The Therapy of Paraclesis (Comfort)

"Blessed be the Theos and Pater of our Lord Iesou Christos, the Pater of mercies and Theos of All comfort. Who comforts us in all of our tribulations, that we may be able to comfort those who are in any trouble, with the comfort with we ourselves are comforted by Theos.  For as the suffering of Christos abound in us, so our consolations also abounds through Christos."  II Cor. 1:3-5

One of the extraordinary benefits of Grace is the Paraklesis of the Iesous.  Paraklesis is his ministry of comfort to his own mediated through the Holy Spirit.  We read in the Graphe (Scriptures) that the Iesous learned...through the things he suffered.  The greatest and most gifted counselors have "suffered" through the problems of life too.  The Iesous entered into the human condition in a manner consistent with the Divine Imperative.

The Divine Imperative is the Christ Event.  The Christ Event is divine viewpoint of the human predicament. Man cannot be his own Savior.  It is only his hubris that leads him to believe that it is possible to save himself from this menacing darkness.  Man's reasoning is circular and at times hopelessly convoluted.  He believes that novelty or the reshuffling of old and trite ideas can change his condition.

Man wrestles with an intrinsic and chronic state that only gives the illusion of purposefulness.  Without Divine Revelation there is no answer.  Look at the world that man has created.  There is incredible pain and misery, and yet it is still believed that money, and "equal" rights can or will solve all problems.  It is the great lie of, what Buckminster Fuller calls "Lawyer Capitalism."

We live under tyranny and repression, mind you at the time it is soft tyranny, but what will the future hold? You do realize that the banking catastrophe of '08 was merely a step in planned confiscation of the wealth of the middle class.  History has many examples of what happens to countries who destroy the middle class.

Many believers lost property in '08 and had a hard time recovering from the loss of homes and jobs. However, God saw the evil manipulation of economy and He knows exactly who was behind it all. Persecution can take on many forms, and we must remember that the Iesous was persecuted too.

The reason why we must establish community with one another as believers is because we will need one another in the coming days.  Race or color of skin will not matter in the coming days.  It was once observed that Sunday was the most segregated day in the week because believers gather together with their "own kind" which is false doctrine.

We are collectively the Body of Christ.  We are not separated by the old things of the cosmic system  The cosmos is moving toward a radical monolithic government.  We will know the pressure of this movement. The Iesous will give us comfort as we face dark and disconcerting times.  Consider carefully that it is desired that people are fearful and constantly bewildered by the powers of the cosmos.

Believers are having a hard time in Egypt, Syria, and on the African Continent today.  The comfort that we receive from Iesous is to be shared with others who are of our Confession.  The love of God is not in one who hates his brother.  Such a person does not have eternal life abiding in his soul.  If one does not love his brother who he has seen, how can he love God who he has not seen?

Seriously, the church has had an internal war in America over race and skin color that has compromised its testimony.  In the New Testament documents the word witness as used in the book of Acts was a legal term. It meant a formal declaration of eye-witness first person experience. But when privilege is exalted over Truth there is suffering.

Who believes the church's witness today?  Who really believes's that we are co-sufferers with the Ieosus and that we co-share with the suffering of other members of the Body of Christ?  Will suffering cleanse the witness of the Church?  It seems historically that suffering has cleansed the witness of the Church.

What would happen in the world if believers came together over the person of the Ieosus?  What would happen in the world if the church demonstrated the love of the Ieosus without apology for race or face?  The Iesous walks within  His church as the One who sees all things.  Are you ready to join in the Divine Imperative and help the Body of Christ?

Suffering has the ability to focus our attention. Suffering has the ability to cleanse our lives of the dross of this world.  Your witness is needed today.  Let other believers really know who you are in Iesous and that you have walked the path of suffering and victory.  Encourage someone today.  We are members one of another. The faith in Iesous that we share with others can lift up a fallen face, and give hope.

The comfort of the Iesous is designed to come along side us in times of stress and hurt and give his own paraklesis (comfort) to us. We are precious to him.  We must be available for the Lord and his people.  Our hearts must be filled with the knowledge of his Word that heals the sin-sick soul.    

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