January 17, 2015

From Gary... For Gary


This week, I was on Facebook and clicked on one of those apps that supposedly tell you what your name means. The Graphic above is the result. 
  
Humm, could also mean:

Great artichokes really yucky

God Always Remembers You

Goofy and really yappy

Gargantuan atop roofs y'all

Guess which alternative I prefer?  Not hard to do, as I emboldened it.  But, all this begs the question- who are you?  Well, you are the sum of all you think and do, NOT some arbitrary designation dreamt up by someone.  My initials are GDR, which means to me, that: God Does Right. The truth is that God Always Remembers You and God DoesRight probably does not apply to your initials, but does apply to each and every one of us.

Perhaps this just says it better....

John Chapter 3

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

Well, have to go now- thinking of having a nice sweet snack.

Maybe something Good And Really Yummy!!!

From Gary... Bible Reading January 17, 18





 
Bible Reading 

January 17, 18

The World English Bible




Jan. 17
Genesis 17

Gen 17:1 When Abram was ninety-nine years old, Yahweh appeared to Abram, and said to him, "I am God Almighty. Walk before me, and be blameless.
Gen 17:2 I will make my covenant between me and you, and will multiply you exceedingly."
Gen 17:3 Abram fell on his face. God talked with him, saying,
Gen 17:4 "As for me, behold, my covenant is with you. You will be the father of a multitude of nations.
Gen 17:5 Neither will your name any more be called Abram, but your name will be Abraham; for I have made you the father of a multitude of nations.
Gen 17:6 I will make you exceedingly fruitful, and I will make nations of you. Kings will come out of you.
Gen 17:7 I will establish my covenant between me and you and your seed after you throughout their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be a God to you and to your seed after you.
Gen 17:8 I will give to you, and to your seed after you, the land where you are traveling, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession. I will be their God."
Gen 17:9 God said to Abraham, "As for you, you will keep my covenant, you and your seed after you throughout their generations.
Gen 17:10 This is my covenant, which you shall keep, between me and you and your seed after you. Every male among you shall be circumcised.
Gen 17:11 You shall be circumcised in the flesh of your foreskin. It will be a token of the covenant between me and you.
Gen 17:12 He who is eight days old will be circumcised among you, every male throughout your generations, he who is born in the house, or bought with money from any foreigner who is not of your seed.
Gen 17:13 He who is born in your house, and he who is bought with your money, must be circumcised. My covenant will be in your flesh for an everlasting covenant.
Gen 17:14 The uncircumcised male who is not circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin, that soul shall be cut off from his people. He has broken my covenant."
Gen 17:15 God said to Abraham, "As for Sarai your wife, you shall not call her name Sarai, but her name will be Sarah.
Gen 17:16 I will bless her, and moreover I will give you a son by her. Yes, I will bless her, and she will be a mother of nations. Kings of peoples will come from her."
Gen 17:17 Then Abraham fell on his face, and laughed, and said in his heart, "Will a child be born to him who is one hundred years old? Will Sarah, who is ninety years old, give birth?"
Gen 17:18 Abraham said to God, "Oh that Ishmael might live before you!"
Gen 17:19 God said, "No, but Sarah, your wife, will bear you a son. You shall call his name Isaac. I will establish my covenant with him for an everlasting covenant for his seed after him.
Gen 17:20 As for Ishmael, I have heard you. Behold, I have blessed him, and will make him fruitful, and will multiply him exceedingly. He will become the father of twelve princes, and I will make him a great nation.
Gen 17:21 But my covenant I establish with Isaac, whom Sarah will bear to you at this set time next year."
Gen 17:22 When he finished talking with him, God went up from Abraham.
Gen 17:23 Abraham took Ishmael his son, all who were born in his house, and all who were bought with his money; every male among the men of Abraham's house, and circumcised the flesh of their foreskin in the same day, as God had said to him.
Gen 17:24 Abraham was ninety-nine years old, when he was circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin.
Gen 17:25 Ishmael, his son, was thirteen years old when he was circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin.
Gen 17:26 In the same day both Abraham and Ishmael, his son, were circumcised.
Gen 17:27 All the men of his house, those born in the house, and those bought with money of a foreigner, were circumcised with him.

Jan. 18
Genesis 18

Gen 18:1 Yahweh appeared to him by the oaks of Mamre, as he sat in the tent door in the heat of the day.
Gen 18:2 He lifted up his eyes and looked, and saw that three men stood opposite him. When he saw them, he ran to meet them from the tent door, and bowed himself to the earth,
Gen 18:3 and said, "My lord, if now I have found favor in your sight, please don't go away from your servant.
Gen 18:4 Now let a little water be fetched, wash your feet, and rest yourselves under the tree.
Gen 18:5 I will get a morsel of bread so you can refresh your heart. After that you may go your way, now that you have come to your servant." They said, "Very well, do as you have said."
Gen 18:6 Abraham hurried into the tent to Sarah, and said, "Quickly make ready three measures of fine meal, knead it, and make cakes."
Gen 18:7 Abraham ran to the herd, and fetched a tender and good calf, and gave it to the servant. He hurried to dress it.
Gen 18:8 He took butter, milk, and the calf which he had dressed, and set it before them. He stood by them under the tree, and they ate.
Gen 18:9 They said to him, "Where is Sarah, your wife? He said, "See, in the tent."
Gen 18:10 He said, "I will certainly return to you when the season comes round. Behold, Sarah your wife will have a son." Sarah heard in the tent door, which was behind him.
Gen 18:11 Now Abraham and Sarah were old, well advanced in age. It had ceased to be with Sarah after the manner of women.
Gen 18:12 Sarah laughed within herself, saying, "After I have grown old will I have pleasure, my lord being old also?"
Gen 18:13 Yahweh said to Abraham, "Why did Sarah laugh, saying, 'Will I really bear a child, yet I am old?'
Gen 18:14 Is anything too hard for Yahweh? At the set time I will return to you, when the season comes round, and Sarah will have a son."
Gen 18:15 Then Sarah denied, saying, "I didn't laugh," for she was afraid. He said, "No, but you did laugh."
Gen 18:16 The men rose up from there, and looked toward Sodom. Abraham went with them to see them on their way.
Gen 18:17 Yahweh said, "Will I hide from Abraham what I do,
Gen 18:18 seeing that Abraham has surely become a great and mighty nation, and all the nations of the earth will be blessed in him?
Gen 18:19 For I have known him, to the end that he may command his children and his household after him, that they may keep the way of Yahweh, to do righteousness and justice; to the end that Yahweh may bring on Abraham that which he has spoken of him."
Gen 18:20 Yahweh said, "Because the cry of Sodom and Gomorrah is great, and because their sin is very grievous,
Gen 18:21 I will go down now, and see whether their deeds are as bad as the reports which have come to me. If not, I will know."
Gen 18:22 The men turned from there, and went toward Sodom, but Abraham stood yet before Yahweh.
Gen 18:23 Abraham drew near, and said, "Will you consume the righteous with the wicked?
Gen 18:24 What if there are fifty righteous within the city? Will you consume and not spare the place for the fifty righteous who are in it?
Gen 18:25 Be it far from you to do things like that, to kill the righteous with the wicked, so that the righteous should be like the wicked. May that be far from you. Shouldn't the Judge of all the earth do right?"
Gen 18:26 Yahweh said, "If I find in Sodom fifty righteous within the city, then I will spare all the place for their sake."
Gen 18:27 Abraham answered, "See now, I have taken it on myself to speak to the Lord, who am but dust and ashes.
Gen 18:28 What if there will lack five of the fifty righteous? Will you destroy all the city for lack of five?" He said, "I will not destroy it, if I find forty-five there."
Gen 18:29 He spoke to him yet again, and said, "What if there are forty found there?" He said, "I will not do it for the forty's sake."
Gen 18:30 He said, "Oh don't let the Lord be angry, and I will speak. What if there are thirty found there?" He said, "I will not do it, if I find thirty there."
Gen 18:31 He said, "See now, I have taken it on myself to speak to the Lord. What if there are twenty found there?" He said, "I will not destroy it for the twenty's sake."
Gen 18:32 He said, "Oh don't let the Lord be angry, and I will speak just once more. What if ten are found there?" He said, "I will not destroy it for the ten's sake."
Gen 18:33 Yahweh went his way, as soon as he had finished communing with Abraham, and Abraham returned to his place.

Jan. 17, 18
Matthew 9

Mat 9:1 He entered into a boat, and crossed over, and came into his own city.
Mat 9:2 Behold, they brought to him a man who was paralyzed, lying on a bed. Jesus, seeing their faith, said to the paralytic, "Son, cheer up! Your sins are forgiven you."
Mat 9:3 Behold, some of the scribes said to themselves, "This man blasphemes."
Mat 9:4 Jesus, knowing their thoughts, said, "Why do you think evil in your hearts?
Mat 9:5 For which is easier, to say, 'Your sins are forgiven;' or to say, 'Get up, and walk?'
Mat 9:6 But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins..." (then he said to the paralytic), "Get up, and take up your mat, and go up to your house."
Mat 9:7 He arose and departed to his house.
Mat 9:8 But when the multitudes saw it, they marveled and glorified God, who had given such authority to men.
Mat 9:9 As Jesus passed by from there, he saw a man called Matthew sitting at the tax collection office. He said to him, "Follow me." He got up and followed him.
Mat 9:10 It happened as he sat in the house, behold, many tax collectors and sinners came and sat down with Jesus and his disciples.
Mat 9:11 When the Pharisees saw it, they said to his disciples, "Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?"
Mat 9:12 When Jesus heard it, he said to them, "Those who are healthy have no need for a physician, but those who are sick do.
Mat 9:13 But you go and learn what this means: 'I desire mercy, and not sacrifice,' for I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance."
Mat 9:14 Then John's disciples came to him, saying, "Why do we and the Pharisees fast often, but your disciples don't fast?"
Mat 9:15 Jesus said to them, "Can the friends of the bridegroom mourn, as long as the bridegroom is with them? But the days will come when the bridegroom will be taken away from them, and then they will fast.
Mat 9:16 No one puts a piece of unshrunk cloth on an old garment; for the patch would tear away from the garment, and a worse hole is made.
Mat 9:17 Neither do people put new wine into old wineskins, or else the skins would burst, and the wine be spilled, and the skins ruined. No, they put new wine into fresh wineskins, and both are preserved."
Mat 9:18 While he told these things to them, behold, a ruler came and worshiped him, saying, "My daughter has just died, but come and lay your hand on her, and she will live."
Mat 9:19 Jesus got up and followed him, as did his disciples.
Mat 9:20 Behold, a woman who had an issue of blood for twelve years came behind him, and touched the fringe of his garment;
Mat 9:21 for she said within herself, "If I just touch his garment, I will be made well."
Mat 9:22 But Jesus, turning around and seeing her, said, "Daughter, cheer up! Your faith has made you well." And the woman was made well from that hour.
Mat 9:23 When Jesus came into the ruler's house, and saw the flute players, and the crowd in noisy disorder,
Mat 9:24 he said to them, "Make room, because the girl isn't dead, but sleeping." They were ridiculing him.
Mat 9:25 But when the crowd was put out, he entered in, took her by the hand, and the girl arose.
Mat 9:26 The report of this went out into all that land.
Mat 9:27 As Jesus passed by from there, two blind men followed him, calling out and saying, "Have mercy on us, son of David!"
Mat 9:28 When he had come into the house, the blind men came to him. Jesus said to them, "Do you believe that I am able to do this?" They told him, "Yes, Lord."
Mat 9:29 Then he touched their eyes, saying, "According to your faith be it done to you."
Mat 9:30 Their eyes were opened. Jesus strictly commanded them, saying, "See that no one knows about this."
Mat 9:31 But they went out and spread abroad his fame in all that land.
Mat 9:32 As they went out, behold, a mute man who was demon possessed was brought to him.
Mat 9:33 When the demon was cast out, the mute man spoke. The multitudes marveled, saying, "Nothing like this has ever been seen in Israel!"
Mat 9:34 But the Pharisees said, "By the prince of the demons, he casts out demons."
Mat 9:35 Jesus went about all the cities and the villages, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the Good News of the Kingdom, and healing every disease and every sickness among the people.
Mat 9:36 But when he saw the multitudes, he was moved with compassion for them, because they were harassed and scattered, like sheep without a shepherd.
Mat 9:37 Then he said to his disciples, "The harvest indeed is plentiful, but the laborers are few.
Mat 9:38 Pray therefore that the Lord of the harvest will send out laborers into his harvest."

From Mark Copeland... The Widow’s Mites (Mark 12:41-44)

                          "THE GOSPEL OF MARK"

                      The Widow’s Mites (12:41-44)

INTRODUCTION

1. Teaching in the Temple (on Tuesday of the Last Week), Jesus
   addressed...
   a. The doctrines of the religious leaders
   b. The practices of the religious leaders

2. At the end of the day, with the last incident of His public ministry,
   Jesus...
   a. Observed people putting money into the treasury of the temple
   b. Made an observation about the contribution of one poor widow

[Jesus had just warned against pretentious scribes who "devour widows’
houses" (Mk 12:40).  In contrast, consider the remarkable example of one
poor widow...]

I. THE NARRATIVE

   A. PUTTING MONEY IN THE TEMPLE TREASURY...
      1. Jesus observed people placing money in the treasury - Mk 12:41
      2. This may have been one of 13 receptacles, in the area known as
         The Women’s Court
      3. These receptacles were marked, indicating how the money would
         be used (temple tribute, wood, sacrifices, incense, etc.)

   B. THE CONTRIBUTIONS OF THE RICH...
      1. Many who were rich gave large amounts - Mk 12:41
      2. That in itself was commendable, reminiscent of the first
         contributions for the tabernacle - cf. Exo 35:20-29; 36:2-7

   C. THE CONTRIBUTION OF THE WIDOW...
      1. One poor widow threw in two ‘mites’ (Grk., leptos) - Mk 12:42
      2. Worth a ‘quadrans’ (Grk., kodrantes), which was 1/64th of a
         ‘denarius’ (a day’s wage)
      3. If a day’s wage was $25, a ‘quadrans’ would be worth 75 cents,
         a ‘mite’ 40 cents

   D. THE OBSERVATION OF JESUS...
      1. The widow gave more than all who had given to the treasury - Mk 12:43
      2. They gave out of their abundance, she gave all she had, her
         entire livelihood - Mk 12:44

[Jesus was so impressed, He called His disciples.  He stressed the
importance of His observation by prefacing His remarks with "Assuredly,
I say to you".  In the spirit of His observation, here are...]

II. SOME OBSERVATIONS

   A. A LESSON FOR DISCIPLES...
      1. Note that Jesus "called His disciples to Himself" - Mk 12:43
      2. This indicates that the teaching was intended for them and for
         all subsequent disciples - J.A. Brooks (NAC)
      -- What can we learn from the example of the widow’s mites?

   B. THE VALUE OF A GIFT...
      1. It is well to remember that God measures giving, not by what we
         give, but by what we keep for ourselves; - R.A. Cole (TNTC)
      2. The value of a gift is not the amount given, but the cost to
         the giver. - J.R. Edwards (PNTC)
      3. God measures the gift by the sacrifice involved (cf. 2Sa 24:24). - A. Black (CPNIVC)
      4. The Lord estimates giving by our motive, our means, and by how
         much we have left. This is a great encouragement to those who
         have few material possessions, but a great desire to give to
         Him. - Believer’s Bible Commentary
      -- We learn that the liberality of the poor is often greater than
         that of the rich!

   C. THE IMPORTANCE OF A PERSON...
      1. What matters in God’s sight is not what a person has
      2. But the devotion which causes one to give even at great
         personal cost
      3. Thus even the poorest of the poor can be "rich" (in faith)
         - cf. Jm 2:5
      -- We learn that people should be measured by their faith, not
         their wealth!

   D. THE APPROVAL OF VOLUNTARY POVERTY...
      1. Many today would criticize the widow
         a. For not providing for her future
         b. For her lack of foresight and prudence
         c. For becoming dependent upon Israel’s welfare system -  cf.
            Deut 24:19-21; 26:12-13
      2. Yet her voluntary poverty is just one example found in the
         Scriptures
         a. Jesus chose a life of voluntary poverty - Lk 9:58
         b. He counseled some to do the same in their service as a
            disciple - Lk 18:22
         c. Teaching His disciples to be trust God’s providential care
            - Mt 6:31-33
      -- We learn that voluntary poverty can be a viable option for some
         disciples

   E. JESUS IS STILL WATCHING HOW PEOPLE GIVE...
      1. The ‘giving’ of Ananias and Sapphira did not go unnoticed - cf.
         Ac 5:1-11
      2. Those who give liberally and cheerfully will be noticed - e.g.,
         2Co 8:1-5; 9:6-7
      3. Just as all that we do is noticed by God - He 4:13
      -- We learn that our giving does not escape the careful eye of our
         Lord!

CONCLUSION

1. The story of the widow’s mites should prompt prayerful reflection...
   a. Regarding our own giving to the Lord’s cause, to charity
   b. We may think we excel at giving, but do we really?

2. The story of the widow’s mites also prepares us for what is to come
   in Mark’s gospel...
   a. She exemplified sacrificial giving in the service of the Lord
   b. Soon we will read of the Lord who gave all in service to us!

   "For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He
   was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor, that you through His
   poverty might become rich." - 2Co 8:9

Executable Outlines, Copyright © Mark A. Copeland, 2011

eXTReMe Tracker 

Chronology and the Bible's Arrangement by Eric Lyons, M.Min.

http://apologeticspress.org/APContent.aspx?category=11&article=441

Chronology and the Bible's Arrangement

by Eric Lyons, M.Min.

Since the Bible begins at the Creation with Genesis—the book of beginnings—and ends with the book of Revelation (which many scholars believe was the last recorded book of the Bible), students of the Scriptures often assume that the Bible was compiled chronologically. Many students approach their reading of the Bible with the mindset that everything in Scripture is arranged “from A to Z.” Since Genesis records what took place at the beginning of time, and it is the first book of the Bible, then the rest of the Bible follows suit, right? Actually, what the diligent student eventually finds is that the Bible is not a book of strict chronology. All sixty-six books of the Bible are not arranged in the order in which they were written. Furthermore, all of the eventscontained within each book also are not recorded chronologically.
Consider the following arrangement of books in the Bible:
Although the books of Haggai and Zechariah have been placed near the end of the Old Testament, these men prophesied while the events in the book of Ezra were taking place (cf. Ezra 5:1; 6:14). Twenty books separate Haggai and Zechariah from the book of Ezra, yet the events recorded in each book were occurring at the same time. Obviously, these books are not arranged in chronological order.
Even though 2 Chronicles appears before the book of Job, the events recorded in Job took place long before those that are recorded in 2 Chronicles. In fact, if the Bible were a book of strict chronology, the events recorded in Job likely would be placed somewhere within the book of Genesis, after Genesis 6 (since Job 22:15-16 is more than likely a reference to the Flood).
In the New Testament, one might assume that since 1 Thessalonians comes after the book of Acts, that Luke penned Acts earlier than Paul penned his first letter to the church at Thessalonica. The truth is, however, 1 Thessalonians was written years before the book of Acts was completed.
In addition to the books of the Bible not being arranged chronologically, inspired writers did not always record information in a strictly chronological sequence. Making the assumption that the entire Bible was written chronologically hinders a proper understanding of the text. For example, Genesis 2:5-25 does not pick up where Genesis one left off; rather, it provides more detailed information about some of the events mentioned in the first chapter of the Bible. (Whereas Genesis 1 is arranged chronologically, Genesis 2 is organized topically.) The differences in the arrangement of the temptations of Jesus recorded by Matthew (4:1-11) and Luke (4:1-13) are resolved when we realize that at least one of them is not reporting the facts in sequential order. Some also question whether Jesus cursed the tree before or after He cleansed the temple. Since Matthew records this event before the cursing of the fig tree (21:12-19), and since Mark places the cleansing of the temple after Jesus cursed the tree (11:15-19), it is supposed that one of the two writers was mistaken. The truth is, however, Matthew’s account is more of a summary, whereas Mark’s narrative is more detailed and orderly. Mark’s more specific account reveals that Jesus actually made two trips to the temple. Thus, as Albert Barnes noted: “Mark has stated the order more particularly, and has ‘divided’ what Matthew mentions together” (1997). Obviously, the gospel accounts were not arranged to be a strict chronology of Jesus’ life.
When studying with those who know very little about the Bible, it is helpful for them to understand the arrangement of Scriptures. By recognizing that many books of the Bible (as well as the events contained therein) are not in a sequential order, one will have fewer problems digesting Scripture.

REFERENCE

Barnes, Albert (1997), Barnes’ Notes (Electronic Database: Biblesoft).

From Jim McGuiggan... Enter the Dragon (4): Ignorance


Enter the Dragon (4): Ignorance

"And the truth will set you free." John 8:32
Psalm 2:1,2 (NRSV) says this: "Happy are those [whose]…delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law they meditate day and night."                                                                   

It suits the Dragon's purposes to keep us stupid and to keep us narrow. It's part of his agenda to keep us ignorant of the depths and riches of our faith. He'd like us to feed on scraps and growl over the same well-gnawed bones; anything, as long as we stay out of the depths of biblical truth because there's a real danger that we might see something that would transform our lives forever and turn us into enemies he'd rather not have.

Whatever power he has and however he impacts our world he is bent double in his efforts to keep us from knowing the riches of the gospel that work their own moral magic and generate noble thoughts and glorious dreams. It's true that mere dreams and noble thinking are not enough to transform us or the world but then I'm not talking about mere dreams or merely thinking. In one movie version of the Columbus saga an official who was overly conscious about money was berating the dreamer about the impracticality of it all. He reminded him of the cost and the fact that dreams were without substance, little more than vapour. Columbus takes him to the window overlooking the city and asked him what he saw. He said he saw great buildings, church spires, courts, massive cathedrals, wide streets and tens of thousands of houses. The explorer passionately hissed at him, "You only see these things as realities because someone dreamed them. These once were dreams!"

If people will not dream great dreams and speak great truths and develop a rich theology, humanity will settle down to mere activity and narrow deeds. Ideas have consequences! We know that some massive lies distort the world so you can be sure that massive truths will shape the world for the better. "Truth will set you free!" someone said and tens of millions of us have been blessed to believe him. All truth is important but some truths are more important than others and will have a greater impact than others. "If they must have truth," someone hisses from the shadow, "let them have some but make sure they aren't big truths. Failing that, make sure they don't understand the big truths they've been given. See to it that they don't think!"
People are more than what they do. They dream lovelier dreams than what they can execute but they do us a service beyond measuring when they tell us their thoughts. It's only another form of sinful snobbery that dismisses those women and men whose noble thoughts far exceed their capacity to act. The English poet Robert Browning saw this clearly; he knew that the greatness of men and women couldn't and shouldn't be assessed simply by what they do. In his Rabbi Ben Ezrahe spoke of it this way:

Thoughts hardly to be packed
into a narrow act,
Fancies that broke through language and
escaped;
All I could never be,
All, men ignored in me,
This I was worth to God, whose wheel the
pitcher shaped.

Think what Paul did with the doctrine of monotheism. In Romans 3:29-30 he argues from the truth that there is one God to the claim that the whole world can be saved. "Is God the God of the Jews only? Is he not the God of the Gentiles too? Yes, of the Gentiles too, since there is only one God, who will justify the circumcised by faith and the uncircumcised through that same faith." You see what he did here! He looked at the Shema, recited by the Jewish nation several times every day without fail, and saw that if that confession was true then the whole world had hope!

For him, believing monotheism was more than intellectually storing up the truth, "Hear O Israel, the Lord our God is one Lord." He had drunk deeply from his own scriptures that proclaimed to all the nations that they could rejoice because Yahweh was God (see Psalm 67 for example). But in the light of Jesus Christ he saw even more clearly that monotheism was joy for the world; it meant God who made us all cared for all and therefore Jesus died for all! In 1 Corinthians 8—10 he again introduces monotheism and reworks the Shema (8:4-6). Because there is only one God and he has shown himself in Jesus Christ as someone who forfeits rights in order to bless the weak, then God's children should do the same. If there is one God then there is one humanity and all that are part of it are loved by God (Romans 3). If there is one God then there is one way to live as his people—to minister to the weak instead of despising them (1 Corinthians 8—10).

It takes more than intellect to see massive truth in and behind massive truths. It takes a heart that is shaped by a spirit other than the one that now operates in the children of disobedience (Ephesians 2:2 and 3:14-19). The real threat to biblical monotheism isn't some theological polytheism so much as it is some crass and barbaric paganism or racism. Is the one God the God of the Afghans and Iraqis? Is he the God of us all? To read the Parable of the Good Samaritan and to be racist or radically nationalist is to be blind.

What the Dragon would have us do is to learn a formula of words, recite them mindlessly and be content that if it ever came to it we could pass a religious quiz with flying colours. Sin is in its element when we learn the meaning of words without knowing what the words mean. "Anti-Semitic" is only a phrase, "racism" is only a word but the reality, what the words really mean, is an obscene and horrifying reality.

American preacher Harry E. Fosdick rehearsed the story of a certain anti-Semitic Frenchman who was there when the Nazis walked into Paris as conquerors. When he saw what they did to the Jews it dawned on him what anti-Semitic really meant, saw where it really led. Soon after the war had ended, on meeting a Jew he knew he greeted him with warmth and said, "These Nazis have taken everything away from me, even my anti-Semitism." Racism isn't what we find in the dictionary, it isn't a formula of words, it's a black family (children and all) hanging outside their burning home, it's a little girl and her mother being raped on a daily basis and it's a satanic little sign above a public water fountain: Whites only. Racism and all forms of elitism are denials of monotheism because you can only be elitist if you practice a denial of the Shema as reworked by Paul in 1 Corinthians 8:4-6,
 "We know…that there is no God but one. For even if there are so-called gods…(as indeed there are many 'gods' and many 'lords'), yet for us there is one God, the Father, from whom all things came and for whom we live; and there is but one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom all things came and through whom we live."

And while it's right and proper for the elect of God to think they have been privileged the Dragon rejoices over every hint of elitism there. When Christians cluck their tongues at the religious snobbery of ancient Jews and practice the very same you can be sure that Mephistopheles beats his shield in excitement along with the other satanic servants in the great sulphured city of Pandemonium. Elitist doctrines whether they're held in arrogance or not, must be thought suspect in the light of the truth that there is one God. We've been given sound advice by Don Miller who has taught us that when we are worried over the "eternal decrees" and the "foreordaining" work of God we need only to remember that he is "the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ" therefore some things can't be true. 

And if indeed the Holy Father loves us all without exception then the elect need to remember why it is they have been privileged to be called into God's grace and service. God called no elect to make them think or behave as though they were the elite. Election is to salvation in Jesus Christ, of course, but it's also election to service, that the whole wide world should know that God has not abandoned his creation. The elect are a community of witness to the universal and holy love of the Father for all his wayward children. It serves only the Dragon's agenda to proclaim a God who is as sectarian as we are in our worst moments. How it must please Satan to see us ridicule believers who stand apart from each other (without rancour) because they think it pleases God while we calmly teach that God has created millions for no other purpose than to eternally torment them because it pleases him.

The God who created us in love (Psalm 8 &136) and continues to give us life through development in the womb surely has a quarrel with all who callously make war against those who are in the womb. And if God has a quarrel with those who make war with humans growing in the womb would he who created us all make war against multiplied millions of his children before they ever reached the womb? The doctrine that God lovingly atoned for some of us while predestining the rest of us to eternal conscious torment because it gives him pleasure is not the monotheism of scripture! And who can know what social effects such an understanding of scripture has had down the years presuming it has shaped the subconscious views of millions?

It suits the sinister one's agenda to have us live decent and upright lives while holding doctrines that splinter humanity while giving approval to harsh convictions we haven't searched out. It suits him to keep us from thinking noble thoughts of God. "Don't think too seriously about teaching or doctrine or theology," he would urge us, "after all, it's being nice to one another that counts, isn't it?" But we need to remember that it was in the middle of a thoroughly doctrinal section that Paul warned, "Bad company corrupts good character." (1 Corinthians 15:33) We prefer to think of this warning as a merely social observation but ideas have consequences and Satan wants us to keep us ignorant. That's part of his agenda.

Paul knew that and would have none of it. He ran all over the world proclaiming truths that had changed the universe. He didn't only live uprightly, he spoke profound truths that ripped the shackles off entire nations. He saw his mission and destiny to be one who was to "demolish strongholds…demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ." 2 Corinthians 10:3-5. How tragic and pathetic it is for "ministers of the Word" to reduce their call and ignore this truth. It isn't only bad deeds Satan loves to see; he exults in profoundly bad thinking and stupidity because when he gets that he gets vile behaviour that often looks respectable and he gets bad religion that suffocates and perverts; one that has otherwise kind people sitting in an assembly and nodding approval at someone who says God creates billions of their fellow-humans for no other reason than to torture them eternally because that's what pleases him.

From Ed Healy... If we could see beyond today!

From Ed Healy... If we could see beyond today!



 



If it were possible for you and me to look beyond today, to roll away the mists that obscure our vision, perhaps many of the griefs of today would be done away. There are so many things we cannot understand, being limited to reasoning with our senses of sight or hearing or taste or smell or touch.

But through our faith in God, we know that all dreary days will soon be bright and that all dreary days will soon be bright and that all life's wrongs will be made right. The pains of disease and broken hearts will all be healed in the better world in which we shall live.

For the present, though, it is not God's will that we know all things about the world to come. The revealed things of God are the ones we must concern ourselves with; we must trust in God to lead us into those unseen things beyond today.

I know not the way I am going,
But well do I know my guide!
With a childlike faith do I give my hand
To the mighty Friend by my side.
And the only thing that I say to him
As he takes it, is, Hold it fast!
Suffer me not to lose the way,
And lead me home at last.
We cannot see what lies before,
And so we cling to Him the more.
He leads us till this life is o'er,
If we trust and obey.
Trust and obey,
For there's no other way
To be happy in Jesus,
But to trust and obey.