Banging Heads With God

I have been a fight-fan all of my life. From boxing and wrestling matches (the real and the fake stuff) to Mixed Martial Arts, I love to watch a good fight ...as long as I'm not the one taking the hits!

But did you know that God loves to bang-it-up in the ring, too? I know we usually talk about God's wonderful comfort and gentle embrace, but I have to admit that I have also experienced the whiplash of His 'flying headlock' and the domination of His 'rear-naked-choke-hold'. ...there have definitely been times when God put the smack-down on my life!

After surviving a few of these "brutiful" (brutal & beautiful) encounters, I discovered something subtly distinct about God's combat techniques... sometimes He fights, and at other times He wrestles. Let me explain.

Fighting and wrestling are two completely different styles of physical engagement. For the fighter, his plan is simply to beat his opponent into unconsciousness, while the wrestler's intent is to pin his opponent to the floor using strategic maneuvers. In the end, the fighter's goal is to damage his opponent, while the wrestler's quest is to simply alter and control his opponent's position. 

Throughout the Bible (and in my life), I've discovered that God sometimes rages like a Fighter and then at other times like a ground and pound Wrestler. Let's check-out these roles one at a time.

Exodus 15:3 (NIV)
      "The Lord is a Warrior; the Lord is His Name."

Personally, I am so grateful that God has a Warrior inside His nature. Don't get me wrong, I am beyond thankful for His grace and mercy - I need both of those in my life daily. But His willingness to respond passionately against the enemies of my life is a comforting and assuring thought. Just the idea that God refuses to sit back and watch me get my head beat-in by the 'hell's thugs' helps me sleep better at night.

As a Warrior, God decidedly knows how to take care of His people - He's never faced an enemy He hasn't been able to eradicate! Yep... God has a 'hot button', and when it's pushed, He's the baddest Dude that block has eva' seen!

Then there's the "other" side to God's physicality in dealing with people - the Wrestler. One of my favorite stories in the Bible tells of where God literally locks-it-up with a man named Jacob. The sports headlines read, "Smackdown 1906 B.C.: Jake vs. Jehovah!" 

Genesis 32:24 (NIV)
      "So Jacob was left alone, and a man wrestled with him till daybreak."

Can you imagine telling your friends that you physically wrestled with God? The Hebrew word for wrestle in this verse means, to grapple (to get dusty). Bottom line... Jacob and God were literally rolling around in a cloud of dust - sweating, grabbing, twisting, pushing and pulling like two kids fighting over a PlayStation remote. The Bible goes on to say that when the scuffle was finished, Jacob walked away with a limp, a blessing and a new name (I'll have to blog about these three results some day!). Thankfully for Jacob, God shifted His tactic from fighting/warring against him to wrestling and engaging him hand-to-hand - which ultimately altered Jacob's character and destiny.  

Here's the Key: God fights with His enemies, but He wrestles with those He loves! 

• The Warrior uses weapons to destroy; the Wrestler uses moves to gain control.
• The Warrior keeps a distance from his opponent; the Wrestler stays close and in constant contact.
• The Warrior makes you bleed; the Wrestler makes you sweat.
• The Warrior dis-positions you; the Wrestler re-positions you.
• The Warrior makes you weaker; the Wrestler makes you stronger.

We are all going to experience some brutiful seasons with God. He's going to grapple against your will, but stay close by your side. He's going to allow you to struggle and sweat through tough seasons, while subtly re-positioning you for a better life. You simply have to believe that God's plan will never destroy you; His push is there to strengthen you; His grip is there to protect you; His squeeze is there to comfort you... and the weight of his Presence is there to cover you with His love!

The truth is, my greatest moments of change, advance and growth have only happened after I've experienced a Head-to-head "ALTAR-cation" with the Greatest Wrestler of all time...

Now, climb back in the ring and let Him finish what He started!

5 Hebraic Insights: Jesus is Our Passover Lamb

I love ‘hidden object’ games. Ever played one? The challenge is to identify various objects (i.e. hammer, ring, feather) that are obscured below the initial look of a normal picture. This is exactly what studying the Hebrew roots of Christianity feels like to me. It is a treasure hunt through the Hebraic culture, customs, rituals and language only to discover invaluable insights to the Christian faith and the life of Jesus.

As we celebrate this week of Passover, check-out these five hidden Hebraic mysteries that identify Jesus as our Passover Lamb!

1. A lamb was the required Passover sacrifice.

       Lamb: God told Moses to have each family choose a perfect, spotless lamb from their herd to be a substitute-sacrifice for the sins of their family. (Exodus 12:3)

       Jesus: The bible tells us that Jesus led a sinless life (Hebrews 4:15) – making Him the perfect and only Sacrifice to take our place and remove our sins (John 1:29).

2. Each family took the Passover lamb into their house four days before it was sacrificed.

       Lamb: After choosing a lamb to be sacrificed for the sins of the household, the family would bring the lamb into their home to live with them for four days prior to the sacrifice. In fact, Jewish tradition goes on to tell us that they would name, handle and play with the lamb, essentially making it a family pet. All of this was done to assure that each family member would personally feel the impact, sacrifice and loss at the death of the lamb. (Exodus 12:3,6)

       Jesus: The Bible is specific to inform us that exactly four days before His crucifixion, Jesus entered Jerusalem with people praising Him and calling Him by name. Jesus then ministered throughout the city, giving the hometown crowd the opportunity to personally meet, connect with and "handle" Him before His crucifixion. (Matthew 21:1-11)

3. The Passover lamb was roasted upright on a stake.

       Lamb: Jewish tradition tells us that one of the required regulations for preparing the Passover lamb was for it to be roasted and placed upright on a spit or a stake. Another stick was inserted across the shoulders to spread the front legs wide-open. Many rabbinic sources admit not understanding the exact purpose behind the mandatory upright, wide-open ‘posture’ of the lamb other than to fully cook the lamb. 

       Jesus: To Christians, the purpose of this command paints a vivid, undeniable picture of Jesus crucified up-right with His arms stretched open - suspended between heaven and earth on the cross. (Matthew 27)

   

4. The Passover lamb was to have no bones broken.

       Lamb: Specific instruction was given by God to Moses to not break any bones of the lamb. (Exodus 12:46)

       Jesus: What would be the illogical purpose in 'not breaking a bone of the lamb' other than to foreshadow a specific detail of Jesus' sacrifice? Remember - the bible takes specific effort to inform us that not one of Jesus' bones were broken throughout His crucifixion process. Just interesting... or intentional? (Psalms 34:20, John 19:31-37)

5. The Passover lamb’s intestines were placed on top of lamb's head. 

       Lamb: Rabbinic writings (Mishnah - tracte Pesahim) tell of the required procedures in preparing the lamb, accompanied by a curious Jewish tradition of placing the lamb's intestines atop of its head as it stood upright on the stake. No real purpose was identified, yet for centuries, the Passover lamb was adorned with a type of 'head covering' - called the "crown of the Passover lamb".

       Jesus: One of the brutal elements intended to mock and torture Jesus during His crucifixion was to have a 'crown of thorns' placed on His head. Again, looking back to the lamb's intestine-covered head, it is easy to see the foreshadowing of the crown Jesus would one day wear on His head as He hung suspended between heaven and earth. (John 19:2)

Please understand that many, many more parallels and connections could be made to identify Jesus, the "Lamb of God", to the Passover lamb mentioned in Exodus. However, Hebrews 10:1-18 identifies the one glaring difference... Jesus is the 'ultimate and final sacrifice' and His death as the "Lamb of God", the final Passover sacrifice, has atoned for the sins of all mankind for eternity! 

Chag Sameach! (Happy Passover!)

The 7 Places Jesus Bled

Passover/Easter weekend carries the paradoxical reality of being a sobering celebration  for Christians around the world. It is a time where we gratefully remember the heinous murder of Jesus and the eternal-life he purchased for all of us with His death and resurrection... if only we will believe. 

As many are aware, Jesus died under the Roman sentence of scourging and crucifixion - a punishment that was brutal, vicious, bloody, sadistic, torturous and beyond humane. Yet, true to His thirty-three year earth-mission, even every aspect of this execution was full of intention and purpose.

Let's identify the seven major areas where Jesus bled bodily... and then connect the impact that His bleeding from these areas has upon our lives today. After all, doesn't it make sense that if Jesus' entire life was a 'mission from heaven', then even the details of His torturous death carried a purpose as well? 

7 Areas Jesus Bled for Us

1. Pours of His Skin

    Gethsemane was the place where Jesus' sweat became like 'great drops of blood' (a 

    medical condition called 'hematohidrosis'). Gethsemane was known as 'a place of  

    pressing or crushing' - where the olive was pressed until the oil was squeezed out. 

             1 Peter 5:7 "Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you." (NIV) 

    

    Jesus endured the weight of the world as he prayed alone that night in Gethsemane and 

    His body began breaking-down under the emotional pressure, strain and stress He was 

    bearing.

    Jesus already bled for your strength and security in spite of the heaviness, pressure and 

    stress you would encounter in life!

2. Head

    A 'crown of thorns' was pressed down onto His head, gouging and penetrating into His 

    brow. Jesus' bleeding wounds completely surrounded His head - and mind.

             Isaiah 26:3 "You will keep him in perfect peace whose mind is steadfast, because 

             he trusts in you." (NIV)

    Jesus already bled for your peace-filled mind and thoughts.

3. Hands

    Jesus' hands/wrists were pierced-through with iron spikes - securing His arms to the 

    cross.

             Deut. 28:12 "The Lord will open the heavens, the storehouses of his bounty, to 

             send rain on your land in season and to bless all the work of your hands. You will 

             lend to many nations but ill borrow from none." (NIV)

    Jesus already bled for the produce, increase and prosperity for your life! 

4. Feet

    Jesus' feet were stacked atop each other and pierced-through with an iron spike - 

    securing His legs to the cross.

              Deut. 11:24 "Every place where you set your foot will be yours..."

              Psalms 119:133 "Direct my footsteps according to your word..."

    Jesus already bled for the authority and direction of your life!

5. Side/Heart

    After hanging on the cross for hours, a Roman soldier impaled Jesus with a spear through 

    His side and into his heart - assuring His death. 

               Psalms 147:3 "He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds."

    Jesus already bled for the healing of your broken-heart!

6. Face

    Jesus was blindfolded and then punched in the face by the soldiers, just before they    

    ripped His beard out by the handfuls and then lined-up to spit into the open wounds of 

    His face. No doubt, His eyes were blacked and swollen, His cheeks were raw and ripped 

    open and His lips were busted and bleeding. According to the cultural and criminal 
    etiquette and of that day, we know that this treatment was solely intended to 
    humiliate, shame and disgrace Jesus.

              Hebrews 12:2 "Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the Author and Finisher of our faith, 

              who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, scorning the shame, and sat 

              down at the right hand of the throne of God." (NIV)

    Jesus already bled to remove the shame and disgrace off of your life!

7. Back

    Jesus was beaten with a Roman scourge made up of nine strips of leather embedded 

    with bone, metal and sharp stones. The thirty-nine strips that Jesus received would have 

    delivered over 1000 wounds to His back and hips.

               Isaiah 53:4-5 "Surely He hath borne our griefs and carried our sorrows: yet we   

               did esteem Him stricken, smitten of God and afflicted. But He was wounded for 

               our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our 

               peace was upon Him; and with His stripes we are healed." (KJV)

Jesus already bled to remove sickness, dis-ease, grief and sorrows off your life!

Jesus allowed them to beat Him from behind so that everything behind you would be defeated, too! Now, everything that tries to run-up behind you from your 'past' simply runs into the atoning blood of Jesus... no more history, reputation or fear to run from. You are free!

Bottom Line: Jesus became the "living Word" (John 1:14), died as the "Lamb of God" (John 1:29) and provided healing and deliverance from all destruction (Ps. 107:20) in every area of our lives! Now... go enjoy your Easter/Passover celebration with the TOTAL LIFE that Jesus provided for you on Calvary, because... Jesus already bled for that!