Recite the Primo Credo Today in the Morning and in the Evening:
Hear, O Israel: the Lord our God, the Lord is one; you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength. The second is this: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. There is no other commandment greater than these. ~Mark 12:29-31
Today is the Second Sunday of Lent, and it is not a day included in the “40 Count”. Every Sunday, we will pause to REST and REFLECT on what we have learned over the past week (in this case, four days). Today, we will continue to reflect upon the Primo Credo, (a variation of the Hebrew Shema Yisrael that Jesus himself told us was the bedrock of our entire belief system.)
We have been meditating on it now for ten days and will continue to do so until Resurrection (Easter) Sunday.
We have been reciting it every morning and every evening, as faithful Followers of YHWH have been doing for thousands of years.
We will take a “break” every Sunday through the Lenten period in order to REST. We will recite the SHEMA today and we will also spend time memorizing the passage below, which is a passage that we will be using in our continued discussion of the Shema.
Today’s Scripture Passages:
Psalm 16:8-9 (Holman Christian Standard Bible)
8 I keep the LORD in mind always. Because He is at my right hand, I will not be shaken. 9 Therefore my heart is glad, and my spirit rejoices; my body also rests securely.
Recite the Primo Credo Today in the Morning and in the Evening: Hear, O Israel: the Lord our God, the Lord is one; you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength. The second is this: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. There is no other commandment greater than these. ~Mark 12:29-31
Today, on the Ninth Day of Lent, we continue to discuss the Primo Credo, a variation of the Hebrew Shema Yisrael that Jesus himself told us was the bedrock of our entire belief system.
We have been meditating on it now for eightdays (today is day nin) and will continue to do so until Resurrection (Easter) Sunday.
We have been reciting it every morning and every evening, as faithful Followers of YHWH have been doing for thousands of years.
Today’s Scripture Passages: Deuteronomy 6 and Matthew 4:1-13 and Luke 4:1-13 (pay close attention to the footnotes of Matthew and Luke)
Lent is a time of introspection and penitence during the forty days before Resurrection Sunday. During this Holy Season, we take the time to not only look inward, but to look outward and focus on God’s ongoing reconciliatory work in the world.
The forty days of Lent are symbolic of the forty days that Christ spent in the desert, fasting and praying and being tempted by Satan. The forty day period that Christ spent in the desert is also significant, in that it represents the forty years that the Israelites wandered and were tested in the desert. In both of these ‘desert scenarios’ there were trials involving physical need/provision, concern for physical harm, and major moral dilemmas (especially with regard to who to worship).
During Lent, we take the time to contemplate that the trials commonly associated with “flesh-life" have been modeled and mastered by God Himself through Christ Jesus. It’s not only a beautiful thought, but a tremendous comfort to know that God’s Son did not come into the world as an official ambassador, with privileges, perks, and diplomatic immunity; but He came as a full-fledged citizen who was subject to the same physical limitations, needs, and vulnerabilities that we are. He leads us like a shepherd, and by example. We can truly say that we have a God who “gets” us!
Jesus is “Our Daily Bread,” but we, as humans, have the propensity to gnaw on the stale crust of “Our Daily Dread,” instead. Let me explain what I mean. We are aware that the Powers and Principalities of Man (our societies) are set up to promise the provision of physical needs (such as food), protection from harm, and preservation of moral values. We recognize that there are significant limitations to the protection that the Powers and Principalities of Man can offer us, yet we prefer the imperfect promise we know to the perfect Promise we don’t know…hence the dread. We are not sure where to put our trust, and so we straddle the fence between the World and God’s provision. The Israelites experienced this very dilemma after leaving Egypt, they had not been well cared for under Pharaoh’s care, yet when in the desert, they longed for the “discomforts of home.” Sound familiar?
In the Exodus wanderings, as the people transitioned their allegiances from Human principalities and powers to Yahweh, they underwent several tests: 1) the test to trust God for provision; 2) the test to turn to God in obedience, in the face of personal injury; and 3) the test to totally surrender to God, and worship Him alone. Sadly, they failed miserably each time. We don’t fare much better than they when we face the same dilemma.
As part of the atonement work created for Jesus to do, three scenarios occurred that re-created the Israelites’ desert trials: Jesus was tempted to trust God for provision; Jesus was tempted to turn to God in obedience, despite fear of personal injury; and Jesus was tested with regard to total surrender- would He worship god, or choose to be worshipped? Yet Jesus succeeded triumphantly!
What was the difference? What was Jesus’ secret? Well, we could (and often do…I know this is how my though pattern invariably goes…) just blow off the significance of Jesus’ desert experience by thinking, “Well, he was god, so it was easy for him to do those things.” But we forget, thereby diminishing his efforts, that Jesus was 100% man and that His suffering in the desert was just as difficult for Him as it would be for you or me. If it wasn’t- then the event wouldn’t really matter. But it does matter.
So, as a 100% human (capable of failure) - how did Jesus bar Joseph resist the devil’s wiles? We need to find out, because the answer will be immeasurable valuable to us. Part of the answer is in The Shema and the scriptures surrounding it.
On Day 7 we discussed meditation on scripture has the capacity to create a fused connection to The Word of God. When we meditate on scripture, we become wiser and gain insight, and even have the ability to have victory over those things which oppose us (enemies, and the like). (See Psalm 119: 97-99) Jesus knew this and did it. We’ve already discussed that, as a faithful and devout Jew, Jesus recited the Shema at a minimum of twice a day. But we know that Jesus didn’t hollowly recite or merely pay lip-service to the Shema. We know that he actually did what the Shema commands- he meditated on it, and thereby “bound” the scriptures to himself. This is how we know…
The sixth chapter of Deuteronomy is without dispute one of the most important passages of scripture for the Jewish people. From it comes The Great Shema. In the fourth chapters of both Matthew and Luke, we see Jesus quoting from this particular passage of scripture as He stood against Satan’s temptations in the desert. As Satan attempted to undermine Jesus’ response to God’s call on his life, Jesus rebutted Satan’s taunts by twice quoting from this passage. At one point, Jesus then quotes the context of two verses from Deuteronomy, 6:13 and 10:20, “…for it is written, ‘You shall worship the Lord your God, and serve Him only.’” Jesus’ response reflects the command Deuteronomy 6:4-5, called by the Jews, the Shema: “Hear, O Israel! The LORD is our God, the LORD is one! You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might.” Later, as we have already discussed, when Jesus was tested by a Pharisee and asked which the greatest commandment was He quoted the Shema. (Mark 12:29) The text of Deuteronomy 6 is clearly on that Jesus held close to his heart- Jesus did not merely quote the Shema; He used it in context and applied it, even to the point of using to rebuke a direct temptation. We should emulate Our Lord and do likewise.
Often, in our lives, we find ourselves in our own unique “desert” of trial, temptation, and/or tribulation. We should expect that life will bring to us times like this. We are only able to respond appropriately to difficult times in our lives in a God-honoring way if we first “prep” ourselves by rehearsing our responses and memorizing scripture. (In theological terms, this is called: “girding your loins.”)
This is one of the purposes for doing what we do at Lent. During Lent we re-create/synthesize a “desert” experience by causing ourselves to address the pertinent issues of trust, obedience, and surrender though prayer, fasting, scripture memorization, and other forms of spiritual discipline. These disciplines train us how to react during adversity and remind us what it feels like to experience adversity. (It’s “Adversity Training” if you will!)
We re-create the “test” only to remind ourselves what it must have felt like to take it. For most of use are ‘kinetic’ and ‘experiential’ learners and we better understand when we “do’ versus when we ‘hear” a lesson. Just as Christ entered into our suffering world to understand and save us, so too, we enter into His suffering in order to more deeply understand His salvation of the world.
This Ninth Day of Lent, may you persevere under trial and pass the test. May you remember that Satan may test us, but God “gets” us.
Recite the Primo Credo Today in the Morning and in the Evening:
Hear, O Israel: the Lord our God, the Lord is one; you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength. The second is this: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. There is no other commandment greater than these. ~Mark 12:29-31
Today, on the Sixth Day of Lent, we continue to discuss the Primo Credo, a variation of the Hebrew Shema Yisrael that Jesus himself told us was the bedrock of our entire belief system.
We have been meditating on it now for five days (today is day six) and will continue to do so until Resurrection (Easter) Sunday.
We have been reciting it every morning and every evening, as faithful Followers of YHWH have been doing for thousands of years.
Last year at this time,I meditated on it quietly for most of the day while away with my husband for a weekend get-away. During a two hour drive home, I closed my eyes (don’t worry, my hubby was driving) and let the words of the first line move through my spirit. My husband commented that I was sleeping. “No,” I replied, “You didn’t hear me snoring, did you?” He laughed and concurred. I really was awake that whole time with my eyes closed, fully focused on that passage.
As I meditated upon it that day,I let the words “read" me, several things came to the fore that I really needed to know and process.
I do not always have that level of success when attempting to stay focused while practicing Christian meditation.(If you want to understand Christian meditation and how it differs from other forms of meditation, I suggest you refer to the following link: http://www.allaboutspirituality.org/christian-meditation-faq.htm)
I’m very glad that I’ve kept up with learning the practice and have not allowed either my oft unsuccessful attempts or the misinformed concerns of others to discourage me.
Meditation on scripture has the capacity to create a fused connection to The Word of God. When we meditate on scripture, we become wiser and gain insight, and even have the ability to have victory over those things which oppose us (enemies, and the like). (See Psalm 119: 97-99)
That “fused connection” can also be called “binding.”
Today’s Verse is:
5 Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. 6 These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. 7 Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. 8 Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. 9 Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates. Deuteronomy 6:5-9 (New International Version)
We are called to BIND the word to ourselves. Now clearly, although it is a huge practice to wear tefellin or phylacteries (which are ornaments that have a tiny copy of the Shema written on parchment rolled up inside that are worn on the arm or forehead by devout Jews, even today), it is probably more likely that this command is made metaphorically. For example, another passage of scripture makes the command to “circumcise your hearts” but clearly if we did that we would not survive. Likewise, the command to “bind” is not necessarily meant to be taken literally, although I must admit the idea of wearing a piece of jewelry with scripture written on it is rather intriguing…
So, what does this command to bind all about, then?
Interestingly, the Hebrew translation of today’s verse says: “Speak of them while you sit in your home, while you walk on the way, when you retire and when you arise. Bind them as a sign upon your arm and let them be tefillin between your eyes.”
I think there is a clue, here in the phrase “between your eyes”…
What I’ve got between my eyes is my grey matter.
“Binding” has more to do with creating a permanent connectedness mentally to God thorugh meditation than it does with adorning ourselves with fancy holy jewelry.
Creating a permanent connectedness to The Word of God…Now that is truly a “pearl of great price”!
On this Sixth Day of Lent, may you bind God’s Word to your heart in such a way that your connectedness to Him is enhanced.Remember: whatever you bind on earth will also be bound in heaven. Amen
BIND I MYSELF
I bind unto myself this day the strong power of the Trinity. The Three in One, the One in Three, Eternal Father, Spirit, Word. Bound to Your Word I Ever Shall Be.
Bound to the Father, Bound to the Son, Bound to the Spirit, Bound to the Three in One.
Recite the Primo Credo Today in the Morning and in the Evening:
Hear, O Israel: the Lord our God, the Lord is one; you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength. The second is this: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. There is no other commandment greater than these. ~Mark 12:29-31
Today, on the Sixth Day of Lent, we continue to discuss the Primo Credo, a variation of the Hebrew Shema Yisrael that Jesus himself told us was the bedrock of our entire belief system. In fact, He said it was so important that “all the law hangs on it.”
And so, since Jesus is the “fulfillment of the law,” then we are going to spend some time understanding these few short lines in the hope that we will know The Truth more intimately.
We have been meditating on it now for five days (today is the sixth day) and will continue to do so until Resurrection (Easter) Sunday.
We have been reciting it every morning and every evening, as faithful Followers of YHWH have been doing for thousands of years.
I have mentioned this from day one, and it bears repeating… As we recite the Primo Credo, we must keep in mind that the mere recitation of any set of words cannot gain us a single inch of territory in The Kingdom of God. We do believe, though, that focusing on the Word of God intentionally, with great thought and care, rather than practicing hollow repetition, places us in a position of surrender to the Living Word of God, Christ Jesus. Our goal is to let The Word dwell in us- informing our thoughts, feelings and actions; work in us, forming us spiritually to be more like Him; and working through us, to transform the world. Our goal is for us to learn together new ways of following Jesus and to discover the difference that following Him makes, not only within us...but to a world in desperate need of Him.
Today’s Verse~
Colossians 1:15-2015 15 He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. 16For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him. 17And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together. 18And he is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent. 19For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, 20and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross.
and...
The SHEMA in Hebrew: שְׁמַע יִשְׂרָאֵל יְהוָה אֱלֹהֵינוּ יְהוָה אֶחָד Shema Yisrael YHWH Eloheinu YHWH Echad
Hear, Israel Yahweh our God Yahweh is One.
Yesterday, we discussed that YHWH is the third and fifth word of the Primo Credo. You can read it above. (Remember Hebrew is read from right to left.) The four letters (י-ה-ו-ה) are called the ‘Tetragammaton’ and are usually transliterated from Hebrew as IHVH in Latin, and YHWH in English. This is where we derive the name ‘Yahweh’ or ‘Jehovah.’ The Hebrew scripture limits the writing of the name of God to these four letters out of respect for the name of God, and as an act of literal obedience to the third commandment: “Do not take the name of the Lord your God in vain.” (Exodus 20:7)
We learned that Rabbinic Judaism teaches that because the Tetragammaton, the (י-ה-ו-ה/YHWH), is the ineffable name of God, it should never be read aloud. Hence, in the Shema, it is traditionally replaced with the word “Adonai” ("Lord").
For this reason, the Shema is recited aloud as: Shema Yisrael Adonai Eloheinu Adonai Echad Hear, Israel The LORD our God The LORD is One.
So yesterday we focused on the word “YHWH” and how it is an ancient name that has been spoken, revered for generations… It is not a word we use in daily conversation, and therefore may have little rue meaning in our hearts and minds.
So, today, we will be discussing the word “LORD” and what images and meanings it conjures up in our 21st century hearts and minds.
We talked yesterday about how the name YHWH denotes a “singularly all-powerful deity.” Additionally, we used the word “preeminence” as we discussed the power of the name of YHWH. In fact, we talked a lot about the “oneness of God” and tossed around some really wordy, weighty, witty and theological concepts.
But seriously…
What does “The Lord” really mean to us as individuals? What does it mean to our daily activities of living?
Here are a few of my 'not so esoteric’ thoughts on this: A Lord is One to whom we pledge allegiance. A Lord is One for whom I act, live and breathe. A Lord is One whom I serve, for whom I get up in the morning.
For some people their Lord is… money…power…fame…success…accolades…their children…a ministry…an altruistic cause…drugs…partying…career...addiction…cigarettes…booze…heroin…busy-ness… …or a whole host of other things (good or bad) that “run” their lives.
Your Lord is what makes your engine run. Your Lord has the power to crush or to cherish you. Depending on what or who your “Lord” is, you will be either its slave- slavishly giving it its due as it saps you of your very life…or you will be its beloved servant and you will flourish.
Only one LORD truly has the power to do the latter. His name is JESUS CHRIST.(see today's Bible verse above)
So today, I have two simple questions…
What did you get up for this morning? What makes your heart sing?
How you answer those two simple questions will most likely give you fairly good insight into what or who your Lord is…to whom you have granted preeminence in your life.
Next Question: How powerful is the name of that Lord? (note- I didn’t ask you how powerful the hold that that Lord has over you at the present time- I simply want you to ask the very powerful question, “How powerful is the NAME of that Lord over me?”)
Next Question: Is it more powerful that the name of THE LORD (YHWH) in terms of giving you the peace, abundance, grace, contentment, and authority over your life?
Fact: It makes little sense to allow Lordship of your life to anything that is unworthy, and ultimately incapable of transforming you in positive ways.
Enjoy this video as you contemplate the Power of His name…
Recite the Primo Credo Today in the Morning and in the Evening:
Hear, O Israel: the Lord our God, the Lord is one; you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength. The second is this: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. There is no other commandment greater than these. ~Mark 12:29-31
Today, on the Fifth Day of Lent, we continue to discuss the Primo Credo, a variation of the Hebrew Shema Yisrael that Jesus himself told us was the bedrock of our entire belief system. In fact, He said it was so important that “all the law hangs on it.”
And so, since Jesus is the “fulfillment of the law,” then we are going to spend some time understanding these few short lines in the hope that we will know The Truth more intimately.
We have been meditating on it now for four days (today is the fifth day) and will continue to do so until Resurrection (Easter) Sunday.
We have been reciting it every morning and every evening, as faithful Followers of YHWH have been doing for thousands of years.
I have mentioned this from day one, and it bears repeating… As we recite the Primo Credo, we must keep in mind that the mere recitation of any set of words cannot gain us a single inch of territory in The Kingdom of God. We do believe, though, that focusing on the Word of God intentionally, with great thought and care, rather than practicing hollow repetition, places us in a position of surrender to the Living Word of God, Christ Jesus. Our goal is to let The Word dwell in us- informing our thoughts, feelings and actions; work in us, forming us spiritually to be more like Him; and working through us, to transform the world. Our goal is for us to learn together new ways of following Jesus and to discover the difference that following Him makes, not only within us...but to a world in desperate need of Him.
Today’s Verse~
THE LORD gives, THE LORD takes. The LORD’S name be ever blessed. Job 1:21b
The SHEMA in Hebrew: שְׁמַע יִשְׂרָאֵל יְהוָה אֱלֹהֵינוּ יְהוָה אֶחָד Shema Yisrael YHWH Eloheinu YHWH Echad
Hear, Israel Yahweh our God Yahweh is One.
YHWH is the third and fifth word of the Primo Credo. You can read it above. (Remember Hebrew is read from right to left.) The four letters (י-ה-ו-ה) are called the ‘Tetragammaton’ and are usually transliterated from Hebrew as IHVH in Latin, and YHWH in English. This is where we derive the name ‘Yahweh’ or ‘Jehovah.’ The Hebrew scripture limits the writing of the name of God to these four letters out of respect for the name of God, and as an act of literal obedience to the third commandment: “Do not take the name of the Lord your God in vain.” (Exodus 20:7)
Rabbinic Judaism teaches that because the Tetragammaton, the (י-ה-ו-ה/YHWH), is the ineffable name of God, it should never be read aloud. Hence, in the Shema, it is traditionally replaced with the word “Adonai” ("Lord").
For this reason, the Shema is recited aloud as: Shema Yisrael Adonai Eloheinu Adonai Echad Hear, Israel The LORD our God The LORD is One.
But we are talking about the name of YHWH and how it is a name that is to be blessed above all names. One way in which the name itself is blessed is that it denotes a singularly all-powerful deity. Additionally, we “bless His holy name” out of deep and profound gratitude for His preeminence.
This preeminence is highlighted in the primary theme of the first verse; the Oneness of God.
The Lord is One…what does this really mean?
On the face of it, it appears to be a command to recognize that there on not multiple gods, each in charge of one or two small things, but rather ONE God who is in charge of everything. It certainly does draw our attention to the preeminence of YHWH…and that is a good start.
‘Oneness’ is central to Jewish belief. This oneness extends to all that God is and all that He does. The Shema declares that God is one, but also that all events are from Him and that all that happens (both what we call ‘good’ and ‘bad’) is part of ONE grand eternal plan that is from God and therefore, by definition is good and blessed.
Another interesting fact about the Shema is that the letters "Ayin" and "Daled" of the first verse are enlarged in a kind of a ‘code’ spell out the Hebrew word Aid, which means ‘witness.’ This was done by ancient scribes to denote that when we say the Shema, we are testifying to the Oneness of God.
This concept is clearly expressed when Job makes his declaration in the passage above…God gives and He takes- two things that are seemingly opposite, but both stem from the oneness of God and therefore, must be good.
To believe this takes immeasurable trust.
Understanding God in these terms can change the very way in which we view life. We can much more clearly understand what Paul wrote when he wrote: “And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.” (Romans 8:28) As a righteous Jew, we can safely assume that he recited Shema at least twice a day and from the content of his writing, it is also clear that the truth in those words had penetrated his deepest parts. Paul understood that the goodness of YHWH, the God who is One, has many facets, and that all of these facets emanate from God’s oneness. Further in the same passage, Paul writes: “For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Romans 8:38-39) Notice how Paul uses these opposites for a purpose. He is showing us here that God is One: Preeminent over all that is. Paul is not afraid of being separated from God by any of the ‘things’ listed because Paul knows that God created them all and has control over them all, and that at the End of Time, all will be reconciled. Paul’s writing expresses bold confidence in the sovereignty of God and in the preeminence of His reconciliatory power.
We share in this confidence, for we know that, at the End of Time, we too will come to understood how even the "bad" was actually for the "good."
So too, while saying the Primo Credo, we intentionally strive for this same level of belief and understanding.
Watch the video below and listen to the lyrics of the song:
So, this Fifth Day of Lent, continue to let God do His Good Work in you, as He forms and transforms your trust in His goodness and your faith in His sovereignty.
BLESS WE YOUR NAME
Bless We the Father, Bless We Son, Bless We The Spirit, Bless We the Three in One.
Recite the Primo Credo Today in the Morning and in the Evening:
Hear, O Israel: the Lord our God, the Lord is one; you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength. The second is this: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. There is no other commandment greater than these. ~Mark 12:29-31
Today is the First Sunday of Lent, and it is not a day included in the “40 Count”. Every Sunday, we will pause to REST and REFLECT on what we have learned over the past week (in this case, four days). Today, we will continue to reflect upon the Primo Credo, (a variation of the Hebrew Shema Yisrael that Jesus himself told us was the bedrock of our entire belief system. )
We have been meditating on it now for four days and will continue to do so until Resurrection (Easter) Sunday.
We have been reciting it every morning and every evening, as faithful Followers of YHWH have been doing for thousands of years.
We will take a “break” every Sunday through the Lenten period in order to REST. We will recite the SHEMA today and we will also spend time memorizing the passage below, which is a passage that we will be using in our continued discussion of the Shema.
Today’s Scripture Passages:
Psalm 16:8-9 (Holman Christian Standard Bible)
8 I keep the LORD in mind always. Because He is at my right hand, I will not be shaken. 9 Therefore my heart is glad, and my spirit rejoices; my body also rests securely.
Recite the Primo Credo Today in the Morning and in the Evening:
Hear, O Israel: the Lord our God, the Lord is one; you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength. The second is this: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. There is no other commandment greater than these. ~Mark 12:29-31
Today, on the Fourth Day of Lent, we continue to discuss the Primo Credo, the part of the Scripture that Jesus himself told us was the bedrock of our entire belief system. In fact, He said it was so important that “all the law hangs on” it. Since Jesus is the “fulfillment of the law,” then it makes sense for us to pay close attention to this thing that He informed us was at the very foundation of Truth.
At the very beginning of our journey together, on day two, we discussed that we will be meditating on it over the period leading up to Resurrection (Easter) Sunday; and we talked about reciting it every morning and every evening.
Just a reminder here… we talked about the practice of ‘fasting’ and how this exercise is to promote in a a kind of ‘spiritual intentionality’ that will move us away from spiritual sloppiness and provide us with a more disciplined approach to learning about and knowing God. We remember that the mere recitation of any set of words cannot gain us a single inch of territory in God’s Kingdom.
We do believe, though, that focusing on the Word of God intentionally, with great thought and care, rather than practicing hollow repetition, places us in a position of surrender to the Living Word of God, Christ Jesus. Our goal is to let The Word work in us, and hopefully through us, and back out of us.As I mentioned in my earlier post, Lent is the period of forty days before Easter Our goal is that we use this time together to be formed and to grow into more spiritually mature people. Our goal is for us to learn together new ways of following Jesus and to discover the difference that following Him makes.
Today’s Verse~ Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God. Colossians 3:16
BODY is the second main word of the Primo Credo. Don’t see it? You’re not alone, but allow me some theological and literary latitude, here. I will explain…
You’ve probably already assessed that the second main word here is “Israel,” and you are absolutely correct. But lest we get confused thinking that “Israel” here really means a country or even a historical group of people- I’d like to suggest a different way of looking at it. “Israel” is a BODY of people that transcends time and place. It is the BODY of people who follow God obediently through the "desert" in order to be vessels declaring His great Good News, and vassals who serve and praise Him and serve and encourage others in His Kingdom. You and I are Israel if we follow Christ.
But because nomenclature often gets confusing, we will simplify things a little today and discuss the command of the Primo Credo in terms of BODY.
The command (credo/creed) was given to a group of people. It was intended to be recited individually, yet as a community- communally…corporately. It was therefore not intended to be mere words that penetrated individuals; it was intended to take a shape of its own (as the Word of God invariably does…). It was intended to shape the heart of a Nation.
The Apostle Peter reflects this in his writing to members of the Early Church Body when he writes: But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God,that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light… (1 Peter 2:9)
No doubt, Peter was quoting from the early Hebrew Scriptures, most likely from Exodus 19:6, where God declares to the Israelites, “you will be for me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.”
If you are “In Christ,” you are part of the BODY of Christ and a citizen of a HOLY NATION…a priest, even!
So what does that mean? I think it means we are BLESSED to be included in the Nation of God's People- I means that's one great 'club' to be a member of, right? But that’s not the end of the story…
We’re not blessed as an end in itself- we’re blessed by God TO BE A BLESSING TO OTHERS. Look again above at the verse from 1 Peter. It says: “that you may declare the praises of Him.” Now look at how nicely that verse dovetails with Colossians 3:16. We are to declare, teach, admonish, sing God’s praises, worship and sing hymns to The One who has called us out of darkness.
A People who do that simply cannot be ignored. People that act like that RADIATE and SHINE! When we, as a body, become “bearers of the Light,” we can do nothing other than bless the world. And that is God’s plan and desire for us… that we allow Him to work through us to be conduits of salvation and reconciliation in this broken world.
Our identity is Israel, or The Body of Christ. In Isaiah 58, God told the Israelites that he was not pleased with their fast, that He was not impressed with their ability to discipline their bodies because He wanted a different kind of “fast” from them. He wanted them to be a corporate community, obedient to the stirrings of The Spirit, with a shared vision and a heart for justice and mercy in the world. He wanted the People of Israel (read: Body of Christ) to stop focusing on their individual “holier-than-thou-ness” and to start nurturing a communal “righteousness” that would end up Shining Brightly in the World in such a way that the world would be transformed by it.
Watch the video below and listen to the lyrics of the song:
So, to sum it all up: we “give up” and we “take up” during Lent solely to be formed into the likeness of Christ, so that we can glorify God by becoming His vessels and vassals to a broken world. But we cannot do it alone, we must do it as part of the Body of Christ.
So, this Fourth Day of Lent, continue to let God do His Good Work in you, as He forms and transforms you further into His likeness. P.S. : Shine!
SHINE WE THIS DAY Obey We the Father, Obey We Son, Obey We the Spirit, Obey We the Three in One.
Recite the Primo Credo Today in the Morning and in the Evening:
Hear, O Israel: the Lord our God, the Lord is one; you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength. The second is this: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. There is no other commandment greater than these. ~Mark 12:29-31
Today, on the Third Day of Lent, we continue to discuss the Primo Credo. Yesterday we discussed that we will be meditating on it over the period leading up to Resurrection (Easter) Sunday; and we talked about reciting it every morning and every evening. Further, we stressed the importance of intentionality; thinking, feeling, and meaning the words as we repeat them- not just hollowly reciting them. Our goal is to let the words work in us, and hopefully through us, and back out of us.
So let’s start teasing apart the many layers to the “onion” that is the Primo Credo. (It’s a pearl onion, if I do say so…small and multi-layered.)
HEAR is the first word. And so, we take heed, for the God of all creation has called out to us through time and space with a command: “HEAR!”
Watch the video below:
God wants us to listen carefully to what he has to teach us in the Primo Credo. There is so much to be gleaned, that I am going to be hard pressed to cover it all in just forty days, but I will at least highlight the highpoints…
What is involved when you really need to hear something? Ever been on the phone in a crowed room? (Dumb question, huh?) Ever been on the phone and someone in the room where you were attempted to get your attention? Two things come to my mind: I need silence, and I need to remove myself from the distractions.
I need to do these two things so that I can hear, but also listen…
I cannot truly love someone (in the active sense of the word love) if I do not give them my time and my full attention.
God instructs us to “Be still, and know that I am God.” (Psalm 46:10). He who created us and who knows the workings of our neurological system intimately calls us to silence so that we may know Him. He wants us to set aside time for Him and only Him. He wants us to give him our undivided attention. We need to know Him just as much as we need to love Him.
“Be still and know that I am God!” He implores to us through the clamor.
Dietrich Bonhoeffer said it well when he said: “Any study of Christ must begin in silence.”
When we quiet ourselves to contemplate God, we must first slow our pace and the sounds around us to a dull roar. We need things to be quiet enough that we can tune into God, become aware of who He is, and who we are in Him. We need to bask in His very essence, in those things that make Him who He Is.
God is… Omnipotent (all powerful), Omniscient (all knowing), and Omnipresent (everywhere).
When we begin to truly know God and His unique traits, we truly begin to acknowledge the fact that we are not God.
We are not all powerful…
We are not all knowing…
We are limited by space and time.
These are “weaknesses” that we must embrace., and in embracing them, we realize that it is okay to be how we were designed to be…human.
Only in embracing this weakness can we put ourselves in a position of safe vulnerability- a position in which we claim our weakness and claim the strength of a Higher Power.
Doing this actually puts us in a very advantageous position-in the palm of His hand.
Slowing down, becoming tuned in allows us to rediscover these truths about God, and by default- ourselves.
It is good to choose a regular time every day to be quiet. As we shut out all the distractions and false voices that the world throws at us, we become more in tune with God and who we are in Him.
Take time now to BE STILL…
Repeat the SHEMA, slowly, deliberately, and intentionally. Let the words work their way deep within you.
Prayer: LISTEN I THIS DAY
Listen I this day to the Father, Listen I this day to the Son, Listen I to the Holy Spirit, Listen I to the Three in One.
As I mentioned in my earlier post, Lent is the period of forty days before Easter that is characterized by prayer, penitence, almsgiving and self-denial. Sometimes these things can be done in a manner that is hollow. My goal for us is that we use this time together to be formed and to grow into more spiritually mature people. My goal is for us to learn together new ways of following Jesus and to discover the difference that following Him makes.
I’m excited about this journey and am looking forward to being transformed “from glory to glory’ (as the apostle Paul described it) with you…
I mentioned in yesterday’s post that we would be focusing on what Scot McKnight refers to as “The Jesus Creed,” and what Mark Batterson refers to a “Primal Christianity.” I will refer to the verses below as the “Jesus Creed,” the “Primo Credo” (in an attempt to coalesce the thoughts of McKnight and Batterson), and also the SHEMA:
Today’s Verse:
Hear, O Israel: the Lord our God, the Lord is one; you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength. The second is this: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. There is no other commandment greater than these. ~Mark 12:29-31
Lent is often thought of as a time of “giving up”(fasting). This tradition stretches past the beginnings of Christianity to the Jewish faith itself. But at Lent, there is another (less utilized) practice, known as “taking on” wherein a person begins to something they didn’t do before (it’s the opposite of giving up).
Now before you get any silly ideas about taking on eating chocolate three meals a day or any other such thing- this practice is intended to be utilized in order to discipline ourselves toward doing something good (that we normally would not do)for ourselves, others, and God.
This Lent, I suggest we “take on” the task of reciting the Primo Credo in the morning upon rising and at night upon retiring (at least). As we take on this task, we will still end up “fasting” something. We will be fasting spiritual sloppiness, we will be abstaining from complacency. Get it?
The righteous Jews of Jesus’ day (and Jesus was a righteous Jew) did this. What they recited was know as the SHEMA (that means “hear” in Hebrew) and it is the same as above, minus the last two lines. You can find the SHEMA in the Old Testament book of Deuteronomy. The last two lines come from the book of Leviticus (and other places in the Old Testament, too). It is stressed quite often by God that the Hebrew people were to be a hospitable people who loved the “alien and the stranger”. Jesus co-mingled the two thoughts (loving God and loving others) and told those who asked Him what was the "Greatest Commandment" that all the laws that God had given man could be categorized as falling under one of these two thoughts.
Since we are making a point of setting ourselves apart for the next 38 days in order that God might reveal Himself to us and grow us toward Himself, I think it makes sense that we recite these verses and meditate on them in the days leading up to Resurrection Sunday.
As we begin talking about “taking on” a practice, we must first and foremost be clear in our minds as to our intentions. We do not practice spiritual disciplines with the goal of impressing God, or even with the goal of somehow making ourselves more holy or righteous. The Latin word “disciple” means students and it is the word from which we derive both words- “discipline” and “disciple.” Hence, we call our bodies, minds, hearts and souls away from the unintentional. In other words, we choose to focus our actions, thoughts…our very lives on God in order to learn from Him, and to be changed and formed by Him. In the words of a very wise man: “Work to become, not to acquire.” – Confucius. And so it is with soul work, to…We do it to, by His grace, become like Him, but we don’t do it to acquire salvation or acquire His adulation. So to sum this up: our efforts with regard to spiritual disciplines, at Lent or any other time, to not earn us salvation, they force us to grow. Dallas Willard puts it this way: “Grace is not opposed to effort, it's opposed to earning.”
The effort of reciting the SHEMA does this for us in many ways-but only if we recite it intentionally and not just in wrote fashion. It is the word of God, and because the Word of God is “living and active’ (Hebrews 4:12)-as we say it, think it, and contemplate it takes on a life of its own and burrows down into the deepest part of us and it begins to “form” us. We become students (disciples) to the lessons that the Word wants to teach us.
And so we listen to and learn our lessons….
Prayer:
COME I THIS DAY Come I this day to the Father, Come I this day to the Son, Come I to the Holy Spirit, Come I to the Three in One.
Lent is the period of forty days before Easter that is characterized by prayer, penitence, almsgiving and self-denial.
The word is derived from the Anglo-Saxon word lengten meaning ‘Spring’.
The symbolism of Spring is one that we will put to use during our time together. In the Spring, we think about rebirth and New life and these are concepts that are close to the heart of Eastertide.
Look at the lyrics below and listen to the song on the video- link.
Use the time to contemplate where you are in your spiritual walk.
Every Season by Nichole Nordeman
Every evening sky, an invitation To trace the patterned stars And early in July, a celebration For freedom that is ours And I notice You In children’s games In those who watch them from the shade Every drop of sun is full of fun and wonder You are summer
And even when the trees have just surrendered To the harvest time Forfeiting their leaves in late September And sending us inside Still I notice You when change begins And I am braced for colder winds I will offer thanks for what has been and was to come You are autumn
And everything in time and under heaven Finally falls asleep Wrapped in blankets white, all creation Shivers underneath And still I notice you When branches crack And in my breath on frosted glass Even now in death, You open doors for life to enter You are winter
And everything that’s new has bravely surfaced Teaching us to breathe What was frozen through is newly purposed Turning all things green So it is with You And how You make me new With every season’s change And so it will be As You are re-creating me Summer, autumn, winter, spring.
As we move from Winter to Spring, we cannot help but think about how the circle of life moves us from life to death to life again.
In what parts of your life are you experiencing spiritual dormancy or death? Have you ever experienced spiritual newness preparing to 'bravely and boldly burst forth'? What does that feel like?
As we enter the Season of Lent, which culminates in Easter, or Resurrection Sunday, we take the time to prepare ourselves to be fully aware of where we are spiritually. Lent is the season for the experience of giving your life over in each moment- heart, soul, mind and strength- to God. This “giving over” involves a deliberate surrender to Christ and to what the Holy Spirit is showing us. As we surrender ourselves to God and let the Spirit work in us, we “die to ourselves.” But this is a good thing, not a bad one, because it is only through dying to ourselves that we gain New Life.
In Lent, we take responsibility for our actions, and passions, and we take our thoughts captive. Because we are eager to lose all those things which separate us from loving God completely, we take this time to learn ways that will form us into more loving and receptive children. Only when we are formed by the Holy Spirit into loving and receptive children can we experience fully a satisfying relationship with God. We don’t learn spiritual practices or perform spiritual disciplines as a way to curry favor with God or try to gain our salvation. We humbly acknowledge that Christ has already done that for us, because we NEVER could achieve salvation through our works. Yet we also recognize the importance of making an intentional effort to do things that are life-enhancing and which will draw our full attention to the New Life offered to us through Christ.
As we travel this journey together, we will be focusing on being followers of Jesus, by looking at what it means to be "formed in his image" and we'll be aking the question:
"So What? What difference does following Jesus make?"
One of the ways in which we will be doing this is by learning about what Scot McKnight refers to as “The Jesus Creed,” and what Mark Batterson refers to a Primal Christianity. We will discuss what it means to love God with all our heart, soul, mind and strength. We will also learn and develop spiritual practices/disciplines (habits) that can heighten our desires for, awareness of, and love of God and which will also strip down the barriers that we put up within ourselves between us and God and us and others.
Come back daily everyday between now and Easter Sunday for more lenten thoughts.
