Trying to find something to share on the back porch sometimes becomes rather difficult. But then I remembered just the other day of a lady and you’ll know who it is, Dolly Parton a country music entertainer from around Sevierville, Tennessee, who has built a tremendous recording and entertainment empire. However, in all that success and everything that she has enjoyed, she’s always remained very much one of us so to speak. The donations she’s made to charitable projects and her hometown to education and children are absolutely amazing. With all that in mind, it will be rather strange I guess but the thing I remember the most today sitting around, thinking about Dolly Parton, was her saying one time that it takes an “awful lot of money to look this cheap.” She is known for her flamboyant makeup and clothing, Wigs and down home persona. She created an image that is really very, very hard to forget. On the other side of that is the undeniable fact that her talent in singing, songwriting, and story telling through her song lyrics is brilliant. So how does that tie in with this fine lady and us on The Porch?…Dolly, you said  “it takes a lot of money to look this cheap”…. Well Dolly, take it from a bunch of old Geezers “It takes a lot of money to be this old.” I am now in my eighties and biblically speaking that is a blessing…so few of us have such longevity. I ask you to consider this…my medication list is almost two pages long. Last year I tore my knee up so bad it cannot be repaired. I had one surgery but it failed, so now I am unable to walk without mobility aids. I have had two open heart surgeries in the last 20 years and spend a lot of money on health care needs related to those operations. I have developed Type Two diabetes which requires a regimen of medications and dietary disciplines. I could go on but I am now at the point where what does it matter? Some of us here on The Porch have lived beyond our biblical life expectations…we have been blessed. In all these years God has always provided me with the means to continue this life journey…Believe me…it costs a lot to grow old. So if you can, pause a moment and Ponder the Alternative.

Yes indeed! Life is Good

jk

I will start with these three scriptures first. You can click on the underlined scripture to read it as we go.(Exodus 22:21; Leviticus 19:33–34; Matthew 25:35). First off God expects us to obey the laws of government. We can rightly say that those who have entered into the United States by any other means than those approved by our laws, have done so illegally. Romans 13:1–7 makes it plain that God expects us to obey existing laws. There is nothing in scripture that is against a sovereign nation having immigration laws. Now I say that this warrants a justified conclusion that illegal immigration is against God’s will….from a  Christian perspective  that would be a sin. There is  no consideration as to the whether law is fair or not. There is nothing in scripture that argues for or against open or closed borders. One last thought about Romans 13:1–7 , this scripture gives the government, any government the authority to punish lawbreakers. There are those who would who argue immigration laws are unfair, unjust, and even discriminatory and scripture does provide an avenue to consider…Acts 5:29 for those of that opinion. The word of God leaves little wiggle room…It is what it is. Three things…

Immigration– coming to live permanently in a foreign country

Law– system of rules that govern behavior in a system or country

Christian Perspective–a view or position taken in relation to our calling and God’s will. I can find no biblical solution to the illegal immigration problem we have but two things do stand out in my mind. First and most important…don’t do It. Second…obey the law, that is God’s will for us who believe. God’s law binds us to obedience to HIM and those He has installed into positions of leadership…that biblical. Keep this in your mind and heart…

“Be subject for the Lord’s sake to every human institution, whether it be to the emperor as supreme, or to governors as sent by him to punish those who do evil and to praise those who do good. For this is the will of God, that by doing good you should put to silence the ignorance of foolish people. Live as people who are free, not using your freedom as a cover-up for evil, but living as servants of God” (1 Peter 2:13–16).

Life is Good

jk

Sources…gotquestions.com      Bible NIV

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Welcome, missed last week but we made it back this week! Pull up a chair, box or crate and let’s Ponder. I got one for you this week…Austerity…this might be a little above our pay grade, as they say…But I will add this definition to help us along…Austerity measures are government policies designed to reduce public spending and increase revenue, typically implemented to address budget deficits or economic instability. These measures often involve cuts to social services, public sector wages, and government programs, as well as tax increases. 

Ok, I will add this…European Austerity and I might add to that  they don’t like it either. In simple porch vernacular cutting costs and doing away with wasteful spending says it best. Here in the USA cutting costs is red meat for the political class. They are either proclaiming the need to cut or pointing out how this will hurt so many people. Right now the present administration whom I am sure would not agree with my assessment are very much involved in a “European Austerity” type program…different name but the same principle. Someone once said that government benefits programs are for the most part a forever thing, they are looked upon as a “sacred cow” type of thing. You just don’t cut them. They seem to have a life of their own. So let’s make a distinction here… a benefit that aids and makes life better is quite different than waste, or that other word the political class tries to avoid…out right fraud and waste. One of the standing rules of Pondering is that we do not seek a solution to something…we just “ponder” …think about it a bit and clear our minds. So Ponder This… can Austerity survive Politics?

jk

This week, the Pew picks up on the eighth day after the resurrection. Eight days after the resurrection Jesus appeared again to the entire group and Thomas was present. Jesus told him to put his finger into the nail holes and the place his hand into his side where the spear had pierced him. John: 26–27. Thomas believed and responded “my Lord my God” John 20:28. This is also recorded by Paul in1Corinthians 15:5, he also noted that he was seen of Cephas, then of the 12.

Now, please keep in mind that most of these events that I’m sharing with you, have no certain date, but we do have the certainty that they are written and recorded within the gospel the word of God. So it was sometimes later, which is not really made clear, when Jesus met seven of his apostles and some disciples in Galilee, while Peter and the group were fishing in the sea of Galilee also called the sea of Tiberius. John 21:1–3.

After this occurred, we find in 1Corinthians: 15:6 that  Jesus appeared to more than 500 people. Jesus was seen by James and then all of the apostles. 1Corinthians 15:7.

As we have always experienced in all of our scripture, studies and references and commentaries, there will always be one or two points of  discussion, they are what I call fact based on theory. But at this point, I think it would be good if we pointed out that it’s probably about this time Judas went and hanged himself although some say that Judas was still alive at the time of the Ascension, but just removed himself from the other 11 immediately after Jesus was taken up.

While they were in Galilee, Jesus meets with the 11 disciples and speaks with them about what we term as the “Great Commission.”  Matthew 28:16–20 Mark, 16:15–18.

Jesus had showed himself alive by many infallible proofs and was seen for 40 days after his resurrection day. Acts 1:3 

 Again, speaking to the apostles and the disciples He instructed them to wait in Jerusalem, for the promise of the father, the Holy Spirit. They were to be baptized with our immersed into the Holy Ghost in a few days. Acts 1:4-5

40 days after the resurrection, we reach what is called by many of our churches, Ascension Sunday. Jesus leads the apostles out as far as Bethany, which is about 1 to 2 miles from Jerusalem to the Mount of Olivet. Luke 24:50 he raised his hands and blessed them. He was carried up into heaven in a cloud to be seated on the right hand of God. The apostles, of course were in a state of bewilderment but I would say great joy. Then there appeared to them angels and they addressed them as such. Men of Galilee we find this account in Mark 16:19, Luke 24:50 – 51, Acts 1:11.

50 days after the Passover Pentecost, the appointed time had arrived, for Jesus had been glorified 7 to 10 days earlier at his ascension that was in John 7:39, Acts 2:1.

On that day at this time in that upper room, they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in tongues,   yet they all could understand what was being said. They spoke of God, the Father of Jesus Christ and they were empowered to go forth, to spread that message and to share with everyone the gospel of the resurrected Christ.

Life is Good

jk    

When we first read about the resurrection and we follow the scriptures best we can from the Sunday of resurrection until Pentecost, there are a lot of events that take place that we sometimes aren’t aware of. They happen so fast that we just kinda skip over them. After a decent amount of research on my part, I was able to find several websites I found this about the resurrection to Pentecost.  We found there were many differences of opinion, and we tried to put all of those together and look at it from the point of being accurate were scripture was concerned. Most of us are not theologians and so we have to read something and try to understand it to the best of our abilities, but what we’re going to see here are some theoretical suggestions based on fact from the Bible. So I encourage you to read these and if you have an objection to them then look elsewhere. But most of all allow the Holy Spirit to speak to you and help you discern what it is we’re trying to pass on to you. After each event, I will list the scriptures from the Bible, where those events can be found.

So we will start with resurrection day. Early Sunday morning and angel came in wrote back the stone of Jesus’s tomb, the guards being fearful and couldn’t believe what they were saying. They just fell out or became dead. Matthew 28:2–4.

Mary Magdalene, marry, the mother of James and Salome came to the tune with spices they found the stone ruled away.  Matthew 28:1, Mark 16:1–4, Luke 24:1–3, and John 20:1.

In the next event, we find the women entering the tomb and finding the angel within now Luke records that there were two of them two angels and and the Angels tell them Jesus has risen. He instructed him to go and tell the disciples and Peter and that he will meet them in Galilee. Matthew 28:5–7, Mark 16:5–7, Luke 24:4–6.

The next two events listed in the order that they took place was it Mary Magdalene ran and told Peter and John they’ve taken the Lord away and I don’t know where he is. John 20:2 then Peter and John run to the tomb and of course, John out runs Peter, but he waits for Peter before he enters the tune. It is written in some places at John believe after seeing the empty tomb of course, he was in a state of wonderment. After seeing the grave clothes in the empty tomb, John and Peter left and went back to where they were staying. Luke 24:12, John 20:3–10.

We encounter Mary Magdalene again, she was alone and weeping at the tomb. When Jesus appeared to her. She believed for a moment that he might be the keeper of the grave and she asked if he knew where Jesus’s body was. John 20:11–15.

It is at this point that Jesus revealed himself to her as he spoke her name and told her not to touch him because he is not yet ascended to his father. John 20:15–17.

Now the next two events as the other women were on their way to tell the disciples that Jesus had risen, Jesus appeared to them. They fell at his feet and worshiped him. Matthew 28:9 Mary Magdalene, and a group of women report to a group of disciples into the 11 that they have seen Jesus. Matthew 28:8, Mark 16:9–10, Luke 24:9–10, John 20:18.

I’m going to let this next one stand on its own. The disciples they didn’t believe that Jesus had risen with the exception of John who is said to have believed. Mark 16:1124:11, John 20:8.

Then Jesus appears to disciples on their way to Emmaus and he opens their understanding by speaking of Old Testament scripture to them about himself. They rushed back to Jerusalem to let the others know that Jesus is alive. Mark 16:12 

The two arrive late on Sunday evening and found the 11 and others who were with them and told them that they had talked with Jesus. Mark: 14, Luke 24:33–35. They of course did not believe these two men either. Mark 16:13.

Now,  that same evening. We’re still on Resurrection day now just after the report of the two from Emmaus Jesus appeared within the room and said “Peace be unto you.”

Mark 16:14, Luke 24:36, John 20:19. 

The men were afraid when they thought it was a ghost. Jesus told them touch me. They would see he was not a ghost that he has flesh and bone and he showed them his hands and his side. Then he ate some food with them to prove that he was not a ghost. Luke 24:37–43, John 20:20.

During that same evening on resurrection day, Jesus spoke with them and helped them to understand what was going on to the best that he could he spoke of Old Testament scriptures and told him that it would be in Jerusalem that they would receive the promise of the father and being filled with the power from on high. Luke 24:45–49, John 20:22.

There is one discrepancy that we will notice in this next event that Thomas was not with the apostles on this day, even though the scripture states that the two from  Emmaus had reported to the 11 on that evening that and Jesus ended up in the same room to proclaim his resurrection. John 20:24.

When Thomas did return to the group of disciples in the 11 apostles, they told him of the appearance of Jesus he did not believe he said he would have to put his fingers into his hands and then his hand into Jesus’s side before he could believe. John 20:25.

Next week, we will pick up on the eighth day after the resurrection and follow on through to the end of this timetable. So I do look forward to you joining us in “The Pew” next week. I want to be very plain. The source that I used for this information was from a website as follows iamfc.us we should be greatly indebted to the people who did this because this is the first actual events in sort of a time lapse that I’ve seen that are very, very plain and clear and can be followed through the Scriptures so we’re very thankful for that. See you next week.

Life is Good

jk

I wanted to share this with you before I posted this week’s blog which I’ll do on Saturday afternoon. The title of the blog is the “Long Goodbye” and we’re going to be looking at what occurred after the crucifixion of Jesus Christ and the resurrection up until the time of Pentecost. I have completed the first part of this series and that will be published as I said this coming Saturday. There will be a lot of material that we’ll have to cover and reading only part of the Scriptures relating to the period of time from the resurrection of Jesus to the initial sending of the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost is quite a bit of information to absorb all at one time. What we’re going to try to do through the Pew this coming weekend and then the following weekend is to lay it out in the actual order of the actual events. I’m not going to try and build a timeline or anything like that what we’re looking at is just strictly the events in the order that they occurred. So the looking forward concerns this. We will do this in two different blogs the one that will occur this weekend on the 11th and the following one which will occur on May 18 so I invite you to join us for some information that we don’t always pay a whole lot of attention to but is very, very important so I’ll be looking forward to seeing you in the Pew this weekend on May 11 Mother’s Day. Please take care thank you and God bless you.

jk

I try to stay away from politics but people keep getting in the way. I have shared with you on “The Porch” my dislike of this constant incivility and the constant state of confrontation. It has permeated most every segment of our society. I have a hard time getting use to the fact that in general…people stay mad most of the time. Mad…well that is a relative term but angry that is another level. There is a segment of our society that can only express themselves through anger, I always say they have a lack of understanding of the “Kings English”, therefore they rely on cursing and hurling insults because they are without facts and information and consumed with hate…thus reason is not part of their thought process. Folks this is not confined to any certain group, race, wealth or intelligence factor…many people today are just plain mean in heart, mind and spirit. Of course you knew I would go here…the best example of this theory of mine is the state of politics here in the USA. One of the great things about Pondering is it is not a debate. Debates have one characteristic that drives the conversation …there has to be a winner and loser. Pondering is a weird way of discussion that has no winner, no loser, facts are not necessary and civility and respect for the opinions of others is expected of all present. So what is the Ponder here? We all need a little bit of Jesus… No solution to our differences or hope for a better way exists in hate. So Ponder This… Smile a bit, be kind and be thankful for what you have.

jk 

Before we get into the pew I would like to share a little bit of information with you. Sometimes Bible study and reading the Bible and understanding what we read is difficult for many of us, we don’t have theological trainings and many of us like me for instance, there’s no letters behind my name. I considered it a privilege to be able to do the footwork you might say for you folks going and finding information to help us better understand what the written word says, and I appreciate all the different websites and places that I visit that shares their knowledge with us. I do try to be very careful about the sources that I seek out and share with you each week. I have a new one this week that I would like to share with you. I’m going to give you the web address of it as follows. The website all in lower case www.easyenglish.bible . As I always do, I want to make you’e aware of the fact that I am relying heavily on the information that I have gotten from this particular website. The title of the article that I am gleaning information from today is The Teacher searches for the purpose of our lives. It was written by Hilda Bright and Kathy Pride.

A couple years ago, the pew did take a closer look at Ecclesiastes and I don’t remember the exact date, but I do remember that we did dive into it a bit to study and it is a fascinating book. I also published under the name of the pew A Blog called the back porch. I got a letter from a reader of the Back Porch last week, and I’d like to share part of that letter with you. He used the phrase “chasing the past”… the context being that we are always running to the doctor for every hurt or new episode of health matters Chasing the Past, looking for that feel good time yet every day we live is just one less we have to live. 

I think most of us are familiar with the saying and it’s put in many different ways that in actuality, we begin the process of dying as soon as we take our first breath. I don’t know about you, but I believe that I serve a God that believes in life a God of life a God that wants us to have a good and prosperous life. Everything in this life has a trade-off and I think we all realize that we only get out of something what we put into it. God has given us the tools to have a good life the problem being that many times we do not know nor do we use that which the Holy Spirit would lead us to do. Now I do not know why or how I was lead in this direction, but I immediately began to look back on that book of Ecclesiastes. Solomon  is given credit for having written the book of Ecclesiastes, the word meaning someone who gathers a group of people together,  like a teacher. Like many of the books that we encounter if we do our Bible study, there’s always some kind of confusion or dispute over who wrote it but in this case it’s most likely either Solomon himself, although Solomon’s name itself is not mentioned in the book it is obvious that the writer, whoever it may have been if not Solomon was simply teaching lessons from Solomon’s life. Actually, I suppose if you had a chip on her shoulder for any reason  this is probably a pretty good book for you to read. There are things in the message that we read here from this author that talks about the many things in this world that are not fair. Talks about people who are cruel to other people yet they suffer no punishment. It talks about people who work hard, but do not benefit from their efforts and good people suffer, but bad people receive rewards. Somehow or another my mind goes back to that letter that I received a few days ago sooner or later all of us will die.The Teacher, makes it very clear that good people and bad people they die, wise people and foolish people also will die. Sometimes one of the facts that we often forget, and passover is just simply that there will be a judgment each one of us will stand in judgment as an individual before the throne of God. The article that I am reading from and passing this information onto you the authors Hilda Bright and Kathy Pride state that it’s a very well possible that people have two main ideas about  the  writers attitude. The author’s attitude is either complete despair or hope maybe both hope and despair, their option is that the second idea is right. I tend to go along with that line of thought. One of the major study series I own is The New Interpreter’s Bible and the Book of Ecclesiastes is in the Wisdom Books section of the Bible. All of this may seem a bit disjointed in and I apologize for that. But I just couldn’t help but get that letter off my mind and go back and remember some of the things in the book of Ecclesiastes. This particular book encourages us to live wisely, and the only way we can truly live wisely is to have an active relationship with God. I suppose the best thing to do would be to close this in a manner reminding everyone don’t wait until you get old to find a relationship with God. God can make your life well worth living. He is a God of life, a God who loves us and to whom we belong. So I guess the real question is simply this are we truly chasing the past? Will what we do today buy us another tomorrow? The aches and pains and physical challenges we face each and every day as we get older are quite natural. The God who made us through his son Jesus Christ has given to us eternal life, we that believe and call upon Christ as our Lord and Savior, we would do well to learn from the past, but to keep our eyes on the future to look ahead and to always include God in everything we do.

Life is Good

jk 

Quite days always bring back memories…today I am a bit down. Like most old folks I believe those were the days…those being back in the day…so to speak. Things weren’t so far away. Life is a journey as I am sure you have heard but the important thing is not so much where you’re going but after a few journey’s of my own…at 82 years of age, it is the adventures along the way that got you to where you’re at that make the memories in your mind that matter. I think that was a song back in the day. I have learned that you really can’t go home, this ain’t OZ and you ain’t Dorthy. I find myself thinking more about what I can’t do and that friends is the subject of today’s Ponder. If you spend a lot of time thinking about what you can’t do, those things you can do will eventually become can’t do’s also. You see those of the faith know that God will always provide…I can no longer walk but God has provided me with other means to get around, people to help me and new journeys and adventures. Do I miss the old days and ways? You bet I do…  God has provided me with another tomorrow. My best advice… Take what you have been given, not what you have lost and Ponder This…Go and Do It

jk

He Is Risen! The Tomb is Empty… The story does not end here, as I have written in earlier blogs this is the beginning. In the Bible the book of Acts is the place to start…. Consider Acts Chapters one and two as they lead us to that next page. It was a beautiful Easter Sunday where I live and the Church was a full house…actually overflowing into seating placed in the aisles to accommodate the crowd. The early church faced a different picture after the crucifixion. The believers were hid in an upper room, they feared for their lives and that fear distracted them from their faith.   Acts 2:1-4…NLT… Then came the Spirit. We celebrate this day as being the day of Pentecost when the believers were meeting together in one place. “Suddenly, there was a sound from heaven, like the roaring of a mighty wind storm, and it filled the house where they were sitting then what looked like flames or tongues of fire, appeared and settled on each of them, and everyone present was filled with the Holy Spirit and began speaking in other languages as a spirit gave them this ability.” The people in the streets could hear the noise coming from the room, and they were amazed by it.They accused the people of simply being drunk, but Peter and the other 11 apostles  stepped forward and begin to speak to the crowd. “Listen carefully all of you fellow Jews, and residents of Jerusalem.Make no mistake about this. These people are not drunk as some of you are assuming…it is only 9 o’clock in the morning, much too early for that. Know what you see was predicted long ago by the prophet Joel.” (Acts 2:14-16 NLT) Not sure how many followers of Jesus were in that room but I know after Peter spoke to those outside in the street…Acts 2:41… those who believed what Peter said were baptized and added to the church that day about 3000 in all. 

Moving forward to this past Easter Sunday I don’t know for sure even then how many people were there at church but it was quite a few. Moving to Peter’s Day we know there were at least 3011 people that day that heard the message accepted the message and began to believe in Jesus Christ and the resurrection. We can add with assurance the names of the 11 apostles that were there, but we don’t really know the names of all the people that were in that crowd that day whom came to be believers. But today in this blog, I would like to add 14 names to that list. To start with I would like to point out to you that this is a result of a Christian ceremony known as a confirmation. Confirmation is a practice primarily associated with  the Christian faith, specifically those that perform infant baptism. It is most commonly found in the Catholic Church eastern orthodox churches Anglian Church, Lutheran Church, and the Methodist Church. To keep things simple and not to get too complicated it involves a public profession of faith and a strengthening of the believers, faith journey. To make it even simpler, we could just simply say that it means the strengthening or deepening of one’s personal relationship with God. Now I might be accused of stretching this just a little bit, but let’s consider this. You remember John the Baptist in the wilderness, baptizing folks for the coming of the Messiah. So if we put this in a perspective, we’re talking about people that have been baptized and have accepted, and are now preparing to move further in their Christian journey. So what exactly is this baptism we’re speaking of. A  little more detail is needed. Might be that it’s a public declaration of faith. It’s a public way of declaring that you believe in Jesus Christ and are committed to following him. It’s also a symbol of spiritual death and resurrection, the act of being immersed in water, symbolizes dying to the old life and being resurrected to the new life in Christ, it’s also an entry point into the Christian community and a symbol of forgiveness and cleansing and it’s a sign of obedience. I know that what I will write next is a real stretch of “writer’s liberty”… As a church we acknowledged, celebrated, and gave thanks for the Resurrection of our Lord and Savior…Jesus Christ. We had 14 of our young people who have studied, prayed and sought to commit to Christ this day and be blessed by The Holy Spirt to confirm their faith. So even though it is some 1900 or more years ago that many came to believe…even more reason to rejoice this day.

Aubrey, Lilly, Elijah, Emerson, Margaret, Finley, Mason, Spencer Jax, Ryleigh, Malone, James, Parks and Davis.

When Peter spoke so long ago it was a dangerous time to be a follower of Christ…and sadly it is still so even in our day. Remember those names above…Pray for them often and give thanks for their courage and perseverance.

Life is Good

jk