The Official Site of Andy Boucher

The authors posed the following questions and instructions at the beginning of Part 1 to "When Helping Hurts".  I've answered the questions for myself.  If anyone else would like to join me in answering and disucssing these, I'd be honored.

Instructions:  Please write short answers (one sentence each) to the following questions:

1. Why did Jesus come to earth?
2. For what specific sins(s) was Old Testament Israel sent into captitivity? Do not just say "disobedience."  Be specific.  For example: "The Israelites were constantly robbing banks."
3. What is the primary purpose of the church?
   

1 Strengthen me, equip me for the fight—or better,pull me out of the fight (Your will be done), O Yahweh with these ill favoredhumans of violence.

Guard me and protect me—conceal me—fromthe unjust and violent oppressors.

2 They weavetogether fabricated plots of mischief, harm, and annoyance from the centre oftheir being.

Day after day they gather to engagein war

3 They sharpen theirtongues like snakes

They use their sharp words toinculcate others and deceive them like a snake

Their angry poison like a snake’sis found in their lips.

Stopand think about this.

4 Guard me around with a hedge of protection OYahweh, from the powerful hands of these actively bad people.

Protect and conceal me frombeing besieged by the violent people, who are out for unjust gain,

Those who have purposed andcontrived to overthrow and drive me away and trip me up.

5 The arrogant ones have secretly laid a snare;they have prepared to spring a trap to ruin me, a noose to tighten around me.

They have spread a net along mypath—a hook for my nose.

I pause to consider this.

6 I said to Yahweh, You are my Almighty God,

Broaden Your ear to the sound ofmy voice and my earnest prayers of entreaty, O Yahweh.

7 O Yahweh Adonai, the strength, force, andsecurity of my prosperous salvation and victory;

You have covered my head in theday of battle.

8 Do not grant, O Yahweh, the desires of thosewho are morally wrongs and wicked.

Do not let their plot succeed

Or they will l make themselvesproud and act presumptuously.

Pause for contemplation.

9 Regarding the captain of those who surround me,

Let the grievousness and toil oftheir own lips overwhelm them.

10 Let fiery hotcoals fall on them.

Let them be cast into the fire;

Into the abyss so they cantescape.

11 Don’t let one whotalks evil and slander be established and prosperous in our land.

Adversity, calamity, grief, and wretchedness will lie inwait and catch the violent and unjust oppressor and overthrown him—bringing himto ruin.

12 I have observed carefully and have seenthat Yahweh will follow the trial of those afflicted;

Of those who are depressed inmind and circumstances by need and affliction.

And the sentences that arehanded down on those who are in want and destitute.

13 Surely the man that is just, lawful, andrighteous will worship and confess thanks to Your name and renown.

Those who are just, equitable,and righteous will remain and take up habitation in Your Presence.

Matthew 6

31For this reason, you certainly do not have tohave anxious thoughts about whether you will have enough food to eat, or enoughto drink or how you will be clothed.  32(In fact it is these verythings that those who do not know God intensely crave and demand and stressover).  Your Father from heaven, who isabove and beyond this world and its concerns, sees and understands that you arein need concerning all these things! 

33 In fact,if you plot out your life so that it is your chief purpose and of the utmostimportance to you to endeavor to seek out the kingdom of God (all that is inHis realm of influence and control) and the righteousness and equity incharacter and action that comes from Him alone, then absolutely all of theneeds that you usually concern yourself with will be added to you alongside theKingdom of God and the righteousness of God. They will come alongside these things of God like fringe benefits.  34 Because of this, do not beanxious about the next day, because tomorrow will bring its own set ofanxieties.  Each day will have enoughtrouble and depravity to fill it up.

Philippians 4

12b …I have been initiated and have learned thatin all circumstances that I’m in how to have an abundant supply of food and howto be famished; how to have way more than enough to meet my needs and how to bedestitute because my supplies have fallen short.  13 I have the ability to doanything—to live in all these conditions because that strength and abilitycomes through Christ, the Anointed One who enables and empowers me byincreasing my strength! 

14 Moreover, you have done good things byco-participating and fellowshipping with me while I was burdened with theanguish of this financial pressure and affliction. 

17 I don’t say this because I’m demanding a fitfrom you, but because I’m seeking after the credit that will abundantlyincrease for your cause 18b…the gifts you sent us [were] a sweetsmelling fragrance, an approved and propitious sacrifice that is well pleasingto God. 19 Additionally,my  God—the God I serve—will use Hisinfluence to thoroughly furnish absolutely everything that your circumstancesand your business demands require based on the abundant value of His richeswhich are bestowed on us through His Son Christ Jesus—the Anointed One whosaves us.  20 May our God, ourFather, receive glory and praise in perpetuity forever!  May it be done!

Para-lation of the verse given on the way from Miami toSantiago, DR, Isaiah 54:2-4:

2 Broaden and make wide open the space andterritory of your tent—the profile of your habitat that people can clearly seefrom a distance;

Stretch forth the boundaries ofyour shepherds hut.

Do not hold anything back,

Make the ropes you tether your tent with longer;

And seize hold of the states ofyour tent, and fasten them obstinately sothey will be secure and fortified against the elements.

3 For you will burst forth and be compelled tospread out to the right and to the left (to the south and to the north);

And your children and yourposterity will occupy and posses the nations;

And they will establishthemselves in the dying and abandoned cities they find there.

4 Do not be frightened and caused to be indread, for you will not be caused to be pale with shame or with disappointmentor because of delay;

Neither will you be wounded bythe taunts and insults or confounded and bewildered by conflicting situationsand statements that are made,

Because you will not be causedto be shamed or reproached or brought into you confusion.

For you will be oblivious of the shame and confusion ofyour adolescence,

And the rude and hurtfulexpressions meant to reproach and shame you that came as the result of yourwidowhood will no longer be bookmarked in anyone’s memory or even mentioned.

1 I will stroll around for eternity as aminstrel singing songs about the beautiful kindness and good deeds that Yahwehdoes!

I will verbally observe andrecognize the firm security of Your fidelity to all generations.

2 I have attested to the fact that the beautyof Your kind deeds will continue to be built up forever;

You have erected and prosperouslyestablished the firmness and security of Your fidelity in the heavensthemselves.

3 You have said, “I have made a covenant andan alliance with the one whom I have selected.

 I have sworn (repeating it 7 times toestablish it) unto David, My bondservant:

“I will fix and prosperouslyestablish your posterity for all time and I have surely given you children tobuild up your throne for all generation.”

Stop the music and think about what I’vesaid.

5 Let the heavens above revere and worshipYour marvelous and miraculous deeds with extended hands, O Yahweh;

And the firm security of Yourfidelity as well in the assembled company of Your holy ones!

6 Who is there among the celestial bodies whocould set themselves up to compare with Yahweh?

And who from among the gods caneven be likened to Yahweh?

7 Our god is to be abundantly dreaded and tocause others to shake terribly

In the council of the heavenlyhosts

In the council of the gods

And is reverenced anddreadfully feared by those who surround Him.

8 O Yahweh, the God of all the armies of Heaven,

Who is as strong and mighty likeYou, O Yahweh?!

Your firm, secure, fidelityencircles You on every side.

 15 How blessed and highly favored is the tribethat knows His battle cry from experience, who cry out with joy for Him,

They shall walk about, O Yahweh,

And be conversant in theluminance and clarity of Your Presence.

16 Who spin around in the violent emotion ofjoy because of Your name, honor, and the reputation of Your character all day,

Who are lifted up and exalted inYour prosperous rightness, rectitude, justice, and virtue.

17 You are our glorious strength and ourhonorable force, and the majesty of our praise;

And it is Your delightful favorand good pleasure that exalts our strength and power.

18 For Yahweh is our shield and protector(Yahweh gives me a thick skin),

And the superior Eminent One ofIsrael.

19 In the past You arranged things to speakYour oracles in dreams and visions to Your saints, those who are godly,declaring and certifying:

“I have adjusted things in orderto bring aid to those who are valiant.

I have raised up and promotedthe young men from among the people.

20 I caused David to be brought forth; Ibrought forth David My bondservant;

With the richness of My consecratedoil I have anointed him,

21 In order that My powerful hand or means anddirection will be fixed on him rendering him sure and prosperous;

And My outstretched arm as wellwill confirm him and establish him with obstinate strength and courage

22 His adversaries and those who hate on himwill not torment him or treat him cruelly with taxes or by exacting dues fromhim;

Neither will those who are theproducts and builders of iniquity and perverseness unjustly look down on him,browbeat him, or try to chasten him or deal hardly with him to hurt his prideor to weaken him.

23 I will bruise and violently strike thosewho trouble him, who are opposed to him, and who try to create a place toonarrow for him to live and walk, causing them to loose their composure and tobe crushed into pieces before his eyes;

And I will trip those whopersonally hate him and who consider him to be odious and will make themstumble.

24 My firm security and the stability of Myfaithfulness and the beauty of My favor and kindness will accompany him,

And based on the authority of Myname and My reputation he shall rise and be promoted in strength and power.

1 Peter 3:8

So finally I conclude with this:

all of you be like-minded and harmonious (like music that is please to the ear), feeling and expressing mutual sympathy, support, and loyalty back and forth to each other; be fond of each other with a brotherly love and have a deep awareness of and sympathy for each others suffering; and have a humble opinion of yourselves and a deep sense of your own moral littleness apart from Christ.

1 Peter 4:7 & 8:

Since the conclusion and termination of all things is approaching, you should certainly therefore be of a sober and sound mind, self-controlled in your opinions and passions, being marked by prudence, modesty, and wise self-restraint so that you can be earnest in your prayers and worship.

And more important than anything else, make your highest priority in everything to hold yourselves to be constantly intentionally, purposefully, and fervently intense in your self-sacrificing love and benevolent affection among the whole lot of you, because self-sacrificing love and benevolent affection covers over and hinders the knowledge of an indefinite number of sins, offenses, errors, mistakes, and unmet expectations.

One of the things that has captured my attention recently is the Scriptural phrase “your God”. Every people had their god or gods—their local gods—their elohiym. Each nation had their various gods—the gods of Egypt, the gods of the Philistines, the gods of the Greeks, and the gods of the Romans to mention a few. Yahweh introduces Himself to the Jews as a local god and promises to them that He would be their own elohiym or local god (Exodus 6:7; Genesis 17:7). As Yahweh reveals Himself to Abraham and the Jews and to us throughout Scripture, He reveals Himself as not just being the biggest and bad-est god on the block, but actually as being the God of the block.

Today we once again live in a society and culture where our god is not recognized as the one and only God. Everyone now has or is their own religion and god. Some are “self made” gods and religions of postmodernism and others are the age old established gods and religions like Islam and Buddhism. This is nothing new to history, the Bible, Christianity, or our God. I believe that our God is willing to begin with simply being our own local god. It’s ok with Him to be one amongst a number of local deities to begin with. He is secure enough with Himself in order to establish as such a relationship with us.

Yet, He does so desire to reveal His real nature to us. His character demands it and His relational love for us demands it (just like we desire to share the reality of who we are with those we love). He strongly desires to tell us: “I’m not like those other gods.” “I’m so very different from them. Here, let me show you the difference between Me and them.” Our God desires to reveal Himself to us, where many of the other gods of this world continue to seek and scheme to hide their true and inferior identify from their worshipers. Our God desires to reveal Himself as the God who actually created the endless universe that the other gods claim to be gods of and have authority over. Our God, will beat up any other god we put up against Him—not because He’s a big supernatural bully, but because He alone is the one true God. In fact, the other gods are the supernatural bullies who are bullying us so they can try to replace our God by stealing away our allegiance and keeping others from know our God.

Not only is our God (the God of gods) bigger than these other gods and can (and will) beat them into an oblivion, but our God loves us so much that He actually chose to die for us so that all the things we’ve done to offend Him can be covered and so that we can have a relationship with Him. Even more than that, He raised Himself from the dead—conquering death—and came to live within us empowering us to live a life that pleases Him. Not only have the other gods—Allah and Mammon among them—NOT died for us to remove our sins and restore our relationship with him or her—Baal and Gaia included—but, those other gods have no victory over death and do not empower their followers to live the life those gods demand of their followers.

So, when I read where Yahweh, my local god, says, “I will make you My own special people, and I will be your God (elohiym)” (Exodus 6:7; 1 Peter 2:9-10), I want that!! When I read that I can “know Jesus, our God and Lord, better and better’ (2 Peter 1:2) and I read “Hallelujah! For the Lord our God the Almighty (omnipotent) reigns” (Revelation 19:6), I want to have Him as my local and personal god God. I want to be one who “knows their God and stands firm and does exploits” for Him (Daniel 11:32).

And I want Him to be yours too. It’s ok to say, “Come worship my local God”. He daily loads His followers with benefits and daily carries our burdens (Psalm 68:19 NKJV/NIV). In the words of the Desperation anthem: “This is our God! This is our King!”

This is the fasting (abstaining) that I’ve selected as acceptable and therefore require of you:

Loosen and open wide the painful fetters caused by your wickedness and iniquity;

Untie and shake off the yoke that you have strapped on;

Let those who are discouraged; bruised, and oppressed from their struggles be free from care;

And tear off every single yoke that burdens you and those under you.

It is to distribute your food to those who are going hungry;

To fetch the lowly, poor, humble and depressed who have been cruelly and inhumanely treated and cast out of their homes and them into your house;

And when you come across someone who doesn’t have clothes, provide them with what they need to be adequately clothed;

And do hide yourself and your generosity from yourself and your own kinfolk.

If you do this, then as a result, you will shine forth and your brightness will be made to break through your circumstances like at dawn the sun breaks through the darkness of night,

And the soundness of your health will promptly sprout and the duration of your service will be prolonged for a long time.

The prosperity of your natural, moral, and legally right, equity will precede you before the face of God

And the glory and splendor of Yahweh will haunt you and protect you from behind.

Then when you call out to Yahweh and bid Him to hear you,

Yahweh will pay attention and respond.

When you cry out for help, He will expressly answer you saying,

“Behold, I am here!”

If you pluck away and remove the heavy yoke of work and the unjust use of authority,

And the accusatory pointing of the finger,

And the troublesome and empty talking that brings to good with it but only wickedness

And if you provide your soul vitality to those who suffer from hunger,

And to fill up and satiate the soul vitality of those who are browbeaten, depressed, and afflicted;

It is then that your brightness will shine forth out of the darkness, misery, ignorance, and obscurity and provide spiritual insight as it spreads forth;

And it is then that the darkness and misfortune around you will be changed to the brightness of the sun at noon.

Yahweh will regularly and constantly lead you forth; transporting and guiding you as you go forward.

And He will fill your soul and vitality to satisfaction during times of drought.

He will equip and strengthen the substance of your life and arm you for the fight.

You will be like a well-watered garden

And like a spring of water whose water never fails.

If you do this you and your people will begin to build up and have children who build up and repair the ancient places that have been laid waste and made desolate and abandoned to decay.

You will raise up and cause to be raised up and strengthen the foundations that will be established for the sake of generations to come.

Your reputation and title will be the one who repaired and closed up the wall (Repairer of Broken Walls);

And the one who cleared the paths and streets to restore usefulness so people could once again live in their houses and open their shops for business (Restorer of Inhabitable Neighborhoods).

Oh that you would turn your feet back and return from breaking the Sabbath by busying yourself and going about your own busyness and purposes on the Sabbath—the day I’ve set apart and hallowed rather than My business.

Consider and refer to the Sabbath with delight

And as a sacred sanctuary Yahweh has created and set apart to be full of honor.

So honor Him and this holy day by making it your custom to not go about your own business and keep your own pleasure on this day,

Or see the Sabbath as a day that exists and has value only for your own pleasurable purposes

Or talking only about things that interest you rather than My things.

Change your attitude, perspectives, and actions regarding My Sabbath, then you will find that Yahweh will be your luxurious and gratifying delight.

And I will officially dispatch you to ride on the mountain tops of the land and to receive great honor;

And I will give you your allotted inheritance, a church endowment, and estate to occupy as your own with all of its assets and accompanying heirlooms passed down to you from your ancestors (specifically your father Jacob).

I, Yahweh, have declared this with My own mouth.

1 Adonai, You exist as our abode of refuge, our asylum, and our retreat throughout all our generations-in ages past and for our posterity.

(1 January 2010)

12 So cause us to observe, discern, be instructed in and have an understanding on how to weigh out, enumerate, count, number, prepare and appoint the days of our life times so that we may surely be granted, enter into and attain skillful wisdom at the center of our being.

(12 May 2007)

13 Turn back and return to us, O Yahweh, the Eternal and Self-Existent One!

How long will it be?

Feel compassion and pity upon Your bondservants!

14 Fill us to satisfaction at daybreak with the beauty of piety and kind favor upon us

So that we shout and sign triumphantly in joy and be elated and high-spirited in spite of our circumstances throughout all the days of our lives.

15 Give to us joy and elation in proportion to the number of days You have (or You have allowed us to be… browbeaten, depressed, chastened, and dealt harshly with us;

And the years we have seen and experienced adversity, calamity, distress, mischief, and ill-favor.

16 Let us behold, gaze on, and experience Your miraculous practices and work habits;

And let our children and our students behold, gaze on, and experience Your magnificence and the honor of Your glorious excellency!

17 Let the pleasant splendor, delight, and beautiful favor of Yahweh-Elohiym, the Eternal and Self-existent One who is our own God, rest upon us.

May it be that as it rests up on us, You would appoint, set up, and prosperously, and properly establish the transactions, products, poems and artistic works of our hands.

May our ministry and the things we’ve thrown our direction, power, and means into be prepared, ordained, and properly established as a result of Your beautiful favor upon us!

(9 January 2010)

Resolved:

• I will let the peace of God which passes all understanding guard my heart and my mind in Christ Jesus;
• I will employ the joy of Yahweh as my strength
• And therefore, I will have a relaxed attitude which (apparently) will lengthen my life.

Therefore, I will not be grieved, worried, dejected, vexed, or angry about anything, but will instead pray about everything, listing my concerns to God and thanking Him for all that He has done.

Supporting Verse Analysis

Philippians 4:6-7

4 I tell you, be earnest and regular in being calmly happy in your inner man and be cheerful in your interpersonal relationships, greeting others joyfully. I say it again for emphasis: be calmly happy in yourself and cheerful with others. 5 make sure that absolutely everyone knows and has evidence from experience that you are appropriate, patient, gentle, and considerate in all you do. The Lord, our Master and the controller of all things is near to us and readily available. He will soon return. In fact, He has put a limit on the time until He intervenes. 6 don’t be careful; don’t be anxiously holding back; don’t delay your plans or activities because of distracting circumstances or concerns you have. instead, in absolutely every manner and issue, get away into God’s presence and earnestly pray to God and list your concerns before Him, earnestly begging and entreating Him for guidance, but with an attitude of gratitude, using actively grateful language, worshipping Him as God, and thanking Him for all He has done and is about to do. ask God for attention to your requests, making known to Him your heart and concerns I this way 7 and you’ll find that His prosperous peace, and His quiet soul rest—the kind that is so far above and superior to and more excellent than absolutely anything that our human intellect can decipher or our feelings and will can comprehend—will be your advance guard, the mounted sentinel that hems you in with a garrison of protection around the innermost places of your intellectual thoughts and feelings as well as your disposition, perceptions, and purposes through the work of our Messiah and Savior, Christ Jesus.

Nehemiah 8:10

…instead of grieving over the realization of your situation and being vexed, displeased, and worrying about it, remember instead that you are fortified, defended, and strengthened by rejoicing in Yahweh and finding your gladness in Him.

Proverbs 14:30

A sound, tranquil, yielding, placed heart that brings a relaxed attitude is a curative wholesome medicine that brings and maintains fresh life and strength to your body and even your family.

However, jealous and envious zeal causes rottenness and decay to your bones and the very substance of your life.