Choices

Choices

Does this thought ever come into your thinker; I wonder if what I just read in Scripture is taking place in my time on earth?   Often in the gospels Jesus claimed that He and the Father are One, and this we know about God; He changes not, in fact a modern song sung in church is “You are God Alone” and the lyrics go like this: “You are God alone from before time began You were on Your throne, You're God alone And right now, in the good times and bad You are on Your throne and You're God alone, Unchangeable Unshakable, Unstoppable, That's what You are.”  Phillips Craig & Dean

In that I lack much in the understanding of the English language, I’ve come to understand that the meaning of words is essential to any communication, so when I ran across the word “Immutability” and wanted to define it for the few like me who need such help.  Immutability: unchanging or unchangeable.  That would not describe our culture for it is ever changing; in fact, many today are looking for something that does not change.  The Psalmist had this to say about immutability; “Of old you laid the foundation of the earth,

and the heavens are the work of your hands.  They will perish, but you will remain; they will all wear out like a garment.  You will change them like a robe, and they will pass away, but you are the same, and your years have no end.  (Psalm 102;25-27 ESV)  The Holy Spirit said this, “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.”

(Hebrews 13:8 ESV) as He spoke thought the author of Hebrews.  And just incase you are in need of more information, go to Malachi 3:6, “For I the LORD do not change; therefore you, O children of Jacob, are not consumed.” (Malachi 3:6 ESV)  Yesterday pastor Will Steven’s topic was Choices, and his Scripture was Luke 8:26-38, and as often my mind or what I choose to believe the Spirit taking my mind in a direction that was not the same as the speaker.  Let me be quick to state that I was also able to stay with the message and it was very useful and the Spirit showed me application for my life. 

If we began in Luke 8:22, we would see Jesus getting into a boat with His disciples and telling them to go to the other side, and then Jesus went to sleep.  At some point a windstorm came on them and they were in danger and in fear they awoke Jesus and He commanded the wind to be still, and if you had been in the boat would you have thought any different.  We are told they marveled, saying even the winds and water obey him.  So they sailed to the country of the Gerasenes, which is opposite Galilee.  And a man of that city who had demons met them and this is Dr. Luke’s account of what took place.  “When Jesus had stepped out on land, there met him a man from the city who had demons. For a long time he had worn no clothes, and he had not lived in a house but among the tombs. When he saw Jesus, he cried out and fell down before him and said with a loud voice, “What have you to do with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I beg you, do not torment me.”  (Luke 8:27-28 ESV)  We must clarify a few things, Jesus did not have an advance team that went before him as Billy Graham and other evangelists that we know about in our modern times, but have no doubt the demons living in this man knew who got out of that boat.  “What have you to do with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I beg you, do not torment me.”  The demons understood authority, and they were in fear, for they knew Jesus had all authority over them.  Picking up the account in verse 30, “Jesus then asked him, “What is your name?” And he said, “Legion,” for many demons had entered him. And they begged him not to command them to depart into the abyss. Now a large herd of pigs was feeding there on the hillside, and they begged him to let them enter these. So he gave them permission. Then the demons came out of the man and entered the pigs, and the herd rushed down the steep bank into the lake and drowned.” 

A man is restored to being a man, free from demons that had destroyed his manhood, and it was done at the exchange of a large herd of pigs and pigs being smarter than man made a choice to die before allowing demons to live in them.  And the people of that area were happy because now one of their sons, one of their neighbors was restored, a sound man, but that is not what happened, they were in fear of a man who had authority and ask him to leave.  And guess what, Jesus left!   Now these thoughts came into my thinker, and I choose to believe that the Spirit put them into my mind.   Is God unchangeable, and my reply is yes, Scripture is clear on that issue.  Then will Jesus leave in the same way if our nation ask Him to, and I believe the answer is yes.

Just a few weeks back, one of my neighbors and I were having that conversation and I told her that I was concerned that God would do what our nation was asking him to do.  And so she bit and said what is that?  My reply was to leave; to stay out of our schools, and our government, and so much more, and her reply was, I sure hope you are wrong.    In the last few days I’ve listened to a report that states why the USA is in so much trouble, this is a summation of what was said: “Middle Class White folks are moving from self-reliance to dependency on government.  He gave study after study to show how this has caused us to get to this point.  He talks about the moral bankruptcy but not once does he address the real cause, the spiritual bankruptcy of our nation.   Not once did he address how our pastors and leaders and we the people have sat quietly while evil men and women changed our laws to disallow God’s authority over our nation.  Now we have told God to butt out of our schools and our government, and we have made a choice, and I believe God who is the same today, as He was yesterday has honored our choice.

Now let me return to Pastor Will’s beginning Scripture, because this Scripture is not addressing the demon possessed, nor evil Politicians, nor the growing numbers of atheist in our culture, but it is addressing those who believe in Christ.  “So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed him, “If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”  (John 8:31-32 ESV)  It is our time to choose, will we serve and believe God or will we send Jesus away?

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice

Expectation based on Past Performance

John 4: 46-54

When going back to an area you have lived in or spent time in, the people who knew you always form expectations based on past performance, and this was also true with Jesus returning to Galilee where He had made wine.  When Jesus and his disciples got to Capernaum, an official heard that this Jesus, who had turned water to wine, was back in the area.  He came to Jesus with a big problem, his son was very ill.  The Bible tells us this man’s son was at the point of death, and we can be sure that being a man of importance, he has explored all avenues and only a miracle could save his son.  What we do not know is, if this man the Bible refers to as an official has any belief in Jesus, or was it like so many when told they have only months to live, they will try just about anything. 

Now place yourself in the official shoes, it is your son, the doctors have said we can do no more, your only hope is a miracle.  Now you may be the big dog in your town, but you never felt more needed in your entire life, and you begin searching for anyone, or anything that has the ability to restore the life of your son.  We are not given information about how this official heard about Jesus, but it may have been one of the servants who Mary told to “Do whatever he tells you.”  You remember the story, there were six stone water jars and they each held twenty or thirty gallons and Jesus told the servants, “Fill the jars with water.”  And they did and then Jesus said to them, “Now draw some out and take it to the master of the feast.”  We know that the master of the wedding feast took it not knowing what Jesus had done, and declared it was by far the best wine that had been served. 

Yes, it is hard to keep a secret in a small town, and yet we do not know how the official heard about Jesus, but this is recorded in John 4:47, “When the man heard that Jesus had come from Judea to Galilee, he went to him and asked him to come down and heal his son, for he was at the point of death.”  Now you’re the dad, your running out of hope, and your out of time, your son will soon be dead, and you have gone to Jesus, and all you want is to hear him say, take me to your son, so I can heal him.  Surely, that is what your going to hear, but it does not.  This is what Jesus said, “Unless you see signs and wonders you will not believe.”  Now remember you’re an official, your somebody of importance and this new Rabbi has not answered in a manner in keeping with what you expect from those of a lower social group.  Does the official lose his cool, does he walk away saying, why did I go to this guy, no, John tells us “The official said to him, “Sir come down before my child dies.”  Jesus said to him, “Go; your son will live.” 

Now these are words that move heaven, at these words the angels rejoice, simple words, but when put into action, they can move mountains, this is what is reported; “The man believed the word that Jesus spoke to him and went on his way. As he was going down, his servants met him and told him that his son was recovering.  So he asked them the hour when he began to get better, and they said to him, “Yesterday at the seventh hour the fever left him.”  The father knew that was the hour when Jesus had said to him, “Your son will live.”  And he himself believed, and all his household.” (John 4:50-53)

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice

The Grasp of Sin

John 4: 28-42

What is the natural thing that most people do when a life-changing event happens to them; they go and tell someone else about it, and in that respect the woman from Samaria is just like us.  Jesus’ disciples have returned from buying food and the woman leaves her water pot and goes into the city and says to the men, could it be that the women of the town would not have anything to do with her, so she addresses the men.  “Come see a man who told me all the things that I have done; this is not the Christ, is it?”  We are told the men left the city and went out to see him, and meanwhile the disciples were trying to get Jesus to eat some of the food they had bought.  Jesus said to them, “I have food to eat that you do not know about.”  (Verse 32)  The disciples were wondering who had brought Jesus food, and knowing all things Jesus said to them; “My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me and to accomplish His work.” (Verse 34)  Once more many of us will identify with the disciples and not Jesus, we want to be filled with food but Jesus’ source was not from a “Big Mac” or food store, but from His Father.  And once more Jesus goes from the unimportant to the important, “Do not say, ‘There are yet four months and then comes the harvest’?  Behold, I say to you, lift up your eyes and look on the fields, that they are white for harvest.” (Verse 35) 

It was only moments later that the disciples understood the statement that Jesus had spoken to them; “From that city many of the Samaritans believed in Him because of the woman who testified, “He told me all the things that I have done.”  So the Samaritans came to Jesus, they were asking Him to stay with them; and He stayed there two days.   Many more believed because of His word; and they were saying to the woman, “It is no longer because of what you said that we believe, for we have heard for ourselves and know that this One is indeed the Savior of the world.”

Can you identify with this account of the Samaritan woman and her encounter with the Lord?  You and I may not have had five husbands or wives, we may not have been living in adultery, but each of us was in the grasp of sin when we first encountered Jesus.  Jesus should have had a profound effect on us when we encountered him, a life changing result, one that we would have told others about.  The end results should be that others, like the people in this town in Samaria, would also come to know Jesus.  It is a wise person who looks deep into them to make sure they are not just religious but to know they have entered into a relationship with Jesus the Christ.  We are told often in the Scriptures to examine ourselves, one such place is 2 Corinthians 13:5, “Examine yourselves, to see whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Or do you not realize this about yourselves that Jesus Christ is in you? — Unless indeed you fail to meet the test!”

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice

Jesus and the Woman

John 4: 27

Jesus has just ended an exchange with the Samaritan woman where He confessed to her that He was Messiah, the Christ, then His disciples returned from buying food.  We are picking up the story in verse 27, “Just then his disciples came back.  They marveled that he was talking with a woman, (any woman) but no one said, “What do you seek?” or, “Why are you talking with her?”  Living in 2011, and being a man, that verse may have gotten by me, but if you’re a woman, you may want to ponder on that verse.

In the Old Testament before Jesus showed up on planet earth in an earth-suit this was the status of a woman:  The woman was like the property of her father and if she was given in marriage to a husband, she became his property.  Her role as a Jewish wife was to produce descendants, and if she did not give male heirs, she was a failure.  She also had the role of keeping the house, preparing meals, fetching the water, and all household tasks, plus the education of the children.  Her choice of a husband was an agreement between parents, and 99% of the time without her consent.  In no way was she equal to her husband, and if she did not meet his expectations, he could send her back to her parents, and now she would live in shame.

In that the disciples of Jesus marveled that he was talking with a woman in public I began to explore Internet sites that had been written by a woman on this subject.  I found this paper written by Christine Schenk who is project coordinator of the Women in Church Leadership project and she is Catholic. “Jesus welcomed female disciples into his entourage to learn the ways of God, along with the male disciples. This was highly unusual since women normally didn't speak to men in public, much less travel around the countryside with them. Jesus' radical inclusion of women is also illustrated by the story of Martha and Mary. Mary assumes her place at Jesus' feet, the place traditionally taken by male rabbinical students.  Martha (as often happens even today among women when the rules of patriarchy are challenged) protests. But Jesus praises Mary's thirst to learn more about God: "It is Mary who has chosen the better part; it is not to be taken from her."(Luke 10:38-42)

 Throughout the Gospels, we see Jesus challenge deep seated patriarchal assumptions: that only women bear the burden of sexual sin; that Samaritan and Canaanite women are to be shunned and discounted; and that prodigal sons are to be disowned. Instead, men are challenged to own their complicity in adultery; the Samaritan woman becomes a missionary bringing her whole town to belief in Jesus; the Canaanite woman's fierce love for her daughter succeeds in broadening Jesus’ own horizons as to whom the Good News is sent; and the wayward son is welcomed home with a huge party thrown by a prodigal father.”

If you are a women living in 2012, Jesus Christ has done more to change your status in this life than any other person in history!  Yet it seems as if many women have once more allowed themselves to be put back under the thumb of a society that puts your value on looks, performance, education, not on being of great value because you are made in the image of God.

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice

Success by Whose Standards

Success by Whose Standards

If he had been your son, or your neighbor’s son you would have been proud of his accomplishments.  He was a nice looking young man, and it was reported that; "He was the kind of person that if you teased him, he would sit there and smile and really not do anything about it," said Jordan Toth, a high school classmate of Holmes. 

Holmes is originally from San Diego, where he once reportedly worked as a camp counselor for underprivileged children. He was an honors student at Westview High School, but did not walk in his graduation ceremony.   In 2010, he graduated with top honors from University of California Riverside with a bachelors of science in neuroscience, and then moved to Aurora to pursue his education at the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus.  He was one of six recipients of a Neuroscience Training Grant from the National Institutes of Health, which funds pre-thesis Ph.D. students in the neuroscience program at the Anschutz Medical Campus.  My source: Taken from ABC “Good Morning” show.

One of James Holmes neighbors had this to say; "This was a nice kid, grew up in a nice neighborhood. And I don't know what happened," said Kim Goff, Holmes' mother's neighbor.

It seems as if James was good at most of what our culture calls success, he was successful at planning a mass murder of people who had no quarrel with him, and whom he had never met, and being the evil coward he is, also made sure that the police did not shoot him, and if they had his plan was to have sufficient body armor to survive.  James did not arrive at this plan over night, but I do believe that James opened himself up to the evil one, the one the Bible calls Satan or the devil.   Jesus also calls him a thief and has this to say about that thief in John 10:10, “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.”

If you visited the families that lost a family member or one whose child or mother is fighting for life in a hospital, they would not think of James as successful, but would understand that he allowed the evil one to carry out his mission using his earthsuit.  I know nothing about this man but what has been reported, but what I do know is that worldly success void of a relationship with God leaves a big hole in a persons life that is always filled with something, for many it’s a job or family, some people fill it with travel and others with drugs or sex, but at the end of the day they are still looking for the joy and peace that only Christ can give a person.  I know from personal experience that Jesus can and will fill that void, but first a person must tire of trying to fill it.  In the case of James Holmes, maybe no one ever showed him the light, we may never know, but this is a fact, James allowed darkness to fill that emptiness, and now the pre-thesis Ph.D. student in neuroscience has not only brought death to other families, but also brought death to the vision that his family had for him.

Today was the first day I prayed for him; yesterday I wished that someone had been able to stop him before he acted on his plan.  But today I have a new flash, he got conned by the one Jesus calls the father of lies, and he is one of millions who are being deceived while Christians who have light are not sharing the good news that Jesus loves you and wants to give you freedom to restore what sin has stolen.  I had to come to this understanding again today; that God so loves James (the mass murderer) Holmes, that He gave His only Son, that if James will bow his knee to him this day, God will forgive his sin of murder and give him a new heart, full of joy and peace, and a place in heaven for eternity.

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice

http://fromourbackporch.blogspot.com/

           

What was your Decision?

John 4:11-26

It was the sixth hour when Jesus showed up at Jacob’s well, it is not the time most people come to get water, but a Samaritan woman who was an outcast because she had five husbands and was now living with a man who was not her husband also came at that hour.   Jesus ask for a drink, and we know she questioned why he would ask a woman from Samaria for water, and Jesus said to her, if she would have ask He would have given her living water.  Now this is the exchange between Jesus and this woman from Samaria: “The woman said to him, “Sir, you have nothing to draw water with, and the well is deep.  Where do you get that living water?  Are you greater than our father Jacob?  He gave us the well and drank from it himself, as did his sons and his livestock.”  Jesus said to her, “Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never thirst.  The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.” 

If you were part of this conversation, if this offer had been extended to you, how would you have answered Jesus?  As I was reading, my thoughts were Lord, I want that living water, a spring of living water welling up in me to eternal life.  And guess what that’s precisely what the Samaria woman said: “The woman said to him, “Sir give me this water, so that I will not be thirsty or have to come here to draw water.”   She was not that different from you and me, she wanted the living water, she wanted to quit being the object of shame, coming to the well at an hour when the other women of the town were not there, but she did not want to change, she did not want to confront her sinful life style.  One big problem, this water is not offered on those terms.  “Jesus said to her, “Go call your husband, and come here.”  The woman answered him, “Sir I have no husband.”  Jesus said to her, “You are right in saying, ‘I have no husband;’ for you have had five husbands, and the one you now have is not your husband.  What you have said is true.” 

If you were confronted in this manner how would you respond?  I believe much like the Samaritan woman did; “The woman said to him, “Sir, I perceive that you are a prophet. (Listen to her reply she is looking for a loophole.)  Our fathers worshiped on this mountain, but you say that in Jerusalem is the place where people ought to worship.”  Is she not saying my religion is working just fine, and I do not have to go to the temple in Jerusalem, it is much like many in the Baptist church, I’m a member, my parents and grandparents were members, why do we have to have a personal relationship with Jesus? 

I hope you have read this far, because Jesus has included you and me in this conversation.  “Woman, believe me, the hour is coming when neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem will you worship the Father.  You worship what you do not know; we worship what we know, for salvation is from the Jews.  But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such people to worship him.  God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.”  “The woman said to him, “I know that Messiah is coming (he who is called Christ).  When he comes, he will tell us all things.”  Jesus said to her, “I who speak to you am he.”  The woman of Samaria and you and I all have one thing in common, we have a decision to believe or not believe the words of Jesus, your action will having everything to do with whether you receive this offer of living water.

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice

No such Thing as Luck

John 4:1-10

Do you ever ponder the events found in the Bible?  This morning as I read this account of Jesus and a woman of Samaria, it amazed me at the amount of ink that was used on this woman, we do not even know her name.  But this we do know about the area of Samaria, it was the capital of the northern kingdom of Israel, and was located on a 300 foot high hill, 42 miles north of Jerusalem. 

In 2 Kings chapter 17, gives a great account of what happened to make these people called Samaritans taboo by the people of the Southern Kingdom or Judah.  This is recorded in 2 Kings, the people of the north living independently from the commands of their God and the people of Judah began to do the same.  Verse 20, gives the account of what that life style got them; “And the Lord rejected all the descendants of Israel and afflicted them and gave them into the hand of plunderers, until he had cast them out of his sight.”  We are told that God had torn Israel from the house of David; “And the king of Assyria brought the people from Babylon, Cuthah, Avva, Hamath, and Sepharvaim, and placed them in the cities of Samaria instead of the people of Israel.  And they took possession of Samaria and lived in its cities.” (2 Kings 17:24)  It is also recorded that things did not go well for these people, so the king sent one of the Jewish priests to teach the people the ways of the god of that land.  Verse 29, tells us how this worked out; “But every nation still made gods of its own and put them in the shrines of the high place that the Samaritans had made, every nation in the cities in which they lived.”  Shall we pickup the story in verse 33, “So they feared the Lord but also served their own gods, after the manner of the nations from among whom they had been carried away.” 

What happen as the Jews returned after being released, some inter-married with these people and that is why this Samaritan woman ask Jesus this question: “How is it that you, a Jew, ask for a drink from me, a woman of Samaria?”(For Jews have no dealing with Samaritans.) (John 4:9)  Now this begins a wonderful exchange between Jesus and the women, and “Jesus answered her, “If you knew the gift of God and who it is that is saying to you ‘Give me a drink,’ you would have asked him, and he would have given you living water.” (John 4: 10)

As I pondered these verses, it made me understand that past failure does not keep the mercy, the compassion, the forgiveness, and the love of Jesus from me.  Our world system and the culture we live in would declare how lucky this woman of Samaria was that Jesus showed up at this time of day when this outcast woman came to the well.  But this is an absolute; there is no such thing as luck, not in her life or yours, it was appointed for her to meet Jesus at Jacob’s well so she might receive mercy, forgiveness and that the love of Jesus might fill her with new life.

Form the Back Porch,

Bob Rice

Choices - Good or Bad

John 3: 31-36

“He who comes from above is above all.  He who is of the earth belongs to the earth and speaks in an earthly way.  He who comes from heaven is above all.  He bears witness to what he has seen and heard, yet no one receives his testimony.  Whoever receives his testimony sets his seal to this, that God is true.  For he whom God has sent utters the words of God, for he gives the Spirit without measure.  The Father loves the Son and has given all things into his hand.  Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him.”

In my business travels I’ve been to a few places that my wife has not been, places like Egypt, and I came back with pictures and stories, but what if she had said I do not believe you were there?   That is very similar to what happened to our Lord, he came with all authority and power; He raised the dead, He took five barley loaves and two fish and fed five thousand, He gave the blind sight, He healed the sick, and He made the lame walk, but many who saw and heard would not believe.

The great news is found in, “Whoever receives his testimony sets his seal to this, that God is true.”  The NIV Bible says it in this manner; “The man who has accepted it has certified that God is truthful.”  Does my life certify that God is truthful, or do I live my life in such a way that others will say, “He acts like Jesus tells the truth?”  And what is meant when it says, “For he whom God has sent utters the words of God, for he gives the Spirit without measure.”  Jesus invites everyone to enter into a personal relationship with Him, and the very moment one accepts Jesus, they get all of the Spirit they will ever get.  A great example of this is your brain, it is not your mind, it is an organ, and it has the ability to learn and do much, but the average person uses very little of it.  If you do not understand what was given you when you entered into Christ’s time-line, you must read 2 Peter 1: 3-4.

“The Father loves the Son and has given all things into his hand.” In Paul’s letter to the Colossians, he writes in more detail about the preeminence of Christ.  “He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation.  For by him all things were created; things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities – all things were created through him and for him.  And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together.” (Colossians 1:15-17)

 “Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him.” And it all comes down to a choice, everyone has to choose, do I believe and receive, or do I choose to be in charge of my life and reject this gift of life in the full now?

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice

Quote's

 Blaise Pascal, "Men never do evil so completely and cheerfully as when they do it from religious conviction"...and he said that nearly 400 years ago. Can we go to the Scripture and find validity in Blaise Pascal’s statement?  The answer is a profound Yes!  One of the best examples is Jesus He often brought the passion of the religious leaders of His day down on Him.  We have too many examples to list, of Jesus rocking the boat of the Jewish religious leaders, but often it was not what He did, but when His action took place.  One such occurrence is found in the gospel according to John, chapter 5:1-18.  It is the account of Jesus healing a man who had been an invalid for thirty-eight years, and it was done on the Sabbath.  Now after he was healed Jesus told the man to “Get up, take up your bed, and walk.”  Now that was a big no-no, that was breaking the Sabbath, and so when confronted by the religious leaders, the man that was healed replied that the one that healed me said to me, ‘Take up your bed, and walk.’  Later he found out it was Jesus who had healed him, and he told the religious leaders and verse sixteen states: “And this was why the Jews were persecuting Jesus, because he was doing these things on the Sabbath.”  And if this is not enough evidence to support Blaise Pascal’s statement, then look at verse 18, “This was why the Jews were seeking all the more to kill him, because not only was he breaking the Sabbath, but he was even calling God his own Father, making himself equal with God.”

I have a very dear friend that our relationship goes back to Jr. High and he loves to pull my chain or anyone else that is close to him.  His favorite quote is the one from Blaise Pascal, listed above, an one that I am in agreement with, I believe religions’ end game is always death, it was religious people that demanded the life of Jesus. 

My friend began by asking me who was the winner of the Crusades, the Muslims or the Christians, and our exchange went on for weeks.  One of our last exchanges, and I am only using the last paragraph of an exchange that went like this: “Christians although they said they were and the millions and millions of people killed over hundreds of years in repeated religious wars in what they said was His name were just unlucky victims. It seems to me that doesn't speak very well for Christianity in general and whatever doctrine is taught under Jesus’ name has historically been ignored. If it were an isolated incident I might understand it better. Unfortunately it follows a historical pattern. But...from what you say, the fault is not Christianity, it's the Christians, even if it happens time after time and the losers are the poor bastards that lost their lives and the winners are the survivors...simple as that. Does that make Christians any different than Muslims?”

And my answer is yes, the Muslims faith is based on “Do” what I must do for Allah to earn his acceptance, and that is religion.  The Christian faith is based on “Done” it is a relationship with God the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, Jesus paid the price for sin.  The Bible gives an account of a man, Saul who was religious and did many evil things in the name of that religion.  He took great joy in hunting down this new group of followers of Jesus Christ, and putting them in prison or killing them all with the blessing of the leaders of that religion, and he and they believed they were doing the will of God.  But if we follow this very religious man after he encountered Jesus Christ, and after entering into a personal relationship, we discover a new man, who became Paul the apostle, and his life and goals changed because he went from a “Do” religion to a “Done” relationship. 

Anyone who follows the teachings of Christ, as the apostle Paul did, will not do harm to their neighbor, or their enemy to make them conform.  You may recall that my friend asked this question: “who was the winner of the Crusades, the Muslims or the Christians?”  After much thought, I’ve come to this answer; the “Do” won, it matters not what name they were fighting the war under, it was all about religion, and power, it was not God centered, it was not doing the will of our Lord.  But, it does seem on spot to blame Christians and God for just about everything. 

The prophet Jeremiah had this to say about our hearts: “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it?  “I the Lord search the heart and test the mind, to give every man according to his ways, according to the fruit of his deeds.”  And the one who put those thoughts into Jeremiah’s mind had this to say in the book of Matthew 15:18-20a, “But what comes out of the mouth proceeds from the heart, and this defiles a person.  For out of the heart, comes evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false witness, slander.  These are what defile a person.”  I believe the Scriptures have stated, that the real winners will be the ones who do the will of the Father and who obey His commandments.

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice

The new guy is getting all the attention

John 3:22-30

We are told a discussion arose between some of John’s disciples and a Jew over purification.  “And they came to John and said to him, “Rabbi, he who was with you across the Jordan, to whom you bore witness – look, he is baptizing, and all are going to him.”  It is so important to understand what is being said; “We have a problem, the new guy is getting all the attention.”   The “Forerunner” and we are not talking about Toyota automobiles had this to say: “A person cannot receive even one thing unless it is given him from heaven.”  Wow, not one thing unless it is given to us from heaven, do you believe that?  Most Christians if asked that question in a church setting, would answer in the affirmative, but do you really believe what the Scripture has stated; not one thing unless it is given to you by God.  Before you run to all the stuff you have and the savings you have accumulated, ask a couple of questions, who is my Designer, why did the Designer make so many of the same models, but each one has different gifts and abilities and some have been given good health and some have not, some have been placed in poor areas of the world and others have not, and the answer is the Designer has a master plan, and “A person cannot receive even one thing unless it is given him from heaven.”

Picking up the story in verse 28-30, “You yourselves bear witness, that I said, ‘I am not the Christ, but I have been sent before him.’  The one who has the bride is the bridegroom.  The friend of the bridegroom, who stands and hears him, rejoices greatly at the bridegroom’s voice.  Therefore this joy of mine is now complete.  He must increase, but I must decrease.” If you are a Christian and it seems you drew the short-stack at life’s banquet table, could it be that unlike John the Baptist, your joy is not found in knowing your Designer, your Redeemer, your Provider, your Savior?  The answer is found in verse 30,  “He must increase, but I must decrease.”  Joy and Peace will flow into our lives when we agree that all things come from the Father, and we willingly decrease so that Jesus who is our life can increase.

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice

Vengeance

John 3:16-21

It is no longer in vogue to talk about God as a God of wrath, but the same Bible that tells us of God’s love for who so ever will, also states in the verses that follow John 3:16, these truths; “For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.  Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God.  And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their deeds were evil.  (John 3:18-20)  To reject the offer in John 3:16 is a choice or as Jesus said two roads, one that is wide and leads to hell and the other is narrow and leads to life.  Hebrews 10:30-31, gives this warning; “For we know him who said, “Vengeance is mine; I will repay.”  And again, “The Lord will judge his people.”  It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God. (Hebrews 10:30)

As stated above, it is not in vogue to talk about a God of wrath, we want a God who is going to grade on a curve, not one that judges on pass if you accept the offer of His Son or fail if you choose not to.  It has taken awhile but I’ve come to this conclusion, many want a god they can understand, and they find him in many places, even in many churches that use the name of Christian.  I am not the only one who has thought such thoughts; “You can safely assume that you've created God in your own image when it turns out that God hates all the same people you do.” --Anne Lamott But is it kind to not share the truth if you know it to be true, is it not kind and merciful to tell fellow travelers that the bridge is out before they reach the point of no return, I think so.  If you are one who is looking for a god you can understand, how big a god is that god?

God is a loving Father to me, and I hope He is also to you, but if He is not, you must ask some questions: Why, is it because you want to make the rules about how you will live life?  If that is why you will not accept life on God’s terms, you have some big surprises in front of you, He is the Creator, and He makes the rules.  Now God often gets bad press, have you noticed that He is not well thought of in our government, in our educational system, in our press, and especially in the Hollywood crowd?  But that does not change this truth, “God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.” (John 3:16)

So the question is the same for all, “the whoever,” bows a knee before God and receives this free gift with all it’s promises of life in the full, now through Jesus living His life in you, and at that moment you become an eternal being, or choose to follow the gods of deception and fall into the hands of an angry God; it is your choice.   But you must understand that the message is clear, Jesus did not come “into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.”

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice

Seeking in the Darkness

John 3:1-15

Often, what we call logic or common sense leaves us short of the mark when it comes to Jesus.  In the third chapter of the gospel according to John, we are introduced to a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews.  He comes to Jesus by night, and the reason for coming at night may have been that he did not want grief from his associates.  He came with a statement of what “we believe” and you can assume the "we" is making reference to his religious friends.  This is his statement; “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher come from God, for no one can do these signs that you do unless God is with him.” (John 3:2)  It sounds like Nicodemus and his “we” friends have also believed in Jesus, that is quite a confession and yet Jesus answered him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.”  Now, is that any way to reply to a man who just said, that he and his buddies believe “that you are a teacher come from God, for no one can do these signs that you do unless God is with him.”

Jesus, being Creator God, knew the real question in the heart of Nick, and that is that he had this need, this void, and he was trying to fill it with religion, with accomplishment, with travel, with wealth, and stuff, but he could not seem to fill it.  Nick was looking for anything that will give him peace, hope, and joy, and that was the need that Jesus was addressing in Nick’s life.  But Nicodemus has been to school, in fact he is the teacher of Israel, he has degrees on all four walls of his study and people listen when he speaks, and what Jesus had just said did not make sense to this learned man.  “Nicodemus said to him, “How can a man be born when he is old?  Can he enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born?” (John 3:4)  Nicks reply is, are you a nut case, anyone knows you cannot climb back into your mother’s womb, but it a wise person who listens to Jesus’ reply.  “Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God.  That which is born of flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.  Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’  The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes.  So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.”

“Nicodemus said to him, “How can these things be?  Jesus answered him, “Are you the teacher of Israel and yet you do not understand these things?  Truly, truly, I say to you, we speak of what we know, and bear witness to what we have seen, but you do not receive our testimony.  If I have told you earthly things and you do not believe, how can you believe if I tell you heavenly things?  No one has ascended into heaven except he who descended from heaven, the Son of Man.  And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in him may have eternal life. For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.” (John 9-16)

Jesus is the void filler, what Nicodemus wanted was much deeper than the question that he ask, and Jesus being all knowing, understood the question.   This question is common to all who have ever lived, it is; “can you fix me,” can you show me how to be in right standing with God, can you fill this emptiness that I can’t seem to fill?  Jesus gave Nick the answer, and it is the only way, in John 10:10 we are told that the enemy came to make the hole or void bigger, but Jesus came with life, abundant life!

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice

“Jesus Knows what is in Man.”

John 2:23-25

The title someone placed above these verses in my English Standard Version of the Bible is: “Jesus Knows what is in Man.”  It is important to understand these verses are not referring to how we were designed, for our Designer has full understanding of His design.  In Psalm 139:13, we are told, “For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother’s womb.”  And in the same chapter verse 16, “Your eyes saw my unformed substance; in your book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for me, when as yet there were none of them.”  So this heading is not addressing livers, brains, kidneys, or any other visible parts.

Jesus is referring to what Scripture calls the heart, and lets be clear He is not talking about that organ in your chest that pumps blood, He is not addressing something seen, but the real you, and the Bible addresses this as the heart or the Soul of a person.  Your Soul is unseen and cannot be removed by a medical doctor or changed from bad to good but your Creator, Jesus Christ will when invited, do just that.  The Scripture is very clear on this, that man has a choice to invite or reject this gift of life offered by Jesus.  But that does not make Christian robots, they still must choose how to walk in this world: according to the flesh, or in the Spirit.

So when it is states in John 2:24-25, “But Jesus on his part did not entrust himself to them, because he knew all people and needed no one to bear witness about man, for he himself knew what was in man.” Jesus being the designer saw the Soul of people, He designed them with mind, will, and emotions, we often see the reaction of the Soul, but none of us have the ability to look into a person’s soul, or heart.  One of the best examples of this is found in the gospel according to Mark 2:1-12.  Mark gave this account of Jesus returning to Capernaum and when the neighbors found out that he was at home so many came that no one else could get in and Jesus was preaching the word to them; that is when four guys showed up with a paralytic, and when they could not get into the house they removed the roof above Jesus, and after making an opening, they let down the bed on which the paralytic lay.

Picking up Mark’s account in verse 5, “And when Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, “My son, your sins are forgiven.”  Now some of the scribes were sitting there, questioning in their hearts, “Why does this man speak like that?”  He is blaspheming!  Who can forgive sins but God alone? And immediately Jesus, perceiving in his spirit that they thus questioned within themselves, said to them, “Why do you question these things in your hearts?  Which is easier, to say to the paralytic, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Rise, take up your bed and walk’?  But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins” –he said to the paralytic – “I say to you rise, pick up your bed, and go home.”  And he rose and immediately picked up his bed and went out before them all, so that they were all amazed and glorified God, saying, “We never saw anything like this!”

As a side note; I want friends like these four men who brought their friend to Jesus, who healed him.

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice

House Cleaning

John 2:13-22

In our busy culture, one business that has done very well is the cleaning profession.  These companies clean businesses, churches, hospitals, and homes.  We have one in our area of Texas called Molly maids, and my wife also has one she prefers, it goes by the name Bob.  In the last few weeks, we as a society have observed mobs of people who take over parks, I do not know what is in their hearts, but my observations are that they need someone to come behind them and clean up their mess, or better yet, they need to put their house in order.  They need to be responsible for their personal hygiene, and to the others camped around them to remove trash, and they have a responsibility to the owners of the park and the many who work and shop in the area to keep their protest from causing harm or being disruptive to many who do or do not share their views.  I’m almost sure you are asking, how does this tie into the action of Jesus cleansing the Temple?

I do believe there is some symbolism between the two events, though time and setting are vastly different.  The people that took over the park were using it for something the owners and designers never envisioned, and the same could be said about the Temple.  Those who sold oxen and sheep and pigeons, and the moneychangers were not part of the design and builder’s plans for the temple.  These people had an agenda and it was built around self, and if you get no other message from the people in the park, it was all about them, all about self.

If you are reading this paper, more than likely you are of the Christian faith, and many of us missed the story, just like the Jews did at the time Jesus made the whip of cords and drove out those businessmen with their sheep and oxen and turned over the tables of the moneychangers.  “And he told those who sold the pigeons “Take these things away, do not make my Father’s house a house of trade.” (John 2:16)  Do you believe these businessmen were concerned that the outer court of the Temple smelled like a cow lot, no more than those people in the park who revealed by their actions that they did not care about the park or the businesses around the park?  But Jesus was telling a much bigger story, and once more we Christians, like the Jews, missed the message; the Jews wanted to know “What sign do you show us for doing these things?” Jesus answered them, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.” (John 2:18-19)  The Jews said, are you out of your mind it took forty-six years to build this temple, and you will raise it up in three days?  “But he was speaking about the temple of his body.  When therefore he was raised from the dead, his disciples remembered that he had said this, and they believed the Scripture and the word that Jesus had spoken.”

Is your body a temple?  The answer is found in 1 Corinthians 6:19&20, “Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God?  You are not your own; you were bought at a price.  Therefore honor God with your body.”  This body of ours, houses the real you; mind, will, and emotions, and Scripture tells us it needs maid service, each and every day.  Ephesians 4:22&23, gives clear directions on what to put off.  “To put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires, and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds.” Shall we look at the short list of what you and I need to put off: (1) Lack of Love - 1John 4:7, 8, 20, (2) Judging - Matthew 7:1,2, (3) Bitterness - Hebrews 12:15, (4) Unforgiving spirit - Mark 11:26, (5) Selfishness - Philippians 2:21, (6) Pride -Proverbs 16:5, (7) Boasting (Conceit) - 1Corinthians 4:7,  (8) Ungratefulness - Romans1: 21, (9) Disrespect for Authority - Acts 23:5, (10) Prayerlessness - Luke 8:1.

Folks, that is a very short list of what needs to be cleaned up in our temple, but we also need to do some refurnishing and we find that in Romans 13:14, “But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires.”  Once more, this is a very short list of what needs to be put on: (1) Love - John 15:1, (2) Let God search my heart - John 8:9; 15:22, (3) Tender hearted and forgiving - Ephesians 4:32, (4) Forgiving spirit -Colossians 3:13, (5) Self denial - John 12:24, (6) Humility - James 4:6, (7) Esteeming others - Philippians 2:3, (8) Gratefulness - Ephesians 5:20, (9) Honor authority - Hebrews 13:17, (10) Praying - Matthew 26:41.

When you invited Christ into your life, at that moment you got all of God you will ever get, and your body is home to the Holy Spirit, is it not time to ask Jesus to send in His cleaning service?  But it will require you and me to listen and obey, and to put off and put on what He has instructed us to do in His Hand book on living life now.

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice

A Mothers Secret

John 2:1-11

How long can you keep a secret, not some little something like we are going to have a baby or my wife/husband is going to be the next CEO of a Fortune 500 company, I mean a big secret, one like Mary had been keeping for thirty years.  Most of us are not that good at keeping secret the good things that have happened to us, an a good thing had happened some thirty years earlier; the Holy Spirit had placed the Son of God into a virgin and that virgin was Mary, the mother of Jesus, the Christ.  We have no record of how many weddings Mary and the family had attended, but we do know that Jesus is thirty and this friend of the family the bridegroom has a problem, too little wine, or too many big drinkers’ at the wedding.  The Scriptures do not tell us the motivation of Mary, we are not given any insight as to why she did what she did, but for some reason she says it’s time to come out of the closet, it’s time for my oldest son to show the neighbors that He is more than a carpenter. 

Now imagine, you were also invited to that wedding, if you are Baptist it will help if you imagine the wine was grape juice, and that’s ok, unless you read on and it tells us that the good stuff was served first so that when the guests got a little wasted, they would not know the cheap $3.00 per bottle wine was being served.  You may be like me, if food is being served I want to get there early, so were eating and watching, Mary the mother of Jesus shows up, and guess what, Jesus also shows up with some guys who seem to be part of a group of some kind.  We are all eating and drinking, when I over heard Mary say to Jesus, “They have no wine.” And Jesus said to her, “Woman, what does this have to do with me?  My hour has not yet come.”  His mother said to the servants, “Do whatever he tells you.” (Taken from John’s gospel 2: 3b-5) 

Now, I’m not sure what you were thinking, but I was wondering why Jesus called her women and not mother, and what did he mean by my hour has not come?  By now, I had forgot all about food, in fact I got closer, so I could see what Jesus was going to tell the servants, and this is what happen, just like John reported in verses 6-10, “Now there were six stone water jars there for the Jewish rites of purification, each holding twenty or thirty gallons.  Jesus said to them, “Fill the jars with water.”  And they filled them to the brim.  And he said to them, “Now draw some out and take it to the master of the feast.”  So they took it.  When the master of the feast tasted the water that had now become wine, and did not know where it came from, (though the servants who had drawn the water knew) the master of the feast called the bridegroom and said to him, “Everyone serves the good wine first and when people have drunk freely, then the poor wine.  But you have kept the good wine until now.”

I’m not sure about you, but I got back into the line and after tasting this water that was now wine, I ask the servant to fill my cup to the rim, it was the best wine I had ever drank.  But you may have been in the food line when this happened, you may not have seen Jesus do this amazing thing, and as I reflect, he did not say any magic words, all He did was pray to the Father, and it was a done deal.  I’m a little ashamed to tell you but later that night I tried to do the same thing, but I must have heard the wrong formula, because mine tasted like water. 

As I was leaving I saw that group of guys that came with Jesus and I knew they were there when the water was turned to wine so I listened to what they were saying and the biggest of the group, man did he need a bath, he smelled like a fish, but he said to the group, He is Messiah, and another, his name was Nathanael, said Jesus is the King of Israel, He is the Son of God. 

We do not use our imaginations that often in the world of I-phones, I-pads, computers, and Television, but if you had been there, and if you had seen the water become wine, would you have believed like Nathanael?  Would you agree with what was written, that Jesus is the only Son of God?

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice