Short Takes

~
● Gen 14:18 . . Melchizedek was a priest of God Most High.

Mel was active in Palestine something like +/- 400 years prior to establishing the
covenant that Moses' people entered into with God per Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers,
and Deuteronomy; and as the covenant isn't retroactive (Deut 5:2-4 & Gal 3:17)
then none of the covenant's curses for non compliance applied to him. (Rom 4:15 &
Rom 5:12-13)

Now if none of the covenant's curses for non compliance applied to Mel, then
neither did they apply to the folks for whom his priesthood ministered; which at the
time included Abraham (a.k.a. Abram)

Seeing as how Jesus' priesthood is patterned after Mel's (Ps 110:4 & Heb 5:1-10)
then as it was for Mel and Abraham, so it is for Jesus and the folks for whom he
ministers.

The measure of immunity available to folks via the priesthood order of Melchizedek
is quite an advantage-- it's practically a license to steal, so to speak --and I could
only wish everybody knew about it because there are folks out there whose slipshod
compliance with the Ten Commandments has them on a direct path toward a terrifying
destination.
_
 
.
FAQ: Is it wrong to attempt communicating with God's son?

REPLY: Jesus encouraged prayer to himself on numerous occasions, for example:

● Matt 11:28-29 . . Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will
give you rest.

● John 4:10-14 . .If you knew the gift of God and who it is that asks you for a
drink, you would have asked him and he would have given you living water.

● John 7:37 . . On the last and greatest day of the Feast, Jesus stood and said in a
loud voice: If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink!

When Jesus says come and/or ask he expects the hearers to contact him with an
appropriate response.

● John 5:39 . . .You diligently study the scriptures because you think that by them
you possess eternal life. These are the scriptures that testify about me, yet you
refuse to come to me to have life.

In point of fact, Jesus' superior urges folks to contact His son.

● John 6:44-45 . . No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws
him, and I will raise him up at the last day. It is written in the prophets: "They will
all be taught by God." Everyone who listens to the Father and learns from Him
comes to me.

NOTE: In the letter to Hebrews, Jesus is portrayed as the new covenant's high
priest. Now it would be a fine kettle of fish if I was never permitted to communicate
with the one man in Heaven that I'm confident has God's ear.

I have inoperable end-stage esophageal cancer. Radiation and chemo have slowed
it down, but haven't stopped it. When I complete my walk thru the valley of the
shadow of death, I hope to have enough presence of mind remaining to speak up
the same as Stephen did in his last moments.

● Acts 7:59-60 . .While they were stoning him, Stephen prayed: "Lord Jesus,
receive my spirit".
_
 
.
● Rev 21:3-4 . . Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them.
They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. He will
wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying
or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.

Much of the tears, the mourning, the crying, and the pain will most certainly be
related to the great white throne event depicted at Rev 20:11-15, which will likely
be a public spectacle.

In other words: people will have to watch as friends, family, associates, and loved
ones are literally pale with terror, lips trembling, mouths too dry to speak,
shrieking, sobbing, screaming, weeping, yelping, and bellowing like wounded dogs
as their eyes dart about in sheer white-knuckled panic, desperately looking for
someone, anyone, to help them as powerful celestial beings drag them off to a
mode of death akin to a foundry worker falling into a kettle of molten iron.

The Bible says the lost will be given a fair trial (Jude 1:14-15) which suggests some
of us might be subpoenaed as witnesses for the prosecution where we will have to
testify, not for but instead against, people we know and love; including our own,
i.e. moms, dads, brothers, sisters, grandparents, and quite possibly spouses too.

When I was a child, retribution was academic, i.e. an article of faith. But not
anymore because now I'm 81 and most of my family has passed on. It's very,
probable that my mom and two of my three brothers will have to face justice at the
great white throne event. Somebody else's kin facing that throne is one thing, but
quite a different feeling about it when it's likely to be your own in that fix.

Now; whether the lake of fire speaks of termination plus perdition, or only
termination, is debatable; but one thing is for sure: according to Dan 12:2 and John
5:28-29 there's only one resurrection allotted per person. Therefore nobody is
coming back from the second death because the dead will use up their one and only
resurrection to stand trial.
_
 
.
He looked beyond my faults,
And saw my need.
( Dottie Rambo, 2003 )

NOTE: Solomon wrote 1,005 songs (1Kings 4:32) Dottie surpassed him with
+/- 2,500.

Anyway, that one brief lyric of hers says quite a bit.

● 1John 4:9-10 . .This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and
only Son into the world that we might live through him. This is love: not that we
loved God, but that he loved us and sent His son as an atoning sacrifice for our
sins.

Without Christ's crucifixion, mankind would have no safety net to rescue them from
facing justice with a very meticulous, unbiased jurist; and for sure the outcome
would not be to their advantage. But why would God go to the trouble?

The Greek word translated love in the above passage isn't necessarily relative to
affection. It mostly pertains to impersonal interactions, for example: kindness,
courtesy, charity, civility, tact, assistance, compassion, pity, and sympathy, et al.

Compassion plays a strong role in many of God's activities with mankind. It can be
defined as a sympathetic awareness of others' distress coupled with a desire to
alleviate it. A longing for sympathy is sometimes viewed as a character flaw; but
nonetheless, I think it's perfectly normal for people to crave it.

I've encountered folks on internet forums who actually resent Christ for doing
something for them that they didn't ask for. Well; the thing is; complainers don't
have to sign on for the benefit, after all; it is optional: sort of like the liberty that
homeless people exercise when they refuse a hand-out. But in this respect, we're
not talking about money and/or goods and services, instead, we're talking about a
man's life. i.e. an uncommon donation that's above and beyond the usual.

● Rom 5:6-8 . .At just the right time, when we were still helpless, Christ died for
the impious. Very rarely does anyone die for a righteous man, though for a good
man someone might possibly dare to die. But God demonstrates His own love for us
in this: while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
_
 
.
Missing The Cut

FAQ: According to Col 1:19-20, God reconciled everything to Himself by means of
Christ’s blood on the cross-- all things in Heaven, and all things on Earth. If that's
so, then why are some people ending up in Hell?

REPLY: An RSVP can be roughly defined as response to an invitation; for example
there's a banquet depicted by Luke 14:16-23 where a number of the invited guests
made their excuses for not attending. (Well, I have to give them credit for at least
responding though their host was very disappointed.)

The thing is: God reconciled us to Himself, viz: it's a done deal, but not everyone
among us has contacted God with an RSVP indicating their desire to reconcile Him
to themselves, viz: God has expressed His desire for peace and given His own son
over to death as proof of his willingness to bury the hatchet.

● 2Cor 5:19-21 . . God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not
imputing their trespasses unto them; and has committed unto us the word of
reconciliation. Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech
you by us, to wit: we pray you in Christ's stead: be reconciled to God. For He has
made him who knew no sin to be sin for us; that we might be made the
righteousness of God in him.

In other words: reconciliation doesn't work to people's advantage apart from reciprocity.

* If perchance someone out there favors the idea of settling with God out of court;
here's a suggestion.

Find a quiet place; anywhere will do. Cover your face with your hands for a sense of
connection, and tell God-- under your breath or out loud if you like --that you have
never yet measured up to His standards and you're pretty sure you never will. Tell
Him you would like to take advantage of His son's death as a means of bringing you
and He to the table as friends and allies instead of strangers and foes.
_
 
.
● Ex 31:16-17 . .The children of Israel shall keep the sabbath, to observe the
sabbath throughout their generations as a perpetual covenant. It is a sign between
Me and the children of Israel forever; for in six days The Lord made the heavens
and the earth, and on the seventh day He rested and was refreshed.

The Jews' weekly routine day of rest is a liturgical day. As such it is no more than
twenty-four hours in length, whereas the creator's day of rest is very different.

Six of the creation days were bounded by an evening and a morning; whereas the
seventh day wasn't bounded at all, viz: God has yet to terminate His rest and pick
up where He left off making things. In other words; God's rest has thus far been a
perpetual, never-ending day, viz: it's an on-going rest primarily because the entire
work of creation, from beginning to end, was completed and God left no unfinished
business awaiting His return to work. (Gen 2:1)

● Heb 4:10 . . For all who enter into God's rest will find rest from their labors, just
as God rested after creating the world.

"their labors" are relative to the covenant that Moses' people entered into with God
by means of Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy-- a.k.a. the Law --
which rewards compliance with blessings, while at the same time penalizes non
compliance with retribution, e.g. Lev 26:3-38, Deut 27:15-26, and Deut 28:1-69.

So then, the people can never relax because the law-- with its requirements and its
consequences --is constantly hanging over their heads like a sword of Damocles,
suspended by a slender thread easily severed by the slightest infraction.

By no stretch of the imagination is the Law comparable to God's rest wherein He
ceased from His labors when He was all done and there was nothing else to do;
whereas the Law doesn't permit the people to cease from their labors because the
Law's sacrificial system is never satisfied. In other words; every year starts them
off from square one all over again because they can't get by on only one Yom
Kippur.

● Heb 4:11 . . Let us do our best to enter that place of rest.
_
 
.
● John 6:53 . . Truly, Truly, I say to you: unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man
and drink His blood, you have no life in yourselves.

The kind of life about which the Son of Man spoke is supernatural.

● John 6:54 . . He who eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life.

Note the grammatical tense of "has eternal life". It's present tense rather than
future, indicating that when people correctly dine upon Jesus' flesh and blood they
obtain eternal life right then and there, no delay and no waiting period.

* Eternal life and immortality are not the same. The one speaks of a soul that's
immune to death and the other speaks of a body that's immune to death. Although
it's possible to obtain eternal life now, immortality has to wait until our
resurrections. (1Cor 15:51-54)

For example Jesus had eternal life prior to his crucifixion (John 5:26, 1John 1:1-2)
but he didn't obtain immortality till after his resurrection (Rom 6:9, Rev 1:18) And
according to John 5:24, the apostles had eternal life too; but it didn't prevent their
demise; they're all gone because eternal life doesn't prevent one's body from losing
its youth.

Now the thing is: eternal life is a very core element of New Testament Christianity,
viz: people who lack it also lack unity with God's son, i.e. they are literally quite
christless.

● 1John 5:9-13 . .We accept human testimony, but God's testimony carries more
weight because it is the testimony of God, which He has given about His son. . . .
And this is the testimony: God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His son.
Whoever has the Son has the life; whoever who does not have the life, does not
have God's son.

There are well-meaning Christians out and about insisting that no one obtains
eternal life until they cross over to the other side. Beware making that mistake
because when people wait to obtain eternal life when they cross over, then they
spend the remainder of their stay on earth in a christless spiritual condition.
Needless to say: that is very dangerous.
(Rom 8:9)
_
 
.
● Rom 8:26 . . The Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought
to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot
express.

Intercession in that case can be thought of as assistance with an area of expertise
in which mortal men are amateurs. In other words; it's a silent, invisible, activity
whereby the Spirit moderates our prayers and revises them as need requires so as
to make them acceptable to God's ears.

And there's also God's son.

● Rom 8:34 . .Who is he that condemns? Christ Jesus, who died? -- more than that,
who was raised to life, is at the right hand of God, and is also interceding for us?

In that respect: intercession is prayer, petition, or entreaty in favor of another by
an advocate.

Those two passages reveal that two of the most powerful influences in Heaven are
kept busy supporting the folks who've entrusted their safety to Christ's crucifixion--
a remarkable difference between sinners who at one time were alienated from God
and sinners now reconciled with God. And those two powerful influences are doing
what they do without requiring a fee, i.e. they are not on retainer nor do they
charge by the hour nor is theirs a limited-time offer.

● Heb 7:24-25 . .Because Jesus lives forever, he has a permanent priesthood.
Therefore he is able to save completely those who come to God through him,
because he always lives to intercede for them.

* I was born, baptized, and raised a Roman Catholic. For a long time I was
convinced the Church's hierarchy would stand in my defense when the time came. I
had no clue, none at all, that there was a powerful Heavenly tag team in the wings
wanting to do that very thing for me-- the quality of their association with God far
exceeding the quality of every man of the cloth on earth. How does one even begin
to comprehend the magnitude of such a remarkable benefit?
_
 
.
In Christ

I have a few words to say about 1John 1:5-9 but first about the concept of joint
principal.

Those two words aren't in the Bible verbatim but the concept is very definitely
implied. For example:

● Rom 6:3 . . Don't you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus
were baptized into his death?

In other words; folks unified with Christ are accounted crucified with him so that
they no longer need fear the ultimate retribution because they already faced their
fair measure of justice on the cross.

● Rom 6:6 . . For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body
of sin might be done away with.

● Gal 2:20 . . I am crucified with Christ

● Col 3:3-4 . . For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God.

So then, if all four of those verses are 100% the God's truth, they why are folks
unified with Christ required to comply with 1John 1:5-9?

Well; I see written, and I hear spoken, a lot about forgiveness, but rarely ever see
or hear a word about hygiene; to wit: 1John 1:9 & John 13:4-10.

Fellowship is mentioned four times in the first chapter of 1John-- twice at verse 3,
once at verse 6, and again at verse 7. The Greek word pertains to partnership, i.e.
participation.

In a nutshell; it is absolutely impossible for folks unified with Christ to end up in
perdition by neglecting to confess their sins-- either venial or mortal. However,
Christ has his standards; viz: if they would like to work with him, and have a part in
his ongoing mission per Matt 28:19-20, then confession is essential because Christ
prefers a team of bathed associates rather than soiled. (cf. John 13:4-8)
_
 
.
The Young, The Old, & The Very Young

Whether innocent or guilty makes no difference. The reason that underage children
are not exempt from the Spirit birth that Jesus spoke of in John 3:3-8 is because all
people-- regardless of age, race, or gender --are unacceptable in their natural
condition.

● John 3:6-8 . . Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit. You
should not be surprised at my saying you must be born again.

Nicodemus was a Pharisee and a proficient rabbi. He should've been able to easily
appreciate why people in their natural condition are not allowed to either see or
enter the kingdom of God.

● John 3:10 . . Are you the teacher of Israel, and do not understand these things?

The thing is: underage children don't stay underage. They eventually mature into
adolescents, teen-agers, and adults. Well; if allowed to remain in their natural
condition, those underage children will eventually begin to exhibit the so-called
fallen nature which we know from Rom 8:5-8 makes people not want to cooperate
with God.
_
 
.
A Memorial For Moses

● Deut 34:5-6 . . Moses the servant of The Lord died there in the land of Moab,
according to the word of The Lord. And He buried him in the valley in the land of
Moab, opposite Beth-peor; but no man knows his burial place to this day.

A very curious scene unfolded during Moses' burial. The Devil argued with Michael
the archangel about Moses' body. (Jude 9)

It's been suggested that the Devil objected to secrecy. In other words; it's possible
that he wanted Moses' body enshrined in a sort of Church of the Holy Sepulcher
where the Jews could be lured into idolatry by adoring Moses' remains as a sacred
relic. That's actually a very plausible suggestion. For example: there's a statue of
the apostle Peter in Rome whose big toe has been eroded over the years by the lips
of pilgrims kissing it. (cf. 2Kings 18:4)

Anyway; if the Devil would interfere with the burial of a holy man like Moses, then I
think we can safely assume he (or one of his minions) probably interferes with the
burials of ordinary folk too; and I should think the smartest way for him to interfere
is to ensure the minister comes out with nothing useful in his eulogy; but instead
with the usual mushy rhetoric by which nobody hearing it can be moved to consider
their afterlife prospects. (Just goes to show that the Devil is not above walking over
the bones of the dead to get what he wants.)
_
 
.
Jesus, David, and Adam

It's not all that difficult to show Jesus' human origin began with the creation of
Adam.

To begin with: the Bible says Jesus was on track for David's throne.

● Luke 1:32-33 . .The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he
will reign over the house of Jacob forever; his kingdom will never end.

Before any man can be considered for the throne, they must first be one of David's
paternal descendants; and that's on oath.

● Ps 132:11 . .The Lord has sworn in truth unto David; and He will not turn from it:
"Of the fruit of your body will I set upon your throne"

The new testament verifies Jesus satisfies both the oath and the paternal
requirement.

● Acts 2:29-30 . . Men and brethren, let me freely speak unto you of the patriarch
David, that he is both dead and buried, and his sepulcher is with us unto this day.
Therefore being a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him,
that of the fruit of his loins, according to the flesh, he would raise up Christ to sit on
his throne.

● Rom 1:1-3 . . Jesus Christ our Lord, which was made of the seed of David
according to the flesh

The Greek word for "seed" is a mite ambiguous because it can refer to spiritual
posterity as well as biological progeny; but in David's case; seed refers to biological
posterity because Jesus was 1) the fruit of David's body and 2) of David's loins
according to the flesh.

So then, seeing as how Jesus was among David's biological descendants, then of
course Jesus was among Adam's biological descendants too because we all,
including David, descend from a common ancestor.

● Gen 3:20 . . Adam named his wife Eve, because she would become the mother of
all the living.

● Acts 17:26 . . He made from one, every nation of mankind to live on all the face
of the earth.
_
 
.
Eve & The Forbidden Fruit

Eve was the first to taste the forbidden fruit; and when she did, nothing happened.
It wasn't till Adam tasted the fruit that her original sense of decency was replaced
with an alternate version.

Eve was fully constructed with material taken from Adam's body prior to his tasting
the fruit so it was impossible for him to pass the effects of the original sin to her by
means of heredity.
_
 

Similar threads

Olde Tymer
Shirt Pocket Homilies
3 4 5
Replies
89
Views
991
Olde Tymer
Olde Tymer
Back
Top Bottom