WHO IS THE LEAST OF THESE MY BRETHREN?

"As you have done it to these the least of these MY brethren, you have done unto me."
Do you realize the importance and implication of this statement of Jesus? All of us, all of humanity, are the brethren of Jesus. There are no throw backs. Now let's take stock.

Look at the down and out. The drug addicts. The alcoholics, the mentally ill, the chronic abusers of any and everything. The street people , the homeless, the rejected by society and all too often that means the ones who fought valiantly in Viet Nam, and other wars and conflicts.

What about fatherless mothers, innocent children of conceptions which should never have taken place? Where is Jesus in all of these peoples lives?

Well the GOOD NEWS IS, that ALL of these individuals were chosen and adopted into the very life of God before the foundation of the world. ( Eph. 1:3-14.) They are not cast offs as our world would look at them ..they are the children of God. And He loves all of them just as He loves you.

Now frankly some of them stink. Some of them are not fun to be around. Some of them I would not want to chill with. But.................They are God's children and HE loves them.

John 3:16-17, is ALL inclusive as are so many other verses. I John 2:2. And others.

So what do we all self righteous persons make of all of this. Well , for one, we need to drop our self-righteousness, accept all humans as brothers in the Lord, the children of God, never make comparisons, never denigrate or disparage those in all of these less fortunate situations as we and love everyone. Not discriminating.

We are ALL brothers and sisters in The Lord. No room for comparisons. No room for disrespect. Only room for acceptance and love. Can you deal with it? Then do.

EXPERIENCING HUMANITY FOREVER...LIKE JESUS

The HUMANITY OF JESUS CHRIST. What a beautiful truth this is that Jesus is still a human with a body and humanness. But.................I think we need to be careful to clarify just what this means as to His being still fully human and yet fully God with all of the fullness of the Godhead dwelling bodily in Jesus presently.

While it clear that Jesus is a man...still, and a man who still possesses His humanity we need to be careful to say what this is NOT saying. Jesus lived in the fallenness of Adam through Mary. He had human nature from her and the fall. He had and experienced all the darkened mind and fallenness in Adam that we all do but without sin.

Now with Him being resurrected and ascended to the Father's right hand His humanness is a bit different than what he experienced here on this earth. He is a man to be sure. Paul calls him , " ...the man Jesus Christ". Jesus is fully human even now. However, He does not experience the same human passions He experienced here on this earth under the sway of the devil and the nature derived from the first Adam. He is Human. He is not anything which would have been operative here on this earth under the nature of the fall. Therefore, he does not , nor would he lust, desire to sin, nor does he have any inherent desire to sin in any way we humans do here on this earth in this earthly "tent". Jesus is not going to get drunk, curse, sware, lust, overeat, or anything else we humans are known to do in "OUR" HUMANITY.

Jesus UNDERSTANDS our frailty and weaknesses as humans. He has been here. As God in the humanness of Jesus in the heavenlies Jesus has already experienced and tasted all of the evil things human nature had to throw at Him, tempted in all areas, yet without sin. He still is without sin, but He is still Human. And always will be. forever pure and Holy and God. And Saviour.

Jesus example is that as He is we shall be. We shall be human forever. Able to experience the things in God's love that humans experience. We will keep our individual identity forever. We will be able to do things that humans do. Eat, drink, play, walk, have fun and experience pleasure. ( Ps. 16:11). But we will not be some "Casper the friencly Ghost" in some invisible spirit body, but we will be us. Real. Human. And Glorified. What God has in mind for us to do as we continue living in our humanity, will be revealed in due time by our loving Father.

waiting to have real fun,

blessings,

Pastor Paul.

www.newlifewcg.org

TELL THEM YOU 'LOVE' THEM !!!

Dreams, as you know, can be seem quite real as one sleeps. A dream I recently had caused me to write this blog as I hope it inspires all of us to do what we should. In the dream one of my very dear acquaintances unexpectedly died at the age of 50. Having shown NO signs of illness prior his wife came to me to tell me he had had a seisure the day before. I asked her how he was. To my disbelief and shock, she said he was DEAD. I could not believe it at first. He seemed so vibrant and full of life. He loved fishing, making lures, baseball, college football, writing, and loving his family. I loved him as a dear friend and mentor.

Now I am not writing here to describe how he was now immediately in heaven with the Lord (which he would have been !), I am writing to all of us to simply say that we never know from one day to the next if we will see another person alive. That includes friends, husbands, wives, children, relatives, or anyone else in our bank of acquaintances we love. NOW, my point here is this. "When did you last, or if ever, tell these persons in your life that you LOVED them. Really LOVED them?" Maybe you never have or at least it has been a long time since you did.

Some men think it too 'mushy' or unmanly to tell another man , friend, or relative that he LOVES the person. Jesus shows us that it is HIGHLY appropriate for a man to express his love for his friends who are men. Jesus even asks Peter, " Do you LOVE me?". Are we any less or more that what Jesus exemplifies?

I tell you today, tell those you love that, " You love them!" Learn how to say, "I love you!" And mean it!!! Verbalize it. Say it. Tell them. TODAY !!!

Tomorrow may be too late.

blessings,

I love you ,

Paul

WHY MANY CHRISTIANS 'HATE' GRACE

Why some Christians 'Hate' Grace. If that doesn't sound like a contradiction of mammoth proportions then I don't know what it is! Why would I or anyone say that? Grace is what we are saved by. Grace is an extension of God's Love. Grace is God's Gift to humanity which allows salvation in Jesus and life with God forever. How could anyone 'hate' Grace?

A brief review is in order here. Jn.3:16-17, "God loved the world of humanity so much that He gave His only begotten son for the salvation of the human race." ( My personal loose translation.) All of humanity was adopted into the life of God through Jesus before the foundation or creation of the world. (Eph.1:3-14). In Adam all humanity Died, but in Jesus the same all humanity are made alive with Jesus. I Corinthians 15:22. AND, are made alive in Jesus through His resurrection and seated at the right hand of the Father WITH Jesus. Eph.2:6.

Now. With that little review there do you begin to see why some, if not many Christians, 'hate' Grace? Well, let me tell you. This Grace which saves all of us is a gift from God not based on anything we humans can do to warrant or earn it. It is a gift. Eph.2:8. And, it is a gift for ALL. The price was RIGHT. The payment has been made for the whole world. I Jn.2:2. Sin is FORGIVEN. So, Grace applies to all people of all time of all places in all circumstances...simply, ALL. IF Grace applies to all, then it applies to ALL sinners, ALL sin, ALL evil done by humans, ALL disobedience, ALL broken laws of God, ALL anything that opposes God due to our hostile hearts against the God of Love. ALL !!!!!!!!!

The Christians of whom I wrote above in their smug self-righteousness of spiritual satisfaction within themselves due to their EFFORTS to be 'good' Christians simply can not believe that all those other lawbreakers, evil people, non church going heathen could possibly be covered by God's Grace and if one were to tell them that all these perverts were just as covered as they are then their immediate response would be," If that is Grace and it covers THEM, then I 'hate' Grace. Their response would likely be, " Then how in the "hell" would evil men ever be put into our favorite place of damnation and torture, HELL FIRE ? Something has to be done with all those 'bad' people!" Oh, I can hear them now.

Above, I did not finish the quote of John 3:17. "For God did not send His Son into the world to CONDEMN the world, but to save it."
Those who want Grace for themselves and not for the Most Sinful of the world miss completely the whole purpose of Grace in the first place. For in reality, We ALL are the MOST SINFUL PEOPLE IN THE WORLD. If you haven't lately, go into your house and take a long look at the person in the mirror and realize that the love of God and His Grace covers all the people in the world who look like your kind...the human kind. Humanity. God's children. The ones Jesus died for and has made all the provisions for them to live with the Father forever. I ask you the same question Jesus asked Martha in John 11, " Do you believe?" She did !!! Do you?

Paul Kurts
www.newlifewcg.org
www.pastorpaulsinteractiveblog.blogspot.com
Madison, Alabama
256-468-8081

God Bless,

Pastor Paul

WALKING IN THE FLESH AND IN THE SPIRIT

I am doing something a little different this time for my blog. Rather than write a more lengthy blog on this subject, I am offering to send to any of you who request by E:mail these two articles on WALKING IN THE FLESH AND WALKING IN THE SPIRIT. An explanation of Romans 7 and 8 in part.

This is a very freeing and encouraging two papers as you will see. All I ask is that you request them from my E:mail address at:

Paul.Kurts@wcg.org

I look forward to hearing from all of you and I shall reply with the papers attached as soon as I receive your request.

blessings,

Paul
www.newlifewcg.org
Madison, ALabama

MORE ON 'HELL'---TILL YOU GET IT !!!

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Hell is a subject I write on often. Why? Because it seems that this one stumbling block is the biggest "love affair" most Christians have going concerning the afterlife of Damned souls. Well, Damn it, I am going to continue to write until we get the point that the "hell" most have been 'conditioned' to believe in simply DOES NOT EXIST. Woah, don't quit reading just yet. Let me explain.

Any student of Greek Mythology, a study of where all things came from and from what god they descended, will readily recognize the similarities of Ancient Greek fables and modern Western Theological Christian thinking. Remember, there is a Devil who wants all of us to believe a lie. The lie. Any lie. A lie. Lie.

So, let me just ask you a question? Have you EVER looked into the subject of Hell on your own? Where did you come to believe in a punishing and torturing hell? Mommy or Daddy or old country preacher? Just where?

Well, let'S look at a few things for you to look into. What about the NAME, Hell? Where did it originate? OK, let's answer.

The ancient Greeks had a belief in an underworld of the individuals who lived evil lives here on earth and 'inherited' upon death called the Netherworld. The world of the dead. From which there was NO escape. It was ruled over by --get this--by a WOMAN GOD-- and her name was hel. Not hell. Just hel.

Well, enter Plato the Great Greek thinker and philosopher. Brilliant man. He takes the concept in 400 years B.C. and embellishes it and calls the afterlife here in this torture and suffering, HELL. He gives it departments, purgatory, etc. Cool, huh?

So far so good. Well, in the 5th Century A.D., St. Augustine a devout student of Plato reasoned that if we insert this teaching of an ever burning hell into the churches afterlife doctrine then it would keep the good saints of the church in even better line and so he did. ( This had never been taught in the church for the first four hundred years of the church not by ANY of the early church leaders including JESUS, John, Polycarp, Irenaeus, Athenasius, and others.)

Now, parables such as Lazarus and the Rich Man had to be reinterpreted in light of this new spurious teaching to make hell fit with the new interpretation of suffering and torture.

Get the picture? It Ain't so.

That is why we write these blogs. You can know the truth. I DON'T WANT ANY MONEY.

But you need the truth to set you free and appreciate what Jesus has done to you and for you and through you.

Lots more to say.

Paul

www.newelifewcg.org
www.pastorpaulsinteractiveblog.blog.blogspot.com

Happy studying.

Paul

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TERMS UNFAMILIAR BEGOMING FAMILIAR

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Since Religion, Theology, Philosophy and Cosmology can not be totally disconnected here are some helpful descriptions of various words one will encounter in the overall study of Philosophy.

Philosophy throws around such big sounding words that many, if not most, people become disinterested immediately when hearing these. However, when we look at the basic words and concepts of philosophy in their simplicity they are disarmed as to their ostentation. Here is a brief summary of words one will often hear when philosophy is discussed. Knowing these will allow us to better understand what is being studied.

THEOGONY-- The study of the origin of the ancient Greek Gods ( Roman Gods, etc.

THEOLOGY--The study of God as to beginnings, nature, existence of, etc.

PHILOSOPHY--"Gk" Lover of wisdom". Study of how one should live; Ethics.

ONTOLOGY-- The study of reality and nature of being or existence.

METAPHYSICS--"Gk" After or above physical reality." Study above physical reality; Study of the essential nature.

EPISTEMOLOGY-Genuine knowledge relating to truth and belief.

LOGIC--Correct principles of reasoning.

TRUTH--A combination of belief and proof.

COSMOS--The Universe

COSMOLOGY--The study of the existence of the universe and all in it in relationship.

While there are other terms that relate to the study of these disciplines mentioned here these are a basic starting point for any to begin a study of Who, What, When, Why, and How!

All of these areas can be accessed on the Internet for further explanations. So, happy searching friends and have fun. I did.

Paul

www.newlifewcg.org
Madison, ALabama
256-468-8081

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