It is almost twenty-five years ago that I was writing a doctoral thesis on Martin Buber (1878-1965). There is little doubt that Buber was one of the most influential Jews of the 20th century. More than 2000 people turned up for his funeral. Buber was a leading Biblical scholar, philosopher, political theorist and activist.
Buber was a German Jew who argued strongly for the revival of cultural Zionism but opposed political Zionism. Buber challenged, in 1921, Chaim Weizmann (President of the Zionist Organization) for doing too little to foster good relations with the Arabs. Buber’s classic work, I and Thou, was published in 1922, and in many ways this wise missive anticipated the way the Nazis would treat the Jews (as objects to be exterminated) and the way Jews would treat the Palestinians. Buber fled Germany in 1938, and settled in Palestine where he was given a distinguished teaching position at the Hebrew University.
As the apostolic / prophetic movement has
become increasingly bizarre, many who were told to simply bless everything are
now deeply disillusioned. In these days when renewal meetings, alleged
outpourings and flamboyant leaders have reached a point of crisis, it is
tempting to throw up our hands, become cynical and opt to retreat to a safer,
saner spirituality. And yet we know in our hearts that we can't go back to a
Christian faith without the presence, power and voice of God. Neither dead
orthodoxy nor practical deism can provide a harbour for us. Some are simply
walking away from the faith altogether. Is that really our only option? How do
we stay open to the Spirit? How do we restore prophetic purity? How can we
continue to engage in authentic experiences with God without becoming wacky?
What if we were to recalibrate our faith practice and renew prophetic purity?
“I pass the test
… I will diminish, and go into
the West, and remain Galadriel”
(Lord of the Rings, II.7, p.357).
“The bride belongs to the bridegroom. The friend who attends
the bridegroom waits and listens for him, and is full of joy when he hears the
bridegroom's voice. That joy is mine, and it is now complete. He must become greater; I must become less”
(John the Baptist, Jn 3:29f).
I think the most ironic phrase in the
English language is, “I was humbled.” When we use it, we might as well say, “I
felt really proud.” But I get it. I was humbled recently to have lunch with pastor
and author, Vern Heidebrecht. I.e. I felt proud
to be invited into his company. In fact, I was
actually humbled in that I had that “I’m-not-worthy” feeling to have someone I
consider as a seasoned man of God treat me so graciously. And this will be part
of my point in this article.
As
I approached the door I scanned the amount of vehicles parked outside the
house, which told me there were a lot of people inside. I rang the door bell
could hear laughter and voices in conversation, all the sounds you would expect
to hear from an ongoing party. The door opened and as I was invited in I
inwardly sighed, “Here we go.” I walked
into the room, looked for a seat in a corner, sat down, and began attempting
not to feel. This never works, and by the time I left the party I was feeling a
vast range of emotions that I knew would eventually wash into one of feeling
weary and tired. “I hate parties,” I told myself.
The
above is a true scenario replayed many times in my life. It describes many of
my experiences being in groups of large people. It was not until I was in my
mid-twenties that I would discover language for this problem. I had no
understanding of why I was affected in this way when in groups of people. I
coped as best I could, which to be honest was not well. The problem, it turned
out, was that I was a burden-bearer and a keen discerner, but did not know it.
Prophecy consists in the inspired communication of divine attitudes to
the prophetic consciousness. The divine pathos is the ground-tone of all
these attitudes. Echoed in almost every prophetic statement, pathos is
the central category of the prophetic understanding of God.
To the prophet, God does not reveal himself in an abstract absoluteness,
but in a specific and unique way--in a personal and intimate revelation
to the world. God does not simply command and expect obedience; He is
also moved and affected by what happens in the world and he reacts
accordingly. Events and human actions arouse in Him joy or sorrow,
pleasure or wrath.
Beloved,
there is a table set for you and an invitation to come to that table. A
seat has been prepared for you and upon it is written your name. What I
have for you is abundant life; the Life of my Son; the Life of my Spirit.
I
want you, beloved, to stop giving your loyalty away so easily. I have
been calling you, asking for your whole heart, your whole mind, your whole soul
and spirit.
Ignorance is the mother of violence, fear is its father. Combined, they work together to undermine faith. Much of the world's religions, including much of Christianity, has become based in fear and ignorance, and this is one of the greatest promoters of atheism. But atheism, too, is based in fear and ignorance. One who has a genuine faith in Christ no longer subscribes to fear and ignorance, and no longer hates, wishes to persecute or resorts to violence, either physical, emotional of verbal. As the apostle so clearly tells us, "we have not been placed in bondage to a spirit of fear," and our beloved father John the Evangelist enjoins that "there is no fear in love; rather perfect love drives out fear," and "whoever still has fear has not been made perfect in love."
As I listened to the Lord about what to expect in the coming year, this is what I heard the Lord saying last night and this morning.
Last
night he asked me if I could hear the wind. It was quiet and peaceful
outside and I could hear it, so I said, “Yes, I can hear it.”
He replied:
“This year you will hear the
wind of my Spirit. This past year was a year of anticipation, building
hope in my promises, hope to see the activity of my Kingdom becoming more evident. The coming year is about the Good News and seeing this anticipation not only
increase, but begin to be met. It is important to remember that the
Gospel is what is paramount. The presence of my Kingdom goes hand in hand
with the Gospel. Too often the Good News is used as a bludgeon to wound
(be saved or else… be saved or go to hell… be saved or be rejected… etc).
What does the Kingdom look like to people then? The Gospel opens the wedding
table to the poor, the shamed, the outcast, the wealthy, the broken, and even
those who are whole.
You have been living, drifting on the surface. You have been living in the desert with only a
sip here and a sip there. You have been waiting season after season for evidence of a fertile womb.
Like streams of fresh clean water that appear to people of the desert, like sudden fertility to a barren woman,
the alive word will appear.
Do not tire of promises. Man's promises are slung together with words and intentions; God's promises are the true living fabric of what He has called into being.
Believe, no longer will you only have the reputation for being alive (Sardis), but you will be ALIVE and people who don't know Me will talk to each other about your LOVE.
"The hand of the Lord was upon me
And He brought me out by the Spirit of the Lord
And set me down in the middle of the valley
And it was full of bones.
And He caused me to pass among them round about
And behold there were very many on the surface of the valley
And lo, they were very dry."Ezekiel 37:1-2
I have never experienced the horror of the battlefield. I have
been blessed to have been born in a time of relative peace and in a
land that has known peace and security within it's borders. I can't
begin to understand the carnage of war and the devastation of a
battlefield.
But I have read the accounts of those who have. In many cases the
horror of the devastation left those witnesses choking on words in a
vain attempt to describe the indescribable.
A fifth century Roman historian described the scene of a Roman city
that had been sacked by the armies of Attila the Hun.
"The stench of death was so great the we could not stay within
the city. We camped outside and away from the city walls to escape it."
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