The Importance of Jots and Tittles

[1]

Wednesday, April 11, 2018

For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled.  

Matthew 5:18^(KJV)

In our vernacular to jot something down is to make a quick little note of something you don’t want to forget.  In that same sense the language of Scripture contains jots and tittles, among the smallest of notations.  Jesus was adding commentary to his “Sermon on the Mount” cementing the importance of the entirety of God’s Word.  In short, you cannot pick and choose what you care to obey, or attempt to change what Scripture declares.  In the final verses of Holy Writ John makes that point with stark clarity:

And I solemnly declare to everyone who hears the words of prophecy written in this book:  If anyone adds anything to what is written here, God will add to that person the plagues described in this book.  And if anyone removes any of the words from this book of prophecy, God will remove that person’s share in the tree of life and in the holy city that are described in this book.  

Revelation 22:18-19^(NLT)

The jots and tittles are important in any communication.  Consider just how important the little comma is in English.  In the hymn Jesus Loves Me[2] note how the placement of the lowly comma in the verse about loving Jesus at the point of death can reposition your theological stance from Calvinism (once saved, always saved) to Arminianism:

Calvin:  If I love him, when I die He will take me home on high.

Arminius:  If I love him when I die, He will take me home on high.

It may be straining at a gnat here, but changing the position of the comma makes a difference in how you think about the way God treats us.  Calvin would separate the fact of loving Christ into a momentary change of heart with a life and eternity result all settled (once saved, always in that condition).  Arminius would add perseverance to that, moving the comma further down the line to include loving Jesus when I die.  Calvin just wants to know IF you love Jesus…Arminius thinks it’s important to know if you’ve kept loving Jesus all the way home.

Again…straining out a gnat while swallowing a camel?  Is it THAT important?  Well, it has been; the verse quoted here appears in the Baptist Hymnal version (Calvinist theology), while it is ommitted in the Methodist Hymnal (Arminianism).  That one concept about walking away from the salvation of God has caused quite a stir over the years.

But there is still plenty of common ground Calvinist and Arminian bent thinkers share, despite the difference stated; we both agree it is loving Jesus that is the correct response to God’s love in Christ towards us.  Neither Arminianists nor Calvinists want to change Scripture, or omit what God has said.

There is another contemporary controversy heralding a new split that may be far more pervasive and damaging to the church than moving the jot or tittle a little farther down the sentence…the legitimizing of homosexuality, bisexuality, trans-sexualism, et al.  The Biblical fact – no matter how some may try to deflect or distort the meaning of what God said – is clear; other than heterosexual relations within the bonds of marriage, the rest is perversion.  What do you do with a clear prohibitive like Leviticus?

Do not practice homosexuality, having sex with another man as with a woman.  It is a detestable sin.  Leviticus 18:22^(NLT)

There is too little space in this devotional slot to effect a comprehensive look at how doctrinally and Scripturally far off course we are taken with normalizing sexual sin.  So let me just put my cards on the table, so to speak; the writer of Leviticus (Moses) did not stumble or stutter when he wrote…or more accurately…when he wrote down what God said.  The whole point would be that if Moses was wrong about sexual activity between persons of the same gender being wrong, and detestable to God, he was then also not to be trusted with those other ten words he said were from God!

For You Today

Some will call this hate speech; I prefer it be known as speaking the truth…in love.

You chew on that as you hit the Rocky Road; have a blessed day.

Go to VIDEO

---

[1] Title Image:  Courtesy of Pixabay.com

[2] Jesus Loves Me, Bradbury/Warner 1860/62, The Baptist Hymnal (Nashville, Convention Press, 1991), p.344

Broken Covenant

[i]

Tuesday, July 26, 2016

“O Israel and Judah, what should I do with you?” asks the Lord.  “For your love vanishes like the morning mist and disappears like dew in the sunlight.  I sent my prophets to cut you to pieces—to slaughter you with my words, with judgments as inescapable as light.  I want you to show love, not offer sacrifices.  I want you to know me more than I want burnt offerings.  But like Adam, you broke my covenant and betrayed my trust.   Hosea 6:4-7^(NLT)

This year has been particularly disturbing in the denomination to which I belong.  Officially the church has orthodox (traditional) doctrine and polity.  Recently that has meant nothing to a segment of leaders within the denomination.   Preacher groups on Facebook, as well as watchdog parachurch organizations have just blown-up with outrage over flagrant violations of our Book of Discipline (the rules, bylaws that govern behavior and consequences of members and clergy alike).

Here’s the most recent straw threatening to break the camel’s back:  A few weeks ago the Western Jurisdiction of the United Methodist Church elected as a new bishop a clergywoman, Dr. Karen Oliveto, a practicing lesbian, and married for more than two years to another woman.[ii]

Now, the first question many would ask is, why would the church do that?  Well, the reality is the church didn’t do that.  It was a small, tightly-run group of activists engineering an election outcome to push the door open on this Pandora’s Box of legitimizing homosexuality.  The other bishops are largely powerless to address the issue, at least formally. 

Some complaints have already been filed, and it will be up to the denomination’s Judicial Council (the United Methodist version of a Supreme Court) to decide on the validity of this new “bishop’s” election.  That will take some time.

In the meantime a small percentage of UMC clergy have been performing same-sex marriage ceremonies (also strictly forbidden by church policy) and relatively little is being done to remedy this renegade heresy.

Most of those who are participating in this practice have flatly stated they will continue to do so, despite the vows they took to uphold our covenantal relationship of a connection in Christ. 

To say this flaunts the very limits of ethical behavior would be akin to suggesting that the Pope may be slightly Catholic.  It is, as God laments through the prophet Hosea, a breaking of covenant and betrayal of trust.

One UMC Preacher (who recently ran for bishop in that same election process) posted a treatise on how the church needs to stay together; a posted response to that idea was something like this:

Suppose you are married, and your husband cheats?  Then he cheats again.  The two of you go to counselling to see about fixing this rift and he offers no remorse, no apology, and flatly states that he will continue to jump into bed with others at his own discretion.  He doesn’t care what vows you made together when you got married.  This feels right, so he will do it.

That is broken covenant.  It is spiritual adultery.  It is the same kind of thing Israel and Judah did when they ignored their God and did their own thing.  In reading Israel’s history you would have to admit, God was not pleased…and Israel suffered because of God’s judgment.

UMC leaders would do well to go back to seminary and learn this basic lesson of obedience.

For You Today

In light of my airing the dirty laundry of my denomination here, it seems this would be a good day to take a good look at those areas of our own lives that may need a rinse-out!

You chew on that as you hit the Rocky Road today…have a blessed day!

Go to VIDEO

---

NOTES

[i] Title Image: By Pink Sherbet Photography from Utah, USA, via Wikimedia Commons

[ii] Married lesbian consecrated United Methodist bishop

Forgery

[1]

Wednesday, April 27, 2016

“No one can serve two masters.

Matthew 6:24a^(NLT)

Go to VIDEO

The following is a rather odd quote from 1982; it isn’t odd in word or thought – just that I’m quoting my own words from that time:

“Today we live in an extremely complicated and complex society with lightning fast computers, space travel and lifestyles.  It seems that in all the hurry-up and confusion of our modern existence, some Christians tend to compromise on what is sinful, passing off what used to be called sin as acceptable social behavior.” 

I wrote those words 34 years ago as a young pastor; true words then, and no less accurate today.

An issue that is constantly in the news media today, and therefore, agonizingly highlights the timeless reality of human compromise of core principles of the Christian faith, is LGBTQ behavior; in particular, same-sex marriage.

For the denomination I serve (United Methodist), this past Saturday (April 23, 2016) in Charlotte, NC, a door was opened in this ongoing conflict which will be impossible to ignore, much less close.  Two men exchanged wedding vows and were legally recognized by the state as married.  Those officiating at the ceremony were a retired bishop and the current pastor, both ordained in the UMC. 

What was door-opening about this ceremony is that it was held inside the sanctuary of First United Methodist Church of Charlotte.  The actions (both using a denominationally-owned building, and officiating the ceremony by UMC clergy) are clearly in violation of the denomination’s rules, The Book of Discipline of the United Methodist Church.

A larger, and for me more disturbing reality, is that this isn’t the first time for the bishop, Melvin Talbert.  This wasn’t his first same-sex marriage rodeo, or as I call it, denominational and ordinational disobedience. 

Here are more 34 year old words from my note file:

“…some Christians have lost the Spirit-guided ability to distinguish between what is and isn’t sin.  They see things as grey – not black and white.  However, the Bible says we cannot serve two masters.”

Marriage between two persons of the same sex is counterfeit.  Just like forged currency is supposed to trick you into thinking you possess the real thing, two men or women standing before a preacher at a church chancel does not result in marriage in any sense of the Biblical meaning; it is merely an appearance of the real thing.

Whatever the state does or doesn’t do in recognizing the “marriage forgery” of same-sex unions – and whatever the UMC legal entities do or don’t do concerning appropriate consequences for the bishop and pastor who have violated their sacred vows of ordination, my prayer is that Christ is lifted up for the whole world to see.  Because in that witness is contained either condemnation (for those who choose to “ordain a forgery”) or a witness of the Gospel of Jesus Christ which is, according to Paul^{(Romans 1:16)} the power of God unto salvation. 

In all, may all men be brought low, and Christ’s name be praised.

For You Today

Homosexuality isn’t the only failure to honor God in our culture today.

You chew on that as you hit the Rocky Road today…and have a blessed day!

---

[1] Title Image:   By ** RCB **, via Wikimedia Commons

Meet You at the Woodshed

Wednesday, October 8, 2014

Attention! Let all the people of the world listen!  Let the earth and everything in it hear.  The Sovereign LORD is making accusations against you; the LORD speaks from his holy Temple.  Look! The LORD is coming!  He leaves his throne in heaven and tramples the heights of the earth.  The mountains melt beneath his feet and flow into the valleys like wax in a fire, like water pouring down a hill.  And why is this happening?  Because of the rebellion of Israel—yes, the sins of the whole nation.  Who is to blame for Israel’s rebellion?  Samaria, its capital city!  Where is the center of idolatry in Judah?  In Jerusalem, its capital! “So I, the LORD, will make the city of Samaria a heap of ruins.  Her streets will be plowed up for planting vineyards.  I will roll the stones of her walls into the valley below, exposing her foundations.  All her carved images will be smashed.  All her sacred treasures will be burned.  These things were bought with the money earned by her prostitution, and they will now be carried away to pay prostitutes elsewhere.”  Therefore, I will mourn and lament.  I will walk around barefoot and naked.  I will howl like a jackal and moan like an owl.  For my people’s wound is too deep to heal.  It has reached into Judah, even to the gates of Jerusalem.            Micah 1:2-9 (NLT)

When I was a child we didn’t have a woodshed, but I did have a strong will that needed breaking.  Mom did the bending; Dad was the breaker.  Whenever my will kicked-in (which was more often than not) over wanting something my parents knew wasn’t good for me, I would argue with Mom until I brought her to tears.  I learned to do this around age 5 and continued well into my teens.  Finally, in exasperation, Mom would turn, walk away and say, fine…do what you want.

Now, that sounded and looked like I had gotten my way; in reality it was the beginning of judgment.  I was wrong and about to buy myself a heap of trouble; I just didn’t have the common sense to know it. 

Judgment hurts, but it helps.   In all, I was the benefactor, learning (as any kid-camper who couldn’t identify poison ivy can tell you) that there are some things you leave your cotton-pickin’ hands off.  And when Mom and Dad say “no” it really is for your good.

From the start, God’s people were warned – I am the Lord…your ONLY God!^{(see Exodus 20)}  For some reason, probably founded in our fallen nature, they had a tough time with that.  

Eventually the hammer fell, and Micah delivered it; the woodshed was going to be so decisive that howling like ostrich screams in the night would be common in Israel.

The upshot of Israel and Judah’s obsession with self and wealth and sexual perversion was self-destruction.  When you live as a prostitute you will die like a prostitute.  That is the harsh flip-side of free will; choices have consequences.

And the beat goes on.

This Monday the Supreme Court refused to hear arguments in the State’s Rights appeals over same-sex marriage, effectively dealing the final blow to the sanctity of marriage as God decreed – one man, one woman. 

I have that nagging sense I had when I was a kid that my Heavenly parent is about to say fine…do what you want! 

We may have gotten our way…but there will be consequences.

No matter what ribbon you tie on a mud pile, you’re still about to get dirty.  And no matter what some say about crossing lines God has laid out for our protection, you cannot defy Heaven without paying the price.

As a nation under God, we are in deep trouble.

The freight train of godlessness in the USA has left the station and we are being carried to the judgment we’ve been demanding.

For You, Today…

Pray for America; we are going to need it.

Meet you at the woodshed!

Holy Mixtures - part 3

Wednesday, April 30, 2014

On that day, when evening had come, he said to them, “Let us go across to the other side.”  And leaving the crowd behind, they took him with them in the boat, just as he was.  Other boats were with him.  A great windstorm arose, and the waves beat into the boat, so that the boat was already being swamped.  But he was in the stern, asleep on the cushion; and they woke him up and said to him, “Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?”  He woke up and rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, “Peace! Be still!”  Then the wind ceased, and there was a dead calm.  He said to them, “Why are you afraid?  Have you still no faith?”  And they were filled with great awe and said to one another, “Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?”       Mark 4:35 - 41 (NRSV)

And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts….Colossians 3:15a (NRSV)

I’m a late-comer to the United Methodist Church, having nested with the people of Open Hearts, Open Minds, Open Doors only the last 9 years.  It’s not a private thing that the UMC ship is in the middle of a storm rivaling what the disciples faced.  To some it would seem Jesus is asleep while the boat’s going down.

The difference between the storm back then and the crisis with the Methodist ship now is our storm is not from outside the boat; we have stirred our mess from within.

In case you’re not a Methodist – “our storm” is a 40 year battle over homosexuality; whether or not openly gay and lesbian persons belong in the church.  I have friends on both sides of the argument.  It would be a great Saturday Night Live skit if it weren’t so heartbreaking to watch the church slugging it out.

On the one side, progressives, (liberals if you will) point to Paul’s teaching that when we’re in Christ there is no difference, and that includes the disenfranchised homosexual community (Colossians 3).

On the other side, the majority (slim majority of conservatives) still control the voting power in official meetings; they also hold (ironically) to Paul’s teaching that homosexuality is “incompatible” with Christianity (Romans 1).

The impasse in which the United Methodist Church finds itself is akin to the cartoon character Pogo’s famous line:  We have met the enemy and he is US! 

Like the disciples thrashing around in the boat, probably accusing each other of poor preparation, poor seamanship, poor insight and interpretation of the rules of boating, and then turning on Jesus to accuse him of not even caring – we in the United Methodist Church are dismantling the Wesleyan boat one splinter at a time.  Most unusual for a church that perennially boasts of its’ commitment to diversity.

I am (as always) stuck somewhere in the middle.  Theologically I understand the prohibitions against same-sex relationships.  But the compassionate, pastoral bone inside me weeps for the tearing-asunder of human relationships because of the anger this issue raises. 

It is maddeningly frustrating to want to say, PEACE…BE STILL, Y’all, knowing neither side is likely to listen.  At the same time the whole world is watching and shaking their heads at our duplicity, and hell is laughing like excited jackals waiting for the lions to get done with the carcass.  My fear is that, in the end, this once fiercely-hot-for-God frontier church will not be left standing as the mighty ship of Zion; it will be only a memory, marked by bleached bones on a fruitless wasteland of annual reports.

But then, in my saner moments, I hear the voice of Jesus to my own heart, “Peace!  Be still!”  And my storm ceases; and, like the disciples I am blown away at the force of His power to still the storm in me.  Do it again, Lord!

Today…for you

Feel powerless in the storms around you?

Good!  Peace!  Be still….and know that He is God.

De-Railed

Friday, March 21, 2014

United Methodists are aware that every four years we engage in a political free-for-all known as General Conference.  There, decisions are made (or muddied) regarding the “how and why” of Methodist’s theological, political and cultural company policy; this is how we do (ahem) holy conferencing.

The tongue-in-cheek tenor of that last sentence is necessary to describe the flurry of agenda and political machinations that fly like a plague of locusts, denuding the Conference of any sense of “holy”.

To be sure, I have followed General Conference and its decisions from afar, having never attended, but watching with interest and prayer.

For the years of my association with United Methodism (since 2005), but certainly much longer than that (some say the last half-century), one of the more hotly-debated agenda issues is full-inclusion for same-sex oriented persons.  What is desired by the lobbying groups is allowing LGBT[1] persons to join as members and be eligible to serve in any capacity within the church – locally and in District, Annual or General Conference. 

So, this is not new news; what is relatively new is bishops, both retired and active, flagrantly ignoring the church laws they were elected – and agreed to – uphold!  My view on this and the homosexuality issue in general has been previously published.[2]

I want to share with you today a resource which, in my opinion, clearly articulates why so-called full inclusion is wrong and those who are pushing for this are serving to de-rail the church from its mission.

Dr. Ben Witherington is a life-long United Methodist.  In a recent blog-post (one in a series of four) he wrote:

In regard to the issue of ‘welcoming’ and ‘affirming’ these are two different issues.  All persons are welcome to come to the church as they are.  No one is welcome to stay as they are since we are all sinners.  Everyone is expected to change, and no one should expect to have their sin baptized and called good by the church. ^{(See Dr. Witherington’s posts)[3]}

Among the other major points Dr. Witherington makes:

    1. Homosexuality is NOT Biblically sound.

          2. Same-sex marriage is NOT affirmed in Scripture.

          3. The church is to stand firm against such practices.

    4. If, within the church agreement cannot be reached, there should be separation.

This is a sampling of what you will find at the links provided below, and I urge you to prayerfully read all four parts of his series. 

Today…for you

Many of you who receive this daily devotional are United Methodist; about half are not. 

Methodists – you know we have a responsibility to do whatever we can to put this Gospel train back on sound Scriptural tracks.  Be informed; be involved.

Non-Methodists – pray for us, that we will turn back this listing ship to the days of Wesley’s hot pursuit to spread Scriptural holiness across the land.

---

[1] Acronym for Lesbian/Gay/Bi-sexual/Trans-gender persons

[2] http://russellbrownworth.blogspot.com/2013/11/open-our-eyes-lord.html

[3] http://www.patheos.com/blogs/bibleandculture/2014/03/17/a-response-to-bishop-sanos-call-to-biblical-obedience-part-one/

http://www.patheos.com/blogs/bibleandculture/2014/03/18/a-response-to-bishop-sanos-call-to-biblical-obedience-part-two/  

http://www.patheos.com/blogs/bibleandculture/2014/03/19/a-response-to-bishop-sanos-call-to-biblical-obedience-part-three/

http://www.patheos.com/blogs/bibleandculture/2014/03/20/a-response-to-bishop-sanos-call-to-biblical-obedience-part-four/