Life

Thought for today

January 31, 2018 by • Issues, Life •

For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. Claiming to be wise, they became fools, and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things.

Romans 1:21-23(ESV)

Giving Cheerfully

November 30, 2017 by • Christian Living, Issues, Life, Thoughts • Tags: , , , , •

In the second letter of Apostle Paul to the Corinthians in chapter 9, he has this friendly encouragement and appeal to their Christian charity and giving concerning the ministry for the saints. He told them about his discussion with the Macedonians in which he did some boasting about the Corinthians about their ministry for the saints and the zeal they have for the service.
 In preparing them for the gift that he intended to pick up from them and urge their preparation properly he gave them some exhortation on giving and how it should be done. 
In 2 Cor. 9:7(ESV) he said: “Each one must give as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.”
This is instructive in its setup and it is a refreshing breeze in the heat of overzealous demand and arm-twisting for giving that has drowned it out today.

The type of giving that is encouraged is one that is due to a willingness to do a good work cheerfully based on a prior decision the giver has determined. 
The common discussion is about how you have to give percentages of gross and net and how often it should be done and a lot of the associated stories about those who have “obeyed” and received the blessings.
When we come to God, before we come to God he knows everything about us and still he gives us the opportunity to come to him with our gifts for the ministry cheerfully. We ought to go to him cheerfully and pre-determining before going and before giving already resolved on what we want to give. 
We go to him giving out of a heart of gratitude and not out of a heart of business transaction. We give because we are thankful and acknowledge that he has distributed freely (2 Cor. 9:9) and that in doing so we are not only supplying the needs of the saints but as an opportunity to overflow in many thanksgiving.
Now Luke 6:38 is a favorite of those who encourage others to give as a business transaction, a tit-for-tat type arrangement and they say to their listeners “Give for it shall be given unto you. What you give to God, he will give back to you in good measure pressed down, shaken together, running over. God is challenging you to give to him.”
While the text does indeed read that way, the text does not exist in isolation, it is a part of the discourse the Lord was having with the people listening to him. In its context, it becomes clear what is being communicated.
The section starts with judging others, then to condemning, then to forgiving and finally giving. The first three obviously show a relationship between people as the idea of judging, condemning and forgiving are not emotions we can express towards God or positions we can be when we consider God. It is, therefore, logical to see that the next word which though can be used of a posture towards God, should primarily be seen as the previous three, a position before man as a part of our relationship with one another.
The section of the text from vs 37 to 42 points to the relationship between people. After the clear-cut instructions, the Lord speaks a parable which is filled with questions. The questions are as stated below:
1. Can a blind man lead the blind?
2. Can you remove a speck from your brother’s eyes if you can’t remove the log of wood in your own eyes?
3. Is the disciple above his teacher?
To each question or statement, the Lord gave answers and each point at the relationship between people.
In verses 37 & 38, the Lord was stating certain obvious truths which are judgement leads to judgment, condemnation leads to condemnation, forgiveness leads to forgiveness and giving leads to giving. Simply put, our attitudes and action bring the same back towards us. If the section before verse 37 is considered, then the continuation of the discussion of loving enemies is this section of focus. When we love our enemies and do good to those who have offended us and do not condemn them or judge them but forgive and give unto them, we fulfill this law of God.

So when next we see an opportunity to give, let 2 Cor 9:7 be the motivation and not the misreading of Luke 6:38.
Please plan to give, determine to give and give out of the abundance of all that the Lord has given to you.

The Reformation 500

October 31, 2017 by • Christian Living, Life, Thoughts • Tags: , , , •

Reformation Wall
This October 31 marks the 500th year Dr. Martin Luther knocked a document on the door of the church at Wittenberg in Germany. The document which had in it items for consideration in a debate was pasted (as was common among the academia in those days) for the faculty to read and see what was to be discussed. This document which is called the 95 theses detailed issues about the papacy in the matter of indulgences. The papal practice of indulgences was one which encouraged people to pay money to the coffers of the church to receive forgiveness for their sins rather than do penance. This request for debate was part of the result of the angst Luther had about his own sinfulness and what can take away that sin and sinfulness. The action by Luther followed the due process around the time but without his input or desire, the theses was all over Europe. The recently invented technology of the time, the printing press made all the difference. It enabled the quick and mass reproduction of the theses that everyone who could read knew what was happening and what was to be discussed. Though the debate never held, the document had caused something in the life of the people which eventually resulted in the Protestant Reformation.

The reformation did not start with Luther, it started with others before him. These folks were not looking for a split in the church, they were not looking to usurp the authority of the church leadership. Rather, they wanted things to change by going back to the teaching of the word of God and heralding the word of God as the sole authority over the church and the life of Christians.

These forebears of Luther in the desire to see the church go back to the word include men like John Wycliffe and John Huss.

The reformers wanted the focus to be on the work of God. They wanted the church to place the word of God on the pedestal which belongs to it. To emphasize this and ensure that the people remembered the purpose and the goal, the five solas slang was developed.

It emphasized that we are saved by grace alone (Sola gratis) through faith alone (Sola fide) in Christ alone (Solus Christus) to the glory of God alone (Soli Deo Gloria ) based on the scriptures alone (Sola Scriptura).

Today, the emphasis on the place of the scriptures is waning in a lot of Christian circles, some see the scriptures as a great book of ideas where one can pick anything and say what ever comes to mind. Others see it as a book where you hunt for blessings and claim them when you find them. Others think it is too much of a hassle to even bother about reading or preaching.

It means the intent of the reformation and what errors it wanted corrected and changes it sought to restore are still with us and the emphasis placed on the place of the word of God and salvation by grace through faith still needs to be preached as the word of God.

The law does not justify anyone (Gal 3:11) it is faith in Christ the one through whom we are saved and declared righteous before God.

The last five centuries shows how far we have come from the days of paying money for forgiveness of sin but in these days we still have issues which the reformation still speaks to.

An Angel of the Lord told me

September 30, 2017 by • Issues, Life •

I am always amused when I hear people speak in conversations, and in two or three sentences they utter a few “God laid it on my heart” or “God told me” to do one thing or another. The things they say God told them to do are things that sometimes are altruistic in the interest of one’s neighbor though at other times, they are self-centered desires within the heart, which does not reflect the mind of God in anyway.
In Act 27, we see Paul at the start of the journey to Rome after the Felix granted his request for audience with Caesar since Paul and his friends were not willing to give him the bribe he desired.
As a result of the events above, Paul as a prisoner finds himself on a ship that was sailing to Rome with other prisoners. There are so many details in this section about waves, sailing seasons, seas and cities that gives such a rich trove of the period and seafaring.
In Acts 27:9, we get a snapshot of the journey and person of the apostle. Luke tells us that the voyage was now dangerous because even the fast was now over. The fast here being the Yom Kippor fast or the day of Atonement fast, which is around our September-October period. This gives us a clue into the time of the journey and there by understand the nature of the weather and seafaring at the time. From Luke’s statement, there is communication to the reader of an understanding, that this period is a time of dangerous voyage. In this sentence, the stage is set for the next part of the story. The voyage was already long as much time had passed, then the time of the year was another challenge that would only make matters worse. In this crescendo, Paul speaks, and the choice of word is just succinct, he said I perceive that the voyage is going to end in disaster. At this point, he did not say the Lord laid it on my heart, or I just heard from the Lord that this voyage is going to end in disaster, he said, I perceive…
This is because he saw what Luke saw and wrote and probably what other could see or not, moreover, his experience in sailing from location to location during the missionary journeys and knowledge o the sailing seasons would have informed his observation and notice.
We are human and we are allowed to use the faculties God has given to us especially when we become Christians. We can say I perceive, we can say based on my experience, it does not means we don’t have faith, it does not mean God cannot use our experience or the reverse of it. It means we can be thankful for the gifts God has given to us and that we can use them for his glory.
In a few verses after the ship had been thrown around a few times and enough loss had been experienced, we see in Acts 27:23, reference is made to someone other than Paul and he said, an Angel of the Lord whose I am and whom I serve came to me saying…It is necessary for you to stand before Caesar.
Again we see Paul does not use wording or phrasing that is common today, he reported it as it is, reporting exactly from where the source of each speech came.
The Lord is gracious and he can do whatever he wants to do in anyway he wants to do it but when everyone sounds alike without really sounding like those influenced by the word of God, there is that wonder whether it is of God or another spirit.

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