Amazing Patience

In first Corinthians 13, God described love. The first characteristic listed is patience. Why is patience so important? We often equate waiting with patience, There is more to it.  God is where patience originates. God is love.      

Proverbs 14:2 says: He that is slow to wrath is of great understanding: but he that is hasty of spirit exalteth folly. 

To have great understanding is to have the wisdom of God. When we pray, rest should cover our soul no matter what the timetable involved.

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 (mental pressures) also: knowing that tribulation worketh patience;
4 And patience, experience and experience, hope (expectation): 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. Romans 5:4

We get excited when we see God work in our lives and it does something to the heart. Believing God builds believing. God has given us The Word and his spirit to remind us of his promises to those who love him

4 Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust. 5 And beside this, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue (goodness); and to virtue moral knowledge; 6 And to knowledge temperance; and to temperance patience; and to patience godliness; 7 And to godliness brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness charity (love of God) . 2 Peter 1:4-7 The love of God is shed abroad.

Respect

We all have different opinions and belief systems, but America, has, since its inception, stood for respecting the rights of others to believe as they believe, speak as they believe and worship as they believe as long as it doesn't violate natural laws or infringe on others rights. 

Awhile ago a friend of mine brought up an issue that I felt very strongly about because of what I believe about God.  God gave everyone free-will choice; he doesn't force anyone to believe him. As we continued to talk she told me I should respect others beliefs.  That isn't quite true. The real truth is that we should respect the right of others to believe and make free-will choices about what they believe, say and do. For example, if I don't believe in the observance of Lent, I have that right.  However, I do have to respect another's right to believe in it. This is a very unemotional and simplistic example, but there are other issues that evoke huge reactions and very emotional responses. I am well aware of the complexity of our society and there are issues of science and morality that are being tested in the public square. Who is supposed to set the standards of how people treat each other? It is not the government, IRS, the banking system, wall street, cable news, philosophers, social justice warriors, teachers, doctors, psychologists or even theologians that determine what is right and true.

In our conversations with each other, we will always be involved with an exchange of ideas. No two people think alike. We are all different and have had different life experiences and education. If we happen to hear a different idea and demean and act condescendingly to the other person for what they believe, the exchange stops. The word 'woke' falls in that category. It is a dividing single expression that indicates there is an opposite group  that is 'snoozing'. The label, 'woke', is polarizing. When someone opinion is at cross-purposes to what I believe, I have the right to reject it, but that does not mean I belong to a hate group. I don't hate anybody.

4 Charity suffereth long , and is kind; charity envieth not; charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up,5 Doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil;6 Rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth; I Corinthian 13:4-6

 

 

Don't Let Others DefineYou!

Most of the great men and women of the bible weren't flawless people. Paul is such a great example to study. Prior to his real conversion to Jesus Christ, was heavily involved in religion. He was a Hebrew of the Hebrews and had all the right credentials of the culture to be a religious heavy weight. He enforced religious law and persecuted people who did not practice the law and he was ruthless. Yet one day on the road to Damascus he had an encounter with the risen Christ in a vision and his whole life changed..

He had allowed the religion of the culture define him, but somewhere in his heart of hearts he thought he was doing it for God. His education and prestige meant nothing in comparison to who he was to become.

Acts 9:4And he fell to the earth, and heard a voice saying unto him, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me? 5And he said, Who art thou, Lord? And the Lord said, I am Jesus whom thou persecutest: it is hard for thee to kick against the pricks. 6And he trembling and astonished said, Lord, what wilt thou have me to do? And the Lord said unto him, Arise, and go into the city, and it shall be told thee what thou must do.

When he heard the voice of Jesus, I think it is interesting that Paul responded to to Jesus's question by saying "Who art thou LORD?" and further along in the conversion he asked,"LORD, what would you have me to do?"

When Jesus used the phrase, "it is hard for thee to kick against the pricks", he was was using and illustration of the goad that farmers used to keep their animals in line when plowing the fields. The goad wad a stick with a pointed piece of iron on the end of it. The farmer used it to poke an animal in the right direction. When the animal kicked or rebelled against the goad it drove the metal piece into the flesh of the animal. This how evil works.

When a person rebells against God, life gets harder and harder because that person has decided to live without God. The world is full of hardship and problems because of the evil influence that exists since Genesis 3 when Adam and Eve chose to follow another voice in the garden of Eden.

God allows freedom of choice. Man can choose good or evil. Paul had a lot he could feel guilty for. Once Jesus Christ entered the scene he was pulled up and out of the quicksand and was redeemed. His past life could no longer define him. He had something that could really help people. He wrote some of the most important books of the Bible explaining the reality of having Jesus Christ as his Lord.

God wanted Paul to move forward from his past. Evidently God knew his heart and knew he would be the one he wanted to explain grace. When the Christians of that time saw the big change in Paul and heard him teach, they knew something big had happened in his life. He made Jesus Christ his Lord and understood the meaning of the the resurrection of Christ. He tossed aside his great credentials and religious authority as a law-abiding Hebrew to become a new Paul defined by God.  

Strength in the Challenges of the Times

 The most recent election in Virginia proved that something very important is going on in this country.  The election wasn't really about Republicans or Democrats. The real heroes of this election are parents who regardless of their political affiliation or lack there of made their voices known with a righteousness that reverberated across the country. Parents are responsible of their children! The government has no right to determine what is right curriculum for children.  Developing curriculum is an educator's job but it's has its boundaries. Teachers should be aware of what their boundaries are. Teachers are not to force students to accept their ideologies. 

God expects both father and mother to teach their children how to live a godly life and encourages children to listen to them:

My son, hear the instruction of thy father, and forsake not the law of thy mother: Proverbs 1:8

6 Children, obey your parents in the Lord: for this is right. 2 Honour thy father and mother; (which is the first commandment with promise;) 3 that it may be well with thee, and thou mayest live long on the earth. 4 And, ye fathers, provoke not your children to wrath: but bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord.Ephesians 6:1-3

Raising children is especially difficult today in light of the culture we live in.  Anti-God  propaganda  pops up in school curriculum, throughout media programs, and TV shows. How often do TV shows display virtue and morality or give us the answers we need in life.  No entity or  person should take the place of a God-respecting parent who loves God in teaching their children. Sadly  friends or relatives may even disagree. The individual family unit is bombarded with well-meaning advice from many directions.

It is pure joy to see parents standing up and declaring their rights, because they are God-given rights. There is a very strong group in the state I live in and these people may be just what the state has needed for a long long time. One candidate for governor is standing up for parent rights and individual freedoms.  The existing governor just repealed a bill making it ok for minors to keep their parents in the dark about an impending abortion. Such legislation is so wrong on so many levels. It hurts children, disrespects parental care rights, and displays the hubris of government officials who think this is the right thing to do.

It is so great to me that God makes the gift of holy spirit available to every believer in the New Testament era we live in.  In the Old Testament, spirit was give to certain men and women who led God's people. During this wonderful age of grace, men, women, children, dads, moms and people in all walks of life have the ability to hear from God about whatever the situation they are presented with. The whole purpose of God sending his son was to destroy the works of the adversary.The holy spirit is our connection to both God and his son and each other to continue this purpose!

Luther and Justification

 October 31 is Reformation Day commemorating the day in 1517  when Martin Luther tacked up his '95 Theses' on the Castle Church in Wittenburg, Germany. In this document was strong denunciation of the sale of indulgences purported to release people from the penalties of sin. This activity was nothing more than a greedy guise for gain on the part of the corrupt church at that time. The love of money produces all sorts of evil even in ecclesiastical environments. 

Luther took a stand on the principle of justification by faith (Romans 1:17) alone. All the money, indulgences, works, adherence to the law or religious piety in the world could not provide salvation for even one soul. 

We are made whole by believing in God's finished work in Christ. Luther wrote:  
"Sin is not canceled by lawful living, for no person is able to live up to the Law. The Law reveals guilt, fills the conscience with terror, and drives men to despair. Much less is sin taken away by man-invented endeavors. The fact is, the more a person seeks credit for himself by his own efforts, the deeper he goes into debt. Nothing can take away sin except the grace of God. In actual living, however, it is not so easy to persuade oneself that by grace alone, in opposition to every other means, we obtain the forgiveness of our sins and peace with God." (Commentary on Galatians)

Romans 7:4-6 Wherefore, my brethren, ye also are become dead to the law by the body of Christ; that ye should be married to another, even to him who is raised from the dead, that we should bring forth fruit unto God. For when we were in the flesh, the motions of sins, which were by the law, did work in our members to bring forth fruit unto death. But now we are delivered from the law, that being dead wherein we were held; that we should serve in newness of spirit, and not in the oldness of the letter.

There is such freedom as we walk in the newness of life God has provided. We live 'exceedingly abundant' as Ephesians 3:20 relates and we become a breath of fresh air to others when they see our excitement  and confidence in knowing the one true God.

A Deeper Look at the Good Samaritan Parable

Recently I have seen a many articles relating the parable of the good samaritan to some of the cultural issues going on in our country. The border crisis, Afghanistan, Covid 19 mandates, masks, vaccines all seem be topics of many of these articles.

The Good Samaritan parable is actually about the religious law and religious attitudes. The context in which this parable is written is a significant framework for this parable. Chapter 10 in the book of Luke starts out with Jesus sending out the 70 to speak the word and heal people. There are some great instructions about helping and healing people that are interesting to read. The 70 saw great success applying the instructions they were given. Jesus taught them about their attitude in light of what they saw:

19 Behold, I give unto you power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy: and nothing shall by any means hurt you. 20 Notwithstanding in this rejoice not, that the spirits are subject unto you; but rather rejoice, because your names are written in heaven. Luke 10:19-20

Next in Chapter 10, Jesus was questioned by a lawyer who, in that theocratic culture, was a religious leader. Jesus knew that the man was challenging him and responded by putting a question to the lawyer. The Hebrew culture had developed a whole system of laws to hold God's people to the law. This lawyer was fully aware of the Hebrew law. Jesus shared  the parable of the good Samaritan with him and in it, he included a priest and a levite (both religious positions) that had passed by a man who had beaten by robbers. Finally a Samaritan came by and immediately helped the man.

Samaritans were looked down upon in the culture. During the time of the captivity, they had married pagan wives and that was frowned upon of the legalistic religious leaders. Jesus made the point in getting the lawyer to admit who the real neighbor was. The lawyer had wanted some rule to justify himself as to who his neighbor was. Jesus brought out the truth. The good samaritan parable focus is on the lawyer and what Jesus was saying about attitude.

Our attitude is important in everything we do. In the last section of chapter 10 following the samaritan parable, is the story of Martha and Mary which is one of my favorite records (having been at times a Martha and at other times a Mary myself:

38 Now it came to pass, as they went, that he entered into a certain village: and a certain woman named Martha received him into her house.39 And she had a sister called Mary, which also sat at Jesus' feet, and heard his word.

40 But Martha was cumbered about much serving, and came to him, and said, Lord, dost thou not care that my sister hath left me to serve alone? bid her therefore that she help me.

41 And Jesus answered and said unto her, Martha, Martha, thou art careful and troubled about many things: 42 But one thing is needful: and Mary hath chosen that good part, which shall not be taken away from her. Luke 10:38-42

Mary wanted to hear Jesus and what he had to say because she knew what it meant for her life and others with whom she came into contact with. Sometimes we work too hard at doing the right things.  We obscure where the greatest treasure lies and is what the greatest reason is for why we do things. Our service to others is very often about what we think we should do for others and then using rules and regs to govern actions. It is really about what God wants us to do for others according to his Word. If you really want to be given the opportunity to genuinely and in a godly way help others, this is the mindset to have! It is a thread that runs through the chapter.

Such As I Have Give I Thee!

There was great excitement at the Temple on the morning of the day of Pentecost in 3 BC. Jesus Christ had recently died, but was raised from death and had just ascended to his rightful position at God's right hand to be Lord of the church that was being raised and continues to be raised today on this earth. 

The events of that day are recorded in Acts 2. Peter and the apostles sat in the temple and received the gift of holy spirit.  Peter delivered the first sermon explaining the significance of the day to all that were there. He invited all who were in the temple to join in:        

38 Then Peter said unto them, "Repent (change your mind), and be baptized (immersed in the gift of holy spirit) 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.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." Acts 2:38-47

Well, we still have an untoward generation, but we who were afar off from this scene in both time and distance were invited in to look away from untowardness too and receive the same grace from God. The people were excited and gladly wanted to know more:

41 Then they that gladly received his word were baptized (immersed in holy spirit): and the same day there were added unto them about three thousand souls.42 And they continued stedfastly in the apostles' doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers.

People were brought into the family of God and started immediately seeing grace (God's favor):

43 And fear (awe and respect) came upon every soul: and many wonders and signs were done by the apostles. 44 And all that believed were together, and had all things common 45 And sold their possessions and goods, and parted them to all men, as every man had need.

Of course signs and wonders popped up all over their community.  There is no formula or 'how to' to get this to happen.  God WANTS to shower us with grace . We just have to receive his love gladly:

46 And they, continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, did eat their meat with gladness and singleness of heart,47 PRAISING GOD, and having favour (sharing their power of God) with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily such as should be saved (made whole).

A couple of days later Peter and John went back to the temple for prayer and a lame man asked them for help. Peter made it clear that what he himself had could be shared. Peter shared the love, grace and power of God.!!:

3 Who seeing Peter and John about to go into the temple asked an alms.4 And Peter, fastening his eyes upon him with John, said, Look on us. 5 And he gave heed unto them, expecting to receive something of them. 

6 Then Peter said, Silver and gold have I none; but such as I have give I thee: In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth rise up and walk. 7 And he took him by the right hand, and lifted him up: and immediately his feet and ankle bones received strength. 8 And he leaping up stood, and walked, and entered with them into the temple, walking, and leaping, and praising God.  Acts 3:3-8 

This got a lot of attention round about and many people had a lot of questions and marveled at what was going on:

12 And when Peter saw it, he answered unto the people, Ye men of Israel, why marvel ye at this? or why look ye so earnestly on us, as though by our own power or holiness we had made this man to walk?13 The God of Abraham, and of Isaac, and of Jacob, the God of our fathers, hath glorified his Son Jesus; Acts 3:12-13a

The Seal of Ephesians

An incident popped into my mind that happened many years ago. I was walking through a dark thick woods very late at night. It was difficult to see since there were no street lights  in the area. The path that I was walking on was overgrown with bushes. Suddenly, in the quiet night, I heard a crunch and a snap, that sounded like the sound of a snap of a branch or twig.  My heart  jumped and seemed to skipped several beats. It was so-o-o dark, damp and chilly! I wondered what was behind me, in front of me or beside me as I could not tell from which direction the sound was coming from. Immediately I stepped up my pace, haphazardly pushing away branches and bushes, unsure of my footing.  Finally I reached the front door of our cottage and slipped inside. With the door shut and locked, I was immediately sealed off from the outside.  The darkness and the unknown slipped out of my view and was replaced by the comfort, warmth and safety of our living room and was thankful to be with my family.

In Ephesians 1:13 Paul writes about us being sealed with the holy spirit of promise.  In the Word of God, the word 'sealed' is basically used for 4 things. First, it is used to represent security like the seal in a tomb (Matthew 27:66), The Christ inside of us is not a dead body, but a living reality because we have been sealed, secure and enclosed in the living room of God's love.

Second, it is to hide and preserve the contents of a letter.  (Revelations 5:1)

Third, it confirms or establishes the presence of the holy spirit (II Corinthians 1:22 )

Finally, it indicates ownership. (Ephesians 4:30, Ephesians 1:13)

The book of Ephesians completely expounds on the love of our father God for his family. Our job is to bring our minds to what has made given to us. We have been locked in the comfort and warmth of the security of God's love. We have been hidden, enveloped and encased in that love. We have been established and confirmed with the Holy Spirit of promise. Finally, we were bought with a price. We are purchase possession and Gods kids. We got the whole ball of wax. Knowing all this and renewing our minds to our rights and privileges as sons of God we rest safely in God's love.

We can be so thankful to God for everything he has  done for us:

20 Now to Him who is able to do far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or think, according to the power that works within us, 21 to Him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations forever and ever. Amen. NASB

Freedom to Believe

Romans 1 is officially the opening of the 7 church epistles specifically to people of this time In this chapter God explains that the creation is design to show forth who he is. We can study the structure and functions of a tree and learn great lessons about God. It has always impressed me how the leaves of a tree are flat and set up so they can receive the light of the sun to carry on photosynthesis. When the sun isn't out the flat bottom of the leaves have openings that let carbon dioxide and water out. When the sun is out these pores provide oxygen to the atmosphere for us to breathe in.

The human body is 'magnificently and wonderfully made' (Psalm 139:14). God's design of the body is purposeful and provides for the greatest maximum care.  I majored in Biology in college and developed an even greater thankfulness to God as I continued to study. My favorite system, at the present time during the corona virus onslaught, to take a good look at, is the immune system. The body is designed to defend itself at many levels. We have T-cells that defend and develop memory for pathogens that attack the body. There are other types of related cells that come on the scene and work to rid the body of undesirable invaders. Other bodies are produced that are called antibodies that fight off germs at the time they arrive. 

The immune system is quite a complex system and quite remarkable. The human cell itself is quite complex and you need a microscope to see all the fascinating structures and types of cells. There are many different shapes and functions in cell. I pictured to the right are red blood cells with a white blood cell moving among them. Below is a body cell. 

Man has invented medicines and many times God has inspired those remedies. Often, in the name of science, man, has worked to fight off invaders by other means using drugs and therapies which have deleterious side effects. Man also uses and abuses the human body in ways that are detrimental.

I am thankful to the God I know for what he has provided.  I am thankful for doctors and researchers who are specifically tuned in to the way God's  human protection system is to work. When someone takes aim at God's creation design in a detrimental way, it is difficult to understand. 

So does the constitution of this country support my freedom of belief? It most certainly does! The first amendment guarantees it and also guarantees the same freedom to people who don't agree. A very loving God gave us all freedom of choice to either believe and know him or choose not to. 

Does God Know What Is Going On Down Here?

What a crazy chaotic time we are living in! It is hard to believe all the things going on, but one thing is for sure! God knows exactly what is going on and he is at work.  He is exposing all of it, the curtain is being pulled back wide open.  I pray for this country. God always answers prayers! He doesn't control people. We need to respond to his answers and and it looks like people are. Righteousness is the passport to living above the fray and wielding the power of God.

In the Matthew 5:20, Jesus said to the people who followed him:            

For I say unto you, That except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven.

The scribes and Pharisees were big law pushers and even wrote laws to keep people from breaking the law. I guess you might say they were religious and politically correct at the same time. Their law contained so many extra jots and tittles, people could hardly breathe. As recorded in Matthew 5, Jesus  taught that righteousness was so much bigger than jot and tittles. The grace and power to live for God goes way beyond the righteousness by the law. Righteous by grace is relational to God. Righteous is all about knowing God for real and acting accordingly.

The effectual fervent (energized, inwrought) prayer (for a personal need) of a righteous man availeth (power to prevail) much. James 5:16b

Recently I read some articles by parents who are upset with current educational policies that clearly violate the rights of parents.  This is nothing new under the sun, it has been going on for a long time. Parents have a right to have a say in what is taught to their children. This is a simple point that falls under the auspices of the1st amendment to the Constitution. It is a right in God's eyes for every parent to bring their children up according to God's principles. This is what freedom of religion assures us. 

When people say that the constitution 'separates church and state' they are wrong. They use this phrase to twist and cancel our rights. The constitution never says that. The phrase 'separation of church and state' came from a letter Thomas Jefferson wrote the Danbury church in 1802. It actually was reassuring them that the government could not interfere with the 'free exercise of religion'. The government has no right to interfere with our right to teach our own children the difference between right and wrong. the government is to protect the rights of the people. ( https://www.loc.gov/loc/lcib/9806/danpre.html )

God knows what we are dealing with. He has absolutely given us the power and answers we need to handle the gaslighting and twisted schemes that arise when people attempt to control the beliefs of others. Righteousness is a huge powerful gift from God to be used to stand up to any violation of our God-given rights.

The Sword of the Spirit

Jesus Christ's purpose was to reveal the presence of evil and expose opposition to God.   Ignorance is not bliss when it comes to the adversary.  Evil can be blatant or subtle. Evil penetrates this world through  suggestions, philosophies, ideologies, idolatries and a lust for power. We see it in the media, education, politics and even in religion ('Genesis 3- 'Did God really say?'). There is no little red demon with horns and a pitchfork; the devil is a spiritual force of evil that is a parasite on words and ideas. The success of this force depends upon being believed, that is why evil often uses religion to sell its wares.  The closer to truth the adversary gets without being truth, the greater the success at dragging an individual into its traps.

The world is in a bit of uneasiness to say the least; there is a lot of hypocrisy, lying and accusation, which eats away at our trust in things going on; BUT:

Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which PASSES ALL UNDERSTANDING, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:6

Trusting God who is faithful to his word is so refreshing and real. We are not wrestling against flesh and blood in this present world. God has supplied protection and weaponry to battle the dark areas we face:

Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness; And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace; Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God: Ephesians 4:14-17

Truth is our safety belt. Our hearts are protected by righteousness (God's) and our feet are protected by peace. We have a shield that comes from believing God which can move around to fend off the evil aimed at us. Some of the evil that presents to us is in the form of subtle attacks as well as the more obvious hits. The sword of the spirit which is the word of God, is a singularly unique weapon. The spirit of God can so work in us to detect things behind the scene and make a direct sharp hit. It may involve thoughts within our own heads as well as from others. 

The greek word for 'word' in this verse is the word 'rhema'. The are two major words for 'word' in the Bible: 'rhema' and 'logos'.  'Logos' refers to the doctrine of God, 'rhema' refers to specific saying or word that applies to a time and situation. 'Rhema' is surgical, that is why the 'sword of spirit' is used in this verse. We just don't throw verses at the wall to see what sticks, we allow the spirit of God to inspire our thinking; the right thought for the right attack. It might not come immediately but it will come at just the right time which is crucial and incredibly exciting!