“I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.” – Matthew 16:19

When I became a Christian, all the instruction I received about the Kingdom of God was to protect myself from the corruption of the world, to avoid spending too much time with “sinners,” and to hold on until Jesus came back. Christianity was presented to me as a waiting game not something I could be active and thrive in. Getting to heaven simply meant avoiding Satan. Continue reading “A Closer Kingdom”

What a wonderful thing it must have been to live while Jesus walked the earth, to see him heal and cast out demons, to hear him teach about God the Father and The Way. And yet so many of those who did see and hear marveled at it all, then walked away: rejecting his message.

His disciples noticed this too. In Luke 13:22-30 we have this discourse:

The Narrow Way

²² And He went through the cities and villages, teaching, and journeying toward Jerusalem. ²³ Then one said to Him, “Lord, are there few who are saved?”

And He said to them, ²⁴ “Strive to enter through the narrow gate, for many, I say to you, will seek to enter and will not be able. ²⁵ When once the Master of the house has risen up and shut the door, and you begin to stand outside and knock at the door, saying, ‘Lord, Lord, open for us,’ and He will answer and say to you, ‘I do not know you, where you are from,’ ²⁶ then you will begin to say, ‘We ate and drank in Your presence, and You taught in our streets.’ ²⁷ But He will say, ‘I tell you I do not know you, where you are from. Depart from Me, all you workers of iniquity.’ ²⁸ There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth, when you see Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God, and yourselves thrust out. ²⁹ They will come from the east and the west, from the north and the south, and sit down in the kingdom of God. ³⁰ And indeed there are last who will be first, and there are first who will be last.”

When Jesus worked miracles and astonished many with His teaching, the Jews were hopeful that He was their promised messiah. But, they were expecting a military leader, someone who would rise up against Rome and restore Israel to preeminence among all the nations. Naturally, the Pharisees and Sadducees would be this leader’s cabinet, his governors over this new world order. But Jesus taught forgiveness, love, and repentance. He wanted them to abandon their traditions and follow Him in a new direction. So they rejected Him, despite all they saw and heard.

Today, Jesus does not walk among us, we cannot listen to Him declare the truths of God. That is done through the Bible: God’s Holy Word, and the urging of the Holy Spirit. But now, as it was then, mankind does not want to hear what the Gospel tells us, so mankind edits The Word through exclusion and re-interpretation. Mankind wants to build a wider gate through which to enter Heaven.

But mankind does not build gates into Heaven, only Jesus grants that access through the authority given Him by God the Father in Jesus’ death and resurrection.

The door that the Master of the house closes in the parable is death. As long as we are alive, we have the ability to accept Jesus. Death locks that door closed.

On the day of judgment, many of the people of Jesus’ day will say, “We knew you, you taught in our streets. Let us in.” But He will refuse them admittance because they rejected Him.

On the day of judgment, many modern Christians will say, “We worshiped you and did many great works in your name, let us in.” But if they followed an edited gospel, they followed a gospel of their own making, not that of God. In so doing, they carved their own God to follow. And on that day, Jesus will tell them, “I do not know you, where you are from. Depart from Me, all you workers of iniquity.”

There will be some who are considered mighty men of God by this world: respected and followed by a multitude, who will be turned away. And there will be those who were despised by this world as “Jesus freaks” who will be welcomed and given positions of preeminence in the kingdom of God.

That is not my opinion: that is what The Word says. That is what Jesus told the people of His time, and His words stand as truth today.  Read His Word for yourself.  Follow its teachings.  Be careful who you trust as a teacher.

People of the world say, “knowledge is power” and set about gathering knowledge about people and situations that concern them. Knowledge is an assemblage of facts and datum. Those facts and datum are of little use, except for small talk at parties, if you lack the wisdom to interpret and use those facts. Wisdom is the proper interpretation and application of knowledge. Wisdom allows you to interpret information properly, however pressing information into the mold of our own opinions and ideology distorts it and renders it less useful.

Proverbs 2: 1-7 says:
¹ My son, if you receive my words,
And treasure my commands within you,
² So that you incline your ear to wisdom,
And apply your heart to understanding;
³ Yes, if you cry out for discernment,
And lift up your voice for understanding,
⁴ If you seek her as silver,
And search for her as for hidden treasures;
⁵ Then you will understand the fear of the Lord,
And find the knowledge of God.
⁶ For the Lord gives wisdom;
From His mouth come knowledge and understanding;
⁷ He stores up sound wisdom for the upright;
He is a shield to those who walk uprightly; Continue reading “Acquiring Wisdom”

Previously we looked at The Mysteries of God. This time, let’s take a deeper look at how believers fit into the handling of these mysteries.

1 Corinthians 4:1 says, “Let a man so consider us, as servants of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God.” (NKJV). Before we go further let’s look at the word steward. In modern-day terms this word evokes images of people who serve meals and attend to passengers aboard airplanes, trains and ocean liners. In Biblical terms, a steward was a slave that is given responsibility for managing the master’s household or business. Joseph was steward over the household of Potiphar: a powerful man: a Captain of Pharaoh’s Guard, “And his master saw that the Lord was with him (Joseph) and that the Lord made all he did to prosper in his hand. … Then he made him overseer of his house, and all that he had he put under his authority.” (Genesis 39:3-4).

Stewards of the Mysteries Continue reading “Stewards of the Mysteries”

The Apostle Paul writes to the church in Corinth and explains that when he first came to them he spoke to them not in mysteries but in simple terms, speaking only about Jesus, Him crucified, and the salvation that comes from that act. Paul says he spoke “not with persuasive words of human wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, that your faith should not be in the wisdom of men but in the power of God.” (1 Corinthians 2:4-5 NKJV).

This was not because Paul was incapable of eloquent speech. Before his conversion he was a Pharisee who had been educated at the knees of Gamaliel, a most respected teacher of Judaism (Acts 5:34). Paul was known for his persuasive speeches. But he chose to approach the Corinthians with simple speech. He goes on, “However, we speak wisdom among those who are mature … the wisdom of God is a mystery … ordained before the ages for our glory … as it is written:

‘Eye has not seen, nor ear heard,
Nor have entered into the heart of man
The things which God has prepared for those who love Him.’
But God has revealed them to us through His Spirit.” (1 Corinthians 2:7-9 NKJV). Continue reading “The Mysteries of God”

Sometimes the simplest things can end up meaning so much to someone.

Just yesterday I had a brief encounter with a young woman at a filling station. I know nothing about her except that she drove a truck with a flat tire, and she was crying; had been for some time from the looks of her. I offered to help.

She sat in the cab of her truck and dabbed at her eyes with a Kleenex as I aired up her tire. Continue reading “The Good Deed”

Once a month the church I attend has a Dinner On The Ground Indoors – what other churches I’ve been part of would call a Fellowship Dinner.

In most churches these dinners were a time to chat and share a good meal. That’s what fellowship is, right? Visiting?

A dictionary defines it as:

NOUN

1. friendly association, especially with people who share one’s interests:
   “they valued fun and good fellowship as the cement of the community”
   synonyms: companionship · companionability · sociability
2. the status of a fellow of a college or society:
   “she held the Faulkner fellowship”

Definitions provided by Oxford Dictionaries

Which of these, if either, is closest to the fellowship the Bible encourages us to engage in? Let’s see what the Bible has to say about this topic. Continue reading “Fellowship: What it Really Means”

Jesus and his disciples are crossing the sea of Galilee when the waves and wind rise up against them in a storm. The disciples ask Jesus to save them, he calms the sea with words, and these men are amazed. They ask one another, “Who is this man, that even the winds and the sea obey Him?” (Matt 8:27)

At the beginning of Jesus’ ministry, he selected 12 men who were his inner circle. They were His helpers, they were His students, they would become His apostles: traveling their world to spread His gospel. But their realization of who He is came slowly.

By the time we get to the events of Matthew 8, Jesus has been traveling the region with his disciples for some time. He has healed many people – probably many hundreds of people – of all manner of sicknesses. He has cast out demons. He has worked miracles. These men have been right there and seen it all. And yet, after all they have witnessed, these men, of all men, don’t know ” who is this man “!

But, we look at these men from the perspective of a modern day Christian, having access to a complete Bible. We must remember that these men held a different viewpoint. Continue reading “Who Is This Man?”

I often hear people ask, “Why is God punishing me?” because they have fallen into hardship. It saddens me to hear this.  God is not a heavy handed tyrant doling out discipline without reason.

Hebrews chapter 12 talks about the discipline of God: in it Paul compares our relationship with God to that of a human father and child. He asks: what father who loves his son does not discipline him? What is he asking?

While there is a modern trend of “Never say ‘no’ to your child” which believes that correcting a child’s bad behavior will damage their psyche – I say that’s hogwash. Ever since humans walked the Earth we have known that children need guidance to learn what is right, what is wrong, and to have respect for their parents and teachers. While I do not advocate beating a child, discipline, guidance, correction must be carried out.

If I, the son of a human father, recognize that my father was molding me as a child, not persecuting me, how can I shake a fist at God when I am being disciplined? Continue reading “The Discipline of God”

There is a marked tendency to push all mention of Christianity out of the public forum. Where praise or prayer is still allowed, most insist that the addressed deity be confined to “God”. The name of Jesus is pointedly excluded. Why?

God is generic. Anyone who believes in a god can mentally substitute their own deity into a prayer or giving of thanks, even some discussions – as long as definitive names such as Elohim or Jehovah are avoided. Those who deny the existence of ANY god will be offended in any case. Continue reading “God: Yes, Jesus: No”