Believers Armed and Dangerous

You know how something just hits you out of the blue, God points something out to you in a moment you didn’t expect?  That happened to me this morning.  A song on the radio had a lyric that mentioned God was the God of Jacob.

Well, I thought about Jacob and what a schemer he was.  He wrangled the birthright from his older brother, Esau, getting him to sell his birthright for a simple bowl of stew (Gen. 25:29-34).  Then when their father, Isaac (we’ll get to him in a minute) thought he was about to die and needed to give the blessings to his sons, Jacob disguised himself and pretended to be Esau in order to get the double blessing of the firstborn from their father.

Speaking of Isaac, he was a schemer as well.  A famine had risen in Israel, and Isaac sought safety and success in the land of the Philistines after God had told him to stay in the Promised Land, and He would be with Isaac and bless him. 

Isaac thought he “knew better.”  When he arrived at the area of Gerar, he was told by King Abimelech to leave as the king had heard of the strength of the Israelite army and wanted no part of it.  In order to gain favor with the king, Isaac pulled the same stunt as his father did to the son of the same king.  He lied and told the king Rebekah, Isaac’s wife, was really his sister.  Abimelech quickly discovered the deception, but they were allowed to stay.

Isaac’s sins were ignoring the will of God, and lying to protect his own life – a practice he learned from his father.

Abraham, Isaac’s father, was a real character too.  He started out well.  God came to Abraham and told him to leave his home country, his father’s house, and head out to a place “where I will show you.”  That’s a real step of faith.

Once Abraham and family arrived, a famine arose.  He decided to head to Egypt to look for food.  Before he entered Egypt, he pulled the same deal his son would years later.  He told the Egyptians his wife, Sarai was really his sister.  Sarai was apparently a very beautiful woman, so beautiful Abraham feared the locals would kill him to get to her if she were his wife.

God had promised Abraham his descendents would fill the nations and be blessed.  Abraham again doubted the Lord and took Sarai’s servant, Hagar, and had a son with her.  But, God waited until they were so old it was absolutely impossible to have children, then Sarah became pregnant.  She delivered a son, Isaac.  So, Abraham’s real sin was doubt and not listening to God.

Why is this important?

When God first revealed Himself to Moses, the Law giver, He presented Himself as the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob:

Ex. 3:6 (ESV)  And he said, “I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.” And Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look at God.

These were all sinners, yes, but they were also people of promise just as you and I are.  We’re also people of promise – dozens of them:

2 Peter 3:13 (ESV)  But according to his promise we are waiting for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells.

Jesus is coming back.  He is the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, sinners but lovers of God.  No matter the sins for which you think God will hold you accountable, if you are His child,  a sinner but a lover of God. He will identify Himself to the heavenly host as the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and (Your name here).

John 17:3 (ESV)  And this is eternal life, that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent.

Knowing God?  What a concept to not just learn about God but to have a personal intimate relationship with Him – God!  An awesome privilege.  But how can we really know God and be intimate with Him?

We can study the Bible all our lives and never know God.  Did you know that?  Jesus Himself tells us this:

John 5:39,40 (ESV)  “You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness about me, yet you refuse to come to me that you may have life.”

So, we can study as much as we want, and we should study, but that’s not the way we know God

As someone who is compelled to study God’s word, I find it strangely comforting that we don’t need to study as a condition for our salvation.  And it’s through our salvation that we come to know this wonderful God.  The moment we receive Christ, we become a part of God’s intimate family, His child.

John 1:12,13 (ESV)  But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God,who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.

To go back to John 17:3 for a moment, let’s look at what it means to know God.  “Know” is the same Greek word, ginosko, as in Genesis 4:1 in the Septuagint.  There we’re told Adam knew his wife Eve.   The Greek word means more than just an introduction to someone.  Ginosko means to study that person in order to better understand who and what they are.

In May of 1968, I met the young woman who would become my wife.  As we courted and then married, we learned more and more about each other.  The Bible tells us to actually study our spouses to know them better.  Some of that is finding out how they think, how they act, and their likes and dislikes.  But there is something in all our successful marriages besides just knowing about our spouse.  There’s a first person involvement we can’t define.  We become part of one another.  It’s more than just love.  This is a greater connection.  It’s something we experience but can’t explain.  God tells us we actually become one, and I believe it.

This is the same relationship we want with God.  We want to look at something He’s done and say “Isn’t that just like Him?”  The more we get to know God the more often we find ourselves saying that.

Why is this important?

Christians try to please God.  We work hard to “help Him out.”  We study beyond what is expected to get God’s attention.  We pray all day to seek His acceptance.  These aren’t bad things until they’re taken to extremes.

Luke 10:40-42 (ESV)  But Martha was distracted with much serving. And she went up to him and said, “Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Tell her then to help me.” ⁴¹ But the Lord answered her, “Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things, ⁴² but one thing is necessary. Mary has chosen the good portion, which will not be taken away from her.”

There’s a time to work, don’t get me wrong.  But, there’s a time to sit at Jesus’ feet to get to know Him better.  When we get too busy pleasing God, we get too busy to spend time hearing God, getting to know Him better.  No matter how much we work to know Him, though, there will be a day when we shall know Him fully.

1 Cor. 13:12 (ESV)  For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known.

Ruth 4:9,10a  (ESV)  Then Boaz said to the elders and all the people, “You are witnesses this day that I have bought from the hand of Naomi all that belonged to Elimelech and all that belonged to Chilion and to Mahlon. Also Ruth the Moabite, the widow of Mahlon, I have bought to be my wife,

Rev 5:9 (ESV)  And they sang a new song, saying, “Worthy are you to take the scroll and to open its seals, for you were slain, and by your blood you ransomed people for God from every tribe and language and people and nation, and you have made them a kingdom and priests to our God, and they shall reign on the earth.”

Okay.  You’ve read these two passages and are wondering how in the world do these two verses come together.  Let’s look and see.

The  Book of Ruth is a story of a gentile woman who, through God’s hand, is brought to Bethlehem so she might enter into the line of both David the king and Jesus our King.

In the final chapter of the story, Boaz (the son of Rahab, by the way) has, through legal maneuvering, won the right to buy the land originally owned by Ruth’s father in-law then, after he died, by her husband.  Then her husband died leaving her as a widow and destitute.  Boaz was what is called a Kinsman Redeemer.  He had the right to redeem the family property and the bride that came with it.

Boaz went through a lot of trouble to gain the hand of Ruth. When he was finished he had gained the right to marry her. She was all in favor of the deal as well, just in case you thought this wasn’t on the up and up.

“How does all this relate to Revelation chapter five?” you might ask.  When Boaz took Ruth as his wife, there was a scroll that needed to be opened and new information recorded in it. It was was a family scroll similar to Family Bibles many people keep to record family weddings and deaths.  The scroll was sealed after each entry and needed to have the seal broken in order for the new entry to be made.

When Ruth was redeemed, the scroll was fetched, the seal was broken, the new entry was recorded.

In Revelation, we see the Lamb, Jesus taking the scroll and opening the seal.  In that scroll, he enters our names as His bride.  This is the official record of our marriage to Jesus.  Just as in the scroll in Ruth included the marriage information, Revelation also lists legal grounds of our redemption and the benefits of the bride:

“for you were slain, and by your blood you ransomed people for God from every tribe and language and people and nation, and you have made them a kingdom and priests to our God, and they shall reign on the earth.”

Why is this important?

We as the bride of Christ are sealed forever by the Holy Spirit to remain His bride.

Eph 1:13 (ESV)  In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, ¹⁴ who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory.

The two verses at the beginning refer to the same legal practice.  It’s official.  We are betrothed to the Lamb.  We are His.

Rom. 8:38, 39  For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, ³⁹ nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

We have been redeemed!

Anyone who saw A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood, saw a man who listened.  In fact the subject, Mister Rogers, listened until the person he was listening to was done speaking.  Not only did Fred Rogers hear what he was being told, but he listened deeply enough to respond having understood what the person was telling him.

When I saw the movie, it truly struck me how little I listen, and when I do listen, I listen to respond more than to understand.  The movie changed the way I listen to people.

Mister Rogers was a Presbyterian Minister, not just a television personality.  His listening was a form of the kindness we are to show to all people, and he did it well.  It struck me during the movie how much Jesus must have listened to sincere people in that way.  Then it struck me that I should do this as well.

When we listen to people to understand what they are trying to tell us, we earn the respect of that person in our responses.

I’m currently teaching a class on witnessing.  This is a very difficult class for me since I’m not very good/successful at sharing the gospel.  To teach others, we need to know how to do things.  Most of what I’ve been sharing is about my failures, the people I’ve seemed to turn off with my approach.  And, I think this is my very problem, I don’t listen well.

When I do listen, the conditions change.  Some people will talk for five or ten minutes about something I really could care less about.  I used to turn away or look for an excuse, an escape from the conversation.  God has used the Beautiful Day film to change my life and how I approach people, for a lack of a better word.

So much of the literature I’ve gone over in preparing the Witnessing class shares a lot of approaches, how to enter into a conversation, tricks to pull to get a person to hear what you’re saying.  I really don’t see that in Scripture.  Jesus didn’t use tricks.  He listened to people and explained how He could provide for their needs.

The number of people I’ve directly led to the Lord are very few, but the ones I have led to the Lord were done as I listened to them in order to understand them and their needs. I was also calm when sharing with these people because I was more interested in what they had to say than my nervousness.

Listening calms us.  Rather than feeling the pressure to jump into a powerful witnessing session, listening can overcome our nervousness.  We feel a bond beginning between us and the speaker.

Psalm 31:13 is God talking about how He so wishes we would listen to Him.  Oh, that my people would listen to me, that Israel would walk in my ways!  I guess we’re just not the listening people we should be. But, God has so much to say to us if we would listen:

Jer. 33:2,3 2 “Thus says Yahweh who made the earth,Yahweh who formed it to establish it— Yahweh is his name: 3 Call to me and I will answer you, and will tell you great and hidden things that you have not known

Listening doesn’t just effect us.  It effects those we listen to. In the class, I tell a true story of a college student who approached his psychology professor telling him about a girl he was interested in, but she didn’t know he existed.  “How can I get her to like me?” he asked.  The professor’s advice was this: “Ask her questions, listen to the answers, then ask more questions about those answers.”  The young man returned a couple of weeks later and told the professor “I tried what you said, and boy she loves me!”

Listening is a powerful thing.  In witnessing, it gives the listener a sort of credit and credibility.  When the one talking finishes what they had to say, they want to hear a response and will listen as you have.  Sometimes, that’s the opening we need to share the Truth that changed our lives and can change theirs.  Sometimes, it’s just a chance to help, build a foundation of trust, so you can share that gospel at a more opportune time.

Why is this important?

This same bond we have between us and others can be had with our Lord and will grow the more we listen to Him by reading His Word and listening in prayer.  Often I shoot up a prayer in a hurry and fail to listen for an answer.  Mister Rogers always listened for an answer from the people he spoke with.  Should we do less when we talk with our Lord?

How about we decide to spend a little less time talking – to friends, relatives, strangers, and most importantly to Jesus – and a little more time listening.  Maybe we’ll grow more, learn more, and who knows we might make a few more friends as well as brothers and sisters in the Lord. We might even please God.

Joseph gets left behind by many Bible students, so it would be good to shine some light on what we know of this wonderful man God saw fit to charge with the upbringing of His Son, Jesus.

The biblical information for this post was taken mostly from the first two chapters of Matthew and the second chapter of Luke.  Points from elsewhere will be noted.

First let’s settle some confusion.  According to Matthew’s genealogy of Jesus, Joseph’s father’s name was Jacob.  In Luke’s genealogy, his father is said to be Heli (Luke 3:23).  The difference is because Matthew records Jesus’ genealogy through Joseph, and Luke presents Jesus’ genealogy through Mary.  The Jews consider a son in-law a son, so Joseph is said to be the son (in-law) of Heli in Luke.

Joseph was a good guy, a simple, honest, hard working, God fearing man, and an observant Jew.  When he learned of Mary’s pregnancy, he could have held her up to public ridicule, but he didn’t.  He had compassion on her since he knew her well.  The betrothal he and Mary had entered into was a Jewish tradition where they would be committed to each other but would not consummate their marriage for a year when the actual marriage would take place.  The commitment was as binding as marriage and even considered as such.  That’s the reason he had the right to divorce her rather than just walk away.

This godly man had an angel come to him in dreams three times to direct his path concerning the life of Jesus and His protection.  The angel came to Joseph to tell him Mary was pregnant of the Holy Spirit, so he shouldn’t divorce her.  Later an angel told Joseph to leave Nazareth and go to Egypt because the young Jesus was in danger.  He did that.  The third time the angel came to him was to tell him Herod had died, so they could return to Israel.  He did that too but didn’t move back to Bethlehem for fear Herod’s son, Archelaus, might find them.

Joseph was kind-hearted and sympathetic.  He and Mary raised Jesus in a traditional observant Jewish home. 

Other than the fact Joseph was a carpenter and had four sons and some daughters with Mary (Mark 6:3), we really don’t know much more about him. At least two of his sons became Christians, and they penned books of the Bible (James and Jude).   

Joseph’s last appearance in the Bible is with Mary when Jesus was twelve and questioning/teaching the priests in Jerusalem.  After this, Luke 2:51 says, they all returned to Nazareth, and Jesus was submissive to both Joseph and Mary as children are to be to their parents.

After this event, Scripture tells us nothing more about Joseph.  The consensus of opinion is he died before Jesus began His earthly ministry.  Otherwise, the reasoning goes, he should surely have been mentioned as attending the wedding at Canaan where Jesus performed His first miracle.   

How did Joseph die, then?  The Bible doesn’t tell us.  It could have been an accident or disease, natural causes.  We just don’t know.

The Catholic and Orthodox churches teach the eternal virginity of Mary and so  believe Joseph was an old man when he married Mary, that he was appointed by God to care for the young Mary and her Child.  He was not to be a husband to her and that he simply died of old age.  Of course, you then have the issue of the four brothers of Jesus mentioned in Mark 6:3.  The answer given by the Catholics and Orthodox is Joseph had these children before marrying Mary or they are cousins (the term for both cousins and brothers is the same in the Hebrew culture).  Then you’re faced with Matthew 1:24 which strongly implies their marriage was consummated.

The idea Joseph was an old man would not have lived long enough or been able to work long enough to be well known as a carpenter in Nazareth.  If he were just in his twenties when he married Mary, he would have been in his fifties when Jesus’ ministry began, not a young man in New Testament times.

Why is this important?

Joseph didn’t retreat from the awesome task God set before him.  He seems to have taken it up readily and with Mary successfully raised and provided for the young Jesus.  He kept the secret all those years.  The people of Nazareth were surprised when Jesus taught with power and authority in the synagogue of Nazareth for the first time.

Joseph is a model for us all to listen to God’s direction, and do exactly what we are told.  He was an average man who dedicated his life to obeying his God.  He had a job to do, and he did it just as God wanted.  Oh that we might apply that example in our lives.

Col. 2:8 (ESV)  See to it that no one takes you captive by
philosophy and empty deceit, according to human tradition, according to the
elemental spirits of the world, and not according to Christ.

Having been trained in philosophy, especially logic, this verse always makes
the hair on the back of my neck stand up a bit.  Of course, Paul here is
not addressing Christian philosophy but philosophy that centers on the
traditions of men and the elemental spirits of the world. Paul himself argued
with the philosophers of Athens and won some to Christ. He did that using
Christian philosophy.

“Christian philosophy?” you ask?  Certainly! God even asks us to reason
together: In Isa 1:18, He begins with “Come let us reason together, says
the Lord.

When I was in school, I was often asked who my favorite philosopher was.  My responsewas always “Jesus of Nazareth.”  What sort of a philosopher is
Jesus?  He is the greatest Philosopher ever to walk the earth. In fact one
of His names actually points to philosophy.

John 1:1 (ESV)  In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was
with God, and the Word was God.

Of course we know the “Word” is Jesus Himself.  John 1:14 tells us the
Word became flesh and dwelt among us.  Some of us even know the Greek word
for “Word” here is logos?  But did we know we get our word
“logic” from logos.  In Greek, it means even more than that.  It
means an intelligent discussion, even a philosophical debate, it means reason.
Jesus came here for a lot of purposes. One of those was to reveal God to us in
Person and that often through reason.

Jesus constantly used logic in His ministry.  “What would happen if you
built your house on the sand?  Blessed are the poor in spirit for they
shall see God.”

God didn’t just use logic in the New Testament either:

Ex 19:5 (SV)  Now therefore, if you will indeed obey my voice and
keep my covenant, you shall be my treasured possession among all peoples, for
all the earth is mine;

God gives a condition, a consequence, and a supporting premise: inductive
logic.  That’s philosophy.

Jesus told stories philosophers call thought experiments, stories that
prompt thought and a conclusion.  He held debates with the
Pharisees.  John chapter 8 is mostly a long debate about who Jesus is.

The early church followed in this example.  When the persecutions
began, church leaders wrote public letters arguing philosophy for the benefits of Christian citizens to the empire.

1 Peter 3:15 (ESV)  but in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as
holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a
reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect,

In Christian philosophy, there is even a discipline called
“apologetics.”  The verse above uses the word “defense.” That is the word apologia from which we get our word “apologetics.”  This is an area where
Christians enter into logical civil discussions, arguments, reasoning, giving a
good defense for the truth of Christ.  There are clear evidences for the
truth of the Bible.  There is powerful evidence the Bible is not only true
and reliable but also inspired by the God of the universe, and Christian
apologists attempt to show this evidence to a lost world.

Jesus was not above giving evidence:

Luke 24:38,39 (ESV)  And he said to them, “Why are you troubled, and why do doubts arise in your hearts? 39 See my hands and my feet, that it is I myself. Touch me, and see. For a spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see that I have.”

Why is this important?

Thinking is not a bad thing as a Christian.  In fact, we’re told to think continually. 

When we start listening to traditions that draw us away from the truth,
we need to watch our step.  The way this often works is some
simple statement like “the church created the Bible, so the Church alone can
tell you what it says.  We are the church, so we’ll tell you what it says.” That’s a lie.

 The Bible stands alone as our source of truth.  God has given it to us to understand.  Sure there are pastors and teachers who help us, but what they teach should always be examined according to God’s Word.  They should tell you that themselves.

Philosophy like so many other things, can be used to serve man or to serve
God.  We need to be careful.  The purest philosophy is to love the
Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength, and to love your
neighbor as yourself.  Anything we hear that does not align with that
should be ignored or corrected.  God has revealed Himself to us in His
Word.  There is no need to look elsewhere.

John 1:1-3, 14 (ESV) In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made. And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.

The Word is, of course, Jesus, the Creator of all things.  He is the God Who spoke and all that exists came into being.  He is equal to God (the Father and Holy Spirit – John 5:18), yet He emptied Himself and took the form of a human (Phil. 2:5-8).

Jesus, the God of the universe, walked with men, even washed their feet.  Imagine that.  God Himself washing your feet.  How humble is our God.

For revealing the grace of God, He was captured and held for trial.  While waiting, He was beaten and humiliated:

Luke 22:53-65 (ESV)  Now the men who were holding Jesus in custody were mocking him as they beat him. ⁶⁴ They also blindfolded him and kept asking him, “Prophesy! Who is it that struck you?” ⁶⁵ And they said many other things against him, blaspheming him.

Then the God of the universe stood before men to be tried and further humiliated.  He was convicted in the court of men, the very men He had created (John chapter 18).

Then Jesus was scourged and further humiliated. 

John 19:1-3 (ESV)  Then Pilate took Jesus and flogged him. ² And the soldiers twisted together a crown of thorns and put it on his head and arrayed him in a purple robe. ³ They came up to him, saying, “Hail, King of the Jews!” and struck him with their hands.

Roman flogging -scourging – was so severe the victim’s back would be torn open by the scourge, a whip with two or three strands of rope or leather.  These strands would contain bits of sharpened metal and bone intertwined so when applied and pulled away from the victim, the whip would rip chunks of skin and muscle.  Forty or more blows were typical tearing muscle down to the bone.  Most victims died from the scourging alone, but Jesus survived.

Finally, Jesus was sentenced to be crucified, the cruelest form of execution of the day.  On top of this, in His severely weakened state, Jesus was forced to carry His Own cross to Calvary:

John 19:16, 18 (ESV)  So they took Jesus, ¹⁷ and he went out, bearing his own cross, to the place called The Place of a Skull, which in Aramaic is called Golgotha. ¹⁸ There they crucified him, and with him two others, one on either side, and Jesus between them.

Why is this important?

Before all this happened, Jesus knew:

Mark 10:33, 34 (ESV)  [Jesus said]  “See, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be delivered over to the chief priests and the scribes, and they will condemn him to death and deliver him over to the Gentiles. ³⁴ And they will mock him and spit on him, and flog him and kill him. And after three days he will rise.”

Jesus knew it all, yet He went.  In fact, this was the main reason He came.  God Himself understood the torture and humiliation He was about to face, but came went anyway.

I have one more verse to share:

Heb. 12:2 (ESV)  looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.

God the Son did this all for us and is filled with joy we will be able to join Him forever because of it. 

We are not worthy of our God.

Matt. 7:1-3 (ESV)  “Judge not, that you be not judged. For with the judgment you pronounce you will be judged, and with the measure you use it will be measured to you. Why do you see the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye?

We hear this passage quoted more often by non-believers than by fellow Christians.  It’s usually shared with us when we point to some sort of sin or evil deed, some behavior the Bible speaks against.  So, are we really not supposed to judge?  Is that what Jesus is saying here?  Are there times when judging is allowed or even commanded?  Let’s see.

Matt. 7: 15-16a (ESV) 5 “Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves. 16 You will recognize them by their fruits.

This is interesting.  Within just a few verses, Jesus tells us not to judge then gives us the criteria for judging false prophets.  Can there be differences in how we are to judge?

In verse one, Jesus is speaking against judging people as unworthy because of sin in their lives.  That is God’s job, not ours.  We are to love them and point them toward the gospel with our words and deeds.

However, there are practices and beliefs that can damage the Christian or the church as a whole.  False prophets are attractive to some but can do damage to Christians who are distracted by them and may even fall and become followers.  The majority of new cult members are previous church attenders.  Someone came to their door or at work and convinced them of a lie.  Jesus tells us to watch out for these folks and tells us how to spot them: we’ll know them by their fruit.

What fruit will help us identify these folks?  Jesus continues in Matthew chapter seven to say a good tree produces good fruit, a bad tree produces bad fruit.  What fruit is He talking about?  I think He’s talking about the fruit of the Spirit.  That fruit is love, and that love brings joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-conrol (Gal5:22-23).  If we don’t see this in the people claiming to be God’s servants, we need to watch out for them.

We also need to watch ourselves.  We ar not immune from false teachings.

2 Cor 13:5 (ESV) Examine yourselves, to see whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Or do you not realize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you?—unless indeed you fail to meet the test!

We are also to keep an eye out at our own churches for people who might mislead some.  The entire book of Jude tells us there will be people who will come into the church and corrupt the body.  Some of these folks can even gain leadership roles before they show themselves as corrupt.

Why is this important?

While we should not judge people for their way of life, shun them rather than tell them of Jesus, we are to watch for those who might mislead us and others.  There is no one we must exclude from hearing the gospel.  The people living in sin are exactly the people God wants to hear the gospel.  For us to snub them because we think them unworthy is to exclude the truth from those who need it most.

Luke 5:31,32 (ESV)  And Jesus answered them, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. ³² I have not come to call the righteous but sinners to repentance.”

With all you and I have been forgiven of, we have no right to hold the sins of others against them.

No, the judgment we are instructed to make does not concern the sin of others.  We are to seek to rescue those folks.  The judgment we are to make is to watch for those who would corrupt the body or the individual believer, and even they should be introduced to the gospel.

One last note: We mustn’t start seeing false prophets under every bush, false teachers in every classroom or pulpit.  Our job is to allow time for the false gospel to reveal himself.  When it does, make it known to an elder or pastor.  Then it is the church leadership’s job to deal with it.  Leave it to them and them alone.

So, we need to be careful.  Judging others can be destructive.  Love is our response for all people.  As Jude ends his letter, he shows his love even for those disrupting and dividing the church and their followers:

Jude 22, 23 (ESV)  And have mercy on those who doubt; ²³ save others by snatching them out of the fire; to others show mercy with fear, hating even the garment stained by the flesh

Have you ever had one of those weeks when things just seem to be against you?  This past week has been one of those for me.  It ended quite differently, though.

I lost my wallet last week.  It seems every five or ten years, I lose my wallet.  This time was different, though.  I had a copy of my Social Security card in it along with my driver’s license. That means a dishonest person would have all the information needed to take out loans in my name. I would be responsible for those. They might even borrow on our house.  My mind began to fill with all the things evil people might do with this information.

To say this stressed me out is an understatement.  I’m the man of the family.  I was responsible for making this right.  As a result, my time was consumed with trying to right this error.  Getting my credit cards replaced was the easiest part.  It was subscribing to a credit protection agency that became difficult.  I needed to protect our home. The people I spoke with were in India.  While the language was the same, I had difficulty explaining concepts.  My frustration grew even higher. 

I was so busy trying to fix everything, I forgot Who really is in charge of ALL THINGS!  Finally, Thursday, God tapped me on the shoulder and reminded me He is the Fixer.

I confessed I was wrong not to call on Him first and asked Him to forgive me and take over.  Of course the next time I called the agency, I got a lovely woman in Tennessee who said, “Oh certainly.  I can help you with that,” and ten minutes later all was right with the world.

I’m sure you don’t have this problem, ignoring God in time of need.  I’m probably the only one.  But we’re Christians.  We’re supposed to rely on our Lord.  That’s somewhere in the contract we signed when we asked Him to take control of our lives.  Let me repeat that for my own future benefit, “to take control of our lives!”

Psalm 46:1-3 (ESV)  God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.      Therefore we will not fear though the earth gives way, though the mountains be moved into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam, though the mountains tremble at its swelling. Selah

That last word in verse 3, “Selah.”  That means “rest.”  It’s a musical term meaning to wait, pause, take a breath.  In times of stress and trouble even greater than my issue with the lost wallet, our refuge and our strength is the Lord.

Why is this important?

I must say I’m ashamed of myself and really didn’t want to write this blog.  But, as was mentioned earlier, I’m not in charge.

In times of stress and times of sadness or anger, our heads become so full of so many things we forget to look to the One Who can give us rest.  Really.  How many of us have Matthew 11:28 memorized without knowing it because either we’ve quoted it repeatedly to someone else, or they have quoted it to us?  And still we choose to suffer:

Matt. 11:28 (ESV)  Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. 

As humans, we strive to be in charge.  As Christians we should strive never to be in charge.  Don’t let me be the example, let my reaction to trouble be a warning.  Don’t do it, and I know that I will most likely do it again and so might you.  We’ll suffer needlessly when our God stands next to us, arms open, trying to break through all the unnecessary noise with His still small voice saying “I love you.  Let Me help.”

As Christians, we depend on the Bible as God’s inspired communication with us.  Some of the evidences the Bible is reliable are internal.  That means the statements made in Scripture can be checked against world history and especially archaeology to see if these claims are accurate.  Is there hard evidence for the reliability of Scripture?  Let’s look at a few of the more recent discoveries.

The Dead Sea Scrolls.  The first of these scrolls were found sometime between November of 1946 and February of 1947.  They contain manuscripts of the entire Old Testament along with some manuscripts of other types.  All together, there have been 972 manuscripts found thus far – they’re still looking..  These scrolls are dated from the third century b.c. to about 68 a.d.   The Isaiah Scroll, one of the first scrolls found and the most intact, is radiocarbon dated at least 100 years before Christ.

The importance of the Dead Sea Scrolls is at least two fold.  The first is the fact the manuscripts we had prior to the discovery are nearly exact duplicates of the Dead Sea Scrolls manuscripts. This shows the accuracy of the copying process of the Old Testament scribes.

The second is that scholars prior to 1947 claimed Isaiah chapters 52 and 53 were inserted by Christians since they so clearly describe Jesus as the suffering Messiah..  Isaiah chapters 52 and 53 appear in the Isaiah Scroll in their entirety.  The Scholars were wrong.  Physical evidence exists for the accuracy of Scripture.

 Pontius Pilate.  Prior to 1961, Pilate’s name was mentioned only in a very few ancient manuscripts.  Since liberal scholars believe ancient Christians inserted the names of Biblical characters into manuscripts of their time to prove the existence of these characters, these scholars doubted whether Pilate ever lived and demanded proof when challenged.

In 1961, a stone was unearthed in Caesarea Maritima with the name of Pilate etched into it.  It seems the stone was a part of an important building dedicated to Tiberius called a Tiberium and dated 26 to 37 a.d.  Physical evidence exists of Pilate.

King David.  Prior to the mid 1990s, the name of King David appeared nowhere in the ancient world but in the pages of the Old Testament.  Then at Tel Dan Stele in Northern Israel, a triumphal inscription was found written by Hazael of Aram-Damascus boasting of the king’s victories over the king of Israel and his ally the king of the “House of David.”

This stone shows both both Israel and Judah were separate kingdoms at the time and David the King did exist contrary to some “biblical scholars” prior to the discovery.  Physical evidence exists of David and his kingdom.

Crucifixion.  In 1968, the ossuary (burial box) of “Jehonanan ben Hagkol” found in East Jerusalem was opened.  Inside was a full skeleton.  Both the wrist and right heel bone still had the Roman seven-inch crucifixion spikes intact. 

Prior to this find, crucifixion was only recorded in ancient documents.  Wooden crosses did not survive 2,000 years of decay, so there was no physical evidence for crucifixion.  Of course, scholars doubted.  Jehonanan’s skeleton is dated to the first century.  This is evidence of first century crucifixion and of crucifixion being done just as the Bible describes it.  Physical evidence exists for biblical crucifixion.

Ebla.  Ebla is an ancient city now in Northern Syria and one of my favorite finds.  Ebla’s hay day was around 2,300 b.c. and had a population of about 260,000. The location or population are not so impressive as are the 15,000 tablets found there in 1975.  It appears at one time,  the King of Ebla was a little obsessive compulsive.  He kept written records of everything, of trade with other cities, major events, even the furniture purchased for his palace.

In these tablets Sodom and Gomorrah are mentioned as well as Carchemish (Isa 10:9).  The tablets record dealings with the Hittites of the time.  Hittites were doubted until these tablets were found.  According to Dr. Clifford Wilson, one of the first to work on these tablets, the tablets also record a prophet who entered the city of Ebla and preached the God, Yah.  “Yah”, we know, is an abbreviation of the name of God, “Yaweh.”  We see it most commonly in the word “alleluia” (Rev. 19:1-6) and in many Jewish names such as Elijah.  Physical evidence exists of Sodom and Gomorrah and of prophets of our God 400 years before Abraham.

Why is this important?

 Many will doubt the validity of the Bible.  They believe Scripture is nothing more than fairy tales, that it’s made up, even that the Person, Jesus, never existed.  Because God has led the archaeologists to digs, we have physical evidence of the Bible’s reliability. 

We need to stand by our Bible and our faith, it is being validated almost daily as scholars dig in the Holy Land.  God is Good!