May 28, 2021 - “Yet a time is coming

 

May 28, 2021

“Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in the Spirit and in truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in the Spirit and in truth.” John 4:23-24 [NIV]

I think that if Jesus were to tell the parable of the Good Samaritan to today’s Believers, it would be ‘The Good Gay’. While it is not true for all, the aversion Jews and Samaritans felt towards each other was similar to today’s divide between Gays and Christians in general. Jesus set aside several taboos in striking up a conversation with the Woman at the Well, including the one that struck at the heart of their divide: who were the true worshipers of God.

The woman tried to get a rise out of Jesus by bringing up the issue of the true place of worship—Mt Gerizim in Samaria where the Children of God first worshiped him in the Promised Land, or the place of Solomon’s original temple in Jerusalem. Jesus set aside both to reveal the deeper truth: anywhere the Spirit of God meets with us. This was spiritual shock therapy to both the woman and to the disciples, and resulted in the woman's ability to accept Jesus as the Messiah.

The story of the Good Samaritan was told to Jewish leaders to force them to acknowledge who was the ‘good guy’ in the story. Believers need to feel their aversion to the ‘right’ answer in order to get the point Jesus was trying to make, and be more willing to tear down the dividing walls in the church faced by *anyone* who seeks to worship God with us. The truth here is that we are all sinners dealing with sin that would keep us out of the Kingdom of God, and we must learn to trust the Holy Spirit among us to bring us all to complete holiness and righteousness before God [1 John 1:8-9]. Only He can bring the truth that sets us free.

Love and non-judgment is the Jesus-way to worship together in the ‘sanctuary for sinners, without walls’.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Matthew 25: 14 - 30 - The Parable of the Bags of Gold [NIV]

  The Parable of the Bags of Gold 14  “Again, it will be like a man going on a journey, who called his servants and entrusted his wealth to them.   15  To one he gave five bags of gold, to another two bags, and to another one bag, [ a ]  each according to his ability. Then he went on his journey.   16  The man who had received five bags of gold went at once and put his money to work and gained five bags more.   17  So also, the one with two bags of gold gained two more.   18  But the man who had received one bag went off, dug a hole in the ground and hid his master’s money. 19  “After a long time the master of those servants returned and settled accounts with them.   20  The man who had received five bags of gold brought the other five. ‘Master,’ he said, ‘you entrusted me with five bags of gold. See, I have gained five more.’ 21  “His master replied, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been...
Read more

Matthew 25: 1-13 - The Parable of the Ten Virgins [NIV]

  The Parable of the Ten Virgins 25  “At that time the kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom.   2  Five of them were foolish and five were wise.   3  The foolish ones took their lamps but did not take any oil with them.   4  The wise ones, however, took oil in jars along with their lamps.   5  The bridegroom was a long time in coming, and they all became drowsy and fell asleep. 6  “At midnight the cry rang out: ‘Here’s the bridegroom! Come out to meet him!’ 7  “Then all the virgins woke up and trimmed their lamps.   8  The foolish ones said to the wise, ‘Give us some of your oil; our lamps are going out.’ 9  “‘No,’ they replied, ‘there may not be enough for both us and you. Instead, go to those who sell oil and buy some for yourselves.’ 10  “But while they were on their way to buy the oil, the bridegroom arrived. The virgins who were rea...
Read more

2/4/2023 1 John 4:4-5 [NIV]

    “You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them, because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world.  They are from the world and therefore speak from the viewpoint of the world, and the world listens to them”     It comforts me to know there is One within me who is greater than the one who is in the world.  We are not alone: we are possessed.  Within every human is a spirit that dwells in both the spiritual and natural realms.  This consciousness marks us from the rest of creation.  We are not mere animals, not because we have travelled to the moon, but because we imagined we could.  Our understanding of physics and math enables us to take command of our environment and travel beyond our world, but it is incapable of grasping spiritual truth and understanding.  Those who limit their understanding based on ‘science’ or natural wisdom imagine those who believe in God and in angels and demons, heave...
Read more