The Attributes of God

This is a good graph that shows the Attributes of God. Hope this is as helpful to you as it was to me.

A Post for my dear professors

Be Thou my Vision (Irish Version)

Be Thou my Vision

Judging The Issue that Never goes away James 4:11-12. Judging The Issue that Never goes away James 4:11-12.

Intro

The reason why churches split the most, it’s not because they run out of members, or because they run out of money. The reason why churches split or ceased to exist the most is because of slander!!

We have seen before how James talks about our tongue, how difficult it is for us to control it, James 3:1-12. In today’s text, we see that James comes back, briefly, to the same issue. If James sees it as something that must be touched not only once, but twice, must tell us something as to the seriousness of this issue.

Do you have trouble not keeping your thoughts to your self? If they are good thoughts, by all means, please, share it with the rest of us. But if they are thoughts against other people, please, don’t keep them to yourself either, but rather, expel them from your mind!!!

Today we will talk about two things. 1. How we as believers, should live in harmony, not slandering each other, and not judging us by any reason, but always restoring each other, with love and mercy. As you will see, this issue does not only affect how we live in peace within a congregation, but also how we approach and live with the world outside.

Let us turn to our text.

Living Together, Judging, with Mercy.

Vss. 11-12. Slander, in the OT Greek Bible, the LXX, we see the word slander defined as speaking falsely about a person, Lev. 19:16; Ps. 101:5, Prov. 20:13, Micah 3:7. But it may also refer to unloving criticism or negative judgment, Num. 12:8; 21:7; Ps. 77:19.  Paul links gossip to pagan custom, Rom. 1:29-30. In II Cor. 12:20 Paul mentions it again, linking it with arrogance and jealousy. Peter also tell us not to be slanderous, but also, not to give any room for other to slander us, I Pet. 3:16; 2:12.

We get the picture that judging and slandering is bad. However, we also see that we are called to make judgment within the Church, cf. I Cor. 5. But within James, we are called to judge, but to do it with MERCY, James 2:12-13.

Isn’t it true that when we judge others, we usually do it out of pride, thinking that we are better than them?? That’s the sort of judging that should not take place among us.

If someone is in sin, we should not only judge them, as we see in I Cor., but to continue to the next phase, to restore them, Gal. 6:1.

Finally, when James mentions the Law of God, we are reminded of the verse in Lev. 19:18. We are compelled to love our neighbor as ourselves. Jesus also picked up in the Gospels, Mark 12:28-32. Remember, if we brake one aspect of the Law, we brake the whole!!

Conclusion

Only God has the authority to judge, and he has given to Jesus, cf. John 5:22-23. It is God who will bring all the hidden things to the light. We can judge with mercy, but always remembering, that Jesus will the ultimate judge, and let’s not take Jesus’ place, or else, we will be usurping his place as the great judge. 



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For those who love/like Batman

If you like Batman, you will love to see the actors that have played the character throughout the years.

I hope you like it.

Here it's the link.

You want to know how long animals live, here it's a chart.

Is Jesus the only way? A lecture by apologist Mike Licona

via Wintery Knight 

Summary:

• even in the ancient world, Christians were persecuted for their exclusivity
• some people feel that exclusivity is unfair, but feelings don’t determine truth
• there are three views of salvation: universalism, inclusivism, and exclusivism
• does the Bible teach universalism?
• Paul writes that sincerity is not enough to be saved (see verse below)
• Paul writes that an accurate view of God is required to be saved
• Paul writes that those who reject Christ will not be saved
• John also writes that those who reject Jesus will not be saved
• Jesus says that you have to have true beliefs about him to be saved
• Jesus says that the way to salvation is narrow and few find it
• there is broad agreement across the New Testament for exclusivism
• the earliest Christians held to exclusive salvation
• the probability, historically, that Jesus made exclusive claims, is high
• what about those who have never heard the gospel?
• what about babies and the mentally handicapped?
• what about those who are sincere but don’t believe?
• what about the obligation to be tolerant?

Is Jesus the Only Way? from Mike Licona on Vimeo.

Paula White was one of Ralph Messer's first victims

Like I said in my previous post, and do believe that the issue is that Ralph Messer picks those who has gone through some sort of ministry scandal, and goes to them, and does his thing to make them feel better. These people are so desperate to be affirmed, that they are willing to open their arms to him. 

Apparently, Paula White was no exception.

An Orlando-area rabbi, upset that Florida-based televangelist Paula White strongly denied participating in "scroll-wrapping" considered "repulsive and inappropriate" by some Jewish religious scholars, submitted a video that seemingly corroborates that such an act did occur.

Maybe what she thought was that she was not proclaimed queen, at least not in that video, which is some time ago.

This is how the story came about:

On Friday afternoon, Feb. 3, the West Orlando News Online reported "rumors that Messer will be in Orlando over the week-end to crown pastor Paula White, new leader of the New Destiny Christian Center (NDCC), queen."
At 6 p.m. that Friday evening - just after the Florida Courier broke a story on the Internet addressing rumors of White's possible 'coronation' - Messer became the focus of discussion on Orlando's WEUS-AM 810, a local talk radio station.
Host Don Miller of "The Don Miller Show" harshly criticized both Long and Messer. One of the featured guests on the show Rabbi Ira Michaelson of the Beth Tefillah congregation in Clermont, just outside of Orlando.
About 10 minutes into the broadcast, Miller confirmed that he heard rumors that Messer was coming to Orlando "to do this" (another Eddie Long-style 'coronation') at another church." 

Messer does seem to have an affinity to pick those he wants to proclaim kings and queens. Who does he think he is? God?? But read why he picked on "poor" Paula.

In response, Michaelson said, "He actually already did this to Paula White some years ago...this was after she was divorced from Randy White and before the scandal with Benny Hinn came out. He took her and wrapped her in a scroll and said the same thing - 'I'm wrapping you in the Word of God.'"

Smart, isn't it? Long and White are desperate for affirmation after they've had a rough patch, either being their fault or created, and then comes Messer, to proclaim them king or queen, to cover them with the Torah, so no one can again attack them.

Silliness, and both Long and White should have known better. Hopefully Messer is run out of town, and of offerings so he won't be doing his show anymore.

Watch the video:

Eddy Long apologizes for being crowned king

This news has gone full circle, and now Eddy Long apologizes for being a clown. CNN reports.

"The ceremony was not my suggestion, nor was it my intent, to participate in any ritual that is offensive in any manner to the Jewish community, or any group. Furthermore, I sincerely denounce any action that depicts me as a King, for I am merely just a servant of the Lord," Long wrote in a letter dated Saturday.The letter was addressed to Bill Nigut, southeast regional director of the Anti-Defamation League -- a Jewish group that fights anti-Semitism."While I believe that Rabbi Ralph Messer has good intentions during his message at New Birth, I understand that the ceremony he performed on Sunday, January 29th, caused harm to the Jewish community, for which I am deeply sorry," Long wrote.

I am willing to accept that he didn't know what was going to happen. Apparently, Messer has been crowning or pretending to surround people with the Torah for some time, and particularly those who have had some sort of ministry scandal.

Rabbi Hillel Norry of Congregation Shearith Israel in Atlanta said last week the ceremony was "ridiculous." There's no Jewish coronation ceremony where someone is wrapped in a Torah and made a king, he said. 

"We just don't do that. We treat it with deference," Norry said of the Torah. "It's not a shawl, not a crown. Don't treat it that way."

As I said in my previous post, there's no such ritual in Judaism. But I guess, now all the flak is coming Messer's way.

Norry said Messer doesn't appear to be an ordained rabbi in the Jewish faith. He also doubts that the Torah scroll that Long was wrapped in is actually 312 years old, and had somehow escaped detection in a concentration camp.

 I doubt that he knows anything about Judaism, and is just taking advantage of the ignorance of his gullible audience.

But like I said, Messer seems to always target those leaders who are in need of a boost.

Two years ago, Long's public image took a hit when four young men accused him of misusing his spiritual authority to coerce them into sexual relations. He settled out of court. Long's wife, Vanessa, filed for divorce last year.

In my next post, I will also mention another of Messer's victims, who needed a boost after her divorce.