Seeds For Thinking

Link: http://seedsforthinking.oldgleaner.com

* Normal
* Scripture: Jesus said, . . ."I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor to be with you forever - the Spirit of Truth." John 14:6,7, NIV

I wonder how much of our lives we spend waiting for things to "become normal"? Take the weather, for example. The forecast may call for conditions to be "about normal," or perhaps "above normal temperatures and below normal precipitation."
That's fine, if we know what normal is supposed to be. If we look at the weather over many years of time, certain weather conditions may occur more often than others. The condition we call normal is not absolute; normal may be what we long for, but we can not be assured we will always know what normal is.
If we look back at our lives, and try to choose a period that we could label as "normal," we will realize that a lot of changes occur. Perhaps a more fitting term would be the word "typical." We had a typical childhood; we were typical teenagers. What was normal for those years is vastly different from marriage and childbearing years.
If we contact an illness, we may display symptoms that are normal for that affliction; we would definitely not say we were experiencing normal health, though. Not as we would want it to be.
That is today's "Seed For Thinking." Normal may in part be whatever we wish it to be. If we do not get our desires, our wish, we say things are "not normal."
The Bible is full of many examples where people want a certain condition to exist. "Have our cake, and eat it too." The dilemma - get what we want, but don't change anything. Do we eat the cake, or do we keep the cake uneaten?
Jesus' disciples had somewhat the same dilemma. They wanted Jesus to be with them, forever. That's an understandable feeling. But Jesus knew that the church needed something that would not be available if He stayed with the disciples. John 16:7 relates how Jesus told them that He had to go away, because the Holy Spirit would not come to them unless He went away.
They had all been with Jesus for several years. That was 'normal.' Now Jesus was going to leave them. Jesus observed that they were "filled with grief." (John 16:6)
Jesus was preparing them for a new way of life, and the world for a New Covenant.
His blood was shed for the salvation of all.
Normal ceased to exist;
Normal began on Calvary, and was confirmed at Pentecost.

SPECIAL NOTE: If all we ever do is what we've always done;
All we will ever get is what we've always got!

April 30, 2006

Link: http://seedsforthinking.oldgleaner.com/

Scripture: Therefore, as through one man’s offense judgment came to all men, resulting in condemnation, even so through one Man’s righteous act the free gift came to all men, resulting in justification of life. (Romans 5:18, NKJV)

I recall a verse of an old camp song that was a humorous take on Biblical history. It started with Adam, of course:
Adam was the first man that ever was invented;
Lived all alone, but never was contented.
Made out of mud in the days gone by;
Hung on the fence for the sun to dry.

Add Eve to the picture, toss in some fruit (apple?) and things go downhill from there. Though intended as a parody on the creation of man, the verse is based on these truths:

Adam was created by God, not born of flesh and blood.
Adam was formed of the dust of the ground, and God breathed into his nostrils the breath of life.
Adam became a living being.
Adam lived alone until the creation of Woman, Eve.

Just in case you wondered, nothing is said in the Bible about Adam drying on a fence.
Unfortunately, the Bible records that Adam and Eve broke the agreement with God concerning the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil. Isaiah speaks of the result of this sin:
The earth is defiled under its inhabitants,
because they have transgressed the laws,
Changed the ordinance,
Broken the everlasting covenant.
Therefore, the curse has devoured the earth, and those who dwell in it are desolate.
(Isaiah 24:5-6a, NKJV)
When God created mankind, He chose for Adam to represent his posterity as "federal head" in the covenant of works. That is why Paul writes, “Therefore, as through one man’s offense judgment came to all men, resulting in condemnation . . .”
But God is the Rock, His work is perfect; for all His ways are justice. A God of truth and without injustice; righteous and upright is He. (Deuteronomy 32:4)
Still, God demonstrated his love for us, so that one righteous act resulted in justification of life for all people. Justification is to declare or make someone righteous in the sight of God. Through God’s Grace, justification is a free gift to all people.
That one Man’s righteous act Paul is writing about is the sacrifice for the salvation of all people who believe on Him. You probably have heard His name - Jesus. He is also called:

* The "Son of Man" (Mark 14:61-62)
* "The Christ" (Matthew 16:16)
* "Lord" (Romans 10:9)
* "Messiah" (John 4:25)
* "Leader and Savior" (Acts 5:31)
* "Redeemer" (Isaiah 49:26)
* "Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace." (Isaiah 9:6) . . . among other titles.

The term Christ is a title rather than a proper name and identifies Jesus as the anticipated Messiah of the Old Testament.
He is sometimes called “The Second Adam.”
What a contrast; two men, both created by God:
“For as by one man’s disobedience many were made sinners, so also by one Man’s obedience many will be made righteous.” (Romans 5:19)
Through Adam’s offense, judgment came to all men, resulting in condemnation; However, “There is now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus.” (Romans 8:1a)
December 20, 2009

Link: http://seedsforthinking.oldgleaner.com/

Scripture: I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor (Paraclete) to be with you forever - the Spirit of Truth.” John 14:16, NIV

The Book of Job begins with a depiction of a heavenly gathering of angels before the Lord, and Satan “also came with them” (Job 1:6). I note that the literal translation of the Hebrew word used here for Satan means “accuser.” I quickly slide off into a daydream; I envision a heavenly court, not unlike a Perry Mason script, where the Prosecuting Attorney is Satan, “The Accuser.” God is on the High Bench, of course, and the Defense is in good hands, being the Paraclete,the Counselor of John 14:16,
I am not an observer from a back corner of the courtroom, however. I find myself in the witness chair, front and center, the subject of this trial, the Defendant!
The Prosecution begins by opening a large ledger, and my heart shrinks within me. Satan maintains not only a very sharp pencil, but has kept a scrupulous and thorough accounting. I think of the words of the Prophet Isaiah, when he saw a vision of the Lord, high and exulted: “Woe to me,” Isaiah cried, “I am ruined, for I am a man of unclean lips.” (Isaiah 6:5).
Satan begins. They are all listed there, sins of omission, as well as sins of commission. The gross as well as the petty, laid out for all to see. Am I to be like the wicked of the First Psalm, as “chaff that the wind blows away?” Satan is skilled, and cunning. He has well earned the title of “The Accuser.”
As a glowering “Accuser” completes the presentation of his case, he closes his ledger with a sharp “Thunk” of finality.
In despair, I realize that I can do nothing but throw myself upon the mercy of the court. I am reminded that the prosecution is only half of a trial, however. The Defense, the “One who Walks Alongside,” begins. He, too, opens a ledger. All in the court, including Satan, strains to see what is written there. It is a list of names; the Counselor runs his finger swiftly down the page, stopping at a name, and looking up at the bench, proclaims, “I present to the Court, that the defendant's name is written here, in the Book of Life.” Heads nod. Satan scowls, and rises to object. “Your Honor, it is apparent the defense is ignoring the facts.”
The objection is denied. The Counselor asks that the defendant step down for the moment, and asks to present evidence that all of Satan’s accusations are null and void, because they have been purged from the Heavenly record. Again Satan rises. “I object, Your Honor. My records are complete, and factual. Surely the defendant must be found guilty. Justice must prevail.” Again, the objection is denied.
The Counselor calls another witness. “Please tell the court”, he asks, “ why the defendant should not be found guilty in this case.”
“Because I have already paid whatever penalty is due to this defendant,” states the witness. “How can that be?” sputters Satan. “Can sin be forgiven?”
“Yes,” Jesus replies. “Though sins be as scarlet, they shall become as white as wool, and the one who believes in Me shall not perish, but have everlasting life. While he was yet a sinner, I died for him.” Stretching forth His hands, He holds them up for all to see. Thomas, one of the Apostles, sitting to one side, nods, and smiles.
I can but only acknowledge, “My Lord, and My God.”
Well, it is only a dream, isn’t it?
January 25, 2004

Link: http://seedsforthinking.oldgleaner.com/

Scripture: Jesus said, “Unless I go away, the Counselor will not come to you; but if I go I will send him to you.” John 16:7b, NIV

There is no one so ‘grown up’ that we can’t use a little assistance from time to time. What a dull world this would be if there were no challenges to enrich our lives. New experiences, places to go, people to meet, things to learn.
Take time to watch a young child as they encounter the world for the first time. Everything is new; the entire world around them is enticing and waiting to be explored. It takes a lot of patience on the part of adults to see as they see, to understand as they understand. Those who wish for instant adults are sure to be saddled with great disappointment and frustration. Try as we might, we can not dump a load of adult level information on a child and expect them to comprehend it. Schools at all levels - preschool through graduate courses - start with the simple and move to the complex. Those who are experienced (because they have been there, done that) teach the ones just coming through the system.
My wife and I took time to watch children learning to show livestock at the fair: “Pee Wee Showmanship”. While most events are intended to seriously show the animal to its best advantage, and requires a lot of experience on the part of the showman, these Pee Wee events are intended to be fun and a learning experience for all, both child and adult. The little folk get a chance to get into the show ring just like their bigger brothers and sisters. And everybody gets a prize ribbon. Oh! The laughter and good times! Now, no one expects these little ones to understand all the nuances of showing an animal to accentuate its best attributes. Many of them are outweighed by the object on the other end of their lead rope, said animal also having its own ideas about what they would prefer to be doing at the moment. So it is that someone will be ready at the instant to assist. They walk along side, providing encouragement, making suggestions, grabbing the lead rope, if need be.
The Greeks had a word for it - paraclete. Someone who assists, a person who “walks along side another.”
We don’t use the word “paraclete” often. According to the Gospel of John, 16:7, Jesus tells the Disciples that unless he goes away, the ‘paraclete’ (Greek) will not come. Various versions of the Bible translate it as Comforter, Counselor, Advocate or Intercessor.
Just as the wise parent will assist and not subjugate the child, how much more will the Holy Spirit “walk along side” us. Also, just as some children will shake off any offer of advice or assistance, many times we adamantly refuse to listen to the Holy Spirit, to the detriment that we loose valuable council and comfort.
Lord, open our eyes and hearts to “walk alongside” little folk, and to accept the One who “Counsels” us in the Spirit.
August 10, 2003