Leech Speech

We all know what kind of animals leeches are: parasites. We know that they (literally) feed off the bodies of others. They take the nutrition and energy of their host without giving anything back. And, to suck the life out of someone, they use their mouths.

There are parasites in the spiritual world also. We've all met them~people that, when the conversation ends, we feel drained, both physically and spiritually. Just as physical leeches hang onto their victims by their mouth, so does the spiritual one.

A lot of the spiritual parasites are well-meaning, helpful, and generous people, Christians included. But there is a twist~a contradiction~between their actions and their words. The Bible says that we Christians should edify one another; that is, to lift  one another up. (Romans 14:19) Paul says in 1 Cor. 10:23 that we are free to do or say anything, but not all things done in free will edify another person.

James spells it out for us in the third chapter of his book. A horse is turned by a bit and a ship by a wheel (vv.3-4) , but both are small compared to the body being driven. The key factor is: the part that a person controls tells the horse or ship where to go. In verse 5, he points out that the tongue is a small part of our body, yet boasts great things. Out of our mouths come both blessings and cursings. (v.10a)

The parasitic person has bitterness, envying and strife in their hearts, and comes from earthly, natural and devilish sources. (vv.14-15) Romans 14:17 tells us the parasite may speak well, but the other person is not edified. How can one person edify another if their conversation is all about lifting themselves up? James tell us these things ought not to be. (3:10b)

The next time we are in a conversation with another person, let's pay attention to our end of it. Are we guilty of leech speech? Proverbs 27:1-2 says not to boast of tomorrow, because we do not know what it will bring. Let someone else praise us, not our own mouth. Let a stranger tell of our good deeds, not our own lips.

We must be careful; the pride in us brings contention. (Proverbs 13:10) Isaiah 14:13-14 tells us about the king of Babylon, how he wanted to be 'like the most high.' If we are lifting up anyone but Christ, then we are doomed to fall. It was that kind of rebellion that got Lucifer cast out of heaven. (Ezek. 31:10-11)

As soon as we take our eyes off of God and focus on self, then we are falling into the same trap as Adam and Eve. We should not keep on eating of the fruit that they ate of, but instead opt for the spiritual fruit. These are, according to Gal. 5:22-23, love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness and temperance.

I don't see a reference to self in there anywhere.

God's Divine Appointments

 

A few weeks ago we were visiting a little church on the outskirts of town. The humble pastor told us this story that happened to him and his family on the previous Friday.

 

The pastor and his family had been in a larger town in the next county over, and stopped at a brand new gas station to get gas before coming back home. His wife went in and prepaid for the fuel, and he tried to pump, but nothing happened. As the minutes ticked by, he began to get angry that the pump was not working. He asked his wife to return to the cashier to see what was going on. He confessed that he was too angry to go in himself. Finally, the pump came on, he got his fuel, and he drove on toward home.

 

Meanwhile, just a few miles away, between him and his home, a major wreck with fatalities was blocking the four-lane. When he came upon the blocked traffic, and realizing that he would have been in the midst of it had the gas pump worked properly, he broke down and started to cry. He realized that God had had him engaged in a divine appointment. His message mainly consisted of how God leads us and directs our paths, intersecting us with those who we need to meet, as well as keeping us from danger.

 

Ultimately, we must trust God, even when we don't understand what is going on.



The Etiquette of Hosting (or The Proper Way To Serve)

Recently, my husband and I have been attending a house church in the small town in which we are residing at present. We have been to five meetings thus far, and we amazed at the care and attention taken by the hosts for each of their guests. That made me think about us as Christians, and how 'hosting' is something we are required to do.

 

I checked out several websites on 'the etiquette of hosting' and found them to be very similar, even if the events varied. The essential theme: take care of the guests.

I have made a list of what makes a good host/hostess taken from the websites, and found the applicable scripture. After all, Jesus said He came to serve, not to be served. (Mark 10:45)

 

What is a host/hostess?

One who takes guests into their home and makes them feel welcome by serving them. (1Cor. 3:16 Do you not know that you are the Temple of God, and that The Spirit of God dwells within you?)

 

When we invite Jesus into our hearts, there are a few things we must keep in mind when royalty sets up housekeeping in our residence. (Rev. 3:20 Behold, I stand at the door and I shall knock. If a man listens to my voice and will open the door, I also shall come in and I shall have supper with him, and he with me.)

 

Guidelines for being a good host/hostess:
 

Make sure your house is neat and clean.
(Ps. 51:10 Create in me a pure heart, oh, God, and renew your right Spirit within me.)
 

Find out what kind of food your guests like.
(Acts 14:17While he did not leave himself without a testimony, as he was giving them precious things from the Heavens and sending rain down to them, multiplying their fruits in their times and was satisfying their hearts with food and gladness.)
 

For long-staying guests, give them information to see the sights.
(Gal. 6:10 Now therefore, while we have time, let us do good to every person, especially to the members of the household of faith.)
 

Set aside a space for guests, preferably their own bedroom or private area.
(Eph. 2:19 Therefore, you are not strangers, neither guests, but inhabitants of the city of The Holy One and children of the household of God.)

 

Requirements for the job:
 

Explain the menu/answer questions about food preparation.
(Rom. 10:15 Or how will they preach, unless they will be sent, as it is written: “How beautiful are the feet of The Messengers of peace and of The Messengers of good things!)
 

Available jobs are usually advertised with a 'help wanted' sign or classified ad.
(3 John 1:8 Therefore we are indebted to receive such as these, that we may be helpers for the truth.)
 

A good memory, organizational skills, well spoken, and polite when dealing with the public.
(Eph. 4:15-16 But we have been firm in our love that all our affairs may increase in The Messiah, who is The Head, And from him, the whole body constructed and joined in every joint, according to a gift given in measure to every member for his growth of the body, that his building may be completed in love.)
 

On-the-job training includes customer service skills, food safety and handling, and issues such as allergens.
(Heb. 4:16 Let us come therefore publicly to the throne of his grace to receive mercy, and we shall find grace to help in a time of suffering.)

 

So, let all of us work on our hosting skills through prayer, listening to the Holy Spirit, and helping our fellowman.

(all scripture from the Aramaic Bible in Plain English (©2010)

Do You Really Want to Be Healed?

That is the question Jesus asked the man at the pool of Bethesda, knowing he had been there for 38 years. His reply was that he had no one to put him into the pool, and while he was attempting to, someone else always got there first. Jesus responds to him by telling him to take up his bed and walk.

Jesus is not bodily walking through the crowds as He did 2000 years ago, but if He was, would people still want to be healed? Would they still want their bodies to work properly? Or would they say, "No, thanks, Jesus. If you heal me, I'll lose out on the government check I get every month."

In the last two years, we have seen a lot of people with legitimate ailments that would give all to have a healthy body. And, we have also met a lot more who, in their human weakness, their bodies have succumbed to the ravishes of drugs, alcohol, stress, or hard physical labor. Some, in their own eyes, dealing with whatever physical and/or emotional pain they have, feel as though the world 'owes' them. They would rather lay on their bed for 38 years, waiting for someone else to take responsibility for them, or not get too close so that someone else gets the healing first.

A friend of mine, a former nurse, said the correct medical terminology for this behavior is called 'secondary gain.'  That is when having a legitimate pain or medical problem causes a benefit, like monetary compensation. This type of benefit can be, and has been, taken advantage of by people who would rather have a few extra dollars than a healthy body.

Ultimately, we are all responsible for our own actions. Let's take Jesus up on His offer, and receive the healing that He wants to give us. God allows U-turns on the highway of life. All we have to do is turn around.

Inheritance: Legend or Legacy?



 

Legend: a traditional story sometimes popularly regarded as historical but unauthenticated.

Sir Galahad~In Arthurian legend the noblest knight of the Round Table, searched for the Holy Grail, son of Sir Lancelot.

Other examples of legends: Bigfoot, Robin Hood.

synonyms-fable, myth

Many movies, books and songs are written about these 'legends', and while they might make us feel good, and be sympathetic to their 'cause', there is no lasting substance to them.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Legacy: something from the past that is handed down or remains from a previous generation or time.

Jesus Christ: The One found worthy...and has redeemed us to God by His blood...(Rev.5:9), drank from the Holy Grail, the Son of God.



 

Other (human) examples of legacies: grandparents, teachers, parents, relatives

synonyms: inheritance, fact

Who are the people that have built legacies in our lives? Many movies and songs have been written about the one true 'legacy': Jesus Christ. 

Jesus Christ: Pass Him On

Proverbs 13:22

A good man leaves an inheritance

to his children's children:

 and the wealth of the sinner is laid up for the just.

*Homogenous **Homodoxian Religion

Genesis 1:2 And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters. Genesis 1:26 And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps upon the earth.

(1) RUACH – noun feminine singular
(2) ELOHIM – noun masculine plural
Martin Buber points out:

RUACH ELOHIM, the breathing, blowing, surging phenomenon, is neither natural (wind) nor spiritual (spirit) but both in one; it is the creative breathing that brings both nature and the spirit into one being. The Bible here thinks not lexically but elementally, and would have its readers think in its manner, would have the movement from God that precedes all differentiation indifferently touch the hearing heart. Here at the beginning of the Bible, RUACH ELOHIM stands as a great, unformulated, latent theological principle, expressed only by implication.

(see full article: http://www.biblicalheritage.org/bible%20studies/ruach.htm) 

Let's try an experiment: Hold your breath, open-mouthed, and try to talk. Not much comes out, does it? A squeak, maybe, but no real 'words.' What does this prove? It proves that without the Spirit (breath of God, Gen. 2:7) there is no words, and without words, there is no life. If anything does come out, it is not recognisable speech; therefore, not conveying any messages. In short, Christians, regardless of  education, position in society, experience or longevity, if they do not possess the Spirit, they cannot produce the words that God would use to convict, edify, or witness to people.

Jesus said he was the word of God incarnate~the word made flesh. He embodied the spoken word. (John 12:49“For I have not spoken from myself, but The Father who sent me, he gave me commandments, what I will say and what I will utter.”)

The simple experiment above proves that in order to speak, a person has to breathe. To be even more technical, a person can breathe without speaking, but not the other way around. God created the earth with His word and His breath. Or, more accurately, Jesus and the Spirit. That's why Jesus said he existed before the foundations of the world. (1 Peter 1:20 He was appointed beforehand to this before the foundation of the world and was manifested at the end of times for you.)

We have met a lot of people in the last three years, traveling throughout the southeastern US. We've also been in a lot of churches, ministering to congregations, small groups, families and individuals. One of the most shocking things we have discovered is the disbelief in the power of the Holy Spirit, both on the individual level and on the denominational level. On the individual level, most people possess a willingness to help others, but when the subject of the Spirit comes up (as a living, breathing entity, and not just a title of an aspect of God) they put up a wall and guard their words. Or worse, they don't know what is being talked about. Paul says the natural man cannot discern the things of God; they are foolishness to him. (1 Cor. 2:14 But the natural man receives not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.)

Interestingly, almost all the denominations that do not recognise the Spirit also preach against homosexuals. (Note: They claim to hate the 'sin' and not the 'sinner', yet most preach against the 'homosexual', or the person, not 'homosexuality', the activity.) So my question is this: for those people that do not embrace the Spirit~the feminine aspect of God~aren't they the same people attempting to engage in a homosexual relationship with God, spiritually speaking? By not having the Spirit dwelling inside, as scripture tells us we must in order to call Jesus 'brother', they are denying the aspect of God that reproduces and gives life. Therefore, that makes that denomination, congregation, or person in denial to have a 'same-sex' relationship with the 'male' aspects of God. In so doing, they are actually guilty of being the same person that they speak against.

Scripture tells us that God is a Spirit, and we must worship Him as such. (John 4:24 God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.)

He is all things to all people. (Mark 3:35 For whoever shall do the will of God is my brother and my sister and my mother.)

Two of these mentioned are feminine in the human form, and for him to understand our needs, he must have had those same needs himself. (Hebrews 2:18 For in that he himself has suffered being tempted, he is able to help them that are tempted.)

I would encourage those that are in doubt of their possession of the Holy Spirit to sincerely ask God for the indwelling of that aspect of Him. 

I leave you with the question Paul asked of the Corinthians: Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and that you are not your own? (1Cor 6:19)

 *homogenous-having a resemblance in structure due to a descent from a common

                           progenitor (progenitor-an ancestor, direct line, forefather)

**homodoxian-having the same opinion

For the People Had a Mind to Work

When the subject of ‘rebuilding the wall’ comes up in scripture-related conversions, it is almost always in the context of Nehemiah. But how does that apply to us today? Who is Nehemiah is today’s culture? Who are Sanballat and Tobiah? What does the wall and gates represent to today’s Christian?

 

The Temple

1Corinthians 3:16 asks the question: Do you not know that you are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwells in you? 1Corinthians 6:19 also asks: Do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, which is in you…and you are not your own?

So, for those of us that has accepted Jesus as our personal Savior, our body is the temple that houses the Holy Spirit.

The Wall

Romans 15:1-2 says: We that are strong should bear the infirmities of the weak. Let every one of us please his neighbor for his good edification.

So, the wall is the protection we have inside a body of believers that helps us grow in Christian love.

The Gate

Psalms 118:19-20 says: Open to me the gates of righteousness: I will go into them, and I will praise the Lord. This gate of the Lord, into which righteousness shall enter.

So, the gate ~our heart~ is where the Lord enters into us and takes up residence in our temple.

The Broken and Burned

Proverbs 17:22 says: A merry heart does good like medicine, but a broken spirit dries the bones. Jeremiah 20:9 says:….But His word was in my heart as a burning fire shut up in my bones, and I was weary with forbearing, and I could not stay.

These are the people that are continually beaten down by the environments, circumstances, or situations in their lives.

The Nehemiahs

Nehemiah 1:4 says:….When I heard these words, I sat down and wept, and mourned certain days, and fasted, and prayed before God of heaven.

Nehemiahs care about their fellowman, especially those that are defenseless against the onslaught of the enemy.

The Sanballats and Tobiahs

Nehemiah 4:8 says: And they conspired all of them together to come and fight against Jerusalem, and to hinder it.

The world is full of these kinds of people-people that would rather hinder the work of God than have regard for the consequences of doing so.

The Workers

Nehemiah 4:6 says: So we built the wall; and all of the wall was joined together up halfway: for the people had a mind to work.

These are the people that sees the need, pursues the work of the Lord, and gets the job done regardless of the obstacles or threats that comes against them.