TRENDING

The trend to follow the crowd is strong. We find a peer group that goes along with some of our ideas, then instead of thinking for ourselves and reasoning things out to conclusions, we go along with the crowd. After all, all of the people can't be wrong can they? Just do what every other person is doing. Yet what’s popular today won’t be popular tomorrow. Basing your life on popular culture is like trying to build a house or building on a foundation that constantly moves and shifts. It will crack and crumble before your lifespan ends.

In this same vein of reasoning, is to do something because that's what Grandpa did, Grandma, or whoever in your family. That does make a little sense - tradition becomes what it is because it works, yet there is no reasoning to go beyond that. The confidence is in society tradition or family tradition as something that is always right. And to some degree, it may be. But when we make tradition, just because it is tradition – law, then we have overstepped the bounds God has given us as Jesus taught, we start putting more importance on the tradition than we do the word of God (Mk.7:8).

Another vanity in this realm of thought is that something is right because of intellectualism. I have thought it out, I have reasoned, therefore I know. Lot of “I's” in there aren't there? “There is a way that appears to be right,but in the end it leads to death,” states Prov.16:23. Even the genius falters at times. Intellect isn't a surety that it is right. Some of the smartest people that have been, have denied God.

Then there are those that base what they do on what “feels” right. Yet, feelings lie all the time! We lie to ourselves more than anyone else. Look at 2 Thess.2 and you will see how gullible we truly are in this area. Solomon, regarded as the man of wisdom in the bible, was led astray by his own gullibility to feelings. Read Ecclesiastes and you will see how much of a quagmire feelings can become, and for some it is a path of no return. If some are fortunate, they will heed Solomon's advice in the end of the book, when he tells us “The end of the matter; all has been heard. Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man. For God will bring every deed into judgment, with every secret thing, whether good or evil. (Eccl.12:13,14).”

The Psalmist echoed the sentiment a long time ago, when he stated, “Through your precepts I get understanding; therefore I hate every false way. Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.(Psa.104,105).” God's word and only God's word is the only sure thing that there is to base life upon.

Culture changes, traditions grow stale, reason can be faulty, and emotions lie. Yet God’s Word never changes. We may not always understand it, or always like it. It won’t always be politically correct, yet, it’s the only thing stable enough to bring peace to our chaotic lives. You can’t become what God wants you to be on a faulty foundation. Perhaps it is time to open the one book that can help you find peace.

Jim

Mk.14:43-50

There are three actions emphasized in Mark’s narrative that warrant further investigation.

1.      The kiss of Judas. Mark uses the normal word for kiss, which means "to love," in telling of the arrangement Judas had made with the chief priests. They were to seize the one whom he (Judas) kissed. In the actual moment, when Judas carries this out, Mark uses an different form of that word, that means a prolonged kiss, a lover's kiss -- a deliberate, prolonged, apparently loving act, yet done with cold determination to accomplish his own purpose. We shudder at the thought and speak with disgust at those who would do such a thing. Yet, this same heart can exist within us, and at times we do the same type of thing – especially in mob mentalities. We “sacrifice” someone with “a word of kindness.” Then leave them to vultures who do nothing but tear and rend.  Judas “Thought” he was doing right. I wonder what he was thinking when he hung himself over what he had done after the fact.
2.    The second emphasis in this paragraph is on Peter's “defense.”  Peter is in this passage, trying to make a show of carrying out what he resolved. He grabs the sword and, as the priests and soldiers move in on Jesus, he slashes away. But so poor is his aim that all he does is lop off the ear of the high priest's servant. That is such a beautiful example of the flesh at work! We may strike out in our attempts to carry out our purposes, but all we accomplish is the lopping-off of somebody's ear. Attempts to do what we think is right -- but it is not of the Lord. We have all done this. The glorious thing, Luke tells us, is that Jesus reached out and touched that servant and healed his ear. How many lopped-off ears have we been responsible for during our lifetime that Jesus has to come behind us and heal because we thought we were doing what is right. 
3.       The third emphasis in this passage is the sudden flight of the disciples. They all forsook him. I am sure this means that, at that moment, after three-and-a-half years, all their confidence that Jesus was indeed the Messiah suddenly forsake them. His willingness to give himself over without any resistance into the hands of his enemies and his refusal to defend himself in any way becomes, in their eyes, tantamount to his renunciation of being the Messiah. Now it is every man for himself, and so they flee. In Luke's account of the resurrection, remember that as two disciples walked along the road to Emmaus, a stranger appeared, a man whom they did not recognize, and they discussed with him the events that had taken place in Jerusalem. They said to him, concerning Jesus of Nazareth, "We had hoped (notice the past tense) that he was the one who would redeem Israel," (Luke 24:21a RSV). Their hope was gone, so they forsook him and fled.  And thus the smiting of the shepherd resulted in the scattering of the sheep.

Mark adds what is almost a postscript in Verse 51 “And a young man followed him, with nothing but a linen cloth about his body; and they seized him, but he left the linen cloth and ran away naked.” (Mk 14:51-52)  Whoever this young man is, it is explaining to us how we get the account of Gethsemane. None of the disciples could have given it. Eight of them were in a part of the garden some distance from Jesus. Three of them were close to him, but they were sound asleep and could not have heard the crying and the prayers; they did not see the angel come and minister to him. But somebody was watching. A certain young man (perhaps Mark himself), was there watching the whole thing and gave us the story, that we might have hope in the hour of our Gethsemane. This account can help us when we feel that we do not want to do what God tells us to do, and we are confident that somehow we can work it out in our own strength. In that hour, this account to reminds us that we can as the scripture states, “come to the throne of grace and find mercy and grace to help in time of need."

Someone may be in Gethsemane's Garden right now. Are we Judas, Peter lopping off ears, the running disciples – or maybe even the young man? There may be some who have just come through it. Will we open our eyes and hearts to understand this passage? We have one who is the shepherd of the sheep, risen from the dead, who goes before us to meet us. The shepherd upon whom we can rely, to whom we can go in the hour of anguish and find the strength -  to do what we do not want to do to obey when we would rather do something else.

Jim 

I KNEW YOU!

"Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you; I appointed you a prophet to the nations." 

Jer.1:5

Purpose - we need it. All of us wants to know that we are useful in life in someway, that our lives are not all just a waste. We are not robots on an assembly line, doing the same tasks, the same way, everyday. We were created unique and approach things from different mindsets, experiences and determinations. Yet, this is not an excuse for abhorrent behavior by sayng, "God made me this way!"  All sinful desire and sinful behavior no matter how small or deviant comes from within man (1 Jn.2:3,16) and ultimately finds its home in the evil one (Jn.8:44). God did not make us the way we are, that is not what Jeremiah says.  Evil - sin is a choice and been such since the days of our creation.  So, let's see what Jer.1:5 is saying that God knows, and what He did create us for.

1. I knew you  in this passage does not mean mere acquaintance. It is a statement of choice as a consequence of knowledge. This parallelism of contrast is frequent in the poetical books of the Bible (Psa.1:6;  Gen.18:19; Amos 3:2) and shows God's knowledge of what kind of people we can be if we choose to and set our minds to it. 

2. I consecrated you  “to set apart” from a common to a special use; hence arose the secondary sense, “to sanctify,” both in a ceremonial and moral way. It is not God keeping Jeremiah from ever sinning as some would have it mean, but that because of Jeremiah's character separated hims to be His spokesperson not merely the Hebrews, but also the nations hostile to them (Jer.25:12-38; 27:1-21; 46:1-51:64).

3. I appointed you - God had a purpose for this kind of person. The same as God has always had in men like Noah, Moses, Abraham, Daniel, and many others, who because of their character God saw something special.  

What we need to understand here, is that we do not have to be a "special" someone in order to be used by God. It is not the glitz, glamour, money, popularity that God looks for (1 Sam.16:7; 2 Cor.10:7). It is the heart, your soul, your spirit that God looks at. What we need to understand is that it is God's will that will always be done. We can either be useful to that cause, or we can be used for that cause. Just as God chose Jeremiah because of his spirit for good, God also chose Pharaoh of Egypt for his spirit to demonstrate what if we will not allow God to use us for God - He will use us in our evil to accomplish His will to bring about good.  

The question we need to ask ourselves, is what kind of spirit do we have?  "For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.(Eph.2:10)" 

Jim

The Jesus Code by O. S. Hawkins

The Jesus Code by O. S. Hawkins 

 I'll state off the bat, I'm impressed. When reviewing books, you have some degree of control in title selection but you never really know what you're getting until it arrives. The first glance, I thought I would be disappointed as I have seen books in this format before and after a few chapters in found myself sighing - Ya, Ya. I was pleasantly surprised! First chapter, hmmmm, interesting. Second chapter, that's  a good thought! Third chapter, this is down right interesting. I'll let you read the rest. I have found this a delightful read for beginner or veteran alike. It does not presume to indoctrinate you, and doesn't treat you like you don't know anything. The questions presented are engaging, valid, and worth considering by all stages of faith.  Now someone may say, "Yeah, you're  just saying that cause you're reviewing the book."  

Yes, there is a lot of positive here, but that's  because I haven't found a negative. I give this book top rating and from me that isn't easy. I have the tendency to be critical.

If you're debating on getting this book, don't! It is well worth having in you're library.

Prepared to Answer

“Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have.” (1 Pet.3:15)

This advice is given by Peter in his encouragement to the Christians of his day as they came in contact with people on a day to day basis. Many read this scripture and experience fear. Fear that they have to become bible scholars in order to teach someone.  Unfortunately, this is a fear that has been instilled into believers for over 1800 years, when religious leaders told people like you and me that we could not do this because we were not “professionals,” or part of what became known as the “Clergy.” This however is NOT biblical teaching.  Paul considered himself a “brother” and “fellow servant” with Tychicus (Col. 4:7). The same was true for Paul and Epaphras (Col.1:7). Ephroditus was Paul’s “brother, co-worker and fellow soldier” (Ph’p.2:25). Paul and Timothy called themselves the “servants” of the Corinthian church (1 Cor.4:5). Peter viewed Silas as his “faithful brother” (1 Pet. 5:12). The apostles never talked in terms of “us” and “them” in the context of serving Christ. They considered themselves to be fellow laborers with all believers in the church.

The truth is, that everyone you come in contact with needs a reason for hope.  We all want the world to be a better place, yet, few do anything about it to make it better for someone other than themselves. That is why Peter states what he does. Christians should be and appear in public to be people that look beyond life and its drudgery to something better.  A happiness in their step, a smile on their face, an encouragement in their talk.  The hope that best helps people is the hope from somebody who says, “Been there, done that.”

Most think “give an answer to every man” in Peter’s passage means they have to explain why Jesus died on the cross, quote Scripture verses from memory, and know a bunch of Greek or Hebrew. We are not Lawgivers – there is only one with that authority – Christ (Jas.4:12).  We are not Attorneys or Lawyers of the Bible, again, that role belongs only to Jesus (1 Tim.2:5).  It’s not your job to convince people to accept Christ, and try as you can you cannot convert anyone (1 Cor.3:7). God does that. So what does this mean? It means simply that you tell others what has given you hope, a reason to smile, an outlook that today is good even though it has evil things in it.  He wants you to say, “Pain really got my attention. Let me tell you what I learned. I learned that God is all I need. You don’t know God is all you need until God is all you’ve got. I learned that God’s going to hang with me no matter what.” You simply share what you have learned through your own difficulty and experience. You tell people what changed you!

We all recognize others that have difficulties by the looks on their faces, the demeanor they carry – that “aura” that says “I need a friend right now.” What are the good and bad experiences in your life that God can use to impart hope with someone else? That’s what God wants you to do.

Can you think of one person in your life that you can share experience from your life with this week?  

Jim

The Grand Scheme of Things

It has been intriguing lately, to see how bent out of shape people get over various things.  You know, the things that we have determined to be our "causes."  Those things we like to nit pick - flaunt, create miniature tornadoes over.  You should buy this particular brand of car, vote for this particular person because they belong to this or that party.

Isn't it interesting though, the things that centuries of biblical writers have shown us that God is interested in. There is a lot that is shown about what people chose and how people acted. Yet, in it all, what is truly important is revealed by God over and over again.  

• "so that I walked contrary to them and brought them into the land of their enemies—if then their uncircumcised heart is humbled and they make amends for their iniquity"  Lev 26:41
• "For thus says the One who is high and lifted up, who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy: "I dwell in the high and holy place, and also with him who is of a contrite and lowly spirit, to revive the spirit of the lowly, and to revive the heart of the contrite." Isa 57:15
•  "He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the LORD require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?" (Mic 6:8). 
• For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people,  training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age, Tit 2:11,12
• But he gives more grace. Therefore it says, "God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble." Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded.  Be wretched and mourn and weep. Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom.  Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will exalt you. Jas 4:6-10

These are just a few of the places where it shows where God wants the emphasis.  It is us - our hearts, our actions, our spirits that are important.  In all of Saul of Tarsus' causes, in all of his stampeding pretense of righteousness, it is on the road from Jerusalem to Damascus that God tells Saul, "You've got it wrong Saul."  Act 9:5  "And he said, Who art thou, Lord? And the Lord said, I AM Jesus whom thou dost persecute; it is hard for thee to kick against the pricks."  It is not important to kill people just to be right. It is not important that my way is right and because I'm right you're wrong.  Its not important who rules what, who has the best car, what the best deodorant is, even whose bible is better. What is important is that if your life is not walking with God, treating others with kindness and justice in this world and by the changing of your own heart making the world a better place to live, then like the mass of humanity - we've missed the boat.  

Banners? Causes? Parties? Brands? Monies? all have their place in life. Some have them, some don't. But the truth is, if you do not have your health - these are meaningless. If you do not have your spirit walking humbly with God, these are nothing.  Would you give your eyes for your cause? Would you go blind for it? Would you willingly accept a life threatening disease in exchange for your brand, your money, your politics?   Jesus said it this way,   What will you gain, if you own the whole world but destroy yourself? What would you give to get back your soul? Mat 16:26

Jim

Sep 23, 2014
Sephardic kitchens welcome the new year with deeply symbolic and celebratory Rosh Hashanah dishes
By Deena Prichep

JEWISH MEDITERRANEAN FALL ROSH HASHANAH SEDER
Credit: Katie McBride

Every year, I hold an epic, table-groaning, far-too-many-chairs-stuffed-into-the-house Passover Seder. There’s something about sitting down and lighting the candles, about creating a moment that reaches back through time and out to everyone else who is doing, and has done, the same. And, of course, making variations on the same food. But recently I learned that Passover isn’t the only Seder holiday. Within the Sephardic tradition—the Jews of the Iberian peninsula, and post-1492 expulsion, the surrounding areas—there’s a second Seder holiday: Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year.

Most American Jews are familiar with the practice of eating apples and honey on the holiday, hoping to imbue the coming year with a touch of sweetness. But in Sephardic circles, the food traditions are more formalized and ornate, culminating in a full-on Seder plate. While the Passover Seder commemorates historical events (i.e. quick-baked matzo for the hasty Egyptian exodus), Rosh Hashanah Seder dishes represent biblical verses of hopes for the coming year. And because this tradition comes from the sunny kitchens of North Africa and Western Europe versus the spice-poor land of gefilte fish, these ceremonial dishes are rich and vibrantly flavored—perfect celebration food.

Rosh Hashanah Seder dishes represent biblical verses of hopes for the coming year. This year Rosh Hashanah begins the evening of September 24, and my friend Renee Ferrera, whose family comes from the Isle of Rhodes in Greece—a place once known as "Little Jerusalem," with a formerly thriving Jewish population, and a unique culinary crossroads of Greek, Turkish, Italian and Jewish cuisine—is kind enough to let me into her kitchen as she prepares the feast, a mix of simple fresh fruits and more ornate, mezze-style turnovers, each with its own ceremonial contribution.

As in the Eastern European Rosh Hashanah tradition, apples are eaten either fresh or made into sauce, along with the region’s sticky-sweet dates. And pomegranates, which not only represent a sweet new year, but are rumored to have the same number of seeds as there are Torah commandments (613), ensure the coming year will be equally full of good deeds. Many other dishes feature ingredients that sound like words for the good things one seeks in the year to come: There are leeks, whose Aramaic name sounds like the Hebrew word for "cut off" (exactly what we hope for all ill-wishers in the coming year), and a whole animal head for good luck at the "head" of the new year. Ferrera uses fresh scallions, as well as meat-stuffed whole onions, in place of the leeks, and while a sheep’s head used to be traditional, Ferrera goes with the more Northwest-appropriate (and more palatable) smoked salmon cheeks.

But it’s the phyllo-wrapped turnovers that I can’t get enough of. Some are filled with pumpkin, whose Arabic name is a play on the Hebrew word for "calling out" your good deeds. Others are filled with seasoned ground beef and topped with sesame seeds for an increase in blessings and virtues (a directive, thanks to translation and regional differences, also represented by fenugreek and beans). Spinach, symbolizing the "beating down" of enemies, is mixed with feta and Romano cheese and wound into a curled boyo pastry, from a family recipe that Renee's cousins make together en masse for the holidays, turning the kitchen into a well-oiled production line that would do their grandmothers proud.

Unlike the Passover seder, with its ritualized service and stories that unroll over the course of a few hours, the Rosh Hashanah Seder doesn’t feature much narration—the foods themselves tell the story. There are the traditional blessings, with a nod to the symbolism of each dish. Then friends and family sit down together to share in the good food and company—two things we hope to have in abundance in the year to come.