Gods New Deal

Many people today associate Christianity with the concept of being religious, or as a religion. This is understandable, as Christianity is largely identified as a major world religion. In reality though, Jesus Christ did not found Christianity as a religious system. When Jesus founded the ecclesia or called out ones (Church) His vision was not of an organisation or religious group with a new and interesting cosmology.
Rather, Christianity was established as a Covenant Relationship with the Eternal Omnipotent Father of Love and Light. When we use the term covenant we must realize what this means in the Biblical sense.
When we talk about the Christian Covenant ratified by Jesus Christ with His Church, we are talking about the most powerful, contractual, relational interaction in the Universe. The New covenant that Jesus ratified at the Cross was a Blood Covenant. Most Native Tribes of the world, if not all, have something similar to this when they cut a covenant and become blood brothers with another individual or tribe.
When one Tribal Chief becomes a blood brother with another tribal chief, they make an incision in their arm or hands and clasp a certain handshake and mingle their blood in sworn agreement to share with, protect and defend each other and their tribes.
This signifies that what one tribe has, is jointly shared with the other tribe and vice versa. One tribe might be strong in warfare and defense, the other in agriculture and economic skills. They agree in blood brotherhood that each one is sworn to help each other in unconditional committment.
The marriage covenant is the most powerful example and depiction of this when entered into Biblically. When a man and woman entered into marriage (Spiritual, mental and physical union) in ancient cultures, there was great emphasis placed on the blood permeated evidence of the covenant on the wedding night bedsheet. Of course, in our modern culture, it is rare that both, or even one partner is a virgin at marriage but this was Gods original design and intention. (Even if there is no blood evidence at marriage union, it is still a blood covenant in Gods eyes)
Today, we dont realize the powerful significance of the blood covenant in marriage. In Gods eyes, the physical union of man and woman, is the final consummation and ratification of the marriage ceremony, it is the cutting and celebration of the covenant. This is why God places such a huge premium on and so carefully regulates sexual union. Sex is the ultimate declaration of committment in Gods eyes, not only to the partners involved but also to the resulting children born of the covenant relationship.
When Jesus Christ went to the Cross and shed His Blood to remit the sins of the world, it was the Ultimate Blood Brotherhood Relationship committment on Gods part to the human race. God was saying, I am willing to allow my only Son to empty His Precious Blood and die and take the rap or penalty for all of mans sins and failures.
Think of it, God offers us Blood Brotherhood with Himself.
This means we get everything He has and He gets everything we have. It doesnt take a rocket scientist to figure that we got the best end of the deal. He offers us an Eternal Home of Peace, Love and Security, Health, Forgiveness, Provisions beyond description. All we can offer Him is not much, He gets our sin, our failure, pain, our problems, our weakness. Of course, He says, because I love you unconditionally I will gladly exchange all of my Grace and Strength for your sorrow and weakness.

Read the old Jewish prophet Isaiahs prophecy about the Messiah Jesus below. This prophecy was given ages before Jesus was born.


Isaiah 53
The Message (MSG)

1 Who believes what we've heard and seen? Who would have thought God's saving power would look like this?
2-6The servant grew up before God—a scrawny seedling,
a scrubby plant in a parched field.
There was nothing attractive about him,
nothing to cause us to take a second look.
He was looked down on and passed over,
a man who suffered, who knew pain firsthand.
One look at him and people turned away.
We looked down on him, thought he was scum.
But the fact is, it was our pains he carried—
our disfigurements, all the things wrong with us.
We thought he brought it on himself,
that God was punishing him for his own failures.
But it was our sins that did that to him,
that ripped and tore and crushed him—our sins!
He took the punishment, and that made us whole.
Through his bruises we get healed.
We're all like sheep who've wandered off and gotten lost.
We've all done our own thing, gone our own way.
And God has piled all our sins, everything we've done wrong,
on him, on him.

7-9He was beaten, he was tortured,
but he didn't say a word.
Like a lamb taken to be slaughtered
and like a sheep being sheared,
he took it all in silence.
Justice miscarried, and he was led off—
and did anyone really know what was happening?
He died without a thought for his own welfare,
beaten bloody for the sins of my people.
They buried him with the wicked,
threw him in a grave with a rich man,
Even though he'd never hurt a soul
or said one word that wasn't true.

10Still, it's what God had in mind all along,
to crush him with pain.
The plan was that he give himself as an offering for sin
so that he'd see life come from it—life, life, and more life.
And God's plan will deeply prosper through him.

11-12Out of that terrible travail of soul,
he'll see that it's worth it and be glad he did it.
Through what he experienced, my righteous one, my servant,
will make many "righteous ones,"
as he himself carries the burden of their sins.
Therefore I'll reward him extravagantly—
the best of everything, the highest honors—
Because he looked death in the face and didn't flinch,
because he embraced the company of the lowest.
He took on his own shoulders the sin of the many,
he took up the cause of all the black sheep.

New years Day 2010---Dynamic and Didactic

Dear Whosoever,
Happy New Year for 01/01/2010!
Today I thought I would do a slight ramble regarding the Didactic and the Dynamic. There is always a juxtaposition and tension between these two essential elements to life.
Here are 2 dictionary definitions on the word didactic.
1. didactic (plural didactics)
(archaic) A treatise on teaching or education
2.The term "didactic" also refers to media that are "burdened" with instructive, factual, or otherwise "educational" information, sometimes to the detriment of a reader's (or viewer's) enjoyment.
Here are Dictionary definitions of dynamic

1Dunamis or dynamis (Greek δύναμις) is an Ancient Greek word meaning "power", "capability", or "force". It is the root of the English words "dynamic", "dynamite", and "dynamo".
2lso dy·nam·i·cal \-mi-kəl\ a : of or relating to physical force or energy b : of or relating to dynamics
2 a : marked by usually continuous and productive activity or change b : energetic, forceful

In regards to The Bible and Christian truth the didactic speaks of the teaching and instructional aspect of teaching The Word. This speaks of the informational fixed Truth of The Logos. An everyday example of didactic would be the rails, the locomotive that runs on the rails speaks of the "dynamic".
The fixed immutable and immovable quality of the Word of God is like the rails that the Spirit or "dynamic" rolls or runs on. The moving of the Spirit without the fixed immutable word is like a locomotive off the rails. The rails without the locomotive are also irrelevant, what is the use of rails without an engine? On the other hand,the locomotive running off the rails is an accident waiting to happen.
Another example would be a cartridge or bullet, The gunpowder without the lead projectile is only a blank, it makes a noise like a real bullet but is impotent and useless in battle, conversely, the lead without the gunpowder is only a dead immovable weight. Both of these scenarios are useless.
When the lead bullethead (the didactic) is propelled by the gunpowder (the dynamic) a powerful and effective weapon is in action. When the Word is only taught as information without the accompanying power and demonstration of the Spirit, it is like a lead projectile without dynamic thrust. One commentator likened it to going to a restaurant and reading the menu without ever ordering the specified item.
What good would an arrow (the didactic) be without a bow (the dynamic). The bow provides the thrust for the arrow to reach the target. A bow without an arrow would be equally stupid.
What we need is equal cooperation between the Word and the Spirit, then we will truly grow up into Christ and receive the full inheritance of Biblical promise..
Dead orthodoxy and dynamic heresy are both wrong. Theology is not an informational study only, like Mathematics or archeology. Theo (God) ology (study) is the study of God Himself, we are not just studying Biblical Knowledge but we are coming into intimate union with the Author of the Bible Himself. This is why prayer and worship are an integral part of a real Bible College, it is not just memorizing Scripture and learning the Greek and Hebrew ( as important as this is).
It is also communicating with the Triune God in deep worship and being filled with Dunamis Power from Heaven ( then we not only have the Arrow (Word) we have the bow (Spirit)
On the other hand, we dont just have experiential "spirit" experiences without having deep and detailed knowledge of the Word. We always check our experiences out with Scripture to make sure we are "on the rails" as it were. We dont want to be an off the rails railway locomotive running down mainstreet smashing through peak hour traffic and causing casualties to ourself and others.
We also dont want to be a deadhead Christian who reduces God to a boring archaic study of past experience without having our own " Book of Acts experience." This also is a misrepresentation of who Jesus is and what Christianity is meant to be.
As an old preacher said--" If your all Word , you will dry up. If you are all Spirit, you will blow up. If you are a mix of both you will grow up.
Go Forth, Full of the Holy Ghost and Power with a mind that has been washed and renewed in the Word of God.

John 6:63 (King James Version)
63It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life.
2 John 1:9Whosoever transgresseth, and abideth not in the doctrine of Christ, hath not God. He that abideth in the doctrine of Christ, he hath both the Father and the Son.