1949 HEBREWS 9
Let’s make up for lost time.
I was wanting to review Hebrews chapter 9 last week- so let’s hit it today.
The book of Hebrews [in the New Testament] is one of my favorites.
Not only chapter 9- but the whole book speaks about how Jesus started a ‘new and better’ covenant [agreement] between God and man.
The Old ‘agreement’ [covenant] was called The Law.
It was based on man approaching God solely on his own effort- how well he did- how hard he tried to keep the commandments.
There are many good people today who still approach God based on this.
The New Testament says the law came thru Moses- but grace and truth came by Jesus.
Because of Christ- we can now approach God based on his merit- he kept the law and died for us.
Now- this does not give us an excuse to sin- but the new approach is one of grace as opposed to law.
Okay- Hebrews 9 says Jesus has fulfilled the Old Testament law to the tee.
He is now our new High Priest.
He goes into the presence of God for us- with his Blood- and he makes intercession for us.
In the Old Testament system the priests went daily [and yearly] into the tabernacle [tent] and did certain sacrifices.
They used the blood of ‘bulls and goats’.
The writer says these things could never make the worshippers clean- but they only served as examples until the ultimate sacrifice would be made.
That was Christ.
The writer says the real temple—the real presence of God is in heaven- and Jesus has entered into the true Holy of Holies on our behalf.
He says ‘this should purge us from dead works to serve the living God’.
In context the ‘dead works’ are the old works of the law system- with all of its animal sacrifices- and the New Way is this new priesthood established by Christ himself.
We don’t need the blood of animals as a sacrifice- we have the death of Christ.
I wrote an entire commentary on the book of Hebrews- on the blog.
It’s a great letter- and the main point of the letter is an appeal to the first century Jewish community- who were still keeping the ordinances of the sacrificial system.
The writer is trying to show them that Christ has put an end to the old system of animal sacrifice- and he has established this new ‘system’ [called the New Covenant] and it is based on the one and final sacrifice of Jesus.
This truly is Good News [the meaning of Gospel].
Today we have better covenant- a better way to approach God.
We don’t come to him based on how well we kept the law.
No- Hebrews says ‘let us come boldly into the presence of God’.
How can sinful man come boldly?
Because we come to God- not by our works- but on the merits of the sacrifice of Christ.
Yes- as simple as this sounds- Christ died for all- all can come- all who believe.
1950 LORD OF THE RINGS
These past few weeks have been somewhat of a whirlwind.
Every so often in life you hit a stage when multiple things come together.
Over time- as you get older- you learn to take these times with a grain of salt.
That is- you don’t get overly excited about them.
Yet- you see ‘oh yea- this is one of those times’.
There are usually lots of signs that accompany these moments in life.
Let’s name a few.
A couple of months back I went to a part of town that I usually don’t go to.
I wrote a few posts on it- met a few homeless guys- and felt like we needed to do some type of ministry in this area.
Then within a few days one of my good friends wound up in the hospital for triple bypass surgery.
I have known John David and both of his brothers for years- Andy and Huey- they are all street guys where I live.
So- we went to see John David in the hospital- come to find out they thought he was going to die after the surgery.
They had to resuscitate him once.
So- John David has asked me- a few years back- if I would help him do a halfway house.
Now- over all the years of ministry- I have worked with ministries like this.
And I was interested- but really did not know if it would fly.
John David is a very smart guy- he once owned one of the biggest concrete businesses in the area.
Made tons of money over the years.
He lost it all when he became a hardcore addict.
So- I knew he had the smarts for the business aspect- but John is sort of new to the faith.
It’s been a couple of years and he has that new excitement that young Christians have.
So- I just tried to encourage him- and when he gets too many ideas I realize he’s like a lot of us- we sometimes over do it.
But since he had the surgery- he called me the other day and that was the first day of the new halfway house ministry.
Okay- some signs.
I did not realize that the first house [there are now 2] was only a few blocks from my original foray into that part of town.
I met the homeless guys on Morgan and Cross-town [you locals know the spot] and John David opened up the first room at Mary and 20th st.
Walking distance from the spot.
I only realized it later [you take different routes to get there- it never dawned on me that the day I spent with the homeless guys was right there- when we left John David’s house the other day- I realized that was the same spot where I hung out].
That was the first ‘sign’.
I have been praying for years here in my yard- it’s really like a prayer garden- I walk the yard and have all types of prayer markers.
Facing certain ways- praying for the nations that are in that direction- recognizing the star clusters each time of the year.
When you pray early like this- you see lots of shooting stars and come to familiarize yourself with the ‘heavens and earth’.
Anyway- I have this gazebo with hundreds of painted names of prisoners I have collected over the years.
These are cases where people got sent to prison for long periods of time.
So- being I work with street guys- they are sort of my collection- I might run into them some day on the street.
So- this gazebo is like a prayer spot- it represents a community of people.
I also have lots of verses on it.
Over the years I have collected street signs.
Yeah- you’re not supposed to pick them up- but I have.
These are various signs that I found along the road [on the ground or in the trash]- my daughter came home one year with one- she’s like ‘hey dad- we found you one’.
So- I have about 3 or 4 like this.
I have them hanging on this gazebo thing.
Yesterday as I was walking and praying- praying about the halfway house- seeing how the location was ‘prophetic’.
As I’m walking past this gazebo- early in the morning- I must have walked it 30 thousand times before.
I look up- right there- one of the signs says ‘STAPLES AND MARY’.
That’s the actual street that the halfway house is on.
That street is also the connecting street to the second house [on Laredo].
Yeah- Staples and Mary is the main connection for the homes.
Now- Corpus is big- to ‘accidently’ have that sign- that crosses right there- well that’s a bit much.
Last but not least.
Right when I got back from my Jersey trip- the first chapter I read/studied was Luke 15.
For some reason the story about the father putting a ring on the son- it got me to thinking about getting a ring.
Now- I am not a jewelry type of guy.
I have lost multiple wedding rings over the years.
And at the fire house we would take them off.
Yeah- they are a hazard.
There are many stories about guys getting their fingers pulled off when the ring catches something.
So- I haven’t had a ring in years.
But- it’s in my head- so I’m on the hunt.
I stopped at the local pawn shop- I had a homeless friend who died years ago- Bill.
One day I was in there with Bill- and he spotted this ring that he liked a lot.
It had a horse on it.
Personally- I didn’t like it that much- but I thought ‘hey- if that ring is there- I’ll get it’.
Sort of like a reminder of my friend.
It was long gone.
So I hit Wal Mart [yeah- the last resort spot].
They had 2 nice gold rings- with Crosses.
But they wanted a couple of hundred for them- I wasn’t gonna go for that [heck- what if we go over the fiscal cliff!]
About 2 weeks before I mentioned to the street guys ‘hey- I’m looking for a ring- with a Cross on it- if you find one- I’ll buy it’.
Now- I let them know I don’t not want a ‘hot’ ring.
I have had guys wanting to sell me stuff at a cheap rate- stolen stuff.
I told them I would never do that.
So- the next day- after my failed venture at obtaining the ring.
I am getting ready to go to the mission.
I’m in the bathroom and my cell phone rings.
My daughter says ‘dad- your phone is ringing’.
I ask ‘who is it’?
She says ‘it says Martin’.
Martin is the last name of the 3 amigos- John David- Andy and Huey.
I ask ‘which one’?
She says ‘H martin’.
‘O- That’s Huey- just leave it- I’m gonna see him in a minute’.
So- I leave the house- don’t check the message [I never check my messages].
And as I head out I think ‘geez- maybe I should hit the other pawn shop- right passed the mission’.
I’m kinda praying about it.
Then I feel like the Lord is saying ‘son- in Luke 15- the father gave the son a ring- wait till I give you one’.
Right then I make the turn into the mission.
Huey says ‘hey- did you get my message’.
I told him no- I figured I’d see him right now.
He says ‘I got your ring’.
Yeah- I gave 12 bucks for the thing.
But it’s a nice ring- a copper stress ring.
It says ‘TRUST GOD’.
It has 2 Crosses on it.
Probably a 35-50 dollar ring.
[It wasn’t stolen- the guy who owned it was right there- Huey talked him into selling the thing for quick cash].
Yeah- as I have grown older I try not to overdo the sign thing.
But- at the same time- I also try not to ‘under do’ them.
The bible says God is in control of the affairs of men.
Nothing happens without his permission.
Yeah- I guess you can even say- He’s
THE LORD OF THE RINGS.
NOTE- As a side note- the ring was given to me by Huey- John David’s brother.
Rings denote partnership in scripture.
It was interesting that John David’s brother was the one who gave me the ring- I would be ‘partnering’ with him in just a few more days.
1951 ALL THE WORLDS A STAGE [and the media write the script]
This past week we have seen media bias on an unusually large scale [that is it’s rarely so blatant].
The current conflict between Israel and the Palestinians has been reported in the strangest of ways.
Say if you had 2 kids throwing apples at each other.
You would ask ‘how did this start’.
And say if we found out that Timmy had small apples- and Billy had big ones.
Now- Timmy knows Billy has better apples- that he can launch them with greater precision and power- yet Timmy thinks if he plays his cards right- that maybe Billy won’t throw in response [Or that his new friends might come and help him].
So Timmy throws about 300 apples in a short period of time.
Finally Billy has enough- he takes his precision throwing skills to the table and slams Timmy.
After a few days of getting slammed- Timmy’s friend [little Morsi from around the corner- lives on Egyptian trail] gets involved.
Morsi says ‘damn you Billy- stop it- Timmy’s my friend’.
Billy has only one request- tell Timmy to stop throwing.
Morsi is really not a go between at all- in all his talks he keeps saying he’s on Timmy’s side- he calls Billy a cold blooded apple thrower- and little Morsi does not even recognize that Timmy actually started the whole thing [the recent apple throwing].
So- the big brother on the block finally steps in.
Yeah- the guys from USA Street enter the fray.
They have recently praised the guy from Egypt Street- they have made all sorts of statements saying he’s really a heroic figure- he’s willing to reach out to both sides and play the mediator.
Yet- in fact- he has not done this at all.
But the boys from USA Street have to make it look that way- or else they too will look bad- after all- they were behind the Egyptian street boys rise to power [in many covert ways- like calling for Mubarak to step down ‘yesterday’].
So- USA boys have a plan- they have friends that write comic books [called news paper reporters].
These friends will write and say anything to help their friends who are currently the bosses on USA Street [the Obama team].
So- they wrote all types of articles praising the new leadership role of Morsi- they made it look like Obama and his risk in backing Morsi was worth it- after all- Egypt has emerged as the new mediator in these affairs.
Well the truth is- all of this is a big lie- a true comic strip if there ever was one.
Yes my friends- I have rarely seen bias on a scale so large.
These last few days the articles reported that ‘both sides have demands’ [Israel and Hamas].
They reported ‘a cease fire is now in place- but there are rockets that continue to be fired into Israel- will Israel use this as an excuse to be the first to break the cease fire’.
Huh?
If the other side [Timmy- Hamas] are firing rockets after the so called ‘cease fire’ what do you call that?
You say ‘o- Hamas broke the cease fire’.
But no- the media made it sound like these rockets had a will of their own- they were fired into Israel- after the cease fire- which according to them- both sides were still abiding by.
I mean this stuff is laughable- they must think we are absolute morons.
The truth is- Israel and the Palestinians have a long feud- and this post is not to say one side is totally right- I at times have said we also need to see the true plight of the innocent Palestinians- yes- some are very good people- they are not all Hamas.
But- the recent violence is a direct result of Hamas deciding to send rockets into civilian areas of Israel.
No nation- that has the capability to fire back- would sit back and not respond.
Israel did the only thing that they could- they shot back.
Now- to then say ‘yes- the violence is a result of both sides having legitimate concerns’ is stupid.
Yes- the Palestinians do have real concerns- but the recent violence is a result of little Timmy starting the apple throwing.
I read a report that said ‘Israel’s demands are for the rockets to stop- Hamas wants an end to the embargo’.
Okay- I got that.
But when one guy starts shooting at the other- and the other shoots back- and you say ‘okay guys- what’s going on- what do you want’.
And when Billy says ‘I don’t want anything- Timmy just started throwing- I want him to stop’.
That’s not ‘both sides having equal demands’ no- that’s one side saying ‘quit throwing the apples’.
The truth is- this entire thing is a debacle.
President Obama should not have been in Asia- there’s too much going on at home [fiscal cliff] and he needs to have more involvement in the mediation.
Yes- when Bush was in office- and had an actual peace process on the table- when things hit the fan- Harry Reid- and many other Democrat leaders were on the floor condemning Bush for not being involved more.
This time Obama does not even have a peace process in place- he could not even call both sides ‘back to the table’ because there is no table.
One article showed a picture of the president on the phone- it said he ‘skipped dessert and rushed back to the phone’.
Making it sound like him and Morsi were these 2 jet setter type diplomats- in a world of ids fighting.
The reality is this thing was a huge foreign policy mess.
Hillary went in- she basically told Morsi what he had to do- and she [we] also made it sound like he won- he prevailed as a new emerging peace negotiator- this is all a false story.
Hamas agreed to stop firing [even though they were still firing!] because Israel has amassed a ground force and were ready to go in and demolish Hamas.
Yet- after the agreement- both the Palestinians- and Morsi- were celebrating a so called military victory over the ‘terrorist’ Israel.
Yes- Morsi and Hamas all held to this same line.
How can you call him a new peace maker- after he says and acts like this?
Yes my friends- we have seen the worst in media bias- in a long time.
We have seen the comic strip writers living up to their reputation.
Yeah- they all put on a big show for us- they wrote a script that had nothing to do with what really happened.
And they did all this because this time their friend was running the show.
The last time around [Bush years] well the script looked nothing like this.
NOTE- Why so hard on Morsi [the Egyptian president]?
Just yesterday he re wrote the ‘Egyptian constitution’ and took to himself more power than Mubarak ever had.
Many Egyptians took to the streets [they are there right now] protesting this power grab by an Islamic group.
Yes- Morsi and the group he’s affiliated with- the Muslim Brotherhood- promised to never do this.
There are Christians and other non religious secularists in Egypt who fear this move.
One of the reasons he did this was because he arrested- and wanted tried- many of his political opponents.
The judges in Egypt have a reputation of being independent.
Yes- they are not as good as our system- but they are pretty good- in that they are not simply tools of the leader- like in many other places around the world.
So- when Morsi wanted some of his political enemies tried- the courts said no.
They said there was not enough evidence to try them- or find them guilty.
So- Morsi made this move- and is replacing all the judges with his own men.
Yes- this move is worse than anything Mubarak ever did.
Yet- we find president Obama and his administration praising him as some sort of great peace negotiator.
Ah- what a web we have weaved in this mess.
1952 YOU WILL STAND IN YOUR LOT AT THE END OF DAYS
Let’s do a little from Daniel chapter 12.
That was the chapter for this past week.
These chapters in the Old Testament prophets are very familiar with the End Times teachers.
In Theology we call this Eschatology- the study of End Times.
But what I want to do is give you a few simple principles.
Daniel is receiving a message from God/angels.
He hears that God is going to do a great work with his people- but this work takes place in the middle of great trouble [often called the time of Jacobs Trouble- or the Tribulation].
God communicates that his people will be scattered- a ruler will come against them- and yet- this is the time they will inherit the promises God made to them.
The chapter ends by saying those who endure to the final days- they will ‘stand in their lot at the end of their days- and rest’.
The ‘end of days’ phrase- used by Jesus in the gospels- can be a tricky phrase.
How so?
In the New Testament when we read that certain things will happen- and the ‘end of the world’ comes.
The actual term in Greek says ‘the end of the age’.
This can refer to a specific time period coming to an end.
For instance- one of the great themes of the bible is the New and Everlasting covenant of the Blood of Jesus.
Yes- Christians celebrate and remember this covenant every Sunday in church.
The Eucharist/communion is the central mode of worship in many Christian churches of our day.
In biblical terms- we are already in a ‘new age’.
So- in some ways the ‘old world’ has passed away- and the new one has come.
Okay- applying this to Daniel- God says in the ‘end of days’ we shall stand in our lot [fulfill our purpose in life] and this will happen during a time of great trouble- like never before.
As we say ‘can I get an amen’?
So- in life- we have a calling from God- a purpose for being on the planet.
Thru out the journey there are ups and downs- but those who ‘endure to the end [outcome]’ will ‘be saved’- or fulfill the purpose at the end.
Got it?
Okay- just a few notes.
The last week or so I have been helping my friend establish a halfway house.
I have been working with some new guys- guys form the other part of town- yet they are brothers just like the guys where I live.
I mentioned Little Charlie the other day- he’s a young kid- has had his problems with drugs- and is living at the halfway house.
I brought a bunch of furniture and stuff over the last few weeks.
I like it- it already has some of my favorite nick knacks hanging on the walls.
I spent some time with the guys this past Sunday- I took them to a street church that my friend pastors [see all the pictures of the tent he sets up- I posted them on Facebook].
His name is Rey Escalante- he’s a good friend of mine- he works with the same street guys I work with.
I took the halfway house crew to his service this Sunday- we had a good time.
Rey feeds everyone a Sunday dinner too.
I had a good talk with Bryan.
Bryan is one of the guys at the house- he’s 46- I was surprised- he looks much younger.
He told me ‘John- I’m Catholic’.
I guess he has had various ‘preachers’ jump on him about that over the years- you could tell by the way he said it.
I told him that’s fine- I have Catholic friends [over the years even a few priests] who have read my blog.
So- I do get along well with my Catholic friends.
Bryan has been in Corpus for about a year.
He is a drug addict.
He works in construction- and looks to be a hard worker [some of the guys do work hard- there are different types of guys who struggle with addiction- and believe me- some are hard workers].
Bryan strikes me that way.
As we were heading to church this Sunday- he found out that his Jeep finally got repossessed.
He was behind 3 months on the payments and his friend was holding it for him.
Sure enough- they found it.
Bryan told me he was glad in a way.
That years ago- something like this would really get him upset.
You know- having to get with the dealership and try to get his tools and stuff back.
Yeah- this has happened to him before.
But this time- he has learned how to deal with it in a better way.
He can now focus more on his recovery- and less on the Jeep.
I had a good day with the guys- this type of ministry is really more like a brotherhood.
After we left the church meeting at Church Without Walls- we came back to the house for a couple of hours- by this time I picked up a few other guys- we had a house/yard full [Huey crashed out in the ‘homeless room’ I fixed up a few months ago- It’s just ‘their room’ type of thing].
Henry crashed on the couch- watching his favorite show- ESPN.
And the rest of us hung out in my yard- I cooked some hot dogs on the grill and we just laid back.
Bryan even took a short nap in my Hammock.
All in all we had a good day.
Yeah- like the prophet said- in the end times there will be trouble- yet- those who endure to the end- they will inherit all that God has for them.
In a way- I see God doing this with all these guys.
I took a ride with John David the other day.
John David is the older brother who actually started the Halfway House- I’m just helping him with it.
As we were driving- getting the rooms fixed up- he was so excited.
He was saying ‘thank you God for making all this happen- it’s happening all around us’.
John was a big time addict for many years- I know John- and his brothers- from the streets.
He almost died a couple months back [had the open heart surgery- had to be shocked with the paddles].
He has had quite the life.
And now- after all the troubles- he is ‘standing in his lot at the end of his days’.
Yeah- I thank God for my buddies- seeing them come full circle.
They stuck it out- in very tough times- may God bless them all.
1953 LEADERS/PASTORS AMONG MEN?
Saw Lincoln yesterday [actually it was the movie].
I did like it- but to be honest- it was a little too much like watching the news [or some politics show].
My daughter crashed out on the seats.
I took Debbie- my youngest- she’s 20.
I’m trying to take them out at least once a week- the mall- Golden Corral [buffet].
You know- dad and girls day.
Okay- I also have had some good talks with the guys at the halfway house.
I spent about 2 hours ‘teaching’ an entire course on Ecclesiology [The doctrine of the church in the bible].
I haven’t taught this subject in a few years- it can get in depth- and it takes a basic foundation of knowing the bible before you can really teach it.
But Little Charlie really has the bible down well- for a younger Christian he knows a lot.
So- I took him on a tour of the mind.
The reason it’s not an easy subject is because much of what you pick up in this teaching is by simply reading the interaction of the biblical people.
For instance- Paul the apostle’s letters make up most of the New Testament.
So we read how he is addressing the churches he is writing to- and he seems to by-pass our normal ‘way’ of doing church.
Much of church in our day is a type of lecture hall format.
That is people go to ‘church’ [some sort of meeting place- from an old time Cathedral to a theatre].
And you listen to a lecture [called a sermon].
Okay- all of this has a role.
But when Paul writes to the churches in the bible- he is addressing communities of people living in a location [which is the biblical definition of the church- Ecclesia].
He speaks directly to ‘the brothers’.
That is- there does not seem to be an office of Pastor on the sense many modern Evangelicals understand the term.
How do you know this John?
Now you see why this study gets hard.
We know this because if you had the office functioning the way it functions today- Paul would be breaking church protocol to speak directly to the brothers in these churches- he would be violating the rule of going to the ‘authority’ office over the people commonly called the Pastor.
Okay- doesn’t the bible speak about Pastors?
Sure- actually one time in the book of Ephesians [one time- yup].
One time in the English King James version that is [Ephesians].
In the bible the word speaks about a gift that God gives to certain believers- and it’s a sort of shepherding gift.
It simply functions in the community- that is if you a part of a church [a believing community] more than likely you have a person like this who functions in the gift.
It was not a speaking gift- that is a sort of professional speaker who preaches to you every week.
Now- I’m just showing you the difference between the biblical word itself- and how we as believers have developed more ‘meaning’ to the word as time goes by.
So- this study does take a long time- cant’ do it here- but pretty much covered most of it in my 2 hour talk.
Charlie really learned a lot that day- it would take a long time to simply see these things yourself as time goes by.
The main point of what I was showing him was the important thing we are doing [as a new ministry- the halfway house just stared a few weeks ago].
Is we are simply working- helping- accepting people where they are at.
We are not starting a business- a 501 c3- that usually takes the description ‘local church’.
These things [non profit- etc.] serve a purpose if needed- but the point is in the bible the churches are the people.
Some of the guys are getting worried about all the money needed for the rent.
They are working- I also have chipped in cash- and John David [my buddy who actually started it] gets panicky at times.
So- I spend a few days a week simply working with the guys.
But I wanted them to get their eyes off of the idea that what they-we are doing is not simply attempting to start a ‘ministry’.
In the sense of the whole corporate thing.
But I wanted them to see that the important thing is the people.
That’s the whole point of me showing them that the apostle was writing the brothers [that’s how he mostly addressed the churches he wrote to in the bible- I think he addresses the Philippian church and does use the term Bishop- along with brothers- which means overseer- but he mostly speaks directly to the brothers].
So- to sum it up.
The best biblical definition of Church would be the communities of believers located in any given place at a set time.
That’s what we call ‘the Local church’.
It’s not the place they meet each Sunday- as fine as that might be- but it’s the family- the community.
And we also speak about the universal church- all the believers- of all time- even those who have died and are with the Lord right now.
Yes- these too are part of this great communion.
The gifts that God gives to people- pastors- teachers- etc.
These are for the purpose of building up the people- and they are the ones who go out and do the ‘work of the ministry’ [Ephesians].
So the job of leadership is to build others up- and they do the work of God.
It’s not the job of leaders to be the main [or only] functioning person among the people- and the people see themselves as the financial supporters of the gift of their minister.
Often times that’s how modern church expresses itself.
But that paradigm is very limited- and it hinders the growth of the church [the believers].
Because we have relegated them to a position where they see their main ‘job’ as simply giving money every Sunday- and others will do the work.
Yeah- this takes long to teach- and as you can see- I'm running out of time.
On the blog- I have written a few little books on this over the years.
I think there is an entire category in the February posts of the first couple of years that I stuck on the blog.
So- for those who want to study more on this- help yourself.
Okay- that’s it- maybe tomorrow well’ do some more news- let’s see.
1954 DON’T MOVE THE ROCKS
I want to cover a few things today- not sure how much we will get to.
A few months ago I kept having a ‘thought’- I was thinking about a church/ministry that I have known for years.
They are from Kansas City [the Missouri side].
I have read the pastor’s book- I have met many that were involved in the church/movement- and I even had a good pastor friend who eventually went and joined the ministry.
He held a doctorate in theology and became one of the teachers for their university.
Okay- so- for some reason an image of the ministry kept coming to mind.
Actually- I kept thinking about the off balance of a few things I had heard over the years.
I was thinking about their belief- taught to the students/members of the ministry- that they are all convinced that we are definitely in the ‘end times’ and that they are actually fulfilling a role of an end times prayer ministry that will rise up before the Lord returns [which they believe the bible speaks about].
At its most basic level- this is dangerous to do- for a variety of reasons.
The other thing that came to mind was a simple statement I heard the minister make years ago.
He was mentioning some criticism that their church/university has gotten over the years.
Some of the parents of the kids have said to them ‘but you need to also learn some type of job skills- some type of learning in the liberal arts- you can’t just spend all your time praying and learning about being the Lords end time army’.
When I heard this- I actually agreed with the critic- though I was sympathetic to the ministry.
Okay- after having these things in my mind- for a few weeks [that’s how you know you’re actually praying in a way for them- because you’re thinking about them- even during prayer].
Then I read in my local paper that a kid from my town was I involved in a possible murder plot and killed his wife.
They were involved in the above mentioned ministry.
I went on-line a bit yesterday to read up on it before I comment- I won’t mention the names- you can find that from many other sources.
I just want to mention the danger of various expressions of Protestant ministries- and why this is so.
The other day one of my friends was mentioning some stuff about not being a ‘lone ranger’ in ministry.
And I agreed with him.
But I also reminded him that the church he associates with [Baptist] is in many ways a ‘lone ranger’.
How so?
Depending on what kind of Baptist church your involved with- some are highly ‘lone’- others not as much.
But by ‘lone’ I mean historically they are a church movement that came out of the 16th century Reformation [later on- they were part of what’s called the Radical Reformers- those who took the reforms further than the initial protestors] and in historical terms- they are all ‘rebelling’ against authority.
They left the historic church.
Now- I don’t take this view in a harsh way- I have many good Baptist friends and many good churches are Baptist.
I say this only to give the broader perspective.
Okay- as time progressed [from the 1500’s] you had a multitude of churches/denominations break away from one thing or another.
It's really astounding to see the many divisions that have come since the days of the Reformation [which some Catholic scholars warned would happen].
In these ‘off shoot’ expressions of Christianity- some are less dangerous- others more.
Many cult watchers have lists of what to look for in these movements- and these lists can be helpful.
What I try and tell people [and teach] is if you stay connected as much as possible with the historic church [yes- both the Catholic and Protestant expressions of it] then you are in safe territory.
But if you truncate yourself from 'the church’ then you are heading for trouble.
In the above example- the thing that troubled me was having lots of young kids- on ‘fire’ for God- being taught that they are God’s ‘end time army’.
The actual ones!
Geez- that in itself is really disturbing.
Why?
First- I think the Evangelical church has to do some real soul searching about the way she views/expresses the ‘end times’.
The fact that over the last few years some of the best sellers are Tim Layahes books- his End Times series- is troubling.
He gives a very narrow- and skewed view [in my opinion] of the bibles’ teaching about End Times.
I posted the other day from Daniel 12- and I have hinted about these problems over the years.
But some of our view about the end times comes from a miss reading of the actual Greek text.
In the gospels when we read ‘end of the world’- the term actually means end of the AGE.
Okay- that little adjustment alone can change our understanding about lots of stuff.
That’s just one little thing- I have posted lots more over the years.
But the point I’m making is if we have a whole group of fine young people- embracing a view- from the elders over them- that they are indeed the actual 'end time army’ or prayer movement- that was foretold about in the bible- than that’s very disturbing.
When I read about the case yesterday [the ministry is IHOP_ Mike Bickle is the main leader- I won’t mention the name of the local boy who is implicated in the death of his wife].
The church is trying to distance itself from the incident- and to be fair the young kid seems to have started his own ‘break away’ community [which can also be one of the problems with a Protesting position form the start- that is when the actual name of your group ‘Protestant’ seems to say we are nonstop protestors- well that can give rise to the nonstop protests- you think?]
We don’t know all the facts right now- but we know enough to say we- as Evangelicals- as Protestants [which I am] need to make every effort to stay connected to the historic church.
Yes- there are things that Evangelicals disagree with- there are things that the historic early church might view differently than we do.
But- they are our Fathers in the faith.
Over the years I remember a verse that some in the above movement used to mention.
It was a sort of obscure verse found in the Old Testament.
It says ‘don't move the foundation stones that your Fathers have laid down’.
Yeah- I think that verse fits pretty well.
As we end the week once again we are reminded of the politics of chicken.
You know- that old game where you see who blinks first.
I find it sad that the lines have been drawn- over the Fiscal Cliff- with the whole idea of the rich SOB’s not paying their fair share.
1955 GRECIAN FORMULA ….
I spoke to a liberal friend not long ago- she watches all the more progressive news shows [MSNBC].
She was railing against Romney- against the rich fat cat corporate guys.
She went on and on about the rich being the actual cause of all the nations problems.
I asked my friend if she thought the rich pay less taxes than the middle class.
She said ‘of course they do’!
I went on to inform my friend that the tax rate- as well as the actual dollars paid- are much higher among the rich than the middle class.
She could not believe this was so.
I told her that when some say they are not paying their fair share- their talking about Capital Gains taxes being less than the middle class tax rate for income.
And the rich who don’t earn income- well they do pay less- if they are only living off their investments.
But most who are in this category do indeed earn income [the rich now being earning 200 thousand or more].
But it’s the way the debate was framed- blaming things on the rich- this caused my friend to not see the real problem.
Which is no matter how much we tax the rich- that will not solve the problem of our country having promised too much stuff that we can no longer afford.
I saw Ed Shultz the other night- he actually was telling people that the problem was we are not taxing them enough.
If you listen long enough- you would think that we could get out of the hole if we simply taxed rich folk.
I’m for raising the tax on them by the way- I don’t think it’s wrong to go back to the Clinton year’s tax rate.
I’m no conservative about this.
But that does not even come close to fixing the problem.
Our nation is in debt for around 16 trillion dollars.
The largest expense- not counting the military- are the Entitlement programs.
Medicare- Medicaid- etc.
Now- if we do raise the taxes on the ‘rich’ it will bring in about 80 billion a year.
That’s a drop in the bucket- that won’t barely put a dent in the debt.
But the rate of growth for Medicare- if we keep growing at this rate- will eventually swallow up the entire budget- we will be spending everything on Medicare alone.
That’s why I believe the result of the last few weeks has been bad.
After Obama won re-election- many from the more liberal side began putting pressure on him to not deal with entitlement spending.
Yesterday he made an offer to the House Republicans- and it had no real change to these programs.
If we do not make any changes to the programs- like means testing [the rich get less benefit than the poor- which you would think would be a Democrat’s dream come true- yet they are the ones blocking this change].
If we simply keep framing the argument as one being the rich not paying their fair share- then that will give an excuse to not actually fix these programs.
And that’s what the president has decided to do.
Remember- I’m for the tax rate going up on the rich- but that will barely put a dent in the debt.
You must- we must- make some adjustments with the entitlement programs- that’s the only way to really fix the problem.
And the president- and some who support him- have decided to continue the campaign.
They are not going to realistically look at the problem.
And if they keep kicking this can down the road.
Well- it will land in Greece.
1956 SWORDS INTO PLOWSHARES [versus the 2nd amendment?]
Found it interesting to see the politics play out over the sad murder/suicide of the Kansas City chief’s football player.
Both the left and the right were out in force- using their standard lines.
Bob Costas used his coverage of a game- during halftime- to speak about gun control.
That raised the ire of the right- and they were out too- you know- the usual rhetoric.
I guess the most honest view came from Joe Namath.
He was on Piers Morgan [CNN].
Morgan asked him about Costas’ comments.
Joe said even though he was partial to the gun control side- yet he felt Costas shouldn’t have used the game in a political way.
I mentioned I saw the Lincoln movie the other day.
It really was a good history lesson on how congress works.
They spent most of the movie simply playing out the political machinations of congress and the president- and how making the right moves can accomplish the goal.
Slavery was forbidden under the 13th amendment to the constitution.
The second amendment talks about gun rights.
I own a few guns- am not a liberal- or an NRA type of guy.
But I find it strange how believers seem to associate guns with patriotism and freedom.
Of course weapons have been used in the past to obtain freedom- and it's in mans nature to resort to violence in order to protect what he thinks is valuable.
But there actually is a biblical goal- the scripture speaks about God’s ultimate goal for weapons.
It does- I never knew that?
Yes- the bible speaks about a future day when there will be no more weapons of war.
The prophet Isaiah says ‘they will beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks- they will learn war no more’.
Now- to my friends on the right- no- I’m not against our 2nd amendment rights.
To my friends on the left- well- yeah- guns don’t kill people- but people do.
But- the end goal for the believer- for the kingdom- is no more weapons.
Okay- I guess a few more examples from my homeless buddies will do here.
I have been mentioning the guys the last few weeks- we have been working together on a halfway house- and I have been sort of playing the mediator role with some of the guys.
In ‘ministry’ there exists a sort of competitive spirit.
The same type of thing you see in sports.
My friend David who started the halfway house has noticed that some of our mutual pastor friends are not so happy about it.
I have been teaching the guys about the nature of ‘church’ and Gods kingdom- insights I have gleaned over the years.
And my friend David is seeing it- the competitive thing- and he realizes that people are more willing to help other ministries if they have some type of name recognition fixed to it.
A few pastors/churches are willing to help my buddy- but they want him to incorporate as part of their church.
The other day David asked if I wanted to actually use my ‘ministry’ as the name- the incorporation- for the halfway house [he wants to establish many of them].
I have been helping the most I guess- out of all the other ministries.
I told David I really did not want too- I actually incorporated years ago- but eventually dropped the status.
There was no need for it.
I never took offerings- or financial support at all [since around 1994?]
So I told David I had no need- or desire- to have the thing under my name.
But he saw that seemed to be a big thing with some of the other pastors we work with.
In my talk the other day with the group [called NeWay].
I spoke about the kingdom of God in the parables of Jesus.
Often times we overlook the simple teachings of Christ when thinking ‘church starting’.
Now- there are many theological reasons pastors do this- too many to cover right here.
But- in the parables of Jesus we see a principle- a kingdom principle about seeds.
Jesus teaches his men that the kingdom of God is like spreading seeds.
You throw some here- some there- and you have no control over which ones take and the others that don’t.
Jesus says ‘after he plants- he sleeps- and wakes- and the seed grows- he knows not how’.
I like that- we are just seed sowers.
Now- Jesus did not just teach this- he also modeled it in the actual ‘ministry’ he was building with his men.
They were going from town to town- preaching the good news- healing the sick- feeding the poor.
They were not ‘setting up ministries’ in the way we think.
They were simply communicating the truth of God- in whatever format they were in at the time- and doing kingdom works.
Eventually some in those towns became followers- others did not [some seeds took- some did not].
Notice- there was no big appeal for lots of money- sure- they did receive offerings from some- but the appeal to start some huge 501 c3 thing was nonexistent.
So- the point I was making was we- ministers- Christians in general- we should not focus most of our time on simply raising money for all types of ‘worthy’ causes.
No- we are here to basically model the ministry of Christ.
Yeah- could it be that simple?
Sure.
Jesus said ‘let your light so shine before men- that they may see YOUR GOOD DEEDS- and glorify you father in heaven’.
See?
Our ‘light’ is not the showcasing of our gifts or our talents.
We often see modern ministry thru that lens.
‘wow- did you hear him speak’ type of thing.
Actually that’s not the light.
The light Jesus spoke about was the actual good deeds of charity.
The actual lived out love we have for one another.
‘greater love has no man than this- that he would lay down his life for his friends’.
Yeah- the kingdom seems to always rub against our own ideas.
Yeah- there's coming a day where there will be no more weapons.
Only love.
That’s not just a Lennon song.
It’s gospel.
1957 TODAY I HAVE TO GO- DON’T WORRY.
Which way to go?
Yeah- today I have lots of things to write about- but must pick one or 2.
Yesterday I spent the day with David- my buddy who started the halfway house.
I picked up Henry in the morning- he was at a weekly breakfast that a local church sponsors.
I actually posted the pic yesterday- the plate looked like a Denny’s thing!
I don’t eat breakfast or lunch- though I’m regularly at these spots- because that’s where I have met lots of street guys in the past.
Me and Henry stopped at brother Rey's [pastor of church without walls] and he donated a couple of real nice cots to the halfway house.
At the halfway house we took in a new guy- John.
Yeah- I was with John David- I took John Henry- and we added another John.
That has come up a lot these last few months.
I also posted his pic on Facebook.
Please pray for him- he has liver cancer real bad- has been sober for a while- but he might die while at the house.
Okay- I really did not plan on spending the whole day helping with the halfway house- but once we started- I felt that was the plan for the day.
As we left the halfway house and headed back to David’s little apt. - he wanted to stop at McDonalds- the one close to the area where all this is happening.
As we sat inside- I relayed to David and Henry that the last time I was here was about 8 months ago.
It was the beginning of my involvement in this area of town [downtown Corpus- most of my homeless/street friends live on the south side].
I told the guys that I took a ride one morning- prayed for the Lord to open some doors- and stopped right here.
There were 2 homeless guys sleeping on the bus benches outside.
It was early- about 6:30 in the morning.
I bought a couple of breakfasts and woke the guys up- they were grateful for the meal.
I spent about 4 hours with the guys- hanging out- telling them about the ministry and all.
I never saw them again.
I did go back to look for them- but like many others- they just moved on.
But- thru a series of events- we are now doing the halfway house right in the area- and sitting at the same McDonalds that I bought the breakfasts from.
So yes- God did open some doors- in ways that I did not see in the beginning.
Yesterday as I was reading the paper I came across a sad story.
When I read my papers every morning- I glean from the both current events- which I write about lots.
But I also write the names of severe crime cases- people being sent to prison for life- or upcoming death penalty guys.
I write the date of their execution on my calendar- I pray for them thru out the months [along with lots of others].
And if I remember- I pray for them on the day of execution [I’m not praying for them to get ‘spared’ though that did happen one day- but for them to die ‘well’. If they are indeed guilty- to ask forgiveness from their victim’s families if they have not done this. Or if they have denied the crime- to confess- to go out well- and to ask God for forgiveness].
I started this a few years ago- I felt the Lord leading me into this strange type of prayer group- you know- people who are now dead.
Almost seemed like a waste of time- I mean who 'collects’ these dead ones?
Anyway- in yesterday’s paper I read about Niko [the San Antonio news].
They had a picture of him sitting on the beach- by a pier.
He is [was] 11 years old.
Niko was an ambitious young kid- smart- and had big plans.
He liked soccer- and wanted to attend Harvard one day.
But Niko was diagnosed with cancer- and died.
The story went on.
His family were visiting him at the hospital once again.
And he said to them ‘Today is the day- today I have to go’.
He died later that day.
As I read Niko’s words- it was so sad.
The end of the story said his last words were ‘don’t worry about me’.
I have Nikos story right here- when I’m done typing I will post it here in my study- along with the names of my ‘prisoners’ who have died.
Yeah- in some way I feel like this little community that I live amongst- homeless buddies- friends in prison- and some who have died.
That they are all part of this group.
I have had many confirmations about this over the years.
I’ll end with just one.
A few years back I did an on-line teaching about the other books that never made it into the bible.
Many years ago I bought some of these- and when you study church history and theology- well- these are an aspect of that type of teaching.
So I commented on them- gave the reasons why we don’t have them in our bibles.
But I also said that when I read some of them- I have found some are actually quite good.
One of my favorites is called the Epistle of Barnabus.
But there are others as well.
Some in the early church actually had a couple of these that were included in some of the early bibles- others were never given a 2nd thought.
By the way- in this field of study- I come down of the conservative side.
That is I don’t hold to the ideas of men like Bart Ehrman- the more liberal scholars.
They seem to give more credence to the books that never made it into the canon- and cast too much doubt on the bible we have today.
Anyway- the few that I do lile- when I re-read them as the years go by- there have been times when God did speak to me.
Here’s one.
As my prayer time developed into this inclusion of dead folk [above].
I felt much more awareness of my friends who have died- as being amongst us during prayer.
Now- I don’t ‘pray to them’ but I have a greater sense of praying ‘with them’. I mention their kids and all- because these guys- some- were actually friends of mine- who came to my church meetings I started years ago.
So- I painted a spot on my wall- it was dedicated to this group.
I simply wrote a few things- stuff that reminded me that these were those who have gone on- and are yet ‘here’.
Sort of like my ‘friends in prison’ type of thing.
Prison represents those who have died- and we are not so sure where they are- to be honest.
I’ll explain it in a moment.
So- right after I painted this little altar area- I read in one of the ‘lost books of the bible’ [I think it was in the Revelation of St. Peter?].
It said ‘have you preached to the spirits in prison yet’.
Meaning- have you included those who have died yet- have you yet ‘learned this’ son?
That was the type of sense I got.
As I read the verse- I simply said ‘yes’.
Now- I do know the source is from one of the early books that is not in the bible.
But this reference- even if it is a copy- or a fake- does come from our bibles as well.
It’s in the letter of Peter [I think 1st Peter 3?]
And it’s one those texts that scholars haggle over.
But Peter is speaking about some who died before the days of the world wide flood [Genesis 6].
And he refers to these dead people hearing the gospel- by Christ himself- after he died and rose again.
And they are called ‘the spirits in prison’.
So- that’s the same thing I felt/understood as I began seeing those who have gone on- well- they are still with us in a way.
Yeah- in a few minutes I will post little Niko’s picture up on my wall.
I’ll look at it as time goes by- as I see all my friends- both living and dead- and I will read his words.
‘Today I have to go- don’t worry’.
Yes- Jesus said out of the mouths of babies thou hast perfected praise.
You think?
