HOGWASH!!

HOGWASH!!

How fast can you type?  The reason I ask is because you will have only five minutes in the scenario we have been talking about in the last two blogs.  I am a hunt and peck typer.  In high school I took typing class on the advice of my sister, Sharon.  She said I would have to be able to type for college.  Well I took it and got a “C”.  It was the only “C’ that I received in high school. In fact I think it is the only “C” on any of my transcripts.  Turns out, I did not need it anyway for college.  I started dating my wife, Linda, the first semester in college.  She was and is a super typer, plus the fringe benefits made me forget those “C’s”. 

However, in my scenario, she won’t be able to help so I have to choose my words carefully since I only have five minutes.  So I am first going to tell you what I don’t plan on saying in my “last digital message".  I do not want to waste precious time.  I want everyone on my list to join me in heaven.  I want them to get to know my heavenly Father.  I want everything that I say to help achieve these results.  Here goes my e-mail.

I will be dead in five minutes so this is my last message.  I want to leave each of you a copy of my personal Bible, but I can’t but I can ask each of you to get a Bible and start reading it by reading the Gospels, Matthew, Mark, Luke and John plus Acts.  Keep reading these over and over again with a complete open mind, forgetting what you have been told in church or Sunday school.  Find who Jesus was and what He spent His time on earth doing.  Every time you read about a miracle, note in the margin what type miracle it was.  What was His response to everyone who came to Him with a need?  What was the disciple’s response to similar situations?  What did they do?  Who was Jesus taking directions from and who were the disciples taking directions from?

TIMES UP, Stop typing.  Wait! I can’t type.  I’m dead!

Now back to reality.  Since I was still alive, I figured I’d do a spell check so this blog would look better but my spelling errors could have stayed and I hope all my friends and family would forgive me if I did not do one since I had only five minutes.

You will note that there were many things I did not say.  I did not say go to church.  Going to church does not make you a Christian, anymore than parking in a garage makes you a car.  I have a hunch that there will many church goers in hell.  Jesus even said so much:

Matthew 7: 21 Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. ²²Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? ²³And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.

Now, I would hope that all would find a church where they would be fed the pure unadulterated Word of God.  They are hard to find.  Even most Bible believing churches, self-proclaimed I must say, do not teach the unadulterated Word.  Most are filtered through a denominational or non-denomination filter.  Much of what is taught is tradition and most don’t even realize it.  Why do I say this?

If today’s churches were preaching the gospel of the 12 in Matthew 10:7-8:

And as ye go, preach, saying, The kingdom of heaven is at hand. ⁸Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out devils: freely ye have received, freely give.

and the 70 in Luke 10:8-9:

⁸And into whatsoever city ye enter, and they receive you, eat such things as are set before you: ⁹And heal the sick that are therein, and say unto them, The kingdom of God is come nigh unto you.

We would see the results that they saw in Luke 10:17-20:

¹⁷And the seventy returned again with joy, saying, Lord, even the devils are subject unto us through thy name. ¹⁸And he said unto them, I beheld Satan as lightning fall from heaven. ¹⁹Behold, I give unto you power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy: and nothing shall by any means hurt you. ²⁰Notwithstanding in this rejoice not, that the spirits are subject unto you; but rather rejoice, because your names are written in heaven.

Now some of you are coming up with a multitude of reasons to refute what I just said but my reply is: “HOGWASH!!”

What’cha going to do?

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What’cha going to do?

In my last blog, I presented the following situation:

       What if you were told, with 100 percent certainty, that you had 5 minutes to live?  AND, in that 5 minutes you could send one email, text, facebook entry, or other digital message.  Further you could not use the word “love”.  Additionally, you are allowed to pass on only one earthly possession to your loved ones, regardless of any existing will or other legal document. 

I want to discuss my response and consider the second part of this scenario first, the “one earthly possession”.  I would want it to be something that would be useful and something to remind them of me, to say who I was.  I have written many things on my computer, that speak to what makes me tick, but it is far from exhaustive or comprehensive.  I have never kept a daily journal or diary, and, it is a little late to start now.  I want it to be something to say the things that I wished I had said, but for some reason did not, something that would express my love without using the word love, something that would speak to family and loved ones, even though  not all could inherit this one thing.

It is said that the only thing that you can take with you after you die is your family and loved ones.  You can take them to heaven.  You can’t load them up and take them with you; but, they can catch up with you when they die.  If you have accepted Jesus as your Lord and Savior; and they have also, you will meet again in heaven.  If neither you, or your loved ones have accepted Jesus as Lord and Savior, you will be together in hell; but I assure you, there will be no party.

Luke 16:20-26

And there was a certain beggar named Lazarus, which was laid at his gate, full of sores and desiring to be fed with the crumbs which fell from the rich man's table: moreover the dogs came and licked his sores and it came to pass, that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels into Abraham's bosom: the rich man also died, and was buried; and in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom. And he cried and said , Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his finger in water, and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame. But Abraham said, Son, remember that thou in thy lifetime receivedst thy good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things: but now he is comforted , and thou art tormented and beside all this, between us and you there is a great gulf fixed: so that they which would pass from hence to you cannot; neither can they pass to us, that would come from thence.

With this in mind, I do have something that I have had for the last 40+ years.  It is my old beat up Bible.  It is falling apart.  The cover has been off for the last 20+ years.  The binding is coming apart.  The map section is held on by a few strings.  The leather holder that it has been in is starting to come apart at the seams.  It's marked up with all kinds of notes, making it a personal reference Bible.  Some notes, I have trouble reading because my penmanship is not great.  Some years I made more notes than other years.  They were written over a period on 40+ years, written in 8+ states, in probably 12+ local churches, representing, 6+ denominations or non-denominations.  It is a King James Schofield Study Bible that I bought in Cape May , New Jersey, based on the recommendation of the pastor of an American Baptist Church in Cape May Court House (an actual town, not a building).  I think his last name was Jones.  He was the first pastor to challenge my belief system.  Before that I had based my beliefs on what my church and pastors had told me.  I was raised in a Christian family, went to church twice every Sunday. Went to Sunday school or Catechism class every week.  Went to a Christian school from kindergarten thru college.  Joined the church when everybody else in my catechism class did, sometime in high school, probably early summer between 1962-65. 

I value that time and thank the Lord for that time, it kept me out of trouble; but I don’t really know if I was saved.  I don’t blame my parents, my Sunday school teachers, my church, my pastors, or my school teachers.  It was my fault.  I never owned my beliefs.  I would defend them, I knew them but they were not part of my DNA.  They were spelled out by what I had been taught by my church; but not owned. 

I could have qualified as an amateur theologian, probably more qualified than many of today’s so called liberal theologians.  It has been said that Satan is probably the greatest theologian, but he still burns in hell eternally. 

I want my family and loved ones to join me in heaven and my old beat up Bible is the best thing I can leave behind to insure this.

What If?

What If?

What if you were told, with 100 percent certainty, that you had 5 minutes to live?  AND, in that 5 minutes your could send one email, text, facebook entry, or other digital message.  Further you could not use the word “love”.  Additionally, you are allowed to pass on only one earthly possession to your loved ones, regardless of any existing will or other legal document.  What would you say and what would you leave?

America’s Got Talent?

American Idol?

Susan Boyle?

Scott McCreery?

Arthur Godfrey’s Talent Scouts?

Most everyone reading this, has seen the first two TV shows and most know the two talent show contestants; but, how many remember the last radio and TV show from the 40 - 50’s, the original talent show.  Contestants included: Pat Boone, The Chordettes, The McGuire Sisters, Tony Bennett, The Blackwood Brothers, Lenny Bruce, Roy Clark, Rosemary Clooney, Ken Berry, Florian ZaBach, Wally Cox, Vic Damone, The Diamonds, Eddie Fisher, Connie Francis, Don Knotts, Steve Lawrence, and Patsy Cline.  Two who auditioned; but, were not chosen were, Buddy Holly and Elvis Presley.  Well, no one’s perfect.

When I say “talent”, most readers do not think of the original talent scout in Matthew 5:

“A man going off on an extended trip, called his servants together and delegated responsibilities.

¹⁵To one he gave five thousand dollars, to another two thousand, to a third one thousand, depending on their abilities. Then he left. ¹⁶Right off, the first servant went to work and doubled his master’s investment. ¹⁷The second did the same. ¹⁸But the man with the single thousand dug a hole and carefully buried his master’s money.

¹⁹“After a long absence, the master of those three servants came back and settled up with them.

²⁰The one given five thousand dollars showed him how he had doubled his investment. ²¹His master commended him: ‘Good work! You did your job well. From now on be my partner.’

²²“The servant with the two thousand showed how he also had doubled his master’s investment.

²³His master commended him: ‘Good work! You did your job well. From now on be my partner.’

²⁴“The servant given one thousand said, ‘Master, I know you have high standards and hate careless ways, that you demand the best and make no allowances for error.

²⁵I was afraid I might disappoint you, so I found a good hiding place and secured your money. Here it is, safe and sound down to the last cent.’

²⁶“The master was furious. ‘That’s a terrible way to live! It’s criminal to live cautiously like that! If you knew I was after the best, why did you do less than the least?

²⁷The least you could have done would have been to invest the sum with the bankers, where at least I would have gotten a little interest.

^28- “‘Take the thousand and give it to the one who risked the most. And get rid of this “play-it-safe” who won’t go out on a limb.

³⁰Throw him out into utter darkness.’ ”  The Message

Is this a story about “capitalism”? 

Is this a story about material things?

Is this a story about “abilities”?

It may be any or all of these; but I don’t think that it is just that.  I think it is much, much more.  I think it is about what God has given to His body, the church.  I think it is about what our work is.

“I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. ¹⁹And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.”  Matt. 16: 18 -19

“And when he had called unto him his twelve disciples, he gave them power against unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal all manner of sickness and all manner of disease.”  Matt. 10:1

“And he ordained twelve, that they should be with him, and that he might send them forth to preach, ¹⁵And to have power to heal sicknesses, and to cast out devils”  Mark 3:14

“And he called unto him the twelve, and began to send them forth by two and two; and gave them power over unclean spirits.” Mark 6:7

^“15Then he said, “Go into the world. Go everywhere and announce the Message of God’s good news to one and all. ¹⁶Whoever believes and is baptized is saved; whoever refuses to believe is damned.

¹⁷“These are some of the signs that will accompany believers: They will throw out demons in my name, they will speak in new tongues,

¹⁸they will take snakes in their hands, they will drink poison and not be hurt, they will lay hands on the sick and make them well.” The Message, Mark 16:14

When is the last time you “took a chance”, laid it all on the line; or, are we like the servant who buried his talent: And get rid of this “play-it-safe” who won’t go out on a limb.  Throw him out into utter darkness.’ ”  The Message, Matt. 5:29

Has God taken away His power from the church in America because it has buried it, denied it’s existence through “dis-use”?  Even our physical bodies atrophy when we become “couch potatoes”, how much more is this true of what God has given us to use for His glory?  

Cut and Paste

For today’s elementary school kids, “cut and paste” means something totally different than when most of us grew up. In fact, I do a whole lot more “cut and paste” today than I did in elementary school.  Today, I use the buttons on the computer, no more sticky glue that make the paper wrinkle when you glue it down.  Glue, white out, carbon paper, steno machines and bound encyclopedias are a thing of the past.  I am sure plagiarism is much more prevalent today because it s so easy and “everybody does it”. 

Did you know that one of the principal authors of the Declaration of Independence was a “cut and paster”.   Thomas Jefferson was the original cut and paster.   He made up his own “bible” by cutting and pasting sections from various Bibles.  He excluded any sections containing supernatural aspects and what he perceived as misinterpretations that had been added by the “Four Evangelists.  Many people think Jefferson was a Christian and maybe he considered himself to be a Christian, but his writings tell us something different.  Jefferson, in fact was a deist. His "bible" is just proof of his deist philosophy.

Using a razor, Jefferson carefully cut and pasted selected verses from the gospels in chronological order to create a single narrative.  He excluded any references to angels, genealogy, prophecy, the divinity of Jesus including the resurrection.  He did however include reference to heaven, hell and the devil.  He admired the ethics and morality of Jesus but never saw Him as God.  If you are interested, the entire “Jefferson bible” is available for viewing at Smithsonian National Museum website. 

http://americanhistory.si.edu/JeffersonBible/the-book/

Why do I bring this up?  Because this was prophesied by Paul in his letter to Timothy:

“For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears”

Now, it is easy for us to see this occurring with other people; but surely we would never be guilty of this, or would we.  Do we want to be challenged in our faith or do we want to be told that we are OK?   Jefferson did not try to hide the fact that he denied the divinity of Jesus.  He thought he was a great moral teacher, but not God.  He denied the supernatural.  Most Christians would never be dumb enough to deny the supernatural; but, do we act like we believe it.  Are we guilty of being "spiritual" cut and pasters.  Do we have the “form of godliness” or do we practice true Godliness.  Are we so busy “doing” church, while ignoring the power of God?  Is that why we have so many programs in our churches?  Is that why there is never enough money to do every program because we are doing it in our own strength?  If we really believed in prayer, why do we spend so little time in prayer in our churches and our homes?  Jesus and his disciples met the needs of the people supernaturally.  There is never recorded anytime when Jesus sent someone away when they were in need.  He fed them when they were hungry and healed them when there were sick. 

He gave them this charge:

“What a huge harvest! And how few the harvest hands. So on your knees; ask the God of the Harvest to send harvest hands.

³“On your way! But be careful—this is hazardous work. You’re like lambs in a wolf pack.

⁴“Travel light. Comb and toothbrush and no extra luggage.

“Don’t loiter and make small talk with everyone you meet along the way.

⁵“When you enter a home, greet the family, ‘Peace.’

⁶If your greeting is received, then it’s a good place to stay. But if it’s not received, take it back and get out. Don’t impose yourself.

⁷“Stay at one home, taking your meals there, for a worker deserves three square meals. Don’t move from house to house, looking for the best cook in town.

⁸“When you enter a town and are received, eat what they set before you,

⁹heal anyone who is sick, and tell them, ‘God’s kingdom is right on your doorstep!’ Luke 10:2-9,  The Message

The supernatural was the standard operational mode in the New Testament church.  We are told by Mark that "they (disciples) went forth, and preached every where, the Lord working with them, and confirming the word with signs following.?

Did the Jesus Christ, "the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever", change?  Did the early church need the supernatural and we don't?  


OR


Are we preaching a different gospel?  Remember these signs follow only those who believe?

"these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues; 18They shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover."  Mark 16:17-18