Sexually Seducing Spirits
Thursday, January 29, 2015
Ainda que eu Andasse pelo Vale…
http://anchor.tfionline.com/pt/post/ainda-que-eu-andasse-pelo-vale/
John W. Schmidt
Uma das razões porque os Salmos causam tanto impacto e têm tanta força para nos ajudar é porque falam das dificuldades, batalhas e problemas que o rei Davi enfrentou na vida. Pensando bem, não é isso o que muitos dos “grandes homens” de Deus — Abraão, Moisés, os profetas, Jesus e os discÃpulos — tinham em comum? Apegaram-se a Deus, que lhes deu vitórias surpreendentes quando se viram diante de do que pareciam ser grandes derrotas.[1]
Esse pensamento me consolou quando vi as dificuldades da minha querida esposa recentemente, após uma intervenção cirúrgica. Não foi fácil vê-la no dia seguinte, toda entubada. Ela teve um inÃcio de vida bastante difÃcil e esta foi apenas mais uma de inúmeras operações à s quais se submeteu.
No hospital, convivi com o que muitos enfrentam todos os dias: enfermidades, dificuldades e até a morte. Só posso agradecer a Deus pela Sua graça, forças, Palavra, consolo e EspÃrito. Sinto pena daqueles que não conhecem Deus e, por isso, não podem se apegar a Ele. Os momentos que passei na UTI foi como andar pelo vale da sombra da morte. Mas aqueles que conhecem o Senhor podem repetir as palavras de Davi no grandioso Salmo 23: “Não temerei, pois tu Senhor, estás comigo. A tua vara e o teu cajado me consolam”.[2] O Salmo 91 é outro que está cheio de ótimas promessas e palavras de consolo. Fiquei muito emocionado com o testemunho de Abigail Smith na postagem “Um Legado de Fé,” no Âncora, como ela conseguiu ficar em paz e ter fé em Deus mesmo diante da morte.
Durante uma batalha desse tipo, é muito importante apegar-se a Deus, ler a Palavra e falar dela. Em alguns paÃses, as pessoas têm uma grande fé em Deus e é fácil falar sobre oração em situações como esta. Em outros, a fé no plano espiritual não é tão comum. Mas até mesmo nesses casos é importante elevar o Senhor e o poder da oração tanto quanto as pessoas consigam entender e aceitar. Foi uma grande alegria quando, conversando com o médico que fez a operação, nós lhe agradecemos, falamos do poder da oração e ele admitiu que ele tem suas limitações, e que a cura vem de Deus.
Essa experiência despertou em mim mais carinho pelos médicos e pelas enfermeiras. As pessoas que trabalham na área de saúde e têm um contato com Jesus contam com uma grande vantagem. A sua confiança em Deus as capacita a encarar o sofrimento dos pacientes com fé e ânimo. Fiquei impressionado com o poderoso testemunho do Dr. Benjamin Carson na postagem “À Sua Semelhança”, no Âncora, pois mostra que, com a ajuda de Deus, podemos passar pelos vales mais escuros e sair do outro lado para a luz. E que à s vezes passamos por experiências tenebrosas justamente para podermos consolar outros.[3]
Outra vitória que podemos ter quando enfrentamos problemas e enfermidades é o fato de eles nos ajudarem a deixar de lado coisas sem importância, a nos concentrarmos no Senhor e nas coisas que realmente contam na vida. Nossa fé pode se tornar muito mais forte com as provações do que se tudo transcorresse tranquilamente.
Às vezes, o fato de continuar confiando em mim quando nem tudo se resolve como você esperava ou gostaria — mesmo tendo orado e agido como devia — é um testemunho ainda maior da sua fé. — Jesus falando em profecia[4]
Essas provas nos ensinam paciência e nos dão esperança para situações aparentemente desesperadoras.
E não somente isso, mas também nos gloriamos nas tribulações; sabendo que a tribulação produz a paciência; e a paciência a experiência, e a experiência a esperança. E a esperança não traz confusão, porquanto o amor de Deus está derramado em nossos corações pelo EspÃrito Santo que nos foi dado. — Romanos 5:3–5
Certa vez, enquanto esperava que ela acordasse para visitá-la na UTI, peguei o carro e fui até um local tranquilo para também dormir um pouco. Acordei no meio de uma experiência impressionante, um misto de sonho, visão e realidade. Foi uma daquelas raras experiências em que eu sabia que “aquilo” tudo era verdade, tudo o que lemos na BÃblia, tudo o que aprendemos sobre o plano espiritual. Naquele momento, vi e senti a realidade da situação. Não era por fé, era real. Acho que foi assim que Jacó se sentiu depois de um sonho que teve, quando passava por um perÃodo de grande provação e precisava tanto do encorajamento de Deus.[5] Deus é bom e não nos permitirá sermos tentados além do que podemos suportar, mas nos dará a vitória em cada situação.[6]
Por fim, quero reconhecer o poder da intercessão. Mesmo que às vezes tenhamos de colocar nossas vidas nas mãos dos médicos, ainda assim devemos pedir a Deus para nos curar, pois só Ele pode realizar esse milagre. Estamos muito agradecidos por nossos preciosos irmãos e amigos que oraram pela cura da minha esposa, pois funcionou! Sua cura e rápida recuperação foram um grande testemunho também para nossos amigos cristãos, uma demonstração do poder milagroso de Deus. Até mesmo uma enfermeira que não tem fé em Deus e que cuidou da minha esposa disse que foi um milagre ela ter se recuperado tão bem em apenas uma semana.
Senhor meu Deus, a ti clamei por socorro, e tu me curaste. — Salmo 30:2
Tradução Hebe Rondon Flandoli.
[1] Veja Hebreus 11:33–35, 1 CorÃntios 15:57, 2 CorÃntios 4:8–9, 16–17.
[2] Salmo 23:4.
[3] Veja 2 CorÃntios 1:4.
[4] Com Amor, Jesus—Meu Toque de Cura.
[5] Veja Gênesis 28:12–17.
[6] Veja 1 CorÃntios 10:13.
John W. Schmidt
Uma das razões porque os Salmos causam tanto impacto e têm tanta força para nos ajudar é porque falam das dificuldades, batalhas e problemas que o rei Davi enfrentou na vida. Pensando bem, não é isso o que muitos dos “grandes homens” de Deus — Abraão, Moisés, os profetas, Jesus e os discÃpulos — tinham em comum? Apegaram-se a Deus, que lhes deu vitórias surpreendentes quando se viram diante de do que pareciam ser grandes derrotas.[1]
Esse pensamento me consolou quando vi as dificuldades da minha querida esposa recentemente, após uma intervenção cirúrgica. Não foi fácil vê-la no dia seguinte, toda entubada. Ela teve um inÃcio de vida bastante difÃcil e esta foi apenas mais uma de inúmeras operações à s quais se submeteu.
No hospital, convivi com o que muitos enfrentam todos os dias: enfermidades, dificuldades e até a morte. Só posso agradecer a Deus pela Sua graça, forças, Palavra, consolo e EspÃrito. Sinto pena daqueles que não conhecem Deus e, por isso, não podem se apegar a Ele. Os momentos que passei na UTI foi como andar pelo vale da sombra da morte. Mas aqueles que conhecem o Senhor podem repetir as palavras de Davi no grandioso Salmo 23: “Não temerei, pois tu Senhor, estás comigo. A tua vara e o teu cajado me consolam”.[2] O Salmo 91 é outro que está cheio de ótimas promessas e palavras de consolo. Fiquei muito emocionado com o testemunho de Abigail Smith na postagem “Um Legado de Fé,” no Âncora, como ela conseguiu ficar em paz e ter fé em Deus mesmo diante da morte.
Durante uma batalha desse tipo, é muito importante apegar-se a Deus, ler a Palavra e falar dela. Em alguns paÃses, as pessoas têm uma grande fé em Deus e é fácil falar sobre oração em situações como esta. Em outros, a fé no plano espiritual não é tão comum. Mas até mesmo nesses casos é importante elevar o Senhor e o poder da oração tanto quanto as pessoas consigam entender e aceitar. Foi uma grande alegria quando, conversando com o médico que fez a operação, nós lhe agradecemos, falamos do poder da oração e ele admitiu que ele tem suas limitações, e que a cura vem de Deus.
Essa experiência despertou em mim mais carinho pelos médicos e pelas enfermeiras. As pessoas que trabalham na área de saúde e têm um contato com Jesus contam com uma grande vantagem. A sua confiança em Deus as capacita a encarar o sofrimento dos pacientes com fé e ânimo. Fiquei impressionado com o poderoso testemunho do Dr. Benjamin Carson na postagem “À Sua Semelhança”, no Âncora, pois mostra que, com a ajuda de Deus, podemos passar pelos vales mais escuros e sair do outro lado para a luz. E que à s vezes passamos por experiências tenebrosas justamente para podermos consolar outros.[3]
Outra vitória que podemos ter quando enfrentamos problemas e enfermidades é o fato de eles nos ajudarem a deixar de lado coisas sem importância, a nos concentrarmos no Senhor e nas coisas que realmente contam na vida. Nossa fé pode se tornar muito mais forte com as provações do que se tudo transcorresse tranquilamente.
Às vezes, o fato de continuar confiando em mim quando nem tudo se resolve como você esperava ou gostaria — mesmo tendo orado e agido como devia — é um testemunho ainda maior da sua fé. — Jesus falando em profecia[4]
Essas provas nos ensinam paciência e nos dão esperança para situações aparentemente desesperadoras.
E não somente isso, mas também nos gloriamos nas tribulações; sabendo que a tribulação produz a paciência; e a paciência a experiência, e a experiência a esperança. E a esperança não traz confusão, porquanto o amor de Deus está derramado em nossos corações pelo EspÃrito Santo que nos foi dado. — Romanos 5:3–5
Certa vez, enquanto esperava que ela acordasse para visitá-la na UTI, peguei o carro e fui até um local tranquilo para também dormir um pouco. Acordei no meio de uma experiência impressionante, um misto de sonho, visão e realidade. Foi uma daquelas raras experiências em que eu sabia que “aquilo” tudo era verdade, tudo o que lemos na BÃblia, tudo o que aprendemos sobre o plano espiritual. Naquele momento, vi e senti a realidade da situação. Não era por fé, era real. Acho que foi assim que Jacó se sentiu depois de um sonho que teve, quando passava por um perÃodo de grande provação e precisava tanto do encorajamento de Deus.[5] Deus é bom e não nos permitirá sermos tentados além do que podemos suportar, mas nos dará a vitória em cada situação.[6]
Por fim, quero reconhecer o poder da intercessão. Mesmo que às vezes tenhamos de colocar nossas vidas nas mãos dos médicos, ainda assim devemos pedir a Deus para nos curar, pois só Ele pode realizar esse milagre. Estamos muito agradecidos por nossos preciosos irmãos e amigos que oraram pela cura da minha esposa, pois funcionou! Sua cura e rápida recuperação foram um grande testemunho também para nossos amigos cristãos, uma demonstração do poder milagroso de Deus. Até mesmo uma enfermeira que não tem fé em Deus e que cuidou da minha esposa disse que foi um milagre ela ter se recuperado tão bem em apenas uma semana.
Senhor meu Deus, a ti clamei por socorro, e tu me curaste. — Salmo 30:2
Tradução Hebe Rondon Flandoli.
[1] Veja Hebreus 11:33–35, 1 CorÃntios 15:57, 2 CorÃntios 4:8–9, 16–17.
[2] Salmo 23:4.
[3] Veja 2 CorÃntios 1:4.
[4] Com Amor, Jesus—Meu Toque de Cura.
[5] Veja Gênesis 28:12–17.
[6] Veja 1 CorÃntios 10:13.
Faith and Love vs. Fear and Worry
http://anchor.tfionline.com/post/faith-and-love-vs-fear-and-worry/
By John W.
As all our plans seemed to be falling apart, I was attacked with fear, discouragement, and worry. There were no solutions in sight at all!
Our little family wants to adopt another one or two abandoned kids in Congo. But there is a new law which forbids taking adopted kids out of the country. They even put two white people in prison recently who tried to take out orphans.
The head chief is still blocking the further construction of our school buildings, asking for bribes, and so far none of our contacts have been able to persuade him otherwise. The cadaster office wants us to pay bribes too, for further registration of the land where we build the school.
The Ministry of Education registered our school over a year ago but doesn’t pay the teachers yet, which means we have to carry that bill longer than expected.
The contact who helped us a lot in the city where we land before going into the bush doesn’t help anymore. No idea how we will continue without that help.
Although the Lord did a big miracle of supplying a nice place to stay in Kinshasa near the school which offered to take in Anissa free of charge, there arose a new challenge: after her operations Lenka has a cyst which is growing, and Congo is really not the place for such health issues. And I’ve been waiting for her here for two months already.
We didn’t know if all this happened because we were going over the top or because we were off track. We asked the Lord to show us why He allowed all this and what He had in mind. Abandoning our project? Not adopting kids after He told us to do it? It wasn’t easy to accept, but we had to be open.
Even if the Lord hasn’t shown us a solution to any of these problems at this time, He has shown us clearly not to worry, but to trust Him.
He also showed me a new tactic. Whenever a negative thought, doubt, or fear comes up, I should raise my shield of faith and immediately think about Him. The same goes for any other problems, weaknesses, or temptations. Whenever anything negative comes up, I should just ask Jesus for help. If sadness appears, ask Him for joy. If weariness tries to come in, ask Him for strength. Feeling confused, ask Him for clarity, etc. I’m still learning to apply this, but I can see it has helped me to stay closer to Him and have His strength to “fight the good fight of faith.”1
One day, as I was feeling very low, I received word that the 40-year-old cousin of our friend in Kinshasa had died that morning in the hospital. All she had was pneumonia! So many people here die in the hospital for lack of proper care. Then I found out that she and her now widowed husband have ten kids, and seven grandkids, and not enough money to pay the hospital bill or for the burial. I really felt sorry for them, and suddenly my problems were small. Thinking of other people’s bigger problems can bring things back into perspective real quick. Even if all our plans and projects fail, so what!? He’s still there, we are still alive, and He always has a solution.
During this time I felt so weak that I had to spend extra time with Jesus and His Word, which strengthens my faith and love for Him and drives out fear. “There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear: because fear hath torment. He that fears is not made perfect in love.”2 “Fear not: for I am with thee.”3 “The Lord shall fight for you, and you shall hold your peace.”4
I didn’t feel strong enough to do a lot of physical activities. I didn’t even know exactlywhat He wanted me to do, so I opted to lie low and take more time to read and study His Word and listen to His voice. “I had fainted, unless I had believed to see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. Wait on the Lord: be of good courage, and He shall strengthen your heart: wait, I say, on the Lord.”5 I took more time to rest and meditate. “Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world gives, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.”6
In the article “The Spiritual Disciplines: Celebration” I saw these famous verses in a new light: “Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow.”7 Peter says: “This doesn’t mean we take no action, but that we bring our needs and concerns before God in prayer, and in doing so, that we put our confidence in His love and care rather than worrying.” I always thought that “seeking His kingdom” meant that I have to do something for the Lord, but before doing so, I should first seek Him.
My wife sent me some helpful quotes from the book Stay Alive All Your Life by Norman Vincent Peale:
See your fears for what they are; then stand up to them and kill them. But in doing this you must have, not bravado, but faith. Nor is it a vague kind of faith; it is a strong, substantial faith in God. Only faith in God can kill your fear. The ultimate technique for ending worry is to bring God into every fear situation. No fear can live in the presence of God. The deeper your faith in God becomes, the less power fear will have over you. The Bible outlines the process, “I sought the Lord, and he heard me, and delivered me from all my fears” (Psalm 34:4).8
The Lord has also shown me to be more childlike in my faith. Children have so much faith and overcome obstacles much easier than adults. No wonder Jesus said that we need to be like children.9 They generally don’t worry about things, and if they do, it usually gets solved quite quickly and easily. They usually have a positive, carefree attitude which I’d like to acquire.
In this process of drawing closer to Jesus I need to bring my thoughts more into subjection,10 especially when there is an overload of thoughts about all the things that are not going well. Whenever I take time with the Lord and some thoughts about my work come in, it saps my focus on His Word.
Meditating is not easy for me. I’ve found that the best time for me to meditate is right when I wake up in the morning. There is a moment when I’m still in the spirit world, many times connected to a dream, and as my mind wants to let thoughts of the day and the work come in, I shut out those thoughts and hold on to the Lord, thinking about Him, loving Him, praising Him, and thinking about the good things, the many things I can be thankful for.11
The Lord is showing me that He is all that matters. Everything else can fall apart. The circumstances of our situation may not change at all, but if we look to Him, we don’t have to worry about any plans and projects. If they are His plans and projects, He has to do it. And if they are not, we don’t want to do them anyway. Only He can solve those problems. It’s all under His control. The most important thing is Him and our love for Him. “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the first and great commandment.”12
PS added two months later: We can see how the Lord honors our trust in Him. He never fails! Here are some miracles He did in removing the obstacles we faced:
The Minister of Education intervened: after one week all the confiscated building materials were returned and the construction of our school is under way again.
The Minister also promised to work out the payment of our teachers, which will be another miracle, as the department that is responsible for this is known to ignore such requests, pocketing the money which is supposed to go to the teachers for as long as possible.
Lenka’s cyst disappeared, and besides battling the heat, her health is doing very well.
Concerning the adoption, we still don’t know how this will work out, but even if it doesn’t, we are thankful for the adopted child that the Lord gave us six years ago. She is such a treasure, and we have peace that everything is in God’s hands.
We don’t have to worry about anything, but rather just trust and obey, for there is no other way to be happy in Him.
1 1 Timothy 6:12.
2 1 John 4:18.
3 Isaiah 43:5.
4 Exodus 14:14.
5 Psalm 27:13–14.
6 John 14:27.
7 Matthew 6:33–34.
8 New York: Prentice-Hall, 1957, 79–80.
9 See Matthew 18:3.
10 2 Corinthians 10:5.
11 Philippians 4:6–8.
12 Matthew 22:37–38.
By John W.
As all our plans seemed to be falling apart, I was attacked with fear, discouragement, and worry. There were no solutions in sight at all!
Our little family wants to adopt another one or two abandoned kids in Congo. But there is a new law which forbids taking adopted kids out of the country. They even put two white people in prison recently who tried to take out orphans.
The head chief is still blocking the further construction of our school buildings, asking for bribes, and so far none of our contacts have been able to persuade him otherwise. The cadaster office wants us to pay bribes too, for further registration of the land where we build the school.
The Ministry of Education registered our school over a year ago but doesn’t pay the teachers yet, which means we have to carry that bill longer than expected.
The contact who helped us a lot in the city where we land before going into the bush doesn’t help anymore. No idea how we will continue without that help.
Although the Lord did a big miracle of supplying a nice place to stay in Kinshasa near the school which offered to take in Anissa free of charge, there arose a new challenge: after her operations Lenka has a cyst which is growing, and Congo is really not the place for such health issues. And I’ve been waiting for her here for two months already.
We didn’t know if all this happened because we were going over the top or because we were off track. We asked the Lord to show us why He allowed all this and what He had in mind. Abandoning our project? Not adopting kids after He told us to do it? It wasn’t easy to accept, but we had to be open.
Even if the Lord hasn’t shown us a solution to any of these problems at this time, He has shown us clearly not to worry, but to trust Him.
He also showed me a new tactic. Whenever a negative thought, doubt, or fear comes up, I should raise my shield of faith and immediately think about Him. The same goes for any other problems, weaknesses, or temptations. Whenever anything negative comes up, I should just ask Jesus for help. If sadness appears, ask Him for joy. If weariness tries to come in, ask Him for strength. Feeling confused, ask Him for clarity, etc. I’m still learning to apply this, but I can see it has helped me to stay closer to Him and have His strength to “fight the good fight of faith.”1
One day, as I was feeling very low, I received word that the 40-year-old cousin of our friend in Kinshasa had died that morning in the hospital. All she had was pneumonia! So many people here die in the hospital for lack of proper care. Then I found out that she and her now widowed husband have ten kids, and seven grandkids, and not enough money to pay the hospital bill or for the burial. I really felt sorry for them, and suddenly my problems were small. Thinking of other people’s bigger problems can bring things back into perspective real quick. Even if all our plans and projects fail, so what!? He’s still there, we are still alive, and He always has a solution.
During this time I felt so weak that I had to spend extra time with Jesus and His Word, which strengthens my faith and love for Him and drives out fear. “There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear: because fear hath torment. He that fears is not made perfect in love.”2 “Fear not: for I am with thee.”3 “The Lord shall fight for you, and you shall hold your peace.”4
I didn’t feel strong enough to do a lot of physical activities. I didn’t even know exactlywhat He wanted me to do, so I opted to lie low and take more time to read and study His Word and listen to His voice. “I had fainted, unless I had believed to see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. Wait on the Lord: be of good courage, and He shall strengthen your heart: wait, I say, on the Lord.”5 I took more time to rest and meditate. “Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world gives, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.”6
In the article “The Spiritual Disciplines: Celebration” I saw these famous verses in a new light: “Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow.”7 Peter says: “This doesn’t mean we take no action, but that we bring our needs and concerns before God in prayer, and in doing so, that we put our confidence in His love and care rather than worrying.” I always thought that “seeking His kingdom” meant that I have to do something for the Lord, but before doing so, I should first seek Him.
My wife sent me some helpful quotes from the book Stay Alive All Your Life by Norman Vincent Peale:
See your fears for what they are; then stand up to them and kill them. But in doing this you must have, not bravado, but faith. Nor is it a vague kind of faith; it is a strong, substantial faith in God. Only faith in God can kill your fear. The ultimate technique for ending worry is to bring God into every fear situation. No fear can live in the presence of God. The deeper your faith in God becomes, the less power fear will have over you. The Bible outlines the process, “I sought the Lord, and he heard me, and delivered me from all my fears” (Psalm 34:4).8
The Lord has also shown me to be more childlike in my faith. Children have so much faith and overcome obstacles much easier than adults. No wonder Jesus said that we need to be like children.9 They generally don’t worry about things, and if they do, it usually gets solved quite quickly and easily. They usually have a positive, carefree attitude which I’d like to acquire.
In this process of drawing closer to Jesus I need to bring my thoughts more into subjection,10 especially when there is an overload of thoughts about all the things that are not going well. Whenever I take time with the Lord and some thoughts about my work come in, it saps my focus on His Word.
Meditating is not easy for me. I’ve found that the best time for me to meditate is right when I wake up in the morning. There is a moment when I’m still in the spirit world, many times connected to a dream, and as my mind wants to let thoughts of the day and the work come in, I shut out those thoughts and hold on to the Lord, thinking about Him, loving Him, praising Him, and thinking about the good things, the many things I can be thankful for.11
The Lord is showing me that He is all that matters. Everything else can fall apart. The circumstances of our situation may not change at all, but if we look to Him, we don’t have to worry about any plans and projects. If they are His plans and projects, He has to do it. And if they are not, we don’t want to do them anyway. Only He can solve those problems. It’s all under His control. The most important thing is Him and our love for Him. “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the first and great commandment.”12
PS added two months later: We can see how the Lord honors our trust in Him. He never fails! Here are some miracles He did in removing the obstacles we faced:
The Minister of Education intervened: after one week all the confiscated building materials were returned and the construction of our school is under way again.
The Minister also promised to work out the payment of our teachers, which will be another miracle, as the department that is responsible for this is known to ignore such requests, pocketing the money which is supposed to go to the teachers for as long as possible.
Lenka’s cyst disappeared, and besides battling the heat, her health is doing very well.
Concerning the adoption, we still don’t know how this will work out, but even if it doesn’t, we are thankful for the adopted child that the Lord gave us six years ago. She is such a treasure, and we have peace that everything is in God’s hands.
We don’t have to worry about anything, but rather just trust and obey, for there is no other way to be happy in Him.
1 1 Timothy 6:12.
2 1 John 4:18.
3 Isaiah 43:5.
4 Exodus 14:14.
5 Psalm 27:13–14.
6 John 14:27.
7 Matthew 6:33–34.
8 New York: Prentice-Hall, 1957, 79–80.
9 See Matthew 18:3.
10 2 Corinthians 10:5.
11 Philippians 4:6–8.
12 Matthew 22:37–38.
Tuesday, January 27, 2015
Faith of Christians in Niger Grows Stronger in Face of Unprecedented Violence
Morning Star News, Jan. 23, 2015
Christians in Niger are joyfully meeting in homes under police protection as they plan to rebuild church buildings and houses after attacks last weekend (Jan. 16-18) that were unprecedented in scale.
“Nothing of this magnitude has ever happened in this nation,” wrote one missionary couple in the capital, Niamey. “Nearly every church in the capital city of Niamey was burned or looted, along with some schools and orphanages and several other churches and Christian homes throughout the nation.”
Muslims protesting the depiction of the prophet of Islam in the French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo destroyed 72 church buildings and killed at least 10 people in attacks that began in Zinder on Jan. 16 and hit Niamey the next day, according to Christian support organization Open Doors. A church leader today put the total of ruined church structures at 68, and a final count remained uncertain.
Analysts suspect a growing amount of Islamic extremist preaching, coupled with political rivals fanning flames of furor over Niger President Mahamadou Issoufou participating in a unity march in Paris against the terrorist attack on Charlie Hebdo offices, contributed to the scale of the attacks. More than 170 people were reported to have been injured.
“Last night the church members met for prayer as the pastor, who lost everything, encouraged them by flashlight to not only stand strong, but to move forward and to know that this attack will grow the church,” wrote the missionary couple to concerned partners. “The room was dark on the outside but illuminated by the fire in the hearts of His people, even as stones were being thrown on the roof.”
In spite of the violence, so many present at the church meeting were eager to share testimonies of God’s faithfulness during the attacks that they were asked to wait until Sunday, they added.
The Rev. Mai’aki Kadaidai, president of the Evangelical Church in the Niger Republic (EERN), told Morning Star News by phone that attacks on Christians and churches were spread across five regions and the capital.
“This is the first time we are witnessing violence of this magnitude against the church and Christians,” Kadaidai said. “In all, 68 churches were destroyed across five regions of Agadez, Damagaram, Diffa, Maradi, Zinder, and in our country’s capital city of Niamey. The Muslim rioters destroyed five of our [EERN] churches, destroyed four homes of our pastors and many of our members were adversely affected.”
Attacks began on Jan. 16 in Zinder with the destruction of several church buildings and Christian-owned homes. Several other towns suffered damages as the violence spread to the capital by the next day, with angry Muslims also looting shops, attacking police stations, bars and hotels, and ransacking businesses that were either of French origin or owned by non-Muslims.
Charlie Hebdo had published a cover cartoon of Muhammad carrying a sign with the slogan (“I am Charlie”) that signified solidarity with free speech and the 12 victims of the shooting deaths by two Islamic terrorists at the magazine’s offices on Jan. 7. Depictions of Muhammad are forbidden in most branches of Islam, and prominent schools of Islamic jurisprudence prescribe death for defaming him.
Muslims make up about 98 percent of Niger’s population and have lived in relative peace with the country’s miniscule (0.3 percent) Christian minority. In spite of growing Islamic extremist elements within the country, few in Niger expected to hear the chants of “Kill the infidels, kill the Christians,” as protesters ransacked the nation. Niger was unranked on Open Doors’ 2015 World Watch List of the worst persecutors of Christians.
Christians in Niger are joyfully meeting in homes under police protection as they plan to rebuild church buildings and houses after attacks last weekend (Jan. 16-18) that were unprecedented in scale.
“Nothing of this magnitude has ever happened in this nation,” wrote one missionary couple in the capital, Niamey. “Nearly every church in the capital city of Niamey was burned or looted, along with some schools and orphanages and several other churches and Christian homes throughout the nation.”
Muslims protesting the depiction of the prophet of Islam in the French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo destroyed 72 church buildings and killed at least 10 people in attacks that began in Zinder on Jan. 16 and hit Niamey the next day, according to Christian support organization Open Doors. A church leader today put the total of ruined church structures at 68, and a final count remained uncertain.
Analysts suspect a growing amount of Islamic extremist preaching, coupled with political rivals fanning flames of furor over Niger President Mahamadou Issoufou participating in a unity march in Paris against the terrorist attack on Charlie Hebdo offices, contributed to the scale of the attacks. More than 170 people were reported to have been injured.
“Last night the church members met for prayer as the pastor, who lost everything, encouraged them by flashlight to not only stand strong, but to move forward and to know that this attack will grow the church,” wrote the missionary couple to concerned partners. “The room was dark on the outside but illuminated by the fire in the hearts of His people, even as stones were being thrown on the roof.”
In spite of the violence, so many present at the church meeting were eager to share testimonies of God’s faithfulness during the attacks that they were asked to wait until Sunday, they added.
The Rev. Mai’aki Kadaidai, president of the Evangelical Church in the Niger Republic (EERN), told Morning Star News by phone that attacks on Christians and churches were spread across five regions and the capital.
“This is the first time we are witnessing violence of this magnitude against the church and Christians,” Kadaidai said. “In all, 68 churches were destroyed across five regions of Agadez, Damagaram, Diffa, Maradi, Zinder, and in our country’s capital city of Niamey. The Muslim rioters destroyed five of our [EERN] churches, destroyed four homes of our pastors and many of our members were adversely affected.”
Attacks began on Jan. 16 in Zinder with the destruction of several church buildings and Christian-owned homes. Several other towns suffered damages as the violence spread to the capital by the next day, with angry Muslims also looting shops, attacking police stations, bars and hotels, and ransacking businesses that were either of French origin or owned by non-Muslims.
Charlie Hebdo had published a cover cartoon of Muhammad carrying a sign with the slogan (“I am Charlie”) that signified solidarity with free speech and the 12 victims of the shooting deaths by two Islamic terrorists at the magazine’s offices on Jan. 7. Depictions of Muhammad are forbidden in most branches of Islam, and prominent schools of Islamic jurisprudence prescribe death for defaming him.
Muslims make up about 98 percent of Niger’s population and have lived in relative peace with the country’s miniscule (0.3 percent) Christian minority. In spite of growing Islamic extremist elements within the country, few in Niger expected to hear the chants of “Kill the infidels, kill the Christians,” as protesters ransacked the nation. Niger was unranked on Open Doors’ 2015 World Watch List of the worst persecutors of Christians.
Monday, January 26, 2015
The Religion Of The Masonic Lodge
by David Padfield
The Masonic Lodge claims six million members worldwide. In its ranks you will find some of the greatest men in American history. Men like Henry Ford, General Douglas MacArthur, George Washington and 12 other U.S. presidents. You will also find doctors, lawyers, judges and, unfortunately, many Christians.
I have a great deal of respect for Freemasons as individuals. Many of my uncles are in the Lodge. While I respect these men, I hold their lodge in total abhorrence. It is an insidious evil for it duplicates the sin of Absalom when he "stole the hearts of the men of Israel" (2 Samuel 15:6). Masonry will steal the heart of a Christian. The Masonic temple is the temple of Baal, and at its altar unsuspecting men solemnly vow their lives to a pagan god.
If we can establish that Masonry is a religion, then surely any honest Christian would feel compelled to abandon the Lodge. God's prophet of old asked, "Can two walk together, except they be agreed?" (Amos 3:3). Can a man worship the God of Masonry and the God of the Bible at the same time? In Matthew 12:30 Jesus said, "He who is not with me is against Me, and he who does not gather with Me scatters abroad."
Is Masonry A Religion?
The answer to this question depends upon whom you ask. The Grand Lodge of Indiana publishes a small tract titledFreemasonry, A Way Of Life. This tract, given to outsiders, says, "Though religious in character, Masonry is not a religion, nor a substitute for one." This would be good, except the story changes after a man has become a Mason. For example, the Indiana Monitor says, "Freemasonry is a charitable, benevolent, educational, and religious society." The Kentucky Monitor goes even further when it states, "...as Masons we are taught that no man should ever enter upon any great or important undertaking without first invoking the blessing of Deity. This is because Masonry is a religious institution..." Albert Pike (a 33rd Degree Mason), one of the most celebrated Masonic scholars, claims that "every Masonic Lodge is a temple of religion; and its teachings are instruction in religion." (Morals and Dogma, p. 213). This book was published under the auspices of the Supreme Council of the Thirty-Third Degree of the Scottish Rite.
The problem is that the Lodge lies to candidates before their initiation. "Masonry, like all the Religions, all the Mysteries, Hereticism and Alchemy, conceals its secrets from all except the Adepts and Sages, or the Elect, and uses false explanations and misinterpretations of its symbols to mislead those who deserve only to be misled; to conceal the Truth, which it calls Light, from them, and to draw them away from it ... So Masonry jealously conceals its secrets, and intentionally leads conceited interpreters away." (Morals and Dogma, p. 105). Can you imagine a sane man joining any organization if he knew they were going to "intentionally" mislead him?
Another Masonic scholar, Albert Mackey (a 33rd Degree Mason), claims the only reason to defend Masonry is because of its religious element. "I contend, without any sort of hesitation, that Masonry is, in every sense of the word, except one, and that its least philosophical, an eminently religious institution that it is indebted solely to the religious element which it contains for its origin and for its continued existence, that without this religious element it would scarcely be worthy of cultivation by the wise and good." (Encyclopedia of Freemasonry, p. 727).
The Faith and Order Committee of the Methodist church has issued a report urging men not to join the Masonic Lodge since it is a "competitor of Christianity." The report also states, "There is a great danger that the Christian who becomes a Freemason will find himself compromising his Christian beliefs or his allegiance to Christ, perhaps without realizing what he is doing." (Evansville Courier, June 13, 1985). If the Methodist church can understand this, why can't some of my brethren? Listen to Paul in 2 Corinthians 6:14, "Do not be unequally yoked together with unbelievers, For what fellowship has righteousness with lawlessness? And what communion has light with darkness?"
Attitude Towards The Bible
One of my greatest concerns about the Lodge is its attitude towards the Bible. "The Volume of the Sacred Law is an indispensable part of the furniture of a Lodge. In our jurisdiction it is usually the Bible, but any candidate not a Christian may have substituted for it any other volume which he considers sacred: e.g., the Old Testament, Koran, Vedas, or Laws of Confucius. In one lodge in China, there are three Sacred Books open on the altar at the same time, and the candidate elects one of the three on which he is obligated." (Indiana Monitor, p. 38). While the Bible might be described in various ways, it is not a piece of furniture! It is the source of all religious truth. It is the book of God (2 Tim. 3:16-17).
When a candidate bows before the Masonic altar he kisses the "Volume of Sacred Law." This volume can be any book he deems to be religious. "The explanation of the presence of the Holy Bible on the altar could not tell the whole story, although true in itself. It represents the Sacred Book of the Law, but has not exclusive rights as such on the altar of Freemasonry, for the supremely sane reason that no one religion has exclusive rights within the Fraternity. The Vedas of the Brahman, the Zend-Avesta of the Parsee, the Koran of the Mohammedan, have, among Masons of these faiths, as rightful a place upon our altar as the Holy Bible. In any faith, however, its Sacred Book of Law is the symbol of man's acknowledgement of and his relation to Deity. And in this universality of Masonry we find one of our greatest lessons: Toleration." (The Entered Apprentice, Grand Lodge of Indiana, p. 14). This toleration is too much for any man who claims to be a Christian.
Barbaric Oaths
If nothing else, the oath a man takes when he joins the Lodge ought to forever settle the question, "Can A Christian Be A Mason?" While blindfolded, half naked and kneeling at the altar, the candidate takes an oath swearing he will never reveal the "secrets of the Lodge." The oath ends with these words: "I furthermore promise and swear that I will not write, print, stamp, stain, cut, carve, hew, mark or engrave them on anything moveable or immovable, capable of receiving the least impression of a sign, word, syllable, letter or character, whereby they may become legible or intelligible to any person under the canopy of heaven, and the secrets of Masonry be thereby unlawfully obtained by my unworthiness. All this I most solemnly and sincerely promise and swear, with a firm and steadfast resolution to keep the same, without the least equivocation, mental reservation or secret evasion whatsoever, binding myself under no less penalty than that of having my throat cut from ear to ear, my tongue torn out by its roots and buried in the sands of the sea at low water mark, where the tide ebbs and flows twice in twenty-four hours, should I in the least, knowingly or wittingly, violate or transgress this my Entered Apprentice Obligation. So help me God and keep me steadfast." (King Solomon's Temple, Indiana edition, pp. 24, 25). What a contrast to our Lord who said "do not swear at all ... but let your 'Yes' be 'Yes' and your 'No' be 'No.'" (Matt. 5:33-37).
To those who are in the Lodge, let me beg you to heed the words of Paul and "come out from among them and be separate" (2 Cor. 6:17).
The Religion Of The Masonic Lodge, a very detailed sermon outline which explains that the Masonic Lodge is a religion -- a religion that is not compatible with the religion of Jesus Christ. The lesson explores the "secret" ritual of the Blue Lodge and the barbaric oaths that are taken at the Masonic altar. Freemasonry is a pagan religion and Hiram Abiff is a false saviour (PDF file size: 292k).
This article is also available as a free Bible tract that you can reprint.
You can also read an article on Captain William Morgan, a man who was filled by Freemasons in Batavia, New York.
[ Home | About Us | Books | Debates | Bible Lands | Articles | Clip Art | Search ]
Church of Christ, 2340 Lewis Ave., PO Box 95, Zion, Illinois 60099
All contents Copyright © 2015 David Padfield. All rights reserved.
Send comments to David Padfield at: zionchurch@padfield.com
Companion sites: Expository Sermon Outlines and Bible Class Books
Sunday, January 25, 2015
I Found Out Where God Lives! Do You Know Where?
By Dennis Edwards:
Do you know where God lives? I think most people would say in Heaven. I was reading in the Bible the other day and came across God’s habitation. In Isaiah it says,
“For thus says the high and lofty One that inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy; I dwell in the high and holy place, with him also that is of a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite ones.”[1]
In other words, God lives in a humble heart!
In Psalms we find something similar when David prays,
“Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me. O Lord, open thou my lips; and my mouth shall shew forth thy praise. For thou desirest not sacrifice; else would I give it: thou delightest not in burnt offerings. The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise.”[2]
Again, we see the importance of a humble or broken heart.
In another Psalm we read,
“But Thou art holy, O Thou that inhabitest the praises of Israel.”[3]
God is saying He lives in the praises of His people. If we have praise on our lips and within our heart, God's presence is with us.
In another Psalm we read,
“I will offer to thee the sacrifice of thanksgiving, and I will call upon the name of the Lord.”[4] "I will praise the name of God with a song, and will magnify Him with thanksgiving. This also shall please the Lord better than an ox or bullock that hath horns or hoofs."[5]
God is more pleased with our attitude of praise and thanksgiving, than any sacrifice we could offer Him in goods or money.
“For thus says the high and lofty One that inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy; I dwell in the high and holy place, with him also that is of a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite ones.”[1]
In other words, God lives in a humble heart!
In Psalms we find something similar when David prays,
“Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me. O Lord, open thou my lips; and my mouth shall shew forth thy praise. For thou desirest not sacrifice; else would I give it: thou delightest not in burnt offerings. The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise.”[2]
Again, we see the importance of a humble or broken heart.
In another Psalm we read,
“But Thou art holy, O Thou that inhabitest the praises of Israel.”[3]
God is saying He lives in the praises of His people. If we have praise on our lips and within our heart, God's presence is with us.
In another Psalm we read,
“I will offer to thee the sacrifice of thanksgiving, and I will call upon the name of the Lord.”[4] "I will praise the name of God with a song, and will magnify Him with thanksgiving. This also shall please the Lord better than an ox or bullock that hath horns or hoofs."[5]
God is more pleased with our attitude of praise and thanksgiving, than any sacrifice we could offer Him in goods or money.
So what have we learned? We have learned that God dwells in a broken heart. He dwells with those who are thankful, regardless of what problems or hardships they are going through. He dwells with those whose hearts and lips are full of praise.
Has your heart been broken by disappointment, by failure, by the lack of love of others, by the seemingly bad circumstances in your life? Take heart, be thankful. God loves you and is near to those of a broken heart. Offer to Him the sacrifice of praise and thanksgiving and He will be with you. Paul admonishes,
"In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you."[6]
In another place we read,
"Rejoice in the Lord always: and again I say, rejoice!"[7]
It seems like praise is something very important!
But, if you are feeling far from God, remember, God is not far from any of us, as Paul teaches.
“God that made the world and all things therein, seeing that he is Lord of heaven and earth, dwells not in temples made with hands; neither is worshiped with men’s hands, as though he needed anything, seeing he gives to all life, and breath, and all things; and has made of one blood all nations of men for to dwell on all the face of the earth, and has determined the times before appointed, and the bounds of their habitation; that they should seek the Lord, if haply they might feel after him, and find him, though he be not far from every one of us: for in him we live, and move, and have our being.”[8]
Has your heart been broken by disappointment, by failure, by the lack of love of others, by the seemingly bad circumstances in your life? Take heart, be thankful. God loves you and is near to those of a broken heart. Offer to Him the sacrifice of praise and thanksgiving and He will be with you. Paul admonishes,
"In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you."[6]
In another place we read,
It seems like praise is something very important!
But, if you are feeling far from God, remember, God is not far from any of us, as Paul teaches.
“God that made the world and all things therein, seeing that he is Lord of heaven and earth, dwells not in temples made with hands; neither is worshiped with men’s hands, as though he needed anything, seeing he gives to all life, and breath, and all things; and has made of one blood all nations of men for to dwell on all the face of the earth, and has determined the times before appointed, and the bounds of their habitation; that they should seek the Lord, if haply they might feel after him, and find him, though he be not far from every one of us: for in him we live, and move, and have our being.”[8]
Are you trying to do good and love others, but things don’t seem to have worked out for you? Don’t fret. God’s word says,
“The righteous cry, and the Lord hears; and delivers them out of all their troubles. The Lord is nigh unto them that are of a broken heart; and saves such as be of a contrite spirit.”[9]
Keep humble. Keep trusting in the Lord. Keep doing good. For He has promised, if you commit your way unto Him and trust also in Him, that He will bring it to pass.[10]
“The righteous cry, and the Lord hears; and delivers them out of all their troubles. The Lord is nigh unto them that are of a broken heart; and saves such as be of a contrite spirit.”[9]
Keep humble. Keep trusting in the Lord. Keep doing good. For He has promised, if you commit your way unto Him and trust also in Him, that He will bring it to pass.[10]
And if you have yet to enter into personal relationship with Jesus, and you hear Him knocking at the door to your heart; just open up and let Him in. He says,
"Behold, I stand at the door , and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and sup with him, and he with me." [11]
Don't you want to fellowship with the God of the universe? He’s better than Mr. Clean and will renew your heart and mind and give you joy unspeakable. It’s just that simple. He’s just that wonderful. Try Him, you won't be disappointed.
"Behold, I stand at the door , and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and sup with him, and he with me." [11]
Don't you want to fellowship with the God of the universe? He’s better than Mr. Clean and will renew your heart and mind and give you joy unspeakable. It’s just that simple. He’s just that wonderful. Try Him, you won't be disappointed.
[1] Isaiah 57:15
[2] Psalm 51:10, 15-17
[3] Psalm 22:3
[4] Psalm 116:17
[5] Psalm 69: 30-31
[6] 1Thessalonians 5:18
[7] Philippians 4:4
[8] Acts 17: 24-28
[9] Psalm 34: 17-18
[10] Psalm 37: 5
[11] Revelation 3:20
Friday, January 23, 2015
Nietzsche's "Death of God" quote!
Contemplation on Nietzsche by Dennis Edwards
THE MADMAN
"Have you not heard of that madman who lit a lantern in the bright morning hours, ran to the market place, and cried incessantly: "I seek God! I seek God!" -- As many of those who did not believe in God were standing around just then, he provoked much laughter. Has he got lost? asked one. Did he lose his way like a child? asked another. Or is he hiding? Is he afraid of us? Has he gone on a voyage? emigrated? -- Thus they yelled and laughed.
"The madman jumped into their midst and pierced them with his eyes. "Whither is God?" he cried; "I will tell you. We have killed him -- you and I. All of us are his murderers. But how did we do this? How could we drink up the sea? Who gave us the sponge to wipe away the entire horizon? What were we doing when we unchained this earth from its sun? Whither is it moving now? Whither are we moving? Away from all suns? Are we not plunging continually? Backward, sideward, forward, in all directions? Is there still any up or down? Are we not straying, as through an infinite nothing? Do we not feel the breath of empty space? Has it not become colder? Is not night continually closing in on us? Do we not need to light lanterns in the morning? Do we hear nothing as yet of the noise of the gravediggers who are burying God? Do we smell nothing as yet of the divine decomposition? Gods, too, decompose. God is dead. God remains dead. And we have killed him.
"How shall we comfort ourselves, the murderers of all murderers? What was holiest and mightiest of all that the world has yet owned has bled to death under our knives: who will wipe this blood off us? What water is there for us to clean ourselves? What festivals of atonement, what sacred games shall we have to invent? Is not the greatness of this deed too great for us? Must we ourselves not become gods simply to appear worthy of it? There has never been a greater deed; and whoever is born after us -- for the sake of this deed he will belong to a higher history than all history hitherto.
"Here the madman fell silent and looked again at his listeners; and they, too, were silent and stared at him in astonishment. At last he threw his lantern on the ground, and it broke into pieces and went out. "I have come too early," he said then; "my time is not yet. This tremendous event is still on its way, still wandering; it has not yet reached the ears of men. Lightning and thunder require time; the light of the stars requires time; deeds, though done, still require time to be seen and heard. This deed is still more distant from them than most distant stars -- and yet they have done it themselves.
"It has been related further that on the same day the madman forced his way into several churches and there struck up his requiem aeternam deo. Led out and called to account, he is said always to have replied nothing but: "What after all are these churches now if they are not the tombs and sepulchers of God?"1
Dennis Edwards: Nietzsche knew that the rejection of God would plummet mankind into an endless abyss of hopelessness. Jesus said the love of many would wax cold as a result of the increase in iniquity in the last days. Has it not become colder? It certainly seems like in our lifetime that it's become a bit colder even with all the talk of global warming! Is not night continually closing in on us? We have chosen darkness rather than light, because our deeds are evil. We have rejected the love and light of God. We have killed Him and have embraced the darkness. That darkness that promised us liberty was itself the servant of corruption and now we are in bondage to it. We cannot escape.
But there is an escape. God has made a way of escape. Turn around and call out to the Father in Jesus' name and He will hear you. He that confesses and forsakes the way of darkness shall have mercy. Jesus said, "I am the light of the world: he that follows me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life."2 Are you seeking the truth? Then come to the light, the light of Christ, the true light and He will set you free! As Jesus said, "If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed; and ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free."3
1. http://historyguide.org/europe/madman.html [Original source: Friedrich Nietzsche, The Gay Science (1882, 1887) para. 125; Walter Kaufmann ed. (New York: Vintage, 1974), pp.181-82.]
2. John 8:12
3. John 8:31,32
France to get better guns, more intel agents to fight terror
By Sylvie Corbet And Nicolas Vaux-Montagny, AP, Jan 21, 2015
PARIS (AP)—France announced sweeping new measures to counter homegrown terrorism Wednesday, including giving security forces better weapons and protection, going on an intelligence agent hiring spree and creating a better database of anyone suspected of extremist links.
The measures detailed by Prime Minister Manuel Valls came as four men were handed preliminary charges of providing logistical support to one of the Paris terror attackers—the first charges issued for three days of mayhem that left 20 people dead, including three gunmen.
The new security measures include increased intelligence-gathering on jihadis and other radicals, in part by making it easier to tap phones. Valls said Internet providers and social networks “have a legal responsibility under French law” to comply with the new measures.
Some 2,600 counter-terrorism officers will be hired, 1,100 of them specifically for intelligence services. Anti-terror surveillance is needed for 3,000 people with ties to France—some at home, others abroad, the prime minister said.
France will spend 425 million euros ($490 million) over the next three years for all the counter-terror efforts, he said.
France has repeatedly strengthened its counterterrorism laws over the years, including a measure passed in November that focused on preventing French extremists from joining fighters abroad. Another measure—expected to be activated in the coming weeks—would allow authorities to ask Internet service providers to block sites that glorify terrorism.
PARIS (AP)—France announced sweeping new measures to counter homegrown terrorism Wednesday, including giving security forces better weapons and protection, going on an intelligence agent hiring spree and creating a better database of anyone suspected of extremist links.
The measures detailed by Prime Minister Manuel Valls came as four men were handed preliminary charges of providing logistical support to one of the Paris terror attackers—the first charges issued for three days of mayhem that left 20 people dead, including three gunmen.
The new security measures include increased intelligence-gathering on jihadis and other radicals, in part by making it easier to tap phones. Valls said Internet providers and social networks “have a legal responsibility under French law” to comply with the new measures.
Some 2,600 counter-terrorism officers will be hired, 1,100 of them specifically for intelligence services. Anti-terror surveillance is needed for 3,000 people with ties to France—some at home, others abroad, the prime minister said.
France will spend 425 million euros ($490 million) over the next three years for all the counter-terror efforts, he said.
France has repeatedly strengthened its counterterrorism laws over the years, including a measure passed in November that focused on preventing French extremists from joining fighters abroad. Another measure—expected to be activated in the coming weeks—would allow authorities to ask Internet service providers to block sites that glorify terrorism.
Quotation from Chris Jackson "The Two Lives - Which Will You Live!"
“There are 2 lives awaiting you. The first is the life of common sense & sensibility. It is the safe, risk-free life of conventional wisdom & practicality. Many people settle into this vein of living. They go to college, they attend church, they marry, they have children, they retire. And often they love God. As wonderful as all these things are, they still wrestle with a secret question: ‘Is there more to life? Is this the extent of the life I anticipated when I came to Jesus?’ The Lord will still love you if you choose the ordinary life. But then there is the other life—THE LIFE THAT YOU WERE MEANT TO LIVE. The life that has been buried deep inside of you—buried so deep, in fact, that sometimes only an encounter with Eternity can awaken it. This is the life that whispers to you in your dreams. This is the life that will ruin you for all other living. This life will break your heart 1,000 times & fill you with the inspiration to change the world. It will be a harder life than you ever dreamed you would live, but it will be more beautiful & satisfying than anything you have ever imagined. This is the life to which God is calling you.
Your relationship with God is real. You’re a hero. Do you believe that? Do you believe that you should stand alongside those people listed in Heb.11? Quite a résumé, isn’t it? Unfortunately, there’s more to the text - the Bible goes on to say that they were also: tortured, imprisoned, stoned, sawn in 2, persecuted, left destitute, & afflicted. But then the Bible gives them the ultimate commendation when it says that they were those ‘of whom the world was not worthy’ (v.38). Do you know that God views YOU that way? Do you know that He’s mindful of the price you’ve had to pay, & that Heaven is probably sick-&-tired of hearing Him brag about you? He loves you! His call to the other life was not a trick—there is more awaiting you! It will be more exciting than anything you can imagine. Your life will impact the world in a way that you’ll never understand until you see it from His eternal perspective in Heaven.” -- Chris Jackson
Uma visão cristã de mundo para o século 21
http://anchor.tfionline.com/pt/post/uma-visao-crista-de-mundo-para-o-seculo-21/
Uma compilação
Uma visão cristã de mundo não é apenas a expressão da fé pessoal de alguém, ou apenas uma teoria. Tem a ver com uma maneira de vida que a tudo compreende e se aplica a todas esferas da vida.
No livro The Christian View of God and the World (A visão cristã de DEUS e do Mundo) James Orr defende que o cristão tem uma maneira própria de ver as coisas, com um caráter, coerência e unidade próprias, a qual contrasta com as teorias e especulações populares. A visão de mundo do cristão conta com a chancela da razão e da realidade e é aprovada nos testes da história e da experiência. Ela não pode ser violada, aceita ou rejeitada aos poucos, sustenta-se ou vai ao chão na sua Ãntegra. Uma abordagem de tal forma holÃstica oferece uma estabilidade de pensamento, uma unidade de percepção ampla que não se limita à esfera religiosa, mas compreende a totalidade do pensamento. Uma visão de mundo cristã não se edifica sobre dois tipos de verdade (religiosa e filosófica ou cientÃfica), mas sobre um princÃpio universal e um sistema global que dá forma à religião, as ciências naturais e sociais, à lei, à história, ao cuidado com a saúde, à s artes, à s ciências humanas e todas as disciplinas de estudo, com aplicação para toda a vida.
Os seguidores de Jesus devem construir uma visão de mundo cristã para o século 21, que contemple todos os seus desafios e mudanças, para mostrar como o pensamento cristão se aplica a todas as áreas da vida.
Uma visão cristã de mundo se torna uma força motriz na vida, dando-nos um entendimento do plano e propósito de Deus para este mundo. Nossa identidade é baseada por esta visão de mundo. Não nos vemos mais como pecadores alienados. Uma visão cristã de mundo não é escapismo, mas uma motivação energizadora de uma maneira de pensar e viver fundamentada nos preceitos divinos e na fé. Ela também nos dá confiança e esperança para o futuro. Em meio aos desafios e lutas da vida, uma visão cristã de mundo ajuda a estabilizar a vida, ancora-nos à fidelidade e constância de Deus. — David Dockery
*
Todos seremos esquecidos, nada que façamos não fará nenhuma diferença e todos os nossos bons esforços, inclusive os melhores, não darão em nada, a menos que Deus exista. Se o Deus da BÃblia existe, se há uma realidade subjacente a esta, e se esta vida não é a única, então todo bom esforço, inclusive os mais simples, empreendidos em resposta ao chamado de Deus, podem ter importância eterna. — Timothy Keller
*
O cristianismo bÃblico […] oferece as duas condições necessárias a uma vida relevante, valiosa e cheia de propósito: Deus e imortalidade. Por isso, podemos ter coerência e felicidade na vida, em um contexto definido pela nossa visão de mundo. Dessa forma, o cristianismo bÃblico vence justamente onde o ateÃsmo fracassa… Portanto, crer na existência de Deus faz toda a diferença. — William Lane Craig
*
O cristão jamais será feito cativo pela mirÃade de visões de mundo que competem pela nossa atenção nem nos esquivaremos de fazer a voz cristã ser ouvida e considerada acima de toda a confusão. — James Emery White
A resposta cristã
Os atuais ambientes cultural, social, intelectual, secular e moral, fundidos com os questionamentos, ceticismo e rejeição dos padrões e valores aceitos por anos, provocaram em muitos uma mudança fundamental de valores, ética, visão de mundo, relacionamento com as autoridades e interação com outras pessoas. Para muitos, ficou bem mais difÃcil saber no que se pode confiar. Embora para algumas pessoas, as condições do mundo e da sociedade possam levá-las à mensagem do Evangelho, para outras esse ambiente faz com que seja difÃcil se identificarem com o Evangelho, e ainda mais acreditar nele ou aceitá-lo.
Isso representa vários desafios para os que assumiram o compromisso de difundir o Evangelho, a começar pelo fato de sermos chamados para levar uma mensagem sobre um homem que viveu, morreu e ressuscitou há 2 mil anos — afirmando que é a mensagem mais importante que existe. Portanto, é essencial que o cristão engajado na missão encontre formas inovadoras e criativas para expressar e transmitir a mensagem atemporal do amor de Deus, para falar com as pessoas de hoje. Não há dúvida que os cristãos do passado também enfrentaram desafios, mas o mundo de hoje é o nosso desafio.
Nosso desafio é apresentar Jesus de uma maneira que faça sentido para as pessoas com as quais interagimos, especialmente quando, ao menos no ocidente, muitos não cristãos adotam valores que fazem com que o cristianismo pareça ser irrelevante em suas vidas e visões de mundo. Parece que em algumas regiões, onde o cristianismo está crescendo, é mais fácil difundir o Evangelho já que as pessoas estão mais propensas a acreditar em questões espirituais, especialmente as que vivem em paÃses nos quais há mais evidência do poder espiritual, geralmente apresentado na forma de espÃritos maus e suas obras. Em paÃses ditos mais sofisticados falar de Deus pode ser difÃcil; de Jesus, muito mais. Isso se deve ao secularismo, ao materialismo e ao intelectualismo que se generalizaram para substituir a fé em Deus e o tornaram irrelevante em seu sistema de crença. Logicamente, os cristãos que vivem em paÃses que não possuem uma herança ou cultura cristã, tais como os do Oriente ou Oriente Médio, enfrentam outros desafios para tornar a mensagem pertinente.
Os cristãos têm a tarefa de transmitir as boas novas, o Evangelho, a mensagem de amor e salvação de Deus para o mundo de hoje. Para que isso seja feito de forma apropriada é preciso entender as mudanças fundamentais sofridas pela sociedade, as quais afetaram a visão de mundo das pessoas, seus valores e percepção do cristianismo. Reconhecer que essas mudanças são profundas e geram temores, inseguranças e também ceticismo pode nos ajudar a transmitir melhor a mensagem para as pessoas às quais fomos incumbidos de alcançar se identifiquem com ela.
Sabemos que o Evangelho é uma mensagem para o mundo de hoje, mas encontrar a maneira de alcançar os que ainda não foram atraÃdos por ela, ou que por algum motivo foram afastados por ela, representa um desafio sempre crescente. Ao longo dos últimos trinta anos, o mundo tem mudado muito e rapidamente. O secularismo permeou massivamente as esferas do pensamento e influencia com valores que promovem o interesse próprio, o materialismo e outros que, não apenas são incompatÃveis com o cristianismo e com os valores tradicionais, mas os corroem.
Um dos desafios que nós, cristãos de hoje, temos é viver de forma que o EspÃrito Santo possa se refletir em nós para que as pessoas se sintam atraÃdas e intrigadas pela luz que veem em nós. Então, ao se aproximarem do calor da luz, conectam-se com Aquele que é a luz do mundo e que lhes dará a luz da vida. — Peter Amsterdam
*
Estamos nos dirigindo a uma ditadura do relativismo, que não reconhece nada como definitivo e tem seu mais alto valor no próprio ego e nos próprios apetites. Nós, pelo contrário, temos outro critério: o Filho de Deus, o verdadeiro homem. Ele é a medida do verdadeiro humanismo. Uma fé “adulta” não segue as ondas da moda e a última novidade. Além de adulta e madura é profundamente enraizada na amizade com Cristo. É essa amizade que se abre a tudo aquilo que é bom e que nos dá o critério para discernir entre o que é verdadeiro e o que é falso, entre engano e verdade. — Papa Bento XVI
*
Há muitas semelhanças entre a investigação de casos de homicÃdio e a defesa de uma visão de mundo cristã. Na condição de cristão, não aceito o conceito de cristianismo como uma fé cega, mas fundamento minha crença em algo que é razoável e pode ser avaliado com base em evidências. Como um jurado em um julgamento de homicÃdio, posso examinar as circunstâncias e cada peça de evidência. O caso é amplo e cumulativo. Há MUITOS itens de evidência que devem ser considerados e não podem ser analisados individualmente. A força da argumentação da visão cristã de mundo está na profundidade cumulativa das evidências. — J. Warner Wallace
*
Pensar de uma forma cristã é a maneira de os cristãos pensarem sobre tudo e qualquer coisa em harmonia com a maneira cristã de viver, a qual é formada, direcionada e restringida pela verdade da Palavra de Deus e do EspÃrito de Deus. — Os Guinness
Publicado em Âncora em janeiro de 2015.
Uma compilação
Uma visão cristã de mundo não é apenas a expressão da fé pessoal de alguém, ou apenas uma teoria. Tem a ver com uma maneira de vida que a tudo compreende e se aplica a todas esferas da vida.
No livro The Christian View of God and the World (A visão cristã de DEUS e do Mundo) James Orr defende que o cristão tem uma maneira própria de ver as coisas, com um caráter, coerência e unidade próprias, a qual contrasta com as teorias e especulações populares. A visão de mundo do cristão conta com a chancela da razão e da realidade e é aprovada nos testes da história e da experiência. Ela não pode ser violada, aceita ou rejeitada aos poucos, sustenta-se ou vai ao chão na sua Ãntegra. Uma abordagem de tal forma holÃstica oferece uma estabilidade de pensamento, uma unidade de percepção ampla que não se limita à esfera religiosa, mas compreende a totalidade do pensamento. Uma visão de mundo cristã não se edifica sobre dois tipos de verdade (religiosa e filosófica ou cientÃfica), mas sobre um princÃpio universal e um sistema global que dá forma à religião, as ciências naturais e sociais, à lei, à história, ao cuidado com a saúde, à s artes, à s ciências humanas e todas as disciplinas de estudo, com aplicação para toda a vida.
Os seguidores de Jesus devem construir uma visão de mundo cristã para o século 21, que contemple todos os seus desafios e mudanças, para mostrar como o pensamento cristão se aplica a todas as áreas da vida.
Uma visão cristã de mundo se torna uma força motriz na vida, dando-nos um entendimento do plano e propósito de Deus para este mundo. Nossa identidade é baseada por esta visão de mundo. Não nos vemos mais como pecadores alienados. Uma visão cristã de mundo não é escapismo, mas uma motivação energizadora de uma maneira de pensar e viver fundamentada nos preceitos divinos e na fé. Ela também nos dá confiança e esperança para o futuro. Em meio aos desafios e lutas da vida, uma visão cristã de mundo ajuda a estabilizar a vida, ancora-nos à fidelidade e constância de Deus. — David Dockery
*
Todos seremos esquecidos, nada que façamos não fará nenhuma diferença e todos os nossos bons esforços, inclusive os melhores, não darão em nada, a menos que Deus exista. Se o Deus da BÃblia existe, se há uma realidade subjacente a esta, e se esta vida não é a única, então todo bom esforço, inclusive os mais simples, empreendidos em resposta ao chamado de Deus, podem ter importância eterna. — Timothy Keller
*
O cristianismo bÃblico […] oferece as duas condições necessárias a uma vida relevante, valiosa e cheia de propósito: Deus e imortalidade. Por isso, podemos ter coerência e felicidade na vida, em um contexto definido pela nossa visão de mundo. Dessa forma, o cristianismo bÃblico vence justamente onde o ateÃsmo fracassa… Portanto, crer na existência de Deus faz toda a diferença. — William Lane Craig
*
O cristão jamais será feito cativo pela mirÃade de visões de mundo que competem pela nossa atenção nem nos esquivaremos de fazer a voz cristã ser ouvida e considerada acima de toda a confusão. — James Emery White
A resposta cristã
Os atuais ambientes cultural, social, intelectual, secular e moral, fundidos com os questionamentos, ceticismo e rejeição dos padrões e valores aceitos por anos, provocaram em muitos uma mudança fundamental de valores, ética, visão de mundo, relacionamento com as autoridades e interação com outras pessoas. Para muitos, ficou bem mais difÃcil saber no que se pode confiar. Embora para algumas pessoas, as condições do mundo e da sociedade possam levá-las à mensagem do Evangelho, para outras esse ambiente faz com que seja difÃcil se identificarem com o Evangelho, e ainda mais acreditar nele ou aceitá-lo.
Isso representa vários desafios para os que assumiram o compromisso de difundir o Evangelho, a começar pelo fato de sermos chamados para levar uma mensagem sobre um homem que viveu, morreu e ressuscitou há 2 mil anos — afirmando que é a mensagem mais importante que existe. Portanto, é essencial que o cristão engajado na missão encontre formas inovadoras e criativas para expressar e transmitir a mensagem atemporal do amor de Deus, para falar com as pessoas de hoje. Não há dúvida que os cristãos do passado também enfrentaram desafios, mas o mundo de hoje é o nosso desafio.
Nosso desafio é apresentar Jesus de uma maneira que faça sentido para as pessoas com as quais interagimos, especialmente quando, ao menos no ocidente, muitos não cristãos adotam valores que fazem com que o cristianismo pareça ser irrelevante em suas vidas e visões de mundo. Parece que em algumas regiões, onde o cristianismo está crescendo, é mais fácil difundir o Evangelho já que as pessoas estão mais propensas a acreditar em questões espirituais, especialmente as que vivem em paÃses nos quais há mais evidência do poder espiritual, geralmente apresentado na forma de espÃritos maus e suas obras. Em paÃses ditos mais sofisticados falar de Deus pode ser difÃcil; de Jesus, muito mais. Isso se deve ao secularismo, ao materialismo e ao intelectualismo que se generalizaram para substituir a fé em Deus e o tornaram irrelevante em seu sistema de crença. Logicamente, os cristãos que vivem em paÃses que não possuem uma herança ou cultura cristã, tais como os do Oriente ou Oriente Médio, enfrentam outros desafios para tornar a mensagem pertinente.
Os cristãos têm a tarefa de transmitir as boas novas, o Evangelho, a mensagem de amor e salvação de Deus para o mundo de hoje. Para que isso seja feito de forma apropriada é preciso entender as mudanças fundamentais sofridas pela sociedade, as quais afetaram a visão de mundo das pessoas, seus valores e percepção do cristianismo. Reconhecer que essas mudanças são profundas e geram temores, inseguranças e também ceticismo pode nos ajudar a transmitir melhor a mensagem para as pessoas às quais fomos incumbidos de alcançar se identifiquem com ela.
Sabemos que o Evangelho é uma mensagem para o mundo de hoje, mas encontrar a maneira de alcançar os que ainda não foram atraÃdos por ela, ou que por algum motivo foram afastados por ela, representa um desafio sempre crescente. Ao longo dos últimos trinta anos, o mundo tem mudado muito e rapidamente. O secularismo permeou massivamente as esferas do pensamento e influencia com valores que promovem o interesse próprio, o materialismo e outros que, não apenas são incompatÃveis com o cristianismo e com os valores tradicionais, mas os corroem.
Um dos desafios que nós, cristãos de hoje, temos é viver de forma que o EspÃrito Santo possa se refletir em nós para que as pessoas se sintam atraÃdas e intrigadas pela luz que veem em nós. Então, ao se aproximarem do calor da luz, conectam-se com Aquele que é a luz do mundo e que lhes dará a luz da vida. — Peter Amsterdam
*
Estamos nos dirigindo a uma ditadura do relativismo, que não reconhece nada como definitivo e tem seu mais alto valor no próprio ego e nos próprios apetites. Nós, pelo contrário, temos outro critério: o Filho de Deus, o verdadeiro homem. Ele é a medida do verdadeiro humanismo. Uma fé “adulta” não segue as ondas da moda e a última novidade. Além de adulta e madura é profundamente enraizada na amizade com Cristo. É essa amizade que se abre a tudo aquilo que é bom e que nos dá o critério para discernir entre o que é verdadeiro e o que é falso, entre engano e verdade. — Papa Bento XVI
*
Há muitas semelhanças entre a investigação de casos de homicÃdio e a defesa de uma visão de mundo cristã. Na condição de cristão, não aceito o conceito de cristianismo como uma fé cega, mas fundamento minha crença em algo que é razoável e pode ser avaliado com base em evidências. Como um jurado em um julgamento de homicÃdio, posso examinar as circunstâncias e cada peça de evidência. O caso é amplo e cumulativo. Há MUITOS itens de evidência que devem ser considerados e não podem ser analisados individualmente. A força da argumentação da visão cristã de mundo está na profundidade cumulativa das evidências. — J. Warner Wallace
*
Pensar de uma forma cristã é a maneira de os cristãos pensarem sobre tudo e qualquer coisa em harmonia com a maneira cristã de viver, a qual é formada, direcionada e restringida pela verdade da Palavra de Deus e do EspÃrito de Deus. — Os Guinness
Publicado em Âncora em janeiro de 2015.
Wednesday, January 21, 2015
Jesus—His Life and Message: The Young Jesus
http://directors.tfionline.com/post/jesushis-life-and-message-young-jesus/
(You can read about the intent for and overview of this series in this introductory article.)
The past few articles covered the events surrounding Jesus’ birth. We now move on to the years between His birth and the start of His ministry.
The Gospels tell us about Mary and Joseph returning from Egypt and settling in Nazareth, and about an incident in the temple when Jesus was 12 years old. Beyond that, they say nothing more about Jesus’ life between His birth and His baptism when He was about 30 years old. In order to get a general picture of what Jesus’ early life might have been like, we can look at what is known about the culture and customs within Israel at that time. Since He grew up in a first-century Palestinian village, we can look at the available historical information about life in Israel at that time, and from there draw some informed conclusions about what His early life would have probably been like.
From Matthew’s gospel we learn that once King Herod died, an angel appeared to Joseph in a dream, directing him to take Mary and Jesus back to Israel. Upon returning and learning that Herod’s son Archelaus was ruling over Judea, Joseph was afraid to go there, and being warned in a dream he withdrew to the district of Galilee. And he went and lived in a city called Nazareth.1
The district of Galilee was the northernmost part of Israel, the province farthest from Jerusalem. With its fertile soil, abundant rain, and mild climate, it was one of the most productive agricultural areas of Israel. It was intensively worked for the export of wheat and olives, and also for wine. The Lake of Gennesaret, also known as the Sea of Galilee, provided bountiful fish which supported a dried fish industry.2 There was a Jewish saying, “If anyone wishes to be rich, let him go north; if he wants to be wise, let him come south.”3 While the intent of the saying was to express that wisdom was to be found in Jerusalem in the south, it also showed there were riches to be made in Galilee, the most prosperous province in the country. The wealth was unevenly distributed, however; alongside the few rich of the upper class, and the somewhat larger middle class which consisted of merchants and owners of their own shops or businesses, were the population’s lower class of tenant farmers and day laborers.
The Galilean people were looked down upon by their neighbors to the south. One author describes it as follows:
Galilee got little respect from the rest of the country. It was the farthest province from Jerusalem and the most backward culturally. Rabbinic literature of the time portrays Galileans as bumpkins, fodder for ethnic jokes. Galileans who learned Hebrew pronounced it so crudely that they were not called on to read the Torah in other synagogues. Speaking the common language of Aramaic in a slipshod way was a telltale sign of Galilean roots (as Simon Peter would one day find out, betrayed in the courtyard by his rural accent). The Aramaic words preserved in the Gospels show that Jesus, too, spoke in that northern dialect, no doubt encouraging skepticism about Him. “How can the Christ come from Galilee?”4
Nazareth, Jesus’ hometown, was a small village of perhaps 200 people.5 It was about ten kilometers from the Via Maris, the main road which linked Damascus—an important center of Greco-Roman culture and a major trading center at the time—with the south of Israel and Egypt.6 About four kilometers to the north was the city of Sepphoris, a Hellenistic Greek-speaking town, which at the time of Jesus’ birth was being rebuilt. It’s thought that perhaps Joseph, Jesus’ father, may have done building work there.
Jesus most likely lived in Nazareth until He was about thirty years old. Growing up in Nazareth, His life would have been similar to that of other children in the village. Though no details are given in Scripture about this time in His life, looking at what village life in a Jewish home in the first century was like can give us an idea of His experience of childhood and youth.
Jesus was Mary’s first child. According to Jewish tradition of the time, she was probably about 14–15 years older than Jesus, and Joseph may have been up to 25 years older than his son. According to Scripture, Jesus had four younger brothers and at least two sisters. His brothers—James, Joseph, Jude, and Simon7—had the names of Jewish patriarchs, pointing to a family rooted in the Jewish faith. The names of His sisters are not mentioned in the Gospels.8 His father, Joseph, is traditionally considered to have been a carpenter, a worker in wood. The Greek word (tekton) translated as carpenter is also used to denote someone who works in stonemasonry, construction of houses, and other similar types of work.9
Jesus grew up in a typical Jewish home, so like all Jewish male children, His religious teaching in the first few years would have come from His mother. As He grew older, His father would begin to teach Him the Torah. Jesus would become familiar with the weekly Sabbath prayers and meal, and with the festivals, prayers, hymns, and ceremonies of the Jewish faith. As He grew up, He would attend synagogue services and listen to Scripture being read. He also would have memorized a great deal of Scripture.
It’s not known whether there was a synagogue school in Nazareth, which would have been where Jesus would have received formal schooling of some sort. However, the Gospels make it clear that Jesus was a learned man. It’s clear that He could read, as He read Scripture in the synagogue in Nazareth.10 He also engaged in debates with intellectual leaders, was called “Rabbi” (a title used in Jesus’ day to describe scholars and teachers of the Torah) and “teacher,” and taught in synagogues.
Jewish author and professor David Flusser wrote:
When Jesus’ sayings are examined against the background of contemporaneous Jewish learning, it is easy to observe that Jesus was far from uneducated. He was perfectly at home both in the Holy Scripture and oral tradition, and He knew how to apply this scholarly heritage.11
Author Robert Stein wrote:
Whereas we do not know how Jesus received His training and education, the fact remains that His ability to read, to debate the Scriptures and to answer exegetical questions reveals that He was an educated man.12
When Jesus was old enough, He learned His father’s trade and probably worked with His father until Joseph’s death. After He began His ministry, Jesus returned to Nazareth and spoke in the synagogue. The listeners took offense at Him and said, Is not this the carpenter?13 In Matthew’s gospel they say, Is not this the carpenter’s son?14 These mentions in Scripture are what inform us that Jesus must have had the same trade as His father, and most likely practiced it until He began His ministry at about age 30. The indication is that Joseph died before Jesus started His ministry, since whenever Jesus’ family is referred to, His mother is mentioned (and sometimes His siblings), but never His father.15 If this is the case, then as the firstborn son, Jesus would have become head of the household and would bear responsibility for supporting the family.
Coming from a devout Jewish family, Jesus would have kept the Mosaic law, gone to Jerusalem for the various yearly feasts and to worship in the temple, attended synagogue, prayed the ritual prayers, and done all the things that His contemporaries did at the time. His pre-ministry life would have been typical of an average life of someone in Nazareth. While He most likely excelled in His understanding of Scripture,16 for the most part His childhood, adolescence, and early adulthood before He began His ministry seem to have been normal for a first-century Palestinian Jew.
His years growing up in Galilee, observing the happenings around Him—seeing fields ripe and ready for harvest, watching shepherds tending their flocks and searching for lost sheep, attending wedding parties, seeing day laborers waiting for work, perhaps helping to build a barn for a rich man who had just harvested a bumper crop—would have provided everyday life experiences that He would later use in His teaching and preaching. He would have watched the sowers and the keepers of vines. He knew of the difficulties of debtors and their being imprisoned for their debt. Being a carpenter and builder may have brought Him into contact with large landowners and the stewards who took care of their business. He might have met good stewards, crafty ones, and unfaithful ones. His years of growing up, living, working, and experiencing life in a Galilean village would have prepared Him for His time of ministering to and teaching others.
It’s possible that Jesus spoke the three main languages which were used in Palestine in the first century—Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek. Luke tells us that Jesus was asked to read from the book of the prophets in the synagogue. He read from Isaiah (a rather difficult book to read in Hebrew), which indicates that He could read a high form of Hebrew. It is possible that Jesus knew more than one dialect of Hebrew, even though such knowledge was probably much less common in Galilee than in Judea.17 Scripture was written in a high form of Hebrew, but the Hebrew which was sometimes used when having scriptural debates—as Jesus did with the Scribes and Pharisees—was a different dialect than the Hebrew of Scripture. Since Jesus was debating publicly with scholars of the Law, He would need to be able to use the right dialect in order to effectively make His argument.18
Hebrew, however, wasn’t the language of the street—Aramaic was the most widely used language among Jews of all classes in Galilee and in Judea.19 Aramaic was most likely the everyday language Jesus spoke.
Because of centuries of rule by the Greek-speaking Seleucids, whose governmental and business affairs were conducted in Greek, it is safe to say that in the time of Jesus most educated Palestinian Jews of the upper classes knew at least some Greek, especially in the larger cities.20 It’s possible, though not certain, that Jesus knew at least some Greek, as Nazareth was in Lower Galilee, which was an area with many Greek-speaking Gentiles. Though He wasn’t part of the upper class, His work may have put Him in contact with Greek speakers. There are times in the Gospels when Jesus holds conversations with people who would not have been expected to speak either Hebrew or Aramaic, such as when He spoke with a Roman commander21 and with Pontius Pilate.22 There is no mention that a translator was present at those instances, though there could have been. But it’s also possible that Jesus could speak at least some Greek.23
Only educated guesses can be made about the languages Jesus spoke, the education He had, the exact type of work He did, and almost everything else about Jesus’ life from His birth until His baptism. The Gospels only tell us of one incident in His life within that time period. Luke tells us:
Now his parents went to Jerusalem every year at the Feast of the Passover. And when he was twelve years old, they went up according to custom. And when the feast was ended, as they were returning, the boy Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem. His parents did not know it, but supposing him to be in the group they went a day’s journey, but then they began to search for him among their relatives and acquaintances, and when they did not find him, they returned to Jerusalem, searching for him.
After three days they found him in the temple, sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions. And all who heard him were amazed at his understanding and his answers. And when his parents saw him, they were astonished. And his mother said to him, “Son, why have you treated us so? Behold, your father and I have been searching for you in great distress.” And he said to them, “Why were you looking for me? Did you not know that I must be in my Father's house?” And they did not understand the saying that he spoke to them. And he went down with them and came to Nazareth and was submissive to them. And his mother treasured up all these things in her heart. And Jesus increased in wisdom and in stature and in favor with God and man.24
A few points are made by way of this story. To begin, we are again reminded of the piety of Mary and Joseph, as every year they attended the Feast of the Passover in Jerusalem. This tells us that Jesus was being raised in a household of faith. He had visited the temple, had witnessed the sacrificing of lambs, and the pouring of the blood on the four corners of the altar for the sins of His people. He had become familiar with the feasting and rejoicing during these times, as well as the prayers and rituals and the meaning behind it all.
The Passover was celebrated in the evening, and thus required those who traveled to Jerusalem to stay at least one night. Then, the seven-day Feast of the Unleavened Bread began the following day; so it’s likely that after making the 130-kilometer, three- or four-day trek from Galilee to Jerusalem, Jesus’ family would have remained for the second feast and would be in Jerusalem for the full eight days.
It was a long journey from Nazareth to Jerusalem, and sojourners would generally travel in groups for safety. In this case, Joseph and Mary probably traveled with neighbors and relatives and didn’t realize that Jesus wasn’t with the group they were traveling with until the end of the day, after having traveled about 30 kilometers.
Upon their return to Jerusalem, they found Him in the temple listening to and questioning the religious teachers, who were amazed at Jesus’ understanding. The Greek word used for understanding emphasizes His insight rather than just knowledge. His listening to and asking questions of the teachers of the Law foreshadows His future encounters with them, and also reflects both Jesus’ interest in the Law and His piety. Their amazement at Jesus’ understanding and answers was a foreshadowing of the reaction of the people to Jesus’ ministry in the years to come.
This story provides a glimpse of Jesus’ wisdom at a young age. However, the central theme of the story is Jesus’ reference to God as His Father.25 Mary asks Jesus how He could have treated them this way, for she and Joseph “have been searching for Him and were in great distress.” Considering that He had been missing for three days, any parent can imagine their worry, and also that Mary’s words here are probably a toned down and abbreviated version of what she would have said.
Jesus responds with, Why were you looking for me? Did you not know that I must be in my Father’s house? Some translations render this as about my Father’s business. In either case, Jesus is making the point that He is meant to be in His Father’s service, and that in such a vocation His earthly family will have no hold on Him.26 While Mary spoke of “your father and I,” Jesus stresses that another Father has priority over Him. His stating that He must be in His Father’s house shows a sense of obligation like that indicated in statements He makes during His ministry when He is speaking of the role the Father has given Him.
I must preach the good news of the kingdom of God to the other towns as well; for I was sent for this purpose.27 The Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised.28 29
Jesus’ strong sense of identity with and relationship to God is foreshadowed in this story, showing how that relationship will have priority over any family ties. While His parents didn't understand what Jesus meant when He said He must be in His Father's house, His mother, who lived to see His ministry, would most likely understand what Jesus meant many years later. For now, she treasured up all these things in her heart. Jesus obediently returned home with His parents and we’re told that He increased in wisdom and in stature and in favor with God and man.30
Note
Unless otherwise indicated, all scriptures are from the Holy Bible, English Standard Version, copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
General Bibliography
Bailey, Kenneth E. Jesus Through Middle Eastern Eyes. Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 2008.
Biven, David. New Light on the Difficult Words of Jesus. Holland: En-Gedi Resource Center, 2007.
Bock, Darrell L. Jesus According to Scripture. Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2002.
Brown, Raymond E. The Birth of the Messiah. New York: Doubleday, 1993.
Brown, Raymond E. The Death of the Messiah. 2 vols. New York: Doubleday, 1994.
Charlesworth, James H., ed. Jesus’ Jewishness: Exploring the Place of Jesus Within Early Judaism. New York: The Crossroad Publishing Company, 1997.
Edersheim, Alfred. The Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah. Updated edition. Hendrickson Publishers, 1993.
Elwell, Walter A., and Robert W. Yarbrough. Encountering the New Testament.Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2005.
Evans, Craig A. World Biblical Commentary: Mark 8:27–16:20. Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 2000.
Flusser, David. Jesus. Jerusalem: The Magnes Press, 1998.
Flusser, David, and R. Steven Notely. The Sage from Galilee: Rediscovering Jesus’Genius. Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 2007.
Gnilka, Joachim. Jesus of Nazareth: Message and History. Peabody: Hendrickson Publishers, 1997.
Green, Joel B. The Gospel of Luke. Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1997.
Green, Joel B., and Scot McKnight, eds. Dictionary of Jesus and the Gospels.Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 1992.
Grudem, Wayne. Systematic Theology: An Introduction to Biblical Doctrine. Grand Rapids: InterVarsity Press, 2000.
Guelich, Robert A. World Biblical Commentary: Mark 1–8:26. Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1989.
Jeremias, Joachim. The Eucharistic Words of Jesus. Philadelphia: Trinity Press International, 1990.
Jeremias, Joachim. Jerusalem in the Time of Jesus. Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1996.
Jeremias, Joachim. Jesus and the Message of the New Testament. Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 2002.
Jeremias, Joachim. New Testament Theology. New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1971.
Lewis, Gordon R. and Bruce A. Demarest. Integrative Theology. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1996.
Lloyd-Jones, D. Martyn. Studies in the Sermon on the Mount. Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1976.
Manson, T. W. The Sayings of Jesus. Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1957.
Manson, T. W. The Teaching of Jesus. Cambridge: University Press, 1967.
Michaels, J. Ramsey. The Gospel of John. Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 2010.
Morris, Leon. The Gospel According to Matthew. Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1992.
Pentecost, J. Dwight. The Words & Works of Jesus Christ. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1981.
Sanders, E. P. Jesus and Judaism. Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1985.
Sheen, Fulton J. Life of Christ. New York: Doubleday, 1958.
Spangler, Ann, and Lois Tverberg. Sitting at the Feet of Rabbi Jesus. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2009.
Stein, Robert H. Jesus the Messiah, Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 1996.
Stein, Robert H. The Method and Message of Jesus’ Teachings, Revised Edition.Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 1994.
Stott, John R. W. The Message of the Sermon on the Mount. Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 1978.
Wood, D. R. W., I. H. Marshall, A. R. Millard, J. I. Packer, and D. J. Wiseman, eds.New Bible Dictionary. Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 1996.
Wright, N. T. Jesus and the Victory of God. Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 1996.
Wright, N. T. Matthew for Everyone, Part 1. Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 2004.
Wright, N. T. The Resurrection of the Son of God. Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 2003.
Yancey, Philip. The Jesus I Never Knew. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1995.
Young, Brad H. Jesus the Jewish Theologian. Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 1995.
1 Matthew 2:22–23.
2 Riesner, in Dictionary of Jesus and the Gospels, 252.
3 Edersheim, The Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah, 155.
4 Yancey, The Jesus I Never Knew, 60.
5 Riesner, in Dictionary of Jesus and the Gospels, 36.
6 Gnilka, Jesus of Nazareth, 68.
7 Mark 6:3.
8 Gnilka, Jesus of Nazareth, 68.
9 Ibid., 69.
10 Luke 4:16–21.
11 Flusser, Jesus, 29–30.
12 Stein, Jesus the Messiah, 88.
13 Mark 6:3.
14 Matthew 13:55.
15 John 2:12, Mark 3:31, Luke 8:19.
16 Luke 2:46–47.
17 Wise, Languages of Palestine, in Dictionary of Jesus and the Gospels, 442.
18 Ibid.
19 Ibid., 439.
20 Ibid.
21 Matthew 8:5–7, 13.
22 Luke 23:3; John 18:33–38.
23 Wise, Languages of Palestine, in Dictionary of Jesus and the Gospels, 443.
24 Luke 2:41–52.
25 Brown, The Birth of the Messiah, 474–75, 489.
26 Ibid., 493.
27 Luke 4:43.
28 Luke 9:22 (see also Luke 17:25, 22:37, 24:7).
29 Brown, The Birth of the Messiah, 490.
30 Luke 2:51–52.
Luzes nas Trevas
Palavras de Jesus
http://anchor.tfionline.com/pt/post/luzes-nas-trevas/
“Vocês, porém, são geração eleita, sacerdócio real, nação santa, povo exclusivo de Deus, para anunciar as grandezas daquele que os chamou das trevas para a sua maravilhosa luz.”—1 Pedro 2:9[1]
Eu lhe agradeçopor estar disposto a ser considerado Meu discÃpulo, apesar de viver com pessoas que não compartilham da sua fé. Eu os chamei para serem luz nas trevas. Muitos ao seu redor vivem nas trevas, ainda não Me aceitaram e muitas vezes não entendem ou sequer reconhecem a luz.
Às vezes é difÃcil ser a Minha luz nas trevas quando se trata do relacionamento com pessoas que ama e a quem quer bem. Sabe que encontrou a melhor coisa do mundo, e deseja ardorosamente oferecer isso à s pessoas. Às vezes, elas aceitam a sua fé mas não querem receber a salvação que lhes ofereço de presente, ou a bênção das Minhas palavras e verdades que você quer dividir com elas.
Não se desespere nem desista quando se vir em tal situação. Continue amando as pessoas que lhe são queridas, seus amigos e conhecidos, com o Meu amor. Que elas possam ver a alegria estampada no seu rosto, e a paz que tem no coração. Continue sendo um exemplo da ação desse poder na sua vida. Cabe a você ser uma prova viva do Meu poder através do seu testemunho e exemplo de vida. Mas apenas o Meu EspÃrito pode influenciar para efetuar as mudanças no coração das pessoas
Seja cativante
“O seu falar seja sempre agradável e temperado com sal, para que saibam como responder a cada um.”—Colossenses 4:6[2]
Eu aprecio o fato de você “estar no mundo, mas não ser do mundo”. Conheço os desafios que enfrenta para ficar firme nas suas convicções e na Palavra, e ao mesmo tempo se associar com as pessoas que fazem parte da sua vida. Sei que pode ser desanimador quando elas têm dificuldade para entender ou aceitar o amor e testemunho que quer lhes dar.
Como o rei Salomão disse sabiamente, para tudo há uma ocasião, e um tempo para cada propósito debaixo do céu.[3] Existe um tempo para plantar a semente da Minha Palavra e testemunho, e um tempo para apenas ser um bom amigo e colega de trabalho, mas sempre orando para o Meu EspÃrito atuar na vida das pessoas. O amor que demonstra ao orar por alguém jamais será em vão.
O fato da pessoa ainda não estar pronta para abrir o coração e espÃrito a Mim hoje ou amanhã, ou no ano que vem, não significa que não o faça um dia. Então continue sendo um bom amigo e reflexo de Mim para quem Eu colocar no seu caminho.
Mantenha as portas de comunicação abertas. Demonstre o Meu amor sendo um colega com o qual as pessoas podem contar, alguém que sabe ouvir, solidário com os que estiverem tendo um dia difÃcil, e um amigo na hora da necessidade. Continue intercedendo pelas pessoas para Eu agir em seus corações e vidas, curar suas mágoas e suprir soluções para os seus problemas.
Quando vivi na Terra, muitas vezes Eu passava um tempo conversando sobre pesca com os muitos pescadores que encontrava. Nós também falávamos de carpintaria, crianças, e muitas outras coisas que eram importantes e de interesse das pessoas na Minha época. Apesar de Eu ser um representante de Deus para o mundo, também fui humano, para as pessoas poderem se identificar Comigo e, através de Mim, conhecerem o Meu Pai, que estava bem além da sua compreensão.
Eu ajudava Meu pai terreno na sua oficina de carpintaria e também conversava com os vizinhos sobre assuntos do seu interesse. Eu era o irmão mais velho. Cumpria os deveres de um filho, de honrar e respeitar os pais, e até de ajudar com a subsistência, até chegar a hora de Me dedicar exclusivamente ao trabalho do Meu Pai celestial.
Oferecia amor e amizade a todos que podia, da maneira que pudessem aceitar.Contava histórias usando termos que as pessoas pudessem entender para ajudá-las a assimilar as verdades espirituais mais profundas. Se por um lado a Minha mensagem era espiritual, por outro estava embalada na forma humana, para poder chegar ao fundo do coração e vida das pessoas.
Um segredo para ser uma testemunha eficaz é demonstrar interesse nas pessoas e nas coisas que lhes são importantes. Evite discussões e polêmicas. Não imponha suas opiniões. Tenha por meta estar em paz com todo o mundo, tanto quanto possÃvel, e se tornar todas as coisas para todos, para alcançar o máximo possÃvel.[4]
Peça-Me para lhe dar sabedoria nas suas interações com parentes, amigos e colegas de trabalho, lembrando-se sempre que “o maior destes é o amor”.[5] O amor é uma lÃngua universal que, com o tempo, afeta até o coração mais empedernido.
Amar significa aceitar as pessoas como são. É importante não fazer um cÃrculo ao redor de si e da sua vida por Mim que exclui outros. Precisa ser fiel à s suas convicções, não participando de atividades que sejam contra suas convicções, seriam prejudiciais ou atrapalhariam você ou outros de alguma forma. Tente ser o mais gentil e amável possÃvel, procurando construir pontes de comunicação. Seja simpático e franco. Seja um amigo de verdade, agindo com gentileza e respeito. Esteja disposto a ouvir, a compartilhar. Procure pessoas receptivas para quem possa ministrar a Minha Palavra e para as quais possa testemunhar. Mas não exclua aquelas que ainda não estão preparadas ou dispostas a Me receber ou aprender mais a Minha Palavra.
Se forçar a sua maneira de pensar, as pessoas vão achá-lo intolerante, crÃtico e mal-educado. Procure maneiras de dizer coisas que vão reconfortar, animar e transmitir fé. Faça uma oração pela pessoa, sem impingir suas convicções ou parecer que não se interessa por seus sentimentos e convicções, pelo que pensam e no que acreditam.
Vá com calma. Tenha sabedoria, tato, respeito, educação e seja amável com as pessoas com quem vive, trabalha e encontra regularmente. Assim você vai conquistar muitos amigos e evitar alienar, ofender ou magoar. Lembre-se das pequenas coisas que são importantes para outros e tome um tempo para demonstrar interesse e participar delas.
Foque os pontos que vocês têm em comum. Às vezes, não é possÃvel evitar controvérsia ou debates, e é preciso defender a sua fé. Mas faça com amor, sabedoria e tato. Coloque-se no lugar da outra pessoa para poder entender o ponto de vista dela e a razão porque está dizendo ou fazendo algo.
Se tratar as pessoas com educação, respeito, gentileza, humildade e sabedoria, será mais fácil acatarem quando você discordar de uma questão ou situação. Quando se vir no meio de um debate ou divergência em que seja difÃcil não ofender as pessoas sem abrir concessões quanto à s suas convicções, peça-Me sabedoria para Eu poder azeitar sua comunicação com o Meu EspÃrito e você responder com sabedoria.
Busque a paz na sua interação com as pessoas que coloquei na sua vida.[6] Existe um propósito para cada contato que você faz, e o Meu amor que você reflete vai mexer com cada pessoa com quem interage. O Meu amor sobrenatural o ajudará a ver o bem e as possibilidades em cada pessoa. Eu também lhe darei sabedoria para ser amoroso e cativante e tocar o coração das pessoas.
Publicado originalmente em maio 2009. Adaptado e republicado em janeiro 2015.
[1] NVI.
[2] NVI.
[3] Eclesiastes 3:1.
[4] Hebreus 12:14; 1 CorÃntios 9:19–23.
[5] 1 CorÃntios 13:13.
[6] Salmo 34:14.
http://anchor.tfionline.com/pt/post/luzes-nas-trevas/
“Vocês, porém, são geração eleita, sacerdócio real, nação santa, povo exclusivo de Deus, para anunciar as grandezas daquele que os chamou das trevas para a sua maravilhosa luz.”—1 Pedro 2:9[1]
Eu lhe agradeçopor estar disposto a ser considerado Meu discÃpulo, apesar de viver com pessoas que não compartilham da sua fé. Eu os chamei para serem luz nas trevas. Muitos ao seu redor vivem nas trevas, ainda não Me aceitaram e muitas vezes não entendem ou sequer reconhecem a luz.
Às vezes é difÃcil ser a Minha luz nas trevas quando se trata do relacionamento com pessoas que ama e a quem quer bem. Sabe que encontrou a melhor coisa do mundo, e deseja ardorosamente oferecer isso à s pessoas. Às vezes, elas aceitam a sua fé mas não querem receber a salvação que lhes ofereço de presente, ou a bênção das Minhas palavras e verdades que você quer dividir com elas.
Não se desespere nem desista quando se vir em tal situação. Continue amando as pessoas que lhe são queridas, seus amigos e conhecidos, com o Meu amor. Que elas possam ver a alegria estampada no seu rosto, e a paz que tem no coração. Continue sendo um exemplo da ação desse poder na sua vida. Cabe a você ser uma prova viva do Meu poder através do seu testemunho e exemplo de vida. Mas apenas o Meu EspÃrito pode influenciar para efetuar as mudanças no coração das pessoas
Seja cativante
“O seu falar seja sempre agradável e temperado com sal, para que saibam como responder a cada um.”—Colossenses 4:6[2]
Eu aprecio o fato de você “estar no mundo, mas não ser do mundo”. Conheço os desafios que enfrenta para ficar firme nas suas convicções e na Palavra, e ao mesmo tempo se associar com as pessoas que fazem parte da sua vida. Sei que pode ser desanimador quando elas têm dificuldade para entender ou aceitar o amor e testemunho que quer lhes dar.
Como o rei Salomão disse sabiamente, para tudo há uma ocasião, e um tempo para cada propósito debaixo do céu.[3] Existe um tempo para plantar a semente da Minha Palavra e testemunho, e um tempo para apenas ser um bom amigo e colega de trabalho, mas sempre orando para o Meu EspÃrito atuar na vida das pessoas. O amor que demonstra ao orar por alguém jamais será em vão.
O fato da pessoa ainda não estar pronta para abrir o coração e espÃrito a Mim hoje ou amanhã, ou no ano que vem, não significa que não o faça um dia. Então continue sendo um bom amigo e reflexo de Mim para quem Eu colocar no seu caminho.
Mantenha as portas de comunicação abertas. Demonstre o Meu amor sendo um colega com o qual as pessoas podem contar, alguém que sabe ouvir, solidário com os que estiverem tendo um dia difÃcil, e um amigo na hora da necessidade. Continue intercedendo pelas pessoas para Eu agir em seus corações e vidas, curar suas mágoas e suprir soluções para os seus problemas.
Quando vivi na Terra, muitas vezes Eu passava um tempo conversando sobre pesca com os muitos pescadores que encontrava. Nós também falávamos de carpintaria, crianças, e muitas outras coisas que eram importantes e de interesse das pessoas na Minha época. Apesar de Eu ser um representante de Deus para o mundo, também fui humano, para as pessoas poderem se identificar Comigo e, através de Mim, conhecerem o Meu Pai, que estava bem além da sua compreensão.
Eu ajudava Meu pai terreno na sua oficina de carpintaria e também conversava com os vizinhos sobre assuntos do seu interesse. Eu era o irmão mais velho. Cumpria os deveres de um filho, de honrar e respeitar os pais, e até de ajudar com a subsistência, até chegar a hora de Me dedicar exclusivamente ao trabalho do Meu Pai celestial.
Oferecia amor e amizade a todos que podia, da maneira que pudessem aceitar.Contava histórias usando termos que as pessoas pudessem entender para ajudá-las a assimilar as verdades espirituais mais profundas. Se por um lado a Minha mensagem era espiritual, por outro estava embalada na forma humana, para poder chegar ao fundo do coração e vida das pessoas.
Um segredo para ser uma testemunha eficaz é demonstrar interesse nas pessoas e nas coisas que lhes são importantes. Evite discussões e polêmicas. Não imponha suas opiniões. Tenha por meta estar em paz com todo o mundo, tanto quanto possÃvel, e se tornar todas as coisas para todos, para alcançar o máximo possÃvel.[4]
Peça-Me para lhe dar sabedoria nas suas interações com parentes, amigos e colegas de trabalho, lembrando-se sempre que “o maior destes é o amor”.[5] O amor é uma lÃngua universal que, com o tempo, afeta até o coração mais empedernido.
Amar significa aceitar as pessoas como são. É importante não fazer um cÃrculo ao redor de si e da sua vida por Mim que exclui outros. Precisa ser fiel à s suas convicções, não participando de atividades que sejam contra suas convicções, seriam prejudiciais ou atrapalhariam você ou outros de alguma forma. Tente ser o mais gentil e amável possÃvel, procurando construir pontes de comunicação. Seja simpático e franco. Seja um amigo de verdade, agindo com gentileza e respeito. Esteja disposto a ouvir, a compartilhar. Procure pessoas receptivas para quem possa ministrar a Minha Palavra e para as quais possa testemunhar. Mas não exclua aquelas que ainda não estão preparadas ou dispostas a Me receber ou aprender mais a Minha Palavra.
Se forçar a sua maneira de pensar, as pessoas vão achá-lo intolerante, crÃtico e mal-educado. Procure maneiras de dizer coisas que vão reconfortar, animar e transmitir fé. Faça uma oração pela pessoa, sem impingir suas convicções ou parecer que não se interessa por seus sentimentos e convicções, pelo que pensam e no que acreditam.
Vá com calma. Tenha sabedoria, tato, respeito, educação e seja amável com as pessoas com quem vive, trabalha e encontra regularmente. Assim você vai conquistar muitos amigos e evitar alienar, ofender ou magoar. Lembre-se das pequenas coisas que são importantes para outros e tome um tempo para demonstrar interesse e participar delas.
Foque os pontos que vocês têm em comum. Às vezes, não é possÃvel evitar controvérsia ou debates, e é preciso defender a sua fé. Mas faça com amor, sabedoria e tato. Coloque-se no lugar da outra pessoa para poder entender o ponto de vista dela e a razão porque está dizendo ou fazendo algo.
Se tratar as pessoas com educação, respeito, gentileza, humildade e sabedoria, será mais fácil acatarem quando você discordar de uma questão ou situação. Quando se vir no meio de um debate ou divergência em que seja difÃcil não ofender as pessoas sem abrir concessões quanto à s suas convicções, peça-Me sabedoria para Eu poder azeitar sua comunicação com o Meu EspÃrito e você responder com sabedoria.
Busque a paz na sua interação com as pessoas que coloquei na sua vida.[6] Existe um propósito para cada contato que você faz, e o Meu amor que você reflete vai mexer com cada pessoa com quem interage. O Meu amor sobrenatural o ajudará a ver o bem e as possibilidades em cada pessoa. Eu também lhe darei sabedoria para ser amoroso e cativante e tocar o coração das pessoas.
Publicado originalmente em maio 2009. Adaptado e republicado em janeiro 2015.
[1] NVI.
[2] NVI.
[3] Eclesiastes 3:1.
[4] Hebreus 12:14; 1 CorÃntios 9:19–23.
[5] 1 CorÃntios 13:13.
[6] Salmo 34:14.
Monday, January 19, 2015
War is still ‘a racket’
By David James, Foreign Policy, Jan. 15, 2015
The United States of America is in a state of perpetual war, which requires perpetual war spending. The reason for this is simple: money and power.
To be more specific, taxpayer money allocated by politicians to defense contractors who produce wildly expensive and unnecessary equipment, and power of controlling certain resources and markets for profit-driven corporations and industries. This is allowed to happen because the citizens, the tax-payers, do not know and do not care about money spent on “defense.” The American military is the sole remaining institution of public funding and common interest that has a near unanimous bipartisan approval rating and simultaneous near lack of oversight, and lack of interest by voters. One relevant example is the disturbing case of the F-35 “Lightning” stealth fighter jet. It is being produced by a team of industrial arms producers including Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman, BAE Systems, and active cooperation between the USA and at least ten other allied nations. The total estimated long-term cost of the project has been estimated to reach as high as $1.5 Trillion. That’s trillion with a “T”, or as much as the entire Iraq War combined, or more than the annual GNP of all but the 12 biggest economies in the world. Many times public projects of dubious merit and gross mismanagement will be deemed “boondoggles” by the press. In this case, there is little press coverage at all of a military project so enormously wasteful as to defy imagination. The word boondoggle is too benign for the cancer of corrupt and bungled arms contracts that is the F-35. Faulty software will prevent the jet from firing its own gun and will delay the project for at least another five years.
James Fallows has written a long and in-depth analysis in The Atlantic magazine about many aspects of America’s military problems as they currently stand. He uses the word “chickenhawk” to describe the type of person who wants to start wars but not participate in them. He gives solid reasons why America has a “chickenhawk economy” (the F-35 being a key example), “chickenhawk politics” (lack of oversight, accountability, or criticism of the military by its elected civilian overseers in Congress and the White House), and a “chickenhawk society.” Regarding this last point, Fallows says: “The vast majority of Americans outside the military can be triply cynical in their attitude toward it. Triply? One: “honoring” the troops but not thinking about them. Two: “caring” about defense spending but really viewing it as a bipartisan stimulus program. Three: supporting a “strong” defense but assuming that the United States is so much stronger than any rival that it’s pointless to worry whether strategy, weaponry, and leadership are right.”
The issues we are dealing with, however, are by no means new and did not start with the F-35 or even during the Reagan administration. War profiteering, monopolistic corporate practices, excessive lobbying of government by vested interests, manipulation of opinion with propaganda, and public ignorance (or indifference) have existed since the beginning of the republic, and are shared in common with all democracies. What is new is the colossal scale of military and “defense” spending, which is in reality a perpetual war footing that is starting to resemble Orwell’s Ministry of Peace in some ways.
Many people are familiar with President Eisenhower’s 1961 farewell address in which he warns against the so-called “military-industrial complex.” The fundamental problem he was talking about is the corrupting influence on government by private enterprise, especially powerful industries like arms manufacturers and oil. One common misconception may be that this collusion between government and industry was a relatively new thing that grew after World War Two, when in fact it has been a serious problem at least since America got involved in the imperialism game in the Spanish-American War in 1898.
Somewhat less well-known than Eisenhower’s is a 1935 speech by General Smedley Butler titled “War is a Racket.” Butler joined the Marines in 1898 at the age of 17 in order to fight in the Spanish-American War, and he rose through the ranks while participating in virtually every American military intervention between 1898 until his retirement in 1931 as the senior ranking officer of the Marine Corps. He was also the most decorated Marine ever at the time of his death, including two Medals of Honor. After his retirement, Butler became a political activist touring the country giving speeches against the growing threat of fascism (not just abroad but in America) and what Eisenhower later called the “military-industrial complex.”
Here is a powerful summary of his opinions that comes from a 1935 article in the socialist magazine Common Sense:
I spent 33 years and four months in active military service and during that period I spent most of my time as a high class muscle man for Big Business, for Wall Street and the bankers. In short, I was a racketeer, a gangster for capitalism. I helped make Mexico and especially Tampico safe for American oil interests in 1914. I helped make Haiti and Cuba a decent place for the National City Bank boys to collect revenues in. I helped in the raping of half a dozen Central American republics for the benefit of Wall Street. I helped purify Nicaragua for the International Banking House of Brown Brothers in 1902–1912. I brought light to the Dominican Republic for the American sugar interests in 1916. I helped make Honduras right for the American fruit companies in 1903. In China in 1927 I helped see to it that Standard Oil went on its way unmolested. Looking back on it, I might have given Al Capone a few hints. The best he could do was to operate his racket in three districts. I operated on three continents.
In “War is a Racket” he opens like this:
War is a racket. It always has been. It is possibly the oldest, easily the most profitable, surely the most vicious. It is the only one international in scope. It is the only one in which the profits are reckoned in dollars and the losses in lives.
He gives the reason for his conviction and correctly predicts a coming war in Europe and Asia, specifically mentioning how the US Navy was provoking Japan with war games in the Pacific. He goes on to list exactly which “patriotic” companies profited enormously from war, how ordinary soldiers and citizens paid the enormous bill, and how 21,000 new millionaires and billionaires were made during World War One. His solution for breaking, or at least limiting the war racket, is threefold:
1. Make war unprofitable: “Let the officers and the directors and the high-powered executives of our armament factories and our steel companies and our munitions makers and our ship-builders and our airplane builders and the manufacturers of all other things that provide profit in war time as well as the bankers and the speculators, be conscripted—to get $30 a month, the same wage as the lads in the trenches get.”
2. Hold a limited plebiscite before declaring war, with eligible voters being those who would be called upon to do the fighting and the dying.
3. Limit the military to actual defense: “The ships of our navy, it can be seen, should be specifically limited, by law, to within 200 miles of our coastline. Had that been the law in 1898 the Maine would never have gone to Havana Harbor. She never would have been blown up. There would have been no war with Spain with its attendant loss of life. Two hundred miles is ample, in the opinion of experts, for defense purposes. Our nation cannot start an offensive war if its ships can’t go further than 200 miles from the coastline. Planes might be permitted to go as far as 500 miles from the coast for purposes of reconnaissance. And the army should never leave the territorial limits of our nation.”
I fully endorse the second proposal, and the other two should be realized in some form or another. I think it’s safe to say that there would be no current fuss about the national deficit if these rules had been in place at any time after World War Two. That the army should never leave the territory, or “homeland” to use the current nomenclature, of our nation would have surely saved thousands of American lives, ten times that many foreign lives, and untold billions and trillions of dollars. Smedley Butler was a man not just uncommonly brave on the battlefield, but even braver to speak out against the masters of war who would rule the country, and the world.
There is something still very relevant about “War is a Racket” long after it was written. Reading Butler’s description of interventions he was involved in, I am reminded of that part of One Hundred Years of Solitude in which the United Fruit Company massacres banana workers on strike, or of any number of real interventions that have happened since 1935 (either by military force or C.I.A.). We can see that, contrary to popular imagination, America and its military has been strong-arming foreign countries for long before Eisenhower’s speech, and is still doing it today.
Back to the original point. America is in a continual state of war not because its citizens like it that way but because it is highly, hugely profitable to the powerful interests that hold more influence with politicians than millions of individual citizens combined. I can think of very few people who would have voted to spend over a Trillion dollars fighting a war in Iraq, and even fewer who would vote to allocate over a Trillion dollars of their tax revenue to an unnecessary jet that may not ever work properly. So why does it continue like this? It comes down to the fact that not enough Americans know or care about what happens in other countries or what their government and military is doing in their name. Do many Americans know that there are at least 1000 American military bases around the world, or that there is a fast growing Africa Command branch of the military that is involved in almost every country in Africa? Certain politicians would like to cut “discretionary” spending for such unnecessary things as education, health care, infrastructure, and protecting the environment, but over $1 Trillion a year in allotted to the military, secret intelligence, and “homeland security” in order to continue such unholy activities we have seen for over 100 years.
It is telling that such a high profile person like General Butler could give such influential speeches in the ‘30s, and that even a president (who was also a general, perhaps not coincidentally) could warn against the military-industrial complex in 1961. Such a thing has been unimaginable since the Carter presidency. With the possible exception of Bernie Sanders, there are no politicians today brave enough to take on this problem, and certainly none with as high a profile as president. Maybe it’s time for less money in the hands of arms producers and war profiteers. It’s time for less war and weapons in general. Sadly, this means that it must be time for new politicians. Only a citizenry which not only votes, but is also informed and involved, can do this.
David James served as a Fire Support Officer in the 173rd Airborne in Afghanistan from 2005-2006 and 2007-2008. He now teaches English in Italy. He is not a pacifist, but he does believe that the number of just wars in history can be counted on one hand.
The United States of America is in a state of perpetual war, which requires perpetual war spending. The reason for this is simple: money and power.
To be more specific, taxpayer money allocated by politicians to defense contractors who produce wildly expensive and unnecessary equipment, and power of controlling certain resources and markets for profit-driven corporations and industries. This is allowed to happen because the citizens, the tax-payers, do not know and do not care about money spent on “defense.” The American military is the sole remaining institution of public funding and common interest that has a near unanimous bipartisan approval rating and simultaneous near lack of oversight, and lack of interest by voters. One relevant example is the disturbing case of the F-35 “Lightning” stealth fighter jet. It is being produced by a team of industrial arms producers including Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman, BAE Systems, and active cooperation between the USA and at least ten other allied nations. The total estimated long-term cost of the project has been estimated to reach as high as $1.5 Trillion. That’s trillion with a “T”, or as much as the entire Iraq War combined, or more than the annual GNP of all but the 12 biggest economies in the world. Many times public projects of dubious merit and gross mismanagement will be deemed “boondoggles” by the press. In this case, there is little press coverage at all of a military project so enormously wasteful as to defy imagination. The word boondoggle is too benign for the cancer of corrupt and bungled arms contracts that is the F-35. Faulty software will prevent the jet from firing its own gun and will delay the project for at least another five years.
James Fallows has written a long and in-depth analysis in The Atlantic magazine about many aspects of America’s military problems as they currently stand. He uses the word “chickenhawk” to describe the type of person who wants to start wars but not participate in them. He gives solid reasons why America has a “chickenhawk economy” (the F-35 being a key example), “chickenhawk politics” (lack of oversight, accountability, or criticism of the military by its elected civilian overseers in Congress and the White House), and a “chickenhawk society.” Regarding this last point, Fallows says: “The vast majority of Americans outside the military can be triply cynical in their attitude toward it. Triply? One: “honoring” the troops but not thinking about them. Two: “caring” about defense spending but really viewing it as a bipartisan stimulus program. Three: supporting a “strong” defense but assuming that the United States is so much stronger than any rival that it’s pointless to worry whether strategy, weaponry, and leadership are right.”
The issues we are dealing with, however, are by no means new and did not start with the F-35 or even during the Reagan administration. War profiteering, monopolistic corporate practices, excessive lobbying of government by vested interests, manipulation of opinion with propaganda, and public ignorance (or indifference) have existed since the beginning of the republic, and are shared in common with all democracies. What is new is the colossal scale of military and “defense” spending, which is in reality a perpetual war footing that is starting to resemble Orwell’s Ministry of Peace in some ways.
Many people are familiar with President Eisenhower’s 1961 farewell address in which he warns against the so-called “military-industrial complex.” The fundamental problem he was talking about is the corrupting influence on government by private enterprise, especially powerful industries like arms manufacturers and oil. One common misconception may be that this collusion between government and industry was a relatively new thing that grew after World War Two, when in fact it has been a serious problem at least since America got involved in the imperialism game in the Spanish-American War in 1898.
Somewhat less well-known than Eisenhower’s is a 1935 speech by General Smedley Butler titled “War is a Racket.” Butler joined the Marines in 1898 at the age of 17 in order to fight in the Spanish-American War, and he rose through the ranks while participating in virtually every American military intervention between 1898 until his retirement in 1931 as the senior ranking officer of the Marine Corps. He was also the most decorated Marine ever at the time of his death, including two Medals of Honor. After his retirement, Butler became a political activist touring the country giving speeches against the growing threat of fascism (not just abroad but in America) and what Eisenhower later called the “military-industrial complex.”
Here is a powerful summary of his opinions that comes from a 1935 article in the socialist magazine Common Sense:
I spent 33 years and four months in active military service and during that period I spent most of my time as a high class muscle man for Big Business, for Wall Street and the bankers. In short, I was a racketeer, a gangster for capitalism. I helped make Mexico and especially Tampico safe for American oil interests in 1914. I helped make Haiti and Cuba a decent place for the National City Bank boys to collect revenues in. I helped in the raping of half a dozen Central American republics for the benefit of Wall Street. I helped purify Nicaragua for the International Banking House of Brown Brothers in 1902–1912. I brought light to the Dominican Republic for the American sugar interests in 1916. I helped make Honduras right for the American fruit companies in 1903. In China in 1927 I helped see to it that Standard Oil went on its way unmolested. Looking back on it, I might have given Al Capone a few hints. The best he could do was to operate his racket in three districts. I operated on three continents.
In “War is a Racket” he opens like this:
War is a racket. It always has been. It is possibly the oldest, easily the most profitable, surely the most vicious. It is the only one international in scope. It is the only one in which the profits are reckoned in dollars and the losses in lives.
He gives the reason for his conviction and correctly predicts a coming war in Europe and Asia, specifically mentioning how the US Navy was provoking Japan with war games in the Pacific. He goes on to list exactly which “patriotic” companies profited enormously from war, how ordinary soldiers and citizens paid the enormous bill, and how 21,000 new millionaires and billionaires were made during World War One. His solution for breaking, or at least limiting the war racket, is threefold:
1. Make war unprofitable: “Let the officers and the directors and the high-powered executives of our armament factories and our steel companies and our munitions makers and our ship-builders and our airplane builders and the manufacturers of all other things that provide profit in war time as well as the bankers and the speculators, be conscripted—to get $30 a month, the same wage as the lads in the trenches get.”
2. Hold a limited plebiscite before declaring war, with eligible voters being those who would be called upon to do the fighting and the dying.
3. Limit the military to actual defense: “The ships of our navy, it can be seen, should be specifically limited, by law, to within 200 miles of our coastline. Had that been the law in 1898 the Maine would never have gone to Havana Harbor. She never would have been blown up. There would have been no war with Spain with its attendant loss of life. Two hundred miles is ample, in the opinion of experts, for defense purposes. Our nation cannot start an offensive war if its ships can’t go further than 200 miles from the coastline. Planes might be permitted to go as far as 500 miles from the coast for purposes of reconnaissance. And the army should never leave the territorial limits of our nation.”
I fully endorse the second proposal, and the other two should be realized in some form or another. I think it’s safe to say that there would be no current fuss about the national deficit if these rules had been in place at any time after World War Two. That the army should never leave the territory, or “homeland” to use the current nomenclature, of our nation would have surely saved thousands of American lives, ten times that many foreign lives, and untold billions and trillions of dollars. Smedley Butler was a man not just uncommonly brave on the battlefield, but even braver to speak out against the masters of war who would rule the country, and the world.
There is something still very relevant about “War is a Racket” long after it was written. Reading Butler’s description of interventions he was involved in, I am reminded of that part of One Hundred Years of Solitude in which the United Fruit Company massacres banana workers on strike, or of any number of real interventions that have happened since 1935 (either by military force or C.I.A.). We can see that, contrary to popular imagination, America and its military has been strong-arming foreign countries for long before Eisenhower’s speech, and is still doing it today.
Back to the original point. America is in a continual state of war not because its citizens like it that way but because it is highly, hugely profitable to the powerful interests that hold more influence with politicians than millions of individual citizens combined. I can think of very few people who would have voted to spend over a Trillion dollars fighting a war in Iraq, and even fewer who would vote to allocate over a Trillion dollars of their tax revenue to an unnecessary jet that may not ever work properly. So why does it continue like this? It comes down to the fact that not enough Americans know or care about what happens in other countries or what their government and military is doing in their name. Do many Americans know that there are at least 1000 American military bases around the world, or that there is a fast growing Africa Command branch of the military that is involved in almost every country in Africa? Certain politicians would like to cut “discretionary” spending for such unnecessary things as education, health care, infrastructure, and protecting the environment, but over $1 Trillion a year in allotted to the military, secret intelligence, and “homeland security” in order to continue such unholy activities we have seen for over 100 years.
It is telling that such a high profile person like General Butler could give such influential speeches in the ‘30s, and that even a president (who was also a general, perhaps not coincidentally) could warn against the military-industrial complex in 1961. Such a thing has been unimaginable since the Carter presidency. With the possible exception of Bernie Sanders, there are no politicians today brave enough to take on this problem, and certainly none with as high a profile as president. Maybe it’s time for less money in the hands of arms producers and war profiteers. It’s time for less war and weapons in general. Sadly, this means that it must be time for new politicians. Only a citizenry which not only votes, but is also informed and involved, can do this.
David James served as a Fire Support Officer in the 173rd Airborne in Afghanistan from 2005-2006 and 2007-2008. He now teaches English in Italy. He is not a pacifist, but he does believe that the number of just wars in history can be counted on one hand.
