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The Promise

2009-07-11T08:05:00.002-05:00

¹ After these things God tested Abraham, and said to him, "Abraham!" And he said, "Here am I." ² He said, "Take your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Mori'ah, and offer him there as a burnt offering upon one of the mountains of which I shall tell you." ³ So Abraham rose early in the morning, saddled his ass, and took two of his young men with him, and his son Isaac; and he cut the wood for the burnt offering, and arose and went to the place of which God had told him. ⁴ On the third day Abraham lifted up his eyes and saw the place afar off. ⁵ Then Abraham said to his young men, "Stay here with the ass; I and the lad will go yonder and worship, and come again to you." ⁶ And Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering, and laid it on Isaac his son; and he took in his hand the fire and the knife. So they went both of them together. ⁷ And Isaac said to his father Abraham, "My father!" And he said, "Here am I, my son." He said, "Behold, the fire and the wood; but where is the lamb for a burnt offering?" ⁸ Abraham said, "God will provide himself the lamb for a burnt offering, my son." So they went both of them together. ⁹ When they came to the place of which God had told him, Abraham built an altar there, and laid the wood in order, and bound Isaac his son, and laid him on the altar, upon the wood. ¹⁰ Then Abraham put forth his hand, and took the knife to slay his son. ¹¹ But the angel of the LORD called to him from heaven, and said, "Abraham, Abraham!" And he said, "Here am I." ¹² He said, "Do not lay your hand on the lad or do anything to him; for now I know that you fear God, seeing you have not withheld your son, your only son, from me." ¹³ And Abraham lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, behind him was a ram, caught in a thicket by his horns; and Abraham went and took the ram, and offered it up as a burnt offering instead of his son. ¹⁴ So Abraham called the name of that place The LORD will provide; as it is said to this day, "On the mount of the LORD it shall be provided." ¹⁵ And the angel of the LORD called to Abraham a second time from heaven, ¹⁶ and said, "By myself I have sworn, says the LORD, because you have done this, and have not withheld your son, your only son, ¹⁷ I will indeed bless you, and I will multiply your descendants as the stars of heaven and as the sand which is on the seashore. And your descendants shall possess the gate of their enemies, ¹⁸ and by your descendants shall all the nations of the earth bless themselves, because you have obeyed my voice." Genesis 22: 1-18.

The story of Abraham's testing is one that all readers of the Bible know well. Yet, as I read and re-read it, I see things that are new to me. Issac's birth had been a miracle. His parents were very old when he was born. Even though the Lord had promised Abraham descendants, Abraham did not become a father until he was ninety-nine years of age. He was a father and a grandfather all wrapped up together. Can you imagine how Abraham must have made Issac as the center of his world? And, yet the Lord comes to Abraham and asks him for the one thing that Abraham built his world and his hope upon. I don't think that God did this for his pleasure. I think he was performing radical surgery on Abraham's heart to help him understand that when one tries to hold onto something as precious as "your only son" that the principle of faith is that if you want to save your life, you first have to be willing to give it over to the Lord.

This land of Moriah was a special place that the Lord wanted him to travel to for this test. I cannot help but believe that the spot of this trial was perhaps the same hill that the New Testament would describe as "Golgotha" i.e. the same place where Jesus would later be crucified and die. The symbolism is to great to make me think that it could be any other place.

The writer in Hebews says in chapter 11 verses 17-19 that:

By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac, and he who had received the promises was ready to offer up his only son, ¹⁸ of whom it was said, "Through Isaac shall your descendants be named." ¹⁹ He considered that God was able to raise men even from the dead; hence, figuratively speaking, he did receive him back.

Abraham somehow figured out that resurrection had to be part of God's plan of salvation. Issac is a foreshadowing of the sacrifice that God would have to make to allow the world to be reconciled by the shedding of the blood of his only son. We can only see the kingdom when we are willing to put the Lord first in our lives above anything else, including family and possessions. Abraham's faith was rewarded because he loved God with all his heart, soul, strength and might. He was willing to entrust God with that which was the precious thing in his life.

I have had some near death experiences with each of my three children over the years. The older I become the more I realize that children are gifts from God and that they do not belong to me. They are on loan from the Creator. Realizing that everything I have and possess is a gift from God and that nothing is mine is the most liberating, energizing thought I have ever experienced. When we learn to trust God and to walk in His ways, we will discover the true meaning of faith. It is not about getting all the answers right. It is about a trusting relationship with the one who made you. If you have want to save your life, you first have to learn how to give it away.

The Ethiopian Eunuch

2009-07-05T15:17:00.004-05:00

²⁶ But an angel of the Lord said to Philip, "Rise and go toward the south to the road that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza." This is a desert road. ²⁷ And he rose and went. And behold, an Ethiopian, a eunuch, a minister of the Can'dace, queen of the Ethiopians, in charge of all her treasure, had come to Jerusalem to worship ²⁸ and was returning; seated in his chariot, he was reading the prophet Isaiah. ²⁹ And the Spirit said to Philip, "Go up and join this chariot." ³⁰ So Philip ran to him, and heard him reading Isaiah the prophet, and asked, "Do you understand what you are reading?" ³¹ And he said, "How can I, unless some one guides me?" And he invited Philip to come up and sit with him. ³² Now the passage of the scripture which he was reading was this: "As a sheep led to the slaughter or a lamb before its shearer is dumb, so he opens not his mouth. ³³ In his humiliation justice was denied him. Who can describe his generation? For his life is taken up from the earth." ³⁴ And the eunuch said to Philip, "About whom, pray, does the prophet say this, about himself or about some one else?" ³⁵ Then Philip opened his mouth, and beginning with this scripture he told him the good news of Jesus. ³⁶ And as they went along the road they came to some water, and the eunuch said, "See, here is water! What is to prevent my being baptized?" ³⁷ 38 ³⁹ And when they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord caught up Philip; and the eunuch saw him no more, and went on his way rejoicing.

Acts 8:26-39

How was it an Ethiopian Eunuch was in Jerusalem to worship? Going back to the days of King Solomon and his interaction with the Queen of Sheba, there was a group of people who converted to Judaism that lived in what we now call the Sudan. In 1 Kings 10:13 we read:

¹³ And King Solomon gave to the queen of Sheba all that she desired, whatever she asked besides what was given her by the bounty of King Solomon. So she turned and went back to her own land, with her servants.

Today, the Beta Israel in Ethiopia traces its roots back to this origin. See link. What amazes me was the faith of one who traveled all the way to Jerusalem to worship; but, whom was excluded from participating in the worship in the temple. First, he would have been deemed to be a foreigner and excluded from temple worship. Secondly, under the Mosaic law, he was also excluded by his status as a eunuch. Deuteronomy 23:1 - "He whose testicles are crushed or whose male member is cut off shall not enter the assembly of the LORD." Yet, we find a man who is searching the scriptures diligently looking for God's revelation. The Lord must have heard his prayers and thought of him highly enough to send an angel to Philip to direct him to this man as specific time and place. Does the Word of God act in the same manner today? I believe that the Holy Spirit can certainly act in a believer's life to direct one to an opportunity to witness one's faith. I do not see this as miraculous but a normal part of the leanings of the Spirit. The promise to every believer who wishes to be saved is:

"Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.
Acts 2:38

I visited a church where the minister brought up the family with a small infant and sprinkled water on the child's head proclaiming to "baptize" her. While I can certainly identify with the desire of a family to bring one's child up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord and asking the church, as a community, to help in the process, I find no such example of such baptism in the New Testament. In fact, historically, we know that infant baptism was not introduced well into the third century after the coming of Jesus. In the above story, as in each and every other example in Acts, the believer was immersed in water baptism after a profession of faith in Jesus as Messiah. In fact, it was the coming up out of the water of verse 38 that shows this immersion. The reason for this was explained by the apostle Paul in Romans, Chapter 6: 3-5:

³ Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? ⁴ We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, so that as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life. ⁵ For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a Resurrection like his.

As much as a parent may wish for one's child to be saved, it is the individual believer's faith that is a prerequisite for baptism. For without faith, the sprinkling of water on a baby's head is meaningless and without precedent in scripture. It comes from an errant belief that original sin condemns all of humanity. Yet, in every legal system there is a requirement that before one can punished for a crime that the person must have "capacity" to understand the nature of one's action. Until one reaches the age when one has the capacity to understand the nature of his or her own actions, there cannot be judgment. What is that age? I dare say that it comes differently at various times for most believers. I am content to leave the judging to a holy and just God who has all the facts and knowledge to make righteous decisions. Seeing the conversion of the eunuch who went on his way "rejoicing" is the result of faith and a new birth.

The breath of Life

2009-06-13T18:14:00.004-05:00

⁴ "LORD, let me know my end, and what is the measure of my days; let me know how fleeting my life is! ⁵ Behold, thou hast made my days a few handbreadths, and my lifetime is as nothing in thy sight. Surely every man stands as a mere breath! [Selah] ⁶ Surely man goes about as a shadow! Surely for nought are they in turmoil; man heaps up, and knows not who will gather! ⁷ "And now, Lord, for what do I wait? My hope is in thee. ⁸ Deliver me from all my transgressions.

Psalms 39:4-8

This passage has become more and more meaningful the older I become. Life is so fleeting. This past month we celebrated the wedding of my daughter and the graduation and move of my son. And though they have been out of the house for years, there is something about the empty nest that resonates when I think about how quickly the child rearing years flew by. A person's time on this earth is like a shadow. So how does one leave a legacy? It is not by the "heaping up" of stuff. Job said it best in the first chapter at verse 21:

"Naked I came from my mother's womb, and naked shall I return; the LORD gave, and the LORD has taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD."

Jesus told his disciples that a man's life did not consist of the abundance of one's possessions. The writer of the above passage got it right. "My hope is in thee". There is nothing we can do to save ourselves. Only by faith in the redeeming act of the Son do we have the ability to have hope of the eternal. The only legacy we leave behind are the actions of what we do for others. I hope that these words might inspire someone in the future long after I am gone. The message of the world to "eat, drink and be happy" is a lie. Only when we discover the true meaning of sacrificial love do we get to take something with us into eternity. Learning to give of oneself is the secret to discovering blessings from above.

The Biblical Qualifications of a Jurist

2009-06-03T21:23:00.004-05:00

"You shall do no injustice in judgment; you shall not be partial to the poor or defer to the great, but in righteousness shall you judge your neighbor.

Leviticus 19:15

There is a reason that the famous statue of the Greek goddess Themis is wearing a blindfold. Justice requires that judgment not be biased by a judge being in favor of the poor or the rich. We often confuse justice with charity. The biblical view of justice is set forth in the Torah as spelled out in the verse above. Partiality is not to be taken into account when deciding what is just. President Obama's nomination of Judge Sotomayor because she has compassion for the poor and downtrodden fly in the face of the biblical standard for a justice. Charity and compassion are the realm of the individual's responsibility. This stands in stark contract to the demands of the law. When one chooses a judge because of their ethnicity or background to favor certain groups over others, you have a jurist who is prohibited by the commandment of Leviticus.

Justice is supposed to be blind. When we lose that principle, society suffers from the polarizing prejudices of a judiciary where judges push their own political agenda at the expense of the rule of law.

The True Vine

2009-05-26T19:55:00.004-05:00

1 "I am the true vine, and my Father is the vine dresser. 2 Every branch of mine that bears no fruit, he takes away, and every branch that does bear fruit he prunes, that it may bear more fruit. 3 You are already made clean by the word which I have spoken to you. 4 Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me. 5 I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in me, and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing. 6 If a man does not abide in me, he is cast forth as a branch and withers; and the branches are gathered, thrown into the fire and burned. 7 If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you will, and it shall be done for you. 8 By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit, and so prove to be my disciples.
1 "I am the true vine, and my Father is the vine dresser. 2 Every branch of mine that bears no fruit, he takes away, and every branch that does bear fruit he prunes, that it may bear more fruit. 3 You are already made clean by the word which I have spoken to you. 4 Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me. 5 I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in me, and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing. 6 If a man does not abide in me, he is cast forth as a branch and withers; and the branches are gathered, thrown into the fire and burned. 7 If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you will, and it shall be done for you. 8 By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit, and so prove to be my disciples.

John 15: 1-8

In these times many are wringing their hands asking what we can do to "re-energize" the church? What programs can we develop to encourage evangelism? How do we motivate people to get involved with the work of the church?

I believe that the heart of the problem is not to come up with a new approach to evangelism; but, that we need to focus on "making disciples". If we want renewal, we need to refocus our priorities for Christ in our discipleship. If we truly lead people into a relationship with a living God who becomes the Lord of one's life by being born again, it is the work of God through the power of the Holy Spirit (Acts 2:38) that empowers people's lives. Instead, if we focus on "activities", i.e. does he attend regularly, does she tithe, do they participate in our services, we can miss the point of asking is Jesus Lord of one's life? There is a lot of religious activity that inoculates people from understanding the truly personal relationship of being "in Christ". When a disciple wishes to turn away from the dictates of the world and wishes to see understanding of faith, we will not have to worry about brow beating people to pray, study the Bible or serve the needs of those less fortunate. Those things will take care of themselves through spiritual DNA that God injects into the heart of a believer. That is how we become a new creature. If one's heart is not changed, then there is no fruit. If one wants to know how they are doing, look at the fruit in one's life. The reaching of the lost is a spontaneous reaction to the understanding of the Lordship of Jesus Christ. When the focus becomes anything else other than "Lordship", there is a loss of direction. It is God in us through his power that makes the difference.

The House of the Lord

2009-05-23T11:31:00.002-05:00

1 Now when the king dwelt in his house, and the LORD had given him rest from all his enemies round about, 2 the king said to Nathan the prophet, "See now, I dwell in a house of cedar, but the ark of God dwells in a tent." 3 And Nathan said to the king, "Go, do all that is in your heart; for the LORD is with you." 4 But that same night the word of the LORD came to Nathan, 5 "Go and tell my servant David, 'Thus says the LORD: Would you build me a house to dwell in? 6 I have not dwelt in a house since the day I brought up the people of Israel from Egypt to this day, but I have been moving about in a tent for my dwelling. 7 In all places where I have moved with all the people of Israel, did I speak a word with any of the judges of Israel, whom I commanded to shepherd my people Israel, saying, "Why have you not built me a house of cedar?"' 8 Now therefore thus you shall say to my servant David, 'Thus says the LORD of hosts, I took you from the pasture, from following the sheep, that you should be prince over my people Israel; 9 and I have been with you wherever you went, and have cut off all your enemies from before you; and I will make for you a great name, like the name of the great ones of the earth. 10 And I will appoint a place for my people Israel, and will plant them, that they may dwell in their own place, and be disturbed no more; and violent men shall afflict them no more, as formerly, 11 from the time that I appointed judges over my people Israel; and I will give you rest from all your enemies. Moreover the LORD declares to you that the LORD will make you a house. 12 When your days are fulfilled and you lie down with your fathers, I will raise up your offspring after you, who shall come forth from your body, and I will establish his kingdom. 13 He shall build a house for my name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom for ever. 14 I will be his father, and he shall be my son. When he commits iniquity, I will chasten him with the rod of men, with the stripes of the sons of men; 15 but I will not take my steadfast love from him, as I took it from Saul, whom I put away from before you. 16 And your house and your kingdom shall be made sure for ever before me; your throne shall be established for ever.'" 17 In accordance with all these words, and in accordance with all this vision, Nathan spoke to David.

2 Samuel 7:1-17

In the above passage David, King of Israel, comes to a realization of how much God has blessed him. The king is living in a palace. Yet, the Ark of the Covenant, God's symbol of his residence upon earth, rests in a tent. So, David proposes to build God a house. David's response to God's blessing is admirable. But, the concept of the God of the universe dwelling in a house made by human hands is somewhat taken to task through the prophet, Nathan. In verses 5-7, Nathan, reveals that God has not chosen not to dwell in a house; nor, has he commanded David to build a house for him. Instead, he points out that he took David, a shepherd (who lives out of doors) and made him a prince over "my people Israel". Instead, it is the Lord God who will make a house out of David (v.11) and give him a future and descendants. One of these descendants will build a "house for my name". (v13) That house and the kingdom of David shall "be made sure for ever before me; your throne will be established forever".

We know that the throne of David did end when King Nebuchadnezzar of the Babylonians destroyed the temple in 587 B.C. The Old Testament books of Ezra and Nehemiah recount the story of the reconstruction of the second temple that began under Cyrus the Great and completed about 515 B.C. That temple was reconstructed under King Herod the Great in 20 B.C. and ultimately that temple was destroyed by the Romans in 70 A.D. The "wailing wall" in Jerusalem today is the only remnant of that construction left standing.

So how does God's promise through the prophet stand today? Jesus, who was born of the House of David, proclaimed that through the kingdom of God, the Messiah would come and save us. Isaiah 33:22 states:

"For the LORD is our judge, the LORD is our ruler, the LORD is our king; he will save us."

It is the reign of God that is part of the Messianic promise that delivers salvation. Isaiah 11: 1-10 talks about a "shoot" and a "branch" that will grow from the stump of Jesse. He will be anointed with the spirit and show that with wisdom, understanding, power and knowledge that his kingdom will mean the triumph of righteousness. In that day the one from Jesse will stand as "a signal to the peoples; the nations shall inquire of him".

Years later the apostle Peter in 1 Peter 2 would proclaim:

Come to him, to that living stone, rejected by men but in God's sight chosen and precious; 5 and like living stones be yourselves built into a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. 6 For it stands in scripture: "Behold, I am laying in Zion a stone, a cornerstone chosen and precious, and he who believes in him will not be put to shame." 7 To you therefore who believe, he is precious, but for those who do not believe, "The very stone which the builders rejected has become the head of the corner," 8 and "A stone that will make men stumble, a rock that will make them fall"; for they stumble because they disobey the word, as they were destined to do. 9 But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God's own people, that you may declare the wonderful deeds of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. 10 Once you were no people but now you are God's people; once you had not received mercy but now you have received mercy.

Confessions of an Elder

2009-05-03T06:18:00.003-05:00

Obey your leaders and submit to them; for they are keeping watch over your souls, as men who will have to give account. Let them do this joyfully, and not sadly, for that would be of no advantage to you.
Hebrews 13:17

The concept of "church membership" has changed drastically in my lifetime. Some of that is for the good. For many in our tradition the concept of being on the church's formal list of membership was thought of as being a prerequisite to getting into heaven. Personally, I don't buy that. Jesus told the righteous of his era that there would be many going into the kingdom ahead of them. But, the concept of consumerism in the church world has destroyed the concept of community. Today, people shop for a church like they would for a nice social club. When I find a church that meets my needs, then I will consider membership; but, in the meantime feel free to never make a commitment to the local congregation. This kind of thinking is toxic to one's spiritual development.

While one will not find the term "membership" in the New Testament, you will find passages like that in Hebrews 13:17 that call for leaders to "shepherd" a congregation. When one places membership, he or she is giving permission to the leadership for spiritual advice. A church is a voluntary commitment of believers to live in community. How we live makes a difference. The conduct of members is vital to the spiritual health of a church.

In 1 Timothy 5 Paul goes into a rather detailed set of instructions regarding the care of widows and who should or should not be “enrolled” into the church’s support. This may not relate to modern church membership but it at least makes reference to developing a list of people falling under the care of elders. Further, in discussing church discipline, Paul gives instruction in 1 Corinthians 5 to take the immoral man and put him out. You cannot really put someone out if they have not in some meaningful way been “put in.”

Membership in a church facilitates the practice of spiritual discipline. It does not guarantee it. We preach the "kingdom of God". But, when one is born into the kingdom he or she is in need of a family where one can be nurtured and taught. That necessarily implies a commitment to the local congregation. We are imperfect people trying to be like Jesus. When we allow people to be carried as members whom do not attend, participate in ministry, pray, or ever become involved with teaching, we do them a disservice. There will always be room for those whom are honestly searching for the truth to come and participate. That is part of our evangelism. But our goal is for every person to "put on Christ" through baptism and to become part of the church visible. Only Jesus has the final authority to decide who is "in" or "out" on the day of judgment. But, being part of the body of Christ implies an active participant who is in fellowship with the saints of a local congregation.

Luke 24 On the road to Emmaus

2009-04-25T20:39:00.003-05:00

¹⁵ While they were talking and discussing together, Jesus himself drew near and went with them. ¹⁶ But their eyes were kept from recognizing him. ¹⁷ And he said to them, "What is this conversation which you are holding with each other as you walk?" And they stood still, looking sad. ¹⁸ Then one of them, named Cle'opas, answered him, "Are you the only visitor to Jerusalem who does not know the things that have happened there in these days?" ¹⁹ And he said to them, "What things?" And they said to him, "Concerning Jesus of Nazareth, who was a prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people, ²⁰ and how our chief priests and rulers delivered him up to be condemned to death, and crucified him. ²¹ But we had hoped that he was the one to redeem Israel. Yes, and besides all this, it is now the third day since this happened. ²² Moreover, some women of our company amazed us. They were at the tomb early in the morning ²³ and did not find his body; and they came back saying that they had even seen a vision of angels, who said that he was alive. ²⁴ Some of those who were with us went to the tomb, and found it just as the women had said; but him they did not see." ²⁵ And he said to them, "O foolish men, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken! ²⁶ Was it not necessary that the Christ should suffer these things and enter into his glory?" ²⁷ And beginning with Moses and all the prophets, he interpreted to them in all the scriptures the things concerning himself. ²⁸ So they drew near to the village to which they were going. He appeared to be going further, ²⁹ but they constrained him, saying, "Stay with us, for it is toward evening and the day is now far spent." So he went in to stay with them. ³⁰ When he was at table with them, he took the bread and blessed, and broke it, and gave it to them. ³¹ And their eyes were opened and they recognized him; and he vanished out of their sight. ³² They said to each other, "Did not our hearts burn within us while he talked to us on the road, while he opened to us the scriptures?" ³³ And they rose that same hour and returned to Jerusalem; and they found the eleven gathered together and those who were with them, ³⁴ who said, "The Lord has risen indeed, and has appeared to Simon!" ³⁵ Then they told what had happened on the road, and how he was known to them in the breaking of the bread.

I love this post-resurrection story about Jesus. Cleopas and another unknown person were on the road from Jerusalem to Emmaus discussing the events of their day. The two were distraught. They obviously had put their hope in Jesus as a prophet who was mighty in deed and word. But, they were aware of his trial, death and crucifixion. And now, there were rumors that his body was missing from the tomb and that a vision of angels had declared his resurrection. But, they had not seen him with their own eyes.

As Jesus walked with them he gave them a lesson that they would never forget. In verses 25-27 (bolded above) he expounded to them in all the scriptures the things concerning himself. Jesus apparently began with the Torah (the first 5 books of the Old Testament). I would suspect that he would have begun with Adam and Eve, undoubtedly tracing the Seed of woman in Genesis 3:15. He might have continued through the raised-up Prophet of Deuteronomy 18:15, the virgin birth of Isaiah 7:14, the suffering Servant of Isaiah 53, and the reign of Jesse's offspring in Isaiah 11. I wonder if he might have used Psalm 16:9-10:

My heart is glad, and my glory rejoices; my flesh also will rest in hope. For You will not leave my soul in Sheol, nor will You allow Your Holy One to see corruption."

I wonder if he made reference to the the prophets Jeremiah and Daniel, describing the righteous Branch that would come from King David (Jer. 23:5-6) that would be "cut off, but not for Himself" before the destruction of the second Temple in A.D. 70 (Daniel 9:26). Or, perhaps before he vanished from their sight, I wonder if he quoted from Zechariah 12:10, explaining that one day "the inhabitants of Jerusalem" will be given "the Spirit of grace and supplication," when "they will look on Me whom they pierced." I find it fascinating that it is when Jesus breaks the bread that he is made known to them. And, at that same instant, he vanishes. The result was that their hearts were burning while he opened the scriptures to them. I believe that the same results happen to us today. When we truly study the scriptures seeking to understand the revelation of God, there is a phenomena whereby when we worship and break bread together that we have the confirmation of the indwelling of the Holy Spirit in our hearts that testifies to the truth of the gospel. The psalmist wrote, "Blessed are those who put their trust in Him" (Psalms 2:12). No doubt, these two men on the road of Emmaus did exactly that. And, we are invited to join them on the road of our journey through life in the here and now.

Faithfulness

2009-04-11T20:52:00.002-05:00

She sat in my office with tears running down her cheeks. The pain was written in her face. Her marriage of 24 years was in tatters. She had just told her daughters why she was moving out. The conversation had ended badly. It was hard to feel sympathy, however, because the decision to end her marriage was her own. Too many years without joy she said. The constant battles and unresolved issues. Besides, she had met somebody new.

This was not a casual, uninvolved church member. This was someone who had been part of the church her entire life. She had served willingly, taught and been a role model to others for years. She regretted that I could not support her decision to tear her family apart. "But, I am confident in my relationship with God. I know God wants me to be happy." As I sat there and listened I wondered which book of the Bible had taught her that timeless truth? What hero in the Bible could she look to who could justify one's pursuit of happiness over God's obedience? I could not think of one. Yet in our modern American new age culture, the "pursuit of happiness" has trumped faithfulness.

When we mix in the human heart with faithfulness, there is a tendency to dilute its call for purity and commitment. The secular world with its lure of wealth and security makes our lives luke-warm. The church at Laodicea was warned of this result (Rev. 3). God's first command is to love him with all of one's heart, soul, strength and mind. Seeking one's own road to private happiness is a contradiction to faithfulness. It is not about "us"; it is about the Lord. This is the same battle that the church fought in Corinth. When we import the worship of anything else besides Jesus Christ and him crucified, we engage in idolatry. It is no wonder that we deceive ourselves with the delusion of a few sentiments about a loving God, mixed in with a constant bombardment of commercials lauding personal happiness as the ultimate good. After all, we just want to be discovered like everyone else on American Idol! [Ironic name for a show, isn't it?] This rational gives license to do whatever one wants and yet justify it as somehow as one's own self piety.

Every person who claims Jesus as Lord is influenced by culture, family, friends, books, Internet, schools, workplace and world events. We prescribe out of our own history. God is one small voice that sometimes is but a whisper. However, the battle of faithfulness is not allowing the world to crowd out the call of the Messiah to the narrow road. Faithfulness is giving priority to the voice of God. It responds by one's obedience to the urging of the Spirit of God that is planted in the heart of the believer by God's Holy Spirit. Scripture teaches us that the Spirit can be quenched. God's truth sets us free. The world's call is to make the revelation of God more palatable by assimilating and accommodating the truth from God with some other source of "truth". The world is ruled by one whom is deceitful. The half-lie and innuendo kill spirituality faster than a sword. When we lose our ability to distinguish between God's voice and that of the world, we are blind and lost.

Jesus and the Kingdom of God

2009-03-18T21:21:00.003-05:00

The good news is about something that happened in time and space. It is a historical claim. Christianity is not a new moral teaching. It is a proclamation that Jesus of Nazareth is the Messiah. Christianity has been distorted over time to be focused on heaven and hell. It is not "fire insurance" to make sure that one ends up on the right side of the ledger when the roll is called up yonder. That is the purpose of religion. Jesus did not have a lot to say that was very positive about those who were ""religious".

So what is the point? What is Christianity about?

Christianity is based upon faith that the living God, in fulfillment of his promises to a man named Abraham, and later his promises to a nation of Abraham's descendants, has accomplished the rescue of mankind from sin and death. It is a rescue operation that is on going. It is based upon the life, death, burial and resurrection of one man....Jesus. A great door has swung open in the spiritual realm. We are invited to enter and are offered freedom from slavery to sin and death. We discover, that in following Jesus, that this new world is indeed a place of justice, spirituality, relationship and beauty. We now get to enjoy it; but, we are commanded to bring this reality to earth. In listening to Jesus we discover the echos of the voice that has been imprinted upon the hearts and minds of the human race from the beginning of all time.

The Anti-Triumphal Entry

2009-01-03T09:12:00.004-06:00

Rejoice greatly, O Daughter of Zion! Shout, Daughter of Jerusalem! See, your king comes to you, righteous and having salvation, gentle and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.
I will take away the chariots from Ephraim and the war-horses from Jerusalem, and the battle bow will be broken. He will proclaim peace to the nations. His rule will extend from sea to sea and from the River to the ends of the earth.

Zechariah 9:9-10

When Jesus entered Jerusalem on the eve of Passover, he rode into the City of David on the back of a small, borrowed donkey. The irony was that the Passover feast celebrated the deliverance of God's people from bondage. The people were looking for a new King to come and throw out the Romans and re-establish Israel as a world power. While the Romans watched, the people picked up palm branches (the sign of resistance to Imperial power) and welcomed their "king". Kings do not ride donkeys. They ride mighty war horses surrounded by an entourage of soldiers. It would be like Barack Obama riding a unicycle down Pennsylvania avenue on inauguration day. Jesus made a spectacle of power. His kingdom is not based on the trappings of political or military power. In fact, he told his disciples in Luke 22:24-27:

"The kings of the Gentiles lord it over them; and those who exercise authority over them call themselves Benefactors. But you are not to be like that. Instead, the greatest among you should be like the youngest, and the one who rules like the one who serves. For who is greater, the one who is at the table or the one who serves? Is it not the one who is at the table? But I am among you as one who serves. You are those who have stood by me in my trials. And I confer on you a kingdom, just as my Father conferred one on me, so that you may eat and drink at my table in my kingdom and sit on thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. "

The prophet Zechariah foretold hundreds of years ago what would happen when the Messiah arrived. Jesus fulfilled this Messianic prophecy. And, yet to this day, the world looks to the trappings of authority and power to "lead" us to a better life. In the kingdom of God, we find authority is turned on its head. If one wants to be really great in the kingdom, you become a servant to all. This tension between "how do we live in the world" and not be "in it" is the walk of the Christian life.

So You Want a King?

2008-12-31T09:06:00.005-06:00

Samuel told all the words of the LORD to the people who were asking him for a king. He said, "This is what the king who will reign over you will do: He will take your sons and make them serve with his chariots and horses, and they will run in front of his chariots. Some he will assign to be commanders of thousands and commanders of fifties, and others to plow his ground and reap his harvest, and still others to make weapons of war and equipment for his chariots. He will take your daughters to be perfumers and cooks and bakers. He will take the best of your fields and vineyards and olive groves and give them to his attendants. He will take a tenth of your grain and of your vintage and give it to his officials and attendants. Your menservants and maidservants and the best of your cattle and donkeys he will take for his own use. He will take a tenth of your flocks, and you yourselves will become his slaves. When that day comes, you will cry out for relief from the king you have chosen, and the LORD will not answer you in that day."

1 Samuel 8: 10-18

Our story began in a Garden. Unlike any other Garden, this one was special. No thorns, no war, no pollution or poverty. It was perfect. But, there was one thing that man was not supposed to partake of.....the tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil. God warned Adam and Eve that if they ate of that Tree that they would discover something called "death". Immortality and Knowledge of Good and Evil does not mix. And, then a lying, cheating, no good serpent entered the Garden and tempted them to partake of the forbidden fruit. Evidently, the lure of God- like knowledge was far more tempting than the fear of death. They would decide for themselves what was "good" and what was "evil". They rejected what God told them to do. The result was the "Fall". It created a separation of humanity from God. The results were horrific. The first death outside the Garden was the murder of one their sons by another. The flow of civilization and violence that proceeded forth became so horrific that the "earth became full of violence". So much so, that God decided to reboot the design. In his grace he chose a man, Noah, and his family and preserved animal life from a great flood that destroyed the evil world. But, like sand in the carburetor, it did not take long to discover that the seeds of sin sprung forth again like dandelions on a vacant lot.

God decided to make a covenant with a man, Abram, who was called out of the seat of civilization of his day. God told him he would take him to a new land and that through his seed, "all nations of the earth would be blessed". This was the story of the redemption of the human race. God changed his name to "Abraham" which means father of many nations. The story of his descendants, Issac, Jacob and Esau, Joseph show that God was involved in each of their lives in special ways. But, his descendants ended up as slaves in Egypt for 400 years.

The story of the Exodus (the second book of the Bible) is a story of deliverance of God's people. God choose a baby Hebrew, Moses, whose mother spared his life by hiding him in a basket in the reeds along the Nile river from an officially proclaimed governmental policy of genocide against Hebrew male babies. Moses was adopted by the daughter of the Pharaoh and grew up in the palace of the Pharaoh ( i.e. "King") of Egypt. When Moses murdered an Egyptian taskmaster, he fled to the desert of Midian to hide from judgment of the Egyptian legal system. It was there that God revealed himself to Moses on Mount Sinai and told him to return to Egypt to deliver God's people to a promised land. As God delivered him from the Nile as a baby, Moses delivered his people by having them cross the Red Sea on dry land before waters destroyed Pharaoh's army of chariots who were pursuing them.

Moses led the people of Israel in the desert; but, not as a King. He was a prophet of God. God himself tabernacled with the people directing their way and delivering them from their enemies. The people did not always appreciate deliverance. In fact, they grumbled. Nostalgic memories of home back in Egypt, on the plantation, caused them to cry out for the meat and fast food of the empire. Evidently, the choice between filling their bellies with food was more important than wandering in the desert with God. Exodus 16:3 reads that:

"The Israelites said to them, "If only we had died by the LORD's hand in Egypt! There we sat around pots of meat and ate all the food we wanted, but you have brought us out into this desert to starve this entire assembly to death."

Not a lot has changed in our churches today. Many would rather follow their human desires for food, pleasure and material things than to seek to walk in the ways of the Lord.

When they came into the promised land, they were led by Joshua. Following his leadership were a series of Judges whom God raised up to deliver the people when they needed deliverance. By the days of the prophet Samuel, the people looked around at their neighbors who were ruled by Kings and demanded that Samuel appoint for them a King. The desire for a King was motivated by the people's desire to like their neighbors.....much like the fruit of the tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil in the Garden. God had chosen his people to be "set apart from the nations". They were to be "holy" and to be "his own". Instead, the people demanded a human king. In the passage above, Samuel told them what that would mean to them. However,just like Adam and Eve, they ignored the long term consequences for the short term lure of the gain of an earthly kingdom. They wanted to "be like the nations". The Bible suggests that we need to be careful about what we wish for. The stories of the kings that followed showed how human wisdom leads to depravity and vanity. Rehoboam, the son of Solomon, ruled with a heavy yoke saying, " my father scourged you with whips; I will scourge you with scorpions". (I Kings 12:11) It was no wonder that the people rebelled and the Davidic kingdom was fractured between Israel and Judah. When government becomes a burden to the people, it is often overthrown. Our forefathers threw the tea overboard in Boston harbor for a penny tax. Today, our systems of taxation take over 1/2 of what people earn between income taxes, sales taxes, real estate taxes, earnings taxes, gift, estate and generation-skipping taxes.

But of course with God, that was not the end of the story. Grace always triumphs over Judgment. For Christians, the battle is always between two masters. Manna and God. The model of our King is one of a servant who is meek and lowly. He commanded his followers to render unto Cesar the things that are Cesar's; but, to give to God the things that are God. The great paradox of God's power vs. that of the world is that a barren old lady would become the mother of a nation; a shepherd boy would become their King and that a homeless baby would lead them home.

The Gifts of the Christ Child

2008-12-23T21:34:00.008-06:00

When they saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy; and going into the house they saw the child with Mary his mother, and they fell down and worshiped him. Then, opening their treasures, they offered him gifts, gold and frankincense and myrrh.

Matthew 2: 10-11

Gold is for kings. Frankincense was used by the priests. But, "myrrh" was for embalming. Who would give myrrh to a baby? The Bible records these gifts for a specific reason. Each is a sign of Messianic prophecy. They were to foretell the future of this special child who was born of a virgin.

When Jesus was upon the cross, Mark 15:23 says:

And they offered him wine mingled with myrrh; but he did not take it.

Myrrh also had some medicinal qualities that help alleviate pain. Jesus refused it so that he bore the full penalty for all of our iniquities. Later, he did accept the vinegar wine on a sponge.

What I find fascinating is the Messianic Psalms that point to the prophecy of the Messiah. In Isaiah 60 we find the following passage:

1 Arise, shine; for your light has come, and the glory of the LORD has risen upon you. 2 For behold, darkness shall cover the earth, and thick darkness the peoples; but the LORD will arise upon you, and his glory will be seen upon you. 3 And nations shall come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your rising. 4 Lift up your eyes round about, and see; they all gather together, they come to you; your sons shall come from far, and your daughters shall be carried in the arms. 5 Then you shall see and be radiant, your heart shall thrill and rejoice; because the abundance of the sea shall be turned to you, the wealth of the nations shall come to you. 6 A multitude of camels shall cover you, the young camels of Mid'ian and Ephah; all those from Sheba shall come. They shall bring gold and frankincense, and shall proclaim the praise of the LORD.

In this passage the Messiah is delivered two gifts: (1) gold; and, (2) frankincense. The role of the Messiah in His kindgom will be that of King and Priest; but, note the absence of the third gift - myrrh. There will no longer be the need for burial anymore as the Messiah will bring eternal life to His kingdom. The prophecy's absence of the need for myrrh is a symbol of the Messianic era. And, this was prophesied some 500 years before the birth of Jesus.

The Kingdom of God

2008-12-07T16:36:00.003-06:00

It shall come to pass in the latter days that the mountain of the house of the LORD shall be established as the highest of the mountains, and shall be raised above the hills; and all the nations shall flow to it, and many peoples shall come, and say: "Come, let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, to the house of the God of Jacob; that he may teach us his ways and that we may walk in his paths." For out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem. He shall judge between the nations, and shall decide for many peoples; and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more.

Isaiah 2: 2-4

The prophet Isaiah predicted a future that sounds like pure idealism. In the history of the world, I cannot remember any time when people beat their swords into plowshares. The rule of God which is to go forth from Zion (the hill on which the temple in Jerusalem was built) is not only for Israel; but, for "many peoples". The plan for worldwide peace is a theme that goes back to Eden. No more thorns and thistles. No more war and strife. It is the rule of God which is perfect for mankind. When YHWH finally acts to reestablish Jerusalem ("Zion") as the place where he will live and reign, it will be for all of us. This is the same promise God made to Abraham in Genesis 12, that through his seed "all nations" of the earth would be blessed.

Even more specifically, God promises to do this through the arrival of the ultimate king of Israel, the descendant of David ("son of Jesse"). This king will possess the wisdom he will need to bring God's justice to the whole world. Isaiah went on to describe this in chapter 11: 1-9:

1 There shall come forth a shoot from the stump of Jesse, and a branch shall grow out of his roots. 2 And the Spirit of the LORD shall rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and the fear of the LORD. 3 And his delight shall be in the fear of the LORD. He shall not judge by what his eyes see, or decide by what his ears hear; 4 but with righteousness he shall judge the poor, and decide with equity for the meek of the earth; and he shall smite the earth with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips he shall slay the wicked. 5 Righteousness shall be the girdle of his waist, and faithfulness the girdle of his loins. 6 The wolf shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid, and the calf and the lion and the fatling together, and a little child shall lead them. 7 The cow and the bear shall feed; their young shall lie down together; and the lion shall eat straw like the ox. 8 The sucking child shall play over the hole of the asp, and the weaned child shall put his hand on the adder's den. 9 They shall not hurt or destroy in all my holy mountain; for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the LORD as the waters cover the sea. 10 In that day the root of Jesse shall stand as an ensign to the peoples; him shall the nations seek, and his dwellings shall be glorious. 11 In that day the Lord will extend his hand yet a second time to recover the remnant which is left of his people, from Assyria, from Egypt, from Pathros, from Ethiopia, from Elam, from Shinar, from Hamath, and from the coastlands of the sea. 12 He will raise an ensign for the nations, and will assemble the outcasts of Israel, and gather the dispersed of Judah from the four corners of the earth.

The restoration of Israel that is recovered from the remnant of his people is a sign of the Lord's hand. Israel, as a nation, ceased to exist when Jerusalem was sacked by the Romans in 70 A.D. Jewish people were scattered throughout the nations (the "Diaspora") for almost two Milena. In 1947, the United Nations voted to restore a homeland for the Jewish people. No other nation on earth has ever come back from the dead in this manner. Hebrew, a language that nearly disappeared, is now restored as the language of modern day Israel. Certainly the wolf and the lamb have not laid down together in our time. But the fact that Israel exists as a nation today is not something that we should ignore. Does this means we are living in the last days? Perhaps? But, no man knows the hour or the day. But, Jesus did tell his disciples that they would know the "season". Before 1947 these passages were thought of as literary illusion. But, if we remember that Jesus was a historical figure that lived real space and time, then I believe there is room to suggest that upon his return God is not yet done with his plan to redeem this physical world just yet.

The Year of Jubilee

2008-10-28T20:39:00.003-05:00

10 And you shall hallow the fiftieth year, and proclaim liberty throughout the land to all its inhabitants; it shall be a jubilee for you, when each of you shall return to his property and each of you shall return to his family. 11 A jubilee shall that fiftieth year be to you; in it you shall neither sow, nor reap what grows of itself, nor gather the grapes from the undressed vines. 12 For it is a jubilee; it shall be holy to you; you shall eat what it yields out of the field. 13 "In this year of jubilee each of you shall return to his property. 14 And if you sell to your neighbor or buy from your neighbor, you shall not wrong one another. 15 According to the number of years after the jubilee, you shall buy from your neighbor, and according to the number of years for crops he shall sell to you. 16 If the years are many you shall increase the price, and if the years are few you shall diminish the price, for it is the number of the crops that he is selling to you. 17 You shall not wrong one another, but you shall fear your God; for I am the LORD your God. 18 "Therefore you shall do my statutes, and keep my ordinances and perform them; so you will dwell in the land securely. 19 The land will yield its fruit, and you will eat your fill, and dwell in it securely. 20 And if you say, 'What shall we eat in the seventh year, if we may not sow or gather in our crop?' 21 I will command my blessing upon you in the sixth year, so that it will bring forth fruit for three years. 22 When you sow in the eighth year, you will be eating old produce; until the ninth year, when its produce comes in, you shall eat the old. 23 The land shall not be sold in perpetuity, for the land is mine; for you are strangers and sojourners with me.

Leviticus 25: 10-23

While we sing songs about the "year of Jubilee", many are unaware that this Biblical concept was God's design for giant party every fifty years! How would you like to take a year off work with all your friends and family at the same time? Better yet, if you had mortgaged your family home and were in debt up to your ears, all debt was to be forgiven in the year of jubilee. It was God's way of hitting the giant reset button and refreshing everything to the way it was when the children of Israel entered the land and it was given to them. No work was to be done in the fields. Slaves were to be set free, debts were cleared and the real estate was returned to the the original owners. This was not communism where the state owns and controls everything. Rather, it is a limited form of capitalism. If one were going to lease the land until the next Jubilee, the price for doing so in year 1 would be much greater than if one were to lease it in year 49. This concept of market price based upon valuation of the time-difference of money is unique. Its purpose was to remind the people that they did not "own" land. The people were to be strangers and sojourners with the Lord. While one could still work and make a profit, one could not buy up all the land and enslave his neighbors in debt in perpetuity. The Lord is a god of second chances.

Debt enslaves people. When the Jewish people revolted against Rome in 66 A.D. one of the first things they did was to burn the temple records of all the debts that were owed. In essence, they wanted a second chance to start over as a free nation and to celebrate a jubilee type event. There is little recorded history to show that the year of Jubilee was actually carried out. Over time, the people forgot the commands.

In the 4th chapter of Luke, we have a story of Jesus reading from the Book of Isaiah. While the word "jubilee" is not mentioned the imagery is very much the same:

And he stood up to read; and there was given to him the book of the prophet Isaiah. He opened the book and found the place where it was written, "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed, to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord."

Luke 4: 16-19

Jesus then told the assembly that "Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.". I suspect that the first year of Jesus's ministry might have been a jubilee year. I suspect that the people recognized the message; but, they did not accept the author of jubilee.

I like a God who wants to party! It is a lot like throwing a big wingding and killing the fatted calf when the prodical son comes home. The Father says, "We have to celebrate." To often we celebrate transitory things. Somehow the good news is tied to the concept of jubilee. If one wants to pick a good year, pick a year of jubilee.

Feed My Sheep

2008-10-19T07:55:00.002-05:00

He said to him the third time, "Simon, son of John, do you love me?" Peter was grieved because he said to him the third time, "Do you love me?" And he said to him, "Lord, you know everything; you know that I love you."

Jesus said to him, "Feed my sheep.

John 21:17

In the beginning of John Chapter 21, Peter, who has seen resurrected Jesus decides to go "fishing". I do a lot of thinking when fishing. Especially, when one fishes all night and catches nothing. Peter was not doing recreational fishing. He was fishing for his livelihood. He was going about the affairs of life making a living knowing the only trade he knew to put food on the table. He had witnessed the arrest and trial of his Lord. And, he fled Jerusalem in panic after denying Jesus three times in the courtyard of his trial. I would bet he could hear the cock crowing 3 times in his sleep. He had witnessed Jesus in resurrection; but, he still did not know what to do? I am certain his doubts and worries about the future consumed him. And then, in this last chapter of John 21, Jesus appears to him again along the seashore in Galilee providing him and his fellow fisherman breakfast. When Peter listens to Jesus and does what he says to do, he sees the reward. And, yet Jesus asks him 3 times "Peter, do you love me?" The sting of the interrogatories had to be devastating to Peter. And, yet, the Lord was forming the rock upon which his church would be built.

If you love me, then feed my sheep. It sounds so simple. Yet, this is the question every believer is asked by the Lord. What is it that each one of us can do to help build up the body (the church) of Christ? Jesus told us that even those who give a cup of cold water in His name would not lose their reward. Faith without works is dead. The church is not an option for a believer. We are all to be about feeding the sheep with whatever talents and abilities we have been given.

Church Growth

2008-09-28T19:35:00.005-05:00

So the church throughout all Judea and Galilee and Sama'ria had peace and was built up; and walking in the fear of the Lord and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit it was multiplied.

Acts 9:31

So how does a church leadership go about building up the body of Christ? One would think that the plan of salvation would take care of that automatically? However, in today's religious climate, churches are "shopped" by members to find the size and fit for what one is seeking. If one does not like what one finds in Church A, you go down the street to Church B and try it out. In the early church of the New Testament this was not the case. There was only one church. Denominationalism has fractured Christendom into different flavors from which one can select. I don't think that is what the Lord had in mind when he prayed for unity in John 17. I love the fact that we belong to a unity movement that began as an attempt to not be just another denomination. Instead of being a "Baptist" or a "Presbyterian" or "Methodist" we decided to simply call ourselves "Christians only; but, not the only Christians". We decided to let the Bible speak for itself and abolished clergy and laity distinctions. Congregations are voluntary associations who choose their own leadership based on the Biblical example of having Elders and Deacons who meet biblical standards set forth in Scripture. And yet, we continue to struggle with the reality that we live in a consumer denominated society whereby churches compete for members.

I am indebted to my son-in-law who sent me an interesting link that addresses some of these church growth issues: See here. I am convinced that the spiritual battle for the souls of mankind is waged at the congregational level of the church. Every member has to take responsibility for the gospel. We are a "priesthood of all believers". Ultimately, it is the work of the Holy Spirit that draws people to the cross. Our job is to lift up Jesus in everything that we do. Note the verse in Acts 9:31 above. Two things stand out to me. One, they walked "in the fear of the Lord". I don't think many in the world worry much about what God thinks these days. The Bible has a lot to say about this:

Job 28:28 - And he said to man, 'Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom; and to depart from evil is understanding.'"

Psalms 19:9 - the fear of the LORD is clean, enduring for ever; the ordinances of the LORD are true, and righteous altogether.

Psalms 34:11 - Come, O sons, listen to me, I will teach you the fear of the LORD.

Psalms 111:10 - The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom; a good understanding have all those who practice it. His praise endures for ever!

Proverbs 1:7 - The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge; fools despise wisdom and instruction.

Proverbs 1:29 - Because they hated knowledge and did not choose the fear of the Lord.

Proverbs 8:13 - The fear of the LORD is hatred of evil. Pride and arrogance and the way of evil and perverted speech I hate.

Proverbs 9:10 - The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is insight.

Proverbs 10:27 - The fear of the LORD prolongs life, but the years of the wicked will be short.

Proverbs 14:26 - In the fear of the LORD one has strong confidence, and his children will have a refuge.

Proverbs 14:27 - The fear of the LORD is a fountain of life, that one may avoid the snares of death.

Proverbs 15:16 - Better is a little with the fear of the LORD than great treasure and trouble with it.

Proverbs 15:33 - The fear of the LORD is instruction in wisdom, and humility goes before honor. Proverbs 16:6 - By loyalty and faithfulness iniquity is atoned for, and by the fear of the LORD a man avoids evil.

Proverbs 19:23 - The fear of the LORD leads to life; and he who has it rests satisfied; he will not be visited by harm.

And there is more. But, the second part of the above scripture refers to the "comfort of the Holy Spirit". I fear that there many Christians in our churches today if asked to explain their experience with the "comfort of the Holy Spirit" would look like a deer caught in the headlights. We do know that Acts 2:38 promises the "gift of the Holy Spirit" to every believer who is born again by baptism. But, unless one can share with a non-believer what that means, it is difficult for our churches to grow. The ultimate testimony of every believer is to explain the hope that is within one. God in us really is the secret of the good news.

The Book of Psalms

2008-09-21T21:57:00.003-05:00

I find it fascinating that the Book of Psalms is quoted in the New Testament more than any other book in the Old Testament. One might think that the Torah or the Prophets would be more in play? Jesus said that the psalms spoke about Him (Luke 24:44) and they constitute irrefutable testimony to the divine inspiration of the Scriptures.

The Messianic psalms include Psalm 2, 8, 16, 22, 23, 24, 40, 41, 45, 68, 69, 87, 89, 102, 110, 118, et al. Next to Psalm 22, Psalm 69 is the most quoted psalm in the New Testament: Psalm 22 deals with the death of Christ, Psalm 69 deals with the life of Christ.

Psalm 69 is quoted in the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, and also in Acts and Romans. (There are also many references to it beyond those actual quotations.) This psalm tells us about the silent years of Christ's childhood and young manhood, of which the Gospels tell us practically nothing. (Luke tells us about an incident in the life of our Lord when He was twelve years old, but we learn nothing else about Him until He is about thirty years old.) This psalm fills in some of the details of those early years. We see some of Christ's dark days in Nazareth and His dark hours on the Cross.

Growing up in Nazareth, one hears the heart sob of a small boy, a teenager, a young man. This is a psalm of His early humiliation and rejection:

"I am become a stranger unto my brethren, and an alien unto my mother's children (Psalm 69:8)."

Mary had other children, which confirms the record in the Gospels (Mt 13:55; Mk 6:3). He became an alien unto His mother's children - not His father's children because Joseph was not His father. They were half-brothers and half-sisters. It may have been a very unhappy home?

"I made sackcloth also my garment; and I became a proverb to them

(Psalm 69:11).

"They that sit in the gate speak against me; and I was the song of the drunkards (Psalm 69:12)."

Those who are "sitting in the gate" are the high officials of the town, the judges. The drunkards and the best people in Nazareth both spoke against Him. His life in Nazareth was not nice. Recall the vicious exchange between Jesus and the Pharisees in John 8: "...We be not born of fornication (Jn 8:41)."

Why did He endure all of this? He was raised in a town where He was called illegitimate in order that we might be legitimate in the eyes of God. The Son of God bore that for us on the Cross; He paid the penalty for our sins. How few of us have considered the 30 years of shame and ignominy that He endured so that we might have clear title to be called "sons of God" (Jn 1:11,12).Yet, He had the most distinguished Family Tree in history: it was encrypted in the Torah (Gen 38) and prophesied in the times of the Judges (Ruth 4). It evaded the blood curse on Jeconiah (Jer 22:30) and included a Virgin Birth (Gen 3:15; Isa 7:14; Ps 69, 110). The Book of Psalms is a treasure trove of prophetic discoveries and insights.

Learning to Wait upon the Lord

2008-09-15T22:15:00.005-05:00

A Biblical prophecy is not a mere prediction. It is a promise made by God of the future. God is faithful to keep his promises, even though He may do so many years later. A test of our faith is learning to wait upon the Lord.

Abraham is known as the father of faith. He was 75 years old when he left Haran with the promise that God would bless him and make a great nation of him. [Gen. 12-1-4] While he was still childless, Abraham was promised that his descendants would be "as the dust of the earth; so that if a man could number the dust of the earth, then your descendants also could be numbered". [Gen.13:16] God made an unilateral covenant with Abraham that was unconditional. [Gen. 12-17] Years later Abraham was still childless. Yet God assured him that his descendants would come through his own body and that Sarah, his rightful and elderly wife, would bear his son:

" I will make you exceedingly fruitful; and I will make nations of you, and kings shall come forth from you. And I will establish my covenant between me and you and your descendants after you throughout their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be God to you and to your descendants after you. And I will give to you, and to your descendants after you, the land of your sojournings, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession; and I will be their God." ....[19] God said, "No, but Sarah your wife shall bear you a son, and you shall call his name Isaac. I will establish my covenant with him as an everlasting covenant for his descendants after him. Gen. 17:6-8,19

Naturally, Sarah laughed when she heard this pronouncement because she was 90 years old and her husband was nearly 100 [v17]. But, God was true to his word and Issac was born as promised. [21:1-7]. Thus, God began his creation with a miracle, for which he made Abraham wait for 25 years.

Why did God take so long? First, the long time frame would show that nothing is too difficult for the Lord and that with "God nothing will be impossible" [18:14; Luke 1:37]. Secondly, Abraham was being conditioned to believe and trust in God's promises. God is not so concerned with our comfort but with our character. Third, in the process of waiting upon the Lord, Abraham developed faith. Abraham " believed against hope, that he should become the father of many nations". Romans 4:18]

He did not weaken in faith when he considered his own body, which was as good as dead because he was about a hundred years old, or when he considered the barrenness of Sarah's womb. No distrust made him waver concerning the promise of God, but he grew strong in his faith as he gave glory to God, fully convinced that God was able to do what he had promised. [Romans 4:19-21]

God's timetable may be different than ours. God's promises may not always be filled immediately; but, they will be fulfilled eventually. It is with the eye of faith that we see his kingdom come.

Truth is a Personality

2008-09-07T18:14:00.003-05:00

John 8:32 - ...and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free."

As closing elder, I shared the following comments with the congregation this morning.

"We are a broken people. As Christians we struggle with:

mental and physical illnesses
the effects of aging
lost jobs and opportunities
the lament and sorrow of loved ones who have predeceased us

But, we know in whom we believe. In the process of faith we discover that it is not about us. It is about the power of the gospel. We have found truth and it is setting us free. The revelation is that truth is a personality. [And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, full of grace and truth; we have beheld his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father. John 1:14]

We have discovered that the things unseen are more important than those things that are seen. We are broken people who want to offer to other broken people the message of faith, hope and love."

How Shall We Live?

2008-08-31T20:11:00.003-05:00

And the word of the LORD came to Zechari'ah, saying, "Thus says the LORD of hosts, Render true judgments, show kindness and mercy each to his brother, do not oppress the widow, the fatherless, the sojourner, or the poor; and let none of you devise evil against his brother in your heart."

Zechariah 7: 8-10

So how does one know when a person of faith is acting in accordance with the Word of God? The prophet Zechariah set forth the above from the Lord over 2500 years ago. And yet today, it would be hard to improve upon this litmus test. The kingdom is not about preserving correct doctrine; but, in doing the will of God. How we treat one another and those who are defenseless says more about us than anything we can say about ourselves. Ultimately, it is what is in one's heart that will be made known by one's actions. We reap the harvest of what we sow.

2008-08-28T12:58:00.004-05:00

Nothing on earth is more beautiful than the morning sun. Even if you live to a ripe old age, you should try to enjoy each day.

Ecclesiastes 11:7

I read the above verse to my three and one-half year old granddaughter this morning from her "Read and Learn" Favorite Bible Verse book. I am certain that I derived more wisdom from it than she did today; but, the seed of faith planted into her heart by the Word and watered with the prayers of grandparents and parents will do wonderful things in the years ahead.

It was almost three years ago to the day that my daughter Rachel had a near death experience. An emergency craniotomey at 3:00 a.m. in the morning saved her life. This morning as I stood in the shower of her guest bathroom, I fashbacked to 3 years ago. I remember standing in the same spot pouring out my heart to the Lord. Showers are a great place to pray. One stands before the Lord naked and the water washes away the tears. Three years later I think about the above verse. Every day is a gift. I am choosing to enjoy this day.

The Valley of the Dry Bones

2008-08-17T20:06:00.004-05:00

1 The hand of the LORD was upon me, and he brought me out by the Spirit of the LORD, and set me down in the midst of the valley; it was full of bones. 2 And he led me round among them; and behold, there were very many upon the valley; and lo, they were very dry. 3 And he said to me, "Son of man, can these bones live?" And I answered, "O Lord GOD, thou knowest." 4 Again he said to me, "Prophesy to these bones, and say to them, O dry bones, hear the word of the LORD. 5 Thus says the Lord GOD to these bones: Behold, I will cause breath to enter you, and you shall live. 6 And I will lay sinews upon you, and will cause flesh to come upon you, and cover you with skin, and put breath in you, and you shall live; and you shall know that I am the LORD." 7 So I prophesied as I was commanded; and as I prophesied, there was a noise, and behold, a rattling; and the bones came together, bone to its bone. 8 And as I looked, there were sinews on them, and flesh had come upon them, and skin had covered them; but there was no breath in them. 9 Then he said to me, "Prophesy to the breath, prophesy, son of man, and say to the breath, Thus says the Lord GOD: Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe upon these slain, that they may live." 10 So I prophesied as he commanded me, and the breath came into them, and they lived, and stood upon their feet, an exceedingly great host. 11 Then he said to me, "Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel. Behold, they say, 'Our bones are dried up, and our hope is lost; we are clean cut off.' 12 Therefore prophesy, and say to them, Thus says the Lord GOD: Behold, I will open your graves, and raise you from your graves, O my people; and I will bring you home into the land of Israel. 13 And you shall know that I am the LORD, when I open your graves, and raise you from your graves, O my people. 14 And I will put my Spirit within you, and you shall live, and I will place you in your own land; then you shall know that I, the LORD, have spoken, and I have done it, says the LORD."

Ezekiel 37: 1-14

Over 2600 years ago, the prophet Ezekiel prophesied a national resurrection for Israel. The spirit of the Lord set Ezekiel in a valley filled with dried human bones that Ezekiel was told consisted of "the whole house of Israel". (vv 1-11) Then the prophet was told to prophesy over them (v.4). When the prophet spoke , a mighty miracle took place. Immediately the bones came together, forming a body of people (v.7). This coalescing represents Israel's resurrection as an entity in its own land in the last days.

On November 29, 1947 the nation of Israel was resurrected by a vote of the United Nations. It was the first time in 20 centuries that a nation whose people had been uprooted and dispersed across the face of the earth, survived, and returned to its country of origin to resume its national existence. Some would suggest that Israel's reemergence is totally unrelated to prophecy. Therefore, modern Israel's reestablishment is a historical event that has no relevance to biblical fulfillment. Others would suggest that that there will be a literal, national restoration as prophesied in the Bible; but, not until the return of the Lord. They would suggest that a return in unbelief does not follow the correct sequence of repentance, then restoration.

It seems to me that the above passage gives one some insight into the plan of God. Note v. 8 that talks about the lack of "breath" in the bones. This might suggest an absence of spiritual life at the time of resurrection. Spiritual life will come when the reconciliation happens--at the Second coming of Jesus the Messiah.

The concept that Israel will return to its own land in unbelief and become a nation before the Messiah returns is also seen in Ezekiel 36:8-12 where the land itself will be restored upon the Jewish people's return. In 1948 about 657,000 resided in the new State of Israel. Many of these had no agricultural or farming background. Yet, through the establishment of the kibbutzim (collective settlements) the land began to produce crops on what had been desolate for centuries. Since the return of the descendants of Abraham to Israel, the land has experienced the new life mentioned in Ezekiel 36. First, it is like a tree that sprouts new branches, leaves, and fruit (v.8). Second, it is producing abundantly as it is being "tilled and sown" (v.9). Third, its cities are being rebuilt and inhabited (v.10). Fourth, the land has been reclaimed , as Israel's ruins are rebuilt (v.10). Fifth, the land is being populated with Jewish people (vv. 1--12). Sixth, the Israelies are taking possession of it (v.12). This event is a forerunner to the ultimate fulfillment of the Ezekiel 36 passage which will take place in the Millennial Kingdom.

Scripture clearly teaches that Israel will face world opposition and unprecedented tribulation in the last days. In fact, Israel will experience what is known as "the time of Jacob's trouble" --an unprecedented holocaust poured out on Israel during he Great Tribulation. (Jer. 30:7) Consequently, Israel must be in existence when the Tribulation begins.

It was prophesied that the land of Magog ("Russia") will join specific nations - Persia (Iran), Ethiopia, Libya, Gomer and Togarmah (Ezek. 38:5-6)--to attack Israel before the Messiah's return. (vv. 1-12) This invasion will occur when Israel is back in its land and dwelling safely (vv.8,11) The purpose of the invasion is to plunder and destroy Israel (v.12).

It also appears that immediately prior to the Messiah's return, another invasion will occur when all the nations of the world attack Israel at the end of the Great Tribulation. This invasion is called Armageddon (Rev. 16:16). Again, there must be a literal nation of Israel for these nations to attack.

Another prophecy is found in Psalms 83:1-8:

1 A Song. A Psalm of Asaph.

O God, do not keep silence; do not hold thy peace or be still, O God! 2 For lo, thy enemies are in tumult; those who hate thee have raised their heads. 3 They lay crafty plans against thy people; they consult together against thy protected ones. 4 They say, "Come, let us wipe them out as a nation; let the name of Israel be remembered no more!" 5 Yea, they conspire with one accord; against thee they make a covenant-- 6 the tents of Edom and the Ish'maelites, Moab and the Hagrites, 7 Gebal and Ammon and Am'alek, Philistia with the inhabitants of Tyre; 8 Assyria also has joined them; they are the strong arm of the children of Lot.

Asaph speaks of ten nations committed to Israel's destruction. Those nations are Edom and the Ishmaelites, Moab and the Hagrites, Gebal, Ammon, Amale, Philistia, Tyre and Assyria. The descendants of those people make up modern Jordan; northern Arabia, Iraq, Lebanon, the northern Sinai Peninsula; parts of the Mediterranean coast, and what the news media today calls today as the "West Bank". Today, these Islamic people currently seek to annihilate the State of Israel.

Four New Testament passages mention the Temple, i.e. Matthew 24:15; Mark 13:14; Second Thessalonians 2:3-4; and Revelation 11:1-2. When the temple was destroyed by the Romans in 70 A.D. the world thought that would be the end of the Jewish sacrificial system. Interestingly, there is a movement under way in Israel to build a new third Temple and reinstitute sacrificial worship. An Orthodox Jewish group called the Temple Mount Faithful is ready to lay the cornerstone; but, the Israeli government has prevented it. Another group at the Temple Institute is making furniture that will be ready when the new Temple is constructed. Still another group of Orthodox rabbis are training men whose last names are Levi or Cohen to function as priests, in anticipation of a new Temple.

All these facts lead me to believe that Israel must (1) be a legitimate nation; and, (2) be in control of the Temple Mount before the Lord returns. Both of these conditions have now transpired. Scripture teaches us that no one knows the day or hour; but, the Lord said we would know the seasons by the events happening around us. I find such events to be a confirmation of my faith that we are closer to the last days than ever before. As we watch world events unfolding before us we must remember that God gave us prophecy so that we would know that His word is truth. May we develop spiritual ears and eyes to discern as we travel the journey of faith. Maranatha!

Cyrus the Great

2008-08-10T22:28:00.003-05:00

"I am the Lord.... who says of Cyrus, 'He is my shepherd, and he shall fulfil all my purpose'; saying of Jerusalem, 'She shall be built,' and of the temple, 'Your foundation shall be laid.'" Thus says the Lord to His anointed, to Cyrus, whose right hand I have held--to subdue nations before him and loose the armor of kings, to open before him the double doors, so that the gates will not be shut.

Isaiah 44:24,28-45:1

I love to study history. The stories of what has happened in the past intrigue me. While history never repeats itself, there are patterns and trends that tell us much about ourselves. At first glance, Cyrus the Great, an ancient king of Persia, would seem to be a boring name from the past. But, if you have been following the events in Iran (historic Persia), you already know that this king, dead for 2,500 hundred years has been in the news of late.

Isaiah's language is outstanding. God specifically named Cyrus, calling him His shepherd and anointed, indicating the Lord handpicked Cyrus to become a world ruler who would allow the Jewish people in captivity to return to their land and rebuild their holy city --Jerusalem--and their Temple.

God's promise from the past became fact as world history unfolded. The prophet Ezra recorded Cyrus's proclamation, made in 538 B.C.in his book in chapter 1: 1-3:

1 In the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, that the word of the LORD by the mouth of Jeremiah might be accomplished, the LORD stirred up the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia so that he made a proclamation throughout all his kingdom and also put it in writing: 2 "Thus says Cyrus king of Persia: The LORD, the God of heaven, has given me all the kingdoms of the earth, and he has charged me to build him a house at Jerusalem, which is in Judah. 3 Whoever is among you of all his people, may his God be with him, and let him go up to Jerusalem, which is in Judah, and rebuild the house of the LORD, the God of Israel--he is the God who is in Jerusalem;

Today Iran's Muslim ayatollahs under Mahmoud Ahmadinejad are not happy with the history of King Cyrus. In an attempt to expunge him from the annals of Persian history because of his association with the God of Israel and his decree authorizing the Jewish people to return to their land, they want to submerge his tomb via a dam now under construction. At the moment, the tomb remains largely intact in the archaeological ruin of Pasargad. For a picture of the tomb and more history see here.

World history become a lot more interesting from the perspective that the God of the universe is still in charge of it! If these prophecies were fulfilled it gives a person of faith hope that the final outcome is still under the Lord's design.

2008-08-04T22:11:00.003-05:00

And when Jesus finished these sayings, the crowds were astonished at his teaching....

Matthew 7:28

Jesus came teaching and preaching. His ministry only lasted three years. Yet, no one before him or afterwards ever changed the course of history as he did. We divide time by his birth. His teaching changed the hearts of ordinary people to testify as to their faith in him as the Messiah.

When I share my faith with those who do not believe, I try to get them to examine for themselves the words of Jesus. While the believer accepts this as scripture, for those who do not believe there is a historical record of his words. When someone reads for himself or herself the words of Jesus there is a power that draws one to faith. The Bible is not some magic book. It is simply the testimony of those who experienced God firsthand and their story about what happened in their lives. Mark described his teaching this way: "And they were astonished at his teaching, for he taught them as one who had authority, and not as the scribes." Jesus's words are not a legal code or a set of rules. For him truth is a personality. This is an examination anyone can make on their own. It is one that we need to share and teach with those who do not believe.