Thoughts on Thanksgiving

 May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. Rom. 15:13

All this is for your benefit, so that the grace that is reaching more and more people may cause thanksgiving to overflow to the glory of God. 2 Cor. 4:15

Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful. Heb.12:28

The faith and love that spring from the hope stored up for you in heaven and about which you have already heard in the true message of the gospel.  Col.1:5

Viktor Frankl, a survivor of the Auschwitz death camps, describes how holding onto hope was literally a life-or-death choice. Those who lost hope, he said, developed a certain look in their eye, a fatalism that inevitably ended in death. They experienced an “existential vacuum” — his term for a complete loss of meaning, a loss of hope, a sense that nothing really mattered any more. Once they had that look, several days later they were dead.

Paul states in Romans 15:13 that we as believers don't just have a tiny bit, a pinch, a modicum of hope - we are overflowing with hope. What is that hope in? The surety of the return of Christ. The certainty that He is preparing a place for us. The confidence that as Brandon Lake says in his song Sevens, "We're gonna' make it out alive." This is the Blessed Hope that Christians have sung about for years. This is the underlying message of so many "negro spirituals" that kept their hope going in the midst of terrible hardships.

 The writer of Hebrews says that this hope in Heaven causes us to be thankful. In fact three times in his epistles Paul writes about our thankfulness being overflowing. It's interesting that Paul says hope overflows and thankfulness overflows. It seems they are connected.

 We watched a Netflix Christmas movie last night called Champagne Problems. It dealt with a woman from America going to a vineyard in France, a producer of Champagne, and attempting to purchase it for her company. As she left in apparent failure, she recounted her problems to a desk clerk as "Champagne problems". When pushed as to what that meant she stated that champagne is uncorked at celebratory events - weddings, New Years, parties in general. Yes, she had problems, but they were in the backdrop of finding herself, love, and all the good things that happened in Paris.

We, as Christians, because of our hope (confident assurance) of Heaven where we will be spraying Champagne like the World Series winners, go through this life overflowing with thanksgiving and the Eeyore woe is me of our problems should amount to no more than "champagne problems." Let's be known as thankful people not gripers. Happy Thanksgiving. Cheers!

Thoughts From Romans 15 - Part 3

 May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. Rom. 15:13

              In Andor Season 1, Andor is sent to a prison camp where he and his team of inmates are forced to make parts for Empire ships. There were quotas with competitiveness and rewards, so the Empire was trying to cover the "having a purpose" need that is in everyone. The also incorporated the need for friendship and human interaction that everyone needs. The other thing that everyone needs is hope. They were given the false illusion that they were going to be freed but one day, it came out that no one is ever freed, they are just transferred to other prisons. When this came out, people were willing to risk death and a number died to stage a revolt because people can't live without hope.

           That being said, without an afterlife, there is no hope. That's why such a small percent of the population are atheists because religion offers hope. Karl Marx called it the "opiate of the masses" because if people have hope, they can tolerate a miserable existence. Of all the religions, Christianity offers true hope - John writes, "These are written that you may know that you have eternal life". We can know that we will live forever in Heaven not because of anything we've done, because frankly we can be as bad as we are good, but because of what Jesus has done on our behalf. The only other religion that offers true hope caused 9/11. Islam says that if you die in Jihad you will go directly to Heaven with numerous virgins at your disposal. Which faith seems more acceptable?

          So how do non-believers go through life without hope? I have no idea. Maybe they try to repress it. Maybe they find their meaning in their kids and grandkids with hope for a better tomorrow. Maybe they think that when they die they will probably go on to Heaven because they can always find a person that is worse than them. But I do think that this is a way to reach people for the gospel. Play the "what then" game. Where do you see yourself in 5 years? What then? What then? What then? What then? What then? It finally ends up that you die and then the last question is What then? Make them think about hope. Will they ever be free or are they stuck in this prison until death?

Thoughts From Romans 15 - Part 2

 and, moreover, that the Gentiles might glorify God for his mercy. As it is written:

“Therefore I will praise you among the Gentiles;
    I will sing the praises of your name.”

10 Again, it says,

“Rejoice, you Gentiles, with his people.”

11 And again,

“Praise the Lord, all you Gentiles;
    let all the peoples extol him.”

12 And again, Isaiah says,

“The Root of Jesse will spring up,
    one who will arise to rule over the nations;
    in him the Gentiles will hope.”

Romans 15:9-12

            Paul gives 4 Old Testament verses here back-to-back on the inclusion of the gentiles for salvation in God's plan. He could have included at least 9 more. (Gen 12:3, Ps.22:27, Isa.42:4, 49:6, 56:3-7, 60:1-3, Jer.16:19-21, Zech.2:11, Mal.1:11) It does make you wonder why with at least 13 prophetic passages on the inclusion of Gentiles in the body of Christ, the early Jewish believers had such a hard time with it. When Peter went into Cornelius' home, he had to go before what appeared to be a review board questioning his actions and when he explained what happened their response was like, "Wow! So you're saying Gentiles can get saved? Amazing!"

          Certainly, we have to cut them some slack for 3 reasons. First, they were raised in homes where the law was taught and to associate with Gentiles would make you unclean. You can wonder about a God who makes rules like that but when you see a dispersed people for hundreds of years come back in 1948 as a pure people, you can see that these laws to separate and not inter-marry kept them from being absorbed and no longer a Jewish people. Also, we can see as believers the dangers of being unequally yoked from besties all the way to marriage, different beliefs about Jesus, the Bible, worldviews gradually destroy one's faith and degrees of separation are a good thing.

        Secondly, they didn't have access to those prophecies like we do. I probably have 20 Bibles in my study while I imagine they had to go to the synagogue to have access to scriptures. They couldn't have a morning Bible Study like I am today. What a blessing having the complete Word of God at my fingertips! What's my excuse for not knowing what's in there?

       Third, they were prejudiced, they thought they were better people than the Gentiles because they were God's chosen. This may be bad of me to say, but I think Jews may still feel that way about the rest of the world which triggers anti-Jew resentment among the rest of the world. I'm not saying anti-Jew sentiment is their own fault by any means. I think the Devil is and always has been the instigator because he hates God and therefore hates God's chosen. But if you feel superior to someone innately, you are going to have a hard time accepting them as equals.

           Paul, as he did in Romans 9-11 is once again trying to bring Jews and Gentiles together as equal brothers in Christ just like today, with racism still present, we bring blacks and whites together in Church as equal and without differences, yet it is still an uphill climb for all the same reasons- our upbringing, lack of understanding of the scripture, and prejudices. Let's not condemn the early Church if we can't get it right either.

Thoughts From Romans 15 - Part 1

 We who are strong ought to bear with the failings of the weak and not to please ourselves. 2 Each of us should please our neighbors for their good, to build them up. 3 For even Christ did not please himself but, as it is written: “The insults of those who insult you have fallen on me.” 4 For everything that was written in the past was written to teach us, so that through the endurance taught in the Scriptures and the encouragement they provide we might have hope.5 May the God who gives endurance and encouragement give you the same attitude of mind toward each other that Christ Jesus had, 6 so that with one mind and one voice you may glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.7 Accept one another, then, just as Christ accepted you, in order to bring praise to God. 8 For I tell you that Christ has become a servant of the Jews on behalf of God’s truth, so that the promises made to the patriarchs might be confirmed  Rom.15:1-8

        Listening to this new song I love by "Tides" called "Alive?" Love it. Here are the lyrics or at least some of them. Notice what she is saying. Her life used to be about serving herself, getting followers, finding herself - all self-centered things. What a universal motivation in the world. If you go to any psychiatrist, they will try to build this part up in your life to find meaning and happiness.

      Did you ever think about what it would look like if Jesus decided to serve Himself? I think the Devil knew because when he tempted Jesus, he hit Him in those areas; "You have miraculous power so use it to feed yourself, get popularity, get power" - but Jesus knew that in order to do that He had to follow Satan. It even appears from Romans that Jesus going to the Jews only was a part of His submission to God's plan to fulfill the promises to the Patriarchs. He could have gone to the Gentiles and been received but He didn't serve Himself and the end result was rejection and crucifixion. But Hebrews says He did it for the joy set before Him. If you want to have joy, meaning, hope, peace - stop serving yourself. Die to self and live for Jesus. You can't serve yourself and follow God. You might think, "I'll follow God in all these areas but in this one area I'm going to serve myself." Nope, doesn't work.

We are drops in an ocean without limit

You and I, we′re specks of grain in the sand

But I believe we were placed with intention

There's a part to play

Grow a following, yeah

Gain influence

What a currency to people who are clueless

But I need more than that

Something tangible

Dig in deep to the root of what makes me whole

Hope in myself was my sole fixation

Never livin′ up to my own expectation

And most of the time

I'd do anything, if it meant I would feel alive

Cause I was not alive

Or at least not yet

Not yet

(Listen)

We're not here to stay

Only passin′ thru

I fear that so many people get it misconstrued

You gotta face the fear

Confront all the wrong

And let your life be redeemed to know where you belong

Hope in myself was my sole fixation

Never livin′ up to my own expectation

And most of the time

I'd do anything if it meant I would feel alive

Holiness in life is my new motivation

Castin′ all my cares on the author of creation

Now this is the way

Yes I'm sure is way it is meant to be

Thoughts From Romans 14 - Part 6

  So whatever you believe about these things keep between yourself and God. Blessed is the one who does not condemn himself by what he approves. 23 But whoever has doubts is condemned if they eat, because their eating is not from faith; and everything that does not come from faith is sin.  Rom. 14:22,23

        The one thing I haven't talked about is this whole thing about eating which Paul keeps talking about in Romans 14. It appears that the idol worshippers offered animal sacrifices to statues of pagan gods and rather than let these stink, spoil, attract maggots, overnight these meats would be bought by local vendors and sold a day later at the meat market, probably at a discount. Some Christians would say, "I could never eat that because it was offered to a demon" while others would say, "an idol is just a marble slab, it's nothing so I am going to buy cheap meat and be a good steward of God's money."

      Now both could be in the same fellowship and never have an issue with this except in 3 instances as I see. #1) They are shopping in the same market, and one sees the other buying that meat. Solution - If you eat that meat, go shopping at a low traffic time and look around before you buy it. My wife makes a mean rum cake, but we would never buy the rum in our locale. We wait for a cruise or something like that.

 #2) You invite that person over for supper and serve the meat and they ask, "Is this meat that was offered to idols?" You can't lie so you say yes. Paul would instruct the weaker brother not to ask, just assume it's not and your conscience won't be bothered. I suppose a modern-day scenario might be you get a gift for Christmas, but you are boycotting Target, and you don't know if it came from there. Just accept it and don't ask. Or your ministry gets an anonymous gift, but you say, "What if this is from the Masons?" Don't ask, just accept it as God blessing you. Or is this candy you got from trick or treating? Don't ask. Just eat it.

#3) You are at a Bible study (or whatever form of the scriptures they would have had) and someone brings up the subject for discussion. This actually is great because this is how the weaker brother can grow and this is how the stronger brother can grow in grace, love, longsuffering, and understanding. It may also convict the stronger brother if he is actually being free in an area he shouldn't be and has taken his freedom too far. Paul says that it is possible to approve of too much so be careful.

      Are there areas that you are holding to a stronger standard than scripture gives? Are there areas that you have freedom in that scripture holds you to a higher standard. These are questions we need to continually ask and pray for divine wisdom as we continue in our daily process of sanctification (spiritual growing up).

         

Thoughts From Romans 14-Part 5

  If your brother or sister is distressed because of what you eat, you are no longer acting in love. Do not by your eating destroy someone for whom Christ died. 16 Therefore do not let what you know is good be spoken of as evil. 17 For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit, 18 because anyone who serves Christ in this way is pleasing to God and receives human approval.19 Let us therefore make every effort to do what leads to peace and to mutual edification. 20 Do not destroy the work of God for the sake of food. All food is clean, but it is wrong for a person to eat anything that causes someone else to stumble. 21 It is better not to eat meat or drink wine or to do anything else that will cause your brother or sister to fall.  Romans 14:15-21

          I once read an article somewhere called "The Tyranny of the Weaker Brother". I can't recall most of what it said but I thought it was a cool name. The just of the article was that the weaker brother can really take away from your freedom if you try to follow all these principles in Romans 14. For example, do you read King James in church so as not to offend the King James only people? Our church does because it's the version Paul used. (that's a joke) Does the pastor wear a suit and tie? Ours does a wardrobe change between contemporary and traditional services. Wine or grape juice? I think this isn't a Romans 14 issue. It has to be grape juice because of recovering alcoholics in your congregation. Then there is the church has to have a Sunday evening service and mid-week prayer meeting crowd. Do you keep these on life support for the few that come?

      It appears the early church met on the first day of the week, but can it meet on different days? And does it have to be in a building? The instructions we get are "don't neglect the assembling of yourselves together," and that's about it. Can't that be in a house group. I would think so as long as everyone's spiritual gifts are being used for the benefits of the others. Obviously, a larger assembly allows for better use of these broad gifts. Many people left our church during Co-Vid19 because we chose not to meet in a large assembly but in smaller groups and this violated the principle of the Sunday morning church weaker brother tyranny.

        As I can recall from the article, the tyranny began when the weaker brother was invited into your house and started looking in your refrigerator and saw beer or your cupboards and saw wine or your albums or CDs and saw secular music or your magazines and saw "Seventeen" (am I dating myself?). I remember hiding all my kids' Harry Potter books when certain people would come over and telling the kids what shows they weren't allowed to turn on while their children were over.

       So, what's the bottom line? I think Paul is saying if your righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit is contingent on any of these debatable issues being affirmed, you are missing the boat. We should have so much contentment in Jesus alone that removing any of these things' "rights" or "freedoms" for the sake of others while they grow, shouldn't affect us one iota. Let's find all we need in life in Jesus!

Thoughts From Romans 14 - Part 4

  Therefore let us stop passing judgment on one another. Instead, make up your mind not to put any stumbling block or obstacle in the way of a brother or sister. 14 I am convinced, being fully persuaded in the Lord Jesus, that nothing is unclean in itself. But if anyone regards something as unclean, then for that person it is unclean.  Rom. 14:13,14

            I was on a visitation with a fellow deacon one night, driving on some roads in the middle of nowhere whose names ended in "hollow", when my partner started ranting about people who would hide Halloween candy that they liked at the local Wal-Mart and then the day after Halloween pull it out and it would be half priced. He was disgusted by that and thought it was the worst kind of dishonesty. When I heard him tell of this dastardly deed, my only thought was "What a great idea! Why didn't I think of that?" Of course, outwardly I agreed with him, inwardly I really didn't think it was wrong. Maybe my conscience is hard as granite and I know, in my mind I can justify a lot of things, but I could do this squirreling away with a clear conscience.

        There are a lot of activities like buying a lottery ticket when the prize gets up to a billion, that I could do but for someone else, whose conscience is set off by the thought of gambling, could not and should not do it because it is a sin. People have no problems drinking alcohol and dancing at weddings and I can't help but feel this is improper because I was raised that dancing and drinking is a sin. I know now it's not, but I can't help but picture Job at home offering sacrifices for his kids the next morning for partying sins.

        We've been talking about debatable issues and the next principle I would offer is that doing an activity that isn't forbidden in the Bible is permissible as long as it can be done with a clear conscience and you are sensitive to on-lookers who might think it is wrong. I am reminded of the Christmas card I received from the national leader of Young Life who had gone on a mountain climbing expedition with his family, and the card consisted of a picture of them all lifting a champagne filled glass, toasting their accomplishment saying, "To a great Christmas and Happy New Year." Was he not aware that many Christians find drinking alcohol to be one of those areas that can't be done with a clear conscience? What if someone who feels guilty about drinking starts because Christians that they admire are doing it. Are they causing their brother to sin? Yes. More on this later.