Groping in Gaza

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Names in the news are often triggers to biblical studies. Gaza is only the most recent name that is a timeless headliners. Why Gaza is still in the news after so many millennia is without doubt a pointed reminder of unfinished business. Gaza may be an occupied territory contested by Palestinians and Jews, but there is much relevant history that can help us understand the current flare up. First, a great Jewish hero was once imprisoned in Gaza, the shunned and acclaimed Samson. Jewish heroes fall hard because they climb high and they do stand apart from those who merely talk about their national history and aspirations. Israel is a nation that never had its day no matter how many books have been trying to make the point of Israel’s superpower status. People do not need fiction nor can we trust comedians who seem to be the only ones who can say the truth about Israel, Zionism, religious tenets, and bad politics, and get away with it.

Gaza is mentioned in scripture 1/3 as often as Hebron, the place of Abraham’s early residence and the burial place of both the patriarch and his wife Sarah. Gaza is not an obscure city by any measure.
Let’s get back to our heroes. We all know what happens to heroes. They enjoy acclaim for brief moments. People assassinate them. They are soon discarded and forgotten except for the seasonal remembrances and the dogged hero-worship of a few. Heroes have no honour in their own country. On this score Gaza is worthy of mention. If the Israeli government is still wanting to tell a sanitized story about Gaza they should get ready for another hero to crash and burn; crash like the last high priest to kill an animal on Temple Mount or like the last King who courted superpower favour.

Samson did a great job of killing Philistines‎ but he was once the object of ridicule in an idolatrous temple in Gaza. Samson was the first suicide terrorist.‎ Is this what the Jewish state has come to?
‎
Soon after tramping up Temple Mount, Ariel Sharon, one of Israel’s modern heroes, fell silent. Prime Minister Netanyahu is speeding toward his silence and nothing but a conversion can stop him. Well, welding the two halves of his tongue may also save him, but military successes are more often than not measures of failure and pointers to the need to build a genuine neighborhood. Jews and Palestinians are tired of the bloodshed but those voices do not get heard. We get the military sound-bytes which is a phenomenon that reminds us that the kingdom of Israel dallied with military and governance. At least 4 of Israel’s wicked kings were military officers. You think the groping for superiority would be at the bottom of the list? Far from it.

What then is the meaning of the current flare up in Gaza? First, we must remember that that the modern state is Israel is not even a dim shadow of the kingdom that Yahweh intended. While many are prone to have a simplistic picture of the facts. Israel was a kingdom. It quickly departed from its founder and splintered into two kingdoms. Israel has no king and its constitution is the Bible (so go on UK and US, call yourselves Judeo-Christian while keeping the Bible in the distance). They all worship money and capitalism.
Secondly, Israel was never a regional superpower as proposed by some Christian writers. Israel was more often than not under foreign dominion.
The Gaza flare up is one more disturbing attempt by Israel to gain the upper hand and deny the legitimate aspirations of the Palestinian people. ‎It is groping, pure and simple, by a blind hero whose logical satisfaction can only be found in a suicidal ex‎plosion exactly as we saw in the Samson narrative.
This groping for supremacy is both deceitful and rebellious. Palestinian and Israeli intentions can not be anything more helpful than the realization ‎of the future that God has decreed for the land of Canaan.
Ishmael and Isaac cannot afford to forget the day they buried Abraham but their descendants are determined to prove to the world that blood runs like water. Not only do the two lines of Abraham’s family claim to worship the same God, they are first cousins. In my part of the world first cousins treat each other as “brothers”, siblings. But these two go to base extremes to assert their claims. Even when the very organization that gave Israel it’s birth warns about war crimes by the two sides there is no break in the sightless rhetoric.
Lest we forget, Islam has its treasure on Temple Mount and East Jerusalem is the only home many Palestinians have known. So, is the final solution to be one in which there is exclusion and xenophobia? Is that what Moses taught?
The Palestinian ‎Problem is a Gaza problem. “Eyes wide open” are the order of the day. If Jews want to hang on to their superior claim to Canaan over against all others the blind groping in Gaza will result in everything crashing into the ditch.
Another Jewish hero is about to lose his eyes. God forbid that he should, like Samson, pray for a suicidal end to his career, proving to all observers that terrorists come in all shapes and sizes.

Groping like a blind person will result in disaster. The prophets have been ignored so I only hope to help people who have been trapped by Israeli propaganda escape. Jewish leaders are going to wake up and discover that the world does not revolve around Moses, the patriarchs, or the Zionism. Wisdom will be justified by her non-groping children in Gaza and everywhere else.

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Dig into New Testament Greek

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An Introduction to New Testament Greek One

Coming this Fall Semester (September to December) to Rhema Studies of Theology Association’s East Campus

Instructor: Dr. Elbert Joseph

Δεῦτε ὀπίσω μου, καὶ ποιήσω ὑμᾶς γενέσθαι ἁλιεῖς ἀνθρώπων. (Mark 1:16b)

As usual, affordable quality Christian education, scheduled conveniently for most busy schedules.

This course is highly recommend for pastors and everyone interested in more accurately accessing the precious truths in the New Testament.  By the end of this first course the student will be confidently translating Greek to English and English to Greek

 See RSOTA’s website (http://www.rsota.org) for more information or send me a message for registration  or questions.

Baal and Yeshua

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If you thought that the influence of Baalism faded with the passage of time, think again.   Baal may be a mere idol, an idea about fertility cooked up by eastern peoples, but the effects of this false religion is attractive to others beside people who live in an agricultural society, as did the Israelites.   Baalism was arguably the deadliest threat to Israel’s faith in Yahweh.  It was the focus of many cautions from Moses, Joshua and succeeding Israelite leaders.   Baalism left it’s mark on the Jewish people to the extent that our Lord found it important to caution His hearers to avoid certain prayer practices.  Among them are repetitious prayer, unnecessary ritual and self-flagellation.  Baalism’s mark is clearly evident in the church’s prayer practices.  Baalism’s mark is also evident in the sex-soaked culture of many nations.  Well, here we are, 20 centuries later, and Baal is fully integrated into the Church of the Firstborn The lesson from Mount Carmel, reiterated by Yeshua, has likely never been understood in its relevance to prayer.

First, one cannot serve Baal and Yahweh, God and money. Limping between two opinions is absurd and pitiful. One must serve Christ or stop pretending to belong to Him. Secondly, one should not pray like a heathen, because Yeshua said so.

The showdown on Mount Carmel between Elijah and the prophets of Baal contains a sobering lesson for Christian leaders.  What goes on when some churches are at prayer is incredibly revealing, especially with someone assigned to lead and the worshippers cannot hear the prayer leader, so that they can give an intelligent “Amen” at the end.   Or have you not heard some sinful prayers and wondered “Where did that person learn to pray?”

It goes without saying then that the devil has something to do with so-called Christians who are locked in repetitious prayer, addicted to dramatic physical contortions, and joined at the hip with strange doctrines and fables, just like the Baalist.

These practices support the fact that there really is something to the influence of ancient customs on twenty-first century spiritual leadership.  The high number of worship services that closely resemble Baalism cannot be attributed to anything Christian.  The threat to Christian life from this development and trend is evidently serous.

Worship, as a specifically prepared event, lies at the heart of “what is happening in heaven”, hence, when we pray “Let Your kingdom come, let Your will be done” we are addressing a significant component of worship and prayer.  At the centre of the heavenly court is the throne of God and the Lamb, where prayer and adoration are the main occupation. The request and performance of God’s will are at the centre of the vision of heaven.

Secondly, the Lord’s interest in us having a successful prayer life – expressed in His teaching and example – tells us of the essential place of prayer in the believer’s life. The flavour of Christian life is found in the communications between the believer and the Father.  This is made possible through the work of the Holy Spirit.

Just how much the believer leads a stunted depends on how much the believer is communicating with the Father.  We can discover the path to answering when we are able to sift the facts of successful and futile prayer.

Events on Mount Carmel
The Baalist happenings on Mount Carmel (and everywhere else) are a mere pretence. There is one God who has fire and water in ultimate control.  Certain allowances are granted to the real power behind Baalism, the devil.  He is able to perform deceptive wonders.  They are wonders nonetheless. The showdown therefore provides an occasion where the people get to see the difference between (a) God and Baal (b) phony prayers and genuine prayers.  It was to those ends that  God commissioned Elijah to expose the prophets of Baal.  The exposure occurred in the following manner.
(1) And call ye on the name of your gods, and (2) I will call on the name of the LORD: and (3) the God that answereth by fire, let him be God. (4) And all the people answered and said, It is well spoken. 1 Kings 18:24

This fourfold arrangement provides (1) evidence for Baal or God and (2) for the NAME of the deity to be voiced and acknowledged, (3) the production of the request and (4) the challenge of this arrangement was accepted by both sides.  So the prophets of Baal prepared their invocation.   It was all in vain.  Baal had no fire.

The prophets of 21st century Baalism do not have any evidence of their God who is just waiting to do a miracle, and they have no evidence that God wants to stop people from suffering, for they themselves are vivid examples of brokenness.  Their family lives are twisted as was Adam (and mine).  They do not reverse every condition as they claim.

Most telling is not the absence of any miracle , but the act they put on they lie and put on an act when it comes to prayer just like the Baalist did on Mount Carmel.  When they run out of clichés they mutter their favourite pseudo-glossolalic mantra which is predictably the same every weekend. How can a prayer life be so bereft of content that the same phrase is uttered every time prayer supposedly runs deep?

These modern Baalists can fool their comrades in folly, but no-one who has been instructed in righteousness will spend any time telling them they need a life.  Elijah, conformably to his times, put them to death.  We graciously leave them to their idols.  A pastor who is stuck on the same recitation every weekend is strong evidence of an unregenerate life.  A preacher who prepares a sermon that he cannot possibly give in one session is  grossly incompetent.   A preacher who thinks that stomping his feet, clapping his hands, and yelling has some specific effect on demonic forces is short-sighted and unlearned in things of the Spirit.

One of these days,  the God of Elijah will put a cap on the showdown.  He will say quite clearly to the 21st century  Baalist,  “Do I know you?” and they will claim to have exorcised demons, prophesied, and performed wonders in His name.  He will turn them away and assign them to darkness.   That is where charlatans and conmen belong: not in the pulpit, and certainly not at the gateway to eternal life.  The Church is the ground and pillar of truth, There is no friendship between Baal and Yeshua.

 

Harassing the Hopeful

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Some examples of prayer are so predictable that it is highly unlikely that there really is a God “on the phone”. This kind of prayer fails to address the heavenly Father and amounts to childish recitations and Pharisaic posturing that harass believers instead of giving them hope.
I have been hearing examples of prayer where the content is not addressed to God. It is mostly speech-making that tells either God or the audience what we know or believe. Typically this type of prayer then deteriorates into decrees that are hostile to Christ’s plans, contain heretical views, and have no evidence of effectiveness.

No believer is asked to do all things and no one has done all things. Only God can do all things and there are things He does not do.

Believers should learn how to pray and adopt a strategy for dealing with life’s persistent needs. Preachers cannot decree away all adversity. Do they get sick? Do they have family problems? Who are they trying to impress? The same God and Jesus did not heal Paul or Lazarus. Why are believers being told that God wants to heal everyone? Why do believers get sick and die?
Those whose sins are forgiven need not listen to this kind of harassment. People need hope and no one gets everything in place in this life. Otherwise what would be the reason for hope? Healing sick folk is not a major deal at all. Teaching them to observe what Yeshua commanded is the major deal that follows conversion. People do not go to church to get their problems solved. There are enough government and NGO services that can and do a great job at relieving human suffering.

If people are sick they know where to go. According to Yeshua, that is to a physician. Believers go to church to be edified.

Stop the shortsighted madness! Believers get sick and die every day. Have you seen one raised in the last 2000 years? How many have you raised in the last 3 years?

Let the harassment of God’s people end and let us give believers real hope of verifiable ministry of the word and not the same miracle stories over and over again. Real hope is grounded in what Christ has done and will do.

The Number-One Fallacy in the World is the Living Dead

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The number one program on TV is “The Walking Dead”.   Dead people walking is not so strange when the number one fallacy in the world is that the living do not die.  The first lie – you shall not really die – is kept alive by pagans and some Christians.  Even stranger though is the fact that Christians have testified for the last two millennia that most people who are walking around are dead (Eph. 2:1, Rev. 3:1).  So who then are the people who get excited about ghouls, vampires,  the undead, and “departed spirits”?  Are people becoming fans of the Talking Dead?  There is nothing of consequence in the drama and speech of the dead.  It is actually true: dead persons tell no tales (Isaiah 8:19).  Cunningly-devised fables have been soundly discredited and no amount of TV drama and quasi-documentaries can undo the exposure of Satanic lies about human realities and destiny.

The dead are alive; one giant whopper

The sages have always spoken in simple terms about life and death (Ecc. 9:4-5, Psalm 82:7, Eze. 18:4).  If the theory of life continuing at death is true then Yeshua is a buffoon.  If anyone should know who is heaven, who has gone to heaven, it is Yeshua, but He said that ​”No-one ever ascended to heaven…”.  The Bible does not say that the soul (the nephesh) returns to God at death, yet this has been the foundation of evangelical speculation and quasi-theology.  If God takes back His breath of life (nishmat hayyim, compare ruah hayyim, spirit of life Gen. 6:17, 7:15, nishmat ruah hayyim 7:22, ) we are done until He does something about it. 

The term soul begins as a definition of what man is.  Man is a soul, a nephesh. God animated dust by breathing into it and named the result living person, nephesh hayyah, hY*j^ vp#n#.  Hodge, the theologian who is credited with shaping much of evangelical theology opposes biblical language about life and death in his Systematic Theology.  Hodge and those who have followed him reject the text by replacing man is dust, with man is spirit.  Protestant doctrine about the state of man after death is explained by Hodge to be opposed to the doctrine of man “sleeping in the dust until the resurrection” (Dan. 12:2, John 5:28-29).  The Christian doctrine about life and death does not arise from the existence of variant views.  The truth precedes the perversions.  Christian doctrine is based on truths clearly stated and demonstrated by our Lord and His apostles.

All Living Shall Die and All Dead Shall Rise

Everyone who has ever lived will die.  There are no exceptions.  Fables and speculation about Elijah (translation), Enoch (taken), and Moses (ascension), are not truth.  All have a day of reward.  The righteous rise to immortality.  The wicked rise to everlasting contempt.  As time flies, departed humans are being impersonated by demons.  The faithful deacon and the unsaved thief are dead, asleep, resting, awaiting reward.  The devil loves nothing more than to see humans consulting with the departed dead, eating and drinking with the living dead, marrying and giving in marriage.  Echoing the devil’s first lie to humans – “You shall not surely die” is plain folly.   Plain language about what happens when the final judgement is passed is in the right places, for example, Isaiah’s last chapter.  “For by fire and by his sword will the LORD plead with all flesh: and the slain (hallal, to kill) of the LORD shall be many”. Isaiah 66:16

The dead and the living have little in common; they are separated by a great chasm.  The so-called intermediate state is like the absurd condition between saved and lost.  One is either dead or alive, saved or lost. The number one fallacy has one antidote: resurrection.  Faith in the resurrected Christ, and eager expectation of our own resurrection at the end of the age.   The answer to death is not ongoing life.  The answer to death is coming to life via resurrection.  Let us therefore live as though as dying and be ready to die knowing that we shall come to life in the last great day.

Whoever eats my flesh, and drinks my blood, has eternal life; and I will raise him up at the last day. John 6:54

 Jesus said unto [Martha], I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believes in me, though he were dead, shall yet live: John 11:25
  Wonder not at this. For a time is coming when all who are in the graves will hear His voice and will come forth—John 5:28 (WEY)

Dead≠Life

The Gifts of the Ascended Christ

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Gifts of the Ascended Christ1

  • The four-fold ministry that secures the Church has everything to do with (1) equipping the saints to do ministry (2) edifying the body of Christ and (3) growth in Christ’s direction in all things.  In a three-handed gifting Christ builds on the foundation of the apostles.  The apostles on the one hand, and three other “hands”; thus our Lord gave four classes of workers: (the construction is men = one the one hand …  de =on the other hand, )
  • τους μεν αποστολους. On the one hand some APOSTLES (tous men apostolous)
  • τους δε προφητας, on the other hand some PROPHETS (tous de profetas)
  • τους δε ευαγγελιστας, on the other hand some EVANGELISTS (tous de euaggelistas)
  • τους δε ποιμενας και διδασκαλους , on the other hand some SHEPHERDS and TEACHERS (tous de poimenas kai didaskalous) Ephesians 4:11-12 (Wescott-Hort)

Close examination of the terms shepherd (poimen), elder (presbuteros), and bishop (episkopos), shows that the fourth class is a composite of those who guard and feed the flock (Acts 20:17, 28, Titus. 1:9, 1 Tim 3:2, 2 Tim 2:24, 1 Pet. 5:2).2 A shepherd=pastor=elder=bishop.

The purpose for this gifting is the equipping of the saints, for the work of service.  When this service orientation is kept on the periphery of Christian work the Church’s likeness to Christ and the apostles is hard to see.

The gifting provides for:

  1. unity of [the] faith
  2. unity of knowledge of God’s Son
  3. mature (fully-formed) maleness
  4. the [appointed] measure of Messiah’s fullness

A common and popular line of thinking equates the disciples with the Lord, but it should be obvious that the new creation is still a process of creating His likeness and image in those who believe.  Christ is the new template, which brings the human within reach of a likeness to Him.  Adam was not created a “god”; disciples are not converted into “christs”.

In many ministries the baby is in the sewer with the bathwater, because equipping the saints to do ministry, edifying the body of Christ, and growth in Christ’s direction in all things are quite obviously not the priority.  Christ will however have the final say, and it is highly probable that miracle workers will face an interrogation which will reveal that they did not really know Christ.  They were more motivated with showing power over this world instead of becoming disciples and growing in grace.  It is not enough to name Christ as “Lord”.

One can be a front-line witness to or operator of miracles, mouth impressive prophecy, and perform exorcisms and still receive no commendation from the Lord.  If one is not equipping the saints to do ministry the pastorate is in denial.  Instead of a welcome and commendation, the Lord will give them a strong, appropriate, uncomfortable, and truthful disapproval: ‘I tell you that you are no friends of mine. Begone from me, all of you, wrongdoers that you are.’ Luke 13:27 (Weymouth Translation)

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1From an essay The Equipping and Edifying of the Saints

2It is highly recommended that the fourth entry in the list, pastors and teachers, be treated as in indivisible class, due to (1) the practical hazards of a teacher who is not cooperative with the pastoral ministry, or a pastor who is ill-equipped to teach or who neglects the practice of teaching (2) The grammatical structure points in this direction. Compare the grammatical structure of Eph. 2:20, where the article is not repeated with “prophets”, εποικοδομηθεντες επι τω θεμελιω των αποστολων και προφητων. (Wescott-Hort), epoikodomethentes epi to themelio ton apostolon kai profeton.

 

The Greatest Whatever

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In an age of increasing sensitivity to what people have been calling diversity and equality the use of comparative and superlative adjectives has become a hypocritical chess game. As a result, parenting has become a parental black hole. Leading has become figure-headed wandering. Excellence has been downgraded to “great efforts”, everyone takes home a trophy, and the truly great ones are hidden behind bullying, prejudice, and insignificant conflicts based on the love of gain, personal and national pre-eminence.

The colonial and imperial mentality with its greed and domination motifs, heroes and villains, still pops up from time to time, reminding us that humanity is what it is: a creature with options. The current Canadian furor about the word “sons” in the national anthem illustrates how thought leaders can pettifog, pretending to be aiming for the sky in recognizing diversity and equality. It has not dawned on Canadian patriots, to tease out how the First Nations lost their sovereignty, in Canada, the USA, Australia, New Zealand, the Caribbean, South America, and the Levant. Who are the heroes and villains in the great slave of Africans?

O Canada! Our home and native land!

True patriot love in all thy sons command.

With glowing hearts we see thee rise,

The True North strong and free!

From far and wide, O Canada, we stand on guard for thee.

God keep our land glorious and free!

O Canada, we stand on guard for thee. O Canada, we stand on guard for thee!

Here is an example of the greatest nothing. Polls (for changing/against) report: 4/31, 594/5398, 3/9, and 12%/83%. Since when does son not mean offspring, adopted or otherwise, especially in a nation with an English language heritage? Since when does we or our not include the speaker (the singer)? What is Canada’s gender? Why is this anthem using 16th century pronouns: thy, thee? Millions of believers read and study the best-seller of all time in the same 16th century language as the anthem uses, the King James Version of the Bible. Just look up sons in the Christian heritage!

On the trail of the greatest we find all eyes looking back in time, way back, to ancient Babylon, the Medo-Persian empire, Greece and Rome, the first and second world wars. The present is irrelevant, because labelling anyone as the greatest other than a martial arts fighter who just knocked out the opponent runs the risk of calling someone a loser. To call something the greatest is to relegate another to “the pits”, and we can’t have that, can we? There are however men, women, boys and girls, all over the planet who are the greatest.

Malalal Yousfazai is the bravest victim of Taliban misogyny and backwardness. I could be wrong.

What label does Nelson Mandela deserve? What wreath will Barack Obama wear? Does not Winnie Churchill ought to have a crown for standing up to Hitler? Which of the trading nations will rise to the top of the list of Babylon’s prostitute daughters? Does anyone want to claim the title “Greater than Babylon the Great”?

We thought Solomon was wise. What is his legacy in connection with the revealed wisdom of his ancestors? We were sure that Moses was legislator par excellence. Where are his disciples today? We thought the caesars and Alexander were great. Where exactly is their squeaky-clean legacy?

By the way, doesn’t the biggest sword go hand in hand with the biggest shop?

And there went out another horse that was red: and power was given to him that sat thereon to take peace from the earth, and that they should kill one another: and there was given unto him a great sword. Revelation 6:4

And the light of a candle shall shine no more at all in thee; and the voice of the bridegroom and of the bride shall be heard no more at all in thee: for thy merchants were the great men of the earth; for by thy sorceries were all nations deceived. Revelation 18:23

And the merchants of the earth shall weep and mourn over her; for no man buyeth their merchandise any more: Revelation 18:11

The merchandise of gold, and silver, and precious stones, and of pearls, and fine linen, and purple, and silk, and scarlet, and all thyine wood, and all manner vessels of ivory, and all manner vessels of most precious wood, and of brass, and iron, and marble, Revelation 18:12

And cinnamon, and odours, and ointments, and frankincense, and wine, and oil, and fine flour, and wheat, and beasts, and sheep, and horses, and chariots, and slaves, and souls of men. Revelation 18:13

Which nation will stand up as the refuge for oppressed people?

Which nation will take the prize for a religion (culture?) of intolerance of foreigners?

Which nation will stand up for the equal right of all its people?

Which nation wears the crown for its drug culture?

Who wields the biggest sword?

Who built the longest wall?

Where is the peace and security the United Nations is supposed to guarantee?

Don’t everybody stand up now.

Envelope please. The Oscar goes to ………………………….the greatest … magician who has … disappeared from the front row.

The search continues. Nobody wants to be the greatest any more.

Do I know You?

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Look at what they are saying about Yeshua!  Without a gospel filter – Biblical sunglasses – the path leads to the brink of a contradictory and unproductive life.  Remember how Peter opposed the Lord’s last journey to Jerusalem?  He thought he was on to something noble but he had no idea how much of a stumbling block (a skandalon) he was becoming.   Peter was not under condemnation; far from it.  He was a disciple under the Master’s intense scrutiny and tutelage.  Yeshua knew him too well.  The question of mutual knowledge is still relevant:  but it does not turn on how well do I know God, but does He know me.

Eager to find peer-approval we usually find ourselves saying yes to every proposal especially those that offer personal gain or comfort, but the road that leads to spiritual fruit and a graceful character is not on our fave list.  How can God recognize those who claim to follow His Messenger if they keep avoiding  the path?

An easy way to get people to say “Amen” is to say something that awes us whether it provides edification or some kind of  redemption or not.  Among the popular crowd-stirrers are “What God can do”, “God is the same, yesterday, today and forever”, “Only believe”, and the granddaddy of doublespeak “God is here in this room “.  We do not need deep Bible study to know that statements such as these are not absolute in their application to the Christian believer, and need to be interpreted.  For example: where do the  genocidal and xenophobic commands of God stand today?  Is swearing – the uttering of oaths – acceptable practice?

It seems that preachers have forgotten that Yeshua has something to say about what we have to say about Him.  We get audiences to jump and prance, sing and dance, and we declare that the sick are well and the bound are free.  In summary, we perform like the prophets of Baal on Mount Camel and like them we end up without a reliable witness.  What does Yeshua say?

If you want to spent your time on trances, healings,  exorcisms, and prophetic decrees, be prepared to hear “Do I know you?”

What is behind the preoccupation with physical healing if the Christian life is “all about the spirit”?  What is the point of God “coming into  a room” when His residence in believers is not on the agenda?  What is the point of telling people what God can do without an inkling of what He is doing?

The point of doing great things when you are a nobody, unknown to the Boss is that you are a like boxer punching the air, looking good at the weigh-in, but having nothing to show in the ring.

“Do I know you?” may be a mild disappointment when it comes from a peer or a superior, but when one comes to the great day of reckoning expecting a commendation for all the good stuff one has done the question is devastating.  “Do I know you?”  is a stiff rebuke to people who thought that all they needed to do in following Messiah and obtaining His approval was to accumulate brownie points for demonstrating miraculous powers, prophecy, and exorcism.   It is far better to rely on belonging rather than on performance.

Yeshua’s first disciples, after conducting a missionary tour,  were overjoyed that they could exercise power over demons, but Yeshua cautioned them and advised them that their priorities were in disarray.  According to Yeshua, they ought rather to be in joy-mode over the fact that they had been enrolled as kingdom citizens (Luke 10:17-20)

“I never knew you” is the last thing you want to hear from the great Rewarder.  So why don’t we get on with the love: receive it and serve others with it.  Let us carry on with the hope: receive it and inspire others with it.  Let us make our faith count: make sure, above all, that we are known.  It is Peter, the same, scandalous and brash big brother, who seems to have learnt this important lesson as we read in his letter.

For this reason, brethren, be all the more in earnest to make sure that God has
called you and chosen you; for it is certain that so long as you practise these
things, you will never stumble. 2 Peter 1:10