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| <~~~BACK ~~Blessed are the peacemakers, for God will call them His sons and daughters. Our worldly instincts may tell us to conquer, or-the opposite-to be permissive. But Jesus explained that while we should try to make peace, we should also walk in God's righteousness. "Peacemakers" are people who actively make peace to prevent disagreements and conflict. Peacemakers reconcile others. They smooth ruffled feathers and seek the best interest of all involved. It takes meekness, a hunger and thirst for righteousness, mercy, and purity to be a good peacemaker. ~~Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, because that means they are walking with God. Jesus' Beatitudes don't tell us how to be saved. (We can't do anything to earn salvation; it's God's gift to us.) But the Beatitudes (like the Ten Commandments) do show us just how lacking we are without God. It's humanly impossible to be perfect. But if we seek God and allow His Spirit inside us, then He can begin His work in us. Which brings me to this week's recommendation: an excerpt from Philip Yancey's The Jesus I Never Knew. This condensed chapter from his book discusses the background Jesus came from and what it means to Christians today. You'll find it at: http://www.churchmusicnow.com/Nuggets/Christmas%20Nuggets%202.htm Last Week's Question Q: "I have a friend who won't even read the Bible because she feels it's so anti-woman. How might I respond to her?" PART II of my answer: A: Here are a few common objections and how I might address them: The Bible says that men rule over women. In the Garden of Eden, God told Eve: "I will greatly increase your pains in childbearing; with pain you will give birth to children. Your desire will be for your husband, and he will rule over you." In Hebrew poetry, the second half of a line (which is the second separate line in English translations) parallels and duplicates the first half of a line. (Isaac Asimov confirms that Hebrew poetry has a "trick of saying the same thing twice with slight variation.") Therefore, just as the line "with pain you will give birth to children" is merely a re-stating of "I will greatly increase your pains in childbearing," "he will rule over you" corresponds directly and duplicates "your desire will be for your husband," indicating that a husband's "rule over" a wife simply means that the wife shall desire him sexually. Look at the entire stanza as a whole: Although women will feel great pain in childbirth, God says they will still desire their husbands sexually. Contrary to popular ideas, the verse has nothing to do with men "ruling over" women. The Bible blames women for sin. It's a myth that the Bible blames Eve (or womankind) for sin. In the Bible, God very clearly warned Adam not to eat from the fruit of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. Eve, apparently, only heard this law through her husband. This may be why the Serpent approached Eve and not Adam, although the Biblical account notes that Eve's husband "was with her" at the time of the temptation. MORE ~~~> |
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