It’s High Summer here in the US now. It’s vacation week for many people, and there’s a holiday coming up. I’m going to re-post some angel essays I’ve done in the past. So, it’s Angel week here on the blog!
Chris Koelle, illustrator The Angel speaking with John on Patmos
Angels figure very, very prominently in the NT. People don’t really know this, or they overlook angels in the Bible. But once you see how often they are out and about, you can’t unsee it. At the other end of the scale, some are so preoccupied with angels they nearly fall into angel worship.
Once you start studying angels, you realize how frequently they are mentioned in the New Testament. And as for the nativity story, make many appearances! So let’s get to know these incredible beings better.
Be not forgetful to entertain strangers: for thereby some have entertained angels unawares. (Hebrews 13:2 KJV)
From the Bible, we know that God created angels. (Colossians 1:16-17). We know that angels interact with humans at the behest of God. (Luke 1:26-38). They deliver messages. (Daniel 9:20-23). They fight for territory. (Daniel 10:20). They guard humans (Matthew 18:10) and report to God on the actions of children, anyway (Matt. 18:1-14) and perhaps to individually minister to adult Christians also (Hebrews 1:14).
cherubim, mosaic, Mont Sainte-Odile, Alsace, France
Angels are divided into hierarchies and troops, including both good and evil angels, and special categories such as cherubim, seraphim, and the archangel. They are invisible. (2 Kings 6:17). They look like men sometimes, (Genesis 18:1-2) and other times they look like glory (Matthew 28:2-4) and other times they look like metal and lightning (Daniel 10:5-6) and still there are other angels who look completely unusual and beyond description (Revelation 4:6-8). [For the record, with one debatable exception, angels are not biblically described as having any wings]
Surely, it is a blessing that there is a class of created being whom God uses for His glory and for our help. It is a blessing also to think that we may entertain one of them at some point in our lives!
It is not well for us to miss the opportunity of the presence, the conversation, and the prayers of the good. The influence of such guests in a family is worth more than it costs to entertain them. ~Barnes’ Notes
But do not forget, there is another class of angels. There was a rebellion in heaven, and the highest angel, one created to guard the throne itself, tried to vault himself above God and was kicked out of heaven for it. His name is Lucifer, whose title is now the devil, adversary, satan. And even though a third of the multitudes of angels lived with God, and saw His glory and knew His heart, Lucifer was apparently so convincing that they sided with him against God, and so they were kicked out too. (Revelation 12:3-4,9)
Not everything supernatural is from God! If you entertain angels unawares, it may be a good angel sent to minister to you. Or it may be a fallen angel, sent by satan to thwart you, deceive you, or hinder you. (also 1 Tim 4:1-3; 2 Cor.11:13-15) “And no wonder, for Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light. It is not surprising, then, if his servants masquerade as servants of righteousness. Their end will be what their actions deserve.” (2 Corinthians 11:14-15).
In this we must be wise as serpents and innocent as doves. Barnes’ Notes again:
If there is danger that we may sometimes receive those of an opposite character. yet it is not wise on account of such possible danger, to lose the opportunity of entertaining those whose presence would be a blessing.
If you are reading this whether you are a Christian or a non-believer, be aware that deceit comes in a guise wrapped in a beautiful package. Fallen angels would look just like the glorious angels, as stated above in the Corinthians verse. If you are a Christian, you should be praying daily to receive wisdom, and it will be given to you without reproach.
You should be in the Word daily so that you will know the truth from a lie. Without His help, you are at the mercy of an adversary who can and does ‘appear to us unawares’ and always for the purpose of destroying us!
NOT EVERYTHING SUPERNATURAL IS FROM GOD!
Angels might surround you unawares, and it surely would be a blessing to discover in the hereafter that you’d entertained a Holy Angel!
I was finishing my book by Scottish Puritan, James Durham, The Scandal of False Teaching. I love the minds of the Puritans, deep thinkers, and as a result, it was an excellent book.
Anyway, in the book the author related a story from old church history. There was a man named Tyrannius Rufinus, born around 345AD in Italy. He died around 410/411. He was a Roman priest, writer, theologian, and translator of Greek theological works into Latin at a time when knowledge of Greek was declining in the West, says Encyclopedia Britannica. Rufinus is known for translating Eusebius’ works from Greek to Latin. When Rufinus completed the translation of Eusebius’ Ecclesiastical History, Rufinus went on and added two more chapters of church history where Eusebius left off. Those were books 10 and 11.
In book 10, chapter 3, Rufinus related a story about the doings during the Council of Nicea and a certain event that happened there.
Durham said that back in the days of the Council of Nicea, there were debates and talks. There came a climax of a showdown between a simple man and a skilled philosopher. Note: a dialectician is a person skilled in philosophical debate.
By Bloemaert, Frederick, From: 1614-1669
The story goes like this, from Rufinus:
Now we may learn how much power there is in simplicity of faith from what is reported to have happened there. For when the zeal of the religious emperor had brought together priests of God from all over the earth, rumor of the event gathered as well philosophers and dialecticians of great renown and fame.
One of them who was celebrated for his ability in dialectic used to hold ardent debates each day with our bishops, men likewise by no means unskilled in the art of disputation, and there resulted a magnificent display for the learned and educated men who gathered to listen.
Nor could the philosopher be cornered or trapped in any way by anyone, for he met the questions proposed with such rhetorical skill that whenever he seemed most firmly trapped, he escaped like a slippery snake.
Icon depicting Constantine the Great, accompanied by the bishops of the First Council of Nicaea 325
But that God might show that the kingdom of God is based upon power rather than speech, one of the confessors, a man of the simplest character who knew only Christ Jesus and him crucified, was present with the other bishops in attendance.
When he saw the philosopher insulting our people and proudly displaying his skill in dialectic, he asked everyone for a chance to exchange a few words with the philosopher. But our people, who knew only the man’s simplicity and lack of skill in speech, feared that they might be put to shame in case his holy simplicity became a source of laughter to the clever.
But the elder insisted and he began his discourse in this way: “In the name of Jesus Christ, O philosopher,” he said, “listen to the truth. There is one God who made heaven and earth, who gave breath to man whom he had formed from the mud of the earth and who created everything what is seen and what is not seen with the power of his word and established it with the sanctification of his spirit.
This word and wisdom whom we call Son took pity on the errors of humankind was born of a virgin, by suffering death freed us from everlasting death and by his resurrection conferred on us eternal life. Him we await as the judge to come of all that we do. Do you believe that this is so, O philosopher?”
But he as though he had nothing whatever that he could say in opposition to this so astonished was he at the power of what had been said could only reply to it all that he thought that it was so, and that what had been said was the only truth.
Then the elder said, “If you believe that this is so, arise, follow me to the church and receive the seal of this faith.”
The philosopher turning to his disciples and to those who had gathered to listen said “Listen, O learned men: so long as it was words with which I had to deal, I set words against words and what was said I refuted with my rhetoric. But when power rather than words came out of the mouth of the speaker, words could not withstand power nor could man oppose God. And therefore if any one of you was able to feel in what was said what I felt, let him believe in Christ and follow this old man in whom God has spoken.” And thus the philosopher became a Christian and rejoiced at last to have been vanquished.
Source Rufinus, Ecclesiastical History, Book 10, ch 3; Excerpt on the First Council of Nicaea, published in year 402-403.
Now, the First Council at Nicea ended in the year 325 and the translation and addendum by Rufinus was published in 402. As with any history that’s separated by such a gap of years, the Bible being the exception, there may be embellishments or errors. Maybe it happened that way, and maybe it didn’t. It doesn’t matter.
Yet it is true, “but God has chosen the foolish things of the world to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to shame the things which are strong,” says 1 Corinthians 1:27. The power is not in our delivery, the power is in the word of God energized by the Spirit.
Don’t be hesitant to share God’s truth, no matter how faltering or stuttering you believe you are, (Moses, anyone?) God will use you in some capacity or another.
Paul said, “and my message and my preaching were not in persuasive words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power“, 1 Corinthians 2:4
From Wikipedia: “Burning Man is a week-long large-scale desert event focused on “community, art, self-expression, and self-reliance” held annually in the western United States. The event’s name comes from its culminating ceremony: the symbolic burning of a large wooden effigy, referred to as the Man, that occurs on the penultimate night.” On the very last night they burn down “The Temple”.
A lot of people go.
When it’s described as ‘large scale’, they mean it. It’s huge. It is THE biggest festival not just in the US but in the world in terms of acreage. (Glastonbury is smaller in acreage but bigger in daily attendance.) Burning Man is the orange semicircle.
The event started at its current location in the Black Rock Desert in 1991. It is a free for all, free expression, art, ‘radical inclusion’ type of deal. There are art installations, dance, music, self-expression, and of course, a temple, because pagan man must worship something. The event lasts 9 days, and there is a blistering desert heat, lung killing dust, and a long walk to the portapotties. So why do upwards of 80,000 people attend?
By Christopher Michel – BURNING MAN 2010, CC BY 2.0. This reminds me of scenes from the post-apocalyptic movie series Mad Max.
Mad Max: Fury Road
They go for the self-expression. Some see it as a sanctuary from the constraining world with its rules and expectations. Some attend because they want to shed their persona and experiment with drugs or sex. The event IS clothing optional, after all. In the days before cell phones, more attendees appeared in various states of undress, but afterward when cell phone photography and video-ing became common, fewer people walk around exposed or totally naked. Go figure.
In other words, they go because of sin. Sin is attractive.
In 2001 or 2002 or so, I wanted to go. I wanted to go pretty bad. It was before I was saved. I thought that Burning Man was the epitome of a lifestyle of freedom that the world prevented. I wanted to see if an alternative lifestyle of ‘acceptance’ of any walk of life, race, lifestyle, art, music, or expression was possible. I was looking for freedom, freedom from what, I didn’t know. Yet.
What I was looking for was Burning Bush, not Burning Man.
Then the angel of the LORD appeared to him in a blazing fire from the midst of a bush; and he looked, and behold, the bush was burning with fire, yet the bush was not being consumed. (Exodus 3:2).
Then He said, “Do not come near here; remove your sandals from your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground.” (Exodus 3:5).
King Solomon wrote Ecclesiastes to show us that pursuits, lifestyles, and worship is pointless (futility, vanity) if God isn’t at the center of it. Any pursuit of anything- music, art, self-expression, without God is vain. Same with any kind of worship or reverence. What is one reverencing if they go to the Burning Man festival’s “Temple”? One’s self. And a “free lifestyle” just usually means sexuality of one kind or another. The pursuit of the ‘something’ is never satisfied. Why? It’s all circular. You come back to yourself, and the self is unholy, unrighteous, and unfulfilled without God.
To be satisfied in life, to attain freedom, we must transcend self. The only way to do that is through Jesus.
Burning Man is a sacrificial ritual concocted by man, for man, and in the end, futile. Such rituals have been a part of the sinful world since the beginning, starting with The Golden Calf. Asherah. Nehushtan. Celtic Fire Festivals. Slavic ritual Marzanna. Portuguese Caretos Festival. Et cetera and so on ad nauseum.
All things are wearisome; No one can tell it. The eye is not satisfied with seeing, Nor is the ear filled with hearing. (Ecclesiastes 1:8)
In December 2003/January 2004, I became saved. What I had been looking for was holiness, purity, righteousness, and justice. In Exodus 3:5 it is the first time holy or holiness is referenced in relation to God. God told Moses to remove his sandals and not to approach closer, because the Bush was holy ground. By contrast, Moses was not holy and neither was the ground, apart from the bush.
Fire is used throughout the Bible to represent God’s purifying effect. At Burning Man they light the man and the temple to consume it. But with God He IS the fire and HE consumes.
I’m grateful that Jesus decided to save me. Through His grace, I am being purified, refined by the holy fire of His word, daily. It was a good trade, the Burning Man for Burning Bush. The Man is burned every year to cinders and must be rebuilt. With God, his love, and care is eternal and His flame never goes out.
I was at a friend’s house for dinner. There were 3 of us ladies there, 70 something, 60 something, 30’s almost. We got to talking about diaries and journaling.
I’d said I bought a diary at a thrift store that was written by a teenager in 1931. Nearly 100 years old, it was an insight into the daily life of a high schooler in a time of depression, rural poverty, and a long ago era. It was a fascinating read. She rarely mentioned her family. It was almost entirely about cliques, social life, other girls, popularity, and fun events. Just like a 15 year old girl might write about today!
But that got us talking about journaling in general.
If I remember correctly we agreed that journaling in the form of a diary, i.e. putting pen to paper and writing down all our thoughts and feelings, wouldn’t be that great use of time in our opinion. Why would we be writing this stuff down? Just for ourselves? With a risk of adult children reading it after we’d passed away? To do naval gazing instead of gazing at the One who is our North Star? Too much introspection leads to self-centeredness. We should deny ourselves and look to Him.
I remember the movie The Bridges of Madison County with Meryl Streep and Clint Eastwood. Meryl was nominated for an Academy Award for lead Actress. It won lots of other awards and reaped a high ticket gate. It was essentially an apologetic and a affirmation of the ‘healthiness’ or the ‘necessity’ for adultery. It came out in 1992. The adulteress passed away, keeping her secret to the grave, except her adult kids read it and instead of being outraged learning that mom had cheated on their father, they were moved. Actually knowing this helped each of them in their own marriages. Oy. Adultery is not a healer, it’s a divider.
Anyway, even if the thoughts written down weren’t some deep sin, who wants to read their mom’s opinions on Aunt Tillie’s hat or whether she liked some recipe her sister made her try….or something.
I think it was safe to say that diary, bare-all writing wasn’t for us.
I know that “Bible art journaling” is (or was?) a thing. In my opinion, God’s pure and holy word doesn’t need enhancements. And we, having the sin-nature, don’t need distractions competing with God’s word.
Taking notes during a sermon, that’s good. We all agreed we take notes in some form or another, whether meticulously or just jotting down a Bible verse reference or a word or two.
I commented that I chronicle. I don’t journal, Bible art journal, or even prayer journal. I DO chronicle. I have a planner that goes from June to June. So I am leafing thru it today (June 28) as I plan on setting it aside to bring my next planner up on deck for July 1, and I discover all the books I’d read. I start listing them. I had thought I had only read 4 or 5 books, so I was disappointed with myself. But I didn’t need to be sad, I’d read 26 books, which was my goal! 11 theology books, 2 professional books, 6 non-fiction and 7 fiction, a nice spread. Also rediscovered some dishes to make I’d forgotten about, and more. Chronicling can be useful.
I tor the calendar pages out of my June 2023 to June 2024 planner
I’d jotted down when I was out sick from school, my trip to Lake Rabun, the movies I’d seen or TV shows I’d forgotten about. When my last dentist appointment was, or the great score at the thrift store. Prayer list. Books I’m reading.
Below is the list of the books I read this past year. The Harry Potter #2 I didn’t finish and neither did I finish I Couldn’t Care Less (a noir detective novel from the 1940s). The most enjoyable books on the list were Grann’s The Wager, The Art Thief (make sure you get the book by Finkel, there’s another one named the same that’s dull as dishwater), and most of the stories in Nine Tomorrows. For the theology books I enjoyed the Sproul bio, and Scandal of False Teaching, as well as Taming the Fingers.
THEOLOGY Good Grief: A Companion for Every Loss by Granger E. Westberg R.C. Sproul: Defender of the Reformed Faith by Nate Pickowicz Forensic Faith: A Homicide Detective Makes the Case for a More Reasonable, Evidential Christian Faith J. Warner Wallace Taming the Fingers: Heavenly Wisdom for Social Media by Jeff Johnson The Art of Self-Discipline – John MacArthur The American Puritans – Dustin Benge and Nate Pickowicz Benedictions and Doxologies – HB Charles The Scandal of False Teaching – James Durham Communication and Conflict Resolution – Stuart Scott From Pride to Humility: A Biblical Perspective – Stuart Scott This Outside Life: Finding God in the Heart of Nature – by Laurie Kehler
PROFESSIONAL Shifting the Balance: 6 Ways to Bring the Science of Reading into the Balanced Literacy Classroom by Jan Burkins, Kari Yates Teaching with Poverty in Mind: What Being Poor Does to Kids’ Brains and What Schools Can Do About It, by Eric Jensen
NON-FICTION The Devil and Sherlock Holmes – David Grann The Art Thief: A True Story of Love, Crime, and a Dangerous Obsession by Michael Finkel The Wager – David Grann James Herriot, Best of – James Herriot Mt. Everest Reconnaissance Mission – by Eric Shipton The Ultimate Guide for the Avid Indoorsman: Life Is Better in Here by John Driver
FICTION It Couldn’t Matter Less – by Peter Cheyney Winter Birds – Jamie Turner The Sweet Everlasting – by Judson Mitcham Nine Tomorrows – Isaac Asimov Harry Potter #1 – JK Rowling Harry Potter #2 – JK Rowling The Associate – John Grisham
Do you journal? Prayer journal? Keep a diary? Jot notes during sermons or lectures? Do Bible art in your journal? Do Bible crafts in an art sketchbook?
There are all different ways to process the theological content we take in. How do you?
I saw a meme on Facebook that made me laugh. I can’t find it again, but it went something like, ‘I have prayer ADHD, I start, drift into thinking other things, then come back saying ‘Where was I, Lord?’
I think we have all had the same experience. Our fleshly minds want to think of anything except compass point north, Jesus Christ. It zones out on us, drifts off, creates a grocery list, listens to the birds outside, or the traffic, anything but laser focus on the throne of grace.
Why is it so hard? Praying is an act of war, spiritual war. We are opposed at every turn by the evil one and his minions, and when we clasp our hands together, we are effectively sounding a trumpet to those demons that we are entering another battle with them.
In his book The Hidden Life of Prayer by David MacIntyre, we read that,
The main reason for this unceasing insistence is the arduousness of prayer. In its nature it is a laborious undertaking, and in our endeavor to maintain the spirit of prayer we are called to wrestle against principalities and powers of darkness.
Dr. Andrew Bonar used to say that, as the King of Syria commanded his captains to fight neither with small nor great, but only with the King of Israel, so the prince of the power of the air seems to bend all the force of his attack against the spirit of prayer.
If he should prove victorious there, he has won the day. Sometimes we are conscious of a satanic impulse directed immediately against the life of prayer in our souls; sometimes we are led into “dry” and wilderness-experiences, and the face of God grows dark above us; sometimes, when we strive most earnestly to bring every thought and imagination under obedience to Christ, we seem to be given over to disorder and unrest; sometimes the inbred slothfulness of our nature lends itself to the evil one as an instrument by which he may turn our minds back from the exercise of prayer.
Because of all these things, therefore, we must be diligent and resolved, watching as a sentry who remembers that the lives of men are lying at the hazard of his wakefulness, resourcefulness, and courage. “And what I say unto you,” said the Lord to His disciples, “I say unto all, Watch!”
How do you pray? I used to kneel but my knees and back can’t take that any more. So now I sit in my chair and pray aloud. Praying out loud helps me focus and not drift off. However there is no one particularly commanded position for praying. I don’t imagine Paul had too many options for prayer positions when he was chained up in jail.
Hannah famously prayed a whisper prayer in the temple. The priest watching her thought she was drunk. But no, she was just agonizing in spirit and pressing that agony upward to the LORD. (1 Samuel 1:9-17).
Jonah prayed to the LORD in the belly of the great fish, he also cried out (Jonah 2:2). I think his cries were probably pretty loud, too!
David no doubt prayed silently but no doubt he prayed aloud too. David had an active prayer life with the LORD. His prayers were appeals, praises, repentance, appreciation for provision, imprecations…his type of prayers are a good model for us, because he conversed with the Savior through prayer as if the LORD was standing right beside David. In effect Jesus was, and David knew that.
No matter how you pray, the point is, pray. It’s a mechanism that is commanded, after all, but it is also a grace that we have been given as a gift. Practice focusing on what you are saying to the Lord and not drifting off, because He is standing right there with you (and me) after all.
In the end, when Hannah finished pouring out her prayer to the LORD, “her face was no longer downcast.” (1 Samuel 1:18). What a blessing to be able to commune with Jesus.
“Our first act in prayer ought to be the yielding of our souls to the power of the blood of Christ”. ~The Hidden Life of Prayer, by David MacIntyre.
We’re commanded in many places in scripture to pray. We have the duty of continual communion with Him. And yet, so often we don’t pray as we ought. Why is this?
Photo by Ben White on Unsplash
It seems so easy. Praying isn’t as hard as spreading asphalt in Nevada on a summer day. It isn’t battling a five-alarm fire in the canyons. It isn’t helping your mother with Alzheimer’s. All you do is sit in your air conditioned space, put your hands together, and speak to Jesus, our friend.
But is that all prayer is? No.
David McIntyre in his 1913 book, The Hidden Life of Prayer (free online) explains why praying is so hard sometimes. He tells why we do not do it as we ought. The Hidden Life of Prayer was one of the books that Tim Challies selected for his program “Reading Through the Classics.” Challies wrote,
McIntyre was a Scottish preacher who succeeded Andrew Bonar as minister in Finnieston and later served as principal of the Bible Training Institute in Glasgow from 1913 to 1938. His book was first published in 1913.
McIntyre is insightful when he writes this,
Our Lord takes it for granted that His people will pray. And indeed in Scripture generally the outward obligation of prayer is implied rather than asserted. Moved by a divinely-implanted instinct, our natures cry out for God, for the living God. And however this instinct may be crushed by sin, it awakes to power in the consciousness of redemption.
And yet, instinctive as is our dependence upon God, no duty is more earnestly impressed upon us in Scripture than the duty of continual communion with Him. The main reason for this unceasing insistence is the arduousness of prayer. In its nature it is a laborious undertaking, and in our endeavor to maintain the spirit of prayer we are called to wrestle against principalities and powers of darkness.
We know that we do not wrestle with others, but with powers and principalities of the air. And who is the prince of the power of the air? Satan. (Ephesians 6:12, Ephesians 2:2). But to put the two concepts together as one of the reasons prayer is so arduous, we have a powerful truth.
And lest we think that even if we had an easy life with no problems, or can slack off due to our tight communion with God, McIntyre wrote this about Jesus:
And this one who sought retirement with so much solitude was the Son of God, having no sin to confess, no shortcoming to deplore, no unbelief to subdue, no languor of love to overcome. Nor are we to imagine that His prayers were merely peaceful meditations, or rapturous acts of communion. They were strenuous and warlike, from that hour in the wilderness when angels came to minister to the prostrate Man of Sorrows, on to that awful “agony” in which His sweat was, as it were, great drops of blood. His prayers were sacrifices, offered up with strong crying and tears.
“Prayer is the key of heaven; the Spirit helps faith to turn this key.” ~Thomas Watson.
Be hospitable to one another without grumbling. (1 Peter 4:9).
Hospitality in Bible times in Palestine was a serious matter. There were cultural expectations, protocols, and traditions. The word host or hospitable is from a Greek word philoxenia meaning “love of strangers”.
• a greeting with bow or kiss (Gen 18:2; 19:1) • a welcome for the guest to come in (Gen 24:31) • an invitation to rest (Gen 18:4; Judg 4:19) • an opportunity to wash (Gen 18:4; 19:2; 24:32) • a provision of food and drink (Judg 4:19; 19:5) • an invitation to converse (Gen 24:33) • a provision of security (Gen 19:8) Source- “Hospitality” from The Lexham Bible Dictionary
We read much in the Old Testament about hospitality. It was expected to offer shelter and grace to those sojourning among them, because back in the day the Israelites were sojourners themselves. It was considered almost a sacred duty! Lack of hospitality was condemned. (Numbers 20:14–21; Deuteronomy 23:3–4).
In the New Testament we read Jesus’ parables urging believers to be hospitable even outside the 4 walls of one’s home, with the Parable of the Good Samaritan and the Parable of the Midnight Visitor. Jesus was the recipient of much hospitality since He had no place to lay His head, and relied on the hospitality of others (such as Mary/Martha/Lazarus) when he lodged for a period of time.
Lydia was quite hospitable. A native Thyatiran, living in Philippi, the first thing she did after her conversion was to press upon the band to come lodge at her house.
A woman named Lydia was listening; she was a seller of purple fabrics from the city of Thyatira, and a worshiper of God. The Lord opened her heart to respond to the things spoken by Paul. 15 Now when she and her household had been baptized, she urged us, saying, “If you have judged me to be faithful to the Lord, come into my house and stay.” And she prevailed upon us. (Acts 16:14-15).
The first New Testament missionaries would have had to rely on this Palestinian tradition of gracious lodging, made all the more sweet because of the message the missionaries carried.
As the first Christian churches were founded, the exercise of hospitality took on a new aspect, esp. after the breach with the Jews had begun. Not only did the traveling Christian look naturally to his brethren for hospitality, but the individual churches looked to the traveler for fostering the sense of the unity of the church throughout the world. Hospitality became a virtue indispensable to the well-being of the church—one reason for the emphasis laid on it (Romans 12:13; Hebrews 13:2). As the organization of the churches became more perfected, the exercise of hospitality grew to be an official duty of the ministry and a reputation for hospitality was a prerequisite in some cases (1 Timothy 3:2; 5:10; Titus 1:8). Source- The International Standard Bible Encyclopaedia.
That is why John’s words were shocking. In some cases, believers were instructed to DENY hospitality to another. It was a big, countercultural step. 1 Corinthians 5:11 instructs the believer thus:
But now I am writing to you not to associate with any so-called brother if he is a sexually immoral person, or greedy, or an idolater, or a reviler, or a drunkard, or a swindler—not even to eat with such a one.
Believers were to DENY hospitality to anyone who teaches false doctrine. These false teachers were entering homes and abusing the graciousness of hosts to captivate weak women and lure them into the falsity. (2 Timothy 3:5).
They were also told to DENY hospitality to intentional deceivers:
If anyone comes to you and does not bring this teaching, do not receive him into your house, and do not give him a greeting, (2 John 1:10).
This is why John’s words (and Paul’s) were so shocking. You can imagine how this behavior would be so startling. It isn’t so shocking today, we don’t entertain strangers in our homes. We don’t go house to house in fellowship much anymore either. It isn’t shocking to deny entertaining so-and-so when they never even came to your house in the first place. But to close the door against someone in Bible times, with thousands of years of a deeply embedded tradition in hospitality, would be shocking.
Times nowadays have completely changed the notion of hospitality. We do not and should not entertain unknown traveling itinerants. We have hotels. Unannounced guests knocking on our door is rare and rather scary. We aren’t nomads anymore either. But in today’s times we do have TV, radio, podcasts, and streaming entering our home. Do you allow false teachers and deceivers into your home via technology? Are you ‘hosting’ them daily, or weekly? Do your children see you offering your time to these false teachers, by sending them money by purchasing their materials?
Hospitality has changed definitions since John’s day, but today we can still host gatherings of believers from church, craft a celebratory party or dinner for struggling folks, or practice hospitality one-on-one with those whom we know. Being hospitable isn’t necessarily restricted to a home environment, either. A gracious greeting at work, sharing lunch with someone at work, a phone call to check up on someone, pleasant conversation at church, are all hospitable activities.
DENY these false teachers entry to your home. Do not expose them to your family or to your own soul. Even though such ‘hospitality’ in today’s times may be just second hand through a screen, still, do not entertain them. And when or if a person in your church is disciplined as per Matthew 18:17b, and reaches the last stage, “if he refuses to listen even to the church, let him be to you as the Gentile and the tax collector” are you strong enough to obey and DENY them hospitality?
When the sentence for a crime is not speedily executed, the hearts of men become fully set on doing evil. (Ecclesiastes 8:11).
One who hates disguises it with his lips, But he harbors deceit in his heart. When he speaks graciously, do not believe him, Because there are seven abominations in his heart. Though his hatred covers itself with deception, His wickedness will be revealed in the assembly. Proverbs 26:24-26
This essay isn’t about Robert Morris.
On June 14, 2024, a woman named Cindy Clemishire in partnership with The Wartburg Watch (a church sexual abuse reporting and support page) announced she had been molested by Robert Morris in 1981 when she was 12. Morris, now age 63, is the pastor of the largest mega-church in the United States. He was selected as then-candidate President Trump’s spiritual advisor. He has been in the preaching business since he was 19 years old. He is incredibly famous.
But this isn’t about Robert Morris’s fame.
Several times in the past, Morris had confessed to his elders and sometimes to his congregation that when he was younger, around age 20 or so, but married and with a baby, he had fallen into what he termed “a moral failure” with “a young lady” but since that time he has “walked in purity and accountability.” He was pastor of Shady Grove Church the first time the issue came to light. Most recently he has been pastor of Gateway Church.
(Side note: any pastor who engages in adultery is a fallen ‘below reproach’ pastor, and needs to step down and resume his seat in the pew. He can be forgiven if he repents, Jesus will forgive. But he has lost the office of pastor forever, his immoral act disqualifies him. 1 Timothy 3:2-7. It should also be remarked that many people had warned about Morris’ false doctrine for years, accusing him of being a false teacher. Where there’s smoke there’s fire).
But that so-called “young lady” grew up. She is Cindy Clemishire, and Morris’ interaction with her was not a consensual short term fling, as Morris had intimated. She was a 12 year old child, and the alleged molestation had gone on for four and a half years.
When this accusation came out, the nation was stunned, shocked, and sickened. For the next week, accusations flew, coverups were intimated, information and misinformation shot out from the can of worms and flung around in frenzied orbits. Morris’ accused act was even rebuked by Texas State Representative Giovanni Capriglione, former Southlake Mayor John Huffman, and State Representative Nate Schatzline.
Initially, the elders at Morris’ current church (Gateway Church) defended their lead pastor, but eventually the flames and horror grew to the point that they met and asked for Morris’ resignation. You can read Cindy’s account here.
But this isn’t about that.
That info above was just the necessary context.
As the news came out, and it was just a few days after mega-church long term pastor Tony Evans (also false) stepped down abruptly due to an unnamed sin, I was reeling. Granted, both are false, but it’s such a blot on Christianity, and the pagans don’t know they’re false. What is happening?!
I, like everyone else, was reeling from the horror of a child molester revealed. The disgust and outrage mounted as the heinousness of his casual lie about her age or the length of time it went on was revealed. About the fact that he took advantage of his friends who were hosting him overnight, to allegedly molest their daughter right under their noses. On Christmas, the day we celebrate the holy Savior’s birth!
At the loss of a childhood innocence, betrayal, blots against Jesus, abuse of his position, the sullying of the pulpit. The list goes on at all the terrible things a revelation of this sort raises.
But this isn’t about that.
I do not like to dwell on foulness. It shrinks my soul. I sought a positive. I chose to look at Jesus, not the horror. THIS is what it’s about.
It’s about JESUS.
Finding the Good through the worst news. I thought of three things that a horrific event can bring to mind about our God. Because Jesus is infinitely GOOD, there must be an infinite number of GOOD aspects to this our finite minds cannot grasp. I’ll be happy with these three.
1.His patience. Jesus is patient. He is patient to a degree I cannot even understand. His patience is not endless, but it is magnanimous. I myself was not saved until I was 43. He was patient with ME all those decades, and I strutted around the earth doing sin and reveling in it. His patience to allow a man such as accused child molester Robert Morris is even greater, because the man all these years purported to speak in Jesus’ name.
Angry, I mentally changed Exodus 22:18KJV “Thou shall not suffer a witch to live” to “Thou shall not suffer a to suffer a molester to live.” Yet I remember God’s patience, wanting all to come to repentance, unwilling that any should perish.
The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance. (2 Peter 3:9).
Or do you disregard the riches of His kindness, tolerance, and patience, not realizing that God’s kindness leads you to repentance? (Romans 2:4).
Jesus allows sin to exist because it serves His good purpose. His patience is not endless. Sin will end one day. We can cling to that. But until that day, focus on how patient He was with YOU (me too) before the moment came when He justified us.
2.His wisdom: He tests us all through false teachers. I mean, we know Robert Morris is false. We know through their doctrine. False doctrine is evil because it is sin. However seeing also HOW false they are through exposure of his sinful immorality is hard to bear. But there is a purpose in it. Jesus uses corruption when exposed as a test to show His elect the ‘exceeding sinfulness of sin’ as the Puritan Ralph Venning coined. As we view the rancid evilness of sin, we recoil, and cling to the purity and holiness of Jesus all the more.
What did David do when Nathan rebuked David for his sin? David recoiled. Then he wrote his Psalm 51 confession. It is the same when we see others’ sin so blatant, we shrink back in disgust (just in case we were getting used to our own pet sin or sin in others). Any Christian pursuing holiness and advancing in sanctification will quail in horror to see such doings, and the boomerang reaction is to run to Jesus. We cry out, ‘Lord, let that not happen to me! Preserve me from sin, I confess my sin!’ Then we care even more deeply about the holiness of His church.
For nothing is concealed that will not become evident, nor anything hidden that will not be known and come to light. (Luke 8:17)
3.His mercy: This one was big for me. If we were allowed to see all the sin there is, we would die immediately from crushing grief. That He lifts the blanket covering sin so minutely, slowly, measuredly is a mercy. As always, His timing allows us to absorb, self-reflect, test our emotions, engage compassion, repent ourselves, fight for purity in our own church… and so on.
We reel and stagger in disgust when this one man’s sin is exposed, imagine how FULL of sin this world is. Its foul and fetid stink permeating everything man does. Sin’s percolating decay leaching into the perfect world God hath made, staining it with vile rot.
We don’t see it all. Our puny souls and finite minds cannot get a mental hold of the totality of it. But imagine this: Jesus sees it ALL. He sees it all at once. And not just from heaven, He came down from glory and lived among it. Sin did not stain Him, but in the end, He became sin. He lived among sinful man, knowing their hearts and minds. He saw Nathanael under the fig tree before he was even called, (John 1:48).
Jesus sees this one is a secret embezzler (Judas) or that one is a molester and that one is a murderer. He knows the secret sins of all. He is merciful to allow us to see sin in only thimbleful amounts!
If He were to lift the blanket on even our own sins all at once and force our nose in it like a puppy? We would die, probably. It’s a mercy that Jesus ONLY allowed us to see Robert Morris’ sin and not all the sin in the world.
When a pastor falls or a secret is exposed to the world it does take a moment for us to absorb, process the feelings, and re-attain equilibrium. But don’t dwell on the horror part. Know this:
now, will God not bring about justice for His elect who cry out to Him day and night, and will He delay long for them? (Luke 18:7)
Then look to Jesus.
Turn to Me and be saved, all the ends of the earth; For I am God, and there is no other. (Isaiah 45:22).
Then the LORD said to Moses, “Make a fiery serpent and mount it on a pole. When anyone who is bitten looks at it, he will live.” (Numbers 21:8)
looking only at Jesus, the originator and perfecter of the faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. (Hebrews 12:2)
“One of the most wonderful statements about our Lord is that He was “full of grace” (John 1:14) and “of His fullness we have all received, and grace upon grace” (John 1:16). “Grace upon grace” speaks of accumulated grace—one grace following upon another. Such grace is ours each day. It is unlimited and sufficient for every need.” ~John MacArthur
The picture here is of waves on the beach. We can’t detect where one wave ends and another begins. Waves of grace simply roll in, endlessly, eternally, one connected to another. And so it is with God’s grace upon His believers. We receive endless waves of grace because our lives in Christ are of His grace and in His grace.
As keepers of the home, we women are often encouraged to invite or even expect others to visit our homes. The hospitality offered by Lydia, Martha & Mary, the mother of John Mark (where Rhoda was so startled when jailed Peter showed up during the prayer gathering) are homes in the NT where women hosted gladly.
I quail at the thought. I am like many women, who would be afraid to host someone in my home when it is less than sparkling clean. I’d want it to be where everything is always put away and I have fresh flowers arranged just so in charming vases and fresh towels in the bathroom with rose petals on them waiting for the random friend to stop over. LOL. Well, that’s how I imagine it anyway.
Of course our homes are never like that. If we really live, we really have a house that’s lived in. Kids toys are all around, there might be – gasp! – dirty dishes in the sink, popcorn kernels in the couch, a pile of mail needing tending to, open books and magazines on the coffee table accompanied by empty mugs of coffee or sticky soda cans…
I remember the most hospitable person I’ve ever known. She isn’t saved. But she is a great wife and mom. Her stance was that she wanted to be the house where her kids’ friends came to, all the better to keep an eye on her kids.
In her house were piles of clutter, worn out sofa, small rooms crowded with ‘stuff’ or oddly arranged. According to design rules, the place wasn’t suited for company. When it got to be dinner time, without a fuss the hostess would cook up a pan of scrambled eggs or baked beans from a can with brown bread (also from a can) and just hand it out on paper plates. Sometimes the husband or the grown kid would pull out a guitar or mandolin and we’d sing.
Anyone and everyone was always invited. Absolutely everyone was treated with warmth, respect, and dignity. And the hostess did collect oddballs, me included. But all were equal, loved, and given a place of acceptance. As I said, she wasn’t saved. She did all this effortlessly and created a safe space I’ll remember forever.
As Christians, we should do that and more. Now, it is certain we should do our best to have a clean house, or at least one that’s fairly picked up. We don’t want to serve food on dirty plates from unsanitary counters, or allow piles of laundry to get strewn as a tripping hazard. There is a balance between sparkling perfection and filthy hoarder.
But there is no need to panic if you’re asked to host a Book Group or a Bible Study or a Fellowship dinner in your home.
Here is one resource-
Having a Martha Home the Mary Way: 31 Days to a Clean House and a Satisfied Soul by Sarah Mae. Here is the blurb,
“Sarah Mae wants to let you in on a little secret about being a good homemaker: It’s not about having a clean house. She’d never claim to be a natural, organized cleaner herself―yet, like you, she wants a beautiful space to call home, a place where people feel loved and at peace. Where people can really settle in with good food, comfy pillows, and wide-open hearts. Is it possible to find a balance?” (Sarah Mae’s book on Amazon)
I have not read the book, but I did read the 29 pages allowed in the Google preview. She seemed to be saying the right things and the tone was non-judgmental. If you find that you’d like to increase your hospitality, I’d say try this book.
From the Bible, we know that God created angels. (Colossians 1:16-17). We know that angels interact with humans at the behest of God. (Luke 1:26-38). They deliver messages. (Daniel 9:20-23). They fight for territory. (Daniel 10:20). They guard humans (Matthew 18:10) and report to God on the actions of children, anyway (Matt. 18:1-14) and perhaps to individually minister to adult Christians also (Hebrews 1:14).
But do not forget, there is another class of angels. There was a rebellion in heaven, and the highest angel, one created to guard the throne itself, tried to vault himself above God and was kicked out of heaven for it. His name is Lucifer, whose title is now the devil, adversary, satan. And even though a third of the multitudes of angels lived with God, and saw His glory and knew His heart, Lucifer was apparently so convincing that they sided with him against God, and so they were kicked out too. (Revelation 12:3-4,9)
NOT EVERYTHING SUPERNATURAL IS FROM GOD! 
the-end-time.org 