Considering the Bible

Discussions with an Atheist – Part 11

2020-12-29

atheist

A long time ago, I was browsing my Facebook page when I came across a post that ridiculed Kirk Cameron’s efforts to sell an “Atheist” Bible.

A friend (who it turns out to be an atheist) seemed to think that Kirk was “uninformed”

Well I thought, lets discuss this issue, and what follows is a record of our discussion.

I really looked forward to his responses and enjoyed considering and responding to his concerns.

Some of my friends comments are a bit lengthy, and as I read them I found echoes of myself, seeking to defend a position simply by supplying a massive quantity of words, knowing inside that he quality of the argument was weak.

If you are a believer in the Lord Jesus, you may find encouragement, and some understanding of an atheist’s worldview.

If you are an atheist, I would encourage you to read and consider my responses. I seek to understand your position, and if you see a fallacy in my thinking, please comment. I only ask that you focus your position to one point at a time, in order that I may respond (if I can) without unnecessary confusion.

My comments and responses are in red.

Granted the outliers would skew the data for life span but for total amount of the human population and amount of disease, illness, etc. would have made these stats still unlikely..

Unlikely does not prove anything, and you must have misread my response earlier. Avg life span is NOT the issue. It is the specific life spans of those recording the historical record of Jesus that is the issue!

Plus the whole biblical theology is nothing more than stories that have been reiterated….

A statement that you have not proven.

These people also believed in some of the most ridiculous things that even a child would not believe in today if they were informed properly witches, ghosts,etc

Where is it recorded that the apostles, who recorded the life and death of Jesus, believed in witches and ghosts?

Back then did they know about bacteria or viral infections? or was it bad spirits?

What has bacteria and viral infections have to do with the record of Jesus?

Hey thanks for dropping by and reading my post, especially if you are an atheist friend. I hope to hear from you and would appreciate a comment to begin a discussion.

Have a great day.

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Jesus & Paul – Different Messages? Part 11

2020-12-28

Paul In the past few months I have noticed that there are rumblings – at least in my world – of some internet folks trying to make out the message of Paul to be different that that of Jesus.

Never mind the fact that Jesus was dealing with a nation in the last gasps of it’s life and His pleading for their repentance, and Paul’s focus on “making that tent bigger for them dirty Gentiles” (See Isaiah 54:2-3)

Why? I don’t know, and at this point I am not concerned with their motivation, since I will assume the worst, which may not be fair.

Nevertheless, as I was browsing my computer bible study files, I providentially tripped over the following information. I must have found this info years back, and will not take credit for the compiling of the verses, but for the life of me, I am not sure where I found this.

This is the eleventh post addressing different topics from the New Testament that both Jesus and Paul taught on showing similarity in their teachings. My comments will be sparse, (unless they are not)

11. Both taught that good works (works of obedience to God) are essential to the Christian life and will be the basis of the final judgment.

Jesus

Matthew 5:16 — In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.

Matthew 7:24-27 — “Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. …And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not do them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand.”

Matthew 25:31-46 — “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on his glorious throne. Before him will be gathered all the nations, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. And he will place the sheep on his right, but the goats on the left. Then the King will say to those on his right… ‘I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me. …Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.’ Then he will say to those on his left…’I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me no drink, I was a stranger and you did not welcome me, naked and you did not clothe me, sick and in prison and you did not visit me… Truly, I say to you, as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me.’ And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”

Luke 6:46 — “Why do you call me ‘Lord, Lord,’ and do not do the things which I say?”

Matthew 16:27 — For the Son of Man will come in the glory of His Father with His angels, and then He will reward each according to his works.

Paul

Ephesians 2:10 — For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.

Romans 2:6-10 — He will render to each one according to his works: to those who by patience in well-doing seek for glory and honor and immortality, he will give eternal life; but for those who are self-seeking and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, there will be wrath and fury. There will be tribulation and distress for every human being who does evil, the Jew first and also the Greek, but glory and honor and peace for everyone who does good, the Jew first and also the Greek.

Romans 6:15-18 — What then? Are we to sin because we are not under law but under grace? By no means! Do you not know that if you present yourselves to anyone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin, which leads to death, or of obedience, which leads to righteousness? But thanks be to God, that you who were once slaves of sin have become obedient from the heart to the standard of teaching to which you were committed, and, having been set free from sin, have become slaves of righteousness.

Galatians 16-25 — But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. …Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.

Colossians 1:10 — that you may…[be] fruitful in every good work…

2 Thessalonians 1:8 — [Christ will come] in flaming fire taking vengeance on those who do not know God, and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Titus 2:14 — who gave himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for himself a people for his own possession who are zealous for good works.

A short post to encourage you with the consistency of the Word. May the Lord strengthen you and bless you as you seek His Kingdom.

Leave a comment as you may desire.

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1 John – Testing to Know – Test 4

2020-12-27

Test #4 Loving my Brother

1 John 2:9 – 11
Whoever says he is in the light and hates his brother is still in darkness.

Whoever loves his brother abides in the light, and in him there is no cause for stumbling.

But whoever hates his brother is in the darkness and walks in the darkness, and does not know where he is going, because the darkness has blinded his eyes.

In the last post, we dealt with three concepts that John addresses in this epistle. Justice, love and faithfulness.

John starts out with the believers claim of abiding in the light and yet hating his brother. It is, John warns us, a false claim. Hating a brother in antithetical to Christian life. Golly, the Master has told us to love our enemies. Love, in its proper understanding is the very heart of God, and is to be the heart of the believer.

But lets consider this issue of stumbling. If we love our Brother, there is no cause for stumbling. I assume John is saying that hating my brother is the cause of stumbling, at least in this context.

Quite a while ago, I came over another verse that made a similar claim.

Psalm 119:165

Great peace have those who love your law; nothing can make them stumble.

Let’s consider what it means “to stumble”. John uses the greek term σκάνδαλον skandalon when he speaks of stumbing in this verse.

The term refers to a trap or a snare, an impediment to cause tripping. Occasionally the term refers to the Master Himself, in relation to those who were blind and unwilling to repent.

Life is full of these traps, and by the deception of the enemy, these traps may appear to be justifiable in the believers thinking.

Let me give you an example.

A neighbor once became antagonistic to our family, and his hatred centered on my sweet little wifey. He drug us into court over crazy claims and personally sought to intimidate us. This went on for a number of years and we had friends that counselled us to retaliate in one way or the other.

Thinking without the guidance of the Word, we could have retaliated justly in our thinking. He started it. He was the one who spread lies about us, and the neighbors we were close to. He deserved to be opposed!

david-spares-sauls-life It just so happened (providentially don’t you know) that we were reading through the story of David and Saul, and how David would not retaliate on Saul. Vengeance is mine saith the Lord, was a phrase that kept coming up. Love your enemy.

Can I say we never fell into a hatred of our neighbor. Not! Absolutely I was weak. But as the Lord supplied strength, we came out of this period seeing the Lord deliver us from this neighbor, and heard many stories of His justice being enacted on this poor man.

But I want to confess something.

Our effort to love this neighbor during this time was a bit weak. We didn’t retaliate in any way, other than sometimes slipping into vile gossip, but we were not very proactive either. Being friendly when seeing him on the sidewalk, offering a meal or giving a gift (like a big ol apple pie?) may have been a good start.

Let us not think that the demands of the Master are of no impact on our lives. I often considered the offer of grace to be a relief from the burden of the ten commandments. In some ways, the burden is greater, since the requirement is to obey the spirit of the law and not simply the letter of the law. With the same breath, I also want to remind us to learn of Him.

Matthew 11:29 – 30

Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.

For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.

He is the One to look to for all things. Help me O Lord in making Your will my focus.

I hope you found a truth that was helpful in your life within this post. Drop me a line, or send this post to a friend that you thought of recently.

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Judge Judge Judge – διάκρισις – Study 6-A

2020-12-26

Because of the Cross Thanks for returning to this series on “Judge Judge Judge” and my feeble attempt to understand a believers responsibility and right to make judgments.

Another purpose of this series hopefully is to understand the believers restriction on judgement.

What can a Christian judge? How is he to judge? What is prohibited in the Christian life to judge. So many questions and concerns.

Our sixth greek word related to judging is…

diakrisis

διάκρισις – diakrisis – discerning, discern, disputation

This word is found only 3x in the New Testament.

Romans 14:1

As for the one who is weak in faith, welcome him, but not to quarrel over opinions.

Opinions – I got too many opinions. As I git a bit older, Im a realizin that opinions are to be offered when asked for, and not to be supplied whenever I need to breathe.

The verse above refers to the idea of opinions, but I think it is a bit more than that.

Let’s consider what Vine’s expository dictionary says to give a bit of guidance

“a distinguishing,” and so “a decision” (see A), signifies “discerning” in 1Cr 12:10; Hbr 5:14, lit., “unto a discerning of good and evil” (translated “to discern”); in Rom 14:1, “not to (doubtful) disputations” is more literally rendered in the margin “not for decisions (of doubts).”

As I grow into the Lord, I realize that the major things are to be kept major, and the minor things are to be kept minor.

But even though I’ve know that spiffy saying for decades, yet I always wanted to place into the major bucket those things I was just studying, the things I just learned, or more often that not, the things I am not struggling with.

If I did not struggle with a certain behavior or thought, then I would slide it into the major bucket, thereby giving myself a pat on the back, and supplying a hammer to hit everyone else with.

One topic that fits into this conversation is the topic of drinking as a believer. As you may know by reading this blog, I was a teenage alcoholic, but I have spent time in my walk with God beating believers up with select Bible verses condemning the act of consuming a bit of beer or whiskey, of even a sip of wine. (What a Pharisee!)

So I took this minor disputable teaching, dropped it into my mental major bucket, felt good of my victory over it, got puffed up, offended good believers, built walls of division and wasted time on a minor concern within the Lord’s family. (What a Pharisee!!)

Ok – so what is in the major bucket Carl? Glad you asked. I want to tell you a story.

Story Time

Old John The story goes that the Apostle John was nearing death when he finally got back to the church in Ephesus, and all the believers came together to hear the one that Jesus loved, speak to the church.

The crowds came together, and some of the elders carried John to the front, since he was so crippled up, placed him so all could here him. The crowd hushed in order to hear the words of wisdom that would surely pour forth from the great Apostles heart, mysteries of God from walking with Him for many decades.

He drew in his breathe, looked at the saints and said…

Love one another.

That was his message. No drawn out sermon. Succinct and to the point. (Much unlike some of my posts!)

Brethren. Don’t argue over disputable issues within the Word, with those who are committed to the Lord.

Teach – yes.
Encourage – yes.
Admonish – yes.
Exhort – yes.
Correct – yes

Most importantly, in all things – Love the brethren.

Thanks for joining me in this study. Hope to visit with you in our next post as we continue to look at the Greek term διάκρισις.

Be Blessed.

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OT in NT – Jude

2020-12-25

How did Jesus and the apostles interpret the Old Testament?

This post is simply a data dump of information for your struggle.

Find below a spreadsheet embedded into the post that lists verses from the New Testament book of Jude and corresponding Old Testament references.

Good luck as you research each of the verses and try to understand Jude’s justification for using the Old Testament passage the way he did.

26-OT in NT – Jude

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Jesus on the Sabbath – Part 9 – Seeing Blind Men

2020-12-24

jesus-the-grain-field Recently I penned a series of post on the Ten Commandments and as I was writing it, found that the Sabbath day was the only commandment not reapplied to believers in the New Testament.

In writing that series of posts, I was reminded that the Sabbath day was one of the main irritants between the Lord Jesus and the Pharisees.

I was out with my first grandson yesterday, and he likes to read me the Bible during our ventures. I could simply stream a passage for both to hear, but this is so much better. I git to interrupt him, explain things that might not be obvious for a young boy, and challenge him in considering who this Jesus is.

It was awesome, and as we spoke together, the Lord reminded me of great things He has done.

Like I said, he asked what passage he could read to me and I immediately thought of this passage. It is a favorite and I am looking forward to diggin in a bit with you.

John 9:1-16

John 9:1

As he passed by, he saw a man blind from birth.

I asked Elias if this man had ever seen in his life. Never. I explained that in no time during the history of the nation of Israel had any person, born blind been healed of their blindness. Some of the prophets raised people from the dead (only for them to die again later), but not one had ever healed a blind man. And this fella had been blind since birth.

This miracle gives more than the simple physical healing of a blind man, miraculous as it is. This miracle points to Jesus as the promised Messiah. Consider two Old Testament prophecies of the Messiahs role as a healer.

Isaiah 29:18 …..And out of their gloom and darkness the eyes of the blind will see.

Isaiah 35:5 Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened…

Isaiah 42:7 …To open blind eyes,

Psalm 146:8 the Lord opens the eyes of the blind…

The blind man, born blind, benefited greatly from this mercy from the Lord.

The greater truth is that this miracle was another proof (to those willing to see) of the identity of Jesus. Do not be unwilling to see!

2 And his disciples asked him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?”

3 Jesus answered, “It was not that this man sinned, or his parents, but that the works of God might be displayed in him.

How could this man have sinned in the womb, in order for the “judgement of blindness” to be effected? I tell you, there was some messed up thinking during this time. It sure is good our thinking is so straightened out. (A bit waggish there, don’t you know!)

4 We must work the works of him who sent me while it is day; night is coming, when no one can work.

5 As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world.”

How appropriate to bring in the character of light when dealing with a blind man? Back in John 8:12, in discussion with the Pharisees, He spoke of being the Light of the world and that following Him will keep us out of darkness.

Now He is speaking to a man who has been in physical darkness his entire life. This man will become a sign for the nation, and for individuals watching, that the Messiah has arrived.

6 Having said these things, he spit on the ground and made mud with the saliva. Then he anointed the man’s eyes with the mud

During Elias’s reading, I had him stop to consider what just happened in the text. Jesus “horked” on the sand, pulled some dirt up with it and rubbed it on the blind mans eyes.

Imagine the hygiene issues with this method. Imagine the grit and grime associated with the mud on (or in!) the eyes. This may be one time the blind man may be happy he was blind, not knowing what was going to happen to him.

7 and said to him, “Go, wash in the pool of Siloam” (which means Sent). So he went and washed and came back seeing.

Note that the cure did not come at the hands of Jesus only. Don’t be alarmed – I am not saying that the power of God through Jesus Christ is not fully responsible for this miracle.

The obedience of the blind man, in having to go to the pool (as a blind man!) gave evidence of his faith.

He went.

He washed.

He came back seeing.

I don’t know if this could be considered saving faith, but it did evidence a willingness to believe in the unconventional. Verse 11, indicates that the blind man knew the healing prophet was Jesus of Nazareth so faith in the prophet was evident.

He will be challenged in his faith later.

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Song Squawk – Preacher’s Kid

2020-12-23

In the mid nineties, I had a little red Buick and a big ol’ bass box in the trunk, and would listen to “Christian Rock”, cranked to 11.

(What did you say? Huh? Can you say that again, I didn’t hear you….)

I have gotten away from that genre for many reasons, the least of which may be a loss of hearing, but some songs have stuck with me over the decades.

The artist’s I listened to sought to reflect Scriptural teaching for the most part. They ranged from “preaching” pop culture religion to significant theological teaching. As I listened to the lyrics, I found some to be quite challenging.

To be honest, I listened because I could justify the rock beat with “sanctified lyrics”.

Occassionaly I will post a song, supply the lyrics and make a comment or two. If you decide to listen to the tune, turn the speaker down unless you are already deaf. Some of the songs tend to have a certain “volume” about them!

This post will consider the song

Preachers Kid – Johnny Q Public

The verse that I loved to sing along with was the following. Note that this is the ruminations of a preacher’s kid, with lots of questions!

It’s like the pictures that I draw
Pictures that I draw of dinosaurs
They remind me of the man
Who prays for the needy in our church
In other words
I’m not a good artist

Prays for the needy in our church. Aaron is seeing a problem with that man’s prayers now, isnt he?

I only found one cd that this band put out, but I searched for more. This band is awesome and the story structure is well done IMHO. This particular song speaks of the loneliness of the preacher kid, and the disillusionment that comes from being in a family dedicated to professional service to God. Well done!

Take a listen!

Preachers Kid – Johnny Q Public

Preachers Kid – Johnny Q Public

I’m staring through glass
Stained by insecurities and hurt
I’m wondering, and I’ve got lots of questions
But no answers why
Daddy is the pastor of this church
Seems to be his only out
Besides basketball on the TV
Basketball on the TV

My name is Aaron, does anybody care?
I want to fly to the moon and drive a race car
would like to be a star
My name is Aaron, please tell me if I’m wrong
Please tell me if I’m wrong
I want to dream
I want to dream
I want to dream
‘Cause dreams are real to me
As nothing is reality
It’s like the pictures that I draw
Pictures that I draw of dinosaurs
They remind me of the man
Who prays for the needy in our church
In other words
I’m not a good artist

Does Jesus love me, Mommy
Does Jesus love me, Daddy
Does Jesus love me, anybody
Does Jesus love — does anyone love me?

Let me know what you think of the lyrics, and of the tunes!

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Thanks again for coming to visit. I hope you found something of interest in this post and would appreciate a comment, to begin a discussion.

Discussions with an Atheist – Part 10

2020-12-22

atheist

A long time ago, I was browsing my Facebook page when I came across a post that ridiculed Kirk Cameron’s efforts to sell an “Atheist” Bible.

A friend (who it turns out to be an atheist) seemed to think that Kirk was “uninformed”

Well I thought, lets discuss this issue, and what follows is a record of our discussion.

I really looked forward to his responses and enjoyed considering and responding to his concerns.

Some of my friends comments are a bit lengthy, and as I read them I found echoes of myself, seeking to defend a position simply by supplying a massive quantity of words, knowing inside that he quality of the argument was weak.

If you are a believer in the Lord Jesus, you may find encouragement, and some understanding of an atheist’s worldview.

If you are an atheist, I would encourage you to read and consider my responses. I seek to understand your position, and if you see a fallacy in my thinking, please comment. I only ask that you focus your position to one point at a time, in order that I may respond (if I can) without unnecessary confusion.

My comments and responses are in red.

You are basing your answers on writings/scriptures that have no validity…

Definition of valid –… to be well-grounded on principles or evidence; able to withstand criticism or objection, as an argument; sound.

Although you have claimed many times that the scriptures are not a reliable source, this does not make them so. (I claim I can sing, but everyone else knows better. And the more I claim it, the surer everyone else is of the truth!)

Please prove to me, in one specific instance from the scriptural record, the invalidity of the document. You see, one of the definitions of the term valid is “able to withstand criticism”.

The Bible (or at least parts of it) has faced attacks from its enemies for close to 3500 yrs, and it is still “standing”. In the last century it has been “validated” by archeology many times over.

One instance is the book of Daniel, where Belshazzar, King of Babylon is mentioned. Critics found fault with this mention, since no Babylonian records named such a king. That is until the 19th century, when archeologists uncovered a stone with the writing of a Babylonian king speaking of his son Belshazzar as co-regent. Amazing discovery, since, in the Old Testament, this King B actually offered Daniel the position of being 3rd in power in the Kingdom. Third, because King B. was actually the second in command.

Hey thanks for dropping by and reading my post, especially if you are an atheist friend. I hope to hear from you and would appreciate a comment to begin a discussion.

Have a great day.

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Jesus & Paul – Different Messages? Part 10

2020-12-21

Paul In the past few months I have noticed that there are rumblings – at least in my world – of some internet folks trying to make out the message of Paul to be different that that of Jesus.

Never mind the fact that Jesus was dealing with a nation in the last gasps of it’s life and His pleading for their repentance, and Paul’s focus on “making that tent bigger for them dirty Gentiles” (See Isaiah 54:2-3)

Why? I don’t know, and at this point I am not concerned with their motivation, since I will assume the worst, which may not be fair.

Nevertheless, as I was browsing my computer bible study files, I providentially tripped over the following information. I must have found this info years back, and will not take credit for the compiling of the verses, but for the life of me, I am not sure where I found this.

This is the tenth post addressing different topics from the New Testament that both Jesus and Paul taught on showing similarity in their teachings. My comments will be sparse, (unless they are not)

10. Both taught that love for God and for one another is the supreme test of one’s salvation

Jesus

Matthew 22:37-40 — “‘You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’… And ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets.”

John 13:34-35 — A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”

Paul

1 Corinthians 13:1-3 — If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. If I give away all I have, and if I deliver up my body to be burned, but have not love, I gain nothing.

Romans 13:10 — Love is the fulfillment of the law.

Galatians 5:6 —neither circumcision nor uncircumcision counts for anything, but only faith working through love.

A short post to encourage you with the consistency of the Word. May the Lord strengthen you and bless you as you seek His Kingdom.

Leave a comment as you may desire.

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1 John – Testing to Know – Test 3

2020-12-20

Test #3 Keeping His Commandments

1 John 2:3 – 5
And by this we know that we have come to know him, if we keep his commandments.

Whoever says “I know him” but does not keep his commandments is a liar, and the truth is not in him,

but whoever keeps his word, in him truly the love of God is perfected. By this we may know that we are in him:

This is the test that caught my attention when I was studying for the “Commandments for Christians” posts.

The issue in this verse is the identification of the commandments being referred to . Is this referring to the Ten Commandments?

Yes and no. My understanding of the new covenant that Jesus initiated for believers in the upper room, and sealed with His death and resurrection, is that He has authority over all. He has authority over the prophets, the law giver (Moses), the interpretation of the Old Testament, the moral standards for the believer, the interpretation of the Old Testament, the …..

Get my point? He is Lord. And by sitting in this position, He has elevated the commandments to a much higher level, and the proper understanding and application of them in the believers life is the challenge for us.

So Carl, what is John defining when he refers to commandments in this book?

Three overarching topics rise to the surface in this study.

Truth (Righteousness)

A believer is responsible for seeking the truth and acting on it. I have published a series “Judge Judge Judge” in the past, looking at the teaching of righteousness / justice. The reader may want to take a few moments to review.

The Master wants His people to live in the truth and make life decisions based on the truth. This is critical and we will find this thread of thought throughout this letter from John.

Love (Mercy & Grace)

When I read this epistle, the command to love is everywhere. Love the brethren, love the Father, love the Son, love the lost.

Oooops – Does John bring this last topic up?

This epistle is all about family. Although the command to evangelize runs through the New Testament, John’s purpose in this epistle is to define the status of the believer based on a number of tests. Some may find evangelism when John refers to loving the brethren, and that may be true. I am not convinced. It is a minor point, since love is to permeate every aspect of our lives. We cannot love God and not love the lost. This is a natural outgrowth of living in the light.

As we venture through this letter, we will find that loving God is to be an all consuming motivation for the believer.

Faithfulness

The third point that I find in this letter is faithfulness to the Father and the Son. Denial of the Son is the lynch pin of Christianity. I am looking forward to studying this topic most.

As I surveyed over the epistle, and the test’s John supplies, it became evident that this list looked familiar. I think the Master supplied a similar list when confronting the Scribes in Matthew 23:23

Matthew 23:23

“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint and dill and cumin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faithfulness. These you ought to have done, without neglecting the others.

The Word is consistent, and John is delivering this truth to his brothers and sisters in a manner that suits their needs.

As I have been in this fascinating book, it has definitely challenged me, clearing out some wrong thinking, and realigning priorities to live by. I hope, as my readers follow along, you will also find a challenge to follow Him closer, and to enjoy His loving nature in your life.

I hope you found a truth that was helpful in your life within this post. Drop me a line, or send this post to a friend that you thought of recently.

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Judge Judge Judge – διακρίνω – Verse List for Study 5

2020-12-19

Because of the Cross

Find the full list of verses for the word diakrinō below

Matthew 16:3 And in the morning, ‘It will be stormy today, for the sky is red and threatening.’ You know how to interpret the appearance of the sky, but you cannot interpret the signs of the times.

Matthew 21:21 And Jesus answered them, “Truly, I say to you, if you have faith and do not doubt, you will not only do what has been done to the fig tree, but even if you say to this mountain, ‘Be taken up and thrown into the sea,’ it will happen.

Mark 11:23 Truly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be taken up and thrown into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that what he says will come to pass, it will be done for him.

Acts 10:20 Rise and go down and accompany them without hesitation, for I have sent them.”

Acts 11:2 So when Peter went up to Jerusalem, the circumcision party criticized him, saying,

Acts 11:12 And the Spirit told me to go with them, making no distinction. These six brothers also accompanied me, and we entered the man’s house.

Acts 15:9 and he made no distinction between us and them, having cleansed their hearts by faith.

Romans 4:20 No unbelief made him waver concerning the promise of God, but he grew strong in his faith as he gave glory to God,

Romans 14:23 But whoever has doubts is condemned if he eats, because the eating is not from faith. For whatever does not proceed from faith is sin.

1 Corinthians 4:7 For who sees anything different in you? What do you have that you did not receive? If then you received it, why do you boast as if you did not receive it?

1 Corinthians 6:5 I say this to your shame. Can it be that there is no one among you wise enough to settle a dispute between the brothers,

1 Corinthians 11:29 For anyone who eats and drinks without discerning the body eats and drinks judgment on himself.

1 Corinthians 11:31 But if we judged ourselves truly, we would not be judged.

1 Corinthians 14:29 Let two or three prophets speak, and let the others weigh what is said.

James 1:6 But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind.

James 2:4 have you not then made distinctions among yourselves and become judges with evil thoughts?

Jude 1:9 But when the archangel Michael, contending with the devil, was disputing about the body of Moses, he did not presume to pronounce a blasphemous judgment, but said, “The Lord rebuke you.”

Jude 1:22 And have mercy on those who doubt;

Thanks for joining me in this study. Hope to visit with you in our next post as we look at the Greek term δικαιοκρισία which is commonly translated righteous judgment in the New Testament.

Be Blessed.

I look forward to comments and discussion. May the Lord give you an understanding heart and a willing spirit to consider the Bible and all it’s wealth.

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Judge Judge Judge – διακρίνω – Study 5-B

2020-12-19

Because of the Cross

Thanks for returning to this series on “Judge Judge Judge” and my feeble attempt to understand a believers responsibility and right to make judgments.

Another purpose of this series hopefully is to understand the believers restriction on judgement.

What can a Christian judge? How is he to judge? What is prohibited in the Christian life to judge. So many questions and concerns.

Our fifth greek word related to judging is…

diakrinō

διακρίνω – diakrinō – doubt, judge, discern, contend, waver, misc

This word is found 19 times in 18 verses within the New Testament. A full listing of all verses may be found below for your self study. I will consider the verses that are not clear, that create questions in my mind, with the remaining verses left for the reader to ponder

Let’s remember that the general meaning of this word is to separate thoroughly, to make a distinction.

1 Corinthians 6:5 I say this to your shame. Can it be that there is no one among you wise enough to settle a dispute between the brothers,

In our previous post, we emphasized the division one can find within himself. A double minded man. (Should I mention that? Oh I don’t know – Maybe????)

This verse speaks of a double minded pair of believers. Two brothers who both have the mind of Christ and that both of them are not exercising the mind of Christ, since there is a dispute. That is the core problem. Both brothers are exhibiting a spirit of pride that will not allow for a shared resolution.

But it gets worse.

No one in the entire body of believers can guide these two bothers to a peaceful resolution. Does no one have the wisdom to exercise a humble spirit and to seek peace amongst the brethren.

Might I suggest that the item of dispute isn’t the problem, so much as the refusal of a brother to seek peace with another brother. Remember it is blessed to be a peace maker.

Are you willing to give up a debt to a brother in order to keep peace?

Consider

1 Corinthians 6:1-7

When one of you has a grievance against another, does he dare go to law before the unrighteous instead of the saints?

Or do you not know that the saints will judge the world? And if the world is to be judged by you, are you incompetent to try trivial cases?

Do you not know that we are to judge angels? How much more, then, matters pertaining to this life!

So if you have such cases, why do you lay them before those who have no standing in the church?

I say this to your shame. Can it be that there is no one among you wise enough to settle a dispute between the brothers,

but brother goes to law against brother, and that before unbelievers?

To have lawsuits at all with one another is already a defeat for you. Why not rather suffer wrong? Why not rather be defrauded?

Did you read what Paul suggested for the resolution of the wrong in verse 7? Why not rather be defrauded? What – that is not justice!

Story Time

We are currently in a disagreement with a former renter, demanding all his security deposit back.

We had clearly indicated the reason for the reduced refund, and after his terse response, we offered him additional funds to try to satisfy his demands. At this point, he demanded all of his deposit back (even though proof of damages were clearly provided to him.)

A few days later, as I was considering the situation, I came across (providentially?) verse 7 above, where Paul asks the audacious question

Why not rather be defrauded?

Now I don’t know if he is a believer, but we are called to be peacemakers, so I discussed with my wife and we agreed to simply provide a full refund.

At the time of writing, this tenant has refused this offer, and has actually informed us he was taking us to court.

What?

Sometimes I struggle with the species I belong to.

I look forward to comments and discussion. May the Lord give you an understanding heart and a willing spirit to consider the Bible and all it’s wealth.

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OT in NT – 3 John

2020-12-18

How did Jesus and the apostles interpret the Old Testament?

This post is simply a data dump of information for your struggle.

Find below a spreadsheet embedded into the post that lists verses from the New Testament book of 3 John and corresponding Old Testament references.

Good luck as you research each of the verses and try to understand John’s justification for using the Old Testament passage the way he did.

25-OT in NT – 3 John

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Jesus on the Sabbath – Part 8 – Serving on a Sabbath

2020-12-17

jesus-the-grain-field Recently I penned a series of post on the Ten Commandments and as I was writing it, found that the Sabbath day was the only commandment not reapplied to believers in the New Testament.

In writing that series of posts, I was reminded that the Sabbath day was one of the main irritants between the Lord Jesus and the Pharisees.

You know, since we looked at Matthew 12, it occurred to me that Jesus may have healed on the Sabbath at other times. And my occurrence was accurate!

As a matter of fact, I found six more occurrences of the Lord healing on the Sabbath, for a total of seven healings on the Sabbath. Golly, it seems the Lord sometimes chooses the Sabbath to heal on to get a point across. sometimes it is simply out of love to the victim, that He does’t even consider the day He heals on

Lets stay in the book of Mark and consider Simon’s mother in law with some of the repercussions / implications that this has on our lives.

Mark 1:29-31

Mark 1:29–31

And immediately he left the synagogue and entered the house of Simon and Andrew, with James and John.

Jesus left the synagogue and went to Simon’s (Peter) house right after a teaching time in a synagogue.

Did Jesus teach during this Sabbath? Definitely, since the passage prior to the one we are considering, in verse 21, teaches us this.

Mark 1:21

And they went into Capernaum, and immediately on the Sabbath he entered the synagogue and was teaching.

Astonished at His teaching

Not only did He teach, He did a wee bit of disrupting.

Mark 1:22

And they were astonished at his teaching, for he taught them as one who had authority, and not as the scribes.

Concerned over His miracles

This particular Sabbath, Jesus met a demoniac (in the synagogue!), rebuked him, exorcised him and brought great fame upon His name throughout the region.

Mark 1:27

“What is this? A new teaching with authority! He commands even the unclean spirits, and they obey him.”

Lets remember our context here.

On a Sabbath day, in a synagogue, filled with pious Jews. Questions and concerns over authority. Yet at this miracle, no mention of breaking the Sabbath from those faithful to the synagogue.

Interesting!

I checked the parallel passage in Luke and nothing there to link the miracle with breaking the Sabbath.

Let me suggest that this miracle on the Sabbath shook the people off balance. Since it is relatively early in His ministry (Check out BLB Harmony of Gospels), those who would eventually become Christ’s antagonists had not organized yet, and were still in shock mode. Often, in the gospels, the antagonists would scheme together, planning how to trip up this new miracle Worker.

At this point in the gospels, this may not have occurred. The focused and concentrated hatred had not been formed at this time. But give it time and it will become fully formed, and seek the life of the only Lifegiver.

Back to the passage under consideration – Simon’s mother in law and her fever

30 Now Simon’s mother-in-law lay ill with a fever, and immediately they told him about her.

Jesus healed the demoniac hours earlier. Why could He not heal a simple fever? Alas, He did, and without considering which day it was. Remember, in this instance, it seems He simply healed His friends mother in law without using it to initiate a discussion with religious folk. He wasn’t “on the attack”, as we discussed in the Matthew 12:1-8. See previous post Jesus on the Sabbath- Part 1 – Rubbing Grain.

31 And he came and took her by the hand and lifted her up, and the fever left her, and she began to serve them.

Mark uses the word “immediately” continuously through his gospel. His telling of the ministry of Christ is fast paced and relentless. How long did it take to get from the synagogue to the house of Peter? Not sure. It appears they left the synagogue and ventured directly to the home. If so, this miracle occurred within the time of Sabbath observance, along with the mother-in-laws serving of the Master and His disciples.

Okay, maybe she was a gentile and the Sabbath didn’t apply to her. Not likely.

It is my understanding the Jewish households, in order to keep Sabbath, would hire gentiles within the area to enter their homes in order to do labor during the Sabbath. Tasks might include such things as beginning a fire or cleaning a dish.

No work allowed for an observant Jew. If the mother in law was an observant Jew, this service to the Master and His disciples was revolutionary. If she was non-observant, her service simply showed evidence of His growing following

All heck is gonna break loose if this new Teacher continues to affect the population with His authority. The implications were huge, and eventually the Jewish leadership will figure it out.

His authority is still disrupting religious life.

If you are a religious person, you need to experience some disrupting. He is the One who we need to follow.

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Song Squawk – Lift Him Up

2020-12-16

In the mid nineties, I had a little red Buick and a big ol’ bass box in the trunk, and would listen to “Christian Rock”, cranked to 11.

(What did you say? Huh? Can you say that again, I didn’t hear you….)

I have gotten away from that genre for many reasons, the least of which may be a loss of hearing, but some songs have stuck with me over the decades.

The artist’s I listened to sought to reflect Scriptural teaching for the most part. They ranged from “preaching” pop culture religion to significant theological teaching. As I listened to the lyrics, I found some to be quite challenging.

To be honest, I listened because I could justify the rock beat with “sanctified lyrics”.

Occassionaly I will post a song, supply the lyrics and make a comment or two. If you decide to listen to the tune, turn the speaker down unless you are already deaf. Some of the songs tend to have a certain “volume” about them!

This post will consider the song

Lift Him Up – by X-Sinner

That last song (Execution – By Grammatrain) was pretty heavy, not only in the tune, but in the message. This one, not so much.

I’m not gonna pull no punches with you, my friend. I listened to these guys simply cause I wanted to hear some plain ol’ AC/DC. Theologically, I think these guys were comparable to modern praise worship song leaders, with repitition being used to enforce a message.

Good fun stuff, but I didn’t come away from this stuff thinking deeper of the faith or challenged in holy living. I don’t think that was their intent! They were having fun and it was infectious! BTW this one has a bit of volume!

Take a listen!

Lift Him Up – X-Sinner

Lift Him Up – by X-Sinner

Got me running away from you
Not knowing what I should do
All my thoughts are so blown apart
What I need is a brand new start,
You gotta dig down inside you,
Can you dig down inside?

Oh, lift him up
Lift him up,
It’s what you gotta do
Lift him up
Lift him up.

Walking home through the park today
Had a friend who was blown away
Some bible-slinger with guts to spare
A testimony that he could share
You gotta dig down inside
You gotta dig down inside you,
Down inside.

Lift him up
Lift him up
It’s what you gotta do
Lift him up
Lift him up
It’s what you gotta do.

Standing back from the crowd
Is fine if you don’t wanna waste my time,
All alone in a loner’s world
Ten million more feel the same old way,
You gotta dig down inside,
You gotta dig down inside you.

Oh, lift him up
Lift him up
It’s what you gotta do
Lift him up
Lift him up
Yeah, it’s what you gotta do,
Lift him up
Lift him up (n-n-n-yeah)
Lift him up
It’s what you gotta do
Lift him up
Oh, oh.

Let me know what you think of the lyrics, and of the tunes!

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Discussions with an Atheist – Part 9

2020-12-15

atheist

A long time ago, I was browsing my Facebook page when I came across a post that ridiculed Kirk Cameron’s efforts to sell an “Atheist” Bible.

A friend (who it turns out to be an atheist) seemed to think that Kirk was “uninformed”

Well I thought, lets discuss this issue, and what follows is a record of our discussion.

I really looked forward to his responses and enjoyed considering and responding to his concerns.

Some of my friends comments are a bit lengthy, and as I read them I found echoes of myself, seeking to defend a position simply by supplying a massive quantity of words, knowing inside that he quality of the argument was weak.

If you are a believer in the Lord Jesus, you may find encouragement, and some understanding of an atheist’s worldview.

If you are an atheist, I would encourage you to read and consider my responses. I seek to understand your position, and if you see a fallacy in my thinking, please comment. I only ask that you focus your position to one point at a time, in order that I may respond (if I can) without unnecessary confusion.

My comments and responses are in red.

This post is a single message from my friend and is supplied to give context for the following posts as I seek to respond to each of his concerns below.

Hope your trip was good sorry to hear about the burn though I like to rant so i just type and i’m again busy with moving, school, work, etc..so might take longer than before sorry. But a lot of good videos on I tunes or YouTube featuring: Richard Dawkins, Sam Harris, Dan Dennett, and Chris Hitchens. They bring up good points that are current and tested, biased? yes! but at least there biases comes from studies that can be reconstructed by anyone who has time and the resources.

You are basing your answers on writings/scriptures that have no validity…granted the outliers would skew the data for life span but for total amount of the human population and amount of disease, illness, etc. would have made these stats still unlikely…plus the whole biblical theology is nothing more than stories that have been reiterated….you say you know the age of these people, yet these people also believed in some of the most ridiculous things that even a child would not believe in today if they were informed properly witches, ghosts,etc.

Back then did they know about bacteria or viral infections? or was it bad spirits? Again for the not recording immediately you even did this experiment in boy scouts did you not? did the story in your case get skewed? and if not it can not be taken as fact since there has to be a statistical significance of (your choice) p>.01 or even better p>.001 to support/reject either the null or research hyp. (depending on what is being studied and which test is being used) N of 1 phenomenon!! 16-69 yrs is a fairly large gap in terms of human years so the likeliness of that 69 is highly unlikely still, but then take into account the error of the “creation” of earth being dated at 10,000 approx yrs ago…or is it 6,000 yrs….something along those ludicrous lines by creationists, but the real estimate is closer to 4,600,000,000 yrs via testable radio carbon dating, potasium-argon dating, Uranium-thorium dating, dendrochronology, etc.

Jones town massacre….hmmm one person making many believe his story…sounds like religion or any other endeavor with false stories and no hard evidence doesn’t it? Or any other religion that is in practice or ever was practiced…Power of suggestion is related to the social interaction theory…someone is suggested/told something by someone else (crack head) and are wanting acceptance or approval from the social stigma or even mass social acceptance from your “in-group” so they conform accordingly to become a part of the group…a majority of the human species wants to be accepted by a group or belong, to be loved, to be a “brother” (fictive kin) “sister”, etc.

The bible, army regimes, gangs, cults or any social groups seeking to ban together traditionally high jack these terms meant for survival of close relatives (you would want to save a family member supposedly before a stranger) this effectively makes that person seem like kin but it’s a fictive kin since they have no genetic traits to you (hopefully there isn’t just in case for inbreeding purposes). There might have been no reported mass hallucinations but you cannot say there wasn’t (back then information was recorded as meticulously as is now), but again with social acceptance people will conform nicely just to fit in. All in all the bible is not in it’s original writings (when ever that happened) and has been reiterated to suit the purposes of those using it, others religions have had to use some of the christian based faith stories and reiterated it to suit there purpose. The bible cannot be taken seriously as fact, literature maybe (english classes).

But a question for you Carl, as Dr. Dawkins would ask “if you were born in Norway in the times of the vikings would you have believed in Votan? or 2010 CE in India with Brahma? there is no particular reason to pick on the Judeo-Christian god in which the sheerest accident you were brought up and the only thing you were introduced to as a susceptible minded child”

Hey Friend – Glad to see your response. Thought I would stick with the previous format, so that an old man like me can keep his scattered thoughts in order.

Hey thanks for dropping by and reading my post, especially if you are an atheist friend. I hope to hear from you and would appreciate a comment to begin a discussion.

Have a great day.

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Jesus & Paul – Different Messages? Part 9

2020-12-14

Paul In the past few months I have noticed that there are rumblings – at least in my world – of some internet folks trying to make out the message of Paul to be different that that of Jesus.

Never mind the fact that Jesus was dealing with a nation in the last gasps of it’s life and His pleading for their repentance, and Paul’s focus on “making that tent bigger for them dirty Gentiles” (See Isaiah 54:2-3)

Why? I don’t know, and at this point I am not concerned with their motivation, since I will assume the worst, which may not be fair.

Nevertheless, as I was browsing my computer bible study files, I providentially tripped over the following information. I must have found this info years back, and will not take credit for the compiling of the verses, but for the life of me, I am not sure where I found this.

This is the ninth post addressing different topics from the New Testament that both Jesus and Paul taught on showing similarity in their teachings. My comments will be sparse, (unless they are not)

9. Both taught that a man can be justified prior to doing any righteous deeds

Jesus

Luke 18:13-14 — But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even lift up his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me, a sinner!’ I tell you, this man went down to his house justified, rather than the other. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted.”

Luke 23:42-43 — And he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” 43 And he said to him, “Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise.”

John 5:24 — Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life. He does not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life.

John 6:40 — For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who looks on the Son and believes in him should have eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day.”

John 6:47 — Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes in me has eternal life.

Paul

Acts 13:39 — and by him everyone who believes is freed from everything from which you could not be freed by the law of Moses.

Roman 3:26 — It was to show his righteousness at the present time, so that he might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.

Romans 5:1 — Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.

Ephesians 2:8-9 — For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, 9 not a result of works, so that no one may boast.

Titus 3:5-7 — he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that being justified by his grace we might become heirs according to the hope of eternal life.

A short post to encourage you with the consistency of the Word. May the Lord strengthen you and bless you as you seek His Kingdom.

Leave a comment as you may desire.

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1 John – Testing to Know – Test 2 Part C

2020-12-13

Test # 2 – Relationship with Sin – Continued

In our last post we considered verse 9 under the topic of our relationship with sin. Let’s continue with verse 10.

1 John 1:8 – 10
If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.

If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

If we say we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.

Living in Denial

Take note that this denial is different than the first condition. The first dealt with a denial of the nature of the believer. No sin existed in the believer. The result was the loss of truth experienced in the life of the believer – no small issue!!!

This denial is regarding individual acts of sin in the believers life. This is the condition I fear I fall into far too often.

I feel a story would be best to illustrate this point.

My wife and I were seeking to witness to Don and his girlfriend and were developing a great relationship with them. We would get together on Friday nights and play cards, or some board game, and have a hoot of a time.

One night, as the competition rose around the table, I made a critical mistake in laying down a wrong card, losing the game.

Out came a foul word. Don had never heard me swear before and he instantly picked up on it!

I denied it. We argued about it. This is where things fell apart.

I needed to confess this sin in front of them, admitting I did wrong. But I didn’t – My self righteous attitude clung to a lie, and because of that, I lost an opportunity to share the Master with Don. If I had confessed immediately, I could have shared of the mercy of God in providing this solution, but I preferred to defend my hypocrisy instead of exalt my Master. What is wrong with me?

We remained friends, and I believe I eventually admitted to my sin to Don. But I learned that my old man was very much alive and kicking, even in the effort to serve our Risen Savior.

Keep short accounts with the Lord. Do not deny the sin, but seek a humble spirit to always be ready to admit to a sinful act.

I hope you found a truth that was helpful in your life within this post. Drop me a line, or send this post to a friend that you thought of recently.

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Judge Judge Judge – διακρίνω – Study 5-A

2020-12-12

Because of the Cross

Thanks for returning to this series on “Judge Judge Judge” and my feeble attempt to understand a believers responsibility and right to make judgments.

Another purpose of this series hopefully is to understand the believers restriction on judgement.

What can a Christian judge? How is he to judge? What is prohibited in the Christian life to judge. So many questions and concerns.

Our fifth greek word related to judging is…

diakrinō

διακρίνω – diakrinō – doubt, judge, discern, contend, waver, misc

This word is found 19 times in 18 verses within the New Testament. A full listing of all verses may be found below for your self study. I will consider the verses that are not clear, that create questions in my mind, with the remaining verses left for the reader to ponder

The general meaning of this word is to separate thoroughly, to make a distinction. God has been doing this forever.

He separated the day from the night. Distinctly different characteristic of times.
He separated the sky from the earth, the land from the sea.
He separated the fish from the mammals, from the birds
He separated the woman from the man. Pretty glad He did that!
He separated the good from the bad, the living from the dead…

God is a God of distinctions, of differences of variety. You (hopefully) will never meet a fella like me again.

Lets think about a few verses where this concept is obvious.

Acts 10:20

Rise and go down and accompany them without hesitation, for I have sent them.”

Notice that this has a time component involved in the meaning. Once you have the knowledge of correct action, delay is sin.

But the more important thing I notice is that hesitation exhibits an indecisiveness, a “distinction”, a separation within Peter. A double minded (souled) man.

James 1:6, 8

But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind.

A double minded man is unstable in all his ways.

double-minded This is a massive thought for me. I find myself thinking both sides of a problem, weighing my options and eventually ending up doing nothing. I have to interject with a decision, once I have sufficient information.

Of course if I ever get all the information I need, the opportunity will pass. There is a point where a decision can be made which allows for a path to be taken.

Without a decision, no path, no motion, no direction and no opportunity for correction.

Yes correction!

The will of God allows for mistakes. Now don’t get ahead of me – I didn’t state that I can intentionally go against the will of God and think things will go well – no no no.

Honest mistakes have been some of my greatest teachers. Could I have learned with less collateral damage? Maybe.

There is a passage somewhere in the Bible that says “Test all things; hold fast what is good.”

All things are to be tested, and some are obviously bad since Paul tells us to hold onto the good.

This verse reminds me of the time a pastor asked me to sing in the choir. They tested me – they did what the Scriptures said to do. Trust me – no one wanted to hold fast to that voice!

Finding out that a decision was not the will of God in your life is not the end of your walk. It is a chance to reevaluate, adjust and seek His will for the next step in your pilgrimage. Hold fast to that which is good – Remember God is good!

I hope you will join me in our next post when we continue our study with the Greek word διακρίνω

I look forward to comments and discussion. May the Lord give you an understanding heart and a willing spirit to consider the Bible and all it’s wealth.

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OT in NT – 2 John

2020-12-11

How did Jesus and the apostles interpret the Old Testament?

This post is simply a data dump of information for your struggle.

Find below a spreadsheet embedded into the post that lists verses from the New Testament book of 2 John and corresponding Old Testament references.

Good luck as you research each of the verses and try to understand John’s justification for using the Old Testament passage the way he did.

24-OT in NT – 2 John

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Jesus on the Sabbath – Part 7 – Stretching your Faith

2020-12-10

jesus-the-grain-field Recently I penned a series of post on the Ten Commandments and as I was writing it, found that the Sabbath day was the only commandment not reapplied to believers in the New Testament.

In writing that series of posts, I was reminded that the Sabbath day was one of the main irritants between the Lord Jesus and the Pharisees.

After introducing the logical argument of rescuing the sheep before rescuing the man, Jesus doesn’t wait for an answer, since it is so obvious – He simply saves this poor man’s life by healing his withered hand, his right hand (See Luke 6:6), very possibly giving this man his lively hood back, if not only his social life.

Stand up poor man, in front of all these religious pharisees, and let the Messiah give you strength to stretch out you hand!

Notice that Jesus didn’t do His miracles “in a corner”, where none would see, but in the most public places, forcing people to make decisions about Him.

Paul also describes his ministry as being public and available, in Acts 26:26

Acts 26:26 For the king knows about these things, and to him I speak boldly. For I am persuaded that none of these things has escaped his notice, for this has not been done in a corner.

Let’s continue with Matthew.

Matthew 12:13 Then he said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” And the man stretched it out, and it was restored, healthy like the other.

On the Sabbath, Jesus heals a man with a withered hand, but it is with the help of the man stretching out his hand – Golly, that sounds like work to me, and on the Sabbath of all days!

Upon the action of the man stretching out his hand, restoration came. I wanna think the restoration came with full functionality and strength in his hand, and that no rehabilitation for his hand would be required. No partial healing, or temporary fixes.

Matthew 12:14 But the Pharisees went out and conspired against him, how to destroy him.

Jesus did address these folks twice so ya gotta kind understand their desire for blood. What? They conspired to destroy the Messiah. Notice that this is early on in the Messiah’s ministry, if I recall, sometime in His first year of public ministry.

Things were not looking good right from the start.

How difficult it is to reach the religious. Entrenched in “truth”, with stubbornness disguised as faithfulness, some of us refuse to reconsider the Word of God given to us by the Author of Life. So often in my own pilgrimage, earlier teachings have been found to be insufficient (or, in my humble opinion erroneous), and repentance had to occur. Without a spirit of repentance in your life, willing to change your mind by being persuaded by the Word, no growth can occur.

It is the normal Christian life to be in repentance mode as new truth is found in your studies.

Am I advocating change for the sake of change? Absolutely not.

Am I advocating for personal responsibility in understanding the Word of God through reading and study of the Word of God?

Absolutely!

But know this – things will change in your life and you best hold on!

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Song Squawk – Jesus is for Losers

2020-12-09

In the mid nineties, I had a little red Buick and a big ol’ bass box in the trunk, and would listen to “Christian Rock”, cranked to 11.

(What did you say? Huh? Can you say that again, I didn’t hear you….)

I have gotten away from that genre for many reasons, the least of which may be a loss of hearing, but some songs have stuck with me over the decades.

The artist’s I listened to sought to reflect Scriptural teaching for the most part. They ranged from “preaching” pop culture religion to significant theological teaching. As I listened to the lyrics, I found some to be quite challenging.

To be honest, I listened because I could justify the rock beat with “sanctified lyrics”.

Occassionaly I will post a song, supply the lyrics and make a comment or two. If you decide to listen to the tune, turn the speaker down unless you are already deaf. Some of the songs tend to have a certain “volume” about them!

This post will consider the song

Jesus is for Losers – by Steve Taylor

I have referred to Mr Taylor in a previous post. His stuff has always been fresh no matter how many times I come back to him.

The portion in this song that resonates with me is the following.

Jesus is for losers
Why do I still play to the crowd?

Admit it – Jesus is for losers – Join the crowd. Fighting to find acceptance with this world will only pull us away from Him.

This fella can cut an issue fairly deep, and by that I mean he can “step on toes” fairly consistently. Don’t worry bout the volume on this tune! Take your time and get this guy’s message!

Take a listen!

Jesus is for Losers – by Steve Taylor

Jesus is for Losers – by Steve Taylor

If I was driven
Driven ahead by some noble ideal
Who took the wheel?

If I was given
Given a glimpse of some glorious road
When was it sold?

So caught up in the chase
I keep forgetting my place

Just as I am
I am stiff-necked and proud

Jesus is for losers
Why do I still play to the crowd?

Just as I am
Pass the compass, please

Jesus is for losers
I’m off about a hundred degrees

If I was groping
Groping around for some ladder to fame
I am ashamed

If I was hoping
Hoping respect would make a sturdy footstool
I am a fool

Bone-weary every climb
Blindsided every time

Just as I am
I am needy and dry

Jesus is for losers
The self-made need not apply

Just as I am
In a desert crawl
Lord, I’m so thirsty
Take me to the waterfall

And if you’re certain
Certain your life is some cosmic mistake
Why do you shake?

And if you’re certain
Certain that faith is some know-nothing mask
Why do you still ask?

They don’t grade here on the curve
We both know what we deserve

Just as you are
Just a wretch like me
Jesus is for losers
Grace from the blood of a tree

Just as we are
At a total loss

Jesus is for losers
Broken at the foot of the cross

Just as I am
Pass the compass, please
Jesus is for losers
I’m off about a hundred degreesJust as I am

In a desert crawl
Lord, I’m so thirsty
Take me to the waterfall

Let me know what you think of the lyrics, and of the tunes!

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Thanks again for coming to visit. I hope you found something of interest in this post and would appreciate a comment, to begin a discussion.

Discussions with an Atheist – Part 8

2020-12-08

Some of my friends comments are a bit lengthy, and as I read them I found echoes of myself, seeking to defend a position simply by supplying a massive quantity of words, knowing inside that he quality of the argument was weak.

If you are a believer in the Lord Jesus, you may find encouragement, and some understanding of an atheist’s worldview.

If you are an atheist, I would encourage you to read and consider my responses. I seek to understand your position, and if you see a fallacy in my thinking, please comment. I only ask that you focus your position to one point at a time, in order that I may respond (if I can) without unnecessary confusion.

My comments and responses are in red.

But the power of suggestion is powerful as well….and who knows things could have been exagerated or just lied about as well.

Jesus did not suggest His resurrection – He TOLD the disciples often during His ministry that He would die and rise again. The disciples would not believe it. Not until the apostles (and many disciples) saw, touched and spent time with the resurrected Jesus for 40 days did they believe.

Even with this extended experience, the disciples still were full of “fear and trembling” until ten days after Jesus ascended into the clouds/heaven. At that time the disciples started preaching the resurrected Christ.

These events are non-repeatable which means they have no hard evidence stating they could even be close to true…remember what someone thinks is true does not make it true, unless that person can back up their claims with more than anecdotal evidence.

I think you are true.

By that I mean that your birth was a non-repeatable event. Being non-repeatable has no bearing on the truthfulness of a happening. Your existence proves the legitimacy of the anecdotal evidence that the birthing doctor may give concerning your birth.

I am looking forward to your response, and hope you are having a great day

Hey thanks for dropping by and reading my post, especially if you are an atheist friend. I hope to hear from you and would appreciate a comment to begin a discussion.

Have a great day.

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Jesus & Paul – Different Messages? Part 8

2020-12-07

Paul In the past few months I have noticed that there are rumblings – at least in my world – of some internet folks trying to make out the message of Paul to be different that that of Jesus.

Never mind the fact that Jesus was dealing with a nation in the last gasps of it’s life and His pleading for their repentance, and Paul’s focus on “making that tent bigger for them dirty Gentiles” (See Isaiah 54:2-3)

Why? I don’t know, and at this point I am not concerned with their motivation, since I will assume the worst, which may not be fair.

Nevertheless, as I was browsing my computer bible study files, I providentially tripped over the following information. I must have found this info years back, and will not take credit for the compiling of the verses, but for the life of me, I am not sure where I found this.

This is the eighth post addressing different topics from the New Testament that both Jesus and Paul taught on showing similarity in their teachings. My comments will be sparse, (unless they are not)

8. Both taught that men must repent and believe to be saved

Jesus

Mark 1:15 — “The time is fulfilled and the kingdom of God is at hand, repent, therefore, and believe the gospel.”

Paul

Acts 20:21 — “[I have testified] to Jews, and also to Greeks, repentance toward God and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ.”

A short post to encourage you with the consistency of the Word. May the Lord strengthen you and bless you as you seek His Kingdom.

Leave a comment as you may desire.

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11. Both taught that good works (works of obedience to God) are essential to the Christian life and will be the basis of the final judgment.

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Test #4 Loving my Brother

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Story Time

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How did Jesus and the apostles interpret the Old Testament?

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10. Both taught that love for God and for one another is the supreme test of one’s salvation

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Test #3 Keeping His Commandments

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How did Jesus and the apostles interpret the Old Testament?

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Astonished at His teaching

Concerned over His miracles

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9. Both taught that a man can be justified prior to doing any righteous deeds

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Test # 2 – Relationship with Sin – Continued

Living in Denial

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How did Jesus and the apostles interpret the Old Testament?

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8. Both taught that men must repent and believe to be saved

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