Thurlow Switzer: Garments of Skin

What does it mean to be clothed with the righteousness of Jesus Christ? In the Garden of Eden, the original man and woman discovered to their dismay that disobedience to God’s directives will result in unpleasant consequences.

1 Temptation: “So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree desirable to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate. She also gave to her husband with her, and he ate” (Gen 3:6). The temptation to sin seemed attractive at the onset. The tree of evil was even pleasant to the eyes.

2 Consequence: “Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves coverings” (Gen 3:7). Adam, as is often our own tendencies, sought to cover up his awareness of their nakedness and guilt by sewing together a man-made covering of fig leaves.

3 Accountability: “And they heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden. Then the Lord God called to Adam and said to him, "Where are you?" So he said, "I heard Your voice in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; and I hid myself." (Gen 3:8-10). Three things: (a) Sin causes a person to hide from the presence of God. (b) Sin causes one to feel fear at being exposed. (c) Sin occurs when we disobey God’s directives.

4 Exposed: “And He said, "Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree of which I commanded you that you should not eat?" (Gen 3:11). God knows the truth and sees cause and effect.

5 Covering: “The Lord God made garments of skin for Adam and his wife and clothed them” (Gen 3:21 both NIV, NASU). The New King James Version renders this verse: “God made tunics of skin, and clothed them.” God is so gracious. He maintains “justice” but loves “mercy” and “humbly” (Micah 6:8) meets Adam and Eve at the point of their sin and divinely provides clothing for them in their nakedness. But they had lost a precious relationship, that of walking with God in the cool of the evening. They had lost intimacy.

6 Judgment: “Therefore the Lord God sent him out of the garden of Eden to till the ground from which he was taken” (3:23). Adam was taken from the ground, now he must till the ground. Spiritual death had occurred. God “placed cherubim at the east of the garden of Eden, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to guard the way to the tree of life” (Gen 3:23-24). Adam lost direct access to the tree of life. The Cherubim sword assures that the only way back to the tree of life is through the cross and through “holiness, without which no one shall see the Lord” (Heb 12:14).

7 Clothed: Jesus said: “Stay in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high" (Luke 24:49 NIV). Peter said: “Be clothed with humility, for God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble" (1 Pet 5:5 NKJV). Paul said: You are “clothed …with Christ” (Gal 3:27 NIV). John said: “He who overcomes shall be clothed in white garments” (Rev 3:5 NKJV). “Clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ, and do not think about how to gratify the desires of the sinful nature” (Rom 13:14 NIV). “Therefore, as God's chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience” (Col 3:12-13 NIV).

We are blessed to have such a great salvation. Yes, we are “clothed with garments of skin” – the blood atonement Christ, but also, “clothed with white garments” – the pursuit of holiness of character and life.

Lynda Switzer: Restoration

Recently, I was reading the amazing Old Testament story of the Shunammite woman in 2 Kings 4:8-37. The setting is the town of Shunem in northern Israel near Jazreel; Shunem was a frequent stopping place for the prophet Elisha here called “a holy man of God who passes by us regularly”.

The scriptures call this Shunammite lady a “notable woman.” She was hospitable. She and her husband opened their home to Elisha when he was in the area. She had a generous heart, was creative, and thought “outside the box.” Her life of generous hospitality birthed the desire to add on to their home a prophet’s “bed and breakfast,” where Elisha was welcome to stay whenever he was in the area. The Shunammite woman and her husband built the prophet’s chamber for Elisha and he came often to Shunem and stayed there.

Elisha, in appreciation for this woman’s generous kindness, asked the Shunammite woman what he could do for her. Could he speak to the king on her behalf or talk to the commander of the army for her? The humble woman replied, “I dwell among my own people.” Her attitude was one of satisfaction and gratefulness – not grasping for favors. Elisha persistently looked for a way to bless this woman. Finally his servant Gehazi told him that the woman was barren – she had no son and her husband was old. Upon hearing of her barrenness, Elisha had Gehazi call her. He prophetically spoke to her that about next year at this time she would embrace a son. In astonishment the woman exclaimed, “No, my lord. Man of God, do not lie to your maidservant!” Miraculously, she conceived and, as Elisha had prophesied, she bore a son the following year.

A few years later the child was in the field with his father and the reapers, and he complained of his head hurting. A servant carried him to his mother and he died as she was holding him. (My Bible notes that he may have had an inflammation of his brain produced by sunstroke.) What the Shunammite woman does next examples courageous hope and faith for restoration in the face of death and tragedy. She carries him to the room she and her husband had prepared for Elisha and lays him on the bed that Elisha sleeps on when he stays at her house. Then she calls to her husband to send a young man and a donkey that she “may run to the man of God and come back.” Her husband asks her what’s happening. Her faith-filled response is, “All is well!” She hurries with the servant and the donkey to Elisha at Mount Carmel. Elisha sees her coming and sends his servant Gehazi to ask about her husband and son. Again, her courageous response to Gehazi is, “It is well.”

The Shunammite woman falls at Elisha’s feet, and he realizes her soul is in deep distress. As Elisha becomes aware of the boy’s death he quickly sends his staff with his servant Gehazi to the boy. Gehazi lays the staff on the face of the boy, but there’s no response. Meanwhile, the persistent Shunemmite woman told Elisha, “As the Lord lives, and as your soul lives, I will not leave you.” So Elisha follows the woman back to her home. He goes in to the boy in his prophet’s chamber, shuts the door and prays to the Lord. Then he stretches himself out on the child; the child becomes warm. He returns to the household, walks back and forth, then stretches himself again on the boy in the prophet’s chamber. The boy sneezed seven times, opened his eyes, and Elisha told Gehazi to call the Shunammite woman. She came to the chamber, and Elisha asked her to pick up her son. The woman fell at Elisha’s feet, bowed to the ground, picked up her restored son and went out. That’s the end of the story as the scripture records it.

As I meditated before the Lord about the actions of this remarkable woman of faith, the Lord encouraged my heart relating to His ministry of restoration in our lives. The Shunammite woman moved in persistent faith when tragedy hit. She remained in hope, divine hope, the hallmark of the Holy Spirit’s working in our lives. She remained in hope when reason argued against it – the scriptures said her son was dead. Yet she stated, “All is well.” At the heart of Christianity is the gospel that brings hope of restoration in every dimension of any human’s experience.

At the end of the book of Job we read a biblical definition of restoration in Job 42:10-12, when Job prayed for his friends, the Lord turned the captivity of Job and restored to him an abundance way beyond his original condition. Restoration in the Word and in our Christian lives, means to bring back to a former or original condition. Jesus speaks to his disciples in Mark 10:29, 30, that those who choose to leave this world’s comforts for his sake and the gospel’s, will receive a hundred-fold restoration. So often when we face loss, death, destruction, or relationships that the evil one has stolen and destroyed, we try in our futile efforts to work our own restoration. I’ve found that usually makes matters worse. However, when I come to the Lord, repent for my sinful ways and my lack of surrendering situations to the Lord, the agent of restoration, the blessed Holy Spirit, Joel 2:28, 29, brings a wholeness of recovery that is way beyond anything I could have imagined. (The Shunemmite woman ran to the man of God as fast as she could. She didn’t try to fix her problem herself.)

Jesus speaks of restoration for us personally in John 10:10, when he tells us he came to bring us life – more abundant life. This is his promise that we can stand on in persistent faith in the power of His Spirit.

Our Lord speaks of restoration for his Body, the church, in John 13:34 and 35, where he opens the door to the meaning of restoration in the church – his Body loving one another, serving one another, laying their lives down for one another. This love is not just a feeling or preference; it is love that is expressed in actions and how we relate to others.

Only God can bring about the promise of restoration. He calls us to turn to him for himself – (not for what we can get from him), to turn to him for who he is and to ask in persistent faith for him to cleanse and restore us personally and corporately.

What is in our lives that we are crying out to God to be restored? The gospel message is a message of faith, hope, and restoration. Like the Shunemmite woman and like Elisha, let us move in persistent, courageous faith, turning our focus totally to the Lord. Can you just imagine God’s life flowing in our congregations as we stand in corporate praise and worship to our faithful God as his Body of restored individuals and restored communities of faith testifying, “It is well with my soul!”

Alanna Jennings: Reclaiming Losses

As I gazed upon my garden one day last summer, I was dismayed to see that approximately half of the plants I had the previous year had disappeared. Since it is a perennial garden, the plants should not only return each year, but should be doubling in size and volume annually. Instead, each year I seem to end up replacing numerous plants because they are being eaten by pests (primarily moles and chipmunks) that have built their homes in tunnels under my gardens, where they survive the winter by eating what I have worked hard to grow. Apparently my garden is the best pest diner in town.

As I lamented my losses, the Lord quickly began to speak to me about the Garden of my life - my spiritual garden - my inner life where He should be able to come and find much fruit both to satisfy Himself and to bring His friends to eat and drink. The Scriptures speak to us of tending our own vineyards. “I am dark, but lovely, O daughters of Jerusalem, like the tents of Kedar, like the curtains of Solomon. Do not look upon me, because I am dark, because the sun has tanned me. My mother's sons were angry with me; they made me the keeper of the vineyards, but my own vineyard I have not kept.” - Song of Songs 1:5. We can help others, but not at the expense of neglecting our own garden.

We also read in Solomon’s beautiful love song that our inner spiritual life is to be a locked place, a place for intimacy with God, “A garden enclosed is my sister, my spouse, a spring shut up, a fountain sealed” - Song of Songs 4:12.

It also speaks to us about embracing difficult times so that the fragrance of our garden will draw the Lord to the pleasant fruit within us, creating intimacy between the Lord and us. “Awake, O north wind, and come, O south! Blow upon my garden, that its spices may flow out. Let my Beloved come to His garden and eat its pleasant fruits.” - Song of Songs 4:16. If our lives are to bear the fragrance of Christ, then we must be willing to not only submit to the cold, north winds and the hot south winds that blow on our lives. We must, like the Shulamite Bride, actually call for them to blow on us, all for the purpose of summoning deeper fellowship with God and the fulfillment of His purposes, “Now thanks be to God who always leads us in triumph in Christ, and through us diffuses the fragrance of His knowledge in every place. For we are to God the fragrance of Christ among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing. To the one we are the aroma of death leading to death, and to the other the aroma of life leading to life.”- 2 Cor 2:14-16.

My spiritual garden is also to be a place where the Lord can come and eat and drink and then bring His friends to eat and drink their fill. “I have come to my garden, My sister, My spouse, I have eaten My honeycomb with My honey; I have drunk My wine with My milk. Eat, O friends! Drink, yes drink deeply, O beloved ones.”- Song of Songs 5:1. The Lord showed me that, like my physical flower garden, my spiritual garden had pests that were eating away at the fruit in my inner life, leaving me with less for Him to enjoy and less to offer His friends (the Saints).

The terrible irony of the pests that were destroying my garden was that I had always thought they were so cute. I went out of my way to feed the chipmunks, and even attempted to lure them closer to me with seeds or peanuts in order to befriend them. Likewise, there were pests in my own life that I thought were harmless, even cute. I had been “feeding” them, and they had made a home for themselves - had grown and reproduced - and were causing great harm in my life.

I’ve learned, after many years of gardening, that constant care is needed in order to maintain a fruitful and productive garden. Feeding and watering are vital, but so are weeding, mulching, pruning, and deadheading. Likewise, this life in Christ needs constant care of the same nature, i.e., watering, feeding, weeding, pruning, etc. In either garden, the weeds will eventually take over if not tended to; the fruit will cease to grow if not fed; the life will wilt away if not watered. The spiritual applications of gardening go on and on, but the first order of business when reclaiming losses is pest control. Why bother feeding your garden of you’re just going to let your garden’s enemy eat the fruit of your labors?

Here are a few gardening tips, which have served me well in both my natural and spiritual gardens. You will find the spiritual applications in parentheses:

1. PEST CONTROL – Though I have tried every commercial remedy the world has to offer (that one speaks for itself), I still have pests eating my plants. My daughter, Jocelyn, told me that she was able to rid her garden of pests by taking down the bird feeders, as the pests were attracted by the dropped bird seeds. Now, this is a problem for me, because I love to watch the birds and have numerous feeders in my gardens. This past-time seems harmless and gives me a great deal of pleasure, though I know it has little or no lasting, spiritual value. So, what do I sacrifice? Should I give up bird watching to have life growing in my garden, or give up the fruit of the garden to watch the birds? (What are you watching for pleasure that may be robbing your spiritual garden of its fruit?).

2. FEEDING – Soil quickly becomes depleted of nutrients, and must be replenished on a regular basis. Shock foods, such as Miracle Grow (Retreats and Conferences) will produce immediate results, but usually not lasting ones. The best fertilizers are the ones that are made from dead things (Dying to self daily).

3. WATERING – The owner of our local nursery told me years ago that perennial gardens must be watered every day (daily time in the Word and prayer). Timing is everything, as watering at night causes mildewing on plants, and watering at mid-day causes scorching. The optimal time for watering gardens is early in the morning (In the Psalms alone, there are 18 references to David meeting with God in the morning).

4. WEEDING – Never, never, never try to weed a garden when the soil is dry and hard, or the weeds will break off at the surface and come back twice as big. Always saturate your garden with water before weeding and the pesky things will slide right out of the soil. (Never try to weed another person’s spiritual garden. Your job is to saturate their soil with the love of God and let Him do the weeding. Saturating does mean speaking the truth in love, but you can’t rid their lives of sin).

5. MULCHING – Protecting your garden with a covering of properly treated bark mulch (Wow- more dead stuff – imagine that!) will keep moisture in and will greatly reduce the weeds in your garden. (Mulching is one of our greatest privileges in the lives of others, for, “love covers a multitude of sins”. Are we willing to die to be mulch?).

Seven years ago, desperate circumstances drove our family to desperate spiritual measures. We became ruthless with the “pests” in our spiritual gardens, and our ruthlessness led to tremendous spiritual growth. It has been my experience that we tend to slack off when the weeds are not so apparent; we ease up when the pests appear to be under control. I don’t like that about myself, but it’s true nonetheless. As for me and my house, I think it’s time to get ruthless once again.

What about you, Beloved? How does your garden grow? It is time to re-examine our spiritual gardens to see what “pests” have crept back in, or which ones have been there all along - under the surface, undetected by the human eye. Search us and try us, Oh Lord; help us recover what we have lost to the cankerworms – EVERY LOSS!


“THE SECRET GARDEN”
From: “Hinds Feet on High Places”

“Many a quiet, ordinary and hidden life, unknown to the world, is a veritable garden in which the Master’s best and finest fruit has come to such perfection that the garden is a place of delight where the Master Himself walks and rejoices.
Many of the Master’s servants have indeed won great, visible victories and are rightly loved and reverenced by other men, but always, their greatest victories are the ones won in the Secret Garden.”


“Behold, the days are coming, says the Lord, when the plowman shall overtake the reaper, and the treader of grapes him who sows seed; the mountains shall drip with sweet wine, and all the hills shall flow with it. I will bring back the captives of My people Israel; they shall build the waste cities and inhabit them. They shall plant vineyards and drink wine from them, they shall make gardens and eat fruit from them.” Amos 9:13-14

Daniel Switzer, Ed.D.: Dealing With Failure

What do we do after we fail? We all have setbacks in our life. We all have times that we fail, times in which we miss the mark, times in which we sin. God’s Word declares, “Though a righteous man falls seven times, he rises again” (NIV, Prov. 24:16). We need to know how to deal with failure in a godly way so that we can get back up quickly and pursue God’s purpose for us instead of being beaten down by the enemy’s lies and condemnation.

God’s Grace
First of all, we need to have a healthy understanding of God’s grace. God’s grace overcomes our failings and weaknesses. The Bible says that the Apostle Paul was given a “thorn in the flesh” to keep him from becoming conceited because of the marvelous revelations that he had seen. Paul asked God three times to take this thorn away from him, but God said, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness” (2 Cor. 12:7).

Because Paul was willing to boast in his weakness, God’s power was made all the more manifest in his life. Too often we think that we have to maintain this veneer of perfection in our life; quite the contrary, if we want God’s power to be strong in our life and to bless others, we should boast all the more in our weaknesses and failings. God’s power is made perfect in weakness—we may not know what God wants to work in us through our weakness, but He is working his powerful will!

Lamentations 3:22-23 says, “Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.” No matter our failure, every morning we can claim this promise and know that we have a new start, a new day in God. Earlier in this same passage, the prophet remembers his wanderings, his affliction, and his bitterness. If we have wandered from God, we need to return to Christ, stand upon His faithfulness, and trust his loving grace to help us to overcome our failures. God’s grace gives us a NEW START!

Psalm 30:8-10 says, “To you, O Lord, I called; to the Lord I cried for mercy; ‘What gain is there in my destruction, in my going down into the pit? Will the dust praise you? Will it proclaim your faithfulness? Hear, O Lord, and be merciful to me; O Lord, be my help.’” There was a time in my life when I faced very serious failure professionally. I was leading a school that had moved to a new location. Well, I didn’t get the fire marshal into the building until about a month before school was to start. The fire marshal identified numerous fire code violations. The situation seemed impossible; in fact it was doubtful whether the fire marshal would even return to reevaluate the building before the school year was to start. Well, I cried out to God for help. God did help. The Fire Marshal came back the Friday evening before school was to start, and we opened on time. We need to remember to cry out to God when we fail and not just “soldier on” in our own strength.

A Way to Deal with Sin
God has given us a way to deal with sin, which is a failure to hit God’s mark—his standard. Psalm 19:12-13 says, “Who can discern his errors? Forgive my hidden faults. Keep your servant also from willful sins; may they not rule over me. Then will I be blameless, innocent of great transgression.” This passage shows various levels of missing the mark: errors, hidden faults, willful sins, ruling sins, and the great transgression.

It’s important that we deal with sin earlier than later. We need to live lives of repentance in which we are willing to honestly confront our sin and deal with it before it gets worse. In other words, when we fail, we need not think, “Well, I’ve failed; I’m just a failure so I might as well keep failing and keep going in this direction.” No, God calls us to repent today, to be cleansed by the blood of Christ, and to move forward into the destiny that He has for us.

The Need for Humility
1 John 1:8-10 says, “If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word has no place in our lives.” Intrinsic to true confession of one’s sins is the need for humility. Pride is a pitfall. If we are going to come back from our failures, we must imitate Christ’s humility. God gives grace to the humble, and by his grace we are able to come back from failure. The failure of sin is confronted through naming it for what it is—sin—and through that process, God’s power returns to our life.

I recall when I got a yellow card as a soccer coach. Sportsmanship has always been important to me. In addition to the training my parents gave me, my college soccer coach schooled us very seriously in the need to walk in good sportsmanship on the playing field. Well, my high school varsity team was in a very heated contest with a rival team. During the course of the game, a confrontation occurred right in front of our team’s bench, and it happened to be between my brother and the leading player on the other team. I did something that I regretted—I stepped onto the field, between the opposing player and my brother, and said, “Go ahead.” Well, the referee came over and gave me a yellow card. All kinds of emotions we’re going through me, but I knew I had to take responsibility for my own actions. Afterwards I confessed and sought forgiveness from the other player and coach, as well as from my own team. When we humbly take responsibility for what we have done and seek forgiveness, God’s grace and cleansing power returns to our life.

A Heart of Restoration
I think of Peter, who boasted to Jesus that even if all fall away, he would not. Well, after he denied Christ three times before the rooster crowed, needless to say, Peter was devastated. After Jesus rose from the dead, He made it a priority to restore Peter. He asked Peter, “Simon son of John, do you truly love me more than these?” (John 21:15). Jesus restored Peter, and in the process He pointed Peter to his purpose: “Feed my sheep.”

Friend, there is a purpose for your restoration, for your coming back from failure, and that is so you will be able to accomplish the purpose God has for you. When we fail, we need to remember that God is always seeking to restore us to His image. God wants us to come back from failure so that we can feed his sheep, feed people, advance His Kingdom in the lives of people. God’s purpose for us still stands; we are engraved upon his hands!

Sometimes you may find yourself on your face—dealing with failure. Let me encourage you that God’s heart says, “Get up, get moving again, and get busy about my purpose for you—feed my sheep; feed my people!” Always remember: God is faithful and is committed to restoring you because He has a purpose for you! God’s richest blessings be upon you!

Deborah Switzer: Running

Something happens inside my heart when I watch my kids run. I don’t know why, but I feel such a sense of satisfaction when I see them running and playing carefree outside. I will take them for a walk, and as they run ahead of me, I see their blond hair bobbing up and down and hear their contagious giggles rising up to the sky. A smile runs across my face – and I feel content and at peace. There’s almost a sense of, “This is why they were created – to run. No worries. No cares. Just run.”

There is a scripture in the Bible that talks about such a sensation. Hebrews 12: 1-3 states:

“Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.”

God truly has created us to run – run without hindrance or entanglements. That’s the way He designed us. But the worries of this world, especially nowadays, can entangle us, and our sinful desires can weigh us down. Sometimes I can feel these weights in my life. I know I am carrying a burden that He has not designed me to carry. And what seems like daily now, I have to mentally picture myself running in the manner which I see my children run. I picture that same parental smile of contentment on God’s face when I release my burdens to Him.

Did you ever see the movie Forrest Gump? When that boy starts to run with his braces on his legs, he is encumbered. But as he runs in faith, those entanglements around his legs break loose and he is free to run. And run he does … he never stops. It’s his gift from God. Forrest couldn’t take those braces off himself – it was a supernatural act where God released him from the “shackles” of the braces around his legs. There are days when I know I am running this race with what seems like heavy metal braces around my legs. It is uncomfortable, and tiring, and I wonder if I am making any progress. But I know that as I continue to run, that God is pulling for me, and the cloud of witnesses around me is cheering me on. I know I can’t remove these braces myself – I just have to keep running, and let God remove them as I surrender my pain, discouragement, betrayal, frustrations, and sin at His feet. But God is faithful to remove my hindrances as long as I don’t hang on to them.

My problem, though, is that my shoelaces seem to keep getting untied as I run (i.e., I worry.)

If my kids were constantly tripping over their shoe laces, I would not be smiling as I watch them run. Instead, I’d immediately stop them and tie their shoes so they could run. God is the same way in our lives. He is the one who makes us carefree in our pursuit of Him and His call on our lives. He stops us in our clumsy pursuit, slows us down, ties our shoes, and sends us off again.

So now, I’ve gotten smarter. When I am really concerned about something, I just ask God to tie a triple-knot of faith so that I don’t trip on the journey. With each loop, Jesus reveals His Word to me, assuring me that with Him nothing is impossible and that I truly can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.

So, how many knots do you need in your shoelaces? The good news is that God is the ultimate Dad, and He can tie as many knots as you need!

Jonathan Switzer: Tale of Two Meals

The Invitation
Would you like to come over for dinner?

Simple question. Sure!

So, you make your plans, cook your food, jump in the car and head for dinner at a friend’s house.

You walk in the door and the host asks you if you would like something to drink, while pointing you to the bathroom if you want to freshen up at all.

Should be a nice evening.

Jesus’ last meal with his disciples had all the elements of a nice meal with friends. In fact, the Passover meal includes all those elements of a good meal. However, it does more than that. It magnifies each part of the meal with meaning that must have reverberated in Christ’s heart that night as he ate.

It’s no wonder he would later be overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death. He must have felt control of his life slipping away…It wasn’t just a nice evening. The Kingdom of God was at hand!

Another Evening Meal
Interestingly, just the previous Sabbath, Jesus’ meal at Simon the Leper’s house in Bethany where Lazarus lived, was interrupted by what must have been a rather uncomfortable display of public affection. Mary the Magdalene, recovered prostitute, had somehow found a way to purchase a very expensive bottle of perfume; pure nard, we are told. It was said to be worth a year’s worth of wages. For many of us that would be between 40 and 70 thousand dollars a year.

But it wasn’t the owning of expensive perfume that caused the uproar. Apparently, in front of everyone, she took the perfume and poured it over Jesus’ head and feet and finished by using her hair to wipe it from Jesus’ feet.

Now, I have been in many uncomfortable social situations. I can only imagine the hushed gasps and awkward shifting going on around Jesus and Mary as the “anointing” happened. You almost would expect it to end with a short silence and someone saying, “Really dry weather we’ve been having down by the Jordan these days…” in hopes of moving on from the awkwardness.

But, then it got even more uncomfortable. Apparently, Judas Iscariot and some of the others spoke up and rebuked Mary in front of everyone. “How could you waste that money like that?!” “We could have sold the perfume and given the money to the poor!” “What are you thinking!?”

So a very awkward public display of affection followed by a harsh public rebuke.

Now, remember, Mary was a recovered prostitute. Social graces were very likely NOT her specialty. In fact, one might wonder if she didn’t have some rough edges. Needless to say, perhaps some in the room felt sorry for her, saying to themselves, “The girl doesn’t even know that you just don’t do those kinds of things.” Or perhaps, that is why Judas rebuked her so publicly. Perhaps, she had a problem with money and being responsible with her things. Perhaps, everyone knew that she struggled to know how to act in public or how to manage her money.

We simply don’t know.

All we know for sure is that in that fabulously awkward, painful moment, Jesus immediately came to her rescue. Instead of rebuking her, Jesus praised her and said, (Mark 14:6-9) "Leave her alone…Why are you bothering her? She has done a beautiful thing to me. 7 The poor you will always have with you, and you can help them any time you want. But you will not always have me. 8 She did what she could. She poured perfume on my body beforehand to prepare for my burial. 9 I tell you the truth, wherever the gospel is preached throughout the world, what she has done will also be told, in memory of her."

An extravagant display of love (A whole year’s salary worth). A magnificently unkind rebuke. A gracious and pointed rescue by Jesus.

The Kingdom of God was at hand. Nice social meals are…nice…yet, what really matters has a troublesome way of asserting it’s own agenda.

Apparently though, that was enough to send Judas, who was treasurer and prone to steal from the money bag, to the Chief Priests with a plan to betray Jesus. Yes indeed, the Kingdom of God was at hand!

The Passover Meal
This sets up the backdrop for the next nice evening meal. Five days later, Jesus sat down in the upper room with his disciples to eat the Passover meal.

They started with something to drink. It’s called the Cup of Blessing in a traditional Passover Seder. (This is a different cup than that celebrated at communion.) Luke tells us that Jesus gave thanks and passed it around to everyone. (Luke 22:17).

Naturally, however, getting washed up was next on the agenda. And this is where things got uncomfortable…again…Instead of a servant bringing around a bowl of water to serve everyone, Jesus put a towel around his waste and went around washing everyone’s feet. (John 13:2-17)

It was another genuinely awkward social moment. The host is NEVER supposed to do that. Only a servant should do such a thing. Then one can ignore the servant and talk amiably with one’s peers.

So, when Jesus, at the appropriate time in the Passover, after the first cup, began to wash everyone’s feet, Peter decided he should correct the social faux pas…or whatever he thought it was. “I should wash your feet, Lord!” Peter’s discomfort was palpable. Jesus’ act ran contrary to what was proper. Eventually Peter, trying to save face in the awkward moment said, “Well then, not just my feet but my whole body!”

Jesus, again, gently corrected Peter and finished his task, completely ignoring the social discomfort created by his actions. When He finished, Jesus said, “In the same way, you should serve one another.”

Once again, Jesus had used an awkward social moment to teach a huge and valuable lesson: Greatness is about serving in lowly, sacrificial ways.

Conclusions
In both awkward dinner moments, there was an extravagant display of two things: affection and servanthood. In one Jesus was being served by one who perhaps felt she just couldn’t find the words to say thank you. In the other Jesus served, as a lowly servant, teaching a lesson about greatness and servanthood. Both moments teach the importance of extravagant love and humble servanthood.

A lowly prostitute is not the only one who should learn it. Even the lofty twelve disciples, Jesus inner circle, also need to learn.

Social occasions are opportunities to communicate very important lessons. Let us not be so proper and decorous that we forget that extravagant love and humble servanthood will often make us feel uncomfortable. They will often run counter to “acceptable norms” in society. It will often even anger the most surprising of people in our midst.

Yet it will be the right thing to do.

The Kingdom of God is at hand. Simply maintaining surface control through enforcing social manners is unacceptable. Life in Christ is way too important.

Thurlow Switzer: Renew Our Nation!

Pursuing Renewal in the Gospel
Jer 31:23-34

Our nation needs renewal. Recently, we took a look at the points of renewal promised in God’s good news. Jeremiah was a prophet who God used to see into the future. His vision clearly included some points about renewal in the gospel.

First, he saw the Renewal of Spiritual Speech (Jer 31:23-24). Israel even as our nation today had lost its ability to speak in terms of spiritual perspective. Let us seek to restore both the language of justice and holiness in our land today and in our daily life. It takes spiritual speech for people for people to discover and maintain spiritual unity.

Jer 31:23-24. “They shall again use this speech in the land of Judah and in its cities, when I bring back their captivity: 'The Lord bless you, O home of justice, and mountain of holiness!' And there shall dwell in Judah itself, and in all its cities together, farmers and those going out with flocks.”

Col 4:6 – “Let your speech always be with grace, seasoned with salt, that you may know how you ought to answer each one.” NKJV

Prov 31:8-9 – “Open your mouth for the speechless, in the cause of all who are appointed to die. Open your mouth, judge righteously, and plead the cause of the poor and needy.” NKJV

Second, Jeremiah saw the Renewal of Satisfying Life (Jer 31:25-26). In the gospel, one discovers the renewal of the satisfying life with the result they experience “sweet sleep.” God satiates the weary and replenishes the soul. Find your satisfaction and replenishment in an intimate day-to-day relationship with the Spirit of God.

Jer 31:25-26 – “For I have satiated the weary soul, and I have replenished every sorrowful soul." After this I awoke and looked around, and my sleep was sweet to me.”

Ps 121:3-4 – “He will not allow your foot to be moved; He who keeps you will not slumber. Behold, He who keeps Israel shall neither slumber nor sleep.” NKJV

Ps 127:2 – “It is vain for you to rise up early, to sit up late, to eat the bread of sorrows; for so He gives His beloved sleep.” NKJV

Prov 3:24-26 – “When you lie down, you will not be afraid; Yes, you will lie down and your sleep will be sweet. Do not be afraid of sudden terror, nor of trouble from the wicked when it comes; for the Lord will be your confidence, and will keep your foot from being caught.” NKJV

Thirdly, Jeremiah saw the Renewal of Rebuilt Society (Jer 31:27-28). Our society needs rebuilding to be sure. This rebuilding begins personally as each of us experience edification in the house of our soul. The rebuilding must take place in our marriages, family, parenting, in our neighborhoods, cities and nation. We are to be the salt and light of the world. We must often do negative work, overcoming the unhealthy ideas in society, and input positive ideas. Each should seek to discover his or her voice to influence those around. Let us be builders in harmony with Christ Jesus who said, “I will build my church and the gates of hell will not prevail” (Mt 16:18).

Jer 31:27-28 – “Behold, the days are coming, says the Lord, that I will sow the house of Israel and the house of Judah with the seed of man and the seed of beast. 28 And it shall come to pass, that as I have watched over them to pluck up, to break down, to throw down, to destroy, and to afflict, so I will watch over them to build and to plant, says the Lord.

Jer 1:9-10 – “Then the Lord put forth His hand and touched my mouth, and the Lord said to me: "Behold, I have put My words in your mouth. See, I have this day set you over the nations and over the kingdoms, to root out and to pull down, to destroy and to throw down, to build and to plant." NKJV

Fourthly, Jeremiah saw the Renewal of Fathering Integrity (Jer 31:29-30). Two issues are addressed here. First, children often do grow up with the sour grapes of parental failure however, we must not blame our present failure or lack of success on environmental factors as is so often done. Secondly, everyone must take responsibility for their own iniquitous actions and the fact that often we set our own selves on edge by our own sour grapes. God is turning the hearts of parents to their children, and children to their parents.

Jer 31:29-30 – “In those days they shall say no more: 'The fathers have eaten sour grapes, and the children's teeth are set on edge.' 30 But every one shall die for his own iniquity; every man who eats the sour grapes, his teeth shall be set on edge.”

Ezek 18:1-3 – “The word of the Lord came to me again, saying, "What do you mean when you use this proverb concerning the land of Israel, saying: 'The fathers have eaten sour grapes, and the children's teeth are set on edge'? 3 "As I live," says the Lord God, "you shall no longer use this proverb in Israel.” NKJV
Mal 4:6 – “And he will turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the hearts of the children to their fathers, lest I come and strike the earth with a curse." NKJV

Last, Jeremiah saw the Renewal of the New Covenant (Jer 31:31-33). With the coming of Christ Jesus as Messiah, we now live under the reality and economy of the “new covenant.” God writes his laws on our heart and recreates a new conscience in our lives. We must learn to listen to His voice and know Him intimately. We enjoy the mediation of a better covenant with better promises. The old is obsolete and the new now exists.

Jer 31:31-33 - "Behold, the days are coming, says the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah — 32 not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt, My covenant which they broke, though I was a husband to them, says the Lord. 33 But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the Lord: I will put My law in their minds, and write it on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people.” NKJV

Jer 31:34 – “No more shall every man teach his neighbor, and every man his brother, saying, 'Know the Lord,' for they all shall know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them, says the Lord. For I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin I will remember no more." NKJV

Heb 8:6, 13 – “But now He has obtained a more excellent ministry, inasmuch as He is also Mediator of a better covenant, which was established on better promises. 13 In that He says, "A new covenant," He has made the first obsolete. Now what is becoming obsolete and growing old is ready to vanish away.” NKJV

I know that these items may seem abstract, but for the person who genuine seeks to understand them, they are life transforming. Furthermore, these concepts are vital to the renewal of society and the advance of the kingdom of God.

Jonathan Switzer: Horns

Horn

Not a car horn. Not a trumpet or trombone.

A horn.

Scripture says that the Lord will exalt the horn of the righteous but cut off the horns of the wicked.

Last time I checked I have no horns.

Horns on Humans?
Apparently though, horn, in the Bible, metaphorically represents a person’s strength or power.

For example, the horn of Israel represents the strength of Israel. Similarly, all the apocryphal beasts of the Bible also have horns. This means that they have strength that the Lord allows to exist for a time. Nevertheless, we are told that God will cut off the horns of the wicked and lift up the horns of the righteous (Psalm 75:10).

Even the blowing of the horn, (e.g. a ram’s horn) represents strength either in battle or celebration. We are told that the joy of the Lord is our strength. When facing battle the Ram’s horn would be blown to call the people to battle in strength. In the same way, when Moses and Joshua came down the mountain they heard the sound of the Ram’s horn. Joshua thought it meant war, but Moses recognized that it was the sound of celebration not war. The Ram’s horn means strength/joy in battle or joy/strength in celebration. The joy of the Lord is our strength (Nehemiah 8:10).

So…a horn.

Apparently, metaphorically, I have one. You do too. Okay, I’m good with that.

Horns On Altars?
But there is another place that the Bible uses horn that seems a bit unusual. Moses was commanded to put horns on both the altar of Burnt offering in the outer court and the altar of incense in the Holy Place.

Now, if horn represents power, then what power would an altar represent? Doesn’t an altar symbolize sin, weakness and death? Where’s the power?

Well, actually horns on an altar make complete sense. We are told that in our weakness Christ is made strong (2 Cor. 12:10). Because of the power of sin, we (all humanity) have lost our power and strength.

But, God intends that the weak would say, “I am strong.”

So, the altar represents the place where our power is acknowledged as corrupted by sin and therefore weakened to the point of death; and laid down. The altar is the place where our faulty power is burned up and God’s power is received. The altar is the covenantal place of God’s strength forgiving our sins and graciously giving us new strength. We are made righteous by the blood of the sacrifice and God lifts up our horn.

It makes total sense that an altar would have horns reminding that only God’s power is truly righteous.

Because of Sin We Need Our Horns Fixed
Think about it. Sin, so often, is the use of our power to achieve selfish purposes.

Lust is the counterfeit to the power of love which ends up using others for our own satisfaction. Greed is the counterfeit to the power of giving and prosperity. Instead of using the power to help others greed uses power to protect self and buy things for self which can result in oppressing others. Lying and cursing uses the power of the tongue for selfish purposes; for death instead of life. Stealing uses power to get not give, to destroy and not build up.

The enemy comes to steal and kill and to destroy, but Christ came that we might have life and have it abundantly (John 10:10).

The altar of Burnt Offering represents our recognition that our horn or power has been used for selfish sinful purposes. Our horn is broken and weak. Therefore, we need to die to our own power, put it on the altar and get forgiveness from God.

Horns with Incense?
So, then what about the other altar; the altar of incense in the Holy Place? Again, we find that there are horns on it. There are horns on both the altars in the Tabernacle, both the altar of Burnt Offering and the altar of incense.

Well, let’s review for a second. Horns represent power. You and I have metaphorical horns representing our strength. God says he will exalt the horns of the righteous and cut off the horns of the wicked. Since you and I have been wicked, we need to take our sin to the Altar that has horns. Our power, our broken horn is put on the altar and God’s power forgives us and restores power back to us.

Now, let’s look at the altar of incense. The altar of incense also has horns. The question is this: what power do we have versus what power does God have.

The horns on the altar of incense make complete sense.

All through the book of Revelation we find incense offered before the Lamb along with the prayers of the saints. It would seem that the Altar of Incense represents the prayers of the Saints that have been saved up. The Altar of incense represented the prayers of the people of God constantly going up before God.

Prayers are a sweet aroma (incense) to God. If the Altar of Incense represents God’s house being a house of prayer for all nations, then it should have horns. Our prayers to God are powerful. The powerful and effectual prayers of a Righteous man availeth much. (James 5:16).

Remember, our prayers happen at an altar where we recognize again that our horn is not sufficient. Instead, we need God to lift up our horn. If God lifts up our horn, as he lifts up the Righteous, then our horn will be lifted up. We need God’s power not our own.

We need to pray to the one who has all power, whose horn is always exalted.

Which Horns are More Important?
Finally, a strange set of passages in Leviticus 4 talks about the need to make atonement for both the Altar of Incense and the Altar of Burnt Offering by sprinkling blood on the horns of those altars.

This is important. If horns represent strength, then atonement for those altars means the strength of what is done on those altars. If atonement was not made, the sacrifices on those altars would be weakened. God would not forgive.

However, there is a difference between atoning for the first altar as opposed to the second. The difference would seem to indicate a difference in the power that each altar represents. Follow me here. We have power (a horn) as individuals but we also have power (a horn) as a corporate body. The difference in atoning for the two altars seems to address that difference.

Let’s look at the sin offering. If there was a sin offering for a leader or member of the community then only the Altar of Burnt Offering would have blood sprinkled on its “horns”. If, on the other hand, there was a sin offering to be made for either the anointed Chief Priest or the entire community then both the horns of the Altar of Burnt Offering and the horns of the Altar of Incense needed to be sprinkled with blood.

Why the difference? Why sprinkle blood on one but not the other for a leader or member of the community? Why sprinkle blood on both for a chief priest or the entire community’s sin?

When you and I sin, our sin affects only our personal standing before God, it only affects our forgiveness and right standing personally before God. Therefore, only the Altar of Burnt Offering (that dealt with sin) would have blood sprinkled on its horns.

However, if the whole community sins or the anointed Chief Priest sins, then the prayers of the entire nation, represented by the Altar of Incense, would not be effective. Special atonement would need to be made so that the prayers of the nation would be made effective again. Blood would need to be sprinkled on the horns of the Altar of Incense as well.

Jesus’ Triumphant Approach to the Horns of the Altar
All this brings us to Psalm 118 which describes the arrival of a righteous man at the gates of Righteousness (118:19-20). It is a victorious Psalm where we are told that the stone that the builders rejected has become the capstone (119:22-23). It celebrates the arrival of that rejected victor with the phrase shouted on Palm Sunday by the crowds: Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord! (118:26-27) It says that shouts of joy and victory resound in the tents of the righteous (118:15-16). It proclaims that this is the day that the Lord has made, let us rejoice and be glad in it (118:24).

So, what is the day that the Lord has made where this righteous man arrives at the gates of righteousness?

It is the day that the festal procession goes up to the “horns of the altar” (118:27). It is the day when Jesus rode over the crest of the Mt. of Olives on the back of a colt to shouts of “Hosanna!” As Jesus rode west down the Mt. of Olives into Jerusalem he was facing the front of the Temple, which faced East, where the horns of the altar awaited His Blood.

The celebration of Psalm 118, its festal procession, was the one that led to the altar. In Jesus case it meant his sacrifice. In fact, the day after Palm Sunday Jesus drove the money changers out of the Temple. His house was to be a house of prayer (Altar of Incense) for all nations, not a den of robbers. The gates of righteousness had opened for the stone that the builders had rejected.

Christ arrived. His sacrifice on the altar and his blood on the Horns of the Altar made it the day that the Lord has made. Let us rejoice and be glad in it. O glorious day! Let shouts of joy and victory resound in the tents of the righteous. The Lord’s right hand has done mighty things for us and reigns on high (Psalm 118:15-16).

Christ’s death fulfills the meaning of the altar. The altar restores our horn and renews our strength. It is God’s power. It is cause for celebration. Despite the death of the sacrifice, Christ’s righteousness becomes our righteousness. The life we now live we live by the power of Christ. We live in the power that resurrected Christ Jesus from the dead!

The blood of the sacrifice must be sprinkled on the horns of both altars (both Altar of Incense and Altar of Burnt Offering). Each individual needs forgiveness. But, in the same way, each nation needs God’s forgiveness through Christ. Otherwise, God might not hear the prayers of the nation.

So, the Lord will lift up the horn of the righteous, but the horns of the wicked will be cut off. At the altar of Christ’s crucifixion, we let our wicked, broken horns be cut off and let the horns of God’s altar be our strength.

Sounds like a good reason to blow the Ram’s horn. The joy of the Lord is our strength (our horn). One day, Christ will return to the sound of Ram’s horns again. Maranatha! Jesus said he would not return until the Jews say, “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord,” (Matt 23:39) which they did not do on Palm Sunday, when Jesus was first headed to the horns of the altar.