This week, in an effort to not be offense, we tackle the minefield of sexism, feminism, and where faith falls in to this situation. Discrimination of any form is ungodly and not in keeping with the person of God and the gospel. We must present truth but we must present truth with love. Furthermore, if we are seeking unity, we must seek unity with Jesus Christ as the basis for our equality.
I look around me and see some of the most incredible people in my life with the same type of fatigue. These are people from all walks of life that inspire me to some degree or I am incredibly grateful for their presence. To be honest, it is weird to see your heroes fatigued and it is weirder to see people look to you for strength when you don’t even feel you have it together. But I think this is what it means to be the body of Christ, supporting one another in the love of God when we need it the most and to borrow strength from one another. Everyone, it seems, needs borrowed strength from one another regardless of position, place, or power.
In seeking to understand a concept, it is often helpful to look at what that particular concept is not. Culturally, it goes without saying that there are numerous definitions and expectations of what love is and what love looks like. Everyone’s various expectations of what love looks like pressures each person to reflect different core values. In seeking to allow the Holy Spirit to express the love of God as a fruit of our transformation, love must be expressed through all that we do. Furthermore, the opposite of this same love should be ignored and avoided at all cost. From a biblical perspective, most would assume that the opposite of love of hate. Yet, hate has passion in common with love. Furthermore, in other areas, believers are encouraged to hate what is evil, which is a command from God, who is love. Both exhibit passion. The passion is, albeit misdirected, but present none of the less. Instead, the opposite of love is fear. Biblical authors use the greek word “phobos” to depict the complete incompatibility of love. Fear is a paralytic that causes us to cower, hide, and freeze. Love, however, drives a person to intense action as the outpouring of an undeserved love that we have already received.
At the outset of Paul’s discussion of the Fruit of the Spirit, the foundation is laid down mentioning love as the first fruit. While all the elements listed in Galatians are all equal parts of the Fruit of the Spirit, Paul significantly lists “love” as the first fruit and expression of a spirit filled life. For the people of Paul’s time, love could be viewed from a few different perspectives. One aspect is the idea of brotherly or familial love, personified by the word “phileo” (which we get the word Philadelphia from as the city of brotherly love). Another popular perspective depicted, specifically within Greek literature, described love as primary a romantic and sexual interaction, employing the word “eros.” Neither of these words did the description of love justice. Love of this nature could only be described as “agape” which implies a deeper connection that either “eros” or “phileo” would be able to offer. This love, rather than being between two people, originates in the personhood of God and expresses a deep connection. It is not friendly or familial but rather from a direct and profound connection from the God’s heart to ours.
Stan Lee, beloved creator of Marvel Comics, has been in the new recently as many people complete for his inheritance as one of the most convoluted stories unfolds. We look at people’s heart for money and power as a means of self validation and why tithing is so important. Even more, we look at the recent story that Christians do not know what The Great Commission is. Making disciples, much like raising children, is a generational task of not only getting a person to a point but also getting them to thrive and produce others. Disciples make disciples who make disciples.
The Holy Spirit is the hand and mechanism of life’s creation, sent by Jesus Christ, from the beginning of time. The work of the Holy Spirit is transformative in the lives of believers. When a person believes in Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit begins its work in a person. As the mechanism of true, genuine life, the Holy Spirit knows which things are created with the DNA of God and which are the representation of the fleshly desires. When the Spirit renews a person fully, the sign of the Spirit in a person is the fruit that is produced. For the Christian, Galatians 5:22-25 serves as the metric and sign for what occurs in every believer when the Holy Spirit works in the heart.
As James concludes his letter, he discusses the need for one another as put our faith on full display. Throughout the course of James’ letter, he has constantly exhorted his readers to take the faith they held in their soul and express it outward. Yet, as a member of the body of Christ, we are not to go through our spiritual path on our own. We are guided by the mentors and leaders who have gone before us to show us how to walk in our faith. We have our peers and friends to hold one another up and challenge one another along the way. Furthermore, we guide those who come after us. For the Christian to successfully be connected to his or her Christian community, there is a minimum of three generations of interaction, each one providing different opportunities and challenges for the believer.
In Luke 5:12-26, Jesus engages in two miracles of healing. First, there was the leper, who, under normal circumstances, would be unable to even approach Jesus. They were unclean and regarded as a leper largely because of their sins. Jesus called this same person to Himself in order to heal the sickness and disease. Moreso, Jesus ordered the leper to present himself to the priests to verify the miracle and the forgiveness. Immediately after this story, Luke continues with the well known story of the paralyzed man, lowered from the roof. Knowing that he was being watched by the Pharisees and the scribes of the law, Jesus took the opportunity to put the fullness of his presence and personhood to the crowd.
Danny has a new business adventure and it will blow your mind! Oyster shucking is a real phenomenon that is way more prevalent than any person could every think. Meanwhile, Caleb doesn’t get on board the oyster shucking train. And rightfully so. But don’t worry, we are fully committed to this podcast and providing you with the quality content we always do. Nay. We are committed to improving and providing you with good content.
Next we look at the events in the world today and the recent shooting that occurred at Youtube. Exploring the motives of the person, we look at human nature and the superiority complex and the victimhood complex. Neither of these are particularly helpful for humanity.
With Easter, Christ has reigned victorious over all creation and we are forever indebted to Him. We can value humanity as made in the image of God and know that everyone has value in the eyes of God.
The angel sat on the stone and informed the women of Jesus’ resurrection. The women ran and told the disciples who investigated and reported that Jesus no longer resided in the grave. The word spread throughout the country for all to hear; Jesus rose from the grave. He had returned. Over the next few days he appeared to His disciples and various other persons and they experienced the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Where once the King died, now He reigns victorious over heaven and earth, over death and life.
