NowTHINK!AboutIt

Avoiding Hackneyed...Making Sense

Ethnicity Looms Large In The New Testament

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The New Testament would be short and boring without ethnic diversity.

Jesus Preached Ethnic Equality
Without Using The Words

Ethnicity was never a discussion point for Jesus. He never mentioned the topic specifically or addressed it directly but in spite of that, the issue predominates.

The Gospels and the New Testament are riddled with both subtle and pointed references to ethnic issues. The thread runs consistently throughout. For Example:

The Wise Men

The story of Jesus starts out with a very interesting ethnic twist and we don’t easily see it. We are so accustomed to reading the Christmas story, filled with wonder and delight, that we miss how strange it is that middle eastern dignitaries, magi, would show up uninvited in Jerusalem to visit the recently born King of the Jews.

This was unusual. National entities in New Testament days weren’t known for mutual trust and Israel’s sitting King, Herod, was particularly nasty. He killed his first wife and had her three sons executed.

The only reason these wise men received a hearing instead of a beheading was because they were wise men, attendees at court, which no doubt gave them political clout, and they were apparently wealthy too. They came bearing very expensive gifts for the new King.

But they were outsiders. Had it not been for their intriguing story about a new and recently born King of the Jews, they might have been run out of town.

All of that is to say that the story of Jesus starts out with an ethnic wake-up call. And it wasn’t just that the wise men represented a different ethnicity who joined the joined the brethren in receiving the King. They seemed to be the only ones who actually got it.

The Pharisees, the superior group, along with most of Israel and the rest of the world were completely blindsided. How is it that people on the outside, marginalized by religious Judaism, saw in Jesus what the Jews could not?

The people in the best position to recognize the first coming of Jesus weren’t looking or expectant. That alone is weird! But then it becomes even more unusual when recognition comes from another ethnic group.

That’s like saying Vatican City missed it but the Gypsies got it!

The point, of course – at least one of them – is the fact ethnicity isn’t a barrier to searching for and finding truth. The ability to recognize God is not unique to any one ethnic group.

But the ethnic thread doesn’t stop there.

A Mixed Crowd

Fairly early in His public life, Jesus ministers to a large and mixed crowd that included people from Jerusalem and Judea, and from Decapolis and from beyond Jordan (Mark 3:7-12). Put simply, this brief statement paints a picture of a large crowd of people, including both Jews and Canaanites, mixing and mingling in very close quarters, all trying to touch Jesus. Think of a music concert with everyone reaching for the stage.

This was neither a comfortable nor a common situation. Jews and Canaanites weren’t known to spend time in close proximity, but what makes this interesting is the fact that it is mentioned in passing as if it is a normal occurrence. And we read it as if the only miracle was the healing Jesus performed on the suffering when in reality a much bigger miracle was taking place.

Namely: People from fiercely opposing ethnicities were huddled together apparently without incident. There were no fractious moments to record. The only trouble came from people pressing a little too forcefully trying to get within touching range of Jesus.

The Jews and Canaanites didn’t point at each other and whisper obscenities under the breath. There was no them vs us.

And there’s more. [Read more…] about Ethnicity Looms Large In The New Testament

Prayer – Universal, Accessible, Immediate, Personal

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If you think it, God hears it.

Prayer Is A Tool
Not A Drive Thru Window

Have you ever lived in a world where the only means of communication was sending smoke signals?

No, I’m sure you haven’t but you can imagine how involved the process was.

You had to collect dry fuel to start a fire, wet fuel to create smoke and then generate a spark to get the fire going. None of that is easy to do.

There was no simple way to start a fire without matches and you couldn’t skimp on fuel. You needed clouds of smoke, not puffs. And to regulate the smoke you needed a blanket.

Sending smoke signals required a lot of hard, skillful work just to get started.

Distance was a consideration too.

Smoke dissipates quickly so line-of-sight and distance were critical factors. If the recipient was too far, the connection was lost.

Smoking your message from Venezuela to California wasn’t going to happen. [Read more…] about Prayer – Universal, Accessible, Immediate, Personal

HOPE: Now or Later or Both

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Hope: wish, dream, what

What Does Hope
Really Mean?

One problem with reading the Bible is the fact that there is a large span of time between the moment it was written and time you read it.

Even the newest parts of the Bible are still a couple thousand years old. It was written at a different place, in a different culture and at a different time, so we shouldn’t be surprised when the words change a bit.

Don’t misunderstand. I’m not questioning inspiration or suggesting the words are unreliable. All I’m saying is that words do take on varying shades of meaning over time. They don’t change entirely, but enough to need qualifying. Without qualification, you get the wrong message.

Not to worry. We know the ancient languages and the meanings of the words as they were used in the past. We also understand these words as they were used over time. We’re not in the dark, but to understand the difference we need to study the process. We call that study etymology. It’s a science.

The word Hope is a good example. [Read more…] about HOPE: Now or Later or Both

16 Life Lessons From The Yes-No Dichotomy

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Don't hide or show your anger. Admit it and explain it.

The Beauty
Of Yes

In this post I want to focus on decision making or what we might call the dichotomy of yes and no. Like 1’s and 0’s in computer language, life is a combination of these two words.

When tested for diseases, we long to hear, “No, found nothing! All is clear!” But a No in that situation is really a Yes to life. It’s a new lease and we love to hear it.

In spite of No being the best response in some situations, we still like hearing Yes more.

When asking for help or a personal day or permission from parents, “Yes!” sounds like a million dollars. It’s like winning a mini lottery.

But we aren’t always subject to the judgments of others or unpredictable circumstances. Sometimes, in fact very often, we sit in the Yes/No driver’s seat. Every decision we make involves a yes or a no answer. Sometimes it’s a little of both.

Even Indecision eventually becomes No.

The point is, Yes and No are unavoidable. There’s no bench warming in life. Yes and No make us a part of the game and Jesus had something to say about this dichotomy.

You have heard that it was said by them of old time, you shall not forswear yourself, but shall perform unto the Lord your oaths. But I say unto you, swear not at all. Neither by heaven, for it is God’s throne, nor by the earth, for it is his footstool. Neither by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King. Neither shall you swear by your head, because you cannot make one hair white or black. But let your communication be, yea yea or nay nay, for whatsoever is more than these comes of evil. Matthew 5:33-37

First let me address the problematic words. There are two: forswear and swear. They are opposites. A dichotomy of sorts.

Swearing is the strongest kind of promise you can make. If you swear to something, you have, in a sense, guaranteed it.

Forswearing, on the other hand, is what we call it when a person fails to follow through. They swear to do something and then fail to keep the promise. Or they swear something is true only to be found lying later. [Read more…] about 16 Life Lessons From The Yes-No Dichotomy

9 Thoughts On Love

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Secure people don't rise above, they stay above.

Relax
You’re Not Jesus

The Bible says much about loving people:

Love your enemies (Matthew 5:44), Love your neighbor (Mark 12:31) and there’s no end to the number of times we’re told to Love one another (John 13:34; 15:12, 17; Romans 13:8; 1 Thessalonians 4:9; 1 Peter 1:22, 3:8; 1 John 3:11, 23, 4:7, 11-12 and more).

The thread is so prominent in the New Testament you can’t miss it.

And it is so prevailing that we usually extrapolate the meaning to,

Christians are to love everybody!

That’s a mouthful! In fact, it’s a little too much.

I wouldn’t say the idea is entirely wrong but it might be overstating the point. There is a big gap between loving the people we know and loving all the ones we don’t know.

But forget the magnitude of everydoby. We don’t do a very good job of loving the few with whom we make contact.

We spend an inordinate amount of time distrusting, not believing and not liking the people with whom we have proximity: the ones next door, down the street, in the next work cubicle, in the cars on the road and on the TV screen.

And those are just the people we see. If we struggle with those few, how could we ever love everybody, the whole world.

To clear the air and reiterate the reality: [Read more…] about 9 Thoughts On Love