Roman Catholicism by a former Catholic

This evangelical ministry by Dr Joseph Mizzi is dedicated to Roman Catholics who desire to know how to be saved. It is our sincere desire to proclaim to you the Good News of Jesus Christ, because the Gospel is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes.

• Answers from the Bible
• Are Works Necessary for Salvation?
• The Forgiveness of Sins
• Baptism
• The Bread of Life
• Blessed Mary
• The Immaculate Conception
• The Assumption
• Mary Worship? (Mary Ann Collins)
• Evangelical and Catholics Divided
• Church Unity
• John Paul II and Benedict XVI
• The Worship of Images
• A Brief Guide to Catholicism Today (Alan Howe)
• Pope Benedict on Justification
• An Evaluation of Natural Family Planning

Life has its ups and downs, its turnarounds . . .

Malachi 3:6 declares, “I am the Lord, I change not.” So with the poet we prayerfully say,

Change and decay in all around I see—

O thou who changest not, abide with me!

— Henry F. Lyte

Life has its ups and downs, its turnarounds—that's for sure! Jesus was a great optimist. Even with the whole world crumbling around him, His faith in the future never wavered. Think of it, with the cross casting a shadow of doom and doubt over his disciples he had the courage and foresight to turn to the dying thief and promise him paradise, and to entrust His own mother to John the Beloved for safekeeping. Yes, He knew there would be a tomorrow, and He was confident that His Father and ours would see Him through this terrible ordeal, and that He would rise yet on another day to live forevermore.

Life here on earth can be tough, but we needn't worry—it's passing. It's like a vapor, James says. And, for those in the know, there's a better day coming.

No, that's not morbid thinking, that's reality. Our only permanency now and in our tomorrows is God and the sooner we learn that the better. We may never know what a day will bring but we know who is in charge. It was with this confidence that Moses said to the children of Israel,

“Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the LORD your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you." (Deut. 3:16)

Friends, I must tell you that the longer I live the more see change and decay, the rise and fall of great men and women, the total futility of placing faith and hope in the transiency of anything this old world has to offer. So, you are fortunate enough to own the Clippers basketball franchise and cavort with whores then fain mental illness and sell the club for a cool 2 billion dollars, what good will that do in the long run?

I am reminded once again of the words in the first stanza of that great poem by C.T. Studd, the famous cricketer and missionary, which reads,

“Two little lines I heard one day,

Traveling along life’s busy way;

Bringing conviction to my heart,

And from my mind would not depart;

Only one life, ’twill soon be past,

Only what’s done for Christ will last.”

Friends, we must focus on that. Let’s not be lured into complacency comforts of life or discouraged with the hardships.

As always, I am with you on the journey,

Discouraged? Read this . . .

Back in 1973 E F Schumacher wrote a best seller called Small is Beautiful: a study of economics as if people mattered which I read with great interest. Schumacher was a minimalist, that’s for sure. More than that, however, he was also right. Small is not only beautiful but it is Biblical as well. Take for instance when Jesus declared—

 “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the Kingdom.” 
  (Matt.5:3)

In other words, pride won't cut it in the Kingdom. Pump your ego up with all the positive self-help pep that you wish and you are still at square one as far as God is concerned.

The Beatitudes intended to deflate our puffed up ego, don’t they? In other words, Jesus was saying in the verse quoted above, ‘You think you are a hot shot? Well, you’re not. Get rid of all that hot air, and only then will you be ready for the kingdom.”

In other words, ‘You want to be great? Then, become small for small is beautiful.’

In case one objects, just consider that before Jesus himself became great, he became small. “He emptied himself,” Paul says in Philippians, “and took on the very nature of a servant.” (Phil. 2:7)

Jesus was saying to the world in essence that small is beautiful.

Interestingly enough, however, for most, including most Christians, the rule of thumb is ‘more is better, and more than that is great. I need all I can get!’ There comes a point in most men’s life, however, that needs subtly morph into greed; and unlike old wine, greed does not improve over time.

Now, mind you, greed comes in all shapes and forms. The most severe form and harmful at that is documentary series on A&E called “The Hoarders”, which portrays the real-life struggles and treatment of people who suffer from compulsive hoarding.

‘That’s not greed’ I hear someone protest, that’s a mental illness. True, but chances are it did not start out that way, it developed over time. And, furthermore, if it is not a choice they make—compulsive or not; why then do they respond to counseling intervention? Really in some ways these poor souls are no worse off than billionaires cutting billion dollar contracts and amassing manipulative fortunes that can even make congress dance to their tune. Nothing satisfies them. There’s never enough. Nothing wrong with wealth, mind you. But, we will however, be judged on how well we manage it. ‘To whom must is given, much is required’ is as true today as it was the day Jesus spoke the words.

Life is all about choices, isn't it?

I am yours for the journey,

Jim R/

The aliens among us . . .

Now, consider this—

Walking to one of my favorite Mexican restaurants recently, I notice a short little Mayan looking lady scurrying along behind me. Just before I arrived, I noticed that she went down a side alley and then through the back door of another eatery. Dishwasher or perhaps a cook, I thought. Wonder if she has a green card? I mused. I didn't dwell on that very long, however, since I could tell by the cautious look on her face and the colorful Latino blouse and skirt she had on, plus the handmade sandals that chances were she didn't even know what a green card was.

Later that same evening, I was watching the evening news and a lady from Honduras with her child in tow hurried towards a border agent and asked if she was in America. When told that she was, she fell on her knees and begged the agent to let her stay. It was a touching scene; one that brought tears to my eyes.

Friends, I am well aware that we cannot take every stranger in that wants to live in America, and I don't have the answer to the immigration problem, but I do know that God will hold us accountable for how we treat these desperate people. I know something else, also, we are not getting it done with a congress that continues to haggle with a do-nothing administration that can find enough money to bail out corporate America but no enough to seriously tackle illegal immigration. Now, mind you, I am not of the opinion that snatching these poor immigrants as soon as the cross the border and hustling them back to the crime ridden stench and poverty from which they came is the answer either. Something more fundamental than that must be done, and done with a strong resolve tempered compassion that results in more than just pity.

Personally, I commend the efforts of the Catholic Relief organizations, but privately wonder what we Protestants—yes, including the Assemblies of God are doing about it. Tragedy comes in many forms: tsunamis, hurricanes, drought, and medical epidemics. These are not the only form of tragedy, however; the border crisis is one, also. Yes, we can pray, and I certainly believe in the power of prayer, but we need to put some real legs to our prayers and do something constructive to help solve the problem. What a golden opportunity to show the love of Jesus by helping these poor people. So, let’s get busy.

Well, as usual, this is only one man’s opinion; but in this case I am pretty sure that God is of the same opinion, too.

Remember, we're not alone on this journey,

Jim

P. S.  Several of my national friends from North East India would love to attend the Assemblies of God 100 Years Centennial Celebration that is scheduled for AUG 5-6, 2014, in Springfield, Missouri. Please pray for these men and if you wish to help let me know. Thanks!!

Who were the morning stars that sang together, and all the sons of God who shouted for joy at creation? Job 38:7

Question:

When God created the universe HE was in trinity, but then, who are the ,'' When the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy?'' (KJV)?

My Answer:

Couple of observations here: One, what is a son? Apparently, a created being can be a son (as was Adam and prior to that the angels, including Lucifer); and men can be adopted as sons (as are we); there can be an only begotten son (as with Jesus). So, the word son is not a static term; it has multiple meanings. Some speculate that the phrase: "In the Beginning God created" as a process, which obviously it was. The heavens were created first, apparently, and this would indicate all those that dwell in Heaven were part of that process which would include angels. However, I prefer accept the fact that we can push rational thinking beyond rational limits if we are not careful.

Consider for instance, where did God come from? Who created him? Well, obviously we do not know; although logic and reason alone would tell us that He did not create himself. We do, however, accept the fact that only belief in a God or an intelligent Being can account for creation. The law of irreversible atrophy alone informs us that creation is incapable of regenerating itself. Scientist will tell us that the earth or the cosmos is winding down and even if it were to implode and start the Big Bang all over again eventually it would reach the limits of doing just that.

So back to where did God come from? The answer is nowhere since that is by definition not His nature; nor is it a natural retrogression. However, it is our nature and that of creation to have come from somewhere. The point being, I don't have to posit God to believe in God that I can do intuitively. As with angels, I do not have to posit them, either, other than we know that nothing was created without Him, including angels. So, these sons of God of reference were His sons in a creative and spiritual sense, but not like His Only Begotten who proceeded from the bosom of Father or like we Born Again Christians who have be adopted into the family of God through His Spirit. (Romans 8:15)

In your opinion, does Ephesians 4:11 speak of a five-fold ministry or a four-fold one?

Your Question:

In your opinion, does Ephesians 4:11 speak of a fivefold ministry or a fourfold one? In other words, does ποιμένας καὶ διδασκάλους (pastors and teachers) refer to one office or two?

My Answer:

When we read in Ephesians 4:11 is that "he gave…some, pastors and teachers." Here "pastors and teachers" refer back to the single "some," describing two facets of the same work.

Now, the big question is: Who were these apostles and prophets? For we find that the Church was "built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone." Eph. 2:20 and further, even more disturbingly for we Protestants is that very Church is called "the pillar and foundation of truth" 1 Tim 3:15 Not, the Scriptures, mind you, but the Church.

So, I've got to be honest with you. When every Tom, Dick and Harry is a magisterium of one, I get a little nervous. Perhaps, it would do us all good to do a little research into church history and see what Christians before us taught; and please let's not start at 1517, when Martin Luther nailed his 95 Theses onto a Wittenberg Church door.There's more history before that, than afterwards.

Could we possibly learn something from our Catholic and Orthodox, yes, and Anglican brethren? What about the Apostolic Fathers— Clement of Rome or Ignatius of Antioch or Polycarp of Smyrna? What about the Greek Fathers—Irenaeus of Lyons or Clement of Alexandria or Origen of Alexandria or Athanasius of Alexandria? What about the Cappadocian Fathers—John Chrysostom or Cyril of Alexandria or even John of Damascus? Oh, my, we can’t skip the Latin Fathers, either. There’s that old tongues speaker Tertullian and oh yes, another one called Hilary of Poitiers . . . whew, I am running out of breath. Oh, did I fail to mention St. Augustine, a favorite of both Luther and Calvin?

The point is, we don’t have to scratch out our theology like chickens in a barn yard. Most of it has already been packaged for us and is there for the taking.

Now, as far as the Greek goes believe me I have terrible trouble with a God who expects me to ferret out these truths when we have perhaps over 4,000 manuscripts to choose from, and again every Thomas, Richard, and Harold has his opinion on that, too. Surely, there must be a teaching magisterium besides old Tom, and old Dick, and old Harry. We have better resources that just that of someone with a correspondence school diploma from Podunk Hollow pontificating on every nuance that suits their fancy.

101 Uses For Cow Dung

—Now, consider this

 "Yesterday's just a memory; tomorrow's never what it's supposed to be." 

Bob Dylan

Dear Partners in Missions—

I don't know about you, but some days just don't turnout like I think they should. Life if full of little annoyances, that's for sure! It's not those, however, that throw me for a loop, it's the big bad surprises. Like, sitting in a doctor's office, thumbing through an outdated Time magazine one minute, and in the next sitting across the doctor's desk and him gently breaking the news to you that you are full of cancer. Or picking up that annoying phone with a frame of mind to absolutely give that solicitor off, only to hear that one of your best friends has been killed in a car accident, or a relative has had a serious moral failure.

The truth of the matter is, however, we've all been there, and as Solomon said,

What has been is what will be,

and what has been done is what will be done,
and there is nothing new under the sun. (Eccl. 1:9 NIV)

So, bank on it, bad things will happen. The real test for us as Christians is what do we do when bad things come our way? You've all heard the old cliché "If you are served lemons, make lemonade." Well, that's good advice, but you and I can just drink so much lemonade. After a while, we get tired of the stuff. What then?

Want the answer? Here it is, find out new ways you can use the lemons. You would be surprised at that number of things lemons are good for, but I'll not bore you with those details. I would rather talk about cow dung.

Cow dung? Yep, cow dung. Now, I'll tell you why. There was nothing I hated more, when I was a kid than to step in a pile of the stuff. I absolutely hated anything remotely connected with cow pens, milking and such—not that I did a whole lot of it, but when on the few occasions that I was asked to help, I went squealing.
So, imagine my surprise, and curiosity when I got to India and found out that cow dung was a precious commodity. Villagers use it to polish their dirt floors with; burn for fuel; fertilize crops with; insect repellent; insulation for their houses; as an antibaterial agent (believe it or not); as a matter of fact one blogger list 101 USES FOR COW DUNG. Yep, 101 uses.

So, what's the point? Simple this, "If life serves you up something as unpleasant as a pile of cow dung, then get busy figuring out what you are going to do with it. Because, there is a little bit of good in every bad thing that happens."

Why do I say this? I say this from experience, and experience has taught me that I can not let the bad things that happen to me define me. How do you think someone gets called an old grump? I'll tell you why, it is because he or she has allowed the bad things in life to define who he or she is. I've got to be honest with you, I never felt compelled to get up before a congregation and brag about the stupid things that I have done in life and top the sweet little testimony off with, "But, I am glad Jesus saved me from all of that!"

No, I don't have any deep dark secrets. Sure, I've lied before; and so have you. But, I am not going to let lying define me, I better than that. And, if I thought hard enough I could probably come up with some more petty—as the Catholics say, venial sins; but I refuse even to let those define me. So what am I saying? I am saying that none of these things define me, but what I do or did with them does.
Making a mistake can either define you, or make you a better man. The choice is yours. The same goes for the bad things that happen to you, too. 

Remember, we're all on this journey  together,

Jim

P. S.  Several of my national friends from North East India would love to attend the Assemblies of God 100 Years Centennial Celebration that is scheduled for AUG 5-6, 2014, in Springfield, Missouri. Please pray for these men and if you wish to help let me know. Thanks!!

Some thoughts on Ephesians 4:11

When we read in Ephesians 4:11 is that "he gave…some, pastors and teachers." Here "pastors and teachers" refer back to the single "some," describing two facets of the same work.

Now, the big question is: Who were these apostles and prophets? For we find that the Church was "built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone." Eph. 2:20 and further, even more disturbingly for we Protestants is that very Church is called "the pillar and foundation of truth" 1 Tim 3:15 Not, the Scriptures, mind you, but the Church.

So, I've got to be honest with you. When every Tom, Dick and Harry is a magisterium of one, I get a little nervous. Perhaps, it would do us all good to do a little research into church history and see what Christians before us taught; and please let's not start at 1517, when Martin Luther nailed his 95 Theses onto a Wittenberg Church door.There's more history before that, than afterwards.

Could we possibly learn something from our Catholic and Orthodox, yes, and Anglican brethren? What about the Apostolic Fathers— Clement of Rome or Ignatius of Antioch or Polycarp of Smyrna? What about the Greek Fathers—Irenaeus of Lyons or Clement of Alexandria or Origen of Alexandria or Athanasius of Alexandria? What about the Cappadocian Fathers—John Chrysostom or Cyril of Alexandria or even John of Damascus? Oh, my, we can’t skip the Latin Fathers, either. There’s that old tongues speaker Tertullian and oh yes, another one called Hilary of Poitiers . . . whew, I am running out of breath. Oh, did I fail to mention  St. Augustine, a favorite of both Luther and Calvin?

The point is, we don’t have to scratch out our theology like chickens in a barn yard. Most of it has already been packaged for us and is there for the taking.

Now, as far as the Greek goes believe me I have terrible trouble with a God who expects me to ferret out these truths when we have perhaps over 4,000 manuscripts to choose from, and again every Thomas, Richard, and Harold has his opinion on that, too. Surely, there must be a teaching magisterium besides old Tom, and old Dick, and old Harry. We have better resources that just that of someone with a correspondence school diploma from Podunk Hollow pontificating on every nuance that suits their fancy.

Focus: The Key to Success

 

Now, consider this—

When Bill Gates first met Warren Buffett, their host at dinner, Gates’ mother, asked everyone around the table to identify what they believed was the single most important factor in their success through life. Gates and Buffett gave the same one-word answer: “Focus.”


Dear Friends, prayer and financial partners–

Let's admit it, just a whole lot of us–missionaries, pastors, and laity alike have a strong case of what I like to think of as spiritual ADHD. Let me explain.

When I was a boy, raised in South Texas, of course, my mother used to say, "Jimmy, stay focused. Stop running around like a chicken with your head cut off!" (Of course if you have never seen a chicken's head cut off, and for them to get up and run around around headless until they bled out, you will not understand the idiom. But, believe me, it does happen.) In any event, mother's advice was just what a young fellow with ADHD (before we even had the term) needed. Now, mind you, I was smart enough–had test enough to prove that, but focused I was not!

Staying focused has taken years of self-discipline; and every once in a while the old attention deficit disorder takes over. Ample proof of which is in the number of books laying around in my office that are only half read. Oh, I'll read them, after I get over the boredom, that is.

How about you? Any unread books laying around? Not fully reading a book is one thing; however, running around like a chicken with its head cut off is another thing altogether. Let me explain.

Once I was invited to speak to a group of missionaries, and stayed in the home of one of the families. During the course of the week I noticed that the gentleman spent well over 50% per cent of his time chauffering about, picking up groceries, running a family member here and there, standing in long lines to clear customs in order to pick up a package from the post office--in other words, running around like a chicken with its head cut off, and never really accomplishing anything worthwhile as far as  I could see. I said to him, "Friend, no disrespect, but how much would it cost to put someone on a rickshaw to do most of these things?" Less than a quarter, I was told. "And, what would it cost to hire someone to do this?" That came to about $10 dollars a month. Then, I asked, "Why don't you just hire someone to do this?" The reply? "They'll pad the bill and I don't like anyone cheating me."

"Okay, I said, let's take this one step farther. How much could they pad the bill daily?" That came to somewhere in the neighorhood of another quarter. I said, "Friend, you spend more on gas than they steal from you. So, stop it!"

By the way, he's still my friend, but I don't think he ever stopped it!

Well, so much for advice. But, you get the point.

Blessings, and remember— I am with you on this journey,

Jim

P. S.  Several of my national friends from North East India would love to attend the Assemblies of God 100 Years Centennial Celebration that is scheduled for AUG 5-6, 2014, in Springfield, Missouri. Please pray for these men and if you wish to help let me know. Thanks!!

Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder hits epidemic proportions among 80% of church goers!

“We talk of the Second Coming; half the world has never heard of the first.” – Oswald J. Smith

Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is more frequently diagnosed now than ever before, I believe because medical science has in more recent times come to a better understanding of the behavior. And, the truth of the matter is that some kids are not just being mean or naughty because they want to, but because they have to--yeah, you read me right.

Now, if you have the patience (which is a polite way of saying, if you don't suffer from a severe case of ADHD) perhaps it would be helpful to read a good definition of the disorder. Here it is –

Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a problem of not being able to focus, being overactive, not being able control behavior, or a combination of these. For these problems to be diagnosed as ADHD, they must be out of the normal range for a person's age and development.

Boring, isn’t it? Yet, I dare say that more poor innocent souls (particularly that of children) have been harmed by those in authority not understanding the problem. Parents get frustrated. Even some pastors scold unruly kids from the pulpit—but since that is not the politically correct thing to do these days, you see less of that; although, most will admit that usually the first thought that enters their mind if they are entirely honest  is, ‘We have a moral problem here. Someone needs to sit that kid down and give them a good scolding.’ There was a time, when there was a problem years ago, that in severe cases so-called demons were cast out once nothing else seemed to work. According to a most recent documentary that I watched on one of the news channels, exorcism is still practiced on kids in countries that I prefer not to name as it is simply not fair to do so. Reminds me of the Salem witch trials in colonial Massachusetts colonial back in the late 1700's. Wrong then, and wrong now—that’s for sure.

Why is it that we religious often—perhaps, most often—have a tendency to demonize any and every thing that appears to be just a little bit off center from our worldview? Well, in my opinion, it is because we don’t really want the responsibility or take the time to understand the real cause. Then if we do—here I go again—ADHD sets in. Yep, that’s right, but this time it us.

Ask the average professing Christian (now, I’m talking about that statistical 80% of church goers who just sit on the sidelines as spectators and do nothing, or very little at the most) and you will get a blank stare and then have to listen to a fumbled excuse as to why they cannot at this moment get involved … perhaps, later, but not right now.

Am I right on target? Sure, you know I’m right.

Years ago, I preached a sermon which I entitled, ‘Commission Immunity.’ The thought was that just like in medicine we find that immunity sets in when Christians are over exposed to the challenge of missions. Mention missions, or a new building program, or launching a new evangelistic effort to reach the lost, support a feeding program or minister to derelicts wandering aimlessly on our city streets, and you get that stare—that 80% stare which ends up with a lame excuse that says, “I want to. I know I ought to. But I am really too busy, right now. Perhaps, later.”

Attention deficit disorder, pure and simple. What is really being said is, “I really can’t multitask because I can stay interested or committed long enough to do so. Got too much on my platter.” So, what do they do? Well, at best they throw a few extra bucks in the offering plate, hoping that that will atone for their negligence. But don’t get your hopes up, it’s only pocket change. Thank God for pocket change, however. It will put a gallon or two worth of gas in some missionaries or church vans fuel tank. Every little bit helps. But that is not the point. The point is that we cannot buy our way out of our God ordained obligations.

Now, please understand that I am not attaching hardworking skilled laborers, moonlighting just to make ends meet. No, not at all. And, I don’t have that focused entrepreneur in mind, either. This is not a generic blanket thrown out there condemning each and every one that on surface appears to fit snuggly into that proverbial 80% that I mentioned. Again, no not at all! I am not talking about or asking anyone to fit into my mold of what I think is the proper level of involvement that you or they should be involved in. As a matter of fact, there are many hard working Christians anonymously involved in any number of worthy causes. And, I must say that as a father I am tremendously proud of our children who—if the real truth were known—have never sought the limelight but have contributed significantly in both time and money for some very worthy causes; yet for the most part have do so under the radar of public recognition. That goes for some wealthy businessmen that I happen to know who down through the years have worked and given to charitable causes anonymously down through the years. I commend them for that. This also goes for those dear souls with limited income who give what they can, and pray as they ought.

What I am saying however—really as more of a caution, than a rebuke—is take care, stay focused, or as the old Texas saying goes, “Keep your hand on the plow. Your eyes on the row ahead. And keep plowing.” Eventually, if you do, you will get the job done, and missions and the church will be the better for it; and for certain, so will the rest of the world, including you.

I am yours for the journey,

Will someone please give me a break!

Consider this –

“I have never been lost, but I will admit to being confused for several weeks.”—Daniel Boone, American Frontiersman

Often when listening to the lame excuses some of our political leaders give us, particularly on such crucial issues as the recent incursion into Iraq by the al-Qaida linked Islamic terrorist group is mind boggling. I sit in total amazement as our Secretary of State with a straight face mouths off the words,

"[While, I am] not taking anything I hear to the bank … there is a capacity to have a new government that could be a unity government that could reflect a greater capacity for success."

Good luck! Mr. Kerry. The last time I remember anything that could match this is when way back in 452 AD Pope Saint Leo the Great negotiate terms with Attila the Hun; and believe me Attila had nothing on these guys.

Well, in any event, we have to give the Secretary of State credit for trying to beef up the image of a failed policy; but unfortunately if history has taught us anything, it’s a lost cause. Shiites and Sunnis—along with a few Kurds thrown in for good measure, have fought for centuries, and I suppose still will until the end of time. One would think that after a while these factions would self-destruct, but they haven’t. Ever wonder why? I have, but I don’t have the answer except to say in the words of Scripture—

“And you know what restrains him [speaking of the old Devil, of course] now, so that in his time he will be revealed. For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work; only he who now restrains will do so until he is taken out of the way. Then that lawless one will be revealed whom the Lord will slay with the breath of His mouth and bring to an end by the appearance of His coming …” (2 Thessalonians 2:6-8)

Oh, some say, that just religious metaphor. Really, then you haven’t a clue who that man of sin is. There’s just a whole lot that I don’t agree with Hal Lindsey on, but he got one thing right—Satan is alive and well on planet earth.” So, as much as I would like to think differently, I cannot help but see dark clouds on the horizon. Therefore, once again, in the words of Scripture—

 . . . encourage one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching. (Heb. 10:25b)

Now, I am yours for that journey,

What do the words, "Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness" really mean?

 Recognize these words?  –

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. 

Sure you do. They are from The Declaration of Independence (July 4, 1776). And, I have been told—and believe it to be so—that these words, form the most well-known sentence of the American language. We all know them. These words are fighting words, too. Blood has be shed on battlefields around the world protecting what these words mean to us as Americans. Our country is also flooded daily with people risking their lives to cross our borders in pursuit of the dream of a better place, a better home—a place where these words can be realized. Few of us, however, stop long enough to really understand what these words mean. In this case, when the object of liberty is life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness, we should point out is not the pursuit of pleasure. 

Why is that, some may ask?

Well, the answer is a simple one. Pleasure is only a means, in fact pleasure is only a pursuit of happiness. And really, you can't pursue a pursuit. The pursuit of pleasure ends up being a pursuit of unhappiness. Need proof, read the book of James. Or, perhaps, better yet, turn on your television, go to the celebrity news channel—what do you see? Happiness? No. you see the pursuit of pleasure. Not happiness.

Isn’t it amazing that in our egalitarian world--democracy, if you please—we seek happiness through pleasure . . . the pleasures of a bigger house, of riding in a big yacht, or visiting the sites of France or Micronesia or some exotic place—wherever, it seems for some is better than home. 

Friend, when we make pleasure an end in and of itself, we find not happiness, but unhappiness. A bigger home, or a bigger car, or designer clothes, and trips abroad may bring pleasure but in the end they will never bring happiness.

Oh, you’re preaching to the choir. Oh, no, not really. Our pews are filled with people that don’t know the difference. Feed them a gospel of prosperity, and some of them might even get rich, but please don’t tell them that this is happiness, because in the end they will learn differently, and be the worst for it.

Wise old Solomon said years ago –

Better a dry crust with peace and quiet than a house full of feasting, with strife. (Proverbs 17:1 NIV)

And, you know what? He’s right.

So, mom and dad, children and grandchildren—all the family, July 4th is just around the corner, so why not take a little time out before then to reflect on these words—

“Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness”

And, ask yourself, what do they really mean, and am I really in pursuit of Happiness? If you are, we all know where you can find it. That place is at the foot of the Cross.

Now, I am yours for the journey,

Full of cliches or the Holy Spirit, which is it?

Personally, I am convinced that I could become a pretty good writer, if I didn’t let ego get in my way—maybe perhaps, even a pretty good preacher. Who know? The truth of the matter, however, is that I am not alone in this fault. My suspicions are that many of us are in the same boat.

Now, let me explain:

Far too often I am willing to sacrifice the real meat of truth on the altar of my ego by simply choosing a cute phrase to express a profound truth when something more prosaic is required. My prayer is that God will deliver me from cheap trivialities and convenient clichés. Preaching and writing is not hack journalism, reporting on the work of the Kingdom, but rather living it.

James writes, concerning prayer—but I think it also goes for preaching and writing:

"The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much"(James 5: 16)

Not any man's prayer; not the prayer of a profane sinner, for God hears not sinners; nor hypocrites and formal professors: but the righteous man, who is justified by the righteousness of Christ, and has the truth of grace in him, and lives soberly and righteously.

"Effectual, fervent prayer"— not just any prayer but effectual, fervent prayer. That goes for preaching and writing as well.  Any hack can talk about the truth of the Gospel, but it takes a righteous man to convey its message.

May we be ‘doers of the word, and not hearers only.’ May we not sell out our ministry to sensationalism or quick fixes—crowd drawing techniques.
Let us instead, like Paul,

Go in God’s strength not our own. Let us proclaim God’s purposes, not with brilliance of speech or intellect. Let it be our secret determination to concentrate entirely on Jesus Christ and the fact of his death upon the cross. Let us, like Paul preach as necessary in nervousness and even when sick and shaky. Let us preached not with the attractiveness of the clever mind, but rather demonstrate the power of the Spirit! For truly, it is plain that God’s purpose is not that any person’s faith should rest upon man’s cleverness but upon the power of God. (1 Corinthians 2:4-8 Adapted & paraphrased)

What more can I say or desire?

I am yours for the journey,

A purpose filled life . . .

Malachi 3:6 declares, “I am the Lord, I change not.” So with the poet we prayerfully say,

Change and decay in all around I see—

O thou who changest not, abide with me!

— Henry F. Lyte

Life has its ups and downs, its turnarounds—that's for sure! Jesus was a great optimist. Even with the whole world crumbling around him, His faith in the future never wavered. Think of it, with the cross casting a shadow of doom and doubt over his disciples he had the courage and foresight to turn to the dying thief and promise him paradise, and to entrust His own mother to John the Beloved for safekeeping. Yes, He knew there would be a tomorrow, and He was confident that His Father and ours would see Him through this terrible ordeal, and that He would rise yet on another day to live forevermore.

Life here on earth can be tough, but we needn't worry—it's passing. It's like a vapor, James says. And, for those in the know, there's a better day coming.

No, that's not morbid thinking, that's reality. Our only permanency now and in our tomorrows is God and the sooner we learn that the better. We may never know what a day will bring but we know who is in charge. It was with this confidence that Moses said to the children of Israel,

“Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the LORD your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you." (Deut. 3:16)

Friends, I must tell you that the longer I live the more see change and decay, the rise and fall of great men and women, the total futility of placing faith and hope in the transiency of anything this old world has to offer. So, you are fortunate enough to own the Clippers basketball franchise and cavort with whores then fain mental illness and sell the club for a cool 2 billion dollars, what good will that do in the long run?

I am reminded once again of the words in the first stanza of that great poem by C.T. Studd, the famous cricketer and missionary, which reads,

“Two little lines I heard one day,

Traveling along life’s busy way;

Bringing conviction to my heart,

And from my mind would not depart;

Only one life, ’twill soon be past,

Only what’s done for Christ will last.”

Friends, we must focus on that. Let’s not be lured into complacency comforts of life or discouraged with the hardships.

As always, I am with you on the journey,

Truth is where you find it . . .

You can only find truth with logic if you have already found truth without it. — G. K. Chesterton 

This week, I have pondered on Paul’s statement that: 

“For since in the wisdom of God the world through its wisdom did not know him, God was pleased through the foolishness of what was preached to save those who believe.” (1 Cor. 1:21)

Strange words, aren't they? Why in the name of commonsense would anyone in their right mind ever spout off a mouth full of foolishness to convince anyone of anything? Yet, we find this obviously well-educated man perfectly pleased with admitting that he was willing—not just willing, but eager, you might say—to become a fool for Christ’s sake.” (1 Cor. 4:10) 

What would ever possess a man to do that?

The true is, however, that Christianity has always run counter culture to conventional wisdom, particular on social and moral issues. Furthermore, Christianity and academia more often clashes than not; perhaps more than ever before—at least when it comes to creationism and evolution. Politically almost any imaginable sin can fly under the banner of freedom; except, of course, any act that may be construed to be politically incorrect, no matter how trivial.

Need I give examples? Ask Mark Cuban, owner of the Dallas Mavericks basketball franchise, if he ever intends to use the word 'hoodie' again. Such are the trivialities of our political correctness. Want another one? Ask the former Pope Benedict XVI why he felt he had to apologize for a statement he made about Islam at the University of Regensburg in Germany in his lecture 12 September 2006. Ask both of them, and if they are absolutely candid about it they will tell you that it was not the politically correct thing to do.

Things like freedom of choice are part of our belief system that runs counter to the conventional wisdom? ? What about that?

May I suggest that, that all depends on what your choices are?

Then what about freedom to love as you please?

Well, I would have to answer that, that all depends on your definition of love and what you are in love with. For some love is expressed in a one night stand, or something far more appalling—like for instance I once read of a pedophile defending himself on the basis of love. He said that he simply loved children.

This whole scenario reminds me of what G. K. Chesterton once said—and that is,

“All that an insane man has left is his reason.”

So, logic and reason, particularly in the arena of morals and faith, must have a solid foundation on which to base conclusions. Otherwise, rightness and wrongness get all muddled up.

Let me give you a couple of historic examples. Prior to Christianity in the Hawaiian Islands it was perfectly acceptable for a brother to marry his sister to carry on the royal line. Another example of allowing society to pick and choose their morals at will is found in Polynesia on the Pitcairn Islands which was settled in 1790 by a group of British mutineers of the HMS Bounty and Tahitians. There up and until just recently young girls as early as 11 and 12 years old were forced to marry sometimes men in their 30’s and 40’s. Appalling, isn't it?
Yet, all of this made good sense to the royals of Hawaii and the bachelors in the Pitcairn Islands. Sure it was incest, and, yes, it was pedophilia, but it made sense to those folks.

Now, mind you, that is just in the area of morals. Let’s also take a close look at science and faith.
Who are we to believe here? Nothing, then the big bang? Or something, then creation? Jesus, then death? Or Jesus, then death followed by a resurrection?

The point being—although, the world at large doesn't get the picture yet—is that you can only find truth with logic if you have already found truth without it.

For me, and you, of course, that something is faith; but not just blind faith, it must be faith based on something. And, that something is God and His Word, as in Jesus the Word of God and Holy Scripture as God’s written word. Leave that out of you syllogism and you are indeed a fool; but albeit, not for Christ’s sake.

This is why, Paul could say previously,

I always thank my God for you because of his grace given you in Christ Jesus. For in him you have been enriched in every way—with all kinds of speech and with all knowledge— God thus confirming our testimony about Christ among you. Therefore you do not lack any spiritual gift as you eagerly wait for our Lord Jesus Christ to be revealed. He will also keep you firm to the end, so that you will be blameless on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. God is faithful, who has called you into fellowship with his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord. (1 Cor. 1:4-9)

 For as Martin Luther discovered so many years ago,

For by grace we have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God. (Eph. 2:8)

Now, the million dollar question is, “Do we really get it? Do we understand that our faith is God given, and that by grace? That we don’t deserve it? That, as a matter of fact, we don’t even understand it without Him telling us so.”

Such is the amazing grace of God—that we who were once alien and estranged from God and without the wisdom to understand why, are now made part of the Family of God. (1 Peter 2:11)

 Now, friends, that is true wisdom.

As usual, I am yours for the journey,

Truth and where to find it!

Early in my career, I discovered that theology is never static— that is God’s purposes and plans are progressively understood incrementally over time, and from the very beginning this has be so. This fact, however, does not mean that truth—or as Francis Schaeffer used to say, “true Truth” changes; it simply means that we understand the essence of truth better.

As for example, it is safe to say that no conscientious Old Testament Jew, prophet or otherwise, in their wildest imagination while reciting The Shema: "Hear, O Israel: the LORD our God, the LORD is one" (Deuteronomy 6:4) would ever assume a Trinity. That refinement must wait until the Council of Nicaea (AD 325) and beyond for a clearer understanding and richer insights into this deep mystery.

Now, however, who would argue that historical fact? Certainly, I wouldn’t.Thus we can say in a real sense understanding God’s purposes and plans, and as a matter of fact, His very nature has and is in a flux of refinement—the testimony of which is found in the abundance of Christian opinions. The end goal of all good theology, however, is change to us, not visa-versa. For as any believer knows, He has declared

“I am the Lord, I change not.” (Malachi 3:6)
So with the poet we can say,
Change and decay in all around I see—
O thou who changest not, abide with me!
— Henry F. Lyte

Thus we believe that God the Father, God the Son, and the Holy Spirit who proceeds from both the Father and the Son is the same God as the God of The Shema and affirmed once again when we read in Scripture that,

“Jesus Christ is always the same, yesterday, today and forever.” (Heb. 13:8 Phillips)

Which, to me indicates both a fulfillment of a Godly purpose as well as a further refinement in understanding His nature and purposes.

The big question is, however, ‘How do we know or understand the nature and purposes of God?’

Shall I cut to the chase since I assume that you are a Christian or otherwise you would not be reading this? The answer is that we depend entirely on God’s grace to reveal His nature and eternal intentions to us. This, we believe, He has done through nature and His Word as revealed to us in Holy Scripture. Herein, however, lies the crux of the controversy—that is ‘How can we know what we perceive and/or have been told is really true Truth?’ or just a product of a wishful imagination?

In a word, we accept what we believe is true Truth intuitively by faith—His Spirit bears witness with  our spirits that we are children of God. (Romans 8:16) Human reason alone, however, is insufficient; Godly grace is required. This I like to think of as God affirming the intuition which I believe the Greek makes clear in the verse just cited. I say this because the Greek verb (συμμαρτυρεῖ /symmartyrei) conveys the meaning of "bears witness along with"— meaning, in my estimation, that affirms the intuition.

Consider the Apostle Peter’s confession in this regard. Matthew says that—

When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say the Son of Man is?”

They replied, “Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets.”

“But what about you?” he asked. “Who do you say I am?”

Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.”

Jesus replied, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by flesh and blood, but by my Father in heaven. (Matt. 16: 13-17 NIV)

Surely there must have been other mitigating factors involved, a gradual dawning, or a peculiar awareness that this man Jesus must be different, someone special; but the Messiah, the Son of the living God? Hardly. No, that intuitive insight came in a flash accompanied by an affirming revelation that Jesus was God incarnate, the Son of the living God, the long awaited Messiah.

Now, if we look carefully and are open we also find that God has continued this unfolding process down through history, up to the present time. Otherwise, theology would be stagnant, wooden, and underdeveloped.

This is not to suggest that God changes; but it is to suggest that our understanding does as of knowledge of Him expands in an ever increasing revelation of who He is.

God has not left us without a witness, however. The Church is the creation of Jesus, from whom it receives its authority; He gave authority to the Apostles to determine and institute doctrine, to declare the correct and false, to establish faith and morals. Paul highlights that in his instructions to young Timothy whom he had asked to stay in Ephesus to shepherd the fledgling fellowship in that city with these words:

 ‘[If] I am delayed, you may know how one ought to behave in the household of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and bulwark of the truth’.” (1 Tim. 3:15)

Yes, the Church is that witness—not the opinion of some solo artist that decides that God has infused them with special knowledge that will enlighten the presumed theological idiots that by chance may disagree with them. Godly appointed authority? Never, these self-appointed magisterium of one have the answer—“Sola scriptura,” they shout in defense against any and all authority. And, for the information of any that would like to hear it, I would say that we should put them all in the same basket as all the other heretics out there. Surely there is a hierarchy of brethren to guide the church in all its fulness.

For me, I have submitted to the wisdom and leadership of my denomination which have prayerfully develop a statement of doctrine orthodoxy—albeit, a simple one; but none-the-less a sound one. I have a hunch that we are not through, but time is on our side and no doubt certain points will be fine-tuned in the years to come. As Dwight Longenecker says;

“Ironically, in rejecting an external infallible authority we are encouraged to embrace the most fickle and fallible of all authorities – our own judgment. We then cling to our opinions like a shipwrecked man clings to a splinter of wood, and before long, our opinions are unassailable. In the end we don’t have one objective, infallible authority but millions of subjective “infallible” authorities, and in this absurdity, we rejoice.” 

Remember, I am with you for the journey,

You are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession . . .

Peter to whom Christ handed the keys to the Kingdom at first failed miserably, even denied Christ and following the Crucifixion seemed to prefer fishing to preaching. He was impulsive—not a good trait for any leader—cowardly at times, and had a tendency towards violence (think of poor Marcus’ ear which he lobed off) and was therefore, in my opinion, a most unlikely candidate for any form of leadership, certainly not that of handling the responsibility for the keys to the Kingdom.

Now, just think about it for a moment, would you have chosen Peter to be the inaugural speaker on the Day of Pentecost based on what you knew about him prior to that point? I think not. It doesn’t stop there either. If you were going to mention someone’s name more than that of another would you have picked Peter over Paul? Well, the facts are that Peter is mentioned more times in the New Testament than Paul. Think of the Jerusalem Council in Acts 15—James presided, but Peter cast the deciding vote. Who would have ever imagined that based on what the Scripture tells us prior to the Resurrection?

We Pentecostals, I believe, love to vaunt the charisma of Paul—he gives us a basis for our theology that is his epistles are our refuge. Peter is kind of put on a side burner, as it were. Yet, it was Peter not Paul that was commissioned to introduce Christ to the Gentiles and it was he and that little band that went with him that gave testimony to the fact that even Gentiles was acceptable to God as evidenced by the fact that they received the Holy Spirit and spoke in tongues.

I will confess, I have always been more fascinated with Peter than Paul. Perhaps, it is because I can really identify with Peter.

Not only can I identify with Peter, but I think that his epistles have a lot to offer us. I recall that during the short time that I pastored here in the States I seemed to gravitate towards first and second Peter, particularly Second Peter because he seemed to be so pastoral and practical—at least that is the way I saw it.

Well, all of that to say this,

Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, To those who are elect exiles of the Dispersion in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia, according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, in the sanctification of the Spirit, for obedience to Jesus Christ and for sprinkling with his blood: May grace and peace be multiplied to you. (1 Peter 1: 1-2)

There are a couple of observations here that I would like to make.

Firstly, we must take into consideration that the author was not just an ordinary person who decided to send out a newsletter to a group of friends.

This was a special messenger, an Apostle, as a matter of fact many feel the chief Apostle commissioned by Christ. So, although on the surface it appears that it may have just been yet another newsletter or pastoral letter designed to cheer up the flock, it was not. The whole content of the letter was first and foremost God’s message, His letter to these men and women scattered throughout that part of the ancient world.

Secondly, we must also note these people had been scattered abroad—that is, as the original Greek indicates, they were sown, or scattered like dried leaves abroad without seemly a purpose. In other words, on surface it would appear that they were just more of the same nameless, and faceless people that struggle through life from day to day without an obvious purpose except to survive the best they can.

This is not the case, however. Notice it says in essence that God the Father was aware of their plight long before they were even born. He knew and He cared; therefore, He did what?

He set them aside for His holy purposes. He sanctified (that is set them aside for His holy purposes) by the Spirit. This was a spiritual matter, a spiritual decision. He knew what he was doing, even though at the time they may not have known and even complained of their circumstances.

So, one good thing we can learn about this is that nothing, absolutely nothing ever happens to us at random. God knows, and cares. So, we must be thankful. In that regards Peter writes (1 Peter 1:3-5):

“Let us thank the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. It was through His loving-kindness that we were born again to a new life and have a hope that never dies. This hope is ours because Jesus was raised from the dead.  We will receive the great things that we have been promised. They are being kept safe in heaven for us. They are pure and will not pass away. They will never be lost.  You are being kept by the power of God because you put your trust in Him and you will be saved from the punishment of sin at the end of the world. (1 Peter 1:3-5)

  

Then in the very next verse, we find that Peter says,

With this hope you can be happy even if you need to have sorrow and all kinds of tests for a while. (1 Peter 1:6)

Many times these ancient text leave us baffled. Well, we say to ourselves in this instance, I haven’t been scattered abroad in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia—as a matter of fact, I am not even sure where these places are, so how may this apply to me, today?

Well, first of all, you may feel that you are a nobody like these nameless Christians, just another Christian that lives in an insignificant little fishing village or that you are lost in the masses of a great city like New York, Dallas or Delhi.. A nobody. No purpose. Just flung as if by chance by the forces of fate and dropped without purpose in some small remote place, or lost in a forest of anonymous faces. But that is not true.

You have been chosen by God. You are someone important in His eyes. As a matter of fact, just like these people that we have read about today,

But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy. (1 Peter 2:9-10)

You may wonder, why you of all people was chosen? What is your mission in life? Is there any purpose? Well one of the salient reasons is found in verse 9 which was just quoted. You were chosen as God’s special possession

“[T]hat you may declare the praises of him that called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.” (1 Peter 2:9)

That’s your purpose. Your purpose is to share with others what has happened to you, and help them understand that this great truth offers hope. The hope of a wonderful treasure that has been reserved in Heaven for us! (1 Peter 1:4)

That is the good news. The Gospel.