BAPTISM MARKS THE BEGINNING OF THE CHRISTIAN LIFE, WHEN GOD REACHES DOWN AND ADOPTS US AS HIS CHILDREN , HEIRS TO ALL THE BLESSING HE GIVES HIS OWN. AT THAT MOMENT, WE RECEIVE THE FORGIVENESS OF SINS AND THE GIFT OF THE HOLY SPIRIT. PARENTS AND SPONSORS PROMISE TO NURTURE US IN OUR NEW SPIRIT LIFE AND TO BE GOD'S CHANEL TO GUIDE US TO THAT TIME WHEN WE BECOME PERSONALLY RESPONSIBLE. ALL OF LIFE IS A GROWTH PROCESS; THE WORK OF THE HOLY SPIRIT IS NOT COMPLETE IN US, UNTIL WE REACH GLORY. WE ARE IN THE PROCESS OF BECOMING, NEVER ARRIVING AT FULL SPRITUAL MATURITY, THROUGH THE MYSTICAL RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN CHRIST AND THE BELIEVER TO THE VINE AND THE BRANCHES. THIS CONCEPT OF VINE AND VINEYARD HAS ITS ROOT IN THE OLD TESTAMENT WHERE ISRAEL IS LIKENED TO A VINE. THE JEWS IN JESUS DAY BELIEVED THAT BECAUSE THEY BELONGED TO ISRAEL, THEY WERE CONNECTED TO GOD. BUT ISRAEL OFTEN FAILED TO PRODUCE THE FRUIT GOD LOOKED FOR. JESUS MADE A RADICAL STATEMENT BY CLAIMING TO BE THE VINE. JESUS CHRIST CLAIMS TO BE THE NEW TESTAMENT CONTERPART TO THE OLD TESTAMENT VINE. " I AM THE TRUE VINE," HE CLAIMS; " YOU ARE THE BRANCHES. ONLY AS THE BRANCH IS GRAFTED ONTO THE VINE CAN THERE BE LIFE AND GROWTH AND FRUIT. CHRIST EXPECTED HIS FOLLOWERS THEN AND NOW TO BEAR FRUIT. HE DID NOT EXPECT THEM TO PRODUCE FRUIT, JUST BEAR IT. THE SECRET OF JESUS LIFE WAS HIS CONSTANT CONTACT WITH HIS FATHER, OFTEN HE WOULD WITHDRAW FROM THE CROWDS TO COOMUNICATE WITH THE FATHER AND RENEW HIS STRENGH. SO THE SECRET OF OUR LIFE, IS ABIDING IN CHRIST BY STAYING IN CONTACT WITH HIM. LIKE THE ALCOHOLIC, WE MUST ADMIT OUR NEED AND SEEK HIM AS A FRIEND. AND MAINTAIN, AND KEEP IN CONTACT THROUGH PRAYER ALL, THE DAYS OF OUR LIVES. OUR FAITH IS KNOWN AND WE ARE GRAFTED TO CHRIST MYSTICALLY.
A"WONDERFUL STORY."
UP ON THE FLAT ROCK PERCHED BETWEEN MOUNT HERMON'S THREE PEAKS, JESUS AND THE "PRINCE OF THIS WORLD" ( BETTER KNOWN AS SATAN.) JESUS SOMETIMES CALLED HIM, HAD MET HEAD ON SOME YEARS BEFORE. MOUNT HERMON'S 9,232- FOOT HEAD IS FOREVER LIFTED ABOVE EVERYTHING. VISIBLE TO THE NAKED EYE FROM EVERYWHERE AROUND THIS LAND.: SOUTHWARD FROM SYRIA, EASTWARD FROM THE MEDITERRANEAN, NORTHWARD FROM THE TIP OF THE DEAD SEA. AND SO THE BEDOUINS SAY, WESTWARD FROM THE MIDDLE OF THE GREAT DESERT. ALL YOU CAN SEE FROM THIS ROCK, " THE PRINCE HAD CAJOLED
BETTER KNOWN AS "SATAN " GRANDIOSELY SWEEPING IN THE VAST HORIZON OF KINGDOMS AND SEA LANES AT THEIR FEET, ALL THESE I WILL GIVE YOU, IF YOU WILL KNEEL DOWN AND ADORE ME--BE MY SERVANT!" POWER FOR POWER. THAT WAS THE DEAL, BETWEEN SATAN AND JESUS IT HAS ALWAYS BEEN A DISPUTE ABOUT POWER. THE PRINCE ( SATAN) HAS LOST THIS ROUND.
NOW, NEAR HERMON AGAIN, SOME THREE YEARS LATER, JESUS RUBS SALT INTO THE WOUND OF THAT DEFEAT. IT IS NOT HARD TO PICTURE. THE SCENE IS SOMEWHERE OUTSIDE THE SYRIAN TOWN THAT IS TODAY CALLED BANIYAS, AT THE FOOT OF THE TRIPLE- PEAKED, SNOW-CAPPED MOUNTAIN OF HERMON. CLOSE BY, THE RIVER JORDAN SPRINGS UP AND FLOWS DOWN THE LENGTH OF PALESTINE, FILLING VILLAGE WELLS, GIVING LIFE TO OLIVE PLANTATIONS, VEGETABLE GARDENS, TO FIELDS OF MELONS, TO ORCHARDS FULL OF ORANGES, FIGS,APPLES, POMEGRANATES, AND TO FIELDS ENAMELED WITH WILD FLOWERS.
THE BLUE SKIES ABOVE THE IMMOBILE FACE OF HERMON. HOST THE BRILLIANT NOONDAY SUNSHINE, EVEN SLATE-GRAYS AND BROWNS AND YELLOWS OF SAND AND STONE FORCE EYES TO SQUINT AGAINST REFLECTED GLARE. THE WIND RUFFLES HAIR AND CLOTHES. THE JORDAN WATERS CHATTER BEIND THE VOICES
OF THE SMALL BAND OF MEN (DISCIPLES) MAKING THEIR WAY UP TOWARD HERMON. JESUS, IN THE LEAD AS USUAL, FLINGS AN APPARENTLY INNOCENT QUESTION OVER HIS SHOULDER, AS HE SOMETIMES DOES ABOUT LOCAL GOSSIP: " "WHO DO YOU SAY I AM" THE IMPETUOUS SIMON BLURTS OUT THE FIRST SENTIMENT HE FEELS: YOU ARE THE CHRIST, THE SON OF THE LIVING GOD.
JESUS STOPS ABRUPTLY. ONE IMAGINES HIS EYES RIVETING SIMON'S GAZE. "YOU ARE BLESSED SIMON! NO MERE HUMAN TOLD YOU THAT. NOW I TELL YOU SOLEMNLY, atta kefa: YOU ARE ROCK! UPON YOU, AS ON A ROCK, I WILL SO BUILD MY CHURCH THAT ALL SATAN'S FORCE WILL NOT DESTROY IT. I WILL GIVE YOU THE KEYS TO THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN. WHAT EVER YOU FORBID ON EARTH WILL BE WHAT EVER HEAVENS FOR BIDS. WHATEVER YOU ALLOW ON EARTH WILL BE WHAT HEAVEN ALLOWS.
THESE ARE THE WORDS THAT REVEAL THE ENDLESS COURSE OF GOD'S POWER AMONG HUMAN BEINGS, AND THE ENDLESS STRUGGLE JOINED AGAINST IT BY " ALL SATAN'S FORCE." JESUS REASSURES PETER AND ALL THAT BELONG TO HIM THAT THEY WILL FINALLY ENJOY A SPECIAL TRIUMPH AND BLESSING. THE TRIUMPH WILL BE JESUS TRIUMPH AND THAT OF HIS CHURCH OVER SATAN. OF ALL THE CHOICES JESUS MIGHT HAVE MADE THE FIRST LEADER OF HIS CHURCH, SIMON HAD TO BE THE LEAST LIKELY. IN HIS BETRAYAL OF JESUS BY PUBLIC PERJURY, SIMON WOULD BE SECOND ONLY TO JUDAS ISCARIOT WHO WOULD ACTUALLY SELL JESUS TO HIS ENEMIES FOR MONEY. AT THE FIRST ON RUSH OF DIFFICULTY, THIS "ROCK" WOULD RUN LIKE A SCARED RABBIT. YET, YEARS LATER, HE WOULD BE MARTYRED AND WOULD NOT FLINCH IN HIS LOVE AND DEVOTION. SO AT THIS MOMENT, WHEN TIME PASSED AS IF IT NEVER EXPIRED. THE MOUNTAIN CALLED HERMON WHERE SIMON THROUGH THE WEAKEST ELEMENTS, WHERE JESUS VICTORY OVER SATAN, SHOWED: GOD HAS CHOSEN THE WEAK AND FOOLISH TO CONFUSE THE WISE OF THE WORLD. PAUL WOULD WRITE 40 YEARS LATER "YOU SAY THAT YOUR WISDOM AND STRENGTH ENTITLE YOU TO PRIDE OF PLACE.
AS IF THE RABBIT KILLED THE SNAKE AS IF THE STARVING PRISONERS OF GULAG. OVERTHREW THE RED ARMY. THE AFFRONT TO THE PRINCE (SATAN) AT HERMON. JESUS IS RELENTLESS. PUNY SIMON IS NOT ONLY THE ROCK FOR JESUS CHURCH.
PUNY SIMON WILL HAVE THE POWER TO REPRESENT JESUS PERSONALLY. WHATEVER SIMON ALLOWS, JESUS ALLOWS, WHATEVER SIMON FORBIDS, JESUS FORBIDS.WHERE PETER IS, THERE IS THE CURCH OF JESUS, AND SIMON WOULD TRY TO FASHION FROM JESUS MESSAGE OF UNIVERSAL SALVATION. SIMON WOULD NEVER DESERT JESUS, NEVER FORGO HIS LOVE. WHAT MATTERS TO JESUS, IS THAT MAN NOT RENOUNCE LOVE. IN THE END SIMON, SIMON MUST MAKE DO WITH THE LIMITATIONS OF HIS OWN CHARACTER.
ON ANOTHER NIGHT SOME THIRTY YEARS LATER IN ROME, SIMON PETER AT LAST SEES IT ALL AS JESUS SAW IT ALL FROM THE BEGINNING. HE AND SOME OTHER CHRISTIANS(2,OOO) HAVE BEEN TIED TO CROSSES STUCK UPSIDE DOWN ON THE GRASSY EMBANKMENT AROUND THE IMPERIAL GARDENS ON VATICAN HILL.
THEY HAVE BEEN DAUBED WITH PITCH. TONIGHT, THEY ARE TO BE LIVING , SCREAMING, DYING TORCHES. EMPEROR NERO, HIS LOVELY CONCUBINE POPPAEA, AND THEIR GUESTS WILL HAVE LIGHT TO EAT BY AND SIGHTS TO JOKE ABOUT.
EACH CHRISTIAN WILL DIE IN THE CLASSICAL SIGN OF SATAN-- THE UPSIDE DOWN CROSS. DOWN THE VACTIAN HILL, A SLAVE CLLED LINUS STANDS SILENT, WATCHING SIMON PETER WHO HAD BAPTIZED HIM, AND THEN THIS MORNING. WHEN THEY CAME, SIMON HAD APPOINTED HIM AS HIS SUCCESSOR. IN THE DARKNESS OF THE NIGHT, LINUS AND THE OTHER CHRISTIANS HURRIEDLY DID HIS GRAVE IN A SPOT TOWARD THE NORTH END OF VATICAN HILL. AMONG CHRISTIANS THE SPOT OVER SIMON PETERS GRAVE WILL BE KNOWN AS THE "MEMORY OF PETER" THE CHRISTIAN GRAPE VINE IN SMALL CHRISTIAN COMMUNITIES IN MILAN, IN MARSEILLES, IN THE GREEK CITIES, IN SYRIA, AND PALESTINE AND AFRICA" "
" PETER IS DEAD. LINUS IS HIS CHOICE."
Wednesday, October 25, 2017
Saturday, October 21, 2017
"ALL FORMS OFART" " STORY OF JOSPEH."
ALL FORMS OF ART, LITERATURE, RECORDED ON TH FRAILEST OF MATERIALS, HAS HAD THE STRONGEST LIEN ON IMMORTALITY. THE PYRAMID TEXTS WILL PROBABLY OUT LAST THE PYRAMIDS. TRUE EVEN OF THE CENTURIES OF PARCHMENT AND PAPYRUS, THE SUPERIOR LONGEVITY OF THE WRITTEN WORD,
WAS ESTABLISHED BEYOND THE POSSIBILITY: THE INVENTION OF MOVEABLE TYPE IT ATTAINED THE PERPETUITY OF PRINTING, FORCING "SHAKESPEARE TO UTTER NO FUTILE BOAST WHEN HE DECLARED"---- " NOT MARBLE, NOT THE GILDED MONUMENTS OF PRINCES, SHALL OUTLAST THIS POWERFUL RHYME;" THE DIVINE WORD GIVEN BY , THE DIVINE AUTHOR, THAT OVER THE CENTURIES THE BIBLE, HAS LOST ITS POWER OF INSPIRATION, FOR ALL BUT A FEW SCHOLARS. "THEIR IS A GREAT DECLINE IN KNOWLEDGE OF THE BIBLE, EVEN FROM THE GUARDIANS THE THE MISSOURI SYNOD, OF THE LUTHERAN CHURCH! SO SAD. HIS PATIENCE, IS STILL IN THE WORLD WHEN YOU NEED HIM; JESUS SAYS: WHEN IN SORROW., READ JOHN14.
WHEN MEN FAIL YOU,PSALM 27. WHEN YOU HAVE SINNED. PSALM 51.
WHEN YOU WORRY, MATTHEW 6"19-34.
BEFORE CHURCH SERVICE, PSALM 84.
WHEN YOU ARE IN DANGER.PSALM 91.
WHEN YOU HAVE BLUES, PSALM 34.
WHEN GOD SEEMS FAR AWAY, PSALM 139.
IF YOU DESIRE TO BE FRUITFUL, JOHN 15.
WHEN DOUBTS COME UPON YOU, JOHN 7:17.
WHEN YOU ARE LONELY OR FEARFUL, PSALM 33.
WHEN YOU FORGET YOUR BLESSINGS, PSALM 103.
FOR JESUS IDEA OF A CHRISTIAN, MATTHEW 5.
FOR JAMES IDEA OF RELIGION, JAMES 1 19-27.
FOR STIRRING OF FAITH, HEBREWS 1:1.
WHEN YOU FEEL DOWN AND OUT, ROMANS 8: 31-39.
WHEN YOU LACK COURAGE. FOR YOUR TASK JOSHUA 1
WHEN THE WORLD SEEMS BIGGER THAN GOD;
PSALM 90.
WHEN YOU WANT CHRISTIAN ASSURANCE, ROMANS 8:1-30.
WHEN YOU LEAVE HOME FOR LABOR OR TRAVEL. PSALM 121.
WHEN YOU GROW BITTER OR CRITICAL. COR. 13.
FOR PAUL'S IDEA OF CHRISTIANITY, II COR. 5: 15-19.
FOR PAUL'S RULES ON HOW TO GET ALONG WITH MEN, ROMANS12.
"LEAVES OF GOLD."
READING OF THESE VERSES,, TO WALK IN THE WAY OF GOD'S READINGS, THAT THE EXPERIENCES THAT MAY COME OUR WAY EVERY DAY. WE KNOW THAT EVIL EXISTS WITH THE GOOD. WE FIND FROM THESE BIBLE VERSES, THAT GOD'S VERSES OF MERCY FOR ALL PEOPLE MAY BE REVEALED, AND GOD'S POWER TO BRING GOOD OUT OF EVIL MAY BE KNOWN. IT IS POSSIBLE THAT EVEN WEEDS AND THORNS CAN BE TRANSFORMED INTO BEAUTIFUL FLOWERS AND LUSH VINES?
HERE IS EACH CHRISTIAN'S MISSION: TO SPEAK AND ACT WITH MERCY AND JUSTICE IN A WORLD WHICH IS DROWNING ALL TOGETHER IN THE PRESENCE OF EVIL.
AS WE LOOK WITH A WIDER LENS THE PROBLEMS OF THE WORLD AND THE DIFFICULTIES IN OUR OWN LIVES, JESUS IS ASKING US TO MAKE MORAL DECISIONS CONFRONTING EVIL IN OUR SMALL WORLD. TO DAY IS A GOOD DAY TO TELL A STORY OF JOSEPH, FROM THE BOOK OF GENESIS CHAPTER 37. HERE IS A STORY THAT OFFERS A COMPLES MIX OF WEEDS AND WHEAT. JOSEPH IS DECEIVED AND SOLD INTO SLAVERY BY HIS BROTHERS, LEADS A LIFE OF AN EXILE AND THEN A RULER IN A FOREIGN LAND, AND HAS THE OPPORTUNITY TO SAVE THOSE WHO STAGED HIS DEATH. IT ALSO SHOWS THAT GOD'S PLAN FOR REDEEMING HIS CREATION WILL NOT BE SET BACK BY EVIL INTENTIONS OF THE WORLD. JACOB SETTLED IN THE LAND WHERE HIS FATHER HAS LIVED AS AN ALIEN, THE LAND OF CANAAN. THIIS IS THE STORY OF THE FAMILY OF JACOB.(GEN39) JOSEPH WAS BROUGHT DOWN TO EGYPT; AND PA-DI-PA-RE, CAPTAIN OF THE GUARD IN PHARAOH'S ARMY, AN EGYPTIAN BOUGHT HIM OFF THE HANDS OF THE ISHMAELITES , WHICH HAD BROUGHT HIM DOWN THITHER. THE TALE OF JOSEPH,WHO WAS SOLD BY HIS BROTHERS TO EGYPT AND LATER AS GRAND VIZIER BECAME RECONCILED TO THEM, IS UNDOUBTEDLY ONE OF THE FINAST STORIES IN THE WORLD OF LITERATURE.AND IT CAME TO PAST AFTER THESE THINGS, THAT HIS, MASTER'S (PA-DI-PA-RE) WIFE CAST HER EYES UPON JOSEPH.; FOR JOSEPH WAS HANDSOME WITH GOOD LOOKING FEATURES. AFTER A TIME SHE SAID" LIE WITH ME." BUT HE REFUSED AND SAID TO HIS MASTER'S WIFE, "LOOK, WITH ME HERE, MY MASTER HAS NO CONCERN ABOUT ANYTHING IN THE HOUSE, AND HE HAS PUT EVERYTHING HE HAS IN MY HAND. HE IS NOT GREATER IN THIS HOUSE THAN I AM, NOR HAS HE KEPT BACK ANYTHING FROM ME BUT HIS WIFE. HOW THEN COULD I DO THIS GREAT WICKEDNESS AND SIN AGAINST GOD.
GOD HAS PUT JOSEPH TO THE TEST FROM THE TIME HIS BROTHER'S SOLD HIM TO THE ISHMAELITES, AND NOW WHEN HE IS IN THE HANDS OF THE EGYPTAINS, EVIL POPS UP AGAIN. PA-D-PA-RE'S WIFE TRIES DAY AFTER DAY TO SEDUCE JOSEPH. ONE DAY JOSEPH WENT INTO THE HOUSE TO DO HIS WORK, WHILE NO ONE ELSE WAS IN THE HOUSE TO DO HIS WORK. SHE CAUGHT HOLD OF HIS GARMENT SAYING "LIE WITH ME!" BUT HE LEFT HIS GARMENT IN HER HAND AND HAD FLED AND RAN OUTSIDE. WHEN SHE HAD SAW THAT HE HAD LEFT HIS GARMENT IN HER HAND, SHE CALLED OUT TO THE MEMBERS OF HER HOUSEHOLD AND SAID TO THEM, SEE MY HUSBAND HAS BROUGHT AMONG US A HEBREW TO INSULT US! HE CAME INTO ME TO LIE WITH ME, AND I CRIED OUT WITH A LOUD VOICE., AND WHEN HE HEARD ME RAISE MY VOICE AND CRY OUT, HE LEFT HIS GARMENT BESIDE ME, AND FLED OUTSIDE. WHEN HIS MASTER HEARD THESE WORDS THAT HIS WIFE SPOKE TO HIM SAYING, " THIS IS THE WAY YOUR SERVANT TREATED ME," HE BECAME ENRAGED AND TOOK JOSEPH AND PUT HIM IN PRISON. THROUGH GOD'S INTERVENTION JOSEPH WAS PUT IN WITH THE KING'S PRISONER'S, AND GOD CONTINUED TO SHOWER HIM WITH LOVE, ANDJOSEPH FOUND FAVOR WITH THE CHIEF JAILER.. THE CHIEF JAILER PUT ALL THE CARE OF THE PRISONER'S INTO JOSEPH'S HAND. STRANGELY JOSEPH, A SLAVE WAS NOT EXECUTED FOR ALLEGED ADULTERY, FOR THE LORD WAS WITH HIM AND WOULD CONTINUE TO USE HIM. SOME TIME AFTER THIS, THE CUP BEARER OF THE KING OF EGYPT AND HIS BAKER, ( WE CAN SEE GOD'S PLAN CONTINUE TO WORK, WHICH DOWN THE ROAD WILL LEAD TO JOSEPH SAVING THE PEOPLE OF ISRAEL.THE KING OF EGYPT, PHARAOH WAS ANGRY WITH HIS TWO OFFICERS, THE CHIEF CUP BEARER AND THE CHIEF BAKER, AND HE JUST HAPPEN TO PUT THEM CUSTODY IN THE HOUSE OF THE CAPTAIN OF THE GAURD, IN THE PRISON WHERE JOSEPH WAS CONFINED. THE CAPTAIN OF THE GAURD CHARGED JOSEPH WITH THEM AND HE WAITED ON THEM, AND THEY WERE IN CUSTODY A LONG TIME.THEN GOD AGAIN BREAKS IN TO MOVE HIS PLAN AHEAD. THE CUP BEARER AND THE BAKER. WERE DOWN CAST. JOSEPH ASKS WHY ARE YOU DOWN CAST. WE HAVE HAD DREAMS LAST NIGHT AND THERE IS NO ONE TO INTERPRET THEM. NOW WE KNOW WHAT'S COMING. THROUGH GOD JOSEPH BECOMES THE INTERPRETER OF DREAMS.. SINCE, ACCORDING TO ANCIENT BELIEF, DREAMS WERE A CHANEL OF DIVINE COMMUNICATION, FOR INTERPRETATION BELONGED TO GOD WHO NOWS AND CONTROLS THE EVENTS OF THE FUTURE. SO THE CUPBEARER TOLD HIS STORY TO JOSEPH, AND SAID TO HIM, IN MY DREAM THERE WAS A VINE BEFORE ME, AND ON THE VINE THEIR WAS THREE BRANCHES. AS SOON AS IT BUDDED, IT'S BLOSSOMES CAME OUT IN CLUSTERS AND THE CLUSTERS RIPENED INTO GRAPES.
PHARAOH'S CUP WAS IN MY HAND; AND I TOOK THE GRAPES AND PRESSED THEM INTO PHARAOH'S CUP, AND PLACED THE CUP IN PHARAOH'S HAND.. THEN JOSEPH SAID TO HIM," THIS IS THE INTERPRETATION: THE THREE BRANCHES ARE THREE DAYS; PHARAOH WILL LIFT UP YOUR HEAD AND RESTORE YOU TO YOUR OFFICE AND YOU SHALL PLACE PHARAOH'S CUP INTO HIS HAND. BUT REMEMBER ME WHEN IT IS WELL WITH YOU. PLEASE DO ME THE KINDNESS TO MAKE MENTION OF ME. TO PHARAOH, AND SO GET ME OUT OF THIS PLACE. THE CHIEF BAKER SAW THAT THE INTERPRETATION WAS FAVORABLE,, HE SAID TO JOSEPH, " I ALSO HAD A DREAM. THERE WERE THREE CAKE BASKETS ON MY HEAD AND JOSEPH ANSWERED, " THIS IS THE INTERPRETATION. THE THREE CAKE BASKETS ON MY HEAD. AND IN THE UPPERMOST BASKET THERE WERE ALL SORTS OF BAKE GOODS FOR PHARAOH. BUT THE BIRDS WERE EATING IT OUT OF MY BASKET ON MY HEAD. AND JOSEPH ANSWERED, THE THREE BASKETS ARE THREE DAYS; WITHIN THREE DAYS PHARAOH WILL LIFT UP YOUR HEAD FROM YOU AND HANG YOU ON A POLE.; AND THE BIRDS WILL EAT THE FLESH FROM YOU. PHARAOH ALSO HAD A DREAM. CAN YOU INTERPERT? THEN PHARAOH TOLD JOSEPH HIS DREAM. THE BIBLE DEPICTS JOSEPH AS A ABLE ADMINISTER, AND AS GRAND VIZIER HE GUIDED THE EGYPTIAN PE0PLE THROUGH DIFFICULT TIMES. JOSEPH IS A "TYPE" OF JESUS CHRIST. HE WAS ALSO SOLD FOR A FEW PIECES OF SILVER AND SUBJECTED TO EVERY FORM OF INDIGNITY. BUT IN ALL THESE THINGS, GOD'S GRACIOUS COUNSEL WAS CARRIED OUT. SO TOO WILL JESUS OUR GOOD SHEPHERD, PICK US UP WHEN WE FALL. HE DID JOSEPH AND THE ISREALITES, UNTIL HIS WORDS ARE FULFILLED.
WAS ESTABLISHED BEYOND THE POSSIBILITY: THE INVENTION OF MOVEABLE TYPE IT ATTAINED THE PERPETUITY OF PRINTING, FORCING "SHAKESPEARE TO UTTER NO FUTILE BOAST WHEN HE DECLARED"---- " NOT MARBLE, NOT THE GILDED MONUMENTS OF PRINCES, SHALL OUTLAST THIS POWERFUL RHYME;" THE DIVINE WORD GIVEN BY , THE DIVINE AUTHOR, THAT OVER THE CENTURIES THE BIBLE, HAS LOST ITS POWER OF INSPIRATION, FOR ALL BUT A FEW SCHOLARS. "THEIR IS A GREAT DECLINE IN KNOWLEDGE OF THE BIBLE, EVEN FROM THE GUARDIANS THE THE MISSOURI SYNOD, OF THE LUTHERAN CHURCH! SO SAD. HIS PATIENCE, IS STILL IN THE WORLD WHEN YOU NEED HIM; JESUS SAYS: WHEN IN SORROW., READ JOHN14.
WHEN MEN FAIL YOU,PSALM 27. WHEN YOU HAVE SINNED. PSALM 51.
WHEN YOU WORRY, MATTHEW 6"19-34.
BEFORE CHURCH SERVICE, PSALM 84.
WHEN YOU ARE IN DANGER.PSALM 91.
WHEN YOU HAVE BLUES, PSALM 34.
WHEN GOD SEEMS FAR AWAY, PSALM 139.
IF YOU DESIRE TO BE FRUITFUL, JOHN 15.
WHEN DOUBTS COME UPON YOU, JOHN 7:17.
WHEN YOU ARE LONELY OR FEARFUL, PSALM 33.
WHEN YOU FORGET YOUR BLESSINGS, PSALM 103.
FOR JESUS IDEA OF A CHRISTIAN, MATTHEW 5.
FOR JAMES IDEA OF RELIGION, JAMES 1 19-27.
FOR STIRRING OF FAITH, HEBREWS 1:1.
WHEN YOU FEEL DOWN AND OUT, ROMANS 8: 31-39.
WHEN YOU LACK COURAGE. FOR YOUR TASK JOSHUA 1
WHEN THE WORLD SEEMS BIGGER THAN GOD;
PSALM 90.
WHEN YOU WANT CHRISTIAN ASSURANCE, ROMANS 8:1-30.
WHEN YOU LEAVE HOME FOR LABOR OR TRAVEL. PSALM 121.
WHEN YOU GROW BITTER OR CRITICAL. COR. 13.
FOR PAUL'S IDEA OF CHRISTIANITY, II COR. 5: 15-19.
FOR PAUL'S RULES ON HOW TO GET ALONG WITH MEN, ROMANS12.
"LEAVES OF GOLD."
READING OF THESE VERSES,, TO WALK IN THE WAY OF GOD'S READINGS, THAT THE EXPERIENCES THAT MAY COME OUR WAY EVERY DAY. WE KNOW THAT EVIL EXISTS WITH THE GOOD. WE FIND FROM THESE BIBLE VERSES, THAT GOD'S VERSES OF MERCY FOR ALL PEOPLE MAY BE REVEALED, AND GOD'S POWER TO BRING GOOD OUT OF EVIL MAY BE KNOWN. IT IS POSSIBLE THAT EVEN WEEDS AND THORNS CAN BE TRANSFORMED INTO BEAUTIFUL FLOWERS AND LUSH VINES?
HERE IS EACH CHRISTIAN'S MISSION: TO SPEAK AND ACT WITH MERCY AND JUSTICE IN A WORLD WHICH IS DROWNING ALL TOGETHER IN THE PRESENCE OF EVIL.
AS WE LOOK WITH A WIDER LENS THE PROBLEMS OF THE WORLD AND THE DIFFICULTIES IN OUR OWN LIVES, JESUS IS ASKING US TO MAKE MORAL DECISIONS CONFRONTING EVIL IN OUR SMALL WORLD. TO DAY IS A GOOD DAY TO TELL A STORY OF JOSEPH, FROM THE BOOK OF GENESIS CHAPTER 37. HERE IS A STORY THAT OFFERS A COMPLES MIX OF WEEDS AND WHEAT. JOSEPH IS DECEIVED AND SOLD INTO SLAVERY BY HIS BROTHERS, LEADS A LIFE OF AN EXILE AND THEN A RULER IN A FOREIGN LAND, AND HAS THE OPPORTUNITY TO SAVE THOSE WHO STAGED HIS DEATH. IT ALSO SHOWS THAT GOD'S PLAN FOR REDEEMING HIS CREATION WILL NOT BE SET BACK BY EVIL INTENTIONS OF THE WORLD. JACOB SETTLED IN THE LAND WHERE HIS FATHER HAS LIVED AS AN ALIEN, THE LAND OF CANAAN. THIIS IS THE STORY OF THE FAMILY OF JACOB.(GEN39) JOSEPH WAS BROUGHT DOWN TO EGYPT; AND PA-DI-PA-RE, CAPTAIN OF THE GUARD IN PHARAOH'S ARMY, AN EGYPTIAN BOUGHT HIM OFF THE HANDS OF THE ISHMAELITES , WHICH HAD BROUGHT HIM DOWN THITHER. THE TALE OF JOSEPH,WHO WAS SOLD BY HIS BROTHERS TO EGYPT AND LATER AS GRAND VIZIER BECAME RECONCILED TO THEM, IS UNDOUBTEDLY ONE OF THE FINAST STORIES IN THE WORLD OF LITERATURE.AND IT CAME TO PAST AFTER THESE THINGS, THAT HIS, MASTER'S (PA-DI-PA-RE) WIFE CAST HER EYES UPON JOSEPH.; FOR JOSEPH WAS HANDSOME WITH GOOD LOOKING FEATURES. AFTER A TIME SHE SAID" LIE WITH ME." BUT HE REFUSED AND SAID TO HIS MASTER'S WIFE, "LOOK, WITH ME HERE, MY MASTER HAS NO CONCERN ABOUT ANYTHING IN THE HOUSE, AND HE HAS PUT EVERYTHING HE HAS IN MY HAND. HE IS NOT GREATER IN THIS HOUSE THAN I AM, NOR HAS HE KEPT BACK ANYTHING FROM ME BUT HIS WIFE. HOW THEN COULD I DO THIS GREAT WICKEDNESS AND SIN AGAINST GOD.
GOD HAS PUT JOSEPH TO THE TEST FROM THE TIME HIS BROTHER'S SOLD HIM TO THE ISHMAELITES, AND NOW WHEN HE IS IN THE HANDS OF THE EGYPTAINS, EVIL POPS UP AGAIN. PA-D-PA-RE'S WIFE TRIES DAY AFTER DAY TO SEDUCE JOSEPH. ONE DAY JOSEPH WENT INTO THE HOUSE TO DO HIS WORK, WHILE NO ONE ELSE WAS IN THE HOUSE TO DO HIS WORK. SHE CAUGHT HOLD OF HIS GARMENT SAYING "LIE WITH ME!" BUT HE LEFT HIS GARMENT IN HER HAND AND HAD FLED AND RAN OUTSIDE. WHEN SHE HAD SAW THAT HE HAD LEFT HIS GARMENT IN HER HAND, SHE CALLED OUT TO THE MEMBERS OF HER HOUSEHOLD AND SAID TO THEM, SEE MY HUSBAND HAS BROUGHT AMONG US A HEBREW TO INSULT US! HE CAME INTO ME TO LIE WITH ME, AND I CRIED OUT WITH A LOUD VOICE., AND WHEN HE HEARD ME RAISE MY VOICE AND CRY OUT, HE LEFT HIS GARMENT BESIDE ME, AND FLED OUTSIDE. WHEN HIS MASTER HEARD THESE WORDS THAT HIS WIFE SPOKE TO HIM SAYING, " THIS IS THE WAY YOUR SERVANT TREATED ME," HE BECAME ENRAGED AND TOOK JOSEPH AND PUT HIM IN PRISON. THROUGH GOD'S INTERVENTION JOSEPH WAS PUT IN WITH THE KING'S PRISONER'S, AND GOD CONTINUED TO SHOWER HIM WITH LOVE, ANDJOSEPH FOUND FAVOR WITH THE CHIEF JAILER.. THE CHIEF JAILER PUT ALL THE CARE OF THE PRISONER'S INTO JOSEPH'S HAND. STRANGELY JOSEPH, A SLAVE WAS NOT EXECUTED FOR ALLEGED ADULTERY, FOR THE LORD WAS WITH HIM AND WOULD CONTINUE TO USE HIM. SOME TIME AFTER THIS, THE CUP BEARER OF THE KING OF EGYPT AND HIS BAKER, ( WE CAN SEE GOD'S PLAN CONTINUE TO WORK, WHICH DOWN THE ROAD WILL LEAD TO JOSEPH SAVING THE PEOPLE OF ISRAEL.THE KING OF EGYPT, PHARAOH WAS ANGRY WITH HIS TWO OFFICERS, THE CHIEF CUP BEARER AND THE CHIEF BAKER, AND HE JUST HAPPEN TO PUT THEM CUSTODY IN THE HOUSE OF THE CAPTAIN OF THE GAURD, IN THE PRISON WHERE JOSEPH WAS CONFINED. THE CAPTAIN OF THE GAURD CHARGED JOSEPH WITH THEM AND HE WAITED ON THEM, AND THEY WERE IN CUSTODY A LONG TIME.THEN GOD AGAIN BREAKS IN TO MOVE HIS PLAN AHEAD. THE CUP BEARER AND THE BAKER. WERE DOWN CAST. JOSEPH ASKS WHY ARE YOU DOWN CAST. WE HAVE HAD DREAMS LAST NIGHT AND THERE IS NO ONE TO INTERPRET THEM. NOW WE KNOW WHAT'S COMING. THROUGH GOD JOSEPH BECOMES THE INTERPRETER OF DREAMS.. SINCE, ACCORDING TO ANCIENT BELIEF, DREAMS WERE A CHANEL OF DIVINE COMMUNICATION, FOR INTERPRETATION BELONGED TO GOD WHO NOWS AND CONTROLS THE EVENTS OF THE FUTURE. SO THE CUPBEARER TOLD HIS STORY TO JOSEPH, AND SAID TO HIM, IN MY DREAM THERE WAS A VINE BEFORE ME, AND ON THE VINE THEIR WAS THREE BRANCHES. AS SOON AS IT BUDDED, IT'S BLOSSOMES CAME OUT IN CLUSTERS AND THE CLUSTERS RIPENED INTO GRAPES.
PHARAOH'S CUP WAS IN MY HAND; AND I TOOK THE GRAPES AND PRESSED THEM INTO PHARAOH'S CUP, AND PLACED THE CUP IN PHARAOH'S HAND.. THEN JOSEPH SAID TO HIM," THIS IS THE INTERPRETATION: THE THREE BRANCHES ARE THREE DAYS; PHARAOH WILL LIFT UP YOUR HEAD AND RESTORE YOU TO YOUR OFFICE AND YOU SHALL PLACE PHARAOH'S CUP INTO HIS HAND. BUT REMEMBER ME WHEN IT IS WELL WITH YOU. PLEASE DO ME THE KINDNESS TO MAKE MENTION OF ME. TO PHARAOH, AND SO GET ME OUT OF THIS PLACE. THE CHIEF BAKER SAW THAT THE INTERPRETATION WAS FAVORABLE,, HE SAID TO JOSEPH, " I ALSO HAD A DREAM. THERE WERE THREE CAKE BASKETS ON MY HEAD AND JOSEPH ANSWERED, " THIS IS THE INTERPRETATION. THE THREE CAKE BASKETS ON MY HEAD. AND IN THE UPPERMOST BASKET THERE WERE ALL SORTS OF BAKE GOODS FOR PHARAOH. BUT THE BIRDS WERE EATING IT OUT OF MY BASKET ON MY HEAD. AND JOSEPH ANSWERED, THE THREE BASKETS ARE THREE DAYS; WITHIN THREE DAYS PHARAOH WILL LIFT UP YOUR HEAD FROM YOU AND HANG YOU ON A POLE.; AND THE BIRDS WILL EAT THE FLESH FROM YOU. PHARAOH ALSO HAD A DREAM. CAN YOU INTERPERT? THEN PHARAOH TOLD JOSEPH HIS DREAM. THE BIBLE DEPICTS JOSEPH AS A ABLE ADMINISTER, AND AS GRAND VIZIER HE GUIDED THE EGYPTIAN PE0PLE THROUGH DIFFICULT TIMES. JOSEPH IS A "TYPE" OF JESUS CHRIST. HE WAS ALSO SOLD FOR A FEW PIECES OF SILVER AND SUBJECTED TO EVERY FORM OF INDIGNITY. BUT IN ALL THESE THINGS, GOD'S GRACIOUS COUNSEL WAS CARRIED OUT. SO TOO WILL JESUS OUR GOOD SHEPHERD, PICK US UP WHEN WE FALL. HE DID JOSEPH AND THE ISREALITES, UNTIL HIS WORDS ARE FULFILLED.
Tuesday, October 17, 2017
"HOW WILL IT END! MARK 7: 24-37.
THEN JESUS LEFT GALILEE AND WENT TO THE REGION OF TYRE AND SIDON AND TRIED TO KEEP IT A SECRET THAT HE WAS THERE, BUT COULDN'T FOR AS USUAL THE NEWS OF HIS ARRIVAL SPREAD FAST. RIGHT AWAY. A WOMEN CAME TO HIM WHOSE LITTLE GIRL WAS POSSESSED BY A DEMON. SHE HAD HEARD ABOUT JESUS AND NOW SHE CAME AND FELL AT HIS FEET., AND PLED WITH HIM TO RELEASE HER CHILD FROM THE DEMON'S CONTROL. ( BUT SHE WAS A SYROPHOENICIAN-A DESPISED GENTILE"). JESUS TOLD HER, " FIRST I SHOULD HELP MY OWN FAMILY- THE JEWS. IT ISN'T RIGHT TO TAKE THE CHILDRENS FOOD AND THROW IT TO THE DOGS." SHE REPLIED, " THAT'S TRUE, SIR, BUT EVEN THE PUPPIES UNDER THE TABLE ARE GIVEN SOME SCRAPS FROM THE CHILDREN'S PLATES. "GOOD! " YOU HAVE ANSWERED WELL.- SO WELL THAT I HAVE HEALED YOUR LITTLE GIRL. GO ON HOME, FOR THE DEMON HAS LEFT HER!"
PEOPLE SIMPLY GAVE JESUS NO PRIVACY. IF IT WASN'T THE 5,OOO, IT WAS THE PHARISEES AND THE OTHER TEACHERS OF THE LAW, OR SUCH WHO NEED HEALING.
THERE WAS NO TIME FOR TEACHING OF THE DISCIPLES. THIS FINALLY FORCED JESUS TO LEAVE THE ISRAELITE TERRITORY AND OF ENTERING GENTILE TERRITORY IN THE VICINITY OF TYRE AND SIDON, TODAY KNOWN AS LEBANON.
EVEN THERE JESUS COULD NOT KEEP HIS PRESENCE A SECRET. THIRTEEN MEN ARE QUITE A GROUP. SO ALMOST IMMEDIATELY A GENTILE WOMEN APPROACHED HIM AND BEGGED HIM TO HELP HIS DAUGHTER. NOW THIS CAUSED A PREDICAMENT FOR OUR LORD. HE HAD BEEN SENT TO FULFILL THE PROMISES GIVEN BY GOD TO ISRAEL. TO BEGIN A PREACHING AND HEALING TOUR THROUGH GENTILE TERRITORY COULD HAVE DELAYED, PERHAPS EVEN UNDERMINED, GOD'S PLAN OF REDEMPTION. STILL THERE WAS A GREAT NEED AND HE WAS THE ONLY ONE WHO COULD HELP. THIS EXPLAINS JESUS WORD'S ABOUT THE CHILDREN'S BREAD BEING TOSSED TO THEIR "DOGS", JESUS WORDS SEEMED HARSH. THE ISRAELITES OFTEN CALLED THE GENTILES "DOGS," MEANING SCAVENGERS AND ANIMALS. HOWEVER THE GREEK WORD HERE USED- CHRIST SEEMS TO BE SPEAKING IN GREEK TO THIS WOMEN- MEANING"PET DOGS" OR "PUPPIES."
THE WOMEN UNDERSTOOD JESUS REPLY IN THAT SENSE. SHE ALSO CAUGHT THE IMPLIED PROMISE IN THE WORDS: "FIRST... THE CHILDREN' WHICH SUGGESTED THEN THE PETS. JESUS HAD COME TO BRING THE GOSPEL TO THE CHILDREN OF ISRAEL WITH WHOM THE COVENANT HAD BEEN MADE. THIS ACCOUNT CERTAINLY COMFORTED MARK'S GENTILE READERS. THEN THEY KNEW THAT FROM THE BEGINNING JESUS HAD INCLUDED THEM ALSO IN SALVATION. AND NOT ONLY
PEOPLE SIMPLY GAVE JESUS NO PRIVACY. IF IT WASN'T THE 5,OOO, IT WAS THE PHARISEES AND THE OTHER TEACHERS OF THE LAW, OR SUCH WHO NEED HEALING.
THERE WAS NO TIME FOR TEACHING OF THE DISCIPLES. THIS FINALLY FORCED JESUS TO LEAVE THE ISRAELITE TERRITORY AND OF ENTERING GENTILE TERRITORY IN THE VICINITY OF TYRE AND SIDON, TODAY KNOWN AS LEBANON.
EVEN THERE JESUS COULD NOT KEEP HIS PRESENCE A SECRET. THIRTEEN MEN ARE QUITE A GROUP. SO ALMOST IMMEDIATELY A GENTILE WOMEN APPROACHED HIM AND BEGGED HIM TO HELP HIS DAUGHTER. NOW THIS CAUSED A PREDICAMENT FOR OUR LORD. HE HAD BEEN SENT TO FULFILL THE PROMISES GIVEN BY GOD TO ISRAEL. TO BEGIN A PREACHING AND HEALING TOUR THROUGH GENTILE TERRITORY COULD HAVE DELAYED, PERHAPS EVEN UNDERMINED, GOD'S PLAN OF REDEMPTION. STILL THERE WAS A GREAT NEED AND HE WAS THE ONLY ONE WHO COULD HELP. THIS EXPLAINS JESUS WORD'S ABOUT THE CHILDREN'S BREAD BEING TOSSED TO THEIR "DOGS", JESUS WORDS SEEMED HARSH. THE ISRAELITES OFTEN CALLED THE GENTILES "DOGS," MEANING SCAVENGERS AND ANIMALS. HOWEVER THE GREEK WORD HERE USED- CHRIST SEEMS TO BE SPEAKING IN GREEK TO THIS WOMEN- MEANING"PET DOGS" OR "PUPPIES."
THE WOMEN UNDERSTOOD JESUS REPLY IN THAT SENSE. SHE ALSO CAUGHT THE IMPLIED PROMISE IN THE WORDS: "FIRST... THE CHILDREN' WHICH SUGGESTED THEN THE PETS. JESUS HAD COME TO BRING THE GOSPEL TO THE CHILDREN OF ISRAEL WITH WHOM THE COVENANT HAD BEEN MADE. THIS ACCOUNT CERTAINLY COMFORTED MARK'S GENTILE READERS. THEN THEY KNEW THAT FROM THE BEGINNING JESUS HAD INCLUDED THEM ALSO IN SALVATION. AND NOT ONLY
WHEN HE FIRST SAID, " YOU WILL BE MY WITNESSES IN JERUSALEM, IN ALL JUDEA, AND SAMARIA AND TO THE ENDS OF THE EARTH. (STARTING OF THE END; PART ONE).
WE ARE ALL WAITING CHRIST'S RETURN AND HAVE BEEN SINCE THE FIRST DAYS OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH, LOOKING FOR THAT "BLESSED HOPE." AND THE GLORIOUS APPEARING OF THE GREAT GOD AND OUR SAVIOR JESUS CHRIST. DIFFERNT CHURCH'S MAY HAVE DISAGREED TO ITS TIMING AND TO THE EVENTS ON THE ESCHATOLOGICAL (END TIMES CALENDAR). THEY MAY HAVE DIFFERED AS TO A PRE-TRIBULATION OR POST TRIBULATION RAPTURE, POST OR NON MILLENNIAL COMING. HOWEVER ALL AGREED THAT THE FINAL SOLUTION TO THE PROBLEMS OF THIS WORLD AND HIS RETURN ARE IN THE HANDS OF THE KING OF KINGS WHO WILL SOMEDAY MAKE THE KINGDOMS OF THIS WORLD HIS VERY OWN. IN THE NEW TESTAMENT ONE VERSE IN TWENTY-FIVE DEALS WITH THE LORDS RETURN.
THE RETURN OF JESUS CHRIST IS MENTIONED IN EVERY ONE OF THE NEW TESTAMENT BOOKS EXCEPT GALATAINS, 2, AND 3 JOHN AND PHILEMON. JESUS SPOKE OF HIS RETURN QUITE OFTEN. 'MARK RECORDS HIM AS SAYING, " WHOEVER IS ASHAMED OF ME AND MY WORDS IN THIS ADULTEROUS AND SINFUL GENERATIONS, OF HIM WILL THE SON-OF-MAN ALSO BE ASHAMED, WHEN HE COMES IN THE GLORY OF HIS FATHER. WITH THE HOLY ANGELS. (MARK*38). WE MUST ALWAYS REMEMBER JOHN 14.
IN THE LAST CHAPTER OF JOHN THE AUTHOR RECORDS A STATEMENT OF JESUS TO PETER IN WHICH A REFERENCE TO HIS RETURN IS INCIDENTAL, BUT IS, NEVERTHELESS, ALL THE MORE IMPRESSIVE ON THAT ACCOUNT. JESUS HAD BEEN ENCOURAGING PETER IN FAITHFULNESS IN DISCIPLESHIP.
IN THE MEAN TIME PAUL'S LETTERS ARE ALSO FULL OF THE DOCTRINE OF CHRIST'S RETURN TO THE CHRISTIANS AT THESSLONICA AND FOR US NOW, HE WROTE " FOR THE LORD HIMSELF WILL DESCEND FROM HEAVEN WITH A CRY OF COMMAND, AND THE ARCHANGEL'S CALL, WITH THE SOUND OF THE TRUMPET JESUS IS HERE.
THE DEAD IN CHRIST SHALL RISE FIRST; THEN WE WHO ARE ALIVE, SHALL BE CAUGHT UP TOGETHER WITH THEM IN THE CLOUDS, TO MEET THE LORD IN THE AIR; AND SO WE SHALL BE WITH THE LORD (1THESS. 4: 16-17. TO THE PHILIPPIANS PAUL WROTE, BUT OUR HOME IS IN HEAVEN AND AWAIT A SAVIOR, THE LORD JESUS CHRIST WHO WILL CHANGE OUR LOWLY BODY, TO BE LIKE HIS GLORIOUS BODY, BY THE POWER WHICH ENABLES HIM EVEN TO SUBJECT ALL THINGS TO HIMSELF.
( PHIL. 3:20-21).
PETER CALLED THE RETURN OF JESUS CHRIST OUR " LIVING HOPE" (1PETER 1:3).
PAUL CALLED IT OUR BLESSED HOPE. JOHN DECLARED WITH CONVICTION: BEHOLD, HE IS COMING IN THE CLOUDS, AND EVERY EYE WILL SEE HIM, EVERY ONE WHO PIERCED HIM; AND ALL THE TRIBES ON EARTH WILL WAIL ON ACCOUNT OF HIM (REV 1:7)..
HE ENDED THE REVELATION WITH " HE WHO TESTIFIES TO THESE THING SAYS , SURELY I AM COMING SOON. AMEN. COME, LORD JESUS! " (REV 22:20).
IN THESE VERSES AND MANY OTHERS THE EARLY CHRISTIANS EXPRESSED THEIR BELIEF IN JESUS PERSONAL RETURN, THAT WAS TO BE A PERIOD OF GREAT WICKEDNESS ON EARTH, THE RESURRECTION, AND TRANSFORMATION OF THEIR OWN BODIES, AN EARTHLY RULE OF THE GLORIFIED JESUS AND A FINAL JUDGMENT OF INDIVIDALS AND NATIONS.
IN THE MEAN TIME PAUL'S LETTERS ARE ALSO FULL OF THE DOCTRINE OF CHRIST'S RETURN TO THE CHRISTIANS AT THESSLONICA AND FOR US NOW, HE WROTE " FOR THE LORD HIMSELF WILL DESCEND FROM HEAVEN WITH A CRY OF COMMAND, AND THE ARCHANGEL'S CALL, WITH THE SOUND OF THE TRUMPET JESUS IS HERE.
THE DEAD IN CHRIST SHALL RISE FIRST; THEN WE WHO ARE ALIVE, SHALL BE CAUGHT UP TOGETHER WITH THEM IN THE CLOUDS, TO MEET THE LORD IN THE AIR; AND SO WE SHALL BE WITH THE LORD (1THESS. 4: 16-17. TO THE PHILIPPIANS PAUL WROTE, BUT OUR HOME IS IN HEAVEN AND AWAIT A SAVIOR, THE LORD JESUS CHRIST WHO WILL CHANGE OUR LOWLY BODY, TO BE LIKE HIS GLORIOUS BODY, BY THE POWER WHICH ENABLES HIM EVEN TO SUBJECT ALL THINGS TO HIMSELF.
( PHIL. 3:20-21).
PETER CALLED THE RETURN OF JESUS CHRIST OUR " LIVING HOPE" (1PETER 1:3).
PAUL CALLED IT OUR BLESSED HOPE. JOHN DECLARED WITH CONVICTION: BEHOLD, HE IS COMING IN THE CLOUDS, AND EVERY EYE WILL SEE HIM, EVERY ONE WHO PIERCED HIM; AND ALL THE TRIBES ON EARTH WILL WAIL ON ACCOUNT OF HIM (REV 1:7)..
HE ENDED THE REVELATION WITH " HE WHO TESTIFIES TO THESE THING SAYS , SURELY I AM COMING SOON. AMEN. COME, LORD JESUS! " (REV 22:20).
IN THESE VERSES AND MANY OTHERS THE EARLY CHRISTIANS EXPRESSED THEIR BELIEF IN JESUS PERSONAL RETURN, THAT WAS TO BE A PERIOD OF GREAT WICKEDNESS ON EARTH, THE RESURRECTION, AND TRANSFORMATION OF THEIR OWN BODIES, AN EARTHLY RULE OF THE GLORIFIED JESUS AND A FINAL JUDGMENT OF INDIVIDALS AND NATIONS.
Saturday, October 14, 2017
MARTIN LUTHER [REFORMATION SUNDAY.
,
.
THIS OCTOBER 31st WILL BE THE 500th ANNIVERSARY OF THE DAY THAT MARTIN LUTHER NAILED HIS "95 THESES" ON THE DO0R OF THE WITTENBERG CASTLE CHURCH. THIS DOCUMENT, WHICH CHALLENGED THE ROMAN CATHOLIC
CHURCH'S POSITION ON THE SALE OF "INDULGENCES " IS VIEWED AS THE BEGINNING OF THE REFORMATION. IT IS IN THAT HERITAGE THAT OUR CHURCH, AND EVERY PROTESTANT CHURCH. STANDS EACH WEEK AT WORSHIP, AND IT SHOULD BE A REMINDER OF OUR REFORMATION HERITAGE, HOLDING UP A BIBLE, WITH MARTIN. " GOD SAID IT, AND WE BELIEVE IT: ANSWERING IN THE "SLOGAN: "SOLA SCRIPTURA--SOLA GRATIA--SOLA FIDE--SOLA CHRISTUS--SOLA CHRISTUS--SOLA DEO GLORIA" SOMETIMES REFERRED TO AS THE "FIVE SOLAS" OF THE PROTESTANT REFORMATION. THEY ARE BIBLICALLY GROUNDED THEOLOGICAL PRINCIPLES THAT GUIDED THE REFORMERS AS THEY SOUGHT TO RESTORE THE WORD OF GOD TO ITS RIGHTFUL PLACE IN THE LIFE OF THE CHURCH. HERE IS A BRIEF SUMMARY OF WHAT THIS MEANS.
SOLA SCRIPTURA--" SCRIPTURE ALONE." THIS IS THE BASIS OF THE CHRISTIAN
CHURCH.
.
THIS OCTOBER 31st WILL BE THE 500th ANNIVERSARY OF THE DAY THAT MARTIN LUTHER NAILED HIS "95 THESES" ON THE DO0R OF THE WITTENBERG CASTLE CHURCH. THIS DOCUMENT, WHICH CHALLENGED THE ROMAN CATHOLIC
CHURCH'S POSITION ON THE SALE OF "INDULGENCES " IS VIEWED AS THE BEGINNING OF THE REFORMATION. IT IS IN THAT HERITAGE THAT OUR CHURCH, AND EVERY PROTESTANT CHURCH. STANDS EACH WEEK AT WORSHIP, AND IT SHOULD BE A REMINDER OF OUR REFORMATION HERITAGE, HOLDING UP A BIBLE, WITH MARTIN. " GOD SAID IT, AND WE BELIEVE IT: ANSWERING IN THE "SLOGAN: "SOLA SCRIPTURA--SOLA GRATIA--SOLA FIDE--SOLA CHRISTUS--SOLA CHRISTUS--SOLA DEO GLORIA" SOMETIMES REFERRED TO AS THE "FIVE SOLAS" OF THE PROTESTANT REFORMATION. THEY ARE BIBLICALLY GROUNDED THEOLOGICAL PRINCIPLES THAT GUIDED THE REFORMERS AS THEY SOUGHT TO RESTORE THE WORD OF GOD TO ITS RIGHTFUL PLACE IN THE LIFE OF THE CHURCH. HERE IS A BRIEF SUMMARY OF WHAT THIS MEANS.
SOLA SCRIPTURA--" SCRIPTURE ALONE." THIS IS THE BASIS OF THE CHRISTIAN
CHURCH.
AND THE REFORMATION. AT A TIME WHEN TRADITIONNS AND HUMAN IDEAS WERE SUPPLANTING GOD'S WORD, THE REFORMERS SAID "NO"- GOD'S WORD ( THE BIBLE) ALONE IS OUR AUTHORITY FOR BELIEF AND BEHAVIOR. IN 1521, MARTIN LUTHER WAS ON TRIAL FOR HIS FAITH AND TEACHINGS. IT WAS DURING THAT INTERROGATION THAT HE DECLARED THAT HIS CONSCIENCE WAS CAPTIVE TO THE WORD OF GOD. HE SAID " UNLESS I AM OVERCOME WITH TESTIMONIES FROM SCRIPTURE OR WITH EVIDENT REASONS-- FOR I BELIEVE NEITHER THE POPE NOR THE COUNCILS, SINCE THEY HAVE OFTEN ERRED AND CONTRADICTED ONE ANOTHER-- I AM OVERCOME BY THE SCRIPTURE TEXTS WHICH I HAVE ADDUCED, AND MY CONSCIENCE IS BOUND BY GOD'S WORD.."
WHAT DOES THE BIBLE SAY ABOUT ITSELF.? " ALL SCRIPTURE IS INSPIRED BY GOD AND POFITABLE FOR TEACHING, FOR REPROOF, FOR CORRECTION, FOR TRAINING IN RIGHTEOUSNESS; THAT GOD'S PERSON MAY BE ADEQUATE, EQUIPPED FOR EVERY GOOD WORK" (2 TIMOTHEY 3:16-17). TODAY, IN THE CHURCH AND IN THE WORLD, THE POSITION OF THE WORD OF GOD HAS BEEN GREATLY REDUCED. WE NEED TO AFFIRM WITH THE REFORMERS " SOLA SCRIPTURA"!
SOLA GRATIA- "GRACE ALONE." A CENTRAL TENET OF THE REFORMATION WAS THAT SALVATION IS BY GOD'S GRACE- AND GRACE ALONE. THE CHURCH AT LUTHER'S TIME AND (EVEN SOME TODAY) TAUGHT THAT IN ADDITION TO THE GRACE OF GOD IN JESUS CHRIST, A PERSON NEEDED TO DO " WORKS OF RIGHTEOUSNESS", AGAIN LOOKING TO SCRIPTURE, WE READ, " FOR IT IS BY GRACE YOU HAVE BEEN SAVED, THROUGH FAITH- AND THIS IS NOT FROM YOURSELVES, IT IS A GIFT OF GOD-NOT BY WORKS, SO THAT NO ONE CAN BOAST" (EPHESIANS 2:8-9)
OUR SALVATION IS BY THE FREE GIFT OF GOD'S GRACE; THERE IS NOTHING WE CAN DO TO EARN IT. AS ROMAN'S 5:8 SAYS, GOD DEMOSTRATES HIS OWN LOVE FOR US IN
THIS: WHILE WE WERE STILL SINNERS, CHRIST DIED FOR US.
SOLA FIDE-"FAITH ALONE.". THE TRUSTED WORD OF GOD TELLS US THAT WE ARE SAVED BY GRACE ALONE. HOW DO W RECEIVE IT? BY FAITH ONLY-NOT BY ANY EFFORT OR WORK. NOTE THAT WE ARE SAVED BY GRACE (GOD'S GIFT), NOT BY
FAITH. IF IT WAS OUR FAITH THAT SAVED US, THAT WOULD BE WORK. BUT WE RECEIVE GOD'S FREE GIFT BY FAITH: BELIEVING THAT RESULTS IS ACTION. THIS FAITH IS NOT APART FROM REASON, BUT A FAITH BASED ON CLEAR EVIDENCE IN SCRIPTURE, ARCHEOLOGY, AND ALL CREATION AROUND US. EVEN FAITH ITSELF IS A GIFT OF GOD. 1 PETER 1:7 SAYS, "THESE [ TRIALS YOU EXPERIENCE IN LIFE] HAVE COME SO THAT YOUR FAITH-GREATER WORTH THAN GOLD, WHICH PERISHES EVEN THOUGH REFINED BY FIRE REVEALED (THIS LAST PART IS NUMBER FIVE!)
SOLAR CHRISTUS-"CHRIST ALONE." ALL OF THE ABOVE IS BECAUSE OF JESUS CHRIST.
Friday, October 13, 2017
FIFTY DAYS AFTER DEATH. [JOHN 14: 8-17] [25-27].
THIS TEXT FROM JOHN 14, TELLS US ON THE NIGHT JESUS WAS BETRAYED, IN HIS FINAL ADDRESS TO HIS DISCIPES, JESUS PROMISES THAT THOUGH HE MUST LEAVE THEM, THEY WILL SOON RECIEVE THE PRESENCE OF AN ADVOCATE, THE "SPIRIT OF TRUTH," WHOM GOD WILL SEND TO COMFORT AND ENLIGHTEN THEM. " IT IS TO YOUR ADVANTAGE THAT I GO AWAY, FOR IF I DON'T GO AWAY, THE COUNSELOR WILL NOT COME TO YOU; BUT IF I GO, I WILL SEND HIM TO YOU." THERE YOU HAVE IT. IT IS TO OUR ADVANTAGE THAT THE HOLY SPIRIT COMES. ST.PAUL EMPHASIZED THIS ALSO FOR NON- CHRISTIANS, BUT ALSO FOR CHRISTIANS. THE COMING OF THE "HOLY SPIRIT" IS ONE OF THE MOST TAKEN FOR GRANTED EVENTS IN OUR PERSONAL HISTORY. WE HAVE NO HISTORY AS PEOPLE OF GOD UNLESS THAT HISTORY IS BEGUN BY THE HOLY SPIRIT. THE ONLY WAY IN WHICH WE CAN EVEN UTTER STATEMENTS OF OUR FAITH IS BY THE INFLUNCE OF THE HOLY SPIRIT.
NOW THE HOLY SPIRIT HAS LONG BEEN THE CINDERELLA OF THE TRINITY. THE OTHER TWO SISTERS MAY HAVE GONE TO THE THEOLOGICAL BALL, BUT, THE HOLY SPIRIT HAS BEEN LEFT BEHIND EVERY TIME. LETS LOOK AT SOME OF THE MODELS OF THE "HOLY SPIRIT." JOHN TELL US IN JOHN 4:24, " GOD IS SPIRIT: AND THEY THAT WORSHIP HIM MUST WORSHIP HIM IN SPIRIT AND TRUTH. WHAT DOES THIS TELL US ABOUT GOD? THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE USES AT LEAST THREE WORDS- " WIND, BREATH, AND SPIRIT, TO TRANSLATE A SINGLE HEBREW TERM, RUACH. THIS IMPORTANT HEBREW WORD HAS A DEPTH OF MEANING WHICH IT IS VIRTUALLY IMPOSSIBLE TO REPRODUCE IN ENGLISH. RUACH, TRADITIONALLY TRANSLATED SIMPLY AS "SPIRIT." IS ASSOCIATED WITH A RANGE OF MEANINGS, EACH OF WHICH CAST SOME LIGHT ON THE COMPLEX ASSOCIATIONS OF CHRISTIAN NOTION OF THE HOLY SPIRIT.
SPIRIT AS WIND: THE OLD TESTAMENT WRITERS ARE CAREFUL NOT TO IDENTIFY GOD WITH WIND, AND THUS REDUCE GOD TO A LEVEL OF A NATURAL FORCE. NEVERTHELESS, A PARALLEL IS DRAWN BETWEEN THE POWER OF THE WIND AND THAT OF GOD. TO SPEAK OF GOD AS SPIRIT IS TO CALL TO MIND THE SURGING ENERGY OF THE "LORD OF HOSTS," AND REMIND ISRAEL OF THE POWER AND DYNAMISM OF THE GOD WHO HAD CALLED ISRAEL OUT OF EGYPT. THIS IMAGE OF THE SPIRIT AS REDEMPTIVE POWER IS PERHAPS STATED IN ITS MOST SIGNIFICENT FORM IN THE ACCOUNT OF THE EXODUS: 14:21). HERE, THE IDEA OF RUACH CONVEYS BOTH THE POWER AND REDEMPTIVE PURPOSE OF GOD.
IT MUST BE REMEMBERED THAT ISRAEL BORDED THE MEDITERRANEAN SEA ON THE WEST, AND THE GREAT DESERTS ON THE EAST AND WHEN THE WIND BLEW FROM THE EAST, IT WAS EXPERIENCED AS A MIST OF FINE SAND WHICH SCORCHED VEGETATION AND PARCHED THE LAND. TRAVELERS ACCOUNTS OF THESE WINDS SPEAK OF THE REMARKABLE FORCE AND POWER. EVEN THE LIGHT OF THE SUN IS OBLITERATED BY THE SAND STORM THROWN UP BY THE WIND. THE WIND WAS SEEN BY THE BIBLICAL WRITERS AS A MODEL FOR THE WAY IN WHICH GOD DEMOSTRATED THE FINITUDE AND TRANSITORINESS OF THE CREATION.
ISAIAH TELLS US " THE GRASS WITHERS AND FLOWERS FALL, WHEN THE BREATH OF THE LORD BLOWS ON THEM. JUST AS THE SCORCHING EAST WIND, LIKE THE ARABIAN SIROCCO, DESTROYED PLANTS AND GRASS, SO GOD WAS UNDERSTOOD TO DESTROY HUMAN PRIDE- PSALM 103:15-18- JEREMIAH 4: 11. JUST AS PLANTS SPRING UP, FRESH AND GREEN, ONLY TO BE WITHERED BEFORE THE HOT DESERT WIND, SO HUMAN EMPIRES RISE ONLY TO FALL BEFORE THE FACE OF GOD.
AT THE TIME THE PROPHET ISAIAH WAS WRITING, ISRAEL WAS HELD CAPTIVE IN BABYLON. GOD IS COMPARED BY THE OLD TESTAMENT WRITERS TO THE RAIN BROUGHT BY THE WESTERN WIND. SPIRIT IS BREATH: THE IDEA OF SPIRIT IS ASSOCIATED WITH LIFE. WHEN GOD CREATED ADAM, GOD BREATHED INTO HIM THE BREATH OF LIFE, AS A RESULT OF WHICH BECAME A LIVING BEING ( GENESIS 2;70). THE BASIC DIFFERENCE BETEEN LIVING AND A DEAD HUMAN BEING IS THAT THE FORMER BREATHES AND THE LATTER DOES NOT. THIS LED TO THE IDEA THAT LIFE WAS DEPENDANT UPON BREATH. GOD IS THE ONE WHO BREATHES THE BREATH OF LIFE INTO EMPTY SHELLS, AND BRINGS THEM TO LIFE. GOD BROUGHT ADAM TO LIFE BY BREATHING INTO HIM. THE FAMOUS VISION OF THE VALLEY OF THE DRY BONES IN THE BOOK OF (EZEKIEL 37: 1:14) ALSO ILLUSTRATES THIS POINT.
CAN THESE LIVE BONES LIVE? THE BONES ONLY COME TO LIFE WHEN BREATH ENTERS INTO THEM. THE MODEL OF GOD AS SPIRIT, THUS CONVEYS THE FUNDAMENTAL INSIGHT THAT GOD IS THE ONE WHO GIVES LIFE, EVEN THE ONE WHO IS ABLE IS ABLE TO BRING THE DEAD BACK TO LIFE.
SPIRIT AS CHARISM: THE TECHNICAL TERM " CHARISM" REFERS TO THE FILLING OF AN INDIVIDUAL WITH THE SPIRIT OF GOD, BY WHICH THE PERSON IN QUESTION IS ENABLED TO PERFORM TASKS WHICH WOULD OTHER WISE BE IMPOSSIBLE.
THE OLD TESTAMENT DOES NOT OFFER MUCH IN THE WAY OF CLARIFICATION CONCERNING THE MANNER IN WHICH THE PROPHETS WERE INSPIRED, GUIDED, OR MOTIVATED BY THE HOLY SPIRIT.
NOW WHAT DOES THE HOLY SPIRIT DO? THE CHRISTIAN TRADITION HAS GENERALLY UNDERSTOOD THE WORK OF THE HOLY SPIRIT TO FOCUS ON THREE BROAD AREAS: REVELATION, THIS IS THE PIVOTAL ROLE OF THE SPIRIT IN RELATION TO THE MAKING GOD KNOWN TO HUMANITY. IN 1536 MARTIN BAUCER ARGUES THAT REVELATION CANNOT OCCUR WITHOUT THE ASSISTANCE OF GOD'S SPIRIT.
BEFORE WE BELIEVE IN GOD AND ARE INSPIRED BY THE HOLY SPIRIT, WE ARE UNSPIRITUAL AND FOR THAT REASON WE ARE COMPLETELY UNABLE TO APPREHEND ANYTHING RELATING TO GOD. SO ALL WISDOM AND RIGHTEOUSNESS WHICH WE POSSESS IN THE ABSENCE OF THE HOLY SPIRIT ARE THE DARKNESS AND SHADOW OF DEATH. THE TASK OF THE HOLY SPIRIT IS TO LEAD US INTO GOD'S TRUTH; WITHOUT (THAT SPIRIT; TRUTH REMAINS ELUSIVE). , AND HAS ITS ORIGINS IN THE BIBLE ITSELF, MOST NOTABLY THE AFFIRMATION THAT EVERY SCRIPTURE IS GOD- BREATHED ( 1 TIM. 3:16).
THE GALLIC CONFESION (1599) ILLUSTRATES THIS POINT WELL. WE KNOW THESE BOOKS TO BE CANONICAL , AND THE SURE RULE OF OUR FAITH, NOT SO MUCH BY THE COMMON ACCORD AND CONSENT OF THE CHURCH, AS BY THE TESTIMONY AND INWARD PERSUASION OF THE HOLY SPIRIT, WHICH ENABLES US TO DISTINGUISH FROM OTHER ECCLESIASTICAL BOOKS WHICH HOWEVER USEFUL, CAN NEVER BECOME THE BASIS FOR ANY ARTICLES OF FAITH. NOW APPLIED TO CHRISTIAN LIFE, THE HOLY SPIRIT PLAYS AN ESPECIALLY IMPORTANT ROLE IN RELATION TO THE CHRISTIAN LIFE PLAYING A MAJOR ROLE IN ESTABLISHMENT OF A LIVING RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN CHRIST AND THE BELIEVER.
ALL OF US WHO HAVE RECEIVED THE ONE AND THE SAME SPIRIT, THAT IS THE HOLY SPIRIT, ARE IN A SENSE MERGED TOGETHER WITH ONE ANOTHER AND WITH GOD. JUST AS THE POWER OF THE HOLY FLESH OF CHRIST UNITED THOSE IN WHOM IT DWELLS INTO ONE BODY. THE HOLY SPIRIT WON'T ALWAYS REMOVE OBSTACLES, BUT HE WILL GIVE US STRENGTH TO OVER COME THEM TAKE A BOLD STEP, AND LET THE HOLY SPIRIT GUIDE YOU THROUGH.
NOW THE HOLY SPIRIT HAS LONG BEEN THE CINDERELLA OF THE TRINITY. THE OTHER TWO SISTERS MAY HAVE GONE TO THE THEOLOGICAL BALL, BUT, THE HOLY SPIRIT HAS BEEN LEFT BEHIND EVERY TIME. LETS LOOK AT SOME OF THE MODELS OF THE "HOLY SPIRIT." JOHN TELL US IN JOHN 4:24, " GOD IS SPIRIT: AND THEY THAT WORSHIP HIM MUST WORSHIP HIM IN SPIRIT AND TRUTH. WHAT DOES THIS TELL US ABOUT GOD? THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE USES AT LEAST THREE WORDS- " WIND, BREATH, AND SPIRIT, TO TRANSLATE A SINGLE HEBREW TERM, RUACH. THIS IMPORTANT HEBREW WORD HAS A DEPTH OF MEANING WHICH IT IS VIRTUALLY IMPOSSIBLE TO REPRODUCE IN ENGLISH. RUACH, TRADITIONALLY TRANSLATED SIMPLY AS "SPIRIT." IS ASSOCIATED WITH A RANGE OF MEANINGS, EACH OF WHICH CAST SOME LIGHT ON THE COMPLEX ASSOCIATIONS OF CHRISTIAN NOTION OF THE HOLY SPIRIT.
SPIRIT AS WIND: THE OLD TESTAMENT WRITERS ARE CAREFUL NOT TO IDENTIFY GOD WITH WIND, AND THUS REDUCE GOD TO A LEVEL OF A NATURAL FORCE. NEVERTHELESS, A PARALLEL IS DRAWN BETWEEN THE POWER OF THE WIND AND THAT OF GOD. TO SPEAK OF GOD AS SPIRIT IS TO CALL TO MIND THE SURGING ENERGY OF THE "LORD OF HOSTS," AND REMIND ISRAEL OF THE POWER AND DYNAMISM OF THE GOD WHO HAD CALLED ISRAEL OUT OF EGYPT. THIS IMAGE OF THE SPIRIT AS REDEMPTIVE POWER IS PERHAPS STATED IN ITS MOST SIGNIFICENT FORM IN THE ACCOUNT OF THE EXODUS: 14:21). HERE, THE IDEA OF RUACH CONVEYS BOTH THE POWER AND REDEMPTIVE PURPOSE OF GOD.
IT MUST BE REMEMBERED THAT ISRAEL BORDED THE MEDITERRANEAN SEA ON THE WEST, AND THE GREAT DESERTS ON THE EAST AND WHEN THE WIND BLEW FROM THE EAST, IT WAS EXPERIENCED AS A MIST OF FINE SAND WHICH SCORCHED VEGETATION AND PARCHED THE LAND. TRAVELERS ACCOUNTS OF THESE WINDS SPEAK OF THE REMARKABLE FORCE AND POWER. EVEN THE LIGHT OF THE SUN IS OBLITERATED BY THE SAND STORM THROWN UP BY THE WIND. THE WIND WAS SEEN BY THE BIBLICAL WRITERS AS A MODEL FOR THE WAY IN WHICH GOD DEMOSTRATED THE FINITUDE AND TRANSITORINESS OF THE CREATION.
ISAIAH TELLS US " THE GRASS WITHERS AND FLOWERS FALL, WHEN THE BREATH OF THE LORD BLOWS ON THEM. JUST AS THE SCORCHING EAST WIND, LIKE THE ARABIAN SIROCCO, DESTROYED PLANTS AND GRASS, SO GOD WAS UNDERSTOOD TO DESTROY HUMAN PRIDE- PSALM 103:15-18- JEREMIAH 4: 11. JUST AS PLANTS SPRING UP, FRESH AND GREEN, ONLY TO BE WITHERED BEFORE THE HOT DESERT WIND, SO HUMAN EMPIRES RISE ONLY TO FALL BEFORE THE FACE OF GOD.
AT THE TIME THE PROPHET ISAIAH WAS WRITING, ISRAEL WAS HELD CAPTIVE IN BABYLON. GOD IS COMPARED BY THE OLD TESTAMENT WRITERS TO THE RAIN BROUGHT BY THE WESTERN WIND. SPIRIT IS BREATH: THE IDEA OF SPIRIT IS ASSOCIATED WITH LIFE. WHEN GOD CREATED ADAM, GOD BREATHED INTO HIM THE BREATH OF LIFE, AS A RESULT OF WHICH BECAME A LIVING BEING ( GENESIS 2;70). THE BASIC DIFFERENCE BETEEN LIVING AND A DEAD HUMAN BEING IS THAT THE FORMER BREATHES AND THE LATTER DOES NOT. THIS LED TO THE IDEA THAT LIFE WAS DEPENDANT UPON BREATH. GOD IS THE ONE WHO BREATHES THE BREATH OF LIFE INTO EMPTY SHELLS, AND BRINGS THEM TO LIFE. GOD BROUGHT ADAM TO LIFE BY BREATHING INTO HIM. THE FAMOUS VISION OF THE VALLEY OF THE DRY BONES IN THE BOOK OF (EZEKIEL 37: 1:14) ALSO ILLUSTRATES THIS POINT.
CAN THESE LIVE BONES LIVE? THE BONES ONLY COME TO LIFE WHEN BREATH ENTERS INTO THEM. THE MODEL OF GOD AS SPIRIT, THUS CONVEYS THE FUNDAMENTAL INSIGHT THAT GOD IS THE ONE WHO GIVES LIFE, EVEN THE ONE WHO IS ABLE IS ABLE TO BRING THE DEAD BACK TO LIFE.
SPIRIT AS CHARISM: THE TECHNICAL TERM " CHARISM" REFERS TO THE FILLING OF AN INDIVIDUAL WITH THE SPIRIT OF GOD, BY WHICH THE PERSON IN QUESTION IS ENABLED TO PERFORM TASKS WHICH WOULD OTHER WISE BE IMPOSSIBLE.
THE OLD TESTAMENT DOES NOT OFFER MUCH IN THE WAY OF CLARIFICATION CONCERNING THE MANNER IN WHICH THE PROPHETS WERE INSPIRED, GUIDED, OR MOTIVATED BY THE HOLY SPIRIT.
NOW WHAT DOES THE HOLY SPIRIT DO? THE CHRISTIAN TRADITION HAS GENERALLY UNDERSTOOD THE WORK OF THE HOLY SPIRIT TO FOCUS ON THREE BROAD AREAS: REVELATION, THIS IS THE PIVOTAL ROLE OF THE SPIRIT IN RELATION TO THE MAKING GOD KNOWN TO HUMANITY. IN 1536 MARTIN BAUCER ARGUES THAT REVELATION CANNOT OCCUR WITHOUT THE ASSISTANCE OF GOD'S SPIRIT.
BEFORE WE BELIEVE IN GOD AND ARE INSPIRED BY THE HOLY SPIRIT, WE ARE UNSPIRITUAL AND FOR THAT REASON WE ARE COMPLETELY UNABLE TO APPREHEND ANYTHING RELATING TO GOD. SO ALL WISDOM AND RIGHTEOUSNESS WHICH WE POSSESS IN THE ABSENCE OF THE HOLY SPIRIT ARE THE DARKNESS AND SHADOW OF DEATH. THE TASK OF THE HOLY SPIRIT IS TO LEAD US INTO GOD'S TRUTH; WITHOUT (THAT SPIRIT; TRUTH REMAINS ELUSIVE). , AND HAS ITS ORIGINS IN THE BIBLE ITSELF, MOST NOTABLY THE AFFIRMATION THAT EVERY SCRIPTURE IS GOD- BREATHED ( 1 TIM. 3:16).
THE GALLIC CONFESION (1599) ILLUSTRATES THIS POINT WELL. WE KNOW THESE BOOKS TO BE CANONICAL , AND THE SURE RULE OF OUR FAITH, NOT SO MUCH BY THE COMMON ACCORD AND CONSENT OF THE CHURCH, AS BY THE TESTIMONY AND INWARD PERSUASION OF THE HOLY SPIRIT, WHICH ENABLES US TO DISTINGUISH FROM OTHER ECCLESIASTICAL BOOKS WHICH HOWEVER USEFUL, CAN NEVER BECOME THE BASIS FOR ANY ARTICLES OF FAITH. NOW APPLIED TO CHRISTIAN LIFE, THE HOLY SPIRIT PLAYS AN ESPECIALLY IMPORTANT ROLE IN RELATION TO THE CHRISTIAN LIFE PLAYING A MAJOR ROLE IN ESTABLISHMENT OF A LIVING RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN CHRIST AND THE BELIEVER.
ALL OF US WHO HAVE RECEIVED THE ONE AND THE SAME SPIRIT, THAT IS THE HOLY SPIRIT, ARE IN A SENSE MERGED TOGETHER WITH ONE ANOTHER AND WITH GOD. JUST AS THE POWER OF THE HOLY FLESH OF CHRIST UNITED THOSE IN WHOM IT DWELLS INTO ONE BODY. THE HOLY SPIRIT WON'T ALWAYS REMOVE OBSTACLES, BUT HE WILL GIVE US STRENGTH TO OVER COME THEM TAKE A BOLD STEP, AND LET THE HOLY SPIRIT GUIDE YOU THROUGH.
Tuesday, October 10, 2017
Transfiguration of OUR LORD. LUKE 9: 29-36. GREAT STORY!
There IS A STORY OF THIS ONE FAMILY WHO HAD TO DEAL AT SPRINGTIME WITH A FAMILY OF RACCOONS, THAT FOUND THIER THEY WAY INTO THE FAMILY'S BACK YARD, AND AT MEAL TIMES, THEY WOULD WASH THEIR FOOD IN THE FAMILY'S SWIMMING POOL. THE STORY GOES THAT THE FIRST TIME THEY CAME AS FURRY, FUNNY ANIMALS. THEY WERE AN AMAZEMENT TO THE FAMILYS SON, WHO AT THIS TIME WAS LEARNING SOME WONDERFUL TRUTH'S IN SUNDAY SCHOOL. ONE NIGHT HE PRAYED, " DEAR LORD THANK YOU THAT WORMS TURN INTO RACCOONS, AND THAT RACCOONS TURN INTO BUTTERLIES. " THEN STILL WITH EYES CLOSED TIGHTLY SHUT. HE SHOOK HIS HEAD AND SAID,' LORD I DON'T KNOW HOW THEY DO IT!"
THE PROCESS OF METAMORPHOSIS IS TRULY AN AMAZING THING, AND THAT PROCESS IS WHAT WE DISCOVER WAS HAPPENING TO JESUS IN LUKE'S GOSPEL TEXT. THE WORD TRANSFIGURED ( SOMETIMES TRANSLATED TRANSFORMED) IN THE GREEK. IS METAMORPHOO, FROM WHICH WE GET OUR ENGLISH WORD METAMORPHOSIS. WHAT HAPPPENED TO JESUS CHRIST IN THE TRANSFIGURATION IS MORE MYSTERIOUS AND WONDERFUL THAN MOST OF US HAVE DREAMED.
FIRST, LOOK WITH ME AT THE CRUCIAL TIMING OF THE TRANSFIGURATION. SOME EIGHT DAYS AFTER THESE SAYING (LUKE 9:28), AND HE TOOK PETER, AND JOHN AND JAMES AND WENT UP ON THE MOUNTAIN TO PRAY. WHAT WERE THE "SAYING'S THAT PRECEDED THE TRANSFIGURATION OF JESUS? WELL FOR INSTANCE,
IN VERSES 18-20: " AND IT CAME ABOUT THAT WHILE HE WAS PRAYING ALONE, THE DISCIPLES WERE WITH HIM, AND HE QUESTION THEM, SAYING" WHO DO THE MULTITUDES SAY THAT I AM? THEY ANSWERED AND SAID, " JOHN THE BAPTIST; BUT OTHERS SAY, ELIJAH; AND OTHERS, THAT ONE OF THE PROPHETS OF OLD HAS RISEN AGAIN.." PETER ANSWERED AND SAID, " THE CHRIST OF GOD." THEN PETER BLOWS IT. THIS SHALL NEVER HAPPEN TO YOU. ( SPEAKING OF HIS DEATH AT JERUSALEM). THINKING ABOUT THE SWORD THAT WAS HANGING AT HIS SIDE NO DOUBT, SURE THAT LIVING IS EVERYTHING AND DEATH MEANS DEFEAT. THAT DYING FOR OTHERS MEANS HAVE NOTHING FOR SELF. WE THINK JESUS WAS TOO STRONG IN REBUKING PETER, WHEN HE SAYS: " GET THEE BEHIND ME SATAN! YOU ARE A HINDRANCE TO ME; FOR YOU ARE NOT ON THE SIDE GOD, BUT OF MEN.
THIS STATEMENT WAS A GREAT MILESTONE, AND IT WAS ABOUT EIGHT DAY'S AFTER THIS STATEMENT THAT JESUS WAS TRANSFIGURED.
ANOTHER SAYING THAT PRECEDED THE TRANSFIGURATION WAS THAT FOR THE FIRST TIME JESUS TOLD HIS DISCIPLES THAT HE WOULD DIE AND RISE AGAIN. OF COURSE THIS NEWS WAS SHOCKING TO THEM. " THE SON OF MAN MUST SUFFER MANY THINGS, AND BE REJECTED BY THE ELDERS AND CHIEF PRIESTS AND SCRIBES, AND BE KILLED, AND BE RAISED UP ON THE THIRD DAY." (LUKE 9:22).
NOW MARK'S GOSPEL SAYS THAT WHEN JESUS PREDICTED HIS DEATH AND RESURRECTION, PETER TOOK HIM ASIDE AND BEGAN TO REBUKE HIM. CAN YOU IMAGINE THAT? HE BEGAN TO REBUKE THE ONE WHO WOULD SOON SIT ON THE GREAT THRONE OF JUDGMENT AND REBUKE WHOLE NATIONS AND KINGDOMS AND
PRINCIPALITIES AND POWERS AND IN HEAVEN AND ON EARTH. PETER HAD NO IDEA YET OF GOD'S PURPOSE IN THE CROSS, BUT IN HIS REBUKE HE WAS STANDING WITH THE FORCES THAT HAD STRUGGLED FOR AGES PAST TO KEEP THE SON OF GOD FROM DYING FOR THE SINS OF THE WORLD. AND JESUS " LET HIM HAVE IT." HE SAID GET THEE BEHIND ME SATAN! HE WAS SAYING, ' PETER, YOU ARE DOING THE DEVIL'S WORK. YOU ARE BEING HIS MOUTHPIECE, BECAUSE THE DEVIL DOESN'T WANT JESUS TO GO TO THE CROSS, EITHER. THEN THE THREE DISCIPLES WERE TAKEN UP INTO THE MOUNTAIN WITH JESUS ALONE. DO YOU NOTICE THAT EVEN AFTER JESUS HAD SO SEVERLY REBUKED PETER, HE NEVER THE-LESS TOOK HIM UP INTO THE MOUNTAIN TO BE ALONE WITH HIM AND TO LET HIM IN ON ONE OF THE MOST GLORIOUS EVENTS OF ALL. THIS SHOULD TELL US, THAT JESUS HAD AND PLAN FOR PETER, AND HE HAS A PLAN FOR US. AS WE LOOK AT THE SCRIPTURE'S ACCOUNT OF THIS AMAZING HAPPENING, HOW IMPORTANT THE WORD'S IN VERSE 28, " JESUS WENT UP TO THE MOUNTAIN TO PRAY." IN FACT VERSE 29 SAYS THAT HE WAS TRANSFIGURED "WHILE PRAYING." MUCH WAS NEEDED TO
BE DONE, AN THE DISCIPLES NEEDED TO BE TAUGHT AND TO BE ENCOURAGED, AND I'M SURE WHEN JESUS WAS PRAYING THAT THE NEED WAS MET IN THE MIDDLE OF THAT PRAYER BY THE TRANSFIGURATION. YOU SEE PRAYER IS NOT SOMETHING YOU DO BEFORE YOU ACT. PRAYER IS ACTION ITSELF IN WHICH GOD MOVES THE WORLD.
THE TRANSFIGURATION, WITH THE CRUCIAL NATURE, WHICH ( WHICH LUKE 9:29 SAYS, WHILE HE WAS PRAYNG, THE APPEARANCE OF HIS FACE BECAME DIFFERENT,
BECOMING WHITE AN GLEAMING.
PETER, JAMES, AND JOHN WERE THE ONLY THREE DISCIPLES ALLOWED TO VIEW THIS WONDERFUL EVENT. THE GOSPELS OF MATTHEW AND MARK TELL HOE JESUS GAVE ORDERS NOT TO RELATE TO ANTONE WHAT THEY HAD SEEN, UNTILTHE SON OF MAN SHOULD RISE FROM THE DEAD. I'M SURE THEY WERE BURSTING TO TELL IT.
JOHN WROTE: " THE WORD BECAME FLESH, AND DWELT AMONG US AND THEY BEHELD HIS GLORY OF THE ONLY BEGOTTEN FROM THE FATHER, FULL OF GRACE AND TRUTH (JOHN 1;14).
THE PROCESS OF METAMORPHOSIS IS TRULY AN AMAZING THING, AND THAT PROCESS IS WHAT WE DISCOVER WAS HAPPENING TO JESUS IN LUKE'S GOSPEL TEXT. THE WORD TRANSFIGURED ( SOMETIMES TRANSLATED TRANSFORMED) IN THE GREEK. IS METAMORPHOO, FROM WHICH WE GET OUR ENGLISH WORD METAMORPHOSIS. WHAT HAPPPENED TO JESUS CHRIST IN THE TRANSFIGURATION IS MORE MYSTERIOUS AND WONDERFUL THAN MOST OF US HAVE DREAMED.
FIRST, LOOK WITH ME AT THE CRUCIAL TIMING OF THE TRANSFIGURATION. SOME EIGHT DAYS AFTER THESE SAYING (LUKE 9:28), AND HE TOOK PETER, AND JOHN AND JAMES AND WENT UP ON THE MOUNTAIN TO PRAY. WHAT WERE THE "SAYING'S THAT PRECEDED THE TRANSFIGURATION OF JESUS? WELL FOR INSTANCE,
IN VERSES 18-20: " AND IT CAME ABOUT THAT WHILE HE WAS PRAYING ALONE, THE DISCIPLES WERE WITH HIM, AND HE QUESTION THEM, SAYING" WHO DO THE MULTITUDES SAY THAT I AM? THEY ANSWERED AND SAID, " JOHN THE BAPTIST; BUT OTHERS SAY, ELIJAH; AND OTHERS, THAT ONE OF THE PROPHETS OF OLD HAS RISEN AGAIN.." PETER ANSWERED AND SAID, " THE CHRIST OF GOD." THEN PETER BLOWS IT. THIS SHALL NEVER HAPPEN TO YOU. ( SPEAKING OF HIS DEATH AT JERUSALEM). THINKING ABOUT THE SWORD THAT WAS HANGING AT HIS SIDE NO DOUBT, SURE THAT LIVING IS EVERYTHING AND DEATH MEANS DEFEAT. THAT DYING FOR OTHERS MEANS HAVE NOTHING FOR SELF. WE THINK JESUS WAS TOO STRONG IN REBUKING PETER, WHEN HE SAYS: " GET THEE BEHIND ME SATAN! YOU ARE A HINDRANCE TO ME; FOR YOU ARE NOT ON THE SIDE GOD, BUT OF MEN.
THIS STATEMENT WAS A GREAT MILESTONE, AND IT WAS ABOUT EIGHT DAY'S AFTER THIS STATEMENT THAT JESUS WAS TRANSFIGURED.
ANOTHER SAYING THAT PRECEDED THE TRANSFIGURATION WAS THAT FOR THE FIRST TIME JESUS TOLD HIS DISCIPLES THAT HE WOULD DIE AND RISE AGAIN. OF COURSE THIS NEWS WAS SHOCKING TO THEM. " THE SON OF MAN MUST SUFFER MANY THINGS, AND BE REJECTED BY THE ELDERS AND CHIEF PRIESTS AND SCRIBES, AND BE KILLED, AND BE RAISED UP ON THE THIRD DAY." (LUKE 9:22).
NOW MARK'S GOSPEL SAYS THAT WHEN JESUS PREDICTED HIS DEATH AND RESURRECTION, PETER TOOK HIM ASIDE AND BEGAN TO REBUKE HIM. CAN YOU IMAGINE THAT? HE BEGAN TO REBUKE THE ONE WHO WOULD SOON SIT ON THE GREAT THRONE OF JUDGMENT AND REBUKE WHOLE NATIONS AND KINGDOMS AND
PRINCIPALITIES AND POWERS AND IN HEAVEN AND ON EARTH. PETER HAD NO IDEA YET OF GOD'S PURPOSE IN THE CROSS, BUT IN HIS REBUKE HE WAS STANDING WITH THE FORCES THAT HAD STRUGGLED FOR AGES PAST TO KEEP THE SON OF GOD FROM DYING FOR THE SINS OF THE WORLD. AND JESUS " LET HIM HAVE IT." HE SAID GET THEE BEHIND ME SATAN! HE WAS SAYING, ' PETER, YOU ARE DOING THE DEVIL'S WORK. YOU ARE BEING HIS MOUTHPIECE, BECAUSE THE DEVIL DOESN'T WANT JESUS TO GO TO THE CROSS, EITHER. THEN THE THREE DISCIPLES WERE TAKEN UP INTO THE MOUNTAIN WITH JESUS ALONE. DO YOU NOTICE THAT EVEN AFTER JESUS HAD SO SEVERLY REBUKED PETER, HE NEVER THE-LESS TOOK HIM UP INTO THE MOUNTAIN TO BE ALONE WITH HIM AND TO LET HIM IN ON ONE OF THE MOST GLORIOUS EVENTS OF ALL. THIS SHOULD TELL US, THAT JESUS HAD AND PLAN FOR PETER, AND HE HAS A PLAN FOR US. AS WE LOOK AT THE SCRIPTURE'S ACCOUNT OF THIS AMAZING HAPPENING, HOW IMPORTANT THE WORD'S IN VERSE 28, " JESUS WENT UP TO THE MOUNTAIN TO PRAY." IN FACT VERSE 29 SAYS THAT HE WAS TRANSFIGURED "WHILE PRAYING." MUCH WAS NEEDED TO
BE DONE, AN THE DISCIPLES NEEDED TO BE TAUGHT AND TO BE ENCOURAGED, AND I'M SURE WHEN JESUS WAS PRAYING THAT THE NEED WAS MET IN THE MIDDLE OF THAT PRAYER BY THE TRANSFIGURATION. YOU SEE PRAYER IS NOT SOMETHING YOU DO BEFORE YOU ACT. PRAYER IS ACTION ITSELF IN WHICH GOD MOVES THE WORLD.
THE TRANSFIGURATION, WITH THE CRUCIAL NATURE, WHICH ( WHICH LUKE 9:29 SAYS, WHILE HE WAS PRAYNG, THE APPEARANCE OF HIS FACE BECAME DIFFERENT,
BECOMING WHITE AN GLEAMING.
PETER, JAMES, AND JOHN WERE THE ONLY THREE DISCIPLES ALLOWED TO VIEW THIS WONDERFUL EVENT. THE GOSPELS OF MATTHEW AND MARK TELL HOE JESUS GAVE ORDERS NOT TO RELATE TO ANTONE WHAT THEY HAD SEEN, UNTILTHE SON OF MAN SHOULD RISE FROM THE DEAD. I'M SURE THEY WERE BURSTING TO TELL IT.
JOHN WROTE: " THE WORD BECAME FLESH, AND DWELT AMONG US AND THEY BEHELD HIS GLORY OF THE ONLY BEGOTTEN FROM THE FATHER, FULL OF GRACE AND TRUTH (JOHN 1;14).
Friday, October 6, 2017
Sixth Chapter of St John
Let us look immediately after the Gospel story. St, John tells us how our Lord had just worked two spectacular miracles; He had fed a multitude containing five thousand men, and He had walked on water of the sea of Galilee and quelled a storm. Having returned to Capharnaum, He was sought out by the Jews, whom immediately asked, " Master, when did thou come here? Our Lord fully aware of their sincerity, replied: " " If you are looking for me now, it is not because of the miracles you have seen; it is because you were fed with loaves, and had your fill." And he went on to demand their faith: " This is the service God asks of you, to believe in the man whom he sent." They replied by demanding a sign. Moses had given manna inn the desert, could Jesus do something comparable to assert His superiority? He replied: " The bread that comes from heaven is not what Moses gave you The real bread from heaven is given only by my Father.. It is I who am the bread of life.; he who comes to me will never be hungry, he who has faith in me enjoys eternal life.It is I who am the bread of life, your fathers, who at manna in the desert, died none the less; the bread which comes down from heaven is such that he who eats it never dies. I myself am the living bread that has come down from heaven. If any one eats of this bread ( believes in me , whom the father has sent) he shall live forever. And now, what is this bread which I am going to give? It is my flesh, given for the life of the world.
There was an uproar. The Jews realized this was incapable of a metaphorical explanation and so, with perfect logic, they sked: " how can this man give us this flesh to eat?" Jesus answered clearly and emphatically: Believe in me when I tell you this: you can have no life in yourselves, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man, and drink his blood. the man who eats my flesh and drinks my blood enjoys eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day. As I live because of the Father, the Living Father who has sent me, so he who eats me, will live, in his turn, because of me. This is the bread which has come down from heaven; But this promise had to be accepted literally! This was more than enough for the Jews. Jesus answered their challenge by repeating what He had said, that their was not the slightest doubt, that hw meant them to take him literally. He made a solid statement: "Believe me when I tell you this." Six times in as many verses He repeated His statement: to bring out the true meaning: " my flesh is real food, my blood is real drink. He carefully distinguished between eating his body and drinking His blood, which distinction would have been without purpose
if he was only speaking metaphorically. In any case, the only figurative meaning eating another's flesh and drinking his blood in the language used in Our Lord's time was to hate or injure another.
As with Nicodemus, when Jesus had been using metaphors, He quickly explained His true meaning.
There was no metaphor to explain away, "This is strange talk," the Jews said, "" Who can be expected to listen to this? After this many of the disciples went back to their old ways, and walked no more in his company." Jesus let them go. If any mitigation of His teaching had been possible He was surely bound, to call them back and explain their error. Instead He turned to the Apostles: " Would
you, too, go away?" He asked. " Simon Peter answered him,? Lord to whom should we go? You have words of eternal life; we have learned to believe, and are assured that " Thou art the Christ,
the Son of God."
There was an uproar. The Jews realized this was incapable of a metaphorical explanation and so, with perfect logic, they sked: " how can this man give us this flesh to eat?" Jesus answered clearly and emphatically: Believe in me when I tell you this: you can have no life in yourselves, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man, and drink his blood. the man who eats my flesh and drinks my blood enjoys eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day. As I live because of the Father, the Living Father who has sent me, so he who eats me, will live, in his turn, because of me. This is the bread which has come down from heaven; But this promise had to be accepted literally! This was more than enough for the Jews. Jesus answered their challenge by repeating what He had said, that their was not the slightest doubt, that hw meant them to take him literally. He made a solid statement: "Believe me when I tell you this." Six times in as many verses He repeated His statement: to bring out the true meaning: " my flesh is real food, my blood is real drink. He carefully distinguished between eating his body and drinking His blood, which distinction would have been without purpose
if he was only speaking metaphorically. In any case, the only figurative meaning eating another's flesh and drinking his blood in the language used in Our Lord's time was to hate or injure another.
As with Nicodemus, when Jesus had been using metaphors, He quickly explained His true meaning.
There was no metaphor to explain away, "This is strange talk," the Jews said, "" Who can be expected to listen to this? After this many of the disciples went back to their old ways, and walked no more in his company." Jesus let them go. If any mitigation of His teaching had been possible He was surely bound, to call them back and explain their error. Instead He turned to the Apostles: " Would
you, too, go away?" He asked. " Simon Peter answered him,? Lord to whom should we go? You have words of eternal life; we have learned to believe, and are assured that " Thou art the Christ,
the Son of God."
Tuesday, October 3, 2017
"A VIRTUOUS WOMEN WHO CAN FIND?
A virtuous women who can find?
For her price is far above rubies.
The heart of her husband trusteth in her,
And he will have no lack of gain.
She doeth him good and not evil
All the days of her life..
She seeketh wool and flax
And work willingly with her hands.
She is like the merchant ships;
She bringeth her food from afar.
She riseth also while it is yet night,
And giveth meat to her household,
And their task to her maidens
She considereth a field, and buyeth it:
With the fruit of her hands she planted a vineyard.
She girdeth her loins with strength,
And maketh strong her arms.
She perceiveth that her merchandise is profitable:
Her lamp goeth not out by night.
She layeth her hands to the distaff,
And her hands hold the spindle.
She spreadeth out her hand to the poor;
Yea, she reacheth forth her hands to the needy.
She is not afraid of the snow for her household;
For all her household are clothed with scarlet
She maketh for herself carpets of tapestry;
Her clothing is fine linen and purple.
Her husband is known in the gates.
When he sitteth among the elders of the land.
She maketh linen garments and selleth them;
And deliverth girdles unto the merchant.
Strength and dignity are her clothing;
And She laugheth at time to come.
She openeth her mouth with wisdom;
And the law of kindness is on her tongue.
She looketh well to the ways of her household,
And eateth not the bread of idleness
Her children rise up, and call her blessed;
Her husband also, praiseth her saying;
" Many daughters have done virtuously,
But thou excellest them all."
Favor is deceitful, beauty is vain:
But a women that feareth the Lord,
shall be praised.
Give her of the fruits of her hands;
And let her works praise her in the gates.
AMEN
For her price is far above rubies.
The heart of her husband trusteth in her,
And he will have no lack of gain.
She doeth him good and not evil
All the days of her life..
She seeketh wool and flax
And work willingly with her hands.
She is like the merchant ships;
She bringeth her food from afar.
She riseth also while it is yet night,
And giveth meat to her household,
And their task to her maidens
She considereth a field, and buyeth it:
With the fruit of her hands she planted a vineyard.
She girdeth her loins with strength,
And maketh strong her arms.
She perceiveth that her merchandise is profitable:
Her lamp goeth not out by night.
She layeth her hands to the distaff,
And her hands hold the spindle.
She spreadeth out her hand to the poor;
Yea, she reacheth forth her hands to the needy.
She is not afraid of the snow for her household;
For all her household are clothed with scarlet
She maketh for herself carpets of tapestry;
Her clothing is fine linen and purple.
Her husband is known in the gates.
When he sitteth among the elders of the land.
She maketh linen garments and selleth them;
And deliverth girdles unto the merchant.
Strength and dignity are her clothing;
And She laugheth at time to come.
She openeth her mouth with wisdom;
And the law of kindness is on her tongue.
She looketh well to the ways of her household,
And eateth not the bread of idleness
Her children rise up, and call her blessed;
Her husband also, praiseth her saying;
" Many daughters have done virtuously,
But thou excellest them all."
Favor is deceitful, beauty is vain:
But a women that feareth the Lord,
shall be praised.
Give her of the fruits of her hands;
And let her works praise her in the gates.
AMEN
The VISION OF ZACHARIAH. "The Agel in the Myrtle Trees."
UPON THE FOUR AND TWENTIETH DAY of the eleventh month, which is the month Sebat, in the second year of Darius, came the word of the Lord unto Zachariah , the son of Berechiah, the son of Iddo the prophet, saying, I saw by night, and beheld a man riding upon a red Horse, and he stood among the myrtle trees that were in the bottom; and behind him were there red horses, speckled, and white. Then I said I 'O my Lord, what are these?' And the Angel that talked with me said unto me, ' I will show thee what these be'. "And the man that stood among the myrtle trees answered and said, "These are they whom the Lord hath sent to walk to and fro through the earth And they answered the angel of the Lord that stood among the myrtle trees, and said, "We have walked to and fro through the earth, and behold, all the earth sitteth still, and is at rest."
"Then the angel of the Lord answered and said, 'O lord of hosts, how long wilt thou not have mercy on Jerusalem and on the cities of Judah, against which thou hast had indignation these threescore and ten years? And the lord answered the angel that talked with good words and comfortable words. So the angel the communed with me said unto me, 'Cry thou saying, ' thus saith the Lord of hosts: I am a jealous for Jerusalem and for Zion with a great jealousy. And I am very sore displeased with the heathen that are at ease: and they helped forward the affliction. Therefore thus saith the Lord. ; 'I am returned to Jerusalem with mercies: my house shall be built in it, saith the Lord of hosts. and a line shall stretched forth upon Jerusalem. " Cry yet 'My Cities through prosperity." Then I lifted up my eyes, and beheld four horns, which have scattered Judah, Israel, and Jerusalem.
And the Lord showed me four carpenters,what have these come to do. and he said to me "To measure Jerusalem, to see what is the breadth thereof and a angel that talked with me went forth, and another angel went out to meet him, and said to him, ' Run, speak to this ' For I say as towns without walls for the multitude of cattle and multitude of men. young man, saying, " Jerusalem shall be inhabited. For I the Lord saith, 'I will be unto her a wall of fire round about, and will be the glory in the midst of her.
"Then the angel of the Lord answered and said, 'O lord of hosts, how long wilt thou not have mercy on Jerusalem and on the cities of Judah, against which thou hast had indignation these threescore and ten years? And the lord answered the angel that talked with good words and comfortable words. So the angel the communed with me said unto me, 'Cry thou saying, ' thus saith the Lord of hosts: I am a jealous for Jerusalem and for Zion with a great jealousy. And I am very sore displeased with the heathen that are at ease: and they helped forward the affliction. Therefore thus saith the Lord. ; 'I am returned to Jerusalem with mercies: my house shall be built in it, saith the Lord of hosts. and a line shall stretched forth upon Jerusalem. " Cry yet 'My Cities through prosperity." Then I lifted up my eyes, and beheld four horns, which have scattered Judah, Israel, and Jerusalem.
And the Lord showed me four carpenters,what have these come to do. and he said to me "To measure Jerusalem, to see what is the breadth thereof and a angel that talked with me went forth, and another angel went out to meet him, and said to him, ' Run, speak to this ' For I say as towns without walls for the multitude of cattle and multitude of men. young man, saying, " Jerusalem shall be inhabited. For I the Lord saith, 'I will be unto her a wall of fire round about, and will be the glory in the midst of her.
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