Or watch the Video Zoom Session of our Study on YouTube:
Lord, Open Our Understanding!
“And He opened their
understanding that they might comprehend the Scriptures.” Lk. 24:45
How often have you used the
phrase, “I believe that we have a misunderstanding”?
Understanding can be pared
into two types:
Understanding the way things are; how things work.
Understanding people, and their intent.
In both cases God is the
Author of true, accurate, and appropriate understanding.
Regarding the way things are,
Ex. 31:1-6 tells the account of how God called Bezalel, and “filled him with
the Spirit of God, in wisdom, in understanding, in knowledge, and in all manner
of workmanship.”vs. 3
They may have acquired some
skills up to that point, but we must never forget Heb. 3:4,“For
every house has a builder, but the one who built everything is God.”
Prov. 4:7 says, “Wisdom is
the principal thing;
Therefore get
wisdom.
And
in all your getting, get understanding.”
When faced with situations,
tasks or problems that seem to defy solution, this is the time to turn and ask
the One who created all things. See Js.
1:5
I marvel at the ingenuity of
man. I sometimes marvel at my own abilities, but so much more over the talents
and abilities of others concerning that which I could never figure out apart
from the grace of God.
This ingenuity is an act of,
what is called, “common grace” weather the possessor of such admits it or not.
It comes from somewhere, and we know that the source of all good is God.
See Js. 1:17
More tedious, at times, is the
capacity to know, or understand. another person. This relies upon a confluence
of factors including language, cultural framework, past encounters, and depth
of relationship.
It is often life’s greatest
joy to truly understand another person in all their complexity. Wearetruly,“fearfully
and wonderfully made.”
Imagine trying to figure out
God. This is the effort of every false religion. Paul says, “O the depth of
the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His
judgments, and His ways past finding out!”Rom. 11:33
Apart from revelation, we fail terribly.
The Scriptures may lead the
natural man into some practical wisdom in order to navigate life. This was the
intent of the Law.
On the road to the village of
Emmaus, two men, who knew the Scriptures, were walking, and talking, and trying
to figure out what had just happened, when Jesus came along side and walked
with them. In this encounter they heard some of the greatest preaching ever
heard, but yet did not understand. They say, “Did not our heart burn within us
while He talked with us on the road, and while He opened the Scriptures to us?” Lk. 24:32
Pr. James Finn observes this
pattern from this text:
“He took...He blessed...He broke…and He gave”
“Then their eyes were open and they knew Him” Lk. 24:30,31
Remember, the call to eternal
life, from Jn. 17:3 is to, “know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom
You have sent.”
In all our interaction with
God we should pray for revelation. Otherwise, we will be swept away by winds of
false doctrine.
Jn. 16:13 says, “The Spirit
of truth, is come, He will guide you into all truth.”
Wait for the taking, the blessing, the breaking,
before giving!
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the Darkness”, “The Bondage Breaker”, "Freedom in Christ" series of
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“The views, opinions, and commentary of this publication are
those of the author, M.T. Clark, or Arthur Cincotti, only, and do not purport to
reflect the opinions or views of any of the photographers, artists, ministries,
or other authors of the other works that may be included in this publication,
and do not necessarily reflect the views or positions of any entities the
authors may represent.”
Encouragement for the Path of Christian
Discipleship
Today’s photo of blue and cloud filled skies over my
neighbor’s old barn and a snow bordered Waite Rd comes to us from yours truly
as I thought to bring my phone with me yesterday as I took the dog for a walk
and decided to capture some sights from the journey along the way.
Well, It’s Christmas – Observed Holiday - Monday –
and while a good deal of us will have the grace and mercy of a three day
weekend because Christmas fell on a Sunday, that won’t be the case for all of
us. I offer the following to employers who have the unenviable task of having
to call their workers back to reality today, you can text or send the
following:
“Christmas
Day is Christmas Day,
but if
it’s not the 25th,
you’re
expected to work today!”
While I had a positively blissful Christmas Day, as
TammyLyn and I spent our first Christmas together as man and wife in relative
solitude and peace, and will be enjoying the day off today because of the “legal
holiday observance” today, a part of me is just as happy that Christmas is
over!
While some have told me in the last 24 hours that “Christmas
lasts until New Year’”s and I don’t want to start a fight, I have to keep it
real and tell you that no matter what time off you have or what Christmas themed
activities you may persist in for the next week, “It’s over Johnny… Christmas
is OVER!
Today is “Boxing Day”, DING-DING, so rejoice over your
cherished memories of holiday bliss or pack up your disappointments and bind
them in your “bitterness box” or exchange them for store credit at your local
or online retailer but either way don’t deceive yourself by living in some
temporary state of denial by being oppressed by a false spirit of Christmas
cheer.
Don’t get me wrong, I am not trying to rain on your
parade of peace or try to discourage you from enjoying today or any other time
off you may have off this week. Trust me,
I have been blessed with being able to arrange from a Christmas to New Years
Staycation and will be utilizing every bit of the time to rest, relax, and reflect
on the year that was 2022 and to look ahead to what the new year will
bring. I just don’t want to encourage
anyone to deny reality in the name of the “holiday spirit” that will cause us
to lose focus on what’s important to us and to overindulge the flesh.
Remember the definition of a “sin” is to “miss the
mark” – to veer of course of what God would have us do, to do things that directly
go against God’s word, create idols out of other things, or to leave undone the
good works that God has prepared for us.
While it is fully acceptable to enjoy a holiday feast and some childish
antics, on Christmas Day, it is not necessarily wise to “treat every day like
Christmas” if that means we persist in walking in the flesh or leaving responsibilities
undone.
I feasted and admittedly made some Jolly borderline
jokes over the course of the last 48 hours that were acceptable for the holiday
celebration but if I persisted in acting like I did on Christmas Eve and
Christmas Day, I would soon feel that I have deceived myself and have sabotaged
my efforts to establish and progress in a lifestyle that promotes good physical,
mental, and spiritual health.
God’s ways are higher than are ways and even though
the ways of the world and the tendency to “do what ever I want, when I want”
may not always seem sinister if we fail to follow the Lord faithfully, we will experience
the negative consequences of going astray.
Extra pounds, physical and mental pain, possible depression, guilt, and
spiritual dryness are all waiting for those who walk in the flesh for too long
and I’m telling myself and all my friends to forget the holly and the folly of
the traps that “secular Christmas” has sprung on us and to get back on track by
walking and talking with God by being aware of what we are doing and agreeing
to walk in the Spirit from this day forward.
Unfortunately, the spirit of peace that we establish
in dealing with our secular friends and family can easily lead us to compromise
our convictions and give people the impression that we aren’t any different,
and thus our faith is merely one option of many ways to live, and that choosing
a lifestyle of saintliness over sin is no better, and thus extremely puzzling. In the name of Christmas, I tried to be
friendly and accepting and fear that my efforts could easily lead some to feel
that I have no objection to the way they live and maybe that “my faith” is as
much a curse as a blessing as it “prevents” me from “being free” like
them.
I won’t name names but I have friends and family that
are living far from God and whose lifestyles go directly against what God’s
word says and when I reflect upon the fact they would enthusiastically celebrate
“Christmas” but would fail to follow the ways of the reason for the season it
causes me great pain to contemplate their spiritual blindness and their final
destination.
I can easily imagine Christ telling many “Christmas”
enthusiasts that He never knew them. Jesus warned those who enjoyed feasts with
Him and who heard His words but never obeyed them about the dangers of
hell.
Luke 13:26-28 (NLT2) 26 Then you will say, ‘But we
ate and drank with you, and you taught in our streets.’ 27 And he will reply, ‘I tell
you, I don’t know you or where you come from. Get away from me, all you who do
evil.’ 28 “There will be weeping and
gnashing of teeth, for you will see Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and all the prophets
in the Kingdom of God, but you will be thrown out.
Bible verses like these and the scores of others
that indicate that our saving relationship with the Lord includes the fruit of
obedience to His commands caused me to see that I needed to repent and to
forsake my “walking in the flesh”.
I can’t think of anything more tragic than people
who had enthusiastically celebrated “Christmas” each year of their lives coming
to the shocking realization that their participation in religious traditions
and holiday celebrations didn’t establish their peace and new life with God. Those
“going through the motions” of faith at Christmas or Easter time to satisfy a
familial or religious obligation will discover that the what they always
suspected was true. They really weren’t a Christian. They worshipped other
things, philosophies, or themselves but they never put their faith in Christ in
any real way and the lack of the fruit of the Spirit or good works that would
give glory to God and specifically point to Jesus in their lives will testify
against them.
Faith in Christ is a matter of life and death.
So with Christmas being over today. Let’s remember to keep on walking and talking
with God.
If Christmas caused you to stray from your faith a
little bit by indulging in flesh or by making peace with people who live in
darkness in the spirit of the holiday, show the authenticity of your faith by recommitting
yourself to walk in the Spirit and to seek the Lord’s presence and purpose for
you in the last days of this year and the year ahead.
If Christmas caused you to draw closer to God, even
if it was just for a moment in church or through reflecting on the mystery of
our faith, consider that to be the Lord’s
call on your life to worship Him in spirit and in truth, to make Christ you
Lord and Savior and to follow Him with the way you live your life.
Or if you just went through the motions and didn’t
really get anything out of Christmas and have some real doubts of whether you
believe at all, or know that you don’t believe, if you’ve read this far, I have
to believe that a part of you wants to believe, that you want to live. To you I
would ask you to pray to God to reveal Himself to you and would invite you to
diligently pursue the truth about Christianity and to follow wherever the
evidence leads you.
The word tells us the if we seek the Lord we will
find Him and if we follow the Lord we will live and experience the fruit of the
Spirit in our lives.
While it may be harsh to declare that Christmas is
over, I want to be clear that “The Day” may be over but our lives in Christ
never end and the peace, love, and joy of the Spirit will be with us all the
days of our lives when we follow Him.
Somebody told me that the Christmas songs on a pop
station that we have been listening to would continue until New Years. Because Christmas is over and because it’s
back to “life and back to reality” for me as I will resume the disciplines of a
Christian Discipleship as per usual on a Monday morning, I was up early and
discovered that this “fact” about the pop station was false.
Although this station was playing a steady stream of
“holiday songs” since before Thanksgiving, I’m not the only one declaring the
Christmas party to be over, as I was greeted by Wilson Philip’s “Hold On” this
morning. While the lyrics are partly
right that “there is pain” and that we do play a part in changing our lives, it
really depends on what we are “holding on to” that will make the difference in
whether we will live.
If we are holding on to pleasant circumstances or
the way of the world, we will see eventually that we were holding on to nothing
of value.
But if we hold onto our faith in Christ and to our
commitment to follow Him where ever He leads us, we will discover our life and
purpose with Him goes on forever.
So let go of that which is fading away and hold on
to what matters, The Day is over and while we can play and enjoy Christmas like
a child, the Lord never called us to stay that way.
I’m taking a
vacation from sharing the “Bible Verse of the Day from the “The NLT Bible Promise Book for Men”, again. But I
would invite you to read the “20 Christmas
Bible Verses” that was compiled by Concordia University’s Adriana Thompson last
year, by clicking on the link you will find on today’s blog. (https://www.concordia.edu/blog/20-christmas-bible-verses.html). I share it this one last time, because I am
on vacation, and because some of us really need to know that Christmas isn’t
about the things of this world and it is my hope that the Holy Spirit will use
His word to light a spark of faith in someone who seeks God here.
___________________________________________
As always, I invite all to go to mt4christ.org where I
always share insights from prominent Christian theologians and counselors to
assist my brothers and sisters in Christ with their walk.
Today we continue sharing from Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s
“Discipleship”, also known as “The Cost of Discipleship”
As always, I share this information for educational
purposes and encourage all to purchase Bonhoeffer’s books for your own
private study and to support his work. This resource is available on
many websites for less than $20.00.
The
Church of Jesus Christ and Discipleship
Chapter
Twelve
The
Saints, concludes
The sanctification of
the church-community thus proves itself by a conduct which is worthy of the
gospel. The church-community produces the fruit of the Spirit and is subject to
the discipline of the scriptural word. In all that, it remains the
church-community of those whose sanctification is Christ alone (1 Cor. 1:30)
and who journey toward the day of his coming.
This brings us to the
third hallmark of true
sanctification. All sanctification is directed toward being able to stand firm
on the day of Jesus Christ. “Pursue … holiness[,] without which no one will see
the Lord” (Heb. 12:14). Sanctification always relates to the end of time. Its
goal is not to pass the test when judged by the world or even by the person
being sanctified, but to pass the test before the Lord. In their own eyes and
in the eyes of the world the holiness of the saints may appear as sin, their
faith as unbelief, their love as cruelty, and their discipline as weakness.
Their true holiness remains hidden. But Jesus Christ himself is preparing his
church-community so that it will be able to stand before him. “Husbands, love
your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, in
order to make her holy by cleansing her with the washing of water by the word,
so as to present the church to himself in splendor, without a spot or wrinkle
or anything of the kind—yes, so that she may be holy and without blemish” (Eph.
5:25–27; Col. 1:22; Eph. 1:4). Only the sanctified church-community is able to
stand before Jesus Christ. He who reconciled God’s enemies and laid down his
life for the godless did this in order that his church-community remain holy
unto the day of his second coming. This happens by the church being sealed with
the Holy Spirit. The saints are being sealed within the church-community’s
realm of holiness and preserved unto the day of Jesus Christ. On that day they
are not to be found defiled and full of shame, but they will appear before him
holy and blameless in spirit, soul, and body (1 Thess. 5:23). “Do you not know
that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived!
Fornicators, idolaters, adulterers, male prostitutes, sodomites, thieves, the
greedy, drunkards, revilers, robbers—none of these will inherit the kingdom of
God. And this is what some of you used to be. But you were washed, you were
sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and in the
Spirit of our God” (1 Cor. 6:9–11). Therefore, do not count on God’s grace if
you intend to persist in sin! On the day of Jesus Christ only the sanctified
church-community will escape the wrath of God. For the Lord will judge us each
according to our works without partiality.[88] For each person’s
works will become apparent, and to each the Lord will give “recompense for what
has been done in the body, whether good or evil” (2 Cor. 5:10; Rom. 2:6ff.;
Matt. 16:27). Whatever has not already received its judgment here on earth will
not remain hidden on judgment day, but must come to light. Who will then stand
firm? Those whose works are found to be good. Not the hearers but the doers of
the law shall be justified (Rom. 2:13). According to the Lord’s own saying,
only those who do the will of his heavenly Father shall enter the kingdom of
heaven.
Since we shall be
judged according to our works, we stand under the command to do the ‘good
work’. The fears we have about doing good works as a pretext to justify our
evil works[91] is a notion which certainly is foreign to scripture.
Scripture never sets faith over against the good work which hinders and
destroys faith. Grace and deeds belong together. There is no faith without the
good work, just as there is no good work without faith. [92]
Christians need to do good works for the sake of their salvation. For whoever
is found doing evil works shall not see the kingdom of God. Thus the good work
is the goal of being a Christian. In this life, there is only one thing of real
importance, namely, how we can give a good account of ourselves in the last
judgment. And because all persons will be judged according to their works, it is
of utmost importance that Christians be prepared to do good works. Thus our
becoming a new creation in Christ also has as its goal the doing of good works.
“For by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not your own
doing; it is the gift of God—not the result of works, so that no one may boast.
For we are God’s work, created in Christ
Jesus for good works, for which God has prepared us beforehand to be our
way of life” (Eph. 2:8–10; cf. 2 Tim. 2:21; 3:17; Titus 1:16; 3:1, 8, 14). On
this point everything is crystal clear. Our goal is to do the good work which
God demands. God’s law remains in effect and must be fulfilled (Rom. 3:31).
This is being accomplished through the good work. However, there is but one work which deserves that designation,
namely, God’s work in Christ Jesus. We have been saved through God’s own work
in Christ, rather than through our own works. Thus we never derive any glory
from our own works, for we ourselves are God’s work. But this is why we have
become a new creation in Christ: to attain good works in him.
All our good works
are nothing but God’s own good works for which God has already prepared us.
Thus good works are, on the one hand, demanded of us for the sake of our
salvation; and they are, on the other hand, always only the works which God is
doing in us. They are God’s gift. It is indeed we who are required to persist
in carrying out good works; it is we who are called to good works at any
moment. And yet we know that with our good works we could never stand fast
before God’s judgment, but that it is Christ alone and his work to which we
cling in faith. Thus to those who are in Christ Jesus, God promises good works
with which they will be able to stand fast on that day; God promises to
preserve them in the state of sanctification unto the day of Jesus. All we can
do is to trust in this promise of God because it is God’s word, and then go and
persist in carrying out the good works for which God has prepared us.
Our good work is thus
completely hidden from our eyes. Our sanctification remains hidden from us
until the day when everything will be revealed. Those who attempt to see
something here, who want to see their own identity revealed rather than wait in
patience, will already have had their reward. In the very midst of the
presumably visible progress in our sanctification in which we would like to
rejoice, we are most of all called to repent and to recognize our works as
thoroughly sinful. However, we are called to rejoice ever more in our Lord. God
alone knows our good works, while we know only God’s good work and listen to
God’s command. We journey under God’s grace, we walk in God’s commandments, and
we sin. There is indeed no denying the fact that the new righteousness, the
sanctification, the light which ought to shine remains completely hidden from
us. The left hand does not know what the right hand is doing. But we have faith
and trust that “the one who began the good
work in us will bring it to completion by the day of Jesus Christ” (Phil.
1:6). On that day, Jesus Christ himself will reveal to us the good works of
which we had been unaware. Without knowing it, we have fed him, provided him
with drink, given him clothes, and visited him; and without knowing it, we have
turned him away. On that day, we will be greatly astonished, and we will
recognize that it is not our works which endure here but only the work which
God, in God’s own time, accomplished through us without our intention and
effort (Matt. 25:31ff.). Once again, the only thing left for us is to look away
from ourselves and to look to the one who has already accomplished everything
for us, and to follow this one.
Those who have faith are being justified; those who are
justified are being sanctified; those who are sanctified are being saved on
judgment day.
This is not because our faith, our righteousness, and our sanctification, to
the extent that they are ours, would be anything other than sin. Rather, it is
because Jesus Christ has been made our “righteousness
and sanctification and redemption, in order that those who
boast, boast in the Lord” (1 Cor. 1:30).[1]
“The views, opinions, and commentary of this
publication are those of the author, M.T. Clark, only, and do not purport to
reflect the opinions or views of any of the photographers, artists, ministries,
or other authors of the other works that may be included in this publication,
and do not necessarily reflect the views or positions of any entities the
author may represent.”
Encouragement
for the Path of Christian Discipleship
[1]
Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Discipleship,
ed. Martin Kuske et al., trans. Barbara Green and Reinhard Krauss, vol. 4,
Dietrich Bonhoeffer Works (Minneapolis, MN: Fortress Press, 2003), 275–280.
Today’s photo of a set of tire tracks going into a
field of gold comes to us from yours truly as I captured this scene when I went
a little further down Waite Road than usual while walking the dog, back on July
23rd.
Well, it’s Thursday again and as usual I am sharing
another photo of a pathway as an encouragement for my all my friends to either
get on, or “keep on keeping on”, on the pathway of Christian Discipleship.
Tonight is the last meeting of The Grace Course Discipleship
group that I facilitate on Zoom, and it has me thinking about the course of our
lives and how they are filled with beginnings and endings and how the changes
keep on rolling from day to day, from week to week, from month to month, and from
season to season. The concept of
stability or the status quo really is an illusion and if we think that things
will always remain the same we are deceiving ourselves.
As much as we can experience peace when we walk in
the Spirit, the path of Christian Discipleship is progressive and forward thinking.
One of the questions that I noticed that continually comes up as I have tried
to live my life according to my Christian faith is: “What’s next Lord?” as I
seek to walk into the meaning and purpose that God has for me.
If you didn’t know it, it’s “back to school season”
and changes, they are going to come. Many of my friends in other states have
already shared the “first day of the school year” photos of their kids and soon
the kids, adolescents, and young adults in the Empire state are going to have
to walk that walk too.
My kids are college age. My daughter Haley recently
got her Associates degree and Brennan finished his freshman year with mixed
results that were reminiscent of his high school days.
Haley works at Lowes as a cashier and has decided to
not to continue her studies this fall.
So this morning, I agonized over and made the decision to have her begin
paying “rent”. I have decided to ease
her into it a bit and while she won’t be paying a full portion of a third of
the living expenses at my home, she will be paying $100 a week. I advised her that this demand would continue
and be increased yearly at her subsequent birthdays until she would pay a full
third of the mortgage and utilities upon her 25 birthdays. I also advised her
that this demand for rent would be suspended if she chose to become a full time
college student again and that I would take all things in consideration in this
regard.
As for my son Brennan, his freshman studies ended in
May and since then he has not sought employment and a few days ago admitted he hadn’t
registered for school and wasn’t sure if he would. Today just happens to be the day that
students would have to pay their tuition, so I sent him a message to make him
aware and to encourage him either to register for school or to get a job. I also advised him of his sister having to
begin paying rent and that if he was not a full time student, he too would have
to pay rent after his 21st birthday in December.
So it’s like, AHHH, tough love… I don’t know. You sort of want to be “cool Dad” but at the
same time I feel that I need to make my kids responsible and encourage them to be
self-sufficient, to contemplate their futures, and seek their
independence.
I just got married in January and while TammyLyn and
I are doing this two household thing mostly because of our kids, any illusion
of “status quo” in our lives currently will increasingly be revealed as an
illusion as the years pass and we seek to be joined together under one
roof.
While we don’t know exactly what will happen over
the next five years, the time it will take for TammyLyn’s youngest to graduate
high school, we know that there is the potential for huge changes on our
respective horizons in terms of our respective careers and living situations.
So my “pulling the trigger” on having my kids pay
rent is intended for them to realize that while things seem relatively stable
in our lives now, they aren’t necessarily going to stay that way and that they
should begin to develop that dreaded concept of future contemplation: the 5
year plan.
OOF… it hurts to say it, because I only have the
vaguest idea of what my 5 year plan will be!
But relax, the good thing is that the future doesn’t
happen all at once. Christ said
in:
Matthew 6:25-34 (NLT2) 25 “That is why I tell you
not to worry about everyday life—whether you have enough food and drink, or
enough clothes to wear. Isn’t life more than food, and your body more than
clothing? 26 Look at the birds. They
don’t plant or harvest or store food in barns, for your heavenly Father feeds
them. And aren’t you far more valuable to him than they are? 27 Can all your worries add a
single moment to your life? 28 “And why worry about your
clothing? Look at the lilies of the field and how they grow. They don’t work or
make their clothing, 29 yet Solomon in all his
glory was not dressed as beautifully as they are. 30 And if God cares so
wonderfully for wildflowers that are here today and thrown into the fire
tomorrow, he will certainly care for you. Why do you have so little faith? 31 “So don’t worry about
these things, saying, ‘What will we eat? What will we drink? What will we
wear?’ 32 These things dominate the
thoughts of unbelievers, but your heavenly Father already knows all your needs.
33 Seek the Kingdom of God
above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need.
34 “So don’t worry about
tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring its own worries. Today’s trouble is enough
for today.
So don’t worry about tomorrow or 5 years from now. If
look ahead a little bit, with the idea of what we want to accomplish in the
next 5 years and start taking steps in that direction, we can get to where we
want to be.
But in the meantime, we have to take care of the
things and people that are in front of us.
We have to love and care for the things and people God has put into our
lives in the moment, but we should also be loving enough to be honest about how
things will and need to change in the future.
Although we may feel utterly groundless when we
contemplate the uncertainty of the future, if we are faithful to follow the Lord,
we can be prepared for whatever changes may come our way.
Christ also said something about building things on
a rock versus building on shifting sands:
Matthew 7:24-27 (NLT2) 24 “Anyone who listens to my
teaching and follows it is wise, like a person who builds a house on solid
rock. 25 Though the rain comes in
torrents and the floodwaters rise and the winds beat against that house, it
won’t collapse because it is built on bedrock. 26 But anyone who hears my
teaching and ignores it is foolish, like a person who builds a house on sand. 27 When the rains and floods
come and the winds beat against that house, it will collapse with a mighty
crash.”
When you stand on the Rock, your house will
stand. So listen to the teachings of Jesus and follow them.
So as we move ever closer to a new season in our
lives, keep walking and talking with God. Keep an eye on the horizon but make
sure you are looking at the next step you need to make too. Although the change times and season can seem
like shifting sands, we can be steady as we go when we walk in the Spirit.
Today’s Bible verse comes to us from “The NLT Bible
Promise Book for Men”.
This morning’s meditation verse is:
Luke 11:9 (NLT2) 9 “And
so I tell you, keep on asking, and you will receive what you ask for. Keep on
seeking, and you will find. Keep on knocking, and the door will be opened to
you.
Today’s verse are the words of Jesus who encourages our perseverance
and faith in prayer.
The thing that might not always be clear when we regard Christ’s
words in this verse is the implication of a continuous relationship and conversation
with God that implicit in these instructions.
In the midst of our keep on asking, and seeking, and knocking, we should realize that we should also be
listening and looking for where God wants us to go.
Do we just keep hammering away at a door that won’t open? We could
and maybe we should, if we really believe that what we are asking for is the Lord’s
will.
But in our walk of faith we have to remember that we don’t know
everything and what we may think is best may not be.
But I encourage you to be persistent because sometimes the door
will open when we least expect it.
However, in my faith walk I can testify to persistently praying
for certain situations that did not change, the door remained shut and in retrospect,
I thank God that didn’t open!
God knows best.
But here’s the deal, because He knows best we need to keep asking,
seeking, and knocking in terms of following Him and praying to Him, no matter
what. He will direct our paths and He will give us the good things we ask for
if it is in His will and part of the joy of walking with God is discovering
just what those good things are and when those good things will come.
In truth, in our salvation, we have already received all we will
ever need. So what we get to experience through the rest of our lives is just a
bonus. SO be faithful to follow, and keep asking, seeking, and knocking to
discover what the Lord has in store for you.
As always, I invite all to go to mt4christ.org where I
always share insights from prominent Christian theologians and counselors to
assist my brothers and sisters in Christ with their walk.
Today we continue sharing from Clinton E. Arnold’s
“Powers of Darkness”
As always, I share this information for educational purposes and
encourage all to purchase Clinton Arnold’s books for your own private
study and to support his work. This resource is available on many
websites for less than $20.00.
The Modern Understanding of Myth
According
to contemporary academic studies of religion, however, the primary function of
the term myth is not to pass judgment
on the factuality of an event or the metaphysical reality of a spirit. Myth has
a vital role to play in society by giving an account of its sacred origins. “It
reports realities and events from the origin of the world that remain valid for
the basis and purpose of all there is. Consequently, a myth functions as a
model for human activity, society, wisdom, and knowledge.” As Paul Ricoeur
points out, myth is distinct from history in that it narrates the founding
events that occur before time.8
According to this
modern definition of myth, every society has a narrative of its origins, that
is, a cosmogonic myth. For most people in the West the myths of evolutionism
and materialism have replaced the creation story of Genesis. As people relate
the experiences of their own time to their understanding of their origins, the
myth becomes the basis for explaining present experience. For instance, a
Western physician may diagnose someone suffering a severe stomach illness as
having a virus, whereas a Zande tribesman would suspect an evil spirit World
view is thus closely tied to myth. Belief in evil spirits is necessarily linked
to one’s understanding of the origins of existence.
The apostle Paul
revealed his own indebtedness to the Old Testament account of creation. His
conversion to Christ did not force a paradigm shift to an entirely new
mythology, but caused him to rethink his Jewish heritage in terms of the person
of Jesus Christ. Fundamental to Pauline theology is his description of Christ
in terms of the “new Adam.” What is difficult for us to know is the extent to
which Paul subscribed to the various Jewish interpretations of the Genesis account
(for example, were demons the offspring of the cohabitation of angels and
women?—see Gen 6:1–4). Paul is not enamored with such speculation. The fact of
their existence and hostility to the church was what occupied his attention.
Those who hold to the
modern understanding of myth do not want to demythologize the New Testament (as
Bultmann advocated). Rather, they emphasize the importance of discerning the
role and function of a given myth in its social setting.
From Projections to
Collective Unconscious: Jung and Wink
In
his scientific exploration of the unconscious, psychologist Sigmund Freud came
to the conclusion that the devil was nothing more than the expression of
individual repressions, that is, projections. His associate Carl Jung agreed
with him but took the mythological element of religion more seriously than
Freud. Jung did not come to the point of accepting the metaphysical reality of
the powers, but he did see religious myths involving evil spirits as powerful
psychological realities that should not be discarded. His concept of the
“Shadow”—the negative side of personality—comes close to the idea of an evil
power. The Shadow could also be understood collectively. A group or social
order could manifest a collective personality characterized by evil, such as
racism, exploitation and violence.10
In his recently
published studies on the language of power in the New Testament, Walter Wink
adopted this Jungian framework for interpreting the powers of darkness. He
interprets demons and evil spirits as the psychic or spiritual power (“the
inner essence”) of an individual, organization, society or government. (Because
of the significance of his work, I will give a focused assessment of it in
chapter fifteen.)
The Inadequacy of
“Myth” to Explain Evil Spirits
Building
on the modern understanding of myth, Wolfhart Pannenberg contends that one
needs to make a necessary distinction between world view and myth. He argues
that belief in demons by people in the New Testament era was part of their
world view, but it should not be identified as specifically mythical. Arguing
against Bultmann, Pannenberg contends that belief in demons (indeed, also, the
understanding of the Christ event) is tied neither to Jewish apocalyptic nor to
a Gnostic redeemer-myth. He rightly observes that scholarship subsequent to
Bultmann has thoroughly discredited Bultmann’s idea of a Gnostic redeemer-myth
influencing Christianity. He also argues that eschatological themes in the New
Testament that correspond to Jewish apocalyptic must not necessarily be
regarded as mythical. Pannenberg’s comments are made in the context of
advancing a nonmythological understanding of the Christ event. The historical
work of Jesus, according to Pannenberg, was not a tale derived from some other
primitive myth, but an actual event that came to function as a “new myth” for
the Christian church.
Pannenberg
effectively opens the door to the possibility that the supernatural realm may
directly reveal itself to people in some tangible way. He appropriately asks,
“Can the other-worldly make its reality known in any other way than by
manifesting itself within the world?” Endorsing Pannenberg’s approach, Anthony
Thiselton argues similarly that “belief about supernatural interventions in the
affairs of men … is not necessarily primitive or pre-scientific, as the
Enlightenment view of myth would imply.”15 Pannenberg notices that
every religious understanding of the world fundamentally accepts the idea of
divine intervention in the course of events. Consequently, it is possible to
hold to the real existence of evil spirits without necessitating recourse to
interpreting them as part of a larger mythical drama (whether of the creation
of the world or of the end of the world).
This seems to provide
a very helpful perspective on the ancient (and contemporary) understanding of
evil spirits. While Paul may have been working from a specific cosmogonical
myth (a story of origins), the details of the myth were neither obvious in his
writings nor did they appear to be important to Paul. He evinced concern only
about the fact of hostile supernatural interventions in the daily affairs of
Christians.
In a similar way it
is difficult (if not impossible) to piece together any mythical drama standing
behind the numerous Hellenistic magical texts. For those who used these texts,
it was the common assumption that extradimensional beings existed and that they
could be controlled. Magic was then concerned with learning how to manipulate
these spirit-beings either for personal good or for someone else’s misfortune.
We are now back to
the question of world view. Can we accept a world view that believes in the
metaphysical reality of spirits, demons and angels?[1]
Today’s photo of a path through the woods comes to us from
a friend who “made a few wrong turns on the Blue Trail at Garnsey Park” in
Rexford NY but got lost in its beauty and vows to absolutely go back again. And
just like our friend, if we make a few wrong turns in life, we should remember
the beauty we experienced in the Lord’s presence and vow to follow Him again.
Well it's Thursday again and I share a photo of a pathway
as is my habit because Thursdays are the days that I encourage people to get on
the path of Christian discipleship as I will be leading a men's group through Freedom
in Christ Ministries’ “The Grace Course” on Zoom this evening.
As much as I experience the joy that comes from walking in
the Spirit on the path of Christian discipleship, I have to admit that with the
joy comes a considerable amount of pain in the terms of the compassion I have
for the friends, family, and old acquaintances that I see as they struggle
through life without the Lord.
A good deal of my morning this morning was spent sending a
reply to a text that I had received from an old friend who was reporting that
his son was depressed and feeling anxious. His son had reached out to me in the
past and I had done my best to encourage him to seek the Lord and to the find
the peace that comes from following the Lord, but the son failed to do what I
suggested and never contacted me again.
Now months later, things have deteriorated to the point
where the father is thinking about referring his son to a psychiatrist and
putting him on medication. While there is certainly need for doctors and
medications to help in certain situations, my familiarity with this case would
lead me to state that the overwhelming problem here is that this young man does
not know who he is in Christ and because of thathe does not know his self-worth or the purpose
that the Lord has for his life.
Instead he isolated himself by doing things his way. He
surrounded himself with the things of this world. Instead of going the way he
should go, as according to the word of God, he has gone his own way and is
suffering because of it.
As someone who was lost in the darkness for years and
years and years, I can tell you that when you isolate and surround yourself
with the things of this world, you will eventually have reasons to be depressed
and to feel anxious. The world doesn't
offer any answers. It just offers temporary relief and when that relief is gone,
you are left feeling empty.
They say the prophets’ curse is that you know the truth
and no one listens to you. Well I don't claim
to be a prophet, but I think I have a small idea about their pain and I can tell you I do know what happens when you
decide to follow the Lord.As much as I
can encourage others, I also understand the need for a personal revelation of
the Lord's goodness which only comes from seeking Him.
Our faith has to be more than just an intellectual belief
or a theological understanding. Our faith has to be a deep trust in the Lord, meaning
we turn to him, talk to Him, read His word, and try to align our lives with His
wisdom.
When we fail to do that, we can easily doubt that God is
even real. Reading the Bible, going to church, and praying can seem like cold
and empty things unless we really believe that God is with us and we reach out
to Him in faith to establish that connection, that personal relationship with God.
So my heart bleeds for this man, his son, and for other
people who have left me or who I have left behind simply by walking forward on
the path of Christian discipleship.
We say we want peace but some of us don’t want to pay the
cost.
If we want the peace of the Lord, we have to surrender to Him.
That's what “Lord” means. He's the boss. We are bondservants- slaves – and God
is our Good and Holy Master who loves us. We follow Him because he is powerful.
We follow him because he is wise. We follow him because he knows what's best.
So we have to exchange our control of our lives for His.
Don’t get me wrong, We still have free will. We can do
whatever we want. But when we decide to follow the Lord and do what He suggests
in His word, which is contrary to everything we learn from the world, our
families and society, we discover that God is real, that God is with us, and
although it might not always be easy, we discover that His way is the only way,
the best way, to live.
Our faith has to be more than theological understanding.
Our faith needs to be a relationship. In a relationship we talk to the other
person. We also listen. So in our relationship with God, we have to talk to Him,
literally with our voices, but also through the study of His word and through
the practices of the Christian faith such as going to church and praying.
We also need to make ourselves open to His suggestions to
do good works. After we follow the Lord for a while we'll get intuitions to do
good things. We'll get invitations to serve at church or serve in our
communities or help with family and friends. These invitations to do good works
are another part of our relationship with the Lord. When we answer the
invitation, and actually help people which we wouldn't do on our own normally, we
enter in deeper to our relationship with God.
Our relationship with the Lord is really shown in that the
fact that we are shaping our lives to live the way He suggests. When we don’t do
that, or step off His path, we suffer. Ask me how I know.
Even though I pray and read the Bible every day, I
recently wasn't diligent in terms of what I put before my eyes and in terms of what
I was putting in my mouth, in terms of food, and I suffered the consequences.
But the good news is that I saw what I was doing and I repented.
Over the last several days, I have made a concerted effort to adjust my eating
habits and to be discerning in terms of what I spend my time watching or
focusing on. I decided to turn back to the Lord in a deeper way and I've
benefited greatly already.
From last week to today, I've lost three pounds and I feel
spiritually regenerated because I am being self-aware about my physical and
spiritual health. My focus hasn't gone to the silly things that I was watching
before. I've found my rest and my peace in the Lord instead of the things of
the world and realize now my mistake and I shouldn't necessarily go back to the
world when I want to “take a break and relax”.
I get it though, life is hard but God is good!
So all I can do is encourage others to do the same as I've
done. “Seek the Lord” is my one a piece of advice that will never change. But
it's not my advice that will help you. The only One that will help you is the
Lord and the only thing that will help you is your making the daily decision to
follow Him.
So let me share Psalm 138, because if you get nothing else
out of this blog or podcast today, at least I would have proven faithful by sharing the word of God.
Psalm 138:1-8 (NKJV) 1 I will praise You with my
whole heart; Before the gods I will sing praises to You. 2 I will worship toward Your
holy temple, And praise Your name For Your lovingkindness and Your truth; For
You have magnified Your word above all Your name. 3 In the day when I cried
out, You answered me, And made me bold with strength in my soul. 4 All the kings of the earth
shall praise You, O LORD, When
they hear the words of Your mouth. 5 Yes, they shall sing of the
ways of the LORD, For great is
the glory of the LORD. 6 Though the LORDis on high, Yet He regards
the lowly; But the proud He knows from afar. 7 Though I walk in the midst
of trouble, You will revive me; You will stretch out Your hand Against the
wrath of my enemies, And Your right hand will save me. 8 The LORD will perfect that which concerns me; Your mercy,
O LORD, endures forever; Do
not forsake the works of Your hands.
So praise the Lord, worship Him, and He will answer you when
you cry out and He will make you bold with His strength.
Keep walking and talking with God and you can overcome all
that ails you and regardless of the difficulties or troubles of this life, when
you follow Him you will have the peace that goes beyond all understanding, the peace
that only comes from God, when you have peace with God, through faith in Christ
alone.
Today’s Bible verse comes to us from “The NLT Bible
Promise Book for Men”.
This morning’s meditation verse is:
Luke 18:27 (NLT2) 27 He replied, “What is
impossible for people is possible with God.”
Today’s
verse are the words of Jesus, who encourages us to trust the Lord for the
impossible.
In
Neil Anderson and Timothy Warner’s book, “The Beginner’s Guide to Spiritual
Warfare”, the authors state that the biggest lie the enemy tells the Christian
is that something is “impossible.”As we
can see from today’s verse, the belief that something is impossible goes
directly against the words of Jesus.
But
let’s be clear here, Jesus does not say that “nothing is impossible”, He says
that “What is impossible for people is possible with God”.The key here is “with God”.So if you are not walking with God, you will
discover that there are many things that are impossible.
But
let’s keep it real here too. Even if you do walk with the Lord, and we know
that the Lord can do the impossible, it doesn’t necessarily mean that the Lord
will grant all your impossible wishes.
Remember,
Lord means that God is the boss, and He has infinitely more knowledge and
wisdom than we have, and that He has His own purposes too.
One
of the most faithful Christians was the Apostle Paul, and he confesses in one
of His epistles to an affliction that he associated with the devil, a thorn in
the flesh, and he prayed to have it taken away, but the Lord let it stay and
advised Paul that His grace was sufficient, saying.
2
Corinthians 12:9 (NKJV) 9 …, "My
grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness."
To which Paul
responds by saying:
“Therefore most
gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest
upon me.”
Although
he didn’t get what he was hoping for, Paul did pray for the “impossible healing”
so we should pray and work to overcome “the impossible things” in our lives
too.
The
Lord may choose to do the impossible in our lives or He will give you the
strength to endure impossible situations and be strengthened through them.But either way we can rejoice that the Lord
is with us and the power of Christ rests upon us.
As always, I invite all to go to mt4christ.org where I
always share insights from prominent Christian theologians and counselors to
assist my brothers and sisters in Christ with their walk.
Today we continue sharing from Clinton E. Arnold’s
“Powers of Darkness”
As always, I share this information for educational purposes and
encourage all to purchase Clinton Arnold’s books for your own private
study and to support his work. This resource is available on many
websites for less than $20.00.
11 - Spiritual
Warfare
For our struggle is
not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities,
against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil
in the heavenly realms.”
Ephesians 6:12 is one
of the best-known verses of the entire Bible, yet one of the most
misunderstood, misconstrued and practically neglected texts of the Scripture.
Immersed in a culture that says evil spirits do not exist, Western Christians
struggle even to begin the task of spiritual warfare. We spend more time
wondering if we really should believe in demons than grappling with how we
should respond to them.
On this topic some of
us suffer double-mindedness. Although mental assent is given to the likelihood
that evil spirits exists since it is affirmed in the Bible, in reality it makes
no practical difference in the way we live our day-to-day lives. When dealing
with a personal problem such as illness or depression, medical and
psychological services are the only considered alternatives. Little thought is given
to the spiritual side. Even in Christian ministry the spiritual dimension is
often ignored. Ineffective evangelism, for example, is often attributed to a
lack of training or persuasive skill rather than powerful demonic hindrance.
Some segments of Christianity
do take seriously demonic existence. They attempt to confront the spiritual
dimension. Unfortunately the excesses of a few of these groups sometimes
overshadows the healthy aspects of the teaching and practice of others.
Ephesians 6:10–20 wrongly becomes a manifesto on exorcism. Or demons are seen
behind virtually every problem. The rest of Christianity lamentably writes off
the helpful perspective of these groups on the demonic because they appear to
be extreme.
We need, more than
ever, to gain a revitalized perspective on spiritual warfare. If we are not
aware of the subtle and powerful work of our enemy, he will defeat us. Perhaps
he already has certain areas of life strongly in his grip, where we have not
been aware of his devious work.
Many thinkers believe
Western society is on the verge of a major world view shift. Scholars such as
Hans Küng are anticipating an epochal move from the “Modern Era” to a
“Post-Modern Era,” a major paradigm change in the way Westerners view reality.
There is no doubt that the rising influence of Eastern thought and the
burgeoning impact of the New Age movement will have influence on how Western
culture perceives the supernatural. The church needs to be prepared for this
new challenge. Few would give the church a strong mark on its preparedness to
handle effectively the special problems that arise in ministering to people who
have been involved in the “occult.” The best way to determine what spiritual
warfare means for us now is to discern what it meant for Paul and his readers
back then. First of all, spiritual warfare needs to be understood in terms of
what it meant to people living in Ephesus and western Asia Minor where occult
beliefs flourished and the reality of the influence of the spirit realm was
unquestioned. Second, it needs to be understood in the larger context of the
entire book of Ephesians.[1]
