THE PRECIOUS HANDFUL HE GIVES US

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These chosen vessels will not be found in the book of religious pedigree, for their lineage is not of this world. They are made up of every color, every culture, and every background. Their unity is not in race, or creed, or nationality, or statement of belief. They are unified by an invisible lineage of spirit, that cannot be formulated and copied by the religious mind. A crimson thread of destiny and purpose binds them together, and they only find fellowship in the presence of their Lord. Some of these vessels don’t speak to each other or see each other but maybe once or twice a year, if that, and yet they would give their lives for one another, and do so on a regular basis. Without any manmade structure of government these vessels are walking in a strength and peace that cannot be swayed. Their steps are ordered by their Lord and they are committed to Him, full or empty, rich or poor, in health or sickness, in the midst of thousands or a few, they are constantly learning of God’s ways and their mouth is filled with thanksgiving and praise. They serve a mighty God, a loving God, One that will never leave them nor forsake them. They are His for the taking, to lead into hell itself if necessary to minister a Word to the prisoners. They open not their mouth, no complaint passes their lips, they count all the wealth and glory of this world as dung, but to gain the pleasure of their Heavenly Father. They are not children, full of tantrums of discontent, but they are Sons of Thunder, Angels of Light, Messengers of Glad Tidings, Heirs of a Kingdom that they already know will be handed back to the Father when all is finished and done. They have no desire to be praised and glorified by men, but only one voice of praise will appease them, and for that Voice they will climb mountains and cross rivers and scale fortress walls to bring glory to that majestic Name. They are their Father’s children, born of an incorruptible seed, showing forth His attributes and character, dealing out mercy for vileness, peace for pain, forgiving their enemies and laying nothing to their charge. They can take no glory for any of these acts, for they have ceased to exist, having lost their life in Christ, they are now found only in Him. They have come to a place where, left to their own strength and ability, they are not able to preach anymore, going dumb when the Christ does not enable them to speak. Until Christ comes on the scene, they are stupid and ignorant, not able to even tell you what they believe or preach. But when Christ does appear, they become orators supreme, mouth pieces of the Voice of Many Waters, trumpets of God whose sounding forth brings hell to its knees and jubilee to all in hell’s debt. When Christ appears they are the very expression of God in the earth, His jewels and crystals, showering the earth with their rays of light, shining forth unto them that sit in the regions of the shadows of death.
Bob Torango

I read this by Torango the other day and I immediately thought of a precious handful that God gives us, and so it is with Joian and myself. There aren't many but these few that we have drawn closest to, can be likened to the small circle Jesus gathered about Himself after all the others left, only wanting the fish and the bread. Truly we humbly place ourselves amongst these we count close, as they are the "givers in the Kingdom desiring nothing for themselves." As Bob said in the introduction above, "these are those that would give their lives for one another, and do so on a regular basis."

So it is with a brother I am reminded of tonight and that is our dear German friend Florian. He like my self has been tried for some years in the area of finances as God teaches him and his dear wife Clare that He is their provision. Florian gave me a precious gift the other day that even he doesn't know of yet. That gift came in the form of a message he shared on a forum where I am not even a member. All though Florian could not help me with my financial needs he gave me something more valuable and it reminded me of the words spoken by Peter as he healed the lame man.

"Then Peter said, "Silver and gold have I none; but such as I have give I thee" Acts 3:6

Florian shared this confirming word (below) in a forum post when I was struggling to know if I was truly hearing from God concerning some actions I felt led to do. I imagine you are like me having never known of the cultural and historic background that gives new meaning to these familiar scriptures. Be blessed as Florian shares his insights.
Jack and Joian

Jesus was certainly no doormat and He did not expect us to be one. After all He chose when to put His life down, no man took it from Him. Also, He did not allow the crowd to throw Him off the cliff. Jesus knew from the Father when His time had come.

Nevertheless, I also believe that the law of Moses was rather a law of permission, a description of how life looks like when we choose to live by the tree of knowledge. More on this later .....
In our modern culture we have sadly bought into the belief that we have only two choices when it comes to violence- passively taking it or striking back. This mindset is based on a misunderstanding of what Father is actually saying concerning violence in the scriptures. And one can use the Bible to defend both point of views.

The scripture about turning the other cheek needs to be first seen in context, and the principle taught in it turns out in two further examples. But lets first start with the one already mentioned:

Matthew 5:38. "You hear (or: heard) that it was declared, 'An eye in substitution for (instead of; in place of) an eye,' and, 'A tooth in substitution for (instead of; in place of) a tooth.'

Matthew 5:39. "Yet I, Myself, am now telling you folks to not set yourself against or take a stand in opposition to the bad situation (the miserable condition; the painful labor; or: the evil or wicked person). On the contrary, [to] whomever is repeatedly or habitually slapping into your right cheek (or: jaw), turn to him the other one, also!

If we want to understand this correctly we need to understand the culture at this time first. At Jesus time (Just as it still is in some middle-eastern cultures to this day.) the left hand was seen as unclean (Only used for the toilete.).Thus if I wanted to hit somebody on the right cheek, I would have also to use my right hand.

To do this one needed to face their victim and use the back of the hand. In that culture that was a specific gesture. You only hit people with the back of your hand that were below you in society- Romans to Jews, husbands to wives, parents to children. It was more than just a violent act. This was supposed to show you where your place is. It was about humiliation.

If somebody would turn their left cheek, it was no longer possible for the abuser to strike the victim with the back of the hand. They either had to take the front of their hand or their fist- a gesture only used by equals.

In other words, Jesus taught non-violent resistance here. He calls us to neither accept abuse, nor to retaliate and thus continue the circle of violence. It even is an invitation to repentance for the abuser, if he accepts the offer or not.

The same can be seen in the next scripture:

Matthew 5:40. "And further, to the person continuing in desiring (wanting; intending; purposing) for you to be judged (or: sued) and even to take your inner garment (tunic; = shirt), at once send off to him your outer garment (cloak; coat) as well!

When someone fell into debt back then, the creditor could demand that they would have to give collateral on a loan. If the debtor had noting to give the creditor could demand the outer garment of the debtor. See Exodus 22:25-27 and Deut. 24: 10-13, 17. This scriptures say that a creditor had to give back the debtors outer garment at night-time, because its all the person had to sleep in the cold desert.

To demand the outer garment of a debtor in Jesus' time, was a sign of oppression and was very degrading. However, back in these day's it was far more humiliating to see nakedness than to be naked yourself. So by giving away one's under garment (under wear), was to say: "Look in what degrading situation you bring yourself by your behaviour!" The creditor experienced the humiliation he tried to bring about a poor person, that had nothing left, but the clothes on their body. This is the same principle as with turning the other cheek.

Matthew 5:41. "Also, [for] whoever will [other MSS: may] press you into service (conscript or commandeer you) [for] one mile, continue submissively leading the way with him [for] two [miles].

The roman soldiers made a custom out of it to force the Jews to carry their backage. Because their had been revolts, there was a law that said that one needs to carry luggage for a roman soldier only for a mile (Another example how people use laws to justify abuse.).

On the sides of the roads there were signposts back then, marking the miles you had travelled. If one would continue to carry the luggage a second mile, the soldier would be confused and get worried that he would get punished himself. Again, a form of non-violent resistance, breaking the circle of violence, while maintaining one's dignity.

By the way, the word translated 'resist' is the Greek word antistenai and it means to raise up in a military sense- implying violence. What Jesus teaches here is the way of finding creative solutions that protect the dignity of the individual and breaks the cycle of violence.

Forian


( as this post is a little long already I
hope to share the specifics of why this
message by Florian so blessed me.
Lord willing I will write of this in our
next blog.)

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