A Facebook friend, who enjoys some of my Songsermons [TM], sent me a Youtube link (pasted at the end of this article). In the video, a songwriter/singer, accompanying himself on the piano, sang a couple of his original songs … “Nothing Fails Like Prayer” and “Beware of Dogma”.

My FB friend said when he heard this performer, he was reminded of me, aptly describing the gentleman’s products as “atheist song sermons”.

Lyrics for both songs were potent, but even more so because the performer was a former pastor. There are not many things more effective than a person who once believed one thing, then converts to the opposite. Someone who has “been there, done that”, and determined it to be empty of value, makes a powerful statement.

The “Dogma” song was an extended canine metaphor … a mixture of fun and warnings about the dangers of, and damages done by, religious dogma. The song ended with a humorous line about “Please clean up after your dogma.”

Some Christians, myself included, would agree with many of the points made in this song.

But, it was his first song in the video (“Nothing Fails Like Prayer”) that affected me the most. It made me start to look at my own prayer life, and the seemingly sparse results.

As I’m prone to do because of my mental makeup, my mind went into something like a blend of math, logic and oversimplification.

Suppose I had prayed a thousand prayers in my life.

Suppose about half were unanswered because they were mainly “I want this … I want that…”

Suppose about half were prayers for things that were likely to happen anyway … a place to live … food to eat … safe drives to work and back … not hit by robbers … my kids safe at school, etc. A person could argue that these prayers had no affect, since the outcome was so likely anyway. He/she could argue that most people who live simply by the law of averages get the same rate of success.

But, letting these two general eliminations stand ‘as is’ for the moment, there were two prayers that broke from the pack of a thousand.

They happened in 1978, within a couple weeks of each other. They both involved our baby girl born in January of that year.

She was crying. Non-stop. We tried all the normal things, but we were unable to give any relief to her. Before heading for the doctor, we opted to pray (in ministering mode, for those who understand that). In both cases, during the prayer, her crying suddenly stopped. She then cooed, played, napped … all the things happy babies do.

So, out of my 1,000 prayers, two were answered. As much as I was shaken by the “Nothing Fails Like Prayer” song, I had two successes that I could not ignore.

Regarding my blend of math, logic and oversimplification:

1- Are ‘half’ my prayers still unanswered?

No. Whatever the actual percentage was in the beginning, the currect percentage is less. I’ve grown a little wiser over the decades.

Getting results in one’s prayer life increases with maturity regarding what to pray for.

James 4:3 nails it: (KJ) “Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts.”

These are the “I want this … I want that…” prayers. When I first started praying, few were answered, for the reason given in James. My success rate has improved over time, and it’s no mystery why.

2- Do I believe that praying for things that are likely to happen anyway is pointless?

Hardly. If the Bible turned out to be a farce, then I received whatever benefits come from positive expectations. If there is any damage done, it is from having wasted some time.

If the Bible turned out to be true, then a couple of things:

A- A string of successes with the ‘little things’ bolsters confidence regarding the ‘big things’. *

B- I have an advantage over the “law of averages” approach to life. I have not only blessing and additional protection**, I also have means of recovery from setbacks.***

3- Have I had other clearly answered prayers?

Yes, but none so instantly connected to the prayer.

Someone who has “been there, done that” works both ways here.

Yes, a pastor-turned-atheist makes a powerful statement.

And yes, my confidence in prayer got briefly rattled.

But recalling my prayer history has boosted my confidence to a new level. I suppose I reaped the benefit of obedience to Psalm 103:2b (KJ) “… forget not all his benefits.”

Apparently unlike the former pastor, I had hard evidence to fall back on. As Acts 4:16 says, (KJ, condensed a bit) “…indeed a notable miracle hath been done…and we cannot deny it.”

———–footnotes of a few scriptures———————–

* Romans 5:3b-5a (KJ ) “…knowing that tribulation worketh patience; 4 And patience, experience; and experience, hope: 5 And hope maketh not ashamed;”

** James 1:17 (NIV) “Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.”

Psalm 68:19 (KJ) “Blessed be the Lord, who daily loadeth us with benefits, even the God of our salvation.”

2 Peter 1:3-4 (KJ) “According as his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue: Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.”

*** Prov 24:16a (KJ) “For a just man falleth seven times, and riseth up again:” (And ‘no’, seven is not the limit of times this can happen. It’s a figure of speech.)

————–Youtube link————————-

For the Christian, there are some New Testament ‘Stand Your Ground’ laws ‘on the books’. These laws, though, regard attacks from an unseen enemy.

Ephesians 6:12 “…our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against…the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.”

“Spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms” … a less visible group than the Jews faced in the book of Esther*. Haman, the would-be exterminator of the Jews, was simply a puppet of these spiritual forces.

Today, we’re not dealing with attackers that can be defeated with swords or guns, no matter how strongly resolved we are.

What is needed here are spiritual weapons…the only kind that can win in the spiritual realm.

So, in a struggle with a spiritual force, what is a Christain able to do?

A couple of nearby verses steer our thinking toward weapons bigger than swords and guns:

Ephesians 6:11 “Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes.”

Ephesians 6:16 “…take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one.”

Apparently, there is already equipment (described in more detail in Ephesians 6:14-17, pasted below) within reach of the Christian. Also apparent…the Christian must make some effort to put it on. (It is not automatic armor.) When on, this full armor of God let’s the Christian ‘stand against’ (not ‘retreat from’) and “extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one.” **

If man-made laws ruled the spiritual realm, then in Kansas, prior to 2006, the Christian would have had to retreat from “spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms” if possible.

The downside? Evil takes whatever ground it sought.

However, in 2006 & 2010, the Kansas legislature changed the law [pasted below] from a ‘retreat first’ requirement to a ‘stand your ground’ right. Again, if man-made laws ruled the spiritual realm, the Christian could now fight back against “spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms”.

The downside? There is no guarantee of the outcome.

Fortunately, man-made laws do not rule the spiritual realm. Spiritual laws do, and they often come in an action/outcome pairing. Here’s two of the same verses quoted above, re-worded a bit for enlightenment purposes.

Ephesians 6:11 “IF you put on the full armor of God THEN you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes.”

Ephesians 6:16 “IF [you] take up the shield of faith, THEN you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one.”

Paul wrote most of the New Testament epistles, but all the writers understood the action/outcome of spiritual laws. James, a more compact writer than Paul, needed (in the NIV) only nine words to define the same action/outcome.

James 4:7b says, “…Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.”

You resist (stand your ground). The devil does the retreating.

This is not a brand new spiritual law. It is the same law that Jesus used during the temptations. The same result was achieved then. The devil left.

What’s new is that implementation of this law is the right of every believer. It comes with the new birth.

We don’t extinguish evil spiritual forces. But we can extinguish their attacks.

Evil gives ground because we will not.

In the book of Esther, the Jews couldn’t retreat if they wanted to. Under the original decree written by Haman, they simply had to accept their execution. Christians too often accept loss and/or defeat as the only possible outcome in many situations … as if that is God’s will for their life. But that cannot be true. It cuts across too much scripture.

Christians should see that they have more to fight with. They already have their “second decree”. The one written by Mordecai was a ‘flesh and blood’ version of what would be written later in Ephesians 6 and in James 4:7b.

Jesus said, ”

The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.” (John 10:10) Is that not a tailor-made statement from Jesus? That a God-loving person should be able to keep what is his/hers, and not have it taken from them by the thief (devil)?

And what about “have [life] to the full”? What does that mean? Probably lots of ways to answer that question. For the moment, consider that it means not accepting sub-standard results … neither in specific struggles, nor in overall quality of life.

It means standing your ground with what Christ gave you…part of which is some specialized equipment…”the full armor of God.”

———-footnotes——————

* See part 1 at: http://www.thelindberghchildren.com/?p=335

** However, in the case of our spiritual realm battle, the archer remains loose. The Christian does not subdue the devil “until the police get there.”  Even Jesus, when being tempted, did not capture the devil … only made him leave.

———–referenced scripture—————-

Ephesians 6:11-17

11Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes.

12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.

13 Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand.

14 Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place,

15 and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace.

16 In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one.

17 Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.”

—–’Stand Your Ground’ law in Kansas (passed in 2006, revised some in 2010)—–

KSA 21-5230: A person who is not engaged in an unlawful activity and who is attacked in a place where such person has a right to be has no duty to retreat and has the right to stand such person’s ground and use any force which such person would be justified in using under article 32 of chapter 21. (see next statute)

KSA 21-3211: Use of force in defense of a person; no duty to retreat. (a) A person is justified in the use of force against another when and to the extent it appears to such person and such person reasonably believes that such force is necessary to defend such person or a third person against such other’s imminent use of unlawful force.

(b) A person is justified in the use of deadly force under circumstances described in subsection (a) if such person reasonably believes deadly force is necessary to prevent imminent death or great bodily harm to such person or a third person.

(c) Nothing in this section shall require a person to retreat if such person is using force to protect such person or a third person.

http://www.kansas.com/2012/03/31/2278573/reasonableness-the-key-to-kansas.html

It was politics at its worst …and perhaps at its best as well.

Mordecai, a Jew, had offended Haman.

Haman was a high officer of King Xerxes of Persia (where the Jews now lived after having been conquered in battle.)

Haman hatched a plot to have ALL Jews exterminated. Haman told King Xerxes: “There is a certain people dispersed and scattered among the peoples in all the provinces of your kingdom whose customs are different from those of all other people and who do not obey the king’s laws; it is not in the king’s best interest to tolerate them. If it pleases the king, let a decree be issued to destroy them…” (Esther 3:8-9a)

King Xerxes approved Haman’s idea, and turned the project over to Haman. The entire kingdom was notified, in writing, “to destroy, kill and annihilate all the Jews—young and old, women and little children—on a single day, the thirteenth day of the twelfth month, the month of Adar, and to plunder their goods.” (3:13)

I love the Amplified Bible’s handling of 3:15 … – “…the king and Haman sat down to drink, but the city of Shushan was perplexed [at the strange and alarming decree].” (3:15) Sounds like today. The people can’t understand what the government is thinking.

What does NOT sound like ‘today’ is the nation-wide response of the Jews. They made no attempt to organize a revolt**. “In every province to which the edict and order of the king came, there was great mourning among the Jews, with fasting, weeping and wailing…” (4:3)

Mordecai, who is still able to communicate with Queen Esther***, gives her a copy of the decree, and asks her to intervene. At first she resists because of great risk to herself. Mordecai responds that since she is also a Jew, she will be at great risk if she does NOT intervene.

Queen Esther comes up with a plan to expose the evil of Haman. It works. (Turns out she’s got both beauty and brains.)

Then Queen Esther asks King Xerxes “let an order be written overruling the dispatches that Haman…devised and wrote to destroy the Jews in all the king’s provinces.”

In the United States, a bad law that has been passed can be struck down by the Supreme Court, or repealed by Congress. Not so in Persia at that time.

King Xerxes informed Esther and Mordecai “…no document written in the king’s name and sealed with his ring can be revoked.” (8:8b) The original order sent out by Haman met these requirements, so the bad law remained.

But King Xerxes gave Esther and Mordecai an alternative. “…write another decree in the king’s name in behalf of the Jews as seems best to you, and seal it with the king’s signet ring.” (8:8a)

Mordecai was the primary author of this new decree, which “…granted the Jews in every city the right to assemble and protect themselves; to destroy, kill and annihilate any armed force of any nationality or province that might attack them and their women and children; and to plunder the property of their enemies.” (8:11)

The new decree did not remove the danger, but it did give the Jews the right to stand their ground … to fight back … to legally do to their attackers (but only to their attackers) what the attackers were legally able to do to the Jews.

The would-be-attackers had thought it was going to be like shooting fish in a barrel. No resistance.

The attitude changes were significant. “In every province and in every city, wherever the edict of the king went, there was joy and gladness among the Jews, with feasting and celebrating. And many people of other nationalities became Jews because fear of the Jews had seized them.” (8:17) This joy was not because they had won the battle, but because now they had a chance to win the battle. They could ‘stand their ground’ and fight back.

Some non-Jews, though, were still emboldened to destroy Jews. Chapter 9 summarizes their attempts, and the severe defeats they suffered. The day of this ‘reversal of fortune’ became an annual celebration for the Jews (9:19-23).

The book of Esther has an oddity. The words ‘God’ and ‘Lord’ do not appear anywhere. It’s almost like a Hollywood script that wants the drama and action, but not the religion. Yet one can see, in several places in the book, God at work to preserve His people. The goal was (like so many other of God’s actions in the Old Testament) to preserve the bloodline of the coming messiah.

We often over-spectacularize how God works, thinking of parting the Red Sea or making the walls of Jericho crumble. But God does not always need to resort to jaw-dropping actions. In Esther, He placed two of His people in the right places at the right times. Due to their courage, and some godly circumstances in their favor, they got a heathen king to do something that is also not all that spectacular… make a decree that the Jews could stand their ground and fight back.

Due to this ‘stand your ground’ law, the future arrival of the coming messiah was once again protected.

It is said that the Old Testament is the New Testament concealed, and the New Testament is the Old Testament revealed. The story in the book of Esther makes for great reading, but it also puts some foundation under the new birth that Christians have today.

COMING SOON: ‘STAND YOUR GROUND’ LAWS…(part 2) THE NEW TESTAMENT

* AUTHOR’S NOTE (continued): Kansas (my home state) has such a ‘Stand Your Ground’ law (pasted below). As I read the Kansas statute, it reminded me of a similar decree made by the Persion King Xerxes in the book of Esther. The circumstances in Esther are very different than the shooting in Florida. I’m making no value judgements other than what are flatly stated.

** The ‘no revolt’ attitude of the Jews is probably a hold-over from their once firm belief that a king was appointed by God. Thus, the decrees from the king were also from God, and should be accepted without question. Fortunately, Mordecai questioned this particular decree.

*** Mordecai, a relative, “had taken her as his own daughter when her father and mother died.” (2:7) Though Esther was now queen, she still respected Mordecai.

—–’Stand Your Ground’ law in Kansas (passed in 2006, revised some in 2010)—–

KSA 21-5230: A person who is not engaged in an unlawful activity and who is attacked in a place where such person has a right to be has no duty to retreat and has the right to stand such person’s ground and use any force which such person would be justified in using under article 32 of chapter 21. (see next statute)

KSA 21-3211: Use of force in defense of a person; no duty to retreat. (a) A person is justified in the use of force against another when and to the extent it appears to such person and such person reasonably believes that such force is necessary to defend such person or a third person against such other’s imminent use of unlawful force.

(b) A person is justified in the use of deadly force under circumstances described in subsection (a) if such person reasonably believes deadly force is necessary to prevent imminent death or great bodily harm to such person or a third person.

(c) Nothing in this section shall require a person to retreat if such person is using force to protect such person or a third person.

http://www.kansas.com/2012/03/31/2278573/reasonableness-the-key-to-kansas.html

Moses, Samson and Peter teed off with respectable shots down the first fairway.

Jesus, however, hit a wicked slice toward the trees. Before the ball disappeared into the woods, it abruptly nose-dived, hit a rock and bounced straight up into the air. An eagle swooped down and plucked the ball from mid-air. As the eagle started to fly away, a lighting bolt struck nearby, startling the eagle, who dropped the ball onto the green. The slope of the green caused the ball to start rolling, where it eventually fell into the cup.

The three other golfers looked at Jesus, all with the same question on their minds.

Peter finally asked it. “Did you come to play golf or just screw around?”

Nope. You won’t find this joke in the Bible.

Actually, you won’t find much joking at all in the Bible. But the Bible does talk ABOUT joking. Talks about it a lot.

In the KJ, words like mirth, merry, laugh, laughter, sport, etc., show up many times, and still do not contain every mention of humor in the Bible.

Two particular verses speak of constrasting amounts of humor:

PSALM 126:2 “Then was our mouth filled w/laughter, and our tongue w/singing. Then said the heathen, ‘The LORD hath done great things for them’.”

This speaks of so much fun that the ‘neighbors’ are impressed.

ISAIAH 24:11b “…all joy is darkened, the mirth of the land is gone.”

This speaks of a complete absence of fun. A nation-wide depression.

These verses (and their contexts, listed below) make a point: the amount of laughter in a country is something of a measuring stick as to how much God is in that country.

Granted, this is an oversimplification of something that could take up pages of discussion, but for the sake of brevity, I’m keeping it simple.

Apparently, humor is important enough to God that it is, to some degree, an indicator of quality of life. Indeed, humor is something of a ‘luxury’. Not that you must be rich to laugh. But a nation’s environment can become so dismal, so ‘heavy’, so dangerous … that the only concern of the population is day-by-day survival. The mood of the country is so dark, no one wants to joke about anything. This is rock bottom. Fighting is how you keep living. Only the strongest/smartest survive.

The presence of humor in a nation is a good sign. Rock bottom has not been hit, and may not even be close. Quality of life is better. If people are still able to kid around, to make jokes, then things are not as dark as Isaiah describes.

Humor, like anything God designed then put in the hands of man, can be healing or destructive *.

The ‘biggie’ in the destructive category is humor inspired by the calamity of others**. People with tender hearts won’t care much for this. If a prospering population becomes too hard-hearted, healing humor will decrease and destructive humor will increase.

We often see the latter when a celebrity gets caught in scandal, or even dies. Within a day or two, very cold jokes (some, unfortunately quite clever and hilarious) are spreading through the media about the person.

As wrong as this may be, there is still a silver lining. Life is not as bad as Isaiah described.

One of my Facebook friends wrote, “I have a simple rule–if you aren’t funny and don’t find me funny, we can’t be friends )”

I liked this a lot. It is not hard-hearted. It is an honest assessment … of something as old as mankind. Being able to enjoy a humorous two-way street with another person has probably always been the most common foundation for friendship.

The absence of the humorous two-way street doesn’t mean you are enemies. We all have various types of acquaintances with whom we deal everyday on business-like terms. In those dealings, we use courtesy, calmness, cordiality, etc., to make those events go smoothly.

But, as I re-learned in the message exchange with my Facebook friend, fewer rules, fewer taboos, exist in friendships where humor is a foundation.

One other of my Facebook friends (the creator of The Lindbergh Children website) and I have had discussions of how we both believe that, after being together as a unit for a while, Jesus and the disciples did some joking around among themselves***.

Maybe someone skilled in deep biblical research can even pinpoint some examples of that joking from the scriptures. Such a researcher would know the multiple shades of meaning in Greek and Aramaic words that do not get accurately captured by English translations.

But the lesson here is … you and God should have some laughs along the way. So, kid on. (And while you’re at it, grow in the art of healing humor.)

———————-footnotes———————————————————-

* With no other elements in play, the golf joke is probably more destructive than healing. It trivializes signs, miracles and wonders. But in the right situation, it could generate some healing. Being told by a Christian, such a joke could ease tension, or even build a bridge between two who might otherwise stay distant from each other.

** Plenty of verses address laughing AT someone.

A few even refer to the Lord laughing at the calamity of the wicked (example: Psalm 2:4). When you read of this behavior attributed to the the Lord, it is a figure of speech. Probably the one called Condescension … ascribing human characteristics to God. This type of figure of speech is common in the Bible (i.e. talking about God having physical parts of the human body, or human-type emotions, etc.), and is another entire study of its own.

*** Examples:

1- After Jesus turned water into wine, one of them could have joked about opening a low-overhead liquor store.

2- After the parable of the sower:

Q: Was the meaning clear?

A: No. Too grainy.

3- After Peter briefly walked on water … sometime after he recovered from the trauma of needing rescue … one of the other disciples might have joked, “Did you want some chips with that dip?” or “… a doughnut with that dunk?”

If there was a poet in the group, he might have come up with,

“Hey, Peter. That was great!

Teach us how to fluctuate!”

Peter’s response to his kidders: “All the wimps who stayed in the boat, raise your hand.” (This might have made Jesus smile.)

Obviously, these would be jokes within the inner circle of the disciples.

And perhaps that is why the Bible doesn’t have actual jokes in it. The audience is too big. Some would misread, misunderstand, misuse the humor.

————-contexts of referenced scriptures——————

Psalm 126:1-3

“1 When the LORD turned again the captivity of Zion, we were like them that dream.

2 Then was our mouth filled with laughter, and our tongue with singing: then said they among the heathen,

‘The LORD hath done great things for them.’

3 The LORD hath done great things for us; whereof we are glad.”

Isaiah 24:1-12

“1 Behold, the LORD maketh the earth empty, and maketh it waste, and turneth it upside down, and scattereth abroad the inhabitants thereof.

2 And it shall be, as with the people, so with the priest; as with the servant, so with his master; as with the maid, so with her mistress; as with the buyer, so with the seller; as with the lender, so with the borrower; as with the taker of usury, so with the giver of usury to him.

3 The land shall be utterly emptied, and utterly spoiled: for the LORD hath spoken this word.

4 The earth mourneth and fadeth away, the world languisheth and fadeth away, the haughty people of the earth do languish.

5 The earth also is defiled under the inhabitants thereof; because they have transgressed the laws, changed the ordinance, broken the everlasting covenant.

6 Therefore hath the curse devoured the earth, and they that dwell therein are desolate: therefore the inhabitants of the earth are burned, and few men left.

7 The new wine mourneth, the vine languisheth, all the merryhearted do sigh.

8 The mirth of tabrets ceaseth, the noise of them that rejoice endeth, the joy of the harp ceaseth.

9 They shall not drink wine with a song; strong drink shall be bitter to them that drink it.

10 The city of confusion is broken down: every house is shut up, that no man may come in.

11 There is a crying for wine in the streets; all joy is darkened, the mirth of the land is gone.

12 In the city is left desolation, and the gate is smitten with destruction.”

Psalm 2:1-4 (referenced in the ‘footnotes’ section)

“1 Why do the heathen rage, and the people imagine a vain thing?

2 The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the LORD, and against his anointed, saying,

3 Let us break their bands asunder, and cast away their cords from us.

4 He that sitteth in the heavens shall laugh: the Lord shall have them in derision.”

Three Greek words (to explain the article’s title):

idios = “one’s own” or “his own”

epilusis [noun] = interpretation

epiluo [verb form of epilusis] = “to let loose upon,” as a hunting dog is let loose upon game

The first two of these Greek words play into a key verse of scripture.

2 Peter 1:20 “Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private [idios] interpretation [epilusis].”

This verse could read, “Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the scripture is of any personal letting loose.”

Yet we do it so easily.

And often.

And, because of the excitement of the hunt, without concern for errors we’ll make.

SO WHO LET THE DOGS OUT?

In this case, moi.

I follow political news to some degree. There’s been recent coverage of how the federal government is altering the economic structure of America, and turning us into a nation of government hand-out addicts.

Two mornings ago, I came across Mark 8:15, where Jesus told his disciples, “Take heed, beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, and of the leaven of [king] Herod.” (I knew from Matthew 16:12 that ‘leaven’ meant ‘doctrine’.)

When I saw ‘leaven of Herod’, I thought, “AHA! Jesus is making a political statement here. I bet it will have something to do with people who depend on the government, rather than God, to meet their needs.”

That was me, letting the dogs loose.

The hunt was on.

But only for about 30 minutes. Then the dogs got called back in.

What saved my butt from going too far astray was having been taught that the most of Word interprets itself *. With this in mind, the first step in my ‘hunt’ was to look for additional references to Herod.

Two chapters earlier (Mark 6:14-16) was all the further I needed to go.

The doctrine of Herod had nothing to do with government dependency, but regarded who Herod declared Jesus really was. Herod, in something like an official kingly decree, stated that Jesus was actually John the baptist, resurrected.

(Mark mentions a group called ‘the Herodians’ in 3:6 and 12:13. Both times they conspire with the Pharisees against Jesus.)

The damage that Herod’s doctrine did was to remove the importance of Jesus … from being the messiah, to somebody of lesser impact. Not the son of God. Not the savior of mankind (see Matt 16:13-16 below). Herod’s doctrine did not inspire an alliance with Jesus, but rather inspired an alliance with the Pharisees.

Herod’s proclamation misguided many people. That’s why Jesus referred to it as leaven (yeast). It would rise and spread. This is also why he told his disciples to beware of the doctrine of Herod. Even today, we have some religions that concede that Jesus existed, but was little more than a helpful guy that healed some people. Not a person to be thought of as lord and savior.

But … back to my dogs. They quickly were called back in. I had tried to let my mind loose on a verse, but some good biblical research training won the day.

If I had pursued my political angle, I’m sure I could have developed quite an article, because my dogs would have found lots of game to slant the direction I wanted.

Yet, there would have been great cost.

1- I would have mishandled God’s Word for my own ends.

2- I would have ended up in error, and passed it on to others.

3- I would have accomplished the same result as Herod’s doctrine: lowered the importance of Jesus … in my case, from being the savior to being a political analyst. **

——–scripture (all KJ)———————

Mark 8:15  And he charged them, saying, Take heed, beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, and of the leaven of Herod.

Matthew 16:12  Then understood they how that he bade them not beware of the leaven of bread, but of the doctrine of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees.

* There are some Eastern cultural references in the Bible. When Westerners read them as if they are Western cultural references, error occurs. Example:  Romans 12:20 “Therefore if thine enemy hunger, feed him; if he thirst, give him drink: for in so doing thou shalt heap coals of fire on his head.”  Westerners often think that heaping ‘coals of fire’ is a way of hurting your enemy, like with future damnation. But it refers to an Eastern practice in their ancient towns. Early in the morning, after everyone’s fireplaces died down during the night, a townsperson would carry around, on his head, a crock of hot coals to the neighborhood. Anyone needing a coal to get their home fire going again could have one. The Romans verse refers to the warming affect the crock would have on the person dispensing the coals, and teaches us a way to warm the heart of our enemy.

Mark 6:14-16

14And king Herod heard of him; (for his name was spread abroad:) and he said, That John the Baptist was risen from the dead, and therefore mighty works do show forth themselves in him. 15Others said, That it is Elias. And others said, That it is a prophet, or as one of the prophets. 16But when Herod heard thereof, he said, It is John, whom I beheaded: he is risen from the dead.

Mark 3:6  And the Pharisees went forth, and straightway took counsel with the Herodians against him, how they might destroy him.

Mark 12:13  And they send unto him certain of the Pharisees and of the Herodians, to catch him in his words.

Matt 16:13-16

13When Jesus came into the coasts of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, saying, Whom do men say that I the Son of man am? 14And they said, Some say that thou art John the Baptist: some, Elias; and others, Jeremias, or one of the prophets. 15He saith unto them, But whom say ye that I am? 16And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.

** In my research of this topic, I did run across an interesting statement by Jesus that, to some degree, relates to private possessions and government dependency. Here it is, from Luke 12.

Luke 12:13-14

13And one of the company said unto him, Master, speak to my brother, that he divide the inheritance with me. 14And he [Jesus] said unto him, Man, who made me a judge or a divider over you?

It does not matter if …

1. …THE ILLNESS IS WINNING

The woman with the issue of blood “was nothing bettered, but rather grew worse.” (Mark 5:26)

2. …MODERN MEDICINE HAS FAILED YOU

The woman with the issue of blood… (Mark 5:26). There’s a tendency to dismiss these gospel-era physicians as quacks. That seems hasty. Knowledge of natural remedies was available, both from scripture and experience. Even modern medicine loses its share of patients.

3. …THE ILLNESS IS LONG TERM

A. The woman with the issue of blood had suffered for twelve years. (Mark 5:25)

B. The man at the Bethesda pool “had an infirmity thirty and eight years.” (John 5:5)

4. …YOU DON’T UNDERSTAND SOMETHING ABOUT YOUR ILLNESS

A. The possessed man from the Gadarene tombs. After Jesus healed him, the man was “in his right mind”. (Mark 5:15)

B. The man born blind. The disciples asked Jesus, “Who sinned here?” The blind man likely carried the same question in his heart for years. Jesus answered, “That’s not the issue. The issue is that the works of God are displayed.” (John 9:1-3)

God is able to heal anyone, of anything, at anytime. Be strong.

—————-scripture passages cited——————–

Mark 5:25-26

“25 And a certain woman, which had an issue of blood twelve years,

26 And had suffered many things of many physicians, and had spent all that she had, and was nothing bettered, but rather grew worse,”

John 5:5

“And a certain man was there, which had an infirmity thirty and eight years.”

Mark 5:15

“And they come to Jesus, and see him that was possessed with the devil, and had the legion, sitting, and clothed, and in his right mind…”

John 9:1-3

“1 And as Jesus passed by, he saw a man which was blind from his birth.

2 And his disciples asked him, saying, Master, who did sin, this man, or his parents, that he was born blind?

3 Jesus answered,

Neither hath this man sinned, nor his parents: but that the works of God should be made manifest in him.“

AUTHOR’S NOTE: As often happens with my articles, this is not as long as it looks. Pasted after the actual end of the article are all the scriptures I’ve referenced. )

The ‘parable of the unjust judge’ (Luke 18:1-8) should really be called ‘the parable of persistent prayer’. Verse one makes this plain.

Granted. The judge receives the most character build-up, but only to reveal flaws pertinent to the story. The judge finally did the right action, but for the wrong reason. To focus on him for the title weakens the intention of the parable … which is to strengthen our prayer life to a strong God.

ASSUMPTIONS AND POSTULATIONS (things I have not confirmed but believe are true):

1- Jesus’ chose the character of a widow for a reason. Widows were fairly helpless and defenseless in that culture. Much of the welfare of a woman (or a family) was dependent upon a husband/father being alive. Widows and orphans, unable to fight their own battles, pretty much slipped into that culture’s version of welfare. Hence the widow’s need for the judge.

2- The widow’s request was valid. Her adversary was being unjust. If I’m wrong, this is not a ‘deal-breaker’. The lesson on persistency is still intact.

But the widow was not asking merely for a ruling. She was asking for a favorable ruling, I believe Jesus had her asking for something righteous. Otherwise, the parable gives the impression that, with enough persistence, God will answer even unrighteous prayers.

3- In v.2 and v.4 we are told this judge does not fear God, nor regard man. Since Jesus injected these two traits into the parable, it means that the absence of either trait could have been a reason for the judge to hear the widow’s case immediately, rather than trying to avoid her.

4- The phrase “neither regarded man” (v.2) needs consideration. It sounds like a good thing … like the judge will make rulings on law, not influenced by wealth, popularity, power, etc. But the widow would have none of theses things. Otherwise, she would have handled her adversary a different way. So why did Jesus add this characteristic to the story?

Other translations (examples: NRSV and NIV) have a different wording. If they are more accurate than KJ, then what Jesus was saying was that the judge had no compassion for people. This fits the judge’s character, and the story line better.

5- In v.6, when Jesus instructed the audience to hear what the unjust judge “saith,” he was not merely referring to the words of the judge, but his logic, and the decision resulting from that logic (vs.4c-5).

JESUS AND HUMAN NATURE

Jesus knew human nature was stoutly opposite to God’s nature in two critical ways. Humans want fast results. Humans give up quickly. Hence his question in v.8, ”

Nevertheless when the Son of man cometh, shall he find faith on the earth?“

This question from Jesus should ring loudly. As you read the gospels, you get the impression that Jesus did not have to wait for results. But this is because we are usually reading about his numerous on-the-spot signs/miracles/wonders.

The gospels are not as packed with info about his personal prayer life. This parable is one of the few references.

Two points to take from this parable are:

1- Jesus accepted the normalcy of a time span, sometimes lengthy, between a prayer and an answer.

2- Jesus knew the thing to do during the time span was to continue repeating the prayer.

He had learned these points through his own experiences.

TWO WAYS TO INTERFERE WITH YOUR OWN PRAYERS

1. A sure way to be persistent in a specific prayer, yet never get a result, is to carry the nagging question in the back of your mind, “Is the delay God’s way of saying I should not have this prayer answered?”

There are a few things to know about that nagging question:

A- Though it sounds like a legitimate question, it is too often a faith-killing doubt.

B- If it crops up frequently, that means it is dwelling in your heart.

C- If it is in your heart, then it is what you believe, regardless of your prayer.

D- If A, B and C are true, then it is the enemy Jesus described in Mark 11:23-24.

When your mind works at cross purposes with your heart, your heart supercedes. Your prayer is reduced to an unproductive religious action.

2. Another way to interfere with a prayer is to be desperate for the result.

A desperate prayer does not contain much faith or trust. You can read in several psalms and find what sounds like desperation, frustration, impatience, etc.* But usually, after voicing concern, the psalmist will make a positive statement about the Lord being the source of the answer. The psalmist performs an attitude adjustment on himself.

As Jesus read the psalms, he would have seen the repetition of ‘how long, Lord?”, and seen the attitude adjustments that were afterward made. It would have spoken to him, bringing him to understand the need for persistent prayer, and inspiring him with a parable about it.

THE DELAY IS NOT A NEGATIVE THING

If you firmly grasp the advantage of persistent prayer, then the delay will be a positive, faith-building event for you. Romans 5:3-4 describes it.

And, once the delay is over, and the prayer is answered, there will be a double benefit: 1- the answer to the prayer; 2- your personal grasp and growth of how the process works.

Your confidence in God’s willingness, and in your own love for patience, will get a gigantic boost.

Being determined is perhaps the unwritten message in this parable. Too many prayers are offered on a whim. Then we expect God to act on the fleeting thought we had. But the best things in life, AND the greatest deliverances in life, arrive through harder work than whims and fleeting thoughts. There has to be some determination on our end to arrive where we are wishing to be.

Praying persistently for something is too often required. Stay positive on that requirement.

———scripture references (all KJV unless noted otherwise)—————-

Luke 18:1-8

18:1 And he spake a parable unto them to this end, that men ought always to pray, and not to faint;

2 Saying, There was in a city a judge, which feared not God, neither regarded man:

3 And there was a widow in that city; and she came unto him, saying, Avenge me of mine adversary.

4 And he would not for a while: but afterward he said within himself, Though I fear not God, nor regard man;

5 Yet because this widow troubleth me, I will avenge her, lest by her continual coming she weary me.

6 And the Lord said, Hear what the unjust judge saith.

7 And shall not God avenge his own elect, which cry day and night unto him, though he bear long with them?

8 I tell you that he will avenge them speedily.

Mark 11:23-24

23 For verily I say unto you, That whosoever shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that those things which he saith shall come to pass; he shall have whatsoever he saith.

24 Therefore I say unto you, What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them.

. Romans 5:3-4

3 And not only so, but we glory in tribulations [in this context, think 'delays'] also: knowing that tribulation [delays] worketh patience;

4 And patience, experience [something Jesus went through, too]; and experience, hope:

* Here are all the times the phrase “how long” appears in Psalms (15 times in 19 verses). It usually comes from man, posing a question to the Lord.

Psa 4:2 O ye sons of men, how long will ye turn my glory into shame? how long will ye love vanity, and seek after leasing? Selah.

Psa 6:3 My soul is also sore vexed: but thou, O LORD, how long?

Psa 13:1 To the chief Musician, A Psalm of David. How long wilt thou forget me, O LORD? for ever? how long wilt thou hide thy face from me?

Psa 13:2 How long shall I take counsel in my soul, having sorrow in my heart daily? how long shall mine enemy be exalted over me?

Psa 35:17 Lord, how long wilt thou look on? rescue my soul from their destructions, my darling from the lions.

Psa 62:3 How long will ye imagine mischief against a man? ye shall be slain all of you: as a bowing wall shall ye be, and as a tottering fence.

Psa 74:9 We see not our signs: there is no more any prophet: neither is there among us any that knoweth how long.

Psa 74:10 O God, how long shall the adversary reproach? shall the enemy blaspheme thy name for ever?

Psa 79:5 How long, LORD? wilt thou be angry for ever? shall thy jealousy burn like fire?

Psa 80:4 O LORD God of hosts, how long wilt thou be angry against the prayer of thy people?

Psa 82:2 How long will ye judge unjustly, and accept the persons of the wicked? Selah.

Psa 89:46 How long, LORD? wilt thou hide thyself for ever? shall thy wrath burn like fire?

Psa 90:13 Return, O LORD, how long? and let it repent thee concerning thy servants.

Psa 94:3 LORD, how long shall the wicked, how long shall the wicked triumph?

Psa 94:4 How long shall they utter and speak hard things? and all the workers of iniquity boast themselves?

————————————————————————–

Dwelling on a frustration keeps you stuck in one place. You’ll have to set it aside, even in the unsatisfying state it is in, and start moving again.

BACKGROUND:

After Moses was in the mountain 40 days and 40 nights, the people below got restless and ordered Aaron to make them a god to worship. Aaron collected gold from them, melted it, and made the golden calf. Then Aaron said, “Here is the god that brought you out of the slavery of Egypt.”

The people loved it and partied hard around it.

When Moses came down from the mountain, he destroyed the calf, as well as those heartily dedicated to such idolatry.

But there were more repercussions to come…

MOSES’ FRUSTRATION:

Exodus 32:30-35 (NIV)

“30 The next day Moses said to the people, “You have committed a great sin. But now I will go up to the LORD; perhaps I can make atonement for your sin.”

31 So Moses went back to the LORD and said, “Oh, what a great sin these people have committed! They have made themselves gods of gold. 32 But now, please forgive their sin—but if not, then blot me out of the book you have written.

33 The LORD replied to Moses, “Whoever has sinned against me I will blot out of my book. 34 Now go, lead the people to the place I spoke of, and my angel will go before you. However, when the time comes for me to punish, I will punish them for their sin.”

35 And the LORD struck the people with a plague because of what they did with the calf Aaron had made.”

Moses gave the LORD an ultimatum (32b). At the time, Moses thought he was serious about it. He thought he could leverage forgiveness out of the LORD by pushing this ‘hot button’. But the LORD knew Moses had a hot button himself … the mission of reaching the promised land. This is the button the LORD pushed in return (34a).

Moses was not going to get his demand of the LORD. So he changed his mind and heart. It was a change that illustrates Ecclesiastes 12:13 (KJ) “Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear [reverence] God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man.”

“You can’t always get what you want … but … you’ll get what you need.” (specifically edited lyrics from an old Rolling Stones song)

Gideon and the angel have an honest and inspiring conversation.

In Judges 6:21-22, the encounter with the angel ends in a way that alarms Gideon, so much that he cries out to the LORD God.

Judges 6:21-22

“21 Then the angel of the LORD put forth the end of the staff that was in his hand, and touched the flesh and the unleavened cakes; and there rose up fire out of the rock, and consumed the flesh and the unleavened cakes. Then the angel of the LORD departed out of his sight.

22 And when Gideon perceived that he was an angel of the LORD, Gideon said, Alas, O Lord GOD! for because I have seen an angel of the LORD face to face.”

Gideon thought he was going to die. Not a good frame of mind to fulfill God’s purpose in your life.

It is here that we find Gideon’s learning curve on recognizing God’s voice.

This time, no angel of the LORD is sent. This time, the LORD speaks to Gideon Himself.

23 And the LORD said unto him, Peace be unto thee; fear not: thou shalt not die.”

This was the necessary next step in Gideon’s growth: recognizing the LORD’s invisible voice.

During the rest of the account of Gideon’s life (Judges 6-8), there are no more angels involved*. Gideon has learned what God’s voice sounds like.

This is God’s preferred means of communication. Direct. Not through channels or relays.

It’s the way of a father with a child. God wants each of us to learn to recognize His voice. How you first learn it will be between you and God.

My first experience with God’s voice was standing next to my Dad’s hospital bed, where he was recovering from a cardiac arrest.

I was so unpeaceful. Partly because of my Dad’s scary health condition, but mostly because I was lazy in my mind. My moments of peace were few and far between because any disturbance would distract my attention.

While I was standing next to Dad, God shouted a command to me. He wanted me to perform a simple action.

After a few seconds of “Whoa! Where did that voice come from?”, I obeyed. Once I did, He shouted again, this time telling me the ‘why’ of the action.

I later thought, “Wow. If God talks that loudly, it will be easy to hear Him.”

Trouble is, that was the last time He shouted. Since then, He has spoken in his trademark ’still, small voice’. I’m sure I have missed His guidance several times, due to the aforementioned lack of a disciplined mind.

In my extremely prolonged Christian infancy, I still thought I was going to get some type of preferential treatment via volume. It took many years of the maturing process to realize what happened in the hospital was a one time, personally tailored exposure. To hear more from God, I was going to have to exercise some control over my thoughts, and not let my peace-of-mind get taken so easily.

Gideon got his angel.

I got my shout.

Then, both Gideon and I had to learn to tune into that ‘still, small voice’.

Your first exposure to God’s voice is not guaranteed to be like Gideon’s or mine. But you can count on it being the perfect teaching technic for you.

I hope that after you get your first exposure, you don’t waste years of opportunity because you won’t keep your own mind under control … a requirement to let that ‘still, small voice’ get through.

————————–footnote—————————————–

* All the times Gideon hears from the God:

6:11-22 the angel of the LORD

6:23 the LORD (after an alarmed Gideon cries out to the LORD. It’s the first time Gideon hears the LORD’s voice without a visual in front of him.)

6:25 the LORD (the same night as the encounter with the angel. Gideon gets his first assignment.)

7:2 the LORD (“Your army is too big.”)

7:4 the LORD (“Your army is still too big.”)

7:5 the LORD

7:7 the LORD

7:9 the LORD (the final mention of the LORD speaking directly to Gideon)

VARIATIONS

6:14 It says the LORD spoke to Gideon. I think we can assume it means via the angel. That’s the visual Gideon was seeing. He thinks he is talking to a man. Yet during this conversation Gideon was unknowingly learning some things about how the LORD’s voice sounds. Things like direction, volume, effect on the heart … Gideon was picking up on the nature of the LORD’s voice.

6:16 same as 6:14

6:27 “the Spirit of the LORD came upon Gideon”. Probably not verbal, but rather an inspired idea to act upon.)

6:36 “And Gideon said unto God”. The fleece, stage one. Gideon does not hear back from God verbally, but DOES get a response to his test.

6:39 “And Gideon said unto God”. The fleece, stage two. Same response as 6:36.)

There are four scriptures pasted after this article that touch on the inheritance that comes with our new birth.

I’m not going to get into the specifics of the inheritance. I just want to make the point that we’ve been given something by God.

Some of that gift is immediately useful to us while here on earth.

I wrote a SongSermon called “Swiss Army Knife”. The message is that God has given us every tool we’ll ever need in this life. A specific secton of lyrics goes,

“God’s Word stands despite the laws of man.

And anyone at all can hire on to God’s plan.

With the job comes a full set of tools.

God doesn’t want them back still wrapped and unused.”

We have inherited something, a spiritual wealth. God wants us to feel free to access this inheritance and make frequent use of it.

I had a home incident that helps me picture this freedom of access.

We like to keep bananas in the house. Years ago, when I used to spend a lot of time in the basement, I also kept bananas down there. One day the upstairs supply was bankrupt. My daughter was packing her lunch for work, and wanted to include a banana. Finding none upstairs, she came downstairs and took one from my bunch.

What excited me about this action was that she didn’t ask permission. She just, without hesitation, took one. She knew that I was always willing to share my supply with her.

That is the unquestioning freedom we should have to go get things out of our inheritance from God.

What God wants from us is not a new request for permission each time a need arises, but thankfulness for an always present permission.

There is nothing … not red tape, not a government panel, not a lawyer, not a minister, and especially not an angel with a sword … standing between us and the bananas.

—————————-scriptures———————————–

1 Corinthians 2:12 “Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the spirit which is of God; that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God.”

Galatians 3:29 “And if ye be Christ’s, then are ye Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.”

Colossians 1:12 “Giving thanks unto the Father, which hath made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light:”

1 Peter 1:4 “Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.”