Accidentally On Purpose

I once read Frank Peretti’s book ‘Piercing the Darkness’. In it he had God’s angels cause a believer to be in a traffic accident.  I remember thinking, “God wouldn’t do that, would He?”

A few weeks ago I was on my way to Temple Aron HaKodesh.  I take the same route every week.  But this one Saturday there was an accident at one of the intersections where I turn, so I chose to avoid the traffic and take a different way.

Stopped at a traffic light, I was reflecting how peaceful that morning had gone.  You see, I had both my grandchildren with me that weekend. Now while I raised 6 kids, I am out of practice getting more than just ‘me’ out the door on time.  But this morning had gone splendidly and we were actually going to arrive early.

The light turned green and the car in front of me started to move. I took my foot off the brake and BAM; I crashed into the other car!

With the grandkids okay, I went to see if the other driver and her kids were alright.  She was on the phone, and in response to my question, she kept saying, "no", they weren’t alright.

I headed back to my car to await the police and to pray.  The other driver seemed to be taking a melodramatic approach to this accident and I was afraid.

After a few minutes, she got out of the car to inspect the damage, which we both saw was minimal.  As we started talking, she shared that she was on her way to the hospital to visit her father who was having heart problems and wouldn’t listen to the doctors.  This, on top of losing her mother two years ago, was what I was seeing as melodrama.  Can I tell you I felt guilty for my mean thoughts?

I asked for her father’s name, explaining I was on my way to church[1] and would pray for him, and would ask the prayer team to pray for him as well.  Her eyes lit up and we made an instant connection.  I think the police and emergency people were surprised by our behavior when they arrived.  She kept defending me, saying it was the driver in front of her who stopped for no apparent reason that caused the accident.

She called me about a week later.  Turns out she had been in a dry place since the loss of her mother and needed revival.  That accident rekindled her faith and set her back on the road God intended for her. She also reported that her dad followed the doctor’s advice and was improving.  And she was excited to tell me how she had witnessed to a lawyer who kept calling her to get her to sue me.  I told her I was glad I literally ‘ran into’ her.  We both had a good laugh.

As for me, I was reminded of two things:

•  One of my earthly father’s favorite sayings, “Accidentally on purpose” This was his usual reply to my defense of, “I did it by accident.” 
•  God is very involved in the details and He turns all things to the good. 

Through this situation, God ‘accidentally on purpose’ blessed the both of us spiritually and has formed a sisterly bond that will last into eternity.  

So, reflecting on the scene from Peretti’s book, coupled with my real life experience, I do believe God would cause an accident when it has a kingdom purpose for our good and His glory.  What about you? What do you think?

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[1] I felt it was easier to say ‘church’ than to try to explain I was heading to a Messianic synagogue.

God Explains the Purpose of Torah

If you’ve been a Christian for any length of time, you likely heard that the purpose of the law was to show us how sinful we are. Once this realization sets in, we accept Christ as Savior and are good to go.  But what does God say the purpose of His law is?

Deut 4:6-7 says (regarding God’s laws and rulings), “Therefore, observe them; and follow them; for then all peoples will see you as having wisdom and understanding. When they hear of all these laws, they will say, ‘This great nation is surely a wise and understanding people.’ For what great nation is there that has God as close to them as Adonai our God is, whenever we call on him?” 

When I read this, I hear God saying that the purpose of His law, His Torah, is: 

1. to fill His people with wisdom and understanding, righteousness and justice
   
2. to cause the nations to look on, be amazed, and want in on this relationship.

Jesus tells us the same thing in Matthew 5 – that we are the salt of the land and the light for the world. He calls us to be perfect like Him so that the world may see our good works and praise God in heaven.

Moses, in Deut 4:5, says that he taught the laws and rulings just as God ordered, so the people of God will know how to behave.  God, through Moses, asks, “What great nation is there that has statutes and judgments as righteous as this whole law which I am setting before you today?”

For instance, did you know that the law instructs us not to go along with the crowd, not to judge unfairly in favor of the wealthy, nor should we go to the other extreme and judge in favor of the poor out of pity?  I believe James had these portions of the law in mind when he wrote, “if you show partiality, you are committing sin.”

Those of us who were not raised in Judaism have long misunderstood the purpose of Torah (the law).  Torah is God’s laws and rulings that - as we live in obedience - set us apart from the world, attract people to their Creator and testify to the righteousness, justice, wisdom and understanding of our God and King.

Simple Meal or Magnificent Feast

I heard someone refer to the communion as a simple meal.  Instantly I had two reactions. First I thought, “Tell that to all us ladies who spend days preparing the meal”; and second, my heart broke because so many just don’t understand what the cup and ‘cracker’ represent.  

For the last several years I have hosted a Passover Seder. I use the ’30 Minute Seder’, which is not really 30 minutes, but it is a simplified version.  And it is not a Messianic Seder because I want us to experience what Jews around the world are experiencing.  I want us to walk through the Exodus as Jesus did with His disciples.  And while the experience is still fresh, we connect the dots to see Jesus as the Passover Lamb through a brief teaching.

Passover 2013

This past year there were about 60 in attendance.  I just loved watching the light come on in the faces around the room.  It’s great to see that ‘aha’ moment when Jesus’ last supper is connected to the Seder.  Communion then takes on a richer meaning.  We come to experience the exodus from death to life; from slavery to sin to freedom in Christ.

Please don’t get me wrong, you can certainly understand the gift of salvation and have a wonderful relationship with Jesus.  But without grasping the Jewish roots of our faith, we are missing the mind-blowing faithfulness of our God throughout the ages and the indescribable brilliance of His forethought! 

I wish all my Gentile brethren would experience a Passover Seder.  That the communion would no longer be a ‘simple meal’ for us, but a magnificent feast as we realize and celebrate the awesome plan of God for redemption from the beginning of time. I  about 60 in attendance.  I60 in attendance. faces.ots and see Jesus as the Passover Lamb though a brief teaching after the

Breaking the Rules

When you see a child pulling a tantrum in a store, is your first thought, “Oh his parents did such a great job” or do you think, “Somebody ought to teach that kid a lesson”? When children break the rules, they bring dishonor to their parents.  In fact, when any of us break the rules, whether they are the rules of the road, the rules of society or the rules of decorum, we bring dishonor to those associated with us.  The reputation of those who trained us is tainted when we break the rules.

I recently heard a teaching on the Ten Commandments by D. Thomas Lancaster.  As he was speaking, a word jumped out at me and wouldn’t let me go. (Not the type of wrestling you should do while driving a car!) The culprit word was ‘bondservant’.  Now, I’ve read this word and heard this word before, but there was something different this time…something that needed my attention.  So I had to do more digging.

A bondservant is a slave or indentured servant.  In God’s economy, an indentured servant could be set free.  However, they could also choose to stay with their master for the rest of their life.   And that’s the part that intrigued me and helped me understand more fully what Paul was saying when he called himself a bondservant.  

Yes, he chose to stay a slave to Jesus his entire life, but there’s more to it than meets the eye.  When we learn about God’s rules for life, His Torah, we see that the rules applied to the Israelites and their servants. So by choosing to stay with his master, a bondservant is also choosing to abide by the rules of his master’s house.  Doing this brought honor to his master’s reputation.

Jesus, the Son of the Father, the Son of the Master of the house, was fully Torah observant and taught his disciples to live the same way.  Jesus brought honor to His Father. 

Paul called himself a bondservant of Jesus. The question then arises, “If Paul was Jesus’ bondservant, why would he instruct Gentiles not to follow the rules of his Master’s house?” 

When we look at the evidence - without prejudice - we realize that Paul was either schizophrenic, a bad leader (do as I say, not as I do) or he never intended for people to believe that Jesus did away with the Torah.

First, by calling himself a bondservant, Paul was saying that he was a voluntary slave of the Messiah, willing to abide in His house forever and live by His rules. 

Second, Paul gives his own testimony, in Acts and in his letters, that he lived a Torah observant life, and was falsely accused of telling others not to follow Torah.  

Third, Paul instructs Timothy that all scripture is to be followed.  We must remember that the only scripture at that time was the Torah, the Prophets and the Writings – the Tanakh, the Old Testament.  If Paul did not want followers of Jesus to follow the rules of the Torah, why would he say that these very rules are good for teaching, correcting and instruction in right living?  That makes no sense.

No, Paul did not break the rules, nor did he encourage followers of the Way to break the rules.  He understood that Jesus is the Word made flesh.  As such, Jesus is the living example of how to follow the rules, and He is also the way God forgives us when we break the rules and repent.

As Paul himself points out, since we have this great forgiveness, should we go on breaking the rules? No, we should go on trying to live by the rules, not legalistically thinking it will enable us to live in God’s house, but as an act of love, a way to bring honor to the One who is already our Father.

Rules of the Road

Do you follow the all rules of the road when driving?  If so, do you follow them all the time? or only when a police officer is around? Can I be honest?  I don’t.  I know I should, but as the ride progresses, my speed increases; when there is no one on the road I don’t come to a full and complete stop; when no one is around to see, I don’t always use my turn signal.  And if I am really honest, my hands are seldom both on the steering wheel at the same time, much less at 10 and 2. How about you?  

My last two posts dealt with rules.  We have rules in our homes and God has rules for His people.  Rules help society to function.  Yet, with all this, I often hear that Jesus did away with God’s rules. This is very puzzling, because Jesus is God’s Son, the perfect representation of the Father.  Why would the Father be happy His rules are ignored, or be pleased with His Son breaking the rules?  I know I sure didn’t put a smile on my dad’s face when I would leave a room with the light on.  No, he’d get frustrated and ask if I thought he worked for the power company! 

So I had to take a serious look at this discrepancy in scripture, because as a follower of Jesus, I want to live my life the way He wants me to live.  Not only that, but how could Jesus be the Son of God, the Messiah, if He was not completely obedient to His Father’s rules and taught His followers to be disobedient? And wouldn’t you know that as I read Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount, I saw that not only did he not do away with the rules, but He raised the standard of obeying them!  

For instance, He taught that not only shouldn’t we murder, but carrying around hatred is the same as murder; not only shouldn’t we commit adultery, but just contemplating it is the same thing.  There are a lot more examples of this, but the real kicker for me was when He said, “Be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect.”

Perfect?  That’s a tall order!  Think about it in terms of driving. It means never going over the speed limit by even a fraction of one mile per hour.  I don’t know about you, but I’m sunk when perfection is the expectation.

So what is the alternative?  Should God send His Son to do away with His standard of righteousness because I can’t live up to His expectation?  No!  And that’s the good news of the New Covenant.  Through the perfect obedience of His Son, God made it possible to give me His Spirit, so that I can walk as Jesus walked, and live as Jesus lived, as long as I die to self and yield my will to Him.

The rules of the road didn’t change.  No, it is the driver behind the wheel that was changed.