Stuff Them Like An Ox!

To be a student is something that is very valuable. It has been said that learning is the key to maturity. Sadly, there are far too many people who have no love of learning.

In my experience, those with the most disdain for new information are those with the least appreciation for constant intellectual and practical growth. This may sound redundant, but as Louis Armstrong said, "There are some who, if they don't know it, you can't tell them."

Over and over I have heard people with very little education say, “Be careful how educated you become. Those who are more educated tend to think more and do less,” which is nowhere near true. The educated are by far the majority of leaders, philanthropists, educators, and greatest contributors to society.

There is also an attitude among many that the educated should live a life of false humility, almost apologizing for all that they have learned. But this is not an accurate reflection of God's attitude toward education.

God has always valued education for His people. It has only been since the days of the Great Awakenings and the birth of the evangelical church that education has been treated as a virus. Praise God for the recent spike of interest among the evangelicals.

The ancient Jews valued learning so much for their children that the rabbis would say, “Under the age of six we do not receive a child as a pupil; from six upwards accept him and stuff him (with Torah) like an ox” (B.B. 21a). –Abraham Cohen, Everyman’s Talmud, pg 175

The ancient rabbis also emphasized the importance of learning during childhood by saying, “If one learns as a child, what is it like? Like ink written on clean paper. If one learns as an old man, what is it like? Like ink written on blotted paper” (Aboth IV. 25).
–Cohen, pg 175

The education of children was a top priority in ancient Jerusalem. The following is a collection of ancient quotes which help us to see this passion of God’s people:

“’Touch not Mine anointed and do My prophets no harm’ (1 Chronicles 16:22)—‘Mine anointed’ are the schoolchildren, ‘My prophets’ are the scholars.’

‘The world only exists through the breath of schoolchildren.’

‘We may not suspend the instruction of children even for the rebuilding of the Temple.’

‘A city in which there are no schoolchildren will suffer destruction’ (Shab. 119b).” –Cohen, pg 173

Clearly, God’s people in the days of Jesus believed that no child should be prevented from sitting at the feet of a rabbi. This is probably the reason Jesus was so firm with his young disciples (between the ages of 16-25), when he told them not to prevent children from coming to him (Matthew 19:14). This is also what made it possible for Jesus at the age of 12 to sit and question the rabbis at the Temple when he was left in Jerusalem. Jesus’ questioning of the scholars was common for children to do. What was not as common was the extent of Jesus’ knowledge as a gifted child (Luke 2:46-47).

Knowing the impact of God’s Word on a culture, why do most Christians continue to teach biblical education inside the establishment of church buildings alone? It would seem that those of us who claim to be the disciples of Christ would be emphatic about “stuffing our children like an ox” in every building, especially the home.

"Show me your ways, O Lord, teach me your paths; guide me in your truth and teach me, for you are God my Savior, and my hope is in you all day long" (Psalm 25:4-5 NIV).


Forever learning,
Johnny

Difficult People

The following is a list of the seven patterns of difficult people as given by Dr. Robert M. Bramson in his book, Coping with Difficult People.

Hostile-Aggressives: these are the people who try to bully and overwhelm by bombarding others, making cutting remarks, or throwing tantrums when things don’t go the way they are certain things should.
Complainers: complainers are individuals who gripe incessantly but who never try to do anything about what they complain about, either because they feel powerless to do so or because they refuse to bear the responsibility.
Silent and Unresponsives: These are the people who respond to every question you might have, every plea for help you make, with yep, a no, or a grunt.
Super-Agreeables: Often very personable, funny, and outgoing individuals. Super-Agreeables are always very reasonable, sincere, and supportive in your presence but don’t produce what they say they will, or act contrary to the way they have led you to expect.
Negativists: When a project is proposed, the negativists are bound to object with “It won’t work” or “It’s impossible” All too often they effectively deflate any optimism you might have.
Know-It-All Experts: These are those “superior” people who believe, and want you to recognize, that they know everything there is to know about anything worth knowing. They’re condescending, imposing (if they really do know what they’re talking about), or pompous (if they don’t), and they will likely make you feel like an idiot.
Indecisives: Those who stall major decisions until the decision is made for them, those who can’ let go of anything until it is perfect—which means never.

This should be looked at in two areas:

1. Who is the difficult person in my life?
2. Whose difficult person am I?

Grace and peace,
Johnny

There Is No Such Thing As Secular

“Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus” (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 NIV).

When I was a kid, I would always smash all my food together and eat it. Mom would make fried chicken, peas, corn, mashed potatoes, macaroni and cheese, and rice and gravy, and I’d swirl it all together, except for the chicken, and eat it like a hot, mushy salad.

Many of us are careful to keep our food separated, just like we compartmentalize our lives. We have our work life, family life, church life, and on and on. There are also occasions when we verbally and literally speak to God, connect with God, and invite God to join us, and there are occasions when we never even consider God as being a part.

For the Jews of all time, including today, prayer has always been the method used to remind them that everything in the world belongs to God and is for His purposes.

The Jews, including Jesus and Paul, have a prayer or a benediction for everything. These prayers or benedictions are called berakhot, translated in English as “blessings.” A blessing is a prayer of thanksgiving to God. It is not a prayer of power or effectiveness upon an item, situation, or place, but a prayer of thanks for the item, situation, or place. In other words, we don’t bless food; we bless God for the food.

The Jews pray a blessing for every part of life. There is nothing that is secular. All things are sacred, set apart for God, but not all people honor God in them. Think about music. All music belongs to God, but not all music is honoring to God. Still it belongs to Him. Whether it honors God or not is up to God’s people. That’s why it’s so important to pray a blessing to God for everything, reminding ourselves that God is always present and expecting to be honored.

The Jewish rabbis taught, “It is forbidden to a man to enjoy anything of this world without a benediction, and if anyone enjoys anything of this world without a benediction, he commits sacrilege” (Babylonian Talmud, Berakhot 35a). –Marvin Wilson, Our Father Abraham, page 157.

"Secular" did not exist in the Jewish mind, but in the Greek mind it infiltrated the theology of the church. Eusebius of Caesarea in the 4th century said, “There are two ways of life for those of us in the church. The one devotes itself to the service of god alone, while the other, more humble, more human, permits farming, trade, and other more secular interests. The first is the perfect form of the Christian life while the other represents a kind of secular grade of piety.”

Praying a blessing to God for everything is a good way to remember to give Him honor no matter what we are a part of. It’s much more difficult to do something that is sinful, when we remember that after we are finished enjoying it, we will be thanking God for providing whatever “it” is.

There is an ancient rabbinic story called “The Rabbi and the Exceedingly Ugly Man” that reminds us that everything is God’s.

“On one occasion Rabbi Eleazer son of Rabbi Simeon was coming from Midgal Gedor, from the house of his teacher. He was riding leisurely on his donkey by the riverside and was feeling happy and elated because he had studied much Torah. There he chanced to meet an exceedingly ugly man who greeted him, ‘Peace be upon you, rabbi.’ He, however, did not return his greeting but instead said to him, ‘Raca [‘Empty one’ or ‘Good for nothing’] how ugly you are! Is everyone in your town as ugly as you are?’ The man replied; “I do not know, but go and tell the craftsman who made me, ‘How ugly is the vessel which you have made.’ When R. Eleazer realized that he had sinned he dismounted from the donkey and prostrated himself before the man and said to him, ‘I submit myself to you, forgive me!’” –Brad H. Young, The Parables, page 9.

Giving thanks in all circumstances, good, bad, beautiful, and ugly, helps us to keep all things in perspective…God’s perspective.

Forever learning,
Johnny

A Family That Prays (and does a whole bunch of other stuff) Together Stays Together

A family that prays together stays together.

That is true as long as the many other elements of communal life are also shared.

A family that plays, works, fights, eats, gives, receives, laughs, cries, thinks, shares, serves, suffers, and celebrates together....... stays together.

It is also important for a family to be able to stay together, even when they are apart.

As we experience years of life, we will discover more and more occasions and situations when a family needs to be apart. For example, my twin brother, Ronnie, and I shared a womb, a crib, a bottle, parents, a bedroom, a classroom, toys, clothes, and at times, even a toilet. We could do that; we are twins. But using the toilet quickly became something that we needed to do apart.

In the Jewish world of Jesus, community was always a central concept. The individual was always seen as a part of the community, and the community was always thought of as an individual. The entire community, past, present, and future were considered as being together, because God’s covenant was made with all people of all generations past, present, and future (Deut. 29:15). –Marvin Wilson, Our Father Abraham, page 187.

God is an all inclusive God. He is a family God. God did not call Jacob to be His person; He called Israel to be His people. As far as Jesus is concerned, there is no private God, but a God who is always “our” God.

Imagine, for a moment, a family of 15 where one of the children has a habit of always walking into the house after school and without saying a word to anyone, goes straight to her dad, takes him off to a private place, and shares, with him alone, what’s going on in her life. She tells him of how great her day is going, how much she appreciates what he gave her for supper, and how thankful she is for her allowance. She also shares how scared she was last night in her dark room, when it was time to go to bed, how she’s being made fun of at school by some of the other kids, or how sick she’s feeling when she has the flu. No other member of the family is ever privy to her hurts, hopes, and happiness. No other member ever has the chance to help, share, or just listen.

Too many followers of Jesus, like that sister, want a personal Savior, private devotions, private confession, private worship, and individual time with Jesus. And…that’s all they want.

Being united is Jesus’ greatest hope for His followers (John 17:20-26).

Christ’s hope is that we will find fellowship, and by fellowship, we will find the joy that comes with serving Him and serving with Him, as a family.

Forever learning,
Johnny

No matter how busy I get, I always have time for the fans.

This guy couldn't wait to meet

the great John Gainey.

You can see how proud he is. Can't you?

Always in Training

Let's talk baptism.

Some of us believe that baptism should be done by full emersion and some believe in sprinkling. There is actually some really interesting background concerning baptism. When the non-Jewish converts began to take over the Christian movement, baptism was an issue that required explanation for the purpose of continuity. So, someone wrote out the process in the second century allowing for baptism to be done in a number of ways, which is why there is so much confusion today.

For the Jews, there was only one way—a person would get in the water with no clothes and no assistance. The person would spread his or her arms, legs, toes, and fingers to make sure the water cleansed every part of the body. No one got in the water with them and, when they were done, they would walk out alone, while the priest would offer them a hand as they came near the shore to help them out of the water.

The non-Jews, not fully understanding the ancient Jewish ritual, said that a person could be fully immersed, but only in running water like a river, unless there was no river. Where there was no running water a person could be baptized in still water, unless there was no still water. Where there were no lakes, ponds, rivers, ocean, large bathtubs…large bodies of water, a person could have water poured over his or her head three times for each of the members of the Trinity. In other words, for the non-Jews, as long as you use water, it doesn’t matter how or where you are baptized.

Baptism was an ancient Jewish activity that was actually not a ritual at all, but more of an act of respect and preparation for entering the Temple, kind of like taking off your shoes before walking on the carpet in a house. Every Jew would go into the pool before entering the Temple where they would give their offerings.

John’s baptism was a bit different than the typical baptism, because it was a cleansing of sins, not just a cleansing of dust on the body. Still it was done in the ancient Jewish way, which meant “you go it alone.”

“Josephus records that John’s baptizing, was a secondary purification of the body after, and only after, purification of the soul was already achieved. It was ‘a consecration of the body implying that the soul was already thoroughly cleansed by right behavior.’ And that the latter meant ‘to practice justice toward their fellows and piety toward God.’”—John Dominic Crossan & Jonathan L. Reed, Excavating Jesus: Beneath the Stones, Behind the Texts, page 116

I am learning that we often debate and defend understandings of which we really have very little historical understanding at all. It's like we show up to a battle without prior knowledge of where or who we will be fighting. Often we suit up, grab our rifles, and start firing, only to find that the enemy is microscopic. It's really sad when the warrior refuses to believe that he can't kill germs with an M-16, so he just keeps shooting and believes he is winning. Even more sad is the one who fights when there's no battle.

This is a great place to add another John Maxwell nugget. John said that he talks with many supervisors who say their number one frustration is when they spend time and money training someone only to have them leave. Maxwell said, "There is something far worse than to train someone and have them leave--not train them and have them stay."

The same could be said of untrained soldiers of God. God's soldiers are always in training, otherwise they are AWOL.

Forever learning,
Johnny

Hello Idols

How often do we place ourselves in the role of worshiper without first being a forgiver? Why do we forgive? Why do we worship? Often the answer hovers dangerously close to being, "To meet my needs."

Jesus said “first be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift” (Matthew 5:23-24).

This teaching of Jesus gets its roots from the ancient Jews. There is a 10-day period between the Jewish New year and the Day of Atonement. This 10-day stretch of time was to be used by all Jews to seek reconciliation from one another, followed by a nation-wide fast.

The great fast on the Day of Atonement was not to be observed by any person who did not first seek forgiveness from his or her neighbor.

Imagine for a moment how wonderful an observance this was as a magnificent communal experience for all God’s people when they spent 10 days reconciling all wrongs and bringing the entire nation to a place of peace with one another.

One survivor of the Holocaust is recorded to say, “If you could lick my heart, it would poison you.” This is the extreme, but a good example of the kind of dissention that was to be ridden of before the Day of Atonement and participation in the great fast.

First century Jews, including Jesus, placed such a high value on forgiving neighbors that the sages would teach, as recorded in the Mishnah,

“For transgressions that are between a person and God, the Day of Atonement effects atonement, but for the transgressions that are between a person and his or her neighbor, the Day of Atonement effects atonement only if one first has appeased ones neighbor.” –Brad Young, The Parables, page 124.

This is also the backdrop for Jesus' parable, “The Merciful Lord and His Unforgiving Servant” (Matthew 18:23-35).

The main goal of the Day of Atonement was for all of God's people to imitate Him as a forgiving and merciful being. God desires that we imitate Him by forgiving one another.

When God created human beings, He created them "in His image." The word "image" in Hebrew is the same word translated "idol." God tells us not to create idols, for we are not to go to anything or anyone other than God to have our needs met.

Yet God created many idols. He created each and every person, so that He could come to us and have us meet His needs.

One of God's greatest needs, of which He comes to His images in order to have met, is the need for his children to be reconciled with one another so that they can worship Him with clean hearts.

Forgive first and then come and worship your God.

Forever learning,
Johnny

Nuggets of Wisdom

Today was a fantastic day. I spent the entire day gleaning wisdom from two of my favorite leaders—Dr. John C. Maxwell and Major Al Smith.

Wow! This is a day that I will never forget.

John Maxwell reminded me of some wonderful and powerful truths today, such as

“The two greatest days of your life are the day you are born and the day you learn why.”

“When you practice on your weaknesses, you don’t get better, you get consistent. When you practice on your strengths, you get better at what you are already gifted to do.”

He also reminded me of Paul Harvey’s quote, “You know when you’re on the road to success because it’s uphill all the way.” Success requires hard work along with constantly working on your strengths to get better and better.

“Every day you are either preparing or repairing.”

“Most people don’t lead their lives; they accept them.”

“Experience doesn’t bring wisdom, experience evaluation does. When you fail, stay down there for a while and figure out what went wrong. Don’t run away from your failures, evaluate them and learn from them.”

“Most people like the perks of leadership, not the price of leadership. When you become a leader you give up many rights; one being the right to put yourself before your followers. On the other hand, you need to be the number one priority for developing yourself because you can’t take others where you haven’t been.”

“To be successful you don’t have to do everything right, you just have to stop doing what’s wrong.”

“Don’t swat a fly off someone’s forehead with a hammer. The number one killer of relationships happens when we overreact to a situation. Often the “reaction” is worse than the “action” that has caused us to react.” (Anyone have teenagers? This one definitely hit home with me.)

Finally, John’s four suggested ingredients for being successful:

1. Being Relational. (“People won’t go along with you, if they can’t get along with you.”)
2. Help other people get better. (People who are around successful people get better themselves.)
3. A Good Attitude (Successful people have an uncommonly good attitude during adversity.)
4. Be an effective leader (Everything rises and falls on leadership.)


Hopefully you can use some of this. If not, remember “It’s what you learn after you know it all that really counts.” Who said that? Oh yeah, John Maxwell.

Grace and peace,
Johnny

If You Live Today...

"Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven" (Matthew 7:21 NIV).

For Jesus and His followers the Kingdom of Heaven was
1. The power of God—that is, God doing what he wants.
2. The people of God—that is, people doing what God wants. –Brad Young, Jesus the Jewish Theologian.

"The expression malchut shamayim (kingdom of heaven) appears only in rabbinic literature and the Gospels.
The rabbis’ view was that to ensure that the observance of the mitsvot or commandments would not be mechanical; one should first commit oneself to the Kingdom of Heaven before beginning to observe God’s commandments. This committing oneself to the Kingdom of Heaven is formalized by one’s confession of the Shema, the declaration that there is but one God, but its practical expression is in the observance of the commandments. In effect, the moment a person did a good deed — that is, the will of God — at that moment he came into the Kingdom of Heaven.
There is a final redemption or completion of the Kingdom, but both Jesus and the rabbis generally viewed the Kingdom in a more practical, everyday way: doing the will of God. They would have viewed the final redemption in a fashion similar to the well-known rabbinic saying found in the Mishnah tractate Avot 2:16: 'It is not your part to finish the task, yet neither are you free to desist from it.'
There is a story in rabbinic literature that helps illustrate the first-century Jewish understanding of the Kingdom of Heaven.

A bridegroom is exempt from reciting the Shema on the first night of his marriage. . . . When Rabban Gamaliel married he recited the Shema on the first night. His disciples said to him: 'Master, didn’t you teach us that a bridegroom is exempt from reciting the Shema on the first night?' 'I will not listen to you,' he replied, 'so as to cast off from myself the Kingdom of Heaven even for a moment' (Mishnah, Berachot 2:5)." -Shmuel Safrai, The Kingdom of Heaven

It is worth mentioning, as many of you will remember from Scripture, that Gamaliel was Paul’s teacher.

With this concept of malchut shamayim (mal-koot sha ma yeem), I have pondered the thought of the common evangelical approach for the invitation to Christ:

“If you die today, will you go to heaven or hell?”

Knowing that Jesus called His followers and their movement of doing God’s will “The Kingdom of Heaven,” I would have to question whether or not the above question is the right one to ask.
In fact, I believe that the correct question is:

“If you “live” today, will you do God's will or your will?

Let's stop teaching that the invitation of Jesus is only a way to die a better death, when, according to Jesus, it is the way to live a more abundant life.

Forever learning,
Johnny

thelivingroom @ thesalvationarmy.sanfordnc

Here in Sanford, The Salvation Army has put on a different kind of face.

Staci and I have allowed our home to become a “miniature temple” on Sundays as we lead worship in our living room. In fact, we call it The Living Room at The Salvation Army.

This Sunday will be our first Sunday in five weeks that we go to The Living Room in a place other than our home. We, as a corps, have turned the chapel into a…Living Room. We have round tables with chairs, a couch with a rug beside it where small kids can play by their parents who are seated on the couch. There is a small round coffee table that we have placed 5 little chairs around for little ones to sit at and color on butcher paper with colored pencils.

We have a credenza that will be set up with coffee, tea, juice, and other goodies for people to pick up on their way into worship. And there’s a tall swivel chair for me to sit on while I teach, with a music stand and a table beside me for a laptop and my Bible. There will even be a lamp on the table.

Staci has made beautiful table cloths for all the tables and amazing curtains for the windows. It will look like an honest-to-goodness living room with a touch of coffee-shop and the theme of the room is "coffee." We have coffee pots and cups for decorations and there is a sugar and creamer dish on each round table. We even have awesome coffee cups for everyone to use.

I know that some will criticize our approach, and that’s okay. I would not be Johnny Gainey if I wasn’t doing something new, different, and controversial in order to obey God’s call and do my best to do His will despite my naysayer comrades. I have yet to live a day as an Officer of The Salvation Army when I haven't been stirring up the gossip ponds. I still love you though.

Like one Officer I know says, “They only talk about you when you’re doing something.”

So, before the rumors start, let me share my personal faith story of how worshiping in my home has impacted me and my family.

The impact of home worship has had a major impact on my family. My children now see worship as a part of our world, home, work, play…lives, rather than a part of what we do at the corps. We are also able to develop a fantastic family from those who worship with us.

Please pray for The Salvation Army in Sanford, and for all those involved. We are truly a “Family of God.”

Grace and peace,
Johnny

"Right On!"

The word “amen” is a Hebrew word which was transliterated into the Greek language and by the time of Jesus was so well used in synagogues and churches by Hebrew speaking and Greek speaking Jews and non-Jews, that there was no need to translate it into another language.

Robert Lindsey, a Jerusalem scholar discovered that Jesus used this word in its typical Hebraic way as a response, rather than an opening.

“Amen” means "Let it be" as in “That, which was just said is true!” rather than "Let what I'm 'about to say' be." The NIV has omitted every “amen” from the mouth of Jesus, which is typically translated in the KJV as “verily” followed by “I say unto you.” “Verily, I say unto you” in Hebrew would be a common rabbinic response, when a rabbi strongly agrees with or believes in the previous statement or response of a question given by the rabbi, including a statement made by the rabbi himself. For example, “And when thou prayest, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites are: for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward” (Matthew 6:5 KJV).

The actual use of the word “amen,” translated as “verily” in the KJV, and “truly” in the NKJV is a response to the preceding statement as a way of saying, “I strongly support that statement,” followed by the phrase “I say unto you,” which means “and I will add to that.”

So, when you read the words of Jesus saying, “verily, I say unto you” remember that what he is actually saying is “Right on!" Then the translators should have begun a new paragraph with, "And…”

For an Old Testament example of this, see Jeremiah 28:6-7.

Forever learning,
Johnny

Fulfilling the Word

Lately, I have been posting some articles that help us to get inside the world of Jesus. There are good reasons why I am doing this. Among those reasons is the specific purpose of being able to better “fulfill” (interpret) the Word of God. Without that ability, we will suffer from the kind of lack of understanding that “abolishes” (misinterprets) the Word of God from pulpits all over the evangelical world.

The church today includes many different roles that are filled by individuals with titles such as deacon, pastor, overseer, and elder. All of these titles have their roots in the synagogue. I want to focus on one specific position and title as we discuss the importance of properly “fulfilling” the Word of God from the pulpit.

In the synagogue, there was a position known as a chazen. A chazen would pray, preach behind a wooden pulpit, and provide supervision for the reading of the Torah. It is important to note that the chazen did not actually read the Torah; he merely stood next to the one who did. His job was to correct, oversee, and ensure that the Scriptures were properly "fulfilled." Another name for the chazen was “overseer.” If someone were to “abolish” the Torah, which means to “misinterpret” it, then the overseer would step up to help him “fulfill” the Torah, which means to “correctly interpret” it.

The following article was published in the August 23, 2006 edition of the "The Southern Spirit, page 7, and its content reveals an obvious example of how one can easily “abolish” the Word of God:

“Most of the evangelical churches in a certain city sponsored a "Day of Prayer," inviting all who would to assemble at a certain auditorium to pray "all during the day." A number of pastors were selected to give short messages on prayer at the beginning of each hour.One pastor surprised the attendees by saying, "All of the praying we do here today is second-class." Perhaps "startled" would be a better word than "surprised." He let the thought intrigue them for several seconds, and then he read this text:But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet,and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly. (Matthew 6:6, KJV)

He then went on to say that however sincere and full of faith our public prayers are, and even if they ‘get results,’ they are at best only second-class prayers. The praying that Jesus commands is private prayer, secret prayer.

Someone openly objected that Jesus must have meant ‘individual prayer’ when He said that, not the ‘corporate prayer’ of a congregation. But the speaker countered by returning to the context of the text cited."His disciples came unto Him . . . and He taught them, saying, ..." (Matthew 5:1, KJV)

The pastor closed his meditation by challenging those present to pray as sincerely as possible that day together, and to take the burden of prayer home to 'finish the job in first-class praying - in secret.'

Oswald Chambers explains in a number of his devotional teachings why secret intercession is the best. I have no one to impress if I am in secret as no one will know that I am praying. I can be my most honest with God. I have no reason to 'put on airs' of pretended piety or humility. And He already knows the whole truth anyway.'

Comrades, I too want to urge us all to pray well in our public services. But the greater lesson is that the most effective (first-class) prayer is when only the one praying and the One being prayed to know about it.”

Please allow me to “fulfill” the Word by drawing from the historical context of the first century Jewish world of Jesus, and by explaining the Hebrew word translated as “prayer closet.”

The article concerning the "prayer closet" is the result of an obvious lack of knowledge pertaining to first century Jewish garb. A "prayer closet" is a tah-lit, which is Hebrew for "tent-little," translated in English, “Little Tent.” The tah-lit is often referred to in English as a "prayer shawl" or "prayer closet." The Jews wore the "prayer closet" over the ha-luk, which is what we often see Jesus wearing in Westernized movies. The ha-luk is actually first century Jewish "underwear."

The "prayer closet" is worn over the shoulders and during prayer it is pulled toward the face by both hands to signify "closing the door of your closet." This was done because the hundreds of thousands, and possibly millions of Jews who would gather at the Tent of Meeting could not all fit inside. So, they would wear their own "little tent" and pray as a way of joining their brothers and sisters who were in the Tent of Meeting. We exemplify this ancient way of praying by closing our eyes and bowing our heads, while folding our hands near our face. This is probably an evolutionary outcome of pulling the "prayer closet" to cover the face during prayer.

"Going into your praye closet" was not a message from Jesus telling the disciples to "go home and pray," but a message to pray alone "and" together, pulling up your "prayer closet" as not to appear boastful in your prayers. Those who went "into their prayer closets" were praying along side everyone else at the Tent of Meeting, whether inside the tent or outside the tent by going into their little tents. Knowing what a prayer closet is can also give us some idea of the likelihood that Paul may very well have been a "little tent" or “prayer closet” maker."

The kind of Scriptural misinterpretation that is exemplified by the article quoted previously makes it very important for us to ask questions.

Some things are mysteries; some are misinterpretations.

Every pulpit should have a chazen standing close by to make sure the Word is "fulfilled."

Forever learning,
Johnny

Chef's Special: All you can eat Answers Only with a side of Don't Ask

Why are questions so threatening to most Christians? What is it about questions that caused Arius to be excommunicated and banished from the church and Rome? Why did those who worked hard to answer questions by translating the Bible into common languages pay with their lives and dignity as they were burned alive in front of their wives and children? What is it about questions, that they give some Christians the mindset that they are justified in being defensive and offensive in the name of Jesus?

Why is it that I, as an Evangelical, Protestant Christian, often feel an urge to silence the questioner?

What am I afraid of?

Am I actually afraid of questions or am I really afraid of the possibility that I have been giving the wrong answers?

And, what if I have been giving the right answers? Will learning this make me more open to questions?

Past generations have fostered such an anti-intellectual attitude among Evangelical Protestants that we have literally become an all- you-can-eat “answers only” movement, with a side of “Don’t ask.”

Rob Bell’s book Velvet Elvis has a chapter that he titled “Questions.” In that chapter he says,

“Questions, no matter how shocking or blasphemous or arrogant or ignorant or raw, are rooted in humility; a humility that understands that I am not God and there is more to know. Questions bring freedom. Freedom that I don’t have to be God and I don’t have to pretend that I have it all figured out. I can let God be God. In the book of Genesis, God tells Abraham what he is going to do with Sodom and Gomorrah, and Abraham fires back, ‘Will not the Ruler of the earth do right?’ Abraham thinks God is in the wrong and the proposed action is not in line with who God is, and Abraham questions him about it…Maybe that is who God is looking for – people who don’t just sit there and mindlessly accept whatever comes their way.”

Bell also points out that one of Jesus’ final questions is, “My God, My God, why have you forsaken me?”

I was created to ask questions. And I am permitted to ask anything I desire to know.

God, where are you?

God, why are you?

Jesus, are you God?

God, are you one or three in one?

Is the Bible preserved for me or am I responsible for keeping the translators accountable?

If I am responsible for preserving your Ways and Words, have I done a good job or a poor job?

If I discover that I am responsible for preserving your Word and I have done a poor job, can I fix it or do I assume that it is the way you wanted it?

Are your ways and wonders safe for me to put to a vote i.e., the Council of Nicaea, the Council of Chalcedon?

When I vote on the issues of You, is the final count, the final answer?

Can I even know all of the answers or fully know any answer?

What am I right about and wrong about?

Something for the church to acknowledge and remember is the emphasis that the Western mind places on answers. It is a completely opposite emphasis of the Eastern mind, which is to bask in the mystery.

When I as a Westerners don't have the answers, I feel unfinished or inadequate. An Easterner, like the Jews of Jesus' day would watch as a good man was mistreated, while an evil man was rewarded and say, "Wow! God is really mysterious." The Westerner would say, "What kind of God allows that?"

So, I ask again, why am I so afraid of questions?

I think the answer is that I think I am responsible to have all the answers, even if I have to vote for them.

Some things I don't know.
Some things I won't know.
Some things I think I know, but don't really.
Some things I think I don't know, but really do.
Some things I will know.
Some things I will never know.
Some things I will remember I knew.
Some things that I knew I have forgotten.

And...it's okay.

“The Christian faith is mysterious to the core. It is about things and beings that ultimately can’t be put into words. Language fails. And if we do definitively put God into words, we have at that very moment made God something God is not.” --Rob Bell

Forever questioning the God who allows me to do so,
Johnny

Is the Bible the Only Word of God? (Revised)

Many Christian denominations hold as a doctrine that the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments are the only divinely inspired teachings that constitute the rule and faith of a Christian life.

In Jesus’ day, commentary on the Written Torah, which was only translated verbally through memorization, until 200 A.D. was also considered authoritative and divinely inspired? The Oral Torah, like today's printed commentaries, was used to offer direction for obeying God’s written Word where the instructions were not completely clear.

For instance, not working on the Sabbath is an instruction of God, but the definition of work is left for interpretation; that’s where the Oral Torah is given by teachers with the anointing to interpret the Scriptures for God’ people. These oral teachings are still known today, in written form, as the Mishnah.

Here is a rabbinical parable that was taught by Jewish sages during Jesus time and used to emphasize the importance of both the Written and Oral Torahs. It is taken from the works of Dr. Brad H. Young and his book The Parables: Jewish Tradition and Christian Interpretation, pg. 91.

The King’s Wise and Foolish Servants

My son, were not both Bible and mishnah spoken by the mouth of the Almighty? If so, what is the relationship between them? The distinction between them may be illustrated by a parable. To what may the matter be compared? To a mortal king who had two servants whom he loved with utter love. To one he gave a measure of wheat and to the other he gave a measure of wheat, to one a bundle of flax and to the other a bundle of flax. What did the wise one of the two do? He took the flax and wove it into a tablecloth. He took the wheat and made into fine flour by sifting the grain first and grinding it. Then he kneaded the dough and baked it, set the loaf upon the table, spread the tablecloth over it and kept it to await the coming of the king. But the foolish one of the two did not do anything to it.

After many days the king came into the house and said to the two servants: My sons, bring me what I gave you. One brought out the table with the loaf baked of fine flour on it, and the tablecloth spread over it. The other brought out his wheat in a basket with the bundle of flax over the wheat grains. What a shame! What a disgrace! Need it be said which of the two servants was the more beloved? He of course who laid out the table with the loaf baked of fine flour upon it.”When the Jewish listeners were hearing this parable, they would recognize the hard work that goes into making bread and cloth, which would “…remind the audience of the way the Mishnah refines the deeper meaning of the Bible.”—Young

Both the written and oral Torahs were considered to be the words of God.

Jesus often advocated the use of oral Torah, which can be seen when reading of his miracles. When He healed on the Sabbath, in most cases, he never touched the person and only healed with words, which was allowed by the Jewish religious authorities long before Jesus was born. In other cases Jesus used touch on the Sabbath to heal, despite the written Torah and the instructions of the Jewish religious authorities. In these cases, Jesus appears to be breaking the Sabbath until we are familiar with the teachings of the Oral Torah.

The Sadducees did not recognize the authority of the Oral Torah, but they did recognize the Judean (Jewish religious authorities in Judea) decision to break the Sabbath in order to keep the instruction to circumcise on the eighth day, due to the obvious need for compromise.

In John 9:14 we read that Jesus healed a blind man, using touch, on the Sabbath, which brings us to Jesus’ use of the oral Torah.

In the Bible, God says a person can not work on the Sabbath (Exodus 20:9-10, 23:12, 31:14-15, 34:21, 35:2: Leviticus 23:3; Deuteronomy 5:12-14). God also says that a child “must” be circumcised on the eighth day (Genesis 17:12, Leviticus 12:3). The Judeans had already settled the matter and stated that the keeping of the Sabbath will be broken in order to keep the mitzvah (commandment) to circumcise on the eighth day.

There is also a teaching of the Oral Torah which says that a person can break the Written Torah in order to keep the Spirit of the Written Torah, which is to give life. With that portion of the Oral Torah, along with the instructions that a person could break the Sabbath to circumcise, an Oral Torah observant Jew could surmise that a healing could take place, even with touch. Jesus could heal in the presence of Sadducees as long as He didn’t touch. In the presence of Pharisees, He could draw from the above commandments, both oral and written.

Because of the Pharisaical flexibility of the Oral Torah, a Rabbi with "authority," like Jesus, meaning that He was able to interpret the Torah and give commands for "binding and loosing" or "forbidding and permitting," he could draw from the command that a person could circumcise on the Sabbath and conclude that it is also allowable to heal a person of a childhood illness or physical defect, such as blindness.

Jesus used what is called a Kal v’ chomer (‘light and heavy’) argument to defend his actions. This is when a sage would remind an accuser that the mitzvah (commandments) must be weighed in order to keep the “spirit of the law,” which is to give life (not necessarily meaning the opposite of death, but a life that is more whole).”By reminding the Pharisees of their own oral traditions, Jesus was able to justify a healing on the Sabbath, as he was also an advocate of the Oral Torah.

If Jesus were being questioned by Sadducees, this would not have been as easy to defend, because Jesus used touch in the healing miracle. The Sadducees did not believe in the Oral Torah. They were very strict and rigid in following the Written Text.

Think of it this way: If you were living in the place and time of Jesus and you wanted to fish with your kids on the Sabbath, some Pharisees would say, “No problem. Have fun,” other Pharisaic sages would say, “You can fish, as long as you don’t clean the fish and prepare them for cooking.” This is knows as “binding and loosing.”All Sadducees would say, “Absolutely not! You are not allowed to fish, because it is a form of work. No exceptions.”

The Pharisees, like Jesus, would “bind and loose” differently, according to their own interpretation of what it meant to work. They would “bind (forbid)” what they believed to be unacceptable and “loose (permit)” that which they deemed acceptable, such as fishing for fun on the Sabbath. The Sadducees were strict literalists. No work meant “No Work!”Jesus was being confronted by the more flexible Pharisees in John 9.

Today we will often hear or even say that the preacher or teacher is going to bring to us a “message from God.” By saying this, we are advocating an ancient belief that it is not only the written Word which is divinely inspired and given authority by God, but the oral teachings are believed to have the same inspiration and authority.

Should this not be the case, it would be difficult to expect a “message from God,” unless the teacher was to read strictly from the Bible. In that case, the teacher would be following the custom of the Sadducees who would only use the Written Word and did not believe in Oral Torah like the Pharisees and Jesus.

Forever learning,
Johnny

Properly Commenting to Prevent Deletion

I thought it would be helpful to share some basic rules of blog commenting:

I have posted these before, but I feel the need to do it again.

These are from the Forum of jerusalemperspective.com and I am beginning with rule #2

2. Do not be confrontational. Be polite. Be tactful. Adhere to the Golden Rule.

3. No "flames" (heated messages). Your posts should be constructive. Resist the temptation to "flame" (respond emotionally). If you disagree with something a group member has written, disagree respectfully.

4. Do not troll, that is, attempt to provoke or "get a rise out of" another member.

6. Do not "shout," that is, type in all caps. (even in the subject line). Type in mixed case. Studies have shown that material typed in all caps is more difficult to read.

7. Offensive language will not be tolerated. Posts that contain such language will be deleted. A group member who uses abusive, obscene, vulgar, slanderous, hateful, threatening, or sexually oriented language will be permanently banned.

8. As a courtesy to other Forum participants, before submitting your post please reread its contents and correct grammatical and spelling mistakes.

9. You can utilize emoticons (smilies) to indicate tone of voice, but use them sparingly. Do not assume that the inclusion of a smiley will wipe out an otherwise insulting comment.

10. If a group member writes to you privately, be careful not to inadvertently post his message to other members of the group.

11. If, in your opinion, a group member has posted something inappropriate, please ask the moderator to remove it. Do not express your reservations to the discussion group. This will only draw more attention to the post in question.

"Hog-Wash"

There are some amazing new discoveries concerning the gospels, which have been developed over the last half-century. These discoveries are changing the current understandings of some of our sacred texts.

For instance, as David Bivin points out in his book Understanding the Difficult Words of Jesus, the belief that Jesus taught in Aramaic has been seriously challenged, which helps us to understand some of the long misunderstood Hebraic idioms within the gospels. Going back in time to retrieve the meaning of many of these idioms, such as "a good eye," which means "to be generous," as apposed to *"an evil eye," meaning "stingy," will change the way we teach.

As scholars and archeologists dig deeper and deeper into the cultural setting of first century Jerusalem, there will be more discovers that will have a great influence on our current philosophies to literally transform our current theology from a Greek-based message to a more Hebraic style of reflection and interpretation.

For example, understanding that a *"prayer closet" is actually a tah-lit, which is a "small tent" or "prayer shawl," which was laid over the shoulders, and then pulled up to cover the face (closing the door), rather than an actual room, makes an impact on the message. No longer will we tell people that they should "go home" and pray in private, knowing that first century Jews carried their "closet" with them everywhere they went. This also gives us insight concerning "tent makers" to mean that they were very likely "prayer shawl makers."

I believe that going back into the history of first century Palestine will help the church to develop a clearer message and erase centuries of misunderstandings, such as when Jesus said to a "would-be" disciple who wanted to bury his father first, *"Let the dead bury the dead." This statement is in reference to the "second-burial" system of that time, when the Hellenized Jews were influenced by Gnosticism. These Jews would bury the loved one and one year later dig up the body and place the bones in an ossuary. They believed that the one year between burials was a time of redemption when the "sinful" flesh was removed, thereby doing away with the sin so that the body could now be buried sinless with its ancestors.

Jesus words to this "would-be" disciple were actually to say, “Hog-wash! Your father has been dead for a year. Let’s go!”

These historical finds will have great impacts on the teachings of the church.

Though it is not popular or comfortable to approach the discrepancies of our theological frameworks, we must do so for the sake of truth. I believe that the impact made by delving into the historical facts of first century Palestine will give us a more "believable" message for the masses. As long as we rely on intellect (Western mindset), rather than the practical, useful, wisdom of the Eastern mind, we will continue to perpetuate a "spiritual only" gospel.

The Trinity is a very interesting issue for the church and one that we have a very difficult time articulating, without reverting to the "some things aren't meant for us to understand" explanation. It is also interesting that only Matthew and Luke mention it. Paul is silent on the subject, as are the rest of the New Covenant writers, and the Old Testament never mentions it, unless the LXX (Greek Version of the Old Testament) is used when speaking of "the virgin will conseive and bear a son," instead of the original Hebrew version which says, "a young woman will be with child (Isaiah 7:14)."

I have noticed, as I'm sure many have, that our beliefs are deemed more important than our actions. In other words, if I stay home and do nothing to imitate Christ, but believe in the fundamental doctrines of the church, I am safe to call myself a "child of God." But, if I feed the hungry, clothe the naked, et cetera, yet believe that YHWH is God, Jesus is His "favored and chosen" son (among all of His children) and Messiah, and that the Holy Spirit is Yahweh’s power and sovereignty in the world, rather than believing that God is one and three, then I am a “child of Satan.”

The influence of Greek thought on the Scriptures and our theology has allowed for redactors of the texts to place anti-Semitisms and angelology throughout. As more and more research is done, and as more and more study of first century Jewish culture is calculated, we are learning that the influence of Greek thought has done more to damage the message of God, than it has to preserve a people of God.

For me (I don't push this on others), I have chosen to use less and less of the Westernized commentaries and stick with texts that are more Hebraic for the very reason that there are far too many misunderstood texts when Hebraic idioms, parables, et cetera are interpreted in the Greek or even English contexts. "The Bible says it. I believe it. That settles it" is incredibly silly, considering the completely different worldview of a very Jewish Jesus who spoke to a very Jewish people in a very Jewish time. To ignore the difference between Western thought and Eastern thought is to do harm to the message that Jesus taught.

I have great respect for all of those who worked hard to understand the Words of the Scriptures without the last half-century of discoveries, but should we allow the respect for 1700 years of hard work to outweigh the discoveries of of the last 50?


Forever learning,
Johnny

*Matthew 6:23
*Matthew 6:6
*Matthew 8:22

The Privilege of Being and Doing

In my mind there are a few philosophies that drive our current theology, which will be heavily critiqued in 200 years.

The first philosophy that comes to my mind is the way we are satisfied to simply "believe in Jesus", as opposed to "imitating the actions of Christ." I believe that most people who are locked into the propaganda of the current church philosophy are missing the point of Jesus' purpose for His body of believers.

Jesus' movement was called, "The Kingdom of Heaven." It could just as well be called "The Will Doers of God." The idea of "going to" church appears to be in opposition to Jesus action oriented movement of bringing disciples into the Kingdom for the purpose of doing God's will in the world, instead of telling people how they can have Jesus in their hearts and come to church on Sunday.

True disciples are active followers and imitators of Christ, not simply ceremony observers and participants.

To first century Jews like Jesus, the Hebrew phrase "mal-KUT sha MA-yim" or "The Kingdom of God (Heaven)" was a term which referred to the rule of God over a person who has chosen to submit his or herself to God and to live out God's Word and will in his or her life and in the world. In essence that person became a "living Word."

So much of the obedience of most Christians today is based on a "faith of belief," rather than a "faith of action." This is due to the misunderstanding that the Old Testament is a law of works, while the New Testament is a new teaching based on grace. No Jew has ever believed that he or she is saved by the "Law." In fact, "Law" is a terrible translation of the original Hebrew word Torah, which is a word that means instruction or way. Jews have always believed that they are saved by God's grace and are also privileged to live out the Torah in honor of God.

Ray Vander Laan puts it beautifully, when he says, "The Old Testament is much more like a roadmap giving us directions to where we need to be, rather than a list of driving rules that must not be broken."

In 200 years, I truly believe that Christians will look back and say, "I'm glad we no longer believe that we can simply "know" as believers in Jesus. We would truly be missing the honor and privilege of "being" and "doing" as imitators of Christ.

Forever learning,
Johnny

"Celebrating Sex"

It is great having fantastic friends who love to hook me up with great teaching. Thanks T and C. You two are great friends.

Among some of those teaching gifts, is a good amount of audio teachings from Rob Bell. And one of those teachings has given me some really great perspectives on sex and marriage.

Throughout my life, I have been told that God expects us to wait until we are married to have sex. The reasons given usually have to do with morality and no direct quote from Scripture. This makes it difficult to teach in a day when everybody wants to know “Why?”

The Scriptures may appear to be silent on the exact reason, but that’s because of the cultural differences between the time and place in which the Scriptures were written and our current time and place.

Imagine that you are a teenager going to the mall on your first day of driving and you pull into the giant parking lot. There are empty spaces scattered throughout and those blue signs with the stick figure of a person in a wheel chair. You’ve already taken Drivers Ed, you’ve passed your test at the DMV, and you know all about how to park in a parking lot. But every time you come to the mall, there’s a guy who stands in the parking lot with a copy of a handicap sign yelling, “You can’t park where there are one of these signs!”

That’s a bit redundant, don’t you think?

Well, that’s how sex and marriage are in the Bible; it’s understood and goes without saying. People didn’t say, “You can’t have sex with anyone, except your spouse,” because they didn’t have to.

However, it is implicitly stated throughout the Scriptures.

In Exodus 22:16 God says, “If anyone seduces a virgin who is not pledged to be married and sleeps with her, he must pay the bride-price, and she shall be his wife.”

It is understood that having sex is the covenantal declaration of marriage.

The wedding ceremony begins when the bride and groom walk out of their marital chamber and find a community of people who have eagerly waited outside for the couple to finish their 2-becoming-1 ritual (they just had sex for the first time).

The marriage reception could actually be called a "Sex Celebration."

It’s odd for us to imagine our family, friends, and neighbors waiting outside our honeymoon sweet for us to finish having sex, so that they can start the reception, but that’s how it was.

Sex was not a benefit of marriage; it was the declaration of marriage. A preacher saying, “I now pronounce you man and wife” would be a ridiculous thing to do. Sex made them man and wife, not a ceremony-book-reading-suited-up-state-recognized official of the church or state.

Knowing this, God recognizes the first one a person has sex with as his or her spouse. Everybody else is the one he or she left their first spouse to be with.

Men, we are told to love our wives as Jesus loved the church. We are told that Jesus loved her so much that he was genuinely willing to die for her. The guy who wants “a little” is not the one who will die for her.

Men and women cannot allow their selves, as images of God, to be used as entertainment.

Not understanding this, is why we treat sex and sexuality as a product to loan and borrow, and when we are finished with the product, we move on to the next, eventually settling down with the one we “love.”

QUESTION: Why do we not have sex before marriage?

ANSWER: Sex is marriage!

"Let Us Pray"

Dear Heavenly Father,
Thank you so much for this day and for all of the tomorrows that you will be faithful to give us. We also want to take a moment to thank you for the many things you have watched us do and become.

Lord, I pray that you will bless everything we are doing, including the many things that we have planned and invested in. I pray that you will make our will your own, and no matter what you may have had in mind for us to do, I pray that you will alter your vision so that we can continue doing what we have always done.

Lord, bless our adult and youth programs, Sunday 11:00 a.m., 1 hour worship services, and our 9:45 a.m. Sunday school. We have worked so hard for so many years to keep these programs together, and we ask that you will keep new ideas from destroying what we love.

We know that you are a creative God, doing things in new ways, and we don't want to discourage you from doing your little new stuff. But Lord, those are ideas for other churches and we are sure that you know how important our history and heritage are to the world. We have an identity that is unique and worth preserving.

So, we want to take this time to pray for those who are unable to find you in what we do, and ask you to touch them in a special way and send them somewhere else.

Lord, do everything with miracles, so that we can be still all the time and know that you are God. Make us great teachers without having to study. Make us great pastors without having to care. Give us millions and millions of dollars so that we can hire lots of employees to do the work of your Kingdom.

Lord, we want to be free from active ministry so that we can invest in our careers, spend time with our families, and be faithful members of our churches by paying attention to our speakers and our leaders, and by coming every time the doors are open...to be fed.

Lord, thank you for hearing our prayer. We know that you will do what we ask, because you are our God and you always do our will.

All together:
“Our Father in heaven, hollowed be our name, our kingdom come, our will be done in heaven as we do on earth. Keep giving us all that we ask for, Forgive us our debts, and be patient as we search our hearts and psychologists for ways to forgive our debtors, and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one (Johnny 1:1 *NSV)."
In Jesus’ name we pray, Amen.

* New Selfish Version

Emotion Lotion

Someone has actually asked for more of my thoughts on a man’s version of modesty. So, here goes.

After reading some great books on this subject, with titles like, The Myth of the Greener Grass, Torn Asunder, For Women Only, Men Are from Mars, and Love and Respect, also from the classes I've taken on leadership and counseling at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary in Charlotte, NC, I have gleaned some wonderful insights.

Other great insights come from books about temperaments, communication, and understanding people. All of these are invaluable resources for gaining a clear understanding of how to relate to the opposite sex.

It is common knowledge that most men are more visual than most women, while the non-physical, but just as powerful, intimacy language of women is largely avoided. I think this is because too many men are writing the books about sexuality and human attraction.

The fact, according to most professionals, is that women are very emotionally sensitive and are highly vulnerable to the “really nice guy.” Strangely enough, this doesn't mean he has to actually be a nice guy; he just has to be good at listening, helping, and complimenting. Most women enjoy the attention, (not to be confused with physical affection), of lots of men before marriage, and some can have a difficult time giving that up after the wedding.

The problem with men is that we are so hardwired for sight and touch that we are often not in tune with a woman’s ability to connect emotionally, without connecting physically. So, we think, if she's not flirting physically, then she's not flirting at all. That's why we usually see all the signs of a wife going wayward when it's too late.

Most men have no clue that most women don't think like men. For example, many of the songs written by men toward women have lyrics like, “How I’d love to lay you down,” thinking that's what women want to hear most (just like a man would). The truth is, most women would really enjoy songs like, “How I’d love to get your chair, cook your dinner, listen to how your day went,” but we men assume that women are just as visually stimulated as we are, and we try to appeal to them on that level.

This is not to say that women aren't visually stimulated; it is to say that on average most women are more likely to be emotionally stimulated. This may be an explanation to all those guys who wondered in high school, "What is that hot girl doing with that dorky guy?"

The three main types of adultery include 1) The one night stand 2) The sexual addict, and 3) The Emotional entanglement.

Number three is the most sinister and the one that women are more likely to get snagged by, because of the relational involvement. In fact, most infidelities of this nature are rarely sexual. The problem is that most women soon realize that this guy who is making me feel so great will not continue if I don’t take care of his visual and physical needs, so they eventually give in. The sex is usually less than satisfying and is more of a formality than an act of passion, but it keeps the emotional bond continuing. Remember, "Women give sex for love and men give love for sex."

Men have a giant role to play in the prevention of emotional entanglements. We have to pay closer attention to the way we treat “other” women.

Women have the ability to prevent a lot of lustful temptations in men by paying closer attention to how much skin they reveal, whereas men will have to cut back on the amount of favors, listening ears, and compliments they give. This is where men are to practice modesty.

When a man plays the hero by fixing a car, showing up to help out when the husband is out of town, or just being someone to listen, he is often becoming an emotional masseuse who lathers on an "Emotion Lotion" that only the female Psyche can detect.

So, if men are going to be responsible as followers of Jesus who truly love their neighbors, they will have to learn how to wear their best gentleman’s attitude around other women, while leaving the “Emotion Lotion” at home or with their wives.

The point of all of this is that women will have to be able to recognize their own emotions.

The same way a man has to look the other way when a little flesh is visible on a woman at the mall, women will have to refuse the favors of the "other man" whenever he starts to poor on the charm.

Forever learning,
Johnny

Why Sunday?

My two oldest sons are out mowing a lawn for a lady in the neighborhood who was struggling to start her mower. They came home and said, “Dad, we are going to mow a lawn for someone.” I asked them how much they were going to get paid, and they told me that they were going to mow it for free.

Wow! I really have some great kids.

Yes, today is Sunday; the Lord’s Day? We are told in the Scriptures that the Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath. In that case, we would have to call it "The People’s Day.”

Besides, Sunday isn’t really the Sabbath, as Jesus would have recognized it.

I have always wondered why we have collective worship on Sunday, and when I ask those I think will know, I always get the same indoctrination: “It’s the day that Jesus rose from the grave.”

Based on study and research, I have reason to challenge that answer.

First of all the reason we worship on Sunday has nothing to do with Jesus being raised on Sunday. The fact is, according to Jewish time, Jesus rose on Saturday night. Secondly, the reason we worship on Sunday is due to an ancient spat between the surviving Pharisaic Jews and the surviving Nazarenes after the destruction of the Temple in 70 A.D.

When the Temple was destroyed, the Pharisees escaped to Yavneh and the Jewish followers of Jesus ran to the mountains of Pella as they were told to do in Matthew 24:16. Since that time the Jews and the Church have created obstacles to keep one another from being unified. “The Church forbade believers from keeping the Jewish feasts and began to meet on Sundays, while, in reaction to the Christians kneeling for prayer, the Jews adopted the standing position while praying the Amidah." --Dr. Ron Moseley, Yeshua: A Guide to the Real Jesus and the Original Church

Why do I believe that Jesus rose on Saturday night? The answer comes from research done by David Bivin and the Jerusalem School of Synoptic Research.

To the Jews, the day always begins with night. That is because of Genesis 1:5, which reads, “And there was evening , and there was morning-the first day.” First century Jews, using Nehemiah 4:21 as their guide, defined Nightfall as the moment when the stars were visible, which was around 7:00 p.m. during the season of the Passover.

In Matthew 28:1 we read, “After the Sabbath, at dawn on the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to look at the tomb.” in Greek the Scripture reads, "Opse de sabbaton te epiphoskouse eis mian sabbaton..." (Late [of] sabbath, in the lightening to one of Sabbath). This doesn’t make a whole lot of sense in Greek, but in Hebrew it makes perfect sense.

“Late of Sabbath” is a Greek form of the Hebrew phrase, "be-motsa'e shabat" (at the exiting of Sabbath), which means the hours that follow immediately after the Sabbath. "In the lightening to one of sabbath" comes from the Hebrew idiom, "'or le-'ehad ba-shabat" (light to [day] one of the week). Used in this way, “light” is a synonym for “night,” referring to the night before the next day. In Hebrew, “light” can be used as an antonym for its literal meaning to speak of the dark hours that exist before a new day.

An example of this usage is found in ancient Jewish writings that give instructions for carrying out the search for leaven as directed in Exodus 12:15. The ancient writing says, "Light to the fourteenth [of Nisan] one must carry out a search for leaven by the light of a lamp.” The use of the lamp gives us a clue that the search was done in the dark hours.

“With this understanding, the Galilean women returned to the tomb to anoint Jesus' body shortly after dark on Saturday evening. It was then that they found the tomb already empty. Jesus, therefore, may have remained entombed only slightly more than twenty-four hours, being raised from the dead on Saturday evening rather than on Sunday morning. By the method of reckoning time in Jesus society, such a short period, scarcely more than a day-a part of Friday, all of Saturday, and a part of Sunday-would have fulfilled his prophecy that he would be raised from the dead on the third day after his death.”—David Bivin, Jerusalem School of Synoptic Research

Based on this historical information, it seems that the reason we worship on Sunday has more to do with a 2000 year-old grudge than a God-honoring recognition of the Messiah’s defeat over death and the grave.

Forever learning,
Johnny

Meet My Twin Brother

I'd like to introduce you to my twin brother, Ronnie. We had a lot of fun on vacation. The kids loved the beach even though Ella was terrified of the "Giant Pool," otherwise known as the Atlantic Ocean.

And there is me with my Ella Bear and my twin brother's baby, Donivan. He is three weeks younger than Ella.

Grace and peace,
Johnny

A Unified Force of Action

After reading Bret’s blog and speaking with my mother today, who also told me of an experience she had with giving to a poor man with a sign, I decided to do a little research and recall.

Entrusting the $ that is given by individual families to the poor is not as easily understood as it should be. This is because of our individualized mentality as followers of Jesus.

When followers of Jesus saw themselves as a unified force of action rather than individual believers, all of the alms (monies given to the poor) were put into the hands of the elders who distributed them as the needy came for help.

Also, in the time of Jesus, everyone was to give to the poor "including the poor." That is why the widow brought her two small pieces of copper and put them into the coffer. Usually this story is told as if she didn't have to give, but out of faith she gave despite her lack.

The fact is she was obligated to give as all Jews were to give a portion of their money to the poor. The small amount of her monetary possessions was not an excuse for neglecting to give to the poor even though she herself was poor.

When a person gave, they either had a "good eye" or a "bad eye," which is a Hebraic idiom for being “generous” or “greedy.” It was taught during Jesus day that a person who gives 2.5% of their monetary possessions to the poor is a generous person. Since the widow could not give 2.5%, she gave everything.

That being said, her situation is much different than the situation of the poor in our culture today. She would have been fed and taken care of by what was received from all who came to give. Therefore, she was not really placing herself in dire straights. One of the major bragging rights of the Jews in Jesus’ day was that “no Jew ever did without.”

Today, many of the poor in our culture would place their selves in a very vulnerable position should they decide to depend on the Church for support. The alms of the church have been replaced by "tithes," which are generally used to pay church employee salaries and take care of the "church" property.

As for the importance of giving to the poor as a body of Christ, there is an ancient Jewish story told of how the poor receive from others that goes as follows:

"A poor man came to a wealthy landowner and asked for help. The rich man said, 'I am sorry. I had a bad year.' The poor man responded, 'Why does your bad year mean that I should not receive help.'"

The point being that the poor are always to be taken care of by their community. And still, there exists the responsibility among the poor to make monetary contributions to and for others in need.

Hide It In Your Heart

Recently, I purchased a new book from Jerusalemperspective.com. The book is a collaborative effort of Christian scholars fluent in Hebrew and living in the land of Israel, along with Jewish scholars. They have worked for the past half-century examining the sayings of Jesus from a Judaic and Hebraic perspective.

However, this is not a book I would advise to those with more faith in the Bible than in God. It is not a book I would advise for those who think that all there is to know is known about the Bible, its history, and its translators.

“In antiquity, before the invention of printing, the situation of the readers facilitated the method of falsification. There existed at that time a way to falsify texts which today is practically impossible. As manuscripts were often rare, one had to return the book to its first owner. Meanwhile a falsifier could be at work, and if a reader borrowed another (falsified) copy of the book, he would be easily misled. In reading the false passage he could believe that in the prior reading the real meaning of the passage was not preserved. The Christian reviser of Josephus’ testimony about Jesus applied such a method of falsifying. He used the original wording of Josephus and ‘corrected’ them to become unequivocally Christian. By this he reveals an exceptional cunning. Josephus became popular precisely because all Greek manuscripts of Josephus accepted the Christianized text of the passage.”—Jesus’ Last Week, pg 31, paragraph 2

The excuse often used by some to defend what is read in the Bible is that God has perfectly preserved the printed text. Should this be the case, then we would have to ask why Jews regarded memorization above written record throughout their history, including today.

We would also have to wonder why we are able to remember every word of hundreds, even thousands of songs, yet we, Westerners, are unable to adequately quote more than a sentence or a paragraph of more than a few books that we’ve read, without intentionally committing a portion of the text to memory.

Finally, we would have to wonder why a child, loved by the same God who ‘protects’ His printed word, can be abused and raped, yet we assume the ink of a book can never be misprinted or purposefully corrupted.

Over and over God tells us to hide his Word in our hearts, yet we constantly commit His Word to paper, trusting it to those we assume are keeping their word to keep His Word.

Don’t be afraid to question human beings who are responsible for preserving writings that are vital to our being. More people have spent time investigating the original meaning of rock songs than they have the origin of God's Word.

Hide it in your heart where no one can destroy it. This is the true meaning of treasures in heaven.

Forever learning,

Should I drop off my toddler at the mall?

I’m going to open a giant can of worms, and I believe that we can all learn from these worms.

As controversial as the subject is, I will do my best to remain detached from any bias, and work hard to play God’s advocate.

Also, for those of you who choose to comment, please, do not respond offensively or judgmentally. For all of our opinions of the sins of others, others hold opinions toward our sins, which are just as offensive to God. So, let’s all realize that no one is perfect and that God’s Word is a tool to be used as a means of living in a right relationship with one another.

The subject of modesty comes up so often that it is very difficult to ignore the fact that we need clarity.

To begin, let’s realize that modesty for men and women is often two very different things, because, for the majority of men and women, temptation is brought on by two different provocations. The majority of men are very visual, which means that they can actually have a sexual encounter using only their eyes. The majority of women are relational, which means that they can actually develop deep, emotional connections using only their tools of non-physical communication.

For example, when a man sees his wife take off her clothes, for him, sex has begun. For most women, the sexual encounter is usually a result of how her husband communicates with her during the day.

In other words, men, don’t try lighting candles, sprawling out on the bed, and calling “Yoo-hoo, Honey, I’m in the bedroom,” especially if you haven’t taken out the trash for the last two weeks (or you aren’t a newly-wed who has actually waited until marriage to have sex).

So what does this all mean? It means that men can steal sexual encounters all day long from women who believe that men should be able to control their selves and not look when their clothes are a bit revealing. And it means that women can steal emotionally fulfilling encounters from men who are overly nice in the office, at the party, or during the carpool to work.

So, here’s the point:

For men who say, “I should be able to be as caring as I want and women should have enough self-control to avoid temptations” And for women who say, “I should be able to wear whatever I want and men should have enough self-control to avoid temptations,” my challenge is this:

Would I offer the same defense with my money and children?

Would I leave my money in the front yard and say, “I should be able to leave my money anywhere I choose, and people should have enough self-control to leave it alone.”

Or, would I leave my two-year-old daughter alone at the mall and say, “I should be able to leave my daughter anywhere I choose, and people should have enough self-control to leave her alone.”


What if God is interested in my willingness and determination to remove any temptations that I am able to invoke on others?

What if leaving my money in the yard or my toddler alone in a public place is no less irresponsible than neglecting to protect my brothers and sisters from temptations of lust and adulterous fantasies?

What if I really am my brother's keeper?

I pray that we are pleasing God in our own lives and in our desires and abilities to do whatever we can to protect others.

Forever learning,
Johnny

Mine to give or another's to deliver?

The subject of saving ourselves for marriage has been on my mind lately, probably because my sons are growing up so fast.

There are two conflicting views about premarital sex—protection or abstinence. But, what if neither was the complete answer to the dilemma?

What if intimacy was like holding someone else’s money?

I mean, Jesus tells men to be careful not to even look at a woman lustfully. Contextually speaking, He said that because he was placing a hedge around the instruction from God to avoid adultery.

But what if God didn’t give my intimacy to me? What if God gave me intimacy to hold…intimacy that actually belongs to another person? What if saying, “I’m saving myself for the person I marry” is actually not true? What if what I’m saving is not mine at all?

Think about it. Is it possible that God gave intimacy to Jonathan Paul Gainey to keep on the day I was conceived until the day I meet the person that I am to deliver it to, once and for all, and on our wedding night I gave Staci the affection that belonged to her all along?

Could it be that when I kissed other girls as a teenager that I was actually giving away something that wasn’t mine to give and taking from another that which wasn’t hers to give? There are a lot of people who don't really consider kissing that much of a sensual act, but what about all of the more intimate things that young people do when their passions get away from them and they are alone?

Wouldn’t it be wonderful, if young children were no longer considering their sexual desires as personal belongings to be exchanged with whomever he or she wanted, when it "feels right?"

Wouldn’t it be beautiful, if our sensuality and sexual pleasures were held and guarded as priceless objects, belonging to someone else, who would someday come to receive his or her possessions?

What if wedding nights were filled with two people who have been carrying incredibly valuable, fragile packages for years, waiting to be delivered to the owner on that very day when the two are joined as one?''

And what if, for those who do not marry, the passions and desires of a person were symbolically, yet literally preserved as the possessions of God himself?

Forever learning,
Johnny

"Be the Church Going"

This is a response to a good friend's blog:

The Salvation Army may be the best equipped and prepared Christian mission, among God's people, to withstand the unstoppable trends that are impacting the Christian world.

As the needs and expectations of ministry change, including less dependence on institutional religion and professional pastors, The Salvation Army will lead the way in providing a real “church” experience and opportunity.

Although we do not prefer to separate our ministry in terms of “church” and “social services organization,” the fact remains that they are often beneficial to two separate groups of people. That is not necessarily a bad thing.

As studies and research indicate from highly trusted and respected organizations like “The Barna Group,” as to the way people are worshiping and serving as Christians, as well as what attracts people to the Church today, we are learning a lot.

Both believers and non-believers are stating that opportunity for hands-on, missional, meaningful, and genuine opportunities to help others is of great importance. This makes The Salvation Army stand out among other Christian movements, because of the many avenues of service through which new generations will be able to reach others.

Despite the criticism of some concerning The Army's lack of emphasis on church, the small size of the majority of our congregations and the strong emphasis on raising funds to offer social services to our communities may be exactly how God is moving in this and coming generations.

Christians who are no longer part of an active congregation and non-believers who are asked what they would look for, should they choose to go to a church, are responding with some very interesting answers.

The majority say:
1. They want to be a part of a small group of people and a congregation of no more than 30-40 people.

2. They are not interested in perfection in worship services. They are looking for something “real.”

3. They do not want to be a part of an institutional church with a professional pastor. They want to be a part of a Christian mission whereby people are “doing” the will of God as they serve each other and others, together.

4. They are not interested in “going to the church.” They want to “be the church going.”

5. They don’t want to “join” a church. They want to be actively ministering and being ministered to in the world of which they are a part, rather than in programs and church services. This will pose a major problem to those who insist on church membership or soldiership.

We can shun these responses and choose to treat them as if they are ridiculous requests, or we can focus on the realization that The Salvation Army has been prepared in advance for the new thing that God is doing.

George Barna is predicting that more and more small churches will be disappearing and that “professional” pastors will be forced back into secular work places. Salvation Army Officers are well suited for this change in the culture of the church, because of the demand on Christian social service organizations. In other words, the “pastors” of The Salvation Army will already have a “vocation,” which has long been a part of their ministry, while other churches may be forced to close down their “buildings” and send their pastor away to look for employment.

I believe that The Salvation Army is one of God’s anointed missions for “being the church going” for this and upcoming generations.

Servants, be wise!

Okay, I’m back.

Wow! It’s been a long time.

I want to share a quick insight:

There are so many of us who offer help to others. And those who come for help are people of many different backgrounds and experiences. Yet, there are those that have no intention of really helping themselves and can become nasty and even dangerous when the help stops coming.

Still, there are Christians out there who not only give these people lots of help, but actually believe that they can change these people with their help and even build them into leaders of the Kingdom.

Allow me to share an ancient story that will help us to see the reality of this situation.

Dr. Heron’s Fee
“Once a wolf had a bone lodged in his throat. He promised a heron that he would give a suitable fee if the latter would let his neck down inside and draw out the bone, thus providing a remedy for his suffering. The heron drew out the bone and immediately demanded his pay. The wolf grinned at him, baring his sharp teeth, and said: ‘It’s enough pay for your medical services to have taken your neck out of a wolf’s mouth safe and sound.’

You’ll get no good in return for giving aid to scoundrels, and you’ll do well not to suffer some injury yourself in the process.”

--Brad H. Young, The Parables: Jewish Traditions and Christian Interpretation

It’s good to remember that many people whom we help are actually, truthfully, and literally dangerous people. We are wise to offer help and back away at times.

Don’t feel guilty when you get that feeling that you are not safe as you offer help to someone. The fact is, even Jesus escaped at times to prevent being stoned (John 8:59).

We are to be wise as we help others.

Forever learning,
Johnny

"Paul Must Have Been A Liar!"

A great question was asked by a friend who responded to one of my responses on another blog.

Paraphrase of the question: “If Paul became like a Jew to the Jews, like one under the law to those under the law, like those not having the law to those not having the law, and like the weak to those who are weak, then how did he remain a practicing Jew, without disobeying his obedience to God’s instruction for the Jews?”

This question is based on 1 Corinthians 9.

The two criticisms that are usually posed, due to a misunderstanding of Paul’s Eastern context, is that he is either a deceiver or a chameleon.

Paul is neither.

To “become like” means to "empathize with."

When Paul is with the Jews who do not understand that Jesus is the promised Messiah, he understands that their “no” to Jesus, is a “yes” to God, in their thinking.

When he becomes like those “under the law,” which means “legalists” who follow God’s instructions as a means of payment for their salvation, he understands that they aren’t familiar with God’s intent of grace, and not “law.”

When he becomes like those “without the law,” meaning those who don’t know the “Torah” of God, which is God’s loving instruction for living a prosperous life, he understands that they are ignorant of God’s Word as Gentiles and non-Jews.

When he becomes like the “weak,” referring to those who are legalists with overactive consciences, he understands that they are missing the point of God’s instructions as a means of living well, rather than gaining God’s approval.

Paul does not join homosexual orgies to reach the homosexuals, steal from homes to reach the thieves, or worship idols to reach the Gentiles; he has compassion for their lack of ability to understand the ways of God, so that he can reach them, without telling them things like, "Homosexuals will burn in hell!"

Paul recognizes that most people who steal have a lack of good parenting or perhaps they are hungry, rather than telling them that they are good-for-nothing thieves who should rot in jail.

By understanding their perspective, Paul is able to have compassion and reach all people from a standpoint of love, rather than judgment.

Paul remained a practicing Jew until his death, to "behave" like Jesus, who did the same. And he shared the Good News with those who were offered the opportunity to be grafted into the root, Isra ‘el, through the Messiah.

“Becoming like” does not mean “behaving like.” “Becoming like” means “empathizing with.”

Forever learning,
Johnny