Why cruelty?

It is the certainty that they possess the truth that makes men cruel. -Anatole France, novelist, essayist, Nobel laureate (1844-1924)

Our Sunday School has gone over the history of the church and the cruelty that man put upon his fellow human being if they don't believe the same way. I'm trying to understand the cruelty and maybe the above quote has truth in it? Better watch ourselves!

Good Friday

"Jesus therefore again groaning in Himself cometh to the grave. It was a cave, and a stone lay upon it." (John 11:38 cf. vs. 33).

groaning, Gr.(Strong's 1690) embrimaomai, to snort with anger. Translated "groaning", "straitly charged" (Mark 1:43).

"Jesus wept" (John 11:35).

Not a passive picture of our Lord when connected to the Greek word. Jesus snorted with anger at the death of his friend, Lazarus.

Jesus suffered our death; the last enemy is death. He did it in opposition to the power of darkness, and He did it with righteous anger against the evil one.

"And when He thus had spoken, He cried with a loud voice, Lazarus, come forth" (John 11:43). "And he that was dead come forth. Jesus saith unto them, Loose him, and let him go" (John 11:44).

The good news of Good Friday. "It is finished."

What Devil?

"The smartest thing the Devil ever did was to convince the world that he doesn't exist."

This is a common paraphrase of CS Lewis from the Screwtape Letters.

Cause of 1st effect . . .

God is the cause of 1st effect. In II Samuel 24.l it says, “He (God) moved David” to number the people. I Chronicle 21.l retells the incident and says, “Satan stood up against Israel, and provoked David to number Israel”. Evidently God and Satan provoked David to do the same thing, but how can that be? The Wycliffe Bible Commentary interprets these verses in light of God being the cause of 1st effect: “From the Biblical viewpoint, all things have their ultimate source in God. Even the wrath of man, and Satan, ultimately further the Divine purpose.”

I don’t know about you, but knowing nothing takes the Lord by surprise, and knowing that God is good and He is good ALL the time, no matter what man or the devil is up to in the world, brings me great comfort and security.

Though the cause of evil prosper,
Yet ‘tis truth alone is strong;
Though her portion be the scaffold
And upon the throne be wrong,
Yet that scaffold sways the future,
And, behind the dim unknown,
Standeth God within the shadow,
Keeping watch above His own.
(-James Russell Lowell, 1819-91)

David was God’s representative on earth, and God’s “eternal purpose” was to be accomplished through David’s physical descendants to bring forth the One who would redeem the world from the dominion of Satan. The eternal Son, Jesus Christ, did become mortal flesh, and He did redeem the world and won the victory over Satan at the cross of Calvary. How Satan must have danced for glee on Good Friday when he accomplished the death of the only Man who could defeat him—but oh, the horror of his mistake when on Resurrection morning he realized the cross was exactly what God had purposed to free the world from his grasp!

Today Satan is agitated and “walketh about, seeking whom he may devour” (I Peter 5.8). He knows he is a defeated foe and his time is short and his judgment of doom is certain. He still is a ‘roaring lion’, but a greater lion, the Lord Jesus Christ, “The Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, hath prevailed…” at the cross of Calvary. Alleluia! (Rev. 5.5)

O Cross that liftest up my head,
I dare not ask to fly from Thee;
I lay in dust life’s glory dead,
And from the ground there blossoms red
Life that shall endless be.

Thank you Lord Jesus.

Heaven. . . really?

“If you think about in the angelic world, they’re just as real as you are. They’re just not made of the same physical properties. Life in their realm is just as real as it is in our realm. I've tried to show you that in heaven are farms and cities and manufacturing plants. We talk about the business of heaven. Paul describes the invisible realm and he use exactly the same terminology to describe it as he does for down on earth. There’s work, there’s jobs, there’s life to be carried on." -Pastor Richard Jordan, Grace Impact from Lisa Leland blog (February 20, 2011).

A meeting in the air. . .

Notice they go out to meet Him.

They heard He’s coming.

It’s a planned thing.

I Thessalonians 4 says we have a rendezvous with the Lord in clouds in the air.

I Cor. 4:5 says, ‘Therefore judge nothing before the time, until the Lord come, who both will bring to light the hidden things of darkness, and will make manifest the counsels of the hearts: and then shall every man have praise of God.'

(Pastor Richard Jordan, from Lisa Leland.)

RESURRECTED BODIES

[In] the Millennium, our resurrected, glorified bodies, like Christ's, will no longer be part of the physical universe and will thus be changeless and timeless, able to be seen, then vanish, and to pass through closed doors and walls. "Jesus himself stood in the midst of them...but they were terrified ...[thinking] they had seen a spirit....[H]andle me, and see," said Christ, "for a spirit hath not flesh and bones, as ye see me have" (Lk 24:36-43).

Paul informs us, "There is a natural body, and there is a spiritual body" (1 Cor 15:44). We don't know what that means except as it was demonstrated in Christ's resurrection. --Dave Hunt

Elul: The Lord Is In Our Fields

Tuesday night was the first night of the Hebrew month of Elul. In this month - the King is in the field. Anyone can approach him. Grace, and absolution are easy for those who draw near - who return.

The month is special in preparation for the Jewish High Holy Days of Rosh Hashanah (Feast of Trumpets, September 9) and Yom Kippur (Day of Atonement, September 18). See Leviticus 23.

When Moses ascended Mount Sinai for forty days to receive the Ten Commandments, G-d’s Law, the Hebrews were fearful he would not return and created a Golden Calf to worship. When Moses descended, in anger he smashed the tablets. G-d instructed Moses to again climb Mount Sinai to receive a replacement. Forty days later, during which time Moses asked G-d to forgive the Hebrews’ sin he was instructed that the Israelites repent of their weakness and faithfully observe certain holy days.

The first day of Elul is the second time Moses went up on Mount Sinai, and 40-days later, when Moses returns, Yom Kippur, is when our fate is sealed based upon our acts. We search ourselves for our failings, commit to cease them, sincerely apologize to those we’ve harmed, and create new ways of behavior. The process is called Teshuvah, or return. Elul: The Lord Is In Our Fields - Maggie's Farm

The above post is from Maggie's Farm and from a Jewish religious man. It is interesting to me to see the modern use of these feasts.

A Christian would interpret these verses and these feasts as involving Israel in the future. In taking the contract of the Law, we would say that Israel gave up grace for law. What, under law, was conditional, is under grace, freely given to every believer. Some verses to read: Romans 3:19-26; Galatians 4:1-3; 3:6-25.

Tisha B'Av

Roman General Titus destruction of Jerusalem 70 A.D. relief from Arch of Triumph
Tisha B'Av

Tisha B'Av (9th of Av) Gregorian calendar: Jewish Year 5770: sunset July 19, 2010 - nightfall July 20, 2010

Tisha B'Av, the Fast of the Ninth of Av, is a day of mourning to commemorate the many tragedies that have befallen the Jewish people, many of which have occurred on the ninth of Av.

Tisha B'Av primarily commemorates the destruction of the first and second Temples, both of which were destroyed on the ninth of Av (the first by the Babylonians in 586 B.C.; the second by the Romans in 70 A.D.).

In synagogue, the book of Lamentations is read and mourning prayers are recited. The ark (cabinet where the Torah is kept) is draped in black.

(I'm going to read Lamentations and cry with Jeremiah at the ruin of sin that man has embraced and is embracing today. And also rejoice in the hope we only find in the LORD,

"This I recall to my mind, therefore have I hope. It is of the LORD'S mercies that we are not consumed, because His compassions fail not. They are new every morning: great is Thy faithfulness. The LORD is good unto them that wait for Him, to the soul that seeketh Him" (Lamentations 3:22-25).

"...they are all dumb dogs"

"And tomorrow will be like today, only more so" (Isaiah 56:12 NSV).

"Come ye, say they, I will fetch wine, and we will fill ourselves with strong drink; and to morrow shall be as this day, and much more abundant" (Isaiah 56:12 KJV).

Who are they?

"His watchmen are blind: they are all ignorant, they are all dumb dogs, they cannot bark; sleeping, lying down, loving to slumber. Yea, they are greedy dogs which can never have enough, and the are shepherds that cannot understand: they all look to their own way, every one for his gain, from his quarter" (Isaiah 56:10,11).

Sounds like our leaders today, doesn't it?.

Human history vs. Bible history. . .

The question of human history versus Biblical history:

Romans 3:4 “… yea, let God be true, but every man a liar”

1 John 5:9 “If we receive the witness of men, the witness of God is greater: for this is the witness of God which he hath testified of his Son.”

(From Johny Varghese, Grace India Ministry, johnyvarghese@comcast.net)

A big IF. . .

"If heaven above can be measured, and the foundations of the earth searched out beneath, I will also cast off all the seed of Israel for all that they have done," says the Lord. (Jeremiah 31:37 KJV).

Now, that's a most remarkable promise. God has bound himself, by the faithfulness of his Being and of his Word, that Israel shall have a place in his program as long as the heavens and the earth remain. God will never cast them off as long as the sun and the moon maintain themselves in their courses and as long as long as the scope of the heavens remains to be measured and the interior of the earth remains unexplored.

So, where is Israel today? Today is the Mystery age of the Body of Christ where there is no distinction between Jew and Gentile. But, one day, maybe soon, this age will end with the Rapture of the church, and then the prophecy of Israel will again be foremost in God's redemption of the earth.

The Bible is written to reflect the time we are now living and where we are to get our living instructions. Today this is in the Epistles of Paul, Romans to Philemon.

Chart courtesy of Johny Varghese:
Grace India Ministry
9834 Maynard Terrace
Niles, IL 60714
johnyvarghese@comcast.net

Thoughts courtesy of The Berean Call

Calvinism is back

"When things go through this upheaval," Ms. Tickle says, "there's always those who absolutely need the assurance of rules and a foundation."

Christian faith: Calvinism is back / The Christian Science Monitor - CSMonitor.com

I've been at the place where I said to the Lord....just tell me what to do and I will do it. It doesn't work!

What works in God's program for today? Grace.

Marvelous grace of our loving Lord,
Grace that exceeds our sin and our guilt!
Yonder on Calvary's mount outpoured-
There where the blood of the Lamb was spilt.

Grace, grace, God's grace,
Grace that will pardon and cleanse within;
Grace , grace, God's grace,
Grace that is greater than all our sin!

Grace trumps Calvinism (Law keeping) in what we need today.

Pride

C. S. Lewis writes that pride is the first and greatest sin of all because it seeks to elevate us above the One who gave us our gifts.

In the Book of Job God speaks of Satan. . . "He beholdeth all high things: he is a king over all the children of pride." (Job 41:34)

Passover

"Purge out therefore the old leaven, that ye may be a new lump, as ye are unleavened. For even Christ our passover is sacrificed for us:

Therefore let us keep the feast, not with old leaven, neither with the leaven of malice and wickedness; but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth." (I Corinthians 5:7,8)

The feast of Passover - Leviticus 23:4,5

"Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers; but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot:" (I Peter 1:18, 19).

Analysis of the Fifth Commandment . . .

“Honor your Father and your Mother” (5:16).

The word “honor” in the Biblical Hebrew comes from the word “Kabad”, meaning literally “to make heavy.”

We honor our parents not by loving them, but by making them “heavy”, i.e. making them people of substance and not “making light” of them.

The phrase “make light” of someone means a way of belittling or humiliating them.

PROMINENCE OF THE SECOND COMING

Nothing is more prominently brought forward in the New Testament than the second coming of the Lord Jesus Christ.

--John Nelson Darby (Anglo-Irish evangelist, and an influential figure among the original Plymouth Brethren)

Good hope through grace. . .

"Now our Lord Jesus Christ Himself, and God, even our Father, which hath loved us, and hath given us everlasting consolation and good hope through grace, comfort your hearts, and stablish you in every good word and work." 2 Thessalonians 2:16, 17

Lent

The number "40" has always had special spiritual significance regarding preparation.

On Mount Sinai, preparing to receive the Ten Commandments, "Moses stayed there with the Lord for 40 days and 40 nights, without eating any food or drinking any water" (Ex 34:28).

Elijah walked "40 days and 40 nights" to the mountain of the Lord, Mount Horeb (another name for Sinai) (I Kgs 19:8).

Jesus fasted and prayed for "40 days and 40 nights" in the desert before He began His public ministry (Mt 4:2).

Israel, a nation...

“So there are some Believers in Israel, but Israel is there mainly in rank unbelief.

But it is still a nation, and if it is a pre-cursor, a foreshadowing...certainly before the Anti-Christ comes Israel has to be there as a nation."

(Lisa Leland) Still trying to link...but won't work : (