Monthly Archives: November 2009
Are you a violent person?
A scripture that has peaked my interest from time to time is the emphatic and enigmatic statement found in Matthew 11:12. It reads: “And from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffers violence, and the violent take it by force” (Matthew 11:12). Commentaries offer the explanation of this verse to mean something like “the kingdom of God forcefully advances, and violent men are pillaging it”. Simultaneously as the kingdom, or government of God with Christ as it’s King (albeit not yet established on earth), was advancing forcefully forward, violent men were attacking and trying to thwart it’s efforts like Herod in his imprisonment of John, or the attacks by Jewish leaders which were intensifying (Matthew 9:34, accusation that Jesus cast out demons by the ruler of the demons, also 12:22-24). The latter part of this explanation is lacking I feel. This passage clearly alludes to the fact that Christians must get violent with themselves, the violent take it by force, this is the more accurate understanding of this scripture.
Transcendent happiness
The book of James was most likely written by James, the Lord’s half-brother (Mark 6:3), circa 60 A.D. James was converted after Christ’s resurrection and ascension, then became a leading apostle at the church in Jerusalem (he was a presiding leader in Acts 15, the ministerial council to discuss Gentile converts, whether they needed to be circumcised or not). It is true that the original Apostle James (the one that saw Jesus transfigured on the mount – Matt 17:1-2) was killed in Acts 12:2, but it was most likely James, the Lord’s half-brother, who, as an apostle (he is listed with Peter and John in Galatians 2:9 as one of the pillars of the New Testament Church), wrote the epistle of James.
Recycle
In the “green” environment of today, we have all heard the term “recycle”. Apart from paper, plastic, and metal recycling, there is also the kind of recycling that we can do in relationships. Each of us can wake up and meet each day with the motivation to recycle a relationship.
Emotional maturity
Identifying our emotions is a key element to increasing our daily happiness and personal balance. Learning to identify and deal with our emotions, as they truly are, is a subject that should be taught in every school and from an early age.
Faith…the anti-doubt
After the triumphal entry, Jesus went out to Bethany, and in the morning He returned to Jerusalem and He was hungry. We read in Matt 21:18-22 how “…seeing a fig tree by the road, He came to it and found nothing on it but leaves, and said to it, “Let no fruit grow on you ever again.”
