Cheryl Schatz

Suzanne McCarthy has some excellent material on kephale.  Suzanne is a Greek scholar and trained in several different languages.

http://powerscourt.blogspot.com/2008/01/grudem-and-kephale.html

http://powerscourt.blogspot.com/2008/01/kephale-in-literature.html

http://powerscourt.blogspot.com/2008/01/omitted-citations.html

http://powerscourt.blogspot.com/2008/01/grudem-and-glare.html

http://powerscourt.blogspot.com/2008/01/grudem-and-ptolemy.html

I think you will find some good help in these links.  If I have missed anything, Suzanne would be a good one to ask as she does the primary research herself checking out the original historic references.

Paula,

I think J MacA should go into the automotive business. He gets an astounding amount of mileage out of vapors!

My husband liked this one so much, he already can figure out ways that he can use this saying!

I also believe that the women spoken about in 1 Timothy 2:9, 10 were women leaders in the congregation.  This makes their demeanor & the statement that they make by their dress all the more important for Paul to comment on.

Then accurate translations need to be made, and then teachers need to throw away the old quarterlies and start serving “meat” instead of Twinkies to Sunday School students.

I am all for serving “meat” to the body.  So many are starving for the real meat of the word after being force-fed whatever lite version of whatever is popular today.

Don,
Good comments about the rich and leadership.

Lin,
When I read (or hear) John MacArthur’s view taking modesty to mean sexuality, I cringe.  Is that all some men think about?  Certainly in this day and age, inappropriate clothing can be a sexual issue, but in Paul’s day women covered up completely.  No baring of anything was in order for them. Even a bare ankle was considered a no-no and Jewish men would not follow behind a woman lest they see her ankle when she walked and it caused them to lust.  It is absurd to import today’s dress into bible times.  Paul made it very clear what kind of “modesty” that he was talking about – it was modesty in regards to expensive outward adorning.

Don,

Everyone has a worldview which is used to fill in gaps in text with defaults.  But it is quite revealing what MacArthur’s defaults are.

I could not have said this better myself.  It is time that we just allow the scripture to speak for itself instead of importing all kinds of fanciful additions that have no basis in reality.

Paula,

May the fleas of a thousand camels infest The Comp-ound until it is deserted!

You are turning out to be our own in-house comedienne!

Don,

If the only cost is 2 weeks of antibiotics, it would seem rational to take them even if there was a very small chance of it being the curable case, if only to rule it out.

This is my thought as well.

Truthseeker,
Often people don’t talk about their own stress-related problems in the open.  It is “safe” to come into the open for those who are not using their name.  I do value openness because it is helpful to many.  I want this blog to be a safe place for all to share, even me.

tiro is a very special person and I know that tiro would welcome prayers for the pain.

Truthseeker, thanks for sharing about your own struggles.  Many of us can relate.

Indeed, Christ is all and in all because he is God.  Absolutely!  He is no less in power, authority or essence than the Father.  Good verses.

Lin,
I would also like to add that I hope all of us are willing to be a soft place to land for others.  Jesus is the only 100% faithful one but we can try to emulate him by using the hurtful and rough time that we have been through to reach out and touch someone else.  Thus we can be a life-line to others who is hurting, by being willing to be a ray of hope and a source of love to them.

Lin, I am certain that you are being molded into that “soft place” for others who will walk after you in the same path that you have walked.  I trust that Jesus will greatly bless you for being that precious gift of encouragement too.

Lin,
Thank you for your tender words!

It is most unfortunate when Christians hurt other Christians whether out of fear, ignorance, or plain old cruelty.  Strong internal hurt can bring stress and along with it adverse conditions in the body.  It can also bring a blockage between our experiencing God’s love if we let the hurt develop into bitterness and anger.  I have tried hard to focus on prayer for the other person because this helps to keep bitterness at bay.

You are so right that focusing on God’s glory, his Sovereignty and his Almighty power will work to keep our minds stayed on him instead of our circumstances.

To all my blog friends,

I have been physically struggling for awhile and one of my blog reader’s encouraged me privately to share my struggle with my blog friends.  I thought a long time about how and what to share and then decided to post a few words publicly and then without getting too specific, I would share a few more details only in the comments section.  In hindsight I am so glad that I opened up and shared.

Yesterday one of my friends from California who catches up on me from my blog, read what I had written and gave me a call asking for more details on my diagnosis.  After listening to all of the details, she is convinced that I have been misdiagnosed and that all of the physical effects will be gone within six months.  There are two diseases, both stress induced, that are often misdiagnosed as each other because their appearance is the same.  The differences are subtle but very significant.  The second disease is self-limiting and will run its course within about six months even without medication but it also has a high success rate of a complete cure with a particular antibiotic given over a two week period.  The first disease has no cure.

I now have a great sense of hope that God is going to heal me completely even though I wasn’t given any hope by the doctor.  I did my own research on the internet looking at both diseases and their onset and I too am now convinced that I have been misdiagnosed.  My doctor wasn’t in today but an assistant gave me the prescription for the antibiotic that has helped many others.  God-willing I will get some relief soon and be back to my old self within two weeks.

It isn’t always easy to open up about personal matters and there are many more details that I haven’t shared that would not be appropriate to share publicly, but this is one case where opening up was very helpful for me.  I would like to publicly thank Cynthia H. from California for being God’s special angel by sharing with me her own private journey and how her own disease that she battled 30 years ago was almost certainly what I have instead of what I was originally diagnosed with.  By sharing her story with me she gave me hope.

Don,
I have been able to take an amazing amount of stress in the past.  Sometimes we are blindsided by those whom we have trusted.  This kind of stress is much harder to take.  What I am learning is that God is the only one who will not fail me.  The rest of us are mere humans who have a less than perfect record.  I suppose this is why we need to continue to walk in grace.

tiro,
I do have a bad habit of going and going and not understanding when it is time to rest and/or give up on a particular struggle.  Perhaps I am learning.  Better late than never.

Thy Peace,

Thank you for posting that prayer.  I take that as a very comforting thought and prayer for me.  Thanks for “L’s” for posting that through you!!

Paula,
Since I finally got a diagnosis from what we were already sure was a stress-related problem, and since I now know it is something that I will have to deal with for years to come, I have thought much about Job.  Job was falsely accused of sin and treated badly even as he was in the midst of his physical suffering.  We cannot see all that God is doing in the working out of his plan, but it is a fact of life that suffering is used in our lives for a reason.  At the very least, as you pointed out, it makes us long for the coming of the Lord Jesus and our new bodies.

Thanks also for reminding me of the wise words of Proverbs about how our heart can receive a huge lift from kind words.  I have been in too much pain to even be on my own blog, but today I feel greatly encouraged by the words written here.

Thy Peace,
I am grateful to have been a help to you.  Thank you for sharing that with me!

Rex,
I have had cancer in the past so your list of things to know and avoid is worthwhile seeing.  This time what I have is a nonfatal, stress induced skin disorder that has no cure.  The best I can hope for, apparently, is periods of remission.  The stress has brought a lot of depression and has forced me to take time off to deal with my own emotional well being.  Thank God that I am on the mend and time in the word of God has helped me a great deal as far as my emotions are concerned.

Thank you for your concern.  It is so good to know that there are people who care.

tiro,

Interesting turn of events.  When the opposition no longer wants to talk, you have made your point well.  I recognize the signs quite well.  Good job!

Don,
I have been doing a lot of sleeping lately and a lot of bible reading and my emotions are coming in to line with the peace that God gives.  As far as the body goes, I have been told it is incurable.  Now that I know, it is time to move on and get back to “normal”.  For me ministry is what is normal.  As my passion starts to come back, I am going to work to be back doing everything I used to do.  The purpose of my life is only one thing – to bring God glory and if he can find glory in whatever physical condition I am in, then I choose to glorify him.  He is the potter.  I am only mere clay, but this clay desires to be molded into whatever shape, whatever vessel he desires.

Thy Peace,

Yes, I have known some who were not even able to read the word during their time of distress.  Calling on the name of the Lord certainly would work for them even if they can only manage his name.

Don,

Thank you for your prayer for me.  Stress can come out in many different ways in the body.  While I am feeling God’s peace more and more each day, my body has reacted in a way that may never go back to “normal”.  Whatever will be is in God’s hands for he is the great physician.

tiro,

I trust that things are going well for you.  I have prayed for you.

TC Smythe,

The quoted “law” is the oral law as Don said.  It is not God’s law but the tradition of men.  I don’t bring two interpretations and if you think I do, you will have to show me where I do that.  Have a look at my previous articles on 1 Cor. 14.  See especially http://strivetoenter.com/wim/2008/09/24/forbid-not/

The letter written to Paul that prompted Paul to write the book of 1 Corinthians is responded to throughout the book and 1 Cor. 14:34, 35 is attributed as a quote from that letter and verse 36 is Paul’s response to the quote which is a very strong contradiction to the two verses that precede it.

I hope this helps!

TC Smythe,

Actually it is possible to mitigate 1 Cor. 14:34 when one understands the source of this “law”.  Yes, women do indeed recognize “shut up” when it is said.  The question must then be asked – who said it?  If it is said by Paul, then he contradicts himself in verse 36.  If the Corinthians are the ones who said it, then Paul rightfully contradicts their wrong view in verse 36.  Paul’s inspired words very clearly show that verse 36 contradicts the “law” given in verses 34 & 35.  Praise God that he tells those would would tell women to “shut up”, that these ones themselves need to be ignored (aka “shut up”).  God has spoken.  Many are the women who publish the good news (Psalms 68:11).

Ordinary Mystic,

What evidence is there that the star led the magi to Jesus?  The magi did not want to kill Jesus, so what was the purpose of the star leading the magi?  Is satan interested in bringing financial blessing to Jesus?  No.

If satan wanted to kill Jesus by sending the star, he should not have brought the star from the east.  Herod was not in the east.  None of this makes any sense nor is there any evidence in the text that the star led anyone whose purpose it was to harm Jesus.  The star did not appear for Herod or lead Herod to Egypt where Jesus and his parents were to be sent.

It is God’s Sovereign design to give the magi the star once again after they went to Jerusalem and were guided by the bible.  The Jewish scholars were called into action to report on the prophesy regarding the birth place of the Messiah.  The magi believed this report and as they were on their way in faith, they were given the guidance of the star once again that gave them the specific location of the child.  Faith in the prophesy was the evidence that the magi believed in God and God fulfilled their faith by leading them to the individual location where his Son was living.

You said:

While the scruptures do not say that the magi were led to Jerusalem, for some reason it didn’t lead them to the child as it did after they went to Jerusalem.

We do know that the star didn’t lead them to Jerusalem, but we also know that faith in the scriptures led them in the direction of Bethlehem.  What a wonderful opportunity they had to have faith in what God had prophesied.

You said:

So either it did lead them to Jerusalem or it led them to the general area where they needed to start asking more questions. Why ?

Neither is an option.  The scripture is specific.  It says that the star was seen in the east.  The next time it appeared is when they were on their way to Bethlehem.  There is no evidence at all that the star led them to Jerusalem.

You asked:

The scriptures specifically state that Jehovah sent an angel to the magi in a dream. But nowhere does it associated Jehovah with the star.  Why not?

Jehovah is directly associated with the magi by his giving them divine direction.  We don’t need to have the scriptures say that the star was the star of the Messiah (they say we say “his” star in the east – the star of the Messiah) when the ones who were led by God specifically stated that it was his star.  Jehovah God did not contradict their testimony.  While the star led the magi to Jesus, Jehovah God led them back home another way.  It was a perfect plan orchestrated by God himself to fulfill the scriptures that say that his Son would be called out of Egypt.  Praise God that when he calls he provides the ways and means to fulfill the call.

You said:

The magi followed the star as part of their spirituality, not because they “obeyed Jehovah”.

This is not true.  Their understanding of the scriptures show that they were familiar with the prophecy of the coming of the Messiah.  They believed the prophecy and came to Israel.  They believed the next prophecy they heard by going to Bethlehem.  They also believed Jehovah’s message by believing the angel and obeying.  Everything they did regarding the Messiah was an act of faith and an act of obedience to the light that they had been given.

Since that star appeared about two years before the magi saw Herod, it is reasonable to understand that Jesus was 15 – 24 months old at the time depending on whether the star appeared at his conception or at his birth.  The issue for us now is not about the traditions that surround Christmas, but what will we do with Jesus?  Will we obey the Father and accept Jesus as God’s gift to us?  Will we obey the Father by honoring the Son in the same way that we honor the Father as Jesus said must happen in order to honor the Father.

I have chosen to honor Jesus and come to him for forgiveness of my sin.  He has been given the right to forgive sin and to cleanse us from our sin and then bring us back to the Father in a reconciled relationship.  If we follow the tradition that says we are not to honor Jesus and we dishonor the Father by withholding the true and proper honor that belongs to Jesus, we are not acting by faith in the word of God.

Paula,

You can send me a link to the editor.  I’ll see if I can get my son to have a look if he has time.

tiro, I don’t find this silly stuff at all, so it stays, k?  😮

Yup bold works.

And tiro, it is not a big distraction.  I’ve had worse 😉  If all my problems were this small…

Sometimes the codes at the top don’t work.  I don’t know how to fix it.  Bold works though, or at least it did 🙂

Glad you got your smile back at least, eh?

I can try to fix your formatting.  Are you copy and pasting formatting or creating it in the html link at the top?

Tom,

You said:

Our not doing Christmas is a detail of our faith, no where near close to the main thrust. And this star is a detail as to why I don’t celebrate…

It is a detail that as Christians we are allowed to test by the scriptures.  It is a detail that doesn’t match up with the truth found in the scripture.  Are you willing to admit that or do you want to follow man’s words that contradict scripture?  I for one am willing to disregard man’s words and follow what God has to say.

You also said:

And the point that should stand out from the excerpt I quoted is: “It is not claimed that explanations in this publication are infallible.”

The point that we are trying to make here is that only the bible is infallible and whatever is contrary to the scriptures needs to be discarded.  Can you give us any reason not to discard the Watchtower’s view that the star of Bethlehem is satan’s star?

Another question – can a person be a Jehovah’s Witness and believe contrary to the Watchtower?  i.e. Can a person believe that the star of Bethlehem was sent by God to guide the wise men instead of the faulty view of the Watchtower that it was satan’s star?

These are very important questions and deserve to be answered.

You said:

So I’m not sure what you mean by your comment that the Watchtower “says they do know.” As the above quote shows, any explanations offered represent their best understanding at the present time. There’s no claim of infallibility.

The bible doesn’t change.  But the Watchtower does change sometimes back and forth to the same previous view and back again to another view and then back again to a previous view.  Our own infallible source is the bible and this does not change.  The reason that I said that the Watchtower says they do know is because they have argued that the star of Bethlehem IS satan’s star.

You said:

So I don’t know that they are wrong about this point….I suspect they are right. Chris’s reasoning doesn’t seem especially persuasive to me. But since it’s a very minor point on a subject for which no infallibility is claimed, I can’t work up too much interest….certainly not for the sake or arguing the point with you.

Which part of Chris’s reasoning does not seem persuasive?  It may seem a minor point, but is it not a major point when God’s work in sending the star is stated as satan’s work?  Isn’t this blasphemy?  I don’t think that blasphemy is a “minor point”.  Do you?

Would a Jehovah’s Witness be able to publically agree with Chris that the star of Bethlehem is not satan’s star or would they have to agree with the Watchtower view even if they disagree in their heart?  Is there “forced” unity or is there room for a conscience by letting the bible speak for itself?

tiro,

Not sure what happened.  I just redid your smilie and now is all okay.
😉

Tom,

If you don’t know, then you are contradicting the Watchtower who says they do know.  They are very clear that the star was satan’s star.

As Christians, we have freedom to test all things and to hold fast to what is true and good.  We have tested the Watchtower’s version and found it faulty.  If the Watchtower is wrong on this, what else are they wrong about?  Everything must be tested by God’s word.

Then let me ask you outright.  Is the star of Bethlehem satan’s star of Jehovah’s star?  What is your answer?

Tom,

You said:

The point is, whether JWs feel it is true or not, it’s not going to be something they will bring up at the doorstep (unless they are specifically drawn out on that point)

This then is hidden teaching of Jehovah’s Witnesses.  It is not biblical but will be brought out whenever someone questions why Jehovah’s Witnesses do not celebrate Christmas.

However there are other hidden things that even Jehovah’s Witnesses are not familiar with.  One of these things is the Watchtower charter which says that the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society was created for the public worship of Jehovah God and Jesus Christ.  Yet the Society has failed to present the worship of Jesus Christ to their followers and has turned away from giving Jesus equal honor with the Father.  One must seriously ask why?  Why if the organization was set up to worship Jesus, is that worship of Jesus now shunned?

There are many things that are hidden.  Many things that have been silently changed over the years.  Everything must come to the light to be exposed by the light so that all may judge what is truth and what is not.

Tom,

Welcome!

You said:

We’ve no desire to spoil it for those who want to observe it (unless explaining our reasons for not celebrating constitutes spoiling it)

I am sure that you think you aren’t spoiling the celebration of the season, but if you read my dialog above you should see that exchanging the provision of Jehovah God and making it a satanic sign probably would spoil it for most people.  If it was true, it would be something to think about.  Unfortunately the Watchtower’s view is not true nor is it faithful to the scripture and it does not honor Jehovah as it should.

I would invite you to my web site at http://www.jwinfoline.com for testimonies of people who have found the other side of the story that isn’t told by the Watchtower organization.  There is much freedom in this season to honor Jesus and to be thankful for God’s provision of the one born King, Messiah and Savior.

Cindy,

You too are learning how that dying to oneself is the road that the Lord Jesus takes us on.  I am so encouraged to see people write these things because it means that Jesus lives in them and he is growing you to be more Christlike all the time.  Thank you so much for sharing!

Paula,

You said:

I’m slowly learning to make myself blind to how others offend me and leave the judgment to God, while focusing on scripture as the standard to measure myself by.

This is very scriptural.  Love is not easily offended.  You are walking on the road that is taking you towards more and more love shown in a tangible way by not noticing the offenses of others.  I believe that God will reward you for recognizing that this is the way he would have you walk.  Bravo!

Cindy,

I am unaware of the zodiac being originally used by God-fearers.  It is quite typical that what God has meant for good that satan tries to pervert and destroy.  Interesting thoughts.

Greg,

Yes, it is a great bondage that some people live under.  Last night I was listening to a sermon by one preacher who was saying that if one gets emotional this is a doorway for satan and he was making people afraid.  Emotions are God-given.  They can be used for good or for bad but to see demons under every rock (or behind every emotion) does bind people under fear.  In Christ we are set free from all of this.