The Promise Out of Context

The Israelites were in exile in Babylon, a punishment from God as a result of their disobedience.  In Jeremiah 29, the prophet Jeremiah confronts the ever popular false prophet, Hananiah, who had boldly proclaimed that God was going to free Israel from Babylon in two years.  The two years time span was enough time for him to build his following and present himself as a messenger of God.  A study of the scripture shows that God did not do this.  Today, the masses are being misled by false messages from God based upon this and other scripture.  A careful study of this scripture and a deeper understanding of God word would show parallel events are taking place today.  Many church services are not complete until the prophet has spoken.  Jeremiah 29:9  For they prophesy falsely unto you in my name: I have not sent them, saith the LORD.

The auditorium was packed and a combined sense of urgency and exhilaration filled the air.  The crowd was waiting for a well-known prophet/preacher to bring them a message of God’s promise for their prosperity.  Some needed jobs, some need healing and some just needed money in their bank account.  Not only was he going to tell them of the promise, he would explain to them how to collect on the promise through the planting of a seed.  This is an indoctrinated fallacy that many have taken to the extreme.  The meeting was equivalent to something I had experienced in the early seventies at a “Dare To Be Great”  meeting hosted by Glen Turner.  In these meetings, hundreds of poor, out of work and broke people mortgaged their homes and life savings and welfare checks to buy into the dream of financial independence.  A dream whose foundation was built upon a pyramid scheme. Aside from the number of people who lost their homes or life saving, there was always enough (suckers) to parade in front of a hungry crowd to support the thesis that the idea was working.

Offering envelopes and Literature was passed out by the ushers.  Both framed the ever popular Old Testament scripture, Jeremiah 29:11, “’For I know the plans I have for you,’ declares the Lord, ‘plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” subconsciously we were asked to lay aside our knowledge of God, “common sense” and accept an alien interpretation of the scripture.  Alien in the sense that the verse was surgically removed from the supporting scripture, stripped of its context and present as a complete message from God.  Who is talking, who is he talking to and what is the subject matter was of no value, the verse was purported to be a message of prosperity sent to this eager and waiting audience.  The literature promised God's bountiful blessings upon the crown in exchange for the sowing of a seed.  "And the church said amen." This appeared to be equivalent to the email scam the promise you several million dollars, if you pay the processing fee up front.

Jeremiah 29:1 explains who was talking and who he was talking to.  "Now these are the words of the letter that Jeremiah the prophet sent from Jerusalem unto the residue of the elders which were carried away captives, and to the priests, and to the prophets, and to all the people whom Nebuchadnezzar had carried away captive from Jerusalem to Babylon;"  Now if we continue to read a deeper insight will be given into, who Jeremiah was talking to and what he was talking about.  Further study of the chapter will reveal a message within the context of the scripture that is applicable to the church or God's people today.  

Many of us, on a day to day base, encounter numerous incidents or situations that just don’t make sense.  Whether it is Christian endearment, business transactions or  in the field of race relations, there is that highly vocal element  that has proven its inability to think rationally.  These entities of irrationality thought patterns  though lacking the ability to lead, possess the innate ability to indoctrinate and manipulate the masses.  In their wake of deliberate confusion, they leave behind a mass of used, tangled and tortured souls.  The falseness that exists in each one of the fore mention  arenas speaks for themselves and somehow has found a means of acceptability.  Yet I cannot reconcile the lies and falsehoods that emulate from the household of faith, especially when receiving the blessing of God is reduced to paying money or even typing Amen in a Facebook status.

A deeper Understanding of The Word of God will destroy what Jeremiah 29:11 has become to mean to so many.  Let's try to re-frame the verse  so you understand it better within its original and intended context.   We are often taught ‘by men in pinstripe suits’ or pious prelates to approach this verse and other Bible verses as a security blanket: God has a plan for me that is good, so clearly this suffering I’m going through will end soon and then my flourishing will begin! Scriptures that purport jubilee and a time of refreshment is added for further enhancement.  But this is not what  God was promising to the Israelites, and it’s not what he’s promising us, either.  To make most meetings or assemblies attractive to the masses, a promise of miracles or blessing is  often promised.  

What is often overlooked in these interpretations of the scripture is, Israel and the church are not and cannot be the same.  Israel was and is an earthly people and their blessing was of an earthly nature, whereas the church is a spiritual entity and its blessing are of a spiritual nature.   1st Corinthians 10:32  Give none offense, neither to the Jews, nor to the Gentiles, nor to the church of God: 

Noted Preachers, authors, and bloggers have spoken out, Jeremiah 29:11 doesn’t mean what many of us is being taught.  The heart of the verse is “Not that we would escape our lot, but that we would learn to thrive” in the midst of it.  This is the same message Paul advanced in Philippians 4:13, “I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.”  Paul’s message was, if it means going to jail for Christ sake, I can do that.  For John the Baptist, it meant, if it means losing my head I can do that.

Here’s the context: the Israelites were in exile, a punishment from God as a result of their disobedience. The prophet Jeremiah confronts the false prophet, Hananiah, who had boldly proclaimed that God was going to free Israel from Babylon in two years Jeremiah calls out Hananiah’s lie, and then states the promise we read in 29:11. God does indeed have a good plan for the Israelites, and it is a plan that will give them hope and a prospering future.  The perfect message for the fleecing of the sheep, right?  The plan was not the one presented by Hananiah, nor is it the one presented by the prosperity preachers of today.

The thing is before he shares this promise, he gives them this directive from God: “seek the peace and the prosperity of the city to which I have carried you into exile. Pray to the Lord for it, because if it prospers, you too will prosper.” (29:7).  Here again, this is an earthly promise to an earthly people.

This is not at all what the Israelites wanted to hear! They wanted to be told that they were going to go home. They wanted to be told that their suffering was going to end. Instead, God’s plan was for them to stay right where they were, and to help prosper the nation that enslaved them!  And then came the biggest blow of all. In verse 10, God says that he would fulfill this “after seventy years are completed in Babylon.” This meant that none in the current generation of Israelites would ever return to their home. What a crushing thing to be told!

 God knows the plans He has for us. And ultimately He will give us a glorious future. But as we walk out our lives on this crazy earth, let’s remember that the best growth comes through persevering through trials, not escaping them entirely. And when we learn perseverance, we find surprising joy.  A better interpretation of Philippians 4:13  I can do all things through Christ which strengthens me would have, “ I can endure”.

What hard thing are you currently going through? In the midst of your suffering, cling to Jeremiah 29:11, but cling to it for the right reason: not in the false hope that God will take away your suffering, or he will fill your bank account with money but in the true, gospel confidence that he will give you hope in the midst of your suffering. It is blessed are the poor in spirit, not that they will have prosperity here on earth, but they shall see God.

A Conversation

On a day to day base, there is that pious person instructing the indoctrinated and yearning masses on how to get what they want from God.  There are many of us who began our day feeling alienated or rejected by God because we are not enjoying the blessings that other are proclaiming.  We are being told that we have entered a season where God is pouring out his blessing upon his wayward children.  Yet, many of us fail to see that beacon of light radiating out from those who professes to be enjoying those special blessing of God.  Is it because the meaning of a blessing has been dumbed down and we are blessed because we woke up this morning?  

There do not appear to be a fence of protection separating the righteous from accidents, death, disease and suffering. Oftimes we are left wondering, "why do God allow bad things to happen to good people?"   Matthew 5:45  That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust.  There appears to be a great difference between what God wills and what God allows.  It is not God's will that anyone should perish, but God will allow us to perish.  Matthew 18:14  Even so it is not the will of your Father which is in heaven, that one of these little ones should perish. Luke 13:3  I tell you, Nay: but, except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish.

There are many great testimonies of how God is blessing financially and there are many great messages of how to reap these blessings, but at the root of receiving these great blessings, there is always the need to plant a seed.  Is God like an ATM machine, where you punch in the right code and receive what you requested?  If our prayers are not answered within twenty-four hour, is it because much of what we consider to be prayer does not fit within God's definition of prayer.   Luke 11:1 And it came to pass, that, as he was praying in a certain place, when he ceased, one of his disciples said unto him, Lord, teach us to pray, as John also taught his disciples.  It is interesting that the disciples would ask Jesus to teach them how to  prayer.  He gave them a model prayer  in Luke 11:2.  Another interesting point is much of what we pray for today is missing from the model Jesus gave to his disciples.  

The trivialization of God has resulted in  that which is Holy is being invoked in many unholy situations.  On Facebook this morning I was encouraged to type "Amen" and my house would be free from financial worries.  Matthew 6:5-8  tell us how not to pray, and Jesus ends with Be, not ye, therefore, like unto them: for your Father knoweth what things ye have need of, before ye ask him. If this is true why are we using the social media to collect "Amen". After reading many of the postings,  I usually end up with the uneasy feeling that my spirituality has been raped.

The focus of today's prayer services is blessings and miracles.   Then, there are those prophets that are predicting the outpouring of God's wrath upon an unrepentance world.  Salvation and financial blessings have become synonymous.  I along with many, in and out of the organized church have begun to secretly wonder if we are making this stuff up as we go along.  We cannot openly question the cute cliches and proclamations, by doing so would expose us to the wrath of the Christian community.  Cute cliches and proclamations without substance appear to be one of the reasons the believability of our God is suffering. 

Understand how God works and what to expect from God is two of the important elements of our Christian journey.  Made up promises and making vast and vague claims that God is not about to answer is not in the best interest of promoting Christianity.  In Matthew 21:22 Jesus said, "And all things, whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive."  The key and operative word is prayer.  What is a prayer?  Is asking God for one million dollars an act of prayer?   Solomon asked for wisdom and God gave richness.  Maybe we should simply pray for the fruit of the spirit. 

In Matthew 5:3-12 Jesus expounded upon the attributes of being blessed in such a manner that that it should be impossible to misunderstand the meaning.   Yet, we still consider waking up to be included in the list of blessings.  I can and should be glad I woke up this morning because it will give me another day to work for Christ, but the blessings I should expect to receive is in the kingdom of Heaven.  This was Paul's reason for wanting to stay here. Philippians 1:23-24, For I am in a strait betwixt two, having a desire to depart, and to be with Christ; which is far better: Nevertheless to abide in the flesh is more needful for you.  Simply put, going home to get our reward should play an important part in our daily walk. 

To make the Christian walk more attractive, why is it necessary to redefined blessings and make them collectable on a daily base.   There are those who are standing by prepared to teach us for a fee, how to collect our blessings and count them, naming them one by one.  The blessings that Jesus expounded upon did seems to indicate that there was a reward pending, but this reward was in Heaven.  Matthew 5:12  Rejoice and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you.  In the Old Testament when the old patriots blessed  a child, it merely empowered them to act in the name of the father.   In today's society, collecting freebies and blessings is a way of life many.  

Often, in the midst of our pain, in the midst of our suffering the message is to wait on our deliverance or it's already done.  Many will speak with conviction and authority as if they have the Word of God in their mouth.  You will be left with the belief that the only thing standing between you and your deliverance is you acceptance.  Often there is an urgent need for the fruit of the spirit to manifest itself. There is a need for a message of joy and peace and this message will shift our focus from our condition, it will allow us to glory in our Christian walk.  The fruit of the spirit will become our most important asset.  

The type of messages that focused on our healing even as we go into the hospital often leave many feeling confused and rejected.  The reshaping of the message to indicate that God is using the hospital or the doctor as instruments of his healing power is no longer persuasive.  At the end of the day, we still wonder if God has rejected us.  In my sickness and in my suffering, in my search for God, I cried out, don't tell me what God can do.  If you cannot help me accept what God is doing, or what God is not doing, then hold your peace.   

As I walk through the valleys and the shadows of death, I rise to the occasion to speak like the three Hebrew boys, "Wheather God deliver me or not He is still God." Because of my acceptance of that concept, that ideology, I do not pray for financial gain, I do not pray for healing,  I pray for the fruit of the spirit.  With joy and peace, whatever my situation is, I will fear no evil for thou are with me...

Preaching In The Parking Lot

The question is what did Jesus preach and teach about.  Within the contents of the bible, we are given an insight of Jesus message to the multitude, his message to his disciples, and even his message to the ruling authority.  It is only in the book of Revelation, we are given an example of Jesus messages to the churches.  I often compare the message that Jesus sent to the church at Smyrna a suffering church and the message that is being delivered to the church today.

Revelation 2:8-11 and unto the angel of the church in Smyrna write; these things says the first and the last, who was dead and is alive; I know your works, and tribulation, and poverty, (but you are rich) and I know the blasphemy of them who say they are Jews, and are not, but are the synagogue of Satan. Fear none of those things which you will suffer: behold, the devil shall cast some of you into prison, that you may be tried; and you shall have tribulation ten days: be faithful unto death, and I will give you a crown of life. He that has an ear let him hear what the Spirit says unto the churches; He that overcomes shall not be hurt of the second death.

Is this Jesus idea of a message of hope and encouragement? The devil will cast some of you in prison, you shall have tribulation, be faithful unto death, then I will give you a crown of life.  It would seem as if Jesus would have taken this moment to assure his church that he was waiting to open up the windows of Heaven and pour out his Fathers blessing.  A seasoned minister that have mastered the "art of preaching" would no build an inspirational message around sad metaphors or similes and promises of blessings after death.  

The second church named in the scripture is the church at Smyrna The message to the church, the period of the great persecution somewhere around 316 AD.  There is seven representative churches mention in the book of Revelation.  The briefest of the spirits messages to the churches is that message to the church at Smyrna, The longest message is to the church at Thyatira.

The representative church at Smyrna was suffering, and Jesus saw and understood their suffering.  Jesus commended them for their suffering and not one word of reproach is addressed to the assembly there.  By the way of contrast, the message to the assembly at Laodicea is a message of rebuke.  Not one word of commendation or praise is in the message to the Laodiceans. 

The church at Smyrna was a representative church, the number two church of the seven churches.  Seven being a representative number used to indicate the time of, the fullness of, a marker that indicate the completeness of the works of God.  If the man is involved, then the number seven requires, and is indicative of, an act of faith. Joshua was required to march around the walls of Jericho seven times; Naaman was required to wash in the dirty river of Jordan seven times.  Now, if we can view the seven churches as representative churches, then we can see the history of the church and the message that is passed down to the church of today. If we refuse to accept these churches as representative churches, then we are justifying the changing messages to the churches of today

There are those who will debate the relevance of the book of Revelation and its application to the events taking place today.  Revelation is described by some as a dated book and the events portrayed or spoken off no longer apply to this age.  The Bible is the world best-selling book.  Year after year millions of copies is sold or given away.  Most ancient books have disappeared from memory, the bible continues to be printed more than any other book and is available in more than 2000 languages.  Yet in spite of its popularity, it has been described as the world’s most misunderstood book.   Although million of people read the bible, many find it hard to understand.  It is the language of the bible that mystifies those who read without studying

When Jesus spoke to the multitudes he spoke in parables, yet one would think because of the simplicity of a parable everyone would be able to understand it.  Yet it is because of the simplicity of the message everyone cannot understand it.  Read Matthew 13.

In Matthew 13:9, Jesus gives the same exhortation to the multitude, that he gave to the churches in Revelation, “Who has ears to hear let him hear.”  It seems Jesus was concern about the day when humanities ears would become dull, and the ability to hear would become selective.

   If we follow today’s learned dissertations we will have created a model for a book that has no concrete value or meaning. If we can accept the testimony of Moses and Elisha If we can accept the four gospels and the teaching of Peter, Paul and the other gospel writers, why shouldn’t we also accept the VERY testimony of Jesus Christ as being relevant and ageless?  Is it because of the bloodbath predicted?  Or is it because we cannot accept the final consummation of things?  

To simplify, the teaching of the bible was applicable in the ancient days and is applicable today.  It is how we hear and apply the scripture.  There are four applications that the Holy Spirit inspired Paul to write in reference to scripture, “before and after” I am not going to try to create a debatable issue as to what period he was speaking of.   In 2 Timothy 3:16 All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:

The reduction of the bible to surgically removed sound-bites and astute messages that bring on a state of euphoria is not in accordance with Jesus teaching or his final message to the churches.  The purpose of Christianity is the processing of humanity to fill the need of the Kingdom.  Remember God lost a third of his stars or children when the Devil was cast out of Heaven.  Christianity was not designed by God to make your life easier on planet earth.  It was designed to see if you could stand up to the Devil.  Then, If life on earth is a test are we praying for God to circumvent the test?  In church today all types of promises are made. If you are struggling God will make a way.  If you need a Job God will give you one. If you need a husband or wife God will hook you up.  If you are sick God will heal you. We hear beautifully crafted messages about walking in God’s favor, or abundant life here on Earth.  Have we ever considered the possibility that we are writing checks on the name of God, and God is refusing to honor them and we are afraid or ashamed to admit it?

Jesus message to the angels or messengers of the seven churches should serve as a guide to the pastors, teachers and church members of today’s church. 

Revelation 2:7, Jesus speaking to the church at Ephesus he said, “He that has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says unto the churches; to him that overcomes will I give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the midst of the paradise of God.”  He did not say, “Hear what man say unto the church,” He invoked the spirit and he were not speaking of an earthly entitlement what he is speaking of is a promise in the Kingdom of God. 

Now let us look at what Jesus considerate to be a message of encouragement to the church at Smyrna. Revelation 2:10, he says “Fear none of those things which you will suffer: behold, the devil shall cast some of you into prison, that you may be tried; and you shall have tribulation ten days: be faithful unto death, and I will give you a crown of life.”  Jesus did not make any promise to deliver them from their earthly suffering; In essence he said, “if you die for me I will give you a crown of life.”  Here again, Jesus is speaking of a Kingdom of heaven entitlement.  Imagine the ministers of today speaking to the church at Smyrna.  They would be told, you are suffering because you are not trusting God.   Jesus said, “I know you are poor, but yet you are rich.”  By your earthly standards, you are poor, but by your spirituality you are rich. He did not say sow a seed and I will bless you. 

Seeing how all of these promises are fulfilled in the Kingdom of God, it is interesting to note that this was what Jesus message was about, the Gospel of the Kingdom.

Prophecy and Revelation

Matthew 24:36  But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only.  1st John 2:18  Little children, it is the last time: and as ye have heard that antichrist shall come, even now are there many antichrists; whereby we know that it is the last time.

Some years ago to coincide with the publication of my book, "My Search For The Real God", I started a bible study group called, "Prophecy and Revelation".   The purpose of this group was to study biblical prophecies, in search of a deeper understanding.  Since that time, the word prophecies have taken on an ominous meaning as end time prophecies flooded the internet.  The religious community has been inundated  with a new breed of prophets and they are  making their presence known.  Many church services are not complete until the prophet has spoken.  These prophecies  run the gauntlet of 'someone" (A rather ambiguous term, that was not used by God.) is about to receive a blessing to the threat of death to those who do not agree with the leadership.   To maintain a degree of separation from this emerging entity, we have changed the focus of the bible study group to, "Understanding the Word of God". 

The tagline for the video on the internet said President Obama will not finish his second term. Those who were dissatisfied with the president's antics and those who were curious quickly clicked the link.  The video began with a quote from Jeremiah 50:6. "My people have been lost sheep, their shepherds have led them astray." For thirty-four-minute, I sat with my eyes glued to the computer monitor. Bible verse after bible verse mixed with images of world leaders and catastrophic events set the stage for a compelling video of a world on the brinks of destruction.  The prophecy predicted that the events depicted were to take place before the end of 2016, while the present president is still in office.  The antichrist would be brought down and the (world?)  (The United States?) would be destroyed by fire.  To survive this catastrophic event I needed to purchase the book offered at the end of the video.  Isn't it true the same book used to validate this prophecy tells us how to escape the wrath that is to come?

There are prophecies and there are prophecies.  Many of these prophecies are the result of a deviant form of scriptural reinterpretation.  The arrival of the antichrist and his ungodly minions often serves as the backdrop for a vast number of end time prophecies.  The struggle to place a face on the antichrist is often fueled by world events.  There are very few modern day presidents who have not earned this honour.  Presidents, popes and even Saddam Hussian have held the distinction of being label the antichrist.  Is there such a thing as a person who will come onto the world stage and will be identified as the antichrist?  Or, is antichrist merely a metaphor  used to reference those who stand against christ? (Comments are welcome at the end of this blog.)

There is a problem with the interpretation of the scripture to provide for the coming of a person known as "the antichrist".  Antichrist is a Christian term based on interpretation of passages in the New Testament, in which the term "antichrist" occurs five times in 1st John and 2nd John, once in plural form and four times in the singular.  1st John 2:18  Little children, it is the last time: and as ye have heard that antichrist shall come, even now are there many antichrists; whereby we know that it is the last time.  2 John 1:7  For many deceivers are entered into the world, who confess not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh. This is a deceiver and an antichrist.  I am unable to find a specific scripture that support the thesis that one individual called the antichrist will appear at the end of days.  According to 1st John 4:3 he seems to be stating that there is the spirit of Christ and the spirit of antichrist.  The spirit of antichrist was present in John's day and it exist today. 

Down thru the ages and dispensation, God used the prophets to warn his people off  impending doom or disaster.  The message was often directed to a people or person and God always validated his messenger or message.  A problem with many of today's prophecies is that the message is often dubious and lacking in validation.  To proclaim that somebody here is going to receive a blessing from God does not meet the criteria of a prophecy from God.   Most often these are self-serving proclamations designed to impress and improve one's status.

There are numerous end time videos making their presence known on the internet.  Many of these videos are professionally produced and the Bible is used as a backdrop or to validate the opinion or interpretation of the author.  As with any prophecy, the element of fear is amplified.  What is common with most of these  attention-grabbing videos, at the end there is a sales pitch to buy something.  This type of marketing is used in and out of the religious community to create a revenue stream.  There is a prophet mention in the old testament scripture who sought to profit from the prophecies of God. 

Judgement day prophecies are nothing new.  As a young child growing up, "judgement day," dates were often being set.  Often the date were set far into the future, thus allowing the person who had the revelation to enjoy the maximum notoriety.  Many of these dates have passed into obscurity and that knowledge that only the Father knows remain hidden.  We do not know the day nor the hour that the son of man will appear.  This the Bible does tell us, every since Jesus set foot on this earth, was crucified, rose again and ascended unto his Father, we have been living in the last days.

Christianity has always been plagued with false prophets.  As we draw closer to the end of days, the fear of God has diminished.  We are often titillated  through our ears and eyes, over the internet and in the church of the many wonderful things  God is doing and going to do for us.  Typing or speaking "Amen", has become the golden key to receiving  "blessings".   Because of the clamouring for a blessing, we have become susceptible to a form of apostasy that has crept upon us unaware.  Men and women adorned themselves with impressive titles and make promises in the name of God.  The gospel of salvation has become obscured as we perform these acts or deeds that the prophets have assured us, will cause God to pour out his blessing upon us.  Because false prophets are not falling dead, but rather they are enjoying the fruit of their laid up treasure, this is used to validate their walk with God. 

 A message depicting the love of God is more conducive to a pessimistic society. We can easily take a scripture out of the context that it was spoken and proclaim, "love covers a multitude of faults", thereby setting the stage for the justifying of our faults in the eyes of God.  The self-made messenger of God now proclaims, "God want you to be happy", and the masses said "Amen".   This is a statement that I doubt the Apostles or even Paul, who suffered immensely for Christ sake, would sign off on. 

An interesting side notes on how God work, if these prophets had existed under the administration of the law, God might have judged them and destroyed them.  After God, divorcement proceedings against his chosen people were complete, God was silent. The God that emerged after his silence was a more kindly or friendly God who began to store up his wrath.  Under the presumption of grace made through his son, his wrath was withheld and humanity was given a chance to repent.  Whereas the Pharoah of Egypt, who chased the children of Israel into the Red Sea was destroyed in the Red Sea, God gave Herod a pass when he sought to destroy the Son of God.  

Durning the early years of Christianity, even before Paul boarded the ship for Rome, he warned the church of those who would come in seeking for positions of authority and destroying the faith in the process.  Jesus rebuked the church in the Book of Revelation because of the false prophets who was allowed to stand in the sanctuary and issue false prophecies.   Many of the organized churches of today  is suffering from a type of spiritual abuse by those who are misusing the gifts they are claiming to be from God. 

We Trivialize God.and Justified Sin.

Exodus 20:7  Thou shalt not take the name of the LORD thy God in vain; for the LORD will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain.

Events or expressions that I witness or overheard on a day to day base often causes me to reminisce of my days growing up in a Christian environment.  My parent would often chastise or punish me for what was described as taking the name of the Lord in vain.  A slip of the tongue outside of the home was also known to bring on a slap upside the head by any offended Christian adult.  The rules have changed in today's pessimistic society.  The Holy name of God is referenced in all types of endeavors.  

In the midst of my Bible study last week, I asked a rhetorical question.  "Do we really believe in God"?  The question was asked to bring about a personal assessment of our belief system.  Can a generation that has defined Santa Claus as the figment of old folks imagination really believe in a metaphysical  God? What happen to this nation, a nation that was founded upon a strong belief in God?  A nation whose workers and framers spent so much time invoking the blessing of the immortal deity seems to have lost it way.  Somewhere along the road of deciding what to believe and the freedom to believe, the foundation of our belief structure has become shaken.  The sacredness of the Holy Scripture is constantly being called into question and is constantly being re-interpreted and the God of our salvation is been reinvented.   

Compared to the bygone days, the God of today is an alien entity.  The God who once was hailed as the destroyer of nations, a God whose fierce anger was extolled in the Old Testament is now presented as  a God of favors.  Even the church has dumbed down  the rhetoric of it founding Apostle and the message of the cross is considered hate speech.  According to the watered down messages emulating from many pulpits, the masses are more attracted to a message of favors rather than a message of salvation.  The focus of many churches seems to have entered a state of apostasy.  The mission is bringing souls into the church to improve the financial bottom line and enhance personal status, rather than soul saving.

The trivialization of God begins at that point where the justification of sin becomes a necessity and reality.  To promote a new agenda, it became necessary to declassify God as the supreme ruler and allow humanity to function as the controller of his own destiny, a position that John described as the spirit of antichrist.  That which now can be justified is no longer evil, it become a point of understanding between the seeker of justification and its personal idea of God.  According to the pious prelate, the God of today simply wants his creation to be happy. It seems as if humanity has recreated God in the image of man. Proverbs 16:25  There is a way that seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death.  

The Facebook post said,  “I saw over 700 miracles while praying.  To you reading this with faith, there is a miracle from God in your life this week.  The Lord said your problem is over.  To every hand that will share this testimony and type ‘Amen’ with faith, a miracle has been assigned to you in Jesus name.”  I often wonder, is it just me or is there others who feel like me.  Though subtle in nature, the ‘somebody’ card is being played.  This seems to be an overt act of showmanship, design to promote one's personal status and fame and has nothing to do with the true promise or message of God.   

The age of miracles is upon us and there is a search high and low for that scripture that says a miracle is coming your way. 


These types of postings are reminiscent of the bygone days when a minister or prophet would stand before a group of people and scream, “the Lord says, there is somebody in here with a headache, God says come up here and get your healing.   This always worked in a crowd of a few, until the younger generation began to question these antics and began to wake up.  Once a church lady prolonged the service thirty minutes communing with God, when it was over the message received was, "Somebody is going to die, let's pray that God rebuke the hand of death."  Well, the truth is somebody did die and she was hailed a prophet.  Once a person is proclaimed a prophet, there is no limit nor shame to the type of prophecies that will be made in the name of God. 

Mark 7:7  Howbeit in vain do they worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men.

There is a type of church folks gullibility that is preyed upon by the unscrupulous, those who are seeking to make a name for themselves.  The snake oil salesman mentality, the Jim Jones approach to Christianity, the doctrine of Rev Ike is still flourishing. There also appears to be an element of play-acting.  It is also equivalent to the preacher who constantly urge you to shout 'Amen' throughout the message or The overuse of the phrase "touch your neighbor."  A proven method of subtle indoctrination, designed to foster a relationship between the speaker and the hearer. This is an act that many find distracting and somewhat distasteful but are ashamed to admit it.   

Another post said, “Money will come your way this week.  Type Amen and Share.  Another said, Type Amen if you believe Jesus can heal you.  Now, what truly indoctrinated Christian would not believe Jesus “can” heal?  The list was short compared to those who responded to the offer of money.  

When reading the Facebook post of the sometimes famous and the not so famous people promising  instant money in my bank account. Typing the word "Amen" is the key to unlocking the windows of Heaven and allowing blessing and healing to flow.  Have we become a people who approach our God on a day to day base, with outstretched hands, begging for a blessing.  Many are not impressed by those who use fancy titles to misinterpret the scripture and teach the doctrines and commandments of men.

A Proper Perspective, (Part #2)

Bible Seminar, Lesson 1  (Part #2)

Bible Seminar, Lesson 1  (Part #1)

The Thessalonicaian were an unruly bunch, like many of us today, when they heard Paul and Silas teach the scripture from a different perspective.   Rather than studying the scripture, they sought to attack the messengers.  Paul and Silas escaped by night and took their message to Berea.  Acts 17:11   These were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so. The Scriptures should be examined daily. If we wish to arrive at the truth, the scripture should be the object of constant study. There is little reason to expect that a person will grow in knowledge and grace, if that person does not read carefully, with sincerity and with prayer, a portion of the Bible every day.  2^nd Timothy 2:15 says, “Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.”

Like many my age, I grew up in an age when young people were required to go to church and attend Bible study.  Bible study often became a platform of indoctrination and emotionalizing, rather than searching for answers.   In Bible study, we were often taught Matthew 7:7, Jesus said, “Ask and it shall be given, seek and ye shall find, knock and the door shall be open to you”.  Now, on the surface without considering the contextual nature of these statements, this seems to be a blank check.  Generations grew up with the focus on all types of trivial things rather than the Kingdom of God.  When that unspeakable doubt began to creep in because it seems as if God was not fulfilling our prayer request, we were told that God may not come when we want him to come but he is always on time.   There is truth in this statement and this was enough to keep many of us going as we struggled to believe that God was going to answer our requests.  Then a strange thing began to happen, we began to trivialize the works of God, this caused an increasingly large number of souls to fall by the wayside.  The problems began to manifest themselves when God refused to be bullied into action thru loud and boastful prayer.  It can be augured  that because of a failure to understand the Word of God the believability of God has suffered.

The Hebrew and Greek languages as with other languages does not allow for a smooth translation to the English language.  A literal translation, especially when it comes to the words and teaching of Jesus is not always possible.  Understanding the numerology, symbology and phraseology used in the Hebrew and Greek language are necessary to  unlocking and understanding the scripture.  If your brother smites you on one cheek, turn the other, do this mean, if someone hit you stand there and let him to hit you again?  The interpretation becomes clear when we continue to read the teaching of Jesus, it simply mean, do good to those who do you wrong.  There were those who walked away from the teaching of Jesus because of a lack of understanding when he said, “you must drink my blood and eat my flesh.”  

Another important aspect of understanding the word of God is the context.  The context is that part of a written or spoken statement that precede or follow a specific word or passage, usually influencing its meaning or effect: Misinterpretations are caused when we take spoken or written words out of their original context and present them as the complete message. The set of circumstances or facts that surround a particular event, situation, based upon who is talking, who is being spoken to and what is the subject matter determines the context.  Failure to apply these rules will cause the scripture to be misinterpreted and misapplied.  My brother who raises cows, once ask me to stand in the gate and only let the female cows pass.  Did my brother just offer me a lifetime job or was it something that just needed to be done at that moment.

A literal interpretation of the scripture will often place the Bible student in an untenable position and force the injection of interpretations based upon doctrinal or personal beliefs.  Theological syncretism will creep in as we began to read the Bible through the lens of our denomination, organization, ministry strategy.  This type of interpretation is the basis of  the divisions within the household of faith.  To be true to the Word of God, we should not try to explain away certain thing God said and accept others.   If  we strive to understand the language of the Bible and allow the Bible to speak in its true form, we will not have problems with understanding and  accepting what God said.  If we consider the book to be a perfect book, then it words and interpretation should flow in a perfect manner.  For the Bible story to flow in perfect order we must be rightly divided the word of truth into ages and dispensations.  This is something we will discuss later.  The point that I am trying to make is when Jesus said, “Drink my blood, and eat my flesh”, “If thy right eye offend the pluck it out” “Ask and it shall be given” the perspective and context of these statements is a spiritual.  We should embrace the “spirituality” of Jesus messages and study to understand the signification of his speech.  When asked the question about the disciples washing their hands before eating, he said, “It is not what goes into the body that defiles it, it is what come out”.  The natural question was given a spiritual answer. 

When there is a question about what we should do, or should not do,  this scripture is often quoted.   Matthew 4:4  But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.  It is backed up by a similar  quote from Luke 4:4  And Jesus answered him, saying, It is written, That man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God.   Matthew and Luke are recounting, though somewhat different in wording, of an encounter that Jesus had with the Devil.  Jesus is quoting Deuteronomy 8:3 And he humbled thee, and suffered thee to hunger, and fed thee with manna, which thou knewest not, neither did thy fathers know; that he might make thee know that man doth not live by bread only, but by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of the LORD doth man live.  A close examination of these verses seems to indicate a present and future commitment to living by the Word of God.  What does it mean to live by every word of God?  This is a question that you should strive to answer.

Does the ideology of living by every word that proceeded out of the Mouth of God mean we must literal obey commands given to Abraham, Moses or the ancient patriots?   God seems to have put everything in the proper perspective when Peter wanted to build a tabernacle for Moses and Elisha so they could listen to the teaching of these great leaders.  God became angry and said, “This is my beloved son, hear him.”

The problems manifest themselves when we try to take what God said to Moses and the prophets and apply it to the church.  There is a great lesson to be learned from reading how God dealt with the children of Israel.  To use this verse to justify teaching the law is in error if we say to live by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God indicate that we must live in according with the laws given to the Children of Israel.   As much as we try and teach it, we do not live according to the Law of Moses.  Paul stated Galatians 3:24 wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith.  To justify our inability to live under the Law we split the Law of Moses up into groups.  There are the moral law and the ceremonial law.  Now we have the grounds for debate, disagreement and confusion.

Let's use the Sabbath, as an example of how Jesus kept the law.  Let’s read: Exodus 20:8 “Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy.”  On one extreme we have one standing in the Pulpit on a Sunday, saying we are to keep the commandants which is a point of confusion, and another condemn a host of people to Hell because they don’t keep the Sabbath.   There is a third group who leaves the assemblies wondering why Jesus died.

Now, God gave this command in Exodus 20:10, “But the seventh day is the Sabbath of the LORD thy God: in it thou shall not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates.”  Jesus said in Matthew 12:11  And he said unto them, What man shall there be among you, that shall have one sheep, and if it fall into a pit on the Sabbath day, will he not lay hold on it, and lift it out?  The pious attitude of the self-righteous was voiced by John, 9:16 Therefore said some of the Pharisees, This man is not of God, because he keepeth not the Sabbath day. Others said, how can a man that is a sinner do such miracles? And there was a division among them.  This division exists even today.

Paul joined the fray in Colossians 2:16 Let no man therefore judge you in meat, or in drink, or in respect of a holy day, or of the new moon, or of the Sabbath days:

2^nd Timothy 2:15  Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.  The Word of God is to be divided into ages and dispensations.

2 Timothy 3:16  All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:

Bible Seminar, Lesson 1  (Part #1)

A Proper Perspective (Part #1)

Bible Seminar, Lesson 1  (Part #1)
Bible Seminar, Lesson 1  (Part #2)

Mark 8:22-25  And he cometh to Bethsaida, and they bring a blind man unto him and besought him to touch him. And he took the blind man by the hand and led him out of the town; and when he had spit on his eyes and put his hands upon him, he asked him if he saw ought. And he looked up, and said, I see men as trees, walking. After that, he put his hands again upon his eyes and made him look up: and he was restored and saw every man clearly.

Not long ago while walking through the woods on the way back from one of my favorite fishing spots, I took a picture, of nothing more than a peaceful wooded scene.  Uploading the picture to my social media page I caption it with, “Can you see the bear?”  The varied response was surprising, and I divided them into groups.  There were those who could see the bear, those who did not see the bear, and another group who spread rumors saying, “I saw a bear in the woods”.  The fourth group was the most intimidating, in that it suggested that I should lay off the hard liquor while walking in the woods.  The result of the study became more embarrassing when some of my friends insisted on organizing a bear hunt.  This experiment proved that our perception is often clouded by our perspective.  In many of Jesus messages he referenced this flawed condition of humanity as such:  Mark 8:18 having eyes, see ye not? and having ears, hear ye not? and do ye not remember?

                                                  

The theme of this seminar, “Understands the Word of God”, it is not based upon the proclamation of a new doctrine, nor is it an attempt to confirm or enforce a new set of rules governing the interpretation of the scriptural.  This lecture series s designed to pose questions.  We will pose more questions than answers, the same as Jesus did during his ministry.  In the Hebrew Bible, Jesus asked at least 183 questions, compared to the more than 307 questions he was asked.  He only gave a direct answer to three.  Jesus often formulated his response to questions in such a manner that the person asking the question was forced to provide the answer.  Questions are an important asset to teaching and learning.  It is through the entertainment of questions that our perception will be sharpened, and the mind is able to adjust its perspective and gain a deeper insight into the knowledge of God. This lecture and the ones that follow is a process of searching for answers.  The answer for many of the questions that we will pose is necessary to reaffirm the faith of the emerging generation. A generation who maintains the frameworks and vocabulary of Christianity while having lost touch with their substance. 

Understanding The Word of God will allow us to adjust our vantage point, it will enable us to address many of the flawed facets of religious ideology.  The world has embraced a new and permissive order; the scriptures are quickly discarded as clichés without substance and the irrelevant rants of ambiguous church folks.  Christianity once was heralded as the true religion and protected by the Western world, it is now being offered up on the altar of political correctness.  The detractors are presenting it as a failed religion while many of our religious leaders glory in worldly excesses.   Through these lectures or classes, we intend to reaffirm the ideology that the journey is spiritual and the message is the Word of God; it is not about the art of preaching and addressing the emotional and motivational aspects of humanity.  It is not about coming to church and standing in line waiting for God to hand out a blessing.  The message is the same one that was preached by Jesus and his disciples, it is a call to the world to repent, for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand.

Over the course of this event, we will conduct a number of discussions.  In this venue in order for a Bible discussion to be believable the foundation of that discussion must rest upon several principles, among them are perspective and context.  The context and perspective began at the point of interpretation.  If this is true, then we must guard against a subtle form of syncretism.  Syncretism is defined as the tendency to read the Bible through the lens of our denomination, organization or ministry strategy.  When the interpretation of the scripture is based upon our personal views or perspective we take a chance on missing out on much of what God reveals in the scripture.   Theological syncretism is a form of spiritual suicide,

For a deeper understanding of the Word of God, a prayer for God to open our eyes must be at the forefront of our endeavor.  God’s perspective is from one vantage point, man’s perspective is from many different vantage points.  It is, therefore, easy for a man with a slight influence from that old devil to see things different from God.   Mark gives us a startling example of Jesus adjusting the perspective of the once blind man.  Mark 8:23-25  And he took the blind man by the hand and led him out of the town; and when he had spit on his eyes and put his hands upon him, he asked him if he saw ought. And he looked up, and said, I see men as trees, walking. (Remember the picture.  “Can you see the bear?)  After that he put his hands again upon his eyes and made him look up: and he was restored, and saw every man clearly.  What stands out in this scripture is, Jesus touched the man and he was healed, but he did not see clearly.  Being touched by the Savior and viewing life from the proper perspective was a two-step process.

There are guidelines for establishing perspective and context, and they are based upon who is speaking, who is being spoken to, and what is the subject matter.  There are three major groups addressed in the Bible, the Jews, the Gentiles, and the church. Paul referenced these three separate entities in 1^st Corinthians 10:32, “Give none offense, neither to the Jews, nor to the Gentiles, nor to the church of God:”  To preclude an argument within the mind of many, the Jews and Gentiles are earthly people, the church is a spiritual body, and as Paul stated in 1^st Corinthians 12:13,  For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free; and have been all made to drink into one Spirit.  Paul is addressing the spiritual makeup of the church, not the earthly makeup of a person.

What is perspective?  Perspective is defined as a particular attitude toward our way of regarding something; in essence, it is a point of view.  If the perspective is a point of view, then it can vary from person to person.  No doubt the blind man whom we discussed earlier saw men as trees walking based his assessment upon the knowledge he had received as a blind man.    Perspectives can be clouded by indoctrinated beliefs, whether they be true or false.  Perspectives can be based upon what we want to believe and not what is.  Solomon addressed the issue in Proverbs 16:25, he said, “There is a way that seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof is the ways of death.”  Solomon had previously stated in Proverbs 12:15 that, “The way of a fool is right in his own eyes: but he that hearkeneth unto counsel, is wise.”  A simple conclusion by examining these two verses is, there is a proper or true perspective and there is a false perspective. 

A professional photographer will spend valuable time adjusting and repositioning his camera in search of the proper perspective as pertaining to its subject.   Even after the photograph is processed, it is subjected to critical review.  This review sometimes results in the photos being discarded and a new photo shoot scheduled. This does not detract from the expertise or professionalism of the photographer. In the world of professional photography there is a constant search for the proper perspective of static objects, thus highlighting and signify the difference between a snapshot and a photograph.

 Lets view a common scripture from different perspectives.  When I was a small child I saw a picture of Jesus standing at a door knocking.  The caption for the picture was Revelation 3:20  Behold, I stand at the door and knock: if any man hears my voice and open the door, I will come into him, and will sup with him, and he with me.   Most, if not all of us have seen that picture and the image is burned into our memory.  Sermons and Bible studies are often presented, emphasizing Jesus at the door knocking.    Would the message be the same if it was viewed from a different perspective,  let's take a closer look at two of them. Perspective (1). We see Jesus standing at the door and depending upon our proximity to him, we might be able to hear him knocking and pleading.  In order to see and hear what Jesus is doing, we must get as close to Jesus as we can.  Therefore, we are now in the same position Jesus is in, and the message is not to us because we are outside of the room.  Our perspective will not allow us to act upon the message, rather it has allowed us to become a projector of the message, rather than a receiver of the message.  With all of the smugness of a saint of God, we can now proclaim, “Jesus is standing at the door knocking, will you please let him in.”  To some this might seem as it is an extreme analogy, but remember the bear that did not exist.  We must be careful that the view from the outside does not cause us to strive for a position equal to that of Christ as Lords of his church.

Perspective (2) We are inside of a room and we hear this knocking on the door.  We hear the voice saying, “let me in”.   To act upon the request of Jesus, you must be in the room.  Jesus said, “if any man hears my voice and open the door.” He did not say hear me knocking, which was an act to get the attention of those in the room.  He said, “hear my voice”.  The message was a call to action.  The uses of the term, “any man” makes this a message to the individual, a personal message. The message contained within this verse was never about seeing Jesus standing at the door, it was about hearing the Word of God on an individual level and opening the door.  To spiritualize this, if you cannot hear Jesus knocking at the door of your Heart, then you must be in the wrong place.  The message of the Word of God in Revelation 3:20 and even from the beginning of time has always been, “If you do this, this is what I will do.”

Bible Seminar, Lesson 1  (Part #2)