The Divide

A skillful observation may be one trained by years of following Jesus and trusting His power. 80 years helps.  (As Oran would say, "Maybe".)

A friend who has a wonderful way with words commented on my response on facebook, where I had mentioned that I only see one political party who is supporting riots and lawless demonstrations, 

https://www.facebook.com/rob.woodfin.3/posts/10220378839013304

by saying that "Observation is a skill. Accusation requires none."

I responded that I had made a skillful observation.  

I have friends on both sides of the divide, and need encouragement from my wife and others to be kind.  But love demands speaking the truth.  

While I was thinking about this, Dr. Alveda King appeared on the news and said that we need God's Power to solve our divide.  I say Amen!

There are good people on both sides of the divide, but none of us is good by our own merit.  The divide is between those who are willing to trust in God through Jesus Christ, and those who want to trust in human solutions.  Those trusting human solutions can be identified by constant references to science and medical experts, as if our trusting our experts is the solution to our dilemma.  

The fear of death has been exploited as a political tool.   As bad as Covid-19 is or may be, it is no reason to stop living our lives.  I am in that class of people, 80 yrs old with heart condition, who will likely die if I am infected with the dread virus.  

But God has blessed me abundantly.  He has sufficiently revealed His presence in the universe, in history, and in the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ.  I am blessed to be His child through faith, and look forward to the resurrection and eternal life with Jesus.   How can I fear death?  It is a passing over the Jordan River to the Promised Land. 

And I am blessed to have experienced the joys and blessings, along with the trials, of nuclear family, one man married to one woman for life.  Such a blessing!!   God gives us direction to a blessed life.  He has revealed His wisdom in the Bible, a collection of writings that were guided and protected by God's Power, the Holy Spirit, and whose instruction is able to make us wise unto salvation. 


Godlessness in the Last Days

2 Tim 3:1 But understand this, that in the last days there will come times of difficulty. 2 For people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, proud, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy,3 heartless, unappeasable, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not loving good, 4 treacherous, reckless, swollen with conceit, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, 5 having the appearance of godliness, but denying its power. Avoid such people. 6 For among them are those who creep into households and capture weak women, burdened with sins and led astray by various passions, 7 always learning and never able to arrive at a knowledge of the truth. 8 Just as Jannes and Jambres opposed Moses, so these men also oppose the truth, men corrupted in mind and disqualified regarding the faith. 9 But they will not get very far, for their folly will be plain to all, as was that of those two men.
All Scripture Is Breathed Out by God
13 while evil people and impostors will go on from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived. 14 But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have firmly believed, knowing from whom[a] you learned it 15 and how from childhood you have been acquainted with the sacred writings, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. 16 All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, 17 that the man of God[b] may be complete, equipped for every good work.

Yes, we need God's Power to solve our divide.  And God's Power does not encourage lawlessness and slander.  The moral character of a person is of concern, but the law demands legal process for accusations, and dumping floods of obvious slander is not helpful.

Dan Rather, the New York Times, and the Washington Post are not tools of God's Power.  This is my skillful observation.  They are serving a lower dominion.  They are serving the power of the human collective, the idea that people can work together by ignoring the rule of law, and demanding mob rule.

You can use your power of skillful observation to see which political party is more supportive of God's Power.  If you need expert help, please contact Dr. Alveda King.  

Seven Prompts for Faith

https://rgonce.blogspot.com/2013/03/pictures-of-salvation.html

Last week I was contacted by an 80yr old physicist, an inventor who had seen www.deadseapower.com and wanted to tell me about his invention of a pipeline that could move water very economically, suggesting it should replace the tunnel in the proposed project.  

I told him about Ezekiel's vision in chapter 47, and said I would stick with the tunnel design.  
http://ezekielproject.org/history.shtml

Turns out he is an avowed atheist, and had stopped having religious discussions sixty years ago.  He commanded me to stop talking with him about religion.  After a few more exchanges, I asked him to explain to me how gravity works.  He called me on the phone, and we had a ten minute discussion about politics in the Middle East, and various connections.  

Highly educated atheists are a real challenge to those of us who want to share our faith in Jesus.  My experience has been the reception of rabid insults in response to suggesting study about YHWH and Yeshua.  I tell them that I just want to examine factual information, including science and history.  But atheists seem to be afraid to open themselves to inquiry about faith in God, having decided to reject faith, and having no desire to revisit their decision. 

The Bible is a remarkable book.  It has stood the challenge of endless critique, and mindless affronts.  Those of us who believe should not be thin skinned about our faith.  We should be ready to suffer insults, and still be kind and gracious.  But I will not stop talking about Jesus.  

The challenge is to identify information that is factual and supported by science and history.  For example, when I visited the coast of Israel at Palmachim, I noticed that the stones jutting through the surf looked familiar.  

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palmachim

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kurkar

The calcarious sandstone at Palmachim is very similar to the calcarious sandstone boulders that have rolled down the mountain at my house.  Our ancient stone wall was built of such stones, and from my childhood I had wondered at the sea shells embedded in the stones.  Turns out that this stone is formed in the surf of a sandy beach, of sea shells mixed with sand and cemented with the calcium from sea creatures. I am very familiar with this stone as I used it to build the foundation wall of the cabin where we live.  

https://rgonce.blogspot.com/2012/12/from-peaceful-visa-of-front-porch-of.html

Yes, the mountain behind my house was once a sea coast, and the sea shells in my foundation stones speak of Psalms 104, 

He set the earth on its foundations,
    so that it should never be moved.
6 You covered it with the deep as with a garment;
    the waters stood above the mountains.
7 At your rebuke they fled;
    at the sound of your thunder they took to flight.
8 The mountains rose, the valleys sank down
    to the place that you appointed for them.
9 You set a boundary that they may not pass,
    so that they might not again cover the earth.


What are some of the narratives of the Bible that have historical and factual support, and which can help us develop faith in YHWH, the great I Am?

1. In the beginning, the story of creation
2. The Flood
3. Abraham
4. David
5. Birth of Jesus
6. Miracles of Jesus
7. Death, Burial, and Resurrection of Jesus

Why is faith so important?  Because it gives us the hope of eternal glory, of one day sharing the eternal existence of God.  

Hebrews 11:6  And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.

Book of Sevens

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Gae-n0Pb7Q

http://ibsresources.org/courses/revelation/revelation.shtml

John's Revelation, a series of visions that go from Jesus to the Judgment, gives an overview of the reign of Jesus Christ, which began when He ascended to Heaven from the Mount of Olives, and will culminate with His coming again on resurrection day for the Judgement of all people who have ever lived.  Revelation is a picture of the reign of Jesus, and ends with His complete victory over the forces of evil, with the last thing overcome being death, at our resurrection.

Paul, writing to believers at Thessaloniki, gives a picture of what happens when Jesus returns. 

The Coming of the Lord

1 Thes. 4:13 But we do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about those who are asleep, that you may not grieve as others do who have no hope.14 For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, through Jesus, God will bring with him those who have fallen asleep. 15 For this we declare to you by a word from the Lord,[d] that we who are alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will not precede those who have fallen asleep. 16 For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. 17 Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught P together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord.18 Therefore encourage one another with these words.

Paul wrote to believers at Corinth about the reign of Jesus, and he tells us that Christ must reign until all His enemies are subjected to him, and the last enemy is death.  

The Resurrection of the Dead

1 Cor 15:12 Now if Christ is proclaimed as raised from the dead, how can some of you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? 13 But if there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised. 14 And if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain. 15 We are even found to be misrepresenting God, because we testified about God that he raised Christ, whom he did not raise if it is true that the dead are not raised. 16 For if the dead are not raised, not even Christ has been raised. 17 And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins. 18 Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. 19 If in Christ we have hope[b] in this life only, we are of all people most to be pitied.

20 But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. 21 For as by a man came death, by a man has come also the resurrection of the dead. 22 For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive. 23 But each in his own order: Christ the firstfruits, then at his coming those who belong to Christ. 24 Then comes the end, when he delivers the kingdom to God the Father after destroying every rule and every authority and power. 25 For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet. 26 The last enemy to be destroyed is death. 27 For “God[c] has put all things in subjection under his feet.” But when it says, “all things are put in subjection,” it is plain that he is excepted who put all things in subjection under him. 28 When all things are subjected to him, then the Son himself will also be subjected to him who put all things in subjection under him, that God may be all in all.


Folks seem to want to apply the visions of Revelation to their own time. Jesus gave several parables about our being prepared, because we do not know the time of His return.  

Since we meet the Lord after death, and we do not know when we will die, we should always be ready for His return, or for our death, whichever comes first.  

Many link the events of today with the idea of Antichrist, and candidates range from George Soros to Barach Obama, whoever is trying to set up a one world global community based upon secular humanist principles (atheistic communism).  Maybe Putin should be a candidate? 

But the Antichrist denies that Jesus had a human existence. Antichrist is a false teaching within the "Christian" community.


Warning Concerning Antichrists

1 John 2:18

Children, it is the last hour, and as you have heard that antichrist is coming, so now many antichrists have come. Therefore we know that it is the last hour.

1 John 2:22
Who is the liar but he who denies that Jesus is the Christ? This is the antichrist, he who denies the Father and the Son.

1 John 4:3
and every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you heard was coming and now is in the world already.

2 John 1:7
For many deceivers have gone out into the world, those who do not confess the coming of Jesus Christ in the flesh. Such a one is the deceiver and the antichrist.

Sometimes the Harlot of Revelation is confused with antichrist. But the early church identified the Harlot of Revelation with Rome, the seven hilled city. The prophet Daniel promised that Rome would be destroyed by the Kingdom of Jesus. 

Daniel's Vision of the Four Beasts

7:1 In the first year of Belshazzar king of Babylon, Daniel saw a dream and visions of his head as he lay in his bed. Then he wrote down the dream and told the sum of the matter. 2 Daniel declared,[a] “I saw in my vision by night, and behold, the four winds of heaven were stirring up the great sea. 3 And four great beasts came up out of the sea, different from one another. 4 The first was like a lion and had eagles' wings. Then as I looked its wings were plucked off, and it was lifted up from the ground and made to stand on two feet like a man, and the mind of a man was given to it. 5 And behold, another beast, a second one, like a bear. It was raised up on one side. It had three ribs in its mouth between its teeth; and it was told, ‘Arise, devour much flesh.’ 6 After this I looked, and behold, another, like a leopard, with four wings of a bird on its back. And the beast had four heads, and dominion was given to it. 7 After this I saw in the night visions, and behold, a fourth beast, terrifying and dreadful and exceedingly strong. It had great iron teeth; it devoured and broke in pieces and stamped what was left with its feet. It was different from all the beasts that were before it, and it had ten horns. 8 I considered the horns, and behold, there came up among them another horn, a little one, before which three of the first horns were plucked up by the roots. And behold, in this horn were eyes like the eyes of a man, and a mouth speaking great things.
The Ancient of Days Reigns

9 “As I looked,
thrones were placed,
and the Ancient of Days took his seat;
his clothing was white as snow,
and the hair of his head like pure wool;
his throne was fiery flames;
its wheels were burning fire.
10 A stream of fire issued
and came out from before him;
a thousand thousands served him,
and ten thousand times ten thousand stood before him;
the court sat in judgment,
and the books were opened.

11 “I looked then because of the sound of the great words that the horn was speaking. And as I looked, the beast was killed, and its body destroyed and given over to be burned with fire. 12 As for the rest of the beasts, their dominion was taken away, but their lives were prolonged for a season and a time.
The Son of Man Is Given Dominion

13 “I saw in the night visions,
and behold, with the clouds of heaven
there came one like a son of man,
and he came to the Ancient of Days
and was presented before him.
14 And to him was given dominion
and glory and a kingdom,
that all peoples, nations, and languages
should serve him;
his dominion is an everlasting dominion,
which shall not pass away,
and his kingdom one
that shall not be destroyed.
Daniel's Vision Interpreted

15 “As for me, Daniel, my spirit within me[b] was anxious, and the visions of my head alarmed me. 16 I approached one of those who stood there and asked him the truth concerning all this. So he told me and made known to me the interpretation of the things. 17 ‘These four great beasts are four kings who shall arise out of the earth. 18 But the saints of the Most High shall receive the kingdom and possess the kingdom forever, forever and ever.’

19 “Then I desired to know the truth about the fourth beast, which was different from all the rest, exceedingly terrifying, with its teeth of iron and claws of bronze, and which devoured and broke in pieces and stamped what was left with its feet, 20 and about the ten horns that were on its head, and the other horn that came up and before which three of them fell, the horn that had eyes and a mouth that spoke great things, and that seemed greater than its companions. 21 As I looked, this horn made war with the saints and prevailed over them, 22 until the Ancient of Days came, and judgment was given for the saints of the Most High, and the time came when the saints possessed the kingdom.

23 “Thus he said: ‘As for the fourth beast,
there shall be a fourth kingdom on earth,
which shall be different from all the kingdoms,
and it shall devour the whole earth,
and trample it down, and break it to pieces.
24 As for the ten horns,
out of this kingdom ten kings shall arise,
and another shall arise after them;
he shall be different from the former ones,
and shall put down three kings.
25 He shall speak words against the Most High,
and shall wear out the saints of the Most High,
and shall think to change the times and the law;
and they shall be given into his hand
for a time, times, and half a time.
26 But the court shall sit in judgment,
and his dominion shall be taken away,
to be consumed and destroyed to the end.
27 And the kingdom and the dominion
and the greatness of the kingdoms under the whole heaven
shall be given to the people of the saints of the Most High;
his kingdom shall be an everlasting kingdom,
and all dominions shall serve and obey him.’[c]

Rome killed Paul and Peter, and Nero was famous for his persecution of those who believed and followed Jesus.  Believers were commanded to offer worship to the Roman Emperor to prove their loyalty to the Pagan Roman Emperor worship cult. Those who refused to worship the Emperor were killed in horrible fashions, including burned at the stake, mauled by lions in the Colosseum, beheaded by sword or axe, even crucified upside down, as was Peter.  After Nero's death, and after the destruction of the Temple at Jerusalem in 70 AD, the Emperor Domitian revived the horrible persecutions of believers. Domitian exiled Apostle John to Patmos, where John wrote the Revelation about 95 AD.

Earlier John had written that the Anti-Christ was already at work.  

Warning Concerning Antichrists

1 John 2:18 Children, it is the last hour, and as you have heard that antichrist is coming, so now many antichrists have come. Therefore we know that it is the last hour. 19 They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would have continued with us. But they went out, that it might become plain that they all are not of us. 20 But you have been anointed by the Holy One, and you all have knowledge.[d] 21 I write to you, not because you do not know the truth, but because you know it, and because no lie is of the truth. 22 Who is the liar but he who denies that Jesus is the Christ? This is the antichrist, he who denies the Father and the Son. 23 No one who denies the Son has the Father. Whoever confesses the Son has the Father also. 24 Let what you heard from the beginning abide in you. If what you heard from the beginning abides in you, then you too will abide in the Son and in the Father. 25 And this is the promise that he made to us[e]—eternal life.

26 I write these things to you about those who are trying to deceive you.27 But the anointing that you received from him abides in you, and you have no need that anyone should teach you. But as his anointing teaches you about everything, and is true, and is no lie—just as it has taught you, abide in him.

A huge division developed within the world wide community of believers in Jesus.  The believers in the East were connected by the Metropolitan Bishops of large cities such as Antioch, Alexandria, and Constantinople.  The believers in the West were influenced by Rome, which declared that the Roman Bishop was ruler of faith.  The West developed a formula for identifying the faithful.  They were required to say that Mary is the Mother of God. They taught a unity of the human and divine nature of Jesus, claiming that He is fully divine during his human adventure on Earth. 

Many believers refused to say that Mary is the mother of God. Mary is the mother of the human nature of Jesus. Jesus is the son of David, through Mary, and conceived by the Holy Spirit, the Power of God, thus also Son of God.  

But there was a sect of people who put their trust in human wisdom, who denied the human nature of Jesus.  The Gnostics believed that the physical is basically evil, and that people need special knowledge and mystic relationship with God achieved by meditation. They denied that God could live as human, and said that Jesus only appeared to be human.  Some call their belief Monophysite, one nature. 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gnosticism

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monophysitism

The Monophysites were clearly Antichrist.  They denied that Jesus was human, that He lived as a human being upon this 

earth.  They denied the sacrificial basis of our salvation, and denied the clear facts of the gospel.  

The first church councils of Bishops from cities east and west debated the nature of Jesus, whether He was always fully God, or if He had two natures, human and divine.  

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dyophysitism

The biblical distinction about the human nature of Jesus was given by Paul in his letter to believers at Philippi.  Jesus left His divine position as Logos, the Word of God, and became human, gave His human life as a sacrifice for sin (the wages of sin is death), was resurrected and ascended to Heaven. There He has been given all authority and power, ruling the Kingdom of God from the Throne of David.

Phil 2:5 Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus,[a]6 who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped,[b] 7 but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant,[c] being born in the likeness of men. 8 And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. 9 Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, 10 so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

Jesus Christ is Lord.  The Revelation tells the story of the reign of Jesus.  Some of the story is very disturbing, with blood flowing to the depth of a horse's bridle for 184 miles.

The Harvest of the Earth

Rev 14:14 Then I looked, and behold, a white cloud, and seated on the cloud one like a son of man, with a golden crown on his head, and a sharp sickle in his hand. 15 And another angel came out of the temple, calling with a loud voice to him who sat on the cloud, “Put in your sickle, and reap, for the hour to reap has come, for the harvest of the earth is fully ripe.” 16 So he who sat on the cloud swung his sickle across the earth, and the earth was reaped.
17 Then another angel came out the temple in heaven, and he too had a sharp sickle. 18 And another angel came out from the altar, the angel who has authority over the fire, and he called with a loud voice to the one who had the sharp sickle, “Put in your sickle and gather the clusters from the vine of the earth, for its grapes are ripe.” 19 So the angel swung his sickle across the earth and gathered the grape harvest of the earth and threw it into the great winepress of the wrath of God. 20 And the winepress was trodden outside the city, and blood flowed from the winepress, as high as a horse's bridle, for 1,600 stadia.[c]

The earth and all its treasures will be destroyed.  Therefore what should our focus be?  Eternal life and eternal glory is offered to whosoever will have real faith in Jesus.  Not faith only, but obedient, following faith.  The faith represented by the number seven, complete in Him.

The Day of the Lord

1 Thes 5:1 Now concerning the times and the seasons, brothers,[a] you have no need to have anything written to you. 2 For you yourselves are fully aware that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night. 3 While people are saying, “There is peace and security,” then sudden destruction will come upon them as labor pains come upon a pregnant woman, and they will not escape. 4 But you are not in darkness, brothers, for that day to surprise you like a thief. 5 For you are all children[b] of light, children of the day. We are not of the night or of the darkness. 6 So then let us not sleep, as others do, but let us keep awake and be sober. 7 For those who sleep, sleep at night, and those who get drunk, are drunk at night. 8 But since we belong to the day, let us be sober, having put on the breastplate of faith and love, and for a helmet the hope of salvation. 9 For God has not destined us for wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, 10 who died for us so that whether we are awake or asleep we might live with him. 11 Therefore encourage one another and build one another up, just as you are doing.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Gae-n0Pb7Q

Love never fails

The English word love has a multitude of meanings, yet is used loosely in discussions about relationships and attitudes, with comments about loving each other being the solution to our civic problems. 

I am reminded of Woodstock, and the anti war protests of the sixties.  Peace and love was the theme.  But what happened at Woodstock did little to establish any meaning for the words peace and love.  One of the songs of the time was "Where have all the flowers gone?" by Peter, Paul, and Mary.  I have borrowed a phrase from that song, "When will we ever learn?" and used it for questioning civic theories.  

I did not join in the protests, but neither did I enlist in the armed forces.  I had enrolled in Air Force  ROTC at Auburn.  I did some marching and shoe polishing, and studies about war.  But I was not drafted and did not volunteer.  President J. F. Kennedy made college enrollment a basis for not being drafted, and by the time that ended, marriage was a draft deferment, and I was married. So I never served in the armed forces.  But I do appreciate those who served, and am honored to be married to the daughter of Neill Ray, who gave his life in battle in Italy during World War II.  And Colonel David Hackworth is an honored relative I share with cousin Joe Hogan. 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Hackworth

So far as I know, rioting and looting to protest actions by civil authority does not show love.  Also using particular phrases such as Black Lives Matter does not show love.  We show love by actually helping the people we love.  If we love all people, then we look for ways to actually help them.  

How many times have you heard the phrase, "It is better to teach a man to fish, than to give him a few fish." Personal freedom, individual responsibility, and opportunity are useful for helping people have rewarding lives.  

Too many are looking for an easy life, without concern for what they are contributing to the collective. Jesus said it is more blessed to give than to receive. 

President Kennedy said, "And so, my fellow Americans: ask not what your country can do for you — ask what you can do for your country."

https://www.ushistory.org/documents/ask-not.htm

People living in the public housing ghettos of our cities have many problems, including unemployment and dis-functional family structures.  The Great Society efforts to provide economic support to children in poor families made a huge mistake.  Paying unwed mothers child support had the consequence of encouraging families without husbands.  Fathers are important.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/African-American_family_structure

Love requires us to find a way forward that actually identifies and helps overcome the problems.  Government cannot solve these problems.  People who honor God's commandments and who want to live useful lives must be helped to have opportunity to step up to meaningful lives.  Yes, Jesus teaches us to help each other as we have opportunity.  Real help means making resources available that can make a difference in peoples lives by their personal engagement in activities that are useful to society.  Love teaches a person to fish.   

https://www.christiancourier.com/articles/78-challenge-of-agape-love-the


The Way of Love

1 COR 13 If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. 2 And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. 3 If I give away all I have, and if I deliver up my body to be burned,[a] but have not love, I gain nothing.

4 Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant5 or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful;[b]6 it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. 7 Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.

8 Love never ends. As for prophecies, they will pass away; as for tongues, they will cease; as for knowledge, it will pass away. 9 For we know in part and we prophesy in part, 10 but when the perfect comes, the partial will pass away. 11 When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I gave up childish ways. 12 For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known.

13 So now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love.

The Sword that divides

Yeshua, Messiah of Israel and Son of God, pronounced blessings upon the peacemakers in His Sermon on the Mount. Making peace is a different thing from being a pacifist. Being peaceful in the face of a vicious attack upon family and friends would be considered cowardly.  A famous Colt revolver was called the peace maker.

Making peace is a difficult matter in a world committed to rejecting the Messiah.  Are we to meekly keep silent in the face of overt attacks upon things that are good and helpful in our society?  The Quakers were noted for being pacifists, refusing to take up arms against the enemy. Our nation recognizes the right to be a conscientious objector, and allows service in areas other than that requiring use of lethal force.  But it was those who took up arms that defeated Hitler.

Many "Christians" have entertained the idea of not getting involved in politics, as it is a somewhat dirty business.  But failing to represent our interests politically means that our interests are not represented.  The erosion of Biblical influence in our culture resulted from believers sitting back and allowing the vocal and active atheist voices to take over our educational and political institutions. Is that how we make peace???

And now many voices are being raised saying that Donald Trump is not worthy to be President.  The constant clamor, the unending slander, the dedicated vilifying of our president, does not seem to support peace.  Destroying good does not promote good.  Truth is a sword that divides, and must be used to promote the making of peace by destroying lies.  Truth must prevail.

The truth is that there is no peace between good and evil.  This is the blind spot of the radical liberal left.  The liberation theology focuses on temporary things, and disparages eternal values.  

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liberation_theology

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_theology

The truth is that people mess up their lives when they focus on pleasure and what they can get, instead of being concerned about what they can give. 

The leftist attempts at showing concern for the poor and helpless, claiming Jesus as a champion of caring for the poor, neglect to emphasize His words to the woman He delivered from death, the woman they were wanting to stone to death for having committed adultery.  Jesus released her, and told her to "Go and sin no more".

Sin no more!!  When have you heard a democrat say these words??  They do not even want to think about submission to the moral laws of God.  They promote abortion and sexual immorality, and make people dependent upon government instead of teaching "sin no more" living.  

So these champions of everything immoral, the rainbow coalition, blatantly accuse Donald Trump of being uncouth and unfit to be President.  OK.  He is uncouth and likes to say "You are fired!"

But the deep state commitment to the one world secular order has been revealed.  The pursuit of peace by encouraging everyone to let each other do as we please, and just be nice to each other, is a colossal failure.  Islam hijacked the UN, and atheistic humanism subverted personal freedom.  Capitalism is defined as the enemy of the people.  It would be good if our young people would study history.  Their proudly proclaimed proclivities are soundly demeaned by history.  Personal freedom, Biblical morality, and respect for national order are endorsed by what has happened in the world. Communism has been a colossal failure, because it does not support personal responsibility.

The Bible teaches that we reap what we sow.  Seems no one is willing to apply that logic to the failure of socialist programs that reward worthless conduct.  Personal responsibility requires us to work for what we need with our own hands, and to help others as we have opportunity.  

Asking the government to take from the rich and give to the poor is an entirely different ball game.  It rewards greed and avarice, and makes people slaves to their own passions. When will we ever learn???

Not Peace, but a Sword

Mat 10:34 “Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I have not come to bring peace, but a sword. 35 For I have come to set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law. 36 And a person's enemies will be those of his own household. 37 Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. 38 And whoever does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me. 39 Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.

Do not love the world

Jesus and His teaching are the cure for what ails us.  The move toward a post Christian society with lack of respect for laws and borders is missing the mark.  Those who follow Jesus with a good conscience must respect the rights of others, and will not use anarchy as their weapon of choice. 

1 John 2 English Standard Version (ESV)

Christ Our Advocate

2 My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. 2 He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world. 3 And by this we know that we have come to know him, if we keep his commandments.4 Whoever says “I know him” but does not keep his commandments is a liar, and the truth is not in him, 5 but whoever keeps his word, in him truly the love of God is perfected. By this we may know that we are in him: 6 whoever says he abides in him ought to walk in the same way in which he walked.

The New Commandment

7 Beloved, I am writing you no new commandment, but an old commandment that you had from the beginning. The old commandment is the word that you have heard. 8 At the same time, it is a new commandment that I am writing to you, which is true in him and in you, because[a] the darkness is passing away and the true light is already shining. 9 Whoever says he is in the light and hates his brother is still in darkness. 10 Whoever loves his brother abides in the light, and in him[b]there is no cause for stumbling. 11 But whoever hates his brother is in the darkness and walks in the darkness, and does not know where he is going, because the darkness has blinded his eyes.

12 I am writing to you, little children,
because your sins are forgiven for his name's sake.
13 I am writing to you, fathers,
because you know him who is from the beginning.
I am writing to you, young men,
because you have overcome the evil one.
I write to you, children,
because you know the Father.
14 I write to you, fathers,
because you know him who is from the beginning.
I write to you, young men,
because you are strong,
and the word of God abides in you,
and you have overcome the evil one.
Do Not Love the World

15 Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. 16 For all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride of life[c]—is not from the Father but is from the world. 17 And the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever.

Whoever does the will of God abides forever.  Temporary vs Eternal.  The rabid focus on the temporary, and rejection of eternal values, is the hallmark of the modern post Christian culture.  America is hated by the radical leftists because it has not given equal treatment to all people.  

But the story begins with an explanation of how this situation developed.  The fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil was beautiful to see, seemed it would be delightful to taste, and promised to make the one who ate wise. 

YHWH had pronounced all things good, and provided all that was needed for the good life. But He had placed that tree in the very middle of the Garden.  And He had forbidden to eat the fruit, on the penalty of death. 

Gen 2:15 15 The Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to work it and keep it. 16 And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, “You may surely eat of every tree of the garden, 17 but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat[d] of it you shall surely die.”

But Satan gave a different slant.  He appealed to the human nature, the desire for temporary things, the desire to feel good, the desire to do as we please. 

Genesis 3 English Standard Version (ESV)
The Fall

3 Now the serpent was more crafty than any other beast of the field that the Lord God had made.

He said to the woman, “Did God actually say, ‘You[a] shall not eat of any tree in the garden’?” 2 And the woman said to the serpent, “We may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden, 3 but God said, ‘You shall not eat of the fruit of the tree that is in the midst of the garden, neither shall you touch it, lest you die.’” 4 But the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die. 5 For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” 6 So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise,[b] she took of its fruit and ate, and she also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate. 7 Then the eyes of both were opened, and they knew that they were naked. And they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves loincloths.

Therefore Adam and Eve were cast out of the garden, separated from the tree of life, and separated from God by their quilt. They hid from God, and tried to cover their shame with some clothing made from leaves.  They needed a savior.

https://rgonce.blogspot.com/2013/03/pictures-of-salvation.html

Paul says that these things happened for a purpose, so that the children of God can be revealed by personal choice. The creation, mankind, was subjected to personal choice, so that those who desire to come to God may be given the power to come to Him by faith in Jesus the Christ. 

Future Glory

18 For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us. 19 For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God. 20 For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of him who subjected it, in hope 21 that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to corruption and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God. 22 For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now. 23 And not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies. 24 For in this hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what he sees? 25 But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience.

Those who are wise will choose life over death.  Jesus died for all, and is not a respecter of persons.  People of all races and all economic circumstances have the opportunity to have eternal life in Jesus Christ, by their own choice. 

But the poor have an advantage over the rich on the road to eternal life.  The rich tend to trust themselves, while the poor are more likely to come to Jesus for life.  

Apostle James said it plainly,  

Testing of Your Faith

James 1:2 Count it all joy, my brothers,[b] when you meet trials of various kinds,3 for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness.4 And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.

5 If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him. 6 But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind. 7 For that person must not suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; 8 he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.

9 Let the lowly brother boast in his exaltation, 10 and the rich in his humiliation, because like a flower of the grass[c] he will pass away. 11 For the sun rises with its scorching heat and withers the grass; its flower falls, and its beauty perishes. So also will the rich man fade away in the midst of his pursuits.

12 Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial, for when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life, which God has promised to those who love him. 13 Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am being tempted by God,” for God cannot be tempted with evil, and he himself tempts no one. 14 But each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire. 15 Then desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin, and sin when it is fully grown brings forth death.

16 Do not be deceived, my beloved brothers. 17 Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.[d] 18 Of his own will he brought us forth by the word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures.

James 2:5 5 Listen, my beloved brothers, has not God chosen those who are poor in the world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom, which he has promised to those who love him?

Those who are wise will understand that faith in Jesus as Savior is the ultimate value.  All the plotting about dividing the earthly wealth fairly will bring nothing of lasting value.  Disregard of eternal values, and misstatement of present values, will end in death.  

This earth and physical life are temporary.  Eternal life is what matters.  George Floyd believes in Jesus.  He is blessed.  

https://www.christianitytoday.com/news/2020/may/george-floyd-ministry-houston-third-ward-church.html


https://christianchronicle.org/after-floyds-death-petition-to-rename-harding-auditorium-gains-support/

Assembly

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=illGPgICkJ8

Church assembly has become an issue with the draconian lock down measures passed by many States, and by many nations around the world, to attempt to limit the spread of Corvid-19.  Now that things are beginning to calm down, we wonder when people will feel comfortable meeting together in Christian assembly?

It seems that many church goers do not have a great enthusiasm for assembly.  Maybe this is a good time to ask, why is assembly important?

Actually, the word that "church" attempts to translate means assembly.  Ekklesia is an assembly called together for a certain purpose.

https://www.christiancourier.com/articles/1500-what-is-the-meaning-of-ekklesia 

Many people seem to think that getting together is not that important.  Maybe being at home with the family and having private devotions is just as good?

But Jesus gave importance to people gathering together in His Name.  

Matt 18:19 Again I say to you, if two of you agree on earth about anything they ask, it will be done for them by my Father in heaven. 20 For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I among them.”

And Apostle Paul enjoyed gathering with the assembly of believers as he traveled through the region and visited Troas. 

Eutychus Raised from the Dead

Acts 20:7 On the first day of the week, when we were gathered together to break bread, Paul talked with them, intending to depart on the next day, and he prolonged his speech until midnight. 8 There were many lamps in the upper room where we were gathered. 9 And a young man named Eutychus, sitting at the window, sank into a deep sleep as Paul talked still longer. And being overcome by sleep, he fell down from the third story and was taken up dead. 10 But Paul went down and bent over him, and taking him in his arms, said, “Do not be alarmed, for his life is in him.” 11 And when Paul had gone up and had broken bread and eaten, he conversed with them a long while, until daybreak, and so departed.

So believers had the tradition of meeting together on the first day of the week, teaching and encouraging each other, and partaking of the Lord's supper together.  Paul reported that Jesus had told him personally of the importance of the observance of the memorial feast in memory of the Lord Jesus.

The Lord's Supper

1 Cor 11:17 But in the following instructions I do not commend you, because when you come together it is not for the better but for the worse. 18 For, in the first place, when you come together as a church, I hear that there are divisions among you. And I believe it in part,[e] 19 for there must be factions among you in order that those who are genuine among you may be recognized. 20 When you come together, it is not the Lord's supper that you eat. 21 For in eating, each one goes ahead with his own meal. One goes hungry, another gets drunk. 22 What! Do you not have houses to eat and drink in? Or do you despise the church of God and humiliate those who have nothing? What shall I say to you? Shall I commend you in this? No, I will not.

23 For I received from the Lord what I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus on the night when he was betrayed took bread, 24 and when he had given thanks, he broke it, and said, “This is my body, which is for[f]you. Do this in remembrance of me.”[g] 25 In the same way also he took the cup, after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.” 26 For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until he comes.

27 Whoever, therefore, eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty concerning the body and blood of the Lord. 28 Let a person examine himself, then, and so eat of the bread and drink of the cup. 29 For anyone who eats and drinks without discerning the body eats and drinks judgment on himself. 30 That is why many of you are weak and ill, and some have died.[h] 31 But if we judged[i]ourselves truly, we would not be judged. 32 But when we are judged by the Lord, we are disciplined[j] so that we may not be condemned along with the world.

Jesus told Paul how important is our attitude when gathering together to take the memorial feast, the Lord's supper, the bread and the wine. We must have a true heart, that honors Jesus and His sacrifice. 

The writer of Hebrews warns against forsaking our gathering together.   He does not give fear of death as an excuse for forsaking, but warns about the second death that is reserved for unbelievers.  

The Full Assurance of Faith

Heb 10:19 Therefore, brothers,[c] since we have confidence to enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus, 20 by the new and living way that he opened for us through the curtain, that is, through his flesh, 21 and since we have a great priest over the house of God, 22 let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. 23 Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful. 24 And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, 25 not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.

26 For if we go on sinning deliberately after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, 27 but a fearful expectation of judgment, and a fury of fire that will consume the adversaries. 28 Anyone who has set aside the law of Moses dies without mercy on the evidence of two or three witnesses. 29 How much worse punishment, do you think, will be deserved by the one who has trampled underfoot the Son of God, and has profaned the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified, and has outraged the Spirit of grace? 30 For we know him who said, “Vengeance is mine; I will repay.” And again, “The Lord will judge his people.” 31 It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.

So we have clear instructions that we should not neglect meeting together.  Fear of death is not a viable excuse for missing the assembly, as many believers in the first century faced death by meeting together, because of persecution of believers. 

It would be very dangerous for us to let the fear of physical death cause us to miss eternal life.  Love casts out fear.  We have no reason to fear that which can take away our physical life, for our objective is eternal life through faith in Jesus our Savior.  Let's get back to assembly.  Our constitution guarantees our right to assemble.  

"When we meet in sweet communion, where the feast divine is spread, hearts are brought in closer union, while partaking of the bread."