US Elections and Divisions Among Brethren

As I sit here trying to engage fully in prayer and study, I find my self flooded with tears. Certainly there is plenty to grieve when it comes to the condition of our nation - the hatred, the resurgence of politician and media-fueled (even engineered) racism, the ongoing holocaust of abortion, and of course - the two primary candidates for the highest office in the land. Yet all of this actually pales to what truly is causing me painful grieving right now, and that is the divisions I am seeing between brothers and sisters in Christ.

My heart is drawn back to my old study of 1 Corinthians and Paul's letter that mostly dealt with a divided church - brother against brother. Where each acted in their own personal interests, ignoring the spiritual needs of their brethren, and callously (brazenly, even) continuing in the divisive behaviors. And I see the same kinds of divisions among Christian brethren today - with the bulk of it being in relation to the current election cycle.

You see, the inarguable reality is that we, as a nation, have been manipulated such as Ephesians 6:12 so clearly illustrates - not flesh and blood, but evil rulers, authorities, cosmic powers of the present darkness - spiritual forces of evil... A nation that has been so greatly blessed by God - a nation that has, despite many failings, been a light of biblical values with a foundation planted on Christian values, has chosen, over time, to listen to those "cosmic power of the present darkness", choosing leaders that seem to be progressively more evil. Indeed, as we have actively rejected God in the public square, removed references to Jesus Christ from our schools and our daily function, we have seen a demonstration of the old physics rule - for every action, there is an equal but opposite reaction.

And here we are at yet another political season drawing to a climax, and I see those who should stand united against the very evil Paul warned of - instead more divided than ever. We are divided over two individuals, both of which represent a history of evil deeds, corruption, and ugliness that should make even a fairly uncivilized person embarrassed, and we have allowed these two to divide brother from brother - church member from church member, and faithful Christians from faithful Christians.

I see supporters of one candidate deriding brethren who cannot, by their own conscious, support that same candidate. I see a lack of love for the brethren (1 John 3:14).  I have seen pride made manifest in ways I never before have seen among Christians. I have seen so-called "Christian Leaders" fuel this division by jumping out early and supporting some of the most ungodly candidates to be considered, over men (and women) who have demonstrated faith and integrity, and who admit their sins and repent of them. I have seen godly men and women mocked by fellow Christians, and even the use of logical fallacies to denigrate believers for not falling in line.

What this election comes down to is this - do we have faith in God that He is in control? I mean - do we GENUINELY believe that God ordains rulers - and that HE has a plan that supersedes our fleshly bickering and quarreling? Do we truly see where the REAL issue is - that it is NOT with our brothers and sisters who don't feel the same need to cast the same vote as you - but with a spiritual darkness that can ONLY be overcome by the power of Jesus Christ? And do we not see that our own bickering and shaming of EACH OTHER only further puts our light under the proverbial "basket"? If I spend my time deriding my brother in Christ because he or she is voting for a candidate I find reprehensible - instead of seeking to proclaim Jesus Christ as my King and LORD, and THE Answer to every other issue we face - then I have bene worse than a clanging cymbal - but a stumbling block.

If I have, unwittingly, contributed to the divisions among the brethren by my words or actions - then I am truly sorry for that and want to repent. One thing I find even more painful than the thought of either primary candidate being elected is the possibility that I have contributed to divisions among the body of Christ.

Sadly, every division that is opened up by attacks on each other is another victory for Satan, who has long used division and confusion as some of his most effective tools.

Let me close with this prayer:

Lord, I come to you with a broken heart. A heart broken because we have brought shame to your Holy Name by placing politics, fleshly desires, and pride before you in our lives.  I pray LORD for my own words, thoughts, and actions to NOT be divisive to the body, but to be only the words of truth - words that edify believers, that lead to conviction to the lost, and that point to Jesus Christ - giving YOU all the honor and glory.

And LORD, I pray that I would remain humble through this all, relying not on my own strength or wisdom, but crying daily for your wisdom. Lord that I would forgive those who have done me wrong, and that I would myself receive forgiveness for any words or deeds that may have contributed to divisions between brethren. 

And finally, LORD, help me to have faith that all is in your hands. Help me to understand my responsibility is to speak truth, in genuine love.  And LORD, please help your people stand firm on your Word - may all honor and glory be yours now and forever - AMEN

Hypocrisy and Current Events

hypocrisy:

     1. a feigning to be what one is not or to believe what one does not; especially  :  the false assumption of an appearance of virtue or religion

     2. an act or instance of hypocrisy

The simple definition of the term would be in application - to claim to believe or hold a belief or view, but your actions or words contradict your claims.

I have been reading, watching, and listening to the constant noise regarding the so-called #BlackLivesMatter movement. I have been trying to absorb all I can to try to understand where those protesting (or participating in much more nefarious activities) are coming from. But the more I read, the more I actually look at facts, the more I spend time in prayer for our nation and for those who are involved, I find the more jaded I become. I have been labeled a racist more times than I can count. I have been told that I just cannot understand - after all, I apparently am afflicted with this now dread disease called White Privilege.

Ok - I'm fed up. I'm tire of the labels, and I'm tired of the abject lies and hypocrisy being demonstrated. But as always, I want to take a biblical angle on this, so here goes:

What does the Bible say? It says all people are made in the image of God (Imago Dei). Scripture clearly points to the very reason murder is wrong:we are made in the image of God (Genesis 9:6). Further, Jesus clearly commanded that we LOVE OUR NEIGHBORS. Neighbors in this context is not just literal neighbors who look like us, who live near us, who are parts of the same social circles and do the same activities - or who look like us. Our neighbors are humanity. The easy answer to all the garbage we see would be to "love our neighbors". But that is shunned - why? Oh, because it means actually seeing people of other backgrounds and races, people who don't look or act like us - as having intrinsic value in their very lives.

But let us get back to the hypocrisy that spawned this post:

#BlackLivesMatter is probably one of the most hypocritical movements I've every witnessed. The movement began with the shooting of a young man on the street in Ferguson, Missouri. The immediate response, before his body was even cold, was a media-fueled frenzy over the claim that he was unarmed, and that he was shot in cold blood with his hands in the air shouting "hands up-don't shoot!". Yet when the evidence - the cold, hard facts - came out, the officer was shown to have clearly been clearly justified in the shooting, as his life was threatened by the attack by this young man.

But in response to the shooting, long before any real facts were available, large crowds assembled ostensibly to protest the "wrongful shooting" and in a more broad sense - against the "open season on black men" by law enforcement. Protests led to riots, which led to looting. All behaviors that the core of the black community has tried hard to distance themselves from - chalking such behavior as unfair to label them with. Yet it gave ammunition to those who do indeed still hold racist views of African-Americans.
We have heard cries of "open season" on Black men, over police shootings of black men. Yet the actual statistics show something quite different. Last year, the official numbers show that nearly twice as many Caucasians were killed by police as African-Americans. Yet those claiming to want the truth, continue to absolutely ignore the statistics. Telling lies and repeating lies to gain support for your views is repulsive, no mater who does it. If you want justice, then it must begin with facts.

And now we have, after two high-profile police shootings of black men in two different states, and now police officers are being targeted for murder - police officers that are not even connected to the shootings in question. Indeed, the guilt born by the officers killed this past week was exclusively based on wearing a badge (and having light colored skin).

#BlackLivesMatter - blocking traffic on major roads, delaying medical care for a young girl headed to St. Jude's Children's Hospital in Memphis.

#BlackLivesMatter - spawning, inspiring, and encouraging hate towards Police Officers (even if it really is unintentional).

#BlackLivesMatter - using the label of racist to anyone who points to facts and reality.

#BlackLIvesMatter - conspicuously absent in Chicago where young Black men are murdered every day, by fellow Black males.

#BlackLIvesMatter - conspicuously absent from the abortion clinics all over this nation who have killed more African-Americans than all the wars fought, and police violence taken in this nation's history.

And then we have the politicians who are playing along with this movement, calling for gun bans, stricter gun-control, and other measures that would actually disarm and/or limit access to firearms by law-abiding African-Americans.

Of course, a student of history knows that the earliest gun control legislation in this nation was a response to the freeing of slaves, and was pushed specifically with the intent of keeping guns out of the hands of these freed slaves.

Planned Parenthood, started and built by Margaret Sanger, who had a well-known agenda of eugenics against Blacks. Yet so many in the self-appointed leadership of the Black Community are adamant supporters of...Planned Parenthood, and often are among the biggest supporters of so-called "reproductive choice" (aka - the murder of unborn children). 

We are told that #BlackLivesMatter in such a way that it can't help but be interpreted as ONLY Black Lives Matter. Maybe it isn't intended that way, but when one brings up one of my original points - that ALL lives matter, as we are ALL made in the image of God, the vitriol and anger is unleashed - and the "racist" card gets slammed down.

Indeed, for years, we have heard of the unfairness of being judged by the color of our skin (Dr. Martin Luther King said it beautifully when he said "I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character."

Yet we still see hiring practices and quotas, college admissions, and governmental contract requirements that specifically and very explicitly singling out a particular race for preferential treatment, overriding actual qualifications and merit.



How is this not hypocritical?


What is the answer? - What did Jesus say? LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR - something all but impossible if not for a saving relationship with Jesus Christ.

Does "RISEN" Rise to Greatness? A Review

My wife and I were able to have an all-too-rare "date night" last night, and as part of that night out, we chose to see "RISEN", the latest "Christian" film release from Sony Pictures/Columbia/Affirm Films.

Before I begin, I want to admit that I tend to watch films that are labeled as "Christian" with a very narrow lens.  There have been way too many films labeled as such, that are more worldly and even heretical than anything remotely biblical.

On to the review!

Risen, directed by Kevin Reynolds and screenplay by Kevin Reynolds and Paul Aiello (who also wrote the story), stars Joseph Fiennes as "Clavius" (mostly identified as "Tribute" in the film), a Roman Centurion with a special position in Pontius Pilate's service. 

The film centers around Clavius and his primary task of trying to solve the disappearance of the body of Jesus. Many of the early comments on this film labeled it as a First-Century "CSI".  While this is somewhat of a stretch, the concept does ring somewhat true.

Plot (Warning, some spoilers):

The film opens with Clavius walking in the desert and stumbling into a small home. There he is given food and water, and begins to tell the homeowner his story - beginning with a battle battle to put down a Jewish uprising. After the bloody, but successful mission, he returns to Jerusalem. But before he can even get cleaned up, he is summoned by Pilate to deal with a situation revolving around this "King of the Jews" that had stirred up trouble. He explains to Clavius that he had no choice but to have him crucified. Pilate sends Clavius to supervise the death of the three men crucified, with a special emphasis on this "trouble" in Jesus/Yeshua. But of course, the confirmation of their death is not enough, and the Jewish leaders who are always a threat, demand that he set a seal on the tomb to prevent the theft of the body by the disciples. Thus begins the primary journey for Clavius.

After setting guard, the two begin drinking (the excuse being that they had been up two days with no rest). The next time we see them, they have fled, and the High Priest (Caiaphas) is protesting that the disciples have indeed "stolen the body", and the two guards have fled to the temple for "sanctuary".

So begins Clavius' journey to "solve this crime". Of course, he doesn't find the rotting corpse of this Hebrew - despite turning over every fresh grave in the area and arresting and questioning many, including some close to Jesus. But Clavius does find Jesus -

Clavius is an adherent of Mars, and thus several times we hear him pay homage to Mars, and to leave alms for him at an idol. Yet the film is about a journey - from concrete doubt, to curious investigator, to eye-witness of Jesus.

The Good: The film is encouraging from a Christian point of view. I has no nudity or profanity. The film mixes in biblical quotes that help the story along and remind the viewer (if they have any knowledge at all of the Gospels and first chapter of Acts) of the biblical basis.

The Bad: The film does have significant violence, though there is not a whole lot of direct gore in sight. There are also the typical liberties taken with characters and story plot. There is also the matter of an unidentified Roman Centurion being included in the group of disciples who witness Jesus' ascension.

Also - the disciple Bartholomew is asked why he followed Jesus. Later, when Jesus heals a leaper, he turns to Clavius and says "THIS is why".  Is this trying to say that he followed Jesus ONLY because of miracles?

The film portray some interesting depictions  of Gospel passages (particularly from John 21) as well as basically a reenactment of Acts 1. The  disciples are acted out in a way that was kind of uncomfortable for me at first take - yet it all made sense after having some time to process what I had seen. They were being portrayed quite honestly - as I can imagine the roller coaster of emotions they had experienced, to be met by their Savior alive - It really puts a point to the biblical account of them being accused of being drunk! Also - a hint of what was to come came in the scene as Clavius returned to Jerusalem - an earthquake!

My wife, Diana, commented that she really liked the portrayal of Jesus (played by Cliff Curtis), as he not only looked more culturally realistic, but the actor showed such a "peace" in his look/gaze. I tend to agree with that summary! She also did not care for the Clavius character, as she felt he was depicted as too stoic. With that, I did not so much concur.

So - if you are still reading this, you are probably now wanting me to cut to the chase - is the film good or bad? Is it worthy to go see? Should Christians rush out and support the movie?  I might disappoint you here. I will summarize this with this: Risen, while an admitted fictional story revolving around a historical and biblical true story (the resurrection of Jesus). I rather enjoyed the gospel account scenes sprinkled in, from the disciples returning to Galilee and their fishing boats (and the fishless night), as well as the questioning by Jesus of Peter ("do you love me?"). I also got goose bumps when the Jesus character, while walking towards the horizon, tells them that they will be his witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria..." (Acts 1:8)

I will admit, I overall liked this film. I was actually imporessed that it was more "biblical" as an admitted fictional story, than many movies billed as Bible-based "true" stories. The liberties taken are far less Bible-bending than most. I believe this would be a safe movie to take a Sunday School or youth group to, and I would highly advise using it as a launch pad to digging in to the Scripture passages that are portrayed - and discern if they were actually portrayed in a reasonable and biblically-correct way.

Also of interest, contrary to many films in this genera, there is no "ask Jesus into your heart" emotion-rending scene. I give this film bonus points for this!

Episode 4: Who Alone Is to be Worshipped?

Matthew 4:10  Then Jesus said to him, “Be gone, Satan! For it is written, ‘You shall worship the Lord your God and him only shall you serve.”

While being tempted by Satan in the wilderness, Jesus responded to Satan's calling for Jesus to worship him in exchange for all the kingdoms of the earth, Jesus said that only the Lord and God is to be worshipped and served. This is an obvious reference back to the commandments given to the Hebrew people in the wilderness so long before, and the command to have no other God before Him.

Yet in John 9:35-38, we read of a man born blind, but given sight by Jesus. The man has been cast out by the Jews for his testimony of what happened - and when Jesus heard that they had cast him out, and having found him he said, “Do you believe in the Son of Man?” He answered, “And who is he, sir, that I may believe in him?” Jesus said to him, “You have seen him, and it is he who is speaking to you.” He said, “Lord, I believe,” and he worshiped him.

Time an again throughout Scripture, when someone bowed down and began to worship any other than God, they were quickly chastised for their mistake. Yet Jesus has no chastisement for this healed man. The man was simply allowed to worship Jesus.

Hebrews 1:6  And again, when he brings the firstborn into the world, he says, “Let all God’s angels worship him.”

The writer of Hebrews laid out a picture of Jesus as one to be worshipped, and to boot - to be worshipped by all of God's angels! In fact, if we go back to the beginning of Hebrews 1, we see it is all about laying out Christ's superiority, and then the writer clearly differentiates Jesus from any created being, even angels.

Then we have Paul writing to the church at Corinth, and he identifies Jesus Christ as "their Lord and ours":

1 Corinthians 1:2  To the church of God that is in Corinth, to those sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints together with all those who in every place call upon the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, both their Lord and ours:

The term translated as "Lord" here is κύριος, literally meaning supreme, controller, master, or God.

And let us compare that to: 1 Kings 18:24  and Elijah's challenge: And you call upon the name of your god, and I will call upon the name of the LORD ,(יְהֹוָה - Jehovah) and the God who answers by fire, he is God.” And all the people answered, “It is well spoken.” 

Zechariah 13:9  And I will put this third into the fire,

and refine them as one refines silver, and test them as gold is tested. They will call upon my name,and I will answer them. I will say, ‘They are my people’; and they will say, ‘The LORD is my God.’”

God's resend always refer to God as "Lord" - they are terms of worship and adoration of God. So when we see Jesus referred to as Lord, and more directly  - "my God" as Thomas stated, we can understand that Jesus is the only God worthy of worship.

And this brings us to yet another reality - because who else an forgive sins? Stay tuned for the next Episode (Episode 5: Who Can Forgive Sin?)

Episode 3: Sseeking the the Real Jesus - My Lord, My God!

 I cannot help but be blown away by the words of "doubting" Thomas in his confession of faith found in John 20:28 - “My Lord and my God!”  Thomas didn't just express Jesus' position above him ("Lord" - κύριος - literally "supreme authority"), but he also called Jesus God (θεός - Deity/Supreme Divinity).

The Apostle Paul wrote to the Colossian church a description of Jesus that doesn't mince words: "For in him the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily" -Colossians 2:9. Paul made qualms that he saw Jesus as, quite literally - God.

Further, in answering questions about Jesus - and the highly irregular claims that Jesus was God - Paul wrote to the Philippians: 

"Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross."

Equality with God? But there is only one God, correct?

The writer of Hebrews recorded something extremely interesting: 

Hebrews 1:8  But of the Son he says, “Your throne, O God, is forever and ever, the scepter of uprightness is the scepter of your kingdom." (A direct quote from Psalm 45:6) 

If we were to ignore the first phrase, this verse would not be controversial - yet the writer specifically wrote "But of the Son (that's Jesus), he says..." OF Jesus. The writer directly calls the Son... God.

To label anyone, other than God Almighty, as "God" would be blasphemy. So our conclusion must bend to what the inspired biblical writers penned.

Installment #4 will come tomorrow - "Who is to be worshiped but God alone?"

Part 2: Who is "I AM?"

This was why the Jews were seeking all the more to kill him, because not only was he breaking the Sabbath, but he was even calling God his own Father, making himself equal with God. John 5:18

I often hear said that "Jesus never claimed to be God". While in a very limited and literal sense, Jesus didn't use that exact phrase to describe Himself, between the above actions that the Jews were complaining of were understood in their time and context as laying claims to being "equal" with God - Yet there is non other. There is none like God. 

"I told you that you would die in your sins, for unless you believe that I am he* you will die in your sins." John 8:24

(*of note - in the original language, there is no personal pronoun “he” there. Rendering literally “believe that I am”.) 

Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I am.” John 8:58

Compare this direct statement by Jesus to Exodus 3:14

God said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM.” And he said, “Say this to the people of Israel, ‘I AM has sent me to you.’.”

Or in John 10:30-33, when Jesus said “I and the Father are one", The Jews picked up stones again to stone him.

Jesus answered them, “I have shown you many good works from the Father; for which of them are you going to stone me?”
The Jews answered him, “It is not for a good work that we are going to stone you but for blasphemy, because you, being a man, make yourself God.”

To lay any claim to being God or equal TO God would be a brazen sin - Yet Jesus is commended for the claim.

Jesus identified Himself with the name/title of "I Am", which is one of the most powerful names God revealed of Himself.

Who is This Jesus (The Deity of Christ) Part 1

Among the great theological debates that rage regarding Jesus and who He is, the greatest is whether or not Jesus IS God. There are some who would profess Jesus to be something less than fully God. They claim faith, yet in “who” are they believing? This short piece is designed simply to answer this incredible question - “Is Jesus God?” Further, to briefly answer the question of “why is this so important?”

Simply put, only the pure, holy, and completely uncorrupted by sin blood could possibly atone for sin. The blood of countless animals and birds never paid the sin debt for Israel. Only the pure, spotless Lamb could pay that sin debt.

And who but God is totally pure and righteous?

To that end, I am going to post a series of entries that deal with Scripture passages that, when taken all together, present a beautiful picture of the real Jesus, who is fully God.

Some say that Jesus never claimed to be God. Others rely on creative translation of selected verses to shore up their claim that Jesus is not God (or Yahweh/Jehovah). Yet a simple review of the Bible reveals a pattern that cannot be dismissed, a pattern that clearly makes the case for Jesus Christ as God.

Over the next few days, I plan to post a series of passages and a bit of comment on each in an effort to stitch together the greater picture of Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God, who IS the King of kings and Lord of lords, who alone is worthy of all praise and worship. My challenge to the reader - read them, ponder on them, and pray about it, particularly as you accumulate these passages, who is Jesus?

We begin with one of the most clear, yet still controversial passages pointing to the deity of Jesus Christ.

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. John 1:1

Now, some like to move the comma, or add the word “a” based on the lack of a "definite article", yet the original language gives NO convincing reason to do either. In fact, there are several examples elsewhere that do not create controversy where there is a lack of a definite article. Yet the preponderance of Christian history and understanding agrees that the reference to "the Word" is a reference to Jesus as having the same quality as God the Father.

All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made. John 1:3

What we see here, is that the reference back to “The Word” here is clearly identifying Jesus as the Creator of all, which in the Old Testament is 100% identified as God/Jehovah.

And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth." John 1:3

And to further reinforce this idea, let us thing a bit about one of the most powerful names God used in the Old Testament to reveal Himself - "I Am". This will be the subject of Episode 2 in this series.