In the Greek, the word for judgement is κρίσις, "krisis". It is also the word for crisis. In the Greek, crisis is judgement and judgement is crisis.
Whenever we are facing a crisis, we must stop and consider what led us there. Are we suffering the consequences of choices made outside the Word of God? The Lord's counsel is sure; those who build upon it do not fall. The rains fall, the floods come, and the winds blow, but we do not fall because we have built upon a Rock - (Jesus speaks to us in Matthew 7:25).
What can we do when we find ourselves in crisis?
The only way to escape crisis is to repent, confess, and start walking in the Light. The blood of Jesus is our salvation out of crisis and judgement.
but if we walk in the Light as He Himself is in the Light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin. If we say that we have no sin, we are deceiving ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. (1 John 1:7-9)
Though our circumstances may take a while to change, our spirit is cleansed immediately. And take heart: if you continue to sow in a new direction, eventually the old harvest will dry up and the new harvest come in. Perseverance in His Way is key.
So there is a way out of crisis and judgement (while we are in this life that is). We face and overcome crisis through repentance, turning back to the Lord and His ways, and perseverance - we must wait for the consequences of our bad behavior to dry up, knowing full well that sooner or later, we will harvest the fruit of His Kingdom in our lives!
Friday, November 30, 2012
Friday, August 10, 2012
Worry means, "to seek to promote one's interest."
In the Greek, worry is μεριμνάω, merimnaō. Jesus instructed us plainly enough, He said, "Do not worry." (Matthew 6:31,34; Luke 12:11,22) Many translations read, "Do not be anxious".
Jesus is clearly telling us to abstain from anxiety; however, in the Greek, we receive a deeper insight into the cause of anxiety: this word means "to seek to promote one's interest".
And isn't it true that seeking a particular outcome causes anxiety? What if it doesn't work out the way we had planned? What if, what if, what if . . . (can't you just feel your blood pressure rising?)
Our job is simple, to seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness; and the rest, is His job. We only have one "worry", and that is to put God first. Everything else is up to Him.
We can do that. Jesus keeps it simple. God is so good!
Wednesday, June 27, 2012
A Different Kind of Evil
Most people think evil is something sinister and malevolent, and it is. But, in the Greek, Jesus speaks of a different type of evil: favlos.
Favlos means the easy, worthless way out. Jesus said that people who take the easy, worthless way out don't come to the light for fear that their works will be exposed. But that people who practice truth come to the light; all the light does for them is confirm that their works were done in God.
"For everyone who does evil (favlos) hates the Light, and does not come to the Light for fear that his deeds will be exposed. But he who practices the truth comes to the Light, so that his deeds may be manifested as having been wrought in God." John 3:20,21
Jesus says this is the reason people shy away from Him. God did the unthinkable, He gave His Son for the salvation of the world, and then people decided they rather have something worthless instead.
Here is the paragraph in its entirety:
16 “For God so loved the world, that He gave His [only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life. 17 For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him. 18 He who believes in Him is not judged; he who does not believe has been judged already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. 19 This is the judgment, that the Light has come into the world, and men loved the darkness rather than the Light, for their deeds were evil. 20 (K)For everyone who does evil [favlos] hates the Light, and does not come to the Light for fear that his deeds will be exposed. 21 But he who practices the truth comes to the Light, so that his deeds may be manifested as having been wrought in God.”
Favlos means the easy, worthless way out. Jesus said that people who take the easy, worthless way out don't come to the light for fear that their works will be exposed. But that people who practice truth come to the light; all the light does for them is confirm that their works were done in God.
"For everyone who does evil (favlos) hates the Light, and does not come to the Light for fear that his deeds will be exposed. But he who practices the truth comes to the Light, so that his deeds may be manifested as having been wrought in God." John 3:20,21
Jesus says this is the reason people shy away from Him. God did the unthinkable, He gave His Son for the salvation of the world, and then people decided they rather have something worthless instead.
Here is the paragraph in its entirety:
16 “For God so loved the world, that He gave His [only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life. 17 For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him. 18 He who believes in Him is not judged; he who does not believe has been judged already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. 19 This is the judgment, that the Light has come into the world, and men loved the darkness rather than the Light, for their deeds were evil. 20 (K)For everyone who does evil [favlos] hates the Light, and does not come to the Light for fear that his deeds will be exposed. 21 But he who practices the truth comes to the Light, so that his deeds may be manifested as having been wrought in God.”
Monday, April 2, 2012
You Are A Weapon of Righteousness!
When we unite ourselves, by faith, in the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, we become weapons of righteousness. This is because our old self, the one that gets everything wrong, was done away with: nailed to a cross. We came up new. This new creation is a weapon of righteousness. It's our choice whether we unite with Christ or not. But, who wants to be a weapon of unrighteousness, anyway?
That's why Romans 6:13 says:
Don't go on presenting your members as weapons (opla) of unrighteousness to sin, but present yourselves to God, as alive from the dead, and your members as weapons (opla) of righteousness to God.
Your Bible probably reads something like this:
Do not go on presenting yourselves as instruments of unrighteousness to sin . . . , but . . .
This word translated as "instrument" in English is really "weapon" (oplo) in Greek. In English, it sounds better to call someone an instrument rather than a weapon. But, let's take it literally for a second; this is war, and when you unite with Christ you are a weapon against this darkness; you are a weapon of righteousness!
That's why Romans 6:13 says:
Don't go on presenting your members as weapons (opla) of unrighteousness to sin, but present yourselves to God, as alive from the dead, and your members as weapons (opla) of righteousness to God.
Your Bible probably reads something like this:
Do not go on presenting yourselves as instruments of unrighteousness to sin . . . , but . . .
This word translated as "instrument" in English is really "weapon" (oplo) in Greek. In English, it sounds better to call someone an instrument rather than a weapon. But, let's take it literally for a second; this is war, and when you unite with Christ you are a weapon against this darkness; you are a weapon of righteousness!
Friday, February 24, 2012
Jesus Always Unties Us
Just as John 3:16 is the "Gospel in a nutshell" because it explains salvation, there is a verse in the New Testament that explains the nature of Jesus and Satan with equal succinctness. It is Luke 13:16, a perfect model of two natures.
To fully appreciate this, there are two Greek words we must learn: δέω (deo) and λύω (leo, pronounced lee-o).
Deo simply means to tie up. I deo my shoe laces when I put on my shoes, the policeman deos the prisoner's hands when he puts them in handcuffs, etc.
Leo simply means to untie. I leo my shoe laces when I take my shoes off, the policeman leos the prisoner when he sets him free, etc.
These are the simple, everyday activities of tying and untying. Nothing complicated here.
In Luke 13:10-17, Jesus healed a woman of a sickness caused by a spirit, she was bent over for eighteen years. The synagogue official became indignant because the healing took place on the Sabbath, then Jesus began to teach us the truth:
"You hypocrites! Don't you all untie (leo) your donkeys and lead them to water on the Sabbath? Shouldn't I also untie (leo) this woman whom Satan has bound (deo) these eighteen years?" Luke 13:15,16
Here is the transliteration of Luke 13:16, the perfect model of the two natures:
ταύτην δὲ θυγατέρα Ἀβραὰμ (this daughter of Abraham) οὖσαν ἣν ἔδησεν ὁ Σατανᾶς ἰδοὺ δέκα καὶ ὀκτὼ ἔτη (that has been tied by Satan these eighteen years)οὐκ ἔδει λυθῆναι ἀπὸ τοῦ δεσμοῦ τούτου τῇ ἡμέρᾳ τοῦ σαββάτου (should she not be untied from her bonds on the Sabbath?)
Satan always ties, and Jesus always unties. You will never see Satan untying someone, and you will never see Jesus putting someone in bondage. Jesus even untied (leo) the donkey before He used it for His purposes (Mark 11:2-7).
And so it is with us. Coming to Jesus we are all tied up by various issues. We come just as we are. We are unable to untie ourselves, as one who is bound can not possibly untie himself. We can only present ourselves to Him and ask to be untied.
Jesus sets us free and puts us into His service. His yoke is easy and His burden is light, and while serving Him we are made completely free.
Turning to the Lord brings us a freedom we can not procure ourselves:
"Whenever a person turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away. Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom." 2 Corinthians 3:16,17
When we worship Him, not only does He set us free, but he unchains those around us as well:
Paul and Silas were singing praises to God while in prison, and the prisoners were listening in. Suddenly, an earthquake hit. All the doors were opened and everyone's chains were unfastened. Acts 16:25,26
Jesus promised that if we consistently read His word, we will know the truth, and this truth will set us free (John 8:31,32). Satan binds us with a spirit of doubt, which acts as a sheild against this treasure, and prevents us from being liberated by the word of God.
In the Greek, 1 John 3:8b reads, "The Son of God appeared for this purpose, to leo (untie and release us from) the works of the devil."
This model never fails us. Whenever we see Jesus, He is releasing someone from his or her bonds. Whenever we see Satan, he is tying people up. Through sickness, strife, worry, unbelief, his aim remains the same: to keep people from their God-given destiny - complete freedom in Jesus Christ.
There is never an instance where we see Jesus binding people and Satan releasing them. This is a spiritual principle we can count on.
Satan will make us feel inhibited about worshipping Jesus, as He knows what awaits us when we do . . . total liberation from the binding forces of darkness!
To fully appreciate this, there are two Greek words we must learn: δέω (deo) and λύω (leo, pronounced lee-o).
Deo simply means to tie up. I deo my shoe laces when I put on my shoes, the policeman deos the prisoner's hands when he puts them in handcuffs, etc.
Leo simply means to untie. I leo my shoe laces when I take my shoes off, the policeman leos the prisoner when he sets him free, etc.
These are the simple, everyday activities of tying and untying. Nothing complicated here.
In Luke 13:10-17, Jesus healed a woman of a sickness caused by a spirit, she was bent over for eighteen years. The synagogue official became indignant because the healing took place on the Sabbath, then Jesus began to teach us the truth:
"You hypocrites! Don't you all untie (leo) your donkeys and lead them to water on the Sabbath? Shouldn't I also untie (leo) this woman whom Satan has bound (deo) these eighteen years?" Luke 13:15,16
Here is the transliteration of Luke 13:16, the perfect model of the two natures:
ταύτην δὲ θυγατέρα Ἀβραὰμ (this daughter of Abraham) οὖσαν ἣν ἔδησεν ὁ Σατανᾶς ἰδοὺ δέκα καὶ ὀκτὼ ἔτη (that has been tied by Satan these eighteen years)οὐκ ἔδει λυθῆναι ἀπὸ τοῦ δεσμοῦ τούτου τῇ ἡμέρᾳ τοῦ σαββάτου (should she not be untied from her bonds on the Sabbath?)
Satan always ties, and Jesus always unties. You will never see Satan untying someone, and you will never see Jesus putting someone in bondage. Jesus even untied (leo) the donkey before He used it for His purposes (Mark 11:2-7).
And so it is with us. Coming to Jesus we are all tied up by various issues. We come just as we are. We are unable to untie ourselves, as one who is bound can not possibly untie himself. We can only present ourselves to Him and ask to be untied.
Jesus sets us free and puts us into His service. His yoke is easy and His burden is light, and while serving Him we are made completely free.
Turning to the Lord brings us a freedom we can not procure ourselves:
"Whenever a person turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away. Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom." 2 Corinthians 3:16,17
When we worship Him, not only does He set us free, but he unchains those around us as well:
Paul and Silas were singing praises to God while in prison, and the prisoners were listening in. Suddenly, an earthquake hit. All the doors were opened and everyone's chains were unfastened. Acts 16:25,26
Jesus promised that if we consistently read His word, we will know the truth, and this truth will set us free (John 8:31,32). Satan binds us with a spirit of doubt, which acts as a sheild against this treasure, and prevents us from being liberated by the word of God.
In the Greek, 1 John 3:8b reads, "The Son of God appeared for this purpose, to leo (untie and release us from) the works of the devil."
This model never fails us. Whenever we see Jesus, He is releasing someone from his or her bonds. Whenever we see Satan, he is tying people up. Through sickness, strife, worry, unbelief, his aim remains the same: to keep people from their God-given destiny - complete freedom in Jesus Christ.
There is never an instance where we see Jesus binding people and Satan releasing them. This is a spiritual principle we can count on.
Satan will make us feel inhibited about worshipping Jesus, as He knows what awaits us when we do . . . total liberation from the binding forces of darkness!
Thursday, January 26, 2012
Homosexuality is just not that special . . .
In the Greek, homosexuality is just another sexual perversion, of which there are many. In American culture, homosexuals have been elevated to a separate class of persons. We can not discriminate on the basis of: race, religion, gender, nationality, handicap, and now . . . sexual orientation, as if to say that homosexuals are in a separate category, a class of their own - like someone in a wheelchair.
This was not the case in ancient Greece and is reflected in the ancient writings. The New Testament does not give homosexuality such distinction or classification. In fact, it is not distinguished at all; it is lumped in with all other perversions of God's way.
In 1 Corinthians 6:9-11 we read:
"Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived; neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor homosexuals, nor thieves, nor the covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers, will inherit the kingdom of God."
First of all, the word translated as "homosexual" in the above passage is "ἀρσενοκοίτης" or "arsenocoitus". It is a compound word composed of arren and koite. Arren means male, and koite means coitus (sexual intercourse). Thus, arsenocoitus means "male-intercourse". Effeminate refers to the catamite, a boy kept for sexual relations with a man. These were common practices throughout Greece.
Married men would visit prostitutes, male, female, or young boy. This shocks us down to our puritanical boots, but that's just the way it was in antiquity. I should add that, even today in modern Greece, heterosexual men will on occasion seek sex with other men; it is for their own pleasure and gratification. Americans can not relate to this; nevertheless, never was a male-on-male sexual relationship distinguished as a special case until recent years.
In Paul's letter, the list of sins does not give any special treatment to male-on-male sex. The chapter is on sanctification and how God's people are to come out of worldly behavior because they have been washed, sanctified, and justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ (verse 11).
At this point we might ask, how can anyone derive sexual pleasure by having sex with a child? Though our culture is accepting of homosexuality, it writhes at pedophilia. Not so in ancient cultures.
Our sexual preferences are culturally developed. In some cultures, men are attracted to obese women; in other cultures, thin is in. Heterosexual men in Greece found pleasure in having sex with boys and other men, in addition to female prostitutes. Because this is unacceptable in Western culture, we appease our collective conscience by creating a separate category of people called "gay".
In Paul's first letter to the church in Thessaloniki (also in Greece), he instructs,
"For this is the will of God, your sanctification; that is, that you abstain from sexual immorality;that each of you know how to possess his own vessel in sanctification and honor,not in lustful passion, like the Gentiles who do not know God;and that no man transgress and defraud his brother in the matter because the Lord is the avenger in all these things, just as we also told you before and solemnly warned you.For God has not called us for the purpose of impurity, but in sanctification." 1 Thes. 4:3-7
In the passage exorting the Christian to lead a sexually pure life, men are encouraged not to "defraud their brother"; in the Greek this word (defraud) means to cross the boundary and take advantage of your brother. The topic is sexual purity.
Homosexual relations are not "special". They are just another form of sexual perversion! We can not allow the culture to define our morality. The child of God has clear guidance on all topics in the word of God, the Holy Bible.
This was not the case in ancient Greece and is reflected in the ancient writings. The New Testament does not give homosexuality such distinction or classification. In fact, it is not distinguished at all; it is lumped in with all other perversions of God's way.
In 1 Corinthians 6:9-11 we read:
"Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived; neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor homosexuals, nor thieves, nor the covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers, will inherit the kingdom of God."
First of all, the word translated as "homosexual" in the above passage is "ἀρσενοκοίτης" or "arsenocoitus". It is a compound word composed of arren and koite. Arren means male, and koite means coitus (sexual intercourse). Thus, arsenocoitus means "male-intercourse". Effeminate refers to the catamite, a boy kept for sexual relations with a man. These were common practices throughout Greece.
Married men would visit prostitutes, male, female, or young boy. This shocks us down to our puritanical boots, but that's just the way it was in antiquity. I should add that, even today in modern Greece, heterosexual men will on occasion seek sex with other men; it is for their own pleasure and gratification. Americans can not relate to this; nevertheless, never was a male-on-male sexual relationship distinguished as a special case until recent years.
In Paul's letter, the list of sins does not give any special treatment to male-on-male sex. The chapter is on sanctification and how God's people are to come out of worldly behavior because they have been washed, sanctified, and justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ (verse 11).
At this point we might ask, how can anyone derive sexual pleasure by having sex with a child? Though our culture is accepting of homosexuality, it writhes at pedophilia. Not so in ancient cultures.
Our sexual preferences are culturally developed. In some cultures, men are attracted to obese women; in other cultures, thin is in. Heterosexual men in Greece found pleasure in having sex with boys and other men, in addition to female prostitutes. Because this is unacceptable in Western culture, we appease our collective conscience by creating a separate category of people called "gay".
In Paul's first letter to the church in Thessaloniki (also in Greece), he instructs,
"For this is the will of God, your sanctification; that is, that you abstain from sexual immorality;that each of you know how to possess his own vessel in sanctification and honor,not in lustful passion, like the Gentiles who do not know God;and that no man transgress and defraud his brother in the matter because the Lord is the avenger in all these things, just as we also told you before and solemnly warned you.For God has not called us for the purpose of impurity, but in sanctification." 1 Thes. 4:3-7
In the passage exorting the Christian to lead a sexually pure life, men are encouraged not to "defraud their brother"; in the Greek this word (defraud) means to cross the boundary and take advantage of your brother. The topic is sexual purity.
Homosexual relations are not "special". They are just another form of sexual perversion! We can not allow the culture to define our morality. The child of God has clear guidance on all topics in the word of God, the Holy Bible.
Thursday, December 22, 2011
Self Control Means "In His Dominion"
We read about the fruit of the Spirit in Galatians 5:23,23. One attribute of this fruit is "self-control". In English, it sounds like self is doing the control. In the Greek this word is "enkratia" which, when broken down to its parts of "en" and "kratia", literally means "in + His Dominion". It's God-control. It's not really self that's doing the controlling, though it is up to us to obey Him.
Not to be too nit-picky, but sometimes analyzing the original word helps us apply it to our lives. In this case, understanding that our spirits are to be submitted and governed by the Holy Spirit at all times helps our understanding of Who is doing the controlling. This may help us from being stiff, religious, or legalistic in our walk. Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom!
Not to be too nit-picky, but sometimes analyzing the original word helps us apply it to our lives. In this case, understanding that our spirits are to be submitted and governed by the Holy Spirit at all times helps our understanding of Who is doing the controlling. This may help us from being stiff, religious, or legalistic in our walk. Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom!
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