Who are we? {Part 2}

For Part 1 of this series on identity, go here.

Thanks for coming back for Part 2!  First, let's read the focus verse of this series again:

"But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God's own possession, so that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light."

1 Peter 2:9

Today we're going to delve into the idea that we are a royal priesthood, an idea that was made into a reality with Jesus' death and resurrection.

So what does it mean to be in a royal priesthood?  First, let's hone in on that word royal.  When I see that word, I think of a kingdom.  Kings and queens also come to mind, along with "royal family" and reigning with power.  Guess what?  If you're a child of God and have trusted Him to be the Lord of your life, you're part of His royal family.  He reigns over you with love and mercy (along with some loving discipline when needed!), but unlike an earthly king who usually has strict and limited opportunities for an audience, you're allowed free access to your Heavenly King and you have His undivided attention.  And as Christians we're destined to reign with Him as well, because we have been purchased by the blood of Jesus.  As John writes in the book of Revelation:  "You have made them to be a kingdom and priests to our God; and they will reign over the earth" (5:10).

So what does it mean to be in a priesthood?  Think about the priesthood of the Old Testament.  They were all Levites, descended from a special bloodline.  According to Exodus 40:15, they were qualified for the priesthood by both their bloodline and an anointing.  They had sacred duties within the temple and were in charge of performing sacrifices on behalf of the rest of the people.  Just one priest was allowed to enter the holy of holies (the shrouded place where God's presence rested), and only once a year.  Priests interceded for the people and served as a "go-between" when others needed atonement for sins they had committed.

According to the book of Hebrews, these priests were replaced by Jesus when He rose from the grave and established a new covenant with His "permanent priesthood" (7:23-25).  His death was the ultimate sacrifice that was a once-and-for-all covering for mankind's sin.  Through the Holy Spirit, we're allowed constant access to God's presence without a shroud and without the limitations of a singular location like the holy of holies.  He was anointed by God with the Holy Spirit and with power (Acts 10:38), and He continuously intercedes for all of God's children (Hebrews 7:25).  Much better than a human "go-between," right?

Where is our place in this permanent priesthood?  The Bible says we are to fix our eyes on Jesus (Hebrews 12:2), and make Him our ultimate example on how to live and how to walk out our faith.  We have also been anointed by God (1 John 2:20), and as His anointed we are called to carry out sacred duties for His kingdom.  These sacred duties are the "spiritual sacrifices" mentioned earlier in 1 Peter 2 (verse 5), and can be things like intercession, serving others, leaning on God through hardship, studying His word, seeking intimacy with Him, evangelizing, sharing words of knowledge with others, exercising our spiritual gifts, etc.  Basically whatever Jesus did during His stay here on earth.  These spiritual sacrifices have been made acceptable to God through His example, and so we are called to do them as well.

In Part 1, we learned that we are chosen.  Reading further, we realize that we are chosen to be part of a royal priesthood.  Not because of who we are or what family we are born into (much like how a royal family or a bloodline of priests operates), but because of who God is and our willingness to let Him rule first and foremost in our lives.  The next time you find yourself struggling with your identity, remember:  You are part of a royal priesthood that will last forever.  If the identity you're trying to live in doesn't allow for this kind of reality, toss it for your true identity!  :o)

Stay tuned for Part 3!

 

Who are we? {Part 1}

"But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God's own possession, so that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light."

1 Peter 2:9

Identity is so important in the life of a Christian.  Life just seems to make more sense when we know who we are and what we're called to do.  Unfortunately, many times we find ourselves taking on the wrong identities and getting lost within them.  These false identities can have many origins, including:

• Our ancestors or family history.  "Everyone in my family has struggled with alcoholism, so it's just a matter of time until I do too."
• Our circumstances.  "Things are so hard at my job right now; maybe I'm just not smart enough to cut it."
• The words of others.  "My friend told me to cut back on the desserts; I guess I'm just fat."
• The words we speak over ourselves.  "I keep falling back into the same pattern of sin over and over; God must be so frustrated with me....I'm really not worthy of His love."
• The words God speaks over us.  "You are my servant, I have chosen you and have not rejected you" (Isaiah 41:9).

Depending on the sources, we can take on a variety of labels in no time at all, strap them onto our backs, and carry them with us down the road of life.  Labels like Stupid, Fat, Lazy, Drug Addict, Weird, Boring, Negative, Self-Absorbed, Criminal, or Worthless can quickly weigh us down and prevent us from living the calling that God has for us.  Only labels that are given by God speak of our true identity in Him.  We are Loved, Special, Chosen, God's Own Possession, More Than Conquerors, Created for His Glory, Saved by His Mercy, and Destined for Eternal Life (to name a few).  These labels help drive us on in our journey instead of weighing us down, for His yoke is easy and His burden is light (Matthew 11:30).  [Keep in mind that godly people can speak God's identity over us and help us discover who we are in Him.  As long as He is the source of their words and they are speaking them out of love and obedience, we need not immediately discount them just because they came other people!]

So, in order to live a life of victory, it's vital that we learn who we are as children of God and walk in that identity everyday.  Doing so will help us recognize false labels the world may throw at us in order that we may deflect them and leave them on the ground where they fall. 

The Bible is full of examples of our true identity, and contains many spiritual role models who lived out that identity, such as Abraham, Moses, David, Joshua, Caleb, the prophets, Peter, Paul, and most importantly, Jesus.  One verse that helps label at least some of our identity is 1 Peter 2:9, which is found at the beginning of this post.  Let's concentrate on each label one by one, starting with the subject of today's focus: 
A CHOSEN RACE.

I recently wrote a post about this very thing.  Knowing and believing with conviction that you are chosen is an excellent place to start in determining your identity; perhaps that's why Peter named it first in his list.  If we're not chosen, than there's not much else to base our identity on.  Think about it.  If coming to know God just happened by chance, or we somehow stumbled upon Him, would it really be that important to know who we are in Him?  We'd probably just wonder if God did everything at random and without thought, including molding and shaping us into His image.

Deuteronomy 10:15 says that God sets His affection on the people He chooses.  I love that thought.  The word "sets" implies that He gives His love with intention and purpose, and the word "affection" sort of goes beyond love in a way, doesn't it?  Kind of like loving your grandmother because she's family, but also having affection for her because of what she means to you.  It's the same way with God.  He loves us because we are His children, but He has set His affection on us because He has chosen us.

Pray that God will begin to show you who you are in Him and what He has called you to do.  Ask for Him to remove any false and burdensome labels that have weighed you down, and to help you recognize when another one is trying to latch onto you.  We were made for so much more than we realize, and we were chosen by God in order that He may show us what that "more" is.  Stay tuned for Part 2, and thanks for reading!  :o)

everyday idolatry

"Those who fashion a graven image are all of them futile, and their precious things are of no profit."

~Isaiah 44:9

In the middle of the forty-fourth chapter of Isaiah, the prophet really speaks out on the dangers of idolatry.  Many people in his time were fashioning their own household idols out of materials like wood and iron, and so were forsaking the only God who could actually save their souls.

I know what you're thinking, and no, I'm not accusing you of regularly chopping down trees and putting together some do-it-yourself idols (although if Lowe's had been around in Isaiah's time, who knows, maybe they would have had some kind of section for that!).  But the fact is, many things in our life can easily ensnare us and become idols as bad as the ones made by our ancestors so long ago.

So what makes something an idol?  Here's what I gathered from this section in Isaiah:

• An idol can be the result of some hard work or effort on your part.  In verses 12 and 13, Isaiah describes all of the labor that people engaged in in order to make an idol.  Whether they used iron or wood, making an idol usually involved "working over the coals,"  "working with a compass," and using things like "hammers," a "strong arm," and "a measuring line."  In fact, so much work is put into them that the man in verse 12 becomes hungry and weak!  Believe me, I appreciated a job well done; I feel accomplished after I finish a big project, especially if there are visual results that I can stand back and admire.  And really, there's nothing wrong with that.  But if our hard work takes us away from God, and causes us to depend on our own efforts rather than God's help, that project can quickly become an idol.
• The origin of an idol can usually be traced back to some sort of pride.  At the end of verse 13, the idol the man shapes out of wood takes on the "form of a man, like the beauty of man."  Even if this idol doesn't resemble the man himself, can you see the pride that went into the creation of that idol?  He was either worshiping man's appearance in general, or else worshiping a particular person who served as the inspiration for that idol.  We often aspire to be like others, or to look up to them for mentoring, but we should be careful that they don't become objects of worship. Even if you think your pride isn't the root of an idol, remember, pride can wear many disguises.  It can masquerade as false humility or simply just trusting your own judgment rather than God's.
• All idols are perishable and/or replaceable.  In verses 14 through 17, a man plants a tree and then uses half of it for firewood, and the other half for fashioning an idol.  He doesn't realize that his idol is useless, being made from the same perishable wood from the tree he planted himself.  Since he is satisfied by the warmth of the fire and the sustenance of the food he cooks over it, he never stops to think about whether God had anything to do with it.  Who knows, maybe these comforts are what drove him to make the idol out of the other half of the tree, and then bowing down to it rather than to God.  Anything you put before God, whether unknowingly or willingly, will not last.  If you're worshiping a person, they will let you down sooner or later, and we will all die at some point.  Anything you or someone else has made with their hands won't last either; it could rust or fall apart or be stolen or be burned.  And even though your time is intangible, it can also perish.  
• Idols can offer temporary satisfaction and comfort, but CANNOT save you.  We've already seen an example of this with the man and his tree, but let me just drive this point home.  Idols often look attractive to us because of what they have to offer, and they may come through for us for a little while.  But they can't save our souls.  And they can't help us walk in that abundant life that God has promised to all of His children (in fact, they often hinder it).
• Worshiping idols can lead to hardened hearts.  Take a look at the sobering message in verses 18 through 20.  The idol worshipers have eyes and hearts that have been "smeared over" by God, meaning they can't see or understand what they're doing.  They don't see that their idols are just perishable man-made junk.  They don't see that they're living in sin.  And they don't understand how deceived they are and how their idol worship has turned them away from God ("a deceived heart has turned him aside," verse 20).  What does this mean for us?  It means that like these men, we too can easily deny that we have any idols in our lives.  While our idols probably won't take on the form of wood or iron, they are still a very real presence in all of our lives.  Finding out what they are and how to get rid of them is critical for saving our souls and guarding our hearts.

So examine your heart and your life.  Ask God to help you pinpoint any areas where idol worship is apparent, even if it's just the start of something (since it can easily and quickly snowball into something much more serious).  Is there a certain TV show or book that interferes with your time with Him?  Is there a certain person who occupies your heart and your thoughts more than He does?  Is there a certain hobby or pastime you hold as more dear than Him?  One thing I've noticed about myself lately is how I spend my time.  I find I covet "MY TIME" too much.  When my son goes down for a nap, I often run to other things rather than spending that time with God.  None of the things I run to are necessarily bad on their own, but when they are placed as higher than God, then they become a problem.

So burn those idols and sit at the feet of the One who was not fashioned by human hands, and whose love endures forever!

hope now

So our 15-month-old has become obsessed with our stereo.  He's recently figured out that music comes out of it, and if I put a CD in he'll just stand in front of it and listen, smiling if the song picks up in tempo or goes from quiet to loud.  Today the stereo was off, and he ran over to it, pointing.  So I turned it on, and we've been listening to music all day.  I even went deep into my collection of CD's, ones that I haven't listened to in forever, with songs that I'm sure Caleb has never heard before.

At one point during the day, all I wanted to do was lay around and read.  Or nap.  Caleb was going strong, and all he wanted was for me to get on the floor with him and play.  And let me just say he was insistent.  I tried to get him to sit with me on the couch with a toy and play that way, but he wasn't for that at all.  Finally, I conceded and got on the floor with him, where we preceded to fill and empty his shape sorter twenty times in a row.

And he was in rare form; everything I did or said was hilarious, he figured out how to put a few of the shapes in the sorter himself, and then he imitated kissing me on the cheek (and, for the first time ever, he said "muah" while doing it and didn't even slime me).  I started feeling content and thinking, okay, kid, this was a good idea after all.  Sorry I didn't do this earlier.

Then, as if on cue, a song came on that I had almost forgotten about.  A song that became my prayer when times were difficult and I was grasping at my faith.

When I found out I was pregnant with Caleb, I had just had a miscarriage a couple of months earlier.  To add to my anxiety, my first ultrasound with him was a disaster.  The ultrasound technician struggled to find any evidence that I was 6 weeks pregnant, but all we could see was a black hole inside the sac on the screen.  She finally concluded that either my calculations were off, or my baby was simply not developing right.  What followed were two agonizing weeks of waiting before another ultrasound would be done.  I struggled with guilt during that time.  I felt guilty that I had allowed myself to get pregnant again when I had been advised to wait longer.  I felt guilty that I couldn't seem to share my husband's faith that our baby was fine and the ultrasound tech had gotten things all wrong.  And I felt guilty that I was still grieving one child, yet praying my heart out for another.

I listened to this song every day during that time.  This might sound cheesy, but in a way it became my prayer when I didn't know how to pray.  And it helped lead me to the most meaningful thing I would say to God during those two weeks..."Lord, I choose to be thankful for whatever time I have with this child...thank You for the privilege of being a mother once again, even if it's for a short while."  It helped me surrender my fears completely to Him, and to yearn for His Word when my worry was trying to get the best of me.  And it became a song of rejoicing when my husband and I saw our baby for the first time at the end of those two weeks.  That little bean-shaped spot on the screen measured 8 weeks, making my previous calculations correct; to this day I'm not certain whether the ultrasound tech measured wrong on that first ultrasound, or whether God performed a miracle within me that caused Caleb to grow the way he did.  I tend to believe the latter.

So when I heard this song today while playing with my son in our living room, my memory jogged in an instant and I found myself in tears.  I remembered all the prayers that were said for this miracle child, and all the times my heart cried out to God like David's did so many times in his Psalms.  I remembered when I would have given anything to be able to play with the child I had lost.  I remembered wondering if God would ask me to say good-bye to another child.  I remembered all the growing I did in those two weeks of waiting.  And all the growing Caleb did as well.

Most of all, I remembered God's sovereignty and blessings.  And it made my play-time with my son that much sweeter. 

"Hope Now" by Addison Road

If everything comes down to love, 

Then just what am I afraid of?

When I call out Your name,

Something inside awakes in my soul.

How quickly I forget I'm yours.

I'm not my own, I've been carried by You all my life.

Everything rides on hope now.

Everything rides on faith somehow.

When the world has broken me down,

Your love sets me free.

When my life is like a storm,

Rising waters, all I want is the shore;

You say I'll be okay, and make it through the rain,

You are my shelter from the storm.

Everything rides on hope now.

Everything rides on faith somehow.

When the world has broken me down,

Your love sets me free.

You've become my heart's desire,

And I will sing Your praises higher,

'Cause Your love sets me free,

Your love sets me free,

Your love sets me free.

Jeshurun

"...Do not fear, O Jacob My servant, and you Jeshurun whom I have chosen."  Isaiah 44:2


So who is Jeshurun?  This name is most likely unfamiliar to most Christians, and understandably so, as it only appears a few times in the entire Bible (three times in Deuteronomy and the above reference in Isaiah).  At first glance, it appears to be a synonym for the nation of Israel.  This is a correct assumption, but we would rob ourselves if we chose not to go any deeper than that!

When "Jeshurun" appears in Deuteronomy, it always occurs in poetic form.  The first time is in Deut. 32:15, when Moses teaches the rest of Israel a song written by God Himself (see 31:19-22).  God told Moses that once He brought His people into the Promised Land, their prosperity and abundance will cause them to fall away from Him, so this song would serve as a reminder to turn back to Him.  They were also to teach this song to their descendants for the same purpose.  And indeed, the verse that mentions Jeshurun (verse 15) describes the nation of Israel growing "fat, thick, and sleek" and forsaking God.  The other two references in Deuteronomy occur in the blessing Moses speaks over Israel before he dies; both describe God as the "king" or "God of Jeshurun" (see verses 5 and 26).

So what's the point here?  All these instances of the name Jeshurun are poetic, occurring in songs, blessings, or prophecies.  They don't occur in narratives or historical accounts.  God uses the name Jeshurun almost as a nickname for His chosen people.  When I googled the word "Jeshurun," here's what I found on its origins and meanings (and yes, this is mostly from Wikipedia; it was difficult to find reliable religious commentaries on this subject, believe it or not!).  My sources came from here and here.

• Derived from a root word meaning "upright, just, or straight."  You may have noticed that the song mentioned above came after a long list of rules and commandments.  God set standards for His people to live by, and although He knew that they would fall away at times, His ultimate vision was for them to embrace His standards, realize they couldn't fulfill all of them by their own power, and therefore depend on Him for the help they needed to be "upright, just, and straight."  He knew Jeshurun would forsake Him, but He used His nickname for them anyway because He also knew all they could be once they turned back to Him.
• Can mean "beloved one."  We often give nicknames to the people we love.  It suggests a closeness, or an intimacy with someone if we have a special name just for them.  God called Israel "Jeshurun" for a reason...because He loved them.  It's amazing to me that He would still use His nickname for them in the midst of sin and rebellion, but that just emphasizes the fact that His love is stronger than any sin.  And the same is true for His children today.  Our sin hurts Him, and it's not what He wants for us, but He will still call us His "beloved one" to draw us back to Him.
• A new name that brings a new chance at life.  By the end of Deuteronomy, Moses is about to die, and a new generation of Israel will soon cross over to the Promised Land.  If you're familiar with the events that happened prior to this, you'll remember that God waited until everyone from Moses' generation died before He would let Israel take possession of the land He had promised them.  This came as a result of sin and rebellion.  When God spoke through Moses and allowed him to impart His blessing on the younger generation, He used the name "Jeshurun" to drive home the fact that with the new land came a new life.  A life that would be full of blessings as long as it included Him.  The same goes for Israel in Isaiah's prophecy; although they have fallen away again and again, God offers to refresh them by "pouring out His Spirit" on their descendants.  Once again, He highlights the younger generation and tells them they have a chance for a new life, and so uses a new name to reflect that.

If you're a child of God, you've been given a new name.  It's a name that not only tells how loved you are by God, but also the unlimited potential you possess with His Spirit inside you.  Grab hold of the new life that comes with this name and allow God to lead you.

new things.

"Behold, the former things have come to pass.  Now I declare new things; before they spring forth I proclaim them to you."  Isaiah 42:9

Am I the only one who's immediately transported back to circa 1993 when reading this verse?  Come on, don't pretend you don't know what I'm talking about.  If you were in any kind of youth group back then, you know everyone was all over dcTalk and sang "Nu Thang" with reckless abandon.  Or maybe that cassette was released before 1993, and I was just very slow with that trend.  Who knows.  Guess that's why I said "circa."  But I digress.  :o)

The first part of Isaiah 42 is a really awesome prophecy about Jesus (another reason why I love my New American Standard Bible; this version capitalizes pronouns attributed to the Trinity, so there's no confusion about who the writer is talking about!).  Jesus is described as God's chosen one (verse 1) who will "faithfully bring forth justice" (verse 3).

And how will he bring forth justice?  By opening the eyes of the blind and releasing captives from prisons (verse 7).  I used to read this in a literal way, but God has shown me lately that there are more ways to be blind than in a physical fashion, and there are myriad of internal or spiritual prisons that can hold us captive.

Really, until we find Jesus and trust Him with our lives, we are all blind to the fact that we need a Savior.  We can be blind to the needs of the poor or blind to patterns of sin in our lives.  Jesus came to open our eyes to these "spiritual cataracts" so nothing will blur our focus on Him and what He wants to do with us.  He trades our blind eyes for new eyes, in a way.

And we might find ourselves trapped in prisons of addiction, temptation, out-of-control emotions, or those same patterns of sin mentioned before.  I know one of my main "prisons" is depression.  God has had to release me from that prison again and again, and really it's only because of Him that I'm walking free of that today.  Jesus came to give us abundant life (John 10:10); a life in prison does not allow for any kind of abundance, unless it's an abundance of pain and regret.   With our release from prison comes a new lease on an abundant life, and the realization that as long as we're walking in-step with Jesus, there's no reason that we have to go back to our prison again. 

The best part is, God declares the "new things" He has in store for us before they even happen (check out verse 9 again)!.  Meaning He won't wait until your eyes have been opened or the prison door swings open to show you the promise He has planned out for you.  That's His blessing for us.  He may not reveal specifics, but He does offer the promise of new things again and again.  In the midst of our pain and darkness, He peels back the curtain just a bit to reveal the light on the other side, which illuminates the new things He wants to do in our lives if only we ask Him to help us see with new eyes and walk in new freedom.

Trust in Him.  He holds the salve for your blinded eyes and the keys to your prison cell.  He wants to do a new thing for you!

chosen.

"You whom I have taken from the ends of the earth, and called from its remotest parts and said to you, 'You are my servant, I have chosen you and not rejected you."  ~ Isaiah 41:9

Those are some pretty strong verbs, aren't they?  So many times I'm guilty of viewing God as more passive than active.  Does He really just leave us to stumble around in the dark with groping hands until we happen upon Him by chance?

I don't think so.

And according to this prophecy by Isaiah, God doesn't think so either.

My bible has a footnote next to the word "taken" in verse 9 that says "or taken hold of."  I keep envisioning God's mighty hand literally scooping His children up and keeping them at His side.  That's a very comforting thought to me.

But He has also called the ones He takes hold of.  He calls His children to a more abundant life through the saving knowledge that His Son Jesus died for the sins of the world. After the Holy Spirit fell on Peter and the other apostles, a crowd of people gathered and became repentant as a result of the words God spoke through Peter.  He told the people that "the promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off, as many as the Lord our God will call to Himself" (Acts 2:39).  Whether He uses a still, small voice or a blasting shofar, God calls His children to Himself.  He is also willing to go to the most "remotest parts" for those of us who are "far off."  That's also comforting to me; no matter how far you've run from God, you're never too far away to hear His voice, and you're just one step away from His promise.

Perhaps the most comforting part of verse 9 is the fact that we are chosen as God's children.  This is not a random process, there are no "stowaways" that sneak into His kingdom, and He has chosen you for a purpose:  to be "His possession" (Deuteronomy 7:6).  He loves you so much that He wants to keep you and show you off!  When you answer God's call and fulfill your destiny as one of His chosen ones, you're not just a citizen of His kingdom.  Think about that.  Basically all you have to do to be a citizen of a country is to be born there, yet just because you're a citizen of the United States does not mean that you know the President and all him your friend.  Being God's chosen means that He desires an intimate relationship with you, a nurturing and loving one where He molds and shapes you into who He wants you to be within His kingdom.  He chooses us because He loves us that much.

As I close today, let me drive this point home:  we also have an active part in being chosen.  God chooses us, but we must choose Him as well.  Jesus said, "Many are called, but few are chosen" (Matthew 22:14).  This statement concludes a parable in which a king, after finding that all of his wealthy guests ignored his invitation to a feast, chose the poor people in his kingdom to attend his feast instead.  The king called the wealthy guests to himself, but they "paid no attention and went on their way" (verse 5).  It was the poor people, the "second string" of invites, that made it to the feast, because they chose to accept the king's invitation.  Have you chosen God?  Even if you feel poor in spirit, He still wants you and longs to take hold of you.