Jetev Weblog

RENEW International

RENEW International has reached thousands of followers in the United States and in countries within six continents. Its curricula and materials teach how the word of God is genuine and Pertinent. By forming small Christian communities, RENEW International shows Catholics how their faith can help defeat personal challenges, trust in one another, and achieve peace.

RENEW International is a non-profit Catholic organization which has touched the lives of thousands of followers and enriched parishes. It was created by the vision of Msgr. Tom Kleissler and loyalty of Msgr. Tom Ivory. Together, they worked to change the Church and impart spiritual strength to its people. RENEW International works within parishes, dividing them into smaller, belief-sharing communities. Participants gather to pray, study, and strengthen their individual and collective belief. They gain deeper knowledge of Scripture and connect its meaning to their life. Parishes access to materials, programs and events to help enrich the lives of members and connect them to the greater Catholic community.

RENEW International teaches people ways to surmount challenges and ascertain to live a fuller, more spiritual life. RENEW International has a tradition of bringing Catholics together. Their materials, programs, and events foster friendships, give an chance for sharing, and observe Gods love.

What was the Star of Bethlehem? Was it really a star? New knowledge of the old astrological beliefs and modern computer-based planetary tables may yet cast new light on this age-old question. But before going back in time to explore the possible answers, one needs to realize the many problems the questions.

Matthew is the only one of the Biblical books which names either the Star of Bethlehem or the magi. The Gospel of Mark, considered by progressive text scholars to be the oldest of the Gospels, does not include a nativity narrative or any hint that Jesus was born in Bethlehem. The author of the Gospel of John also appears to be unconscious of the Bethlehem nativity narratives. The Gospels often reported Jesus as “of Nazareth,” but never as “of Bethlehem”. Many scholars have reasoned that Jesus was in all likelihood born in Nazareth and that the nativity narratives are shaped by the desire of the Gospel writers to portray his birth as a fulfillment a prophecy in the Book of Micah concerning a Bethlehem birth.

Matthew’s description of the miracles and presages assisting the birth of Jesus can be compared to stories referring the birth of Augustus, the first Roman emperor. Associating a birth to the first appearance of a star was consonant with the common belief each person’s life was linked to a particular star. Magi and astronomical events were coupled in the public mind by the visit to Rome of a delegation of magi at the time of a amazing appearance of Halley’s Comet in AD 66.

There are many other elements that bring to the puzzle, including the uncertainty in the actual date of Christ’s birth and the terminology used to describe celestial events during the Stars appearance some 20 centuries ago. For instance, any ethereal object bright enough to attract attention was likely to be called a “star.” Meteors, for instance, were “shooting” or “falling ” stars; comets were “hairy” stars; novae were “new” stars and planets were thought to be “wandering” stars.

[Yogi Sean is the student of Swami Ramananda and a co-founder of the Sadhana Society]

We have spent a lot of time talking about and observing the ways in which we utilize our organizing filter, our organizing structure to select circumstances or events in our lives to bring things to a headto bring out a sense of a specific type of character in our lives. We’ve talked about this a lot through the series, of how I willnot on a conscious level but in kind of an unconscious wayorganize what I see in such a way that it supports, let’s just say, that I feel victimized by the world.
I think it’sas I had said beforeI think it’s one most of us deal with because the religious mythology of Christianity and Judaism sees nature as the enemy.

We actually are trained to view the world as something that isn’t supportive, that isn’t abundant, that actually is hostile to our existence. From that perspective, it’s very understandable that we would have a super-structure within us that interprets events, that strings together events that support that sense of, in your words, of an inimical universe. We’ve talked a lot about that, through observation, through willingness to change, and then through joya sheer joy of expression in changing.

We’ve experimented with these things, we’ve seen how these organizing structures that are based upon these inner senses of identitieslike being victimized by life, by the worldhave literally precipitated things happening in our lives. We end up drawing the negative situation to uswhich sounds kind of like what we were talking about earlier, and yet that’s not really what I’m trying to say. What I’m trying to say is, if I’m a victim to life and I’m walking around thinking that I’m a victim to life, then what I’m going to experience in my life is victimization.

And if I’m a good person, and I’m thinking good things, then I’m going to have a good experience even if the actual circumstance itself might not be completely good.

Church on mission is definitely a buzz-phrase that is all over the place these days. the idea that we need to title places of worship, missional, has since the beginning of creation been strange to me. please, shouldnt all churches be missional in their very nature? it should be expected from a church, at its very base, desire to introduce their culture and community with the message of Jesus as a missionary would in a different country? Isnt it what the places of worship is commanded to do in the final charge of Christ in Matthew 28:19? Our own place of origin begs for this brand of church. Austin churches is slowly moving to what our Creator instructed in Scripture.

Jesus gives the direction in Acts 1:8 saying, “But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” Acts 1:8 personifies this concept as, right before Jesus Christ goes up to Heaven, He commissions the disciples on a mission that would begin right in their local community. He begins with their area of Jerusalem, and then expands the call to the outer parts of the globe.

As Christians, we are not moved to isolation, but to be missional believers who are actively going out and meeting people right where they are with the message of Jesus. We have gazed at this throughout history: God sends Abraham on a mission to exit his place of origin and his people and go to the city that God would show him (Gen. 12:1), God sends Moses on a mission to restore an enslaved people and lead them to joy (Exodus 3:8-10), God sends Jesus on a journey to earth to pull all things to Himself through the cross (Colossians 1:20). And now God is sending us on a journey to engage neighborhoods, cities, people groups, and even nations with the message of Jesus (Matt. 28:19 Mark 6:7 Luke 10:1 John 20:21 Acts 1:8). If we abandon this motivation and continue to treat the church buildings like a closed off country club ” encouraging that people clean up their act, pay their money, and come to our place of worship God will continue His story without us.

If the Lord’s return is a bit different than we thought (flying
out of here in the literal isn’t exactly what He meant) we would
be ashamed for Him to return at Christmas; seeing us celebrate
His birth the same way pagans do. Christmas would/should never
be the same again.

When we consider giving gifts of love, do we think of pretty
packages to go under the tree or do we consider what Jesus would
give; things like sharing the gift of salvation, meeting a need
of the heart, reaching lost sheep? And, didn’t He say that there
would always be poor among us?

So, if it is Jesus’ birth we’re celebrating, shouldn’t our
gifts be to Jesus or on behalf of Jesus? If such a needed gift
would come in a package, so be it. But, with Jesus present,
there would never be a Christmas gathering to show off ‘our’
service.

Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible
things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received
by tradition from your fathers; But with the precious blood of
Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot: 1 Peter
1:18-19

It was God who first showed me how He felt about the way we
celebrate Christmas when I attended a church Christmas program
wherein Santa was welcomed, but there was no mention of Jesus.
My stomach ached and churned, and, soon, I thought I was going
to puke … feeling literally ill from head to toe.

Symptoms subsided as soon as I got out of that building. But,
the memory has never left. And, for whatever other medical
explanation there could be, I ‘knew’ it was God, as He was
showing me the program the way He saw it.

After hearing every possibly viable explanation there is as to
why it is acceptable to lie to children about Santa Claus, God
led me to the dictionary. Webster’s New World Dictionary says,
“Nick (nik), n. the Devil: usually Old Nick,” as well as others
referring to goblin and demon.

For those who don’t credit ‘Santa Claus’, did our Christmases
ever really change or was it just the names we call him?

However God leads you to spend your Christmas is certainly
between you and Him. Though, inviting Jesus to His own party
would be a good place to start.

© 2002 by Joyce C. Lock
http://my.homewithgod.com/blessingsandlessons/ This writing may
be used in its entirety, with credits in tact, for non-profit
ministering purposes.

Do we have the inner peace that comes from God in spite of our trials and difficulties? The shed blood of Jesus Christ paid the penalty for our sins. With his stripes we can be healed of our physical diseases. What about our griefs and sorrows? Does the sacrifice of Jesus Christ deal with the pains of the mind? The purpose of this article is to explain how Jesus Christ bore our griefs and sorrows.

The Sufferings of Jesus Christ

The prophet Isaiah wrote about the future sufferings of Jesus Christ in Isaiah 53:3-5:

“3He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not.
4Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted.
5But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.” (KJV)

The Hebrew word for grief refers to pains of the body, and the Hebrew word for sorrows refers to pains of the mind.

12 Ways That Jesus Christ Bore Our Griefs and Sorrows

Jesus Christ bore our griefs and sorrows even before his death on the cross. Here are 12 ways in which Christ bore our sorrows:

1. Life threatened by Herod as an infant (Matthew 2:16)

2. Falsely accused of casting out demons through Satan (Matthew 9:34; 12:24)

3. Falsely accused of being demon possessed and mad (John 8:52; 10:20)

4. Life in danger often and the Jews sought to stone him (John 8:40; 10:31)

5. Falsely accused of being a glutton and winebibber (Matthew 11:19)

6. Falsely accused of breaking the Sabbath (John 5:18)

7. Tempted often by Satan (Luke 4:13)

8. Betrayed by Judas Iscariot with whom he had spent three and a half years (Matthew 26:14-16)

9. Forsaken by his disciples (Matthew 26:56)

10. Peter denied three times that he even knew him (Matthew 26:75)

11. Mocked and spat upon (Matthew 27:29-30)

12. Felt forsaken by His father while dying on the stake (Matthew 27:46)

Matthew seems to indicate that after Jesus Christ fasted for 40 days and defeated Satan that Satan left him. Matthew’s account seems to indicate that after having lost this battle that Satan never tempted Jesus Christ again (Matthew 4:11).

However, Luke’s account provides more complete information. Luke 4:13 tells us that when the devil had ended every temptation, he departed from Him until an opportune time.

While Satan is the god of this world (II Corinthians 4:4), Jesus Christ is the prince of peace. He was chastised for our peaceour reconciliation to God.

The Peace of God

The apostle Paul states in Philippians 4:6-7 that we should not have anxiety, but that we should make our requests known unto God to receive the peace that comes from God:

“6Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. 7And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.” (KJV)

Why do we not seek God when we have anxiety, griefs, and sorrows? One reason is that our sins and the resulting guilt and shame discourage us from seeking God. We may want to hide from God when we sin as did Adam and Eve after they sinned. Indeed, guilt is a major cause of emotional problems.

We need to repent, confess our sins, and trust in the blood of Jesus Christ who paid the penalty for our sins. If we do so, God will remove our sins from us as far as the East is from the West (Psalm 103:12). We need faith in God’s promise of forgiveness.

Another possible cause of our not seeking God for help with our anxieties and trials is pride. We have pride when we attempt to meet our needs apart from God. The word pride has the letter “I” right in the middle. We need to trust not in ourselves, other people, or things to meet our needs. We need to trust in the living God to meet our needs and direct our paths.

Giving thanks is often difficult when we are worried and going through sore trials. One of the things for which we can be thankful is that Jesus Christ bore our griefs and sorrows. We can also thank God for his past interventions in our lives and in the lives of others.

We need to count our blessings one by one and be thankful. Recounting our blessings can give us hope for future blessings from God who is our helper and provider.

We also need to need to take our cares and concerns one by one to God in prayer and supplication. Supplication means seeking God continually. When we do so, the peace of God will guard our hearts and minds. Therefore, we can be free from anxiety and distress.

Jesus Christ Cares for Us

The apostle Peter contributed to the sufferings of Jesus Christ by fleeing from him during his trial and denying three times that he even knew him. Of course, Peter later repented and became one of the leading apostles in the early New Testament Church. What did Peter say about the care that Jesus Christ has for us? Here is what he wrote in I Peter 5:6-7:

“6Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time: 7Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you.” (KJV)

These are the words that Peter wrote. He was the disciple who denied that he even knew jesus Christ three times. Jesus Christ later asked Peter three times if he loved himthe same number of times that Peter had denied even knowing Jesus Christ.

Peter instructs us to cast all our care upon Jesus Christ, including our struggle with sin, our diseases, our anxieties, griefs, and sorrows. We may deny Jesus Christ at times by our sins and actions. However, he still cares for us. We can humble ourselves, repent, and cast all of our cares upon him.

Conclusion

The sacrifice of Jesus Christ was a total sacrifice. He paid the penalty for our sins; he was beaten for our physical healing; and he bore our griefs and sorrows.

If we humble ourselves and let go of pride, we can have peace with God because of the total sacrifice of Jesus Christ. We can also have peace with each other. If we have peace with God and with each other, we are more likely to have peace of mind regardless of our griefs and sorrows.

We have trials and tribulations in this world, but we can be of good cheer because Jesus Christ has overcome the world (John 16:33) and now serves as our high priest (Hebrews 4:15). We should go boldly to the throne of grace and cast all our cares upon him. We can find the peace that passes all understanding and guards our hearts and minds. Because Jesus Christ bore our griefs and sorrows, we can cast all of them on him and have the peace of mind that comes from God.

Alan D. Campbell lives in Brandon, Florida. For more good news, please see his blog The Good News of the Kingdom of God at http://goodnewsofthekingdomofgod.blogspot.com