ALookintoT

Lately, like many of us, I have been overloaded with negativity and polarization of the recent presidential election. Whether you were for or against the victor, I believe we can all agree, violence is not the answer. Maybe, we should not be so Jonahish. Two years ago I posted “Change” focusing on the importance of looking at situations with a different mindset. Read more why we should be open to change as “…this world in its present form is passing away.” (1 Corinthians 7:31)

We can be like Jonah who hated the cruel Assyrians in the huge city of Nineveh and walk away from them. The result is total division like what I see in our society today. We hate one another’s beliefs and therefore consider anyone, not of our opinion, an enemy. Perhaps both sides of today’s conflicts deserve a chance to be heard and both need an open mind to hear. In Matthew 5:44, we are told to love our enemies and pray for those who persecute us. How can we practice love, if the other side is perceived as wrong and unwilling to compromise or change? We can stop being so Jonahish! When God came to him and said go to that great city, he fled because he did not want to love his enemies. The story could end like this in our current situation, if we remain like Jonah in our attitudes towards one another. What changed Jonah? Being swallowed by a big fish might have something to do with his change in attitude. You think? He prayed while in the belly of the fish for 3 days and nights ending his prayer with “…What I have vowed I will make good. Salvation comes from the Lord.” (Jonah 2:9) The Lord answered his prayer and gave him a second chance to fulfill his mission to become a change agent for the good of Nineveh and Israel who both were headed for destruction.

Jonah was asked again to love his enemies and this time with a renewed commitment convinced the big city to believe in change. Even though Jonah was not too happy about being used as a change agent and continued to argue for destruction, he was shown even those you disagree are part of God’s vineyard. All of us need to be nurtured in order to grow.

Perhaps, with a little care and understanding of one another, we too may grow, if we remain open to God’s loving miracles of reconciliation. T

What the heck is a Pharasite? Well, read on my friend and consider the world has not changed much in over 2,000 years. Politics is the constant. A tick is considered an external parasite that feeds off its host. A parasite can live in or on another species feeding off it to survive. The prefix “poly” means “many”. I have heard it said that Politics is full of politicians who are “many blood sucking ticks”. Politics back in biblical times was full of similar creatures. Back then, they might have been called a Pharisee, who were part of a social movement and a school of thought that became the foundation of belief, not to be questioned. They were put on pedestals, because they were so smart and knew the laws, so therefore anyone questioning them were part of the problem, not the solution. Sound familiar?

My biological father taught me the essence of working for a living and being persistent until goal achieved. I took those lessons from an academic degree in Mechanical Engineering into the field. In the field, is where my experience was gained by those with the experience obtained from the school of hard knocks. As I matured, I became the teacher for a younger group. The first thing I had to do many times was to break down the belief systems of “younger academic scholars” that they do not know enough to risk the lives of their fellow workers in the field. Some were not teachable, even though they were invited, they refuse to participate and failed. The parables of the Tennant Farmer and the Wedding Party in Matthew 21 and 22 reveals much. I encourage you to read for yourself. I see even today as I work in the mission fields after devastation from Hurricane “Laura” followed six weeks later by “Delta”, we are still surrounded by extremely knowledgeable folks who think they should be served. They are parasites, in my humble opinion.

My heavenly father taught me, through his son that when invited or called, we should go. We should not think of ourselves worthy of praise like a Pharisee. Neither should we become a parasite living off another. That my friend, is what I call a Pharasite.

T

Who are they and are you one of them? A person who does not eat meat, and sometimes other animal products, especially for moral, religious, or health reasons. This is right straight out of meanings according to good ole Google. Would you consider a vegetarian as weak in faith? If you read only versus 1 and 2 of Romans 14, then, yes. How many times should you forgive someone? 7 or 77 times? Verse 21 and 22 of Matthew 18 indicates 77 times. Are both of these examples in the scripture a bit misleading? Yes, if you stop and interpret just these short versus. What is the real answers?

First, is that we should not judge and the second is that we should forgive from our hearts. In this day, not really unlike the past, except for instant feedback from the media, we tend to put ourselves into groups of thought. One group will not accept another group. Meat eaters will not accept those who abstain and visa versa. Who is right? Depends on your group and the way they think. Is it any wander we cannot get along in society today as we are so influenced by our social environment? Has our polarization gotten out of control? I believe our modern zest to believe what we see as the truth on TV has misguided us to fall into belief groups where our side is the only side. We tend to judge the other side and we will not forgive them of their perceived iniquities. We are in a sad state when we cannot accept and refuse to forgive.

I have spent several days now working in the mission fields in the midst of destruction due to a natural disaster called Hurricane “Laura”. If there is one thing that will unite you to your neighbor, it is getting yourself in this midst. The light of Christ is revealed more clearly than ever before. Tribal camps fall away and we merge into one group of humans trying to recover. Judging ceases and forgiveness is a natural occurrence. Who are we to judge? We will all stand in front of the judgement seat of God. (Romans 14:4,10) We will be forgiven the same way we forgave others. I hope the forgiveness is from the heart. (Mat: 18:35)

Now, as I write, there is another storm approaching called “Sally”. May God’s grace and mercy protect us all. T

I have often wandered about disobedience. As a young child, it is an act of defiance over authority and exerting their independence. Your parents may have said to you as they did to me, “don’t touch as it will …….” You can fill in the blank. Burn you. Bight you. Make you sick. etc., etc. But, as we get older, our defiance should be more refined into a mature response to things around us. We can or should be mature enough to make our own decisions that is best for ourselves, our families and for the good of all we come in contact. Sounds reasonable but, all too often what appears to be common sense thinking is far from reality. Why in the world would we do something so illogical or disobedient at the expense of our own welfare? By definition, to be disobedient is to refuse to obey rules or someone in authority. It just blows my mind when I see on the news someone defying authority but, in all fairness, we should have a right to challenge authority in a lawful way. I believe we need to act with maturity in our daily interaction with the public and not be so defensive when asked to be accountable. If a police officer stops you for speeding, does it make sense to play the victim or perhaps the mature response is accept authority, receive the ticket and if you feel you have been wronged, fight it in court. If you have something to hide and you know you are wrong, then why be so disobedient? Have you ever heard of being locked up in disobedience?

If your digestive system is working properly and you eat something that can be digested, then the result is nutrition with the balance waist expelled. Laws to help control our health is very old going back centuries. It may have been very offensive to be disobedient to the law. Over two thousand years ago, Jesus said, “Listen and understand. It is not what goes into the mouth that contaminates a person in God’s sight. It’s what come out of the mouth that contaminates the person.” (Matthew 15:10) That statement was considered disobedient and offensive to the educated people of the time. Jesus went on to explain that what we eat goes through us and the by-product goes into the sewer. That is natural and not contaminating in God’s eyes. But what comes from our heart and out of the mouth can be very damaging. Be careful to speak goodness always from the heart.

Here is the good news. We are all disobedient because that is our human nature until we mature enough to understand that “God has locked up all people in disobedience, in order to have mercy on all of them.” (Romans 11:32) Our parents love us, want to protect us and show us mercy even though we are disobedient. What greater gift is there than to receive mercy?

T

I have written in the past about coincidences that make you think. Was this just a coincidence or was it more? I have even referred in the past about these events as suggested in one book I have read as a “God Wink”. Have you ever had something happen to you that is hard to explain resulting in you to question was this Divine Guidance or just a convergence of random acts? It has been said that if you do good or bad things you will live by them. That may be considered an abbreviated Law of Moses as specific to the Ten Commandments. Is the law that cut and dry? Perhaps, if we live specifically to the law and lead a righteousness life, we will die considered a righteous person deserving eternal peace. I believe there is more to it than that. I believe we need to make a connection. “Trusting with the heart leads to righteousness and confessing with the mouth leads to salvation.” (Romans 10:10) Is your heart connected to your tongue?

I am listening to an interesting book called “The Prayer Box” by Lisa Wingate where a young woman receives God’s grace through the prayer letters of an elderly woman who has just died. The young woman had two children and she is in a state of isolation on her own with little financial help. Was it a coincidence or perhaps His intervention? A God Wink!

Peter had a lot of faith. Even he was called a man of weak faith because he let fear and doubt override his faith. His connection was broken in Matthew 14:22-33. When we separate ourselves or break the connection from our trusting heart and our proclamation of the good news, we lose our faith and begin to sink into darkness. During this time of isolation and anxiety of what is happening in the world, we can become disconnected to the source of power that keeps us upright in spite our fears. Allow faith to grow in your heart and know that “all who call on the Lord’s name will be saved”. (Romans 10:13)

If you have time, listen to my brief message. Feel the comforting thoughts that you are not alone when connected to the true power source.

T