Giving up rights, cheeks, cloaks and comfort- Golden Rule

       "You have heard that it was said, 'An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.' But I say to you, Do not resist the one who is evil. But if anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also. And if anyone would sue you and take your tunic, let him have your cloak as well. And if anyone forces you to go one mile, go with him two miles. Give to the ones who begs from you, and do not refuse the one who would borrow from you.

       You have heard that it was said, 'You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.' But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father who is in Heaven. For He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? And if you greet only your brothers, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same? You therefore must be perfect, as your Heavenly Father is perfect." - Jesus in Matthew 5:38-48

       "So whatever you wish that others would do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets."- Jesus in Matthew 7:12 (see also Luke 6:31)

       - These guiding Bible verses can certainly teach us a lot of things, but a few key things I take from them is Jesus' teachings on not seeking our "rights". We all have this idea of what things we are owed and what rights we should have bestowed on us by virtue of being born. However, when we put faith in Jesus Christ as Saviour and Lord, we give up our rights to ourselves. Colossians 3:1-4 say that we actually have died and our lives are now hidden with Christ in God. Galatians 2:20 says that we are crucified with Christ and it's now He who lives in us. We are not our own; we've been bought with a price- therefore we must honor God with our bodies. (1 Corinthians 6:20) We must count ourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus. (Romans 6:11) We are no longer slaves to sin, but slaves to righteousness instead. (also in Romans 6) We must let God renew our minds and offer our bodies as living sacrifices to Him as our spiritual act of worship. (Romans 12:1-2) If we are to come after Jesus, we must deny ourselves, take up our cross daily and follow Him. (Luke 9:23) The Bible tells us over and over again that we no longer have autonomy to do as we please- we have surrendered our lives to Jesus and we seek to do His will instead. (Ephesians 2:8-10 makes clear that this was God's plan all along- for us to do the good works He prepared for us to do in advance.)

       Thus, if all these things are true- why do I still act sometimes like I can insist on my rights? Why am I so generous with grace to myself for my own faults but so stingy with offering it to others for theirs? Jesus said, "Freely you have received; freely give." (Matthew 10:8) Thus, I can't help but readily offer God's grace to all. I must speak the Truth in Love to them (Ephesians 4:15) and share the Gospel at all times- ready in season and out of season. (2 Timothy 4:1-2) I am certainly not always the best at sharing God's love with others, but I try to speak whatever I can of God's truth anywhere I can in love. I want people to know that we are all sinners who constantly do wrong- and that's why the world's all messed up. Adam and Eve passed that down for the whole world through their sin. God loved us all so much that even while we were still sinners and rebelling against Him, He sent Christ to die for our sins. (Romans 5:8, John 3:16) Whoever believes in Him- calls upon The Name of The Lord- will be saved. They shall not perish, but have eternal life. If you confess with your mouth, 'Jesus is Lord' and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. (Romans 10:9) And it's His grace and kindness that leads us to repentance (as Romans 2 says) and we seek to do the good works He made us to do all along in gratitude to Him for His grace- not in an effort to get it- because He's already given it to us for free!

        So I have at times found myself choosing to do some things that the world may regard as foolhardy. (I've certainly done plenty of things that are genuinely foolhardy and just plain foolish too. ;-)) However, I tend to believe strongly, especially as the quotes from Jesus in Matthew that I mentioned at the start state, that I am sometimes called as a Christian to simply let myself be taken advantage of. I think I am called to give up all my rights and give up on what I think I am owed or what should be done for me. I seek to do for others what I'd like them to do for me. Whether they actually would do them or not or whether they actually do them or not does not really matter. It makes no difference. Whether they receive acts of grace with gratitude and thankfulness or with greed and callousness, it makes no difference to my call to be gracious. I feel I need to keep turning the other cheek, give away both my shirt and cloak and go the extra mile with someone who asks in practical ways, just as Jesus commanded. Give to the one who begs and lend to the one who wants to borrow. Other translations render that verse as saying, "Don't even try to get things back." (Or something along those lines, like in that new-fangled "The Message" version or something. [As I'm sure Dracula would agree, some probably prefer those old-fangled versions instead. But whether you're kicking it with Bram Stoker or Stephanie Meyers, let's make sure the blood we're drinking is Jesus' and not each other's. [see John 6].])

       At the same time, Jesus also tells us to be "wise as serpents and gentle as doves". (Matthew 10:16) I don't think these verses mean that we should be a doormat. But sometimes I think maybe we should be a footstool where people rest and lean upon us for a while while we serve them. It may feel sometimes like we're getting walked all over upon, but when we consider the Saviour who endured such suffering, rejection, suspicions, false accusations, torture, and ultimately death on the cross for our sakes- and then triumphantly rose again- maybe we should be more willing to toughen up some and take one for the team. Jesus was willing to make the sacrifice bunt so we all could get home. It seems the least we can do is be willing to take the charge coming down the court. (Let's hear it for mixed sports metaphors! :-)) I don't claim to be the best at this- many times I am not. Many times I am a complete failure at this and am nothing but a spoiled little brat whining when things aren't going my way. And that's where Philippians 2:14-15 hits so hard- "Do everything without complaining or arguing." Wow! That's a hard one to do. But when we let the Holy Spirit do it through us (all things are possible through Him- Matthew 19:26), we shine like stars in a dark world to a twisted and crooked generation so that they can see the light of Christ which lights up the world- and when Christ is in us- that light is us! (Matthew 5:13-16 and John 8:12)

       As 1 Corinthians 9 gives us an example, we should be like Paul and give up our rights and thus endure anything rather put an obstacle in the way of the Gospel of Christ. (1 Corinthians 9:12) Instead, we become all things to all people so that we by all means God might save some through us. (1 Corinthians 9:22)

      As 1 Peter 3:13-17 talks about, it's better to suffer for doing good, if that should be God's will, than for doing evil. "If you are insulted for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon you." (1 Peter 4:14) Verse 13 of that same chapter even says we should rejoice insofar as we share in Christ's sufferings so we can also be glad when His glory is revealed.God's world is very much backwards from what we know. But when we start letting His Spirit live it through us, we come to find out that it's our world that's messed up and backwards from what it should be. "Curiouser and curiouser", said Alice. This abundant life and eternal love stuff is trippy, man! But don't be tripping- Jesus is a stumbling stone and rock of offense, but blessed are all those who aren't offended by Him. (That's like a couple of passages there- Isaiah 28:16, Matthew 21:42-44, and Luke 7:23) But it's just that kind of topsy-turvy world Jesus calls us to live in and we find out that it's really just the kind of world we've been longing for all along- one that we'll have when our groanings are realized like Romans 8 talks about- the glory coming outweighs all the junk we go through here. In the mean time, here are some of the attitudes that Jesus said are becoming of us and that we should be becoming- (hence the name- the Beattitudes :-))

        "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of Heaven. Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted. Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied. Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy. Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God. Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God. Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of Heaven. Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on My account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in Heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you." (Matthew 5:3-12)

Keep reflecting the Son and shine on! :-)

Season for the Reason: Jesus is God- He said it and I believe it!

    Note: This is another apologetics entry in the "Season for the Reason" writings that I like to do at times. As with most all of these entries, this is written in response to a question from a skeptic. In this case, I am answering a common question from Muslims, who do acknowledge Jesus as a great prophet, but don't believe in His crucifixion or Resurrection or His position as God Almighty. This is actually a challenge that a number of people of other religious views as well as atheistic views raise. When did Jesus Christ declare Himself to be God and command people to worship Him? Let's look at what The Gospels in The Bible (Matthew, Mark, Luke and John) actually say.

     Yes, I know that Islam views Jesus quite differently from Christianity. However, He is revered as a prophet doing many miracles as Muslims assert. However, if Jesus healed the blind, made birds out of clay and raised the dead to life as recorded in the Quran- how could He do this without the power of God? The Quran also commands Muslims to obey Jesus in surah 43:63. Yet how can a good Muslim follow this without knowing Jesus' commands? One needs to read The Bible for that. And in the New Testament, Jesus gives us commands and does indeed state His equality with God.

      John 10:30-33 records Jesus as flat out saying that He and The Father are one. And the Pharisees clearly recognize His claim to divinity here, as they raised stones to stone Him. (In fact, this is what got Jesus crucified- the Pharisees pegged Him as a troublemaker who claimed to be God.) John 14 records Jesus stating Himself to be The Way, The Truth and the Life- no man comes to The Father but by Him. When Philip then asks for Him to show the disciples the Father, Jesus says that when they've seen Him they've seen the Father. After Jesus' death and Resurrection, He appears to the disciples- and in John 20, He appears again when Thomas is there (who had been doubting Jesus' Resurrection)- but when faced with the proof in his face, Thomas exclaimed, "My Lord and my God!" Jesus asked if he now believed because he saw- and then says that those who have not seen and believed are blessed. Note that Jesus does not correct Thomas, but rather accepts the praise as God and says that those who haven't seen Him and believe in Him as Lord and God are blessed.

        Jesus assumes the title of Lord in Matthew 7:21-23 and makes clear that He will be the One to judge whether people enter the kingdom of Heaven or not. (See also Luke 6:46.) In fact, Jesus is often called Lord throughout the Gospels- Matthew 8:2 and Matthew 8:6 both record people calling Him Lord- right as Jesus is doing miracles by restoring a leper to clean health and healing a Roman centurion's servant. His disciples called Him Lord- Matthew 8:25 records one such instance, when Jesus told the winds and the waves to be still and they did it. (Also in Mark 4:35-41 and Luke 8:22-25). In Luke 12:41-42, Peter first addresses Jesus as Lord and then Luke goes on to identify Jesus as The Lord in the next verse. This is significant to note since The LORD is the name of God given in Exodus 3:15. (Luke does this again in Luke 13:15, identifying Jesus as The Lord.) It is also interesting to note that Jesus asserts that David, in the Holy Spirit, called Christ The Lord in Psalms 110:1. (Jesus specifically says this in Mark 12:35-37. See also Matthew 22:41-46 and Luke 20:41-44.) And in Matthew 22:34-40, Jesus states that the most important commandments are to love The Lord our God with all our hearts, all our souls and all our minds. The second is like it- we must love our neighbours as ourselves. And in Matthew 4:10, Jesus was quoting Deuteronomy to the devil when He told him that, "You shall worship The Lord your God and Him only shall you serve." Thus, we have Jesus' command to worship Him as God.

       In Matthew 9:1-8, Jesus again faces a blasphemy charge from scribes who are taken aback when Jesus forgives the sins of a paralytic- since only God can forgive sins. However, Jesus proves His divinity and identity as God when He both forgives sins and heals the paralytic. (This is also in Mark 2:1-12 and Luke 5:17-26. See also John 5 for a similar incident.) In Luke 7:36-50, there is an incident of a sinful woman who comes to worship at Jesus' feet and anoint His feet with an alabaster jar of ointment as well as her tears, which she wiped with her own hair. Jesus sees her show of repentance and forgives her sins. Again, people talk and balk, asking, "Who is this, who even forgives sins?"

In Matthew 16:13-20, Jesus asks His disciples to tell Him who people say that He is- and they tell Him that some call Him John the Baptist, Elijah, Jeremiah or one of the prophets. But then Jesus asks- "But who do you say that I am?" And Peter replies- "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God." And Jesus declares Simon blessed because the Father Himself has revealed this to him. In this passage, Jesus distinguishes Himself as the Messiah- the Christ- the Son of the living God- and more than just a prophet. (See also Mark 8:27-30 and Luke 9:18-20.)

      Jesus often identifies Himself as the Son of Man (see Matthew 8:18-22 for one such instance). In Matthew 24 and 25, He states that the Son of Man will come on the clouds of Heaven with power and great glory and will send out His angels to do His work. Matthew 25 again depicts the Son of Man (Jesus) as having glory and angels at His command and seated on the throne as King- and He judges all people at the end of time. (Jesus also states this in Mark 8:38. See also Mark 13 and Luke 9:23-27 and Luke 13 and Luke 21.) In Matthew 26:63-68, Jesus again affirms His title of the Christ, the Son of God. (See also Mark 14:61-62 where Jesus confirms that He is the Christ, the Son of the Blessed. In Luke 22:70-71, Jesus again affirms Himself to be the Son of God.) He affirms His title as King of the Jews in Matthew 27:11-14. And in Matthew 28:16-20, when Jesus has been crucified and has risen again- He appears to His disciples one last time to commission them to preach the Gospel in all the world. He states in Matthew 28:18 that all authority in Heaven and on earth has been given to Him. Who else but God could make that claim?

      Of course, there are other incidents that happened that prove Jesus to be God. In a beautiful picture of the Triune God, at Jesus' baptism, we see Jesus being baptized by John the Baptist, with the Holy Spirit descending on Him like a dove and the voice of God the Father declaring Him as His beloved Son in Whom He's well pleased. (See Matthew 3:13-17, Mark 1:9-11, Luke 3:21-22 and John 1:29-34) Even the demons and devil recognize Him as the "Holy One of God" and the "Son of God" and the Christ (see Mark 1:24 and Matthew 4 and Mark 3:7-12 and Mark 5 and Luke 4:31-37) A similar scene happens in Matthew 17, which is reiterated in Mark 9 and Luke 9, wherein Jesus is glorified in an event known as the "Transfiguration of Christ". James, John and Peter get a glimpse of Jesus' glory as God on a mountain with Him, when Moses and Elijah appear to talk with Jesus and God the Father's voice again identifies Christ as His beloved Son and commands us to listen to Him. In another similar incident of God The Father speaking from Heaven, in John 12:27-36, Jesus asks God The Father to glorify His Name to which God The Father replies, "I have glorified it and I will glorify it again." Jesus states that the voice was for the benefit of the people with Him listening and not for His. It's yet another scene to help people believe in Jesus as the God Who came to save us all.

In Mark 2:27, Jesus declares Himself (again using the Son of Man title that He often uses) as Lord even of the Sabbath. [The "even" here is important, as it implies that He already is Lord of everything else too.] In Mark 5, when Jesus is healing a man with a horde of demons (who identify themselves as Legion because they are many)- the demons both identify Jesus as the Son of the Most High God and implore Him not to torment them. Again- only God has the power to torment demons and their leader the devil in hell. Jesus demonstrates His power as God here and drives the demons out of the man and into a herd of 2000 pigs. (See also Luke 8.)

        In Luke 4:16-30, Jesus attends synagogue and reads from Isaiah 61:1-2 for the congregation- a prophetic passage about the Messiah. He affirms Himself as the fulfillment of that passage- the One Whom The Spirit of The Lord is upon. The One who proclaims good news to the poor and liberty to the captives- who recovers sight for the blind and sets at liberty those who are oppressed and proclaims the year of the Lord's favor. Note too that again people try to kill Him here, doubtless due to His outrageous claim to be God, which would be blasphemous- unless He's telling the truth.

Luke 7:18-35 records an interesting incident where John the Baptist's disciples come to question Jesus and ask if He's One who is to come- the Messiah. Jesus tells them to report to John what they've seen and heard- the blind receive their sight, the lame walk, lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised up and the poor have good news preached to them. (Just as Isaiah 61:1-2 and many other Old Testament passages predicted the Messiah would do.) And Jesus says this in Luke 7:23- "And blessed is the one who is not offended by Me." This is a quote that has an Old Testament connection as well, as the image of the Messiah as the "stone the builders rejected who has become the capstone [or cornerstone]" is one used in a couple of places- Psalms 118:22 and Isaiah 28:16 to name a few. Jesus Himself quotes Psalms 118:22 in Matthew 21:42 and this is reiterated in Romans 9:33 and 1 Peter 2:6. Isaiah 8:14 says that this stone is a "stone of stumbling and a rock of offense."

Hence, Jesus' reference to Himself as the stone of stumbling and the rock of offense and His blessings offered to all who are not offended by Him. (i.e. He blesses all who are not scandalized by His offer of grace and who are not offended by the Truth He presents- the Way to God- the only Way by acknowledging our sins to Him and trusting His death and Resurrection for forgiveness of them.) (See also Luke 20:9-18.)

      In Luke 9:37-43, we read of Jesus casting a demon out of a boy. It's interesting to note that verse 42 states that Jesus rebuked the unclean spirit and healed the boy- and verse 43 goes on to stay that all were astonished at the majesty of God. In these two verses, we again have an equating of Jesus with God. In Luke 10:17-20, the disciples rejoice because the demons are subject to them in Jesus' Name. Jesus then states that He saw Satan fall like lightning from Heaven and Jesus has given the disciples authority to tread on serpents and scorpions and over all the power of the enemy and nothing shall hurt them. Of course, He also said not to rejoice because the spirits are subject to them, but rather because their names are written in Heaven. Again, we have a claim from Jesus to have authority over the demons and Satan and poisonous animals and all power of the enemy. And who else but God has that authority?

      In Luke 11:29-32, Jesus declares Himself to be something greater than Solomon and Jonah. And He declares Himself to be a sign to that generation. In Luke 12:8-12, He goes on to tell us that everyone who acknowledges Him before men, the Son of Man will acknowledge before the angels of God. Everyone who denies Him will be denied before the angels of God. We again have another passage equating Jesus with God, as the Name that must be acknowledged for entry into God's presence.

       In Luke 18:35-43, we have yet another healing, wherein Jesus makes a blind beggar to see again. Verse 43 tells us that immediately after Jesus said for him to recover his sight, it happened- and he followed Him, glorifying God. And all the people, when they saw it, gave praise to God. (Again in these successions of verses, we see Jesus being linked with God.)

       In Luke 19:28-40, Jesus is hailed during the triumphal entry to Jerusalem on Palm Sunday as "the King who comes in the Name of The Lord." Peace in Heaven and glory in the highest are ascribed to Him. Glory in the highest should only be reserved for God. The Pharisees recognize this and tell Jesus, "Teacher, rebuke Your disciples." Jesus tells them that if they were silent, the very stones would cry out. Even the stones would cry out that Jesus is the King who comes in the Name of The Lord- the One worthy of glory in the highest! (See also John 12:12-19.)

        In Luke 21:28-30, Jesus speaks of the kingdom that His Father has assigned to Him- another example of His alignment with God. Jesus has authority to let people into that kingdom because He does so even while on the cross in Luke 23:39-43. While one criminal on the cross next to Him rails at Him and demands that He as the Christ save Himself and them, the other criminal asks him the pointed question, "Do you not fear God?" Clearly this thief on the cross recognizes Jesus as God and again, Jesus does not correct him. When he asks Jesus to remember him when He comes into His kingdom, Jesus assures him that that day he would be with Him in Paradise. After that day, when Jesus had risen again, He appeared to two men on the road to Emmaus and in Luke 24:25-27, He again identifies Himself as the Christ and goes through Moses and the Prophets and interprets to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning Himself. After Jesus leaves them, they declare to the other disciples that The Lord has risen indeed and appeared to them. While all this is going on, Jesus shows up again and confirms to the disciples that He is the Christ Who had to fulfill all that's written about Him in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms. He opens the Scriptures to them again and explains how they speak about Him.

        In the book of John, John opens up by first identifying Jesus as God Himself in John 1:1. "In the beginning was The Word and The Word was with God and the Word was God." As John 1:14 goes on to say, "And The Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen His glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth." As John 1:17-18 go on to tell us, the law was given through Moses and grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. While no one has ever seen God- the only God, who is at the Father's side- He has made Him known. How did He do this? By sending Jesus Christ- God in the flesh.

       Jesus is identified by John the Baptist as The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world and Andrew identifies Him as the Messiah. Nathanael identifies Jesus as the Son of God and King of Israel. (See John 1:29-51.) Jesus tells him that he will see greater things than Jesus' ability to see him under the fig tree before he had even met Jesus. He would see Heaven opened, and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man.

       In one of the most famous passages in The Bible, Jesus states to Nicodemus that God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son so that whosoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. Jesus identifies belief in His Name as necessary for eternal life- something that only God can grant. In another incident, in John 4, in talking with a Samaritan woman at the well, Jesus confirms her identification of Him as The Messiah- The Christ. Because of her testimony, others come to believe in Him and declare Jesus to be the Saviour of the world- again, a role that only God can fill.

       In John 5:17-18, Jesus calls God His own Father and makes Himself equal with God, inspiring the Jews to want to kill Him, because of His apparent blasphemy. (Unless, of course, He was telling the truth and He is in fact God.) In John 5:30-46, Jesus goes on to explain the works He has done (His miracles) bear witness about Him that The Father has sent Him. Jesus says that while the Jews search the Scriptures for eternal life and it's they that bear witness about Him, the Jews refuse to come to Jesus so that He can give them life. Verses 43 and 44 are telling- "I have come in My Father's Name, and you do not receive Me. If another comes in his own name, you will receive him. How can you believe, when you receive glory from one another and do not seek the glory that comes from the only God?" Then Jesus really sticks it to them. He tells them that Moses himself will accuse them- the one on whom they've set their hope. If they really believed Moses, they should believe Jesus- because Moses wrote of Jesus.

       In John 6:35-59, Jesus declares Himself to be the bread of life- whoever comes to Him shall not hunger and whoever believes in Him shall never thirst. All that The Father has given Him will come to Him and whoever comes to Him He will never cast out. While the Pharisees doubt that Jesus has really come from Heaven, Jesus explains that no one can come to The Father unless He draw them. And Jesus will raise them up on the last day. (A power only God possesses.) Jesus then says that it's written in the Prophets, "And they will all be taught by God." (Isaiah 54:13). Jesus goes on to say that everyone who has heard and learned from The Father comes to Him. Thus, Jesus is the fulfillment of this verse as the people are being taught by God- Jesus Himself. Peter again affirms Jesus as the One who has the words of eternal life, the Holy One of God in John 6:68. In John 7, Jesus again affirms that His teaching is from God and by God's authority He teaches. John 7:31 records the people who saw Jesus' miracles as saying, "When the Christ appears, will He do more signs than this man has done?"

      Jesus declares Himself to be the Light of the world in John 8:12. Jesus goes on to say that He is from above and not of this world in John 8:23. In verse 24, He insists to the Pharisees that they must believe He is who He says He is or they will die in their sins. In verses 25-59, He goes on to say that if they abide in His Word and are truly His disciples, then they will know The Truth and The Truth will set them free. (Note that Jesus identifies Himself as The Truth in John 14:6.) The discussion turns to Abraham and some more outrageous claims from Jesus, including the claim that if anyone keeps His word, they will never taste death. (Which is only outrageous if Jesus isn't who He says He is, of course.) Jesus says that Abraham rejoiced to see Jesus' day- He saw it and was glad. Jesus goes on to tell the Pharisees, "Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I am." At this, the Pharisees pick up stones to stone Him, but Jesus escapes them. This is incredibly significant to point out because Jesus uses a phrase that correlates to Exodus 3:14, where The Lord God identifies Himself with the Name, "I AM WHO I AM." The Pharisees recognize that Jesus has just equated Himself with this Name, thus, again stating Himself to be God.

      In John 9, Jesus heals a man who was born blind. He asks him if he believes in the Son of Man. The man asks who is the Son of Man and Jesus affirms that it is Him. The man then says to Him, "Lord, I believe." (John 9:35-39) Again we have someone not only calling Jesus the Son of Man but also using the title of Lord with Him. In John 10, Jesus calls Himself the Good Shepherd and the Door for the sheep that all must come through to receive abundant life. In John 10:30-33, He makes one of the clearest statements in The Bible of His divinity when He plainly states that He and the Father are one. The Pharisees again try to stone Him because they recognize that He is equating Himself with God. In John 11:4, Jesus declares Himself to be the Son of God and demonstrates His power as God over life and death when He raises Lazarus back to life. In John 11:25, Jesus says He is the Resurrection and the Life. Everyone who lives and believes in Him shall never die. Martha confirms that she believes this; she believes He is The Lord- The Christ- The Son of God.

In John 12:44-45, Jesus says that whoever believes in Him believes not in Him, but in the One who sent Him. Whoever sees Him sees the One who sent Him. Here we have another statement that whoever has seen Jesus has seen God. In John 13:13, Jesus is having The Last Supper with His disciples, which is also known as The Lord's Supper. This is a fitting name as in that verse, Jesus says that the disciples call Him Teacher and Lord and they're right because He is indeed. In another verses that supports The Trinity, in John 13:20 Jesus says that whoever receives The One He sends (The Holy Spirit) receives Him and whoever receives Him (Jesus) receives the One who sent Him (God The Father).

      In another famous passage in The Bible, John 14:1-14, Jesus reveals Himself as The Way, The Truth and The Life- no man comes to The Father but by Him. Philip asks Jesus to show them The Father and that will be enough for them. Jesus then asks Philip, "Don't you know Who I AM?" Whoever has seen Jesus has seen The Father. Jesus again states Himself to be God in this passage a number of times. (John 14:6-7, 14:9-10, 14:11 and 14:20 and 14:24) John 15-17 repeatedly speaks of the Triune nature of God and Jesus explains the relationship between God The Father, God the Son Jesus Christ and God the Holy Spirit- the Blessed Three-in-One. In John 16:2-3, Jesus says there will come a time when whoever kills His disciples will think they are offering service to God. Jesus then says they will do these things because they have not known The Father nor Him. (Yet another identification of Jesus as God.) In John 16:26-27, Jesus again states that He came from God the Father- The Father sent Him and He is with The Father. (see John 16:32)

      John 17 is a very interesting insight into the nature of God and the relationship within The Trinity, as Jesus prays to God the Father- stating that He glorified God the Father on earth and then asks that The Father glorify Him in His presence with the glory He had with Him before the world existed. In John 17:11, Jesus says that He and The Father are one. In John 17:20-21, Jesus says that The Father is in Him and He is in The Father. He repeats this in verses 22-23.

       Later, when Jesus is before Pilate, He tells Pilate that His kingdom is not of this world and that He bears witness to The Truth. (see John 18:33-40). John 19:7 records the Jews as saying that Jesus made Himself the Son of God (and thus He must die, according to their rules). In John 20:17, after Jesus has been crucified to pay for the sins of the world and been resurrected, He appears to Mary Magdalene. He tells her to tell His brothers that He is ascending to His Father and their Father- to His God and their God. (Again, we have another equation of God The Father with Jesus.) And in John 20:28, we have Thomas' confession of Jesus as Lord and God. John 20:30-31 tell us that Jesus did a lot of other signs that aren't written in John's book- but the ones that are written are written so that we would believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing we may have life in His Name.

        And, of course, that is the purpose of the whole Bible. There are numerous other verses that could be mentioned, but I tried to stick only to the ones recorded in The Gospels- Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. (I could also mention Saul's encounter with Jesus in Acts 9, wherein he calls Him Lord. Of course, The Lord set him straight on Straight Street and changed his heart forever- so that he became known as Paul- the greatest missionary for the Gospel of Christ. In Revelation, John has a vision of Jesus Christ, wherein He reveals the final days of the world and God's ultimate plan of redemption, where those who reject Christ remain bound in hell and those who receive the grace and mercy He has offered freely through the cross and the empty tomb are welcomed into eternal happiness and joy with Jesus in Heaven. In Revelation 1:8, Jesus identifies Himself as the Alpha and the Omega- the One Who Is and Who Was and Who Is To Come- The Almighty. John also calls Jesus The Lord God in that verse. Revelation 19:16 calls Him the King of Kings and Lord of Lords.) But all these verses are written so that we would believe that Jesus is Who He said He was- that He is indeed God and that He alone can save us and that He loves us all so much that He died to pay for all our sins and rose again to give us salvation. All we need to do is put our faith in His completed work and accept Him by faith. He who has an ear, let him hear.

Christ Extends and Tarries (song)

Whether you're in the dawn of your life or the twilight years, one thing holds true for all of us- we all will die one day. (Unless you get a cool deal like Enoch or Elijah where God just takes straight up home to Heaven without dying. ;-)) And one day, we will all meet God and all face His judgment. And none of us match up to His standards of perfection. Thus, the judgment we all face is one of absolute guilt that deserves absolute punishment- eternity in hell. This is not the outcome The Lord wants for anyone- He loves us all so much He sent Jesus to die for us and rise again so that we would have an escape. Jesus met the standard of perfection for us and when we accept the work He's done on our behalf, God imputes Christ's righteousness to us and sees that in us instead and accepts us as His own children. Of course, it is up to us to grab hold of God's offer of love and forgiveness and trust Him, even as He continues to seek us out. One day He will return and time for that will be up. We don't know when that day will come or when we will die, but we do know that The Lord is patient and long-suffering with us- to Him a day is like 1000 years and 1000 years like a day- He has waited 2000 years since Christ's death and resurrection and He's waiting still. He doesn't want anyone to perish but for all to come to repentance. Come accept His offer today while there's still time.


"Christ Extends and Tarries" (parody of "A Thousand Years" by Christina Perri; copyright by Nathan Ludwick 1/8/2017)
(Hebrews 9:27-28, 2 Peter 3:1-10, Isaiah 54:8, Jeremiah 31:3, John 3:16-21, John 6:35-50, John 10:27-30, 2 Corinthians 6:2, Romans 10:9-13, Ezekiel 18:23, Romans 2:4)

Heartbeats pass
Count on it- promise it!
Now to the grave
(Do) you stand with God? Well, I'm afraid you'll fall
But what will you stand there on?
Self-righteous doubt? Suddenly goes away as you bow

Once it's over...

(Chorus 1)
Christ has died and been raised- (He's) waiting for you
2 Peter 3:8- with The Lord a day's like a thousand years
Millennium's a day to The Lord!

Christ waits still
Dutifully calls Jesus
"Call on My Name"
I will not have anyone cast away
Whose handed by Father to Me
All He draws- 44 in John chapter 6

Come- you're chosen

(Repeat Chorus 1)

(Chorus 2)
So call upon God- believe- Christ will find you
Christ has got you eternally- He has loved you with eternal love
His love wants to see no one lost

Come, whosoever
God has chosen

(Repeat Chorus 1 and Chorus 2)

.................................................................................................

The Father's Enduring Love

      ( I keep doing this. I read books. And then I get knocked over by The Lord's Spirit and I just want to share the truths He's reminded me of again once more. And then what is intended to be a paragraph or so becomes another blog entry. :-) (That's a good thing in some ways though, as I'm always glad to have more devotional prose to add, if just for variety's sake if nothing else. More so than that, this is also all written on the spur of the moment, straight from the heart.) (Hopefully, not that other pieces aren't- but not everything is composed in the span of one sitting, as this piece was.)
As always, if anything in there is downright awful- it's me. If anything good- it's all God. :-) Thank You, Lord Jesus, for the ability to write and the reason to do so.)         
        I've never been one that's good at picking favorites. But I will say that while I love every single verse of The Holy Bible, these two are some that I particularly love and find incredibly moving and overwhelming every time I read them. First, in a succession of parables from Jesus, we hear about the lost sheep the shepherd goes to find, the lost coin the woman goes to find- and then the lost son the father goes to find. (Jesus mentions the father saw him from a long way off, indicating that he had been looking for him.) And we hear these beautiful words in this parable-
        "And he arose and came to his father. But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and felt compassion, and ran and embraced him and kissed him." (Luke 15:20)
My other Bible verse I want to share gives us the picture of how God did exactly this for us.
        "But God shows His love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us." (Romans 5:8)
In these two verses, we get such a great picture of God's amazing grace! That is something that we gloss over too often and let it become so old and comfortable to us that we forget the astonishing wonder of it. If we were to really sit in silence and ponder the intensity of the love God has for every single person, we would and should be truly overwhelmed and bowled over. This is why Charles Wesley's "And Can It Be?" has always been one of my favorite hymns. "And can it be that I should gain an interest in the Savior's love? Died He for me who caused His pain- for me who Him to death pursued! Amazing love- how can it be? That Thou my God should'st die for me!"
        But praise God- it's true! I can't and don't understand it- I don't know why He'd want me or any of us- but somehow He does. No matter how many times we sin and mess up and fall down in the mud and slime again and feel broken beyond repair- before we can even make all our vain acts of penitence and apologies for the trillionth time- God still is the God of the impossible who can put right broken hearts and repair His creation to what we are meant to be all along. (Matthew 19:26- impossible for us- we can NEVER do it in our own efforts- and we NEVER have to. God alone has done it and it's done!)
We need only receive His love shown for us through His death and Resurrection and fall weeping at the feet of Jesus once more. Absolution comes before apology- forgiveness offered before repentance- grace before good works. And any good works we do are really His work in any case. Ephesians 2:8-10 gives us such a wonderful model when we read it together. "For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them."
       When His amazing grace and love washes over us and washes us clean, the only appropriate response is immense gratitude which demonstrates itself in a changed life. This is not of our own power- this is a miracle that happens when we are emptied of ourselves, as Christ emptied Himself (see Philippians 2)- and we are cleaned out of all the corrupt, sin-sick encasing that is our old identity and we are filled instead with the wholly pure life-giving Holy Spirit, Who is our new identity in Christ. We have died and now it is Christ who lives in us and through us. (Colossians 3:1-4) God our Father mercifully takes Ezekiel's dry bones and clothes them with flesh again and makes them alive- just as He does with us. (see Ezekiel 37). We're not perfect yet, but we're being made perfect as we progress from justification through sanctification to glorification in Heaven.
         "Ask people what they must do to get to Heaven and most reply, 'Be good.' Jesus' stories contradict that answer. All we must do is cry, 'Help!' God welcomes home anyone who will have Him and, in fact, has made the first move already. Most experts- doctors, lawyers, marriage counselors- set a high value on themselves and wait for clients to come to them. Not God. As Soren Kierkegaard put it,
          'When it is a question of a sinner He does not merely stand still, open His arms and say, 'Come hither'; no, He stands there and waits, as the father of the lost son waited, rather He does not stand and wait, He goes forth to seek, as the shepherd sought the lost sheep, as the woman sought the lost coin. He goes- yet no, He has gone, but infinitely farther than any shepherd or any woman, He went, in sooth, the infinitely long way from being God to becoming man, and that way He went in search of sinners.'
Kierkegaard puts his finger on perhaps the most important aspect of Jesus' parables. They were not merely pleasant stories to hold listeners' attention or literary vessels to hold theological truth. They were, in fact, the template of Jesus' life on earth. He was the shepherd who left the safety of the fold for the dark and dangerous night outside. To His banquets He welcomed tax collectors and reprobates and whores. He came for the sick and not the well, for the unrighteous and not the righteous. And to those who betrayed Him- especially the disciples, who forsook Him at His time of greatest need- He responded like a lovesick father."
(from "Lovesick Father" chapter of "What's So Amazing About Grace?" by Philip Yancey, page 55. Copyright Zondervan, 1997.)
         Praise and thank You God, my lovesick Father, who dares to love and embrace sin-sick, adulterous betrayers and doubters like me. Thank You for continuing to love and be faithful even when I'm not. Thank You for loving this sojourner and wanderer and ragamuffin. Thank You, Lord, for Your everlasting love! (Jeremiah 31:3) I am overwhelmed every time I think about it and Your amazing grace! As we embark on this Lenten season, may Your incredible sacrifice of love continually be impressed upon our minds and hearts and may Your bread and wine fill us so much that we find contentment solely in You. May Your living water well up in us and overflow to others so they may experience Your love as well. May our ill-gotten gains and evil escapades taste like only the gravel in our mouths that they always are every time. (Proverbs 28:21, Proverbs 30:7-9, Proverbs 27:19-24, Proverbs 26:11, Proverbs 23:1-9, Proverbs 20:17) I am so sorry for the many times I have been what I should not be- but thank You for loving me as I am and not as I should be- because none of us are as we should be. But just like You shaped Rich Mullins and Brennan Manning before me, You're still shaping me too. May Your amazing grace continue to shape all of us Your children into the people of God you want us to be.
          "Out of the depths I cry to You, O Lord! O Lord, hear my voice! Let Your ears be attentive to the voice of my pleas for mercy! If You, O Lord, should mark iniquities, O Lord, who could stand? But with You there is forgiveness, that You may be feared. I wait for The Lord, my soul waits, and in His word I hope; my soul waits for The Lord more than watchmen for the morning, more than watchmen for the morning. O Israel, hope in The Lord! For with The Lord there is steadfast love, and with Him is plentiful redemption. And He will redeem Israel from all his iniquities." (Psalms 130)
         "Whom have I in Heaven but You? And there is nothing on earth that I desire besides You. My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever." (Psalms 73:25-26)
           "Simon Peter answered Him, 'Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life, and we have believed, and have come to know, that You are the Holy One of God.' " (John 6:68)
            "For a day in Your courts is better than a thousand elsewhere. I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than dwell in the tents of wickedness." (Psalms 84:10)
           Heavenly Father God, Lord Jesus Christ, Counselor Holy Spirit- Blessed Three-in-One -may those prayers truly be true of me and all Your children. I need You every hour and I love You because You have first loved me with such wonderful love, incredible mercy, longstanding patience and amazing grace! Thank You.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rLW9egHQWAE

(A song of benediction from one of my favorite Christian songwriters ever. I can't wait to meet Rich Mullins in Heaven one day and be "Growing Young" with him there as we worship The Lord Jesus Christ for eternity together. I must also acknowledge Brennan Manning and thank him for letting the Holy Spirit speak through him in writing "The Ragamuffin Gospel". I can't wait to meet him in Heaven one day as well. And I must give thanks as well to Philip Yancey for letting The Holy Ghost move in him as he wrote "What's So Amazing About Grace?" Whether in exile or exodus, I would love to meet him one day too.)

Tie a Scarlet Ribbon in the Window Please (song)

             If I were to pick one word to describe God's work through The Bible and in the world- His will for all of us- I'd probably want to choose many because I'm no good at picking just one. ;-) But one word I would certainly choose is redemption. The whole picture of The Bible and all of history is moving towards redeeming humanity from our sins. The dawn of grace came with the birth of Jesus Christ in one sense, but God already has always had a totally outlandish outpouring of grace waiting for us since before the foundation of the world. (Revelation 13:8) One picture we get of that in the Old Testament is in the book of Joshua, where Rahab and her family are saved in the destruction of Jericho through her faithfulness to hang a scarlet rope out her window as a sign to the Israelites to spare them from death. Of course, we have the sign of scarlet blood down the cross that spares us from death. And though Rahab was a prostitute, we see that she has fear for The Lord and is changed through grace. And in another picture of grace and redemption, in Matthew 1 we find that she is included in The Lord Jesus' family tree. Thank God for His redemptive grace! :-)
       

"Tie a Scarlet Ribbon in the Window Please"
(parody of "Tie a Yellow Ribbon Round the Ol' Oak Tree" by Tony Orlando and Dawn; copyright by Nathan Ludwick 4/29/2016)
(Joshua 2, Joshua 6, Matthew 1:1-17, Hebrews 11:1-6 and 30-31, James 2:24-26, Ruth 2:19-21, 1 Corinthians 1:26-31, Ephesians 1:7, Titus 2:11-14)

We've come on home- we've done our time
Now we've got to go and win what's Israel's right
Send 2 sneaky spies out there scouting out Jericho's streets
You should go to Joshua 2
And you will then read how they escaped (the) king

Whoa- Hide those fellows, Rahab, on the rooftop please
They don't belong here- use flax stalks please (flax stalks please)
So they won't see us hidden when the king's looking
We'll stay on the run- misdirected 'em- thus, Rahab saved us
We climbed down on a scarlet rope and made a deal, you see

"You spies- Sirs, please look for me
'Cause I'm getting scared to see God fell the city.
So when He deals destruction, spare my loved ones- me and family."
"This simple scarlet ribbon's what you need to set you free."
And the soldiers told her this:

"Whoa, tie a scarlet ribbon in the window please.
Get kinfolk in here- no one will harm thee (But one thing)
If I don't see that ribbon in the window, see
We'll stay all guiltless. If you tell on us, put the blame on thee.
If I don't see a scarlet ribbon in the window, please."

[Instrumental Interlude]

Jericho's slammed down- kept deal then
And that prostitute's redeemed
Her son and a descendant will kinsman redeem
Christ comes by Rahab...mmmm.......

(Scarlet ribbon down Calvary's tree)
(Christ's blood spilling down Calvary's tree)
(Check the women in His family tree)

(Matthew 1- His genealogy)
(Try 11 Hebrews- "By faith" deeds)
(Rahab's listed there and in James 2- read!)

(Scarlet ribbon saved her and family)
(Christ's been given to save you and me!)

....................................................................................

Season for the Reason: Grace and Law- Of Sex, Marriage and Jesus' Word

Note: This blog post entry deals with some issues I've written on before, but takes on some things from different angles. They stem from real conversations I've had regarding the seeming inconsistency Christians have in following all of The Bible, including Old Testament laws that have since been rendered obsolete by the New Testament covenant of grace. (The entire book of Hebrews is a great read for this particular topic.) Thus, there are numerous issues being addressed here and again, it is in the context of a discussion on homosexual sin, regarding the upholding of the moral prohibition on that versus upholding dietary restrictions for the Israelites. To be clear, I don't regard simply having same-sex attractedness as a sin in itself; rather, I regard that as a byproduct of the fall of man, as I don't believe God made any of us to be that way originally. However, acting on lustful temptations (whether heterosexual or homosexual) is indeed a sin. Sex is relegated to a special act to happen between one man and the one woman he's married to for life. Any other occurence of this is sin. (1 Corinthians 7 deals with this, along with a number of other Scriptures.) Lust is sin- period. We must desire to serve Jesus above anything else and that means denying ourselves in the temptations that pull at us. (Luke 9:23)
     
      I see some have some interesting opinions of Paul, but that aside- but seeing as how Paul directly met with Jesus and was called The Lord's "chosen instrument to carry His Name before the Gentiles and kings and the children of Israel." (see Acts 9)- I'd say Paul is trustworthy. (Especially considering that he suffered incredibly for Jesus' Name- including being hunted by the government, shipwrecked, bitten by a viper (and miraculously survived), even stoned- and all still kept alive by God, until he finally died a martyr's death by beheading. And all this is in keeping with God saying that Paul would find out how much he must suffer for God's Name. (Acts 9:16) It's also important to note Jesus' calling for Paul, as related in Acts 26:12-23- Jesus says he is appointed as a servant and witness to the things in which he has seen Christ and to those in which Jesus will appear to him- all for the purpose of opening the eyes of the Gentiles from darkness to light, from the power of Satan to the power of God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in Jesus.
      Another point to be remembered is that Christians regard the entire Bible (Genesis to Revelation) as the Word of God- as 2 Timothy 3:16 indicates that all of it is God-breathed. The whole Bible was written by people inspired by the Holy Spirit to record "the word of The Lord" (as the prophets often put it in their writings.) Jesus identifies Himself as having oneship with The Father in John 10:30. Another important aspect of Christian belief is belief in The Holy Trinity, a concept seen throughout the entire Bible. (all the way back to Genesis 1:26 this can be seen.) In John 1 and Colossians 1, for example, Jesus is identified as being God- and being there in Creation. All three Persons of the Trinity are in place at The Lord's baptism when we see God the Father speaking about His Son Jesus and the Spirit descending on Him in the form of a dove. (God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit- Three in One- the Triune Godhead.)
       Thus, all of The Bible is Jesus' Word. And all the verses in Romans 1, 1 Corinthians 6 and 1 Timothy 1 all count as Jesus' Word. Of course, Jesus also said, while praying to God the Father, "Father, Thy Word is Truth." (John 17:17) Thus, Jesus validated all of God's Word. Of course, Jesus also prophesied that The Holy Spirit would come after He ascended back into Heaven and He would guide the disciples into all Truth. (see John 16) Jesus even said He had more to tell the disciples then, but they couldn't bear it right then. But He did say the Holy Spirit would come and tell them these things and He's only going to declare what He hears and He will declare the things that are to come. He will glorify Jesus, for He will take what is Jesus' and declare it to the disciples. (Thus, He will take Jesus' Word and speak it to the disciples after Jesus' ascension. How was that accomplished? The Spirit moved upon the hearts of people to write down God's Word via the New Testament letters of Luke, Paul, Peter, John, James, Jude and the dude who wrote down Hebrews (most scholars think it was Paul as well). Thus, the New Testament is also Jesus' Word, as much as the rest of The Bible is as well. (Jesus also speaks to the validity of the Old Testament as God's Word in Luke 24.)
      However, to go back to Jesus' Word in Matthew 19, it is true that He speaks about marriage in the context of answering a question about divorce. Is it lawful to divorce one's wife for any cause? "He answered, 'Have you not read that He Who created them from the beginning made them male and female, and said, 'Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh'? So they are no longer two but one flesh. What God has joined together, let not man separate.' " In quoting Genesis 2:24 here, Jesus upheld God's created order and model for marriage. (It's important to note that this verse is before chapter 3- which is where the fall of man happens. This is before the sin of Adam and Eve that corrupts the entire world. In God's original perfect Eden, this is the model of marriage that God lays out. This is the model that Jesus upholds for marriage. Jesus even goes on to point out that it was only because of the hardness of our hearts that Moses allowed for men to divorce their wives, but from the beginning it was not so.
       There may be people today who have same sex attractions, but from the beginning it was not so. God made people upright, but we've gone off in search of many schemes. (Ecclesiastes 7:29)
Jesus states that whoever divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, and marries another, commits adultery. The disciples then say that if such is the case of a man with his wife, it is better not to marry. Then Jesus tells them that not everyone can receive this saying, but only those to whom it is given. "For there are eunuchs who have been so from birth, and there eunuchs who have been made eunuchs by men, and there are eunuchs who have made themselves eunuchs for the sake of the kingdom of Heaven. Let the one who is able to receive this receive it." (Matthew 19:12)
(Here, in answering the disciples' shock and conclusion that it was better just to stay single and live a celibate life, Jesus refers to men who have been born with a birth defect [and thus wouldn't be able to marry, in keeping with Jewish law], some who have been castrated by others [and thus wouldn't be able to marry in keeping with Jewish law] and some who choose to castrate themselves and/or live a celibate life for God's kingdom (i.e. much like Catholic priests today.) (Paul also speaks of himself being in the last category in 1 Corinthians 7, where he speaks of his chosen celibacy in order to focus fully on preaching Christ. This is also an excellent passage to consider in thinking about marriage as The Bible defines it.)
       Since sex is only allowed within the bonds of holy matrimony (one man and one woman for life, as Jesus defines it in Matthew 19:4-6) [see Hebrews 13:4 as well], and sexual relations outside of marriage are condemned throughout the Old Testament and New Testament- including specifically by Jesus in His human form in this very passage- Jesus also thereby condemns any other sexual relationship as sin. (In John 8:11, Jesus identified adultery as sin again, when He told the woman caught in adultery to "go and sin no more." Jesus also called out the woman at the well in John 4 about her sexual relationships, asking her to call her husband to come there. She responds that she has no husband and Jesus agrees with her, saying that she's right to say that because the fact is that she's had 5 husbands and the man's she with now isn't her husband. Jesus had a habit of doing such things to call people out on their sin, as He did a similar deal with the rich young ruler when He told him, since he claimed he'd kept all the commandments since he was a kid, to go and sell all he had and give to the poor and follow Him. [This got to the heart of the matter, as the rich young ruler was unwilling to part with his wealth in order to get to eternal life in Christ.])
      It is true that Galatians 3:28 states, "There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus." Of course, verse 29 states, "And if you are Christ's, then you are Abraham's offspring, heirs according to promise." What promise is that? The promise of eternal life through Jesus Christ- through faith in His substitutionary death and Resurrection for salvation and forgiveness of sins. Chapter 4 even goes on to berate the Galatians for observing "days and months and seasons and years". The chapter goes on to make the comparison between Abraham's sons (Isaac and Ishmael- Isaac being the one of promise and Ishmael the illegitimate one Abraham had from Hagar) allegorically as a comparison between being under the law and being under grace. All this leads up to a famous verse in Galatians 5:1, which says, "For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery." When we keep reading, we find that Christ makes us righteous and that we should not use our freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love we must serve one another. We are commanded to walk by the Spirit so that we won't gratify the desires of the flesh. First among the desires of the flesh listed is sexual immorality. We are not to indulge the flesh, but rather we regard it as crucified with its passions and desires. 
Galatians 3:28 is indicating our status of oneship in Christ Jesus in metaphorical terms. Of course, race and gender and slave status still exist (the latter to this day in some places, unfortunately), but we don't let them separate us from being one in Christ. We are all Father Abraham's sons [and daughters], as the classic Sunday School song says. :-):-) This verse in the right context would not be indicating God's dismissal of gender and gender roles, but rather a symbolic picture of oneness in Christ.
        And Christ addressed the law as well in Matthew 5:17. But what exactly did He say? "Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. For truly, I say to you, until Heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from The Law until all is accomplished. Therefore whoever relaxes one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of Heaven, but whoever does them and teaches them will be called great in the kingdom of Heaven. For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of Heaven." (Matthew 5:17-20)
         Now Jesus was addressing His disciples and the crowds who had gathered to hear Him speak. Jesus went on in the Sermon on the Mount to address a number of laws given in the Old Testament and reaffirm and redefine them for us- expanding beyond the limited idea held of them previously. Jesus said that just getting angry with your brother makes you liable to judgment, insulting him makes you liable to the council and calling him a fool puts you in danger of the fires of hell. Jesus said that not committing adultery goes beyond just the physical act; even looking at a woman lustfully is committing adultery with her in your heart. Jesus addresses divorce and states that, rather than divorcing for any and every reason, if it's not done on the grounds of sexual immorality, the one who divorces his wife then makes her commit adultery and whoever marries a divorced woman commits adultery. Jesus goes on to address oath-taking, retaliation and treatment of enemies and more. It's clear that Jesus did not rescind any of the moral laws of the Old Testament, but rather reaffirmed them and expanded them beyond the original understanding.
         However, what did He say about dietary laws and civil laws for the Israelites? Well, the Pharisees called Him out about breaking some of these laws on various occasions. In Mark 7, the Pharisees bust Jesus' chops about His disciples not washing their hands before eating, thus being ceremonially defiled. Jesus points out that they ignore God's commandments in order to hold to the tradition of men. (Jesus gives the example of the command to honor your mother and father, yet the Pharisees would tell their folks that they couldn't give any money to help their parents because it's Corban (i.e. given to God). Thus, they were making the Word of God void by their traditions.)
Then Jesus goes on to state that whatever goes into a person is not what defiles him, but rather what comes out of his heart. "And He said to them, 'Then are you also without understanding? Do you not see that whatever goes into a person from outside cannot defile him, since it enters not his heart but his stomach, and is expelled?' (Thus He declared all foods clean.) And He said, 'What comes out of a person is what defiles him. For from within, out of the heart of man, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, coveting, wickedness, deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride, foolishness. All these evil things come from within, and they defile a person.' " (Mark 7:18-23)
        Note that verse 19 explicitly states that Jesus declared all foods clean. Thus, He just rescinded all dietary laws for the Israelites, and He also in the same passage addressed ceremonial traditions as well. Also, in John 4, Jesus spoke of a time when true worshippers of God would worship the Father in spirit and truth, rather than on the mountain in Samaria or in Jerusalem. (Thus, more rollback of laws regarding worship in the temple.) The entire book of Hebrews is also an excellent companion to reading the Old Testament in light of the new covenant in The New Testament. It explains that the old covenant is rendered obsolete by the new covenant. (see Hebrews 8:13, as well as all of chapters 8-10 particularly.) And the New Covenant of grace calls us to be led by the Spirit (as Galatians 5 tells us), which leads to bearing the fruit of the Spirit- love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Goodness and self-control would certainly speak to maintaining sexual purity, among other things. Under the New Covenant of Grace, we are still called to uphold sexual purity (see 1 Corinthians 6 for a good discussion on this) along with other other morality commands (prohibitions against theft, murder, slander, etc.). 
        As Jesus summarizes for us in Matthew 22:34-40, the two greatest commandments are as follows, "You shall love The Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets." Loving God means obeying Him in all His commandments, as laid out for us in the New Covenant of grace in the New Testament. (Jesus Himself says that if we love Him, we will obey Him in John 14:15. [See also Luke 6:46 and Matthew 7 for even starker pictures.]) Of course, none of us can really keep all of God's commands on our own. (Jesus tells us to be perfect as our Heavenly father is perfect. [Matthew 5:48] This is the standard we must meet for entry into Heaven.) We all fall short on that. (Romans 3:23) Thankfully, God knows this and He sent Jesus to fulfill the Law for us. Jesus met the standard of perfection and kept the Law perfectly, as He stated He came to do in Matthew 5:17. In His meeting of the standard, we are set free from that burden through putting our faith in Jesus' death and Resurrection to pay for all our sins that we could never atone for on our own.
       And when we become part of God's family (John 1:12), we get Christ's righteousness imputed to us and God declares us righteous because of Christ's completed work. (basically the entire book of Romans.) And we are then set free to do the good works that God created in advance for us to do- not in an effort to earn the salvation He's already freely given us, but in a way of showing gratitude to God by seeking to grow to be more like Him in all we say and do. (see Ephesians 2:8-10 and 1 Corinthians 10:31)

Jesus, Be Louder to me than the World

       It's been said a couple of different ways. Preacher Roe said, "Some days you eat the bear; some days the bear eats you." John Denver had a beautiful song that said, "Some days are diamond- some days are stone." Some days I want to cry out with the Psalmist- "O Lord, God of my salvation; I cry out day and night before You. Let my prayer come before You; incline Your ear to my cry! For my soul is full of troubles, and my life draws near to Sheol. I am counted among those who go down to the pit; I am a man who has no strength, like one set loose among the dead, like the slain that lie in the grave, like those whom You remember no more, for they are cut off from Your hand." (Psalms 88:1-5) "The darkness is my only friend." (Psalms 88:18) - Hello, darkness- my old friend- I've come to talk with you again......
          But like Paul and Simon said by the Holy Spirit- "For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain. .....My desire is to depart and be with Christ, for that is far better. But to remain in the flesh is more necessary on your account." "But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ. Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For His sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ and be found in Him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith- that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection, and may share His sufferings, becoming like Him in His death, that by any means possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead." (Philippians 1:21 and 23-24 and 3:7-10) "In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, so that the tested genuineness of your faith- more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire- may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ. Though you have not seen Him, you love Him. Though you do not now see Him, you believe in Him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory, obtaining the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls." (1 Peter 1:6-9)
          Sometimes I just want to tell all the cares of my personal life- all the demands clawing from all sides- all the chaos and craziness of life- whether it's on a personal and family level or for friends- or stretching nationally and worldwide....Sometimes I just want to tell it all to shut up for a while! Sometimes I just want to block out all the noise and just be still and know that The Lord is God. (Psalms 46:10)
            I just need to hear You, Jesus, tell the winds and waves, "Peace! Be still!" And whether He tells the storm to calm down or He tells me, His child, to calm down- either way, I know He's with me and I ride uncomfortable but safe in His hands. (John 10:29)
           And at those times- and all times- and the times I am not I want to be doing it more- I just want to say again with the Psalmist- "I love The Lord, because He has heard my voice and my pleas for mercy. Because He inclined His ear to me, therefore I will call on Him as long as I live. The snares of death encompassed me; the pangs of Sheol laid hold on me; I suffered distress and anguish. Then I called on the Name of The Lord; 'O Lord, I pray, deliver my soul!' Gracious is The Lord, and righteous; our God is merciful. The Lord preserves the simple; when I was brought low, He saved me. Return, O my soul, to your rest; for The Lord has dealt bountifully with you." (Psalms 116:1-7)
           Yes, soul- return to your rest in the tender arms of Jesus, who promises rest for the weary soul. (Matthew 11:28-30) I love how the rest of Psalms 116 goes on to say that God has delivered my soul from death, my eyes from tears, and my feet from stumbling. I'm gonna walk with The Lord in the land of the living. Yep- all men are liars, but God is true always. His steadfast love endures forever! And He loves me like crazy and with an eternal love! :-) (Jeremiah 31:3) Even though I don't know why He does- I know He does and I know He's always true. And I thank Him for it! I love you too, Lord- help me to love You more! And for the times I can't face this world any more, grant me Your peace that passes all understanding. May I always know Your peace upon me- that You alone give; not as the world gives- Your peace that no one can take away! Keep my mind stayed upon You, Jehovah- and keep me in Your perfect peace. (Isaiah 26:3 and John 14.....)
          Lord, I am a sojourner on the earth; hide not Your commandments from me! My soul is consumed with longing for Your rules at all times. My soul melts away for sorrow; strengthen me according to Your word! Turn my eyes from looking at worthless things; and give me life in Your ways. My soul longs for Your salvation; I hope in Your word. My eyes long for Your promise; I ask, 'When will You comfort me?' I remember Your Name in the night, O Lord, and keep Your law. This blessing has fallen to me, that I have kept Your precepts. The Lord is my portion; I promise to keep Your words. I entreat Your favor with all my heart; be gracious to me according to Your promise. When I think on my ways, I turn my feet to Your testimonies; I hasten and do not delay to keep Your commandments.Your testimonies are my heritage forever, for they are the joy of my heart. My flesh trembles for fear of You, and I am afraid of Your judgments. My eyes long for Your salvation and for the fulfillment of Your righteous promise. I long for Your salvation, O Lord, and Your law is my delight. Let my soul live and praise You, and let Your rules help me. I have gone astray like a lost sheep; seek Your servant, for I do not forget Your commandments.
(all taken from Psalms 119)
           I don't particularly want to die any time soon, and there are a lot of things I'd still like to do in life before that day- or before the day when Christ comes again.....but even though I still have trepidation at times about both those times with the fear of the unknown and all those old fears about salvation and how God can love and even save a messed-up individual like me- I still have faith that calms all my fears and says that I am His and He is mine and I just trust that Jesus will do what He said He will do. And there are some days that I am truly just so longing for my Home in Heaven. There are some days that I am just feeling SO done with life- (to clarify not in a suicidal way)- just in a way that feels like I am so weary of dealing with so many things on and on again and again- and sometimes I just want a change from it all and a release. Sometimes I feel like chilling with Asaph and Habakkuk and Job, crying out- What's the deal, God? How come the wicked get to prosper, but I feel like I try to live for You and get the shaft instead? But One greater than Shaft is here and He binds up the brokenhearted. And He's suffered more than words can say and knows all about pain, betrayal and heartache. And thus, I trust again and leave things to Him. And some days I just long for His kingdom of light and love to come and redeem this old earth, while I wait up on the roof for Him. I know He will come soon in His time (whatever day that might be- and I don't know when it is- if in my lifetime or not)- but one day He will fulfill that promise. Even so, come Lord Jesus! And until that day or the day of my death- help me to be faithful every moment as You lead me on.
          And I love how Psalms 116:7 says that The Lord has dealt bountifully with you, my soul. Or to put it another way- Thank The Lord because He's been doubly good to you. He's blessed me with physical life and spiritual life through faith in Jesus' death and Resurrection. I thank and praise Him for that. I thank and praise Him for all the many other blessings He's given me. And I thank Him for all the hard things He's let me go through that makes me cling all the harder to Him. For all the things that pain me and open my eyes and ears with His megaphone to a deaf world that tells me that He is the only sure thing to hold on to above all else. [Kinda like C.S. Lewis said. ;-)] Where can I go but to The Lord? (as a classic song says- not to mention John 6:68. Jesus alone has the words of eternal life!) God is my portion and the strength of my heart forever! (Psalms 73) Whom I have in Heaven but You, Jesus? And what better could I hope to find down here on Earth? I could search the most distant reaches of this world but I'd just be wasting my time- I'm certain already I'm sure I'd find You're my one thing! (And the pure in heart shall see God.) .....(both Psalms 73 and lyrics from Rich Mullins' "My One Thing" :-))
         And here's another great Rich Mullins song- one that Amy Grant actually recorded and made famous, but one that he wrote. Here's a clip of him actually performing it himself.
Even when I'm not feeling the best about everything, no matter how my life is looking and no matter how bad things may be looking in the world, I just want to say to all the negative forces in the world- I'm going to praise The Lord anyway! Thank You, Lord Jesus! Let everything that hath breath praise The Lord! He is always doubly good to me.