A Foundation of Sorts...

There have been some mainstream preachers and teachers who are now claiming that Christ in His ministry went around teaching the law of the Torah. This is not so, Christ chiefly went around teaching about the Kingdom of God and how we are to develop this kingdom inside of us which is through His ethical teachings and the last great commandment to love one another.

For a brief foundation let me share a brief lesson we learn from the Old Testament.

Firstly, the laws outlined in the Old Testament are relevant to us Christians because they tell us of the consequences of what happens when we violate the spiritual and physical laws of God. The first instance that we can relate to this is the first ever recorded murder in history; Cain and Abel. We find this account in Genesis 4. Most of us are familiar with the story, Cain and Abel gave offerings unto the Lord. God was well pleased with Abel's offering as it was his best that he had, and God was displeased with Cain's offering because it was more of an afterthought to Cain, not his best. Cain became jealous of his brother and the favor he had won with the Lord, so Cain murdered Abel.

In Genesis 4:10-11 we see Cain's consequence. "He said, "What have you done? The voice of your brother's blood is crying to Me from the ground. Now you are cursed from the ground, which has opened its mouth to receive your brother's blood from your hand. When you cultivate the ground, it will no longer yield its strength to you; you will be a vagrant and a wanderer on the earth." Genesis 4:10-11 (NASB).

So what am I trying to relate here? Simply that if you commit murder, you will not be able to settle anywhere, there will be no provision for you, you will be a vagabond and find no peace. This is what the word of God says. I can guarantee that anybody who has committed murder feels an intense isolation because of what they have done. This is a spiritual consequence of violating God's natural law.

The point in this exposition is to say that we do not discount the Old Testament or the law. In Galatians 3:10 we see a stunning statement, "But those who depend on the law to make them right with God are under his curse, for the Scriptures say, "Cursed is everyone who does not observe and obey all the commands that are written in God's Book of the Law." (New Living Translation). This is a somewhat confusing sentiment because int he first part it is saying that those who depend on the law to make them right with God are under his curse, yet the second half states cursed is everyone who doesn't obey the commands in the book of the law.

How does this make sense?

In my understanding, this verse is saying that we cannot be saved by simply following the law of God because the consequence of law is the curse of death because NO MAN can fulfill the law. This is why God sent Christ to be the perfect man who was able to fulfill the law and be the perfect sin offering for all of mankind in order for us to be able to have the chance to have a relationship and an intimacy with our creator, God. What a beautiful chance we have in this sacrifice of unselfish love.

Christ did not teach the Torah, he taught ethics.

A chief example of what Christ taught is exposed in the gospel of Mathew, chapter 5. ""You have heard that our ancestors were told, 'You must not murder. If you commit murder, you are subject to judgment.' But I say, if you are even angry with someone, you are subject to judgment! If you call someone an idiot, you are in danger of being brought before the court. And if you curse someone, you are in danger of the fires of hell." Mathew 5:21-22 (New Living Translation).

This seems pretty straightforward to me. As Christians we are supposed to get rid of the things in us that would even cause us to have a negative emotional reaction such as unrighteous anger which leads to hatred or toxic shame which leads to guilt. Christ was teaching that we are to be in accordance with the law, but to also not even be tempted to violate the law or hold negative attitudes against people because we are called to love one another.

What is the point here? Well, the point is that God knew that man could not maintain and fall into total compliance with the laws that he set forth in the Old Testament, so he sent us a savior, Christ Jesus. This is not to say that we disregard the Old Testament or it's law, because we have looked into the very real spiritual consequence of violating the law of God, but it is to say that we as Christians are not only called to abide in God's law, but to also endeavor to build up our character so we do not even think about violating God's law or hold onto negative emotions or attitudes that would tempt us to sin. We are called to be a new species of humanity, that is not susceptible to the law because we are to be so tempered and refined that our character would not let us transgress or violate the word of God.

I will be posting more on this subject in the coming days, so please stay tuned and keep on reading. It is my hope that this has opened your mind a little bit to delve deeper into the word and the things of God.

A new beginning...

Sorry it has been so long since my last post. I have intended for this site to be a collection of notes, mini-sermons, and various musings, so I strive to make this all a reality.

In the body of Christ today I have begun to see a strong trending in many different churches. The main trend being one of overly basic teaching that has no real depth, no real answers, no real foundation. With things so dire in the world today, it is unfair for the church to continue to preach a very basic word of bless you, bless you, bless you when all many people can see is hurt, pain, and heartache because they may not know where their next meal is coming from, or they are on the verge of losing their home, or they are having difficulty in their family relationship, or they have been unemployed and cannot provide for their families.

In times like these it is unfair to look at these people in the yes and simply say "bless you."

What many people do not realize is that there are real answers for these situations and emotional responses to those situations in the word of God. Not just a basic faith or prosperity message, but serious information that can bring hope, healing, and restoration to those that are so desperately seeking it.

While I will not go fully into this topic tonight, I will begin a basic foundation based upon the controversies of what Christ taught while he was here on earth.

The Lamb and the Shepherd...

Throughout the bible we see many uses of analogies and parabolic teachings from Jesus. The reason for the use of such methods is in order to make the messages of Christ and the word of God to be easily understood and able to relate to people. We see the explanation in Romans 1:20, "For the invisible things of Him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so they are without excuse," (King James Version). The plain interpretation of the verse is this: God's power and authority is shown to us on a daily basis through the splendor of natural creation.

So, moving on to the main point of this thought... The lamb and the shepherd. We, as Christians, are often refered to as a flock of sheep in the bible and the pastors, apostles, teachers, preachers, and other church leaders are charged with the role of being the shepherd of God's flock (Christians). Based upon what the fact that God will often show his principles and teachings through nature and creation, let's take a brief look at a literal lamb. Sheep are among the dumbest of all animals. They have poor vision and are often motivated/driven by food. Sheep are easily drawn away. Sheep become very agitated when they are separated from their herds, and also have their own "flight zone" which is effectively their own personal space, and when that is violated the sheep will go into survival mode and run away due to the discomfort. Sheep also have to be led; if a dominant sheep walked off of a cliff, the rest of the herd would follow.

It is really funny how if we look at these facts about the characteristics of sheep and apply it to our own human behaviors the similarities we see.

Humans are driven by their passions as sheep are driven by their desire to eat.
Humans are often bothered if away from their relatives and friends as sheep are when separated by the herd.
Humans often lack common sense, sheep are one of the dumbest animals in all creation.
Humans are uncomfortable when their personal space is invaded; Sheep run away when their flight zone is trespassed.

Humans can be led astray by a strong leader, and will often take many of their herd with them; sheep can be led to death by a dominant sheep and never question their fate.

With a brief profile of sheep and humans, lets look at some practices of the shepherd.
If a lamb goes astray from the herd, the shepherd will break the leg of the lamb, and carry the lamb on his/her chest in order to create trust and dependence upon the shepherd. Shepherds have to lead the sheep and keep them away from danger, combating natural predatory animals, and shielding their flock from the elements. Sheep can first be led by the promise of food (leading with the sound of a feed can) but upon becoming familiar with the shepherd and the path of the flock, are easier to lead and herd.

Being that our leaders within the church and the body of Christ are refered to as shepherds, the word of God also admonishes those in charge. The prophet Ezekiel in chapter 34 of his book is especially prudent on correcting and admonishing the shepherds of Israel. "Thus saith the Lord God unto the shepherds; Woe be to the shepherds of Israel that do feed themselves! Should not the shepherds feed the flocks?" Ezekiel 34:26. The prophet Jeremiah is also strong against the misleading of shepherds in Jeremiah 8:11, "You say, said God, Peace! Peace! Where there is no peace. And you have not healed my people."

The shortfallings of the shepherds of Israel, which is literal in the sense of the Jewish people, and also a metaphor for modern Christianity, was the reason why Christ came to be the good, the great, and the chief shepherd amongst His people.

When the leaders of the church are not fulfilling their shepherding role amongst their flock, their sheep will scatter. When the leaders of the church are not nurting and feeding their flock, the flock remains stagnant in the same place. These may be strong words, but I have seen churches of thousands of people in cities, yet there is no peace in the city, there is still immense poverty in the city.

The church is called to take up cause for the widows, the poor, the orphans, the aliens in our land, yet we are still able to relate to Jeremiah's rebuke, You say peace! Peace!, but there is no peace and you have not healed my people. It breaks my heart to see so many Christians in one place who do nothing and are ashamedly unprepared and unaware of their calling to be a light in the world to exhibit the character of our Lord Jesus through actions and charity. It also grieves me to see smaller congregations fostering the same people who are stagnant and are not growing.

We are all able to be redeemed, forgiven, restored, healed, and blessed by the saving grace of our Lord and our Saviour, Jesus Christ, who is refered to in the scripture as the "Good shepherd that gives His life for the sheep," in John 10:11, and also as the "Great shepherd" in Hebrews 13:20-21 which states, "Now the God of peace, that brought again from the dead, our Lord Jesus Christ, that great shepherd of the sheep through the blood the everlasting covenant."In 1 Peter 5:4 (amplified), Christ is reffered to as the "Chief Shepherd," "And then when the Chief Shepherd is revealed you will win the conquerer's crown of glory."

The next time you feel lost, led astray, broken, wounded, or hurt; remember that the shepherd will sometimes break the limb of the lamb to establish dependence, to seperate them from the herd to nurture and have the lamb cling to themself, think about the Lord being our great shepherd and know he is with you always.

Sheep facts: www.cals.ncsu.edu/an_sci/extension/animal/.../sheep/sheepfacts.htm, http://www.sheep101.info/interestingfacts.html

Welcome

Hi everyone, this is just a short welcome note to welcome you to my new blog. Here I am aiming to provide some study notes, a few different ideas, and some teaching. Hopefully you will all find it beneficial in some sense. Thanks for reading.