Got Fruit ?

A friend asked: "How to balance it all…" a few days ago on Facebook to which I responded…

"The answer… not too far to the left and not too far to the right. Sorta right there in the center of the midway point. Generally speaking of course. "

I was being somewhat silly with my "answer", however the question has lingered with me over the past few days; though not in a terribly nagging sort of way.  I did however ponder for some time how Jesus for example managed to see the big picture in all things, able to address the more pressing issue at hand when confronted by hypocritical religious leaders; giving them the verbal smack down, while graciously nurturing the "sinner". John 8:2-11  I started to recall where I was in Christ say 3 to 5 years ago, to where I think He’s bought me to now, any good in me of course is to the glory and credit of God Almighty.

Some particular "extremes" that I recall having to let Christ walk me through were that of having to shake off the tainting of New Age philosophy, legalist perspective, and a tendency to focus mostly on God’s love for us and not enough on His other qualities such as His: righteousness, holiness, justice,wisdom and patience to name a few.

The world view I held for almost half of my life was a result of unknowingly falling for New Age philosophy.  This view was a byproduct of my teenage years, formed after reading Richard Bach’s: "Illusions: The Adventures of a Reluctant Messiah".  I had essentially taken hook line and stinker, Bach’s expressed view that one ought not feel guilty if another feels rejected, hurt or otherwise offended because of our actions or decisions to not feel obligated meet another’s needs.  To illustrate, Bach presents a part of the story where a metaphorical vampire makes a request to feed on someone.  The vampire is as best as I can recall a seemingly pleasant person afflicted with being a vampire and thus requiring human blood in order to continue living.  He pleads with someone to meet his need, and the reluctant party responds to the effect of: "Tough luck pal, you’re not sucking my blood, and if you feel "hurt"that’s just too bad.  You choose to feel hurt, and it has nothing to do with me.".  Taking on this world view inoculated me from the concerns of others,I was responsible for me and avoided situations that put me in danger of having to yield for the sake of others.  Now don’t get it twisted, I’m still not letting anyone suck my blood, but I might point you to the nearest Red Cross, blood donation center, hospital or public mental health facility. 

Looking back, I think the legalist perspective was partially a result of attempting by my own "wisdom" to live by the law.

1st Corinthians 8:9
9 Be careful, however, that the exercise of your freedom does not become a stumbling block to the weak.

There was also an overcompensation to make up for a lack of genuine spiritual worship of the Lord with my heart,soul, and mind.  I was fortunately blessed to understand that I had become more enamored with the intellectual side of things (loving the Book, instead of the Author), which is not to say that gaining Bible knowledge hasn’t been a blessing, nor that it shouldn’t be considered a vital component of our walk with Christ.

Romans 12:1
1 Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual act of worship.

As for an unbalanced focus on God’s love, I thank God that He made it possible for me to receive words of wisdom from the mature Christians that He surrounded me with as well as Him providing timely words from a variety of other sources; namely His Written Word, but also His Word shared by several Christian bloggers and web sites of Godly men and women.  I never saw myself as going to the extreme of the present day "love fest" within Christianity; though some might be tempted to read into this earlier post.  Rather I simply saw myself as not being immersed in the completeness of what God has revealed to us about Himself, hence one possible reason for feeling the need to read and study the Old Testament with dedication to giving  an equal amount of attention as held for the New Testament.  Though I do admit that the Gospels and Paul’s 13 Letters do tend to be easier to read, study and just give me a buzz! 

Having gotten completely sidetracked with my expanded take on maintaining a sense of balance in our lives, especially when compared to what Jesus did, I’d like to close with an urging to readers to check out what John McArthur has to say about Liberty in Christ.  I particularly draw your attention to what McArthur has to say about "The Dangers of Legalism and Libertinism".

Grace and peace be with you

Ezekiel 18:32
32 For I take no pleasure in the death of anyone, declares the Sovereign LORD. Repent and live!

These are the final words of Ezekiel 18, uttered by God.  A simple command which with compliance offers life. "Repent and live!"

On Friday thoughts from Ezekiel 18 were shared regarding how God makes it clear that every man is responsible for his actions, he will suffer the consequences of his sin, not his offspring, as will he also be acknowledged for his righteousness which no one else can take nor receive credit for.

Throughout the bulk of Ezekiel 18 (verses 3-28), God explicitly tells us that the wicked man that repents from all his sinful ways will have life, while the righteous man that turns from the path of righteousness to that of the wicked man will lose his life.

Reading through this chapter of Ezekiel some thoughts and ideas concerning the  "doctrine (?)" of "once saved always saved" crossed my mind.   As New Testament believers, I know that God’s grace is the mechanism by which we are saved, in spite of our past sins and ongoing struggles with sin.  It occurs to me that we have a problem however if we take God’s grace and not properly apply the stipulation of repentance earnestly,honestly and continually to our lives.  Text from Ezekiel 18 clearly points out both the benefit of repentance as well as the consequences of not repenting.  A broader view of the book of Ezekiel in fact pointing to the impending judgement by God as an example of the consequences suffered by Israel for not turning from it’s sinful ways.

Ezekiel 14:6
6 "Therefore say to the house of Israel, ‘This is what the Sovereign LORD says: Repent! Turn from your idols and renounce all your detestable practices!

In the New Testament of the Bible we have numerous examples from Jesus Christ Himself as well as Paul exhorting us to walk the righteous walk, to not fall into the deception of living a sinful life.  Below is a brief view of some of those exhortations.

Matthew 7:13
13 "Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it.

Romans 6:1-5
1 What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? 2By no means! We died to sin; how can we live in it any longer? 3 Or don’t you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? 4 We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.

5 If we have been united with him like this in his death, we will certainly also be united with him in his resurrection.

Galatians 5:16-21
16 So I say, live by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature. 17 For the sinful nature desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the sinful nature. They are in conflict with each other, so that you do not do what you want. 18 But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under law.

19 The acts of the sinful nature are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; 20 idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions 21 and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God.

1st Thessalonians 4:7
7 For God did not call us to be impure, but to live a holy life.

From the previous examples, and with exception to Jesus speaking in Matthew 7:13, Scripture seems to be emphatically speaking to believers in Christ.  Given that this message of repentance is repeatedly preached, I can’t help but take it to heart that our salvation is an ongoing process.  A process of being strengthened in the Lord and in His Word (the building of the relationship with Christ),versus a false implication drawn from the "once saved, always saved" idea that no matter what one’s conduct is, salvation can’t be lost. (See Matthew 7:21-23)

• We continually wrestle with the flesh (Ephesians 6:10-12)
• Our faith is constantly being challenged by Satan’s deceptions (1st Timothy 4:1)
• Doctrine is constantly under attack  (1st Timothy 4:16)
• Christians are not immune to temptation (1st Corinthians 10:13)
• Righteousness is a product of laboring in Christ (Hebrews 5:11-14, Hebrews 6:1-4)

From the Gospel of Mark, Jesus calls to the people…

Mark 1:15
15 "The time has come," he said. "The kingdom of God is near. Repent and believe the good news!"

Grace and peace be with you.

Just thought I’d share the outline from Part 1of last night’s Bible study for the Young Adults group available…

Acts 17:11
Now the Bereans were of more noble character than the Thessalonians, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true.

I. What is Discernment?

From a Biblical perspective discernment implies scrutinizing for accuracy, validity or truthfulness, etc;.

Webster’s Dictionary defines discernment as:

1. To see and identify by noting a difference or differences; to note the distinctive character of; to discriminate; to distinguish.

2. To see or understand the difference; to make distinction; as, to discern between good and evil, truth and falsehood.

John MacArthur’s definition of discernment:

In its simplest definition, discernment is nothing more than the ability to decide between truth and error, right and wrong. Discernment is the process of making careful distinctions in our thinking about truth. In other words, the ability to think with discernment is synonymous with an ability to think biblically.

First Thessalonians 5:21-22 teaches that it is the responsibility of every Christian to be discerning: “But examine everything carefully; hold fast to that which is good; abstain from every form of evil.” The apostle John issues a similar warning when he says, “Do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God; because many false prophets have gone out into the world” (1 John 4:1). According to the New Testament, discernment is not optional for the believer-it is required.

Citation from “The Vital Importance of Biblical Discernment” by John MacArthur (http://bible.lightsource.com/11531806/)

II. Biblically speaking, what is the purpose of discernment?

1. To avoid being deceived

• 1st Timothy 1:3-4
• 1st Timothy 1:8-11 (Note verse 10! “contrary to sound doctrine”)
• Mark 13:5,22-23 (warnings directly from Jesus!)

2. To know and recognize the true Jesus Christ from the false christs (antichrists)

3. To distinguish Biblical fact from “fiction”, to recognize Orthodox Christian doctrine from worldview “religion”/man made doctrines

4. To be obedient to God and His Word

• 1st John 4:1
• Ephesians 5:6-7
• Colossians 2:8

5. To become matured Christians

• Wisdom - James 3:13-17
• Discipline
• Discretion
• Knowledge - Ephesians 4:12-16

6. Love (1st Timothy 1:3-5 Note verse 5!)

1st Timothy 1:3-5
3 As I urged you when I went into Macedonia, stay there in Ephesus so that you may command certain men not to teach false doctrines any longer 4 nor to devote themselves to myths and endless genealogies. These promote controversies rather than God’s work—which is by faith. 5 The goal of this command is love, which comes from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith.

III. Why study and discuss discernment?

1. The Bible tells us to be discerning (1st Thessalonians 5:21-22, 1st John 4:1)
2. To be obedient to God and His Word (1st John 4:1, Ephesians 5:6-7, Colossians 2:8)
3. To become matured Christians (Ephesians 4:12-16, 1st Timothy 1:3-5)
4. Concerns over the many misleading spiritual leaders, sects, movements, and religions masquerading as being of God and “Christian” in the Orthodox sense.

IV. Warnings directly from Jesus!

Matthew 24:4
4 Jesus answered: "Watch out that no one deceives you.

Mark 13:22-23
22 For false Christs and false prophets will appear and perform signs and miracles to deceive the elect—if that were possible. 23 So be on your guard; I have told you everything ahead of time.

Luke 21:8
8 He replied: "Watch out that you are not deceived. For many will come in my name, claiming, ‘I am he,’ and, ‘The time is near.’ Do not follow them.

V. How does one become a discerning Christian?

1. Discernment is imparted by the Holy Spirit - 1st Corinthians 2:12-14

• Not “learned” or “taught” from self-help or self-esteem books
• Not based on our wisdom (human intellect) nor solely on our experiences See: Proverbs 3:5-6

1. Referring to the Bible for direction & spiritual nurturing
2. Relying on God’s wisdom, not ours - 1st Corinthians 1:25-30
3. Habitual prayer and reading of God’s Word - it’s vital that this is a regular part of your daily walk with Christ
4. Application of what God’s Word says, to your life
   These are components of spiritual nurturing which result in spiritual maturation.

Grace and peace be with you

Well today’s Communion Meditation went well minus a case of nervousness, and stumbling over a few words.  Several folks approached me after services ended with words of encouragement and playful (?) innuendo about going to Bible College.    "Slow down Tim, not so fast."  

So here’s the transcript from the Communion Meditation…

From 1st Corinthians 11:23-25, Paul the Apostle brings correction to the Church of Corinth concerning it’s handling of the Lord’s Supper:

23 For I received from the Lord what I also passed on to you: The Lord Jesus, on the night he was betrayed, took bread, 24 and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, "This is my body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of me." 25 In the same way, after supper he took the cup, saying, "This cup is the new covenant in my blood; do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of me."

As I was preparing today’s meditation, the words body and remembrance from 1st Corinthians 11:23-25 stood out, my prayer is that God’s Holy Spirit will use them to guide us all in examining ourselves, before we partake of the bread which is symbolic of the body of Christ and the wine that symbolizes the new covenant in Christ’s blood.

Firstly, from 1st Corinthians 12:12, Paul addresses the problem of division within the church when he says:
"Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it.".

I think it’s important to know that because of Jesus we have this privilege to rejoice in Paul’s statement.

Christ in flesh and bone;

• was tempted by Satan
• rejected by His own people
• plotted against by religious leaders
• betrayed by Judas and disowned by Peter

Christ was:

• spat upon
• mocked
• assaulted
• flogged… and then crucified; for our sake.

Secondly, Jesus tells us in addition to partaking of His body and the cup, to do so “… in remembrance of me”. Reading and hearing those words, I get the impression that The Lord’s intention was not merely for us to intellectually remember Christ the historical figure. Rather to remember and apply likewise to our lives, the complete package that He was and still is.

Remember your Lord and Savior:

• the one who comforted His disciples
• the one who served others
• the one who showed mercy and grace

Remember your Lord and Savior… of Luke 7:11-13, who’s heart went out to a widow who’s son had died

Remember your Lord and Savior… of Mark 1:40-41, who,because of compassion healed a leper

Remember your Lord and Savior… of Matthew 6:9-10 who said: " ‘Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, 10 your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.

Remember your Lord and Savior… of Matthew 9:9, who said to a tax collector… ”Follow me.”

Remember your Lord.

Paul commands personal reflection, an examination of heart, attitude and gratitude in 1st Corinthians 11:27-28 concerning the Lord’s Supper:

27 Therefore, whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of sinning against the body and blood of the Lord. 28 A man ought to examine himself before he eats of the bread and drinks of the cup. 29 For anyone who eats and drinks without recognizing the body of the Lord eats and drinks judgment on himself.

As this communion meditation closes, I pray that the Holy Spirit will speak to our hearts through these final words from Romans 12:1-2.

1Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual act of worship. 2 Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.

Grace and peace be with you.

I mentioned in Sunday’s post that on Saturday my youngest daughter and I went to go see Batman: The Dark Knight.  Instead of giving a full review of the film, I’ll focus on one of the characters, their shortcomings and a Scriptural thought or two that ties in with the film. For another perspective on the film visit KOG Media .

To those readers that haven’t seen the film yet, be warned, movie spoiler ahead!

In about the final third of the film (runs approx. 2 /12 hours), the second half of the Harvey Dent/Two-Face character (Aaron Eckhart) develops.  The Joker has devised a scheme whereby he springs his multi-tierd plan for chaos and destruction upon Gotham and it’s Kevlar clad Knight.  While being interrogated by “The Bat”, The Joker menacingly toys with Batman in a game of brains verses brawn (ala Tyler Durden and Lou from Fight Club).  After several minutes of being literally tossed around the interrogation room, the Joker let’s on that he has abducted two people close to Batman; Rachel Dawes lifelong friend/forbidden love interest, and hotshot DA Harvey Dent, current apple of Rachel’s eye and shining knight in armor for Gotham.  No, Batman is not the hero in this installment (or is he?), he’s a vigilante in the eyes of the public, and as real life sometimes plays out, things get worse before better (scapegoat).

Dawes and Dent having been abducted are whisked off to separate locations in Gotham by The Joker’s henchmen, each being placed into a perilous situation, where Batman and Chief Gordon are thrust into a mad dash to save them once The Joker “gives up” their locations. Real life tragedy plays out and  in their efforts to save Rachel and Dent, only Dent makes it out “alive”. 

Dent physically and emotionally scarred over Rachel’s death is covertly visited by the Joker while in recovery at Gotham General.  The Joker manages to convince Dent to turn from his schoolboy ideology after manipulating the series of events that led to his current condition.  Having convinced Dent, The Joker’s plan now comes into full bloom as a spiritually beaten Dent succumbs to the allure of vengeance and anger, he’s primed, ready to be unknowingly used to undo all of the good he’s done in Gotham, thus “killing” the hope of Gotham, and throwing wide open the gates that held anarchy at bay.

Dent’s undoing if you will is nothing new, a similar plot played out in Star Wars initially when Anakin Skywalker loses his mother and escalating deeper into the abyss as he loses his love,Padamee.  The analysis of both Batman:TDK & Star Wars being that heroes are deceived by their hearts, their self centeredness in turn leads them down paths of evil.  Art imitating life?

Jeremiah 17:9
9 The heart is deceitful above all things
       and beyond cure.
       Who can understand it?

The final thought however is not from Jeremiah 17:9 but rather from something that Jesus said in Luke 14.  See?  As Harvey Dent had two loves; Rachel and the law, one was elevated higher than the other.  In losing what he loved most, Dent traded hope and determination to carry on in pursuit of true justice  & the well being of many for his own cause; something that in his own distorted sense of fulfilling justice, Batman was able to maintain focus on.

Luke 14:25-27
25Large crowds were traveling with Jesus, and turning to them he said: 26″If anyone comes to me and does not hate his father and mother, his wife and children, his brothers and sisters—yes, even his own life—he cannot be my disciple. 27And anyone who does not carry his cross and follow me cannot be my disciple.

Grace and peace be with you.