Sunday, January 31, 2016

What Have You Done For Me Lately?

Taking Care Of One AnotherMore Than Just a Nice Idea
by Rev. Paul J. Bern



It goes without saying that we are now living in a world which seems to be imploding on itself. As I write this, over five million middle class American jobs have been exported overseas by US multinational corporations, and they are never coming back. As a result, we have well over 20 million Americans who are either unemployed or who are working part-time when full-time work is needed. An increasing number of these workers are juggling 2 or 3 part-time jobs just to make ends meet. The US government's official unemployment rate, according to the mainstream news media, is said to be around 5.5 percent as I write this. This is a complete joke to those persons like myself who have been following current events, because those workers who have used up their unemployment benefits and who have been out of work for more than the maximum of 99 weeks are no longer being counted. Also not being counted are so-called “discouraged” workers who have dropped out of the job market and are sharing living quarters with immediate family. Without this family safety net in place, people usually wind up homeless through no fault of their own sooner or later. I know this to be true because I was one of those unfortunate individuals a few years back. Despite my best efforts to find full-time work in my field, which was computer/IT, I could only find temporary jobs of short-term duration. I spent roughly a third of my time searching for more work. By the time I finally wound up homeless my health soon simply collapsed and I wound up taking early retirement. I have learned the hard way that being homeless and on the street with no transportation or income permanently damages people. It breaks the spirit, it wounds the soul, and it fractures the mind in ways that most people can't even imagine. The one positive thing about my homelessness is that it brought me closer to Christ, just like Jesus said: “Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head.” (Matt. Chapter 8, verse 20 NIV)



The evaporation of these millions of US jobs is having severe repercussions for the overwhelming majority of Americans. There were about 5 million foreclosures in the US by the end of 2012, and about 3 million more since then. Cars and trucks are being repossessed at record rates, and an increasingly larger number of college graduates who cannot find jobs are defaulting on their student loans. Record numbers of these unemployed college graduates, some of them in their 30's and 40's, are moving back in with parents or siblings due to their being victims of foreclosures or evictions. They simply have no where else to go. All the rest, the multitudes of disillusioned, disenchanted and disenfranchised US workers who lost their jobs and careers, their housing and their transportation wind up in homeless shelters or sleeping under bridges. The more fortunate ones in this group of people that capitalism has discarded still have their vehicles, so that's where they sleep. Yet if we study the four Gospels, we find that it was to this very group of poor people that Jesus gravitated towards the most. Houses of worship and charities are supposed to be helping these most unfortunate people, but too many of them use their '501c3' tax status to remain tax-exempt, and so they can get grants from the government. Who are they worshiping first, Jesus or the IRS? Jesus prophesied against these kinds of organizations in Matthew chapter 23, verse 23 when He said, “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You give a tenth of your spices – mint, dill and cumin. But you have neglected the more important matters of the law – justice, mercy and faithfulness. You should have practiced the latter without neglecting the former.”



As we are living in these last days before Christ's return, we would do well to emulate Jesus in this regard – His compassion and unconditional love for us all. It used to be that when I encountered a homeless person asking for money, I would walk on by them without saying a word. Having since experienced homelessness myself for a few months, I find that I can no longer walk on by without stopping and witnessing to them about Christ, and how He has brought me all the way back from the brink of oblivion. As I talk to them I inquire of the Spirit whether I should help them or not. Usually I give them whatever spare change I have. Occasionally I buy them a burger and fries, particularly if they are in really bad shape or when the Holy Spirit encourages me to do so. It's just that being a follower of Christ has filled me with compassion, and I allow His peace to overshadow any anxiety I may have about whether the homeless strangers I encounter pose any threat to me, or if I can afford to buy them lunch or not. Jesus always comes first with me, others second and myself third. That's what it takes to be a true follower of Christ. We are to emulate His example of unconditional love for us by showing that same love for others. And as hard times continue to get harder and meaner, an increasing number of folks from all backgrounds find themselves emulating Christ in one way or another whether they realize it or not.



As a rapidly growing population of long-term unemployed begins to congregate regularly at shelters, churches, soup kitchens and food banks, a good number of them volunteer in order to help give back what these charities have given them. In so doing they are finding themselves interconnected in ways that they may not have been previously. It is one thing to be connected on Facebook or Twitter, but being in groups of people having direct contact with others is another thing altogether. The exponential growth of the Internet, along with computer and information technology, has an increasing number of us spending more time in front of our computers and flat screen TV's than we do with other people. Of course, that is only counting the people who still have the means of acquiring the trappings of being solidly middle class. As I write this, an increasing majority of unemployed American workers are putting these items into storage or dumping them at pawn shops in a desperate attempt to get some money in their pockets. 
 


What do we do to solve this dilemma? What are we going to do with all these displaced workers who desperately want to restart their careers and their incomes, but can find no way of doing so due to a complete lack of opportunity that is beyond their control? First, we have to come to the realization that our economic system is broken and in need of replacement. Not just fixing it, mind you, I'm talking about starting all over again on a clean sheet of paper. For some detailed commentary on this subject, you may order a copy of my first book, “The Middle and Working Class Manifesto”. For now all I will say is that the entire concept of profit and its benefits needs to be reexamined. When we have literally trillions of dollars in liquid wealth or assets of one kind or another in the hands of so few people, any claims of democratic government by this tiny but extraordinarily powerful group of people becomes completely ludicrous. We have been stuck in worn-out concepts of representative democracy that worked much better when the population of the earth was far lower than it is today, which has caused us to believe that it’s by getting the government to do things for us that we progress. The Internet and information technology have made these concepts obsolete. If we can interconnect directly with one another, then who needs big government? Big government clearly creates more problems than it solves in the 21st century. And I think that we’ve reached the point now where we’re stuck with a whole lot of antiquated concepts, so that when Michael Moore speaks about the relatively small number of people who make all this money while so many other people don’t, it sounds as if we’re struggling for equality with them. We don't want equality with the rich, we want equality equally for everybody. Who wants to be equal to the rich? Who wants to imitate people who hoard billions while formerly middle class people are living in vehicles, shelters, and in cardboard boxes under bridges? I think we have to be thinking much more profoundly than mere capitalism and the empty acquisition of material wealth for its own sake that accompanies it. The earth's population has become so great that we would all be far better served by spending our time helping others instead of helping ourselves. The needs of the many far outweigh the needs of the few.



Actually, if you go back to what Marx said in The Communist Manifesto over 150 years ago (and I'm no fan of Karl Marx, OK?), when talking about the constant revolutions in technology, he ended his explanation by saying, “All that is sacred is profaned, all that is solid melts into air, and men and women are forced to face with sober senses our conditions of life and our relations with our kind.” We’re at that sort of turning point in human history right now. And I think that, talking about recovery, talking about democracy, we too easily get sucked into out-of-date notions of what we want. So I'm expecting massive civil unrest in the near future. I don’t mind protests, in fact I encourage them at times. But what happened in 2001 in Porto Alegre, Brazil, in 2011 in Egypt, Libya, Algeria, Tunisia, and England, plus the ongoing civil wars in Syria, Yemen, and Somalia, that is when people have gathered to say another world is necessary, another world is possible, and that we're all longing for something better. It's already started here in the US with the Occupy Wall St. and the “We are the 99%” Movements. These movements are the new civil rights marches of the 21st century by Americans who are becoming aware that our governmental – and particularly our economic – systems are broken. In Detroit, for example, – or what is left of it – people are beginning to say the only way to survive is by taking care of one another. This could easily happen in your city or town too.



We are collectively arriving at the conclusion that greed is bad and that excess profit always equals equally excessive greed. Human progress, on the other hand, depends on pursuing goals collectively for all our mutual benefit. In so doing we are evolving as human beings. Jesus commanded us all to “love your neighbor as yourself” and to “love your enemies”. Natural disasters tend to draw people together, with volunteers flooding into the hardest-hit areas where the need is greatest. The current economic instability we are experiencing is turning out much the same way. More people are volunteering to help the poor and the less fortunate, which now includes much of the former US middle class. So in closing I would encourage each of you to find something or someone that needs help and go and find out what you can do to help. By the same token, if you are in dire straits, take heart and do not be afraid. Your guardian angel and Jesus himself are right there with you. You are not alone. “Be of good cheer,” said our Lord. “I have overcome the world”. This means Jesus hasn't just mastered your situation, it means He has overcome all the bad luck on the entire planet, including yours. Remember, if you are in need of help, there is no shame in asking for it. And, if you don't need help, there is no shame in showing it. So show it by helping someone else, even a total stranger. God is watching you and you will be rewarded.




Thursday, January 28, 2016

This week's Progressive Christian Bible study Is 2nd Timothy chapter four

The Apostle Paul's Final Instructions to Timothy
[ 2nd Timothy chapter 4]




Today we will be finishing the rest of 2nd Timothy by exploring chapter four. This letter to Timothy and the greater Church at that time is the last known epistle of the apostle Paul. As you will see, he was awaiting his execution as a condemned man when he wrote this. On the surface it seems to be profoundly sad that Paul was about to pay the ultimate price for preaching the Gospel. But, as we will soon see, Paul did not see his execution as a funeral as much as he saw his death sentence to be a celebration. With that in mind let's begin this most inspirational passage of Scripture at verse one.



In the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who will judge the living and the dead, and in view of his appearing and his kingdom, I will give you this charge: Preach the Word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage – with great patience and careful instruction. For the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths. But you, keep your head in all situations, do the work of an evangelist, discharge all the duties of your ministry. For I am already being poured out like a drink offering, and the time has come for my departure. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day – and not only to me, but also all who have longed for his appearance.” (2nd Timothy chapter 4, verses 1-8, NIV)



Preach the good news about the ultimate saving power of our precious Jesus Christ! Not everyone is called to preach, but that shouldn't stop us from being effective witnesses for Jesus, our Lord and Kinsman Redeemer. After all, it was Christ – and no one or nothing else – who sacrificed himself to save us all, only to be risen from the dead on the morning of his 3rd day of burial. “...be prepared in season and out of season...”. As before, not everyone is called to be a pastor, minister, deacon, overseer or evangelist. But what is most important is our witnessing and worshiping Christ, followed closely by how well we treat others. “Love your neighbor as yourself”, as Jesus taught so succinctly. All the religion in the world becomes meaningless compared to the teachings of Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ supersedes and transcends religion. Let's also remember the four gospels and the parable about the two men in the temple. One, who was a Pharisee and a part of the religious establishment of his time, stood before the altar saying things like “I thank you, oh God, that I was not born a woman, or like this tax collector seated several rows behind me. I tithe 10% of all I earn, so please hear me and my prayer of thanksgiving.” As he was doing this, and presumably hearing every word that the Pharisee was saying, the publican/tax collector simply said as he beat his chest in remorse, “Lord, have mercy on me, a wretched sinner”. Then Jesus said to the crowd gathered around him, “Who went home more justified before the Lord”? “The tax collector”, they replied. Then Jesus said, “Then go and do likewise”. For the complete story, see Luke chapter 18, verses 9-14.



“...correct, rebuke and encourage – with great patience and careful instruction.” Churches, and the people therein, are there to build people up, not tear them down. If there is any need for correction and rebuke, then do so gently, and with much kindness and compassion. Any troll or bully can order people around like a drill Sargent. But Paul adds the word 'encourage' in the same sentence. We are supposed to encourage people when we correct them, otherwise we risk driving them away. The only people Jesus ever offended were the religious establishment of his time, and he wasn't very concerned about their “feelings”, either. Instead, we are to have “great patience” as we instruct with the greatest of care, knowing full well that doing this in and of itself is often more than enough to be effective teachers and witnesses for Christ. So let's be patient at all times, and as far as possible, toward one another.



For the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths.” Doesn't this seem familiar to you? It sounds remarkably like the modern church, especially in North America and Europe. I have heard all kinds of stuff preached and taught both in and out of churches. The Pentecostal church teaches that all must speak in tongues, otherwise they can't be saved. The Southern Baptists teach that pre-civil war slavery in America was Scriptural. The Catholics teach that everyone except for Catholics will go straight to hell when they die, allegedly because of Protestant refusal to acknowledge the alleged supreme authority of the Papacy as God's emissary on earth (yeah, right). Still other churches are teaching tithing 10% of the income of each member of the church despite the fact that it's Old Testament law. As I'm sure you know, all of the above are patently false. Teachings such as these tend to warp and twist the Word of the Lord in order to suit the congregation's desires, when it is the pastor's responsibility to stick to the Bible and preach directly from there. Any church who is teaching their own “exclusive” interpretation of Scripture bring themselves dangerously close to risking eternal Judgment.



But you, keep your head in all situations... For I am already being poured out like a drink offering, and the time has come for my departure. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day – and not only to me, but also all who have longed for his appearance.” The reason Paul was instructing Timothy to keep his head “in all situations” was because Paul was using Christ as an example of how to proceed no matter what challenges awaited him. Paul did exactly that, and it brought a death sentence upon him. Yet, as we can see, Paul was not perturbed at all by his fate. In short, the apostle Paul had no fear of death, even when his own impending demise was staring him in his face. The ultimate example of this was the crucifixion of Jesus, only to be raised from the dead on the morning of the third day after His burial. Death and the grave have been conquered by Jesus' supreme sacrifice for us all. Like Jesus and the apostle Paul, we too have been granted eternal life though Christ if we put our complete trust in him, and if we truly believe he is the Son of God. It is not by our good deeds alone, but instead by the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, who died in our place for our sins against God. And, Jesus has left us with his Holy Spirit as a deposit towards our eternity with him. Make no mistake about it, anyone who opposes Christianity, or who doesn't believe that Jesus was God's only Son who sacrificed himself for us all, will be condemned by God. Moreover, according to Biblical prophecy, we are just about out of time. I cannot overemphasize the importance of doing this, of surrendering to Christ and of belief that the blood he shed on Calvary that day was a cleansing of our souls. And now let's finish up today's study, taking up where we left off.



Do your best to come to me quickly, for Demas, who loved this world, has deserted me and gone to Thessalonica. Crescens has gone to Galatia, and Titus to Dalmatia. Only Luke is with me. Get Mark and bring him with you, because he is helpful to me and my ministry. I sent Tychius to Ephesus. When you come, bring the cloak I let with Carpus at Troas, and my scrolls, especially the parchments. Alexander the metal worker did me a great deal of harm. The Lord will repay him for what he has done. You too should be on your guard against him, because he strongly opposed our message. At my first defense, no one came to my support, but everyone deserted me. May it not be held against them. But the Lord stood at my side and gave me strength, so that through me the message might be fully proclaimed and all the Gentiles might hear it. And I was delivered from the lion's mouth. The Lord will rescue me from every evil attack and will bring me safely to his heavenly Kingdom. To him be glory for ever and ever. Amen.” (2nd Timothy 4, verses 9-18, NIV)



Here we get a glimpse of the happenings in the early Church from Paul's vantage point. People were coming and going, in church and out of it, and the true extent is evident in Paul's writings. But the Holy Spirit overcame all that, as was evident in Paul's declaration that he was “delivered from the lion's mouth”. It is much the same as today, and particularly with the proliferation of mega-churches with thousands of members each. For every new member these mega-churches obtain, they are losing up to two at a time. Is it any wonder that they have a continuous turnover of worshipers? All they hear during Sunday morning worship is a sugar-coated one-size-fits-all version of the Gospel, followed by a demand that they tithe 10% of their income. Technically, this is true because tithing is mentioned in the Leviticus 27: 30, Deuteronomy 12: 17, and Malachi 3: 10. What they don't tell their congregations is that the Bible also says that Jesus' Crucifixion, death and resurrection was the fulfillment of that law (see Hebrews chapter 10, verses 1-18). We should definitely give as much to the churches we attend as we are able, but the Old Testament 10% rule of law no longer applies. We don't have live animal sacrifice as atonement for sin anymore like they did in Moses' day, so why do we still need to give 10%?



At my first defense, no one came, no one came to my support, but everyone deserted me. May it not be held against them.” This is another striking parallel between Paul and Jesus Christ. Just as no one came to the aid of Jesus while he suffered and died on the cross of Golgotha, so the same happened with the apostle Paul when his death sentence was handed down. And yet he wrote, apparently for posterity's sake, that he wanted God to bestow mercy on his executioners. “Father, forgive them, they don't know what they are doing”, were Jesus exact words as recorded in all four Gospels just before he gave up his Spirit on the cross, and again in the Gospels it is written, “Blessed are the merciful, for they will obtain mercy”. Paul enunciated very similar requests for his own captors as he waited his turn for his death sentence to be carried out. “But the Lord stood at my side and gave me strength, so that through me the message might be fully proclaimed and all the Gentiles might hear it.” The Lord stood with Paul in Spirit. It was the source of his tremendous strength that he derived from Christ Jesus. This same God-ordained strength is available to all true believers. It is vitally important – whether you are a Christian or not – to maintain a forgiving spirit and keep as gentle a persona as one can. As nearly to all of the time as we are capable, let's be merciful and lovers of peace. There will be no bullies in heaven, that's for sure.



The Lord will rescue me from every evil attack and will bring me safely to his heavenly Kingdom. To him be glory for ever and ever. Amen.” Even though there was no way out for Paul by this time, it no longer mattered to him. He even prayed for his executioners and the authorities that handed down his death sentence. It is very difficult for a Christian to maintain such a forgiving attitude, but it is impossible for those who refuse to believe in and who refuse to trust in God. But, if we “fight the good fight” and “win the race” towards God as Paul described, we can count on being brought safely to his Heavenly kingdom, and so to inherit the crown of eternal life that is ours through Jesus Christ. And that's the best part of all. Starting next week, we'll delve into the book of Colossians, so stay tuned.

Sunday, January 24, 2016

Jesus vs Modern Churches: Not Even Close!

Contrasting the Ministry of Christ With Modern Religion
by Rev. Paul J. Bern



Part of the meaning of Progressive Christianity is the examination of the Bible in its original context without all the trappings and fallacies of organized religion. For this week's message, I want to talk and write about when Jesus fed the crowd of 5,000, but I'm going to be expounding on this in a way you may have not seen or heard before. How come, you ask? It's because most churches are teaching this incorrectly! Why is that? Because that's what our seminaries are teaching their graduates. Your pastor, minister, bishop or priest is teaching it wrong because they were taught this way. And yet if the majority of Christians, and especially the church leaders, would take the time to read this using at least two different translations, they would see the true meaning for themselves. And now, so help me God, I will explain this miracle of Christ's to the very best of my ability.



First, we need to understand the context of this story, so after careful consideration I will be using the gospel of the apostle Luke as a backdrop for this explanation. So let's go to Luke chapter nine for our story. King Herod of Jerusalem had just had John the Baptist beheaded. Since John the Baptist was Jesus' cousin (see Luke chapter 1, verses 57-66), Jesus found out about John's execution very soon afterwards, and Jesus and the apostles with him had withdrawn from that area to avoid contact with any of King Herod's many henchmen. So allow me to take up the narrative at this point in Luke chapter nine, beginning with the latter part of verse 10. “Then he (Jesus) took them (the apostles) with him (parentheses mine – PB) and they withdrew by themselves to a town called Bethsaida, but the crowds heard about it and followed him. He welcomed them and spoke to them about the kingdom of God, and healed those who needed healing.” Nasty old King Herod had the equivalent of modern-day SWAT teams out searching for Jesus and the apostles because King Herod considered them to be threats to his power, political influence, and his relationship with his paymasters, the Roman Empire. So, Jesus and the apostles were fugitives so far as King Herod was concerned. They were banned, outlawed and sought after, earmarked for execution. Christians from the world over are still being hunted down and executed for their faith, except in far greater numbers than ever before. Moreover, all you Americans who think Christian persecution can't happen in the US could find themselves incarcerated, or worse, for their faith – in the near future!



Continuing onward from verse twelve the narrative reads as follows: “Late in the afternoon the Twelve came to Him and said, 'send the crowd away so they can go to the surrounding villages and countryside and find food and lodging, because we are in a remote place here.' Jesus replied, 'You give them something to eat'. They answered, 'we only have 5 loaves of bread and two fish – unless we go out and buy food for this crowd'. (About 5,000 men were there). But he said to his disciples, 'have them sit down in groups of about fifty each'. The disciples did so, and everybody sat down. Taking the five loaves and the two fish and looking up to heaven, he gave thanks and broke them. Then he gave them to the disciples to set before the people. They all ate and were satisfied, and the disciples picked up twelve baskets full of broken pieces that were left over”. (Luke chapter 9, verses 12-17 NIV) Send the crowd to where they can find food and lodging. That was the apostles' initial response to a situation that they felt overwhelmed about. After all, we're talking about 5,000 men, not counting women and children, so this was a crowd of somewhere between 15,000-20,000 people. Jesus and the apostles were in mega-church territory so far as attendance was concerned 2,000 years before the term was coined! Today most of these same mega-churches, particularly those of the American variety, have these conventions and week-long meetings with attendees from every part of the US and the rest of the world. When this happens, the mega-church hosting the event doesn't accommodate them or feed them. Their attendees provide their own food and lodging. Then they are expected to donate to these mega-churches after the attendees have already spent their money on everything else. It really is a very one sided affair, financially speaking.



What was Jesus' response? “You give them something to eat”. Don't you dare send my people away! That's what Jesus was saying, he was just being subtle about it, which is something Jesus had a propensity for. Jesus and his apostles weren't there to tell those in the crowd how to look after themselves, they were there to look after those in the crowd. People, this is the very essence of ministry. Every human being on the face of the earth goes through a time in their life when they need help in some form or fashion. Nobody is immune from this, it's just a fact of life. It is our duty as human beings and followers of Jesus Christ to be there for each other. No man or woman is an island, it goes without saying that we are all interdependent upon each other. And so Jesus was telling his apostles in a Godly way, “So you see these people are in need of food? Then feed them yourself!” Just as it was for the apostles back then, so it is for us today. If you see a problem where people are in need, go do something about it yourself. Let's not forget what Jesus had to say about that: “Whatsoever you do for the least of these little children of mine, that you do for me.” What was the apostles response to this? “But Lord, we don't have the means! After all”, they told our Savior, “we only have five loaves and two fish”. What was the real problem here? The apostles thinking was limited to their own capabilities. That's because that's all they knew, that's all they had ever been taught, just like all the wrong teaching being done in modern seminaries that I mentioned at the start of this message. They had not yet learned to depend on Christ, which is a problem that still exists in churches today. It all boils down to wrong teaching, pure and simple.



Taking the five loaves and the two fish and looking up to heaven, he gave thanks and broke them. Then he gave them to the disciples to set before the people. They all ate and were satisfied, and the disciples picked up twelve baskets full of broken pieces that were left over”. What was the first thing Jesus did? He gave thanks! He expressed great gratitude to his Father! Thankfulness is the basis for Godly living. Let's be thankful when we get up in the morning, before each meal, during each day for another chance at life, when we are successful, when we fail (yeah, that's right), and before we go to bed at night. Being thankful is a never ending process because the various things we can be thankful for also never ends if we are living right. And living right means living for Jesus each and every day! OK, so what's the next thing Jesus did? He broke the loves of bread and fish in halves. The conclusion to his prayer must have been that each piece doubled every times any of the Twelve touched any of it. And so during the course of distribution, every time the apostles served fish and bread, an additional piece would take its place. That's why they never ran out of food. But is this the end of the story?



Well actually, no it's not. We need to go back to the beginning to get the full meaning I wish to convey to you all. When the crowd followed Jesus to Bethsaida, they did so because they saw that Jesus evidently wasn't afraid of the authorities, so neither were they. Considering that there was a bounty on Jesus' head, and likely the apostles as well, I find it remarkable there was no fear among those in the large crowd that had followed Jesus there. The Spirit of Christ was all around that place, which kept the menacing bounty hunters and other assassins away from there. But the most striking thing to me about this narrative is that Jesus did exactly the opposite of what modern churches are doing. First, that crowd of 15,000+ people got fed on the Word of the Lord. Next, Jesus saw to the needs of those he was ministering to by feeding them with generous portions of food. In today's churches, the opposite occurs. The people get a Word from the Lord through their pastor, priest, or bishop just like above. But then an offering is taken, as opposed to Jesus, who freely gave to the people as they had need. So when Jesus preached and taught, at the end of the service he and his apostles saw to the needs of the people. But in modern churches, the people give money to the church at the end of the service. So, pastor or priest, once we get a good word it's time to pay up then, right? Wrong!! That is nothing more than the Old Testament law known as “tithing”, which basically said we must give a tenth of our crops and livestock to the Temple at Jerusalem. The problem with that is twofold. First, the temple no longer exists. Second and most important, when Jesus died on the cross for all our sins the Old Law (or Law of Moses as it was called in Jesus' day) died with him, because Jesus was the fulfillment of that very same Law (see Matt. Chapter 5 verse 17). The reason tithing is still taught today is because it compels people to give money to enrich the churches. It has nothing to do with Scripture, it's all about the money. The TV evangelists are the worst of the lot. Some of these people have their own private jets. I personally know of a pastor of a mega-church right here in Atlanta who drives a Bentley convertible, which is a quarter-million-dollar automobile. He's a prosperity preacher and it shows. One day when this particular “bishop”, as he loves to call himself, stands before God to give an account of his life, he will have to explain why he apparently misappropriated church funds. By then it will be too late, and an entire warehouse full of Bentley convertibles still won't save him. 
 


Let's not be like that, everyone. If materialistic stuff is what you mean when you say,”I'm blessed”, you have no idea what a real blessing looks like. It's time to get up to speed in the way we live our lives. We are to serve others without necessarily expecting anything in return – no strings attached. According to the teachings of Christ, the starting point for this is supposed to be from within the churches. So long as churches continue to buy jet airplanes and Bentley's for their pastors, priests or “bishops”, the needs of the people cannot possibly be met. Let us never forget that it's not about me, it's not about us, but it's all about Him. The church members are not there to serve the church unless it is in service to the greater community through that church. As for serving the members, those mega-churches should be reallocating the funds spent on ostentatious planes and automobiles towards a nice Sunday brunch after church, and let the homeless single mothers with children be the first in line. Now that is what it means to be Christian!

Wednesday, January 20, 2016

This week's Bible study will be 2nd Timothy chapter three

Stick With God If You Want to Escape the Coming Destruction
[2nd Timothy chapter three]



Last week when we closed out the 2nd chapter of 2nd Timothy, the apostle Paul was warning Timothy – and ultimately everyone who aspires to walk with Christ – to keep themselves away from Satan's trap of quarrels and what my New International Bible calls “stupid arguments” (my New Living Translation reads, “don't get involved in foolish, ignorant arguments that only start fights”). You know the kind of people the apostle Paul was referring to; ill-tempered, argumentative and sometimes belligerent people who are the happiest when they are in physical altercations. As I wrote last week, these perpetually angry people are called “bullies” (among other less Christian things), and for a good reason. Continuing his train of thought, Paul begins chapter three with a warning that things will become far, far worse in the last days as prophesied in the Bible. He was actually talking about the times in which we currently live when he wrote this. Let's begin at verse one so you can see what I mean.



But mark this; there will be terrible times in the last days. People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God – having a form of godliness but denying its power. Have nothing to do with them. They are the kind that worm their way into homes and gain control over weak-willed women, who are loaded down with sins and are swayed by all kinds of evil desires, always learning but never being able to acknowledge the truth. Just as Jannes and Jambres opposed Moses, so also these men oppose the truth – men of depraved minds, who, as far as the faith is concerned, are rejected. But they will not get very far because, as in the case of those men, their folly will be clear to everyone.” (2nd Timothy chapter 3, verses 1-9, NIV)



That second sentence is a long one, but that freight train of words is carrying many tons of meaning along with it. Every conceivable sin we can imagine is listed here. Compare this laundry list of sins the apostle Paul has listed to what we see all around us today. These sins are all over the nightly news on TV (which is also the only thing I watch on TV, and even then with considerable suspicion), they are in Hollywood movies, on TV dramas and comedies alike, and the advertising media is similarly saturated with these sins. They offer only idols for sale to the highest bidder, gods who can neither speak nor think, and who are incapable of sentience and spirituality in any form. As the apostle Paul wrote, so I say as well, “Have nothing to do with them”. Also, when Paul wrote about “having a form of godliness but denying its power”, he was writing about religious people. Paul knew what he was writing about, because he was himself a former member of the Sanhedrin, the top religious establishment for the Jews in Jerusalem at that time.



Paul wrote something else worth mentioning here concerning people “who are loaded down with sins and are swayed by all kinds of evil desires, always learning but never being able to acknowledge the truth”. I'm pretty sure that Paul was writing about people that we still see today, those who are regular churchgoers but, once the service is over, they go right back to whatever sinful thing they are addicted to, or whatever holds sway over them. This can be anything from abusing drugs and alcohol, to sexual promiscuity whether married or not, and regardless of sexual orientation (which is actually a side issue as far as I'm concerned), to gambling, pornography and even criminal activity. So it's no wonder that their Christianity has been compromised, and themselves as well. This reminds me of something Jesus taught in the Four Gospels, “You cannot have both salt and fresh water flowing from the same spring”. We cannot be both salt and fresh water all at the same time. We are either one or we are the other. We must either renounce our ways and repent of our sins, or otherwise we will not and cannot be saved from the eternal fires of hell! And hell is a real place, of that you can be sure. Once again I am reminded of another truism from Christ; “Not everyone who says, 'Lord, Lord', will see the Kingdom of God.” As usual for the teachings of Jesus Christ, this is ever so true, and it definitely applies here.



Paul called these dual-natured people “men of depraved minds, who, as far as the faith is concerned, are rejected. But they will not get very far because... their folly will be clear to everyone.” We cannot profess our Christian faith on the Sabbath (whenever one celebrates the Sabbath is still another Christian side issue) and be loaded down with sins of one kind or another the remaining six days of the week. We call these people hypocrites, and with good reason. Let's not be like them. Let's make ourselves “holy and set aside” as Paul wrote elsewhere. Bearing that in mind, let's go on to the second half of our study starting at verse 10.



You, however, know all about my teaching, my way of life, my purpose, faith, patience, love, endurance, persecutions, sufferings – what kinds of things happened to me in Antioch, Iconium and Lystra, the persecutions I endured. Yet the Lord rescued me from all of them. In fact, everyone who wants to live a Godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted, while evil men and impostors will go from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived. But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have become convinced of, because you know those from who you learned it, and how from infancy you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise in salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.” (2nd Timothy chapter 3, verses 10-17, NIV)



It is crystal-clear in the 10th verse that Paul sometimes had a rough life as a result of his ministry. I wonder what would happen to modern Christians if they had any strongly negative experiences as a result of their Christian faith. What if we had to endure sufferings and persecutions of all kinds for our faith? Would we be able to withstand the test? What if we became incarcerated for our faith? What if the Antichrist came to power tomorrow, next month or next year and began forcing everyone the world over to take his mark in order to buy and sell, meaning those without the mark could not work, pay rent or a mortgage, and not even eat. If that were to occur anytime soon, I wonder how many Christians would be able to hold up under the cracking whip of a dictatorship of the Antichrist. Just pause and reflect on that for a minute. Are we ready to pay what will likely end up being the ultimate penalty for refusing to worship the image of the Antichrist or to take the mark of the beast as foretold in the book of Revelation? Jesus died for me, so it seems only natural that I would be willing to reciprocate if called upon to do so. Besides, if that were to happen to any of us, we would instantly be with the Lord anyway, so it makes little difference to me. That's why I do not fear death, and neither should anyone who considers themselves to be Christian.



Yet the Lord rescued me from all of them. In fact, everyone who wants to live a Godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted, while evil men and impostors will go from bad to worse...”. The Lord God Almighty will send his Son and a troop of angels to rescue us from every bad situation, so we need not have any doubts about that – help will arrive, and always exactly on time! If you are being persecuted because of your faith, don't be discouraged – be encouraged! Being on the receiving end of persecutions such as rejection, exclusion, being ostracized or vilified by our critics and peers means we no longer have a part of the world around us, and that we have become separate from the world – meaning we're on God's side and not Satan's, and that we have become a part of the Light, having left the darkness behind forever. Remember that the heavier the opposition, the closer we are to the target, it's true 200% of the time. Meanwhile, all the bad people get worse while the Godly become even more Godly. It's just one more sign that we are living in the end times. “But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have become convinced of...”. Don't deviate from your faith, and don't get sidetracked or distracted. If you want Jesus to abide in you, then be sure and make every extra effort that it takes to abide in him. “Abide in me”, Jesus taught, “and my words will abide in you”. I'm fairly sure that it was this particular teaching of Christ that Paul had in mind when he wrote this.



All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.” The Bible is an owner's manual for every person on the face of the earth. I once read that fewer than 10% of those who buy a new car ever read the owner's manual. When it comes to ourselves – never mind your cars – let's not be like those people. I want everyone to be sure and read your owner's manual no matter what version of the Bible you are reading. All that stuff about one version being better than another is neither here nor there when it comes to our salvation in Christ. It's besides the point. Besides, God couldn't care less what version you're reading. At least you're reading the darned thing, that's more than most people! What does matter is to what extent we are inspired to look for opportunities to share our faith in Christ, and to tell people about all the wonderful things Jesus has done for us. It equips us completely for service to Christ, so each of us can do whatever job He gives us to do. The best part about this is that He never overburdens us, but instead Jesus will give to each of us only what we can bear. And Jesus knows that limit even better than we do, of that you can be sure. And next week we will finish up 2nd Timothy. Shalom!

Monday, January 18, 2016

In Honor of Rev. Dr. King Jr.

I Dare To Dream
(excerpt from “The Middle and Working Class Manifesto” (3rd edition),
by Rev. Paul J. Bern)



The maniacal march of economic inequality, from which springs the source of racism, poverty, crime, violence, and lack of access to health care and higher education, has become the new civil rights issue of the 21st century. Rev. Dr. King's dream of unconditional equality throughout the country can finish becoming a reality when the economic barriers that we all face on a daily basis finally come down for good, like an economic Berlin Wall. Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. spoke to the masses during the 1963 civil rights march on Washington and said, “I have a dream...”. By writing and publishing these words it is my intent to help take up where Rev. Dr. King's Dream left off, and to do anything I can to help finish the job that he started. And so let me slightly change that to, “I dare to dream”.



I dare to dream of a world in which the widening gap between rich and poor is gone forever. We all deserve to live in a world where wealth has been redistributed in a peaceful and orderly manner and not by the barrel of a gun. I dare to dream of a country where wealth has been redistributed in 4 ways. First, every worker earns a living wage so poverty can be eliminated. Second, free higher education and vocational retraining must be available to every worker for life, including daycare when necessary, because everyone has the right to better themselves at will. Third, I envision an America where quality health care is available to every worker at nominal cost for life. Single-payer health care based on the current Medicare model must not be reserved only for certain people, but it must be a fundamental human right for all ages. I dare to dream of an America where there will be no such thing as someone without health insurance, where every citizen will have lifetime health care and prescription drug coverage without qualification, and where there will be the fewest sick days for American workers and their children of any country in the developed world. Fourth, “we the people” demand the abolition of the federal tax code, including elimination of the despised federal withholding tax, which would give every American worker or business owner an immediate 18% net pay raise.


I dare to dream of a new America with a robust and viable economy. That is why I have been insisting on a $15.00 per hour minimum wage since 2010 (earlier versions of my book were $10.00 and $14.00 per hour respectively). I dare to dream of a new America where education will be subsidized from the cradle to the grave so that the US develops the most formidable work force the world has ever seen. I dare to dream of an America where all workers have the right to organize, to a flexible work week and to paid family or maternity leave. Most other developed countries already do this. The US is the only exception and that has got to change. The only remaining question in my mind is whether we can accomplish this peacefully or otherwise, and it is looking more and more to me like it could be the latter, and that concerns me a great deal.


I dare to dream of an America where affordable housing is the law of the land, where home ownership becomes a right and not a privilege so we can wipe out homelessness, and where the price of a house is limited to the sum total of ten years income of any given individual or household purchasers. I insist on a country where home ownership isn't part of an exclusive club with the highest “credit scores”. It is, and must become, a basic human right. Even the cave men lived in caves of their own!


I dare to dream of a country with new public works programs that put an end to unemployment forever so the USA can have full employment all the time. America's infrastructure needs to be rebuilt, and its inner cities are in dire need of an overhaul. What a better way to accomplish this! People by and large don't want a handout, they want to earn a decent living!


I dare to dream of a new America with an all-new public school and university system that has an Internet-based curriculum that can be updated at will, and that is second to none in the developed world, with a new and more intensive school year, and that has viable replacements for standardized testing, and where class size is limited by law. I dare to dream of a country where teachers, police officers and firefighters make what their Congressional representatives make, and vice versa.


I dare to dream of a new nation where unconditional equality is the law of the land for every citizen without exception, and this will include economic equality. I dare to dream of a new America where there is no more income tax, no capital gains tax, no alternative minimum tax, no estate tax, no self-employment tax, and where families and businesses can have a tax free income unless they are very wealthy. In its place would be a national sales tax, such as a Consumption Tax, where everyone pays proportionately the same tax rate on only what they consume, plus an “excess wealth tax” for persons with annual incomes exceeding $3 million, and for businesses with annual proceeds exceeding $700 million, so America's budget can be balanced and fair.


I dare to dream of a better USA where personal privacy is the law of the land, where identity theft is a thing of the past, and where it will be illegal for employers to obtain the credit files or credit scores of any job applicant.


I dare to dream of a more compassionate America where children have the right to a challenging and progressive learning environment, and where kids will be legally guaranteed freedom from hunger, sickness and violence, and where all God's children will have the right to safe adoption, foster care and day care.


I dare to dream of an all-new voting system – including the abolition of the elitist Electoral College – that is Internet-based, paperless, and that can be accessed from any location using any computer or wireless device, instead of wasting our time and fuel and losing work time going to polling stations, and instead of using poorly secured and easily- tampered-with voting machines.


I dare to dream of an America of integrity where all of the dirty special interest money and all the filthy lucre is abolished from our political process. I dare to dream of an America where the Wall Street shysters who crashed the US economy are finally brought to justice, and where the keys and title deeds to all of the fraudulently foreclosed homes are returned to their rightful owners.


I dare to dream of the end to America's sinister war on drugs, where all convicted nonviolent drug offenders can qualify for alternative sentences for their offenses so they may obtain early release, and where all natural (i.e. cannabis, mushrooms, peyote, etc.) drugs are legalized, regulated and taxed by appropriate legislation for medical and recreational use.



Finally, I dare to dream of a world in which all this is financially easily achievable. That's because all the money currently being wasted on the wars in Iraq, Afghanistan, Yemen, and to a lesser extent in Pakistan, Libya and elsewhere will be redirected towards all these dreams that I have just mentioned. The money is already there, its just being budgeted in all the wrong places. Let me tell you why. If the US military took all the money it spent occupying Afghanistan for just one day and put it into an interest-bearing account, there would be enough money available to send every American school kid from the first grade up to high school seniors through 4 years of college fully paid for, including tuition, dorms, books, food, access to the Internet and to public transportation. Here's another example: If the US government took all that money set aside from one days worth of military expenditures in just Afghanistan alone, there would be enough money to build a 2,500 square feet house, fully furnished and stocked with a year's worth of groceries, with all the utilities already turned on, for every homeless person in the US, beginning with all the kids. That's how easily we can end homelessness in the richest country in the world. Since the political will to do these things currently isn't there, and since it never will be so long as we wait on the government to fix all this stuff, it is up to “we the people” to do the job ourselves.



Just as surely as there was an Arab Spring beginning in 2011 that is still ongoing, so I am telling you that there will be an American Spring in 2015. Beginning in 2011 with the start-up of the “Occupy” and “99%” Movements, of which I am proud to be a part, this uprising of the American people against the top 1% has exploded like an atomic mushroom cloud over the American political and economic elite. Once this process is complete, the American people will take back what has been stolen from them without anyone having fired a single shot. Let the remaining 99% of us try first to peacefully take back what has been stolen from us over the last 100 years. But if peaceful revolution is stifled we will be left with no choice but to resort to force. We can only accomplish this by uniting together as one and acting as one body to break free from the shackles of oppression that have us all enslaved.


You have just read the last four pages of chapter 9 of my book, “The Middle and Working Class Manifesto” (3rd edition, Copyright 2011, 2016 by Rev. Paul J. Bern, Progressive Christian Ministries of Greater Atlanta, Inc., 470 pages, $18.95 on Amazon, or get the E-book on Pay-hip at https://payhip.com/b/CV5h [also on Kindle or Nook] for $3.50) To order your copy, go to http://www.pcmatl.org/books-and-donations. I also have a few leftover 1st editions in softback for $9.95 with free shipping, but quantities are very limited. Thanks so much! Shalom.

Wednesday, January 13, 2016

This week's Bible study will be the rest of 2nd Timothy chapter two

Calling Out To The Lord With a Pure Heart
[2nd Timothy chapter 2, verses 19-26]




When we left off at verse 18 last week, the apostle Paul was warning his protege', or more accurately his deacon Timothy, to be wary of those who had wandered away from the truth and who refused to come back to Christ. In modern times we call “churches” who “teach” this kind of useless garbage cults. It's just that, back in Paul and Timothy's time, the term 'cult' had not yet been invented as far as I know. There is no other word for them, and if anyone reading this has ever found themselves caught up in one of these cults masquerading as churches as I once did a very long time ago, get away from there any way you can. I succeeded and so can you. What happened in that case was that I simply got up in the middle of the service and left. No problem. Pray to the Lord for deliverance and He will most definitely enable you to leave without worrying about what others may think. “Come out of her, oh my people”, says the Lord about these churches that are not of God but of men and women, “and be separate from them”. Bearing that in mind, let's take up where Paul left off in his letter to Timothy, beginning at verse 19.



Nevertheless, God's solid foundation stands firm sealed with this inscription, 'The Lord knows those who are his' and, 'Everyone who confesses the name of the Lord must turn away from wickedness'. In a large house there are articles not only of gold and silver, but also of wood and clay; some are for noble purposes and some for ignoble. If a man cleanses himself from the latter, he will be an instrument of noble purposes, made holy, useful to the Master and prepared to do any good work. Flee the evil desires of youth, and pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace, along with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart. Don't have anything to do with foolish and stupid arguments, because you know they produce quarrels. And the Lord's servant must not quarrel; instead, he must be kind to everyone, able to teach, not resentful. Those who oppose him he must gently instruct, in the hope that God will grant them repentance leading them to a knowledge of the truth, and that they will come to their senses and escape from the trap of the devil, who has taken them captive to do his will.” (2 Timothy chapter 2, verses 19-26, NIV)



God knows those who are his, sometimes without their knowledge and who are blissfully unaware of His guiding presence in their life. I did not give my heart up to Jesus Christ and recognize him as my Savior and kinsman-redeemer until I was in my mid-thirties. In spite of that fact, I am certain that the Lord knew from day 1 that I was born to be His. But then comes the flip side of this coin – which is that all who sincerely walk with Jesus have left their bad old ways behind them. That's exactly what the word 'repent' means! People who are recovering addicts, for example (not to put those in recovery in the spotlight), are in recovery as long as they never touch that to which they are addicted, no matter what it is. But if they relapse (which can be fairly common), they still get another chance by starting over on counting their days, weeks and months of sobriety. They never, ever give up. The salvation of Jesus Christ works the same way. This could involve a bit of confession, first with Christ, second with those they may have hurt, and sometimes third with their therapists or therapy groups. In a worst case scenario, this can sometimes even mean a short-term hospitalization for the person's own protection. In this same manner, we shed ourselves of all unrighteousness, immorality, and impure hearts and minds so that we too say we are “clean”. “Work out your own salvation”, Paul wrote in Philippians, “with fear and trembling before the Lord”. That is perfectly applicable right here, and it applies to all of us equally. 
 


“...be an instrument of noble purposes, made holy, useful to the Master and prepared to do any good work. Flee the evil desires of youth, and pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace, along with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart.” Let's not go through life acting just any old way, or doing just what we please, usually at the expense of all others around us. That's not Christ at all. Be a true believer in Jesus, just as I wrote above, by living your faith instead of merely believing in it or belonging to it. Acquire a strong faith in Christ, don't simply learn it. Anybody can memorize a creed, but living one's faith as a lifestyle is another matter altogether. Pursue love and peace! Don't wait for love and peace to come to you, or you'll be waiting all your life. Take the love and peace that you have received through your deep faith in Christ and spread it all around like butter on a slice of bread. Which, by the way, proves that we don't always need money to solve problems and build a community. That's so 20th century! Call on the Lord at all times with a pure heart. Don't bother asking for forgiveness if you are holding a grudge or hiding an ulterior motive. God sees right through that kind of Spiritual junk, and that's why those kinds of prayers never get answered. It's time to get a grip, everybody, this is the Son of God we're talking about. This is very serious stuff, the knowledge of which is crucial to all. Where you will spend eternity depends upon this alone.



Don't have anything to do with foolish and stupid arguments, because you know they produce quarrels. And the Lord's servant must not quarrel; instead, he must be kind to everyone, able to teach, not resentful. Those who oppose him he must gently instruct ...”. Avoid argumentative people, Paul wrote to Timothy, because all they do is go around spoiling for a fight. They are, to put them into a single category, bullies. There is no such thing as a Christian bully. They don't exist, and any bully professing Christianity while throwing punches is not just a phony Christian (CINO – Christians in name only), but a dangerous human being in need of some restraint. Fortunately, we have people who take care of problems like that. They're called police officers. Those who serve the Lord, on the other hand, must be kind, gentle, thoughtful and compassionate. “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you”, Jesus said. But Paul saved the best for last in the closing verse when he wrote, “gently instruct those who oppose you”. This is the polar opposite of getting into an argument. If someone opposes you, it is far wiser to convert a potential enemy into an ally than it is to beat them into submission with fists, with mean and nasty words, and other abusive behavior. It is inevitable that, sooner or later, those who are abused and bullied strike back at their abusers, sometimes with (God forbid) horrific results. But Paul wrote the Philippian church that true peace is “the peace of Christ that surpasses all human understanding”. Can we ever achieve this highest level of peace? Yes, but we must be willing to work towards that goal over our entire lifetimes. “Christianity”, a famous author once wrote, “is a journey, not a destination”. That is ever so true.