5/23/09
by Rev. Dr. Larry D. Coleman
Faith to be Healed
Periodically, during this walk in “the way,” one must “examine oneself” Galatians 6:4, in order to determine if one yet retains the “faith to be healed.”Acts 14:8-10.
The crippled man in Lystra leaped to his feet and walked, after Paul commanded him to “Stand up straight on your feet.”Acts 14:10.
Beset, buffeted, burdened and afflicted by the cares, demands and duties of this world? Though diseased and injured, do we retain the faith that we can still be healed through Christ? “Or do we look for another?” Matthew 11:3.
Certain preachers have treated this subject with great aplomb. http://www.jimfeeney.org/faithtobehealed.html
I have come to wonder, however, how does one, “a cripple from his mother’s womb, who had never walked,”Acts 14:8, acquire the “faith to be healed?”What process enabled this?
Before David tested his mettle against Goliath, he had already vanquished a lion and a bear. 1 Sam.17:36. So, he had self-confidence: faith in himself, and faith in God, already. But, what precedents, what experiences gave self-confidence: faith in himself or in God, to the congenital cripple? The scripture says “This man heard Paul speaking.”Acts 14:9. And at Paul’s command, “he sprang up and began walking.”Acts 14:10.
Brooding over this subject, I have come to the following conclusions.
First, one must hear about Jesus. This awakens, then strengthens, one’s hope. Second, one must hear from Jesus. That is, receive his “still small voice”1 Kings 19:12, into one’s heart, the domicile of faith. Third, the faithful heart produces obedience. “Obedience is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams.“ 1 Sam. 15:22. These three steps form the foundation of one’s faith to be healed.
Thus, one woman, with an issue of blood, Luke 8:44, touched the hem of Jesus’garment. And she was healed, as were many other persons who did likewise. Matthew 14:36. In another instance, a lame man picked up his bed and walked, pursuant to Jesus’ command. Luke 5:8-9.
“Since faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God,”Romans 10:17, healing the deaf and dumb man, who was brought by others to Him to touch and to heal, is among the most remarkable of Jesus’miracles. Mark 7:32-37. Jesus took him aside from the multitude , and put his fingers into his ears, and he spat, and touched his tongue; and looking up to heaven, he sighed, and said unto him “Ephphatha, that is, Be opened. And straightway, his ears were opened and the string of his tongue was loosed, and he spoke plain.”Mark 7:33-35.
I, too, am “astonished beyond measure … “He has done all things well. He makes both the deaf to hear and the mute to speak.” Mark 7:37.
In another example a Canaanite woman’s faith in Jesus was sufficient to heal her sick daughter. In one of the most compelling of Biblical colloquies, the following exchange took place: Matt. 15:22-,28:
“And a Canaanite woman from that region came out and began to cry out, saying, "Have mercy on me, Lord, Son of David; my daughter is cruelly demon-possessed. Jesus did not answer a word. So his disciples came to him and urged him, Send her away, for she keeps crying out after us. Then Jesus said to the woman, I was sent only to help God's lost sheep--the people of Israel. But she came and began to bow down before Him, saying, Lord, help me! He replied, It is not right to take the children's bread and toss it to their dogs."But she said, Yes, Lord; but even the dogs feed on the crumbs which fall from their masters' table. Dear woman, Jesus said to her, your faith is great. Your request is granted. And her daughter was instantly healed.
One’s faith can facilitate another’s healing, not just one’s own.
If Jesus can open a deaf man’s ears, surely he can open mine. If he can enable speech by one whose tongue is impaired, surely he can do the same for me. “For with the heart one believes unto righteousness and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.”Romans 10:10.
Too often, our “deafness” is recurring, and our “muteness”returns. At such times, God’s grace and mercy takes over. “I was found by those who did not seek me; I was made manifest to those who did not ask for me.” Isaiah 65:1.
This same “grace and mercy”which brought the deaf and dumb man to Jesus in the first place, also leads us back to that healing place, “the place where thy honor dwelleth.”Psalm 28:6. “Not by might nor by power, but by my spirit said the Lord. “ Zechariah 4:6.
Amen.
Saturday, March 6, 2010
Tuesday, March 2, 2010
"Broke-ology" by Nathan Louis Jackson
Dear Mr. Robert Trussell--
Beauty is truly within the eye of the beholder, just as poignancy is selectively sensate.
Your review of the K. C. Repertory Theatre's production of "Broke-ology,"-- KC Kansas' playwright, Nathan Louis Jackson's, "chef d'oeuvre,"-- though technically compliant with prevailing norms, misses the point, by reason thereof.
When I experienced the play during past Saturday's matinee, I was one of only a handful of African Americans among an otherwise packed house.
The universal power of the play's overarching theme cut through the audience like an electric knife. The standing ovation at the end was as much cathartic as it was celebratory.
What your review (KC Star, 3/2/2010, p.D2) misses is a four letter word, "love." This play was all about love. The love. Between man and wife, father and sons, people and heritage. Broke, yes. But, "Joie de vrie," notwithstanding. While you may have used the word, "love," in your article, I did not feel any love emanating from your review.
"Feel" is the leitmotif of "Broke-ology," Mr. Trussell. Feel what? The "montage of a dream deferred," to quote Kansas' poet, Langston Hughes. The house, itself, which was supposed to be "temporary." The energetic and pretty young wife's premature death, and her unfulfilled longings expressed even beyond the grave. The peremptory pregnancy of the stay-at-home son's girlfriend. The unrequited and threatened realization of the college-trained son's ambitions. The encroaching and terminal illness of dad, heightened by his sense of failure and obligation to his deceased wife whose love and spirit he covets. The feeling that all of them are trapped, or "stuck" in a nightmarish goo, dissembling life.
The neat solution? Medically induced suicide. Death was one of Shakespeare's favorite devices and his ghosts are iconic.
The play is every bit as powerful as Lorraine Hansberry's classic "Raisin in the Sun," spiritually and symbolically. Or "Was it just my imagination, running away with me?" The streaming tears in my eyes, and others', said otherwise.
Respectfully,
Larry D. Coleman Esq.
Beauty is truly within the eye of the beholder, just as poignancy is selectively sensate.
Your review of the K. C. Repertory Theatre's production of "Broke-ology,"-- KC Kansas' playwright, Nathan Louis Jackson's, "chef d'oeuvre,"-- though technically compliant with prevailing norms, misses the point, by reason thereof.
When I experienced the play during past Saturday's matinee, I was one of only a handful of African Americans among an otherwise packed house.
The universal power of the play's overarching theme cut through the audience like an electric knife. The standing ovation at the end was as much cathartic as it was celebratory.
What your review (KC Star, 3/2/2010, p.D2) misses is a four letter word, "love." This play was all about love. The love. Between man and wife, father and sons, people and heritage. Broke, yes. But, "Joie de vrie," notwithstanding. While you may have used the word, "love," in your article, I did not feel any love emanating from your review.
"Feel" is the leitmotif of "Broke-ology," Mr. Trussell. Feel what? The "montage of a dream deferred," to quote Kansas' poet, Langston Hughes. The house, itself, which was supposed to be "temporary." The energetic and pretty young wife's premature death, and her unfulfilled longings expressed even beyond the grave. The peremptory pregnancy of the stay-at-home son's girlfriend. The unrequited and threatened realization of the college-trained son's ambitions. The encroaching and terminal illness of dad, heightened by his sense of failure and obligation to his deceased wife whose love and spirit he covets. The feeling that all of them are trapped, or "stuck" in a nightmarish goo, dissembling life.
The neat solution? Medically induced suicide. Death was one of Shakespeare's favorite devices and his ghosts are iconic.
The play is every bit as powerful as Lorraine Hansberry's classic "Raisin in the Sun," spiritually and symbolically. Or "Was it just my imagination, running away with me?" The streaming tears in my eyes, and others', said otherwise.
Respectfully,
Larry D. Coleman Esq.
Monday, March 1, 2010
“EQUALITY OF GOD”
Sunday, February 14, 2010
“EQUALITY OF GOD”
By rev. dr. larry Delano coleman
Does God have favorites? Or, is God equal in his dispensations?
Ecclesiastes 9:2 says:
All things come alike to all: there is one event to the righteous, and to the wicked; to the good and to the clean, and to the unclean; to him that sacrificeth, and to him that sacrificeth not: as is the good, so is the sinner; and he that sweareth, as he that feareth an oath.
Put another way, God is no respecter of persons. Acts 10:34 states, “Then Peter said, "Now I understand that God doesn't play favorites.”
Deuteronomy 10:17 is even more explicit:
"For the LORD your God is the God of gods and the Lord of lords, the great, the mighty, and the awesome God who does not show partiality nor take a bribe.”
Notwithstanding these explicit teachings, certain men persists in insisting that their conduct on earth--indeed, their mere genealogy-- entitles them to divine favor denied to others. Jesus disabuses these “already saved” folks of such narcissistic notions:
Matthew 5: 44 “But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you;
45That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust. “
Ezekiel 18:4 addresses this precise question. “Behold all souls are mine; the soul of the father as well as the soul of the son is mine: the soul who sins shall die.”
Elsewhere in Ezekiel 18, we find:
25 Yet ye say, The way of the LORD is not equal. Hear now, O house of Israel; Is not my way equal? are not your ways unequal? 26 When a righteous man turneth away from his righteousness, and committeth iniquity, and dieth in them; for his iniquity that he hath done shall he die. 27 Again, when the wicked man turneth away from his wickedness that he hath committed, and doeth that which is lawful and right, he shall save his soul alive. 28 Because he considereth, and turneth away from all his transgressions that he hath committed, he shall surely live, he shall not die. 29 Yet saith the house of Israel, The way of the LORD is not equal. O house of Israel, are not my ways equal? are not your ways unequal?”
God is the perfection of equality, its absolute epitome.
Favorites? Unthinkable? Unfathomable. Incompatible with the existence of God. Indeed, nullified by the existence of God.
“To whom will you compare me? Who is my equal?" asks the Holy One.” Isaiah. 40:25.
Although we are on the earth rotating at approximately 1,000 miles per hour, we don’t feel it. Although the earth is orbiting around the sun at 67,000 miles per hour, we don’t feel that either. http://imagine.gsfc.nasa.gov/docs/ask_astro/answers/970401c.html
Our solar system, in turn, is orbiting around the center of our galaxy, the Milky Way, at 568,000 miles per hour, which itself is orbiting at untold speeds. And our planet is 28,000 light years from the center of our galaxy. http://www.worldculturepictorial.com/blog/content/solar-system-moving-100000-mph-faster-thought-15-speed-increase-translates-doubling-mass-mil
Of course, light itself is traveling at 186,000 miles per second, or 299,792,458 metres per second,[1][2] often approximated as 300,000 kilometres per second.
. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Speed_of_light
Our God can’t help, but be equal! His immutable laws establish equality.
“EQUALITY OF GOD”
By rev. dr. larry Delano coleman
Does God have favorites? Or, is God equal in his dispensations?
Ecclesiastes 9:2 says:
All things come alike to all: there is one event to the righteous, and to the wicked; to the good and to the clean, and to the unclean; to him that sacrificeth, and to him that sacrificeth not: as is the good, so is the sinner; and he that sweareth, as he that feareth an oath.
Put another way, God is no respecter of persons. Acts 10:34 states, “Then Peter said, "Now I understand that God doesn't play favorites.”
Deuteronomy 10:17 is even more explicit:
"For the LORD your God is the God of gods and the Lord of lords, the great, the mighty, and the awesome God who does not show partiality nor take a bribe.”
Notwithstanding these explicit teachings, certain men persists in insisting that their conduct on earth--indeed, their mere genealogy-- entitles them to divine favor denied to others. Jesus disabuses these “already saved” folks of such narcissistic notions:
Matthew 5: 44 “But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you;
45That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust. “
Ezekiel 18:4 addresses this precise question. “Behold all souls are mine; the soul of the father as well as the soul of the son is mine: the soul who sins shall die.”
Elsewhere in Ezekiel 18, we find:
25 Yet ye say, The way of the LORD is not equal. Hear now, O house of Israel; Is not my way equal? are not your ways unequal? 26 When a righteous man turneth away from his righteousness, and committeth iniquity, and dieth in them; for his iniquity that he hath done shall he die. 27 Again, when the wicked man turneth away from his wickedness that he hath committed, and doeth that which is lawful and right, he shall save his soul alive. 28 Because he considereth, and turneth away from all his transgressions that he hath committed, he shall surely live, he shall not die. 29 Yet saith the house of Israel, The way of the LORD is not equal. O house of Israel, are not my ways equal? are not your ways unequal?”
God is the perfection of equality, its absolute epitome.
Favorites? Unthinkable? Unfathomable. Incompatible with the existence of God. Indeed, nullified by the existence of God.
“To whom will you compare me? Who is my equal?" asks the Holy One.” Isaiah. 40:25.
Although we are on the earth rotating at approximately 1,000 miles per hour, we don’t feel it. Although the earth is orbiting around the sun at 67,000 miles per hour, we don’t feel that either. http://imagine.gsfc.nasa.gov/docs/ask_astro/answers/970401c.html
Our solar system, in turn, is orbiting around the center of our galaxy, the Milky Way, at 568,000 miles per hour, which itself is orbiting at untold speeds. And our planet is 28,000 light years from the center of our galaxy. http://www.worldculturepictorial.com/blog/content/solar-system-moving-100000-mph-faster-thought-15-speed-increase-translates-doubling-mass-mil
Of course, light itself is traveling at 186,000 miles per second, or 299,792,458 metres per second,[1][2] often approximated as 300,000 kilometres per second.
. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Speed_of_light
Our God can’t help, but be equal! His immutable laws establish equality.
Sunday, February 21, 2010
Let the Dead Bury Their Dead
Let the Dead Bury Their Dead
Friday, October 2, 2009
By Rev. Dr. Larry Delano Coleman
Jesus' commandment to follow him and to let the dead bury their dead was meant to combat spiritual and intellectual mortmain among his disciples.
"But Jesus said unto him, Follow me; and let the dead bury their dead." Matthew 8:22. See, also Luke 9:60.
God is a God of the living, not of the dead. See Luke 20:38: "For he is not a God of the dead, but of the living: for all live unto him."
Rid your life of all forms of mortmain.
Behold, he makes all things new! See Revelations 21:5: "And he that sitteth on the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. And he saith, Write: for these words are faithful and true.
The application of these words requires an investment in the living and a divestment of the dead. This relates not only to biology, but to theology; not just astronomy, but agronomy. Not just physical science, but social science.
Much Love,
Larry
Friday, October 2, 2009
By Rev. Dr. Larry Delano Coleman
Jesus' commandment to follow him and to let the dead bury their dead was meant to combat spiritual and intellectual mortmain among his disciples.
"But Jesus said unto him, Follow me; and let the dead bury their dead." Matthew 8:22. See, also Luke 9:60.
God is a God of the living, not of the dead. See Luke 20:38: "For he is not a God of the dead, but of the living: for all live unto him."
Rid your life of all forms of mortmain.
Behold, he makes all things new! See Revelations 21:5: "And he that sitteth on the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. And he saith, Write: for these words are faithful and true.
The application of these words requires an investment in the living and a divestment of the dead. This relates not only to biology, but to theology; not just astronomy, but agronomy. Not just physical science, but social science.
Much Love,
Larry
Thursday, February 4, 2010
EXODUS--MOVEMENT OF JAH PEOPLE
EXODUS--MOVEMENT OF JAH PEOPLE
Wednesday, October 14, 2009
By Larry Delano Coleman, Esq.
(Paean to Bob, “the Master,” Marley)
http://foarp.blogspot.com/2009/08/exodus-movement-of-jah-people-or-how-i.html
http://www.lyricsfreak.com/b/bob+marley/exodus_20021711.html
Doomp-dadoomp-dadoomp-duhdup-dadadoomp.
Doomp-dadoomp-dadoomp-duhdup-dadadoomp.
Exodus! Oh yeah! Movement of JAH People.
Exodus! Oh yeah! Movement of JAH People.
Doomp-dadoomp-dadoomp-duhdup-dadadoomp.
Doomp-dadoomp-dadoomp-duhdup-dadadoomp.
SSShhhhhhh. What was that?
A heartfelt aspiration?
A soulful palpitation? Or,
Algorithmic tribulation
Made sensate through sound?
Huuuuwww!
Touching and agreeing
Through rhythm and resonance.
In spirit and in truth
With love’s luminosity.
Doomp-dadoomp-dadoomp-duhdup-dadadoomp.
Doomp-dadoomp-dadoomp-duhdup-dadadoomp.
Irruption/Eruption of repressed remembrances?
Ancient Kinetic and Kemetic compulsions?
Subconscious and subsonic conceptions?
Recrudescence of balsamic essence--
Dance! “Exodus, Movement of JAH people.”
Revelation. New covenant: JAH. Psalms 68:4.
Jamaican, Reggae, culture erupts and irrupts.
Rastafari, Marcus Garvey, Emperor Haile Selassie:
Released through the Prophet Bob Marley: MUSICIAN
He who basked in “JAH’s-Light”with delight.
“Wipe away transgression. Set the captives free! Set the captives free! Set the captives free. Set the captives free!…”
“Princes shall come out of Egypt; Ethiopia
Shall soon stretch out her hands unto God.”
Psalms 68:31.
Doomp-dadoomp-dadoomp-duhdup-dadadoomp.
“Open your eyes and look within.
Are you satisfied with the life you’re living?
… We know where we’re going
We know where we’re from.
We’re leaving Babylon, y’all
We’re going to our Father’s land.”
Exodus! Movement of JAH PEOPLE
The movement of the people.
Wipe away transgression.
Set the captives free.
Issues of identity:
Keyed indissolubly to issues of purpose.
One Linked indissolubly to the other.
In recognition, Praise and celebration of JAH.
Jah, being central, fundamental to both:
Identity and purpose:
Like irruption, inward.
And eruption, outward.
Neither being alone.
Never being alone.
Never.
Adjoined and Conjoined in
JAH’S love, rejoicing
Through all eternity:
Delighting in JAH’s light.
“Set the captives free!”
Amen. Psalms 68:4.
#30
Wednesday, October 14, 2009
By Larry Delano Coleman, Esq.
(Paean to Bob, “the Master,” Marley)
http://foarp.blogspot.com/2009/08/exodus-movement-of-jah-people-or-how-i.html
http://www.lyricsfreak.com/b/bob+marley/exodus_20021711.html
Doomp-dadoomp-dadoomp-duhdup-dadadoomp.
Doomp-dadoomp-dadoomp-duhdup-dadadoomp.
Exodus! Oh yeah! Movement of JAH People.
Exodus! Oh yeah! Movement of JAH People.
Doomp-dadoomp-dadoomp-duhdup-dadadoomp.
Doomp-dadoomp-dadoomp-duhdup-dadadoomp.
SSShhhhhhh. What was that?
A heartfelt aspiration?
A soulful palpitation? Or,
Algorithmic tribulation
Made sensate through sound?
Huuuuwww!
Touching and agreeing
Through rhythm and resonance.
In spirit and in truth
With love’s luminosity.
Doomp-dadoomp-dadoomp-duhdup-dadadoomp.
Doomp-dadoomp-dadoomp-duhdup-dadadoomp.
Irruption/Eruption of repressed remembrances?
Ancient Kinetic and Kemetic compulsions?
Subconscious and subsonic conceptions?
Recrudescence of balsamic essence--
Dance! “Exodus, Movement of JAH people.”
Revelation. New covenant: JAH. Psalms 68:4.
Jamaican, Reggae, culture erupts and irrupts.
Rastafari, Marcus Garvey, Emperor Haile Selassie:
Released through the Prophet Bob Marley: MUSICIAN
He who basked in “JAH’s-Light”with delight.
“Wipe away transgression. Set the captives free! Set the captives free! Set the captives free. Set the captives free!…”
“Princes shall come out of Egypt; Ethiopia
Shall soon stretch out her hands unto God.”
Psalms 68:31.
Doomp-dadoomp-dadoomp-duhdup-dadadoomp.
“Open your eyes and look within.
Are you satisfied with the life you’re living?
… We know where we’re going
We know where we’re from.
We’re leaving Babylon, y’all
We’re going to our Father’s land.”
Exodus! Movement of JAH PEOPLE
The movement of the people.
Wipe away transgression.
Set the captives free.
Issues of identity:
Keyed indissolubly to issues of purpose.
One Linked indissolubly to the other.
In recognition, Praise and celebration of JAH.
Jah, being central, fundamental to both:
Identity and purpose:
Like irruption, inward.
And eruption, outward.
Neither being alone.
Never being alone.
Never.
Adjoined and Conjoined in
JAH’S love, rejoicing
Through all eternity:
Delighting in JAH’s light.
“Set the captives free!”
Amen. Psalms 68:4.
#30
Sunday, January 24, 2010
Folded DNA and Kinky Hair and Intuition
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/10/091008142957.htm
Several months ago, after seeing GOOD HAIR, the movie by Chris Rock, I have been intrigued by the question why Earth's aboriginal people, Africans, black people, had and have kinky or tightly curled hair, while their genetic offspring--all other people on Earth-- had evolved either straight or curly hair. I still wonder.
Recently, however, I ran across an article, whose link is above, which shows how DNA is folded very densely into the nucleus of a cell so exquisitely and intricately into fractals to enable the 3 billion pairs to be in close proximity.
In short, the "folds" in DNA double helix somehow intuit the kinks or tight folds in our hair. Aboriginal man, aboriginal hair. DNA. Hmm. Something to think about. The article is above.
Much Love,
Larry Delano Coleman, Esq.
Several months ago, after seeing GOOD HAIR, the movie by Chris Rock, I have been intrigued by the question why Earth's aboriginal people, Africans, black people, had and have kinky or tightly curled hair, while their genetic offspring--all other people on Earth-- had evolved either straight or curly hair. I still wonder.
Recently, however, I ran across an article, whose link is above, which shows how DNA is folded very densely into the nucleus of a cell so exquisitely and intricately into fractals to enable the 3 billion pairs to be in close proximity.
In short, the "folds" in DNA double helix somehow intuit the kinks or tight folds in our hair. Aboriginal man, aboriginal hair. DNA. Hmm. Something to think about. The article is above.
Much Love,
Larry Delano Coleman, Esq.
Sunday, January 3, 2010
NEW YEAR: TIME TO REVIEW AND RENEW
January 3, 2010
By Rev. Dr. Larry Delano Coleman
“NEW YEAR: TIME TO REVIEW AND RENEW
It is a new year, 2010. “What shall I render unto the LORD for all his benefits toward me?” Psalm 116:12.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5-Csjz3r81k&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BXiQE2dF0sw
There is, intrinsically, a renewed sense of wonder and expectation; of hope and possibility. We all feel it, because we are all witnesses, of this day, of this hour, of this moment, something we, nor anyone else, have ever before seen or experienced, Isa. 40:5: “King James Bible
And the glory of the LORD shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together: for the mouth of the LORD hath spoken it.”
To the perceptive, however, more is at issue than the temporality of time: the flip of the calendar, the beat of a clock, changing from day to night. Many sense something imperceptible, and feel constrained, outwardly, to acknowledge this intuitive sensation of renewal. For that reason, New Year’s resolutions are formulated, articulated, and, as readily, discarded.
While we all share this space and time, our souls sense and seek eternity. Thus, we are one and the same, yet separate and apart. Our uniqueness necessarily differentiates one from another. Thus, in order for true renewal to take place, one must begin by reviewing, within the peculiar compass of one’s own uniqueness, what constitutes, and makes you, you.
Naturally, this requires a self-assessment, and, of course, measured against the ideal, against perfection, against God, we will all be found wanting. Notwithstanding, spiritual impulsion pushes us onward. King James Bible “I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.” Phill.3:14. It appears that we really can’t help ourselves. It’s in our wiring, our make up, our being. As salmon must return to their place of birth, in order to spawn and to die; as the swallows must return to Capistrano; so, is there an inveterate urge within mankind to resume its oneness with its source, God, who is best worshipped in spirit and in truth.
Where we fall short, and, we all do, the New Year’s resolutions seek to repair, restore, and to remediate our faults. Examining one’s self, beyond the level of the superficial, is essential. King James Bible “Examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith; prove your own selves. Know ye not your own selves, how that Jesus Christ is in you, except ye be reprobates?” 2 Cor. 13:5. “But let every man prove his own work, and then shall he have rejoicing in himself alone, and not in another.” Gal. 6:4
Examining one’s self is reviewing one’s habits, practices, thoughts, and actions, both voluntary and involuntary, to determine their origin, motivation and probity; to determine the extent to which they conform to God’s plan for you, and only you. Romans 12:1-2 says: “1I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. 2And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.”
Simply put: in order to renew one’s self, one must, first, review one’s self.
The compulsion to “conform to this world” is usually all-powerful and unrelenting, occasionally gratifying. Whereas the tendency to be “transformed by the renewing of your mind,” is tenuous, tentative, occasionally terrifying. Going with the flow is easier than going against the flow. Thus, obedience to the law of man is better, in the short term, than obedience to the law of God. This is especially true where man’s law and natural law or God’s law differ, or conflict. The two, man’s law, and God’s law, are rarely coextensive, much less homologous.
We find the following in Joshua 24:15 (English Standard Version):
15(A) And if it is evil in your eyes to serve the LORD,(B) choose this day whom you will serve, whether(C) the gods your fathers served in the region beyond the River, or(D) the gods of the Amorites in whose land you dwell.(E) But as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD."
By “natural law” is meant the manifestation of that dynamic principle, which we know and experience as “God,” which creates, enables, and unifies: man, the heavens, and the earth, from the infinite to the infinitesimal, ephemerally and in perpetuity. This law is both, immanent, within man, and extrinsic, outside man, at once, and is operative always.
We access and apply this natural law through “faith.” Heb. 1:1, 6: “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen…Now without faith it is impossible to please God, for whoever comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who diligently search for him.” A little bit of faith goes a long way: The Lord replied, "If you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you could say to this mulberry tree, 'Be uprooted and planted in the sea,' and it would obey you!” Luke 17:6. “And he said unto him, Arise, go thy way: thy faith hath made thee whole.” Faith in oneself is faith in God. No faith in oneself is no faith in God. Little faith in oneself is little faith in God. 2 Cor. 3:18: “But we all, with unveiled face reflecting as a mirror the glory of the Lord, are transformed into the same image from glory to glory, even as from the Lord the Spirit.”
Returning, now, to the theme of “review and renew,” it must be recalled: "Why are you so angry?" the LORD asked Cain. "Why do you look so dejected? You will be accepted if you do what is right. But if you refuse to do what is right, then watch out! Sin is crouching at the door, eager to control you. But you must subdue it and be its master." Gen. 4:6-7.
Jesus put this another way as a proof against sin: “Be you therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.” Matt. 5:48
Abel, it would appear, had “brought of the firstling of his flock and of the fat thereof. And the Lord had respect unto Abel and his offering: But unto Cain and to his offering he had not respect. And Cain was very wroth and his countenance fell.” Gen.4: 4-5. Cain, on the other hand, “brought of the fruit of the ground an offering unto the Lord.” Gen.4:3. The difference would appear to be that Cain brought neither “of the firstling” of the fruit of the ground, nor “of the fat” thereof, unto the Lord for his offering, like Abel.
Abel’s offering required more effort than Cain’s. Cain essentially picked some collared greens, tomatoes, and okra, whether they were first or last fruits, offered it to God, and called it a day. Abel, on the other hand, slew some of the firstlings of his flock, and reduced some to fat, so he could “offer sacrifices of sweet savours unto the God of heaven.” Ezra 6:10. Cain, of the fruit of the earth, could have offered “cakes mingled with oil, of fine flour, fried.” Lev.7:12. But, he did not render. He did the minimum, less than his best, got mad, then killed Abel, his brother, after Cain and his offering were rejected by God as unacceptable.
“What shall I render unto the LORD for all his benefits toward me?” Psalm 116:12. I will offer you a sacrifice of thanksgiving and call on the name of the LORD. Psalm 116:17.
Doing less than one’s best, e.g., “what is right” is sin, as the example of Cain and Abel attests. Another example of sin is to be found in the parable of the talents, the sin of disobedience. Matthew 25:29-30: “To those who use well what they are given, even more will be given, and they will have an abundance. But from those who do nothing, even what little they have will be taken away. Throw this useless servant into the outer darkness! In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.'"
Yet, another sin is to be found in being neglectful in matters entrusted to one’s stewardship. Luke 16: 10: "If you are faithful in little things, you will be faithful in large ones. But if you are dishonest in little things, you won't be honest with greater responsibilities.”
Just as a baseball player must hit the ball before it crosses home plate in order to drive it, so, must one charged with a task be diligent, be proactive, and not be slothful in order to be blessed.
The parable of the ten virgins is apt. Five wise virgins took lamps with extra oil. Five foolish virgins took lamps without extra oil. All ten awaited the coming of the bridegroom to the wedding. Until the bridegroom came, they all, even the foolish virgins without oil, “slumbered and slept.” Matt.25:5. When the bridegroom arrived at midnight, the lamps of those without oil were about to go out. The wise virgins would not share their oil, because there may not have been enough oil for them and for the foolish virgins, who were unprepared and who had squandered the opportunity to prepare, by purchasing oil, while they “slumbered and slept.” So, the door was shut in the face of the foolish virgins, while the wise ones went in unto the marriage. “Watch therefore, for ye know neither the day nor the hour wherein the Son of man cometh.” Matt.25:13.
After one’s review, when one has frankly discerned and confessed one’s faults, and prayed for strength to overcome them, one is then ready to renew oneself, to improve oneself. “Examine me, O Lord, and prove me; try my reins and my heart. For your lovingkindness is before mine eyes, and I have walked in your truth.” Psalm 26: 2-3. Sometimes, these tests, trials, and tribulations can last for years, for decades, before one is ready or able to discern them, to confess them, and to pray for improvement of them. Mark 9: 49-50: "For everyone will be salted with fire. Salt is good; but if the salt becomes unsalty, with what will you make it salty again? Have salt in yourselves, and be at peace with one another.”
There is a reward for the righteous. “To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the midst of the paradise of God.” Rev. 2:7.
Proof and reproof are part and parcel of the divine cycle. So, also, is the need to review and renew. Isaiah 40:30-31, “Even youths shall faint and be weary, and young men shall fall exhausted; but(A) they who wait for the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings(B) like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint.”
Amen.
By Rev. Dr. Larry Delano Coleman
“NEW YEAR: TIME TO REVIEW AND RENEW
It is a new year, 2010. “What shall I render unto the LORD for all his benefits toward me?” Psalm 116:12.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5-Csjz3r81k&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BXiQE2dF0sw
There is, intrinsically, a renewed sense of wonder and expectation; of hope and possibility. We all feel it, because we are all witnesses, of this day, of this hour, of this moment, something we, nor anyone else, have ever before seen or experienced, Isa. 40:5: “King James Bible
And the glory of the LORD shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together: for the mouth of the LORD hath spoken it.”
To the perceptive, however, more is at issue than the temporality of time: the flip of the calendar, the beat of a clock, changing from day to night. Many sense something imperceptible, and feel constrained, outwardly, to acknowledge this intuitive sensation of renewal. For that reason, New Year’s resolutions are formulated, articulated, and, as readily, discarded.
While we all share this space and time, our souls sense and seek eternity. Thus, we are one and the same, yet separate and apart. Our uniqueness necessarily differentiates one from another. Thus, in order for true renewal to take place, one must begin by reviewing, within the peculiar compass of one’s own uniqueness, what constitutes, and makes you, you.
Naturally, this requires a self-assessment, and, of course, measured against the ideal, against perfection, against God, we will all be found wanting. Notwithstanding, spiritual impulsion pushes us onward. King James Bible “I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.” Phill.3:14. It appears that we really can’t help ourselves. It’s in our wiring, our make up, our being. As salmon must return to their place of birth, in order to spawn and to die; as the swallows must return to Capistrano; so, is there an inveterate urge within mankind to resume its oneness with its source, God, who is best worshipped in spirit and in truth.
Where we fall short, and, we all do, the New Year’s resolutions seek to repair, restore, and to remediate our faults. Examining one’s self, beyond the level of the superficial, is essential. King James Bible “Examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith; prove your own selves. Know ye not your own selves, how that Jesus Christ is in you, except ye be reprobates?” 2 Cor. 13:5. “But let every man prove his own work, and then shall he have rejoicing in himself alone, and not in another.” Gal. 6:4
Examining one’s self is reviewing one’s habits, practices, thoughts, and actions, both voluntary and involuntary, to determine their origin, motivation and probity; to determine the extent to which they conform to God’s plan for you, and only you. Romans 12:1-2 says: “1I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. 2And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.”
Simply put: in order to renew one’s self, one must, first, review one’s self.
The compulsion to “conform to this world” is usually all-powerful and unrelenting, occasionally gratifying. Whereas the tendency to be “transformed by the renewing of your mind,” is tenuous, tentative, occasionally terrifying. Going with the flow is easier than going against the flow. Thus, obedience to the law of man is better, in the short term, than obedience to the law of God. This is especially true where man’s law and natural law or God’s law differ, or conflict. The two, man’s law, and God’s law, are rarely coextensive, much less homologous.
We find the following in Joshua 24:15 (English Standard Version):
15(A) And if it is evil in your eyes to serve the LORD,(B) choose this day whom you will serve, whether(C) the gods your fathers served in the region beyond the River, or(D) the gods of the Amorites in whose land you dwell.(E) But as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD."
By “natural law” is meant the manifestation of that dynamic principle, which we know and experience as “God,” which creates, enables, and unifies: man, the heavens, and the earth, from the infinite to the infinitesimal, ephemerally and in perpetuity. This law is both, immanent, within man, and extrinsic, outside man, at once, and is operative always.
We access and apply this natural law through “faith.” Heb. 1:1, 6: “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen…Now without faith it is impossible to please God, for whoever comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who diligently search for him.” A little bit of faith goes a long way: The Lord replied, "If you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you could say to this mulberry tree, 'Be uprooted and planted in the sea,' and it would obey you!” Luke 17:6. “And he said unto him, Arise, go thy way: thy faith hath made thee whole.” Faith in oneself is faith in God. No faith in oneself is no faith in God. Little faith in oneself is little faith in God. 2 Cor. 3:18: “But we all, with unveiled face reflecting as a mirror the glory of the Lord, are transformed into the same image from glory to glory, even as from the Lord the Spirit.”
Returning, now, to the theme of “review and renew,” it must be recalled: "Why are you so angry?" the LORD asked Cain. "Why do you look so dejected? You will be accepted if you do what is right. But if you refuse to do what is right, then watch out! Sin is crouching at the door, eager to control you. But you must subdue it and be its master." Gen. 4:6-7.
Jesus put this another way as a proof against sin: “Be you therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.” Matt. 5:48
Abel, it would appear, had “brought of the firstling of his flock and of the fat thereof. And the Lord had respect unto Abel and his offering: But unto Cain and to his offering he had not respect. And Cain was very wroth and his countenance fell.” Gen.4: 4-5. Cain, on the other hand, “brought of the fruit of the ground an offering unto the Lord.” Gen.4:3. The difference would appear to be that Cain brought neither “of the firstling” of the fruit of the ground, nor “of the fat” thereof, unto the Lord for his offering, like Abel.
Abel’s offering required more effort than Cain’s. Cain essentially picked some collared greens, tomatoes, and okra, whether they were first or last fruits, offered it to God, and called it a day. Abel, on the other hand, slew some of the firstlings of his flock, and reduced some to fat, so he could “offer sacrifices of sweet savours unto the God of heaven.” Ezra 6:10. Cain, of the fruit of the earth, could have offered “cakes mingled with oil, of fine flour, fried.” Lev.7:12. But, he did not render. He did the minimum, less than his best, got mad, then killed Abel, his brother, after Cain and his offering were rejected by God as unacceptable.
“What shall I render unto the LORD for all his benefits toward me?” Psalm 116:12. I will offer you a sacrifice of thanksgiving and call on the name of the LORD. Psalm 116:17.
Doing less than one’s best, e.g., “what is right” is sin, as the example of Cain and Abel attests. Another example of sin is to be found in the parable of the talents, the sin of disobedience. Matthew 25:29-30: “To those who use well what they are given, even more will be given, and they will have an abundance. But from those who do nothing, even what little they have will be taken away. Throw this useless servant into the outer darkness! In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.'"
Yet, another sin is to be found in being neglectful in matters entrusted to one’s stewardship. Luke 16: 10: "If you are faithful in little things, you will be faithful in large ones. But if you are dishonest in little things, you won't be honest with greater responsibilities.”
Just as a baseball player must hit the ball before it crosses home plate in order to drive it, so, must one charged with a task be diligent, be proactive, and not be slothful in order to be blessed.
The parable of the ten virgins is apt. Five wise virgins took lamps with extra oil. Five foolish virgins took lamps without extra oil. All ten awaited the coming of the bridegroom to the wedding. Until the bridegroom came, they all, even the foolish virgins without oil, “slumbered and slept.” Matt.25:5. When the bridegroom arrived at midnight, the lamps of those without oil were about to go out. The wise virgins would not share their oil, because there may not have been enough oil for them and for the foolish virgins, who were unprepared and who had squandered the opportunity to prepare, by purchasing oil, while they “slumbered and slept.” So, the door was shut in the face of the foolish virgins, while the wise ones went in unto the marriage. “Watch therefore, for ye know neither the day nor the hour wherein the Son of man cometh.” Matt.25:13.
After one’s review, when one has frankly discerned and confessed one’s faults, and prayed for strength to overcome them, one is then ready to renew oneself, to improve oneself. “Examine me, O Lord, and prove me; try my reins and my heart. For your lovingkindness is before mine eyes, and I have walked in your truth.” Psalm 26: 2-3. Sometimes, these tests, trials, and tribulations can last for years, for decades, before one is ready or able to discern them, to confess them, and to pray for improvement of them. Mark 9: 49-50: "For everyone will be salted with fire. Salt is good; but if the salt becomes unsalty, with what will you make it salty again? Have salt in yourselves, and be at peace with one another.”
There is a reward for the righteous. “To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the midst of the paradise of God.” Rev. 2:7.
Proof and reproof are part and parcel of the divine cycle. So, also, is the need to review and renew. Isaiah 40:30-31, “Even youths shall faint and be weary, and young men shall fall exhausted; but(A) they who wait for the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings(B) like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint.”
Amen.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)