“Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ.”

Hebrews 13:7

This action of the apostle Paul would change the lives of many in our local church if our leaders only did as he did?  When using 1 Corinthians 11:1 in a teaching or sermon, I‘ve heard preachers and teachers take a different road than the apostle Paul, and it sounds so much better than what Paul proclaimed to Timothy and others in the early church, and to you and me.  In that verse Paul stated; “Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ.” and most preachers and teachers teaching on that verse tell us not to follow my example, but follow Christ.  As a teacher or a mentor, that sounds so humble, not brash or arrogant as the apostle Paul, but is it?  And we must ask this question, is Paul’s position in keeping with other Scriptures?  And is the pastor or teacher who tells you not to model his actions following the leadership of the Holy Spirit, or just telling you the truth, that their life is not worthy of your model?  When the apostle Paul uses the word imitate He is saying, watch the outflow of Christ who lives in me.

I personally have told young couples that my life was not to be modeled and that they should look to Jesus only; what a bad testimony!  What am I proclaiming, could it be that Christ does not live in me, or that I will not believe or submit to His authority in my life?  Paul never claimed perfection, but the desire of his heart was to be an imitator of Jesus Christ.  As one who has had both the honor and responsibility of teaching the Bible to others, should I not take to heart Philippians 3:12-17, “Not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect, but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own.  Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own.  But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.  Let those of us who are mature think this way, and if in anything you think otherwise, God will reveal that also to you.  Only let us hold to what we have attained.  Brothers, join in imitating me, and keep your eyes on those who walk according to the example you have in us.”

Paul tells the church of the Thessalonians, in chapter 2:8 that we shared more than the gospel of God; we shared with you our own selves, because you have become dear to us.  And in verse 10, “You are witnesses, and God also, how holy and righteous and blameless was our conduct toward you believers.  And how was this done, verse 11, 12, “For you know how, like a father with his children, we exhorted each one of you and encouraged you and charged you to walk in a manner worthy of God, who calls you into his own kingdom and glory.”

What the church needs are men and women who imitate Christ, who understand that victorious living is found in letting Christ live out His life in you.  Those men and women  can tell the ones they are mentoring the following: “And what you heard from me in the presence of many witnesses entrust to faithful men who will be able to teach others also.” (2 Timothy 2:2)  Follow me as I follow Christ, or Christ in me the hope of glory.

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice

Many parts but one Spirit

 

Hebrews 13:3-6

Have you ever stopped to ponder the magnificent Body of Christ; the church, how it has many parts but one Spirit, one hope, and one Lord.  As I read verse three, my mind went to men like John Anderson and Ken Ryan, men who have been used of God to mold me, and both of these men have for many years been involved in prison ministry, and yet I’ve never had that calling on my life.  But each of us should pray for such men and women who God has called to this ministry, and all of us should be champions for and to the mistreated, since we also are part of the body.

When it comes to marriage, we are to honor it, all of us, and yet today the divorce rate in and out of the church is running at about 50%.  If God tells the truth, and He does, then verse 4 explains much of the heartbreak, and the chaos in the family.  More than 50 % of our children do not have a dad in the home, and we wonder why our culture is in such a mess.  Verse four; “Let marriage be held in honor among all, and let the marriage bed be undefiled, for God will judge the sexually immoral and adulterous.”  But no longer do we have adulterous behavior, we are so much smarter than that, we changed the word to fool God, now it is just an affair, but I’ve got some bad news, God is not fooled, and the sad fact is we are the fools, we have been taken captive by the enemy of our soul.  This is no different than the forbidden fruit that Eve was tempted with, and we know that God kept his promises.

Verse five is also an area that most Christians are living in opposition to the commands of Scripture; “Keep your life free from the love of money, and be content with what you have, for he has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.”  Now that is a battleground each of us should understand, our world system is centered on money.  The love of or for money has little to do with how much or how little of it you have, it’s centered on a false concept that if we had more then we would be happy.  Money or possessions is not bad, but they easily become idols, and God will not allow that in a Christian’s life.  If only we acted like God tells the truth, then and only then, would we say with confidence, “The Lord is my helper; I will not fear; what can man do to me?”

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice

Let brotherly Love Continue

Hebrews 13:1

 

“Let brotherly love continue.”  Wow, the writer has moved from sharing some heavy stuff, like “a kingdom that cannot be shaken to “Let brotherly love continue.”  That does not sound like a request, it comes to us as a command, do you and I understand the command?  I seem to wrestle with who is my brother, do you do that?   Is it referring to only other Christians, or is it a much larger scope, like “Love your neighbor as your- self”?   I’ve come to understand that my neighbor is anyone who I come in contact with, and I also found that an impossible task in my own ability; I’m learning to ask Jesus to love the ones who seem so unlovable.  Do you understand that we are commanded to love our enemies, and I’m still struggling with the ones I come in contact with as I go down Hwy 281? 

God’s ways are not our ways and His thoughts are not our thoughts, but they should be to this degree, He has called us to be holy as He is holy.  And in that calling it becomes clear that to be holy is beyond our ability, it requires death to yourself, it requires Jesus who lives in you, to do it all for you. 

If I could only set my mind on the teachings of Christ, and I can because Jesus told us to set our minds on these things, so it is totally in our power to set our minds on anything we choose.  With that said, it is important to set my mind on the fact that the enemy of my soul has a plan to keep me from loving and his hope is to stir up strife, and hatred is one of his tools, see Proverbs 10:12.  But Christ who lives in us tells us that without love we are a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal look at 1Corinthians 13:1.

Each of us who are in Christ have the power to follow this command, and Galatians 5:13, spells that out.  “For you were called to freedom, brothers.  Only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another.”  You are a saint who sins, that is what God calls you.  The apostle Peter has some good council in 1 Peter 4:8, “Above all, keep loving one another earnestly, since love covers a multitude of sins.” 

If your are a seeker of truth, look at what the apostle John had to say in 1 John 2:9-10 and John sums it up in this way; “And this commandment we have from him; whoever loves God must love his brother.” (1John 4:21)  My early confession was, apart from Jesus Christ doing it for and through me, an impossible act, but I do recall that in weakness, in confession we find the answer, God wants to let the world and the demons and the angels see you doing what Jesus did, He who was God in the flesh ran to His Father for everything.

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice

A Consuming Fire

Hebrews 12:29

God is described in many ways in Scripture; He is called the Unseen, Unsearchable, Omniscience, Omnipresence, Omnipotence, Most High, Majesty, Light, Judge, Exalted, Love, just to name a few, but Hebrews 12:29 describes Him as a consuming fire.  If we go to the dictionary the word consuming: so intense as to take up all of somebody’s attention, time, and energy.  Often that word is used in explaining someone’s fascination with the opposite sex or a new job that is overwhelming or intense.  But when it comes to definition or words used to explain God, the best source is the Bible.

When God is called a consuming fire, it is a symbol of the Divine presence and power of God; in Deuteronomy 4:36 Moses is telling the people that the Lord alone is God and that they have heard His voice out of the midst of the fire.  In Psalm 97:2-3, “Clouds and thick darkness are all around him; righteousness and justice are the foundation of his throne.  Fire goes before him and burns up his adversaries all around.”  The prophet Isaiah had this to say on the subject of God being a consuming fire; “For behold, the Lord will come in fire, and his chariots like the whirlwind, to render his anger in fury, and his rebuke with flames of fire.  For by fire will the Lord enter into judgment, and by his sword, with all flesh; and those slain by the Lord shall be many.” (Isaiah 66:15-16)  Isaiah is referring to the final judgment and Glory of the Lord in the above verses.  When God sent His Holy Spirit to rest on the church, He comes in divided tongues as of fire and Paul reminds us of how God appeared to Moses on Mount Sinai, in a flame of fire in a bush, in Acts 7:30.

It is no longer in vogue to talk about God in this way, but the same Bible that tells us of God’s love for whosoever will, also states these truths in the verses that follow; “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 be condemned 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.

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice

Jesus' Cleaning Service

 

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 uses me.  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 or 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 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, give 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

My blog; http://fromourbackporch.blogspot.com/

Faith that cannot be Shaken

Hebrews 12:18-29

This aspect of the letter to this Hebrew church and to us is about a kingdom that cannot be shaken.  If you have been around for as long as I, you have experienced the shaking of kingdoms.  Great powers like Germany, the Soviet Union, and the United States of America, all have experience decline.  Once more, we must as Christians look not to what is seen, but to what is promised.  The writer is reminding them of the exodus from Egypt and Moses on Mount Sinai with God.  He is telling them that they have entered by faith into a kingdom that cannot be touched, much unlike what their fathers had experienced at Mount Sinai.

The writer is giving us a picture of what they experienced at Mount Sinai, and it was a fearful place even for Moses.  I hope you will let your imagination explore the writer’s word picture, “For you have not come to what may be touched, a blazing fire and darkness and gloom and a tempest and the sound of a trumpet and a voice whose words made the hearers beg that no further messages be spoken to them.  For they could not endure the orders that were given, “If even a beast touches the mountain, it shall be stoned.  Indeed, so terrifying was the sight that Moses said, “I tremble with fear.”  Mount Sinai was a personal encounter with Creator God, and like us they cried out in fear, they needed someone to be the intercessor between God and man.  Once we come to the understanding that God is not like us, that He does not change and He is holy and requires holiness for all who will enter into a relationship with Him.

I am so glad that the writer did not say, if you do this great act you may come, but look at what he said; “But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to innumerable angels in festal gathering, and to the assembly of the firstborn who are enrolled in heaven, and to God, the judge of all, and to the spirits of the righteous made perfect, and to Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel.”  Our righteousness is found only in Jesus, our intercessor, our mediator; it is Christ in you the hope of glory.  And once more let your imagination go to your real home, Mount Zion, and what is awaiting you, a big party, and a party like none this world has ever seen.

My hope is that you are not trying to earn acceptance to Mount Sinai, it’s a fearful place, a place that is terrifying, but Jesus has paid in full your passage into the city of the living God, the new Jerusalem, and He has prepared for you an everlasting home, and it comes with a eternal guarantee.  If you read on, verse 25-29, the message is so clear, one God, one way to God, and that is the blood of Jesus Christ, He is the door that all must go through to have access to the city of the living God.  And listen, the writer tells us that God is going to shake not only the earth, but also the heavens.  It is of the utmost importance that your faith is established on what cannot be shaken, for the Scriptures are clear, your world is going to be shaken.

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice

Discipline 101

Hebrews 12:5-11

Trained by discipline, now that is a thought worth pondering.  Verse 11 states the following; “For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.”  When I think of discipline my mind goes to giving up or restricting myself from something that I enjoy, but is almost certainly not in my best interest.  If you are even a casual observer of my actions and life style you have no doubt that I would pass up a steak for a pie any day of the week.  For years I was branded, as the dessert man, and I’ve never had a problem with my weight until the last few years and that was more in my waistline.  I would go to the gym and work hard on my abs, but the waistline did not change.  So the dessert man followed his daughter’s lead and cut out sugar, no more dessert till my goal is reached.  Side note on sugar, it’s a lot like sin in that many of the things we eat turn to sugar; things like pastas, breads, and just about all diet products.  I’ve also found it help to cut your portions in half.

Now that kind of discipline is under my control, it was my choice, it was my desire, and the results was very good, I feel better, and once more I can wear my size 33 pants.  But this Scripture is talking about your Creator God, your heavenly Father disciplining you in love, and yet it does not feel very loving at the time of the discipline.  Yes, it seems painful, but it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.  God’s desire is that we share in His holiness!  Now look at this warning in verse 15, “See to it that no one fails to obtain the grace of God; that no “root of bitterness” springs up and causes trouble, and by it many become defiled.”  Who is this root of bitterness addressed at, is it not at God?  When God begins to remove the idols in our life, and they come in many forms, golf, exercise, sex, fishing, hunting, shopping, children, career, husband or wife, self, and that is only the short list, without God’s grace we will become bitter. 

It is of the utmost importance to trust your heavenly Father, to understand that He is doing an act of love, that it is not going to be fun, but that the end goal is fellowship with God, it is obtaining the grace of God so that the training brings about the peaceful fruit of righteousness.

Form the Back Porch,

Bob Rice