understand. Ah, such a parable of their lives in the clutches of sin and sickness, shells tossed by the streams of hell through the abusive rituals monitored by religious leaders… threatened, using all their cunning to get rid of the … competition… so sad… so ignorant and what a display of their actual enslavement to their own gods: satan, power, fear and deceit.
NO!!! Dragged by a cyclone of mockery, they now have surrendered all to the will of their spiritual fathers, the priests, and spiritual godfather, the devil and his busy minions. The poor and needy, the fat and selfish, too many join hands and collectively become the hammer that will hit Yeshua, not just with physical nails, but that hammer-crowd will ram into his very soul the rejection that all hell is hurling at God: “No KING but Caesar!!!!!!!!” … what a sight… they all want to be Caesar… their eyes are wild and confused, betraying a terror, the terror of those who realize too late the horror they are about to commit, but too far gone to stop, afraid of standing in the way of that rushing wave of madness and share the fate of the Nazarene... after all, THEY didn’t speak like him, THEY didn’t act like him, THEY would never betray the authority of the religious order and God’s commandments…
And now, they have reached the mount, and the seething crowd has become a crown of thorns around the forehead of Golgotha, and around Yeshua’s, who, like a lamb, is letting himself be treated worst than a criminal, a canvas for the sheer inhumanity that is driving the people of Jerusalem daily, now out of the city with all their dark princes and demonic rulers all exposed in broad daylight. No place to hide! Except deeper in sin. No place to run! Except further away from God, or so they may think. But on the contrary, the deeper they go, the more starkly they reveal themselves.
The dark side of the human soul is finally out in the open, about to justify every single word Yeshua has pronounced, by putting him to death they are adding to the fullness of their sins the crime of killing the son of God… oh they are about to find that out… this public massacre and execution is a parable once again, they cannot get rid of the prophet, the friend, the healer, the breather, the soul whisperer, their strange Messiah …
All goes so fast, and yet so slow, the sun is mercilessly beating like molten lava the exhausted throng, drones, and hell is heaving with anticipation… for the kill. The cross is waiting, the flesh is whipped on it, the nails planted, just as the cross is also soon planted, a grain of wheat readied to die… on that desert hill, so dead it is called Golgotha, hill of the skull, for indeed one would agree, all intelligence has deserted this place.
And darkness descends on the hill, on the land, in midday, once more, for all to see, such a powerful, simple and accessible parable… A little while longer, and Yeshua, he cries his vulnerability, his distress, his pain to his Father, his humanity…
33Now when the sixth hour had come, there was darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour. 34And at the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, "Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?" which is translated, "My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?"
Even then, the people around don’t make sense of his words… their hearing is so irremediably impaired, twisting every last word of his, just like the day before, and the month before, and the year before…
35Some of those who stood by, when they heard that, said, "Look, He is calling for Elijah!" 36Then someone ran and filled a sponge full of sour wine, put it on a reed, and offered it to Him to drink, saying, "Let Him alone; let us see if Elijah will come to take Him down."
As if to fill up the measure of his pain, like throwing salt on the back of a man who just has been severely whipped vinegar is brought to his mouth, and Yeshua bites into this last gift from his tormentors: he was thirsty all along, and he often got served the vinegar of sarcasm and rejection, threat and insults, and this time they all see each other repeating the same abuse, for all to see, and they can know what they are like deep inside… cruel and lost. Surrendered, Yeshua bites the sponge and sucks forcefully the burning poison. I think he’s got enough now, some say he pronounced the words “it is finished” … "46And when Jesus had cried out with a loud voice…"
Oh but he screams!!! He will take nothing of his life with him, the agony, the pain, even the air in his lungs, everything is given up.
"Father, "into Your hands I commit My spirit." The words unleash him from earth… He breathes His last and is stolen into Sheol.
Let’s pause here… let’s close our eyes and see the moment… all his life has gushed out, his words, his love, his power, his tears, his prayers, his future, his blood, his breath, his very life… the fullness of it, delivered in the hands of his enemies. As they swallow the bread of their victory, as death swallows Yeshua ben Yosef into the womb of hell, after 6 hours of darkness, something gives.
As Yeshua’s spirit departs from his body, the unpredictable happens: “38Then the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom.” As life was ripped from him by the very hands of hell gloved in human puppets, so is the holy temples’ curtain, that sacred veil covering the Holy of Holies, that symbol of demarcation, separation between the profane and the holy, it ripped in two.
Oh but wait… where was God all this time? Where was the Father? Yeshua’s Father was there, present to everything, hurting, walking with the crowd, determined to surrender to the wickedness so that there would never be any doubt in the mind of anyone that day, that wickedness ruled the human heart, and that He wasn’t there to destroy them, but to relate, connect and save. Oh how He longed to hold the sons and daughters of Adam and Eve into the embrace of the new Eden that would pour out of the empty tomb in a few hours!
And now, at the moment of death and utter rejection from His people, the Father allowed Creation to be covered with a veil, truly, He weeps, and He may have screamed along with His son… and now as the son hangs his head, his spirit departs, clutched in the shroud of death and dragged to the bottom of the abyss. And the veil of the Holy of Holies is torn from above… Yahweh, true to the Hebrew tradition, has ripped his garment in the throws of his own agony… Heaven and earth are united in grief, something beyond the scope of the deepest mysteries is taking place…
Yes, the way into the Presence is now opened through the veil, but God’s grief has also reached the apex of agony, not a god preparing a vengeance, but a Father falling to His knees, tears streaming down his face, ripping his clothes exposing his soul to His creation, earthquakes and storms, the barrier between death and life also being torn… who can appreciate what is truly happening!
As for me, I pause at the scene of a father tearing his garment out of a grief that’s so purely human and real, it baptizes me into the revealed mystery of the incarnation of Christ. In the shadow of the cross, the Father is tearing his garment as a scream of agony, the scandalous and sinful deed performed in spite of heaven’s presence.
And every time a heart is crucified on the cross of wickedness, the Father tears His garment again, sharing in the agony, opening a way to His heart, extreme and complete holiness, divine vulnerability… when the thorns of our sin lay against the breast of His purity, our naked brokenness finally assumed, we stand in the shame of our nudity, but this time reaching not to cover it, but reaching to be accepted despite our fallenness… as we cross the torn veil, we are received in the womb of redemption.
Swallowed up by the divine grief, our sins are no longer the treacherous bridge taunting our despaired souls; they simply are no longer our human garment. The Father has covered us with the garment of Christ. By tearing the veil, the Father also declared Himself free, with us, from the prison of religion and atoning rituals. No more. He will not be our slave, and we will not be His. We are acknowledged, accepted, embraced. Exactly what He has always wanted as well.
Relationship.
Unveiled thorns, torn veil, unveiled nakedness, torn garment, canvas for wickedness, tapestry of our redemption, gift of a heart of flesh, gift of a divine heart, the soul of God in a wild embrace with the human soul! So raw, so real, my God! Oh Eternal Son, what depths the nails have pierced in your flesh, what light has shined in this present darkness, eternity has torn the veil of time and embraced a stunned Creation into its destiny… revealing the heart of heaven…
Oh my God, my God… I stand amazed… carry me inward!
There was a day, and there was a night… and it was the last day, and the first night… after these, the universe would never be the same, for the rightful heir was to be enthroned… but for now… the darkest curtain was falling… and the stage was set…
Yeshua ben Yosef drew sin out of people like a mega-magnet would scream out of a wall all the nails holding it up. That day, the bottomless pit of all the rampant twistedness that followed him around, a marked man, a marked God, threw away all restraint in a public display of hellish arrogance, revealing the heart of hell it spewed out all forms of disfigured insanity, unrighteousness, perverse horrors that bottom-dwell in the hearts of hardened sinners, and there, for all to see, he was butchered in full view, in plain daylight.
All his life had crawled to this still point of death, God now a nail being hammered into the depth of human flesh, so deep it disappeared from our sight, the hammer ripping the flesh inward in an effort to really drive the nail’s head under the skin… and so it was…
Many were his followers… most fled the scene. Mothers however had a strange understanding and resilience, despite their helplessness they followed and shared the pain… What could one do? This was such a strange turn of events, and we were unprepared for it. Nothing made sense, and we needed logic, stability, grounding, but there was none to be found. Nobody could really fathom the meaning of this drama, suddenly this wasn’t about us anymore, something else was up, and we weren’t prepared for it… no…
NO. Our senses were assailed by barbaric and deadly waves of people oozing out of Jerusalem, people screaming like beasts making no sense, a Babel of intents, raving about things they didn’t know, whipped into frenzy by slogans they could not take time to understand and weigh, only the madness mattered, it was contagious.
Thousands were dragged, as if in a stupor, to the place of execution, actors in a play they could not understand. Ah, such a parable of their lives in the clutches of sin and sickness, shells tossed by the streams of hell through the abusive rituals monitored by religious leaders… threatened, using all their cunning to get rid of the … competition… so sad… so ignorant and what a display of their actual enslavement to their own gods: satan, power, fear and deceit.
NO!!! Dragged by a cyclone of mockery, they now have surrendered all to the will of their spiritual fathers, the priests, and spiritual godfather, the devil and his busy minions. The poor and needy, the fat and selfish, too many join hands and collectively become the hammer that will hit Yeshua, not just with physical nails, but that hammer-crowd will ram into his very soul the rejection that all hell is hurling at God: “No KING but Caesar!!!!!!!!” … what a sight… they all want to be Caesar… their eyes are wild and confused, betraying a terror, the terror of those who realize too late the horror they are about to commit, but too far gone to stop, afraid of standing in the way of that rushing wave of madness and share the fate of the Nazarene... after all, THEY didn’t speak like him, THEY didn’t act like him, THEY would never betray the authority of the religious order and God’s commandments…
And now, they have reached the mount, and the seething crowd has become a crown of thorns around the forehead of Golgotha, and around Yeshua’s, who, like a lamb, is letting himself be treated worst than a criminal, a canvas for the sheer inhumanity that is driving the people of Jerusalem daily, now out of the city with all their dark princes and demonic rulers all exposed in broad daylight. No place to hide! Except deeper in sin. No place to run! Except further away from God, or so they may think. But on the contrary, the deeper they go, the more starkly they reveal themselves.
The dark side of the human soul is finally out in the open, about to justify every single word Yeshua has pronounced, by putting him to death they are adding to the fullness of their sins the crime of killing the son of God… oh they are about to find that out… this public massacre and execution is a parable once again, they cannot get rid of the prophet, the friend, the healer, the breather, the soul whisperer, their strange Messiah …
All goes so fast, and yet so slow, the sun is mercilessly beating like molten lava the exhausted throng, drones, and hell is heaving with anticipation… for the kill. The cross is waiting, the flesh is whipped on it, the nails planted, just as the cross is also soon planted, a grain of wheat readied to die… on that desert hill, so dead it is called Golgotha, hill of the skull, for indeed one would agree, all intelligence has deserted this place.
And darkness descends on the hill, on the land, in midday, once more, for all to see, such a powerful, simple and accessible parable… A little while longer, and Yeshua, he cries his vulnerability, his distress, his pain to his Father, his humanity…
33Now when the sixth hour had come, there was darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour. 34And at the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, "Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?" which is translated, "My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?"
Even then, the people around don’t make sense of his words… their hearing is so irremediably impaired, twisting every last word of his, just like the day before, and the month before, and the year before…
35Some of those who stood by, when they heard that, said, "Look, He is calling for Elijah!" 36Then someone ran and filled a sponge full of sour wine, put it on a reed, and offered it to Him to drink, saying, "Let Him alone; let us see if Elijah will come to take Him down."
As if to fill up the measure of his pain, like throwing salt on the back of a man who just has been severely whipped vinegar is brought to his mouth, and Yeshua bites into this last gift from his tormentors: he was thirsty all along, and he often got served the vinegar of sarcasm and rejection, threat and insults, and this time they all see each other repeating the same abuse, for all to see, and they can know what they are like deep inside… cruel and lost. Surrendered, Yeshua bites the sponge and sucks forcefully the burning poison. I think he’s got enough now, some say he pronounced the words “it is finished” … "46And when Jesus had cried out with a loud voice…"
Oh but he screams!!! He will take nothing of his life with him, the agony, the pain, even the air in his lungs, everything is given up.
"Father, "into Your hands I commit My spirit." The words unleash him from earth… He breathes His last and is stolen into Sheol.
Let’s pause here… let’s close our eyes and see the moment… all his life has gushed out, his words, his love, his power, his tears, his prayers, his future, his blood, his breath, his very life… the fullness of it, delivered in the hands of his enemies. As they swallow the bread of their victory, as death swallows Yeshua ben Yosef into the womb of hell, after 6 hours of darkness, something gives.
As Yeshua’s spirit departs from his body, the unpredictable happens: “38Then the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom.” As life was ripped from him by the very hands of hell gloved in human puppets, so is the holy temples’ curtain, that sacred veil covering the Holy of Holies, that symbol of demarcation, separation between the profane and the holy, it ripped in two.
Oh but wait… where was God all this time? Where was the Father? Yeshua’s Father was there, present to everything, hurting, walking with the crowd, determined to surrender to the wickedness so that there would never be any doubt in the mind of anyone that day, that wickedness ruled the human heart, and that He wasn’t there to destroy them, but to relate, connect and save. Oh how He longed to hold the sons and daughters of Adam and Eve into the embrace of the new Eden that would pour out of the empty tomb in a few hours!
And now, at the moment of death and utter rejection from His people, the Father allowed Creation to be covered with a veil, truly, He weeps, and He may have screamed along with His son… and now as the son hangs his head, his spirit departs, clutched in the shroud of death and dragged to the bottom of the abyss. And the veil of the Holy of Holies is torn from above… Yahweh, true to the Hebrew tradition, has ripped his garment in the throws of his own agony… Heaven and earth are united in grief, something beyond the scope of the deepest mysteries is taking place…
Yes, the way into the Presence is now opened through the veil, but God’s grief has also reached the apex of agony, not a god preparing a vengeance, but a Father falling to His knees, tears streaming down his face, ripping his clothes exposing his soul to His creation, earthquakes and storms, the barrier between death and life also being torn… who can appreciate what is truly happening!
As for me, I pause at the scene of a father tearing his garment out of a grief that’s so purely human and real, it baptizes me into the revealed mystery of the incarnation of Christ. In the shadow of the cross, the Father is tearing his garment as a scream of agony, the scandalous and sinful deed performed in spite of heaven’s presence.
And every time a heart is crucified on the cross of wickedness, the Father tears His garment again, sharing in the agony, opening a way to His heart, extreme and complete holiness, divine vulnerability… when the thorns of our sin lay against the breast of His purity, our naked brokenness finally assumed, we stand in the shame of our nudity, but this time reaching not to cover it, but reaching to be accepted despite our fallenness… as we cross the torn veil, we are received in the womb of redemption.
Swallowed up by the divine grief, our sins are no longer the treacherous bridge taunting our despaired souls; they simply are no longer our human garment. The Father has covered us with the garment of Christ. By tearing the veil, the Father also declared Himself free, with us, from the prison of religion and atoning rituals. No more. He will not be our slave, and we will not be His. We are acknowledged, accepted, embraced. Exactly what He has always wanted as well.
Relationship.
Unveiled thorns, torn veil, unveiled nakedness, torn garment, canvas for wickedness, tapestry of our redemption, gift of a heart of flesh, gift of a divine heart, the soul of God in a wild embrace with the human soul! So raw, so real, my God! Oh Eternal Son, what depths the nails have pierced in your flesh, what light has shined in this present darkness, eternity has torn the veil of time and embraced a stunned Creation into its destiny… revealing the heart of heaven…
Oh my God, my God… I stand amazed… carry me inward!
Wednesday, February 23, 2005
:: The Final Word ::
At the twilight of time, we will hear again the song that resounded at the first moment of Creation, the voice of God vibrant to our hearts, full with the thrust of joy that presided at the revelation of light, the expression of love that left its print on all forms of life. And we who will be witnessing this will be conquered by the purity and fulness of that song, a song that will resound like a call and will be received like tha voice of the Beloved, an invitation to the glorious wedding of the creature with the Creator. Blessed are those who will partake of this moment...
So many mysteries remain...
God's mercy is like a fire running after me, blocking me from going back, chasing me onward unto unknown grounds...
So many mysteries remain...
God's mercy is like a fire running after me, blocking me from going back, chasing me onward unto unknown grounds...
Tuesday, February 15, 2005
:: JACOB'S DREAM ::
Jacob really longed to be a hero
All I really wanted was a friend
I'm the way, the life, the truth
So tell Me Jacob when will the lying end?
And does the striving make you strong?
Because when I came to love on you
You fought me till the dawn
Finally Jacob's lying down
And while he sleeps I will dream
Of a generation not known for their crowns,
Or success, but a King...
Who was not so much as interested in crowds, or
Pleasing men, but knowing Me
CH:
I have given Jacob's generation the key of David, intimacy
To open up the doorway to the nations, and release
Revelation, of intimacy, with me
Jacob had a dream for all the ages
Jacob had a drive to build a nation
But the fighting is in vain
If your only aim is to build your own great name
Because My dream's not what you do
Jacob will you dream for me
The way that I have dreamed for you
CH:
I have given Jacob's generation the key of David, intimacy
To open up the doorway to the nations, and release
Revelation, of intimacy, with me
- Jason Upton "Jacob's Dream"
All I really wanted was a friend
I'm the way, the life, the truth
So tell Me Jacob when will the lying end?
And does the striving make you strong?
Because when I came to love on you
You fought me till the dawn
Finally Jacob's lying down
And while he sleeps I will dream
Of a generation not known for their crowns,
Or success, but a King...
Who was not so much as interested in crowds, or
Pleasing men, but knowing Me
CH:
I have given Jacob's generation the key of David, intimacy
To open up the doorway to the nations, and release
Revelation, of intimacy, with me
Jacob had a dream for all the ages
Jacob had a drive to build a nation
But the fighting is in vain
If your only aim is to build your own great name
Because My dream's not what you do
Jacob will you dream for me
The way that I have dreamed for you
CH:
I have given Jacob's generation the key of David, intimacy
To open up the doorway to the nations, and release
Revelation, of intimacy, with me
- Jason Upton "Jacob's Dream"
Friday, January 21, 2005
Micro Arts Manifesto
There is enough noise around us in our cities and our media, visual stimuli and chaotic soundscapes that invade our bedrooms and bathrooms, too many voices speaking out to us, uninvited, arrogant and boastful, mechanically enticing us with words and images. They vie for our attention, our devotion, our time and resources.
Because Arts call forth what's most alive in us, the natural and the spiritual, connecting us to the essence of who we are, and because it sort of bypass any barrier and touches the very skin of our souls, artists are hired to create the marketing tools of what we now culturally refer to as "the Matrix." Our culture is a testimony to the mind-boggling talents we are blessed with, however, the heart and soul of most of the work we are exposed to is to illicite a response from our heart that will make us reach for out wallet. And that is violating an unspoken oath that artists should be made aware of (not only do we have gifts, we are also a gift to our people) because of the sheer power and edge artistic talent gives us.
But Arts could also be used differently. There should be integrity in our craft, and better still, our creative journey should mirror our own human journey because then, we have something of even more value to share. And that is the path I favor.
Because Arts call forth what's most alive in us, the natural and the spiritual, connecting us to the essence of who we are, and because it sort of bypass any barrier and touches the very skin of our souls, artists are hired to create the marketing tools of what we now culturally refer to as "the Matrix." Our culture is a testimony to the mind-boggling talents we are blessed with, however, the heart and soul of most of the work we are exposed to is to illicite a response from our heart that will make us reach for out wallet. And that is violating an unspoken oath that artists should be made aware of (not only do we have gifts, we are also a gift to our people) because of the sheer power and edge artistic talent gives us.
But Arts could also be used differently. There should be integrity in our craft, and better still, our creative journey should mirror our own human journey because then, we have something of even more value to share. And that is the path I favor.
Wednesday, January 19, 2005
Charlotte Night and Day prayer
This morning my wife and I were engaged in day-dreaming about night and day prayer, worship and intercession. We were contemplating going to Kansas City to dive into their dynamics for a month and see where that would take us.
As I turned my cumpter on upon getting up, I found an email from a worship leader from Charlotte, NC, Greg Burnet sending me a very gracious note about a soaking site I created, Soaking.Net.
So of course I wantd to know who that was and what he was up to. Well, he is into 24/7 worship, prayer and intercession! And I am quite interested in how they are moving into that mostly because of the gracious way they seem to be operating.
Then, visiting his site I also found a wealth of links and writings that are of deep richness, and links to 24/7 prayer movements across the world. Definitely a site to bookmark and visit often. I'm starting with Greg's commentary on Theresa of Avila's "Mansions" teachings...
See you there...
As I turned my cumpter on upon getting up, I found an email from a worship leader from Charlotte, NC, Greg Burnet sending me a very gracious note about a soaking site I created, Soaking.Net.
So of course I wantd to know who that was and what he was up to. Well, he is into 24/7 worship, prayer and intercession! And I am quite interested in how they are moving into that mostly because of the gracious way they seem to be operating.
Then, visiting his site I also found a wealth of links and writings that are of deep richness, and links to 24/7 prayer movements across the world. Definitely a site to bookmark and visit often. I'm starting with Greg's commentary on Theresa of Avila's "Mansions" teachings...
See you there...
Thursday, January 13, 2005
Church or Bride? Institution or Kingdom?
There was an article called The Church - Why Bother in Christianity Today January 2005... by Tim Stafford, senior editor.
Hmmmm... Of course I went right to the conclusion... and this is what I read:
"A living, breathing congregation is the only place to live in a healthy relationship to God."
Are you serious? Of course I strongly challenge that statement with a little make-over:
"A living, breathing believing community is the desired place to live in a healthy relationship to God."
So if we took you out of the Church, your faith would die in a short period of time? To what then would you attribute your faith: interaction with Christians through church-going or live relationship with Christ through the Holy Spirit? Both are needed, in fact.
Let me try to express a few ideas and thoughts this article triggered. I apologize if my English is weak at times, but hear my heart nonetheless.
Going to church is often a sort of pilgrimage to a place of fellowship with God, so if when you get there they're busy with using this place as a tool for self-importance, flattery and the people are workers joining behind "the pastor's vision" or the denomination's vision... well then you got the Church that needs repentance and change. And that is most of the churches nowadays in the town where I live. I can't know what's going on elsewhere, so at this point, in our case, we're not 'going' to church, although we have a relationship with God that's VERY alive !
The problem we have is our tendency to become like our environment and turn lazy, letting the group decide for us the details of our relationship with God. It's like being part of a group that tells you how to be with your wife during 3 hours, step by step. Of course it "could" be inspiring, but...
Anyways, that's just me talking. I've been out of the regular church-going practice for a few years now, although I've attended church at times for a few hours (worship times mostly). And I have grown like never in my relationship with God, so much that now I can't stand too much of the religious traditions of even the prophetic movement. There are many unhealthy dynamics, and we all have problems, but the worst part is like having a Christmas party where everybody is drunk so they can relate, but you don't drink, so you feel out of it. They are noisy, busy, laughing, drinking, joking, but it's a manifestation of something that has nothing to do with true relationships. It's actually a denial party, where everyone supports the other's denial scheme.
A kingdom and a Bride is the Lord's idea, today's Church is man's definition of it as articulated with all the humanity we have. Faith and a desire to grow should lead us to gather and mingle, but eventually we question the food we eat, and that's healthy.
"They think your spirit can be with Jesus Christ while your body goes its own way."
Wow... what a comment... so insightful, eh?
"They" : ouch...
"think" : oops...
"... your spirit can be with Jesus Christ while your body goes its own way." : I have never heard this before, anyone experience that? Jesus is with me all the time, and the same, yesterday, today and forever.
"He cannot have God for his Father who has not the Church for his mother." Well, the Church was never intended to be our mother, but we are destined to be a Bride, a body. The Church being our mother would mean that we separate ourselves from it and it has a life of its own... uh... oh well, maybe that's really what's happening...
"I can remember saying to kids, 'There's no church to join, there's nothing to commit to, this is only about a relationship with Jesus.' Paul wouldn't preach that message. And the early church didn't."
The Church didn't exist in the beginning, there were gatherings and passionate communities born who cared for their neighbours. Then to say that a relationship with Jesus has no value IF you're not ALSO joined to a contemporary church (they all struggle with their identity anyways but we're not suppose to careabout that???) then yo're NOT really a Christian?
We are encouraged to gather together, but not to worship a denomination or brainwash each other into a comatoze state of believing drones who end up creating a self-serving church congregation going through the motions with a little emotion.
Bono: "I generally think religion gets in the way of God." Yup.
"In an editorial, "Bono's Thin Ecclesiology," CT appreciated Bono's thirst for social justice, yet criticized his lack of churchly commitment." Yes, 'appreciated' BUT if he's not one of us, then, ah well...
Cathleen Falsani: "Any person can stand outside the church and critique its obedience to the gospel. Part of God's call on a Christian's life is to walk inside and die to self by relating to other human beings, both in their fallenness and in their redeemed glory."
Usually, you walk inside and die if you stay too long, period. A vibrant faith will grab you by the soul and yank you out of the church for a while so you can see what life is with God without the glitz of Churchianity.
"Clearly, Bono has chosen to keep his distance from the church, or at least to stay in the shallow margins of the pond, where he can dash for the shore at need."
"He has plenty of company."
What a pharisaic venomous ignorant self-righteous comment.
"We do not need to condemn those alienated from the institutional church, but to help them reconsider. By keeping away from church commitments, they miss out on life essential."
We, them, keeping away from church commitments.
The great flaw in all this is that the author ignores the audience of God as having any valid reality. Moreover, being part of a church can be quite a mess even if we desire to follow righteously the commandements and admonitions of the Lord about social life and discipleship. The author obviously has not been able to show that he understand matters of the heart very well, but looks at things from a traditional external point of view. Looking at the outside reveals problems, the symptoms, looking inside might reveal the real issues that cause the problems in the first place. But that takes time and is a journey in itself, where you got to lay down most preconceived notions of conformity, and even fight with the nagging accusations. But once you make your way out of that forest the true journey continues and will eventually lead you back to a fellowship, however, as a lucid and willing participant, not a consumer that goes there just because he's been scared into church.
"What We Must Preach
"The church is the body of Christ, and it carries his wounds. To know Christ is to share in the fellowship of his sufferings-even if the suffering comes at the hands of the sinners who sit in the pews or preach from the pulpit."
And it does.
"How can we communicate this to unchurched Christians? The only way I know is to preach it. We need to tell them, even if it goes against the grain of our culture. We need to tell them, even if talking so frankly goes against our philosophy of outreach."
Tell them waht?
"If people commit themselves to the church, they will undoubtedly suffer. The church will fail them and frustrate them, because it is a human institution."
Yes, that's what I gathered, the Bride is of God but the Church has been taken over by humans who make it their platform to achieve their own dreams of destiny. Those are the ones you need to speak to. And they are IN the Church, so they're readily accessible, they're not "out there" paddling in the "shallow waters..."
Thanks for sharing this article. The author being Christianity Today's senior writer, on this topic, it sounds more like Christianity Yesterday. He is really not listening to what's being said by what he calls the "unchurched," it would appear he has a view from the inside looking out and cannot comprehend what he sees.
The early church didn't die because of persecution and dispersion. They wanted to keep the teaching of Christ and the meaning of His death and resurrection alive, and baptize as many as they could with water and the Holy Spirit, so the kingdom could advance.
Let the human institution that brags about being "the Church" go away so the kingdom can come! Lord, let you kingdom come to the Church... and please raise some true fathers and mothers in the faith, I'm tired of preachers disconnected from reality who spend too much time building the church they'd like to have, taking away from You the Bride you long for...
Regards,
Andre
Hmmmm... Of course I went right to the conclusion... and this is what I read:
"A living, breathing congregation is the only place to live in a healthy relationship to God."
Are you serious? Of course I strongly challenge that statement with a little make-over:
"A living, breathing believing community is the desired place to live in a healthy relationship to God."
So if we took you out of the Church, your faith would die in a short period of time? To what then would you attribute your faith: interaction with Christians through church-going or live relationship with Christ through the Holy Spirit? Both are needed, in fact.
Let me try to express a few ideas and thoughts this article triggered. I apologize if my English is weak at times, but hear my heart nonetheless.
Going to church is often a sort of pilgrimage to a place of fellowship with God, so if when you get there they're busy with using this place as a tool for self-importance, flattery and the people are workers joining behind "the pastor's vision" or the denomination's vision... well then you got the Church that needs repentance and change. And that is most of the churches nowadays in the town where I live. I can't know what's going on elsewhere, so at this point, in our case, we're not 'going' to church, although we have a relationship with God that's VERY alive !
The problem we have is our tendency to become like our environment and turn lazy, letting the group decide for us the details of our relationship with God. It's like being part of a group that tells you how to be with your wife during 3 hours, step by step. Of course it "could" be inspiring, but...
Anyways, that's just me talking. I've been out of the regular church-going practice for a few years now, although I've attended church at times for a few hours (worship times mostly). And I have grown like never in my relationship with God, so much that now I can't stand too much of the religious traditions of even the prophetic movement. There are many unhealthy dynamics, and we all have problems, but the worst part is like having a Christmas party where everybody is drunk so they can relate, but you don't drink, so you feel out of it. They are noisy, busy, laughing, drinking, joking, but it's a manifestation of something that has nothing to do with true relationships. It's actually a denial party, where everyone supports the other's denial scheme.
A kingdom and a Bride is the Lord's idea, today's Church is man's definition of it as articulated with all the humanity we have. Faith and a desire to grow should lead us to gather and mingle, but eventually we question the food we eat, and that's healthy.
"They think your spirit can be with Jesus Christ while your body goes its own way."
Wow... what a comment... so insightful, eh?
"They" : ouch...
"think" : oops...
"... your spirit can be with Jesus Christ while your body goes its own way." : I have never heard this before, anyone experience that? Jesus is with me all the time, and the same, yesterday, today and forever.
"He cannot have God for his Father who has not the Church for his mother." Well, the Church was never intended to be our mother, but we are destined to be a Bride, a body. The Church being our mother would mean that we separate ourselves from it and it has a life of its own... uh... oh well, maybe that's really what's happening...
"I can remember saying to kids, 'There's no church to join, there's nothing to commit to, this is only about a relationship with Jesus.' Paul wouldn't preach that message. And the early church didn't."
The Church didn't exist in the beginning, there were gatherings and passionate communities born who cared for their neighbours. Then to say that a relationship with Jesus has no value IF you're not ALSO joined to a contemporary church (they all struggle with their identity anyways but we're not suppose to careabout that???) then yo're NOT really a Christian?
We are encouraged to gather together, but not to worship a denomination or brainwash each other into a comatoze state of believing drones who end up creating a self-serving church congregation going through the motions with a little emotion.
Bono: "I generally think religion gets in the way of God." Yup.
"In an editorial, "Bono's Thin Ecclesiology," CT appreciated Bono's thirst for social justice, yet criticized his lack of churchly commitment." Yes, 'appreciated' BUT if he's not one of us, then, ah well...
Cathleen Falsani: "Any person can stand outside the church and critique its obedience to the gospel. Part of God's call on a Christian's life is to walk inside and die to self by relating to other human beings, both in their fallenness and in their redeemed glory."
Usually, you walk inside and die if you stay too long, period. A vibrant faith will grab you by the soul and yank you out of the church for a while so you can see what life is with God without the glitz of Churchianity.
"Clearly, Bono has chosen to keep his distance from the church, or at least to stay in the shallow margins of the pond, where he can dash for the shore at need."
"He has plenty of company."
What a pharisaic venomous ignorant self-righteous comment.
"We do not need to condemn those alienated from the institutional church, but to help them reconsider. By keeping away from church commitments, they miss out on life essential."
We, them, keeping away from church commitments.
The great flaw in all this is that the author ignores the audience of God as having any valid reality. Moreover, being part of a church can be quite a mess even if we desire to follow righteously the commandements and admonitions of the Lord about social life and discipleship. The author obviously has not been able to show that he understand matters of the heart very well, but looks at things from a traditional external point of view. Looking at the outside reveals problems, the symptoms, looking inside might reveal the real issues that cause the problems in the first place. But that takes time and is a journey in itself, where you got to lay down most preconceived notions of conformity, and even fight with the nagging accusations. But once you make your way out of that forest the true journey continues and will eventually lead you back to a fellowship, however, as a lucid and willing participant, not a consumer that goes there just because he's been scared into church.
"What We Must Preach
"The church is the body of Christ, and it carries his wounds. To know Christ is to share in the fellowship of his sufferings-even if the suffering comes at the hands of the sinners who sit in the pews or preach from the pulpit."
And it does.
"How can we communicate this to unchurched Christians? The only way I know is to preach it. We need to tell them, even if it goes against the grain of our culture. We need to tell them, even if talking so frankly goes against our philosophy of outreach."
Tell them waht?
"If people commit themselves to the church, they will undoubtedly suffer. The church will fail them and frustrate them, because it is a human institution."
Yes, that's what I gathered, the Bride is of God but the Church has been taken over by humans who make it their platform to achieve their own dreams of destiny. Those are the ones you need to speak to. And they are IN the Church, so they're readily accessible, they're not "out there" paddling in the "shallow waters..."
Thanks for sharing this article. The author being Christianity Today's senior writer, on this topic, it sounds more like Christianity Yesterday. He is really not listening to what's being said by what he calls the "unchurched," it would appear he has a view from the inside looking out and cannot comprehend what he sees.
The early church didn't die because of persecution and dispersion. They wanted to keep the teaching of Christ and the meaning of His death and resurrection alive, and baptize as many as they could with water and the Holy Spirit, so the kingdom could advance.
Let the human institution that brags about being "the Church" go away so the kingdom can come! Lord, let you kingdom come to the Church... and please raise some true fathers and mothers in the faith, I'm tired of preachers disconnected from reality who spend too much time building the church they'd like to have, taking away from You the Bride you long for...
Regards,
Andre
Tuesday, January 04, 2005
:: TSUNAMI ::
The scope of this tragedy is quite horrific... the hurricanes last summer... and now this... But this one is closing the gap between tragedies and apocalyptic disasters(read Avner Boskey's report).
Yes, many muslim nations have now pledged to give...
This whole tragedy is bringing face to face 2 of the most polarized cultures... one was the first on the scene to help the other, disregarding religion or race... It will be interesting to watch how anti-West mulahs and terrorists will spin this one.... and how the rest of the world will enact being "part of" a world that's marked forever with this tragedy. Somehow, words of hate and acts of violence just don't have much of a future in the acid test of humanitarian outreach of that magnitude... something suddenly seems quite archaic, misplaced, inappropriate, even obscene...
I'm not sure but is there much anti-US protests around the world right now?
Yes, many muslim nations have now pledged to give...
This whole tragedy is bringing face to face 2 of the most polarized cultures... one was the first on the scene to help the other, disregarding religion or race... It will be interesting to watch how anti-West mulahs and terrorists will spin this one.... and how the rest of the world will enact being "part of" a world that's marked forever with this tragedy. Somehow, words of hate and acts of violence just don't have much of a future in the acid test of humanitarian outreach of that magnitude... something suddenly seems quite archaic, misplaced, inappropriate, even obscene...
I'm not sure but is there much anti-US protests around the world right now?
A PERSPECTIVE ON THE RECENT ASIAN EARTHQUAKE AND TSUNAMI
by Avner Boskey
"There is an appointed time for everything. And there is a time for every event under heaven – a time to give birth and a time to die . . . a time to uproot what is planted . . . a time to tear down . . . a time to weep . . . a time to mourn . . . a time to search, and a time to give up as lost . . ." (Ecclesiastes 3:1-6)
The shocking earthquake which occurred more than six miles below the ocean floor off the coast of Sumatra, Indonesia has brought staggering death and destruction to over 150,000, as well as dislocation and disease to possibly 5 million more. The world stands horrified and mute at the scale of human tragedy and disaster.
A human disaster of biblical proportions
An American reporter, Michael Dobbs from the Washington Post was swimming in the ocean and nearly killed in the tsunami. He said "The speed with which it all happened seemed like a scene from the Bible – a natural phenomenon unlike anything I had experienced before. As the waters rose at an incredible rate, I half expected to catch sight of Noah's Ark. Instead of the Ark, I grabbed hold of a wooden catamaran..."
www. freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1308957/posts
A British tourist James Scoffield described his experience in the port of Tricomalee: "The wave came out of nowhere. People were running, screaming. I saw bodies littering the streets, floating in the pools. . . I am not a religious man but this is a disaster of Biblical proportions."
www.thesun.co.uk/article/0,,2004600538,00.html
Another British tourist Al Howard described the city of Banda Aceh shortly after the tsunami hit. He said "Everything was flattened. It was like a nuclear bomb had hit the place. I've seen bodies before but nothing like this. We lost count. The destruction was of Biblical proportions."
www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=04/12/29/161210
Thailand's Prime MInister Thaksin Shinawatra declared on national television, "Nothing like this has ever happened in our country before". The director of Sri Lanka's National Disaster Management Center N.D. Hettiarachchi said, "I think this is the worst ever natural disaster in Sri Lanka". Enzo Boschi, the head of Italy's National Geophysics Institute said the shaking had disturbed the Earth's rotation."All the planet is vibrating'', he told SKY TG24 TV. Geologist Gianluca Valensise of the Italian Institute of Geophysics and Vulcanology said that "this felt more like an omen".
Bread for the World President David Beckmann, quoted in The Washington Post, Dec. 29. 2004, said "This is a disaster of biblical proportions . . ." US House of Representatives (Dem - Queens) Joseph Crowley said that this disaster was one of "biblical proportions".
Something major and of earth-shaking importance is happening.
A geological disaster of planetary proportions
Geologist Gianluca Valensise of the Italian Institute of Geophysics and Vulcanology explained, "It has been calculated that the energy released on Sunday was 23,000 times that of the explosion of the nuclear bomb at Hiroshima . . . The whole world resonate(d) like a bell that has been struck . . . A big piece of the planet's mass has been moved around. This actually altered the axis of the earth's rotation" www.msnbc.msn.com/id/6759529.site/newsweek
Enzo Boschi of Italy's National Geophysics Institute likened the quake's power to detonating a million atomic bombs the size of those dropped on Japan during WW II. David Booth, seismologist at the British Geological Survey, said, "A big column of water has moved, we're talking about billions of tonnes. This is an enormous disturbance."
The U.S. Geological Survey put the earthquake's magnitude at 9.0 on the Richter Scale. This makes it the world's fifth largest quake since 1900 and the largest since 1964, when a 9.2 quake hit Prince William Sound in Alaska, also causing tsunamis. Kerry Sieh, geologist at the California Institute of Technology said that "Sunday's was one of the biggest earthquakes in the region in the past 200 years . . . It causes the planet to wobble a little bit, but it's not going to turn the Earth upside down".
The quake occurred at a spot where the Indian Ocean geological plate rubs against and is forced beneath the Eurasian plate. Indonesia is located over part of a network of fault lines called the "Ring of Fire", one of the world's most quake-active spots. 95% of the earth's seismic activity is released in the "Ring of Fire".
A biblical disaster of spiritual proportions
How are we to understand and interpret this unprecedented disaster in light of the Bible and God's heart?
Tears
The first stop on our journey must be shock and grief. Empathy. Compassion. Tears. Agony of soul. "And should I not have compassion of Nineveh, the great city in which there are more than 120,000 persons who do not know the difference between their right and left hand, as well as many animals?" (Jonah 4:11) The human tragedy is massive and nearly incomprehensible.
Giving Aid
"What can we do to help?" might be the next step. Concrete steps could include: contributing to a disaster relief fund; praying for the survivors; taking an ongoing interest in long-term help for those scarred and orphaned by the quake's aftermath.
A Heart Exam
It will be necessary to take a heart exam as well. Are judgmental attitudes rising in our own hearts against the Asian peoples, or the Moslems? Remember Yeshua's words in Luke 13:1-5: "Now on the same occasion there were some present who reported to Him about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices. And He answered and said to them, 'Do you suppose that the Galileans were greater sinners than all the other Galileans, because they suffered this fate? I tell you, no, but, unless you repent, you will all likewise perish. Or do you suppose that those eighteen on whom the tower in Siloam fell and killed them, were worse culprits than all the men who live in Jerusalem? I tell you, no, but, unless you repent, you will all likewise perish."
The sobering thing about disasters is that they are a wake-up call to all who hear. It would be missing the mark to conclude that Indonesian babies are guiltier than other nation's babies, or that Swedish tourists are more worthy of condemnation than tourists of other nations. A wake-up call is meant to bring a sober spirit to the fore. It is meant to bring the fear of God to center stage. The world is being called to account by God to sit up and take notice – to take notice of the God of the Hebrews who is also the Sovereign All-powerful Lord of history.
"Ascribe to YHVH, O sons of the mighty . . . glory and strength, .. . the glory due to His name.
Worship YHVH in holy array.
The voice of YHVH is upon the waters.
The God of glory thunders, YHVH upon many waters.
The voice of YHVH is powerful.
The voice of YHVH is majestic.
The voice of YHVH breaks the cedars . . .
The voice of YHVH hews out flames of fire.
The voice of YHVH shakes the wilderness. . .
The voice of YHVH . . . strips the forests bare and in His Temple everything says 'Glory!'
YHVH sat as King at the Flood.
Yes, YHVH sits as King forever!" (Psalm 29:1-10)
The Fruit of Repentance
Wake-up calls are God-sent opportunities to get things right with Him. They bring our lives to a screeching halt. They cause us to look deep within and to ask ourselves if there is any wicked way within us (see Psalm 139:24).
In August 1999 Bob Jones, a prophetic brother in America, prophesied that America would receive two wake-up calls, and that the Lord would unsheathe His sword if America would not heed the wake-up calls. 9/11 was that first wake-up call. God intended it to move hearts to repentance. For a few months churches were full. But eventually across America a strong nationalism subtly edged out biblical repentance, and a deep turning back to God did not come to pass. Can it be honestly said that there is more prayer and intercession taking place in America now than there was just after 9/11? Could it be that a second wake-up call is coming to America?
The tsunami is a wake-up call to the nations of the world to turn their hearts back to the God of Israel – to repent of materialism, cruelty, pornography, abortion, murder, anti-Jewish hatred, etc.
Isaiah points out that at the end of days geological judgments are going to get heavier and not lighter:
"Behold, YHVH lays the earth waste, devastates it, distorts its surface, and scatters its inhabitants. . . The earth is also polluted by its inhabitants, for they transgressed laws, violated statutes, broke the everlasting covenant. Therefore a curse devours the earth, and those who live in it are held guilty . . . For the windows above are opened, and the foundations of the earth shake. The earth is broken asunder, the earth is split through, the earth is shaken violently. The earth reels to and fro like a drunkard, and it totters like a hut, for its transgression is heavy upon it. . . " (see Isa.24:1-21).
Birth Pangs Among the Waves
Like a burning trumpet, the voice of YHVH is ringing out at Christmas time, heralding the onset of a birth – or at least, of birth pangs. Yeshua the Messiah spoke to His disciples about the end of days and taught: "And there will be signs in sun and moon and stars, and upon the earth dismay among the nations, in perplexity at the roaring of the sea and the waves, men fainting from fear and the expectation of the things which are coming upon the world; for the powers of the heavens will be shaken" (Luke 21:25-26).
The roaring of an Asian tsunami and its deadly waves are part of what Yeshua had in mind when He prophesied these things. These events, He said, would bring perplexity to all who witness them. And this perplexity really is happening all across the world today. Yet Yeshua gave us believers in Him a special promise: "But when these things begin to take place, straighten up and lift up your heads, because your redemption is drawing near!" (Luke 21:28). We are to take courage and draw renewed confidence from this bold declaration. And we are to look heavenward with unconcealed expectancy for Messiah's soon return: "And then they shall see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory" (Luke 21:27). That is what Yeshua wants from us. That should be our heart response to His words.
This return, the Second Coming of Yeshua, may be 5 or even 50 years down the road, But it is fast approaching! Yeshua used the term 'birth pangs' to refers to the period of time immediately preceding His return (see also Matt.24:8). In the natural, birth pangs come after a full term pregnancy. A pregnancy lasts for 9 months, and then there are sudden and powerful contractions of the womb, lasting between 2-48 hours on the average. Birth pangs are a clear and indisputable sign that the pregnancy is just about over and that the arrival of the baby is next on the agenda! We are right now in that time of birth pangs, and God's baby is surely on the way!
The final harvest of the nations is what is next on the agenda. The full repentance, regathering and restoration of Israel is next on the agenda. Now is the time to prepare. Now is the time to intercede. Now is the time to roll up our sleeves for the work at hand. Yeshua invites us to not be bent over with fear or anxiety, but to straighten up and to rejoice greatly. We are about to see what prophets and angels have longed to behold (see 1 Pet.1:101-12)!
A Warning
In Pharoah's day, YHVH declared, "Thus says YHVH the God of the Hebrews, Let My people go, that they may serve Me! For this time I will send all My plagues on you and your servants and your people, so that you may know that there is no one like Me in all the earth. For if by now I had put forth My hand and struck you and your people with pestilence, you would then have been cut off from the earth. But indeed, for this cause I have allowed you to remain, in order to show you My power, and in order to proclaim My name through all the earth!" (Exod.9:14-16).
God declares unashamedly that He was the Author of the ten plagues, and that they came to the earth from His hand. But Pharoah responded to God's judgments with ambivalence. First he repented and permitted Moses to begin the Hebrew exodus, but then he refused to obey what God required of him. Pharoah was given the opportunity to acknowledge and obey God, yet eventually he hardened his heart and refused to believe that Almighty God was guiding the whole process. In the same way there are many people who are chewing on the events since the tsunami, who are considering whether or not God has anything to do with the "desolation wrought in the earth". It is important for all who love the God of Israel and His Messiah Yeshua to acknowledge that the God of the Bible has indeed shaken this planet in times past. We need to also recognize that He is truly shaking His rebellious planet once more. So let's make up our minds to follow this earth-shaking God whatever the cost.
As we move closer to the day of His return, let's remember what Peter struggled with toward the close of his earthly life: "Know this first of all, that in the last days mockers will come with their mocking ... saying, 'Where is the promise of His coming? For ever since the fathers fell asleep, all continues just as it was from the beginning of creation!' .. . The Lord is not slow about His promise, as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing for any one to perish but for all to come to repentance . . .Therefore, beloved, since you look for these things, be diligent to be found by Him in shalom, spotless and blameless, and regard the patience of our Lord (ed. as something which will lead to) salvation" (2 Pet.3:3-4, 14-15)
In Messiah Yeshua’s love,
Avner Boskey
www.davidstent.org
"There is an appointed time for everything. And there is a time for every event under heaven – a time to give birth and a time to die . . . a time to uproot what is planted . . . a time to tear down . . . a time to weep . . . a time to mourn . . . a time to search, and a time to give up as lost . . ." (Ecclesiastes 3:1-6)
The shocking earthquake which occurred more than six miles below the ocean floor off the coast of Sumatra, Indonesia has brought staggering death and destruction to over 150,000, as well as dislocation and disease to possibly 5 million more. The world stands horrified and mute at the scale of human tragedy and disaster.
A human disaster of biblical proportions
An American reporter, Michael Dobbs from the Washington Post was swimming in the ocean and nearly killed in the tsunami. He said "The speed with which it all happened seemed like a scene from the Bible – a natural phenomenon unlike anything I had experienced before. As the waters rose at an incredible rate, I half expected to catch sight of Noah's Ark. Instead of the Ark, I grabbed hold of a wooden catamaran..."
www. freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1308957/posts
A British tourist James Scoffield described his experience in the port of Tricomalee: "The wave came out of nowhere. People were running, screaming. I saw bodies littering the streets, floating in the pools. . . I am not a religious man but this is a disaster of Biblical proportions."
www.thesun.co.uk/article/0,,2004600538,00.html
Another British tourist Al Howard described the city of Banda Aceh shortly after the tsunami hit. He said "Everything was flattened. It was like a nuclear bomb had hit the place. I've seen bodies before but nothing like this. We lost count. The destruction was of Biblical proportions."
www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=04/12/29/161210
Thailand's Prime MInister Thaksin Shinawatra declared on national television, "Nothing like this has ever happened in our country before". The director of Sri Lanka's National Disaster Management Center N.D. Hettiarachchi said, "I think this is the worst ever natural disaster in Sri Lanka". Enzo Boschi, the head of Italy's National Geophysics Institute said the shaking had disturbed the Earth's rotation."All the planet is vibrating'', he told SKY TG24 TV. Geologist Gianluca Valensise of the Italian Institute of Geophysics and Vulcanology said that "this felt more like an omen".
Bread for the World President David Beckmann, quoted in The Washington Post, Dec. 29. 2004, said "This is a disaster of biblical proportions . . ." US House of Representatives (Dem - Queens) Joseph Crowley said that this disaster was one of "biblical proportions".
Something major and of earth-shaking importance is happening.
A geological disaster of planetary proportions
Geologist Gianluca Valensise of the Italian Institute of Geophysics and Vulcanology explained, "It has been calculated that the energy released on Sunday was 23,000 times that of the explosion of the nuclear bomb at Hiroshima . . . The whole world resonate(d) like a bell that has been struck . . . A big piece of the planet's mass has been moved around. This actually altered the axis of the earth's rotation" www.msnbc.msn.com/id/6759529.site/newsweek
Enzo Boschi of Italy's National Geophysics Institute likened the quake's power to detonating a million atomic bombs the size of those dropped on Japan during WW II. David Booth, seismologist at the British Geological Survey, said, "A big column of water has moved, we're talking about billions of tonnes. This is an enormous disturbance."
The U.S. Geological Survey put the earthquake's magnitude at 9.0 on the Richter Scale. This makes it the world's fifth largest quake since 1900 and the largest since 1964, when a 9.2 quake hit Prince William Sound in Alaska, also causing tsunamis. Kerry Sieh, geologist at the California Institute of Technology said that "Sunday's was one of the biggest earthquakes in the region in the past 200 years . . . It causes the planet to wobble a little bit, but it's not going to turn the Earth upside down".
The quake occurred at a spot where the Indian Ocean geological plate rubs against and is forced beneath the Eurasian plate. Indonesia is located over part of a network of fault lines called the "Ring of Fire", one of the world's most quake-active spots. 95% of the earth's seismic activity is released in the "Ring of Fire".
A biblical disaster of spiritual proportions
How are we to understand and interpret this unprecedented disaster in light of the Bible and God's heart?
Tears
The first stop on our journey must be shock and grief. Empathy. Compassion. Tears. Agony of soul. "And should I not have compassion of Nineveh, the great city in which there are more than 120,000 persons who do not know the difference between their right and left hand, as well as many animals?" (Jonah 4:11) The human tragedy is massive and nearly incomprehensible.
Giving Aid
"What can we do to help?" might be the next step. Concrete steps could include: contributing to a disaster relief fund; praying for the survivors; taking an ongoing interest in long-term help for those scarred and orphaned by the quake's aftermath.
A Heart Exam
It will be necessary to take a heart exam as well. Are judgmental attitudes rising in our own hearts against the Asian peoples, or the Moslems? Remember Yeshua's words in Luke 13:1-5: "Now on the same occasion there were some present who reported to Him about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices. And He answered and said to them, 'Do you suppose that the Galileans were greater sinners than all the other Galileans, because they suffered this fate? I tell you, no, but, unless you repent, you will all likewise perish. Or do you suppose that those eighteen on whom the tower in Siloam fell and killed them, were worse culprits than all the men who live in Jerusalem? I tell you, no, but, unless you repent, you will all likewise perish."
The sobering thing about disasters is that they are a wake-up call to all who hear. It would be missing the mark to conclude that Indonesian babies are guiltier than other nation's babies, or that Swedish tourists are more worthy of condemnation than tourists of other nations. A wake-up call is meant to bring a sober spirit to the fore. It is meant to bring the fear of God to center stage. The world is being called to account by God to sit up and take notice – to take notice of the God of the Hebrews who is also the Sovereign All-powerful Lord of history.
"Ascribe to YHVH, O sons of the mighty . . . glory and strength, .. . the glory due to His name.
Worship YHVH in holy array.
The voice of YHVH is upon the waters.
The God of glory thunders, YHVH upon many waters.
The voice of YHVH is powerful.
The voice of YHVH is majestic.
The voice of YHVH breaks the cedars . . .
The voice of YHVH hews out flames of fire.
The voice of YHVH shakes the wilderness. . .
The voice of YHVH . . . strips the forests bare and in His Temple everything says 'Glory!'
YHVH sat as King at the Flood.
Yes, YHVH sits as King forever!" (Psalm 29:1-10)
The Fruit of Repentance
Wake-up calls are God-sent opportunities to get things right with Him. They bring our lives to a screeching halt. They cause us to look deep within and to ask ourselves if there is any wicked way within us (see Psalm 139:24).
In August 1999 Bob Jones, a prophetic brother in America, prophesied that America would receive two wake-up calls, and that the Lord would unsheathe His sword if America would not heed the wake-up calls. 9/11 was that first wake-up call. God intended it to move hearts to repentance. For a few months churches were full. But eventually across America a strong nationalism subtly edged out biblical repentance, and a deep turning back to God did not come to pass. Can it be honestly said that there is more prayer and intercession taking place in America now than there was just after 9/11? Could it be that a second wake-up call is coming to America?
The tsunami is a wake-up call to the nations of the world to turn their hearts back to the God of Israel – to repent of materialism, cruelty, pornography, abortion, murder, anti-Jewish hatred, etc.
Isaiah points out that at the end of days geological judgments are going to get heavier and not lighter:
"Behold, YHVH lays the earth waste, devastates it, distorts its surface, and scatters its inhabitants. . . The earth is also polluted by its inhabitants, for they transgressed laws, violated statutes, broke the everlasting covenant. Therefore a curse devours the earth, and those who live in it are held guilty . . . For the windows above are opened, and the foundations of the earth shake. The earth is broken asunder, the earth is split through, the earth is shaken violently. The earth reels to and fro like a drunkard, and it totters like a hut, for its transgression is heavy upon it. . . " (see Isa.24:1-21).
Birth Pangs Among the Waves
Like a burning trumpet, the voice of YHVH is ringing out at Christmas time, heralding the onset of a birth – or at least, of birth pangs. Yeshua the Messiah spoke to His disciples about the end of days and taught: "And there will be signs in sun and moon and stars, and upon the earth dismay among the nations, in perplexity at the roaring of the sea and the waves, men fainting from fear and the expectation of the things which are coming upon the world; for the powers of the heavens will be shaken" (Luke 21:25-26).
The roaring of an Asian tsunami and its deadly waves are part of what Yeshua had in mind when He prophesied these things. These events, He said, would bring perplexity to all who witness them. And this perplexity really is happening all across the world today. Yet Yeshua gave us believers in Him a special promise: "But when these things begin to take place, straighten up and lift up your heads, because your redemption is drawing near!" (Luke 21:28). We are to take courage and draw renewed confidence from this bold declaration. And we are to look heavenward with unconcealed expectancy for Messiah's soon return: "And then they shall see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory" (Luke 21:27). That is what Yeshua wants from us. That should be our heart response to His words.
This return, the Second Coming of Yeshua, may be 5 or even 50 years down the road, But it is fast approaching! Yeshua used the term 'birth pangs' to refers to the period of time immediately preceding His return (see also Matt.24:8). In the natural, birth pangs come after a full term pregnancy. A pregnancy lasts for 9 months, and then there are sudden and powerful contractions of the womb, lasting between 2-48 hours on the average. Birth pangs are a clear and indisputable sign that the pregnancy is just about over and that the arrival of the baby is next on the agenda! We are right now in that time of birth pangs, and God's baby is surely on the way!
The final harvest of the nations is what is next on the agenda. The full repentance, regathering and restoration of Israel is next on the agenda. Now is the time to prepare. Now is the time to intercede. Now is the time to roll up our sleeves for the work at hand. Yeshua invites us to not be bent over with fear or anxiety, but to straighten up and to rejoice greatly. We are about to see what prophets and angels have longed to behold (see 1 Pet.1:101-12)!
A Warning
In Pharoah's day, YHVH declared, "Thus says YHVH the God of the Hebrews, Let My people go, that they may serve Me! For this time I will send all My plagues on you and your servants and your people, so that you may know that there is no one like Me in all the earth. For if by now I had put forth My hand and struck you and your people with pestilence, you would then have been cut off from the earth. But indeed, for this cause I have allowed you to remain, in order to show you My power, and in order to proclaim My name through all the earth!" (Exod.9:14-16).
God declares unashamedly that He was the Author of the ten plagues, and that they came to the earth from His hand. But Pharoah responded to God's judgments with ambivalence. First he repented and permitted Moses to begin the Hebrew exodus, but then he refused to obey what God required of him. Pharoah was given the opportunity to acknowledge and obey God, yet eventually he hardened his heart and refused to believe that Almighty God was guiding the whole process. In the same way there are many people who are chewing on the events since the tsunami, who are considering whether or not God has anything to do with the "desolation wrought in the earth". It is important for all who love the God of Israel and His Messiah Yeshua to acknowledge that the God of the Bible has indeed shaken this planet in times past. We need to also recognize that He is truly shaking His rebellious planet once more. So let's make up our minds to follow this earth-shaking God whatever the cost.
As we move closer to the day of His return, let's remember what Peter struggled with toward the close of his earthly life: "Know this first of all, that in the last days mockers will come with their mocking ... saying, 'Where is the promise of His coming? For ever since the fathers fell asleep, all continues just as it was from the beginning of creation!' .. . The Lord is not slow about His promise, as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing for any one to perish but for all to come to repentance . . .Therefore, beloved, since you look for these things, be diligent to be found by Him in shalom, spotless and blameless, and regard the patience of our Lord (ed. as something which will lead to) salvation" (2 Pet.3:3-4, 14-15)
In Messiah Yeshua’s love,
Avner Boskey
www.davidstent.org
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