Hear Him » The scriptures

The original accurate translation …

Andre Rabe — Sun, 22 Aug 2010 14:21:49 +0000

The most accurate translation happened when the eternal Word of God was translated into flesh – a living text. The mystery has been revealed: God never intended to live in books or institutions, but to write His thoughts upon our hearts – Christ in you!

What translation did Peter, Paul or John use? The text that captivated their minds and hearts was the living text – the word made flesh. To read Him, to interpret Him, to understand Him and to explain Him was no academic exercise, but rather a living and real relationship.

The scriptures bear witness to this living text; the scriptures point to a reality greater than themselves, a translation more accurate than words can ever convey.

Discover Christ in you and read Him, meditate upon Him, understand Him and explain Him. And feel free to use whatever textual translation you want as long as you read it in the context of Christ in you – the implanted Word; the 100% accurate translation.

Behold and Become

Andre Rabe — Sun, 07 Feb 2010 12:23:45 +0000

There is nothing that has the ability to transform our lives as much as how we hear and what we behold. What we hear determines what we see and we become what we behold. Beholding truth makes us true.
“That which was from the beginning, that which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes; that which we have gazed upon, and our hands handled, concerning the word of life” (1 John 1:1)
Can you see how the tangible experience of God’s presence starts with what we hear. There is a natural progression from hearing to seeing to gazing to touching.

What we hear
The Word John speaks about is not the latest fashionable ‘revelation’, but rather that which was from the beginning. In Christ, God’s original thought was preserved since the beginning. The destiny of this Word was always to become flesh. This Word cannot be contained in books … not even sacred books. Paul said it this way: We, of course, have plenty of wisdom to pass on to you once you get your feet on firm spiritual ground, but it’s not popular wisdom, the fashionable wisdom of high-priced experts that will be out-of-date in a year or so. God’s wisdom is something mysterious that goes deep into the interior of his purposes. You don’t find it lying around on the surface. It’s not the latest message, but more like the oldest—what God determined as the way to bring out his best in us, long before we ever arrived on the scene. (1 Cor 2:6-9 MSG)

Would you agree that the Word that was in the beginning, that was with God and that was God, was not a book but a person? The truths contained within the scriptures point towards The Truth, which is a person, not a book! In Jesus’ days there were many who highly revered the scriptures, yet completely missed its message. Jesus said to the religious scholars of His day: “You have your heads in your Bibles constantly because you think you’ll find eternal life there. But you miss the forest for the trees. These Scriptures are all about me! And here I am, standing right before you, and you aren’t willing to receive from me the life you say you want. (John 5:39,40 MSG) How often still do we hear messages, backed by many scriptural references, filled with formulas and principles yet oblivious to the person – Christ in you. He still desires to find expression, not only in a doctrine or a teaching, however eloquent they may be, but in a person – in you.
This Word is original not invented last week. This Word is eternal, not seasonal. Even before time as we know it, God made up His mind about us. “… He chose us in Christ before the foundation of the world …” (Eph 1:4) Before we did anything to impress or disappoint Him, He knew us, chose us and uniquely identified us in Christ. Christ came to show us what God originally saw in us, that cause Him to take such interest in us.

How we hear
Jesus said: Take care then how you hear, for to the one who has, more will be given, and from the one who has not, even what he thinks that he has will be taken away. (Luke 8:18) There is a way of hearing that will enrich you greatly and there is a way of hearing that will rob you.

Prior to this statement Jesus told the parable of the sower to illustrate some of the different ways of hearing. He likens the Word of God to seed … seed that is received (heard) in different ways and consequently produces different levels of fruitfulness. I want to liken the progression of hearing, seeing, gazing and touching that I mentioned above to this parable of the sower.

As the sower goes out to sow, some seed falls along the way on a path – it produces no fruit. For me this speaks of casual, careless ‘hearing’. The path is not ready for nor receptive to the seed. I would say that this is a person that never really heard the message.
Then there is the seed that falls among the rocks. There is a bit of good soil there and so the seed does sprout, but because there is no depth it withers quickly. Often, in the excitement of hearing this gospel, the first response is: what shall I do; how do I apply it? People want to move directly from first hearing this good news to trying to change everything around them. However, it is vital to hear in such a way that what you hear starts changing what you see. Otherwise the excitement might be short lived because as soon as you ‘see’ a contradiction the whole experience withers. This person is at the hearing stage, but has not heard enough to start seeing.

In each of these illustrations there is a progression in the intensity of ‘hearing’ and a consequent progression in the fruit it produces. The next example is a person who hears and having some depth, they allow the word to sink in, to change the way they see. Because of this, the seed sprouts and begins to bear fruit. Yet they allow other seed, other words to have an equal place in their lives. This Word is not yet the ultimate word in their lives, it has not captured their exclusive attention yet. Consequently, the seed is not as fruitful as it could be.

“As for that in the good soil, they are those who, hearing the word, hold it fast in an honest and good heart, and bear fruit with patience.” This is the person who hears and embraces what they hear. This is a way of hearing that captures the persons heart. Embrace this word until you find yourself inescapably embraced by it. The soil does not have to make the seed grow – the seed spouts and grows of its own accord. The soil simply needs to provide an environment for the seed to remain. Jesus once said: “If you abide in me and my words abide in you, you will bear much fruit”. ‘Abide’ does not take much effort. It speaks more of rest that activity.

What we have seen and gazed upon
As we heed this word, as we give our ears, our attention, we’ll begin to see. “which we have seen with our eyes; that which we have gazed upon”. John uses two variations of the word ‘see‘. The first is ‘horao’.
Strongs define it as: Properly to stare at, that is, by implication to discern clearly; by extension to attend to.
The second word is ‘theaomai’ and it is a more intensive form of the first word, meaning: A prolonged form of a primary verb; to look closely at, that is, by implication to perceive.
Again the progression is evident. Look until you see beyond the obvious. Look beyond the surface and allow the true meaning of this word to captivate your attention. Continue to gaze ans soon you’ll find this word becoming a tangible reality.

There is no method, technique or process that has a greater ability to transform our lives than simply gazing into this mystery, seeing in it the face of our birth, allowing our attention to be captivated by it. Let me be clear. when I speak of being transformed, I do not mean becoming something that you are not. This transformation is a restoration to the original.
And all of us, as with unveiled face, continued to behold as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are constantly being transformed into His very own image in ever increasing splendor and from one degree of glory to another (2Cor3:18)
But friends, that’s exactly who we are: children of God. And that’s only the beginning. Who knows how we’ll end up! What we know is that when Christ is openly revealed, we’ll see him—and in seeing him, become like him. (1 John 3:2-3)

Can you see in these how ‘transformation’ is linked to ‘beholding’? Once we start seeing the truth of God’s opinion of us and excitement fills our hearts, the first response should simply be one of adoration – lets see more; let’s look more deeply, let us gaze upon Him. Such adoration will awaken the appropriate response.

Doers of the word, not just hearers
“But be doers of the word and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. Because if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man looking at his own face in a mirror; for he looks at himself, goes away, and right away forgets what kind of man he was. But the one who looks intently into the perfect law of freedom and perseveres in it, and is not a forgetful hearer but a doer who acts—this person will be blessed in what he does.”

The word ‘doer’ is so much richer than many translations bring across. It’s the same word from which we get ‘poet’.
‘poietes’
a performer; specifically a “poet”: – doer, poet.

It speaks of inspired, passionate expression. When this word is declared as it should be, you’ll hear much more than ‘do’s and don’ts’, you’ll see the face your origin as in a mirror. The secret to accurate ‘doing’ of this word is in accurate ‘seeing’. It is the one who looks intently and continues to look, that finds inspired expression – expression birthed from what he sees.

With that in mind I enjoyed the following translation:

Look and continue to look,
the perfect, complete, and eternal freedom.
Listen; listen intensily;
listen in such a way that it bursts forth in inspired expression.
Allow what you hear to awaken the poet in you;
allow what you see to awaken the artist in you.
Then act; act in the full conviction of what you have seen and heard,
and you will will find delight and affirmation in your action.
James 1:25 (translated by Andre Rabe)

http://hearhim.net/

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Entirely new

Andre Rabe — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 14:14:11 +0000

In a sense this is what the scriptures want to do – open a door into an entirely new world – the world of God – a world which at first seems entirely different and unconnected to our own. The first priority of the scriptures is not to comment on your life, your subject, your idea, your doctrine or your world – it has much greater ambitions and purposes. Only once you have allowed yourself to be taken to this new world, and discovered yourself in the context of this new world, do the connections and implications for our world become clear. I can’t help thinking of the song: ‘A Whole New World’. Here are a few of the lyrics that fit this concept so well:

…A whole new world
A new fantastic point of view…

A whole new world
A dazzling place I never knew
But when I’m way up here
It’s crystal clear
That now I’m in a whole new world with you
Now I’m in a whole new world with you

A whole new world
Don’t you dare close your eyes
A hundred thousand things to see
Hold your breath – it gets better
I’m like a shooting star
I’ve come so far
I can’t go back to where I used to be …..

God wants to be more than an accessory to your world. His message is greater than a comment on your life. The scriptures have more to offer than a feel-good inspirational thought to help you through the day. As we read the scriptures, be ready to be transported into an entirely different setting, confronted by entirely new ideas, and transformed into an entirely new person.

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Constrain Him!

Andre Rabe — Fri, 12 Jun 2009 10:52:45 +0000

Based on Luke 24

A few days after the cruxifiction of Jesus, two disciples were walking to a town called Emmaus. The events of the past two days were fresh in their minds and naturally formed the basis of their conversation. However, the meaning of these events eluded them – truth is rarely found on the surface, on the mere appearance of things.
A third traveller joined them – Jesus Himself – but they did not recognise Him. Jesus did not immediately reveal Himself or offer His opinion on the subject. He was interested in conversation, not one-sided instruction.
Verse 17: And He said to them, What is this discussion that you are exchanging between yourselves as you walk along? And they stood still, looking sad and downcast.

Cleopas answered and gave a factually accurate description of events. But we can see that their perspective of these events left them with the wrong conclusions: they were sad and downcast. Faith lifts us to a place where we can see from God’s point of view.
Jesus sees the same events, but from a different perspective:

verse 25-27 And [Jesus] said to them, O foolish ones [sluggish in mind, dull of perception] and slow of heart to believe (adhere to and trust in and rely on) everything that the prophets have spoken! Was it not necessary and essentially fitting that the Christ should suffer all these things before entering into His glory? Then beginning with Moses and [throughout] all the Prophets, He went on explaining and interpreting to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning and referring to Himself.

It is significant that at this point, Jesus once again refrains from simply revealing Himself. Instead He considers it important for these disciples to understand the scriptures … thoroughly! The journey was about 7 miles (12 km) so they had time for a comprehensive discussion. Perception, understanding, insight is obviously part of God’s strategy for us to encounter Him – it is part and parcel of the experience of Christ. Had He simply revealed Himself, without engaging in conversation, without expounding the scriptures and without presenting to them a completely new point of view, their experience of Christ might well have been more shallow, not engaging their whole being.

Verse 28-31Then they drew near to the village where they were going, and He indicated that He would have gone farther. But they constrained Him, saying, “Abide with us, for it is toward evening, and the day is far spent.” And He went in to stay with them.Now it came to pass, as He sat at the table with them, that He took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to them. Then their eyes were opened and they knew Him; and He vanished from their sight.

Our Lord so often surprises us with His initiative and goodness, with His willingness to do exceedingly abundantly above all we can ask or imagine. But there are times when He wants us to push the boundaries, to constrain Him, to seek, that we might find, to ask, that we might receive, to knock until the door is opened, to go further than the hour Bible study, or the mid-week fellowship. He desires to draw us into a place of intimacy that exceeds the norm, the usual, the familiar.

After He opened the scriptures, He made as if He was going further – it was up to them to constrain Him. How often does the Lord open the scriptures to us, and our hearts burn within us … and we stop there … we allow the greater revelation and encounter to pass by. Constrain Him! “But they urged and insisted, saying to Him, Remain with us” (AMP) Push beyond the usual – this is not religious effort, but an energy that has its origin in the heart of a lover. We love Him because He first loved us. Allow His initiative to stir more than a response – allow His initiative to birth initiative in you. Constrain Him to abide, until He opens your eyes to see Him with a clarity that surpasses anything you’ve seen before.

As I conversed with the Lord about the August weekend, He reminded me of the truths in these scriptures. It will be an opportunity for us to go beyond the usual and abide with Him until we see Him more clearly than ever before. As Jesus started by exploring the scriptures, we too will start by seeing how all these words point toward Him. But I know we will go further than our opinions and studies and allow Him to lift us to a place where we see things as He sees them and where we encounter Him as He desires to be encountered. You can fill in a booking form by clicking on this link.

But don’t wait till them – constrain Him now, seek Him now – He is so ready for encounter with you.

Value beyond information

Dawie Blake — Thu, 11 Jun 2009 14:12:43 +0000

by Dawie Blake

The Bible points to a reality greater than itself. Jesus said: You have your heads in your Bibles constantly because you think you’ll find eternal life there. But you miss the forest for the trees. These Scriptures are all about me! And here I am, standing right before you, John 5:39,40. There is value to be discovered in the scriptures far beyond ‘right’ information. The pages within the Bible are like a mine… as you delve into it, you find the gold. Many people unfortunately read the Bible as a mere instruction book, and what should bring life, instead brings confusion, condemnation and even things like disunity, pride etc… in short spiritual death. More people have been confused and side-tracked by the Bible than any other book. Dearly beloved, it is not an instruction book!

The message of the Bible stands between the lines. Its message is very simple and Paul warns that you should not be deceived from it’s simplicity. As you ponder the history and people and events within, your eyes open to the message that runs throughout – God’s original thought for man restored successfully in Christ. This is the gold the human spirit is nourished by; the rest gives it context. This thought of God could never perfectly be communicated or understood, except through the manifestation of His Son, Jesus Christ. “Sacrifice and offering you did not desire, but You have prepared a body for Me, to do Your will”. In the last days God spoke to us in His Son…

Everyone just loves the story in which He came to earth; not with flashing lightning and trumpets and power that would bring all men to their knees, but he came as a baby born in a stable so that the very least of us (from a human point of view) could identify with Him. He wasn’t after awe and fear because that alone doesn’t nurture fellowship, but distance. He was after our identification with Him, His original thought of likeness restored in man’s own mind. “I came to do Your will, O God” (Heb 10:7).

He referred to Himself as the “son of man” – he was saying hereby “I am like you”. In another instance the glory of the son of God/man is manifested on the mountain and God the Father refers to Him as: “… my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased, listen to Him”. Peter writes saying that in this we have the message of God to mankind confirmed, namely the son of man is the son of God! He writes “you will do well to heed this word as a light that shines in a dark place until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your own heart!”

In the next verse he continues saying “knowing this first, that no prophecy of scripture is of any private interpretation”… Jesus didn’t come to display his unique glory, but to reveal man’s – the revelation of the glory of the Son of God was the revelation of the glory (doxa) of the son of man!

Just think about it for a moment. This amazing God with infinite ability and love – we can only expect the most wonderful things pertaining to Life in great capital letters from Him! Eph 1:3, Eph 3:19. Rom 8:32. Mat 7:11, Mark 1:40-41. Joyful fellowship with Him, His great desire, is restored when we see and know ourselves as He sees and knows and enjoys us – we are after all the product of the success of the cross. Paul’s prayer is that we may see as He does Eph 1:17-18.

Jesus quotes Ps 82 to the Pharisees who were offended by a “common” man (Jesus) identifying himself with God. Ps 82 is a fascinating portion of scripture!

In a beautiful and sinless world of absolute completeness and perfection created by God and restored through the cross, righteousness is not there to point out the wrongs and condemn the doers, but to restore order by making the blind see the truth about their identity. It is a simple but powerful gospel for it restores the source of life. “As a man thinks in his heart, so is he”.

Ps 82:2 – “How long will you judge unjustly, and show partiality to the wicked?” … in other words, how long will you continue to live twisted lives, void of righteousness?

Ps 82:3-4 “Defend the poor and fatherless; do justice to the afflicted and needy. Deliver the poor and needy; Free them from the hand of the wicked.” … these are the things God desires… but why does man not walk this way?…

Ps 82:5 – “They do not know, nor do they understand; they walk about in darkness; all the foundations of the earth are unstable.”

Ps 82:6 – “I said, ‘You are gods (elohim – the same word used in Gen 1:26: ‘And Elohim said let us make man in our image, after our likeness…’) and all of you are children of the Most High. But you shall die like mere men, and fall like one of the princes.”

While man does not know and understand who they are and where they come from, they are in darkness and as rulers they cause chaos in this world – its very foundations are threatened by the fruit of the lies they live. They were made vessels of the very glory, image and likeness of God, but without knowing this, they die like mere men and fall like those who strive in the strength of the flesh. So what is God’s message to these: “I said, ‘You are gods and all of you are children of the Most High.’”

The gospel is a call to sanity, to share God’s insight, to walk with our eyes open to the truth. There is only hurt, confusion, pride etc. etc. in darkness but as David says (Ps 17), “I will be satisfied when I awake in Your likeness!”

When God made this beautiful world and everything in it, He used His boundless creativity and intellect. But when He made you, He looked at Himself and made a copy… We can also say He didn’t make you, you were born from Him to be as He is. Therefore He is the blueprint of you, the mirror-image.

It is the mystery that was hidden for ages and generations but now has been made known…. “Christ in you the hope of glory!”
He came as the light of the world that all may see… there is so much in this statement!
I am the Way the Truth and the Life – once again, we can write books about this statement!

In the spirit of man there is a yearning that no earthly thing will ever satisfy – except the knowledge of their inner identity – the knowledge of Christ. This knowledge bursts over into sweet fellowship with God and man, which is His original thought in action.

If you read the Bible in any other way, you will miss the point. Paul says what gain he had from his religious instruction, he counts it all dung! Why? For the all surpassing excellence of the knowledge of Christ! The Gold is God’s original thought, fully expressed in His Son, found in your spirit identity. Read the Bible as a mine for this Gold.

1Jo 1:2-4 For the life was manifested, and we have seen it, and bear witness, and shew unto you that eternal life, which was with the Father, and was manifested unto us; That which we have seen and heard declare we unto you, that ye also may have fellowship with us: and truly our fellowship is with the Father, and with his Son Jesus Christ. And these things write we unto you, that your joy may be full.

The Word Eternal

Andre Rabe — Sat, 11 Oct 2008 20:11:54 +0000

Long before the first line of scripture
was penned on papyrus scroll,
the Word, unwritten,
existed as the mind of God.

Before the books were gathered
collated as sacred text,
the Word, intangible; invisible,
was planning, was ordering
the ages that were to come.

This Word predates the Bible,
this Word predates creation,
this Word is alive and active and speaking still today.

“Heaven is my throne room;
I rest my feet on earth.
So what kind of house
will you build me?” says God.

What kind of doctrine could enfold Him,
What kind of information could define Him,
What kind of book could contain Him?

Yet, despite His boundless nature,
within His infinite wisdom,
He devised a crafty plan, by which
His thoughts, His intents
would fit themselves into
the form of a humble seed:
The DNA of His own life,
encrypted within the written Word.

And so began the writing
of that which we now call:
the Bible – the Scriptures.
Within the limitations; imperfections
of human words and human authors
God placed His eternal perfect seed.

A seed is not a tree;
the Scriptures are not our God,
Yet a seed is the beginning, the start -
provided with fruitful soil,
encouraged by water and light,
a seed gives birth to a being
much greater than itself.

His plan foresaw the day
in which this seed would blossom
no longer encrypted; no longer disguised
but fully expressed in the person
of Jesus – the Christ – the Son

The One who was in the beginning
revealed within our midst
Immanuel – God with us -
the Word became flesh.

His desire is still the same:
for His Word to break free of the boundaries
of letters and text and theories
and yet again, became flesh,
and yet again find expression in a person:
you – the chosen – the offspring of God.

So as we approach the Scriptures,
do more than read what is written -
listen to what is spoken.
So once again we can encounter
the mind, the voice, the person
who spoke long before
pen or paper were born.

By Andre Rabe

www.hearhim.net

Download this document as a pdf file

A whole new world

Andre Rabe — Tue, 07 Oct 2008 18:17:45 +0000

A whole new world.

I want to continue what was started in the previous article – looking at our approach to the scriptures.
I have often had an idea or an interest in a specific subject and then came to the Bible with that subject in mind, seeing what it had to say about it. Many have this type of approach to Bible study and with pure motives. However, God is interested in more than just commenting on your ideas. In a subtle way we simply use the scriptures to justify our preconceived ideas; we are asking God to fit into our world, validate it, even inspire it, but we are not really ready for Him to transform our world, destroy many of our ideas and set the agenda for which subjects to study.

Some of you might remember a movie called ‘Never ending story’. In this movie a boy starts reading a very special book that draws him into an entirely different world from his own. The book doesn’t, in the first instance, give advice or direction for his world. In fact the story draws him into a world entirely oblivious to his world and seemingly unconnected. Only closer to the end, as the boy understands more of this world and more about himself in this new context, does the connection with his ‘real’ world become clear.

In a sense this is what the scriptures want to do – open a door into an entirely new world – the world of God – a world which at first seems entirely different and unconnected to our own. The first priority of the scriptures is not to comment on your life, your subject, your idea, your doctrine or your world – it has much greater ambitions and purposes. Only once you have allowed yourself to be taken to this new world, and discovered yourself in the context of this new world do the connections and implications for our world become clear. I can’t help thinking of the song: ‘a whole new world’. Here are a few of the lyrics that fit this concept so well:

…A whole new world
A new fantastic point of view…

A whole new world
A dazzling place I never knew
But when I’m way up here
It’s crystal clear
That now I’m in a whole new world with you
Now I’m in a whole new world with you

The basic thought is that God wants to be more than an accessory to your world. His message is greater than a comment on your life. The scriptures have more to offer than a feel-good inspirational thought to help you through the day. As we read the scriptures, be ready to be transported into an entirely different setting, confronted by entirely new ideas, and transformed into an entirely new person. It is such an approach that can cause a person to say (as Paul did) it is no longer I who live but Christ who lives within me.

For those who have not read the previous article, please do. We have a challenge at the end of that article which should be a great benefit to those who take it up.

Words of life & letters that kill

Andre Rabe — Wed, 01 Oct 2008 20:04:54 +0000

This morning after getting ready for work, I walked into the lounge, picked up a bible that was lying on a coffee table and started reading somewhere in the Psalms. At some point I became aware that I was no longer simply reading; I was no longer a casual observer, but somehow I entered into a conversation. It was no longer me taking time to read the bible, but ‘someone else’ taking time to speak to me! It became personal. Far from simply reading some historic document in which I could observe the wisdom of people who lived thousands of years ago, I realised that the One who originally inspired these stories still speaks and He had something to say to me!
The words I read were no longer static containers of intellectual information, but they became a clear and distinct voice – a voice that resonated within my spirit. These words confirmed what I sensed the Lord had been saying to me for a while; they gave explicit direction and inspired me to take specific action.
“Andre, breakfast is ready” called Mary-Anne. 20 minutes later I was in the car on my way to work. Gratitude filled me as I thought about the many times in which the Lord spoke to us so clearly through the Scriptures. The content of what the Lord spoke to me is not relevant for anyone else, but the process and experience of hearing Him, is. The Scriptures have been a constant and reliable source of direction and inspiration for so many years. What is it about this relationship with the Word that makes it so … so alive? Memories about my earliest experiences with this living word came back. I also remembered a time when the Bible was simply a religious book to me – of no real interest or value. There are so many teachings and attitudes toward the scriptures that rob people of this most beautiful encounter. So in this place of being overwhelmed with gratitude and simultaneously disgusted at how wrong attitudes have given the scriptures such a bad image for many, I knew I had to write about discovering His living voice within these writings.

“He has made us competent to be ministers of a new covenant, not of the letter, but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit produces life.” 2Cor 3:6

The word ‘spirit’ can be used in many contexts. One can speak about the spirit of a person, or the spirit of a meeting. Spirit refers to the essence; the core. For instance, a major sporting event will have a spirit of anticipation in the crowd. In this case spirit refers to the one essential quality that defines the event. In the Hebrew and Greek languages the same word is used for ‘wind’ and ‘spirit’. Wind is an unseen influence – we can see the effect of it, but not the wind itself. In the French language ‘spirit’ also means ‘concept’ or ‘mind’. Can you see from these descriptions how ‘spirit’ refers to the unseen essence, motivation, concept and influence.

Paul speaks about two types of messages and ways of ministering or imparting a message. Both these messages can be based on the same Scriptures, but one produces death while the other produces life. A key difference between these messages is that one is focused on the ‘letter’ while the other is focused on the ‘spirit’ or as we saw, the essence. One of the trademarks of dead religion is nitpicking the details; obsessed with the details of the Law. Jesus once said to the religious leaders: “There is far more at stake here than religion. If you had any idea what this Scripture meant—’I prefer a flexible heart to an inflexible ritual’—you wouldn’t be nitpicking like this.”

Let me illustrate this further: Imagine a person who has never seen a sparrow before, but would love to learn as much as possible about the bird. What would be the most effective way for us to help this person learn about sparrows. One way would be to supply him with a specimen and the necessary equipment to dissect the bird. One can gain a lot of information about a sparrow by dissecting it. All manner of interesting facts can be gained by this method, such as the size of its heart, the location of its stomach, the weight of its lungs. Unfortunately one kills the bird in this process.
Alternatively, we could teach this person about sparrows by taking a live one and setting it free. Observing this sparrow flying and being what its designed to be would impart much more accurate knowledge about it.

Studying the Bible can so easily become a type of dissection that kills the very message within it. If one loses sight of the essence; the spirit of the Word, and carve up the message into categories, analysing each word and letter, then the end result is lots of information … without much life. Doctrine that is based on these dead letters does not have the life to inspire action, rather it needs to be enforced through rituals to have any influence. The fact that the scriptures were divided into chapters and versus promotes such a segmented approach to reading the scriptures. Such an approach is very common partly because of religious pressure to ‘read your Bible often!’ The result is that people dutifully performs this chore … but the chore is much lighter if one can chop it up into little parts like chapters and versus.

Much of the rhythm … or spirit of the writing is lost through such an approach. I have found it to be of tremendous benefit to take a book like ‘John’ and read it in one go. (It’s actually not that long). One can sense the movement, the soaring, the unseen wind of the Spirit in a way which is not visible when dissecting the scriptures. This approach is as different as observing a bird in flight as apposed to studying a feather. It is good to keep in mind that most of the scriptures were not written by academics, but by ordinary people that encountered the extraordinary God. The essence of what they had to say is remarkably accessible! But even more importantly: the One who originally inspired these writings is still active and ready to reveal Himself. This should give you more than enough confidence to read and understand.

The Challenge.
I can continue writing about this, but I want you to experience for yourself what I, rather clumsily tried to express. So here is the challenge: Read Matthew, Mark, Luke, John and Acts in a week; no academic study of single words or sentences, rather allowing the rhythm and spirit of this message to transport you into this wonderful world of God’s story. For this type of reading I suggest the ‘Message’ translation. Let me know who is up for it – leave a comment or send an email. Shall we make this a collective experience – starting on this Saturday, 4th October.

Truth Preserved; Truth Revealed

The Scriptures in Perspective

the unforced rhythms of grace

Andre Rabe — Sun, 13 Apr 2008 17:04:12 +0000

“Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out? Come to me. Get away with me and you’ll recover your life. I’ll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me—watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won’t lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you’ll learn to live freely and lightly.” – Matt 11:28-30

“Here’s another old saying that deserves a second look: ‘Eye for eye, tooth for tooth.’ Is that going to get us anywhere? Here’s what I propose: ‘Don’t hit back at all.’ If someone strikes you, stand there and take it. If someone drags you into court and sues for the shirt off your back, giftwrap your best coat and make a present of it. And if someone takes unfair advantage of you, use the occasion to practice the servant life. No more tit-for-tat stuff. Live generously.

“You’re familiar with the old written law, ‘Love your friend,’ and its unwritten companion, ‘Hate your enemy.’ I’m challenging that. I’m telling you to love your enemies. Let them bring out the best in you, not the worst. When someone gives you a hard time, respond with the energies of prayer, for then you are working out of your true selves, your God-created selves. This is what God does. He gives his best—the sun to warm and the rain to nourish—to everyone, regardless: the good and bad, the nice and nasty. If all you do is love the lovable, do you expect a bonus? Anybody can do that. If you simply say hello to those who greet you, do you expect a medal? Any run-of-the-mill sinner does that.

In a word, what I’m saying is, Grow up. You’re kingdom subjects. Now live like it. Live out your God-created identity. Live generously and graciously toward others, the way God lives toward you.” Matt 5:38-47

Perfect Hormony

Andre Rabe — Sat, 23 Feb 2008 14:28:03 +0000

Perfect Harmony
. . . . as experienced by Wes Miller

“To me, a lot of our corporate acts of religious expression seem much like the chaotic dissonance produced by a symphony orchestra just prior to a performance.

It sounds as though the direction, discipline, and interpretation of it’s Maestro has been completely ignored; each member playing a different score and tempo on untuned instruments.

Scripture has been translated into many languages, but it’s meaning and intelligence remains with the interpretation of God, our Composer and Maestro.

Literacy is not prerequisite to the personal revelation of, or communion with, our Composer, i.e., our Creator.

The reading or hearing of scripture and it’s exposition, without personally asking our Creator to reveal the meaning and intelligence of His language, is simply an exercise fraught with the limitations of our own understanding and experiences, hence, our discord, misunderstanding, and barrenness.

The Spirit of Truth that is within us, is the magnet that draws us to the completeness of God’s exegesis.

The existence and revelation of this permanent and unchangeable Gift of Truth is not determined, altered, or impaired by doctrine, theory, or belief.

As we are guided into the perfection of All Truth, we discover that Truth does not have to be believed to make it valid. It needs no defense, argument, or proof.

When we give birth to God’s Light, the dark and incomplete distortion of error cannot exist.

We have not genuinely been freed from our disbelief until we are, by God, so convinced of Truth’s reality, that we no longer are compelled to prove it.

God summons us in our own language but instructs and conducts us in His.

Many are called, but few have chosen to seek and yield to His understanding. Unfortunately, we prefer our own.

Most of our theologies, whether borrowed or experienced, have been received from and taught by man.

They are mirror images of our “Selfology of Inferiority” (i.e. Doctrine that causes us to see ourselves dimly in the darkness that surrounds us, instead of by the Radiant Light that is eager to shine forth from within us.) and, as such, can suffer some necessary tuning now and then.

With His baton in hand, our Lord is ready to set the key and replace the old perceptions with a new encounter, if we are willing to release Him from the well guarded confines of our own understanding and interpretation.

A renewed mind, filled with His compassion, will transform our attitude, behavior, and purpose while synchronizing us all to the standard of pitch necessary for a flawless performance.”