The Camel and Eye of Needle.

PRIDE is a high or inordinate opinion of one's superiority, whether as cherished in the mind or as displayed in bearing, conduct, etc.

Regardless how one tries to cloak PRIDE, it remains PRIDE and very difficult to relinquish because... Jesus tells us to lose our ambition and follow Him. To find life we have to first lose our life. To be first we have to be last. He says we are to put the interest of others before ourselves. To carry the bag two miles and oppose evil by doing good. He commands us to pray for our enemies and not to repay evil with evil.

PRIDE is the sole obstacle keeping men and women from surrendering their life to Jesus Christ. People tend to place their faith in a variety of things, including themselves. After all, it is they who work hard, it is they who make the money, and it is they who provide for their family. Not Jesus. After all we are the ones who are hurt and need justice. Not Jesus. We need healing. Not Jesus. We get hungry, not Jesus.

The prerequisite to surrendering your life to Jesus Christ, the only trait required, is HUMILITY. I would argue people never volunteer to exchange their PRIDE for HUMILITY. Hence the camel and the eye of the needle illustration. No one surrenders their life and ambition to carry their cross and follow Jesus without HUMILITY. Why? 

Jesus' message is the love of money is deadly and a great obstacle to developing and growing a relationship with God. He used a camel (which is large) and the eye of a needle (which is tiny) to illustrate the power money/wealth possesses in one's life and how difficult it can be to defeat that power.

Very humble people exist who haven’t heard the story of Jesus Christ and thus surrendering is not an option. They have no choice to make. Once one becomes aware of the story of Jesus Christ, then and only then is the option available to surrender or reject Jesus.

Surrendering, by default, says one has knowledge and is aware of the option to serve Jesus, to obey Jesus, to follow Jesus. 

The message of the camel and eye of a needle says we need to be vigilant and guard our relationship with God. 

Joy and Pleasure

Jesus said, "Whoever finds their life will lose it, and whoever loses their life for my sake will find it." Luke 17:33

Whoever finds their life will lose it... are those things such as the material 'stuff' to elevate our worthiness. I label it as the "Pursuit of Pleasure" and that pursuit can feel good, incredibly good, sometimes phenomenally so. The thing about Pleasure is its temporary and will skip town under the cover of night. What was once new becomes old. What was once exciting becomes listless and soggy. It fades like smoke requiring trip after trip back to its well. The Pursuit of Pleasure is an all-consuming, never-ending proposition. It will exhaust the pursuer and ruin lives because seeking Pleasure is a selfish ambition. Pleasure is a withdrawal from this world for the sole purpose to elevate ourselves above others when we should be serving them instead.

Whoever loses their life for my sake will find it... this is Joy and Joy is different because Jesus is different. Jesus is the Great I Am. The Spotless Lamb of God. The King of Kings and the Lord of Lords. Joy sticks around because Jesus will never forsake us. Jesus is the meat and potatoes of our life. To be first we have to be last. We are to surrender our selfish ambition, pick up our cross, and follow Him. Why do we call Him Lord and not obey? Jesus is called the Bread of Life, Living Water, the True Vine, the Way, Truth, and Life... for a reason.

All of this brings Joy. Being a servant of Jesus Christ is by default Joy.

Keep The Sabbath Holy

“Let no man therefore judge you in meat, or in drink, or in respect of a holyday, or of the new moon, or of the Sabbath [days]: Which are a shadow of things to come; but the body [is] of Christ.”  Colossians 2:16-17.

A shadow contains no substance. A shadow is cast by the substance. The food eaten or holyday or Sabbath day chosen are defined as simply a shadow. The Sabbath day, the day to keep holy and set apart for God, is to be our day of rest. As Christ Followers, Jesus is our Sabbath. He is our rest. His yoke is easy and His burden light. Christians are no longer required to abide in the law, but we now abide by faith in the salvation Jesus Christ offers. The substance is Jesus Christ and our earnest pursuit to know Him as Lord and Savior. It is He who casts the shadow.

Names of Jesus

For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord. Luke 2:11

Author of Eternal Salvation.

God Almighty.
The Most High God.

The Beginning and the End.

The Alpha and Omega.

God’s only begotten Son.
The Visible Image of the Invisible God.

The Messiah.
Fully Man and Fully God.
Without Sin.

The Spotless Lamb of God.

The Resurrection and the Life.
The Sacrifice.

The King of Heaven.
The King of Kings.

The King of Israel.

Lord of All.

Lord of Lords.

Prince of Peace.

The Great I Am.

The Way. The Truth. The Life.

The Bread of Life.

The Head of the Body and Church.

The Chosen One.

The Light of the World.

Living Water.

The Foundation of the World.

The Son of Mary.

Boston

I thought I would respond to a question I received about the Boston tragedy, bombing, evil act, terrorism, or you can use another description you think best represents what occurred... 
 

The question was about Islam versus Christian terrorists. This is not a post condemning Islam or Muslims. I do not have sufficient knowledge to comment on their faith. However, I do believe, I can comment coherently about Jesus Christ.

I'll offer that people who rape, rob, pillage, plunder, and kill in the name of Jesus Christ are misguided in their belief. Christians make mistakes, sometimes horrible mistakes in the name of Jesus Christ. I have yet to hear Christian leadership advocate or condone evil acts. If an evil act or terror was committed in the name of Jesus Christ, especially today, I speculate Christian leaders would defend Jesus Christ (not that Jesus needs defending) by publicly condemning said evil acts.   

When Christ followers struggle and fail to follow His commands, our feebleness and humanity does not endanger our salvation. Christians act selfishly far too often than they sacrifice. Jesus said, "No one can serve two masters." However, it seems Christians spend a great deal of energy trying to prove Jesus wrong that we can indeed have both "the things of God" and "the things of this world". And yet, Jesus pursues you because He loves you. He pursues you because He knows you. Jesus pursues you because He is serious about you. He died for you.

Jesus does not advocate violence as witnessed when He healed the ear Peter cut off or when He begged for our Father to forgive those who crucified Him. Jesus commands His followers to forgive their enemies. To pray for their enemies. To love those who hate them.

From Romans 12:14-21...

Bless those who persecute you. Don't curse them; pray that God will bless them. Be happy with those who are happy, and weep with those who weep. Live in harmony with each other. Don't be too proud to enjoy the company of ordinary people. And don't think you know it all. Never pay back evil with more evil. Do things in such a way that everyone can see you are honorable. Do all that you can to live in peace with everyone. Dear friends, never take revenge. Leave that to the righteous anger of God. Instead, "If your enemies are hungry, feed them. If they are thirsty, give them something to drink. In doing this, you will heap burning coals of shame on their heads. Don't let evil conquer you, but conquer evil by doing good.

Humility precedes the acceptance of Jesus Christ as your Savior. Pride keeps you from the love, mercy, forgiveness, and salvation Jesus Christ offers. You are saved by faith, by believing in your heart that Jesus Christ died a criminal's death, was raised from the dead, ascended to the right hand of God, and will come again to judge the world bringing a new Heaven and new earth.

I acknowledge, as a Christ follower, that my words and my behavior do not always honor and glorify Jesus Christ as my Savior. Have a good and godly day. 

Question for today April 15, 2013: What do Christian colleges offer to justify their tuition?

Why should a high school graduate choose a Christian college or university, especially a student who believes in Jesus Christ?

Is paying 2-4 times more for an education an example of Biblical stewardship?

What value do Christian colleges and universities offer over public options?

Public universities: $10k-$15k
Private Christian colleges: $25k-$40k

Tuition:
Wheaton College: $30,880
Bluffton College: $28,000 (various scholarships available to reduce expense)

Wednesday vs Friday (2)

To further clarify about the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Wednesday Jesus was buried before sunset and the start of the Annual Sabbath.

NIGHT #1 Wednesday night
Annual Sabbath starts at sunset

DAY #1 Thursday
Annual Sabbath (high day) 1st Day of Unleavened Bread
Tomb is guarded and sealed

NIGHT #2 Thursday night
Annual Sabbath ends at sunset

DAY #2 Friday
Women bought spices for anointing Jesus' body.

NIGHT #3 Friday night
Weekly Sabbath begins at sunset.

DAY #3 Saturday
No work. The women rested.

Late Saturday evening, possibly just before sunset, Jesus is resurrected. The women slept that night, awoke early Sunday to find the tomb empty.

Contradictions simply do not exist.
72 hours means 72 hours.
Three days and three nights means three days and three nights.
The Bible is sufficiently detailed to satisfy the most ardent skeptic.

As for Good Friday... I believe Christians did not celebrate Jesus' death on Friday or the resurrection on Sunday. The whole celebration used to be based on the Jewish Passover and would fall on different days. Not until Emperor Constantine (I believe) fixed Easter on Sunday did church leaders mark Good Friday based on Jesus' death occurring before the Sabbath.

Jesus is God?

There are only a few possibilities that explain Jesus Christ's claims that He is God.

Is Jesus a LIAR? Even those scholars who deny Jesus Christ's deity concede He was a great moral Jewish teacher who performed miracles and was crucified. And yet, this great moral teacher deliberately lied about His identity which is the the crux of His teachings. Do great moral teachers lie?

Was Jesus a LUNATIC? To self proclaim one is God's Son and the world's Savior should be evidence of lunacy. Yes? His life has been thoroughly studied and documented by scholars who deny Him as well as scholars who believe in Him. Credible evidence has yet to reveal Jesus was a deranged man, to the contrary... evidence shows He was extremely composed and rational under extreme duress.

Is the Gospel just another FABLE? An invention of His followers? It has been widely proven and accepted the four Gospels, the biographies of Christ, were written within 30-70 years of His death. For the Gospel to circulate, gain traction, and impact society based on a fabrication seems incredible, especially since His enemies were alive to dispute the relevant facts. Why would they, the same people who crucified Him, allow the resurrection story to be disseminated unopposed?

OR JESUS IS THE TRUTH. It is easy to disprove claims of deity. It would take 30 seconds to prove I am not God, despite my real belief and my proof I am God. When it comes to Jesus of Nazareth, He said, "But if I do his work, believe in the evidence of the miraculous works I have done, even if you don’t believe me. Then you will know and understand that the Father is in me, and I am in the Father.” John10:38.

Source: Know Why You Believe by Paul Little. The author has put together a trilogy... Know Who You Believe; Know What You Believe.

Wednesday vs Friday

I'll get right to the point. What day did Jesus' death and burial occur? I was involved in a debate with a skeptic about this very topic. I thought I would share with the understanding that Wednesday or Friday does not change Jesus defeated death and sin and provided mankind with salvation.

Luke 23:44 shows Jesus died around the ninth hour or ~3PM. He would have been buried before sunset because of the approaching (the next day) Sabbath... John 19:31 states this specific Sabbath day was a high-day as opposed to the weekly (rest on the 7th day) Sabbath.

The two Sabbaths:

1. An annual Holy Day
2. Regular weekly Sabbath 
3. Compare Mark 16.1 with Luke 23.56

Mark 16:1... "And when the Sabbath was past, Mary Magdalene and Mary (the mother of James and Salome), bought sweet spices that they might come and anoint Him."

Luke 23:56... also describes how the women "prepared the spices and ointments [and] rested on the Sabbath day according to the commandment." 

They bought the spices and prepared them both before and after the Sabbath.

That Sabbath... the first day of the Passover feast, a holy convocation (the high day of John 19:31) was observed prior to the regular weekly sabbath.

Tuesday Night:

1. Jesus eats the Passover meal
2. Jesus is arrested

Wednesday (Nisan 14):

1. Prep for the annual, not weekly, Sabbath.
2. Jesus is crucified (died) ~3pm, the 9th hour.
3. Jesus placed in tomb before sunset.
4. Annual Sabbath, Festival of Unleavened Bread, begins at sunset.

That marks the beginning of time in the tomb. Sunset at that time in Jerusalem is ~7pm, possibly as early as 6:30pm.