by: Divya Pathak
It has been a decade since Kolkata's “Saint of Gutters”, Mother Teresa went home to God. But Missionaries of Charity, the order established by Mother in 1950, still continues to feel her divine presence around. The moment one enters the premises of Mother's House on AJC Bose Road in central Kolkata, one is overwhelmed by a feeling of warmth, peace and serenity like one has never experienced before. Two days before her tenth death anniversary, the spirit of Mother Teresa rests in peace in a white marble tomb, built in the middle of Mother's House, and is surrounded by devotees, who sit with their heads bowed, paying a silent tribute to the lady who gave up everything to serve the “poorest of the poor”. “Service to the poorest of the poor” still continues to be the fundamental article of faith in Missionaries of Charity.
“Jesus is the bread of life” is written in flowers over Mother's tomb, and a soft fragrance of incense wafts through the air to create an aura of unmatched divinity. The room adjacent to Mother's tomb holds her possessions and pictures, and tells a tale of Mother's service to humankind. The pictures of Mother Teresa, along with her belongings displayed with care, make one feel a close proximity with the petite Mother. “She is everywhere in the House”, smiles Sister Nirmala, the Superior General of Missionaries of Charity, before settling down with HeadlinesIndia for an exclusive interview about life during Mother's time, and beyond.
It has been ten years since Mother passed away. How has life been in Missionaries of Charity after Mother?
Sister Nirmala: Missionaries of Charity, by the grace of God, and with the presence, prayers and blessings of Mother, is continuing with its work and is going on. It continues to be in the same spirit that it was in when it was founded by Mother.
It has also been ten years of responsibility for you. How does it feel to be in Mother's place?
Sister Nirmala: I would not say I am in Mother's place. I can never replace Mother. I have my own place. I cannot be Mother, I cannot live her life. I have my life, and I am living it the way Mother wanted me to. I think Mother is irreplaceable. No one can ever take her place.
How far do you think you have lived up to Mother's expectations?
Sister Nirmala: I am just continuing the work that she was doing. I try my best to live up to her expectations. I feel, may be Mother is happy with me (laughs).
So, do you hear Mother's voice in your heart, saying she is happy with you? Do you feel her around you?
Sister Nirmala: Yes, I feel her guiding me in everything I do. I never felt that she is not happy with me. I know she is there to look after everything.
Apparently you shared a very close bond with Mother. Tell us something about your relationship with Mother Teresa.
Sister Nirmala: See, we are sisters, but we are really her daughters. I was like her daughter too...
And what kind of bonding did you share with her?
Sister Nirmala: She was a real mother for my future direction. She guided me in a lot of things. As I grew up before her eyes, she taught me how to love, how to care selflessly. She guided me to spirituality, and she encouraged me in whatever I wanted to do (Mother Teresa had encouraged Sister Nirmala to study law). So I really shared a very special bond with her.
With such special bond, do you miss her around?
Sister Nirmala: It is only her physical being that is missing from here. Her spirit continues to be in every part of the order. We feel here presence everywhere.
Coming back to the order, what changes has Missionaries of Charity seen over the past decade?
Sister Nirmala: The changes have come in the form of expansion. We have expanded to 14 new countries, and we are striving hard to expand further. The Missionaries of Charity has set up 166 new homes across the world. The number of nuns has increased too. Everything else is the same (laughs)...
It is often alleged that Missionaries of Charity follows a static and rudimentary style of functioning....
Sister Nirmala: It is our rule, you know. We follow our tradition, we follow our spirit...
Don't you wish to modernise the Missionaries of Charity?
Sister Nirmala: No. We prefer to keep it simple. That is the way Missionaries of Charity is (laughs).
What about the funds and donations that are sent to Missionaries of Charity? Has there been any change in the amount of help you received during Mother's time?
For More Articles By The Same Author Or For More News From India Visit http://www.headlinesindia.com/
Sabtu, 23 Agustus 2008
Out of Orthodoxy – From Orthodox Rabbi to Secular Humanist
by: Rabbi David S. Gruber
Many people reading this will not be happy. I suppose this article will be seen as somewhat analogous to a person everybody thought of as really, really straight coming out of the closet and proudly proclaiming him or herself as gay. No, it’s probably worse; as most Americans would sooner elect a gay person as President, than elect a secular humanist. In fact, a mere few years ago, the head of school of a prominent Orthodox Jewish day school left his job, came out of the closet as a homosexual, and checked out of Orthodox Jewish observance. Many of his students were angrier at the latter, rather than the former, even though (male) homosexual activity is a capital offense under Jewish Law. Go figure.
Well, here goes. (Deep breath.) Having grown up an Orthodox Jew since the age of eight, having gone to prominent Israeli high school and post high school yeshivas, having been ordained by the Chief Rabbis of Israel, having served as the rabbi of an Orthodox congregation, as the head of one Jewish educational organization, and in the professional leadership of two Jewish day schools, having taught formally and informally people of all ages about Judaism, basically, since the age of sixteen, I am checking out. I am no longer Orthodox, and beyond that, no longer a theist. That’s it, it’s over. I am a secular humanist.
What happened? Looking back I see things differently than I did at the time, but I have always been a skeptic. I never accepted things at face value, and consequently gradually there were more and more things in my religious philosophy and belief system that didn’t really fit. There were more and more square pegs that really needed to be forced into round holes.
The change of heart and mind itself though really kind of happened all at once. It was as if it had always been clear to me. I just couldn’t understand why I didn’t pick up on it before. Orthodox Judaism and everything it was based on was wrong. It wasn’t just factually wrong, it was at times immoral, and it had robbed me of my individuality. It felt like a jail, which I couldn’t wait to get out of.
When I spell out my problems with Orthodox Judaism it really starts, first, with the fact that I really just don’t connect to it anymore emotionally or cognitively. It really seems rather alien to me. The financial, emotional and social sacrifices one must make within the framework of Orthodox Judaism are substantial, and if one does not connect to it, find meaning in it, and believe it to be absolutely true, I cannot see how one can continue to live according to its multiple and minute precepts.
One might object and protest that if Orthodox Judaism’s claims are valid, the fact that you don’t connect to it should not be a factor. Here lies the rub. There is absolutely no proof that Orthodox Judaism’s claims are valid. There is no proof that there is a God. In previous centuries at the primitive level of their scientific knowledge (even though there was never proof) there might have been reasons to posit a designer for the world. Our knowledge today of cosmology and biology no longer necessitates this. Not only that, there is no proof that a God dictated the Torah to Moses, if such a person ever existed, and no proof that any of the things we are told in the Torah ever happened. Even in books in the Hebrew Bible that might have some truth to them such as the Former Prophets, proof is available only for a select number of persons and events, which even in those cases usually does not back up the account of the Hebrew Bible. There is certainly no proof that the Oral Law existed much time before the Common Era. Again, perhaps in past generations, in the absence of the knowledge we now have about the development of these writings and ideas, there were reasons to accept these claims as true. Our knowledge today no longer necessitates this. In short, even before analyzing the points against belief in the Torah, you need to take quite a leap of faith, one that I see as entirely unwarranted. Occam’s razor and simple logic dictate therefore that these claims be seen as not only not provable, but also false.
Second, I am convinced that significant parts of the Torah (and the rest of the Hebrew Bible) and the corpus of Halacha are immoral, intolerant, backward, racist, sexist and homophobic. Definitely the argument can be made that the Torah has much beauty to it, and that (at least in certain parts of it) it was beyond its time, but judging by today’s standards it is extremely lacking. Hence I find it impossible that it was written by God.
Third, Orthodox Judaism is very much dependent on Moses’ receiving of the Torah from God, and that just does not fit with the evidence. Anyone who takes a serious and detailed look at the Torah and modern biblical research with an objective eye cannot fail to see that the theory of monoauthorism, namely that the Torah was written by a single author, especially in the 13th Century B.C.E. (and certainly earlier), is a fantasy. At that time Hebrew script and writing did not yet exist. The Canaanite alphabet had barely been standardized, after the change from 27 consonants to 22 consonants, and it was still written right to left, left to right and vertically too. Archeology clearly shows that Israelite society, when it emerged, was not a literate society, while the Torah takes this as a given. This is only one of numerous anachronisms in the Torah that make it clear that it is not a 13th Century B.C.E. document. In the 13th Century B.C.E., for example, contrary to what is imagined by the biblical authors, there were no domesticated camels, no Philistines living on the Coast, no Chaldeans in Ur, no widespread use of iron and coinage, no kingdoms in Edom, Moab and Amon, and the cities of Dan (with that name), Nineveh, Beer-Sheva, Gerar and many others mentioned were not founded yet.
Beyond that, the Documentary Hypothesis, the theory that the Torah is the product of a 6th-5th Century B.C.E. redaction of four (main and a few other minor) sources written during the 9th-6th Centuries B.C.E., is pretty much iron clad. The only serious opposition, very unconvincing in my eyes, is from those scholars on the left who accept polyauthorism, the existence of a number of authors, but maintain that the Torah is a product of late post exilic writings. There is simply no serious opposition from the Orthodox camp, which can deal with, and explain away the hundreds of points of data in six or seven different categories converging together that back up the Documentary Hypothesis.
Indeed, for the last half century, at least, no serious and comprehensive case has been mounted by the Orthodox to prove monoauthorism, and disprove polyauthorism on any serious level, and certainly not to prove monoauthorism from the 13th Century B.C.E. Some of the Orthodox are fond of citing differences of opinion in the biblical research community, regarding the details of polyauthorism, as some dubious proof that polyauthorism is wrong, and by default monoauthorism is right. This defies logic. Disagreement about details of an accepted construct with adequate support in honest research does not imply that the whole construct is invalid, and presto, the opposing unproved and irreparably flawed construct is right. Tired repetition of a few critical comments written by polyauthorists many years ago within the context of the above discussions, and usually quoted out of context, with no regard for evidence that has surfaced since the time of the comments, does no one any good either. Giving isolated case by case explanations (excuses?) how blatant contradictions aren’t really contradictions, or how anachronisms can be twisted to somehow fit the supposed time period they were written in, or how certain linguistic, thematic or terminological phenomena may have alternative explanations, while ignoring the overall patterns, that again cut across hundreds of points of data in six or seven different categories converging together, is just not serious.
Fourth, an honest look at today’s mainstream Syro-Palestinian archeology can lead only to one understanding, namely, that the Exodus from Egypt, including the subsequent journey through the Sinai and Transjordan, and the Conquest of Canaan, never happened in any way remotely related to the account in the Torah, and for all practical purposes never happened at all. In fact, the consensus of archeologists today is that the Israelites and Judahites emerged out of the Canaanites of the Central Highlands of Ancient Palestine in the 12th-11th Century B.C.E. Without the foundational events of the Exodus and Conquest, the entire edifice of Orthodox Judaism crumbles. Add to that that most of what we are told in the Hebrew Bible before the 9th-8th Century B.C.E. is extremely questionable, certainly as far as scope and details are concerned. Even after that we are told a story that is a very specific version of the historical events, the version adopted by the minority Yahweh Alone party, the small group of priests who left their legacy and ideology embedded in the Deuteronomistic History (the composition which originally included the nine books of Deuteronomy – Kings).
This is probably the strongest proof out there, and no one in the Orthodox community, to my knowledge, has dealt with this at all (and saying that the archeologists don’t know what they are talking about doesn’t count). More than that, some will still cite the now easily debunked and heavily biased “biblical archeology” of the past, which seemed to back up some of the accounts of the Hebrew Bible (conveniently leaving out the fact that it never really backed up others, and even went against some of them). It is as if nothing has happened in this field of research in the last half century, while in reality the revolution and systemization of this field over the course of those years has been phenomenal, turning this science into a much more exact one.
With the above in mind, it makes much more sense that religion in general, with Judaism being no different, is the human product of people’s efforts to understand the world around them, especially before the advent of modern science, find meaning in their lives, and strive for connection with the transcendental. I remain fascinated by these cultural human phenomena, but convinced that they are just that. Again, there are many reasons to support such a conclusion, and absolutely no reason I should believe otherwise.
The more I read and research, the more I realize the truth and beauty of secular humanism. I do not wish to base my life on fables, wishful thinking while ignoring the facts, and an imaginary friend that supposedly rules the universe, to whom we owe allegiance and obedient worship. Nor do I seek, as some Jewish movements to the left of Orthodoxy do, to continue in the footsteps of traditional Judaism, just in a watered down fashion. Rather I wish to base my life on a non-theistic world outlook that recognizes the supremacy of reason, and the dignity of the human being, who can and must stand alone in this world, and whose accomplishments and perseverance in an incredible and beautiful, while hostile and indifferent universe can and should be celebrated.
After I wrote most of this, I saw that Christopher Hitchens summed up most of my thoughts so perfectly, “A moment in history has now arrived when even a pygmy such as myself can claim to know more [then the wisest of previous generations – DSG] – through no merit of my own – and to see that the final ripping of the disguise is overdue. Between them, the sciences of textual criticism, archeology, physics and molecular biology have shown religious myths to be false and man-made and have also succeeded in evolving better and more enlightened explanations. The loss of faith can be compensated by the newer and finer wonders we have before us…” (God is Not Great, 2007, p. 151)
I do not expect anyone to fully understand, just based on reading this. The above is based on much contemplation and much research, which cannot be adequately conveyed in a few paragraphs. Frankly, I am not really that interested in convincing anyone. I simply cannot live as an Orthodox Jew anymore, and I need to state that clearly. I look forward with excitement to a new and different life, as a secular humanist.
One last note to my friends who remain within the Orthodox community, where those who leave the community are derided as being off the derech or (proper) “way”: Please do not refer to me as someone who is off the derech. I am on my own derech with as much legitimacy as yours, and frankly in light of all the above facts, a truer one and more realistic one too.
http://www.interfaithweddingrabbi.net
Many people reading this will not be happy. I suppose this article will be seen as somewhat analogous to a person everybody thought of as really, really straight coming out of the closet and proudly proclaiming him or herself as gay. No, it’s probably worse; as most Americans would sooner elect a gay person as President, than elect a secular humanist. In fact, a mere few years ago, the head of school of a prominent Orthodox Jewish day school left his job, came out of the closet as a homosexual, and checked out of Orthodox Jewish observance. Many of his students were angrier at the latter, rather than the former, even though (male) homosexual activity is a capital offense under Jewish Law. Go figure.
Well, here goes. (Deep breath.) Having grown up an Orthodox Jew since the age of eight, having gone to prominent Israeli high school and post high school yeshivas, having been ordained by the Chief Rabbis of Israel, having served as the rabbi of an Orthodox congregation, as the head of one Jewish educational organization, and in the professional leadership of two Jewish day schools, having taught formally and informally people of all ages about Judaism, basically, since the age of sixteen, I am checking out. I am no longer Orthodox, and beyond that, no longer a theist. That’s it, it’s over. I am a secular humanist.
What happened? Looking back I see things differently than I did at the time, but I have always been a skeptic. I never accepted things at face value, and consequently gradually there were more and more things in my religious philosophy and belief system that didn’t really fit. There were more and more square pegs that really needed to be forced into round holes.
The change of heart and mind itself though really kind of happened all at once. It was as if it had always been clear to me. I just couldn’t understand why I didn’t pick up on it before. Orthodox Judaism and everything it was based on was wrong. It wasn’t just factually wrong, it was at times immoral, and it had robbed me of my individuality. It felt like a jail, which I couldn’t wait to get out of.
When I spell out my problems with Orthodox Judaism it really starts, first, with the fact that I really just don’t connect to it anymore emotionally or cognitively. It really seems rather alien to me. The financial, emotional and social sacrifices one must make within the framework of Orthodox Judaism are substantial, and if one does not connect to it, find meaning in it, and believe it to be absolutely true, I cannot see how one can continue to live according to its multiple and minute precepts.
One might object and protest that if Orthodox Judaism’s claims are valid, the fact that you don’t connect to it should not be a factor. Here lies the rub. There is absolutely no proof that Orthodox Judaism’s claims are valid. There is no proof that there is a God. In previous centuries at the primitive level of their scientific knowledge (even though there was never proof) there might have been reasons to posit a designer for the world. Our knowledge today of cosmology and biology no longer necessitates this. Not only that, there is no proof that a God dictated the Torah to Moses, if such a person ever existed, and no proof that any of the things we are told in the Torah ever happened. Even in books in the Hebrew Bible that might have some truth to them such as the Former Prophets, proof is available only for a select number of persons and events, which even in those cases usually does not back up the account of the Hebrew Bible. There is certainly no proof that the Oral Law existed much time before the Common Era. Again, perhaps in past generations, in the absence of the knowledge we now have about the development of these writings and ideas, there were reasons to accept these claims as true. Our knowledge today no longer necessitates this. In short, even before analyzing the points against belief in the Torah, you need to take quite a leap of faith, one that I see as entirely unwarranted. Occam’s razor and simple logic dictate therefore that these claims be seen as not only not provable, but also false.
Second, I am convinced that significant parts of the Torah (and the rest of the Hebrew Bible) and the corpus of Halacha are immoral, intolerant, backward, racist, sexist and homophobic. Definitely the argument can be made that the Torah has much beauty to it, and that (at least in certain parts of it) it was beyond its time, but judging by today’s standards it is extremely lacking. Hence I find it impossible that it was written by God.
Third, Orthodox Judaism is very much dependent on Moses’ receiving of the Torah from God, and that just does not fit with the evidence. Anyone who takes a serious and detailed look at the Torah and modern biblical research with an objective eye cannot fail to see that the theory of monoauthorism, namely that the Torah was written by a single author, especially in the 13th Century B.C.E. (and certainly earlier), is a fantasy. At that time Hebrew script and writing did not yet exist. The Canaanite alphabet had barely been standardized, after the change from 27 consonants to 22 consonants, and it was still written right to left, left to right and vertically too. Archeology clearly shows that Israelite society, when it emerged, was not a literate society, while the Torah takes this as a given. This is only one of numerous anachronisms in the Torah that make it clear that it is not a 13th Century B.C.E. document. In the 13th Century B.C.E., for example, contrary to what is imagined by the biblical authors, there were no domesticated camels, no Philistines living on the Coast, no Chaldeans in Ur, no widespread use of iron and coinage, no kingdoms in Edom, Moab and Amon, and the cities of Dan (with that name), Nineveh, Beer-Sheva, Gerar and many others mentioned were not founded yet.
Beyond that, the Documentary Hypothesis, the theory that the Torah is the product of a 6th-5th Century B.C.E. redaction of four (main and a few other minor) sources written during the 9th-6th Centuries B.C.E., is pretty much iron clad. The only serious opposition, very unconvincing in my eyes, is from those scholars on the left who accept polyauthorism, the existence of a number of authors, but maintain that the Torah is a product of late post exilic writings. There is simply no serious opposition from the Orthodox camp, which can deal with, and explain away the hundreds of points of data in six or seven different categories converging together that back up the Documentary Hypothesis.
Indeed, for the last half century, at least, no serious and comprehensive case has been mounted by the Orthodox to prove monoauthorism, and disprove polyauthorism on any serious level, and certainly not to prove monoauthorism from the 13th Century B.C.E. Some of the Orthodox are fond of citing differences of opinion in the biblical research community, regarding the details of polyauthorism, as some dubious proof that polyauthorism is wrong, and by default monoauthorism is right. This defies logic. Disagreement about details of an accepted construct with adequate support in honest research does not imply that the whole construct is invalid, and presto, the opposing unproved and irreparably flawed construct is right. Tired repetition of a few critical comments written by polyauthorists many years ago within the context of the above discussions, and usually quoted out of context, with no regard for evidence that has surfaced since the time of the comments, does no one any good either. Giving isolated case by case explanations (excuses?) how blatant contradictions aren’t really contradictions, or how anachronisms can be twisted to somehow fit the supposed time period they were written in, or how certain linguistic, thematic or terminological phenomena may have alternative explanations, while ignoring the overall patterns, that again cut across hundreds of points of data in six or seven different categories converging together, is just not serious.
Fourth, an honest look at today’s mainstream Syro-Palestinian archeology can lead only to one understanding, namely, that the Exodus from Egypt, including the subsequent journey through the Sinai and Transjordan, and the Conquest of Canaan, never happened in any way remotely related to the account in the Torah, and for all practical purposes never happened at all. In fact, the consensus of archeologists today is that the Israelites and Judahites emerged out of the Canaanites of the Central Highlands of Ancient Palestine in the 12th-11th Century B.C.E. Without the foundational events of the Exodus and Conquest, the entire edifice of Orthodox Judaism crumbles. Add to that that most of what we are told in the Hebrew Bible before the 9th-8th Century B.C.E. is extremely questionable, certainly as far as scope and details are concerned. Even after that we are told a story that is a very specific version of the historical events, the version adopted by the minority Yahweh Alone party, the small group of priests who left their legacy and ideology embedded in the Deuteronomistic History (the composition which originally included the nine books of Deuteronomy – Kings).
This is probably the strongest proof out there, and no one in the Orthodox community, to my knowledge, has dealt with this at all (and saying that the archeologists don’t know what they are talking about doesn’t count). More than that, some will still cite the now easily debunked and heavily biased “biblical archeology” of the past, which seemed to back up some of the accounts of the Hebrew Bible (conveniently leaving out the fact that it never really backed up others, and even went against some of them). It is as if nothing has happened in this field of research in the last half century, while in reality the revolution and systemization of this field over the course of those years has been phenomenal, turning this science into a much more exact one.
With the above in mind, it makes much more sense that religion in general, with Judaism being no different, is the human product of people’s efforts to understand the world around them, especially before the advent of modern science, find meaning in their lives, and strive for connection with the transcendental. I remain fascinated by these cultural human phenomena, but convinced that they are just that. Again, there are many reasons to support such a conclusion, and absolutely no reason I should believe otherwise.
The more I read and research, the more I realize the truth and beauty of secular humanism. I do not wish to base my life on fables, wishful thinking while ignoring the facts, and an imaginary friend that supposedly rules the universe, to whom we owe allegiance and obedient worship. Nor do I seek, as some Jewish movements to the left of Orthodoxy do, to continue in the footsteps of traditional Judaism, just in a watered down fashion. Rather I wish to base my life on a non-theistic world outlook that recognizes the supremacy of reason, and the dignity of the human being, who can and must stand alone in this world, and whose accomplishments and perseverance in an incredible and beautiful, while hostile and indifferent universe can and should be celebrated.
After I wrote most of this, I saw that Christopher Hitchens summed up most of my thoughts so perfectly, “A moment in history has now arrived when even a pygmy such as myself can claim to know more [then the wisest of previous generations – DSG] – through no merit of my own – and to see that the final ripping of the disguise is overdue. Between them, the sciences of textual criticism, archeology, physics and molecular biology have shown religious myths to be false and man-made and have also succeeded in evolving better and more enlightened explanations. The loss of faith can be compensated by the newer and finer wonders we have before us…” (God is Not Great, 2007, p. 151)
I do not expect anyone to fully understand, just based on reading this. The above is based on much contemplation and much research, which cannot be adequately conveyed in a few paragraphs. Frankly, I am not really that interested in convincing anyone. I simply cannot live as an Orthodox Jew anymore, and I need to state that clearly. I look forward with excitement to a new and different life, as a secular humanist.
One last note to my friends who remain within the Orthodox community, where those who leave the community are derided as being off the derech or (proper) “way”: Please do not refer to me as someone who is off the derech. I am on my own derech with as much legitimacy as yours, and frankly in light of all the above facts, a truer one and more realistic one too.
http://www.interfaithweddingrabbi.net
Out of Orthodoxy - Why This Former Orthodox Rabbi Will Officiate at Interfaith Weddings
by: Rabbi David S. Gruber
Many might ask, even accuse, how can I, a rabbi, who once was Orthodox, who served an Orthodox congregation, and at the helm of Orthodox educational institutions, be willing, nay eager, to help interfaith couples and (co)officiate at their weddings?
Let me open with a family story. I remember a discussion my grandmother had with my great uncle in front of me. They had both moved from the East Coast to Portland, Oregon to be with their children and grandchildren. Neither was observant in the Orthodox sense of the word, but both had bought kosher meat back east. While my grandmother continued to buy kosher meat in Portland despite the higher price, my great uncle started buying non-kosher meat, once he moved out there. He explained that kosher meat was just too expensive. My grandmother sternly responded, that she continued to buy kosher meat, because, “that is how our parents brought us up!”
That logic never made sense to me. I bought kosher food, lived in the Eruv, sent my kids to a costly day school, and fulfilled all the other costly and taxing demands of Halacha, because I firmly believed that God had commanded me to do so. Even where tradition came into play, such as the standard derech hapsak (modus of halachic ruling) of the Rama[1], concepts of minhag yisrael din hu (the custom of Israel has the force of law), and the like, the implicit, if not explicit reasoning was that God wants you to do it this way, not that tradition in and of itself had some independent value aside from God’s will. My opposition at the time to intermarriage, as to any transgression of Jewish Law had nothing to do with tradition. As an Orthodox rabbi I did not, nor would I have dreamt of performing intermarriages, as it is against Halacha. Period. What mattered to me was the desire of the deity, not a tradition, in and of itself.
About a year and a half ago, this all changed. I had an epiphany of sorts, and it became clear to me that I could not remain Orthodox. I began a year and a half long journey of study and exploration, at the end of which I left the Orthodox world behind, and I now live my life as a Jewish secular humanist. I no longer buy kosher food, live in the Eruv, send my kids to a costly day school, or fulfill all the other costly and taxing demands of Halacha, because I firmly believe that no God has commanded me to do so. As my objection to officiating at intermarriages was part and parcel of my Halachic life, I see no reason not to do this now. Period. Now what guides my life are the ideals of humanism. What matters is how I can help my fellow human being, and how I can make the world a better place for humanity in general. That is of the most paramount importance, not the imagined desire of a deity[2].
I remember when I first met with Rabbi Jacques Cukierkorn, over some kosher ribs at Irv’s Market in Kansas City[3]. He explained his philosophy of what he would and wouldn’t do through a story which was intended in good humor to cause even the most liberal Orthodox rabbi (me) to raise an eyebrow. Once he got the effect he wanted, he explained seriously that he has one criterion when he judges a potential act – will it further the cause of Judaism? I too have one criterion – will what I do help my fellow human beings, and will it further the cause of humanistic ideals? Treating a couple with kindness and compassion, as human beings, as individuals, which is the way they treated each other when they fell in love is the best way of fulfilling this. In fact, I can think of few things better than helping a couple make the most important day of their life even more wonderful, especially when so many rabbis will not do so without attaching numerous conditions[4].
Rabbi Adam Chalom[5] talks about the fact that all marriages are intermarriages. People marry multifaceted individuals; each one of us has many defining characteristics, with our religion being just one of them. In that sense even a marriage between two Ultra-Orthodox Jews is a mixed marriage, and a marriage between a Jew and a non-Jew, who are on the same “wave length” in many things could be less of a stretch, depending on the other characteristics of each individual. Amy Elkes[6] writes, “My boyfriend and I share many of the same beliefs and values. We both believe in acting with honesty and integrity. We both honor our families and believe that children are a couple’s greatest commitment. We love learning and traveling and exploring new places. When we face problems, no matter what kind, we turn to one another for comfort and support. In short we do not define ourselves solely by our religions, and as a result, we have a tremendous amount of common ground to stand on.” Each couple must ascertain if their “package” is one that will work. After, all a perfectly Halachic marriage between a Humanistic Jew and an Ultra Orthodox Jew would probably have a lesser chance of remaining intact, than one between a Humanistic Jew and a Humanistic Buddhist[7].
The interesting thing is that if we are, after all, to invoke tradition, we who see nothing wrong with interfaith marriage have quite a leg to stand on, and in a sense a better one than those who invoke tradition against it. After all, from the period where our ancestors, the Canaanites of the Central Highlands started to define themselves as Israelites and Judahites[8] to at least 450 B.C.E., beyond the standard xenophobia, so common to those times, not many thought there was really that much wrong with intermarriage. This was in part because they all worshipped many of the same gods, with a small group of priests in the 7th Century B.C.E. pushing monolatry[9] of one of those particular gods, Yahweh, and trying to foment a little bit more than the standard xenophobia with their intermarriage prohibitions. The latter openly lament, that they really didn’t make too much of a “splash” at the time in the general populace. That is why we see intermarriage exemplified by the legendary figures of Ruth[10], Ma’acha[11], Na’ama[12], Jezebel[13], Yeter[14], Uriah[15], and many more. Prof. Baruch Halpern[16] talks about the fact that in general this Yahweh Alone party rewrote history with the traditional Israelite practice condemned as foreign and against tradition, and the new practice of this new party elevated as the true Israelite tradition. This is just one more instance, where that is so true. By being open to interfaith marriage we invoke the ancient and true traditions of our Canaanite/Israelite ancestors. By leaving their xenophobia behind, we improve on these traditions.
I feel a personal connection to such an avenue of thinking regarding myself as one who will (co)officiate at interfaith marriages. The following is my personal conjecture, and I may be a little off, but certainly not anymore so than traditional Judaism’s version. There have been a number of fascinating studies regarding the evidence mitochondrial and Y chromosome DNA markers give us regarding the development of the human race. One of the most fascinating of these studies is the study that implies that 70-80% of today’s male Kohanim (Aaronide or Zadokite priests) are in fact descended from a single common male ancestor who lived 2100-3500 years ago[17]. Now, the consensus of archeologists is quite clear that the Israelites and Judahites emerged from the Canaanites of the Central Highlands[18]. That means that that ancestor most probably came from within that milieu. If you read between the lines of the Bible, you can see that there is a certain probability that the story of the Aaronide priesthood really begins with the selection of two rival Cannanite priesthood lines by the rustic Judahite chieftain we know as David (who we now have evidence did in fact exist[19]) with the Zadokite line winning out. When I, a Kohen, stand before a couple and consecrate them in marriage, I see myself not only as an heir to the historical traditions of Judaism and the original Cannanite/Israelites, but also, by virtue of my DNA, as an heir to that ancient Cannanite priesthood, who may have officiated at many marriages of all sorts, without anyone thinking anything about it.
Some may say that officiating at interfaith marriages will decimate the Jewish people. Some, and I count my former self as guilty in this regard, even use abhorrent references to a “voluntary holocaust”, as if people wishing to marry those they love are analogous to those who murdered a third of our people. Again Chalom is poignant in his thinking in this matter. Why not look at this as enlarging the Jewish people? To Jewish theists of all stripes, there is a need to legally define who is Jewish and who is not, as they look at Jews through religious eyes. Who is a Jew, is as important a subject to the most liberal Reform rabbi, as it is to her Neturai Karta counterpart. To them, by virtue of some version of Halacha the children of the interfaith couple will be Jewish or won’t be Jewish, and this is a concern of the utmost importance. To me, Judaism is primarily an issue of culture, history, and an intellectual tradition, the positive and relevant aspects of which I embrace along with the traditions of the enlightenment. One can be a part of many different cultures. My children are three quarters Ashkenazic, and one quarter Sephardic. Did I do damage to Ashkenazi culture by not marrying a fully Ashkenazic woman? My cousin married a man from China. Did she do damage to her children by not marrying an American born man? Did he do damage to his children by not marrying a Chinese woman? Certainly, to their shame, many people, a generation or two ago would have answered to the affirmative. To the shame of Ultra Orthodox Judaism in Israel, they still answer to the affirmative today to my first question. Need we be so narrow minded? Can we not understand that there is something enriching and positive and wonderful about more people out there being heirs to a Jewish cultural, historical and intellectual tradition, combined with whatever additional identities they have? This should be seen as a blessing, not a problem.
Our Rabbis ask[20] what does God do ever since he finished with the heavy lifting of creation? They tell us that he does one thing – matchmaking. The idea of marriage, two separate people coming together to form one united entity, when you think about it, is really quite fantastic. In our modern culture with the high divorce rate, we see how incredibly difficult it can be to keep such a package intact. Those of us who are married know that you need to keep working at it day by day. If we are approached by a couple who deeply love each other, who have thought the issues of their compatibility through, and have decided that they would like nothing more than to spend their life together, blending their lives and their flesh into one, and they ask us to help them make this dream come true, dare we say no? I know I cannot, and I will not. I will not attach any conditions to my willingness to (co)officiate, and I will have one question only, the question Chalom says he asks couples when they approach him, “Do you love each other?” If the answer is yes, I will have only one response, “Mazel Tov, now let’s look at some dates…”
[1] Acronym in Hebrew for the Polish Rabbi Moshe Iserles, contrary to his Spanish counterpart, Rabbi Yosef Karo, ruled primarily based on tradition, many times opening his glosses on the latter’s ruling with the phrase “In these lands the custom is”. Karo based his rulings primarily on a quasi democratic system amongst three rabbis, Maimonides, Rabbi Yitzhak Alfasi, and Rabbenu Asher, whom he crowned, the “three pillars of Halacha”. This arbitrary system was severely criticized by Iserles and others.
[2]For a full explanation of my reasons for becoming a secular humanist see Gruber, D. S. (2007) Out of Orthodoxy – From Orthodox Rabbi to Secular Humanist. Retrieved November 15, 2007 from http://littlefoxling.blogspot.com/2007/11/guest-post-from-david-gruber.html
[3] Cukierkorn had stated that his reason for moving to Kansas City could be summed up in one word “BBQ”…
[4] Most studies and personal anecdotal experiences indicate that the vast majority of the rabbis that will perform intermarriages attach conditions to such willingness, such as no officiating on Shabbat, officiating only for members of the rabbi’s synagogue, no co-officiating with non-Jewish clergy, officiating only if the couple will raise their children as Jewish, and more and more. Very few, like me, attach no conditions to their willingness to (co)offciate
[5]http://kolhadash.com/Intermarriage.mp3
[6] Elkes, A. (2007). Grown Up Love is Complicated. Retrieved November 18, 2007, from http://www.interfaithfamily.com/relationships/interdating/Grown-Up_Love_Is_Complicated.shtml
[7] See for instance Winterbottom, M. (Director). (2007). A Mighty Heart. Hollywood: Paramount Home Video, and the book it was based on, which tells the story of Daniel and Mariane Pearl, who fit this bill. The film includes scenes of their interfaith marriage.
[8]Finkelstein, I. & Silberman, N. A. (2001). The Bible Unearthed. New York: Simon and Schuster
[9] This is the concept of believing in the existence of many gods, but swearing allegiance to only one. This is quite different from monotheism, where one believes in the existence of only one god. Most scholars today agree that the Yahweh Alone party were monolatrists, not monotheists, and the straightforward reading of the Hebrew Bible really always pointed in that direction.
[10] Ruth 1,4; 4,13
[11] I Chronicles 3,2
[12] I Kings 14,21
[13] I Kings 17,31
[14] I Chronicles 2,17
[15] II Samuel 11,3
[16]Halpern, B. Sybil, or the Two Nations? Archaism, Kinship, Alienation, and the Elite Redefinition of Traditional Culture in Judah in the 8th-7th Centuries B.C.E., in Cooper, J. S. and Schwartz, G. M. (1996). The Study of the Ancient Near East in the Twenty-First Century: The William Foxwell Albright Centennial Conference. Indiana: Eisenbrauns
[17]Skorecki, K., Selig S., Blazer S., Bradman R., Bradman N., Waburton P.J., Ismajlowicz M. & Hammer M.F. (1997). Y chromosomes of Jewish priests. Nature 385: 32. See also Schrack, B. (2007). Cohen does not equal CMH,CMH does not equal Cohen -- only in J1 do they coincide. GENEALOGY-DNA-L Archives. Retrieved Nobember 15, 2007, especially her remarks at the end of the posting.
[18]Finkelstein, I. & Silberman, N. A. (2001). The Bible Unearthed. New York: Simon and Schuster
[19]Biran, A. and Naveh J. (1993). An Aramaic Stele Fragment from Tel Dan. Israel Exploration Journal 43, pp. 81-98; Biran, A. and Naveh J. (1995). The Tel Dan Inscription: A New Fragment. Israel Exploration Journal 45, pp. 1-18.
[20] Bereshit Rabbah 68,4
http://www.interfaithweddingrabbi.net
Many might ask, even accuse, how can I, a rabbi, who once was Orthodox, who served an Orthodox congregation, and at the helm of Orthodox educational institutions, be willing, nay eager, to help interfaith couples and (co)officiate at their weddings?
Let me open with a family story. I remember a discussion my grandmother had with my great uncle in front of me. They had both moved from the East Coast to Portland, Oregon to be with their children and grandchildren. Neither was observant in the Orthodox sense of the word, but both had bought kosher meat back east. While my grandmother continued to buy kosher meat in Portland despite the higher price, my great uncle started buying non-kosher meat, once he moved out there. He explained that kosher meat was just too expensive. My grandmother sternly responded, that she continued to buy kosher meat, because, “that is how our parents brought us up!”
That logic never made sense to me. I bought kosher food, lived in the Eruv, sent my kids to a costly day school, and fulfilled all the other costly and taxing demands of Halacha, because I firmly believed that God had commanded me to do so. Even where tradition came into play, such as the standard derech hapsak (modus of halachic ruling) of the Rama[1], concepts of minhag yisrael din hu (the custom of Israel has the force of law), and the like, the implicit, if not explicit reasoning was that God wants you to do it this way, not that tradition in and of itself had some independent value aside from God’s will. My opposition at the time to intermarriage, as to any transgression of Jewish Law had nothing to do with tradition. As an Orthodox rabbi I did not, nor would I have dreamt of performing intermarriages, as it is against Halacha. Period. What mattered to me was the desire of the deity, not a tradition, in and of itself.
About a year and a half ago, this all changed. I had an epiphany of sorts, and it became clear to me that I could not remain Orthodox. I began a year and a half long journey of study and exploration, at the end of which I left the Orthodox world behind, and I now live my life as a Jewish secular humanist. I no longer buy kosher food, live in the Eruv, send my kids to a costly day school, or fulfill all the other costly and taxing demands of Halacha, because I firmly believe that no God has commanded me to do so. As my objection to officiating at intermarriages was part and parcel of my Halachic life, I see no reason not to do this now. Period. Now what guides my life are the ideals of humanism. What matters is how I can help my fellow human being, and how I can make the world a better place for humanity in general. That is of the most paramount importance, not the imagined desire of a deity[2].
I remember when I first met with Rabbi Jacques Cukierkorn, over some kosher ribs at Irv’s Market in Kansas City[3]. He explained his philosophy of what he would and wouldn’t do through a story which was intended in good humor to cause even the most liberal Orthodox rabbi (me) to raise an eyebrow. Once he got the effect he wanted, he explained seriously that he has one criterion when he judges a potential act – will it further the cause of Judaism? I too have one criterion – will what I do help my fellow human beings, and will it further the cause of humanistic ideals? Treating a couple with kindness and compassion, as human beings, as individuals, which is the way they treated each other when they fell in love is the best way of fulfilling this. In fact, I can think of few things better than helping a couple make the most important day of their life even more wonderful, especially when so many rabbis will not do so without attaching numerous conditions[4].
Rabbi Adam Chalom[5] talks about the fact that all marriages are intermarriages. People marry multifaceted individuals; each one of us has many defining characteristics, with our religion being just one of them. In that sense even a marriage between two Ultra-Orthodox Jews is a mixed marriage, and a marriage between a Jew and a non-Jew, who are on the same “wave length” in many things could be less of a stretch, depending on the other characteristics of each individual. Amy Elkes[6] writes, “My boyfriend and I share many of the same beliefs and values. We both believe in acting with honesty and integrity. We both honor our families and believe that children are a couple’s greatest commitment. We love learning and traveling and exploring new places. When we face problems, no matter what kind, we turn to one another for comfort and support. In short we do not define ourselves solely by our religions, and as a result, we have a tremendous amount of common ground to stand on.” Each couple must ascertain if their “package” is one that will work. After, all a perfectly Halachic marriage between a Humanistic Jew and an Ultra Orthodox Jew would probably have a lesser chance of remaining intact, than one between a Humanistic Jew and a Humanistic Buddhist[7].
The interesting thing is that if we are, after all, to invoke tradition, we who see nothing wrong with interfaith marriage have quite a leg to stand on, and in a sense a better one than those who invoke tradition against it. After all, from the period where our ancestors, the Canaanites of the Central Highlands started to define themselves as Israelites and Judahites[8] to at least 450 B.C.E., beyond the standard xenophobia, so common to those times, not many thought there was really that much wrong with intermarriage. This was in part because they all worshipped many of the same gods, with a small group of priests in the 7th Century B.C.E. pushing monolatry[9] of one of those particular gods, Yahweh, and trying to foment a little bit more than the standard xenophobia with their intermarriage prohibitions. The latter openly lament, that they really didn’t make too much of a “splash” at the time in the general populace. That is why we see intermarriage exemplified by the legendary figures of Ruth[10], Ma’acha[11], Na’ama[12], Jezebel[13], Yeter[14], Uriah[15], and many more. Prof. Baruch Halpern[16] talks about the fact that in general this Yahweh Alone party rewrote history with the traditional Israelite practice condemned as foreign and against tradition, and the new practice of this new party elevated as the true Israelite tradition. This is just one more instance, where that is so true. By being open to interfaith marriage we invoke the ancient and true traditions of our Canaanite/Israelite ancestors. By leaving their xenophobia behind, we improve on these traditions.
I feel a personal connection to such an avenue of thinking regarding myself as one who will (co)officiate at interfaith marriages. The following is my personal conjecture, and I may be a little off, but certainly not anymore so than traditional Judaism’s version. There have been a number of fascinating studies regarding the evidence mitochondrial and Y chromosome DNA markers give us regarding the development of the human race. One of the most fascinating of these studies is the study that implies that 70-80% of today’s male Kohanim (Aaronide or Zadokite priests) are in fact descended from a single common male ancestor who lived 2100-3500 years ago[17]. Now, the consensus of archeologists is quite clear that the Israelites and Judahites emerged from the Canaanites of the Central Highlands[18]. That means that that ancestor most probably came from within that milieu. If you read between the lines of the Bible, you can see that there is a certain probability that the story of the Aaronide priesthood really begins with the selection of two rival Cannanite priesthood lines by the rustic Judahite chieftain we know as David (who we now have evidence did in fact exist[19]) with the Zadokite line winning out. When I, a Kohen, stand before a couple and consecrate them in marriage, I see myself not only as an heir to the historical traditions of Judaism and the original Cannanite/Israelites, but also, by virtue of my DNA, as an heir to that ancient Cannanite priesthood, who may have officiated at many marriages of all sorts, without anyone thinking anything about it.
Some may say that officiating at interfaith marriages will decimate the Jewish people. Some, and I count my former self as guilty in this regard, even use abhorrent references to a “voluntary holocaust”, as if people wishing to marry those they love are analogous to those who murdered a third of our people. Again Chalom is poignant in his thinking in this matter. Why not look at this as enlarging the Jewish people? To Jewish theists of all stripes, there is a need to legally define who is Jewish and who is not, as they look at Jews through religious eyes. Who is a Jew, is as important a subject to the most liberal Reform rabbi, as it is to her Neturai Karta counterpart. To them, by virtue of some version of Halacha the children of the interfaith couple will be Jewish or won’t be Jewish, and this is a concern of the utmost importance. To me, Judaism is primarily an issue of culture, history, and an intellectual tradition, the positive and relevant aspects of which I embrace along with the traditions of the enlightenment. One can be a part of many different cultures. My children are three quarters Ashkenazic, and one quarter Sephardic. Did I do damage to Ashkenazi culture by not marrying a fully Ashkenazic woman? My cousin married a man from China. Did she do damage to her children by not marrying an American born man? Did he do damage to his children by not marrying a Chinese woman? Certainly, to their shame, many people, a generation or two ago would have answered to the affirmative. To the shame of Ultra Orthodox Judaism in Israel, they still answer to the affirmative today to my first question. Need we be so narrow minded? Can we not understand that there is something enriching and positive and wonderful about more people out there being heirs to a Jewish cultural, historical and intellectual tradition, combined with whatever additional identities they have? This should be seen as a blessing, not a problem.
Our Rabbis ask[20] what does God do ever since he finished with the heavy lifting of creation? They tell us that he does one thing – matchmaking. The idea of marriage, two separate people coming together to form one united entity, when you think about it, is really quite fantastic. In our modern culture with the high divorce rate, we see how incredibly difficult it can be to keep such a package intact. Those of us who are married know that you need to keep working at it day by day. If we are approached by a couple who deeply love each other, who have thought the issues of their compatibility through, and have decided that they would like nothing more than to spend their life together, blending their lives and their flesh into one, and they ask us to help them make this dream come true, dare we say no? I know I cannot, and I will not. I will not attach any conditions to my willingness to (co)officiate, and I will have one question only, the question Chalom says he asks couples when they approach him, “Do you love each other?” If the answer is yes, I will have only one response, “Mazel Tov, now let’s look at some dates…”
[1] Acronym in Hebrew for the Polish Rabbi Moshe Iserles, contrary to his Spanish counterpart, Rabbi Yosef Karo, ruled primarily based on tradition, many times opening his glosses on the latter’s ruling with the phrase “In these lands the custom is”. Karo based his rulings primarily on a quasi democratic system amongst three rabbis, Maimonides, Rabbi Yitzhak Alfasi, and Rabbenu Asher, whom he crowned, the “three pillars of Halacha”. This arbitrary system was severely criticized by Iserles and others.
[2]For a full explanation of my reasons for becoming a secular humanist see Gruber, D. S. (2007) Out of Orthodoxy – From Orthodox Rabbi to Secular Humanist. Retrieved November 15, 2007 from http://littlefoxling.blogspot.com/2007/11/guest-post-from-david-gruber.html
[3] Cukierkorn had stated that his reason for moving to Kansas City could be summed up in one word “BBQ”…
[4] Most studies and personal anecdotal experiences indicate that the vast majority of the rabbis that will perform intermarriages attach conditions to such willingness, such as no officiating on Shabbat, officiating only for members of the rabbi’s synagogue, no co-officiating with non-Jewish clergy, officiating only if the couple will raise their children as Jewish, and more and more. Very few, like me, attach no conditions to their willingness to (co)offciate
[5]http://kolhadash.com/Intermarriage.mp3
[6] Elkes, A. (2007). Grown Up Love is Complicated. Retrieved November 18, 2007, from http://www.interfaithfamily.com/relationships/interdating/Grown-Up_Love_Is_Complicated.shtml
[7] See for instance Winterbottom, M. (Director). (2007). A Mighty Heart. Hollywood: Paramount Home Video, and the book it was based on, which tells the story of Daniel and Mariane Pearl, who fit this bill. The film includes scenes of their interfaith marriage.
[8]Finkelstein, I. & Silberman, N. A. (2001). The Bible Unearthed. New York: Simon and Schuster
[9] This is the concept of believing in the existence of many gods, but swearing allegiance to only one. This is quite different from monotheism, where one believes in the existence of only one god. Most scholars today agree that the Yahweh Alone party were monolatrists, not monotheists, and the straightforward reading of the Hebrew Bible really always pointed in that direction.
[10] Ruth 1,4; 4,13
[11] I Chronicles 3,2
[12] I Kings 14,21
[13] I Kings 17,31
[14] I Chronicles 2,17
[15] II Samuel 11,3
[16]Halpern, B. Sybil, or the Two Nations? Archaism, Kinship, Alienation, and the Elite Redefinition of Traditional Culture in Judah in the 8th-7th Centuries B.C.E., in Cooper, J. S. and Schwartz, G. M. (1996). The Study of the Ancient Near East in the Twenty-First Century: The William Foxwell Albright Centennial Conference. Indiana: Eisenbrauns
[17]Skorecki, K., Selig S., Blazer S., Bradman R., Bradman N., Waburton P.J., Ismajlowicz M. & Hammer M.F. (1997). Y chromosomes of Jewish priests. Nature 385: 32. See also Schrack, B. (2007). Cohen does not equal CMH,CMH does not equal Cohen -- only in J1 do they coincide. GENEALOGY-DNA-L Archives. Retrieved Nobember 15, 2007, especially her remarks at the end of the posting.
[18]Finkelstein, I. & Silberman, N. A. (2001). The Bible Unearthed. New York: Simon and Schuster
[19]Biran, A. and Naveh J. (1993). An Aramaic Stele Fragment from Tel Dan. Israel Exploration Journal 43, pp. 81-98; Biran, A. and Naveh J. (1995). The Tel Dan Inscription: A New Fragment. Israel Exploration Journal 45, pp. 1-18.
[20] Bereshit Rabbah 68,4
http://www.interfaithweddingrabbi.net
A Purpose Filled Life Requires Solid Foundations
by: Randall Paul Pipes
“If the foundations are destroyed, what can the righteous do? The Lord is in His holy temple, The Lord's throne is in heaven; His eyes behold, His eyelids test the sons of men. The Lord tests the righteous, but the wicked and the one who loves violence His soul hates, Psalm 11:3-5.”
Most of us begin dreaming, at a pretty early age, of the kind of life that we’d like to build. We consider the relationships we’d like to have, the house we’d like to own and the car we’d like to drive. We may dream of positions, possessions and accomplishments.
As we grow older, we adopt actual patterns of building. Some people take the pieces that they’re handed, and try, the best they can, to fit them all together. Others are more proactive and selective. They patiently search for just the right building materials, planning carefully, down to the finest detail. It’s doubtful, however that most people give much thought to the foundation that everything will be built upon.
Foundations in a physical building are mostly underground. What can be seen is often unsightly. Unless there are obvious shifts and cracks, the average home owner may pay little attention, other than to paint or conceal them from view.
Structural improvements made to the foundation offer little, in the way of immediate reward. They may seem unworthy of any cost that might be incurred. Time and money are usually devoted to projects bringing more immediate pleasure. It’s much easier to get excited about additions, renovations, or even redecorating projects. Structural integrity in the foundation often goes unnoticed, and is vastly unappreciated until the time comes that it is tested.
When it comes to life, you are not only the “home owner,” but also the contractor. Any wise and conscientious contractor knows how essential the integrity of the foundation is. Improper foundations are sure to crack and give way under the weight of the structure and the pressure of adverse environmental conditions. “If the foundations are destroyed, what can the righteous do?” (Psalm 11:3).
There are three essential ingredients to a healthy and purposeful life. They are:
- A God-centered sense of self-worth
- A God-centered sense of security
- A God centered sense of significance
These three essential ingredients are like the three legs of a stool. If one is shortened or removed, everything else becomes unstable. Without them we become needy and begin to grope for people and things to fill the perceived void in our lives.
These three life-pillars are not formed accidentally. They must be shaped intentionally and they can only be done so when there is a solid foundation in place to form them upon. A proper foundation is essential to structural integrity that can support growth.
The Lord loves us so much that He does not want to see us build a magnificent LOOKING life upon a faulty foundation. Our free will allows us to do so if we want to, but God allows tests that are designed to draw our attention towards these structural weaknesses.
It’s better to experience a crack or “cave in” before much of the house is built then for these faults to go unchallenged. Obviously, damages and subsequent costs are directly proportionate to the size and splendor of what is built upon the foundations when pressure is applied.
There is only one immoveable foundation upon which to build our self-worth, security, and significance. This is the basis and foundation of all true relationship.
Jesus Christ is the only unshakable foundation
“According to the grace of God which was given to me, as a wise master builder I have laid the foundation, and another builds on it. But let each one take heed how he builds on it. For no other foundation can anyone lay than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. Now if anyone builds on this foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw, each one's work will become clear; for the Day will declare it, because it will be revealed by fire; and the fire will test each one's work, of what sort it is. If anyone's work which he has built on it endures, he will receive a reward. If anyone's work is burned, he will suffer loss; but he himself will be saved, yet so as through fire, 1 Corinthians 3:10-15.”
This means that Christ is not content being part of our lives. He wants our lives to be completely built upon our faith in Him.
The relationship between Christ and the Bible
1. Christ is the Word of God.
“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made. In Him was life, and the life was the light of men, John 1:1-4.”
2. The Bible is the perfectly inspired and written Word given for our teaching and instruction.
“All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, 2 Timothy 3:16.”
The Bible was written by God, through men, as He inspired them by His Spirit. The word "inspired" means "God-breathed." Through both the Old and the New Testaments, God breathed His anointed inspiration into chosen writers in order to reveal Himself to man. He has protected the integrity of His Holy Scriptures and they are the infallible and authoritative rule of faith and conduct that we are to build our lives upon. God honors and magnifies His Word, even above His name (Psalm 138:2).
Through the Old Testament, God concealed the mysteries that He would reveal, through Christ, in the new. When the Old Testament is read and understood through the revelation of the new, it becomes a wonderful, and unified compilation containing many "types and shadows" of the coming life and ministry of Jesus Christ.
Jesus is the Word made flesh. Through His life, He personified God's will to man through the Scriptures. As we approach God through humble and child-like faith, the Spirit of God unites with the written Word to reveal the person of Christ to our hearts. His illumination eradicates any seeming inaccuracies or contradictions that we may perceive as we try to understand the infinite God through fallen and finite minds.
Men often make God's Word ineffective in their own lives through their proud approach to God and their adherence to their traditional way of doing things. God's Word, however will never return to Him void, but will always ultimately accomplish the purpose for which He sent it. Heaven and earth will eventually pass away, but not one letter of God's Word will fail. (Psalm 138:2, Isaiah 55:11; Matthew 5:18; 24:35; Mark 7:13; John 1:14; 2 Timothy 3:15, 17; 1 Thessalonians 2:13; 2 Peter 1:21).
3. The foundations of our life will be tested to determine if they are built upon the Word.
“Yet once more I shake not only the earth, but also heaven. Now this, ‘Yet once more,’ indicates the removal of those things that are being shaken, as of things that are made, that the things which cannot be shaken may remain. Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom which cannot be shaken, let us have grace, by which we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear, Hebrews 12:26-28.”
“The words of the Lord are pure words, like silver tried in a furnace of earth, purified seven times, Psalm 12:6.”
4. We are the furnace of earth. When we place our faith in God’s grace by asking Christ to live in our hearts, the Word of God comes inside us. Then He leads on a journey designed to test, remove and replace our faulty foundations.
“But why do you call Me 'Lord, Lord,' and do not do the things which I say? Whoever comes to Me, and hears My sayings and does them, I will show you whom he is like: He is like a man building a house, who dug deep and laid the foundation on the rock. And when the flood arose, the stream beat vehemently against that house, and could not shake it, for it was founded on the rock. But he who heard and did nothing is like a man who built a house on the earth without a foundation, against which the stream beat vehemently; and immediately it fell. And the ruin of that house was great, Luke 6:46-49.”
5. Notice in the above passage that hearing the Word is not enough. We must recognize the Word as our final authority for life and practice. We must demonstrate our faith in the Word by building our lives upon it!
“But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man observing his natural face in a mirror; for he observes himself, goes away, and immediately forgets what kind of man he was. But he who looks into the perfect law of liberty and continues in it, and is not a forgetful hearer but a doer of the work, this one will be blessed in what he does, James 1:22-25.”
6. Many believers focus more one the issues of life (projects, programs, causes) while the enemy subtly seeks to erode our foundation. This is not a new tactic and we should not be ignorant of his ways.
“Now the serpent was more cunning than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made. And he said to the woman, Has God indeed said, 'You shall not eat of every tree of the garden'? And the woman said to the serpent, We may eat the fruit of the trees of the garden; but of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God has said, 'You shall not eat it, nor shall you touch it, lest you die.' Then the serpent said to the woman, You will not surely die. For God knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil, Genesis 3:1-5."
Here are some common lies that the enemy uses to erode the foundations of God’s Word from our lives:
- Humanism (You will be like God.)
- Liberalism (There are no absolutes. God’s Word cannot be taken literally. Absolute morality is intolerant and its discipline is abusive.)
- Situational ethics (Right and wrong are determined by current circumstances and by the conscience of society.)
“But know this, that in the last days perilous times will come: For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, unloving, unforgiving, slanderers, without self-control, brutal, despisers of good, traitors, headstrong, haughty, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having a form of godliness but denying its power. And from such people turn away, 2 Timothy 3:1-4!”
These three things are constant in life:
1. The Word of God is an unshakable foundation
2. Everything else in life can be shaken
3. The storms of life will prove what our lives are really built upon
Here are some things that you can do to strengthen your foundations so that your life becomes “storm-proof.”
1. “Hide” the Word in your heart on a consistent and regular basis. The Word is pre-programmed to produce Christ’s image and likeness through our lives when we take care to plant it in the right soil each day.
We may not always feel the immediate benefit at the time that we are reading it. The Word however is like a seed that will sprout under the inspiration of the Spirit at the exact moment that we need it.
“Your word I have hidden in my heart, that I might not sin against You, Psalm 119:11!”
2. Tend the soil of your heart.
“The sower sows the word. And these are the ones by the wayside where the word is sown. When they hear, Satan comes immediately and takes away the word that was sown in their hearts. These likewise are the ones sown on stony ground who, when they hear the word, immediately receive it with gladness; and they have no root in themselves, and so endure only for a time. Afterward, when tribulation or persecution arises for the word's sake, immediately they stumble. Now these are the ones sown among thorns; they are the ones who hear the word, and the cares of this world, the deceitfulness of riches, and the desires for other things entering in choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful. But these are the ones sown on good ground, those who hear the word, accept it, and bear fruit: some thirty-fold, some sixty, and some a hundred, Mark 4:14-20.”
- Some are distracted from hearing the Word
- Some give up during tough times
- Some are lured through cares or through pleasures
- Some are faithful to maintain an environment conducive to growth
Our diligence to maintain the right heart determines whether the conditions are right for God’s Word to grow within us.
3. Rely upon the wisdom and strength of God’s Word to pass life’s tests. Stand upon it to fight against distraction, persecution, anxiety and lust. Each test that you pass will strengthen your foundation.
4. Exercise your faith in God’s Word daily. Strength always comes through exercise. Don’t wait for the storms of life to come to you. Challenge yourself to step outside of your comfort zone. Identify your fears and weakness and face them head on. The more pressure that you put on your spiritual enemies the less pressure they will be able to place on you!
“If the foundations are destroyed, what can the righteous do? The Lord is in His holy temple, The Lord's throne is in heaven; His eyes behold, His eyelids test the sons of men. The Lord tests the righteous, but the wicked and the one who loves violence His soul hates, Psalm 11:3-5.”
Most of us begin dreaming, at a pretty early age, of the kind of life that we’d like to build. We consider the relationships we’d like to have, the house we’d like to own and the car we’d like to drive. We may dream of positions, possessions and accomplishments.
As we grow older, we adopt actual patterns of building. Some people take the pieces that they’re handed, and try, the best they can, to fit them all together. Others are more proactive and selective. They patiently search for just the right building materials, planning carefully, down to the finest detail. It’s doubtful, however that most people give much thought to the foundation that everything will be built upon.
Foundations in a physical building are mostly underground. What can be seen is often unsightly. Unless there are obvious shifts and cracks, the average home owner may pay little attention, other than to paint or conceal them from view.
Structural improvements made to the foundation offer little, in the way of immediate reward. They may seem unworthy of any cost that might be incurred. Time and money are usually devoted to projects bringing more immediate pleasure. It’s much easier to get excited about additions, renovations, or even redecorating projects. Structural integrity in the foundation often goes unnoticed, and is vastly unappreciated until the time comes that it is tested.
When it comes to life, you are not only the “home owner,” but also the contractor. Any wise and conscientious contractor knows how essential the integrity of the foundation is. Improper foundations are sure to crack and give way under the weight of the structure and the pressure of adverse environmental conditions. “If the foundations are destroyed, what can the righteous do?” (Psalm 11:3).
There are three essential ingredients to a healthy and purposeful life. They are:
- A God-centered sense of self-worth
- A God-centered sense of security
- A God centered sense of significance
These three essential ingredients are like the three legs of a stool. If one is shortened or removed, everything else becomes unstable. Without them we become needy and begin to grope for people and things to fill the perceived void in our lives.
These three life-pillars are not formed accidentally. They must be shaped intentionally and they can only be done so when there is a solid foundation in place to form them upon. A proper foundation is essential to structural integrity that can support growth.
The Lord loves us so much that He does not want to see us build a magnificent LOOKING life upon a faulty foundation. Our free will allows us to do so if we want to, but God allows tests that are designed to draw our attention towards these structural weaknesses.
It’s better to experience a crack or “cave in” before much of the house is built then for these faults to go unchallenged. Obviously, damages and subsequent costs are directly proportionate to the size and splendor of what is built upon the foundations when pressure is applied.
There is only one immoveable foundation upon which to build our self-worth, security, and significance. This is the basis and foundation of all true relationship.
Jesus Christ is the only unshakable foundation
“According to the grace of God which was given to me, as a wise master builder I have laid the foundation, and another builds on it. But let each one take heed how he builds on it. For no other foundation can anyone lay than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. Now if anyone builds on this foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw, each one's work will become clear; for the Day will declare it, because it will be revealed by fire; and the fire will test each one's work, of what sort it is. If anyone's work which he has built on it endures, he will receive a reward. If anyone's work is burned, he will suffer loss; but he himself will be saved, yet so as through fire, 1 Corinthians 3:10-15.”
This means that Christ is not content being part of our lives. He wants our lives to be completely built upon our faith in Him.
The relationship between Christ and the Bible
1. Christ is the Word of God.
“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made. In Him was life, and the life was the light of men, John 1:1-4.”
2. The Bible is the perfectly inspired and written Word given for our teaching and instruction.
“All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, 2 Timothy 3:16.”
The Bible was written by God, through men, as He inspired them by His Spirit. The word "inspired" means "God-breathed." Through both the Old and the New Testaments, God breathed His anointed inspiration into chosen writers in order to reveal Himself to man. He has protected the integrity of His Holy Scriptures and they are the infallible and authoritative rule of faith and conduct that we are to build our lives upon. God honors and magnifies His Word, even above His name (Psalm 138:2).
Through the Old Testament, God concealed the mysteries that He would reveal, through Christ, in the new. When the Old Testament is read and understood through the revelation of the new, it becomes a wonderful, and unified compilation containing many "types and shadows" of the coming life and ministry of Jesus Christ.
Jesus is the Word made flesh. Through His life, He personified God's will to man through the Scriptures. As we approach God through humble and child-like faith, the Spirit of God unites with the written Word to reveal the person of Christ to our hearts. His illumination eradicates any seeming inaccuracies or contradictions that we may perceive as we try to understand the infinite God through fallen and finite minds.
Men often make God's Word ineffective in their own lives through their proud approach to God and their adherence to their traditional way of doing things. God's Word, however will never return to Him void, but will always ultimately accomplish the purpose for which He sent it. Heaven and earth will eventually pass away, but not one letter of God's Word will fail. (Psalm 138:2, Isaiah 55:11; Matthew 5:18; 24:35; Mark 7:13; John 1:14; 2 Timothy 3:15, 17; 1 Thessalonians 2:13; 2 Peter 1:21).
3. The foundations of our life will be tested to determine if they are built upon the Word.
“Yet once more I shake not only the earth, but also heaven. Now this, ‘Yet once more,’ indicates the removal of those things that are being shaken, as of things that are made, that the things which cannot be shaken may remain. Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom which cannot be shaken, let us have grace, by which we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear, Hebrews 12:26-28.”
“The words of the Lord are pure words, like silver tried in a furnace of earth, purified seven times, Psalm 12:6.”
4. We are the furnace of earth. When we place our faith in God’s grace by asking Christ to live in our hearts, the Word of God comes inside us. Then He leads on a journey designed to test, remove and replace our faulty foundations.
“But why do you call Me 'Lord, Lord,' and do not do the things which I say? Whoever comes to Me, and hears My sayings and does them, I will show you whom he is like: He is like a man building a house, who dug deep and laid the foundation on the rock. And when the flood arose, the stream beat vehemently against that house, and could not shake it, for it was founded on the rock. But he who heard and did nothing is like a man who built a house on the earth without a foundation, against which the stream beat vehemently; and immediately it fell. And the ruin of that house was great, Luke 6:46-49.”
5. Notice in the above passage that hearing the Word is not enough. We must recognize the Word as our final authority for life and practice. We must demonstrate our faith in the Word by building our lives upon it!
“But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man observing his natural face in a mirror; for he observes himself, goes away, and immediately forgets what kind of man he was. But he who looks into the perfect law of liberty and continues in it, and is not a forgetful hearer but a doer of the work, this one will be blessed in what he does, James 1:22-25.”
6. Many believers focus more one the issues of life (projects, programs, causes) while the enemy subtly seeks to erode our foundation. This is not a new tactic and we should not be ignorant of his ways.
“Now the serpent was more cunning than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made. And he said to the woman, Has God indeed said, 'You shall not eat of every tree of the garden'? And the woman said to the serpent, We may eat the fruit of the trees of the garden; but of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God has said, 'You shall not eat it, nor shall you touch it, lest you die.' Then the serpent said to the woman, You will not surely die. For God knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil, Genesis 3:1-5."
Here are some common lies that the enemy uses to erode the foundations of God’s Word from our lives:
- Humanism (You will be like God.)
- Liberalism (There are no absolutes. God’s Word cannot be taken literally. Absolute morality is intolerant and its discipline is abusive.)
- Situational ethics (Right and wrong are determined by current circumstances and by the conscience of society.)
“But know this, that in the last days perilous times will come: For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, unloving, unforgiving, slanderers, without self-control, brutal, despisers of good, traitors, headstrong, haughty, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having a form of godliness but denying its power. And from such people turn away, 2 Timothy 3:1-4!”
These three things are constant in life:
1. The Word of God is an unshakable foundation
2. Everything else in life can be shaken
3. The storms of life will prove what our lives are really built upon
Here are some things that you can do to strengthen your foundations so that your life becomes “storm-proof.”
1. “Hide” the Word in your heart on a consistent and regular basis. The Word is pre-programmed to produce Christ’s image and likeness through our lives when we take care to plant it in the right soil each day.
We may not always feel the immediate benefit at the time that we are reading it. The Word however is like a seed that will sprout under the inspiration of the Spirit at the exact moment that we need it.
“Your word I have hidden in my heart, that I might not sin against You, Psalm 119:11!”
2. Tend the soil of your heart.
“The sower sows the word. And these are the ones by the wayside where the word is sown. When they hear, Satan comes immediately and takes away the word that was sown in their hearts. These likewise are the ones sown on stony ground who, when they hear the word, immediately receive it with gladness; and they have no root in themselves, and so endure only for a time. Afterward, when tribulation or persecution arises for the word's sake, immediately they stumble. Now these are the ones sown among thorns; they are the ones who hear the word, and the cares of this world, the deceitfulness of riches, and the desires for other things entering in choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful. But these are the ones sown on good ground, those who hear the word, accept it, and bear fruit: some thirty-fold, some sixty, and some a hundred, Mark 4:14-20.”
- Some are distracted from hearing the Word
- Some give up during tough times
- Some are lured through cares or through pleasures
- Some are faithful to maintain an environment conducive to growth
Our diligence to maintain the right heart determines whether the conditions are right for God’s Word to grow within us.
3. Rely upon the wisdom and strength of God’s Word to pass life’s tests. Stand upon it to fight against distraction, persecution, anxiety and lust. Each test that you pass will strengthen your foundation.
4. Exercise your faith in God’s Word daily. Strength always comes through exercise. Don’t wait for the storms of life to come to you. Challenge yourself to step outside of your comfort zone. Identify your fears and weakness and face them head on. The more pressure that you put on your spiritual enemies the less pressure they will be able to place on you!
Is God Good?
by: Annagail Lynes
Why do Christians say, "God is good"? Because He is.
Why do people believe God is a bad God? Due to famines, wars, shootings and violence that take place every day in this world, many assume that God must be bad. They think He is allowing these events as punishment. They believe we anger Him so He sends down tornadoes, hurricanes and every bad thing to strike us.
People have gotten this impression from the Old Testament. There we see God sending a flood to wipe out the evil people of Noah's time. Though He did save those who He deemed righteous (Genesis 7).
Let's see why this took place:
In the Garden of Eden, God made a man, Adam, and woman, Eve (Genesis 1-2). He told Adam not to eat of the fruit of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. The serpent (Satan in disguise) beguiled Eve into eating of the fruit, then she gave it to Adam, who could have refused the fruit but didn't. That day they sinned. Through that act of disobedience, sin entered into this world (Genesis 3).
God is a God of justice. Just as a judge has to prosecute a criminal act, God has to prosecute sin.. However, He, also being Love, hated to see His creations suffer, so He sent His only Begotten Son, Jesus, to Earth to be born of a virgin. Mary gave birth to Jesus (Genesis 2:1). While on Earth, He grew up and went to the Cross for us(Matthew 27).
Only a sinless person could die for the sins of every human being--past, present and future.
After being beaten and bruised, the Roman soldiers nailed Jesus to a cross. God judged Jesus, who had never sinned, for our transgressions. He put every curse of the law and all the effects of the curse, including poverty, every kind of sickness and disease, infidelity, strife and so much more on Jesus. Jesus paid the price we should have paid. He died for us (Matthew 27).
God didn't leave Him dead (Matthew 28. No, God raised Jesus from the dead, so that we might enjoy our lives to the full, until they overflow. That is how much God loves us. He did this for you, me and everyone else in this world, yet people still call Him a bad God.
Why is that? People feel that God causes people to starve in Africa, that He causes car crashes that take children's parents, that He causes tsunamis.
However sin entered this world through the act of disobedience on one man's part. When Adam sinned, he essentially handed the earth over to Satan and said, "It's yours now. Do with it as you please."
At that point, Satan became the ruler of the earth and the air. It wasn't until Jesus died that Jesus took back that authority and gave it to us (Luke 10:19).
Most of us do not know that we have that authority. We allow Satan to reek havoc on this earth even though he has no legal right to do so.
It's like a person being left an inheritance of one million dollars and then living poor, struggling in life, because he didn’t know what he had inherited.
Most Christians are like that. We know Jesus died for us, but we think that's all in which we are entitled. When we accept Christ, we are entitled to so much more than merely being saved from going to hell.
We have authority over this world because of Jesus' death and resurrection. We have authority to do greater works than Jesus (John 14:12), but we don't. We do the same works as Jesus. Most of the time, we do less.
Jesus raised the dead (John 11:43-44). He healed the sick (Luke 4:40). He opened blind eyes (Matthew 9:27-30) and deaf ears (Mark 9:25-27). Why don't we? We don't know that we can speak to the weather patterns, like Jesus did, and command them to stop.
We don't speak to those mountains in our lives (Mark 11:23), and the lives of others, because we believe those problems will laugh at us.
However we have the authority over them. We need to start acting like who we are--children of the Most High God--endued with the power to cast out demons, speak with new tongues, lay hands on the sick and see them recover and raise the dead (Mark 16:17-18).
We blame God for what we have authority to control. The only thing God is guilty of is giving us the authority on this Earth.
When we read the Bible, we learn what it is that we have authority over and how to take that authority.
The Bible and the Holy Spirit are the only weapons we need against this world and the devil. Even though things look bad, our circumstances are subject to change to the Truth, the Word of God.
Adam and Eve sinned, and God still blessed them with children (Genesis 4:1-2, 25). Abraham slept with a woman besides his wife to make a baby (Genesis 16:11). Still God gave Abraham and his wife, Sarah, their promised son, Isaac (Genesis 17:19). The children of Israel turned away from God so many times by worshipping false gods, yet God delivered them every time.
God is faithful even when we are not. He is good to us when we don’t deserve it. He is preparing a place for us in Heaven (John 14:2-3) when we die, if we accept Jesus.
He is a good God. It’s the humans who He gave authority of this world to that messed it up. We blame God for being a bad God when we are the ones in charge of this earth.
The devil is defeated, so instead of fighting for the victory, we need to fight from the victory ground. We are not trying to get healed. We are healed by Jesus’ stripes (I Peter 2:24). We are not trying to get rich. We are rich in Christ (2 Corinthians 8:9).
Stand up and take your authority today.
Why do Christians say, "God is good"? Because He is.
Why do people believe God is a bad God? Due to famines, wars, shootings and violence that take place every day in this world, many assume that God must be bad. They think He is allowing these events as punishment. They believe we anger Him so He sends down tornadoes, hurricanes and every bad thing to strike us.
People have gotten this impression from the Old Testament. There we see God sending a flood to wipe out the evil people of Noah's time. Though He did save those who He deemed righteous (Genesis 7).
Let's see why this took place:
In the Garden of Eden, God made a man, Adam, and woman, Eve (Genesis 1-2). He told Adam not to eat of the fruit of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. The serpent (Satan in disguise) beguiled Eve into eating of the fruit, then she gave it to Adam, who could have refused the fruit but didn't. That day they sinned. Through that act of disobedience, sin entered into this world (Genesis 3).
God is a God of justice. Just as a judge has to prosecute a criminal act, God has to prosecute sin.. However, He, also being Love, hated to see His creations suffer, so He sent His only Begotten Son, Jesus, to Earth to be born of a virgin. Mary gave birth to Jesus (Genesis 2:1). While on Earth, He grew up and went to the Cross for us(Matthew 27).
Only a sinless person could die for the sins of every human being--past, present and future.
After being beaten and bruised, the Roman soldiers nailed Jesus to a cross. God judged Jesus, who had never sinned, for our transgressions. He put every curse of the law and all the effects of the curse, including poverty, every kind of sickness and disease, infidelity, strife and so much more on Jesus. Jesus paid the price we should have paid. He died for us (Matthew 27).
God didn't leave Him dead (Matthew 28. No, God raised Jesus from the dead, so that we might enjoy our lives to the full, until they overflow. That is how much God loves us. He did this for you, me and everyone else in this world, yet people still call Him a bad God.
Why is that? People feel that God causes people to starve in Africa, that He causes car crashes that take children's parents, that He causes tsunamis.
However sin entered this world through the act of disobedience on one man's part. When Adam sinned, he essentially handed the earth over to Satan and said, "It's yours now. Do with it as you please."
At that point, Satan became the ruler of the earth and the air. It wasn't until Jesus died that Jesus took back that authority and gave it to us (Luke 10:19).
Most of us do not know that we have that authority. We allow Satan to reek havoc on this earth even though he has no legal right to do so.
It's like a person being left an inheritance of one million dollars and then living poor, struggling in life, because he didn’t know what he had inherited.
Most Christians are like that. We know Jesus died for us, but we think that's all in which we are entitled. When we accept Christ, we are entitled to so much more than merely being saved from going to hell.
We have authority over this world because of Jesus' death and resurrection. We have authority to do greater works than Jesus (John 14:12), but we don't. We do the same works as Jesus. Most of the time, we do less.
Jesus raised the dead (John 11:43-44). He healed the sick (Luke 4:40). He opened blind eyes (Matthew 9:27-30) and deaf ears (Mark 9:25-27). Why don't we? We don't know that we can speak to the weather patterns, like Jesus did, and command them to stop.
We don't speak to those mountains in our lives (Mark 11:23), and the lives of others, because we believe those problems will laugh at us.
However we have the authority over them. We need to start acting like who we are--children of the Most High God--endued with the power to cast out demons, speak with new tongues, lay hands on the sick and see them recover and raise the dead (Mark 16:17-18).
We blame God for what we have authority to control. The only thing God is guilty of is giving us the authority on this Earth.
When we read the Bible, we learn what it is that we have authority over and how to take that authority.
The Bible and the Holy Spirit are the only weapons we need against this world and the devil. Even though things look bad, our circumstances are subject to change to the Truth, the Word of God.
Adam and Eve sinned, and God still blessed them with children (Genesis 4:1-2, 25). Abraham slept with a woman besides his wife to make a baby (Genesis 16:11). Still God gave Abraham and his wife, Sarah, their promised son, Isaac (Genesis 17:19). The children of Israel turned away from God so many times by worshipping false gods, yet God delivered them every time.
God is faithful even when we are not. He is good to us when we don’t deserve it. He is preparing a place for us in Heaven (John 14:2-3) when we die, if we accept Jesus.
He is a good God. It’s the humans who He gave authority of this world to that messed it up. We blame God for being a bad God when we are the ones in charge of this earth.
The devil is defeated, so instead of fighting for the victory, we need to fight from the victory ground. We are not trying to get healed. We are healed by Jesus’ stripes (I Peter 2:24). We are not trying to get rich. We are rich in Christ (2 Corinthians 8:9).
Stand up and take your authority today.
Your Will and Your Life
by: John Park
When we accepted Jesus as our personal Savior, did we not do this to save ourselves from damnation? Some of us chose Jesus because our life was a mess from trying to live it our way. But, for whatever your reason was for accepting Jesus, we all hope to meet together in Heaven. But for some reason, a lot of us tend to have a problem, and that is giving up our independence. I call the shots or nobodys going to tell me how to live my life. Yup, that's how we are.
One of the things Jesus taught about was what it takes to get into the Kingdom of God. Jesus said in Mark 8:34-36 'If any man will follow me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. For whosoever will save his life, shall lose it: and whosoever shall lose his life for my sake and the gospel, shall save it. For what shall it profit a man, if he gain the whole world, and suffer the lose of his soul? It may seem strange at first that one would give up his entire life to someone he can't even see. But you knew something drew you to call on Jesus and that would be God. John 6:44 'No one can come to me, unless he is drawn by the Father, who hath sent me.' So by a knowing, you felt a presence in your heart, you knew something was missing and you found Jesus who came into your life. So, like many others you probably wondered what to do next. Like most people they start going to church and bible study, but there's a matter more important than that.
Who are you trusting this new found life with? Do you let the church and bible studies and the people who go to the church teach you? Of course not. Your probably saying HUH! Let me explain. They don't know you or your needs and putting your life in their hands is like playing russian roulette with 5 bullets. Jesus was sent by God to show us the way back to God. Jeremiah 17:5 Thus saith the Lord: Cursed be the man that trusteth in man, and maketh flesh his arm, and whose heart departeth from the Lord. When you trust God, that's where your heart is, but put your trust in man and that is where your heart will be. Also it says in Luke 12:29-31 But you, you must not set your hearts on things to eat and things to drink; nor must you worry. It is the pagans of this world who set their hearts on these things. Your Father well knows you need them. No; set your heart on His kingdom, and these other things will be given you as well.
When you truly give your your life and will over to the Lord and you build that relationship with Him, you will not want to have anything to do with being taught by man. Jesus knows you better than you know yourself. He knows what's best for you and He certainly can manage your life better than you can. All you have to do is trust Him and do not try to do things your way. One of the things you do have to understand is that it is a long and lonely road to travel, but it is one amazing journey. And at the end of the road, there is an unspeakable peace and joy waiting for you. I am in no way telling you not to go to church or bible studies or even to talk to people, what I am saying is don't become dependant on anyone of them. Keep an open mind, ask questions if you need to, then ask the Lord to help you sort things out, and pretty soon you'll be able to listen and know that Jesus is a part of your life. You'll be able to know when He is talking to you and when He isn't. Anybody that misses out on this experience is losing so, so much.
Jesus wants you to give Him your burdens and He wants to give you His, which is LIGHT! There will be a lot of tests and trials (these will build up your faith and make you stronger) but have trust in Jesus, He'll guide you through them. You will learn about yourself and what God's will is for you. God loves you so much you just can't imagine. He wants you to come home. One thing you have to do is be willing enough to accept His son Jesus Christ. Follow Jesus, not man or your own mind.You've been deceived long enough, let the Lord teach you truth. Luke 11:9 'So I say to you: Ask, and it will be given to you; search and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened to you.'
Your carnal life is as temporary as this world, follow Jesus and your life will be everlasting and eternal light. There are many who believe and have tried to get me to believe that you can have God and take pleasure in the things of this world together, you can't. Find God and His will first, then see if you can take pleasure in the things of this world. John 18:36 Jesus replied, 'Mine is not a kingdom of this world; if my kingdom were of this world, my men would have fought to prevent my being surrendered to the Jews. But my kingdom is not of this kind.' Bless you Jesus. Aways remember what Jesus said, John 5:30 'I can do nothing by myself; Ican only judge as I am told to judge, and my judging is just, because my aim is to do not my own will, but the will of Him who sent me. May God Bless You Dearly
When we accepted Jesus as our personal Savior, did we not do this to save ourselves from damnation? Some of us chose Jesus because our life was a mess from trying to live it our way. But, for whatever your reason was for accepting Jesus, we all hope to meet together in Heaven. But for some reason, a lot of us tend to have a problem, and that is giving up our independence. I call the shots or nobodys going to tell me how to live my life. Yup, that's how we are.
One of the things Jesus taught about was what it takes to get into the Kingdom of God. Jesus said in Mark 8:34-36 'If any man will follow me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. For whosoever will save his life, shall lose it: and whosoever shall lose his life for my sake and the gospel, shall save it. For what shall it profit a man, if he gain the whole world, and suffer the lose of his soul? It may seem strange at first that one would give up his entire life to someone he can't even see. But you knew something drew you to call on Jesus and that would be God. John 6:44 'No one can come to me, unless he is drawn by the Father, who hath sent me.' So by a knowing, you felt a presence in your heart, you knew something was missing and you found Jesus who came into your life. So, like many others you probably wondered what to do next. Like most people they start going to church and bible study, but there's a matter more important than that.
Who are you trusting this new found life with? Do you let the church and bible studies and the people who go to the church teach you? Of course not. Your probably saying HUH! Let me explain. They don't know you or your needs and putting your life in their hands is like playing russian roulette with 5 bullets. Jesus was sent by God to show us the way back to God. Jeremiah 17:5 Thus saith the Lord: Cursed be the man that trusteth in man, and maketh flesh his arm, and whose heart departeth from the Lord. When you trust God, that's where your heart is, but put your trust in man and that is where your heart will be. Also it says in Luke 12:29-31 But you, you must not set your hearts on things to eat and things to drink; nor must you worry. It is the pagans of this world who set their hearts on these things. Your Father well knows you need them. No; set your heart on His kingdom, and these other things will be given you as well.
When you truly give your your life and will over to the Lord and you build that relationship with Him, you will not want to have anything to do with being taught by man. Jesus knows you better than you know yourself. He knows what's best for you and He certainly can manage your life better than you can. All you have to do is trust Him and do not try to do things your way. One of the things you do have to understand is that it is a long and lonely road to travel, but it is one amazing journey. And at the end of the road, there is an unspeakable peace and joy waiting for you. I am in no way telling you not to go to church or bible studies or even to talk to people, what I am saying is don't become dependant on anyone of them. Keep an open mind, ask questions if you need to, then ask the Lord to help you sort things out, and pretty soon you'll be able to listen and know that Jesus is a part of your life. You'll be able to know when He is talking to you and when He isn't. Anybody that misses out on this experience is losing so, so much.
Jesus wants you to give Him your burdens and He wants to give you His, which is LIGHT! There will be a lot of tests and trials (these will build up your faith and make you stronger) but have trust in Jesus, He'll guide you through them. You will learn about yourself and what God's will is for you. God loves you so much you just can't imagine. He wants you to come home. One thing you have to do is be willing enough to accept His son Jesus Christ. Follow Jesus, not man or your own mind.You've been deceived long enough, let the Lord teach you truth. Luke 11:9 'So I say to you: Ask, and it will be given to you; search and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened to you.'
Your carnal life is as temporary as this world, follow Jesus and your life will be everlasting and eternal light. There are many who believe and have tried to get me to believe that you can have God and take pleasure in the things of this world together, you can't. Find God and His will first, then see if you can take pleasure in the things of this world. John 18:36 Jesus replied, 'Mine is not a kingdom of this world; if my kingdom were of this world, my men would have fought to prevent my being surrendered to the Jews. But my kingdom is not of this kind.' Bless you Jesus. Aways remember what Jesus said, John 5:30 'I can do nothing by myself; Ican only judge as I am told to judge, and my judging is just, because my aim is to do not my own will, but the will of Him who sent me. May God Bless You Dearly
The Secret that Religion Doesn't Tell You
by: Richard Blackstone
Your spiritual growth reveals the secret that religion rarely talks about. “You are an eternal being.” Most spirituality information leads you to this conclusion because your spiritual quest is concerned with the interconnectedness of all things and religion is more concerned with its own particular dogma.
This is as it should be. This is just a natural consequence revealing itself. This is “what is so.” No need to get alarmed or panicked (unless you choose to). This is just the natural order of things asserting itself. It is nature at work. We, as human beings, have created everything that has ever happened to this paradise of a planet that we inherited by virtue of our choice to reside here. We created the pollution, the depletion of the ozone layer, the wars, the killing of millions of people, the god of money, the weapons of mass destruction, the extinction of thousands of animal and plant species and religions that teach us that we are all separate.
Now don't go feeling guilty or bad about this. This is neither right nor wrong. It is only “what is so.” Just like looking at a newborn baby is neither right nor wrong, it is only “what is so.”
This is “what is so” in the present moment of now and the present moment of now is the only thing that really exists in this physical universe.
The past is the past. The future is yet to be. We are wholly defined by the present moment of now. Say Amen.
Once again, our observations tell us that we seem to be at a crossroads in this never-ending process we call Life. We are coming to the end of one cycle in order to begin another cycle. All aspects of life in the physical universe run in cycles. Some might say they run in circles; never-ending eternal circles, or cycles, of life.
It has been well documented by our scientists that in seven years every cell of your body has been completely renewed. So, theoretically, we have a body that is never more than seven years old. This observation alone tells us that our bodies, just like every other aspect of life, run on cycles. If this is so, and it is, then we should actually never put a limit on our body's span of existence because life moves in cycles, not years, and you cannot limit a cycle.
Cycles have no real beginnings and they never have an ending. They are in the eternal process of fulfilling themselves, and at the same time they are in the eternal process of renewing themselves within the instrument through which it expresses. Your life does not end at seven nor does it ever end. Life is eternal. Life is a process. Life is a never-ending cycle that continually renews itself.
Here's the really good news. There is not a thing in existence that does not have life. There is nothing that is completely inert. Everything you can think of, from the rocks in your garden to the rocks in the garden on a planet twenty thousand light years away from us, has life.
That is why it is nice to step back and view life from a larger perspective every now and then. Like the old saying tells us, “you can't see the forest through the trees.” When you are focusing most of your attention on your own life and become immersed in the dramas and experiences that are important to you, you shrink your world of existence down to a small, narrow perspective. You limit yourself as to what you see and how you see it.
When you keep your attention focused on the minute details of your dramas, you allow yourself to live within this belief that you are separate from all people and things in this universe. As you separate yourself from everything that exists, in your mind, you are separating yourself from life.
All life exists everywhere, all the time. It's all cycling in a never-ending process of renewal. That is the true nature of how things work. If you know that, that is, if you have a true knowing of this through your experience, then you would never again think of yourself as separate because “a knowing eliminates doubt.”
Most people living on this planet today do not have this knowing. That is why most people live their lives through what they believe. Believing something to be true and knowing something to be true are two entirely different levels of awareness. That is why we are here on this planet called earth in this physical universe. Our purpose here is to experience life in all of its different perspectives in order for God to know, through our experiences, all that she knows of as concepts.
Go out and create the experience of understanding your true, authentic self. This knowing about your true self will serve you well in every decision you make in your life.
Your spiritual growth reveals the secret that religion rarely talks about. “You are an eternal being.” Most spirituality information leads you to this conclusion because your spiritual quest is concerned with the interconnectedness of all things and religion is more concerned with its own particular dogma.
This is as it should be. This is just a natural consequence revealing itself. This is “what is so.” No need to get alarmed or panicked (unless you choose to). This is just the natural order of things asserting itself. It is nature at work. We, as human beings, have created everything that has ever happened to this paradise of a planet that we inherited by virtue of our choice to reside here. We created the pollution, the depletion of the ozone layer, the wars, the killing of millions of people, the god of money, the weapons of mass destruction, the extinction of thousands of animal and plant species and religions that teach us that we are all separate.
Now don't go feeling guilty or bad about this. This is neither right nor wrong. It is only “what is so.” Just like looking at a newborn baby is neither right nor wrong, it is only “what is so.”
This is “what is so” in the present moment of now and the present moment of now is the only thing that really exists in this physical universe.
The past is the past. The future is yet to be. We are wholly defined by the present moment of now. Say Amen.
Once again, our observations tell us that we seem to be at a crossroads in this never-ending process we call Life. We are coming to the end of one cycle in order to begin another cycle. All aspects of life in the physical universe run in cycles. Some might say they run in circles; never-ending eternal circles, or cycles, of life.
It has been well documented by our scientists that in seven years every cell of your body has been completely renewed. So, theoretically, we have a body that is never more than seven years old. This observation alone tells us that our bodies, just like every other aspect of life, run on cycles. If this is so, and it is, then we should actually never put a limit on our body's span of existence because life moves in cycles, not years, and you cannot limit a cycle.
Cycles have no real beginnings and they never have an ending. They are in the eternal process of fulfilling themselves, and at the same time they are in the eternal process of renewing themselves within the instrument through which it expresses. Your life does not end at seven nor does it ever end. Life is eternal. Life is a process. Life is a never-ending cycle that continually renews itself.
Here's the really good news. There is not a thing in existence that does not have life. There is nothing that is completely inert. Everything you can think of, from the rocks in your garden to the rocks in the garden on a planet twenty thousand light years away from us, has life.
That is why it is nice to step back and view life from a larger perspective every now and then. Like the old saying tells us, “you can't see the forest through the trees.” When you are focusing most of your attention on your own life and become immersed in the dramas and experiences that are important to you, you shrink your world of existence down to a small, narrow perspective. You limit yourself as to what you see and how you see it.
When you keep your attention focused on the minute details of your dramas, you allow yourself to live within this belief that you are separate from all people and things in this universe. As you separate yourself from everything that exists, in your mind, you are separating yourself from life.
All life exists everywhere, all the time. It's all cycling in a never-ending process of renewal. That is the true nature of how things work. If you know that, that is, if you have a true knowing of this through your experience, then you would never again think of yourself as separate because “a knowing eliminates doubt.”
Most people living on this planet today do not have this knowing. That is why most people live their lives through what they believe. Believing something to be true and knowing something to be true are two entirely different levels of awareness. That is why we are here on this planet called earth in this physical universe. Our purpose here is to experience life in all of its different perspectives in order for God to know, through our experiences, all that she knows of as concepts.
Go out and create the experience of understanding your true, authentic self. This knowing about your true self will serve you well in every decision you make in your life.
Are You Going Up or Going Down
by: Craig Condon
The Pope, Billy Graham and Oral Roberts all died on the same day and arrived at the Pearly Gates at the same time. St. Peter said to them, “I have some bad news and some good news. The bad news is that we are full right now and I am going to have to send the three of you down to the devil. The good news is it should be temporary and I’ll have you back in six weeks or less”. St Peter made a quick call to Satan to arrange the necessary accommodations, and then the three went for a brief stay in hell.
A week later, St. Peter received an urgent call from Demon HQ. It’s the Devil himself. “You have to get these guys out of here and now! I mean NOW!” “What’s the problem?” St. Peter asked. “It’s like this,” the Infernal One explains, “The Pope is going around blessing everyone, Billy Graham is saving everyone, and Oral Roberts has raised almost enough money to put in air conditioning!”
On Oct. 29, 1999, the CBS Morning Show went to Hell. A headline in the Detroit News on Nov. 3, 1999 read, “Businessman Sees Hell as Tourist Site.” A headline in the Chicago Tribune on Oct. 29, 2000 read, “Saints and Sinners Can All Go to Hell”. On Jan. 27, 2001, a headline in the Detroit News read, “Almost Cold Enough to Freeze Hell Over”. The article read, “The deep freeze that hit the nation in recent weeks and buried several states in an unending wave of snow had one more odd effect: Hell almost froze over”.
What each of these stories was referring to is a small town between Detroit and Lansing, Michigan called Hell. A small town of just a few hundred residents, it has capitalized off its name. The Chamber of Commerce has a billboard visible to travelers traveling along a nearby highway suggesting they go to Hell. The town gets calls throughout the year from TV and newspaper weather reporters to find out if there town is truly hotter or colder than hell. Husbands send alimony cheques through the post office so that they are postmarked in Hell. Many citizens in the surrounding area come to this little town every April to mail their tax returns so that they bear the Hell postmark.
We can laugh about hell all we want, but in Luke 16:19-31, Jesus reveals that hell is a real place that is no laughing matter. Where we end up after we die depends on where our heart is in this life. God calls us to celebrate the riches of life, not a life of riches. Where our treasure is, so is our heart. A good example of this is the parable of the rich man and Lazarus. Both wanted to enjoy the good things in life, but the rich man wanted everything for himself. This is typical of the “me first” world we live in today. No one in his right mind who is right with God would refuse to help a neighbour in times of trouble, but that’s what the rich man did when he refused to help Lazarus. The rich man chose to live according to the chasm his god-money-created in life. He couldn’t cross the great chasm in death. The price we pay for our love of money is a deep chasm that divides us from each other. The rich man enjoyed a life of plenty on earth, while Lazarus enjoyed a life of material poverty. When they died, they went in opposite directions-the rich man to hell, and Lazarus to heaven.
The rich man’s thirst in hell is the same thirst we have-a thirst to know God. For the rich man, it was too late. For us who are living, it is never too late to know God. Knowing God won’t save us from times of trouble, but faith in Jesus will give us an anchor to hold on to during life’s storms-just like the words of the hymn “Will Your Anchor Hold” say. God wants us to know Him because He loves us and wants to provide for our needs. He wants to provide for us because of the special covenant He has with us. He wants us to be as close to Him as His shadow. God wants us to be dependent on him so we can experience our greatest happiness and freedom. God never stops giving. Coveting feeds a lack of contentment, encourages roving, restless eyes and causes us to look for satisfaction in the things we don’t have instead of the riches God has given us to enjoy. God uses money to steer our lives into the areas in which He wants us involved. He does this by giving or withholding money.
God is the constant companion of the poor. If we develop a relationship with the poor, we also develop a relationship with the God who continually relates to them. Just as the rich man ignored Lazarus, we often ignore anyone who can’t help us achieve our goals. The way to life involves keeping the Ten Commandments, especially as Jesus taught in the Parable of the Good Samaritan. Luke’s message to the rich calls on them to share their wealth. They are not more valuable because they have more valuables. They are not owed a privileged status. Social status and material possessions are no guarantee of our standing with God. The rich man’s tragic flaw is that he suffers from a deep spiritual deafness, an inability to hear and listen to the call for mercy and justice, or even the practical plea for just plain bread and some salve for the sores the dogs lick.
God does not condone poverty or condemn plenty. The difference between Lazarus and the rich man wan not what they owned, but what owned them. The rich man was rich materially but poor spiritually. On the other hand, Lazarus was poor materially but rich spiritually. He was a good example of the 2nd Beatitude mentioned in Luke 6:20-“Blessed are you poor, for yours is the Kingdom of God”. The Pharisees loved material things more than they loved God, so Jesus used this parable to teach them what was really important. Just as the neglect of physical health leads to physical death, the neglect of spiritual health leads to spiritual death.
Jesus said, “Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt and where thieves do not break through nor steal”. The rich man’s experience warns us of the possibility of being rich enough in this world to live luxuriously, yet so poverty-stricken in the next that we have to beg for a drop of water. The best type of collection to have is one that is given away. That’s why Paul said in 1 Timothy 6:18, “Be rich in good works…” Remember Dorcas, the woman who made garments for the poor in Acts 9:36-43. She is the same woman Peter later raised from the dead. We are urged in Psalm 91:16 to use ourselves to glorify God and share the Good News of our salvation with everyone we meet.
If you were to die suddenly, where do you think you would go? Sudden death in particular should be a warning to all of us, for we do not know when our time is up. A good example is what happened to my brother-in-law’s mother recently. She had been diagnosed with lung cancer, but she passed away very suddenly after being rushed to the hospital one evening after she started coughing up blood. We need to be prepared (as the Boy Scout motto says) for the unexpected. It will be too late after we die. Hell is a permanent place from which there is no escape. There is no love in hell, only hate. It is a dark place where there is no freedom. The lost in hell will remember all the chances they had in life to repent. They will have no second chances in hell.
Jesus loved to talk about hell because that was part of His mission. He loved to talk about the Valley of Hinnom, which was Jerusalem’s garbage dump and most hated place. It was also the place where the bodies of the poor were buried, so it was likely the place where Lazarus was buried. Jesus did something in this parable that He didn’t do in any other parable-He mentioned specific names. This leads scholars to conclude that this is a true story. The rich man went to hell not because he was rich, but because He rejected Christ. The choices we make today will determine our eternal state.
If you want to know if hell is a place of literal fire, just ask someone who has been there-the rich man. It’s no wonder he wanted Abraham to send someone to warn his brothers. It’s no wonder he himself wanted to go back and warn them. There is no escape from hell. Hell enlarges itself daily. It is occupied by the multitudes who did not have to go there. It is occupied not only by some of the worst criminals and dictators in history, it is also occupied by those who chose to reject Christ. We need to hear hell’s solid conviction. Hell is a bottomless pit, a prison or dungeon where there is intense darkness. The meanest, cruelest, filthiest people in history will be there along with the unsaved church members and the people who trust in their own righteousness for salvation.
Some of us get too busy for God. We can’t belong to His church. We don’t want to be part of the folks that are going to heaven. We’re too busy doing everything else, and then we die, and that’s it. Some who are lost appear to be saved because they live good, moral lives. There are people who are saved who may, at times, appear to be lost. The real test of whether or not a person is saved comes at the time of death. Everyone lives forever-some in heaven, the rest in hell. Everyone who refuses to accept Christ has chosen to live their eternal lives in hell. They will not lose their memory or identity. They will remember everything they did, said or thought while on earth, and they will remember it for eternity. Judgment is a very real fact in this world and the world to come.
We do not need to be deliberately evil to miss the gate of Heaven. All we have to do is be indifferent to the needs of those around us. We need to have a missions conscience. The church must also listen carefully to the world’s concerns as it determines its programs and direction. We need to help the hungry, the thirsty, the lonely, the dying. The way we treat other people in this life is the way we will be treated in the next life. In other words, what goes around comes around. We will have to deal with our decision to help or ignore them when we stand before God’s throne on Judgment Day. Our mistakes will come back to haunt us for eternity.
When the rich man died, he found out ten things:
1. Death does not end it all.
2. God had a record of his sins.
3. Satan lied to him.
4. Hell is the kind of place Jesus said it was.
5. He missed the greatest thing in life.
6. He still had his memory.
7. Hell was a mad house.
8. All opportunity to be saved was gone.
9. There is only one way of salvation.
10. The redeemed received the opposite 5 minutes after death.
One of the most fascinating works of poetry I have ever read or heard is a poem entitled “Five Minutes After I Die”, and I would like to conclude my sermon by reading it to you, because it sums up the points of my message very clearly.
Loved ones will weep o’er my silent face
Dear ones will clasp me in sad embrace
Shadows and darkness will fill this place
Five minutes after I die.
Faces that sorrow I will not see,
Voices that murmur will not reach me,
But where, oh where, will my soul be,
Five minutes after I die?
Never to repair the good I lack,
Fixed to the goal of my chosen track,
No room to repent, no turning back,
Five minutes after I die.
Marked forever with my chosen prong,
Long is eternity, o so long,
Then woe is me, if my soul is wrong,
Five minutes after I die.
Oh what a fool—hard word, but true,
Passing the Saviour with death in view,
Doing a deed I can never undo,
Five minutes after I die.
If I am flinging a fortune away,
If I am wasting salvation’s day,
“Just is my sentence,” my soul shall say,
Five minutes after I die.
Thanks be to Jesus for pardon free,
He paid my debt on Calvary’s tree
Heaven’s gates will open for me,
Five minutes after I die.
Oh marvelous grace that has rescued me,
Oh joyous moment when Jesus I see,
Oh happy day when like Him I’ll be,
Five minutes after I die.
God help you to choose! Your eternal state
Depends on your choice; you dare not wait.
You must choose now; it will be too late
Five minutes after you die.
God has given us gifts to share. When He empties his coffers and becomes poor, we become rich spiritually. This Parable is about values, not money. The rich man’s sin was not his wealth, but his hard heart. Those who are rich have an obligation to help the poor. How we use what we have leads to God’s judgment.
The Pope, Billy Graham and Oral Roberts all died on the same day and arrived at the Pearly Gates at the same time. St. Peter said to them, “I have some bad news and some good news. The bad news is that we are full right now and I am going to have to send the three of you down to the devil. The good news is it should be temporary and I’ll have you back in six weeks or less”. St Peter made a quick call to Satan to arrange the necessary accommodations, and then the three went for a brief stay in hell.
A week later, St. Peter received an urgent call from Demon HQ. It’s the Devil himself. “You have to get these guys out of here and now! I mean NOW!” “What’s the problem?” St. Peter asked. “It’s like this,” the Infernal One explains, “The Pope is going around blessing everyone, Billy Graham is saving everyone, and Oral Roberts has raised almost enough money to put in air conditioning!”
On Oct. 29, 1999, the CBS Morning Show went to Hell. A headline in the Detroit News on Nov. 3, 1999 read, “Businessman Sees Hell as Tourist Site.” A headline in the Chicago Tribune on Oct. 29, 2000 read, “Saints and Sinners Can All Go to Hell”. On Jan. 27, 2001, a headline in the Detroit News read, “Almost Cold Enough to Freeze Hell Over”. The article read, “The deep freeze that hit the nation in recent weeks and buried several states in an unending wave of snow had one more odd effect: Hell almost froze over”.
What each of these stories was referring to is a small town between Detroit and Lansing, Michigan called Hell. A small town of just a few hundred residents, it has capitalized off its name. The Chamber of Commerce has a billboard visible to travelers traveling along a nearby highway suggesting they go to Hell. The town gets calls throughout the year from TV and newspaper weather reporters to find out if there town is truly hotter or colder than hell. Husbands send alimony cheques through the post office so that they are postmarked in Hell. Many citizens in the surrounding area come to this little town every April to mail their tax returns so that they bear the Hell postmark.
We can laugh about hell all we want, but in Luke 16:19-31, Jesus reveals that hell is a real place that is no laughing matter. Where we end up after we die depends on where our heart is in this life. God calls us to celebrate the riches of life, not a life of riches. Where our treasure is, so is our heart. A good example of this is the parable of the rich man and Lazarus. Both wanted to enjoy the good things in life, but the rich man wanted everything for himself. This is typical of the “me first” world we live in today. No one in his right mind who is right with God would refuse to help a neighbour in times of trouble, but that’s what the rich man did when he refused to help Lazarus. The rich man chose to live according to the chasm his god-money-created in life. He couldn’t cross the great chasm in death. The price we pay for our love of money is a deep chasm that divides us from each other. The rich man enjoyed a life of plenty on earth, while Lazarus enjoyed a life of material poverty. When they died, they went in opposite directions-the rich man to hell, and Lazarus to heaven.
The rich man’s thirst in hell is the same thirst we have-a thirst to know God. For the rich man, it was too late. For us who are living, it is never too late to know God. Knowing God won’t save us from times of trouble, but faith in Jesus will give us an anchor to hold on to during life’s storms-just like the words of the hymn “Will Your Anchor Hold” say. God wants us to know Him because He loves us and wants to provide for our needs. He wants to provide for us because of the special covenant He has with us. He wants us to be as close to Him as His shadow. God wants us to be dependent on him so we can experience our greatest happiness and freedom. God never stops giving. Coveting feeds a lack of contentment, encourages roving, restless eyes and causes us to look for satisfaction in the things we don’t have instead of the riches God has given us to enjoy. God uses money to steer our lives into the areas in which He wants us involved. He does this by giving or withholding money.
God is the constant companion of the poor. If we develop a relationship with the poor, we also develop a relationship with the God who continually relates to them. Just as the rich man ignored Lazarus, we often ignore anyone who can’t help us achieve our goals. The way to life involves keeping the Ten Commandments, especially as Jesus taught in the Parable of the Good Samaritan. Luke’s message to the rich calls on them to share their wealth. They are not more valuable because they have more valuables. They are not owed a privileged status. Social status and material possessions are no guarantee of our standing with God. The rich man’s tragic flaw is that he suffers from a deep spiritual deafness, an inability to hear and listen to the call for mercy and justice, or even the practical plea for just plain bread and some salve for the sores the dogs lick.
God does not condone poverty or condemn plenty. The difference between Lazarus and the rich man wan not what they owned, but what owned them. The rich man was rich materially but poor spiritually. On the other hand, Lazarus was poor materially but rich spiritually. He was a good example of the 2nd Beatitude mentioned in Luke 6:20-“Blessed are you poor, for yours is the Kingdom of God”. The Pharisees loved material things more than they loved God, so Jesus used this parable to teach them what was really important. Just as the neglect of physical health leads to physical death, the neglect of spiritual health leads to spiritual death.
Jesus said, “Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt and where thieves do not break through nor steal”. The rich man’s experience warns us of the possibility of being rich enough in this world to live luxuriously, yet so poverty-stricken in the next that we have to beg for a drop of water. The best type of collection to have is one that is given away. That’s why Paul said in 1 Timothy 6:18, “Be rich in good works…” Remember Dorcas, the woman who made garments for the poor in Acts 9:36-43. She is the same woman Peter later raised from the dead. We are urged in Psalm 91:16 to use ourselves to glorify God and share the Good News of our salvation with everyone we meet.
If you were to die suddenly, where do you think you would go? Sudden death in particular should be a warning to all of us, for we do not know when our time is up. A good example is what happened to my brother-in-law’s mother recently. She had been diagnosed with lung cancer, but she passed away very suddenly after being rushed to the hospital one evening after she started coughing up blood. We need to be prepared (as the Boy Scout motto says) for the unexpected. It will be too late after we die. Hell is a permanent place from which there is no escape. There is no love in hell, only hate. It is a dark place where there is no freedom. The lost in hell will remember all the chances they had in life to repent. They will have no second chances in hell.
Jesus loved to talk about hell because that was part of His mission. He loved to talk about the Valley of Hinnom, which was Jerusalem’s garbage dump and most hated place. It was also the place where the bodies of the poor were buried, so it was likely the place where Lazarus was buried. Jesus did something in this parable that He didn’t do in any other parable-He mentioned specific names. This leads scholars to conclude that this is a true story. The rich man went to hell not because he was rich, but because He rejected Christ. The choices we make today will determine our eternal state.
If you want to know if hell is a place of literal fire, just ask someone who has been there-the rich man. It’s no wonder he wanted Abraham to send someone to warn his brothers. It’s no wonder he himself wanted to go back and warn them. There is no escape from hell. Hell enlarges itself daily. It is occupied by the multitudes who did not have to go there. It is occupied not only by some of the worst criminals and dictators in history, it is also occupied by those who chose to reject Christ. We need to hear hell’s solid conviction. Hell is a bottomless pit, a prison or dungeon where there is intense darkness. The meanest, cruelest, filthiest people in history will be there along with the unsaved church members and the people who trust in their own righteousness for salvation.
Some of us get too busy for God. We can’t belong to His church. We don’t want to be part of the folks that are going to heaven. We’re too busy doing everything else, and then we die, and that’s it. Some who are lost appear to be saved because they live good, moral lives. There are people who are saved who may, at times, appear to be lost. The real test of whether or not a person is saved comes at the time of death. Everyone lives forever-some in heaven, the rest in hell. Everyone who refuses to accept Christ has chosen to live their eternal lives in hell. They will not lose their memory or identity. They will remember everything they did, said or thought while on earth, and they will remember it for eternity. Judgment is a very real fact in this world and the world to come.
We do not need to be deliberately evil to miss the gate of Heaven. All we have to do is be indifferent to the needs of those around us. We need to have a missions conscience. The church must also listen carefully to the world’s concerns as it determines its programs and direction. We need to help the hungry, the thirsty, the lonely, the dying. The way we treat other people in this life is the way we will be treated in the next life. In other words, what goes around comes around. We will have to deal with our decision to help or ignore them when we stand before God’s throne on Judgment Day. Our mistakes will come back to haunt us for eternity.
When the rich man died, he found out ten things:
1. Death does not end it all.
2. God had a record of his sins.
3. Satan lied to him.
4. Hell is the kind of place Jesus said it was.
5. He missed the greatest thing in life.
6. He still had his memory.
7. Hell was a mad house.
8. All opportunity to be saved was gone.
9. There is only one way of salvation.
10. The redeemed received the opposite 5 minutes after death.
One of the most fascinating works of poetry I have ever read or heard is a poem entitled “Five Minutes After I Die”, and I would like to conclude my sermon by reading it to you, because it sums up the points of my message very clearly.
Loved ones will weep o’er my silent face
Dear ones will clasp me in sad embrace
Shadows and darkness will fill this place
Five minutes after I die.
Faces that sorrow I will not see,
Voices that murmur will not reach me,
But where, oh where, will my soul be,
Five minutes after I die?
Never to repair the good I lack,
Fixed to the goal of my chosen track,
No room to repent, no turning back,
Five minutes after I die.
Marked forever with my chosen prong,
Long is eternity, o so long,
Then woe is me, if my soul is wrong,
Five minutes after I die.
Oh what a fool—hard word, but true,
Passing the Saviour with death in view,
Doing a deed I can never undo,
Five minutes after I die.
If I am flinging a fortune away,
If I am wasting salvation’s day,
“Just is my sentence,” my soul shall say,
Five minutes after I die.
Thanks be to Jesus for pardon free,
He paid my debt on Calvary’s tree
Heaven’s gates will open for me,
Five minutes after I die.
Oh marvelous grace that has rescued me,
Oh joyous moment when Jesus I see,
Oh happy day when like Him I’ll be,
Five minutes after I die.
God help you to choose! Your eternal state
Depends on your choice; you dare not wait.
You must choose now; it will be too late
Five minutes after you die.
God has given us gifts to share. When He empties his coffers and becomes poor, we become rich spiritually. This Parable is about values, not money. The rich man’s sin was not his wealth, but his hard heart. Those who are rich have an obligation to help the poor. How we use what we have leads to God’s judgment.
Does Jesus' Baptism Condemn You?
by: Denny Smith
Does baptism matter? Most Americans have come to the conclusion that it does not, a person can be saved and go to heaven baptized or not. It is such a settled conviction with most that they are not willing to give the study of the topic the time of day. It is ridiculous to even consider it as they see it. Only the spiritually blinded, only the cult faction, could think otherwise from their point of view.
It seems to me this is taking the same attitude the Pharisees took back in the first century. They had their settled law and there was no point in thinking there was any possibility that they might be in error. When Jesus came along and started questioning some of their beliefs and practices there was nothing to do but crucify him for there was no possibility in their mind that they could be wrong in their religion. What he had to say had to be heresy.
A man ought to be cautious in reaching conclusions in spiritual matters for once this life is over and the next one has begun there is no going back a second time and getting it right. There are no second chances and eternity is a long, long time. I would like to look at baptism and want to start with an account that is often overlooked - the baptism of Jesus when John baptized him.
It is certainly true that the baptism of John differs from that which the Lord commanded in the great commission as given in Matthew 28 and Mark 16. If I was to be baptized with the baptism of John today it would not do me an ounce of good for its time has long since come and gone. Nevertheless, that was not the case when Jesus came to John to be baptized approximately 2,000 years ago.
Mark tells us (Mark 1:4 NKJV), “John came baptizing in the wilderness and preaching a baptism of repentance for the remission of sins.” We know that Jesus never sinned and when Jesus comes to John to be baptized John is hesitant. In Matthew 3:14 we are told that, “John tried to prevent Him, saying, ‘I have need to be baptized by You, and are You coming to me?’”
Now note carefully how Jesus responds. “But Jesus answered and said to him, ‘Permit it to be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.’ Then he allowed Him.” (Matt. 3:15 NKJV)
Why was Jesus baptized? To fulfill all righteousness for that is what he says. What did he mean by that? The answer is found in Psalms 119:172, “My tongue shall speak of Your word, For all Your commandments are righteousness.” Jesus was baptized because it was the righteous thing to do for God had commanded it and all of God’s commandments are righteousness.
In Matt. 21 Jesus is being confronted by the chief priests and the elders who want to know by what authority he is doing the things he is doing. The Bible says, (Matt. 21:24-26 NKJV), “Jesus answered and said to them, ‘I also will ask you one thing, which if you tell Me, I likewise will tell you by what authority I do these things: The baptism of John, where was it from? From heaven or from men?’ And they reasoned among themselves, saying, ‘If we say, ‘From heaven,’ He will say to us ‘Why then did you not believe him?’ ‘But if we say, ‘From men,’ we fear the multitude, for all count John as a prophet.’”
Jesus is saying John’s baptism has to be either from God or from man, which was it? Jesus believed (knew) it was from God and was baptized. The Pharisees did not believe it was from God and thus were not baptized. In Jesus’ case belief led to obedience, in the Pharisee’s case disbelief led to disobedience.
In Luke 7 Jesus has been talking about John the Baptist and the Bible says, beginning in verse 29, “And when all the people heard Him (Jesus – DS), even the tax collectors justified God, having been baptized with the baptism of John. But the Pharisees and lawyers rejected the counsel of God for themselves, not having been baptized by him.” (NKJV) This provides further proof that John’s baptism was from or of God.
The counsel of God was that men receive John’s message and be baptized. John’s message was that men repent and be baptized, a baptism of repentance for the remission of sins.
The Good News Bible translates Mark 1:4 as follows: “So John appeared in the desert, baptizing and preaching. ‘Turn away from your sins and be baptized,’ he told the people, ‘and God will forgive your sins.’" This was the message of God for the people that was rejected by the Pharisees, lawyers, chief priests, and elders.
But, the Bible says “even the tax collectors justified God, have been baptized with the baptism of John.” (Luke 7:29 NKJV) What does it mean “justified God”, how is that done? The New American Standard translation of this verse clarifies it a lot. It reads, “And when all the people and the tax-gatherers heard this, they acknowledged God's justice, having been baptized with the baptism of John.”
Part of John’s message was that there was to be wrath to come and the way of escape was to repent and be baptized for the remission of sins. When men obeyed John’s preaching they were in affect saying by their actions that God was just in bringing this wrath upon them unless they did repent and obey and that it was just of him to demand their repentance and baptism.
Now what does all of this have to do with you and me today, with men and women in general? There is a direct application and an argument I think no one can reject save at their own peril.
Jesus asked the question where did John’s baptism come from, from God or man. Here is the question for you and me today, where did the baptism Jesus commanded come from, from God or man?
Why would it be wrong to reject John’s baptism in its time but right to reject Jesus’ baptism in our time? Jesus made it clear that to reject John’s baptism in its time was to reject the counsel of God against themselves. Are we not doing the same thing today, rejecting God’s counsel against ourselves, when we refuse to be baptized with Jesus’ baptism, the baptism of the great commission. If not why not?
One cannot reason his way out of this dilemma but it gets even worse for those who want to reject baptism. Please note it was a salvation issue with Jesus concerning John’s baptism. Are you going to say it is not a salvation issue today with Jesus’ baptism?
How much difference is there in the meaning of the words, “a baptism of repentance for the remission of sins” (Mark 1:4 NKJV) spoken concerning John’s baptism and the words “repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins” (Acts 2:38 NKJV) spoken concerning the baptism Jesus requires in our own time? The words sound very similar to me.
Am I saying that both baptisms were identical? No, but the difference lay not in the end to be achieved. John’s baptism ultimately would have done no good had Jesus not died on the cross. In that sense it looked forward and was a promise. We have this in our everyday lives all of the time. If I do this then I am promised that even though that may be down the road a ways. Paychecks are like that. We work trusting by faith the promise that we will be paid. This was John’s baptism.
Does this mean their actual forgiveness lay down the road somewhere in the future and was not immediate? No, for it was a certainty, not just a promise, that Jesus would die on the cross. The deed was as good as done the day it was first prophesied. When Moses and Elijah met Jesus on the Mount of Transfiguration Jesus had not yet died on the cross. Was their salvation hanging in the balance until he did die? To ask is to answer. So it was with those who obeyed John’s teaching. Their sins were forgiven then and there or else John misled them for he said it was for the forgiveness of sins.
The baptism Jesus gave man by way of the great commission was based on the fact that Jesus had already died and shed his blood for the remission of sins and the salvation of man. Man has to believe the gospel, the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus (1 Cor. 15:1-4). In short, for a man to receive the baptism of Jesus he must believe in the historical Jesus, the Savior of the world.
If a man today refuses to obey the command to be baptized he refuses to do what Jesus said he was doing when he said, “it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.” (Matt. 3:15 NKJV) It has already been pointed out that all God’s commands are righteousness (Psalms 119:172). If we have a command to be baptized today, as far as I know all agree we do, should we not obey it and fulfill all righteousness? Why is it wrong to follow Jesus’ example?
Does Jesus' baptism condemn you? It well could for when all is said and done you will either make camp with the Pharisees and other unbelievers who could not take God’s word at face value, believe and obey it, or you will camp with those who did believe and did obey. You will either reject the counsel of God against yourself refusing to be baptized or else you will accept it, believe and obey it. Make no mistake about it, for there are way too many passages that teach it, God has commanded baptism for you and me today thus it becomes a matter of either we will or we won’t. We will either accept his counsel or we will reject it.
I am sometimes taken aback by how people can just blow off baptism as being an insignificant thing unworthy of time or trouble. It is a reflection on God. Really is that not what Jesus was saying way back when – you don’t believe God? So many want to be saved by faith today apart from baptism and cannot see, as though blinded, that baptism is a part of faith, a part of the faith that saves. You are either going to believe God or you are not going to believe him when he speaks of baptism in his word. Why is it we can see this when Jesus addresses the subject of John’s baptism but cannot see the direct application to our own response in our time to Jesus’ baptism?
I doubt any of us can fully grasp the power that tradition exerts on us when it comes to how we see things and how we think. Add to that the influence of friends and family and the desire for it to be the way we want it to be often because of family. All that be as it may God’s word stands and so what are we going to do about it becomes the question. Many have answered “I am not going to believe it” as did the Pharisees. They did not believe it because they did not want to believe it. We pretty much end up believing what we want to believe instead of what we ought to believe.
I close this now just adding one final thought. The decision is yours.
Does baptism matter? Most Americans have come to the conclusion that it does not, a person can be saved and go to heaven baptized or not. It is such a settled conviction with most that they are not willing to give the study of the topic the time of day. It is ridiculous to even consider it as they see it. Only the spiritually blinded, only the cult faction, could think otherwise from their point of view.
It seems to me this is taking the same attitude the Pharisees took back in the first century. They had their settled law and there was no point in thinking there was any possibility that they might be in error. When Jesus came along and started questioning some of their beliefs and practices there was nothing to do but crucify him for there was no possibility in their mind that they could be wrong in their religion. What he had to say had to be heresy.
A man ought to be cautious in reaching conclusions in spiritual matters for once this life is over and the next one has begun there is no going back a second time and getting it right. There are no second chances and eternity is a long, long time. I would like to look at baptism and want to start with an account that is often overlooked - the baptism of Jesus when John baptized him.
It is certainly true that the baptism of John differs from that which the Lord commanded in the great commission as given in Matthew 28 and Mark 16. If I was to be baptized with the baptism of John today it would not do me an ounce of good for its time has long since come and gone. Nevertheless, that was not the case when Jesus came to John to be baptized approximately 2,000 years ago.
Mark tells us (Mark 1:4 NKJV), “John came baptizing in the wilderness and preaching a baptism of repentance for the remission of sins.” We know that Jesus never sinned and when Jesus comes to John to be baptized John is hesitant. In Matthew 3:14 we are told that, “John tried to prevent Him, saying, ‘I have need to be baptized by You, and are You coming to me?’”
Now note carefully how Jesus responds. “But Jesus answered and said to him, ‘Permit it to be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.’ Then he allowed Him.” (Matt. 3:15 NKJV)
Why was Jesus baptized? To fulfill all righteousness for that is what he says. What did he mean by that? The answer is found in Psalms 119:172, “My tongue shall speak of Your word, For all Your commandments are righteousness.” Jesus was baptized because it was the righteous thing to do for God had commanded it and all of God’s commandments are righteousness.
In Matt. 21 Jesus is being confronted by the chief priests and the elders who want to know by what authority he is doing the things he is doing. The Bible says, (Matt. 21:24-26 NKJV), “Jesus answered and said to them, ‘I also will ask you one thing, which if you tell Me, I likewise will tell you by what authority I do these things: The baptism of John, where was it from? From heaven or from men?’ And they reasoned among themselves, saying, ‘If we say, ‘From heaven,’ He will say to us ‘Why then did you not believe him?’ ‘But if we say, ‘From men,’ we fear the multitude, for all count John as a prophet.’”
Jesus is saying John’s baptism has to be either from God or from man, which was it? Jesus believed (knew) it was from God and was baptized. The Pharisees did not believe it was from God and thus were not baptized. In Jesus’ case belief led to obedience, in the Pharisee’s case disbelief led to disobedience.
In Luke 7 Jesus has been talking about John the Baptist and the Bible says, beginning in verse 29, “And when all the people heard Him (Jesus – DS), even the tax collectors justified God, having been baptized with the baptism of John. But the Pharisees and lawyers rejected the counsel of God for themselves, not having been baptized by him.” (NKJV) This provides further proof that John’s baptism was from or of God.
The counsel of God was that men receive John’s message and be baptized. John’s message was that men repent and be baptized, a baptism of repentance for the remission of sins.
The Good News Bible translates Mark 1:4 as follows: “So John appeared in the desert, baptizing and preaching. ‘Turn away from your sins and be baptized,’ he told the people, ‘and God will forgive your sins.’" This was the message of God for the people that was rejected by the Pharisees, lawyers, chief priests, and elders.
But, the Bible says “even the tax collectors justified God, have been baptized with the baptism of John.” (Luke 7:29 NKJV) What does it mean “justified God”, how is that done? The New American Standard translation of this verse clarifies it a lot. It reads, “And when all the people and the tax-gatherers heard this, they acknowledged God's justice, having been baptized with the baptism of John.”
Part of John’s message was that there was to be wrath to come and the way of escape was to repent and be baptized for the remission of sins. When men obeyed John’s preaching they were in affect saying by their actions that God was just in bringing this wrath upon them unless they did repent and obey and that it was just of him to demand their repentance and baptism.
Now what does all of this have to do with you and me today, with men and women in general? There is a direct application and an argument I think no one can reject save at their own peril.
Jesus asked the question where did John’s baptism come from, from God or man. Here is the question for you and me today, where did the baptism Jesus commanded come from, from God or man?
Why would it be wrong to reject John’s baptism in its time but right to reject Jesus’ baptism in our time? Jesus made it clear that to reject John’s baptism in its time was to reject the counsel of God against themselves. Are we not doing the same thing today, rejecting God’s counsel against ourselves, when we refuse to be baptized with Jesus’ baptism, the baptism of the great commission. If not why not?
One cannot reason his way out of this dilemma but it gets even worse for those who want to reject baptism. Please note it was a salvation issue with Jesus concerning John’s baptism. Are you going to say it is not a salvation issue today with Jesus’ baptism?
How much difference is there in the meaning of the words, “a baptism of repentance for the remission of sins” (Mark 1:4 NKJV) spoken concerning John’s baptism and the words “repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins” (Acts 2:38 NKJV) spoken concerning the baptism Jesus requires in our own time? The words sound very similar to me.
Am I saying that both baptisms were identical? No, but the difference lay not in the end to be achieved. John’s baptism ultimately would have done no good had Jesus not died on the cross. In that sense it looked forward and was a promise. We have this in our everyday lives all of the time. If I do this then I am promised that even though that may be down the road a ways. Paychecks are like that. We work trusting by faith the promise that we will be paid. This was John’s baptism.
Does this mean their actual forgiveness lay down the road somewhere in the future and was not immediate? No, for it was a certainty, not just a promise, that Jesus would die on the cross. The deed was as good as done the day it was first prophesied. When Moses and Elijah met Jesus on the Mount of Transfiguration Jesus had not yet died on the cross. Was their salvation hanging in the balance until he did die? To ask is to answer. So it was with those who obeyed John’s teaching. Their sins were forgiven then and there or else John misled them for he said it was for the forgiveness of sins.
The baptism Jesus gave man by way of the great commission was based on the fact that Jesus had already died and shed his blood for the remission of sins and the salvation of man. Man has to believe the gospel, the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus (1 Cor. 15:1-4). In short, for a man to receive the baptism of Jesus he must believe in the historical Jesus, the Savior of the world.
If a man today refuses to obey the command to be baptized he refuses to do what Jesus said he was doing when he said, “it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.” (Matt. 3:15 NKJV) It has already been pointed out that all God’s commands are righteousness (Psalms 119:172). If we have a command to be baptized today, as far as I know all agree we do, should we not obey it and fulfill all righteousness? Why is it wrong to follow Jesus’ example?
Does Jesus' baptism condemn you? It well could for when all is said and done you will either make camp with the Pharisees and other unbelievers who could not take God’s word at face value, believe and obey it, or you will camp with those who did believe and did obey. You will either reject the counsel of God against yourself refusing to be baptized or else you will accept it, believe and obey it. Make no mistake about it, for there are way too many passages that teach it, God has commanded baptism for you and me today thus it becomes a matter of either we will or we won’t. We will either accept his counsel or we will reject it.
I am sometimes taken aback by how people can just blow off baptism as being an insignificant thing unworthy of time or trouble. It is a reflection on God. Really is that not what Jesus was saying way back when – you don’t believe God? So many want to be saved by faith today apart from baptism and cannot see, as though blinded, that baptism is a part of faith, a part of the faith that saves. You are either going to believe God or you are not going to believe him when he speaks of baptism in his word. Why is it we can see this when Jesus addresses the subject of John’s baptism but cannot see the direct application to our own response in our time to Jesus’ baptism?
I doubt any of us can fully grasp the power that tradition exerts on us when it comes to how we see things and how we think. Add to that the influence of friends and family and the desire for it to be the way we want it to be often because of family. All that be as it may God’s word stands and so what are we going to do about it becomes the question. Many have answered “I am not going to believe it” as did the Pharisees. They did not believe it because they did not want to believe it. We pretty much end up believing what we want to believe instead of what we ought to believe.
I close this now just adding one final thought. The decision is yours.
Living By Faith & Not By Sight
by: Janie Baer
Your ability to live by faith has nothing to do with:
Who you are, where you were born, or where you live.
The amount of money you presently have in your bank account, billfold or purse or don’t presently have in your bank account, billfold or purse.
Amount of time you have or don’t have. (Faith has no time, it is always “now” Faith. Faith is always present tense. – I have _____ now. I can do _____ now. I am _____ now.)
How much something costs.
Has nothing to do with your ability or inability. (Remember: Faith is God’s ability working on your behalf. If you could do it yourself, you wouldn’t have to use your faith.)
If you have planned well financially or if there has been lack of financial planning.
Job or no job.
Paycheck or no paycheck or income or no income.
The number of educational degrees you have or a lack of education. (The fishermen who walked with Jesus were men of faith and yet they were just “fishermen” and not highly educated men; but yet they told Jesus when He sent them out to minister on their own that their every need was met.)
Your five physical senses (They only relate to the physical realm and will only tell you what is going on in the physical realm, but faith is of the spirit, a higher realm. You’re actually living in a higher realm, not subject to the natural realm when you live by faith.)
Natural limitations. (Faith is supernatural ability and there are no limitations with faith. If there were limitations then we could say God is limited, but that will never be.)
A person’s intelligence or lack of it. (Actually intelligence can get in the way of faith by trying to figure out how it is going to happen. Faith is working when your heart and not your head is fixed, established, trusting in the Lord.)
Your ability in any matter. (Faith is God’s ability working on your behalf.)
What is faith? Faith is substance of things hoped for needed and desired, evidence of what cannot be seen by your physical eyes, your assurance, your confirmation, your title deed of things, proof of things not seen, conviction of their reality, perception as real fact what is not revealed to senses, leaning of your entire personality on God in Christ in absolute trust and confidence in His power, wisdom and goodness.
Hebrews 11:1 Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. KJV
Hebrews 11:1 NOW FAITH is the assurance (the confirmation, the title deed) of the things [we] hope for, being the proof of things [we] do not see and the conviction of their reality [faith perceiving as real fact what is not revealed to the senses]. AMP
Hebrews 6:12 In order that you may not grow disinterested and become [spiritual] sluggards, but imitators, behaving as do those who through faith ( by their leaning of the entire personality on God in Christ in absolute trust and confidence in His power, wisdom, and goodness) and by practice of patient endurance and waiting are [now] inheriting the promises. AMP
Faith is always now, present tense. You talk like it is done.
Faith is a law, spiritual law:
Romans 3:27 Where is boasting then? It is excluded. By what law? of works? Nay: but by the law of faith. KJV
Faith and patience are power twins:
Hebrews 6:12 ….faith ( by their leaning of the entire personality on God in Christ in absolute trust and confidence in His power, wisdom, and goodness) and by practice of patient endurance and waiting are [now] inheriting the promises. AMP
James 1:4 But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing. KJV
Acting in faith, you just believe and act accordingly; staying Holy Spirit connected and He will guide you through the whole process. How easy is that? We make spirit things complicated and really we are more spiritual then we are human or carnal since God lives in us and we are now born again of the Spirit and have the ability to operate out of our spirit rather than be limited and controlled any more by our intellect or what the five physical senses tell us.
How do we receive faith? We received the faith of God when we got born again. Faith is a gift from God. (Romans 12:3) We have the faith of Christ Jesus. (Galatians 2:20) Faith also comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God. (Romans 10:17 So hear and hear again the Word concerning what you need; healing, prosperity, etc.) Building up your faith by praying in the Holy Ghost. (Jude 20)
To remain in faith or as the Word of God calls it, “established heart”, we have to guard the gates to our heart (our believing), which are our eyes gates and ear gates. Don’t keep looking at, paying attention to or listening to what is the opposite of what you want by faith.
Faith is not what we see or hear. Faith is not having faith in you and faith in your faith. Faith is having faith in God, His Word and the faith He has given to you which always does its work in any and every situation.
The Word of God is the written and spoken Word of God to us. The Word of God, itself, has enough power in it to bring things to pass; the Word just needs to be spoken out of your mouth for your situation. The Word needs you to be the receiver as well. So you are the spokesperson and the receiving person for faith. So don’t get so afraid you are going to fail in your faith for it is God’s faith He has given to you as a gift, just use it. And you are not the person to make it happen or you would be already doing it with your natural ability. You are just the believing person enough so that you speak it and act like it is done, finished. You receive it with speaking it is already reality. Speaking only the Word of God and speaking words that mean, “I received it.” Then acting like, “Okay, there it is. I’m glad that’s over with. It’s done, finished, over with.” When we speak in line with the Word of God we are not lying although in the natural we look like we are. Can we be lying when we speak what God has spoken about us. “We are healed by the stripes of Jesus.” No, that is not a lie, it is the truth about us. And we are not speaking it to make people believe we are healed. We speak it because we know it is the truth about us or our situation.
Abraham became fully persuaded in his faith to become a father when it was humanly impossible when He started speaking the name God gave to him, “Abraham”, which means “Father of nations”. When he spoke his name, “Abraham,” he was saying he was the father of nations. He never got fully persuaded in his faith he would become a father until God changed his name and he started speaking it and hearing it over and over by his family, servants, etc.
Stealers of Faith:
Being around natural, carnal thinking people and natural, carnal speaking people will steal your faith. They are always speaking what is, what they can see, hear, smell, taste or touch. So stay clear of them and seek to be around people who think in line with the Word of God, speak in line with the Word of God and act on their faith in the Word of God. (A good example of this is Abraham. When he was still named Abram, God told him to leave family and all that was familiar to him. If he had not done this, then he would not be known as our Father of faith, Abraham.)
Another stealer of faith is always looking, hearing, meditating, considering and speaking what is going on in the natural circumstances in your life. (If you want change, you have to change what you look at, listen to, meditate on, consider and speak. If you don’t, then you will only perpetuate the problem. What you focus on will expand.)
A good thing to remember in faith is to establish your heart in the Word of God about a particular thing you want to receive from God and then when the Word of God gets bigger on the inside of you through meditation then the problem or thing needing changed or brought to pass; that is the best time to speak it. That is when it is easy to speak the Word in spite of every thing and everyone that says, “That’s impossible.” Meditation plus speaking your faith brings possession. Faith’s actions can sometimes mean just speaking the Word of God or words of having received it or “It is done.” Then there are promptings of the Holy Spirit to do a certain thing. Acted upon will bring results no matter how ridiculous it may seem.
Some good examples of faith we can meditate to help establish our heart in faith are: Read about Abraham, the Father of our faith, Romans 4. The Hall of Faith in Hebrews 11. And to see the New Testament Church with faith in action read the book of Acts.
To make faith simple: Faith is trust or confidence in Jesus and His finished work. How simple is that? Jesus has said, “It is finished.” Now He has seated Himself on the right hand of the Father not because He is tired from all His work. No, He is telling us He has done all that He needs to do for us to receive all that we need and all He has promised us. And we know Jesus would not lie to us. So we can say, “By the stripes of Jesus I am healed and made whole.” (1 Peter 2:24) “Jesus became so very poor in order that I could be enriched, abundantly supplied. I am rich.” (2 Corinthians 8:9) “I have been made righteous by Jesus.” (2 Corinthians 5:21)
I have listed on my website scriptures and confessions for you to speak in faith over your life “In Christ”, your prosperity, Father God’s love for you and your health and for healing.
Let’s make this confession of faith:
God has given me the gift of faith. I actually have the faith of Jesus. Faith is the substance of things I hope for, need and desire. It is the evidence of what I cannot see by my physical eyes. Faith is my assurance it is mine. Faith is the only confirmation I need to know that it is mine. Faith is the title deed to the possession of it. Faith is proof to me this is all done and taken care of. Faith is the conviction of the reality of this thing. With faith I perceive it is real fact in my life no matter what the senses tell me. With my faith I lean my entire personality on God in Christ in absolute trust and confidence in Father God, Daddy’s power, wisdom and His goodness to me. I live by faith and not by sight.
Your ability to live by faith has nothing to do with:
Who you are, where you were born, or where you live.
The amount of money you presently have in your bank account, billfold or purse or don’t presently have in your bank account, billfold or purse.
Amount of time you have or don’t have. (Faith has no time, it is always “now” Faith. Faith is always present tense. – I have _____ now. I can do _____ now. I am _____ now.)
How much something costs.
Has nothing to do with your ability or inability. (Remember: Faith is God’s ability working on your behalf. If you could do it yourself, you wouldn’t have to use your faith.)
If you have planned well financially or if there has been lack of financial planning.
Job or no job.
Paycheck or no paycheck or income or no income.
The number of educational degrees you have or a lack of education. (The fishermen who walked with Jesus were men of faith and yet they were just “fishermen” and not highly educated men; but yet they told Jesus when He sent them out to minister on their own that their every need was met.)
Your five physical senses (They only relate to the physical realm and will only tell you what is going on in the physical realm, but faith is of the spirit, a higher realm. You’re actually living in a higher realm, not subject to the natural realm when you live by faith.)
Natural limitations. (Faith is supernatural ability and there are no limitations with faith. If there were limitations then we could say God is limited, but that will never be.)
A person’s intelligence or lack of it. (Actually intelligence can get in the way of faith by trying to figure out how it is going to happen. Faith is working when your heart and not your head is fixed, established, trusting in the Lord.)
Your ability in any matter. (Faith is God’s ability working on your behalf.)
What is faith? Faith is substance of things hoped for needed and desired, evidence of what cannot be seen by your physical eyes, your assurance, your confirmation, your title deed of things, proof of things not seen, conviction of their reality, perception as real fact what is not revealed to senses, leaning of your entire personality on God in Christ in absolute trust and confidence in His power, wisdom and goodness.
Hebrews 11:1 Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. KJV
Hebrews 11:1 NOW FAITH is the assurance (the confirmation, the title deed) of the things [we] hope for, being the proof of things [we] do not see and the conviction of their reality [faith perceiving as real fact what is not revealed to the senses]. AMP
Hebrews 6:12 In order that you may not grow disinterested and become [spiritual] sluggards, but imitators, behaving as do those who through faith ( by their leaning of the entire personality on God in Christ in absolute trust and confidence in His power, wisdom, and goodness) and by practice of patient endurance and waiting are [now] inheriting the promises. AMP
Faith is always now, present tense. You talk like it is done.
Faith is a law, spiritual law:
Romans 3:27 Where is boasting then? It is excluded. By what law? of works? Nay: but by the law of faith. KJV
Faith and patience are power twins:
Hebrews 6:12 ….faith ( by their leaning of the entire personality on God in Christ in absolute trust and confidence in His power, wisdom, and goodness) and by practice of patient endurance and waiting are [now] inheriting the promises. AMP
James 1:4 But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing. KJV
Acting in faith, you just believe and act accordingly; staying Holy Spirit connected and He will guide you through the whole process. How easy is that? We make spirit things complicated and really we are more spiritual then we are human or carnal since God lives in us and we are now born again of the Spirit and have the ability to operate out of our spirit rather than be limited and controlled any more by our intellect or what the five physical senses tell us.
How do we receive faith? We received the faith of God when we got born again. Faith is a gift from God. (Romans 12:3) We have the faith of Christ Jesus. (Galatians 2:20) Faith also comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God. (Romans 10:17 So hear and hear again the Word concerning what you need; healing, prosperity, etc.) Building up your faith by praying in the Holy Ghost. (Jude 20)
To remain in faith or as the Word of God calls it, “established heart”, we have to guard the gates to our heart (our believing), which are our eyes gates and ear gates. Don’t keep looking at, paying attention to or listening to what is the opposite of what you want by faith.
Faith is not what we see or hear. Faith is not having faith in you and faith in your faith. Faith is having faith in God, His Word and the faith He has given to you which always does its work in any and every situation.
The Word of God is the written and spoken Word of God to us. The Word of God, itself, has enough power in it to bring things to pass; the Word just needs to be spoken out of your mouth for your situation. The Word needs you to be the receiver as well. So you are the spokesperson and the receiving person for faith. So don’t get so afraid you are going to fail in your faith for it is God’s faith He has given to you as a gift, just use it. And you are not the person to make it happen or you would be already doing it with your natural ability. You are just the believing person enough so that you speak it and act like it is done, finished. You receive it with speaking it is already reality. Speaking only the Word of God and speaking words that mean, “I received it.” Then acting like, “Okay, there it is. I’m glad that’s over with. It’s done, finished, over with.” When we speak in line with the Word of God we are not lying although in the natural we look like we are. Can we be lying when we speak what God has spoken about us. “We are healed by the stripes of Jesus.” No, that is not a lie, it is the truth about us. And we are not speaking it to make people believe we are healed. We speak it because we know it is the truth about us or our situation.
Abraham became fully persuaded in his faith to become a father when it was humanly impossible when He started speaking the name God gave to him, “Abraham”, which means “Father of nations”. When he spoke his name, “Abraham,” he was saying he was the father of nations. He never got fully persuaded in his faith he would become a father until God changed his name and he started speaking it and hearing it over and over by his family, servants, etc.
Stealers of Faith:
Being around natural, carnal thinking people and natural, carnal speaking people will steal your faith. They are always speaking what is, what they can see, hear, smell, taste or touch. So stay clear of them and seek to be around people who think in line with the Word of God, speak in line with the Word of God and act on their faith in the Word of God. (A good example of this is Abraham. When he was still named Abram, God told him to leave family and all that was familiar to him. If he had not done this, then he would not be known as our Father of faith, Abraham.)
Another stealer of faith is always looking, hearing, meditating, considering and speaking what is going on in the natural circumstances in your life. (If you want change, you have to change what you look at, listen to, meditate on, consider and speak. If you don’t, then you will only perpetuate the problem. What you focus on will expand.)
A good thing to remember in faith is to establish your heart in the Word of God about a particular thing you want to receive from God and then when the Word of God gets bigger on the inside of you through meditation then the problem or thing needing changed or brought to pass; that is the best time to speak it. That is when it is easy to speak the Word in spite of every thing and everyone that says, “That’s impossible.” Meditation plus speaking your faith brings possession. Faith’s actions can sometimes mean just speaking the Word of God or words of having received it or “It is done.” Then there are promptings of the Holy Spirit to do a certain thing. Acted upon will bring results no matter how ridiculous it may seem.
Some good examples of faith we can meditate to help establish our heart in faith are: Read about Abraham, the Father of our faith, Romans 4. The Hall of Faith in Hebrews 11. And to see the New Testament Church with faith in action read the book of Acts.
To make faith simple: Faith is trust or confidence in Jesus and His finished work. How simple is that? Jesus has said, “It is finished.” Now He has seated Himself on the right hand of the Father not because He is tired from all His work. No, He is telling us He has done all that He needs to do for us to receive all that we need and all He has promised us. And we know Jesus would not lie to us. So we can say, “By the stripes of Jesus I am healed and made whole.” (1 Peter 2:24) “Jesus became so very poor in order that I could be enriched, abundantly supplied. I am rich.” (2 Corinthians 8:9) “I have been made righteous by Jesus.” (2 Corinthians 5:21)
I have listed on my website scriptures and confessions for you to speak in faith over your life “In Christ”, your prosperity, Father God’s love for you and your health and for healing.
Let’s make this confession of faith:
God has given me the gift of faith. I actually have the faith of Jesus. Faith is the substance of things I hope for, need and desire. It is the evidence of what I cannot see by my physical eyes. Faith is my assurance it is mine. Faith is the only confirmation I need to know that it is mine. Faith is the title deed to the possession of it. Faith is proof to me this is all done and taken care of. Faith is the conviction of the reality of this thing. With faith I perceive it is real fact in my life no matter what the senses tell me. With my faith I lean my entire personality on God in Christ in absolute trust and confidence in Father God, Daddy’s power, wisdom and His goodness to me. I live by faith and not by sight.
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