Wars, We are surrounded by them. Matthew 24 Part 2.

Posted on 04/29/2014 by remso

Part 2

Matthew 24:6 And ye shall hear of wars and rumors of wars: see that ye be not troubled: for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet.

Syria is still an active war zone, but all those be-headings have become commonplace and boring, beside that, there are powerful people who want all this destruction, or it would not be happening. Syrian President Bashar recently threatened Israel with a missile attack, to which Israel replied, that they would wipe Damascus off the map. The oddity here is that prophecy tells us that Damascus will be utterly destroyed and uninhabitable; that can only happen if a nuclear weapon is used. The other news we are painfully aware of is the Ukraine. (The land of Gog)

Isaiah 17:1 LITV The burden of Damascus: Behold, Damascus is taken away from being a city, and it shall be a ruined heap.

Matthew 24:7 For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places.

“For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom:”We have been talking about this.

Pestilence – Think bugs, flies, frogs, and in general, pests; plagues fall under this category as well. As of last year, the world is seeing a rise in the Bubonic plague and it is coming from multiple fronts such as Asia, Mexico, and Madagascar. In March of 2013, Egypt was swarmed with over 30 million locusts. Moreover, Guinea is now suffering from a deadly outbreak of Ebola. To make matters worse, A major French biomedical research body, the Pasteur Institute, have launched an investigation into the disappearance of some 2,300 test tubes containing samples of the deadly SARS virus.

How about famine?

This list could go on forever.

Let’s look at earthquakes for a moment. The USGS reports: 7 Days, Magnitude 4.5+ Worldwide 92 earthquakes –Updated: 2014-04-27 19:58:45 UTC-07:00Showing event times using Local System Time (UTC-07:00)

Matthew 24:8 All these are the beginning of sorrows.

The Complete Jewish Bible calls it birth pains. If a woman goes into labor she will be experiencing birth pains. To the woman that only means one thing, the baby is on the way, but to the church and Israel, it means that Jesus Christ is on his way.

Matthew 24:9 Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted, and shall kill you: and ye shall be hated of all nations for my name’s sake.

He was not talking in parables here, Jesus said these things to his, Jewish, disciples, and his words were stated in a manner that they understood. What would have given them the understanding; early childhood teachings from the Torah, Jewish tradition, and the context of Jesus response.

Only moments before Jesus indicated that there would be nations involved with wars; so the context is those outside of Judaism. Sadly, this takes on meanings other than family turning against family. Islam has two specific goals; to eliminate the great Satan, America, and the little Satan, Israel.

Israel will have armies encompassed about it. Enemies will attack the city, women will be raped, and the men will be slain.

  • Ezekiel 7:24 NASB ‘Therefore, I will bring the worst of the nations, and they will possess their houses. I will also make the pride of the strong ones cease, and their holy places will be profaned.

  • Ezekiel 38:8-12 NASB “After many days you will be summoned; in the latter years you will come into the land that is restored from the sword, whose inhabitants have been gathered from many nations to the mountains of Israel which had been a continual waste; but its people were brought out from the nations, and they are living securely, all of them. (9) “You will go up, you will come like a storm; you will be like a cloud covering the land, you and all your troops, and many peoples with you.” (10) ‘Thus says the Lord GOD, “It will come about on that day, that thoughts will come into your mind and you will devise an evil plan, (11) and you will say, ‘I will go up against the land of unwalled villages. I will go against those who are at rest, that live securely, all of them living without walls and having no bars or gates, (12) to capture spoil and to seize plunder, to turn your hand against the waste places which are now inhabited, and against the people who are gathered from the nations, who have acquired cattle and goods, who live at the center of the world.

Matthew 24:10 And then shall many be offended, and shall betray one another, and shall hate one another.

  • Mark 13:12,13 and Luke 21:16 convey the reality of brother betraying brother, and children rising up again their parents to put them to death. Why would that happen? I am not sure this answers the question, but I am going to give to you anyway. “You will be hated by all because of My name, but the one who endures to the end, he will be saved”. If Islam is the primary aggressor, then you should  understand that they focus their hate primarily toward Christians and Jews, but also against any outside of Islam, so Jews, and those who take on the name of Jesus Christ as their own will be targeted.

The word, that this version translated “offended,” is the Greek word skandalizō. It is the basis for our English word, to scandalize. It means to entrap, trip, or stumble. Lastly it can mean make to offend. The word “betray” is the Greek word paradidōmi and means to surrender, yield up, bring forth or betray.

If we do a rewrite of the sentence using the alternate wording, it looks like this:

“And then shall many be stumbled, and shall surrender one another, and shall hate one another.”

Do you realize that this sounds like the events that happened in Europe when the Nazis came into power. People began to hand their Jewish neighbors over to the Nazis, apparently not caring what would become of them. This is not Nazi Germany we are talking about, but it seems logical to think that we could be talking about Jews handing over other Jews to invading nations in the last days.  I cannot imagine what Jews would hope to gain by doing that. Israel is a multicultural nation, and a large part are Muslims. Therefore, it is only fair to consider the possibility that this is referring to Muslims pointing out the Jews they know to invading forces. Look at the Sura’s I have copied below. (The last days really encompasses the last seven years on earth before Jesus comes back.)

If Israel is being attacked by Muslims, and I believe they will be, even the Jewish traitors will only be given one option, convert or die. To convert, during this time period, is to turn your back on God forever, choosing to follow Satan to his demise. But this may help us to understand.

Sura 2:65, 7:116 O Muslims, Jews are a treacherous & deceitful people over whom lies the curse & anger of Allah. They permitted what Allah forbade, with lame excuses; therefore, He cursed & turned them into apes & pigs. Sura 9:30 Jews & Christians are perverse. Allah himself fights against them. Fight against Jews & kill them even Trees & Rocks will cry out that there are Jews hiding behind them, so Muslims must come & kill them. Sura 4:160 For wicked Jews, Allah has prepared a painful doom.

All this that I have described applies to the time after the rapture of the church. The wrath that is an integrated aspect of the seven years following the rapture, has little to  do with the church, but applies to the nations and Israel.

I suggest you give your life to Christ, not so much because it could be thought of as an insurance policy, but a relationship with the creator, and a rest knowing that you will spend your eternity in his comfort and care. Accept Jesus Christ into your life, ask him to make himself real to you, and he will.

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These questions come up far to often. Matthew 24 dissected. Part 1

Posted on 04/26/2014 by remso

Matthew 24 is not the end of all argument, but it is the one place where, when asked, Jesus responded directly to the questions that His disciples asked, and they asked about the destruction of the temple, and when He would physically return to the earth and set up His kingdom. This was not a bizarre or freakish concept in their minds, every learned Jew understood that the Messiah would eventually set up His eternal kingdom and make thing right. Neither did Jesus argue with them that their theology was wrong, He merely answered their question.
Why is any of this important to us? Because everything He spoke of is happening already. We are in the last of days.

As I sat in our men’s ministry meeting this A.M., our men’s pastor, speaking highly about “The Story” that we are going to be doing, said, the body of Christ is seriously lacking in their knowledge of God’s word. You can see it in the questions that we ask. We are good at doing stuff, like parking lot detail, or passing out offering baskets, but can we adequately lead bible study and keep our tradition and opinion out of it?

I am going to be upfront with you on this, it pains me to sit in some of these meetings, because, for some reason we do not want to understand the bible, and it is rare to find a “teacher” that does.

Matthew 24:1And Jesus went out, and departed from the temple: and his disciples came to him for to shew him the buildings of the temple.

The disciples, proud of their heritage and the temple, pointed them out to Jesus. I am sure he was aware of them. They represented something completely to him. He also knew what was soon to happen to the temple.

Jesus responded to them.

Mat 24:2And Jesus said unto them, See ye not all these things? verily I say unto you, There shall not be left here one stone upon another, that shall not be thrown down.

This response is directly related to them pointing out the temple to Jesus, but it eludes to something more. This was literally fulfilled in 70A.D. Jerusalem was under the rule of Titus and most attribute the destruction of the temple directly to Rome, but that was not the case. While it is true that there were troops, operating under Roman banners, it is documented by both Josephus and Tacitus, that the majority of troops were conscripts from the Assyrian nations, and had an open and vile hatred of the Jews. This will come into play later on as we define other aspects of end times prophecy.

1 Kings 9:7-9 NIV then I will cut off Israel from the land I have given them and will reject this temple I have consecrated for my Name. Israel will then become a byword and an object of ridicule among all peoples. (8) This temple will become a heap of rubble. All who pass by will be appalled and will scoff and say, ‘Why has the LORD done such a thing to this land and to this temple?’ (9) People will answer, ‘Because they have forsaken the LORD their God, who brought their ancestors out of Egypt, and have embraced other gods, worshiping and serving them–that is why the LORD brought all this disaster on them.'”

Daniel 9:26 NIV After the sixty-two ‘sevens,’ the Anointed One will be put to death and will have nothing. The people of the ruler who will come will destroy the city and the sanctuary. The end will come like a flood: War will continue until the end, and desolations have been decreed.

Mat 24:3And as he sat upon the mount of Olives, the disciples came unto him privately, saying, Tell us, when shall these things be? and what shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world?

“Tell us, when shall these things be?” Anyone who had spent time looking at the lives of the disciples knows that they had a very Jewish mindset, so it is necessary for your understanding to consider this when trying to understand Jesus response to them.

Jesus seemed to have a direct connection to the Father (and so do we as believers) so what He is saying is clear and concise.

“and what shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world?”

The question may well be two separate questions. In general, the Christian community seems to confuse Christ’s return for His bride, with His last return to the earth. On the day of His return He will touch down on the Mount of Olives in Jerusalem, and on that day, He will come prepared for war. When He comes for His bride He will meet them in the air and does not touch down.

Mat 24:4,5 And Jesus answered and said unto them, Take heed that no man deceive you.For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many.

Why would he say that? Just a partial list off Wikipedia gives the names of 32. Some of these I recognize. But think about the ridiculousness of something like this. An example: would be David Koresh. His teachings included him propagating children with the wives of other men who were involved in the cult. That would not happen!

This becomes hugely important if you realize that Islam has their own version of Jesus. He has some similar properties. The following is from Wikipedia, about the Islamic Jesus.

  • The belief that Jesus is a prophet is required in Islam

  • He is the son of Mary, not God (Allah)

  • According to the Quran, Jesus, although appearing to have been crucified, was not killed by crucifixion or by any other means; instead, “Allah raised him unto Himself”

  • To aid in his ministry to the Jewish people, Jesus was given the ability to perform miracles (such as healing the blind, bringing dead people back to life, call fire down from the heavens, and cause it to rain where there has been none), all by the permission of Allah rather than of his own power.

  • Jesus is considered a Muslim (i.e., one who submits to the will of Allah), as he preached that his followers should adopt the “straight path” as commanded by Allah. (In other words, all must become Islamic and follow Sharia.)

  • Muslims believe that Jesus will return to earth near the Day of Judgment to restore justice and to defeat al-Masih ad-Dajjal (“the false messiah”, also known as the Antichrist). (Odd how they too have an understanding of the end times pattern. This “false messiah” Islam looks for, is the opposition to Jesus Christ. They believe that the Antichrist is our Jesus. If you use the perspective that they serve the father of lies, then you might be able to comprehend why they are in opposition.)

  • The Jesus of Islam will be a Jew

  • A priest of the lineage of Abraham.

  • He will defer to the Mahdi. (The Mahdi is there awaited savior. He is the 12th or hidden imam, and several have already declared that he is speaking through them. It is said that he will return on a white horse. This is the same white horse that we see in Revelation 19, and it is the only scripture in our bible that they believe is true.)

  • He will be the enforcer of Sharia.

If all this is true, and there is someone who will take this role, then this makes all the sense in the world, and the ones that will be the primary targets of this deception will be the knowledgeable Jews. We happen to think of these as the religious of Israel.

Ask Jesus to make himself real to you and watch what happens. Should you decide that you need him after you meet him, ask him into your life and he will come.

 

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“The Story” chapter 1 – From creation to Noah. Genesis 1-3. Prep for bible study.

Posted on 04/24/2014 by remso

Many years ago, I shared the teaching responsibility of a men’s Bible study. The entire church was interrupted by the Pastor, who felt we needed to walk everyone through Rick Warren’s The Story, a pathetic overview of the Bible. You would be right if you got the sense that I was disgusted. Since we each had a copy of this book, I made some notes that might assist me in teaching and put them on my website. This was posted in 2014 when I did not use the Grammarly program to check my grammar. After a recent check of my statistics, I saw that someone had pulled up this excessive rant, prompting me to fix it. If you invested the time to read all 18 pages, I am chopping this up and extending it by one chapter. 

Because “The Story” covers many subjects quickly, it is difficult to do a focused bible study when dealing with many topics over 11 chapters. That being said, I will attempt to focus on one aspect at a time.

Genesis 1

God creates heaven and earth

“In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth,” (Genesis 1:1 LSV)

  • (The Literal Standard version italicized the word “the” as it was added for continuity. Removal of such a simple word tends to show that the creation was a process, and we are still involved in that process until the end of the 1000-year reign.)

Why is it important to know how things began?

Perhaps because it shows original intent, or, once everything goes bad, it demonstrates that the creator has a plan.

God creates man in his own image, blesses him

“Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, after Our likeness! Let them rule over the fish of the sea, over the flying creatures of the sky, over the livestock, over the whole earth, and over every crawling creature that crawls on the land.”
(Genesis 1:26 TLV)

Several things dominate this passage.

  • “Then God said,”

Ah, but to whom?

If we work off the assumption that God, like Allah, is a standalone entity, then this makes no sense. The writer has to be referring to God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit. Knowing that I am writing these notes to followers of Christ, then it seems safe to believe that you understand that God is a triune entity and that Jesus Christ – the Word of God – has made himself known to us in the body of a man.

  • “Let us make man in our image, in our likeness”

In unity, from the beginning of time, there have been three.

How does that affect how I understand creation?

It does not unless, as I consider what the image of God was, I began to understand that this has little to do with a physical body and is focused more on the character and attributes of the creator.

The Apostle John makes it very clear that Jesus was right there in the beginning.

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” John 1:1

Jesus indicates that the Holy Spirit was there.

“And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.” Genesis 1:2 KJV

And,

“But when the Comforter is come, whom I will send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth, which proceeds from the Father, he shall testify of me:”
(John 15:26 KJV)

As for making “man in our image, and likeness.”

Paul wrote, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, about man when he said,

“…You were created to be like God, and so you must please him and be truly holy.” (Ephesians 4:24 CEV)

The Hebrew word for image tselem – conveys multiple possibilities. Tseh’-lem – From an unused root meaning to shade; a phantom, that is, (figuratively) illusion, resemblance; hence a representative figure, especially an idol:

If man was only a shadow, then he is not an exacting duplicate of God but a mere representation, something that vaguely resembles the creator. Seeing as man is made in all three aspects (shade, resemblance, and representative figure), how could you pin down one specific thing to define what the man looked like without a body. 

The point to this, the overarching theme I see here, is that God created someone that was so much like him that it would be ridiculous to think that this man did not walk in constant communication with the Father. 

I am stunned by God as he opens my eyes, and I begin to see things I have never seen before. Examples of this would be: Jesus, the last Adam, created in the image of God, and untainted by the sin prevalent in the world, walked this earth, in full view of the disciples, in perfect communion with the Father. The other is Enoch. Enoch learned how to walk in perfect harmony with the Father and walked off the earth. This freedom of communication is the atmosphere that Adam was placed in.

 Genesis 2

The book, The Story asks the question:

Why did God put the tree of knowledge of good and evil in the garden?

One of the things that run through my mind as I look at the events of man’s creation is: if the human is so closely and intimately made in God’s image and apparently placed here so that God would have someone to talk with, what separates us, and makes us something other than mere slaves?

The answer to that question has freedom written all over it.

We are free to choose whom we will love and how we will respond when love is shown to us. The other side of this coin is how God will continue to respond to us, even when we break off communication.

Man had complete knowledge of good, for that is part of the character of God, as is love, but he had no knowledge of bad; there was nothing inhibiting or tainting man’s relationship with the creator.

So man was free to exhibit love toward God or ignore Him. Certainly, the fruit of that tree was a test, but what you don’t see or know is how many years were they able to ignore it? 

Man is placed in the garden, and the fruit of the tree of knowledge is the only forbidden thing.

“Then Adonai Elohim took the man and gave him rest in the Garden of Eden in order to cultivate and watch over it.  (16)  Then Adonai Elohim commanded the man saying, “From all the trees of the garden, you are most welcome to eat.  (17)  But of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil you must not eat. For when you eat from it, you most assuredly will die!” Genesis 2:15-17 TLV 

Man only has one demand placed upon him; do not eat the fruit of that tree!

Does it get any better than this?

Well, yes. Having an intimate union with God is, even in God’s mind, not enough, and so God made a woman for him. 

 Genesis 3

The serpent deceives Eve

“Now the serpent was more cunning than any creature of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said to the woman, “Is it true that God has said, ‘You shall not eat of any tree of the garden?’ ” Genesis 3:1 AFV 

My pastor recently said, “we don’t know where Adam was during this time.” Oh really!

Adam was standing right there, watching the entire process, hearing everything the dragon said, and never said a word in defiance.

“Now the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a thing of lust for the eyes, and that the tree was desirable for imparting wisdom. So she took of its fruit and she ate. She also gave to her husband who was with her and he ate. Then the eyes of both of them were opened and they knew that they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made for themselves loin-coverings.” (Genesis 3:6-7 TLV)

Adam was very clear about what God had told him, and there were NO issues with his memory, and he is alone with the animals. Adam, in time, of course, after she was cloned from his rib, told Eve about the only rule they had, and there is no doubt in my mind she understood what he said and where that information came from. But keep in mind that deception is a twisting of the truth, and those who are not established in their relationship with the Father seem to be the quickest to fall.

How does that explain Adam being sucked into this?

It does not, but what it does demonstrate is that God has to be consistent with His actions. (We will see God demonstrating His intent and character throughout the Old Testament. He says to both Noah and then Abram. God typically said “as for me,” indicating that no matter what happens, I will uphold my end of this contract.)

I have heard pathetic explanations about the fall of man in the garden, told in so many perverted ways, and none of them make any sense to me.

Adam has, at this point, demonstrated selfishness and defiance for the first time, and he did what he wanted. In contrast, Jesus told us that He only did what the Father told him. Think about the alternatives. Adam heard those words from God and knows full well that Eve will die, and he watched her bite wholeheartedly into that fruit without wincing.

Could God make another Eve, as He had made the first one?

Well, certainly, but there is a huge issue with the man trusting what the Father had said, and he had just demonstrated that he didn’t trust God anymore.

Here is a tainted human piece of logic. God, on the other hand, can use any or all methods of death to fulfill His promise; and lacking specific information, we do not know if Adam fully understood what those words concerning death meant.

Also, think about how it appears that nothing had ever been killed before God did it, and it might be an entirely new concept to them. For all Adam knows, she could merely drop dead in the next few seconds. Oh, they died, as both, immediately in their spirits, as the lights of this open communication with the Father went out, and they began to deteriorate immediately in ways they slowly began to perceive.

“The LORD God made garments of skin for Adam and his wife, and clothed them.” (Genesis 3:21 NASB)

Some, you would think, prefer an angry, vengeful God, and this would have been a good time for it, if that was his character, but he does not pour out His hot anger on them. What we do see is that God is entirely consistent with His nature and character, and this is something that we need to perceive as we read about the events of creation and the beginnings of man.

At this point (I may have seen this in “The Story,” but I indicated that it was a caption from the NIV. I have four versions of the NIV, and none of them say this.), the next segment shows God arraigning them as though they had been convicted in a criminal court.

Watch what happens, and I will show you differently.

“Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the LORD God as he was walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and they hid from the LORD God among the trees of the garden. But the LORD God called to the man, “Where are you?” He answered, “I heard you in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked, so I hid.”
(Genesis 3:8-10 TNIV)

God is not arraigning anyone. In fact, He is acting completely within his unchangeable character; He is acting in love toward that, which is a replica of him, and showing them respect; but there is one huge change, and the only ones demonstrating the effects of the change that sin brought, is His creation as suddenly the man, who had been naked and not ashamed, is now hiding, not only from God but from each other as well.

“And he said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree that I commanded you not to eat from?” (Genesis 3:11 TNIV)

I fully expect Adam to understand what is being said because God spoke directly to the man. But it is a peculiar statement, at best, if God did not expect Eve to know the rules. You see, the problem is that He did expect her to know, not like an angry father, who expected you to somehow absorb his thought processes. God told Adam, who had dominion over the earth and was, therefore, God’s representative here on earth, and Adam conveyed this information to Eve. As far as God was concerned, she had been told, and there could be no excuses. Well, that sounds harsh, and if it was like that, then a full and brutal punishment would be in order; but that IS NOT what God did. He showed mercy, grace, and punishment by upholding His word.

I suppose many generations of misunderstanding and tradition have taught us that God is always ready to strike us down, but what if what we see here is God merely asking questions and reasonable questions at that. (Try to maintain one clear thing here, you are not getting anything past God, and He already knows the answer before He asks, so lying is not an appropriate response.)

Did Eve just stand there dumbfounded as she listened to God’s word to them?

We do not know, but the hesitation allowed for the newly found damage to manifest in Adam when He said:

“The man answered, “That woman, the one you gave me, gave me some fruit from the tree, and I ate it.” (Genesis 3:12 GW)

Well, that was pathetic. Now we see something close to what I deem anger.

One of the things you cannot deny is that God can and does get angry, but at whom?

The serpent is cursed

“So the LORD God said to the snake, “Because you have done this, You are cursed more than all the wild or domestic animals. You will crawl on your belly. You will be the lowest of animals as long as you live.” (Genesis 3:14 GW)

There is good news and bad news.

The promised seed

“And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her Offspring; He will bruise and tread your head underfoot, and you will lie in wait and bruise His heel.” [Gal. 4:4.]
(Genesis 3:15 AMP)

Enmity? Webster’s dictionary tells us that it is “The quality of being an enemy; the opposite of friendship; ill will; hatred; unfriendly dispositions; malevolence.”

In short, Satan hates us.

“But when the time arrived that was set by God the Father, God sent his Son, born among us of a woman, born under the conditions of the law so that he might redeem those of us who have been kidnapped by the law.”
(Galatians 4:4 MSG)

None of this caught God by surprise.

How would you have played a game of chess, over a period of years, with such vast dimensions, all the way out to the last winning move, without putting tremendous thought into it?

(It is possible that God had this all mapped out in his head in seconds.)

Giving His “representative figure” the freedom to make choices almost makes you think that there had to have been an alternate plan, or was this the plan from the very beginning. Apparently, God did not intend to let such a destructive force run havoc, not against Him and His creation for all eternity; that would have been contrary to the original design and out of character.

While there may be a good chewing out going on here, there is also the God I have come to understand, giving Eve the hope that her seed will be the one that brings the enemy his defeat.

The new way of life Adam and Eve brought upon themselves will soon be filled with pain, murder, jealousy, and the promise of hope, much like the covenant God made with Abraham.

Expelled from paradise, the repercussions of man’s selfishness permeated everything, and the death clock immediately began counting down; under the limitations of that clock and now recorded time, two sons are born.

There are many horrid aspects to consider.

The outcome of their sin that God continues to discuss: such as pain in childbirth and Adam now having to toil to get the land to produce. But I refuse to believe that they did not have an understanding of what God was talking about when he speaks of crushing and bruising or as He kills the animals necessary to make the clothing they needed. God made clothing for them. He did it in such a manner that they, too, would know-how and understand the implications behind what He did. This is not made explicit in scripture, but enough clues are given that allow us to ascertain what God did, for in a short time, we will see both Cain and Abel making sacrifices. One son does it right and is accepted, and the other turns his jealousy inward, with a devastating result.

Posted in Prophetic, Things I have never noticed before, Thoughts, Thoughts on scripture | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

I never got to answer the question.

Posted on 04/13/2014 by remso

I wrote to friend,

After I went on my rant about the Love of God, you asked a question, and I responded with, “there is an answer for that”, but I never got to answer the question. I would even say that you developed the question a little more specifically as the shouting went on.

First, let me say that I do not function well in an atmosphere of shouting. Secondly, I have had similar questions myself, and I have spent years looking at scripture, asking questions of what it said, and what I found is a God, more merciful than I had ever thought possible.

Because I had my bible open, 1John chapter 3 caught my attention. Verse 10 had already jumped off the page at me before you even asked your question, and I thought this answers the question of what becomes of the “non-Christian” dead.

Before we can answer the question, I think we have to adjust our thinking about whom God considers the non-believer, because we use parameters that are entrenched with faulty traditions and judgmental attitudes. God looks at the heart, while we judge things externally. Therefore, the person that makes a big scene at the front of the church, make be doing just that, making a big scene. While the person that says simply, God remember me, has more intentionality to their heart, even though they may not meet some criteria that religion establishes.

I took this out of the NIV because it states it clearly. I will tell you that I was looking at the NKJV this AM, and it said it plainly also.

1John 3:10 This is how we know who the children of God are and who the children of the devil are: Anyone who does not do what is right is not God’s child, nor is anyone who does not love their brother and sister.

Many versions emphasize loving the Christian Brother, but doesn’t that kind of go against the grain of God, seeing as we are to love our neighbor (and in my case, at least one of them is a Jehovah Witness.)

1 John 3:10 ESV By this it is evident who are the children of God, and who are the children of the devil: whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is the one who does not love his brother.

As you read something like this, apply it to the world, many of which have died and of course, have no other options.

Here in 1John 3:10, we have a clear definition. Many will refuse to see it that way, but that is the beauty of revelation. You can be reading something and suddenly God’s spirit reveals to you how it can, and most likely does apply to the world in general. This makes a lot of sense when you consider the statement, “for God so loved the world that he gave his only Son.” He had, and still has, a love for the world. There will be a day that his wrath is poured out on the earth, but that is not yet. Further more, God’s wrath has been against His own, Israel, and the nations that rise against His people. We, who are followers of Christ, are in Him, and we have been spared from wrath.

This passage in Romans is one example where it talks about us being spared God’s wrath.

Romans 5:9 ESV Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God.

Paul’s first letter to the Thessalonians is another example. In this one, the context is the wrath coming upon the earth during the seven years called the tribulation. Because we have salvation through Christ, we have are to be spared from the generalized wrath.

1 Thessalonians 5:9 ESV (9) For God has not destined us for wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ,

“This is how we know who the children of God are and who the children of the devil are:”

If I give you a solid definition of what God deems someone who He considers a child of God, do I really need to define what the devil’s children do? To simply understand that anything outside of the definition are operating under a different principle, and will follow their leader to his destruction.

“Anyone who does not do what is right is not God’s child,”

The NKJV used the phrase “anyone who does not do righteousness”

Whether it is right or righteousness is irrelevant and implies the same thing.

Now, you must ask yourself what determines right and who sets the standard. The standard is God, but the standard existed long before the law came. God makes that clear when talks about the righteousness of Abraham.

Romans 4:3 ESV For what does the Scripture say? “Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness.”

What did he believe?

That eventually God, this person who showed up in his dream, would do what he said by making him a father, and the father of many nations.

Having been married for a while, and not producing children, you begin to think you will have none, ever, and that is exactly the mindset that we find with Abram. That is also one of the reasons that God’s promise of making Abram the father of many nations is such a big deal. I do not know why we make such huge assumptions and give our founders of faith ridiculous super human characteristics, which none of them had.

Was Abram that much different from the man next door, not really. Every follower of Christ eventually comes to understand that Adam and Eve, by eating the forbidden fruit, gained, not only, the knowledge of good, something they already had, but of evil also. As a young couple, full of energy, everything they did and explored, not only in the world around them, but with each other, was all good; having the knowledge of evil put a different spin on things, which is why they suddenly, were not only trying to hide from God, but each other as well.

If understanding “good”, gives me the comprehension that there is a God and he wants a voluntary relationship with me, then what would my judgment of what is evil be based upon? How others or I acted toward the creator and whether I acted anything like my understanding of the creator.

Warfare seems to give us one of the prime examples of this love, a love that most do not understand, for we have countless versions of guys that dive on hand grenades, or take a bullet to save a friend. Moreover, it is possible that never once did they say, I love the unknown God I serve. Without training, they may not have had any idea.

However, this takes us back to Abram again, for without the guidance and direction of the law, he lived a decent life, motivated by a belief in a God that he had not previously known.

God is a God of mercy.

“Nor is anyone who does not love their brother and sister.”

I suspect that many will read this and say, it is an additional mandate, I do not agree. I believe that our brother could easily be our neighbor, but there is an implication of someone with which you have relationship. As we talked a little bit more, a situation was described where a person, hiking the same trail, slips over the side of a mountain trail. The right thing to do is to offer assistance. Does that have to have anything to do with their relationship to Christ? No, it is just the right thing to do, and nothing less than you would want.

Why did I say any of this? Because, there is that possibility that God sees a pattern of behavior that demonstrates His character, and that is all that He really demanded of those who died “without” Christ.

I heard a theology come out of one mouth today that demonstrated an angry God that is looking for people to punish in a final judgment. All it takes is an honest, open-minded read of scripture to see that this is not the case. (I say be open minded because the closed mind will refuse to consider any options outside of their traditional mindset.) I think that it is good to be firm about some aspects of our belief. Since Jesus said, “I am the way, truth, and the light, and no one comes to the Father but through me.” I am sticking with that concept. The other is the love of God toward me, and I am not moving off that.

The judgment seat that was spoken of is no secret affair; we can find it in Matthew 25.

One of the first things you need to notice is who is doing the judging. Now ask the question, if Christ was willing to lay down his life for us, those that accept Him, why would there be even the remote possibility of any of those standing before this throne?

Matthew 25:31-46 ESV “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on his glorious throne. (32) Before him will be gathered all the nations,

In scripture, there are only three kinds of people groups: The Jews, the nations, and the church. He is not talking to the church. Although most of us came out of the nations, when we came to Him, He came into us and therefore we are one with Him, and considered the bride of Christ.

and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. (33) And he will place the sheep on his right, but the goats on the left. (34) Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. (35) For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, (36) I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.’

It is their response to his kindness that catches my attention.

(37) Then the righteous will answer him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? (38) And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? (39) And when did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?’ (40) And the King will answer them, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.’ (41) “Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. (42) For I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me no drink, (43) I was a stranger and you did not welcome me, naked and you did not clothe me, sick and in prison and you did not visit me.’ (44) Then they also will answer, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to you?’ (45) Then he will answer them, saying, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me.’ (46) And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”

Even here, God’s mercy keeps showing up.

I have had this argument/discussion on several occasions and I am not backing down from it, because it has the character of God written all over it, and I am not the one who wrote this, Holy men of God wrote as they were inspired by the Holy Spirit of God. We have come to validate these scriptures as real, and from God himself.

Therefore, if you were to ask me, what happens to all those who died without Christ, I would have to say that God judges them based upon their good works and shows many of them mercy.

We all know or knew people like that, and this does not excuse my laziness, but shows me that God is more merciful than I, contrary to traditional thinking.

 

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I am writing these things to you so that

Posted on 04/12/2014 by remso

There is a song by Chris Sligh, off the Running Back to You album, titled, In a Moment. Lying here on the bed my mind began to wrap around those words, “In a moment” and it made me think of that day, which I do not think is that far away, where we will finally be returned to the arms of the Father who fought so hard to regain us, His family, back to himself.

I just finished my first 12 step group last Thursday 4/10/2014. It has been 10 months of the most amazing changes. Changes I did not think were possible. You see when you are deeply entrenched in your pain, you cannot imagine what it will feel like to be free, let alone breathe again. Thank God, I am free. On the 29th of this month, we will be standing before the audience, presented as graduates.

As I lay there this afternoon, trying to take a nap for I did not sleep well last night and I had to be up early this morning, I saw a vision of myself standing before the audience, all Celebrate Recovery attendees, most of them believers, and I heard this:

We all came here, wracked with pain, struggling to find answers, and our place in this world, but soon, we will be called home to stand before our Father, the Father that has loved us, longed for and fought for this moment with a desire that exceeds any desire that we could imagine. On that day, we will stand there clean, healed, and free of the exhaustion and habits that have beset us. Because on that day we will be changed in a moment, faster than your eye can blink, into someone whole, and free. Welcomed into the arms of love, never to struggle and hurt again.

Sadly, as I saw myself saying these things to the audience, I knew that some would sit there in unbelief. Riddled with hurts and anguish, as I have been, they cannot take it in, while others wept with joy, as I am doing now.

How do I know any of this, because I see it in the word of God. This is one of the many messages that the Apostle John tried to convey to us in 1John.

1 John 2:1-2 NASB My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous; (2) and He Himself is the propitiation for our sins; and not for ours only, but also for those of the whole world.

Verse 1

“My little children, I write these things to you so that you may not sin.”

What is it about the things he wrote that would, or should keep you from sin, or even better, create an atmosphere in you where you do not want to sin?

To answer that we need to understand what John had previously said.

  • We heard
  • We have seen
  • We looked upon
  • And our hands have handled of the Word of God.

The Life was manifested (made known) and we bear witness that our fellowship (communion, relationship, companionship) is with the Father, and with His Son Jesus Christ.

This knowing, understanding, evidence is meant to produce not only a hope but also a confidence that what God said and promised is true.

Why does hope or confidence make you not want to sin? (Keep in mind that loosely translated sin means nothing more than missing the bull’s eye of a larger target.) Maybe because hope is built upon other things (spiritual things) and has everything to do with what motivates your goals, dreams and daily manner of living?

Let us assume that you are not that established and you do sin, rather consistently, then what?

“And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous;”

Because of His actions, on our behalf, our relationship, from God’s point of view, is kept free of disgrace and is always open for communication.

Let us probe Genesis; for there I can give you some examples to prove my point, that God has never turned his back on us. Starting at chapter 3 verse 7 they have already acted selfishly and their eyes are now opened. They now understood what evil felt like. How did they respond to that? They both dive behind some bushes and try to form some coverings to hide their bodies, I suppose from each other, but particularly from God.

They heard the sound of God walking in the garden and they hid. How did the all-knowing God respond to that? With something that feels like respect when I read it, he asked where they were. You know He knew where they were, and he can certainly see through bushes. When God speaks with them, He spells out the ramifications of their sin, “makes” clothing for them (there is more to this scene than scripture lays out), and lays out his plan for salvation to them. Part of the clue to understanding this come from his comment to Eve found in Genesis 3:15.

If you fast-forward, the only two sons (since the fall) are old enough to be farmers and we find Able making a sacrifice with a lamb. Where did he come to this understanding? Cain, his brother, kills him out of jealousy and who shows up, God. God never turned his back on any of them. You might assume that they sort of lost contact with and God is just forgotten, but then you have a problem because with that kind of logic you cannot explain Noah.

There is one of character I want to point out, and that is Enoch. Scripture tells us that Enoch walked with God. What does that mean, and how did he learn to do that? It would seem that Adam had another son, Seth. Seth’s lineage produced Enoch and to the best of my understanding, Adam was 600 years old when Enoch came along. There is no better way to comprehend this than to assume that Enoch used to ask grandpa what it was like to walk with God. Enoch paid attention and did just that.

God was everywhere; we just do not look for it.

Verse (2)

“and He Himself is the propitiation for our sins”

Propitiation – that word is big enough to choke you. I asked the bible study what that meant (I knew the answer, I had it written down, but I wanted them to answer the question.) The new guy chimed in, after a quick reference check in his bible, with, the atoning sacrifice.

The atoning sacrifice was one that perfectly paid, in full, the debt, but Israel had the priests make these sacrifices all the time, only to blow it five minutes later. This is exactly why the writer of Hebrews had this discussion:

Hebrews 7:26-27 MKJV For such a high priest became us, who is holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners and made higher than the heavens, (27) who does not need, as those high priests, to offer up sacrifice daily, first for his own sins and then for the people’s sins. He did this once for all, when He offered up Himself.

You find this theme in Hebrews 9: 1-26, where it is clearly spelled out that Christ is that sacrifice, offered once, for all.

It is so hard not to say this – We have got it made. While this is true from God’s point of view, your pushing of boundaries always comes with a payment while you are here on earth.

Have you ever thought about how many there are, sitting in prisons, that lacking knowledge, gave in to their flesh or peer pressure, committed crimes and are in some cases permanent residents of the prison system; all while not realizing that they, if they are in Christ, have a good heart and an unbroken relationship with the Father.

“He Himself is the propitiation for our sins; and not for ours only, but also for those of the whole world.”

Putting himself on the cross brought a result that was all-encompassing. No human will ever be judged, as a prerequisite to an eternal relationship with the Father, based upon sin. We will be judged according to what we did with Jesus Christ, but is that really the end of it?

Look, those that are in Christ will be caught up to meet Him in the air someday very soon. You and I are not the judges of what that entails because there is that scenario in Matthew 25, that details ten virgins, all with intentions to go to the same wedding; and why not, they all have invitations. The end of the story implies that 50% are not ready to go.

I am going to throw this last bit in for free.

After the rapture, we assume that the only persons on earth left are those without Christ, what becomes of them?

Considering that the snatching away of the bride marks the beginning of the seven years of tribulation, the time after the rapture is often called the great tribulation. I happen to believe that the “great” part is specifically referring to the last three-and-one-half years.

(Tribulation is a relative term, for many are experiencing horrendous tribulation even now. Just today 4/10/2104, someone posted a photo of a girl who had her mouth and eye sewed shut because she was a Christian in the nation of Syria.)

Many of those left after the rapture will accept Jesus Christ as Lord. Even that can be loosely defined and here is why. While some will recognize their error and turn to Him, others will attempt to resist the control of the beast. This concept of the beast maybe easier to visualize if I say, the Beast is Islam, and you will be forced to worship Allah, taking some indicator of your submission, or die by the sword. It would seem that choosing against Islam and dying marks you as a martyr for God. Scripture deems you a Saint, and after Jesus Christ returns physically to earth, you will reign over the earth, for a thousand years with Him.

Here is the problem we followers of Christ seem to have. We believe that there must be a clearly stated acceptance of Jesus Christ as Lord. Islam will not be that technical. Have you not noticed how Islamic rebels sweep into a Syrian, Christian community and arbitrarily kill everyone. They do not tend to ask questions, and their acts of torture have more to do with sadistic pleasure than a conversion.

John tells us in Revelation that the number of martyred Saints before the throne cannot be counted.

Since this started with my asking a generalized question, what exactly do I have left here on earth? People who come to Christ, and those who wish to see them killed. Scripture defines the haters (killers) as the nations.

In what other scenarios do we see the nations? Read Ezekiel chapter 38 and 39, for they speak both of Israel coming out of the nations, and the nations rising up against Israel with God coming to Israel’s defense.

The nations brought Israel down with Idolatrous ways, and Israel went into captivity among the nations.

Ezekiel 39:7 “My holy name I will make known in the midst of My people Israel; and I will not let My holy name be profaned anymore. And the nations will know that I am the LORD, the Holy One in Israel.

 

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Is there a way to stay in the light? Still wading through 1John 1:7

Posted on 04/05/2014 by remso

1 John 1:7 MKJV  But if we walk in the light, as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin.
Is there a way to stay in the light?

James 1:27 NASB Pure and undefiled religion in the sight of our God and Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their distress, and to keep oneself unstained by the world.

“And the blood of his Son Jesus cleanses us from every sin.”

It sounds as though we are free and clear. Every sin means past, present, and future.

So, are you telling me there are no repercussions for the life I have lived?

No, even Israel, roaming in the desert, before the law, had to deal with people based upon the severity of the act. Rebellious children could be brought before the city and stoned to death, and the entire city had to take part in the punishment. Considering the vulgar brutality of stoning, how often do you think that happened, not many?

The point is that there are penalties to pay for crimes committed. As we roam through life, my suggestion is that you stay out of the crime arena; it is just less hazardous. While we may have to pay for the fulfillment of our fleshly desires with prison time or worse, God has released us from the debt of death (eternal separation from God) that was placed upon us all through Adam’s treason. (I suspect that even Adam was extended mercy through the blood of Christ.)

Even though the statement (“And the blood of his Son Jesus cleanses us from every sin.”) gives the appearance of a complete restoration of rights, this does not guarantee us a home with the Father. That only comes by your acceptance of the fact that Jesus blood was paid on your behalf and you admitting that you need him.

My analogy goes like this. This earth is a large adoption agency and we are all in it. God comes down to pick out those He wants in his family. In doing so, he realizes He cannot leave any behind and so he pays the price necessary for all of them to come home with him. The only stipulation is that you have to agree to come. Some begin to whine, demanding to know what there is to eat. God responds with, why is that important, I own everything and my table is never empty so come, but many choose to reject his offer because that is not a clear enough answer for them. Others, thinking that he will make them cut their hair refuse to go. Some ask Him to wait while they get cleaned up, even as he assures them they are welcome as they are. Still others waste time in indecision and miss the bus. Many, even those with bad attitudes, put their name on the roster by accepting the fact that he paid the price in full, get in the bus and it leaves. Those with bad attitudes charge right in with their old behaviors saying, I do not take out trash, and where is the video game controller. The Father deals gently with all that, showing His amazing love toward those He paid such a huge price for; why? Because God regained a family that was willing to come, live, and have fellowship with Him.

There is truth to this concept if we look at Adam as our Father. When he chose to listen to his wife and not God and partake of a forbidden fruit, that moment he died. No, he did not just drop over dead, although that process began in him instantaneously. What did happen, fellowship with the Father was broken that very moment. Think about it. Adam’s demise took us with him.

Romans 5:12 GNB Sin came into the world through one man, and his sin brought death with it. As a result, death has spread to the whole human race because everyone has sinned.

Did God, in disgust, run from them shamed and embarrassed? No, it was just the opposite. We find them attempting to hide from Him, as He sought them out.

Did God cease to try to talk with them? No, not only do you see Him speaking to them in the garden but also tells them they are banished from the area where the tree of life existed, and later tells them about other aspects of the death they have thrown themselves into. God reaffirms that Adam and Eve will continue to play a role in the redemption of man. You can come to the understanding that God did not break off relationship, they did. Ask yourself, how long does it take God to make skins for them to wear? And during that time turned his back on them, grumbling the entire about lousy, rebellious children? No!

I am going to throw this in for free.

Although it is not spelled out in black and white, God gave them the specific instructions necessary for making a sacrifice and why. How do I know this, because Abel did what was proper, and God challenged Cain, stating, that if he did what was right would not he be accepted; so God continues his desire to “fellowship” by speaking to Cain about the murder he committed? Doesn’t that tell us that the laws, only written in the memory of man gave man no excuse to run havoc outside the law that would require a sacrifice being made?

If you are going to be honest then you have to admit that the fall of man brought with it the knowledge of good and evil, NOT JUST EVIL, and we all inherited what Adam brought upon us. Therefore, it is embedded in the DNA and cannot be removed. Since the soul of man was created in the image of God all that had to be done was to wash it clean. We, who have accepted him, have accepted that the blood of Jesus, the payment for sin, was enough, and it was. Therefore we have been made new creatures, almost as though we do not have that old heart anymore.

Did God sarcastically say, you morons, do you think I cannot see you and your nakedness in those bushes? No, he demonstrated respect, mercy, and grace by asking them where they were. God knew exactly where they were.

The point here is that God did not change His desire or stance toward the man he created.

I am sure some of you have recently seen Russell Crowe as Noah. If you have a biblical perspective on the Noah story, then you know that God was eventually sickened by the thoughts and violence of virtually every man on earth when the flood took place.

Did it ever occur to you that even though God eventually brought the condemning flood upon the earth, that He provided the people with Noah, a prophet, and a one hundred year span in which to turn from their evil and get on the boat? Reality tells me that there was no way in which all the people on earth would have been able to fit on that boat along with all those animals. Obviously, God knew that they would not come, but the opportunity to restore fellowship was still extended.

Allow me to back this last statement up with some logic from God’s word.

Hebrews 11:7 KJV By faith Noah, being warned of God of things not seen as yet, moved with fear, prepared an ark to the saving of his house; by the which he condemned the world, and became heir of the righteousness which is by faith.

1 Peter 3:20 MSG because they wouldn’t listen. You know, even though God waited patiently all the days that Noah built his ship, only a few were saved then, eight to be exact–saved from the water by the water.

Have you ever thought to yourself, why did it take 100 years to build a boat? Maybe there were no printed plans? That might slow someone like me down. Maybe, unlike in the recent Noah movie they were not in the middle of a forest with an unlimited supply of trees. No, God gave Noah the plans, so I do not think that was the issue. Perhaps a lack of manpower, considering that we have no record of boats or a need for them yet, that may have been a problem in securing help. There are so many variables when I apply my human thinking. Maybe I am right, and God was giving man the opportunity to repent.

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The person that lives in the light shares that light with others.

Posted on 04/05/2014 by remso

1 John 1:7 MKJV But if we walk in the light, as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin.

The contemporary English version translated as “live in the light”

Walk – To make ones way, progress. (KJV)

Light – Anything emitting light; Truth and its knowledge; That which is exposed to all; God’s ways.

In contrast to the person that claims companionship with Christ but walks around in darkness, the person that lives in the light (Jesus is the light and we have that assurance in his word.) shares that light with others.

Think about it; if you emit the eternal light how do you prevent others from seeing it, or walking in it?

“But if” – There is always a variable; sadly, not everyone lives or walks in the light.

“As he is in the light,”

“He” can take on three possibilities.

  1. God – He is light (unapproachable light.)

1 Timothy 6:16 CEV – Only God lives forever! And he lives in light that no one can come near. No human has ever seen God or ever can see him. God will be honored, and his power will last forever. Amen.

Exodus 33:18-23 NASB – Then Moses said, “I pray You, show me Your glory!” (19) And He said, “I Myself will make all My goodness pass before you, and will proclaim the name of the LORD before you; and I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will show compassion on whom I will show compassion.” (20) But He said, “You cannot see My face, for no man can see Me and live!” (21) Then the LORD said, “Behold, there is a place by Me, and you shall stand there on the rock; (22) and it will come about, while My glory is passing by, that I will put you in the cleft of the rock and cover you with My hand until I have passed by. (23) “Then I will take My hand away and you shall see My back, but My face shall not be seen.”

 

  1. Jesus – Since He is God, the Son of God, and the Word by which all things exist, then we can have him take the role of “he.” I suspect this is most likely whom John is referring to.

Hebrews 1:3 AMP – He is the sole expression of the glory of God [the Light-being, the out-raying or radiance of the divine], and He is the perfect imprint and very image of [God’s] nature, upholding and maintaining and guiding and propelling the universe by His mighty word of power. When He had by offering Himself accomplished our cleansing of sins and riddance of guilt, He sat down at the right hand of the divine Majesty on high,

  1. “He” can also represent the follower of Christ that walks in the light.

Let us be honest with each other once again. We all know “Christians” that are an embarrassment to many of us; I am one, but I am trying to figure out this “light” thing.

As many of you know I am in a Recovery group because circumstances put me into what feels like a lifetime of inadequacy and anger. Only recently, I vented that rage at my girlfriend again, and now I am single (so to speak, I have been single for 20 years) once more. I am writing this because I have an insatiable desire to understand God’s character and love for me.

If I can let you in on a secret, God’s mercy and grace reach so much farther than the damage of my sins – (my constantly missing the mark while I was trying to hit it.) However, that does not mean that I do not do damage; I do, but it does mean that His love for me is unbroken and unending. I have accepted that as fact, and isn’t that all God asks of us? God makes the offering of life with Him through Jesus Christ. All we have to do is accept that we have that life in Him.

The problem is that we are broken people, and we do not like it when someone walks in freedom when we think they should have their heads down in shame. That is called judgment and clearly not our job. Wow, that really spoke to me, but it took several rereads for me to catch it. This is exactly what my attitude has been toward the girlfriend for several days now.

In “Recovery”, you have to make amends so long as in doing so no one is injured physically or emotionally again. There are plenty of divorces that end in death; clearly, we are talking about physical injury in this case. So much like an early American fur trapper, there is no need to stick your foot in a vicious trap again.

Allow me, with the sincerity of my broken heart, to show how to forgive someone.

Father, as I have been writing this, you have made it clear to me that have judged her and held her in my heart with animosity, feeling as though she owes me. You have forgiven her no less than you have forgiven me, and you have released us, your creation from the debts we could never repay. She may never even consider her actions as something that she needs to repent of, therefore I must release her from any debt that I think she owes me. I hand her over to you, her Father. Deal with her lovingly, as I know you will. Father as the days go by and I deal with the loss and pain I ask that you remind me that she belongs to you and that you are in control. Remind me that you are teaching me something that is meant to bring about the fullness of your life in me. Show her your love, because apparently I could not. Oh, and Father. Teach me what it means to be a man who is not co-dependent, and yet loving without giving up my strength, in Jesus name.

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Problems with identifying the Roman Empire as the fourth kingdom.

Posted on 04/04/2014 by remso

One of the things that dominate my thoughts is how we are lacking in our understanding of end times events and scripture about them. I am also fully aware of how alternate points of view can make closed-minded people angry because it rocks their traditional worldview. I happen to believe that we are in the last moments of the ballgame with one out to go, and then Jesus will return to gather His long-awaited bride, the church.

If you have watched the news about events in the middle east then you are aware that he has already gathered so many of the saints home to himself. While I honestly wish I were home myself, I believe that he has given me a mission, and that is to share and encourage those of us still here, paying attention, and have a heart that longs for an adventure.

I want you to visualize an event with me. Jesus is gathering up the disciples after telling them that He is to be betrayed and specifically hands the chunk of bread to Judas indicating who it was that was to do the betraying. With this announcement, He has made it clear that he is about to die at the hands of the Jewish priesthood, and now his compulsion from the Holy Spirit is driving him to his favorite place on earth, the olive garden. He knows exactly where he is going, he prayed there often. This is the place where Peter and John saw him glow. In addition, Moses, whom they had never seen showed up and they recognized him. He pauses, and then turns looking Peter right in the eyes and says, grab some swords. Peter stunned, replies, we have two. We can buy more. Jesus responds, no, that is enough. It was not about the swords but the readying and the glory of God about to be demonstrated.

If you are a follower of Christ then you know that the sword is His Word. I am asking you to do what the Apostle John tells us that they did:

1 John 1:1(b) NASB …. “what we have seen with our eyes, what we have looked at and touched with our hands, concerning the Word of Life”

The word looked in Greek, theaomai, is to view attentively, or to contemplate. I am asking you think about what I am about to say. Look attentively at the scriptures, do not be afraid to challenge God, ask him questions, He can handle your questions. Consider the direction that things are going in the earth. You are surrounded by wealthy people who want control so badly they can taste it, and they are doing it at your expense. This is not just mere circumstance, it is a directed, intentional effort, and if you are paying attention, and student of scripture, then you should be aware that this is all spelled out in the Revelation.

I will tell you straight out this was initiated because of someone coming back at me with, “no its not! We are supposed to be waiting for the revised Roman Empire.” They demonstrated no interest in changing their point of view at that moment, and I do not convey myself well at times. I wish my head could retain information, it does not, but my computer does. I got away for a couple of days and pulled enough information together to reestablish my knowledge base in my head, and write sufficient information to show others what is happening in the immediate future.

I guarantee you that I could not have said this any better than the author Joel Richardson. It his books, “The Islamic Antichrist”, and “The Mideast Beast” that opened my understanding of Revelation, Daniel, and in general, what is going on around me. I have taken portions from his book “The Mideast Beast” in order to convey a clear intent, and added my own comments as I thought necessary. I have indicated quotes from Mr. Richardson’s book by placing an asterisk in front of it.

Problems with identifying the Roman Empire as the fourth kingdom.

*”The first problem with the Roman identification of the fourth kingdom is that the Roman Empire does not meet the specific criterion of Daniel 2:40. This verse, speaking of the nature of the rise of the fourth kingdom, says that when it emerged, it would crush all three of the other kingdoms:”

Dan 2:40 then there will be a fourth kingdom. That kingdom will be strong like iron. Just as iron breaks things and smashes them to pieces, that fourth kingdom will break all the other kingdoms and smash them to pieces.

*Later in Daniel 7, speaking of this same empire, we find a similar description:

Dan 7:23 Thus he said, The fourth beast shall be the fourth kingdom upon earth, which shall be diverse from all kingdoms, and shall devour the whole earth, and shall tread it down, and break it in pieces.

The three other kingdoms that are to be trampled are spelled out in scripture.

Babylon, Medo-Persia, and Greece.

*“The three empires never coexisted, and thus we must ask what the text means when it says that the fourth empire would “crush” all the others.”

Daniel 5:28 spells out the kingdom that follows the Babylonian.

Dan 5:28 PERES; Thy kingdom is divided, and given to the Medes and Persians.

We call this the Medo-Persian Empire, and are the second kingdom that is to be crushed.

The third empire to be crushed was the Grecian empire.

Dan 8:21 And the rough goat is the king of Grecia: and the great horn that is between his eyes is the first king.

male goat … large horn. This is the third Gentile world power, the kingdom of Greece, and specifically Alexander the Great, the notable and “first king” after conquering Medo-Persia. Cf. Dan_11:3. (John MacArthur)

Richardson implies that word crush, as used in Daniel 2:40 means geographically. When I look at the meaning of the word, I find this in the dictionary:

CRUSH, v.t.

1. To press and bruise between two hard bodies; to squeeze, so as to force a thing out of its natural shape; to bruise by pressure.

2. To press with violence; to force together into a mass.

3. To overwhelm by pressure; to beat or force down, by an incumbent weight, with breaking or bruising; as, the man was crushed by the fall of a tree.

4. To overwhelm by power; to subdue; to conquer beyond resistance; as, to crush ones enemies; to crush a rebellion.

5. To oppress grievously.

6. To bruise and break into fine particles by beating or grinding;

Joel Richardson proves his point with historical fact.

*”the Roman Empire only conquered roughly one-third of the regions controlled by Babylon, Medo-Persia, and Greece. About two-thirds of the regions controlled by these empires were left entirely untouched by Rome. In fact the Roman Empire never even reached the two Persian capital cities of Ecbatana and Persepolis.”

Others have claimed that *”because the Roman Empire succeeded Greece, which succeeded Medo-Persia, which succeeded Babylon, the Roman Empire did crush all the others.” Richardson acknowledges a professor named Stephen R. Miller, as substantiating that view, but Richardson goes on to say that the view is based on faulty reasoning because it goes outside the biblical text.

*”Although the Roman Empire did conquer portions of the land holdings of the other empires, it clearly did not conquer all of them, not even a majority of them. The Roman Empire only conquered roughly one-fifth of the land holdings of the Medo-Persian Empire, whose capital cities of Ecbatana and Persepolis forever remained hundreds of miles out of the Roman Empire’s reach.”

The only empire to fully, absolutely, and completely conquer all the prescribed lands was the Islamic Caliphate.

If the definition of crush is expanded beyond geographic to mean culture, religion and language, what do we get when we do a comparison between the Roman Empire and the Islamic Caliphate?

The Roman Empire is known as one puts down rebellions. Putting down rebellions does not qualify as the crushing descriptions found in Daniel’s prophecy.

*”When we consider the nature of the Roman Empire, it was far from being a purely destructive influence to its conquered peoples. Rome is better known for being a nation-building force of the ancient world. When the Roman Empire conquered a people, rather than destroying the culture, abolishing its religion, and imposing a new language, it generally tolerated these things while adding law, building roads and infrastructure, and creating order.”

Referring back to Daniel 2:40 once again:

“Then there will be a fourth kingdom as strong as iron; inasmuch as iron crushes and shatters all things, so, like iron that breaks in pieces, it will crush and break all these in pieces.” NASB

According to criterion of Daniel 2:40, the Roman Empire does not fulfill the requirements of scripture.

If the crushing means something other, such as, culture, religion, and language, then what do we find when we compare the Roman Empire against the Islamic Caliphate?

Since its inception the Islamic Caliphate (Rashidun Caliphate in 632 AD ending with the demise of the Ottoman empire in 1923) *was an Arab-Islamic-supremacist force that crushed and erased the cultures and religions of the peoples it conquered. This is due to the uniquely all-encompassing ideology of Islam, which includes every facet of life. Islam has rules and commandments that pertain to far more than just theology. It also dictates law, government, language, military, and even the sexual and hygienic practices of those under it authority.”

* “The very name Islam means submission to the laws of Allah, the Muslims’ god, as well as the practices of Muhammad, their prophet.”

*“Wherever Islam spread, it brought with it this oppressive ideology of submission. Islam conquered all the regions of the former Babylonian, Medo-Persian, and Grecian empires. It exported and imposed the Arabic language onto a vast proportion of its conquered peoples. Today, in Jordan, Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, and throughout much of North Africa, the people speak Arabic. While the Persians and Turks have retained their own languages, their alphabets were both Arabized. Later, Mustafa Kemal Atatürk enforced a new, anglicized alphabet in Turkey.”

 

*“As an Imperial force, Islam imposed Arab religion and culture onto all of its dominated peoples, while erasing evidence of previous religions and non-Islamic cultures.”

 

Consider where we have seen the evidence of this type of activity. The first I can recall was when the Taliban shelled two large images carved into the side of a hill. These two images were considered global art treasures. Although we have witnessed the death of, not only the worshippers of other religions, but also the destruction of any identifying symbols of religion outside of Islam. Under the guise of overthrowing a regime, this destructive activity has gone on in many nations including: Indonesia, Myanmar, Bangladesh, Thailand, Nigeria, Sudan, most any northern African nation, and we are beginning to see this in Britain as well.

There is calculated effort to destroy any evidence of a historical Jewish connection to the temple mount in Israel today. This has actually been going on for several years.

*“Examples of Muslim ‘Temple Mount denial’ in both popular and academic contexts are legion. The former Grand Mufti of Jerusalem, Sheikh Ikrima Sabri, has stated on many occasions that the Jewish connection to the Temple was a myth. In 1998, Sabri stated, ‘Moslems have no knowledge or awareness that the Temple Mount has any sanctity for Jews.’”

These atrocities by Islam and it’s followers are many, outlandish, and ongoing.

*“Wherever Islam has spread, the conquered culture is gradually erased, the symbols and evidences of the former culture destroyed. The religion of the subjugated peoples are most particularly targeted. This is Islam’s heritage, the perfect fulfillment of the criterion of Daniel 2:40.”
Richardson warns us to stay within the context of both scripture and Daniel’s interpretation of Nebuchadnezzar’s dream, a concept we Westerners struggle with, because we trace much of our culture and history through the Roman and Greek empires. We also tend to look at the Bible from a Western perspective. I consistently admonish my bible study to remember that for the most part the scriptures were written primarily to a Jewish audience; we are fortunate to be included by adoption. Changing the way we think will definitely aid in our understanding.

THE DEMISE OF THE FOURTH KINGDOM

The second problem for the Roman identification of the fourth empire is the criterion of Daniel 2:34-35. The verses spell out the demise of this fourth kingdom, its destruction, and the return of the Messiah and His kingdom. Christ’s kingdom is that rock-cut out, but not with human hands. This is a specific destruction of the Antichrist’s kingdom, but also of Babylon, Medo-Persia, and Greece; all at the same time.

Daniel 2:34-35 NASB “You continued looking until a stone was cut out without hands, and it struck the statue on its feet of iron and clay and crushed them. (35) “Then the iron, the clay, the bronze, the silver and the gold were crushed all at the same time and became like chaff from the summer threshing floors; and the wind carried them away so that not a trace of them was found. But the stone that struck the statue became a great mountain and filled the whole earth.

 The point to this is that this empire is so all-encompassing that it takes all these with it. You could not and cannot obtain that level of destruction based upon the effectiveness, and conquering abilities of the Roman Empire.

BABYLON DID FALL

Exactly as the prophecy declared. Later, the Medo-Persian Empire was conquered by the Greek Empire by Alexander the Great. But in the midst of Alexander’s conquest of the region, he dies leaving the empire to be split four ways among his generals/successors.

This is discussed in detail in Daniel 8 and 11.

And so did the Roman Empire

The “Roman Empire” ended in 1453 with the death of Constantine XI and the fall ofConstantinople to the Ottoman Turks.

There is only one entity that does everything that Daniel’s interpretation covers, and that is the Islamic empire or Caliphate. They have conquered every piece of property and more. They have obliterated and crushed entire religions in their path, and are more than willing to do that again. There are only two things that have stood against Islam in their efforts to gain world dominance; one is their inability to get along with each other. This strife was demonstrated during our first ventures into Iraq, as Sunnis and Shiites fought against each other. This will never end. Look at what God says about this:

Genesis 16:11-12 NASB The angel of the LORD said to her further, “Behold, you are with child, And you will bear a son; And you shall call his name Ishmael, Because the LORD has given heed to your affliction. (12) “He will be a wild donkey of a man, His hand will be against everyone, And everyone’s hand will be against him; And he will live to the east of all his brothers.”

The other thing that stands in the path of Islam is Jesus Christ coming physically back to this earth. When that happens he will slaughter those that blatantly oppose him, and radical followers of Islam will fall into that category. Scripture tells us that anyone worshiping the beast will be cast into outer darkness with their leader, Satan. This is difficult for me to write about because tradition (yes, I struggle with it too) gets in my way. What I see clearly, is that even in the last days God is merciful. I know this because while we as followers of Christ want to see a world purged of sin, all you have to do is read about the millennial reign, and you will find statements implying that there are vile sins going on as nations not turning their hearts willingly to Christ are forced to participate in the Feast of Tabernacles in Jerusalem every year. Choosing not to participate results in no rain upon your land for a year. A second offense brings a plague upon and what sounds like a rather instant death. While that does not sound so merciful at first read, you have to understand that tradition and poor teaching would have these people wiped out so that all the happy people can have free reign of the 1000 years.

Why then do we have those martyred being brought back to life to rule and reign over this earth during that time period?

Who are they reigning over, other followers of Christ?  I do not think so. There will be middle of the road people that refused to worship the beast and yet do not a solid relationship with Jesus Christ. Perhaps mere compliance during this time grants you entrance into the 1000 years. It also sounds like life just continues.

Don’t fight and argue over this stuff. Take the time to look intently into it, and you will see exactly what I am talking about.

Should you not know this Jesus Christ I speak of, you can. Merely ask him into your life and allow him to have all of it. That is actually a process, but know this, He will come into you immediately, as you are. You do not have to do anything like shower, and fix your bed, just ask him. He will change your life as you allow him the freedom.

 

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That which was from the beginning

Posted on 04/02/2014 by remso

With only a short span between our year long adventure in the Gospel of John and the start of “The Story”, several weeks ago we opted to jump into 1 John.

Due to circumstances beyond my reasonable control, something I will remedy quickly, I chose to focus on one man in the group who seems to struggle with understanding the bible (we should all admit that at times) and he wants to be a missionary. While being a theologian does not seem like a mandatory issue to me for being a missionary, having a foundational soundness should be; 1John comes off as being exactly that, foundational soundness.

I did a quick overview of 1John, and focused on verse one exclusively. If I base success on how I feel, I felt like I conveyed a good deal on verse one alone, and got some interaction out of my target audience. I often try to get the guys to interact, but there is always one guy that has to dominate, and this aspect is my thorn-in-the-flesh.

This last Sunday it was not my turn to lead, and yet I am so disgusted and exhausted by this battle with  dominant personalities that I was ready to quit.

You do understand that we humans, and especially followers of Christ have an enemy that one purpose in mind, to steal, kill, and destroy; his name is Satan. Religious folk will ask why I include humans as targets too. My answer to that is that we were all made in the image of God. Just because our image is tarnished by our own actions, as we choose to act selfishly, does mean that you were not created for communion with God. The general consensus is that non-believers are generally no threat to Satan’s deceptions and therefore leaves them alone; really, do you really believe that? Why then, is he trying so desperately to kill off even those who we presume will have no impact for the kingdom?, because God is in control, not us, and he has plans that we do not see or understand.

I say all that because I have had a rough four days, and I helped to make it rough, but not all. The thought that most guides me lately is, “Lord, what are you trying to teach me?”

God has been working me over, probing into childhood wounds of abandonment and rejection, and either God or Satan is using people who are close to me, or claim to be Christians to aid in this probing. I will just tell you straight out, it still hurts. I have asked Jesus to enter into this wound with me, and to heal me, so, I guess I should have expected this onslaught.

I would never call myself a Theologian, most of my experiences with them have been horrid experiences. What I am is someone who absolutely loves the look in people’s eyes as they look into God’s word and it comes alive to them. Primarily because of one man I am losing that joy, and something has to change before it changes me.

Enough blabbing, let’s dive into 1 John with my short overview.

John was known as one of the son’s of Thunder, a title that does not convey much love. Here is an example of why.

Luke 9:54-56 NASB When His disciples James and John saw this, they said, “Lord, do You want us to command fire to come down from heaven and consume them?” (55) But He turned and rebuked them, [and said, “You do not know what kind of spirit you are of; (56) for the Son of Man did not come to destroy men’s lives, but to save them.”] And they went on to another village.

Jesus gave the two young men that name.

Mark 3:17 NIV  James son of Zebedee and his brother John (to them he gave the name Boanerges, which means “sons of thunder”),

I always point out that Jesus did not tell John that what he was asking was impossible; merely that it was an inappropriate reaction.

What was the proper reaction?

I suspect in some ways they saw and heard this on daily basis.

Matthew 5:43-44 NASB “You have heard that it was said, ‘YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR and hate your enemy.’ (44) “But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you,

Jesus was asked, what is the greatest commandment of all? His response:

Mark 12:28-31 NASB One of the scribes came and heard them arguing, and recognizing that He had answered them well, asked Him, “What commandment is the foremost of all?” (29) Jesus answered, “The foremost is, ‘HEAR, O ISRAEL! THE LORD OUR GOD IS ONE LORD; (30) AND YOU SHALL LOVE THE LORD YOUR GOD WITH ALL YOUR HEART, AND WITH ALL YOUR SOUL, AND WITH ALL YOUR MIND, AND WITH ALL YOUR STRENGTH.’ (31) “The second is this, ‘YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.”

Now, consider our perceived assessment of who and what John was in contrast to the message these three books attributed to him convey. “There is no other commandment greater than these.”

Something, or someone took John from being a son of thunder to being a man who finally understood that it was all about love, and John figured it out!

1 John 1:1 KJV That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, of the Word of life;

“That which was from the beginning,”

Seems like something so simple that it really needs no discussion, but think about it. John MacArthur states, “This phrase refers to the proclamation of the gospel that centers in Christ’s person, words, and works as contained in apostolic testimony.”  I am not sure why I even put this MacArthur quote up here. He uses theology speak to merely say, that the phrase applies to his time, as recorded by the apostles. That may well be, but for me that limits my thinking, and there is no way that can happen, God cannot be contained by my limited thinking.

So what then could we consider the beginning to be?

I asked this directed question to one of the guys, and he essentially said the same thing I would have. 1. The beginning of Jesus time with the disciples, or 2. His time at the beginning of creation.

Luke 4:13-21 KJV And when the devil had ended all the temptation, he departed from him for a season. (14) And Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit into Galilee: and there went out a fame of him through all the region round about. (15) And he taught in their synagogues, being glorified of all. (16) And he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up: and, as his custom was, he went into the synagogue on the sabbath day, and stood up for to read. (17) And there was delivered unto him the book of the prophet Esaias. And when he had opened the book, he found the place where it was written, (18) The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, (19) To preach the acceptable year of the Lord. (20) And he closed the book, and he gave it again to the minister, and sat down. And the eyes of all them that were in the synagogue were fastened on him. (21) And he began to say unto them, This day is this scripture fulfilled in your ears.

This was the beginning of the three years.

Are there other possibilities?

John 1:1 KJV In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

 John 1:10-12 KJV He was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not. (11) He came unto his own, and his own received him not. (12) But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name:

So here we have a beginning, one that takes us to the first moments in time, one that clearly shows us Jesus as an integral aspect of creation.

John Wesley’s Explanatory Notes on the Whole Bible attempts to define this for us.  “That which was – Here means, He which was the Word himself; afterwards it means, that which they had heard from him. Which was – Namely, with the Father, 1John_1:2, before he was manifested. From the beginning – This phrase is sometimes used in a limited sense; but here it properly means from eternity, being equivalent with, “in the beginning,” John_1:1.”

So we have another voice that takes the beginning, that John refers to, all the way back to creation. This makes so much more sense to me as it is easy to comprehend the understanding that John, and every other disciple came to develop, and that was that He was God.

Consider how, so many years after Jesus has been gone, John writes with such majesty and clarity how that Jesus was God.

John 1:1-14 KJV In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. (2) The same was in the beginning with God. (3) All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made. (4) In him was life; and the life was the light of men. (5) And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not. (6) There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. (7) The same came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light, that all men through him might believe. (8) He was not that Light, but was sent to bear witness of that Light. (9) That was the true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world. (10) He was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not. (11) He came unto his own, and his own received him not. (12) But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name: (13) Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God. (14) And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.

The next aspect of 1 John 1:1 centers on foundational aspects of our faith.

These are the things that give us strength when the world goes dark and lonely. These foundational aspects are the things on which we anchor our hope of a future with Him.

That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, of the Word of life;

What is it that we struggle with, belief? We are challenged daily as to how we can believe something that, as the world claims, has no evidence, or that the evidence is so weak that we are fools to believe it.

John is determined to display that evidence before us.

We heard him, – Who heard him? The disciples and many others; they not only heard with their ears but with their hearts as well, and in time came to understand.

We have seen with our eyes, – Strong’s concordance opens this simplistic line up for us with: to stare at (compare G3700), that is, (by implication) to discern clearly (physically or mentally); by extension to attend to; by Hebraism to experience;

“We looked upon him,” – A prolonged form of a primary verb; to look closely at, to study.

Our hands touched him (repeatedly) – We talked about this extensively when we covered John chapter 20. While the other gospel writers might have given us so much more in terms of fine details John came right to the point, after all they went through, struggling through the shock and the perceived loss, they came to understand that He had done exactly what he described, and followed the pattern that scripture laid out for us to understand. He was and still is God, He is alive, and His authenticity gives us a solid hope for a future with the Father.

John stated, “We, not only heard the words of life, but we came to realize that He was the Word of life there before us.”

Try to imagine for a moment what it would have been like to walk daily with the King of the Universe. I want so badly to know that feeling, of perfect peace and contentment as I live in an open communion with him.

While the other gospel writers might have given us so much more in terms of fine details John came right to the point; after all they went through, struggling through the shock and the perceived loss, they came to understand that He had done exactly what he described, and followed the pattern that scripture laid out for us to understand.

He was and still is God, He is alive, and His authenticity gives us a solid hope for a future with the Father.

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Saturday morning journal, or “you are not moving my stuff”

Posted on 03/15/2014 by remso

Last night I sent another response to my brother-in-law. He had written me several weeks ago and asked me five, rather in-depth questions.

I was trying to respond to his question with the significant changes or impacts I had experienced because of Celebrate Recovery over the last year. I think I gave him several distinct things I can see but I know that there are more. The problem is that what seems so clear one moment is faded weeks later when I try to recall it. I need to carry my journal with me and write this stuff down.

As I opened my copy of “Wild At Heart” by John Eldredge this morning I get this: “That is the way we are with our wound, especially men. We bury it deep and never take it out again. But take it out we must, or better, enter into it.”

It was about this time last year that the Boot Camp experience began for me. God had warned me before hand that he was going to open a large wound in me. Standing in line for lunch I looked back at the table where I had placed my belongings. I had chosen this seat so that I could spend a few moments with the guy that had worked so hard to get me here. That is when I see my stuff getting moved to another spot by none other than one of our pastors that had gone. He is a big man, a football coach, and he used to repossess cars to make money while he was in college. At that moment I could care less who he was, because you are not more important than me, and you are not moving my stuff to convenience yourself. This idea that I am worthy of importance is so foreign to me, and in total opposition to the way I was raised, for mom made sure that I understood that everyone is more important than me.

It is easy to defer to someone and typically falls under mere human decency, but when you have lived with a prisoners mentality all your life, a life in which you rarely saw anyone show you respect, you come to a point at which you will snap, and you may react with an in-human rage. That was me at that moment.

I refuse to recount all the things that went through my mind as I stood in line that day. I had been bullied all my life, and at some point I determined no more. The Spirit of the Lord started speaking  to me immediately and said, “I warned you that I was going to open a wound in you, and you are not going to do any of those things you just thought. Now go and quietly sit down where he moved your stuff. I will take care of him.” I did.

Something I think I need to clarify. As I looked back at my belongings being moved, my friend looked at me and then spoke to the pastor. The pastor in turn looked back at me too, and made one of his sarcastic faces that told me tough nuts pal, you got moved.

Just moments after sitting the pastor begins to say something to me. I think he got three words out when I said, Don’t you say a word to me! He stopped immediately, but continued his conversation with my friend. Soon he was gone. Almost immediately my friend walked around the table to me and said, he did not know it was your stuff. To which I angrily replied, I would not have moved your stuff, and he too walked away.

Bullied all my life I had learned to put up a huge defense system to prevent incidents like this from happening anymore. Much of my defense system entailed keeping unsafe people at a distance. I sometimes wonder how God was able to get past all that. If I had not intentionally begun, years before, to find out what the character of God was really like he may not have. My efforts to understand his character demonstrated to me that He was jealous over me, and would have sent his only Son just to die for me that day. God reaffirmed to me that day that he wanted me healed, and when I calmed down, he told me what to say to the pastor. I had to tell this pastor that I loved him and affirm him, to his face, that he was my leader.

I shed a lot of tears that weekend, and still do as God reveals to me more of the areas of wounding. A thought comes to me as I write. I have been watching Saving Private Ryan, a very emotional movie for me. At one point, Wade, the medic, takes a deadly bullet wound through his lung. Clearly in pain and bleeding to death he asks the Captain, “are there any wounds that are bleeding more than the others?”  I have been wounded so many times; perhaps God went after the one that may have been bleeding more than the others.

I sit in various groups and every one of them is filled with men that have been wounded in so many ways. There is only one hope for any of them, and it is in their submitting their lives to Jesus Christ. In Celebrate Recovery we make it very clear from the start that there is only one higher power, and his name is Jesus Christ. We don’t exclude anyone, but you can tell who the followers of Christ are, for as they stand before you, introducing themselves, they will most likely say, Hi, my name is …… I am a grateful believer in Jesus Christ, and I am celebrating recovery over ……… .

It is so easy to join the family of God and come into restoration. Start by telling God that you are powerless to fix this yourself, and that you would like for Jesus, the Son of God, to come into your life and take it over. He will and the healing with begin.

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