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giftofshewbread · 4 years ago

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Days of Prophecy

By Daymond Duck Published on: March 28, 2021

Jesus compared the end of the age to the days of Noah and the days of Lot.

So much Bible prophecy is being fulfilled, these days could also be called the days of prophecy.

Here are some recent events that caught my attention.

One, in early Mar. 2021, Israel announced plans to build the “Peace Railway” to connect Israel with the Gulf nations, China, the EU and others.

This could take a few years, but it is prophetically significant because China has already spent hundreds of billions of dollars building the “silk railroad” to the Middle East, and the Bible teaches that the Kings of the East (probably China and others) will invade the Middle East during the Tribulation Period.

Two, concerning peace in the Middle East: on Mar. 16, 2021, Israeli Prime Min. Netanyahu said there are 4 more normalization agreements (peace treaties) on the way.

Netanyahu did not name the 4 nations, but it is believed that 3 of them are Indonesia, Mauritania and Saudi Arabia.

If 4 more agreements are signed, that would up the “Abraham Accords” to 8 nations.

Israel is moving closer to the covenant with death (Isa. 28:14-15; Dan. 9:27).

Three, concerning the Battle of Gog and Magog: on Mar. 19, 2021, Middle East expert Joel Rosenberg said “the threat of war between Israel, Iran and Hezbollah is rising.”

He noted that three Israeli leaders took emergency trips to Europe and Russia to relay Israel’s concern that war is coming.

Israel’s Pres. Rivlin and IDF Chief of Staff Kochavi visited Germany, Austria and France.

Israel’s Foreign Minister Ashkenazi visited Russia.

Rivlin has also secured an invitation to visit the U.S. to address a joint session of Congress (the time of this depends on when Congress can meet because of Covid).

Four, also concerning the Battle of Gog and Magog: on Mar. 21, 2021, it was reported that there is a growing alliance between Russia, Iran and Turkey and a growing dislike by these three nations for the U.S.

Russia, Iran, and Turkey are working together to divide up Syria and gain more influence in the Middle East.

Five, concerning the U.S. being a blessing or a curse to Israel: on Mar. 18, 2021, it was reported that the Biden administration will reset America’s relationship with Israel in four areas: 1) The U.S. will re-establish diplomatic ties with the Palestinians; 2) The U.S. will return to the Two-State Solution (division of Israel); 3) The U.S. will oppose putting the “Made in Israel” label on products from the West Bank; and 4) The U.S. will return to giving the Palestinians millions of U.S. tax dollars each year.

Six, concerning world government: in a video that has reportedly gone viral on social media, a doctor from Ireland, Anne McCloskey, warned that “The Great Reset” is being pushed by globalist elite individuals and groups that want to drastically reduce the population of the earth.

McCloskey believes the Coronavirus crisis is a created event that people are using to establish a totalitarian world government.

McCloskey warned that these people are coming for you and everything you have, including all of your property, savings, and freedom.

It is important to understand that the Antichrist and False Prophet will use the economy (buying and selling) to control people and silence or eliminate those who disagree with their godless world government.

Seven, concerning the cashless society: it is being reported that one goal of “The Great Reset” is to completely transform the global money system into a cashless society.

Central Banks in several nations, including the U.S., are already discussing the creation of digital currencies that can be tracked.

These digital currencies will eventually make paper money worthless.

People will not be allowed to buy and sell without them.

For your information, the Republican Gazette recently reported that the cryptocurrency market has passed one trillion dollars in value.

This is fact, not a conspiracy theory that could be several years in the future.

Something like this could be a precursor to the Mark of the Beast.

Eight, concerning the coming economic collapse:

On Mar. 17, 2021, it was reported that Biden has asked Congress to reform the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017, so he can raise corporate taxes to cover some of his spending, and the Tax Foundation has estimated that it will destroy 159,000 jobs (be aware that this is at a time when many businesses are locked down and facing bankruptcy).

On Mar. 17, 2021, it was reported that Biden signed an executive order on the day he was inaugurated that canceled the sale of oil and gas leases on 80 million acres of land in the Gulf of Mexico, and the Louisiana Oil and Gas Association estimates that will endanger an industry that employs about 250,000 people (experts are warning that everyone’s utility bills will skyrocket).

On Mar. 22, 2021, it was reported that Biden regularly consults with former Pres. Obama on a number of issues (recall that Obama promised to transform America, spied on Trump, his people were involved in the Russian Collusion Hoax, etc.).

On Mar. 22, 2021, it was reported that Biden plans to spend more than $100 million on bus and airline tickets, hotel rooms, detention facilities, Covid treatment, etc., for illegal immigrants.

On Mar. 23, 2021, it was reported that Biden is preparing a $3 trillion stimulus package to deal with Climate Change, rebuild America’s infrastructure, etc. (Know that many U.S. citizens didn’t receive a stimulus check from the last stimulus package.)

Nine, concerning mandatory vaccinations and tracking people, on Mar. 17, 2021, the Israeli Knesset approved a bill to require certain people to wear an electronic bracelet that will monitor whether they are obeying Israel’s quarantine laws or not.

These bracelets, called “Freedom Bracelets,” won’t track a person’s movements, but if that person leaves the area that they have been quarantined to, the authorities will be notified.

Officials are using Covid as an excuse to race toward many kinds of tracking systems to locate and keep up with the movement of people.

Ten, concerning the Coronavirus, the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recently reported that 85.01 million doses of vaccine were given in the U.S. between Dec. 14, 2020, and Mar. 5, 2021.

1,524 people died in the first 48 hours, there were 31,079 adverse incidents (5,507 serious), and 85 reports of miscarriage or premature birth.

The short-term risk of death or serious affliction is small, but it is there, and there has not been enough time to determine unknown long-term risks.

In addition to the above, on Mar. 16, 2021, the Office of Attending Physicians reported that only 75% of the members in the U.S. House of Representatives have been vaccinated.

Even though 25% have not been vaccinated, all House members are allowed to use the House gym showers, locker room and swimming pool.

So, why are gyms, etc., locked down in several cities and states when House members are using the House gym, etc.?

Eleven, I want to share an e-mail from a reader that doesn’t want to be vaccinated.

Much of it is over my head, but it is well-stated and, in my opinion, very important.

Knowingly putting the name of Lucifer into your body is literally identifying yourself with him (The enzyme that activates the quantum dots in Gates’ vaccine is called Luciferase. Lucifer was Satan’s name when he fell; Isa. 14:12).

Knowingly taking aborted human fetal tissue into your body is not much different than cannibalism (When you can’t eat by mouth, you get nourishment through an IV into your body, so what’s the real difference?).

Satan is behind this whole thing, because it is unnatural for a person to want to exterminate their own species; even animals have respect for their own kind!

He (Satan) started his attack on the human genome (DNA) in Genesis 6, and nearly accomplished his agenda, BUT GOD intervened and protected the human race through Noah and his family because they were the only people on earth who had clean genetics (the pure human genome).

Jesus came as a human with a pure, uncorrupted human double helix of DNA; therefore, His sacrifice was done as a human and is for human beings only, not for animals, or synthetics, or ‘transhumans’ because none of them are ‘in the image of God.’

This current vaccine will begin the process of altering the human genome, but it does not splice into the double helix and completely change the DNA; however, the ‘mark of the beast’ (the Quantum Dot Tattoo) will totally corrupt the human genome, splicing itself into the double helix, so that the person who takes it will no longer be ‘in the image of God’ but will be ‘in the image of Lucifer’ with an alien form of DNA, one that was not created by God but is an abomination just like the Nephilim.

I never thought I would see Hosea 4:6 so clearly as I do today: “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge: because thou hast rejected knowledge, I will also reject thee, that thou shalt be no priest to me: seeing thou hast forgotten the law of thy God, I will also forget thy children.” I wonder if the believers who take it will pay a price in eternity? If they are born again, they cannot lose their salvation, but God says they will not be ‘priests,’ and He will ‘forget their children,’ so does this mean that they will lose rewards? I think so! It’s up to each of us to be responsible for our actions, as God says in Romans 1:20 that ‘they are without excuse.’

Twelve, here is another interesting e-mail from a reader in MO.

No one is date-setting, but this is amazing, if true, and I pray that it will brighten your day.

The reader’s pastor asked his congregation at their Wednesday night Bible study to open their Bible to the last two verses in the Bible (Rev. 22:20-21).

The verses are 20 and 21 (as in the year 2021), and they read, “He which testifieth these things saith, Surely I come quickly. Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen.”

Some would love for Jesus to come quickly for His Church in 2021.

Finally, if you want to go to heaven, you must be born again (John 3:3). God loves you, and if you have not done so, sincerely admit that you are a sinner; believe that Jesus is the virgin-born, sinless Son of God who died for the sins of the world, was buried, and raised from the dead; ask Him to forgive your sins, cleanse you, come into your heart and be your Saviour; then tell someone that you have done this.

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silenthillfarm · 4 years ago

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Why Are the Ozark Mountains a Safe Haven for Christian Preppers

I began reading books and articles by the good Atheist authors Christopher Hitchens and Richard Dawkins, and diving into Bible study, unearthing the contradictions, atrocities, and utter weirdness of the Bible. How could I even have even thought to bring my children abreast of what I now considered evil, sadistic, and filled with self-loathing? i started challenging the absurdity of "In God We Trust", "One Nation, under God", and even the small League pledge, which begins, "I believe God." How can a rustic founded on religious freedom have God plastered everywhere, including the County Courthouse? Ozark Mountains a Safe Haven for Christian Preppers

Some of the special roles they play therefore include but aren't limited to the following:

1. Pastoral support: it's significant to note that in Christ's time, women played the roles of supporters (ministers) who were always around to provide special cares for the wants of the pastor (Christ) and his Apostles. Among these women were Mary Magdalene , Mary the mother of James; Joanna, etc. Women still lookout of the pastors today. Some play this role as deaconesses. 2. Marriage counselors: One other role they play is that of a marriage counselor. The bible says the older women should teach the younger ones the thanks to obey their husbands. Matured women who are versed within the word of God perform the duties of marriage counselors and help the younger ones to line their marriages so as , and help prevent marital conflicts and divorce. 3. Care of the widows: They also help to need care of the widows, needy and orphans. Dorcas was an honest example of women who performed this excellent role. 4. Pastors: Some denominations allow their women to perform the duties of a pastor. they're allowed to evangelise on the pulpit and also perform other duties associated with the position of the pastor. 5. Sunday school teachers: They also teach within the Sunday schools so on assist the new female converts and thus the young singles (spinsters) to grow. They teach the new converts the doctrine of the church, scriptures and other things they deem necessary for his or her spiritual growth and well-being. 6. Choir leaders: they're going to also play the role of choir leaders. This was the role that was performed by Miriam, Moses' sister during their journey through the wilderness. numerous of them are still doing well performing this duty today.

Other roles they perform include: ushering, intercessory prayers, child rearing, etc. they need to tend their right place and their due respect because Christianity cannot be complete without them being there to play their special roles. "Atheist" are often a unclean word. once you tell someone you're an Atheist, their faces tend to twist and contort, as if someone nearby has heaves . this is often often usually followed by an "I feel pitying you" look of near pain. When said person meets your two children soon thereafter, the planning turns to shock. But I'm used to it. I even are an Atheist for nearly four years, and it happened completely accidentally . As a life-long Catholic, I considered myself to be alright read, and a minor authority on religious doctrine . I remember researching something about the Gospels and seeing a YouTube video called "Zeitgeist". In it, the narrator draws several unique comparisons between Jesus and thus the traditional gods of past civilizations. Being a devout Christian, I blew it off as nonsense.

But my curiosity got the upper of me, and thus the more I researched the prospect, the more doubt began to seep in. It got to the aim that i could not deny it anymore. The God of the Old Testament was a murderous, bloodthirsty madman. Most of the stories and lessons of the Torah were mere reproductions passed to the nomadic Jews by other societies, and adapted as their own. Jesus was little question a wise Rabbi, but merely an individual who met his end at the hand of the Romans. i wont to be both heartbroken and relieved.

It's funny how "Finding Jesus" is analogous to "Un-finding Jesus". You experience how of euphoria, and wish to shout it from the mountaintops. Had I been one man, this is often ready to are an easy one to interrupt to my family. In fact, I could have just kept my mouth shut, and no-one would are the wiser. But i wont to be one father, raising his children to be Catholic. We visited Church every Sunday with my now deceased mother. i wont to be following the program. Or, as I see it now, i wont to be following the herd. Did i actually want to risk breaking the hearts of my father, mother (who had cancer at the time), and thus the rest of my family?

Did i might wish to affect the questions concerning the children?

They would never receive the sacraments of Confession, Communion, and Conformation. If they were to urge married, they could not be allowed to marry within the Church. Would I be able to raise "civilized" children during a society that preaches the importance of God during a developing mind? One thing was certain. i could not be a hypocrite and "fake it" just to please society. Nor could I fall victim to all or any or any of the propaganda concerning the "need" for God within the lifetime of a toddler . One major relief came once I broke it to my parents. They were naturally upset, but respected my wishes. i wont to be never cajoled into returning , receiving surprise visits from a priest, or shunned from the family. Read More..

#Ozark Safe Haven Safe Haven Silent Hill Farms #Why Are the Ozark Mountains a Safe Haven for Christian Preppers

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heartforchrist · 4 years ago

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Teaching False Doctrine about Salvation....

So the other day, I drifted off into thoughts about salvation. What are the “requirements” to be saved. From others that I have spoken to and searching out different Ministries it was split in what one must to to be truly saved. Many stated that not only do you have to accept Jesus Christ but you must be born again through baptism to finalize your salvation, others stated that through faith and grace alone you are saved. I have researched like crazy to see what was true and what was false doctrine. After a 3 day fast and prayer, my spirit had been led to some very interesting scriptures that tell you the truth. However, if your not looking for the answer it blends in and the truth is either hidden in between the lines, or its all ran together and not actually seen. One reason why I cannot stand reading only one verse of the bible and not the whole chapter, things can be taken out of context in just one word.

After reading and hearing several different “expert” opinions I began to worry, not for myself. because I have been baptized and have faith (the critical portions of salvation, )I began to worry about my younger daughter. She does not live with me. I know she believes and when I have the opportunity to go and see her, I partake in communion with her, and we always spend at least 10 minutes in prayer and talking about Jesus during our visit. However. she is not baptized. My concern turned to fear, if our Heavenly Father where to come today would she go to heaven, despite the fact that she is not baptized. What about my step-daughter who had passed away did she indeed go to heaven? Of course my mind ran with even deeper thought about those who finally found and accepted Jesus Christ and died before there baptism (maybe they were on there way to the baptism and was in a fatal car accident.) What happens to them? Then, I felt as if the holy spirit posed this question to me, what about the thief on the cross? So many questions and so many grey answers. So lets begin. Hopefully after this study It gives clarification on what the true written word of God says about salvation using only biblical scripture, because no matter what, if its not in the bible its false doctrine. I will be sure to include all scriptures so that you too may do your own continued study Lets begin.

First of all lets go over the definitions of what salvation and born again means.

Salvation- 1.)preservation or deliverance from harm, ruin, or loss.

2.)deliverance from sin and its consequences, believed by Christians to be brought about by faith in Christ.

Born Again- (of a person) converted to a personal faith in Christ (with reference to John 3:3

Now that we know what these 2 words mean lets open the bible and dive in to the word God.

John 3

3 There was a man of the Pharisees, named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews:

2 The same came to Jesus by night, and said unto him, Rabbi, we know that thou art a teacher come from God: for no man can do these miracles that thou doest, except God be with him.

3 Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.

4 Nicodemus saith unto him, How can a man be born when he is old? can he enter the second time into his mother's womb, and be born?

5 Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.

6 That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.

7 Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again.

8 The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth: so is every one that is born of the Spirit.

9 Nicodemus answered and said unto him, How can these things be?

10 Jesus answered and said unto him, Art thou a master of Israel, and knowest not these things?

11 Verily, verily, I say unto thee, We speak that we do know, and testify that we have seen; and ye receive not our witness.

12 If I have told you earthly things, and ye believe not, how shall ye believe, if I tell you of heavenly things?

13 And no man hath ascended up to heaven, but he that came down from heaven, even the Son of man which is in heaven.

14 And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up:

15 That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life.

16 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.

17 For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.

18 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.

So Here Jesus is speaking with Nicodemus in a secret meeting late at night explaining to him the way man is to be saved and have eternal life. The highlight of this scripture that most use to justify that you mut be baptized to be born again is vs 5 “Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.”

Lets look at this since this is the strongest argument that most Christians use regarding baptism saves. We must put ourselves in Nicodemuses shoes. Yes he is a teacher and should be very wise in the word and have understanding correct? Not really, as you can see he is quite confused when Jesus makes this statement. However, the statement that Jesus made was to give Nicodemus an understanding he could relate to. Nicodemus asked him, we have to go back into the womb and be born again?

So lets get the understanding the way it was meant:

5 Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.

6 That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.

So when Jesus is explaining that he must be born of water, he is not saying he must be baptized, he is stating he must be born from the womb. Flesh is flesh, he must be human; being of flesh the 1st birth from the womb in water. He goes on to say once the Flesh is born the 2nd birth (born again) takes place. The second birth is being born into the holy spirit.

8 The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth: so is every one that is born of the Spirit.

The explanation of this is Faith. Whoever believes in Christ is born again unto the spirit. The wind blows we can feel it, you can hear it but we don’t see it we know its there because we believe it is but we have never ever seen wind, just like the holy spirit. This is backed up by the scripture 11 “Verily, verily, I say unto thee, We speak that we do know, and testify that we have seen; and ye receive not our witness.12 If I have told you earthly things, and ye believe not, how shall ye believe, if I tell you of heavenly things?”

To believe in the Lord Jesus Christ is your salvation, is the rebirth. Believing in him is being born again, not baptism. Nothing in this chapter says you must be born in flesh be baptized and believe in him in order to be saved. He explicitly states 16 “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.17 For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.” So It has been made clear that believing in him through faith you will be saved. Now lets go on there’s still so much to cover.

So since we touch on Baptism lets find out why then people think that you must be water baptized to be saved.

Acts 2

38 Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.

(*Again I stress that when you read a scripture read the whole thing from the start of the chapter to the end. I cannot stress this enough. If we pick and chose single scriptures of course it can fit the purpose that you intend on using it for and then that can get you in trouble because then it is teaching false doctrine.)

So Peter is telling everyone to repent, be baptized and you will receive the holy spirit. So lets look at the begining of this chapter.

2 And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place.

2 And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting.

3 And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them.

4 And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.

The baptism that Peter is speaking of is not a water baptism, it is the baptism of the holy spirit and the gift from the holy spirit was tongues. How can I be so sure of this. First of all he does not say repent and be water baptized (which when discussing water baptism the bible does distinctly define this throughout the bible.) he says repent (ask for forgiveness) be baptized ( with the holy spirit) and receive the gift of the holy spirit (speaking in tongues) to be saved. In addition if you notice when reading the full context of the scripture it also says 39 “For the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call.40 And with many other words did he testify and exhort, saying, Save yourselves from this untoward generation.41 Then they that gladly received his word were baptized: and the same day there were added unto them about three thousand souls.” You are probably asking how do I know what baptism they are speaking of, how can I be sure that this is not a water baptism. Lets take a look at

Acts 1 .

1 The former treatise have I made, O Theophilus, of all that Jesus began both to do and teach,

2 Until the day in which he was taken up, after that he through the Holy Ghost had given commandments unto the apostles whom he had chosen:

3 To whom also he shewed himself alive after his passion by many infallible proofs, being seen of them forty days, and speaking of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God:

4 And, being assembled together with them, commanded them that they should not depart from Jerusalem, but wait for the promise of the Father, which, saith he, ye have heard of me.

5 For John truly baptized with water; but ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost not many days hence.

6 When they therefore were come together, they asked of him, saying, Lord, wilt thou at this time restore again the kingdom to Israel?

7 And he said unto them, It is not for you to know the times or the seasons, which the Father hath put in his own power.

8 But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.

9 And when he had spoken these things, while they beheld, he was taken up; and a cloud received him out of their sight.

These are the words of Jesus! He is not telling him that they would be baptized with water he is telling him they will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.

Think about this Three thousand souls were added that day because they received the gospel. how then did they water baptize three thousands souls? They didn’t the holy spirit baptized them. As quickly as the destroyer ran through the city killing off the first born; the same with the holy spirit quickly dispersed and baptized these early Christians.

Here one more example of the baptism that Peter is speaking of that shows you saved through your belief of Jesus Christ alone and that water baptism does not save you.

Acts 11

11 And, behold, immediately there were three men already come unto the house where I was, sent from Caesarea unto me.

12 And the Spirit bade me go with them, nothing doubting. Moreover these six brethren accompanied me, and we entered into the man's house:

13 And he shewed us how he had seen an angel in his house, which stood and said unto him, Send men to Joppa, and call for Simon, whose surname is Peter;

14 Who shall tell thee words, whereby thou and all thy house shall be saved.

15 And as I began to speak, the Holy Ghost fell on them, as on us at the beginning.

16 Then remembered I the word of the Lord, how that he said, John indeed baptized with water; but ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost.

17 Forasmuch then as God gave them the like gift as he did unto us, who believed on the Lord Jesus Christ; what was I, that I could withstand God?

18 When they heard these things, they held their peace, and glorified God, saying, Then hath God also to the Gentiles granted repentance unto life.

We know that they were saved before being baptized because they had received the Holy Spirit, which is the evidence of salvation. Countless passages of Scripture clearly teach that salvation comes when one believes in the gospel, at which time he or she is sealed “in Christ with the Holy Spirit of promise”

The next argument would be Jesus was baptized so we are to be baptized to be saved. First of all why was he baptized? Surely it was not to be saved. Jesus bore no sins. He was perfect. He did not need to be saved, he was sent here to save us. So lets check it out.

11 I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance. but he that cometh after me is mightier than I, whose shoes I am not worthy to bear: he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost, and with fire:

12 Whose fan is in his hand, and he will throughly purge his floor, and gather his wheat into the garner; but he will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.

13 Then cometh Jesus from Galilee to Jordan unto John, to be baptized of him.

14 But John forbad him, saying, I have need to be baptized of thee, and comest thou to me?

15 And Jesus answering said unto him, Suffer it to be so now: for thus it becometh us to fulfil all righteousness. Then he suffered him.

16 And Jesus, when he was baptized, went up straightway out of the water: and, lo, the heavens were opened unto him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and lighting upon him:

17 And lo a voice from heaven, saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.

John’s baptism was the baptism of repentance, but Jesus was sinless and had no need of repentance. Even John was taken aback at Jesus’ coming to him. John recognized his own sin and was aware that he, a sinful man in need of repentance himself, was unfit to baptize the spotless Lamb of God: “I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?” Jesus replied that it should be done because “it is proper for us to do this to fulfill all righteousness”

There are several reasons why it was fitting for John to baptize Jesus at the beginning of Jesus’ public ministry. Jesus was about to embark on His great work, and it was appropriate that He be recognized publicly by His forerunner. John was the “voice crying in the wilderness” prophesied by Isaiah, calling people to repentance in preparation for their Messiah.By baptizing Him, John was declaring to all that here was the One they had been waiting for, the Son of God, the One he had predicted would baptize “with the Holy Spirit and fire”

Jesus’ baptism by John takes on an added dimension when we consider that John was of the tribe of Levi and a direct descendant of Aaron. Luke specifies that both of John’s parents were of the Aaronic priestly line.

Luke 1

4 That thou mightest know the certainty of those things, wherein thou hast been instructed.

5 There was in the days of Herod, the king of Judaea, a certain priest named Zacharias, of the course of Abia: and his wife was of the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elisabeth.

6 And they were both righteous before God, walking in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blameless.

7 And they had no child, because that Elisabeth was barren, and they both were now well stricken in years.

8 And it came to pass, that while he executed the priest's office before God in the order of his course,

9 According to the custom of the priest's office, his lot was to burn incense when he went into the temple of the Lord.

10 And the whole multitude of the people were praying without at the time of incense.

11 And there appeared unto him an angel of the Lord standing on the right side of the altar of incense.

12 And when Zacharias saw him, he was troubled, and fear fell upon him.

13 But the angel said unto him, Fear not, Zacharias: for thy prayer is heard; and thy wife Elisabeth shall bear thee a son, and thou shalt call his name John.

One of the duties of the priests in the Old Testament was to present the sacrifices before the Lord. John the Baptist’s baptism of Jesus could be seen as a priestly presentation of the Ultimate Sacrifice. John’s words the day after the baptism have a decidedly priestly air: “Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!”

John 1

29 The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.

Jesus’ baptism also showed that He identified with sinners. His baptism symbolized the sinners’ baptism into the righteousness of Christ, dying with Him and rising free from sin and able to walk in the newness of life. His perfect righteousness would fulfill all the requirements of the Law for sinners who could never hope to do so on their own. When John hesitated to baptize the sinless Son of God, Jesus replied that it was proper to “fulfill all righteousness.” By this He alluded to the righteousness that He provides to all who come to Him to exchange their sin for His righteousness.

In addition, Jesus’ coming to John showed His approval of John’s baptism, bearing witness to it, that it was from heaven and approved by God. This would be important in the future when others would begin to doubt John’s authority, particularly after his arrest by Herod. Perhaps most importantly, the occasion of the public baptism recorded for all future generations the perfect embodiment of the triune God revealed in glory from heaven. The testimony directly from heaven of the Father’s pleasure with the Son and the descending of the Holy Spirit upon Jesus is a beautiful picture of the trinitarian nature of God. It also depicts the work of the Father, Son, and Spirit in the salvation of those Jesus came to save. The Father loves the elect from before the foundation of the world. He sends His Son to seek and save the lost; and the Spirit convicts of sin and draws the believer to the Father through the Son. All the glorious truth of the mercy of God through Jesus Christ is on display at His baptism.

So why do we baptize if its not for us to be saved.

18 For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit:

19 By which also he went and preached unto the spirits in prison;

20 Which sometime were disobedient, when once the longsuffering of God waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was a preparing, wherein few, that is, eight souls were saved by water.

21 The like figure whereunto even baptism doth also now save us (not the putting away of the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience toward God,) by the resurrection of Jesus Christ:

Now I know exactly what your thinking; look it says right there it saves us. No actually it doesnt. it says

(not the putting away of the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience toward God,)

Peter clarifies what he means in this verse for us with the phrase “not the removal of dirt from the flesh, but an appeal to God for a good conscience.” While Peter is connecting baptism with salvation, it is not the act of being baptized that he is referring to (not the removal of dirt from the flesh). Being immersed in water does nothing but wash away dirt. What Peter is referring to is what baptism represents, which is what saves us (an appeal to God for a good conscience through the resurrection of Jesus Christ). In other words, Peter is simply connecting baptism with belief. It is not the getting wet part that saves but the “appeal to God for a clean conscience” which is signified by baptism, that saves us. The appeal to God always comes first. First belief and repentance, then we are baptized to publicly identify ourselves with Christ.

The person is saved the moment he places his faith in the Lord Jesus. Water baptism is the visible testimony to his faith and the salvation he was given in answer to that faith. Peter is careful to inform his readers that he is not teaching baptismal regeneration, namely, that a person who submits to baptism is thereby regenerated, for he says, 'not the putting away of the filth of the flesh.' Baptism, Peter explains, does not wash away the filth of the flesh, either in a literal sense as a bath for the body, nor in a metaphorical sense as a cleansing for the soul. No ceremonies really affect the conscience. But he defines what he means by salvation, in the words 'the answer of a good conscience toward God," and he explains how this is accomplished, namely, 'by the resurrection of Jesus Christ,' in that the believing sinner is identified with Him in that resurrection.”

So in order to be saved must you be baptized,,

Although highly important because it is commanded by Jesus Christ

Matthew 28

18 And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth.

19 Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:

20 Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen.

It does not save you! Only your faith/belief in Christ Saves you.

I too believed that you had to be baptism in order to be saved, I have asked the question to others have you been saved and many of the times and I was met with the response of “I have” or “haven’t been baptized.” Now that I know personally what gets you saved and what doesn’t, I can tell you I feel like a weight has lifted off my shoulders. My heart is at peace regarding my youngest daughter and my step daughter that has already made it to heaven. We are in the end times the Lord is coming to get us very soon, we cannot risk losing any souls for the Lord by not teaching the word of God. We must be watchful of false teachings, false prophets, false doctrines. We must gently steer people in the right direction if they have been programmed to believe anything other than what Jesus has told us. Some do it intentionally, others simply misunderstand all we can do Is know them by their fruit accordingly to Gods word and seek council with the Lord on how to approach those situations. Besides the examples above, here are a few more that show that by grace through faith in Jesus Christ alone you are saved.

Matthew 19

25 When his disciples heard it, they were exceedingly amazed, saying, Who then can be saved?

26 But Jesus beheld them, and said unto them, With men this is impossible; but with God all things are possible.

27 Then answered Peter and said unto him, Behold, we have forsaken all, and followed thee; what shall we have therefore?

28 And Jesus said unto them, Verily I say unto you, That ye which have followed me, in the regeneration when the Son of man shall sit in the throne of his glory, ye also shall sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.

29 And every one that hath forsaken houses, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for my name's sake, shall receive an hundredfold, and shall inherit everlasting life.

30 But many that are first shall be last; and the last shall be first.

Luke 7

44 And he turned to the woman, and said unto Simon, Seest thou this woman? I entered into thine house, thou gavest me no water for my feet: but she hath washed my feet with tears, and wiped them with the hairs of her head.

45 Thou gavest me no kiss: but this woman since the time I came in hath not ceased to kiss my feet.

46 My head with oil thou didst not anoint: but this woman hath anointed my feet with ointment.

47 Wherefore I say unto thee, Her sins, which are many, are forgiven; for she loved much: but to whom little is forgiven, the same loveth little.

48 And he said unto her, Thy sins are forgiven.

49 And they that sat at meat with him began to say within themselves, Who is this that forgiveth sins also?

50 And he said to the woman, Thy faith hath saved thee; go in peace.

Acts 15

5 But there rose up certain of the sect of the Pharisees which believed, saying, That it was needful to circumcise them, and to command them to keep the law of Moses.

6 And the apostles and elders came together for to consider of this matter.

7 And when there had been much disputing, Peter rose up, and said unto them, Men and brethren, ye know how that a good while ago God made choice among us, that the Gentiles by my mouth should hear the word of the gospel, and believe.

8 And God, which knoweth the hearts, bare them witness, giving them the Holy Ghost, even as he did unto us;

9 And put no difference between us and them, purifying their hearts by faith.

10 Now therefore why tempt ye God, to put a yoke upon the neck of the disciples, which neither our fathers nor we were able to bear?

11 But we believe that through the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ we shall be saved, even as they.

Romans 5

5 Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ:

2 By whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God.

3 And not only so, but we glory in tribulations also: knowing that tribulation worketh patience;

4 And patience, experience; and experience, hope:

5 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.

6 For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly.

7 For scarcely for a righteous man will one die: yet peradventure for a good man some would even dare to die.

8 But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.

9 Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him.

10 For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life.

11 And not only so, but we also joy in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom we have now received the atonement.

Romans 10

9 That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.

10 For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.

11 For the scripture saith, Whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed.

12 For there is no difference between the Jew and the Greek: for the same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon him.

13 For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.

Ephesians2

4 But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us,

5 Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;)

Romans 4

8 Blessed is the man to whom the Lord will not impute sin. 9 Cometh this blessedness then upon the circumcision only, or upon the uncircumcision also? for we say that faith was reckoned to Abraham for righteousness. 10 How was it then reckoned? when he was in circumcision, or in uncircumcision? Not in circumcision, but in uncircumcision. 11 And he received the sign of circumcision, a seal of the righteousness of the faith which he had yet being uncircumcised: that he might be the father of all them that believe, though they be not circumcised; that righteousness might be imputed unto them also: 12 And the father of circumcision to them who are not of the circumcision only, but who also walk in the steps of that faith of our father Abraham, which he had being yet uncircumcised. 13 For the promise, that he should be the heir of the world, was not to Abraham, or to his seed, through the law, but through the righteousness of faith. 14 For if they which are of the law be heirs, faith is made void, and the promise made of none effect: 15 Because the law worketh wrath: for where no law is, there is no transgression. 16 Therefore it is of faith, that it might be by grace; to the end the promise might be sure to all the seed; not to that only which is of the law, but to that also which is of the faith of Abraham; who is the father of us all, 17 (As it is written, I have made thee a father of many nations,) before him whom he believed, even God, who quickeneth the dead, and calleth those things which be not as though they were. 18 Who against hope believed in hope, that he might become the father of many nations, according to that which was spoken, So shall thy seed be. 19 And being not weak in faith, he considered not his own body now dead, when he was about an hundred years old, neither yet the deadness of Sarah's womb: 20 He staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief; but was strong in faith, giving glory to God; 21 And being fully persuaded that, what he had promised, he was able also to perform. 22 And therefore it was imputed to him for righteousness. 23 Now it was not written for his sake alone, that it was imputed to him; 24 But for us also, to whom it shall be imputed, if we believe on him that raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead; 25 Who was delivered for our offences, and was raised again for our justification.

Luke 23

38 And a superscription also was written over him in letters of Greek, and Latin, and Hebrew, This Is The King Of The Jews.

39 And one of the malefactors which were hanged railed on him, saying, If thou be Christ, save thyself and us.

40 But the other answering rebuked him, saying, Dost not thou fear God, seeing thou art in the same condemnation?

41 And we indeed justly; for we receive the due reward of our deeds: but this man hath done nothing amiss.

42 And he said unto Jesus, Lord, remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom.

43 And Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, Today shalt thou be with me in paradise.

If you notice each of these passages contain the same content, Believing, Faith and Grace. We must follow the bible, not the doctrine of man. We must start investigating the word ourselves and stay on track with what the lord says. Let us not be deceived, Teaching that baptism saves you is putting your faith in the baptism and not Jesus Christ. The Lord doesn’t tell you to believe in him and be saved and then turn around and tell you to believe in him and be baptized as well in order to be saved. Its a contradiction, and a lie, and my Father does neither of those things. We must be vigilant and armor ourselves against the wolves. If we are going to teach, lets teach the word from the bible the whole thing not just a verse that can be twisted to fit ones needs. Its only to be taught in whole! I hope this sheds some light and if you need more evidence of what it takes to be saved please leave a comment below I have several more passages that speak on Salvation. I hope this finds you and gives better understanding of the word of God. I know it has helped me and reprogrammed my way of thinking. I give God all the glory for providing me with the tools I needed to properly study his word, and I praise Him endlessly.

2 Corinthians 11

Would to God ye could bear with me a little in my folly: and indeed bear with me. 2 For I am jealous over you with godly jealousy: for I have espoused you to one husband, that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ. 3 But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtilty, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ. 4 For if he that cometh preacheth another Jesus, whom we have not preached, or if ye receive another spirit, which ye have not received, or another gospel, which ye have not accepted, ye might well bear with him. 5 For I suppose I was not a whit behind the very chiefest apostles. 6 But though I be rude in speech, yet not in knowledge; but we have been throughly made manifest among you in all things. 7 Have I committed an offence in abasing myself that ye might be exalted, because I have preached to you the gospel of God freely? 8 I robbed other churches, taking wages of them, to do you service. 9 And when I was present with you, and wanted, I was chargeable to no man: for that which was lacking to me the brethren which came from Macedonia supplied: and in all things I have kept myself from being burdensome unto you, and so will I keep myself. 10 As the truth of Christ is in me, no man shall stop me of this boasting in the regions of Achaia. 11 Wherefore? because I love you not? God knoweth. 12 But what I do, that I will do, that I may cut off occasion from them which desire occasion; that wherein they glory, they may be found even as we. 13 For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into the apostles of Christ. 14 And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light. 15 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.

God Bless you all and much love.... now go out there and teach the gospel according to our God, Our Lord and savior Jesus Christ.

~Heart for Christ

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a-queer-seminarian · 5 years ago

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Working through antisemitism in Holy Week, post 2

cw: violent antisemitism in history

The article below is the most helpful I’ve found so far in my search for information on how to confront the antisemitism of Holy Week. It’s by Amy-Jill Levine, who is Jewish herself and is the Professor of New Testament Studies and Judaism Studies at Vanderbilt University Divinity School.

The article’s simple list of “options” we have for how we approach all the anti-Jewish sentiment that permeates the New Testament is much appreciated, because I’ve felt directionless! I’ve felt like there are “no options,” that this whole thing is too overwhelming, too complex for anyone to get a handle on -- now there are options, and some of them are actually good options!

I’m pasting most of the article below -- “Holy Week and the Hatred of the Jews: Avoiding Anti-Judaism at Easter”

_______

‘ Jesus of Nazareth, charged by the Roman authorities with sedition, dies on a Roman cross. But Jews - the collective, all Jews - become known as “Christ-killers."

Still haunting, the legacy of that charge becomes acute during Holy Week, when pastors and priests who speak about the death of Jesus have to talk about "the Jews."

Every year, the same difficulty surfaces: how can a gospel of love be proclaimed, if that same gospel is heard to promote hatred of Jesus's own people?

The charge against "the Jews" permeates the pages of the New Testament.

In the Gospel of Matthew, Pilate literally washes his hands while "all the people" - all the Jewish people - clamour for Jesus's death: "Let him be crucified ... His blood be on us and on our children!" (Matthew 27:23, 27).

John's Gospel identifies the Jews as "from your father the devil" (John 8:44) and blames them for backing Pilate into a corner and forcing him to kill an innocent man.

In the Acts of the Apostles, Peter charges "the entire house of Israel" (Acts 2:36) with crucifying Jesus and so having "killed the Author of life" (Acts 3:14-15). Paul then bluntly refers to "the Jews, who killed the Lord Jesus" (1 Thessalonians 2:14-15).

Perhaps this vilification was inevitable. Jesus's followers could not understand how the vast majority of Jews could not accept their belief in him as the Messiah.

The majority of Jews, in turn, saw no sign of the Messianic age having dawned: no general resurrection of the dead; no ingathering of the exiles to Zion; no end to death, war, disease, or poverty. What was self-evident to one group was incomprehensible to other. Incomprehension turned to mistrust, and mistrust, on both sides, turned to vilification.

Today, interfaith conversation, in which Jews and Christians learn to appreciate their common roots and better understand the reasons for the gradual and often painful separation, can reverse the process. Official (and unofficial) church statements facilitate healing as well: Nostra Aetate , the 1965 declaration of Vatican II, proclaimed that all Jews at all times should not be held responsible for Jesus's death, and Pope Benedict XVI, in the second volume of his Jesus of Nazareth , strongly reiterated the point. Christians from many (but not all) other branches of the tradition, generally agree.

But we still have to deal with our pasts, and with our Scriptures. Every time the Passion narratives are read, the threat of anti-Judaism reappears.

There is no catch-all for resolving the problems in the New Testament - or in Tanakh/the Old Testament, for that matter; we all have difficult texts in our canons. But there are strategies. Here are six, in order of usefulness.

Excision The first option is excision: take a pair of scissors to the offending passages - or, in today's parlance, hit the delete key. Howard Thurman recounts hearing from his grandmother how the plantation minister always preached, "Slaves, be obedient to your masters ..." and how she determined that if she ever learned to read, she would never read that part of the Bible. The story has morphed into the common sermon illustration that Thurman's grandmother, once both freed and literate, took a scissors to the text. Had I suffered what Thurman's grandmother suffered, I may well have taken the same approach. However, the destruction of a text considered sacred seems to me extreme. To erase offending texts is to erase memories of both the victims of those texts and those who struggled against them. Moreover, if we each design our own canons, we eliminate community. A variant on the excision approach is to claim that Paul or Jesus never made the problematic comment and therefore, we can ignore them. For example, scholars commonly argue that Paul did not write 1 Thessalonians 2:14b-16 - it is inconsistent with his positive comments about Jews (such as, "They are Israelites, and to them belong the adoption, the glory, the covenants, the giving of the law, the worship, and the promises ... as regards election they are beloved ... for the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable" [Romans 9:4-5; 11:28b-29]). The offensive passage can also be removed from the letter without harming the rhetorical flow. Similarly, many scholars argue that Jesus's invectives in the Gospels stem not from the man from Nazareth, but from the later church in competition with local synagogues. Comforting as such arguments may be, they are based on hypothesis, not fact. Paul may well have changed his mind; Jesus would not be the first Jew critical of fellow Jews. Moreover, Christian proclamation is not based on some scholarly construct of an original text or a "historical Jesus" apart from the Gospels. It is based in the words of the Bible as interpreted by the faithful community. Therefore, Christians must deal with those words.

Retranslate The second option is to retranslate - or, bowdlerize. For example, some "progressive" translations read John's Gospel as condemning not "Jews" but "Judeans" or "Jewish leaders" or "religious leaders" or simply "leaders." Such translations are well-meaning, and at least "Judean" is legitimate translation of the Greek term Ioudaioi. But to replace the New Testament's "Jews" by other terms is to have a judenrein text, a text "purified" of Jews. Such bowdlerizing obscures part of the reason why Jews have been persecuted over 2,000 years, divorces Jews not only from Jesus and his earliest followers, and even serves to de-legitimate the relationship of Jews today from the land of Israel. Hence, politically correct translations are not necessarily biblically faithful ones.

Romanticize The theological answer to the question ‘Who killed Jesus?’ is not ‘the Jews’ but humanity. This is an excellent place to begin. The problem, however, is that those who see themselves as ‘Jews’ on Good Friday then see themselves as redeemed "Christians" on Sunday morning. The Jews, by not accepting Jesus as Lord and Saviour, remain in their guilt. The same romantic approach today is best exemplified in the celebration of the Passover seder in churches, usually on Holy Thursday. ...Baptizing Jewish symbols in Christian terms is not a strong move in interfaith sensitivity. Nor do Christian seders remove the problem. To the contrary, the performance serves to absolve the congregation: how could they be anti-Jewish if they are doing something so Jewish as having a Passover seder?

Allegorize The fourth option is to allegorize: to say that the text really doesn't mean what it says. For example, we take Matthew's blood-cry (27:15) not as a self-curse, but as a plea for redemption: the people are ironically asking to be redeemed by Jesus's blood. While this approach redeems the verse theologically, it also suggests that the Jewish crowd wanted and needed this redemption, so that Judaism apart from the Christian message is ineffective. The move turns Jews into crypto-Christians.

Historicize The fifth approach, the darling of the academy, provides historical rationale and often justification, for the problematic statements. For example, we claim that Matthew is a Jew writing for a Jewish community; therefore his words cannot be anti-Jewish - as if Jews cannot be anti-Jewish, which is a silly idea. Also complicating this view: we know neither who wrote the Gospels, which were originally transmitted anonymously, nor the community to which they are addressed. It is a dirty little secret in biblical studies: we determine, based on the contents of the Gospels, both author and audience. Then we interpret the text on the basis of our reconstruction. This is a circular argument. Similarly, we note the historical unlikelihood of "all the people" saying, "his blood be on us and on our children" - that all of us Jews would say the same thing, ever, is a tad unlikely. Then, we see how Matthew understands the destruction of Jerusalem, witnessed by the "children," to be punishment for the Jews' refusal to acknowledge Jesus as Lord. Therefore, so the argument goes, since the people never said the line, we can ignore it. But the line remains in the text; ignoring it is not an option. Another variation on the historicizing approach is to claim that the anti-Jewish language is reactionary: invective would be quite natural from the pen of those excommunicated from the synagogue. The problem here is, first, that we have no evidence, other than John's attestation (John 9:22; 12:42; 16:2) of synagogues tossing people out. If some synagogues did expel Jesus's followers, we should ask why. Because they wanted to replace Torah with Jesus? Because they were seen as compromising monotheism? Because they told synagogue members that unless they worshiped Jesus they would go to hell? Because they put the community in danger, given Roman distrust of the new messianic movement? Because they cherished their own traditions, which they found completely fulfilling? Any of these would be quite good reasons, and would likely result in censoring in my synagogue today. Finally, if we define this polemic as reactionary, again we blame the Jews for the problem. Finding history behind the text can help. But we cannot be secure with the history we posit, and when all the historical work is said and done, we still have to address what the New Testament actually says.

Admit the problem We come finally to our sixth option: admit to the problem and deal with it. There are many ways congregations can address the difficult texts. Put a note in service bulletins to explain the harm the texts have caused. Read the problematic texts silently, or in a whisper. Have Jews today give testimony about how they have been hurt by the texts. Those who proclaim the problematic verses from the pulpit might imagine a Jewish child sitting in the front pew and take heed: don't say anything that would hurt this child, and don't say anything that would cause a member of the congregation to hurt this child. Better still: educate the next generation, so that when they hear the problematic words proclaimed, they have multiple contexts - theological, historical, ethical - by which to understand them. Christians, hearing the Gospels during Holy Week, should no more hear a message of hatred of Jews than Jews, reading the Book of Esther on Purim, should hate Persians, or celebrating the seder and reliving the time when "we were slaves in Egypt," should hate Egyptians. We choose how to read. After two thousand years of enmity, Jews and Christians today can recover and even celebrate our common past, locate Jesus and his earliest followers within rather than over and against Judaism, and live into the time when, as both synagogue and church proclaim, we can love G-d and our neighbour.’

#readings #antisemitism #issues in christianity #holy week #amy jill levine #article

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the-gunslock · 4 years ago

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Amanda 3 - Hammer

Third canon-deviant fic about Amanda Holliday and her journey to being greater, from a mini-series of four.

"This one would be pret-tyyy cool…"

The burnt-blonde Shipwright scrolls through the 'Collections' of Exotics Guardians found in their journeys, analyzing their perks as she patiently waits to be called inside the most envied library in the City.

For some seconds, her emerald eyes fall on a pair of knightly silver Gauntlets that could be what she looks for. She ‘hmm’s to herself for a second, trying on some shaders, and nods in approval.

"Amanda, let's go."

Her head moves to pay attention to the Warlock that has just arrived at her usual spot at the Bazaar, greeting her with a nod as she stows her tablet away and is transmatted into the library. She makes a mental note of the name ‘Stronghold’. Shaxx would probably appreciate her dedication to swordplay.

Other pieces like Fr0st-EE5 and Transversive Steps, which do not require Light usage, would also benefit her while she fought. Good to know, good to know. So many loopholes to be exploited.

Ikora Rey had devoted the day to silent studying and rewriting of her books, still not completely updated after the Traveler’s awakening in recent times. In order to focus better, she does most of it quietly and alone in the library, save for the Hidden that appear to report to her on occasion. Today was an exception, for she allowed the Tower’s Shipwright to keep her company under the pretension that she wanted to learn, and there was no better teacher for that than Ikora.

Ikora’s library has dim, yellow lighting and a rustic aesthetic, with bookshelves and flooring made of dark wood covered with blue and white tapestry. The overall layout of the place was circular, the center having her desk and simple chairs and couches disposed about.

"So, Amanda." Ikora begins, making herself comfortable at the table and suggesting Amanda to do the same, across from her. "What do you seek?"

Amanda quietly taps her fingertips at the table, fidgeting as she tries to formulate a good reason.

"I wanna learn how to… to fight. Like y'all Guardians do."

Ikora doesn’t turn her head, but smiles.

“Is that so?”

“Uh… yeah?”

Ikora gives a chuckle as she finishes rewriting a page.

“I think not.”

“...Why not?”

Not faltering, Ikora turns her head to face her friend as she hovers her hand above the book. “Because if you wanted to learn how to fight, you would have asked Zavala. And, if the words I received are true... you already did.”

Amanda doesn’t have an answer to that, only looking at the desk and pressing her lips together, the inquietude only building up. She observes Ikora using an emanation of Solar heat to dry the ink on the pages.

“Ikora, I… want to be a Guardian. I thought I could ask you to teach me how to think like one.”

As the Warlock turns to the book again, she turns a page and looks at a previous version of the book, also spread open on another part of the table, for reference. “Okay. And why aren’t you?”

She is caught off-guard by this question. She struggles to let out her answer, and the next sentence comes out a bit more condescending than she’d hoped.

“Because I’m not a Lightbearer?” Amanda replies as if it was something obvious.

“During the Red War, we weren’t either.” Ikora says as she starts writing once more. “And I went through the same dilemma. I was lost. I looked to the ashes emanating from the City, and vowed… never again. And since I had nowhere left to go, I found myself on Io, in search for answers. As time passes me by, I realized I was left without answers, without Light, without my team... without anything to hold on to.”

“And then?”

“A Guardian found me. One of those who had made the pilgrimage to the Shard of the Traveler and recovered their Light. They could have refused, but they didn’t. They could have quit the fight, but even if they knew they were going to die, they didn’t. And their very presence reminded me that, while the terms are, indeed, very associable to the outside observer, they are not the same.”

The Shipwright listens intently as Ikora recounts her tale. There were many angles to this. Most, she didn’t consider. Multiple viewpoints are a virtue Guardians must possess.

“It took me some introspection and some... unprecedented incidents, for me to believe that I am more than just my Light, and in being greater than the Light, protecting it and the people who live through its influence is what made me who I am. So, as long as you strive to perfect yourself, you’ll always be one."

Ikora eyes her friend without turning her head this time. Her eyes are amiable, as fierce as they looked.

"A Guardian, Lightbearer or not... is always a Guardian.”

The Warlock delivered each part of that sentence in a very light, but thorough manner, a way that Amanda didn’t even think was possible. It was a nail she still had to hammer, that Guardians are more than just their Light.

During the Red War, Amanda had argued with Zavala after the Traveler was imprisoned and the Light lost. “There are thousands of people like me stranded down there in the City", she had said; “We're all the same now, Holliday. The Light is gone.” She was too angry to realize at the time, but looking back, she realizes she had taken the Guardianship for granted.

While she still didn’t like having to obey Zavala and leave citizens to die, it was paying off, in a way. Everything they did, they did for mankind. And it was beginning to thrive again, the best they could. She could feel it, even if her mission was far from over and new threats were still bound to come.

With a deep breath, she promises to face them gladly.

"Thank you, Ikora." The Shipwright says, eliciting a smile and a deep nod from the Vanguard that was still focused on writing the page.

Amanda pulls out her sketchbook and starts drawing over a sketch of herself. But before she continues, she has an idea for the final part of the 'secret-unnamed-project'.

"Can I, ah, look around for a book?”

“Do you need help with anything?”

“Yeah, actually. Wanna know where the name ‘Leviathan’ comes from.”

Ikora pulls up her own tablet, doing a query search for the word on the archive. It narrows down to multiple editions of a religious book from the old world, called ‘Bible’. Taking a break from writing, she hovers over to a particular section of the library, taking an intricate, gold-foil crafted book, meticulously turning its pages to where the query told her. “Job 41:1–34”, it said. She floats back to Amanda, laying the open book in front of her, before going back to her own seat.

She devours the verses, at first barely making heads or tails of what was on the pages. 'Why'd people back in the day write so weird?' She thought to herself. But eventually she managed to understand what it was about, and suddenly the name of Calus' ship made much more sense.

"Did you gather something new, my friend?"

Amanda recaps in her mind, making sure to try not to miss anything.

"Right, so- uh...” Amanda begins to explain her thoughts, trying not to let anything pass her by. “There was this man named Job, whose faith in this god couldn't be waived. In this part, the god is tryna teach Job how questioning a powerful being is futile by presenting him beasts so powerful that only he can control, one a them being a sea monster called, you guessed it, the Leviathan."

"How awfully appropriate."

"Yep. Apparently there were two beasts, a sea one, and a... land one."

Realization came into Amanda's mind as a name for her project finally snuck through her hands and into the paper.

"Reminds me of the World Serpent..." She adds nonchalantly, having doing some reading on the Edda in her free time back at Hiver’s place.

Ikora finally perks up from her book, stretching her writing hand. "You've been doing some homework."

"Hard not to, when you date a Warlock."

"And you are going to tell them about this… when?"

The one question Amanda dreaded, and it shows. Her 'Lightless Guardian' idea was nothing short of life-threatening, it's amazing she's got this far without being stopped.

Amanda had survived her whole life on the road, fighting off Fallen and hiding with hers and other families, but she would never, ever get rid of the pain of losing them. She survived and is happier than she's ever been, even if it's not a perfect life. Now, she was Hiver's family, and cannot bear the image of her lover having to go through the same — because of her own incompetence, nonetheless.

There was no telling how Hiver would react, the woman is already being a pile of anxieties, but of one thing she was sure.

It wouldn't be pretty.

“I don’t... know.“

"I can help if you'd like. But remember that this is your responsibility — and your burden."

She nods with a nervous face and gives a deep sigh.

“I’ll think of something. Can you take me back to the Tower?”

“Yes. And Amanda?”

“Yes?”

“Congratulations on finding love. Hold on to it. It is powerful.”

As nervous as she is, she nods smiling.

“Ophiuchus?” Ikora says to no one. Her Ghost, white and red and with spiking protrusions on the back of his shell, appears in the air next to her shoulder.

“One second.” He replies, spinning.

With a flash, Amanda is back at the Tower’s bazaar. Eyeing the drawing she has just finished, she runs to the Courtyard, in search of a person who could help her make it look much better.

Trying to ignore the built-up tension, she runs.

The Awoken woman stationed at the Tower Courtyard is, as usual, cleaning up dust and reorganizing her inventory, because it’s not home yet, but it would be. Then she hears a familiar voice calling to her.

“Tess!”

“Oh! Hello, Amanda. What can I do for you today?” Tess greets the Shipwright, assuming her usual hands-behind-back posture and giving her usual, welcoming smile.

“See, I got a lil’ project o’ my own, and wanted an expert’s opinion on how ta make it look the sharpest it can.”

Amanda presents the sketchbook with her sketch to Tess, who analyzes it meticulously.

It’s a suit of armor. Titan armor, to be more precise.

“Gothic knight inspiration… baroque decor… exquisite. Practical, but carries a lot of elegance. This looks incredible. Also, you draw extraordinarily well.”

“Thank you,” The Shipwright says, blushing. “But it lacks color. What would ya say works?”

“Excuse me.“

Tess takes the notebook into what appears to be a scanner, converting Amanda’s drawing into a digital projection that can easily be colored, and bringing it to the desk where they both could see it.

“Right, in my opinion the ornaments and trim should definitely be gold.” She says, quickly selecting the decorative parts of the plates and changing their colors to a light golden color. “The style reminds me of Gjallarhorn and the old Iron Lords’ armor. Maybe we can make it a bit more orange…”

“Would black fit with it, maybe?”

She changes the main plate colors to black. Tess and Amanda look at each other in disapproval.

“How about…” Tess changes the color to a deep blue.

“Can you try dark gray?” Amanda asks, and Tess obeys. However, it still seems to not fit, and they experiment with a midpoint between blue and gray.

“What do you think?”

“I like it.”

“Me too.”

Amanda scratches her nose, taking some time to think. The girls mix and match palettes for a while until finding one that fits the armor well.

Dark gray plates with crimson details, gold ornaments, and a white, gold-trimmed mark.

“Whew… Thank you, Tess. Anything I can do to repay ya?”

“The pleasure is mine. Although if you have some Silver on you…” Tess says, smiling smugly. “Just kidding.”

“My girlfriend does. She’ll probably come by again, she wants that duster you’re selling. Says she wants to look like a cowgirl.”

Tess laughs at this, eliciting a grin from Amanda, who picks her sketchbook and transfers the colored illustration file from the Awoken vendor to her own tablet, almost walking off and ready to send it to Crux/Lomar for forging.

“Oh, Amanda.”

“Yeah?” She turns back to face Tess.

“Does it have a name?” She asks in genuine curiosity.

Amanda smiles contagiously in pride, remembering what she read from the Bible in Ikora’s library. She had the perfect name for her project, given what was going down on the System — and how she’d fight it, if need be.

“The Behemoth.”

#destiny 2 #destiny fic #amanda holliday #hiver the gunslock #ikora rey #oc x canon

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writingsofwinchesters · 6 years ago

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tail lights in a hailstorm

One of my favorite things in my life currently is participating in my church’s high school youth group. For nearly five years, I’ve had the privilege of walking alongside students, watching them grow, learn, and connect with Christ. By grace alone, I get to be a part of a community that works hard to encourage, to love, and build up these students as they progress through a really hard and transformative season.

It happens to be really freaking fun too.

Every year, the youth group goes on a summer trip. Each time, that week I get to spend in the wilderness is simultaneously the most exhausting and yet the most refreshing experience of my summer. It’s full of community, adventure, and heart work. During that week, I am certain, down in my bones, that this is what I was meant for. There is nothing like it.

For summer 2018, we traveled to a camp just outside of Centennial, Wyoming. Leaders were asked if they wanted to volunteer to drive and I jumped on the opportunity. I like driving and it seemed like a good chance to serve the students and my fellow leaders. I also wouldn’t have to jockey for a spot in the vans throughout the entire trip. I was assigned one of our three 15-passenger vans and we took off on our adventure.

Eight hours of interstate driving, a mini thunderstorm, and one missed turn later (completely my fault), we arrived at the camp in the Wyoming wilderness. The week did not disappoint.

The trip home was much more eventful than the trip out and seemed to take much longer. Instead of staying in our van order, there was a lot of mixing it up, with one of the drivers taking off in the front - so fast the other two of us lost track of him. Then, as we were driving back through western Nebraska, we drove right into a huge summer storm.

Now - I absolutely adore thunderstorms. Remember the storm that cancelled the first Husker football game last season? I was driving back home from Omaha as it was starting and I quite literally cackled the whole way because I couldn’t get over how fantastically gorgeous the clouds and the rain and the lightning were. The power behind a storm is so vividly breathtaking. I see God in them. I’m filled with awe.

So, at first, I was excited. Every chance I had I was gazing at the clouds and the sky. And, for awhile, it was beautiful.

Then, the traffic slowed to a crawl and the hail started, so thick it blanketed the ground like snow. It mixed with the rain and pounded the windows. I cranked the wipers as high as they would go and gripped the steering wheel tightly, acutely aware that I had fifteen mamas’ babies in the car with me and I needed to get them home safe. A semi barreled down the left lane and threw such a huge and sudden wave of hail across the windshield, I nearly swore aloud. That would have gone over well in a van full of youth group kids.

The wind pushed the van tighter to the white line and I held my position at 10 and 2 and stared at the tail lights ahead of me. All I could think about was how thankful I was that I was not the one leading our little caravan and that I was directly behind the other van. I watched that van’s tail lights for indication - when they lit up, I braked, when they got farther away, I cautiously nudged the gas pedal. When I couldn’t see the white lines on either side, I matched my wheels up to those two little red bulbs.

It was nearly an hour before we were out of the storm and parked at our lunch stop. I remember stepping out of the van with shaking legs and a pounding heart. I found the driver of that other van as quick as I could and told him, “Thank you so much for leading! I don’t know what I would’ve done if you weren’t.”

I can’t remember when I drew this connection. I don’t know if I was thinking of it while I was driving that day or if it came to me when I was listening to Fix My Eyes by Kings Kaleidoscope a few weeks later or God prompted me when studying His Word. But now, today, it is very clear what God was trying to teach me with that experience.

"Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, 2 looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God." -- Hebrews 12:1-2

Just like those tail lights were my guide during the storm, how much more so should Jesus be our focus in daily life? He can see much farther ahead than we can. He adores us and chose us to be His. He sacrificed everything for us, surely we can trust Him to lead us through the storms of life. He has proved over and over again that He can handle it.

I’ll admit the metaphor isn’t perfect. Jesus is not ahead in the distance, untouchable. We don’t have to wait until the end of the road to express our gratitude to Him. He is a personal God. He’s closer than the closest friend, sitting right next to us in the van. He is knowable and wants to know us. And we sure as heck aren’t driving our own life. If we’ve surrendered our lives to Him, He has the steering wheel, and he’s guiding our lives through the storm.

But He is God. And God is infinite. So maybe He’s both. Maybe He’s before us and beside us. Maybe He’s even more and He’s behind us too. So maybe it’s possible to keep our eyes fixed on the Jesus ahead of us, all while holding the hand of the Jesus beside us and remembering the faithfulness of the Jesus behind us.

There will be storms in life. I can promise that. There will be huge semi’s that come by and throw up sheet of hail with such unexpectedness that we react instinctively. Things will get hard and we will tire ourselves out thinking of all that we must do to keep the tires between the white lines and all that is at stake if we don’t.

Dear friend, hasn’t Jesus made it simple for us? Hasn’t He taken the lead and asked us to follow? Don’t misunderstand me; simple and easy are not the same thing. We have one job, one task to remember - to follow Him - but that doesn’t mean that every day it’ll be easy to pick up our cross and walk.

Grace upon grace, what does Jesus promise us?

Perfect peace.

You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you.

- Isaiah 26:3

An intimate connection with Him.

Trust in him at all times, O people; pour out your heart before him; God is a refuge for us.

- Psalm 62:8

Refinement.

And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.

- Philippians 1:6

Eternity.

For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.

- John 3:16

Yes, He is the first and the last. He is behind and before. He is God with us. Hallelujah!

It is the LORD who goes before you. He will be with you; he will not leave you or forsake you. Do not fear or be dismayed.

- Deuteronomy 31:8

And to the angel of the church in Smyrna write: The words of the first and the last, who died and came to life.

- Revelation 2:8

Here’s the tricky part: how do we actually do this? How do we actually fix our eyes on Jesus daily?

Man, I was hoping you’d have the answer to that one.

It’s hard. I definitely don’t have all the answers. I wish I could give you a three-step process that works all the time. But we’re fickle, fallible humans and I don’t think we’ll ever get it perfect on this side of life. But that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t try. So, here’s a few things that have been recommended to me and seem to help.

Connect with God consistently. Think of a time in your life when you felt so connected to God and the closest you’ve ever been to Him. Or even a specific moment. What were you doing? Who did you surround yourself with? What did your life look like that looks different now? If you aren’t sure, ask those you know connect with God frequently and ask how they do it. Then try it out for yourself. For me, it’s nature. I connect deeply with God through His creation, so I spend time in it and I do things to help it.

Think about how you use your free time. What do you do first? Get caught up on Instagram stories? Maybe try talking to God or spending time in His Word during those moments. There are a ton of free bible apps you can download to your phone. His Word can be just as accessible as your social media accounts. Build a discipline of going to Him first. (I’M REALLY BAD AT THIS.) I’m telling this to myself too.

Put reminders of God everywhere. Physical ones. Sticky notes with encouraging verses on your computer at work or in the doorway as you leave home or on your mirror or in your car or on your fridge. Put them EVERYWHERE. You’ll see them all the time and Jesus will be on your mind that much more.

Focus takes effort and practice. But He is my goal. I want to be watching Him so closely that I imitate His every move. Thanks for joining me on this journey. What do you do to connect with God and keep your mind fixed on Him?

#focus #faith #jesus #trust

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lesfeldickbiblestudy · 2 years ago

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Through the Bible with Les Feldick LESSON 3 * PART 2 * BOOK 59 WINKING AT EVIL? WAKE UP! - PART 2 REVELATION 2:11 – 3:22 Again, we always like to remind folks who maybe new to the program that we’re non-denominational. I don’t follow any particular denominational line. We’re going to teach the Word the way we see it and the Spirit leads, and I think a lot of people are beginning to understand that if you just look at what it says it’s there as plain as day, and I always stress, it’s just as important to look for what is not there as what is there. And, in that line, I can say that very thing concerning these seven letters we’ve been studying here in Revelation, and this is why I feel that they are Jewish. They are still under the Kingdom economy because there is not one Pauline doctrinal statement in here, not a one. There’s not a reference to salvation by faith alone. For these Jewish believers it’s all works as we saw in the last program. And there’s no reference to faith in the death burial and resurrection for salvation as it is for us today in this Age of Grace. It was all based on who Jesus of Nazareth really is and was for these Jewish believers. So, all of these things are pertinent to Bible study; that you recognize to whom it’s spoken. What is the language that’s being used? Who’s writing it? And then, what is not there. And that pretty much settles it. All right, we’re going to go right on from where we left off and that would be in Revelation chapter 2,and we’re going to start the letter to Thyatira, which is verse 18. And again, remember, these are all words spoken by the Son of Man, as He’s referred to Israel so often, but here He’s referred to as the Son of God. So remember those are all titles that mean the same person. Revelation 2:18 "And unto the angel (or the minister or the leader) of the church (assembly) in Thyatira write; These things saith the Son of God, who has eyes like unto a flame of fire, and his feet are like fine brass;" Now again, as we pointed out in one of the programs last taping, what do those terminologies refer to? Love? Mercy? Grace? No. What? Judgment! He is about ready to move in with judgment. And remember, God is just as capable of pouring out judgment as He is mercy and grace. Israel experienced it in her past history. My, what was the whole purpose of the prophets? To warn Israel that if they did not turn from their wicked ways judgment was coming. Well, not the flood, not the Tribulation back then, but invading armies. And did it happen? Yes, it happened because Israel refused to listen. Well, we have the same thing now. Remember, this is probably written, I think, in the late 50’s; that is of the first century. We’re talking about somewhere between 55 and 60 AD during which time Paul is also writing his letters to the Gentile churches, but Peter, James, and John are still dealing with the Jewish element, and oh, if people could only see that. Now, while we had a break I put the timeline on the board and I’m going to just rehearse it briefly. We come out of the Old Testament to Christ’s earthly ministry and it’s all Jewish. And again, I’m going to use the verse that we’ve used so often. You can turn with me, if you will, to Romans 15 verse 8, and this is for people who do not understand that Christ’s earthly ministry was only to the nation of Israel. Oh, they know the verse in John, "He came unto His own and His own received Him not." They know that much, but I guess they think His own rejected Him in the first week of His ministry and then He began ministering to Gentiles. Nothing could be further from the truth! I was reading somebody again just the other day, where this fellow was saying that all those multitudes that Jesus ministered to were Gentile. That’s not what this Book says! Got Romans 15 verse 8? We’ve used it a lot the last year, and I’ll keep using it because it says it all! Romans 15:8a "Now I say, (now this is Paul writing to Gentiles) that Jesus Christ was

a minister of (the whole world? Of Gentiles? But what?) the circumcision…" Now that’s plain English. Why can’t they see that? He was a minister of the circumcision, Israel, Romans 15:8b "…for the truth of God to confirm the promises made unto the fathers:" Well, come back to my timeline, all the way back to Abraham. Promises and prophecy. Promises and prophecy. And as I mentioned, I think in last month’s taping, there were over 350 distinct prophecies concerning His first advent and every one of them were fulfilled to the last jot and tittle. Now, there was also a bunch of them that went on to the end that had not yet been fulfilled, but they will be! Now, back to the timeline. So anyway, He comes out of the Old Testament economy; He begins His earthly ministry, strictly to the nation of Israel, but the Romans and the Jews brought about the crucifixion. He arose from the dead. After forty days with the Twelve, or the Eleven, He went back to Glory, and then everything is left on the shoulders of particularly Peter, James, and John. Those are the only three we really get much activity from. All right, now then, if you’ll follow my timeline, Peter, James, and John continue to minister to these Jews who had become believers first in Christ’s earthly ministry. I suppose I could put the three years up there to help identify what I’m talking about. Here we have His three years of earthly ministry, then He goes back to glory and Peter, James, and John continue what was started here. Nothing is different. They perform the miracles. They are still under the signs and wonders, and so they are ministering now still to the "circumcision," to the Jews with the idea that the 7 years of Tribulation is right out in front of them. The whole prophetic program is going to be fulfilled and that it’s going to be followed by the Second Coming and then would come that glorious Kingdom here on earth. And so, the whole idea was for these believing Jews, and when I speak of a believing Jew, we’re talking about Jews who had embraced Jesus of Nazareth as the Messiah! They are not believing in the death, burial, and resurrection as we are, although they certainly know that the One who was killed and rose from the dead, went back to glory and was in a position to come again. But, what they’re looking for is the fulfillment of these promises made to their forefathers. And that had to rest on Christ’s return, but that couldn’t happen until the rest of prophecy concerning the seven years of Tribulation had been fulfilled first. All right, now a verse just comes to mind. Let’s go back to Matthew chapter 24, verse 13, and I’ve stressed it when we teach these verses in Matthew 24 that this is all Tribulation ground. If you have a red-lettered edition, it’s red. These are the words of the Lord Jesus before He ascends, and in fact, this is even before the crucifixion and the Twelve have just asked Him, what are going to be the signs of your coming and the end of the age? All right, so He starts unfolding everything that pertains to these seven years of Tribulation, or the wrath and vexation. All right, the only verse I want you to look at right now is verse 13. And this is what Peter, James, and John are admonishing these Jewish believers to look at. If they can just get through the horrors of those seven years they will witness the return of the King. And what does it say? Matthew 24:13 "But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved." Now, He wasn’t talking about their eternal salvation. They weren’t talking about their spiritual salvation; He was talking about the physical. If you believers can endure these seven years and come out at the other end still alive, then you’ll be able to go into the Kingdom as flesh and blood. And remember, a remnant of Jews will. A scattering of Gentiles will. But nevertheless, this is what Jesus is referring to when He speaks of these things that are right out in front of them. Now, I guess I also have to make note

of the fact that this timeline, that we’ve been looking at, especially since we started our study in James, Peter, and John; so far as these Jewish believers are concerned this was the timeline. They were expecting the wrath and vexation to come in and then would come the Second Coming, and then would come the Kingdom, and then Israel could be the evangelists of the world. Now, of course, we understand that from our vantage point, God stopped this whole shebang right here shortly before the Tribulation came in and instead of bringing in wrath, He opens up the timeline with the grace of God, or what we call the out-calling of the Body of Christ, which puts all this out into the future. And so we are now in the 1900 and some year period of time where all of this has been put on hold, but these Jews that Peter, James, and John are ministering to don’t know that. This is what I always have to stress. There’s nothing in these letters, there’s nothing in the book of Revelation to indicate that the timeline is going to be interrupted. Now, the only place in Scripture where we have an indication of that timeline being interrupted is in Luke 4, and we’re not going to look at that now, but you remember in Luke 4 when Jesus stopped in the middle of Isaiah chapter 60 verse 2, when He said, "And today this has been fulfilled in your ears." Well, He stopped just ahead of the description of the Tribulation.But no one else had any clue that this was going to be interrupted and that these things were not going to be finished. All right, so back to Revelation chapter 2 and verse 18. He’s speaking of judgment. Revelation 2:18b "…who hath his eyes like unto a flame of fire, and his feet are like fine brass." Brass always throughout the Old Testament spoke of judgment. Revelation 2:19 "I know thy works, (again, see the emphasis) and charity, (love) and service, and faith, (yes, there were some good people in these assemblies) and thy patience, (and then He comes back and emphasizes what for the second time?) and thy works; (Works. Works. Works) and the last to be more than the first." So there was good element in every one of these assemblies. And even Thyatira, but along with the good element what do we have? A Jezebel! Now, I usually like to just tantalize people’s thinking. Does any sane woman name her daughter Jezebel? Do you? Have you ever heard of one? I haven’t. Why? Because she was the epitome of wickedness. The gal knew nothing but sexual immorality. That was her thing. All right, now that was back in the Old Testament, but here to point out the Jewishness of it all, the Lord refers to this woman who was doing the same thing within this Jewish believing community – another Jezebel. Not the same one that you’ve got back there in the book of Kings, but she was a Jezebel because she was promoting sexual immorality amongst these Jewish congregations. Revelation 2:20a "Notwithstanding (in spite of all their works) I have a few things against thee, because thou sufferest (permit) that woman Jezebel, which calleth herself a prophetess,…" Now, I don’t want to give people the impression that I’m anti-woman, or anti-female, but when you look a the New Age movement today, or when you look at the pagan, mythological religions of ancient history, who was usually the promoter of it? Women. Look at your New Age movement, who are your greatest promoters of the New Age? Who are the ones most likely to succumb to it? The women and the same way in mythology. It was those goddesses that hooked the masses of people. Well, it’s the same way here. Here she had come into this Jewish assembly and called herself a prophetess. Now, how did she get away with it? Well, the element that should have known better condoned it. They said, oh well, she’s not going to do that much harm, let’s not cause a big division. Am I making my point? This is what’s happening today. This is exactly what happens today. An element comes into a local church and even though most of the people

know it’s dead wrong they don’t want to cause any waves, they don’t want to cause any problems so they condone it. And that’s exactly what the Lord warns against. And what does she begin to do? Revelation 2:20b "…to teach and to seduce my servants (and for what purpose?) to commit fornication and to eat things sacrificed unto idols." Much different than what you had in Pergamus? Huh-uh. Much different than what we see today? Huh-uh. It’s just over and over throughout human history. This has been the thing that has plagued the human race, especially when you get into the realm of religion. Okay, take warning. She has been dealt with by the Lord evidently, because He says in the first person: Revelation 2:21 "And I gave her space (or I gave her time) to repent of her fornication; (her immorality) and she repented not." She wouldn’t have a thing to do with the Lord’s pleading. Revelation 2:22a "Behold, (the Lord says) I will (What is that? That’s a promise. And here comes the prophecy) cast her into a bed,…" Now, let’s compare the two Jezebel’s for just a moment. If you know anything about Jezebel, the queen wife of King Ahab, what was her end? They threw her down didn’t they? And she was killed in the process, just utterly thrown down and destroyed. But see, this Jezebel, God is going to cast into a "bed" but it’s going to be a bed of judgment. Revelation 2:22b "…and them that commit adultery with her (and they’re going to go) into great tribulation, except they repent of their deeds." Now, Jezebel back in the Old Testament had an untimely end, no doubt about it, and for all her beauty and all of her abilities to seduce, she still had a rather horrible ending, but it was rather quick. But this Jezebel, it’s going to be a seven-year period of tribulation and judgment. And again, I don’t want people to think that I’m a fear-monger, but listen, these seven years are going to be beyond comprehension. And again, I’m going to take you back to Matthew 24, the words of the Lord Jesus Himself, concerning this seven-year period. Now, I know He’s referring specifically here in this verse we’re going to read to the last half. But as I’ve stressed over the years, remember the first half is not going to be a Sunday school picnic by any stretch, because one fourth of the world’s population will lose their lives in the first half. The other three-fourth’s in the last half, but nevertheless it’s going to be a horrible seven-year period and this is what this Jezebel and her followers are being warned of, that they would be going into the horrors of the Tribulation. All right, Matthew 24 verse 21, and remember this is from the lips of the Lord Jesus Himself. The Creator of everything. The Author of this Book. The One who controls the future. Matthew 24:21 "For then (especially the last half of the seven years) shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be." And you know I’ve always reminded people since I’ve taught these things, He’s going clear back to the Noahic Flood, and it was awful. He comes on up through the various times of judging the nation of Israel and some of those times were awful. But then He comes on and looks into the future from the time of 30-32 AD and He looks down the corridors of time all the way up to this seven-year period and he said, even that which is in between, there would be nothing to compare with this period of time. Now, if you know anything about recent history, what is He looking past? The Holocaust; Hitler’s death ovens. Even they could not compare with the horrors of these final three and a half years. And when you see the human race behaving themselves as they are lately, can you say, "No wonder." It’s no wonder. I’m surprised God hasn’t already moved. You know, I remember way back, I think probably in the 80’s, Billy Graham made the statement that if God does not judge America, Sodom and Gomorrah will scream "You’re not fair." Well, if Billy Graham thought it was that bad in the 80’s, then what in the world must God think today.

And it’s getting worse by the week. All right, so these judgments are coming and God’s wrath is suddenly going to be released. So again, here is the judgment that’s going to befall this unbelieving, immoral segment of even the Jewish people. Revelation 2:22 "Behold, I will cast her into a bed, and them that commit adultery with her into great tribulation, (but He always gives them the loophole and what was it?) except they repent of their deeds." God would still forgive. Never forget, how does Romans 5 put it? "That where sin abounds Grace doeth much more abound." And here it is, even this wicked woman who was leading people into gross immorality, God was ready to forgive her. God’s grace was ready to bring her back, if she would repent. But she would not, and if she would not, God says: Revelation 2:23 "And I will kill her children with death; and all the churches (assemblies. All seven of them, now don’t forget we’re talking about seven assemblies) shall know that I am he who searcheth the reins and hearts: and I will give unto you every one of you according to your works." They’re going to get what they deserve. Revelation 2:24 "But unto you I say, and unto the rest in Thyatira as many as have not this doctrine, (you have not followed Jezebel) and which have not know the depths of Satan, as they speak;(Now stop a minute. What does that mean? For those who had followed Jezebel, who were they really kowtowing to? Satan. And the depths of it.) I will put upon you no other burden." In other words, for those that were keeping themselves free of the influence of Jezebel and the immorality, God was still going to protect them in a special way. Revelation 2:25 "But that which ye have already hold fast (how long?) till I come." Now, you see, they were looking for this timeline on top. They were still expecting all these events to be fulfilled according to the Old Testament promises and so the Lord is telling them, if you can just bear up, and as we say in Matthew 24, if they could endure these things until the end, then they would enjoy the blessings of the Kingdom. Revelation 2:26 "And he that overcometh, (in other words can resist the temptations of even the influence of a Jezebel, if they can hold fast and overcome) and keepeth my works unto the end, to him will I give power over the nations:" Now, we’ll pick this up in our next program. I haven’t got time and I want to take you back to Deuteronomy and see how the nation of Israel is indeed going to be the number one nation in the Kingdom economy.

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fear-god-shun-evil · 6 years ago

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What’s the Rapture? Find the Answer in the Bible

By Xiaojin

In a hot afternoon, cicadas were shrilling unceasingly among the trees. Scorched by the heat, the trees and flowers at the roadside were all having their heads down listlessly.

In a residential block, Wang Na forced herself to stay awake and continued, “The Bible says, ‘Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord’ (1 Thessalonians 4:17). From the state of the brothers and sisters in the church and the world situation we can see that the last days have come. The prophecies of the Lord’s return have basically been fulfilled. Therefore, the Lord should return soon to bring us into the kingdom of heaven. At that time, we will all meet the Lord in the air. We should have faith in the promise of the Lord.”

At her words, the co-workers looked at each other helplessly. Then some of them lowered their heads and flicked through the Bible absently, some shook their heads slightly and gave a little sigh, and still others whispered to each other.

“Despite what you said,” said Sister Li blankly, “now the brothers and sisters all become passive and weak because it takes so long for us to welcome the Lord’s return. Disasters are getting worse and worse everywhere and the four blood moons have already appeared, but we are still not yet raptured at this critical juncture. How can we not be weak and anxious?”

Brother Zhang nodded and took up the thread of the conversation, “Alas! I agree. The catastrophe is coming, yet we are not raptured. So wherein is the problem? Well. Sister Song, you have been at other places and rarely come to our co-worker meeting. What do you think of this?”

Song Jiayin looked at everyone and said earnestly, “Thank the Lord! I used to have the same confusion: The Lord Jesus once said: ‘Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away’ (Matthew 24:35). Today, the prophecies of the Lord’s return have practically come true. Many brothers and sisters in the Lord are preaching that the Lord has returned. Since the Lord has come back, why are we not yet raptured? With this doubt, I, burnt with anxiety, sought here and there, and finally knew the reason for that. As it turns out, ‘being raptured’ is not what we think—being lifted into the air.”

As soon as her voice subsided, a heated debate began in the sleepy room immediately. All the other people started speaking.

Wang Na cast her eyes toward Song Jiayin and said solemnly, “Jiayin, we who believe in the Lord should go according to the Bible. That we will be lifted up into the air to meet the Lord does have its basis in the Bible. Since you say that to be raptured does not mean to be lifted up into the air, then is there any biblical basis for it?”

Everyone all turned their eyes toward Song Jiayin.

She looked at them, and said with a smile, “Is this idea that to be raptured means to be taken from the earth into heaven truly the will of God? Now, let’s study some scriptures. Revelation 21:2-3 say, ‘And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God.’ Revelation 11:15 also says, ‘And the seventh angel sounded; and there were great voices in heaven, saying, The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall reign for ever and ever.’ From these predictions, we can see since in the words ‘the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven,’ it says that new Jerusalem is ‘coming down from God out of heaven,’ surely it will be on earth. We all know that ‘new Jerusalem’ means God’s kingdom. That is to say that God will establish His kingdom on earth. The words ‘the tabernacle of God is with men,’ ‘he will dwell with them,’ and ‘The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord’ in the prophecies also adequately prove that we will ultimately live on earth, and God’s kingdom will descend upon earth rather than being in heaven. If attaining rapture refers to being taken up to heaven as we think, then won’t our desire of entering into the kingdom of heaven be in vain? And how will these prophecies of Revelation come to pass?”

Brother Zhang said as he thought, “‘the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven,’ and ‘the tabernacle of God is with men,’ these scriptures all imply that God’s kingdom will come on earth. God’s words are expressed so clearly, how come we didn’t get anything out of it before? Obviously, God will come to the earth to establish His kingdom, and yet we insist on pursuing to be raptured up to heaven. This goes against the Lord’s words.”

Song Jiayin went on, “That’s right! Since God created man, He always carries out His work on earth. From start to finish God’s intention is for us to live on earth rather than in heaven. It is clearly written in the Bible that mankind’s ancestors Adam and Eve originally lived in the Garden of Eden on earth. After they committed sin, they were driven out of there. Anyway, they still lived on earth. This being the case, God’s work of saving mankind is also, of course, carried out on earth. For example, in the Age of Law God issued forth laws and commandments to guide mankind’s life on earth; during the Age of Grace, the Lord Jesus became flesh and completed the work of redeeming all mankind, allowing us to carry out His will and follow His teachings on earth. All of this work was done on earth. Besides, the Revelation also prophesies that the wonderful future destination that God has prepared for those of the human race that remain will still be on earth.”

Sister Yu hurriedly put down the cup in her hand and said with emotion, “Indeed. That’s the way it is. In the past, I just wondered how we could be lifted into the air since we were mortal beings with heavy bodies. Today, I feel much more enlightened inside after such a fellowship.”

What the brothers and sisters said made Wang Na frown. She couldn’t stop thinking about the communication of Song Jiayin.

“Jiayin,” said Wang Na, “everything you said does make sense, but the Bible very clearly records that Enoch and Elijah were raptured up to heaven. How can this be explained?”

Facing Wang Na, Song Jiayin said in honesty, “About this question, Acts 8:39-40 says, ‘And when they were come up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord caught away Philip, that the eunuch saw him no more: and he went on his way rejoicing. But Philip was found at Azotus: and passing through he preached in all the cities, till he came to Caesarea.’ These verses say definitely that Philip was caught away by the Spirit of the Lord. According to our concept, he was certainly raptured to heaven by the Lord. But in fact, as the verse says, ‘Philip was found at Azotus,’ and he spread the gospel in all the cities, carrying out the Lord’s will on earth. From this we can see our belief that ‘Being raptured’ means being taken from a low place to a high place, or being caught up from earth to heaven is all our notion with no basis in the truth. The Lord Jesus said, ‘And no man has ascended up to heaven, but he that came down from heaven, even the Son of man which is in heaven’ (John 3:13). Lord Jesus is the only gate to the heavenly kingdom. So, in our faith we must use the Lord’s words as the standard. If Enoch and Elijah were raptured up to heaven according to our understanding, how do we explain the word of the Lord Jesus then? Which is correct, our notion or the Lord’s words?”

The objective Wang Na had been pursuing for many years began to waver in her heart. She asked herself constantly: Is my view about attaining rapture I have held for all these years indeed wrong? After a fierce battle inside, she asked Song Jiayin, “Jiayin, if our understanding of being raptured for so many years is wrong, then can you tell us what its true meaning is?”

Song Jiayin hurriedly took out a notebook from her bag and said, “I can’t explain it clearly. However, I copied a passage of the words, which has communicated it very plainly. Let me read it for you. ‘“Being caught up” is not being taken from a low place to a high place as people imagine. This is a huge mistake. Being caught up is referring to My predetermining and selecting. It is targeted at all those I have preordained and chosen. Those who have gained the status of firstborn sons, the status of My sons, or My people, are all people who have been caught up. This is most incompatible with people’s notions. Those who have a share in My house in the future are all people who have been caught up before Me. This is absolutely true, never-changing, and cannot be refuted by anybody. This is the counterattack against Satan. Anyone I preordained shall be caught up before Me’ (‘The One Hundred and Fourth Utterance’). ‘Being raptured’ is not that, as we think, we’ll be lifted up into the air at a stroke when the Lord returns, but means that we can follow the Lamb’s footsteps, accept God’s new work, and flock in front of His throne. This is just as in the end of the Age of Law; when the Lord Jesus came to work, those who recognized God’s voice from the words of the Lord Jesus and accepted His salvation were raptured. Their being raptured was mainly because they could hear God’s voice. Likewise, the Bible prophesies, ‘And at midnight there was a cry made, Behold, the bridegroom comes; go you out to meet him’ (Matthew 25:6). ‘Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me’ (Revelation 3:20). So today, in the last days, when the Lord comes back and utters His words, if we can, like the wise virgins, actively seek His footsteps, recognize His voice, and accept His return, we will be able to follow His footsteps. Then we are truly raptured.”

Sister Li said happily, “So the true rapture refers to our following the footprints of the Lamb, and accepting God’s new work. Now, I finally get it.”

Brother Zhang said thoughtfully, “Yeah. I’ve really gained much today. If we go according to our imagination, then no matter how many years we wait, we will gain nothing. The Lord Jesus has said long ago, ‘However, when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself’ (John 16:13). When the Lord returns, He will utter more words and express the truth. As long as we can focus on hearing His voice, recognize the voice of the ‘Bridegroom,’ and accept His new work, then we will be taken up before His throne. Now we finally have a way of attaining rapture.”

Song Jiayin and the co-workers all smiled.

#Rapture #Lord #Bible #Christian #Puzzle

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dfroza · 3 years ago

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truth is vital.

and this world is a war of truth vs. falsehood.

A set of lines from Today’s reading:

This battle I am facing is huge. And I want you to know I do it for you, for all those at Laodicea, and for everyone else (even those who have never seen my face). I’m working hard to comfort and encourage them so that they will be knit together—that many hearts would become one through His love. I do it so they will be rich in understanding and have full knowledge of God’s mystery, which is the Anointed One Himself— in Him all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge are concealed. I only tell you this to warn you about those who would try and deceive you with their arguments. They seem plausible enough; but in the end, they are false.

The Letter of Colossians, Chapter 2:1-4 (The Voice)

along with this line:

For our spiritual wealth is in him, like hidden treasure waiting to be discovered—heaven’s wisdom and endless riches of revelation knowledge.

(verse 3 in The Passion Translation)

with the whole chapter in The Message:

I want you to realize that I continue to work as hard as I know how for you, and also for the Christians over at Laodicea. Not many of you have met me face-to-face, but that doesn’t make any difference. Know that I’m on your side, right alongside you. You’re not in this alone.

I want you woven into a tapestry of love, in touch with everything there is to know of God. Then you will have minds confident and at rest, focused on Christ, God’s great mystery. All the richest treasures of wisdom and knowledge are embedded in that mystery and nowhere else. And we’ve been shown the mystery! I’m telling you this because I don’t want anyone leading you off on some wild-goose chase, after other so-called mysteries, or “the Secret.”

I’m a long way off, true, and you may never lay eyes on me, but believe me, I’m on your side, right beside you. I am delighted to hear of the careful and orderly ways you conduct your affairs, and impressed with the solid substance of your faith in Christ.

My counsel for you is simple and straightforward: Just go ahead with what you’ve been given. You received Christ Jesus, the Master; now live him. You’re deeply rooted in him. You’re well constructed upon him. You know your way around the faith. Now do what you’ve been taught. School’s out; quit studying the subject and start living it! And let your living spill over into thanksgiving.

Watch out for people who try to dazzle you with big words and intellectual double-talk. They want to drag you off into endless arguments that never amount to anything. They spread their ideas through the empty traditions of human beings and the empty superstitions of spirit beings. But that’s not the way of Christ. Everything of God gets expressed in him, so you can see and hear him clearly. You don’t need a telescope, a microscope, or a horoscope to realize the fullness of Christ, and the emptiness of the universe without him. When you come to him, that fullness comes together for you, too. His power extends over everything.

Entering into this fullness is not something you figure out or achieve. It’s not a matter of being circumcised or keeping a long list of laws. No, you’re already in—insiders—not through some secretive initiation rite but rather through what Christ has already gone through for you, destroying the power of sin. If it’s an initiation ritual you’re after, you’ve already been through it by submitting to baptism. Going under the water was a burial of your old life; coming up out of it was a resurrection, God raising you from the dead as he did Christ. When you were stuck in your old sin-dead life, you were incapable of responding to God. God brought you alive—right along with Christ! Think of it! All sins forgiven, the slate wiped clean, that old arrest warrant canceled and nailed to Christ’s cross. He stripped all the spiritual tyrants in the universe of their sham authority at the Cross and marched them naked through the streets.

So don’t put up with anyone pressuring you in details of diet, worship services, or holy days. All those things are mere shadows cast before what was to come; the substance is Christ.

Don’t tolerate people who try to run your life, ordering you to bow and scrape, insisting that you join their obsession with angels and that you seek out visions. They’re a lot of hot air, that’s all they are. They’re completely out of touch with the source of life, Christ, who puts us together in one piece, whose very breath and blood flow through us. He is the Head and we are the body. We can grow up healthy in God only as he nourishes us.

So, then, if with Christ you’ve put all that puffed-up and childish religion behind you, why do you let yourselves be bullied by it? “Don’t touch this! Don’t taste that! Don’t go near this!” Do you think things that are here today and gone tomorrow are worth that kind of attention? Such things sound impressive if said in a deep enough voice. They even give the illusion of being pious and humble and austere. But they’re just another way of showing off, making yourselves look important.

The Letter of Colossians, Chapter 2 (The Message)

Today’s paired chapter of the Testaments is the 16th chapter of the book of Jeremiah that declares Judgment and exile due to sin and the following after lies, but also a promised restoration:

The word of the Eternal came to me.

Eternal One: Jeremiah, you must not get married and have children in this place, because this is what I, the Eternal One, say about the sons and daughters of this land and about their mothers and fathers: They will die of deadly diseases. There will be so many dead that no one will bury them or grieve for them; they will be like dung scattered on the ground. Others will perish from war and famine, and their corpses will feed the vultures and wild beasts of the earth.

This is what I declare to you, My prophet: Do not go inside a house that is mourning. Do not grieve with these friends and families. Do not comfort them because I, the Eternal One, have taken My peace, even My loyal love and mercy, from them. Death will come to the great and small of this land, but they will not be buried or mourned. There will be no one left to cut themselves or shave their heads in ritual displays of mourning. No one will bring food to comfort those in mourning or offer a drink to console even one who has lost a parent. You are not to enter a house where they are feasting and celebrating. Refuse to eat and drink with them. For this is what the Eternal, Commander of heavenly armies and God of Israel, now declares: Before your eyes and during your lifetime, I will silence the sounds of laughter and joy in this place; the joy of a wedding will no longer be heard.

When you tell these people all of this, they will ask you, “Why has the Eternal decided to bring this horrendous evil on us? What have we done wrong? What sin have we committed against the Eternal our God?” I want you to answer them with My words: All this is because your ancestors deserted Me and followed after other gods. They served and worshiped them, but Me they have deserted. My instruction they have ignored. As for you, you are even worse than your ancestors because every one of your hearts is evil and stubborn, and you continue to ignore Me as you follow your own wicked ways. For this reason, I will throw you out of this land into a land you and your ancestors have never known. There you will be able to serve these other gods all you want—day and night—for I will show you no compassion.

(to the people) Look, days are coming when people will remember how I restored you. They will no longer say, “As the Eternal lives who brought the people of Israel out of the land of Egypt.” Instead, they will say, “As the Eternal lives, who brought the people of Israel out of the lands of the north and the countries where He had exiled them.” For I will bring them back to their promised land, the land I gave to your ancestors.

But first, I will send for many fishermen who will catch them. After this, I will summon many hunters, and they will hunt them down on every mountain and every hill, in every crack and crevice of this land. My eyes are fixed on all they are doing. Nothing is hidden from Me; their sins are exposed before My eyes. For their wickedness and sin—polluting My land with the lifeless husks of their disgusting idols, taking what is Mine and filling it with these abominable things—I will repay them doubly.

Jeremiah: O Eternal One, You are my strength,

my fortress, my sanctuary in times of trouble.

The day will come when the nations will come from all over the world and admit,

“Our ancestors were fools! They inherited and clung to empty lies,

Worthless gods that gained them nothing good.

Can people make their own gods?

No, because a man-made idol is not a god.”

Eternal One: Behold, I will teach these people.

This time, they will learn of My power and strength.

I will teach them, and they will know and fully understand that I am the Eternal.

The Book of Jeremiah, Chapter 16 (The Voice)

A link to my personal reading of the Scriptures for Sunday, August 29 of 2021 with a paired chapter from each Testament of the Bible along with Today’s Proverbs and Psalms

A post by John Parsons about the need for repentance:

Some of us minimize the idea of sin because we fail to recognize it as life-threatening, lethal, and spiritually disastrous. Sin (and its justification in our lives) cuts us off from God, however, and that invariably leads to a sense of existential dread (Isa. 59:2; Ezek. 18:4). “The wages of sin is death” (Rom. 6:23), and that means those who practice sin are considered "dead" even while alive (Berachot 18a-b). Tragically, sin can lead to the dreadful punishment of karet (כָּרֵת), being "cut off" from any awareness of the Truth. Regarding this the sages note that the Hebrew word for sin, chet (חַטְא), is written with a silent Aleph (א) because when we sin, the Master and LORD (אַלּוּף) is present, because without his power no one could lift his hand to do anything great or small. Here we note the terrible reality that our sin is witnessed by God himself, a pain that pierces his very heart.

Rabbi Bunam told the parable of how a father made a loan to his son to help him start a business. When the time for repayment came, he learned his son had used the money wisely, and therefore he made him a gift of the amount loaned. Later the father did the same for another son, but when time for repayment came, he learned that the son had used the investment unwisely, so to prevent further losses, he compelled his son to give up the business. It is the same with us. God loans us the impulse to judge ourselves and repent of our unworthy deeds. If we use this impulse wisely, he gives us further resolve to walk in righteousness. But if we disregard the impulse and do nothing, God takes it back, and we remain stuck in our present condition (Rom. 1:28). May God help us turn to Him... [Hebrew for Christians]

8.27.21 • Facebook

Today’s message (Days of Praise) from the Institute for Creation Research

August 29, 2021

The Weight of the Wind

“For he looketh to the ends of the earth, and seeth under the whole heaven; To make the weight for the winds; and he weigheth the waters by measure.” (Job 28:24-25)

It was only discovered by scientists in modern times that the air actually has weight. This passage in Job, however, written 35 or more centuries ago, indicated that the two great terrestrial fluids of air and water forming Earth’s atmosphere and hydrosphere are both “weighed” by God’s careful “measure” to provide the right worldwide balance of forces for life on Earth.

Another remarkable “weighing” act of God is noted in Job 37:16: “Dost thou know the balancings of the clouds, the wondrous works of him which is perfect in knowledge?” Clouds are composed of liquid drops of water, not water vapor, and water is heavier than air, so how are they “balanced” in the sky? “For he maketh small the drops of water: they pour down rain according to the vapour thereof: Which the clouds do drop and distill upon man abundantly” (Job 36:27-28).

Meteorologists know that the weight of the small water droplets in the clouds is “balanced” by the “weight of the winds”—air rushing upward in response to temperature changes. Eventually, however, the droplets coalesce to form larger drops that overcome these updrafts and fall as rain. “By watering he wearieth the thick cloud” (Job 37:11). The coalescence is probably triggered electrically in the clouds themselves, “when he made a decree for the rain, and a way for the lightning of the thunder” (Job 28:26).

Although these verses are not couched in the jargon of modern science, they are thoroughly scientific and up to date. “Lo, these are parts of his ways: but how little a portion is heard of him? but the thunder of his power who can understand?” (Job 26:14). HMM

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edifying-words · 3 years ago

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Privileged to Teach

During my time in Nepal, I used to teach in a Bible school regularly. I basically taught on Spiritual Growth and the New Testament Church. However, one day the director of the institution asked me to do the survey of the Bible (the Old Testament) with the students. While preparing notes for the subject I was exposed to the historical and cultural background and other relevant facts about the various books of the Bible. This was my first time teaching on the survey of the Bible and I taught on seven different books of the Old Testament, which was quite fair for the starting, I thought. Going through the detailed introductions and accounts of each one of those seven books and making an overall assessment was quite a laborious and mentally tiring task. However, the payoff was fabulous. In my 20 years of studying the Bible, there were things I was discovering for the first time. Thus, I could safely say that I was teaching myself more than the students. David Pawson in his extensive work entitled, “Unlocking the Bible – A unique overview of the whole Bible”, speaks about the three different approaches to reading the Bible. The first one is the verse-centered approach (self) in which we look for a word for ourselves. In this approach “we read through until a verse fits our situation”. He humorously calls it ‘the horoscope method of Bible reading’. The second approach is the passage-centered approach (others) where we “read the Bible mainly for the sake of other people”. Of course, this is popular today with preachers and teachers. The last one is the “best approach” in which we read the whole book rather than just parts of it. The author reinforces that, “only by doing this can we really understand what God is saying to us through it” (page 612 – 614). May the Lord increase our spiritual appetite to read the Bible and the things therein in its totality. Nowadays, an average English Bible contains an introduction and outlines and other information at the beginning of each book of the Bible. Sadly, most of us avoid reading them. I believe a lot of effort has been put into it to make it available for us. Though at times it might appear dull and unnecessary to read it, it actually helps us to know what we are reading with a clearer understanding and perspective. For example, there could be those who are totally oblivious to the fact that some of what we call the “minor” prophets actually lived and ministered before some of the “major” prophets. Similar is the case in the New Testament. In other words, several books in the Bible are not in their chronological order. And as long as we are unaware of this fact it’ll give us the obvious wrong impression that the events in the Bible occurred historically and chronologically according to the present arrangement of the books in the Bible. Of course, such issues aren’t going to shake our faith but as both a Bible student and a teacher it would help a lot to gather some knowledge about the historical background and other related facts about the books in the Bible. Therefore, adding some Bible commentaries, dictionaries or Bible encyclopedias to our library would certainly enhance our Bible study and research. In fact, with a computer and an internet connection, one can have a whole Bible library without paying a dime. I was shocked one day when I saw the price of some of the Bible commentaries and encyclopedias, which came in volumes in a Bible store. In India, the price of such volumes of books would actually add up to a monthly salary for some. I was so excited at that time knowing that I had those Bible resources and many others more in my computer which came along with some Bible software I was using. Of course, we may all be aware of e-sword. Another one that I enjoy using is The Word. Then of course there are many others, not to mention the availability of countless online Bible study tools. Of course, the natural roaming of your fingers across the pages of those books, highlighting some phrases and sentences here and there with colorful pencils and scribbling a little note in

the corner of the pages of the hard copy has its own different feel altogether. Whatever the case, it’ll help a lot to have a mini Bible library of your own whether hard copies or soft. Mybible is another excellent app for both android and ios devices. Today we spend countless hours of time on our mobile phones and other devices when in fact we could have spent at least even half of it in studying our Bibles and discover truths that would bolster our faith and others’ too. At times, after logging out of some of those sites I look at the clock and relent how much time I had just wasted and wish if I had only spent the same amount of time in reading the Word of God or talking to Him in prayer or yet reading other Christian books for my spiritual edification. The world is infiltrating the church today in a much deeper and insidious manner than we could have ever thought. Most Christians today have only religion and less or sadly even nothing of Christ and His truth. And though many factors account for such a pathetic state of the church, much of it is also because of the lack of proper teaching in the church. Pastors today look upon themselves more as preachers and evangelists than teachers and thus miss out much on the ministry of teaching. In listing out the qualification of an elder or a pastor in 1st Tim 3, Paul clearly mentions the ability to teach as one of the prerequisites. Teaching requires a lot of effort in studying, researching, meditation and of course prayer. I wonder if laziness could therefore be the reason why some pastors shirk away from the ministry of teaching. I was in a city pastors’ meeting in a certain town and discussion was making the round as to who would do the teaching sessions during the morning and afternoon sessions at the upcoming annual conference. Most of the pastors decline from taking responsibility with the excuse that they were preachers and not teachers. I wonder if they had forgotten that a pastor should be “able to teach.” Such conferences also tend to portray the evening meetings as the main highlight of the day where they have a preacher to stimulate the emotion and tickle the ears of the people. “More crowd, more noise and more coverage and therefore the allurement to prefer to rather be a preacher than a teacher”, is what one of my pastor-friend critiqued. And I think that he was right. Over and over again, the apostle Paul in his epistles, especially that of Timothy and Titus urges the leaders to be diligent to teach the church the whole counsel and the sound doctrine of the Word of God. Would the apostle have something different to say to us today? We need to get back to the school of discipleship, the school of meditating in the Word of God at the feet of Christ. We need to revive the ministry of teaching in our churches today. The Great Commission is all about making disciples (Mt 28:19,20) and this task involves a thorough, systematic teaching of the Word of God. Without the ministry of teaching it's impossible to make disciples of people. And as pastors if we fail here then we have failed in our pastoral ministry. Therefore, it's time we jump to our feet and get back to our Bibles, to those Bible resources and literature, and with all the getting we need to get the Holy Spirit’s anointing and revelation to study and to teach.

Ezra 7:10 For Ezra had set his heart to study the Law of the LORD, and to do it and to teach his statutes and rules in Israel.

Let us be like Ezra! Amen! Blessings,

Reuben Pradhan

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humansofhds · 7 years ago

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Helen Byler, MTS ’18

“It’s important—even if we don’t stay in the religious tradition we were raised in—to be grateful for it, whatever it is. God uses those traditions, those people, and the communities we were raised in to make us into the people we’re supposed to be.”

Helen Byler was born in Ireland and raised in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia, where she now lives again after six years of exile in Idaho and Massachusetts. She graduated with her BA in liberal arts from New Saint Andrews College and her MTS in Jewish Studies from Harvard Divinity School. Helen is currently working on becoming more like Jesus and Jon Levenson, and spending as much time as possible with the two loves of her life: the Hebrew Bible and her fiancé, Caleb.

Life in a Mennonite Community

I grew up in a conservative Mennonite community in Virginia. One thing I value about my upbringing in the Mennonite church is the emphasis placed on scripture memorization. In school we memorized a number of books—1 Peter, most of Galatians, a lot of Psalms and Proverbs, the first few chapters of Genesis, the passion story from John, and the sermon on the mount, among other passages.

At home, we memorized a lot of scripture as a family. My mom would write scripture passages on big pieces of construction paper. She would cut out pictures from magazines and Sunday school books and paste them on the paper so we had pictures to go with the Bible verses. Before we were dismissed from the dinner table, we would read over a couple of passages and memorize them together. We would all have to recite the scriptures at some point before my mom would take down the passages we’d been working on and put up new ones. We would always get a chocolate bar for reciting the scriptures. I chose a Hershey’s white chocolate cookie bar every time.

Those passages we memorized as a family have been a comfort and a joy to me over the years—especially during the first few years after I moved away from home. When something is going wrong, the words come back to me. You can always go find those words in the Bible, but there’s something special about having them in your mind. They come back to you when you’re struggling, when you’re tired, when you’re depressed. God brings them back to you in the times you need them the most.

One of my favorites is from Lamentations 3: “It is of the Lord’s mercies that we are not consumed, because his passions fail not. They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness.” That passage has come back to me so many times. Having those promises of God in my head, at the ready when I need them, has been such a gift.

Gratitude for My Upbringing

I left the Mennonite church my senior year of college, and I thought that the phase after leaving would somehow be magically different. But I take that tradition with me wherever I go. And I’m so incredibly grateful. I didn’t realize how grateful I was for the way I was raised, for the community I had in the Mennonite church, and leaving is a decision that I’ve second-guessed many times since.

It’s important—even if we don’t stay in the religious tradition we were raised in—to be grateful for it, whatever it is. God uses those traditions, those people, and the communities we were raised in to make us into the people we’re supposed to be.

Working in Home Hospice

I’ve been working in home hospice care since my senior year of high school, for about six years now. Growing up, families would hire you simply because you were Mennonite. They trusted that the Mennonites wouldn’t steal and that they wouldn’t mistreat their loved one who needed care. I started working because I needed money for college. I was able to work night shifts and go to high school during the day. I was usually able to sleep enough at night that I could survive school the next day. I worked a couple of nights a week.

For college, I moved to Idaho. There were no Mennonites in that community, but because I had work experience from high school, I was able to get a live-in job in Troy, Idaho. I moved in with a woman to take care of her. I still can’t believe I did this, but my parents and I drove across the country and I moved in with someone I had never met to do a job I had found on Craigslist.

She didn’t want me there at first. It took a few weeks for us to get used to each other. I had an apartment in her basement. I would cook her meals; after school, I’d spend a few hours with her before she went to bed, and I would leave for school before she got up in the morning. After she got used to me being there, we built a beautiful friendship and she became like family. I took care of her for three years until she passed away during my junior year of college. That was one of the best experiences of my life—learning to live with someone, to take care of someone that doesn’t want to be taken care of but that needs help, learning to respect someone’s privacy when you’re in their home.

“Practical” Work

I’m still doing home hospice work now. I work mostly overnights so I can go to school during the day. It’s hard to balance work and school. But when I started college, I knew I was going into a field that was not seen as very practical, and I wanted to also do work that would let me serve in practical, hands-on ways.

Growing up, there was a strong emphasis on hard work and practicality. Mennonites are very practical—you learn how to be a housewife, to cook, to clean. My dad’s business is making storage sheds. A lot of Mennonites are farmers. It’s a lot of work focused on the basics of living—and living simply—and my choice to attend a liberal arts college was probably seen as really out there. I was reading The Aeneid in Latin, I was studying theology and philosophy and art history and history of mathematics—all of these things that seem so theoretical. People asked why I would spend money to do that. So going into college, I wanted something that would keep me grounded, that would let me keep serving in a practical way, so I wouldn’t lose touch with people who aren’t in college or who aren’t studying the same things.

The Hebrew Bible/Old Testament

But I personally think studying the Hebrew Bible is the most practical thing possible! I’m finishing my master’s degree now, planning to do a PhD, and I would love to teach at the university level—or teach anywhere, really. I love teaching, love the Hebrew Bible, and I’m up for any doors the Lord opens in that area.

I still feel some pushback—people asking, for starters, why would I go to school for so long? It’s a lot of money to spend on college. Why would I spend my life doing something so theoretical, something so ungrounded in reality? It’s not going to make much money. But what I’ve chosen to study, what I feel called to study—the Old Testament—is one of the most practical things we can study.

We have the word of God. It’s His gift to us, it’s our songbook, it’s a love letter from Christ to His people, it’s our handbook for living. It’s our handbook for how to live in the world God created, how to deal with it, how to love it and nurture it, how to relate to people, how to live as followers of Christ, how to love people, how to bless people, how to be a blessing as foretold in the Abrahamic promise—that through the descendants of Abraham, the whole of the world is blessed. How do we do that? All of that information is in Scripture!

Sometimes people say it feels like God is so far away. But we have God’s word—He gave it all to us in this literarily complex, rich, beautiful book. Why would we not want to devote our lives to learn it and teach it to others? We have God’s presence through this book. It’s the living, breathing word of God, and He uses it to speak to us, to teach us, to lead us, and to show love for us today in everything we do.

Photos by Jenna Alatriste

#mennonite #bible #hebrew bible #Religious Studies #god #hospice #Harvard #Harvard Divinity School

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cpdevos · 4 years ago

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3/27/21: Stop Making Jesus a Priority

Hey everyone!

It's been a minute since I've sent a devo out haha but I hope you all are joyous in Christ and are hanging in there during these tumultuous times by leaning into the sufficient grace of Jesus!

***author's warning: I just finished writing, and this devo is too long lol so, to spare your eyes, mind and time, I want to point you to the application part of this devo under the title: Consumed by Christ. I've attached to this devo a document that explains and gives in much more detail my thoughts and the Biblical basis for my arguments; use it at your disposable as a resource and let it serve as the backbone for the reasoning in the rest of this devo***

Take some time now to just be alone and center your heart on the Lord. It's easy to let your racing mind lead your thoughts, but ask God to help you focus for the next few minutes as we look at the christian's union with Christ I will discuss today. Pray to begin.

"What's the greatest advice you could give me Moses?"

I realize the title of this devotional is pretty controversial (intentionally), but I hope you will bear with me as I explain more of my thought in writing this. A few weeks ago, my roommate asked me, "If there was one piece of advice you could give me that has changed your life and would change mine, what would it be?" My roommate is a Christian, so sharing the gospel for his salvation - which is what I would have answered for anyone else - was not necessary (although recitation and the study of this glorious gospel, unto which angels even look into, is absolutely needed - 1 Pet. 1:3-12). So I told him to give me some time to think about it. Besides sitting under the wondrous teaching about the Holiness of God from R.C. Sproul (which had shattered and reframed the paradigm of my understanding of God), I wanted to share a more personal answer as to the way God had taught me what my relationship with Jesus ought to look like and what the purpose of my life was and is about. I ended up giving my roommate this answer a few days later, "Stop making Jesus a priority, make Him your life".

A Magisterial Christ

This is the portion of Scripture for today's devo:

2 Corinthians 3:18 (New King James Version)

18 But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord.

What do I mean by "Stop making Jesus a priority" and "make Him your life"? As I look at the different facets of our Christian life and holy living, the reality of our relationship with Christ, or rather "union with Christ", is the most prominent and dominant theme there is, especially in the New Testament. We must savor the Christ we serve in order to lead a life exemplifying our love for Him. In church we discuss spiritual disciplines, going to church service, going to Bible study and making sure we have quiet times in the mornings and evenings. But I want to contend that we can never draw life from those moments (and others) until we realize the truth that Christ is our life and any moment apart from living for and walking beside Him isn’t true living.

(in the attached document is my analysis of 2 Cor. 4:18)

Ponder, wrestle with, and meditate on this passage again. Scour every word and chew on the truths in it. Essentially, within the progression of this passage, we are called to this: “by the sovereign work of the Holy Spirit who unveiled our eyes, we now are being transformed to be like Christ by savoring His glory and staring at His majesty as our Lord through the sanctifying work done through the Holy Spirit.” We look upon Jesus and the more we treasure the beauty of His kingship and His mighty authority over our lives, we then begin to see that Christian living is not one area of life; it is all consuming.

A Pervasive Christ

I hope now that we understand how glorious Jesus is and how worthy He is to savor. Now, we must realize that we are deeply connected to Him at every avenue, in every road we cross, and with regard to every aspect of life. Thus, the Bible focuses in on our union with Christ. While I’m no studied theologian, here are some of the most relevant ways I see the Bible speak about Jesus’ rootedness in our lives and the way He plays a role in every facet of it:

(refer to the attached document for the list)

Obviously, this list is nowhere near exhaustive, but indeed, Jesus is the sole focus of the Bible. Even within the OT, we can’t escape it. Notice from now on, wherever you read Scripture, how every aspect points to Jesus. I especially love finding the hidden “in” word between every verse in Paul’s epistles. Almost all the passages we read and study within them include “in Christ Jesus” or some form of “in Him”. Whether it’s the blessings we receive from Him, or the identity we are given, or even how we live in newness of life (Rom. 6:4), we find it all in Jesus. Truly, there is no greater joy than singing ‘In Christ Alone’ while shouting it with confidence in meditation of these verses.

Consumed by Christ

Finally, we must ask the question: how can I live with this mindset? The reason I say “stop making Jesus a priority” is because we treat Him as if He is one. We love to say in church “just prioritize Christ over (fill in the blank)”. Sometimes I wonder why we put Jesus on a list. Granted, I must qualify that statement by agreeing that, in our busy lives, we need to make time for Jesus and as we schedule our days with tasks, we need to include our quiet time with Christ. However, we get into this mode where Jesus only becomes part of our lives. We associate Him with church, with bible study or fellowship groups and with our own quiet times. But what we often neglect, is that He is pervasive in every area of life. If indeed Christ touches the wholeness of our new being, we must consequently actively pursue Him. Renewing our minds (Rom. 12:2), which is an idea we throw around in church, is not just occasional. From the moments we rise to the moments we lie down to sleep, we must have given our best to allow Jesus to act as the exclusive sovereign over our every decision, our every word, our every interaction and our every impulse. This isn’t to say we should neglect our schooling, or our jobs or our social lives. I say this to exhort us all to the high demand of picking up our cross, and letting Jesus be the driving force behind every motive in our lives. So how do we do this? Here are some practical steps:

1. Study Jesus

This is easier said than done, but what we must start with if indeed we want to live out Jesus BY savoring Him, is to actually know Him. I think of Colossians 3:16 when I am reminding myself of being Spirit-filled and Christ centered. It reads, "Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom". It goes on to explain how we use it to teach and admonish others and sing praises to God in psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs (echoing Ephesians 5:18-19). This is the fruit of a Spirit-filled life: Christ-centered theology that leads to Christ-centered doxology. When we study Christ's teaching and His words as the passage commands us to do, we know how we ought to live. We know what we ought to set our minds on (Col. 3:1-4). Knowing Jesus and His teachings is the crucial first step to living a life that makes Jesus our lives instead of a priority. So, study the gospels again! (I recommend John) And fall in love with the Christ we so often forget.

2. Praying Christ

What do I mean when I say "praying Christ"? I mean that we ought to include Jesus in our every day thought processes and our actions and most importantly, our prayers! Now that you've taken steps actively to know Jesus (and be reminded, this never stops in your life), you can start to incorporate it daily. Whether it's waking up and checking your phone, doing homework or being at work, cooking, hanging with friends, reading a book, playing games, etc. make sure to "pray Christ". Let Him dwell in your heart by faith (Eph. 3:17) and ask that He would, through His Holy Spirit, guide you in your actions. As you practice this discipline, I believe that Christ's words and His teachings will start to permeate your thinking, and this happens as the Holy Spirit sanctifies (grows) you to be more like Him.

3. Commune with a Sister or Brother In Christ

This step is one that I've been learning lately. A sermon I heard recently on Gal. 6:2-5 was about what it means to be Spirit-filled in terms of its outpouring into the church. Too often we find ourselves believing that our growth happens only internally. That the fruit of the Spirit in Gal 5 only refer to personal sanctification. But I was reminded so graciously that this is not so. We are being transformed unto Christ ALSO in the way we love others, especially those in the church. So, going back to our mission "making Jesus our lives, not just a priority", we must seek accountability (as with most if not all other things). I can say from personal testimony that this has been a wildly life-changing step to my growth. Whether it was addressing personal sin, learning from others, sharing in my burdens and griefs, or just exercising patience with another, I learned that in doing life together, God uses our brothers and sisters in Christ to sharpen us. Similarly, when we make Christ our life, we should do it with other believers. My challenge to you, if you have read this far lol, is to write on your planner a day of the week you would like to text or email another Christian in your life. Reach out to them, ask to call, see how they are doing, or even grab a cup of coffee (if permissible, because guess what y'all, COVID is real and not something to joke about). Whatever it is, tell them about your endeavor to pursue Christ wholeheartedly. Share with them something you're learning and ask them to text you a few days later to check up on you (and you can do the same for them). This will foster a culture of active pursuit of Christ within fellowship that is fruitful for everyone.

4. Write It Out

This last step I would recommend (there honestly are many more, but this devo is getting so long lol) is to make a dedication with this practice: Once a week, find something that relates to our union with Christ (whether in the OT about the salvation not yet realized and God's sovereign hand over it, Jesus' teaching and His life as recorded in the gospels, or the epistles which always have "in Christ..."). Write that verse or passage out and reflect on its ideas. Using this week's passage for example, I may write out in my journal: "Glory of Christ...What does that mean? Where does the Bible speak about Christ's glory? What even is glory? How is it used in the Greek and Hebrew texts? What does the heaviness of God's glory mean for me? etc." Remember, we are bondservants, slaves of Christ now. Jesus is our savior and the one we will exalt forever. It is time we awake from our slumber and focus on Him and His glorious return. So, go through some of the places I recommended above (Jesus' "I AM" statements in the gospels are crazy) and at least once a week, write that passage down you found that was unique. Then, pray over it. Study it. Break it down. Plunge your Bible with notes and questions. Survey the whole Bible and the full counsel of God. Look up commentaries and study resources. Whatever you do, remember to write it out for the sake of remembering it throughout the week. This final step, which may be more intensive, will bleed into the other steps. As we dissect Jesus' life and let the Holy Spirit illuminate Scripture and lead us into all truth, we can begin to lead a life that holistically encompasses Jesus and evidently displays gospel-transformation.

There are many things I've learned in my walk with Christ (even though I have only walked with Him seriously for the past few years) but so far this has been the biggest lesson. We are called Christians for a reason: we follow, worship, and serve Jesus Christ. Nowadays, the idea of worship is obscure. God is a myth. Religion is flavorless. Sin is a made up idea. But as Christians who have been saved by the gracious hand of God we know how beautiful Jesus is, and our calling now is to worship Him in the fullest and know Him intimately by beholding His glory. We were made for His pleasure, and so the fulfillment and meaning of anyone's life is found in Christ and Christ alone. Our relationship with God isn't dry. God isn't a distant God. We now have all the resource by God's Word and through His Spirit to bring Jesus to the ends of the earth and proclaim His gospel not only in evangelism, but also through the fruit in our lives. So, stop making Jesus a priority and make Him your life.

Truly,

Moses

cpdevos 3/27/21

#moses #2 Corinthians #christianliving #discipline #march2021

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johnchiarello · 7 years ago

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Galatians 5

GALATIANS 5

These are the videos I post just about every night to my various sites- Galatians teaching below.

Today, Thursday 6-7-18, I’m re-posting a chapter from my Galatians study- during the week I usually make ‘real time’ updates- and post them to facebook first- then Youtube. These are real time- I post those videos right after I make them- the dates are on all my videos. I also post the Sunday Sermon videos to my facebook page right after I make them on Sunday. Here’s my Facebook link https://www.facebook.com/john.chiarello.5?ref=bookmarks At the bottom of this post there are links to all my sites.

6-5-18 Paintings- Mike- Update

https://youtu.be/gA3VGuNKsgs

https://www.facebook.com/john.chiarello.5/videos/10204432522771336/ [Funny- I actually mentioned this video below [Made years ago] on the above video- and it just happened to have been tagged here the night before- not planned]

I will give you the paintings of the atheist https://youtu.be/qXqBeB0Ka7Q

6-6-18 Friends- the mystery of gifts on a table https://youtu.be/tjwhTJGjwn4

6-6-18 Friends- the mystery solved https://youtu.be/rNfvByzKRIU

Note- the videos above are short- yet they show how God uses art and other things to speak to us. They are in order over a few days- and you see some of my homeless friends as well.

Lion of Judah https://drive.google.com/file/d/1A2zL-GYEOsnfOCQ0a-JP7O2HcjUaURdR/view?usp=sharing

Walking over the GW bridge from New Jersey to NYC https://1drv.ms/v/s!Aocp2PkNEAGMgUnp4TnrRv4qLKTI

Cops talk to me on the GW bridge- New York City trip https://1drv.ms/v/s!Aocp2PkNEAGMgUqkjdLq-TH6Qavt

Plotinus and Jesus https://drive.google.com/file/d/1luFfn-zuXJdQrAN0SE4-NRVif6_EBjme/view?usp=sharing

Matt, Jimmy and Steve https://youtu.be/oqDStlTC8Qg

Revelation 6 https://drive.google.com/file/d/1V6RYHo9MUOId5F2o7kGm0CzU6iM8Kt5f/view?usp=sharing

Plymouth Rock https://youtu.be/Z11QQhOaMGU

New York City skyline- good view- https://1drv.ms/v/s!Aocp2PkNEAGMgUvYA-fo2dudRh4K

No nukes https://youtu.be/7tFDQAoS4Bo

Who is anti christ? https://drive.google.com/file/d/1kuHoDgUP7dmqG2xq9R00mn8dc3E0c7SZ/view?usp=sharing

Walking off the GW bridge into New York City https://1drv.ms/v/s!Aocp2PkNEAGMgUxxoXDnXBZXXVrc

GALATIANS 5 Galatians 5:5 For we through the Spirit wait for the hope of righteousness by faith. https://youtu.be/u3Sne2TFlmw Galatians 5 https://ccoutreach87.files.wordpress.com/2017/01/1-17-17-galatians-5.zip ON VIDEO .Not under law .Walk in the Spirit .Law fulfilled by love .Against such there is no law .Fruit of the Spirit .We wait for the hope of righteousness .Calvinism- Arminianism .We are all in process .Self-control is a fruit .To be effective in the kingdom you need discipline .Protestant Reformation- Trent responds .Legal fiction? .Backsliding? .Evangelical reductionism .You are all 1 in Christ .MLK Jr. PAST POSTS [Past teaching I did that relates to today’s video- Galatians 5- verses below] GALATIANS [Links] https://ccoutreach87.com/2016/12/26/galatians-1/ https://ccoutreach87.com/2016/12/30/2nd-samuel-3-homeless-friends/ https://ccoutreach87.com/2017/01/02/galatians-2/ https://ccoutreach87.com/2017/01/10/galatians-3/ https://ccoutreach87.com/2017/01/12/the-seed/ https://ccoutreach87.com/2017/01/16/galatians-4/ I quote from these bible books on today’s video [Gal. 5]- below are my complete studies- https://ccoutreach87.com/romans-updated-2015/ https://ccoutreach87.com/james-2015/ https://ccoutreach87.com/protestant-reformation-luther/ (1335) GALATIANS 5- Paul’s main theme is if we possess the Spirit as believers [being indwelt by God’s Spirit] then let us also walk in/by the Spirit, as opposed to trying to please God by the law and being circumcised. Paul will use the somewhat controversial term ‘ye are fallen from grace’ which simply means that these Gentile believers started by faith and went back to the old Jewish system, much like the themes in the book of Hebrews. Paul says when you go back to the law you have left grace. Christ has ‘become of no effect to you, you who are justified by the law’. This is a good example of how words and certain phrases can develop over the centuries of church history and develop a different meaning over time. In essence the bible does teach that a person can ‘fall from grace’ but this does not describe what the modern reader might think. The first church father who attempted to formulate the Christian doctrine of the Trinity was a man named Tertullian, he lived in the second century and was what theologians refer to as one of the Latin fathers [as opposed to the Greek ones- Origen, etc.] Tertullian was famous for the sayings ‘what does Jerusalem have to do with Athens’ and ‘I believe because it is absurd’ he was resisting the influence of Greek philosophy on the church, he felt that Greek wisdom was influencing the church too much. He was trained in law before becoming a theologian [like Luther and Calvin of 16th century Reformation fame] and he used the words ‘God is one substance/essence and also three persons’ later church councils would agree with this language. But the word ‘person’ at Tertullian’s time was the Latin word ‘personi’ which was taken from the theater and meant a person/actor who would put on different masks during the play; the word had a little different meaning then what we think of today as ‘person’. Later centuries would come to condemn certain Christian groups who seem to have formulated language on the Trinity that expresses the same thing as what the original developer of the doctrine meant to say, but because words and their meanings change over time we get ourselves into disputes that might be getting us off track. Paul also tells the Galatians that if they become circumcised that they are obligating themselves to keep all the law. Of course the medical procedure that many have done in our day is not what he is speaking about, but in Paul’s day getting circumcised was the religious rite that placed you into the religion of Judaism, and this is what Paul is refuting among the Galatians, he tells them not to go down that road. This chapter has lots of good ‘memory verses’, the famous lists of the works of the flesh versus the fruit of the Spirit are found here, and it seems pretty clear to me that Paul identified circumcision with the moral law of the 10 commandments, that is he saw being circumcised as an act that obligated you to ‘keep all the law’ some theologians are discussing whether or not Paul meant the law of Moses when speaking about going ‘back under the law’ some think Paul was speaking only of the ceremonial law and the system of animal sacrifices when he was telling the gentiles that they should not go under the law, I believe if you read Paul in context both in this letter and the book of Romans, that he is speaking of the moral law too, not just the ceremonial law. All in all Paul exhorts these believers to fight for their right to be free from the past restraints of religion and bondage, he tells them to not desire to go back under a system of bondage, that Christ has made us free from that legalistic way of life and he has liberated us by giving us the Holy Spirit- if we ‘walk in the Spirit we will not fulfill the lusts of the flesh, for the flesh lusts against the Spirit and the Spirit against the flesh, and these two are contrary one to the other, so that you cannot do the things that you would’ amen to that. [parts] GALATIANS 3 17 For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ. John 1 https://youtu.be/hhA-O_mb3Y8 Galatians 3 https://ccoutreach87.files.wordpress.com/2017/01/1-3-17-galatians-3.zip ON VIDEO .Abrahamic covenant .Fulfilled thru Christ .Law [covenant] came later .1st promise stands .Law revealed sin .Faith in Christ justifies .Began in Spirit [faith] don’t go back to law [works] .Christ took the curse of the law on the Cross [tree] .Law was tutor- to bring us to truth .Jesus is the Truth .No more need for the tutor .Father of many nations .Legal and actual justification .Luther- Trent [16th century] .Legal fiction? .Mercy seat [parts] (820) ROMANS 2:1-13 ‘Therefore thou art inexcusable, o man, whosoever thou art that judgest’. Now, this chapter will run with the theme ‘who do you think you are to judge, you do the things that you say are wrong’. Yikes, this type of preaching convicts us all. But we need to understand that Paul is saying a little more [well, a lot more!] than this. Here’s where we need to do some history. This letter is addressed to believers in Rome, those ‘called to be saints’. Paul is also giving one of his strongest defenses of his theology, he realizes that a large Jewish population are also at Rome [Acts 28]. By the time of this letter the lines are being drawn between ‘Paul’s gospel’ [the true gospel] and the ‘Jewish law gospel’ coming from the Judaizers out of Jerusalem. The main fight is over whether or not Gentile believers need to be circumcised and come under the law in order to ‘be saved’ [Acts 15]. Now the mentality of the Jewish mind was ‘we have been given Gods precepts [true] and because we are the inheritors of the law and moral standards of God, this puts us in a better class than the Gentiles’ [false]. In essence the law was supposed to reveal mans sin to himself, it was to show us our need for a Savior. But in the legalistic mind it created enmity between Jew and Gentile. This is what it means when Paul writes the Ephesian letter and says ‘the middle wall of partition has been removed in Christ’ this ‘middle wall’ is referring to the law and how it divided Jew and Gentile. So here Paul is saying ‘you Jews who are trusting in the fact that you were the recipients of the law, who use the law as a measuring rod to justify yourselves. This measuring rod was actually given to show you your sin. Did it never occur to you that the very fact that the ‘rod’ says “don’t commit adultery, don’t steal” that these things are actually sins that you yourselves do [the legalistic Jews]. And yet the very rule [law] of God that you are using to justify yourselves, this law you actually break!’ Now you are beginning to see the context. And not only were they breaking the law, but at the same time they were saying to Paul’s Gentile churches ‘unless you get circumcised, you are not accepted with God’. The Gentile believers were actually born of God and stopped doing the things that the law commanded them not to do. They were ‘fulfilling the law by nature’. So Paul is really rebuking this hypocritical mindset that said to the Gentile believers that they weren’t saved. And at the same time the ‘judgers of the law’ were actually breaking the law, while the Gentle converts were keeping it by nature! In this context verse one means a lot. Now to an important verse ‘for not the hearers of the law are just before God, BUT THE DOERS OF THE LAW SHALL BE JUSTIFIED’. Just the fact that this statement is made by Paul in this letter is amazing. Paul will spend lots of time in this letter saying ‘those who try and become justified by keeping the law are missing it’. He will go over and over again stating that trying to become righteous by works and law keeping are futile. Yet here he says ‘the doers of the law SHALL BE JUSTIFIED, not the hearers’. Keep in context what I just showed in the beginning of the chapter. The New Testament has a theme that I have hit on before [read the Hebrews 11 commentary on this site]. The theme is ‘men are justified’ [declared legally righteous] by faith. This faith also ‘sanctifies’ [which can also be called ‘justified’ a sort of progressive justification. James uses this in his letter. Paul says in Galatians ‘having begun in the Spirit [legal justification] are you now made perfect by the flesh’ [law keeping]. Now the New Testament teaches that God wants people to actually ‘be righteous’. Johns 1st epistle uses this as the marker of whether or not you are a child of God ‘by this we know… those that do what is righteous are born of God, those that do evil are not’. In Jesus judgment scenarios ‘those that have DONE good are raised to life, those that have done evil to damnation’. So Paul in essence is saying ‘God ‘justifies’ [using the term in a ongoing- futuristic sense] the righteous, not the ones who only hear the law [the Jewish legalists] but those who by nature do it’ [Paul’s gentile converts]. Got it? This distinction is very important. One of the historic reasons why the Protestant and Catholic churches are divided is over this issue. The Catholic Pope [Leo] who initially condemned Luther did so on grounds like this. The Pope who succeeded Leo re-read all of Luther’s documents, in an honest effort to bridge the schism, and came to the same conclusion. Now I like Luther and side with him more so than the Pope, but one of the problems was some of Luther’s writings seemed to say ‘Justification is solely by faith [true] therefore sin hardily’ [false]. Now Luther didn’t intend to come off this way, but that’s the way it sounded. So the Catholic doctrine fell more on the side of ‘Gods grace makes you righteous, God cant declare people actually righteous until they actually are righteous’ this is called the ‘Legal fiction’ argument. They said Luther’s idea was a ‘legal fiction’. In essence some of what the Catholic scholars were saying was correct. Now God does declare us righteous at the moment of belief, before we actually ‘become totally righteous in practice’. But the error of the Catholic argument saying ‘God cant declare you righteous until you are’ was missing the point. When God says ‘you are righteous’ then you are! God doesn’t lie. But I understand the Catholic point. I think Paul understood it too. In this chapter Paul says ‘not the hearers of the law, but the doers shall be justified’. [parts] . ROMANS 8-10 https://ccoutreach87.files.wordpress.com/2015/02/2-24-15-romans-8-10.zip

VIDEO- [I cover stuff on the videos that are not in the post- here are a few] .Council of Trent- what did the Church say? .Do we get the final say- at the Judgment? .What are the Catholic virtues- did Paul teach them? .Augustine, Calvin, Whitfield and Wesley. .Infusion or Imputation? How bout both! At the bottom I added some quotes from the Catechism of the Catholic church- to show that the official teaching of the church DOES NOT TEACH SALVATION BY THE LAW- BUT BY CHRIST.

. REMINDER- This is a commentary I wrote years ago- the videos are new. .CHAPTER 8- FEW POINTS; 1- Did God choose us to believe- or did we choose him? 2- When Paul says ‘he makes our bodies alive’ is he only speaking about resurrection? 3- Does God use difficulty- or is it to be rebuked? 4- Was Paul a ‘hyper- Calvinist’? (839)ROMAN 8:1-4 ‘There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh [sinful nature] but after the Spirit [new nature]’. Now, having proved the reality of sin and guilt [chapter 7] Paul teaches that those who ‘are in Christ’ are free from condemnation. Why? Because they ‘walk according to the Spirit’ the ‘righteousness of the law is being fulfilled in them’. Having no condemnation isn’t simply a ‘legal function’ of declared righteousness, and Paul didn’t teach it that way! Paul is saying ‘all those who have believed in Jesus and have been legally justified [earlier arguments in chapters 3-4] are now walking [actually acting out] this new nature. Therefore [because you no longer walk according to the flesh] there is no condemnation’! This argument helps bridge the gap between Catholic and Protestant theology, part of the reason for the ongoing schism is over this understanding. After the Reformation the Catholic Church had a Counter Reformation council, the council of Trent. They dealt with a lot of the abuses of the Catholic Church, things that many Catholic leaders were complaining about before the Reformation. They did deal with some issues and reformed somewhat. To the dismay of the more ‘reform minded’ Catholics [with Protestant leanings] they still came down strong on most pre reform doctrines. This made it next to impossible for the schism to be healed. But one area of disagreement was over ‘legal’ versus ‘actual/experiential’ justification. The Catholic position was ‘God can’t declare/say a person is justified until they actually are’ [experientially]. The Protestant side [Luther] said ‘God does justify [legal declaration] a person by faith alone’. Like I taught before, both of these are true. The Catholic view of ‘justification’ is looking ahead towards a future reality [The same way James speaks of justification in a future sense- He uses the example from Genesis 22, when Abraham does a righteous act] while the Protestant view is focusing on the initial legal act of justification [Genesis 15]. Here Paul agrees with both views, he says ‘those who walk after the Spirit [actually living the changed life] have no condemnation’. [parts] NOTE- Erasmus disagreed with Luther on the doctrine of Predestination- which I covered in the last video. Luther was for it- Erasmus was what we would call ‘Free Will’. In his writings- which were very influential- he wrote in Greek and Latin- the language of the elites. He did this on purpose- for his target was the influential leaders of the Church. He rejected offers of money- because he did not want to align himself with any particular movement- so he could be an independent writer with no strings attached. He had many criticisms of the Catholic Church- and was very influential for the later reforms- those we see at the Council of Trent [Though the church criticized him- they said he ‘Laid the egg that hatched the Reformation’]. He taught that the church/priests/popes should be the servants of the people- He rejected the idea that the Priests/leaders made up the ‘whole of the church’- but he believed all believers made up the true church. Erasmus was a firebrand in his own way- rejecting the language that Luther and some of the reformers used [they were vulgar at times]- Luther respected the works of Erasmus- he thanked Erasmus for debating with him on the nature of Justification by Faith- He disagreed in the end- but said this debate was at the heart of the gospel- and was glad that Erasmus was willing to engage.

RENAISSANCE ARTISTS- The famous renaissance artists- DaVinci- Michelangelo- Raphael- used their artwork as a form of knowledge- the images taught things- they were not just paintings. DaVinci’s most famous work was his painting on the ceiling of the Sistine chapel in the Vatican. It took him 4 years to complete. The renaissance period- from about the 13/14th century to the 17th- [though there was a sort of Renaissance that took place- yes- in the Islamic world before the European Renaissance] was marked by what we term Humanism. Today we associate this term with ‘secular Humanism’ which often has a bad connotation- especially among Christians. But it meant something different back then. It was a new focus on breaking the limits off of man- and for man to excel in knowledge and skill- and to see man as having value. There was somewhat of a break away from the church in a sense- in that the church and its teachings were not the only source of wisdom for man. But- Jesus himself taught that ‘the Sabbath was made for man- not man for the Sabbath’- so- the Humanist spirit- elevating the value of man- does have a Christian basis in my view. Leonardo daVinci [15/16th century] was what we refer to as a true Renaissance man- meaning his knowledge was in many fields- not just art. He actually considered himself a sculptor first- then an artist- though he is most famous for his Fresco mentioned above. 1989 The first work of the grace of the Holy Spirit is conversion, effecting justification in accordance with Jesus’ proclamation at the beginning of the Gospel: “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”38 Moved by grace, man turns toward God and away from sin, thus accepting forgiveness and righteousness from on high. “Justification is not only the remission of sins, but also the sanctification and renewal of [parts] Basically the media have been turning up the heat on why Perry and all the other stoops [that would be Christians] are denying science. I have written- and posted lots about this in the past. Most people are not aware of the overwhelming amount of science that challenges the most common ideas about evolution.

I’ll just hit on one- Abio Genesis. This is the belief that life can spontaneously generate from dead matter. This view is false- scientifically false. It is also commonly held with the false view of the spontaneous generation of all things.

Many media folk hold to a belief that the Big Bang theory shows us that all things have come from no-thing. Actually- this is a scientific impossibility. This idea- creation ‘Ex Nihilo’- is false.

Einstein’s theory did show us that matter had a beginning point- called the Point of Singularity- yet today we have absolutely no scientific proof that all things came from nothing- yet most media folk do indeed believe this.

So this topic really is one where the media have created their villain [the back water Christians] and their hero [the false idea that science has proved all types of stuff- that is has not!]. Yet they hope that if they run with the narrative long enough- then hopefully they will never be found out- you know- opening that car door and seeing their man- the man they assured the whole world was gone- yet he lives to see another day.

[note- those of you who are interested in more on Evolution- on my Blog if you go to the February posts of each year- I have studies on Evolution and one on Genesis- you might find them helpful in the coming debate]. [parts] SIMONY AND CHEAP TRICK- ON VIDEO- .A.P. article review .Simony .Peter/Simon- showdown PAST POSTS- Simony (pron. [ˈsaɪ.mə.ni] or [ˈsɪ.mə.ni]) is the act of selling church offices and roles. The practice is named after Simon Magus,[1] who is described in the Acts of the Apostles 8:9–24 as having offered two disciples of Jesus, Peter and John, payment in exchange for their empowering him to impart the power of the Holy Spirit to anyone on whom he would place his hands. The term also extends to other forms of trafficking for money in “spiritual things”.[2][3] Simony was also one of the important issues during the Investiture Controversy. Wikipedia . [1770] TREASURY OF MERIT

Let’s pick up where we left off 2 posts back. We were talking about Martin Luther and the events that led up to the Protestant Reformation.

In order to understand the key act that caused the protest- we will have to teach some Catholic history/doctrine.

In the 16th century Pope Julius began the effort to build St. Peters basilica in Rome. He got as far as laying the foundation and died. Pope Leo the 10th would pick up after him.

The church needed to raise money for the project- and the German prince- Albert- would play a major role.

It should be noted that both Catholic and Protestant scholars agree that the Popes of the day were pretty corrupt. They came from what we call the Medici line of Popes.

If you remember last month I wrote a post on the Renaissance- I talked about the Medici family and how they played a major role in supporting the Renaissance that took place in the 13th century in Florence Italy that would spread to the region.

Well this very influential family also played a big role in who would get top positions in the church.

At the time of Luther and prince Albert- if you had the right connections and the money- you could literally buy a position in the church.

Albert already held 2 Bishop seats- and there was an opening for an Archbishops seat in Mainz [Germany] and he wanted that one too.

It should be noted that official Canon law [church law] said you could only hold one seat at a time- Albert was bidding on his 3rd one! And he was too young for all of them.

So even the Pope and the officials held little respect for what the church actually taught at the time.

So Albert opens up negotiations with Leo- and the bidding starts AT 12,000 Duckets [money] Albert counters with 7,000- and they agree on 10,000. How did they justify the numbers? 12- The number of Apostles. 7- The 7 deadly sins. 10- The 10 commandments.

Yes- the church was pretty corrupt at the time.

So Albert works out a plan with Leo- he will borrow the money from the German banks- and pay the banks off by the Pope giving Albert the right to sell Indulgences.

What’s an Indulgence?

Okay- this is where it gets tricky.

The ancient church taught a system called The Treasury of Merit. This was a sort of spiritual bank account that ‘stored up’ the good deeds of others over the years.

You had the good deeds of Jesus at the top- but you also had Mary and Joseph- the 12 Apostles- and other various saints thru out time.

The way the ‘bank’ worked was you could tap into the account by getting a Papal indulgence- a sort of I.O.U. that had the Popes guarantee that it would get so much time out of Purgatory for a loved one.

The actual sacrament that accesses the account is called Penance [confession].

When a penitent does penance- he confesses his sin to the priest- and he is absolved by the authority of the church that the priest has. The priest usually tells the person ‘say so many Hail Mary’s- Our Father’s’ and that’s a form of penance.

One of the other things the church practiced was called Alms Deeds. This term is found in the bible and it means giving your money to the poor- it is a noble act that Jesus himself taught.

In theory- part of the sacrament of penance was tied into Alms Deeds- you can access the account thru the practice of giving to the poor- which also meant giving to the church that helps the poor- and in the hands of the Medici line of Popes- meant outright giving money to the Pope.

So now you see how the abuse worked its way into the pockets of the faithful.

Albert now had the permission from Leo to sell these indulgences in Germany- and he would pick a certain corrupt priest to sell them in a place called Saxony- the region where Luther operated out of.

It should be noted that the Catholic Church never taught the crass act of ‘buying your way out of Purgatory’. The practice of including giving money as a part of the sacrament of penance was tied into the biblical principle of giving to the poor- a good thing.

But Tetzel and others abused the official meaning of the indulgence- and did make it sound like you could by your way out of Purgatory [in theory- a loved one might be in Purgatory for so many years- and through the indulgence you are actually getting time off for them- because the good deeds of others are now applied to the account].

The money Albert would raise- half would go to Rome for the building of St. peters- and half would go to pay off the banks in Germany- it was a sad system- and a sad time for the church as a whole.

It would be wrong to judge the entire church at the time as being corrupt- you did have many sincere Priests and Catholic men and women who saw the abuses and did not take part in them.

But there was corruption at the top- and this would eventually lead to the breakup of the church- and the launching of what we now call the Protestant Movement.

As a side note- it should be said that many Catholics and Protestants are not aware of the whole treasury of merit system- and the church never officially changed her position on the doctrine.

There were 3 Church councils since the time [Trent- 1500’s, Vatican 1- 1800’s and Vatican 2- 1962-65]. The Treasury of Merit never came up for change.

Obviously Protestants don’t believe in Purgatory- and it’s not my purpose in these posts to change Catholics into Protestants or vice versa- but to give all sides a clear view of the issues that divided us- and to try and be honest- and respectful during the process.

Does the bible teach anything like a Treasury of Merit? Well actually it does. The bible teaches that the righteousness of Christ is the treasury that people can access- by faith- and become righteous in the sight if God.

The idea- applied to Christ- is good.

But in the hands of the Medici Popes- and the ambitious prince of Germany- it would lead to disaster.

[parts] The writings of Aristotle would be discovered again during the time of Thomas Aquinas [13th century Catholic genius/scholar] and this would lead to Scholasticism [a peculiar school of thought developed/revived under Aquinas] and give rise to the Renaissance.

Okay- before the birth of Christ- the Jewish people resisted the imposing of Greek culture upon them- you had the very famous resistance under the Jewish Maccabean revolt- where the Jews rose up and fought the wicked ruler Antiochus Epiphanies- and till this day the Jewish people celebrate this victory at Hanukah.

Eventually Rome would conquer the Greek kingdom and the Jewish people were allowed to keep their culture and temple- yet they were still a people oppressed. Hassidism [getting back to the beginning] developed during this attempt to not lose their Jewish roots- the Pharisees of Jesus day came from this movement.

Alexander was pretty successful in his attempt to unify language- even though the bible [New Testament] was written by Jewish writers- living under Roman rule- yet the original bible is written in the Greek language.

Bible scholars till this day study the Greek language to find the truest meaning of the actual words in the bible [I have a Greek Lexicon sitting right in front of me].

It would take a few centuries before a Latin version appeared on the scene [the great church father- Jerome- would produce the Latin Vulgate].

Yet it would be the re- discovery and learning of the Greek texts [under men like Erasmus- and the Protestant Reformers] that would lead to the Reformation [16th century] and other movements in church history. [parts]

The 6th session of Trent was the one where the church dealt with justification [how we become saved in Gods sight].

Rome made a distinction between mortal and Venial sin in the council- the church said that Baptism is the INSTRUMENTAL CAUSE of justification. Yet faith is the Root- Foundation and Initial act that justifies.

Rome also taught that Mortal sin kills the grace in the soul that brings justification- and when a person commits a mortal sin- they need the ‘2nd plank of justification’ in order to be brought back into a state of Grace.

This 2nd Plank is the Sacrament of Penance [confession]. Catholic Moral Theologians use an example to show the difference between Mortal and Venial sin.

Drinking- if you take a drink [alcohol] not a sin. If you get tipsy- Venial- and if you get flat drunk- mortal.

This is a true teaching by the way- not making this up.

Catholic scholars are not in total agreement on all the Mortal/Venial sins.

Some teach that missing Mass on Sunday is a Mortal sin.

I just threw this in to show you the debates that take place.

The teachings from Trent are referred to as Tridentine.

The Protestants [early on] rejected the belief that a person can lose Gods grace once he has it- later on the Protestants would divide- severely- over this teaching- Predestination and the Perseverance of the Saints.

But early on all the major Reformers did indeed teach this.

Luther believed in the doctrine of Predestination just as much- if not more- than John Calvin.

But sometimes in these history shows they get this wrong and say Luther and Calvin disagreed on it- that’s a common mistake that you hear every so often.

Luther actually wrote a book dedicated to the subject [The Bondage of the Will] Calvin never wrote a book solely on the subject.

Okay- as we end this brief study of the Protestant Reformation- you could also call it a primer on Catholic doctrine [short one].

Why is it important that we study this?

In John chapter 17 Jesus said that he desired unity for all of Gods people- and many of these divisions- which date back 500 years- are commonly misunderstood on both sides.

It is common in our day to run across an ex Catholic who might say ‘you know- I left the church because I don’t believe I need to confess to a priest’ or ‘the Catholic church teaches you are saved by works’.

The original Reformers did not have a problem with confession- the Lutherans carried the practice over into their communion.

And like I just showed you- the Catholic church rejected the doctrine of being saved ‘by works’ [Pelagianism] and simply emphasized the teaching found in the bible- the book of James- and focused more on James than Paul [who the protestants focus on].

So yes- there are still differences- but if we are not informed- then it makes it harder to strive for unity- and at the end of the day God does desire unity for all his people.

The other day I quoted the great Civil rights leader- MLK. In one of his famous speeches that’s played when we celebrate his life- you hear Martin say that not only was he seeking unity among the races- but also in the church.

He said he wanted to see Catholics and Protestants- as well as Blacks and Whites- sit down together- he referred to us all as Gods kids.

I think we should strive to achieve the desire of Martin- and Jesus.

Amen. [parts] VERSES- Galatians 5:1 Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage. Galatians 5:2 Behold, I Paul say unto you, that if ye be circumcised, Christ shall profit you nothing. Galatians 5:3 For I testify again to every man that is circumcised, that he is a debtor to do the whole law. Galatians 5:4 Christ is become of no effect unto you, whosoever of you are justified by the law; ye are fallen from grace. Galatians 5:5 For we through the Spirit wait for the hope of righteousness by faith. Galatians 5:6 For in Jesus Christ neither circumcision availeth any thing, nor uncircumcision; but faith which worketh by love. Galatians 5:7 Ye did run well; who did hinder you that ye should not obey the truth? Galatians 5:8 This persuasion cometh not of him that calleth you. Galatians 5:9 A little leaven leaveneth the whole lump. Galatians 5:10 I have confidence in you through the Lord, that ye will be none otherwise minded: but he that troubleth you shall bear his judgment, whosoever he be. Galatians 5:11 And I, brethren, if I yet preach circumcision, why do I yet suffer persecution? then is the offence of the cross ceased. Galatians 5:12 I would they were even cut off which trouble you. Galatians 5:13 For, brethren, ye have been called unto liberty; only use not liberty for an occasion to the flesh, but by love serve one another. Galatians 5:14 For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this; Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. Galatians 5:15 But if ye bite and devour one another, take heed that ye be not consumed one of another. Galatians 5:16 This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh. Galatians 5:17 For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would. Galatians 5:18 But if ye be led of the Spirit, ye are not under the law. Galatians 5:19 Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, Galatians 5:20 Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, Galatians 5:21 Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God. Galatians 5:22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, Galatians 5:23 Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law. Galatians 5:24 And they that are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts. Galatians 5:25 If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit. Galatians 5:26 Let us not be desirous of vain glory, provoking one another, envying one another. Matthew 22:36-40King James Version (KJV) 36 Master, which is the great commandment in the law? 37 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. 38 This is the first and great commandment. 39 And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. 40 On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets. James 2:21 Was not Abraham our father justified by works, when he had offered Isaac his son upon the altar? In Context | Full Chapter | Other Translations James 2:24 Ye see then how that by works a man is justified, and not by faith only. In Context | Full Chapter | Other Translations James 2:25 Likewise also was not Rahab the harlot justified by works, when she had received the messengers, and had sent them out another way? In Context | Full Chapter | Other Translations John 15:8 Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit; so shall ye be my disciples. In Context | Full Chapter | Other Translations 7 But what things were gain to me, those I counted loss for Christ. 8 Yea doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ, 9 And be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith: 10 That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death; 11 If by any means I might attain unto the resurrection of the dead. 12 Not as though I had already attained, either were already perfect: but I follow after, if that I may apprehend that for which also I am apprehended of Christ Jesus. 13 Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, 14 I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus- Phil. 1 John 4:7 Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God; and every one that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God. In Context | Full Chapter | Other Translations 1 John 4:8 He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love. In Context | Full Chapter | Other Translations 1 John 4:10 Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. In Context | Full Chapter | Other Translations 1 John 4:12 No man hath seen God at any time. If we love one another, God dwelleth in us, and his love is perfected in us. In Context | Full Chapter | Other Translations 1 John 4:16 And we have known and believed the love that God hath to us. God is love; and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God, and God in him. In Context | Full Chapter | Other Translations 1 John 4:20 If a man say, I love God, and hateth his brother, he is a liar: for he that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, how can he love God whom he hath not seen? In Context | Full Chapter | Other Translations

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christfocused · 4 years ago

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It's Time To Wake Up

To kick off this message I want to ask you a few questions. In fact, grab a piece of paper and a pen or pencil.

Now on the front of that paper, I want you to write down the answer to question number one. Here it is.

If you could instantly change anything about anyone who would you change and what would you change?

Turn the page over and let’s answer question number two. So question number one was on the front and question number two will be on the back.

If you could instantly change anything about yourself what would you change?

Now I have a third question, but you don’t need to write anything down.

Which of these changes – Changing someone else or changing yourself – is more likely to happen?

So hold those thoughts and I will come back to it later.

We have been in a series titled How to Survive in a Post-Christian World. Over the last few episodes we have learned:

That God places leaders over us – Kings, Queens, Prime Ministers, Presidents – and for that reason we are to subject ourselves to them.

There is one exception to our obedience. We obey our leaders as long as our obedience does not conflict with the Bible.

These governmental leaders are God’s ministers. He uses them to restrain evil.

We have also learned that God commands us to love our neighbors. Neighbors are those who are closest to us – our spouse, kids, parents, and people in the immediate community. We are to love them even when they disagree with us or even hate us.

Today we will complete Romans 13 and God has for us two distinct lessons.

Is to wake up

Is to work on ourselves.

Today you will learn this one thing: As the return of Jesus draws closer we are to wake up and wear Christ.

Wake Up

Turn in your Bibles to Romans 13. I will read verses 11-14

And do this, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep; for now our salvation is nearer than when we first believed. 12 The night is far spent, the day is at hand. Therefore let us cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armor of light. 13 Let us walk [c]properly, as in the day, not in revelry and drunkenness, not in lewdness and lust, not in strife and envy. 14 But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to fulfill its lusts.

Look again at verse 11.

And do this, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep; for now our salvation is nearer than when we first believed.

When Paul writes, “knowing the time” he is saying “understand the season you are in.”

That is why we are studying life in a post-Christian world.

What season are we in?

The Bible is clear. We are in the “Last Days.”

This not based on current events, or on the signs of the times. It is what the Bible teaches.

When did the Last Days begin? There are two possible answers.

Is with the Ascension of Christ.

10 days later with the outpouring of the Holy Spirit.

Turn to Acts 2.

Let’s look at verse 14

But Peter, standing up with the eleven, raised his voice and said to them, “Men of Judea and all who dwell in Jerusalem, let this be known to you, and heed my words. 15 For these are not drunk, as you suppose, since it is only [e]the third hour of the day. 16 But this is what was spoken by the prophet Joel:

17 ‘And it shall come to pass in the last days, says God, That I will pour out of My Spirit on all flesh; Your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, Your young men shall see visions, Your old men shall dream dreams.

Peter goes on quoting the Prophet Joel. When we read Joel we have to treat it like Peter. The prophecy was partially fulfilled on the day of Pentecost and will be fully fulfilled as we approach the last last days.

According to both, Joel and Peter, we are in the Last Days.

Going back to Romans 13, we should consider the Last Days like a season, like a period of time. And we are in this season.

The question is, how should we live during the last days?

First of all, we should be awake and aware of our walk.

Many believers today are sleepwalking through life. Pastor David Guzik writes about this in his commentary. He points out that we can do a lot when we sleepwalk. We can:

speak when we are asleep

hear when we are asleep

walk when we are asleep

sing when we are asleep

think when we are asleep

I will add that we can go to church while we sleep and even go through the motions of worship while we are asleep.

Here’s how I know that.

When you read the Scripture are you listening to what the Holy Spirit is saying through the Bible or do you go through the motions?

Sometimes I read a chapter only to finish and wonder what I just read. My mind was not engaged. I did not think about the words or ask God to show me what He wants for me to learn.

And even more importantly, I ignore what God is doing in my life with that passage. I am sleepwalking in respect to the ministry of the Holy Spirit and the Word.

When you sing in church, do you sing out of rote – mechanical, habitual repetition or do you think about the words you sing?

Do you use them to actually worship God or do you just repeat the words you see on the screen or in a hymnal with never a thought?

As we sleepwalk through life a few things can happen.

We will miss out on what God is doing.

Here is God working all around us, but our eyes are closed and we are unengaged. Maybe God is pulling at the heartstrings of your neighbor but you do not notice because you are asleep.

We will not be changed by what God is saying.

2 Tim 3:16-17 tells us that all Scripture is given by inspiration of God for a reason – to teach us, to reproof us, to correct us, to train us, so that we will be competent and equipped. But none of that matters if we as sleepwalking through this life.

We will be attacked by the enemy.

The devil is out there and he wants to ruin you and your testimony. You need to wake up before he destroys you and your family. 1 Peter 5:8

We will sin. Rom 13:12

Romans 13:12 Paul tells us to cast off the works of darkness. Because we have been sleepwalking we have fallen into sinful habits.

Wake up to the Word of God.

Wake up to the Holy Spirit.

Hear Christ knocking at the door of your heart. He wants to come you’re your life and walk with you in fellowship.

Every day is one day closer to Jesus’ return. Tomorrow is one day closer to the Rapture. Do we really want to be found napping when Jesus returns?

Work on Yourself

So let’s come back to our original three questions. Look back at that piece of paper I had you fill out.

Who and what would you change?

What would you change about yourself?

Which of the two changes is more likely to happen?

The rule of thumb is that we cannot change other people but MAYBE we can change ourselves.

Let’s talk about change.

It is important to remember that God never changes. This is called immutability. God is immutable. He doesn’t change.

Often we use the doctrine of the Immutability of God to teach against current trends. I have used it to teach that God’s views on marriage – one man to one woman – has not changed.

That idea is important but immutability is much larger than that. God’s mercy, kindness, love, justice, and wisdom also never change. They are always perfect. God’s love for you never changes, even when you sin.

Because God is immutable it is impossible for Him to change.

People change. We are mutable. Everything about us can change – our weight, hair color, and even our values and opinions. God has given us the ability to change.

I can choose to lose weight. I can dye my hair. I can political parties. God has given us power over these things and more. God has given us the power to change.

But there is one thing unbelieving humans cannot change. There is one thing that unbelieving humans have no control over and that is the power that sin has over them.

An unbeliever cannot help but sin.

Notice that I said “unbeliever.” A believer, someone who is truly born again, that person has power over sin and can change. If you are a believer, you can resist temptation and the power of sin.

Look again at Romans 13:12-14. Let’s pick up midway through 12.

Therefore let us cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armor of light. 13 Let us walk [c]properly, as in the day, not in revelry and drunkenness, not in lewdness and lust, not in strife and envy. 14 But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to fulfill its lusts.

Look at those actions again.

Cast off

Put on

Walk properly

Put on

If the Bible commands it, then we can do it. If the Bible tells us to cast off and put on, then we can do those things.

Whereas the unbeliever has no choice but to sin, we choose to sin when we sin. And we choose not to sin when we walk properly.

How does this work?

Put On Christ

When a believer puts on Christ, Christ becomes the believer’s armor. We do not just assume the character of Jesus. We do not just copy the ways of Jesus. We put on Jesus. Jesus becomes our armor. We call upon Jesus to protect us, to defend us, to empower us.

Turn to Ephesians 4:17-

17 This I say, therefore, and testify in the Lord, that you should no longer walk as [f]the rest of the Gentiles walk, in the futility of their mind, 18 having their understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God, because of the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart; 19 who, being past feeling, have given themselves over to lewdness, to work all uncleanness with greediness.

20 But you have not so learned Christ, 21 if indeed you have heard Him and have been taught by Him, as the truth is in Jesus: 22 that you put off, concerning your former conduct, the old man which grows corrupt according to the deceitful lusts, 23 and be renewed in the spirit of your mind, 24 and that you put on the new man which was created according to God, in true righteousness and holiness.

It is not enough to learn about Christ. We must learn Christ.

Daily as you walk with Christ and talk with Christ He changes you. Although behaviors are changed the more important thing is a heart change – inner change.

Sin affects or corrupts our behavior. When we sin we do things that are counter to God’s teaching.

But sin also corrupts our thinking. The unbeliever in verse 18 is corrupted and blinded by sin. An unbeliever’s thinking has been corrupted. That’s why when you talk to a loved one or neighbor about the things of God they just don’t get it. They even come up with silly, stupid, or corrupt ideas and opinions. Sin has blinded them and made them ignorant.

But God, in Christ, makes us a new creature. He teaches us. We learn from Him – IF we listen – If we allow Him to teach.

You are a New Person

Romans 13:14 says that because we put on Christ we make no provision for the flesh.

Look at Galatians 3:26

26 For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus. 27 For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. 28 There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus. 29 And if you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.

When you became a believer you became a new person. God changed you. You have a new nature.

That nature should not make provisions for sin. Whoever you were before Christ has been changed.

What’s happening here? God is not just forcing a behavior change. God is accomplishing an inner change, a heart change.

There is so much more we need to discuss. Like the armor of God. The elders will preach on this subject in the future. And much more on putting off and putting on.

But I will stop here and answer another question. What does this have to do with a post-Christian world?

In a post-Christian world, it is essential that we live as good citizens, obeying our leaders but defending the truth.

In a post-Christian world, we must love our neighbors as God has first loved us – regardless of their mindset and behavior.

And during these times, as we see the world slipping deeper and deeper into darkness, we need to wake up and put on Christ.

When we are awake and walking properly then no matter how crazy things may get we still wear Christ. We still represent Him and His Word. And we will respond correctly to the madness around us.

If you, a believer, have been walking in darkness, wake up and put off the deeds of sin. Remember, Jesus is one day closer to coming back. Don’t be caught napping.

And if you have never placed your faith in Jesus Christ, then you are completely living in darkness. You are consumed by sin. Everything you do takes you farther and farther away from God.

But God loves you. He sent His Son Jesus to die for your sin. Call upon God to save you. God wants to forgive you of your sin.

How can you be forgiven? The Bible says, “Believe on Jesus Christ and you will be saved.”

I am asking God to open your eyes and show you that you are a sinner.

I am asking God to awaken you to your greatest need – you need to believe that Jesus died for your sin.

Tell God you are a sinner.

Turn away from that sin.

And turn to Jesus and ask Him to save you.

This is Mark Jones and I will speak with you next week.

Check out this episode!

#glory #glory of Christ

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