MISUNDERSTOOD

This Sunday is Easter. This is the day we celebrate the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Many though, do not celebrate this, but propagate the idea of the easter bunny and eggs. Just why was Jesus Christ crucified? Basically, he was misunderstood.

It is not pleasant when we are misunderstood. Maybe it's because we used the wrong words, or the tone that it was said in. This was the case in Christ Jesus. He did not speak in a language that the hierarchy in the Roman government nor the Jewish leadership. Christ spoke in parables.

Rome thought he was organising an uprising to topple their power. The Jewish leadership thought he was a blasphemer for saying he was the Son of God.

The two powers began to collaborate on a plan to end the movement that had started because of his' teachings.

Christ at his' trial was accused of casting out devils by the power of the devil, working on the Sabbath, and much more.

I feel the thing that must have hurt the most was knowing that someone who sat at the dinner table with him at the Last Supper was going to betray him. That person was Judas. Judas felt so guilty and it was heavy that we are told he went out into a field an hanged himself from a tree.

Christ while praying in the garden asked the heavenly father if the cup could be passed from him.

While on the cross he cried, Why hast thou forsaken me? Christ felt alone.

The feeling of being alone is overwhelming and can set in motion a set of actions which in a normal mind would never lead to destruction, but in a mind that is under attack it feels that the best way out is death.

Death is not the answer because it also sets in motion hurt, grief, anger, and questions in those who are left to deal with the death.

Some feel that someone dealing with depression is not really suffering from a real sickness. Depression is a sickness that cannot be seen, but its effects can be discerned. Many times though people miss the cues that someone is hurting. Also it is a myth that when someone is talking about suicide they won't do it. They just want attention. More than likely this is not the case.

So, you can see why Christ felt alone. He felt betrayed, and misunderstood.

This Easter seen reach out to someone and bring resurrection to their life bringing them out of the darkness of depression and into the light that Christ gives.

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And they Searched the Scriptures…..

(Acts 17:10 [KJV])

And the brethren immediately sent away Paul and Silas by night unto Berea: who coming thither went into the synagogue of the Jews.
Acts 17:11
These were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so.
Acts 17:12
Therefore many of them believed; also of honourable women which were Greeks, and of men, not a few.
Acts 17:13
But when the Jews of Thessalonica had knowledge that the word of God was preached of Paul at Berea, they came thither also, and stirred up the people.
Acts 17:14
And then immediately the brethren sent away Paul to go as it were to the sea: but Silas and Timotheus abode there still.
Acts 17:15
And they that conducted Paul brought him unto Athens: and receiving a commandment unto Silas and Timotheus for to come to him with all speed, they departed.
Acts 17:16
Now while Paul waited for them at Athens, his spirit was stirred in him, when he saw the city wholly given to idolatry.
Acts 17:17
Therefore disputed he in the synagogue with the Jews, and with the devout persons, and in the market daily with them that met with him.
Acts 17:18
Then certain philosophers of the Epicureans, and of the Stoicks, encountered him. And some said, What will this babbler say? other some, He seemeth to be a setter forth of strange gods: because he preached unto them Jesus, and the resurrection.
Acts 17:19
And they took him, and brought him unto Areopagus, saying, May we know what this new doctrine, whereof thou speakest, is?
Acts 17:20
For thou bringest certain strange things to our ears: we would know therefore what these things mean.


It has always been my goal to encourage the reader of this blog to, stop, research, and rethink of how they understand the written word.

So often we go through life believing something that was taught through our spiritual leaders without taking the time to really sit down and search out whether what we have heard is really what the scripture is saying.

One way to make sure you can quickly know if something is kind of off, is to memorize the Word.  This is hard for some to do, but it can be done. The scripture tells us to write the Word to our heart.

While I was active I would study a subject, but my drawback was writing out notes about it.  I was trained by my grand-father to memorize songs. So that is what I did with my preaching.  I would put it to memory, and recall it when I needed it.  Maybe, it would very from time to time, but the main body was always the same.

I encourage you the next time you attend your local congregation when you get back home take the time to sit down and actually study the message you had just heard.  Use all the tools you have at your reach to see if the scripture bears it to be true.

 




 

 

 

 


 

 

 

 


 

 

 

 


 

 

 

 


 

 

 

 


 

 

 

 


 

 

 

 


 

 

 

 


 

 

 

 

The Right Direction - Looking Forward

Jude 1:21 – Keep yourselves in the of God, Looking  for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life.(KJV)

  - staying right in the center of God’s love, keeping your arms open and outstretched, ready for the mercy of our Master, Jesus Christ.  This is the life, real life. (Message)

Have you ever tried to walk backwards for any length of time?  It’s not easy, yet there are those who are trying it.

Yes, it is nice to have memories, but you don’t want to get stuck always looking back.  If you do, you cannot  see the road ahead.  Maybe, it’s the fear of what is laying ahead of you, your future is not certain.

Everyone needs something in their lives that helps them focus in looking forward.  One thing that keeps them putting their feet on the floor every morning.  For some it is wealth, others may be family, or the worst, re-payment  to ease the guilt of a past failure.

What is it that keeps you looking forward?

For myself it is first my faith, then my daughter and my grand-children.

Faith is a very positive motivator .  It does not mean pie in the sky, pipe dreams, but something that is achievable at the end of the road.

Many elderly will tell you that what keeps them going is faith that creates a positive outlook on their life.

While looking forward I have learned not to forget the mistakes of the past, so that I don’t stumble with the same.

So, keep looking forward, because faith in Christ will order your foot steps.

Follow Me on Twitter @dmbourne

Grace, Back to Fundamentals

"Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord." - Genesis 6:8
"We are saved by faith alone, but the faith that saves is never alone." - Martin Luther

Ask yourself, 'What is grace' ?  One of my pastors defined it like this:
Gods
Riches
At
Christs
Expense
I have come to believe that grace is much more than that.  I have also come to the conclusion that grace is the absence of legalism, the rules of do's and don't s.
To inherit God's grace one must believe by pure faith that it is freely given because of Christ.  This is total freedom, knowing there is nothing we have to do to obtain it or receive it.
Grace lifts the burden of shame and guilt and in grace there is no condemnation.
Grace is both horizontal and vertical.  It allows us to approach God and also change how we approach others.
During the scandals of the late 1980's there were those who declared that those preachers should never enter a pulpit again.
My stand on the subject is this, Grace is a two way street.
Parishioners expect that there leaders to show forgiveness when asked, but pastors who fall from grace should also expect grace from the parishioners.
I have learned to live by faith that I have God's grace all the days of my life.  If I were to transgress, I can go boldly to God and ask for His' forgiveness, and freely receive grace.

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Point of Order - Change of View

As a young preacher I was very steadfast on views of Bible themes and doctrines.
I was 17  and a woman started attending my home church along with her husband.  He was sort of a quiet and staid man, but she was very outgoing.  It turned out that she was an evangelist out of a large church in Detroit, Michigan.
I liked her and we became friends.
I was looking for work and one day her husband asked me if I would like to work in an orchard that he managed.  I told him yes.
I began having conversations about different things with the woman.  Sometimes we would agree, other times we would differ.  One day she chuckled, looked at me and said that I would mellow one day.  I just shrugged off that comment.
I am no longer active in any ministry, but I do still study and do research.
Lately, my mind has been on things to come according to Bible Prophecy.  How does the things mentioned in the Old Testament mesh with ideas mentioned in the New Testament.
What did Jesus mean in Matthew 24, or the Apostle John when he penned the Book of Revelation on the island of Patmos?
Mankind has unleashed some terrible horrors on each other.  Just in the 20th century alone we have seen a nuclear bomb dropped on Hiroshima.  Could this be something John saw and wrote about?
The wars that have been fought in just the last hundred years have been the reason for millions of lives lost.
Brother against brother.  Wars between factions of the same culture and faith.  Wars launched for the sole purpose to eradicate a whole race of people.
In every time, event, there have been religious alarmists that have declared that this was the end times and that Christ is coming very shortly.  This is a message I have heard since my earliest memories.  I believed that message for most of my life.
Yes, I believe in the end times but just not how I was taught to believe.
Christ warned that not even the Son of Man knew the hour of His' return.  So, those who are preaching that we are in a certain period of Bible prophecy, I would caution those who are listening to them.
I have resigned myself to the idea that no one has the correct meaning of the time when events will unfold.
I now live like it could be tomorrow, but I have trust in God no matter what.  I really do believe in the words of the hymn, "God Will Take Care of You" :

1. Be not dismayed whate’er betide,
   God will take care of you;
   Beneath His wings of love abide,
   God will take care of you.
• Refrain:
  God will take care of you,
  Through every day, o’er all the way;
  He will take care of you,
  God will take care of you.

Scriptures teach us not to worry over tomorrow.
Someone reading this probably thought I was going to elaborate on Bible prophecies, sorry I am not doing that.
I am writing this because of how many are panicking over the markets on Wall Street, the price of oil, etc.,.
To worry is useless, because it will not change things.

Do the Bible and Science, Do they Agree?

Most scoff at the idea that the Bible and Science agree.  To the scoffers it is like asking, can the left and right leaning politicians agree?
The left only believe what can only be found in a test tube in a sterile labratory.  Where the right won't accept science and they stand firm only in the Bible.
I truly believe as I have grown older that both agree and each prove the validity of the other.  A millenial ago writing a thesis on this topic would be labelled heresy and the author a heretic.
I believe in what Apostle Paul wrote to Timothy, 'study to show yourself approved rightly dividing the Word of God'.
Over the passing centuries church goers were taught not to question the conventional thinking of organized religion.
Martin Luther came along questioning the theory of salvation of works.  He believed it was salvation by grace.  Eventually he broke away from the church of Rome.  Now we have a group named after him known as The Lutheran Church.
How many things would we not be able to enjoy if scientists and inventors did not challenge the accepted thoughts of their day.
We have light because of Edison, flight the reward from the hard work of the Wright Brothers at Kitty Hawke.
The staunch creationists believe the earth is approximately six thousand years old.  Science declares it is at least five billion years of age.  So, which is right?
I don't have the answers about dinosaurs, but I have to accept the evidence of the fossils found.  Somehow they did exist, they lived and roamed on earth.
My theory is that they existed before man.  During their time something major took place that started their extinction.
I feel it was a time before the period that we read about in the book of Genesis.  This is a theory that answers both science and creationists.
At times we have to challenge conventional thought.  This is my reason why I started this blog.
During the three years of his' ministry, Christ challenged the accepted organised religion of his' day, both Jewish and Roman.
The Jewish heirarchy called him a heretic, a false prophet.  They didn't believe what his' followers were saying.  The followers thought of him as messiah, the King to the throne of David.  Christ asked his' disciples, 'who do men say that I am?'  One of the answers was 'the Son of God'.
The more I learn, the more I discover that every  thought of theory has a counter-thought of theory.
Science has proof that the earth went through an ice age.  They also know there has been some type of flood, because of finding fossils of ocean species in places for which there is no logical explanation.
In Genesis we read of a man, Noah, who was told to build an ark because, God was going to flood the earth.  For God was displeased with man.
Yes, I believe that science and the Bible agree.  It just takes putting all of the facts into evidence.

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2015, Back to the 1930's

Former president FDR made this statement during his' inauguration, "the only thing we have to fear is fear itself".

In the Bible Job said this as he was going through his trials, "(Job 3:25 MSG)  The worst of my fears has come true, what I've dreaded most has happened."

Our parents did teach us when we were children something I would like to call, 'good fear'.  It was for our benefit and that was to keep us safe.  Things like to look both ways before crossing the street, and many more things.

Mankind is a compilation of feelings.  Not everyone fears the same things.  One may have a dreadful fear of water, while someone else fears spiders.

Many would present the argument about Nature vs. Nurture.

I was once told that if a baby does not feel love during its infancy it will not be able to show love to others.  It also has been theorized that if a baby is left alone and not receive any type of affection for a length of time, it will become sickly and die.

All of mankind has a deep need of love and acceptance.

A proven theory is that a person who has been abused will more than likely to become the abuser.

So, I lean towards the idea of nurture instead of nature.  It may be the fact that mankind is sentient being.  The idea of nature most likely applies to all other species on the earth.

So, we have a choice about which emotions we give into.  Receive love, show love, receive fear, show fear.

The voice of fear that is sounding around the world, but is very prevalent and strong in the USA.  This voice that is condemning a whole people of the Muslim faith and also refugees and immigrants is basically the same voice as the fear during the 1930's and the presidency of FDR.  The only real difference is back then it was not Muslims, but the Jewish community.

This voice is condemning ninety-nine percent for the evil that only one percent of extremists and radicals are causing.

Yes, it is true that those who forget history and doom to repeat it.

Christ gave us a commandment to Love our neighbors as  ourselves.

I would rather choose Love instead of fear!

More Clues, More Understanding

"You need to know that I have other sheep in addition to those in this pen. I need to gather and bring them, too. They'll also recognize my voice. Then it will be one flock, one Shepherd." (John 10:16 MESSAGE VERSION)


Years ago if you were to ask me questions on certain ideas of the Bible I would have given you a very unbending answer.  Today, not so rigid in my theories.
I remember when I was in high school there was a part of science that I was steadfast about, the theory about creation.  As I have said in my last post I was raised evangelical.  The science class though, was teaching that the earth was created differently.  The theory of Darwin was to me total non- sense.  Dinosaurs was something that someone was hoaxing scientists.  I was a pure creationist, dead stop.  Well, it was final exam time and there was part of the exam that dealt with Darwin, and I refused to answer what the teacher wanted.  Of course I failed, but I stuck to my belief.  I wasn't shamed into believing otherwise.  Some of the other students did join me in this, and others did not.


As I have grown older I have developed a keen interest in science and I watch many shows that deal with many areas of science.  I find it quite interesting how man has created telescopes that are orbiting in space and also probes that have been sent to explore planets and other stars.  These were things that in my childhood were only thought of in sci-fi shows.  The amazing part is that things that were once considered science fiction are now science fact.


I now there are some, no matter what, are like I was, un-yielding in their beliefs.  They have not grown in when it comes to understanding.  I am probably sure that if Davince were alive today and I could see and hear what science has discovered would think it was fantastical if he were just using the understanding of the time he lived in.


Many know the saying about not judging someone until you walk a mile in their shoes.  The more I learn the less I realize I know.


I cannot understand my neighbour until I really know and understand my neighbour.  What are his' likes, what does he believe.  My mother told me something before I was ever a parent that the hardest thing for a parent to go through would be the loss of a child.  I now have a daughter and grand children.  When I hear of someone losing a child I can only imagine the extreme terrible grief and pain they are going through.  I think of what I might feel like if I were to lose my daughter or grand child, and I cannot conceive that type of loss.


Today the world is experiencing a type of fear that is all gripping.  It leading some to make judgements against one whole segment of humanity just because the extreme radicals among that group.  Ask yourself if  could I spot a person's faith just by looking at them if they were in a large group.  The answer that should come back to you is 'No' .  The color of skin is not a criteria either in judging the person's faith, nor is the country they live in.


In history we have seem this type of fear grip countries before, when Jewish people were emigrating to the U.S.A., some were preaching fear about them.  The jewish community was trying to escape the horrors happening in Germany under a dictator trying to wipe them from planet earth.  The men that created the huge movie studios in Hollywood actually changed their names to hide the fact that they were of the Jewish faith, just so they would not be persecuted.


Today it is no different.  The Muslim community is experiencing persecution because of a small segment of people are extreme radicals who have bastadize the name 'Islam'.


In the community where I live, I can tell you that I know several people of the Muslim community.  They are fine outstanding people who are doing great things for all those in the community. 


So, let's not be so quick to offer judgement on things we don't understand or know.  Let's take time to get to know and understand our neighbour.


When you hear someone making broad strokes against a whole culture, speak up and tell them they need to keep quiet and stop showing their ignorance.


End of discussion!

Re-Thinking Scriptural History

In the past several months I have been studying various forms of religious information.  Different Bible Translations, the background of cultural societies in the Bible.

Also, I have been studying the history of what was happening in the known world when authors in the Bible were experiencing at the time of the writings.  I came across a thought that was mentioned in a documentary on the History Channel.  The younger me wouldn’t have given it the time of day and would have dismissed it as heresy.  It was the study of the books in the Bible found in the Douay-Rheims Bible, Challoner Revision, which is books like the Macabees, etc.,  Also the Catholic Bible.  These books were not included in the accepted King James Version which most Protestant churches use.

I believe that a person who wants to grow needs to be always opened to new thoughts and to explore these thoughts.

I have written in the past that we need to use every available tool, whether it be the tradition hard copy, or the 21st century internet and computers.

I hope that anyone who reads this will have the courage to look at the Scriptures with a new zeal and an openness.

A point of interest; I was raised as an evangelical, but now I can see things that do not align with scriptures and with history.

When I Study, Which Bible Version Should I Use?

I've banked your promises in the vault of my heart so I won't sin myself bankrupt.
(Psalms 119:11 MSG)

Since the invention of the printing press man began to have access to facts, stories, and of course the printed Word.  The Bible is still the most sold book in the world.

Well man began to study looking at different reference materials to get a better understanding of the Holy Scriptures.  They would compile what they had researched and began offering varying translations of the Bible.  These translations would soon become within the price range of the average working person.

A debate began and it is still ongoing, which is the best version of the Bible is best.

Most found themselves choosing one version, The King James Bible, sanctioned to be created by King James of England around the year 1611.

Before the advent of the computer and the internet it was difficult for a person to house many translations in their book shelves.  To have at least 2 versions many would purchase a parallel Bible.  Two versions side by side on the page.  Also, many would have cross-references and footnotes.  One Study Bible rose to the top of people’s favourites, The Thompson Chain Reference Bible.

Now everyone can have as many multiple Bible versions right on their computer.  There are two free Bible software that I use constantly.  E-Sword.  The other is The Word.Both have lots of free modules that can be installed into the programs.  I would encourage you to try both.  Also try various Bible versions.  You soon will find your favourites.  There are also many other help modules, like Commentaries, Dictionaries, etc…

So, we no longer have any excuses to any road blocks to studying the Bible.

Finally, most books of the Bible have been transcribed from original texts.  No one Bible is the definitive version, no set rule.

Find your computer, boot it up, install the software and start your many long years of enriched studying.