Hey bloggers...still working on Chapter 13 of MkITN...will have it finished soon...maybe later today...

Had a great lunch yesterday with Chance Mason, President of Streaming Faith...we've been tweeting each other, but hadn't ever met in person...very cool and smart guy...

I've been going back and forth between writing and setting up a Facebook site...I know, I know...I said I hated Facebook...what can I tell you?...the times they are a changin'...I'm changing...everything's changing...

Those of you who use FB know that it re-connects you with people that you haven't seen or heard from in years, and in my case it's made me aware that I have some unfinished business with some of those people, and that I owe other people an apology for things like not returning their e-mail when they've tried to get in touch with me over the years...Facebook sort of forces you to have to "face" people (hence, the name) that you thought you'd never run across again in your lifetime...but it's all good...man, looking at the pictures of friends you haven't seen in three decades is really something...

Anyway, FB is fine, Twitter is fine, but the blog is still my first cyber-love, so don't worry...it's not going anywhere...special shout-out to those of you who still participate...

Happy Birthday today, Pastor Jimmie...

And a special Happy 50th Birthday today to PEACEMAKER, who has been a part of this blog from day one...

Have a blessed day!

MkITN XIII, Verses 1 - 11

1. As Jesus was leaving the Temple area that day, one of his disciples said to Him, “Teacher, just look at these magnificent buildings with their imposing and impressive architecture!

2. Jesus replied, "You may be rightfully impressed with what you see before you...the Temple is, indeed, something to behold. But the truth is, there is not one stone in that building that is not going to end up in a pile of rubble when this city is destroyed."

3. Later, Jesus sat alone on The Mount of Olives across the valley from the Temple. And Peter, James, John, and Andrew came to Him and said,

4. "Tell us more about the destruction of the Temple that you mentioned before. When are these things going to happen? Will that be the sign of the completion and consummation of this age and era?”

5. Jesus said to them, “Take care that no one deceives or misleads you on these points…understand these beginning events which mark the period between My resurrection and the Temple’s destruction…

6. For during this time many will come in falsehood, claiming, ‘I, alone, am the Christ’, and these deceivers will lead many away from the truth of Who and what the Christ is, in reality.

7. And during this time you will hear of wars and threats of wars…see that you don’t panic, because this must take place…wars will come and go as they always have…but the end of the age is not yet.

8. Nation will fight against nation…ruler will fight against ruler…earthquakes will occur in various places, as well as famines, as they always have. But this is only the first of the birth pangs…the beginning of a new order.

9. These events are a part of the natural flow of things, but when they begin to happen, pay attention to their significance! It means that some of you will be handed over to suffer affliction and tribulation, and will literally be beaten in the synagogues. You will stand trial before governors and kings because you are My followers, but this can be your opportunity to demonstrate the power of the Gospel.

10. For this Gospel…this good news of the Kingdom…will be preached throughout the entire, known world as a testimony to all the nations.

11. But when you are arrested and stand trial, don’t worry in advance about what you’re going to say. Just say what God tells you at that time…speak in the now…for it will not be just you speaking, but the Holy Spirit with, in, and through you.”

"Then He Opened Their Minds..."

Then he opened their minds so they could understand the Scriptures.
(Luke 24:45, TNIV)

What's Up?

Hey bloggers...those of you who follow me on Twitter know that I'm supposed to be writing (MkITN XIII)...haven't gotten as much done today as yesterday...phone calls, texts, e-mail and other interruptions like impromptu counseling appointments and praying for people over the phone and dealing with other administrative decisions have been non-stop...it's all good...comes with the territory...not complaining about it, just want you to know that I still have my day job even though I'm trying to paraphrase the Scriptures, and that I can multi-task all things through Christ Who strengthens me...

One of the discussions I had earlier today was about publication of what I'm writing...seems that it's going to be way more cost effective to combine all four Gospels into one large volume and have it available (The Gospels In The Now) in late fall or at least in time for Christmas...the current plan was to have Matthew In The Now out in a few weeks, and Mark In The Now out ASAP...haven't started on Luke yet...John In The Now, of course, is already out and is also on audio-book (I'm not planning on putting the Synoptic Gospels on CD)...anyway, I'm giving it some thought...curious to know what those of you who are involved in the process here daily think about it...

Speaking of the daily process...I don't know if it's a coincidence or not, and it only happens at certain times of the day, but I've noticed that most times when I tweet "I just posted on www.bloginthenow.blogspot.com", within a few seconds/minutes flags from all over the world start appearing on the spinning globe there on the right side of the blog...I don't know how it happens since I don't think there are that many international people following me on Twitter, but those of you who do should check it out the next time I tweet that phrase and see if you see it happen...

Anyway, I'm going to try to get some of this chapter written...13 is a challenging one because it's the famous "Olivet Discourse" (found also in Matthew 24) which, in my opinion, is generally greatly misquoted and grossly misunderstood...

I have some good stuff to share tomorrow night, so I hope that you'll be ITB if at all possible...it really helps right now to see your support for CITN...

That's all for now...tell me what's on your mind...

Peace...

MkITN XII

1. Then Jesus began to speak to His audience in allegories, saying, "There was a man who planted a vineyard. He built a wall around it, dug a pit for the winepress, and then built a watchtower. Then he rented out the vineyard to some farmers and moved away to another place.

2. At harvest time he sent one of his servants to these tenants to collect from them some of the harvested fruit of the vineyard.

3. But, to his surprise, they wouldn't hear of it. They seized him, beat him up, and sent him back to where he came from with nothing but a black eye and a bloody nose.

4. Then the man sent another one of his servants to them, but they took the violence up a notch with this man. They struck him hard on the head, and just generally brutalized him for a while.

5. So finally He sent yet another servant, but this one they just murdered in cold blood. In fact, over a period of time he sent many others, and some of them they beat up, and still others they killed.

6. As a last resort He sent a son, whom he loved, saying to himself 'Surely, they will respect my son.'

7. But, on the contrary, the tenants said to one another, 'This is the man's heir... come on, let's kill him, too, and the entire inheritance will be ours.'

8. So, indeed, they took the son and killed him, and threw his dead body out of the vineyard.

9. What, then, will the owner of the vineyard do in such a case? Certainly he has the right to come and kill those bloodthirsty tenants and give the vineyard to others.

10. Haven't you read the passage of Scripture that says, 'The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone;

11 The Lord has done this, and it is marvelous in our perception'?"

12. Then the religious leaders, teachers of the Law, and the elders looked for a way to arrest Him because they were at least intelligent enough to realize that he had spoken the extended metaphor against them. But they were cowards, afraid of the crowd, so they just left Him and went away.

13. But they sent some Pharisees and followers of Herod to bait Him, in an effort to catch Him saying something incriminating.




















14. They came up to Him and said, "Teacher, we know that You have integrity, that You are impartial...enlightened...indifferent to public opinion. So, because You don't pander to Your followers, but teach the way of God accurately, please tell us...in Your estimable opinion...is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar or not?"

15. Of course He saw right through this trick question, and the pretentious motivation behind it. So He said to them, "Why do you keep trying to engage Me in your nonsense, playing these mind games with Me? OK, I'll bite...bring me a coin and let Me look at it."

16. They quickly handed him one, and He said, "The engraving on this coin...who does it look like? And, more importantly...whose name is on it?" "Caesar," they said.

17. Jesus said to them, "Then the answer is simple and obvious...give Caesar what is his, and give God what is His." And, once again, they were left utterly speechless by the clarity and candor with which He conveyed complex concepts.

18. Then, after this episode with the Pharisees, next came the Sadducees, who say there is no resurrection, with another provocative question for Him.

19. "Teacher," they said, "Surely you're aware that Moses wrote that if a man's brother dies and leaves a wife, but no children, the man must marry his widowed sister-in-law, and raise up offspring for his brother.

20. Now, let's say, hypothetically, that there were seven brothers, and the first one married and died without leaving any children.

21. Then let's say that the second one married the widow, but he also died, leaving no children. And the same scenario occurred with the third.

22. And so it went, but none of the seven brothers left any children. Then, finally the woman died, too.

23. Now, at the resurrection, whose wife will this woman be, seeing that she was married to all seven men?"

24. Jesus replied, "Your implausible premise is way off base because, clearly, in asking this question you reveal that you are ignorant of both the Scriptures, and of the power of God.

25. The fact is that in the next life, when the dead are raised up, they will have a completely different paradigm of human relationships...the concepts of sexuality, gender, and procreation will be rendered altogether obsolete, so, in that dimension they will neither marry nor be given in marriage...in that sense they will be in an exalted state like the angels in the heavenly realm.
















26. But as to the main point of your question about the dead rising...have you not read in the Book of Moses, in the story of the burning bush, how God said to him, 'I AM (not "I Was", or "I Will be") the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob'?

27. In so revealing Himself, He has declared that He is not the God of the dead, but of the living...your ideas about the finality of death have caused you to completely miss the point!"

28. While this exchange with the Sadducees was still in progress, along came a religion scholar who heard the tail end of it, and was impressed with Jesus' knowledge, and the good answer that He had given them. So he asked Him, "Of all the commandments, can you tell me which one is the most important?"

29. "The most important one is about the one true God," Jesus answered, "It's this: 'Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one.

30. Love the Lord your God with all your passion, and with all your emotion, and with all your intelligence, and with all your energy.'

31. But there is a second one which is technically the same commandment...'Love your neighbor as much as you love yourself.' There is no commandment greater than this one, revealed in these two integrated dimensions."

32. "Beautifully stated, Teacher," the man replied. "And You are absolutely right in saying that God is one and there is no other but Him...

33. ...and that to have the full revelation of that you must love Him with all your passion, with all your intellect, and with all your ability, and to love your neighbor with the same love you have for yourself. Embracing this is more important than all burnt offerings and sacrifices."

34. When Jesus observed that the man had answered with such insight, He said to him, "You, sir, are on the very cutting edge of the Kingdom of God!" And from that point on no one had the nerve to ask Him any more questions.

35. And as Jesus taught in one of the porches of the Temple, He said to His audience, "Think about this...how can the Scribes say that the Christ is David's Son?

36. David himself, in a Holy Spirit-inspired declaration, said, 'The Lord said to My Lord, "Sit at My right hand until I make Your enemies a footstool under Your feet"

37. The point is that David himself calls Him 'Lord'...so how can it be that He is his Son?" The huge crowd that was there that day was completely delighted with the way He challenged the pretentious Scribes and their conventional wisdom.

38. And in the course of His teaching, He went on to say, "Beware of the Scribes, who like to go around preening in long robes, basking in public flattery, and generally acting piously superior;

39. Sitting at the head table in every public forum...expecting a place of honor at every feast.

40. That in itself can be dismissed simply as a basic human weakness in them that manifests itself in a dysfunctional need for attention...it is what it is. What makes it so reprehensible with this group, however, is that all the while they are playing to the crowd, publicly, they are secretly exploiting widows...preying on them...going into their houses and devouring what little they have. And yet to distract the public from discerning their dark deeds, they make long prayers and elaborate speeches which make them sound intimidatingly holy. Be assured they will receive the heavier sentence of condemnation.

41. Later He sat down opposite the treasury and witnessed firsthand how the crowd was casting money into it. That day many rich people were obviously throwing in large sums.

42. And somewhere within the stream of people who were giving, a poverty-stricken widow came and unassumingly put in two copper mites, the smallest of coins, which added together are the equivalent of half of a cent.

43. And He called His disciples over and said to them, "Here's the truth about this little woman...she has demonstrated the relativity of giving, because even though she is poor, she has put in more than all those contributing to the treasury.

44. The others all casually threw their money in from out of their vast wealth and apparent abundance...they won't even miss the money. But she, out of her deep poverty, has put in everything that she had...in fact she has sacrificed all that she had on which to live, which is why she has given the most."

MEDITATIONS ON HOLY SPIRIT

However, I am telling you nothing but the truth when I say it is profitable (good, expedient, advantageous) for you that I go away. Because if I do not go away, the Comforter (Counselor, Helper, Advocate, Intercessor, Strengthener, Standby) will not come to you [into close fellowship with you]; but if I go away, I will send Him to you [to be in close fellowship with you].
(John 16:7 - AMP)

"Some souls think that the Holy Spirit is very far away, far, far, up above. Actually he is, we might say, the divine Person who is most closely present to the creature. He accompanies him everywhere. He penetrates him with himself. He calls him, he protects him. He makes of him his living temple. He defends him. He helps him. He guards him from all his enemies. He is closer to him than his own soul. All the good a soul accomplishes, it carries out under his inspiration, in his light, by his grace and his help".

-Concepcion Cabrera de Armida

"Man's good opinion of himself makes him think it quite possible to win God's favour by his own religious performances; his bad opinion of God makes him unwilling and afraid to put his case wholly into His hands. The object of the Holy Spirit's work (in convincing of sin) is to alter the man's (sinner's) opinion of himself and so to reduce his estimate of his own character that he should think of himself as God does, and so cease to suppose it possible that he can be justified by any excellency of his own. The Spirit then alters his evil opinion of God, so as to make him see that the God with whom he has to do is really the God of all grace".

-Horatius Bonar


"You look back on your life. You may be disappointed in many ways with your part in the business. You may be able to see many falterings and blunderings and mistakes that you on your side made. You may have sometimes felt that you were not the person for that job; God had made a mistake. Some of us have felt like that. And yet, as we look more deeply into God's ways with us and know God's principles, we see a wonderful logic in it all. You and I are called for something, laid hold of by God for something, put by God into something, and we feel, God has made a mistake: I am not the person for this, I ought never to have come into this, I have no qualifications for this, I am altogether the wrong peg here! And yet, somehow or other, God does it. He enables you, He carries you through, He accomplishes the work to your own surprise and wonder As you lay hold of the Holy Spirit, it is done that is, if you do not sink down into yourself and give up and draw out because of what you are but you lay hold of the Holy Spirit and you get through and marvel that you have got through, that the Lord has done this thing through you, through me."

- T. Austin Sparks