05/25/2026
Jeremiah P.
4 hours ago
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A few Pentecost meditations:
The Word of God makes wise the simple (Psalm 19:7)! In Matthew 22:37-40, Christ reveals that scripture doesn’t require an IQ test by showing how God’s incredibly complex interwoven teachings can be summed up by just a couple verses: “‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets.”
So what is our response to God’s simplicity? Do we question who our neighbor is (Luke 10:29)? Do we redefine love to suit our tastes? Do we complicate things like Balaam when God’s instruction stops us from getting what we want? The fundamental principles of God’s unchanging nature can make the answer to even the most contested topics in the world... simple. But our nature is a barrier to understanding or accepting the simplicity of God. This is why Pentecost is so important!
“Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit that is from God, that we might know the things that have been freely given to us by God… But the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God; for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them because they are spiritually discerned.” 1 Corinthians 2:12-16
God’s spiritual seed (1 John 3:9) is the key to transforming our minds (Romans 12:2) and hearts. Welcoming God’s nature within us is the first real step to escaping humanity’s confusion.
“I will put my law in their minds and write it on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people. No longer will they teach their neighbor, or say to one another, ‘Know the Lord,’ because they will all know me, from the least of them to the greatest,” declares the Lord. “For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more.” Jeremiah 31:33-34
I hear people often saying Heaven is eternity in the presence of God, while ‘hell’ is the eternal separation from God. This confusion brings two things to my mind:
1) The first lie told to humanity is still very popular.
2) Whatever separates us from our source of life (God) will result in death unless we repent (turn back to God).
“I fear, lest somehow, as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, so your minds may be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ.” 2 Corinthians 11:3
“For the LORD your God walks throughout your camp to protect you and deliver your enemies to you. Your camp must be holy [1 Peter 1:15], lest He see anything unclean among you and turn away from you." Deuteronomy 23:15
This thought brings us to an incredibly complex and yet simple controversial topic; what is unclean?
Leviticus 11 speaks to the topic of unclean creatures. Now eating biblically unclean things can have physical consequences, but it passes through you and won’t spiritually defile you (Mark 7:18-20), so why might it make God turn away from you? When the Holy Spirit reveals to you God's opinion on what is clean and unclean, do you disagree? Do you have your own ideas of purification, faith, cleanliness? Do you believe God invalidated, contradicted, or changed His mind? Could food be an idol? Consider God’s message to the people in Isaiah 66:17:
“Those who sanctify themselves and purify themselves, To go to the gardens After an idol in the midst, Eating swine’s flesh and the abomination and the mouse, Shall be consumed together,” says the LORD."
So why do we confuse the matter? Clean and unclean meats weren’t just for the Jews (Genesis 7:2–3) but for all of humanity (we are all of Noah). So let’s go to Acts 10 and let it interpret itself:
"Now while Peter wondered within himself what this vision which he had seen meant, behold, the men who had been sent from Cornelius had made inquiry for Simon’s house... “Cornelius the centurion, a just man, one who fears God... Then he said to them, “You know how unlawful it is for a Jewish man to keep company with or go to one of another nation. But God has shown me that I should not call any man common or unclean."
Christ demolished many human traditions/laws, but this world wants to convince you He rejected the literal teachings He presented to humanity as the Word (John 1:1). Bypassing the complexity and confusion of this world, the Holy Spirit presents us with a simple choice when we are called/anointed to be kings and priests by God; will we respond like King Saul or King David? Will we choose rebellion or repentance? Will we follow Saul’s example and deliberately and knowingly choose to do what God says not to do? And if so, can we expect any other outcome than being rejected for our self-willed response?
1 Samuel 15:23
"For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, And stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry. Because you have rejected the word of the Lord, He also has rejected you from being king."
On the other hand if we follow David’s example and forsake our sins and seek to do God’s will in everything, isn't this our assurance and hope?
"And from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler over the kings of the earth. To Him who loved us and washed us from our sins in His own blood, and has made us kings and priests to His God and Father, to Him be glory and dominion forever and ever." Revelation 1:5-6
“What agreement is there between the temple of God and idols? For we are the temple of the living God. As God has said: “I will live with them and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they will be my people.” Therefore, come out from them and be separate, says the Lord. Touch no unclean thing, and I will receive you.” And, “I will be a Father to you, and you will be my sons and daughters, says the Lord Almighty.” 2 Corinthians 6:16-18
So do we trust God or not (Hebrews 8:13)? Physical aspects don’t eternally defile you, but they can stop God from coming closer to you. If we want to be with God as a king and priest in the God’s Kingdom we can’t walk after our own ways and teach others to do so as well because "...anyone who sets aside one of the least of these commands and teaches others accordingly will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever practices and teaches these commands will be called great in the kingdom of heaven." Matthew 5:19
This isn’t about food, it’s about our choices and how they work to either draw us near to God or push Him away. When we stop resisting God and accept His spirit inside us we will begin to discover that every debate about what is good or evil, clean or unclean, holy or profane isn't as complicated as it once was. With Christ in us, following God's teachings will become our natural state. It’s that simple. But until we are born again by the spirit and our nature is perfected at the resurrection, our flesh continues to wrestle with God! Keep strong and keep moving forward with Christ!
