Running After Papa

Book Review: So You Don’t Want To Go To Church Anymore?

This is the fourth article in a series on the modern day church.  Read what I wrote on The Examiner.com

Click the book to review on Amazon.com

You can click the picture of the book to jump to its Amazon.com page for further review.

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Adam and Eve and the Bride of Christ

God warned us this was going to happen!  (First half of this thought is here: http://www.examiner.com/examiner/x-25068-Fort-Worth-Christian-Examiner~y2009m10d8-Adam-and-Eve-and-the-Bride-of-Christ)

God said that the woman’s (implied wife) desire would be to control her husband.  That’s a frightening thought to think that I (we, the Big-C Church) have not only desired to control our husband (Christ) but many have made an all out attempt for a mutiny!  God help us.

Where has it led us?  To exactly the lives, lifestyles, and statistics as those who are not part of the church.  In very few instances is the church making any social impact.  Don’t get me wrong, there are some amazing churches out there.

But here’s the deal.  God did not send Jesus to die for us so that we could be collected together in a building once or twice a week and systematically programmed to respond to musical styles, oratory excellence, or really-hip and relevant talks.

The Acts 2 church impacted the society around it just by LIVING LIFE IN THE SPIRIT.  They were still going to the synagogues and services that existed before Christ came… so it wasn’t about the church building or the service! (See Acts 2:46)

No… church isn’t about buildings – although they have their place; isn’t about programs – although they can serve a purpose; isn’t about services – although they can certainly help…  I’m not even sure when I say “church” that I have a correct picture in my head of what it really is….  This may take some mulling on….

Running After Papa…

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Splits, Divisions, and other Church math…

In my recent article on Examiner.com, I ended with a question and you’ll just have to read the article….

So, to answer the question… ABSOLUTELY NOT! There is no difference in those to reasons!  It all boils down to selfish pride.  “You’re wrong.  I’m right.“  At least, I’m more right than you!

Here’s the thing… truth is truth, whether I believe it to be truth or not.   What happens it that I, in my prideful arrogance, automatically assume that I cannot possibly be wrong, because I clearly hear God better than you.

In my opinion… this is EXACTLY how churches divide!  This is EXACTLY how we have gone from 1 faith to well more than 10,000 various denominations of the same faith (supposedly) in the last 1000 years!

How do we get it back?  How do we get back to Acts 2:42-47

42 And they continued steadfastly in the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and in prayers. 43 Then fear came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were done through the apostles. 44 Now all who believed were together, and had all things in common, 45 and sold their possessions and goods, and divided them among all, as anyone had need.

46 So continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, they ate their food with gladness and simplicity of heart, 47 praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily those who were being saved. The New King James Version. 1982 (Ac 2:42-47). Nashville: Thomas Nelson.

I don’t really know.  My guess is that it would start with the very thing that started the church in the beginning… just a few verses earlier…

Acts 2:38-39
38 Then Peter said to them, “Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. 39 For the promise is to you and to your children, and to all who are afar off, as many as the Lord our God will call.”  The New King James Version. 1982 (Ac 2:38-39). Nashville: Thomas Nelson.

What do you think?  Jesus called it pretty clearly in when he spoke to the woman at the well…

John 4:21-24 21 Jesus said to her, “Woman, believe Me, the hour is coming when you will neither on this mountain, nor in Jerusalem, worship the Father.22 You worship what you do not know; we know what we worship, for salvation is of the Jews. 23 But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him. 24 God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.” The New King James Version. 1982 (Jn 4:21-24). Nashville: Thomas Nelson.

Leave me your comments…

Running After Papa…

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New Worship Song!

Vote for your favorite version:

Hi kiddos… I’ve written basically the same song, but two different versions.  Please listen and imagine yourself singing it at church and tell me which one is your favorite and the one you would want to sing at your church.  Thanks for your help!

All words & music written by Bryan Shoemaker (c) 2009

Take the Poll!

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What is “The Church?”

I’ve begun writing for the online news magazine… The Examiner as the “Fort Worth Christian Examiner”.  This is my first “article” and post. You can see it here.

I invite you to follow me on my new journey with a little more commercial feel, but know that I’ll still be writing here and sharing what God’s showing and teaching me in the same style I’ve been writing in.

The next few posts on “The Examiner” will discuss the church and various aspects of it and how it compares to the early church of Acts 2.  It should be an interesting set of posts.

As always, I’d love to hear your feedback – please feel free to leave your comments on this website and/or The Examiner website.

Tell a friend or two and let’s see if we can boost the readership of “The Examiner”.

Running After Papa…

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I’m in sin? How did that happen?

Genesis 20 1 And Abraham journeyed from there to the South, and dwelt between Kadesh and Shur, and stayed in Gerar. 2 Now Abraham said of Sarah his wife, “She is my sister.” And Abimelech king of Gerar sent and took Sarah.  3 But God came to Abimelech in a dream by night, and said to him, “Indeed you are a dead man because of the woman whom you have taken, for she is a man’s wife.” 4 But Abimelech had not come near her; and he said, “Lord, will You slay a righteous nation also? 5 Did he not say to me, ‘She is my sister’? And she, even she herself said, ‘He is my brother.’ In the integrity of my heart and innocence of my hands I have done this.”

6 And God said to him in a dream, “Yes, I know that you did this in the integrity of your heart. For I also withheld you from sinning against Me; therefore I did not let you touch her. 7 Now therefore, restore the man’s wife; for he is a prophet, and he will pray for you and you shall live. But if you do not restore her, know that you shall surely die, you and all who are yours.”
8 So Abimelech rose early in the morning, called all his servants, and told all these things in their hearing; and the men were very much afraid. 9 And Abimelech called Abraham and said to him, “What have you done to us? How have I offended you, that you have brought on me and on my kingdom a great sin? You have done deeds to me that ought not to be done.” 10 Then Abimelech said to Abraham, “What did you have in view, that you have done this thing?”

So check this out… Abraham’s actions brought Abimelech and his whole kingdom to the point of great sin unknowingly. But Abimelech really didn’t do anything wrong!  He was deceived by Abraham and Sarah and he acted with a righteous heart and of upright integrity!

A few chapters earlier, God punished Pharaoh and all his family for the same thing (Genesis 12).  It was a result of being lied to and deceived by Abraham and Sarah.  Pharaoh even gave Abraham tons of money and really took care of him, but yet he and his whole family were plagued.

Why? These people didn’t have a choice to be in sin or not in sin?  They just woke up one day, some probably didn’t even know what transpired, and BAM! They are in sin with God and/or plagued with great plagues (Gen 12:17).

This begs the question: Am I in sin, even though I am upright in my integrity and acting with a pure heart, because of the choice or action of others?

In this instance, God was gracious by withholding Abimelech and Sarah, and God even warned Abimelech and gave him the choice to continue down this path that leads to destruction, or choose the right path of life.

Abraham acted out of fear and it put tons of innocent people into sin.  This begs a second question: Have I put others in sin without them knowing because of the choices I have made?

How does one correct that or guard against it?  In each instance Abraham acted out of his own fear and reasoning.  He did not trust God’s plan because he did not understand nor see God’s plan.  Therein is the hard part – how does one walk daily in a plan that I cannot see or understand?

Trust… Faith… These are the keys… These are HARD!  I know this – I can trust HIM.  God is trustworthy and has my best interest in mind – even when He’s having to work through the tough circumstances and consequences of my own and other people’s actions and choices.

Running After Papa…

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Choices

Exodus 32:25-26 (NKJV)

25 Now when Moses saw that the people were unrestrained (for Aaron had not restrained them, to their shame among their enemies), 26 then Moses stood in the entrance of the camp, and said, “Whoever is on the Lord’s side—come to me!” And all the sons of Levi gathered themselves together to him.

The scene is that while Moses is up on the mountain getting the 10 commandments from the Lord, the people of Israel begin to fall back on what they knew, instead of waiting on the Lord.

Remember, these people had spent 400 years in Egypt where there were gods-o-plenty and all in graven form. We’re pretty quick to judge the Israelites in how quickly they worshiped a golden calf, but reading the text, they wanted a graven image of the Lord so they could worship it.

Think about it, they’ve been summoned to this mountain and told not to touch it lest they die (Ex 19:12) and Moses has been up there for who knows how long. Moses had been their leader and their visible picture or pointer to the Lord. Verse 1 says that the people did not know what had become of Moses, so naturally, they want and are looking for that visible pointer, that image, so they can worship the Lord.

I’m not justifying what happened, I’m just believing that I’m not that different. When I’m in a dry place, I go back to what I know – back to what’s worked before – back to what’s familiar.

The word translated as “unrestrained” in the NKJV (v25) is the Hebrew word ‘para‘ (pay-rah). While it is clearly defined as “be out of control, i.e. have a mob or group have no restraint in activities, implying open defiance of a known standard or authority,” another one of its definitions means “ignore, disregard, i.e. pay no attention or give no serious thought to proper actions or response.”

OK. That second definition got me. I’m not normally an “out of control” kind of guy, but I certainly have been guilty of paying no attention or given no serious thought to proper actions or response… and much more frequently that I probably can remember…

God clearly said “make no graven images of me.” (Ex 20:4) The mob clearly chose to disregard that command when they asked Aaron to make them an image of the Lord. Aaron clearly chose to ignore that command when he fed and enabled the mob’s mentality. That was a bad choice – in both cases. These were costly choices. They caused all of Israel to sin against the Lord. Ultimately it caused great sorrow to the Lord and Israel; as well as death of over 3000 men; and a plague on the entire nation of Israel.

Moses, after interceding for their very existence with the Lord, then goes down to straighten out the matter. He asks a simple question. “Who is on the Lord’s side?” From that nation, only one tribe comes forward – the tribe of Levi. Each was faced with a choice.

At this point, the Levites have not been named as the priests or keepers of the Tabernacle. That doesn’t come until Numbers 1. These are just a group of men who chose to stand against the crowd and stand with the Lord. It was a costly choice. They were then called on to kill their own brothers and relatives in judgment and upholding of God’s commands.

I wonder if this is why the Levitical tribe was chosen to be the priests in Israel?

I guess in summary,

1. I cannot be so quick to fault the Israelites. I too have been guilty of going back to what I know. God wants and is taking me continually to new places; new places of trusting Him, new places of waiting on Him, new places of seeking Him. I have to choose to keep moving forward – into the fresh – into the new – into the unknown.
2. I have been too often guilty of reacting and not giving serious consideration to what the proper and Godly response to a given situation should be. I have to choose to respond with proper, Godly responses and not react in the midst of the moment.
3. Sometimes choosing to be on the Lord’s side is lonely, gut-wrenching, and bloody. “Choose you this day whom you will serve. As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord,” (Josh 24:15) begins to carry a little more weight. I choose to serve Him… whatever the cost.

Daddy, help me to make good choices – even when they are hard and result of the choice could mean standing alone, or getting bloody. Give me strength each moment to choose to be on Your side. Help me to walk in being the son you have created me and adopted me to be – standing for everything that represents You and Your goodness and character. Help me to choose to respond. Give me the fortitude to consider how You want me to respond and not how I want to respond. Give me strength today to choose the fresh, the new, the unknown in my relationship with You today.

Running After Papa…

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Sacred Perfume

The Altar of Incense

In the set of instructions the Lord is giving Moses and the children of Israel for the Tabernacle, The Lord has them make an altar of incense.  This altar is to be used ONLY for incense, twice a day, perpetually (Ex 30:7-8).  He also is specific about only HIS incense will be burned on it, and only incense is burned on it.  No sacrifices… no other offerings. (Ex 30:9).  Of the Altar of Incense…

Exodus 30:10 “… It is most holy to the Lord.”

I did a search and discovered that this phrase, “most holy” is in the NKJV only 3 times before this verse.  Twice it references that place in the tabernacle where God will reside – the Most Holy (Ex 26:33, 34) – and the only other reference is to the Altar of Burnt Offering where the offerings of atonement are made (Ex 29:37).

This is the first reference I found to the “most holy to the Lord,” and to me it implies that this burning of the incense is very special to God, thus He wants to keep it sacred, set apart, and undiluted and continual… remember twice a day… perpetually…

So what’s the significance of incense?

Interestingly enough, the word “incense” is only in two books of the New Testament – at least in the New King James Version – Luke and Revelation.  Three references in Luke all refer to the act, time or place of burning incense in the temple under the Law. (Luke 1:9, 10, 11)

The next four references are in the book of Revelation.  In three of the four references, incense is associated with and equated with the prayers of the saints.

Revelation 5:8 “Now when He had taken the scroll, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb, each having a harp, and golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints“

Revelation 8:3-5 “Then another angel, having a golden censer, came and stood at the altar. He was given much incense, that he should offer it with the prayers of all the saints upon the golden altar which was before the throne. ⁴ And the smoke of the incense, with the prayers of the saints, ascended before God from the angel’s hand. ⁵ Then the angel took the censer, filled it with fire from the altar, and threw it to the earth. And there were noises, thunderings, lightnings, and an earthquake. “

Just in case it hasn’t hit you yet, you and I – if we are in Christ – are the saints who are praying…

I think God established early- as he was establishing the Tabernacle, His dwelling place -  that our prayers, our earnest and honest communication and communion with Him; our multiple times a day interaction and relationship with Him is sacred, set apart, and special to Him. I’m not talking about religious dronings and chants and repeated phrases over and over.  I’m talking about sitting down and having coffee with your best friend conversation… real, authentic, genuine talking and listening. He doesn’t want it polluted with other relationships or polluted by the religious machine.  He is our Daddy and he wants to spend time with his children.  The very first commandment:

Exodus 20:3 “You shall have no other gods before Me. “

Exodus 20:5 “… For I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, …”

Deuteronomy 4:24 “For the Lord your God is a consuming fire, a jealous God.”

Doesn’t that excite you just a little bit, that the God of the Universe is anxiously awaiting some time with you?  That He deems is sacred?  He thinks it is special?  He keeps it holy?  Frankly, it overwhelms me a little bit.

Thank you Daddy that you cherish spending time with me. I’m am so sorry to have let the worries of today cloud and crowd my time with you.  I give you this day, this time to just sit and be with you.  I ask for your grace to strengthen me to make time for this most important relationship, this son with his Daddy.

Running After Papa…

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The Artist

Exodus 26

The Walls of the Tabernacle

It’s interesting as you read Exodus 26 that God has a very specific structure – or architecture, if you like – on HOW the tabernacle was to be built, but yet He left room for the creativity of the individual – the artisan – in places of the construction. For example, God very specifically defines the length, width, type and colors of materials, numbers of panels, connective and mounting procedures for the various walls – as well as how many layers of walls and in what order, but left the interpretation of “with artistic designs of cherubim you shall weave them.” (Ex 26:2 and Ex 26:31)

We all know that if 3 artists paint the same picture, they will all 3 look very different, because of the natural giftings and interpretation of the artists.

God’s tabernacle was very specifc in design. God’s tabernacle was very specific in structure. God’s tabernacle was very specific in function. But God left the “interface” to the community – how it was viewed and presented – to the creativity He instilled in its artisans.

You are an artist.

I have to believe God has used the Mosaic Tabernacle as a picture for our lives. He has defined a structure, an “architecture” for our lives, but has left the interface to our community to the creativity He instilled in us. This is the beauty of our individual testimonies. No two stories are the same… on purpose! Our job is to weave the tapestry with our story. God’s responsibilty is to use that tapestry to engage others and minister to others.

The Mercy Seat

Exodus 16:34 “You shall put the mercy seat upon the ark of the Testimony in the Most Holy.”

I love the way the Hebrew word is translated as the “mercy seat”. In looking up the origin of the word, it means “atonement cover” or “a central place where sins are forgiven.”

The connotation is that it is a separate place, a place specific for the purposes of atonement. Atonement is just a $2 word that means (according to Webster’s) “the reconciliation (to restore to harmony) of God and mankind through the sacrificial death of Jesus Christ.”

Some of the walls of the tabernacle were made with fibers and woven. Some of the walls were made from animals. Ex 26:7 says to use goat’s hair. It is unclear if that’s the skin of the goat with the hair intact, or if that’s the goat’s hair woven into cloth. But Ex 26:14 is very clear that two other layers are made by the skin of rams dyed red, and the skin of badgers. That implies that there were LOTS of animals killed in order to fashion together coverings for the tents. With the death of those animals, much blood was shed – I suspect that’s one of the reasons the rams skins were dyed red – to remind the Isrealites of the blood that was shed to make the covering.

Back to the “mercy seat”. One of the definitions is “atonement cover”. Are you starting to get draw a connection here? This mercy seat – this atonement cover – was a foreshadowing of what Christ’s blood would do for us… cover our sins. The death of Jesus – the sacrifice of the Lamb of God (John 1:29) – covered our sins and reconciled us back to the Father; back to right standing as Sons and Daughters of the Most High.

The cross is the central place where sins are forgiven (our other definition of the mercy seat.) Only the cross covers the sins of my past, my present and my future in order to reconcile – to restore back to harmony – my life with God. Salvation – willingly yielding control of every part of my life to the lordship of Jesus Christ – is a one-time event. When my submission is authentic, I only need to do this once. However, transformation is an ongoing process. I have, I do, and I will screw up – hopefully it will become fewer and fewer times as I journey. Regardless, when I screw up, it doesn’t take long for Daddy to draw that to my attention and I am quick to repent. This is where I go to the mercy seat again, not for salvation, but to ask forgiveness. Remember, the mercy seat is the central place where sins are forgiven. 1 John 1:9 tells me that God is faithful to forgive me if I ask him and James 5:16 tells me that I can be healed of my sin in the confidence and prayer of another brother in Christ.

The mercy seat in the Mosaic temple was a physical and literal place. It was a place where animals were sacrificed to atone for the sins of individuals, families and the nation. When Christ died for all those sins and so many more, the temple walls were ripped from top to bottom by God himself to signify that the mercy seat was no longer behind the veil. Jesus is the mercy seat. Jesus is in my life. However, I still like visible remembrances. So in my life, I draw on a physical mercy seat – sometimes its over the phone with a brother, sometimes its in my room with my wife, sometimes it’s at a table at the local diner.

How do both these relate?

When I am free from the bondages of sin in my life – because I go to the mercy seat – I am free to be the artistic interface to my community presenting – in my own unique perspective and my own unique testimony – all that God has done,  is doing, and will do IN  me because of the mercy seat!

Running After Papa…

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Breathing

Today I had a great run.

It was a great run for a couple of reasons.  1. Physically, it was a really consistent pace with virtually no stops.  2. God really showed up, or should I say, I really listened well today.

You see, my typical M.O. for running it so watch my pace and try to keep a brisk clip going based on the pace (minutes per mile).  But today I strapped on the heart monitor and decided to run based on a consistent heart rate, paying no attention to how fast I was running other than how fast my heart beat and how hard I was breathing.

I noticed something on the way “back” (I run an “out and back” loop most days) today.  If I focused on my breathing and intentionally inhaled in deeper, through my nose, for three steps and exhaled consistently through my mouth, for 3 steps, I could lower my heartbeat by 5-7 beats per minute.

It was hard to maintain.  It was not natural.  It took effort.  But it worked.

I tend to think of running posture as something that just “happens” naturally.  But today showed me that when I focus on it, I am able to override “natural.”  Physiologically, when I run with my head held high, looking forward, and my shoulders high and tall, then my chest has the best possible opportunity to fully expand allowing more oxygen-rich air to come into my lungs.  As I focus on taking longer, deeper breaths, I get more “good” air in.  I also have to focus on exhaling “bad” air out, intentionally trying to empty my lungs of oxygen depleted air to make room for more O2-rich air. I tend to notice that inhaling is not something I naturally focus on.

As I get tired, I naturally begin to let my shoulders “sag” and my back to slightly hunch over which keeps my lungs from expanding as much and keeps more of the oxygen-depleted air in my lungs.  This results in my heart working harder – to the tune of 5-7 beats a minute – based on today’s run.

If you’ve read my blogs long, you know that I believe most physical observations have a spiritual connotation.

The idea of spiritually breathing is not a new one.  It is simply the practice of Exhaling (Confession) and Inhaling (being filled with the Holy Spirit).

1 John 1:9 tells us that if we confess our sins, God is faithful to forgive our sins.  This is the process of getting all the “oxygen-depleted” air out of our lungs.  Sin keeps us from staying in step with the Lord and can hamper our walk with the Lord due to fear, or the inability to hear Him clearly.

Paul writes in Ephesians 5:18 to be filled with the Holy Spirit.  That literally translates to “keep on being filled” indicating that it’s not a one-time event… kinda like breathing in.  Again, this is not something I naturally focus on.  My natural self tends to lean to the “one-time event” versus a continual focus to “keep on being filled.”

Today I had a great run.

Running After Papa…

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