Ol' Fuzzy's Cave

Friday, July 21, 2017

The Sermons of Jesus, Part 33

Let us look at the next seven verses today.

“32 For if ye love them that love you, what thank have ye? for sinners also love those that love them. 33 And if ye do good to them which do good to you, what thank have ye? for sinners also do even the same. 34 And if ye lend to them of whom ye hope to receive, what thank have ye? for sinners also lend to sinners, to receive as much again. 35 But love ye your enemies, and do good, and lend, hoping for nothing again; and your reward shall be great, and ye shall be the children of the Highest: for he is kind unto the unthankful and to the evil. 36 Be ye therefore merciful, as your Father also is merciful. 37 Judge not, and ye shall not be judged: condemn not, and ye shall not be condemned: forgive, and ye shall be forgiven: 38 give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your bosom. For with the same measure that ye mete withal it shall be measured to you again.”

These seven verses are one topic from different angles. Jesus is telling us that we will receive the same treatment we give to others. Notice the way He phrases the question, “...[W]hat thank have ye?” Jesus gives the impression that God directly rewards us for our deeds. From my own experience, I can attest that the reward is not just in the hereafter. You are rewarded immediately in your own soul for the deeds you do to others.

Again Jesus speaks of the intent behind the act in verses 34 and 36. Why you do something is more important to God than what you do. If you act out of egoism, greed or selfishness, God will not honor your deed, and your reward is in this world. But if your actions are done out of love, spontaneously, your reward is immediate and eternal. Your own soul grows to be more like God each time you love. “...[F]or God is love,” as saint John put it (1Jn 4:8).

All of the actions Jesus gives as examples are actions of a loving, generous heart. And the law of reciprocity is expressed in verses 37 and 38. Saint Paul put it like this, “Don’t kid yourself, you don’t fool God. Whatever you do to others will come back on you.” The Hindus call this karma. But they add the baggage of reincarnation to it. We don’t believe in reincarnation, “For it is appointed unto man once to die, and after that the judgment.” Jesus is saying it will happen in this life and in the one to come.

In my own experience, the reward for doing good comes immediately in my soul, a sort of joy that lifts my spirit for the rest of the day, especially if the good is unpremeditated.

This is not to say we are to be reckless in our personal liberality. Rather, we are to be loving, to meet the immediate needs of the one before us. We are not to go out looking for ways to become fiscal martyrs. There have been people in history who divested themselves of all they possessed to give to the poor, but they were called to the life of poverty by God. If God gives you plenty, it is to share, not squander. And if God gives you poverty, it is to foster your trust in Him for your needs. I myself have had no income for the past eight months besides the little from these blogs. God has seen to it that I have all I need to eat, my power and rent is covered by a loan, and my transportation needs are met, all by His grace. But it doesn’t mean I have any greater favor of God, only that I am so hard-headed that I need harder lessons.

Conclusion is: foster an attitude of love in your heart; be generous to all, friend or foe; do the good deed God has placed before you; and God will see to it your reward is in full.

Ol’ Fuzzy is not employable and was denied for disability benefits. The only thing I have is the blogs. But I don’t qualify for ads on the blogs until September. If you like the scribbles I post, please help me keep it going. You can leave me a gratuity by dropping a buck or two in Ol' Fuzzy's Tip Jar. This is a PayPal account I opened on Wednesday, April 5, 2017.

Wednesday, July 12, 2017

The Sermons of Jesus, Part 31

Today I finally start on the woes of the Sermon on the Plain. I think there is some resistance in the spirit world to me telling the words of Jesus on this matter.

“24 But woe unto you who are rich! for ye have received your consolation. 25 Woe unto you that are full! for ye shall hunger. Woe unto you that laugh now! For ye shall mourn and weep. 26 Woe unto you, when all men shall speak well of you! for so did their fathers to the false prophets.”

This is heavy! And again there is some hyperbole in it, that inescapable Semitic figure of speech. But the hyperbole is understated here, not as blatant as we would like. Jesus is not saying that it is impossible for a rich person to get into a close relationship with God. Rather He points out that the love of luxury and comfort is a distraction from such a relationship. People who are living large are already filled with their own selves and don’t make room for God. The next verse is an expansion on the first woe. Because if you have abundant food, and someone else is hungry, you are egoistic enough to ignore God.

Those who laugh now are the ones who put partying and distraction ahead of a relationship with their Creator. Often they will mock someone who is sober and reverent, even mocking God Himself. Don’t respond to the mockery. They shall receive what is coming to them.

The last woe is the one that I fear the most. As I try to do the things God leads me to do, many people say nice things about me. For some reason I am more comfortable with slander and reviling than with praise. I think it comes from my recognition that I am prone to arrogance. Those who knew me at high school can attest to that. But I have learned through humiliation, how to be humble under praise. To God be the glory! I am nothing but a servant.

I realize that this is a short one. I could expand and expound upon Jesus’s words here for pages and pages. But it is sufficient to let Him speak for Himself.

Thursday, July 6, 2017

The Sermons of Jesus, Part 30

Today I get into the meat of Jesus’s Sermon on the Plain.

“20 And he lifted up his eyes on his disciples, and said, Blessed are ye poor: for yours is the kingdom of God. 21 Blessed are ye that hunger now: for ye shall be filled. Blessed are ye that weep now: for ye shall laugh. 22 Blessed are ye, when men shall hate you, and when they shall separate you from their company, and shall reproach you, and cast out your name as evil, for the Son of Man’s sake. 23 Rejoyce ye in that day, and leap for joy: for, behold, your reward is great in heaven: for in like mannor did their fathers do unto the prophets.”

This is the complete list of beatitudes or blessings Jesus made on the plain. He opens up with His woes next, something not included in His Sermon on the Mount. I will cover them in the next post. Much of this is an abbreviation of the Beatitudes Jesus gave on the Mount. So I won’t repeat myself. Jesus has changed up the delivery from the previous sermon. The inclusion of woes leads me to believe that this sermon was delivered at a later date, after the scribes and the Pharisees began to follow Him to find ways to trip Him up.

The words Jesus uses in this sermon are an echo of the Sermon on the Mount. It is the same words for poor, kingdom, hunger, filled, weep/mourn, etc. But Jesus changes the rhythm and the cadence in this one. Notice verse 22, Jesus states the blessing as if He knows already these persecutions are coming upon His followers. It’s not delivered as a conditional statement, if men shall hate you. Jesus is telling us that we will be hated by the people who hate Him. This is something He wants us to be prepared for and not to be afraid of.

Read the Old Testament, how each of the prophets were persecuted by the people who were bound by the enemy of our souls. Jesus wants us to be assured that their curses are not binding on us, that we are blessed of our Father in Heaven. The devils have no other power over us than to temp and tease us, attacking our minds. The demons are no better off so long as we give them no homage. It is only when we entertain the thoughts these evil entities place in our minds that they gain control over our lives. That is why Jesus reassures us here that we are blessed, not cursed, when we follow Him.

An interesting aside: The title Jesus uses here in reference to Himself, the Son of Man, is first used in reference to Him in the Book of the Prophet Enoch, when Enoch met the preincarnate Christ in Heaven. It is sad that this book was removed from the Old Testament in the Third Century, AD. It is one of the greatest Gospels of Christ in the whole Bible, right up there with Isaiah and John.

I realize that this one is shorter than most, but I have already covered these blessings in previous posts, and I just needed to cover the differences between the sermons.

Wednesday, July 5, 2017

The Sermons of Jesus, Part 29

This post begins Jesus’s other recorded sermon known as The Sermon on the Plain. It is found in the Gospel according to Luke, chapter 6, verses 17 though 49. The first three verses of the passage are setting the stage for the actual sermon. Let’s take a look at them.

17 And he came down whith them, and stood in the plain, and the company of his disciples, and a great multitude of people out of all Judea and Jerusalem, and from the seacoast of Tyre and Sidon, which came to hear him, and to be healed of their diseases; 18 And they that were vexed with unclean spirits: and they were healed. 19 And the whole multitude sought to touch him: for there went virtue out of him, and healed them all.

Jesus didn’t work things the way modern evangelists do. In today’s evangelistic meetings, the preaching comes first and the healing and other needs are attended to afterward. Jesus went first to the needs of the people. He healed the sick, cast out demons and tended to their bodily needs before He opened his mouth to preach. This ought to be and example to us today.

Modern preachers are afraid the crowd would get what they want and leave before hearing the brilliant words they polished for so many hours to be perfect. Too many of our preachers are caught up in the acclaim they receive for their spiffy homilies. They have fallen into the trap set beside the way. They love the public spotlight and the approval of men.

I too would have probably fallen into such a trap. I cannot condemn them, that's not my job anyway. But I can point out the problem and warn others. To work the way Jesus did, we must meet the physical needs of the people before we attend to the spiritual stuff. Are they hungry? Feed them. Are they thirsty? Give them something to drink. Are they wearing clothing that is too warn to be serviceable? Clothe them. After that is taken care of, then preach to them. And if they leave before the sermon, it’s their loss, not ours.

The last verse is interesting in that it shows a link between the physical and spiritual worlds. People wanted to touch Jesus because power went out from Him when physical contact is made. The Greek word translated virtue is the word we derive our English word dynamite from. In Greek this word denotes the physical power to perform work. The very touch of the hand to Jesus’s clothes was dynamic. Power came forth from Him when contact was made. POWER. That’s awesome.

We see the same thing happening today when someone in faith touches the hand or the clothes of some perceived holy person and gets a miraculous occurrence. It is real. There is a connection between the physical and spiritual worlds in the soul of every human being. This connection can extend to inanimate objects when touched by a human. The spiritual influence of the last person who touched and object continues to linger for quite some time, and can be transferred to the next person who handles the object.

This has been recognized by pagans and magicians for hundreds of years. Christians seem to have forgotten it in the modern world. That is why so many are under oppression by demonic activities and unnecessarily suffer. I don’t recommend complete avoidance of physical contact with the world and the things that are in it. But I do recommend that all Christians keep it in mind that we are engaged in a spiritual war for control of the world. The enemy of our souls is using whatever means is available. And it is a boon to him if we ignore the threat. Forewarned is forearmed. If you are aware of these influences, you can take precautions in your own soul to contend with the influences of evil and receive the influence of God.

Next post begins the text of Jesus’s Sermon on the Plain.

Monday, July 3, 2017

The Sermons of Jesus, Part 28

This post wraps up the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew’s Gospel. Jesus gave a conclusion that rocked the ancient world.

“24 Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock: 25 And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock. 26 And every one that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand: 27 And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell: and great was the fall of it.”

28 And it came to pass, when Jesus had ended these sayings, the people were astonished at his doctrine: 29 For he taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes.

Jesus’s parable here is often misunderstood, used by the self righteous to condemn those to whom they want to feel superior, and quoted by preachers to encourage attendance. Yet none of that is Jesus’s intent. He never said the foolish example of a man is condemned to hell, merely that his “house” fell, “and great was the fall of it.”

So tell us, what the parable means, smarty-pants. Alright, I’ll tell it like I received it. The word in Greek here rendered heareth means to listen intently, to understand. So Jesus isn’t talking about people who hear slogans spouted about salvation. Jesus is talking about people who listen to what He said with attention and understood what He meant. The house He refers to in the parable is the life on Earth of the listener. If you listen to what He told us in the sermons that He preached, and you carry out the commands and do the works Jesus put before you, then you are building your life on the foundation of rock. If you listen intently to His words, and you understand what He means, but you don’t do any of it, you are foolish and your life will be in ruin.

I doubt that Jesus was measuring life the way we often do, by the balance of the bank account. The structure of one’s life is far more than material wealth. The actual structure of your life is the relationships you build every day with all those around you. If you build those relationships on the teachings of Jesus Christ, you are building them strong and lasting, able to withstand the storms of this life. But if you know what Jesus taught about how to treat other people, with love, and you do not do it, you are building all your relationships on sand, and the storms of life will wash them away.

The concept is easy to express, yet difficult to practice. Frustration, irritation and worry tend to grind away our patience. If that patience is a veneer covering egoistic selfishness, the relationships have no glue to hold them together. But if it is a patina of varnish covering love, the relationships are strengthened by the abrasion because the reality of your heart is revealed.

The reflexive human response since the fall of man has been to lash out whenever we are abraded by these things. But the response of love is patience and concern. Proverbs 27:17 says that we rub against each other to hone our faces. In ancient times the concept of face was more of the persona you displayed toward others than the visage you see in a mirror. All these abrasions make us better at relationships.

The last two verses are repeated whenever Jesus gave a public speech. Jesus taught like the Lawgiver and not the lawyer. He never quoted other authorities, His own authority is greater. This amazed the people. They had never seen the like.

Sunday, July 2, 2017

The Sermons of Jesus, Part 27

Let’s look at the next nine verses today. They go together.

“15 Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves. 16 Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles? 17 Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit, but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil. 18 A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit. 19 Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire. 20 Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them.

21 Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. 22 Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? 23 And then I will profess unto them, I never knew you; depart from me, ye that work iniquity.”

Danger! Beware! There are people who will fake it to gain your trust and bring you to hell with them. A long time ago the Devil and his angels joined the Church. They like to get at the people in charge and turn them into one of their own. Others start their own religion and try to lure unwitting faithful into a trap of sweetness and light that covers in a thin veneer the vitriol and darkness inside them. Jesus is warning us to watch out for them.

How do you tell the good from the bad? Look at their actions and their message. If they teach you selfishness, ego and greed, they’re definitely not from Christ Jesus. If on the other hand they do and teach love and compassion, and they genuinely care about others, then you can be sure Christ is in them because love comes out of them. Jesus uses the analogy of fruit bearing trees to make this point. Grapes don’t grow on brambles, only blackberries do. And figs grow on sycamore trees not thistles. Likewise love grows from a heart in which God dwells, not a heart given over to vice and the devil’s agenda.

It is not only the doctrine of the teacher you must watch out for, but the deeds as well. If a preacher is talking the good talk, dogmatically correct, but he or she is perverse in their personal life, the message is suspect because they don’t practice the word they preach. How can you follow one who directs but does not lead? Do not fall into the other trap we covered in the last posts about judgment of others. Your job is not to condemn anyone, but to seek the Kingdom of God in your soul.

Jesus tells us how He will deal with them on the day of judgment. His job is to sift the hearts of humans and decide truly who is and isn’t His. We can’t see what He sees. But there are many people who are self-deluded into believing in their own perfection, who go about making a great show of godliness, doing deeds in Christ’s Name, but their hearts are full of themselves, and there is no room in them for love. Those are the ones Jesus will profess, “I never knew you.”

Throughout the sermon, Jesus has been giving us warnings about the evil inside us. This is the first passage in which He warns us about evil outside us. We cannot take it out of that context. We must be ever diligent to root out our own vices and build up our own virtues, not being concerned about ferreting out the sins of others. So why does Jesus warn us about these others? So we can avoid being ensnared by them. The traps are set on all sides of the way. If you take your feet off the path, you will trigger the trap. Watch your step.

Saturday, July 1, 2017

The Sermons of Jesus, Part 26

I am going to cover three verses today. Verse 12 is an epilogue to the previous five verses, but that’s not enough to fill a post. So we have two subjects, and they’re big ones.

“12 Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them: for this is the law and the prophets.

13 Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat: 14 Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.”

Verse twelve is the Golden Rule. It seems strait foreward. But most folks are incapable of applying it. Are you a Republican who gets upset when Democrats denounce your intellegence? Then why do your call them stupid? Jesus didn’t make exceptions for any reason. In the Greek text the first word of this verse is panta, literally everything. He encompasses every possible situation in that one word. Always treat everybody the way you wish them to treat you.

Ooh, don’t that sound easy? It isn’t. The urge to lash out immediately at someone who touches a nerve is intense, riled up by the evil powers of darkness who linger in your thoughts trying to trip and trap you at every turn. To ensure you carry out this command of Christ, and it is imperative, you have to think first before you do, say or post anything. Panta means all of it. Never do anything, say anything or write anything that you wouldn’t want to have done to you, said to you or written about you. That takes discipline. James tells us the tongue is the most difficult part of the body to tame. That applies to your thumbs when you tweet. Do not be a Trump tweeter.

In verse 13 we start a new paragraph. The word used in the Greek text that was translated strait is better rendered in modern English as narrow, skinny or difficult to fit through. In archaic usage, strait once meant that. Now it means without a curve. Not the original meaning at all. Many people with an unbending attitude toward others prefer to use the modern meaning to excuse their lack of love. Rest assured this is not what Jesus intended.

The road is narrow and the gate it passes through admits only one at a time. That is because everyone enters salvation alone. You can’t get a group discount. The gate is too narrow. The road is too narrow. Single file in both places. Don’t use this as a bludgeon to beat the sinners that you feel are inferior to you. If you feel that way, it is evidence you took the wrong turn somewhere. The broad and easily-accommodating road is not the one we want. The yawning gate leads to separation from God for eternity. That is hell.

Basically, this illustrates the work required to discipline the mind and act according to love. When I was young, commercial announcers loved the saying, “Can thirty million Americans be wrong?” My answer to them then and now is the same: Yes! The more people are doing it, the closer I look at it to see if it leads to destruction of my soul. You can’t shirk the work. You have to bridle your tongue (and thumbs, for all you who tweet). You must think before you act. You can’t just go with the flow, because the flow is leading you away from God, over the lip of an abyss.

That is why the Apostle Paul wrote, “work out your own salvation with fear and trembling,” (emphasis is mine). This isn’t a joy-ride or a Sunday drive in the country. This is the journey to eternity. What road are you on? I am checking the one I follow.