Brian and Cathy Gray Bible study, Red Pill Diaries

Earnest Love

Above all, keep loving one another earnestly, since love covers a multitude of sins. 1 Pet 4:8

Do I even know what that means?

Many if not most believers cite 1 Corinthians 13:4-8 when defining love.

Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up; does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil; does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails. But whether there are prophecies, they will fail; whether there are tongues, they will cease; whether there is knowledge, it will vanish away. For we know in part and we prophesy in part. But when that which is perfect has come, then that which is in part will be done away.

Here is another rendition.

Love is large in being passionate about life and relentlessly patient in bearing the offenses and injuries of others with kindness. Love is completely content and strives for nothing. Love has no desire to make others feel inferior and has no need to sing its own praises. Love is predictable and does not behave out of character. Love is not ambitious. Love is not spiteful and gets no mileage out of another’s mistakes. Love sees no joy in injustice. Love’s delight is in everything that truth celebrates. Love is a fortress where everyone feels protected rather than exposed! Love’s persuasion is persistent! Love believes. Love never loses hope and always remains constant in contradiction. Love never loses its altitude!

The first version is from the ESV translated from the original Greek into contemporary English. The second is from the Mirror Bible also allegedly translated from the original Greek. The difference between the two is the added interpretation in the Mirror Bible.

For example, Love suffers long, (ESV) Love is large in being passionate about life. (Mirror Version) Let me ask you;

what do the words suffering and passionate mean to you?

A year or so into our Honduras Mission my definition of earnest love correlated with an old post, Que Rompe Tu Corazon – “What breaks your heart?” At that time the poverty, loneliness, and suffering we encountered broke my heart. In my mind, God did not desire that any of His children should suffer. Love meant being the hands and feet of Jesus. It meant giving from the overflow of abundance God had given me to do all I could to alleviate suffering. In a word, I gave people stuff along with money to buy stuff. Earnestness was the intensity of the emotion I felt that compelled me and propelled me forward. I labeled this

“Compassion”.

Cathy’s photo of children in a Honduran dump.

Maturity

It can be easy to stop at verse 10 in the above passage. Yet Paul goes on.

When I was a child, I spoke as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child; but when I became a man, I put away childish things. For now we see in a mirror, dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part, but then I shall know just as I also am known. 1 Cor 13:11-12

There are childish albeit still valid interpretations and expressions of love. Still, growth that results in maturity is the goal.

And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes. Rather,speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love. Eph 4:11-16

We are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ… This includes but is not limited to, loving like Jesus did and does. When I was a child God’s love was defined by my experience of His comfort. As a young man earnest love became sacrificial obedience to a self-appointed mission to accomplish something for Jesus in my name. As well-intentioned as it was, it was nevertheless birthed from a self-centered interpretation of scriptures like Isaiah 6:8.

Here I am! Send Me!

One thing seems certain. My understanding and perception of love have evolved as I’ve aged. If the Bible is correct, I can expect between twelve and twenty-two more years of earthly life. Psalm 90:10 Perhaps the greater number of opportunities to suffer and endure by way of having walked longer upon the earth sets me apart from those half my age. Today earnest love looks like peace and simple faithfulness. Faithfulness to His Word, faithfulness to that which He calls me, be it preaching a sermon or cleaning a toilet. Faithfulness in the context of my relationships. It is accompanied by a clear understanding that faithfulness is not a synonym for success. Many of the most significant and successful people are also the most adulterous and idolatrous. Faithfulness means giving my time and resources because “God said” not because of any perceived benefits or a lack thereof. It has nothing to do with attaining some illusory “next level”. Earnest Love does not desire to offend but is willing to offend 1 Pet 2:8 because love rejoices in truth. Love and truth can not be separated.

Earnest Love is Compassion.

Interestingly the prefix “com“ means “with“. “Passion” means “suffering” as depicted by Jesus on the cross. Compassion is

“to suffer with”.

A lot of people, especially younger people, role their eyes at my ongoing emphasis on suffering instead of identity. All I can say is take it up with Peter. He broaches the topic 12 times in 1 Peter alone. The topic occurs 96 times in the entire Bible 68 of which are in the New Testament. In contrast, Blessing occurs 76 times 21 of which are in the New Testament.

The Gospels denote the compassion of Jesus twenty-three times. The implication for me as a missionary was that my compassion was evidence of my being conformed to the image of Jesus. Perhaps. But in my experience being conformed almost always begins with a Heb 12:27 shaking. The shaking removes some things and shakes other things into place. Suffice it to say that God shook me a lot in the course of six years. Immature grandiosity and delusions of significance were the first to go. What remained was a more mature and realistic appraisal of myself. As it turns out, what I had defined as compassion was in fact mere pity. Pity always compares my situation with that of another. Pity tempts one to embrace guilt, shame, and condemnation for having more than others. In the end, pity looks down from a proverbial pedestal and declares,

“Poor thing!”

Guilt, shame, shame, and condemnation were always temporarily relieved by giving. I mistook the illusion of personal empowerment and imagined significance in God’s kingdom as my payment for lending to Him. Prov 19-17

Pity is just altruistic pride in disguise.

While pity strives for the illusory “next level” allegedly to help more of those below it. Compassion identifies with a person in their situation. It purposely aims lower and enters the struggle of another alongside them in the dirt. Pity is underpinned by pride. Compassion is marked by humility.

And Jesus said to him, “Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.” Mat 8:20

If I ask for a contemporary definition of “earnest” I expect the answer to be framed in the context of an emotional response. Contemporary earnestness is always a measure of emotional intensity be it felt or outwardly expressed. Still, we must dig into what Paul meant at the time and compare it with our own linguistic interpretations lest we be guilty of preaching another gospel. Gal 1:8-9

In 1 Peter 4, “Earnest” or “Fervent” is ektenḗs– intent:–without ceasing, stretched out, assiduously.

Assiduous means with great care and perseverance.

Jesus gave us the purest example of Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends. John 15:13

Once again, Peter’s use of the term “earnest love” in 1 Peter 4 is in direct reference to the mind or resolve of Jesus with which he exhorts us to arm ourselves in verse 1.

Like it or not earnest love that covers a multitude of sins is inseparable from suffering. It would seem that earnest love is only produced by genuine compassion which is suffering in the flesh. Perhaps death to self Mat 16:24-25, Rev 12:11 produces a willingness to lay down one’s life for another thereby making earnest love that covers a multitude of sins possible. If so then it follows that those who have suffered in the flesh as a result of loving in this manner have ceased from sin. 1 Peter 4:2

Does arming ourselves in this way mean we aspire to grow up into this kind of love? Is it part of becoming perfect, as our heavenly Father is perfect? Mat 5:48 Or do we simply trust Christ in us the hope of glory Col 1:27 to manifest in and through us when the moment of truth arrives and we are called to suffer and even die for sake the of the gospel?

Ironically, I had a conversation with a coworker last night who was trying to understand why our church “looks so crazy” during worship. All things considered, we are pretty mild for an IRIS Global church. I began explaining how the roots of our church were born out of a willingness to enter into suffering during a civil war in Mozambique. I told her about all the miracles I personally witnessed in the context of suffering in Mozambique and Honduras. The deaf ears opened the miraculous replication of food, etc. I talked about Surprise Sithole and the Voice in the Night. Much of the eccentricity we see here in the West looks crazy because people go directly from having an encounter with God to choosing a restaurant for lunch where they spend more than most Mozambiquans make in a year. Many people mistake eccentricity for Holy Spirit.

Most people are consumed with living their best life now in hopes that their children and grandchildren will do the same. Nothing I say is going to change their perspective. Today is January 1st, 2024. Many are being lulled to sleep by a prosperous satanic lullaby. But God will have His way. The next few years are not going to look like what I hear most self-proclaimed contemporary prophets describing. Still, I fully expect to see conditions emerge that produce a revival of

Earnest Love among a remnant of believers.

Meditate on that.

Maranatha

Brian and Cathy Gray Commentary

Choose Your Hill

The likely duration of the devastation in Honduras is just starting to sink in following our outreach last week. The sense of powerlessness we felt as we passed miles and miles of tarp cities along the way is hard to describe.

1 min video no script just footage.

Meanwhile, Josh fell hard off a ladder and injured his shoulder. His arm is in a sling.  If that weren’t enough our ministry vehicle has big issues and 

We are grounded for a few weeks.

What to do, what to do?…

I know. How about we catch up on the news.

Errant Epistemology

As usual, our world is in turmoil over worldviews and politics.  As always there are many on both sides of the political sewer stream who believe they know the truth. Yet apart from hands on daily experience the only thing any of us really know for sure is the content of what we have been told or shown via some form of media. Like it or not most of what we consume only skews reality.  As a media creator myself I know that some of that skewing is inevitable. Some is by design.

Inevitable causes result from the emphasis being determined by the creator. If you watch one of my videos you inevitably see what impacts me. I want you to see and feel what I see and feel. That’s why I’m creating it. The greater my passion the more my own biases pass through the lens of your perception, world view, and life experience. You then draw your own conclusions and pass them onto others. The process goes on ad Infinitum.

On some level, every media consumer becomes a co-errant creator.

Skewing by design is intentional and may be used to honor or dishonor the subject.

Anyone who has been interviewed by me knows that I cut errors. Any hesitation, confusion, cussing, stuttering, or farting is removed such that even the most awkward and nervous subject looks like a seamless orator. I do this both for the sake of time and honor. The dark side of this is that people can be made to say things they never said.  All it takes is a simple switching of camera angles and adding b-roll to cover spliced clips.  For example, I could ask you what you thought about cockroaches in one question and what you think about puppies in the next then splice the answer to the first question onto the second and walla!  You have been transformed from a clean person into a genocidal puppy killer. 

Yes, it’s really that easy.

Viewing is skewing

The diminishing attention span and patience of viewers as well as the accelerated speed at which people scroll through SM messages requires videos to be shorter and shorter.  Advertisers know they have no more than 5-15 seconds to hook you or you will scroll through their message on your device.  That’s why they allow you the “Skip Ad” option. As a result, billions of people make instant and completely subjective decisions regarding truth and the nature of reality everyday based on media titles and headlines like “Trump Invokes Insurection Act” alone.

You don’t have the wisest serpent in the den to discern where this might lead.

Pardon the memeish pun. The left is on the right and the right is in the left. 🙃

What is True?

Four years ago on New Year’s Eve, we were en-route back to Kauai from Africa where we had attended the Iris Global Harvest School of Missions.

Africa was paradigm-shifting, to say the least.  We saw what it means to really lay it all down for the sake of the gospel.  We learned that while miracles and projects happen and doctrinal differences always arise, mission work a.k.a. Christianity begins and ends with intimacy with God and stopping for the one in front of you. 

Thankfully it wasn’t until we returned that we heard the myriad controversies regarding Heidi Baker. Like any famous person she is enshrined by some and bedeviled by others. Suffice it to say that anyone who has not personally encountered her on the mission field should stop talking.

The same applies to Christians talking about anyone’s character whom we only know via the media. As it turns out I have been duped too. Allow me to be the first to repent of this.

The entire body of Christ is comprised of fallen, cracked pots.

How easy it is to forget the brokenness that drew us to Christ in the first place.  Still, the body of Christ has had challenges with discerning and holding onto truth from the start. One minute the Corinthians are on fire for the gospel. Then getting rebuked for sexual immorality in next. 1 Cor 5 On a good day we prophecy in part, know in part, and see in a glass darkly. Therefore everything we do must be grounded in a love for one another that we model before others. John 13:35  Otherwise we become loud dystopic clangs in an already dying world. 1 Cor 13:1

There’s a lot of clanging today

I don’t know about you but I can be pretty fiery. It doesn’t take a whole lot of media viewing to stoke my stupidity and expose my deficits in this area.

Part of the problem is that our society has become an ocean of normalized narcissism where personal opinions and significance have become idols and are monetized by Social Media. Yup being angry at someone because they disagree with the ALMIGHTY ME is narcissistic. Calling for revolution or civil war is psychotic. It may be coming soon thanks to the new religion of

Self-aggrandizement and maligning others in the temple of the smartphone.

“The Social Dilemma” is an absolute must for anyone who has ever asked questions like “How could anyone believe the Marxist driven Portland riots were a peaceful protest” or “How could any Christian support a Nazi white supremacist homophobic rapist like Donald Trump?”

The answer is scarier than you might imagine.

About two years ago I wrote Truth or Trump where I discussed what I learned during my old Forex trading days regarding how media manipulates markets and political narratives for profit. I concluded that political rage is destroying the witness of Christians. In the Anatomy of Deception, I covered the economic theory of Reflexivity and what George Soros termed the Fertile Fallacy and the Manipulative Function by which he determines reality. These also drive markets, public opinion, and behavior. That all of the aforementioned entities are working together to reform humanity in the forge of social media is- well… terrifying.

“The Social Dilemma” was a proverbial capstone.

Let those with eyes to see understand.

God and Government – Fear Not

While there are all sorts of typological analogies that can be drawn from the Old Testament regarding kings and kingdoms, it is God who establishes both in accordance with His disposition toward nations. Our God-given rights can only be revoked by Him.

His disposition toward Israel in Habakkuk 1 and Jerimiah 19 looks very different from Isaiah 45.

Hence He established both Nebuchadnezzar and Cyrus.

Those who assume God didn’t establish Joe Biden and stand ready to redo 1776 should consider the almost prophetic words of John Adams in a letter to the Massachusetts Militia on October 11, 1798.

“We shall have the Strongest Reason to rejoice in the local destination assigned us by Providence. But should the People of America, once become capable of that deep simulation towards one another and towards foreign nations, which assumes the language of justice and moderation while it is practicing iniquity and extravagance; and displays in the most captivating manner the charming pictures of candor frankness & sincerity while it is rioting in rapine and insolence: this Country will be the most miserable habitation in the World. Because we have no government armed with power capable of contending with human passions unbridled by morality and religion. Avarice, ambition revenge or gallantry, would break the strongest cords of our constitution as a whale goes through a net. Our constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other.”

The operative question here is; do the words, “moral and religious people” describe our nation today?

If that gets you thinking then you might be ready to read The Killing of Uncle Sam.  Whatever you might think of Dr. Rodney Howard Brown’s controversial theology, he is writing as a historian. It definitely lends perspective to the words “turn from their wicked ways” in 2 Chron 7:14

“if My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land.”

The bibliography alone is worth twice the price of his book. 

Many of problems we face today are largely a result of our nation’s collective obsession with Netflix and sports instead of history, civics, and sound Bible exegesis.  That two generations increasingly view what amounts to neo-Marxism as compassionate Biblically sound doctrine is a reaping of what we have sown.

Today we are in a very precarious position.

Everyone is being gaslit.

Everyone needs to question their epistemology.

“It ain’t what you don’t know that gets you into trouble. It’s … thick with evidence that a truth is not hard to kill and that a lie told well is immortal.” – Mark Twain –

Our desire for and self-proclaimed God-ordained entitlement to justice comfort and prosperity is the source of our undoing.  That’s the round about way of saying, “mammon kills!” Those are hard words but Jesus had hard words for those who should have known better. They are preserved for our edification.  He and the apostles preached and modeled a message of total surrender of everything but the gospel.  In the end, none but Judas backed down.  All were beaten and killed for preaching it.

They did so amidst the following political climate and under rulers whom they never once opposed on political grounds.

  • Herod Antipas imprisoned and beheaded John the Baptist in 28AD for criticizing his marriage.
  • In 37AD well known Caligula embarked on a reign of terror which included the execution of James and the imprisonment of Peter from which he miraculously escaped.
  • He was succeeded in 41AD by Claudius, who expelled all the Jews from Rome.
  • 62 AD saw Nero who blamed/set up Christians for the Great Fire of Rome in 64AD.  He is best known for burning Christians as human candles and sending them to their deaths in the amphitheater. Both Paul and Peter were executed by Nero in 66AD.  Nero committed suicide in 68AD and was succeeded by Vespasian, 69AD.
  • Titus destroyed the Temple in Jerusalem in 70AD. He died in 81AD and was succeeded by his younger brother Domitian.
  • Domitian continued to persecute Christians because they wouldn’t worship the Roman gods or sacrifice to the Emperor.  He exiled the apostle John to the  island of Patmos in 89AD

The Beatitudes and the Sermon on the Mount define our rights.

Here are some more hard words.

The gospel is not a call to political change, comfort, prosperity or even justice in this life. The Gospel is a call to die.

There is a poignant scene in the passion of the Christ where Mary is seen clutching fists full of the earth as her son is being nailed to the cross.  She rises from her knees in conjunction with the soldiers pulling the cross into its vertical position then opens her fists to release the earth as the cross drops into the supporting hole. No one including the disciples understood what was happening until after the resurrection.  The very act that brought eternal hope to the world emptied all of them of any hope they had in it.

All of us must get to this point.

Cathy and I often wonder how we and others would react to the crucifixion of our King if it happened today.

I suspect many would be calling for revolution and civil war.

Rev 13:10 is clear.

There is a lesson for America there.

As for us our heart and our hill are best described in the words Cathy recently wrote to a friend.

“Bringing Hope in a dying world is our heart cry. That Hope on a starving person’s death bed is longer lasting than any hot meal. Of course, a hot meal is good and important too. But knowing that when they leave this world, even if they are all alone, that Jesus’ arms are open and, ready to receive them into eternity with Him is all that will matter then. That said, our prayer request is that this message of Hope will cross the language barriers, that Holy Spirit is active and Jesus is glorified.  That we will continue to hear and be obedient to God’s leading and that

His will be done!”  

Now might be a good time to pause from climbing the summit of success and define the hill upon which you are willing to die.

Maranatha!