Talk of JESUS . com

Tag: God

  • Rest for the wicked; hope for the weary

    Rest for the wicked; hope for the weary

    It so happens as the Lord had planned it that the launch of http://talkofJesus.com -+- CHRISTIAN SOCIAL WITNESS coincides with the American holiday: Labor Day.  We will have picnics, parades and some much-needed family time.  No school.  Post offices, banks and many not-so-greedy businesses closed to give their employees a rest from their labor – something all of us need at times.

    A prior post began with this same thought. It is about Sabbath rest – a related, but different reference to the word of God in the Bible.  We’ve likely heard the expression:

    ‘NO rest for the wicked and the good don’t need any.’

    NOT true; NOT Biblical.

    We ALL need rest and we all need work.

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    American’s inherited this Labor Day idea of rest though the long-standing culture of the King James Bibles so much apart of our Christian heritage.  The original call for rest comes from Jesus.

    “Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. – Matthew 11:28

    At one time Americans realized the importance to honor God through our labor and to honor labors as God’s own workers.  Sadly, in a 21st c. America (or Europe, Asia or any other place) we don’t get that, do we?  (Jesus tells us why – which I will reveal in a moment.) The world has two approaches to labor:

    Work hard for your SELF. (More work, more reward: right?) God doesn’t really need that “offering AND tithe” to honor Him — after all, the Government gets plenty of our required monetary support.  Our Country will take care of us.

    OR

    I don’t need to labor because Uncle Sam* takes care of me and will always help me.

    *  ‘Americanized’ personalization of our impersonal ‘representative’ Government.

    God never intended for ANY to have a rest from the work they will NOT do.  (We won’t go there today. That’s a different scripture.)

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    Getting back to talk of Jesus:

    The crowds had flocked to hear Jesus on the hillsides of the Mount of Olives in Jerusalem.  Jesus traveled from city to city on His northern tour.  Everywhere Jesus traveled, He was expected.

    Matthew 11: When Jesus had finished instructing his twelve disciples, he went on from there to teach and preach in their cities.

    Imagine the excitement of the promised Messiah of God coming to your city.  Jesus was predicted by the Prophets.  Jesus was proclaimed by the greatest prophet their contemporary, John the Baptist.

    John was a ‘hell-fire and damnation’ kind of preacher: popular with the people, but imprisoned by the religious establishment.

    REPENT! And be baptized (changed permanently). Cleanse your sins before you must stand before the HOLY ONE.

    Yet our Lord is also calling the people of the cities to hear Him and obey.

    20 Then he began to denounce the cities where most of his mighty works had been done, because they did not repent.

    Jesus? … Preaching ‘hell-fire and damnation’ like John?

    Read what He said comparing the disobedient to the people of Sodom.

    Come to Me, and I Will Give You Rest

    25 At that time Jesus declared, “I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that you have hidden these things from the wise and understanding and revealed them to little children; 26 yes, Father, for such was your gracious will…

    28 “Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”

    What is Jesus saying about our labor?

    Jesus is illustrating a picture of manual labor.  He doesn’t say to just give it all to Him and He will take care of it.  (I’m not saying this about prayer.  We are talking ‘labor’ here.)

    • Take my yoke upon you a picture of the collar of two doing the work of one.
    • learn from me – a direct reference to learning from the example of His life.
    • I am gentle and lowly in heart [Jesus is kind and humble. Have you learned this from His Perfect Example?]

    and [IF you will do this, according to our Lord]

    • you will find rest for your souls. 

    30 For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”

    Jesus didn’t say ‘Take a break and I will do it all for you.”

    Jesus actually called out the people who refuse to repent and listen to Him for their wickedness.

    Our Lord knows how weary we become in this world.

    Do we remember: disobedience was punished in Eden.  Unpleasant work became part of our sinful heritage for having knowledge of good and evil.

    Jesus offers to share in our work in this world.

    Will you work with Him on that?

    Though we are wicked sinners

    Because of the Cross of Jesus 

    Weary laborers have hope.

    Come unto Him.

  • Roger Harned – a history of faith

    Roger Harned – a history of faith

    As you will find elsewhere in my ‘online profiles,’ it’s not about me.  This website is NOT a blog about me. Obviously this site is about Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior. 

    http://talkofJesus.com is a place for ALL to COMMENT & SHARE about Christ Jesus and anything that will help you and me talk of Jesus to others. 

    Talk of Jesus.com fills a void for Christian Social Witness.  Think of it as a place where you can talk of Jesus openly.

    (It’s more user friendly than facebook and other popular sites and not my blog anymore than facebook is Mark Z’s blog.)

    All you have to do is copy and paste what you want to SHARE & Add your Comment.

    However when I visit a corporate or church website, the FIRST things I want to know are:

    1. Who they are (really, as people, not just what they do). AND
    2. What they believe – what they stand for – OR in the case of a church of a “Christian (preaching) Author,” A STATEMENT OF FAITH. Where are they coming from?
    3. What do they REALLY believe?  Do I agree OR understand their honest theological positions enough to trust that they are never-the-less FOR JESUS, and NOT against our Lord?

    These are the kind of things I want to know about people trying to influence my thinking and my faith.  Therefore, so that I might DO UNTO YOU as I would have done unto me, I will attempt to answer some of the obvious questions about my faith.

    I was raised in the Methodist Church (which later became the United Methodist Church).  An ugly incident on a ‘Youth Sunday’ led to my rebellion against ‘attending church’ every week.  My mom, a faithful believer, made arrangements for me to attend a couple of different churches: one, a Disciples of Christ, and the other a ‘Federated Methodist Church’ (whatever that is). The unfortunate witness of our Pastor against Christ and his marriage caused a scandal not too much later.  His children were my age and I was very grieved over them.

    I began work on my music degree at Ohio State University and joined the campus Episcopal Church, because a friend asked me to come for the music. (I majored in instrumental music, but loved to sing.)  It was great.  I stayed in the Episcopal Church for years.  I was born again when a moving of the Holy Spirit began a short stay at our church in Gainesville FL.

    We read the Creeds. I believe and affirm the Creeds.  Trinity. Jesus Christ crucified and risen and coming again: SOON.

    I was a Lay Reader and Lay Eucharistic Minister.  Just prior to the public infilling of the Spirit (which made some of our services look rather Pentecostal), I was brought to my knees at the foot of the cross in a contemporary rendering of the Good Friday Stations of the Cross. I WAS BORN AGAIN!

    When the Pastors were unable to keep authority over some false followers who quickly worked their way into the honest worship of our church, we left for another Episcopal church across town   (I should mention here that my wife of twenty-three years died and her funeral witnessed and celebrated our certain hope of the resurrection.)

    I later left the church in another town over a failure of member coldness and an increasing embrace of liberal doctrine seeping into the denomination.  (Some faithful Bishops of the Lord actually broke away from the denomination to stand up for the Truth of Biblical faith in Jesus Christ.)

    I joined a Southern Baptist Church, a wonderful fellowship of Bible believing lovers of Jesus and now dear friends – brothers and sisters – of mine.  I taught middle school Bible Study. (In another church, wouldn’t that qualify me for sainthood?)

    Prior to that I nearly joined a Presbyterian Church (USA?), but a job change brought about another move.

    I have since avoided a large local church with false teaching and non-Biblical embracing of sin by a divorced Pastor and others.  We joined the Methodist Church (again, for me), but when my current wife of blessing was uncomfortable with ‘the women’ there we followed the pastor’s suggestion to attend a local Mennonite Church, where I remain an active member.

    There you have it. Good luck putting me into some theological box, but anytime you want to discuss theology, I’m all for it.  Let’s talk of Jesus – that’s what this is all about.

    (Like most preachers, I have gone on too long; but due to the urgency of providing this to you, the next sermon will not continue next week.  You have the potatoes.  Read on for the meat.)

     

    I might add that MANY Christian websites and Christian Authors tend to avoid anything that could look “controversial” in what they say publicly.  (Wouldn’t that be hypocrisy?)

    Since I have already been called a scoundrel for a negative comment about a denominational leader who failed to mention Jesus or use even one scriptural verse in his public non-witness for Jesus, you can trust that I will not avoid any possible mention of my own opinions, hopefully guided by the Holy Spirit.

    What we should have in common is a willingness to witness – to talk about Jesus Christ.

    I am NOT an evangelist at heart.  I don’t really enjoy social networking online or in person, either.

    You might even say that I am too timid with my mention of Jesus in the crowd at the football game.  My heart for ministry has always been teaching.  It is a gift of God.  I do love to preach, as well; however I am NOT QUALIFIED as a Pastor.  (You can pray for my wife, who asked me to leave long after she turned from the Lord.  I have faith that the Lord will draw her back to Him first.  She is my Blessing.)

    Like so many, my wife’s salvation is MORE IMPORTANT to me than witness to ten thousand strangers.

    “Many sins are swept under the church carpet rather than confessed and cleansed by grace.

    Our small church, pastor and elders are working hard toward accountability for the fruit of our faith for which we pray.  Broken christian marriages are the church’s worst-kept secret from the worldly.  Although ALL churches need attention to this, witness against divorce is not top of my list, either.

     The driving purpose of http://talkofJesus.com is opportunity for Christians to GROW in our faith through social interaction.

    If we do NOT SHARE Jesus Christ as part of our increasing time in SOCIAL time on the Internet, we are hypocrites in the eyes of our SOCIAL NETWORKING ‘FRIENDS.’

    Are we ‘FRIENDS’ of the world?  NO.   Then let’s witness Jesus Christ in our SOCIAL circles online.

    We want ALL of you to SHARE your faith HERE.  Lets’ share our CHRISTIAN SOCIAL WITNESS from http://talkofJesus.com  on your other social sites as your witness that Jesus IS Lord.

     

    We do NOT require the limitation of a particular church (building), a carefully-crafted doctrine of a particular denomination, or a watchful oversight of a power-loving leadership.  NO, I’m not a rebel and this is not a place for personal crusades; but Jesus had radical faith. Our Lord would probably not fit in with most of our ‘christian’ churches and in some ways, neither do I.

    I’m welcomed with the same caution of having an Old Testament Prophet present to sit under your preaching.  I listen, study, pray to the Lord, consider what Jesus would do in hearing this… and sometimes say what a Prophet must say to those responsible for the Flock of the Lord.  You might say that at times, I stick in the craw of a complacent church.

    Our church leaders allow me to teach Bible study and actually encourage it sometimes.  (Too bad more members refuse to drag out of bed an hour earlier.)

    Complacency in our faith is a cancerous sore in every church.

    All of this said, the bottom line (for now) is that the Lord led me to another calling prior to any inspiration for http://talkofJesus.com – the inspiration of a book.  For that reason, this site is a secondary outlet for me to share my writing and witness of Christ Jesus, which I have done for many years in many formats and media.

    Like so many other writers, I have SHARED much witness to be read by few.

    For that reason, I pray to have AS MANY OF YOU AS POSSIBLE participate in our posts.

    • NOT ENOUGH christians read the BIBLE.
    • NOT ENOUGH christians read about the BIBLE.
    • NOT ENOUGH christians read books by other Christians, rather than all of the worldly garbage that fills our immature christian minds and influences our ineffective lives of cheap grace.

    (Is that doctrine enough for you?)

    • NOT ENOUGH christians – yes, ‘christian’ with a small ‘c’ – talk of JESUS as IF HE matters in our daily lives.
    • And certainly NOT ENOUGH christians SHARE our witness with our SOCIAL “Friends.”

    It is time for ALL of us to GROW UP in our faith.   Why not join us?

     

    May our Lord, Christ Jesus, lead you to participate and GROW UP in your own faith, and to help those whom you love to do so as well.

    I pray for much more building up in our faith through

    talk of Jesus.com

    your HOME for Christian Social Witness.  SHARE your faith.

    Pray also for me.

    Roger Harned

     

     

     

  • Closed on Sunday

    Closed on Sunday

    “Rest for the wicked; Hope for the weary.

    Where did that thought come from, I wondered.  Could it have anything to do with all of those early mornings and late nights on the internet? (So I looked it up on the internet… didn’t find it… looked for the quote from the Bible… didn’t find it.)

    My thought was actually concerning rest on the Sabbath, a Commandment. (Forgive us our trespasses.) Did our Father in heaven want us to rest for our own good and also worship the God of any of our goodness through Christ Jesus?  What do you think?

    Deuteronomy 5:11 “‘You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain, for the Lord will not hold him guiltless who takes his name in vain.

    12 “‘Observe the Sabbath day, to keep it holy, as the Lord your God commanded you. 13 Six days you shall labor and do all your work, 14 but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God.

    13b On it you shall not do any work, you or your son or your daughter or your male servant or your female servant, or your ox or your donkey or any of your livestock, or the sojourner who is within your gates, that your male servant and your female servant may rest as well as you. 15 You shall remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt, and the Lord your God brought you out from there with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm. Therefore the Lord your God commanded you to keep the Sabbath day.

    “Observe the Sabbath… Did I remember that wrong? … (I’ll look it up on the internet.)

    I found it. I did remember it. (I think I saw it on someone’s coffee cup somewhere.)

    Exodus 20:8 KJV – Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. 

    What I had failed to ‘remember’ about the sabbath is the depth of meaning ‘to keep it holy.

    qadash – to consecrate, sanctify, prepare, dedicate, be hallowed, be holy, be sanctified, be separate

    Pharisees had complained about Jesus not keeping the sabbath; but His explanation does not justify any failure of ours to observe the holiness and separation God our Father intended for us to rest… consecrate Sunday and separate ourselves from the world to worship the Lord our God.

    “Most Christians and most 21st c. christian families are guilty of NOT consecrating Sunday to be separate from the worldly and coming together before the Lord our God in holiness.

    (Just an hour of so of obligation to ‘go to church’ hardly counts as “observe” or “consecrate” Sunday, to keep it HOLY.)

    Have you and your 21st c. christian family also been as guilty of remembering to come together as a family of God and worship?

    Forgive us, Lord.  We repent and seek the holiness of Jesus Christ.

    In fact, God willing, I will take another day (after I have rested on Sunday) to talk about: “Rest for the wicked; Hope for the weary.

    Remember to SHARE Christ Jesus and worship the Lord on Sunday as part of our family of the Lord.

    Roger, your brother in Christ -+- Christian Social Witness