The Simplicity of Christianity

 

"The Second Mile" (used only with Michael Belk's permission

"I question the simplicity of the Christian invitation to accept the gift of salvation; 'Just accept Jesus as your Lord and Savior' and you will have it all - redemption from sin and a seat in Heaven."

(That's a quote from a devotional by Michael Belk found in YouVersion. I first met Belk through his photographs, now he has a fuller site as he shares his faith and invites us to "Come Along for Journeys with the Messiah.")

The person being quoted is absolutely is right - there is a simple answer to the question:

Then he led them out and asked, "Sirs, what must I do to be saved?" They answered, "Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved---you and your family." (Acts 16:30-31 GNB)

- and Belk is right in saying it's a bit wrong. Living as a follower of Christ is not simple.

The speaker reworded John 3:16’s simplicity without the “believeth in him,” which Paul basically repeated in Acts 16:30. So let’s take a look at how those believe in words impact the simplicity. 

Believing in Jesus requires believing what He said about Himself.  

Believing in Jesus requires we keep God’s commandments, which include loving God and our neighbors.

Believing in Jesus means we understand that we will break some commandments. We also need to understand how/why we receive forgiveness for doing so. 

If we believe what Jesus says about Himself, He is God. Just this month I used a scripture example where religious leaders condemned Jesus:

The Jews answered him, saying, For a good work we stone thee not; but for blasphemy; and because that thou, being a man, makest thyself God. (John 10:33 KJV)

Yet many today will tell us that Jesus did not mean that He was God, ignoring a verse just above that one:

I and my Father are one. (John 10:30 KJV)

Paul also quoted scripture he knew to confirm who Jesus was:

Thus saith the LORD the King of Israel, and his redeemer the LORD of hosts; I am the first, and I am the last; and beside me there is no God. (Isaiah 44:6 KJV)

But to us there is but one God, the Father, of whom are all things, and we in him; and one Lord Jesus Christ, by whom are all things, and we by him. (1 Corinthians 8:6 KJV)

There are other such scriptures, but this would be way too long to read if I copied many more, so let's move on to keeping God's commandments. Begin with my favorite:

Then one of them, which was a lawyer, asked him a question, tempting him, and saying, Master, which is the great commandment in the law? Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets. (Matthew 22:35-40 KJV)

Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him. He that loveth me not keepeth not my sayings: and the word which ye hear is not mine, but the Father's which sent me. (John 14:23-24 KJV)

Believing in Jesus means understanding what God wants us to do besides believing He exists and following His commandments:

But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him. (Hebrews 11:6 KJV)

The primary reward is being with God for eternity - which brings us back to John 3:16 and preceeding verses:

And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up: That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life. For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. (John 3:14-16 KJV)

Jesus was not a Christian. We who strive to follow His example were first called Christians in one city after spending a year spreading the good news that Jesus was born, preached the Word of God, died for the sins of others, and rose on the third day to show mankind what God was and could do.

Then departed Barnabas to Tarsus, for to seek Saul: And when he had found him, he brought him unto Antioch. And it came to pass, that a whole year they assembled themselves with the church, and taught much people. And the disciples were called Christians first in Antioch. (Acts 11:25-26 KJV)

Jesus came to change the lives of individuals. His life showed what we should do about governments, and there was never a move to overthrow anyone - except greedy money changers who turned our Father's house into a den of thieves. 

A house of prayer. That's pretty simple, too. We are to talk to God, read His word, follow His commandments. They are simple, too. Love God and love our fellowman. Yet we fail at that simplicity, and God still loves us. We all are coming up short on any measurement against God's plan for us, but God is able to forgive a repentant soul

But God has shown us how much he loves us---it was while we were still sinners that Christ died for us! By his blood we are now put right with God; how much more, then, will we be saved by him from God's anger! (Romans 5:8-9 GNB)

What makes all that simplicity difficult is an enemy promising us mirror images of God's reality. Here's Peter's example and encouragemenet:

Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you. Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour: Whom resist stedfast in the faith, knowing that the same afflictions are accomplished in your brethren that are in the world. But the God of all grace, who hath called us unto his eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after that ye have suffered a while, make you perfect, stablish, strengthen, settle you. To him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen. (1 Peter 5:7-11 KJV)

Walking With God

 

Dog Walk, Bandon, Oregon

As I looked for a graphic to fit today’s subject, I looked at pages and pages in Commons, this one spoke to me before I read the caption and noticed the two dogs. Sometimes a walk alone does give us time to reflect upon our relationship with God.

The theme for this post came to me as I was dozing off. I used my Echo to tell Alexa to remind me in the morning about those who walked with God. Ridiculous, of course, if this was to be the theme, God Himself would remind me.

I do spend time at night and in the morning with God, even before considering what I might get from His word. At times, my conscience speaks of things that I do need to discuss with Him. I do not wish to hide as Adam and Eve did:

And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat. And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves aprons. And they heard the voice of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day: and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God amongst the trees of the garden. (Genesis 3:6-8 KJV)

I cannot explain “the voice of the Lord God,” but I understand why Adam and his wife would hide themselves. That much I’ve felt as regrets were on my mind. Regrets from my own actions. When I do think of voice, I think of words, which brings to mind a verse I’ve used often:

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. (John 1:1-2 KJV)

Two verses mention another man walking with God:

And Enoch lived sixty and five years, and begat Methuselah: And Enoch walked with God after he begat Methuselah three hundred years, and begat sons and daughters: And all the days of Enoch were three hundred sixty and five years: And Enoch walked with God: and he was not; for God took him. (Genesis 5:21-24 KJV)

Those are all the verses about Enoch. We have no biblical information about his life, except he begat Methuselah, and was the grandfather of Noah. We do know from two of the verses that Enoch walked with God.

While we don’t know about Enoch’s father Jared, nor his son Methuselah, but the Bible does tell us about Noah:

But Noah found grace in the eyes of the LORD. These are the generations of Noah: Noah was a just man and perfect in his generations, and Noah walked with God. (Genesis 6:8-9 KJV)

In the eleventh chapter of Hebrews we learn a bit more of Enoch:

By faith Enoch was translated that he should not see death; and was not found, because God had translated him: for before his translation he had this testimony, that he pleased God. (Hebrews 11:5 KJV)

We also learn that God expects us to come to Him believing:

But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him. (Hebrews 11:6 KJV)

The chapter has many verses that begin “By faith,” then names a person who lived his faith in God. In Hebrews 11:4 we find that those included in the Old Testament as being righteous have God, through His inspired word giving testimony to their righteousness, and though they are dead, they still testify about God’s closeness in their lives.

The book of Micah is also inspired by God, and I love this verse:

He hath shewed thee, O man, what is good; and what doth the LORD require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God? (Micah 6:8 KJV)

We may not be judged by, but we are certainly known by the people we have in our lives. Outside of family, we identify them as “My friend . . .” and we testify to the times we spend with them, where we go, what we do, and the pleasure it gives us. This Friday I’ll have lunch with a lady I met at our church. She lives in the northwest corner of another state, but when we comes, I will enjoy her company and mention to others that we had lunch. That’s a testimony to our friendship.

I do the same with our God. Through the workings of the Holy Spirit He provided as our Comforter when Jesus ascended, I do walk with His word as a light unto my path (Psalm 119:105) and I use His word that I might not sin. (Psalm 119:11.)

Psalm 199 is an awesome study on its own. No other verse/book in the Bible was written as an acrostic poem. For each of the 22 letters of the Hebrew alphabet there are eight verses. With so much available to read, there is no end to the opportunities to seek God through His word. Sometimes it’s a little difficult to end a blog, though! There are good times walking through God’s word with Him.

Americans and Christianity

 

Wikipedia Commons: Child Jesus

“Christianity Today” website had an online article that caught my attention. It had to do with whether Jesus was the Son of God.  It begins:

Christmas is a celebration of a real event, according to most Americans. Just don’t expect them to know exactly why Jesus was born and came to earth.

Personally, I don't know why anyone would be a member of a church purporting to be "Christian" without knowing who Jesus Christ claimed to be. If such a person could not accept that He was the Son of God, why belong to a church worshipping Him as such. Yet, according to the Christianity Today (CT) survey, 9 out of 10 Americans will celebrate Christmas, while not nearly that 90% are members of a Christian church, and an even smaller percentage believe Jesus is the Son of God.

Let me be clear on one point. I believe that Jesus is both the Son of God and is God, too. I know, that doesn't sound possible, but His disciple John wrote an explanation:

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. (John 1:1-3 KJV)

There are additional verses following this, but that first verse in John is just as important as Genesis 1:

In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. (Genesis 1:1 KJV)

In an earlier blog I stated that when a person can believe both Genesis 1:1 and John 1:1, they would have no trouble accepting Jesus as the Son of God.

You see, we do not worship three different gods. Christianity is a monotheistic religion worshipping one God, described in the Hebrew Shema:

Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD: (Deuteronomy 6:4 KJV)

When we read the story of Abraham willing to trust God sufficiently that he would physically sacrifice his own son Isaac, we read a verse very important to me:

And Abraham said, My son, God will provide himself a lamb for a burnt offering: so they went both of them together. (Genesis 22:8 KJV)

Jesus is God in human form. Why else would Jesus say:

I and my Father are one. (John 10:30 KJV)

The Jewish religious leaders believed He said it and tried to kill Him:

The Jews answered him, saying, For a good work we stone thee not; but for blasphemy; and because that thou, being a man, makest thyself God. (John 10:33 KJV)

That's my take. I'd love for you to comment with yours. Then we can compare ours against what CT said:

A new study from Lifeway Research finds close to 3 in 4 Americans believe Jesus was born in Bethlehem more than 2,000 years ago. Even more say Jesus is the son of God the Father, but less than half believe Jesus existed prior to being born on that first Christmas.

CT continues with percentages from the Lifeway Research study released in 2022:

90% of Americans will celebrate Christmas;
72% say Jesus was born in Bethlehem two millennia ago;
80% say Jesus was the Son of God the Father;
41% say God's son existed before Jesus was born.

The body containing Jesus' mind, spirit, and soul was born 2,000 years ago. On that I agree wholeheartedly, but my God, the Father Jesus exampled us in prayer, is not confined by time as we are:

But, beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing, that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. (2 Peter 3:8 KJV)

I find it sad that just over 40% of those who celebrate Christmas do not understand the biblical reason for His birth, as stated in the CT article:

". . .  some Americans do not connect the Jesus born in Bethlehem with the Messiah who already existed as God now coming in the flesh. . . . Despite widespread belief that Jesus really came to earth as a baby, there is far less familiarity with why Jesus said He came."

I suggest getting a digital King James Version and search the phrase "I am come" to see what Jesus Himself said why He came. Also do a search for all the verses containing the words: no man Father me, to find the seven verses where Jesus spoke of He and His Father. Also check Luke 19:10 and John 14:6.

For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost.
(Luke 19:10 KJV)

Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me. (John 14:6 KJV)

What we will celebrate during Christmas is a birth prophesied for centuries, fulfilled. After that, read the rest of the story.

Go. Preach. Sing.

 

We call it “Thanksgiving Sunday,” which is a misnomer because every Sunday is a reason for giving thanks, but the second Sunday before Thanksgiving our church celebrates and gives thanks with preaching, singing, fellowship, food, and fun. It is a joyful day filled with thanksgiving for God’s love for His creation.

This past Sunday everything, including the weather, worked together beautifully to complete all of our plans. We had a guest family who sang for us. You can find more about the Johnson family by stopping by their website: Go Preach Sing. "Resurrection Power” was one of many songs they blessed us with their talent.  Their enthusiam was obvious as they loudly (and – unlike me - on key) sang “I don’t serve a dead Savior. I don’t have a dead faith. He’s alive and so am I.” That's what the gospel - the good news - is all about. The graphic today is the back of the Johnson family prayer card. 

The best sermons given are about that good news. I remember hearing one man's testimony where he told of being asked about when he was saved. In response he mentioned the sermon that day. He was asked what it was about. He replied that he doesn't remember the sermon, just that it was about Jesus, and it matched what the Bible said about Him.

That good news tells us that God is holy: (I'll use the scriptures from the graphic above) Isaiah 6:3. We are all sinners: Romans 3:23. Sin must have justice: Romans 6:23. Jesus Christ died for us: Romans 5:8. Jesus rose from the grave: I Corinthians 15:3-4. Salvation is by faith: Ephesians 2:8-9. Call on Jesus now: Romans 10:13.

The list is short, and seems easy, but the believing - the faith part - is hard. Believing that Jesus lived and His legacy is part of the Bible which people preach is very easy. You can see churches filled on Sundays (well, not in 2020, but we are getting back there!) So easy that the Bible tells us:

Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble. But wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead? (James 2:19-20 KJV)

Absolutely. Faith in Jesus' message requires acceptance that God expects us to do specific things when we become believers. Our example is to be a reflection of Jesus to our world. To find out what He did when he started His ministry, we must read the four gospels - Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. Then move on to what happened after Jesus' resurrection in Acts. After that, spend time with Paul's letters to specific churches, they remain good examples for us today and should be studied.

For Christians reading this, does your life speak of Christ to the point others know you are a Christian? Would people point you out as an example of doing what Christ told us to do? Not all of us are called to be preachers, but we are all called to be teachers, telling all we meet how Christ has impacted our lives.

If Christ has not had an impact on your life, I would hope you can face the answers when I ask: Why hasn't Christ had an impact on your life? I've attended church with several people who can explain exactly how Christ changed their lives - when they made the decision to follow His example. That is one of the best ways to share the gospel, show it as we live every day with people we know.

For non-Christians who have read this far, please find a Christian friend to discuss Jesus' mission on this earth. If that person doesn't reach for their Bible, please find someone who does. Someone willing to take John 3:16 and work through why belief in Jesus changes lives. It will become easier for you to recognize those who follow God's most important commandments:

Master, which is the great commandment in the law? Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets. (Matthew 22:36-40 KJV)

Continuity of Love

"The Second Mile"  

Yesterday I posted about biblical continuity and gave an example of seeing God. I did forget to mention Genesis 3:8, where Adam and Eve had walked with God in the cool of the day – but couldn’t on that one day after eating THE fruit. Now, instead of tending a garden as they did, we are to follow instructions, of which “love” shows a continuity throughout the Bible:

For the LORD your God is God of gods, and Lord of lords, a great God, a mighty, and a terrible, which regardeth not persons, nor taketh reward: He doth execute the judgment of the fatherless and widow, and loveth the stranger, in giving him food and raiment. Love ye therefore the stranger: for ye were strangers in the land of Egypt. Thou shalt fear the LORD thy God; him shalt thou serve, and to him shalt thou cleave, and swear by his name. (Deuteronomy 10:17-20 KJV)

They may not look as we do, talk as we do, eat what we are used to. They are strangers to us, but our Lord sees them as the neighbors we are to love, or the strangers we meet. I’ve used Journey With The Messiah graphics (with permission) in years past. These coming holidays always bring that website and their message to mind.

“The Second Mile” – my blog from July 27, 2010 - eleven years ago I wrote:

I have struggled with this since I saw “The Second Mile.” I want to be able to walk with my Lord and follow His example. I believe He would have given his cloke, and that He would have walked that second mile, speaking to His follow traveler of God’s love.
Yet I draw back at the thought of doing so. Not just from the thought of those long ago Nazi soldiers, but of people today. People whose thoughts are not only far from God’s love, but whose actions oppose God’s laws and the people who love Him. Is it because I fear them? He tells me not to.

And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell. [Matthew 10:28 KJV]

The word “Nazi” has been abused in the last ten years to the point that it has been applied to our physical neighbors. To the real people Jesus described in Matthew 22:34-40. A similar situation, where the lawyer asked Jesus “And who is my neighbor? “ He answered in Luke 10:25-37.

That’s not the only pejorative word people have used incorrectly. Nor is ours the only nation where words have been applied with hate filled fervor. Nor where physical assault accompanied such words. Nor where the original meaning has been forgotten.

Open your mind to a symbolic person you would hate the most. One that you never want to meet or speak to under any circumstances. Then look at today’s graphic replace the Nazi soldier with that person – and realize that Jesus is just as concerned about that person’s soul as He is whosoever’s:

For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. (John 3:16 KJV)

We’ve been told what happens if we believe, and what happens if there was/is/will be one that never believes:

He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. (John 3:18 KJV)

When we believe, we must tell others. We must share what we know, where we found it, what it means in our own lives, and where it can be found for themselves. When having trouble remembering, Jesus promised us help:

But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you. (John 14:26 KJV)

All we need to do is ask Him to help us remember:

A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another. By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another. (John 13:34-35 KJV)

Continuity

 

Sometimes a later version does sounds so appropriate:

What a shame—yes, how stupid!—to decide before knowing the facts! (Proverbs 18:13 TLB)

Still, in my preferred King James version, the meaning is the same – but to a certain antiquity of the problem which continues unbroken and consistent existence through human history:

He that answereth a matter before he heareth it, it is folly and shame unto him. (Proverbs 18:13 KJV)

That, my friends, is continuity:

the unbroken and consistent existence or operation of something over a period of time.

In electrical property terms, continuity defines the connection necessary for electricity to flow. A ‘multimeter' allows us to see whether or not the unseen electrical current does flow through a connection. I have a circuit tester that detects whether or not voltage is present. Without that presence, there is no continuity.

There’s continuity across the Bible. It would take a lot of pages to cover the width of biblical writings that continue across thousands of  years. Both the Old and New Testaments define a monotheistic religion, though God is seen from different viewpoints, He remained the same from Genesis through Revelation.

Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD: (Deuteronomy 6:4 KJV)

The Office of Rabbi Sacks was among the references for Shema:

“Hear, O Israel, the Lord is our G-d, the Lord is one.” These words are the supreme testimony of Jewish faith. Each word is worthy of careful study, but it is the first – the verb Shema – that deserves special attention.

Shema is much more than a single word, nor does it simply mean a prayer. As with any movement from one language to another, the word “shema” doesn’t simply mean “Hear,” as explained in Strong’s definition of the Hebrew word:

H8085
שָׁמַע
shâma‛
shaw-mah'
A primitive root; to hear intelligently (often with implication of attention, obedience, etc.; causatively to tell, etc.): -    X attentively, call (gather) together, X carefully, X certainly, consent, consider, be content, declare, X diligently, discern, give ear, (cause to, let, make to) hear (-ken, tell), X indeed, listen, make (a) noise, (be) obedient, obey, perceive, (make a) proclaim (-ation), publish, regard, report, shew (forth), (make a) sound, X surely, tell, understand, whosoever [heareth], witness.

(See that part of hearing intelligently, which includes attention and obedience?)

Moses saw only a glimpse of God as He left Moses, as told to us as Exodus 23 closes. No other instance in the Bible mentions anyone seeing God. In the New Testament there were years where Jesus, as a physical representation of God’s love, interacted. After being seen by assembled followers (Acts 1:3-4) over forty days, there was no doubt among them as they met at Pentecost that God spoke to them without being seen.

Not until the Sunday that John heard that great voice (Revelation 1:10) do we begin to see the throne of God (Revelation 4:2-3) and He who sat upon it.

That is only one example of biblical continuity – from Genesis where God was capable of creating a universe, to Revelation where He was capable of showing how it was to end. Between the two events, we are blessed:

Blessed is he that readeth, and they that hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written therein: for the time is at hand. (Revelation 1:3 KJV)

From Genesis to Revelation we are exhorted to read, hear, keep, and share what God has for us. while we acknowledge God not only exists, but we also acknowledge He is to be obeyed. He asks nothing more than that we love Him and the people He created.

Sounds simple – until we realize:  1) we do not love plus we have been and/or are one of the unlovable people that He loves;  2) we must change through obedience to be lovable, and share God’s love to people we still deem unlovable (the book of James is the best one to work through that conundrum);  plus 3) we must have the Holy Spirit through the John 3:16 belief in Jesus Christ.

After that, we have continuity with God – the connection to a consistent existence through God’s timing, which is eternal.

Salvation and Discipleship

 

Dietrich Bonhoeffer

Today it would be odd to find a photo of a preacher smoking. I think this pastor was not only a part of a society that accepted smoking, but one under a good deal of stress. As Nazi’s rose to power in Germany, he was formulating his book The Cost of Discipleship.

A quoted part of that book reminds me that it is just as valid today as it ever was. I’ve heard “easy salvation” described similarly to his “cheap grace”:

cheap grace is the preaching of forgiveness without requiring repentance, baptism without church discipline. Communion without confession. Cheap grace is grace without discipleship, grace without the cross, grace without Jesus Christ, living and incarnate.

Salvation is not the same as getting someone to say a prayer that they accept Jesus as their savior. Luke described what Paul gave as an answer to the question:

And brought them out, and said, Sirs, what must I do to be saved? And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house. (Acts 16:30-31 KJV)

Simply saying a prayer does not constitute salvation through Jesus. When Paul met Christ on the Road to Damascus, he was given different instructions. Obviously, Paul believed it was Jesus who spoke, and even called Him Lord:

And he trembling and astonished said, Lord, what wilt thou have me to do? And the Lord said unto him, Arise, and go into the city, and it shall be told thee what thou must do. (Acts 9:6 KJV)

Even devils believe:

Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble. (James 2:19 KJV)

Believing on, trusting in, giving our lives to God, accepting His gift, all of that changes our lives:

costly grace confronts us as a gracious call to follow Jesus, it comes as a word of forgiveness to the broken spirit and the contrite heart. It is costly because it compels a man to submit to the yoke of Christ and follow him; it is grace because Jesus says: "My yoke is easy and my burden is light."

Salvation requires that we build a relation with God, that we accept that He does have a plan, that we are a part of that plan, we need to do our part, and His plan was laid out by the Apostles in letters to churches in that first century. The New Testament is full of examples and instructions for us.

Perhaps that is what scares us – we are required to give our lives as a sacrifice:

I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God. (Romans 12:1-2 KJV)

It’s frightening, isn’t it? to live according to the two laws Jesus said were the basis for all the Law and prophets, the two laws He and others kept, the two laws use more than any other scripture:

Master, which is the great commandment in the law? Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets. (Matthew 22:36-40 KJV)

According to the Bible, and mankind’s experience, forgiveness does require repentance. Baptism does require church discipline just to understand why baptism is a sign of obedience, not the physical washing away of sinfulness. Communion does require confession as we should never approach God with sin we consider unimportant.

Grace requires the cross. Jesus Christ died because it was part of God’s plan. He knew that when He prayed for the cup to pass, and accepted it when the cup was necessary. We must have a heart that expresses our remorse, that shows how affected we are by guilt:

For thou desirest not sacrifice; else would I give it: thou delightest not in burnt offering. The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: a broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise. (Psalms 51:16-17 KJV)

Give guilt to God, accept discipleship, grow into a mature Christian, then provide discipleship to new ones. God bless those who preach the gospel of peace and bring glad tidings of good things.

Hope and Patience

 

Does being patient make you thing of being a patient? I’ve been a patient a couple of times where patience wasn’t needed – a coma will do that to us. It helps us, too, to understand hope and patience and how they work together when we love God.

A large number of people mock Christians because we have faith in something we’ve heard from others but have never seen ourselves. Our Lord has said a blessing for us for just that reason:

Jesus saith unto him, Thomas, because thou hast seen me, thou hast believed: blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed.
(John 20:29 KJV)

Paul also tells us that our hope gives us peace with God:

Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ:  (Romans 5:1 KJV)

It may have been Paul who defined what faith is:

Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. (Hebrews 11:1 KJV)

All of that is pretty easy for a Christian to accept – but there are verses around them that contain as much truth as these selected. For example, let’s return to Roman’s 5:

By whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God. And not only so, but we glory in tribulations also: knowing that tribulation worketh patience; And patience, experience; and experience, hope: And hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us. (Romans 5:2-5 KJV)

Not many people expect to become a Christian only to “glory in tribulations.” Nor do they expect those tribulations to provide patience, experience, and hope. Remember, faith is the substance of things hoped for, so Paul is telling his readers that tribulation will bring hope. Do you really believe that? Have you had a tribulation that brought hope? Built your faith?

When we do, it shows how our patience is in proportion to our belief that God is in absolute control. That hope, along with peace, during our worst times, shows how we have surrendered our lives to God.

I do not believe God causes tribulation for us – but I do believe He allows it to happen to us in this world because we live in an imperfect sinful world. This natural world provides destructive storms, earthquakes, natural disasters in the same way mankind provides liars, thieves, and murderers. God did create this world, but long before He did that there were angels that followed a rebellious leader:

Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour: Whom resist stedfast in the faith, knowing that the same afflictions are accomplished in your brethren that are in the world. (1 Peter 5:8-9 KJV)

In the Bible we have a large number of examples of people who fell for the tempting mirror-images of God’s caring for them. Best examples are the temptations Satan offered Christ told by Matthew 4:1-11, Mark 1:12-13, and Luke 4:1-13.

Temptations offer us what we want. Turning them down to do what is right gives us experience. We gain patience through experience, don’t we? We know that waiting a while is so much better for us rather than yielding to temptation.

We also need to remember that there is life beyond temptation:

There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it. (1 Corinthians 10:13 KJV)

Patience is listed in some great company:

But thou, O man of God, flee these things; and follow after righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, meekness. (1 Timothy 6:11 KJV)

In your patience possess ye your souls. (Luke 21:19 KJV)

Look up patience in your Bible – my King James Version has 33 verses in the New Testament with the word patient in it. Seems to be it’s a pretty good thing to enjoy – and a strong part of our faith. How does it seem to you?

Trying Not To Be Harsh

 

Apostle Paul - Rembrandt

We've been studying II Corinthians in our Sunday School this year and reached chapter 13 this past Sunday. I was struck by Paul's closing to the church in this chapter. A question was asked in class about verse 7:

Now I pray to God that ye do no evil; not that we should appear approved, but that ye should do that which is honest, though we be as reprobates. (2 Corinthians 13:7 KJV)

This has to be studied in context, as with all verses - even those we use as stand-alone. Paul writes of reprobates in the two previous verses:

Examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith; prove your own selves. Know ye not your own selves, how that Jesus Christ is in you, except ye be reprobates? (2 Corinthians 13:5 KJV)

We are to do as Paul did - examine our own lives to know if we do have Jesus in ourselves. Paul had written this second letter to a church who had reprobates. He felt he had to explain that sinfulness was being lived by members and accepted by a congregation. The application applies to us, too, so we need to know what being a reprobate means - according to Strong's:

ἀδόκιμος

adokimos

ad-ok'-ee-mos

From G1 (as a negative particle) and G1384; unapproved, that is, rejected; by implication worthless (literally or morally): - castaway, rejected, reprobate.

When we believe Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and trust that what He promised in John 3:16, God provides a Comforter for us that is ours forever:

If ye love me, keep my commandments. And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever; Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you. (John 14:15-17 KJV)

Comforter is mentioned in Ecclesiastes 4:1 and Lamentations 1:9, 16. The references concern a lack of a comforter, but John provides the explanation of who the Comforter is as well as what the Comforter does for us:

But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you. (John 14:26 KJV)

When we examine ourselves, we need to know what Jesus taught so that is part of our "remembrance." Remembering that the first and most important commandment is to love God and our neighbors (Matthew 22:35-40)

When we are living as though those two commandments do not exist, when people cannot see Jesus in our lives, they wonder if we ever did understand what He taught. We would be seen as reprobates, as castaways, unapproved, worthless - and strongest of all - rejected. Obviously, Paul was not a reprobate:

But I trust that ye shall know that we are not reprobates. (2 Corinthians 13:6 KJV)

That background brings me to verse 7 again. Paul was asking the congregation at Corinth to do no evil, not to show that Paul was not a reprobate, but that they should do what is honest whether Paul was or not. The Corinthian had the good news that Christ came from God to share God's good news, die on the cross, defeat death by His resurrection, and tell us that it was for all to hear and accept. 

Paul preached that same gospel everywhere he went. We read it over and over again in the New Testament. Paul told Agrippa what Jesus sent him to teach - and you should be hearing this same message from pulpits today:

To open their eyes, and to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan unto God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins, and inheritance among them which are sanctified by faith that is in me. (Acts 26:18 KJV)

It shouldn't matter if the person sitting next to you in church is a reprobate, seems to be a reprobate, or has been deemed by others to be a reprobate. Jesus' message was personal, individual, open to each one of us. Paul told the church at Corinth, and your own pastor should be speaking the same message that includes the first two works of verse 5:  Examine yourselves. Not someone else, but each of us examine ourselves and pray for the Comforter to bring to our remembrance what we need to do.

Measurable Evidence

 

"What gets measured gets attention.” The first time I read that phrase it was on a six-inch ruler at a Kiewit job site. Each of our immediate family worked for Kiewit at one time or another - even I had a temporary position. I wanted to use that quote with another, from BigThink.com:

But extrapolating beyond the limits of your measurable evidence is a dangerous, albeit tempting, game to play.

My next thought was to find the source for the Kiewit quote - which brought me to a page about Lord William Thomson, Lord Kelvin, who actually said:

When you can measure what you are speaking about, and express it in numbers, you know something about it; but when you cannot express it in numbers, your knowledge is of a meagre and unsatisfactory kind; it may be the beginning of knowledge, but you have scarcely, in your thoughts, advanced to the stage of science, whatever the matter may be.

Measuring is a valid business process.  It is an asset to be able to measure. Measuring evidence is a key phrase, I used it myself when testing software. But what happens when something is immeasurable?

From Job 38:4, God gives Job a mass of unanswerable questions, beginning with:

Where wast thou when I laid the foundations of the earth? declare, if thou hast understanding. (Job 38:4 KJV)

The next verses, then chapters, show us how immeasurable God is. The answer Job gives is what I also believe:

Then Job answered the LORD, and said, I know that thou canst do every thing, and that no thought can be withholden from thee. (Job 42:1-2 KJV)

We see our God as omniscient, omnipotent, and omnipresent, as well as being eternal. He cares for His creation (check out John 3:16!) and provides:

But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus. (Philippians 4:19 KJV)

God also takes care of those who follow His instructions:

But this I say, He which soweth sparingly shall reap also sparingly; and he which soweth bountifully shall reap also bountifully. Every man according as he purposeth in his heart, so let him give; not grudgingly, or of necessity: for God loveth a cheerful giver. And God is able to make all grace abound toward you; that ye, always having all sufficiency in all things, may abound to every good work: (2 Corinthians 9:6-8 KJV)

Christians cannot measure God. As the Big Think quote said, we should not extrapolate when explaining what we believe He is. The Bible describes God and His dealings with mankind. Our belief in Him comes only from His word and how He works in our lives. We love Him based on faith, which comes from:

So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God. (Romans 10:17 KJV)

Christians also know what happens without faith:

But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him. (Hebrews 11:6 KJV)

Faith is mentioned twice in the Old Testament – Deuteronomy 32:20 and Habakkuk 2:4. Worth reading, then read Hebrews 11 and see how faith plus work can show measurable evidence of our faith in God. Or Esther, where God’s name isn’t mentioned, nor is praying to Him, yet through Esther’s faith He provided “enlargement and deliverance”for the Jewish people.

Although God is immeasurable, is there visible evidence of our faith in Him? James felt very strongly about that:

Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone. Yea, a man may say, Thou hast faith, and I have works: shew me thy faith without thy works, and I will shew thee my faith by my works. Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble. But wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead? (James 2:17-20 KJV)

This blog exists to continue what John wrote:

But these are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through his name. (John 20:31 KJV)

Mountains and Valleys

 

I looked for a graphic that would show a valley, not just a mountain, because life brings us valleys as well as mountain top experiences. For a Christian, a mountain top experience doesn’t have to be anywhere near a mountain. I’ve had, and seen others have, such experiences on an ocean cruise with only the sea from a 360 degree horizon.

For a Christian, a mountain top experience is a closeness to God, Word@Work defines it as:

This expression has originated from the Bible because of the dealings God had with His people on various “mountain-tops”. So the phrase has come to mean a moment of transcendence – or epiphany; and in particular an experience of significant revelation given by God.

Monday night last week, at our Ladies Meeting, our speaker was Tina Pugh, our pastor’s wife. She presented a number of biblical mountain top experiences. As another attendee put it: “For mountain top experiences you must plan and use considerable resources and have faith. God makes it worth the effort when it is to His glory.”

The opposite experiences are termed “valleys,” where we experience a significant distance from God. King David was described as being a man after God’s own heart when the kingdom was taken away from Saul:

And Samuel said to Saul, Thou hast done foolishly: thou hast not kept the commandment of the LORD thy God, which he commanded thee: for now would the LORD have established thy kingdom upon Israel for ever. But now thy kingdom shall not continue: the LORD hath sought him a man after his own heart, and the LORD hath commanded him to be captain over his people, because thou hast not kept that which the LORD commanded thee. (1 Samuel 13:13-14 KJV)

Saul’s indictment was specific – he had not kept God’s commandment to Saul, thus Saul lost the kingdom. David would make errors that kept him from building the Temple – that was left to his son Solomon. David also knew about the valleys that come to us, the opposite of “mountain top experiences.’ Those times when we are certain we are alone. Trust God, we are not alone.

When Elijah felt alone he said:

and I, even I only, am left; and they seek my life, to take it away. (1 Kings 19:14b KJV)

God responded:

Yet I have left me seven thousand in Israel, all the knees which have not bowed unto Baal, and every mouth which hath not kissed him.
(1 Kings 19:18 KJV)

David, when confronting his own sinfulness wrote:

Wash me throughly from mine iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin. For I acknowledge my transgressions: and my sin is ever before me. Against thee, thee only, have I sinned, and done this evil in thy sight: that thou mightest be justified when thou speakest, and be clear when thou judgest. (Psalms 51:2-4 KJV)

He also wrote about God keeping us through the valleys, whether they are of the world’s making – as Elijah, or of our own – as David:

Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me. (Psalms 23:4 KJV)

Yes, God is with us in the valleys of our lives – when we listen to Him. Today we “see” Him as the Holy Spirit, the Comforter sent to His followers.

It is possible that many of our own valleys remain because we do not see God leading us back to those mountain top experiences. He does it through the Comforter Jesus prayed for:

And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever; Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you.
(John 14:16-17 KJV)

But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.
(John 14:26 KJV)

The Comforter’s presence with us in the valley allows us the strength to continue towards those lifting mountain tops where we do remember our place in God’s plan. If we’ve forgotten that God has a plan for us, the Comforter will “bring all things to your remembrance.” Easiest way for us to know what Jesus said is to read the Bible, isn’t it?

Maintenance Required

 I was watching my grandson work on his pickup this morning. He needs it to pull his equipment trailer for his welding business. Without that truck, he is unable to fulfill his commitment to his employer or his clients.

This is true of so many things in our lives. Every day living is filled with maintenance items. Some are as simple as putting fuel in our vehicles in order for us to bring food into our house so that we provide sustenance for our bodies. Yes – we need to do maintenance on our bodies daily. There will be times we need help in maintaining our bodies, so we call upon doctors. Seems as though I’ve called on them too often since October 2019, but each time they’ve done well in aiding in maintaining my body.

My Beloved Husband and I have maintained our marriage – celebrating sixty years of marriage since May of 1961, Oh, yes, we had to work at that! Marriage definitely takes maintenance on the part of both husband and wife. It does takes both working on that because at any given time, one of us wasn’t doing our part. When one spouse is working alone, the marriage will fail. Many do.

Children take maintenance, too. Lots of it. Somehow, our society thinks that babies can take care of themselves once they are born. They are not only viable, but no longer need mothers, fathers, families, or sustenance. That having a woman provide maintenance alone during pregnancy is a point of contention to the point of removing the child from any needs, denying them life. For mothers accepting the responsibilities of children, maintenance is necessary for years. The return on loving, caring maintenance is continued love and care for parents. That is a beautiful circle of life.

Too often, poor maintenance on our bodies, marriage, and children can be compared with poor maintenance on our souls. Neglecting maintenance on our souls, as seen by Christians, is death. Thomas Aquinas wrote:  “Three things are necessary for the salvation of man: to know what he ought to believe; to know what he ought to desire, and to know what he ought to do.” That reminds me of a very good definition of what is necessary to become a Christian:

For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? and how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher? And how shall they preach, except they be sent? as it is written, How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things! But they have not all obeyed the gospel. For Esaias saith, Lord, who hath believed our report? So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God. But I say, Have they not heard? Yes verily, their sound went into all the earth, and their words unto the ends of the world.  (Romans 10:13-18 KJV)

Do you believe that last sentence? It wasn’t a full truth in Paul’s day, though he spent his life taking that gospel to a large portion of the Roman world. Today, is there a place that has not had an opportunity to hear that which Paul preached to Agrippa:

Having therefore obtained help of God, I continue unto this day, witnessing both to small and great, saying none other things than those which the prophets and Moses did say should come: That Christ should suffer, and that he should be the first that should rise from the dead, and should shew light unto the people, and to the Gentiles. (Acts 26:22-23 KJV)

Look for yourself what is necessary for maintaining a soul. The results are eternally important:

For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. (John 3:16-18 KJV)

Let’s Look At Pernicious

 

The Lord knoweth how to deliver the godly out of temptations, and to reserve the unjust unto the day of judgment to be punished: But chiefly them that walk after the flesh in the lust of uncleanness, and despise government. Presumptuous are they, selfwilled, they are not afraid to speak evil of dignities. (2 Peter 2:9-10 KJV)

Paul begins this chapter:

But there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who privily shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them, and bring upon themselves swift destruction. And many shall follow their pernicious ways; by reason of whom the way of truth shall be evil spoken of. (2 Peter 2:1-2 KJV)

“Pernicious” is a beautifully defined word: having a harmful effect, especially in a gradual or subtle way. The example used in the Google dictionary is “the pernicious influences of the mass media.” The additional information includes:

What is pernicious effect?     pernicious, baneful, noxious, deleterious, detrimental mean exceedingly harmful. pernicious implies irreparable harm done through evil or insidious corrupting or undermining.

The serpent’s conversation with Eve in Genesis was certainly pernicious:

Now the serpent was more subtil than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden? (Genesis 3:1 KJV)

The serpent called attention to the one detail that would have a “No” in it. The beginning of temptation. I hope you’ve thought of a number of other “No”s that have given others temptation into failures.

Solomon is a good example – considered a very wise man, except:

But king Solomon loved many strange women, together with the daughter of Pharaoh, women of the Moabites, Ammonites, Edomites, Zidonians, and Hittites; Of the nations concerning which the LORD said unto the children of Israel, Ye shall not go in to them, neither shall they come in unto you: for surely they will turn away your heart after their gods: Solomon clave unto these in love. And he had seven hundred wives, princesses, and three hundred concubines: and his wives turned away his heart. For it came to pass, when Solomon was old, that his wives turned away his heart after other gods: and his heart was not perfect with the LORD his God, as was the heart of David his father. (1 Kings 11:1-4 KJV)

A thousand to one? Certainly it was easier to just give in and let them bring with them their comfortable things. A very wise man ending up:

Then did Solomon build an high place for Chemosh, the abomination of Moab, in the hill that is before Jerusalem, and for Molech, the abomination of the children of Ammon. And likewise did he for all his strange wives, which burnt incense and sacrificed unto their gods. (1 Kings 11:7-8 KJV)

What pernicious things have we allowed in our lives? I think there's a common list as our world has changed over the last few decades. I don't have to list them here, it's really obvious by the fact that I'm writing and you're reading. The world has more information available to the widest percentage of people since the Tower of Babel. 

There is a falling away from believing "In the beginning, God created," " For God so loved the world," and especially "I am the way, the truth and the life." There are Christian organizations that do not adhere to the fundamental truths given in the Bible, even saying the Bible is no longer relevant. How perniciously has this happened? No one person can be held accountable for such a movement.

Yet - it was prophesied. Want to know what else has been prophesied and fulfilled? Better yet, what else has been prophesied and NOT yet fulfilled?

Turned Away

 

As they rode on the bus together, night overtook them, and the child commented on how dark it was:

“Oh, sweetie,” said the white-haired lady sitting next to him. “It sure is. Did you see the sun going down when we went across the bridge a little while ago?” 

Shane looked at her with wide eyes. It was his turn to be amazed, his three-year-old linguistic system still interpreting everything literally. “Oh, no,” he replied. “The sun did not go anywhere. We just turned away from it.” (Blest Atheist)

 After a long time, mankind did realize we are not the center of the universe, nor the galaxy, nor even our small solar system. Youngster learn that our earth turns, the sun does neither rises nor sets, but we move around it without being able to change that. We just turn away - and back again.

It's easy to turn away from God. Paul worked with people that did:

For Demas hath forsaken me, having loved this present world, and is departed unto Thessalonica;  (2 Timothy 4:10a KJV)

The Bible is filled with examples of people who knew God, turned away from Him. Some of them turned back - and He was still there. The one who wrote most about that relationship was was David:

To the chief Musician, A Psalm of David, when Nathan the prophet came unto him, after he had gone in to Bathsheba:

Have mercy upon me, O God, according to thy lovingkindness: according unto the multitude of thy tender mercies blot out my transgressions. Wash me throughly from mine iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin. (Psalms 51:1-2 KJV)

How best to come to the Lord on our knees and tell Him we know how wrong we were and beg for His forgiveness, to heal the relationship.

For I acknowledge my transgressions: and my sin is ever before me. Against thee, thee only, have I sinned, and done this evil in thy sight: that thou mightest be justified when thou speakest, and be clear when thou judgest. Behold, I was shapen in iniquity; and in sin did my mother conceive me. (Psalms 51:3-5 KJV)

He broke both of the greatest commandments - he not only ignored God, denied Him the love of his heart, mind, and soul, but he failed to love his neighbor, to the point of stealing his wife and having him killed. Literally a neighbor, for it was from his window David watched Bathsheba. What hope is there after breaking the fundamental commandments God has repeated for ages?

This is what David requested from God, and offered in return:

Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me. Cast me not away from thy presence; and take not thy holy spirit from me. Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation; and uphold me with thy free spirit. Then will I teach transgressors thy ways; and sinners shall be converted unto thee. (Psalms 51:10-13 KJV)

Teaching. Just what God had requested of Israel:

Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD: And thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might. And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart: And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up. (Deuteronomy 6:4-7 KJV)

His Son did the same to the Disciples just before He returned to His Father:

Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen. (Matthew 28:19-20 KJV)

One of the things we are to teach is that there is no one turned away when they come to our Father. Matthew 15:11-32 tells that story so well. Even after his father welcomed him home, the son told him:

And the son said unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven, and in thy sight, and am no more worthy to be called thy son. (Luke 15:21 KJV)

I've read that non-religious people are turned off by the word repent. I'm not certain why - perhaps they expect that their entire life will change if they repent, and they are afraid. Look at the people who actually lived their repentance - their lives did change when they took the path to God. They did live with consequences from their action, but once they turned back to God, their lives were better.

That's all repent means - turn away from the way you are going, back to the way God has for all of us. Come, join us and learn of the strait and narrow way. It is so rewarding.

We Are Allowed to Crawl

 

I've had the distinct pleasure of watching a number of babies crawl. Each does it in their own way, finding the best way to move about to reach their goals. I was reminded of that in a recent book where a spina bifida child asks

"Are people allowed to crawl in this house?"

"If they prefer, yes," I answered.

That made me stop and think how we press people to do what we think is best, whether it really is or not. Why shouldn't a handicapped child crawl in freedom instead of safely ensconced in wheelchair? I don't have an answer for that at all, but I do believe people often need to crawl before their next step.

And, I believe that is applicable in Christian growth, too.

There is a lot Christians are called to do. I mentioned the two greatest commandments yesterday. I do use them a lot. They are among the most important, not just my favorites. Here's a reminder, if you didn't read yesterday's blog:

Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets. (Matthew 22:37-40 KJV)

Did you get that part "ALL the law and the prophets." Based on that, I'm assuming this is of utmost importance. In fact, if we don't do both of these, we've definitely broken God's commandments. 

Also yesterday I mentioned there might be an unlovable person. A new Christian might find this an insurmountable obstacle, right? I believe we all know a person we do not under any circumstances want in our lives. Yet we are supposed to love them? We may be crawling awhile getting that done.

Babies are also fed milk before they are ready for meat. That makes a great analogy, and we need to understand that time may take longer than we would like, and there's a time to move from milk to meat:

And I, brethren, could not speak unto you as unto spiritual, but as unto carnal, even as unto babes in Christ. I have fed you with milk, and not with meat: for hitherto ye were not able to bear it, neither yet now are ye able. For ye are yet carnal: for whereas there is among you envying, and strife, and divisions, are ye not carnal, and walk as men? (1 Corinthians 3:1-3 KJV)

Do read the rest of this chapter where Paul defines why growth is needed. When we evidently remain mere babes in learning about Christ, have only some of the first principles, we need to continue to mature. We need not be proud of our wisdom and knowledge when there is so much more to not only learn but apply in our lives.

It is our own failing, and we need reminding, when we do not improve as Christians. When we do not keep either one of those two greatest commandments.

Which brings me to the situation that did come to mind - a long time Christian who expects a new Christian to walk and eat meat when there is still a need to crawl and drink in all the newness of accepting Jesus for what He is - God's gift to mankind:

Therefore we ought to give the more earnest heed to the things which we have heard, lest at any time we should let them slip. For if the word spoken by angels was stedfast, and every transgression and disobedience received a just recompence of reward; How shall we escape, if we neglect so great salvation; which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord, and was confirmed unto us by them that heard him; (Hebrews 2:1-3 KJV)

It's easier to slip when we are less mature, or when we become complacent. We always need to give heed to what we have heard, and pass them along to those who are still learning. Remember, we always have something to learn!! If you don't think so, go back and read some of the books of the Bible you haven't been spending time reading. Pray for God to show you something new in what we considered old.

We need to keep that first faith, where we understand the future holds so much more. The Bible puts it this way:

Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. (Hebrews 11:1 KJV)

For new Christians, that faith gave them cause to step out publiclyy and tell people: "I believe in Jesus!" Their hope is placed in pleasing God:

But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him. (Hebrews 11:6 KJV)

Let's apply our own due diligence and enjoy those who are on the same path we are, they just joined at a different time. That applies for the new Christian as it does for the mature Christian.  Our goals are the same even if our experiences vary widely.

Yes, Christians are allowed to crawl in God's house.

What Label Would You Apply?

 

Here we have a view of labels available to a pharmacy to let us know more than the names of the medication and the prescriber. I was reminded of labels when I was reading "Blest Atheist". Elizabeth Mahlou (a pseuodonym) wrote:  "I am not a label. I am a person. I have a right to be a person."

All of us wear labels - some of mine are wife, mother, tester, and the loved: grandmother. I had titles that were labels, too: Assistant Staff Manager-Contributions and Support. It was the title for a position my boss created to fit the needs of our department. I do not know if it was ever used it again since it required two separate backgrounds. Most people chose one or the other, uninterested in both.

Often labels express opposition, as in "right", "left", "centrist" but those were insufficient and "far", "activist", and other labels are added. The same works within religions. It's not simply Buddhist, Christian, Jew, or Muslim. Over the years additional labels were added.  I am a follower of Jesus as defined in the Bible:

And when he had found him, he brought him unto Antioch. And it came to pass, that a whole year they assembled themselves with the church, and taught much people. And the disciples were called Christians first in Antioch. (Acts 11:26 KJV)

I belong to a Baptist church. Centuries ago they were called other names, most familiar is Anabaptist because we believe baptism follows an individual's belief in Christ as stated in John 3:16. It is done as obedience and a public statement of faith. However, there is not a single Baptist organization. There are additional labels as Bible, Fundamental, Independent, Northern, Seventh Day, Southern, and if you start reading the list of Baptist denominations, it will take you more than a few moments. 

It used to be that belonging to a Christian church meant believing what Paul preached about Jesus' life:

For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures: (1 Corinthians 15:3-4 KJV)

As we know today there are leaders of churches who no longer accept that belief - yet call themselves Christian. That's not the same as being a wolf in sheep's clothing:

Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves. (Matthew 7:15 KJV)

Or, as Paul said:

For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into the apostles of Christ. And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light. Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also be transformed as the ministers of righteousness; whose end shall be according to their works. (2 Corinthians 11:13-15 KJV)

There are many examples in the Bible where a person misuses God's name, His plans, to the detriment of those who follow men rather that God. Some are not living up to the label they carry, which allows me to state: Labels do not define those who wear them. Beliefs, words, and absolutely actions speak louder than labels, no matter their source.

Jesus said it better:

Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles? Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit. A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit. Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire. Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them. (Matthew 7:16-20 KJV)

We are told a couple of times not to judge people - which means not to condemn them - but we are encouragead to be fruit iinspectors and not accept sour, rotten fruit when God provides the good. How do we know it is good? There are many examples in the Bible, but my favorite is:

Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things. Those things, which ye have both learned, and received, and heard, and seen in me, do: and the God of peace shall be with you. 

(Philippians 4:8-9 KJV)

By what standard should we find things to be true, honest, just, pure, lovely or of good report? I personally believe if they fit in these verses, we are in good shape:

Master, which is the great commandment in the law? Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets. (Matthew 22:36-40 KJV)

Keeping these two commandments aren't easy, are they? You just thought of somone you absolutely do not love? Pray for them and yourself. It becomes easier. Loved should be our best label.

Did You Read "What I Believe"?

 

I wrote that as a foundation, as do many websites that speak to faith in a deity. There are usually specific points. I spent a few days working through what I wrote to be certain I expressed my own deeply held faith. What bothered me when I published this, and still does every once  in a while, is leading with believing that the Bible is the divinely inspired and preserved Word of God, the final authority.

As I stated then, it certainly isn’t the most important. Faith is uppermost in mankind’s lives, even in the Bible:

For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast. {Ephesians 2:8-9 KJV)

But, it does not work separate from God’s grace. Thus our faith is based on our relationship with our Father in heaven. That phrase comes from the Bible, from the lips of a man who claimed to have become human to fulfill millennia of prophecy.

1) Why would people write about Him?

2) Why should we believe them?

There are four books called Gospels that include occurrences in Jesus’ life. If you need to know what Jesus I mean, read those four gospels – then continue into the fifth book, Acts of the Apostles. After Jesus’ death on the cross, people continued to write about Him, often to explain how they saw what He meant, and how He lived.

Not how He lived while in a human body on earth, but how He was resurrected and is eternally with God, whose presence is detailed in the Torah and Talmud. The Torah is the first five books of what is included in our Bible. The Talmud contains the history of the Jewish religion and does not contain all of the other books in the Bible’s Old Testament.

Jesus said:

Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil. (Matthew 5:17 KJV)

And, He did as He said:

And he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up: and, as his custom was, he went into the synagogue on the sabbath day, and stood up for to read. And there was delivered unto him the book of the prophet Esaias. And when he had opened the book, he found the place where it was written, The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, To preach the acceptable year of the Lord. And he closed the book, and he gave it again to the minister, and sat down. And the eyes of all them that were in the synagogue were fastened on him. And he began to say unto them, This day is this scripture fulfilled in your ears. (Luke 4:16-21 KJV)

While the four gospels are not exact duplicates of each other, none of them deny Jesus words in any other. All at one time or another confirm that these four men considered Him to be the prophesied Messiah (or, in Greek, Christ) in the Torah and Talmud. We know that from an incident in Berea following Paul’s preaching:

These were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so. Therefore many of them believed; also of honourable women which were Greeks, and of men, not a few. (Acts 17:11-12 KJV)

It takes a seeking heart, though, for Paul studied those exact same scriptures that the Bereans and it still took Christ meeting him on the road to Damascus to open his heart. For me, it took several years in church before I understood that the Bible had a message that affected my life more than attending with my parents.  It’s a decision that each one of us must make on our own – we can’t do it for anyone else, no matter how much we love them.

I’ve heard many preachers who tell us being saved keeps us from going to hell. One of the saddest sermons I’ve heard was at a Youth night Revival meeting where the fears of hell were drawn in vivid detail, almost with apparent relish. I missed any of the words that convinced me what John “. . . God is love” (1 John 4:8, 4:16)

John 4 is a beautiful chapter for defining how God is love. Take time to read it. It will help understand why John earlier wrote:

For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. (John 3:16 KJV)

“Whosoever” means “the person or people who; any person who”, which leaves me with no doubt that my name, and your name, can be substituted in that verse: . . . that Phyllis believeth in him should not perish but have everlasting life. Yes – believing on Jesus as the promised Messiah is personal.

What I believe is very personal to me and I pray that those reading this understand I totally pray they will understand the message and read the Bible with an open heart to a Creator who is love.

Well, this could go on and on. Thank you for spending some time with me - now, would you please spend some time with these scriptures?

The Subject Remains On My Heart

 

Three times now I’ve used this graphic when I’ve thought of how God can create a live, beating, heart from stone:

And I will give them one heart, and I will put a new spirit within you;
and I will take the stony heart out of their flesh,
and will give them an heart of flesh:
That they may walk in my statutes, and keep mine ordinances,
and do them:
and they shall be my people, and I will be their God.
(Ezekiel 11:19-20 KJV)

Almost a month before my “Earnestly Contend For The Faith” blog yesterday, I read this article where the question headlines: “I dare you to deny me Communion.”And lived with this, where the author:

“ . . . raises the question of why he remains in a faith with which he fundamentally disagrees on almost every issue. Yet Lieu not only retains the title of Catholic, but like many others, he seeks to change the church to match his lifestyle and the ideas of the times.”

I am not a Catholic and have no interest in denying Communion to anyone who adheres to how the Bible says to partake of it:

For I have received of the Lord that which also I delivered unto you, That the Lord Jesus the same night in which he was betrayed took bread: And when he had given thanks, he brake it, and said, Take, eat: this is my body, which is broken for you: this do in remembrance of me. After the same manner also he took the cup, when he had supped, saying, This cup is the new testament in my blood: this do ye, as oft as ye drink it, in remembrance of me. For as often as ye eat this bread, and drink this cup, ye do shew the Lord's death till he come. Wherefore whosoever shall eat this bread, and drink this cup of the Lord, unworthily, shall be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord. But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of that bread, and drink of that cup. For he that eateth and drinketh unworthily, eateth and drinketh damnation to himself, not discerning the Lord's body. (1 Corinthians 11:23-29 KJV)

Yes, the emphasis is mine, not biblical. But, when the Bible tells me that doing something in error brings damnation, I think I should give it serious thought. The previous verses address head coverings – deemed today to be a cultural change and not necessary within a number of Christian denominations. The Catholic Church changed their response to this years ago.

However, the Catholic Church has not changed its position on abortion, which impacts receiving Communion:

According to church teachings, those who do not receive Communion in a state of grace commit a mortal sin, which is eternally damning if not confessed in the Sacrament of Penance before death.

Given this context, priests are doing Catholics like Biden a favor when they refuse to give them Communion, because they are ensuring these individuals do not commit the additional grave sin of sacrilege.

The article quotes a Representative who is Catholic, who tweeted earlier this year:

“Dear @USCCB,I’m Catholic and I support: -Contraception -A woman’s right to choose -Treatments for infertility -The right for people to get a divorce -The right of same sex marriage. Next time I go to Church, I dare you to deny me Communion.”

(USCCB is the “United States Conference of Catholic Bishops who jointly exercise pastoral functions on the behalf of the Christian faithful of the United States and the U.S. Virgin Isands.”)

Now I wish to go beyond the article and state my own non-theological position that the Bible was inspired by God to be used as a guide, not changed to fit current situations.

Mankind has followed a wide path that enters a broad gate so often in the past:

Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat: Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it. (Matthew 7:13-14 KJV)

As a Christian, I share a blog that praises God, His son, and the Holy Spirit as presented to us as One, the same God worshipped by Jews who affirm:

Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD: And thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might. And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart: And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up. (Deuteronomy 6:4-7 KJV)

It each individual’s responsibility to accept or deny God, no one can do that for any other. It is, however, my responsibility to share what I see in Him – an omnipotent entity capable of created our universe who gave of Himself in the plan He designed. I intend to keep doing that when I sit in my house (including computer time), when I’m out with others, when I lie down, and when I rise. Please come back and read more – and diligently teach children.