Archive for August 7th, 2009

Picture Perfect

Friday, August 07th, 2009 | Author:

Just thought you might enjoy my fooling around with the photos of butterflies in my front yard.  These have been photoshopped to make them a bit more interesting.  I hope you like them, and smile.

Category: Articles, Pictures  | Tags: ,  | 2 Comments

iPhone APP

Friday, August 07th, 2009 | Author:

Did you know that you can buy Today’s Word as an iPhone App.  Yep, Mantis Bible Company has licensed 2006 and 2007 editions of Today’s Word as a download app for your iPhone.  And, royalties are paid directly to At God’s Table.  So, if you have an iPhone or iTouch and you just have to have more of the stuff I think about, go to these links:

Today’s Word, Volume 6 (2006)

Today’s Word, Volume 7 (2007)

Thanks, Skip

UPDATE BY PATRICK (SKIP’S TECH GEEK): First of all, both links were going to Volume 7, so I fixed those.

Also, I wanted to note that installation instructions are found at the top of both those pages.  It wasn’t fully straight-forward for me at first, so I’ll explain as simply as I can.  Basically, you download Mantis Bible Reader from your iPhone or iTouch though the App Store (or via iTunes, then sync the app).  Then you create a Mantis user account on the device.  And then you can shop on MantisBible.com for additional titles.

For instance, after I downloaded Mantis, I went to their website and bought the NAS + Strongs Bible since I don’t like reading the free New King James that came with it, and I really like having the Strongs number inline.

Then they came out with a Strongs Cross-Reference Dictionary that allows you to see the Hebrew equivalent of Greek works, and vice versa, all inline.  It’s awesome.

Category: Articles  | Tags: , , ,  | One Comment

Carnal?

Friday, August 07th, 2009 | Author:

because the mind set on the flesh is hostile toward God; for it does not subject itself to the law of God, for it is not even able {to do so,} Romans 8:7

The Mind Set On The Flesh – How are you doing in your fight for sinless perfection? Are you winning the battle every day or have you suffered defeats? Are you a sanctified soul or a carnal Christian?

Do these questions bother you?  They should.

Somewhere along the way, Christianity embraced the Greek metaphysics of the body/mind/soul split. When this alien concept crept into Christian thinking, it eventually led to the postulation of a carnal Christian, the believer who has confessed Christ as Savior but does not live with Christ as Lord. This is the person whose life is characterized by actions that do not glorify God but at the same time claims God’s forgiveness and acceptance. The “carnal” Christian has a body under sin’s control but a soul that belongs to God. What? Does that mean God saves only part of this person? Does that mean that what happens in my body doesn’t really matter as long as my soul is saved? A careful reading of the Bible endorses none of this Greek nonsense, but it certainly is a popular way of explaining behavior. Perhaps we need to take another look at Paul’s famous comments about “carnal” Christians (the King James translation of this phrase).

The critical Greek word is phronema. This word covers the entire translated phrase, “the mind set on”. Phronema means “what one has in mind, purposes or thoughts.” In this case, Paul says the purpose or thoughts of this mental condition is sarx, the flesh. This should remind us of the passage in Genesis 6:5, “the intent of the thoughts of the heart.” But notice that the Hebrew equivalent does not suggest a split spiritual state where men confess God but act disobediently. In the Genesis equivalent, the thoughts of their minds were given over to evil and, as a result, God brought judgment upon the earth. These were a long way from the “carnal” Christian bifurcation we find today. In Genesis, intent and purpose in thoughts leads directly to judgment, not excuse. In the ancient world, if your mind was filled with purposes of the flesh, you were not standing in God’s grace. You were not redeemed. You died in the flood along with all the other evil people in the world because the mind whose purposes and intents are determined by sarx is the enemy of God. In Hebrew thought, this is yester ha’ra run amuck.

Paul is a Jewish Messianic rabbi. Do you suppose that he entertained the Greek tripartate division of human beings (body, mind and soul)? Not likely. Paul’s anthropology was homogenized; the neshama or nefesh was one person all mixed up together embodied in this world. God doesn’t save the soul and leave the body to rot. That’s Greek, not Hebrew. So, if Paul would never have accepted the division of human being into parts, then how could he possibly suggest that spiritual existence could be divided between the carnal and the spiritual? If the purposes and intents of my mind (read neshama or nefesh) are filled with hostility toward God, doesn’t that force us to conclude that such a person is not redeemed? After all, this person is an enemy, not a humble seeker. This person is dominated by the yester ha’ra, not struggling against the evil inclination in order to be obedient to the Lord.

Does that mean that Christians are only those who no longer experience the fight for personal holiness? Of course not. That fight goes on for a long, long time. But the person who isn’t fighting probably isn’t domesticated to God. I am either motivated to obey and struggling to do so, or I am capitulating to the evil inclination and comfortable with the result. I am either fighting for God or fighting against Him. There are no fence-sitters in this war.

Topical Index: yester ha’ra, sarx, phronema, mind, body, soul, Genesis 6:5, Romans 8:7, carnal

La mentalidad pecaminosa

Friday, August 07th, 2009 | Author:

La mentalidad pecaminosa es enemiga de Dios, pues no se somete a la ley de Dios, ni es capaz de hacerlo. Romanos 8:7

¿Carnal?

La mentalidad pecaminosa- ¿Cómo va usted en la batalla por la perfección sin pecado? ¿Está usted ganado la batalla a diario ó ha sufrido derrotas? ¿Es un alma sacrificada ó un cristiano carnal?

¿Le molestan estas preguntas? Deberían.

En algún punto del camino, el cristianismo abrazó la metafísica griega de la división del cuerpo/mente/alma. Cuando este concepto alienígeno se escabulló en el pensamiento cristiano, eventualmente conllevó a la postulación del cristiano carnal, el creyente que confesó a Cristo cómo su Salvador pero que no vive con Cristo cómo su Señor. Esta es la persona cuya vida se caracteriza por las acciones que no glorifican a Dios pero que al mismo tiempo claman el perdón y aceptación de Dios. El cristiano “carnal” tiene un cuerpo bajo el control del pecado pero su alma le pertenece a Dios. ¿Qué? ¿Significa eso que Dios salva sólo una parte de la persona? Una lectura cuidadosa de la Biblia no apoya nada de estas necedades griegas, pero ciertamente es una manera popular de explicar el comportamiento. Quizás necesitamos ver una vez más los famosos comentarios de hablo acerca de los cristianos “carnales” (la traducción de la Reina Valera acerca de esta frase).

La palabra crítica griega es phronema. La palabra cubre la frase traducida entera “Puesta la mente en-mentalidad” Phronema significa “lo que uno tiene en mente, propósitos ó pensamientos”. En este caso, Pablo dice que los propósitos ó pensamientos de esta condición mental es sarx, la carne. Esto debería de recordarnos del pasaje en Génesis 6:5, “las intenciones y pensamientos del corazón”. Pero notemos que el equivalente hebreo no sugiere una división espiritual donde el hombre confiesa a Dios sino que actúa de manera desobediente. En el equivalente de Génesis, los pensamientos de sus mentes se daban a la maldad y, cómo resultado, Dios traía el juicio sobre la tierra. Estos están muy lejos de ser la bifurcación de cristianos “carnales” hoy en día. En el antiguo mundo, si tu mente estaba llena de los propósitos de la carne, no estabas parado en la gracia de Dios. No eras redimido. Moriste en el diluvio junto con todas las demás personas del mundo porque la mente cuya intención y propósitos eran determinadas por sarx era el enemigo de Dios. En pensamiento hebreo, esto es yester ha´ra volverse loco.

Pablo es un rabino mesiánico judío. ¿Usted cree que el entretuvo la división tripartita griega de los seres humanos (espíritu, alma y cuerpo)? Probablemente no. La antropología de pablo estaba homogenizada, el neshama ó nefesh era una persona toda confundida en su cuerpo en este mundo. Dios nos salva el alma y deja que el cuerpo se pudra. Eso es griego, no hebreo. De manera que si, Pablo nunca hubiera aceptado la división de los seres humanos en partes, entonces ¿cómo puede sugerir que la existencia espiritual puede dividirse en lo carnal y en lo espiritual? Si los propósitos e intenciones de mi mente (leído como neshama ó nefesh) están llenos de hostilidad hacia Dios, ¿no nos obliga eso a concluir que tal persona no es redimida? Después de todo, esa persona es un enemigo, no un buscador humilde. Esta persona está siendo dominada por el yester ha´ra, no luchando contra la inclinación maligna para poder ser obediente al Señor.

¿Significa eso que los cristianos son sólo aquellos que ya no experimentan la lucha por la santidad personal? Claro que no. La lucha sigue por un largo, largo tiempo. Pero la persona que no esté luchando probablemente no está domesticada a Dios. Yo ó estoy motivado a obedecer y estoy en la lucha por hacerlo, ó estoy capitulando a la inclinación del mal y cómodo con el resultado. Yo ó estoy luchando por Dios ó luchando en Su contra. No hay observadores en la banca en esta guerra.

Índice de Tema: yester ha´ra, sarx, phronema, mente, alma, cuerpo, Génesis 6:5,

Romanos 8:7, carnal