THE "UNITED METHODIST" SHIFT

A few years back, i was talking with our minister of music (ordained by the UMC after getting additional degre and going through the ordaining process.) He was on the committee to interview candidates seeking to become a part of the UMC ministries. (becoming a UMC pastor was one goal.) From him and from other subsequent sources, i learned that candidates must vow that they hold (and will defend?) certain beliefs that have been part of the UMC historically. It seems to me that during this time of "change", candidates have entered into the ministry by vowing that they have one set of beliefs while in truth their hearts were elsewhere. is that possible? I'm sure that many of those who have become more and more "liberal" over the decades have done so as a result of influence and reflection subsequent to their entry into the ministry heirarchy. However, surely there are some who misrepresented themselves when they initially signed on. would be possible to invalidate the individual's ordination because they lied about their convictions during the ordination process? i think that what is in the heart of each one must be judged by Our Most High God. So the end of the "unity" of the UMC cannot be untangled (truly) by mere men and women. However, other denominations may learn the lesson that people can appear to have one set of beliefs, unconcerned that what is in their heart is not what they are representing to others. How might a denomination guard against that? The prompt for my writing this post now was our Sunday school consideration on the passage in ACTS where Ananias and Saphira lied to the Holy Spirit (God Most High) by slightly misrepresenting themselves to their church community.

FOR YOUR SAKES

This post continues the thoughts i started exploring in the post POOR FIG TREE. If you are a modern day person connected to the Jewish community and somehow unable to step toward Yeshua Jesus, even if only to see if His claims have any value, because of the possibility of strife that would cause in your family or in the community, then it was for you and others like you that Jesus Yeshua spoke in anger against the religious leaders of His day because they, for their own selfish, ungodly reasons publicly rejected Jesus Yeshua's claims even when faced at that time with the evidence that our Lord God most high, Creator and Lord of ALL, GAVE. (THE EVIDENCE AT THE TIME OF JESUS WAS THERE FOR ALL TO SEE: AMAZING MIRACLES OF PEOPLE BEING HEALED AND RAISED FROM THE DEAD; MIRACLES OF JESUS PROVIDING FOOD FOR GREAT CROWDS; COMPELLINGLY WISE TEACHINGS THAT EXPANDED ON THE TORAH; THE EVENTS IN JESUS YESHUA'S LIFE THAT FULFILLED PROPHECIES FROM ISAIAH AND OTHER PROPHETS.) As an aside here, the evidence today that we all need to look to, to judge whether Jesus Yeshua is the One prophesied about in the Jewish writing is different. Those catagories of miracles that i mentioned, that are written in the Christian Bible- which contains the Jewish Torah, Prophets, Psalms and Proverbs and books of history all considered valid writings- those all seem far away, perhaps. (although the Bible IS God's Holy, LIVING Word and has compelling truth for us even these two and three thousand years later.) So, .... Jesus Yeshua saw the future- all the way from that day to this day and all that transpired from them to now(and with every individual!) So Yeshua saw the repercussions that would come from those insincere (hypocritical) religious Jewish leaders of that day rejecting Him. Now, another aside here: Yeshua agreed with His Father and Holy Spirit in the time before the foundations of the universe that He would be sacrificed for the sins of all who would call on Him. God chose that particular time when the religious leaders were totally overwhelmed by the evil leaders among them. God chose that particular time. i mention that because in THIS DAY, we can see how the leaders of a people or group can run things in a horrible, evil direction which is not accepted by the general people and definitely NOT the will of God. So Yeshua was angry and sad that the evil of His day would cause so many people who would live later to stumble. In cursing the did tree, He (Yeshua Jesus) was expressing God 's anger at the religious leaders of that day without pointing the cursing finger directly at them. ooh! there is also another aspect. i will write about that another time. JESUS SPEAKS OF GOD'S TIMING (looking for figs out of season. God's strategy given to Gideon.)