Christ's Instructions

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237) Col 3:20 . . Children, obey your parents in everything, for this pleases
The Lord.

Those instructions pertain only to Christian kids; not to just any kid who
happens to be looking in. And it needs to be said that not every kid in a
Christian home is a saint. Some are demon seeds: that's just a fact of life
and it can't be helped; e.g. Cain & Abel.

The Greek word for "obey" in that verse is somewhat ambiguous. It can
mean, variously, to hear under (as a subordinate), i.e. to listen attentively;
by implication, to heed and/or conform to requirements.

Too many movies and television sit-coms today portray kids who don't listen
to their parents. But of course those sit-com kids are typically indifferent to
pleasing The Lord so it's to be expected they'd be more like fallen angels
than the holy variety.
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238) Col 3:21 . . Fathers, do not embitter your children, or they will become
discouraged.

The Greek word translated "discouraged" has to do with breaking the spirit.
Really bad cases of emotional abuse can cause a child to lose the will to
excel; sometimes even the will to live, i.e. suicidal.
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239) Col 3:22-25 . . Slaves, obey your earthly masters in everything; and do
it, not only when their eye is on you and to win their favor, but with sincerity
of heart and reverence for The Lord. Whatever you do, work at it with all
your heart, as working for The Lord, not for men

Some Christians tend to forget that they live in a fishbowl wherein nothing
escapes God's notice.

● 1Pet 1:17 . . . Since you call on a Father who judges each man's work impartially,
live your lives as strangers here in reverent fear.
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240) Col 4:1 . . Masters, provide your slaves with what is right and fair,
because you know that you also have a Master in heaven.

I have yet to find a passage in the Bible condemning slavery as a moral evil.
I'm not saying that such a passage doesn't exist; only that in my 56 years
as an ongoing Bible student via sermons, books, seminars, lectures, Sunday
school classes, radio programs, and personal study, I've yet to run across
one. The Bible's primary issue with slavery is the treatment of slaves.

The master in heaven is providential. In other words: Christian masters have
a sacred obligation to house their slaves in decent accommodations, clothe
them with adequate garments, and nourish them with good food too
because slave masters are a father to the souls in their house; they depend
on him to care for them; there's no one else; and according to Gen 1:27 and
Matt 12:11-12, people deserve to be treated better than an animal.

Whether the above rule should be taken to apply in normal labor relations
can be disputed, but in my judicious estimation; Christian employers really
ought to pay their workers a living wage-- augmented with timely
adjustments for inflation --rather than just paying them the least they can in
order to keep profits up and overhead down. (Just saying)
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241) Col 4:2 . . Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful.

The Greek word translated "devote" means to persevere; viz: not give up
and/or lose interest.

● Luke 18:1 . . And he spoke a parable unto them to this end: that people
ought always to pray, and not lose heart.

For many of us, prayer is a last resort; a grasping at straws because we
simply have nowhere else to turn. We wish for success with prayer, while
not really expecting it because we already know from plenty of experience
that prayer too often leads into a cul-de-sac of perplexity and
discouragement; so then, what's the use? In other words: prayer is very
difficult for some Christians because it's often so futile.

Why doesn't God respond? And if He's not going to respond, then why keep
on making a fool of ourselves trying to get through to an imaginary
playmate when all the while its phone is off the hook?

It was this very issue that led Mother Teresa of Calcutta to question whether
there really is a God out there. During virtually her entire five decades in
India, Teresa felt not the slightest glimmer of The Lord's presence and
suffered a good deal of anxiety wondering why Christ abandoned her.

In one of Teresa's private letters, penned to a Father Picachy, Teresa
complained: "I am told God loves me; and yet the reality of darkness &
coldness & emptiness is so great that nothing touches my soul."

In yet another letter, Teresa complained: "When I try to raise my thoughts
to Heaven, there is such convicting emptiness that those very thoughts
return like sharp knives and hurt my very soul. How painful is this unknown
pain-- I have no faith."

If the most pious nun the 20th century ever produced found heaven's phone
lines dead for virtually five decades, then why should John Que and Jane
Doe pew warmer persist with prayer? Well; primarily because it's required. I
would suppose that's reason enough for most. I mean; were God to ask us
to throw a baseball at the Moon every so often; wouldn't we comply just to
please Him, even knowing we couldn't possibly hit it?
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242) Col 4:3-4 . . And pray for us, too, that God may open a door for our
message, so that we may proclaim the mystery of Christ, for which I am in
chains. Pray that I may proclaim it clearly, as I should.

Proclaiming the mystery of Christ clearly as one should means to avoid
sophisticated intellectualism. (1Cor 2:1-5)

For example: when physicist Stephen Hawking set out to write his fabulously
popular book "A Brief History Of Time" he determined to make an effort to
speak of complicated cosmological concepts for a layman's ears. Well; he
succeeded, and consequently just about anybody with an average IQ and
the ability to read can pick up Stephen's book and get something out of it.

When the Bible is taught with too many uncommon words, the result isn't
much different than speaking in a foreign language. So to avoid a language
barrier, I suggest keeping one's presentation colloquial, i.e. informal.

● 1Cor 14:19 . . In the church I would rather speak five intelligible words to
instruct others than ten thousand words in a tongue.
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243) Col 4:5 . . Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders; make the most
of every opportunity.

Christian wisdom should consist of Christian moral values, Christian conduct,
and Christian character.

I once heard a story about a well-meaning sidewalk evangelist who was
handing out Gospel tracts. A man came by and asked the side-walker what
he was doing. The side-walker handed the man a tract and said: Here, read
this. Well, the man was illiterate. So he told the side-walker: I can't read
your tract, so I'll just watch your tracks.

In other words; don't just talk the talk; walk the walk too-- live it because
for some people, your actions speaks so loud they can't hear a word you're saying.
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244) Col 4:6 . . Let your speech be always full of grace, seasoned with salt

Grace can be defined as kind, courteous, gentle, patient, lenient, inclined to
good will, generous, charitable, altruistic, compassionate, sympathetic,
thoughtful, cordial, affable, genial, sociable, cheerful, warm, sensitive,
hospitable, considerate, and tactful.

It seems to me from the language and grammar of Matt 5:13, Mark 9:50,
and Luke 14:34 that the primary purpose of salt is to enhance flavor and
make otherwise naturally insipid and/or bad-tasting things palatable, viz:
salt can be thought of as diplomacy; roughly defined as conversation that
makes an effort to maintain peace rather than provoke conflict and/or annoy
people and make them uncomfortable.
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245) Col 4:16 . . After this letter has been read to you, see that it is also
read in the church of the Laodiceans; and that you in turn read the letter
from Laodicea.

The cities of Colossae and Laodicea weren't all that far from each other so it
was convenient for them to share information.

Paul's instructions have little application today except to point out that the
epistles are meant to be curriculum in every Christian assembly; not just
special Christian churches and/or denominations.

* Ironically, the Christians at Laodicea are immortalized in the New
Testament as examples of a church very nearly gone off the rails. (Rev
3:14-22)
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246) 1Thess 4:1-2 . . Finally then, brethren, we request and exhort you in
the Lord Jesus, that, as you received from us instruction as to how you
ought to walk and please God (just as you actually do walk), that you may
excel still more. For you know what commandments we gave you by the
authority of The Lord Jesus.

The commandments instituted in the apostle Paul's letters are given to the
Lord's followers for the purpose of taking the guesswork out of walking and
pleasing God; viz: nobody should expect to excel in Christ's commandments
when they don't even know what they are.

"Awake to righteousness, and sin not; for some have not the knowledge of
God: I speak this to your shame." (1Cor 15:34)
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247) 1Thess 4:3-5 . . It is God's will that you should be sanctified: that you
should avoid sexual immorality; that each of you should learn to control his
own body in a way that is holy and honorable, not in passionate lust like the
heathen, who do not know God;

The Greek word translated "sanctified" speaks of purity, i.e. clean living.

Some folk, not quite understanding the nature of the Spirit birth about which
John wrote in John 1:12-13 and about which Christ spoke in John 3:3-8,
have been led to believe that born-again Christians are supposed to be free
of their libido and their romantic impulses. Well, obviously not, or why else
would it be God's will to control them?

● 1Thess 4:7 . . . and that in this matter no one should wrong his brother or
take advantage of him.

"this matter" refers not only to fornication, but also to adultery.

● Heb 13:4 . . Marriage should be honored by all, and the marriage bed kept
pure, for God will judge the adulterer and all the sexually immoral.

Christians commit adultery with Christians? Haw! Does that even need to be
answered? Of course they do; and it goes on all the time, even among
church officers; who by all rights should be setting the example for the rank
and file.

My wife was once friends with the wife of a counselor in a very big church in
a large California city. She confided with my wife (on the QT of course) that
it was amazing the number of church officers and their wives involved in
affairs.
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248) 1Thess 4:6b-8 . . God has called us to be holy, not to live impure lives.
Anyone who refuses to live by these rules is not disobeying human rules but
is rejecting God, who gives his Holy Spirit to you.

Why "gives" the Spirit instead of gave? Well; although Christ's believing
followers are all equally endowed with the Spirit (1Cor 6:19, Eph 1:13) its
benefits are doled.

His holy Spirit is depicted as a source of living water.

● John 7:37-39 . . On the last and greatest day of the Feast, Jesus stood and
said in a loud voice: If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink.
Whoever believes in me, as the scripture has said: streams of living water
will flow from within him. By this he meant the Spirit, whom those who
believed in him were later to receive.

When Christ's followers go rogue, and allow human nature to dominate their
lives instead of complying with Christ's commandments; the water is
withheld. Consequently it's possible for them to dry up. (Rom 8:5-13)
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249) 1Thess 4:11a . . Make it your ambition to lead a quiet life,

I highly recommend avoiding political activism like the plague.
Demonstrations, protests, marches, and the like are not what I call a quiet
life; and they sometimes result in violence and civil disobedience; which are
really bad things for Christ's believing followers. (cf. 2Tim 2:4)

"Tend your own business." (1Thess 4:11b

Getting one's self involved with stuff that doesn't pertain to you whilst
neglecting your own commitments and obligations is irresponsible.

I think this rule may be intended to regulate meddling too; which in my
opinion is a very annoying habit practiced by people who honestly believe
they know how to live your life better than you. Well; maybe they do; but if
there is one thing I and quite a few others really despise it's unsolicited
counseling; especially the spiritual kind.
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250) 1Thess 4:11c-12 . . Work with your own hands, just as we instructed
you, so that your daily life may win the respect of outsiders; and so that you
will not be dependent on anybody.

In times of economic stress-- e.g. the 2008 Wall Street collapse, downsizing,
wage reductions, corporations expatriating for tax advantages and/or
outsourcing and moving their manufacturing offshore to take advantage of
cheap labor and skimpy government controls, and the covid-19 virus chaos
--a pretty large percentage of America's employable Christians were, and
have been, out of work not because they were lazy free-loaders; but
because their opportunities for full time work with decent wages and benefits
evaporated.

So tread lightly when services like unemployment benefits, SNAP, and TANF,
etc, come up in conversations. Innocent people's feeling might get hurt if
you become too critical of those kinds of relief systems. And don't ever
assume that you are immune to poverty. It can happen to anyone; even
overnight and then you'll be looking around for assistance; maybe even from
the very agencies that you at one time thought were below you.
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251) 1Thess 4:18 . . Encourage each other with these words.

Below are the words to which Paul referred

● 1Thess 4:13-17 . . Brothers, we do not want you to be ignorant about
those who fall asleep, or to grieve like the rest of men, who have no hope.
We believe that Jesus died and rose again and so we believe that God will
bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him. According to The
Lord's own word, we tell you that we who are still alive, who are left till the
coming of The Lord, will certainly not precede those who have fallen asleep.

. . For The Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command,
with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead
in Christ will rise first. After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught
up together with them in the clouds to meet The Lord in the air. And so we will
be with The Lord forever.

In other words: "the rest of men" have no way of knowing for sure whether
their dead will ever be seen again, i.e. non Christians lack anticipation,
which really ought to be a commonality among Christ's believing followers.

● John 14:2-3 . . In my Father's house are many dwelling places; if it were
not so, I would have told you; for I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go
and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you to myself;
that where I am, there you may be also.
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252) 1Thess 5:5-6 . . We do not belong to the night or to the darkness. So
then, let us not be like others, who are asleep, but let us be alert and self
controlled.

Christians walk a strange path. On the one hand they have to be ready to
leave this Earth and join Christ on a moment's notice, while on the other
hand ready for a long stay, i.e. live like there's no tomorrow, and yet live
like there are years to come.

Those two dissimilar expectations balance each other so that we don't live to
extremes in either direction: always keeping in mind that as we came into
this world empty-handed we will leave it empty-handed. So be prepared to
suffer the loss of every personal item in your possession that you hold dear;
along with every project, every pastime, and every endeavor. (1Tim 6:7)
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[Ronald David Bruno]

Apparently Jesus' teaching about turning the other cheek, going the extra mile,
and the golden rule, have gone out of vogue and no longer apply to modern
Christian conduct; especially online where, for some folks, every disagreement
is an act of war to be won at any cost.

Especially with you. I had one post in one of your threads that was in disagreement ... no quarrel, no unkind remarks, it wasn't even derogatory. But you sent me a PM that I was put on your Ignor List.
So much for these pile of words that YOU preach but do not practice:
"In other words; you don't especially have to like your enemies, but you do
have to be civil with them, i.e. courteous, kind, charitable, tolerant, patient,
diplomatic, tactful, gentle, reasonable, fair, deferent, approachable, cordial,
genial, affable, sociable, helpful, thoughtful, sympathetic, considerate, and
cooperative, etc."

 

[Ronald David Bruno]

Apparently Jesus' teaching about turning the other cheek, going the extra mile,
and the golden rule, have gone out of vogue and no longer apply to modern
Christian conduct; especially online where, for some folks, every disagreement
is an act of war to be won at any cost.

Especially with you. I had one post in one of your threads that was in disagreement. It wasn't even derogatory. But you sent me a PM that I was put on your Ignor List.
So much for this pile of words that you preach but do not practice:
"In other words; you don't especially have to like your enemies, but you do
have to be civil with them, i.e. courteous, kind, charitable, tolerant, patient,
diplomatic, tactful, gentle, reasonable, fair, deferent, approachable, cordial,
genial, affable, sociable, helpful, thoughtful, sympathetic, considerate, and
cooperative, etc."
So Webers_ Home does not allow himself to become hostile, he just puts you on ignor before that happens. "Love thy neighbor ..." what beautiful words ... easy to say, difficult to follow.

 

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253) 1Thess 5:8 . . Since we belong to the day, let us be self-controlled,
putting on faith and love as a breastplate, and the hope of salvation as a
helmet.

There's likely any number of explanations for "the day" and probably all are
useful. However, we can narrow them all down to just saying that we who
belong to the day are alive to God as opposed to when we were at one time
dead to God.

According to Rom 8:23-25 the "hope" of salvation is relative to another body.

"We ourselves, who have the first fruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we
wait eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies. For in
this hope we were saved. But hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes
for what he already has? But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we
wait for it patiently."

This hope isn't a wishing hope, nor is it a hope-for-the-best hope, nor a
cross-your-fingers hope. The Greek word basically means to anticipate with
pleasure and confident expectation.

* When I was young and strong, the resurrection wasn't very meaningful.
But now in my 80's, and breaking down from cancer and old age; I have a
very different outlook.
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254) 1Thess 5:11 . . Therefore encourage one another, and build each other
up, just as in fact you are doing.

Building up is just the opposite of tearing down. Christians in Galatia were
busy doing the latter.

● Gal 5:15 . . But if you bite and devour one another, take heed that you be
not consumed one of another!

Biting and devouring one another describes cannibals and carnivorous
beasts.
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