We Need Each Other!

How serious are you about breaking free from the temptations and/or addictions in your life?

God has wired us to need each other to grow and this is why God saw fit to give us each other in his body because he knew that we would need each other to break free of habits and hang-ups and hurts.  For years we have heard sermons on Heb.10:25 to not abandon assembling ourselves together, but have you ever wondered why this passage is in the bible?  It's not there to "force" us to go to church or have us feel hell-bound if we miss a service. It is there because we need accountability in our life. The very thing that you want least (having to be around all them church people when I really want to be doing _____) s the very thing you need most. We need caring people who are willing to check up on you, and you need a group that supports you and encourages you to change.

Even the Wisdom scripture teaches us that  Eccl.4:9,10 "Two people are better than one because together they have a good reward for their hard work. For if they fall, one will lift up his fellow. But woe to him who is alone when he falls and has not another to lift him up!" You need somebody in your life to help you with the biggest habits in your life that you want to change, because you simply are not going to change them on your own. It is a myth and a lie that says you’re going to get to a point in your spiritual life where you’re not tempted. In fact, the more mature you become, the more Satan is going to put you on his “most wanted” list. We all know 1 Jn.1:9, "God is faithful and reliable. If we confess our sins, he forgives them and cleanses us from what we've done wrong." The truth is, if we were more consistent in confessing our temptations then we wouldn't have to confess our sins. To do this there has to be an atmosphere of trust and a willingness to share. There is responsibility of the one who has admitted being tempted or having committed the wrong as well as on those who are made aware of those things.  Paul states, "Brothers and sisters, if a person gets trapped by wrongdoing, those of you who are spiritual should help that person turn away from doing wrong. Do it in a gentle way. At the same time watch yourself so that you also are not tempted. Help carry each other's burdens. In this way you will follow Christ's teachings. (Gal.6:1,2)." 

What’s the fulfillment of Jesus' teachings? Love your neighbor as yourself (Mt.22:37-40). How do we love our neighbor as ourselves? By helping each other through temptation. By helping one another be consistent in the changes they are wanting to make. By helping each other break bad habits and start good habits. James 5:13-15, "Is any among you afflicted? Let him pray. Is any cheerful? Let him sing psalms. Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the leaders of the church, and let them pray over him,  and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord.  And the prayer of faith will save the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up. And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven. Confess faults to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous one avails much."

Jim

Erastus Inscription - Ferrell Jenkins

http://ferrelljenkins.wordpress.com/2013/10/23/the-erastus-inscription-at-corinth/

The Erastus inscription at Corinth

Posted on October 23, 2013 | 1 CommentEven though the relationship between the Apostle Paul and the Corinthians was always a strained one, we know the names of numerous saints at Corinth who were helpful to Paul in his ministry.Paul calls attention to a person named Erastus who was a “city treasurer.” He would be one of the few (“not many”) Christians who were among the socially elite at Corinth (1 Corinthians 1:26). A person named Erastus is mentioned three times in the New Testament. Whether these are two or three different persons, or all the same person, I do not know. Here are the biblical references:“And having sent into Macedonia two of his helpers, Timothy and Erastus, he himself stayed in Asia for a while.” (Acts 19:22 ESV)“Gaius, who is host to me and to the whole church, greets you. Erastus, the city treasurer, and our brother Quartus, greet you.” (Romans 16:23 ESV) [We understand that Romans was written from Corinth. The Greek term for "city treasurer" is oikonomos.]“Erastus remained at Corinth, and I left Trophimus, who was ill, at Miletus.” (2 Timothy 4:20 ESV)It is of interest that during the 1929 archaeological excavation of the area near the theater (see here), a plaza was located that contained a stone inscription bearing the name of Erastus and indicating that he was a public official.Ferrell Jenkins points to the Erastus Inscription at Corinth.John McRay says the pavement in which this inscription was found dates to before A.D. 50. The letters are 7 inches high. The complete inscription reads:ERASTVS-PRO-AEDILIT[at]E S-P-StravitIn full: Erastus pro aedilitate sua pecunia stravit.The English translation of the inscription is, “Erastus in return for his aedileship laid (the pavement) at his own expense.” (Archaeology and the New Testament, 331).Originally the letters were filled with bronze, but most of that was removed long ago. The name ERASTVS is seen in the closeup below.The name Erastus in the inscription near the Corinth theater. Photo by Ferrell Jenkins.For those who have interest in a more technical discussion of this inscription may find it in David W.J. Gill, “Erastus The Aedile.” Tyndale Bulletin 40.2 (1989): 298. Gill asks,Are we to identify the Erastus inscription with the Erastus of Romans? It needs to be pointed out that the evidence will not allow a certain identification or a certain rejection.We are not able to answer the question with certainty, but the possibility that this man was among the disciples at Corinth, and a friend of Paul, is intriguing.

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Forgive - Trust Can you?

Forgiveness.  When this subject is often spoken or talked about, it is done so under the banner of seeking God's forgiveness for our wrongs. Not wrong, but, it is not the complete subject.  Jesus taught in Mt.6:14, "If you forgive the failures of others, your heavenly Father will also forgive you." We must also seek forgiveness and learn to forgive others as well.

Forgiveness does not mean the instant restoration of trust though. Forgiveness is instant, but restoration of trust must be rebuilt over time. While related, the two are in different boats. Forgiveness is based on grace. Trust is built on works, actions, and behavior. A lot of people don’t want to forgive, because they think if they forgive people, then they've got to trust them again. No. That’s a whole different issue!  If people are in a relationship and their partners are dealing with substance abuse, infidelity, or whatever, they may ask, “Will you forgive me?”  Yes, you forgive them.  But to ask, “Can we go back to the way it was?” No, because what was done tore down the scaffold that enables that relationship to continue as it was. That scaffold must be rebuilt over time. 

Forgiveness and a restoration of a relationship are two different things. Forgiveness is only on your part, whether the other individual(s) respond or not, whether they ask for it or not, whether they even recognize they need it or not. Forgiveness is for your sake. Restoration of a relationship takes far more than forgiveness. It takes repentance, restitution and a rebuilding of a broken trust, and it often takes a much longer time.

In either of these, you have to learn how to leave it to God. Mainly because this is what God instructs us is the wise thing to do. Often though, it is because there are times when humans do not have it in themselves to do it.  God has to become the strength and focus through which it is done, because if it were up to us, we'd but, kill, maim, destroy and otherwise do something that is terribly wrong. Jesus taught,   "Always do for other people everything you want them to do for you. That is the meaning of Moses' Teachings and the Prophets.(Mt.7:12)."  Before being overbearingly judgmental, remember to put yourself in the other person's shoes and ask how you would like someone to treat you if you were in their place. The person seeking forgiveness, must first see that the opportunity for it can be sought from the one they have wronged, and that there is a chance that a relationship can be restored.

• Who do you need forgive?  Start today, before something evil consumes you.
• With whom do you need to restore a relationship?  Seek it today, because today is all that you may have.
• In what ways can someone rebuild trust with you?  Bring God into your heart and life, and let Him be seen in you. Then, the glory belongs to God and He is praised by your life.

Jim

What Path Are You On?

 I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God that you may know that you have eternal life.  1 Jn. 5:13

The instinct of eternal life is woven into the fabric of man's soul. It is a quest that we have from the moment of birth and the divergent paths man takes to get there are beyond enumeration.  We have an innate desire to find God and to live forever buried deep within us, and while this is good, it also presents an opportunity for the evil one to throw confusion into the mix.  John gives us an indicator for knowing we are on the right path: "you may be sure that everyone who practices righteousness has been born of him" (1 John 2:29).  Practicing righteousness is not being "holier than thou!"  It is doing what is right because it is right, upstanding, morally right, good, uplifting and here it comes.......Godly!  When practice and behavior are not these, then I am not on the right path.  I can go to church, be a good citizen, a parent, part of the community, etc., but Satan knows that if he can get our practice to be something other than "righteous" then he has deceived us and laughs at what gullible "monkeys" we are. The scripture is certainly God's standard for us, however it is obvious none of us measures up to it. Even John himself said, "If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us" (1 John 1:8).

When John spoke of "everyone who practices righteousness," he was thinking of our normal practice, of the dominant direction of our lives.Sometimes our obedience is marked more by desire than by performance. So we have to ask ourselves: 

• Is my life characterized by an earnest desire and a sincere effort to obey God in all that he commands? 
• What is my attitude toward God's law? Do I find it to be holy, just, and good? 
• Do I delight in God and His word within my soul? Is it my bread and does it quench my thirst, even though I  struggle with it sometimes? (See Romans 7:12,22-23.)

Accompanying our sincere desire to obey God will be a heightened sensitivity to our sin. This again is where we must be cautious, because sin scars and sears callousness within the soul. At times that callousness will cause us to not be affected by the calling of "what is right" to our hearts not to do what we are going to engage in. It causes us to lose our sense of the correct path. Often it's our increased awareness of sin that causes us to doubt our salvation or to give Satan an inroad into our minds to suggest that "a Christian wouldn't sin like you do." He wants unbelievers to be complacent about their sin. 

So turn the tables on Satan and your own internal doubts. Proverbs 8 tells us that wisdom calls to us from everywhere. To let go of our personal deceptions and illusions of right, and come back to the path that we KNOW is right.  

 For whosoever finds me shall find life and shall obtain the will of the LORD. But he that sins against me wrongs his own soul; all those that hate me love death.

Prov.8:35,36

Jim

FATHER

It is interesting, that in the thousands of years covered in the Old Testament, God is called "Father" only seven times. They thought of Him as other kinds of things — creator, almighty one, etc. But they didn’t think of God as Father.  Jesus uses the expression more than 150 times to refer to God.  Father - a term of endearment, compassion, closeness, and Jesus teaches that when we approach God we should do so as "our Father (Mt.6:9)."

God is not the angry tyrant. cosmic cop, universal killjoy, or impersonal force. God is a person, not a power. God's desire has always been  to have a personal relationship with us, and he created you with the ability to have a relationship with Him. Jesus throughout the gospels shows us that the type of relationship that He had with His Father, is the same type of relationship that God wishes with us. To be One with Him, as Jesus was One.

Many kids, especially today have very little connection to their father. So why would they be expected to have a connection with their heavenly Father? It’s no wonder we don’t understand God!  We need to let go of the misconceptions and myths we have about God so we can understand the truth of what the Father is really like.  Misconceptions keep you disconnected from God. Jesus said to Pilate, " To this end I was born, and for this cause I came into the world, that I should bear witness to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth hears My voice. (Jn.18:37)."  Jesus came to show us the way to the Father (Jn.14:6), how to love God and in turn for God to love us!  But when you really know him, you’re going to love Him because the truth will set you free!

What about you? Do you think and interact with God as your Father? The reason why many people never connect with God is because they unconsciously think God is like their earthly father, who may have been unreasonable, mean spirited, a drunk. or something else, so they think God in these ways. We impose all those mixed up hurts and emotions onto God, and it’s no wonder we have a hard time connecting with him. Jesus states in Jn.14:9,  "He who has seen Me has seen the Father." He showed us God's love, His desire for our salvation, His desire to want to be One with us, His compassion. So the more you know Jesus, the closer you know Jesus, the more you know and closer you become to God.

Rev.21:6,7  "And He said to me, It is done. I am the Alpha and Omega, the Beginning and the End. To him who thirsts I will give of the fountain of the water of life freely. He who overcomes will inherit all things, and I will be his God, and he will be My son."

Jim

Where Is God Fitting Into Your Picture?

" Why do you judge your brother? Or you, why do you despise your brother? For we shall all stand before the judgment seat of God.  For it is written: "As I live, says the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall confess to God."  So then each of us shall give account of himself to God. "

Rom.14:10-12

Have you ever noticed in the scripture, how much emphasis there is on doing for others? One of the first commandments given to Israel outside of Loving God, is to love your neighbor as  yourself.  This is because God wants us to take the love that we have for him, and communicate that love in our lives to others. In other words, to take our minds off of self centered living. This begs the question, how much time am I spending on what I want versus what God wants?  Then, answer that question in light of Rom.14:12, "Each of us will have to give a personal account to God."  

One day God will compare how much time and energy we spent on ourselves compared with what we invested in serving others. Think about the implications of this. There will come a day when God will compare how much time and energy we spent on ourselves compared with what we invested in serving others and serving Him.  Mt.25:40 reminds us, "Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me." At that point, all our excuses for self-centeredness will sound hollow: "I was too busy," or "I had my own goals," or "I was preoccupied with working, having fun, or preparing for retirement."  To all excuses God will respond, "I created, saved, and called you and commanded you to live a life of service. What part did you not understand?"

We are only fully alive when we're helping others. Jesus said, "If you insist on saving your life, you will lose it. Only those who throw away their lives for my sake and for the sake of the Good News will ever know what it means to really live." (Mk 8:35; 10:39; 16:25; Lke 9:24; 17:33).  If you are not serving, you are just existing -- because life is meant for serving God, and in that, God wants you to learn to love and serve others unselfishly.but for Christians it will mean a loss of eternal rewards.  The Bible warns "but for those who are self-seeking and do not obey the truth, but obey wickedness, there will be wrath and fury (Rom.2:8)."  Wouldn't it be a shame, to say we are a Christian, go to church, etc., only to be denied entrance to heaven because "I was too busy," or "I had my own goals," or "I was preoccupied with working, having fun, or preparing for retirement."   Where is God fitting into the picture of your life and what are you doing to serve Him today?

Jim

BAR Article Was Mary Magdalene Wife of Jesus? Was Mary Magdalene a Prostitute?

Was Mary Magdalene Wife of Jesus? Was Mary Magdalene a Prostitute?

How did her reputation evolve “From Saint to Sinner?”

Biblical Archaeology Society Staff • 09/24/2013

Was Mary Magdalene a prostitute? Was Mary Magdalene wife of Jesus? Her being a repentant whore was not part of the biblical text. Photo: Private Collection /Bridgeman Art Library /Courtesy of IAP Fine Art

When novelists and screen writers try to insert something salacious into the life of Jesus, they focus on one woman: Mary from Magdala. Was Mary Magdalene a prostitute? Was Mary Magdalene the wife of Jesus? Birger A. Pearson addresses these popular notions in the article “From Saint to Sinner” below.

As Pearson notes, there’s no substantial evidence to either of these theories. As for her being named in the New Testament, none of the Gospels hints of her as being Mary Magdalene, wife of Jesus. Three Gospels name her only as a witness of his crucifixion and/or burial. All four Gospels place her at the scene of Jesus’ resurrection (though Luke does not list her as a witness). Only in the Gospel according to Luke is there even the slightest implication that she might have had a past life that could raise eyebrows and the question: Was Mary Magdalene a prostitute? Luke 8 names her among other female followers and financial supporters and says that she had been released from the power of seven demons.

Theologians in later centuries consciously tried to downplay her role as an influential follower of Jesus. She became identified with the “sinful woman” in Luke 7 whom Jesus forgives as she anoints his feet, as well as the woman “taken in adultery” whom Jesus saved from stoning. In the sixth century Pope Gregory preached of her being a model penitent.

Only the Western church has said that Mary Magdalene was a prostitute. The Eastern church has always honored her as an apostle, noting her as the “apostle to the apostles,” based on the account of the Gospel of John which has Jesus calling her by name and telling her to give the news of his resurrection to the other disciples.

As Birger A. Pearson sets forth in “From Saint to Sinner” below, a noncanonical Gospel of Mary enhances her role to a greater proportion. Her ongoing role in the early church is subject to speculation, but she is indeed getting more respect in theological circles, not for being Mary Magdalene wife of Jesus nor for being Mary Magdalene a prostitute but for being a faithful follower of her Rabboni—Teacher.

From Saint to Sinner

by Birger A. Pearson

Dan Brown, William Phipps, Martin Scorsese—when looking for a lover or wife for Jesus, they all chose Mary Magdalene. It’s not surprising. Mary Magdalene has long been recognized as one of the New Testament’s more alluring women. Most people think of her as a prostitute who repented after encountering Jesus. In contemporary British artist Chris Gollon’s painting of The Pre-penitent Magdalene (at right), Mary appears as a defiant femme fatal adorned with jewelry and make-up.

Yet, the New Testament says no such thing. Rather, in three of the four canonical Gospels, Mary Magdalene is mentioned by name only in connection with the death and resurrection of Jesus. She is a witness to his crucifixion (Matthew 27:55–56; Mark 15:40–41; John 19:25) and burial (Matthew 27:61; Mark 15:47). 1 She is one of the first (the first, according to John) to arrive at the empty tomb (Matthew 28:1–8; Mark 16:1–8; Luke 24:1–12; John 20:1–10). And she is one of the first (again, the first, according to John) to witness the risen Christ (Matthew 28:9; John 20:14–18).

Only the Gospel of Luke names Mary Magdalene in connection with Jesus’ daily life and public ministry. There, Mary is listed as someone who followed Jesus as he went from village to village, bringing the good news of the kingdom of God. “And the twelve were with him, and also some women who had been healed of evil spirits and infirmities: Mary, called Magdalene, from whom seven demons had gone out, and Joanna, the wife of Chuza, Herod’s steward, and Susanna, and many others, who provided for them out of their means” (Luke 8:1–3).

The Galilee is one of the most evocative locales in the New Testament—the area where Jesus was raised and where many of the Apostles came from. Our free eBook, The Galilee Jesus Knew, focuses on several aspects of Galilee: how Jewish the area was in Jesus’ time, the ports and the fishing industry that were so central to the region, and several sites where Jesus likely stayed and preached.

The epithet “Magdalene,” used in all the Gospels, indicates that Mary came from the mercantile town of Migdal (Taricheae) on the western shore of the Sea of Galilee. 2 She must have been a woman of some means, if Luke’s account can be trusted, for she helped provide Jesus and the twelve with material support. She had also experienced Jesus’ healing power, presumably involving an exorcism of some sort. 3 It should be noted, though, that the author of the Gospel of Luke has a tendency to diminish Mary Magdalene’s role, in comparison with her treatment in the other three canonical Gospels. For example, Luke is alone among the canonical Gospels in claiming that the risen Lord appeared exclusively to Peter (Luke 24:34; cf. 1 Corinthians 15:5). No appearance to Mary is recorded in Luke. 4 Accordingly, his reference to seven demons may be tendentious. 5

So how did Mary become a repentant whore in Christian legend?

Critical scholarship has provided the answer to this question: It happened as a conscious attempt on the part of later interpreters of the Gospels to diminish her.a They did this by identifying her with other women mentioned in the Gospels, most notably the unnamed sinful woman who anoints Jesus’ feet with ointment and whose sins he forgives (Luke 7:36–50) and the unnamed woman taken in adultery (John 7:53–8:11). 6 This conflation of texts was given sanction in the sixth century by Pope Gregory the Great (540–604) in a famous homily in which he holds Mary up as a model of penitence. Pope Gregory positively identified the unnamed anointer and adulteress as Mary, and suggested that the ointment used on Jesus’ feet was once used to scent Mary’s body. The seven demons Jesus cast out of Mary were, according to Gregory, the seven cardinal sins, which include lust. But, wrote Gregory, when Mary threw herself at Jesus’ feet, “she turned the mass of her crimes to virtues, in order to serve God entirely in penance.” 7

Thus was invented the original hooker with a heart of gold.

Interestingly, the legend of Mary the penitent whore is found only in the Western church; in the Eastern church she is honored for what she was, a witness to the resurrection. Another Gregory, Gregory of Antioch (also sixth century), in one of his homilies, has Jesus say to the women at the tomb: “Proclaim to my disciples the mysteries which you have seen. Become the first teacher of the teachers. Peter, who has denied me, must learn that I can also choose women as apostles.” 8

Mary’s historical role as an apostle is clearly tied to her experience of an appearance of the risen Christ. As noted above, in the Gospel of John, Mary Magdalene goes alone to the tomb, where she is the first to see the risen Jesus. He tells her to tell his “brethren” that he is ascending to God the Father. She then goes to the disciples and tells them what she has seen and heard (John 20:1, 11–19). 9 Later that same day Jesus appears to the disciples gathered behind closed doors. He thus confirms in person the message Mary had given them. In contrast to Luke’s picture of Mary, in John she emerges as an “apostle to the apostles.” 10

To learn more about Biblical women with slighted traditions, read How Bad Was Jezebel? and Lilith: Seductress, Heroine or Murderer? online for free in Bible History Daily.

The positive role played by Mary Magdalene in the Gospel of John was considerably enhanced in Christian circles that honored her memory. The Gospel of Mary, quoted in the accompanying article, is the product of one such early Christian community. In her recent book The Resurrection of Mary Magdalene, Jane Schaberg presents the following nine-point “profile” of Mary:

(1) Mary is prominent among the followers of Jesus; (2) she exists as a character, as a memory, in a textual world of androcentric language and patriarchal ideology; (3) she speaks boldly; (4) she plays a leadership role vis-à-vis the male disciples; (5) she is a visionary; (6) she is praised for her superior understanding; (7) she is identified as the intimate companion of Jesus; (8) she is opposed by or in open conflict with one or more of the male disciples; (9) she is defended by Jesus. 11

All nine characteristics are prominent in the Gospel of Mary, although many of these nine points are found in other noncanonical texts.

But does this portrait of Mary Magdalene as an early Church leader reflect historical reality? Perhaps. One scholar has suggested that Mary may even be mentioned along with a few other female leaders whom Paul sends greetings to in Romans 16:6, where he writes: “Greet Mary, who has worked very hard among you.” 12 But this must remain speculative. It is true that we have no reason to suspect Mary was a prostitute or lover or wife of Jesus. But it is also true that if she was an apostle to the apostles, the evidence for her role has successfully been suppressed—at least until now. As a result of the recent work of a number of scholars, Mary Magdalene’s apostolic role in early Christianity is getting a new hearing.

That, in my view, is more important than viewing her as Jesus’ wife.

The recent discovery of a Coptic papyrus fragment reignited the discussion on Jesus’ marriage. Read more about early Christian text featuring the words “Jesus said to them, ‘My wife …,’” and “Mary is worthy of it.”

Notes

1 Luke 23:55 refers to “the women who had come with him from Galilee” without naming any of them.

2 On that town, see esp. Jane Schaberg, The Resurrection of Mary Magdalene: Legends, Apocrypha, and the Christian Testament (New York: Continuum, 2002), pp. 47–64.

3 Reference to seven demons may mean that she was totally possessed. On the seven demons see Esther de Boer, Mary Magdalene: Beyond the Myth (Harrisburg, PA: Trinity Press International, 1997), pp. 48–55.

4 See esp. Ann Graham Brock, Mary Magdalene, the First Apostle: The Struggle for Authority (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 2003), pp. 19–40.

5 In a secondary ending to the Gospel of Mark, it is said that Jesus “appeared first to Mary Magdalene, from whom he had cast out seven demons” (Mark 16:9). The secondary ending is probably dependent upon the Gospel of Luke. As the best manuscripts attest, the earliest versions of Mark end at 16:8.

6 Mel Gibson makes that identification in his movie, The Passion of the Christ. On the tendentious conflation of traditions, see esp. Schaberg, Resurrection of Mary Magdalene, pp. 65–77, 82.

7 Quoted in Schaberg, Resurrection of Mary Magdalene, p. 82.

8 Quoted in de Boer, Mary Magdalene, p. 12.

9 Vv. 2–10 are probably a later interpolation into a more original account and interrupt the flow of the narrative.

10 On this term see Brock, Mary Magdalene, the First Apostle, p. 1. Brock’s book is a valuable discussion of the apostolate in early Christianity and Mary’s role in it.

11 Schaberg, Resurrection of Mary Magdalene, p. 129.

12 de Boer, Mary Magdalene, pp. 59–60.

“From Saint to Sinner” by Birger A. Pearson originally appeared in Bible Review, Spring 2005, 36-37.

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Tagged with archaeology, BAS, Bible Review, Biblical text, Jane Schaberg, Mary Magdalene, Mary Magdalene Wife of Jesus, New Testament, Paul, Resurrection, Review, The gospel of mark, Was Mary Magdalene a Prostitute.

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