Seize the Donkey

And the men were afraid because they were brought to Joseph's house, and they said, “It is because of the money, which was replaced in our sacks the first time, that we are brought in, so that he may assault us and fall upon us to make us servants and seize our donkeys.”   — Genesis 43:18

The witness of the Spirit is the reason I know the Bible is true.  However, I believe the Bible is also correctly recorded in part because of bits like the verse above.  In the King James it is even more amusing, "...that he may seek occasion against us, and fall upon us, and take us for bondmen, and our asses."  At least it doesn't say "seize our asses."  You know how those Egyptians are.  We see passages in the Bible that remind us of legendary, heroic stories — the confrontation between David and Goliath is the stuff of myth and legend.  I believe it happened, but I also believe somebody could have made it up and come pretty close to the same tale — which would not make it any the less true.  But other times, the Bible records the unflattering, the commonplace, the utterly human, as it does here.  You really can't "make this stuff" up.  At worst, it will be "based on a true story." 

The donkey was the ultra-compact utility vehicle of its day, an ATV of sorts.  Though undoubtedly relatively valuable, even a dozen of the sturdy animals were hardly a windfall for the prime minister of the world's superpower.  Our fears will lead us to assign all manner of bizarre motivations to the object of those fears.   As MacDonald says in The Princess and the Goblin, "... but that is the way fear serves us: it always sides with the thing we are afraid of." 

I have known a few people afflicted in some degree with paranoia, and I suppose I might have suffered with twinges of it myself (but they really were out to get me).  You can't argue a person out of it.  Logic is useless.  I have probably become more paranoid of paranoia than I am of almost anything else.  I will do my best to tear apart any evidence that suggests malicious intent or conspiracy.  I am much more likely to err in the other direction and think that ignorance and stupidity are to blame — unless money is clearly involved, or jealousy and envy.  People will sometimes act out of envy to their own detriment, which I have trouble understanding, though I certainly struggled with jealousy enough as a teenager to grasp how dangerous it can be. 

And it was, in fact, jealousy that brought those brothers down to Egypt, that caused them to fear the loss of their freedom and their donkeys.  It was their jealousy that had put their younger brother Joseph in bondage in the first place.  Now they were the ones in whom fear played upon their long-shadowed guilt.  Time had rid them of the delusion that what they had done was right or acceptable.  Though their actions were hidden from their father, they had caused him great anguish by their deception.  Unknown lies still corrode relationships.

If I have lied to someone, they may never know it, but I know it all along and forever.  The only way to neutralize that acid burning in my soul is to tell the truth — if not to the person (and sometimes that does more harm than good, only the parties involved can make that call) then at least to myself, possibly to a trusted confessor, certainly to my Father in heaven.  The brothers were not altogether ready to speak the whole truth which they all knew.  When confronted by Joseph, still unknown to them, they had said only that the twelfth brother "was not."  They said nothing of their betrayal.  They could not yet embrace the cure. 

For someone diagnosed with clinical paranoia or a paranoid personality disorder, the problem may lie in brain chemistry.  For most of us, irrational fears spring up from the bitter root of unacknowledged sin, whether it is envy, jealousy, greed, lust, pride, or something else.  We may not have acted on the jealousy as Joseph's brothers did,  but that evil has lain long in the pit and spread its invasive tendrils through far too much of our lives.  We have specialized in the choice bit of gossip, the carefully dressed innuendo, the sarcastic strike in the dark.  Meanwhile, we fearfully suspect that someone, perhaps God Himself, has it in for us, is setting us up, just waiting for the most humiliating moment to yank the rug from under us and laugh at our fall. 

Seriously, there are people who, through no fault of your own, you may have offended.  They may try to destroy you in some way, large or small.  Such was the case with Joseph.  Yes, he probably should have kept quiet about the dreams, but how else would he have been in the right place at the right time to see those dreams materialize?  There is no excusing or explaining away the evil that his brothers did, yet Joseph continued to hold on to his righteousness and thus to his destiny.  He could fain paranoia, but he never felt it.  There was no bitterness in him.  He was no more perfect than any other human, but he was transparent, the same all the way through.  He did not surrender to evil but overcame it with good.    

If we ever find ourselves thinking that someone could desire to "seize our donkeys," it might be a good time to step back and see if there is something we need to deal with in our own hearts, a confession we need to make, a wrong we need to address that holds us back from fully and joyfully trusting God with our earthly lives as well as the life everlasting.  The donkey thief is sly.  Sometimes you can only catch him in a mirror.

Don't Get Fooled (again)

Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to determine if they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world.

This is how you know the Spirit of God: Every spirit who confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God. But every spirit that does not confess Jesus [to be the Christ come in the flesh] is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist; you have heard he is coming, and he is already in the world now. – 1 John 4:1-3

When I was reading on the metaphysical materialism Wiki article yesterday, I was particularly struck by one argument against the supernatural and spiritual. That is, the materialist argues, if spirits do exist they exert no influence on the natural or it is too weak and insignificant to be tested.

As Jesus said to the sons of thunder, “You do not understand what kind of spirit you are.”

From God’s perspective, the spirit is willing but the flesh is the one that is weak. The truth is that Reality is spirit and what we see, the temporal, is derived.

Not all spirits, John tells us, are from God. If you have trouble with the Bible, read the depiction of creation in Tolkien’s Silmarillion. He does a magnificent job of showing how and why God allows those rebel spirits to exist.

Whether we know it or not, whether we are aware of it or not, we all deal with spirits and the spiritual on a daily basis. I need to be able to determine if I am hearing from a true prophet, a false prophet, the Spirit of God or a deceiving, antichrist spirit. John tells me how to do that. Does this spirit witness of Christ or of something else?

I heard a guy casting out “demons” on the radio one time. He supposedly contacted some spirit and was asking it, “Did Jesus come in the flesh? Is He the Son of God?” That is a misunderstanding of what John shows us. I do not recommend having conversations with demons. Jesus says that Satan is the father of lies, so it is pointless to engage in a discussion with the devil, demons or materialist magicians. They will lie to us.

The Spirit of God and the spirit of prophecy speak of Christ as the Incarnate Son of God, or, as it says in the Revelation, “the testimony about Jesus is the spirit of prophecy”. Antichrist spirits can speak glowingly of “Jesus” as the master teacher and incorporate certain of His sayings into their canon, yet they are not testifying about Christ but about themselves.

For the Christian, the death, burial and resurrection of Christ changes everything. For the antichrist, the Gospel needs to have something added; the Cross is not sufficient; Christ really didn’t die; He was not raised physically from the dead. To the deceiving spirit, Jesus is useful, even interesting but not the Alpha and Omega.

I recall C.S. Lewis talking about the error of “Christianity and ____”. There’s the antichrist. The Black Liberation theology of Wright that Obama listened to for twenty years is just such an antichrist message. The white supremacist message that travels under the guise of the Christian Identity movement is another. Preachers who get too carried away with “faith teachings” are in danger of channeling an antichrist spirit. Islam is an antichrist religion.

That does not mean we reject those people and refuse to love them or engage them. As Paul told us in Ephesians chapter 6, we are not fighting flesh and blood enemies. Our battle is with “world powers of this darkness, against spiritual forces of evil in the heavens.” People are enslaved to antichrists, to deceiving spirits and doctrines of demons. The most vital thing I can do is be a vessel suitable for the Master’s use, a clear channel for the Holy Spirit to be poured through, a purged, fruitful branch on the Vine.

I pray today, Lord, that my mind would be renewed, that I would be transformed and not conformed to the world’s fashion and image. I pray that I would be filled with the Spirit, covered with the whole armor of God and able to stand firm against the spiritual assaults that come against me. By faith today I put off the old man and with it the deceptions of the enemy. By faith I put on Christ to the glory of God.

Lord of the Jerks?

My hand made all these things, and so they all came into being. This is the Lord’s declaration, I will look favorably on this kind of person: one who is humble, submissive in spirit, and who trembles at My word. – Isaiah 66:2

As usual, I don’t have anything deep and insightful about this verse today. I happened to run across the phrase “who trembles at My word” and chased it down to Isaiah. To actually hear God speak is an experience that should fill us with a respectful awe, and that’s the idea I was expecting. But when the Word comes, it often has its own direction.

The other day someone referred to my interpretation of Genesis as “allegory”. I didn’t like that, but I didn’t feel like arguing. When I look at the story of man’s creation I see it as literally true. God created Adam and He brought Eve out of Adam somehow. What I don’t know from the biblical account is what mechanism or process God used to do that. God may have taken an existing humanoid creature and transformed it over time. He may have done it instantaneously. The Bible is not interested in that, and neither am I. What is important is that man was a perfect spiritual creature that fell into a mortal state as a consequence of willful disobedience.

A materialist can show me DNA evidence all day and not disprove what I believe. First because, frankly, the biologists are not as all-knowing as they claim to be when they are writing their proposals. Second, the biological facts, whatever they may be, can never negate the Truth of God’s account.

I take the Word of God seriously – too seriously to worry about the literalness of Adam’s creation and fall, Noah’s flood, or Jonah’s whale ride. The way I look at it is that you make one assumption: God exists. Once you assume that, everything else makes sense. For example, people fret over whether the Bible is really the Word of God. I don’t want to criticize anyone for researching the origins of the various books and finding all that is possible – archeological verifications and all that. It’s obviously a better way to spend your time than playing golf. But, like golf, it’s not something I am drawn to. Assume an all-powerful, wise and loving God and you have the answer – yes, He is able to inspire, protect and preserve this revelation of Himself to mankind.

God says He is favorably disposed toward the humble, the submissive and those who tremble at His word. When I think about it, how could He show favor to the arrogant, the domineering and the cynical? Other people, unless they are hopelessly sold out to “cool” and “edgy”, are put off by a superior attitude and pushiness. Is it surprising that jerks are not going to get far with the Lord?

The Word of God has a transforming power, but it will only transform me if I allow it. If I am determined to hang onto my willful ways and keep the truth out of my heart, I will be forever distanced from God. Jesus says those who humble themselves will be exalted. Those who exalt themselves will be humbled. We are told that every knee will bow. It is not a matter of if, just a matter of when.

You don’t have to kneel when you pray. It’s a good idea to pray when you’re driving, but a bad idea to close your eyes and bow your head. Still, we know that body language is a major component of communication between humans. It seems reasonable to give it some thought when communicating with the Master. No physical posture is critical to getting God to hear us, but it may be beneficial once in a while to getting me in the right frame of mind to address Him and receive an answer. Today, at some point, I think I will kneel down before the Lord and just say, “Here I am.”