Messianic Issues

Biblical Equality

Posted on July 9, 2014 by K. Gallagher

john McKee

I just finished a short ebook by J.K. McKee of Outreach Israel Ministries and TNN Online called “Biblical Equality and Today’s Messianic Movement”. It is fantastic and I highly urge you to forgo a $3 coffee to buy this informative document. You will be glad you did. This post will explore some of Mr. McKee’s insights and some of my thoughts that he helped tie together.

Mr. McKee focuses on Galatians 3:28:

There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free man, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Messiah Yeshua.

Notice that there are three categories of people mentioned in this verse. Most people understand that this verse is emphasizing the equality and freedom we have in Messiah. And, this is true. However, there is more to the story, as explained below.

For now, consider some of our most outspoken disagreements within the whole of Messianic circles. Number one centers on the identity and separation/inclusion of Jews and Gentiles (Greeks). Some Messianic Jewish leaders just released a scathing treatise against those that are for inclusion and equality between these groups back in January 2014. One of their most notable battle cries was IDENTITY markers for Jews, which (they believe) Gentiles should not infringe upon. In their mind, Sabbath, dietary laws, and the moedim (feast days), are those markers. (For a response to this treatise, click here)

They have an unwarranted and unholy fear of Gentiles actually being obedient to the Covenant. In their mind, if there isn’t a line drawn in the sand to separate these racial groups, the Jewish people will cease to exist or be overrun by Gentiles. Thus, they claim that followers of the God of Israel that come from Gentile backgrounds should not seek to keep the Creator’s calendar and Torah, lest they become vile practitioners of supersessionism. What they fail to realize, is that by demanding such, they have placed themselves as the overlords and gate keepers of the covenant. You can’t be the light, draw people in, to only turn them away.

Ungodly fear is at the root of this type of thinking. To lose (perceived) control can be a very compelling goad. Their scare tactics have succeeded somewhat and they have managed to persuade some into their hypocrisy. Sadly, if they would only open a genuine dialogue with those that “see” differently, their fears would be alleviated. In over ten years, I haven’t met one single person from a Gentile background that desires to keep the Torah and cling to the God of Israel that has any notions of usurping Judah, overtaking Israel, or replacing Jews in any form or fashion. Instead, I see a people that would pick up a sword any day of the week to defend Judah, Jews, and the Land. This, even when their name and faith is continually slandered, rebuked, and denied legitimacy by the former.

Mr. McKee posits a poignant question in his book:

What happens in a religious culture that emphasizes distinctions first, rather than common faith and belief in the Lord Yeshua? What will commonly be manifest in such an environment are rivalry, suspicion, self-superiority, factionalism, and division, to be then followed by resentment and bitterness.[1]

Do we not see these things happening right now in those returning to the Torah and their Jewish roots? While non-Jewish believers have been crying out for acceptance and equality in the Body, many have forgotten the last third of Galatians… there is neither male nor female.

Restoring women is a missing key to this equation. Those bent on complementarianism rather than equality or egalitarianism among the sexes are denying the complete restoration and a full return to Edenic values. Mr. McKee puts it this way:

“The LORD God of Israel is not going to honor the request of a Messianic non-Jewish man, to be treated as a welcomed equal in Messianic Judaism, if such a man’s wife might not be treated as an equal, co-leader of the family along with him.”

Mr. McKee observes that the three groups mentioned in Galatians 3:28 are all interconnected. We can’t isolate one group and that be one’s only focus of restoration, for they actually reflect one another. They are each a picture of the other two. Thus, if we desire to seek true freedom and equality, there are three categories that must be simultaneously considered.

Many of my readers are aware that when I began to diligently seek out the biblical role of women, the Father dropped a hidden bombshell on my lap, by revealing the issues of modern day slavery (trafficking). I grasped the connection immediately; and I believed I was seeing the other side of the coin. But, I now realize that what He was actually showing me is more akin to a wicked tripod that supports and gives strength to oppression and domination in all forms. Isn’t it written somewhere that a threefold cord is not quickly broken? (Ecc. 4:12)

dreamstimelarge_22045424

© Christianm | Dreamstime.com

In light of Galatians 3:28, where there are issues of race, there will be issues of slavery and domination. Where there are issues of slavery, there will issues of gender equality and repression. One begets the other. Do you think it is a coincidence that Woman Suffrage, Equal rights, and the abolition of slavery are all intertwined in (recent) United States history? I think Paul saw this link a long time ago.

This is why now more than ever, those returning to the Torah and keeping the Testimony of Yeshua should be breaking the legs of this wicked tripod and uplifting and restoring the marginalized groups back to the original state: Eden.

But how can we accomplish such a feat? Where do we begin? How does a society and a Body entrapped in the dogma of authority, dominance, and control shift gears and do a 180 degree turn?

What many fail to elucidate when examining the issues of race, slavery, and gender equality, is our world’s proclivity toward male oriented authority, dominance, and control. Which are all, by the way, traits that the Creator especially endowed in the masculine side of His Creation. When these characteristics are tempered by the Holy Spirit and the feminine side of Creation, they bring balance and security.

But what happens if these masculine qualities dominate without the opposite, yet complimentary, traits of the feminine? We would expect to see a world entrenched in a power grab for dominance, authority, and control. Is that not the world we live in? On a smaller scale, we see the same thing happening within the Body of Messiah. The scales are tipped too far in the direction of the hard masculine. The Jewish sages, particularly the Chassidic sect, see this unjust scale and foresee a transition coming.

As with the general scheme of the cosmos, so with man and woman and the human consciousness. The history of humankind can be seen this way: A transition from male to female values, from authority to dialogue, from dominance to persuasion, from control to nurture.[2]

Do you hear the heart of this rabbi? He can clearly see the problem… and the solution. Dialogue, persuasion, and nurture are needed for reform. All of these qualities are feminine. But if we continue to deny females to operate in their God given abilities; or worse, deny their legitimacy to minister to the Body altogether, we can expect a continual struggle with race, slavery, and gender. What a vicious cycle!

I have great hope that we are on the cusp of real restoration. It has taken us a long, long time to get to where we are today. There is still much struggle and resistance to change (restoration). But I cannot help but to also recognize another connection to the three groups mentioned in Galatians 3:28.

With the reestablishment of the state of Israel in 1948, came also a theological paradigm shift. Israel and the Jewish people have a God given right to exist and flourish. For many Christians, seeing this took a sincere desire to reexamine the Scriptures in light of current events. Old traditions, dogma, and pride had to be laid on the altar of Truth.

Do you believe that it is a coincidence that the Civil rights movement quickly came on the heels of this restoration? And with that, the beginnings of a return of both believing Jews and Gentiles to the Torah of YHWH? Like it or not, all these happenings are CONNECTED.

Now, don’t get me wrong, there is also another spirit that likes to work contemporarily with the Truth and offer the naïve a counterfeit. Sometimes core truths are twisted into a tree that no longer resembles the seed from which it sprang in ideologies such as liberal progressivism and secular feminism. Nevertheless, each started with “good intentions.” If only we could step back and look at the bigger picture of what is happening. We have a problem that begins with IDENTITY.

Identity Crisis

Let’s back up for a minute and reexamine Galatians 3:28.

There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free man, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Messiah Yeshua.

Mr. McKee pointed out something else in his paper that hadn’t resonated with me before. Was Paul refuting traditions found both in 1st century Judaism and other surrounding cultures on some pretty ingrained social norms in Galatians 3:28?

There is a morning blessing in the orthodox siddur (prayer book) that seems a little offensive without understanding its true background. The prayers in question are in the shacharit.[3]

 “Blessed are you, Hashem, King of the Universe, for not having made me a Gentile.”

“Blessed are you, Hashem, King of the Universe, for not having made me a slave.”

“Blessed are you, Hashem, King of the Universe, for not having made me a woman.”

Before I address the traditional justification for these prayers, I’d first like you to notice that these prayers are not only the exact same “social” classes mentioned by Paul in Gal. 3:28, but they are also in the same order. Is this a coincidence?

I don’t believe Paul’s declaration in Galatians 3:28 was countering these three blessings in the Jewish siddur. As a matter of fact, Judaism wasn’t the only religion or society that held social class views on these subgroups in the first century. The language of the three blessings echoes Greek prayers. In his later years, Plato is reported to have said, “I thank God that I was born Greek and not barbarian, free and not slave, male and not female, but above all that I was born in the age of Socrates.”[4]

Again, is the striking similarity of this proclamation to the Jewish prayer and Paul’s declaration just a coincidence?

It is human nature to compare ourselves to others. We encounter the good and bad results of this in today’s world just as much as they did in the 1st century. Social psychology has developed a theory called social comparison that attempts to explain this tendency. Social comparison centers on the belief that there is a drive within individuals to gain accurate self-evaluations. The theory explains how individuals evaluate their own opinions and abilities by comparing themselves to others in order to reduce uncertainty in these domains, and learn how to define the self.[5] In other words, we compare and distinguish ourselves from others to determine our own IDENTITY. Pay close attention to that last sentence, for it is at the root of much of our quarreling and division.

The common apologetic for the three “blessings” mentioned above from the Siddur is that these three classes of people – gentile, slave, and woman – are not sociological classes, but mitzvah classes. The apologetic insists that the prayer has nothing to do with the equality of these individuals. Instead, they are meant to be expressions of gratitude for the mitzvot (commandments), and each of the people mentioned in each blessing has more mitzvot to fulfill than the one preceding.

While this explanation is compelling, it still stands to reason that this section of the Siddur could have been influenced by the Greek culture of the first century. I am not alone in this assumption. Many Jewish scholars conclude the same thing.

I believe Paul was calling the people to recognize that in a redeemed or restored state, we must forgo our old social comparisons. Our identity is not found in comparing ourselves to others, but in the finished work of the Messiah. Our destiny and proper “social” status is not found in modern society, not in the Middle Ages, not in the first century, and not even in the age of the patriarchs. We must seek to return to our first estate and that place is most akin to the Garden of Eden, before the fall. For it is there where we have no Jew or Greek, no slave or freeman, no male or female; we have perfect oneness and unity!

If we could grasp the Hebraic concept of the cyclical nature of time, seasons, and restoration, instead of a progressive linear view of supersessionism, then the social comparison tendency would have to fall to the wayside. While our propensity remains to be a preoccupation with authority and patriarchalism, Yeshua tried to steer us BACK toward the beginning, to the place of mutual submission, sacrificial love, and servanthood.

Mat. 20:25-28  But Jesus called them to Himself and said, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great men exercise authority over them.  (26)  “It is not this way among you, but whoever wishes to become great among you shall be your servant,  (27)  and whoever wishes to be first among you shall be your slave;  (28)  just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.”

There should be mutual equality, respect, and submission between men and women in the Body based upon the gifts that the Spirit gives to each (male and female) believer. (Acts 2:15-21; Gal. 3:28) Likewise, there should be a mutual equality, respect, and submission within the home between husband and wife. (Eph. 5:21-33)

Mr. Mckee persuasively pointed out WHY the Edenic model is not only powerful, but so desperately needed in the Body of Messiah today. His proposition not only resonated with my heart, but baffled me as to why we have such a hard time seeing this, for it is pure simplicity.

In order to fully realize this, let’s look at the Galatians 3:28 one more time:

There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free man, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Messiah Yeshua.

Until we jump down from our high horse of social comparison and pick up the lens of the Messiah, we are doomed to repeat the millennia of mistakes of all those that have gone before us. We must exchange our desire for dominance and control with a heart for service, servanthood, and sacrificial love; or we are not fulfilling the law of our King.

Perhaps this is why FLESH was a daily offering. We cannot look out for numero uno (number one) and win the race of the Kingdom. All of God’s children of every race, tribe, and tongue, both genders, are equal and one in the Kingdom of Heaven. What are we waiting for? Why don’t we start living out this principle now?

[1] McKee, John Kimball Biblical Equality and Today’s Messianic Movement, 2014. Kindle file.

[2] http://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/AID/2918/ShowFeedback/true

[3] Shacharit = Morning Prayers. The name is derived from the Temple service offerings: http://www.myjewishlearning.com/texts/Liturgy_and_Prayers/Siddur_Prayer_Book/weekdayprayer.shtml

[4] http://www.cliffsnotes.com/literature/e/euthyphro-apology-crito-and-phaedo/plato-biography

See also the classical work: Vitae Philosophorum 1.33

[5] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_comparison_theory

Categories: Messianic Issues, Women | Tags: , , , , , , | 14 Comments

The Devouring Lion

Posted on February 18, 2014 by K. Gallagher

© Johannes Gerhardus Swanepoel | Dreamstime.com

In Crate Trained Believers, I submitted that as Believers, we should reflect the attributes of a lion and a lamb, because that’s who Yeshua is. When one’s self-image is out of kilter, it skews one’s true identity, and the image of Elohim in the earth. If we could really grasp the reality of who we are, our lives and impact on the world would be changed for the better. Many of think of themselves as weak, powerless, and vulnerable. These are NOT the traits of a lamb of Elohim. The problem seems to come from a false view of humility, which was the focus of the previous post.

Our Messiah is returning for a Bride of like kind. She will be both gentle (like a lamb) and fierce (like a lion), not one or the other. In order to be a spotless Bride, we must know how to be both. If we carefully follow the example of our Messiah, we can do just that. I have witnessed many that are gentle like a lamb, to a fault. They are proverbial doormats, and the host or hostess of the best pity parties. Their poor self-image renders them ineffective. Who would ever what to join the ranks of the Kingdom if this is the nature of its subjects?

On the other hand, I have also witnessed many that have become nothing more than a devouring lion. Mercy, grace, and compassion are exchanged for severity, strictness, and judgment. These prideful ones have forgotten how to be a lamb. Balance is the key to most issues of life and this is no exception.

Over the past decade, I have watched the Father gently awaken His people to His Torah. (I was one of them!) When our eyes begin to open, there is a rainbow of emotions that flood our lenses. Unspeakable joy, elation at answered questions, and a renewed hunger to seek after the Kingdom are some of the positive ones. But there are also some negative emotions like deep regret, guilt, shame, and immense anger. Truth sets one free, but it also sheds light on areas that we didn’t even know were dark. Therefore, repentance takes on a whole new meaning, and accountability skyrockets. Awakening to the Torah with Messiah is a hard place to stand in the beginning, and many have difficulty finding balance. Weeding through truth and lies is not for the weak hearted.

Those that come out on the other side usually take one of two forms. They are either humbled by the mercy of the King, determined to show His truth and mercy to the masses. Or, they become rigid and cold, resolute on scaring the masses into submission (their idea of righteousness). Many have been party to both sides as their internal pendulum swings, seeking balance.

Hear Me Roar

Sadly, many that have “awakened” to the Torah of YHWH have become a roaring lion without the restraint and gentleness of the lamb. I see and definitely hear them growling at any and everybody, but they are not tempered with mercy, grace, or compassion (lamb traits). While their zeal is commendable, they have forgotten their first love and the mercy that the Lamb extended to them. They forego righteous judgment for self-righteous judgment. They become the very thing they claim to hate: sanctimonious bigots.

They can’t meet with so-in-so because they don’t agree on this teaching, doctrine, etc. They isolate themselves from family that remains in the church (and smugly call them pagans); they burn bridges and create enemies at every turn all in the name of righteousness. If they would simply turn around and look at the destruction they have caused along the way, they would see that instead of planting, they are uprooting. They have no legacy of fruit and increase, only decay and death. All they can say is, “But I’m right! I read it on the internet or studied it out for myself.”

They are the image of the roaring lion seeking someone to devour, not the Lion of the tribe of Judah!

Be of sober spirit, be on the alert. Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. (1Pet. 5:8)

There is a fine line here. The verses just before this have this to say:

Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you at the proper time, casting all your anxiety on Him, because He cares for you. (1 Pet. 5:6-7)

We must understand and practice humility. A humble person puts another BEFORE himself, even if that person is less mature, imperfect, ignorant, and far from deserving it. This requires immense strength, compassion, and real sacrificial love. If your motive is to be “right” or even “holy,”[1] you are the weaker vessel operating in pride.

OUCH! I sadly have been this roaring lion when confronted with various issues and people in the past. I never want to make these mistakes again. Jacob is a lioness, but within that lioness is a gentle lamb, like Yeshua. We must be both, because He is both. There is a time for the lamb and time for the lion.

How do we discern the difference between the Lion of Judah and the Devouring Lion? The name tells us everything we need to know. Judah means “praise,” while devour means “to ravenously eat or destroy.” Does your life have a legacy of praise or better yet, do the people you influence have a legacy of praise? Or do you and they have a spirit that constantly divides brothers, condemns the ignorant, and gobbles up the faith of the immature? In other words, does your faith cause the weak to praise YHWH? Or does your faith sentence the weak to the pit?

As I surf the web, blogosphere, and social media, I “hear” many roaring lions that claim to keep Torah and follow Messiah. But they have no traits of a lamb whatsoever. When one realizes the depth of the lies we were taught and believed, it often invokes a spirit of anger. In fact, it makes many furious. If this strong emotion is not tempered with the cool and loving Holy Spirit, destruction is sure to follow.

Is this the heart of the Lion of Judah? Is His judgment ever NOT tempered with mercy, compassion, long-suffering, and love? If He still lends mercy and compassion to the masses, shouldn’t we? Can we leave our vengeful anger to Him? Can we instead be profoundly grateful for the long-suffering mercy He extended to us and offer that same compassion to those in ignorance, or even rebellion?

Who are you following: 
the devouring lion or the Lion AND the Lamb?

[1] Separation or holiness is necessary, but if separation fails to lead to gathering, it is a love a death, not life. The fruit will be rotten, and so will relationships. Dr. Hollisa Alewine’s Creation Gospel explores this fully; thecreationgospel.com

Categories: Messianic Issues, Musings, News Flash | Tags: , , , , , | 10 Comments

Crate Trained Believers

Posted on February 17, 2014 by K. Gallagher

               © Ian Dyball | Dreamstime.com

Secondhand Lions is one of my all-time favorite movies.[1] It was produced in 2003, starring Robert Duvall and Michael Caine. At one point in the movie, two old eccentric brothers have grown restless in their calm retired life and decide to break up the monotony by purchasing a lion to release and then hunt. Instead of taking off to Africa as they would have in their younger days, they decide to bring the safari to their own backyard. The scene begins with a truck winding up the driveway carrying crates. The long neck of a giraffe extends high in air, far above the brush that lines either side of the driveway.

The brothers had been “forced” into caring for their precocious nephew, when his desperate mother had abruptly dropped him there one summer afternoon. Though she promised to return, the boy and his uncles soon realized that this was unlikely. The curious boy was quite mesmerized by the truck load of mysterious creatures and his quirky uncles. While the truck drivers are unloading one of the crates, the men go into the house to get their rifles. They are long overdue for some excitement and danger, and so they impetuously allow the captivated young boy to open the flimsy crate that houses the fierce and majestic lioness.

But when the door of the crate is finally flung open, the beast doesn’t charge, roar, or even appear to be moved by the prospect of freedom. What should have been intimidating and dangerous turns out to be calm and tame. The men quickly realize that they had purchased an old and worn out lioness. They actually call her “no good” and “defective.”

She had been caged and confined her entire life, and now she was old. She had never laid eyes on a real jungle, nor had she ever had to hunt for prey. Her life had been spent in bondage; and though she was a lion, she had not the slightest clue as to how to be one. She was truly an old, secondhand lion.

I wonder how many of us are like Jasmine (the name the boy eventually gave to the lioness)? Have we been crate trained into relinquishing our great authority and power? Have we forgotten how to be a lioness?

Most of us haven’t had any experience with a caged lion, but have you ever tried to crate train a puppy? At first, they resist the crate because they have an overwhelming feeling of being trapped, restrained, and alone. It is important to slowly introduce crate exposure and associate only positive actions and emotions with its usage. Over time, what originally caused the puppy great anxiety will become a source of security, safety, and comfort. We can only imagine that this process would be even more dramatic and unnatural for a king or queen of the jungle.

While followers of the Messiah aren’t likened to dogs, they are certainly likened to lambs (sheep) and lions, among other creatures.  For many Believers, the image of a lion and a lamb invokes visions of the Messiah. As His Bride, it’s not surprising that these same symbols reference us. Consider these verses from the Book of Numbers.[2]

“For there is no omen against Jacob, Nor is there any divination against Israel; At the proper time it shall be said to Jacob And to Israel, what God has done! “Behold, a people rises like a lioness, And as a lion it lifts itself; It will not lie down until it devours the prey, And drinks the blood of the slain.” (Num. 23:23-24) 

 Jacob (Israel) is like a mighty lioness. She, along with the lion, rules the entire jungle. Every other creature has a healthy fear and great respect for this pride. But something else caught my attention in these verses from Numbers. “At the proper time it shall be said…” There is an appointed time when this correlation will be true. Thinking Hebraically or cyclically, this “time” can have multiple fulfillments. Are these allusions to the millennium reign? Isn’t the Kingdom in which we have been engrafted, the Kingdom of all kingdoms? Are we not learning how to rule and reign with Messiah?

Do we really get this? You are a king or a queen of THE Kingdom. You have far more authority and power than you realize. We will one day rule the earth! But we will not be tyrants; we will be servants. Strong and fierce, yet loving and gentle. We will be like our One only King: a Lion and a Lamb.

There is an unquestionable premise given in the first chapter of Bereshit (Genesis). That is, that like kind produces like kind. Birds produce birds. Whales produce whales. Dogs produce dogs. Therefore, male dogs go with female dogs, male whales go with female whales, and male birds go with female birds. Do we expect a different pattern when the Father likens us to His bride? Are we not made in His image (male and female)?

Within each of us is a divine spark. It is the very breath of the Creator and it is what makes us undeniably His. This must be true in order for us to not only be likened to His children, but even more intimately as His wife or bride. Therefore, we are the lion/lamb counterpart to His Lion/Lamb. I think we have far more potential and influence than we realize.

We think we understand how to be a lamb. After all, a lamb is weak, defenseless, and in need of a care taker. We don’t have a problem realizing our vulnerability. We know where our weak spots are located. We usually protect these areas quite fiercely. So much so, that we often have a hard time even releasing them to our Abba, even though He greatly desires to heal these areas. Perhaps, we are too ashamed to allow Him to speak to these issues. Maybe, we don’t trust that He will actually heal us, because we certainly know we don’t deserve it.

My point is that Believers have no problem identifying themselves with weakness, shame, guilt, fear, depression, anxiety, worthlessness, and the like. Sadly, many even believe these are desirable traits because they equate them with humility. Dear friend, this is NOT true humility. And, this is not the picture of a Lamb! There is nothing holy or good about this kind of thinking.

A real lamb in the image of Elohim is not weak; it is strong! It freely offers its life. It is without spot or blemish. It is not guilty, but innocent! It has full trust in its Shepherd. Likewise, real humility is strength, not weakness. Keep the image of a lion and lamb in your mind and consider these most humble of men.

Now the man Moses was very humble, more than any man who was on the face of the earth. (Num. 12:3)

“Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and YOU WILL FIND REST FOR YOUR SOULS. (Mat. 11:29)

Both Moses and Yeshua were humble or meek. Would you consider them weak or even self-dejected? Of course not! A humble person is willing to put other people before himself. They submit without resistance to the will and desires of someone else. This requires great self-control. It’s not that they aren’t able or capable to perform; rather, it is that they restrain their ability and channel it to lift up someone else. Humble people possess the strength of a mighty lion. This is a very “regal” trait or virtue.

Moses and Yeshua certainly display the imagery of the lion and the lamb! These are our role models. Do you believe you possess both the strength and restraint of a lion or lioness? According to Scripture, these virtues have already been given to you when you became a Believer. This is the legacy of Israel, but sadly, like us, they possessed an ungodly self-image. Do you remember the bad report of the 10 evil spies? They envisioned themselves to be tiny insignificant grasshoppers in the eyes of the Canaanites. Believing this lie cost the Israelites more than they could have ever imagined. What have we given up to cling onto our poor self-image?

Joshua and Caleb reported the truth, but the people PREFERRED the lie. Keep in mind that this lie was about WHO they were. YHWH’s people are not insignificant. They are the mightiest people on the planet! We are the light of the world, not the scum of the earth! When we deny our real identity, we are in effect denying the majesty, power, and might of our Creator and King. In other words, it’s blasphemy.

I had never really considered this until the other day. My view of who I am is a direct reflection of my Maker. I cannot separate the two. When my self-image is unhealthy, it is because I don’t really believe or trust YHWH. In fact, it’s worse than that. If I claim out of one side of my mouth that I am His and out of the other that I’m worthless, what I’m really saying is that He is not worthy. How many of us need to repent of this? How many of us are sick because we are inadvertently blaspheming the King of the Universe in this manner? By the way, this is also the case when we oppress, slander, or speak against our brothers and sisters. They, too, are made in the image of Elohim.

Sleeping Lion

© Štěpán Kápl | Dreamstime.com

Moses, Aaron, Joshua, and Caleb understood this fact. Notice their words to the people.

“Only do not rebel against the LORD; and do not fear the people of the land, for they will be our prey. Their protection has been removed from them, and the LORD is with us; do not fear them.” (Num. 14:9)

The Canaanites would be the prey of the lions and lionesses of Israel! If only the people could see this truth. If only WE could see this truth! Instead, the people would rather stone the messengers.

But all the congregation said to stone them with stones. Then the glory of the LORD appeared in the tent of meeting to all the sons of Israel. (Num. 14:10)

Beloved, we are worthy because He is worthy! We are mighty because He is Mighty! We are kings and queens of the earth because He is the King of kings. If we got up every day really believing that we have the authority and power to change the world and overtake our Canaanite enemies what a different world it would be. What a different view the world would have of us.

The world should fear us as we fear our King. Instead, we have allowed our fears, the world, and the enemy to chain us to feelings of helplessness and powerlessness. We longingly speak of a future where our strength and impact are restored. Sadly, we think that future can never happen this side of Kingdom Come. Where did we get this idea? Have we bought a lie and forfeited our birthright for the here and now?

Bondage, burdens, sins, fears, and the like are very real CAGES. Pet doctrines and traditions can also be a stronghold of false security. Like the puppy or the lion cub, we at first resist our confinements. We have an innate knowing that they are unnatural — that they are keeping us from being free to be exactly what YHWH designed us for. But somewhere along the way of life, we lose our resolve. Do you know how many of us are sick, dying, depressed, dejected, lonely, disappointed, discontent, restless, insecure, and needy?

The door of the cage has been swung wide open, and we are like Jasmine, the secondhand lion, tired and worn-out. The fight left us long ago. We have been entrapped for so long that the steel cage walls seem comfortable, safe, and peaceful. Many no longer have the desire to run, chase, hunt, or explore. What a pitiful bunch we have become. How did we get here?

I believe we are like the ten virgins that fell asleep before the bridegroom arrived. There are numerous passages that liken our apathy and indifference to slumber. For too long, western Believers have hit the snooze button. We have grown fat, lazy, and diseased. We need to WAKE UP!

Just as importantly, we need to be rousing our brothers and sisters to this truth. How much greater would our impact be in our circumstances, relationships, and the world if we received this message? A poor self-image cost an entire generation the Promised Land. My prayer is that we will start walking in the mightiness of our calling.

To this end also we pray for you always, that our God will count you worthy of your calling, and fulfill every desire for goodness and the work of faith with power, so that the name of our Lord Jesus will be glorified in you, and you in Him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ. (2Th. 1:11-12)

 What kind of crate do you find security in? Let’s break out together!

There is another side to this coin revealed in Part II, The Devouring Lion.

[2] Lisa Bevere has written an excellent book called Lioness Arising that speaks about the imagery of lions and the believer. Her focus is on the role of women as the lioness. I highly recommend it!! http://www.amazon.com/Lioness-Arising-Wake-Change-World/dp/0307457796

Categories: Messianic Issues, Musings | Tags: , , , , , , , , | 13 Comments

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