Part 3

Truth Can Be Difficult 

     Most New Testament writers were Jewish. There was such a wall between Jews and Gentiles that accepting new "truth" was difficult for many. But God's incomparable love is available for anyone who believes and repents...and follows Jesus.  

    Peter for one was hesitant to mix with Gentiles, but he and the other disciples, and men like Matthew, Stephen, Philip and Mark knew what happened that day of resurrection. Type A personality Saul joined the cause a bit later, when Jesus himself spoke to him from heaven, and gave him the name Paul. 

     These men and others, including women like Jesus' mother and Mary (of Magdala), interacted with Jesus during the 40 days he remained physically on Earth. Thier's is a testimony we can believe. 

     Years later, when Jesus hadn't returned as promised, God employed some of the above to write letters eventually collected as the New Testament. There we learn that we who didn't see the crucifixion and the risen Christ for ourselves, and still believe, will be honored a bit above those who did! 

     In Ephesians chapter 2, Paul the prisoner reminds us that we all (including himself) "were dead in our transgressions and sins, when we followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air" (that would be Satan). 

     But! "Because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ. It is by grace you have been saved."

     Paul adds, "And God raised (past tense) us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms, in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace." 

     What's difficult isn't the resurrection. It is millions of people who will do anything except believe and receive God's love, mercy and grace, begin to grow into his likeness, and look forward to an eternity of incomparable riches. 

Next: Faith required; gift given

Part 2 

God Promised Abraham  

     Some of our friends may be offended to read of Gentile believers in the same sentence with Abraham. 

     Old and New Testaments connect the dots. Our Creator began to draw the wicked world to himself beginning with Abraham's faith (not laws, which did not then exist). 

     Along the way, God spoke through Jewish prophets. Several prophesized about a Messiah yet to appear. Subtle verses in the prophets foretold that God's "solution" to sin was/is Himself, centuries before Bethlehem, virgin birth and all.  

     Two millennium after Abraham, while Israelites were under the Roman thumb, angels surprised Zechariah the priest, Joseph, and Mary, a virgin.

     Saying "nothing is impossible with God," they announced the coming Son of the Most High and what this would mean. Mary and Zechariah each were given a "song" by the Holy Spirit (Luke chapter 1). 

     God didn't make it easy for Joseph and Mary. They had to travel for days to Bethlehem, as Joseph had to register there and pay his taxes. There was no vacancy at the inn, so they camped in an animal stable, where the Son of the Most High was born.

     This wasn't - and still isn't - the way most Jewish faithful expect the Messiah to come. About age 30, Jesus, in his human body, began his ministry...teaching, healing and therefore upsetting the leaders. 

     With regular folks flocking to Jesus, for his miracles perhaps, Israel's leaders had enough (as God purposed). They urged the Roman governor to allow him crucified, just what the late Herod would have wanted.  

     On the cross, Jesus forgave them. His ultimate purpose was to die, suffering what all of us deserve for our iniquities. He was buried. That was Friday. Following the Sabbath, he appeared to his disciples with his eternal body, yet bearing the marks of crucifixion. The ultimate miracle? Only God.

     Decades later, his disciple John wrote: "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life."   

     The Messiah will come, returning to the mount where Jesus departed after 40 days of counseling his amazed disciples and several hundred others. Another miracle: the mount will split in two.  

Next: Truth can be difficult

Part 1 of 6

Mountain Peaks of Revelation 

     We've been thinking ... of all the 2,000+ pages in the Bible ... wouldn't it be neat to land on a couple chapters that are:

     ...so clear we could almost memorize it ...so fundamental we could say I know that I know that I know ...so important that we want to share it with anyone willing to listen. Or read. 

     The "sermon on the mount," Matthew chapters 5-7 is a must. We read it and let our spirits take it in. And we read it again. The entire book (gospel) of John also is a must read. 

     Another mountain to climb is a letter to believers in one of the great cities of the old world - Ephesus. Paul wrote this from prison in A.D. 62, encouraging people who were not in prison. 

     Simply put, there are two basic themes in the New Testament: How we are redeemed by God, and how we as redeemed must live. Chapter 1:3-14 is said to be one of the most profound passages in the Bible. 

     Paul stresses our redemption by grace through faith, as God reconciles us to himself, and to others, and unites us in Christ in one body. His purpose is "to bring all things in heaven and on earth together under one head, even Christ." v. 1:10.

     We climb the hills of Galatians 3:28 for further understanding:

     "There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female. You are all one in Christ Jesus. If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise." 

     The only wedding in heaven is the marriage of all believers (the bride) to Christ (the husband).  

Next: The promise through Abraham

     

No Other Place to Go 

Part 3     

     "American support has continued, with more or less enthusiasm depending on which party is in the White House. Israel promotes itself as a "Startup Nation," citing the high number of new tech companies per capita. 

     "But amid the ongoing conflict over judicial reform, some investors are pulling out. Medzini (the 90-year-old former spokesperson) notes international companies rely on a stable judicial system and the rule of law. 

     "Some argue Israel should be governed by the laws of the Torah, a notion Medzini dismisses as impossible. 'Can you govern a modern, industrial, technological country by the laws of the Torah? Who would protect minority rights? Who will protect the rights of Arabs?' 

     "Both Biden and Netanyahu hail their 40 years of friendship. Still, the tensions between them are real. A March Gallup poll showed 49 percent of U.S. Democrats sympathized with the Palestinians, while only 38 percent sympathized with Israelis. 

     "Uncertainty in Israel continues. Polls showed 60 percent of citizens don't feel represented by their government, and a slight majority are pessimistic about the nation's future.

     "Medzini: 'I can't tell you how it's going to pan out, but we will overcome it. I have no doubt, because we are resilient, we are resourceful. We have no other place to go and no other country. Eventually, we will find the proper solution.'"

Source: WORLD magazine

At a Crossroads? 

Part 2

     Writes the journalist: "The secular Jewish democracy that Zionist founders envisioned has provided the stability required for Israel to flourish economically, technologically and culturally."

     "But now, the nation is at a crossroads. The coalition of conservative and religious parties currently in power is raising societal questions that will determine the course of the next 75 years."

     "Netanyahu's proposed judicial reform would radically change the makeup of the commission that chooses Israel's Supreme Court judges. Another bill gives Israel's parliament, the Knesset, power to override any Supreme Court ruling." 

     "Ultra-Orthodox Jews, Haredi, live in tight-knit communities, rejecting modern secular influences. Seventy-five years ago, Haredi numbered only 35,000, Now they have grown to 1.28 million - 12.9 percent of the population. The military exemption that originally affected 400 men now applies to 68,000."  

     "As that number has grown, the exemption and public funds that support Torah studies have stoked resentment among some. Meanwhile, Jewish nationalist parties, determined to expand Israeli control to all of the Biblical territory, want to keep the court from declaring West Bank settlements illegal." 

Next: "No other place to go."

 

What About Israel? 

     Eleven minutes after Ben-Gurion declared independence, 75 years ago, President Truman, a Baptist, officially recognized Israel, against the advice of Secretary of State George Marshall. 

     National affairs are seldom squeaky clean, and that goes for us and Israel, our lone friend in the Middle East, as well. 

     Views by the Sea offers three blogs based on an interesting WORLD magazine article by Jenny Lind Schmitt. 

Part 1 - Since May 14, 1948, Israel has lived through wars with its neighbors and continued growth, prospering through it all. Meron Medzini, 90, who was government spokesman for three prime ministers, told Schmitt, "Israel is in a major turmoil, the likes of which I have never experienced." 

     He said, "Current turmoil is about judicial reform" and now "the deeper question: What role will religion play in public and private life? We don't have a constitution mainly because we couldn't agree on the role of religion." 

     That and "ongoing tribalism in a country made up largely of immigrants from the global Jewish diaspora are reasons for internal conflict." 

     The majority of Israel's founders came from Eastern Europe. They were often secular and influenced by Europe's socialism. Later immigrants came from Arab countries and tended to be more religious. After the fall of the Soviet Union, about 1 million Russian Jews were airlifted in as refugees. 

     Each of those groups brought their own religious sensitivities and practices with them. Arab Israelis, both Muslim and Christian, make up 20 percent of the population.

Next: The nation at a crossroads

  

     

Adopt Modern Values? 

- Cal Thomas, part 4

     Now that I'm 80, a lot of other writers think I need to adopt their modern values. I think not. Things that worked yesterday and today, and will work tomorrow if tried, usually fall into the category of "wisdom."

     On the 150th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, President Calvin Coolidge said, "Don't expect to build up the weak by pulling down the strong." Coolidge was a source in some of my columns to remind people that we can find more wisdom in the past than in the present, if we will only pay attention.

     Human nature and Biblical morality never change. There is a standard by which truth can be measured. 

     Only two things matter: the first is not whether one's name is written in a newspaper column or on a TV screen, but whether our names are written in the Lamb's Book of Life. 

     The other is whether one will hear a verdict on one's life that exceeds whatever honor or award is given in this life. That is the verdict of Jesus: "Well done, thou good and faithful servant." 

     That's my goal, to hear those words. 

#