idols/idolatry – JLM in Euroclydon

Plumb Lines

2 Timothy 3:16 ¹⁶All Scripture is God-breathed and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness, ¹⁷so that the man of God may be equipped, having been thoroughly equipped for every good work.

2 Peter 1:21 ²¹For no prophecy was ever made by the will of man, but men being moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from God.

Psalm 12:6 The words of Yahweh are pure words; as silver tried in a furnace on the ground, refined seven times.

Proverbs 30:5 Every word of God is tested; He is a shield to those who take refuge in Him.

John 17:17 ¹⁷Sanctify them by the truth; Your word is truth.

These words were put to paper by: a student of Paul, 2 disciples of Jesus Christ, and the 2^nd and 3^rd kings of Israel after it became a nation. Aside from King Solomon who did not follow YHWH as closely in his old age as he had in his youth, they all served YHWH faithfully. At least two of them were martyred. It is believed the Apostle Peter was crucified up-side-down because he didn’t feel worthy to face the same method of execution as his Savior. While the Apostle John was not martyred, his execution was attempted by boiling him in oil, but YHWH protected him from death. Later in life, he was exiled to the Isle of Patmos where YHWH gave him the Revelation which became the last book in our Bible.

Now, consider some of the miracles that are recorded in the Bible:

Creation week.
Enoch going to heaven without dying
Noah and his family being saved in the flood.
The burning bush
The 10 plagues
Passover
Parting of the red sea.

That’s just the Old Testament, and it’s only a few of those found there. It is estimated the entire Bible contains between 120 and 150 miracles. Ask yourselves—did these miracles really happen, or are they just a bunch of fairytales with no relevance whatsoever to the world today?

I trust everyone here today knows they are not fairytales; they are historical accounts preserved by YHWH using faithful men, so that believers living today would have them for teaching, reproof, correction, and training in righteousness.

If YHWH is capable of performing those miracles, it should be a piece of cake for Him to preserve the history of humanity in a book and keep it free of errors for thousands of years.

So how is then when we have this wonderful book, really written as instruction for us by YHWH Himself, that Jesus has been reduced from the mighty, kingly Savior of mankind, one who is quoted as saying “I have not come to bring peace, but a sword” into a man whose sole purpose today seems to be that of one who came only to teach us how to love one another. And make no mistake, He did do that.

This is how He has taught me.

So far.

The initials with which I was born were JLS which had I thought about them might have also been an initialism for Jesus Loves Some. For most of the years those were my initials, that is what I believed. This might also describe a follower of John Calvin.

Is that what the Bible, The Word of God says? John 3:16 is possibly the most quoted verse in the Bible. It begins with these words “For God so loved the world. . . “ Was He speaking of planet earth? Was His love reserved for something that was not human? God loved planet earth so much that He gave His only begotten Son to save it?

Of course not.

We know that this world on which we reside will ultimately be destroyed and replaced with a new one.

He was talking about that which was His greatest creation.

People.

And, according to John 3:16, God didn’t just love some people—He loved all people.

When I married my first husband, my initials became JLT which had I thought about it at that time might have stood for Jesus Loves Them. That is how I felt for a large part of the time that those were my initials. He might love me, but there were others He loved more. Much more. And I certainly didn’t know what to do with those six verses in John’s gospel where he wrote about being the disciple that Jesus loved. Surely some scribe or translator somewhere in the last 2000 years had messed up and John didn’t really say or write that!

When I married Rod, my initials became JLM. A few years after we married, and after I’d survived a cancer battle which probably should have taken me out, I, or rather YHWH showed me, that those were an initialism for Jesus Loves Me. And eventually, even that he loves me best!

That isn’t arrogance, and it wasn’t arrogance when John believed it and wrote it down about himself. If you are a disciple of Jesus, you are not a disciple that Jesus loves; you are the disciple that Jesus loves. No translation error! This Truth is so important that YHWH had John record it 6 times—in 13:23, 19:26, 20:2, 21:7, and 21:20.

Very recently, just within the past couple of weeks, I realized YHWH didn’t give me those initials until I was able to wear them and believe them at the same time.

So does this not then provide proof that those who are called progressive Christians are right? Jesus is synonymous with love and, in fact is love, and that is all that needs to be considered. All the other laws and information in the Bible are just there for our entertainment; they are nothing more than fairytales and have no relevance in today’s world.

As Paul would say, “Heaven forbid!”.

When one truly has Jesus in their heart and is following the path He lays out before them, one should be becoming more like Him—but none of us IS God. His love is so incomprehensible to us mere humans that it can take a lifetime of getting to know Him to understand that we will never understand how each person He loves is the person that Jesus loves. John had something of a rudimentary understanding of this, I’m beginning to as well, and my prayer is that you will begin to get this, too.

So why did YHWH put all that other stuff in His Word? The overarcing theme of this Book is love, but what about all those little details included that don’t seem to have anything to do with love?

Going back to one of the focus Scriptures from today, notice again the words “¹⁶All Scripture is God-breathed and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness, ¹⁷so that the man of God may be equipped, having been thoroughly equipped for every good work.”

It does not say “Only the words in red are God-breathed”; it does not say “Only the words which align with your own personal moral compass are God-breathed”; and it certainly doesn’t say “Only the words which line up with today’s culture and beliefs about justice are God-breathed.”

Every single word in this book is God breathed. Every single word in this book is helpful for us because it teaches us, reproves us, corrects us, and trains us in righteousness so that we will be not just adequately equipped but fully equipped for every good work.

In a perfect world, like the garden in which Adam and Eve spent the beginning of their lives, there is a direct line going from us to YHWH. When sin and self-love entered the world (Eve wanted to have the same knowledge as YHWH) a new corrupted plumb line came into existence and was completely separate from the path our lives were supposed to follow. It still exists today and is the line which every human being is unknowingly following. It is a line that leads to death.

YHWH was not taken by surprise when the new line formed, and He already had a plan in place for our salvation. His Son. Self-sacrifice is the purest form of love, and that’s exactly what YHWH did. He made a way for the plumb line corrupted by sin to be rejoined to the plumb line leading back to Him. That Way is available to all. Then once you’re in the right line, The Word of God is the way to peace.

Now, what happens when a person goes back and forth from the True plumb line to that which is corrupt?

You could get a pretty serious tangle.

If you’re a believer and not well acquainted with His word, how can your life be anything but tangled and chaotic? How can it not be scary, especially when you look with your physical senses at the downright evil that is occurring on a daily basis? Living with your heart twisted is no way to live.

Follow the True plumb line. (Hold up Bible)

Stay the course.

I love that line from the Mel Gibson movie “The Patriot.”

You are alive here in the land of the living. You are doing your best to be a faithful follower of YHWH. The best help for “staying the course” is found within these pages, your True plumb line. Don’t get tangled up by returned over and over to the corrupt one. Jesus is love, yes, and this is His instruction on how to more fully know and express that love.

Abba, as Paul wrote in 1 Corithians “I do all things for the sake of the gospel, so that I may become a fellow partaker of it and that in running my race, I will win the prize, that of everlasting life with You.” And that I, the one to whom You gave the initials JLM, can persuade as many others as is within my power to do of the same. I pray that each of those beloved individuals will get to hear those most precious words “Well done, good and faithful servant.” at the conclusion of his or her race.

The Wonder of Chesed

I gave serious consideration to titling this “IS LOVE LOVE?” which is a rearrangement of words of a phrase currently in common use. The thing about love is. . . it comes from many different words, some Greek, one Latin. Here are 9 of them.

Agápe brotherly love, charity; the love of God for person and of person for God. Agape is used in ancient texts to denote feelings for one’s children and the feelings for a spouse, and it was also used to refer to a love feast. In a couple months, I will be participating in a love feast when I take another Walk to Emmaus, this time working in the room that is called the Agape Chapel. It is a room where every one of the 50+ participants in a Walk to Emmaus retreat goes to be prayed over at one or more points during the weekend. There are usually 3-4 workers there who spend the entire 3 days praying, sometimes even staying overnight in the chapel praying when no one else is around. Sunday afternoon, following the closing ceremony every follower of Jesus leaves will a full serving of agape on board.
Éros love is romantic passion or love of the human body. This is the love that will be celebrated on Wednesday. It is also the cause of much sin.
Philia means affectionate regard, friendship, usually “between equals”. Philadelphia is called the city of brotherly love.
Storge means “love, affection especially of parents and children”. It is the common or natural empathy, like that felt by parents for offspring. I believe it is also a supernaturally augmented by God, and I certainly experienced it myself upon the birth of each of my children.
Philautia means “self-love”. To love oneself has been conceptualized both as a basic human necessity and as a moral flaw, akin to vanity and selfishness. We are instructed in the Bible to love our neighbors as ourselves (Mt 22:37-39). If we do not have love for ourself as a masterpiece of our great creator (Ps 139:14), what sort of love would we be giving our neighbor?
Xenia describes the concept of hospitality, “guest-friendship”, or “ritualized friendship”.

Dictionary.com adds in

Mania is an obsessive love such as the type of love a stalker feels toward his/her victim.

And

Pragma is love based on duty, obligation, or logic

Those are all Greek words. In addition, there is the Latin word

Ludus means playful love. This could be likened to children at play. I think it is also the type of love being felt when one expresses a profound appreciation of something; i.e., I love chesed.

Truly love is not love. There’s more to it than that.

Agape love is, of course, the love most closely resembling that of YHWH toward us. But if you think about some of the original words for love, storge and even mania could be aspects of His feeling toward us. Mania? Really. Look at Psalm 23:6, Ezekiel 34:11 and Rev 3:20.

I don’t quote all the scriptures here; please look them up. Maybe one of them will become so relevant to you at your current stage in life that you will return to it again and again inadvertently memorizing it without even realizing you are doing so.

There have been several verses over the course of my life of serving YHWH that have been life changing. They don’t even necessarily include passages such as the 23^rd Psalm, the Lord’s Prayer, or even John 3:16 although that one is our faith-defining verse. Here are some verses that have been life altering for me during different seasons of my life.

2 Timothy 1:7

1 Corinthians 6:19-20

Jonah 2:8

Zephaniah 3:17

The one I’m using a lot right now is Romans 12:2

Each of these reads a bit differently in the translations I most enjoy. For example, the NASB translation of Jonah 2:8: “Those who are followers of worthless idols abandon their faithfulness.” I mean, that’s good, right? But it wouldn’t have necessarily leapt off the page at me in that translation. Now the OJB version: “They that observe lying vanities forsake their own chesed.”

Wow!

The word chesed is a Hebrew word which could also mean love, but really means so much more than that.

When I first read that verse, this is the picture my mind created.

That is, of course, not the type of vanity YHWH was speaking of when he gave Jonah these words. But I think it fits. The reflection you see looking in the mirror is the same image the world sees. It is chesed, though, that tells the truth, not vanity, not this vanity and not the vanities Jonah speaks of which translate into worthless idols. It is not even love or at least some of its forms.

For a more complete picture of the original meaning of Jonah 2:8, please visit https://claudemariottini.com/2010/03/16/forsaking-their-%E2%80%9Chesed%E2%80%9D/ written by Claude Mariottini. It provides one of the best explanations of chesed (sometimes spelled with an “h” instead of a “ch”) I’ve read AND will explain why I think chesed is a superior word to love.

When you are comparing Bible translations, you should always do so under guidance of Holy Spirit. Here’s one good reason.

Recently I came across the following on FB posted by a renowned worship leader I follow. “With my whole heart, with my whole life, and with my innermost being, I bow in wonder and love before you, the holy God! YAHWEH, you are my soul’s celebration. How could I ever forget the miracles of kindness you’ve done for me? You kissed my heart with forgiveness, in spite of all I’ve done. You’ve healed me inside and out from every disease. You’ve rescued me from hell and saved my life. You’ve crowned me with love and mercy. You satisfy my every desire with good things. You’ve supercharged my life so that I soar again like a flying eagle in the sky!”

Surely she was citing the words to one of the worship songs she wrote. Then I discovered that was not the case. She was quoting Psalm 103:1-5. I LOVED (ludus, anyone?) it, but having read the Psalms many times, I didn’t recall ever reading those words there. Then I saw the translation she was using. The Passion Translation.

This has been in past years one of my favorites, and I used it frequently in sermons.

However, in 2022 Bible Gateway, which I also use a lot, made the decision to remove The Passion Translation from its list of 90 English translations/paraphrases. The Living Bible and The Message, both of which are considered paraphrases rather than translations, are still present on Bible Gateway. When I was a teenager I received something called “The Way” as a gift from my parents. It’s the New Testament, Psalms, and Proverbs in the Living Bible which was at the time considered a translation. Not relevant, but don’t the 2 guys on the bottom look like Kevin Tighe and Randolph Mantooth from Emergency?

The difference between a translation and a paraphrase?

I couldn’t really find a reasonable explanation on a google search, but this is what I believe which may or not be correct. A translation takes the original text and translates it into the English language (or the language of the reader) using the same words. A paraphrase takes the original text and rewrites it to convey the presumed meaning of the original text. This makes the rendering of the paraphrase open to the interpretation of the one who compiles it. . . and. . . it may not completely reflect YHWH’s thoughts. Bible Gateway deems that both the Living Bible and The Message are acceptable but not The Passion Translation. Why?

The gist of the reasoning behind this seems to be that

The Passion Translation’s creator maintains it is a translation rather than a paraphrase.
He states his intention in its creation was to quote “expand the essential meaning of the original language by highlighting the essence of God’s original message” endquote.

Do not those 2 things contradict one another?

So, in recent years I’ve been using TPT as a devotional rather than the Word of God. Devotionals are helpful in gaining a better understanding of God and His Word. Devotionals are not the Word of God.

Here is another example of TPT text.

“Pray like this: ‘Our Beloved Father, dwelling in the heavenly realms, may the glory of your name be the center on which our lives turn. Manifest your kingdom realm, and cause your every purpose to be fulfilled on earth, just as it is in heaven. We acknowledge you as our Provider of all we need each day. Forgive us the wrongs we have done as we ourselves release forgiveness to those who have wronged us. Rescue us every time we face tribulation and set us free from evil. For you are the King who rules with power and glory forever. Amen.’”

Did you recognize those words?

They are the Passion Translation version of the Lord’s Prayer found in Matthew 6:9-13. One phrase does not appear in any form in the version of The Lord’s Prayer we use which comes from the Book of Common Prayer and most closely resembles the words found in the New Matthew Bible (that’s a new one for me that I need to check out) translation. Nor does this phrase appear in any other Bible translation.

“Rescue us from every tribulation.”

This illustrates a possible explanation for why Bible Gateway no longer provides TPT in any of its 90 Bible translations/paraphrases. One only has to look at the situations faced by Christians in other countries, particularly 3^rd world countries, to see that God does not always “rescue us from tribulation”.

Clearly, there are a lot of Bibles out there, especially in America. If you are a Christian, Holy Spirit lives within you; but is He leading you? He will not steer you wrong regarding the Word of God. I don’t believe He has steered me wrong in choosing chesed over love.

These 3 human beings, all Valentine’s babies, showed me chesed to the best of their abilities:

On the left is my father-in-law by my first marriage, in the middle is my wonderful Rod, and on the right is my Grandma Stauffer who died when I was 7 years old. Now they are members of the great cloud of witnesses (Hebrews 12:1-2) cheering me on.

On Wednesday, when you think about the day that we celebrate, remember the word chesed and that it not only means the versions of love that we could attribute to YHWH but it includes mercy, grace, faithfulness, true loyalty, commitment, covenant, and even the Creator, YHWH Himself. There is capital T Truth to the statement God is chesed and, therefore, chesed is chesed; and it is truly wonderful.

Shalom.

Lying Vanities

Lying Vanity

I love it.

I was lying in bed wanting to go back to sleep—didn’t have to set the alarm today!—but I couldn’t. I had to get up and write the thoughts racing around in my head, tempered by wisdom Holy Spirit was interspersing amongst them.

Today I have my second appointment with my wonderful Christian counselor. She gave me 2 homework assignments the first time we met 2 weeks ago. The first was a letter to my Dad, the second a list of positive things about myself. I procrastinated long enough that I found myself writing both just last night.

I may address the first in a later post, but it was so hard to write I’m not ready to go there yet.

The 2^nd was difficult for a different reason. I did manage to come up with a list of 21 positive things, although many of them were qualified.

One curious fact: none of the 21 things had anything to do with my appearance. I remembered this fact when I woke this morning. Then I remembered “They that observe lying vanities forsake their own chesed.” (OJB)

The online Bible study I participate in teaches us to appreciate our bodies based upon Psalm 139:14, and 1 Corinthians 6:19-20 tells us our bodies are the temple of Holy Spirit and should be treated with respect. But our appearance on the whole is not who we are. Nor does a number on a scale indicate our true worth.

I am not one who takes great pains with her appearance. Being a perfectionist, and never able to achieve that with regard to appearance, I don’t really even try anymore except on special occasions, or to appease my mother, with whom I live and who, being a true Southern Belle, doesn’t understand this part of me at all.

But. . . because my body is the temple of Holy Spirit, I recognize I have not cared for it the way I should have. I would like to say every extra pound I carry on it is one instance of a time I have not run to my Savior for comfort instead of food. However, if that were a fact I’d probably weigh 5000 pounds, or more likely no longer be alive. I think a better analogy would probably be every extra ounce represents a time I did not run to my Savior for what I needed.

However, my vanity mirror, which is about 3-1/2 feet in front of me even as I type this, and only shows me from the neck up, actually is a lying vanity as to the me described in Psalm 139:14. It does not necessarily look the way I wish it would (perfectionist, remember?), but if it could see inside me, see the steps I’m taking to forsake the lies and embrace my chesed, its value would be so much greater.

The online Bible study also has participants on the other end of the spectrum, who restrict their food &/or exercise to excess to control their appearance. All participants in the study are dealing with lying vanities (false gods).

I hope if you recognize yourself in anything I’ve written you will consider praying this prayer and seeing what God will do.

pray

Father, I thank You that Your might knows no bounds. You can take this stubborn heart and transform it into something truly beautiful. This is not just Your promise to me; it is Your promise to all Your children.

I know the work will not be completed this side of Heaven, but I’m learning to see it as an adventure instead of a curse. That also is evidence of your reshaping of my heart.

I pray that You would reveal Your truth (the only Truth) to me as I seek your face and ultimately am able to embrace the person you created me to be long before I ever drew a breath, that I can see a glimpse of the me that You see.

With utmost gratitude to the Lover of my soul.

Amen.

bible skinny

Jonah 2:8
Psalm 139:13-15
1 Corinthians 6:19-29
Ezekiel 11:19 & 36:26
Galatians 2:20
Ephesians 2:4-9

https://binged.it/2vorF4g

Chesed/Hesed

chesed

I am fascinated by this word!

Jonah 2:8 in the Orthodox Jewish Bible (OJB) reads “They that observe lying vanities forsake their own chesed.”

Definition of chesed/hesed—There were actually several different definitions for this Hebrew word, the most common of which was loving-kindness.

This explanation, a bit more than a definition was found at https://discovertheword.org/2010/09/08/the-old-testament-word-hesed-and-the-profound-meaning-it-has-for-us-today/

Hesed is difficult to translate because it stands for a cluster of ideas—love, mercy, grace, kindness. It wraps up in itself all the positive attributes of God. Hesed is one of the Lord’s most treasured characteristics.

Hesed is a quality that moves someone to act for the benefit of someone else without considering “what’s in it for me?”

It may be translated as “loyal love.” Sometimes the emphasis is on “loyal” and other times the emphasis is on “love.”

Look at some other translations of Jonah 2:8

21^st Century King James Version (KJ21) “They that observe lying vanities forsake their own mercy,”

American Standard Version (ASV) “They that regard lying vanities
Forsake their own mercy.”

The only difference between these two translations is observe versus regard.

What does vanity mean in this context? vanity This is the image that first comes to my mind when I hear the word vanity. Insert picture.

Next is the quality of being vain or taking too much pride in oneself.

Then I was surprised that it can mean what at first glance appears almost the opposite—the quality of being worthless or futile.

All 3 of these, on overthinking, can mean the same thing. Look at that huge mirror on the vanity I chose for this blog. And are not the drawers used to store makeup and jewelry, things designed to make one take more price in her appearance? And is it not true that often the outer appearance does not reflect the true nature of one’s heart/soul?

Setting aside the above overthinking paragraph, it seems like the 3^rd definition is the one which most accurately reflects what is being described in Jonah 2:8. Not just a worthlessly futile thing but a lying worthlessly futile thing.

Going on to a couple other translations:

Christian Standard Bible (CSB) “Those who cherish worthless idols abandon their faithful love,”

Amplified (AMP) “Those who regard and follow worthless idols turn away from their [living source of] mercy and lovingkindness.”

So this worthlessly futile thing is an idol!

We follow the vanities/idols of our unfaithful hearts, be they any of the mind-numbing activities we use to . . . wow! . . . numb our minds! These could be addictive behaviors, unrighteous anger, self, maybe even things that aren’t necessarily bad but become bad when used the wrong way. In so doing we are actually repenting—or turning away from—the chesed/hesed (It wraps up in itself all the positive attributes of God. Hesed is one of the Lord’s most treasured characteristics) Abba so freely gives.

Please join me as, with the help of my Father, I learn to repent of the lying vanities and embrace the chesed.

praying

My Father in Heaven, I come before you having followed the lying vanities a large part of this day.

Tomorrow is a new day, and according to Lamentations 3:22-23 because of your great love (hesed/chesed) your compassions and mercies are new every day. I receive your perfect compassions and mercies working in my soul tomorrow, knowing that your love is making me complete.

Now, because of you, Lord, I will like down in peace and sleep comes at once, for no matter what happens, I will live unafraid!