I see that we have wide differences in our opinions at New College of Florida, but I appreciate your diligent care and concern for the college. I also appreciate your willingness to engage regarding scripture.
Mark 10:21
New King James Version
Then Jesus, looking at him, loved him, and said to him, ‘One thing you lack: Go your way, sell whatever you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, take up the cross, and follow Me.”
Jesus, being the Word of God, is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. He saw the rich young ruler and knew what his intentions were and cut to “the heart” of the issue here. It was a heart issue. (For other readers, make no mistake, “It is harder for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God”, and yet “with God all things are possible.”Matthew 19:24,26) This needs to be viewed in light of the rest of scripture.
Aside from the examples in Acts of rich people (a fair assumption) giving generously, we have Paul’s example, “I know how to get along with little, and I also know how to live in prosperity; in any and every circumstance I have learned the secret of being filled and going hungry, both of having abundance and suffering need. I can do all things through Him who strengthens me.” Philippians 4:12-13 NASB.
So now the question is the intentions of my heart. The problem here is Jeremiah 17:9
“The heart is deceitful above all things, And desperately wicked; Who can know it?” NKJV. Now, you don’t know my heart and unfortunately, I don’t even know my own heart. This leaves me in a desperate situation, which is exactly where God wants me to be. I am desperately dependent on God to guide me and deliver me from evil. Therefore, I find great comfort in His correction. His rod and His staff they comfort me (Psalm 23). It is His rod that corrects us. My part is to seek Him and His will for my life. His part is to correct me and guide me. Seeking Him is not a passive endeavor. It includes fellowship and accountability with other believers, and diligence in learning His ways among other actions. Yet with all of man’s actions, I still rest in Philippians 1:6, “being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ.”
That is my challenge, but what about others? People will need to make decisions about the trustability and character of their representatives. So should people judge me? Yes, absolutely. But how? Luke 7:35 explains it this way, “wisdom is justified by all her children.” Also more directly in Luke 6:43 “For a good tree does not bear bad fruit, nor does a bad tree bear good fruit. For every tree is known by its own fruit.”
Onto our next logical step. How would you or the public know my fruit, without risking my reward? This is the part that has most of my attention lately.
John 6:15
New King James Version
Therefore when Jesus perceived that they were about to come and take Him by force to make Him king, He departed again to the mountain by Himself alone.
The point that I believe you and others are making here is that Jesus did not seek political power or office, so why are you? First, by that logic, I shouldn’t be a businessperson, an educator, an entrepreneur, a movie producer, or any other profession that Jesus didn’t do. This is flawed. It is that kind of thinking that can cause people to deceive themselves—I should say we can deceive ourselves, into using John 6:15 and 1 Thessalonians 4:11 and others in an unbalanced way to justify our desires to look the other way when our brothers and sisters are hurting. These scriptures need to be balanced against the parable of the good Samaritan in Luke 10:25-37. Here, we see who is our neighbor and how we are to treat our neighbors. This is not a passive command. We are to love our neighbor. In any field that the Lord calls us to. Furthermore, we are not called to hide the light that is in us.
Matthew 5:13-16
New King James Version
“You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt loses its flavor, how shall it be seasoned? It is then good for nothing but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot by men. You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.”
As far as judging my fruit, I encourage you to ask around to actual people that I have come in contact with at New College of Florida and Bradenton. I hope this answers your question.
> Now, you don’t know my heart and unfortunately, I don’t even know my own heart. <
That is a wise statement indeed. I've spent the better part of five decades trying to understand my own heart. "The still, small voice" is the only guide I've got, I think, aside from a few rules of thumb.
Public life in general - and that which involves large sums of money in specific - makes me very uneasy ... see Luke 16:13 and 19-25 - it seems significant that verse and that parable are so close together; Galatians 1:10 seems like a continuation of the warnings in Matthew 23:5 or Matthew 6:5-6, which all seem related to a certain kind of relationship with public life. Prophets like Jeremiah tended to go outside the city walls; Ezekiel's voice was present in the cave, not in the public square. I'm not saying living large and amassing political clout is always wrong , but it always makes me uncomfortable spiritually as a pursuit.
Refer to the seven mountains and their revelation by Lance Walnau. We are to “occupy “ til Jesus comes. We are the light of the world. We mustn’t hide our light under bushel baskets. Or behind closet doors. Go into all the world and preach the good news of Jesus. Your “uneasiness “ will twist you into a R I N O
But what then do we make of John 18:36 or even John 12:31 and John 14:30?
Clearly, these teach what "this world" is, who seeks authority in it, and what the fruits of worldly power are.
Mark 6:11 (and the related passages in all the synoptics) demonstrate what one does when faced with those who won't hear. It isn't to exert your will over them, it's to shake the dust off your sandals as you go. Of course, the passage about letting your light shine (which one should do, I believe, by example) is followed in the very next chapter by "Beware of practicing your righteousness before other people in order to be seen by them, for then you will have no reward from your Father who is in heaven."
Jesus comes... whenever two or three gather in His name. The preparation is now because the time is now, as long as one follows that message, radical and selfless as it is.
This is GREAT news Eddie!
question? what do you think of President Trumps lies. do you endorse him or Nikki Haley?
I'm curious how all this fits in with Mark 10:21 or John 6:15.... it all seems very worldly to me.
I see that we have wide differences in our opinions at New College of Florida, but I appreciate your diligent care and concern for the college. I also appreciate your willingness to engage regarding scripture.
Mark 10:21
New King James Version
Then Jesus, looking at him, loved him, and said to him, ‘One thing you lack: Go your way, sell whatever you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, take up the cross, and follow Me.”
Jesus, being the Word of God, is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. He saw the rich young ruler and knew what his intentions were and cut to “the heart” of the issue here. It was a heart issue. (For other readers, make no mistake, “It is harder for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God”, and yet “with God all things are possible.”Matthew 19:24,26) This needs to be viewed in light of the rest of scripture.
Aside from the examples in Acts of rich people (a fair assumption) giving generously, we have Paul’s example, “I know how to get along with little, and I also know how to live in prosperity; in any and every circumstance I have learned the secret of being filled and going hungry, both of having abundance and suffering need. I can do all things through Him who strengthens me.” Philippians 4:12-13 NASB.
So now the question is the intentions of my heart. The problem here is Jeremiah 17:9
“The heart is deceitful above all things, And desperately wicked; Who can know it?” NKJV. Now, you don’t know my heart and unfortunately, I don’t even know my own heart. This leaves me in a desperate situation, which is exactly where God wants me to be. I am desperately dependent on God to guide me and deliver me from evil. Therefore, I find great comfort in His correction. His rod and His staff they comfort me (Psalm 23). It is His rod that corrects us. My part is to seek Him and His will for my life. His part is to correct me and guide me. Seeking Him is not a passive endeavor. It includes fellowship and accountability with other believers, and diligence in learning His ways among other actions. Yet with all of man’s actions, I still rest in Philippians 1:6, “being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ.”
That is my challenge, but what about others? People will need to make decisions about the trustability and character of their representatives. So should people judge me? Yes, absolutely. But how? Luke 7:35 explains it this way, “wisdom is justified by all her children.” Also more directly in Luke 6:43 “For a good tree does not bear bad fruit, nor does a bad tree bear good fruit. For every tree is known by its own fruit.”
Onto our next logical step. How would you or the public know my fruit, without risking my reward? This is the part that has most of my attention lately.
John 6:15
New King James Version
Therefore when Jesus perceived that they were about to come and take Him by force to make Him king, He departed again to the mountain by Himself alone.
The point that I believe you and others are making here is that Jesus did not seek political power or office, so why are you? First, by that logic, I shouldn’t be a businessperson, an educator, an entrepreneur, a movie producer, or any other profession that Jesus didn’t do. This is flawed. It is that kind of thinking that can cause people to deceive themselves—I should say we can deceive ourselves, into using John 6:15 and 1 Thessalonians 4:11 and others in an unbalanced way to justify our desires to look the other way when our brothers and sisters are hurting. These scriptures need to be balanced against the parable of the good Samaritan in Luke 10:25-37. Here, we see who is our neighbor and how we are to treat our neighbors. This is not a passive command. We are to love our neighbor. In any field that the Lord calls us to. Furthermore, we are not called to hide the light that is in us.
Matthew 5:13-16
New King James Version
“You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt loses its flavor, how shall it be seasoned? It is then good for nothing but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot by men. You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.”
As far as judging my fruit, I encourage you to ask around to actual people that I have come in contact with at New College of Florida and Bradenton. I hope this answers your question.
Respectfully,
Eddie Speir
> Now, you don’t know my heart and unfortunately, I don’t even know my own heart. <
That is a wise statement indeed. I've spent the better part of five decades trying to understand my own heart. "The still, small voice" is the only guide I've got, I think, aside from a few rules of thumb.
Public life in general - and that which involves large sums of money in specific - makes me very uneasy ... see Luke 16:13 and 19-25 - it seems significant that verse and that parable are so close together; Galatians 1:10 seems like a continuation of the warnings in Matthew 23:5 or Matthew 6:5-6, which all seem related to a certain kind of relationship with public life. Prophets like Jeremiah tended to go outside the city walls; Ezekiel's voice was present in the cave, not in the public square. I'm not saying living large and amassing political clout is always wrong , but it always makes me uncomfortable spiritually as a pursuit.
Thanks much for talking this out.
Refer to the seven mountains and their revelation by Lance Walnau. We are to “occupy “ til Jesus comes. We are the light of the world. We mustn’t hide our light under bushel baskets. Or behind closet doors. Go into all the world and preach the good news of Jesus. Your “uneasiness “ will twist you into a R I N O
But what then do we make of John 18:36 or even John 12:31 and John 14:30?
Clearly, these teach what "this world" is, who seeks authority in it, and what the fruits of worldly power are.
Mark 6:11 (and the related passages in all the synoptics) demonstrate what one does when faced with those who won't hear. It isn't to exert your will over them, it's to shake the dust off your sandals as you go. Of course, the passage about letting your light shine (which one should do, I believe, by example) is followed in the very next chapter by "Beware of practicing your righteousness before other people in order to be seen by them, for then you will have no reward from your Father who is in heaven."
Jesus comes... whenever two or three gather in His name. The preparation is now because the time is now, as long as one follows that message, radical and selfless as it is.