All Things Equal? – The Way of Peace – Purity 764
Purity 764 06/22/2022 Purity 764 Podcast
Good morning,
Today’s photo of a “mountain of a
cloud” over a suburban neighborhood comes to us from yours truly as I captured
this scene from my van while working in South Troy last Friday. The day was
sunny and bright and I just happened to look up from my work long enough to see
what I had thought of as a monolithic evidence of God’s glory. I just liked the
way this huge, massive, cloud seemed to be rising from the horizon as if
encouraging us to look up. Upon further review, the peak of this mountain looks
a little like a heart, as if the Lord was not only telling us to look up to Him
but was using this cloud to tell us of His love.
Well, it’s Wednesday again so I
thought our heart topped mountain cloud was as good as any a way to represent
the “hump” of the midpoint of our work week. But as with many things in life,
the “hump” of hump day always depends on your perspective. The middle of
something is always determined by having equal, or nearly equal parts of
something on either side of our middle point.
When does “hump day” stop being “hump
day”? When something changes the balance.
Although today is the “traditional” day for “Hump Day”, for me this
particular Wednesday is more like a Friday, because my schedule has me working Saturday,
changing the “natural balance” of “normal: life – taking my beloved two day
sequential weekend and changing it into a pair of days off, or two one day
weekends, with Thursday and Sunday off.
Now I ask you, is this equal? While
some may argue, my company perhaps, that two days off are two days off and I
should just be thankful to have them at all, and I am, Is it the same, or equal to, having two days
off back to back?
As much as I am grateful for my
two one day weekends this week, I think that they are not the same as having
two days off back to back. In my opinion, two separate days off are not the
same as, equal to, having two consecutive days off.
Personally, I would argue that separate
individual days off are not like having a day off at all because you really
aren’t free from work. While I get the joy of knowing I have the day off
tomorrow today, I don’t get the joy of waking up knowing I have the day off
today & tomorrow, tomorrow, like I would if I had two consecutive days
off. Having that one day where you get
to rise and sleep knowing that you are free from the responsibilities of your
job is the one day where the anxieties of having to work soon can be laid
aside. In that day where you rise and sleep free from the burdens of work can
be a place where we can and should be able to find some circumstantial
peace.
Of course that day, could be
filled with chores, obligations, and responsibilities of maintaining your home
life, but I digress…
If we choose to worry about work,
that of the office or that of our home, no amount of day’s off, separate or
consecutive, will be able to provide you with peace. Although we can build a
certain amount of stability in our lives through proper planning, preparation,
and action, in the reality of our constantly changing world, there is no “status
quo”, there is no “normal” that we can hold on to that is guaranteed not to
change.
Also there are differing opinions
and solutions for life’s problems that are offered by the world that would
instruct us in how to be happy, of how to have peace.
In comparing one’s lifestyle to
another, the conclusion that the world likes to make is that because we all
have free will that, as long as our lifestyles, don’t cause immediate harm to
others, all lifestyle choices, although different, are equal.
Without even considering the
things of God, this view is revealed as false in the natural consequences that
befall the different choices we make.
For instance, there are different
health and wellness consequences for people who:
Exercise vs those who don’t
Those who smoke vs those who don’t
Those who drink and take
recreational drugs vs those who don’t
The things that people suffer do
to their “unhealthy choices” are not equal to the consequences of those who don’t
make those unhealthy decisions.
What we do with our lives matters
in terms of our quality of life.
However, some would point to the
end of life as a great equalizer and would claim their liberty to licentiousness
with the assurance that the healthy will die just as the unhealthy will die.
And that’s when I would question
them what happens next?
The answers to that one are subjective
and usually a matter of opinion that will either consider the word of God, the
Bible, as an authoritative source of wisdom or it won’t.
My point here is that as much as
we are “all in this together” on “this island earth”, The natural consequences of our daily decisions
and the ultimate destiny for us in eternity should both be taken into
consideration with how we live our lives. The world’s ways and God’s ways are not equal and
will have two very different destinations at the end of this life.
For eternity, the Bible lays out
God’s redemptive plan for mankind with the good news that we can be given
forgiveness and eternal life through Jesus Christ.
But the Bible also provides a fair
amount of instruction on how we should live our lives if we want to be in
harmony with God and represent His kingdom.
Should a Christian follow the
world’s ways for living here on earth or should they decide to follow the Lord’s
way?
To claim our salvation through
faith in Christ but to choose to ignore all or some of what the Bible says
about how we should live our lives, not only reveals our hypocrisy, it could
reveal our lack relationship with the Lord that will be revealed when we see Him
face to face. Some will claim to be
Christians but will discover that the choices they made and the condition of
their relationship with the Lord was not real.
In Matthew 7:23 (NKJV) Jesus says:
23 And then I will declare to
them, 'I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!'
The world declares that all roads
lead to heaven and some claim a relationship with Christ but still practice lifestyle
choices that are against the wisdom of God’s word, and they stay in their sins
with repentance, and even worse, they don’t seek to know the Lord or practice their
faith in any significant way.
If we don’t seek to know the Lord,
His word, or His ways, we should wonder about our relationship with Him and
wonder if we will be turned away by Christ as someone He never knew, as someone
who practices lawlessness.
The first messages from John the
Baptist, and Christ Himself, encouraged people to repent, to turn from their worldly
way of living and to follow the Lord’s way. Christ warned about hell more than
He taught about heaven and He encouraged His disciples to pick up their crosses
(to die to their old lives) and to follow Him in the way they lived their
lives.
Two separate days off are not equal
with two days off together. The world’s ways (my company thinks their equal apparently)
are not equal to God’s ways.
The peace we can have from making
Christ our Lord and Savior is not equal to the peace we can manufacture through
changing our circumstance on the earth. Even if we could build a life of peace
in this world, it evaporates the moment we die without God.
So on this hump day that isn’t a
hump day for me, let’s all seek the peace that comes through God, by not only
naming Jesus as our Lord and Savior, but by making the continuous choice to
know Him and to follow Him.
All things aren’t equal but God’s way is the way to peace on earth, regardless of the circumstances, and to life everlasting where we will find continuous peace in God’s presence. So keep walking and taking with God, make “good choices” with your life to avoid negative consequences and make the commitment to reject the world’s way for the Way, the Truth, and the Life.
______________________________________________________________
Today’s Bible verse comes to us
from “The NLT Bible Promise Book for Men”.
This morning’s
meditation verse is:
John 15:9 (NLT2)
9 “I
have loved you even as the Father has loved me. Remain in my love.
Today’s Bible verse are the words of Jesus Christ where He
assures His disciples of His love for them, confirms His relationship to God
the Father, and encourages to remain in His love.
There is a lot there!
First off, as His disciples, Christ loves us. That’s
proven by His death on the cross and the fact that we are given the indwelling
presence of the Holy Spirit when we put our faith in God. As we pursue the path to know God and to live
in His ways, we will increasingly know this love.
Second, in case you were wondering, yes Jesus claimed to
be the Son of God, which makes Him God the Son, as well. Here Jesus talks of God as Father and assures
us that not only is God His Father but Jesus is loved by Him. Jesus is the beloved Son of God.
And Third, Jesus tells us to remain in His love. Other
versions use the word “abide” to tell us to stay in His love. We remain in Christ’s love when we obey His
commandments, and when we follow Him in the way we live our lives. We remain in His love when we worship Him. We
remain in His love by meditating on His word.
All of this shows that our walk as a Christian is a “love
walk” where we are assured of God’s love for us through His Son Jesus Christ
and that we are to remain in His love though following Him. So love the fact
that you are loved and endeavor to stay close to Him and live in a way where
you can experience and remain in His love.
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 Elementary Spirits of This World
An
intriguing aspect of Paul’s vocabulary for the principalities and powers is
that both pagans and Jews used the same expressions for astral spirits. The
word “powers” (dynameis) itself can
be found in astrological contexts for star spirits. The expression “world
rulers” (kosmokratores) of Ephesians
6:12 is also used of astral deities.
Paul used one other expression for evil
spirits associated with the stars: stoicheia.
This term appears four times in two of Paul’s letters, both of which were sent
to churches in Asia Minor (Col 2:8, 20; Gal 4:3, 9). Scholars actually have
been divided in trying to determine whether Paul was using this term with
reference to spirit beings. This debate is evident in the variant translations:
As Personal Beings
RSV/NEB:
“the elemental spirits of the universe”
TEV: “the
ruling spirits of the universe”
As Nonpersonal Entities
NTV: “basic
principles of this world”
NASB: “elementary
principles of the world”
In these
two letters the interpretation of stoicheia
is difficult because the term has a range of meanings and because scholars have
felt that more than one of these meanings could appropriately fit each of the
contexts. Those who take a nonangelic interpretation of stoicheia point to its most basic meaning as “elements,” such as
the letters of the alphabet (which constitute the foundation of language), or
the basic “elements” of the universe, such as earth, air, fire and water. They
contend that the phrase could then be interpreted as the basic principles
common to all religion, or as the Pauline concepts of “law” and “flesh,” or
even as the actual physical elements.
The interpretation of stoicheia as personal spiritual entities
is the most compelling view. Consequently this interpretation has commanded the
consent of the majority of commentators in the history of the interpretation of
the passages. This view is based partly on the widespread usage of stoicheia for astral spirits in the
second and third centuries A.D. (and probably before). The word was used, for
instance, in the Greek magical papyri in connection with the Zodiac: “I conjure
you by the 12 stoicheia of heaven and the 24 stoicheia of the world in order
that you would lead me to Heracles.”
It is important to realize that not only
pagans used this word to refer to spirits, but Jews also used this word in that
sense. The Jewish Testament of Solomon,
written during the Roman Imperial period, includes five references to stoicheia as spirit beings. In the
following passage the stoicheia are
linked with the kosmokratores (cf.
Eph 6:12):
I commanded
another demon to appear before me. There came seven spirits bound up together
hand and foot, fair of form and graceful. When I, Solomon, saw them, I was
amazed and asked them, “Who are you?” They replied, “We are heavenly bodies [stoicheia], rulers of this world [kosmokratores] of darkness. The first
said, “I am Deception.” The second said, “I am Strife.” The third said, “I am
Fate.” The fourth said, “I am Distress.” The fifth said, “I am Error.” The
sixth said, “I am Power.” The seventh said, “I am The Worst. Our stars in
heaven look small, but we are named like gods. We change our position together
and we live together, sometimes in Lydia, sometimes in Olympus, sometimes on
the great mountain.” (Testament of
Solomon 8:1–4)
These terms
further reflect the wide array of vocabulary in reference to spirit beings,
shared by Jews and Gentiles alike. Paul drew from this reservoir of terminology
with which his readers would be readily familiar. He showed no interest,
however, in discussing what he believed to be true about the starry host.
Rather, he lumped all manner of spirits together, affirmed Christ’s superiority,
and encouraged believers to be prepared for their hostile intentions and
attacks by reminding his readers of their past ability to enslave.[1]
---------------------------more
tomorrow------------------------
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Encouragement
for the Path of Christian Discipleship
[1]
Clinton E. Arnold, Powers of Darkness:
Principalities & Powers in Paul’s Letters (Downers Grove,
IL: IVP Academic: An Imprint of InterVarsity Press, 1992), 53–54.
