To be Pure Hearted or Not; That is the Question.

 It's time to check in our fictional friends, Billson and Fredrick, from Surrendering Our Margins and Surrendering Rightness for Righteousness again. We catch them in a friendly local breakfast diner one crisp cold Saturday morning, the coffee is good, it smells amazing, perhaps they are using my friend Leo's coffee? Bill has just ordered some eggs and pancakes, now that he is in his early 70's and not as energetic as he used to be, he has to watch his cholestrol, so he no longer eats so much bacon now, but Fred, who is still in his 50's orders the works, bacon, sausage, eggs, pancakes, and a glass of milk. So, let's move closer and listen in on the conversation of these 2 long time friends, I'm sure they won't mind...

 "Well Fred, that's quite a spread you ordered, why are you so hungry?" Fred replied with a chuckle, "Well, I'm not actually hungry, at the ranch, I normally just drink some coffee and a glass of milk in the mornings, but, the boys want to go on an all day hike, to fast and pray, and I figure, if I get enough protein in me now, I might just about keep up without having to be craned off the mountain tonight!" Bill replied, "That sounds wonderful! I love what you have done with the ranch, the boys really take to you in a way they don't so much to me. The boys seems to see me as a sugar daddy, but not so much as a mentor...not sure what to make of it." Fred thought on this, and absently swigged some coffee, it was scalding hot, he spluttered, spewed, and lunged for the bathroom, there he was able to squeege the coffee from his mustache and wipe the tears from his eyes, and then returned to the table where Bill sat with a smirk on his face. He sat down; they made eye contact, then both men shared a big belly laugh, the other patrons looked around nervously before returning to their food. Bill, on catching his breath wheezes out, "After all these years, I keep thinking, that maybe some day you'll be able to have a deep conversation and drink coffee at the same time!" Fred grined wryly, and replied, "I'm working on it! By the way, what were you saying?" Bill responded, "I said, I love what you have done with the ranch, the boys really take to you in a way they don't so much to me. The boys seems to see me as a sugar daddy, but not so much as a mentor...not sure what to make of it" "Oh that." Fred said, and thought a bit, taking a careful sip from his coffee this time, "I guess it's because, these boys are up against it when they come, and I was there once. So, I don't know quite how to explain it, but, somehow, I know. Have you ever been up against it Bill?" "No, no I haven't." Bill mused, "I had thought that was a blessing, but..." "Oh, it is!" Fred said quickly, "You were in the perfect place to help me when I was down, and this ranch was your vision, God just gave me to you as a gift to do the hands on and up close part for you. I think your the big picture part, and I'm the small picture part of this equation. You were able to stay above the fray and pull me out of the rut when I hit my dead end, and you also are able to see the horizon in a way I can't, but, in the same way, I am intimately familiar with the rut, and with what happens when you come to a dead end, and don't know what to do, in a way that you aren't." Bill thought on this for a while, and he knew Fred was right, he also heard in his friend an authenticity, a genuine ability to speak the truth, with clarity about what he was or was not good at, in a way that reflected genuine humility, no, there was no pride in Fredrick anymore, and hadn't been for years, there was none of that hidden pride, fake humility stuff either, just genuine authenticity. Breathing a prayer, Bill realized it was time to get to the point, the coffee incident was forgotten, with a voice dripping with emotion he said, "Fred, I'd like to give you the ranch, I want you to steward it on your own, with God now, I'm hearing God ask me to do some traveling, to speak in churches about how we treat the "least of these" in our towns, about how our business is a ministry, and I don't know what else, but, there is an anointing on you, so between you and God, I know the ranch is in good hands."  Fred sat up with a start, "Bill! Don't you remember what shape I was in when you found me? I wasted everything, and so far as I can tell, you never taught me anything about managing a huge non-profit like the ranch has become, all I ever learned from you was, talk to God about absolutely everything, even money, and at times, especially money. Of course, you did tell me about the 5 different money categories, charity, giving, saving, investing, and spending, and you told me that each one should be prayed over, so far as what is put in each, because no size fits all. I have been doing that, with great results, but, in all my life, I never met someone who was so visionary, so successful at pulling off big ventures as you, and none of my books or college education helped me. So, I'll take the ranch, and I thank you, but, you have to tell me what the secret is, where does this success actually come from?" Bill thought long and hard about his answer, "Well....to tell you the truth, you have more education than I have, Fred, I only took high school, it's not a secret, it's something you already have, it's called a pure heart, see, the heart has your feelings, intellect, and will in it. Neither of us know what we are doing most of the time, that's why this whole thing worked. Or, I should say, it worked because we listened to God and through various circumstances, we each got our hearts cleaned up. Our ways, ideas, determination, and emotional drivers were removed. It happened because we gave God permission. We don't do, we just are." Fred thought long and hard before replying, and when he did, their were tears in his eyes again, but from something much deeper this time, with a voice husky and full of emotion, he said, "Thanks Bill, I understand, we are who we are and we follow orders from Christ, on some level we are both much smaller picture thinkers than Christ, and our being ok with that and following His desires day to day, and adopting those desires as our own is why we are where we are. Of course, neither of us are billionaires, and there are those who are completely given over to their own thinking, emotions, and will, that are, but they don't have real joy in life. Then there are those who appear to have nothing, sleeping on dirt in poor places in this world who have overflowing joy, because they are also truly succesful, pure in heart, full of Christ. So, I accept this charge, and when God gives me the nudge, I will pass it on to the next person who is pure in heart. Will we stay in touch Bill?" Bill replied, "I thought you'd get it, Amen! Yes, we will still be neighbors, and we can talk regularly, I'm just going to be in and out more, that's all." With that, the food arrived, and the men dug in, especially Fred. 

 Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God.-Jesus Christ. So, I checked the Greek word for heart in this verse, and while it can mean a physical heart, in this context, Billson's definition is correct I believe. Intellect, Will, Emotion, all 3 sitting in the center of a person, and informing what the person does. That is, unless those selfish drives are cleaned out, in this way, the heart becomes pure, and then, guess what's inside the heart of a Christian? Right in the center of a Christian lies the Holy Spirit, and He will start pulling the levers that make our body do things, in fact, He is already pulling those levers, it's just that our own desires are so loud that we don't always listen, and so it is, that we are not so pure hearted after all. A man, or a woman does, because it's what they either, think, feel, or decide to do, and so you see, the "big 3" control us, Intellect, Will, Emotion. For the sake of clarity, I will add, in many circles, this is called the "Soul" and that is a good name for it too. So, a pure hearted person would theoretically wake up in the morning and get downloads from the Spirit that inform his Will, Intellect, Emotion for the day's agenda. A pure hearted person would pause and seek a divine revelation when she is confronted by anything out of her authority. A pure hearted person understands what her authority is, the weeds in the flowerbed, should be pulled, not prayed about for example. (Although praying wouldn't hurt.) A pure hearted person would see God, in the oak tree that gives shade on a hot summer day, in the finely tuned little squirrel that zig zags on the road, in the difficult person they meet, in the kind person who helps them, and in the poor soul who needs help in some form. I hope by now, your seeing the surrender that comes from all this, to be pure, involves being cleaned, possibly to be purified by fire even, like gold. Ultimately, there isn't much for us to do in all this other than carrying the attitude of the prodigal son on the return trip instead of the attitude of the son on the way out. Note, I said attitude of, not the fear, or shame, those were self inflicted. So, that should be the main thrust of this, to have a surrendered, coming to Christ posture that allows for His cleansing, and that's a big reason why I selected the picture I did. See, God is a gentleman, if we want to do it our own, hard, stupid, bullheaded, pig-poopy way, we may. If we ask to be cleaned up in the Heart, or, the inside, we will be. If being pure hearted does not appeal to you, then this is the end of the chapter for you. If it does though, read the prayers below, as helpful samples, but the pray from the heart, in your own words. 

 If born again: I want to be pure hearted, but, I cannot do it, I can only come as I am, and that's what I did, smelling like a pig actually, but I met a Father who runs to me and hugged me as a son/daughter before I smelled like one. I also know a Father who made me a son/daughter, with His ring, and didn't leave me in my current state, so, I am staying at Home, and letting Him continue His work. 

 If not born again: I want to be pure hearted, but, I cannot do it, Lord Jesus, I need you, I am coming to you as I am, and I will let you tell me what's next. You're in charge now. 

 This has been Chapter 11 of Surrender!? To Who?

Just One More Lord

 Last time, we looked at rightness vs righteousness, and in that fictional story of righteousness, we saw mercy being displayed. Now, we will switch gears and look at a very true story with details filled in that had mercy in it. After this, we will make a few comments about the nature of true mercy. 

 It started at Guam. The Japanese held it. The Americans wanted it. The Japanese had dug in, quite literally, caves, tunnels, pill boxes, filled with Japanese soldiers with machine guns. So this was where the 77th infantry found themselves. The road there had been interesting for them, for there was a medic in their group who was absolutely despised. He had voluntarily joined the army as a medic, and yet, when he prayed, his fellow recruits threw boots at him. That wasn't all, there was a lot of mocking, and worst of all, some officers tried to humiliate him publicly, and attempted to get him discharged. Yet, he perservered. Why all the hate? Because, he refused to carry a gun. "Thou shalt not kill" was an Old Testament command he took literally. His name was Desmond Doss. Now here they were, getting shot at, killed, wounded, and here was Desmond, unarmed, carrying a medical bag, scurrying to and fro in the face of machine gun fire, tending to the wounded. He earned their respect then, and he kept it. However, more was to come, especially at Okinawa. With a cargo net secured on a cliff, they climbed it and found themselves on a  ridge, only to be met by an overwhelming number of Japanese soldiers. They fought hard, attempted to dig in, but to no avail. The survivors ran back to the cargo net on the cliff in a panic and tumbled back down. So, Desmond was alone, on a ridge with a bunch of wounded soldiers, many of which were probably his bullies. Perhaps a few of the shoe throwers. So, now what? To stay or go? He was totally in his rights to go. Yet, he stayed. He made a bowline knot in a rope, and used it to lower a man. Then, with a prayer, "One more Lord." He went back for another, as the bullets whistled by. "Please Lord, just one more." He went for another, "Oh God, one more please." Another soldier was lowered to safety. The bullets were still whistling by, machine guns were ratatating away, but Desmond scurried for another, "Lord Jesus, please! Just one more." So it went, on and on. Eventually 75 men were lowered in a bowline knot in a rope by one unarmed and bullied young man who wouldn't quit. During this time, a Japanese soldier got a clear shot at Desmond, he settled his crosshairs on him and slowly sqeezed the trigger....click...a misfire! The soldier cleared the round, and waited, another clear shot, and again, he settled the crosshairs on him, and slowly squeezed the trigger....click! "The gun had been fine! what was wrong with it now?" he wondered.

 So here we are, thinking about a young pacifist who wouldn't carry a gun, and yet was not a coward. They made a movie about him, maybe you heard of it? Hacksaw Ridge they call it. There is a certain quality in the story that I want to highlight. It is a thing called mercy. This thing, is the opposite of revenge, this thing is meekness in it's most refined form. For it is in that time of crisis, when you have been mistreated so sorely by a friend, a fellow citizen of the same kingdom as you belong too. (In Desmond's case, America. In your case as a Christian, a fellow citizen of God's kingdom.) In this crisis, where you have your fellow citizen in a situation where he needs you to show him pure, undefiled biblical meekness or compassion in order to save him, that is when we all find out, if your soul, your emotions, have been so surrendered to the Lord, that mercy springs forth from deep inside you. It's at this moment, when it is easier to run, but yet you have the strength to stay, that if mercy is there, it will shine. This mercy is not to be a mechanical act. This mercy is to be a deep-seated character trait that comes from surrendering anything to the Lord that would keep it from showing forth, and then surrendering that empty space to the Lord to be filled as He sees fit. Matthew 5:7 says, Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy. I believe that mercy has been given by Christ, and those who accept Christ and manifest his mercy are those who receive it. However, again, true mercy, is not a mechanical act, it is a work in the heart that Christ does, as we receive his nature. I am aware that non-christians have shown mercy at times, but, it is only Christ who always shows mercy to those who want it as a "full time aspect" of His nature and not as an occasional good fruit. 

 As we wrap up this chapter, I hope you are catching the idea that none of the things in the Beatitudes are things you do. If you just do it, you create a counterfeit, known as legalism. It looks good, it might even look like mercy, but it all falls apart when the chips are down. By doing it, I am speaking of an act that is not anchored in a Christlikeness inside you. No, this book is all about surrender as the only way to truly become Christlike. Please keep this in mind, we will share more on this when we talk about surrendering the soul in the next chapter. 

This has been chapter 10 of Surrender!? To Who?

Defining Church

 "This is the church of God! Attend here every Sunday, listen to our music and teaching, and be on time! The world is a place full of heretics, and the very salvation of your souls, yes even that ability to be saved from the depths of hell are hinged on you being here in church! Furthermore, this is where you are used in the great kingdom of God, this is where you tithe. You have a job, and that job has a meaning, it's so you tithe! In this tithe, you enable the church of God to continue to be this great life raft in the sea of debauched worldliness around you!" Thus bellowed Styrning Kraft that morning in the Great Church of "Rightness" in the corner of Random St. and Somewhere Ave. He was a pastor of this church, and he had spent years in seminary and worked countless hours building up this great empire to save souls from that awful place he read about. He would get them in with whatever means needed, shame, fear, manipulation, whatever. Never mind that the more tithes he got, the more millions he had. This was the "Lord's work." Now, there was a dangerous smooth talking heretic running around spreading the idea that going to a building for church wasn't a great idea, and so he had to lay it out for the people this morning....

 "What you have been told about the church, about that need for tithing, and to go to church, is all wrong. You see, the early church met in homes. This kept the groups small, and easier to control. Also, the money given is not wasted on some elaborate building. Furthermore, I am not a paid pastor, so you don't pay me. Finally, there are more of us, 1 out of every 5-10 men is ordained to church leadership, this means better priesthood of all believers." Thus spoke the "smooth talking heretic" (so called) at some house south of "Rightness".  Gorm Stampa was passionate in his cause, and he didn't have any desire to be a heretic, or even divisive, but, it was high time for a better priesthood of all believers to be practiced. Also, it was high time that the church was less wasteful with their generosity instead of shaming people into a tithe, why not have the church actually be efficent with what they got? Gorm mused on these things and other things, and wondered how he was gonna address the new heresy in town. A wild-eyed kid out there had some dangerous ideas that threatened everything Gorm had built, for the Lord of course....

 "I am still young and have a lot to learn I know, but, it seems to me, that when you see a big church like Styrning's, or a house church like Gorm's, they both have 1 thing in common. That 1 thing is, the stifling of the Holy Spirit. It's kind of like this, they carefully plan a church schedule, known as a liturgy to conduct the meeting with. So, they hope the Holy Spirit shows up, but they have the liturgy so they don't "need" Him to show up. To my way of thinking, this is a big problem. Gorm did a good thing by activating more people, but, his services are still so dead, that's why I left." So spoke the "wide-eyed kid" so called, to his living room full of friends. Gratis Anda was sincere in all this, in fact he spoke in defense of Styrning now, "If Styrning would just shred his liturgy and let the Holy Spirit run, I'd go there. See, the group size isn't the issue, the building vs house question isn't the issue either. It's about the Spirit." Gratis was sincere, and he lived it, his church experience looked like a sequence of free flowing Spirit led conversations and occasional attendance of concerts, he never started anything, but he siphoned a lot of Gorm's people away from organized house churching and into free flowing church life with the ideas he spread, and with the way he detested all things having to do with liturgy....

 So, here we are back in the real world again. Who was right? Why? Who was wrong? Why? You want my opinon? Ok, keep reading. You don't? Ok stop here. :P First, let's define the word "church." 

 Church according to this world as of 2021: 1. a building used for public Christian worship 2. a particular Christian organization, typically one with its own clergy, buildings, and distinctive doctrines. 3. the hierarchy of clergy of a Christian organization, especially the Roman Catholic Church or the Church of England. 4. institutionalized religion as a political or social force. 

 Church according to the New Testament: The greek word, Ekklesia, which in the Christian context means: A Christian community of members on earth or saints in heaven or both. 

 So, based on these definitions, my opinion is this, all 3 men were partially right, and yet so so wrong. I used to agree with all 3 in various phases of my journey by the way. Where they were right was this, they saw the fellow christians who they were gathered with as the church. Where they were wrong, was, they saw their church as The church, or the correct way to Do church. Church is not something you Do. It's something you have, when people gather in the name of Christ. I am no longer interested in conversations that have to do with the right way to do church. I am more interested in the nature and wonder of Christ, and the church life we have as we explore that together. If you have a favorite way to experience church, that's fine, so do I. However, please don't think your way is The way. That's not supported by scripture. If it is, please show me. The idea that church is a tangible thing, a building, an organization, or a not for profit charity, is a world creation. The church is not a thing to be pinned down, labeled, and categorized, it is a flowing life, a bride of Christ that forms around and through people who meet in His name. It is "Christian Community." It is only tangible in the way that the people in it are tangible. It is not a tangible thing on it's own without the people. It's ok to give your specific Christian community a name, the one I like to go to is called, Living Hope Fellowship. However, Living Hope is not a business, it meets in a building, but the building isn't Living Hope either. I alone am not Living Hope, but when I meet with others in the community, Living Hope forms. So, I am striving to live by church as defined by Ekklesia. So far as the world's definitions of church? The world can go fly a kite...