One Lord, Many Followers--by Linden Malki

One of the many amazing things about God is that He deals with people on many levels.  At the earliest records we have of God's relationship with those who became His "Chosen" people, there were those of each generation who rejected this relationship, and those who accepted obedience to God's principles. Even within the tribes and families who claimed the relationship with God, there were those who left the faith, and there were outsiders who were grafted in through obedience. We also find in many of the prophets of the Old Testament that the reason they were "chosen" was to demonstrate God's Word to the rest of the world.

By the period of Roman rule, there were outsiders who were influenced by the Jewish teachings, but they were still outsiders in many ways. The Saducees, the political/priestly leadership, tried to find a balance between a complete Roman cultural takeover and retention of the basic Law. The Pharisees, many of them scholars and leaders in the synagogues (which were primarily teaching centers), were determined to demand general obedience to all of the Law, orally transmitted as well as the writings. There were other religious groupings as well at the time. 

Two remarkable men appear on the scene, both of whom were born with the intervention of God Himself.  John, called "the Baptist", is a reappearance of a traditional earlier prophet, preaching repentance and renewal to gathering crowds in the lower Jordan valley. There were Pharisees and Saducees in the crowds, but as "professional religious men" who believed that their descent from Abraham and nit-picking observance of law was all they needed. John replied that it meant nothing, that God could create children of Abraham from the stones in the riverbed. When Jesus appears and asks for baptism, he is speakiing of his own personal obedience, as well as an example to the crowds. We find these layers throughout Jesus' ministry:  there is his example of the Godly life; there is the teaching to the small dedicated group of fulltime followers, and crowds of varied seriousness (which we still see today).

Carrying this through to the climax of Jesus' ministry, we see his own personal and difficult willingness to stand up in the face of the unfriendly crowds, and much of political and religious leadership, and allow himself to be killed. At that point, there were only his closest family and friends.  On the third day, when he arose to life, the groups began to reappear--the disciples, then the wider circle of close followers which grew to a reported 500 people. On the day of Pentecost, when the Spirit empowered the small group of 120, the wider group grew into thousands, and this has continued until today. The interesting thing about the growing groups is that they quickly became open to anyone, of any ancestry and background; the only requirement being the repentance and committment that mirrored where it started with John the Baptist. This is what we are about today as a church: a group of believers who each have their relationship with God, and all share a committment to His words, His works, and His love.

Lilies in our Field--by Linden Malki

"Worry" is one of the most commonly used words in the English language as of this century.  The word was originally a verb that described a predatory animal harassing its prey;  it became a  "thing"  describing an mental process in the mid 1800's and really began to increase in use by 1950 and is on a sharply climbing curve by 2010.

The word "worry" does not appear in  early English translations of the Bible; the 1611 King James translation uses the words "take thought",as does the Catholic Douay translation;  and the American Standard translation of 1901 uses the word "anxious."  There was a new generation of translations in the mid 20th century; the Revised Standard (RSV) uses it 8 times, the  New American Standard (NASB) 11 uses; the New International Version (NIV) 15.  The latest generation of translations is more worried: the latest Catholic New American Bible (NAB) uses it 21 times; the New Revised Standard (NRSV) 23 times, the New Living (NLT) 38 times, and the popular paraphrase The Message uses it in 56 verses.  What is God warning us about?

It is ironic that we apparently become much more aware of danger: generations that had more immediate everyday dangers used words that were less negative than we use today. Statistics have been published that indicate that many of the things we worry most about are often very low probability. It has gotten to the point that just this week, the State of Utah passed legislation that permits 10-year old grade school children to walk to school by themselves without the parents being arrested for child endangerment. This is fed by the definition of "news"--the more unusual the incident, the more dramatic and newsworthy it appears. What is the reality?

The Old Testament says very little about "worry"; most versions have few if any usages of the word.  The major mention is in the Gospels, where both Matthew and Luke quote Jesus' teaching about the providence of God. This is God's reality!  Our challenge is to recognize when we are supposed to use the abilities and brains He supplied, and when we need to stop fussing and let Him deal with it.  The NCF church family has been there, done that, and are seeing God's field on our corner bloom in His Glory!

There are a few mentions in Paul's letters, my favorite of which is Romans 8:28, where he says that "all things work together for good for them that love God."  That verse held me together the summer that my dad passed away and my life took an incredible turn that brought me to San Bernardino. The key thing I hung onto was the realization that it never says any of the "things" are good or bad, just that we are taken care of through whatever.  Or as a friend of mine puts it, "I've read the end of the book--we win!"

Confession in a Great Tradition--by Linden Malki

March 17 is the traditional day for the celebration of the life and death of a significant man of God. I would like to share his own words, a small part of what is known as the "Confessions of St Patrick". This is a recent translation of a writing from the mid 400's.   I am in awe of so many of the major figures in the history of the Church; how many people have been used by God in major ways, and how their personalities and individual gifts and messages come through despite differences of time and place.


(1) "My name is Patrick. I am a sinner, a simple country person, and the least of all believers. I am looked down upon by many. My father was Calpornius. He was a deacon; his father was Potitus, a priest, who lived at Bannavem Taburniae[Nota]. His home was near there, and that is where I was taken prisoner. I was about sixteen at the time. At that time, I did not know the true God. I was taken into captivity in Ireland, along with thousands of others. We deserved this, because we had gone away from God, and did not keep his commandments ... It was there that the Lord opened up my awareness of my lack of faith. Even though it came about late, I recognised my failings. So I turned with all my heart to the Lord my God[Nota], and he looked down on my lowliness and had mercy on my youthful ignorance. He guarded me before I knew him, and before I came to wisdom and could distinguish between good and evil. He protected me and consoled me as a father does for his son. .. "

(4) "This is because there is no other God, nor will there ever be, nor was there ever, except God the Father. He is the one who was not begotten, the one without a beginning, the one from whom all beginnings come, the one who holds all things in being – this is our teaching. And his son, Jesus Christ, whom we testify has always been, since before the beginning of this age, with the father in a spiritual way. He was begotten in an indescribable way before every beginning. Everything we can see, and everything beyond our sight, was made through him. He became a human being; and, having overcome death, was welcomed to the heavens to the Father. The Father gave him all power over every being, both heavenly and earthly and beneath the earth. Let every tongue confess that Jesus Christ, in whom we believe and whom we await to come back to us in the near future, is Lord and God. He is judge of the living and of the dead; he rewards every person according to their deeds. He has generously poured on us the Holy Spirit, the gift and promise of immortality, who makes believers and those who listen to be children of God and co-heirs with Christ. This is the one we acknowledge and adore – one God in a trinity of the sacred name. ..."

(55) "I see that already in this present age the Lord has given me a greatness more than could be expected. I was not worthy of this, not the kind of person the Lord would do this for, since I know for certain that poverty and calamity are more my style than riches and enjoyment. But Christ the Lord became poor for us; I too am wretched and unhappy. Even if I were to wish for riches, I do not have them. I am not trying to judge myself, since every day there is the chance that I will be killed, or surrounded, or be taken into slavery, or some other such happening. But I fear none of these things, because of the promises of heaven. I have cast myself into the hands of almighty God, who is the ruler of all places, as the prophet says: 'Cast your concerns on God, and he will sustain you.' " *

I am impressed how these statements of faith show a familiarity with Scripture that is unchanged over the years. We are heirs of the faith of this man who was sent to a pagan Ireland, and at his death left a majority Christian society and students who carried the Word to Scotland and western Europe.
  *www.confessio.ie/etexts/confessio_english#                                           

Choosing the Reality of God -- by Linden Malki

What do we know about God? The first thing that is told to us is that "In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth." We see Him in conversation with His creation and the companions He has made.  We see choices that our ancestors made, ones that face each of us as well.  The first is to recognize our Creator, and the second is to be in relationship with Him.

If we refuse to acknowledge His existence, we reject the knowledge of who we are and where we came from, and miss out on on a whole dimension of life.  We hear people say that they can do the right thing on their own, but how do they define the "right thing" apart from God? One choice is to make a god of our own, and follow it like a cat chasing its own tail.  When we recognize no god but ourselves, we will never get beyond our own limits.

Another choice is to recognize that God exists, but to define our relationship on our own terms.  We claim the right to find our own path to our own spiritual life.  The problem is that we may find what we think we are looking for,  but it may not be what we expect if is not the true God.  A character in one of C. S. Lewis' books asks a Christian man if a spirit isn't what he wants to people to find, and the answer is that there are spirits and Spirits, and some of them are not ones you should follow.*  You can find people who will tell you that there are "many ways to God", and Jesus is only one of them.   Yes, there are many roads in life, but what the Scripture says that "the gate is wide and the way is broad that leads to destruction, and there are many who enter through it.  For the gate is small and the way is narrow that leads to life, and there are few who find it."  (Matthew 7:13-14)

The logical place to find the way to God is to choose to follow The Way;  we all go where the road we're on takes us. God spent two thousand years explaining where to find the right Way; and then sent His Son and His Spirit to show us the Way. And when we look for Him in the right places--not our own desires or orders--He has promised that we will truly find the Reality of God. ''And without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him."(Hebrews 11:6)

*C.S. Lewis, "Perelandra"

Daily Bible Readings 03/04/18 God is Real!

DAILY BIBLE READINGS March 5-11, 2018
1. Portrait of the ultimate Father (Luke 15:11-31)
2. Love God with all your heart (Deuteronomy 6:1-15)
3. His Love is everlasting (Psalm 103:1-22)
4. There is none to compare (Psalm 40:1-16)
5. Lead me in your Truth (Psalm 25:1-11 )
6. He is the First and the Last (Isaiah 44:1-8)
7. Keep me on Your path (Psalm 119:1-5-112)
TO THINK ABOUT: Our God is Real!

Living in God's Real World--by Linden Malki

 Do you like what you see in a mirror?  Are we satisfied with the reality of who we are?  There are two sides to the "real" person that we see: what God has made us to be, and what we make of ourselves. It's not unusual to hear someone say that "I don't need a God--I'm a good person on my own."  Or even scarier: "Why should I care about what you or anybody thinks--I'm fine doing things my way."  The reality is that we are constantly faced with choices, and we are not the best judge of the answer on our own.  Left to ourselves, we are likely to choose what makes us feel good, without understanding  the results in the real world, which doesn't listen well to our expectations.  The problem often is that we don't know enough; we think that because we do something that seems to be a good idea, it will solve all our problems. The real problem is that we're not smart enough to know all the factors involved.  Usually that is either because we don't want to know the dark underbelly of what we want to do,  or we can't know all the factors in play because we're not smart enough--and then make the excuse that "I'm only human..."

Which is exactly the point. We were created for a world that is more wonderful and complex than we know. Today's best scientific minds are coming around to the idea expressed by  J.B.S. Haldane, a British scientific  theorist of the early 20th century, who once said: “My own suspicion is that the universe is not only queerer than we suppose, but queerer than we can suppose.”  I am seeing a trickle of serious scientific researchers realize that not only is the physical universe complex beyond our ability to explain, but the growing understanding of life on the most basic level is expanding into a complexity that is well beyond the capacity of random chance to explain.

If we are willing to be honest with ourselves, our pride in our own wisdom, the tendency to put our own will ahead of God's wisdom, is in reality a dead end. As merely human beings, there is a limit to what we can do in our own power, but we are capable of falling off the edge into real evil. This brings us to the reality of our own limitations: the only way to truly overcome evil is with good--the Good that is more powerful than anything we have available in ourselves. In other words, the real answer to evil is not our own limited good but God, working for us and with us.  It is discovering a whole new level of being; more real than we can imagine on our own, and more powerful that we expect. However, it requires giving up the "do it myself " attitude and moving into God's Real World.