Enriched in every thing, by Him

I thank my God always on your behalf, for the grace of God which is given you by Jesus Christ; That in every thing you are enriched by him, in all utterance, and in all knowledge; Even as the testimony of Christ was confirmed in you: So that you come behind in no gift; waiting for the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ...   1 Cor. 1:4-7

Things which are not permitted

For you permit it, if a man brings you into bondage, if a man devours you, if a man takes of you, if a man exalts himself, if a man smites you on the face. 2 Cor. 11:20

These are not permitted. Paul was saddened that believers were allowing these things to happen. They weren’t strong enough to stop it happening in the church, they gave permission by their silence.

KJ2000

or KJV2000.  I’ve just stumbled upon this version, i think it’s very good. It’s the KJV minus the thees and thous.

It’s  free on e-sword.

To get it on your computer first download e-sword :

http://www.e-sword.net/

Then go to this link to download the KJ2000 :

http://www.spiritandtruth.org/download/eSword/index.htm

If you already have the latest version of eSword then click this:

http://www.spiritandtruth.org/download/eSword/kj2000.es9.exe

Deep deep down in my heart

Deep, deep, down down

Deep down in my heart

Deep, deep, down down

Deep down in my heart

Do you love Jesus,

Deep down in your heart?

Yes, I love Jesus,

Deep down in my heart.

Do we love our Brothers,

Deep down in our hearts?

We must love our Brothers,

Deep down in our hearts.

Do we love our Sisters,

Deep down in our hearts?

We must love our Sisters,

Deep down in our hearts

anon

Application and Context

Yesterday we visited an institutional church here where we are staying in S India. A brother preached in 1 Cor. 3, about building our lives on the right foundation and taking heed how we buikl, whether with gold or with stubble. After the meeting i met the brother and i said that the applications he was making with the truth of that passage were indeed valid, yet he totally ignored the context, that Paul was referring to himself, how God had made him a wise master builder of the church and therefore anyone coming after Paul should take heed that they are ‘builders’  of the church like Paul, who have churches like the one’s Paul ‘built’ : the Apostolic example being the gold, silver and precious stones and all other ways, like today’s evangelicalism, wood, hay and stubble.

Truths in any portion of Scripture often have a wider application than the context, yet to ignore the context is folly.

One more point: Paul said that he laid the foundation, which is Christ, then if any man builds upon that foundation.. , meaning, Paul was a brother who understood that others would build upon the foundation which he laid. This tells us that Paul was not a sect or cult leader. Cult leaders NEVER move out of the way and allow another to build upon what they have started, never. They always want to have control of people’s lives.

Gotta run, there’s more i want to share on this.

Aspartame spirituality

In the physical world we live in there are things that are natural  (and all of nature shows us God’s order – it is ordered by God)   and there are things which are man-made we call artificial, and not natural, like artificial sweetener.

Similarly, in the Christian life there are things which are ‘natural’ –  of the nature of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, and ordered and maintained by Him, and there are things which are artificial, which come from man’s fleshly nature, or his unyielded uncrucified intellect, and we sense they are artificial before God and ‘foreign bodies’ in the Kingdom, and these are ordered and maintained by man.

With a person’s body of teaching, or our own life’s work of teaching, compare it to the NT Scripture record of how the Apostles taught, and their body of teaching. There is a certain quality and characteristic to their life ministry, and whilst they weren’t parroting each other, the purpose (Kingdom) of God is what defines them, and we call their writings inspired.

Do you know what i’m saying? We don’t try to copy the Apostles nor try to write or speak as ‘inspired’ Canon, yet the same Holy Spirit which worked in them and defined their whole life and teaching should be working in us with the evidence that our body of teaching has MUCH in common with the Apostles.

As John and Peter had much in common with Paul, so also our life’s body of teaching and example should have much in common with the Apostles.

No disconnect between typing and talking

There shouldn’t be, eh. And in turn, no disconnect between our example and our talking.

The testimony of no church buildings

…what it speaks.

It speaks that our temple is not made with mens hands, that this present world is not our home, that the house of God is the people of God in Christ, that the church is relational and not institutional – meaning that if the relationships break down  it ceases to exist.

It speaks that the church is separate from the principles which govern this world.

It speaks that true men of God, true leaders, have absolutely ZERO interest in money, prestige or honor from the world or anyone, except God. Gasp! But that’s the NT standard.

It can speak volumes.  Yet, it’s not a virtue in itself.

Worship bytes or moments

Yesterday i saw a bit of Discovery channel and they were showing penguins, the different types, and i just marvelled before the LORD,

LORD, that’s amazing. It’s amazing what you’ve done. You did great and i WOULD be speechless, only i can’t contain your praise.

If you met a man who ‘created’ a fairly life-like robot, which could walk around and do basic tasks, you would want to shake his hand and say, You did well! You may want to recognize his achievement.

What about what God has accomplished?

And, as amazing as His creation is, there’s one more thing which is often overlooked, and that is that He created LIFE itself.   …Life….      That elusive something which man is immersed in and yet has no clue as to what it is. What is “life”? What is a soul, a spirit?

They’ve done a lot of research, but what it is they aint exactly sure……    B. Dylan

The devil is suggestive

He had some suggestions for Jesus our LORD when He was fasting in the desert. Therefore we’re not to think it unusual if he offers some of his advice or suggestions to us.

But when the LORD rebuked him he departed from Him for a season. Surely we also could expect that; that after failing to get us to follow his advice, he should leave us for a season.

The greatest joy

is to be an instrument of Jesus Christ in helping people walk in the Truth.

I have no greater joy than to hear that my children walk in truth. 3 John 1:4

It may need to be clarified that walking in Truth, before God, may be quite another thing than someone thinking that they have a lot of Bible or theological knowledge.

Also, someone may say, But knowing the LORD is the greatest joy.

The strength of John’s statement, that he has no greater joy than his children walking in truth, rests on the strength of John’s relationship to Jesus.

It tells us that knowing Jesus and doing the will of Jesus are synonymous and inseparable.

John’s joy was not exclusively in the intimacy of his own personal relationship to Christ, it was also in the fulfillment of the purpose of Christ thru him :  both intertwined, for Jesus’ joy is that His people walk in Truth, therefore Jesus’ joy was John’s joy, a common-union.

And this delineates today between disciples and navel-gazers.

Which is why the LORD is not known thru ‘worship’, or by a concentrated effort to worship God, as in the modern ‘worship service’ methodology, which many unthinkingly follow, never pausing to consider that the NT church did not practice such a ritual, or any ritual.

It’s commonly understood that by getting the worship ‘right’ and anointed that thru that medium we enter into intimacy with and know our LORD.

John is saying something so ‘other’ than modern thinking. If John is right, then the modern understanding of worship and worship service is a dead end, it leads no where, it promises much but doesn’t deliver the very thing it’s ‘designed’ to achieve.

John

wrote his gospel 30 years after the resurrection of our LORD. This was the timing of the LORD. We don’t know how John felt and what his thoughts were during those 30 years. After 5 years, or 10, 20 0r 25 years he  may have felt,   Now i’m ready for this! Now i’m mature enough to write my gospel, yet it wasn’t God’s time yet. Of course he wasn’t idle during those 30 years, yet it seems to me that it is God who waited 30 years before giving John the massive responsibility of writing His gospel. Which also adds weight to the the truth that it is inspired by God and not by John.

Like our Teacher

The disciple is not above his teacher: but every one that is perfect shall be as his teacher. Luke 6:40

The “Emerging” Story in The Emergent Church

By Larry DeBruyn

To the Emerging Church, the Bible is viewed as a record of people’s experiences with God. These story-narratives form part of The Story that is beyond human comprehension, the metanarrative. In and by itself, the Bible is not The Story, though it makes a significant contribution to it. The ongoing metanarrative exists above and beyond the Bible. So the Bible functions to invite and stimulate readers to involve themselves in The Story which when entered into, allows persons to come to know God in a fresh new way–like Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Moses, Ruth, David, Solomon, Esther and the prophets–and become involved in the evolving metanarrative. Individual stories don’t necessarily, though they may, carry meaning in isolation from the stories of others. People from all faith groups–animist, Hindu, Buddhist, Muslim, Jewish, etc.–are invited and encouraged to compare notes and enter the conversation as to how God has creatively and innovatively worked in their lives, the aggregate of which comprises The Story. As Eugene Peterson advocates,

We want a spirituality that is world-embracing, all-experience-encompassing. Our sense of life is huge–we are in touch with Asians and Africans and Slavs, with Native Americans and South Americans. We are finding out about the remarkable spiritualities in Australian bush aborigines and the people of South African Kalahari. How can we be satisfied to be people of one book?[1]

In part, this scheme of spirituality may explain why The Emerging Church speaks so adoringly about the narratives of the Scriptures, but does not equally embrace their didactic counterparts, because for them, doctrines, confessions, and creeds imply a fixity and finality to The Story. Thus, two young non-emergent authors write: “Defining the emerging church is like nailing Jell-O to the wall.”[2] Later, they observe: “The emerging church thrives on eschewing definition, of itself and of its theology.”[3] This is to be expected because for The Emerging Church, doctrines imply definiteness about belief and spirituality which they, in their postmodern bent of mind, disdain. Any claim of “definiteness” implies ”arrogance,” which then limits and impedes the conversation with devout seekers from other faith ”narratives.” For purpose of supplementing the evolving story of metanarrative with their faith journeys, emergents need their spirituality, as that of others, to be in flux, not final, so that in mutual “humility,” all might bow before the shrine of their personal “experience” and “narrative.”

ENDNOTES

[1] Eugene H. Peterson, Eat This Book, A Conversation in the Art of Spiritual Reading (Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 2006) 44.

[2] Kevin DeYoung and Ted Kluck, Why We’re not Emergent (By Two Guys Who Should Be) (Chicago: Moody Publishers, 2008) 16-17.

[3] Ibid. 78.

http://www.sliceoflaodicea.com/emerging-church/the-emerging-story-in-the-emergent-church

Sarojini improving

I’m rejoicing to tell you that i believe that our Father has spared her life, as there is a marked improvement in her condition since last night. It appears to be a miraculous intervention of the LORD, as the Doctors had said there is nothing more they can do for her to save her life.  She has now been allowed to stay in hospital and the skin is re growing and it appears the infection is retreating. The Doctor has told her to try and exercise, in a limited way, to improve circulation.

Yesterday the stench of her rotting flesh was near unbearable, today, after a new dressing, no smell.

The reason no bones were broken is that her leg went between the double tyres, which shredded her flesh but did not break the bones. They could not get adequate medical care for the first day so it got infected.

Thanks for praying, will keep you updated.

Btw, Sheela is doing well and we may start our return journey on Saturday.

The things of the Spirit

For they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh; but they that are after the Spirit the things of the Spirit. For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be. Rom 8:5-7

The things of the Spirit are always on our minds, and the proof of this is life and peace. The things of the Spirit :  these are the things to be occupied with.

The spiritually minded person is subject to the law of God.

We are to live our life and function in this world as spiritually minded people. Nothing spooky-spiritual, rather, the opposite of carnal. The carnal person is not thinking about the things of the HOLY Spirit.

The word to mind the things of the Spirit is phroneo, which means the very essence of who you are, the very deepest seat of your being is set on the things of the Spirit, all the time. Not the things of self, but the things of the Spirit. False or counterfeit spirituality is to be wrapped up in yourself, thinking you are being spiritually minded.

Two aspects of our testimony

There is the objective declaring who God is and what He has done, and there is the declaring of what He commands, what He teaches. They should never be separated, but they often are. They go together as a balance.

With gospel presentations, many times the former is left out and the latter is emphasised. I think in most instances the former is hardly there these days. In my own life i know i get somehow distracted from declaring the wonders of who God is, that is, i could be far bolder in proclaiming who He is.

He will not speak by His own authority

John 16:12-14

Therefore when a spirit speaks thru a person and that spirit is it’s own authority, then we know that spirit is not the Holy Spirit.

To pluck an example out of the air: the pope in Rome. The spirit which speaks thru his mouth is it’s own final authority,  it speaks by its own authority, it is not submitted to the Father and the Son, and it is an independent authority bcos it’s teaching is independent from scripture and considered greater than scripture. When a teaching clashes with scripture then you have a clash of authority : a foreign spirit has come and is asking you to submit to what it says, and therefore it is trying to get you to submit to it, rather than the truth of scripture and the Author of it, who is the Truth.

In plain language: This means that when he states a truth, he is asking you to believe it on the grounds that it is HE who is saying it.  He doesn’t defer to another greater authority as the grounds to believe and obey it.  By contrast, a person who believes in the authority of Scripture never asks you to believe or submit to what they are saying just bcos it is them saying it.

All false prophets and teachers speak by their own authority, bcos it is the same unholy spirit working in them. They can never declare that you don’t need them, that the Scriptures are enough.

What an accomplishment

to put a man on the moon!

I like Neil’s attitude:

In his limited public utterances, Armstrong has always turned the subject away from himself. He usually deflects credit to the 400,000 people who built and maintained the vehicles and managed the bureaucracy that enabled him and Aldrin to reach the moon.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/07/19/AR2009071901771.html?hpid=topnews

Sarojini

Please pray for Sarojini. She is here in the hospital where Sheela just had her surgery. Sheela and i travelled down to S India, 3 days drive, for the surgery.

Sarojini was run over by a bus. All the skin of one leg is totally gone, down to the bone, from the thigh down to her foot. It’s infected and the infection is spreading. The doctors have  said there is nothing more they can do for her. She is 52. All her family were saved out of Hinduism years ago by the LORD Jesus after He appeared to her husband, who was a Hindu priest. Then the whole family got saved.

Her face shines with the glory of Jesus. She’s not complaining, but to the contrary keeps praying and praising God, in spite of the terrible pain.

I prayed twice with her and i told her that i would ask others to agree in prayer for her healing. The infection needs to stop and skin needs to regrow over the exposed bones.

Thanks.