Plebe Retreat

It has been forever since I have blogged and I apologize. I have been working on getting all my paperwork done to leave West Point. It is all done, and I am no longer a cadet at West Point. I am now free to go to Israel after a short stay at home to give me time to say goodbye to the family that I will not see for Christmas or Thanksgiving. This is the first time I will miss these major holidays, but God has got it taken care of so no worries.

So the title of this post is Plebe Retreat because this past week while sitting at West Point waiting for my paperwork to be processed I had to do something. Not only was I bored, but I felt like there must be a reason God has me here. This led me to help out with the Plebe Retreat. For those not from West Point, a plebe is what freshman are called. In essence, this was a christian retreat for freshman with upper class as small group leaders and facilitators.

The best group EVER:

Obviously...this was my group. I had some great guys with some amazing stories and backgrounds. And to be honest, I know God wanted me here at West Point for this time. A time not to be waiting on paperwork, but to be fellowshipping with fellow belivers.

The weekend was focused on the theme "Breaking Free." Breaking free from whatever holds you back from living for God. The Bible passage that was chewed on all weeend was Lazarus being raised from the dead in John 11:1-45. It was looked at from Mary's, Martha's, and then Lazarus' perspective. For me, the most powerful perspective was that of Lazarus because he had to break free from his burial clothes to serve Jesus:

"⁴⁴ The man who had died came out, his hands and feet bound with linen strips, and his face wrapped with a cloth. Jesus said to them, 'Unbind him, and let him go.'"

As christians are we still wearing our burial clothes or did we allow ourselves to be reborn in Christ? Or did we allow only certain areas of our life to be reborn? Are we holding onto pieces of are old life that we just can't get rid of?

Makes you think...

This weekend was amazing and life changing. There was a cross that we layed some of our "burial clothes" at for Christ to renew us. Christ showed up and changed lives. I pray that this power experienced at the retreat does not fade, but gets put into West Point. These plebes can make a difference at West Point and truly take out some of the pessimism. Complaining does not make West Point go by faster it just makes cadets more negative human beings.

Lord bring your light to all those that need it!!! 

The Very Words of God

Leading from the city of Miletus there was a 15 mile long road lined with shops and statues of stone lions. It led to a place called Didyma. What was in Didyma and why were people walking down a 15 mile road just to go to Didyma? The road led to the 2^nd largest temple in the world, and it was dedicated to the god of Apollo. He was the god of light, music, and oracle. An oracle is a message from a god. It is a word that comes in answer to a question. Obviously God did not like this because God tells us to not seek spiritists or mediums as you can see from Leviticus.

“‘Do not turn to mediums or seek out spiritists, for you will be defiled by them. I am the LORD your God.” Leviticus 19:31

didimestate.com (Temple of Apollo)

But that is not really the point that is trying to be made by Ray Van Lander. An oracle is not necessarily a bad thing. The word oracle is used 18 times in the Old Testament and 2 in the New Testament. The word oracle is even translated as the “very words of God.” The problem was not the word of God. The problem was which god you got the word from. To the one who believed in the one true God this temple was an abomination. To be clear, this temple was not of God in any way shape or form.

Let us see how they get an oracle in this temple to see if we can learn anything about our relationship with God.  Let us say there is a family that has walked the long road to go to the temple and ask a question.

Step 1: First they would come to the sacred well and wash to cleanse themselves. The priest would then wash the sheep they brought. Then they would be purified and ready to sacrifice the lamb.

Step 2: A priest of Apollo would slaughter the sheep and then the sheep’s liver would be read. Based on the liver the priest would know if Apollo would want to hear the question. Basically yes or no. He would probably respond with something like “Apollo will hear your question.”

Step 3: Next the family would stand in amongst the large columns of the temple in front of the crasmagropean (oracle door). But the door would be shut so they would wait and wait and even a day or two could pass by. Then one day they would hear the latch of the doors being drawn open and then the doors would slam open. Most likely the doors would be 15-20 foot high doors. Then behind the door would come the priest of Apollo dressed like the statue of Apollo possibly wearing a shimmering gold rob and walking to drums. 

Step 4: The priest of Apollo would shout out: “The great god Apollo will hear your request!” The family would fall to their knees and bow down. The head of the family would ask the question as the priest wrote it down.

Step 5: The door would be closed again after receiving the question and then the family waits.

While the family waits, let’s go and see what is happening behind the door. Now keep in mind no one but the priests could go behind the doors. Inside there would be a large room and at the end of the room a smaller inner temple in which the oracle sat. The oracle was typically an older woman. She would sit suspended on a tripod over a hole in the earth where fumes would come out. Today we know that fumes were very close to the substance glue. So her sitting there was like sniffing glue all day long.

The oracle would get the question from the priest and in her ecstasy she would answer and the priest would jot it down. He would then eventually put it into poetry. Then the day would arrive when the oracles would be spoken.

Step 6: The family’s waiting was over and the 2 huge doors would open once again. The answer would be given. “The very word of the god Apollo” would be spoken.

After reading this, tell me what you feel. You probably feel in awe of what happened just as they would have felt. They did so much and then they received the word of god. Good job family that went through all the steps.

What has happened to us?!?!?!

We have the very words of God. All of them. We carry them around and hide them in boxes to collect dust. No sheep, no livers, and no washing. An archeologist found an inscription on one of the 122 columns that held the temple up. It said that one column cost 40,000 denary and that a stone cutter made 2 denary a day. This means that it took the stone cutter 20,000 days to finish the column. The stone cutter also would stay on the same stone until finished. 20,000 days is around 57 years! A stone cutter would spend 57 years of his or her life to make one column.

ifimages.com (Stone column in Apollo's temple)

For what did the stone cutter do this? To hear a word from god spoken from a women that was high on something?

57 years!!! And I cannot get up 10 minutes earlier to read my Bible.

What has happened to discipleship? How many scriptures can you recite today? How many chapters have you read? When was the last time you read the whole Bible?

To be like the Rabbi is to be a man or women of the text. 57 years to hear the uttering’s of a poor women high on something. Memorize and read the Bible. And if you tell me you do not have the time I ask you: how badly do you want to be a disciple?

Jesus said come follow me and then He said go teach them everything I taught you. But, how can you teach anyone to obey if you do not know what he taught?

Be a man or women of the text!!

Your Friend,

Patrick

  

I just bought my plane ticket to Israel!!!!

Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!

I first want to say thank you. I have reached my first milestone in fundraising thanks to everyone that has helped support me. I seriously could not have done it without you. I leave September 27, 2011 for Tel Aviv, Israel and each day I get more and more excited.

This is my first milestone met and it gives me great hope for this trip. A few weeks back I had very little money to work with. It was barely enough for me to swim to Israel or maybe take a row boat. But I prayed long and hard to God in search of answers. Did I misread you God? Am I not supposed to go to Israel? But God reassured me. He told me to have faith and not lose heart.

“So that your faith might not rest in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God.”

1 Corinthians 2: 5

 And 2 weeks later I have had a 600% increase in my initial funds. All because of our Lord and savior Jesus Christ. Amen Amen Amen. He not only allowed me to receive help from all those that gave via support letters and Paypal. He also provided opportunities for me to work in different capacities and raise money that way. Our God is an awesome God and he deserves all the praise.

As many of you know, this is my first milestone of many and will have to raise more money, but God is faithful. I have faith that He will continue to help me raise money because He is awesome and all money belongs to Him anyway. Thank you to everyone who has helped so far and please continue to pray for me.  

Talk to you later!!

Living Stones in God's Temple

On our travels through biblical times with Ray Vander Lan he brings us back to Priene, Turkey. In Priene everything was dedicated to the goddess Athena. There was even a fountain in the middle of the city. Out of the mouth of the fountain came fresh water and families told their kids that the water came from Athena.

As Americans we drink water every day. The water comes from drinking fountains, bottles, faucets, the hose, etc. How many of you thought of God the last time you drank or looked at water? I know I didn’t. We take water and drink of it as if it is just there. The Lord provides us with food and water. The believer in Priene could stop at the fountain and declare God. We can do that to when we drink a bottle of water or have a water gun fight. God provides the water!

Next stop is the temple of Athena. The temple was huge and was crafted by an architect that crafted one of the 7 wonders of the world. In the temple they provided food, clothes, medical care, entertainment, and sometimes even daycare. The temple helped in the name of Athena. The temple showed the world how great she was and what she provided.

Now imagine we are part of the small home church in Priene. Your son or daughter spent the day with a friend and they went to the temple of Athena. Your child comes back and says, “Where is ours? Where is the temple to our God? Where can we go to see how great our God is?”

How do you answer these questions?

Let me show you the picture God paints:

In Isaiah: “Listen, you who pursue righteousness and seek after God. Remember the rock from which you are cut and the query from which you were chosen.  Remember Abraham your father and Sarah who gave birth to you.

1 Peter: “As you come to him the living stone, rejected by men but chosen by God. You also as living stones are being built into a spiritual house.”

Corinthians: “Don’t you know that you yourselves are the temple of the Holy Spirit and God’s spirit lives in you. If anyone harms God’s temple God will destroy him for God’s temple is sacred and you arte that temple.”

You know where God lived in Priene. Not in some big temple but in those people. He lived in and among them. Each one of you and me is a stone. And we have been hand chosen from the query to form God’s house. Everyone is a stone and chosen for a specific place and God forms us chip by chip. Some are chosen for the big stone in the front of the house that is seen by everyone. Others are chosen for the small but crucial stone that is in the foundation. The one that nobody sees but everybody needs.

God said I don’t want to live in a temple made by human hands. He says I want to live in you. He would rather live in you than the biggest most beautiful temple in the world.  The spirit of God lives in every stone but they must all work together to build the temple. Being a disciple is being part of a community where God lives by His spirit. The community is not only to encourage and teach text. It is where we live to declare to the world that the presence of God is in us.

The proof that God is in His people is that they love one another and his people. And so what happens when the community of God does not get along. The message of God is hidden.

http://images.travelpod.com/users/harrisg/1.1283948466.fallen-columns-temple-of-athena-priene.jpg

If we look at the temple of Athena today the greatness is scattered around a field. It is in ruins and is a dim memory. But what if for God that is how His church and the temple looks, in ruins, broken apart. We as a church need to look like God’s temple in which the Holy Spirit lives. Not just a place where people can get powerful teaching and God’s word, but a community that lived in the presence of God.

May God’s presence live in the world, because it is in you!!

The Presence of God: a counter-cultural community

                What happens when you have to teach God’s message to Greeks and Romans who live in a very different culture?

Next stop is actually not in Israel but in Priene, Turkey. Priene had Athena as their Goddess. The city was around 35 to 40,000 people. The city was around a 2 day walk from Ephesus. In the city there was a group of people that started to live for Jesus the one true God. Now we will see what it is like when the message of God reaches a Greek or Roman city.

                An Agora is a cross between a mall and a flee market. It is where things are sold and bought under the watchful eye of the Agoranamos who sits on a chair in the middle of the market. Before goods can be sold at the Agora they had to be devoted to the different Gods of the Agoranamos. As people would walk up with their gifts they would pinch some incense of the God being honored on their goods. So what would happen if a follower of Jesus came to sell?

The Agoranamos would say, “Welcome citizen please go dedicate your goods to Zeus thank you. “

The Jesus follower would reply, “But I don’t believe in Zeus and will not put incense on my goods.”

Agoranamos, “Well then you cannot sell your pottery here.”

So now this little community that wants to be like Jesus can’t be involved in the economics of their world. They cannot buy and sell. Their neighbors look down on them.

There was also a small theatre in Priene called a bouleuterion which means council. A council meeting would happen here almost like a governmental meeting today.  It looked something like this:

                                                     http://jmabberley.info/turkey/priene04.jpg

As you can see from the picture of present day Priene there is a square stone in the middle. When the bouleuterion was in session they would put a basin on top of the stone with burning coals. On the stone there were engravings of the gods: Aggalopias and Apollo. As one would walk into the bouleuterion they would put incense into the basin acknowledging that they follow and honor the gods. But the followers acknowledge that they follow God not the gods like Apollo or Aggalopias. So fellow believers that decide to follow Jesus would lose their spot on the city council.

Would you put incense in the basin?
 Being a follower of Jesus was to be counter cultural. You lost your economic edge, you lost your political power, you are a nobody.

How do you show people God? Not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit declares the Lord.

Being a disciple is to rearrange your whole life. Not just as an individual but as a community. The movement of God in Priene was so powerful that it began to unravel the social order in this Roman community. You see in the Roman world there was a caste system and when big feasts would happen the top people would eat first all the way down to the slaves (if there was anything left). But then you have a community that was following Jesus and when they had a feast everyone ate at the same time. Slaves ate with those of high class with no separation. Everyone became brothers and sisters. In this community you did not have to say one word because the way you lived unraveled the whole system put in place by the Romans, but not by might or economics or politics. But by the Spirit of God.

There is another example in this community of the sacrifice the followers of Jesus made. To find it we go to Prytanium which is close to the term county hall in English. In the county hall there were pillars with the city laws and a basin where they offered sacrifices. Every day there would be sacrifices in the main temple Athenia but also in the Prytanium. This was done to sacrifice to other gods besides Athenia. So let’s say you walk past the “mayor” of the town and he is getting ready to give a sacrifice. He asks you what god you worship and you say the God of the Jew the God of Heaven. He would say okay let us sacrifice to Him also and you say no we can’t I don’t believe in those gods. The mayor will be flabbergasted because you will anger the Gods and risk the whole city. But you have become cross cultural but there is more.

There was a mound of dirt at the entrance of the “county hall” and there was a hearth burning in it with fire dedicated to the goddess Hestius. It was believed that fire came down from the gods to mount Olympus for the people and it burned there continually. So one day a group of people carried a torch to mount Olympus from Priene to light the torch and brought it back to light the hearth. This is what was used by all the locals in their home for heat and cooking food. They did not have matches or lighters. It was also believed that the fire would wash away all offenses to the gods. But guess what the people following the one true God did not have a fire in their house. That would be honoring the goddess Hestius. No heat or cooking of food and a lot of cold cuts to eat. They had no fire because they were living for God and it was a sacrifice they made.

The early believers came and showed God in flesh.

They lived in community.

It was a community where every god promised a good life. What did the one true God followers bring to this hellinistic community? Nothing, but the love of God in flesh and a totally different way to live. A cross cultural way to live.

When the Rabbi Says "Go"

This is the second of five sessions on this DVD. This next session focuses on Jesus leading the disciples and showing them how to live. It begins by showing us the Northern Temple to Caesar. King Herod (the one from the Christmas story) built 3 temples to Caesar. The Northern Temple cast a shadow on the road to Damascus (the road Paul was blinded on). This temple brings up a topic in the fore front of many disciples’ minds. Do we pay taxes to Caesar or at the time of Jesus, Tiberius son of Caesar? This is because Caesar was seen as a god. And in the Greek the term taxes was more like tribute. They were asking Jesus: do we pay tribute/respect to Tiberius?

Jesus first asked, “Who has a coin?” and then with the coin in hand he asked, “Whose image is on the coin?” The coin had a picture of Tiberius and the inscription on the coin read: “A worshiped son of a worshiped God.” Jesus said to give to Caesar what is Caesar’s. Caesar is not God, but his coin says he is. This might not mean much to us today, but this is what got a lot of the disciples killed. Because they will accept all things about Caesar except that he is God.

Jesus takes the disciples to Eremos Topos which in the Greek means “a solitary or uninhabited place.” He went here to pray and worship God. Jesus told the disciples to cross the Sea of Galilee and go to Bethsaida. As they did this Jesus went to the hillside to pray. The disciples eventually hit a storm and Jesus watched them all night. At the fourth night which probably means 4 am He went out on the water. Jesus walked by and they thought it was a ghost. But then someone says no it is Jesus and Peter asks to walk on the water towards Jesus. Peter got out of the boat so he could be like his rabbi.

If you want to follow a rabbi you have to get out of the boat. Jesus began to sink. Jesus pulls him up and says, “Oh ye of little faith why do you doubt?” Peter not only loses confidence in Jesus, but primarily Peter lost confidence in who he is as a disciple. If we are going to be disciples it is not only the passion and the confidence to be what he called us to be. It is also a belief that we can be who Jesus wants us to be. I have had enough of staying in the boat. Whoever is in Jesus must walk as Jesus walked.

Discipleship is:

-knowing the text

-knowing the Rabbi

-being in community

-having the passion

-it is wanting to be like Jesus more than anything else in the world and knowing that he believes in you.

                The disciples were then sent to cities like Scythopolis like I mentioned earlier: a place with running water, a university, and theatres. The disciples went from their small village on the sea of Galilee to this great city because the great city was missing something. It was missing something very important and that is what the disciples had to offer. They had Jesus to give this big city and He is better than running water or a theatre.

                Tell me that doesn’t impress you. We are often impressed by what people can do i.e. the pyramids, the Eifel tower, and the Dragster at Cedar Pointe. But we walk right past the beautiful mountain God made to see the pyramids or some building made by man. We live in Scythopolis a place with running water, sewage system, and entertainment everywhere. And the world view in a place like Scythopolis is that it is all about fame, being successful, big houses, riches, and there is no room for God. Do not get caught in that world view. Do not let it drive you.

Let God be your drive and show the Scythopolises of the world what they are missing!!  

When the Rabbi Says "Come"

                As promised I have the first session of “Faith Lessons in the Dust of the Rabbi.” It begins by taking you to the Decapolis city of Scythopolis. Scythopolis was a huge city next to where Jesus grew up. He would have known of this city and it was very advanced for Biblical times. It had running water, a theatre, an Arena, a university and a Temple. But Jesus did not choose any of His disciples from this big city.

                Where did He go?

He went to the triangle along the Sea of Galilee. The first town was Bethsaida which means “fishing village.” There were no theatres, no university, and no running water just a simple rural village of about 600 people. From this village came Peter, Andrew, James, John, and Phillip. The next two stops were Korazin and then Capernaum. He did not go into depth with who came from these cities, but he moves on to explain what a disciple was in Biblical times and today.

What is a disciple?

A disciple lived in community, but not everyone in a community was a disciple. First, one should know that the villages mentioned revolved around the synagogue. This was the school and teaching in the community. Each synagogue had a Moses Seat. This is where the person reading the Torah would sit to read the scripture because it was the words given to them by Moses. Jesus even sat and read from the scripture in Moses seats from village to village. The torah would then be kept in the Holy Ark and when it was taken out to be read people would dance for joy, touch it, and even touch it to their lips. The people would come to the synagogue to learn from the Torah, but not everyone that came to the synagogue and knew the scripture was a disciple.

The school was connected to the synagogue.  This is where disciples began. By the age of 12 or 13 most Jewish boys and girls would know the Torah and have it memorized. At this point many were finished. They were done learning the Torah and would begin the family trade. But some would have the ability and passion to move on to be taught by the Rabbi in what was called Beth Midrash. It focused on the deeper meanings of the Torah (Tenah). From this group a select few would look for a Rabbi and seek to become a Talmeed-disciple. Talmeed directly means or refers to someone who wants to be what the Rabbi is. Both a deep commitment and passion to follow them around everywhere they went. They were consumed every minute of every day with God and His word.

Are you a Talmeed?  Do you have the passion and the commitment?

From there you would find a rabbi and say may I follow you? If he saw the fire he might say “come follow me.” But most would get turned down and decide that they did not have what it took and go work the family trade. Very few would become rabbis and make their own disciples.

But how did Jesus pick his disciples?

Jesus went out and found ordinary people doing something ordinary: fisherman, carpenters, and tax collectors. They did not get into anyone’s rabbi school, they did not have the training, and they thought they were not good enough. But Jesus picked them and told them they have what it takes! He took ordinary people like me and you. Remember Jesus said, “You did not pick me I chose you.” It took time but the disciples became like Jesus by spending everyday and every moment with Him.

Do we have the fire?

Do we understand how much he wants to be with us?

How much time do we spend with Him?

How badly do we want to be like Jesus?

A student is not above his teacher, it is enough for a student to become like his teacher.

Now it is our turn!!! Be a Talmeed!!