Hope & Trust in a world without either

There is a curious parable in Luke chapter 16. It stands out among Christ’s parables since unlike most, it’s NOT a revelation about God’s Kingdom. Rather a commentary about humanity. A testament to where we should and shouldn’t place our hope and trust. (Psalm 118:8, Jeremiah 17:5-6) So it’s a parable we must read carefully, because without this understanding we may misconstrue a bad example as a good one, and take certain statements out of context. So let’s break this down carefully.

Luke 16:1-15

Jesus told his disciples: “There was a rich man whose manager was accused of wasting his possessions.
So he called him in and asked him, ‘What is this I hear about you? Give an account of your management, because you cannot be manager any longer.’ 

The setup of this obscure parable. An audit of a dishonest manager if you will, to use modern vernacular.

“The manager said to himself, ‘What shall I do now? My master is taking away my job. I’m not strong enough to dig, and I’m ashamed to beg— I know what I’ll do so that, when I lose my job here, people will welcome me into their houses.’”
So he called in each one of his master’s debtors. He asked the first, ‘How much do you owe my master?’
“ ‘Nine hundred gallons of olive oil,’ he replied.
“The manager told him, ‘Take your bill, sit down quickly, and make it four hundred and fifty.’
“Then he asked the second, ‘And how much do you owe?’
“ ‘A thousand bushels of wheat,’ he replied.
“He told him, ‘Take your bill and make it eight hundred.’ “ 

The manager weighs his options, only to rely on what he knows, manipulation and underhandedness, rather than doing the right thing.

The master commended the dishonest manager because he had acted shrewdly. 

An unexpected thing to hear Jesus say, but one must consider the context. The rich man does not represent the Lord or anything divine in this particular parable. Unlike many others where God is interjected somehow.

For the people of this world are more shrewd in dealing with their own kind than are the people of the light. 

Dishonorable people are more likely to betray people like themselves. Who are less likely to judge them or hold them accountable. In dog-eat-dog industries, there is a culture of greed and disrespect for those who don’t live by the harsh reality of it. Even if you are on the wrong end of it, as we see here. Alphas, as we often call them, know people will try to undermine them to get ahead. They anticipate and prepare for it. This is what makes them top dogs. This is not a recommendation from Christ. Rather a simple but unfortunate fact that we must keep in mind when dealing with worldly people. All the more reason to be wary of said communities.

I tell you, use worldly wealth to gain friends for yourselves, so that when it is gone, you will be welcomed into eternal dwellings. 

Again, out of context, it may seem like Jesus is telling us to buy friends. In context, he is just exposing the shallowness of a world that we may envy at times. Dishonorable people want to get people indebted to them because they are always keeping score. They know nothing else, so they can’t recommend anything else. If we earn our relationships through provision, that is likely what it will take to maintain them. Such people love the provision more than the providers. This is why we shouldn’t trust them. In the original Greek ‘Eternal’ refers to a long period of time, not something divine.

“Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much, and whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with much.
So if you have not been trustworthy in handling worldly wealth, who will trust you with true riches? And if you have not been trustworthy with someone else’s property, who will give you property of your own?
Here is where God’s Judgment finally comes into play. Those who will do bad things for you, or with you, will also do bad things to you. As it is often said, trust what people do more than what they say. It paints a more accurate picture of their character. God watches and blesses character, even when people are too mesmerized by wealth and popularity to notice actual integrity.

“No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.” 

A famous verse in and of itself. Often quoted outside the context of the parable. The manager served only self, and he used money to do that. He also coveted what his master had, and hated him for it. Don’t trust anyone who puts their hope in money. They will betray you for money if given the chance.

The Pharisees, who loved money, heard all this and were sneering at Jesus. 

They didn’t like being held accountable to their master either. They didn’t like a spotlight being put on their superficial hearts. Since it exposed their unrighteousness.

He said to them, “You are the ones who justify yourselves in the eyes of others, but God knows your hearts. 

The Pharisees, like the shrewd manager, have earned all the respect, admiration, and relationships they had through worldly means. Yet God sees right through this thin veneer. What do you value more in this world so motivated by acceptance, approval, and validation? Where does your genuine self-worth lie?

What people value highly is detestable in God’s sight.” 

But unlike the rich man and the Pharisees, God sees nothing noble, commendable, or trustworthy about any of this. As I implied earlier the parable is an example of a bad example. What not to emulate about human nature.

Jesus also said ““See, I am sending you out like sheep into the midst of wolves; so be wise as serpents and innocent as doves.”-Matthew 10:16

When you put it together The takeaway is don’t be naive, but be cautious in navigating this wicked world. Yet don’t let caution lead to bitterness and cynicism. Most of the time we go to either extreme, instead of a wise balance.

The Visual PARABLEist

“Be on your guard; stand firm in the faith; be courageous; be strong.”
-1 Corinthians 16:13

In the Wrong

John 16:7-11 is a curious passage about the Holy Spirit indeed. I wonder why it hasn’t jumped out at me before. Then again, it’s a long stringy statement. It’s easy to let it all run together in our minds without thinking about the specific ramifications. So I will break it down for you, detail by detail.

“But very truly I tell you, it is for your good that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Advocate will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you.”
    As much as we think nothing could be better than a face-to-face with Jesus. He indicates otherwise. In the Spirit is greater than in the flesh.

“When he comes, he will prove the world to be in the wrong about sin and righteousness and judgment: 

    The very first thing the Holy Spirit was tasked to do was correct us in our misunderstanding about three related, but specific details. They happen to be critical points of contention within the church today. The whys he gives are likely different from what you would expect. This is a testament to how wrong we may be about these three things. Most commentators I have seen on this don’t seem to consider this.

“About sin, because people do not believe in me.” 

    Many just say this means unbelief is a sin. However, if one does not believe, then they won’t have the Spirit. So He can’t prove anything to them, that must come from elsewhere. Besides, unbelief is hardly the root of all sin. Surely the Spirit would need to correct more than just disbelief for those with the Spirit. So let’s probe deeper and consider the root of their disbelief. Those who did not believe Him to be the Messiah, it was ultimately because they didn’t like what he had to say about the truth. It did not align with their presuppositions about scripture. Jesus frequently had to correct their application of it. (Matthew 5-7) So they rejected his authority because recognizing His authority would also undermine their authority and their own will that they had obviously interjected into the scriptures. Is that not similar to what denouncers of the Spirit do today? Do we still hold onto some of these Pharisee-like ideas about sin? This is why we may be in the wrong.

“About righteousness, because I am going to the Father, where you can see me no longer.” 

    We need more than intellect to truly understand righteousness. It is more of a sincerity of heart issue after all. Jesus seems to be implying that the disciples didn’t understand fully themselves at this point. Perhaps we oversimplify and misconstrue righteousness ourselves to this day. If we only focus on avoiding wrongs, but not on embracing the right, we surely do. A sign we have shunned the Spirit. (Galatians 5:16-18) Clearly, Jesus thought future generations of leaders would need constant guidance to be truly righteous. It makes you wonder why so many teachers simply define everything and never lift a finger to help people live it. (Matthew 23:4) This is why we may be in the wrong.

“About judgment, because the prince of this world now stands condemned.”

     "Prince of this world" is a euphemism for the devil. He was the one who led mankind astray in the Garden of Eden, which brought judgment to us. Yet Jesus, the second Adam, overcame Satan in the wilderness. Condemning the judgment Satan brought on humanity. (Matthew 4:1-11) Even though Jesus talked about God’s Judgment often, dedicating many parables to it. People still project an Old Testament mindset into it, as if are still condemned. They forget that there is absolutely only one judge, and it isn’t us. (James 4:11-12) God wants us to be a part of so many aspects of the body of Christ, but not as a judge. So it seems we still covet what we do not have. We were called to seek and save the lost, so they may escape judgment through hope in the gospel, by the power of the Spirit. Not seek and judge the lost, instilling hopelessness through the law that we are unable to keep in the power of our own flesh. (Galatians 3) This is why we may be in the wrong.

I recall a time someone telling me that they initially hated Jesus because a woman from his church told him the reason his mother was sick, was because his mom was a sinner and was being punished for it. Not only did she utter a heresy (John 9:1-3) she was guilty of potentially leading a child astray. (Luke 17:1-2) She did not have a good grasp on the reality of sin, judgment, or how to lead people to righteousness. I wish I could say this was an isolated incident, but many still ascribe to this primitive idea. Many are also more motivated by pride, and only use the gospel to establish their own sense of superiority. (Romans 12:16) However, if they had the Spirit as a guide they wouldn’t have committed a sin, in a misguided attempt to combat sin.

An individual or even a church without the Spirit is inevitably going to be in the wrong somehow. Since by the power of the flesh, we are effectively trying to walk through the eye of a needle. By our own logic and understanding alone, we are so beneath God. Incapable of truly comprehending the depths of the truth to the fullest. Only able to ascribe to the juvenile letter of the law approach that leaves no room for the blood of Christ and the Spirit of grace that comes with it.

The Visual PARABLEist

“Moreover, the Father judges no one, but has entrusted all judgment to the Son, that all may honor the Son just as they honor the Father. Whoever does not honor the Son does not honor the Father, who sent him. “Very truly I tell you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be judged but has crossed over from death to life. Very truly I tell you, a time is coming and has now come when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God and those who hear will live. For as the Father has life in himself, so he has granted the Son also to have life in himself. And he has given him authority to judge because he is the Son of Man.” -John 5:22-27

Unconditional VS Boundaries

I keep seeing posts about unconditional love. They ultimately end up qualifying it somehow. Effectively putting conditions on unconditional love ironically enough. Yet these same people often talk about boundaries, which are technically conditions we place on love too. My fear is that people are playing these notions off each other in a way that they become the recipients of all the benefits, but don’t have to reciprocate. True love should be symbiotic, not parasitic. 

This got me thinking about where this idea even comes from. It often gets painted as Biblical, but is it? I could only find one instance of the word unconditional in the Bible, but it had nothing to do with Love. (Numbers 3:9) It was also specific to the NASB translation. (I limited my search to more scholarly translations in this case) Of course, many of these scriptural concepts are presented abstractly, not systematically. So that in itself is not necessarily evidence of anything.

Grace is often seen as an example of unconditional love. Yet it is somewhat dependent upon repentance though. With that being said, repentance is not a three-strikes and your-out concept. The Israelites blew way past that just in their 40 years in the wilderness. Jesus set a very different bar with his 70x7 statement. (Matt. 18:22) So perhaps the confusion lies in application. The church in its humanness often seems to offer grace inconsistently. Freely offering it to some. Yet stingy with it for others. Not that the world is any better by their so-called standard.

Perhaps the truly operative word here is love itself. The world today often equates it with tolerance and acceptance. So much so we cannot separate who we are from what we do. Meaning if you love someone, you can’t correct or question them, because that would make it conditional. This is a notoriously short-sighted view that will lead to terrible consequences when people set boundaries around their self-destructive and abusive behaviors. Which they do. God would never allow himself to be that foolish with love, even if we do. That is why his love is associated more with discipline, than tolerance. (Hebrews 12:4-13) Yet acceptance applied to unconditional love is a prime example of the double standard that I alluded to. We often expect people to tolerate things from us, that we would never accept from anyone. Even Biblically speaking, no one is expected to tolerate infidelity after all. (Matthew 5:31,32) So in that since love should be conditional.

Which brings up another aspect. Want versus need. For example, many want to win the lottery. Yet statistics show most lottery winners are flat broke within 5 years of the last payment being received. This is a testament to how giving somebody something that they are not mature enough to handle can be a bad thing. Since what they wanted was not what they really needed. A truly loving person understands this and puts need before want, even if some call that conditional in their immaturity. Yet in our limited mortal nature, we often fail to discern this accurately. Often interjecting our comfort into the needs of others. There is also more to need than just basic physical ones. The tail end of 1st Corinthians 12 actually lifts up this notion of varying spiritual needs. Instead of a one-size-fits-all application as people tend to favor. Especially if they are the standard. 

This highlights another subtle Biblical point that most have overlooked. Yet may be the answer we truly need. 1st Corinthians 12 through 14 are all part of the same broader passage. To lump the 13th “love” chapter in with spiritual gifts implies something. To truly love in a Godly way, we must do so in the spirit, not the flesh. When you get down to it, all these unrealistic notions about unconditional love, boundaries, and the double standards associated with them likely all occur because we try to love with the sinful nature of the flesh instead. Only the Spirit can navigate us through this complex notion without becoming self-serving in application. So if the church universal is seen as unloving. It is either devoid of spirit or being looked at merely through the lens of the flesh. It has become quite apparent that the world around us is doing just that, rather unapologetically too. All the more reason to not love as they do.

Let’s face it, we live in a world that wants to take love, rather than give love. This one detail ultimately turns something beautiful, into something ugly. With that being said, I would like to propose eliminating the phrase “unconditional love” from our vernacular. It’s just too misleading and unrealistic. It is not the ultimate standard that the world would have you believe.  I propose we embrace “agape love” instead. With the understanding that it is dependent upon the Holy Spirit to truly fulfill.

The Visual PARABLEist

Community of Factions

The acts of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God. -Galatians 5:19-21

Ever read or possibly watched the movie based on the book Divergent. It’s a dystopian tale about a society broken into factions. These factions revolved around what each group believed was the ultimate answer to the world’s ills. Which happened to be where their individual natural talents lie. Other factions are often seen as a problem getting in the way of their one-size-fits-all brand of progress. Is this not a reflection of the church universal right now? Broken up into doctrinal factions. This is yet another example of the church following human nature instead of the Holy Spirit. Where we only want to emphasize what we are comfortable with, so we never have to challenge ourselves.

Worship/Love. Churches that center on worship tend to be about provoking feelings. They just want to help the people get happy. As if a whitewash of happiness truly transforms the heart, or honors God. A close cousin to that is love. However, love-centered churches tend to reduce the concept to mere superficial feelings as the world does. So both, if not the same church, effectively turn emotions into an idol. Yet they fail to recognize that the word emotion never appears in the Bible, not once. All because their actual understanding of the Bible is so very shallow.

Outreach. Churches that get overly fixated on evangelism and missions tend to be about recruiting recruiters for the sake of numbers. Yet once they get people in the door, what do they have to offer them but an expectation to recruit. Such churches always run into the same wall. A tepid response to the call of outreach. Some people just don’t have those particular sets of gifts, so they get treated as second-class. Even those who do are sometimes too broken to jump head-first into the mission right away. Since they’ve never been taught wholeness, or anything else not outreach-related. So these churches often just end up fueling people's feelings of inadequacy, instead of walking them through the healing they need to embrace their purpose. Which may, in fact, be outreach, or possibly preparing and equipping people for their purpose. Equipping is a stepping step some such churches like to jump over, only to fall on their face. (Eph. 4:11-13)

Obedience. Much like the Pharisees, such churches are mostly about defining righteousness and expecting people to live it, without actually getting involved. Yet they never address the ultimate cause of the bitter fruit of sin. Which always takes root in the heart. Those who don’t get driven away by shame, just end up faking it. Since they have never been taught wholeness of heart either. Does not Romans 2:4 say it’s God’s kindness that leads us to repentance? So why does this faction only want the emulate his wrath?

While this is far from an exhaustive list, it covers the most common ones I have observed. The irony of it all is that they are constantly pointing fingers at one another saying their gospel is incomplete. Yet they are all correct in saying so. If only they understood that the Holy Spirit would show how all these seemingly incompatible elements actually are dependent on one another.

Factions are listed as acts of the sinful nature of the flesh for a reason. Yet nobody wants to talk about it the same way as all the others. A subtle admission of guilt perhaps. A truly righteous church that follows the Spirit won’t be adding to this particular problem in the body of Christ. Yet those who do are clearly not following the will of God, only their own. Granted, people are frequently in different stages of their spiritual journey. So we are never going to all agree, all the time. However, if we’re continuing to follow the spirit, learn, and mature throughout our lives; shouldn’t the denominations be balancing out?

I know a guy who says “We practice Christianity, not church-inanity. This means our institutional bias’ has a way of shifting our focus away from what the institution was meant to stand for, in favor of the man-made institution itself. So we never question their particular outlook on any detail.

When King David was within the will of God, he was unstoppable. But when he wasn’t, his kingdom started to fall apart. It is no different for us, we could be a force to be reckoned with. Yet until we consider that we may not understand as well as we think and own the faults within the institution, that won’t come to pass.

The Visual PARABLEist

Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will grow to become in every respect the mature body of him who is the head, that is, Christ. -Ephesians 4:15

Spiritual Community

I was looking up passages about community, because let’s face it, it’s considered a vital part of what the church is. Yet it seems to be a place where the current church often struggles these days. Hence the desire to seek wisdom in correcting perceived problems. Certainly, there must be more to it than just throwing a bunch of people together and expecting it to emerge organically as we typically do. While that may be adequate for some personalities. Not so much for other more aloof temperaments. As of now, I have not found any passages on how to cultivate community via some forgotten systematic formula. However, there are a few models given to show us what a church community should look like. (Eph. 4, 1st Cor. 12) Within these examples, there is a shared detail that grants us some practical direction on how to actually fulfill said examples. That being the Holy Spirit. To make these models work, we must follow the Holy Spirit to escape the trappings of pride and self that plague communities. Since the current-day church does not actually resemble either of these models at all, one can only conclude we are following human nature more than the Spirit. So it’s no wonder church communities are often dysfunctional. 

Consider this, according to psychologists, the desire for community is so strong with humanity, that we will try to build a community around just about anything. Including toxic things that only encourage self-destructive behavior. For example, street gangs. Technically a community, but that in itself does not make them beneficial. This should stress why we need more than human will to guide our church communities. Therein lies our first obstacle. Most current churches only give the Holy Spirit lip service at best. Others outright denounce the Holy Spirit, saying the only relevant authority of God's will today is the Bible. There are a few problems with this questionable argument though. 

    1. The statement itself violates the very scripture they profess. (1st Thes. 5:19)
    2. While the Bible can give commands and define righteousness we often need help in application. In the time of Christ, Jesus was constantly correcting the religious authorities in the application of scripture, and questioning their sincerity and motives. Naturally, we still need something more for the specific details of living it out correctly. Christ called the Spirit the Helper (or Advocate depending on the translation) for a reason. (John 14:16 & 15:26)
    3. The Bible can tell us that we are Set Apart for a purpose. But we need the Spirit to lead us to what our specific purpose is. It’s no wonder everyone tells me “I don’t know what my purpose is.”They are asking ministers and teachers, not the Spirit.
    4. The Bible can define sin. Only the spirit can reveal what the specific root of it in you is. Or what you specifically need to address to overcome it. The oversimplified whitewash-like advice of “stop it” has only led to frustration and repeated backsliding. The spirit can also give us the strength to face our wounds and resist, so we can actually live by said definitions. (Eph. 3:16)
    5. While some argue the Holy Spirit was only relevant in the apostolic age, let me refer you back to John 14:16 where Jesus says the the spirit would be with us FOREVER. Legalists even try to put a time limit on “blasphemy of the Spirit.” Even though there is no reference to time at all in the applicable passages. (Matt. 12:31-32, Mark 3:28-30, Luke 12:8-10) Some may use this made-up excuse to rationalize their blatant blasphemy. For others, it may be more about arrogance. They assume that if miraculous things still happened today they would be the first to experience it. They would rather change the script than admit they are not nearly as Holy as they assume.

“. . . The Helper can never be packaged or programmed to fit any man-devised plan. . . “ -Catherine Marshall, The Helper

Here in lies many people's issues with the Holy Spirit, our human nature likes our systematic and predictable formulas. As well as our ability to control the narrative and outcome. If we deny the Spirit, we think He can’t get in the way of our less-than-divine plans.

Granted we will always need the Bible as a litmus test, to remind us of our ultimate goals in the Christian walk. So as not to confuse our own emotions with the Spirit. Or possibly an unclean spirit that would deceive us. In short, the Bible tells us where we need to go, but the Spirit tells us how to get there. But even the Bible will do you no good if you rely on blasphemers of the Spirit with ulterior motives to explain it to you.

The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit.” -John 3:8

Spiritual Healing

Wounds cause negative cycles, but it’s not enough to break cycles, we must replace them. Healing of said wounds cannot be achieved at a distance.

Matthew 12:43-45
“When an impure spirit comes out of a person, it goes through arid places seeking rest and does not find it. Then it says, ‘I will return to the house I left.’ When it arrives, it finds the house unoccupied, swept clean and put in order. Then it goes and takes with it seven other spirits more wicked than itself, and they go in and live there. And the final condition of that person is worse than the first. That is how it will be with this wicked generation.”

It’s really easy to get distracted by Jesus’ dark imagery on this one. Yet perhaps the reasoning for it is because the potential consequences are so very dire. Once we get past that it becomes clear that he’s saying it’s not enough to eliminate the bad because it leaves a void. If not refilled deliberately with good things, bad things will find their way back in. In the case of sin, they don’t just spawn out of nothing after all, each person responds from their own heart. So if our heart is wounded it will more likely respond in ugly shortsighted ways.

It’s also easy to just label things wrong or evil. it’s not as easy to stop and consider how these sins we struggle with may actually be a misguided coping mechanism. Removing even dysfunctional mechanisms recklessly without a replacement will produce consequences, and ultimately backsliding. That’s why we must face the wound behind our sins, and not just the sin itself. As I said upfront, we must do more than break cycles, we must replace them.

Ephesians 4:22-24 puts it this way.
“You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; to be made new in the attitude of your minds; and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.”

It doesn’t just say take off the old self, nor just put on the new self, but both. If we just took off the old self we would be left spiritually naked and vulnerable. If we just put on the new self, the old would soil the new. If we only focus on one side of it, we are only setting ourselves up for failure. Yet there is a third point in-between, about the attitude of the mind. This is key to breaking unconscious behavioral cycles.

Consider Matthew 19:16-22

Just then a man came up to Jesus and asked, “Teacher, what good thing must I do to get eternal life?”
“Why do you ask me about what is good?” Jesus replied. “There is only One who is good. If you want to enter life, keep the commandments.”
“Which ones?” he inquired.
Jesus replied, “ ‘You shall not murder, you shall not commit adultery, you shall not steal, you shall not give false testimony, honor your father and mother,’ and ‘love your neighbor as yourself.’”
“All these I have kept,” the young man said. “What do I still lack?”
Jesus answered, “If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.”
When the young man heard this, he went away sad, because he had great wealth.”

In the original Greek the word translated perfect, can also mean complete. Which may fit better with the actual question of “What do I still lack?” A curious way to put it, but it indicates he knew something was missing and was looking for answers to fill his emptiness. Despite all his wealth, he still did not feel whole. We don’t know how he came to put all his hope into money, or what happened to him afterwards. Since he chose to walk away from the answer at that moment. He didn’t even try to question or argue with Jesus. The only thing certain was he refused to change when told what he lacked. So the wholeness of heart he sought could not be found, since he refused to accept what the real problem was, misplaced hope. Like I said up front, healing cannot happen from a distance. Our flaws must be faced to overcome them.

A specific detail I noticed about this passage this time around is that when asked, what commandments should I follow, Jesus doesn’t say all of them; he gets specific. You may have heard that the Ten Commandments are divided into our relationship with God, and our relationships with one another. The six mentioned are all the commandments that deal with others, not God. It’s like Jesus is leading him to his ultimate answer. Letting us know that there is more to caring about others than mere commands. Even if we don’t break said commandments, it doesn’t automatically make us sincere. Do we also think of ourselves as more righteous than we really are similarly? Technically within the letter of the law, yet insincere in its application. Do we like the rich man only care about ourselves, not others? This insincerity points to the flaws within our hearts. Are you willing to face your areas of insincerity?

We see a very different response in John 4:13-26 & 39-42
The woman said to him, “Sir, give me this water so that I won’t get thirsty and have to keep coming here to draw water.” 

He told her, “Go, call your husband and come back.” 

“I have no husband,” she replied.
Jesus said to her, “You are right when you say you have no husband. The fact is, you have had five husbands, and the man you now have is not your husband. What you have just said is quite true.” 

“Sir,” the woman said, “I can see that you are a prophet. Our ancestors worshiped on this mountain, but you Jews claim that the place where we must worship is in Jerusalem.”
“Woman,” Jesus replied, “believe me, a time is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem. You Samaritans worship what you do not know; we worship what we do know, for salvation is from the Jews. Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in the Spirit and in truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in the Spirit and in truth.” 

The woman said, “I know that Messiah” (called Christ) “is coming. When he comes, he will explain everything to us.” 

Then Jesus declared, “I, the one speaking to you—I am he.””

Many of the Samaritans from that town believed in him because of the woman’s testimony, “He told me everything I ever did.” So when the Samaritans came to him, they urged him to stay with them, and he stayed two days. And because of his words many more became believers. They said to the woman, “We no longer believe just because of what you said; now we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this man really is the Savior of the world.””

Here there are no excuses, no denials, and no running away, but rather engagement. Jesus responds not with criticism or judgment, but by sharing great truths with her. Not about her errors though. Instead, he speaks of worship and salvation. Why is this? Could he be focused more on solutions because she had effectively owned her problem already? So he offers her an alternative, what she could be filling the void with. Instead of condemning the questionable things she was trying to fill the emptiness with. A solution Jesus himself wants to be a part of. What are we focused on with ourselves and others; the solution, or the problem? Not only that she shared her experience with others, and they engaged Jesus as well. She is already starting to experience the “set apart” life by touching the lives of others. This is critical for the full restoration of the heart.

Let me wrap up by repeating my opening statement. Wounds cause negative cycles, but it’s not enough to break cycles, we must replace them. Healing of said wounds cannot be achieved at a distance. What cycles do you need to replace? Are you trying to prune the proverbial weeds from a distance with no results? It's not enough to identify problems, we must deal with them. Otherwise, they just turn into excuses, a place to shift the blame from self.

The Visual PARABLEist

The Mystery

The book of Ephesians is an epistle I have taken a deep dive into recently. While the general theme is supposed to be about expanding our horizons. However, it occurred to me this time around that the misapplication and misunderstanding of the principles within have actually minimized the horizons of the church. For example, the Greek word musterion appears 6 times in the book of Ephesians. (1:9, 3:3, 3:4, 3:9, 5:32, 6:9) Which literally means mystery or secret. While most scholarly translations maintain the mystery, simplified translations will sometimes marginalize the word. The current church has marginalized this mystery in practice as well, and the ramifications are catching up to us. Alan Hirsch has already highlighted one of them with his book 5Q, which I have blogged about already. So we have been there. If only the church would do that. Here is a brief recap of some of the other misunderstood truths I found in this powerful epistle.

Chapter One, Predestination.
Some people take this concept to the extreme. Thinking it means that all our choices have been made for us already and that there is no free will. I imagine the appeal is that it absolves us of all responsibility. Leading to a very passive church that has fallen way short of the many things promised in Ephesians. In chapter one alone it talks of blessings, unity, and power. Clearly, passivity has not led us there. There is so much more to be had. We were predestined to be gifted with the means to live the Mystery of God’s will. Too many have chosen not to embrace those options fully.

Chapter Two, Works.
One of the most quoted passages in Ephesians is 2:8-9 which says we are saved by grace, not by works. Since works have nothing to do with salvation, people assume works must have no value at all. Leading to a very passive church. If only they would keep reading to verse 10 they would realize how wrong that is. Works have tons of value in areas other than salvation. Passivity is not God’s will, because it doesn’t work at all.

Chapter Three, The Holy Spirit.
Here it is revealed that the Holy Spirit is the key to unlocking the mystery. How we live out a love that surpasses knowledge. However, since we cannot qualify or judge the spirit systematically. Or embrace it without making a spectacle of it. Many just dismiss the idea. The church's horizons have diminished as a result. There are teachers and even denominations that openly blaspheme the spirit by saying that there is no other authority other than the Bible. Despite that, the Bible itself rebukes such ideas. (1st Thessalonians 5:19, John 3:5-8)

Chapter four, The two sides of righteousness.
Many teachers merely define righteousness, and just tell people to go live it as the Pharisees did. (Matthew 23:1-4) If that worked we wouldn’t have needed a savior. As Galatians 5:16 says “if you walk by the spirit, you won’t gratify the desires of the flesh.” In other words substitute instead of suppress. Don’t just take off the old self, but put on a new self in its place. Don’t just put on a new self either, the old self underneath will soil the new. Applying this truth one-dimensionally has only led to continuous failure.

Chapters Five & Six, Rules for Christian Households.
When some people read this all they see is the privilege of masculinity. Yet failing to notice this comes with huge responsibilities as well. Men who don’t live up to these responsibilities have no right to demand said privileges. Men who want all the privileges but not all the responsibilities are bad husbands, fathers, bosses, ministers, and leaders. It’s irresponsible men who have brought on radical feminism. The thing is feminists want all the privileges of femininity and masculinity as well. Yet not necessarily the responsibility that goes with it. In the end, their attempt to prove that they are better than men has only revealed they are no better than men.

Ephesians closes with the famous passage of the armor of God. This is in no way a call to passivity, apathy, or privilege. Quite the opposite. It is a call to step up in preparation, a call to action, a call to live the mystery of the gospel. But a church with such narrow horizons just isn’t up to this mystery that surpasses the mere knowledge they idolize.

The Visual PARABLEist  

This is why it is said: “Wake up, sleeper, rise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.”-Ephesians 5:14

Birthmark Society

Excuse me for breaking free from my regular subject matter to say something about May being vascular birthmark awareness month. (May 15th specifically being birthmark awareness day.) Some may be rolling their eyes and saying to themselves "Do we really need another awareness day?" Well, as the old saying goes “First seek to understand, then to be understood.” While such days may always start as an invitation to understand. One cannot help if some merely see it as a demand to be understood. The easiest thing in the world to do is dismiss someone who dismisses you first. So an innocent invite can easily escalate into a demand when people refuse to allow their assumptions to be disrupted. No wonder there is so little understanding these days.

With that out of the way, as someone who has a prominent birthmark here is what it has taught me about humanity. Despite all our virtue signaling, and conditioned tact, there are still a lot of shallow and superficial people out there. You would be hard-pressed to convince me that people are basically good because of it. It’s one of multiple reasons I tend to distrust people. That’s one of the biggest demons I wrestle with right now. I get judged for that too, but humanity in general earned that distrust, so their judgment carries little weight with me. Which brings me to the flip side of it. This has taught me not to be motivated by acceptance, approval, and validation. This frees me to pursue my genuine interests, rather than what the world around me wants to validate. Let’s face it, we live in an age where acceptance is so coveted, that you can get people to do just about anything if you only validate it. 

Children will ask straightforward questions about my birthmark out of curiosity, and I don’t fault them for it. I usually tell them I’m part leopard and those are my spots. Most are smart enough to know I’m teasing them, but it does defuse the spook factor of it. Unlike a bunch of technical jargon. Even adults would not likely know what a Nevus Flammeus is after all. The caveat to that is that autistic kids have responded in absolute terror, regardless of the type of language I’ve used.

As kids age to the middle and high school range, curiosity tends to turn to disgust. This is where the bullying ramps up over inconsequential differences, making them seem very consequential. This is a time when the desire for acceptance, approval, and validation goes into high gear after all. This is where our culture starts to faction off. When individuals start to compromise themselves for the sake of being part of a peer group. Even so-called counter-cultural groups do so collectively. While they may choose to dis-identity with the mainstream because the mainstream rejected them first. They are still doing so in a formula way for the sake of having a peer group. As Eric Hoffer Once said. “When people are free to do as they please, they usually imitate each other.” Yet having a superficial difference of any kind can disqualify you from such foolishness.

Adults tend to make assumptions about it. A rash or burn is the most common in my case. That’s how adults are, once you get to a certain age you try to make everything fit into what you already know. Instead of assuming you haven’t seen everything yet. Many will even assume you are lying, even after telling them the truth. Especially when you are a kid. Being constantly disbelieved for telling the truth as a kid didn’t exactly increase my faith in humanity. However, with my birthmark being on my arm and chest I tend to have a different experience than those with a mark on their face. That conditioned politeness keeps most adults from asking me about it most of the time. They usually have to get comfortable around me first to ask about it. Hard to say how many don’t get comfortable with me because of it though. But it seems having a mark on the face tends to stretch the limits of manners as I hear it. With that being said, senior citizens can revert back to a childlike wonder about it in their final years.

Some people just love to be cruel regardless though. You can regulate “hate speech” all you want, but in the end, it just makes the fruit forbidden, i.e. more desirable to the sadistic. If people want to wear their ugliness on their sleeve like that, then so be it. It’s a red flag for decent souls. The thing is, people wouldn’t flaunt their ugliness like that if someone wasn’t encouraging it, or if it wasn’t attracting like-minded people to them. Yet it may go deeper than that. When a person makes another uncomfortable, the uncomfortable person often tries to shame the person triggering their discomfort. They want you to hate yourself for disturbing the illusion inside the bubble they live in. In hopes that you will steer clear of their hair triggers. For example, there are YouTube channels run by amputees sharing their experiences. Which is a great resource for recent amputees to adapt and adjust to their new situations. Yet some pathetic people will report these videos as disturbing imagery. A testament to how individuals think their comfort is more important than other people's trauma. This is exactly why I don’t hide my birthmark, or even get laser treatments for it. If you are really that shallow, I’d just assume know about it up front. Yet, I may delight in triggering your superficial nature. Besides, who am I to change God’s work. However, I do recognize if my birthmark was on my face, or it grew and thickened like many vascular birthmarks do, I may feel very differently. The trauma caused by basically good people would surely be on another level.

I am so much more than my birthmark, identity is more than skin deep after all. Yet, I do recognize its presence has shaped who I am. Not the mark itself, but how it has affected my relationships with others. Sure I could go to great efforts to try and convince the world to feel about me the way I think they should. Since we live in a culture that wraps so much of our self-worth in our relationships. Or I can just live my own life without revolving it around the people who hate me for dumb reasons. While promoting understanding can be a good thing, yet if you're basing your happiness and fulfillment on everyone feeling the way you want them to, you are just setting yourself up for misery. If people were that reasonable, we wouldn’t even be discussing this in the first place.

The Visual PARABLEist

Birthmark society Apparel

Imbalance

A minister friend of mine who has switched churches recently is revisiting the fivefold gifting found in Ephesians 4:11

“So Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers,

One point he lifted up that struck me this time around was the distinction between the outwardly focused roles versus the inward ones. You really do need both because they support one another. But do we approach it that way?

For example, I once knew a minister whose mantra was reach up, reach in, reach out. Yet the majority of the emphasis was on reaching out. His thinking was, that we need to reach out to build attendance. In his mind, that is what the church needed most. I tried to point out the shortsightedness in his logic multiple times. One time in particular I said, “Reaching up and reaching in is like boot camp for reaching out.” While he agreed, he still insisted on rushing everyone through basic training. So few felt up to stepping up to his challenge to reach out. So basically his outreach was limited by his reluctance to reach in where his church truly needed it, or lead the flock to more in-depth reaching up.

Another example from the other end is a church I used to go to that has fallen on hard times in recent days. So they have shifted from thriving to merely surviving. They are so busy trying to save the institution, they have forgotten what the institution is supposed to stand for. When you don’t support outwardly leaning programs just because they don’t serve you directly, you are clearly missing the point. Their inward focus has become more about the institution, for self’s sake. Instead of restoration of self through our relationship with God. Which is ultimately meant to equip us for discipleship.

Either way, an imbalance is created in the fivefold. So let’s look at the rest of the passage.

to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.” -Ephesians 4:12-13

A church that only enables two to three of the gifts cannot truly be united in faith, because some people and their inherent gifts are excluded. Nor can it experience the fullness of Christ, because vital truths are being neglected. So consider this, the original Greek for "equip" can also mean repair, prepare, or perfecting. So I reiterate, a church that does not utilize all five gifts is far from perfect. If anything it needs some major repair of its inner structure. The question is, are we willing to let go of the familiar to rebuild the complete and balanced church that Christ intended.

“By the grace God has given me, I laid a foundation as a wise builder, and someone else is building on it. But each one should build with care. For no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ. If anyone builds on this foundation using gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay or straw, their work will be shown for what it is, because the Day will bring it to light. It will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test the quality of each person’s work. If what has been built survives, the builder will receive a reward. If it is burned up, the builder will suffer loss but yet will be saved—even though only as one escaping through the flames.” -1st Corinthians 3:10-15

The Visual PARABLEist

Why we won't Forgive.

Forgiveness takes Faith & Trust.

The infamous phrase “eye for an eye” found in Exodus 21:23 is often used as an excuse to retaliate instead of forgive. Forgetting it is specific to physical injury. However, another way to put it would be, may the punishment fit the crime. This was their official law back then, not how to be a vigilante. Let’s face it, when we feel wronged we often have an urge to one-up the betrayer. The command was meant to maintain reason in justice and prevent over-punishment of this kind of crime.

Yet with wrongs like theft, the offender was required to pay back double in the case of returned property. Or up to 5 times in the case of property that cannot be returned. (Exodus 22:1-4) This crime is treated differently and meant to teach us consequences and accountability. Let’s face it, loss often cuts deeper than the intrinsic value. The time and energy in dealing with the aftermath is reflected in the punishment. Yet also recognizes that this punishment is not permanent. 

However, these are not typically the areas we take issue with or obsess over when it comes to payback. Rather intangible things that can’t ever be taken back like betrayal, slander, or adultery. These are the negative things we latch onto, that only fill us with said negativity. As Hebrews 12:15 says “See to it that no one falls short of the grace of God and that no bitter root grows up to cause trouble and defile many.” The implication is that the effects of bitterness can go far and wide beyond the grudge holder. Not that we can’t air our grievances at all. But if they aren’t validated immediately, it’s unlikely that nitpicking the issue will change anything. This is where bitterness starts to take root in our hearts. This is where we need to self-regulate and offer Christ-like grace.

Biblical forgiveness ultimately takes faith and trust in God's judgment and timing. That means letting go of our right to judge. As it says in Proverbs 28:26 “Those who trust in themselves are fools, but those who walk in wisdom are kept safe.” Other translations use the word delivered instead of kept safe, either way, consider what we are delivered or kept safe from in the case of trusting God with discipline. Is it not our own bitterness?

Biblical forgiveness does not necessarily mean everything is forgotten and OK either. Hence our hesitation in forgiving. Ironically, relentlessly chasing after restitution, even just in thought, means ongoing contact with the offender. This just opens us up to additional pain when they refuse to own their wrongs or are blissfully unaware. Sometimes forgiving without strings is the only way to truly be free of toxic people and situations. Again we must trust in God to handle it.

As it says in Romans 12:17-19 “Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everyone. If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. Do not take revenge, my dear friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: “It is mine to avenge; I will repay,” says the Lord. We don’t know the other person’s full story, or what kind of wounds lie behind their behavior. Nor do we know what lies on the other side of their mountain. But God does, he knows who can be saved, and what it takes to give them their moment of redemption. That may take time, more time than we may like. Again we must have faith, trust God, and be patient with his timing. When we focus on vengeance, we are only focusing on things that will destroy our hearts. When we take our focus off retaliation, we can put our focus back on what can heal our hearts, God.

Consider Genesis 18:20-21 “Then the Lord said, “The outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is so great and their sin so grievous that I will go down and see if what they have done is as bad as the outcry that has reached me. If not, I will know.”” God specifically cites the outcry against them as one of his reasons for destroying Sodom and Gomorrah. While an extreme case, it does show that God will deal with issues when we take it to him rather than deal with it ourselves.

We must remember that we can’t fix other people, especially by counterattacking. But sometimes as believers, our presence can have a positive impact on people. Therein lies the variable of whether to keep hurtful people in our lives or not. Whether the negative impact on us is greater than our positive impact on them. Know your limits. Then focus on dealing with your own limitations, instead of the faults of others. Like any good disciple should. (Matthew 7:1-6)

The Visual PARABLEist

Choices

What we choose has an impact on what we become. Every choice we make has ramifications one way or another.

Genesis 1:26 says “Then God said, “Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness, so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.”” The authority to rule equals the power to choose. It is ultimately God's will that we have a choice. Let’s face it, humanity has not always been responsible with said authority and made many ungodly choices. As Christian philosopher Dallas Willard put it. “The whole history of God and man recounted in the Bible is the story of God wanting to entrust men with his power, and men not being able to handle it.” The questions we should ask ourselves are, why have we not been able to handle it, and what can we learn from those who came before us? So we can make better choices ourselves. For one, we must understand the real issue.

Romans 7:15-25 says “I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do. And if I do what I do not want to do, I agree that the law is good. As it is, it is no longer I myself who do it, but it is sin living in me. For I know that good itself does not dwell in me, that is, in my sinful nature. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. For I do not do the good I want to do, but the evil I do not want to do—this I keep on doing. Now if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it. So I find this law at work: Although I want to do good, evil is right there with me. For in my inner being I delight in God’s law; but I see another law at work in me, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within me. What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body that is subject to death? Thanks be to God, who delivers me through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, I myself in my mind am a slave to God’s law, but in my sinful nature a slave to the law of sin.”
While making the right choice should be cut and dry, we have a way of making it difficult. Mainly because our own nature will often lead us to defy our better judgment time and time again. We often choose preferences over principle, pride over purity, feelings over facts, sentiment over spirit, the exact opposite when we feel like we are not given a choice, and just about anything else other than faith. The previous passage proves that scripture acknowledges this struggle within our nature. Even when we don’t acknowledge this reality when judging the choices of others that seem so simple from the outside looking in.

1st Corinthians 6:12
““I have the right to do anything,” you say—but not everything is beneficial. “I have the right to do anything”—but I will not be mastered by anything.”
While we like to think we are masters of our own choices, in many cases our choices end up mastering us. Especially when our willful choices are short-sighted, made in rebellious spite, and not particularly beneficial in the long term.

Consider what Jesus prayed just before being arrested. Luke 22:39-44

“Jesus went out as usual to the Mount of Olives, and his disciples followed him. On reaching the place, he said to them, “Pray that you will not fall into temptation.” He withdrew about a stone’s throw beyond them, knelt down and prayed, “Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done.” An angel from heaven appeared to him and strengthened him. And being in anguish, he prayed more earnestly, and his sweat was like drops of blood falling to the ground.”
Even Jesus, in his flesh state, had to find the will to fulfill the will of God. So how much more will you? The takeaway is, that he has been where you have been. So he wants to be a part of your solution when faced with hard choices; when faced with your “cross.” But remember, Jesus needed help with his cross too. (Luke 23:26)

This leads us to Luke 9:23-25
“Then he said to them all: “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me. For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will save it. What good is it for someone to gain the whole world, and yet lose or forfeit their very self?” The other gospels that quote this close with “forfeit their soul” rather than self. But the Luke version illustrates another struggle we have in making choices. What part of self are we to deny, and what part are we to not lose sight of? Where do we draw the line between losing our life, and saving it? How do we distinguish God's blessings, and the worldly things that distract us? What God created us to be, and what the world broke us into? One thing is for certain, historic discipleship was about being as much like the teacher as possible, what we often refer to as Christ-likeness. Perhaps our struggle lies in that we are too focused on the what, instead of the who. Let’s face it, most don’t choose a cross at all. We choose the treasures of the world.

Just as Matthew 6:19-21 says
““Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” To store up treasures in heaven means to delay the reward, to have faith that it will be worth it in the end. Worth more than what this temporal world offers. Not a popular choice in our instant gratification culture.

Ecclesiastes 12:13-14
“Now all has been heard; here is the conclusion of the matter: Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the duty of all mankind. For God will bring every deed into judgment, including every hidden thing, whether it is good or evil.” After a very complex analysis, Solomon gives a seemingly simplistic answer to close his book. That God is the master of our fate. But do we truly understand God or his judgment? As I have said before, holiness is modeled after the very nature of God. To understand his commands is to understand him, and vice versa. However, it is so easy to interject a confirmation bias into our understanding of God. This is where things like emotion, preferences, sentiment, want, tradition, comfort, and convenience distorts our perception of God and his will. How we rationalize our less-than-righteous choices.

In the end, when decisions get hard we need to consider a few basic things as disciples. Does it glorify God and represent his truth? Or does it only serve our own comfort, selfish wants, and desires? As well as, how will my choices affect others? We often forget about that last one. We forget that what we do unto others is done unto God as well. (Matthew 25:40, 45) So we really cannot use God as an excuse to treat people terribly. Yet that choice happens all the time. This is a testament to why we need to act deliberately with our choices, instead of reacting recklessly with them. Clearly, our own nature can lead us to disgrace God in the name of righteousness if we are not careful and weigh our choices carefully. Remember, Jesus was an example-based teacher. Are we living up to that example with our choices?

The Visual PARABLEist

Let's face it, most Christians don't answer the call to take up their cross, because they are too busy taking the road most traveled, that's paved with idols.

Gratitude is not passive

Salvation is a gift from God that’s bestowed by His Grace and Mercy. Our sincere gratitude for this maintains our heart

Ephesians 2:8-10

“For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— The moment you have to pay for something it’s no longer a gift.

not by works, so that no one can boast. Salvation is something to be thankful for, not prideful over.

For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.” While works have nothing to do with salvation, they do have value in other areas. Since verse 10 is often left out when quoting this, we leave people thinking Christianity is a passive thing. Therein lies the heart of so many issues that the church faces today.

People often counterpoint this next passage with the previous one as a contradiction. Especially if they overlook verse 10. It’s a weak argument That is easily dismissed if you look beyond the mere surface.
James 2:14-26

“What use is it, my brethren, if someone says he has faith but he has no works? Faith is not meant to be passive.

Can that faith save him? A battery can save you if placed in the right device during an emergency, but it does you no good if it remains in the package.

If a brother or sister is without clothing and in need of daily food, and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, be warmed and be filled,” and yet you do not give them what is necessary for their body, what use is that? This idea of helping the poor is constant throughout scripture, but it is a constantly neglected truth as well. Is this false idea that works have no value to blame for this oversight?

Even so faith, if it has no works, is dead, being by itself. Like that proverbial flashlight that was made in advance to cast light into dark places. Without batteries, it cannot fulfill its purpose.

But someone may well say, “You have faith and I have works; show me your faith without the works, and I will show you my faith by my works.” Faith is not some abstract concept you just put on a pedestal. That kind of passive faith won’t get you through the hard times.

You believe that God is one. You do well; the demons also believe, and shudder. I dare say you need to be more righteous than demons. (Matthew 5:20, 46-47)

But are you willing to recognize, you foolish fellow, that faith without works is useless? Even batteries waste away over time on the shelf.

Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered up Isaac his son on the altar? Abraham trusted God, even though he did not understand what was being asked of him and why.

You see that faith was working with his works, and as a result of the works, faith was perfected; and the Scripture was fulfilled which says, “And Abraham believed God, and it was reckoned to him as righteousness,” and he was called the friend of God. Would we even know who Abraham was if he had not perfected his faith like this? Would he have succeeded here, if he hadn’t failed previously? As I often say, today's success is built upon yesterday's failures.

You see that a man is justified by works and not by faith alone. Not saved but justified. What would our faith even be in, if we weren’t already saved?

In the same way, was not Rahab the harlot also justified by works when she received the messengers and sent them out by another way? Even a harlot can be justified, if she acts in faith.

For just as the body without the spirit is dead, so also faith without works is dead.” Where works without faith are empty and done more for self than God. We don’t buy our salvation through works, we do works because we are saved, and have faith in the one who saved us.

Isaiah 29:13

“The Lord says: “These people come near to me with their mouth and honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. Their worship of me is based on merely human rules they have been taught.”
These words that also happened to be quoted by Jesus himself in Matthew 15:8-9 can be summed up in a single word, sincerity. We can debate the value of works until we are blue in the face, but does any of it change how we show our appreciation towards God. If we truly love God, if we appreciate his Grace, if we are thankful for his salvation, we certainly would want to show it somehow, some way. Sincerity turns commands we must fulfill into a genuine desire.

Gratitude is a big element of worship after all. Thanks to the new covenant, the sacrificial system outlined in Leviticus has been traded out for living sacrifice. As indicated in Romans 12:1. Meaning, it’s just as much about honoring God in our everyday lives, not just scripted rituals.

Works may not earn us salvation. But it shows gratitude towards God, it shows honor towards God, it expresses love towards God, it counts as worship towards God, and it also builds God's church. Again, a devoted disciple shouldn’t have to be commanded to do any of this. If they do, then they need to check their heart, because there is likely a fault in it.

As Romans 1:21 & 22 says “For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened. Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools” Are you passive in your gratitude towards God's salvation? Consider the ramifications of an ungrateful spirit: Foolishness, a futile mind, and a darkened heart. All from simply being a passive ingrate. 

The Visual PARABLEist

Firm foundation

Truth is the firm foundation on which our heart is rebuilt, but like most foundations, many elements must be properly put into place to make sure it’s strong and long-lasting.

2nd Timothy 3:14-17

“But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have become convinced of,
because you know those from whom you learned it, and how from infancy you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. What makes you wise for salvation? Faith in the scripture that points to Christ. The scriptures that Timothy has engaged in since infancy. He is encouraged to continue in it because that is the first element of our firm foundation. Do you continue in it?

All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.” Scripture trains and equips us for the work we are called for in God’s kingdom. Do you look at it that way, or do you get too focused on rebuking and correcting to notice you must rebuild after the demo?

2nd Peter 1:19-21

“We also have the prophetic message as something completely reliable, and you will do well to pay attention to it, as to a light shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts. The message can cause the light to rise in our hearts, but we must pay attention to it. Do we look at it with the same awe and wonder as a rising sun?

Above all, you must understand that no prophecy of Scripture came about by the prophet’s own interpretation of things. Most people tend to project their own preferences and biases’ into everything. That’s why a true prophet needs to truly deny self and follow what divine inspiration is leading them to relay. We should follow their example and not sidestep uncomfortable details. Perhaps we should even look at points of confusion as a place to start.

For prophecy never had its origin in the human will, but prophets, though human, spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.” The origin of scripture is clearly stated here. From God, via the Holy Spirit. This is the second part of our firm foundation. Yet there seems to be a movement within certain sects of the church to view the Bible as the only Godly authority. Openly denying the Holy Spirit. Although scripture itself condemns such actions.

For example, 1st Thessalonians 5:19-22 says “Do not quench the Spirit. Do not treat prophecies with contempt but test them all; hold on to what is good, reject every kind of evil.” Apparently quenching the spirit is one of the evils we must reject. Jesus even called it blasphemy of the spirit. Yet we are also reminded to test the messages. That is why we ultimately need the Bible as a ruler to hold the spirits up to. Since the Holy Spirit isn’t the only voice.

Jesus also says in John 14:25-26 ““All this I have spoken while still with you. But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you.” Herein lies the need for the Holy Spirit, how to apply truth, and when. The spirit can’t remind you of what you never read though. Jesus spent a good amount of time correcting the misapplication of scripture, and probably still would if he returned today. [See the sermon on the mount.] Let’s face it, those who quench the spirit tend to have selective memory with scripture. Only lifting up that which makes them look good, and feeds their pride. Which is a sin in and of itself. A sin that the spirit would likely convict them of if they knew him.

John 3:5-8

“Jesus answered, “Very truly I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless they are born of water and the Spirit. 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.’ The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit.”” These words spoken to a curious Pharisee lie at the heart of why people resist the Spirit. We don’t like not being able to tell where it comes from or where it is going, and ultimately leading us. We like to feel like we are in control. Doesn’t this statement alone reveal where they are missing the point? Who are we to try and control God. But isn’t that just what we are doing when we are cherry-picking the truths we follow.

Yes, false teachers are misrepresenting the Spirit. But if we know our Bible, we can see right through them. But there are just as many false teachers misrepresenting scripture. They can get away with it because they know most people don’t read their Bibles. But if we have the Holy Spirit, he will instruct us on how to deal with such teachers.

I opened with the foundation analogy. Scripture would be the concrete, whereas the Holy Spirit would be the steel reinforcement. They ultimately work together to create the best possible foundation. You can’t see the steel, but without it, the foundation would crack and crumble very quickly. Just as if we didn’t pour the concrete, we wouldn’t have a stable and level surface to build upon. Make sure you have good subcontractors (ministers) because the home inspector is coming to make sure it’s up to code. (Jesus) So let me ask you this. If your knowledge of scripture, and relationship with the Holy Spirit is proportionate to your foundation, what could be built upon it? A large mansion, or just a tool shed?

The Visual PARABLEist

But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. -Mathew 7:26

Guidance

Since we interpret life according to the reality presented to us, we need divine guidance to truly live up to God’s will.

Isaiah 55:8-13
““For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the Lord. While the statement may seem straightforward enough. Do we consider the ramifications of it? What we call logical, what we assume to be reasonable, the standard we filter everything through may very well be foolish in God’s eyes. If human nature could lead us to utopia, it would have achieved it by now, but we haven’t even gotten close. Remember that.

“As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts. While this statement may seem purely poetic, it also addresses his point of view. From heaven he sees everything. The broad picture that we don’t. He can see what’s on the other side of the mountain you want to cross. Not just here and now, but what will be there when you arrive. So he knows whether you should cross or not, or if he needs to intervene in your progress for optimal timing.

As the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and do not return to it without watering the earth and making it bud and flourish, so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater, so is my word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it. The circle of nature is used as a comparison to God’s guidance. Cause and effect often has multiple layers to it. That he is often three steps ahead of us. There is sometimes a difference between knowing a path and following it.

You will go out in joy and be led forth in peace; the mountains and hills will burst into song before you, and all the trees of the field will clap their hands. Going forward on your path in joy is different from being led in peace. Sure we are full of hope and faith in the beginning, but once we start walking it, we need to adopt a more focused task oriented state of mind. Is that why people get stuck? They crave the joy but forsake the peace. Not realizing that to walk that path in peace despite the obstacles, is a blessing in and of itself. That it leads to better places. Why else would even the obstacles of mountains, hills, and trees rejoice in the journey? Similar to the way Jesus states in Luke 19:40.

Instead of the thornbush will grow the juniper, and instead of briers the myrtle will grow. The alternative to thorns and briars are both evergreens. Consider that symbolism.

This will be for the Lord’s renown, for an everlasting sign, that will endure forever.”” We honor God and inspire the world by following his divine guidance in faith.

King David’s words of wisdom to the heir to his throne Solomon. Since guidance from those who went before us can be valuable as well.
1st Chronicles 28:8-9

““So now I charge you in the sight of all Israel and of the assembly of the Lord, and in the hearing of our God: Be careful to follow all the commands of the Lord your God, that you may possess this good land and pass it on as an inheritance to your descendants forever. David urged his son to follow the way of holiness, as well as why that is important. In other words, be like God in thought and deed as we indicated last time.

“And you, my son Solomon, acknowledge the God of your father, and serve him with wholehearted devotion and with a willing mind, for the Lord searches every heart and understands every desire and every thought. God does not just know our thoughts, but the motives and intent behind them. His guidance must surely be Tailored by this. As indicated before, he considers the cause, not just the outcome.

If you seek him, he will be found by you; but if you forsake him, he will reject you forever.” Notice the wording “He will be found by you” it is not a matter of looking in the right place, but looking with the right heart as the previous sentence indicates. If your intent is loyal, God will make himself and his guidance available, wherever you’re looking. (Isaian 30:31)

Remember, King David is speaking as someone who knows the consequences of not living up to said advice. We should seek the same when looking for mentorship. People can only guide where they have been after all. The person who only pretends to be perfect can only teach us to fake it as they do.

 

Mark 4:21-25
“He said to them, “Do you bring in a lamp to put it under a bowl or a bed? Light is meant to illuminate your way in the dark, it cannot guide you when hidden away.

Instead, don’t you put it on its stand? Value the light, put it in a prominent place so it may guide your steps.

For whatever is hidden is meant to be disclosed, and whatever is concealed is meant to be brought out into the open. Even if we can’t see the light from where we are. That does not mean it’s meant to be hidden from you. God wants all to see, and it will be revealed when the individual is ready to step out of the darkness and accept his guidance.

If anyone has ears to hear, let them hear.” I am reminded of the parent who yells “Will you LISTEN to me” at their child. This is Jesus’ more elegant and gentle way of saying that.

“Consider carefully what you hear,” he continued. Jesus acknowledges that there are multiple voices out there trying to misrepresent God’s truth and mislead us.

“With the measure you use, it will be measured to you—and even more. Applying what we understand brings on more understanding. Knowledge is not meant to be a passive thing. Like we said last time, the spirit world is a multiplier.

Whoever has will be given more; whoever does not have, even what they have will be taken from them.”” Not only does he reiterate the idea that the more you obey, the more accurately you will hear, but he adds that disobedience blunts our understanding. So I reiterate as well, that knowledge is not passive.

It has been said knowledge does not necessarily mean understanding. Yet what we clearly see here is that the application of knowledge brings about better understanding. As it says in James 1:22-25

“Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like someone who looks at his face in a mirror and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. But whoever looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues in it—not forgetting what they have heard, but doing it—they will be blessed in what they do.”

I see this passage quoted all the time, yet they often stop at verse 23 or 24 leaving out the blessing in verse 25. Applying it only as a command, not a promise made by Jesus himself of increased understanding.

So let me repeat the opening statement. Since we interpret life according to the reality presented to us, we need divine guidance to truly live up to God’s will. God gave us a map via his scripture, but there is a big difference between reading it and being guided by it. So often we wait until we understand before we will follow, but the reality is we may not be able to understand until we follow.

The Visual PARABLEist