THE CONSTITUTION AS COVENANT

By James Wilson

            Covenant as both concept and reality has its origins in the people of the Old Testament.  The earliest recorded covenant is between Noah and God the Father.  God promises to bless Noah and his descendants and to never again flood the earth; Noah promises to serve God all his days.  A later covenant is between Abram – later Abraham – and God the Father.  In it God promises to bless and prosper Abram and his descendants and the patriarch promises to serve God to the exclusion of all others.  He commits to circumcision as a sign of his belonging to Yahweh – God.  The covenant with Moses is more elaborate, spelling out ten standards of behavior that will indicate human faithfulness to God while He gives them the promised land, Eretz Israel, and blesses and prospers them in the land.  By the time of the Mosaic Covenant other nations and cultures were entering into such agreements, but the Hebrews were unique in claiming their covenants were with the One God and originated with Him.

            Covenants are agreements between two corporate parties, one of whom is clearly the senior and stronger partner.  They state rights and responsibilities for the protection and blessing of the weaker by the stronger and the service or obedience to be rendered by the weaker to the stronger.  Covenants differ from contracts in that they are open ended – more like a cornucopia than a closed container.  Within the parameters of the Covenant – the Ten Commandments in the case of the Biblical Old Covenant – both parties are free to expand.  God can do more than He promised and the people can offer more profound service, but neither is free to give less than originally promised.

             The first American covenant – as opposed to a charter or contract of incorporation – is the Mayflower Compact of 1620.  The Pilgrims pledge to give all glory to God and advance the Christian Faith as they establish a human government for making such laws as would facilitate their divinely ordained purposes and the general good of the people.  In other words, the people themselves are the senior and stronger party; they create and commit to blessing government in order that it might serve them.  Other American civil covenants – such as the Constitution – follow this pattern.

            The point here is that most people think government the senior and stronger party because it has the backing of armed forces and agencies.  But the genius behind our Constitution and the laws created to implement it is that the people are sovereign.  We created and bless a government – but only so long as it serves us as the stronger and senior partner to whom it owes allegiance and submission.  That is why we specify which powers government may wield and state that any powers not specifically granted are not its property.  That is why we have a Bill of Rights for the protection of the people and nothing for the protection of government.

            Truth is we have never lived up to our end of the covenant with God; I refer here to Old and New Covenants that – in Christ – apply to all peoples everywhere.  The beauty of the founding of America is that our first leaders understood and proclaimed this reality.  Some periods have been better than others, the Great Awakenings coming immediately to mind.  But the sovereignty we hold over government was a gift of the sovereign God to Whom we owe all we have.  Instead of serving Him we have all too often exercised the sovereignty we were given to enslave some and slaughter others.  We have ceded power to government it was never meant to have.  We did all these things because of what we thought emergencies – as though God failed to foresee the westward expansion, the Great Depression, or even the War on Terror, and we had to step in and do what He could not.  This is idolatry – worshipping ourselves and our intellect in the place of God.  And the fruit is in the bin.

            Today we have massive unemployment, fifty million Americans on food stamps in the richest country in history, a government spying on us and threatening our right of religious liberty, free expression of ideas, and the responsibility of parents to seek appropriate medical aid and education for their children without government interference.  Even our children’s diets are under supervision.                      

            There is a way to address this impasse in a potent way, but it will require a lot more than some massive get-out-the-vote drive and educating the population regarding our origins and destiny.  The next posting of this blog will begin that address.

James A. Wilson is the author of Living As Ambassadors of Relationships and The Holy Spirit and the End Times – available at local bookstores or by e-mailing him at

praynorthstate@charter.net

TURNING THE FATHERS' HEARTS

By James Wilson

            The Genesis Generation – born after 1983 – have been called a fatherless generation, as has my own Boomer Generation.  In 2008 God called out a new season based on Luke 1:17.  The verse – in its prophetic context – proclaims a John the Baptist generation of fathers (and mothers) turning their hearts to the children…all children.  Fast forward to 2014 and I happened to watch two movies about fathering on a flight from Malaysia home to the States.

            The first was the critically acclaimed Nebraska, a film I cannot acclaim.  It depicts an alcoholic, thoroughly self-absorbed, and utterly disengaged father played – superbly – by Bruce Dern.  He imagines he has won a million dollar prize and is obsessed with traveling from Billings, Montana, to Lincoln, Nebraska, to claim it.  His sons and his wife move heaven and earth to get him there, in the vain hope he might actually notice the sacrifices they make for him.  He stops in his home town – in Nebraska – and interacts with old friends and relatives just as useless as he is; their reason for living is to con or coerce him out of money he has not won.  The few people he knows who have lived decent lives and want nothing from him are given a few meaningless moments of screen time.  It is all about this loser who never gets it and does nothing to justify his existence, relieve the suffering he has caused, or bless his children.

            The second was the un-acclaimed Delivery Man.  Vince Vaughn plays David Wozniak, another loser, but with the difference that he wants to be different.  David donates sperm twenty years back and takes his whole family to Europe on the proceeds from his donation.  He discovers the clinic used his sperm to sire more than five hundred children with nearly one hundred fifty demanding to know him despite the confidentiality agreement he signed.  Although his lawyer assures him he can win a lawsuit against the clinic if his name is leaked – he does win the suit – he comes gradually and freely to accept responsibility for fathering these kids.  Beginning with reluctance, and without revealing his identity, he helps one secure a job, another kick a heroin addiction, and gifts his time to still another.  Turning his heart to his children moves him to get rid of the marijuana grow in his apartment and, ultimately, to reveal himself.  In other words, turning his heart to his children changes him and creates authentic adult humanity in him.

            David freezes when he meets his son with cerebral palsy, but – haltingly – steps up to the plate for this challenge as well.  He makes the necessary commitment to really father his newborn son with his girlfriend, and commits to marry her.  This is a film I do acclaim for presenting a man donning authentic humanity by taking up the challenge to turn his heart to the children – any children – because that is God-in-Christ’s heart in this season.

            There is plenty of good teaching about the Father Heart of God.  There are plenty of opportunities for fatherless ones to experience that love from Him, mediated through men and women willing to parent in His image.  But there is precious little on the reality that the act of fathering is what makes us good sons and daughters as well as good fathers and mothers.  It works a lot like the centurion’s faith in Matthew 8:5-13.  The centurion understands that Jesus need only order it and his paralyzed servant is healed.  He understands Jesus’ authority because he operates both in and under authority as a Roman officer.  Jesus applauds his faith as unparalleled in Israel.  And the best news is that we need not know how to parent to begin.  It is on-the-job training, just as it was for David Wozniak.

            My own father had no patriarchal role model growing up.  He made plenty of mistakes raising me – hurtful mistakes.  But when the chips were down he stepped up to the plate.  He pushed when I needed pushing and had my back when I needed him behind me.  He blessed me on my wedding day like one of the biblical patriarchs although he could not have understood – in biblical terms – what he did.  I hope my children – those I raised and those I spiritually father – see my father and my God in me.

            Our alternatives are simple.  We can be as self-centered as the Bruce Dern character and kid ourselves that he is interesting, or we can be as Christ-centered as David Wozniak turns out to be – whether or not he knows it.  The choice is very simple.

           

James A. Wilson is the author of Living As Ambassadors of Relationships and The Holy Spirit and the End Times – available at local bookstores or by e-mailing him at

praynorthstate@charter.net

Timeless Treasure

And we all…are being transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.~2 Corinthians 3:18

There’s an important concept in evaluating antiques and antiquities known as “Provenance.”  What exactly is provenance?  Provenance is the concept by which items, even those that may ordinarily be considered seemingly worthless, become a valuable treasure through association with history or a famous person.  The item gains luster or value, over and above its inherent value, because of this association.  Collectors want to know if an item was ever touched by a great man or woman or used in an important historical context. 

Michael Flanagan, a Baltimore dealer of antique American furniture and one of the appraisers on the popular ANTIQUES ROADSHOW, has this to say about the concept of Provenance:

"Provenance is important because objects are almost never singular, Provenance separates the special, almost sacred objects of the past from the ordinary ones." He describes provenance as an object's "itinerary through time."

For instance, pens and inkwells from the 1860’s may be readily found, but the exact one used by Abraham Lincoln to sign the Emancipation Proclamation is on display in the Massachusetts Historical Society.  It is of inestimable value. 

The Bible has a similar concept.  God has created all of us.  We can live our lives in a very ordinary, non-descript manner.  That is our own personal choice.  OR we can align ourselves and our lives with Christ and gain His luster. 

When a potter makes jars out of clay, doesn't he have a right to use the same lump of clay to make one jar for decoration and another to throw garbage into?

~Romans 9:21 (New Living Translation)

9=Holy Spirit

21=Judgment

I think Mary Magdalene is a prime example of someone who started out very ordinary but ended up with great provenance due to her association with Christ. 

Was she the Woman caught in the act of adultery? While the Bible does not specifically clarify this, many theologians believe she may have been Mary Magdalene.  Mary may have also been the woman depicted in the Bible who anointed Jesus with precious perfume oils. 

When the Pharisee who had invited Him saw this, he said to himself, "If this man were a prophet, He would know who is touching Him and what kind of woman she is--that she is a sinner."

~Luke 7:39

He knew.  She was a “crackpot”, an earthen jug, discarded by society.  Possibly she was the woman caught in adultery.  Other theories postulate that Mary was the daughter of the Gentile woman who only asked Jesus for “the crumbs under the table” like a dog.  Like a dog…content to be at the feet of the Master.  Jesus had mercy on her and cast a demon out of her daughter.

 

She loved much because she was forgiven much.  Scripture tells us that Mary Magdalene ultimately had seven demons cast out of her.  I think this number was also highly significant.  The Catholic Church spells out the Seven Deadly Sins.  In order to be a follower of Christ, we need to have these sins removed from us.  Her face down posture at Jesus’ feet is reminiscent of repentance prostration.  

She became the “Apostle to the Apostles.”  The very first person to witness Jesus’ resurrection and then commissioned by the Lord Himself to go and spread the Good News.  What an INCREDIBLE HONOR!

Yet when she went to embrace Jesus, He said “Don’t cling to me”.  It’s similar to the word “cleave” or in a modern translation “Don’t touch me.” 

"Don't cling to me," Jesus said, "for I haven't yet ascended to the Father. But go find my brothers and tell them, 'I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to My God and your God.'"

~John 20:17

This Bible story always bothered me.  Why did Jesus tell Mary Magdalene not to touch Him yet in the very next scene we see Thomas sticking his hands and fingers all over Jesus?

Then he said to Thomas, "Put your finger here; see My hands. Reach out your hand and put it into My side. Stop doubting and believe."

~John 20:27

Obviously, something deeper, much deeper is going on here. 

Mary Magdalene is a shadow-picture of the True & Faithful Church (always depicted as a woman in Bible revelatory knowledge).  She literally followed Jesus to the Grave (Cross and Tomb) and BACK (Resurrection).  She remained like a loyal dog even when everyone else, including the disciples, scattered like lost sheep. 

She was clearly a favored, close companion of Christ.

No…I’m not going off into some wacky DaVinci code apostasy or blasphemy claiming she was married to Jesus.  Yet…the Devil always has a seed of Truth when he spreads his blasphemous lies.  I believe that Mary Magdalene was a flesh and blood REPRESENTATIVE OF THE BRIDE OF CHRIST….THE ONE TRUE CHURCH….THE REMNANT…  As such, she was symbolically BETROTHED to Jesus. 

As the first flesh and blood representative of the Bride of Christ, Jesus had very good reason for saying “Don’t cling to Me yet”.  Because it was not yet time for the Marriage Supper of the Lamb.  He had not ascended yet, and like any good Jewish husband, He needed to go and prepare a place for His Bride according to Jewish wedding customs. 

Thomas, on the other hand (pun intended), was a doubter.  Doubters poke their hands or PIERCE Christ’s Body (heart).  This too describes the Church…the unbelieving Church.  Jesus admonished Thomas that he had lost out on an important blessing due to his unbelief:

Then Jesus told him, "Because you have seen Me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed."

~John 20:29

The “wedding night” is coming soon.  Soon Mary (the Bride of Christ) will get her fondest desire…to join with Christ in an ecstatic union.  Some will be like Mary Magdalene the Bride (those invited to join in this ecstatic union) and some will be guests (heavenly witnesses to this ecstatic union) and others will be locked out of the party (weeping wailing and gnashing of teeth). 

“There will be weeping there, and gnashing of teeth, when you see Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God, but you yourselves thrown out. People will come from east and west and north and south, and will take their places at the feast in the kingdom of God

~Luke 13:28-29

Interestingly, the relic bones of Mary Magdalene are believed to reside in a small Benedictine Chapel in the South of France.  They are treasured possessions of the Catholic Church.  The location you may ask?  The region known as Provence.  It is comprised of the same Latin Root as...

Provenance.

_________________________

Though ye have lien among the pots, yet shall ye be as the wings of a dove covered with silver, and her feathers with yellow gold.

~Psalm 68:13

~Posted by permission of Pastor Jeffrey N. Daly

Pastor Jeffrey N. Daly is the author of Repentance—God’s Strategy to Bless a Nation and Zeal to Repent!—A Key to Personal and National Restoration 

–Both are available for FREE at The National Day of Repentance website: www.dayofrepentance.org

INTEGRITY IN OFFICE A REASONABLE EXPECTATION

By James Wilson

            The Governor of California facilitates passage of a law mandating so-called cap and trade for industries in the state.  The law requires companies exceeding pollution limits to pay fees for credits so they can pollute within the law; funds from their fees are to address environmental issues.  But that same governor decrees – in defiance of the law – that a quarter billion cap and trade dollars be diverted to fund his unpopular and court-stalled bullet train project.  That same governor – and his predecessor – decided a few years back to disagree with the voter adopted amendment to the California Constitution defining marriage as between a man and a woman.  They refused their obligation to defend the laws and constitution of the state and actually attacked them in court, effectively preventing even private parties from standing for those laws.

            The President of the United States decides to disagree with federal law defining marriage.  He later chooses to disagree with immigration law; he most famously disagrees with his own healthcare law – after seeing the fruit.  In the first two he – and his like minded attorney general – simply refused to enforce and even attacked these laws in court; in the last he has unilaterally re-written the law twenty-seven times.  None of these actions – state or federal – is within the authority or the oaths of these officials.  Now Virginia Attorney General Mark Herring announces he will not tolerate the marriage provisions of his state’s constitution.  Is integrity in political office a reasonable expectation?

            Let me ask another way.  If we cannot reasonably expect integrity from our leaders why ask them to swear an oath to exercise their duties faithfully and in accountability to the laws and constitutions supplying their authority?  But – we hear – these men and women have a conscience of their own and surely they are entitled to act within their convictions.  Really?

They are so entitled; they are even morally obligated to so act.  But when they cannot in good conscience keep the oath they swore and the accountability they assumed the honorable thing is to resign their office and press for change as the advocates they long to be.  To simply usurp power they were never granted is neither conscientious nor honest.  It is arrogance masquerading as integrity and those who practice it should be removed from office and treated with disdain.

            Officeholders and other governmental types do not corner the market on phony integrity.  Those who seek to advance the gay agenda by presenting themselves as prophets of civil rights are classic examples of scam artists seeking to mold conviction.  They have the brass to claim Dr. Martin Luther King would be marching beside them if he were alive today.  The circular reasoning is: Dr. King was the greatest civil rights leader – true enough – and gay rights are a civil right; therefore King would support gay rights.  Michael Long’s 2012 book about King and gay rights is a recent addition to the mountain of unsupported inferences.  The problem is the facts get in the way.

            Dr. King’s daughter, Bernice, says of her father, “He did not take a bullet for same sex unions,” at his graveside calling for a constitutional amendment defining marriage in Biblical terms.  He was a Bible believing Christian all his life who rarely spoke about homosexuality; when he did it was Biblically consistent.  Through his advice column for Ebony Magazine in the late fifties he wrote a struggling young man, “The type of feeling that you have toward boys is probably not an innate tendency, but something that has been culturally acquired.  You are already on the right road to a solution, since you honestly recognize the problem and have a desire to solve it.”  King’s love for all persons comes across; just as clear is his conviction God did not make people gay and there are solutions to every problem if we seek God and His healing.  Reality is that King’s words, written more than half a century ago, are in sync with the most reliable scientific evidence regarding causation of homosexuality.

            People who differ with me on this issue are doubtless grinding their teeth in rage.  Well and good.  Make your case.  But don’t stoop to putting words in another man’s mouth.  Alongside all the loving things Jesus said were confrontive words like, “Thou shalt not bear false witness,” and of the Pharisees, “You shut the Kingdom of Heaven in men’s faces.  You yourselves do not enter, nor will you let those enter who are trying to.”  He came to bring abundant life, but the gift requires honesty and integrity in order to be received.   

James A. Wilson is the author of Living As Ambassadors of Relationships and The Holy Spirit and the End Times – available at local bookstores or by e-mailing him at

praynorthstate@charter.net