Blood Padding

I came across a beautiful picture of God's love that has really rocked me to my core. As you know, i've been reading through the Bible and spending a great amount of time in the Pentateuch. I've been studying God's movement among His people and His grace and His justice and His specific plans for His people's actions and His temple. His specific measurements and ingredients for the Tent of Meeting and Tabernacle have definitely been overwhelming. However, last night i read something awesome in a book i'm reading. It was talking about the ark of the covenant and it read like this:

"On the Day of Atonement the high priest took a goat and sacrificed it. Then the goat's blood was sprinkled on the mercy seat. God dwelt above the mercy seat in a cloud of glory, so that blood was put between the visible manifestation of God's presence and the broken law within the ark. So blood was put between God and the broken law... the priest could put blood between a holy God and the broken law so his sin could be covered and removed." Man's Problems and God's Answers by J. Dwight Pentecost

We see from the book of Deuteronomy 10:1-5 that the tablets put into the ark were the second set that were written by the hand of God, however it is so important to understand the symbolism behind these tablets. I had never considered the fact that the tablet of the law inside of the ark was broken at one time - not just physically broken, but also symbolically. I knew that Moses threw the original to the ground. I knew that it had been broken, but never connected the idea of a 'broken law' until now.

The blood was put between God and the law - the law which was symbolically and actually broken by His people. And through the blood of that goat, forgiveness was attainable for one year. And through the blood of Jesus, forgiveness is attainable forever. It is the only thing that stands between a Holy God and the broken law of our lives. Just something to think about...

GP
http://www.gphintz.com/

Fall Retreat Success

Just returned from our IGNITE fall retreat - The Power to Change. It was an absolute blast! It was so nice to spend time with the teens, have fun, talk about different struggles and subjects of interest and pray for one another.


Our prayer is that each of these teens will find the purpose for their lives centered in the hands of Christ. Please join us in that prayer and learn more about our youth group at www.igniteyouthgroup.com.

GP
www.gphintz.com

My Favorite Piece of Art - Hands Down!

OK, well i guess i am currently on an art kick and i want to let the world know what my all time favorite painting is. This is the painting that i will someday have hanging on my wall. This is the painting which i equate much of my life too. If you look closely, you may too. The reasons may be different, but the heart the same... Enjoy.

Fabian Perez - Untitiled II

Nikolai Ge's Judas

This is a painting entitled 'Judas' done by the Russian Painter Nikolai Ge (1831-1894). He was a student at the Academy of Arts in St. Petersburg, Russia. I think that it encompasses the emotion of my previous blog... Take a moment and really look at the details of the painting and then close your eyes to listen...

GP

www.gphintz.com

Judas' Pavement of Decisions

Reading through Matthew, I'm saddened by the few verses that i see dedicated to Judas Iscariot in Matthew 26. I mean, i know what's going to happen and i know the end of Judas' story, however it's still amazing for me to sit back and read the words.

"Then one of the twelve - the one called Judas Iscariot - went to the chief priests and asked, 'What are you willing to give me if I hand him (Jesus) over to you?' So they counted out for him thirty silver coins. From then on Judas looked for an opportunity to hand him over." vs. 14-16

Just going through this short portion of scripture, i see the digressing steps that are leading Judas to his demise. Deep down, i had always hoped that Judas was sought out by the evil priests and taken advantage of. That he was tempted and lured into his poor decisions. But, this portion of scripture tells me quite the contrary. I see the chief priest asking themselves, 'How the heck are we going to get this Jesus? We need to get him, but how?' And then i see Judas who 'WENT TO' them.

Now, it's probably not by chance that this portion of scripture is preceded by the anointing of Jesus and the alabaster box of precious oil and the statement that the disciples became very 'indignant' about the oil being poured over the head of Jesus. In their minds, that oil should've been sold and the money given to the poor. And even though most of their intentions were probably pure, you have Judas - the treasurer - sitting there watching all of this money disappear over the head of Jesus. And in John 12 we find out that the one who made a vocal disapproval of this action was none other than Judas himself. 'Why wasn't this sold for 300 pence and given to the poor?' And this is followed by a clear picture into the heart of Judas, 'This he said, not because he cared for the poor; but because he was a thief, and had the money bag and often took some for his own use.'

Seeing this ointment and money poured over the head of Jesus must've enraged Judas. And the Bible says that he 'WENT TO' the chief priests. The word for 'went to' is the Greek word 'poreuomai' and means 'to pursue the journey on which one has entered'. So, we see Judas pursuing a journey on which he had already started. When did he start this journey? Was it the day he was born? Was it the day he met Jesus? Was it the first time that he stole from the treasury?

I am unable to pinpoint the exact point when Judas started his journey which led to his demise. However, i am able to look at my life and the lives of many people who have lived on this earth and understand that life is a progression... a path... a road to travel which is paved by the decisions which we make. The choices aren't always easy, but they will direct us as one decision folds into another which folds into another which folds into our destiny.

Every day we are forced to make decisions which will take us closer to God or further away. Maybe they aren't as 'extreme' as stealing from the purse of God, but they may be a question of what we'll say, do or see... It is one idea... followed by one decision... followed by one action.

Today, let's ask ourselves about the decisions we've been making. Where is the road of our life taking us? Where is our pavement headed? And, if it's not headed toward the destination that we desire, let's turn the car around before our 'right' decisions become a speck on the horizon that can't be seen with the naked eye...

GP
http://www.gphintz.com/

Sin, Death and Cannibalism

Going into my study on the book of Leviticus, i must admit that i was fairly pessimistic. I have read the book before and could equate my reading time as a great high in Genesis (one of my favorite books in the Bible), a slight decline of excitement into Exodus with an incredible boring lull in Leviticus which carries me through the remainder of the Pentateuch. However, i am pleased to say that i am thoroughly enjoying my time in Leviticus and came across an incredible set of verses that i'd like to share with you.

The portion of scripture is highlighting the 'sin offering' which was the animal sacrifice that the Jewish people would make to atone (or amends for) their sin and is found in Leviticus 6:24-30. Now, i haven't made sense of every detail yet, but i find a striking resemblance here to some very common New Testament words of Jesus.

"The Lord said to Moses, 'The sin offering is to be slaughtered before the Lord ... it is most Holy... Whatever touches any of the flesh will become holy, and if any of the blood is splattered on a garment, you must wash it in a Holy Place... Any male in the priest's family may eat. It is most holy.'"

Here's a description of what Jesus did and said. "And he took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to them, saying, 'This is my body which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me." Luke 22:19-20

The Sin Offering? One who takes away the sins of the world? One who washes clean? One who can be taken and eaten?

I'm reminded of my Catholic upbringing and one of the prayers that has been singed into my brain stem from weekly repetition...

"...Lord Jesus Christ, only begotten Son
Lord God, Lamb of God, Son of the Father
You take away the sins of the world
Have mercy on us
You take away the sins of the world
Receive our prayer..."

Now I've studied about the scapegoat and the laying on of hands by the priest and sending the goat from the camp and if you're unfamiliar with this story, i'd encourage you to study it out or stay tuned and we'll cover this in the future. However, this portion of scripture in Leviticus gives us insight into the words of Jesus - 'this is my body'.

'Body' in this context is the Greek word 'soma' which simply means 'the body of a man or an animal'. Flesh. Meat. Body. So, when Jesus is saying this, He's declaring that this bread was His actual flesh. Now i'm not going to debate transubstantiation right now, but i do want you to see the word picture that the disciples are seeing. They are quite familiar with Leviticus. They've learned about offerings their entire lives. They had read Leviticus 6 many times and now Jesus is standing before them saying, 'Take and eat my body'. What a vivid picture of Jesus telling them, 'Listen up guys! I am the sin offering. I am here to take away your sins and the sins of the entire world. You guys are worthy. You guys are my priests. You guys, come on, take and eat the sin offering today. This is it guys.'

So, what we see here is the realization that Jesus has come for a greater purpose than to be a great teacher. We see that Jesus is calling them out of a life of mediocrity and telling them that they were worthy to be called priests. We see that Jesus is saying, 'Yes guys. You are priests now. You have a mission and today I'm allowing you to see yourself, not as fishermen or tax collectors, but as priests. Priests for a Holy God. Take and eat.'

Now, in this same way, we are called to take and eat. We are called to partake in the Lord's supper. We are called to 'do this in remembrance of me'. Understanding that when we do, we are taking of the sin offering. We are receiving that free gift of salvation through Jesus Christ. And we are accepting the realization that we are called to be God's priests on this earth. No matter what our occupation may be. No matter what our family may see us as. No matter what our history looks like. When we take and eat, we are lining ourselves up with the will and plans of God and saying, 'Yes!'

1 Peter 2:5-6 "As you come to him, the living Stone - rejected by men but chosen by God and precious to him - you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ."

The sin offering has been made and we are encouraged to take and eat of it. If you've not made that decision in your life, i'd encourage you to stop, find a quiet place and spend some time communicating with God. You speak, but also be quiet before Him and allow Him to minister to you. His plans for you are great - take the first step today.

GP
http://www.gphintz.com/

A Tux to Talk About

Oftentimes, when i reach a more difficult passage to understand in the Bible, my first inclination is to simply skip over it or move on to the next concept, idea or parable. I had this temptation when i stumbled across Matthew 22, but fought it to comprehend.

I wanted to know what Jesus was talking about with the wedding feast and why did the poor sap get kicked out of the party just because he wasn't wearing the 'right' clothes. I mean, come on, i've been at weddings where the "distant cousin" comes in with jean shorts and a metallica t-shirt on, smelling of cheap beer and cat urine. Sure, many whispered of his arrival, but no one would kick him out. He was still family.

And this simple truth - family - is what i have discovered. The concept of wedding clothes here is very important; not only for the actual story, but for what the story represents to its listeners. Matthew 22 starts with a parable that's equated to the Kingdom of Heaven and a king who is preparing a wedding feast for his son. The people who were originally invited paid no attention and went back to their homes and some, who were left over, actually murdered those who had brought the invitations. When the king heard this he was ticked! He sent out his army, killed the murderers and destroyed the entire city. Then, he was still going to have a party so he sends some more servants back out.

These servants have only one agenda - 'Invite as many people as you can find'. In fact the king says, 'Go into the highways and as many people as you find - invite'. And this is exactly what the servants do. In fact, the Bible says that they invite both 'good' and 'bad'. (Matthew 22:10) I was intrigued by this verse and wanted to see what the Bible meant by 'good' and 'bad'. I found out that the word used for 'good' is "agathos" and means 'upright, honorable, good, pleasant, etc.' On the other hand, the word 'bad' is "poneros" and means 'of bad nature or condition and, in an ethical sense, evil or wicked'.

I found this comparison in another portion of scripture from Matthew - chapter 7. The Bible says,

'Every good tree brings forth good fruit while every corrupt tree brings forth evil fruit. A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit. Every tree that doesn't bring forth good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. By their fruit you should know them.' 7:17-20

Now 'corrupt' is the word "sapros" and actually means 'rotten, putrefied, unfit for use, worthless, etc.' And so we see that the fruit of 'good' or 'bad' is actually produced by what is inside - whether rotten or healthy.

At the actual wedding feast there is one man in our parable that is noticed by the king and this man is chastised for not having a 'wedding garment' on. This man was probably still wearing the clothes that he was out working in or that which he was sitting in the streets in. The man was speechless and the king has him bound and cast out of the party and into the darkness.

Now, i spoke of how i just wanted to skip this passage over. I didn't want to deal with the 'reason' behind this one individual being kicked out when all of the others were allowed to stay. None were 'religious' or 'worthy' of having an audience with the king. Why was this one chosen? The answer is simple. Not because of what he had, but because of what he didn't have.

The wedding garments were there. The wedding garments were available. My main trouble with this verse was seeing this wedding feast through the eyes of today. Imagining some derelict trying to tie a bow tie and putting on a cumberbum in order to partake in the festivities. However, the word for garments found in the King James is 'raiment' and is equated with an 'outer covering' or 'cloak'. This was something that he would "put on". Something that was available. Something that was there. Something that was accessible to all.

The Jewish audience would've been quite familiar with the passage that Jesus was alluding to found in Zephaniah 1:7-8 "Be silent before the Sovereign Lord, for the day of the Lord is near. The Lord has prepared a sacrifice; he has consecrated those he has invited. On the day of the Lord's sacrifice I will punish the princes and the king's sons and all those clad in foreign clothes."

The raiment that Jesus was speaking about was Himself. The disciples would be sent out to invite all - the good and the bad. There will come a day of reckoning where all will stand before the King and it'll be at that moment where we all will be seen for who we really are and if we have chosen to 'put on' the right clothes for the party.

Maybe you're hearing this story for the first time and it is making sense to you. Maybe you want to know that when you're standing at the wedding feast of God that He'll come to you and throw His arms around you. Maybe you want to put on this spiritual raiment today. Well, Jesus died and rose again so that we could have life and His gift of eternity is free. Simply turn to Him, ask for forgiveness and commit your life to follow Him. There's no prescripted prayer, just a heart that longs for their creator crying out for a relationship.

Be encouraged!

GP
http://www.gphintz.com/

Shooting the Wounded? Hope not...

It has been said that the church is the only army which shoots its wounded...

I pray that this isn't true... but sometimes i'm forced to stop and think...

Please pray for Ted Haggard today.

GP

http://www.gphintz.com/

A Diamond Only Forms with Pressure

I forgot how much i loved Joshua until i trudged my way through the middle of Exodus to expose some truly excellent passages concerning God's interaction with man. The scriptures surrounding these Joshua sightings are very familiar - if not by actual quoting then by context. It is the giving of the 10 commandments by God to Moses. It is the construction of a golden calf and the declaration, 'Uhh. Well they there just gave me a bunch of gold and then I, uhh, threw it in the fire and out popped a golden calf!' Yeah. Great example of taking responsibility Aaron!

But now to Joshua. There's only two scriptures that i want us to look at. But these two give us an incredible insight into the heart of this man. In Exodus 24 we see God separating some individuals to come up the mountain to spend some time with Him. He picks Moses, seventy of the elders and Joshua. Then, in verse 13 we see Moses setting out with his aide Joshua. Moses leaves Aaron and Hur and the elders and the people and goes up the mountain with one man - Joshua. Joshua goes so far and then stops and waits while Moses enters into the cloud to spend time with God.

Moses spends a ton of QT with God. Now Joshua, even though it had been 40 days and 40 long nights, doesn't leave his position, doesn't crawl back down the mountain admitting defeat, doesn't build a false god with rocks and dirt and start dancing around it. No! He waits and he waits and he waits until he sees Moses coming down the mountain. You can imagine the joy that Joshua had when he saw Moses. He probably jumped to his feet and ran to Moses' side, excited to hear all about the move of God on the mountain.

However, the people had grown tired of waiting for Moses and concluded that there was a chance that he wasn't going to come back. In fact, they grew so persuaded of this that they had Aaron build an idol so that they can worship something. I don't want to get into this right now, but one day we will. What I want you to see is Joshua waits all this time for Moses, the Israelites grew tired of waiting and built an idol and then, in Exodus 32:17 it says, 'When Joshua heard the noise of the people shouting he said to Moses, 'There is a sound of war in the camp'. Moses shot back, 'That's not the sound of victory or defeat, but singing that I hear.'

They go down, Moses drops the commandments and they break, a line is drawn in the sand of those who'll stand for God and those who won't, there is a mass execution and then Moses seeks the forgiveness of God for the people. Fast Forward...

In the next chapter we find Moses constructing a place which was called the 'Tent of Meeting'. It was a tent that was put a distance from the camp and whenever someone wanted to call on God they would go to this tent. Personally, the most exposing scripture that I have ever read about Joshua... the one scripture that has allowed me to looker deeper into the life of Joshua than any other verse that I've ever read can be found in Exodus 33. It reads like this...

"The Lord would speak to Moses face to face, as a man speaks with his friend. Then Moses would return to the camp, but his young aide Joshua, son of Nun, did not leave the tent." Exodus 33:11

What i see here is a beautiful picture of intimacy. I see a picture of faithfulness. I see a picture of humility and blessing and honor and commitment. I see a picture that i can learn from. I see a picture of who i want to be.

When everyone else had given up on Moses - Joshua stood strong. When everyone else had made a decision to look somewhere else for their spiritual direction - Joshua stood strong. When Moses would go to seek the face of God - Joshua would go. When Moses left - Joshua would stay. In him i see a picture of strength and valor and tenacity and faith. I see a picture of a person that i would be honored to emulate.

It is so easy to give up in our culture. It's so easy to find the next job or the next wife or the next house or the next position. It's so easy to find the "better deal" and to hop, skip and jump away. However, there are great things that come to the person who endures. There's a great blessing for the one who doesn't quit.

I have been through the fire in my life. I have had many ups and downs; many mountain top experiences and many valley times too. Most recently i remember feeling like the walls were closing in around me... feeling like i had tried hard to no avail... feeling like i was being wrongly persecuted for things that i had not even done. Those days were hard. And how did i get through them? Like Joshua - not letting go. I remember locking myself in a church sanctuary and beginning to pray with a darkness and heaviness on me. Praying even though nothing in my soul wanted to pray. Praying even though everything told me to give up and quit. Praying even though it didn't make sense. And I'd pray... and pray... and pray. Before long, the heaviness started to lift. Before long my prayers became stronger and a joy entered my soul. It was as if the clouds had parted and the sunshine shone brightly into my life.

And it was in that moment that God shared a beautiful concept with me. He encouraged me to 'give my best to what's before me'.

It sounds simple, but that statement changed my life. God worked miraculously in that season of my life, doing things that i never could've guessed. The hard days faded and i've entered into a beautiful season of blessing. However, i understand that a diamond is only formed from pressure and that God often allows immense pressure to form us into the people that He's destined us to be.

If you're going through a season of heartache or trial or trouble right now, i'd encourage you to press into God. You won't want to in the beginning. It'll be one of the hardest things that you've ever done. But understand that if you continue, the clouds will part... the sun will shine... and you will see the hand of God working in your life!

GP
www.gphintz.com

Lineages: What's the Point?

Well, when I read the Bible I am often discouraged when i come across a large portion of scripture dealing with the family tree of some famous Bible character. You start out strong, but after about five verses of sounding out names which have way too many syllables, you find yourself skipping along to the end of that portion of scripture and to the next topic. This was true until i began trying to figure out who all of these mysterious names were that i came across in the book of Matthew.

Now, i love the fact that Jesus' lineage is so perfectly ordered. I mean, you have 14 generations from Abraham to David and then 14 generations from David to Babylon and then 14 generations from Babylon to Jesus. This made digging deeper easy for me because i could cut this big pie in thirds.

Today, let's just take a peek at the first 14 generations talked about in Matthew and a few highlights from their lives:

1. Abraham - This man has an incredible story that needs to be read by all. A few highlights are: God cutting covenant with Abram, God giving him his son Isaac at the age of 100, Meeting God as He was heading into Sodom, God's provision in every area of his life, etc. (If you are unfamiliar with any of these stories, please stop reading this and open up a Bible to Genesis 12 and start reading. I promise you that you won't be disappointed!)

2. Isaac - This is God's promised son to Abraham. He was born when Abraham was 100 years old and taken to the mountain to be sacrificed at the demand of God. However, God provided a ram to be sacrificed in his place at the last moment.

3. Jacob - I have an entire blog posting on Jacob, but a few quick facts are: He was a mama's boy, he deceived his dad and stole the blessing from his brother Esau, he fell in love with Rachel and was deceived into marrying her sister Leah before her and then ended up with their slave women also, he became the father of the 12 tribes of Israel, his name was changed to 'Israel' and he was the father of Joseph and the technicolor dreamcoat.

4. Judah - This one was the greatest shocker for me. God provides an entire section in the OT about Joseph, yet uses Judah in his lineage. Not only that, but Jacob's true love was Rachel and Judah's mom was the girl that Jacob didn't even want - Leah. Here we see God using something that was entirely out of the control or plans of Jacob for His glory! Now, Judah had three sons - Er, Onan and Shelah. Er got married to Tamar and he ends up dying. Onan is ordered to impregnate her and takes advantage of the task without following through on the obligation and God kills him. Judah promises the third son's seed to Tamar when he gets older, but doesn't deliver. So Tamar dresses like a prostitute and lures Judah in after his wife's death. He sleeps with her - not knowing who she is. She takes some of his possessions and later, when she's found pregnant, he wants to have her killed until she brings out his possessions, looks at her belly and says, "Who's Your Daddy?" (not really. i added that) So Tamar has Judah's babies - twins - named Perez and Zerah.

5. Perez - not much said about him

6. Hezron - or him

7. Ram - or him

8. Amminadab - with a name like that i wish the Bible talked more about him

9. Nahshon - not much said about him

10. Salmon - or him, but i bet he was a fisherman

11. Boaz - Now Boaz is important for two reasons. The first is that the Bible says that his mother was Rahab. Rahab is an important piece of the puzzle because her story can be found in Joshua two. At that point in her life she was a harlot, or prostitute, and decides to help Joshua's army by hiding them and protecting them. She is promised protection when they come back to destroy the city and her entire family is spared. Later, she marries Salmon and enters into the lineage of the Messiah.

12. Obed - His mother was Ruth. This is very important to understand because Ruth was from the land of Moab, which was a foreign land. This is a country who did not worship the Lord Jehovah as the Jewish people did. Yet, God brings Ruth to a land and brings her and Boaz together. God shows us that the Messiah is for all people through this simple act of allowing Ruth to be part of His lineage.

13. Jesse - not much is said about Jesse except for the fact that he was a father and he ended up having a son and this son has provided some of the greatest life lessons of all time as we've witnessed God's hand on his life. And this son was...

14. David - If you don't know about David, please stop right now and read about his life. From being a boy and chopping the head of Goliath off to his infidelity with Bathsheeba to the final blessing of his family, it is a page turner. He has brought me much understanding into the heart of God and i'm sure it'll do the same for you.

Well, there it is! The first 14 generations of Jesus highlighted in the book of Matthew. I hope you enjoyed, but most of all i hope that you'll look at those long, boring lists in the Bible as nuggets of truth that will encourage us to serve God in a greater way! Be blessed.

GP

http://www.gphintz.com/

Baby News

Well, my friends, rumor has it that the GP Hintz clan will be growing by a minimum of two feet in a few months! That's right, the wife took two tests and they both screamed out "Positive"! Can you believe it? It feels like a lifetime since we have went through the joy of pregnancy seeing as our youngest is already four, but we're ready to ease back into the doctor appointments, strange cravings and multitude of dirty diapers that are sure to come! We just want to ask our entire community of friends to keep this time for our family in your prayers. We know how difficult this time can be and are relying fully on our God to sustain us as we watch his will unravel in our lives.

So, stay tuned. I'll keep you abreast of the situation and maybe, just maybe, before too long you'll be able to have a sneak peak inside! I can't wait... GP

http://www.gphintz.com/