Let's have a look at the reference:
"10Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might. 11Put on the full armor of God, so that you will be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil. 12For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places. 13Therefore, take up the full armor of God, so that you will be able to resist in the evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm. 14Stand firm therefore, having girded your loins with truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, 15and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace; 16in addition to all, taking up the shield of faith with which you will be able to extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. 17And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God." Ephesians 6:10-17.
When I was a new Christian I was a definite "Wordist!" an evangelical, without even knowing it. The way I'm wired the first thing that wanted was to "know" what I had got myself into. Therefore my first impression of the faith was the word. Therefore, when I read this list I had this vision of having a small shield and a large sword. The way I would go into spiritual battle would be buy making sure my sword was sharp! And that I could wield it with ease.
One of the best examples of this was Jesus in the wilderness with satan. He cut him down at every attack with a swift hack!!
I have been told and told, but it never sunk in!! That isn't how it is! I am hoping that this time it will sink in once and for all! Let me outline how it is supposed to be:
The armour, I have been told and told is the armour of a standing formation. It is a defensive armour! "But, we know the best defence is the best offence?!" No, that's taking the armour out of context. we will see that defence was the best offence in the Roman days!!!
Picture the scene. You have a very disciplined Roman army. It marches in formation and holds rank under battle. One command from the commander and the whole regiment quickly and efficiently moves with precision into the correct formation.
Now picture the standard enemy of the Romans. Although they were far more sophisticated than we give them credit for, their method of confrontation is very similar to the kind of scene we see on a film about mob violence. A mass of people swarming toward the enemy, no rank, no order, just a full on charge. They were used to meeting a mob charging at them from the other direction. Running through each other and hacking as they go until they engage in combat with an individual. Strangely this is the standard swashbuckler scene and even in films like Star Wars. No wonder we are so programmed.
Anyway. The Roman shield in Ephesians 6 was not small but big enough for the soldier to hide behind. It was a rectangular shape. Something like the riot Shields we see the police using today. The sword for this formation was not big for slashing but small for stabbing. Now picture the scene of the defeat of Boadicea's army. The Romans were far fewer in number. They were in a gully. The general had deliberately placed them there. Today this would be suicide. Like the beginning of the film "Cold Mountain." However, the Romans stood in a triangular formation so that instead of being a straight line across the gully, they were a row of points, like running into a row of Vs - VVVVVVV, Where each side of the V was made up of about five men. They formed a tight formation and placed their shields in front of them. As the Britons stood at the end of the gully looking down, all they could see was a wall of shields.
The Britons rushed down the gully. There were thousands and thousands of them. As the front men hit the wall they were stuck. Worse still the men rushing down behind them pressed them against the wall. This is where the sword comes in. All the Romans had to do was poke there swords through between the shields to stab whoever was there. The attacking Britons had no room to swing a sword or raise a spear. They were continually being pressed by the hoard coming down from behind.
It is a gruesome scene and a small number of Romans defeated the Britons that day with hardly any losses to themselves. If a Roman soldier fell there was another behind ready to take his place and complete the wall.
Now, let's go back to Jesus in the wilderness! Was his greatest weapon "The Word" as we have been led to believe? Or was His greatest weapon the Shield of faith? Although satan tempted Jesus, Jesus was not tempted! There was no weakness in His knowledge or faith. Satan was pressed against His shield and was squashed there. Jesus took a few stabs at him but His greatest weapon was that satan couldn't touch Him. Jesus never had to think, "Now there's an offer, I wonder if I should?!" Isn't that what we would think? "I wonder if this is the Lord speaking to me?!!" Our faith may be based on the word, but it is that faith that is our greatest protection. It says more than once that we should not even prepare what we are going to say! Jesus resisted satan that day with His unshakable faith. The words He spoke were the sings of that faith. Satan had no less power over Him than if He just said, "No!"
"Turn these rocks into food!" - "No!"
"Jump from this high point!" - "No!"
"Bow down and worship me!" - "No!"
Would that have been any less effective?! (Provided He was still speaking from faith and not just human stubbornness!! I am not saying anything against Jesus' show of strength. Just that we don't know the whole Bible by heart and shouldn't feel condemned if the best defence we can come up with is "No!" When I was a young Christian that was the only defence I knew! But I knew I was protected as if by a shield)
I think that if Paul were writing in the light of today's culture he would probably call it a force field of faith and the cattle prod of the word! I believe that the reason the church on the whole is so shut away is because they believe that one word from them would sleigh everyone in their way. But it doesn't happen. Every now and then we hear a testimony of some great Bible teacher being interviewed on TV and coming up with a great and silencing last word. But that isn't our role model. Our role model is the unsquashable faith of knowing that God is in control, God has all the answers and God is not shaken! Our faith has nothing to do with us and everything to do with trusting Him!
I am not trying to diminish our view of the power of the word. I am simply adjusting the ratio between the shield and the sword! We think that because the word is heap big powerful, it must therefore be heap big! But the picture that Paul gives is not a three foot sword but an 18 inch sword. The power of the word that we know it has is represented in this picture by a smallish stabbing sword. In contrast to our image of the sword, the shield is about three to four times bigger than we (at least I) imagined! It is about six feet tall and about three feet wide! Big enough for a man to stand behind and not be visible for attack.
Thursday, 31 July 2008
Monday, 28 July 2008
Second bite of the same cherry!
You seem like a nice person. I wonder if you could help me? I've got this problem. I don't quite get this Christian love stuff. I mean sometimes I feel that as a Christian I should be bluntly honest but I'm not sure whether that's loving all the time.
You see I've got this friend! Well, I know this guy! And he's pretty odd looking. I don't want to say what's odd about him, but there are some features that if I'm honest I don't really like in him. Should I tell him? I mean that would be being honest wouldn't it. Maybe, I should suggest to him that he have surgery or something! At least I should tell him every time I see him because it makes me feel better to know that I have said what I feel!
Oh, you don't think that very loving? What, you think I should just let him be and accept him the way he is? I'm actually being judgmental? Oh, I didn't realise! Oops!
But that's not all, he doesn't just look funny I don't like the sound of his voice either. Whenever I hear it it makes me cringe. I really don't want him speaking in public when I'm there. Do you think I should try and discourage him? I don't want him to make a fool of himself. I feel it would be loving to dissuade him form it.
Oh, you you don't think that's very loving? You think I should just accept him the way he is? You think I'm being controlling? Oh, sorry!
Now, look, that's not all about him. He also upsets me. I mean, just between us, he sins!! I mean lots of them. little ones and occasionally big ones. A little lie hear, a little indulgence there. You know what I mean. What should I do? I think I should never let him forget that he is a sinner until he gets it under control!
You mean that's not loving either? I should forgive him and let it go? I should let God deal with him? You mean it's hypercritical and judgmental after all we have all sinned? Oh dear, I'm not very good at this am I?
But, he has history, I know his history. Surely I should keep reminding him of where he has come from and ground him. Remind him that his past was not that brilliant.
You mean that's not loving either?!! But surely it's honest? It's not even honest? That not the truth about him if he's a Christian. Christ has removed all of his past. He's born again and a new creation? So reminding him of his past hurts is not being truthful? Oh dear, oh dear! I really am not very good at this am I?
I want to thank you for helping me with that. Changing the subject, you've been so helpful I wonder if you could help me with a maths puzzle? I'm sure it's not too hard, but I stuck! It goes like this:
If a = b and a = 2 then what is the value of b?
You think it's simple? b = 2? Oh, I think I see. If a = b then a is the same as b, a is as b. Right! Does that mean that if a = b then b = a? There should be no difference between them? So a isn't not equal to b. a is not greater than b. a is not less than b. a is exactly equal to b. Whatever a is, b is. and whatever b is a is. I get it now!
So when Jesus said, "Love your neighbour as yourself." then it follows that we should "love ourselves as our neighbour?" That isn't being self indulgent. It is just saying that is the same kind of love we should show to ourselves. I'm glad about that, because that guy I was talking about earlier, well, you know how it is when someone says, "I've got this friend?" Yes it was me! I was talking about what I didn't like about me. But what you have shown me is that I should show myself the same kind of love that I would show others. I shouldn't critics myself for how I look, I should accept the way God made me. I should not keep reminding myself of my failings and put myself down. Jesus has already paid the price. And I certainly shouldn't keep reminding myself of my past!
Thank you for your help!
Thinking about it. If I am always criticising myself then that will become the foundation of the love I have for others. I can imagine that I love God and He loves me and I have a wonderful love for others and I am locked in a cupboard! But that which is in the cupboard has a habit of coming out! If a = b (and Jesus said it that way!) then whatever is the love I show for myself is the love I will show for others. I will strain to reach higher with others, but it is like trying to do anything better if we haven't spent time with the foundation.
A simpler way of seeing this is to imagine I have a bowl. In that bowl I already have all that I feel about myself. When I come to you, if I hold out my bowl for you to take something, you may find there is nothing there you want to take, only frustration, pain, abuse, nonacceptance, unfrogiveness and so on. I may try and cover that up and pretend I am full of love but it is only superficial. In fact it will often seem as if I am coming to you for you to fill my bowl for me! And if you try and fill my bowl, it will be like trying to poor clean water into a bowl of already dirty water. The clean water will just flow over the top, in that way that I wont be able to accept any good thing from you or God if I am closed to allowing myself to receive it!
First I need to go to the cross and empty my bowl. I then need to take time with the foundation. I need to fill it with love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, forgiveness and mercy. I need to accept that for myself first and once my bowl is full of those, then I am ready to hand it out to you for you to take from it what you need.
Remember James (3:11) asked, "11Does a fountain send out from the same opening both fresh and bitter water?" And the answer is "No!" We cannot be bitter water to ourselves and fresh water to others.
There is a saying that you cannot give from an empty cup. But, there is no such thing as empty!! Not for long, even Jesus said that (Luke 11:24-26) , you kick one demon out, and unless you fill the space with good things, then you will find eight times more and worse than you started with!
You see I've got this friend! Well, I know this guy! And he's pretty odd looking. I don't want to say what's odd about him, but there are some features that if I'm honest I don't really like in him. Should I tell him? I mean that would be being honest wouldn't it. Maybe, I should suggest to him that he have surgery or something! At least I should tell him every time I see him because it makes me feel better to know that I have said what I feel!
Oh, you don't think that very loving? What, you think I should just let him be and accept him the way he is? I'm actually being judgmental? Oh, I didn't realise! Oops!
But that's not all, he doesn't just look funny I don't like the sound of his voice either. Whenever I hear it it makes me cringe. I really don't want him speaking in public when I'm there. Do you think I should try and discourage him? I don't want him to make a fool of himself. I feel it would be loving to dissuade him form it.
Oh, you you don't think that's very loving? You think I should just accept him the way he is? You think I'm being controlling? Oh, sorry!
Now, look, that's not all about him. He also upsets me. I mean, just between us, he sins!! I mean lots of them. little ones and occasionally big ones. A little lie hear, a little indulgence there. You know what I mean. What should I do? I think I should never let him forget that he is a sinner until he gets it under control!
You mean that's not loving either? I should forgive him and let it go? I should let God deal with him? You mean it's hypercritical and judgmental after all we have all sinned? Oh dear, I'm not very good at this am I?
But, he has history, I know his history. Surely I should keep reminding him of where he has come from and ground him. Remind him that his past was not that brilliant.
You mean that's not loving either?!! But surely it's honest? It's not even honest? That not the truth about him if he's a Christian. Christ has removed all of his past. He's born again and a new creation? So reminding him of his past hurts is not being truthful? Oh dear, oh dear! I really am not very good at this am I?
I want to thank you for helping me with that. Changing the subject, you've been so helpful I wonder if you could help me with a maths puzzle? I'm sure it's not too hard, but I stuck! It goes like this:
If a = b and a = 2 then what is the value of b?
You think it's simple? b = 2? Oh, I think I see. If a = b then a is the same as b, a is as b. Right! Does that mean that if a = b then b = a? There should be no difference between them? So a isn't not equal to b. a is not greater than b. a is not less than b. a is exactly equal to b. Whatever a is, b is. and whatever b is a is. I get it now!
So when Jesus said, "Love your neighbour as yourself." then it follows that we should "love ourselves as our neighbour?" That isn't being self indulgent. It is just saying that is the same kind of love we should show to ourselves. I'm glad about that, because that guy I was talking about earlier, well, you know how it is when someone says, "I've got this friend?" Yes it was me! I was talking about what I didn't like about me. But what you have shown me is that I should show myself the same kind of love that I would show others. I shouldn't critics myself for how I look, I should accept the way God made me. I should not keep reminding myself of my failings and put myself down. Jesus has already paid the price. And I certainly shouldn't keep reminding myself of my past!
Thank you for your help!
Thinking about it. If I am always criticising myself then that will become the foundation of the love I have for others. I can imagine that I love God and He loves me and I have a wonderful love for others and I am locked in a cupboard! But that which is in the cupboard has a habit of coming out! If a = b (and Jesus said it that way!) then whatever is the love I show for myself is the love I will show for others. I will strain to reach higher with others, but it is like trying to do anything better if we haven't spent time with the foundation.
A simpler way of seeing this is to imagine I have a bowl. In that bowl I already have all that I feel about myself. When I come to you, if I hold out my bowl for you to take something, you may find there is nothing there you want to take, only frustration, pain, abuse, nonacceptance, unfrogiveness and so on. I may try and cover that up and pretend I am full of love but it is only superficial. In fact it will often seem as if I am coming to you for you to fill my bowl for me! And if you try and fill my bowl, it will be like trying to poor clean water into a bowl of already dirty water. The clean water will just flow over the top, in that way that I wont be able to accept any good thing from you or God if I am closed to allowing myself to receive it!
First I need to go to the cross and empty my bowl. I then need to take time with the foundation. I need to fill it with love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, forgiveness and mercy. I need to accept that for myself first and once my bowl is full of those, then I am ready to hand it out to you for you to take from it what you need.
Remember James (3:11) asked, "11Does a fountain send out from the same opening both fresh and bitter water?" And the answer is "No!" We cannot be bitter water to ourselves and fresh water to others.
There is a saying that you cannot give from an empty cup. But, there is no such thing as empty!! Not for long, even Jesus said that (Luke 11:24-26) , you kick one demon out, and unless you fill the space with good things, then you will find eight times more and worse than you started with!
Friday, 25 July 2008
Mag Article: The overlooked commandment
I am going to be writing articles for our church magazine, so I will post my drafts here and work on them here.
'34But when the Pharisees heard that Jesus had silenced the Sadducees, they gathered themselves together. 35One of them, a lawyer, asked Him a question, testing Him, 36"Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?" 37And He said to him, "‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ 38"This is the great and foremost commandment. 39"The second is like it, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ 40"On these two commandments depend the whole Law and the Prophets."' Matthew 22:24-40
Jesus was asked a question by a lawer of the Pharisees. This kind of puts the questioner as someone who was clever enough to find a question that is impossible to answer! It is a tradition among Jews today that Jesus was not the only person who gave the answer that He did. In fact it may not have been an impossible question so much as a question he already knew the answer too. In fact in Luke, a lawer is credited with giving the answer:
'25And a lawyer stood up and put Him to the test, saying, "Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?" 26And He said to him, "What is written in the Law? How does it read to you?" 27And he answered, "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind; and your neighbor as yourself."' Luke 10:25-27
The problem for the people at the time was revealed in the lawer's next question, "Who is my neighbour?!!" They knew they should love their neighbour, but they reinterpreted "their neighbour" to mean someone who was exactly like them! Very convenient!
One Rabbi is credited with given the same answer to the question, "Sum up the whole law while standing on one leg!" Religion will have you doing crazy things!! Faith on the other hand will set you free from that!
So, we know the answer. But what was the question? '40"On these two commandments depend the whole Law and the Prophets."' Matthew 22:40. Loving God and loving your neighbour sums up the whole of the Law and the Prophets. To the Jews that meant all of the first five books and all of the books of the prophets. In other words, all of the instructional teaching in those books can be summed up as loving God and loving your neighbour! Whatever you read in those instructions fits into one of those two categories, and if they don't then we've misread them!
But that isn't all that Jesus said. He didn't just say, "Love God (with all) and love your neighbour." He said, "love your neighbour AS YOURSELF!" So where does this as yourself come into it?
There are those who think that the problem is that we love ourselves! They say that it is a given that people love themselves and that no where does the bible tells us to love ourselves. They read this as saying "Love your neighbour in the same way that I can automatically assume that you are already loving yourself." By the way they assume that even those who self abuse are actually being totally self indulgent!
The problem with that is I'm pretty sure God doesn't want us to love our neighbours with anything less than the kind of love that He loves us. For example, if I am a smoker, I would love you by wanting you to smoke too!
Basically, if I look at how you love yourself I may decide I don't really want you to love me, and I would say that is a lot of the trouble with the churches witness on the whole. They have missed this great point. There are basically two kinds of love, there is the, "What's in it for me love" this is the kind of philio love as the Greeks called it. For example, if I say, "I love bacon sandwiches!" what's in it for the pig?! In the same way I can love my friends, because of what's in it for me. The love that I get from my friends becomes a fuel for my love for them.
The other kind of love is the "what's in it for you love?" This is what the Greeks call agape love. It means that it is irrelevant what I get out of it, I am going to love you for what you get out of it. This is the way we are told to love God and each other. It is the love of self sacrifice. For example, when we worship God, there are times when we are sick to death of the song, but we sing our hearts out because it is our offering to God. Another analogy would be the kind of gifts we buy. For example, CJ loves Cava, and I can't stand the stuff! If I buy a drink we can share then I am in it for what I can get out of it. But I buy her Cava because I know she likes it.
So, if we are to love God with all and love our neighbour in the "what 's in it for them" love, then there is nothing there for us. But by attaching the "As yourself" God has made sure we love ourselves with the same love. As someone who found maths and computers quite interesting, this is quite a logical statement.
If
love of neighbour = love of self
then
love of self = love of neighbour
In other words we need to love ourselves with the same agape love; the "What's in it for you" love, as we love our neighbour with. It is not a dirty self indulgent love. It is a holy and righteous love. Love in itself can be defined as "Wanting the best for the object of the love." If we look through the Old Testament we not only find verses that deal with loving God and our neighbour, we also find verse that can be seen as loving ourselves. These verses are very often the same verses that deal with loving God. For example, Psalm 1:1-3 reads:
"1 How blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked,
Nor stand in the path of sinners,
Nor sit in the seat of scoffers!
2 But his delight is in the law of the LORD,
And in His law he meditates day and night.
3 He will be like a tree firmly planted by streams of water,
Which yields its fruit in its season
And its leaf does not wither;
And in whatever he does, he prospers." Psalm 1:1-3
Who benefits from this? Well we might see this as about loving God with all of our heart and mind, but ultimately we benefit? This can be seen as loving ourselves as equally as it can be seen as loving God.
So, the key to the second command that Jesus gave is very much tied to the first. When we love God with our heart, that is loving ourselves. We carry that through to the second command and we love our neighbour as ourselves.
Filling our tanks!
Imagine you have a love tank, a bowl if you like. As you go through life various people have either put into the bowl or taken from it. When we are children our parents are expected to fill it. The fun we have with friends and family, our peers when we are teens and so on are all supposed to have filled our bowl. However, life doesn't work like that no matter what our expectation. So imagine that in my bowl I have hate, bitterness, abuse, bullying, neglect, conflict and so on. Now, who would want me to love them with what my love tank is full of?! Only those who have the same mixture in their bowl!
I say my love tank is full of, because if I sit and like my wounds over what I have received then that is exactly what it is. I am holding on to the negative and cherishing it. Obviously I need to empty that hurt and fill my bowl with the love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, forgiveness, mercy and so on that God gives to us. Now, who would want me to love them with what my love tank is full of? Those who are ready to receive what God want them to have!
If we look at the life of Jesus for example, He gave Himself time. When He heard that John the Baptist had been killed His first reaction was to go and be alone with His friends. It didn't work out, but never the less His intention was to give Himself space to deal with it emotionally.
OK, so let's go back to the formula!
Love of neighbours = love of self therefore love of self =love of neighbours.
What is it that we are supposed to give to our neighbours?
"23"Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint and dill and cummin, and have neglected the weightier provisions of the law: justice and mercy and faithfulness; but these are the things you should have done without neglecting the others." Matthew 23:23
If we are supposed to give justice, mercy and faithfulness to others than we should give the same to ourselves! We know we are told time and again to be merciful, well we need to be merciful with ourselves as well! We should not live in the old nature, beating ourselves up if we get something wrong, we should seek God's forgiveness through confession and receive that forgiveness for ourselves. What good is it if God has forgiven us if we wont let ourselves forget it?!
We should want to receive what God has for us. He has so much for us.
Lunch time!!
'34But when the Pharisees heard that Jesus had silenced the Sadducees, they gathered themselves together. 35One of them, a lawyer, asked Him a question, testing Him, 36"Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?" 37And He said to him, "‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ 38"This is the great and foremost commandment. 39"The second is like it, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ 40"On these two commandments depend the whole Law and the Prophets."' Matthew 22:24-40
Jesus was asked a question by a lawer of the Pharisees. This kind of puts the questioner as someone who was clever enough to find a question that is impossible to answer! It is a tradition among Jews today that Jesus was not the only person who gave the answer that He did. In fact it may not have been an impossible question so much as a question he already knew the answer too. In fact in Luke, a lawer is credited with giving the answer:
'25And a lawyer stood up and put Him to the test, saying, "Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?" 26And He said to him, "What is written in the Law? How does it read to you?" 27And he answered, "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind; and your neighbor as yourself."' Luke 10:25-27
The problem for the people at the time was revealed in the lawer's next question, "Who is my neighbour?!!" They knew they should love their neighbour, but they reinterpreted "their neighbour" to mean someone who was exactly like them! Very convenient!
One Rabbi is credited with given the same answer to the question, "Sum up the whole law while standing on one leg!" Religion will have you doing crazy things!! Faith on the other hand will set you free from that!
So, we know the answer. But what was the question? '40"On these two commandments depend the whole Law and the Prophets."' Matthew 22:40. Loving God and loving your neighbour sums up the whole of the Law and the Prophets. To the Jews that meant all of the first five books and all of the books of the prophets. In other words, all of the instructional teaching in those books can be summed up as loving God and loving your neighbour! Whatever you read in those instructions fits into one of those two categories, and if they don't then we've misread them!
But that isn't all that Jesus said. He didn't just say, "Love God (with all) and love your neighbour." He said, "love your neighbour AS YOURSELF!" So where does this as yourself come into it?
There are those who think that the problem is that we love ourselves! They say that it is a given that people love themselves and that no where does the bible tells us to love ourselves. They read this as saying "Love your neighbour in the same way that I can automatically assume that you are already loving yourself." By the way they assume that even those who self abuse are actually being totally self indulgent!
The problem with that is I'm pretty sure God doesn't want us to love our neighbours with anything less than the kind of love that He loves us. For example, if I am a smoker, I would love you by wanting you to smoke too!
Basically, if I look at how you love yourself I may decide I don't really want you to love me, and I would say that is a lot of the trouble with the churches witness on the whole. They have missed this great point. There are basically two kinds of love, there is the, "What's in it for me love" this is the kind of philio love as the Greeks called it. For example, if I say, "I love bacon sandwiches!" what's in it for the pig?! In the same way I can love my friends, because of what's in it for me. The love that I get from my friends becomes a fuel for my love for them.
The other kind of love is the "what's in it for you love?" This is what the Greeks call agape love. It means that it is irrelevant what I get out of it, I am going to love you for what you get out of it. This is the way we are told to love God and each other. It is the love of self sacrifice. For example, when we worship God, there are times when we are sick to death of the song, but we sing our hearts out because it is our offering to God. Another analogy would be the kind of gifts we buy. For example, CJ loves Cava, and I can't stand the stuff! If I buy a drink we can share then I am in it for what I can get out of it. But I buy her Cava because I know she likes it.
So, if we are to love God with all and love our neighbour in the "what 's in it for them" love, then there is nothing there for us. But by attaching the "As yourself" God has made sure we love ourselves with the same love. As someone who found maths and computers quite interesting, this is quite a logical statement.
If
love of neighbour = love of self
then
love of self = love of neighbour
In other words we need to love ourselves with the same agape love; the "What's in it for you" love, as we love our neighbour with. It is not a dirty self indulgent love. It is a holy and righteous love. Love in itself can be defined as "Wanting the best for the object of the love." If we look through the Old Testament we not only find verses that deal with loving God and our neighbour, we also find verse that can be seen as loving ourselves. These verses are very often the same verses that deal with loving God. For example, Psalm 1:1-3 reads:
"1 How blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked,
Nor stand in the path of sinners,
Nor sit in the seat of scoffers!
2 But his delight is in the law of the LORD,
And in His law he meditates day and night.
3 He will be like a tree firmly planted by streams of water,
Which yields its fruit in its season
And its leaf does not wither;
And in whatever he does, he prospers." Psalm 1:1-3
Who benefits from this? Well we might see this as about loving God with all of our heart and mind, but ultimately we benefit? This can be seen as loving ourselves as equally as it can be seen as loving God.
So, the key to the second command that Jesus gave is very much tied to the first. When we love God with our heart, that is loving ourselves. We carry that through to the second command and we love our neighbour as ourselves.
Filling our tanks!
Imagine you have a love tank, a bowl if you like. As you go through life various people have either put into the bowl or taken from it. When we are children our parents are expected to fill it. The fun we have with friends and family, our peers when we are teens and so on are all supposed to have filled our bowl. However, life doesn't work like that no matter what our expectation. So imagine that in my bowl I have hate, bitterness, abuse, bullying, neglect, conflict and so on. Now, who would want me to love them with what my love tank is full of?! Only those who have the same mixture in their bowl!
I say my love tank is full of, because if I sit and like my wounds over what I have received then that is exactly what it is. I am holding on to the negative and cherishing it. Obviously I need to empty that hurt and fill my bowl with the love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, forgiveness, mercy and so on that God gives to us. Now, who would want me to love them with what my love tank is full of? Those who are ready to receive what God want them to have!
If we look at the life of Jesus for example, He gave Himself time. When He heard that John the Baptist had been killed His first reaction was to go and be alone with His friends. It didn't work out, but never the less His intention was to give Himself space to deal with it emotionally.
OK, so let's go back to the formula!
Love of neighbours = love of self therefore love of self =love of neighbours.
What is it that we are supposed to give to our neighbours?
"23"Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint and dill and cummin, and have neglected the weightier provisions of the law: justice and mercy and faithfulness; but these are the things you should have done without neglecting the others." Matthew 23:23
If we are supposed to give justice, mercy and faithfulness to others than we should give the same to ourselves! We know we are told time and again to be merciful, well we need to be merciful with ourselves as well! We should not live in the old nature, beating ourselves up if we get something wrong, we should seek God's forgiveness through confession and receive that forgiveness for ourselves. What good is it if God has forgiven us if we wont let ourselves forget it?!
We should want to receive what God has for us. He has so much for us.
Lunch time!!
Sunday, 20 July 2008
What to say!
I have so much on my mind at the moment that I don't know where to start. I have ideas I want to explore on:
Paul - the super Christian!
Creation
The bride of Christ
I am sure there are other things lurking as well! That doesn't seem a lot now, only three! I once had to write a list and realised I had 17 things I wanted to explore!! 3 is a lot more manageable!!
By the way this post crashed when I tried to publish it, I back paged and the edit window was empty. I then clicked on edit posts and of course it had saved a draft!! So, remember that for the future! All is not lost!
Paul - the super Christian!
Creation
The bride of Christ
I am sure there are other things lurking as well! That doesn't seem a lot now, only three! I once had to write a list and realised I had 17 things I wanted to explore!! 3 is a lot more manageable!!
By the way this post crashed when I tried to publish it, I back paged and the edit window was empty. I then clicked on edit posts and of course it had saved a draft!! So, remember that for the future! All is not lost!
Saturday, 19 July 2008
Something of a tribulationist thought!!
I heard something last night that made me stop, think and join a few dots. It was said that the Antichrist would be a sodomite. A bit of archaic language for Gay I suppose. Many tribulationists tend to think that the tribulation could begin at any time. Ever since the Bible was finished every generation has had more reason to believe it could happen in their lifetime. Today it is even more fever pitched. We can point at so many things and say that there is good evidence to support the tribulation beginning. However. . .
What if the Antichrist is gay?!!!
I have heard it said that for one of the parties in the American election campaign it would be a choice between the first woman president and the first black president! The big question for that party is, "Is America ready for either?!" But an even bigger question would be, "Is America, or any other country, ready for an openly gay leader?"
The church is divided over the idea of gay marriage, and rightly so (By that I mean at least some people are still prepared to stick to God's standards!!) But if the Antichrist is gay then things have got to move on a pace first. Two things have to happen as I can see it, 1, Religion has to fully accept it and 2, society has to fully accept it. The Antichrist will position himself as both a religious and political leader. (Why? . . .)
If you look at the history of almost any country you will find that political ideals have come and gone but the religions have remained. Religion acts as the grandparents of society whereas politics acts as the parents. In cultures the parents often reject the teachings of their parents until they are grandparents themselves. While they have young children they are usually in the rejection phase and it is therefore the grandparents who pass on the traditional values to the children! In societies we see politicians rejecting the policies that were handed down, but the religion teaching traditional values. The Antichrist will take charge of both. Both a popular religion and a popular political system. The Roman Emperors and Egyptian Pharaohs were established as religious and political leaders. Constantine and Henry the Eighth were both such as Christian leaders!
For someone who is openly gay to take power over both both have to be accepting of such a thing. We are definitely moving that way, but we are not there yet. The other thing that can happen of course is that a person who is liked will be forgiven of anything! The charisma of the Antichrist will blind people to who sinfulness. You only have to look at the people within the media who are enjoyed by those who are equally opposed to homosexuality. It is almost a case of, "He's so funny, it's a shame he's gay!"
We have made homosexuals kings/ queens for years within the media, yet make such an outcry over the idea of homosexuality, it is a double standard. What was it James said about being double minded, "being a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways." 1:8 and "Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded." 4:8. Yet another reason to reject popular culture and media. It is double standards to approve of the adultery, murder and homosexuality that goes on in a film. We speak against it and then indulge in it!!
So will the way be made ready for the Antichrist or will he be established and then his sin be accepted afterwards?! I have a belief that Jesus can return at anytime, therefore we are not to look for any signs, however, we can judge the seasons and the there is a huge amount of turning going on as far as legislation regarding homosexuality!
Of course all of this is based on what I heard last night, and that was based on one verse, "He will show no regard for the gods of his fathers or for the desire of women, nor will he show regard for any other god; for he will magnify himself above them all." Daniel 11:37!! Does a lack of desire for women naturally make one a homosexual or a celibate? But we are talking about someone whose other title is "The man of sin!!" It would be odd if he were to appear as a loving husband and father of two!!
What if the Antichrist is gay?!!!
I have heard it said that for one of the parties in the American election campaign it would be a choice between the first woman president and the first black president! The big question for that party is, "Is America ready for either?!" But an even bigger question would be, "Is America, or any other country, ready for an openly gay leader?"
The church is divided over the idea of gay marriage, and rightly so (By that I mean at least some people are still prepared to stick to God's standards!!) But if the Antichrist is gay then things have got to move on a pace first. Two things have to happen as I can see it, 1, Religion has to fully accept it and 2, society has to fully accept it. The Antichrist will position himself as both a religious and political leader. (Why? . . .)
If you look at the history of almost any country you will find that political ideals have come and gone but the religions have remained. Religion acts as the grandparents of society whereas politics acts as the parents. In cultures the parents often reject the teachings of their parents until they are grandparents themselves. While they have young children they are usually in the rejection phase and it is therefore the grandparents who pass on the traditional values to the children! In societies we see politicians rejecting the policies that were handed down, but the religion teaching traditional values. The Antichrist will take charge of both. Both a popular religion and a popular political system. The Roman Emperors and Egyptian Pharaohs were established as religious and political leaders. Constantine and Henry the Eighth were both such as Christian leaders!
For someone who is openly gay to take power over both both have to be accepting of such a thing. We are definitely moving that way, but we are not there yet. The other thing that can happen of course is that a person who is liked will be forgiven of anything! The charisma of the Antichrist will blind people to who sinfulness. You only have to look at the people within the media who are enjoyed by those who are equally opposed to homosexuality. It is almost a case of, "He's so funny, it's a shame he's gay!"
We have made homosexuals kings/ queens for years within the media, yet make such an outcry over the idea of homosexuality, it is a double standard. What was it James said about being double minded, "being a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways." 1:8 and "Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded." 4:8. Yet another reason to reject popular culture and media. It is double standards to approve of the adultery, murder and homosexuality that goes on in a film. We speak against it and then indulge in it!!
So will the way be made ready for the Antichrist or will he be established and then his sin be accepted afterwards?! I have a belief that Jesus can return at anytime, therefore we are not to look for any signs, however, we can judge the seasons and the there is a huge amount of turning going on as far as legislation regarding homosexuality!
Of course all of this is based on what I heard last night, and that was based on one verse, "He will show no regard for the gods of his fathers or for the desire of women, nor will he show regard for any other god; for he will magnify himself above them all." Daniel 11:37!! Does a lack of desire for women naturally make one a homosexual or a celibate? But we are talking about someone whose other title is "The man of sin!!" It would be odd if he were to appear as a loving husband and father of two!!
Monday, 14 July 2008
God's Plant!!
There are two common cries in the world:
1, "This is crazy, it doesn't make any sense at all!" (I expect this sounds familiar!!)
2, "There must be more to life than this!" (Again, sound familiar?!)
OK, so life sucks at time and we strive for the perfection in this world. I remember seeing one of those cute posters where a puppy or kitten was crawling over a pile of text books saying, "There's a weekend around here somewhere!"
OK, so we have a world where we are trying to get on and act as if every light so going to be green, we will always get through to the helpful person who will answer the phone straight away and wont put us on hold! We expect our work to get published on blogger when we click the publish button and wont disappear!
So, now let's find out who is behind this great mess!
"20For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of Him who subjected it, in hope 21that the creation itself also will be set free from its slavery to corruption into the freedom of the glory of the children of God. 22For we know that the whole creation groans and suffers the pains of childbirth together until now. 23And not only this, but also we ourselves, having the first fruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our body." Romans 8:20-23.
"Subject to futility" - foolishness, as in, "That don't make any sense at all!"
"Hope" - an expectation of better things, as in, "There has to be more to life than this!"
Now, are we, as the children of God, supposed to live in the futility? No, we are the sign posts to the "more!" We are not supposed to be camping in the, "Well this just doesn't make any sense!" We know it don't make sense before we start because God's word says it don't make sense! We know there is more to life than this, that's what we have bought into. But those around us who are ignorant are asking the question, we shouldn't be asking the question. We have been put here to give the answer!!
We don't expect a green light at every junction, we laugh at the red lights because we know that creation has been subject to futility so that we can release people from it's bondage to a new hope. We know we have already won the victory. It is like being in a war, still being shot at but knowing that we will be on the victory parade! We can laugh at the futility of the enemy who is trying to shoot at us. We have a confidence.
The world around us think you need a PhD in order to say stupid things!! For example, we would say that a baby in a mother's womb is a baby! A human life, but no, you need a PhD to say it's not a human being, it's not a life it's a Foetus!! Does that make sense? No, that is about as stupid as you can get, there has to be more to life than this, and there is!
Our kids don't stop and say to us, "I really do appreciate all you do for me. I mean the food you cook is so good and nutritious too. My clothes are always there in the drawer fresh and folded every morning. You always manage to get everything I need when I need it, I am so grateful!" That because the world is subject to foolishness by God so that those around us will look for a hope and we are also put here to give it to them. But we get too busy camping in the futility and complaining along with everyone else.
We don't need to complain because we know ahead of time that life ain't going to give us green lights, but we know we have the overall victory and therefore stopping at red lights is not where we live, are only visitors here, our home is a place where there are only green lights!!
Notice where this passage comes in, right in the middle of Romans 8! From here Paul goes on to say that God works all thing together for the good of those who love Him! He then says that those whom God has appointed for salvation are predestined to get there. He then goes on to say that nothing can separate us from the love of God. Why does he say all of this at the end of chapter 8? I have often wondered what the link is between the beginning of chapter 8 and the end, and have always missed this! The beginning of chapter 8 says that we are to live according to the spirit and not the flesh, the says about all this stuff that God has basically got it sorted for us, what's the link? The link is that we are still living in a fallen world. Like when Peter looked at the waves he started to sink, but Jesus still rescued him. We are in a storm, if we look at the waves we are looking at a problem that is no problem at all for our God.
So what is our response? There are four immediate responses:
1, walk by the spirit and put of the flesh (our own connection with the world of futility.) In Galatians 5 it starts by talking about the deeds of the flesh and ends by talking about the fruit of the Spirit. We are hypocrites when we come in the name of Jesus and display the deeds of the flesh. Imagine a sales rep for a company coming to your door, he represents a company your trust so you have invited him round. However, when he comes in he says, "Look just between you and me, I'm starting my own business in competition with my firm. I would rather show you what I sell than what the firm sells!" That wouldn't be honest would it. He has used the respectable name of a big company to gain access to sell his what he wants to sell.
2, pray, we are in the world but not of the world. We cannot change what God has set in place. He has subjected creation to futility, when we see futility getting out of hand we need to get God's attention about it, like when Peter was sinking!! "LORD - HELP!!!"
3, Care for those who are suffering as a result of the futility. Whether it is James talking about the widows and the orphans in their distress, or Isaiah talking about being a father to the fatherless, and a husband to the widow. We are to be a sign to those in the world that there is a God who cares and loves them.
4, Be prepared to give an answer to those who ask.
1, "This is crazy, it doesn't make any sense at all!" (I expect this sounds familiar!!)
2, "There must be more to life than this!" (Again, sound familiar?!)
OK, so life sucks at time and we strive for the perfection in this world. I remember seeing one of those cute posters where a puppy or kitten was crawling over a pile of text books saying, "There's a weekend around here somewhere!"
OK, so we have a world where we are trying to get on and act as if every light so going to be green, we will always get through to the helpful person who will answer the phone straight away and wont put us on hold! We expect our work to get published on blogger when we click the publish button and wont disappear!
So, now let's find out who is behind this great mess!
"20For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of Him who subjected it, in hope 21that the creation itself also will be set free from its slavery to corruption into the freedom of the glory of the children of God. 22For we know that the whole creation groans and suffers the pains of childbirth together until now. 23And not only this, but also we ourselves, having the first fruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our body." Romans 8:20-23.
"Subject to futility" - foolishness, as in, "That don't make any sense at all!"
"Hope" - an expectation of better things, as in, "There has to be more to life than this!"
Now, are we, as the children of God, supposed to live in the futility? No, we are the sign posts to the "more!" We are not supposed to be camping in the, "Well this just doesn't make any sense!" We know it don't make sense before we start because God's word says it don't make sense! We know there is more to life than this, that's what we have bought into. But those around us who are ignorant are asking the question, we shouldn't be asking the question. We have been put here to give the answer!!
We don't expect a green light at every junction, we laugh at the red lights because we know that creation has been subject to futility so that we can release people from it's bondage to a new hope. We know we have already won the victory. It is like being in a war, still being shot at but knowing that we will be on the victory parade! We can laugh at the futility of the enemy who is trying to shoot at us. We have a confidence.
The world around us think you need a PhD in order to say stupid things!! For example, we would say that a baby in a mother's womb is a baby! A human life, but no, you need a PhD to say it's not a human being, it's not a life it's a Foetus!! Does that make sense? No, that is about as stupid as you can get, there has to be more to life than this, and there is!
Our kids don't stop and say to us, "I really do appreciate all you do for me. I mean the food you cook is so good and nutritious too. My clothes are always there in the drawer fresh and folded every morning. You always manage to get everything I need when I need it, I am so grateful!" That because the world is subject to foolishness by God so that those around us will look for a hope and we are also put here to give it to them. But we get too busy camping in the futility and complaining along with everyone else.
We don't need to complain because we know ahead of time that life ain't going to give us green lights, but we know we have the overall victory and therefore stopping at red lights is not where we live, are only visitors here, our home is a place where there are only green lights!!
Notice where this passage comes in, right in the middle of Romans 8! From here Paul goes on to say that God works all thing together for the good of those who love Him! He then says that those whom God has appointed for salvation are predestined to get there. He then goes on to say that nothing can separate us from the love of God. Why does he say all of this at the end of chapter 8? I have often wondered what the link is between the beginning of chapter 8 and the end, and have always missed this! The beginning of chapter 8 says that we are to live according to the spirit and not the flesh, the says about all this stuff that God has basically got it sorted for us, what's the link? The link is that we are still living in a fallen world. Like when Peter looked at the waves he started to sink, but Jesus still rescued him. We are in a storm, if we look at the waves we are looking at a problem that is no problem at all for our God.
So what is our response? There are four immediate responses:
1, walk by the spirit and put of the flesh (our own connection with the world of futility.) In Galatians 5 it starts by talking about the deeds of the flesh and ends by talking about the fruit of the Spirit. We are hypocrites when we come in the name of Jesus and display the deeds of the flesh. Imagine a sales rep for a company coming to your door, he represents a company your trust so you have invited him round. However, when he comes in he says, "Look just between you and me, I'm starting my own business in competition with my firm. I would rather show you what I sell than what the firm sells!" That wouldn't be honest would it. He has used the respectable name of a big company to gain access to sell his what he wants to sell.
2, pray, we are in the world but not of the world. We cannot change what God has set in place. He has subjected creation to futility, when we see futility getting out of hand we need to get God's attention about it, like when Peter was sinking!! "LORD - HELP!!!"
3, Care for those who are suffering as a result of the futility. Whether it is James talking about the widows and the orphans in their distress, or Isaiah talking about being a father to the fatherless, and a husband to the widow. We are to be a sign to those in the world that there is a God who cares and loves them.
4, Be prepared to give an answer to those who ask.
Tuesday, 8 July 2008
What do you accept?
I feel like I'm going to explode with this!!! I was listening to a guy preaching on poverty and suddenly all the dots joined up from so many things I have understood.
In the past I have talked about how those in the basement say, "That's just the way it is!" Those on the next floor blame everyone and everything else, while those on the next floor accept that it is down to them.
God doesn't want you sick. If we say, "well, that's just the way it is." We are accepting the sickness and sickness is called a curse in the bible. Is it right to accept a curse? There are those who say that Jesus died for our sicknesses, I believe that, I don't believe I will be sick when I am with Him, the question is, is that healing available to me now? Well yes, of course it is, Jesus came healing so why isn't healing available. I believe it's because we accept the sickness. There are those who say we should claim our healing, I believe the flip side of that is not accepting the sickness.
Imagine someone being told that due to the treatment they will receive they will never walk again. Should they accept the treatment? You would say that if the treatment were for terminal illness then never walking again is probably a fair swap! But if it is for something trivial then maybe not. But get this, why do we have the medical advancements we have? Because people refused to have the results they were getting, they wanted better results.
The devil is said to come to steal, kill and destroy, are you allowing him to? When stuff gets taken from you, do you just say, "Oh, well, that's just the way it is?" We need to stand our ground and fight. The trouble for us is that we live in a world where we have so much that a little loss is acceptable. But actually that isn't a little loss. It looks like a little loss but every little loss is robbing us of fullness of blessing.
I suppose that some find that a hard term to accept. We doubt, doubting is accepting loss. We should doubt our doubts. If God says "He has plans to prosper us" and we think, "I doubt that!" Then we should immediately doubt our doubt! Why should we accept anything less than the fullness of what God has for us?
If I am a missionary in this world then what image am I portraying? "My life is no better than yours, that's because I serve the living God!" Jesus came that we might have life and have it more abundantly! Christians argue over Harry Potter!! Why the hell would I want to read or watch Harry Potter? Is God so insignificant that the likes of Harry Potter would interest me? I'm not accepting that image of the divine! How dare I bring God down to the point where I would even want to look at something like that. Think, If I am married and I look at another woman with lust then Jesus said I am committing adultery in my heart. What He is saying is that it is not acceptable to be married and look around. How much more than should it not be acceptable to look around when we have such an all consuming God?
It should be in my heart that I will not accept sickness for me or anyone, I should not accept poverty for me or anyone, I should not accept lies for me or anyone. In many situations Jesus did not accept what He was told, like when he was told the girl was dead! When Lazarus was dead, He didn't accept what everyone else accepted. I know that we have this problem that Jesus had inside info, a connection and a mission that included raising the dead. But why do we still accept what we see in the same way as those around Jesus?
Woman have the vote because women refused to accept what had been placed on them. Not all women refused to accept it, many accepted it fully, but the few who refused won a victory for all women. It is hard to refuse something that is forced upon you, but refuse it we should. Black people refused to be classed as merely servants and have an equality that today we would find hard to imagine they shouldn't have. It was forced on them but they refused to accept it in their hearts. Many lived with an, "Accept your position." Attitude, but it wasn't because of them that slavery was abolished.
For politeness sake I will rephrase the bumper sticker, "Stuff happens!" does that mean we should lie down and accept it? You may be wondering what you can do, refusing to accept it is a start!! And see where it goes! How dare I accept sickness as if it is God's will for me? How dare I accept poverty as if it is God's will for me? There is nowhere in God's word where it says that sickness and poverty are God's will or tool for His people. They are called a curse and for the Christian Jesus has removed the curse.
It doesn't matter what we believe, what we know, how hard we worship if all the time we are accepting less than God's best for us. We are told that the people perish for a lack of revelation. Why do we accept a lack of revelation? Who is framing our thinking, if the word of God isn't framing our thinking you can bet your life that the devil will put as much as he can in front of you to frame your thinking! Who told Adam and Eve they were naked?! They didn't frame their thinking according to God's word and immediately the devil came in and filled the void.
So, what can we do?
1, make sure our thinking is in line with God's word
2, use our refusal to accept what is happening to claim promises and make petitions to God. (This is a spiritual battle after all and not a flesh and blood battle!!)
In the past I have talked about how those in the basement say, "That's just the way it is!" Those on the next floor blame everyone and everything else, while those on the next floor accept that it is down to them.
God doesn't want you sick. If we say, "well, that's just the way it is." We are accepting the sickness and sickness is called a curse in the bible. Is it right to accept a curse? There are those who say that Jesus died for our sicknesses, I believe that, I don't believe I will be sick when I am with Him, the question is, is that healing available to me now? Well yes, of course it is, Jesus came healing so why isn't healing available. I believe it's because we accept the sickness. There are those who say we should claim our healing, I believe the flip side of that is not accepting the sickness.
Imagine someone being told that due to the treatment they will receive they will never walk again. Should they accept the treatment? You would say that if the treatment were for terminal illness then never walking again is probably a fair swap! But if it is for something trivial then maybe not. But get this, why do we have the medical advancements we have? Because people refused to have the results they were getting, they wanted better results.
The devil is said to come to steal, kill and destroy, are you allowing him to? When stuff gets taken from you, do you just say, "Oh, well, that's just the way it is?" We need to stand our ground and fight. The trouble for us is that we live in a world where we have so much that a little loss is acceptable. But actually that isn't a little loss. It looks like a little loss but every little loss is robbing us of fullness of blessing.
I suppose that some find that a hard term to accept. We doubt, doubting is accepting loss. We should doubt our doubts. If God says "He has plans to prosper us" and we think, "I doubt that!" Then we should immediately doubt our doubt! Why should we accept anything less than the fullness of what God has for us?
If I am a missionary in this world then what image am I portraying? "My life is no better than yours, that's because I serve the living God!" Jesus came that we might have life and have it more abundantly! Christians argue over Harry Potter!! Why the hell would I want to read or watch Harry Potter? Is God so insignificant that the likes of Harry Potter would interest me? I'm not accepting that image of the divine! How dare I bring God down to the point where I would even want to look at something like that. Think, If I am married and I look at another woman with lust then Jesus said I am committing adultery in my heart. What He is saying is that it is not acceptable to be married and look around. How much more than should it not be acceptable to look around when we have such an all consuming God?
It should be in my heart that I will not accept sickness for me or anyone, I should not accept poverty for me or anyone, I should not accept lies for me or anyone. In many situations Jesus did not accept what He was told, like when he was told the girl was dead! When Lazarus was dead, He didn't accept what everyone else accepted. I know that we have this problem that Jesus had inside info, a connection and a mission that included raising the dead. But why do we still accept what we see in the same way as those around Jesus?
Woman have the vote because women refused to accept what had been placed on them. Not all women refused to accept it, many accepted it fully, but the few who refused won a victory for all women. It is hard to refuse something that is forced upon you, but refuse it we should. Black people refused to be classed as merely servants and have an equality that today we would find hard to imagine they shouldn't have. It was forced on them but they refused to accept it in their hearts. Many lived with an, "Accept your position." Attitude, but it wasn't because of them that slavery was abolished.
For politeness sake I will rephrase the bumper sticker, "Stuff happens!" does that mean we should lie down and accept it? You may be wondering what you can do, refusing to accept it is a start!! And see where it goes! How dare I accept sickness as if it is God's will for me? How dare I accept poverty as if it is God's will for me? There is nowhere in God's word where it says that sickness and poverty are God's will or tool for His people. They are called a curse and for the Christian Jesus has removed the curse.
It doesn't matter what we believe, what we know, how hard we worship if all the time we are accepting less than God's best for us. We are told that the people perish for a lack of revelation. Why do we accept a lack of revelation? Who is framing our thinking, if the word of God isn't framing our thinking you can bet your life that the devil will put as much as he can in front of you to frame your thinking! Who told Adam and Eve they were naked?! They didn't frame their thinking according to God's word and immediately the devil came in and filled the void.
So, what can we do?
1, make sure our thinking is in line with God's word
2, use our refusal to accept what is happening to claim promises and make petitions to God. (This is a spiritual battle after all and not a flesh and blood battle!!)
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