Pointing the Finger.

 

Christians Pointing the Finger.

I’ve often been disheartened by Christians in the news media pointing their fingers at those they deem, “Sinners.” Of course, it’s never about greedy people or those who are oppressing the poor, no it’s usually  sexual sins they are worried about.

But what did Jesus say about that? Jesus said to them, “Truly I tell you, the tax collectors and prostitutes are entering the kingdom of God before you.  For John came to you in a righteous way and you did not believe him, but the tax collectors and prostitutes did. And even after you saw this, you did not repent and believe him. Matthew 21:31,32

I once heard someone say, “Some Christians would criticize the Lord Himself if they went to heaven.” I believe that because Jesus was criticized constantly when he was here on earth. I’m going to give examples of the finger-pointing towards Jesus. I will also record his replies.

As Jesus reclined at table in the house, behold, many tax collectors and sinners came and were reclining with Jesus and his disciples. And when the Pharisees saw this, they said to his disciples, “Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?” But when he heard it, he said, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. Go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy, and not sacrifice.’ For I came not to call the righteous, but sinners.”  Matthew 9:10-13

Going on from that place, he went into their synagogue,  and a man with a shriveled hand was there. Looking for a reason to bring charges against Jesus, they asked him, “Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?”

 He said to them, “If any of you has a sheep and it falls into a pit on the Sabbath, will you not take hold of it and lift it out?  How much more valuable is a person than a sheep! Therefore, it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath.”

 Then he said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” So, he stretched it out and it was completely restored, just as sound as the other.  But the Pharisees went out and plotted how they might kill Jesus.

At a different time:

But the synagogue leader was indignant that Jesus had healed on the Sabbath. “There are six days for work,” he told the crowd. “So come and be healed on those days and not on the Sabbath.”

 “You hypocrites!” the Lord replied. “Does not each of you on the Sabbath untie his ox or donkey from the stall and lead it to water? Then, should not this daughter of Abraham, whom Satan has kept bound for eighteen long years, be released from her bondage on the Sabbath day?”

When Jesus said this, all His adversaries were humiliated. And the whole crowd rejoiced at all the glorious things He was doing.  Luke 13:14-17

Then some Pharisees and teachers of the Law came from Jerusalem to Jesus and asked him, “Why is it that your disciples disobey the teaching handed down by our ancestors? They don't wash their hands in the proper way before they eat!” Jesus answered, “And why do you disobey God's command and follow your own teaching? For God said, ‘Respect your father and your mother,’ and ‘Whoever curses his father or his mother is to be put to death.’ But you teach that if a person has something he could use to help his father or mother, but says, ‘This belongs to God,’ he does not need to honor his father.”  Matthew 15

 As they were going away, behold, a demon-oppressed man who was mute was brought to him.  And when the demon had been cast out, the mute man spoke. And the crowds marveled, saying, “Never was anything like this seen in Israel.”  But the Pharisees said, “He casts out demons by the prince of demons.”  Matthew 9

 

When Jesus came to the place, he looked up and said to him, “Zacchaeus, hurry and come down, for ^fI must stay at your house today.”  So, he hurried and came down and received him joyfully.  And when they saw it, they all grumbled, “He has gone in to be the guest of a man who is a sinner.” And Zacchaeus stood and said to the Lord, “Behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor. And if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I restore it fourfold.” And Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, since he also is a son of Abraham. For the Son of Man 

came to seek and to save the lost.”  Luke 19

 

There were times when the believers in Jesus pointed the finger at other believers:

Then the disciples of John came to Him, saying, "Why do we and the Pharisees fast, but Your disciples do not fast?" And Jesus said to them, "The attendants of the bridegroom cannot mourn as long as the bridegroom is with them, can they? But the days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast. Mark 12

While Jesus was in Bethany reclining at the table in the home of Simon the Leper, a woman came with an alabaster jar of expensive perfume, made of pure nard. She broke open the jar and poured it on Jesus’ head.

Some of those present, however, expressed their indignation to one another: “Why this waste of perfume? It could have been sold for over three hundred denarii (a years wages) and the money given to the poor.” And they scolded her.

But Jesus said, “Leave her alone; why are you bothering her? She has done a beautiful deed to Me. The poor you will always have with you, and you can help them whenever you want. But you will not always have Me. She has done what she could to anoint My body in advance of My burial. And truly I tell you, wherever the gospel is preached in all the world, what she has done will also be told in memory of her.”  Mark 14:3-9

In Nazareth, Jesus’ home town, the people there hated what Jesus was saying so much they tried to kill him.  “When they heard these things, all in the synagogue were filled with wrath.  And they rose up and drove him out of the town and brought him to the brow of the hill on which their town was built, so that they could throw him down the cliff.  But walking through their midst, he went away.”  Luke 4

Jesus was criticized even while he hung on the cross, suffering physical and mental pain:

The people stood watching, and the rulers sneered at Him, saying, “He saved others; let Him save Himself if He is the Christ of God, the Chosen One.”

The soldiers also mocked Him and came up to offer Him sour wine. “If You are the King of the Jews,” they said, “save Yourself!” Luke 23:35-37

As soon as the chief priests and officers saw Him, they shouted, “Crucify Him! Crucify Him!”

“You take Him and crucify Him,” Pilate replied, “for I find no basis for a charge against Him.”

 “We have a law,” answered the Jews, “and according to that law He must die, because He declared Himself to be the Son of God.”  John 19

Seeing how many people hated Jesus, pointing their judgmental fingers at him, do you think this is something believers in God should dare to do? It shows how completely wrong their judgement was and how they hated that which is good.

Did Jesus criticize the Romans? Never. But he did criticize those who, instead of loving people, pointed the finger of hate at people. Jesus drew people to himself with his love. I’m sure everyone could see the love in his face and words. Yes, he asked people to repent. We need to see how much we need Jesus, and if we think we are okay, why would we need him?

We are all capable of great sin. We all sin, we all hurt people. We may not even want to, but we do. With Jesus in our lives, he will whisper to our hearts and change us. We won’t be perfect in this world. I think God does not make us perfect in this world or we would become proud. We would take credit for it and our souls would be ruined. St. Paul said he was not perfect, but it was something to strive for.

I loathe the way Christians in power want to force the whole country to become Christian. This is not possible. God wants a willing heart. I think he is capable of knowing if someone is faking it. If Christians had lived like Jesus, many would have been drawn to God. As it is, we have pushed them away.

If people study history any longer, they would know the result of religious force and the uniting of Church and State. It always ends in persecution and death. But this is where we are heading. Gays, news reporters and anyone who doesn’t go along with their brand of religion will be persecuted and eventually be put to death.

This is coming, but we can have hope if we cling to God. He will walk through the fire with us. He will give to us eternal life in a place we were created for. Do we feel so comfortable in this world? That’s because we were made for a better world where there is peace, goodness and love. We will be part of a  family with God as our father and Jesus as our brother.

God is Waiting on Us.

 

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“And yet will the Lord wait, that he may be gracious to you, and because of this he will be exalted. He longs to have mercy on you, for the Lord is a God of judgement. Blessed are all they who wait for him.”   Isaiah 30:18

In the book, “Waiting on God,” Andrew Murry points out that not only are we to wait patiently on God, but that God waits patiently on us.

Murray writes, “Look up and see the great God upon his throne. He is love…and has an inexpressible desire to communicate his goodness to all his creatures… He waits with all the longings of a father’s heart. And each time you come to wait upon him, or seek to maintain in daily life the habit of waiting, you may look up and see him ready to meet with you.”

There is a picture in the Bible of God waiting for us. It is in the story of the prodigal son, who left his father and home to go into the world to find happiness. The son finds fun, but no lasting happiness and decides to go home and ask to be a servant in his father’s house.

But the father is watching the road. He is waiting and hoping for his son to return. And when he sees him coming down the road, the father jumps up and runs; he runs until he is with his son and he hugs him and welcomes him with open arms.

This is a picture of God waiting for us. And even if we are Christians and have given our lives to God, he waits each day for us to come spend time with him – telling him about our thoughts and feelings. Asking him for wisdom, and reading in the Bible those things he would like us to do. He waits, and sometimes he waits all day for us to come give him some attention and we ignore him. He wants to share our lives with him. We need to share our lives with him.

If I had shared my deepest pain with him on a certain day, I wouldn’t have taken sleeping pills and passed out. He would have taken my pain and helped me through the problem of my aching heart. He would have shown me that he is bigger than any pain this world can give.

C.S. Lewis told a friend that after 30 years of praying, he had finally forgiven someone who had betrayed him. I think perhaps he meant he finally had the feeling of anger and hate gone towards that person. I think if we say, “I forgive this person,” then we have forgiven. Our feelings confuse us and lead us astray. But still, it took 30 years for his feelings to catch up with his wanting to forgive. So, this may be a kind of waiting on God. Waiting means staying with God and not giving up, like being tired of waiting in line at a store and finally giving up and leaving. No, we must stay in Jesus, because he is our only hope in this life.

Jesus said, “Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me. I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing. If anyone does not abide in me, he is thrown away like a branch and withers; and the branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned.”   John 15:4-6

Murry writes, “The giver is more than the gift; God is more than the blessings he gives. And our being kept waiting on him could be the only way for our learning to find our life and joy are in him himself. Oh, if only God’s children knew what a glorious God they have, and what a privilege it is to be linked in fellowship with him, then they would rejoice in Him!”

(I changed a few words when I was quoting Murry. He speaks in old English, so I cut a few words or changed them a bit. The book is well worth buying.)

 

 

Asking for Advice: Yes or No?

Joyce Meyer has a saying, “Don’t run to the phone; go to the throne.”  She was speaking mainly to women about this because when we women have problems we usually talk to our family and friends about it. We want their sympathy and advice. Joyce says to go to God first, and not only that but to perhaps not to share those problems with other people. God is enough and will comfort and guide us.

To me, this seemed like good advice and I’ve been trying to do this. I have found out that God indeed does comfort and guide. He puts Bible verses in my mind about the problem I have. I feel heard and understood by him in a wonderful way. And I’m glad not to share my gloom and doom attitude with my family since it usually makes them feel sad or mad. It can be hard dealing with a family member who is naturally fearful.

But there are other voices that say we should have spiritual mentors and go to them with our plans and problems. I listened to a podcast of someone who said she thought she had a great plan for this year, but every mentor/spiritual advisor told her not to do it.

When Joyce was called by God to be a preacher, no one thought she should do it either. Her church kicked her out and her family didn’t believe God called her. Only her husband supported her after talking with God about it. At the time there were no women preachers, or very few; most churches would not allow it. But I believe God did call her and she has helped millions of people through preaching, writing and charity.

I was talking with God about this, feeling confused on what is right about the subject. He asked me to think on what Jesus did. Well, Jesus didn’t ask other people for their advice on where to go or what to do. He took his marching orders from his father. He is our perfect example of what we should do.

Then I thought of Paul, who was converted on the road to Damascus. This is what he says in Galatians 1:15,16

“But when God, who set me apart from my mother’s womb and called me by His grace, was pleased to reveal His Son in me so that I might preach Him among the Gentiles, I did not rush to consult with flesh and blood, nor did I go up to Jerusalem to the apostles who came before me, but I went into Arabia and later returned to Damascus.

Only after three years did I go up to Jerusalem to confer with Cephas, and I stayed with him fifteen days. But I saw none of the other apostles except James, the Lord’s brother.”

Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers says this:

“Having once obtained a firm inward apprehension of Christ as the Messiah and Saviour, the Apostle then comes forward to preach Him among the heathen. But that firm inward apprehension was not to be attained all at once, and it was in seeking this that “the Spirit drove him” into the wilderness of Arabia. First comes the instantaneous flash of the idea upon his soul (“to reveal his Son in me”); then the prolonged conflict and meditation, in which it gets thoroughly consolidated, and adjusted, and worked into his being (during the retirement into Arabia); lastly, the public appearance as a preacher to the heathen upon the return to Damascus.”

So Paul did not seek men’s advice or teaching, which is interesting. Most preachers go to seminary to learn how and what to preach.

When Paul was preaching in Berea, the Bible says, “Now these Jews were more noble than those in Thessalonica; they received the word with all eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see if these things were so.”  Acts 17:11

Now Jesus was a spiritual advisor to the disciples. There is that to consider. He called them, he taught them and he trained them. Paul advised Timothy and other Christian leaders. Elijah took Elisha under his wing.

I think I have come to the conclusion that before we listen to any person, we should study the Bible deeply and we should spend much time in prayer. There are false teachers and false prophets. I believe God will let us know as we study and pray whether what someone is preaching is right or wrong. And if you are called by God to go somewhere or do something, keep praying until you are sure, and then do it.

One thing too about humans. Even if they are right about many things, they can be off the mark in some things. Preachers disagree with each other. They interpret the Bible differently. And not because they don’t love God or study, it is just another way Humans are not perfect.

George Whitefield and John Wesley disagreed about Calvinistic points, but Whitefield, to the very last, was determined to forget minor differences and to regard Wesley as Calvin did Martin Luther, “only as a good servant of Jesus Christ.” He asked Wesley to preach his funeral sermon.

“On another occasion a censorious professor of religion asked Whitefield whether he thought they would see John Wesley in heaven. “No sir,” was the striking answer; “I fear not, for he will be so near the throne, and we shall be at such a distance, that we shall hardly get a sight of him.” 

The Collected Sermons of George Whitefield.

Spiritual Things Go Against Nature.

In my last post, I wrote about learning about God and how important that is. I thought I would continue writing about this as found in the book, “The Art of Divine Contentment,” by Thomas Watson. There are many lessons in this book that I think are helpful to Christians.

The author says there are two main reasons why we must study the Bible and study what God is like.

Number One: Because spiritual things are against nature. “For men to be justified by the righteousness of another, to become a fool that he may be wise, to have all by losing all; this is against nature.”

“For a man to deny his own wisdom, and see himself blind; to deny his own will and have it melted into the will of God…crucifying that sin that is dearest to his heart; for a man to be dead to the world, and in the midst of want to abound; for him to take up the cross, and follow Jesus…this is against nature and therefore must be learned.”

Number 2: Because spiritual things are far above nature.

"For My thoughts are not your thoughts, Nor are your ways My ways," declares the LORD.  Isaiah 55:8

“Only God’s Spirit can light our candle here,” writes Watson. Like the man in the chariot, who needed Philip to explain the scriptures to him, so we need the Holy Spirit to enlighten our mind. “We  cannot learn till the Spirit of God shines into our hearts.”

 “Lead me in your truth and teach me, For you are the God of my salvation; for you I wait all the day.”  Psalm 25:5

“But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you.”  John 14:26

I’m going to add my own thoughts here. I’ll call it my number 3 reason for studying the Bible.

Number 3:

In order to love God, we need to know him. We cannot feel close to a stranger. We cannot  admire someone we don’t know. If we are to love the Lord our God with all our hearts, we must know him.

Every book in the Bible tells us something about God. If we have trouble understanding what we read about him, then ask him for guidance and perhaps read some Commentaries on the Bible that try to explain each verse. I have found that very helpful. There are good Commentaries on Bible Hub online. They are written by man, so realize they could be off the mark. But knowing the culture of the ancient people helps us understand why God dealt with them the way he did.

Growing Up.

Three granddaughters.

Granddaughter #2 - all grown up.

One of my granddaughters, Hope, who is now 21, has recently moved out of her parent’s home and in with a boyfriend. She got a job at a spa that gives waxes, manicures and pedicures. The people she works with are nice and her boss is great.

A few times she has said to me, “Grandma, this being an adult is really hard.”  She and her boyfriend are cooking, cleaning, paying bills, saving money, doing all the shopping. All the things grown-ups have to do.

The other day she came over to visit and said, “Grandma, being an adult is really different. I get bored now. Bored! All the years I went to school I was never bored! I was always learning something new.”

 I said, “Yes, some jobs can be boring.” 

Then she said, “And the weekends are crazy! I have all these errands to run. I never get any rest. I’m so pooped. No wonder Mom was always tired!”

Yes, no wonder our mothers got tired! I remember when I was married and our daughter was 2 years old. I called my mother and told her I was sorry for being such a brat when I was a teenager. By raising my own daughter, I realized how much I loved her and how my mom must have loved me. No wonder my mom told me, “No,” when I wanted to do some things. It was love! I certainly didn’t see it that way at the time.

Paul talks about growing up as a Christian, “We have much to say about this, but it is hard to make it clear to you because you no longer try to understand. 

"In fact, though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you the elementary truths of God’s word all over again. You need milk, not solid food!" 

"Anyone who lives on milk, being still an infant, is not acquainted with the teaching about righteousness.  But solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil.”

Hebrews 5:11-14

Paul is saying that these Christians were not trying to know God better or understand him more. They were not reading the Scriptures enough, if they were at all. 

Continual study of the Bible will make us grow up into Christ. Just as we need food every day, we need to study the Word of God every day in order to grow as a Christian.

Through continual practice, Hope will get used to being an adult too. Lol

Meditation and the Bible.

I was reading a sermon by J.H. Jowett. It was on how to know the mind of Christ through the Bible. Here are some excerpts:

Psalm 1:2"But his delight is in the law of the LORD; and in his law does he meditate day and night."

"He shall be like a tree planted by rivers of water." Who shall? He whose delight is in the law of the Lord. His life shall be rooted in the richest of soils; he shall never lack resources; his soul shall delight itself in fatness. But what is "the law of the Lord"? 

"All the law is fulfilled in one word — thou shalt love." Love is the essence of law. He who delights in love and loving shall be like a tree planted by rivers of water.

Love is the only element in which He works, but it is prepared in different ways. At one time love is very tender, to woo a tender blade; again it is very fierce, to burn a stubborn weed. It reveals itself in different ways to suit men's different needs. If, then, I would know how love should work I must study the mind of Christ, and meditate thereon both night and day. To delight in the law of the Lord is to live as devoted students in the mind of Christ. That mind is opened out for us in the gospels. It is revealed to us how His love disposed itself in very varied circumstances and to very different needs.

We live in an age of mental haste and gallop. Impressions are abundant; convictions are scarce. I tell you, we know almost nothing of the moral and spiritual loveliness of our Jesus, almost nothing of the mind of Christ, because we do not hold ourselves before it in lingering meditation. Why don't we? Why are we not devoted students of these pictures of the mind of Christ? Let us be frank with ourselves. Is not Bible studying wearying and wearisome? To how many of us is it a delight? It is because so many put the virtue in the reading itself. We think when we have read a chapter we have discharged a duty. People open their Bibles, and read a few verses, and close them, and think that by their reading they have pleased God. 

 My text declares that those who live in continual meditation upon the ways of the Lord shall be in a rich rootage. They shall be like trees planted by rivers of water. They shall have vast resources. Are we all planted there? If we are rooted elsewhere our life will be stunted and unhealthy.

You can read the whole sermon here:
http://biblehub.com/sermons/auth/jowett/meditative_bible_reading.htm

I have been trying to meditate on God's word instead of just reading it. I think reading the Bible is good too; but meditating is more helpful. I read less, but think on it more. I try to remember what I read during the day. I pray over whatever I read. I picture the story or Jesus speaking the words. I like meditating. It is actually fun.

Is That What That Verse Meant?

Who is God?

God is a poet.

The Bible is full of poetry, allegories, songs, images and symbols. This is why there are so many different interpretations of scripture. Take hell, I think the "flames" of hell are not real flames that burn you; I think they represent the mental suffering you go through on Judgement Day when you are shown your sins and why you cannot come to heaven.  Most people would not agree with me, but it doesn't make sense to me why God would burn people's skin and body. What would that prove? What would be the point? Revenge? I don't think so. I think the verse below explains the mental pain of people who are lost.

Jesus said, "There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth, for you will see Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and all the prophets in the Kingdom of God, but you will be thrown out."  Luke 13:28

A lot of the things Jesus said confused his disciples. He would talk in similies and metaphors and they misunderstood what he meant. I think that happens all the time with Biblical scholars. That's why we have to figure things out between ourselves and God. Ask him to show us what certain verses mean. We can read the scholars; but we can question if they are right.

Who am I?

A little confused. It seems strange to me that God doesn't just come right out and say what he means in a PowerPoint Presentation, holding a pointer and saying, "No, no, you've got that wrong!"

But God says, "As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts."  Isaiah 55:9 I always have to remind myself that God knows what he is doing. We will never understand everything in this life. That's where faith comes in.

One thing about it, it is sure fun to finally have an epiphany about something in the Bible. I really enjoy that but then feel upset I didn't see it before. Like I just heard a sermon on the verse, “They will look on him whom they have pierced.” John 19:37 I've always thought that meant the wicked people who crucified him. But the preacher said in the context in the original verse, it means us - the ones who love God. We have pierced him with our sins. We have caused him pain and we will mourn for him.

"Look, he is coming with the clouds," and "every eye will see him, even those who pierced him"; and all peoples on earth "will mourn because of him." So shall it be! Amen. Rev, 1L7

"They will look on me whom they have pierced and mourn for him as for an only son. They will grieve bitterly for him as for a firstborn son who has died." Zechariah 12:10

To be honest, I don't know if that guy is right. I'll have to study some on it. I don't think it is vital to know the answer to this, but it just shows how interpretations can be wrong and can skew what God meant to say.

I think the whole arguement about creation and evolution can be explained. The earth as an orb in space was here for billions of years, like the rest of the universe. God created it long ago. He decided to populate a world, came here and did that 6,000 years ago. The trinity moved on the "face of the waters." Water was alread here. "The dry land appeared." It was under the water. 

I didn't know other people believed as I do about creation until I researched it. I'm an "old earth" believer! People who think God created this entire world 6,000 years ago are, "young earth" believers. Huh, I never knew that. Apparently, there are many ways Christians believe God created the earth. I think C.S. Lewis believed God used evolution.

I used to think it was awful there were so many denominations of Christianity. But then I thought maybe it was a good thing because then people can find a church they feel at home in. I don't know. It is pretty crazy we can't agree on some of the simplest things in the Bible. I actually think this shows how stupid we all are.

So, what was the point of this post? Study for yourself. Ask God to show you what the Bible means. Don't take a preacher's word for what the Bible says or what God is like. Search with all your heart and you will find out by yourself.

"Now the Berean Jews were of more noble character than those in Thessalonica, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true."  Acts 17:11