Faith's Thermometer

Faith's Thermometer
 
The way we typically measure temperature is not a direct measure of heat.  Your typical mercury or alcohol thermometer measures the amount of space displaced by the liquid in the vacuum-sealed cylinder.   Someone figured out that liquids expand when placed under heat.  You can see this every time you boil water in a pot over a stove range.  The hotter the flame, the higher the water will rise in the pan.   The same amount of liquid now occupies more space.
 
That is how a thermometer works.  The hotter it is the liquid inside the cylinder expands, the colder it gets the liquid contracts.  This phenomenon is predictable and reproducible; therefore, we can use these principles they can build thermometers.
 
Faith is also measured indirectly.  Christ told his disciples that a little faith could accomplish great things, we read in Matthew 17:20, "And Jesus said… If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place, and it shall remove; Faith's Thermometer
 
The way we typically measure temperature is not a direct measure of heat.  Your typical mercury or alcohol thermometer measures the amount of space displaced by the liquid in the vacuum-sealed cylinder.   Someone figured out that liquids expand when placed under heat.  You can see this every time you boil water in a pot over a stove range.  The hotter the flame, the higher the water will rise in the pan.   The same amount of liquid now occupies more space.
 
That is how a thermometer works.  The hotter it is the liquid inside the cylinder expands, the colder it gets the liquid contracts.  This phenomenon is predictable and reproducible; therefore, we can use these principles they can build thermometers.
 
Faith is also measured indirectly.  Christ told his disciples that a little faith could accomplish great things, we read in Matthew 17:20, "And Jesus said… If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you."  Christ established that our faith would be evident to others.  Many quote James famous discourse on faith and works,
 
James 2:14 What doth it profit, my brethren, though a man say he hath faith, and have not works? can faith save him?
James 2:17 Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone.
James 2:18 Yea, a man may say, Thou hast faith, and I have works: shew me thy faith without thy works, and I will shew thee my faith by my works.
 
So, to many "works" is the proof of faith.  Paul says works do not save us.  In other instances, Christ seems to agree.  In Matthew 7, Christ tells the disciples,
 
Matthew 7:21 Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.
Matthew 7:22 Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works?
Matthew 7:23 And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.
 
The works of the people mentioned here did not show faith.  However, Christ still insists, "Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them" (Matthew 7:20); a concept that seems reiterated in John 15 in connection with a display of Love or agape.  Christ tells the disciples in John 13,
 
John 13:35 By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.
 
So, it seems to me that how we measure someone's faith is by His Love in us toward others. In 1 John, we find a connection between faith and Love.  By studying the passage from 1 John 4:12 through 1 John 5: 5 we can arrive at this statement: "By faith we overcome when we are born of God, Who is love, and we cannot see, but He dwells in us (and us in Him) and casts away our fear."  So, we can conclude that where there is faith, there is no fear for Love casts it away.   So, in the presence of self-less, self-denying, unconditional, perfect Love, there is no fear and only faith.    How do we know when this Love is in us?  When 1 John 3: 16 is right about us: "Hereby perceive we the love of God, because he laid down his life for us: and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren."  It takes faith to do this.  nothing shall be impossible unto you."  Christ established that our faith would be evident to others.  Many quote James famous discourse on faith and works,
 
James 2:14 What doth it profit, my brethren, though a man say he hath faith, and have not works? can faith save him?
James 2:17 Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone.
James 2:18 Yea, a man may say, Thou hast faith, and I have works: shew me thy faith without thy works, and I will shew thee my faith by my works.
 
So, to many "works" is the proof of faith.  Paul says works do not save us.  In other instances, Christ seems to agree.  In Matthew 7, Christ tells the disciples,
 
Matthew 7:21 Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.
Matthew 7:22 Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works?
Matthew 7:23 And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.
 
The works of the people mentioned here did not show faith.  However, Christ still insists, "Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them" (Matthew 7:20); a concept that seems reiterated in John 15 in connection with a display of Love or agape.  Christ tells the disciples in John 13,
 
John 13:35 By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.
 
So, it seems to me that how we measure someone's faith is by His Love in us toward others. In 1 John, we find a connection between faith and Love.  By studying the passage from 1 John 4:12 through 1 John 5: 5 we can arrive at this statement: "By faith we overcome when we are born of God, Who is love, and we cannot see, but He dwells in us (and us in Him) and casts away our fear."  So, we can conclude that where there is faith, there is no fear for Love casts it away.   So, in the presence of self-less, self-denying, unconditional, perfect Love, there is no fear and only faith.    How do we know when this Love is in us?  When 1 John 3: 16 is right about us: "Hereby perceive we the love of God, because he laid down his life for us: and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren."  It takes faith to do this. 

RR

Raul Diaz

https://about.me/raul.diaz

Correlation

Correlation

The definition of correlation, according to one dictionary, is "the degree to which two or more attributes or measurements on the same group of elements show a tendency to vary together." In other words, where there is a correlation, there is a mutual relationship or parallelism. Despite this, one attribute, measurement, or element does not cause the other, instead, they vary together. A simple example would be, developmentally as our hands grow, our feet grow as well.  Our hands do not make our feet grow; neither do our feet make our hands grow.  The cause of simultaneous growth is the same for each.

 

Let's look at another example. In most large cities, crime increases in the summer as does the number of ice-cream sales. One could erroneously deduce that ice-cream causes crime to increase, or vice versa. However, we know that is not true. In simplistic terms what happens instead, is that hot weather, along with other activities and inclinations encourages people to go outside. Among those that go out, many will buy ice cream, as it's considered refreshing in the summer heat.  And among those that go out, are would-be perpetrators, assailants, and their victims.  This makes it easier to find a target and or become one.  

 

Upon a cursory reading of the Bible, we see God rebuking the Israelites for idolatry, immorality and unethical behavior. We could easily assume that either idolatry caused these ungodly behaviors or vice versa.  But that would be incorrect. These practices are correlated not causal. Therefore, you can predict that when you see the one behavior, you will also see the other. The common factor which originates both is the turning of our hearts from God.  We see this in Micah 6:6-8.

 

"Wherewith shall I come before the LORD, and bow myself before the high God? shall I come before him with burnt offerings, with calves of a year old? Will the LORD be pleased with thousands of rams, or with ten thousands of rivers of oil? shall I give my firstborn for my transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul? He hath shewed thee, O man, what is good; and what doth the LORD require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God?"

 

The Lord had told the people what pleased him—what was in line with his character of love, which was to walk humbly in communion with him. This and this alone would bring about the living justly and loving mercy he desired. However, the people had yet to comprehend this even by the time of the prophets Isaiah and Jeremiah. In his mercy, the Lord gave them a similar diagnosis and prescription as can be viewed in both in Isaiah 1: 11 – 17; 58: 4-7 and in Jeremiah 7: 3-- 10.  As we can see in these texts, where there was idol worship, there was oppression and abuse of their fellow countrymen. Clearly, where the one was visible, the other was present. These attributes are correlated because the same factor caused both. Per Ellen White,

 

"In Isaiah's day the spiritual understanding of mankind was dark through misapprehension of God. Long had Satan sought to lead men to look upon their Creator as the author of sin and suffering and death. Those, whom he had thus deceived, imagined that God was hard and exacting. They regarded Him as watching to denounce and condemn, unwilling to receive the sinner so long as there was a legal excuse for not helping him. The law of love by which heaven is ruled had been misrepresented by the archdeceiver as a restriction upon men's happiness, a burdensome yoke from which they should be glad to escape. He declared that its precepts could not be obeyed and that the penalties of transgression were bestowed arbitrarily.

 

In losing sight of the true character of Jehovah, the Israelites were without excuse. Often had God revealed Himself to them as one "full of compassion, and gracious, long-suffering, and plenteous in mercy and truth." Psalm 86:15. "When Israel was a child," He testified, "then I loved him, and called My son out of Egypt." Hosea 11:1. (PK 311 – 312)

 

Now, if the same factor caused both, then the cure was the same: turning of hearts and minds toward God--repenting. God not only wanted his people to believe that He was indeed a loving God who had their best interests at heart, but that he also desired their fellowship. Through the prophet Isaiah he told them,

 

"Come now, and let us reason together, saith the LORD: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool" (Isaiah 1:18).

 

God's intention with them was for good, not evil.  He wanted to take all selfishness, uncleanliness of mind, and impurity of heart motive from them.  He said through Ezekiel,

 

"Then will I sprinkle clean water upon you, and ye shall be clean: from all your filthiness, and from all your idols, will I cleanse you. A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes, and ye shall keep my judgments, and do them" (Ezekiel 36:25-27).

 

Just as it was with the Israelites, so it is with us. When oppression and abuse are present among us, there is also idolatry. When there is immorality and unethical behavior among us, there is also idolatry. Many believe that as long as you are "nice," it does not matter how you "worship." Others think that if you "worship" God in the right way, it does not matter how you "behave" (worship in this context is seen as a task). Yet, God is saying that both issues are a problem. And, where one is evidenced, the other will also be visible. Both issues co-exist and arise from the same cause. Therefore, both have the same cure. What was prescribed for the Israelites has been prescribed for us. The question is, will we respond positively by receiving the cure of a clean heart and a new mind from Him?

RR

Raul Diaz

https://about.me/raul.diaz

A Holy and Just God

A Holy and Just God
 
What comes to mind when you hear the lesson title for this week? Perhaps we should take a closer look at each attribute. Let us start with Holiness. 
 
In a recent program, panelists were asked to define Holiness. None had a concrete definition, but all agreed that Holiness is all that God is. While most would understand, it is still a vague definition. (Implied, however, is that Holiness is everything we are not.). 
 
What is God? God is love (agape). What is Love? Also hard to define, but Paul describes it in 1 Corinthians 13,
 
1 Corinthians 13
13:4 Agape suffereth long, [and] is kind; Agape envieth not; Agape vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up, 
13:5 Doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil; 
13:6 Rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth; 
13:7 Beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things. 
13:8 Agape never faileth…
 
In defining agape, 1st Corinthians 13 also describes Holiness.  The issue is that we typically think of 1 Corinthians 13 in terms of performance. But, what God does is a reflection of who He is. There is no inconsistency between God's character and His performance. There seems to be another dimension: God's character is evident when you see Him. God's character shines through His body. In other words, if you see God, you see His character. God does not have to act for you to know He is Love. His mere presence shows that. What you see God you see 1 Corinthians 13 in person. When you see God, you see Holiness.
 
Let's look at justice. Is Biblical justice equal to the justice of the world? Each justice system has its laws or rules.  The same is true of God and man's system, respectively.  There are two ways to conceive of God's law:  the natural law– the design protocols upon which God built life–, and an imposed Roman type law construct. If we view God's law as a Roman imposed law, then in that model, justice requires the imposition of punishment by the ruling authority.
 
If we view God's law as the protocol upon which he built life to operate, then justice requires the Designer to heal and fix what is broken. Let us look at some texts and see what system is biblical justice.
 
·         "Defend the poor and fatherless; Do justice to the afflicted and needy." (Ps 82:3)
·         "Wash yourselves clean. Stop all this evil that I see you doing. Yes, stop doing evil and learn to do right. See that justice is done---help those who are oppressed, give orphans their rights, and defend widows." (Is 1:16-17 – GN)
·         "The LORD is waiting to be kind to you. He rises to have compassion on you. The LORD is a God of justice." (Is 30:18 – GW)
·         "This is what the LORD says to the dynasty of David: 'Give justice each morning to the people you judge! Help those who have been robbed; rescue them from their oppressors.'" (Jer 21:12 – NLT)
 
We can see that God's justice, according to Scripture, is, delivering the oppressed not punishing the oppressor.
 
How does God show Holiness and justice in the book of Joel? Joel was called to announce impending doom and destruction. Why would God allow such destruction? How can He be a God of love and allow such disasters to inflict  Israel?  God loved Israel. God chastens, whom He loves (Revelation 3: 19). God used these disasters as chastening. The idea was to bring Israel to repentance. So, Israel realized their need for dependence on God. 
 
There is no mention on whether the people's repentance would stop the destruction, but there was a guarantee, "…whoever calls in the name of the Lord shall be saved" (Joel 2: 32). While the Lord may not stop the trial, He would help those who called on His name to go through the test. In this disaster, instead of having the people rend their garments, the prophet Joel says that the people should rend their hearts and make them open to God's grace and compassion. 
 
The message in this book is especially important to us because, just like in the days of Joel, No one can prevent the impending events of these final days, they will be disastrous and, only those who "call in the name of the Lord will be saved." Ellen White invites us to reflect on this, "We must realize our true condition, or we shall not feel our need of Christ's help. We must understand our danger, or we shall not flee to the refuge. We must feel the pain of our wounds, or we should not desire healing" (Christ's Object Lessons, p. 158). The question is, will we heed God's calling? I pray that we do!

RR

Raul Diaz

https://about.me/raul.diaz