Thanks to Hubbell’s, and now the James Webb Space, Telescope, astronomers can see deeper into the cosmos than ever before, viewing galaxies previously unknown, containing billions of stars heretofore unseen, the heavenly bodies millions of light-years apart. All the result of Almighty God in Jesus Christ creating “the heavens and the earth” in six, twenty-four hour days. And ALL of it stated in FIVE words, “He also made the stars” Genesis 1:16. That’s comprehensive brevity!
Mark 3:13-18 continues God’s genius at comprehensive brevity. Note two distinguishing features. One, each disciples occupied a place in the 12; Two, each had a name. For men who would be the foundation on which Jesus would build apostolic authority for all time, Ephesians 2:20, extreme brevity. And, consider Mark 3:14c–15 as Christ’s genius enveloping the history of discipleship in 23 words. First, that they might be with him. Listening, watching awestruck as he taught, modeled perfection, encountered people of all positions and dispositions, levels of knowledge and ignorance, eagerly awaiting whatever he said or did, or gritting their teeth at everything he said or did. Practical point. Learn from the Gospels as much as you can. Whether or not you immediately understand or incorporate it. Learn basics about Jesus: his Deity in human form, his Saviorhood, his All-Authority rule of God’s Kingdom on earth, etc. Never think you must immediately use all you learn for it to be useful. Remember that learning an alphabet remains necessary to studying language; chords to being a musician; and sums to being an engineer. End Part I
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Note: I sent this reply to a Steve Breen cartoon in the San Diego Union-Tribune paper. It showed a big empty trailer portraying “50 dead in San Antonio.” Then, Breen brazenly wrote as his caption: “America’s immigration policy.”
That was a satanic lie, the sewage pouring from the pens of liberals who refuse to believe that America has the right to protect our borders. To welcome only those who come legally. To prevent those who come simply because they “want to escape privation.” Anyway, I toned down to a pastoral appeal the original prophetic draft sent to Letters to the Editor. Still, the paper wouldn’t publish it. Okay. I’ll write it as a blog. NOTHING could be further from the truth than Breen’s cartoon. America has many sins of which we need to repent, and for which God will severely punish us. But the death of those migrants isn’t one of them. To even think so betrays the principles of human accountability. America didn’t invite those migrants. Or request them. Or hire coyotes to bring them. Or create such poor economic conditions in Mexico south to encourage people to seek better living conditions here. Blame the greed of merciless coyotes, and truck owners. Maybe…blame some greedy border agent for passing them through for a share in the profits. Blame the Roman Catholic Church in Mexico south, which won’t spend a peso to upgrade their economies. Blame a liberal government in America that thinks we OWE sanctuary to anyone who wants to come. But do not blame America. Consider two more stories that surface a response to circumstances from our SOUL and SPIRIT. Remember that Soul in these illustrations refers to the unconverted soul, the Spirit to God’s Image in our mind.
First, a young solder in WWI sang praise to war, thinking “every minute here is worth weeks of ordinary experience.” He moaned a different tune a few days later, complaining of “not leading the life of men, but of animals” in the filthy, wet, vermin-infested trenches. Like the soldier, Christians sing happy songs when life sails along under benign breezes. But chant dirges of regret when gales blow and threaten harm. Soul then throws a pity party. “I thought being a Christians would be a lot easier than it is.” In response, the spirit in us replies, “I didn’t know life would be easier by accepting Christ, but I’ve found it better. I have better goals and perspectives, make better decisions and possess far superior values than before. It doesn’t matter how hard life becomes, because Jesus is with me and endures it in the yoke matching mine. I find that God’s will is good, even when life is bad.” Second. The Polo’s returned to Italy from China after a 20 year absence. No one recognized them since they wore peasant clothes far past new; had been gone so long; and were not expected. Within a few days the Polo’s held a banquet and invited “all who mattered” in Venice. During the festivities they wore, or handed others, new changes of clothing; had passed dish after dish of delicious food; filled cup after cup with sparkling wine. Then, as a coup de maître (masterstroke), ordered the foul Tartar clothes brought in, linings ripped out, pockets torn open, spilling on the floor rubies, sapphires, emeralds and diamonds, gifts from the Kubla Khan. Washington Irving Works, Appendix, 696-697 Like the Rich Fool of Luke 12, Soul clamors, “Get all you can, anyway you can, before someone gets it ahead of you.” The Spirit replies, “I don’t have to GET anything better than my body and brain. For I am already better than they. I’m free inside my mind by the grace of Christ that liberates me from sin’s presence and penalty. And while now imprisoned in this body and limited by this brain, I shall, when Jesus returns, become the SOMEONE my spirit presently IS. And from that instant, on forever, I’ll be free to rule the body that has so long dominated me and the brain that has so long limited me. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Based on these illustrations, ask yourself:
Each person determines the answer. Each person’s answer determines his relationship with Christ. Fini Consider three stories that surface a response to circumstances from our SOUL and SPIRIT. First, Sigmund Freud’s last words before death were, “This is absurd! This is absurd!” If he referred to dying, it wasn’t at all absurd. It proved instead the never-failing fulfillment of God’s threat to Adam and Eve, Genesis 2:16-17. “Absurd!” would be someone in history defying the decree and living on 10,000 years.
The unconverted soul, however, refuses to serve its God-appointed task (the way this blog uses the term) and is never satisfied. For example, it wants to live longer, but doesn’t want to get older in the process. That’s an oxymoron, but soul doesn’t care. It only want its way. The spirit in us (used in this blog as God’s image on our mind), accepts death in humanity as normal. And, beyond accepting it, prefers it, without hastening it by careless living and bad habits. Philippians 1:19-26 explains the spirit’s response. Second, the home of George Marston, built in 1905 on ground north of what would become Balboa Park, San Diego, California, had 4 stories of 8,500 square feet and 16-19 rooms. Costing $20,000 to build, a fortune at the time, its restoration in 2021 cost $462,000. The soul declares, “build possessions symbolic of your place in society.” And, once built, enjoy” Luke 12:18-19. The spirit would riposte, “build instead a life that proves a good example of Jesus that the Holy Spirit’s touch can make excellent. And which, after it’s over, can secure God’s benefits forever Matthew 25:21, 23. Third, everyone gets tested. Children test parents. Teachers test students. Students test teachers. Manufacturers test products. Sports teams test each other, etc. God tested Joseph in Egypt by exposing him to adversity. Daniel in Babylon by exposing him to prosperity. Jesus by sending him into the wilderness directly AFTER declaring being WELL-PLEASED with him Matthew 3:16-17. Nevertheless, the unconverted soul says, “Once I declare faith in Christ, God should trust me to be faithful.” The spirit replies, “Nonsense. Declaring commitment to Jesus, however sincere, must be tested to prove its worth. To develop a broad based-discipleship, good in all situations. We must expect to be re-tested by different circumstances and welcome the challenge to make tests opportunities in and stepping-stones to a redoubtable discipleship. End Part I Herd Immunity has been a useful concept in monitoring the spread and mortality rates of disease. It meant earlier, as it means now, if a certain percentage of individuals receive vaccination from a disease, the protected group offers the unprotected a margin of safety. It’s true today with Covid-19.
It’s also true spiritually. Should enough individuals in any locale produce the Holy Spirit’s fruit, a community, a state, a nation can be a spiritual powerhouse for God despite the existence of unsaved people in each. Which offers a troubling statistic to America. The recent Gallup Values and Beliefs Poll revealed that, in 2022, 81% of American adults believe in God. In 1944, 98% of Americans believed in God. The largest drop in belief came from young adults 18-29. That loss of faith, squarely the fault of Christians, has led to increasing corruption and depravity in society—leading to the worse curse humanity can ever suffer: that society has no ability to appreciate spiritual values. America’s hostility to God in Christ is a perfect example. Now, more than ever before, we focus on US, not on HIM. On our origins in myth, not on the Bible’s truth of God as Creator. On our demand for Diversity, not on Christ’s Singularity. By eliminating God as our Source of Being, we naturally develop secular interests without God—medicine, business, economics, psychiatry, animal rights, etc. And we consider those, and associated interests, as our life-purpose when they’re only career-choices. For, since God made us, our life-purpose is to find eternal life in Christ Jesus II Corinthians 5:5-6. The absence of Christian influence only increases our alienation from God. For example, if we believe that we originated from a hole in the ground, we revere creation as our deity-source and turn into radical environmentalists. “Love nature, its creatures all equal and part of the family.” If we believe we resulted from the struggle of primeval forms seeking to improve themselves, we admire the survival of the fittest, resulting in an evolved humanity from an unpromising beginning, as Darwinians do today. If we believe we resulted from a collision of wills between competing deities, as pagans have always believed, each nation, city, state and culture has its own religion. The corollary of that view is, “don’t bother converting people because it isn’t necessary.” Thus…it’s essential that we have a RIGHT answer to the question—where did humanity begin? The SOUL purposefully teaches and leads us to GOD ALMIGHTY. Where the Holy Spirit’s real work in us begins. What this means for Christians is: we must now, more than ever before, focus our lives on God in Christ. We must now, more than ever, embody Jesus in our lives. We must now, more than ever, associate with saved people to encourage one another to be strong for Jesus. We must now, more than ever, associate with unsaved people to encourage their surrender to Jesus. In II Timothy 4:6-8, facing death, Paul anticipated a “crown of righteousness” from Jesus. On his death bed actor Burt Reynolds regretted not having made more money so he could have had more fun. Christians, which model have we been following as a habit-pattern? Fini This blog seeks to explain the basic difference between soul and spirit in scripture. It’s a complex subject that I hope to simplify. It’s capable of being cluttered with philosophical terms that I hope to de-clutter in order to make it useful in daily life.
The Greek words for each are respectively: pseuka for SOUL and pneuma for SPIRIT. Mary’s Song in Luke 1:46-47 provides an appropriate study text: “My soul praises the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior.” It’s very similar to Hannah’s prayer in I Samuel 2, “My heart rejoices in the Lord.” Following Mary’s song, we can conclude that Soul in the Biblical sense introduces humans to Almighty God as our Creator, positing him as our most essential Person. SPIRIT meanwhile introduces our need of a SAVIOR, positing Jesus as humanity’s essential Personality! In a sentence, SOUL emphasizes God’s Perfect Design of us in Eden. PNEUMA emphasizes Christ’s perfect, once-for-all-sacrifice re-claiming our estate lost by disobeying God’s command. God gave us both soul and spirit because each fulfills a significant role in humanity. SOUL teaches God as Creator and Source of our life—always God-in-Christ at work. SPIRIT teaches that humanity possesses something of God absent in the creatures. Which is God’s image implanted by himself in our brains; his image, his distinctive imprimatur of himself. The Holy Spirit reaches our spirit and teaches, educates, convinces, convicts and converts it into Christ’s likeness. The SOUL, then, leads us to recognize God as the source of life. That’s where every human must start. The SPIRIT teaches the necessity of forgiveness to enter God’s Presence. That’s where everyone of accountable age must arrive. For here we are, filled with high ideals, corrupted by low morals. With intellectual brilliance dimmed by our desire for eternal life that ends in longer life shattered by graves and graves and graves. In that sense, Solomon was right in saying: “and he who wins souls is wise” Proverbs 11:30. Because winning people to Christ begins with our awareness of God as our Creator. According to Mary’s Song, SOUL is to have that impact on us since God designs the SOUL to have that impact. The Soul’s work is finished when it makes us aware of God. That gives the Spirit his opportunity. Now…given that fact, why doesn’t the animal soul have that impact on them? Because they lack the spirit made in God’s image. The soul in them perishes with their death, with nothing to carry on. While our soul perishes at death, it has achieved its purpose. It has awakened us to God in Christ. Therefore, we go on and on. The soul services God’s purpose by convincing us that our life comes from God. That we’re responsible to him for it; that Jesus has made forgiveness of sin possible so we can serve God’s purpose now and enter God’s presence at death. If we repent of Self-Will, the enemy of God’s sovereignty; and of Self-Importance, the enemy of Christ’s demand of Self-Denial; and of Self-Boasting of what we have and do, the enemy of God’s Grace for and Mercy to us…IF…IF…IF…we let soul serve God’s Purpose in us. End Part I The fourth truth in this series: every believer must repeat in his life the forceful self-denial Jesus embodied in his; the cross his ultimate self-denial; self-will ours.
He practiced perfect self-denial to challenge our discipleship not to focus on self-study, self-improvement, self-fulfillment, self-absorption, etc. That truth has not been emphasized enough even in strong Gospel churches; certainly not in people-pleasing churches. Christianity is all about God in Christ, and about us ONLY as we repeat in our lives, however poorly, the self-sacrifice he perfected. Only then can we be the forceful men and women God used to begin his crusade to re-take all the human life, and geographical territory, Satan usurped. If we only incrementally achieve more self-denial for Jesus, Satan loses. If we even once consider ourselves the center of life, Satan wins. God recognizes the scale of conflict we experience in being a Christian. (And, if we have no conflict, we are not trying hard enough to be Christ’s witness.) In whatever way God gifts us to serve him, use it. With whatever testimony he endows us, speak it. Whatever way we can strike a blow against Satan’s lies, land it! Let us consider ourselves, as those valiant spiritual pioneers considered themselves, as outriders in a cultural clash, riding the powerful Gospel Message and engaging a depraved society. “The Son of God goes forth to War…who follows in his Train? Fini The third truth in this series: Jesus carefully calibrated the occasion he clearly taught the violence personally experienced. Only when Simon confessed the Twelve’s combined agreement of his Deity and Messianic identity did he explain his coming crucifixion and resurrection.
That threat hit them squarely between the eyes. And so shocked them it hardened them to the promise. It defied cultural expectation John 12:34; it also defied humanity’s treasured opinions I Corinthians 1:22-23. That Jesus waited for the disciples to confess his Deity teaches us that the facts, truth and reality of Jesus Christ, while altogether reasonable, can be understood only by FAITH, not by REASON! People who now say they need answers to some questions before accepting Christ have a long wait. For, by way of extension, Christ assures us that doubts, questions, reservations (D.Q.R.) expressed by prospects can best be resolved within FAITH, not outside in D.Q.R. All of them are like the veil over Jewish minds now. In turning to Christ it’s removed; it’s only removed AFTER turning to Christ, not BEFORE! By faith Noah saw rainbows before RAIN fell; David saw Goliath a CORPSE before flinging his smooth stone; Abraham saw Isaac’s RESURRECTION even though he would slay him. Faith in God, not Reason, explained those victories. And God’s spiritual truth conquering all satanic lies, claims and possessions still rules by FAITH today! The key for the believer is: we want to KNOW God by faith, not merely God’s benefits. Many people seek his benefactions but do not want him. Christian want God in Christ. Whatever they may get from it, whatever price they may pay to possess him, whatever negative replies God may give our prayers, we want to KNOW HIM and HIS CHRIST! End Part IV |
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