Recap of 7/29/19 Meeting

We first discussed Gen 18 where Abraham meets 3 men who seem to be the Lord and 2 angels. They tell Abraham that Sarah will be pregnant at this time next spring. Sarah is in the tent and overhears this and laughs, since her and Abraham are already old. (As we find out later, she indeed does get pregnant and the boy is named Isaac, which means laughter!). The Lord then says he is sending the other 2 men (angels?) to check on Sodom, which is located at the southern end of the Red Sea, because there have been cries to the Lord about many evil things happening there. Abraham knows his nephew, Lott, is in Sodom and tries negotiating with the Lord to save Sodom. He finally gets the Lord to agree that if there are 10 good people in Sodom, he won’t destroy it. This concludes Chap 18, but we discussed Chap 19 as well. Apparently, there aren’t 10 good people in Sodom and it gets destroyed, but Isaac and his 2 daughters are saved. Lott’s wife is turned to a pillar of salt because she disobeyed the angels and looked back as they were running away, which indicates she regretted leaving Sodom (she was a Sodomite); however, Jewish tradition also states she was responsible for alerting the townspeople “mob” to attack Lott’s house.

We also discussed Purgatory, which a) is a good thing and b) is based on Scripture. As for scripture, I will site 2 things. In Revelations 21:27, it says "...nothing unclean shall enter heaven." This is simply because there is no sin in heaven because it is absolutely perfect. If something imperfect entered heaven, then it would no longer perfect. When we die, there are likely sins we did not seek forgiveness, which means we are still flawed/imperfect, and we can't enter heaven. These unforgiven sins must be removed (forgiven/"purged"). Purgatory is not hell fire, it is not even physical. You can call it the "forgiveness room" at the doorstep to heaven, and 100% will leave there and go to heaven. Purgatory is just the name we gave to describe where ever the heck we go to reconcile our yet unforgiven sins.

The second scriptural reference I will site is Maccabees 12:39-46, where Judas Maccabeus and his men pray for their fallen comrades after a battle, so that they might be delivered from their sins. Again, they are praying for their dead comrades, which means there is still someplace besides hell and heaven that that the dead can go.

Also, in the New Testament in Matthew 12:32, Jesus says, "whoever speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven; but whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven, either in this age or in the age to come." The age to come is after we are dead, so although Jesus has informed us that this one sin (blaspheming the HS) will not be forgiven, one must presume there are other sins that will be. That can only happen if there is a Purgatory. And yes, Protestants will say the word "Purgatory" does not appear in the bible. So what, we gave it a name later. Same goes for the "Trinity," which Protestants do believe in.

Btw, our Protestant brothers/sisters think salvation is a "one and done" deal: Christ died for our sins so we have nothing to worry about once we accept Jesus Christ as our savior. However, this is a nonsensical idea created by Luther 1400 years after Christ died (which means for the first 1400 years, no Christians believed that). On the contrary, Catholics have believed since apostolic times that we continue to have free will - and therefore we can lose our salvation.

Protestants also say we just need faith alone (not works) to be saved (called "Sola Fide"), but this was nonexistent for the first 1400 years also. As it says in James 2:13-26: "Faith without works is dead." Also of note: Protestants believe we Catholics think that we can "earn" our way into heaven all by ourselves as long as we have enough "good works." This is a myth. Since the time of the Apostles, Catholics have believed that our salvation requires faith AND works; they are two sides of the same coin.

Part II - How to PRAY. Sorry if it's long, but it's what we discussed!

The other half of our meeting we discussed Luke 11:1-13, where Jesus teaches the Apostles the Our Father (Catholics call it the Our Father, Protestants call it The Lord’s Prayer). Notice the Apostles ask Jesus “how” to pray. As with other prayers, including the Our Father and even Ten Commandments, always begin with raising our minds off ourselves and up to God (or “in to” God, to be more accurate). So the first step in prayer is to leave self behind. Park all your anxieties and worries at the door to prayer (trust me, they won’t go anywhere), and do a mindmeld-greeting with God. This should always be the starting point. It’s like any relationship that involves love. The more you can clear your mind and focus on the “other” person, the better you hear them, the better you can understand them, the better you can be in the present with them, which means the relationship will grow because you are properly investing in it. Besides, communication with God isn’t like going shopping at the Mall for all your wants and issues (those comes second). Greet God, spend a moment with him quietly, thank him for continuing to be in your life. You can then explain your issues and ask for help, but remember, although he may help with your urgent needs, God doesn’t typically deal in human time. More likely, he is interested in your long term growth and eternal success, which may run counter to your requests. If you are praying for loved ones, the same is true. Maybe tough love is the order of the day. But also, you don’t know how many other people may be affected now and in the future by some changes that your prayers have caused, but that you don’t see; in other words, the whole world is connected, so you aren’t the only one affected by his help. So in the back of your mind, keep an open mind to all possibilities. When you are finished, say, “Your will, not mine, be done!” That way, if you asked for something incorrectly, this will show you understand your requests are limited in wisdom.

The Our Father. Jesus calling God “Father” and telling his followers to do the same would have been considered blasphemy by Jews/Jewish authorities, which in fact is one reason they felt he should put to death. The reason for this new reference to God was because God had just become human, and this act kinda put God and us in the same family (that is, for those who choose to partake). This is why we are “children of God.” We were already spiritual offspring since God breathed his spirit into us in Genesis; but now with Jesus there’s a physical dimension to it. As our Father, the relationship changes (evolves) from what it was in the Old Testament. We aren’t in Kansas anymore, Todo.

Another difference with Jesus’s prayer is that it is in the present. Most OT prayers are all future: God will save us, God will send a Messiah, etc., Well, now God’s here, so it’s in the present. Thy Kingdom come was and is still very present, as Jesus was literally in the process of undoing the Fall of Man when he was teaching this prayer. Will be done: part of our participating in this prayer is learning to unite our will to the will of God (rather than the other way around); which is great training for our receiving wisdom. But we have to practice this because our ego wants everything in the here and now. Even after Jesus asked the Father if he might forego Passion (please remove this cup from me), he finished with “yet not my will but yours be done.” Thy will be done! It’s a proclamation we are making for ourselves and to God, so we can be part of bring the reality of God to earth as it is in heaven. By the way, “on earth as it is in heaven” applies to the previous three statements (hallowed be thy name; thy kingdom come; thy will be done).

Next: forgiveness is our free ticket to heaven because it wipes our slate clean. If you consider for a moment the absolute perfection of heaven, if something were to enter heaven that is dirty/not perfect, then Heaven would no longer be perfect. For this reason, we cannot enter heaven if we still have sins we haven’t sought forgiveness for. It’s why we have Purgatory (my last post); but the point is that forgiveness is for free if we just ask! All that said, if we aren’t willing to do the same for others, the Jesus asks, how can he forgive us? He can’t. Jesus is teaching us how to be like God. That is why we are here. We don’t have to be perfect like God, we just need to try; then we get forgiveness for the rest. It’s a good deal.

Lastly, humans are who they are only because of the difficulties and adversities of their lives. Our hardships form and define us. Just consider the opposite: someone who has had a live of NO difficulties is spoiled, the proverbial man raised with a silver spoon in his mouth: never had to work, never had to struggle, never had to make painful decisions. Well, this person also has no work ethic, no understanding of other people, and wouldn’t last a day when he gets thrown out in the world. The fact is, we are all tested and tried throughout our lives, but that’s part of our Fall, and that’s part of our pathway back to God. And He wants to travel that journey with us. What’s relevant to this prayer is that these trials and difficulties, even though they are for our own good, can be riddled with temptations to take short cuts, cheat, betray, be greedy, be vengeful, etc. “Lead us not into temptation” is not the best translation because the real translation includes the trials and hardships in addition to the temptations; but essentially we are asking God not to test us beyond what we can handle, and to help us not fall to cheap temptations along the way!

“Deliver us from evil” refers to the end of times – deliver ALL of us to heaven!

God bless,

Ron