From Ben Fronczek... Daniel – No Pork Chops Thank-You

Daniel – No Pork Chops Thank-You

Daniel Part 1    (By Ben Fronczek)

Background: 

In Deut. Chapter 28, God promised to bless the Jewish nation as long as they remained faithful to Him and the covenant they had made with Him. He also warns them that if they turned their back on the covenant they made with Him and disobeyed His holy law, and if they chased after false foreign gods they would suffer the consequences until they repent.

But despite the numerous warnings over the years, the Jews turned their back on God and the covenant they had made with Him.  After sending Israel and Judah prophet after prophet to warn them to repent, God followed through with the promises made during the time of Moses. In Deut. 28 God told them that He would allow another nation that they did not know to come in and invade them. Their nation would be destroyed, only a few of them would survive, and some of their sons and daughters would be carried off in exile to a foreign land to serve their conquering king.

It is not only a Biblical fact it is also a historical fact that all this took place in 587BC. That leads us to the opening chapter of Daniel.

But before we read Chapter 1 there is one lesson I would like you to remember here: God does not forget the promises He makes, to bless or curse. He never forgets His promises!  

In 2 Peter 3:3-13 we read how some people made fun of and scoffed at the promises God has make. But Peter reminds and warns people that there is a great day coming.  

“Above all, you must understand that in the last days scoffers will come, scoffing and following their own evil desires. ⁴ They will say, “Where is this ‘coming’ he promised? Ever since our ancestors died, everything goes on as it has since the beginning of creation.” ⁵ But they deliberately forget that long ago by God’s word the heavens came into being and the earth was formed out of water and by water. ⁶ By these waters also the world of that time was deluged and destroyed. ⁷ By the same word the present heavens and earth are reserved for fire, being kept for the day of judgment and destruction of the ungodly.

⁸ But do not forget this one thing, dear friends: With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day. ⁹ The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.

¹⁰ But the day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything done in it will be laid bare.

¹¹ Since everything will be destroyed in this way, what kind of people ought you to be? You ought to live holy and godly lives

Even though men are short-sighted and forget, God, and His word, and His promises last forever. They are never forgotten by Him, so we can take comfort in His promises..

Read  Daniel:1:1-4  

“In the third year of the reign of Jehoiakim king of Judah, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came to Jerusalem and besieged it. ² And the Lord delivered Jehoiakim king of Judah into his hand, along with some of the articles from the temple of God. These he carried off to the temple of his god in Babylonia and put in the treasure house of his god.”

Then the king ordered Ashpenaz, chief of his court officials, to bring into the king’s service some of the Israelites from the royal family and the nobility— ⁴ young men without any physical defect, handsome, showing aptitude for every kind of learning, well informed, quick to understand, and qualified to serve in the king’s palace. He was to teach them the language and literature of the Babylonians.

Nebuchadnezzar conquered the Jews and some were carried off into exile as predicted. Then the king ordered that some of the finest young men be groomed and trained to serve in the royal palace.   

I believe we see our 2^nd lesson here.  The king, (the enemy) was not  interested in the weak, the blind, the poor, the lame, nor the simple in his service, but rather he wanted Israel’s finest, those of noble or royal birth, those who not only looked good, but also those who were intelligent, wise and able to learn.  I would dare to say that our enemy the devil is just as cunning.  I believe he is more interested in enlisting those of us who are children of God. He already has the rest of the world so I believe he especially goes after those who have the most influence in God’s kingdom; the elders, the preachers, the Bible professors and Sunday school teachers, and those who are dedicated Christians. I believe he wants to win us over and into his service hoping that we compromise truth; maybe so that we will allow that which is untrue, even ungodly into our churches and schools to influence those who are weak.

Herein is where we learn from Daniel’s example.   

Read Dan. 1:5-16  

“The king assigned them a daily amount of food and wine from the king’s table. They were to be trained for three years, and after that they were to enter the king’s service.

⁶ Among those who were chosen were some from Judah: Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah. ⁷ The chief official gave them new names: to Daniel, the name Belteshazzar; to Hananiah, Shadrach; to Mishael, Meshach; and to Azariah, Abednego.

⁸ But Daniel resolved not to defile himself with the royal food and wine, and he asked the chief official for permission not to defile himself this way. ⁹ Now God had caused the official to show favor and compassion to Daniel, ¹⁰ but the official told Daniel, “I am afraid of my lord the king, who has assigned your^[c] food and drink. Why should he see you looking worse than the other young men your age? The king would then have my head because of you.”

¹¹ Daniel then said to the guard whom the chief official had appointed over Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah, ¹² “Please test your servants for ten days: Give us nothing but vegetables to eat and water to drink. ¹³ Then compare our appearance with that of the young men who eat the royal food, and treat your servants in accordance with what you see.”     So he agreed to this and tested them for ten days.

¹⁵ At the end of the ten days they looked healthier and better nourished than any of the young men who ate the royal food. ¹⁶ So the guard took away their choice food and the wine they were to drink and gave them vegetables instead.”

The Babylonian strategy was to take the brightest and best from each culture and make them Babylonian in their thinking and Babylonian in their religion.

Daniel and his friends were humble and smart enough not to balk at being renamed, they knew that sticks and stones and Babylonian spears can break their bones, but changing their names could not really harm them. Name back then had more significance than names today.

In Hebrew DANIEL meant:  “MY JUDGE IS ELOHIM.” Or GOD IS MY JUDGE                            

BELTESHAZZAR meant: “BEL (Lord of the World) PROTECTS THE KING.” ( Bel was the patron god of Babylon.)

HANANIAH meant:  UNDER YAHWEH’S GRACE. Or God’s favored
 

SHADRACH meant: UNDER AKU’S  Command  (another Babylonian god)

MISHAEL meant:  WHO IS WHAT GOD IS?
 

MESHACH meant:  WHO IS WHAT AKU IS?

AZARIAH meant:  SERVANT OF YAHWEH. Jehovah has helped
 

ABEDNEGO meant: SERVANT OF NEGO. (their god of wisdom and Literature)

They could handle being renamed but when it came to changing what they had to eat and drink, that was another story. Long before we knew about germs and microbes and the nature of diseases, God knew. So He forbid the nation of Israel from eating certain foods that were prone to disease if not handled right. Foods like pork chops and crustaceans. Foods that the King likely to serve for dinner.

In addition, the Babylonians had a practice of offering their animals up to their gods as sacrifices before they ate them. So Daniel and his friends wanted to stay away from eating any meat that had been offered to idols. And this is where we see what Daniel and his companions are made of, and why I believe God preserved their lives and did not destroy them along with almost all the other Jews.

Neb. was trying to get them to do the very thing that God had told them not to do from the time of Moses. Neb. would have them turn their back on the Lord and what He commanded in His law. It was the very reason He allowed Babylon to conquer Judea in the first place. Even at a young age (probably around 16) Daniel and his companions recognized this and they made a decision not to eat the king’s food or drink the kings wine.

Another thing we see here is that Daniel and his friends never said anything negative about the Babylonians or their particular customs and eating habits.  They didn’t necessarily agree with all of it, but they were wise enough not to insult them and simply chose not to do that was against their moral and religious beliefs.  They simply chose to follow God’s way not matter what.

As I thought about this I could not help but ask myself, ‘In the land of the Jews where immorality seem to prevail  and the fear of God had faded away, how and where did these boy acquire the good morals and religious ethics that we see them possessing here?’

I can think of no place other than their home. Either one or both of their parents must have thought it important to teach their sons about God and what pleases Him even though everyone else was doing their own thing.  That up-bringing, the religious instruction, and hearts that loved and honored YAHWEH is probably what saved their lives and brought them to Babylon.

But here they were again, having to make a decision to do something different than what everyone else was doing. Before they probably acted different than everyone else in Israel, now they chose to be different than everyone else in Babylon. They simply chose to do what God asked of them before they were ever  captured.

But how could they do that? Why did they do that?
 

Well, they probably understood that God is in control.  They may have even understood why God allowed Babylon to conquer their homeland and why they were in the palace this foreign king.  It was all there in Deuteronomy 28. It was not a mistake. And maybe they recognized that God had placed them there for a purpose. So the culture did not threaten them. After all that they witnessed, they probably feared God more than they feared the king.

And because of their desire to obey God, rather than taking the easy way out they chose to obey God rather than this man. And what happens, God shows them favor in the eyes of the kings servant who would care for them.

Not only that, God blesses Daniel and his companions with healthy bodies, healthier than all the other young men. So the servant allowed Daniel and his companions to continue on with their diet.

So Here is Another lesson: 

If you want to be wise and set yourself on a course for success always chose to do what God wants you to do over what others want and expect of you. You don’t have do what everyone else is doing. You don’t have to go along with things that are popular in our culture, in your workplace, or school. Nor should we  be the one going around  complaining and criticizing the culture we live in or particular customs of others. Instead, live with freedom and peace of mind knowing that our God in heaven rules. Just live right, be a good example. Be salt and light and God will help you rise above and even lead others if you put Him first. He was even polite as he asked the servant of the king, by saying, ‘please’.

Read Daniel 1:17-21 

 “To these four young men God gave knowledge and understanding of all kinds of literature and learning. And Daniel could understand visions and dreams of all kinds.

¹⁸ At the end of the time set by the king to bring them into his service, the chief official presented them to Nebuchadnezzar. ¹⁹ The king talked with them, and he found none equal to Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah; so they entered the king’s service. ²⁰ In every matter of wisdom and understanding about which the king questioned them, he found them ten times better than all the magicians and enchanters in his whole kingdom.  And Daniel remained there until the first year of King Cyrus.

Because Daniel and his companions remained faithful and true to Him, we read here that God continued to bless them with intelligence, wisdom and more over the next three years of their training. The text goes on to say that they were 10 timeswiser that anyone else in the kingdom.

I personally believe Daniel and his companions entered Babylon with more wisdom and understanding than any of those other young men from other conquered lands.  Why do I believe that? Because faithful Jewish boys in that day, as well as some today, are taught by their fathers to read, study, and memorize Scripture. And Scripture carries with it a promise of making your wise and smart. – This might explain why over 90% of all Nobel prizes have been won by ethnic Jews, even though ethnic Jews make up less than 1% of the world’s population. 

They study the scriptures.

The author of Ps. 119:99-100 wrote, 

I have more insight than my teachers, for I am always thinking of your laws.  ¹⁰⁰ I am even wiser than my elders, for I have kept your commandments.

Daniel and his friends had high I.Q’s. because they knew God’s word.
 

So our final lesson for today is seen right here. If you want to grow in wisdom and understanding, read God’s word, study it, digest it, even memorize it if you can. By doing so, the wisdom of God will become yours.

For more lessons click on the following link:

http://granvillenychurchofchrist.org/?page_id=566

From Jim McGuiggan... 1 Peter 3:21

1 Peter 3:21

A reader wonders about some things in 1 Peter 3:21. This is a difficult text to get to the bottom of. Scholars differ widely on the passage and phrases within the passage so the rest of us need to be modest in our speech. Modest, but not speechless.

What does he mean when he says, "Baptism saves you"?

Whatever he means by it, he said it! In some real sense baptism is related to salvation in a functional way. Peter doesn’t say, "Baptism symbolically saves you." That would be to say that baptism doesn’t save you, it merely symbolises the fact that you have been saved. To say, "baptism symbolises the fact that you have been saved" makes sense; but it isn’t what Peter said. Had Peter said, "Faith saves you by the resurrection of Jesus from the dead" we wouldn’t hesitate to say that faith functions in a saving way. (Some of us speak as if we’re scared witless by water baptism.) What he did say was, "Baptism saves you by the resurrection of Jesus Christ." We mustn’t be afraid of the doctrine of baptismal regeneration or self-salvation and so empty Peter’s words of their obvious meaning. Peter never believed that the mere application of water (a little or a lot) gave life with God to anyone! When we’re done explaining his words that "Baptism saves you" it’s important that we allow him to attribute to baptism some saving function. 

Baptism saves people!

(How it functions in a saving way is for further discussion.)

What does he mean when he says, "Not the putting away the filth of the flesh"?

Peter told his readers what baptism did—it saved them by the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Before he tells them in what way baptism saves, Peter tells them what it does not do. Baptism doesn’t save by putting off the filth of the flesh.

He could mean that baptism isn’t meant to remove physical dirt from the body. We could imagine him saying that simply to underscore the importance of baptism’s function. It would be as if he said, "You understand, baptism is no mere bath in water after a dirty day’s work." Similarly, if a young man walked into a jeweller’s shop to buy a diamond ring for his soon-to-be wife and was taken back by the price the jeweller might say, "Yes, it’s expensive but this isn’t a piece of glass."

Or he might mean that baptism is not merely ceremonial, a Jewish-type purification rite that makes a person "clean". Certain washings, within the covenant, were required on different occasions when "sinners" needed to be cleansed. You see a lot of that in Leviticus.

He might mean what Oscar Brooks took him to mean. Brooks thought it meant something like, "Baptism saves you, but I don’t mean it takes away your tendency to sin or that it removes your sinful desires."

He might mean that baptism doesn’t have a place in the taking away of sins (it doesn’t purify a person from the moral filth of the sinful nature or past deeds).

My guess is he has none of these in mind. I think he’s saying that baptism saves you but not by making you right with God within the parameters of the flesh.

He’s writing to Jews whose past (as a nation) was based on their fleshly relationship with Abraham. That Abrahamic family (through Jacob) had consistently violated the covenant and polluted itself (they recapitulated the antediluvian behaviour). Fleshly Israel ceased to be covenanted according to the flesh because they persistently self-polluted. The flesh had failed and there was no curing of it—it had to be put to death. Some might have thought that baptism saved them by wiping that national filth away (as if it were another Jewish washing) and renewing their covenanted status as the fleshly elect. Baptism, on this view, doesn’t cleanse "the flesh" and make it acceptable—only death and resurrection takes care of the problem; it’s a new birth to a new inheritance.

In fact baptism signals the end of that phase of relating to God ("the end of all flesh"—Genesis 6:12-18 and here 3:19-21 and compare Romans 6:1-11 and 7:4-6 and 10:4, which have their own particular agenda but add point here). Baptism doesn’t relate to setting Jews right by curing the Mosaic violation as if baptism were a part of the Jewish covenant structure that supported the flesh—compare Hebrews 10:19-29. Baptism doesn’t relate to being born a Jew, it relates to being born again by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead (1 Peter 1:3-4). It doesn’t save you by bringing you back to God within Mosaic parameters (as part of the fulfilment of Malachi 4 and John the Baptist’s ministry). It doesn’t ensure that we as Jews relate to God in the same old way.

Receiving this as plausible might lead us then to think of Christ being put to death in (the realm of) the flesh and made alive in (the realm of) the spirit. The "flesh" days are gone (Romans 10:1-4). If we grant that Peter is writing to Jews I think it sharpens the point. Christ didn’t purify the flesh he slew it in his dying and salvation in Christ occurs in being raised in and with him (think of 2 Corinthians 5:15-17 in this connection).

Baptism into Christ corresponds to the ancient scenario in which only a remnant was saved when the flesh was destroyed. Peter insisted in Acts 3:22-26 that Jews who reject the Messiah are cut off from among the people. Baptism (in its full richness) is like the Red Sea crossing (1 Corinthians 10:1) or the crossing of the Jordan into the inheritance (as recently, N.T Wright). After the water which ended all flesh is life beyond death, for a remnant in Noah’s day. After the water of New Covenant baptism, which is the end of the flesh (since in baptism they took on them the name of the exalted Christ), is resurrection life through Jesus Christ. As it was with Jesus (life in the flesh ended and life in spirit began) so it is with all those Jewish people that have accessed his death, there is the end of the flesh and resurrection life in the realm of the spirit through Christ’s resurrection. In Noah’s day flesh ended (and with it the old world—2 Peter 2:5) and they came out of the ark into a new world in a new beginning (see Genesis 1 creation language used in Genesis 9:1-3 and compare here, 3:22). So death (in Christ) to the realm of the flesh means entering into a new creation, the realm of the spirit (2 Corinthians 5:15-17).

It’s true of course that "flesh" has universal application but if Peter is writing to Jews (as I believe he is) the notion of "flesh" has that added specific use that we see in places like Romans and Galatians that focuses on Israel.

What does he mean when he says, "The pledge of a good conscience"? (NIV)

I believe that Peter wrote his book to Jews that had embraced Jesus Christ as God’s Christ and not to Gentiles (as the scholarly consensus claims). These were Jews that lived outside Palestine. See the following link for some justification of this claim.

 http://www.jimmcguiggan.com/experienced/lesson.asp?status=Chew+On+This&id=108

Though there are difficulties in understanding just what the Hebrew writer meant, he did claim that there was that aspect of the Mosaic Covenant that didn’t reach down to the conscience of the worshipers (9:13-14, and see 10:1-2) though their "flesh" was purified. In contrast, he says, through Christ’s blood their consciences were purified from dead works to enable them to serve the living God. So OT sacrifices in some sense purified "the flesh" (my guess is that that’s a shorthand way of describing Israel’s relationship to God that is grounded in their physical relationship to Abraham). The whole sacrificial system was God’s gift to fleshly Israel (Romans 9:3-5) and by it they were marked out as God’s elect. Christ’s sacrifice (required by Israel’s sin since they consistently violated the old covenant—Hebrew 8:6-13) brought them to God at a different level on a different basis and in so doing delivered them from what were now "dead works". That is, adherence to the law that availed nothing or clinging to the violated covenant which could only pronounce their death. In addition the Hebrew writer speaks of consciences cleansed and bodies washed with pure water (10:21-22).
The nation as a national entity (not every individual—far from it) had walked away from God. But now they could return to God in a new way, apart from the old sacrifices, offering to God a commitment that rose out of a pure conscience, submitting to baptism that is the taking on the name of Christ and all that that involves. They had been born again to a living hope by the resurrection of Christ out from the dead but they endured suffering and would face more. When critics challenged them to give the grounds for such a hope they were to give an "answer" (defence) that rose out of an honest and upright life (lived in the sight of God—compare 2:19).

They are to give a responsive defence/answer directed to their critics concerning their hope (which comes to them from God via the resurrection of Christ—3:16 and 1:3). And they give a responsive pledge to God in baptism to the offer of hope that comes via the resurrection of Jesus Christ. In so doing they are saved by the virtue in (the death and) the resurrection of Christ.

The lexical studies don’t end the dispute about the word rendered "pledge" in the NIV so in the end the student must draw his or her conclusion on the basis of what he or she thinks Peter means by the word he uses.

©2004 Jim McGuiggan. All materials are free to be copied and used as long as money is not being made.

Many thanks to brother Ed Healy, for allowing me to post from his website, theabidingword.com.

From Mark Copeland... The Seal On The Foundation ( 2Timothy 2:19)

                    "THE SECOND EPISTLE TO TIMOTHY"

                   The Seal On The Foundation (2:19)

INTRODUCTION

1. People don't like confusion, they want certainty...
   a. Especially in religious matters
   b. False religions and false teachers make it difficult

2. Yet there is a seal on the Lord's solid foundation - cf. 2Ti 2:19
   a. Paul likely has reference to the Lord's church
   b. Commonly pictured as a building erected on a solid foundation
      - cf. Ep 2:20-21; 1Co 3:9-10
   c. The word "seal" refers to an inscription, in which it was
      customary to inscribe the name and design of the edifice on the
      cornerstone - Barnes

3. Regarding the Lord's church, then, there is a twofold inscription on
   the foundation...
   a. First, a statement of comfort
   b. Second, a statement of caution

[This "seal" on the foundation provides both encouragement and warning
for all who would be members of the Lord's church as revealed in the
Bible.  Note the first half of the inscription...]

I. "THE LORD KNOWS THOSE WHO ARE HIS"

   A. WE LIVE IN A TIME OF RELIGIOUS CONFUSION...
      1. There are many religions, many churches
         a. Many profess to know the Lord, most are sincere
         b. Which church is the true church?
      2. Who are truly saved?
         a. Not the majority - Mt 7:13-14
         b. Not the devout, necessarily - Ac 10:1-2; 11:14
         c. Not all who profess to know the Lord - Mt 7:21-23

   B. YET THERE CAN BE RELIGIOUS CERTAINTY...
      1. The Lord is building His church (called out ones) - Mt 16:18;
         1Th 2:12
         a. He is calling people through the gospel - 2Th 2:13-14
         b. He is adding to His church those who respond - Ac 2:41,47
      2. The gospel message is clearly proclaimed in the scriptures
         a. Calling for faith and baptism - Mk 16:15-16; Mt 28:18-20
         b. Calling for repentance and baptism - Ac 2:38
         c. Calling for baptism immediately - Ac 8:35-38; 10:47-48;
            22:16
            1) For the remission of sins - Ac 2:38
            2) For dying with Christ and rising to walk in newness of
               life - Ro 6:3-7
            3) For putting on Christ - Ga 3:27

[If you desire religious certainty in a religiously confused world, the
first step is to let the Lord add you to His church by responding to the
gospel of Christ.  Now consider the second half of the inscription...]

II. "LET EVERYONE WHO NAMES THE NAME OF CHRIST DEPART FROM INIQUITY"

   A. WE MAY CONTINUE TO EXPERIENCE RELIGIOUS CONFUSION...
      1. Division existed in the Lord's church in the beginning
         a. In Antioch, over circumcision and keeping the Law - Ac 15:
            1-2
         b. At Corinth, over preacher-itis - 1Co 1:10-13; 3:3
         c. Among churches in Asia, due to the influence of false
            teachers - Re 2:14-15,20
      2. Division will always exist in the Lord's church
         a. Foretold by Jesus in His parable of the tares- Mt 13:24-30
         b. Foretold by Paul in his discourse to the elders - Ac 20:
            29-30
         c. Foretold by Peter in his warning about false teachers - 2 Pe 2:1-3

   B. YET WE CAN STILL HAVE RELIGIOUS CERTAINTY...
      1. The solution is heeding apostolic authority
         a. Which the Lord gave to His apostles - Jn 13:20; Mt 28:20
         b. Which characterized faithful disciples in the early church
            - Ac 2:42; 1Th 2:13
         c. Which will characterize all the faithful today - 2Th 2:15;
            1Jn 4:6
      2. Our duty is to depart from iniquity
         a. From iniquity in our own lives - 2Co 7:1; Col 3:5-8
         b. From those who in continue in iniquity - 2Th 3:6,14
         c. From those who teach contrary to the apostles - 1Ti 6:5;
            2Ti 3:1-5

CONCLUSION

1. Whenever you are troubled by religious confusion...
   a. Take comfort in knowing that the Lord knows who you are
      1) Assuming that you have properly responded to the gospel
      2) Have you responded to the gospel of Christ?
   b. Take caution in making sure that you departing from iniquity
      1) Assuming that you let the apostles of Christ define what is
         iniquity
      2) Are you continuing steadfastly in the apostles' doctrine?

2. With this seal we have both encouragement and warning...
   a. If you are saved, the Lord certainly knows it
   b. If you are saved, then act like it

As we look forward to the coming of Christ, we know the Lord is faithful
(cf. 1Th 5:23-24); but remember that we must do our part as well (cf.
1Th 5:21-22)...

Executable Outlines, Copyright © Mark A. Copeland, 2011

From Gary... BEYOND THE HIGHEST HEIGHTS... and then there is God

The Known Universe 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=17jymDn0W6U

The weather this year is crazy, isn't it?  I noticed some pictures my friend Eric Cantin posted on facebook today- pictures of SNOW in FLORIDA!!!   This morning on my usual "dog walk", I was greeted by a cool, humid, drizzle. Yuk!!!  Where are the sunny skies, the warm temperatures- after all- this IS FLORIDA!!!  But, after a moment, I put things back into perspective.  Below zero temperatures in my native up-state New York, so a little rain and some coolness are really NO BIG DEAL!!!  Then, I saw this picture of mount Everest and thought of the following video that my friend Bruce Arnold sent me some time ago.  Talk about perspective!!!! This naturally brought me once again to one of my favorite passages of Scripture....

 

Psalm 8

 1  Yahweh, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth,
who has set your glory above the heavens!  2 From the lips of babes and infants you have established strength,
because of your adversaries, that you might silence the enemy and the avenger.
  3 When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers,
the moon and the stars, which you have ordained;
  4 what is man, that you think of him?
What is the son of man, that you care for him?
  5 For you have made him a little lower than God,
and crowned him with glory and honor.
  6 You make him ruler over the works of your hands.
You have put all things under his feet:
  7 All sheep and cattle,
yes, and the animals of the field,
  8 The birds of the sky, the fish of the sea,
and whatever passes through the paths of the seas.
  9 Yahweh, our Lord,
how majestic is your name in all the earth!

Human beings can do all sorts of marvellous things; from treatment of diseases to erecting monumental buildings and even setting foot on another world.  Humans rule!!!  But they in turn are ruled, for there is one greater.  So great in fact that HIS GREATNESS IS BEYOND COMPREHENSION!!!   Look, look to the heavens to see HIS MAGNIFICENCE and then look inside yourself.  What a difference!!!  Today, find some "extra time" to spend in prayer thanking HIM for WHO HE IS and WHAT HE HAS DONE FOR US!!!  When you finish, you will NOT BE THE SAME!!!

From Ben Fronczek... Mountain Top are Great But Valleys are Where We Live

Mountain Top are Great But Valleys are Where We Live

Last Wednesday afternoon was a beautiful clear day and my daughter asked if I would climb a mountain with her. So we climbed Buck MT which overlooks Lake George. After struggling to get to the top we were rewarded with a spectacular and beautiful clear view. There was hardly any wind, the sun was warm, and the lake below sparkled blue. I sat and recovered from the strenuous climb and enjoyed the stay on top of that MT for about an hour, but then we knew we had to leave that beautiful spot for the valley below.

Edward Viesturs is one of the few men who has accomplished what many have not. Maybe some of you know what the 8000’ers are. But for those of you who do not, there are 14 high peaks that are higher than 8000 meters, or 26200 feet. There are very few people who have been able to climb all of these mountains. But there is only a handful that have climbed to the top of all these mountains without bottles of Oxygen; Edward has. Doctors have studied him and have determined that his lungs are larger than any other human beings his size and body weight. It’s as though he had been built with the ability to climb in those high altitudes.

But sometimes great success over a life time is not about what you accomplish as much as knowing who you are, and knowing your own ability and limitations.

You see Edward has a different attitude than most. He is known as a judicial climber. He will sacrifice whatever must be sacrificed, not to reach the top, but to reach the bottom. As a matter of fact his life proves that. There have been two different occasions; one on Everest where he came within 300 feet of the top, but because conditions changed he turned around and descended, knowing he would have to climb it again. On another occasion while climbing another 8000’ers, (I can’t imagine this) he climbed to within 20 feet of the top and turned back knowing he would have to climb that MT again.  He knew his limitations, and was wise enough to retreat when in danger. This is a lesson we may all need to learn!

When we think about Mountain top experiences, we also think about those high points in our life. (The birth of a child, our wedding day, the day we become a Christian and put on Jesus in Baptism, a great vacation, or maybe a great seminar, an exciting mission trip like the one I just went on.) Those occasions can be fun, exciting, refreshing, even restful. It’s easy to look at those times as the best of times and value those occasions so highly that we fail to appreciate what’s is in the valleys below.

Transition: I think one of the biggest challenges that Jesus had was to get His disciples to see and think beyond this temporal, physical, earthly realm and open their eyes up to the eternal spiritual realm of God.

I heard someone say that teaching these guys was like trying to clean out a paint roller. Did you ever try to do that? I think that is where all the paint in America goes, it hidden in used paint rollers. It doesn’t all go on the walls. And when you try to clean them out, you rinse and you rinse, and you rinse more and the paint keep coming out.  Well the disciples were a little like that.

I wonder how many times as He worked with His disciples and wondered, ‘How long is it going to take you guys to get this. When are you going to understand that how temporary all this is.’ I keep talking about this but you aren’t getting it. It’s like they could only see things from a carnal, earthy point of view. (They liked the thought of having a kingdom, but they only imagined an earthly kingdom.  They loved the idea of having a king, but only imagined Him to be an earthly king.)

So Jesus more than once tried to get them to see beyond the physical.

On one particular occasion He took three of his closest disciples on a hike, to the top of a mountain, and they would have what I’d call a mountain top experience.  I believe it changed their life, as it should have.

In Mark 9 we read a story that is very familiar to us, usually title the Transfiguration of Jesus. Click on  and read Mark 9:1-13

But just before this account in Chapter 8 we read where Jesus informed His disciples that we was going to go down to Jerusalem where at the hands of the elders He would be mistreated, suffer and then be killed, but then He tells them that He would rise again.

But in response we see the earthly mentality of Peter surface again. He rebukes Jesus, probably telling Him that no way was that going to happen.

Jesus probably thought, ‘Why are you saying this Peter? Is it because you are such a good and spiritual man. Or, are you doing it because you are looking at this thru those selfish, temporal, carnal lenses again?’

Jesus was so offended by Peter’s narrow earthly view He spoke to him more harshly than almost anyone else we read about in scripture. In vs. 33 He called him Satan and told him in so many words ‘get out of MY face, and get behind me.’

He told him that he did not have ‘the things of God in mind, rather the earthly, carnal things of man.’

‘How long have I worked with you 12, and all you can think about is the here and now, the temporary things of this world.’

And then in Chapter 9:1 we read that, ‘six days later…’ Did Jesus let them ponder what he told Peter that day? (That all they thought about was the earthly, temporal things of this world?)

What about you? Are you only living for what you can get in the here and now? Are you oblivious to how temporary all this is?  Jesus one said, “What good is if you gain the whole world, yet lose your soul?”

So then Jesus took Peter, James and John up a mountain, and what an amazing story. The four of them got away from the valley for a little while.     It’s not so much about where they are, rather what happens there. In verse 2 it says, “There He was transfigured before them. ³ His clothes became dazzling white, whiter than anyone in the world could bleach them.”  Matthews account said that His face shined like the sun.

This word ‘transfiguration’ is actually the word metamorphosis in the original Greek. It is also used in other passages concerning us. In Romans 12:2  it says, “Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed (or morphed)  by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.”

And in 2 Cor. 3:18 lets Christians know that we are being transformed, (or morphed) ”into the image our of Lord with ever increasing glory.” 

Here Peter, James, and John were seeing Jesus transformed before their very eyes. They got a peak at His true glory as He temporarily transformed.

Not only that, then they saw and heard Elijah and Moses speaking with Jesus. Peter, James and John saw with their own eyes that these men were alive, they could recognize them, and could hear what they were talking about.

And what were they talking about? In Luke’s account, in Lk. 9:31 it said that they were talking about Jesus’ departure which would take place in Jerusalem. Just what Jesus discussed with them about 6 days earlier.

I want you to notice something here. Notice how they did not speak of His death from a sad earthly point of view, rather they describe death as a departure, when we leave here.

Much more could be said about this story, but this is what I want you see here today. Yes, Jesus was changed on that mountain top, but so too were those three men: Peter, James and John. Their eyes were more opened to the eternal spiritual realm of God than ever before.

I’m sure they would have loved to stay right there on top of that mountain with those who were before their eyes, but just like Moses had to come down from the MT top after speaking to God, we read in Mk.9:9 they also had to return to the valley. Sometimes it more important to come down off the mountain top and return to the valley below. And hopefully they returned, as refreshed change men,  taking something good with them to share with others.

Wednesday after Leah and I got home we shared our stories with Nancy, and then later I share some on my Facebook page along with a few beautiful picture we took. And likewise this experience probably had a huge impact on those men. They eventually shared what they saw on that MT that day. I am sure they excited, awed, and revitalized by their MY top experience.  I’m sure it changed their life and opened their eyes wider to the awesome eternal nature of the spiritual realm.

I am here to tell you today that these mountain top experience are not only important for us, they are beneficial.  We occasionally need to experience them if we hope to remain strong and effective.  More than once we read that Jesus went up and into the mountains to pray. It was a place He went to get re-focused, re-energized, and I believe it helped Him cope and deal with the stress of this world.

We need some mountain top experiences as well; times and places where we can get re-energized and get our minds re-focused on what is important. That’s why churches have seminars, Ladies Teas, Youth Rallies, Men’s retreats Area-Wide-Sings, and why some go to the sight and sound theater, and more; hopefully to get built up, to learn more and open our eyes to spiritual truth, to help you to change and morph into the image of Christ.  But then we need to come down to the valley where we can serve and share the good things that God has done for us with others.

There is too much work to do to stay on the Mountain tops. Too many people are dying without Jesus. So go to the Mt. top rest and get your priorities right, but come down ready for work and so that you can share your story of how and why God is so good.

For more lessons click on the following link:

http://granvillenychurchofchrist.org/?page_id=566

From Jim McGuiggan... Is submission only for losers?

Is submission only for losers?

"Submission" is one of those words, isn't it? One of those words that has no life or spirit in it; it's a word for losers and those who've made up their minds they can't make it in life. You only submit because you can't do any better, because you aren't fit to do any better ('Yes sir, no sir, anything you say sir.'). If you had a hero in your soul, if you had any self-respect you'd step aside for no man, if you could at all avoid it. Can't you hear Friedrich Nietzsche screaming that at you?

But who are the people that Peter, again and again (1 Peter 2:13-14, 18; 3:1 and elsewhere) calls to submit to this or that? They're the chosen people of the sovereign Lord, the newly alive, resurrected, redeemed and gloriously joyful people! These aren't losers. As history has shown us, under Christ these are the people who conquered the world; and they did it, in part, by joyfully giving away their lives to redeem their captors and tormentors.

There must be something wrong with our view of "submission"!

On the other hand, it may have nothing to do with our understanding of the word. It may have to do with our disposition and attitude and agendas.

Here are some obvious truths I haven't always kept in mind.

Submission is a fact of life that people practice every single day—non-Christians as well as Christians. No one can get everything he/she wants everyday so we have to make do with something else. No one—well, no one I know—makes a drama out of every personal slight that happens to them. They don't have the time, the energy or the will to do that, so they just take it as part of living in a world of fellow-humans.

Submission is something we gladly choose every day. 

We submit to employers and give them what they pay us for; we submit to traffic (and a thousand other) laws that are for our benefit; we submit to the doctor's advice when we're ill, the teacher's instruction when we're at school, the plumber's advice when water's coming through the ceiling or a friend's advice when we're trying to make a decision we feel uncertain about.

Submission becomes more difficult as the level and the duration of pain or stress is increased. Just about everyone lives with lower level stress or pain that they barely notice because they're too busy with other things. If the level of pain rises to the point where it draws our attention away from our blessings then submission becomes harder. We do what we need to do to eliminate it.

Submission is easier or harder depending on the source of the stress or pain. Caring for a sick child can be filled with stress. If it's your own child the situation becomes ambiguous. The stress is increased because it is your own loved one and her pain is your pain but your love for the child strengthens you to carry the burden. Doctors and nurses are stressed out at anyone's sick child but it gets worse when the child is their own.

On the other hand, we'll make allowances for the occasional rudeness or thoughtlessness of a friend because it is our friend ("love covers a multitude of sins"). We find it more difficult to take rudeness from some stranger, say, a taxi driver or a bank manager.

Submission is easier or harder depending on whether we are choosing it or it is being forced on us. There are many situations where these two overlap. In the case of our sick child we don't choose the illness but we're more than willing to place ourselves under obligation to help. Sometimes we simply choose to put ourselves under stress to gain something we think is valuable (think of exercise, diets or studies). But there are times when we're bullied by circumstances or people into a situation we neither choose nor find satisfying.

When we think about submission, I suspect, we most often think of it in terms of this last category—we're called to submit to something that we haven't chosen and something we see as unrewarding.

One of the central truths of the Christian faith is that our Lord Jesus Christ chose to submit to injustice to accomplish God's redemptive purposes and to teach us how to live in this world.

It's true that our submitting to injustice must be looked at with care because there are times when it is important for others (not to mention ourselves) that we oppose the injustice rather than simply submit to it. We need to keep this in mind!

Nevertheless, it is sub-Christian to ignore the truth of 1 Peter 2:21-24 and to deny its relevance to the People of God today. The suffering and death of Christ has an atoning thrust at its heart but it also makes ethical demands of us. We are the people of the crucified and risen Lord and while it's legitimate for us to enjoy the rights that democracy brings, those rights and that democracy are not to blind us to the truth that we've been called to follow our Lord's redemptive purpose and strategy.

The first call on us is not the political structure we live under. Nor are our "rights" the matter of supreme importance. We know this is true when we see people leave for undeveloped countries and live there in poverty and under political oppression to bring a message of redemption to the citizens there. We know this is true when we see people—Christians and non-Christians—travel to impoverished nations to assist them in their poverty and hunger. In doing this—and we applaud them for doing it—they remind us that political or social freedoms are not the supreme values. They do that by graciously forfeiting freedoms and rights for others.

It will be difficult at times to know how to follow Christ's example in this area but that doesn't change the fact that we're obligated to do it! It's clear, too, that when we see people around us following Christ in this costly way that we're profoundly moved by it and feel in our bones that this is our calling too. When we see that we're sure that we're seeing Jesus lived out before us.

It's clear that Christians could and did enjoy full freedom in Christ while still being enslaved, while still suffering unjustly in some shape or form under some oppressor or other. I'm one of the many that would insist that the Hebrew—Christian truth has brought political and social freedom to vast areas of the world and that it was meant to do this very thing so I don't want to suggest that these freedoms are to be despised! But while these freedoms and blessings are the fruit of Hebrew—Christian truth they are not the essence of it; following that truth they can be forfeited for a greater good!

It would be a denial of the meaning of the lives of Moses and of Jesus who chose affliction if we were to say that true and ultimate "freedom" is only possible only where the social, political and cultural norms allowed it! What a poor specimen of freedom that would be. Today we hear people insist that the only way they can have full freedom in Christ is if they're allowed to enjoy all the freedoms that the Christian faith would logically lead to if it had complete sway in human society. Paul thought people were even freer in Christ if they chose to forfeit liberties that were theirs (see 1 Corinthians 9:15-23 and Romans 14:1-21). People like that placed themselves under Christ and subjected themselves to limits that the law didn't call for. The more a slave they made themselves to Christ the more inclined they were to forfeit rights when they thought love called for it.

They submitted themselves to the unenforceable.

Submission is almost always discussed under a cloud. It's almost always seen in terms of injustice, the diminishing of freedom and joy. A catalogue of images arises of people—men, women and children—who are oppressed by cruel, uncaring, insensitive clods. 

This is hardly surprising. Why would it be surprising?

The word itself seems to imply there are difficulties—doesn't it?. Very few would need to be urged to "submit" to eating ice-cream or to "submit" to making passionate and delirious love to his/her spouse.

When someone says, "submit," it usually suggests something like, "force yourself" as if we might not want to. So when Peter urges servants to submit to harsh masters or saints to submit to non-Christian government we think he has chosen the right word. It's something they might not want to do and we're tempted to think he's saying, "make yourself put up with it." I don't say that some of that might not be involved; but it's important for us to understand that that is only one aspect of submission. We all know people personally, and have known many by report down the years, who willingly and cheerfully placed themselves under tough conditions. They weren't bullied into it, they didn't have to do it but for one reason or another they gladly chose it.

This is a hard lesson to learn, but it's there to be learned: Motivations and attitudes and agendas transform situations.

We see this every day of our lives. There are medical people who spend all their vacation periods in lands where diseases rage and poverty is more than a matter of not having money. These helpers leave behind the comforts of home and, placing themselves at risk, going without rest and eating no more than others, they willingly spend and are spent.

You couldn't bribe people to live like that if they didn't want to and yet here we have thousands who beg for the opportunity to do it.

What gets your heart gets your energy and your resources. Whoever has your love has your service.

We have millions of care-givers in the world who daily give service to needy loved ones. Service that wearies them, physically and emotionally; and they give it for years without fanfare or complaint—or at least, with consistent cheerfulness.

Tell them they shouldn't put up with it and they'll give you a strange, long look. Tell them they ought to put "the burden" away from them, they ought to walk off from it and leave it to someone else and they'll not understand you at all.

These are lovers! They didn't choose the loss for their loved one but since it has arrived they choose to place themselves under the obligation that these harsh realities bring.

"You could easily walk away."

"I don't want to walk away."

"Does this daily grind not drain you?"

"Yes, at times, but what's that got to do with it? What has that to do with my walking away when the one I love especially needs me?"

"Is it not a burden?"

"Yes, and sometimes I wish I didn't have to bear it. And at the same time I wish she didn't have to bear it. But what's that got to do with my walking away when the one I love especially needs me?"

[I accept that sometimes a lover will place the one they love without measure into the care of those who can give them the kind of help that the lover isn't able to give. The decision to do that is also an act of love and sometimes it brings more pain than the personal caring ever did. Still, the lover will know that the welfare of their loved one takes precedence over his/her own desire to serve and after weighing all the advantages and disadvantages he/she might well commit the one they love to the care of others. I've seen some lovers who, to avoid feelings of guilt, held on to their needy beloved long after they should have let them go. At least, I think I have seen such cases.]

It's a common experience that when something or someone fills our hearts and lives with much joy we don't miss other rights. Lovers find themselves oblivious to things that irritated them before their beloved came into their life. Who hasn't found himself walking on air when something beautiful came into his life despite the fact that other tough conditions still exist for him?

Before they came to Christ these slaves suffered at the hands of harsh masters but now that they were in Christ and had a new place and a new identity in the world (1 Peter 1:1-6 and 2:4-10) nothing—not even slavery—was quite the same. "Submission" remained but it wasn't the same. You don't have to guess that's true; you only have to picture Jesus of Nazareth standing before Pilate. Go ahead; use your imagination.

©2004 Jim McGuiggan. All materials are free to be copied and used as long as money is not being made.

Many thanks to brother Ed Healy, for allowing me to post from his website, theabidingword.com.