How to Supress Thorns and Weeds

A couple additional thoughts to our morning discussion of Jesus' parable of the soils ...

Jesus was teaching us that we each have an active role in cultivating our hearts, our soil ("hold it [the seed, or Word of God] fast"), so that we might bear fruit for our Father God.

You have to conclude that the conditions of our hearts as we go through life are not completely dependent upon God. Otherwise, we would have been perfected from the outset being faster than a speeding bullet, able to leap tall buildings in a single bound, and withstand all efforts of the evil one to sabotage the will of God.

Rather, He began the process by preparing the soil and designed life so that we must expend some effort to nurture and cultivate our hearts in all areas.

Some Scriptures that help us see this:

• Proverbs 23:7 says, "As he thinketh in his heart, so is he" (KJV).
• Proverbs 17:20 says, "A man of perverse heart does not prosper; he whose tongue is deceitful falls into trouble." (NIV-84) 
• Jeremiah 17:9 says, "The heart is deceitful above all things, and is desperately wicked; who can know it?" (NKJV)
• Jesus added, "From within, out of the heart of men, proceed the evil thoughts ..." (Mark 7:21). (NASB)
• "Stand firm therefore, having girded your loins with truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness" (Eph. 6:14). (NASB)
• "And, the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus." Philippians 4:7 (NASB)

The latter verse is sandwiched inside the well-known passage Phil 4:6-8: "Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God ... v7 ... Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things." (NASB)

Verse 7 describes the miracle that transpires. In verses 6 and 8, Paul tell us how our hearts can be cultivated and peace gained. That is, through prayer and with God's grace.

He then gives us a life principle by telling us to focus our minds not on what is ungodly, but on what is righteous. From my experience, that kind of focus helps keep my thorns and weeds in check and under control. It's almost like "The Power of Biblically-Positive Thinking."

What Jesus' visit to his home town revealed

Some in the group have been carrying on an interesting email discussion sparked by a recent Wed. morning study. The discussion started with a question about where this proverb Jesus quoted came from: “And He said to them, “No doubt you will quote this proverb to Me, ‘Physician, heal yourself! Whatever we heard was done at Capernaum, do here in your hometown as well.’ ” ” (Luke 4:23, NASB95)

I won't repeat or attempt to summarize all the excellent thoughts that were brought, up. I just wanted to throw out a few of mine that were sparked by Doug's observation that the people of Jesus' home town were very quick to move from (the appearance of ) love to murderous hatred when Jesus exposed their unbelief.

Haven't we all seen people like that? People who have been quick to turn against someone they professed to care for when it became clear that they could not accomplish what they wanted. (Hmmm, I guess I've even done that!)

I've often pondered the meaning the the phrase "pure in heart" mentioned by Jesus as a characteristic trait of Godliness. I've come to see it as having the best interest of someone else in mind without using manipulation to achieve ulterior motives of my own.

Perhaps such hasty reversals of attitude reveal a person's lack of pure-heartedness that they were covering up a moment before.

In fact this leads me to wonder if the entire scene (Luke 4:14-30) coming at the beginning of Jesus' ministry was seen by Luke as a comment on the lack of pure-heartedness among mankind that would eventually lead not only to the events of the cross, but the need for it. If His home-town friends and relatives could turn so violently against Him so quickly, what will the world do?

It's also interesting that this scene in Jesus' home town comes right on the heels of Luke's account of Jesus temptation by Satan. In a sense the home town scene almost seems as a continuation of that temptation. He had resisted Satan's temptation to test/prove the Father's care. Now would He resist the demand of even His family and people He grew up among to prove His and the Father's care for them? The answer is no, and it should give us pause (perhaps even shock) that we can't take advantage of, nor manipulate God either.

While pondering this idea about how quick people are to blame God when life doesn't deliver what they want or expect, I came across an article by Vox Day this morning that seemed hauntingly relevant. While I can be critical of some of Vox's use of Scripture and theology, He makes some very thought-provoking points in "The problem with evil". Here's an excerpt:

One hears much these days of the need for religious tolerance. But this is a false doctrine. Christians are not called to tolerate evil or to love wickedness. We are instead commanded to fight it, to wage tireless and unceasing war against it in all of its myriad forms. We are called to resist it in our own lives, to mitigate it in others and to destroy it wherever possible.

Jesus spoke truly. The world still hates him, and it hates those who worship him. As has been the case for the last 2,000 years, Christians are being actively persecuted around the world. Christian converts are being murdered in Somalia even as Christian churches unwisely welcome Somali immigrants to America. New Christians have been murdered in Iraq and imprisoned in Afghanistan. Life-long Christians in Britain have been threatened with losing their jobs if they don't hide signs of their religion, even though Sikhs are permitted to wear turbans, Jews are permitted to wear yarmulkes, and Muslims are permitted to wear headscarves. America's time may not be soon, but it will eventually come, too.

The West is belatedly discovering the truth about the love of money being the root of all evil. The arrogant nations of the post-Christian West put their faith in their wealth, only to learn that Mammon is a false and treacherous god. The great irony is that despite the world's rejection of God and its foolish embrace of evil, those who find themselves suffering the promised consequences of their actions will end up blaming God for them. Such are the perils of free will.

Read more: The problem with evil http://www.wnd.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=291017#ixzz1KYOPxVmz

When people who use the name of Christ to describe themselves ( think of "He's our boy, from our town" ), deliberately embrace man-made doctrines of unbelief and evil, can we be surprised if they turn to intense hatred of those who truly follow Him?

Physician, heal thyself (Luke 4:23ff)

I've posted a few notes on this proverb here. I thought the next to last one, though long, really captured the significance of the scene and applied it as well.

What Is It That Sin Kills?

I wholeheartedly agree that it is not acceptable to continue in sin, as was stated in last comment to the post "Lies that Keep on Killing."

Sin does kill!

But what does it kill?

Sin is like a cancer that keeps re-breeding its awful malignancy, spreading its dirty little cells at will as if it has a life of its own, seemingly unchecked to contaminate and consume all that is pure, all that is good. But where's the cure?

Spiritual cure comes only from One Source.

Romans 6 (Ro 6:1) answers the question about believers continuing to sin. Yes, all sin does have consequences. The consequence it does not have for those who are saved is this: Sin does not separate a follower of Christ Jesus from God. Sin will, however, affect your relationship with him, and I think that it usually does this mostly from your side. See, God already knows who you are, where you're going, and how you are going to get there.

Yet, sin affects our relationships with others. Sin can and will kill relationships. I think this is especially true with sin that is hidden and with sin that is not admitted. Instead of "admitted", is it better to say "confessed", as did James? (See Jas 5:16.)

We, the saved, are enabled by the Holy Spirit to repent from our sins and stop committing them. Key point to that is the ability to identify, "admit to" and/or "confess" a sin. If ignorance, bull-headedness, self-righteousness, damaged feelings, pride, or some other kind of psychological infirmity keeps a person from doing that, we have a problem. When we or someone we know cannot accomplish that first task, a request for forgiveness probably will never happen, even when some well-intentioned brother or sister might point out the transgression. That's a genuine travesty to all involved and to peripherally-involved parties. That sin, then, kills close, personal relationships and others.

Who is to blame for that? I'd like to know.

Even with the supernatural help we're given, we'll never be completely free of sinning because of our nature. But, in partnership with the Holy Spirit (my term, and I believe that it fits because it takes effort on our part, too) and His lead, we can progress a long way to rid our lives of sin. Is that not the transformation process?

A true follower of Christ will come to hate sin more and more. Yes, even those without the ability to identify a particular sin can follow that path. What was it that Christ said that we should do if we love Him? You betcha! And if we were able to do that every minute of our lives, we would not sin. But we can't. More likely, if we work in concert with the Holy Spirit's empowering, we will begin to sin less and less, more and more of the time.

That brings up another point.

Don't you feel so sorry for those who question their salvation? I do. Don't you mourn that they think their salvation can be lost by sinning? I do. To me, they're missing out on a sense of genuine supernatural security and confidence. Worse yet, they're challenging the character and promise of the One who saved them. It's as if, in their insecurity, they are picking and choosing what to believe from His Word. What a shame! What a sin! It's like calling our Lord a liar.

Or ... maybe, for whatever reason (even a couple mentioned earlier), they just cannot identify that denial as a transgression. Hmm.

If you are saved, you are saved. Period! Paragraph! We will see each other in Jesus' presence in heaven. There should be no doubt about that. Ever.

He'll not kick you out of His Kingdom for stumbling, for sinning. He loves you too much. He expects you to fall; and He expects you to get back up. He even helps you to get back.

The question that needs to be resolved in the presumption that was presented centers on the definition of salvation. If one doesn't repent, and he or she continues to wallow in sin — as a pig in its filth, as a dog in his vomit, as a man who loves the world and its things more than his Creator Savior God — then perhaps that individual has not truly been saved. That person, a continual sinner, is indeed still "captive to a lie" and has not been set free.

How can we really tell?

I am convinced that the only way to know is by witnessing the fruit that you (or he or she or I) repeatedly bear(s). There are all kinds of Scripture references that support this. The New Testament is replete with them. I call your attention to just a few: Mt 7:15-20 (and indeed the subsequent verses 21-23); Ro 10:9; Jn 10:28-30.

Also, "No one who lives in him keeps on sinning. No one who continues to sin has either seen him or known him." (1Jn 3:6, quoted here from NIV)

Or: "They went out from us, but they did not really belong to us. For if they had belonged to us, they would have remained with us; but their going showed that none of them belonged to us." (1Jn 2:19, quoted here from NIV)

For a further assurance, please see the discussion at this link. It's pretty clear.

       Once Saved, Always Saved.

How does the Holy Spirit guide you in this?

In Him ...


IBG / JF

Lies that Keep on Killing

For those of you who were introduced to Dr. Del Tackett during a Truth Project and are not on a subscription list for TTP newsletter, you may wonder what he has been up to. I found out a couple months ago that he hosts a television broadcast for Coral Ridge Ministries. (Remember James Kennedy?) Its called Cross Examine. Its Web site is CrossExamine.com.

Tackett is still very active in world view studies and teaching. He remains the face of The Truth Project, but he has found this additional channel to champion Truth through a Biblical world view. I happened to catch one program several weeks ago, and was reminded of his pursuits through today's newsletter.

In the newsletter, he writes about completing production of this week's program. The topic of the show is "For the Health of the Mother." The title of the newsletter article and blog post is "Abortion: The Lie That Keeps on Hurting."

This is not a new topic for Dr. Tackett. In one TTP tour, Tackett brings home the travesties of abortion as a result of believing the lies of the world. Remember, he said something like "... do you think that God cannot hear the cries of all those children who are ripped from their mothers' wombs ...?" Whoa.Of course He does.

I just finished watching the 28 minute presentation. I encourage you to do the same. I've yet to see the horrors of abortion as vividly depicted as they are here, in such a short sequence. It is dramatic and heart-wrenching. It hit me especially hard this week after seeing the miracle of birth of my son's first child. It may smack you in a similar way.

I know women who have had abortions. All of us probably do. I wasn't aware of the extent of the gruesome, on-going pain caused by their decisions.We need to pray for them and encourage grace-saving recovery. We need also to pray for others who might be approaching the same pit. It's one they really do not want to fall into.

One million per year in the U.S.! That's a lot to pray for. May God have mercy on us.

Cross Examine allows this embed.

IBG / JF

Insight into Luke's life

Luke is an important, but shadowy person in Scripture. As I studied Paul's journeys I found Luke always in the background of the story. You can get some insight into his intimate connection with the first century expansion of the Gospel by reading my article What Work Will God Finish?

You'll see that Luke probably help develop the church in Philippi, ( the one church Paul felt comfortable in being personally transparent with). He spent 2-3 years in Judea with Timothy while Paul was in prison there which would have given him ample opportunity to interview Jesus' mother, John, James, and a host of other eye witnesses of Jesus. From there he accompanied Paul to Rome where he spent additional years alongside Paul. He was uniquely qualified to write both a Gospel and summarize the expansion of the Gospel in the first century.