Some opening thoughts…Paul is the author of Galatians.

-Galatians 1:1 

This letter is from Paul, an apostle. I was not appointed by any group of people or any human authority, but by Jesus Christ himself and by God the Father, who raised Jesus from the dead.

-Galatians is one of the first New Testament books to be written, composed sometime soon after AD 49.

-The early church in Galatia was made up of both Jewish and Gentile converts. Paul’s purpose was to confirm their faith. There was a conflict here between the Mosaic Law and trusting that the sacrifice of Jesus, the savior, had fulfilled the Law…thus through the cross and the blood you are forgiven of you trespasses. 

There is a sort of a theological crisis going on here. Two augments was present… The augmenters were the Judaizers…and the augment was about circumcision. In laymen’s language…you had to be a Jew first before you could be accepted into the Way or part of this new Christian church. It was being presented as “a requirement for Gentiles who wished to be saved. In other words, convert to Judaism first, and then you are eligible to become a Christian.” (Got Questions) This was an outright perversion of the true Gospel. Paul took action to counter such heresy. 

As the old timers would say “That’s it in a nutshell” Paul sets out to let the people know that they are justified by grace… Because of our faith, which means  means we have spiritual freedom. We are not subjugated to Old Testament Law. To do so in Paul’s view is changing the intent of this new gospel. He presents his credentials as an Apostle and strongly states that that righteousness comes through Christ not the works of the Law. He encourages them to stand fast in the faith and not be burdened again by Mosaic law. Our Christian freedom does not allow us to give in to our sinful natures. Our lives are to be lived in the power of the Spirit, not the flesh. We must let the Spirit bear His fruit in the life of the believer. This concept of being born again, a New Creation is of God and is not the result of some external religious rites thus circumcision is of no value to the Spirit. Galatians is about grace thru righteous living. It is also understood that the righteous shall live by faith. 

Galatians 3:11

Clearly no one who relies on the law is justified before God, because “the righteous will live by faith.”(NIV)

Faith is a gift of God and we should live our lives in a manner that others will see that faith working in us as we live out our spiritual  discipline thru study of the word, an active prayer life and obedience to our Lord and Savior. I will close with this scripture… 

Matthew 5:16

In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.

Life is Good

jk 

We have had a break in the weather and I am enjoying it to the fullest. That’s an old dogs way of saying it is “back porch” weather. Started raining here early this morning and I grabbed a laptop and headed to the porch. That’s the “Ponder” for this day. I love the smell of fresh rain, the overcast of a fall day and all the things that a change of seasons brings, the crisp cooler air the sound of the leaves falling and the crackle and crunch of the leaves on a path as we seemed to be pulled outside for natures annual show. Why there is even, I believe the smell of rotting leaves that somehow is never offensive, at least to me. Did you ever “ponder” that for some reason a fall rain has a pleasant chill to it, why it to me is even a soft slow rain, not like a cold, dreary hard winter rain. I can see “Snoopy dancing in the leaves and if you try hard enough you will see Linus as he awaits the arrival of the Great Pumpkin in a pumpkin patch. Every year he is disappointed but he always comes back…which to me should be a thing about fall we all might do well to adopt. Never give up, always live in a world of anticipation, as the scripture says…Think about what’s good… Take the time to “ponder” those things around you. One good thing to know and understand is when you have said or written enough and I do believe that’s nuff. Have a good week and God Bless.

Kurt

There is some controversy, as small as it is, the debates persist about the authorship of 2 Corinthians. One research material I read sums it up in this manner. “The inspiration and infallibility of Scripture are not in question here, but it seems more reasonable to view 2 Corinthians as a cohesive unit.” ( Got Questions ) Therefor we are confident that the Apostle Paul wrote 2 Corinthians. This is a personal one for Paul, all pastors want to see their church grow, they yearn for its growth. We see in this book that Paul constantly strives for the development and unity of the church at Corinth. Paul speaks of his own adversity and his solid trust in God to take him forward. This book was written approximately A.D. 55-57. The Corinth church began in AD 52 during Paul’s second missionary journey. He was there about a year and a half. Paul had written an earlier letter that was quite severe and was pleased that it had been received in a positive manner. One of the most serious problem it addressed was the false and self styled apostles who were sowing discord among the believers and if that were not enough they were assaulting Paul’s character. They made light of his speaking ability and his refusal to accept support from the church at Corinth. The other little thorn was that there were others that had not laid aside their sinful nature and practices.Titus shared some good news with Paul…the majority of Corinthians had repented of their rebellion against Paul. There is still the business of finishing collecting of the offering for the poor, we read in chapters 8-9. Finally, Paul’s speaks to those who had questioned his apostleship and his authority 2 Corinthians 13:3 …

I will give you all the proof you want that Christ speaks through me. Christ is not weak when he deals with you; he is powerful among you.

 This is as good a letter as any to go beyond the words…

(vv 1:3-2:2)

 -Paul greets the believers Corinth…Explains why he had not visited them as planed. He then explains the state of his ministry. Paul lets it be known that the word, preached through Christ and the sincerity of it in the sight of God… these are the hallmarks of his ministry.

 (2:14-17). He notes the differences of the glorious ministry of the righteousness of Christ to the “ministry of condemnation” which is the Law (v. 3:9) …If the ministry that brought condemnation was glorious, how much more glorious is the ministry that brings righteousness!

Paul continues on in chapter 4:8-18 some of the things they have faced in this ministry. I am going to include those verses here because I believe it is important to show the determination and resilience of such a faith and because they clearly go beyond the word in showing us the strength and courage of these people of “The Way”.

(4:8-18)  

 We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; 9 persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed. 10 We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body. 11 For we who are alive are always being given over to death for Jesus’ sake, so that his life may also be revealed in our mortal body. 12 So then, death is at work in us, but life is at work in you. 13 It is written: “I believed; therefore I have spoken.”[b] Since we have that same spirit of[c] faith, we also believe and therefore speak, 14 because we know that the one who raised the Lord Jesus from the dead will also raise us with Jesus and present us with you to himself. 15 All this is for your benefit, so that the grace that is reaching more and more people may cause thanksgiving to overflow to the glory of God.16 Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. 17 For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. 18 So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal

Chapter 5 outlines the basis of the Christian faith—the new nature (v. 17) and the exchange of our sin for the righteousness of Christ (v. 21). 

Chapters 6 and 7 finds Paul defending himself and his ministry.

Even in this time of defending both the ministry and himself he makes sure to to once more write to the Corinthians of his sincere love for them and exhorting them to repentance and holy living. In chapters 8 and 9, I have included a portion from research material  to be sure the point of Christian generosity is made clear.

 “Paul pushes the believers at Corinth to follow the examples of the brothers in Macedonia and extend generosity to the saints in need. He teaches them the principles and rewards of gracious giving.”  ( Got Questions ) 

Paul ends his letter by reiterating his authority among them (chapter 10) and concern for their faithfulness to him in the face of fierce opposition from false apostles. He calls himself a “fool” for having to reluctantly boast of his qualifications and his suffering for Christ (chapter 11). He ends his epistle by describing the vision of heaven he was allowed to experience and the “thorn in the flesh” he was given by God to ensure his humility (chapter 12). The last chapter contains his exhortation to the Corinthians to examine themselves to see whether what they profess is reality, and ends with a benediction of love and peace.

There is much more…there always is when you go beyond the word. It is the policy of “The Pew” to share with you the sources of what we present to you. I like to remind you that I am nothing more than a layman who loves the Lord and the Word. In this age of digital wealth, all of these things are available to you also. I encourage you to pursue them, pray and seek God’s wisdom as you discern His will and direction in your life. That being said the bulk of the information in this blog is from an article in the following publication. Please use this url to go there and read it in its entirety.

https://www.gotquestions.org/Book-of-2-Corinthians.html 

Life is Good 

jk

I have always felt that the back porch is my place of refuge…as I have written in the past, it is here that I can kinda clear my mind and rid myself of the pressures of just … well, being me. I wrote one time suggesting that you try as a little experiment just thinking of nothing…not a thing…it is impossible to do. God didn’t create us that way. He gave us this gift of freewill, the ability to think and reason and past history does not speak well of our ability to do either well. Right now here on the porch I believe I have been able to achieve that position of thinking of nothing. I can’t think of anything to write about but wait I am thinking about the fact that I can’t think of anything to write about. Now the porch is for pondering…we recognize that thinking is considered not proper in the art of pondering. Kinda like “I can’t believe its not butter…  butter.” Confused? I am but it is putting words on paper…I think. Having written all this I am open to a ponder of sort. How did we arrive at such a despairing time of hate and lack of just some essence of civility among our interaction with others. As I wrote this I thought…see right off I break one of the rules of pondering…Thinking which requires a solution. I did take time to run a quick inquiry about the number of news stories that were considered to be the result of hate against another person or group…the result would fill a lot of pages. So I believe I have come up with a worthy ponder? If thinking about something results in all this hate then a good ole fashion ponder might be better. Consider this from Philippians 4:8… and yes I did change a few words…

– Ponder on These Things – 7 And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. 8 Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable— if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—Ponder on these things. 

Kurt

As we continue to explore these letters of Paul our next stop will be in 1 Corinthians. To refresh our memories a letter is difficult to read because we only really have one side of the conversation. It is like one writer suggested “listening to a phone call…we only can hear one side of the conversation.” We don’t know the situation which he , Paul, is dealing with. In this case let’s try to reconstruct what prompted Paul to write this letter. We know Paul did write this letter about A. D. 55. This was a church which Paul founded and he was receiving some troubling reports about that church. While they were a proud church they had gotten into the habit of excusing sexual immorality, spiritual gifts were being used improperly and there was this increase in the deliberate misunderstanding of key Christian doctrines. Paul wrote this first letter in hopes of restoring this Corinthian church to its intended foundation… Jesus Christ. So…what is happening exactly as to the situation there? Let’s follow the bouncing ball…so to speak. Scripture verses are provided here.

-The people at Corinth were dividing into groups loyal to certain spiritual leaders 1 Corinthians 1:12 

 What I mean is this: One of you says, “I follow Paul”; another, “I follow Apollos”; another, “I follow Cephas[b]”; still another, “I follow Christ.”

1 Corinthians 3:1-6

Brothers and sisters, I could not address you as people who live by the Spirit but as people who are still worldly—mere infants in Christ. 2 I gave you milk, not solid food, for you were not yet ready for it. Indeed, you are still not ready. 3 You are still worldly. For since there is jealousy and quarreling among you, are you not worldly? Are you not acting like mere humans? 4 For when one says, “I follow Paul,” and another, “I follow Apollos,” are you not mere human beings? 5 What, after all, is Apollos? And what is Paul? Only servants, through whom you came to believe—as the Lord has assigned to each his task. 6 I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God has been making it grow.

-Paul shared that they should be united their following of Christ.

-Paul did note that it appeared that their were many in the church who were approving of such immoral relationships. 

1 Corinthians 5:1-2

It is actually reported that there is sexual immorality among you, and of a kind that even pagans do not tolerate: A man is sleeping with his father’s wife.

-The Corinthian believers were seeking redress in the courts

1 Corinthians 6:1-2

If any of you has a dispute with another, do you dare to take it before the ungodly for judgment instead of before the Lord’s people? 2 Or do you not know that the Lord’s people will judge the world? And if you are to judge the world, are you not competent to judge trivial cases? 

– Paul felt that it would be better to be taken advantage of than to damage their Christian testimony …

1 Corinthians 6:3-8

Do you not know that we will judge angels? How much more the things of this life! 4 Therefore, if you have disputes about such matters, do you ask for a ruling from those whose way of life is scorned in the church? 5 I say this to shame you. Is it possible that there is nobody among you wise enough to judge a dispute between believers? 6 But instead, one brother takes another to court—and this in front of unbelievers! 7 The very fact that you have lawsuits among you means you have been completely defeated already. Why not rather be wronged? Why not rather be cheated? 8 Instead, you yourselves cheat and do wrong, and you do this to your brothers and sisters.

-Paul gave the church instructions on many of the problems that were present there…marriage and celibacy, food sacrificed to idols, Christian freedom the veiling of women the Lord’s Supper and  spiritual gifts also my favorite chapter 15 …the resurrection. He took the time to answer their questions about what was the proper behavior for Christians in these situations. Paul continues on with a warning of their lack of self-discipline 

1 Corinthians 9:24-27 

Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize. 25 Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last, but we do it to get a crown that will last forever. 26 Therefore I do not run like someone running aimlessly; I do not fight like a boxer beating the air. 27 No, I strike a blow to my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize.

There are other things in this 1st book of Corinthians. Paul writes of the miracles of God during this time of wandering, the parting of the Red Sea, provision of manna from heaven and water from a rock, noting that they misused their freedom and fell into immorality and idolatry. 

We end this week on the thought that we don’t seem to learn much from our past. Many of the problems of that time are present in this very day among our Churches and God’s people. We need to return to the good way…putting our focus back to where it should be—on Christ. The power of Christian love. The wonder and glory of the resurrection in chapter 15, and our responsibility and accountability to our God and our Faith.

Life is Good

jk 

Sources: gotquestions.com  NLT Holy Bible

I had a hard time getting out of the “Pew” and onto the back porch. So much has been happening this week that I am finding it hard to clear my mind. You might say I have found myself having to think about something to ponder over. If you will recall thinking is a bad thing because it requires three things…knowledge, patience and usually a resolution of some sort. Pondering is like being lost in your thoughts…no real need for any specific results. Just sitting here looking at things off my back porch, kinda showcases the changes that are coming. Wrote a book one time, Western of course…remember a line from one of the characters who was asked his opinion of change. He said…”well Sir, if the good Lord saw fit to change the seasons, I reckon it is a good thing!” This might be a good time to get our bibles out. The Bible gives us insights into lots of things. One thing for sure is the changing of seasons. As we transition from one season to another, here are five verses that reflect on the beauty and significance of these changes:

1. Genesis 8:22 (NIV)
   “While the earth remains, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night, shall not cease.”

 2. Ecclesiastes 3:1-2 (NIV)
“There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens: a time to be born and a time to die, a time to plant and a time to uproot.”

3. Psalm 74:17 (NIV)
“It was you who set all the boundaries of the earth; you made both summer and winter.”

4. Jeremiah 8:7 (NIV)
“Even the stork in the sky knows her appointed seasons, and the dove, the swift and the thrush observe the time of their migration. But my people do not know the requirements of the Lord.”

5. Psalm 104:19 (NIV)
“He made the moon to mark the seasons, and the sun knows when to go down.”

There is no room for doubt…Our God is in charge and He starts with order and arrangement, now where have I heard that before? I started this visit to the porch with one thing in mind…keep it simple… with that in mind I have only one question. Why do we always mess things up? Ponder on that awhile.

Kurt

Source:  https://bladenonline.com  Holy Bible NIV

I had prepared and uploaded my blog for today but I set it aside late last night. I can’t get past tomorrow, September 11 or as it has become simply 9-11. There will be many words today, few will be able to capture the impact in loss of life and the realization that our enemies now had the ability to bring the horror of war to our soil. Here are a couple of things I take away from that day.   Death is never an easy thing to cope with and I don’t hold much with the advice that “things will be better in time; every day it will get a little better.” Don’t believe that, I believe we just learn how to live with it or for lack of a better term tolerate the loss. Like everyone else I remember exactly where I was and what I was doing. Been fifteen years now and I still can close my eyes and see those people jumping from the towers. Now after all these years’ history is slowly being rewritten in that many films have been edited to remove those pictures. Why is that important? To me it is important because while I can’t say what was in their mind at that time, I prefer to believe in that moment of extreme despair they chose how they would die. First take away, how much easier is it for us who only have to choose how to live.

One of the first things that happened after it was determined that this was not a terrible mishap but was indeed a deliberate attack, was a no fly order issued for the whole country. All flights except those of military origin were grounded throughout the USA. I remember standing outside at work that afternoon and the next few days and looking up at the sky above. My second take away was that those contrails left by planes were absence from the sky. How odd it seemed. Just as a room becomes quite, no one speaking, their absence marked the silence of the skies. It was as if I was waiting to see something there that would tell me everything was going to be alright. My third take away is perhaps the one that is most imprinted on my mind and heart. As the towers fell the dust and debris of this awful destruction blotted the sun from the sky and blinded all those trapped by it. Everyone was covered to the point that there was no way to distinguish skin color or ethnicity, all were caught in a world of gray horror, dependent on the help and mercies of those closest to them. Somehow the need to take or offer a hand, to cover and shield another from the debris, to offer self in defense of another was the most striking thing I saw. We came together as a people, there was no time to shout USA, USA as would be heard much over the next few days. This may not make sense and I stand to be corrected. I believe on that day we were Americans all and in that moment we all became God’s children. (Matthew 22:39 A second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.”

There is no way I could ever put to words the sacrifice of NYFD or Police, EMS or the hundreds of medical and civilian responders, there are no words that could do honor to their sacrifice. So how or where do we go from here? As a nation and a people we need to return to the good way, we need God and there is only one way…..

John 14:6 Jesus told him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me.

The next few weeks here in the “Pew” we will spend some time with the writings of one of the best known, most traveled and I would argue the reason the Gentile Church became a force to be dealt with. What made these letters so important? First which books are we looking at? The Pauline Epistles are Romans, 1 Corinthians, 2 Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, 1 Thessalonians, 2 Thessalonians, 1 Timothy, 2 Timothy, Titus, and Philemon. They contain much of the doctrine the Christian faith is built upon, especially in relationship to salvation and are significant for teaching on difficult theological issues such as election, predestination, foreknowledge, the deity/humanity of Christ, God’s ongoing relationship with Israel, and the Judgment Seat of Christ. They can be considered to be a very practical tool on teaching how the church should function, containing teaching on spiritual gifts, qualifications of church leaders, the role of women in ministry, and the relationship between law and grace in the life of a Christ-follower. Paul was important to the unifying of the church among the Jews and the Gentiles…thus the Christian Church of today and The Pauline Epistles are part of that unity, and the teachings they contain are equally inspired and in complete harmony with the rest of the Bible. In the weeks to come we will look at selected verses and such from each of these books.We will start at the very first of the list…Romans. Our Sunday School teacher in remarks about Romans, said this… “one of the fullest statements of the Christian faith.” There are many fine books and thoughts about the Book Of Romans and I was particularly fond of these. They are taken from:

https://bibleproject.com/guides/book-of-romans/ 

It always helps to look for and understand the KEY elements that shape the writers thoughts and help us understand his point better. With that in mind here are some Key Points to our book this week.

Key Themes

• God’s gift of rescuing humanity through Jesus.
• God maintaining his promises to Israel.
• Love unifying the diversity of the Church.

I am going to pass along some things about this Book, most likely  one of Pauls best writings. I will also place the source of this information at the end of each revelation. First, you that have joined me in the past here in “The Pew” know how much I respect the proper use of words. Here are some key words to pay attention to…

Key Words – Some of the key words in the book of Romans, and the frequency of their use in the epistle, include: law (78 occurrences); sin (60); faith (39); righteousness (39); spirit (29); flesh (26); grace (24); gospel (13); Israel (12) & Jew (11); works (9); justification (3).  (https://livwat.com/pdffiles/ROMANS.pdf ) 

These words and their frequency of use set the tone of this letter. Paul also makes a Theological point and clearly calls to our attention who was lacking in their responsibilities. 

“Paul argued that Jesus is the only righteous one. As we read his letter to the Romans, we learn that Jews and non-Jews alike have missed the point. The Law cannot make someone righteous, but it can point to the one who is, Jesus, who came to make all things right. He mends the rifts that separate us from one another.”(The Bible Project)

It is best that we acknowledge that the Holy Trinity…Father, Son, Holy Ghost cannot exist in a place of dispute. God is Love, and trust and truth serve Him best.

One web site I encourage you to take the time to visit is a favorite of mine… //www.gotquestions.org/Book-of-Romans.html 

This is a summary of the book of Romans… a good read. I give you this as a closing thought from…Got Questions…

 Romans is about the good news—the gospel. The word gospel is prominent at the beginning and end of the letter, and it’s foremost in the letter’s thesis statement in Romans 1:16–17: “I’m not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith, as it is written, ‘The righteous shall live by faith.’ 

Romans is a powerful read and I encourage you to explore it and its truths often. 

Life is Good

jk

Early morning here on the “Back porch”, not my usual time. A lot of things have changed the last few months but the porch is the only place I can ponder in peace. Remember the Boy Scouts before they “woke” up. All those silly notions about God and Country and being prepared? I was one of those silly kids that loved it then and hate the loss of such for so many of our kids these days. One thing that has changed for sure is my memory. I am a bit long in the tooth these days but the rules of “to ponder” allow me some room…so join me in this weeks ponder. 

Taos, New Mexico and a little northeast of that… the Village of  Questa, New Mexico. Now that for a boy of 16 was an adventure few others could have. Actually, it was myself and about 29 others, all Boy Scouts and leaders included, up from Amarillo Texas to camp in the mountains of New Mexico. My time in the Scouts was about to come to a close. I had gained the rank of a First Class scout and had earned the Order of The Arrow, I add this information for those who would have no idea of what I am talking about.

The Order of the Arrow (OA), previously known as Wimachtendienk Wingolauchsik Witahemui (WWW) is the honor society of the Boy Scouts of America (BSA),^[4] composed of Scouts and Scouters who best exemplify the Scout Oath and Law in their daily lives as elected by their peers. Started as a Camp Fraternity by E. Urner Goodman, with the assistance of Carroll A. Edson, in 1915, its goal was to reinforce the Scout Oath and the Scout Law. Started without approval of Boy Scouts of America (BSA), it became an “Official Experiment” of the Scouting organization. In 1948, following an extensive review, it officially became a program of Boy Scouts of America. (Wikipedia)

As best I can remember the drive was a little over 200 miles and we left early in the morning and got to Questa in a little under five hours. We did stop and visit the Pueblo’s outside of Toas NM.

I do remember that at that time we actually drove out of Questa on a dirt road and when that ended we packed up our personals and camp gear and trekked up into the mountains.

Having spent some time camping in Palo Duro Canyon I did fairly well on the trail up and into the mountains. But we were all tired and it was getting dark and we set up camp as quickly as possible. Being a Senior Scout I had two Patrols assigned to me to keep up with. I think there were two other Senior Scouts with us. We quickly half dug a latrine and I remember staking a rope from the perimeter of the camp to the latrine itself. The instructions were very plain…at night use a flashlight and follow the rope to the latrine. Like all things sometimes the best laid plans of men and mice don’t always work…I will leave it at that and your imagination. One of the patrols I was assigned to had breakfast duty that first morning and we decided to get a jump start on the morning by mixing the pancake batter before we got into the our tents. Somebody had either read or seen a mountain man movie and we put the lid on the mix pot tied it down and then attached a rope to the top of it and hoisted the mix pot, using a tree limb to pull it a few feet up off the ground. Well, again that “best Plan” thing bit us. The pancake batter froze, breakfast was a nightmare and we had the pancakes for lunch. Well there were lots of adventures in the mountains and memories to take home but the Ponder here is is this… Do I kinda wish I was a Boy Scout one more time or am I sad to see a better time fade away? 

Kurt

Kurt