Who Cares?
When they saw Him, they worshipped Him, but some were doubtful. Matthew 28:17 NASB
Doubtful – What is the opposite of faith? If you’re of a Greek mindset, you would say, “Doubt.” That’s because the Greek idea of faith is tied to cognitive agreement. If I have Greek faith, I am mentally convinced. My mind is made up. I agree with the propositions. This Greek idea has saturated our culture. We say, “He lost faith,” by which we mean, “He no longer holds fast to his conviction.” We are plagued by doubt which most Christians consider a sin. After all, the double-minded man is unstable in all his ways and who could be more double-minded than the man who doubts the truth.
But notice Matthew’s report. These men saw with their own eyes the risen Yeshua and they worshipped Him. But some edistansan (doubted – from the Greek verb distazo – to waiver, to hesitate, to be uncertain in opinion). You can think of it as “standing at a distance from yourself.” The Greek language itself supports the idea that doubt is a mental issue. How could these people worship and doubt at the same time?
The problem is resolved in Hebrew. First we notice that Matthew pays absolutely no further attention to this “important” detail. Yeshua never bats an eye at this doubt. He goes right on telling His disciples what to do. He doesn’t even take a moment to sympathize. Obviously, for Matthew and Yeshua doubt does not require therapy. That’s because doubt doesn’t matter. What matters is obedience. The emphasis in Hebrew is not on your mental state. It’s on your feet and hands. It’s perfectly alright to question things. It’s acceptable, in fact even encouraged, to withhold cognitive affirmation. Doubt is simply part of the process of learning. What is not acceptable is disobedience. Frankly, Yeshua doesn’t care if His disciples have lingering hesitation about their interpretation of these events. But He does care that they get about His business.
Go do it! That’s what’s important.
Hebraic thinking doesn’t begin with rational arguments, compelling doctrines or cognitive convictions. It begins by doing something. It is the most practical of religions. Have doubts? No problem. Just get into the flow of doing things and see what happens. Just start acting on the basis of the instructions. It’s OK to doubt. In fact, it’s expected. After all, you won’t know the Hebraic truth of the matter – and that means the reliability of your stance – until you actually stand.
They worshipped. Some doubted. So what? Then they went about doing what He said. You have to walk the road to clear up the doubt. There are no intellectual bystanders among followers of The Way.
Topical Index: doubt, distazo, Matthew 28:17, cognitive, practical
What a beautiful Sabbath blessing! So comforting. Thanks!!
I’m about to have a “selah” moment.. lol! But first, I have to “remember” (in my remembrance) what “selah” is all about.. Oh well.. – it will come to me.. If only I had Someone to help me to remember..(John 14.26) Now where was I? Oh yes.. today’s agenda
I was thinking about robbing a bank today.. so I should just “do it”… Don’t have to think about it, don’t have to plan, don’t have to prepare, -just do it. Well.., on second thought(?) maybe this just isn’t such a good idea after all. hey! wait just a minute doesn’t an idea originate somewhere in the mind of man? Or was this just a liver shiver, or passing shadow?
The battle my brothers and sisters is (forever) for the mind. Hebrew and/or Greek. Repent? Metanoia? Carl, you shouldn’t steal, it’s wrong! Oh? Yes, it is one of YHWH’s instructions to us. Very well, then- I will not. Why? Because God (my ABBA Father) said, “don’t do it.” Or Adam, how about a bite of that forbidden fruit? It sure looks tasty to the minds-eye, doesn’t it? After all, ~Has God instructed, “don’t eat the fruit?”
~ Now the serpent was more subtle than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, has God said, you shall not eat of every tree of the garden? (Don’t miss this folks, it was a pivotal point in history!) Well, as I recall, He did say that, but -you know- look at that fruit- it does look so inviting, doesn’t it? Yes, and as I recall.. Oh! – there goes my mind again, (sorry).
David “saw” Bathsheba, all of things taking a bath and rather “exposed” up on the roof. A little “lust of the eye” anyone? My, my- there’s some “eye candy” for ya! Well would you look at that! Yummy! – I see it, I want it, now I’m going to put “plan A” into action! Uh.. David,- we walk by faith NOT by sight.. remember? ~ Be sober, be vigilant..~
The desires of the mind brothers and sisters. It starts “in here..” With an inkling, a seed, a thought, a “logos” ~ Bringing into captivity every “thought” to the obedience of Christ. ~ Do not let this Book of Instruction depart from your mouth; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful ~ (Joshua 1.8) But doesn’t meditation involve the mind?
The thought is (forever) the father of the deed. First think, then do.. – or just jump off the front porch wearing roller skates and see what happens next. Don’t think about it!- Just check your brain at the door folks! Brain-dead kool-aid drinking zombies- here’s a “called out assembly” custom tailored just for you! (not).
The Greeks are not the enemy. (sorry..-not buying what your selling..). In Hebraic thought- thought? Doesn’t thought require thinking? (I’m thinking it might..) And I think I know the word for this one.. isn’t it “oy?” Would this work? Are we not to listen to Him? ~ receive with meekness the engrafted word? ~ Did He not say, ~ the words I speak unto you,- they are breath and they are life? ~ Does He not create life by speaking?
~But He answered and said, “It is written,” Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God ~ (Deuteronomy 4.4)
I’ve heard those three words -“it is written” somewhere before.. now if I could only remember where I heard this.. – for faith comes by hearing and hearing by.. -the word of God ~
“Faith” is our right-response to the word(s) of God. And what is our right response? Ask Adam. Ask him as he was on his way out of the doorway to Paradise. Did the thought ever cross his mind- “if only I would have listened to what God said, and acted according to His instructions.. “if only I would have obeyed.”
Regrets?- I’ve had my share. But Hallelujah!- there is a cure. It begins with repentance. A change of heart. In Hebrew is would be “lev.” In Greek, it is the mind. To cover all the bases: ~ you shall love the LORD your Elohim with all your heart-soul-mind and strength ~. The key word here is “all,” (y’all..).
All your heart. All your soul. All your mind. All your strength. All. -That’s all.
God wants, desires, deserves, the “all” of every one of us. ~We are His people and the sheep of His pasture ~ Oh yes, and to remind us again.. ~ other sheep have I which are not of this fold.. ~
~For God So loved the world..~ Does this include the Jew? Positively. Does this include the sinful Gentiles? Absolutely. For He has said, (this is how we roll folks..) ~ Whosoever will may come..~ Come unto Me, “all” you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn of Me, for I AM meek and lowly in heart and you shall find rest for your souls ~
The key is Christ. Christ is the center. Christ is the compass. Christ is the circumference. And at the dead center of Christ is the cross. This sinless spotless Man was born to die. ~ For this cause came I into the world..~ And (we are to) walk in love, as Christ also hath loved us, and has given Himself for us an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling savor ~ (Ephesians 5:2)
Where does this love come from? Where is the Source? It is God’s love, Love no longer concealed, but revealed for “whosoever will” at Calvary.
~ and when they saw Him-they worshiped Him, but some doubted..~ Peter’s confession?- (and one that greatly pleased our Savior)- ~You are the Christ the Son of the living God ~ I would agree and quickly add to this, “He is,” the Alpha and the Omega, amen.
Abraham believed God and it was counted unto him for righteousness.., but the next morning he got up and saddled his donkey. He acted upon the instructions of ADONAI, and obeyed. First belief, then behavior. Attitude and action. Creed and conduct. Doctrine and doing. It’s not either or- it’s both. We (all) are to “shema’ our Savior who said:
~ Go into all the world (to the Jew first and also to the Greek) and proclaim the gospel (good news): ~ for unto you is born this day, a Savior who is Christ the LORD! ~ We have our instructions..
Oh for the capacity for the opportunity to swallow this mmmm good treasures of HIS person.
Thank you again Carl for your dedication to HIM who is LIFE.
I must read and re read what Skip and others have said here..so much to encounter if we desire to go forward in beinging conformed to HIS LOVELY IMAGE of HOLINESS.
Carl, This is long, I’m sorry but you have hit one of my hot buttons. It’s funny (not) how men in even the best circles protect one another when it comes to sexual peccadilloes by blaming the victim. I’m sorry, Your Honor, I couldn’t help myself, she tempted me.” Even to the extent of putting words into the mouth of God.
From time immemorial the po’ folk have lived down in the holler, while the upper crust lived on the heights. Uriah must have been a man of some reputation to have a house high up and next to the wall of the palace, the highest place in town.
Here is the mythology: Bathsheba was bathing seductively on the roof of her house knowing full well that David, the king, liked to walk on the ramparts at night. She was flaunting her nakedness with the possible (probable) expectation of improving her station by snagging a king.
Here is the reality: 2Sa 11:2-3 David was on the roof. He knew who Bathsheba was, when he asked about her later he already knew her name, her father’s name, and her husband’s name. Probability: He was on the roof with the intent of peeping into her quarters. As despicable a perversion then, I am sure, as it is today.
Bathsheba was bathing, where we are not told. Could have been on the roof, in an enclosed courtyard even inside the house behind an open window or door. What we do know is that it was at night in her own home where she had a reasonable expectation of privacy. We also know that she did not get “knocked up” that night or close to it because she was at the end of her period, Yes it does say that. And if you are using the rhythm method that is the least fertile part of a woman’s cycle. We don’t even know if she Was completely naked, or only partially so. It is not even relevant, in Victorian England the sight of a woman’s ankle was prurient, in Imperial Japan the exposed back of a woman’s neck would send a man round the bend.
Fact; 2Sa 11:4 David sent men to bring her to him. When an absolute monarch sends for you do not say “No thank you?” hardly! Hebrew law days if a woman is attacked in a city and cries out, even if no one comes to help she is innocent. We don’t know if Bathsheba cried out, but who would dare going to help her when the attacker is the king? But can we know if she was an unwilling participant? Yes we can! Later! That is the rest of the story.
2SA 11:5-13 Sometime later when Bathsheba turns up preggy Uriah is sent for in the hopes that he will supply an acceptable alibi, but he won’t go to his house, and see his his defiled wife. Does he know?! We all know how men are when they are being obscene, snigger, snigger, wink,wink, poke, poke. Uriah would have to have been an idiot to not know the moment he entered the barracks. When the other soldiers who are sharing a ribald joke about the worst kept secrete in Jerusalem stop laughing when he walks in, and give him ‘that look’, you know the one! But the proof of that is also part “of the rest of the story.”
2Sa 12:-9 Nathan the prophet is told by God to confront David with his crimes. Even a prophet of God had to be circumspect with a king and he tricked David into condemning himself first. First hint Bathsheba is referred to as an innocent lamb.The rest of the story relates to the prophesy. 2 Sa 11-12 (in my words) Some one from your family is going to do to you and your wives (concubines), in front of all Israel, in the light of day, what you have done in secrete under cover of night.
The rest of the story: 2Sa 16:21-22 Davids son Absalom, while David has fled leaving the senior concubines in charge, next clue; concubines who are most certainly not on the roof flaunting themselves, takes these ten old ladies up onto the roof of the palace and publicly rapes them in front of all Israel, in broad day light. Yes, rapes, they were most assuredly not willing participants in the act. Fulfilling the prophesy and exposing Davids culpability.
The rest of the rest of the story; Did Uriah know? Did David? Yes, and David’s actions mirrored Uriah’s. He never again touched his defiled women.
This was long and I apologize but we are hardly out of the dark ages here and with sharia law breathing down our necks now is no time to bury our heads in the sand and avoid taking responsibility for thoughts and actions by minimizing the bad and the ugly. Peace Carl
Ann, that was an absolutely beautiful description of the ugliness of sin, regardless of one’s “station” in life. Regardless of position, whether a prince or a pauper,- sin damns, debilitates and destroys. Even in the case of a king, what does this episode in the life of the King do but to prove, even more-so the worth and truth of the Word of God in that no attempt is made to cover up or to hide this heinous crime even committed by one who was reported to be “a man after God’s own heart!” (1 Samuel 13:13–14)
No, when our Bible paints the picture- it includes “warts and all..” And now for the rest of the story.. Look at the “fallout” (for lack of a better word) from the consequences of this.. “the plowing of the wicked is sin” (Proverbs 21.4). Why? He contaminates every thing he touches.. – And oh, -does one thing lead to another? Just one look is all it took.. Sin is assuredly an “inside job”. In this sordid case, the “lust of the eye”. I see it- I want it.. and of course.. being the king- I deserve it. (the sin of pride). And we also have to ask, why is David lollygagging (Southern Hebrew word) around the palace when he should be out leading his troops? When did this temptation occur? When David was relaxing on the roof- might have gone up to catch the cool night breezes..-I don’t know.. I wasn’t there.
But I do know David had a choice when he first caught a glimpse of this “apparently” fine female..- The first look might have been unavoidable, -could have been an “oops”- (idk), but it is the second and more intentional look (even more lingering?) that got him in trouble.
An idea formed in this man’s mind- and it wasn’t a good one. Oh David, – what would you do for a Klondike bar? Even David, one of the “heroes of the faith” was a sinner, – “just like me..”
I can’t go pointing any fingers, but rather thank God for gift of a “Nathan” in my own life. Someone to say unto me, “you (Carl) are the man” – “Me? ” Guilty as charged. A commandment breaker with a history (also) of disobedience to the commandments of our Elohim. “Thou shalt not?”.. I “shalted..” when I shouldn’t. A sinner, condemned, -unclean. (Just like David!).
But you know what our Bible says? ~ For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles at just one point is guilty of breaking all of it ~ (James 2.10) It is not the amount of sin- it is the fact of sin, and “all” have sinned.. Jews, Gentiles, males, females- “all have sinned.” The purpose of the Law? ~ to reveal the entire world is guilty before God ~ Jews and Gentiles alike.. ~ for all have sinned ~(Romans 3.19)
I love Psalm 51 for it is a picture of not only the destructive, debilitating power of sin, but it also reveals the cure. ~ If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. ~ (1 John 1.9)
David found out- the hard way- just as the rest of us “scarred sinners..” have, and it is true,-
As a child I foolishly turned God away
Not knowing the heartache a sinner must face
But God in His goodness has let me return
To share with His children this lesson I’ve learned
Sin will take you farther than you wanna go
Slowly but wholly taking control
Sin will keep you longer than you wanna stay
Sin will cost you far more than you wanna pay
So with pleasure and promises sin took control
Leaving me dying with nothing to show
Gone were my loved ones and my dearest friends
Only a Savior could love me again..
What does the Word of God have to say about repentance? Was David restored unto “right-relationship” with Elohim? His request? ~ restore unto me the joy of Your salvation..~ the joy test.
Joy is the flag flown high from the castle of the heart, when the King is in residence there.. – in this case, David’s LORD,- the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.
This is the promise of God to “whosoever will..”
~ Therefore say you unto them, Thus says the LORD of hosts; Turn you unto Me, says the LORD of hosts, and I will turn unto you, says the LORD of Heaven’s Armies ~
True belief and true repentance
-every grace that brings you nigh..
Ann, I am in total agreement with your assessment, but to me, here is the “rest of the story..” No one “gets away with”- nothing. ~ Let God be true, and every man a liar,~ the soul that sins, it shall die ~ no exceptions. (Ezekiel 18.20) Especially when it comes to sin, – God don’t play. (Just the facts m’am) -It is not the amount of sin, it is the fact of sin and now for the question:
The Law can reveal my sin, but what can wash away my sin?
Marvelous grace of our loving Lord,
Grace that exceeds our sin and our guilt!
Yonder on Calvary’s mount outpoured,
There where the blood of the Lamb was spilled.
Grace, grace, God’s grace,
Grace that will pardon and cleanse within;
Grace, grace, God’s grace,
Grace that is greater than all our sin.
Sin and despair, like the sea waves cold,
Threaten the soul with infinite loss;
Grace that is greater, yes, grace untold,
Points to our refuge, the mighty cross.
Dark is the stain that we cannot hide.
What can avail to wash it away?
Look! There is flowing a crimson tide,
Brighter than snow you may be today.
Marvelous, infinite, matchless grace,
Freely bestowed on all who believe!
You that are longing to see His face,
Will you this moment His grace receive?
Carl, thank you for your kind words, but I feel I failed to make my point. That is that Bathsheba’s seduction was no seduction at all but a rape plain and simple. I find myself in the position of being the defender of her virtue. I have heard it from the pulpit and in the parlor, “Oh poor David, seduced by that wicked, Hittite whore. out there on the roof deliberately exposing herself to him.” And firmly closing their eyes to everything else that was written.
Rape is always about power, lust and power, never love. If David forced her, even if he did not knock her around but used only the power of his position as absolute ruler to coercer her it is rape. Nathan’s prophesy makes it clear that what David did to Uriah, through his wife, in secret, would be done to him in public. There is no ambiguity about Absalom’s actions.
Here’s a thread I’ve never heard explored. Even if he were a war hero what was Uriah, and his beautiful wife, doing with one of the most prestigious addresses in the whole nation? A house at the top of the heap, conveniently locate, some might say, right under the kings bedroom. If one were a conspiracy theorist, one might deduce that strings were pulled.
Natan made it clear that David had not only abused the woman, and murdered her husband to cover it up and had abused his power and his position to do it. But he had also dishonored the blessings of God.
And what about Absalom’s actions. David is old, he leaves the palace in the charge of some of his concubines. He is not going to leave young flibberdegibbits in charge. These are women, who were undoubtedly gorgeous at one time but are now mature, responsible women, “of a certain age.” Absalom grew up in that place. These women probably played with him when he was a child. What he did to them is almost as as bad as raping his own nana. What an awful person, what a monumental failure as a father was David.
P.S. Solomon grew with this spoiled brat. No wonder that later he wrote Spare the rod and spoil the child.
Ann, I think you will love this: [I didn’t write this, I found it]
How did Bathsheba feel after David sent her back home?
Surely she would have heard that Uriah came back but refused to return home to her. What would have run through her mind at this point? The King had asked for her, had pleasure of her and was now washing his hands off the whole matter.
She probably felt used, betrayed and could have turned bitter. We have to salute to Bathsheba that she quietly left the whole matter entirely to her king and her God. She was caught in a complex situation, which she did not try to deliver herself by her own means. Neither did she resist the plot of David to put her away. If she were vying for high places, she would have protested. There was no bargain, no complaint, no threat and no tears. She displayed tremendous calm and faith. She waited. She stood alone. She left her destiny in the hands of her God.
Why was the suffering of Bathsheba so silent?
Acts 8:32, Isa 53:9
“He was led as a sheep to the slaughter; And as a lamb before its shearer is silent, So He opened not His mouth… He had done no violence. Nor was there deceit in His mouth.”
Remember Nathan, when he confronted David, referred to her as a little lamb?
No where else in God’s Word is another specific known person other than Christ that is identified as a sheep. Christ is the Lamb and Bathsheba was a fully-grown female sheep. She is His foremother and carries the characteristic of her son and Master who was led as a sheep to the slaughter and yet remained silent.
God chose this controversial woman, Bathsheba, to bring forth the lineage of Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior. Joseph and Mary were her direct descendents. The Scriptures says that Bathsheba borne 4 sons to King David: Solomon, Nathan, Shimea and Shobab and among them, 2 were direct forefathers of Jesus. Joseph was from the lineage of Solomon, born of David and Bathsheba (Matt. 1:6) and Mary was a direct descendent of Nathan, born of David and Bathsheba (Luke 3:31).
God makes no mistake in honoring whom He will. Moreover, among all the sons of David, Solomon, the son of Bathsheba was chosen to be the first successor to King David. Why? Would God choose to honor such a woman ‘of sin’ throughout the history of His Holy nation, Israel, where so much emphasis is placed on genealogical uprightness? There were so many other sons that were borne to those other wives of David who were not tainted with such disrepute, yet God picked this woman (of shame?) to bring forth the successor. This leaves many baffled, and they say it simply is proof of God’s grace and mercy.
True, God is merciful, but not unrighteous and unfair. Genealogical birthrights and curses are something that God is always very particular about. He visited sins down the generations.
But whatever satan has done to cast ugliness on her, she is very honored by the Holy God.
Bathsheba will always remain in eternity as the virtuous woman who prevailed well with God.
No wonder the Lord rebuked David that because of his error, he had given great occasion to the enemy to blaspheme the Name of God (2 Sam 12:14), even to this day.
Dorothy thank you for that lovely post! I have never heard it put that way before. Even though God set the record straight in scripture people millenniums later are still wont to prejudicially characterize her as a shady lady. Trust God to vindicate this honorable victim by her natural son becoming one of the great men of history. And redeeming her virtue with the most singular honor of her many, generations removed, legal and genetic great grandson becoming the Savior of the world! Thank you so much for “getting it” and for sharing. Antoneea
Dorothy How did Bathsheba feel after David sent her back home?
OK one last word and then I’ll shut up, Promise, =)) The physiological trauma of rape is given lots of air in our era, not so much in Biblical times. Ancient Judeaen mores more closely resembled modern day Iraq than modern Israel. In confronting David, Nathan makes the point that the ‘man in his story cherished his ewe lamb,’ which somehow made it’s theft all that much more despicable. But nobody asks how the ewe lamb felt about it, other than to judge that “she got what she wanted.” But did she?
Now that Bathsheba’s feelings are on the table let’s speculate. Suppose she adored her husband, Uriah. She is taken against her will, and her adored husband rejects her as a result! And he is then murdered by her assailant! What must she have felt? We can only guess, but I’m pretty sure she was devastated. What’s an honorable woman to do? Well apparently she coped nobly with a situation over which she had no control, and God rewarded her for it and worked it out in the end. Perhaps she even came to love David though it could not have been easy.
But here is a novel idea! How about not hurting the people you love. David is not the only old time king who loved much but maybe not wisely. Shah Jahan loved his wife Mumtaz Muhal. So much so that he built The Taj Mahal for her tomb as an expression of his love and grief. After she died in childbirth with his fourteenth kid. Wouldn’t it have been nice if he had refrained from loving her death and built this lovely building for her while she was still alive? I’m just saying, men think with your brains and not your….regel…ah, er toes. AKA Ruth and Boaz
Dorothy How did Bathsheba feel after David sent her back home?
OK one last word and then I’ll shut up, Promise, =)) The psycolological trauma of rape is given lots of air in our era, not so much in Biblical times. Ancient Judeaen mores more closely resembled modern day Iraq than modern Israel. In confronting David, Nathan makes the point that the ‘man in his story cherished his ewe lamb,’ which somehow made it’s theft all that much more despicable. But nobody asks how the ewe lamb felt about it, other than to judge that “she got what she wanted.” But did she?
Now that Bathsheba’s feelings are on the table let’s speculate. Suppose she adored her husband, Uriah. She is taken against her will, and her adored husband rejects her as a result! And he is then murdered by her assailant! What must she have felt? We can only guess, but I’m pretty sure she was devastated. What’s an honorable woman to do? Well apparently she coped nobly with a situation over which she had no control, and God rewarded her for it and worked it out in the end. Perhaps she even came to love David though it could not have been easy.
But here is a novel idea! How about not hurting the people you love. David is not the only old time king who loved much but maybe not wisely. Shah Jahan loved his wife Mumtaz Muhal. So much so that he built The Taj Mahal for her tomb as an expression of his love and grief. After she died in childbirth with his fourteenth kid. Wouldn’t it have been nice if he had refrained from loving her death and built this lovely building for her while she was still alive? I’m just saying, men think with your brains and not your….regel…ah, er toes. AKA Ruth and Boaz
Matt. 28:17 And when they saw Him, they worshiped Him; but some doubted.
It appears to me that perhaps He may be addressing their doubt with the statement; “All power is given unto Me in Heaven and on earth.
And the rest of the discourse confirms all that you just taught us; >GO< ye therefore and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you. And lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world." Amen.
I love the Hebrew way. Do it and you will find out. Taste and see if YHVH is Good.
Shabbat Shalom so glad you're home 🙂
Worshipped (προσεκύνησαν) Prostrated themselves.
This is the first time that the disciples are described as doing so! Noteworthy.
I have decided to agrue with myself today. Nobody else need apply. lol
On one hand, I cannot believe the doubters spoken of are “the Eleven,” –after what took place at previous interviews in Jerusalem. But if the five hundred were now present, I think doubt springs from some of them, but not the disciples.
On the other hand, perhaps to “doubt” underlines, –for sake of future intellectuals– that the disciples weren’t simple minded, [I must borrow from my favorite author] They weren’t ‘brain-dead kool-aid drinking zombies’, but required something to satisfy them to the point that they would NEVER WAIVER while preaching the way of salvation and have the iorn-in-conviction and strength to go on to drink of their cups, “full of belief”.
We all need to ask ourselves on any given day or moment in a situation if we ourselves are “believers” or are we “doubters”.
It has helped me to bridge many a situtation, when I resolved “to believe”.
Mat 28:17 When they saw Him, they worshiped Him; but some were doubtful.
Mat 28:18 And Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth.
Mat 28:19 Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit,
Mat 28:20 teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.
Hmmm
When I first encountered Today’s Word, I was reading a lot of Slavoj Žižek, eg:
Hegel versus Heidegger “Heidegger’s Critique of Hegel”
Not that I understood it, but I liked Heidegger’s metaphor the Prison House of Language
I think Heidegger thought that language was the ultimate reality (God’s Word?)
In any case, it strikes me that we are always playing with language
So we have an issue with God and Jesus in that in language
“Things” are either identical or different and God and Jesus are different (two things)
But we can’t have “two things,” because God is nothing if He is not One “thing”)
And even if He is One thing he is still no thing
So if we want to bring Jesus into this game, we need a “close encounter” of a third kind
The “Holy Ghost” who bridges the Gap between the Father and the Son
And makes the three things One
One more thing
Zizek was also advocating that Paul be considered the cultural Hero of the New Age
I found this to be an extraordinarily unusual view at the time
Because Zizek was a Hegelian Marxist philosopher with an amazing understanding of movies
And I always thought Paul had created Catholicism
And was not aware of the corruption
In some of the Pauline texts
Michael, can you help me? I don’t want to bother Skip but I have a sort of embarrassing problem. It stems from my dyslexia and appalling spelling as a result. I rely heavily on spell check. On this thread I submitted a comment that had the wrong word in one place that looked sort of like the word I’d wanted and it slipped past me. I was however able to retrieve it, and change it. Encouraged I decided that a reference to a Muslim king was irrelevant and wanted to delete that too. Instead of removing a sentence or two however, to my surprise and horror, I replicated the whole comment. I do not have the computer skills to alter this mishap. Could you perhaps delete the entire second comment for me from your end, and the last paragraph of my original, and last entry on this thread? Thank you in advance for relieving me of this embarrassment. Ann
“Thank you in advance for relieving me of this embarrassment.”
Hi Ann,
I’m sorry but I don’t have the system “authority” to delete a comment
But I don’t think you have said or done anything to be embarrassed about
And that’s coming from a person who has a lot of experience
Sending emails at work that have accidentally offended people 🙂
–I have decided to argue with myself today. Nobody else need apply. lol–
Oh sister Dorothy.. you have me tearin’ up! lol!
O for a thousand tongues to sing
My great Redeemer’s praise,
The glories of my God and King,
The triumphs of His grace!
My gracious Master and my God,
Assist me to proclaim,
To spread through all the earth abroad
The honors of Thy name.
Jesus! the Name that calms our fears,
That bids our sorrows cease;
’Tis music in the sinner’s ears,
’Tis life, and health, and peace.
He breaks the power of canceled sin,
He sets the prisoner free;
His blood can make the foulest clean,
His blood availed for me.
He speaks, and, listening to His voice,
New life the dead receive,
The mournful, broken hearts rejoice,
The humble poor believe.
Hear Him, ye deaf; His praise, ye dumb,
Your loosened tongues employ;
Ye blind, behold your Savior come,
And leap, ye lame, for joy.
In Christ your Head, you then shall know,
Shall feel your sins forgiven;
Anticipate your heaven below,
And own that love is heaven.
Glory to God, and praise and love
Be ever, ever given,
By saints below and saints above,
The church in earth and heaven.
On this glad day the glorious Sun
Of Righteousness arose;
On my benighted soul He shone
And filled it with repose.
Sudden expired the legal strife,
’Twas then I ceased to grieve;
My second, real, living life
I then began to live.
Then with my heart I first believed,
Believed with faith divine,
Power with the Holy Ghost received
To call the Savior mine.
I felt my Lord’s atoning blood
Close to my soul applied;
Me, me He loved, the Son of God,
For me, for me He died!
I found and owned His promise true,
Ascertained of my part,
My pardon passed in heaven I knew
When written on my heart.
Look unto Him, ye nations, own
Your God, ye fallen race;
Look, and be saved through faith alone,
Be justified by grace.
See all your sins on Jesus laid:
The Lamb of God was slain,
His soul was once an offering made
For every soul of man.
Awake from guilty nature’s sleep,
And Christ shall give you light,
Cast all your sins into the deep,
And wash the sinner white.
Harlots and publicans and thieves
In holy triumph join!
Saved is the sinner that believes
From crimes as great as mine.
Murderers and all ye hellish crew
In holy triumph join!
Believe the Savior died for you;
For me the Savior died.
With me, your chief, ye then shall know,
Shall feel your sins forgiven;
Anticipate your heaven below,
And own that Love is heaven.
(Charles Wesley, 1739)
~ May the LORD bless you and keep you.
May the LORD make His face to shine upon you, and be gracious to you.
May the LORD lift up His countenance upon you, and give you peace ~
. . . so lovely a song it is a prayer . . .
Brother Carl, please pray with me this once, — tomorrow someone I have long prayed for has said they will attend church with me. Ask God’s will be done in their life. I am at peace and content with God’s perfect timing — no matter what happens tomorrow. I have learned to trust God more than fear what the enemy can do. And those who trust and believe in the compassion of God are not in a hurry.
It is well with my soul. That would make a good song title, yes??! Grin.
The way that I see it is that our heart is like a garden. Words,
like seeds can be planted in it. Doubt can spring up in our heart
like a weed does in a garden. At the first notice of a doubt
I like to pull it, to reject it, and go back to cultivating the plants (thoughts)
that I want to grow. Weeds are easier to pull when they are small,
and after gardening for years, God has helped me to spot weeds (doubts)
really quick. I pull them fast because I like less work and if they go to
seed they multiply. So, I think with doubt and weeds, out quick is good
but they are part of gardening.
Lois
Lois, I had pastors who said the same to me. Was it not for there advice not to doubt, I would have followed Yeshua much sooner in my life. It turns out that my doubts were grounded in misinterpretations of Scripture by the same pastors. Once I decided to “struggle out” the doubts together with Yeshua and found the truth, I found my trust and faith grew in Yeshua – based on Truth that I knew first hand.
I found doubt a great starting block for amazing interaction with Yeshuah as Messiah.
And Skip, thank you that we may talk about doubt on this forum. Thank you that we may doubt you as well. Thank you that you initiates communication between HaShem and myself.
Lois, I”m going to say Amen to your gardening essay. I like this.
And it is the same for a root of bitterness. Easier and cleaner to pull it up while it is tender. Left to grow, the roots become strong and spread into other areas we had hope of tending better things.
I am at home with a parable of growing things and tending the choice seeds, rejecting the seeds from the enemy.
“I am the true vine, and my Father is the Gardener.” John 15: 1-4
My greatest moments of positive growth have been when I allowed doubt to keep its place, to give it space, to help find words for it, and to explore its meaning; at the same time, I don’t throw the metaphorical card deck up in the air as if doubt changes everything. Doubt enters in and we need to plumb the depths of it to see if we find truth in it. If we don’t allow for doubt, we are automatons, afraid of uncertainty, and at risk of being slaves to dogma.
Ilze,
Thanks for responding to my comment. After I reread my comment I realized that it was mainly about managing thoughts, very Greek, I guess. I’m new to Skip’s teaching and think it is very powerful, but I am a beginner at the Hebraic part and learning lots of new things. ..
I didn’t mean to come across like I was saying ‘don’t doubt’. Rather I thought I was saying it is natural and to be expected.
I like how you said…………………..
to “struggle out” the doubts together with Yeshua and found the truth, I found my trust and faith grew in Yeshua – based on Truth that I knew first hand.
I also think that truth found personally is the most healing and satisfying.
I think you are right. I should give more credit to Jesus when my doubt, fear, resentment etc are overcome. Even the little ones come out only in His strength.
Thanks.
Karen,
Maybe some people have more tolerance to doubt and doubt exploration than others. I think it is great that you and others can explore doubt and grow.
I share this as an encouragement It’s how God worked in my life.
I am severely disabled and was diagnosed wrong as a child. The disease that I struggle with, Dystonia, was incorrectly diagnosed as psychological. I spent years in a mental hospital and in therapy only to find out after college that the disease is neurological. I went through severe battles with doubt, fear and resentment and through people, Jesus brought me to His love and gave me the strength to live a stable life. He was so good to me when I came to Him!. I am older, and perhaps I have gone through my major struggles in getting to the bottom of things and find the Hebrew idea of getting on with ‘doing’ very refreshing. .
Excellent discourse on ~ for all have sinned.. ~ even David, “a man after God’s own heart.”
One thing I will give David credit for, and even admire him for was his willingness to agree with Nathan, “I have sinned..”. This is the beginning of the cure- “I have a problem..” He didn’t blame his sin (I’m surprised) on George Bush, even though we all know it was “all his fault!..” Adam was a blame-shifter.. “the woman You gave me..” – (she made me do it..). No Adam, you made your own choice..
No, this is about David’s , not Bathsheba. It was David’s choice as king, as the one who had at this time, “authority” to proceed on and act based upon the movement of his bowels, and going from thought to deed, lust was conceived, sin was born and the results were a messy mess. Sin contaminates and yes, for generations and while we’re here, let us remember, love is never “forced.”
Now what does this say to me, as a father of two beautiful children? Carl, obey God. What is the absolute “best” thing I can do for my own family, whom I love and treasure deeply? Obey God. Obey God for the sake of my children. Obey God for my children’s future. Their future depends upon my obedience. – Does this motivate me to live a godly life? It’s off the charts, people- I hate (yes, I said hate) sin. In any form or fashion sin is destructive, debilitating, damaging and causes dissension. And this crazy world we now live in has no shortage of it. Starting with the strange looking fellow I shave every day and looking all around me- hell seems to be having a holiday. We (perverted people) are asleep at the switch when it comes to sensitivity to sin. Have we (just askin’) become “numb” to sin?
And is it not “the little foxes that spoil the vine?” Is there any hope?