News Weakly - 10/4/2025

That's a big 10-4, good buddy. (Sorry ... old CB joke.)

Not Really a Surprise
Tens of thousands of protesters took to the streets of Berlin to stand in solidarity against Israel, calling for the end of the Israel-Hamas war. That is, tens of thousands of Germans opposed Jews defending their own territory ... and even existing. I'm thinking this sounds familiar from somewhere else.

The Sky Is Falling!!
The old line ... "The government shut down today. No one noticed." But, of course, the "terrorist media" ... sorry ... news media won't let it go. The federal government "shut down" October 1st because they didn't pass a spending bill. "People are getting furloughed! Military members won't be paid! The sky is falling! The sky is falling!" And, of course, "The Republicans failed to pass the Democrats' spending bill!" Which, being translated, reads, "The Democrats refused to pass the Republicans' spending bill." Both are true. Luckily both sides are standing firm. Sigh. I did 10 years in the military and went through multiple "shutdowns." Months without paychecks. Never even noticed, because the banks knew what we were being paid and put the money in our accounts knowing the government would pay us retroactively. The news even said the furloughed people would get paid retroactively. So ... stop with the panic. I bet the impact will be actually minor but blown gravely out of proportion on all sides.

Why Is This News?
I know this is hard to believe, but gold hit a new high this week. Mind you, prices have been going up for everything for our lifetimes, so almost everything is likely to "hit a new high" as we go, but ... hey ... gold hit a new high, and that's news.

Redefining "Legal"
Apple Corp. conscientiously removed an app from the app store that was designed to track and warn users about ICE presence. Called "ICEBlock," the app used crowdsourcing to locate and alert people so they could avoid or interfere with ICE in their law enforcement operations. The developer promises to fight the move because, clearly, nothing is illegal if you don't get caught, and the Constitution guarantees our right to ... I don't know ... oppose the legal law enforcement actions if we want? Apparently Apple was pressured by the federal government ... just in case you mistakenly thought Apple was trying to be civic-minded.

Your Best Source for Fake News
The Bee had to comment on the government shutdown, of course. The story is about the nation rejoicing as the government shut down. I get it. I liked the story of the Baptist pastor who resigned in shame after old tweets containing the word, "darn," resurfaced. So much for "above reproach" (1 Tim 3:20), eh? Finally, on the attack at the UK synagogue, the Bee reports that the authorities are prosecuting the synagogue for provoking the attacks ... by being Jewish. I'd think that was the obvious trend.

Must be true; I read it on the internet.

The Temple of The Holy Spirit

The text in view is in Paul's first epistle to the church at Corinth. It's that nasty "sexual immorality" section when Paul "inconveniently" refers to "homosexual behavior" as one of the things that would preclude someone from inheriting the kingdom (1 Cor 6:9-10). (Not the point of this post.) Moving on, he goes on to talk about "All things are lawful for me" (1 Cor 6:12), but warns that not all things are profitable. In that part, he warns believers not to be joined to a prostitute. He says that the sexual union is actually a special union ... "One flesh" (1 Cor 6:15-16), and "your bodies are members of Christ," so ... "Flee sexual immorality" (1 Cor 6:18). "Or," he goes on to say (noting that the "or" is significant), "do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and that you are not your own? For you have been bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body" (1 Cor 6:19-20). The text has been used to argue against smoking ... or even more. Logically, if your physical body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, it's not simply wise to take care of it. It's mandatory. That is, smoking, eating poorly, failing to exercise ... anything that is detrimental to your physical body would need to be classified as sin. Is that what Paul is saying?

I don't think he is. Why? You decide, but here's what I see. Paul wrote that "you are a temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you" (1 Cor 3:16), but that "temple of God" refers to the body of Christ, where that "you" is plural ... "All you believers." In chapter 5, Paul was concerned about protecting the Church from sexual immorality. In Ephesians, Paul wrote about the "the holy temple" that is the Lord's "in whom you also are being built together into a dwelling of God in the Spirit" (Eph 2:19-22). The suggestion throughout Scripture is that there is one temple of God, not multiple temples. The "multiple temples" concept was purely a product of the pagan world with multiple gods. I would argue, then, that the "temple of the Holy Spirit" in 1 Cor 6:9 is a reference to the "one temple," and, therefore, that the "body" in view there is the body of Christ and the concern is the glorification of God in the body of Christ. The subject in the text is temple prostitutes. I think this is a reference to damage to the body of Christ by merging those in the body of Christ with idolatry.

I could be mistaken, but there seems to be other problems if we're going to say that our physical, temporal, short-term bodies are the temple of the Holy Spirit. First, it puts an emphasis on the physical when the whole aim is ... to stop being physical someday. That is, "the flesh" is typically sinful and we're supposed to move on from that. Second, if it is a reference to our individual physical bodies, we're looking at a serious problem. We shouldn't be eating Twinkies, failing to exercise, or doing anything physically detrimental, not as a suggestion or a matter of health, but as a problem of sin. Every overweight believer is sinning. You know what? It's probably a sin to go skydiving or other risky ventures as well. Maybe that's hyperbole, but you get the idea. It's not "smoking" ... it's anything that is not healthy, and anything that is not healthy is sin. Do we need to be concerned about personal piety? Absolutely! We are stones in the building. Should we take care of our health? Of course! Our bodies are ours as a stewardship, not a possession. But repeatedly Scripture is concerned about the heart more than the body, and it seems to me that this line of thinking that makes our bodies actual temples of the Holy Spirit turns that notion on its head.

Brazen Hussies

Among the list of "evils" perpetrated by people, a popular one is women who braid their hair. Oh, you didn't know that one? Yep. Right there in Scripture. "Likewise, I want women to adorn themselves with proper clothing, modestly and discreetly, not with braided hair and gold or pearls or costly garments, but rather by means of good works, as is proper for women making a claim to godliness" (1 Tim 2:9-10). "Oh, come on. That's just Paul." Oh? "In the same way, you wives, be submissive to your own husbands so that even if any of them are disobedient to the word, they may be won without a word by the behavior of their wives, as they observe your chaste and respectful behavior. Your adornment must not be merely external—braiding the hair, and wearing gold jewelry, or putting on dresses; but let it be the hidden person of the heart, with the imperishable quality of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is precious in the sight of God" (1 Peter 3:1-4). It's repeated. Apparently wearing gold and pearls and expensive clothes is a sin, and women who do it are sinning. Right?

Clearly the text says it, but ... does it? Let's look at context. Paul urges prayer (1 Tim 2:1-7}. Then he tells men specific instructions. Pray without wrath and dissension (1 Tim 2:8). Then women (1 Tim 2:9-10). Read what he says carefully. "Likewise." As people pray and men avoid wrath and dissension ... what should women do? He urges them to adorn themselves ... "by means of good works." Why? It's proper for godliness. We have the "not with braided hair" and so on, but I don't think it's a ban, but a redirection. "I want you to adorn yourselves properly for godliness. No, I'm not talking about dressing well, but with good works." Surely, proper clothing, modesty, and discretion are suitable for godliness. But the real beauty is in character, not clothes ... good works, not good looks. Not convinced? Look at Peter's text. Peter wrote regarding submitting to authority (1 Peter 2:13-25). "In the same way," he says, wives are to submit to husbands. He urges them win their husbands by submission via chaste and respectful behavior. He says it's not external. It's "the hidden person of the heart." The NAS adds "merely" there to make the point that the point is not a prohibition, but, like Paul, a redirection. "I know society tells you looking good is important. Don't believe it. Adorn yourselves in character. Dress yourselves in a gentle and quiet spirit." Neither is banning this stuff. They're asking women not to focus on externals and pay more attention to character. Don't be calling attention to yourselves (especially by how you look), but to your Lord by having character that reflects Him.

God told Samuel, "God sees not as man sees, for man looks at the outward appearance, but YHWH looks at the heart" (1 Sam 16:7). Jesus said, "The things that proceed out of the mouth come from the heart, and those defile the man. For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, slanders" (Matt 15:18-19). The problem is always the heart. God's concern isn't mere appearance. He wants a heart that reflects Him. So many have tried to make these texts say it's a sin to wear jewelry. That's looking on the outward appearance. Look at the heart. Let's not make rules that aren't there. Let's look at what it's actually saying. Women ... everyone ... needs to reflect Christ, not our own appearance. Our adornment isn't about looks, but character. Proverbs says, "Charm is deceitful and beauty is vain, but a woman who fears YHWH, she shall be praised" (Prov 31:30). That is the point.

What Do You Need?

Written by Annie S. Hawks (1872), it's a well known hymn. I Need Thee Every Hour was written primarily on her own "sense of nearness" to the Master.

I need Thee every hour,
Most gracious Lord;
No tender voice like Thine
Can peace afford.

I need Thee, oh, I need Thee;
Every hour I need Thee;
Oh, bless me now, my Savior!
I come to Thee.

It has been rewritten and revamped up until modern days. Joey+Rory did it, the Winans, the Gaithers, Selah. It's a personal and touching song. But ... is it true?

There are two aspects in answering that question. The first is "Do I really need Him?" The deists (or the practical deists) might say, "No. We've got this. We can do most of it. I might need Him sometimes, but ... 'every hour'? Not really." But is it true? Scripture says, "In Him all things hold together" (Col 1:17). Scripture says, "From Him and through Him and to Him are all things" (Rom 11:36). At the very least, "Every good thing given and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shifting shadow" (James 1:17). We all need good things, right? Jesus said, "Apart from Me you can do nothing" (John 15:5). Nothing. So ... actually ... yes. The statement is indeed true. We do need Him at all times because only in Him do all things hold together and only with Him can we do anything of any value.

That leaves us with the other side of the question, "Is it true?" Yes, we do need Him ... every hour. The hymn says He alone affords peace, that near Him temptations lose their power, that without Him life is vain. All true. So the other side of that question is ... is it true ... for you? Do you know that you need Him "every hour"? Are you deeply aware of your desperate and ongoing need for His presence at every moment? I would guess that most of us aren't. I would suggest that this should not be the case.