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Sex, sexuality, and Christians, Spiritual; 1 of 4

4/30/2022

Hi all,
For anyone who knows how I study the Bible, context is everything. Certainly much can be gained by a surface reading of a passage, but a greater depth of understand comes when we set it in its historical and cultural context.

An example would be I Samuel 24:3-5, where David snuck up on King Saul in the cave and cut off the hem of his robe, only to have his heart convict him, leading him to apologize. Reading it with no cultural understanding certainly is adequate to seeing David's tender heart, but there is more.

The custom of the time as it is to this day among some Orthodox Jewish funerals, is to cut off the hem of a dead person's garment at their funeral. The tassel's and hem stood for the Word of God, and the ceremony of cutting off the hem is a symbolic release by loved ones, telling their beloved they are no longer earth-bound to God's Word, they are free from the law.

When David cut the hem off King Saul's robe, he was telling him 'You're a dead man', rubbing in the fact God had chosen David to replace Saul, who was living on borrowed time. That provides a whole new level of depth to that brief passage doesn't it? It isn't incomplete without that cultural and history information, it just takes on depth.

So it is with early Christianity's understanding and teaching on sexuality. We can read of Adam and Eve and how the two shall become one flesh and gain a certain understanding, but there is more. We can read Paul's words on marriage and even sexual relationships and gain a surface understanding that have meaning, but when we set the NT into the culture of the day, and the larger Jewish culture in which Paul was raised, we gain a far greater depth.

How it all started
Genesis 2:15-24 is the first detail of man and his relationship to his Creator and his spouse, and the sexual aspect of their relationship.

In v18-20 we are told the Lord God said within Himself that it wasn't good for Adam to be alone. But the Lord God said nothing to Adam about it. Instead, this was something that required Adam to come to his own conclusion. To help the process along, the Lord God caused all the animals to pass by Adam so he could name them.

I heard a Rabbi talk of how the naming of the animals was done as Adam got to know their nature, and where they fit in the creation. Adam didn't just see the animals, he got to know their nature, their place among the animal world, and so on.

In fact, the Jewish historian Josephus tells us that Adam, Seth, and Enoch were given perfect understanding of all the earth, the stars and universe, and how it all worked together by the Lord God, their Creator. Adam didn't just see an animal and come up with a name for it, the name was given after fully understanding its place in the natural order.

Josephus also writes that the animals could talk back then, that Adam understood their thoughts and feelings. I believe Josephus was describing words of knowledge, that by the Spirit Adam knew the thoughts and feelings of the animals, for I experienced the same thing in my 'tour' of heaven with pets and animals there.

It was only after naming all the animals that Adam himself now realized they all had mates, male and female, but he had none. It was only then that we are told the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam, and He took part of his body, a rib, to form the body of Eve, creating her.

Who created them? Christ and the church
A rule of Biblical interpretation is that we understand the Old Testament through the eyes of the New Testament. Paul wrote in Ephesians 5:25-32 that the marriage union between husband and wife is a type of the union between Christ and the church. This makes the sexual act between husband and wife spiritual, mystical, tied to creation and the larger universe.

In Genesis 1:26 we are told 'God said let us make man in our image, after our likeness', and that is the word 'Elohim' or gods. Father, Son, Holy Spirit. But in chapter 2 there is One who steps out of the Elohim (Father, Son, Spirit) to become personally involved in the creation of man. He is identified as the Lord God or Jehovah Elohim.

The Lord God is seen throughout Genesis and Exodus as the One who made man and breathed into his clay body to turn it into human flesh. He appeared to Abraham and Sarah. He is seen by other OT prophets. And to our point, He is identified as the One who spoke to Moses out of the burning bush.

In Exodus 3:14-15 Moses has the burning bush experience. The Lord appeared to him and identified Himself as "I AM that I AM; therefore you will tell the children of Israel that I AM has sent me to you." And God said to Moses; "You will tell the children of Israel that the Lord God (Jehovah Elohim) of Abraham, the God of Isaac, the God of Jacob, has sent me to you..."

We see the Lord God is the I AM. When Jesus made the statement to the religious leaders in John 8:54-59 that Abraham rejoiced to see His day, and that He knew Abraham, He added:"Before Abraham was; I AM." They immediately understood Jesus was claiming to be the one to have talked to Moses out of the burning bush, and to have appeared to Abraham, and to have been the One in the Garden of Eden - so they took up stones to kill Him for blaspheme. But He 'hid Himself' and walked through their midst.

Make the connection
Jesus also stated His name as I AM in John18:5-6 when they came to arrest Him, stating:"I have told you, I AM, now let these others go. And when He had said 'I AM' they were all moved backwards and fell to the ground."

He also claimed to be the I AM in Matthew 14:27-28 when the disciples saw Him walking on the water:"Take courage; I AM, now stop being afraid. Then Peter answered, saying, 'Lord, if you are (I AM), command me to come walking on the water to you." (It wasn't a question of a Him being a ghost or not, it was His claim to be I AM)

We can trace our Lord's involvement with man from these statements. He was the I AM now made flesh, who previously appeared to Moses in the burning bush, Abraham in Genesis 18 and 15, and walked with Adam and his wife in the Garden. Jehovah Elohim called Himself I AM in Exodus 3:14-15, the One who made Adam and Eve.

When Paul speaks of Christ and the church, there is a direct reference to the Lord God, our Lord, making man and his wife and telling them they would become one flesh back in the Garden of Eden. This makes the act of sex between husband and wife directly tied to creation, to Christ and the church, mystical. Whether for fun or procreation, the sexual union of husband and wife is spiritual and directly tied to the larger universe in which man was created.

Every plant, every animal, was created to reproduce. The higher animals were made male and female. Adam and Eve were so much one that Eve did not receive her name until AFTER they had sinned. Genesis 5:2 tells us:"He called their name Adam in the day they were created."

They were one. When Christ, the Lord God called out, "Adam, where are you?" Both Adam and his wife came, for they were called Adam. Eve was created as we see cells divide under a microscope - the Lord God literally took the man's rib and started multiplying cells into the various body parts until a fully formed woman was created. They were one, made of the same material, yet individual with each having a spirit and soul.

This mystical, tied to creation element of sexuality has been lost on the church. We see glimpses of it when Paul writes of husband and wife and "I speak of Christ and the church", and our minds just shut off, unable to comprehend the mystical elements of Biblical sexuality.

So we begin this series grounded in the fact that has been lost in our modern world; The act of sex between husband and wife is the physical confirmation and affirmation of a deeper grace and love in their hearts, as a type of Christ and the church. First detailed as they stood naked before their Creator, the One who would one day become a man to die for the sin of the world. But here, in the beginning of the story of man, sex is understood in its proper context. Mystical, a type of the union between God and man, and speaking into man's place in the creation as God's highest and best creation.

We will pick it up there next week. Until then, blessings,
John Fenn
www.cwowi.org and email me at [email protected]

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Should we celebrate pagan holidays made Christian? 2 of 2

4/23/2022

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Hi all,
Picking up where we left off, asking:Should we celebrate former pagan holidays turned Christian?

How do we walk it out when holidays come and we hold one opinion and someone we love believes something else? In the US we have an expression of 'taking the high road', which means refraining from that which could cause strife, for the sake of the moment. It means to walk in love and overlook differences for the sake of the relationship. Wow, that's being a Christian! It's so crazy it might just work!

Go to the Christmas party for 2 hours and honor your boss or relative, you aren't endorsing Christmas if you don't believe in it; you're endorsing your relationship with the other person or people. Be the bigger person. People confuse love. They don't realize loving a person isn't an endorsement of them or their lifestyle, it's just loving them because God created them.

Is your cause righteous?
In Romans 14 Paul confronts the opinions in the local church. Remember, like everyone from Acts through The Revelation, they all met in homes. Paul is writing to people meeting in homes for 'church'. But some had strong opinions about how those who sat across from them in some 'living room'. "I don't agree with..." echos from the pages of Romans 14.

"Receive one who is weak in the faith, but not to the point of argument." Right there in v1 Paul enters the arena of the opinion. He says talk about your differences, but not to the point of argument. He is making a distinction between the absolute moral truth and the personally held opinions of those involved. Opinions must be brought into obedience of Christ. How is that done?

The issues were three:
Some said to eat only vegetables and they don't agree with those who eat meat. Some chose one day of the week as the day to worship, and they didn't agree with anyone else. The third issue was wine, mentioned just once here, in v21. Some said it was okay to drink wine, some said it wasn't. These same issues were covered in I Corinthians 8 and 10. Some connected to idol worship, some connected to Jewish Sabbaths and diets, some just personal choice.

Through v10 he tells them each one of us is a servant of the Lord, and He accepts us both, no matter our opinion on special days or our diets. He asks:Why are you judging another man's servant? Ouch. The other person is the Lord's servant, and if He accepts them, then it is none of our business. If He wants them to change, then He will deal with them, it isn't any of our business. That's between them and the Lord.

He also says if a person celebrates a day on which to worship, they do so unto the Lord. For the person who has no particular day that is special, that too is unto the Lord. Don't judge another man's servant.

In Colossians 2:10-23 Paul tells of the complete work of Jesus on the cross, and how we are complete in Him. Then he says 'Therefore don't let anyone judge you about food or drink or sabbath days...' Why? Because you are complete in Christ. It's that simple. To me, every day is a special day to worship Him. To me, every bite of food is special because it was given by Him. I'm complete in Him, so I have the freedom to worship on any day I want, and the freedom to eat or not eat what I want. I live life from the position of having already won, for Christ is in me. Wow.

Christmas? Easter?
Don't miss the point. Paul said it isn't anyone's business when it comes to personal opinion. He told those in Romans 14 to 'be fully persuaded in your own mind' - we should not act as defender nor evangelist for our particular opinion. The other person lives and dies for Christ. We do too. So it isn't our business.

Years ago I heard Kenneth E. Hagin tell of how some man in his church criticized his wife's hat. KEH told him something along the lines of 'Mind your own business, she dresses for herself and me, not for you.' lol.

It really is that simple. This principle if understood, will set a person on the path of bringing opinions into the obedience of Christ in every area of life. You can say "I would do things differently" or "I don't believe like that" and then let it stand at that. That means your opinions never get to the point of strife or division in your heart.

So what if there are things in their life you don't agree with? So what if they handled things differently than you expected or wanted? When we form opinions and others don't agree with our opinions, we have a choice. When we discover the Word says here and elsewhere to not judge someone else's servant, we must command our emotions and thoughts into obedience of Christ. When Jesus said first remove the log from our eyes before picking out the splinter in some else's eyes, He actually meant living like that. It means disciplining the thoughts and feelings.

If a family member or friend has a Christmas tree up, you don't have to show your disgust or disapproval, nor shun them. They celebrate Christmas with all the trimmings unto the Lord, or because it is just tradition, and you don't celebrate Christmas unto the Lord - so you're equal. Grow up and learn to live in peace with each other.

If someone wants the kids to hunt Easter eggs they aren't worshipping a pagan goddess, they are just having fun and not even thinking of some pagan from 1,000 years ago. They are just coloring eggs which actually goes back 1,000 years when the Eastern Church colored eggs red to remind them of new life in Christ and His blood shed for them.

Building on these things:
Paul said to make allowances one for another in Ephesians 4:2 and Colossians 3:13. The word translated 'forbear' or 'make allowances' means 'to endure, put up with, make allowance for, patience with, fortitude and persistence with'. How many Christians exhibit that towards one another? Towards a church?

Aren't Christians notorious for church hopping or online, criticizing or unsubscribing or talking against someone who believes differently than they? Hasn't Covid and the US elections demonstrated the immaturity of many believers in this area of character?

When Paul wrote his first letter to the Corinthians, chapter 11 was about some of the 'white collar' believers not wanting to have the meal where they celebrated the Lord's Supper with the 'blue collar' believers. So they would eat at someone's home before and even get drunk, before joining the rest for the meeting. Paul told them because of their prejudice they had not rightly discerned the body of Christ and it had affected their immune systems (as we would put it today), and many were 'weak and sickly among you and many have even died early'.

In 11:19 he told them this prejudice revealed those who were mature and complete and who were immature. That's a good lesson for today's world. When you see a person forming opinions and withdrawing in strife or hurt, know in the big picture, this shows who is mature and walking in the things of God and who is not. The opportunity to grow is every event in life. If taken as a challenge where ego doesn't matter and only Christ does, we grow quickly.

On a practical level
Let me share something the Lord shared with my wife, Barb, years ago when our children were young and the issue of Halloween and costumes was a question we had to answer. We have lived since teens throwing our opinions against the wall of God's absolutes, and whatever falls off we let fall off, and we keep what sticks to His wall, if that makes sense. We might say that no matter what we believe, we want Him to have the final vote and correct us.

She was struggling with our boys wanting to dress up and get candy, but she couldn't quite put her finger on what marked Halloween with its modern celebration of all things evil and dark as different from the other holidays with pagan roots. Then she had it:"The other holidays have successfully been made into celebrations of Christ, but Halloween never has. It remains a celebration of the devil and all that is evil and dark." and words to that effect.

We couldn't change national culture on Halloween, but we could and did affect our family and church culture. Kids playing dress up is neither here nor there, though we've stayed away from darker themes, and kids will always want candy. So we found different ways to celebrate life in Christ during Halloween - as harvest festivals celebrating people coming to the Lord in His harvest, giving thanks for bountiful crops from the garden, and other family and church oriented parties and celebrations.

Should we celebrate former pagan holidays made Christian?
That's an answer for each heart. I've learned that false religion hates freedom. It tries to put every element of life into a well defined order of behavior. Whether it be Old Testament sacrifices - if I did this then it's 2 pigeon doves and x shekels, or if I did that it's a goat and some grain to be offered - religion tries to define every possible action and consequence in life.

Grace is much harder than the Old Testament law. The law measured action but not the heart. Grace measures the heart, the Lord Himself in us, measuring and critiquing our thoughts and motives (Hebrews 4:12-13). Each of us is accountable to Him as a Person.

It has been observed we judge others by their actions but we judge ourselves by our intent. Walk in love. Refrain from forming opinions of things that are none of your business. It's easy once you get into the habit of catching yourself, realizing they answer to the Lord, not us... It sure takes the pressure and stress off...it's their story.

New subject next week, until then, blessings,
John Fenn
www.cwowi.org and email me at [email protected]

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Should we celebrate pagan holidays made Christian? 1 of 2

4/16/2022

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Hi all,
Easter, Christmas, Halloween, and we might add Valentine's Day, are all formerly pagan holidays made 'Christian' to one degree or another by the Roman Catholic Church centuries ago. To what degree if any, should we partake?

Did Paul deal with such issues? What can we glean from the writings of the New Testament?

First, a little history
I think it is common knowledge that Jesus was born in the autumn or spring. I've written previously proving that from scripture and history. And I think we understand that Mary and the other women were not looking for Easter eggs when they went to the cemetery that Sunday morning so long ago.

Most also realize Halloween had pagan roots, generally believed to be Celtic, that were 'Christianized' over the centuries by various Roman Catholic edicts and practices.

Valentine's Day had no romantic element until the 'Father of English literature', Chaucer, wrote a poem in the 1300's about Valentine's Day. Many trace its roots to the Roman pagan festival of Lupercalia which was held February 15, where young men were said to select women to go off together and....well, you know.

In ancient Greece birthdays were celebrated by making a round cake and putting candles on it. Birthday's were celebrated to honor Artemis, goddess of the moon (Diana was the Roman equivalent, see Acts 19:24-35). The cake was round like the moon, and candles were lit as an offering. Then the one celebrating would say a silent prayer to Artemis/Diana and blow the candles out, believing the smoke carried their prayer up to the (moon) goddess.

The question therefore is....
Just on the basis of principle:Are any of us worshipping the gods or goddesses of ancient people when we wish someone a happy birthday? When granny makes a wish and blows out the 93 candles on her birthday cake, or the 2 year old does the same, are they saying a prayer to the moon goddess?

By taking our special person to dinner on February 14 and expressing our love or friendship, are we worshipping a fertility goddess? Does something which started as a pagan symbol like a Christmas tree mean we endorse the pagan German god Oden by decorating a tree in our home? By giving gifts are we automatically worshipping or honoring the Roman god Mithra's birthday on December 25?

Is it possible to honor the Lord and each other without linking our heart and actions to some ancient practice of pagans from 1,000 years ago?

By letting our children or grandchildren hunt Easter eggs are we endorsing the pagan goddesses of fertility? At what point if any, may we allow the ancient customs of pagans that have since passed into meaningless history, into our modern lives? Can we separate pagan history from our hearts and modern practice?

Is our hypocrisy exposed if we blow out the candles on our cake or attend a birthday party honoring a loved one where they blow out candles, while at the same time we refuse to celebrate Christmas?

Perhaps honoring someone on their birthday, or celebrating the Lord's birthday doesn't mean we endorse or agree with the pagan roots of such holidays. Maybe we are honoring the Lord in our hearts and actions having not attached any pagan meaning to our celebrations.

Maybe it just means we are honoring the Lord's resurrection on Easter or His birth at Christmas - without any other attachments in our hearts. When some object with 'But He wasn't born on that day', I ask if they or anyone they know have ever had a birthday party on a day other than their actual birthday? When they say yes, I ask if they honor themselves or another with a day of their choosing, why can they not honor their Lord with a specially chosen day for Him?

Opinion versus morally right
A moral absolute has no argument against it. It is wrong to murder, for instance. That isn't opinion, it's fact. Human life has value. Flowing from that are other truths; If it is wrong to murder because we honor man made in God's image and the life He gave them, then it is also wrong to dishonor those who gave us life in this world, our parents, and flowing still further, wrong to steal, lust, covet, lie to someone. We honor life and those truths are absolute.

An opinion however is defined as:"A belief or conclusion held with confidence, but not supported by fact or personally witnessed evidence, or a personal judgement made about a person or thing."

An opinion has no absolute. It is up to each person to control their emotions and thoughts when it comes to the life of others. Paul wrote in II Corinthians 10:4-6, v5:"We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion that raises itself against the knowledge of God, and take our thoughts captive to the obedience of Christ." (ESV)

We get angry at someone because they are doing something we don't agree with. We get hurt or read hurt into something someone says contrary to our opinion. We hear or read thus and so, so we connect dots that are not there to come to yet another opinion that only makes us more angry.

We get angry or hurt because they believe differently than we do about....fill in the blank...politics, elections, color of the church carpet, what a person watches on tv or movies, what kind of house they live in, what they wear...and on and on it goes. We form an opinion, someone goes against it, we get angry or hurt or break fellowship feeling fully justified because they hold or do something we don't agree with.

The reasons are varied which open us to a life of forming strong strong opinions:They are overbearing like my mom was. They are controlling like my old boss. The yell like by uncle did to me that hurt me so deeply. They are like the old pastor who....and on it goes. To grow in Christ we must not justify our opinion based on our own past experiences, but just on the merits of the issue at hand. Separate conclusions drawn from the facts. Just the facts.

And none of that is based on absolute moral truth. It's just what we believe. Truly, when that happens, our issue is with our Lord, not the other person. It is up to us to hold no opinion to the extent that opinion would cause strife or separation with the other person.

James would later write in 3:14:"When you have envy or strife in your hearts, don't be happy in that, don't lie against the truth." In other words, you know what the Word says, don't lie against what you know by your actions and opinions justifying your strife/division - you know the truth, admit it and get your heart right.

These verses tell us that the knowledge of God stops our opinions, and we are to adjust our opinions when they differ from what the absolutes of scripture and our Lord teach us.

On a practical level though, when we keep our opinions to ourselves, what do we do when we celebrate Christmas but a friend or family member doesn't? If we don't celebrate Christmas but we need to go to Christmas parties and dinners? What if the kids want to hunt eggs but we want to emphasize the Lord's resurrection? How do we walk in love in these things? How do we keep our opinions to ourselves so that we don't sin, yet don't honor some demon from an ancient pagan celebration? And how should we advise friends who ask what to do?

Next week some practical answers on how to walk this out...until then, blessings,
John Fenn
www.cwowi.org and email me at [email protected]

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Suicide unforgivable? 2 of 2

4/9/2022

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Hi all,
Last week I shared a few personal experiences and also raised questions about defining suicide. The reason for doing so is that one denomination teaches a person will automatically go to hell if they kill themselves, and that doctrine has spilled over into the beliefs of some Christians outside that denomination.

My experience has been that most Christians have questions, so this is to help us think through what we believe and why we believe it, thus the many examples and questions raised.

When a person starts to think about killing themselves they are not thinking right. Their emotions are not right, and often it is difficult for those around them to see all this. A person can wrestle with thoughts of suicide for years without anyone knowing about it.

Do we condemn a person physically ill?
Emotional and mental illness can be kept hidden from view for years in the same way a person may conceal their sore back or knee, arthritis, or other condition as they continue to work and go through life.

If a person who is physically ill dies, do we wonder if they are in hell based on their illness? Of course not. So when a person is emotionally ill and takes their own life, why do we wonder if they are in heaven? To take one's own life demonstrates an emotional illness, but why should we think that illness automatically condemns them to hell?

Suicide is murder of self. Is it unpardonable, or can it be forgiven?
We must remember that Jesus died for others, not for Himself. Because it was for others, He could not die for Himself, meaning there is exactly 1 sin that was not covered by the cross; The rejection of Him.

To reject salvation is to blaspheme the Holy Spirit, who is the one and only agent of salvation. To reject His work, His efforts to bring us to Christ, to reject Jesus and the effort of the Holy Spirit, isn't covered by the cross.

That means suicide is covered by the cross. If you know someone who committed suicide, have you considered asking the Father to forgive them for that act of murder as you work through forgiving them for such a selfish act? I've done that for people I've known who have ended their lives.

One doesn't just decide to kill their self on a whim. It is the culmination of a long series of thoughts kept deep within for a long time. Like the woman mentioned last week who began hating herself at age 12 because she was hurt by her mother's words and took them to be absolute truth. Thoughts and attempts at suicide were built up over time, carrying her to the precipice. Now that we've determined the only sin that sends a person to hell is the rejection of Jesus, what are practical steps to help someone?

How does the local church deal with someone having suicidal thoughts?
It doesn't matter whether you celebrate the gathering of the saints in house church like in our network, or the auditorium, dealing with someone having suicidal thoughts is very 'hands on'. It requires 1 or more of their friends to help them walk through the reasons they are thinking as they are, and what are the roots. Like a person with a chronic physical illness that requires long-term care, so too can emotional illness require a long time to heal.

And we need to remember that if a person is serious about it, no one will be able to stop them from killing themselves. For those who loved them, emotions range from anger at the selfish act, to guilt about not seeing the signs, or wishing they did more to precent them from taking their own life. But usually, a person will kill themselves when they are all alone, with no one there to intervene.

Some warning signs can include talking about death or being preoccupied with death. They tend to withdraw from social contacts, friends, activities. Also large mood swings, changing their daily routine including not able to sleep, feeling trapped, talking about suicide, thinking there is no other out. Even going around to people they know to make sure they are on good terms with them, can be a sign.

We had a neighbor we didn't know well, but we understood from other neighbors her husband and adult son who lived with them were abusive and alcoholic. Her work was her escape, but when she sustained an injury at work she could not work any longer. She was in pain every moment, trapped in that home. Her adult son had stolen from other neighbors and would go off on fits of rage on anyone near. Her husband and son would get drunk and their fights could be heard by many neighbors. The police were often involved - her work had been her daily escape, and with the injury she no longer had that.

One day we happened to meet when I was outside doing some yard work. She came over and started some small talk, and then said, "So, are we okay? Are we good?" I said yes, of course, and mentioned I pray for them - she said thank you, and that she prayed every day, and then she left. I thought it odd, but went back to what I was doing. About a month later I was up for my pre-dawn walk, and saw an ambulance pull up to their house. She had gone out back to their shed in the back yard, and shot herself in the head, and died.

Are we to love ourselves?
Thoughts of suicide are private, so if anyone knows about it, it will often be family or the closest friend. There are many resources in most communities to help a person, but in my experience, the root causes have to do with not knowing the absolute, unconditional love of the Father. Knowing Him and actually experiencing Him, not just head knowledge, not just mentally agreeing the Father and Lord love them - but actually knowing the Father, is key.

In Ephesians 3:15-20 Paul prayed for them, that the Father would strengthen them in their inner man by His Spirit so they would know the love of Christ which is beyond knowing - that is what he said - the love of Christ is beyond knowing with our minds and must be experienced. That experience leads to love of self.

While sone would argue there is no where in the Bible saying we need to love ourselves, I would counter with the fact it is self-evident. If we have the proper understanding that God the Father created us, then we understand we are sacred, special unique. That creates a sense of loving self for the uniqueness each person is. Life becomes sacred. To take that out of the theological and into the natural I'll add this scientific fact: During the fight for conception, there are about 300,000,000 sperm racing to fertilize that egg, and out of that 300,000,000 million, you won. Consider that. You are literally 1 in 300,000,000 - you are worth fighting for.

In the proper context a person can love themselves realizing how unique and special they are, which is a humbling experience and should turn their heart to their Creator in humility and thankfulness, knowing they are loved and a special creation. It is the realization of that love and uniqueness that causes thoughts of taking one's life disappear, overwhelmed by the Father's great love.

For the person contemplating ending their life, consider praying in your own words, what Paul prayed in Ephesians 3:15-20. That the Father would strengthen them by His Spirit with might in their inner man, so they may know the height, depth, width, length, and full volume of the love of Christ which is beyond head knowledge. That they may truly experience His unconditional love.

But to answer our question, no, a person who commits suicide is not automatically going to hell. They weren't well emotionally, and it is their relationship with the Lord, or lack of, that determines a person's eternal destiny.
New subject next week, until then, blessings,
John Fenn
cwowi.org and email me at [email protected]

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Suicide; unforgivable? 1 of 2

4/2/2022

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Hi all,
There are many documented cases of Christians in ancient Rome, so miserable in this life and yearning for heaven, turning themselves into the authorities for arrest, knowing they would be killed. Did they commit suicide? Suicide is defined as 'The act of intentionally causing one's own death.' It is the murder of self. Is it forgivable by God?

A woman age 42, married with 2 teenagers, had bravely fought cancer for 2 years. She confided in me:"John, please tell my husband and the church to stop praying for me. I'm not going to get further treatment, the last 2 weeks have been so amazing in the Lord, I am tired of fighting it and just want to go home to heaven."

We talked to her husband together, and he agreed not to press her to keep fighting. She died within a few weeks. Did she commit suicide by refusing treatment and just wanting to 'go home'?

A young man I knew battled mental illness, seeing demons on fences and shrubs as he drove along the road, and would try to run them over, totaling vehicles and destroying fences, mailboxes, and landscaping in the several times he did that. His illness was driving him to destruction, and one day we got word that at a curve of the road, he drove straight, hitting an embankment and dying instantly.

When I asked the Father about what that spirit was to cause him to do that, He said, "The spirit of suicide." Knowing the young man, I'm sure he saw a demon and tried to run over it with his truck - that spirit literally led him off the road to his death. But was it suicide just because the demon behind his actions was a spirit of suicide, but didn't actually cause him to put a gun to his head or overdose on medicines or something like that?

To his parents and everyone else, it was just a tragic 1 vehicle accident. The Sunday after his funeral, in the midst of our worship service, my eyes were opened to the Lord's realm and there stood that young man, grinning widely happy as could be, worshipping along with us. 2 others saw him as well. Then after a few seconds, he was gone. Th e Lord did that to give assurance he was with Him, and doing well in heaven.

Is a person who smokes cigarettes committing slow suicide? Is the alcoholic drinking to the point of liver damage and perhaps the loss of marriage and jobs along the way, committing slow suicide? What about the anorexic girl starving herself or the glutton who eats themselves to death? Do we label their habits and lifestyle as something other than just 'destructive', to include 'suicidal'? Suicide is understood to be a single act of self-murder, but many live self-destructive lifestyles over decades in a slow spiral towards death.

What is the difference?
What is the difference between 'Greater love has no man than he lay down his life for his friends' of John 15;13, and someone knowingly living in a self-destructive way?

Is the act of laying down one's life for another suicide? Wasn't John 15:13 a veiled reference the Lord made of Himself going to the cross? He did so on purpose. How was that not suicide? Where do we draw the line?

Most people who commit suicide have thought about it for a long time
A middle aged woman showed me the scars from cutting on her forearms and wrists. She confirmed a word of knowledge that I had spoken during a church service, that a woman was there whose mother had told her when she was 12:"You're not pretty and not very smart, so you'll have to work hard in life to get ahead."

The Father had told me she believed what her mother said, and to her it was truth. Those words to a fragile 12 year old just going through puberty and struggling with self image as things changed within her, had deep consequences. She was discouragement, then despondency, then hope left, replaced by anger and depression, then self-hate and thoughts of suicide. As a teen she began cutting herself. More than 20 years later, at that Wednesday night service, she got free. Months later I saw her and she confirmed she was still free, knowing she was loved and loving herself.

The difference was the love of the Father; that she for once in her life, knew down in her spirit and in her mind, that she was unconditionally loved by the Father, and then she could move herself. But on a practical level, suicide had entered her life through a long series of hurts, disappointments, condemnation, and hopelessness.

If she had taken her life, would she have gone to hell?
I was speaking at a little country church in the hills of west central Tennessee one Sunday morning. When I looked out over the congregation of about 40 I saw a woman sitting with her children occupying a pew about 2/3 of the way back. Above her I suddenly saw a picture of a house's front door, with a porch, and a man sitting there with a gun in his hand. Next to that vision was the same man in heaven, looking at his family and expressing to his wife how sorry he was for the pain he had caused her and their children, and how he looked forward to the day they would all be together again.

Then the Father said to me. "This man committed suicide on that porch. He had battled alcoholism and depression for years, in part because he wanted to provide more for his family, but always struggled. Tell her he is with me and well, and looks forward to them being together again."

I did exactly that, explained exactly what I saw, and she burst into tears, said it was just as I saw, and so thankful because she was very afraid he was in hell. She understood 'and well' to mean mentally and emotionally well, and was very thankful to the Lord.

She was able to forgive herself and him, and have peace all will be well in the end. She had been condemning herself for not trying harder to help him. He was born again, but alcoholic. She had been full of condemnation and guilt - and was so relieved he was in heaven, sobbing heavily, at having the weight lifted from her.

I've had several times over the years the Father has given me a vision and/or word about someone who committed suicide being in heaven. But can we find answers in scripture about suicide and the thoughts that lead up to such a decision? That is for next week, until then, blessings,
John Fenn
www.cwowi.org and email me at [email protected]

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