Dr. Barclay with Something to Think About - GOD or MAN

 GOD or MAN

When Jesus was on earth there were those who then, as now, seemed totally confused as to who really was this person. “…Once some of the scribes said within themselves, ‘This Man blasphemies!’” when He healed a paralytic (Matthew 9:3). When He was teaching people in a synagogue “…they were astonished and said ‘Where did this Man get this wisdom and these mighty works?’’ (Matthew 13:54).

Others were just as convinced that He was more than just a man. When Jesus asked His disciples: “‘Who do men say that I, the Son of Man, am?’” Simon Peter answered: “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God” (Matthew 16:13&16). In Jerusalem, in the temple, during the time of the early church, the apostles “…did not cease teaching and preaching Jesus as the Christ” (Acts 5:42).

In the Bible, it seems to be often the religious leaders and learned people who considered Jesus as a man. It appears as though only His disciples and others close to Him actually felt Him to be the Christ and Son of the living God. This was in spite of the many things He did to show that He was from more than this world. Even demons seemed to know more than the Scribes and Pharisees, for when Jesus cast them out of people they came “…crying out and saying, ‘You are the Christ, the Son of God!’” (Luke 4:41).

So if demons and His disciples recognized Jesus for whom He really was, it was because they knew Him and were associated with Him. Other people did not as readily realize His true nature in spite of the feats He did while His ministry was on earth. Perhaps this is because many of His miracles were done independent of His circumstance, such as magic tricks might be done today. But there were times when His miracles were done along with His humanity and not independently of it, and these truly showed that He was both Man and God.

  One day, He was exhausted after teaching many, healing some, rebuking Pharisees and even confronting His relatives. His followers took Him then “…along in the boat as He was…” and soon He fell “… asleep on a pillow…”(Mark 4:36&38) How more human can one be, falling asleep after a long day? He continued to sleep even after a severe storm arose, filling His followers with fear and threatening to swamp the boat. They awoke Him and said to Him: “‘Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?’ Then He arose and rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, ‘Peace, be still!’ And the wind ceased and there was a great calm” (Mark 4:38-39). It was a time of illustrating both His humanity and divinity.

On another occasion, when they had come to Capernaum, Peter was asked: “Does your Teacher not pay the temple tax?” (Matthew 17:24). Now Jesus did not work as we consider work, but was still expected to pay a tax. Nothing more human than paying taxes, so Jesus said: “…[L]est we offend them, go to the sea, cast in a hook, and take the fish that comes up first. And when you have opened its mouth, you will find a piece of money; take that and give it to them for Me and you” (Matthew 17:27). A supernatural way to obtain the money to pay a totally human tax.

Jesus often did miraculous things independent of His other activities; events which some apparently believed to be tricks or magic. However, He did other miraculous happenings in association with His totally human activities showing without doubt both sides of His being.

Was He God or a man? No. He was both God and Man; a big difference and certainly something to think about.

Pastor Caroline - The Goodness of God

Pastor Caroline - What the Lord Requires

 

What the Lord Requires

 

The message today is from the book of Micah.

I am writing from Chapter 6 Verses 6 to 8 and it is in fact entitled in the Good News Bible; What the Lord Requires.

 

(6) What shall I bring to the Lord, the God of heaven, when I come to worship him? Shall I bring the best calves to burn as offerings to him?

(7) Will the Lord be pleased if I bring him thousands of sheep or endless streams of olive oil? Shall I offer him my first born child to pay for my sins?

(8) No, the Lord has told us what is good. What he requires of us is this: to do what is just, to show constant love, and to live in humble fellowship with our God.

 

This instruction is so simply put you cannot possibly miss the message of what God requires. He requires us;

(1) to do what is just

(2) to show constant love

(3) to live in humble fellowship with our God.

 

Now I ask you, if the world and all the people followed this instruction to the letter, what do you suppose our world would look like today? I suspect we would have better living conditions for all people regardless of status. God doesn’t want our sacrifices, He wants our commitment to live peacefully with others, love as He loves, and be humble in our ways and attitude towards others, resembling the character of Jesus. When we accomplish this on a daily basis people will see Christ in us, and therefore want to be a Christian. God wants us to be more like His Son, Jesus.

 

When we live as God requires us to do – we will see the benefit of leaning on Him at all times. We must become dependent on Him, pray and ask Him to direct us every day in the things He requires of us. It will not always be easy to be just and fair, show constant love, and be humble in fellowship with God and our fellowman. We will need God to bring us up a level, especially when we fall below His expectations of our behavior. Sometimes we will certainly not measure up and when we need discipline and direction to bring us back on track, He provides.

 

We should be ever thankful for the people God puts in our life to keep us accountable. When we look back hopefully we can see our journey was not always of our own doing. People helped us along the way, just as God intended. He puts us in the lives of others to do the same, help them along the way. Help your fellowman, family, friend or stranger, to become more than they see themselves being, just as someone has done for you. Remember we are all in this life together, and together we can make life better when Jesus is our leader and we follow His examples of what God requires of us.

 

I would say Micah was a wise prophet, with wise instruction for us. It certainly would be good for us to pay close attention to the message the Lord is sharing with us today. And please remember to give thanks for all the blessings God gives us which include the best instruction for us to have a fruitful life.

 

So let’s all do our best to do what the Lord requires of us. May we do what is just, show constant love, and live humbly in the fellowship with our God.

 

Have a blessed day in our Lord, and enjoy the people who are in your company.

Dr. Barclay's Bible Study - The Book of Romans Part 17

Dr. Barclay with Something to Think About - THREE DAYS

 THREE DAYS

It has been said that every detail and mention in the Bible is of significance. This is probably why, at least in part, we have been advised not to change any part of the Scripture. For example, Matthew 5:18, NIV, states that: “until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the law until everything is accomplished”

For this reason, it is important to look at some of the smaller details which can be easily overlooked when reading Scripture. For instance, at the time of the Passover, the Hebrew people were told that: “…‘On the tenth of this month every man shall take…a lamb for a household…Your lamb shall be without blemish, a male of the first year…Now you shall keep it until the fourteenth day of the same month…’” (Exodus 12:3,5-6).

By this instruction, the Hebrew families were to take in this year-old lamb three full days before it was to be sacrificed. This was long enough for the family to bond with it, to come to enjoy it being around, and for any children to play with it. They were to just become attached to it in so many ways that there would likely have been considerable difficulty in parting with this animal at the time of sacrifice. Yet, either the animal had to die or the eldest son and so a decision had to be made.

So why the three days of bonding followed by the agony of separation instead of just obtaining a perfect lamb and sacrificing it right away? If that had been the case, it would not have been allegorical in so far as the New Testament is concerned, because this event has an allegory as a reference to Christ.

Jesus had to be born and grow to a young man, just as the lamb had to develop for the first year of its’ life, and it had to be without blemish as was Christ.  When John saw Jesus coming toward him, he said: “…‘Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world’” (John 1:29). Hebrews 4:14-15 goes on to say: 

Seeing then that we have a great High Priest who has passed through the heavens,

Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession.

For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, 

but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin.

Christ has been referred to as “our Passover” (1 Corinthians 5:7) because He was without sin as the Passover lamb was without blemish. And the three days mentioned above? Well, three days were long enough for the family to become accustomed to the lamb being around corresponding to the three years that Christ had a ministry on earth and for the Israelites to become familiar with Him, as well as the three days that He spent in Hades between His death and resurrection. 

In Exodus 12, the Hebrew people were to put the blood of the lamb on the doorposts to ward off the Angel of Death. They were also told to eat the roasted meat of the Passover Lamb to sustain themselves over night. This parallels with how we are to take communion, the symbolic blood and body of Christ, to help protect and sustain us in this life.

It’s all there. The unblemished lamb corresponding to the sinless life of Christ: the three days of bonding with the lamb as with Christ being three years in ministry, “three days and three nights in the heart of the earth” (Matthew 12:40), and then the use of the blood of the lamb for protection and sustentation as communion is symbolic for the Christian believer.

The allegorical aspect of the Bible is always something to think about. 

Pastor Caroline - Victory Over The World

Pastor Caroline - Make Me a Channel of Your Peace

 

Make Me a Channel of Your Peace

 

The following is composed by Sebastian Temple.

 

Make me a channel of Your peace

Where there is hatred let me bring Your love

Where there is injury, Your pardon Lord

And where there is doubt true faith in you.

 

Make me a channel of Your peace

Where there is despair in life let me bring hope

Where there is darkness only light

And where their sadness ever joy.

 

Oh, Master grant that I may never seek

So much to be consoled as to console

To be understood as to understand

To be loved as to love with all my soul.

 

Make me a channel of Your peace

It is in pardoning that we are pardoned

It is in giving to all men that we receive

And in dying that we are born to eternal life.

 

Oh, Master grant that I may never seek

So much to be console as to console

To be understood as to understand

To be loved as to love with all my soul.

 

Make me a channel of your peace

Where there’s despair in life let me bring hope

Where there is darkness only light

And where there’s sadness ever joy.

 

Read the lyrics over and over today and you will feel the very comfort and peace of God.

 

This writing is often referred to as the Prayer of Saint Francis – often associated with the Italian Saint Francis of Assisi (c1182-1226), but entirely absent from his writings, the prayer in its present form has not been traced back further than 1912. This is info given on Wikipedia.

 

I chose this writing today because over the years I’ve often heard this as a spoken prayer and also have heard it sung. It has always given me a sense of compassion and comfort. I feel sure this was the intention of the writer.

 

Imagine being a channel (think of a funnel you pour water through), a way in which God pours through you, so you can pour out over others. God’s message given to you so you can give/share with others. In our verbal and nonverbal methods of communication we are able to convey God‘s message as He sees fit. A tender word, a peaceful song, a shared poem, a gentle hug or the holding of one’s hand, are ways we can be verbal and/or nonverbal.

 

This writer asks to be a channel of God’s peace, love, pardon, faith, hope, light, joy, compassion and offer the gift of salvation. There is so much to be found in this writing and it reminds me of 2 Corinthians Chapter 1 Verses 3-4, where the apostle Paul gives thanks to God. We read in this scripture, the following from the Good News Bible;

(3) Let us give thanks to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the merciful Father, the God from whom all help comes!

(4) He helps us in all our troubles, so that we are able to help others who have all kinds of troubles, using the same help that we ourselves have received from God.

 

As we give thanks to God it reminds us that God gives generously to us, all His gifts; especially forgiveness, pardon, love, peace, salvation, and He wants us to be a channel for Him – to others. We bring comfort as we are lead with a compassionate heart for others. When we feel deeply for the hurt, pain or sorrow of another we are sharing God’s comfort with them. When we sit and listen, lift a prayer for them, and offer to do whatever we can to help alleviate their suffering, we are being a compassionate servant of Christ.

 

We are the instrument, (God’s funnel if you will), He works through. How beautiful is it to be considered a channel of His peace? When we listen in love, speak in love, give a gentle touch in love, may that love come from deep within our reservoir, our supply, which comes from God. We will never run dry because God continues to pour into our reservoir.

 

He wants us to be a channel of His Peace.

 

May this be our mission today and everyday Lord and may we be reminded of how wonderful it is to be a servant of our Lord Most High.

Make us a channel of Your Peace.

We thank you Lord for our many blessings.