Shalom Aleichem...
Reflections is a weekly Christian Teaching Ministry. Each week we will talk about the Bible and lessons we can put to use in our daily life. We will try to, on a weekly basis, provide to you stories, thoughts, and just easy ways to live your life on a straight path.
THIS WEEK'S TEACHING....August 12, 2019
We are winding down our series on the Progressive Left and their determination to destroy Christianity in America. It is a frightening thought to know that some do not want God anywhere in the lives of His children. Here is an excerpt from the book Dark Agenda, by David Horowitz....
"In the cafeteria of Carillon Elementary School in Oviedo, Florida, a five-year-old girl bowed her head to say grace before eating lunch. Moments later, a school employee, a lunchroom monitor, bent down beside the child and told her it was wrong to pray at school, and she must never do so again. A Memphis, Tennessee, elementary school teacher gave a writing assignment to her class, telling her students to write about their heroes and explain why they looked up to them."
"Ten-year-old Erin Shead chose to write about God. When Erin turned in her assignment, the teacher refused to accept it. In fact, the teacher said, Erin had to take her paper off school property immediately because just having it in the classroom where her classmates might see it could violate the First Amendment. Some students overheard the teacher rebuking Erin and later mocked her for believing in God. After school, Erin asked her mother why it was wrong to talk about God in school."
"At Helen Hunt-Jackson Elementary School in Temecula, California, a teacher assigned a class of first graders to give a one-minute “show-and-tell” presentation about family holiday traditions. One girl, Brynn Williams, held up a star of Bethlehem ornament from the family Christmas tree, briefly told the class about the birth of Jesus, then began to recite a Bible verse. The teacher interrupted her and told her, “Go take your seat.” Brynn was the only student prevented from finishing her talk."
"Brynn’s father later said that she was hurt and humiliated, feared she was going to be punished, and couldn’t understand what she had done wrong.3 These are just a few examples of how religious ideas have been banned in American schools. Hundreds of similar incidents have been reported by the news media. The framers of the Constitution wrote the First Amendment to prevent the suppression of religious freedom that is now epidemic in American schools. The First Amendment expressly guarantees a child’s right to voluntarily pray, and to write about and speak about his or her religious beliefs, openly and freely in front of other students. Yet teachers, administrators, and even school cafeteria workers now regard it as their responsibility to police small children to prevent them from expressing their religious beliefs."
Folks, our Christian principles were foundational to the creation of the American republic. Unfortunately, the American progressives, from Margaret Sanger to Barack Obama, have all attempted to undermine traditional Christianity. (Who can forget Obama’s charge that Middle America was “clinging to their guns” and their religion?) Much like the visitor’s center mentioned last week, Obama has done some of his own deletions of the Christian foundations of Americanism. For example, when citing the Declaration of Independence, Obama said that we are endowed with certain inalienable rights, but he left out who Thomas Jefferson said endows us with those rights — our Creator.
Then, of course, there are the attacks upon Trump nominees for their Christian faith. Amy Comey Barrett, a judicial nominee, was taken to task by Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) because Barrett believes the “dogma” of the Catholic Church. Senator Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) even refused to vote for a nominee as deputy director of the Office of Management and Budget because the man believed Jesus Christ was the sole way for salvation.
Family, this continuing assault upon traditional Christianity is driven by a desire to undermine the foundations of the Republic itself, and organizations such as the ACLU, have led the way in the assault.
The attacks upon Christianity fit in with the continued smearing of the Founding Fathers and of historical personalities such as Christopher Columbus. Columbus’ desire to take the Christian gospel to the heathen of Asia is largely airbrushed out of history. As monuments continue to be defaced, and days honoring certain heroes continue to be changed, similar assaults on Christian personalities and institutions should come as no surprise.
NEXT WEEK…We conclude our look at the Progressive Left and their assault on Christianity in America
DID YOU EVER WONDER???
Two men, both seriously ill, occupied the same hospital room. One man was allowed to sit up in his bed for an hour each afternoon to help drain the fluid from his lungs. His bed was next to the room's only window.
The other man had to spend all his time flat on his back. The men talked for hours on end. They spoke of their wives and families, their homes, their jobs, their involvement in the military service, where they had been on vacation. And every afternoon when the man in the bed by the window could sit up, he would pass the time by describing to his room-mate all the things he could see outside the window.
The man in the other bed began to live for those one-hour periods where his world would be broadened and enlivened by all the activity and color of the world outside. The window overlooked a park with a lovely lake. Ducks and swans played on the water while children sailed their model boats. Young lovers walked arm in arm amidst flowers of every color of the rainbow. Grand old trees graced the landscape, and a fine view of the city skyline could be seen in the distance.
As the man by the window described all this in exquisite detail, the man on the other side of the room would close his eyes and imagine the picturesque scene. One warm afternoon the man by the window described a parade passing by. Although the other man couldn't hear the band - he could see it in his mind's eye as the gentleman by the window portrayed it with descriptive words.
Then unexpectedly, a sinister thought entered his mind. Why should the other man alone experience all the pleasures of seeing everything while he himself never got to see anything? It didn't seem fair. At first thought the man felt ashamed. But as the days passed and he missed seeing more sights, his envy eroded into resentment and soon turned him sour. He began to brood and he found himself unable to sleep. He should be by that window - that thought, and only that thought now controlled his life.
Late one night as he lay staring at the ceiling, the man by the window began to cough. He was choking on the fluid in his lungs. The other man watched in the dimly lit room as the struggling man by the window groped for the button to call for help. Listening from across the room he never moved, never pushed his own button which would have brought the nurse running in. In less than five minutes the coughing and choking stopped, along with that the sound of breathing. Now there was only silence-deathly silence.
The following morning the day nurse arrived to bring water for their baths. When she found the lifeless body of the man by the window, she was saddened and called the hospital attendants to take it away. As soon as it seemed appropriate, the other man asked if he could be moved next to the window. The nurse was happy to make the switch, and after making sure he was comfortable, she left him alone. Slowly, painfully, he propped himself up on one elbow to take his first look at the world outside. Finally, he would have the joy of seeing it all himself. He strained to slowly turn to look out the window beside the bed. It faced a blank wall.
The man asked the nurse what could have compelled his deceased roommate who had described such wonderful things outside this window. The nurse responded that the man was blind and could not even see the wall. She said, "Perhaps he just wanted to encourage you."
Moral of the story. . . . You can interpret the story in any way you like. But one moral stands out: There is tremendous happiness in making others happy, despite our own situations. Shared grief is half the sorrow, but happiness when shared, is doubled. If you want to feel rich, just count all of the things you have that money can't buy.
BOOKS OF THE BIBLE...A TEACHING
This week, we look at the Book of Philemon....
Who wrote the book?
For more than two years during his third missionary journey, Paul ministered in Asia Minor among the people of Ephesus. This was a successful period for the apostle to the Gentiles, who saw many converts among both residents of Ephesus and visitors to the city. One of the visitors converted under Paul’s teaching was a man named Philemon, a slaveowner from the nearby city of Colossae (Philemon 1:19).
In the Bible book that bears Philemon’s name, Paul addressed his “beloved brother” as a “fellow worker,” a title given to those who served for a time alongside Paul. (Gospel writers Mark and Luke also received this title later in the letter [1:1, 24]). Clearly, a kinship existed between Paul and Philemon, one that would serve a significant purpose in light of the circumstance that brought about the letter.
Where are we?
A slave named Onesimus had escaped from his owner, Philemon, and had run away from Colossae to Rome in the hope that he could disappear into that populous, urban environment. Once in Rome, Onesimus, either by accident or by his own design, came in contact with Paul, who promptly led the runaway slave to faith in Jesus Christ. Paul had already been planning to send a letter to the Colossian church by the hand of Tychicus. So in AD 60 or 61 from a prison cell in Rome, Paul wrote a personal letter to Philemon and sent Onesimus the slave back to Colossae.
Why is Philemon so important?
The letter to Philemon reminds us that God’s revelation to humanity is intensely personal. In more formal biblical works such as the Gospels or the epistle to the Romans or even Paul’s letters to churches at Philippi or Colossae, it might be easy to get the impression that God does not care or have time for the trials and tribulations in a single household. Philemon stands as one piece of strong evidence to the contrary, revealing that lofty doctrines such as the love of God, forgiveness in Christ, or the inherent dignity of humanity have real and pertinent impact in everyday life. The book of Philemon illustrates that principles like these can and should profoundly affect the lives of believers.
What's the big idea?
Paul’s message to Philemon was a simple one: based on the work of love and forgiveness that had been wrought in Philemon’s heart by God, show the same to the escaped and now-believing slave Onesimus. The apostle’s message would have had extra force behind it because he knew Philemon personally. Paul had explained the gospel to Philemon and had witnessed the profound result: new life blossoming in a once-dead heart (Philemon 1:19). Paul knew that conversion is nothing to trifle with, but that it should be honored and fostered.
So Paul made a request. He wanted Philemon to forgive Onesimus, to accept the slave as a brother in Christ, and to consider sending Onesimus back to Paul, as the apostle found him useful in God’s service (1:11–14). Paul did not minimize Onesimus’s sin. This was not some kind of cheap grace that Paul asked Philemon to offer. No, there was sacrifice required in this request, and because of that, Paul approached the topic with gentleness and care (1:21). His letter to Philemon presents in full color the beautiful and majestic transition from slavery to kinship that comes as a result of Christian love and forgiveness.
How do I apply this?
Live long enough, and you will understand the difficulty of offering forgiveness when you have been wronged. It does not come easy, yet as believers, we have to recognize that our ability and willingness to offer it are the result of Christ’s saving work on the cross. Because of that fact, forgiveness serves as a determining factor in who we say we are and how we hope to live our lives. When we do not forgive, bitterness takes root in our hearts and chokes the vitality out of us.
In what ways has forgiveness been a struggle for you since you accepted Christ’s forgiveness? Allow Paul’s letter to Philemon to encourage forgiveness in your own life, and trust God to foster renewed life in your heart and your relationships.
HAVE A SAFE AND BLESSED WEEK:)
Ho'omaikaʻi ka Pua iā kākou