Christian (part three)

The topic of Christianianity is a BIG one. There is no way around it actually in our society, as it is in nearly every facet of life. Today, we will focus on the politics of being a Christian. It is pushed by both major political parties, some would say, “exploited” for political gain, touching on the surface, our need to be compassionate. It’s a double-edged sword if you will because politics are ugly and yet i do believe we have a civic duty to participate in it. But we can not separate the two. i know the constitution makes a distinction of separation between Church and State. However, that separation is intended to protect the Church from the government not the government from the Church.

If you are a politically active Christian you must do so from a perspective of the values found in the passages of Scripture in which we hold so dear. To separate your beliefs in some attempt to appease a group of people is not within the guidelines of being Christian. Nor can we separate it out from our lives in any aspect. To do so would be a denial of our values, our faith, our Christ. So far in our previous two weeks of looking at this topic, we covered Romans 12:9-10 which state:

“Let love be genuine. Abhor what is evil; hold fast to what is good. Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor.”

Our next verse, 11, states:

“Do not be slothful in zeal, be fervent in spirit, serve the Lord.”

Think of those in past times who basically risked everything in order to remain faithful to God. Namely, in this case, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, these guys put God above politics in everything they did that’s why they were hated by the others and set up. Even to the point of not denying their God for any reason even their very lives. We should be so bold! “Do not be slothful in zeal, be fervent in spirit, serve the Lord!”

So, what are we to do when the climate is so split, compassion over what? When sizing up candidates does one issue rule over another? Where is grace or mercy when it comes to pass indiscretions? How about moral failings? Or the candidates stated belief versus their present actions? There is so much to consider how does one possibly vote at all? i for a very long time was registered, independent. i didn’t want the label of a political party, in fact, i still don’t but when we moved i somehow selected an affiliation and just haven’t gone to fix it. In my heart of hearts, i remain an objective independent voter. Who Votes his beliefs over politics, over issues, over a person. As a Christian, i take into consideration my own grace, mercy, love and the charge to love others, in making my decisions on casting a vote for someone or some issue.

May we take into account such things always and in everything that we do, not just politics, but also, work, friendships, relationships, even when we are alone.

“Let love be genuine. Abhor what is evil; hold fast to what is good. Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor. Do not be slothful in zeal, be fervent in spirit, serve the Lord. Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer. Contribute to the needs of the saints and seek to show hospitality.” Romans 12:9-13

You are loved,

Mawidge, the bwessed awwangment. . .

Mawidge . . . mawidge is what bwings us togewer today . . . Mawidge, the bwessed awwangment, that dweam wiffima dweam . . .

If you haven’t seen the movie Princess Bride from 1987 yet, you should go rent it ASAP when you are done reading here of course. For those who need a translation of the line above, here you go. “Marriage . . . marriage is what brings us together today. Marriage, the blessed arrangement, that dream within a dream. . .” Today, i want to tackle a passage that i have been looking at for over a year now in depth, in a practical, ‘how does this look in day to day life?’ sort of way. Here is the passage in question.

John 5:25-27  ²⁵Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself up for her, ²⁶so that He might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, ²⁷that He might present to Himself the church ^[q]in all her glory, having no spot or wrinkle or any such thing; but that she would be holy and blameless.

We men enjoy reading the previous verses in this chapter, it begins with, “Wives, submit to your husbands.” That is a good one right? i saw a clip on Facebook where a preacher was talking about this passage. It was probably a poorly edited clip intended to make him look bad, it succeeded. Sure that is where Paul starts this section of his letter but that is not the emphasis. No, indeed it is not. It is, however, on the husbands. Let’s just take a minute and look at this directly.

“…As Christ loved the church and gave Himself up for her,” Now, husbands i don’t think this is calling on us to sacrifice our lives, but it is calling us to lay it down. Jesus washed the feet of His disciples, the church. He also, calmed them when they were fearful. He ensured they had food to eat, He wept over them, with them and took time to be with them. He listened to them and was available to them. He did this to sanctify them, set them apart, they were not just like everyone else, they were more than that. This is how Paul chooses to discribe the relationship between a husband and a wife, this is marriage.

“…Having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word,” Husband, do you read the word with your wife? Do you pray with her and for her? Do you meditate on the Word together as one? In verse 31 it states, “For this reason, a man shall leave his father and mother and shall be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.” This relationship is a mirror of the relationship Jesus has with us, His Church, His Bride. The mystery of us becoming one with Christ Jesus, as Jesus is one with the Father. We too are one with our wives.

The more we husbands love our wife like this the easier it is for our wife to respect us. Now let me end here with a word of caution for you wives, as you accepted Christ (as we all did) and died to ourselves in order to live for Him. As we respect the law of Christ, to love God and to love others, so too you must respect your husbands. Remember, love is a choice. The two of you, husband and wife, made a commitment to love one another in sickness and in health, in good times and in bad, in plenty and in want, for better or worse . . . etc. If we, in our marriages began to live out God’s plan for us, as we reach together toward Christ, we would naturally be drawn closer together. This is marriage.

You are loved,

Love, my conclusion (Part 1)

Instead of going on about the difference between the different forms of love used in Scripture, Agapa, Eros, Philia, and the less common but still relevant Storge. Which perhaps is a future post, i rather here just cut to the chase a bit. Let’s not get lost in rabbit trails of debate or even friendly conversation, which simply is the mascarade of confusion, doubt, and deflection. We fight being loved, so we don’t get hurt. We fight loving others because we don’t want to be disappointed, and we fight others loving others because we are jealous, cynical, and doubtful of genuine love. We wrap ourselves up in fairytale love stories and fantasies that actually warp any form of love and give false expectations of any sort of reality.

It almost sounds as if i have a cynical heart towards love. Perhaps i do. Perhaps that is why it intrigues me so. Even to the point of haunting my dreams, and peaking it’s head out through the pages of these words. You may remember a song by Tina Turner, called,
“What’s love got to do with it?” Here is the chorus to that song . . .

What’s love got to do, got to do with it
What’s love but a second-hand emotion
What’s love got to do, got to do with it
Who needs a heart when a heart can be broken

You want to talk cynical? There it is written in 1984 and i bet the sentiment goes centuries beyond that too. For my point, each verse talks about something different, the first verse about lust, the second verse, confusion, the third, protection. This is just one iconic song, there are countless others, i just happen to like the tune, and i can hear it playing in my head. So, with such a worldly view of love abounding around us, choking out our very hearts, what are we to do?

“Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God. Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love. In this, the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent His only Son into the world so that we might live through Him. In this is love, not that we have loved God but that HE loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins, Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God abides in us and His love is perfected in us. By this, we know that we abide in Him and He in us because He has given us of His Spirit.” 1 John 4:7-12

If we claim to have love but we do not back it up with action then we are only fooling ourselves, no one else. We become the very thing everyone claims we as Christians are, hypocrites. Let us consider these verses from 1 John 3:11,12

“For this is the message that you have heard from the beginning, that we should love one another. We should not be like Cain, who was of the evil one and murdered his brother. And why did he murder him? Because his own deeds were evil and his brother’s righteous.”

Jealousy is a killer of love. Jealousy hides inside your heart, your mind, your anger, your fear, and it waits for an opportunity to reveal his hideousness in humanity by way of our fallen nature, surprisingly enough. It is why we ought to pursue the love of God with every fiber of our being! No rock left unturned, no shadow left cast, no door left unopened in our pursuit of love. For we are only capable of true, honest, sincere love when we are abiding in God and He in us for “His love is perfected in us” through abiding. i am not done. To be continued . . .

You are LOVED,

God is Love.

i have been on a journey for some time now to discover how one might love others in a scriptural way. Given our human nature. Wesley taught that entire sanctification was that of understanding “pure love” or being filled with the “pure love of God.” To be entirely sanctified is as Wesley stated, “the second work of grace” or “Christian Perfection” not to be confused with flawlessness but an infilling of the Holy Spirit that leads the Christian onward in life . . . to love others. Loving others isn’t easy, by any stretch of the imagination. Especially nowadays. Just look at a twitter thread or comments on a Facebook post, “Christian” or “secular” and you will see that we are a long way from love.

Which brings me to my current thinking spot in Scripture, 1 John 4:7-13. i am going to write it below. Read it. Pray on it. Next week i will give my thoughts on it as i sit and read and pray this week.

⁷Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God. ⁸Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love. ⁹In this, the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world so that we might live through him. ¹⁰In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. ¹¹Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. ¹²No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God abides in us and his love is perfected in us. ¹³By this, we know that we abide in him and he in us because he has given us of his Spirit.

Meditate on this . . .

You are loved,

Today is my birthday.

It’s 1979, i am turning 6 years old. Dinner is, by my choice, my mom’s lasagna. i will eat two pieces. The cake is simple, two-layer, round, chocolate with chocolate frosting. My gift that year, i can’t believe i remember, cap-guns with a holster and five hot-wheels cars. No friends, just family, my sister who is six years older, my brother who is four years older, and my parents who are just older. We are living in Sylmar, California which is in the San Fernando Valley of Los Angeles. It’s July, it’s hot, it’s lighter later, it’s later, dusk has set in. Sirens fill the air, they stop short, they are close by, close enough that we see the flashing red lights.

Cameron and David are brothers. They live down the alley, i don’t remember what side of the street if they were on our side or the other block, we always just went down the alley to get there. They are both six years old. They are not twins, separated by 11 months this is the short part of the year they share a number. i remember playing in their chicken coop, they didn’t have chickens, just a coop. i don’t know if they never had chickens, maybe it came with the house, i only know they didn’t have any chickens while i knew them and so we made it into a fort of sorts. Cameron was the leader of our little club, he made all the rules. Our motto, “We aren’t chicken!” Sadly none too bright either.

Cameron earlier that day would hear of a game called chicken. He didn’t tell what the game was. He said it would be fun. It was to be a club game. i would miss the first time playing because of my birthday celebration. i wish i had known, i would like to think i would have told him to not do it . . . but i did not know.

We walked to the end of the block to see what the fuss was. When we arrived there were two small sheets draped over two small bodies. One car in the middle of the road the driver sitting in the passenger seat with their legs outside the car. My mom, working as a nurse at the time was talking to the fire department. She returned, D.O.A. that’s all i heard before she told my sister to take me home, she did. We didn’t find out until later who it was and what they were doing.

Today is my birthday. It is 2018. As i look back on my years i have story after story, memory after memory of moments where an event or a decision give rise to thoughts in which i wonder, “what if i did this or that?” “what if” i could what if this story too. “What if i was there with them?” Or “what if i had thought to invite them to my birthday?” i could allow these thoughts to consume me or i can put them behind me, learn from them and press on making the most of every moment, every day, every year.

“Not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect, but I press on to make it my own because Christ Jesus has made me his own. Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 3:12-14

“Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life? And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these…” Matthew 6:25-34

“Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.” Ephesians 4:31-32

^“4that I may make it clear, which is how I ought to speak. ⁵Walk in wisdom toward outsiders, making the best use of the time. ⁶Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you ought to answer each person.” Colossians 4:4-6

i like to reflect on my birthday’s. Have i made the most of my year? Have done all that i can? Am i content with it? What changes do i need to make? How can i love more? Do more? Live better?

Today is my birthday.

You are loved,

Jude (a final thought)

Let us consider for a moment, who was Jude? We know that from verse one he is the brother of James. We know of a few Jude’s in scripture, but only one who is a brother to James and that James was the half-brother of Jesus. Making Jude (a form of Judas) also a half-brother of Jesus. i didn’t mention this in the introduction because i didn’t want to influence your reading too much. i wanted you to go in and take each word without that influence because i think we have a tendency to over think things. Besides, i suppose there is some question as to whether or not it is true, i am of the camp that sees it as true.

Jude never mentions he is a brother of Jesus. Nor does James, rather, they identify themselves as bondservants. They had no special entrance into the Kingdom, they entered the same way you and i did/do, by faith in Jesus the Messiah. In fact, we can read that at one point Jesus’ family was not impressed by His declaration and thought maybe He had gone mad. They even tried to influence Him in Mark 3:31-32 we read, “And His mother and His brothers came, and standing outside they sent to Him and called Him. And a crowd was sitting around Him, ‘Your mother and Your brothers are outside, seeking you‘” Now it is unclear what their intentions were but many believe, as do i, that they were there attempting to “calm” Him down from His rhetoric because He was really beginning to stir the pot and bring shame in a sense to His family, “Is not this the carpenter’s son? Is not His mother called Mary? And are not His brothers James and Joseph and Simon and Judas (Jude)?” Matthew 13:55

Jesus’, response to them brings light to the nature of the Church. (Mark 3:33-35) “And He answered them, ‘Who are My mother and My brothers?’ And looking about at those who sat around Him, He said, ‘Here are My mother and My brothers! Whoever does the will of God, He is My brother and sister and mother.‘” Blood maybe thinker than water, but obedience to God’s will is paramount! Want to be included in the family of God? Be obedient to the will of your Heavenly Father. Jesus says, “If you love Me, you will keep My commandments.” (John 14:15 ESV) Later in that same chapter (v23-24) Jesus says, “If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word, and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home with him. Whoever does not love Me does not keep My words. And the word that you hear is not Mine but the Father’s who sent me.”

Jude came to faith after Jesus was resurrected, as did James. It is another, proof, if you will, of the power of the resurrection and the truth of it! God, shows no partiality and recognizes those who obey His word as, family. Which brings us back to the stern warning in the book of Jude. That judgment is real, and there will be some that scoff, even within the “Church” and they will bring division. It is a great introduction to the book of Revelation, which starts out with its own warnings to the Churches. Therefore the true believer is to, “build yourselves up in your most holy faith; pray in the Holy Spirit; keep yourselves in the love of God, waiting for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ that leads to eternal life. And have mercy on those who doubt; save others by snatching them out of the fire; to others show mercy with fear, hating even the garment stained by the flesh.” Jude 20-23 (All Bible references are from the ESV).

You are loved,

Jude (Part 1)

Let me start here: if you have not read Jude (an introduction), stop now and go read it . . . it will make more sense that way. However, as a reminder to those who did read it let me refresh your memory. Jude is one of four brothers of Jesus and at some point led the Church in Jerusalem. He came to faith after Jesus’ resurrection. This same Jude then pens this letter and it is powerful! As a call to repentance, as a reminder of judgment, and as a warning to stay alert as we contend for the faith.

He doesn’t waste time with small talk, antidotes, or gibber, he is very matter-of-fact. In the verses, we will look at this week, we will see his heart, and his understanding as the brother of Jesus and leader of the Church. Let’s look at verse 5, “Now I desire to remind you, though you know all things once for all, that the Lord, after saving a people out of the land of Egypt, subsequently destroyed those who did not believe.” Here is an interesting point, there are a couple manuscripts out there as well as a few versions of the Bible that use “Jesus” in place of “the Lord”. Could these early manuscripts be more accurate to Jude’s point? i think so. Jude had come to an understanding of who Jesus was and was not ashamed of it.

We love grace, i love grace. We preach grace, i preach grace, and it is glorious! However, we mustn’t lose sight of Jesus. Jesus, actively a part of the Old Testament, who is the same yesterday, today and forever, saves us by His cross. He leads us free from the chains of sin, out of bondage and into freedom. As the Israelites out of Egypt and still, subsequently (lit. the second time) He destroys those who did not believe. Folks, there is judgment. There is a hell and it has been preached since the formation of the Church. Do not be led astray. We must continue to contend for the faith in a world that would pervert the grace of God, even some in the Church.

⁵Now I desire to remind you, though you know all things once for all, that ^[e]the Lord, after saving a people out of the land of Egypt, ^[f]subsequently destroyed those who did not believe. ⁶And angels who did not keep their own domain, but abandoned their proper abode, He has kept in eternal bonds under darkness for the judgment of the great day, ⁷just as Sodom and Gomorrah and the cities around them, since they in the same way as these indulged in gross immorality and went after ^[g]strange flesh, are exhibited as an ^[h]example in undergoing the punishment of eternal fire. (NASB)

⁵Now I want to remind you, although you once fully knew it, that Jesus, who saved^[c] a people out of the land of Egypt, afterward destroyed those who did not believe. ⁶And the angels who did not stay within their own position of authority, but left their proper dwelling, he has kept in eternal chains under gloomy darkness until the judgment of the great day— ⁷just as Sodom and Gomorrah and the surrounding cities, which likewise indulged in sexual immorality and pursued unnatural desire,^[d] serve as an example by undergoing a punishment of eternal fire. (ESV)

Pray with me for insight, for understanding, for fresh revelation into God’s Word. Let the Spirit of God speak to our hearts through these words written by Jude inspired by the Spirit. May we grow in wisdom and faith, as we seek to walk humbly with Jesus, contending for the faith. Until next week . . .

you are loved,

Praise the Lord!

The shortest chapter in the Bible is Psalm 117, it is just two verses. Yet these two verses are immensely profound in their simplicity. You want to boil things down to the minimum and just look at the core of human existence? Then here you go:

“Praise the Lord, all you nations! Worship Him, all you peoples! Because God’s faithful love towards us is strong, the Lord’s faithfulness lasts forever! Praise the Lord!”

It doesn’t get much simpler than this, Praise the Lord. Worship Him. Because, He is faithful. His love is strong towards us and He is forever faithful. Thus, we should, Praise the Lord! No matter what you are facing, no matter what difficulties or trials befall you, Praise the Lord! In the good and in the bad, Praise the Lord! In the sun and in the rain, Praise the Lord! In life and in death, Praise the Lord! In sickness and in health, Praise the Lord! In the hardest of times and in the best of times, Praise the Lord! Praise the Lord!

Praise the Lord,

you are loved,

A life of dependance . . .

We all depend on someone or something for life. Some will say they don’t depend on anyone, well that simply says, “I depend on myself.” So the reality is everyone depends on something for their existence. It may be work, that job you hate going to every Monday, or it may be a spouse, or a relative of some sort. It could be the Government, a retirement investment or an inheritance. Some who are very ill depend on machines or medicine for life, without them they die. So whether we like to think in these terms or not we are all dependent upon something or someone for life.

Being dependent upon riches or popularity or even other people, yourself included leads to disappoint, despair, even tragedy. Oh there might be momentary pleasure, riches, even glimpses of happiness. However, we can name person after person of influence who has struggled with fame, fortune, popularity and riches. A quick google search will show us these facts to be true. And whether we like to admit it or not we are dependent by nature. So, lets talk about for a second, the idea of being dependent. For if we are by nature dependent then we should find the true source of our dependence.

i offer up to you this passage from Jeremiah 17:5-8;

Wisdom from the Lord

⁵This is what the Lord says:
“Cursed are those who put their trust in mere humans,
    who rely on human strength
    and turn their hearts away from the Lord.
⁶They are like stunted shrubs in the desert,
    with no hope for the future.
They will live in the barren wilderness,
    in an uninhabited salty land.

⁷“But blessed are those who trust in the Lord
    and have made the Lord their hope and confidence.
⁸They are like trees planted along a riverbank,
    with roots that reach deep into the water.
Such trees are not bothered by the heat
    or worried by long months of drought.
Their leaves stay green,
    and they never stop producing fruit.

John D. Rockefeller, (July 8, 1839 – May 23, 1937) said, “If your only goal is to become rich, you will never achieve it.” Now this coming from a man who arguably was the richest man in modern history. Yet, although rich as could be his dependence was not on his wealth, as this quote here will show, “This Sunday School has been of help to me, greater perhaps than any other force in my Christian life, and I can ask no better things for you than that you, and all that shall come after you in this great band of workers for Christ, shall receive the same measure of blessedness which I have been permitted to have.”

You might argue that it was easy for him to have his dependence on Jesus because he was so wealthy. Well, to that i say what about Horatio G. Spafford. Here is a man who lost everything, with the exception of his wife, “saved alone” from a shipwreck. He went on to pen one of, if not the greatest hymn of all time, “It is well with my soul”. Read his full story here. Today, where do you find your dependence, i submit to you that if your answer is anything but Christ alone, you need to stop what you are doing and reevaluate life and put your hope, trust, confidence . . . dependence on the only one who can and will see you through, Jesus the Messiah.

You are loved,

In our Home, and in our Family, Thy Kingdom Come

“Our Father who is in heaven, Hallowed be Your name. Thy Kingdom Come, Thy will be done; On earth, as it is in Heaven.” This is how Jesus opens up His instruction when teaching His disciples to pray. The whole prayer itself (found here) isn’t much longer, but i want for us to meditate on this part. The direction of the prayer, to our Heavenly Father. The recognition of who God is, Hallowed. What should be the desire, “Thy Kingdom Come,” into what should be sought, “Thy will be done; On earth, as it is in Heaven.“

The first part is pretty clear. We believe in the Trinity; it is how God chose to reveal Himself to us, in three persons, Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Obviously, in a family structure, we see the father as the head of the children and the Holy Spirit being God’s indwelling presence in our lives. Three very distinct roles, purposefully placed into the story of life for us to grow in our knowledge and understanding of God.

He chose the family structure for us to understand, this infinite God, desires for us, to know Him as Dad. Dad, some of our dads aren’t the best, sadly this is true. The idea of a loving dad gets lost on some for that reason. If you are reading this with that view of a dad, i would ask you to stretch your thinking. In light of the definition of dad, as found in my Dictionary.com App:
*Dad – Father, “a man who exercises paternal care over other persons; paternal protector or provider: a father to the poor.” This understanding makes the God of the universe approachable, loveable, desirable; He is our DAD. He is to be revered, respected, obeyed for He is Hallowed, Holy, to be set apart in our hearts and minds.

Jesus chose to describe our relationship with God in terms of family, and we should remember that within the context of our family. As a dad to His children, God the Father provides. The Son to the Father was obedient. In the family structure, this is vitally important. What of the wife? Genesis, i believe fits here, “This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; She shall be called woman, because she was taken out of man.’ For this reason, a man shall leave his father and his mother, and shall be joined to his wife, and they shall become ONE FLESH.” Of course, in terms of spiritual leadership or the priest of the home, that function as defined in the term “Father” falls on the shoulders of the father of the home. We can also look at the Ten Commandments, “honor your father and mother…”

Within this perspective, and given the next line of the prayer, “Thy will be done…” It should be our desire that what God intended in His Kingdom, come. We then aught to seek His will for our lives and that of the life of our family. In our home, and in our family, Thy Kingdom Come!

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a lifestyle not a religion

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In our Home, and in our Family, Thy Kingdom Come

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