Reading through the Deuterocanonical Books of the Bible (which Protestants, especially Pentecostals aren’t “supposed” to read) really provides some insight.
“When people are dead,
they inherit maggots, vermin, and worms.” (Sirach 10:11, CEB)
That was in yesterday’s reading.
Today’s reading offers some other nice tidbits:
“Don’t praise people
for their beautiful looks,
and don’t despise people
for their appearance” (Sirach 11:2, CEB)
Basic facts of life, and good advice to boot.
This is a repost from last year. As I am reading 1 John for “Eat This Book” at our church, I was reminded of the Common English Bible’s rendering of this passage.
9 Those born from God don’t practice sin because God’s DNA remains in them. They can’t sin because they are born from God. 10 This is how God’s children and the devil’s children are apparent: everyone who doesn’t practice righteousness is not from God, including the person who doesn’t love a brother or sister. 11 This is the message that you heard from the beginning: love each other. (I Jn. 3:9-11, CEB)
The life of God is found in abiding in him. Our abiding in him bears fruit. Our NOT abiding in him bears fruit. You can compare the fruit.
Are we living in righteousness? Are we living to please him?
1 John 3:22 is such a great verse… if we ignore v. 23 and 24!
We receive whatever we ask from him because we keep his commandments and do what pleases him. (I Jn. 3:22, CEB) What a powerful verse. Take it and run with it!
But don’t forget the verses following…
23 This is his commandment, that we believe in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ, and love each other as he commanded us. 24 The person who keeps his commandments remains in God and God remains in him; and this is how we know that he remains in us, because of the Spirit that he has given to us.
Too often we want the rewards of God without the requirements of God.
His commands are simple: Love Jesus. Love your neighbor. When those things are coming out in action then you know you are abiding. Then you can go ahead and ASK.
Am I abiding in my Savior? Am I loving my neighbor? Are my actions portraying the DNA of God… or the DNA of mere humanity?
We are on our way as our church starts into reading the New Testament this summer.
The order of how we will read the New Testament is HERE.
It was exciting to have our “launch” last night. We discussed the issues we are facing as believers in today’s culture. We talked about the struggles of communicating faith effectively, living out the power of the Kingdom in today’s world, and our struggles with getting into the Word of God.
Our goal is to make this something that everyone is involved with, and as we meet our “goals” we find a way to celebrate it together.
The most exciting takeaway for me as we met last night was we have a group of people who are ready to hear from God. We are ready to engage the Scriptures and then talk about it. We need to get back to what has been written and join in the adventure again of hearing the Word of God in a fresh way. Something special can happen in a group like this.
11 Therefore, let’s make every effort to enter that rest so that no one will fall by following the same example of disobedience, 12 because God’s word is living, active, and sharper than any two-edged sword. It penetrates to the point that it separates the soul from the spirit and the joints from the marrow. It’s able to judge the heart’s thoughts and intentions. 13 No creature is hidden from it, but rather everything is naked and exposed to the eyes of the one to whom we have to give an answer. (Heb. 4:11-13, CEB)
We need a refreshing touch, a new outpouring.
We need a fresh reminder of how much we need him, and how lame our efforts are without him.
We make too much noise and think it’s God. We need the NOISE of a mighty wind that makes it clear… this is God.
When Pentecost Day arrived, they were all together in one place. 2 Suddenly a sound from heaven like the howling of a fierce wind filled the entire house where they were sitting. 3 They saw what seemed to be individual flames of fire alighting on each one of them. 4 They were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other languages as the Spirit enabled them to speak. (Acts 2:1-4, CEB)
Sunday is Pentecost Sunday. It is celebrated worldwide in the Church. Pentecostals think we’re the only ones who know anything about this. I know that was my mentality for years. Then, I find out the whole Church has a liturgy for this day!
One of the prayers for the day:
To a world dry and thirsty
God has poured out Living Water;
To a world fainting and breathless
God has stirred a mighty wind;
To a world cold and dark
God has ignited the flame
of the Spirit;
Let us worship for the Spirit has come
The Spirit has come – hallelujah!
Yet, having a liturgy for this day, or having the “corner on the market” as Pentecostals used to think, doesn’t mean a thing if it’s just a day.
The passage I will reflect on for Pentecost Sunday is Joel 2. It is packed with promise. But before the promise comes the price. For Israel, they had rebelled so much and the grievances were so great, God had to completely wipe the slate clean. It’s like a hard reboot on your phone. It’s a “wipe” on your hard drive. Just start over!
Joel 1 is ugly. Joel 2 isn’t very pretty for the first few verses. But there is PROMISE.
God is still merciful.
12 Yet even now, says the Lord,
return to me with all your hearts,
with fasting, with weeping, and with sorrow;
13 tear your hearts
and not your clothing.
Return to the Lord your God,
for he is merciful and compassionate,
very patient, full of faithful love,
and ready to forgive. (Joel 2:12-13, CEB)
He is ready to forgive. He is ready to pour out his Spirit. The price of Pentecost is repentance. When the disciples waited in the upper room, it was ten days before the Spirit was poured out. There was probably some “heart cleaning” to do.
We need to “give up to go up.” We need to release our old life of doing it our way. It’s not working! It is time to seek the Lord. It is time to ask for the Holy Spirit to empower us once again.
One of my favorite verses in the entire Bible is Romans 8:11
11 If the Spirit of the one who raised Jesus from the dead lives in you, the one who raised Christ from the dead will give life to your human bodies also, through his Spirit that lives in you.
We truly live in the power of the Spirit. We have so much available to us… and we utilize so little. Actually, we care so little.
We are satisfied with riding our nice red tricycles because we love that tricycle! Why ride anything else? It gets us where we’re going! God dangles the key to the Porsche 911 in front of us and we think, “Good, Lord! I could get killed in one of those things!”
Get off the tricycle. When the Spirit is truly at work in your life, you may just find out what “turbo” power is all about!
One of the small translation choices of the NIV was the use of “sinful nature” over the straight use of the Greek word “flesh.” When the TNIV was published, then trashed, and the Committee for Bible Translation decided to back everything up and start over, the one surprise for me out of the whole process was they decided to move from “sinful nature” to “flesh” in most places.
The Common English Bible, striving to bring a bit more clarity to modern usage, goes a different route.
CEB:
4 He did this so that the righteous requirement of the Law might be fulfilled in us. Now the way we live is based on the Spirit, not based on selfishness. (Rom. 8:4)
NIV:
4 in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fully met in us, who do not live according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.
The word is “flesh,” but what that means in modern usage is the trick.
We really have moved, in the Spirit, from a life of selfishness to a life of freedom. We have moved from being controlled by the flesh… our sinful nature… to being controlled by the Spirit.
Does the use of “selfishness” convey the same message? Is it a good word to bring in for “flesh?”
