Ttile or a Testimony?

You ever see or hear ministry leaders who appear confused on the subject of serving.  Statements like: “I have given so much” and “have my ministry taken away”, “I have worked so hard, I am tired from it” to “after all this time, I thought I would have received more out of this” all haunt our memory.

For the record, no individual has a “ministry”.  Nothing in the Scriptures supports this idea.  We all have a “calling”, a unique purpose that God has designed us for and sent us into this time of history to accomplish.  Worth noting: nothing is being taken away from you.  If your heart were in it you would understand all ministry activity is a gift from God, loaned to us to help us grow and transform into the person God has sent us to become. Everything we do for God has a timeline, a date when we are effective and a time for us to move on to the next season.

The problem is that people serving in ministry have turned their focus on the product and performance of their efforts and not the reason for their efforts.  They are operating on their own energy, which will always run short.  There will come a day for each of these ministers when three things will happen: 1) They become exhausted. 2) They start to judge. 3) They disconnect and take their show somewhere else.

Whenever you draw on your own power, you are limited to the power at hand. Running short and becoming exhausted is just a matter of time.  Once you feel run down and failures begin to occur, then the blame game starts.  Judging becomes the status norm.  The reason it didn’t work always falls on the shoulders of the crowd or the church, but never on the disillusioned leader.  Lastly, the leader usually gets some revelation that “For the betterment of my family, God is calling us on to another opportunity”. Sure He is.

The answer to this heart problem is called “Romemut” in Hebrew.  It means “awe and admiration”.  When we have Romemut for God, for the people we serve, for the work we do, it changes our position from one of performer to participant.  Many of the people serving the church today are just like employees of a business.  They get applause, they get the accolades, and they get the positive affirmation.  But that is it. That is their pay for their efforts.  No Light is elevated when payment is rendered here in this realm.

Romemut is looking at each person we work with; teach to or worship with and seeing his or her intrinsic value to God.  It means that I position my heart to receive from them, not just preach to them.  It places every act “under the sun” as one having a parallel act in the Kingdom of God. 

Romemut is the missing element from most marriages.  Remember when you couldn’t wait to see her?  When you would call and talk through the night?  When you would cross three cities to get to see her for her hour lunch break from work?  Now, she can’t get you to walk three steps and get her a drink of water.  What happened?  Loss of Romemut!
 
Romemut means admiration and awe.  To hold each and every person in a higher status than you hold yourself.  It means to leave yourself open to the possibility that every person is a messenger of God sent into your life for your tikkun (correction) and not just there for you to share your “gifting” with.

Romemut is recognizing that the Creator made more than one person He cares about.  We are all here, in one degree or another, to serve each other.  Having awe and admiration for the plans of the Creator will assist us in never making this a show about us.

Romemut ensures that we are vested in doing what is important and not what is in fashion.  Part of the problem of misguided service started when the church decided to become “culturally relevant” which at the same time made the church “spiritually ineffective”.  The show went on and only now are the leaders starting to take notice it didn’t work.

Romemut rules out true service without it.  All of our actions-all of our intentions-must start from the heart of our Romemut.  Having awe and admiration for God and His creation will bring the fake service and false humility to an end.

For those feeling displaced, unwanted or unappreciated, don’t worry.  There will be plenty of new gigs and plenty of new people to commiserate with.  In the meantime, know that a new face of spirituality is coming.  These days, people are looking for depth in their faith and your parking lot puddle depth presentation won’t last.

Romemut offers us all the opportunity to connect with God on a deep and meaningful level.  When we express Romemut for God and His created beings, we show our belief that He is the Master and Creator of the Universe.

Restoring Grace serves as an educational resource for your church, small group, seminar or event needs. We specialize in classes Early Christian Communities, New Testament Development and Canon Process and Hebraic Perspectives and Studies. These class offerings are available to you regardless of your group size or needs. Contact us at dfour26@gmail.com for your class needs. Let's see what we can build together..

The Gnostics-Christian Kabbalists

Very few groups drew the fire from the heresy hunters like the Gnostics. By far the greatest challengers to the proto-orthodoxy, we have more volumes’ of works written against them then we have volumes written either by them or for them. Some historians believe that the proto-orthodoxy writers forced the writings and practices of the Gnostics into historical oblivion, but there is not really much evidence that supports the idea.

What we can say with a certain degree of certainty is that the Gnostics were a very real challenge for what would become the reigning understanding of the Christian faith. They developed philosophies and doctrines that help people understand possible (and plausible) explanations for how and why the world came into being, why there is suffering and tragedy in this world, to even some very deep and mystical teachings of scripture that were paralleled only in writings such as the Zohar and the Talmud.

The Gnostics were probably destined to the “has-beens” of Christian history until the discovery at the Nag Hammadi. This cache of books brought to life some writings we had only heard of in reference, and it also accomplished two more things; It proved that the books the early church fathers had eluded to actually existed in history and secondly, that the early church fathers had taken some liberty in quoting and explaining these writings.

This degree of journalistic license caused Christian and non-Christian scholars alike to re-examine the evidence concerning the Gnostics. Gnosticism was every bit as diverse as the rest of Christianity, but did share a coupe of common threads.

Before I get more in depth about the Gnostics, there is a point worth making here; Gnostics by all means would consider themselves Christians. The Gnostic Christians were not exempt from the persecutions that came upon the Christian community, they were hated and challenged by the pagan religious groups and from an outsider’s perspective, were considered Christians in every way, shape and form. It was not only within Christian circles that they faced their greatest opposition.

This also means that when we address those that suffered for their faith, for their willingness to die for their faith, Gnostics were tortured, killed, relieved of their property and treated as a social disease right along side the Christians we believe had a more “correct” view of the faith.

One area we could all focus on improving is our thoughts and actions towards fellow Christians that posses very different views and practices than ours. I find it easy to look down on them or at least, develop a sense of less than appreciating their heritage and beliefs. We all need to work on understanding that regardless of where our differences may be, in the end, we will all suffer and be cast out of public life because of our faith in Jesus. This means our Gnostic brothers as well.

Gnosticism regained scholarly interest right after the famed finds at Nag Hammadi. Here were books that previously where only known in legend and in the works of heresy hunters some 1900 years earlier. Most of these books have come to be known as forgeries, primarily because of how they are attributed. Chances are the authors that are claimed by the books never knew about these writings.
But even though they are thought of as forged, these books were written seriously and where meant to be taken seriously, as a guide to providing the truth. They covered a broad range of teachings, including several different and internally diverse mystical reflections on how the divine realm came into being.

Most of the Gnostic writings assumed that there was not simply one God over all who had created the world and made it good. Some of them were quite explicit: This creation was not good, not in the least. It was the result of a cosmic catastrophe, brought into being by an inferior and ignorant deity who erroneously imagined he was God Almighty.

For us today, this view seems simply heretical and evil. It appears to demean God and raise the possibility of him being a cosmic failure, which does not fit in too tightly with most Christian doctrine. But as we will see, the Gnostics were trying to address a problem that has plagued and will continue to plague humanity for all of recorded time; how do we explain tragedy and suffering.

Many of these texts (from Nag Hammadi) preserve and present the view known to be held by groups of the early Gnostics, that saving knowledge is knowledge of who we were and what we are to become, of where we were and where we have been made to fall, of where we are hastening and from where we have been redeemed, of what birth is and what’s rebirth.

Worth noting is that most of Gnostics identified that there was faith and saving faith. It was not just a belief that passed for faith, but the knowledge of what that faith encompasses and what that faith will eventually deliver. For them, it is truly what you know over whom you know.

No wonder these expressions of Gnostic religiosity have struck a resonant note among the modern readers, many of whom also feel alienated from this world, for whom this world does not make sense, readers who realize, in some very deep and significant way, they really do not belong here. For some groups of early Christian Gnostics, we in fact do not belong here.

The Gnostics believed that if the knowledge necessary for salvation were simple and straightforward, we would have all figured it out long ago. It also meant that we would have all been in agreement with each other long ago. But this is secret knowledge reserved for the elite, for the few, for those who really do have a spark of the divine within them, a spark that needs to be rekindled and brought to life through the gnosis (knowledge) from on high, brought from one who has come down from the divine realm to remind us of our true identity, our true origin and our true destiny.

One of the challenges in deciphering the original materials found at Nag Hammadi is they are both hard to understand individually and in relationship to one another. Scholars have concluded that there are numerous religious perspectives represented in the various Gnostic documents surviving from antiquity and that these perspectives are not always consistent with each other. Probably different documents come from different communities with different worldviews, mythological systems, beliefs and practices.

Much of the attack against the Gnostics by the early heresy hunters presented an almost universal and united belief among the Gnostics, regulating them all to the class of discontented believers known as “heretics”. But later, as it often does, historical discoveries disproved the idea of such a unity of beliefs. The Gnostics were every bit as competitive and every bit as divided as the proto-orthodoxy was.

Here is where the Gnostics took a turn off the beaten path and headed down the road paved with good intentions, but would become the “line in the sand” between them and all other forms of Christian practice. It was the issue of suffering, why the world was such a mess with such a loving God running it. Employing teachings and traditions from the Hebrew Bible, their own writings, Kabalistic thought, and a dose or two of mythology and blend it up, they came to an understanding of the suffering and tragedy in a way unheard of before: God must be an inferior deity.

This did not endear them to any group of religious people, especially their Christian brothers. And, much to that point brought many volumes of written works against their teachings. But worth repeating, the Gnostics never saw themselves as non-Christians, anti-Christians or heretics. The believed that the issue of tragedy and suffering must be addressed, as did many groups before them.
Jewish apocalypticism arose in a context of intense suffering, some two hundred years before Jesus, when the Syrian ruler who had control on Palestine, the Jewish homeland, persecuted Jews precisely for being Jewish. For example, circumcision- the central sign of covenant union with God-was forbidden on pain of death.

They moved to the idea that God could not be behind this type of suffering, which at the time was largely against the ideas taught by the prophets before them. The Biblical prophets believed that the suffering the Jews endured was a God-directed punishment for their disobedience. Jewish apocalypticists argued the concept that God must have a personal adversary who was responsible for this suffering, that there are cosmic forces in the world. This opponent, later to be named the Devil, Asatan, the Destroyer, was believed to be causing this suffering on God’s people as a way of hurting God.

But for the Gnostics, this was just not enough of an explanation. How could, they reasoned, God allow his enemies to overtake his people as some kind of retribution? Would not this same God offer his protection? For the Gnostics, they needed to understand why he was seemingly not equipped to protect his interests.

Maybe the god of this world is not good. Maybe he is causing suffering not because he is good and wants people to share in his goodness, but because he is evil, or ignorant, or inferior (all Gnostics conclusions by various groups) and he wants people to suffer or does not care if they do, or maybe he can not do anything about it. But if the Gnostics were right, than the god of this world could not be the one true God.

The final piece of their doctrine was this: there must be a non-material God unconnected with this world, above the creator God of the Old Testament (slight spin on Marcion’s thinking) a God who neither created this world nor brought suffering to this world. But, He has another world free of all this pain and He seeks to redeem people from this world by delivering them out of it, liberating them from their entrapment in this material existence.

I have told you that it can become very dangerous to start with a conclusion and build your beliefs around it. I believe that this is what the Gnostic believers did. Now that we have the basic premise of Gnosticism, it explodes from here into a multi-directional belief system that seems to point to the idea that the “false” gods of this world began a cosmic battle to rule over the first human, Adam. This led to separation of deities that caused the filtering process to become even more diluted until we had a whole collection of inferior deities running the show.

Many of the beliefs of the Gnostics in this vein could be comparable to the Middle Platonists who had a similar line of thought about deities running around and creating havoc upon humanity. But eventually the Gnostics enter the true and living God, the God of Jesus, who enters human history, to help us obtain the knowledge it will take to escape this world.

At the same time, other Gnostics taught of a catastrophic destruction of the first world, in which pieces (shards) of divine light fell to the earth we now know. These pieces are to be brought out by the divine interaction with other divine shards or sparks. This may have a familiar ring for those who have studied Kabbalah.

But one the amazing thoughts of Gnostic Christians was how they explained the different levels of humanity. It was obvious that some people were just meaner and nastier than others. Some could kill, rape, destroy and steal freely with seemingly no thought for the effect or the consequence.
They maintained that there were three kinds of humans. Some are creations of the Demiurge (the catastrophic event of creation) pure and simple. Like other animals, they have no spirit within; like animals, when they die, their entire existence is annihilated. Other people have a soul within, but not a spark of the divine spirit. Such people have an opportunity for an afterlife, if they have faith and do good deeds. These are in fact regular Christians, those who believe in Jesus but do not have the full understanding of the secret knowledge that leads to ultimate salvation.

The third group of people has this knowledge. They are the Gnostics, those “in the know”, who have the divine spark within them, who have learned who they really are, how they got here and how they can return.

One of the more striking features about the Gnostic Christians is that these were not a separate denomination that met down the street from the proto-orthodoxy. These were committed Christians meeting right inside the churches that were establishing themselves in the various communities. This makes the warnings of the Apostle Paul more understandable. He was addressing situations that were organically happening inside the church fellowships. I would also suggest he never meant his words of caution and warning to be applied to those outside the fellowships.

Restoring Grace serves as an educational resource for your church, small group, seminar or event needs. We specialize in classes Early Christian Communities, New Testament Development and Canon Process and Hebraic Perspectives and Studies. These class offerings are available to you regardless of your group size or needs. Contact us at dfour26@gmail.com for your class needs. Let's see what we can build together..

Disc Golf-Working on our Brand Reputation...

We all want Disc Golf to grow, to flourish, to add new players and share the excitement of the game. These are good things to work toward and hope for. With that great hope comes accountability and the hard work to earn the public trust. Disc Golf has plenty of appeal (sport for all levels of players, no high cost for involvement, many places to play, great people to get started with) and we all need to work on filling in the most important part: Brand Reputation.

I bring this up in light of a tough situation I had happened over the last two weeks. A tournament I was scheduled to play in (not local to the Springs) cancelled the day before it was to be held. It did create an issue (too long a story here to go into), but I just kind of got over it and moved on. However, there were some other players not too happy about it an it created a bit of online drama and left a bad impression of the TD and disc golf. These are the kind of things we need to address and correct as disc golf begins to grow.

I want to break this into three sections that greatly impact disc golf's reputation: 1) Players, 2) TD/Tournaments, and 3) Social Media. In no way do I see myself as a guru, and I am not writing this to pass judgement. I can say I have taken the time to sit back and watch situations develop and I believe we can all get better if we talk about making changes and work together with an eye to our overall impact and reputation.

First, let's start with all of us as players. I am not advocating that disc golf players become choirboys, but we can do a lot to make our sport better by watching our conduct and actions on the course. Let's face it, we all play pretty passionate and emotions will come into play. Along with emotions, sometimes some pretty strong language also happens. That's part of hitting the course. If we can keep it in mind, remember there are those around us tuned in to see what we are about, perhaps we can as they say "control the controlables" and present a positive influence as well. When we enter competitive play, we need to be in the divisions that best represent our age and playing abilities. This allows for other players to get positioned correctly and be competitive in their own levels, which will encourage more players to want to play in tournaments. And lastly, know the rules. When we practice the courses, practice the course with the rules (out of bounds, mandos, etc...) in mind. Play hard, but play straight. We also need to encourage accountability on the scorecards.

Next, TD's and tournaments. We have been blessed here in the Springs to have high quality events run by prepared and knowledgeable TD's. But we also have seen some events go sideways. As an AM player, I don't play for cash. Heck, I'll play disc golf for a Klondike bar. But when a tournament offers cash payout, it needs to be there and be right. The players that do play for cash often have large investments of time and equipment and come prepared to battle. I enjoy getting on cards with these level of players (they probably aren't as happy about it as I am) to see how these players go after the course and I can learn a lot from them, but at the same time, the tournament made a commitment to them and it needs to be honored. Wallowing around Facebook complaining about why it didn't happen is not an acceptable practice. By honoring our commitments to our top tier players, we show that disc golf can be trusted and is worth investing time and energy in.

I just mentioned Facebook, which pretty much means the NSA will be watching my every keystroke. We need to consider social media and its impact on our growth. Without a doubt, social media can help us announce tournaments, tags matches, events and even be used to poll clubs and players about new ideas. There is tremendous power in social media, and it is a platform that can reach thousands quickly. With that said, social media is not the place to air our dirty laundry, make ridiculous accusations and otherwise contribute to making the disc golf community look like a group of immature 12 year-olds. We all have seen it, and it is a blight on all the hard work and achievements accomplished. We need to use the social media outlets with care and concern for our overall reputation.


The kind of growing pains we are experiencing is a normal part of growth and should be expected. Where we can do better is look at our issues and be honest about them. The leaders I know here in the Springs are on board with running things right. We can all benefit by doing our part...

David Fournier

My Disc Golf Story 2017...

Can you believe we are just 74 days away from 2018? Me either...

2017 has been an interesting year in my disc golf life. My year started with a good showing at the club tags match (Shout out to the men and women of the Pikes Peak Flying Disc Club)and then settled in to the casual rounds with friends and new-comers each Sunday. My first skills test was the Steel City Shootout in Pueblo Colorado around Mid-March. It was a humbling experience to say the least. I just couldn't find my drive or putts and the day just wasn't meant to be. I finished dead last in my division and left with a sour feeling that I may have lost my way on the course.

I realized then that disc golf is as much mental (if not more) than it is physical. The beating I put myself through after the loss at Steel City was pretty unreasonable. I got to the point I wasn't enjoying the game anymore. Much of this was my own disappointment from the poor showing from the tournament. I was letting a past performance affect the way I was playing. It took some time, but I got to the place where I stopped whining about and started putting in some hard work and practice to get ready for what lies ahead. Two things I did I would recommend to anyone who gets stuck: 1) Get advice from players you know and trust. These players can help you get through the difficult parts because they have encountered these challenges and have overcome them. 2) Get out and practice as much as you can. Get a feel for the course, think about each shot and throw a few shots. Work to build your confidence in each situation by making smart shots and disc selections.

One of the great helps to me are the new players that I get to play with. I enjoy introducing new people to disc golf, get them playing and once they are hooked, watching their new addiction take over. It is awesome to see their growth, watch how hard they work to get better and in the end, their dedication to the sport often inspires me to get better.

So after getting my "mojo" back (I think that is what they call it), I started working at getting better, focusing on what a friend of mine (Santos Montoya) called becoming a more "complete" player. I started working away at it and I could begin to see the difference in my game and my attitude. It was time to get geared up for my favorite tournament of the year, the Rocky Mountain State Games. If you haven't heard of the State Games or the America Games, look them up online. It offers tons of sports and activities for about every type of athlete or age.

The Rocky Mountain State Games are a very important part of my disc golf life. I played my first RMSG event in 2013, which marked my return to disc golf after a seven year plus lay off. It was the catalyst to getting me back on the course. Each year I have competed and have won some and also got blown off the course. But I wanted 2017 to be a different year. Playing in the "old man" group AKA: Advanced Grandmasters, I was in a group of about five guys my age (and had the thrill of having my two young sons there as well) and I knew it would take a solid effort to place. This is where the mental improvements I made really paid off...

After an average first round, shooting one-down, I knew I had left some shots out there on the field, and it started to get in my head. After a short lunch time off with my boys, it was time for round two to get underway. That is where I decided to kick off the round with my best efforts and again, back to the basics, focus on each shot and be present for each shot, not concerning myself with the score or the remaining holes. The round went much better, not just because I played it better, but because I kept my head in the game, watched each shot and made the putts. In the end, I took home gold in my division and a bonus gold medal confirming my age. This year has been a learning year, a year of progress and a year to remember.

On October 15th at Lions Den Disc Golf Course in Lake George, I through a MVP Spin putter on a S-turn shot and aced Hole# 10. It wasn't a very long hole, maybe 120-130 feet, but it felt amazing. I was with the group of Sunday players that has been together for most the year, and it was even more fun it happened with all of them there. So, a tournament win, an Ace run and a lot of lessons learned about keeping my head in the game and my efforts focused. It has been a good year.

I hope that all the people that have been part of this years disc golf adventure with me have enjoyed it, I know I have. And I am thankful for all the disc golf players I can call family and friends. Let's look forward to a great 2018 as Disc Golf grows even more this year in Colorado...

David

Turning Jesus of Nazareth into Jesus of Rome...

From his early beginnings, Jesus was a Jew, lived as a Jew and died at the hands of Jewish oppressors. Many believe, as some of the New Testament documents record, that he was a Rabbi, with disciples and followers. He taught in synagogues, he read from sacred scrolls, participated in Passover and other Jewish holidays. If we read Jesus in just this content, his being Jewish is obvious and well documented.

But some 2000 years later, it would be easier to find President Bush after Katrina hit than to find a trace of Jesus’ Jewish roots. Jesus, the penniless Rabbi of 1st century Israel has become a warrior Jesus, a Christ, returning in full glory to lop off the heads of all who oppose him. This presents Jesus as a very different view between his actual time on earth and how the earth views him now.

The early Christian community was said to have been conceived in heaven but was born here on earth. It told of a kingdom standing in opposition to the other kingdoms of this world. Where Jesus fit into this landscape, is the early Christians saw Jesus, as an individual, as Peacemaker and Lord, Savior and Son of God, who proclaimed that kingdom’s advent as gospel, good news for all the earth.

So as the religion of Christianity grew, so did the concepts of Jesus. We have previously discussed a few of these traditions, like for example the “borrowing” of the Old Testament prophecies that Christians believed pointed directly to the life of Jesus, but very few orthodox or rabbinic Jews would see it that way. What we see quickly developing is a belief system that was designed to help explain Jesus to the masses rather than letting the words of Jesus explain themselves. An old rabbi once told me that man is constantly interfering in the work of God.

The attention seems to turn away from the life of Jesus and the focus heads into determining what to believe about Jesus. So, even in the early start, Christianity is being defined by its orthodoxy (right belief) rather than it orthopraxy (right practice). As the writings of Paul hit the Christian community first, they gave little rise to any interest about the life of Jesus, or more to the point, the specific teachings of Jesus. Paul starts off where the battle is raging, and that is what the right beliefs about Jesus should be and how they should be taught.

As the Gospel traditions hit the community, they told of a Jesus that was much more warm, more human and seemingly concerned with the plight of man in this life, not just in the afterlife alone. Compared to the orthodoxy writings of Paul, these gospels and the words of Jesus seemed untamed, preaching a kingdom that was present and a lifestyle that was concerned with issues of social justice, reverence of God and non-violent resistance. These words of Jesus were organic and spoke to the immediate needs of the people around him.

By the time the Gospels emerged, many of the teachings of Paul were already circulating in the Christian community and for the most part, they were not always breeding unity. For example, when Paul taught that in Jesus there was no Jew or Greek, there were several groups that would not be on board with such a concept. Obviously in a slave trade market and society, there were slaves. In any patriarchal system, there would be defining lines between men and women.

Rabbinic Judaism would not hold to this idea, because for Jews, people are bodies, not spirits and God precisely marks them either male or female by His eternal plan. Further, the physical bodies were also marked by the act of circumcision, which was a sacred practice of the Jews since the time of Abraham. As Dr. Amy-Jill Levine pointed out in a recent interview, the very idea there being no Jew or Greek might be a bit offensive to a Jew or a Greek.

There were many myths and legends that told of people rising from the dead, which was to apparently prove their divinity or favor with their deity. Why was this man’s resurrection, although it had distinct characteristics, the cause of the birth of Christianity rather than the end of it? The interaction of the earliest followers of the historical Jesus and the continuation of that relationship despite his execution is one of the marvels of the faith.

Herein lies the challenge for the early believers. How do you take the penniless rabbi from Nazareth, who taught on humility and non-violent resistance, and turn him into the warrior King Jesus, leader of the Church of Rome? At first, we see no historical evidence that any group tried to come up with a solution. But as Christianity broke away from its Jewish adoptive parents, we see Jesus turning into the Christ.

This meant that there would need to be changes to the idea of Jesus. If he was not the Jewish Messiah, fulfilling the predictions of Messiah as seen in the Hebrew Bible, then who was he and what was he trying to accomplish? What could be taught about him that would separate him from the other pagan legends of his day? What we see from this point forward is differing teachings of Jesus being used to prove differing beliefs. We also begin to hear about books being presented as late as the 2nd century supporting these different beliefs.

The early Christians struggled with their flesh. There were many teachings on the subject of the flesh, ranging from it being a distracting mansion, a nomadic tent, a decrepit abode or a filthy prison cell. The love of the body or flesh was known as sacrophilia, and the fear of the body or flesh is called sacrophobia.

How they responded to this issue and all the issues would determine what previous group or sect they had formed from. This was a pivotal time for the early Christians, as they were not only trying to identify what they were doing, but also what were their origins. It was crucial they adopted some kind of history, because for Rome, if its new it can’t be true.

So what was Christianity in its conception? A Sect? A Cult? Sect movements occur by schism within a conventional religious body when persons desiring a more otherworldly version of the faith break away to “restore” the religion to a higher level of tension with its environment.

Cult movements, on the other hand, are not simply new organizations of an old faith; they are new faiths, at least new in the society being examined. Furthermore, sects appeal especially to those who if are not the disposed, they are at the very least of lower social standing than those who stick with the parent body. Cults on the other hand, must draw upon the more privileged for their recruits.

I believe the best way to view Jesus and what he was accomplishing is clearly a sect operating within Judaism. This theory helps explain several of the sayings and events of Jesus’ life. Jesus was not seeking an end to Judaism, but a return to a more authentic discipline of Judaism. He wrote rules inside the scope of Jewish practice, not outside of Jewish practice.

Christianity, after its departure from Judaism, was brought to this question: Are we a sect inside Judaism or a cult outside of Paganism? Neither option seemed to work, so Christianity needed a new center of operations (Jerusalem would not work), a new system of beliefs (that kept it separate from its pagan and Jewish competition) but also needed to hijack the Jewish rabbi Jesus of Nazareth.

It took time for Christianity to become fully recognized, partly because of how information traveled at this time and because the diversity of both Judaism and Christianity was immense, starting with the most unique of Christian believers, the Resurrection Christians. The Resurrection Christians were immediately seen as a “new religion”, one that added far too much culture to Judaism to any longer be a sect that operated within Judaism.

This is significant because most, if not all, religious groups have some identifying marker, something that separates them from other sects and religions. Most followed their leader, while others associated with a unique practice or location. But few did what Christianity poised to do: take someone else's 2000 years of religious history, borrow the sections that fit, dismiss the rest and incorporate a leader from that group be redesigning his shape, his conversation and his teachings.

This “borrowing” or “reshaping” of Jesus caused many problems, especially between the Jewish and Christian believers. The more Jesus’ Jewishness was de-tuned to fit the rising Gentile market share, the less believable this Jesus became to the Jews. A non-Torah observant, pig-eating Messiah was a hard pill to swallow. So the Jesus of the early Jewish believers began the slow process of becoming victorious and conquering Jesus of the Romans, to the point where the Roman army believed that by carrying the standard of this Jesus (the cross) they were un-defeatable in war.

The Roman Army would go on to defeat, but the image on the victor Jesus would stick and within a matter of 200 years, Jesus would be barely recognizable to himself. His clothing changed, his words changed from peaceful and non-violent resistance to sword yielding “melt your face off for not seeing him as he is” theology.

Here we must take pause and ask what would Jesus do? Jesus was clearly a Jewish man living in a very Jewish atmosphere and exhibited very Jewish behavior. Yet in his life he had clear conversations and concerns for people outside Judaism, and most Christians agree that his death served much in the way the Jewish sacrificial system served.

We all see his death and atonement as a covering for all mankind, regardless of our race, our gender, or social placement or religious backgrounds and beliefs. But perhaps even more in his life, Jesus was giving us the pathway to being able to be different, yet the same.

Surely he told us he came for the lost house of Israel and all the Jewishness of Jesus is undeniable, unless you are simply unconscious to the writings about him. But we all understand his death and resurrection as universal, for all mankind and for all people. The Messianic Jews will tell you that to believe Jesus you must come under the faith of Israel, being adopted into the faith of Abraham. Christians will tell you Jesus came to do what the Law and the faith of Israel could not do, and Israel failed in its relationship with God, so God moved the mantle to the Gentile nations. Both cannot be right and both cannot be wrong.

But what if the truth is both approaches can be helpful? What if Jesus is about helping people and not helping Christianity or Judaism? What if it is true that to believe in Jesus, to trust him and to take on his teachings is about coming to him as you are, always accepted, loved and welcomed? What if the true message of interfaith dialogue would be this: be where you need to be, but come as you are. Don’t miss Jesus because of overly religious people pressing a system of understanding rather that a right relationship with Jesus.

From my perspective, historically it would be difficult to know Jesus outside of his Jewish practice and life. But you can love him and experience love in return from him from wherever you are.

David Fournier in the Senior Instructor at Restoring Grace. David teaches classes on Hebraic Perspectives, Early Christian Communities and New Testament Formations and Canon. David is available for your church, youth group, seminars and retreats. Email David at:dfour26@gmail.com

The Nag Hammadi Discovery-Why it Matters

The Nag Hammadi discovery has for the most part taken a back seat to the Dead Sea Scrolls. For what is worth, many people believe and have been taught that the Dead Sea Scrolls are not a significant discovery for the Christian community. While it is true that the Dead Sea Scrolls do not contain any direct Christian documents, the Essenes did write a very clear picture of a Messiah that would come and through his death bring freedom to the people. I would encourage you to read the books of the Dead Sea Scrolls.

The time of discovery of the Nag Hammadi library was very close to the time of the Dead Seal Scroll find. The stories are often intertwined to the point that is becomes hard to tell them apart. But perhaps the greatest part of the Nag Hammadi find is coming face to face with the Gnostic believers.

In a remote part of Upper Egypt in 1945, a cache of ancient Christian documents was found. Most people would say there was nothing Christian about them, but for our part, history tells us that the people that wrote these documents considered themselves Christian.

Many stories have circulated about the path leading up to this discovery and a tale of murder, blood revenge and stupidity that followed it. What we can count as reliable is that in December of 1945, which is about a year and a half ahead of the Dead Sea Scroll discovery several hundred miles away, there were seven Bedouins digging for a nitrate-rich fertilizer known as “sabahk”.

To help get our bearings, the area of the Nag Hammadi find is some 300 miles south of Cairo and 40 miles north of Luxor and the famous Valley of the Kings. The leader of the dig, which later became a find, was named Mohammed Ali. Mohammed’s younger brother struck something solid with his shovel, which turned out to be the remains of a human skeleton. A few feet away from the skeletal remains was an earthen pot, about two feet high and had a sealed lid.

Mohammed and crew were afraid to open the pot, fearing that an evil genie would come out. However, after discussing the possibility of there being gold inside, riches trumped evil genie and the pot was opened. What was discovered was a collection of old leather-bound books, hardly of any value to the group. Mohammed then ripped the cache of books into equal parts and handed them out. His partners wanted no part of the books, so he loaded them up and took them home. The story gets sadder as Mohammed later relates that he gave part of the books to his mom to kindle the evening fire that night.

Scholars have lost their minds imagining what writings were roasted in the flames that evening, or, what pages were lost when Mohammed decided to share the earnings. We will never know. The story takes several more turns, but for our part, we will jump forward to when competent scholars got a hold of the documents.

After an unsuccessful attempt by a local history teacher to sell the documents, which were then seized by local authorities, they found their new home in the Coptic Museum in Cairo. The director of the museum had a pretty good idea about the books and headed up a posse to round up the remaining pieces. Shortly after, an international team of scholars assembled by UNESCO began to photograph, study, translate and publish them books. Credit James Robinson, an American scholar in the field of New Testament and early Christianity, for heading up the surge to get these books out quickly.

Compared to the progress made by the Dead Sea Scrolls team, Robinson was light years faster.
What was the significance of this discovery for us today? What did the fertilizer diggers find that caused all this scholarly commotion? The quick version is they discovered the single most important discovery to turn up in modern times. The books contained stories and gospels about Jesus that had been known to exist in antiquity, but never had been seen by human eye in over 1500 years.

Inside was an enticing collection of books which included books by such people as Philip, the disciple of Jesus, secret revelations delivered to Jesus’ disciple, John and another to James. There are mystical interpretations about how the world got started, why we were created and the glories of salvation. They also included conversations about important Christian doctrines and had polemic attacks on other Christian for their wrong-headed and heretical views-which would be the same viewpoint held by their opponents.

We are going to take a look at a few quotations from these books and seek out some possible meanings. I must admit that some of the books are very difficult to decipher, because the reality of the situation is we have discovered many of the Gnostic writings and tractates, but no real supportive information about how they put their beliefs into practice. For example, baptism rituals are all throughout the writings, but no real definitions were given as to how baptism was performed.

Some Christians have suggested that the Nag Hammadi library is full of non-Christian garbage and does not deserve a serious read. I would argue that you should always look into matters yourself. I am going to list a series of 11 verses, the wording placed into my own translation, and I want you to determine if the sayings are Biblically authentic or are they Gnostic suppositions from the Nag Hammadi caches. At the very end of this learning guide you will find the answers. I know that God forgives, but no cheating. Use your mind and read the texts only with no other help (online guides, Bible, concordance) and see if you can resonate with the words. Which ones are Biblical quotes and which ones are not? If the Nag Hammadi documents are non-Christian diatribes this should take 35 seconds. You be the judge.

Nag Hammadi Texts VS. The Bible

1) For this reason, the faithful One, Jesus, was patient in accepting sufferings.
2) Jesus said, “You see the mote in your brothers eye, but you do not see the beam in your own eye. When you cast the beam out of your own eye, then you will see clearly to cast the mote from your brothers eye”.
3) Jesus said, “Among those born of women, from Adam until John the Baptist, there is no one superior to John the Baptist.
4) But to you it is given to know, and whoever is worthy of knowledge will receive it.
5) If you know the truth, the truth will make you free.
6) I am God and there is no other God besides Me.
7) And Noah preached piety for one hundred and twenty years, and no one listened to him.
8) Rather, they should submit to the Law of God, without having transgressed at all, but in purity asking God for wisdom and knowledge.
9) They were appointed for service in proclaiming the coming of the Savior who was to be and the revelation, which had come
10) Abolish every childish time of life, acquire for yourself strength of mind and soul, and intensify the struggle against every folly of the passions of love and base wickedness, the love of praise, the fondness of contention and tiresome jealousy and wrath.
11) Cast your anxiety upon God alone. Do not become desirous of gold and silver, which are profitless, but clothe yourself with wisdom like a robe, put on knowledge like a crown.

NAG HAMMADI BOOK DESCRIPTIONS

The Gospel of Truth. A Christian Gnostic text tied to the teachings of Valentine. It is mentioned is the heresy works of Irenaeus. A consummate literary artist composes it on Greek in an elaborate rhetorical style.
The Gospel of Thomas. This is a collection of the traditional sayings of Jesus. Minus any specific narratives or illustrations, these 114 sayings in forms of wisdom sayings, parables, prophesies and rules for the community. Perhaps one of the most hotly contested books for entry into the canon of Christian Scriptures.
The Sophia of Jesus Christ. A teacher wrote the letter, originally titled “Eugnostos the Blessed”, to his disciples with the qualities of a revelation discourse. In its original form, it was absent of Christian influence. It later appears as The Sophia of Jesus Christ, a letter recording post-resurrection dialogue between Jesus and His disciples. The letter is a direct attempt to breach philosophical religious beliefs into Christian thought.
The Gospel of Philip. A Gospel record that contains few direct words of Jesus. A major proponent of the esoteric lifestyle, the book states that only free men (ones without sin) and virgins (women not polluted by sexual intercourse or the defilement of marriage) can gain entrance into the Kingdom.
The Apocryphon of John. This writing uses the framework of a revelation delivered by the resurrected Christ to John the son of Zebedee. It offers a remarkably clear description of the creation, the fall and salvation of humanity-a rather mythical version of the Book of Genesis. It addresses two major themes: What is the origin of evil? How can we escape from this world to our heavenly home?
The Concept of Our Great Power. This document records the supreme power of God. Unlike most Gnostic documents, it does not hold to an apocalyptic message. It recounts the workings of God’s justice and mercy and the conflict of good versus evil.
The Discourse of the Eight and the Ninth. The eight and ninth indicate the eight and ninth spheres surrounding the earth. In ancient times it was believed that the first seven planes were the realms of the sun, moon, planets and stars, the lower powers whose control over human life was not necessarily benevolent. The realm of God would be in this eight and ninth realms, even though the writing hints at a tenth realm. Your soul must travel through the seven planes and based on the goodness and worthiness of your acts of loving-kindness, you could enter the eighth realm and live in eternal bliss (although there was not much conversation on what that meant).
The Tripartite Tractate. The most mystic and Kabalistic of the Tractates. Discuss Sophia, the lost son and the divine spark.
The Teachings of Silvanus. A late second century to early third century writing, this book attempts to embrace a Jewish perspective, a Christian understanding and an attack on heretical views and pagan influences. It clearly emphasizes the salvation of the soul is made possible through the Redeemer-Revealer Christ, Son of Almighty God.

We looked briefly here at the Nag Hammadi to familiarize ourselves with it. It pains me greatly to see most of Christian teachings spurning the sacred writings of our early brothers. While we may not agree or even be able to understand what these writers were trying to accomplish, there are two points worth mentioning here: the first being that not only does Christianity fight against outside influences, it also fights against itself and had become exclusive even to its own family.

Secondly, while these authors may have got a lot of their ideas wrong, they died in the same fires, were tortured on the same racks and were systematically hunted and destroyed just like the church fathers were, which we hold in high respect. But for all the church fathers that were killed, so were our Jewish spiritual parents and these Gnostic followers of the Way.

NAG HAMMADI TEXT NOTES

All 11 of the above listed quotations are from the Nag Hammadi caches. Many of them had material from various canonized books of the Bible. The point of the exercise is to remember not to believe everything you hear and to see how these writers must have been knowledgeable about the books included in the Biblical records.
1) The Gospel of Truth Tractate 20:10
2) The Gospel of Thomas vs. 26
3) The Gospel of Thomas vs. 46
4) The Sophia of Jesus Christ III, 3
5) The Gospel of Philip Tractate 84
6) The Apocryphon of John Bg. 8502, 2
7) The Concept of Our Great Power Tractate 4, vs. 25
8) The Discourse of the Eight and the Ninth 4.6 vs. 25
9) The Tripartite Tractate Section 14. 120, 9-10
10) The Teachings of Silvanus Section VII, Part 84
11) The Teachings of Silvanus Section VII, Part 4

David Fournier in the Senior Instructor at Restoring Grace. David teaches classes on Hebraic Perspectives, Early Christian Communities and New Testament Formations and Canon. David is available for your church, youth group, seminars and retreats. Email David at:dfour26@gmail.com

Why Do We Attack Each Other?

Inside the circles of “religion”, man has railed against man for centuries. This is easily evidenced by the vast numbers of religions, and then the divisions (some call them denominations) within those religions. There may be “50 Ways to Leave Your Lover” as the song goes, but there are at least thirteen thousand ways to love Jesus according to Christian denominations, for example.

With that being said, I would believe (as most rational people would) that we have created these divisions because we can’t get along with the “other guys”. For whatever the reasons may be, lines have been drawn, buildings have been erected and lessons have been taught all to express the need of separation. Ok, I get it. In the end, God will sort out all of this in His time and His will. For now, United We Fall, Divided We Stand.

The part I cannot understand or endorse is this: Why do some spiritual leaders feel the need to attack the “other guys”? We can’t get along; point taken. But attacking each other only lends itself to demeaning our whole purpose: bringing a better quality of life to humanity in this life and the one to come.

We are suffering from an entire crop of self-appointed/self-anointed pastors, teachers, evangelists, prophets and other forms of gurus. For them, it is all about a title and not a testimony. Pharaoh had a title, but Moses had a testimony. The Prophets of Baal had a title, Elijah had a testimony. Pilate had a title, but Jesus had a testimony. Saul had a title, but King David had a testimony. Having a title means you will be known here on this earth. When you die, so does your title. Having a testimony means you live beyond your death. Testimonies last forever.

No one can stop the onslaught of religious people acting religious, offering their kind words of insight to protect the flock against the other “cults”. Be forewarned: no word goes unrecorded and God will hold us all in account for our use of them.

But how do we reconcile these attacks? What purpose do they serve? Why would God allow them? Can’t He strike them dead the moment they start their hateful verbal transaction? Well, He could, but I am pretty sure I wouldn’t be here if He did. God allows these events, these unfounded verbal barrages for a purpose.

Hear these words of wisdom from the ancient text: The Book of Splendor (Zohar)

Come and Behold: the Holy One, blessed be He, transforms matters in the world so as to lift the heads of the righteous. To enable Joseph to raise his head for being righteous before Him, He caused the master (speaking of Pharaoh) to be angry with his servants, as it is written: “The butler of the king of Egypt and his baker offended their lord the king of Egypt” (Beresheet (Genesis) 40:1). All this happened to lift the head of Joseph the righteous.

Come and Behold: he was humiliated by his brothers through a dream. He obtained greatness over his brothers and was raised above the whole world through a dream, namely the dream of Pharaoh
Vayeshev, Chapter 23, paragraph 253.

This teaching by the Rabbis from The Zohar tells us that God is at work in ways we cannot see or predict. He often takes a path we could never see coming. This clarity of direction comes to us because He loves us dearly and seeks the best for us, even when the best includes painful and sometimes unwarranted injuries caused by the words of others.

There is a great hole in the center of a man that nothing can fill. It is a boiling pot of hatred, unkindness and lies. The Evil Inclination so encompasses a man that even the words of his mouth are an outpouring of evil. The Scriptures teach that it can often be read on the countenance of the person. These people, regardless of their real or perceived station in life, are not to be entertained or considered. To do so is to bring their “evil tongue” into the household of the saints.

In the end, Asatan desires to throw us all off the path through what I refer to as “weapons of mutual distraction”. The enemy fires a shot, we fire back. They spread the lies; we refute them. We spend an entire lifetime killing snakes when the truth is we have been commissioned by the Master of the Universe to be catching fish.

May His name be praised in all we say and do.

David Fournier

David Fournier in the Senior Instructor at Restoring Grace. David teaches classes on Hebraic Perspectives, Early Christian Communities and New Testament Formations and Canon. David is available for your church, youth group, seminars and retreats. Email David at:dfour26@gmail.com

Making a Measurable Difference

When I am asked "What is the Purpose of Life", I often struggle at the words. I don't know I can answer for everyone, but I can offer the reason I believe that I am here. A purpose that to me, inspires me to be a kinder soul, a caring person, and to share with others what I have learned and gained from life. I believe that we are here to fulfill two main objectives: 1) To accomplish a profound transformation, through the assistance and guidance of God, to transform our self-centered beings into people who share and care for others. 2) To assist God by using our transformation in Repairing the World (Tikkun Olam), bringing hope, healing and social justice to a world torn by wars, poverty, hatred and racism.

This sounds like an impossible task, righting all the wrong in the world. It is a lot to process. But we all have a part to play, a role that God has designed us to fulfill. Think about the idea that you are a unique creation, with talents/skills/abilities that you were given to assist God in Tikkun Olam, and you are here exactly at the right time ("for such a time as this"). If we all begin to see our value and potential, and all of us begin to share with those around us, we can start the process of repairing this world.

I watch all the outrage on Facebook play out everyday. People yelling about this, yelling about that, but truly effecting zero change in the lives of the people around them. These "armchair activists" talk a tough talk about who they think sucks and how many problems society has, but in the end, they contribute very little towards lasting and fulfilling change. They live their lives seeking to blame and not to better.

In God's economy, meaningful and significant change starts when we begin the transformation process on ourselves, seeking to eliminate our selfish desires, also known as "The Desire to Receive for Self-Alone". So often I hear all the noise about how bad this person is, that person is, but aside from voicing their vehement disagreements, very little idea on how to proceed and reach measurable and defined compromise. Like I said, a lot of noise and not much music.

I believe that most people suffer from a lack of feeling like viable contributors to life. The idea that their existence has no meaning, no impact and no value causes tremendous frustration and leads people to complain and argue about things that have no affect on their lives. Basically, as a deflection of their own personal dissatisfaction, the world around them becomes the problem and they are a helpless hobbit against the evil forces. Never before has being the "victim" (a consciousness very much alive and well in Christian circles) been more alive or more profitable.

Making a measurable difference isn't as much about "getting your head in the game" (as often preached from enthusiastic pulpits)as it is have a "heart for people". We want people out of poverty, we want people to be safe in their homes, we want people to have equal opportunities that aren't based on their gender or race, we want people to have usable health insurance, the list goes on. But at the same time, leveling words of hatred and tossing insults at anyone and everyone that doesn't agree with you is hardly the path to change.

When we engage "The Desire to Receive for the Sake of Others", we are asking God to strengthen us with the ability to be a benefit to others, while all the time being the agent of change in their lives. So often when I listen to people pray, they are seeking a God that helps people with an outer body experience, suggesting to God that He "goes and gets it done" while we watch from the sidelines. This stands in odds with the idea that part of our transformation is actively helping (not Facebook ranting) others-which in turn helps us build a vessel, one the Creator can store His light in for us to turn around and share ruthlessly with others.

I encourage each of you to get out of the pulpit and onto the ground. Look everyday for those that need a helping hand-a life-a positive word-whatever may come your way. By investing in helping others, we help God in His mission of repairing the world. I believe this will also begin to tip the scales of injustice and hasten the return of Messiah. May it be during our lifetimes!

David Fournier

David Fournier in the Senior Instructor at Restoring Grace. David teaches classes on Hebraic Perspectives, Early Christian Communities and New Testament Formations and Canon. David is available for your church, youth group, seminars and retreats. Email David at:dfour26@gmail.com

Getting Disc Golf Right....

Here in Colorado Springs, we are blessed to have several days of tags and doubles matches sponsored by the different disc golf clubs, and our neighbors to the north (Denver area) also have a run of opportunities. I belong to the Pikes Peak Flying Disc Club (shameless plug inserted here) and my comments are directed towards this club and its members. Remember, I am only one member and really can't speak for everyone, I hold no office or unique title. I am just a disc-golfer on an incredible journey and want to stop and smell the flowers every once in a while.

Disc Golf is an addicting game and can be played by some many people on so many different levels of play. It attracts all ages, genders and types of people. It is growing wildly here in the Springs and I imagine everywhere else too. You can play disc golf casually for fun, you can compete against your peers and age groups, or you can compete in PDGA (Professional Disc Golf Association, governing body internationally for disc golf) events and really measure your game and progress. Disc Golf can be played as an individual sport or in doubles matches. All this to say that disc golf has something for everyone.

I recently played in a local doubles match at one of our courses, Aviary Disc Golf Course here in the Springs. I was on a card with three teams playing-and most of these guys are beasts, really good players-and I land around the bottom of their talent pool. As we started off, you could see it was going to be a very hot round with some great scores. As the round went on, it didn't disappoint. There were huge drives, precision second shots and pretty much a putting clinic going on out there (I even got into the act once too). I bring all this up to point out a very important part about disc golf... We want everyone to do well... to win...

As the round went on, you could just feel something big was going to happen, an Ace Run, a 600 foot drive, an upshot of huge proportions. The best part is watching each player cheering on each the other, waiting to see what shot would bang chains next. This is the excitement that is disc golf. And you can be part of it too.

I play to get better, to have fun, to become an all around player. Going out on rounds with guys I know shoot better and have better technique than I do is my plan. Seeing these guys play and getting wrapped up in the excitement is a great time and a great way to spend the day. In many ventures of life (disc golf has many life lessons) becoming a student of the game is a solid way to improve and get better at your craft.

People have told me that the disc golf crowd is not a good crowd, they say that they have heard about "disc golfers". Well you have heard about the few, not the many. To be sure, there are some folks out there that can make being associated with disc golf a painful experience. Maybe you have read a few Facebook "rants" and figure you could live without the drama. Yes the drama is real, but in all honesty, it makes up for about 2% of what disc golf and disc golf players are all about. I encourage you to get out and meet the real faces of disc golf in our community. You will be glad you did.

So get out there and get playing, play with players that will challenge you to get better, and play soon,,, because as we all know "Winter Is Coming"...

David Fournier

The Importance of Study... Not a Practice, But a Lifestyle...

For years, many Pastor friends of mine preach to their congregations the importance of studying their Bibles. Not just reading, but pouring over the Holy Writ, looking deeply into verses so familiar to us we know them by heart, but yet seek to find something fresh and awakening in our view. Think of it like visiting with old friends, you may only have the stories of your past to share, but yet when you get together, all the stories are made alive in your retelling.

So it is with our Scriptures. Our pastors are correct in pushing us to study, to read and to know our Bibles. Knowing God's Word for the Psalmist David was the way of a sinless life when he said, "Thy words I have hid in my heart, that I might not sin against you". So I want to offer my pastor friends a perspective from an unlikely (maybe even unknown source) of Jewish literature called The Zohar. In summary, The Zohar is a 23 volume commentary covering the first five book of the Bible, also known as "The Torah" or "The Law of Moses". Yes, 23 volumes covering five books. You know, like a Baptist church business meeting, long and detailed.

In The Zohar, Volume 5, Section Vayetze, Chapter 15 (And Jacob went out of Beer-Sheva), paragraph 109 we read; "And whoever is occupied in the studying of Torah attains freedom from everything, but especially freedom from death, which ahs no power over him. He who studies Torah and attaches himself to it, holds the Tree of Life. If he relaxes his hold on the Tree of Life, the Tree of Death dwells upon him and seizes him. This is the meaning of the verse: :If you relax in the day of adversity, your strength is narrow" Proverbs 24:10. The word "relax" means relaxing one's hold on the Torah.

Rabbi Aba goes a step further and says, "Happy are they who maintain Justice and do Righteousness at all times. Those who study Torah and follow God's ways are freed from ruin-that is-power of death. Those unrighteousness, on the other hand, are abandoned by the Shekinah (Holy Spirit) and become vulnerable to the Evil Inclination, the temptation to do harm."

Now don't have a doctrinal heart attack here, try and work with me. Let's just look at the wisdom of the words for now, and let them breathe out a bit. The New Testament documents are clear that faith comes by hearing, and this hearing comes by the Word of God. In a sense, this type of hearing is like vision, the ability not to see the future, but to see clearly where we are heading and how God is leading us there. And we all know that without vision, the people perish.

Most Christians seem very happy and content getting sprayed every once in a while with the Bible. They occupy pews in rows like cantaloupe, waiting for someone to sing to them, entertain them and read a few words from God's Word. This is a great strategy if your life spiritual goal is to become a cantaloupe, but if you aim to be an Agent of Change in this world for Messiah, its going to take a bit more commitment. Okay, a lot more.

So I issue you this challenge, a challenge for the ages. Contact you Pastor, your Bible study teacher, small group leader (whatever you are calling them these days) and ask them what you could be doing to dig deeper into your study life. Once they get off the floor, give them a minute to respond, you will be glad you did.

Maybe our Jewish brothers are on to something. Maybe we can try and take our faith deeper and not wider. Maybe one of our measuring tools can be our literacy and knowledge transforming the world around us into the place Messiah called us to when He said, "Thy will be done on earth, as it is in heaven".

Believe when I say I an not here to lecture you, but offer some humble advice... "Study to show yourself approved unto God, a worker that needs to not be ashamed". Oh, and listen to your pastors and leaders about this too, you will be glad you did.

David Fournier

David Fournier in the Senior Instructor at Restoring Grace. David teaches classes on Hebraic Perspectives, Early Christian Communities and New Testament Formations and Canon. David is available for your church, youth group, seminars and retreats. Email David at:dfour26@gmail.com

My Disc Golf Life July 2017 Blog

Well, the Rocky Mountain State Games 2017 have come and gone. Hat's off to Lloyd Wilkins, Jeff Bradshaw and all the great folks at the Pikes Peak Flying Disc Golf Club. Many PPFDC members donated their time to make sure that Aviary Disc Golf Course was ready to be invaded and they did an awesome job. We played two rounds of disc golf under PDGA rules and had a wide range of players, from top level pros, recreational, juniors and women (and us old guys). This is an exciting time in disc golf to see the diversity of people and playing levels taking a shot at a PDGA tournament. Great job by everyone involved, players, volunteers and directors alike.

I am very proud of several players that came out. My boys, Jack and Sammy Fournier (aka the Little Great One) played both rounds with their old man, which was good for me, I made them carry the extra water. Being able to play a sport I love and having my family around is a great feeling. One of the highlights for me of playing disc golf is getting new people into the game. Three players, Chris and Samantha Crane and Robert Baur all came out and gave the RMSG a run. I am very excited about their growth in the sport and proud of their accomplishments. I also get to play with great friends (Jim Lewis and Robert Smith) and met a few new exciting guys as well. This is what makes disc golf a sport for everyone.

When a major tournament goes on, players can feel pressure. Each shot counts, and we all go out there with playing our best game in mind. Sometimes that happens, sometimes it is a challenge. Disc Golf has players that root each other on, pick each other up, and encourage each other to keep pressing along. After a pretty gruesome shot out of the tee box, my fellow player says to me,"well, we all have done that, we got a lot of disc golf left to play". He reminded me not to get hung up on what we can't change, but to go make the change I need on the shot that lies ahead... See? Disc Golf is life lesson worthy!

Whether we play a casual round, tags match or tournament level events, we move through the course as fellow disc-golfers on a journey.

Disc Golf competition is meant as a measuring tool, to mark the improvements we have made through our practice and see how we stack up against players of like, kind and quality. There are rules, regulations, markers, scorecards, mandos and out of bounds to deal with. I recommend even when you play casual rounds, keep these in mind and practice with them so when the day comes you are facing them for real, you will be best prepared to deal with them. Tempers can flare in competitive events, and some heated discussion about score cards. Competition brings out pressure and truly meaningful play, and each of us need to work to keep our heads on straight facing the challenges that arise during play. Remember, cooler heads prevail.

Now we slowly start to head for the winter season, when the evenings get darker sooner and the temps begin to drop. I encourage you all to get out there and throw as many rounds as you can while the tossing it still good. As for me, I am an idiot and have been known to play in freezing temps and driving snow storms. But hey, I never said I was all that bright!

Lastly, a note about family. Practicing for tournaments takes time and effort, and often this time is spent away from our families. I want to thank Jana Fournier (my wife) for allowing me the opportunity to get in the field and put in the practice to get ready. Without support on the home front, it makes doing something I really enjoy, well, less enjoyable. Which brings up another thought.. is there someone you need to thank for pushing you, working with you, supporting you along your disc golf journey? Let them know today!!!

Well, till next month, keep on tossing

David

An Article to the Disc Golf Community of Colorado Springs…

Disc golf (aka Frisbee golf) has been a growing sport and venture here in the Colorado Springs area. It is also growing nationwide, but I want to address the community I live and play in. There are so many misnomers about disc golf and the people that play it, and my hope here in this article is to better aquatint you with the sport as I see it, as I play it and the people I get to play the sport with.
To catch you up to speed, I started playing disc gold here in Colorado back in 2013, after a seven year lay off. I came back to start playing again after a tragedy had struck the Woodland Park community, when Eagle Scout Nick Naples had died in a auto crash. Nick has made his Eagle Scout project a disc golf course at the Woodland Park Middle School. Shortly after his death on June 30th, that following September 30th, many people teamed up and held the first ever Nick Naples Memorial Disc Golf Tournament, which now plays on July 5th each year.

After that, I resumed playing disc golf when I could, often on days off or Sundays. It didn’t take long for the bug to bite, and I was back in the game again. For me, I am an older player (Advanced Grandmasters Divisions, which means players 50-59 years of age) and I play on a Rec/Am level. I enjoy playing and also enjoy competing as well.

Disc golf offers a chance for people of all physical abilities, age and gender to get outdoors and participate in an active sport. Most of the courses are free and equipment to get started is pretty inexpensive as compared to other sports. But this is just the entry point of why disc golf is great, and can be great for you.

Disc golf is one of the most diverse sports by players I have ever seen. We have about every race, gender, religion, age- range, non-religious, background and educational levels you can think of. Once we are out on the course, none of that matters. Just a group of people enjoying the game and encouraging each other along.

Disc golf has some of the most good-hearted people you will find. While the competition can get fierce at times, the players are always encouraging each other to do better, trading disc favorites and tips on how to get better. Most of the upper level players and pros are good at finding ways to help other players come along and become more solid at the sport.

Now there are some perceptions about disc golf players that just aren’t true. For example, I was practicing shooting some putts at a local course when a person drove by and shouted, “Why don’t you get a job”. I guess he was concerned about America being great again, but I already have a job. And to that point, lots of disc golf players have jobs. Heck, maybe two jobs. They guys and gals I know are committed family members, hard workers and truly decent people.

Every community has its boneheads, and disc golf is no different. But you really don’t have to look too far to see the heart of gold of most its players. These are people I have seen play the game in every possible setting, from casual rounds to PDGA tournaments. In the end, they often exemplify a courteous and friendly attitude towards the game, its players and its fans.

Disc golf helps me stay in touch with my children. I have four boys, ages 28-10, that play the game. When we are out for a few hours playing disc golf, we talk about life and other issues. The discipline of disc golf and the rules of the game are great ways to teach young people about how life can be as you grow older.

I enjoy spending my time on the course, I enjoy the people I encounter, from players I have never met to the ones I draw in random doubles play. We share a mutual goal; to go out and play to the best of our abilities and have fun. I often need to be reminded to have fun; I can get a little too serious about my play.

I encourage everyone to come out and give disc golf a try. If you don’t know where to get started, go to Facebook and look up Pikes Peak Flying Disc Club and message one of its members. We are all interested in getting new people involved and will be glad to take you out for your maiden voyage in the disc golf world.

While on the disc golf course, you may lose a lot of discs, but you will make a lot of friends. You can get your exercise in, enjoy the outdoors and at the same time, experience the fun and friendship disc golf can bring. I will warn you that disc golf is contagious, and after your initial dose, you will be hungry for more. Good news is there are plenty of courses and playing opportunities here in Colorado Springs.

We all need the chance to get out and enjoy life. To feel alive, a few moments away from the challenges of everyday life.. and disc golf can help you! I want to thank all the players that have been so kind to play along side me and help me grow my talent and skill set. Disc Golf is a sport for everyone-a sport that reconnects you with the amazing outdoors of the Colorado scenery-and in the end-a fun way to spend your day.


David Fournier

Pure Sharing-The Key to Making the World a Better Place...

True sharing, the kind that carries health and happiness is done with no agenda. It is unconditional; it serves no other purpose than to reach out and bless its end user. It is probably the most neglected and uncommon sharing that happens. For most people, sharing is what they do to merit a response that allows them to feel better about themselves. It often has little to do with the person in need.

We know there are two worlds, one above and one below. Jesus taught that you could choose where you invest, where your “reward” will be collected. Those that enjoy the applause of this world can receive their reward here in the 1% reality. Those that seek the Light of the Creator can choose to give and share without thought of returns, and they will be rewarded in the World to Come.
Pure sharing requires giving because “freely you received, so freely you give”. We share from our abundance, the Light that God has shared with us. As we willingly empty ourselves for the sake of another, God, in His Highest Wisdom, will replenish us with more of His Light. We all know we cannot out give God, His love has no boundaries.

This world is built on favors, paybacks and entitlement. Most people feel you should give to them and most the time you think you should get some kind of special treatment for giving. Donate some money and you get a gold-plated Bible cover or a pair of prayer socks. Maybe you donate and get a really cool certificate to hang on your wall. This give/get society eventually will go bankrupt. What will we all posses when that happens?

False connections occur when we give expecting something in return. The spiritual universe is too smart for our self-centeredness. When we give to gain friends, promote a false image of ourselves, to get sex from a partner, we settle for reward in the 1% reality of this world and then blame God when the results are not what we hoped for and leave us unfulfilled. If we want God involved, then we need to give as God instructed and modeled through His Son, Jesus.

Pure sharing is the fundamental weapon of mass destruction against the Opponent. He needs selfish people exuding selfish energy for him to survive. If there was a moment of pure sharing on a worldwide level, I believe we would destroy the devil and bring about the return of Messiah.

You see, the end of the age will not be an act of revenge or terrorism, it will be a global act of sharing. One pure moment of selfless activity when we all see that our current ways of treating each other are not working. I believe it ends with an implosion of kindness and good acts, not an explosion at the hands of some madman.

Until then, we all await the return of Messiah. Here is a prayer I find helpful…
I will drop my agenda and ulterior motives.

As I cut the strings that I have attached to my giving in the past, I make room for pure sharing, giving to others just for the sake of connecting to the Light.
Any favors or payback that I have been expecting, I will now drop, because they create false connections.

I want nothing in return.

I will give unconditional love and Light to those around me, and reap the greater benefits, tapping into the ultimate source of strength.

Go and share today! Release the power of pure sharing as we all seek to minimize the power of the Opponent not only in our lives, but the lives of others.


David Fournier in the Senior Instructor at Restoring Grace. David teaches classes on Hebraic Perspectives, Early Christian Communities and New Testament Formations and Canon. David is available for your church, youth group, seminars and retreats. Email David at: dfour26@gmail.com

Pushing Through Resistance-Revealing the Greatest Light

All relationships, all activity that passes through the human existence passes through the four stages. These four stages encompass how we filter the information that eventually moves us from where we are to where we will be going. These stages can hit us with wonderful transitions or painful challenges. Understanding these stages and how to work with them can help us remove the obstacles and gain a better footing on our path.

Stage 1: Life as Usual.

Here we are, sitting at home, enjoying a show, watching our kids, eating a meal when WHAM!!!! The phone rings with life-changing news or we witness something on TV or an article that changes our perceptions. Either forcefully or volunteer, we see the need for action. We have to move from where we are to where the resistance or change is pushing us.

For many people, it is stage they freeze on. They can hear an inspirational message, witness a great human tragedy or experience a painful loss, but the feeling of action or overcoming fades into a mix of self-pity and denial. Simply put, many people live on the edge of true accomplishment, but their ego and comfort push them back into the easy chair and back into the routine. For them, their physical death will be only be the locking of the door to a house left empty and abandoned a long time ago.

Stage 2: Call to Adventure.

But sometimes the Call to Adventure can be so great and inspiring, we heed the call and move away from Life as Usual. These are exciting times as fresh ideas and thoughts begin to fill our minds and parts of us we long forgotten surface with new found energy and excitement.

The Call to Adventure should be an ever-present call in every person’s life. God, in His Highest Wisdom, designed each of us with a competitive gene (if you don’t think so, how about the family fights over the Scrabble Board?) that can only be fulfilled by answering the Call to Adventure. That call can be a mission field, a new job, getting married or pursuing a degree. The Call to Adventure is on everyone.

The sad part of the Call to Adventure is that for many people, the Call came and left. They talk about their life accomplishments in a “past tense”, often giving the year (1955, 2005) like some kind of a moniker. But in the end, we are being called each day and each moment to stretch out and dive for another adventure.

Stage 3: Trials and Tribulations.

Here is where we start thinking “What the hell am I doing out here?” The first moment that 98 mph fastball comes whizzing by, thoughts of running right back to the easy chair come quickly to mind. But this is the most crucial and beneficial part of the process.

It is the resistance we overcome that establishes the value we receive from our trials and tribulations. Removing obstacles and idols from our path bring us the highest degree of lasting and ongoing fulfillment possible. God knows this, and that helps us understand why He allows these challenges. We derive great pleasure from overcoming.

When we face pressure, when we feel the resistance and it seems huge, we can celebrate the fact that whatever reward lies on the other side must be amazing. The Scriptures teach us that God will not place us in a situation we cannot overcome, so when we feel overwhelmed, we need to look and see what additional pressures we are adding.

Stage 4: The End Result.

When the process ends, either in victory or defeat, the End Result appears. This is the Effect and not the Cause. Many people, including myself, struggle with the fact that you cannot pass the test or grow spiritually unless you search for the Cause. We spend so much time pushing back on the Effect. The End Result is the Effect! I keep hearing people talk about fixing the fruit! Don’t try and fix the fruit, instead, stop planting fruit seeds!

No matter where you may be, these stages are in your life. The faster we recognize their purpose and start putting them to work for us instead of against us, we can begin to secure fulfillment and happiness for ourselves and more importantly, for those around us.

Stay Connected and Share Ruthlessly!

David Fournier in the Senior Instructor at Restoring Grace. David teaches classes on Hebraic Perspectives, Early Christian Communities and New Testament Formations and Canon. David is available for your church, youth group, seminars and retreats. Email David at: dfour26@gmail.com

You Cannot Choose Your Mountain

“The woman said to Him, Rabbi, I perceive that You are a prophet. Our fathers worshipped in this mountain, and you (people) say that in Jerusalem is the place where men ought to worship. Jesus said to her, Woman, believe Me, an hour is coming when neither in this mountain nor in Jerusalem will you worship the Father. You worship what you do not know; we worship what we know, for salvation is from the Jews.”
John 4.19-22

Our text comes to us as a very popular and well-known story of Jesus and the woman at the well. Many Christian interpreters have channeled this portion of scripture to be understood as “Christ the Soul Winner”. From a Romanized perspective, I could see this being the case. But we were not in Rome when this exchanged took place; we were not in Rome when it was recorded. To truly get Jesus and understand why the gospel writers saw the significance of this story, we must place this event in its original content.

The tensions between the Jews and the Samaritans run deep, deeper than we can cover in this article. Suffice it to say that the very fact that Jesus is in the area of Samaria and addressing a Samaritan woman merits mention. The conflict is a religious issue, and the Samaritans had long since this time pulled away from the worship place of the Jews and had established their own “mountain”.
After Jesus had a brief discussion with the woman about her lifestyle, she determines that he is not an ordinary man. She ascribes to Him the title of “prophet”, which is a deeply sacred office held in great value by Jew and Samaritan alike. Coupled with the fact that during the time of Jesus, true prophets were few and far between, this is a very respectful remark. Determining that Jesus had some “religious” understanding, she addresses the different places of worship between the two groups.

Jesus jumps right on this remark by refocusing the attention from where she worships to what she worships. This to me is the reason for this encounter. In a passionate response, Jesus tells her flat out, “Believe Me”. Understanding of this important concept starts with the ability to see it as the truth. People today, especially in religious circles, are constantly seeking the truth. The problem is two-fold, they lack the education, determination and understanding to recognize the truth if they actually saw it. Secondly, knowing the truth is always better than seeking it.

Jesus maintains His Jewish apocalyptic mindset (a common occurrence in His teachings) by telling her that an hour (epoch or season to the Jews) is coming. Many people miss the urgency of the message of Jesus because they think in spatial terms. While it may be true that Messiah has not returned for over 2000 years, it would be a mistake to remove the sense of urgency of this statement. In a short 40 years after His execution, nearly 80% of the population that had actually heard the words of Jesus would be dead at the hands of the Roman invasion in 70CE. When Jesus says the hour is coming, start packing.

Jesus addresses the heart of the problem in one of the most straightforward exchanges we have from Him. He tells her “You do not know what you are doing”. Jesus says while they worship at this mountain, they lack the knowledge of Whom they are worshipping. They have the words, they have systematic theology, they have the doctrines, but they lack the relationship and lifestyle of worship.
For the Jewish people, worship is not a moment of time elapsed in a Sunday-come-to-Meeting event. It is not defined by what kind of music is played or how many people speak in unknown tongues. It is not a performance worthy of an admission fee. Worship is focused on two basic and fundamental elements, to know God and be known by God.

When Jesus tells her that she worships was she does not know, He proves His argument because her focus is on where worship occurs and not on who worship is about. In our consumer driven society, consumerism is widely seen in the church. People go to worship at the place they enjoy, feel comfortable, like the pastor, enjoy the music or get to do the things that make them feel better about not knowing why they are there. It is criminal how the tables of the money-changers help people exchange their guilt and shame with a healthy dose of feel good gospel that does not appear anywhere on the pages of scripture.

Jesus qualifies why the Jews know who they worship, by explaining that salvation is from the Jews. This is not a future tense statement, as if it is being proclaimed for the first time. The Jewish people have been calling upon God for salvation for 2000 plus years at this time. Simply put, for the Jew, God is salvation. To know God is to know salvation. So, they worship what they know, not what they have been told.

Sadly, most Christians today do not know whom they worship. They have a form of God, but do not see the power that resides within Him. When the 2nd century church fathers jettisoned all things Jewish from the church, they also launched Jesus as well. The mountain moved to Rome and Jesus the Jewish Messiah was replaced by Christ, the reigning Emperor.

You cannot pick your mountain. It is following in the path of our Jewish spiritual parents, who had experienced God through their entire calling as His people that will lead you to a deeper understanding of Jesus. The sect of Judaism that embraced Jesus, historically known as the Nazoreans or Nazarenes, saw Jesus through the lens of His Jewish lifestyle and observance. They knew deeply of the relationship between Jesus and God, which explains why they had no issues with His divinity.

Religious people have and will always follow the lead dog. Popular trends, styles and subjects continue to be the prevailing attraction of the Christian community. Far removed from its humble beginnings, Christianity is worshiping a God they do not know at a mountain that God does not know. Jesus makes no claim to the importance of a religiosity; He claims that you must know God. In the knowing of God, comes genuine worship.

Christianity’s focus on conversion has created a “hurry up and wait” concept. People are quickly ushered into the Kingdom of God with just the base knowledge of what Jesus accomplished on the cross. The death of Jesus becomes all inclusive of the focus of their lives. It even pushes the idea that this world is not our home; God is going to burn it up, so show up, tithe, sing and listen, because when Jesus comes, we are out of here.

Jesus told us the sheep hear His voice. Is this the voice of a dead man? What about His life? How can I know Jesus apart from how He lived His life? The early Gnostic writers chided the proto-orthodoxy by calling their teachings the “Doctrine of the Dead Man”. It was all about His death, not knowing about His life.

The Apostle’s Creed (not written or endorsed by any of the Apostles of Jesus) simply states that Jesus was born of a virgin and suffered at the hands of Pilate, was crucified, died and rose again. According to the Apostle’s Creed, the woman at the well never happened. Jesus never said salvation is of the Jews.

As a New Testament Historian, I am not as concerned with what people believe as I am with what Jesus taught. Christianity has been preaching about Jesus for 2000 years, but stopped preaching what He said 2000 years ago. The words from the mouth of Jesus, His true identity, must be returned to the forefront of Christian thought. You can pick your religion, but you cannot pick your mountain.
Stay Connected!

David Fournier in the Senior Instructor at Restoring Grace. David teaches classes on Hebraic Perspectives, Early Christian Communities and New Testament Formations and Canon. David is available for your church, youth group, seminars and retreats. Email David at: dfour26@gmail.com