Today we reach Day #28 in Counting the Omer. Twenty-eight is a really interesting number in scripture!
The Book of Mark references the Old Testament 28
times. There are
28
references to Jesus Christ as the sacrificial Lamb that takes away the sins of the world. The word "Hallelujah" is used 28
times. The longest Book in the New Testament, is the Book of Acts with
28 chapters. The average female menstrual cycle is
28 days.
At first glance, these may seem like completely unrelated topics. However without these 28 references in scripture, there would be No Old Testament (no Law), no sacrifice (Lamb), no praise (Hallelujahs), no acts (Works) and no cleansing cycle (repentance) which resets that ability to be fertile ground. We must have ALL of these things in order to live a successful Christian life. May I make a bold statement? Without these
28's of scripture there would be no eternal life! Thus, it would follow that ETERNAL DEATH would result if we don't incorporate these quintessential
28's into our lives. Any teaching that lacks obedience, sacrificial living, praise, action/works and cleansing (repentance) offers NO LIFE.
How do we reconcile this Truth to those teaching predestination? How do we understand that we have been given Free Will while also accepting scripture that states God's "elect" people have been "chosen," and "set apart" from the beginning of all time to enjoy Eternal Life with Him?
Jesus prayed for unity for those who were His. This was His final prayer before the Cross (John 17). We can be 100% sure that Jesus' prayer was answered and will continue to be answered. Lest we fall prey to Satan's schemes for a "One World Religion," there cannot be unity unless there is oneness in the Spirit through Christ:
"I pray for them. I DO NOT PRAY FOR THE WORLD but for those whom You have given Me, for they are Yours."
~ John 17:9
And we recognize this oneness of Spirit in this manner:
"And all Mine are Yours, and Yours are Mine, and I am glorified in them."
~ John 17:10
Christ is GLORIFIED by those who belong to Him. Period. If there is no Christ exaltation, there can be no oneness of spirit. Whenever anyone or anything else is lifted up over the abiding single, narrow Way of Christ...that religion or group of people are NOT His. They are "out of order" and in disunity with the Body of Christ. Very simple. Is exalting Christ first in our lives? If not, we need to refocus on Him.
Church schisms really began in earnest at 431 A.D. at the Council of Nicea. The "Reformation" further revealed this split with the advent of Martin Luther's posting of his 95 Theses to the Catholic Church door in 1517. The end result of schisms have splintered us into dozens and dozens of factions. Multiple denominations still split hairs about doctrine, sacraments and methodologies. The very first major split in 431 A.D. was over the exaltation of Mary, utilizing the phrase "Mother of God" instead of "Mother of Christ." We clearly see that a shift of focus off of Christ automatically resulted in splits, schisms and disunity just as Jesus stated.
A similar analogy to Church schisms is found in the Old Testament when Israel splintered into two Kingdoms. The Northern Kingdom was known simply as Israel, while the Southern Kingdom was called Judah. (See 1 Kings 16:21). This division, like the continued denominational splits, had the effect of weakening the Israelites overall against their enemies. In the spiritual world, we battle not against flesh and blood but the ultimate enemy, Satan.
Sadly, Luther eventually dissolved, at the end of his life, into writing rambling, vengeful Anti-Semitic rants in his book "On the Jews and Their Lies." Luther is also the spiritual father of the heretical "Replacement Theology" mindset that claims Gentiles have replaced Jews as God's chosen people.
Doesn't this amaze you? Think about it: The man who is credited with being the spiritual father for most Protestant denominations is also the SAME person who wrote a book that the Nazis often used to justify their evil Anti-Jewish philosophies! The enemy of our souls has utilized this to further estrange the Jews from the Truth of their Messiah.
Like ALL of us, Luther was a "mixed bag" of polar opposites--Evil and Good fighting for the upper hand. This thought brings me to my knees more than any other. That such opposing forces can reside in one individual man is nothing short of truly sobering. I sincerely pray: "Lord, Help me not to skew Your Message and, in doing so, become an unwitting tool for the Enemy." Nothing, absolutely nothing, strikes more terror in my heart than this: The possibility, that by lack of maintaining an exceedingly close relationship to God, become a "useful idiot" for Evil. Such is the seed in all of us...the seed for Great Good and the seed for Devastating Harm.
I humbly believe that much of modern day Christianity has lost the mystery, majesty and wonderment of God. We have become self-focused instead of God-focused. Do you remember the Disney movie Mary Poppins? She had some very inexplicable behavior. When the butler demanded an explanation: "Miss Poppins-Please DO explain yourself!" She replied: "Why, I never explain anything." Just how do you fully explain the mysteries of God?
Spoiler/Answer: We cannot.
We can ponder, expostulate, theorize, reflect, meditate, but I know we must not make this mistake: We cannot ever have God all figured out. In fact, this is the very first sin!...desiring to eat from the Tree of Good and Evil/the Tree of Knowledge. If we were ever able to figure out God, we would BE God. This is impossible and one of the major root causes of sin...Pride. Humbly accept that for much of your life, your spiritual requirement is like this line from the famous Alfred, Lord Tennyson poem Charge of the Light Brigade:
Theirs not to make reply,
Theirs not to reason why,
Theirs but to do & die
There is quite a bit in the Bible about volition, will and submission by man to God's calling. The virgin Mary is quoted as saying: "May it be unto me as you have said" before He proceeded with His Sovereign plan. That scripture is there for a reason. It is important that we get into agreement with God!
Now back to Predestination and "The Elect." While studying this topic, I was led to research one of the most powerful forces of nature: Ionic Bonding. Ionic bonding is what occurs when the negative charge of electrons is attracted to and joined up with the positive charge of protons. The increasingly powerful vortex of tornadoes can be explained by ionic bonding. In explaining ionic bonding Wikipedia states: "Each successive ionization energy is markedly greater than the last."
Our relationship with God is like this. We lay down, he picks up. This process continues until we, in conjunction with God's power, become a "tour de force" for great good. At some point, there is no reversal of this bonding. The energy to bond exceeds any outside forces. I contend, therefore, that our only job each and every day is to lay our lives down. Submit. Period. Lay it down...God will pick it up. Lose your life...you will find it. Sacrifice yourself and you will live. In doing so, we become a powerful force for good. A force to be reckoned with. Perhaps we are not supposed to fully understand the mysteries of God-just accept them by Faith and, in the process, have our Faith grow. God can't be reduced to a formula or a process. God is not constrained by a Time disadvantage of seeing only from the present (like us). He sees all from beginning to end.
Thus, Predestination and Free Will are a symbiotic mystery of two interrelated concepts leading to ETERNAL LIFE. God chooses his Elect (+) and man submits by his own Volition (-). Where exactly we reach the tipping point or "point of no return" is not able to be scientifically dissected. In the meanwhile, we embrace the
"28's" of obedience to His commands, sacrificial living, praise, acts/works and cyclical cleansing (repentance).
So, do we bond to Christ our Bridegroom or does He bind to us? Do we Choose or are we Chosen?
The answer is...
YES
O Jehovah, thou hast persuaded me, and I was persuaded.
~ Jeremiah 20:7a (ASV)
Prayer:
