UNITY - What God DOES NOT WANT!

These things I command you, so that you will love one another. If the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated you If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you

Jn.15:17-19

So...our topic is UNITY!  Do you really want to know what it is?  Turn on your TV and you

will see all the time, what it is NOT! The world loves to show you how unified it is doesn't it? War? Crime? Violence? Lying, cheating, stealing, murder, we could go on and on. But what you see on the outside is only the tip of a much larger iceberg beneath the horizon.  This was Jesus' point in the sermon on the mount (Mt.5-7) to the people of His day and ours. You think that Murder is the problem? No...there's plenty underneath the surface that has lead to it, that if it is not dealt with - has not changed you in the slightest. Here are some things to think about from this point of view:

1. There are two things to remember as concerns God's will regarding this and Jesus stated them in one phrase. "And he said to him, "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. (Mt.22:37-39)." 
2. 2.) Where it concerns how I feel about myself, or my arrogance that I feel that because I have not done what the world has done or what this person over here did, bear in mind that before God and outside of Christ, "All have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one does good, not even one." Rom 3:12
3. 3.) Be careful that self righteousness doesn't overtake you. It is easy to say that I'm a good person, I haven't done like other people, etc. Remember, you at one time before Jesus, WERE them! (Eph.2:1-3)

What God DOES NOT WANT!

The biggest thing to remember here, is that Jesus said that those who would be part of Him, would NOT be like, act like, or take on the looks of the world at all!  Remember John's teaching, "For all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride of life—is not from the Father but is from the world.  And the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever. (1 Jn.2:16,17). "I'm not a murderer!" you say. God says back, have you hated someone without cause? Have you spoken about someone to the damage or their character behind their back? You say, "I'm not a liar!" God would say, "Have you always spoken the truth?" Have you fudged on something to make your side look better than someone else's but you know it is not? Understand, God doesn't want any part of the world in you, and if you are serious about being godly, you will work to not only eradicate the behaviors on the surface from your life, the hidden ones will need work too.

It is hard work, don't fool yourself. But is eternity with God worth it? You tell me! You want to be like the world? Go right ahead. Just remember that life after this one, has a world in which the things of this world have no part. 

Jim

UNITY - What Jesus SAID!!

" A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another.  By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another." 

Jn.13:35,36

This is what Jesus said.  To add anything to this, or to take anything away from it is wrong. Period.  It is the hallmark of what it means to be HIS follower. Love One Another!  The word LOVE here is agape....best defined as "love as God loves." So, this begs a question for Christians in their behaviors toward one another, are we loving each other as God loves us? Does our words, behavior, actions, show that love? If not, we are missing the mark! Wait...isn't that called sin? Missing the mark? 

Now, let's get a little definitive. Love one another as Jesus states this here is the same as  "Love the brotherhood" (1 Pt.2:17, see also 1 Pt.3:8; 1 Jn.3:16). Admittedly, the first question is what define's a "brother." Answer? ANYONE who "believes and is baptized shall be saved (Mk.16:15,16)." is my brother, regardless of whether we see everything eye to eye. A brother or sister may be erring, but that does not make them NOT a brother or sister and does not cancel out anything with regard to the way that I am to act toward or treat them.  I may not agree with them, I may not even be able to worship with them, but they are still my brother or sister. The name over the door does not matter with regard to that. Family is family, even if or when estranged. 

If I understand Jesus correctly in the parable of the Good Samaritan, I am to consider everyone as a brother. So, that defines my actions, words and demeanor towards all people. Yet, there seems to be more emphasis to those who have put on Christ in baptism. Yet, the question comes up, "the bible says to withdraw yourself from brethren who sin." Many have not studied what this means and take the traditional religious "Amish" view of this to "cut off, shut out, shun" people. Yes, the Bible teaches to "mark" brethren for teaching a false doctrine, behaving seditiously, and to withdraw from brethren under certain situations.  What people fail to apply here is that this in no way is an authorization for ME to behave "badly" and use Biblical Authority as an excuse to do so. So the question to ask with Jn.13 as our model, is "Would God behave, act, say the way that I am getting ready to, toward this person?" If the answer is no....then you better NOT! 

Please do not misunderstand. This and this commandment is not a carte blanche to just lovingly accept anything that claims a sense of being godly. Sin is sin and I am not to support it or condone its behavior. But be careful in taking a stance against sin, that the Devil does not cause you to sin. When do we have the tendency to sin the most?  With family or in situations where I let my guard down. Where family dynamics introduces different thoughts, behaviors, and words. What is interesting to me, is while the Prodigal Elder Brother wanted to "write off" the younger brother, the Father reminded him, that the Prodigal son was still a son, and thus still the Elder brother's brother.

Complicated isn't it?  The next several articles will follow this theme and we will discover more about the idea of what God means by UNITY!

Jim

Wormwood and Gall - Wanna Drink?

The other night at Bible Study, we were studying the events of the crucifixion of Jesus, and noted, "they offered him wine to drink, mixed with gall, but when he tasted it, he would not drink it. (Mt.27:24)."  We normally pass over this, it is interesting that Jesus did not drink it, which begs the question why? This is debated, about whether it was just Roman mockery of the dying or whether it was actually a mercy that they offered the dying. So, from those three aspects, it is worth studying.

First, let's look at the materials "wine mixed with gall."  The correct Greek word for wine is "oinos" and is found in various places throughout the Bible. Here though, it is not this word. The word is "oxos" a derivative of Oinos, indicating that it is "bad wine." The question is how do you translate that?  Many have translated this as vinegar, but we should not think of this as the distilled vinegar of today. What is termed "sour wine" here, was reported to have been a general drink of the common people and Roman soldiers of the day, with the best wines going to the rich and opulent.

This was mixed with the next substance "gall." While the other gospels use this term, Mark uses "myrrh."  Gall, is from the Greek Term "chole" pronounced  khol-ay'. It was commonly called "bitters" because it was bitter tasting. Gall was a substance that was made for medicinal purposes of the day, to be a stupefying agent. Rightfully so, because it was an opiate, It was made from the nocturnal emission of the Poppy where after being scored, in the morning would be collected. This substance was mixed into "wine" to enhance its effects. It was used as a cure-all, sleep aid, and to relieve pain and suffering of various sorts and levels. The more bitter, the stronger the dose. It was equal to the 18th Century Laudanum and Morphine.  Whether it was the mixture I doubt, but they offer Jesus a second time (Mt.27:48; Mk.15:36; Jn.19:29) the sour wine, just before He "gave up His spirit."

Was this a mockery or a mercy?  Whether it was something done out of routine performance or a merciful act towards the criminal during his last breathing moments; the concoction seemed to have had the intent of making the execution of crucifixion somehow bearable for the person undergoing it. Anyone drinking it in this situation, would know why they were being offered it. 

This brings us to the next question, why did Jesus refuse to drink it? We aren't told, so the best that we can do is speculate. However, I do believe the scripture "For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin.(Heb.4:15)" is relevant here. He bore it all, so that there would be no point where we could say that God does not understand our pains, impulses and anguishes. For us, many of us in our striving against sin, have not had to do so to the point of shedding our blood for it. Jesus did, and He was without sin as even attested of Him by the Romans who were there.

What is the take away from this?  

Wow - a lot!  

Here are a couple:

• The next time you are tempted to do drugs or substance abuse to drown out your pains, sorrows or to escape from reality - realize that the effect is only temporary. The pain will return, as will the reality. Only God can help you deal with the reality. All else is temporary at best.
• Sometimes, the only option for things is to go through them.  Yes, it will hurt physically, mentally and in other ways. But Jesus going through this, to rise again 3  days later shows us that what we think is the end, the worst, etc. is not. With God, all things are possible and He will get us through anything if we give ourselves to Him and trust Him. What you're going through? It is not to be feared, if it doesn't kill you, you will come out on the other side a stronger person. Fear rather, the losing of your soul, for that is final. (Mt.10:28)
• In understanding the pains of others, understand that platitudes are just that. They offer nothing to help the person other than appearing to be a mercy. When people don't want our platitudes, don't be insulted. If platitudes are an excuse for you to avoid helping someone deal with something, then don't. Help if you can, but don't just come up with some saying just to try to appear witty, caring or whatever. It will appear empty, just like the Romans offering Jesus this drink. Be there for the person, walk with them if you can. That will mean more than platitudes.

So, consider this subject. There is a LOT more here than I have covered. I hope that this has helped you to see just a few.

Jim

Just Because There Are Nightmares, Doesn't Mean Dreams Won't Happen

Dream Giver, a book by Bruce Wilkinson is a book I reviewed sometime ago (search my blog). A good read, and encouraging one if you haven't read it. I have gone back and re-read the book several times, this past week among them.  It is always hard when things seem black in life around you, to understand that if you just hang on - good things will happen. We all have our catch phrases from scripture, such as Isa.41:10  fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.  This is good to remember and speaks truth. Yet, we all need to remember that for every good that God brings, the Evil one is out there to bring 10 more dark things into your life to break you. This is the test of faith and patience.  Are dreams out there? Yes!  Can life be good? Yes!  Can things improved? Yes! But the fact of life is this, that Satan will bring hell into your life before that sunshine comes.  There is an old song, sung by Peggy Lee "Is that all there is" that speaks of this exasperation. 

Here are some things to understand in waiting in faith to have God be our aid, strength and our help. 

1. Life WILL be dark. Evil always plays the Goliath, the looming, threatening bully, the

   

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   impossible. Its favorite phrase is, "YOU CAN'T."  This is where faith will be tested and trust will be strained. The closer you get to the brighter side of things, the darker evil will become and will make life appear. Evil wants you to be afraid, it wants you to doubt, it wants you to assume that there is no way out. Evil wants you to think that there is no tomorrow. Evil wants you to think that God does not care, is not watching, has left you, etc. 
2. God's Caring and/or Providing for you, sometimes has nothing to do with what YOU want. We often assume that God wants what we want and this simply is not the case. Why do you think even Jesus prayed, "not as I will, but as you will. Mt.26:39)."  I want a log of things, and to be honest, I don't want a lot of what happens to me in life, I don't like a lot of the emotions that I feel. Yet, that doesn't mean that these are going to be taken from me. This is where trust has to abide, because this is where faith will be ultimately tested.  Will I stay true when the reasons for my doing so are removed? Will I stay true to God, when it seems that God has "left" me?
3. You WILL feel like CRUD. One of the greatest miracles, is not healing, or some

   

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   stupendous sign. One of the greatest miracles is God healing a broken soul. I personally believe that this was the lesson that Paul learned when he stated, "2 Cor. 12:9  But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me."  However, you still have to go through the weakness. You still have to go through the pain. You still have to go through the circumstance.  The question here, is God's grace sufficient for you?
4. Don't try to OUT DO or DECIDE for God.  Part of faith and trust is not only for God to get us beyond our struggles, but to be satisfied with what God provides on the other side.  This was the problem that we learn from Old Testament Israel in the wilderness. This is why they fell in the wilderness and did not see the Promised Land (Heb.4:1-11). They were hungry and God provided Manna - yet, they were not happy with what God provided. We often want to decide for us what we think God wants for us. The truth is, we don't even know the mind of God (1 Cor.2:16). We do not know what God has planned for us.  Just as a small child has total trust in their parents that whatever is going to happen next is going to be the best thing for them, so must our trust with God be even when we cannot see the other side. 

I write this article in the midst of my own trials, and yes, my own trust being strained. Yet, like Paul I find the courage to keep on, and like my Lord I bow my head and raise my hand and say "Thy Will Be Done."  What else can I do? Let evil consume me?  How can I, when God's mercy has been so great upon me? He gave His Son for me, how can I do anything but trust Him?

Jim

Book Review" "Saint Paul" by Irving L. Brittle Jr.

 Book Review 

Saint Paul 

by Irving L. Brittle Jr.

I have had this book for a while as we have been in the midst of a physical move. As a result, I had had a bit of time to give this a good deep review and admit that I am pleased with it. I was a bit skeptical at first, but found his references to the history of Paul and his writings  to be compelling to me as my "hobby" is to follow archaeology. As such, I found a lot of what he wrote to be accurate and found myself walking with Paul as he traveled. The fact that he took each of Paul's letters and went into them, I found also interesting. I recommend this book for students, ministers and researchers. It should not be looked at as a comprehensive study, but as a companion, as I believe that this is how it presents itself.

For the positives, there are some negatives. I did find some typos in the book, but as I'm not perfect myself, I overlook these - there weren't that many. The one thing that I did find that stands out, is that there was some conjecture stated as "matter of factual" that I would like to have had further referenced and defined. There is a mention that Paul's father was a tanner and that is why he chose that as a profession while traveling later in life. I would like to know the reference for this if there is one, as I have not seen one to date to make such a claim.  Another not so much a negative as a personal don't like preference, is that he just copies a lot directly from study bibles. It is a preference, that if I wanted that I would go look it up, rather than have to wade through it in his writing - when his writing has some very concise and fresh outlooks in it. 

It is a good book, and I recommend it. I definitely will be using it and referring to it in my own class and study development. 

Jim