Rest In Peace Clare (JustMEinT)

The lady behind JustMEinT, Clare McConville-Harris, is no longer with us.
I am sad to tell you all that Clare passed away on the 31st of March 2015 after a brief hospital stay, her sudden passing caught us all by surprise.
Clare had been unwell but as it turned out the issues she faced were bigger than anyone, herself included, had anticipated. Truth be told, even though the cause of death will not state it, she died of a broken heart after the recent passing of her husband in January.
This will be the last post to this site.

Tony Cook, Her Son.

MODERN IDOLATRY and its consequences

The Lord God told Moses, who then repeated it to the Israelites what was going to happen to them once they turned away from Yahweh and gave themselves over to the worship and idolatry of other gods. (see Deut 31:15ff)

But, you may say that was back then, so what is the reason God is no longer working (seemingly) in the world and in the lives of his people? We don’t sacrifice animals to idols! We don’t celebrate heathen festivals! We don’t burn people at the stake! We don’t celebrate and adore other gods – so why have you deserted us?

Idolatry takes many forms only one of which includes bowing down physically to foreign gods. Think on this – we cannot do without our mobile phones, our computers, our motor vehicles, our fast food or our fancy wardrobe – let alone our plastic credit cards!  Technically we worship these things.

I found the following essay very revealing as an example of modern idolatry.

In an essay written in advance of his book, Rosner defines idolatry as “an attack on God’s exclusive rights to our love, trust and obedience.” The rejection of physical images served as an important boundary marker for early Jews and Christians. But in the Bible, “idolatry” was not limited to opposition to images, because our love, trust, and obedience run to principles and gods even if they are not associated with a physical idol. So sexual immorality and greed are tied to idolatry (Col. 3:5; Eph. 5:5) even though they do not always involve a tangible image.

Idolatry is dangerous because it almost always involves the offer of good things as substitutes for God. Wright highlights three pairs of idols: power and pride, success and popularity, and wealth and greed. Keller similarly highlights money, sex, and power, noting that even churches and efforts in ministry can become idols.

The main thesis of Beale’s biblical theological study is, “All humans have been created to be reflecting beings, and they will reflect whatever they are ultimately committed to, whether the true God or some other object in the created order. Thus … the primary theme of this book, we resemble what we revere, either for ruin or restoration.” This theme is succinctly found in Psalm 115:8: “Those who make idols are like them; so are all who trust in them” (cf. Ps. 135:18). Throughout the Old Testament this theological principle leads prophets to taunt Israel’s enemies or Israel herself: they are just as blind, deaf, mute, and hard-hearted as their lifeless wood and metal gods, for those who worship idols will mirror their traits.

Application abounds. David B. Hart excises a vivid illustration from the ancient world:

Atargatis, the “Syrian Goddess,” was a demanding mistress. For one thing, her priests (the galli) could win their way into her affections only by emasculating themselves.

According to the De Dea Syria, attributed to Lucian of Samosata, any young man disposed to dedicate himself to her service in Hierapolis had to make this first and most extravagant oblation on one of her high holy days, in a fit of divine ecstasy, with a single economic slash of a sacred sword kept at her temple.

Now, admittedly, we all do our best to lay up treasure in heaven, and I suppose one ought not to cast too many peremptory judgments on other people’s pieties; but I think most of us can agree that this was a fairly exorbitant sum to place in escrow on an uncertain bargain.

Cults like Atargatis flesh out the important theme summarized by Beale. When worship involves slicing off the ability to reproduce, the worshiper becomes as impotent as his goddess, who is a dead idol unable to create or sustain life.

Closer to home geographically, ideologically, and temporally, we find the same effect. The most famous statue in the United States is the Statue of Liberty. Many Americans are unaware that the image atop the base is the Roman goddess Libertas.

Now we may not worship this goddess in the traditional manner. But it is not too much to say that our radical allegiance to self and independence is idolatrous worship, nor that such worship manifests itself in extravagant offerings of money spent and relationships sacrificed—even the sacrifice of the unborn. And if we worship freedom, we may become the personification of Libertas, unable to experience healthy dependence on God and others, even as others find they cannot depend on us. Freedom can ironically enslave us, crippling our service to God and others.

The temptation to idolatry is multifaceted and ever-present, and therefore must be fought without respite. Harmonizing Keller, Wright, Beale, and Scripture leads us to three antidotes: (1) the identification of idols and their attractions; (2) the embrace of the gospel and its idol-destroying promises; and (3) the worship and imitation of the One True God rather than false gods.

http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2011/marchweb-only/idolatrygospelimitation.html?start=2

 

Trust in the Lord with all your heart
    and lean not on your own understanding;
in all your ways submit to him,
    and he will make your paths straight.

Proverbs 3:5

The Big Question – 3

Modern Idolatry and its consequences 

The Big Question – 2

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The Big Question – 1

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Seeking The Right Word

The Christian Bible is widely available for anyone to peruse, and so it is with the Muslim Quran. I claim to be a scholar of neither, but am far more familiar with my book, The Word of Life – The Holy Bible. I do not speak or read Arabic so have to rely on translations of the Muslim book, and have to say that I consider it to be the antithesis of My Book – it is the Word of Death.

JustMEinT's General Blog

I don’t know about you, but there are times when I have a problem finding the right word to describe a situation, a happening or even a common or everyday thing. My brain simply seems to be in ’empty mode’ … like there is no one home – or perhaps it is simply siesta time.

I have many friends of about the same age as myself who tell me I am not to consider myself special – as they too suffer from this common thought vacancy which they term ‘brain fog’.

Actually today is not a plain ordinary foggy day, it’s more like a need to have the thesaurus at my fingertips. I have a general idea of the message but the terminology is a little frayed.

Part of what I want to say is about God so perhaps THEOLOGY is the word I want, but that is such a…

View original post 1,275 more words

Sounds Very Human

Traveling home in the car today I found myself bopping along to a Country Song playing on the radio. It was one I was unfamiliar with. The chorus grabbed my attention:

Everybody wants to go to heaven
But nobody wants to die (?now)
Lord, I want to go to heaven
But I don’t want to die

Though I long for the day when I have new birth
Still I love livin’ here on earth
Everybody wants to go to heaven
But nobody wants to die (?now)

I must admit it got me thinking about how some people are afraid of death. What makes one fear death I wondered – probably the ‘unknown’ aspect of it – and yet is it really unknown? Maybe the Lord was trying to help me with something – He usually does.

Christians have as their living example –  Jesus Christ – and the words recorded in the Bible which tell us many things about the future to come – the time our lives will be renewed in the presence of God in Heaven.  (LINK) Some comments such as this should be very familiar to believers…… so why be afraid?

Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live. John 11:25

We know that when Jesus ascended to his Father He promised he would come back for us:

And since I’m going away to prepare a place for you, I’ll come back again and welcome you into my presence, so that you may be where I am.  John 14:3

 

Yet many still fear the transition time…. the time when we no longer need our earthly bodies. The time when our living Spirits within go back to their Creator God. To a place we know of as heaven, where God reigns in all His Splendour and Glory. Home for us all.

This fear is a human trait and is quite understandable for some. Yet there are many who call out to be released from the pain and sufferings of this world, the evils and ugliness that surrounds them, so that they can be reunited with the Eternal Father, Son and Spirit.

I have listened to people’s fear of the coming death and I have listened to other’s who welcome what is immediately ahead of them. There is a huge difference in their attitudes. The fear is palpable in some and the joy is ecstatic and radiant in the others. They all claim they want to Go to Heaven to be with their Father God – some just don’t want to go now!

Based on  Ezekiel 34: 11-14    

In Christ alone my hope is found He is my light my strength my song. This Cornerstone this sold Ground. Firm through the fiercest drought and storm. What heights of love what depths of peace. When fears are stilled when strivings cease. My Comforter my All in All. Here in the love of Christ I stand.

No guilt in life no fear in death. This is the power of Christ in me. From life’s first cry to final breath. Jesus commands my destiny. No power of hell no scheme of man. Can ever pluck me from His hand. Till He returns or calls me home. Here in the power of Christ I’ll stand.

And what you may ask has me penning these profound thoughts at this time?

My beloved is diagnosed as being terminal. His life force will be leaving him at God’s appointed time. Is he afraid of what is happening to him? I don’t believe so. He is fortunate in that he suffers little pain, and that which occurs is being well managed. He has dealt with as much as he can of financial, business and family matters, he leaves little for me his wife to deal with after the event. He waits to be called forth, to enter the courts of The Most High God.

His faith is strong. He met Jesus many years ago and welcomed being invited to join the Family of God, now he waits his final calling … not with trepidation but with awe and expectancy of ever lasting joy.

I so wish everyone nearing the end of this bodies earthly journey could feel this way….. Not with fear and trepidation, but with open arms and a welcoming joyous Spirit.

MARANATHA

Christian You Tube’s

If you like to listen to Christian Worship Songs, and have the words available so you can join in….. perhaps you will enjoy browsing through my You Tube Library – there maybe something there you will enjoy and may assist you in your Christian Walk.     LINK   Please do feel free to share this information and to add comments where you feel appropriate.

May God continue to bless your endeavours.     JustMEinT

 

 

 

 

The Unforgivable Sin

I came across an article today attributed to Catherine of Siena (1347-1380) Saint of the Church – who (it is said of her) heard the voice of God speaking to her. The article was about what Christians call The Unforgivable Sin – in relation to the despair of Judas after the betrayal of Jesus.

The unforgivable or unpardonable sin has (from time to time) been a subject I have mused about – (honestly), never deeply. However today I decided to try to understand what Jesus meant when he said: (Mk 3:29) But he that shall blaspheme against the Holy Ghost hath never forgiveness, but is in danger of eternal damnation: (see also Lk 12:10)

Catherine of Siena purportedly said that God told her:  This is the sin that is never forgiven, now or ever: the refusal, the scorning of my mercy. For this offends me more than all the other sins they have committed. So the despair of Judas displeased me more and was a greater insult to my Son than his betrayal had been. Therefore, such as these are reproved for this false judgment of considering their sin to be greater than my mercy… They are reproved also for their injustice in grieving more for their own plight than for having offended me.

The refusing (of), the scorning of My mercy! My goodness, who in their right mind (I asked myself) would do such a thing. Then it hit me like a ton of lead – I had done this. I had been guilty of this. I had gone through a period in my life where the mercy of God was unimportant to me. Quite frankly, truth be told, God was unimportant to me. Oh I knew about God, I had been brought up in a Christian home, and I even worked in a Christian environment, but I had somehow managed to put God and all that entails onto a low fired back burner.

Call this period of my life the selfish years – they went on for quite some time. The only things that mattered to me where those that affected me, and me and me! I drank, I swore, I enjoyed sexual encounters. The list goes on and on and on some more. Suffice to say I was living in the modern world and wanted all of the benefits without  any of the responsibilities.

It would be fair to say during that period of my life I was an apostate or at the very least a lapsed Christian. I gave up on my faith, I abandoned its principles and lived my life according to however it pleased me to do so. God (if I even considered Him) – was simply a benevolent  being who loved everyone (didn’t the bible say so?) and anyway I would not have to worry about God and afterlife things till – whenever!

I was fortunate. That is a crass over simplification. God knocked very loudly one day and I fell at His feet and gained His forgiveness. I am reconciled to Him through Jesus Christ. I believe I am saved. AMEN!

But how would I now describe the topic of today’s discussion – that of the unpardonable sin? Has my self-declared apostasy be washed away? Has it been forgiven? YES it has, and I can tell you why.

To my understanding the unpardonable sin, as Catherine said was the refusal and scorning of the mercy of God. I did not need God, I seldom even considered His glory and majesty. His forgiveness? Well I cared less for that really because I was too busy amusing myself with my own selfish and sinful activities and had little time or need for serious contemplation of the direction – or lack thereof, my life was taking.

Today the only sin that is unforgivable is that of not receiving Jesus Christ as Savior. When you reject Jesus, you reject your only possible means of forgiveness and the only way to gain entrance into heaven. Your fate is sealed. There is no forgiveness if Jesus is not your Savior. Humans do not have the power to save themselves or to have their own sins forgiven. Jesus alone is the only acceptable means to salvation (Acts 4:12). Not accepting Jesus and rejecting belief in Him is truly the only unpardonable and unforgivable sin that people can commit today.  (LINK)

I know with hindsight that I have wasted many many years of my life. During those years that I was separated – through sin – from God, I could have died at any moment. In an instant my earthly life could have ended and I would have had no future – no everlasting future with God in the eternal. I am so delighted He knocked loudly and I asked Him to enter in.

You Can Believe and Accept Jesus Right Now

If someone is worried about having committed the unpardonable sin, that is the very evidence that they have not committed it. The only unforgivable sin that we must worry about today is rejecting Jesus Christ as our own personal Savior. The consequences of this are eternal separation from God, which is hell in itself; this is irreversible…unpardonable. This is the only unpardonable, unforgivable sin that there is. But this is one that you can wipe away with repentance, and belief and acceptance of Jesus Christ (John 3:16). If you have believed in Him, then there is absolutely no need for you to worry about committing the unpardonable sin. You are already His possession and He will not ever cast you away (John 6:37). Once you are His, no one can snatch you out of the Father’s hand or out of Jesus’ hand (John 10:28-29). If you want this eternal security right now, just read the following scriptures and place your eternal future in His secure hands:

Admit that you are a sinner and in need of a Savior (Rom 6:23),

Abandon self effort and realize you cannot be saved by your works or efforts (Acts 16:31),

Accept freely Christ’s payment for my sins, required of the Father. (John 3:16),

And acknowledge Jesus Christ as your personal Lord and Savior (Acts 4:12).

If you have just received Jesus, you have now received God’s inheritance rights as a son or daughter of His and can never be lost again. This inheritance is called eternal life, which means when you die and leave this planet you will go to be with the Father in heaven (John 10:28-29). (LINK)

Easter is the time we celebrate Jesus’ resurrection… He has new life…. just as we can if we accept God as our Father and King. Our Saviour, Jesus Christ invites us in…. will you accept? I did. Everyday is Easter Day to the members of Gods Family.

 

Who Can You Turn To and Who Can You Trust?

Many years ago in my young formative years I came to understand that when Jesus was in the Garden of Gethsemane, after the final meal he had shared with those closest to him – and prior to his arrest by the Roman Soldiers – as he was praying – he was in terrible mental and emotional pain and distress because he knew what was going to happen to him next. He knew, because he was God and was all-knowing, that he was to suffer the most terrible of torment – death on a cross for our sins. His death would ‘appease’ God the Father, bringing us forgiveness and reconciliation for our sins. Jesus was terrified of what lay ahead and that was the reason why he sweated drops of blood.

“And being in agony He was praying very fervently; and His sweat became like drops of blood, falling down upon the ground.” (Luke 22:44)

It pays to read all four of the Gospel records of the events of this most fateful of nights leading to Jesus’ crucifixion to gain a full understanding of what actually happened.  (Matthew 26:36-56, Mark 14:32-52, Luke 22:40-53 and John 18:1-11)

Those were the thoughts of a young person – me at the time, but I have since managed to grow up mentally, emotionally and more importantly I believe I am growing spiritually. I need to understand what really happened then and why.

Today at Church our Pastor preached on Jesus’ time and horrific suffering in the Garden of Gethsemane. He brought to my attention the specific relevance of the pair of gardens – Eden and Gethsemane and what occurred in both. Adam (in Eden) the first man who turned away from God – Jesus (in Gethsemane) the New Adam turning us back to God.

The evil one aka Satan, the snake was there in Eden. It was he who tempted Eve to doubt the word of God. And the LORD God commanded the man, “You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat from it you will certainly die.” Gen 2:16-17. Then along came Satan who skilfully worded his question to sow the seed of doubt in Eve’s mind.

Gen 3:1 Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the LORD God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden’?” Of course Eve not suspecting his character, answered him thus: “We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden, but God did say, ‘You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die.'” Gen 3:2-3.

Of course we know what happened next: “You will not certainly die,” the serpent said to the woman. “For God knows that when you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” Gen 3:4-5

In effect Satan not only calls God a liar, but also manages to convince Eve that she will not die, and that when she eats of the ‘forbidden fruit’ she will become like God. Of course she eats of it and tempts Adam to do the same. God is seriously angry and throws them both out of Eden and forces them to live a life of pain and suffering forever more.

(That brings to mind another of my younger (mis) understandings…. that the ‘forbidden fruit’ was akin to having sexual relations with a man. Young minds are very easily swayed and sex and sin always went hand in hand in my young mind.)

Our Pastor today challenged us to look again at Mel Gibson’s The Passion of The Christ – specifically at the scene in Gethsemane which leads up to Jesus’ arrest.  Gibson’s interpretation, which I believe is wonderful, shows Satan trying to tempt Jesus away from the sacrifice He is about to make on our behalf. Satan had earlier tried to tempt Jesus into following him as lord and master – Jesus resisted back then and Jesus resisted here in Gethsemane.  Jesus is the New Adam, obeying God, believing in God’s word and promises.

The first Adam (and his wife) were seriously deceived by Satan.  The new Adam – Jesus of Nazareth fights with all of his will power to obey God’s promises and refuses to be deceived (perhaps this is why “His sweat became like drops of blood, falling down upon the ground.” (Luke 22:44). In the final scene in the Garden of Gethsemane, Jesus is shown crushing the snake under his heel thereby fulfilling what God spoke to Satan in Eden after the Fall of Man. In Genesis 3:15 God said:  “I’ll place hostility between you and the woman, between your offspring and her offspring. He’ll strike you on the head, and you’ll strike him on the heel.”

Satan was there in the Garden doing everything possible to try to get Jesus to change his mind about offering up His life to save us from our transgressions and heal our relationship with Father God. I for one am eternally grateful Jesus chose to turn to God and Trust in God’s promise. That wretched evil one is still active today, doing all that is possible to deceive us and turn us away from the life we have been promised with God – everlasting.

How can I show this gratitude? I can give myself completely into the hands of God – trusting His words and believing in everlasting life through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ. I can seek forgiveness, which is freely given when I acknowledge that I am a sinful person who endeavours to change her way of life – from sinfulness to humility under Christ. I can acknowledge that Jesus died for me – me personally. He knew every sin I would commit, even those I hide in the deep dark recesses of my mind, yet Jesus freely chose to add those to the unnumbered multitude of other sins He carried with Him to Calvary.

Jesus is my way to an eternal future with God. My earthly body is but a vessel – ashes to ashes, but my soul, the breath of God that lives in me will go forward to eternity thanks to the great sacrifice Jesus made on Calvary all those many (2000+) years ago.

Who can I turn to and who can I trust? Jesus Christ. How can I be so certain? Because He trusted in God His Father and rose from the dead to ascend into glory!