YES, HE is Talking to YOU!
We have completed now seventy five entries on the overall idea and topic of In the Words of Jesus. Most all of them were centered on His words as He expressed them on a variety of topics which we incorporated into our themes and sub-themes. We have covered, some in greater detail than others, the following ideas from the words that Jesus said over 2000 years ago:
- The Way to the Kingdom including a post called Thy Kingdom Come
- The Light of the World
- Sons of God
- The Abundance of the Heart
- The Beatitudes
- The Good Shepherd
- Living in the Light
- In Faith
- What did HE Say including the sub-parts:
- Notes on the Sermon
- Born Again
- Bread of Life
- Not on the Sabbath
- Thy Sins Be Forgiven Thee
The complete clickable listing of blog posts is available by clicking on the Post Index tab above.
Starting this whole blog experience was a step that I had been taking for a long while but never took because of fear and of uncertainty and most likely a bit of spiritual laziness. In starting I committed myself to doing it daily and never saw ahead to the next day until the days words had been finished and so it continues. I thank God that I am able to do this as a service of Love and I pray that it is always a cogent and understandable work. Without looking forward or behind I will continue with these blog postings until I am led to do some other thing in service to the Great Lord and Master who is the Christ.
We begin today a new overall theme called YES, HE is Talking to YOU! We will attempt to bring to Light in this series, and the themes and sub-themes that it inspires, the greater understanding that the things that the Master said, both the good and the bad, both the uplifting and the disheartening, He said to us all. Each of us knows best what of His sayings apply to us and our way of life and it is proper that it is only for us to know. Deep inside every child of God who has any kind of conscience is aware of his virtues and his vices. It is when our conscience, our Inner Man, our Soul, is felt by the outer carnal personality consciousness that we live in and through, that we can begin to progress and start on the Path toward the only reality which is our True selves in God.
It is hard to understand why the words of the Christ, the namesake for all Christian religions and denominations and sects, are generally made to take a back seat to the teachings of the Apostles and the Church fathers and the Reformers. These men have devised theologies along with their doctrines and dogmas that pale in comparison to the intent of the Master’s words. At times it seems more like we are followers of the Apostle Paul or of Luther or of Calvin and their interpretations of Jesus’ words and actions. We must include here the followers of Mormonism, the Jehovah’s Witnesses and Christian Scientists; the followers of the Word of Faith and the New Thought movements, the Pentecostals and every other separate branch or division of what is called Christianity. As churches they emphasize what their founders and leaders emphasized more than what Christ emphasized. They teach their doctrines and their philosophies and not the simple way to the Kingdom of God that the Master gave to us.
Perhaps this is because they feel, still today, that to teach the truer way to the Kingdom would cause much angst in the people. That in following His way there is a choice to make and a path to follow that the church leaders may not believe that their people can achieve. Or perhaps they, each individual sect and movement and denomination, truly believe that they have found the true way regardless of how far from Jesus teaching their doctrines may wander. Or perhaps because the leaders have found their ‘niche’ in the religious world; a niche that benefits and prospers them, and so they go on teaching it. Perhaps it is due to all three of these reasons and more. The fact remains however that the words of the Master go largely unheeded and untaught in favor of the easier messages that have been inspired by men.
The Apostle Paul’s writings have become the chief contributor in most every part of the Christian Church today with what seems like a good majority of all sermons preached centered in them. Now Paul has many inspiring writings and, as most any Christian will tell you, he wrote more than two thirds of the New Testament. Most of the writings of Paul were directed towards a specific group of people in a specific place and time addressing the rights and wrongs of their doings as new followers of Christ Jesus. He admonishes some and praises some and corrects some and there is much inspiration in his letters. There is much that is of universal and timeless import to all Christians but there is much also which was specifically directed toward a group or even a person. Be that as it may the Christian world has and still does pick out phrases and verses and chapters, sometimes totally out of the context in which they were intended, and around them create and change theology and doctrine to suit the needs of the teaching being given. And all this to the seeming minimization of the direct teachings of the Christ.
Paul himself warned against the behavior of separating oneself from the teachings of Jesus the Christ. He admonishes the Corinthians for claiming to be taught of and followers of Apollos and Cephas and even himself. He tells them that “For it hath been declared unto me of you, my brethren….that there are contentions among you. Now this I say, that every one of you saith, I am of Paul; and I of Apollos; and I of Cephas; and I of Christ. Is Christ divided? was Paul crucified for you? or were ye baptized in the name of Paul?“ (1 Corinthians 1:11-13). As we have said in these posts before, is this any different than saying today that I am a Protestant or I am a Lutheran or I am a Catholic or to acknowledge ‘belonging’ to any of the the other myriad parts of the great Christian whole? Yet we do it just this way; even the non-denominational has become a denomination. But this is not the topic for this series or post although it could be said that through this diversification of ideals from sect to sect and denomination to denomination much of today’s interpretation of the Christian faith is found.
So we have what seems to be under reliance on the teaching of the Master and over reliance on the teachings of Paul; and, let us not forget, on the Old Testament as well. In some denominations the Old Testament history of the people of Israel and the writings of the prophets in many ways take on a greater importance the the words of Jesus.These too are taken out of their context and used as inspiration or to make the preacher’s point on some matter such as tithing or the blessings of Abraham or the curse of the Law. None of these is a part of the teachings of Jesus except by reference to what a prophet predicted about Him or acknowledgement of a law or a custom broken. There is much to be learned in reading the Psalms and the Proverbs and there is much inspiration in some of the writings of the prophets. There is also a wealth of information about the relationship between the people of Israel and their God. How much of this should be used in promoting the works and words of Christ however? Much is ancient answers to the needs and failings of an ancient and superstitious people far removed from the time if Christ and even farther removed from us today.
So how do we get back to Christ as our teacher and our leader and our guide. If Christ Jesus is, as the writer of Hebrew’s tells us, “the author and finisher of our faith” (Hebrews 12:2) should we not do as He says? If we are truly Christian should we not follow the words of Christ that we have? And if we say that we truly love Christ should we not follow His sayings like: “if a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him” (John 14:23).
These ideas may seem hard to some; doing is so much more involved than is believing. In the words of Christ is the act of doing, of becoming a true disciple and of true glory of the Kingdom. The writer of Hebrews gives us some more guidance in his words: “Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us, Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God. For consider him that endured such contradiction of sinners against himself, lest ye be wearied and faint in your minds. Ye have not yet resisted unto blood, striving against sin. And ye have forgotten the exhortation which speaketh unto you as unto children, My son, despise not thou the chastening of the Lord, nor faint when thou art rebuked of him: For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth , and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth. If ye endure chastening, God dealeth with you as with sons; for what son is he whom the father chasteneth not? But if ye be without chastisement, whereof all are partakers, then are ye bastards, and not sons. Furthermore we have had fathers of our flesh which corrected us, and we gave them reverence: shall we not much rather be in subjection unto the Father of spirits, and live?” (Hebrews 12:1-9)
The message here in Hebrews is clear; is was written to people who were apparently struggling with their new found faith in Christ as many of us do today. He tells us to “lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us” and to do the task that is before us which is, in Jesus’ words, that we “Strive to enter in at the strait gate” (Luke 13:24). He continues to tell us to “despise not thou the chastening of the Lord, nor faint when thou art rebuked of him” which is to us that very personal thing that was mentioned in the beginning of this post. The chastening of the Lord, which is self inflicted, in the conviction for every wrong act we do once we commit to truly following the Master. Self conviction or self chastisement is a difficult thing to deal with but it is part of the price that one must pay; it is part of the cost of discipleship.
And what is the promise here but that “if ye endure chastening, God dealeth with you as with sons” and is this not the whole point of our lives in God. When the Inner Man, the Soul, the Christ Within is awakened and beginning to lead the life of the personality, then this is the arena for His chastening of us. When the Inner Man becomes the guiding conscience then we can see that we are on the Path to the Kingdom of God and to His Righteousness and all else then falls in place so long as we maintain our focus on Him. This is a conscious choice; to follow the Spirit and the Inner Man or to follow the world and the wiles of the carnal personality. As we read above: “shall we not much rather be in subjection unto the Father of spirits, and live?“
Note on the Quote of the Day
This daily blog also has a Quote of the Day which may not be in any way related to the essay. Many of these will be from the Bible and some just prayers or meditations that may have an influence on you and are in line with the subject matter of this blog. As the quote will change daily and will not store with the post, it is repeated in this section with the book reference and comment.
And why call ye me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say ? (Luke 6:46)
This is the very first Quote of the Day that appeared on this blog and I repeat it for you here because it is so pertinent to the subject that we are beginning. This saying should be among the few that are preached and taught as the center point of the whole of Christianity. We call Him Lord, we say we Love Him and that we follow Him but, in His words, what good is any of this if you do not do what He says.
