Parable of the Soil

i have time so allow me to write my thoughts on the parable we discussed today. the 'parable of the soil' is the fitting topic for that segment in Mark i think. because both the Sower (God) and the Seed (the gospel) point to the same meaning for each different types of soil. only the types of soil change- and so my own preference 'the parable of the soil'. the soil refers to the hearts of men & women. the planting/throwing of seed refers to the gospel/word of God preached or taught.

the hard rock - refers to a heart of unbelief, and when they hear the gospel, either due to irrelevance to their lives or due to prejudice from their own current system of belief (or maybe a different religion they practice), they find the gospel meaningless or irrelevant. Satan takes this away from them and it is gone.

the soil with rocks- refers to a heart of misconception of what it is to  be a christian. they equate Christianity to only one word - convenience. when the going gets tough, its time for neglect. and thus the seed never grow. humans by nature always value pleasure and happiness more than pain or sorrow. and therefore when the situation demands to persist and remain true in this kind of 'negative'  situations, it seems better to give way to what is more convenient in the short-term rather than what is good and true. it is also possible that a convenient-Christianity mindset is not entirely their fault. churches or leaders who never teach and encourage their constituents will, like gravity, create in their members an idea of Christianity that is seemingly euphoric like what they 'feel' during worship. its the only model they have. another is the influence of the 'prosperity gospel' wherein 'blessings of good health or materialism' are equated to 'strong faith'; suffering or poverty to 'lesser faith' aka 'gaba' or 'karma'. but then again christianity is not just about convenience or 'blessings', but offers a totally different worldview and mindset that conflicts with the secular and the anti-christian views, the reality of a spiritual battle. there will always be friction, and conflict (or persecution/ intimidation/ harassment/ prejudice) will inevitably be encountered in one's life one way or another. to simply view the christian faith without the struggle or 'inconvenience' is simply not taught in scripture.

the soil with thorn plants - refers to a heart of wrong priorities. christian faith in this sense, is not the MAIN priority, but one among the many. can be either lack of dedication, the attitude of compromise or procrastination when it comes to issues that conflicts with the faith. and so when "the cares of the world and the deceitfulness of riches and the desires for other things" are given more priority, the seed is choked because it is neglected and becomes of lesser importance or value. it does not grow, it withers then it dies. no nourishment, no sustenance. it is not rocket science-> what we make of our life is what priorities we deemed more important for us in our life stages. if we value and love God and his word, we simply need to make time for it. and time is of value because we do not live forever. we cannot procrastinate for every possible opportunity God gives us so we can grow in Him, we will simply wither away in time. it is not just us that is affected, but collateral damage as well to those who look to us (like family, kids, friends) if we make poor decisions apart from God's word because of negligence.

the good soil - refers to none of the 3 above. it has faith in God, a strong understanding of the christian faith rooted in the Word, and prioritizes God's will above everything else. the good soil is vindicated by the fruit it bears, "are the ones who hear the word and accept it and bear fruit, thirty fold and sixty fold and a hundredfold." we do not believe in a gospel of works, but the gospel always bear fruit. after all  (genuine) faith is justified by works (Jam 2:18). only God knows how much total fruit we bear from the testimony we bring in our lives as it affects others. but the point here is that when we are rooted in Gods word and his seed grows in us, we will eventually be a blessing to others and help one way or another to declare the gospel (and plant seeds) to all those willing to be good soils as well.

there is one question that needs to be highlighted, but was never discussed: 'What is the secret of the kingdom of God'?

Mar 4:11  And he said to them, "To you has been given the secret of the kingdom of God, but for those outside everything is in parables,

the kingdom of God is the advent and preaching of the word of God/gospel to every one, and the 'secret' (as pointed out in these parable) is that God uses the gospel message to plant seeds in the hearts of men and women of good soil, and it will yield MORE than what is lost. from one single seed saved, God yields more seeds saved. the kingdom of God is the kingdom of seed planting.

He Loved Me

(Rom 8:35-39)

He chose me before the world was known
He chose me to be his very own
He made me then let me choose my way
I chose to move away.

He love me when hope had taken wing
He loved me when I lost everything
He bought me redemption work was done
Through Jesus Christ His Son

Who shall separate me from the love of god
shall dreams of tomorrow, pain or sorrow
can the need of food or earthly possessions
the threat of war or mans oppression

In all these years vict’ry is our reward
vict’ry is our reward thro’ jesus christ our lord

Of this I am sure that neither death nor life
nor angels nor principalities
nor power nor things present nor things to come
not height nor depth, nor any creature
shall separate me from the love of God

Of this i am sure that neither death nor life
nor angels nor principalities
nor power nor things present nor thing come
not height nor depth, nor any creature shall separate me
from the love of god through Jesus Christ our Lord !

Parable of the Rich Fool

Luke 12:15-21

Then he said to them, "Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; a man's life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions."

And he told them this parable: "The ground of a certain rich man produced a good crop. He thought to himself, 'What shall I do? I have no place to store my crops.' Then he said, 'This is what I'll do. I will tear down my barns and build bigger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods.  And I'll say to myself, "You have plenty of good things laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry."

But God said to him, 'You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?'

This is how it will be with anyone who stores up things for himself but is not rich toward God.

A friend of mine died today. We were close friends in college, and were both baptized at the same time in one of those christian outreach ministry in school back in 1983. We both participated in the campus ministry that time. After graduation though we parted ways. Throughout the years he strive hard to improve his family's well-being and fate has been kind and he was rewarded with financial success, and a company of his own. But as I understand his commitment to the Lord declined as he focused more energy on his business, and these brought him more financial rewards. So much so he even ignored problems on his health and had not made steps to improve his physical well-being. He wasn't involved in any church, and has less desire to study the scripture. There seems to be no need of it for him.

It was last year 2014 on this same month I last talked to him and though he did not mention his successes, he did talk about his regrets on how any of his children especially the older ones had not finished any college degree and how her eldest daughter went away, got pregnant and gave him sorrow and disappointment. He did have some expectations on his children even though his family had no financial worries and he has given them quite a lavish lifestyle and a house that can only be described as belonging to a well-off family.

However all this expectations & future plans was suddenly cut-off as he was diagnosed with a large brain tumor after consulting a doctor due to symptoms of severe headache. A brain surgery was needed  and he undergone this last summer but this proved detrimental and left him in a vegetative state that only his fingers can be used to communicate with people around him. The control functions of his other body members were gone. And to prove matters worse, his brain tumor was found complicated with cancer. After a few months in such a sorry state, he was sent back to the hospital albeit soaring costs to the family that they were forced to loan their house to cover up the expenses. Eventually he succomed this morning after a message from our fellow batch mates, and notices were placed in Facebook for the internment.

The parable of the rich ruler reminds me somewhat of his life. He had so much abundance of crops sufficient for himself that he decided to make plans for storing even more crops. The financial rewards and business success has taken all his attention. He projected himself to have very good years to come in his life. "And I'll say to myself, "You have plenty of good things laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry." v19. He forgot he is not immortal, and death came so suddenly and all his earning, his plans went to naught.

While we desire riches and success, truth is, it can be both a blessing and a curse. God does indeed blesses His children with riches, success and excellent well-being. There are several promises in scripture which states this clearly. And if you are observant of the way Christians speak nowadays, its all about victory, success, blessing, etc.. everyone wants the blessing!, quite directly opposite to the NT Christians who are enjoined to suffer and persevere for the name of Christ.

However not only God can give you riches or success, but the devil as well, and the world moved by our own fallen nature. In fact one the temptations offered to Christ is "All these I WILL GIVE YOU, if you will fall down and worship me."

Now while these can be confusing on who's giving you what (Is the success given to me by God or the devil ?) The acid test really is, Given the success or 'blessing', where DOES YOUR ATTENTION go? The devil is quite explicit, 'if you fall down and worship ME', the attention is to him, or more generally, away from God. And the sinful nature focuses on oneself, and not God.

Jesus did not say carelessly when he said, "It is easier for a camel to enter the hole of a needle than a rich man to enter the kingdom of God." (Mat 19:24). Why ? Because with all the talk about 'God will supply all my needs' by the rich, the reality most often is 'My money will supply all my needs.'. There is NO NEED for God when you got everything you need already, or you have the resources to fill in your need. When there is no need, there is no room for faith. For faith presupposes a dependency state and the presence of a helpless need (something you have no control over). Faith always cries, like Peter drowning in the sea, 'Lord save me!' (Mat 14:30)

Financial success grabs your attention, and if you are not careful it can become addictive and eventually a death trap. Nothing consumes the mind of modern man and even professing Christians today than the desire to get rich and be financially well-off.

I suppose my friend reflected his life, and made peace with God during his helpless state after the operation. When you feel trap in your body and has no longer control on your body movement, there is no recourse but to ask God for help. My friends would say he was always found weeping, and since he can no longer communicate I have to assume he had called on God for forgiveness many times and had reflected on God's love from 33 yrs ago when we first dedicated our lives to Him.


Our successes and riches could blind us to the truth that they are temporal, that we are not really in control of our lives, that our lives on earth are limited, and that death can always come unexpectedly.

"For the world offers only a craving for physical pleasure, a craving for everything we see, and pride in our achievements and possessions. These are not from the Father, but are from this world. " 1Jn2:16

We need to ask God to view our lives and the way we live in view of the eternal, not the temporal, "to be rich toward God" (v21).

Parable of the Unforgiving Servant

Matthew 18:21-35

I listened to the sermon yesterday and it really had me thinking. If people can forgive even without the person offending has not personally asked for forgiveness and apply it to Christ, I suppose we can conclude that in the end Judas himself was saved. Christ might just have visualize Judas (or even the Pharisees who wanted to kill him) in his/their absence and grant him/them forgiveness.

The problem lies in associating personal stress and discomfort with the issue of granting or not granting forgiveness. And it has been suggested by psychiatrists that to relieve oneself of personal contained stress from within, one has to put away an 'unforgiving' spirit.

The parable does not relate any such notions with psychology. It is actually straight to the point. No, the master has none of those stress issues. In fact he was ready to dispense justice, IF not for the servant who owed him money asked for some form of extension.

And here are the points I need to emphasize:

- the presence of the servant, the act of asking mercy, the state of helplessness are all ingredients to the dispensing of forgiveness.

- that the reason to grant forgiveness to the offendee is NOT to relieve oneself of gloom and stress. the Master has none of those issues. the granting of forgiveness or reprieve is entirely founded on the BEHAVIOR of the one asking forgiveness.

- notice the servant only asked for an extension ("be patient") but the master out of PITY cancelled his debt altogether (10000 talents being equal to Millions of Euros in todays equivalent which only proves the impossibility of paying the debt). the granting of forgiveness is founded on mercy, and it is not because we pity ourselves and our situation but we pity those who have offended us because of their dire situation. Forgiving is granting grace, totally undeserving for the person offending. The offendee has no right at all to such act of kindness, it is freely given.

The second part of the story reverses the situation for the servant, as he himself is placed on the situation the master was awhile ago. A person who owes him a hundred denarii (peanuts as compared to just one talent) and he gives out on the person demanding payment. This event was informed to his Master and He himself was dispense of justice in the same manner he did to the other servant.

And here are the points I need to emphasize as well:


- If the issue was whether the behavior of the first servant is justified, I think it was. He chose justice, and since the person owed him money, He has every right to demand repayment.

- The MASTER reverses his previous decision of mercy and grace, and resorted to justice instead. Very important point here is the reversion of decision. In as much as the offendee has no right to demand mercy or grace, so it is again totally the preference of the Master to reverse his previous decision depending on the servants BEHAVIOR.

Mat 18:35  So also my heavenly Father will do to EVERY ONE OF YOU, if you do not forgive your brother from your heart."

This statement of Jesus is no longer part of the parable, but addressed to Peter and the apostles who asked the question in the first place. It is addressed to you and me. God will dispense justice even if He has previously dispense mercy.

- That our granting of forgiveness is totally founded on our understanding of the mercy we have received from God ourselves. It is not induced by our feelings of stressed or remorse. The origin is not from within, this is totally new age crap.

- This also means that our level of granting forgiveness is the measure by which we understand the grace of God, his forgiviness to us, our admittance of failure, and the genuity of our confession and repentance. Our behavior (which is much emphasized in parable) defines the reality of our conversion.

So why do we need to forgive to someone who askes to be forgiven ?

Eph 4:32  Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.

"as God in Christ forgave you" -> that is the only reason why we need to extend grace/forgiveness. If you never understood that statement personally, then that is the root for those (christians) who would not dispense grace but justice.

Christmas is a Promise Fulfilled

Beyond the spirit of giving that permeates the festive season of Christmas, 'giving' along lacks centrality. For those who disregard Christianity but still prefer to celebrate the season, they usually end up assenting to myths about Santa Claus and a host of invented fairy tale characters usually promoted by sales companies and movies. If it is about Christ then a lack of understanding of the biblical meaning will leave both children and adults mesmerized by Christmas trees, dancing lights, and mangers while Bing Crosby sings the carols.

To celebrate it fully is to understand how the closest people around Jesus see the arrival and birth of Christ in this world. How did they react, and what was in their minds can be summed up in one word: PROMISE

Mary sang her song:
 
And Mary said, My soul magnifies and extols the Lord, And my spirit rejoices in God my Savior .. He has laid hold on His servant Israel, in remembrance of His mercy, even as HE PROMISED to our forefathers, to Abraham and to his descendants forever. ( Luke 1:46-55 )
 
Zacharias also shoutd out in praise:
 

Now Zachariah his father was filled with and controlled by the Holy Spirit and prophesied, saying, Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel, because He has come and brought deliverance and redemption to His people! And He has raised up a Horn of salvation for us in the house of David His servant-- THIS IS AS HE PROMISED by the mouth of His holy prophets from the most ancient times [in the memory of man]-- That we should have deliverance and be saved from our enemies and from the hand of all who detest and pursue us with hatred; To make true and show the mercy and compassion and kindness [promised] to our forefathers and to remember and carry out His holy covenant [to bless, which is all the more sacred because it is made by God Himself],THAT COVENANT HE SEALED BY OATH TO OUR FOREFATHER ABRAHAM: To grant us that we, being delivered from the hand of our foes, might serve Him fearlessly (Luke 1:67-74)

The element of PROMISE Fulfilled is at the very heart of the people who were witnesses to the birth of Christ.

Christ birth was no accident, 4000 years past from the time of Christ (by biblical genealogy- and not by science http://www.creationtips.com/earthsage.html ) GOD promised an offspring that would war with and cut off the serpents head.

“And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel." Gen 3:15

Now fast forward 2000 years after Adam, this promise was again made to Abraham:

“In blessing I will bless you and in multiplying I will multiply your descendants like the stars of the heavens and like the sand on the seashore. And your Seed (Heir) will possess the gate of His enemies, and in your Seed (Christ) shall all the nations of the earth be blessed and [by Him] bless themselves, because you have heard and obeyed My voice.” (Gen 22:17, 18)

Every faithful Jew has always looked upon the fulfillment of this promise especially during times when they were persecuted or enslaved within a span of 2000 years before the birth of Christ. The writings of the prophets had their own versions of prophecy with regards to the coming of the messiah as well.

GOD has made a promise and 2000 years of wait since Abraham is such a very long time. People have forgotten, only the few where still watching and waiting in expectation. During the time of Christ, there were the Pharisees who seemed to have neglected this expectation and have instead conformed and colluded with their pagan masters in Rome. Protective of their influence and control, they did not even recognized Christ when he came to them but instead persecuted him. There were also the Zealots that time, those who want to act like messiahs and liberate their land from their roman rulers and realize by force the Kingdom of David/God on earth like hundreds of years ago. There were also the rest of the masses who just seemed to go about their own lives and disregard any religious expectation or fulfillment of any prophecy as having no importance. They just don’t care.

And then there was Mary, and Joseph, and the rest who still waited longed for the fulfillment of a promise made, and believed God in His word.

And then at last! , THAT GOD AFTER THOUSANDS OF YEARS, HAS NEVER FORGOTTEN BUT KEPT HIS PROMISE BECAUSE HE SAID HE WOULD. 

This is what is in the very heart of Mary and Zacharias testament, that God has fulfilled his promise at last! The time has come. A promise once given, a promise now fulfilled.

Since faith in God literally means believing God because he has promised (and there are many promises of God towards his children), Christmas and its biblical meaning makes us faithful to God even more. Why? Because it is the proof that God keeps his word.

It is relevant for us today:

☼ God sets his example to be our model. We ourselves are the results of that promise. We are, as Paul would describe, not only are 'children of God' but also the 'children of the promise' (Gal4:28). 

a) God keeps his promise, we must also keep ours. We must always remember the vows we gave to Lord, and never forget and always keep it. "If a man vows a vow to the Lord, or swears an oath to bind himself by a pledge, he shall not break his word. He shall do according to all that proceeds out of his mouth" Number 30:2

b) We must keep our promises we make to those around us as a testimony reflecting God's nature. Gifts of any kind (say Christmas gifts) have only value as the ties/relationships that bind the giver and the receiver. If a stranger gives a gift to somebody whom he/she does not know, it will have lesser value as long as the motive is unknown or relationships are not defined. If a husband gives a gift to the wife, or a Father returns home this Christmas to his family- beyond the gifts and what really gives it value is the fulfillment of a vow or promise to love and care made to each other in their close knit relationship.

☼ And here is perhaps the punchline for us today. Our current generation is 2000 years (more or less) from the time of Christ, 4000 years from the time of Abraham, and 6000 years from the time of Adam. And yet... there is another promise that every Christian is waiting to happen, CHRIST WILL RETURN.

Already we have versions of Pharisees (those who have forgotten and conformed to this world) and non-interested masses that just don’t care or believe. The return of Christ is even seldom preached in the pulpits. And I doubt a lot of christian are 'longing' for Jesus's return, much like Mary and Zachariah was longing for the coming of the savior. Everyone seems to be too busy in church let alone saying the statement 'He remembered His promise" the moment Christ returns. Many even think it just an event, not even a promise. After all 2000 years is such a long long time, kingdoms and nations have risen and fall, wars have come and go. Even the Vatican had gone the way of the pharisees declaring http://bit.ly/1OM3n3W ; but of which they have since denied.

There is no math sequence that every 2000 years some biblical event is going to happen.. and maybe there is! Who knows but God alone? But regardless if it will be in our generation or in the next 2000 years when our physical bodies are all dusts in the wind, we can always be certain today, that Christ will indeed return because He said He would. -> all because of the testimony Christmas gives to us every year.

But ACCORDING TO HIS PROMISE we are waiting for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells. Therefore, beloved, since you are waiting for these, be diligent to be found by him without spot or blemish, and at peace. And count the patience of our Lord as salvation (2Pe 3:13-15)

And in this we can say we truly share Christmas same as Mary and Joseph and the rest of them in scripture, not just by the gifts we give to each other, but by having the same disposition as their hearts - the longing for the promise to come true believing God, that He will accomplish it because He said He would.

What then is Jesus ?

I have a friend who is an Iglesia ni Cristo deacon and she has been actively posting INC materials on the FB probably as part of their evangelistic ministry. Facebook it seems has now evolved into a playing field of sorts to both social and religious issues.

However her recent post has all been about discrediting Christ, his nature and purpose. I cannot let this pass and saw an issue to share the good news myself.

The deity of Christ has been one of the most contested issues since 2000 years ago. Even the latter epistles marked those who deny the deity of christ as 'anti-christs'. However along human history since Christ ascended, varied groups (cults) have formulated and challenged this truth justified by the mishandling of scripture. Both the INC and the JW (Jehovah's Witnesses) are in par with the idea that christ was never God. The INC going further in that he was never pre-existent (he has no prior existence before he was born on earth) and that he was also a 'created' being, not creator.

"And this is the way to have eternal life—to know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, the one you sent to earth. "

John 17:3 is their defense, they say this proves the Father (addressed as ''you'' from v1) is the only God. He is God alone.


I suppose they have skipped the word ''true", and I have responded to this.

The Perfect Wisdom of Our God

The perfect wisdom of our God
Revealed in all the universe:
All things created by His hand
And held together at His command.
He knows the mysteries of the seas,
The secrets of the stars are His;
He guides the planets on their way
And turns the earth through another day.

The matchless wisdom of His ways
That mark the path of righteousness;
His word a lamp unto my feet,
His Spirit teaching and guiding me.
And O the mystery of the Cross,
That God should suffer for the lost,
So that the fool might shame the wise,
And all the glory might go to Christ!

O grant me wisdom from above,
To pray for peace and cling to love,
And teach me humbly to receive
The sun and rain of Your sovereignty.
Each strand of sorrow has a place
Within this tapestry of grace;
So through the trials I choose to say:
"Your perfect will in Your perfect way."


Play
Writers: Keith Getty and Stuart Townend