Back on the Porch again and the very last of the day is taking the sun away. I usually come out here to clear the day’s business from my mind. It always reminds me of the times at this time of year that I spent the summers at my grandparents home in Chattanooga Tn. It’s the twilight of the evening and the world around you is taking a deep breath, preparing for a nights rest. My grandparents lived in a neighborhood called Glenwood. Just a block from the house there was a playground for the neighborhood owned by the city. There was a first class well kept ball field, monkey bars, large swing sets, the kind that went high as you were willing to pump and pull. There was a sandbox that my grandmother told me not to get into…the cats go there. Why there was even a lady that came every Wednesday and brought her felt story board to tell bible stories on. There were lighting bugs in the evening just before dark and there was a big…! Old tree you go behind and steal a kiss from a cute girl…if you were quick enough. The parents must have had a meeting because the rule in the neighborhood and each house was the same. When the street lights come on…you come home. I could write a lot more about that time…it was simple and fun because you respected the adults and they gave you room to grow…bumps, cuts, bandaids and learning the lessons of life the hard way. And Last…

Psalm 118

24 

This is the day that the Lord has made;

    let us rejoice and be glad in it.

God had a place in the minds and hearts of his people.

Kurt

In the book of Philemon we are introduced to Onesimus who is the servant of Philemon or plainly said his slave. There is much conjecture and debate over the exact meaning here as to slave or servant. I will leave that up to you and deal with the facts as we know them. Onesimus had probably done some wrong to Philemon either by taking his property, or by the fact that he had escaped from him. We know he is a servant because old testament writings use a word that designate his condition as such. Philemon 1:16 ( δοῦλος,  doulos). We know that he was bound to Philemon, either by his parents or guardians, or that he had bound himself to render voluntary service. Hidden within this book are some interesting little pointers that speak to Christian character.

Onesimus , has left his master Philemon, and is in Rome at the same time that Paul is in prison there. Paul was confined for a lack of a better term, to house arrest. He could receive guests but was not allowed to wander in the city. How we do not know, he knew where Paul was being held and went there to see Paul. It is pretty certain that Paul would have known him from staying at Philemon’s home on occasion. Of course Onesimus would have known him from the time he served Philemon. As things go he finds Paul and over some time he is converted and stays to work with Paul. Why Onesimus came to the apostle, is not known. It may have been because he was in need and Paul was the only one in Rome whom he had ever seen or knew. Here now is the first little nugget in this story. He had perhaps come to realize on his own that leaving Philemon was wrong, or maybe there were other sins and he sought him out to obtain spiritual counsel. Sin or wrongdoing is felt by all people, whether they are Christian or not, it is part of our earthly being. Onesimus knew he needed help and he saw something in Paul and his God that he needed. How about us? Do we live a Christ like life that would draw others to God?

Some commentaries point to slavery, which was prevalent in biblical times as part of this story. I will not dwell on that but rather pick up on Albert Barnes’ commentary on this book. For hidden in this book is to me the indisputable power of the Christian faith. “Christianity, in its highest influences, interferes with nothing that is good, and would annihilate nothing which is not wrong. That which is true, and best for the welfare of man.”(AB)

Christianity will destroy intemperance, and idolatry, and superstition, and war. Stepping back and looking at our lives and realizing that sin separates us from God, what a powerful message lies among the words of this story. We also are given the example of the courtesy and politeness which the Christian ought to practice at all times, as well as furnishing many valuable lessons on Christian duty that will inspire others to want the same things in their lives. I love to go beyond the words as written and seek the little things that are hidden there. Remember “seek and ye shall find”.

So to wrap this up, what are some of the things that you find you are a slave to? Maybe I am being too simplistic but I believe in this little book are some big things that help us in our Christian walk.  Would you like to lose some things and gain your freedom? If so it is worth repeating…..

“Christianity, in its highest influences, interferes with nothing that is good, and would annihilate nothing which is not wrong. That which is true, and best for the welfare of man.”(AB)

You have nothing good to lose.   

Life is Good

jk

Reference Materials: Albert Barnes Commentaries / Panorama Bible

To those of you have been visiting the “Pew” over the years, I am grateful for your support. The “Pew” has tried and I sure there may have been times we failed but our goal has always been to stay in the scripture and leave the politics of the day to worldly pursuits. I am on the back porch this evening because I feel as if the world has invaded the Pew. The one place I found peace and an indwelling of hope has always been in the pew and within the word of God. So this little extra from my back porch is let those who have destroyed a denomination, The United Methodist Church, split families apart, fractured numerous friendships, forced many Pastoral families to spend many hours of anguish as to their future financial status and in general turned your backs to God, for nothing more than power, money, property and agenda driven cultural change…Know this…

There are two genders, God made it that way…you cannot change that. The truth is God has always found it to be an abomination in his eyes…those behaviors that subscribe to such behavior. Consider this…I feel a great sadness for what has happened to my church but more so that I failed to speak up long ago. I leave you with this thought…My God has commanded me to love you, to give you every opportunity to be a part of God’s family…The United Methodist Church has to my knowledge never turned anyone away from God’s table. We cannot legislate faith, profane scripture and disobey God’s law and not be judged…May God forgive us all…for we have sinned and fallen short….

Jk

For the next few weeks, five to be exact, we will look at these and share a little about them with you. It is advised that first we must decide what method we wish to apply to arrive at the number of words.Should we count verses or actual number of words. Now the length of verses can differ quite a bit. We will get the best results  counting the words. We should consider if we count the number of words in English, Hebrew or Greek. The languages used to record God’s word were primarily Hebrew and Greek. 2 Timothy 3:16-17

16 All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, 17 so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.

So using Hebrew or Greek our count puts the five shortest books of the Bible as follows…. 3 John, 219 words. 2 John, 245 words. The third shortest book of the Bible is Philemon with 335 words in Greek. The fourth shortest book of the Bible, and shortest book of the entire Old Testament, is Obadiah with 440 Hebrew words. The fifth shortest book of the Bible is Jude with a count of 461 words.

These facts were taken from gotquestions.com One of my favorite sites for biblical information. They also add this note and I pass it along to you…Special thanks goes to Logos Bible Software for making the determination of the shortest book of the Bible by Hebrew or Greek word count much easier.

Let’s take a closer look at this smallest of the books of the Bible. While 3 John does not say who is its writer and over time there has been some speculation it has always been attributed to the apostle John. It was preceded by 1 & 2 John, with all three having been written between A.D. 85-95.

All things have a purpose and a place…and so it is with 3 John. He writes to lift up his friend and co-worker Gaius.

(Gaius of Corinth. Paul baptized a man named Gaius in Corinth—one of only two he baptized there (1 Corinthians 1:14). Later, toward the end of his third missionary journey, when Paul wrote his Epistle to the Romans, he was staying in Gaius’s home, and Gaius is included in his greetings to the church in Rome (Romans 16:23).) …(*)

Gaius was involved in a ministry of helping itinerant messengers traveling from place to place to preach the Good News. He warns the people about the behavior of one Diotrephes, a dictatorial leader who had taken over a church in the province of Asia. Diotrephes behavior and thinking was directly opposed to that of the apostle and what his Gospel stood for. In 3 John he also commends Demetrius whom John had been receiving good testimony about.

Two Key Verses

3 John 4: “I have no greater joy than to hear that my children are walking in the truth.”

3 John 11: “Dear friend, do not imitate what is evil but what is good. Anyone who does what is good is from God. Anyone who does what is evil has not seen God.”

Gaius, is a layman of some wealth and distinction and lives in a city near Ephesus. John strongly stresses the importance of truth in the Gospel. He thanks him for his concern and care of those whose mission it is to take the Gospel from place to place. John encourages him to continue to do the good work of the Gospel and not to follow the example of Diotrephes. Examples of hospitality abound in Old Testament Israel.There was always a warm welcome extended to aliens into homes there where the were given food, lodging and protection***.

Short Summary For A Short Book

From John we learn that we should always walk in the truth of the Gospel and be aware of the needs of those around us, especially those of the faith. We should be discerning enough to be aware of those such as Diotrephes whose behavior is far from being like that which Jesus taught.

Life is Good

jk

*Got Questions

***  (Genesis 18:2-8, 19:1-8; Job 31:16-23, 31-32). 

The writers of the Gospels were as interesting as the historical events and people they wrote about. Their personalities, endurance and work in the faith are visible in their writings. We know little about Luke but the few facts we have trend on the impressive. We know he was a physician. He was the only Gentile, “Non-Jew” that in fact wrote two of the New Testament Books. Paul makes this fact about Luke clear in Colossians 4:1, “Luke not being one of the circumcision”. While Luke does not name himself in either of the books, Paul mentions him in three epistles. One interesting fact is that both Acts and Luke are addressed to the same person, Theophilus and the reason for the books Luke writes in Luke 1:4. We do not know who Theophilus was but we know he indeed existed. The popular theory is that because of the title used by Luke in writing to him is “Most Excellent Theophilus”…he most likely held a position of influence in the local government and was knowledgeable about the basics of the Christian doctrine. Someone had exposed him to it and it is possible he had some questions about the doctrine, however the bible does not tell us who Theophilus was. Luke was a close friend of Paul and frequently traveled with him, Paul referred to him as “the beloved physician” (Colossians 4:14). Luke was a man of facts… He was familiar with sailing and took note of various geographical details. These two facts are interesting because to keep up with Paul and his life and mission would require such ability and diligence. He would have also been able to meet, listen to and talk with some of the most important people of the Early Church. Luke was a well-educated, observant, and careful writer. Last thing…His style of writing was such that it resonated with the customs and language of the people of that day.

Luke writes about those things that are worthy of belief, the great events of the ministry of Jesus and the work of the early church. Both provide hope. There is the extra added bonus that these events have been recorded by those who were from the beginning eye-witnesses and ministers of the word, and who recorded them through Divine Inspiration.  

The book of Luke has often been referred to as  “A Lovely Book” Each Gospel has a sign…for Luke it is the calf.  In biblical times the calf was a symbol of sacrifice, Luke most likely equated the ministry of Jesus as the sacrifice to all the world. It is also the book in which all barriers between Jew and Gentile are broken down. After all is said and done…it is a book of credible information that bolsters the foundation of our faith. I hope you have enjoyed our little side trip for a quick look at Luke…

Luke 1:1-4

1 Inasmuch as many have taken in hand to set in order a narrative of those things which have been fulfilled among us, 2 just as those who from the beginning were eyewitnesses and ministers of the word delivered them to us, 3 it seemed good to me also, having had perfect understanding of all things from the very first, to write to you an orderly account, most excellent Theophilus, 4 that you may know the certainty of those things in which you were instructed.

Life is Good 

jk

After the fall of Jerusalem in 70 C.E., the Romans turned their attention to stamping out the last of the rebels holding out at the fortresses of Herodium and Machaerus as well as in the “Forest of Jardes” (which has not yet been identified). The last remaining site occupied by the Jewish rebels was at Herod’s desert fortress-palace on the cliff-top of Masada. Led by Roman general Flavius Silva, the Legio X Fretensis—a veteran military unit—began the siege operation against the rebels in 72 or 73 C.E.

The spiritual heart of the Jewish nation was being destroyed and many of their leaders were dead. Those Jews left in positions of authority or leadership were either appointed by the Romans or influenced by the need to comply in order to survive. Only  five survived and they were women and children. The Jews at Masada had chosen to kill themselves rather than surrender to Roman Rule. You can read more about this at www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/Judaism/masada.html.

Those outside the Christian community seldom mention the persecution of Christians throughout the world. The sad fact is that this is not all that new but seems to have become more prevalent in recent years and of course the rapid sharing of information in this world of global communication has increased the level of awareness within the faith. We Christians here in the USA enjoy a religious freedom that we have become comfortable with and take for granted. We are like those frogs dumped into a pot of  water, which is then slowly brought up to a boil, by the time they realize they are in trouble it is to late. The Jewish nation was no match for the military might of the Roman Empire but I would suggest a much more serious problem that I am sure led to their demise. They had turned from God and sin and disobedience to God’s commands had become commonplace among the Jewish Leaders and the people. They had perverted God’s will and no longer sought to live a holy life, setting aside that which was written for those things and practices they coveted.

Masada was the last stand so to speak of Jews who would not yield to Roman Law and subjugation which leads me to an explanation of this blog title. We Christians are facing our “Masada” and like those frogs we contently lie in the water unaware that it will soon contribute to a crisis of faith. The issues facing Christianity today do not belong to just one denomination, for we all are part of the family of God, and we all are guilty. The issues are many but have one common thread. It is the willingness to interpret the word of God to meet the ever-changing morals of today’s society. Think about this. The only difference between a Christian and a non-believer is we go to church and they don’t. We go to many of the same places, watch the same movies, like to accumulate stuff and in most ways there is very little difference between us. We have been called out, we are to live Holy lives, we are to be different. I encourage each of you who read this to take the time to read and study God’s word and Law. Seek the guidance of the Holy Spirit through prayer and study and the only thing I will say in the way of instruction is simply this. When you study, study and read both Old and New Testament. We must stop yielding to the Caesars of this day in order to increase membership, marginalizing our Christian values because they make others uncomfortable and allowing ourselves to feel uncomfortable because our faith calls us to be different.

Every now and then I go back through the archives to find some material or just re-read a favorite. I am always reminded that things haven’t changed or in some cases gotten worse. Here is a post from years back…you be the judge of its value.

Life is Good

jk