Do you consider yourself a Christian of faith or one of convenience? I think we all at one time or another in our lives and probably will in the future bend every now and then from doctrine or beliefs in order to fit in need of a particular moment. I can’t speak for all of you, but I can speak for myself by saying I am not proud of it, but I certainly don’t consider myself above everyone else. So what do you believe and why do you believe it? That is the question that the Elephant in the pew wants an answer for. Last week we looked at two of those legs on what I’m going to refer to for this particular blog as my stool of faith. We looked at the theologian, and we looked at the theological views of an issue that has not only torn our denomination apart, but many many others. So I’m sure you’ve already guessed it by now. I have a little bit different opinion of what’s going on in our churches today. And it’s only fair that I at least share with you why I believe what I do. What is the platform or basis of my belief? Simply put the Bible, God’s word. And I’m using these scriptures… 2 Timothy 3:16, which states that all scripture is God breathe and useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting, and training in righteousness. Let us break that down just a little bit. Let’s look at what the verse says about:

Teaching-it shows what is true

Rebuking-it shows what is wrong

Correcting-it helps fix mistakes

Training in righteousness-it guides us to live right

The purpose in verse 17 of that scripture states that it prepares a person for every good work and it helps believers grow and mature, and be fully ready.

For myself and for the pew, it’s time to come forward and just speak up. I did not want this to be a confrontation of politics or selfish agendas, I wanted it I guess you might say to be standing on solid ground. There is nothing more solid than the word of God. Many years ago there was a person at a church that I attended, who became a very good friend over the years. Their family lost their oldest son who was studying to enter the ministry, and she wrote a book called “Standing on the Promises.” Now all these years later I find myself standing on the promises. The incident with Asbury seminary and the United Methodist Church only emphasizes even more by disappointment and hurt for what has happened to the church I grew up in. So I openly declare today that I believe as the story in Genesis tells us God made a man and a woman. There are only two genders that are made by God. As a Christian I believe that marriage is between a man and a woman. Let’s get down to the core issue of all of this. I’ve spent a lot of time reading researching and trying to develop a reasonable position around this Elephant. One of the practices that always surfaces in these discussions, of course would be biblical passages. I’m not gonna overwhelm you with all of those passages. I’m simply going to use the ones that came up in the research that I was doing. So here’s the list. Leviticus 18:22 and 20:13 state that a man should not lie with another man as with a woman calling the act detestable or an abomination. And of course there’s always Genesis 19 Solomon, Gomorrah, which traditionally is interpreted as a judgment against same-sex act, though it must be stated as some scholars argue, the text focuses primarily on violence and attempted sexual assault. These of course from the Old Testament, next the New Testament and we’re looking at Romans 1:26–27 which describes same sex female and male sex act as contrary to nature and places them within the context of idolatry. In first Corinthians 6:9–10 and first Timothy 1:9–10 there is a use of specific Greek terms and they’re often translated as men who practice homosexuality or men who have sex with men, and it is in a list of behaviors, considered contrary to God’s kingdom. As I have said and continue to maintain, this is not a blog of condemnation. It’s one of just simply speaking up for what I believe and what I believe many many Christians believe to be true. And if we want to be fair I found during my research before I wrote this blog, I run across a section entitled modern interpretations. There is a traditional view that maintains these texts clearly define all same sex sexual behavior outside of a traditional marriage between a man and a woman as country to God’s design. But there is an opposing view that argues that these passages, target specific historical practices, like exploitative pederasty, temple prostitution, or rape rather than modern, committed, and loving, same-sex relationships. We follow this up by writing  that Jesus never specifically , mentions homosexuality in the Bible, probably because it wasn’t even a word at that time, however, he defined marriage exclusively as a union of a man and a woman, and he also condemned porneia, which is a Greek term for all sexual immorality outside of biblical marriage, and upheld the Old Testament moral law.

Once again, we feel it necessary to balance all this out with this. There is an ongoing theological debate about how these teaching apply today, with the views differing across Christian traditions. When we look at the traditional view, many   argue that Jesus’s definition of marriage as strictly male, female, combined with his condemnation of porneia, implicitly, prohibits, homosexual act and same-sex marriage. But as we traveled today’s world, we find a progressive view. There are other scholars that emphasize that Jesus, explicitly focused on love, compassion, and justice. There are many who say that he never directly condemned, same-sex relationships, his core teachings do not inherently exclude or condemn LGBTQ + individuals. Well here I feel like I have to insert the fact that LGBTQ+ was not recognized in that day and time and I will go even further to state that this is a good example of faith by convenience.

So I complete that three Legged Faith Stool of mine with a third leg that believes quite simply…there are only two genders created by God and marriage, Christian marriage is between a man and woman.

Life is Good

jk

As I write these blogs I often turn to commentaries and other writings encountered as I research the topic for the week. I will always share with you the source and author at all times. The lesson I hope you pick up on here is that we live in a world of information no father away than a keyboard a computer and internet supplier. I hope you will be encouraged to do as the scripture says “seek and ye shall find” adding to that prayer and the leading of the Holy Spirit to build your faith and service to God.

Back in the day many young boys dreamed of riding the plains doing good and rescuing the young girls from evil. Mounting the trusty broom and riding the backyard range in search of stray cattle or damsels in distress and even hoping to come across a bad guy or two. Sporting a set of Gene Autry pistols and a new hat and cowboy boots from Sears or the local Western Auto store, we were the picture of young justice and any number of Saturday cowboy shows on the old black and white TV. Sneaking a bit of small rope from dad’s work bench for a lasso, even the dog and cat feared our pass through the backyard range. They were examples of what we admired or wanted to be in our adolescent dreams and wishes. Today we look at a different time and a different type of hero, the ones back in the day that set an example of faith and called to mind in the 11th chapter of Hebrews through the writings of Paul.

**Great Examples of Faith

Paul writes that the bones of faith are based on substance and evidence. Whether they were eternal or invisible they were true because they were from God. God’s creation of the world from nothing is understood by faith in the word of Almighty God, who, by definition, could do what He chose to do. Paul then states that those such as Abel, Enoch, Noah, Abraham, and Sarah, are all taken as evidences of God’s blessing on even weak people who put their trust in Him. Faith is always rewarded when it is put in God. The Old Testament saints were simple people who lived what they believed to be true. Simple faith makes an uncomplicated confession of trust in, and following of the Lord. Their eyes where on heaven. God is not ashamed of them and has prepared heaven for them!

Paul uses as an example of faith the Israel’s Patriarchs, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. It is further demonstrated by Israel’s first human savior, Joseph. Moses is the next. He had to make many choices using only his uncompromising faith in God, as he lead the children of Israel out of Egypt through the Red Sea, also keeping the Passover by faith. Many other believers are commended for their faith although the testimony of these faithful followers was good, the fact is clear that the promise that was to be given in the New Testament gospels was not known to them at that time. Many others suffered greatly but remained steadfast in the faith. They are to be commended for their faith which enabled them to stay faithful to God in the face of such cruel opposition and persecution. Under God, these people—and others who followed in their footsteps—should be our real heroes, not today’s passing celebrities of stage, screen, music, sport and politics. Verses 39-40 provides us with as the author wrote the unbeatable climax. Although the testimony of these faithful followers was good, we are privileged to have received ‘something better’, namely the clear gospel promise that was unavailable to them in such clarity. For this reason, one day we will be perfected with these people whose faith was in God.

I have relied heavily on the Bible Panorama in the above two paragraphs. I acknowledge that to give proper credit and to also make a point. As I wrote earlier the commentaries and bible study resources are in abundance in the world wide web. We can as laymen share with each other and lead others to this rich resource, allowing us to grow in faith and service to our Lord. As we read in Romans 10: 14-15

14 But how can they call on him to save them unless they believe in him? And how can they believe in him if they have never heard about him? And how can they hear about him unless someone tells them? 15 And how will anyone go and tell them without being sent? That is why the Scriptures say, “How beautiful are the feet of messengers who bring good news!”

 I pray that we might be those feet and bring the good news!

Thanks for joining me “In The Pew”. Hope you come back next week. jkc

Please Note: looking back this is a post from July 2016. We offer this just simply as a piece of information for you, it wasn’t until the 1800s that it was ever considered someone other than Paul may have written Hebrews. That would probably make a very interesting blog, but for now we’re gonna leave as it is from July 2016. Thank you for reading.

 

Resources:  **Bible Panorama / NLT Hebrews 11

Isaiah’s call to speak is found in Isaiah 6:8-9, where God asks, “Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?” and Isaiah answers, “Here am I. Send me!”

This will probably be one of the more difficult blogs that we have written over the years. The Pew deals in scripture, it’s what we try and share with you every week. We have kind of sat back on the side as this issue developed beginning back in 1972 progressing all the way forward to a couple of years ago when it finally came to ahead so to speak. A lot of good people were hurt and a wonderful church was severely wounded, but we must remember we were told that the word would stand firm from the very gates of hell. The Pew was finally moved to speak out or to write out however, you want to put it about this issue a little more forcefully than we’ve done in the past. We do not serve a God of condemnation, but one of restoration. But as Isaiah said so long ago, “Here am I. Send me”… Lord, we don’t pretend to be of the caliber of Isaiah, but we are able to at least join him by saying “send me too”. It is time to speak up in defense of the faith.

The United Methodist Church (UMC) removed Asbury Theological Seminary from its list of approved schools for ordination candidates. The UMC cited Asbury’s traditional views on marriage and lack of UMC faculty teaching required polity. Current UMC students or those enrolling in Fall 2026 are grandfathered for ordination.  

Key Detail of the Separation:

• Reasons for Delisting: The UMC’s University Senate determined that Asbury’s institutional ethos statement regarding traditional marriage is incompatible with the UMC’s newly amended Social Principles. Additionally, the seminary lacked a full-time UMC faculty member teaching church history and doctrine.  

Over the last few years, the pew has addressed the elephant in the room for at least the last 10 years. This elephant in the room to be more pacific is a subject that has destroyed many churches or at least has changed their overall doctrines and their order of worship. When you see it close up and you realize what’s happening it’s not a very pretty thing. For many we were raised to believe the stories of the Bible that shaped our emotional and moral character and the strength of faith and fellowship all changed by a small group of overly loud social justice warriors. This elephant in the room has changed the church I grew up in. At the heart of all of these disputes is the LGBTQ+ individuals and their campaign to be considered equal within the faith. This is a very, very sensitive subject, and one thing that The Pew wants to do is to stay out of the politics of it and look at it instead from a faith angle. The first point I would like to make is that all people are equal in God’s eyes. What we were asked to do, and I say this as a point of fact…we were not asked, we were told that one of the core beliefs of our faith was wrong it had to go. And now enter the Elephant. Next we have to be familiar with certain biblical scriptures, not the ones that people pull out to beat somebody to death with but the ones that our Lord God and Savior said himself and the words of Jesus Christ in the New Testament. It is not the policy nor the wish of The Pew to condemn anyone, the judgment of all of us will be by God himself, and we will stand before him individually and be judged. I thought maybe I could write this in a one week blog but it looks like it’s going to end up being a two week endeavor. To be thorough and fair to promote understanding and not agendas it’s necessary that we try to understand exactly what we’re dealing with. We’re gonna be looking at the biblical verses from the Bible that stated as well as I can say the position of most Christian believers. We are going to look at a couple of things that get left out of these debates and I think are very important. We’re going to look at theologians versus theology, and what part they actually play in the decisions that are being made today, if any at all.

The best place to start would be to look at a couple of words that are going to play a big part in our summation of all of this. Ask a simple question. How does a theologian differ from a theologist? 

To many of us it would be nothing more than just a matter of terminology, but if we look at the historical meanings and development of certain words attached to all of this we can find some noteworthy differences. Both of these disciplines, engage scripture study for divine truth, and seek to articulate the principles about God and faith. Now we don’t want to get too deep into this, but the basic truth is its vocabulary, context, and that the emphasis can set them apart in various ways. Trust me now this will make sense as we get deeper into this subject. Let’s look at the definitions for these two words, and then they’re responsibilities. When we speak of theologian were generally speaking of someone who systematically studies and is an expert in theology – the study of God, his nature and attributes in relationship with Humanity. Overtime if you’re in the business of theology, you’re engaging in a rigorous analysis of biblical text and doctrine. There’s a less commonly used term theologist. It can suggest a person that’s concerned primarily with theoretical discourse around God or religion often with an academic or physiological  framework. Now I’m really having to struggle with all this because The Pew never intended itself to be some kind of an intellectual read. We just want to pass on scripture in it’s purest form. A lot of what we have shared with you today comes from the publication BibleHub and I think they wrapped this up pretty good. Here is a direct quote from their materials I’ve been studying. 

“Yet over time, “theologian” has emerged as the robust, standard term for those who apply a disciplined approach to biblical truths, while “theologist” can appear as a more general descriptor of someone dabbling in religious thought.”

I guess I’d say that’s pretty straightforward.

So for a quick review, let’s look at the responsibilities of a theologian. Theologians will typically undertake in depth research on scripture, church history, and Creed. One thing about the theologians would be that they thoroughly engage with source documents, they look at original language, manuscripts, early translations, and archaeological evidence like the Dead Sea scrolls, the historical reality of biblical text. Interesting thing about the theologian is that they often serve within seminary universities or churches, teaching others to revere the word of truth. We can look at second Timothy 2:15 for a little deeper understanding of that statement. When we look at a theologist, we might get a little broader or more philosophical methods, possibly addressing spiritual realities from a less confessional or less specific denominational perspectives. A theologist is more prone to discussing general concepts of divine rather than committing to the doctoral positions shaped by biblical authority. I’m not too sure where we have come from but I know where we’re going so join us next week here in The Pew when we confront that Elephant in the pew. So we’ve looked at two parts theologian and theology and now we’re going to look at the third leg on that stool the Bible, the word of God. And we will turn to 2Timothy 3:16… “all scripture is God breathe and is useful for instruction for conviction for correction and for training in righteousness” 

Hope you will join us in the pew next week, looking forward to sharing the rest of this interesting confrontation with you.

Life is Good

jk

Back Porch

Jul 2024

Posted by John Kurt Carpenter in Uncategorized

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Welcome back to “The Porch”. Lot been going on out front but here on the porch its quite and provides a time of much needed reflection. I remember when my grandmother’s sister…everyone knew her as Aunt Mattie, family or not it was Aunt Mattie. She would always show up if one of us kids got a cold or really came down with anything. Back in the day my grandmother, who we called…Nonie…would call Dr. Long and he would show up at the house. Thats right, a house call, little black bag and a shot of penicillin followed by a glass of buttermilk. What I could never figure out was how Aunt Mattie beat him there every time with her personal “the kid is sick” medicine. It consisted of a teaspoon of Jack Daniels, equal amount of sugar, then to bed and every blanket in the house piled on top of you. Come morning you were soaking wet…but no fever. You would celebrate that with a bowl of steaming hot cream of wheat toped off with a table spoon of butter on top…real butter. I do believe that nothing says I love You more than cream of wheat and butter on top…real butter. There was something else I began to ponder and it went back to a better time and a warm and safe feeling that our kids are missing out on these days.

Those old church hymns… There were still some of those Tent Revivals going on and while I only remember going to one I can still smell that musty sawdust smell and canvas on a muggy summers eve. But it was the hymns I remember most. There was what I came to know as I got older the usual Hell and Damnation preaching and in some cases it didn’t stop until the Preacher’s voice gave out from all that hollering. But then the lady that played the piano, the hymn leader, usually of a rather stout build started to play all those wonderful hymns and there was not a hand in that tent that wasn’t raised nor a voice not raised in praise to the Lord. So as I leave the porch this evening see if you recall any of these wonderful hymns from back in a time life was simple. This one is for all you old Methodists that weren’t aware that we were at one time a pretty lively group.

“O for a Thousand Tongues to Sing.” Charles Wesley

Amazing Grace // John Newton, England (1779)

How Great Thou Art // Carl Gustav Boberg, Sweden (1885)

It is Well // Horacio  Spafford

Blessed Assurance // Fanny Crosby, New York City, USA (1873)

What a Friend We Have in Jesus // Joseph M. Scriven and Charles Converse, Ireland (1868)

“The Old Rugged Cross” – George Bennard

“Great Is Thy Faithfulness” – Thomas Chisholm

“Rock of Ages, Cleft for Me” – Augustus Toplady

God Bless…Come back to “The Porch” next week.

This week and unusual biblical event from the book of Judges chapter 6 through 8. The person and event is Gideon. He was an Old Testament leader, prophet, and the fifth judge of Israel. Gideon is best known for his military triumph over the Midianites. He gained a great victory with only 300 men a famous fleece test to confirm God’s will, and his later downfall when he invariably lead Israel into ideology. Once again, a simple reminder that his life story is recorded in the book of Judges, chapters 6–8. I was attracted to this event because it’s not very often your read about somebody of the faith challenging God. One that does come to my mind is the Bible Book of Job. Job question God about his immense suffering and the apparent injustice of a righteous man being punished while the wicked prosper. I have read on in that story God rebuked Job for questioning his justice and speaking about divine matters without understanding. Because of his friends accusations and their divisive attitude, Job had accused God of acting arbitrarily and unjustly. To correct this God confronted Job highlighting his ultimate wisdom and sovereignty over the universe, and not realizing his place. Job repented for speaking so ignorantly, ultimately God defended Job against his friends saying that Job spoke more accurately about him than they did.

Gideon had a bit different approach than Job had. Reading in chapter 6 of judges down through verse 40, you will see the conversation that took place between Gideon and God. Basically to keep things a little bit simple Gideon had been called out to defend his people, and God had picked him to be the leader, but Gideon said to God if you are truly going to use me to rescue Israel, as you promised, prove it to me in this way. So Gideon innocently challenged God to prove that it was actually him calling out to him. Gideon told him I’ll put a fleece on the threshing floor tonight if the fleece is wet with dew in the morning, but the ground is dry then I will know you’re going to help me rescue Israel as you promised. Gideon checked the fleece in the morning. He was able to rung out a whole bowl full of water, but then Gideon turns around and says to God please don’t be angry with me, but let me make one more request. Let me use the fleece for one more test. This time let the fleece remain dry while the ground around it is wet with dew and so that night God did as Gideon asked, and the fleece was dry in the morning, but the ground was covered would dew. This interaction between God and Gideon caught my attention and I wanted to read more about it and try to understand it. So let’s look at some of the things that took place here in these chapters 6 through eight. There was a call to leadership. The people had turned away from God and they were seriously oppressed by the Midianites who kept stealing their crops and livestock and had been doing so for about seven years. It was then that an angel came to Gideon calling him to be a man of mighty valor. We talked about the fleece earlier, Gideon tested God using that sheep’s fleece first it was to be wet but the ground was dry and then reverse it both of which happened. To ensure God would receive the glory for the impending battle, Gideon’s army was reduced down from 32,000 to just 300 men and the next thing in the story, of course is the victory using only horns, torches in clay jars, Gideon’s tiny army surrounded the Midanites camp at night, the resulting confusion caused their soldiers to turn on each other, and it secured a miraculous victory. But as always, the people behaved just like a lot of us do today, once the crisis was over and passed they went right back to living the way they had before. Gideon lived a long life had 70 sons and Judged Israel for 40 years. His life was kind of a complex mix of deep faith, human doubt, and the danger of compromising with false worship.

So I will wrapped this up by sharing with you that the main point of the story of Gideon is that God’s power is perfected in human weakness. We see that a true victory comes from trusting God rather than relying on human strength and numbers, demonstrating that with God, even the most unlikely and fearful individuals can accomplish extraordinary things. What are some of the things that we might take from his story and carry with us as we travel along the way today? There are several core lessons that we can take with us. Overcoming fear and doubt, the angel finds Gideon hiding in fear, but God still refers to him as a mighty man of valor while he’s hiding in fear. God sees people for what they can become through his strength rather than their current limitations. And I think all of us are guilty of this next thing, self-reliance, we always believe we can do it best, but to ensure that the Israelites knew their victory came from God above… God whittled Gideon’s army down to just 300 men which meant that the pending victory against the Midianites could not be credited to human might or strategy.

There is one other important lesson to take from this blog today. Talk to God… God will listen, God always listens to his people. Place your trust in God and know from whom your salvation comes.

Life is Good

jk

This is a post from 2018…Thank you for reading.

I have written this opening sentence several times and have come to the realization that I might be over thinking this subject a little too much. So to keep it simple here is a fact of life. If your faith is such that it has a heavy influence on your actions, you might be a Christian, a follower of the way or a disciple of Jesus Christ. If this be the case it is inevitable you will be called on to defend the faith. To take this to the next step it is your faith that has placed you in this position and in reality you are defending or better said, presenting “an Argument for Christ.” Peter has set down acceptable ways to enter into this mode of Christian defense.

1Peter 3:15b-16A

…always be ready to make your defense to anyone who demands from you an accounting for the hope that is in you; 16 yet do it with gentleness and reverence.[c] Keep your conscience clear, so that, when you are maligned, those who abuse you for your good conduct in Christ may be put to shame. 

We must start off being reasonable, which in this present world of discourse is not easily done. It must be inspired by the word of God. It must be an intelligent, clear and applicable statement of position and of divine reasoning. It should contain an element of intelligence that conveys the message that you have prepared yourself through study and prayer to defend your faith; always remembering that you are defending Christ Jesus. This approach requires that you have come by your faith through first hand experience and not another’s story. William Barclay writes,

“It is one of the tragedies of the modern situation that there are so many church members who, if they were asked what they believe, could not tell, and who, if they were asked why they believe it, would be equally helpless. Christians must go through the mental and spiritual effort of thinking out their faith, (Barclay, DBS…1 Peter Pg 266)

Our defense must be given with gentleness. Our attitude must not be one of arrogance. We must not be of  the temperament that those who do not agree with us are stupid or they are unreliable. We must not do as some others with differing opinions and try to shove our beliefs down the throats of those who disagree with us. We must present our Christianity with love and tolerance while maintaining the scripture as written with divine discernment. We must understand that we cannot bully anyone into The Way. We can only lead them to the foot of the cross and allow the Holy Spirit to bring them to Christ. Most any debate today can easily become an argument. There are many debates within and outside of the Christian community that are just a word or two away from becoming an argument. Christians can become engaged in discussions that move to debates and then to full-blown arguments especially concerning theological differences. I wrote earlier that an argument for faith is an argument for  Christ. Any presentation of a case for Christian faith or beliefs must be presented with reverence, the tone and language must be pleasing to God’s ear. There is no room for rancor of any kind. Love for Christ and his love for all people must guide our behavior. As Christians our lives need to be a compelling and a living example that makes it easier for others to believe the message……makes it easier for others to believe in God, Jesus Christ and salvation.

Thanks for coming by, hope to see you in the pew next week.

Life is Good

jk

Lot is a key figure in the book of Genesis. Lot was a nephew of Abraham, who separated from his uncle to settle the lush Jordan River Valley near the Central city of Sodom. After a dispute between herdsmen , Abraham decided to give lot the first choice of land, Lot chose well watered planes and pitched his tents near Soto, then collation a of Kings attack that region and Lot, and his possessions were captured. Abraham organize a rescue mission and successfully brought him back to safety. And when we read further into the book of Genesis, we see read of the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, they were extremely wicked cities. God decided to destroy them, sent angels to warn an escort Lot and his family out of that area and it came about as they fled Lots wife, ignoring the specific instructions of the angels looked back and she became a pillar of salt. The story is extremely sad in that fearing these rival nations Lot chose not to live in the nearby town of Zoar, lot and his two daughters took shelter in a mountain Cave. Believing there were the last people left on earth. Then his daughter’s got him drunk and became pregnant by him. They gave birth to Moab and Ben-Ammi who became the forefathers of the Moabites and Ammonites who became historical rivals of Israel. Lot made a series of poor choices, and the conclusion to his story was rather tragic. Yet the New Testament refers to him as a righteous man in second Peter 2:7–8, which is a testament to God’s grace and mercy and preserving him from the destruction of Sodom. This biblical story of Lot teaches the dangers of moral compromise and holding onto the past and the gradual descent into the wicked city of Sodom serves as a warning against letting worldly comforts, slowly erode your principles, and then we can look at what happened to his wife as a lapse of remembering what she was instructed to do and the importance of dealing with God with wholehearted obedience.

Well, we’re not finished with Lot yet. The story offers several specific and actionable life lessons. There is a progression of sin, He did not wake up one day and decide to live in a notorious city. When you read the story in the Bible, it shows a deadly step-by-step drift. He first looked in that direction, then pitched his tent near it, and finally chose to live inside its gates. It teaches that you you cannot deal in temptation without eventually becoming a casualty of it. Another lesson we learned involving the example of Lots wife is that she had a lingering attachment to her old life in possessions. She looked back and it cost her life. The lesson here is that we have to learn the necessity of leaving behind past sins rather than allowing for them. Lot compromised his morals for the sake of prosperity in city living. In the end, he lost everything…his possessions, his home, his moral authority, and his wife, which Illustrates the fact that you can gain a lot in this world, but at the same time you lose your ethical footing and that ultimately will lead to ruin. While we’re introduced to the New Testament pacifically two Peter 2:7–8, we find a Lot is described as a righteous man, but we also see that his decision to live among the wicked caused him this constant torment and left him powerless to influence his own family, so we can learn from this that your environment matters and surrounding yourself with unwholesome influencers will negatively impact your life and your loved ones.

For weeks now, we’ve been discussing the value of The Good Way. Lots story fits in here just perfectly in that we see what happens when you leave The Good Way, thanks for joining us in The Pew this week. I hope you’ll come back again and join us.

Life is Good

jk

This is a re-post from July 7, 2018. Each Wednesday we will be  “Looking Back” Please join us.

 You will find that people in the pew have many different opinions but on one thing almost all agree. Folks are tired of the lack of civility, the inability of people to express their differences without disrespect and in many cases these days, out-right displays of hate in words spoken and actions taken. Seriously, we all need to take a step back and see what we are doing to each other and our nation. Of note there is the fact that this type of behavior is not confined to those not in the Christian community.

 John 13:34-35  

A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another, even as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.”

 As shown by these verses There are certain characteristics that make Christians different from others, traits that point to the fact we are his disciples. Here in these verses from 1 Peter are more of those behavior traits that mark a Christian life. Today’s blog looks at  1 Peter 3:8-15a. It would be helpful to read these verses and then return to the blog. The Christian community is not immune to the current lack of Civility when addressing different opinions, beliefs or new directions. It seems this type of behavior has found a foothold within our community. Peter gives some great qualities for living a Christian life. He starts with the need for Unity. There are many great passages in the New Testament that encourage unity. We are divided as a community of faith by denominational beliefs, inner-denominational conflicts and in some cases a move to reinterpret scripture to meet the changing societal needs and trends. Even the Apostle Paul pleads for a unity of mind in the church. Throughout the NT there is this plea for unity. To some commentators and bible scholars it is more of a realization that people cannot live a Christian life unless in their personal relationships there is unity and the Church cannot meet its’ Christian call when there are divisions within it. The next being Sympathy. Again we are urged in NT writings to see this as a duty. 

Romans 12:15

15 Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn.  

Just as evil cannot exist in the presence of our God, neither can selfishness exist where sympathy prevails. With Christ in our hearts sympathy will reign there. From here we move to Love. Peter sets out with what can be literally translated as brotherly love. The love we have for one another and Christian charity for others, all of God’s creation. Here again we see the indisputable fact that love of God requires love of others and also applies to the Church. Neither an individual or the Church can meet the reality of Christianity if they cannot love one another and their neighbors. Peter continues with  a much-needed attribute in this world. Compassion……something we  see less of in this day. In our books, movies, theater, social media and all this world of digital expression allows, we see a disturbing trend of insensitivity to adverse events in our daily lives. There can be no Christianity without compassion. The next attribute. Humility ……… We might measure up well against others but the real test for Christians is…..how well do we measure up to Christ? We know we can never obtain his sinless perfection. We must constantly remind ourselves of our utter dependence on our God. We must strive to be humble in his presence and in the presence of others. The last to share with you would be Forgiveness. We seek God’s forgiveness and it is our calling to extend forgiveness to others.

Ephesians 4:32 

32 and be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ has forgiven you.

 We now go to verse 13 and the remaining verses in today’s scripture. To have written this passage (13-15a) we can tell by his words that although he does not quote directly the OT, it is obvious that his knowledge of it is firmly on his mind. From the very first of these verses Peter insists that you must have a passionate love for Goodness. It is when we seek the goodness of things in this life that the wrong things lose their pull on us. There are some things here that are a part of all people’s lives. Seeking to walk the walk, taking the good way does not exempt us from the human suffering that from time to time comes our way due to circumstances in our lives. Our humanity leaves us open to the trails of life. We can become absorbed with the importance of stuff, money and position. We depend on these things for our comfort and pleasure in this life. This places us in a very vulnerable position, scripture tells us that the things of this life are only temporary. There is then the fact that there can be hardships brought into our lives simply because Jesus Christ holds a unique place in our lives. None of us can escape the sufferings of this life but we as Christians know that suffering for Christ and the faith, it will never touch the things which matter most. 

Thank you for coming by the Pew this week. Next week join me as we lay out an argument for the faith. 

Life is Good

Jk

 

 

 

 

I have been in the hospital,  got home today July 7th and I’m going to post  the July 5th post. This was the first time in 15 years that I missed a publishing date.

“How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them?And how can anyone preach unless they are sent?” — Romans 10:14-15

There are other scriptures that come to mind when we read this, there’s Mark 5:19 “go home to your own people tell them how much the Lord has done for you.” We might also consider the commissioning from Matthew 28:19… “therefore go and make disciples of all nations”…and of course we recall the response from Isaiah 6:8… “then I heard the voice of the Lord saying “Whom shall I send? And who will go for us and I said, “here am I send me!”… One thing that can sometimes reading scripture makes it difficult for the Layman, are the considerations that we have to make. We have to be very careful about the context when we’re reading or studying a particular scripture. Not pulling just the part that serves what we believe but… trying to get the scriptures intent intact. So what is the context? Is it evangelism, conflict, resolution, or sharing a personal testimony?

It has been the observation from The Pew that many of our larger churches today have become almost like a community center and place for social gatherings. After reading through several local churches weekly newsletters and bulletins it’s really been easy to see that there is a huge emphasis on activities throughout the week and that’s a good thing and many of their endeavors serve a public that has many different and varying needs and that’s a good thing. But we are left pondering a little bit but not criticizing, just pondering do we still love to tell the story and do we do just that? in this writers humble opinion we don’t do enough of that I’m not going to get into a long list of do’s and do nots, because that serves nothing of value. Instead, I want to share a story with you about an English evangelist named Catherine Hankey, who wrote a poem, a massive 50 stanza, a poem about the life of Christ and it was titled, “I Love to Tell The Story.” Without going into all the details, I’ll just simply inform you that this poem eventually part of it became the hymn, “Tell Me The Old, Old Story.”… she wrote this poem while she was bedridden with a severe illness in 1866 she divided it into two parts, “The Story Wanted” and The Story Told.” In 1869 William J Fisher, set her versus to music and added the famous singable refrain …

“I love to tell the story; / ‘Twill be my theme in glory / To tell the old, old story / Of Jesus and His love.”

Something we don’t often do here on The Pew is to invade the realm of sharing with our opinion. Today we break with a tradition, because I believe it’s extremely important that we get back to telling the story and worry about the games and other activities a little less. We’re just simply stating our opinion…  have you been sent? We as Christians are called and set apart to do just that “Go and Tell The Story”

Life Is Good

jk

This is special post this evening such things we would normally discuss on the back porch, but as I have shared with you earlier, we’re not able to get together there anymore, so I wanted to share it with you this way From the Pew. It’s really very difficult to have to write this but we live in a world today that thrives on hate. Respect for others opinions, civil discourse among the people in general and a love for that which is good is no longer the norm. Did a little bit of borrowing so to speak for today’s blog. In 1944 there was a hit song called Accentuate the Positive and its origin is as interesting as the song itself. The phrase originally came from a sermon given by a religious leader, Father Divine, it was overheard and turned into an Academy award-nominated song by Johnny Mercer. The timeless, uplifting chorus advises:  

“You’ve got to ac-cent-tchu-ate the positive / E-lim-i-nate the negative / Latch on to the affirmative / Don’t mess with Mister In-Between”.

 Folks, I guess we should really admit to ourselves that we are really kind of in a downward spiral as far as attitudes go in this country. We need to accentuate the positive, highlight and celebrate those activities and focus on things that are going well. We need to get rid of all that pessimism doom and gloom, toxic mindsets that absolutely drain our energy. I like those lyrics say we need to latch onto the affirmative. How do we do that? We hold tight to our core truths, goals and empowering beliefs, rather than settling for a lukewarm undecided in between state of mind. By shifting our focus to the affirmative that becomes a powerful tool for resilience. We need to stop fixating on what went wrong and look at what we can learn from it so that we don’t make those mistakes again. I like one of the churches here in the city I live in. They’re going through a year of “Gratitude”. Start thinking about the things you are genuinely thankful for and then perhaps one of the more practical things you might try doing is to limit the time you spend engaging with the pessimistic news media, conversations that pull you into a negative place.

Not to pat ourselves on the back but we have always advocated here at The Pew that there’s a lot of things in the Bible that will keep us on the good way so remember Philippians 4:8…

 

“Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.”

And while you’re doing that, why not look up that song Accentuate the Positive by Johnny Mercer.

Thank you for dropping by The Pew, join us again this Saturday evening and Sunday for another blog fromThe Pew.

Life is Good

jk