rest

Therefore, since the promise that we can enter into rest is still open, let’s be careful so that none of you will appear to miss it. We also had the good news preached to us, just as the Israelites did. However, the message they heard didn’t help them because they weren’t united in faith with the ones who listened to it. We who have faith are entering the rest. As God said,
And because of my anger I swore:
        “They will never enter into my rest!”
And yet God’s works were completed at the foundation of the world. Then somewhere he said this about the seventh day of creation: God rested on the seventh day from all his works. But again, in the passage above, God said, They will never enter my rest! Therefore, it’s left open for some to enter it, and the ones who had the good news preached to them before didn’t enter because of disobedience. Just as it says in the passage above, God designates a certain day as “today,” when he says through David much later,
Today, if you hear his voice,
        don’t have stubborn hearts.
If Joshua gave the Israelites rest, God wouldn’t have spoken about another day later on. So you see that a sabbath rest is left open for God’s people. The one who entered God’s rest also rested from his works, just as God rested from his own.
Therefore, let’s make every effort to enter that rest so that no one will fall by following the same example of disobedience, (Hebrews 4:1-11, CEB)

Rest is something that sometimes seems elusive.

And what kind of rest are we talking about?

Spiritual, physical, mental?

We need all kinds of rest. Sometimes we can go on physically, but mentally we are at a brick wall.

We all need to rest though. So if you have been going non stop, it is time to slow down, stop, and rest.

Do not see rest as failure. Even God rested after creation.

Loving People. Loving God.

Listen. God is calling…

So, as the Holy Spirit says,
Today, if you hear his voice,
    don’t have stubborn hearts
        as they did in the rebellion,
        on the day when they tested me in the desert.
That is where your ancestors challenged and tested me,
        though they had seen my work for forty years.
So I was angry with them.
I said, “Their hearts always go off course,
        and they don’t know my ways.”
Because of my anger I swore:
        “They will never enter my rest!”
Watch out, brothers and sisters, so that none of you have an evil, unfaithful heart that abandons the living God. Instead, encourage each other every day, as long as it’s called “today,” so that none of you become insensitive to God because of sin’s deception. We are partners with Christ, but only if we hold on to the confidence we had in the beginning until the end.
When it says,
Today, if you hear his voice, don’t have stubborn hearts
        as they did in the rebellion.
Who was it who rebelled when they heard his voice? Wasn’t it all of those who were brought out of Egypt by Moses? And with whom was God angry for forty years? Wasn’t it with the ones who sinned, whose bodies fell in the desert? And against whom did he swear that they would never enter his rest, if not against the ones who were disobedient? We see that they couldn’t enter because of their lack of faith. (Hebrews 3:7-19, CEB)

When you hear God’s voice, do you listen?

And by listen I mean do what God says?

The passage above speaks of a time, in the rebellion, where people heard the Spirit, but didn’t actually do what the Spirit told them to do.

And I get it. When God tells you to do something like move your family across the country to a place you have never lived and lead a people that might not want to do and or go where you will be leading them it is scary and you don’t want to do it.

It is never said to be easy to follow God and be a person of faith that hears God’s voice and does what they hear.

I follow God because even in the darkness I know I am never alone.

I try to listen and do what I hear even when I’m scared or unsure because God has never steered me wrong. Not that all of my calls have been rose gardens and all fun, they have not. But God never left me, and I was doing what I was doing for a reason.

Know you are never alone. Listen. God is calling…

Loving People. Loving God.

Who is sinning?

“You have heard that it was said, Don’t commit adultery. But I say to you that every man who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery in his heart. And if your right eye causes you to fall into sin, tear it out and throw it away. It’s better that you lose a part of your body than that your whole body be thrown into hell. And if your right hand causes you to fall into sin, chop it off and throw it away. It’s better that you lose a part of your body than that your whole body go into hell. “It was said, ‘Whoever divorces his wife must give her a divorce certificate.’ But I say to you that whoever divorces his wife except for sexual unfaithfulness forces her to commit adultery. And whoever marries a divorced woman commits adultery. “Again you have heard that it was said to those who lived long ago: Don’t make a false solemn pledge, but you should follow through on what you have pledged to the Lord. But I say to you that you must not pledge at all. You must not pledge by heaven, because it’s God’s throne. You must not pledge by the earth, because it’s God’s footstool. You must not pledge by Jerusalem, because it’s the city of the great king. And you must not pledge by your head, because you can’t turn one hair white or black. (Matthew 5:27-36, CEB)

Jesus specifically here calls out men for looking at women in a lustful way, and by doing this they are committing adultery.

We are also supposed to cut off or pluck out body parts that cause us to stray away from God.

When we look at others as objects to possess we set ourselves up as god. When we see people as brothers and sisters under God, then we will look out for their needs and not cause ourselves to be led away from God.

The only thing promised is God’s love. Let us share that and help the world come to know this.

Love like Jesus.

Loving People. Loving God.

Relationships

I’m passing on the Lord’s command to those who are married: A wife shouldn’t leave her husband, but if she does leave him, then she should stay single or be reconciled to her husband. And a man shouldn’t divorce his wife. I’m telling everyone else (the Lord didn’t say this specifically): If a believer has a wife who doesn’t believe, and she agrees to live with him, then he shouldn’t divorce her. If a woman has a husband who doesn’t believe and he agrees to live with her, then she shouldn’t divorce him. The husband who doesn’t believe belongs to God because of his wife, and the wife who doesn’t believe belongs to God because of her husband. Otherwise, your children would be contaminated by the world, but now they are spiritually set apart. But if a spouse who doesn’t believe chooses to leave, then let them leave. The brother or sister isn’t tied down in these circumstances. God has called you to peace. How do you know as a wife if you will save your husband? Or how do you know as a husband if you will save your wife? (1 Corinthians 7:10-16, CEB)

This is all about relationships. we should not only be in relationship to those who think they same or believe the same as us. This specifically is about marriage, but we can infer about other relationships through this.

We can not choice who we are in relationship with only by their beliefs. If they choose not to be in a relationship with us, that is their choice. We as followers of Jesus must work with everyone and accept them where they are.

Love like Jesus.

Loving People. Loving God.

Meet the need…

Now, about what you wrote: “It’s good for a man not to have sex with a woman.” Each man should have his own wife, and each woman should have her own husband because of sexual immorality. The husband should meet his wife’s sexual needs, and the wife should do the same for her husband. The wife doesn’t have authority over her own body, but the husband does. Likewise, the husband doesn’t have authority over his own body, but the wife does. Don’t refuse to meet each other’s needs unless you both agree for a short period of time to devote yourselves to prayer. Then come back together again so that Satan might not tempt you because of your lack of self-control. I’m saying this to give you permission; it’s not a command. I wish all people were like me, but each has a particular gift from God: one has this gift, and another has that one. I’m telling those who are single and widows that it’s good for them to stay single like me. But if they can’t control themselves, they should get married, because it’s better to marry than to burn with passion. (1 Corinthians 7:1-9, CEB)

“It’s good for a man not to have sex with a woman.” This was written from the Corinthians to Paul.

Paul is telling them that they should have one partner and that partner should take care of the sexual needs of the other unless they are able to be like Paul and can control their desires and do not need to have sexual release.

But I find it interesting that the wording the Corinthians sent to Paul. “It’s good for a man not to have sex with a woman.” Does that mean that the Corinthians were saying something else? No sex?

God created everything we know as a gift to us and we should partake in God’s good creations. Controlling our needs and desires, but also enjoying what God has given us.

Meet the needs of your partner.

Love like Jesus.

Loving People. Loving God.

Divorce

Some Pharisees came and, trying to test him, they asked, “Does the Law allow a man to divorce his wife?” Jesus answered, “What did Moses command you?” They said, “Moses allowed a man to write a divorce certificate and to divorce his wife.” Jesus said to them, “He wrote this commandment for you because of your unyielding hearts. At the beginning of creation, God made them male and female. Because of this, a man should leave his father and mother and be joined together with his wife, and the two will be one flesh. So they are no longer two but one flesh. Therefore, humans must not pull apart what God has put together.” Inside the house, the disciples asked him again about this. He said to them, “Whoever divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery against her; and if a wife divorces her husband and marries another, she commits adultery.” People were bringing children to Jesus so that he would bless them. But the disciples scolded them. When Jesus saw this, he grew angry and said to them, “Allow the children to come to me. Don’t forbid them, because God’s kingdom belongs to people like these children. I assure you that whoever doesn’t welcome God’s kingdom like a child will never enter it.” Then he hugged the children and blessed them. (Mark 10:2-16, CEB)

You know Jesus plainly says here is you are divorced and remarried you commit adultery. You know you sin and can own it.

I have preached that. Because it is there in black and white. We are all sinners and honestly, we don’t want anyone else to know our sins, but if you are divorced and remarried you know and the world knows you are an adulterer. So own it.

Notice Jesus doesn’t say divorce is a sin. Divorce is allowable to get out of abusive relationships. God doesn’t want you to be in an abusive relationship. So get out. God also doesn’t want you to be alone. So own the sin of adultery. Be a sinner and sin boldly, but believe in God’s grace even more boldly.

I know several people who are divorced and remarried more than once. It took them a few tries to find the right person. And that is ok. Everyone needs access to God and us saying that they messed up too many times is keeping them from God. We need to step back and work on our separation from God and help everyone see God’s love.

Show love in all you do.

Love like Jesus.

Loving People. Loving God.

Nothing will change

The Pharisees, who were money-lovers, heard all this and sneered at Jesus. He said to them, “You are the ones who justify yourselves before other people, but God knows your hearts. What is highly valued by people is deeply offensive to God. Until John, there was only the Law and the Prophets. Since then, the good news of God’s kingdom is preached, and everyone is urged to enter it. It’s easier for heaven and earth to pass away than for the smallest stroke of a pen in the Law to drop out. Any man who divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery, and a man who marries a woman divorced from her husband commits adultery. (Luke 16:14-18, CEB)

It is easier for heaven and earth to pass away than for one stroke of the pen of the Law to drop out.

Jesus didn’t abandon or get rid of the Law.

In other translations it is not one jot or tittle will be changed. Those are the vowel points in Hebrew, meaning the Law doesn’t change until the Kingdom comes.

Know Jesus came to show us how to love, not undo anything.

Loving People. Loving God.

think about

So now there isn’t any condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. The law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and death. God has done what was impossible for the Law, since it was weak because of selfishness. God condemned sin in the body by sending his own Son to deal with sin in the same body as humans, who are controlled by sin. He did this so that the righteous requirement of the Law might be fulfilled in us. Now the way we live is based on the Spirit, not based on selfishness. People whose lives are based on selfishness think about selfish things, but people whose lives are based on the Spirit think about things that are related to the Spirit. The attitude that comes from selfishness leads to death, but the attitude that comes from the Spirit leads to life and peace. So the attitude that comes from selfishness is hostile to God. It doesn’t submit to God’s Law, because it can’t. People who are self-centered aren’t able to please God. But you aren’t self-centered. Instead you are in the Spirit, if in fact God’s Spirit lives in you. If anyone doesn’t have the Spirit of Christ, they don’t belong to him. If Christ is in you, the Spirit is your life because of God’s righteousness, but the body is dead because of sin. If the Spirit of the one who raised Jesus from the dead lives in you, the one who raised Christ from the dead will give life to your human bodies also, through his Spirit that lives in you. (Romans 8:1-11, CEB)

What do you think about?

If you only think about yourself, you do not live in the Spirit.

If you think about others and what can be best for them, that is living in the Spirit.

If you only think about yourself that leads to death, but seeing others’ needs and thinking about how to help is living in the Spirit and leads to life.

When God’s Spirit lives in you, you will be focused on others.

Love like Jesus.

Loving People. Loving God.

Level…

Before faith came, we were guarded under the Law, locked up until faith that was coming would be revealed, so that the Law became our custodian until Christ so that we might be made righteous by faith. But now that faith has come, we are no longer under a custodian. You are all God’s children through faith in Christ Jesus. All of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek; there is neither slave nor free; nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. Now if you belong to Christ, then indeed you are Abraham’s descendants, heirs according to the promise. (Galatians 3:23-29, CEB)

For those who don’t know, I am working on a Doctor of Ministry and I am currently writing my dissertation on the verse we have here.

Some scholars say that Paul is quoting an early creed here. Even with that I was always fascinated with the use of the different conjunctions in the 3 pairs of items in verse 28. Paul uses ‘nor’ and ‘and’ for the joining of the pairs. I always wondered why.

As I was writing a part of the dissertation I looked up ‘and’ in the Merriam-Webster dictionary online, and I found the meaning “used as a function word to indicate connection or addition, especially of items within the same class or type.” I was struck by that last part of the meaning, “especially of items within the same class or type.”

So maybe the reason for the different conjunctions is Jew/Greek and slave/free really are different things, but male and female are the same class, they are the same type. In the eyes of God there is no distinction but in our eyes we set male and female to be different, but Paul is saying they are not different. They are the same type, the same class. Jews are not Greeks and slaves are not free but men and women aren’t different.

Paul is reminding the Galatians and all of us, the things we see that set differences among us don’t mean a thing to God. There is no nationality, no social status, no gender that makes us different. We are all equal in God’s eyes.

Love like Jesus, and don’t separate!

Loving People. Loving God.

Millstone…

“As for whoever causes these little ones who believe in me to trip and fall into sin, it would be better for them to have a huge stone hung around their necks and be drowned in the bottom of the lake. How terrible it is for the world because of the things that cause people to trip and fall into sin! Such things have to happen, but how terrible it is for the person who causes those things to happen! If your hand or your foot causes you to fall into sin, chop it off and throw it away. It’s better to enter into life crippled or lame than to be thrown into the eternal fire with two hands or two feet. If your eye causes you to fall into sin, tear it out and throw it away. It’s better to enter into life with one eye than to be cast into a burning hell with two eyes. (Matthew 18:6-9, CEB)

This verse is my nemesis. I worry about this. If you lead one of these little ones astray, it is better for you to tie a millstone around your neck and throw yourself into the sea. You should kill yourself if you lead a little one astray.

If you cause another to fall away it is terrible for you.

This is why I try to live love every day.

Love like Jesus.

Lead others in the way of love.

Loving People. Loving God.