“A time will come when people will not listen to accurate teachings. Instead, they will follow their own desires and surround themselves with teachers who tell them what they want to hear. People will refuse to listen to the truth and turn to myths.” (2 Timothy 4:3-4 God’s Word Translation)

“Do good things everywhere you go. After a while the good you do will return to help you” (Ecclesiastes 11:1 International Children’s Bible)

“A fool starts out by talking foolishness and ends up saying crazy things that are dangerous” (Ecclesiastes 10:13 God’s Word Translation©).

While reading “Rationality” by Steven Pinker (2021) this truism haunts me:

It seems the most opinionated people are the ones who know the least about the topic being discussed.

They:
Are too lazy to study and research;
Willfully dismiss any information which challenges their opinion;
Base conclusions on their ideology instead of the facts;
Swallow conspiracy theories which tickle their ears;
Blindly follow anyone who inflates their egos;
Are awed by teaching which is complicated and full of special elite knowledge;
Are loyal to those who condemn others and justify this immoral and anti-social behaviour.

“I turned my attention to study, to explore, and to seek out wisdom and the reason for things. I learned that wickedness is stupid and foolishness is madness” (Ecclesiastes 7:25 God’s Word Translation©).

Human beings have ego. However, those followers of Jesus who have died to self have also crucified the ego.

We compliment people of faith for their help or wisdom under the assumption that those people are more human ego than Godly servant. The mature Christian rejoices when God gets all the glory, for the desire of the humble servant is to do everything “wholeheartedly as though you were working for your real master and not merely for humans” (Colossians 3:23 GW©).

Abba Daniel reported the story of a monk who went to a nobleman’s home where the daughter was demon possessed. On entry the demon slapped the monk through the daughter. The monk, as Jesus commanded, turned the other cheek. The demon is reported to have said, “The commandment of God is destroying me!” and left, and the girl was healed.

When this was reported to the advisor, he gave God the glory, saying “Even the pride of demons falls before humble obedience to the commandments of Jesus Christ.”

No praise to the monk, but only to Jesus.

Do you need compliments and recognition for doing something for Jesus? If so, who is on the throne of your soul? It is likely not the Monarch and Creator of the universe and The Lamb who deserves all “praise, honor, glory, and power” (Revelation 5:13 GW©).

Even if the fig tree does not bloom
and the vines have no grapes,
even if the olive tree fails to produce
and the fields yield no food,
even if the sheep pen is empty
and the stalls have no cattle—
even then,
I will be happy with the Lord.
I will truly find joy in God, who saves me.

(Habakkuk 3:17-18 God’s Word Translation©)

When God’s people trade away faith in God for religious opinion, whether Israelites of old or self-declared heroes of today, God sends natural or political alarms to awaken them to their sin and bring them back to spiritual sanity.

Sometimes people respond humbly and repent, turning from the off-trail route to the highway to heaven. Other times they decide to find their own solution apart from trusting in Almighty God.

The Lord declares,
“How horrible it will be for those rebellious children.
They carry out plans, but not mine…
They pile sin on top of sin…
They look for shelter under Pharaoh’s protection
and look for refuge in Egypt’s shadow.
But Pharaoh’s protection will be their shame,
and the refuge in Egypt’s shadow will be their disgrace” (Isaiah 30:1-3 God’s Word Translation©).

In today’s terminology it would read, “They look for shelter in the Charter of Human Rights and look for refuge in their lawyers’ shadow.”

All I know is a Follower of Jesus will never use a secular court case to win a spiritual battle.

When Jesus recites, “ ‘Eli, Eli, lama sabacthani?’ that is ‘My God, my God, why have you forsaken me’ ” (Matthew 27:46), Christ refers to the whole of Psalm 22, since in Hebrew tradition Psalms are titled by their first line. This is a cry of victory!

Consider these verses from Psalm 22:

4 Our ancestors trusted you. They trusted, and you rescued them.

5 They cried to you and were saved. They trusted you and were never disappointed.

24 The LORD has not despised or been disgusted with the plight of the oppressed one. He has not hidden his face from that person. The LORD heard when that oppressed person cried out to him for help.

Jesus was totally in the Father’s will! Jesus was an oppressed one, not a sinner. God could not banish a part of the divine self. God cannot be divided.

That sin drives God away is a theological construct, not a Biblical one. King David committed many sins, but repented and never rebelled against God, and he was “a man after God’s own heart” (Acts 13:22, quoting 1 Samuel 13:14). God abandons rebels, not sinners.

God abandons rebels (like King Saul), like the priests who were evil, like the people of Israel when they went after other gods, but God says to the faithful, “I will never leave you nor forsake you” (Hebrews 13:5b).

Salvation is foundational. Among Christians today there is a conflict about what that is, though! Some teach ‘universal salvation’, which states that, when Jesus died, everyone everywhere at all times was saved. This conflicts with those who hold that everyone must make a decision and accept Jesus as their personal Saviour to gain eternal life in heaven.

To start with what we know, God’s grace is bestowed on everyone in this life. (A)

So God acts like God, Who is love, because that is what God does. This is grace.

The Bible makes it clear, however, that not everyone is saved. (B) So how can both be true?

Grace is unconditional, being the activity of God alone.

Salvation, on the other hand, is a covenant between a person and God. If a person refuses to sign on to the covenant (like a contract), then salvation is on hold and the conditions are not in force.

While the blessing is readily available to anyone (C), not everyone will accept the conditions Almighty God sets forward. (D)

God calls everyone from the cross. Each person has the choice for life with the Saviour here and in the hereafter, or not.

Bible References
(A) “But I tell you this: Love your enemies, and pray for those who persecute you. In this way you show that you are children of your Father in heaven. He makes his sun rise on people whether they are good or evil. He lets rain fall on them whether they are just or unjust” (Matthew 5:44-45 God’s Word Translation©).

(B) “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord!’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the person who does what my Father in heaven wants. Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, didn’t we prophesy in your name? Didn’t we force out demons and do many miracles by the power and authority of your name?’ Then I will tell them publicly, ‘I’ve never known you. Get away from me, you evil people’ ” (Matthew 7:21-23 God’s Word Translation©).

(C) “The Lord isn’t slow to do what he promised, as some people think. Rather, he is patient for your sake. He doesn’t want to destroy anyone but wants all people to have an opportunity to turn to him and change the way they think and act” (2 Peter 3:9 God’s Word Translation©).

(D) Such as “all of you must serve each other with humility, because God opposes the arrogant but favors the humble. Be humbled by God’s power so that when the right time comes he will honor you” (1 Peter 5:5b-6 God’s Word Translation©), and “I’m giving you a new commandment: Love each other in the same way that I have loved you. Everyone will know that you are my disciples because of your love for each other” (John 13:34-35 God’s Word Translation©).

Jesus is The Model for our living. Sometimes we skip over some of the things that are in the Bible to hold us to true and faithful servanthood. Instead we hold to doctrines and teachings rooted in this life while ignoring the eternal lessons lived out by Jesus while here on earth.

Jesus lived holy humility. Jesus did not claim divine authority, or cosmic power, though both were a part of Christ’s persona. God Jesus submitted to God the Father in order to fulfill the divine mission of salvation, despite the trauma that lay ahead to fulfill that.

We humans complain about every inconvenience, ignoring what Jesus really did for us. Humility is a God-like attribute. It calls us to serve and sacrifice, as Jesus did.

Yet we humans, frail and mortal and truly finite, abuse messages like that “we can go confidently to the throne of God’s kindness” (Hebrews 4:16 God’s Word Translation©), using it as an invitation to confront God with authority and power in our arrogance instead of humble gratitude.

We claim what is due us, even when it is not due us!

We do not rejoice when God is glorified by our life, standing instead with satisfaction that we are gifted to do mighty things (so we think).

Humility is a forever attitude, which is too often replaced with power over, undeserved authority and claims for benefits here on earth.

It is not difficult to differentiate between teachings vital to our faith and holiness, and those which are for specific occasions or times. Simply put, teachings that are about Church organization, human authority, religious rituals or cultural requirements cannot be used to shape righteousness (“doing the right thing for the right reason for the Right Person [God]”).

God saves people and that is all that it takes to enter into the fullness of a spiritual life. Yet institutional religion (eg denominations) demand a person holds formal membership, without which they are excluded from participating in the decision-making life of the Congregation, as though salvation was not enough.

Jesus reprimanded the disciples when they denounced some people doing ministry without belonging to “the group”. “John said to Jesus, ‘Teacher, we saw someone forcing demons out of a person by using the power and authority of your name. We tried to stop him because he was not one of us.’ Jesus said, ‘Don’t stop him! No one who works a miracle in my name can turn around and speak evil of me. Whoever isn’t against us is for us’ ” (Mark 9:38-40 God’s Word Translation©).

On another occasion Jesus said, “I also have other sheep that are not from this pen. I must lead them. They, too, will respond to my voice. So they will be one flock with one shepherd” (John 10:16 God’s Word Translation©).

Add-ons may be useful for a computer browser, but not “to walk in love” (Ephesians 5:2).