ECCLESIOLOGY: A Very Peculiar People!

On the MSN Home Page there is a link called “The Word of the Day.” Each day a new word is supplied to the site by Microsoft's Encarta. One word offered was:

sui generis | soo-eye-JEH-nuh-russ or soo-ee-JEH-nuh-russ | adjective: constituting a class alone : unique, peculiar

Example sentence:

"No one before or since has had such a blend of wildness and vulnerability, such pretty-boy looks crossed with such rawness ... James Dean was sui generis." (Robert DiMatteo, Video Review, December 1990)

The selection went on to explain:

English contains many terms that ultimately trace to the Latin forms "gener-" or "genus," (which are variously translated as "birth," "race," "kind," "gender," and "class"). Offspring of those roots include "general," "generate," "generous," "generic," "degenerate," and "gender." But "sui generis" is truly a one-of-a-kind "gener-" descendant that English speakers have used for singular things since the late 1700s.

Its earliest uses were in scientific contexts, where it identified substances, principles, diseases, and even rocks that were unique or that seemed to be the only representative of their class or group. By the early 1900s, however, "sui generis" expanded beyond solely scientific contexts and is now used more generally for anything that stands alone.

Seems to me God used this concept long before the 1700s. In fact, I believe it was first used by a man called Simon, later known as Peter, in the first century AD. I believe he wrote something like:

"But you are A CHOSEN RACE, A royal PRIESTHOOD, A HOLY NATION, A PEOPLE FOR God's OWN POSSESSION, so that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light; for you once were NOT A PEOPLE, but now you are THE PEOPLE OF GOD; you had NOT RECEIVED MERCY, but now you have RECEIVED MERCY."

1 Peter 2:9-10

And if my memory serves me correctly, the folks who translated the KJV said we are a "peculiar" people.

God long ago decided that all of His children should be sui generis – in “a class alone,” unique and peculiar.

Christianity, Illustrations, Religion

COVENANTS - God's formal promises!

MOCKING GOD! Various Old Testament; Covenants, Enemies (of Israel), Israel, Promises]

A UN – sponsored Palestinian Authority “tourism” map leaves out all references to Israel. The PA Ministry of Tourism map is called "Palestine, the Holy Land." According to reports, the map includes the entire expanse of present-day Israel, the West Bank, and Gaza Strip but without reference to it. Even a few larger Israeli cities are given Arab subtitles.

Palestinian Media Watch says the message to Palestinians is clear, "Israel does not exist." They add, "None of the official maps show Israel," including those printed in PA school textbooks.

The map is being partially funded by the UN Development Program. Five percent of its funding comes from UN headquarters, with the remaining from donors (including Japan, the United States, and European Union member states).

You can wash a pig and soak him in cologne but he is still a pig; you can play Ostrich if you want – lights out, head in the sand – but the Lion of Judah still roams the hills of Israel and the Ostrich’s rear is still exposed.

God says, "Blessed are you, O Israel; Who is like you, a people saved by the LORD, Who is the shield of your help, And the sword of your majesty! So your enemies shall cringe before you, And you shall tread upon their high places." [Deuteronomy 33:29]

Apparently, Israel’s neighbors haven’t learned anything from the past concerning Israel’s strength … her strength is in the Lord [Psalms 68:35; 115:9].

We know, don’t we, that Israel is two: first, their is ersatz Israel … the one we see and hear about; then there is true Israel, the Israel that Paul speaks, the Israel the prophets cried out over … the one God loves.

Isn’t the church much like that, the ersatz church and the authentic Church … one headless, powerless; the other power-filled, with Christ as its head.

COMPLACENCY & PRIDE: The sin sisters!

"Woe to those who are at ease in Zion And to those who feel secure in the mountain of Samaria, The distinguished men of the foremost of nations, To whom the house of Israel comes."

Amos 6:1

The wicked sisters of complacency and pride are like the South American bola. It’s used to take down uncooperative horses and cattle, when thrown at their hind legs. It is also used against uncooperative men. The two leather tethers were tied at one end and held lead or stone balls at the other end.

When thrown correctly the two balls whirl around in opposite directions; upon hitting a target, they wrap themselves around the legs, tripping or immobilizing the animal. Heavier weights are used as a weapon. Thrown at the upper torso or the neck, the two balls deal a severe blow to the recipient … even rendering some unconscious.

Complacency and pride whirl around religious men like gossip and backbiting around the proverbial water cooler.

Christianity, Complacency,
Illustrations, Pride, Religion