There are no Jews, no Greeks, etc...

Our idols, my idols, determine our, my walk. Do I place what I love on the mantle for all to see and bow for all to see, or is God there? Is doing what is popular our idol? Are we so worried about what people consider the church to be and try to modernize it so that people feel comfortable? Is that our idol? Or what of our leadership? Do we follow whatever a pastor or preacher says to the law, because if we do, they too have become an idol. And as Jeremiah pointed out in Jer 12:10, pastors destroy a church by their misdeeds and will lead their people into the wilderness. God will deal with me and with my brethren if we choose to make idols that we think represent God, even if we have the best of intentions. He will not tolerate that in us, as Jesus says in Matthew 21:41, in the parable of the vineyard. God will give what He has given to us to others who work for Him and worship Him. And He will treat us as the congregation of satan in Rev 3:9, and we will be marked as sinful.

But those that follow Him, He will make us glad to be in Him. We will sing and rejoice as David says in Psalms 87:7 and again in Psalms 137:5. We will know whose we are and where we belong as His. We will be one, because we know that God doesn’t want us to be divided. (1 Cor 12:25) We must treat each other with brotherly love, praying always for peace that we be blessed as His children. (1 Thes 4:9; Ps 122:6) The LORD sets His watchmen for us, as He did in Isaiah 62:6, so that we like sheep are not scattered but know where and who our master is and because He cares enough to call us to Him (Isaiah 43:4)

There are no Jews no Greeks, etc...Part 4

And His blessings for me have come down from Adam (Gen 1:22,38), Noah (Gen 9:1, 2), Abram (Gen 14:19,20) and so on. God has never ceased to bless all of His people, whether it was Adam, Noah, Abram, Jesus or I. I am one of His, He calls me one of His chosen, because I by faith have come to obey and love Him. O, what a blessing His sanctuary is! And how those Who He calls His will be blessed, over and over! (Ps 65:4) What a glorious time as I praise Him along with the other children of God! (Ps 96:8; Ps 100:4; Ps 116:19) And I pray that everything I do, all my life be as a fragrance pleasing to Him, so that He doesn’t curse me. And I pray that the church is as a fragrance to Him as well, so that He will not say that our worship is vain. (Is 1:12) I pray that we are all part of His banquet and partake of His great feast. (Is 62:9)
May all of our idols be stripped, one way or another, may we heed the words in Joshua 9:23 and Judges 18:31, that where there are idols we cannot please Him. And when we fight one another, as the children of Israel did against the children of Benjamin, may we heed the words in Judges 20:18, 26 and offer burnt sacrifices and sin offerings. God wants a united family, not one that seeks to get the most out of meeting together, but one that seeks to bring peace and joy to one another, to be content with where it is, to help those in need, and to walk every day as Christ walked. God wants me not only to dedicate myself to Him, but to the restoration and rebuilding of relationships, and the growth of those now standing. (1 Chronicles 9:11; 1 Chronicles 24:5)

There are no Jews, Greeks Part III

My whole relational being in God is to love my brethren. I was made as a social being, and a steward of God’s kingdom, much as Adam was created to be in His image, to look after His world. His emissary. What does that mean? Does that mean cracking the whip over creation? Make everything and everyone obey me? There are some like that, have been some all through history that have in the name of evangelizing have tried to force people under their religious rule. This is not what God wants of me. And He had to sacrifice His Son to show me what He meant by being His emissary. He wants me to bestow grace on my brethren, like Paul did in 1 Cor 16:23, 2 Cor 13:14 and so on. He wants me to be a peacemaker. As Paul says, “Peace be to the brethren, and love with faith, from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Grace be with all them that loved our Lord Jesus Christ in sincerity. Amen.” (Eph 6:23,24) How can I do that and not respect my brethren? How can I walk as Jesus walked and yet maintain prejudices against men, other women, Americans of every declension, Russians, Chinese, Hispanics, Greeks, and Jews? How can I say I love Christ yet spit on those who are different than me? How can that be? God tells me that He sends me His grace, through Paul, through Timothy. (1 Tim 1:2) How can I repay such grace with hateful actions, with hurtful actions, with painful actions? Paul sends Timothy a blessing on his spirit from Christ. (2 Tim 4:22). And most of all these blessings should remind me that God and Jesus sacrificed so much for me. “Now the God of peace, that brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great shepherd of the sheep, throughout the blood of the everlasting covenant. Make you perfect in every good work to do his will, working in you that which is well-pleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be the glory for ever and ever. Amen Grace be with you all. Amen”. (Heb 13:20,21,25) How can I say that I accept God and Jesus being in control of my life, when I do not treat my fellow man as Christ would? When I accept His grace and knowledge, it is not just for me. It is to be spread to my brethren and to those not yet in the fold, like rain refreshing their spirit. (! Pet 1:2; ! Pet 5:10,11,14; and 2Pet 1:2-4) My presence is to be like a flower of God, full of mercy and grace, a wonderful fragrance to Him.

There are No Greeks, No Jews, etc (Part 3)

But more than that, my family in Christ will bless the goodness that I bestow by my allegiance, by my obedience, by my faith. God has given me a good family in Christ, He has given me brethren the world round so that I am never lonesome. There are no politics in this family, the basis of friendship is pure love. That is why totally different people can join hands and be friends and brethren, because of the one mouth and one heart they have in Christ.(Rom 15:5,6,1,23). God is the God of glory, of peace, of harmony and He and He alone can make me one with my brethren. It is He who gives me the heart to say “Grace be to you…” (1 Cor 1:3; 2 Cor 1:2; Gal 1:3; Eph 1:2; Phil 1:2; Col 1:2; 1 Thes 1:1; 2 Thes 1:2; 2 Tim 1:1; Philemon 3; Rom 1:7). I can stand with my congregation in this blessing from God and the eldership, as the people of Israel did in 2 Chronicles 6:3 and in 1 Kings 8:14. I can truly walk with Jesus with my brethren and accept his blessings on all of us. (Luke 24:50)

With that grace, with that blessings on myself and my brethren, perhaps it becomes easier to heed the admonishment of Romans 14 and 15 because I am told to be like-minded to my brethren. By His patience and understanding I can do this. Where I work, it is often harder to get along with those in my office than out in the poultry plant we are supposed to regulate. Why? Because of politics. There are those who want to run the office differently and who want to impose regulations differently and therefore don’t understand how I can do what I do. But the plant personnel understand that my intention is not that they go down the hard way, but that they run what they wish to run while following the regulations that were not ordained by me but by the law set forth by Congress and the federal government. The church is the same way. Why don’t I get along with my brethren? When I am least likely to get along with them is the time that I am not willing to accept their differences and so have a political division with them. My theme: if you want to be like that fine, just don’t expect me to sanction it, and don’t expect me to do as you will. While there are some behaviors that Christ certainly does and doesn’t expect me to do, and while I am free to proceed whatever way I feel carries forth the cause of Christ and God the best, that is the key: it is how I feel or have considered which is the best course. There is a lot left up to opinion. And when I start imposing this on anyone, then I am as wrong as the Pharisees and am using the law as the be-all and end-all. --

There Are No Jews, No Greeks, etc Part 2

I long to be in His house. (Ps 84:2, 10;Ps 92:13)I long for all those who say they are Christians to long to be in His house as well. I long to hear that call to go to church and dwell in His house together. (Zechariah 3:7; Zechariah 8:21) And I want to rejoice along side of my neighbors and their children and rejoice in the LORD, and dwell in Him (Deut 16:11) And I long to hear His sovereign word, along with my brethren, that we all hear it together, that all be included into His fold, that all demonstrate that He is LORD, and take Him as their LORD and not look to idols (Deut 31:11-13). I long to tell Him along with my brethren how grateful I am that He is my God. (Gen 28:17,22)

And while I don’t do what I do for His blessings, these I know are benefits of God’s promise and my obedience to Him. There are things about the ones I worship with that are could be considered a blessing. And there are still other things that could be considered a bane. And I am to keep my eyes open to all of these things. (Deut 27:11-13; Joshua 8:33) Just as Moses had his people both bless and curse those among the congregation, I must realize that because I am human, there is both good and bad about me. But because I am God’s daughter, and because God looks after me by sending me godly leaders, the goodness in me will overcome those aspects in me that are dark and that would be drawn to a seamier side of others and me. God sends me leaders that are worthy of my respect (Rom 13:1-7) because He is the one who put them there to begin with. And in their goodness, they will bless me (Jos 14:13; Jos 22:6,7) and my allegiance and obedience is owed them. Regardless of their character. If my character is good, the God in them will recognize it, and they shall bless me. One way or another.