Epaggelia

1,946 years ago today, a fire began to burn in Rome. It burnt for 6 days and we only have two contemporary historians that tell us about it, Tacitus and Pliny. No one really knows why Rome burnt, but for whatever reason, Christians got the blame because they had been the named group at the center of an argument amongst enemies of Rome, the Jews! What happened in Jerusalem by Pilate, was already having an ill effect beyond another continent. Although the Christians were targeted by Rome for being instigators against Roman authority, they had no idea that the love of God would turn them into TREASURES. Sometimes even today, Christians feel like they are being targeted, we may feel like our whole society has turned against us and the exclusive values of Christ. Most worldly people want to tolerate everything and anyone, except Christians, but never forget this: God has made us treasures even when we feel like we are targets. Jesus said, Everyone will know by this, that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another (John 13:35). The love of God that His Spirit pours into our hearts is to be shared, (Rom. 5:5) Why? So that when fires burn around us, we can respond with His love. What better way to put fiery temptations out, than with love? When Jesus was made a target by his critics, He spoke the truth in love. Look for ways to do this and God will use you to overcome evil with good, no matter how hot it gets!
The greatest blessing we have in being a Christian is the forgiving presence of God Himself in the Spirit of Christ, read 2 Corinthians 13:5, and Romans 8:9. Both of those verses point out the necessity of Jesus being within our body. A great treasure, placed within jars of clay. 2nd Corinthians 4:7.

Very apt and adapted…
1. Washing for special occasions is enough, Christmas, Easter, funerals or weddings.
2. When I was a child, I was forced to wash.
3. People who wash are just hypocrites, they think they are cleaner than anyone else.
4. I used to wash, but it got too boring.
5. There are so many brands of soap that choosing the right one is too difficult.
6. I’m still young, when I get older I might consider washing.
7. The toiletry industry is just after your money.
8. None of my friends ever wash.
9. I’m so busy, I only have one day to sleep in, who has time to wash?
10. I don’t believe in washing, there’s really no such thing as soap anyway!

A couple of these excuses, I’ve actually heard people use for opting out of going to worship at church. One thing is for certain, Satan is real and working hard to convince people that washing isn’t needed. Jesus said, “…whoever believes and is baptized will be saved…” (Mark 16:16). However, it is the Devil that wants us to believe a lie and convince us that baptism isn’t really a necessity. Read Acts 22:16 and think again!

Solomon wrote that before any of us did, (Proverbs 14:), and it’ll inspire more people than any of us ever will.

The USA is now 234 years old! Still a baby brother in the eyes of nations around the globe. But then again, so was David, in the family of Jesse. That little brother grew up to kill a giant and lead a nation to produce the greatest Savior the world has ever known. When Jesus Christ comes again, he has asked the question, “When the Son of Man comes will he find faith on earth?” (Luke 18:8). The answer to that question lay in the future of the church of Christ as we know it. The USA seems to be where the Lord Jesus Christ may be feeding the majority of his siblings, and if we do not regard righteousness as the number one priority for our nation, we can lose so many opportunities to help other nations grow in righteousness. God’s righteousness is what our nation and other nations need. But what will our nation produce in the coming years? When Jesus comes again, where will the bulk of the church be? The church will be exactly where God wants it to be, and whether that is in China, Africa or the USA should not really matter to us, what should matter most, is that we promote righteousness in everything we do. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness for they will be satisfied!

– Jesus Christ (Matthew 5:6)

Little children often ask funny questions about Heaven, such as, “when we get to Heaven, won’t we get bored of singing to God all the time?”  There are even some parents that find this question hard to answer! Praising God isn’t something we should be bored with.  Interestingly, the longest book in the Bible is Psalms, and in the New Testament, ‘praising’ God is mentioned often, at least 46 times!

Praising God is a major theme in the Revelation. Considering it was written while undergoing fierce persecution, that speaks volumes!  When Christians sing, it is sometimes joyful, other times mournful, but no matter what the emotion, it is never boring. While early Christians were suffering persecution, the Revelation showed them that praising God was mostly because of God’s power & control, they found so comforting.

Why so much praise from the visions in the Revelation? Let us take a look at the words used in Revelation. They describe the content and purpose of praise to God, even while suffering for doing what is right. 

Rev. 1:6, “GLORY & DOMINION”,   4:11, “GLORY, HONOR & POWER”,   5:12-13, “POWER, RICHES, WISDOM, MIGHT, HONOR, GLORY, BLESSING & DOMINION”,   7:12, “BLESSING, GLORY, WISDOM, THANKSGIVING, HONOR, GLORY & DOMINION”,    19:1, “SALVATION, GLORY & POWER”.

Notice how often Dominion, Power & Might are repeated, and in every verse, the word Glory appears!   God knows that when John and the persecuted Christians read the Revelation, they probably would not feel like praising Him while suffering so much, and that His love wasn’t very obvious when martyrdom threatened them. So He showed them His glory and power. This is the main purpose of praising God, to be empowered from God, not our own feelings.

When Paul and Silas were imprisoned for their faith, they deliberately began praying and singing to God while in chains!  (Acts 16:25)  Why? To gain God’s power, so they could endure the trial faithfully. Do we want to keep faithful to Christ as a Christian?  Praise Him, Pray to Him and keep pointing out to ourselves the promises in His word for power! 

Some people claim the 10 Commandments to be older than Moses, others believe the ancient rules had an effect on civilizations we will never be able to identify even in archeaology. Whatever we believe about the 10 Commandments, one thing is for sure. When Jesus came, he held that the golden rule was around from ancient times and would never be improved upon. Loving God and loving eachother is what being a Christian is all about, and with that in mind, let us look at some New Testament revisions of the 10 Commandments. 

Keep Jesus First, (John 14:6)

Worship Only God, (Mark 12:30)

Use God’s Name Honorably, (Ephesians 5:4 & James 5:12)

Set Apart Time For Rest & Holiness, (Matthew 26:45 & Mark 6:31)

Honor Your Parents (Ephesians 6:2)

Respect Life (Romans 13:9)

Stay Faithful In Marriage (Romans 13:9)

Always Ask Before You Borrow (Romans 13:9)

Be Truthful With Your Neighbor (Colossians 3:9)

Enjoy What God Gave You (Romans 13:9)

Of course, we could list many more, but it may be appropriate to keep in mind that God is love, and necessitates that we learn to hate what is evil. Here is a list of things the world would be alot better off without and that God detests. 

Seven Things God Hates (Proverbs 6:17-20)

1. Arrogant Looks
2. Lying Mouths
3. Violent Hands
4. Wicked Hearts
5. Feet Running For Evil Goals
6. Slander
7. Breaking Up Families

and of course, since we are learning about lists. Here is a list of what the Bible says, God truly loves… 

Seven Things God Loves

1. Everyone in the World  (John 3:16 & Romans 5:8)
2. Anyone Who Loves Jesus (John 14:21 & 16:27)
3. Whoever Accepts God’s Discipline (Hebrews 12:6 & Revelation 3:19)
4. A Cheerful Giver (2^nd Corinthians 9:7)
5. The Church (Ephesians 5:25)
6. Righteousness (Hebrews 1:9)
7. Jesus Christ, (John 17:23-24)

We must come to the Bible, not to have our opinions confirmed, our prejudices reinforced, our pet issues endorsed, or our “proof texts” approved, but to hear the voice of God and learn of his will for our life. We must have a spirit of obedience and submission to the authority of his word each time we read the Bible. The attitude of the Psalmist is one we would do well to imitate:

“Open my eyes,” he says, “that I may see wonderful things in your law.” (Psalm 119:18)

Paul gives this instruction to Timothy: “Reflect” he says, “on what I am saying, for the Lord will give you insight into all this.” (2 Timothy 2:7) And to the community of believers in Philippi he says, “And if on some point you think differently, that too God will make clear to you.” (Philippians 3:15) The use of our mind, along with the guidance of the Spirit, is indispensable in our interpretation of the Bible. His goal is clearly given in Romans 8:28-29, conform to Christ.
“The Bible can mean anything you want it to mean” is a common enough claim and there is a sense in which that is true. The Bible can be made to say anything you want it to say if you approach it with a certain frame of mind that fails to observe some basic rules of interpretation. The existence of cults confirms how a bad interpretation of Scripture produces bad results. And even “mainstream” Christians sometimes have beliefs and practices that owe their existence to a wrong interpretation of Scripture.

So how can we interpret the Bible correctly? When we come to Scripture we must do so in a spirit of humility and dependence upon the Holy Spirit. The author of the Bible is the Holy Spirit and he is its best interpreter. We need to keep the following scriptures ever before us:

“All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.” (2 Timothy 3:16-17)

“Concerning this salvation, the prophets, who spoke of the grace that was to come to you, searched intently and with the greatest care, trying to find out the time and circumstances to which the Spirit of Christ in them was pointing when he predicted the sufferings of Christ and the glories that would follow.” (1 Peter 1:10-11)

“Above all, you must understand that no prophecy of Scripture came about by the prophet’s own interpretation. For prophecy never had its origin in the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.” (2 Peter 1:21)

“But you are not to be called ‘Rabbi,’ for you have one Teacher and you are all brothers. And call no one your ‘father’ on earth, for you have one Father, who is in heaven. Nor are you to be called ‘teacher,’ for you have one teacher, the Christ” (Matthew 23:9-10).  “Nevertheless you have an anointing from the Holy One, and you all know. I have not written to you that you do not know the truth, but that you do know it, and that no lie is of the truth”. (1st John 2:20-21)

His introduction as a Judge is similiar to Samuel. His birth was announced by an angel, Judges 13:3. But Samuel’s birth was ushered in with God’s answer to Hannah’s prayer, 1st Sam.1:20, 2:21. Whenever this happens, be it with Sarah, Rebecca, Rachel, Hannah, Mary or Elizabeth, there is a common theme between them all. A holy child is produced from God’s strength. Luke 1:35, Romans 15:13, 1st Thessalonians 1:5, Revelation 20:6. With holiness, comes power, that is strength to do what God wants us to do, rather than our own self interests.

What is the purpose of a Nazarite vow? Numbers 6:3,21.  It is a way of showing our separation, or consecration for the holiness that God gives to a person’s heart.

Could the diet of Manoah’s wife, as preparation for conception, be evidence for the anti-abortion cause? Why couldn’t baby Samson start the vow as a boy, before he became a man? Why begin the vow in the womb? Jer.1:4-5. How did Samson begin and end his life?

The Angel of the Lord appeared as a man to Manoah’s wife, but had glory which made her feel in awe of his presence. Judges 13:6

Gen. 31:11-13 shows us the true identity of the Angel of the Lord, see also Gen. 32:24-30. When he appeared the second time, his name is called, “WONDERFUL”, Judges 13:18. How can you see a person’s name?  This must be a reference to the Messiah in Isaiah 9:6.

The story of Samson is the longest of the Judges, except for Samuel, who is also called a Judge. 1st Sam. 7:15

Every parent should ask God the same question Manoah asks, see Judges 12:13. What is our rule/standard of life?

What happened when Manoah sacrificed the goat & grain on the rock?

The story of Samson’s parents is the foundation for his success as a Deliverer. God works through prayer. If we want our lives to be powerful, what must we have? If we want our community/society or nation to be godly, what must parents be doing?

Without holiness we will not see God, Hebrews 12:14.