A Bad Hair Day

John 17:9-17

God never promised to keep His kids from a bad hair day!  But somehow we who are His have brought the worlds system into our theology; we believe wrongly that God has promised us a free pass from problems common to man.  One example that stays in my memory is a friend from high school died of cancer, and a person who is a Christian told me, something is just not right about this and the implication was that God made a mistake. 

You do not want a God who would let even a sparrow or a hair of your head fall and not be aware of it.  How did we allow such foolishness to become part of our belief system?  Could it be that the enemy of our soul, the one who Jesus said this about, has taken us captive; “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.” (John 10:10 ESV)  And if your flesh is like mine you want everything, in fact, only a person out of their mind would not want God’s blessing on their life.  And I believe with all my heart that we must look to Jesus to provide the life He has promised us.  Does that include, no pain, no failures, no sickness, and does this life of abundance mean all that our hearts desire, and is it being the winner of the mega lottery of stuff? 

If that is your theology, it is not what God has stated in His written word, but the sad news is, that belief permeates many in the church.  We need a filter so that we look to the Father’s face, or as Jesus told us in John 15:7, “If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.” 

The question is how did we go from abiding to such a wrong belief system?  I believe we stopped reading and asking the Spirit of truth to give us understanding of that truth.  We depend on a teacher or preacher to feed us, and we do not ask the Holy Spirit to teach us, and to guide us into all truth.  So our first mistake was to allow a man to become the voice of truth, and in doing so we stopped trusting in the true vine for our resources.  Next, we allow someone else to teach our children in Sunday school, and because we were not abiding in the vine our children saw less and less of Christ living His life in our daily walk.  We also let the government’s school system teach our children and did not get involved in what they were learning.  We never stopped to ask, would my child be taught the ways of God in a system that will not allow His name to be used?

I hope you read this Scripture in John 17:11-17, “And I am no longer in the world, but they are in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, keep them in your name, which you have given me, that they may be one, even as we are one. While I was with them, I kept them in your name, which you have given me. I have guarded them, and not one of them has been lost except the son of destruction, that the Scripture might be fulfilled. But now I am coming to you, and these things I speak in the world, that they may have my joy fulfilled in themselves. I have given them your word, and the world has hated them because they are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. I do not ask that you take them out of the world, but that you keep them from the evil one. They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth.”

The one that was lost was not referring to just a physical death, but a spiritual death, and the abundance that Jesus is referring to is peace and joy in the middle of your worst “hair day.”

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice

           

An Assumptions

“I have manifested your name to the people whom you gave me out of the world. Yours they were, and you gave them to me, and they have kept your word. Now they know that everything that you have given me is from you. For I have given them the words that you gave me, and they have received them and have come to know in truth that I came from you; and they have believed that you sent me.

(John 17:6-8 ESV)

To assume what someone is referring to can lead to a misunderstanding and can even miss the mark and cause the one whom you have quoted to tell you and others, that was not what I was referencing.  So as we look at these three verses lets make sure we do not take liberties with what Jesus is saying. 

When Jesus tells the Father, “I have manifested your name to the people whom you gave me out of the world. Yours they were, and you gave them to me, and they have kept your word. Now they know that everything that you have given me is from you.”  It’s always wise to ask the question; to whom is Jesus speaking?  He may be referring back to John 16:29-30, “²⁹ His disciples said, “Ah, now you are speaking plainly and not using figurative speech! ³⁰ Now we know that you know all things and do not need anyone to question you; this is why we believe that you came from God.”  What about Peter’s confession in the gospel of Matthew 16:15-16, when Jesus ask, “But who do you say that I am?”  Simon Peter replied, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”
I do not claim to know much about the law, but have been told that an eyewitness account has a strong effect on a Judge and jury, could Jesus have been referring to John the Baptist in John 1:29-34, “The next day he saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world! This is he of whom I said, ‘After me comes a man who ranks before me, because he was before me.’ I myself did not know him, but for this purpose I came baptizing with water, that he might be revealed to Israel.” And John bore witness: “I saw the Spirit descend from heaven like a dove, and it remained on him. I myself did not know him, but he who sent me to baptize with water said to me, ‘He on whom you see the Spirit descend and remain, this is he who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.’ And I have seen and have borne witness that this is the Son of God.”

Could Jesus have been referring to when He left Galilee and went to Jerusalem for the Feast of Booths?  This was a time when the Jews were seeking to kill Him, and the people were amazed that no one was trying to arrest Him.  This is what the people were saying; “Can it be that the authorities really know that this is the Christ?”  (John 7:26b)  And look at verse 31, “Yet many of the people believed in him. They said, "When the Christ appears, will he do more signs than this man has done?"      

I believe that we are safe to assume Jesus was making reference to His disciples, but that list goes much further than twelve men, it included those who believed and placed their faith in what they heard and saw.  And just a note to you who are silent about your faith, Jesus did not leave those out of the mix; in the gospel of John 12:42, those also may be who Jesus is talking about.

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice

"Time Critter"

John 17:1-5

If your day has been a downer, full of disappointment or even despair run to John 17 and read our High Priestly prayer.  I am often needing to be reminded that Jesus is making intercession for me, you can go to Hebrews 7:25 or Romans 8:34, where we are reminded of this. 

Jesus’ prayer to the Father is somewhat like Jesus friending us on Face Book, we were included in on the most private and intimate of moments.  Looking at the first five verses, “When Jesus had spoken these words, he lifted up his eyes to heaven, and said, “Father, the hour has come; glorify your Son that the Son may glorify you, since you have given him authority over all flesh, to give eternal life to all whom you have given him.  And this is eternal life, that they know you the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent. I glorified you on earth, having accomplished the work that you gave me to do.  And now, Father, glorify me in your own presence with the glory that I had with you before the world existed.” (John 17:3-5 ESV)

As a “time critter” our life is centered in time, in minutes, hours, days, months, and years, but Jesus is talking to the Father about things that happen outside of our time dimension.  When reading the Bible, it requires one to grasp that God created all things for His purpose, even time.  We come to understand that “faith” requires the time dimension, and when faith is no longer needed, time will cease to be.  It is also important to understand that God is not time-dimensional, but you and I are.  My friends Bill and Anabel Gillham taught this to me and showed me a simple time line that has help me.

	B		H		S		T		D

 

          Birth            First Haircut           Salvation                  Today                    Death

That is a very simple time line of life on planet earth and your’s and mine will have many things that go between the “B” and the “D”, but at somepoint we must all put the “S” in our time line, or eternity will also be void of God.

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice

Impervious To

John 16:29-33  

Have you ever been in a group where someone tells a joke or a story and you seem to be the only one who does understand what the person has said?  If so your going to identify with the guys that hung out with Jesus for three years.  You might say that it is crunch time and Jesus is going to the cross to pay in full for the sins of each person who has lived or ever will live on planet earth.  He tells them that in the past He has spoken to them in figures of speech, but today Jesus is going to tell them very plainly about the Father,  “for the Father himself loves you, because you have loved me and have believed that I came from God. I came from the Father and have come into the world, and now I am leaving the world and going to the Father.” (John 16:27-28 ESV)

I’ve often been the one who did not get the joke and after a few seconds and you’re the only one not laughing, it is time to fake it, or be the one who says I do not understand the joke.  That’s close to what Jesus disciples did on this day.  “His disciples said, “Ah, now you are speaking plainly and not using figurative speech!  Now we know that you know all things and do not need anyone to question you; this is why we believe that you came from God.” (John 16:29-30)
When you are as honest as the disciples were at this point, it can be uncomfortable, you are admitting that you’re a little slow, but you also want the one your addressing to know that you now have a full understanding of the situation.  Look at the reply Jesus gave them; “Jesus answered them, “Do you now believe? Behold, the hour is coming indeed it has come, when you will be scattered, each to his own home, and will leave me alone. Yet I am not alone, for the Father is with me. I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.”  (John 16:31-33 ESV)
Have you ever wondered how it would feel to be all knowing, then look to Jesus, He was giving this rag tag group of followers a heads-up about what was in their near future.  He knew the enemy was going to do a frontal attack on these men, that their emotions were going to be all messed up and the enemy was going to speak in a voice that sounded much like theirs, about how foolish they had been to be conned by this Jesus guy.  Can’t you hear him tell them how they had wasted three years of their lives, but then they remembered the words of Jesus, “for the Father himself loves you” and then they recall these words of Jesus, “I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.”
The same enemy that Jesus has told us about in John 10:10, is also attacking you and me, and those words that Jesus spoke to the disciples should give us victory when the attacks begin, so take heart; Jesus has overcome the world, and in Him we have life to the full!
From the Back Porch,
Bob Rice

The Father Loves You

John 16:23-30

As a small child whom did you run to when you needed or wanted something, was it your mother or your dad?  In my case it was always mother, and as I got older she would say go ask your dad.  Now dad was not a push over so I would try almost anything to not ask dad for help.  As I got older I stopped asking and if I wanted something I would work to acquire it.  In fact, my wants drove my performance, and because of my wants, I became goal centered on getting my needs met, by working smart and hard, and in our society I was deemed successful.  But this is going to come back and bite me, in that my flesh has learned how to get its needs met outside of God, I call that independent living, and so does God. 

Do you understand that my flesh loved being thought of as being successful, it loved the entire ramification of being consider a success?  When I ask Jesus into my heart at the age of 27, it did not change my methods; in fact, I found that hard work and performance also got the acclaims of the pastor and others who were important in the church.  If your not a Baptist this may not hold true, but in the Baptist church if you are willing to work, they will pile it on till you are so busy that you ignore time with God, time with family and friends, but you are getting stroked by those who are in charge.  One small problem, it is you doing and it is flesh, and the end result is failure.  I can testify to this, and I came to the same conclusion as the great king Solomon, “for all is vanity and a striving after the wind.”

If you identify with what I’m saying, remember I said it is going to come back and bite you, this form of living in your abilities, living independently of God’s authority.  Never forget, it is not what man thinks of your actions, but what God knows about your heart. Listen to Jesus, “In that day you will ask nothing of me. Truly, truly, I say to you, whatever you ask of the Father in my name, he will give it to you. Until now you have asked nothing in my name. Ask, and you will receive, that your joy may be full.” (John 16:23-24 ESV)

Now stay with me, what did I learn as a child, that dad was the one who often said no to my wants, and now Jesus is telling me to ask the Father.  I’ve also learned that I can get most of what I want by hard work and using the talents that God has given me.  What I did not learn was to by faith believe that Jesus tells the truth.   So I find myself needing God, but going back to self or others.  And often when asking the Father in prayer, I wonder, will God answer me?  James has this to say about such prayers; “But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind. For that person must not suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.”

(James 1:6-8 ESV)

This battle has raged in me for many years, the wondering if God will, and I’ve come to this understanding; JESUS TELLS THE TRUTH. “In that day you will ask in my name, and I do not say to you that I will ask the Father on your behalf; for the Father himself loves you, because you have loved me and have believed that I came from God.”

(John 16:26-27 ESV)

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice

"A little While"

“A little while”

When as a lad I heard my dad or mother tell relatives that we were visiting those three words in the title plus the following, it will be a little while before we see you again, we all understood what “a little while” meant.  It was a simple statement of fact, and it sure did not mean in a month, nor did it mean months, or even years, but it was built on a hope that at some point we would return.  But in our culture we have no understanding of those three words, we only lived in the moment, and so the words of Jesus found in verse 16, “A little while, and you will see me no longer; and again a little while, and you will see me.” 

Are we that much different from those who were present that day?  The account is recorded in verses 17-18, “So some of his disciples said to one another, “What is this that he says to us, ‘A little while, and you will not see me, and again a little while, and you will see me’; and, ‘because I am going to the Father’?” So they were saying, “What does he mean by ‘a little while’? We do not know what he is talking about.”  How often in this life of instant everything, do I go to bed or awake in the morning with no thought of, is today the day of our Lord’s return, is this the day that the havens open and I see Jesus?

But it is written, and no man knows the day, but the apostle John is not talking about a “hope” of Jesus return, but a promise.  Jesus tells us that it is not going to happen when we expect it, “For as in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day when Noah entered the ark, and they were unaware until the flood came and swept them all away, so will be the coming of the Son of Man.  (Matthew 24:38-39 ESV), yes Jesus tells us His coming will be much like a thief, in Revelation 16:15.

This is what is going to happen in just a little while, and the apostle John lays it out for us: “Then I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse! The one sitting on it is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he judges and makes war. His eyes are like a flame of fire, and on his head are many diadems, and he has a name written that no one knows but himself. He is clothed in a robe dipped in blood, and the name by which he is called is The Word of God. And the armies of heaven, arrayed in fine linen, white and pure, were following him on white horses. From his mouth comes a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations, and he will rule them with a rod of iron. He will tread the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God the Almighty. On his robe and on his thigh he has a name written, King of kings and Lord of lords.” (Revelation 19:11-16 ESV)

Someone told me as a small lad this saying, “a word to the wise is sufficient” and that’s a good word, but is a word from God even more so?  Jesus knew that they wanted to ask him, so he said to them, “Is this what you are asking yourselves, what I meant by saying, ‘A little while and you will not see me, and again a little while and you will see me’? Truly, truly, I say to you, you will weep and lament, but the world will rejoice. You will be sorrowful, but your sorrow will turn into joy. When a woman is giving birth, she has sorrow because her hour has come, but when she has delivered the baby, she no longer remembers the anguish, for joy that a human being has been born into the world. So also you have sorrow now, but I will see you again, and your hearts will rejoice, and no one will take your joy from you.  (John 16:19-22 ESV)

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice

The Pop Quiz

John 16:8-15

Do you recall the pop quiz?  Yes, the short test on what you should have learned on the subject being studied.  On the day of such a quiz there were two groups of people in the room, the ones who were prepared, and then the group I was in.  For the prepared, it was an exciting time to show the teacher that they had studied and had retained the knowledge.  For my much smaller group, often a group of one, if that is possible, it was judgment time.  There was no question of the outcome but my anger was not directed at myself but at the one who gave the pop quiz.  It always came down to those who looked forward to a test because they had been righteous in doing what the teacher ask, and then the group I fell into that disregarded instruction and acted as if the test would never happen.

Jesus is talking about also two groups of people; one group has put their hope in Christ, and understands He was going to the Father, but was sending the Helper; the other group wanted to live life absent of all authority and the Helper (Spirit of Truth) exposed their evil hearts.  So much like the pop quiz, they are angry with the One who exposed their sin, just like I was with the teacher who exposed my ignorance on the subject I had not learned.

This is a heads-up from Jesus that He is giving His disciples about the Helper: “And when he comes, he will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment: concerning sin, because they do not believe in me; concerning righteousness, because I go to the Father, and you will see me no longer; concerning judgment, because the ruler of this world is judged.” (John 16:8-11 ESV)

At some point the unprepared get upset with the prepared, because they by their act of righteousness (studying the subject that the teacher ask of them) or exposing the sin of the unprepared.  Now that is on a physical scale, but on the spiritual scale it becomes more intense, because like the ones unprepared for the pop quiz, they understand that they made a choice, and now that choice is bringing judgment on them.  The apostle Paul being lead by the Spirit of Truth has this to say on the subject: “For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth. For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse. For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. Claiming to be wise, they became fools, and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things.” (Romans 1:18-23 ESV)

But the ones who by faith through the grace of God have chosen to believe in God’s redemption have this hope: “When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth, for he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak, and he will declare to you the things that are to come. He will glorify me, for he will take what is mine and declare it to you. All that the Father has is mine; therefore I said that he will take what is mine and declare it to you.”  (John 16:13-15 ESV)

Life is not simple, but it does come down to choices, and the question that will be asked for eternity is “What did you do with Jesus?”

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice

A Request from Jesus

John 15:26 – 16:15

If you were born in a Nation where you have had the freedom to use your skills and gifts and have the desire to advance, you are blessed!  If you were a common person and especially if you were a woman when Jesus walked on planet earth, you were not expected to be any more than the role of your parents.  That is so foreign to this writer, but what Jesus is telling His disciples is that everyone counts; but that being His disciple will cost you.  He is telling His disciples that conflict with friends, family and the people in your workplace, will ignore you as if you were dead.  And the ones who do not ignore you may try to kill you and in doing so they believe that act will gain favor with God. “But when the Helper comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth, who proceeds from the Father, he will bear witness about me. I have said all these things to you to keep you from falling away. They will put you out of the synagogues. Indeed, the hour is coming when whoever kills you will think he is offering service to God. And they will do these things because they have not known the Father, nor me. But I have said these things to you, that when their hour comes you may remember that I told them to you.  I did not say these things to you from the beginning, because I was with you.”  (John 15:26 -16:1-4) (Note: that sounds very familiar to what Muslims are teaching about anyone outside of there misguided religion.)

Jesus has just told us that because they choose darkness over light because their deeds were evil, in John 3:19; and that His job was finished on planet earth, that He was returning to His rightful place at the right hand of the Father, and that He was sending us a Helper.  So it is important for us to grasp that Jesus was not just talking to His disciple but to you and me.  We pick-up the words of Jesus in John 16:5-15, “But now I am going to him who sent me, and none of you asks me, ‘Where are you going?’ But because I have said these things to you, sorrow has filled your heart. Nevertheless, I tell you the truth: it is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you. But if I go, I will send him to you. And when he comes, he will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment: concerning sin, because they do not believe in me; concerning righteousness, because I go to the Father, and you will see me no longer; concerning judgment, because the ruler of this world is judged.  I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth, for he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak, and he will declare to you the things that are to come. He will glorify me, for he will take what is mine and declare it to you. All that the Father has is mine; therefore I said that he will take what is mine and declare it to you.”

           

This writer is beginning to grasp that his hope is not and will not be found in man, nor in government, education, wealth, in my standing or level of importance in society, not even in my birthright; only in my relationship with the Son of God.  And that Jesus has taken on skin and fully understands my need to be dependent; Jesus has sent the Helper, the Spirit of Truth, to guide me into all truth.  Can you ask for anything better, this was Jesus’ request of the Father for you and me: “I do not ask for these only, but also for those who will believe in me through their word, that they may all be one, just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me.”  (John 17:20-21 ESV) 

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice

Why are Atheist so Angry

John 15:18-25

Cal Thomas gives this report on the “atheist rally” in Washington D.C., it was called Reason Rally’s unreasonable beliefs.  The following is a portion of his article.

 “How appropriate that the “atheist rally,” also known by organizers as the “reason rally” was held so close to April 1, because “The fool has said in his heart, ‘there is no God.’” (Psalm 14:1) April Fool’s Day, get it? These people had every right to rally and speak about their faith in no God, but what should have shocked the media was their open hostility to people of faith. We have been repeatedly told by the secular left that it’s those crazy right-wing religious zealots who are intolerant of any ideas and expressions save their own. But the signs at the atheist rally told a different story. Some are not fit for what used to be called a “family newspaper,” but others said things like “so many Christians, so few lions.” Other signs and songs were blasphemous in the extreme.
Cal asks this question; “My question is: if they believe God does not exist, why are they so angry?”  What comes to mine is that as a husband and dad, I had a hard time backing off of a position that I was passionate about, even when it became clear that I had over reacted.  I watched most of the video of the rally and the hate coming out of this group was amazing, you would have thought Christians were the devil, but that is impossible because they do not believe in a devil, in fact they do not believe in good and evil, right or wrong, or in absolutes; that is unless it comes to Christians, and it is clear that we are dumber than dumb and are the cause of all that is evil in the atheist world.  Should Christians be surprised?
No we should not, that is unless you have forgotten what Jesus said on the subject.  “If the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you. Remember the word that I said to you: ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you. If they kept my word, they will also keep yours. But all these things they will do to you on account of my name, because they do not know him who sent me. If I had not come and spoken to them, they would not have been guilty of sin, but now they have no excuse for their sin. Whoever hates me hates my Father also. If I had not done among them the works that no one else did, they would not be guilty of sin, but now they have seen and hated both me and my Father. But the word that is written in their Law must be fulfilled: ‘They hated me without a cause.”  (John 15:18-25 ESV)
Jesus always seems to leave us in somewhat of a pickle, so to say, our flesh wants to hit back, but Jesus was very clear in this command: “But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven. For he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same?”  (Matthew 5:44-46 ESV) 
Something is becoming very clear to me, this Christian life is impossible, that is unless God sends me help, or a Helper, and that is what He has done.  Christians, the Father never intended for us to go it alone, and that is why Jesus did not leave us as orphans.  Listen and believe that Jesus tells the truth, in John 16:7, “Nevertheless, I tell you the truth: it is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you. But if I go, I will send him to you.”  Stop trying and ask for help!
From the Back Porch,
Bob Rice

The Amazing word "Choose"

John 15:16-17

The amazing word “choose,” it is acted on more often than any other word, and yet we live in a culture that refuses to take credit for its choices.   It could be that we do not understand how the word is used, choose: “to make a deliberate decision to do something.”  For example a small group of people, primarily women have put together a group called “Choice” and its prime goal is to tell God and mankind to butt out of what a woman wants to do with her body.  But that group has no plans to salvage or bring help to the young woman after she has bought into the lie that it’s just a piece of tissue, and not a baby, and after they are gone, and in the quiet hours of the night she suffers over the choice of being a participant in the death of her child.

So many choices each hour of each day, do I believe my body is the temple of the Spirit of God, do I agree with Galatians 2:20, “I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.”  And yet many each day choose to eat, drink, and not exercise, and just like the culture, blame God because they are over weight, have no energy and they run to the local doctor, who often takes the role of a drug pusher, and they get a fix, so they can keep making bad choices.  

Our culture has flooded the minds of Christians, we complain about almost everything, and yet our prayer life is minuscule, and we act as if Jesus has not told the truth.  So let us look at what Jesus said to each of us who have entered into a personal relationship with the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit: “You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should abide, so that whatever you ask the Father in my name, he may give it to you.” (John 15:16 ESV)

Could it be that we do not understand that God is not a “time critter” that time was designed for man?  Could it be that we listen to mere men about things that their unbelieving hearts could not understand so they gave opinions not based on facts but on the reasoning of very unrighteous men, who suppress the truth of God’s invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature?  This is what Jesus has to say about the choices of such people: “And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil. For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his works should be exposed.” (John 3:19-20 ESV)

If you have fallen into the, I can’t help the choices I make, awaken my brother or sister in Christ, you have been given the ability by the Father to (set your minds) on whatever you want to, it is your choice. “If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God.” (Colossians 3:1-3 ESV)

It is time to ask the Helper for help, and to understand that He is the Spirit of Truth.  Jesus has informed us in John 15:7-11, “Nevertheless, I tell you the truth: it is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you. But if I go, I will send him to you. And when he comes, he will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment: concerning sin, because they do not believe in me; concerning righteousness, because I go to the Father, and you will see me no longer; concerning judgment, because the ruler of this world is judged.” 

As one of the Chosen Ones, ask the Helper to set your mind on these truths; “ But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the Excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.  Once you were not a people, but now you are God's people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.”  (1 Peter 2:9-10 ESV)  Wow, thank you Father for choosing me.

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice

“A word to the wise, is sufficient”

Amos 6:1-14

Has God spoken and if He has spoken why would anyone not believe what He has said?  As I read the sixth chapter of Amos, these thoughts came into my mind we are as a nation and a people much like the people that Amos is addressing.  After reading this chapter numerous times, and asking the Holy Spirit to open my eyes to truth, I read Gene A. Getz footnotes from the Life Essentials study Bible on page 1195 and note #9 titled Material Prosperity.  “During the time Amos prophesied, the children of Israel were experiencing economic prosperity and military success.  The leaders particularly paraded their wealth and position.  They built large houses, gorged themselves on the best meat, and drank bowlfuls of the best wines.  They concluded that they were successful, powerful, and secure from the attacks of their enemies.  They evidently believed that God approved of the way they were living and was blessing them accordingly.”  The question must be asked, what nation comes into your mind?  In sales we often used the phrase, “The old is forever new” or as my dad would say, “We learn nothing from history, because if we did, would we repeat it?”

My prayer is that you will read Amos and especially chapter six, it begins in this manner; “Woe to those who are at ease in Zion, and to those who feel secure on the mountain of Samaria, the notable men of the first of the nations, to whom the house of Israel comes!”

(Amos 6:1 ESV)  Am I all wet, or could we easily put the USA in the place of Zion, and Washington D.C. in the place of Samaria, and the American people in the place of Israel?

In verse two the prophet reminds them of other nations who were also mighty at one time and very prosperous and were destroyed or have been brought to a place of no influence as a power broker in world affairs.  Do names come into your mind of great nations who are no longer or have no voice in the big picture of today?  Mighty nations like Rome, Egypt, Greece, and much later France, and the British Empires.   Do you recall a Germany that tried to conquer the world, or a Soviet Union the mighty U.S.S.R. that is no longer, and they all had one thing in common, they believed they were able to do as they pleased.  Now that is as dangerous for a nation as it is for you and me.

Verse three deals with the leaders and the people ignoring the warning of the prophet, and the coming judgment.  And verse four and five refers to their prosperity and the attitudes of their hearts.  But in verse 8, “The Lord GOD has sworn by himself, declares the LORD, the God of hosts: “I abhor the pride of Jacob and hate his strongholds, and I will deliver up the city and all that is in it.” (Amos 6:8 ESV)  I often forget that God hates pride, and these people were, as are we, prideful and arrogant in putting their faith in citadels, the walls and towers, they falsely believed their city was impregnable.  

Verses 9-11, deals with the destruction of the things they trusted in and in human life.  When God speaks to a people are to a nation, wise people repent and seek to be agents of change, much like Nineveh.  Do you recall in Matthew 12:38-42, where the scribes and Pharisees ask Jesus for a sign, and this was his answer: “An evil and adulterous generation seeks for a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah. For just as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. The men of Nineveh will rise up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it, for they repented at the preaching of Jonah, and behold, something greater than Jonah is here.

(Matthew 12:39-41 ESV)

As someone once told me, “A word to the wise, is sufficient” so let the wise listen to these words from Gene A. Getz: “There is a lesson here for all people – nationally and personally, believers and unbelievers.  Material prosperity and success and power are not conclusive evidence of God’s approval of the way we live.”  Actually, “He causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous” (Matthew 5:45)

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice

Jesus promise of a Great Reward

John 15:12-15

Loving those who love you is not all that hard, and those are not my thoughts, the author of love, Love Himself said that. “If you love those who love you, what benefit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them. And if you do good to those who do good to you, what benefit is that to you? For even sinners do the same. And if you lend to those from whom you expect to receive, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners, to get back the same amount. But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return, and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, for he is kind to the ungrateful and the evil. Be merciful, even as your Father is merciful.” (Luke 6:32-36 ESV)

Do we have any example of Jesus loving His enemies other than the time of the cross?  The answer is a mighty yes, and it all began before creations in the heart of the Father, and was followed through by Jesus taking on flesh and living among us.  All we have to do is look in the mirror and come to the understanding that Romans 5:6-10, has exposed us as a person who at one time wanted to run our own life independent of God.  This is the account in Romans, “For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. For one will scarcely die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die—but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God. For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life”. (Romans 5:6-10 ESV)

Now, in that we have received grace by the faith that God has so lovingly given each of us; for we are the ones who have been loved greatly, it should be natural for us to show love to one another.  It was not a request in John 15:12, but a commandment, “This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you.” (John 15:12 ESV)

Jesus is very serious about us doing this and when we do not, and sometimes we forget or we are just into ourselves, and love leaves the building, so to say.  Now when love leaves the building, it has no effect on our relationship with Jesus, but it sure muddies the waters in our fellowship with Him.   Jesus gives this insight in verses 13-15, “Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends. You are my friends if you do what I command you. No longer do I call you servants, for the servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all that I have heard from my Father I have made known to you.”  (John 15:13-15 ESV)

Having Jesus as your friend comes with an understanding that the one who died in your place, and the one who when He died we also died, that our old self was crucified with Him, in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin; and Jesus has tied a commandment for us to love one another in order to be His friend.

So this truth comes to light, being obedient to the commandments of Jesus, puts us in the top circles, it connects us with the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, and if we are listening, we are informed as to all that Jesus is doing in our lives and in this world.  He is making known to us what the Father has told Him.  When Jesus speaks, a wise person will listen, and act on what they have heard.

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice

What is Joy?

John 15:8-11

What is joy?  Is it being happy and filling your time with family, work, friends, and accomplishments; will that bring joy into a person’s life?  This is what Solomon said in Ecclesiastes 2:9-11,  “So I became great and surpassed all who were before me in Jerusalem.  Also my wisdom remained with me. ¹⁰ And whatever my eyes desired I did not keep from them. I kept my heart from no pleasure, for my heart found pleasure in all my toil, and this was my reward for all my toil. ¹¹ Then I considered all that my hands had done and the toil I had expended in doing it, and behold, all was vanity and a striving after wind, and there was nothing to be gained under the sun.” 

He is clear that those are words few of us can define, and could it be that there is a form of earthly joy that is often fleeing, it can slip out of our hearts in a moment.   The great prophet Isaiah has spoken on this in chapter 24 of the book with his name.  Is the loss of Divine favor, the loss of joy, this is what is being referred to both by Isaiah and by John in the Revelation, chapter 18:23.

But is there not a joy that comes at the birth of a child, the marriage of a child, the possession of a home, and in a daughter or son that grows into a fine adult? Yes, there is, and Proverbs addresses such; “The father of the righteous will greatly rejoice; he who fathers a wise son will be glad in him.”  (Proverbs 23:24 ESV)

But for us who have the hope of eternal life in and through Jesus Christ, we have the promise of joy in sorrow.  Jesus is our example of joy at the worst moment of His earthly life.  “Looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God. (Hebrews 12:2 ESV)

You and I who have Christ, by keeping the commandments of Jesus and by abiding in Him, can live in joy, no matter what the Father allows to come into our life.  That is the promise of John 15:11, “These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full.”

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice

 

The Church of One Goal

John 15:7

            If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.

(John 15:7 ESV)

When you read John 15:7, what thoughts come into your mind?  It sounds too good to be true, or I can ask Jesus for whatever I want and He got to give it to me.  Those two thoughts are the predominate thoughts of many and I believe they are an outcropping of our culture.  I’ve come to understand that rich and poor both covet and are greedy and that selfishness has not one thing to do with your status in society or your color of skin, it is a matter of the heart. 

When it comes to the verse above, there are three groups; the group that says it’s too good to be true; and they are the same ones who attend church but they fall into what Isaiah the prophet called formalism. The Lord says:  “These people come near to me with their mouth and honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. Their worship of me is based on merely human rules they have been taught.” (Isaiah 29:13)  And if you are part of this group, you do not have because you are double minded.  It could be called the church of the “Double Minded” and the Holy Spirit spoke of it in (2 Timothy 3:1-5 ESV) “But understand this, that in the last days there will come times of difficulty. For people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, proud, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, heartless, unappeasable, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not loving good, treacherous, reckless, swollen with conceit, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having the appearance of godliness, but denying its power. Avoid such people.”
The second group or church is the “Name it and claim it” and they have a very large following.  It’s Jesus on command, and they teach a doctrine that covers the waters of wealth, health, and few, if any problems.  The Spirit spoke to us through James on this kind of teaching; “You desire and do not have, so you murder. You covet and cannot obtain, so you fight and quarrel. You do not have, because you do not ask. You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions.  (James 4:2-3 ESV)
The third group is the church that has power, not because they do more, or give more, or have more Bible Studies, they have learned this wonderful truth: “With Jesus it is never “Do do,” but “Be, be and I will do through you.”  (Oswald Chambers)  I am so thankful that the Holy Spirit spoke to us through men like Oswald Chambers, and it brings me full circle to Jesus.  Recall what He told us in John 15:4-5, “Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me. I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.”   My prayer for you and for me is that we will desire to be the branch that has only one goal to abide in the vine.
From the Back Porch,
Bob Rice