Hip Hop Gospel

“And David danced before the LORD with all his might; and David was girded with a linen ephod.” (2 Samuel 6:14)

Wearing a priestly garment, the king forgot about who and what he was in the flesh in order to worship the Lord in spirit and in truth (John 4:24). Hallelujah! God could care less about pomp and circumstance. Therefore, traditional religiosity does not move or impress the Ancient of Days. In fact, when we are prideful, we are, in fact, attempting to steal His glory which He will not share (Isaiah 42:8). Give it up, ye who are frozen in self-righteousness, hoping to be seen, and desperate for a pat on the back. Repent! Worship the Lord your God (Exodus 23:25). “I will also praise thee with the psaltery, even thy truth, O my God: unto thee will I sing with the harp, O thou Holy One of Israel.” (Psalms 71:22)

“I said a hip hop,
Hippie to the hippie,
The hip, hip a hop, and you don't stop, a rock it
To the bang bang boogie, say, up jump the boogie,
To the rhythm of the boogie, the beat.” (Sugarhill Gang, 1979)

“Take delight in the LORD, and he will give you your heart's desires.” (Psalm 37:4) Hallelujah! 

© 2013 Brian L Hunter
http://www.anointedwritenow.com/

"Fire In The Soul/Daily Dose" # 2 Nov 14 2012 (2 Timothy 2:1,2,15) by Rev. Brian L Hunter

"Fire In The Soul/Daily Dose" # 2 Nov 14 2012 (2 Timothy 2:1,2,15) by Rev. Brian L Hunter

© 2007-2010 Brian L Hunter

God Touched This Sinner

 Since words cannot adequately convey the reality of what took place, I will try again here: It was an incredibly overcast fall day in 1993 at Ramapo College and, when the warm light of the sun suddenly broke through the clouds and shone on my face, I wept uncontrollably. I was in the middle of a set with the reggae band, No Discipline, playing drums as usual as I did for a living most of my life up to that point. What was this new tension and why was I weeping?

Something in my heart was breaking. Up to that moment I had felt so wicked and so much was obviously wrong in my life. Yet God reached down through it all and touched me deeply that day, perhaps just to let me know that there was a reality bigger and more awesomely powerful than I had hitherto ever imagined. Hallelujah! The Son shone through the clouds and caressed me with His omnipotent love that afternoon. Hallelujah! The Son caused His countenance to graciously shine upon me (Numbers 6:22-27). Hallelujah! God was so concerned about this dread-lock wearing, screwed up, self-absorbed drummer boy that He reached down from heaven in that moment, as though He had nothing more important to do, and caressed me on my wretched cheek with His awesome omnipotent love. Oh, my goodness! Hallelujah! I was overwhelmed…

© 2012 Brian L Hunter

"Love Is Like A River" Brian L Hunter Drumming & Rapping? w No Discipline

"Love Is Like A River" Brian L Hunter Drumming & Rapping? w No Discipline

© 1989 Brian L Hunter (ASCAP) and No Discipline  aka Al Bazaz (BMI)

Reggae

"Fire In The Soul" Episode One by Rev Brian L Hunter Philippians 4:7-8 Brief

"Fire In The Soul" Episode One by Rev Brian L Hunter Philippians 4:7-8 Brief

© 2007-2010 Brian L Hunter

Weepy

“Jesus wept.” (John 11:35)

Speaking of men who cannot seem to hold their eye water, I have discovered an eighth dwarf. Snow White never met this one. His name is weepy. He seems to be addicted to worship and the presence of the Lord. If Jesus is indeed his example, I am tempted to envy such a soaking of the proverbial handkerchief myself. What burden moves him to tears? It certainly is worth a bi

t more contemplation on my part. I may eventually be led to conclude that big boys do indeed cry. I have often wondered what else the world may have lied to me about? Maybe I shouldn’t believe everything I see on television or read in the newspaper after all. Thank God He has given me so much relevant reading and thinking to do. I thank Him even more for sending His Holy Spirit that I may be moved to tears by the truth of which and of whom He does testify. Selah.

© 2012 Brian L Hunter

Food for Thought (Not for the sensitive...)

Please allow me to ponder out loud. Mormonism doctrine has historically promoted hatred for the decedents of Ham (Genesis 9:18). What of the English word ‘black’ and its etymology? Part of the Merriam Webster definition: “indicative of condemnation or discredit ” Has this contributed to the systemic brainwashing of Americans generation after generation? So many powerless evangelicals in 2012 who proclaim to be disciples of Christ seem to be completely unaware of their inbred racism and the offensiveness of their seemingly inherent if not merely institutionalized and learned hatred for the first American President of obvious African descent. I think a little sensitivity training may be  in order for the church at large. Corporations have realized the benefits of diversity training for employees. Why is the church so far behind? For further cogitation see: 

http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/black 

http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=black 

 http://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F30F17FB385E15738DDDAE0894DF405B8984F0D3 

© 2012 Brian L Hunter

Imagination

“Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ;” (2 Corinthians 10:6 ) I know it seemed as though that friend’s attitude was directed towards you. However, you do well not to accept the offense personally. Yes, they may have had an awful attitude when they answered your call, responded to your question, or reacted to your statement. No, you are not obligated to let your imagination run wild with the idea that the other person’s attitude is all about you, Marsha. Perhaps your phone call, question, or comment, after a long series of disappointments and mishaps within a short span of time, just happened to be the proverbial straw that broke the camel’s back. That makes you today’s grand prize winner in the attitude sweepstakes or lottery. Viola! Congratulations! God obviously knew you could handle it with flying colors, make lemonade out of this sour fruit, offer a Word of encouragement, and allow love, rather than your emotions, rule in the situation and thereby be a peacemaker. This is how you keep friends, share the love which is God, and avoid the bait of Satan that seeks to trap you in the snare of the fowler and keep you bound, upset, unsettled, and bitter. Remember that God is your peace. If you form the habit of taking a deep breath and thinking of the goodness of the Lord in those times of offense, betrayal, and ugliness in your face, you will be better able to bless the Lord at all times and let His praise continually be in your mouth (Psalm 34:1). Hallelujah! “Bless the LORD, O my soul: and all that is within me, bless his holy name.” (Psalm 103:1) Oh, we who live and move and have our being in Christ are too blessed to concentrate on any such evil mess or misunderstanding. Praise God Almighty! Hallelujah! The joy, the joy, the joy of the Lord is our strength. Rise up in righteousness and give negativity and strife a mortal beat down today in Jesus’ mighty name. As they say in Jamaica; seen? Irie, mon. I and I will bless the Lord! Hallelujah! Bless His most high holy name and smile as though you have heard the good news of His virgin birth, sinless life, death, burial, resurrection, and promise to come again for His bride! Hallelujah! I should just shut up and play my drums, however…


© 2012 Brian L Hunter

Danger, The Will

“The heart is more deceitful than all else And is desperately sick; Who can understand it?” (Jeremiah 17:9 NASB) You can listen to Oprah, Dr. Phil, and the NY Times best-selling authors and take medication to cope with the delusions of this world, or, you can belly up to the truth. Anyone who has read the Book of Romans recently knows what we can expect from mankind, even our closest family, confidants, and friends. The depravity of man is a given, not a surprise. Did the twelve disciples follow through with their resolution not to leave Jesus’ side once the Roman soldiers came and took Him by force to be crucified? Did Peter not deny that he even knew Jesus once the persecution foretold became a reality (Matthew 26:34, Mark 14:72, Luke 22:61)? I have no misconceptions about my own friends denying me thrice when the weight of tolerating me has become too much for mortal men. But, hey; hallelujah! There is one… Ha ha! Oh, there are three in heaven who agree as one (1 John 5:7) – His name is El Olam (Genesis 21:33), The Everlasting God, Faithful, True, and Eternal Lord - Jehovah. He alone is the friend that sticketh closer than a brother (Proverbs 18:24). There are friends who, because they filter reality through carnal, flesh-colored spectacles as all men are subject to, cannot purely receive and see what I am saying here. My every word will be filtered and imperfectly interpreted to mean something other than what I am communicating. Some will even rebuke me (in the flesh), accusing me of committing evil on Facebook with posts such as these, when, in reality, I write with malice toward none but the enemies of truth. This creates space between us men which cannot be filled again except by the Holy Spirit if and when we are occasionally of one accord in that Spirit which is the Lord. “Now the Lord is that Spirit: and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty.” (2 Corinthians 3:17) How much more could we accomplish together for the Kingdom if we could walk consistently together in the Spirit without making every word and every situation about us? That would be a God-centered worldview rather than one that is self-centered. That would be a healthy, living, breathing, revived, and unified church worthy to be called the Body of Christ in the last days. If I am guilty of anything in posts such as these, I am guilty of thinking out loud and making myself, the good, the bad, and the ugly, completely transparent. The only communication that can ever be perfect is that between God and man. As little children, we are weak but God is strong. “In the same way the Spirit also helps our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we should, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words; and He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.” (Romans 8:26, 27 NASB) My thoughts, being imperfect and infinitely lower than God’s, are often random, incomplete, or seemingly meaningless. However, I consider that I am not necessarily called to minister to my circle of friends, my nation, or even my generation. God can use a gift revealed today to benefit none other than a solitary youth in Vietnam three centuries in the future. “But, beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing, that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.” (2 Peter 3:8) Postmodern thinkers and intellectuals, puffed up with pride and impressed with their own self-sufficiency, are so great and mighty in their own minds that they find it impossible to admit that God exists. Well, if I stand before any traffic court judge in America, having overlooked or ignored a stop sign and rolled on through the intersection, I will learn that my ignorance of the law will in no wise nullify a guilty verdict and the subsequent consequences. God is not some equation you can figure out, Poindexter. “O how deep are God's riches, and wisdom, and knowledge! How unfathomable are his decisions and unexplainable are his ways!” (Romans 11:33) You may refuse to believe it until you are forced by the circumstances of a situation to believe it – for, in such an hour, if you believe not, there shall exist no longer in your carnal mind, your only mind, any hope at all for you. Many men suddenly discovered faith in Jesus and eternal life while pinned down in a foxhole under enemy fire on the battlefield or while plummeting speedily from the sky in a jetliner with a failed engine. You can tell me anything, Mr. Atheist. However, life has a way of bringing us to a point in time when we must put our money where our mouths are. I will lay down my life for this gospel which has saved me from self, the bondage of sin, and eternal separation from all that is good and perfect. Expecting the atheist to understand or accept rationally the peace which comes with placing all of my hope in God’s eternal promises in Jesus Christ would be like expecting my dog to understand why we dress and season a turkey before roasting it. I have said all of this merely to make this point: I do not have a great mind. However, what little mind I have is on Christ, on letting His mind be in me, in living and moving and having my being in Him, and, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, and whatsoever things are of good report. If there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, I endeavor as much as possible at my feeble age nearing senility, to think on these things (Philippians 4:8).


© 2012 Brian L Hunter

Free Indeed

“If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed.” (John 8:36) Of course the little girl wants to dress up like her mommy and as a teenager she will desire to do the same thing. She has no idea that grown men will lust after her and pay undue attention to her frame. She has no idea that, while old and young men alike will befriend her and seem to genuinely adore her personhood, they only do so with the ulterior motive of deflowering and robbing her of the purity and innocence of God’s glory that He placed deep within her as a precious flower intended to bloom in its season. It is God who is therefore violated. Woe be unto men who lust with evil eyes and scrape together the wrath of God whom they have not yet learned to fear, though Hurricanes and Tsunamis alike bear His signature alone. Hallelujah! “God is a righteous judge, a God who expresses his wrath every day.” (Psalm 7:11) Those who are evil are deluding themselves if they think for one second that they shall escape judgment in the end. A red hot needle through both eyes at this moment would be preferable to the wrath of God they heap up for themselves which shall most definitely be executed in His time. Consider the power of just one tornado or lightning bolt as you reflect on the fact that “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom: and the knowledge of the holy is understanding.” (Proverbs 9:10) Think about it, Poindexter; “Energy cannot be created or destroyed, it can only be changed from one form to another.” ― Albert Einstein Thank you for calling me friend, oh God. Thank you for reminding me that Job made a covenant with his eyes not to look lustfully at a girl (Job 31:1). Hallelujah! We thank you that by your grace alone through the sanctifying power of your Holy Spirit, Word (Ephesians 5:26-27), and eternal fatherhood, we take great pains to humbly extend our hand rather than to lustfully grab for the sisters, mothers, and daughters of your holy assembly as we greet one another with or without witnesses. We thank you, Heavenly Father, that through your Son, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit, you have bestowed upon us integrity quite foreign to our carnal nature. We are, in Christ, new men, new husbands, and new creations (2 Corinthians 5:17). Hallelujah! Because, by your grace through faith alone we live and move and have our being in Jesus Christ, we are no longer slaves to sin and our carnal nature. Hallelujah! Lord, let the weak say that we are strong today because of what you have done for us through your perfect sacrifice upon the Cross. Oh Lord, protect us from ourselves, from our selfish carnal natures, and lead us by your Spirit each day so that we ascend up out of the miry clay with our feet set upon a rock (Psalm 40:2). Establish our goings, Lord God Almighty. Anoint our heads with oil so that we can look with your eyes upon the Rock from whence we were hewn (Isaiah 51:1). Hallelujah! Help us, Lord, even when we fall, fail, and mess up royally, to rise up by the power of your grace to pursue righteousness and seek you even unto our last breath. Thank you, Lord, for entrusting your precious daughters to us. May we remain conscious of the responsibility of care for which you shall hold each of us accountable. Help us to spend sufficient time in your Word and presence in order to be changed from dead, wormy, carnal, stagnant harbors of evil concupiscence to the joyous righteousness of God in Christ Jesus (2 Corinthians 5:21). Thank you, thank you, and thank you. Because of who you are, since only you can do what you can do, we magnify your holy name and give you glory, honor, and praise. Thank you for being on my mind and resting on my heart today. I could have been concentrating on a million other things during the time it has taken to think about your goodness, mercy, and grace today. Thank you for giving me the desires of my heart. Help me to be ready to lay it all down at the Cross. I am determined to go all the way. The joy has been set before me. Thank you, Lord. You and you alone are The most High God who was and is and is to come. Hallelujah! There is none like you. Thank you, oh God of Jacob, King of Glory, and Everlasting God. You are worthy of all praise. Come quickly, Lord. Maranatha!


© 2012 Brian L Hunter

Prayer Requests

If you don’t want to pray, that is between you and your God. “But, as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.” (Joshua 24:15) Successful servanthood requires obedience. Paul was a bondservant of his Lord Jesus Christ and Paul asked for prayer in 2 Thessalonians 3:1, 2 Thessalonians 1:11, and 1 Thessalonians 5:25, to mention just a few instances. James 5:14 instructs believers to request prayer and James 5:16 tells us that it is proper for us to pray for one another. One major problem we have in Christ’s church today is a malformed conformity to the world’s duty of independence. Too many Evangelicals think they can, or must, make it as a lone wolf.

The enemy of our souls delights to convince us that we are individual “super-Christians” whose faith is strong enough that we dare not need anyone else. In fact, the climate is now such that we look and talk down to anyone showing any signs of struggling in his or her walk with God, even if they don’t ask for prayer. Such a church does not resemble the Body of Christ which was purchased with His blood and called to watch and pray until He returns. In the seventeenth chapter of John’s Gospel, Jesus prayed that we, His church, be one.

“Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word; that they all may be one; as thou, Father, [art] in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me. And the glory which thou gavest me I have given them; that they may be one, even as we are one: I in them, and thou in me, that they may be made perfect in one; and that the world may know that thou hast sent me, and hast loved them, as thou hast loved me.” (John 17:20-23)

Ephesians 4:16 says, “From whom the whole body fitly joined together and compacted by that which every joint supplieth, according to the effectual working in the measure of every part, maketh increase of the body unto the edifying of itself in love.” Speaking of Christ, our redeemer, Ephesians 2:21 goes on to say, “In whom all the building fitly framed together groweth unto an holy temple in the Lord: in whom ye also are builded together for an habitation of God through the Spirit.”

In conclusion, Christ’s church is not contained within any number of walls. Many argue against ecumenism because denominationalism has somehow taken precedence over Scripture. If we are not one body, we are not one church in one Spirit. Therefore we are neither in The Word nor are we His. I will pray for you all and continue to ask for your prayers to include me. Am I also called to pray in my secret closet? Absolutely! I must meet my Father in the secret place and travail in prayer. However, Matthew 18:19 informs me that there is another dimension added so “that if two of you (us) shall agree on earth as touching any thing that they (we) shall ask, it shall be done for them (us) of my (our) Father which is in heaven.” If we heed God’s Word in its entirety, we shall be prosperous and have good success. (Joshua 1:8) Here is to our success.



© 2007-2010 Brian L Hunter

Witnessing to Those with a Secular Humanist Worldview

Secular humanists, a subset of modern day spiritualists, are skeptics and largely atheists or agnostics who have supplanted the creator with the creature and thus worship an idyllic representation of themselves as scientific evidence and the pinnacle of an unsubstantiated evolutionary hypothesis. It would seem that secular humanists are on a mission to prove that man has no need of anything supernatural, mainly God. A skeptic begins with the assumption that all systems of faith are wrong. (Caner 2009, p. 43) This assumption, along with the humanist’s many other assumptions and presuppositions, must be questioned and dissected according to reason.

Debating humanists on an intellectual or argumentative basis is largely unproductive. An appeal to the need for an ultimate authority might be established after a heartfelt dissatisfaction with the status quo of unanswered questions is acknowledged and then one can present historical evidence for the superiority of the Bible as the God given source of such authority. The unanswered questions of science are a good place to begin (Caner 2009, p.43) as is a discourse on worldview questions such as

1. Where did we come from? (Origin)
2. Why are we here? (Meaning)
3. What is good and what is evil? (Morality)
4. Where is civilization headed? (Destiny)

Such testimony by believers can only help spiritualists refine their worldview and learn that there is more to life and death than what meets the eye. There is mythological, philosophical, empirical, and historical evidence in favour of biblical truth and authority, and God desires an intimate fellowship with us because He created and loves us. Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life. It’s just that simple. I don’t ever want to be accused of being more in love with my interpretation of theology than I am with my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ! The solution to the root of every problem in any life is a person named Jesus. The historical record of the life of the apostle Paul is a most useful, scripturally anchored introduction to the gospel. Why do men reject God and His Son, Jesus? It’s alright if Jesus is anything other than God. It’s alright with humanists if Jesus is just another prophet or just another great historical figure. In fact Jesus is just more fodder for their mountain of relativism which is akin to a pantheism where mere ideas are gods.

I think most people are longing for something that will resonate the general revelation of God’s existence within them and the God shaped hole inside that they try to ignore. They try to fill this abyss with alcohol, drugs, sex, philosophy, materialism, etc. All they know for sure is that they have not yet experienced that ultimate peace that we have learned is only made possible through what Christ has accomplished on our behalf.

The core ideology of Secular Humanism is anti-faith and therefore anti-Christian. It exalts reason as supreme as a way of knowing. The question is what is to be known? What does man need to know in order to “conquer” life. Secular Humanism developed in part as a direct antithesis to Christianity. The primary supposition must be that the universe is inherently hostile to mankind and survival is therefore man’s main pursuit in life. Man is viewed as victorious and superior in an adversarial relationship with nature. Admitting then that man needs anything outside of himself, such as a higher power, God, traditional dogma, etc. would undermine the basic presuppositions of the humanist manifesto and worldview. I doubt that anyone holding to this worldview would welcome prayer or an overt discussion of Scripture because any aspect of anything “religious” offends their sensibilities. One must approach reason from the perspective of either contextual apologetics or negative apologetics as did the apostle Paul in his Mars Hill Address in Acts 17.

Oprah, Dr. Phil, eastern mysticism, New Age fads, and ethical relativism fail miserably to apprehend the centeredness and peace of mind that is so lacking in this world of the twenty-first century schizoid man (King Crimson) where lives are so expendable as acceptable casualties of war and the love of money and prosperity gospels rule. This is perhaps the most world view most aggressively forced upon us in the mass media, schools, and ultra liberal churches teaching far to the left of Scripture in America today. This is the height of vanity and exalts vain imaginations above reason, believing that all that exists is what can be seen with the naked eye, while dismissing the validity of the supernatural. Everything is relative to the secular humanist, which is one reason why it leads to gross immorality and incredible insensitivity to the pain and suffering of others. 1 Corinthians 1:18-29 is also a good place to begin when discussing the gospel with humanists.

© 2010 Brian L Hunter

A Critical Analysis of Edward Taylor’s Preparatory Meditations - Poetry

A Critical Analysis of Edward Taylor’s Preparatory Meditations - Poetry 

Taylor’s Preparatory Meditations, poems composed prior to administering the Lords Supper, seem to me to be quite doctrinal or theological in nature and reveal Taylor's complete emotional investment and devotion to a very relational though transcendent God. Rich with expressions of personal insufficiency and longing, Taylor's imagery at times makes evident a love for the pure sound of lexical expression. The best poetry seems to me able to sing itself. Edwards effectively uses extended metaphor and biblical allusions in Meditation 1 when he writes in stanza one, “What hath thy Godhead, as not satisfide Marri'de our Manhood, making it its Bride?” This makes reference to both the hypostatic union of Christology and the Church as the bride of Christ. Such poetry invites the study of the structure and content of word forms as well as theological inquiry. "Preparatory Meditations before My Approach to the Lord's Supper, " is a collection of 217 poems written between 1682 and 1725 and they are, so far, my favorite of Taylor’s poems. His use of metaphor is at times even sensual. I notice the use of strong action words in Meditation 1 such as Confinde, Conjoyn’d, Marri’de, filling Heaven to the brim!, O’re running it, Overflowing Hell, rose a mighty Tide, though thy Person bleed, To quench those flames, feed, etc. Coupled with a relentless cadence toppling forward with powerful imagery not unlike a freight train wherein the glorious supremacy and sovereignty of God as themes are centrally delivered. Most of the meditations seem to include some expression of inadequacy by Edwards, as if he were not up to the task of expressing accurately anything about this infinite, omnipotent, preeminent God who has created Heaven and earth and all that therein is. “My Fireless Flame! What Chilly Love, and Cold? In measure small! In Manner Chilly! See. Lord blow the Coal: Thy Love Enflame in mee.” But this inadequacy seems to then give way to the anointed preacher in Taylor who will sing a mighty song of worship, praise, and prayerful request to the Almighty triune God with fervor and zeal that could not be contained. In Meditation 1 especially, I find Edwards’ exuberance to be sincere and infectious through the sing song musicality of his verses. These poems do not strike me as having been written to achieve critical acclaim. Similar to the work of Anne Bradstreet in a sense, I believe Taylor’s poetry to primarily be genuine and natural acts of worship; simply doing what his Creator designed and destined him to do. Meditation 1 is introspective and conveys the personal and private relationship of a man born into sin with a very transcendent, holy, and infinitely loving God. 

© 2009 Brian L Hunter
www.anointedwritenow.com 

Naked Lunch

It is precisely because we are so imperfect that we find it so difficult to wrap our finite minds around the fact that God’s very essence requires the perfection of all His attributes, that He is perfect in all His ways, and that His knowledge isn’t merely greater than our own, but it is infinitely greater. God knows all things, past, present, and future in totality! Talk about omniscience being absolute… Job 37:16, Psalm 139:2-4; Psalm 147:5, Proverbs 5:21, Isaiah 46:9-10, and 1 John 3:19-20 leave no doubt that God’s knowledge is infinite and that He knows absolutely everything. (GotQuestions.org - QOTW - If God knew? Fri 7/17/09 12:24 PM‏) No scientist has ever been able to tell us exactly what gravity is, yet we accept the fact that gravity exists and affects any object in proximity to it. Will we not then acknowledge the sovereignty of a God almighty and righteous upon His creation? Even the most depraved dog seeks to please his master. Any dog narcissistic enough to seek only his own satisfaction would be duly euthanized. Yet God so loved the world…

Unbiblical Anecdote #1

People say, “We do not like the things he is saying. We thought he was with us. However, since we have learned that he does not agree with our politics, our theology, and our traditional religious ideas, he is dead to us. The Lord says, “Where have you laid him?” (John 11:34) Hallelujah! The moral of this quite unbiblical anecdote is simply this. Always put more credence in what God says than in what people say, no matter how righteous the people claim to be.

 

© 2009 Brian L Hunter

Whosoever Will

Accepted or rejected? I agree wholeheartedly that this is the issue made so clear in these chapters in John.“The stone which the builders rejected Has become the chief corner stone” (Psalm 118:22) (Matthew 21:42) and again in (Acts 4:11). Salvation is a work of divine monergism – God does the work. Narrow is the gate, despite my good intent and desire that everyone respond favorably and be saved. I need only present Jesus as He has already proclaimed in his Word. God speaks and we either take heed or we chose not to. “If you choose not to decide, you still have made a choice” (Rush “Free Will”). If my presentation is biblical, God’s Word is life transforming truth and shall not return unto him void. “So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it” (Isaiah 55:11). Why should we heed 2 Timothy 2:15? So that we don’t risk leading others astray with improvised imaginations of the gospel message, that’s why. “And he spake a parable unto them, Can the blind lead the blind? shall they not both fall into the ditch?” (Luke 6:39). We think more highly of ourselves than we ought if we see our own role in the process of salvation as any greater than this, to preach Christ and Him crucified. You stated, “Jesus' presentation was flawless, as He is God incarnate. If some chose to reject the perfect presentation, how could interest be attributed to presentation?” Your statement is precisely the central truth, the real core, of what we are discussing and I wish I could have said it as eloquently. "The mind of the flesh (carnal mind) is enmity (at war) against God; for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can it be" (Romans 8:7). I expect the lost to be angry when they hear the Word of God. Sin exposes itself by its reaction to God's Word. Demons always cry out at the name of Jesus because they fear and tremble. Neither God nor His humble servants are intimidated by the angry alpha dog tough guy routine that immature persons are apt to put on in order to act hard and self important. However, if the scared and angry children would only drop the self-centered façade for just a moment, just for a single heartbeat; their fear would be replaced by a Father’s love so magnanimous that Satan himself could not deny the extent and perfection of it. “Whosoever will, let him come” Jesus says. Yet some are so angry that He is speaking. What other reaction could darkness have to the true light? Scripture tells us that this reaction of anger and hatred is to be expected. Yet, still we say “whosoever will, let him come and receive living water and the bread of life, the Great I AM! Can you be angry and sin not? Who am I talking to? God knows who you are…

Keep Coming

I'm not afraid to tell you I’ve been right where you are; in the church on Sunday and then right back into the dreadful pit of shame on Monday. Don’t give up. Don’t give in. Don’t let the condemnation of the misguided self righteous keep you away from the only cure for your disease, hearing the Word of God. Forget theology just now and come to the alter quickly and as often as you feel the need. Because we have free will, God’s perfection in us does not always work in an instant like the proponents of today’s microwave Christianity would have you believe. Don’t be deceived by these angels of light who are wolves in sheep’s clothing. God’s grace is indeed sufficient, no matter how many times you need to fight your way to the altar. “For the word of God is quick, and powerful… (Hebrews 4:12). Don’ let Satan keep you away from the Word who was made flesh (John 1:14). There is now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus… (Romans 8:1). Why let anyone, no matter how holy they think they are, try to separate you from the love of God? Do not allow it. Come to Jesus. Come and drink living water that is fresh and waiting for you whenever you come.

Doubting Thomas?

We speak of Thomas’ doubt in chapter 20 of John as though no other disciple (including us) has ever experienced doubt in the face of all that we yet do not know and understand about God. Despite doubt and spiritual immaturity, the twelve forsook all else and followed Jesus. Personally, there are some things I have yet to forsake completely in order to more perfectly follow Christ. Just how perfectly can our finite minds understand how Father, Son, and The Holy Spirit can be one God? The disciples’ response to the good news is all that matters, not their level of understanding. They are merely representative of our own limitations of mind and will in contrast to the perfection of Christ who was, after all, not merely a man. Yet, if we will just follow Him, Jesus is able to perfect that which concerns us. “His strength is made perfect in our weakness” (2 Corinthians 12:9). “For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure” (Philippians 2:13). Concerning Thomas’ doubt in chapter 20 I would ask the question; do we, Brian and Timothy, do all things without murmurings and disputings? (Philippians 2:14). In his response to Jesus, Thomas was ready and willing to go, regardless of the destination or consequences. He was just beginning to learn that Jesus was God, that Jesus was thus omnipotent, that death could not hold Him, and that He was perfect in all of His ways. How ironic is it that these same imperfect and "unlearned men" (as they were called in Acts after Pentecost) would together propagate Christianity beyond the confines of Judaism to blossom and thrive in Rome, the capital of the gentile world at that time, just a few centuries later, despite zealous murderous persecution by powerful Roman emperors? The Pharisees rejected Jesus and thus the stone that the builders rejected, after His resurrection, became the head of the corner (Mark 12:10, Acts 4:11, Psalm 118:22). Bless that wonderful name of Jesus! Thomas shows extreme loyalty to Jesus. He knew Jesus was going to Bethany with or without the twelve and Thomas wanted to be by His side even if it meant going to his death. We don’t do justice to Thomas’ character when we define him by his moment of doubt upon hearing the first news that Jesus’ resurrection. Let’s remember that everyone scattered and left Jesus’ side on his way to the cross. Discipleship is not an easy road to travel. Men, know matter how godly, can never match the perfection of God. I can only hope and pray that I would not deny Christ if I were in that position under the circumstances which the twelve faced as Jesus determined to go back to Bethany. Clearly neither Thomas nor any of the disciples understood Jesus’ power over death. I think Thomas had realized at that point that a life without Jesus would not be worth living. If all future hope of a resurrection was based upon the coming of the Messiah, and Jesus was this Messiah, then certainly I could entrust my life to Him and follow Him wherever he would go, whether it be to life or death. I don’t know how familiar Thomas was with the OT Scriptures, specifically the prophecies that were references to the resurrection of the body, such as Psalm 16, Isaiah 26, Daniel 12, and Hosea 6. Jesus prophesied many times that he would be killed and on the third day be raised from the dead, and yet, the disciples never seemed to catch on to what Jesus was really saying. In John 10:17-18 Jesus said, "The reason my Father loves me is that I lay down my life—only to take it up again. No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down and authority to take it up again. This command I received from my Father." Why didn’t the disciples, Thomas included, simply ask more questions in order to get an understanding of what Jesus was saying? In John 14:19 Jesus told his disciples, "Before long, the world will not see me anymore, but you will see me. Because I live, you also will live." I would have asked Jesus, “Master, what sayest thou?” What was so difficult about just admitting, “Lord, we do not understand what you mean?” I certainly would expect that Peter would ask, especially when he was rebuked in Matthew 16. I think what some have referred to as blind faith is absolutely necessary, born of love and obedience. When we are four years of age and our cognitive ability has not yet developed enough to understand why we shouldn't touch the hot stove, we can either have blind faith in the benevolent wisdom of our parents' instructions, or we can suffer the consequences. At age four, we have to just trust and obey that our parents know what's best for us. "Verily I say unto you, Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven" (Matthew 18:3) As adults, however, our own reasoning often short circuits the type of intimacy with Jesus that makes trust and obedience effortless, even in the midst of adversity or imminent death. This makes me think of Martyrs like Polycarp. "Yes, though I walk through the [deep, sunless] valley of the shadow of death, I will fear or dread no evil, for You are with me; Your rod [to protect] and Your staff [to guide], they comfort me" (Psalm 23 Amp). The Good Shepherd, The True Vine, The Husbandman, The Lion of Judah - God Almighty is sovereign and perfect in all His ways! "Lord, I believe; help thou my unbelief" (Mark 9:24). I am praying that the Lord help me to believe more perfectly. I want a greater gift of faith than I currently possess. I think belief is more of a progressive rather than a gestalt experience, and, it is none other than trials and tribulations than trials and tribulations that exercise and develop our ability to believe more maturely (James 1:2). Consider when Jesus told Peter, And the Lord said, Simon, Simon, behold, Satan hath desired to have you, that he may sift you as wheat: But I have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not: and when thou art converted, strengthen thy brethren" (Luke 22:32). I think of the process I've attempted to describe as the type of conversion Jesus is referring to in this passage, though I could be mistaken.