BEING REAL

Writing is a joy for me.  Whether it is for a blog, or for a newspaper or a magazine, I consider it a privilege to share the gospel with others.  I do not take it lightly when people take the time to hear what to have to say.   

                      As a result, I am thrilled when I receive feedback from something I have written or shared.  It lets me know that people understand what I am saying and that it has really touched their life in some way.

I occasionally receive a comment that when I write an article such as this: "It doesn’t feel like a Bible teaching”.  Motivational?  Yes.  Inspiring?  I hope so. Once, I received a comment that,               

                “It was nice, but as a pastor, 

                     shouldn’t you be teaching people the Bible?”  

Actually, I do…every week as I pastor Bethesda Church. 

I also teach the Bible (or try to) in every situation of life that I encounter.

Whether I am sitting in a local restaurant having breakfast or sitting in an auto shop, 

I look for ways to communicate the gospel by demonstration.  For example, last week 

some friends of mine began dismantling an antique car.  It looked great on the outside, 

but needed repair as part of the car’s frame has rusted out.  It was a perfect moment to comment 

on how the car was like people.  

Everything looks great on the outside, but the inside has been eaten away 

because of neglect.  It became a “teaching moment” with a REAL outcome.  

That moment led to someone approaching me to say, 

“My heart is like that car.  Can Jesus help me?”       

Jesus taught in different ways.  The Gospels record that 

                             He read the scriptures and taught in the temple.  This is probably the process that people today can best relate with, as the method for delivering the gospel is widely seen as a pastor opening his Bible in front of a congregation on Sunday morning.  

Jesus also ministered to the multitudes.  There are accounts of Him 

preaching and teaching to crowds of thousands. 

                         He loved to teach in parables.  

He would take a story with real life relevance and would use it to expound upon both the nature of man and of God’s Kingdom.  He also loved to go into the street, locate the one who would listen and reach them where they were.   I find it interesting that those encounters carry more significance in the heart of people than the other methods of instruction.  

People are familiar with the Sermon on the Mount. 

By familiar, I mean they know that there was one.  However, ask around

 to see who knows anything about the content of the Sermon on the Mount and 

you will find few who can offer true insight.  But, the number of people who can 

relay a story about a person who had a specific encounter with Jesus is much greater.

People relate to a message or a lesson when

the elements of that lesson reflect

something of their life.

My point is this.  

One of the greatest tools Jesus employed when teaching others is that 

                     He was real.  He expected them to be real – 

not to be something they were not for the sake of impressing Him.  

He met people where they were.  He taught them by example, and by relating 

His teaching to their current life situations.

The purpose for the temple was and is still important.  

                                      Going to church is vital to your life.  It affords for you training that can make the difference between success and failure in raising your kids, or saving your marriage.  It creates the opportunity to build family style relationships with others – the way families are supposed to be – 

not the dysfunctional chaos that many suffer. 

For as long as there has been religion, there has been a mindset that we have to put on our “religious face”.  On Sunday, we wear the right clothes.  We sing the right songs.  We have our spiritual moments.  In a restaurant last week, I overheard a mother tell her 12-year-old son, “Don’t you dare cuss at me on Sunday.”  What about the rest of the week?  Why are Sunday values different than the values he should be living by Monday through Saturday?  That is not “being real”.

Jesus was hard on those who weren’t real.  He was much harder on those who put up a front for the sake of religion than He ever was on someone just trying to wade through life.  He challenged those who struggled with sin to recognize that 

        life could be much better if they would embrace 

                                                         His love and His instruction.

My purpose in communicating as I do is to demonstrate that God is REAL.  And, that in coming to Him, He desires for you to be real.  

                           You come to Him, faults and all. 

You don’t put on some “spiritual air”.  

It is not His desire to change you into something you are not.  

It is His desire to complete what He created you to be.  He wants you to know that He is not “put off” by your current state. But if your current state is eating away at the value of your life, He has both the ability and the desire to change it.  

He wants the real you to discover the real Him.

That is the core of His Gospel.  That is “being real”. 

Prayer - Randall Wallace ("Braveheart" Screenwriter @ National Day of Prayer)

The other day my friend, Brian Bird, posted this link on his website.
Brian is an amazing person.  He is a writer.  He is a partner in Believe Pictures.
His stories and his films are creatively constructed to touch the heart of people while at the same time
provoke them to thought and even to action.

I haven't known Brian very long, but even in the few short moments we have

 had together, he has demonstrated a special gift of communication which prompts

thoughts and ideas to awaken within you.  It is a gift that I believes God reserves

for certain people.  His thoughtful insight for me proves to be both a joy

and a challenge at the same time.

I share this because I believe that it is important for people to recognize when God places
such a person in your life.  When God wants to bless you, 

He places someone in your life.  

It may not be face to face.  But, someone. somehow will speak a word into your life
that will serve to adjust your perspective,  
                                  enlarge your vision or,
                                                                               strengthen your resolve

to stand and be as God designed you to be.

When God creates access to such a person,
that access should be treasured.  It should be celebrated.  The words that are spoken which
have the ability to inspire should be cherished.  They should serve to stir passion within you.

Their greatest value is discovered when their fruit matures

from enlightenment to accomplishment - from initiative to achievement.

Brian is such a person.  And being such a person, he also knows when others offer a similar
gift.  Recently he posted a link containing the keynote address at the National Prayer Breakfast.

The speaker was Randall Wallace, the screenwriter for the movie, Braveheart.
I invested 20 minutes to hear what this Hollywood Writer had to say to the world leaders
who were gathered in that room.  I was moved by his testimony and his simple call to prayer.
I was motivated and challenged as he inspired these leaders to pray.

The average Believer prays less than 3 minutes a day.

The average PASTOR - less than 5 minutes. 

How can we expect more from our leaders than we do of ourselves.
We need to recognize the power of prayer.  We need to become motivated to pray.


I always encourage my readers and my congregation to invest in motivation - particularly the kind that will produce Kingdom fruit.  I offer you this link and urge you to invest a few moments to receive from this funny, insightful caring person.  And, thanks Brian for bringing him to our attention.  




http://www.garydavidstratton.com/2011/culture-making/academy-award-winning-screenwriter-randall-wallace-braveheart-at-national-prayer-breakfast/

Our National Anthem

Oh Say Can YOU See?

I would like to start with the disclaimer that what I am about to say is not meant as an
attack on an individual.  It is simply a thought that was triggered by a mistake made during
this past Sunday's Superbowl opening ceremonies.

Christina Aguilera was slated to sing our country's National Anthem - a tradition that occurs at
virtually every sporting event in our nation.  As a professional musician, I am certain that
there was a great deal of practice that took place in preparation for this event.  For a musician, the
opportunity to sing the anthem at the Superbowl is probably one of the most significant moments
one can achieve. 

She missed it.  I feel bad for her.  Anyone can make a mistake, and that is what it was - a mistake.
She is not going to get much of a fair shake for it...or is she?  My kids were watching the
opening ceremony and they caught the blunder.  What bothers me is that there was a time when there
would have been no consideration for such a blunder, for such a thing would have been unheard of...

To NOT KNOW our National Anthem?!?

As I stated, this singer is a well-known and rehearsed professional.  I am POSITIVE that she knew the
words to our nation's anthem.  She would have memorized them for the purpose of being able to sing
them professionally, knowing the mark that this event would have on her career.

Here is my problem.  It is one thing to memorize something.  It is another thing to KNOW something.

I was not taught to memorize the National Anthem. I was taught its message, its purpose, its significance,
and its value.  It is just the same as memorizing scripture.  As a child in a faith-based school,
I was required to memorize long passages from the Bible.  There was even reward for those who could
recite the entirety of what had been memorized throughout the school year.  Yet, for all of the
memorization, and for all of the prizes (which I won - after all I was a pastor's kid), those passages
were just words on a page.  They were words to be forgotten once the prize to be won was delivered.

The passages that I really remember are not those I memorized during those school years, but the ones
that have a direct impact upon my life. Honestly, I could not recite those passages from
memory with any degree of accuracy today.  However, the ones that I have carried in my heart as a part
of my belief system, I can rattle of with great accuracy.

They are not memory verses.  They are part of the foundation of my life.

Hence, my issue with last night's blunder.  The reason last night's blunder bothered me is not that
someone forgot the words.  It is that it underscores that those words have come to have little value
in the minds and hearts of many of our nation.  Men and women have died for the freedom afforded only
to Americans.  Others have lived the entirety of their lives in the service of others to defend and
to preserve that freedom.

When Francis Scott Key penned the lyrics to The Star Spangled Banner, he was declaring in victory
in the face of certain failure.  His words served to rally a nation to believe they could always
win, even against over-whelming odds.

Hollywood has fought vehemently to break this American Spirit.  They speak of freedom in the form of
tolerance, while at the same time, have created a doctrine that belittles any idea or thought which
points to the greatness and virtue of a nation under God, indivisible.

Many entertainers have discovered that one way to boost a wavering career is to become a political advocate.  I have listened and observed - sometimes with amusement, but more often with disgust as people who do not hold sacred the value system upon which our nation was designed, wax poetic in trying to prove a point which is usually contrary to reality.  They rattle off about our nation's constitution and its history with
great inaccuracy.  And, they get a free pass because they are not politicians, but entertainers fighting for a
compassionate cause. 

Missing the words for our national anthem is to me an indication that the message of that anthem is only
on your tongue, not in your heart. It was the opportunity to demonstrate your talent before millions of people,
rather than demonstrate the conviction of your heart.

I believe in promotion.  I believe if you have the opportunity to sing before millions of people, you should do it.  However, whether you sing, play ball, work in an office, or build cars, you should live your life with conviction.  As a singer, sing what you believe.

As I said, there is no judgment here for Ms. Aguilera, nor on what she believes or does not believe.  I am simply pointing out There is a concern that her blunder points to a greater lack of conviction in our nation. 
We WILL see if the media, which is notorious for taking such actions to the proverbial woodshed, will trumpet the moment or pretend it did not happen.

As for you, my reader - I urge you to consider the core values upon which our nation was founded.  Consider
"What price Freedom". Consider the benefit to being "The land of the free and the home of the brave".
And, learn your National Anthem.



The Star Spangled Banner -

Francis Scott Key




Oh, say, can you see, by the dawn's early light,
What so proudly we hail'd at the twilight's last gleaming?
Whose broad stripes and bright stars, thro' the perilous fight,
O'er the ramparts we watch'd, were so gallantly streaming?
And the rocket's red glare, the bombs bursting in air
Gave proof thro' the night that our flag was still there.
Oh, say, does that Star-Spangled Banner yet wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave?


On the shore dimly seen, thro' the mists of the deep,
Where the foe's haughty host in dread silence reposes,
What is that which the breeze, o'er the towering steep,
As it fitfully blows half conceals, half discloses?
Now it catches the gleam of the morning's first beam,
In full glory reflected, now shines in the stream;
'Tis the Star-Spangled Banner, Oh long may it wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave.

And where is that band who so vauntingly swore
That the havoc of war and the battle's confusion
A home and a country should leave us no more?
Their blood has wash'd out their foul footstep's pollution.
No refuge could save the hireling and slave
From the terror of flight or the gloom of the grave,
And the star-spangled banner in triumph doth wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave.

Oh, thus be it ever when free men shall stand
Between their loved homes and the war's desolation!
Blest with vict'ry and peace, may the heav'n rescued land
Praise the Pow'r that hath made and preserved us a nation!
Then conquer we must, when our cause it is just,
And this be our motto, "In God is our trust"
And the Star-Spangled Banner in triumph shall wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave!

CHURCH TRAGEDY

One of my dear friends, John Muratori is the Senior Pastor of Calvary Life Family Worship Center in Cheshire Connecticut.  I have ministered for their congregation and have a great love in my heart for Pastor John, his family and his people.

On February 2, we received news of a terrible tragedy.  I offer this letter from Pastor John.  I ask you to read it, to be in prayer for him and for the Calvary Life Family.  I also ask that of there is anything you can do to bless then through this time, please contact our church office. 

We can be reached at:   912.368.6121  or  http://theamazinglife.com.

To: Our Faithful Congregation and Friends of This Ministry:

It is with a broken heart that I share our church home has collapsed under the weight of all the snow accumulation.We in New England have weathered three major storms seeing more snow than we have in decades.
 

Let me say it has been a long road to get us to this newly built place of Worship, allowing our congregation to have a place of permanence for generations to come.

Today will be ingrained in my memory all my days.  

You see, I was with my two sons, Executive Pastor and another leader in ministry. We were putting signs on the door for people to stay out of the facility until an engineer could arrive.  

We walked into the foyer to make sure everything was closed; at that moment I heard the small voice of the Lord say, "Get Out!"  

Suddenly, we heard the loudest bangs from the sanctuary. We ran outside the building and I watched with my sons as the building collapsed. Yes, covered with dust, I witnessed a project that took 2 years to build fall in 30 seconds.  My sons were shouting and crying as we got to a place of safety.  

Once I gathered myself from the shock, I heard the Lord say amidst the rubble:

"The vision is still standing, the mission hasn't changed, this ministries purpose is found in Him."

We now find ourselves at a unique place in Christ -- One that will challenge our members' commitment and resolve. As a church we are still becoming, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when He shall appear, we shall be like Him (1John 3:2).

This one thing I have learned, this trial is necessary in order for us to become all He desires.

If thou hast run with the footmen, and they have wearied thee, then how canst thou contend with horses? And if in the land of peace, wherein thou trustedst, they wearied thee, then how wilt thou do in the swelling of Jordan (trials of life)? (Jer. 12:5)

We need to be closer, stronger, and persevere more than we have in all our previous years. We pray God will send us His friends from around the Nations to stand along side us as we rebuild His House of Worship.

Wherein ye greatly rejoice, though now for a season, if need be, ye are in heaviness through manifold temptations: That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ. (1Peter 1:6-7)

--Pastor John Muratori

  

I am also including a list of immediate needs that we have compiled. Ongoing updates will be posted daily at www.calvarylife.us.

Our most immediate needs at this point are:

• Facility: as we have suffered a total loss and can no longer use our facility, we need a place for services and temporary offices
• Travel Sound system
• Microphones
• Instruments
• Cameras/Camcorders
• Computers & Printers
• Copy machines/ Fax machines
• Office furniture
• Financial Support

The Bible tells us that when one suffers, we all suffer together.  This situation represents a physical setback to the congregation at Calvary.  It DOES NOT represent a setback to the kingdom of God.  God’s glory WILL be revealed through this trial and His kingdom will be advanced.

Thank you for your prayers,

TJB

A More Excellent Way

Tonight marks a special occasion.  It is one of the most exciting for me, because for our ministry, it is a specific indication of marked growth.  Tonight, I have the honor of ordaining a new elder into our congregation.  It is a great responsibility as he and his wife will now be an extension of the pastoral arm of our church family.  They will be charged to lead well, to live truth, to walk in humility, and to walk in honor. 

During the ordination ceremony, there is a specific apostolic charge that will be administered to our new elder.  As I prepare for this event, I began to consider that charge, and the effect it would have, not only on his life and the life of his family, but the effect such a charge would have on God’s children, period…if only they would embrace it.   In consideration of this, I thought I would share a portion of that charge with you.

“The Word of God tells us that the needy are with us always.  There is always a need to fill.  One responsibility that you must embrace is to recognize the true need and fill it according to God's purpose. You must learn to recognize when people draw on you, they are either looking for a fish or for an education.  You must know which is appropriate to give and when to give it.  You must also know that tending to the needs and spiritual leadership of others is one of, if not the most taxing thing you will ever encounter.  Each time you minister, you impart life.  Each time you impart life, life flows through you and even from you.  Without a rejuvenation process, this new life will drain you and your family.”

                                                         

For this reason it is important to care for the spiritual and physical needs of you and your family.  Make it a priority to renew your relationship with the Holy Spirit and with your wife, daily.  Establish specific time to worship and to draw nourishment from the Word of God.  As you seek His counsel and guidance for leadership, remember to strengthen your personal relationship with Him as well.

As you minister to others, you cannot help but "feel the weight" of their life situations.  As you experience the effects of that weight, your wife experiences it as well.  As she walks with you, she now walks in the light of the calling on your life.  They price you pay, she also pays.  Your first ministry is to her. Paul's instruction to love your wife as Christ loves the church will take on a whole new meaning. More than ever, it is now important to place diligent effort toward your marriage, and guard it against attack of the enemy.”

Lead well.  In today's society, truth is often made to look like error, while error is widely proclaimed as truth.  One of the greatest responsibilities you now embrace is to keep people mindful of what is true.  Your responsibility before this body is to the visionary and to the vision.  Keep that vision in front of the people.  When they stray from it, lead them back to it.  When their understanding of truth becomes distorted, bring clarity.  Shine a light in love that will restore hope and righteousness.”

Live the truth.  Your life is a demonstration of kindness.  It resides in your heart and in your speech.  Persuasion is more effective than force, so, lead by kind example. Rejoice with the body in their successes.  Weep when they weep.  Demonstrate that a life of righteousness is not a dream, but a reality.”

Guard your character and your integrity. When disappointment arises, take it to God and not to the congregation; nor to your family.  Demonstrate the trust you have in your apostle and in the leaders who stand alongside of you. As iron sharpens iron, so a man sharpens the countenance of his friend.” 

Finally, know that you not only carry the heart of God, you are entrusted to carry my heart, as your Apostle.  As God has entrusted the leadership of this people to me, I extend that trust to you.  As you guard your heart against any attack of the enemy, I ask you to guard my heart.  Love the people as God loves them and as I love them.  Recognize that your service to the body is not simply about tending their need.  Every effort made toward them is also an effort made to lift my hands, as Aaron and Hur did for Moses in their day of battle.”

As we labor together, we will be victorious in the fulfillment of the purpose God has established for us on the earth.”

An elder leads by instruction, by application, and by the example of his own life.  This charge is administered to the elders of our church, that they may demonstrate excellence in their kingdom walk – not only to the people who are in their entrusted care, but to everyone who is in some way connected to their life.  Theirs is to demonstrate a Christ-like lifestyle.

As you consider this charge and its effects, consider how this instruction can bring change to your life.  It will not only promote balance, it will lead you to what one of my dearest mentor’s used to call “A More Excellent Way.”  Every action of your life carries with it a direct effect on someone or something.  As you consider the balance of your life, it will force you to consider the actions of your life.  You will begin to measure each action by its effect and its purpose.  In short, you will live with purpose – on purpose.

I hope this speaks to your heart and calls you to rise to the challenge of “the more excellent way” in your own life.

Be blessed.

That's What C····tmas Means To Me

Several years ago, I shared this article.  There was a great response to it from the readers.  By request, I have resubmitted it for this season.  I hope it touches your heart. TJB

The title of this article is "That's What C····tmas Means To Me". Do you find the title appalling or maybe even offensive?  This holiday has taken quite a beating over the last few years.  However, this year my senses seem to be heightened to it's plight.  For me, it is not simply about a yuletide tradition.  It is about a dangerous trend in American society regarding any reference to Christ or Christianity.

What is billed as an argument for the separation of church and state has really proven to be a movement to eliminate Christianity in America.  I read an article describing a December parade of lights in a major U. S. city.  The parade officials rejected Christian entries in the parade because of "direct religious themes".  The article went on to include that the parade accepted an entry that honored people recognized as "holy" by a gay and lesbian group.  Another entry included a dance "meant to drive away evil spirits".  This parade traditionally carried a Christmas theme but in the age of political correctness, faced sudden changes.  My concern is that the other entries also have religious themes.  They are just non-Christian themes. 

I have observed this trend in our schools.  As a student in middle school, I was chastised by a teacher for my report on a Christian theme but was required to learn about Eastern religion on the basis that it was "cultural".

Another recent article tells of a Florida elementary school that is so concerned over the issue that they are banning seasonal celebrations altogether.  They have opted to have the students sing about America and patriotism instead of about C····tmas and the holidays.  Although on the surface this appears to be an acceptable alternative, it also feels dangerously close to the actions that we were taught as destructive to freedom.  Communist countries teach children there is no God and that their life purpose should be directed by the "will of the people".  Their children also replace religion for songs about their country and its leaders.  Forgotten is the reason this country came into being to begin with.  People paid a terrible price to build a life where they could worship God without restraint.  It is called freedom. 

The message that is being relayed is incorrect.  Some, who do not honor God, falsely accuse believers in God of trying to force their beliefs upon them.  They say believers are unfair. They argue that believers discriminate against them.  They will tolerate a Buddhist, a Hindu, a Rastafarian, a druid or any other religious sect, yet they will lead the march in discrimination when it comes to someone's right to worship or declare their love for Jesus Christ.

In reality, a quick trip to your local department store the day after Halloween gives a clear indication of how people feel about Christmas, religion not withstanding.  So does a drive around your neighborhood on a December night and the general sense of goodwill in the grocery store parking lot.  This holiday does not threaten people.  People are going to believe what they choose to believe.  My father always told me, "You cannot push a rope."  This is true.

What C····tmas means to me is that my country is dangerously close to sacrificing its values based on incorrect ideas and thinking.  Moral code is always tied to belief and when you fight to eliminate ones right to believe, you eliminate moral code.  You soon find yourself subject to everyone's right to a lack of morals.  The result is the necessity of armed policemen in our middle and high schools.

How does one eat an elephant?  One bite at a time.  When these issues began to surface, many people swallowed them in "little bites".  We have eaten a lot of this elephant without realizing it and it is time we take notice.  My hope is that we exercise our right to believe this year -- and put Christ back in Christmas!

ENOUGH SAID

It has been a while since I have posted.  Time has been at a premium this month.  Between traveling to Mexico for a Men’s Congress, and returning home to a major Advent and Christmas production, something had to give.  Apparently it was the blog site.  Go figure, it is one of my favorite outlets, mainly because it gives me the opportunity to encourage others.

That is my mission here.  I have had a few ask me, “Apostle, why don’t you use the site to bring the things you have taught to so many?”  And, “That message was great – insightful and challenging.  It should be on the post.”  Or, “I never realized the powerful gift God gave us with regard to the Eucharist, or ‘Lord’s Supper’.  I will never receive it in the same way.”

(I quoted these because I told those who said it; I would get around to it. This blog post is dedicated to them!!!)

Quite frankly there is a reason why I do not use this venue to bring “the deeper things”.  I did not create this blog to spread doctrine.  I created it to offer encouragement to others – to inspire people and challenge them to consider how to wring the most out of life and to recognize the potential God built in them.

I often receive response from people who have read the blog, or read one of my articles in the paper.  Some are encouraging.  Others are – well – let’s just say, I would expect a bit more from a pastor…

Not that it bothers me, but in recent weeks, it has apparently bothered a few others.  Hence this post, which is designed to bring simple clarity of purpose to the reason for this blog in the first place.

There are people from all walks of life who touch my world.  This is intentional.  I harvested that by specifically targeting people who are usually avoided by the “religious community at large”.  I have had believers delete me from their list of facebook friends because they took offense at a posting on my page from someone who used course language or someone who’s post indicated that they were living in an ‘alternative lifestyle’.  “What if your church members see that?” Or, “What example are you setting for your children?”  Hopefully, it is one that Jesus labored to set for us…love one another.  Faith that can be shaken by such outburst is a shaky faith indeed.  One interesting comment that came was an unsigned, anonymous note.  In its entirety it read:

“Therefore, come out from among them and be ye separate, says the Lord.  Do not touch what is unclean and I will receive you. 2 Cor. 6:17 –

ENOUGH SAID”

The problem here is compound.  First, the verse alone is out of context.  Paul was referring to believers in Corinth who were entering relationships (sexual in connotation) and marrying others who’s beliefs were contrary to the Gospel.  The word “touch” is the Greek word,  ἅπτομαι  (hä'p-to-mī)  (St G680)  It defines the “attaching of one’s self to, to adhere to, to cling to, and more specifically, of carnal intercourse or cohabitation.  From a Levitical standpoint - the avoidance of pagan ritual." – NOTE: Not avoiding pagans.  The Israel of old had a plan to adopt those who were not Jewish into the fold( see RAHAB)  If they were to avoid such people all together, there would be no need for such a plan.     

Ironically, in 2 Cor. 6:14, which is part of the same instruction from Paul, he uses the phrase “unequally yoked together” with unbelievers.  This phrase is a translation of the Greek word ἑτεροζυγέω  (he-te-ro-zü-ge'-ō). It means "to come under a different or unequal yoke."  In this case Paul was forbidding the Church at Corinth from having intercourse with unbelievers.

(Another ironic note is that I find myself trying desperately to teach unwed BELIEVERS not to have intercourse with others – believers or not, until they are married – a story for another venue on another day!)

What is funny about the words Paul used is that they are derived form the word Jesus used - ζυγός (zü-go's) (St. G2218) which means "yoke, or enslaved" and ἕτερος (he'-te-ros) (St. G2087) which means "to another, a number, of different value or quality."  These words in context of Jesus’ teachings referred to being enslaved to the religious mindset of the Pharisees, who were long on sacrament and protocol but short on spiritual insight and compassion.  They believed their expression of worship was the most revelatory and that those who could not see it were of a lesser mind and purpose. In short, their’s was a judgmental life in which they were the only ones with a valid point to make.  Hence, their role in the Crucifixion.  Jesus' teachings, actions and associations were naive to their revelation and thus, He was disqualified as a Messiah.   

All this to say, relax, I am not unequally yoked.  I am looking at the people to whom Jesus reached out.  They were fishermen, tax collectors, doctors, Jews, gentiles, even demoniacs and prostitutes.  And I took notice of the phrase, “To him who has ears to hear, let him hear…”  Jesus reached those in need by inspiring them and encouraging them.  He knew that not everyone in His hearing was prepared to receive all He could say.  He used parables which seldom “quoted the word” but inspired while introducing to people, kingdom values and principles. He carefully held the doctrine of the kingdom to those who embraced Him and were walking with Him.  The multitude vs. the disciples.  Those who were listening vs. those who were listening and following.  When Jesus did open the Word, He generally brought challenge and even provocation – usually to the religious.   There are times for that but not here.

Jesus said, if I am lifted up, I will draw all men unto me.  My purpose here is to exalt Jesus.  It is to encourage and inspire those who do not know Him to discover Him and how great He is.  Further, it is to inspire those who do know Him to discover in greater measure the plan and purpose He designed for their life.   

To surmise, my dad told me, “Don’t tell everybody everything you know.”  He was right.  This blog is not an indication of all of who I am.  It is an indication of something I want to be: a man who encourages, a man who inspires, and a man who demonstrates with simple clarity that God is love.

Enough said.