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Creeds: The Good and The Bad

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Today I want to focus on creeds and speak about how they can be helpful but at the same time cause division. I will start out with the manifesto that was given unto Yeshua and to me which is part of his high priestly prayer unto Abba and then go onto the Consitinian era creeds and then creeds related to the One New Man doctrine.

So it is a great manifesto but how should it be fulfilled? It is not new but we must look again at the words of Yeshua as being totally valid as much today as when written down by the Apostle and his community.

The greek word for one here is heis (hice) is a cardinal numeral, one (as in universal) Carinal being one, two, three… vs. first, second, third…

The greek word heis points back to the hebrew as:
‘eḥāḏ (ekh-awd’) properly, united, i.e. one; or (as an ordinal) first:—a, alike, alone, altogether

— Apostle’s Creed

This creed became formalized by the fourth centurn. It was not made by the Apostles:

I believe in God the Father Almighty, maker of heaven and earth and in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin Mary. He suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried; he descended to hell. The third day he rose again from the dead. He ascended to heaven and is seated at the right hand of God the Father almighty. From there he will come to judge the living and the dead. I believe in the Holy Spirit,the holy catholic* church,the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. Amen.

While the creed is very basic I can see the implementation of it being debated. First, what constitutes the universal church? How do we achieve the forgiveness of sin? Is there an unpardonable sin? How are the dead resurrected? What do we really mean by life eternal?

Some groups like Baptists avoid this creed, believing the Word of God more important than any creed of human origins. However, this creed contains some principles that defines almost universal christian beliefs:

1) Virgin conception and birth
2) His death and resurrection on the 3rd day
3) The universal church (aka catholic)
4) Communion of all saints
5) Forgivensss of sins
6) Resurrection of the body
7) Life eternal

I have always believed that the virgin conception and birth and his death on the cross and resurrection on the 3rd day are essential to that of being a christian at all. Islam, for instance, almost universally denies Yeshua died on the cross or another took his place instead.

The idea of catholic is similar meaning 1) universal, 2) general, or 3) of the Roman Catholic church. Most protestants (and eastern orthodox) reject the notion of one Roman Catholic church (with a big “C”). Those in the eastern parts consider themselves as the ‘Orthodox Catholic Church’ or simply as the ‘Eastern Orthodox Church’.

— Other creeds

The Nicene and Athanasian creeds, while upholding the elements of the Apostle’s Creed adds a few items to include a definition of the trinity which is not explicitly in the Apostle’s Creed. Most of christendom considers The Trinity a major doctrine.

The Nicene Creed of 325 explicitly affirms the Father as the “one God” and as the “Almighty”, and Jesus Christ as “the Son of God”, as “begotten of […] the essence of the Father”, and therefore as “consubstantial with the Father”, meaning, “of the same substance”[27][28] as the Father…

The Nicene creed of 381 also includes a line reference to worship of the Holy Spirit** which I cannot find in the bible and which was not referenced by later councils.

The Athanasian Creed upholds the doctrine of the trinity and declared Arian’s doctrine apostate. Arian believed that Jesus Christ was a created divine being, not equal to God the Father.

Trinitarian creeds throw out the Apostolic and Oneness believers as being apostate. Arianism is also denounced because it holds to the idea that Yeshua was created by God. In Arianism the claim is that because God is so unique, that Yeshua could not have existed self-sufficiently and therefore Yeshua was created by God.

I think we have to consider in all of this the body of Christ as being seperate from the Spirit of Christ. Listen to what Apostle Paul said:

1 Cor. 15:44-47:: It is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body. There is a natural body, and there is a spiritual body. And so it is written, “The first man Adam became a living being. The last Adam became a life-giving spirit. However, the spiritual is not first, but the natural, and afterward the spiritual. The first man is out of the earth, earthy; the second man is (the Lord) out of heaven.

Let’s just harp on these verses for a few minutes. The Apostle is talking about different types of bodies – the natural (earthly) ones and the spiritual ones. The reference to the last Adam says he became a life-giving spirit. I key in the words ‘he became’. Was he not already a life-giving spirit?

The last part of this verse says the second man is (the Lord) out of heaven. NU-Text omits ‘the Lord’ so we cannot declare this one verse as definitive that Yeshua is the LORD or God himself. Most modern translations omit ‘the Lord’.

When it comes to the Nicene creed the Holy Spirit is said to proceed from both the Father and the Son. The idea of proceeding from the Son is known as the filioque. It became a major cause of division between the Holy Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox split in 1054. You can see that is a natural extension of the verses quoted from 1 Cor. chapter 15. The idea of seeds sown in this chapter also gives us an idea of how the body of Christ formed. It had to first die: vs 26:: Foolish one, what you sow is not made alive unless it dies. Christ’s body was the seed which formed the spiritual body to come. Maybe that is why we sometimes see the Holy Spirit referred to as the Spirit of Christ (Rom 8:9, Phil 1:9).

— One New Man, the Body of Christ

Yeshua himself came from the bosom of the Father.

John 1:18:: No one has seen God at any time. The only begotten Son,[God] who is in the bosom of the Father, He has declared Him.

We see further evidence of Christ’s new body being formed from the old and new covenants:

Eph. 2:14-16:: For He Himself is our peace, who has made both one, and has broken down the middle wall of separation, having abolished in His flesh the enmity, that is, the law of commandments contained in ordinances, so as to create in Himself one new man from the two, thus making peace,and that He might reconcile them both to God in one body through the cross, thereby putting to death the enmity.

My prayer here is the same as that of Apostle Paul, that ‘the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him’ (Eph. 1:17). The letter to the Ephesians speaks of breaking down the wall of seperation between Jew and Gentile. It is my belief that this breaking down of the wall occurred post death and resurrection.

We read that Chalcedonian Definition (creed) emphasized the dual nature of Christ. For we know that he was both Word of God and also Son of Man. His humanity left him open the effects of sin, being the second Adam. He is now the one new man that was created to unify the body. Not a man of flesh and blood in the sense of a son of Adam, but one new man in the sense of a resurrected celestial body.

So I want to be clear here because I think this is very important. We do not worship the man Yeshua, the one born of a virgin. We know his revelation to the world was of divine seed and from the Word of God (logos). What we do worship is the resurrected Body of Christ. The one new man.

The Spirit of Christ (or the Son) is spoken about in three places (Romans 8:9, Gal. 4:6, 1 Pet. 1:11) but this is not a study of Christology. Needless to say, some consider the Spirit of Christ different than the Holy Spirit.

I would like to end this teaching with a rather perplexing scripture:
Matt. 11:27:: All things have been delivered to Me by My Father, and no one knows the Son except the Father. Nor does anyone know the Father except the Son, and the one to whom the Son wills to reveal Him.

This verse literally says that we do not even know the Son. I don’t think this is exactly the earthly man we know as Jesus. His form was hidden after the resurrection. Mary Magdalene did not recognize him after resurrection. She thought he was the gardener, like the one with a sukkot that watches from the eastern gate (maybe a story for another day). The other time two disciples were walking on the road from Jerusalem to Emmaus and did not perceive him until the end of the encounter. The last is the time when they went back fishing in the Galilee Sea and he was on the shore and their hauled in 153 fish. The point is we do not always recognize him with our natural eyes. We recognize him by the spirit with our spiritual eyes.

But the good thing is we can know the Father when Yeshua reveals him to us.

Let us therefore strive to know the Father in all ways that the man Yeshua reveals him to us as he stated in John 14:9:: Don’t you know me, Philip, even after I have been among you such a long time? Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father.

And we can certainly have a relationship with Yeshua by the power of the Holy Spirit and his presence dwelling within. Creeds help us define out doctrine but can also divide because people believe different things.

** Niceno-Constantinopolitan Creed” or the “Nicene-Constantinopolitan Creed”
And [we believe] in the Holy Ghost, the Lord and Giver-of-Life, who proceedeth from the Father, who with the Father and the Son together is worshipped and glorified, who spake by the prophets. And [we believe] in one, holy, catholic and Apostolic Church. We acknowledge one Baptism for the remission of sins, [and] we look for the resurrection of the dead and the life of the world to come. Amen.[45]

Heb. 9:22 says ‘according to the law almost all things are purified with blood, and without shedding of blood there is no remission’.

John 17:3 ‘this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent’.

When John 1:18 says that nobody has seen God at any time we know that seeing is believing. We perceive things. Moses saw his back side (Ex. 33:23) and only spoke to him face to face (Ex. 33:11).

The hebrew word for face is pānîm (paw-neem’) and is also used to describe the face of the deep, the face of the waters, the face of the firmament of the heavens, face of all the earth, face of the ground so it could also mean the surface or outer parts.

Exactly how he spoke to the LORD face-to-face is a bit of a mystery for the LORD said, “You cannot see My face; for no man shall see Me, and live (Ex. 33:20). We can also be hidden in the cleft of the rock while his goodness passes us by and he covers our view with his hand. To only see his back side is sufficient. His word should be sufficient for us like when Yeshua spoke the word to the Centurian at Capernium.

Sources:
https://biblereasons.com/catholic-vs-orthodox/#:~:text=The%20Eastern%20Orthodox%20Church%20believes%20it%20is%20the,is%20simply%20one%20branch%20or
https://www.bibles.net/the-full-text-of-the-apostles-creed/
https://justdisciple.com/christian-creed/
https://www.beliefnet.com/faiths/christianity/why-did-mary-not-recognize-jesus-resurrection.aspx
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nicene_Creed#Niceno-Constantinopolitan_Creed

 

 

 

Unity Amongst Believers #2

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REJECTING OTHERS NOT IN OUR GROUP

Mark 9:38 (also Luke 9:49-50)
John said to Him, “Teacher, we saw someone casting out demons in Your name, and we tried to prevent him because he was not following us. But Jesus said, “Do not hinder him, for there is no one who will perform a miracle in My name, and be able soon afterward to speak evil of Me. For he who is not against us is for us”.

There are many denominations in the world today: about 1.3 billion Catholics and about 900 million Protestants, 200 million Estern Orthodox, and almost 120 million in other major branches. One source I found suggests there are over 33k denominations in the world today. It seems that every few years new denominations are birthed and old ones remain. When do remove old groups? Probably NEVER. Some doctrinal changes might occur.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Christian_denominations_by_number_of_members
http://www.philvaz.com/apologetics/a106.htm

What I really want to know about this verse is how the other guys can perform a miracle in his name. What was his name? Jesus, Jesu, Christ, Jehoshua, Yeshua, or something other. They performed a miracle in the name of some holy man from Galilee who had 12 disciples. Sure enough, Apostle Paul found some disciples in Ephesus who had never heard about Holy Spirit baptism but that was decades after Christ was crucified and rose from the dead. It seems the issue in Mark 9 was not even about Holy Spirit baptism, but about groups and who they owed their allegiance to. Apostle Paul alluded to super apostles in 2 Cor. 11:5 so even though he had the blessing of the group in Jerusalem there were other groups preaching about Yeshua which had no real allegience to Paul and his traveling companions. Consider the sect of the circumcision of which James was probably a member or even a sect of the Pharisees (Acts 15:5).

Acts 15:1:: certain men came down from Judea and taught the brethren, “Unless you are circumcised according to the custom of Moses, you cannot be saved.”

So differences in doctrine and practice was evident even in the early church.

Yeshua said may they all be one, as You Father, are in me and I am in you. (John 17:21). This was to be a witness to the world that God has sent Jesus to the world. Instead we have many in the world today involved with Islam, Hinduism, Buddism, Jaanism, Secularism, and other ism’s.

It is a great travesty that we have so many denominations around today. Still, we can work together, God willing, to bring about the Kingdom of God and impact the world.

Ecumenicalism has been tagged a bad thing by many in ecclesiastical circles, despite the prayer of Yeshua. It is true that compromise of essential doctrines is bad (so essential doctrines get debated). Non-essentials should never divide the body of Christ. We believe that Jesus was born of a virgin, lived a sinless life, died a cruel death on the cross for our sins, and was raised again to life to provide forgiveness of sins in his name. Most Christians believe that Yeshua is coming again soon to set up his kingdom. That is about the entirety of the core christian message.

It was recently pointed out to me that most Quakers (Friends) do not believe in Water Baptism nor Communion but rather opt for spiritual transformation and direct communion with God.

Yet I have been in a godly group that places a high emphasis on water baptism, to the point of considering one unsaved if they have not yet got baptised because the Lord commanded us to baptise. Yet I could easily point out the theif on the cross to be an exception to this generally-accepted sacrement. Fully training 3000 new converts on the intricasies of Baptism on the Day of Pentecost seems a bit questionable to me also.

In terms of Communion the Lord said:
This do, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me.” For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death till He comes (1 Cor. 11:25-26).

I don’t think Yeshua had in mind NEVER, but we can easily disagree on the how often aspect of the Lord’s supper. I have been in churches where they offer the Lord’s Supper every week or every time they come together.

I doubt I can fully define all doctrinal differences concerning sacrements here (including holy confession for the Catholics). I am just exploring some of the things that divide us.

I will point out however, when we speak of grace being a substitute (fulfillment of) the law I am thinking he fulfilled the sacrifical law. There are aspects of the law dealing with love and justice and mercy and faithfulness which are eternal laws. So you see, things are not that simple when it comes to things that divide us.

FAVORTISM AMONGST THE BRETHREN

Mark 10:35-45
James (Jacob) and John, the two sons of Zebedee, came up to Jesus, saying, “Teacher, we want You to do for us whatever we ask of You. He said to them, “What do you want Me to do for you?” They said to Him, “Grant that we may sit, one on Your right and one on Your left, in Your glory.” But Jesus said to them, “You do not know what you are asking. Are you able to drink the cup that I drink, or to be baptized with the baptism with which I am baptized?” They said to Him, “We are able.” And Jesus said to them, “The cup that I drink you shall drink; and you shall be baptized with the baptism with which I am baptized.“But to sit on My right or on My left, this is not Mine to give; but it is for those for whom it has been prepared.” Hearing this, the ten began to feel indignant with James (Jacob) and John. Calling them to Himself, Jesus *said to them, “You know that those who are recognized as rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them; and their great men exercise authority over them. “But it is not this way among you, but whoever wishes to become great among you shall be your servant; whoever wishes to be first among you shall be slave of all. “For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.”

Think about these verses. Even the disciples begged to be first on Jesus’ favorite list. Jesus was quick to correct with the admonition that the cup to drink was not pleasant. You might even say it was the koolaid cup, Jim Jones style. To live for Christ and be his witness comes from the root word for martyr. There is really no glory as the world knows it when it comes to being a true witness for Christ. As it was in the beginning, the disciples of Christ were persecuted. Some are persecuted today. In the end the tribulation(s) will also result in persecution. Those that experience peace and prosperity are so blessed. We should never forget the cost many paid for our current blessings.

I think in Kenya us white folks (musungo) have to be careful how we deal with people so as to not create the perception of favortism. In many places musungo is treated very nicely here, even almost to the point of royalty. In the Kingdom there is not big I’s and little You’s.

OUR AUTHORITY (Earthly Example)

Spiritual authority is not the same as legal or civil authority which is exercised by government. Apostle Paul talks about giving heed to civil authority in Romans 13 and Titus 3:1. One noteable exception to this has been the Holy Roman Empire which has claimed both spiritual and legal authority over many lands from around the time of Charlemagne (about 800 AD) up until the Napoleanic Wars (about 1806).

Normally we start a discussion about spiritual authority from a verse like Luke 9:1 which talks about power and authority given to the 70 disciples sent out to cast out demons and heal the sick. But instead I’m going to start from a slightly different perspective.

Acts 5:1:: But a man named Ananias, with his wife Sapphira, sold a piece of property, and kept back some of the price for himself, with his wife’s full knowledge, and bringing a portion of it, he laid it at the apostles’ feet. Peter said, “Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and to keep back some of the price of the land. While it remained unsold, did it not remain your own? And after it was sold, was it not under your control? Why is it that you have conceived this deed in your heart? You have not lied to men but to God.” As he heard these words, Ananias fell down and breathed his last; and great fear came over all who heard of it.

gr exousia is the word used here for authority or control

So whether you have a million dollars or just a small amount like a few cents it is under your control to do with it as you will. Jesus commended the poor widow women for putting a mite into the temple treasury. The point here is we don’t lie or act deceiptfully in our giving. God loves a cheerful giver as it says in 2 Cor. 9:7. We give as the Lord lays upon our hearts. Give and it shall be given unto you (Luke 6:38) is actually a measure that shows how our giving is proportional to blessings from God. If we lie and cheat in our giving then we are actually stealing from God (and lying). Mal. 3:8, often quoted, describes how people cheat God. Someone once pointed out it was the priests who where the YOU of that verse. I’m not going down that rabbit hole today. My point is who has control in the realm of giving and receiving.

I would like to point out that the messenger in Mal. 3:1 was likely speaking about Yeshua. Yeshua appears on the scene hundreds of years after the Spirit of God left the temple and clears the temple of the money changers and those who made merchandise of God’s people for religious service. According to Malachi ‘He is like a refiner’s fire and like launderers’ soap’. Yeshua said unless your righteousness surpasses that of the scribes and pharisees you shall in no way enter the kingdom of heaven (Matt. 5:20). Yeshua said to the Pharisees and teachers of the law ‘You clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence’ (Matt. 23:25). This empasizes Yeshua’s concern for internal moral cleanliness and not outward cleanliness through rituals.

It would be like someone making an excessive sum from book sales or charging exhorbanant fees for speaking. Apostle Paul talks about false apostles in 2 Corinthans 11 and those who worm their way into homes in 2 Tim 3:6 (was he talking about televangelists?). On the contrary, Apostle Paul tried not to be a burden to anyone but received from Macedonia in the case of those in Corinth (2 Cor. 11:9). I also try to do that in Kenya and elsewhere. Paying my way and even moreso in some cases… yet the laborer is worthy his hire (1 Tim. 5:18).

Getting back to authority …
Exousia is used in Matthew 7. Verses 28–29 say, “When Jesus had finished saying these things, the crowds were amazed at his teaching, because he taught as one who had authority [exousia], and not as their teachers of the law.” The word is also used in Matthew 9:6 when Jesus demonstrates that He has “authority” to forgive sins by healing a paralyzed man. The word is again used in Matthew 21:23–27 when the chief priests and elders question Jesus’ authority.

We all have spheres of authority. Money is one venue, another one is authority over people. The military fully knows about authority. Disobeying orders can get you into all sorts of trouble. In both Matthew and Luke we hear about the faith of the centurian which is a leader of 100. Jesus comments he has not heard of such faith in all of Israel.

I knew of a man in Africa who once moved funds from an orphanage to a church building program. This should not be so. Lines of authority ultimately come from God but many times flow through men and organizations. In the church we tend to have a measure of authority related to one’s work or mission:

2 Corinthians 10:12-16::
But we will not boast beyond our measure, but within the measure of the sphere which God apportioned to us as a measure, to reach even as far as you. For we are not overextending ourselves, as if we did not reach to you, for we were the first to come even as far as you in the gospel of Christ; not boasting beyond our measure, that is, in other men’s labors, but with the hope that as your faith grows, we will be, within our sphere, enlarged even more by you, so as to preach the gospel even to the regions beyond you, and not to boast in what has been accomplished in the sphere of another.

Apostle Paul did boast to some extent to those he had influence over. Mainly in those places he helped to pioneer as a missionary which were Asia Minor, Greece, and eventually Rome. He did not boast in another’s man’s sphere, like among the Jews who were under James and Peter’s authority. Philip went down to Samaria but was later recorded as having worked in Scythina (Black and Caspian Seas area). I recently heard from a missionary friend from India that Apostle Thomas planted churches in the area around eastern India, his tomb is traditionally held to be in Mylapore, India. Apostle Andrew was said to have gone to Scythina and neighboring countries. Bartholemew was reported to have spend time in Armenaia and Upper Phrygia. In the end apostle Paul advises us to just BOAST IN THE LORD. The apostle even spends the whole of chapter 11 boasting about his suffering. Imagine that, boasting about suffering, not about your exploits or how large your church or ministry has become, or how many souls you have saved by your own effort.

So let us strive to do good and be effective for the Kingdom.

Sources:
https://christian.net/theology-and-spirituality/what-do-quakers-believe-about-baptism/

Unity Amongst Believers #1

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This is a message orginally given in early 2021 but updated in June, 2025. Yet the themes and implications of 2021 events remain even today. I am going to skip some of the recent history today for brevity but the text still contains the historical narrative.

Prayers: Noah Yeley orphange, Exodus primary school, Simitei primary school, Pastors in churches in Kakamega County to unite.

==> DARNEL IN THE WHEAT:

Various topics of how peole can get off course.

Matt 13:24-26
Jesus presented another parable to them, saying, “The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a man who sowed good seed in his field. But while his men were sleeping, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat, and went away. But when the wheat sprouted and bore grain, then the tares became evident also.

zizanion: a kind of darnel, resembling wheat except the grains are black

It should be obvious that anything black is not wheat. At best it is false and at worst it is dark and sinister. This grows alongside the wheat and is hard to seperate. That is how it is in the church these days. We get ministries or beliefs that resemble the real thing but are distinctly a different color or nature. They might even taste the same and in appearance resemble the real thing but are not. This is the false church, pretenting to be the body of Christ.

Psalm 133:1
A Song of Ascents (maala), of David.
Behold, how good and how pleasant it is
For brothers to dwell together in unity!

Ascents (maʿălâ) has in it the idea of going up but is the ascent or incline itself. It has also been translated as steps or degrees. Aliyah is what we normally hear regarding Jews returing to Israel. It is also the act of going up to read the Torah. Moses was called to go up to the top of the mountain and the children of Israel were called up to go up from Egypt (ălâ). One is the type of path or course of action, the other is the act of going up. One difference is maala is a noun and aliyah a verb. Let’s just say they are related but different. This is like darnel and wheat: related but different.

Another ascent of David is in Psalm 122:1. I was glad when they said to me, let us go into the house of the LORD. Maybe that is why Aliyah seems to end in God’s abbreviated name ‘Yah’ for we are ascending into God’s presence. Is it just coincidence that the hebrew word for sin, falsehood, treachery is ma’al? Is there something we should know about slight differences between ascending to the presence of the Lord and steps or degrees that can bring us into sin, falsehoods, transgression, and tresspass?

There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death (Prov. 14:12).

I am not trying to say that David’s Song of Ascents is wrong or harmful. Just saying the road you follow can be righteous or lead you into sin. Jim Jones seemed like a very righteous man, preaching the word of God strongly but in the end his road led to death. It only takes a small deviation to get on the wrong road!

==> POLITICS: Ay Vey!
Luke 23:12
Now Herod and Pilate became friends with one another that very day; for before they had been enemies with each other.

Luke 23:14 Pilot said “You brought this man to me as one who incites the people to rebellion, and behold, having examined Him before you, I have found no guilt in this man regarding the charges which you make against Him

Did Trump incite the people to violence January 6th (2021)? Maybe. What about today? Is he wrongly steering America into a middle east war? Politics quickly divides so best to not focus on it amongst believers!

1 Th. 5:22 abstain from every appearance of evil .. vs. 21 tells us to examine everything carefully; hold fast to that which is good

Politics is a slippery slope. Sometimes is is good, sometimes it is bad. King Herod is a nice biblical example. He wanted to keep the peace. Somehow the idea of what truth represents eluded him (John 18:38).

==> Black Lives Matter (BLM):

Do Black Lives Matter? Absolutely! Also white lives, hispanic lives, chinese lives, and actually all lives. Can we erase all of the wrongs done in history? Not likely. We can move forward, however.

BLM had its roots in 2012 when Trayvon Martin was shot and killed by a 28 year old Hispanic American. More recently we all remember the travesty relating to the death of George Floyd. BLM’s primary aim is to eliminate police brutality and racially motivated violence against all black people.

Racism in any form is not good. In some ways the Jews have it wrong. While antisemitism is racism, the Jews have and still do consider themselves superior to gentiles in the manner of not associating with unclean people. That is why the Holy Spirit had to convice Peter to go into the house of Cornelius the Centurian.

How about lives of the unborn?

We read about how God makes us in our mother’s womb.

Psalm 139:13-15::
For You formed my inward parts; you wove me in my mother’s womb.

I will give thanks to You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
Wonderful are Your works, and my soul knows it very well.

My frame (bones) was not hidden from You,
When I was made in secret, and skillfully wrought in the depths of the earth

Abortion can not only stop a child from birthing but also affect the plans he has for us::
Jer. 29:11:: I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the LORD, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope

Many moves of God can get aborted by us. His destiny for us might never get fulfilled if we abort or if we get onto the wrong path.

==> MONEY:
Something that divides us is economic status and love of money.

1 Tim 6:10::
For the love of money is a root of all sorts of evil, and some by longing for it have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.

Having money is not evil. We must be good stewards of what the Lord provides for us. Let’s look at some new covenant verses related to money.

Luke 10:7:: The Lord sends out 70 people to prepare the way for him
Stay in that house, eating and drinking what they give you; for the laborer is worthy of his wages. Do not keep moving from house to house.

Labor, even spiritual labor is something that must be rewarded in this lifetime. Apostle Paul had a good perspective on stewardship and money.

Acts 20:33-35:: (In Ephesus he speaks to the elders)
I have coveted no one’s silver or gold or clothes. You yourselves know that these hands ministered to my own needs and to the men who were with me. In everything I showed you that by working hard in this manner you must help the weak and remember the words of the Lord Jesus, that He Himself said, ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive

In the church we have elders who get honored. It does not say with money but that is certainly one way.

1 Tim 5:17-18:: The elders who rule well are to be considered worthy of double honor, especially those who work hard at preaching and teaching. For the Scripture says, “YOU SHALL NOT MUZZLE THE OX WHILE HE IS THRESHING,” and “The laborer is worthy of his wages.