Dead Sea - a salt sea in southern Palestine, at the lowest point on the earth. In the Old Testament it is called the "Salt Sea." - Gen. 14:3; Josh. 3:16 - Plain, the Sea of the Arabah - Deut. 3:17 - and the Eastern Sea - Ezek. 47:18; Joel 2:20 - The Arabic name is Bahr Lut, meaning "Sea of Lot." But from the second Christian century onward, Dead Sea has been the most common name for this unusual body of water.

The topography of the Middle East is dominated by a geologic fault that extends from Syria south through Palestine, all the way to Nyasa Lake in east-central Africa. The Dead Sea is located at the southern end of the Jordan valley at the deepest depression of this geologic fault. With a water level approximately 390 meters below sea level, the surface of the Dead Sea is the lowest point on earth. At the deepest point of the sea, on the northern corner at the foot of the Moab mountains, the bottom is 390 meters deeper still.

The dimensions of the sea change from year to year. There are many factors, such as rainfall and irrigation, contribute to this. In general, however, the Dead Sea measures approximately 80 kilometers in length and average 15 to 16 kilometers in breath, yielding a surface area of from 600 to 640 square kilometers.

A large peninsula known as El-Lisan ["the Tongue"] protrudes into the sea from the southeast shore. It extends to within 3 kilometers of the western shore and is located some 24 kilometers from the southern tip. Throughout the centuries this tongue separated the sea into two parts with a channel of water flowing between them on the west. From the depths of the northeast corner, the bottom of the sea quickly shelves and rises southward. Thus, the area of the sea south of El-lisan is extremely shallow. It is here that the destroyed cities of Sodom and Gomorrah most probably lie. - Gen. 19:24-29 -

Except on the north where the Jordan River enters, the Dead Sea is nearly surrounded by hills and cliffs. From these hills, streams feed fresh water to the Salt Sea. In addition to these year-round streams and the Jordan River, waters flow into the sea from the winter torrents of several seasonal streams.

These water source pour millions of gallons of water each day into the Dead Sea. However, the extreme hot temperatures and sparse rainfall (about 2 inches a year) cause an enormous evaporation rate which has kept the water level constant over the years. Due the increase irrigation by Israeli government, the volume of water flowing into the Dead Sea from the Jordan River is decreasing each year. Thus, the level of the sea goes down proportionately. As a result, "the Tongue" currently stretches all the way across the sea, completely separating the northern portion from the southern portion. Evidence of a Roman road across the peninsula has been discovered, indicating that at other periods in its history the Dead Sea was shallow enough for traffic to cross its southern tip.

It is because the Dead Sea has several watercourse entrances but no exists, it is indeed a "dead" sea. Although lush vegetation can be found at the mouths of these tributaries, the water itself is very salty. This is because it flows through nitrous soil and is fed by sulphurous springs. With the absence of an outlet the water from the Dead Sea is left to evaporate, leaving behind most of its minerals. Thus, it magnesium chloride, salt and other minerals. Although the value of these chemicals is enormous, making the Dead Sea the richest mineral deposit on earth, the cost of retrieving these minerals is also high. Potash extraction has been one of the most successful operations. But as technology increases, the interest in "mining" the Dead Sea will also increase.

The salt and mineral content of the Dead Sea constitutes more than 25% of the water. This compares with about 6% mineral content in the ocean. The specific gravity of the water is greater than that of the human body, making it next to impossible for any person to sink in the Dead Sea.

The Dead Sea formed part of Israel's eastern border. - Num. 34:12; Ezek. 47:18 - In addition to the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, many other historical and biblical events occurred along its shores. The springs of EN GEDI provided a refuge for David in his flight from king Saul. - 1Sam. 24:1 - In the Valley of Salt south of the sea, David and Amaziah won victories over the Edomites. - 1Chro. 18:12; 2Kin. 14:7 - Here, too, Jehoshaphat encountered the Edomites. - 2Chro. 20:1-2; 2Kin. 3:8-9 - The last days of Herod the Great were spent on the eastern shore of the Dead Sea at the hot sulphur springs of Callirhoe. At Machaerus, just to the southeast, his son Herod Antipas imprisoned John the Baptist.

The prophet Ezekiel saw a vision of a river issuing from the Temple sanctuary in Jerusalem and flowing to the desert sea, the Dead Sea. And the prophet Zechariah wrote: "And in that day it shall be that living waters shall flow from Jerusalem, half of them toward the eastern sea [Dead Sea] and half of them toward the western sea [the Mediterranean Sea]" - Zech. 14:8 -Prophetically this is apparently a reference to the "pure river of water of life" said to flow from the throne of God in Saint John's vision. - Rev. 22:1-2 -

The great fortress of Masada guarded the southern approaches toward Palestine, perhaps the road crossing from Moab to Judea at El-Lisan. Herod refortified this strong fortress which finally fell in A.D. 73 to the Romans under Flavius Silva. He also refortified the Maccabean stronghold at Machaerus on the eastern shore.

The discovery of the DEAD SEA SCROLLS in caves on the northwest shore of the Dead Sea near QUMRAN has mustered renewed historical interest in this area. The remains of the ESSENE community at Qumran and the search for scrolls in the more than 250 surroundings caves focused the eyes of the world on a tiny sea devoid of marine life but bristling with mineral potential and archaeological promise.

The popular name for about 500 Dead Sea scrolls and fragments of scrolls which were found in 11 caves surrounding Khirbet ("ruin of") Qumran on the northwest shore of the Dead Sea in 1947 and shortly thereafter. Taken together, these leather and PAPYRUS [primitive paper] manuscripts were a find without precedent in the history of modern archaeology. The Dead Sea Scrolls have helped ( 1 ) to establish the date of a stabilized Hebrew Sacred Scripture/Holy Bible as no later than A.D. 70. ( 2 ) to reconstruct the history of the Holy Land from the fourth century B.C. to A.D. 135. ( 3 ) to clarify the relationship between Jewish religious traditions and early Christianity.

The Dead Sea Scrolls were discovered when a Bedouin shepherd, who was looking for a stray goat, discovered several large clay pots containing ancient scrolls on the floor of a cave above Wadi Qumran. After some delay, several scholars were shown the manuscripts by dealers in antiquities. When it was determined that these manuscripts were extremely old, scholars began their search in earnest.

Slowly other valuable scrolls were found, gathered, carefully unrolled, and published. It took 20 years ( 1947-1967 ) to bring together the various texts of the Dead Sea Scrolls, and because the Scrolls were written between 250 B.C. and A.D. 68, they offer an invaluable source for understanding the beliefs, community life, and use of the Sacred Scripture/Holy Bible of one group of Jews who were active during the time Jesus lived. Jericho, a town Jesus visited, is only 13 kilometers north of Khirbet Qumran. Some scholars believe that some of the early followers of the Lord Jesus Christ or John the Baptist may have come from the Qumran Community. Some of the writings of this community remind the reader of the themes of "repentance" and the "coming of the new age" that were preached by John the Baptist and Jesus. However, there is no evidence that the followers of John the Baptist and Jesus joined the Qumran group.

The writings are the work of Jewish sectarians, written mainly in Hebrew, with a few in Aramaic and some fragments in Greek. Some of the scrolls were written to protest the lawless priest who was in charge of the Temple worship in Jerusalem. It is likely that the main reason for building this monastic-like community near the Dead Sea was to get away from the "wicked priest" and to hear the words of the "teacher of righteousness." Not all of the Dead Sea Scrolls have been translated or published. Probably the most interesting ones were found in Cave I not far from Qumran. Seven scrolls were found preserved in fairly good condition. They had been carefully stored in large clay jars and include:

1. - A complete manuscript of the Book of Isaiah in Hebrew.

2. - A partial manuscript of Isaiah in Hebrew. ( The two Isaiah scrolls are easy to read, even after 1920 years, and are the earliest copies of Isaiah in existence. )

3. - 'The Community Rule' or 'The Manual of Discipline' from Cave I, reveal the laws that governed the life of the Qumran community.

4. - 'The Thanksgiving Psalms' are similar to the biblical psalms. They praise God the Creator for His protection against evil: "I give thanks unto thee, O Lord, for Thou hast put my soul in the bundle of life and hedged me against all the snares of corruption."

5. - 'The War Scroll' is a interesting collection of plans for the final battle between the "sons of light" and the "sons of darkness" or between the "army of God" and the "army of Belial" [The Evil One] Such information as that of religious offices during wartime, recruitment, the sequence of campaigns, and the order of deploying battle squadrons is included.

6. - A commentary on the Book of Habakkuk known as the 'Pesher on Habakkuk' was written to demonstrate how the prophet Habakkuk who lived in the sixth century B.C. was actually writing for the battle of the last days, when the wicked would be defeated by the righteous. The author of 'Pesher of Habakkuk' made direct references from Habakkuk to his own day. One section has the following commentary: "And God told Habakkuk to write down that which would happen to the final generation, but He did not make known to him when time would come to an end. And as for that which He said, "That he who reads may read it speedily" - Hab. 2:2 - interpreted, this concerns the Teacher of Righteousness, to whom God made known all the mysteries of the words of His servants the prophets."

7. - 'The Genesis Apocryphon' a 'commentary' on the Book of Genesis, is only partially preserved. Written around 50 B.C. in Aramaic, the common language of the Jews, it begins with the birth of Noah and documents the life and adventures of Abraham.

The seven manuscripts are typical of the scrolls found in the other caves on the west side of the Dead Sea. The material discovered includes various kinds of literature. There are numerous biblical fragments such as commentaries on Isaiah, Hosea, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Psalms 37, 45, and Genesis. Twenty-four books of the Old Testament were found in part or in full.

Apocryphal and pseudepigraphal writings were found scattered in various caves. Fragments of Tobit and Ecclesiasticus [Sirach] from the Apocrypha give evidence of the importance of these works for the community. The Book of Jubilees, the Book of Enoch, some of the Testament of the Twelve Patriarchs, the Sayings of Moses, the Vision of Amram, the Psalms of Joshua, the Prayer of Nabonidus, and the Book of Mysteries are a few of the pseudepigraphal works discovered. A number of hymns or psalms that were found and are included in this category are: The Hymn of the Initiates, The Book of Hymns ( The Thanksgiving Hymns ) Psalm 151, Poems from a Qumran Hymnal, Lament for Zion, and Hymns of Triumph.

The writings which were found can be listed under the following categories:

Biblical Manuscripts: Isaiah Scroll ( complete ) Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy.

Commentaries: Genesis Apocryphon, Job, Isaiah, Hosea, Micah, Habakkuk, Psalm 37, 45.

Apocrypha: Epistle to Jeremiah, Tobit, and Ecclesiasticus/Sirach.

Pseudepigrapha: Book of Jubilees, Book of Enoch, and The Testament of the Twelve Patriarchs. ( fragments )

Previously Unknown Pseudepigrapha: Sayings of Moses, Vision of Amram, Psalms of Joshua, Daniel cycle ( The Prayer of Nabonidus ) and Book of mysteries.

Community Documents: The Manual of Discipline, Damascus Document, Thanksgiving Psalm, and War Scroll.

The examples listed here are meant to be suggestive, and not exhaustive, of the archaeological finds. Other manuscripts discovered in the Judean Wilderness, for instance, deal with a later era.

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Sunday, May 24, 2009

I have through years of reading, pondering, reflecting and contemplating, the 3 things that last; FAITH . HOPE . LOVE and I would like to made available my sharing from the many thinkers, authors, scholars and theologians whose ideas and thoughts I have borrowed. God be with them always. Amen!

I STILL HAVE MANY THINGS TO SAY TO YOU BUT THEY WOULD BE TOO MUCH FOR YOU NOW. BUT WHEN THE SPIRIT OF TRUTH COMES, HE WILL LEAD YOU TO THE COMPLETE TRUTH, SINCE HE WILL NOT BE SPEAKING AS FROM HIMSELF, BUT WILL SAY ONLY WHAT HE HAS LEARNT; AND HE WILL TELL YOU OF THE THINGS TO COME.

HE WILL GLORIFY ME, SINCE ALL HE TELLS YOU WILL BE TAKEN FROM WHAT IS MINE. EVERYTHING THE FATHER HAS IS MINE; THAT IS WHY I SAID: ALL HE TELLS YOU WILL BE TAKEN FROM WHAT IS MINE. - JOHN 16:12-15 -

The closer a person approaches God, the less worthy he feels. A painting under candlelight shows fewer defects than under the brilliance of the sun; so too the souls who are some distance from God feel more certain of their moral integrity than those who are very close to Him. Those who have left the lights and glamours of the world, and for years have been irradiated by God's countenance, have been the foremost to acknowledge themselves as freighted down with the great burden of sin. Saint Paul, who has been such an edification to men, called himself "the chief of sinners."

In the presence of the holiest of creatures, the soul becomes self-accusing and broken-hearted with the weight of its defects. As evil men feel their guilt more in the presence of an innocent babe than in the companionship of those who are wicked like themselves, so he who loves God is the most deeply burdened with the sense of its own unworthiness.

But Our Lord Jesus, Who claimed oneness with God, never once confessed a sin or an imperfection. In vain can this be attributed to moral dullness, since His analysis of sin in others was so penetrating. What man is there in the world who could boldly stand up before great crowds and say:

Which of you can prove me in the wrong? - John 8:46 -

Through Our Blessed Lord Jesus associated Himself with sinners, there never existed the least suspicion against His spotless innocence. Jesus told His disciples to pray, "Forgive us our trespasses" but not even in His last agony did He have to utter such a prayer. He forgave the sins of others, in His name: "Thy sins are forgiven thee" and yet never asked for pardon. He issued the challenge: "If you cannot detect a moral blot on My escutcheon, then credit Me with truth." Because Jesus was sinless, He asserted His position in such a way as to make claims upon all mankind, such as calling Himself "the Light" of a darkened world:

I am the light of the world. No follower of mine shall wander in the dark; he shall have the light of life. - john 8:12 -

Note, it is not His teaching that is the Light of the World, but rather His Person. As there is only one sun to light a world physically, so Jesus was asserting that He was the only Light for the world spiritually; without Him every soul would be wrapped in darkness. As dust in the room cannot be seen until the light is let in, so no man can know himself until this Light shows him his true condition. He who was only a good man could never claim to be the Light of the World; for there would cling to him some of the trappings and faults of even the best human nature. Buddha wrote a code which he said would be useful to guide men in darkness, but he never claimed to be the Light of the World. Buddhism was born with a disgust for the world, when a prince's son deserted his wife and child, turning from the pleasures of existence to the problems of existence. Burnt by the fires of the world, and already weary with it, Buddha turned to ethics.

But Our Divine Lord Jesus Christ never had this feeling of disgust. If He was the Light, it was not because He had injured Himself stumbling in the darkness. Mohammed admitted at his death that he was no Light of the World, but said, "Fearful, beseeching, seeking for shelter, weak and in need of mercy, I confess my sin before Thee, presenting my supplication as the poor supplicate the rich." Confucius was so overshadowed by the darkness of sin, that he never made such a claim. Confucius admitted:

that I have not been able to practice virtue aright, that I have not been able to utter or pursue aright what I have learned, that I have been unable to change that which was wrong - these are my sorrows... In knowledge perhaps I am equal to other men, but I have not been able to transform the essence of what is noble into deed.

Before Buddha death, Buddha said to Ananda, his favorite disciple, "The doctrines and the laws, O Ananda, which I have taught and proclaimed unto you, they shall be your master when I have left you."

Our Blessed Lord Jesus left the world without leaving any written message. His doctrine was Himself. Ideal and History were identified in Him. The truth that all other ethical teaches proclaimed, and the light that they gave to the world, was not in them, but outside them. Our Divine Lord Jesus, however, identified Divine Wisdom with Himself. It was the first time in history that it was ever done, and it has never been done since.

This identification of His Personality with Wisdom He broadened when He said:

I am the way, I am the truth and I am life; no one comes to the Father except by me. If you knew me you would know my Father too. - John 14:6-7 -

This is equivalent to saying that without the Way there is no going; without the Truth, there is no knowing; without the Life, there is no living. The Way becomes lovable, not when it is in abstract codes and commandments, but when it is Personal. As Plato once said, "The Father of the world is hard to discover, and when discovered cannot be communicated." Our Lord Jesus answer to Plato would have been that the Father is hard to discover unless He is revealed through the Person of His Son.

There is no such thing as seeking first the truth and then finding Christ, any more than there is any in lighting tapers to find the sun. As scientific truths put us in an intelligent relation with the cosmos, as historic truth puts us in temporal relation with the rise and fall of civilizations, so does Christ put us in intelligent relation with God the Father; for He is the only possible Word by which God can address Himself to a world of sinners.

Everything is entrusted to me by my Father; and no one knows the Son but the Father, and no one knows the Father but the Son and those to whom the Son may choose to reveal him. - Matt. 11:27 -

Life is resident in Him in virtue of an eternal communication from the Father. All who came before Him and who will come after Him, and who offer any other way than Himself, He compares with thieves and robbers of mankind.

I am the door of the sheepfold. The sheep paid no heed to any who came before me, for these were all thieves and robbers. I am the door; anyone who comes into the fold through me shall be safe. He shall go in and out and shall find pasturage. - John 10:7-10 -

No one else ever made His personality the condition of securing peace or eternal life. Our Blessed Lord Jesus, identified Personality with a door; it is an emblem of separation because on the one side is the world and on the other side the home; but also it is a sign of protection, hospitality, and relationship. As the old city of Troy had but one gate, so Our Blessed Lord Jesus said that He is the only Gate to salvation. Being united with Him He called a trysting place, where He and souls meet in the ecstasy of love. "Come and go at will" would seem to indicate a union of both the contemplative and the actual life; for the combination of an interior union with Christ is here combined with practical obedience in the world of action.

Not only did Our Lord Jesus identify all Truth and Life with Himself, but He put forth His claim to judge the world - something no mere man would ever do. He said that as the Judge of all He would return again seated on a throne of glory and attended by the angels, to judge all men according to their works. Imagination recoils at the thought of any human being able to penetrate into the depths of all consciences, to ferret out all the hidden motives, and to pass judgment on them for all eternity. But this final judgment was a long way off and hidden from the eyes of men. There would be a symbol or rehearsal of the final judgment which would be the destruction of Jerusalem and which would be accomplished before the end of the actual generation of Christ's day. It would also be a prelude to the final destruction at the end of the world, when the Kingdom of God would be established in its eternal and glorious phase. Speaking of the end of the world, He said:

Then will appear in heaven the sign that heralds the Son of Man. All the peoples of the world will make lamentation, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heavens with great power and glory. With a trumpet blast he will send out his angels, and they will gather his chosen from the four winds, from the farthest bounds of heaven on every side. - Matt. 24:30-31 -

When He comes to judge it will not be merely the circumscribed area of the earth in which He labored and revealed Himself; rather it will be all the nations and the empires of the world. The time of His second coming He knows not as man, but only as God. He will not tell it except in warning that it will be a sudden, like lightning. He came as "Man of Sorrows"; then He shall come in His glory. The attributes of His suffering humanity will be necessary for His identification. Hence, after His Resurrection, He kept the scars. With Him will be the angels, and all the nations will be divided into two classes: sheep and goats. As He divided men on earth into two classes, namely, those who hated and those who loved Him, so He would divide them then. "I am the Good Shepherd" He said of Himself. The title He would vindicate on the last day by a separation of His flock of sheep from the goats.

The sheep will hear themselves commended for loving service to Him, even when it was unconscious service. There are many more people loving and serving Him than one suspects. It would seem that the most surprised of all will be the social workers who will ask, "When was it that we saw Thee hungry?" The wicked, on the other hand, will find themselves refusing Him when they refused to do anything for their fellow man in His name.

When the Son of Man comes in glory and all the angels with him, he will sit in state on his throne, with all the nations gathered before him. He will separate men into two groups, as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats, and he will place the sheep on his right hand and the goats on his left. Then the king will say to those on his right hand, You have my Father's blessing; come, enter and possess the kingdom  that has been ready for you since the world was made.

For when I was hungry, you gave me food; when thirsty, you gave me drink; when I was a stranger you took me into your home, when naked you clothed me; when I was ill you came to my help, when in prison you visited me. Then the righteous will reply, Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry and fed you, or thirsty and gave you drink, a stranger and took you home, or naked and clothed you? When did we see you ill or in prison, and come to visit you? And the king will answer, I tell you this: anything you did for one of my brothers here, however humble, you did for me. Then he will say to those on the left hand, The curse is upon you; go from my sight to the eternal fire that is ready for the devil and his angels.

For when I was hungry you gave me nothing to eat, when thirsty nothing to drink; when I was a stranger you gave me no home, when naked you did not clothe me; when I was ill and in prison you did not come to my help. And they too reply, Lord when was it that we saw you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or ill or in prison, and did nothing for you? And he answer, I tell you this: anything you did not for one of these, however humble, you did not do for me. And they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous will enter life. - Matt. 25:31-46 -

Jesus words even imply that philanthropy has deeper depths than is generally realized. The great emotions of compassion and mercy are traced to Him; there is more to human deeds than the doers are aware. He identified every act of kindness as an expression of sympathy with Himself. All kindness are either done explicitly or implicitly in His name, or they are refused explicitly or implicitly in His name. Mohammed said that alms had to be given, but not in his name. Our Lord Jesus made that condition, but as a mere man, it would have been foolishness. Furthermore, only an Omniscient Will could ever judge the motives behind all philanthropy to decide when it was charity, and when it was self-praise. That Jesus claimed He would do and with such finality that the repercussions would be eternal. He Who was the Redeemer said that He would also be the Judge. It is a beautiful arrangement of Providence that the Judge and the Redeemer meet in the same Person.

When one takes into account also His reiterated assertions about His Divinity - such as asking us to love Him above parents, to believe in Him even in the face of persecution, to be ready to sacrifice our bodies in order to save our souls in union with Him - to call Him just a good man ignores the facts. No man is good unless he is humble; and humility is a recognition of truth concerning oneself.  A man who thinks he is greater than he actually is, is not humble, but a vain and boastful fool. How can any man claim prerogatives over conscience, and over history, and over society and the world, and still claim he is "meek and humble of heart?" But if Jesus is God as well as as man. His language falls into place and everything that He says is intelligible. But if He is not what He claimed to be, then some of His most precious sayings are nothing but bombastic outbursts of self-adulation that breathe rather the spirit of Lucifer [Satan] than the spirit of a good man. What avails Him to proclaim the law of self-renouncement, if He Himself renounces truth to call Himself God? Even His sacrifice on the Cross becomes a suspect and a dated thing, when it goes hand in hand with delusions of grandeur and infernal conceit. He could not be called even a sincere teacher, for no sincere teacher would allow anyone to construe his claims to share the rank and the name of the Great God in heaven.

The choice that lies before men is either the hypothesis of culpable insincerity or the fact that He spoke the literal truth and, therefore, must be taken at His word. It is easier to believe that God has achieved His Works of Wonder and Mercy in His Divine Son on earth than to close the moral eye to the brightest spot that meets it in human history, and thus lapse into despair. No human could be good, aye! he would be arrogant and blasphemous, to have made the assertions He did concerning Himself. Instead of being above His moral followers who call themselves Christians, He would have been infinitely below the level of the worst of them. It is easier to believe what He said about Himself, namely, that He is God, than to explain how the world could ever have taken as a model such an unmitigated liar, such a contemptuous boaster. It is only because Jesus is God that the human character of Jesus is a manifestation of the Divine.

We must either lament His madness or adore His Person, but we cannot rest on the assumption that He was a professor of ethical culture. Rather, one can say with Chesterton, "Expect the grass to wither and the birds to drop dead out of the air, when a strolling carpenter's apprentice says calmly and almost carelessly, like one looking over his shoulder: 'Before Abraham was, I am.'" The Roman sergeant, who had his own gods and was hardened both to war and death, came to the answer during the Crucifixion, when both his reason and his conscience affirmed the truth:

Truly, this man was a son of God. - Matt. 27:54 -


BY   ARCHBISHOP  FULTON  J.  SHEEN  ( 1895 to 1979 )

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If you wish to donate. Thank You. God bless.

By bank transfer/cheque deposit:
Name: Alex Chan Kok Wah
Bank: Public Bank Berhad account no: 4076577113
Country: Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Sunday, May 24, 2009

I have through years of reading, pondering, reflecting and contemplating, the 3 things that last; FAITH . HOPE . LOVE and I would like to made available my sharing from the many thinkers, authors, scholars and theologians whose ideas and thoughts I have borrowed. God be with them always. Amen!

I STILL HAVE MANY THINGS TO SAY TO YOU BUT THEY WOULD BE TOO MUCH FOR YOU NOW. BUT WHEN THE SPIRIT OF TRUTH COMES, HE WILL LEAD YOU TO THE COMPLETE TRUTH, SINCE HE WILL NOT BE SPEAKING AS FROM HIMSELF, BUT WILL SAY ONLY WHAT HE HAS LEARNT; AND HE WILL TELL YOU OF THE THINGS TO COME.

HE WILL GLORIFY ME, SINCE ALL HE TELLS YOU WILL BE TAKEN FROM WHAT IS MINE. EVERYTHING THE FATHER HAS IS MINE; THAT IS WHY I SAID: ALL HE TELLS YOU WILL BE TAKEN FROM WHAT IS MINE. - JOHN 16:12-15 -

At the beginning of His public life Our Lord Jesus object was by miracles, teachings, and the fulfillment of prophecies, so to attach His Apostles to Himself as to forestall outside pressure and the natural rebellion of the flesh against Himself as the Suffering Servant. But even when they had become devoted to Him and had accepted Him as the Messiah and the Son of God, they shrank from the idea of the Crucifixion, even when Jesus said it would follow by the Resurrection.

They were all like little Indians, each one wanting to be the chief. The darkness into which His death cast them was another proof of how little prepared they were for the scandal of the Cross. It was no wonder that Our Lord Jesus did not speak more often about His Cross, for the little they did hear, they did not want to hear or else they misunderstood.

There is still much that I could say to you, but the burden would be too great for you now. - John 16:12 -

To prepare their souls for His lifework and also to indicate the conditions under which others would enter into His Kingdom, the Savior among other subjects dilated particularly on purity and poverty. Unregulated sex could become lust; unregulated desire for property could become avarice.

The subject was occasioned by the Pharisees who came to ask Jesus if it was right for a man to put away his wife for any reason whatsoever. The reason why the Pharisees presented this question was because of a dispute between two rival schools of Jewish theology, namely, the school of Hillel and that of Shannai. One school held that divorce could be granted on trivial grounds; the other required evidence of serious sin before it would approve of divorce. The question was further complicated by the fact that divorce in those days was becoming very common; the Romans, who were masters of the country, practiced it openly and flagrantly. Furthermore, Herod, the ruler of the country under Rome, was living with his brother's wife and had murdered John the Baptist.

Jesus, the Divine Savior in answer to their enquiry reaffirmed what He had already said on the Mount, and also what was held from the beginning as regards husband and wife.

It follows that they are no longer two individuals: they are one flesh. What God has joined together, man must not separate. - Matt. 19:6 -

When the disciples had heard the full remarks of Our Blessed Lord on this subject - though some perhaps were married, including Peter for certain - they went to the opposite extreme and concluded:

It is better not to marry. - Matt. 19:11 -

Here the Savior answered that because there were infidelities in some marriages, there must be others which would balance the excesses of the flesh, there must be those who will forgo even the legitimate pleasures of the flesh; if there are deordinations in the pursuit of property, there must be some who will voluntarily practice poverty; if there are some who are proud, there must be others who will not even insist upon their own rights, but will make reparations for acts of pride by humility. Our Lord Jesus told the Apostles that it ought not be thought that it was better not to marry. Rather He said:

That is something which not everyone can accept, but only those for whom God has appointed it. For while some are incapable of marriage because they were born so, or were so by men, there are others who have themselves renounced marriage for the sake of the kingdom of Heaven. Let those accept it who can. - Matt. 19:11-12 -

Celibacy is recommended as a wiser way, but is not required of the majority. Later on, Peter left his wife in order to preach the Gospel. When Our Blessed Lord Jesus recommended celibacy, it was very likely that the disciples were not thinking of it as applied to themselves, but rather were objecting to the severity of the Master's teaching on the ground that it would deter men from entering marriage. His answer shows that they understood His meaning.

Their error was in failing to  realize to what sacrificial heights Jesus would summon men for the sake of His Kingdom. He Who founded society and Who knew the compulsions of the sex instinct, nevertheless made room for a few who would be celibates. Some are born eunuchs; others, like Origen, have wrongly made themselves eunuchs; but there is a third class, those who, not by any physical act, but an act of willful self-denial and self-abnegation, have set aside the pleasure of the flesh for the joys of the spirit; it is these He called eunuchs for the Kingdom of Heaven. Later on, Saint Paul, hearing of this doctrine, wrote:

I want you to be free from anxious care. The unmarried man cares for the Lord's business; his aim is to please the Lord. But the married man cares for the worldly things; his aim is to please his wife, and he has a divided mind. - 1Cor. 7:32-33 -

Marriage is honorable; at no point did Our Savior say that it blotted out the spiritual sense, or man's relation with God; but in celibacy or virginity the soul chooses Him as its exclusive Lover.

Just as sex is a God-given instinct for the prolongation of the human race, so the desire for property as a prolongation of one's ego is a natural right sanctioned by natural law. A person is free on the inside because he can call his soul his own; he is free on the outside because he can call property his own. Internal freedom is based upon the fact that "I am"; external freedom is based on the fact that "I have." But just as the excesses of flesh produce lust, for lust is sex in the wrong place, as dirt is matter in the wrong place, so there can be a deordination of the desire for property until it becomes greed, avarice, and capitalistic aggression.

In order to atone, repair, and make up for excess of avarice and selfishness, Our Blessed Lord gave a second lesson in self-sacrifice to His Apostles. The occasion of the first lesson on purity was a pharisaical question about marriage; the occasion of the second was an enquiring young man. Our Blessed Lord had a chance to win him as a follower; but when Jesus spoke of the Cross, He lost him. The young man wanted the prize, but the cost was too great. The youth who came was rich and also a synagogue official. The desire to be associated with Our Lord Jesus was manifested by the fact that he came running to Him and fell at His feet. As regards the uprightness of the youth there could be no doubt; his question to Our Lord was:

Master, what good must I do to gain eternal life? - Matt. 19:16 -

Unlike Nicodemus, he did not come at night, but openly avowed the goodness of the Master. The youth believed that he was not very far from the great attainment of eternal life; but all that he needed was just some further instruction and enlightenment. Jesus, the Savior pointed to the fact that men knew enough, but they did not always enough. And lest the young man rest in some imperfect idea of goodness, the Lord asked:

Why do you call me good? No one is good except God alone. - Mark 10:18 -

Our Lord was not objecting to being called good, but to being taken merely as a good teacher. The young man had addressed Him as a great teacher, but still as a man; he had admitted goodness, but still on the level of human goodness. If Jesus were merely a man the title of essential goodness would not belong to Him. There was hidden in His answer an affirmation of His Deity; God alone is good. He was, therefore inviting the young man to cry out, "Thou art Christ, the Son of the Living God." The young man admitted that he had kept the commandments since his youth. With that Our Lord fastened His eyes on him and conceived a love for him. When the young man asked:

Where do I still fall short? - Matt. 19:20 -

Our Lord Jesus answered:

If you wish to go the whole way, go, sell your possessions, and give to the poor, and then you will have riches in heaven; and come, follow me. - Matt. 19:21 -

There was no condemnation of wealth here as there was no condemnation of marriage in the previous enquiry; but there was a higher perfection than the human. As a man might leave his wife, so also a man might leave his property. The Cross would demand that souls give up what they loved most and be content with the treasure in God's hands. One may ask why did the Lord ask for such a sacrifice? Jesus, the Savior allowed Zacchaeus the tax collector to keep half his goods; Joseph of Arimathea, after the Crucifixion, was described as rich; the property of Ananias was his own; Our Lord Jesus Christ ate in the home of His wealthy friends in Bethany. But here it was a question of a young man who asked what was still wanting in the way of perfection. When the Lord Jesus proposed to him the ordinary way of salvation, namely, keeping the commandments, the youth was dissatisfied. He sought for something more perfect; but when the perfect was was proposed to him, namely, renunciation:

When the young man heard this, he went away with a heavy heart; for he was a man of great wealth. - Matt. 19:22 -

There are degrees in the love of God, one common and the other heroic. The common was the keeping of the commandments; the heroic was renouncement, the taking-up of the cross of voluntary poverty. The earnestness of the youth vanished; he kept his possessions and he lost the One Who would give him the Cross. Though the young man kept his possessions, he is described as going away "sorrowful." When the young man left, Our Lord Jesus said to His Apostles:

How hard it will be for the wealthy to enter the kingdom of God... It is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God. - Mark 10:23-25 -

Our Lord Jesus then turned to His followers whom He had called to the perfect way, and made use of this incident to speak to them of the virtues of poverty. Just as the disciples before had wondered if anyone should ever marry, now they wondered how anyone could ever be saved. The disciples were "astonished" and asked:

They were more astonished than ever, and said to one another. Then who can be saved? - mark 10:26 -

One wonders what thoughts circulated in the brain of one of the disciples, who was even then pilfering from the bag what was intended for the poor. The disciples were those who had at least implicitly associated riches with the blessings of heaven, just as in modern history there have not been wanting those who held Divine favor was always known by economic prosperity. The rich come to the top because God had blessed them, it is said, and the poor go to the bottom because God does not favor them. Now, to be told that wealth was a hindrance to the Kingdom Of God, was in another form the "scandal of the Cross."

The Apostles knew that they had given up their boats and their fishing nets, little enough though they were; but still they did not quite feel themselves sufficiently free from avarice to be safe. It was this Divine prodding of their conscience that made them wonder about salvation, as on the night of the Last Supper everyone would ask: "Is it I?" As the Divine eyes were fixed on them, they wondered about the state of their souls. The Divine Master did not tell them they were judging themselves too strictly. In answer to their question about salvation:

Jesus looked at them, and said, For men this is impossible, but everything is possible for God. - Matt. 19:26 -

Because a camel cannot pass through the eye of a needle, it would be too severe to say that the same impossibility stands in the way of a man's salvation; for there is always the Divine possibility.
Peter's, once again acting as spokesman of the Apostles, demanded some further elucidation of this economic problem of giving up property. He had heard Our Lord Jesus speak of the greatness of the reward reserved for those who followed Him. Knowing that they had left their business by the sea in order to follow Him, Peter asked:

We here have left everything to become your followers. What will there be for us? - Matt. 19:27 -

The Apostles evidently had not left much as the rich young man would have abandoned; but it is not the quantity that one leaves that matters, but rather the fact that one has left all. Charity is to be measured, not by what one has given away, but by what one has left. In both cases, neither would have had anything left. Those who choose Christ must choose Him for His own sake, and not for the sake of a reward. It was only after they had completely committed themselves to following Him that Jesus spoke of compensation. He had recommended the Cross; now Jesus would speak of the glory which would be its inevitable consequence:

I tell you this: in the world that is to be, when the Son of Man is seated on his throne in heavenly splendor, you my followers will have thrones of your own, where you will sit as judges of the twelve tribes of Israel. - Matt. 19:28 -

The Lord Jesus Christ bade them look forward to a great regeneration, to a Divine new order of things. The Son of Man Who would have the Cross on earth would have His glory in heaven.

As for them, they were to be the foundation stones of this new order. Israel had been founded out of the twelve sons of Jacob; so too His new order was to be founded on these twelve Apostles, who left all for Him. In this new Kingdom, a peculiar glory would be given to them as patriarchs of the new order. John, who was among them at the moment, later on would write:

The city wall had twelve foundation stones, and on them were the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb. - Rev. 21:14 -

Elaborating on the idea of reward for those who gave up their possession, Jesus said:

I tell you this: there is no one who has given up home, brothers or sisters, mother, father or children, or land, for my sake and for the Gospel, who will not receive in this age a hundred times as much - houses, brothers and sisters, mothers and children, and land - and persecutions besides; and in the age to come eternal life. - Mark 10:29-31 -

"Persecution" was thrown into the account of the rewards, not as if it were a loss, but a gain. The hundredfold reward would come not so much in spite of persecution, as on account of it, If they were faithful unto death, they would receive the crown of life, for the afflictions of this world were not to be compared with the joys to come. Thus did the Master brand Calvary into their flesh and their possessions, telling the Apostles to forsake that which others desired to keep. Peter, who had asked what he would get out of giving up his boats, had already been told that he would be the helmsman of the bark of Peter, or the Church. But that day, when Our Lord Jesus spoke of blessings and tossed in "persecution" as good measure, Peter never forgot. Later, in the midst of joys and persecutions, he wrote it down:

It gives you a share in Christ's sufferings, and that is cause for joy; and when his glory is revealed, your joy will be triumphant. - 1 Peter 4:14 -

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Sunday, May 24, 2009

I have through years of reading, pondering, reflecting and contemplating, the 3 things that last; FAITH . HOPE . LOVE and I would like to made available my sharing from the many thinkers, authors, scholars and theologians whose ideas and thoughts I have borrowed. God be with them always. Amen!

I STILL HAVE MANY THINGS TO SAY TO YOU BUT THEY WOULD BE TOO MUCH FOR YOU NOW. BUT WHEN THE SPIRIT OF TRUTH COMES, HE WILL LEAD YOU TO THE COMPLETE TRUTH, SINCE HE WILL NOT BE SPEAKING AS FROM HIMSELF, BUT WILL SAY ONLY WHAT HE HAS LEARNT; AND HE WILL TELL YOU OF THE THINGS TO COME.

HE WILL GLORIFY ME, SINCE ALL HE TELLS YOU WILL BE TAKEN FROM WHAT IS MINE. EVERYTHING THE FATHER HAS IS MINE; THAT IS WHY I SAID: ALL HE TELLS YOU WILL BE TAKEN FROM WHAT IS MINE. - JOHN 16:12-15 -

"Let us go over to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened" said the shepherds one to another. "And they went and found Mary and Joseph and the babe lying in the manger." - Luke 2:15 - Let us, too, go in spirit over to Bethlehem and see Jesus and through seeing breathe into our soul His strong preference to be hidden, simple and ordinary. There is no visible glory about him, no dazzling splendor, nothing extraordinary.

Jesus looks and behaves like any other new born babe. He will be the same in Nazareth as a boy and later as man; He will be so much like the rest of the village children and the village young men that people will say of him: "Is not this the carpenter's son? Where did this man get all this?" - Matt. 13:55 - From this opinion of his townsmen about him we can conclude that He had made no 'hit' in Nazareth, done nothing that was outstanding or sensational during his many years there. He had been like the rest of his townsmen, just ordinary, simple. All that was extraordinary in him, He had hidden successfully.

These and other events in the life of Jesus reveal to us His attitude to honor, prestige and the glory of a great name. When the mission on which His Father has sent Him calls for it, Jesus works miracles, He speaks out with authority. His listeners are amazed at His knowledge captivated by His eloquence. There is a stir in the whole countryside far and wide! As long, however, as His mission does not require that He manifest His powers and show Himself to the world, He prefers to be hidden, unknown. He speaks and He acts only "to please His heavenly Father" "that He may be glorified." "I do always the things that are pleasing to Him" Jesus told the Jews in the temple. - John 8:29 - He silenced Satan when he tempted Him to put His powers to spectacular use. - Matt. 4:5 -

These preference of Jesus to conceal or hidden, for the exercise of His great powers only in the cause of the mission He has received from His Father, Jesus has gifted to you through your baptism. It is this spirit of His that prompts you to be silent about yourself, not to boast, not to defend or justify yourself even to allow yourself to be overlooked. This spirit of Jesus, it is that made the saints - those men and women in whom the spirit of Jesus operates freely, without obstruction - want to be small, to shun the limelight, to avoid pushing themselves front stage.

This same spirit of Jesus is inviting you now to prefer to be satisfied and be contented with being just of the rank and file, to be just plain and ordinary, just yourself, to think, it is no big tragedy, if you are thought little of and even overlooked in 'honorable mentions.' Does His invitation attract you? If you hear His voice harden not your heart. Pleasant peace and joy and a tension free life await you if you generously follow His attraction to be a 'small man' 'a hidden man' an unobtrusive and unassuming person. But the cost is high; it is the sacrifice, or doing without, of a precious earthly good, the glory of a name, to which our ingrained social sin (or social mores) has given such extraordinary importance and status.

This brings us to what in term on spirituality is called "vainglory."
It is important to have a correct idea of it.

What is "vainglory"? It is one of the evil tendencies we have all inherited from Adam. It is a deviation of the human need of being accepted by our social groups. It is a huge, self-centered and subtle seeking and enjoyment of the world's glory, of its recognition and applause and approval and praise, particularly of that group in which we live and move. It makes one hungry for admiration which in its turn leads to boasting and show-off.

Boasting is of two kinds: positive and negative. The positive type of boasting leads a person to talk about his achievements, qualities, occupations, social contact, etc, for the pleasure of being impressive. This pleasure is the pay-off or gain sought after. The negative type prompts him to call undue attention to his shortcomings and failures, to be unjustifiably apologetic and self-depreciate, apparently in self-blame but really in self-praise, more for the pleasure of hearing the listener say, 'your performance was splendid' than for the purpose of receiving honest criticism of it. This negative type of boasting is often called 'humility with a hook' because the humility is in reality a hook to fish praise with; it could also be called 'hypocrisy in reverse'!

This hunger for admiration and praise, which is the core of vainglory, also tempts a person to seek the limelight, to manoeuvre himself into positions of honor and command, to want to be talked about, to strive after effect, to want to make an impression. From it, too, comes cowardice, human respect, the fear of what people might say, a dread of failure and of the loss of public image, and an over dependence on the approval of others and a fear of their disapproval.

You can now imagine what damage vainglory does to the spirit of Christ in the soul. What the thorns did to the seed in the parable of the sower - Matt. 13:7 - that the secret desires of prestige and good public image do to the Christian spirit within. They choke it. It is not the Christ-spirit that motivates the actions and words and projects of a prestige seeking person, but the prospect of gaining human praise, the ambition to maintain it or the fear of losing it.

And the damage to the person himself? For all his great exertions, for all his projects and praise seeking enterprises he gets only 'vainglory' an empty or passing satisfaction, no lasting merit. Christ Himself has told us so:

Beware of practicing your piety before men in order to be seen by them; for then you will have no reward from your Father who is in heaven. Thus, when you give alms, sound no trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may be praised by men. Truly, I say to you, they have their reward. But when you give alms, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your alms may be in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you. - Matt. 6:1-6

The irony of it is that he finds himself cheated of the very approval he sought, for experience teaches that no one ever fully succeeds in pleasing all and winning the approval of all. He will return a sad and disappointed person who starts out on the impossible task of pleasing all, of avoiding all criticism.

Modern Psychology has unearthed for us the root of vainglory. The root is in the deprivation of esteem and appreciation which are a basic need of our human nature. If one is starved of this basic need for appreciation, approval and assurance, one develops a poor self-image and deep-seated feeling of insecurity in oneself. One is then driven to bolster up one's poor self-image and fight one's innate insecurity by leaning on the approval and assurance of others as on a crutch.

Of this negative self-image the demon of vainglory makes capital use to try and damage the spirit of Christ in us-viz. It has been described that the subtle ways it uses for it and His presence for concealing or hidden and to be small.

When we see what the root of vainglory is we being to understand that the conquest of vainglory will require as a first step for the healing of this negative self-image. This is done by the process of counselling. There are various models of counselling. Spiritual Directors are all familiar with them nowadays. They help you first to become aware of your poor self-concept. But that awareness is only part of the process. The final and deeper healing must come from Jesus and the Lord Jesus alone. We can only cooperate and cooperate we must with this healing action of Jesus. How?

First, do what the apostles did, what the saints have done. Keep close to Jesus, fix your eyes upon Him; see Him act; hear Him speak; slowly, even unknown to yourself, you will imbibe His spirit, you will begin to think and speak and act like Him. Attentive and prayer-filled reading of the life of Jesus Christ - and of His saints - will give you an interior knowledge and love of His spirit.

Next, try, as the occasions come, to practice what you learn in your personal prayer and in your study of the lives of saints. The following are some lessons the saints have left us for becoming humble like Christ:

1. - Prefer to be silent about yourself and your opinions unless the interests of Christ, namely the need of others or the claims of truth suggest that you speak up.

2. - Resist the temptation to be apologetic or self-depreciative before others; be honest enough to ask yourself what precisely you are seeking by the devious art of self-depreciation.

3. - Avoid the limelight, prefer to remain in the background unless the need of others, which you only are capable of fulfilling, summons you out of your hiddenness.

4. - Mix with others, work with them and you will realize how much greatness there is in others, how much good there is in you also, and how all the aptitudes there are in everybody have all been distributed to each one according to the function God has allotted to them among the people of God, and in the Body of Christ.

5. - Do not be ashamed to be yourself. You owe it to God who has made you, to the Church who needs you, and to your personal well-being and fulfillment to be true to yourself, to speak out your thoughts clearly, to follow your good inclinations confidently, and exercise your aptitudes with competence.

6. - Finally, to save yourself needless uneasiness of soul over 'thoughts and feelings of vainglory' read this note attentively and keep faithfully the practical rule that follows it. It tells you what to do with feelings of "pseudo vainglory."

It is common experience to 'feel proud' 'elated' or 'happy' when notice is taken of us or when we have done well a job that was assigned to us. All of us often 'feel nervous' before a public appearance which we have to make, or disappointed with ourselves after a performance. We need not delay here to make an analyze study of these feelings. It is enough to say that they are good feelings; they have meaning. They are signs of our social nature, of our human need and the acceptance, for the satisfaction of success. They are an expression also of our need of God in everything that we undertake; they are the voice of weak nature crying to the powerful God for support. But with all these good feelings there can also be mixed-up feelings that comes from vainglory, and you may become anxious whether you are being moved by the good spirit of Christ's humility or the evil one of vainglory. Keep the following practical rule; it will free you of all uneasiness occasioned by these feelings.

A practical way of coping with vainglory.

1. - Before the action: Make sure that your action has God's approval. Ask yourself: "Does it arise out of my office?" "Is it required or suggested by true charity?" Affirmative answers to these two questions are sure indicators of God's approval.

2. - During the action: Put your whole heart and your whole mind into it. Fix your attention on the 'object' before you; take it off the 'subject' that is, yourself. The nagging feelings you experience can be safely ignored; in fact they are best ignored.

3. - After the action: Plunge into the next task awaiting you with maximum concentration as described in number 2.

4. - At the time of the day's review (or examination of conscience): Examine not whether you felt proud or vain, but whether the actions you did or the projects you undertook were truly God's will and whether you did them in a manner worthy of God's service - with concentrated attention and tenacious perseverance.

The following conclusions study on Christ's spirit of humility will further clarify this question of 'vainglory' so troublesome to all of us in our first steps in the spiritual life.

1. - Suppose you are called out to sing at a get-together. You are congratulated by the community. You 'feel proud.' Is that feeling 'vainglory'? No, it is not. Your action is an act of charity, a social duty. The congratulation of the community is an expression of its pleasure and its thanks. The community is God's dwelling. The community's action is God's action expressing His pleasure and His thanks to you. When you look at your community - the Church - with eyes of faith, its appreciation of your service appears, as it truly is, as God's appreciation of it.

2. - Are politicians who make campaigns to be elected to parliament moved by vainglory? They may be, they may not be; it depends upon their intention. A person who feels he has a good ideas and administrative abilities would be obliged to enter politics. It would be a duty towards his/her country, and all his efforts to obtain acceptance for his ideas and for himself would be truly a service to God's people, and all the service he would render and all the tribulation he would endure in rendering it would be a part of his collaboration with God in managing and administrating His world. It would be far from vainglory.

3. - Are God's chosen people, the prophets, ordained priests and religious, like the singing nun, the farmer priest, etc, who try new projects that make headline news led by vainglory? It depends upon their intention, upon what spirit moves them. If the situation demands this service from them and they are able to give it, they would, in fact, be failing God's people and God's Himself, if they were to refuse or ignore it.

BY  REV.  J.  B.  FERNANDES  S.J.


My brothers, you were called, as you know, to liberty; but be careful, or this liberty will provide an opening for self-indulgence. Serve one another, rather, in works of love, since the whole of the Law is summarized in a single command: Love your neighbor as yourself. If you go snapping at each other and tearing each other to pieces, you had better watch or you will destroy the whole community.

Let me put it like this: if you are guided by the Spirit you will be in no danger of yielding to self-indulgence, since self-indulgence is the opposite of the Spirit, the Spirit is totally against such a thing, and it is precisely because the two are so opposed that you do not always carry out your good intentions. If you are led by the Spirit, no law can touch you. When self-indulgence is at work the results are obvious: fornication, gross indecency and sexual irresponsibility; idolatry and sorcery; feuds and wrangling, jealousy, bad temper and quarrels; disagreements, factions, envy; drunkenness, orgies and similar things. I warn you now, as I warned you before: those who behave like this will not inherit the kingdom of God. What the Spirit brings is very different: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, trustfulness, gentleness and self-control. There can be no law against things like that, of course. You cannot belong to Christ Jesus unless you crucify all self-indulgence passions and desires. - Gal. 5:13-24 -

Since the Spirit is our life, let us be directed by the Spirit. - Gal. 5:25 -

Do not delude yourself into thinking God can be cheated: where a man sows, there he reaps: if he sows in the field of self-indulgence he will get a harvest of corruption out of it; if he sows in the field of the Spirit he will get from it a harvest of eternal life. - Gal. 6:7-8 -

So then, my dear friends, continue to do as I tell you, as you always have; not only as you did when I was there with you, but even more now that I am no longer there; and work for your salvation "in fear and trembling." It is God, for his own loving purpose, who puts both the will and the action into you. Do all that has to be done without complaining or arguing and then you will be innocent and genuine, perfect children of God among a deceitful and underhand brood, and you will shine in the world like bright stars because you are offering it the word of life. - Phil. 2:12-15 -

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If you wish to donate. Thank You. God bless.

By bank transfer/cheque deposit:
Name: Alex Chan Kok Wah
Bank: Public Bank Berhad account no: 4076577113
Country: Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Sunday, May 24, 2009

I have through years of reading, pondering, reflecting and contemplating, the 3 things that last; FAITH . HOPE . LOVE and I would like to made available my sharing from the many thinkers, authors, scholars and theologians whose ideas and thoughts I have borrowed. God be with them always. Amen!

I STILL HAVE MANY THINGS TO SAY TO YOU BUT THEY WOULD BE TOO MUCH FOR YOU NOW. BUT WHEN THE SPIRIT OF TRUTH COMES, HE WILL LEAD YOU TO THE COMPLETE TRUTH, SINCE HE WILL NOT BE SPEAKING AS FROM HIMSELF, BUT WILL SAY ONLY WHAT HE HAS LEARNT; AND HE WILL TELL YOU OF THE THINGS TO COME.

HE WILL GLORIFY ME, SINCE ALL HE TELLS YOU WILL BE TAKEN FROM WHAT IS MINE. EVERYTHING THE FATHER HAS IS MINE; THAT IS WHY I SAID: ALL HE TELLS YOU WILL BE TAKEN FROM WHAT IS MINE. - JOHN 16:12-15 -

Isaiah - a famous Old Testament prophet; [ God's messenger ] the author of the Book of Isaiah in the Old Testament, noted for its description of the coming Messiah. Isaiah was probably born in Jerusalem of a family that was related to the royal house of Judah. He spent his early years as an official of king Uzziah [Azariah] of Judah. - 2Chr. 26:22 - When Uzzariah died [740 B.C.] Isaiah received his prophetic calling from God in a stirring vision of God in the Temple. - Isaiah chapter 6 -

Prophet Isaiah was married to a woman described as 'the prophetess'. - Is. 8:3 - They had two sons whom they named Shear-Jashub [ A Remnant Shall Return ] and Maher-Shalal-Hash-Baz [ Speed the Spoil, Hasten the Booty ] These strange names portray the two basic themes of the Book of Isaiah: God is about to bring judgment upon His people, hence Maher- Shalal-Hash-Baz; but after that there will be an outpouring of God's mercy and grace to the remnant of people who will remain faithful to God, hence Shear-Jashub.

After God called Isaiah to proclaim His message, He told Isaiah that most of his work would be a ministry of judgment. Even though the prophet would speak the truth, the people would reject his words. - Is. 6:10 - In the New Testament, Jesus found in these words of Isaiah's call a prediction of the rejection of his message by many of the people.

The reason Jesus talk to them in parables is that they look without seeing and listen without hearing or understanding. So in their case this prophecy of Isaiah is being fulfilled:

You will listen and listen again, but not understand,
see and see again, but not perceive.
For the heart of this nation has grown coarse,
their ears are dull of hearing, and they have shut their eyes,
for fear they should see with their eyes,
hear with their ears,
understand with their heart,
and be converted
and be healed by me. -Matt. 13:13-15 -

Isaiah's response to this revelation from God was a lament: "Until when, Lord?" - Is. 6:11 -

The Lord answered that Isaiah's ministry would prepare the people for judgment but one day God's promises would be realized. Judah was to experience utter devastation, to be fulfilled with the destruction of the city of Jerusalem by the Babylonians in 587/586 B.C. This destruction would be followed by the deportation of the people to Babylon. Although the tree of the house of king David would be cut down, there would still be life in the stump. Out of the lineage of David would come a Messiah who would establish His eternal rule among His people. - Is. 6:11-13 -

The Book of Isaiah is a major prophetic book of the Old Testament, noted for its description of the coming Messiah as God's Suffering Servant. The book is sometimes called 'the fifth gospel' because of its lofty portrayal of God and His purpose of salvation. Accordingly, the great prophet Isaiah, whose name means "God is salvation."

Prophet Isaiah's message was that after their period of judgment has passed, God's Covenant People will be restored to their place of responsibility in God's plan for the salvation of the world. the great suffering through which they were passing was their period of captivity as exiles of the pagan nation of Babylon. This theme of suffering on the part of God's people is demonstrated dramatically by prophet Isaiah famous description of the Suffering Servant. The nation of Israel was God's suffering servant who would serve as God's instrument of blessing for the rest of the world after their release from captivity and restoration as His Chosen People. - Is. 42:1-9 -

But Isaiah's prophecy also points beyond the immediate future to the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ as the Messiah several centuries later. The heart of this stunning prophecy occurs in chapter 53, as Isaiah develops the description of God's Servant to its highest point. The Servant's suffering and death and the redemptive nature of His mission are clearly foretold. Although mankind deserved God's judgment because 'we have turned, everyone, to his own way' God sent His Servant to take away our sins. According to Isaiah, it is through Jesus suffering that we are made right with God, since 'the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all.' - Is. 53:6 -

Isaiah delivered his prophecies during a time of great moral and political upheaval. In the early part of his ministry, about 722 B.C. Judah's sister nation, the northern kingdom of Israel, fell to the invading Assyrians. For a while, it looked as if Judah would suffer the same fate. But Isaiah advised the rulers of Judah not to enter alliances with foreign nations against the Assyrians threat. Instead, he called the people to put their trust in God, who alone could bring real salvation and offer lasting protection for the perilous times.

God was first of all a holy God. His holiness was the first thing that impressed the prophet when he saw Him in all His glory in the Temple. But God's holiness also reminded Isaiah of his own weakness. "Woe to me" he cried, "for I am undone! Because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips." After his confession, Isaiah's lips were cleansed by a live coal from the altar, and he agreed to proclaim God's message of repentance and judgment to a wayward people. - Is. 6:1-8 -

Prophet Isaiah tells us about a God who is interested in the salvation of His people. Even the prophet's name, "God is salvation" emphasizes this truth. The word of salvation was used more than 20 times in the Book of Isaiah, while all the other Old Testament prophets combined mentioned this word only about 10 times. In Isaiah's thought, salvation comes from God only, not from man. Indeed, God is the sovereign ruler of history and the only one who has the power to save.

Isaiah reveals that God's ultimate purpose of salvation will be realized through the coming Messiah, our Savior and the Lord Jesus Christ. No other book of the Sacred Scripture/Holy Bible contains as many references to the coming Messiah as the Book of Isaiah. Isaiah points us to a loving Lord, Savior who came to save His people from their sins. When Jesus began His public ministry in His hometown of Nazareth. Jesus quoted from one of these beautiful messianic messages from Isaiah to show that this prophecy was being fulfilled in His life and ministry. His purpose was "to set at liberty those who are oppressed, to preach the acceptable year of the Lord."

The spirit of the Lord Yahweh has been given to me,
for Yahweh has anointed me.
He has sent me to bring good news to the poor,
to bind up hearts that are broken;
to proclaim liberty to captives,
freedom to those in prison;
to proclaim a year of favor from Yahweh,
a day of vengeance for our God - Isaiah 61:1-2 -

Jesus came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, and went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day as he usually did. He stood up to read, and they handed him the scroll of the prophet Isaiah. Unrolling the scroll he found the place where it is written:

The spirit of the Lord has been given to me,
for he has anointed me.
He has sent me to bring the good news to the poor,
to proclaim liberty to captives
and to the blind new sight,
to set the downtrodden free,
to proclaim the Lord's year of favour. - Luke 4:16-18 -

The prophet Isaiah describes God's judgment as His unusual act - Is. 28:21 - If judgment is God unusual act, does this not imply that salvation is the work more typical of Him as a loving God? It is an interesting question to think about as we express thanks to God.

Isaiah ministry extended from about 740 B.C. until at least 701 B.C. - Is. chapter 37 to 39 - His 40 years of preaching doom and promise did not turn the nation of Judah from its headlong rush toward destruction. But he faithfully preached the message God gave him until the very end.

According to popular Jewish tradition, Isaiah met his death by being sawn in half during the reign of the evil king Manasseh of Judah. This tradition seems to be supported by Saint Paul letter to the Hebrews. Certainly Isaiah is one of the heroes of the faith 'of whom the world was not worthy.'

These were men who through faith conquered kingdoms, did what is right and earned the promises. They could keep a lion's mouth shut, put out blazing fires and emerge unscathed from battle. They were weak people who were given strength, to be brave in war and drive back foreign invaders. Some came back to their wives from the dead, by resurrection; and others submitted to torture, refusing release so that they would rise again to a better life. Some had to bear being pilloried and flogged, or even chained up in prison. They were stoned, or sawn in half, or beheaded; they were homeless, and dressed in the skins of sheep and goats; they were penniless and were given ill-treatment. They were too good for the world and they went out to live in deserts and mountains and in caves and ravines. These are all heroes of faith, but they did not receive what was promised, since God had made provision for us to have something better, and they were not to reach perfection except with us. - Heb. 11:33-40 -

With so many witnesses in a great cloud on every side of us, we too, then, should throw off everything that hinders us, especially the sin that clings so easily, and keep running steadily in the race we have started. Let us not lose sight of Jesus, who leads us in our faith and brings it to perfection: for the sake of the joy which was still in the future, he endured the cross, disregarding the shamefulness of it, and from now on has taken his place at the right of God's throne. Think of the way he stood such opposition from sinners and then you will not give up for want of courage. In the fight against sin, you have not yet had to keep fighting to the point of death. - Heb. 12:1-4 -


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Sunday, May 24, 2009

I have through years of reading, pondering, reflecting and contemplating, the 3 things that last; FAITH . HOPE . LOVE and I would like to made available my sharing from the many thinkers, authors, scholars and theologians whose ideas and thoughts I have borrowed. God be with them always. Amen!

I STILL HAVE MANY THINGS TO SAY TO YOU BUT THEY WOULD BE TOO MUCH FOR YOU NOW. BUT WHEN THE SPIRIT OF TRUTH COMES, HE WILL LEAD YOU TO THE COMPLETE TRUTH, SINCE HE WILL NOT BE SPEAKING AS FROM HIMSELF, BUT WILL SAY ONLY WHAT HE HAS LEARNT; AND HE WILL TELL YOU OF THE THINGS TO COME.

HE WILL GLORIFY ME, SINCE ALL HE TELLS YOU WILL BE TAKEN FROM WHAT IS MINE. EVERYTHING THE FATHER HAS IS MINE; THAT IS WHY I SAID: ALL HE TELLS YOU WILL BE TAKEN FROM WHAT IS MINE. - JOHN 16:12-15 -