Birthday

happy early birthday, joseph.  :o)  i'm so happy that you and bradley have been coming to our home on fridays.  it's always so good to meet new people and have new faces in our usual sea of familiarity.  when i was growing up, my mom used to tell me to take every new start as an opportunity to consecrate myself to the Lord, i.e. to put myself into His hands, to give myself to Him.  so i remember always telling the Lord, every new year, every new school year, every birthday, and eventually every day, "Lord, i give myself to You. Lord, i belong to You.  keep me, Lord, for Yourself and for what You have for me."  joseph, there's no safer place to be than in His hands and in His perfect will.  and that reminds me of one of my favorite ministry portions. i hope you don't mind me laying all this on you.  :o)  this portion is on loving the Lord, which is why we consecrate ourselves to Him - because we love Him.  Give yourself to love the Lord. No other way is so prevailing, and no other way is so safe, so rich, and so full of enjoyment. Just love Him. Do not care for anything else. Teachings, doctrines, gifts, and power do not mean much. We must continually tell the Lord, "Lord, keep me in Your love! Attract me with Yourself! Keep me all the time in Your loving presence!"; If we will pray in this way, we will see what love we will have toward the Lord and what kind of life we will live. We will simply live by the Lord Himself. As long as we love Him from the deepest part of our being, everything will be all right. If we need wisdom, He will be the wisdom to us. If we need power, He will be the power. If we need the proper and adequate knowledge, He will even be that to us. Whatever we need, He is. Do not try to get anything else; just look to Him that He would reveal His love to you. Song of Songs 1:4 says, "Draw me, we will run after thee."; We must ask the Lord to draw us, and then others will run after Him with us. To take Him as our life, we must love Him in such a way.In Revelation 2 the degradation of the church began with the loss of the first love toward the Lord Jesus. The church in Ephesus had many good works and was even strong in faith, but the Lord rebuked her by saying, "I have somewhat against thee, because thou hast left thy first love."; They had lost the fresh and best love toward the Lord. This started the degradation of the churches. When we lose our love for the Lord, we start to backslide. We must go to the Lord and make a deal with Him: "Lord, be merciful to me! I do not need anything or anyone else but Your loving Self. Simply show me Yourself! Draw me that we may run after You. O Lord, show me Your love that I might be constrained by Your love! I do not want to do anything for You, Lord. I just want to love You. I just want to take You as my Person. I want Your personality as my personality, Your will as my will, Your desires as my desires. I want Your everything as my everything."Thus, we see that it is not simply a matter of believing, but also a matter of loving. We must learn to love the Lord Jesus. If we would have such a burning love toward the Lord Jesus, we will enjoy all that He is. Therefore, I do not encourage you to seek anything else. Go to the Lord and ask Him to draw you that you may run after Him. You must realize that the Lord of life is such a loving, wonderful Person and that love is the way to deal with Him. have a fun and safe time in your birthday celebrations, joseph, and see you in a couple of weeks. :o)  lizzie
Unedited, received as an e-mail at 8:57 PM, November 17, 2010.
This woman inspires me and teaches me more about the passionate and enduring love I ought to have towards the Savior who ransomed me with His own blood, who gave everything to bring me, the wandering lamb, the unprofitable servant, the prodigal son, safely to His arms.
My 18th birthday is not anything special. It's one day in one year in one lifetime of one person. Insignificant, it doesn't enable me to do anything life-changingly important. It is not a milestone in my life, but to remind me, as Lizzie reminded me, to dedicate my life to my Savior, who paid the bride-price for my soul and redeemed me with an outstretched arm and with a mighty act of ultimate judgment that He took upon Himself, just as He promised to Noah. The bow shot the Maker as He walked alone through the river of blood, promising redemption to the covenant breakers whose lives He changed with that simple promise of unspoken hope when God crossed the line twice.
After all, "He must become greater; I must become less." (John 3:30 NIV)

Dead Bread

Dia de los Muertos (Day of the Dead) Tuesday, November 2, 2011
Dia de los Muertos is a holiday celebrated by many to this day, and since us gringos in Southern California are immersed in Mexican culture, it would be highly applicable to learn a little bit more about this awesome festival!
First off, Dia de los Muertos has little to do with Halloween, though they fall very close on the calendars. Dia de los Muertos is a huge celebration of the dead, possibly tracing back to Aztec roots. There’s lots of partying, eating, drinking, and dancing through the streets!
Some of the traditions are using marigold flowers to create a path from the loved one’s grave to his old household, so the soul could find its way back to its family. Also, families often build elaborate altars to honor the deceased. Candles are lit, and the loved one’s favorite foods and drinks while he or she walked this earth are cooked or bought, and laid at the altar for the spirit to appreciate. People would often tell humorous tales of the person’s life, funny little anecdotes and quips. Pictures, toys, candy-shaped skulls with the name of the deceased written in frosting on the forehead.
A special treat is the sweet “pan de muerto” (dead bread).
At the end of the day, the festivities take on a more somber tone as people gather to the graveyards in mass, to pray for their deceased loved ones.
This holiday celebrates death as a happy thing, as nothing to be afraid of. It pictures death as the beginning of life, rather than the end.
But friends, this belief is sour to the Christian. Death is not a natural end to life; death is a result of sin entering the world. Let me tell a story to illustrate.
There once was a man who could teach with authority, unlike the other teachers of the past, of His day, or that have come and gone since. This man could heal the sick, He could open the eyes of the blind, He could make the lame walk, He opened the mouth of the dumb and the ears of the deaf; He drove out evil spirits. This man never ceased to have a crowd following Him. This man was famous, was popular, was stalked. His followers never missed a Facebook update or tweet. His followers got the dust of His sandals on their clothes and drank His words thirstily.
One day, while this great man was teaching, He realized that the people who followed him had not eaten lunch yet. It was past lunchtime, and their stomachs were growling loud enough to be embarrassing to the Speaker. One of His followers pointed to a family that sat near His feet. The man asked the youngest son if he had eaten breakfast yet. The boy replied, “No, sir. But my family has brought lunch.” The man took the lunch, and the boy’s stomach growled, but he and his family remained silent. The man began to pray over the fish and the loaves of bread He held in His hands. Then He handed out food that spread as His words rang out across the mountainside. The crowd went wild.
The man left the scene, and avoided the paparazzi. He evaded His followers (He wanted a little alone time).
When the rest of His fans found Him again, they surrounded Him again, eager to hear Him speak. He spoke, and these are the words He said (John 6):

“I tell you the truth, you are looking for me, not because you saw miraculous signs but because you ate the loaves and had your fill. Do not work for food that spoils, but for food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you. On him God the Father has placed his seal of approval."

Then they asked Him, “What must we do to do the works God requires?”

He answered, “The work of God is this: to believe in the one He has sent.”

So they asked him, "What miraculous sign then will you give that we may see it and believe you? What will you do? Our forefathers ate the manna in the desert; as it is written: 'He gave them bread from heaven to eat.'"

He said to them, “"I tell you the truth, it is not Moses who has given you the bread from heaven, but it is my Father who gives you the true bread from heaven. For the bread of God is he who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world."

"Sir," they said, "from now on give us this bread."

Then He declared, “"I am the bread of life. He who comes to me will never go hungry, and he who believes in me will never be thirsty. But as I told you, you have seen me and still you do not believe. All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never drive away. For I have come down from heaven not to do my will but to do the will of him who sent me. And this is the will of him who sent me, that I shall lose none of all that he has given me, but raise them up at the last day. For my Father's will is that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in him shall have eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day."

Then some of His followers began to grumble amongst themselves. They knew this man from birth. Some of them even knew His parents from birth! How could He claim to be the bread that came down from heaven?

"Stop grumbling among yourselves," the man answered. “No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him, and I will raise him up at the last day. It is written in the Prophets: 'They will all be taught by God. 'Everyone who listens to the Father and learns from him comes to me. No one has seen the Father except the one who is from God; only he has seen the Father. I tell you the truth, he who believes has everlasting life. I am the bread of life. Your forefathers ate the manna in the desert, yet they died. But here is the bread that comes down from heaven, which a man may eat and not die. I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. This bread is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world."

Then the arguments began to intensify. The Teacher watched as His followers separated into the groups of men and women who believed Him and drank His words thirstily, and whose garments were stained with the dust of His feet. There were also those who doubted, saying “How can this man give us his flesh to eat?”

He said to them, “I tell you the truth, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day. For my flesh is real food and my blood is real drink. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me, and I in him. Just as the living Father sent me and I live because of the Father, so the one who feeds on me will live because of me. This is the bread that came down from heaven. Your forefathers ate manna and died, but he who feeds on this bread will live forever."

Many of His followers left Him after this teaching. He knew what He was saying was controversial. He knew they would leave. He did not finish explaining himself, because His time had not yet come. But to those who believe, whose lives reflect this Teacher, whose hearts are circumcised, whose garments are stained with the dust of the Teacher’s feet and the blood of His sacrifice, who have ears to hear (shema means hear and obey!), who have eyes to see, and who drink in His words thirstily, this much is clear:

The Teacher hailed from the town called Bethlehem. This literally means, House of Bread.
The Teacher called Himself “the bread of life.”
The Teacher called this “bread of life” a greater miracle than the manna God provided in the wilderness.
The Teacher told His followers they must eat the “bread of life” to live forever.
The Teacher would later tell His closest friends, “This is my body, given for you; do this in remembrance of me.” (Luke 22:19) He was referencing the words the High Priest spoke over the Passover lamb.
The Teacher was crucified as the Passover lamb (from the flocks of Bethlehem) on Passover night.
The Teacher was buried on the evening that began the festivities of the Feast of Unleavened Bread, where people of the book from all over the world gathered to Jerusalem to call forth bread from the ground.

Though this is the end of my story on the Bread of Life (and it is far from complete, for who can fully grasp the love of God?), His sacrifice remains throughout the ages, once and for all, that His people may have life everlasting. He was a man, the image of God, who was obedient and lived perfectly where the first man failed. He is the new representative, and all who trust in Him will not be put to shame (Romans 5:17).
“Pan de muerte” has got NOTHING on the Bread of Life. Remember that when y’all see the Dia de los Muertes celebrations on the news, in the streets, on the web, in your backyard. His Name is Jesus, for He saved His people from their bondage to sin. 
EDIT:
Something I forgot to put in there.

The Bread of Life died to save
sinners.

What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? By no means! We are those who have died to sin; how can we live in it any longer? Or don’t you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life. For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we will certainly also be united with him in a resurrection like his. For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body ruled by sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin— because anyone who has died has been set free from sin.

Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. For we know that since Christ was raised from the dead, he cannot die again; death no longer has mastery over him. The death he died, he died to sin once for all; but the life he lives, he lives to God. In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus.
Romans 6:1-11

The rest of the chapter goes on to explain how to live as slaves of righteousness and not as slaves to sin. But I think the first part truly captures what I meant (but forgot!) to end with, that the Bread of Life will never again be buried in the ground for sins. He is risen!

The Teacher rose from the grave, triumphing over death as the captain of salvation, rising as the firstfruits of resurrection.

The Triumph

I'm taking an Art History class at UC Irvine, and since we're starting with the beginnings of art, we're seeing a lot of false religions and kings proclaiming themselves to be divine, gods incarnate, immortal. This reminds me of a story I was taught by a man I deeply respect and love, who will be named Bex.
------
The idea that "the king is a god" became an attribute of the Roman Emperor after Julius Ceasar's death in 44 B.C. (However, as I am discovering through my studies in Scripture and secular psychology, this idea has been around since the first man crowned prince of creation decided to rebel against the King of kings and equate himself as divine.) The worship of the emperor began when a comet was seen in broad daylight for 8 days following Julius Caesar's death. Octavian (Caesar Augustus) proclaimed his father a deity, and that he saw his father ascend to the heavens. So, being the son of a god, he decided to let his peoples  worship him as a god. Now that we've got the background, let the story begin...

The "inauguration" of a caesar was a special deal. It had a unique name, "triumpe," in Latin. This word is translated "triambas" in Greek, and "triumph" in English. This inauguration had a traditional flow to it, that Mark illustrates in his gospel to the Romans.

(I) The first thing that happened on the day of the triumph was that the "Triumphator" would be brought into the middle of a group of soldiers.
"The soldiers led Jesus away into the palace (that is, the Praetorium) and called together the whole company of soldiers" Mark 15:16

(II) Next, a purple robe (representing royalty), an olive-leaf wreath (the crown of victory), and a sceptre (representing the God-given power to rule and deliver judgment) were presented to the Triumphator.
^"They put a purple robe on him, then twisted together a crown of thorns and set it on him." Mark 15:17

(III) Thirdly, the triumphator was loudly proclaimed as such by the guard.
And they began to call out to him, "Hail, king of the Jews!" Mark 15:18

(IV) After being proclaimed as triumphant, the Triumphator and a sacrificial bull are marched through the streets, while a slave carries the axe, the weapon of sacrifice.
"Then they led him out to crucify him. A certain man from Cyrene, Simon, the father of Alexander and Rufus, was passing by on his way in from the country, and they forced him to carry the cross." Mark 15:20b-21

(V) The procession would then move to a hill in Rome called Capitolene Hill (which means Head Hill)
"They brought Jesus to the place called Golgotha (which means The Place of the Skull)." Mark 15:22

(VI) The triumphator would then be offered a bowl of wine mixed with myrrh, which he would refuse.
"Then they offered him wine mixed with myrrh, but he did not take it." Mark 15:23

(VII) The triumphator would continue onwards, but only two of his trusted generals would accompany him, one of the right, one on the left.
"They crucified two robbers with him, one on his right and one on his left" Mark 15:27

(VIII) The crowd would then proclaim and magnify the inaugurated emperor:
"Those who passed by hurled insults at him, shaking their heads and saying
"So! You who are going to destroy the temple and build it in three days,
come down from the cross and save yourself!"
In the same way the chief priests and the teachers of the law mocked him among themselves.
"He saved others," they said, "but he can't save himself! Let this Christ, this King of Israel, come down now from the cross, that we may see and believe." Those crucified with him also heaped insults on him" Mark 15:29-32

(IX) Then a divine seal of approval marked that the gods approved this triumphator worthy of divinity. (Julius Ceasar's 8-day comet was convincing enough, but Jesus's tops them all) 
"At the sixth hour darkness came over the whole land until the ninth hour" Mark 15:33

(X) Lastly, to conclude the ceremony, a soldier would proclaim the triumphator as divine.
"And when the centurion, who stood there in front of Jesus, heard his cry and saw how he died, he said, 'Surely this man was the Son of God!'" Mark 15:39

Since the Gospel of Mark was written to Gentiles in the Roman Empire and focuses on the final week of Jesus' life, especially His crucifixion, I think these comparisons are clear. But Mark has a point: Jesus triumphed over sin through his suffering. He is King and God and Sacrifice!

Passover Lamb

Jesus enters Jerusalem on Palm Sunday, right? The "Triumphal Entry"? He went to the temple, as did all Jews on this special Sunday. On this day, Jews from all the nations God scattered them to would come to Jerusalem and heads of households would select a passover lamb to remember God's hand of deliverence from bondage to Egypt. To prevent the temple officials from cheating people (as seen in Matthew 21 when Jesus cleans house), a custom was formed, that all the passover lambs would come from one city, that could be traded for less pure lambs. That one city-- Bethlehem (which means "house of bread").

John the Baptist got it right:

"Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world!" -John 1:29

     Fast forward to Thursday night. Passover night.

---Jesus hosts the Passover, and He takes the job of sevant when He washes His disciples' feet.

---Jesus blessed God for bringing food from the ground, in the form of unleavened bread. The bread was scored and marked, symbolizing the pain of the Israelites in Egypt, but the Messiah would soon fulfill that symbolism by taking lashes and scourgings in His death.

---Jesus blessed the bitter herbs (horseradish), remembering the bitterness of the oppression of the Egyptians, but He would experience firsthand a more excruciating separation from the love of God.

---Jesus would have hidden the "afikomen" the second of three pieces of unleavened bread. This second piece was broken, removed from the other 2, wrapped, and hidden (buried), to be found and restored later, to be eaten as a dessert during the Cup of Redemption, which I spoke of more in my previous note.

---Jesus would have then blessed the meal. But he did something different. He spoke the words I now take for granted:

"This is my body given for you; do this in remembrance of me." (Luke 22:19)

Those words are similar to the words the priest would speak over the spotless lamb, come passover. The priest would actually say,

 "This is the body given for the _____ family!" 

In this, we see the appointed act of the Christ as High Priest.

Jesus, our passover lamb from the flocks of Bethlehem, fully atoned for all our sins and we remember His sacrifice every week as not only the love of God incarnate but as the recipient of the death that causes God's justice to pass over our sins as His people are led once again from bondage.  

"For you know it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your forefathers, but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect." - I Peter 1:18-19

"Christ our Passover Lamb was sacrificed for us." - I Corinthians 5:7

"Worthy is the Lamb who was slain to receive power and riches and wisdom, and strength and honor and glory and blessing!" - Revelation 5:12b

All hail the Lamb, who was slain for sinners who naturally hate the goodness of God's mercy until the old man is slain on the cross and buried in the death of the Lamb and a new man is created from a pure heart of flesh, which God's Spirit restores and breathes new life and being into, who alone is wise and glorious in His creative ingenuity and power to save!

This is the Lamb I trust in, that God's dreadful wrath may pass over my guilty self.

How much is a bride worth?

 How much is a bride worth? Can a woman be bought to be a wife? I'm not a feminist, but I still flinch a little bit at that question.

   "Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body." -1 Corinthians 6:19-20 

When a man would want to get hitched back in Jesus' time, he would ask his parents to meet up with the parents of his desired bride (think, Samson). They would negotiate the "bride-price". Of course a woman of godly character and wisdom cannot be bought, but how dare a man of God take a woman of faith from her family without some form of recompense? To be fair, ladies, the "bride-price" was close to the cost of a home.
Once the "bride-price" was confirmed, the man and his parents would meet with the woman and her parents. They would sit down at a table, where there would be a cup of wine. The groom would say the words, "This is the cup of a new covenant, in my blood," and drink from the cup.
He was promising to love his wife with a self-sacrificing love (if necessary).
The woman would have two options then. She could
A) pass the cup back, signifying refusal, OR
B) drink from the cup, signifying agreement.

But I think they saw the significance of Jesus' words during the Passover meal. Because besides using the language of the proposal, Jesus hadn't paid his "bride-price" for his people yet. He would soon "pay the bride-price" short hours after saying those words.
Jesus took the cup after the meal. That means He took the third cup of the Jewish Passover celebration, the one signifying God's third promise of redemption ("I will redeem you with an outstretched arm, and with mighty acts of judgment" Deuteronomy 6:6b, third of four promises of the deliverance from Egypt).
So Jesus took the Cup of Redemption, promised self-sacrificing love to those who believe and love Him as a husband, proposed to the church as His bride, called His people to remember His promise of love, and then died to ransom His bride from sin. For "without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness" (Hebrews 9:22b)
Sure gives the Lord's Supper more meaning, huh? Jesus calls us to remember His sacrifice of redemptive love and to pledge ourselves to Him.
"After the same manner also he took the cup, when he had supped, saying, this cup is the new testament in my blood: this do ye, as oft as ye drink it, in remembrance of me. For as often as ye eat this bread, and drink this cup, ye do shew the Lord's death till he come." (1 Corinthians 11:24-25)

When that cup is before us, we have 2 choices.
How much is a bride worth?

shema

Shema, Israel! (Hear [obey], Israel!)
Adonai Eloheinu, Adonai Echad (The Lord [LORD] our God is one)

Ve'ahavta et Adonai Eloeikah (Love the Lord your God)
B'khol Levav'kah (with all your heart [everything you think])
U'vekhol Naphshekah (and with all your soul [everything you are])
U'vekhol Me'odekhah (and with all your strength [everything you've got])
Amen.
 -Deuteronomy 6:4-5

Stuff in [brackets] are mine, based off of LCB class and the book "Listening to the Language of the Bible: Hearing it Through Jesus' Ears" by Lois Tverberg and Bruce Okkema.
They demonstrate the Hebrew nuances of those words.