Weekly Lesson Review

Mistaken email

raul.diaz@gmail.com (Ulee) — Fri, 06 Nov 2020 17:26:00 +0000

Greetings,

I recently sent out two emails. I sent the first one out by accident to you. Please ignore or delete it. Sorry for the inconvenience.

Raul Diaz

A Lesson Learned from A Foreigner

raul.diaz@gmail.com (Ulee) — Fri, 06 Nov 2020 17:18:00 +0000

A Lesson Learned from A Foreigner

In Matthew 15:21 - 28, Matthew tells the story of a Syro-Phoenician woman who pleads to Jesus for a miracle. The story reads as follows,

Matthew 15:21 Then Jesus went thence, and departed into the coasts of Tyre and Sidon.
Matthew 15:22 And, behold, a woman of Canaan came out of the same coasts, and cried unto him, saying, Have mercy on me, O Lord, thou son of David; my daughter is grievously vexed with a devil.
Matthew 15:23 But he answered her not a word. And his disciples came and besought him, saying, Send her away; for she crieth after us.
Matthew 15:24 But he answered and said, I am not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel.
Matthew 15:25 Then came she and worshipped him, saying, Lord, help me.
Matthew 15:26 But he answered and said, It is not meet to take the children's bread, and to cast it to dogs.
Matthew 15:27 And she said, Truth, Lord: yet the dogs eat of the crumbs which fall from their masters' table.
Matthew 15:28 Then Jesus answered and said unto her, O woman, great is thy faith: be it unto thee even as thou wilt. And her daughter was made whole from that very hour.

When we look at this account closely, this is what we see. Jesus' initial silent treatment of this Canaanite woman was intentional. It was not to mistreat the woman but to teach the disciples and us a few lessons. It seemed the disciple's response was one of disdain. It was pretty much like "get rid of her." After the disciples speak out to Christ, Jesus speaks to the woman. His answer to the woman can seem very rude. However, it was in line with His intention of teaching the lesson to His disciples. What things did this event teach us all?

1. Jesus' love crossed gender lines. The disciples needed to learn that God did not see females as inferior to males. God created them, and in Jesus, God was redeeming them also. He listened to the woman and answered her prayer.

Galatians 3:28 There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye is all one in Christ Jesus.

2. Jesus' love crossed ethnic/racial/national lines. Again, the disciples needed to learn that God does not favor one group over the other. If the disciples were to go out to the world with the gospel, they had to leave their bigotry, nationalism, prejudices, and discriminative attitudes behind. Only Jesus can do this. Tolerating is not enough; you must love (agape) others.

Romans 1:16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to everyone that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.

Colossians 3:10 And have put on the new man, which is renewed in knowledge after the image of him that created him:
Colossians 3:11 Where there is neither Greek nor Jew, circumcision nor uncircumcision, Barbarian, Scythian, bond nor free: but Christ is all, and in all.

3. Faith is in anyone who believes regardless of their background.

Romans 10:11 For the scripture saith, Whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed.
Romans 10:12 For there is no difference between the Jew and the Greek: for the same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon him.
Romans 10:13 For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.

4. God will test your Faith. It will seem to you that He is ignoring you. He will appear to pay no heed to your petition. However, those who have faith will keep asking until God replies. That is what Paul did about his infirmity.

2 Corinthians 12:8 For this thing I besought the Lord thrice, that it might depart from me.
2 Corinthians 12:9 And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.

5. The Canaanite woman admitted submitting herself to Christ as a puppy to its Master. Dogs have two distinct qualities about them that most owners like. They are loyal to and dependent on their Master. Are we loyal to God and dependent on Him? Puppies follow their Master everywhere, as sheep follow their shepherd.

John 10:3 To him the porter openeth; and the sheep hear his voice: and he calleth his own sheep by name, and leadeth them out.
John 10:4 And when he putteth forth his own sheep, he goeth before them, and the sheep follow him: for they know his voice.
John 10:27 My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me:

This passage perhaps gives us the perfect image of discipleship. A disciple is a puppy sitting at his Master's feet and feeding off the crumbs that fall from the Master's table.

Raul Diaz

1888 Message Study : More Lessons From The Master Teacher

raul.diaz@gmail.com (Ulee) — Fri, 06 Nov 2020 16:31:00 +0000

"MORE LESSONS FROM THE MASTER TEACHER"

The lesson this week draws from many disparate texts and passages and so I chose to focus on Monday's lesson which uses Genesis 3:1-11 and Romans 5:11-19. Before we look at these texts, the concept of Jesus as Master Teacher should be explored. We began the quarter with the title Education in the Garden of Eden. In my vivid imagination, God, in the garden of Eden, was conducting a masterclass and Adam and Eve were His master students. Wikipedia gives this definition of a masterclass: "A master class is a class given to students of a particular discipline by an expert of that discipline—usually music, but also painting, drama, any of the arts, or on any other occasion where skills are being developed." I have friends that went to Juilliard School of Music for violin and they were always moved by the fact that they were in Master Class with the best Violinists in the world as their teachers. Adam and Eve were in a Master Class with the greatest of all Master Teachers, the Creator Himself. Think of that for a long while. They were taught by the Creator Himself.

This brings us to Monday's lesson. We will start with Romans 5:12 "12Therefore, just as through one man sin entered the world, and death through sin, and thus death spread to all men, because all sinned—" You have heard the phrase "familiarity breeds contempt." Often when we read this text, we read it devoid of any feeling, except, perhaps jubilation. But I want us to connect this verse (and the rest of Romans 5, which we will read momentarily) with what led to this passage in Romans 5 in the first place, Genesis 3.

In Genesis 3, the Master Teacher has lost control of the classroom. Rebellion erupts in the classroom because one of the students rebelled and chose to believe, what appeared to her to be, a better master teacher. We have this account in Genesis 3: 8-13 following their sin, "8And they heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden. 9Then the Lord God called to Adam and said to him, "Where are you?" 10So he said, "I heard Your voice in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; and I hid myself." 11And He said, "Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree of which I commanded you that you should not eat?" 12Then the man said, "The woman whom You gave to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I ate." 13And the Lord God said to the woman, "What is this you have done?" Here is the first lesson from the Master teacher. Ask probing questions. We usually focus on only one question, "Where are you?" But Jesus asks four probing questions which on the surface may seem to have rather obvious and simple answers. The four questions are "Where are you?", "Who told you that you were naked?, "Have you eaten from the tree of which I commanded you that you should not eat?", and "What is this you have done?"

Before we look at the questions, I want us, as the master students now, to go to Genesis 3:24, "So He drove out the man; and He placed cherubim at the east of the garden of Eden, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to guard the way to the tree of life." Think of it, God has to walk that long way back to the garden all by Himself because the man He created just a short while before, who He formed with His own hands, rejected Him and rebelled. No. This was no surprise to Him. At the dawn of creation, He made a plan to take care of rebellion should it arise. Revelation 13:8 tells us that He was the Lamb slain from the Foundation of the world. This is the second of the attributes of a great Master Teacher. He leads by self-sacrifice, self-forgetfulness, and demonstration. So, what is going through the Master teacher's mind? I can only surmise the answer based on the questions He asked them. Here is my take. "Do you realize the gravity of what you have done?" Do you realize the implications of your actions on yourselves, the rest of humanity, the onlooking universe and Heaven itself including, US, in whose image you were made?" These are all inherent in all of the questions, most obviously in the first and last questions. I am drawn to another account of creation in which Jesus tells His own testimony. It is found in Proverbs 8. We will only look at verses 30 and 31: "30Then I was beside Him as a master craftsman; And I was daily His delight, Rejoicing always before Him, 31Rejoicing in His inhabited world, And My delight was with the sons of men. I want to suggest that God, as He was walking back to the garden alone, His thoughts went back to the counsel of peace that was "between Them Both" and He remembered that though He and the Son enjoyed and delighted in each other's company, Their delight was also with the sons of men." Enter Romans 5.

Romans 5 is actually intimately related to Romans 3 as chapter four is parenthetical. The lesson references only verses 11-19. But we need to begin in verse 1 and I will be using the Young's Literal Translation (YLT) and the KJV. "Having been declared righteous, then, by faith, we have peace toward God through our Lord Jesus Christ." This text is crucial to appreciation of Romans 5 because the immediate context is Romans 3 where the faith of Jesus is introduced as the way forward. Romans 3:22-24 says "22and the righteousness of God [is] through the faith of Jesus Christ to all, and upon all those believing, -- for there is no difference, 23for all did sin, and are come short of the glory of God -- 24being declared righteous freely by His grace through the redemption that [is] in Christ Jesus," (YLT). Our being declared righteous as it says here in YLT is predicated on the "faith of Jesus", the faith of the Master Teacher. The faith of Jesus is why Romans 5:12-19 is such an awe-inspiring passage. It says, "12Therefore, just as through one man sin entered the world, and death through sin, and thus death spread to all men, because all sinned— 13(For until the law sin was in the world, but sin is not imputed when there is no law. 14Nevertheless death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over those who had not sinned according to the likeness of the transgression of Adam, who is a type of Him who was to come. 15But the free gift is not like the offense. For if by the one man's offense many died, much more the grace of God and the gift by the grace of the one Man, Jesus Christ, abounded to many. 16And the gift is not like that which came through the one who sinned. For the judgment which came from one offense resulted in condemnation, but the free gift which came from many offenses resulted in justification. 17For if by the one man's offense death reigned through the one, much more those who receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness will reign in life through the One, Jesus Christ.) 18 Therefore, as through one man's offense judgment came to all men, resulting in condemnation, even so through one Man's righteous act the free gift came to all men, resulting in justification of life. 19For as by one man's disobedience many were made sinners, so also by one Man's obedience many will be made righteous." KJV. The YLT says "declared righteous instead of justification. This passage is truly amazing news. Amazing grace, how sweet the sound.

So, let us look at what it took for the Master Teacher to bring us this ability to be declared righteous, fit to sit in the master class. We have a hint in Romans 5:6-8: "6For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. 7For scarcely for a righteous man will one die: yet peradventure for a good man some would even dare to die. 8But God commendeth His love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us." Christ died for us, the ungodly, while we were yet sinners and demonstrated His love to us while we were yet sinners.

What was on the Master Teacher's mind as He walked back to the garden of Eden alone? The cross certainly loomed large. It was now reality. How will He survive it? How will He make it? He had to bring about the reconciliation Paul talks about. But talk is easy. The faith of Jesus. What exactly is that? Many ideas are tossed around. I will use two sources, Ellen White and the book The Faith of Jesus Christ: The Narrative Substructure of Galatians 3:1-4, 11 by RB Hays, In his book, he makes the case that Paul's writings in both Galatians 3:1-4, 11 and in much of Romans is not so much a theological discourse of how we are saved. Rather it is the story of Jesus the Messiah and at the heart of that story is the faith of Jesus which Hays maintains is metonymy (shorthand word picture) for the cross event which begins in the garden of Gethsemane. God gave Him a mandate before time began and it was His faith that enabled Him to be successful in fulfilling His mandate. Hays says this, "The faithfulness of Jesus Christ refers first of all to His gracious, self-sacrificial death on the cross. The cross is the dramatic climax of the Jesus-story, and Paul uses the expression "faith of Jesus Christ" to suggest that focal moment of the narrative."

Ellen White makes similar statements: "The faith of Jesus. It is talked of, but not understood. What constitutes the faith of Jesus, that belongs to the third angel's message? Jesus becoming our sin-bearer that He might become our sin-pardoning Saviour. He was treated as we deserve to be treated. He came to our world and took our sins that we might take His righteousness. And faith in the ability of Christ to save us amply and fully and entirely is the faith of Jesus." {3SM 172.3}

She further puts this in the context of the cross. "Amid the awful darkness, apparently forsaken of God, Christ had drained the last dregs in the cup of human woe. In those dreadful hours He had relied upon the evidence of His Father's acceptance heretofore given Him. He was acquainted with the character of His Father; He understood His justice, His mercy, and His great love. By faith He rested in Him Whom it had ever been His joy to obey. And as in submission He committed Himself to God, the sense of the loss of His Father's favor was withdrawn. By faith, Christ was victor." {DA 756.3}

Master class, our Master Teacher has redeemed us with the precious blood of Jesus as Peter said. The class topic is "A New Thing. My Image Recreated In You." I pray we will all sit in that master class and respond to our faithful Master Teacher. It is His faith that made it possible for us to be in that class.

Blessings,

Andi Hunsaker

https://www.1888msc.org/resources/ssi/2020-q4/more-lessons-from-the-master-teacher

Stewards of Reconciliation

raul.diaz@gmail.com (Ulee) — Fri, 30 Oct 2020 23:25:00 +0000

Stewards of Reconciliation

The year 2003 saw the release of a film about South-Africa entitled, "In my Country." Based on an autobiographical book written by journalist Antjie Krogg entitled "Country of My Skull," the film fleshes out the White South-Afrikaner author's personal experience with the vestiges of Apartheid. Accordingly, the film depicts the author as a journalist assigned to report on cases brought before the "Truth and Reconciliation Commission," or TRC, established by the government. The film tells the story of the journalist's struggle with her White South-Afrikaner family as she provides news coverage of the controversial commission and an African-American journalist who struggles with his anger skepticism regarding this new form of justice. While somebody documented the TRC's proceedings in newspapers worldwide, not many outside of Africa followed the trials. The commission's principal method for bringing about peace and harmony between Black and White South-Africans was reconciliation. Hearing each case before a room full of Black South-Africans and reporters, the commission asked each Black South-African to sit in front of the room facing the panel with a counselor by his or her side and describe how the victimization took place. As the victim spoke, the audience listened intently but did not cry, although they groaned audibly. Occasionally the victim cried out in pain as the offending police officer or guard recounted his story of torture and death. You see, to receive amnesty, the guilty White South-Afrikaner officer must tell the absolute truth. He must describe how they committed the act of torture, abuse, or murder. Furthermore, the TRC expected that the perpetrator disclosed all participants involved in the crime, and to name the authority figures ordered the work done. If the TRC determined that the crime was not politically motivated, the guilty parties were forced to stand trial for their crimes.

One incredibly moving story which the film highlighted occurred when an eight-year-old boy walked into his parents' bedroom one night. As he entered the room, he witnessed two police officers murder both of his parents while he stood still, speechless. The TRC counselor had to tell the boy's story for him, for he had not spoken since. There he sat, wide-eyed and tear-less as he heard the officer tell his story. The audience - listening with calm and bated breath - awaited the officers' account -- and told it they did (the details are too graphic to recount). At the end of his story, the first officer requested amnesty, as if he felt it was his right - as if he deserved it - because he had now cooperated with the commission. The second officer, however, was clearly of a different mindset. He told of his participation in the crime and added that he was to have shot the boy but could not. "I aimed my gun, but he just stood there calmly looking at me, silent, and I could not." "I disobeyed a direct order in not shooting him, but I just could not." Jumping up from his seat, this police officer said, "at night, I see his face, looking at me -- saying nothing." "I can't sleep, I can't eat." At this admission, the officer approached the area where the boy sat facing him. and said, " I would do anything to take back what I have done -- I'll pay in any way I can -- I'll send him to school and pay his fees, I'll even pay for him to go all the way to college -- I am sorry, so sorry." With that, the officer began to sob, as the audience was silent, waiting. The little eight-year-old boy who had been listening stood up and approached the kneeling officer, and after looking at him for a moment, threw his arms around him, hugging him. The audience and panel, seemingly through their tears, approve. Although the means of forgiveness and amnesty have been provided through the TRC by the government, it is the eight-year-old boy who is the steward of forgiveness and reconciliation that day.

How many of us consider ourselves stewards of reconciliation? Unfortunately, not many of us. The sad truth is that only a few of us would choose to forgive a wrong of such magnitude as experienced by the Black South-African victims. Yes, as Christians, we've professed Christ, but we still but seem to have difficulty forgiving even minute injustices. However, Christ wants us to be His ambassadors or stewards. In 2 Cor. 5: 20, the scripture calls us "ambassadors for Christ" and "ministers of reconciliation" (see verse 18). It seems that, just as Christ has been an ambassador or steward on behalf of the Father to us, He wants us to follow in His footsteps. Let us read what Paul says in 2 Corinthians 5. It reads as follows:

2 Cor. 5:17 Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature; old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.

2 Cor. 5:18 And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to Himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation;

2 Cor. 5:19 To wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto Himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation.

Friends, although forgiving and reconciling seems impossible to us -- our natures finding it extremely distasteful -- yet "Christ died for us while we were yet sinners" (Rom. 5:8). So, if we are "in Christ," He works in us to will and to do of His good pleasure, and His commands are not grievous (Phil. 2:13, I John 5:3). What is God's command? He commands that we dispense His grace and tell the world that Christ has already reconciled them to Himself at His death on Calvary.

As Christians, one of the first things that we learned is that God created the world, so it all belongs to Him, and that He is the rightful owner. We also learned that since He paid for us back (redeemed us), we are to be His stewards or managers, and this is where the concept of tithe and offering comes in. But, how about thinking about stewardship in a new manner. How about considering ourselves not only as stewards of the material or tangible goods - such as land, money, and talents - that He gives us but as stewards of the fruit of the gospel. What is the fruit of the gospel, you say? It is reconciliation and forgiveness.

God has said as our lesson quotes, "Every good and perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights... (James 1:17 NKJV). He offers you and me the work of perhaps a higher order than we've previously thought -- stewardship at a higher level than we've yet known. I don't know about you, but I think the offer is worth the risks. So, how about you, will you take it?

Maria Greaves-Barnes

Raul Diaz

Jesus Christ: Our Antibiotic

raul.diaz@gmail.com (Ulee) — Thu, 15 Oct 2020 08:02:00 +0000

Jesus Christ: Our Antibiotic

The word antibiotic comes from the Greek anti, meaning "in place of" or 'against' and bios meaning 'life.' Antibiotics are also known as antibacterial. They are drugs used to treat infections caused by bacteria. Bacteria cause such illnesses as tuberculosis, salmonella, syphilis, and some forms of meningitis. Before bacteria can multiply and cause symptoms, our immune system can usually destroy them. We have special white blood cells that attack harmful bacteria. Even if symptoms do occur, our immune system can usually cope and fight off the infection. However, there are occasions when it is all too much, and our bodies need some help - from antibiotics.

The first antibiotic was penicillin. Since penicillin, scientists have developed other antibiotics. Today, there are several different types of modern antibiotics to treat various infections, and they are only available with a doctor's prescription in industrialized countries.

Although there are many different types of antibiotics, they all work in one of two ways: A bactericidal antibiotic kills the bacteria. Penicillin is bactericidal. A bactericidal interferes with the growth of the bacteria; a bacteriostatic stops bacterium from multiplying.

So, antibiotics target not only microorganisms such as bacteria but also fungi and parasites. However, they are not effective against viruses. With the overuse or misuse of antibiotics, there is a chance of the bacteria becoming resistant - the antibiotic becomes less effective against that bacterium type.

Usually, the patient takes the Antibiotics by mouth (orally); Injection or applied directly to the affected part of the body are alternative methods. Most antibiotics start having an effect on an infection within a few hours. It is important to remember to complete the whole course of the medication to prevent the disease from coming back. If you do not, there is a higher chance the bacteria may become resistant to future treatments.

If Sin were a bacterial infection, then Jesus would be an antibiotic of sorts (Jesus is not against life). Why antibiotic and not a vaccine? First, vaccines are preventive, antibiotic remedial. We are already sick with Sin (Romans 3:10 – 12; 5:12). We need a remedy. Second, vaccines are typically a dead or weakened specimen of the same creature, making you sick. We inject vaccines to make us immune to the disease, which is a different way of saying they are to boost our immune system to fight the disease, should we be infected. Again, we are already infected, and God intends to kill the Sin in us. God does not inject weak Sin in us to make us stronger.

Jesus is both bactericidal and bacteriostatic. He stops Sin from reproducing and also kills it. When Jesus dwells in us, He changes the way we think. He transforms us by the renewal of our minds (Romans 12:2). He writes the Law in our hearts (Jeremiah 31:33), thus getting rid of Sin's self-centeredness. This is what He wanted to do with the Israelites. But they refused (Exodus 19 and 20). So, God gave them the Law, not as a way to heal them, but to diagnose their illness (Exodus 20; Galatians 3:19). The Law was akin to a list of symptoms. When any of these symptoms are present, you need Jesus your antibiotic to kill the bacteria of Sin or making sure it does not keep reproducing. It is then that either the symptoms will go away or will not bother you. But the Israelites thought that getting rid of the symptoms meant they were Ok. However, the bacteria were still alive in them, creating havoc inside.

The antibiotic is free to us (given by grace); we take it by faith. We must take it for as long as we live in this world of Sin. Because as long as we are here, Sin always finds a way to resurface unless we take Christ. The date when Christ returns (Galatians 3:23, 25; 1 Corinthians 15:52 - 54), the Holy Spirit will complete the treatment. Until then, we will need that diagnosis list – The Law – so it will let us know when we have a symptom (Galatians 3:23 -25).

Jesus is better than an antibiotic. There is something cool about this Jesus antibiotic that the literal antibiotic does not have. Jesus, as an antibiotic, not only kills the bacteria of Sin but also gives life to the Host of the bacteria. We read in 1 John 5:11-13

1 John 5: 11 And this is the record: that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in His Son.

1 John 5: 12 He that hath the Son hath life, and he that hath not the Son hath not life.

1 John 5: 13 These things I have written unto you that believe in the name of the Son of God, that ye may know that ye have eternal life and that ye may believe in the name of the Son of God.

Since eternal life is in Jesus, when He dwells in us, we have eternal life. So, Jesus not only eradicates Sin, but He also gives us life. Praise the Lord!

Raul Diaz

The Fear of the Lord

raul.diaz@gmail.com (Ulee) — Fri, 02 Oct 2020 15:24:00 +0000

This commentary was previously published.

"The Call of Wisdom"

The lesson's title (a previous one) refers to verses 20 through 24 of Proverbs 1. Let us read it,

Prov 1:20 Wisdom crieth without; she uttereth her voice in the streets:

Prov 1:21 She crieth in the chief place of concourse, in the openings of the gates: in the city she uttereth her words, saying,

Prov 1:22 How long, ye simple ones, will ye love simplicity? and the scorners delight in their scorning, and fools hate knowledge?

Prov 1:23 Turn you at my reproof: behold, I will pour out my spirit unto you, I will make known my words unto you.

Prov 1:24 Because I have called, and ye refused; I have stretched out my hand, and no man regarded;

Notice that wisdom in this passage is personified. Who could wisdom be? Verse 23 gives us a clue: "I will pour out my spirit unto you…" This sounds like what the Lord tells Joel in chapter 2. Let us read it,

Joel 2:28-29King James Version (KJV)

28 And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions:

29 And also upon the servants and upon the handmaids in those days will I pour out my spirit.

Peter says that this verse was fulfilled at Pentecost. We expect this prophecy to be fulfilled again in a greater measure in the last days. Those who receive the "latter rain" will be rebuked, heed the rebuke, and love the rebuker - unlike the foolish, who refuse the rebuke and hate the rebuker (Proverbs 13: 1, 15: 12). God will pour His Spirit upon them. It is a clear reference to Laodicea, who the Lord rebukes about their condition, and some respond, and let Christ in them (Revelation 3: 15 - 22). Can wisdom be a person? Christ is the wisdom of God (1 Corinthians 1: 30). It is Christ who cries out, "come unto me all ye who tore burdened and heavy laden, … I will give you rest" (Matthew 11: 28 - 30). So, if Christ wants us close to Him, the fear of the Lord cannot be us being so afraid of Him that, like Adam, we run away from Him (Genesis 3: 9). Or even like the people at Sinai, who refuse to come close to God. The following quote is a note from the translators of the NET version of the Bible. I think it is enlightening. Let us read it,

"1 in Heb "fear of the Lord." The expression יְהוָה יִרְאַת (yir' at yÿhvah, "fear of Yahweh") is a genitive-female construct in which יְהוָה ("the Lord") functions as an objective genitive: He is the object of fear. The term יָרַא (yara') is the common word for fear in the OT and has a basic three-fold range of meanings: (1) "dread; terror" (Deut 1:29; Jonah 1:10), (2) "to stand in awe" (1 Kgs 3:28), (3) "to revere; to respect" (Lev 19:3). With the Lord as the object, it captures the polar opposites of shrinking back in fear and drawing close in awe and adoration. Both categories of meaning appear in Exod 20:20 (where the Lord descended upon Sinai amidst geophysical convulsions); Moses encouraged the Israelites to not be afraid of God arbitrarily striking them dead for no reason ("Do not fear!") but informed the people that the Lord revealed himself in such a terrifying manner to scare them from sinning ("God has come only to test you and to put the fear of him in you so that you do not sin"). The fear of the Lord is expressed in reverential submission to his will – the characteristic of true worship. The fear of the Lord is the foundation for wisdom (9:10) and the discipline leading to wisdom (15:33). It is expressed in hatred of evil (8:13) and avoidance of sin (16:6), and so results in prolonged life (10:27; 19:23)."

There are two kinds of fear: one that makes you run to God, and the other that makes you run away from God. He engages us and we respond with fear: run to Him or away from Him. Christ wants us to run to Him. One of my favorite authors had this to say about the fear of the Lord,

"The fear of the Lord is to hate evil." Prov. viii. 13. It is not to be afraid of Him and shun His presence, but to hate and shun that which is unlike Him. The love of God is that we keep His commandments. And as hating evil is identical with keeping His commandments, so the fear and the love of God are similar. God wants all men to love Him, and "there is no fear in love." E.J.W., The Present Truth [British] April 4, 1895.

If Christ stands at the door knocking, will you let Him in if you are afraid of Him? If you believe that He is loving, merciful, compassionate, etc., will you not let Him in? It reminds of me of the beautiful words of the hymn,

The Savior is waiting to enter your heart,

Why don't you let Him come in?

There's nothing in this world to keep you apart,

What is your answer to Him?

Time after time He has waited before,

And now He is waiting again

To see if you're willing to open the door:

O how He wants to come in.

O, will you not let Him come in?

Raul Diaz

Spiritual Metamorphosis

raul.diaz@gmail.com (Ulee) — Thu, 24 Sep 2020 09:40:00 +0000

Spiritual Metamorphosis

Do you like butterflies? They are beautiful. However, I bet if you answered yes to the previous question, you would respond, "no," to the next question, who likes caterpillars? No one would believe that such a beautiful insect could come from that ugly looking leaf eater. But, upon carefully observing this insect's life cycle, we realize that the creator formed the larva to enclose itself into a cocoon. There it metamorphoses or is transformed into a butterfly. Thus, the reviled becomes something beautiful.

The word metamorphosis means:

1. A marked change in appearance, character, condition, or function, also known as transformation.

2. A change in the form and often the habits of an animal during normal development after the embryonic stage. Examples of Metamorphosis include converting maggots into adult flies, caterpillars into butterflies, and changing tadpoles into frogs.

Meta is a Greek prefix for beside or after. Morph is a suffix that means form, shape, or structure. In essence, the word metamorphosis points toward the form an object will take after the transformation. The word trans is a prefix that means across, on the other side, or beyond. It can also mean to go through a Change or make a transfer. In the case of the caterpillar, its appearance and function change beyond recognition; how like Christ, when He assumed nature 4,000 years after the fall.

Isaiah 53:2 says, "For He shall grow up before Him as a tender plant, and as a root out of a dry ground: He hath no form nor comeliness; and when we shall see Him, there is no beauty that we should desire Him." When Jesus became a man, it was a significant change for Him, and perhaps for others who had seen Him before the incarnation. Many physical characteristics God has, Jesus no longer had. He was transformed into a human being, small and weak, in comparison to God. He had the same frailties, needs, and weaknesses we have. Accordingly, He covered His divinity with sinful humanity, yet did not sin, and according to Ellen White, "He was afflicted in all the afflictions of humanity." It is this combination of natures that qualifies Christ to be our Saviour.

Furthermore, Ellen White says of Him:

To save fallen humanity, the Son of God took humanity upon Himself, laying aside His kingly crown and royal robe. He became poor that we through His poverty might be made rich. One with God, He alone was capable of accomplishing this work, and He consented to an actual union with man. In His sinlessness, He could bear every transgression ... Christ did in reality, unite the offending nature of man with His own sinless nature, because by this act of condescension, He would be enabled to pour out His blood in behalf of the fallen race. (E. G. White Notes, page 29.)

Christ assumed the human nature of sinful man. Sin can be defined as self-love. This human nature, united with His divine nature of selfless love, did not Sin in Word, thought, or action. In Him, the battle was fought, and selfless love won out on the cross. In Himself, He redeemed the corporate life of humanity—what a wonderful Saviour, willing to condescend to the depths of degradation to save fallen human beings.

In Philippians chapter 2, from the NASB we read:

Phil. 2:5 Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus,

Phil. 2:6 Who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped,

Phil. 2:7 But emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men.

Phil. 2:8 Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.

So when Paul says, "Let this mind be in you" or as it is said in the NASB, "let this attitude be in you," He meant that we should we be willing to submit to the authority of God's indwelling Holy Spirit just as Jesus submitted to the Father. As Christ submitted to His Father even unto the death, so should we.

The mind of Christ or the attitude of Christ was that of self-denying love. Self-denying love is the principle that reigns in God's kingdom. This form of love (agape) is the only true love. With this love alone, man would be willing to lay down his or her life for another. It is the desire of the Father for us to have the mind of Christ, and He is more than willing to give it to us. Will we accept it?

Raul Diaz

Living on the Altar

raul.diaz@gmail.com (Ulee) — Fri, 11 Sep 2020 22:26:00 +0000

Living on the Altar

In Romans 12:1, Paul invites us to become living sacrifices. Let us
read the text,

"I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye
present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God,
which is your reasonable service."

Most animal sacrifices take place on an altar, and are too dreadful to
consider even occasionally, let alone on a daily basis. However, as
gruesome as an animal sacrifice may seem, we modern readers need to
become familiar with the Old Testament sacrificial system, as it
accurately symbolizes various aspects of Christ's death on our behalf.
The Greek word for 'sacrifice' or 'victim' is thusia: which is the
noun form. The verb form is thuo, which means to kill by fire or
immolate, slay or slaughter. In addition, the word for 'living' in
Greek is zao, it is the root word for zoe, the word used for eternal
life. However, Paul uses another word for life in relation to Sin
which is bios. To become a living sacrifice as Paul suggests, these
opposing ideas must be reconciled in our minds. A cursory reading of
Romans 12:1, 2 can elicit the question, how can we live eternally
while at the same time die daily? God's principle of living as a
sacrifice, is stated in Galatians, and says, "I am crucified with
Christ nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ lives in me: and the
life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of
God who loved me, and gave himself for me" (Gal 2:20).

Let us consider what this would mean if someone were the literal
sacrifice. Once on the altar, we'd hope they would stay there until
self was consumed. But unfortunately, we have all seen self rise in
those who we thought were beyond that level of selfishness, such as
when Moses struck the rock twice, or when King David took Bathsheba or
how about when Martha had anxious care and reported her sister Mary to
Jesus. Since we are to die to self daily, when we resist, others are
negatively impacted, as is obvious from our previous examples. This
reminds me of the warning Jesus gave regarding the choice to be
sacrificed, "If your hand or foot causes you to sin, cut it off and
cast it from you. It is better for you to enter into life lame or
maimed, rather than having two hands or two feet, to be cast into the
everlasting fire" (Matt. 18:8, NKJV). In other words, if self rises
through the members of your body cut them off and discard them. Jesus
was not, of course, recommending amputation, but was using imagery to
emphasize the importance of separation from sin.

Instead of self-amputation, what the Lord requires of us is
willingness to allow Him to remove objectionable selfish traits of
character, much as a surgeon would -- with skill and precision, remove
a diseased organ. Paul calls this our reasonable service.

It is through this continual process of sacrifice that our minds are
renewed, our characters transformed and we have the mind of Christ
(Romans 12:2, Eph 4:23, Phil 2:5:1:6, 1 Cor. 2:16). This renewal gives
evidence of the goodness, perfection, and Love of God, revealing His
acceptable will. All those who have gone before us have endured this
process: the patriarchs, the prophets, Christ's true followers, and
even Christ Himself (Hebrews 11). All have been living sacrifices. Of
Christ it is said," For in that he himself hath suffered being
tempted, he is able to succour them that are tempted" (Hebrews 2:18).
In other words, the very process Christ allows us to be put through,
He endured and is, therefore, our empathetic helper and comforter,
empowering us to persevere as we die daily. Paul states in Hebrew
4:15, "For we have not a high priest which cannot be touched with the
feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we
are, yet without sin."

The suffering Christ, who prevailed by faith, trusting to His Father's
goodness-- gained the victory on our behalf. We who are actively
watching His experience through the scripture may receive the same
victories and may have heart transformation as did those who have gone
before us. Like Isaac, we too can be willing to be placed on the
altar. Ellen White sums this up well. Let us read,

"Greater is He that is in the heart of the faithful, than he that
controls the hearts of unbelievers. Complain not bitterly of the trial
which comes upon you, but let your eyes be directed to Christ, who has
clothed His divinity with humanity, in order that we may understand
how great His interest in us is, since He has identified Himself with
suffering humanity. He tasted the cup of human sorrow, He was
afflicted in all our afflictions, He was made perfect through
suffering, tempted in all points like as humanity is tempted, in order
that He might succor those who are in temptation" (YRP 131).

The Lord is wooing, and convincing us to allow Him to change us and
thus our ways from the inside out. Unfortunately, not all answer the
call. And out of those who do, many, once on the altar grow weary and
discouraged by the length of the process. Gradually they free
themselves from that which they consider as unnecessary suffering.
But, it is not really the suffering that makes them leave: it is
instead their distrust of Christ and unwillingness to be led by the
Holy Spirit; it is unbelief. They are convinced of their need, but are
unconverted. In the history of the Israelites, it can be seen that
those who left the altar, left because they did not believe (Hebrews
3:19). They did not receive the Truth in the love of it, by faith.
Instead they had a selfish kind of love -- pretending not to see the
truth. In contrast, the Gentiles, who heard the word in faith, were
gladly sacrificed on the altar and remained there until the work was
complete. Paul warns us to be careful less we remove ourselves from
the altar as did the Jews. Let us read the warning in Hebrews 3:12,
"Take heed, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of
unbelief, in departing from the living God."

The question to us is, will we trust Jesus enough to remain on the
altar? When the sacrifice of an animal took place, it was bound so
that it would not flee. It had no choice in the matter. Contrast this
with the willingness of our forefather Isaac, who allowed himself to
be bound to the altar, and of Jesus Himself who was nailed to His
cross. In light of this, will we allow the Lord to will in us to will
and to do of His good pleasure?
Raul Diaz

Mary's Act of Love

raul.diaz@gmail.com (Ulee) — Fri, 28 Aug 2020 11:05:00 +0000

Mary's Act of Love

When you are a student, you spend a large part of the time taking tests. Once, while, in college, I heard of a seminar on how to take tests better and instantly thought to myself, "Is this not a little late?" In the end, I decided it would not hurt to go, and it was worth it. One thing the seminar clarified for me was the difference between comparing and contrasting an idea. Many essay tests require the test taker to either contrast or compare a particular concept. If you do not know the difference, your answers will be marked wrong. When a test asks to compare, it means to comment on the similarities between ideas and concepts. And when it states to contrast, you are to discuss different ideas or concepts.

The Bible uses both concepts. The New Testament notes that comparatively speaking, all men are sinners in need of grace. However, there is a contrast between those who accept grace and those who do not; many parables address this. Specifically, it is evident in the parable of the forgiven debtor of Luke 7:41-43-

"There was a certain creditor which had two debtors: the one owed five hundred pence, and the other fifty. And when they had nothing to pay, he frankly forgave them both. Tell me therefore, which of them will love him most? Simon answered and said, I suppose that he, to whom he forgave most. And he said unto him, Thou hast rightly judged."

The parable reveals that our response to forgiveness makes evident how we respond to forgiveness. How much forgiveness we perceived we got. The implication is that we believe that the amount of forgiveness God gives us is in direct proportion to the amount of Sin. Furthermore, the love and appreciation demonstrated to God will be in proportion to that perception.

The Lord gave Simon this parable to deal with Simon's response to Mary Magdalene's act of love. Simon was a Pharisee and former Leper. Christ had healed Simon. And because of this, Simon "threw" a party to thank Jesus. Jesus accepted and attended with His disciples, while Mary showed up at the event, uninvited. Bringing with her a very costly alabaster box filled with spikenard ointment, she broke it and poured the ointment onto Jesus' head. With this same ointment, mingled with her tears, she also bathed Jesus' feet, drying them with her hair. This incident was considered scandalous by most of the house guests, and Simon, the host. With disdain and indignation, Simon thought to himself, "This man, if he were a prophet, would have known which woman this is that toucheth him: for she is a sinner" (Luke 7:39). Let's look at verse 40 to read Jesus' response, "… Simon, I have somewhat to say unto thee. And [Simon] saith, Master, say on" (Luke7: 40). The "somewhat" was the parable. Jesus further explained what He meant by it in verses 44 through 47,

"And he turned to the woman, and said unto Simon, Seest thou this woman? I entered into thine house, thou gavest me no water for my feet: but she hath washed my feet with tears, and wiped them with the hairs of her head. Thou gavest me no kiss: but this woman since the time I came in hath not ceased to kiss my feet. My head with oil thou didst not anoint: but this woman hath anointed my feet with ointment. Wherefore I say unto thee, Her sins, which are many, are forgiven; for she loved much: but to whom little is forgiven, the same loveth little."

The lesson to Simon was clear. Simon owed 500 pence, but, he showed appreciation for merely 50 pence. On the other hand, Mary, who owed only 50 pence, showed appreciation for 500 pence. The contrast is clear. While Christ loved and helped both, they did not perceive it the same way. Sadly, the disciples were no better than Simon. Let us read of their reaction to Mary's gift in Matthew 26:8-13,

"But when his disciples saw it, they had indignation, saying, To what purpose is this waste? For this ointment might have been sold for much, and given to the poor. When Jesus understood it, he said unto them, Why trouble ye the woman? for she hath wrought a good work upon me. For ye have the poor always with you; but me ye have not always. For in that she hath poured this ointment on my body, she did it for my burial. Verily I say unto you, Wheresoever this gospel shall be preached in the whole world, there shall also this, that this woman hath done, be told for a memorial of her."

Here we find yet another contrast. The disciples showed less concern for Jesus than Mary. In her concern for Jesus, Mary relieved His suffering. Ellen White elaborates in the following quotes,

"The fragrant gift which Mary had thought to lavish upon the dead body of the Saviour she poured upon His living form. At the burial its sweetness could only have pervaded the tomb; now it gladdened His heart with the assurance of her faith and love… And as He went down into the darkness of His great trial, He carried with Him the memory of that deed, an earnest of the love that would be His from His redeemed ones forever" (Conflict and Courage, p. 306).

"The desire that Mary had to do this service for her Lord was of more value to Christ than all the spikenard and precious ointment in the world, because it expressed her appreciation of the world's Redeemer. It was the love of Christ that constrained her. . . Mary, by the Holy Spirit's power, saw in Jesus One who had come to seek and to save the souls that were ready to perish. Every one of the disciples should have been inspired with a similar devotion" (Christ Triumphant p. 252, paragraph.4).

Although the disciples had privately received teachings regarding Jesus' approaching death, they were uncomfortable with the idea and resisted it, which later left them unprepared. Yet Mary, an uneducated woman, not privy to the disciples' intimate knowledge of Jesus, was informed by the Holy Spirit's promptings and believed. That kind of inspiration she received can only find an entrance in a broken and a contrite heart. Jesus commended Mary. Will He "congratulate" us?

Raul Diaz

Stewards of Service

raul.diaz@gmail.com (Ulee) — Fri, 21 Aug 2020 12:05:00 +0000

Stewards of Service

The Bible says that nature speaks of the Glory of God, which is His character. Sister White stresses the importance of this by telling us to study the lessons in nature. She says in Our High Calling, page 253: "Everything about us teaches us from day to day lessons of our Father's love and of His power, and of His laws that govern nature and that lie at the foundation of all government in heaven and in earth." Let's take a tree as an example. A mature tree uses precious earthly resources: it occupies space, utilizes air (Carbon-dioxide we exhale), water, and absorbs sunlight. In turn, we use the oxygen the tree releases, and we take advantage of its shade. Is this a fair exchange? Many trees yield fruit that, when consumed, is not only tasteful to our palate, but it is good for our health. Trees cannot consume fruits, as can we. There are other parts of the tree, which we utilize, such as the leaves and the wood of the tree for papers and numerous other products. It seems that human beings benefit more from trees then the three do from us. So, all the resources that trees use end up being for our benefit. And, it seems that trees do this – that is: serve us – selflessly. Well, wouldn't you say, If trees were stewards, they would manage God's entrusted resources to benefit us, humanity?

Our analogy of the tree is one of stewardship and serving others. When a steward is faithful to God, his service is selfless. But, in our natural sinful state, we are selfish. We think only of ourselves. When we give to others or do for them, it is because we expect the service to be of benefit to us. Often we hope a tangible return, such as money or other favors – tickets, meal, gift certificate, etc. Other times the benefit we derive from serving others is intangible. We want others to see us so that we can gain favor. Frequently, we serve out of feelings of guilt, coercion, or fear. We hope to be relieved from doom. Thus we misuse God's resources for our benefit, even though we claim we are using them to serve others.

A true Christian - at whatever level - is a faithful Steward. Just as a mature tree yields fruit, the Christian will produce fruit (Galatians 5:22-25). The Spirit of God that dwells in him springs forth this fruit because it is God's character. Therefore, service is not out of guilt, coercion, or fear. The true Christian does not expect to gain absolution, freedom, or peace. The service of a true Christian, in whom the Spirit dwells, is motivated by Agape – God's unconditional love – and the driving force is gratitude. A real follower of Christ gives and serves freely, for he has received freely (Matthew 10:8).

Typically we do not equate stewardship with the selfless serving of others. As a steward serves his Master by caring for his assets, he does as the Master wishes. What are the Master's wishes? "…but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God?" (Micah 6:8). Perhaps the following text from Matthew 25 will illustrate what this means:

Matthew 25:31 When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory:
Matthew 25:32 And before him shall be gathered all nations: and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats:
Matthew 25:33 And he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left.
Matthew 25:34 Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world:
Matthew 25:35 For I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in:
Matthew 25:36 Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me.
Matthew 25:37 Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink?
Matthew 25:38 When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee?
Matthew 25:39 Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee?
Matthew 25:40 And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.
Matthew 25:41 Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels:
Matthew 25:42 For I was an hungred, and ye gave me no meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me no drink:
Matthew 25:43 I was a stranger, and ye took me not in: naked, and ye clothed me not: sick, and in prison, and ye visited me not.
Matthew 25:44 Then shall they also answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, or athirst, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister unto thee?
Matthew 25:45 Then shall he answer them, saying, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did it not to me.
Matthew 25:46 And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal.

Faithful stewards are sheep who unknowingly serve their Lord by helping those in need. Unfaithful stewards are the goats who served others but for personal gain. What is the difference between the two? It is Agape – God's unconditional love. The type of love that the Father is, which drove Him to give to all human beings "…His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life." This love made Jesus weep because of the harm Sin had done to His humanity (John 11:35). This love can only be found in us when we permit the Holy Spirit to dwell in us. After all, the Holy Spirit pours this love in us (Romans 5: 5). This love makes us faithful stewards who serve others, as they are needful, as we were serving Christ Himself. Will you let the Spirit work in you "both to will and to work for his good pleasure?" (Philippians 2:13).

Raul Diaz

Creation versus Evolution

raul.diaz@gmail.com (Ulee) — Wed, 12 Aug 2020 21:54:00 +0000

Creation versus Evolution

Recently I was listening to a prominent Adventist Speaker talk about the importance of knowing the history of Christianity. He said that we also need to know Christian History in the light of the fulfillment of prophecy. He went to Revelation 11 and identified the beast that comes out of the pit, France, during the French revolution. What was happening then? The French rejected anything that had to do with God in reaction to thousands of years of Catholic oppression. The concept of God that the Roman Catholic had presented through all those years was untenable to the French intellectual elite. How can God be a God of love, justice, and peace, and stand by observing all the suffering, injustice, and violence in the world?
Furthermore, how can God be a God of grace and forgiveness and yet be so cruel to punish sinners for eternity? How can God say He is for the poor, while the wealthy nobility claimed to be favored by Him even when they were abusive and despotic toward their fellow men? The picture of tyrannical and punitive God did not make sense to the French, so they rejected His existence. As we can see, modern atheism is not born out of scientific research and advancements, but out of theological concerns.

This rejection of God and the Bible then posed a challenge to explain our humanity and the planet's origin. However, the most popular theory did not emerge out of a concern to give a scientific alternative to how all began. But as a necessity to understand Creation from a picture of God that was untenable to Charles Darwin.

Contrary to popular conceptions, Charles Darwin began his theory of Evolution from a theological premise. He expressed it like this: "There seems to me," wrote Darwin, "too much misery in the world. I cannot persuade myself that a beneficent and omnipotent God would have designedly created the [parasitic wasp] with the express intention of their feeding within the living bodies of caterpillars, or that the cat should play with mice."

Of course, a "beneficent and omnipotent God" did no such thing. But, Darwin did not conceive that maybe there was a beneficent and omnipotent God that would allow Sin to run its course for redemption. Darwin – and the French before him – had no clue about the Great Controversy.

Darwin reasoned just as the French some half a century before him: God cannot exist. Therefore, thought Darwin, without a God that speaks things into existence, things must have evolved. And the way they must have developed is by natural selection and survival of the fittest (mostly adaptability, not necessarily strength).

Darwin's theory posed a challenge for many Christian thinkers who thought that what Ellen White calls science so-called, had valid points in Evolution, so they merged both methods into Theistic Evolution. This theory says that God used Evolution to create the world. Meaning, the 7-day creation story is nothing but a metaphor to describe what God did for millions of years. In essence, they propose that God created the world or the universe, left it on its own to develop for a given period, and reappeared to bestow a "soul" on the humans who had evolved while He was away.

Darwin'stheory poses other problems. Among other things, it negates the origin of Sin and the need for redemption. It also converts the gospels into fairy tales. If God did not speak, and it was done (Psalm 33: 9), Christ could not have done it either. If there were no miracles, then there is no resurrection, and therefore any hope, for as Paul says, without the resurrection, we work in vain (1 Corinthians 15: 14).

The Bible is clear about the literality and legitimacy of the Creation story. Take for example Hebrews 11: 3,

Hebrews 11:3 Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear.

Paul here is clear that things did not evolve; they did not appear out of things that existed before. God's Word made them appear. God spoke, and it was done (Psalm 33: 9). The following verses insist that the Genesis narrative was real,

Colossians 1:16 For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether [they be] thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him:
Colossians 1:17 And he is before all things, and by him, all things consist.
John 1:1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
John 1:2 The same was at the beginning with God.
John 1:3 All things were made by him; and without him was not anything made that was made.
Romans 1:20 For the invisible things of him from the Creation of the world are seen, being understood by the things that are made, [even] his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse:

The following quotes show that throughout all her ministry, Ellen G. White was uncompromising in her rejection of the theory of Evolution. She wrote,

"It is the worst kind of infidelity; for with many who profess to believe the record of creation, it is infidelity in disguise."—The Signs of the Times, March 20, 1879.
"[S]hall we, for the privilege of tracing our descent from germs and mollusks and apes, consent to cast away that statement of Holy Writ, so grand in its simplicity, 'God created man in His image, in the image of God created He him'? Genesis 1:27."—Education, p. 130.
"When the Lord declares that He made the world in six days and rested on the seventh day, He means the day of twenty-four hours, which He has marked off by the rising and setting of the sun."— (Testimonies to Ministers and Gospel Workers, p. 136).

You can see that to a believer, Creation should not be a theory, but a fact. Just as Creation is a fact, so is the Cross, since they are intimately related. God displays His love in both events. You cannot believe in one and reject the other. That would be foolish.

Raul Diaz

https://about.me/raul.diaz

Spiritual Gifts

raul.diaz@gmail.com (Ulee) — Fri, 07 Aug 2020 12:40:00 +0000

Spiritual Gifts

The word rendered as a gift in the Greek is charisma:

1) a favor with which one receives without any merit of his own
2) the gift of divine grace
3) the gift of faith, knowledge, holiness, virtue
4) the economy of divine grace, by which the pardon of sin and eternal salvation is appointed to sinners considering the merits of Christ laid hold of by faith
5) grace or gifts denoting extraordinary powers, distinguishing certain Christians and enabling them to serve the church of Christ, the reception of which is due to the power of divine grace operating on their souls by the Holy Spirit

Like many other words, this word charisma has evolved into an entirely different meaning: a personal quality of leadership arousing popular loyalty or enthusiasm. So, when we talk about a charismatic movement, which definition are we using? I believe it should be the biblical meaning. Of course, it is a misuse of the word, since those that use the term charismatic use it to refer to the use of glossolalia (speaking in tongues) and a more enthusiastic type of worship service. In their mind, this style of worship style is from the Holy Spirit. However, as we can see, charisma is more than just external displays of the Holy Spirit; it refers to the quality of the plan of salvation, which is a gift from God to man. Jesus is a gift to man (John 3:16); so is the Holy Spirit (John 14:26). The word is also used to refer to grace, faith, knowledge, virtue, pardon, etc. All of these are gifts given to man. It is favor with which one receives without any merit of his own. Somehow when we refer to 1 Peter 4:10, we tend to focus on definition number 5.

For the context of our study, the word gift means something given; this has implications. One is that a gift, by definition, is something from someone has to someone that does not have; this applies to the Spiritual context. Before experiencing Christ in us, we had nothing of what God gives to us. Just read Romans 5 to get an idea. Death is our reward. After Christ comes into our lives, eternal life is the outcome if we receive Him.

The one giving the gift gives because He wants to, the one receiving most choose to accept it. Whether they take it or not, they were given a gift. If they did not receive the gift, it is still a gift. Lastly, the giver gives the gift not because the recipient deserves it or not. Again, the giver gives the gift because the giver wants to give it.

Our lesson's emphasis is what we call spiritual gifts. They refer to these special endowments or skills that the Holy Spirit gives to those in whom He dwells; in other words, to those who are converted. (The disciples did not receive their gift until after their actual conversion in the Upper Chamber.) The Bible lists these endowments in Romans 12, 1 Corinthians 12, and Ephesians 4. The purpose for them is given in Ephesians 4: 12 – 13,

Ephesians 4:12 For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ:
Ephesians 4:13 Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ:

These gifts are not just for witnessing and evangelism. They are to help us become more like Christ and help others become more like Christ. They are to be used to serve others. How do we know we have them? Well, if you are converted, it will be revealed to you. It is the Holy Spirit who brings about conversion in us, and it is He who gives us a ministry and He who gives us the gifts. They are called spiritual for a reason. Only those who are spiritual and not carnal have them.

Can you choose your gift? No, the Holy Spirit gives as He wills (1 Corinthians 12: 11). How can you use them? That is God's prerogative also. Paul says in Ephesians 2:10,

Ephesians 2:10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.

It is His work. He is the boss. Whatever the church does, it must do under the authority and direction of the Holy Spirit. It is our privilege to seek God's will and work in harmony with that which the Spirit reveals. We must not fall into the trap of making plans and then seeking divine approval. Often we ask, "What can our church do for God?" We would do better to pray and let the Holy Spirit reveal to us what we shall do.

Raul Diaz

https://about.me/raul.diaz

Light Bulbs

raul.diaz@gmail.com (Ulee) — Fri, 31 Jul 2020 12:28:00 +0000

Light Bulbs

The Light bulb is nothing without electricity. It was designed for illumination, but cannot, without energy, displace darkness. The Light from a Light bulb is a combination of three things: an incandescent filament that is part of an unbroken and uninterrupted electric circuit and electricity. Several simple things must occur To ignite the Light bulb. The bulb must be appropriately connected to an electrical source (thus closing the circuit). The power switch must be turned on. And the filaments within the incandescent bulb or the gases within the fluorescent tube must be intact. Similarly, whenever Christians shine forth, there must be spiritual equivalents to the Light bulb and spiritual equivalents to what makes the bulb work.

Our spiritual filaments are broken beyond repair. The Holy Spirit brings a new filament to each believer and then also makes new electrical wiring and connections within them; our old circuitry is inadequate for His electrical system and, therefore, needs replacing. Once the new equipment is in place, and the Holy Spirit properly connects the Christian to the spiritual energy source (God), he or she shines.

We can see it may take the Holy Spirit some time to set everything in place. In reality, we limit how He can work through how much space we give Him. Once all is in place, it should work continually, unless we find ways to interrupt it. Interruptions (for example, switches) can stop the electric flow. When we turn the switch off, we disrupt the flow of the hearing of faith and the believing of the Word. The smallest cracks in the fluorescent tube or the tiniest breaks of an incandescent filament can destroy the bulb's lighting capacity. So can a break in the wiring. We should clarify that unlike our earthly electrical sources, The Holy Spirit never has an outage. Therefore, when our spiritual bulb ceases to shine, it is not His fault, it is ours.

In principle, this metaphor is very similar to the one Jesus used in John 15. Which we refer to as the Parable of the Vine and the Branches. Christ told His disciples,

"Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me. I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing. If a man abide not in me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered; and men gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned. If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you. Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit; so shall ye be my disciples. As the Father hath loved me, so have I loved you: continue ye in my love."

What is the fruit? We find it in Galatians 5:22 – 23,

"But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law."

In the same chapter, Paul contrasted the fruit of the Spirit with the works of the flesh. These works of the flesh are the fruit that those refusing to abide in Christ - be connected to the Holy Spirit - will produce. Let us read what they are from verses 19-21,

"Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God."

If we were to see this passage in the Light of the Parable of the vine and branches, these branches produce no spiritual fruit, and the works of the flesh are evident. The Father, who is the husbandman, cuts these branches away to make sure the vine or tree does not waste resources that the good branches could be using (John 15:1). These "fruitless" branches refer to those of which Christ says, "depart from me you workers of iniquity, I know you not" (Matthew 7: 23); Christ is speaking here to professed believers. They attended church; they participated in church activities and programs, they sang hymns, taught Sabbath School, returned tithes, even did evangelism. These professed believers were Sabbath School leaders, elders, deacons, etc. Christ says to them, "I do not know you. Go away." They did not allow the Holy Spirit's daily indwelling to enable them to live a God-honoring life. Only the infusion to the vine allows the Holy Spirit to produce fruit in them. Only being supernaturally wired to the "electric circuit" enables the Spirit to shine the Light. How do we stay fused so the Holy Spirit can work through us? Through the hearing of faith (Galatians 3:1).

~Raul Diaz

Raul Diaz

https://about.me/raul.diaz

Discipleship and Prayer

raul.diaz@gmail.com (Ulee) — Thu, 23 Jul 2020 17:12:00 +0000

Discipleship and Prayer

The following commentary was published originally to link discipleship with Prayer. It clearly explains Prayer, I believe.

Discipleship and Prayer

John 17:20-21

20 "I do not pray for these alone, but also for those who will believe in Me through their word;

21 that they all may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You; that they also may be one in Us, that the world may believe that You sent Me.

In the last lesson, we defined disciples in the light of scripture. We read in Luke 14,

Luke 14:27 And whosoever doth not bear his cross, and come after me, cannot be my disciple.

Luk 14:33 So likewise, whosoever he be of you that forsaketh not all that he hath, he cannot be my disciple.

The implication here is that to be Christ disciples, you bear your cross and forsake all and follow Him. In John 15, discipleship is explained in the context of farming. We read in John 15,

Joh 15:5 I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.

Joh 15:8 Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit; so shall ye be my disciples.

These two descriptions of discipleship are complementary. If I remain in A, I cannot stay in B; thus, I forsake B. The bearing of fruit reveals that we are good soil in which the good seed sown and eventually germinated (Luke 8: 4 – 18). The root found living nutrients and water. Ellen White sums it up beautifully,

As a flower of the field has its root in the soil, receives air, dew, showers, and sunshine, so must we receive from God that which ministers to the life of the soul.

God guarantees His presence to His Christian followers. "As long as the members of the church shall through faith draw sap and nourishment from Jesus Christ, and not from man's opinions and devisings, and methods; if having a conviction of the nearness of God in Christ, they put their entire trust in Him, they will have a vital connection with Christ as the branch has connection with the parent stock" (Our Father Cares; 21 – 22).

How, then, does Prayer relate to this? No one will deny the need for Prayer. In the words of Ellen White,

"Prayer is the opening of the heart to God as to a friend. Not that it is necessary in order to make known to God what we are, but in order to enable us to receive Him. Prayer does not bring God down to us, but brings us up to Him."—Ellen G. White, Steps to Christ, p. 93.

"Pray much. Much Prayer is necessary to successful effort. Prayer brings strength. Prayer has "subdued kingdoms, wrought righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, quenched the violence of fire, turned to flight the armies of aliens." {SW, February 23, 1904 par. 6}

Notice how she ties faith (Hebrews 11: 33 - 34) with Prayer. Now, since we describe discipleship in the context of farming, can we explain Prayer in the same way – or at least using biological imagery? Ellen White does just this. Let us read a passage where she does this,

"Prayer is the breath of the soul. It is the secret of spiritual power. No other means of grace can be substituted and the health of the soul be preserved. Prayer brings the heart into immediate contact with the Wellspring of life, and strengthens the sinew and muscle of the religious experience. Neglect the exercise of Prayer, or engage in Prayer spasmodically, now and then, as seems convenient, and you lose your hold on God. The spiritual faculties lose their vitality, the religious experience lacks health and vigor" (Messages to Young People, 249, 250.)

When we breathe, our body inhales oxygenated air and exhales air with Carbon Dioxide. Our blood carries oxygen throughout the body. The blood returns to the lungs depleted of oxygen to fill itself with oxygen again; this is an automatic process. Unless there are problems, no one chooses to breathe; you just do. What happens if we decide not to breathe? Most folk cannot hold their breath for more than three to five minutes without fainting.

We read in Luke 18:1: "And he spake a parable unto them to this end, that men ought always to pray, and not to faint." If we stop breathing, we faint; likewise, if we cease to pray, it will not be long before we find ourselves fainting before the trials that inevitably come our way. It is through Prayer that we are braced for difficulties and trials that require strength far beyond our natural human capacity.

Through the Apostle Paul in 1 Thessalonians 5:17, "Christ has urged that His people pray without ceasing. This does not mean that we should always be upon our knees, but that Prayer is to be as the breath of the soul. Our silent requests, wherever we may be, are to be ascending unto God, and Jesus our Advocate pleads in our behalf, bearing up with the incense of His righteousness our requests to the Father" (TMK 78.3).

The statement above described how Jesus lived "… Jesus lived in dependence upon God and communion with him. To the secret place of the Most High, under the shadow of the Almighty, men now and then repair; they abide for a season, and the result is manifest in noble deeds: then their faith fails, the communion is interrupted, and the life-work marred. But the life of Jesus was a life of constant trust, sustained by a continual communion: and his service for heaven and earth was without failure or faltering. {SW, February 23, 1904 par. 7}

Just like our whole body benefits from breathing, the body of Christ is to benefit from Prayer. Real Prayer is, by definition, intercessory. Prayer – in its real sense - links us to God and others. Ellen White says,

"What does intercession comprehend? It is the golden chain which binds finite man to the throne of the infinite God. The human agent whom Christ has died to save importunes the throne of God, and his petition is taken up by Jesus, who has purchased him with His own blood. Our great High Priest places His righteousness on the side of the sincere suppliant, and the Prayer of Christ blends with that of the human petitioner" (TMK 78)

When we pray for others, we become vessels, conduits, or channels to distribute God's blessings. We become fountains springing God's living water so others can quench their thirst for righteousness (John 7: 38).

Raul Diaz

https://about.me/raul.diaz

raul.diaz@gmail.com (Ulee) — Fri, 17 Jul 2020 21:55:00 +0000

"In Spirit and in Truth"

Originally published on September 4 - 10, 2011

"To be filled, you must be emptied" - this may sound like a contradiction, but it is true. The opposite is also true. To be emptied, you must be filled. Even when a bottle is emptied of liquid, it is still full of air. If I fill a jug with water and close the lid tight, it stays in, and the air stays out. The moment I open the top, the water can flow out, but only as long as air can flow in the jug. Air must displace the water for the water to move out of the opening.

Let us say that, for some reason, I want to fill the jug with air. I must open the lid to let the water out, or the air cannot come in. This concept applies in other contexts as well. For example, to fill a truck with boxes and furniture, the truck must first be emptied of its previous load. Your stomach needs time to digest one meal before you fill it with another. The concept then is that you cannot fill something that is already full. So it is in the spiritual realm.

St. Augustine once said, "We must be emptied of that which fills us, so that we may be filled with that of which we are empty." Many pray to be filled with the Holy Spirit. For God to answer this prayer, we must be emptied of self. But, we cannot do the job ourselves.

"No man can empty himself of self. We can only consent for Christ to accomplish the work. The language of the soul will be, Lord, take my heart; for I cannot give it. It is Thy property. Keep it pure, for I cannot keep it for Thee. Save me in spite of myself, my weak, unchristlike self. Mold me, fashion me, raise me into a pure and holy atmosphere, where the rich current of Thy love can flow through my soul. It is not only at the beginning of the Christian life that this renunciation of self is to be made. At every advance step heavenward it is to be renewed" (Ellen White, Christ's Object Lessons, page 159, 160).

The story of the Samaritan woman can illustrate this idea of being emptied to be filled. In John 4, Jesus met her at the well and asked her for a drink of water. Surprised by a Jew who would ask a favor of a Samaritan, and a woman at that, she questioned Him. In response, Jesus introduced Himself and His mission by using water as a metaphor for what He had to offer. Failing to understand, she questioned Him again. His response is in verses 13 and 14 --

"Jesus answered and said unto her, Whosoever drinketh of this water shall thirst again: but whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life."

This woman was all too aware of the moral indiscretions of her past life. She was empty, and she knew it. When she believed Christ's revelation of Himself, the Samaritan woman's heart was warmed and filled. What she thirsted for was not merely water, but a reservoir of spiritual water springing up into everlasting life. This flowing, filling water, which represents the Holy Spirit, displaces all the ugliness of self. Holy Spirit inspired Truth, believed and received into the heart, dislodges self from its throne. We want to worship God in a way that pleases Him. To do this, we must worship in the Holy Spirit. We want to be filled by Him and emptied of self. In His dialogue with the Samaritan woman, Jesus says that genuine believers worship the Father in both Spirit and in Truth. Are the two things different?

Jesus states in John 14, verses 6 and 17 that both He and the Holy Spirit are Truth. In verse 17, Jesus elaborates further by saying that "the world cannot receive Him (the Spirit of Truth) because the world doesn't see or know Him." Then Christ says that "we know Him, for He dwells with and in us." It is in this manner that Jesus equates the Holy Spirit's character and essence with His own.

Jesus was also called Emmanuel, God with us. John 1:14 states that the Word (Jesus) was made flesh, and dwelt among us. The Truth – the Word of God – Jesus Christ through the Holy Spirit, displaces the lies of self.

Jesus not only reassured the Samaritan woman that He was the Christ, the long-awaited Messiah, but He implanted the seed of Truth and love in her heart. This seed would later be watered by His blood and would bear fruit in righteousness. He made it clear that the Father wants worshippers who will worship by accepting and receiving the Holy Spirit and believing the Truth. He was reassuring her and the whole Samaritan nation that the Father would receive them as His children. After seeing and understanding Christ's death on the cross for them, the believers among them would receive the Holy Spirit as a guide to lead them into all Truth, thus displacing the corrupt self.

We can experience the fullness of the Holy Spirit's power as long as we allow Jesus Christ, the Fountain of Life, to be the One who indwells us through that Spirit. God has promised us an abundance of Spiritual water – His Truth. We may believe His promise, ask for His gift, receive and "drink" the refreshing water of life which we find in His Word. His life then becomes our own.

In the book Desire of Ages, on page 671, Ellen White writes some powerful good news about this topic:

"The Holy Spirit was the highest of all gifts that He could solicit from His Father for the exaltation of His people. The Spirit was to be given as a regenerating agent, and without this the sacrifice of Christ would have been of no avail. The power of evil had been strengthening for centuries, and the submission of men to this satanic captivity was amazing. Sin could be resisted and overcome only through the mighty agency of the Third Person of the Godhead, who would come with no modified energy, but in the fullness of divine power. It is the Spirit that makes effectual what has been wrought out by the world's Redeemer. It is by the Spirit that the heart is made pure. Through the Spirit the believer becomes a partaker of the divine nature. Christ has given His Spirit as a divine power to overcome all hereditary and cultivated tendencies to evil, and to impress His own character upon His church."

Let us not reject the highest gift of living water that the Father could bestow through Christ. The very quenching of our thirst depends on it.

Raul Diaz

https://about.me/raul.diaz

Giving All for the Sheep

raul.diaz@gmail.com (Ulee) — Fri, 03 Jul 2020 13:05:00 +0000

Giving All for the Sheep

A Brazilian evangelist, Pastor Veloso, was in the middle of what could have been his most successful evangelistic series. It was in a stadium, and thousands were attending. Hundreds had already made decisions to get baptized. And, they expected hundreds more to do so, possibly topping the thousand mark. This man had had an incredible track record. Thousands had come to the church due to his preaching.

But, it had come at a cost. The news came to Pastor Veloso in the morning. His son, Chico, had been picked up by government authorities. Chico was hospitalized and found with high levels of heroin in his system. To make matters worse, Chico also had a couple of grams of heroin in his pant pockets. The plans were to clean Chico up and send him to jail. But, out of courtesy for Pastor Veloso, they delayed deciding until contacting him. The authorities had high regard for Pastor Veloso.

Pastor Veloso called for an emergency meeting with his staff and organizers. They all agreed that a scandal like this could hinder his ministry. How should they handle it? Some suggested asking the authorities to quietly put Junior in a rehab center, citing that God's work must go on. Others, suggested, to hold a press conference, come
out in the open, that way, the scandal is minimized, and the ministry hindered less.

A young pastor opened up his Bible and read from Luke 15: 4 – 24. This passage tells the parables of the lost sheep, the lost coin, and the prodigal son. These are very familiar parables. They describe how something that was lost was found and recovered; spiritually, how God found and recovered each one of us.

After the young Pastor finished reading, he then asked Pastor Veloso, "The people you preach to, what are they: lost sheep, the lost coins, or the prodigal children? How about your son?" Pastor Veloso started to cry. All the men in the room were dumbfounded, then they looked at
the young Pastor and yelled at him, "Look at what you've done."

Pastor Veloso then said with a loud voice, "Let him be. He's right. If I went to reach lost sheep, I did not secure the one I had to find the others. If I went to find lost coins, I have been cleaning everybody else's home, but mine. Now, if my son is a prodigal son, he needs to know that I am waiting for him, and I need to wait for him." Pastor Veloso resigned that same day, to save his son.

Pastor Veloso's son eventually cleaned up, gave up drugs, and gave his life to Christ. He said, "My Dad gave up everything for me, just as Christ gave up everything for us. Just the thought of that and that heaven rejoiced when I gave myself to Christ makes me rejoice. I wonder if heaven also rejoiced when my Dad chose to give up all for me."

The Bible revelation of the character of God is: Jesus says, "The Son of man is come to seek and to save that which is lost" (Luke 19:10). The story of the prodigal son emphasizes the seeking love of the Father—the lost boy would never have said, "I will arise and go to my
father" unless the seeking love of the Father had drawn him ( John 12:32, 33).

We must not give our children and youth the idea that God is like a doctor deep in his inner office, hard to find! The seeking love of the Father and the self-emptying love of Christ must be made plain early and through their teen years. An outward profession based on fear is
empty; it's the heart that must be won by the truth of His love.

Our current "offer" view of God's forgiveness forces us to see the prodigal son differently. If the son is "under condemnation" until he takes the initiative to come home, he cannot be a family member, a son; he is a stranger. But the biblical view sees the prodigal as still being
a son even while he was rioting and then in the pigsty—a son, indeed, although a lost one. Did the father "make" him a son only when he came home?

The Bible view tells the prodigal, You are a child of God "in Christ" by virtue of His sacrifice as the second Adam, and He has elected you since He gave Himself for you on His cross. But you have wandered away and sold your birthright. Now, realize and appreciate your actual status
in Him. Let His love draw you home where you belong, by virtue of His already adopting you "in Christ."

God does not regard unconverted people as wolves to be shot down as soon as possible; no, but He sees them as sheep, not in the fold, to be sure, but still sheep— lost sheep. They need to be converted, to be born again, yes, but all the while God considers them to be heirs to His estate because He sent forth His Son to be "made of a woman" as we are all "made of a woman." He has adopted the human race "in Christ."

You are not to think of yourself as an outsider, says Paul. Because of Christ's sacrifice, you are now "in the family," adopted (Eph. 1:5), loved all the while as the prodigal son was loved. But you didn't know it; you felt ostracized, estranged, alienated, lost, rejected, but God did not regard you as estranged or alienated. He reconciled you to Himself "in Christ." Now, says Paul, "be ye reconciled to God." The proof that He has reconciled you? Gal. 3:6, "God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into your heart, crying, Abba, Father." What a beautiful, powerful, illustration of Good News "in Christ," and now you can see it for yourself because your human heart is crying "Father... !"

The prodigal son's expression to his Father: "I have sinned against you," lets you know that the prodigal son finally understood the grief he caused to his Father. The greatest motivation to make changes in our lives is the desire to no longer break the heart of the one who
loves us so much. When the boy was wallowing around in the mud with the pigs, the Father suffered more than his son. Revival occurs when God's love breaks our hearts. Reformation occurs when we choose to
respond to a love that will not let us go. It happens when we no longer want to do anything to break God's heart. It takes place when we make the difficult choices to give up those attitudes, habits, thoughts, and feelings that separate us from Him and hence, break His heart.

Raul Diaz

https://about.me/raul.diaz

In The End, Faith Is What Matters

raul.diaz@gmail.com (Ulee) — Thu, 07 May 2020 13:12:00 +0000

In The End, Faith Is What Matters

In the Movie "Secret Garden," a boy is kept hidden because he is allegedly very sick. The Doctors say his legs are too weak to walk. The boy believes the Doctors. A girl visiting finds him. She challenges the boy by telling him, "You do look sick, but it is nothing a little sunshine, and good food will not help. And your legs could walk if you exercised them." The boy refuses to listen to the girl. However, the girl eventually convinces him to try to walk. The boy, of course, struggles to walk a few steps, assuring the boy that he could walk. The girl saw beyond what the Doctor saw. She followed her conviction that the boy's body atrophied because of disuse. She saw a body that worked fine, but that the owner had refused to make work. However, in the end, it boiled down to the boy believing that he could walk. The girl could have given him evidence and proof that he could indeed walk, but unless the boy thought he could, he would have never walked.

Faith is, at times, defined as belief. All the proof and evidence in the world – whether internal or external - cannot replace faith. It is by faith that the just lives (Romans 1:17; Galatians 3:11). It is by faith that we are saved (Ephesians 2:8). Hebrews 11:6 says that, "… without faith it is impossible to please him." In John 14:8, 9 Phillip asked Jesus for evidence, Jesus in essence answered "I am your evidence." In Matthew 12:38-40 some Scribes asked Jesus for a sign, Jesus replied similarly. Jesus did not believe that evidence would be useful in making people believe unless they chose to exercise the faith given to them.

Let us consider what it says in Hebrews 11:1- 3,

Hebrews 11:1 Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.

Hebrews 11:2 For by it the elders obtained a good report.

Hebrews 11:3 Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the Word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear.

This statement was true in Paul's day, is true in our day, and before the Bible text was first written. Verse 3 says that our understanding of the world we live in comes through faith, not just evidence from history, archeology, social or physical sciences. Trying to prove that the written narrative of the Bible is reliable has its place. However, how do you explain that from fallen Adam to the writing of the Pentateuch? Those who believed in this era did so without a written narrative of the history of redemption. This is not to say that the Bible is not necessary. It is, however, important to say that the Bible is an instrument in God and men's hand to lead men closer to God. The Bible informs us of how we are saved in Jesus, the Word of God incarnate.

In the end, you must believe that what the written Word says is true. Romans 10:17 says it clearly, " So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God." The Bible is perhaps the most important way to hear the Word of God. However, without faith, the Bible is nothing more than a collection of exciting stories that paint a historical picture of how things were more than 2000 years ago. Let us read Hebrews 11:4:

Hebrews 11:4 By faith [and without the benefit of a Bible] Abel offered unto God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, by which he obtained witness that he was righteous, God testifying of his gifts: and by it he being dead yet speaketh.

The same is the case of Noah, Abraham, Sara, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, and Moses (Hebrews 11: 7-11, 22-24.) This is the case of those mentioned in Hebrews 11: 32. They had the benefit of Written Scripture. Were these latter ones better off because of the Written Scripture? They believed by faith that what we know today as the Bible is the Written Word of God, without the internal or external proofs we have today. It is by faith that they pleased God and were saved. The same is true for us. Nothing can replace faith effectively.

Raul Diaz

about.me/raul.diaz

The Foundation

raul.diaz@gmail.com (Ulee) — Thu, 30 Apr 2020 09:42:00 +0000

The Foundation

The contractor hired a few young men to help build a small house in a low-budget residential area. It was a small budget project. So, the contractor hired these inexperienced young men – to whom the contractor would pay low wages - to dig the footings rather than renting the power equipment to do the job. On the first day, they began digging a ditch with a pickax and a shovel. Hour after hour as the sun beat down, blisters developed, grew, broke, and grew again as these young men dug this trench, a foot and a half wide with straight sides and a flat bottom. When the foreman returned hours later to inspect and help with his finishing touches and grade stakes, in came a concrete truck to fill in the hard-won space.

What they were working on was called the foundation. A foundation is an underlying base or support; in other words, a body or ground upon overlays a built structure. It is the lowest load-bearing part of a building, typically below ground level. This foundation is to be sound. It should rest on firm undisturbed soil or bedrock so that it can provide reliable support for the structure. The type and quality of the foundation required will, of course, depend on many factors. Some factors include the size and weight of the structure to be built. Other factors are the kind and stability of the soil. Foundations for homes are usually no more than one or two feet deep. But if you build a skyscraper, tower, or massive bridge, the foundation will need to be much more substantial. For example, the twin Petronas Towers soaring above Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, was situated on soil that couldn't support the weight of the 1,500-foot skyscrapers. Hence, the foundation had to rest on solid bedrock. Imagine how deep the massive hole for the 394-foot-deep concrete and steel foundation, to date, this is the deepest foundation for any building. For comparison, in January 2010, the world's tallest building, rising 2,717 feet above the desert of Dubai and known as Burj Khalifa, has a nearly half-million-ton concrete and steel foundation that extends down only 164 feet. While the foundations may vary, they still need to have the capacity to bear the structure's weight, and keep it standing; this implies that the foundation precedes the building.

The Bible speaks of a "rock" that served as a foundation for the temple of Solomon. Christ identified with this rock. Ellen White tells the story,

"In quoting the prophecy of the rejected stone, Christ referred to an actual occurrence in the history of Israel. The incident was connected with the building of the first temple. While it had a special application at the time of Christ's first advent, and should have appealed with special force to the Jews, it has also a lesson for us. When the temple of Solomon was erected, the immense stones for the walls and the foundation were entirely prepared at the quarry; after they were brought to the place of building, not an instrument was to be used upon them; the workmen had only to place them in position. For use in the foundation, one stone of unusual size and peculiar shape had been brought; but the workmen could find no place for it, and would not accept it. It was an annoyance to them, as it lay unused in their way. Long it remained a rejected stone. But when the builders came to the laying of the corner, they searched for a long time to find a stone of sufficient size and strength, and of the proper shape, to take that particular place, and bear the great weight which would rest upon it. Should they make an unwise choice for this important place, the safety of the entire building would be endangered? They must find a stone capable of resisting the influence of the sun, of frost, and of tempest. Several stones had at different times been chosen, but under the pressure of immense weights they had crumbled to pieces. Others could not bear the test of the sudden atmospheric changes. But at last, attention was called to the stone so long rejected. It had been exposed to the air, to sun and storm, without revealing the slightest crack. The builders examined this stone. It had borne every test but one. If it could bear the test of severe pressure, they decided to accept it for the cornerstone. The trial was made. The stone was accepted, brought to its assigned position, and found to be an exact fit. In prophetic vision, Isaiah was shown that this stone was a symbol of Christ. He says:

"Sanctify the Lord of hosts Himself; and let Him be your fear, and let Him be your dread. And He shall be for a sanctuary; but for a stone of stumbling and for a rock of offense to both the houses of Israel, for a gin and for a snare to the inhabitants of Jerusalem. And many among them shall stumble, and fall, and be broken, and be snared, and be taken."

The prophet is carried down in prophetic vision to the first advent, and shown that Christ is to bear trials and tests of which the treatment of the chief cornerstone in the temple of Solomon was symbolic. The prophet declares: "Therefore thus saith the Lord God, Behold, I lay in Zion for a foundation a stone, a tried stone, a precious cornerstone, a sure foundation: he that believeth shall not make haste." Isaiah 8:13-15; 28:16."

So, Christ told the Jews that they were treating Him as others treated this stone. He says to them in Mat 21:42, "Did ye never read in the scriptures, The stone which the builders rejected, the same is become the head of the corner: this is the Lord's doing, and it is marvelous in our eyes?"

Paul picks up on this theme in Ephesians 2. He calls us the building and Christ the foundation. Let us read,

Eph 2:20 And are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone;
Eph 2:21 In whom all the building fitly framed together groweth unto an holy temple in the Lord:

The above quote gives us two implications. On the one hand, if Jesus is the foundation, then not one of us is as important as Jesus (and we do not have to dig the footings). The only reason we can stand is because He bears our weight and holds us. On the other hand, we need not worry about how we can stand and not fall. Jesus carries and keeps us all; if only we let Him. Both extremes are dangerous. They are both treating Him as the "stone that the builders rejected." It is letting the stone fall on you. By, faith bring forth the fruit of landing on the stone and being broken (Matthew 21: 44 - 45).

Raul Diaz

https://about.me/raul.diaz

Testing the Prophecy

raul.diaz@gmail.com (Ulee) — Thu, 23 Apr 2020 11:41:00 +0000

Testing the Prophecy

There once was a shepherd boy who was bored as he sat on the hillside watching the village sheep. To amuse himself, he took a great breath and sang out, "Wolf! Wolf! The wolf is chasing the sheep!" The villagers came running up the hill to help the boy drive the wolf away. But when they arrived at the top of the hill, they found no wolf. The boy laughed at the sight of their angry faces. "Don't cry 'wolf,' shepherd boy," said the villagers, "When there's no wolf!" They went grumbling back down the hill. Later, the boy sang out again, "Wolf! Wolf! The wolf is chasing the sheep!" To his naughty delight, he watched the villagers run up the hill to help him drive the wolf away. When the villagers saw no wolf they sternly said, "Save your frightened song for when there is really something wrong! Don't cry 'wolf' when there is NO wolf!" But the boy just grinned and watched them go grumbling down the hill once more. Later, he saw a REAL wolf prowling about his flock. Alarmed, he leaped to his feet and sang out as loudly as he could, "Wolf! Wolf!" But the villagers thought he was trying to fool them again, and so they didn't come.

At sunset, everyone wondered why the shepherd boy hadn't returned to the village with their sheep. They went up the hill to find the boy. They found him weeping. "There was a wolf here! The flock has scattered! I cried out, "Wolf!" Why didn't you come?" An old man tried to comfort the boy as they walked back to the village. "We'll help you look for the lost sheep in the morning," he said, putting his arm around the youth, "Nobody believes a liar...even when he is telling the truth!" From the story, we can imply that liars can tell the truth. So there is a danger in judging what is said by the person who says it. Perhaps we should spend more effort testing what is said instead of testing who says it.

This seems to be the emphasis of 1 Thessalonians 5:20-21 NKJV,

20 Do not despise prophecies.
21 Test all things; hold fast what is good.

It does not say test the prophets but test the prophecies. This also seems to be what on Isaiah 8:20 NKJV stresses,

20 To the law and to the testimony! If they do not speak according to this word, it is because there is no light in them.

The emphasis here is on what they say, if it does not agree with "the law and the testimony," then there is no light in them. (This text also tells what the criteria are for testing the prophecy.)

Someone gave a prominent Rabbi a copy of Patriarchs and Prophets by Ellen G. White to read. He knew nothing of the author, but after reading the book, something about the book convinced the Rabbi that God inspired Ellen White. He believed that Sister White had to be led by God to write this book because she wrote the book in an ancient style that was unknown in her time and only discovered years after her death. For this Rabbi, only God could do something like that. This Rabbi knew the "law and the testimony." He tested Sister White's writings against this standard. He found that it was good – therefore of God, so he held fast to it.

As with this Rabbi, many recipients of prophecy in the Bible did not know the prophet and heeded his message believing it was the Word of God. (Consider the Ninevites with Jonah). Others who knew the prophets all along rejected the message. As Jesus said in Matthew 13:57, "… A prophet is not without honour, save in his own country, and in his own house." So, as we can see in the end is not about the prophet, but about who sent the prophet. It is not about the life of the prophet, but about the death of Christ.

In the end, no matter who God sends the issue is, do we believe the message? Do we have the faith, belief, and trust in God as the Ninevites had? They knew nothing of Jonah, but they did not despise the prophecy, they tested it, found it good, and held fast to it and repented. Are we?

Raul Diaz

https://about.me/raul.diaz

The Law and the Gospel

raul.diaz@gmail.com (Ulee) — Thu, 16 Apr 2020 12:46:00 +0000

The following commentary was published a few years back for another subject. However, I think it applies to this week's lesson. Let us read.

The Law and the Gospel
Memory Text: "Now by this we know that we know Him, if we keep His commandments. He who says, 'I know Him,' and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him" (1 John 2:3, 4, NKJV).

This verse presents a dilemma because depending on how you read it, the emphasis could be on knowing Christ- (which would make keeping the Law a fruit of knowing Him) or on obeying the Law (which would make knowing Him a consequence of keeping the Law). Which one is it?

We could try looking at the verse closer and see where it leads us. Let us start within the expression, "that we know Him." In John 17:3, Christ stated that knowing Him (and His Father) is eternal life. In John 6, Christ says that eating His flesh and drinking His blood gives life. When we eat and drink, we assimilate the food and drink - it becomes part of us. So, although we do not think about it in this manner, there is an intimate relation between food and us. What we eat and how we eat will eventually be revealed: this is akin to knowing someone, the more time you spend with them, the more the two assimilate each other. It will be evident that the two spent much time together. To those around Peter, it became apparent that Peter was with Jesus; Peter now spoke like a Galilean (Matthew 26:73). Peter, in many ways, acted like Jesus. So, Peter's speech was evidence that he was with Jesus. Peter did not go around speaking like Jesus to prove that he was one of them. It just came out. When the disciples preached, many said that it was evident that they had been with Jesus. There was a transformation.

The following expression is "Keeping the commandments." Who are these that keep them? Paul identifies "the just" as those who keep the commandments (Romans 2: 13). The words just and righteous are the same word in Greek. Abraham was just. How was Abraham just? He believed God's words, and Abraham's belief was counted to him for righteousness (Romans 4:3). Now, if Abraham's faith made him just, and the just keep the commandments, it follows that only those who hear God's words and believe them (since faith comes through Hearing and hearing through the word) keep the commandments (Romans 10:17). The best way to know someone is to listen to what they say and seek to understand them.

What are the commandments? We could argue that they are the Ten Commandments. We typically also call it the Law. The Ten Commandments speak of things we would do for others, not ourselves. None of the commandments say anything about how you are to treat yourself. On the contrary, they speak about how you are to treat God and others. Christ stated in Matthew 22: 37 - 40,

Mat 22:37 Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.
Mat 22:38 This is the first and great commandment.
Mat 22:39 And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.
Mat 22:40 On these two commandments hang all the Law and the prophets.

The passage just quoted is a summary of the commandments. It says, in essence, put God and others first. This is what Jesus did; he put His Father and others first; so much that He went to die on the cross so others may live. That is why the Father sent Him (Romans 5:8). So, John put it this way,

1Jo 3:16 Hereby perceive we the love of God, because he laid down his life for us: and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren.

In the Gospel according to John 15: 10 – 17, Jesus is quoted saying that this is the commandment He gives to us,

Joh 15:10 If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father's commandments, and abide in his love…
Joh 15:12 This is my commandment, That ye love one another, as I have loved you.
Joh 15:13 Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.
Joh 15:17 These things I command you, that ye love one another.

And we see in this passage how laying down your life is related to abiding in Christ's love. So, is love related to the commandments? Paul answered,

Romans 13:10 Love worketh no ill to his neighbor: therefore love is the fulfilling of the Law.

How do we relate faith to all of these? Sin is the transgression of the Law (1 John 3:4). Anything outside of faith is Sin (Romans 14:23). So, anything outside of faith transgresses the Law. We have concluded that the Law, in essence, says to love God and others above yourself, So, not loving God and others above yourself or loving yourself above others – is transgressing the Law, and it is not of faith. Therefore it is a Sin. So, if love fulfills the Law and does not transgress the Law, love is not Sin. Thus love is of faith; this means that since loving God and others above yourself is laying down your life; then it follows that only those who lay down their life for others, as Christ laid His life down for us, are just or righteous; they keep the Law. So, how do we know you know Christ? Because you willingly lay down your life for others as He laid His down for you.

So, the question remains, why was the Law given? Romans says it was given to make Sin, sinful, so that Sin may abound (Romans 5: 20). Galatians says that it was given because of transgression (Galatians 3:19). To what transgression is it referring? Based on this verse in Galatians and what Paul says in Hebrews, the transgression was the unbelief of the Israelites in the wilderness (Hebrews 3). What Paul is saying is that the Law was written on tablets because the Israelites refused to let God write the Law in their hearts. So, the inscribed tablets would be a reminder to the Israelites of what is righteousness, and in contrast, what is Sin. Paul says in 1 Tim 1: 8,

1Ti 1:8 But we know that the Law is good, if a man use it lawfully;
1Ti 1:9 Knowing this, that the Law is not made for a righteous man, but for the lawless and disobedient, for the ungodly and for sinners, for unholy and profane, for murderers of fathers and murderers of mothers, for manslayers,
1Ti 1:10 For whoremongers, for them that defile themselves with mankind, for men stealers, for liars, for perjured persons, and if there be any other thing that is contrary to sound doctrine;
1Ti 1:11 According to the glorious Gospel of the blessed God, which was committed to my trust.

So, for who is the written Law, or moral Law, or 10 Commandments? It is for the wicked, the sinner, the trespasser. Why? For who is the MRI? Is it not for those who are sick? Why? It is to diagnose; for what purpose? To condemn so, we can punish? No. It is to convict so the person will go to the doctor for healing.

The commandments were given to expose Sin and lead us to a Savior, to convince us of how terrible our condition is, and how we can do nothing to fix it ourselves, so we will stop trying and surrender to the one who has the remedy! The Lord gave The commandments to make Sin unattractive and grace attractive. Had man been obedient, there would have been no need for the Law to be given. Ellen White says,

If man had kept the Law of God, as given to Adam after his fall, preserved by Noah, and observed by Abraham, there would have been no necessity for the ordinance of circumcision. And if the descendants of Abraham had kept the covenant, of which circumcision was a sign, they would never have been seduced into idolatry, nor would it have been necessary for them to suffer a life of bondage in Egypt; they would have kept God's Law in mind, and there would have been no necessity for it to be proclaimed from Sinai or engraved upon the tables of stone. And had the people practiced the principles of the Ten Commandments, there would have been no need of the additional directions given to Moses. {PP 364.2}

Thus, we can define the Gospel as the good news that through Jesus, the Law can be written in our hearts and mind if only we allow the indwelling Spirit of God to do it. This is God's desire. Nothing will please Him more. Will we let Him?

Raul Diaz

https://about.me/raul.diaz

Ask The One Who Wrote It

raul.diaz@gmail.com (Ulee) — Thu, 09 Apr 2020 10:48:00 +0000

Ask The One Who Wrote It

A man wrote a note expressing his views on a particular subject. He sent this note to some of the people he knew to get their opinion. The people that received it read the note, and afterward, they started to discuss its content. They were many opinions about what they believed the note said. It continued like this for days, and no one got back to the author. Finally, they gave the note to a man known for his practical wisdom. He read it as the people waited. The reader nodded when he finished reading. The people asked him, "Well, what do you think?" The reader said, "I think this is worth pondering. It could be interpreted in many ways. So I do not know…" They all waited to see if he said something else. Then suddenly, the man spoke, "Well, you all know me to be very practical. And I think this needs a practical solution." "And that is?" asked the impatient crowd. The man said very matter-of-factly, "Well, I am going to find the person who wrote this note and ask him personally what he meant by this." The man left the premises to find the author of the note.

Meanwhile, the crowd stood in place quietly, mumbling, "Why did we not think of that?" I believe the Bible presents a similar situation. When we read it, we do not readily understand it. So, we discuss and philosophize amongst ourselves what we think God meant. But, we do not ask God Himself what He meant in His Word.

This week's scripture reading makes a bold statement: "All scripture is given by inspiration of God" 2 Timothy 3:16. In Biblical Greek, the word inspired is translated from the word "theopnuestos." This term means, "God breathed out..." In other words, God exhaled the writings of the Bible on the authors. God did this, not by giving the authors of the Biblical books inspired words, but by inspiring the writers. One of my favorite writers elaborates on this,

The Bible is written by inspired men, but it is not God's mode of thought and expression. It is that of humanity. God, as a writer, is not represented. Men will often say such an expression is not like God. But God has not put Himself in words, in logic, in rhetoric, on trial in the Bible. The writers of the Bible were God's penmen, not His pen. Look at the different writers. It is not the words of the Bible that are inspired, but the men that were inspired. Inspiration acts not on the man's words or his expressions but on the man himself, who, under the influence of the Holy Ghost, is imbued with thoughts. But the words receive the impress of the individual mind. The divine mind is diffused. The divine mind and will is combined with the human mind and will; thus the utterances of the man are the word of God. (Selected Messages, book 1, p. 21)

So when God exhaled to these Holy men, they "spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit" 2 Peter 1: 21. The power that God used to give life to Adam when God "breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul" (Genesis 2:7), is the same power God used to inspire the authors of the Bible. This power gave life to man, and also gives life to the Words written in the Holy Writ.

So, the Bible belongs to the Spirit of God. The Bible is a Spiritual thing. And, Spiritual things are "spiritually discerned" (1 Corinthians 2:14). Only those who have received that Spirit of God understand the things of the Spirit. Only those who receive the Spirit can discern spiritual things. To understand the Bible in its purest simplest form –as the Truth as it is in Jesus - we need the same breath that God gave to those who wrote it. If the Holy Spirit is the author, and He dwells in us, then He should be able to tell us exactly what He meant when then men He inspired wrote as moved by Him.

The Bible says that "If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him" (James 1:5). Jesus Himself says to all,

Matthew 7:7 Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you:

Matthew 7:8 For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened.

To the above quote, the Apostle James may have added, "Ye have not, because ye ask not" James 4:2. Jesus also said that the Father is more than willing to give us the Holy Spirit if only we ask for Him (Luke 11:13). Will we continue to discuss amongst ourselves? Or, will we go back to the One that wrote it and let Him breathe His heavenly wisdom upon us?

Raul Diaz

https://about.me/raul.diaz

The Bible's Prevalent Motif

raul.diaz@gmail.com (Ulee) — Sat, 04 Apr 2020 16:30:00 +0000

The Bible's Prevalent Motif

A motif is a recurrent thematic element in an artistic or literary work; topics and themes are synonyms. Although the Bible is much more than a literary work, it has identifiable motifs. Some motifs in the Bible are the Love of God and the shedding of blood as expiation for Sin. Another prevalent theme in the Bible is this: God always searches or reaches out to/for man; this is the case from the start. Let us read from Genesis 3: 8-11,

Genesis 3: 8And they heard the voice of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day: and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God amongst the trees of the garden.
Genesis 3: 9And the LORD God called unto Adam, and said unto him, Where art thou?
Genesis 3: 10And he said, I heard thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself.
Genesis 3: 11And he said, Who told thee that thou wast naked? Hast thou eaten of the tree, whereof I commanded thee that thou shouldest not eat?

The incident narrated above sets a pattern for the rest of our history. For 6,000 years, there has been a dynamic of man choosing evil and afterward hiding when he believes he others caught him. In his guilt, he drives himself into more evil and hiding further, or he tries to find a way to appease God, whom man believes is against him because of the Sin committed. God looks at the hiding man and says to him, "What are you doing behind there? It is dark there. Come out so we can see each other and talk freely." The man replies, "I am hiding from you. I know you must be angry at me, for I have disobeyed you. You must want to kill me for what I did."

Afterward, God looks at the man looking to appease Him, and says to the man, "What are you doing there? Why are you so busy? Please, stop. Turn around to me. I want us to talk." The man responds, "I am trying to make restitution for the evil I have done. I know you must be angry at me, and probably want to kill me. So, I am doing my best to show that I can do better. Perhaps I will change your mind."

God looks at them with sadness. He says, "Do they not know? Are they not listening? If I wanted them dead, I would have killed them by now. Have they not read in my Word when My Son told Nicodemus, in John 3: 16 and 17, that I God have '…so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not His Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through Him might be saved.' Because, 'There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God. They are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable; there is none that doeth good, no, not one' (Romans 3:11,12). All 'like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on Him the iniquity of us all (Isaiah 53:6). "They reject My free gift to them, which has been so costly to Me. They reject My unconditional and eternal love. They reject my mercy and grace. They reject Me."

God's love for us and us rejecting it is the common thread in the Bible. God goes looking for the man. The man runs away from God. Man believes in his heart that God hates him. God wants to show man that that is not the case. So God goes after man again. But, man continues to reject God and delights further in the evil he does. So, God has no choice but to let man suffer the consequences of his decisions. The wages of Sin is death (Romans 6:23a). Those who choose Sin will die eternally.

Thankfully, not all men will die. Some have chosen the Light of God and come out of hiding in the dark. Some have chosen the gift of God, which is "eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord" (Romans 6:23b). They have accepted by Faith the good works of Christ that grant Salvation and stop trying on their own through their actions. They have received God's love, mercy, and grace. They chose to let God reach out to them and allowed God to stay with them. Will you choose to be part of this group?

Raul Diaz

https://about.me/raul.diaz

That Which Is Desirable

raul.diaz@gmail.com (Ulee) — Sat, 14 Mar 2020 06:11:00 +0000

That Which Is Desirable

When was the last time you heard the words, "I love you?" In our society, we toss around these words so much they have lost their meaning. We read them in advertisements, hear them on the radio or view them on TV. However, many of us may have never heard these words addressed to us. Some may have only heard "I love you" in a romantic situation. How do you know someone loves you? Can you hear it in what they say, or see it in what they do? What is your love language?

How do you know God loves you? He called His Son beloved – agapetos (Matthew 3:17), and Daniel himself had the privilege of being told by an angel that he was greatly beloved (Daniel 9:23; 10:11,19). The Hebrew word for beloved is chemdah {khem-daw'}, and it is this word that we translate as "beloved." In Hebrew, Chemda means desire, that which is desirable, pleasant, and precious. And, this is how the angel addressed Daniel. This word Chemda is the same word that is Jews used to describe a precious jewel or fertile land. Friends, Daniel was being compared to a jewel or a productive land overflowing with cattle, and vegetation which produced delicious milk and sweet-tasting honey. Mmm-- imagine --the beautiful and delightful dishes the Jews could make from milk and honey. Just think of that which you desire, that which is precious to you, and pleasing to your senses-- maybe it is something that stimulates your palate, quenches your thirst, or satisfies your longing. Whatever it is that you've imagined (that is ethically acceptable), that feeling of pleasure you get, that joy, is a small fragment of the immense satisfaction that God felt about Daniel and feels toward us.

"I am no, Daniel," you may say, and of course, you are right. There was only one Daniel, and there is only one you, and one me. Let's agree on this, first; God loves each one of us because we are His, irrespective of our choices. He sent His Son to die for all who lived or would ever live-- that each might be saved (John 3:16) if he so desired. God sends His sunshine and rain on the just and the unjust (Matthew 5:45), and the beauty of nature is available to all mankind. As strange as it sounds, the act of destroying Sin and sinners is an act of love. Second, it is only by the Faith of Jesus that we please God-- not by our faith or belief, for even the devils believe and tremble. We are His beloveds when we yield to the bidding of His indwelling Spirit. We become His beloved when we allow Him to transform us into precious jewels, or soft fertile soil that bears fruit. It takes time to create a precious jewel. It takes heat and pressure to convert common mineral into a crystallized form. Then a jeweler works on the piece to mold and shape it into a beautiful piece of jewelry. The more delicate the work, the more the need for a master craftsman. This process is akin to God's work in us. He looks at us lovingly, determining by His skilled eye the nature of the work to be performed. We are His jewel, and He will (if we allow Him), not only remove the rough edges but will so cut our stony hearts with such precision, that the brilliance and clarity of the Son is apparent to all.

Just as it takes time and effort to dig the land for jewels, it takes time and effort to make it suitable for sowing. We have hearts of stone. To make them tender and fertile, God has to break the fallow ground and replace it with His perfect topsoil. It is He who must till the stony or thorny or wayside soil, and it is we who, if we choose, will be made willing (to do of His goodwill and pleasure -- Phil. 2:13). It may take years, but it doesn't have to. After the ground is tilled and fertilized, God sows the seed, then the soil is watered, and the ground weeded regularly. How patiently, the sower waits for the land to bear fruit. He must often wait at least three seasons. How he yearns for that crop to grow, and ripen that He may feed others; this is how Christ and the Father wait for us. It through the Holy Spirit working in us--tilling the soil with truth, softening it with the rain, and through the photosynthesis of the word, ripening the plant to produce copious delicious fruit. Allowing this kind of work to go on in us, we become that which the universe finds pleasant, precious, and desirable.

The process of making us precious jewels from rough crystal rocks, or fertile land from seemingly dry, rocky, thorny wayside soil, may seem harsh and unloving, but, well-- remember that desire we talked about earlier, that longing and yearning? Well, "Christ is waiting with longing desire for the complete reproduction

of His mind in the people who love Him-- then the end will come." What God puts us through is necessary for us to become genuinely loving people. All our selfishness and self-love must go. And God Himself is ready and willing to replace it with His selfless and unconditional, fertilized topsoil. It is His love that produces fruit, such as works of faith, that acceptable. It is His love with which we love our family members (and our neighbors), and all will know us by this love.

Brothers and sisters, let's allow God to call us His beloved, not because we try to be like Daniel, but because we allow Jesus -- to make us like Himself.

Raul Diaz

https://about.me/raul.diaz

Forgiveness for Unknown Sin

raul.diaz@gmail.com (Ulee) — Fri, 06 Mar 2020 10:11:00 +0000

Forgiveness for Unknown Sin

The police stopped a very famous film actor because of improper driving. The Police officer suspected that the driver was driving under the influence of alcohol. The officer approached the car window, and before he could ask the driver for his driver's license, he could smell the alcohol. He immediately asked the actor to leave the car. The actor gets annoyed by the request and starts insulting the officer. Recognizing the actor, the police officer asks the actor if he had been drinking and how much. The actor is now infuriated and tells him, "None of your business?" The police officer asks the actor one more time to get out of the car. The actor at that moment tells the officer some improprieties about the officer's apparent ethnic background. He then adds, "The reason why this world has problems is because of your people." The next day the incident was all over the press and the media. The actor released a statement of apology, saying in part, "It is a known fact that one effect of alcohol is losing your inhibition. You say things you would not say sober. However, I said what was inside my heart. I was not aware that I held such dark feelings about other ethnic groups. While the incident was indeed embarrassing, what it revealed in my heart is humiliating." Through this incident, the actor realized that we harbor Sin in our hearts and may not be aware of it.

In chapter 9, Daniel prayed for forgiveness. He prayed for forgiveness for him and his people. But, there is something unusual about his prayer. Daniel includes himself with his people. Let us read some instances from Daniel 9: 4 - 19, where Daniel includes himself with his people,

5 We have sinned, and have committed iniquity, and have done wickedly, and have rebelled, even by departing from thy precepts and from thy judgments:
6 Neither have we hearkened unto thy servants the prophets,
10 Neither have we obeyed the voice of the LORD our God, to walk in his laws, which he set before us by his servants the prophets.
11 …because we have sinned against him.
13 … all this evil is come upon us: yet made we not our prayer before the LORD our God, that we might turn from our iniquities, and understand thy truth.
14 … for we obeyed not his voice.
15 …we have sinned, we have done wickedly.
16 … because for our sins, and for the iniquities of our fathers, Jerusalem and thy people are become a reproach to all that are about us.
18 …for we do not present our supplications before thee for our righteousnesses,

As you can see, this prayer is not only intercessory but also corporate. Why does Daniel pray corporately? As far as we know, it was the iniquity of his people - not his own - that lead the Jews to the Babylonian captivity. Maybe Daniel knew the phrase, "there go I, but for the grace of God." Daniel perhaps understood that given the same set of opportunities and circumstances, he would have participated in the Sins of his people. What separated Daniel from his counterparts? The grace of God, to which Daniel yielded, and his brethren did not.

We know that Daniel read Jeremiah. Daniel must have read Jeremiah 17:9 that says, "The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?" Could it be that Daniel was confessing all Sin that his heart may harbor – even unknown Sin? However, any act or word we say comes out of the abundance of our heart (Luke 6: 45). All sinful actions that we commit, are committing, and will commit are borne in our hearts before we let them out. All these Sins need is the right opportunity. The problem is we cannot know what is in our hearts. However, God knows the secrets of our hearts (Psalms 44:21). Daniel, very likely, was aware of this truth. And, by including Daniel's prayer in this book of Daniel, sealed until our day, God was stressing the need to see this prayer as a model for us living in the last days.

God knowing how Sinful our hearts are, says through the prophet Ezekiel, that He wants to put in us, "A new heart … and [also] a new spirit … within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh" (Ezekiel 36:26). Perhaps our prayer should also be "Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight, O LORD, my strength, and my redeemer" (Psalm 19:4). David understood this concept of unknown Sin. He probably never thought that he was capable of coveting his best friend's wife, committing adultery with her, and murdering his best friend; this is perhaps why David wrote, "Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me" (Psalms 51:10).

What unknown Sins do we bear in our hearts? If only God knows what lays deep and secretly in our hearts, only He can take it out. But, we must let Him do it.

Raul Diaz

https://about.me/raul.diaz

Victory Over Evil Forces

raul.diaz@gmail.com (Ulee) — Sat, 22 Feb 2020 12:05:00 +0000

We live in solemn times. We can look at what is happening today and see in it the fulfillment of Bible prophecy. Bible prophecy shows us how the Lord is in control throughout until now and forever. The following commentary, written for a previous lesson, is to encourages not to fear but be sure that in Christ, we are victorious.

Victory Over Evil Forces

Romans 8:37 Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us.

We read the verse for this week's lesson, and we have to ask ourselves several questions. One of them is what does Paul means by "in all these things?" To answer this question, we have to go to the context of the passage. Romans 8 is telling us that because of what Christ has accomplished on the cross, sin no longer has to defeat us. We are not reading the whole of chapter 8, for lack of space and time. Yes, we will suffer, and we will be afflicted. None of that means that God does not love us. God has given us all for us to succeed as Christians. All we have to do is receive it. Paul seems to be telling us that we do not need to fear or doubt. God loves us, and He is in control. We can trust Him.

Why would Paul emphasize this? Because, in chapter 7, Paul spoke about how sin worked internally. When we are living by faith, sin is still within us, striving for mastery and control. And, this battle continues and intensifies for as long as we live and grow in faith. It will not stop until we die or are translated. So, Paul is saying that sin attacks us from within and without. But, our greatest struggle with sin is inside; sin, after all, is iniquity – a bent toward self. Paul is saying that despite all that, we should never doubt that God loves us; this is perhaps better said in Romans 8: 35 – 39,

Rom 8:35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?
Rom 8:36 As it is written, For thy sake we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter.
Rom 8:37 Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us.
Rom 8:38 For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come,
Rom 8:39 Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Now, the word Victory, from the title means the overcoming of an enemy or antagonist. So, the one that defeats or overcomes an enemy or opponent is called a victor. This word victor comes from the Latin word vincere, which means to win, to conquer, or to overcome – the term used in verse 37. What do we overcome? Sin's mastery over us. We are no longer captive or enslaved by sin, whether external or internal, through Christ, who loved us. Here our Victory is tied to God's love for us. So, just as His love is certain and constant, so is our Victory in Christ.

Let us read a couple of quotes from Ellen White in this subject,

"Jesus gained the victory through submission and faith in God, and by the apostle He says to us, 'Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Draw nigh to God, and He will draw nigh to you.' James 4:7, 8. We cannot save ourselves from the tempter's power; he has conquered humanity, and when we try to stand in our own strength, we shall become a prey to his devices; but 'the name of the Lord is a strong tower: the righteous runneth into it and is safe.' Prov. 18:10. Satan trembles and flees before the weakest soul who finds refuge in that mighty name."—Ellen G. White, The Desire of Ages, pp. 130, 131.
"The omnipotent power of the Holy Spirit is the defense of every contrite soul. Not one that in penitence and faith has claimed His protection will Christ permit to pass under the enemy's power. The Saviour is by the side of His tempted and tried ones. With Him there can be no such thing as failure, loss, impossibility, or defeat; we can do all things through Him who strengthens us. When temptations and trials come, do not wait to adjust all the difficulties, but look to Jesus, your helper. Ellen G. White, The Desire of Ages, pp. 490, 493.

Now, what about Victory over demons? You will notice that Ellen White does not talk about Victory in terms of casting out demons. Not all victors in the faith will be called to do that. The fact that we do not follow their prompting is Victory in itself. Casting out demons is powerful and given by God. However, Christ tells the disciples, "Notwithstanding in this rejoice not, that the spirits are subject unto you; but rather rejoice, because your names are written in heaven" (Luke 10:20). Ellen White elaborates on those whose names are written in Heaven,

From age to age, all who have truly repented of sin, and by faith claimed the blood of Christ as their atoning sacrifice, have had pardon written against their names in the books of Heaven, and in the closing work of Judgment their sins are blotted out, and they themselves are accounted worthy of eternal life. {Volume 4, Spirit of Prophecy 309}

Included in this list are those mentioned in Hebrews 11. Not one of the names of people mentioned there made the list because demons were subject to them. They were there because they believed the promise of God, and it was counted to them as righteousness. Their Victory came from believing that God loved them. And, they died believing the promise that had not been fulfilled. They died with the hope that one day God would fulfill this promise and they would be there to enjoy it. They died with the joy and certainty that their names were written in Heaven. They died with the assurance of God's love for them. Do we have this certainty of God's love for us? Do we have the Victory that is ours in Christ?

Raul Diaz

https://about.me/raul.diaz