The Tongue - Edition #35: Loving Without Reason

June 27th, 2006

The Tongue – Edition #35: Loving Without Reason

John 15:1-27
“I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful. You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. Remain in me, and I will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.”

“I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. If anyone does not remain in me, he is like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned. If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you. This is to my Father's glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.”

“As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love. If you obey my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have obeyed my Father's commands and remain in his love. I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete. My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends. You are my friends if you do what I command. I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master's business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you. You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit - fruit that will last. Then the Father will give you whatever you ask in my name. This is my command: Love each other.”

“If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first. If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you. Remember the words I spoke to you: ‘No servant is greater than his master.’ If they persecuted me, they will persecute you also. If they obeyed my teaching, they will obey yours also. They will treat you this way because of my name, for they do not know the One who sent me. If I had not come and spoken to them, they would not be guilty of sin. Now, however, they have no excuse for their sin. He who hates me hates my Father as well. If I had not done among them what no one else did, they would not be guilty of sin. But now they have seen these miracles, and yet they have hated both me and my Father. But this is to fulfill what is written in their Law: ‘They hated me without reason.’”

“When the Counselor comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who goes out from the Father, he will testify about me. And you also must testify, for you have been with me from the beginning.”

Starting out with verse 10:

John 15:10 if:
ean
eh-an'
A conditional particle; in case that, provided, etc.; often used in connection with other particles to denote indefiniteness or uncertainty: - before, but, except, (and) if, (if) so, (what-, whither-) soever, though, when (-soever), whether (or), to whom, [who-] so (-ever).

It’s conditional. If you do this, then this will happen. If you obey my commands, then you remain in my love. It seems to hinge all upon the “if”. It all falls back on me. What does this have to do with the tongue? Well, I’ll get there.

John 15:12 command:
entolē
en-tol-ay'
Injunction, that is, an authoritative prescription: - commandment, precept.

Now, I don’t like taking medicine. I don’t. If I can’t skip taking a pill, I’d much rather do so. But antibiotics shouldn’t be played around with, because the disease can come back with a vengeance if the medication isn’t taken to completion.

Injunction (noun):

• The act or an instance of enjoining; a command, directive, or order.


• A court order prohibiting a party from a specific course of action.

An injunction is an even more serious matter. Jesus is prohibiting me from not loving everyone. He’s giving me a court order to love everyone I come in contact with, in fact, everyone I don’t even come contact with, he wants me love. And, he wants me to love them as he loved them, to the point of where I lay my life down for them, should it have to come down to that. What does this have to do with the tongue? Well, I’m still getting there.

John 15:22 excuse:
prophasis
prof'-as-is
An outward showing, that is, pretext: - cloke, colour, pretence, show.

Now I have to account for my sin. I have to show God my heart. I have no excuses anymore. There is no excuse.

John 15:25 without reason:
dōrean
do-reh-an'
Gratuitously (literally or figuratively): - without a cause, freely, for naught, in vain.

When I don’t keep God’s command, then it is like I am fulfilling the opposite: hating him freely. Or, worshipping him in vain, maybe? And just what does this have to do with the tongue? Everything, it has everything to do with the tongue.

1st Corinthians 16:13-14
Be on your guard; stand firm in the faith; be men of courage; be strong. Do everything in love.

Galatians 5:13-15
You, my brothers, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the sinful nature; rather, serve one another in love. The entire law is summed up in a single command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” If you keep on biting and devouring each other, watch out or you will be destroyed by each other.

Ephesians 4:2
Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love.

Ephesians 4:15
Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will in all things grow up into him who is the Head, that is, Christ.

2nd John 1:6
And this is love: that we walk in obedience to his commands. As you have heard from the beginning, his command is that you walk in love.

It’s interesting; yesterday, I learned that walking and living are parallels in a sense biblically. Walking in obedience and living in obedience can be one and the same. If I live in love and speak in love, and the command is to love each other Christ loves me, and I have no excuse to not love anyone, at what point should I hold back? The question answers itself. There is no point to hold back. Anyway, Johnny Out.

The Sinful Nature Study - Edition #3: Idle Notions

June 26th, 2006

The Sinful Nature Study – Edition #3: Idle Notions

Colossians 2:6-23
So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live in him, rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness.

See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the basic principles of this world rather than on Christ.

For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form, and you have been given fullness in Christ, who is the head over every power and authority. In him you were also circumcised, in the putting off of the sinful nature, not with a circumcision done by the hands of men but with the circumcision done by Christ, having been buried with him in baptism and raised with him through your faith in the power of God, who raised him from the dead.

When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your sinful nature, God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins, having canceled the written code, with its regulations, that was against us and that stood opposed to us; he took it away, nailing it to the cross. And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross.

Therefore do not let anyone judge you by what you eat or drink, or with regard to a religious festival, a New Moon celebration or a Sabbath day. These are a shadow of the things that were to come; the reality, however, is found in Christ. Do not let anyone who delights in false humility and the worship of angels disqualify you for the prize. Such a person goes into great detail about what he has seen, and his unspiritual mind puffs him up with idle notions. He has lost connection with the Head, from whom the whole body, supported and held together by its ligaments and sinews, grows as God causes it to grow.

Since you died with Christ to the basic principles of this world, why, as though you still belonged to it, do you submit to its rules: “Do not handle! Do not taste! Do not touch!”? These are all destined to perish with use, because they are based on human commands and teachings. Such regulations indeed have an appearance of wisdom, with their self-imposed worship, their false humility and their harsh treatment of the body, but they lack any value in restraining sensual indulgence.

Yes, I haven’t sent out Edition #2, in case those of you are wondering, but I guess I will send it out today with this one… it’s been on the blog since last Monday, I have just delayed in sending it out for personal reasons that I may and hope to address at a later date.

“Don’t let anyone judge you by what you drink.” And this is a good thing, I think. But when I look at Galatians 5 it says: “The acts of the sinful nature are… drunkenness and orgies…” (Verses 19 & 21).

Galatians 5:21 drunkenness:
methē
meth'-ay
Apparently a primary word; an intoxicant, that is, (by implication) intoxication: - drunkenness.

Galatians 5:21 orgies:
kōmos
ko'-mos
A carousal (as if a letting loose): - reveling, rioting.

So, I guess it is important to not judge anyone who drinks too much as well as if I drink, to not let anyone judge me for what it is that I drink. But the fact of the matter is this: SIN IS OBVIOUS. It is the scarlet letter that stands out to God and the righteousness of his people. I get called out on my sin, and I should be thankful. In fact, I am thankful, although, sometimes when it happens I get prideful and don’t receive all too well. I guess it depends on how passionate I am about my sin. Sometimes my sin is rooted deep and I don’t want to let it go, so I fight for something that I shouldn’t. “Be careful of what you think you know” is a saying I say sometimes to myself, which is why I study, in school, the bible, whatever, I like to study things. Knowledge is good but it can sometimes be a burden. How about this: “Be careful what you want to know.” I mean, do I really want to know everything that God knows? I don’t really think so. I mean, there are some things I know now that I don’t want to know, even with my illness. There are some redeeming qualities to ignorance, but with knowledge comes responsibility. “Knowledge puffs up, but love builds up” (1st Corinthians 8:1).

Colossians 2:18 (italics translation mine)
Do not let even one man who delights in false humility and the worshipping of messengers and pastors defraud you of your salvation. Such a person goes into great detail about what he has “not” seen, and his carnal mind makes him proud without reason.

Not sure why, but there is a “not” before “seen”, according to E-Sword, but it’s not in the NIV bibles that I have. I will try to cross check with other sources to make sure which is correct. Either way, the scripture seems to make a bunch of sense, with or without the “not”. It makes a little more sense with the “not” than without, though, at least for me, but I also want to make sure I am not adding anything to the bible. I put that in quotations specifically simply because of the discrepancy that may have occurred, although the error simply may be mine. I do make mistakes. Admitting them may be against the “MAN-LAW”, although I haven’t seen a commercial on that one, yet.

I like the solutions to the problem. The scripture actually starts out with the solutions:

• Live in him.


• Overflow with thankfulness.


• Build up in him.


• Rooted in him.

Live:
peripateō
per-ee-pat-eh'-o
To tread all around, that is, walk at large (especially as proof of ability); figuratively to live, deport oneself, follow (as a companion or votary): - go, be occupied with, walk (about).

Overflow:
perisseuō
per-is-syoo'-o
To superabound (in quantity or quality), be in excess, be superfluous; also (transitively) to cause to superabound or excel: - (make, more) abound, (have, have more) abundance, (be more) abundant, be the better, enough and to spare, exceed, excel, increase, be left, redound, remain (over and above).

Rooted:
rhizoō
hrid-zo'-o
To root (figuratively become stable): - root.

Built up:
epoikodomeō
ep-oy-kod-om-eh'-o
To build upon, that is, (figuratively) to rear up: - build thereon (thereupon, on, upon).

Interesting enough… to live in God is to walk with him; it is to be occupied with God. Obsess much? If not, maybe you should. I don’t know. That’s just what the bible says. And then, I got to be rooted with God, being stable with my Christianity. The next step is I have to build upon that ground… I can’t just build a foundation and leave it. I have to build walls and a roof and keep building and building. Sunday, the preacher talked about counting the costs. He mentioned that we don’t just count the cost at baptism and that’s it. Ten years later, we’re working on decade old convictions. Wouldn’t it be nice to still be paying gas prices from ten years ago? I still have to count the costs when I go to the pump every time I need gas. How often do I count the cost when I open the bible or when I open my mouth or when I share my faith? I still need to keep building and I still need to keep counting. And throughout all this, I need to overflow with gratitude. I need to be so grateful; I need to be able to have a basketful to give to others that they can then share gratitude with others. So much that I have “enough to spare”. Take Care, Johnny Out.

The Sinful Nature Study - Edition #2: A Badge of Honor

June 19th, 2006

The Sinful Nature Study – Edition #2: A Badge of Honor

Exodus 20:12
“Honor your father and your mother, so that you may live long in the land the LORD your God is giving you.”

One verse today. Yesterday was Father’s Day and I kept thinking about this verse. It boggled my mind with the question “What did God have in mind when he said honor?” Did it get softened as time went on? I know respect is something that just isn’t handed out these days and children; in fact people in general don’t honor anyone unless they are celebrities on television who make tons of money.

Exodus 20:12 honor:
kâbad kâbêd
kaw-bad, kaw-bade'
A primitive root; to be heavy, that is, in a bad sense (burdensome, severe, dull) or in a good sense (numerous, rich, honorable); causatively to make weighty (in the same two senses): - abounding with, more grievously afflict, boast, be chargeable, X be dim, glorify, be (make) glorious (things), glory, (very) great, be grievous, harden, be (make) heavy, be heavier, lay heavily, (bring to, come to, do, get, be had in) honor (self), (be) honorable (man), lade, X more be laid, make self many, nobles, prevail, promote (to honor), be rich, be (go) sore, stop.

I am not going to give the whole Hebrew of mother and father, but just one thing of them, simply because I found these parts extremely interesting...

Exodus 20:12 father:
'âb
awb
Chief, father

Exodus 20:12 mother:
'êm
ame
A mother (as the bond of the family)

Now, I can’t see that God would want me to honor my parents in a bad way. That just would not make sense. The rest of the verse does say “so that you may live long in the land the LORD your God is giving you” and if I were to make my parents live miserable, they could just fulfill that saying “I brought you into this world…” you know? So the honor system would then consist of things like:

• Abounding with love


• Promoting my parents (EX: aren’t they GREAT?!)


• Treating my parents as nobles (as royalty)

How great is this? I can’t say that I have treated my parents as royalty or promoted my parents like I always should have, especially growing up. In fact, I was a horrible, horrible teenager. But, looking back, this scripture makes much more sense now. My father is the chief and my mother is the bond of the family, so she has a pretty tough job, really, she, in a sense, has to keep things in order.

Bond (noun):

1. Something, such as a fetter, cord, or band that binds, ties, or fastens things together.


2. A uniting force or tie; a link.


3. A substance or agent that causes two or more objects or parts to cohere.


4. A connection that fastens things together.

I was thinking, originally, that this whole “honor the parents” thing was simply about respect. And when I came across Romans 13:7 and found that everyone is due respect, then it made me think something that my parents must be due something more, at least when it comes to the ten commandments. And then when school came up on Thursday, it tweaked my brain even more, I just had to study it out. Anyway, Johnny Out.

Friendship Study - Edition #14: The Least of a Friend

June 16th, 2006 (and June 17th)

Happy Friend’s Day!!! (A Day Late NOW!)
Friendship Study – Edition #14: The Least of a Friend

Matthew 25:31-46
“When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his throne in heavenly glory. All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.”

“Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’”

“Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’”

“The King will reply, ‘I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.’”

“Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.’”

“They also will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?’”

“He will reply, ‘I tell you the truth, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.’”

“Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life.”

This is another one of those scriptures I have been sitting on. The internet is broken, so I have been forced to use alternate methods, still using the computer, still using software, just not the internet. I’m using “Compton’s Interactive Bible NIV” which I’ve had for ages, just hadn’t used in a long time. When the internet went down, I dusted off the CD-rom and down-loaded the software. It’s good stuff, but I have forgotten how to use the material, like it’s search engine especially. There are two parts that I really wanted to look at in this passage:

“For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.” And “I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.” These two parts tell basically in my mind what I need to know.

Matthew 25:35 hungry:
peinaō
pi-nah'-o
Through the idea of pinching toil; “pine”); to famish (absolutely or comparatively); figuratively to crave: - be an hungered.

Matthew 25:35 gave:
didōmi
did'-o-mee
A prolonged form of a primary verb (which is used as an alternate in most of the tenses); to give (used in a very wide application, properly or by implication, literally or figuratively; greatly modified by the connection): - adventure, bestow, bring forth, commit, deliver (up), give, grant, hinder, make, minister, number, offer, have power, put, receive, set, shew, smite (+ with the hand), strike (+ with the palm of the hand), suffer, take, utter, yield.

Matthew 25:35 stranger:
xenos
xen'-os
Apparently a primary word; foreign (literally alien, or figuratively novel); by implication a guest or (vice-versa) entertainer: - host, strange (-r).

Matthew 25:36 needed clothes:
gumnos
goom-nos'
Of uncertain affinity; nude (absolutely or relatively, literally or figuratively): - naked.

Matthew 25:36 clothed:
per-ee-bal'-lo
To throw all around, that is, invest (with a palisade or with clothing): - array, cast about, clothe (-d me), put on.

Matthew 25:36 sick:
astheneō
as-then-eh'-o
To be feeble (in any sense): - be diseased, impotent folk (man), (be) sick, (be, be made) weak.

Matthew 25:36 looked after:
episkeptomai
ep-ee-skep'-tom-ahee;
To inspect, that is, (by implication) to select; by extension to go to see, relieve: - look out, visit.

Matthew 25:36 prison:
phulakē
foo-lak-ay'
a guarding or (concretely guard), the act, the parson; figuratively the place, the condition, or (specifically) the time (as a division of day or night), literally or figuratively: - cage, hold, (im-) prison (-ment), ward, watch.

“For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.” When I see someone “pining” for food, I need to feed them. I don’t know what pining for food means.

Pine (verb):

1. To feel a lingering, often nostalgic desire.


2. To wither or waste away from longing or grief.

I guess this gives a new meaning to Pine Trees. “For when I was wasting away, you offered me something to eat, I was thirsty and you offered me something to drink, I was an alien and you invited me in, I was naked and you invested in me, I was weak and you looked out me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.”

Relieve (verb):

1. To cause a lessening or alleviation of.


2. To free from pain, anxiety, or distress.


3. To rescue from siege.


4. To release (a person) from an obligation, restriction, or burden.


5. To make less tedious, monotonous, or unpleasant.

This is interesting: “…I was weak and you relieved me…” now that is very cool. Now the last part.

“I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.”

Matthew 25:40 least:
elachistos
el-akh'-is-tos
Least (in size, amount, dignity, etc.): - least, very little (small), smallest.

Matthew 25:40 brothers:
adelphos
ad-el-fos'
A brother (literally or figuratively) near or remote: - brother.

“I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the worst-dignified-pathetic-scrubby-miniscule-insufficient person that is near you, then you did that for me.”

I guess this puts a new spin on “love your neighbor” and “do unto others.” I mean, if I did to others as I would have God do unto me, that would change things entirely. I mean, think about it. “Do unto others as God would do unto you,” that’s not the golden rule, that’s the ETERNAL rule. The sheep and the goat, I discovered, that if I am a sheep friend, I would do as a sheep would do, according to this passage. If I am a goat friend, then I wouldn’t do as a sheep. It’s pretty much cut and dry. And it’s VERY convicting because I don’t see me doing all the sheepish things. But at least I am growing and that is a good thing. Johnny Out.

Hope Study - Edition #2: A Different One

June 15th, 2006

Hope Study – Edition #2: A Different One

Ephesians 4:1-16
As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit - just as you were called to one hope when you were called - one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.

But to each one of us grace has been given as Christ apportioned it. This is why it says: “When he ascended on high, he led captives in his train and gave gifts to men.” (What does “he ascended” mean except that he also descended to the lower, earthly regions? He who descended is the very one who ascended higher than all the heavens, in order to fill the whole universe.) It was he who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers, to prepare God’s people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.

Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of men in their deceitful scheming. Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will in all things grow up into him who is the Head, that is, Christ. From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work.

I’ve been sitting on this one (pun intended). This is an interesting one, though (I can’t stop it). Seriously, though, when I stumbled on this and discovered how the word “one” meant different things within this scripture, it really changed the whole scripture for me… and I really set this aside for future study, which is for now.

Ephesians 4:4,5,6 one (body, Spirit, Lord, baptism, God):
heis
hice
(Including the neuter); a primary numeral; one: - a (-n, -ny, certain), + abundantly, man, one (another), only, other, some.

Ephesians 4:4,5 one (hope, faith):
mia
mee'-ah
One or first: - a (certain), + agree, first, one, X other.

This makes things quite interesting, because, now I can go back to this scripture and look things with a unique perspective. I consider it this way:

There is only one body and only one Spirit - just as you were called to the first hope when you were called – there is only one Lord, with the first faith, and there is only one baptism; there is only one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.

I don’t think it is a coincidence that there is seven ones in these three verses, both perfect numbers.

Since this is a “hope study” and the scripture is says I am called to “the first hope”

Ephesians 4:4 hope:
elpis
el-pece'
A primary word (to anticipate, usually with pleasure); expectation (abstract or concrete) or confidence: - faith, hope.

If faith and hope are basically interchangeable here, then I thing I need to look at faith in the next verse (it would make sense).

Ephesians 4:5 faith:
pistis
pis'-tis
Persuasion, that is, credence; moral conviction (of religious truth, or the truthfulness of God or a religious teacher), especially reliance upon Christ for salvation; abstractly constancy in such profession; by extension the system of religious (Gospel) truth itself: - assurance, belief, believe, faith, fidelity.

So, this adds even MORE light to this scripture. And, to be honest, with everything has been going on in my little corner of the world, it encourages me and gives me hope.

There is only one body and only one Spirit - just as you were called to the first confidence of faith when you were called – there is only one Lord, with the first reliance upon Christ for salvation, and there is only one baptism; there is only one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.

Just a different way of looking at the same thing. It’s still good stuff. I mean, when I read that aloud, with UMPH, it just fires me up. Glad to be posting again.

The notice for those who receive emails is strictly a legal thing, nothing more, should you wish not to receive emails in the future, I would not be hurt or offended in any way. If you wish to continue, let me know all the same. Otherwise, the last day to without letting me know would be June 30th. Thanks and Take Care. Johnny Out.