Friday, November 23, 2018

Faith is Finding Comfort in a Promise

Faith is Finding Comfort in a Promise

Miriam has been dating Rupert for quite a while.  She would like to marry him, but she is not sure he wants to marry her.  Miriam starts to get anxious about it; enough that others notice a change in her conduct – especially Rupert.  She looks as if she is carrying a burden.

Rupert wants to marry her.  But, he thinks he is not quite ready to make the commitment.  Rupert, however, wisely senses that her anxiety may be related to his delaying in proposing.  He seeks advice, and everyone says he should not waste more time.  Miriam's fear grows.  She looks like her burden is massive.  Rupert is afraid that asking her in the stage she is in might backfire.  But, everyone says " do not worry; it will work out."

Rupert plans a proposal event.  Miriam seems to suspect something which adds to her anxiety.  This makes Rupert more nervous, but he decides to go as planned.  At hearing the proposal, Miriam suddenly gets quiet, looks at Rupert right in his eyes.  Rupert thinks, "I messed up."  But, all of a sudden Miriam's semblance was transformed.  She yells out, "Yes, yes, I will marry you."  Then she embraces Rupert. 

When Rupert saw her face again, her semblance had changed.  She looked as if the burden disappeared.  Her face was radiant, her eyes twinkling.  The proposal – a promise to get married – was enough for Miriam to feel better, to have a hopeful outlook of the future. 

In a sense, Habakkuk was in a similar position as Miriam.  He saw the spiritual condition of the Kingdom.  This was reflected in, among other things: the immorality, the abuse and, and the violence of his fellow countrymen toward other countrymen.  He wondered, "Will God do something about it?"  So, Habakkuk cried out to God, essentially asking God, "Do you not see what is going on?  How long will you allow this to continue? Are you not the all-seeing, all-knowing, and all-powerful God?  Will you do something about it?"  God, in essence, answered, "I do see what is going on.  And, I am not pleased.  But, I am not uninvolved.  I am doing something, but the fruit will not be seen for years to come.  I will put a stop to this; but, in my own time and in my own way."

God's answer to Habakkuk was a promise, which Habakkuk may not see fulfilled.  But, somehow the promise is to comfort Habakkuk, as the promise of marriage comforts a young bride.   To know that God has a plan and He is executing it should suffice, just as it is sufficient for a bride – at least for a time – that her fiancé has a plan and is implementing it.  To be satisfied with a promise requires faith. And, in fact, Habakkuk was told that the just lives by his faith (Habakkuk  2: 4).   The just or righteous would be those who, like Habakkuk, were crying out to God as they lived surrounded by unrighteousness. 

Faith is defined as trusting that the word will do that which it said it would and waiting for the word to do it.  (Rupert made a promise to Miriam, she had to trust that Rupert would fulfill it and wait for Rupert to do it.)  Habakkuk was to believe that God would fulfill His promise and was to wait for God to do it.  This implied that Habakkuk should not do something himself, outside of what God instructed.  Faith is also defined as a response of heartfelt appreciation for what God's work.  (Miriam was grateful.) Habakkuk was being asked to be thankful that God had answered his prayer and would one day do a work which "you would not believe, though it be told you" (Habakkuk 1: 5).  This means that Habakkuk was to be certain that what he hoped for would happen and what he did not see would be revealed (Hebrews 11: 1).  To Habakkuk God's promise is evidence of what is not seen – that God does see what is going on, He cares and is involved in a solution to the problem.  Like Abraham, Habakkuk believed what he heard from God, and it counted to him for righteousness (Genesis 15: 6).  The following quote gives us a deeper understanding, 

 "There is an answer to Habakkuk's question. It is an answer, not in terms of thought, but in terms of events. God's answer will happen, but it cannot be spelled out in words. The answer will surely come; 'if it seem[s] slow, wait for it.' True, the interim is hard to bear; the righteous one is horrified by what he sees. To this, the great answer is given: 'The righteous shall live by his faith.' It is an answer, again not in terms of thought, but in terms of existence. Prophetic faith is trust in Him, in Whose presence stillness is a form of understanding."—Abraham J. Heschel, The Prophets, p. 143.

The judgment the Lord promised was dreadful.  But Habakkuk trusted the Lord.  Ellen White says,

Confident that even in this terrible judgment the purpose of God for His people would in some way be fulfilled, Habakkuk bowed in submission to the revealed will of Jehovah. "Art Thou not from everlasting, O Lord my God, mine Holy One?" he exclaimed. And then, as his faith reached out beyond the grim prospect of the immediate future, and laid fast hold on the precious promises that reveal God's love for His trusting children, the prophet added, "We shall not die." (Habakkuk 1: 12). With this declaration of faith he rested his case, and that of every believing Israelite, in the hands of a compassionate God.  Ellen G. White, Prophets and Kings, pp. 386-389

Habakkuk is to be an example to us.  God is still at work in our life even if we do not see it.  We read from Ellen White,

The faith that strengthened Habakkuk and all the holy and the just in those days of deep trial was the same faith that sustains God's people today. In the darkest hours, under the circumstances, the most forbidding, the Christian believer may keep his soul stayed upon the source of all light and power. Day by day, through faith in God, his hope and courage may be renewed. "The just shall live by his faith... We must cherish and cultivate the faith of which prophets and apostles have testified—the faith that lays hold on the promises of God and waits for deliverance in His appointed time and way. The sure word of prophecy will meet its final fulfillment in the glorious advent of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, as King of kings and Lord of lords. The time of waiting may seem long, the soul may be oppressed by discouraging circumstances, many in whom confidence has been placed may fall by the way; but with the prophet who endeavored to encourage Judah in a time of unparalleled apostasy, let … us ever hold in remembrance the cheering message, "The vision is yet for an appointed time, but at the end, it shall speak, and not lie: though it tarry, wait for it; because it will surely come, it will not tarry... The just shall live by his faith." Hebrews 2: 3, 4.  Ellen G. White, Prophets and Kings, pp. 386-389

Since "Faith comes through hearing and hearing by the word," then it is the Word of God that sustains those who listen and hearken until the end.  
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Friday, November 09, 2018

“IMAGES OF UNITY”

"IMAGES OF UNITY"

 

 

Incorporation

 

The term to incorporate can mean to unite closely or so as to form one body. The word corporate is referring to the whole as opposed to the parts. For, example, we can talk about the Congress or the Senate as a whole, but they are not really one body. As a consequence of living in a sinful world, there is a need for checks and balances, and accountability, hence representative government/voting. Any legislation is typically voted on by all but is only won by the majority, signifying a lack of true oneness. The USA's Supreme Court also works this way. Although all 9 judges make a corporate body, they vote on their cases individually, and the majority vote wins. So, technically speaking neither system is really one in mind and purpose. They are not, by biblical definition, really incorporated.

 

However, a symphony orchestra can be considered incorporated, for they all play as one. What brings a musical group together is each musician in the orchestra plays a different part of the same musical composition, from the same sheet music and under the direction of a conductor. All musicians follow not only the sheet music but also the conductor's guidance as to how and when to play the piece. So, when we talk about an orchestra in a corporate sense, we are talking about the orchestra and its conductor. If the orchestra was a body, then the conductor would be the head and musicians, the remaining parts of the body.

 

Our bodies work similarly. Yes, the body parts are pretty much interconnected in many ways and seem to cooperate rather well with one another. However, upon closer inspection, it is apparent that they really work together only in cooperation with the brain. The brain is the headquarters, where each of the members sends its concerns. The mind is the one that gives instructions which, if carefully followed, alleviates the concerns. The hands do not talk to the eyes or legs. When the stomach is hungry, it signals the brain. The brain, in turn, tells the legs, "go to the refrigerator," and then tells the hands, "open the door," and so on. The stomach did not talk to the legs or any other part of the body. Not one member of the body consulted with another; instead, all concerns (and desires) go to the brain. The decision to eat is not a community decision; it is the brain's decision. The brain is the one that is in charge of the body's working system; the community (of bodily members) is not. This is the system that God has designed, and it works effectively and efficiently to carry out the tasks that He has designed.

 

This is something to consider when we use Paul's metaphor of the church as a body. Paul uses this metaphor a few times; some examples are in Romans 12:4 - 5; 1 Corinthians 10:16 - 17, 12:12 - 27; Ephesians 1:20 - 23, 4:4 – 12, 16, 5:30; Colossians 3:15. He says that just as the physical body has many members working together for the sake of the body so does the church have many members working together for the sake of the church.

 

In Ephesians 5:23, 24, Paul ties the body to the head (where the brain is),

 

…Christ is the head of the church: and He is the Saviour of the body. Therefore … the church is subject unto Christ,

 

Notice what Paul says: the head is Christ, and the rest of the body is the church. In verse 24, Paul adds that the church (the rest of the body) is subject unto the Christ (the head). In Colossians, Paul repeats that Christ is the head of the body (Colossians 1: 18). Paul adds in Colossians 2:19 that it is the Head "from which all the body by joints and bands having nourishment ministered, and knit together, increaseth with the increase of God." Christ sends His Spirit to our minds, and in conjunction with the Godhead, He controls the mind (if we allow Him to). As a consequence of receiving the indwelling Holy Spirit, we receive the attributes of "lowliness and meekness (humility), with longsuffering, forbearing one another in love; endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace" (Ephesians 4:2, 3). And the Holy Spirit gives to each of us, spiritual gifts according to His discernment. As Ephesians 4:11, 12 says:

 

And He gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ:

 

You see, as long as we remain united to the Head, the Spirit resides in us. As long as the Spirit remains in us, we have the attributes (love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control, humility, etc.) and the gifts. However, when we start consulting with one another as if we were a community, then we lose the attributes, which is what brings cohesion among us, and we lose (or misuse) the gifts. The qualities and the gifts come from the same source, and they are part of one package. You cannot have one without the other.

 

For the church to function as a body, we need to behave more like a body, by communicating with the Head (through prayer, devotions, and bible study). As long as the church acts as a community, it ignores the Head, works in its own strength, and loses the blessings of the attributes and the gifts, and therefore fails. For the church to be an effective body, it must stop behaving like a community, and it starts by allowing Christ - the Head - to conduct and orchestrate all things.

 

~Raul Diaz


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Friday, November 02, 2018

The Gospel of Nitrogen

The previous quarterly dealt with the same incident this lesson is focusing on.  Here is the Insight posted back then.

The Gospel of Nitrogen 

Everything is made of molecules. Some are small and others bigger. 
Some are simple and others complex. Proteins are very large and 
complex molecules. Proteins are made out of smaller molecules called 
amino acids, and Nitrogen is an essential part of all amino acids. 
However, nitrogen as a part of an amino acid is an atom. All 
molecules are made out of atoms. Other molecules that contain nitrogen 
are all nucleic acids (which provide energy and genetic information), 
and most plant pigments involved in photosynthesis. Which implies 
that plants need lots of nitrogen. The most common component of 
plant fertilizers is, in fact, one of two forms of nitrogen - nitrate 
(NO3-) or ammonium (NH4+) ions—both usable forms of nitrogen for 
plants. 

With a concentration of about 78 percent, nitrogen gas comprises the 
largest component of earth's atmosphere. It has at least a million 
times more nitrogen than found in all living systems combined. The bad 
news is that all of this atmospheric nitrogen consists of molecules of 
N2 — that is, two atoms of nitrogen bound tightly together by, what 
chemists call, three strong covalent bonds. Unfortunately, it takes a 
great deal of energy to break the triple bond. Because plants can't 
use molecular nitrogen (N2), nitrogen has to transform into one of the 
two absorbable ions. When you break the bonds between the molecular 
nitrogen, each nitrogen ion is open to attract and attach other atoms 
and form different molecules. So, before the nitrogen can bond with 
other elements like oxygen or hydrogen it has to become an ion itself. 
Let us try to reiterate: the two nitrogen atoms are attracted to each 
other, very strongly. Once bonded the nitrogen atoms cannot bond with 
anything else unless that bond is broken. When the bond is broken, 
the nitrogen will have open spaces to bond with other ions. Now, 
notice that the symbol for nitrate has a negative sign and the 
ammonium has a positive sign, this is why they are called ions and not 
molecules. Both nitrate and ammonium have open spaces to bond as 
well. 

Back to nitrogen: it requires a lot of energy to break nitrogen's 
triple bond. In His wisdom, the Creator provided several ways to 
convert atmospheric molecular nitrogen into usable forms that will 
dissolve in water so that plant roots can absorb it. The immense 
energy of lightning easily breaks triple nitrogen bond, turning it 
into nitrates and washing it down in the rain of a good thunderstorm. 
Have you noticed how green your lawn is after a lightning strikes? 
Even more critical, many types of bacteria convert nitrogen from one 
form to another. Nitrogen-fixing bacteria convert atmospheric nitrogen 
to the more plant-friendly ammonium ion (though it is toxic in large 
concentrations). Other bacteria, called ammonifying bacteria, also 
create the ammonium ion, but they do it by decomposition of plant and 
animal matter. Check out the smell of your compost pile. It reeks of 
ammonia. Fortunately, another family of bacteria called nitrifying 
bacteria transforms the ammonium ion to the safer nitrates. (As you 
might guess, the cycles are more complicated than what I am 
describing.) 

It is not uncommon for atoms in a "multi-atom" molecule to behave 
differently than when they were a mono-atom molecule. As previously 
mentioned, the bonds in molecules of compounds are very strong. The 
atoms that compose the molecules now yield to one another. They work 
as one. Whether, in ammonium or nitrate, nitrogen no longer behaves 
as nitrogen. For example, water is not flammable. But, the two 
elements that compose water – hydrogen, and oxygen - on their own are 
very flammable. 

This has a spiritual application. Let us go step by step. Before 
conversion, the disciples could not bond. Before the crucifixion, 
they were fighting for supremacy. That ceased after the ten days in 
the upper chamber. Luke described what happened then, "And when the 
day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one 
place" (acts 2: 1). Ellen White describes the events in the following 
quote, 
"After Christ's ascension, His disciples--men of varied talents and 
capabilities--assembled in an upper chamber to pray for the gift of 
the Holy Spirit. In this room 'all continued with one accord in prayer 
and supplication.' They made thorough work of repentance by confessing 
their own sins. Upon them was laid no burden to confess one another's 
sins. Settling all differences and alienations, they were of one 
accord, and prayed with unity of purpose for ten days, at the end of 
which time 'they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to 
speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.' {7MR 
94.4} 

There was a definite change in them. This change was reflected in all 
their followers: "Now the multitude of those who believed were of one 
heart and one soul; neither did anyone say that any of the things he 
possessed was his own, but they had all things in common. And with 
great power the apostles gave witness to the resurrection of the Lord 
Jesus. And great grace was upon them all" (Acts 4:32, 33, NKJV). 

What happened? When the Holy Spirit began working in them, He broke 
their bond to Sin or self. It takes the mighty grace of God to do 
this. Now, they have open space to bond with Christ and with each 
other. Christ could not use the disciples in their natural state. 
They had to become spiritual ions to be able to bond with other 
spiritual atoms. 

So, the disciples laid aside all their ambitions. Now instead of 
fighting, they were convicted by the Holy Spirit to die to self. The 
words of Paul became a reality in them: "…be not conformed to this 
world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind," and do not 
think more highly than he ought to think of himself (Romans 12: 2 – 
3). God is waiting for us to let the Holy Spirit do the same work in 
us. 

Raul Diaz 

 RR
Raul Diaz
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