This morning, a friend sent me a text with a picture of the bible. It was somewhere in Matthew and I decided to do something I have never done on Christmas before. Read about the birth of Jesus.
For those of you who read my posts, you probably know by now I'm not such a great writer and you probably know by now, I'm not a preacher and don't know the bible so well. In fact, real preachers tend to despise me because I am pretty open about my short comings and most churches have a reputation they need to uphold. In short, I am often rejected by churches. I tend to sit somewhere in the middle where the world tends to think I am a "Goodie 2 Shoes" and feels apologetic in my presence. And the church goers tend to think I'm a rebellious bad boy who needs to repent, and quickly at that. There is truth to both sides. I say, show grace to those who think you are a "Goodie 2 Shoes" and truth to those who think you need to repent, while all along, think they are better than you.
So my blog posts are really about worship and sharing my love of God with others. Matthew 1:1-17 reads
1 This is the genealogy of Jesus the Messiah the son of David, the son of Abraham:
2 Abraham was the father of Isaac, Isaac the father of Jacob, Jacob the father of Judah and his brothers,
3 Judah the father of Perez and Zerah, whose mother was Tamar, Perez the father of Hezron, Hezron the father of Ram,
4 Ram the father of Amminadab, Amminadab the father of Nahshon, Nahshon the father of Salmon,
5 Salmon the father of Boaz, whose mother was Rahab, Boaz the father of Obed, whose mother was Ruth, Obed the father of Jesse,
6 and Jesse the father of King David. David was the father of Solomon, whose mother had been Uriah’s wife,
7 Solomon the father of Rehoboam, Rehoboam the father of Abijah, Abijah the father of Asa,
8 Asa the father of Jehoshaphat, Jehoshaphat the father of Jehoram, Jehoram the father of Uzziah,
9 Uzziah the father of Jotham, Jotham the father of Ahaz, Ahaz the father of Hezekiah,
10 Hezekiah the father of Manasseh, Manasseh the father of Amon, Amon the father of Josiah,
11 and Josiah the father of Jeconiah and his brothers at the time of the exile to Babylon.
12 After the exile to Babylon: Jeconiah was the father of Shealtiel, Shealtiel the father of Zerubbabel,
13 Zerubbabel the father of Abihud, Abihud the father of Eliakim, Eliakim the father of Azor,
14 Azor the father of Zadok, Zadok the father of Akim, Akim the father of Elihud,
15 Elihud the father of Eleazar, Eleazar the father of Matthan, Matthan the father of Jacob,
16 and Jacob the father of Joseph, the husband of Mary, and Mary was the mother of Jesus who is called the Messiah.
17 Thus there were fourteen generations in all from Abraham to David, fourteen from David to the exile to Babylon, and fourteen from the exile to the Messiah.
Why is it important to know the geneology of Jesus? Well, because if you know Jesus came from a long line of adulterers and murderers and slanderers and coveters, then you will know that out of generations of sinners, from such humble beginnings comes the greatest King who ever lived. It isn't just that Jesus came from generations of sinners. It is that, this was the only way Jesus could come. In your life, perhaps you have lived seasons of sinfulness. Perhaps, you believe that there is no way Jesus could ever live in you because of who you are are perhaps what you have done. But I am here to tell you, that is the only way he could be birthed in you. Until you realize your own depravity, you will never have a reason to rely fully on the grace of God.
Matthew 2:16 reads "When Herod realized that he had been outwitted by the Magi, he was furious, and he gave orders to kill all the boys in Bethlehem and its vicinity who were two years old and under, in accordance with the time he had learned from the Magi."
When Jesus comes, if we reject Him or turn from Him, it is then that great depravity overtakes us. Great destruction comes. But, more surprisingly, when we accept Him, this Great Physician performs a miraculous pruning. Matthew 3:10 reads "The ax is already at the root of the trees, and every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire."
Our new life feels like a tremendous destruction of everything we have ever known. But God only cuts at the roots. He does not destroy. He leaves the roots so that something new may grow. The baby is not thrown out with the bath water.
In Matthew 3:11, John the Baptist continues, “I baptize you with water for repentance. But after me comes one who is more powerful than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire."
While water purifies, fire consumes. And from the ashes, new life begins. And just like a child struggles for 18 years, to become an adult, our new faith will face many challenges. As such, Matthew 4:1-11 explains these challenges as Jesus is immediately taken into the wilderness following His baptism. The three temptations explain how the devil will twist our God given desires to serve his purpose. They also demonstrate exactly what James 4:7 means by "Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you."
Again, Jesus shows us that only from the darkness can his light emerge. Only those who have been tempted can preach. Only those who have fallen or struggled in particular areas can comfort and help save those who have fallen in the same areas, without coming from a place of judgement or condemnation. Only they can truly understand that the kingdom of heaven is closer than we think.
16 "the people living in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of the shadow of death a light has dawned."
17 From that time on Jesus began to preach, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.”
Truly, the kingdom of heaven lives here on Earth. Truly, Jesus may live in us. And Jesus has told us how that looks. Matthew 5:3-10 reads,
3 Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
4 Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.
5 Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.
6 Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.
7 Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy.
8 Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.
9 Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.
10 Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Jesus goes on to blow us away with how "anger in our heart" is likened to murder and "lust" is likened to adultery. He blows us away with guidance on how to have compassion. What do we do when our loved ones sin greatly? He reminds us three times to humble ourselves.
Matthew 5:34-37 reminds us how simple we are: "34 But I tell you, do not swear an oath at all: either by heaven, for it is God’s throne; 35 or by the earth, for it is his footstool; or by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the Great King. 36 And do not swear by your head, for you cannot make even one hair white or black. 37 All you need to say is simply ‘Yes’ or ‘No’; anything beyond this comes from the evil one."
We cannot promise to never commit murder or never commit adultery. I would never do that you might think. But it would only be your sinful pride that would suggest such a thing. Truly, it is only by the grace of God that you might be protected by Him in such a way that temptation from the devil would never overcome you, in such a way that you might perform such sins. All we can ask is that He continue to shower us with such grace so that we may be able to obey Him. With this compassion, we might extend grace towards those who sin.
Matthew 6:9-13 reads:
9 This, then, is how you should pray: ‘Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name,
10 your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.
11 Give us today our daily bread.
12 And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.
13 And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.
Again, we are told only to ask for our daily bread. I know in my life, as soon as I promise to never do something again, sinful pride boils up within me and the devil overtakes me. It is only through humility that I can ask God for my daily bread so that I might not sin. There is nothing done by another human being that I might be able to avoid without God's grace. Even the sins to which my heart is most disgusted by. I can only thank God for blessing me with such disgust and protecting me from such sins.
Proverbs 30:8-9 expands on how God blesses us with our daily bread and how this blessing is the only means by which we may avoid our sinful nature.
8 Keep falsehood and lies far from me; give me neither poverty nor riches, but give me only my daily bread.
9 Otherwise, I may have too much and disown you and say, ‘Who is the Lord?’ Or I may become poor and steal, and so dishonor the name of my God.
The third lesson in humility comes from Matthew 7:3-5 and again emphasizes that we can only lift up others and comfort others when we realize the short comings that we see in them are small compared to the short comings we have within ourselves. This is the only vantage point from which we may offer grace. Every other place of correction bestows condemnation, shame and guilt.
3 “Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? 4 How can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? 5 You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye."
From humble beginnings, to rebirth to an inheritance of the kingdom of heaven. A glorious story.
...
<SI> Scott Izu, PhD
Copyright December 2015
Friday, December 25, 2015
Sunday, December 6, 2015
The Story of a Man
As man begins his journey, he is built with a desire to explore his world. In his explorations, he gains knowledge and his eyes are opened to ways of the world around him. However, this knowledge is not necessarily equivalent to truth. In fact, to the extent that the knowledge contains false premises, the knowledge will actually lead to captivity.
Take for instance, the saying that, "curiosity killed the cat." This is another way of saying that curiosity leads to knowledge which leads to captivity. This is written in our DNA and begins with the story of Adam and Eve.
Genesis 3 reads: “For God knows that when you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” and "Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they realized they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves."
So the story of a man begins with this fall. But what might this fall look like in today's times?
Well, for example, sex might be seen as eating the forbidden fruit. In the sexual sense, the female body might be represented by the tree of life, while the male body represented by the serpent. Through taking this forbidden fruit, a couple might conceive children.
Through parenting, a couple would inevitably gain knowledge of the world. In fact, many of life's lessons simply cannot be learned without having children. However, this knowledge also comes with the curse of being captivity: to provide, protect and pave the way for the such young ones.
In our world, there are many forbidden fruits. And for many people, they simply do not know they are partaking of the forbidden fruit.
Proverbs 14:12 reads along the lines of "There is a way that appears to be right, but in the end it leads to death." with Proverbs 16:25 reiterating.
So the story of a man always includes this initial fall. This death.
When, we experience this pain first hand, we naturally search for things of this world to soothe our pain. Something to bring back control into our corner. Something which will comfort us in our pain. And what we grasp is man made.
So the story of a man also includes him placing his hope in man made comforters known as idols. Unfortunately, these idols come with a curse.
Deuteronomy 4:27-18 reads a curse for those who pursue their idols, "The Lord will scatter you among the peoples, and only a few of you will survive among the nations to which the Lord will drive you. 28 There you will worship man-made gods of wood and stone, which cannot see or hear or eat or smell."
Psalm 115:4-8 reads: "But their idols are silver and gold, made by human hands. 5 They have mouths, but cannot speak, eyes, but cannot see. 6 They have ears, but cannot hear, noses, but cannot smell. 7 They have hands, but cannot feel, feet, but cannot walk, nor can they utter a sound with their throats. 8 Those who make them will be like them, and so will all who trust in them." and Psalm 135:15-18 reiterates the same concept.
What are examples of such idols?
Well, I have heard that marriage can be one of the loneliest places. Feeling disconnected could be a sign that you adore your ideals of a romantic partner, perfect husband or loving father more than you love your spouse. Not letting go of these idols will surely lead to disconnection and loneliness.
I have also heard people say that a person has never felt so alone as being in the middle of a crowded room. Putting on a false mask so that no one knows you are imperfect, vulnerable and dependent, ie human, can also come from refusing to let go personal ideals. Expectations and disappointments in others can couple with this false bravado to kill two birds with one stone. That is, one can simultaneously kill both sides of the intimacy coin. The definition of intimacy being, "To know and be known." The result. Disconnection and loneliness.
After a man falls, he tries to save himself. The result. Complete and utter disaster. He is a like a temple, that is torn down, then built up, then torn down, then built up. Various seasons of life will represent the inner war. A war over his body, the temple.
2 Chronicles 7:19-22 reads, "19 But if you turn away and forsake the decrees and commands I have given you and go off to serve other gods and worship them, 20 then I will uproot Israel from my land, which I have given them, and will reject this temple I have consecrated for my Name. I will make it a byword and an object of ridicule among all peoples. 21 This temple will become a heap of rubble. All who pass by will be appalled and say, ‘Why has the Lord done such a thing to this land and to this temple?’ 22 People will answer, ‘Because they have forsaken the Lord, the God of their ancestors, who brought them out of Egypt, and have embraced other gods, worshiping and serving them—that is why he brought all this disaster on them.’"
Rebuilding a temple may seem like a seven year imprisonment or a life long journey. However, once a man makes a decision to change, the light at the end of the tunnel is not far off. The decision only needs to be made once while a life time is needed to manage that decision.
2 Chronicles 19:35-36 reads, "So the service of the temple of the Lord was reestablished. 36 Hezekiah and all the people rejoiced at what God had brought about for his people, because it was done so quickly."
So what does the rebuilding of a man actually look like? What if false hope has been placed in many different idols, as is often the case?
Daniel 2:31-45 reads, "31 “Your Majesty looked, and there before you stood a large statue—an enormous, dazzling statue, awesome in appearance. 32 The head of the statue was made of pure gold, its chest and arms of silver, its belly and thighs of bronze, 33 its legs of iron, its feet partly of iron and partly of baked clay. 34 While you were watching, a rock was cut out, but not by human hands. It struck the statue on its feet of iron and clay and smashed them. 35 Then the iron, the clay, the bronze, the silver and the gold were all broken to pieces and became like chaff on a threshing floor in the summer. The wind swept them away without leaving a trace. But the rock that struck the statue became a huge mountain and filled the whole earth. 36 “This was the dream, and now we will interpret it to the king. 37 Your Majesty, you are the king of kings. The God of heaven has given you dominion and power and might and glory; 38 in your hands he has placed all mankind and the beasts of the field and the birds in the sky. Wherever they live, he has made you ruler over them all. You are that head of gold. 39 “After you, another kingdom will arise, inferior to yours. Next, a third kingdom, one of bronze, will rule over the whole earth. 40 Finally, there will be a fourth kingdom, strong as iron—for iron breaks and smashes everything—and as iron breaks things to pieces, so it will crush and break all the others. 41 Just as you saw that the feet and toes were partly of baked clay and partly of iron, so this will be a divided kingdom; yet it will have some of the strength of iron in it, even as you saw iron mixed with clay. 42 As the toes were partly iron and partly clay, so this kingdom will be partly strong and partly brittle. 43 And just as you saw the iron mixed with baked clay, so the people will be a mixture and will not remain united, any more than iron mixes with clay. 44 “In the time of those kings, the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that will never be destroyed, nor will it be left to another people. It will crush all those kingdoms and bring them to an end, but it will itself endure forever. 45 This is the meaning of the vision of the rock cut out of a mountain, but not by human hands—a rock that broke the iron, the bronze, the clay, the silver and the gold to pieces. “The great God has shown the king what will take place in the future. The dream is true and its interpretation is trustworthy.”"
And this is how it will be with you. You will have golden idols, with super strong holds on your life. You will have iron idols and clay idols. When you make the decision to attack these idols, the spirit of God will reunite with you, live within you. When you are touched, a war within you will begin. But over time, each stronghold will be crushed. It will be like the very foundation of you has been altered. Something so powerful that you cannot deny. Tired and weary at times, feeling your struggle against this battle, you will want to quit. You will have seasons where you will run back to your idols of comfort and control. But fear not, for "he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus." as Philippians 1:6 reads.
At times you will be frustrated because you will not be able to defeat your strongholds. You will give up because you do not understand the reason for your struggle. Our God is a relational God. He does not give you your struggle so you can overcome it. He gives you your struggle so that you will seek Him.
When you seek Him, he will bless you with truth. Knowledge is easily gained while truth is difficult to find and only comes from the Father. John 8:32 describes, "32 Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free."
So the story of a man ends with redemption. Only when redeemed and free, can a man finally obey.
John 14:15-23 reads, "15 “If you love me, keep my commands. 16 And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever— 17 the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be[a] in you. 18 I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you. 19 Before long, the world will not see me anymore, but you will see me. Because I live, you also will live. 20 On that day you will realize that I am in my Father, and you are in me, and I am in you. 21 Whoever has my commands and keeps them is the one who loves me. The one who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love them and show myself to them.” 22 Then Judas (not Judas Iscariot) said, “But, Lord, why do you intend to show yourself to us and not to the world?” 23 Jesus replied, “Anyone who loves me will obey my teaching. My Father will love them, and we will come to them and make our home with them. 24 Anyone who does not love me will not obey my teaching. These words you hear are not my own; they belong to the Father who sent me.”"
So how do knowledge, captivity and truth relate to one another?
Knowledge is like education. It is like the law. It is empty and misguiding. If we went over the theory of walking and how hard it is, we might convince a baby that walking is simply impossible. If we went over the theory of business and explained that 90% of businesses fail, we might convince people to ignore their God given destinies. However, behind each failure is a lesson. Behind each failure is growth. If you go into business to succeed, you might as well not pursue your dreams. If you go into business, to grow, you will be successful. The truth, the spirit, set us free from the law. As you battle, you do not battle to win, you battle to grow. You have already won, you just don't know it. Now, it is about growing into that victory.
...
<SI> Scott Izu, PhD
Copyright December 2015
Take for instance, the saying that, "curiosity killed the cat." This is another way of saying that curiosity leads to knowledge which leads to captivity. This is written in our DNA and begins with the story of Adam and Eve.
Genesis 3 reads: “For God knows that when you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” and "Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they realized they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves."
So the story of a man begins with this fall. But what might this fall look like in today's times?
Well, for example, sex might be seen as eating the forbidden fruit. In the sexual sense, the female body might be represented by the tree of life, while the male body represented by the serpent. Through taking this forbidden fruit, a couple might conceive children.
Through parenting, a couple would inevitably gain knowledge of the world. In fact, many of life's lessons simply cannot be learned without having children. However, this knowledge also comes with the curse of being captivity: to provide, protect and pave the way for the such young ones.
In our world, there are many forbidden fruits. And for many people, they simply do not know they are partaking of the forbidden fruit.
Proverbs 14:12 reads along the lines of "There is a way that appears to be right, but in the end it leads to death." with Proverbs 16:25 reiterating.
So the story of a man always includes this initial fall. This death.
When, we experience this pain first hand, we naturally search for things of this world to soothe our pain. Something to bring back control into our corner. Something which will comfort us in our pain. And what we grasp is man made.
So the story of a man also includes him placing his hope in man made comforters known as idols. Unfortunately, these idols come with a curse.
Deuteronomy 4:27-18 reads a curse for those who pursue their idols, "The Lord will scatter you among the peoples, and only a few of you will survive among the nations to which the Lord will drive you. 28 There you will worship man-made gods of wood and stone, which cannot see or hear or eat or smell."
Psalm 115:4-8 reads: "But their idols are silver and gold, made by human hands. 5 They have mouths, but cannot speak, eyes, but cannot see. 6 They have ears, but cannot hear, noses, but cannot smell. 7 They have hands, but cannot feel, feet, but cannot walk, nor can they utter a sound with their throats. 8 Those who make them will be like them, and so will all who trust in them." and Psalm 135:15-18 reiterates the same concept.
What are examples of such idols?
Well, I have heard that marriage can be one of the loneliest places. Feeling disconnected could be a sign that you adore your ideals of a romantic partner, perfect husband or loving father more than you love your spouse. Not letting go of these idols will surely lead to disconnection and loneliness.
I have also heard people say that a person has never felt so alone as being in the middle of a crowded room. Putting on a false mask so that no one knows you are imperfect, vulnerable and dependent, ie human, can also come from refusing to let go personal ideals. Expectations and disappointments in others can couple with this false bravado to kill two birds with one stone. That is, one can simultaneously kill both sides of the intimacy coin. The definition of intimacy being, "To know and be known." The result. Disconnection and loneliness.
After a man falls, he tries to save himself. The result. Complete and utter disaster. He is a like a temple, that is torn down, then built up, then torn down, then built up. Various seasons of life will represent the inner war. A war over his body, the temple.
2 Chronicles 7:19-22 reads, "19 But if you turn away and forsake the decrees and commands I have given you and go off to serve other gods and worship them, 20 then I will uproot Israel from my land, which I have given them, and will reject this temple I have consecrated for my Name. I will make it a byword and an object of ridicule among all peoples. 21 This temple will become a heap of rubble. All who pass by will be appalled and say, ‘Why has the Lord done such a thing to this land and to this temple?’ 22 People will answer, ‘Because they have forsaken the Lord, the God of their ancestors, who brought them out of Egypt, and have embraced other gods, worshiping and serving them—that is why he brought all this disaster on them.’"
Rebuilding a temple may seem like a seven year imprisonment or a life long journey. However, once a man makes a decision to change, the light at the end of the tunnel is not far off. The decision only needs to be made once while a life time is needed to manage that decision.
2 Chronicles 19:35-36 reads, "So the service of the temple of the Lord was reestablished. 36 Hezekiah and all the people rejoiced at what God had brought about for his people, because it was done so quickly."
So what does the rebuilding of a man actually look like? What if false hope has been placed in many different idols, as is often the case?
Daniel 2:31-45 reads, "31 “Your Majesty looked, and there before you stood a large statue—an enormous, dazzling statue, awesome in appearance. 32 The head of the statue was made of pure gold, its chest and arms of silver, its belly and thighs of bronze, 33 its legs of iron, its feet partly of iron and partly of baked clay. 34 While you were watching, a rock was cut out, but not by human hands. It struck the statue on its feet of iron and clay and smashed them. 35 Then the iron, the clay, the bronze, the silver and the gold were all broken to pieces and became like chaff on a threshing floor in the summer. The wind swept them away without leaving a trace. But the rock that struck the statue became a huge mountain and filled the whole earth. 36 “This was the dream, and now we will interpret it to the king. 37 Your Majesty, you are the king of kings. The God of heaven has given you dominion and power and might and glory; 38 in your hands he has placed all mankind and the beasts of the field and the birds in the sky. Wherever they live, he has made you ruler over them all. You are that head of gold. 39 “After you, another kingdom will arise, inferior to yours. Next, a third kingdom, one of bronze, will rule over the whole earth. 40 Finally, there will be a fourth kingdom, strong as iron—for iron breaks and smashes everything—and as iron breaks things to pieces, so it will crush and break all the others. 41 Just as you saw that the feet and toes were partly of baked clay and partly of iron, so this will be a divided kingdom; yet it will have some of the strength of iron in it, even as you saw iron mixed with clay. 42 As the toes were partly iron and partly clay, so this kingdom will be partly strong and partly brittle. 43 And just as you saw the iron mixed with baked clay, so the people will be a mixture and will not remain united, any more than iron mixes with clay. 44 “In the time of those kings, the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that will never be destroyed, nor will it be left to another people. It will crush all those kingdoms and bring them to an end, but it will itself endure forever. 45 This is the meaning of the vision of the rock cut out of a mountain, but not by human hands—a rock that broke the iron, the bronze, the clay, the silver and the gold to pieces. “The great God has shown the king what will take place in the future. The dream is true and its interpretation is trustworthy.”"
And this is how it will be with you. You will have golden idols, with super strong holds on your life. You will have iron idols and clay idols. When you make the decision to attack these idols, the spirit of God will reunite with you, live within you. When you are touched, a war within you will begin. But over time, each stronghold will be crushed. It will be like the very foundation of you has been altered. Something so powerful that you cannot deny. Tired and weary at times, feeling your struggle against this battle, you will want to quit. You will have seasons where you will run back to your idols of comfort and control. But fear not, for "he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus." as Philippians 1:6 reads.
At times you will be frustrated because you will not be able to defeat your strongholds. You will give up because you do not understand the reason for your struggle. Our God is a relational God. He does not give you your struggle so you can overcome it. He gives you your struggle so that you will seek Him.
When you seek Him, he will bless you with truth. Knowledge is easily gained while truth is difficult to find and only comes from the Father. John 8:32 describes, "32 Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free."
So the story of a man ends with redemption. Only when redeemed and free, can a man finally obey.
John 14:15-23 reads, "15 “If you love me, keep my commands. 16 And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever— 17 the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be[a] in you. 18 I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you. 19 Before long, the world will not see me anymore, but you will see me. Because I live, you also will live. 20 On that day you will realize that I am in my Father, and you are in me, and I am in you. 21 Whoever has my commands and keeps them is the one who loves me. The one who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love them and show myself to them.” 22 Then Judas (not Judas Iscariot) said, “But, Lord, why do you intend to show yourself to us and not to the world?” 23 Jesus replied, “Anyone who loves me will obey my teaching. My Father will love them, and we will come to them and make our home with them. 24 Anyone who does not love me will not obey my teaching. These words you hear are not my own; they belong to the Father who sent me.”"
So how do knowledge, captivity and truth relate to one another?
Knowledge is like education. It is like the law. It is empty and misguiding. If we went over the theory of walking and how hard it is, we might convince a baby that walking is simply impossible. If we went over the theory of business and explained that 90% of businesses fail, we might convince people to ignore their God given destinies. However, behind each failure is a lesson. Behind each failure is growth. If you go into business to succeed, you might as well not pursue your dreams. If you go into business, to grow, you will be successful. The truth, the spirit, set us free from the law. As you battle, you do not battle to win, you battle to grow. You have already won, you just don't know it. Now, it is about growing into that victory.
...
<SI> Scott Izu, PhD
Copyright December 2015
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