Category: Epistles – Is his letter to our church?

Epistle of Paul to the Romans

Epistles ἐπιστολή or Letters

I charge you by the Lord that this epistle be read to all the holy brethren.

Paul’s First Letter to the Thessalonians

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JUNE 2024 – 2025 —

1 CORINTHIANS

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Letters – Is he writing to me?
The short answer: YES.

In their epistles or 1st century church letters the Apostles and other men sent out by Jesus build up the saints [small – ‘s’] or members of local first century churches.

A Disciple or other witness of JESUS would write it. Messengers then delivered these church letters to many isolated worshipers.

Followers of Jesus Christ receive these letters as a major encouragement to their personal faith. Then leaders read them to worshipers of their church.

Although the Epistles 0r Letters to the Church were originally written to churches of the first century,

Romans through Jude will seem like letters to your 21st century church.

What do Peter, Paul, John and others tell us we must do?
Is he talking about an issue in your 21st c. church as well?
How does the writer’s advice, warning, or encouragement to the 1st c. believers apply to you as well
Is the writer of this letter talking about something you need to address in your 21st century ‘christian’ life?

Contemporary Application of the Letters (Epistles)

Most New Testament writers take on specific issues confronting faithful followers of Jesus Christ. These same issues continue to confront believers until the Lord’s coming again in these last days.

Certainly Christ our Lord will come again to those God has chosen for eternal life.

Believers currently suffer more than most of you who know Christ in your local church can imagine.

In other lands Christians continue to suffer by the hand of the ungodly.
Go into all the world

A 21st century Common Era church can see and hear nearly any atrocity of man or artificial imagination of sinful man’s mind, yet ‘christians‘ dare not speak of any absolute truth of the Lord God or talk of JESUS CHRIST.

Will YOU comment on Scripture and share the Gospel?

I invite you to read the inspired word of Scripture written in these LETTERS TO THE CHURCH.

YES, He IS writing to YOU.

Beloved brother or sister in Christ Jesus,

Will you read this ‘CHURCH LETTER’ and talk of JESUS through your comment, sharing and email to me about this ‘Letter to you?”

Roger@talkofJesus.com

Stand fast therefore in the liberty
It’s Memorial Day (celebrated holiday in the not-so-united States).

Flags for freedom flown for feasting leaders of the free world or drawn to half staff for some politically offensive act of violence by an ungodly man.

Hardly a memorial to any who have died for the freedom of any man or woman who suffers the ravages of war and injustice in an evil world of the year of our Lord 2022.

Therefore, claimer of Christ, communicant of the Church, Evangelical Patriot who claims the crusade of christian UNDER GOD, it must be US who have failed in our pursuit of freedom, liberty and most of all righteousness as an example to our fellow man (that is, creating being in the image of the Lord God).

Letter of Paul to the Church at Galatia (1st c. A.D.)

Stand fast therefore in the liberty by which Christ has made us free, and do not be entangled again with a yoke of bondage.
Galatians 5:1 NKJV

A Question to ‘christians’

I ask YOU,
- ‘evangelical christian’
- roman catholic
- orthodox christ claimant
- liberal tolerant lover of anyone of the world
I ask you the same question as Paul asked the Jews in first century Galatia:

For once YOU ran well.

Who hindered you from obeying the truth?
Galatians 5:7 NKJV

Paul speaks to the Jews of his day, but his question about freedom applies to US, WE THE PEOPLE who use GOD and claim CHRIST in those times when it is most politically expedient to claim TRUTH.

The Truth of Freedom

Although men and women may fight for it, be maimed by it, flee from it and even die for it; liberty and freedom have little to do with ever-changing currents of political action in places of providential blessing or demonic deference to rule of some despot.

God in Christ Jesus calls any who would run this race of mortal – yes MORTAL, not immortal LIFE – to not again be yoked in the slavery of sin.

For you were called to be free, brothers and sisters; only don’t use this freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but serve one another through love.
Galatians 5:13 Christian Standard Bible

For the whole law is fulfilled in one statement:

Love your neighbor as yourself.

But if you bite and devour one another, watch out, or you will be consumed by one another.
Galatians 5:15 CSB

Are WE THE PEOPLE truly ‘ONE NATION under god’ in the Common Era of error led by sinful man recreating US in the image of resconstructed truth?
Roger@TalkofJESUS.com

Do WE THE PEOPLE truly believe, in A.D. [the year of our Lord] 2022:

“We hold these truths to be self-evident,
- all men are created..
- that certain ‘rights’ are endowed by their Creator
- That the ‘Bill of Rights’ forbids Congress from both promoting one religion over others NOT promoting FREEDOM FROM RELIGION?
The basis of law is the LAW of God.

A CLAIM under GOD.

WE THE PEOPLE may not memorialize evil as we no longer as a NATION stand faithful anymore than ISRAEL could still claim covenant which they broke long before the REDEMPTION by CHRIST JESUS, the Son of GOD WHO was and IS and will judge all men.

Orthodox? Catholic? Evangelical?

As in Galatia, our CLAIM to Christ is not enough.

Now the works of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, moral impurity, promiscuity, idolatry, sorcery, hatreds, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish ambitions, dissensions, factions, envy, drunkenness, carousing, and anything similar.
I am warning you about these things — as I warned you before — that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.
Galatians 5:19-21 CSB

24 Now those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.

If we live by the Spirit, let us also keep in step with the Spirit.

Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another.

Thank God Almighty that we are FREE — FREE at last in Christ Jesus.

“Having eyes, do you not see? And having ears, do you not hear? And do you not remember?
The Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ from Mark 8:18
May 30, 2022
.. because the days are evil
What will it take to convince a world of universal appeasement of all enemies of God that these last days are in action and in deed: evil?

KYIV UKRAINE – ASH WEDNESDAY AD 2022

A Caution about Evil for Christians

Therefore watch carefully how you walk, not as unwise, but as wise; redeeming the time, because the days are evil.
Ephesians 5:15-16 HNV
- What’s the Good News in this (if any)?
- Do you know the next line of this caution to a Church witnessing to a world which surrounds the Gospel of Christ Jesus with works of darkness?
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Click here for Ephesians 15-17 in: NKJV, PHILLIPS English Paraphrase, German, Greek & Russian
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By Bettina Menzel Marcus GableMarcus Gable The Ukraine war is heading into its fourth week.
In Mariupol, it is feared that the number of victims could rise to as many as 20,000. The news ticker.

Wars & rumors of wars

And Jesus began to say to them, “See to it that no one misleads you.
Gospel of Mark 13:5 NASB20

MARK 13:

NKJV [EngliUpdated Gdańsk Biblesh]; Ukrainian Bible; Nádej pre kazdého; Russian Synodal Version

“Many will come in My name, saying, ‘I am He!’ and they will mislead many.

“When you hear of wars and rumors of wars, do not be alarmed; those things must take place; but that is not yet the end.

“For nation will rise up against nation, and kingdom against kingdom;

there will be earthquakes in various places;

there will also be famines.

These things are only the beginning of birth pains.

Gospel of Mark 13:5-8 – Caution of the One Messiah of God, Jesus

Beat your plowshares into swords,
And your pruning hooks into spears;
Let the weak man say, “I am a warrior.” – Joel 3:10
March 15, 2022
Be Kind to One Another before..
“Be kind to each other before you must say,

‘I’m Sorry.’“

Be kind to one another..

Some children (it seems) never say ‘I’m SORRY,’ after they do bad things to you. But I know that you do because you are a kind child of God.

Sound familiar? The parental leading or teacher’s prayer of repentance for your unkind words?

“Be kind to one another, BEFORE you must repent.”

A Lenten Short Take on Scripture

That’s NOT in the Bible, is it?

No, not in those exact words but this advice to the children of the Lord God resounds throughout the Bible.

Some of us have been thinking about Lent as a time we should pray for forgiveness for all of our shortcomings — sins of commission and omission — things we have said that we ought not to have said..

Sins of ours for which JESUS was NAILED TO THE CROSS!
- Yet wouldn’t we do better to behave a Christ?
- To act like JESUS in our relationships with others?
Kindness OR Repentance?

Be kind to one another, compassionate, forgiving each other, just as God in Christ also has forgiven you.
Letter of Paul to the Church at EPHESUS 4:32

We teach this to our children. (And we claim to be children of the living God!)

חֶסֶד וֶאֱמֶת אַל־יַעַזְבֻךָ קָשְׁרֵם עַל־גַּרְגְּרֹותֶיךָ כָּתְבֵם עַל־לוּחַ לִבֶּךָ׃
CLICK HERE for translations of ENGLISH BIBLES Mishlei (Proverbs) 3:3 :: Westminster Leningrad Codex (WLC)

Repentance BEFORE Kindness

What were your most recent unkind words for which you must repent?

If our hearts would only have heeded the wise words of Scripture prior to allowing our tongues spew out unkind darts toward another, then our repentance and I’m sorries would not have been so required this day.

When it is My desire,
I will discipline them..
Sow for yourselves, with a view to righteousness;
Harvest in accordance with kindness.
Break up your uncultivated ground,
For it is time to seek the LORD
Until He comes and rains righteousness on you.
Hosea 10:10a,12 NASB20

WHAT’S YOUR SHORT TAKE ON THESE SCRIPTURES ABOUT KINDNESS?
- What unkind words have brought you to a need to repent?
March 14, 2022