"For the time has come for judgement to began at the house of Theos; and if it begins with us first, what will be the end of those who do not obey the Gospel of Theos? Now, "if the righteous one is scarcely saved, where will the ungodly and the sinner appear?" Therefore let those who suffer according to the will of God commit their souls to Him in doing good, as to a faithful Creator."
I Peter 4:17-19
This letter of the Apostle Peter is to "the pilgrims of the Dispersion in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bythynia." They were the Elect ones who were being persecuted for their faith in the Iesous. Peter's words were given to encourage them in their collective suffering.
It is no small thing to become a disciple of the Iesous. One must count the cost. One must sit down and consider the extraordinary demands of discipleship. The disciples of the Ieosus represent an elite core of individuals who have come to realize that the new life of faith entails putting away the practice of sin resulting in sinful behavior.
The life of discipleship also involves stepping out of the consequences of darkness. Darkness is an active principle of behavior in the New Testament. Darkness is characterized by living for evil, and getting others involved in evil too. The Iesous has called us out of darkness into his marvelous Light. We are now children of the Light-Iesous.
Persecution has always been one of the hallmarks of Faith. The emperor Nero persecuted the followers of Iesous by accusing them of a fire that burned a great portion of Rome. He used believers to light his parties by setting them on fire. He was a devious lunatic. The Catacombs of Rome were built by believers to escape their persecutors. The persecution of believers were quit severe in the ancient world. They were state sponsored and designed to rid the empire of so-called atheists and "haters of mankind."
Peter wrote to those whose faith was being interrogated by martyrdom, and murder. Peter's therapeutic mandate was to have the believers hearts immersed in the Word of Theos. They were to find comfort in knowing that the Iesous was with them in the midst of their suffering.
When the three men were tossed into the fiery furnace by the king of Babylon an amazing event took place before the eyes of the king. When the king looked into the furnace he saw not three but four men in the furnace. The men who had been thrown into the furnace were bound, but when the king looked into the furnace the men were not bound. The other man in the furnace was not merely man. The other Man was the Iesous. The Iesous identified himself with his own then, the first century believers in Peter's day, and with believers today.
The Ieosus knows that in this world we will have tribulation. The Greek text reads that we will be "in tight places." We will not escape persecution. Yes, it is the wrath of man, but it is used by Theos to expose us to ourselves that the spiritual dross (impurities) of our lives may be put away. It is also used to direct our vision away from our self-sufficiency and toward the all-sufficiency of Iesous.
Yes, persecution is grevious. Yes, persecution hurts. Yes, it creates pain and bewilderment. Yes, we are caused to question the meaning of negative events when we have lived a righteous life before Theos. It is at this point when one reads the Book of Job with new eyes. Persecution sharpens the spiritual intellect and one's prayer life. The real blessings of the spiritual occur when we have reached the end of ourselves, and see Theos as our only source.
Persecution crushes our love affair with this life, and makes us long for our real homeland. This world is not our home. Do you understand this statement? This world is the enemy of Theos and therefore seeks to crush those who are not true citizens.
Some persons in the church seek to compromise with the world. They undermine the faith of others by their conduct. Their faith is mere form without content. They have a form of godliness, but deny the power thereof. Judgement begins at the house of Theos. I know that popular books teach that judgement starts upon the realm of the ungodly ones. But according to the New Testament the world stands under judgement already.
The visible church is where judgement starts. The church is filled with those whose behavior is about form over substance. They are deceiving themselves, but not the Lord of Life. Read the Book of Revelation and it teaches that the enemy of our faith has moved into the activity of the visible church. However, the Lord knows those who are his own. The Lord's own are not spiritually dead. They are alive with the power of Theos.
In the light of Peter's astonishing words what should be our resolve? I urge you to carefully read the entire letter. You will find God's viewpoint for persecution, and the way we are told to behave in this world. We are to be witnesses to those who persecute us. We are to maintain Grace attitudes in spite of treacherous and cruel misconduct toward us.
Theos not only sees what our enemies do to us, he also sees our behavior under stress or duress. We are not to be simple ones. We are to use discernment toward people, things, and circumstances. We are to take precautions about the environments in which we live. We are to watch the unfolding of events in our culture. We are to watch and pray. We are to do our due diligence about our faith walk. We are to examine ourselves to see if we are in the FAITH.
We are to judge ourselves, and our sin so that we are not judged by Theos. We are to judge ourselves so that we are not condemned with the world. The Bible is different from our favorite areas of theology. The Bible is decisive and impartial in its witness toward us. Let's get our lives cleaned up through confession and commitment to live as we should before Theos. Amen.
For more information about Dr. Rich and his teaching ministry, follow this blog and visit his website.
Wednesday, October 9, 2013
Monday, October 7, 2013
Faith Is What One Does
"Now Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. For by it the elders obtained a good testimony. By Faith we understand that the ages were framed by the Word of Theos, so that the things which are seen were not made of things which are visible." Heb. 11:1-3
Hebrews chapter eleven present a summary on Faith-action. Please note that in the New Testament documents the term faith (Gk. Pistis) is never a passive verb. It is what is what has been called a noun of action. Much like the word for love (Gk. Agape) in the New Testament. It too is a noun of action.
The use of passive verbs in the New Testament have a very precise use. For instance, to be filled with the Spirit is in the passive voice. That is, one is acted upon or influenced in a particular way by an outside force or power. Being filled with the Spirit of Theos prepares one for the active voice of the Spirit Filled life.
Divine success for the believer in this life is to be led by the Spirit. This is the life of Faith without the smattering of pop-psychology added for flavor. What the Spirit does is seasoned just right. The Spirit filled life is approved by Theos for all believers. The Spirit filled life is the ordinary life of Faith.
When believers 'live' outside of the sphere of faith they may appear not to be saved ones. There is no vacuum in life. This is a simple either/or proposition. One cannot be a little bit filled with the Spirit, just as one cannot be a little bit pregnant.
Faith is a state of being that produces the action of faith activity. Sin hinders the life of faith. Sin muddies the pure and sacred water of Faith. Faith is a conversation with Theos. Faith has a presence. Faith has a glory that does not fade away. Right now you are working on your FAITH paragraph that is being recorded on high. What is being written in your Faith paragraph by the Spirit of Theos?
Faith is instrumental or it is that by which something is done or accomplished. What are you doing by the instrumentality of Faith?
The writer of the Book of Hebrews also knew the word faith was not an Old Testament word either. His view of the Old Testament was different. He had no knowledge of how we have imposed the word faith upon the Old Testament. The Old Testament did not use our English word faith. The world view of the Old Testament writers was characterized by dynamic encounter with Yahweh. Even the famous passage of Exodus 3:14 wherein Yahweh reveals himself to Moses as the All Sufficient One is about dynamic being not a static entity.
The writer of the Book of Hebrews knew that Yahweh had revealed himself to the world in human form through the Iesous. The Iesous is the Faithful One. Faith is not a "leap of faith." The A-Theistic ones must make a leap of faith. Their major premise is inherently flawed because it is a metaphysical leap which is their starting point for a meaningless conclusion. However, their burden of proof is untenable. They cannot disprove the existence of God. They do not know all of existence for all of time in all the ages that have been before their birth. They know too little to play at their own game.
Faith is a way of knowing. Seeing with the eyes is the ordinary and customary way of seeing in our culture such as it is. Seeing is believing in our culture. For the constantly believing ones, on the other hand, faith-ing is our vehicle of perception. Or should be our vehicle of perception. God wants to heal us of our useless dependence upon empirical perception. Faith perception is divine viewpoint in action.
Faith is the substance of things hoped for is the premise of the writer. He has come to know the vast superiority of faith understanding through walking with Theos. The writer's statement is not mere intellectual knowing. He has graduated from that level of understanding. He is now at the graduate level and he knows that a richer and deeper walk with Theos is built upon FAITH.
The substance of FAITH is God himself. The substance of FAITH is the character of God. There is no leap. There is sufficient provision in the Graphe or writings of the Word of God to truth his character. This is not the word of man. The word of man is inherently selfish. The word of man is contradictory and transitory at best. We can go to the library or surf the internet and read the word of man and its results.
The word of man has no substance because his breath is in his nostrils and he is a temporal being who depends upon Theos for his breath. The atheist must rely upon the breath of Theos to hurl forth his tiny and musty beliefs. He must fill his lungs with the breath of Yahweh in order to preach his angst to the cosmos. He, too, needs God. God is not his enemy.
The evidence of Faith is what it produces in the lives of the believing ones. Faith changes lives. The object of Faith is the Iesous. Faith must have a proper object. Those who have placed their faith in the word of man do so at great peril. Those who deposit their FAITH in Yahweh will yield a great return on their investment. No prospectus is needed here. Past results of FAITH ARE indicative of future returns. The Fund Manager is God himself. This is a front loaded fund. You must deposit trust in his Word to see your return.
The evidence of your return will be evident in a new walk by faith and not by sight. You are to lay up treasures in heaven. By Faith you can say to 'this mountain' be you removed into the sea and it will be done for you. The faith walk is a walk of power. There is nothing like it. It is a radically different life. Are you ready for a new life of faith? Or do you really want the mere window dressing of this world of 'sound and fury signifying nothing?'
The party is fast closing on the western world. The Vanity Fair of indulgence is wearing thin in the west. The pioneers of western sex play are aging. The door of meaninglessness is wide open. Where do people who have thrown their lives away go from here? Their youth has been sacrificed upon the altar of indulgence and nothing is left.
People of Faith have a different life. They have not sacrificed their lives they have invested their live in the Ieosus. Their lives have hope because they know God. This makes all the difference. Or should I say He makes all the difference? He does.
You can have FAITH today. You can have a new life today. You must confess your need of salvation to God and believe in your heart that the Iesous died for your sin and that believing on him you may have eternal life through his Name. Blessings to You.
For more information about Dr. Rich and his teaching ministry, please follow this blog ad visit his website.
Hebrews chapter eleven present a summary on Faith-action. Please note that in the New Testament documents the term faith (Gk. Pistis) is never a passive verb. It is what is what has been called a noun of action. Much like the word for love (Gk. Agape) in the New Testament. It too is a noun of action.
The use of passive verbs in the New Testament have a very precise use. For instance, to be filled with the Spirit is in the passive voice. That is, one is acted upon or influenced in a particular way by an outside force or power. Being filled with the Spirit of Theos prepares one for the active voice of the Spirit Filled life.
Divine success for the believer in this life is to be led by the Spirit. This is the life of Faith without the smattering of pop-psychology added for flavor. What the Spirit does is seasoned just right. The Spirit filled life is approved by Theos for all believers. The Spirit filled life is the ordinary life of Faith.
When believers 'live' outside of the sphere of faith they may appear not to be saved ones. There is no vacuum in life. This is a simple either/or proposition. One cannot be a little bit filled with the Spirit, just as one cannot be a little bit pregnant.
Faith is a state of being that produces the action of faith activity. Sin hinders the life of faith. Sin muddies the pure and sacred water of Faith. Faith is a conversation with Theos. Faith has a presence. Faith has a glory that does not fade away. Right now you are working on your FAITH paragraph that is being recorded on high. What is being written in your Faith paragraph by the Spirit of Theos?
Faith is instrumental or it is that by which something is done or accomplished. What are you doing by the instrumentality of Faith?
The writer of the Book of Hebrews also knew the word faith was not an Old Testament word either. His view of the Old Testament was different. He had no knowledge of how we have imposed the word faith upon the Old Testament. The Old Testament did not use our English word faith. The world view of the Old Testament writers was characterized by dynamic encounter with Yahweh. Even the famous passage of Exodus 3:14 wherein Yahweh reveals himself to Moses as the All Sufficient One is about dynamic being not a static entity.
The writer of the Book of Hebrews knew that Yahweh had revealed himself to the world in human form through the Iesous. The Iesous is the Faithful One. Faith is not a "leap of faith." The A-Theistic ones must make a leap of faith. Their major premise is inherently flawed because it is a metaphysical leap which is their starting point for a meaningless conclusion. However, their burden of proof is untenable. They cannot disprove the existence of God. They do not know all of existence for all of time in all the ages that have been before their birth. They know too little to play at their own game.
Faith is a way of knowing. Seeing with the eyes is the ordinary and customary way of seeing in our culture such as it is. Seeing is believing in our culture. For the constantly believing ones, on the other hand, faith-ing is our vehicle of perception. Or should be our vehicle of perception. God wants to heal us of our useless dependence upon empirical perception. Faith perception is divine viewpoint in action.
Faith is the substance of things hoped for is the premise of the writer. He has come to know the vast superiority of faith understanding through walking with Theos. The writer's statement is not mere intellectual knowing. He has graduated from that level of understanding. He is now at the graduate level and he knows that a richer and deeper walk with Theos is built upon FAITH.
The substance of FAITH is God himself. The substance of FAITH is the character of God. There is no leap. There is sufficient provision in the Graphe or writings of the Word of God to truth his character. This is not the word of man. The word of man is inherently selfish. The word of man is contradictory and transitory at best. We can go to the library or surf the internet and read the word of man and its results.
The word of man has no substance because his breath is in his nostrils and he is a temporal being who depends upon Theos for his breath. The atheist must rely upon the breath of Theos to hurl forth his tiny and musty beliefs. He must fill his lungs with the breath of Yahweh in order to preach his angst to the cosmos. He, too, needs God. God is not his enemy.
The evidence of Faith is what it produces in the lives of the believing ones. Faith changes lives. The object of Faith is the Iesous. Faith must have a proper object. Those who have placed their faith in the word of man do so at great peril. Those who deposit their FAITH in Yahweh will yield a great return on their investment. No prospectus is needed here. Past results of FAITH ARE indicative of future returns. The Fund Manager is God himself. This is a front loaded fund. You must deposit trust in his Word to see your return.
The evidence of your return will be evident in a new walk by faith and not by sight. You are to lay up treasures in heaven. By Faith you can say to 'this mountain' be you removed into the sea and it will be done for you. The faith walk is a walk of power. There is nothing like it. It is a radically different life. Are you ready for a new life of faith? Or do you really want the mere window dressing of this world of 'sound and fury signifying nothing?'
The party is fast closing on the western world. The Vanity Fair of indulgence is wearing thin in the west. The pioneers of western sex play are aging. The door of meaninglessness is wide open. Where do people who have thrown their lives away go from here? Their youth has been sacrificed upon the altar of indulgence and nothing is left.
People of Faith have a different life. They have not sacrificed their lives they have invested their live in the Ieosus. Their lives have hope because they know God. This makes all the difference. Or should I say He makes all the difference? He does.
You can have FAITH today. You can have a new life today. You must confess your need of salvation to God and believe in your heart that the Iesous died for your sin and that believing on him you may have eternal life through his Name. Blessings to You.
For more information about Dr. Rich and his teaching ministry, please follow this blog ad visit his website.
Friday, October 4, 2013
Plastic Words "Don't Drink The Kool-Aid"
"And through covetousness shall they with feigned (Gk. plastois, Eng. plastic) words make merchandise (buy and sell) you: Whose judgement now for a long time lingereth not, and their damnation slumbereth not." 2 Peter 2:3
The prophetic writings were given by the Spirit of God for specific times in history.We are living in the Eschaton i.e., the last days of this age (aeon) with its dangerous events. Overhead chem-trails sew their unknown seeds. Drones have been dispatched to law enforcement agencies in order to watch citizens, and tactical military armaments are given to the local police.
We are watched by our government. We have supported the government with prayer mindful of the difficult decisions that must be made, and I may not understand. We are never, however, to be simpleminded about anything. We are to test everything according to the Word of God.
The Holy Spirit gives discernment to us that we may have deep perception about people, things, and circumstances. Always test everything. Always! It seems that ancient socialist ideas are the best that our government can manage.
We have a citizenship in heaven. This is not our home. We are indeed sojourners in this topos (place).
I am told that nutrition has been made illegal in foods, but I can buy an abundance of sugar and salt in processed food substitutes. I must buy "organic" products to have the semblance of health food. I must buy free range chickens in order to enjoy a hormone free chicken meal. The new nano-technology is found in everything from food to clothing and there are few laws that control their use or even understand it.
Did Peter see such things long ago? Or is it merely coincidental that he could "see" our time with remarkable accuracy? It is easy to be dismissive and doubtful, but such attitudes are not marks of intellectual depth or insight. They merely speak of an inability to engage a subject with the necessary acumen. Peter knew of our times because they were his times too. Little has changed, and yet, much has changed.
The word covetousness is a frightening word. It speaks of a raging and gnawing desire for more and more with no view of of satiety (satisfaction). The behavior of manipulators are designed to seduce and or entice with words. They lure victims through bait or cunning trickery into becoming partners to their own destruction. They prey upon the artless and the simple either young or old. Their subversive language tosses their victims into a world of fawning and flattery that cuts off critical perception.
Peter said that the manipulators would abusively extort others for the purpose of advantage over their lives. They would use and discard people for savage gain. Human trafficking in our time is a terrible result of Peter's prophecy.
Notice the emphasis upon the use of manipulative words by the practitioners of deception.
Life and death are in the power of the tongue and those who love it will eat the fruit thereof. However, in their peculiar blindness they will not see their own end. Their immortality is assured by a bogus but convincing self-deception.
I remember when a number of gullible Afro-Americans trusted a "religious" personage who persuaded them to leave this country and start a colony in another land. They followed because they trusted his words and actions. He led them to their doom. They were murdered and executed by their leader. He forced them to drink not hemlock, but a common household drink made from a powder and mixed with sugar.
There in the jungle a massacre of "love" took place, and the fallen were simple common people who believed a lie. Among the fallen ones was my stepfather's grandmother. Members of my family had to go to the airport and meet the airliner that carried her body among many others. It was a grim day filled with unanswered bewilderment and frustration. Out of this whole experience emerged a new mantra for the gullible and artless "don't drink the..." but little concern for the dark people who died there in the jungle.
"Heart of Darkness" was "acted out" there in the jungle upon those with dark genetic ink upon their skin. Did the villains of such outrage suffer from Conduct Disorder or some other conjured malaise of the spirit? They made merchandise of those people without apology.
Peter saw this happen and wrote a warning to us that we be not found sleeping under the veil of tentative documents purposed by men. Blood has always been the price of freedom. Our freedom cost God everything. The price was blood. The blood of his only Son.
There in the "jungle" of phony legal procedure and false witnesses who could not give credible testimonies the Son of God was sent to his death.
After three days the Son of God got up from the judgement and death. Death could not hold him down. How can death do otherwise but bow to the authority of his Master and let him go?
Those who make merchandise of others will face the fierceness of the Wrath of Almighty God one day. God knows all secrets, and he will one day shout all the secrets of men from the rooftops.
Paul wrote of Man's Day and the behavior thereof. Paul wrote of the moral and spiritual contortions that would characterize the Day of Man. The Day of Man is hubris out of control, but the Day of Iesous is coming too. When he comes he will rule the world of men with a rod of iron according to Psalm 2, and men will still seek to overthrow his kingdom, and He i.e., God Almighty who sits in the heavens will laugh at their absurd reckonings. Men are enjoined to kiss the Son lest he become angry.
Beloved, now is the Day of Salvation. You can know that you have eternal life if you come to the one who does not seek to enslave through plastic words, but the One who offers the gift of God- life eternal. If you confess with your mouth the Lord Ieosus and believe that Theos raised him out from the grave you will be saved (rescued).
For more information about Dr. Rich and his teaching ministry, please follow this blog and visit his website.
The prophetic writings were given by the Spirit of God for specific times in history.We are living in the Eschaton i.e., the last days of this age (aeon) with its dangerous events. Overhead chem-trails sew their unknown seeds. Drones have been dispatched to law enforcement agencies in order to watch citizens, and tactical military armaments are given to the local police.
We are watched by our government. We have supported the government with prayer mindful of the difficult decisions that must be made, and I may not understand. We are never, however, to be simpleminded about anything. We are to test everything according to the Word of God.
The Holy Spirit gives discernment to us that we may have deep perception about people, things, and circumstances. Always test everything. Always! It seems that ancient socialist ideas are the best that our government can manage.
We have a citizenship in heaven. This is not our home. We are indeed sojourners in this topos (place).
I am told that nutrition has been made illegal in foods, but I can buy an abundance of sugar and salt in processed food substitutes. I must buy "organic" products to have the semblance of health food. I must buy free range chickens in order to enjoy a hormone free chicken meal. The new nano-technology is found in everything from food to clothing and there are few laws that control their use or even understand it.
Did Peter see such things long ago? Or is it merely coincidental that he could "see" our time with remarkable accuracy? It is easy to be dismissive and doubtful, but such attitudes are not marks of intellectual depth or insight. They merely speak of an inability to engage a subject with the necessary acumen. Peter knew of our times because they were his times too. Little has changed, and yet, much has changed.
The word covetousness is a frightening word. It speaks of a raging and gnawing desire for more and more with no view of of satiety (satisfaction). The behavior of manipulators are designed to seduce and or entice with words. They lure victims through bait or cunning trickery into becoming partners to their own destruction. They prey upon the artless and the simple either young or old. Their subversive language tosses their victims into a world of fawning and flattery that cuts off critical perception.
Peter said that the manipulators would abusively extort others for the purpose of advantage over their lives. They would use and discard people for savage gain. Human trafficking in our time is a terrible result of Peter's prophecy.
Notice the emphasis upon the use of manipulative words by the practitioners of deception.
Life and death are in the power of the tongue and those who love it will eat the fruit thereof. However, in their peculiar blindness they will not see their own end. Their immortality is assured by a bogus but convincing self-deception.
I remember when a number of gullible Afro-Americans trusted a "religious" personage who persuaded them to leave this country and start a colony in another land. They followed because they trusted his words and actions. He led them to their doom. They were murdered and executed by their leader. He forced them to drink not hemlock, but a common household drink made from a powder and mixed with sugar.
There in the jungle a massacre of "love" took place, and the fallen were simple common people who believed a lie. Among the fallen ones was my stepfather's grandmother. Members of my family had to go to the airport and meet the airliner that carried her body among many others. It was a grim day filled with unanswered bewilderment and frustration. Out of this whole experience emerged a new mantra for the gullible and artless "don't drink the..." but little concern for the dark people who died there in the jungle.
"Heart of Darkness" was "acted out" there in the jungle upon those with dark genetic ink upon their skin. Did the villains of such outrage suffer from Conduct Disorder or some other conjured malaise of the spirit? They made merchandise of those people without apology.
Peter saw this happen and wrote a warning to us that we be not found sleeping under the veil of tentative documents purposed by men. Blood has always been the price of freedom. Our freedom cost God everything. The price was blood. The blood of his only Son.
There in the "jungle" of phony legal procedure and false witnesses who could not give credible testimonies the Son of God was sent to his death.
After three days the Son of God got up from the judgement and death. Death could not hold him down. How can death do otherwise but bow to the authority of his Master and let him go?
Those who make merchandise of others will face the fierceness of the Wrath of Almighty God one day. God knows all secrets, and he will one day shout all the secrets of men from the rooftops.
Paul wrote of Man's Day and the behavior thereof. Paul wrote of the moral and spiritual contortions that would characterize the Day of Man. The Day of Man is hubris out of control, but the Day of Iesous is coming too. When he comes he will rule the world of men with a rod of iron according to Psalm 2, and men will still seek to overthrow his kingdom, and He i.e., God Almighty who sits in the heavens will laugh at their absurd reckonings. Men are enjoined to kiss the Son lest he become angry.
Beloved, now is the Day of Salvation. You can know that you have eternal life if you come to the one who does not seek to enslave through plastic words, but the One who offers the gift of God- life eternal. If you confess with your mouth the Lord Ieosus and believe that Theos raised him out from the grave you will be saved (rescued).
For more information about Dr. Rich and his teaching ministry, please follow this blog and visit his website.
Friday, September 27, 2013
The Idolatrous Eye
"Do you see a man wise in his own eyes? There is more hope for a fool than for him." Pro. 26:12
The Proverbs are practical theology. They are designed to provide answers for everyday living. How very unlike the post-modern age wherein image reigns over character.
Persons today are profiles to be uploaded and perused by the anonymous others, or those who are part of the ancient past. Persons today do not have a past they have adventures on a continuum or line that goes on forever.
So they live within the "moment" that moves effortlessly into the next moment. No one is waiting for Godot today. Today philosophical hedonism has morphed into an arcane nihilism. It is not so much "what is, is right" today as is moral awfulness on display.
Do you see a man wise in his own eyes? The ancient prophet/poet mused on a topic that defines the essence of non-thinking today. People are bewildered by the brazen ability of the political 'elite' to speak unconscionable lies with unflappable bravado.
People today are wise in their own eyes. The idolatrous 'eye' is built on lies. How else to explain the ever weakening public capacity for new violations. It is all well planned. It is all designed to wear down resistance to the moral and spiritual pollution that insists on destroying collective public health. Secret groups and unnamed researchers are paid huge sums to create fear in all of us.
The idolatrous eye insists on believing only what it sees. There is never a critical look into its incredible presuppositions. The idolatrous eye is its own unquestioned premise. The idolatrous eye is god-like in its hubris. It is grandiose. It is intoxicated with the metaphysical necessity of its inherent necessity. The idolatrous eye is the Overman. Or so he thinks he is.
When the eye doctor wants to examine a patient he uses an ophthalmic-scope. It is a very important health screening tool. When used by the eye doctor she/he can get a great deal of information that is relevant to many medical fields such as cardiology and neurology to name a few.
The Word of Yahweh is like the ophthalmic-scope. It reveals a great amount of information about the state of an individual's spiritual (breath) eyes. The ophthalmic-scope of the Word of Yahweh looks deep into the spiritual eyes of individuals and reveals the state of the inner or person. Spiritual Cardiology as revealed by the Word of Yahweh unlocks the secrets of the idolatrous eye.
Nothing is hidden from the ophthalmic-scope of the Word of Yahweh. The Word reveals that the one who is wise in his own eyes is in need of the eye save of the Word, but the cardiac condition of the idolatrous eye will not come to the Fountain of Life. He will not let Yahweh wash his eyes with the Holy Spirit.
The idolatrous eye will always see men as trees walking. People will always be indistinct and mere outlines of the real thing. The idolatrous eye will always attempt to fill in humanity with tortured vision. The insensitive eye can only know its inherent insensitivity. The one who is wise in his own eyes is in desperate need of the redemptive eye-salve that only the Iesous can provide.
I once suffered from idolatrous eye disease. The Iesous gave me new eyes. He can do the same for you.
For more information about Dr. Rich and his teaching ministry, please follow this blog and visit his website.
The Proverbs are practical theology. They are designed to provide answers for everyday living. How very unlike the post-modern age wherein image reigns over character.
Persons today are profiles to be uploaded and perused by the anonymous others, or those who are part of the ancient past. Persons today do not have a past they have adventures on a continuum or line that goes on forever.
So they live within the "moment" that moves effortlessly into the next moment. No one is waiting for Godot today. Today philosophical hedonism has morphed into an arcane nihilism. It is not so much "what is, is right" today as is moral awfulness on display.
Do you see a man wise in his own eyes? The ancient prophet/poet mused on a topic that defines the essence of non-thinking today. People are bewildered by the brazen ability of the political 'elite' to speak unconscionable lies with unflappable bravado.
People today are wise in their own eyes. The idolatrous 'eye' is built on lies. How else to explain the ever weakening public capacity for new violations. It is all well planned. It is all designed to wear down resistance to the moral and spiritual pollution that insists on destroying collective public health. Secret groups and unnamed researchers are paid huge sums to create fear in all of us.
The idolatrous eye insists on believing only what it sees. There is never a critical look into its incredible presuppositions. The idolatrous eye is its own unquestioned premise. The idolatrous eye is god-like in its hubris. It is grandiose. It is intoxicated with the metaphysical necessity of its inherent necessity. The idolatrous eye is the Overman. Or so he thinks he is.
When the eye doctor wants to examine a patient he uses an ophthalmic-scope. It is a very important health screening tool. When used by the eye doctor she/he can get a great deal of information that is relevant to many medical fields such as cardiology and neurology to name a few.
The Word of Yahweh is like the ophthalmic-scope. It reveals a great amount of information about the state of an individual's spiritual (breath) eyes. The ophthalmic-scope of the Word of Yahweh looks deep into the spiritual eyes of individuals and reveals the state of the inner or person. Spiritual Cardiology as revealed by the Word of Yahweh unlocks the secrets of the idolatrous eye.
Nothing is hidden from the ophthalmic-scope of the Word of Yahweh. The Word reveals that the one who is wise in his own eyes is in need of the eye save of the Word, but the cardiac condition of the idolatrous eye will not come to the Fountain of Life. He will not let Yahweh wash his eyes with the Holy Spirit.
The idolatrous eye will always see men as trees walking. People will always be indistinct and mere outlines of the real thing. The idolatrous eye will always attempt to fill in humanity with tortured vision. The insensitive eye can only know its inherent insensitivity. The one who is wise in his own eyes is in desperate need of the redemptive eye-salve that only the Iesous can provide.
I once suffered from idolatrous eye disease. The Iesous gave me new eyes. He can do the same for you.
For more information about Dr. Rich and his teaching ministry, please follow this blog and visit his website.
Wednesday, September 25, 2013
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.
For more information about Dr. Rich and his teaching ministry, please follow his blog and visit his website.
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.
For more information about Dr. Rich and his teaching ministry, please follow his blog and visit his website.
Thursday, September 19, 2013
"Super-Over Come Evil With Good"
"Behold the wicked brings forth iniquity; yes, he conceives trouble and brings forth falsehood. He made a pit and dug it out, and has fallen into the pit which he made. His trouble shall return upon his own head, and his violent dealings shall come down on his own crown (head)." Ps. 7:14-16
There is a law given here that is intrinsic to the world that Yahweh has made. It is the Law of Reciprocity. The Law of Reciprocity states that one reaps what S/he has sown. Yes, one can be dismissive of this law because it is found within the pages of an ancient song book. However, this is not merely an ancient song book, it is the breath of Yahweh inscribed for all generations. The message is therefore timeless.
The wicked are the theme in this passage. Notice that as a class of individuals are referred to by an adjective i.e., the wicked. The one word descriptor is enough. It truncates the folly of such persons. Everything about their lives bespeaks a terrible future. Their metaphysics is weighted down with the odious and putrid smell of sulfur. The behavior is described by the birth process. There is the conception, growth, and then the birth of evil. Interestingly, the wicked undergo the burdensome impregnation of iniquity and then nurture it until it is ready to be born.
Then the text turns to the "pit" word picture as following upon the heels of the birth of evil. We are given here foreboding insight into the dark schemes of evil. Evil is born with its termination as intrinsic to its existence. This is a stillbirth but the unwary wicked do not know it. They can only 'see,' if you will, their frightening motives moving out to produce preconceived havoc.
The attitudinal blindness of the wicked keep them from considering the self-injured destiny they have contrived to their own undoing.
The Old Testament documents are frank in teaching the "sphere of action that creates destiny." But this is such a trite and meaningless teaching to the heirs of nano-technology, iphones, and the muddy mazes of violent, and sexually provocative "video" games.
Our culture has come to worship the reptilian cortex! The social hypocrisy is not amusing. Judges no longer want to sentence 'good' citizens for sexual crimes because now a new demographic is tagged. A new social (class) pariah is needed to cover up the crimes of the controllers. The human-robot hybrids are probably already among us. (Surely such evil could never be among us).
The clever ones are protected from the consequences of their actions by those who can make problems go away. God is not mocked by the works of men. The proposition is still true: "All men are mortal." It remains true until Yahweh ends the human experiment. There are the trans-human-ers who believe that the human experiment will end when the ultimate software is created that will allow human consciousness to be uploaded into a supercomputer and then all will be well.
Human software is created by smart humans who are not perfect. Mathematical philosophy is only as good as those who write it or model it on computers. We will not have a Software Utopia. It will still have the controllers and the controlled. It is a self-mocking equation.
Yahweh sees all that we do as humans, and how humans have tried to kick him out of his own created order. "He who conceives trouble...brings forth falsehood." The premise is deeply flawed. Evil cannot win because it is existentially wanting. Evil is naked malevolence. Evil is a hollow soliloquy spoken on behalf of bewildered self-delusion. Evil is the philosophical waif of the "Will To Power."
The trouble that the wicked unleashes is the dagger that will also puncture his own dark heart. I know that the language is bold, but the topic demands appropriate discussion. I once visited a winery where boomerangs were on display. One was small and the one that caught my eyes was very large. So I asked the sales clerk if he knew the story of the boomerangs. He told me that the large one was for hunting. It was an amazing weapon to behold.
The wicked are experts is conceiving and designing boomerangs. The wicked are hunters. They design precision weapons engineered to destroy their own lives. They also pre-dig the pits to which their finely-honed boomerangs end their harassing journey.
Beloved do not spend your time meditating upon the ways of the wicked. Do not be overcome by evil, but super-overcome evil with good. Where sin did abound Grace super-abounded. We are super-conquerors through the Iesous who loved us and died for us. Allow the Holy Spirit to take control of your life and give you the peace of Iesous. God can super-handle the works of the wicked. Be blessed and live as unto the Lord always. Amen.
There is a law given here that is intrinsic to the world that Yahweh has made. It is the Law of Reciprocity. The Law of Reciprocity states that one reaps what S/he has sown. Yes, one can be dismissive of this law because it is found within the pages of an ancient song book. However, this is not merely an ancient song book, it is the breath of Yahweh inscribed for all generations. The message is therefore timeless.
The wicked are the theme in this passage. Notice that as a class of individuals are referred to by an adjective i.e., the wicked. The one word descriptor is enough. It truncates the folly of such persons. Everything about their lives bespeaks a terrible future. Their metaphysics is weighted down with the odious and putrid smell of sulfur. The behavior is described by the birth process. There is the conception, growth, and then the birth of evil. Interestingly, the wicked undergo the burdensome impregnation of iniquity and then nurture it until it is ready to be born.
Then the text turns to the "pit" word picture as following upon the heels of the birth of evil. We are given here foreboding insight into the dark schemes of evil. Evil is born with its termination as intrinsic to its existence. This is a stillbirth but the unwary wicked do not know it. They can only 'see,' if you will, their frightening motives moving out to produce preconceived havoc.
The attitudinal blindness of the wicked keep them from considering the self-injured destiny they have contrived to their own undoing.
The Old Testament documents are frank in teaching the "sphere of action that creates destiny." But this is such a trite and meaningless teaching to the heirs of nano-technology, iphones, and the muddy mazes of violent, and sexually provocative "video" games.
Our culture has come to worship the reptilian cortex! The social hypocrisy is not amusing. Judges no longer want to sentence 'good' citizens for sexual crimes because now a new demographic is tagged. A new social (class) pariah is needed to cover up the crimes of the controllers. The human-robot hybrids are probably already among us. (Surely such evil could never be among us).
The clever ones are protected from the consequences of their actions by those who can make problems go away. God is not mocked by the works of men. The proposition is still true: "All men are mortal." It remains true until Yahweh ends the human experiment. There are the trans-human-ers who believe that the human experiment will end when the ultimate software is created that will allow human consciousness to be uploaded into a supercomputer and then all will be well.
Human software is created by smart humans who are not perfect. Mathematical philosophy is only as good as those who write it or model it on computers. We will not have a Software Utopia. It will still have the controllers and the controlled. It is a self-mocking equation.
Yahweh sees all that we do as humans, and how humans have tried to kick him out of his own created order. "He who conceives trouble...brings forth falsehood." The premise is deeply flawed. Evil cannot win because it is existentially wanting. Evil is naked malevolence. Evil is a hollow soliloquy spoken on behalf of bewildered self-delusion. Evil is the philosophical waif of the "Will To Power."
The trouble that the wicked unleashes is the dagger that will also puncture his own dark heart. I know that the language is bold, but the topic demands appropriate discussion. I once visited a winery where boomerangs were on display. One was small and the one that caught my eyes was very large. So I asked the sales clerk if he knew the story of the boomerangs. He told me that the large one was for hunting. It was an amazing weapon to behold.
The wicked are experts is conceiving and designing boomerangs. The wicked are hunters. They design precision weapons engineered to destroy their own lives. They also pre-dig the pits to which their finely-honed boomerangs end their harassing journey.
Beloved do not spend your time meditating upon the ways of the wicked. Do not be overcome by evil, but super-overcome evil with good. Where sin did abound Grace super-abounded. We are super-conquerors through the Iesous who loved us and died for us. Allow the Holy Spirit to take control of your life and give you the peace of Iesous. God can super-handle the works of the wicked. Be blessed and live as unto the Lord always. Amen.
Tuesday, September 17, 2013
"Leaving The Weight of Empty Things"
"I will praise You with my whole heart; Before the gods I will sing praises to You. I will worship toward Your holy temple, And praise Your name. For Your loving-kindness and Your truth; For You have magnified Your word above all Your name." Ps. 138:1-2
The Poet has come to know the Face (presence) of Yahweh within his leb. The Leb is the Hebrew word for heart or what was called at one time in the west the "Ghost in the Machine." We are well pass such nonsense these days. The Poet knew no such nonsense. He knew that he was more than the mere firing of neuro-circuits. He knew that Yahweh had given him the breath of lives, and that he was a living soul.
It is very interesting that in the primal documents of Genesis breathe is prominent. Breath is life, and without breath life vanishes. So, we will not speak of the spiritual here we shall leave that term alone, and concentrate upon breath. It takes breath to praise Yahweh. The Poet has determined to praise Yahweh in a manner that befits his august personage.
Praise is a sacrifice. Praise is a sacrifice with the lips of breath. There is a unity of being given by the sacred writer. The entire soul (personality) of the poet must express praise to Yahweh because it is most appropriate as a continual act. Praise is the answer of the soul to its primal calling. This is the highest form of worship.
The poet is not in perplexity nor is he lost in a sea of bewilderment. He understands the power of transcendent experience and has been surrendered to the power of praise. He is beyond words and their symbolic power. He has come into the presence of God through the vehicle of praise. His whole heart is lifted up.
He knows the freedom that praise gives. He has surrendered to praise and he shoots or throws praise toward God. The poet moves toward the magnification of Yahweh within his soul. He sings praises to God. He is compelled by the presence of God to shoot praise to him. Praise, sing, and worship have taken over his personality because God is worthy.
He is cleansed of pornographic lust, he is cleansed of power lust, he is cleansed of money lust, he is free of insatiable greed, mere acquisition for the sake of acquisition. He is free from the sin of pride and its deceptive ways. He has checked his ego at the door, so that he could praise God unencumbered by the weight of empty things.
How cumbersome the weight of empty things can be? They intoxicate us with a vile elixir called the self. Listen to the divided praise that some singers give to God. They cannot worship Him out of a pure heart because they are in love with self. Their songs do not edify because they have bowed to the secret praise of the self that becomes most evident when they offer tainted praise.
Believing one, real worship is filled with the witness of the Un-created One who is the I AM THAT I AM. We are free when we possess this fertile knowledge. Praise is prescriptive. A fellow believer who was dying from cancer and who was placed on hospice told me that when her pain would become to much bear even through her medication she would turn her pain into prayer.
She taught me so much. Beloved let go of affairs, let go of meaningless recognition, let go of anger, and revenge right now. Get close to God and learn the power of praise.
For more information about Dr. Rich and his teaching ministry, please follow this blog and visit his website.
The Poet has come to know the Face (presence) of Yahweh within his leb. The Leb is the Hebrew word for heart or what was called at one time in the west the "Ghost in the Machine." We are well pass such nonsense these days. The Poet knew no such nonsense. He knew that he was more than the mere firing of neuro-circuits. He knew that Yahweh had given him the breath of lives, and that he was a living soul.
It is very interesting that in the primal documents of Genesis breathe is prominent. Breath is life, and without breath life vanishes. So, we will not speak of the spiritual here we shall leave that term alone, and concentrate upon breath. It takes breath to praise Yahweh. The Poet has determined to praise Yahweh in a manner that befits his august personage.
Praise is a sacrifice. Praise is a sacrifice with the lips of breath. There is a unity of being given by the sacred writer. The entire soul (personality) of the poet must express praise to Yahweh because it is most appropriate as a continual act. Praise is the answer of the soul to its primal calling. This is the highest form of worship.
The poet is not in perplexity nor is he lost in a sea of bewilderment. He understands the power of transcendent experience and has been surrendered to the power of praise. He is beyond words and their symbolic power. He has come into the presence of God through the vehicle of praise. His whole heart is lifted up.
He knows the freedom that praise gives. He has surrendered to praise and he shoots or throws praise toward God. The poet moves toward the magnification of Yahweh within his soul. He sings praises to God. He is compelled by the presence of God to shoot praise to him. Praise, sing, and worship have taken over his personality because God is worthy.
He is cleansed of pornographic lust, he is cleansed of power lust, he is cleansed of money lust, he is free of insatiable greed, mere acquisition for the sake of acquisition. He is free from the sin of pride and its deceptive ways. He has checked his ego at the door, so that he could praise God unencumbered by the weight of empty things.
How cumbersome the weight of empty things can be? They intoxicate us with a vile elixir called the self. Listen to the divided praise that some singers give to God. They cannot worship Him out of a pure heart because they are in love with self. Their songs do not edify because they have bowed to the secret praise of the self that becomes most evident when they offer tainted praise.
Believing one, real worship is filled with the witness of the Un-created One who is the I AM THAT I AM. We are free when we possess this fertile knowledge. Praise is prescriptive. A fellow believer who was dying from cancer and who was placed on hospice told me that when her pain would become to much bear even through her medication she would turn her pain into prayer.
She taught me so much. Beloved let go of affairs, let go of meaningless recognition, let go of anger, and revenge right now. Get close to God and learn the power of praise.
For more information about Dr. Rich and his teaching ministry, please follow this blog and visit his website.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)