SHE SAYS:  Making Headlines

“ISIS Does Its Best to Eliminate All Traces of Christianity in Parts of Iraq and Syria under Its Control” 

 

“ISIS' dark mission: Destroying all signs of Christianity”

 

“SIS tweets destruction of more Christian sites”

 

The above, are headlines seen in the news this week. As a Christian, these actions of ISIS do not alarm me. A cross is simply a symbolic reminder of our Lord’s rescuing act for us. We do not worship icons, statues and even if someone destroys our places of fellowship, the Church still exists – no one can destroy true faith.

However, God has a stern warning for those who choose to destroy His temple (i.e. believers).

Do you not know that you are God's temple and that God's Spirit dwells in you? If anyone destroys God's temple, God will destroy him. For God's temple is holy, and you are that temple. 

1 Corinthians 3:16-17 

 

The persecution of my Christian brothers and sisters in these places must spur me to action. 

1. I must pray for them as never before.
2. I must give generously to support those who have been displaced and those who are fulfilling the great commission on the frontlines. 
3. I must be known for my love for others, whether friend or foe.
4. I must care too much to be silent or idle.
5. I must seek out and learn as much as I can about those in harm’s way. 

God Did Not Remove the Snakes!

SHE SAYS:

God did not remove the snakes!  This reality stood out to me this morning as I reread Numbers 21.  Let me set the stage:  Israel was grumbling about God and Moses (for like the 14,600th time!) because “There is no bread! There is no water! And we detest this miserable food!”  So God responded by sending snakes among them and many people were bitten and died. 

The people were afraid; confessed their sin against God to Moses and asked him to pray that God would remove the snakes.  Faithful Moses prayed, and God provided a way of escape, but He didn’t remove the snakes.  He had Moses make a bronze snake & set it up on a pole in the midst of the people.  Only by looking at the snake, would the people be healed and live. 

This event is symbolic of both the sacrifice of Christ and the faith of His people.  Just like the bronze serpent, Christ in the “likeness of sinful flesh” (Rom 8:3) was lifted up.  All of us have been "bitten" with sin – we’re sinners and the wages of sin is death (Rom 6:23).  Therefore we have no hope for eternal life except to believe and put our faith Christ. 

"Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up,that everyone who believes may have eternal life in him.”  For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son."  John 3:14-18

Just as God did not take away the snakes, once we see Christ as our salvation, God puts His Holy Spirit in us, so even though we must continue to live in our bodies of flesh, tempted by sin, “The Spirit gives life; the flesh counts for nothing” (John 6:63).

HE SAYS: WWJD?

The “What Would Jesus Do?” fad is not as popular now as it was a couple of years ago, but I still see some of the bracelets and bumper stickers.  While reading Luke’s gospel today, I noticed some of the things Jesus did and would do still, since he is unchanging.

1.        Stir up an angry mob to the point where they wish to commit murder.

 “All the people in the synagogue were furious when they heard this.  They got up, drove him out of the town, and took him to the brow of the hill on which the town was built, in order to throw him down the cliff.”   Luke 4:28-29  

2.       Hang out with the “wrong crowd”.

”Then Levi held a great banquet for Jesus at his house, and a large crowd of tax collectors and others were eating with them.  But the Pharisees and the teachers of the law who belonged to their sect complained to his disciples, “Why do you eat and drink with tax collectors and ‘sinners’?”   Luke 5:29-30

3.       Disown his family.

”Now Jesus’ mother and brothers came to see him, but they were not able to get near him because of the crowd.  Someone told him, “Your mother and brothers are standing outside, wanting to see you.”  He replied, “My mother and brothers are those who hear God’s word and put it into practice.”   Luke 8:19-22

4.       Tell people if they are not fit for the kingdom of heaven.

”Still another said, “I will follow you, Lord; but first let me go back and say good-by to my family.” Jesus replied, “No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God.”   Luke 9: 61-62

5.       Not wash his hands before eating.

“But the Pharisee, noticing that Jesus did not first wash before the meal, was surprised.  Then the Lord said to him, “Now then, you Pharisees clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside you are full of greed and wickedness.  You foolish people! Did not the one who made the outside make the inside also?”   Luke 11: 38-39

6.       Intentionally insult people with the truth.

“One of the experts in the law answered him, “Teacher, when you say these things, you insult us also.”  Jesus replied, “And you experts in the law, woe to you, because you load people down with burdens they can hardly carry, and you yourselves will not lift one finger to help them.”   Luke 11: 45-46

7.       Call successful people fools.

 “Then he said, ‘This is what I’ll do. I will tear down my barns and build bigger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods.  And I’ll say to myself, “You have plenty of good things laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry.”’  “But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?’   Luke 12: 18-20

What do you think Jesus would do?

I think he would speak truth into people’s lives even when it was insulting, hurtful, or degrading.  He did this because He is truth:

"Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me."  John 14:6 1984 (NIV1984)

Jesus did this because he came to testify to the truth:

“You are a king, then!” said Pilate.

"Jesus answered, “You are right in saying I am a king. In fact, for this reason I was born, and for this I came into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone on the side of truth listens to me.”  John 18:37 1984 (NIV1984)

Are you on the side of truth?

HE SAYS: “This Too Shall Pass”

I used to sing a song which was encouraging and uplifting to me, but since I have been born again, I do not enjoy the song anymore, and I cannot even sing the lyrics.

Initially, I just felt a sense of dislike for the song, even though I could not identify the reason for my change in heart.

This weekend, the song was sung at the funeral of a long-time family friend, and I could not sing along with the congregation.  I decided to do some analysis of the song to understand better why my spirit rebelled against it.

The first lyric which is problematic is the second stanza:

“Tis not by sight we walk this way of God; But leaning on His love, We follow, with a faith that questions not, on t’ward the things above.”

Jesus never asks us to follow blindly.  He is the light of the world, and he healed many blind people during his ministry.  He healed one man who had been born blind, and everyone saw the miracle.  The Pharisees were so angered by His display of power, they expelled the man from the synagogue.   When Jesus heard what had happened, He revealed His true identity to the man, and the man worshipped Him. 

“Jesus said, For judgment I have come into this world, so that the blind will see and those who see will become blind.”   John 9:39 (NIV1984)

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning.  Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made.  In him was life, and that life was the light of men.  The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it.“   John 1:1-5 (NIV1984)

The assertion of the song that Christians blindly follow their “god” while questioning nothing is NOT biblical, but the real heart of the song is revealed in the last stanza:

“When o’er our head the sky may clouded be, Just hear the Father say, “This, too, shall pass- it bears the promise of a brighter clearer day.””

I was intrigued by the words spoken by the “father”, so I looked for the phrase(s) in the bible.  I did not find them!  I next looked on Google, and the phrase “This too shall pass” came up quickly.  It is from a proverb.  The proverb however is from the Sufi prophets of Persia.  They are a sect of Islam, and their faith is known as Sufism.

I now understand this song is not Christian, because Jesus made us a very different promise.

“Then you will be handed over to be persecuted and put to death, and you will be hated by all nations because of me."  Matthew 24:9 (NIV1984)

HE SAYS: Chicken or Egg?

Sandy found the egg under her favorite hen.  She loved the egg from the moment she saw it.  The color was light brown with dark brown speckles, and the shape was perfect.

Sandy carried the egg to her father, and excitedly showed it to him.

     “I’m going to keep this one father.” she said “It is the prettiest egg ever.”

     “If you are going to keep it” he said, “You will need to poke a hole in each end and remove the yolk and the egg white.”

     “No!” exclaimed Sandy.  “I don’t want to ruin the egg.”

     “You only have four choices of things you can do with an egg.” said her father.

“One, you can keep the egg like it is.  In a couple of days, it will be rotten and break open.  Then, you will want to throw it in the trash.”

“Two, you can preserve the egg by removing the contents so it will not rot.”

“Three, you can eat it.”

“Four, you can give it back to the hen who created it, and she will make it live by hatching it.”

      “But I found it!” cried Sandy

     “Yes, but the hen created it.” said her father.  “You must give it back to its creator if you want it to live.”

Sandy understood her father’s wisdom, and placed the egg back under the hen.

In a few short weeks, she had an even more beautiful baby chick to cherish.

 "Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it." Matthew 10:39 (ESV)

SHE SAYS: Refreshing!

As these hot days drag on, may the truth of these verses refresh our souls:

"The law of the Lord is perfect, refreshing the soul. The statutes of the Lord are trustworthy, making wise the simple. The precepts of the Lord are right, giving joy to the heart. The commands of the Lord are radiant, giving light to the eyes. The fear of the Lord is pure, enduring forever. The decrees of the Lord are firm, and all of them righteous."

Psalm 19:7-9

 

HE SAYS: So, You Think You Want to be Like Jesus?

Most nights when we go to the YMCA to exercise, a certain television show is on one of the screens.  It is called “So, You think you can Dance?”  I will reserve my opinion of the show.  Also, we have been studying the book Radical, by David  Platt.  My brain somehow put these two together.

If you want to be like Jesus, please consider the following scripture:

a)      They got up, drove him out of the town, and took him to the brow of the hill on which the town was built, in order to throw him off the cliff.

b)      When his family heard about this, they went to take charge of him, for they said, “He is out of his mind.”

c)       At this, they picked up stones to stone him, but Jesus hid himself, slipping away from the temple grounds.

d)      Again his Jewish opponents picked up stones to stone him,

e)      When they had gone, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream. “Get up,” he said, “take the child and his mother and escape to Egypt. Stay there until I tell you, for Herod is going to search for the child to kill him.”

f)       and they schemed to arrest Jesus secretly and kill him.

g)      Every day he was teaching at the temple. But the chief priests, the teachers of the law and the leaders among the people were trying to kill him.

h)      Again and again they struck him on the head with a staff and spit on him.

i)        And the teachers of the law who came down from Jerusalem said, “He is possessed by Beelzebul! By the prince of demons he is driving out demons.”

j)        When they came to the place called the Skull, they crucified him there, along with the criminals—one on his right, the other on his left.

All References are New International Version.

a)      Luke 4:29 (NIV)

b)      Mark 3:21

c)       John 8:59

d)      John 10:31

e)      Matthew 2:13

f)       Matthew 26:4

g)      Luke 19:47

h)      Mark 15:19a

i)        Mark 3:22

j)        Luke 23:33