Tag: god

Unshakable Faith

Daniel 3:15-18 (ESV)  15 Now if you are ready when you hear the sound of the horn, pipe, lyre, trigon, harp, bagpipe, and every kind of music, to fall down and worship the image that I have made, well and good. But if you do not worship, you shall immediately be cast into a burning fiery furnace. And who is the god who will deliver you out of my hands?”

16 Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego answered and said to the king, “O Nebuchadnezzar, we have no need to answer you in this matter. 17 If this be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of your hand, O king. 18 But if not, be it known to you, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the golden image that you have set up.”

While I was reading this this morning, I thought “What is it about the faith of Shadrach, Meshack, and Abednego (Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah) that they were willing to stand against the king with such boldness? Maybe these:

  • These three had seen their God working in their own lives.  Their friend and compatriot, Daniel, had answered an impossible call.  God, their God before Whom they stood, had not only given Daniel the impossible task not only to interpret the dream of the king, but to tell the king what the dream was in the first place.  The king had kept the details of the dream to himself to test the wisemen of the land.  None could say what the dream was.  They recognized this when they said “There is not a man on earth who can meet the king’s demand, for no great and powerful king has asked such a thing of any magician or enchanter or Chaldean. 11 The thing that the king asks is difficult, and no one can show it to the king except the gods, whose dwelling is not with flesh.” (Daniel 2:10b-11)  But they didn’t know the God of Daniel, Shadrack, Meshack, and Abednego.

God gave the interpretation of the dream to Daniel, and Daniel was placed high in the king’s government.  Because of this, the three young men knew their God was true and powerful. The experience they had witnessed assured this.

  • They also knew because that God dwelt within them.  What else could have emboldened these three men to stand before Nebuchadnezzar, the king of the great empire of Babylon and say in modern terms, “Either through our dying in the fiery furnace or by God’s joining us and protecting us, our God will still deliver us from you O king.”

You have to admit that was pretty gutsy.  But as believers we know the God of the interpretation of dreams, the God of the impossible. He lives here inside of us.  He loves us and supports us in all we do for Him.  We have the witness of His indwelling to rely on as well as the witness of His work in the world and in our lives.

  • Shadrack, Meshack, and Abednego knew God’s will in the matter.  They had been told not to bow down before idols.  The second of the Ten Commandments had something to say about this:

“You shall not make for yourself a carved image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. 5 You shall not bow down to them or serve them, for I the Lord your God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and the fourth generation of those who hate me, 6 but showing steadfast love to thousands of those who love me and keep my commandments. (Exodus 20:4-6)

Why is this important?

Theirs was an “even though” sort of faith.  Even though Nebuchadnezzar could kill them, they would still be delivered into the arms of the God who loved them dearly.  If we’re seeking the boldness of Daniel’s three friends, boldness to even stand before the king and defy him, we need to be sure in our hearts and minds of at least three things: 1. Ours is the God of the impossible.  2. The God of the impossible lives in us and will be with us in our bold stance, and 3.  We are following His Word in command or promise.  If we have these three, there will be a Fourth: Daniel 3:24-25  (NKJV) 24 Then King Nebuchadnezzar was astonished; and he rose in haste and spoke, saying to his counselors, “Did we not cast three men bound into the midst of the fire?”

They answered and said to the king, “True, O king.”

25 “Look!” he answered, “I see four men loose, walking in the midst of the fire; and they are not hurt, and the form of the fourth is like the Son of God.”

You Are Charlie Kirk

2 Tim. 2:24-26 (ESV)  And the Lord’s servant must not be quarrelsome but kind to everyone, able to teach, patiently enduring evil, 25 correcting his opponents with gentleness. God may perhaps grant them repentance leading to a knowledge of the truth, 26 and they may come to their senses and escape from the snare of the devil, after being captured by him to do his will.

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

With the assassination of Charlie Kirk ten days ago and so many wanting to take his place, I thought I would make share some Biblical points to help us become as effective as he was in sharing the gospel.

  • Don’t be quarrelsome.  We need to flavor the conversation the same attitude we want to taste from the other side.  Now we may not often get that same attitude back, but Scripture still tells us not to be quarrelsome.
  • Be kind to everyone.  That means everyone from the kindest person we speak with to the most belligerent.  Being kind doesn’t mean we can’t be firm in our position.  The Bible simply says we are to show Christ to them.
  • We need to be able to teach, to know our subject well enough to express it clearly and succinctly.  I often tell my adult Bible classes they need to understand a topic well enough to be able to explain it to others.  That’s what it means to be able to teach.
  • We need to patiently endure evil.  Some people are in a debate or discussion for no other reason than to combat the gospel.  They have no intention to hear what we have to say or what the Bible says.  They could care less.  They are just there to try and stump us or make us look foolish.  The best way to handle these folks is let them talk, ask pointed questions, and let them finish.  When they see they’re getting nowhere, they will usually move on. When the discussion is in a group or on social media, our intent should be to convince the others watching.
  • We are to correct our opponents with gentleness.  Many of the debates I find myself engaged in are the result of bad information.  Sometimes this is me, and I’ll address that below.  When it is our opponent’s mistaken belief, we need to be gentle pointing this out to them sometimes explaining the logic of their mistake or asking them for the evidence they can provide to support their view.  So much of the Charlie Kirk discussion/debate is with people who were told he was a fake Christian, racist, misogynist, or hater.  His most effective response to this has been to ask for evidence of this.  I’ve watched hours of Charlie Kirk’s debates and seen none of the things he is accused of.  Often opponents have been given half-truths about a subject or quotes taken out of context and they try to present these as facts.  If the conversation is worth pursuing, find the original quote in full and show it to them.
  • Our discussions as with our walks with Christ, should be with a heart that honors Him.  The old What Would Jesus Do model holds true here.  Think of what you’re sharing and how.  If it is not with a desire to honor Christ, we’re out of line and should correct yourself. We also need to learn how to say “I don’t know” or even to admit when we’re wrong.
  • Last of all, I’d like to mention respect as Peter does.  Be respectful.  Be quiet and let them speak their piece.  In doing so, you’ll earned their attention when it’s your turn to talk.  Respect means to treat the other person as you would like to be treated yourself.  That’s the golden rule after all:

Matt. 7:12 (ESV)  “So whatever you wish that others would do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets.”

Why is this important?

I was speaking with some cultists at the Los Angeles County Fair quite a few years ago.  After a few minutes, they came closer to hear the discussion I was having with one of their folks because we weren’t shouting.  We were having a civil rational discussion.  One remarked that I wasn’t yelling but was treating them as equals.  My attitude helped in the discussion.  They were more open, more willing to share because the discord and contention simply wasn’t present.  They were safe to present their views and evidence they used to support them.

In our discussions, we need to do this if for no other reason than to let our opponents know we are thoughtful, reasonable, peaceful, and Christian.  It also paves the way for the next Christian they encounter.

Condemnation

John 3:16-21 (ESV)  “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. 17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. 18 Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God. 19 And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil. 20 For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his works should be exposed. 21 But whoever does what is true comes to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that his works have been carried out in God.”

We’ve had a lot of darkness in our country lately.  On August 22nd, a man stabbed a young Ukrainian woman to death on a train in Charlotte, North Carolina.  On August 27th, a shooter killed two young children and wounded 17 others (mostly children) during Mass at a Catholic school in Minneapolis.  On September 10th, two high school students were shot near Denver, Colorado and at the same time, Christian speaker and political commentator, Charlie Kirk, was shot and killed at a university in Orem, Utah.

These events and others like them have become much too common.  They make us angry, hungry for justice for the perpetrators.  We seek to condemn them, but Jesus said the condemnation has already been made.  What He wishes for these people, and for all people, is for them to come to know Him personally.

Jesus did not come to condemn, so how are we qualified to do so?  If Jesus came to save but not to condemn, shouldn’t we follow His example?  The Great Commission says to go and make disciples not to go and condemn others.  According to the passage quoted above, that has already taken place.

In the above passage, Jesus had divided all people into two categories: the lost and the saved.  The lost don’t believe in the name of the Son of God.  The saved do.  The lost do evil works, the saved to works pleasing to God.  So, what do you suppose that looks like, doing works that are pleasing to God?

On January 8, 1956 five missionaries were killed by the Huaorani (Auca) Indians of Ecuador.  The missionaries had guns and even fired them in the air to scare off their attackers but refused to shoot these natives because they felt it was better that they die themselves and join Jesus in heaven than to kill the non-believing tribal warriors intent on ending their lives. The warriors didn’t know Jesus and would be condemned to eternal punishment.

Three years after the massacre of the missionaries, others including the wife of Jim Elliot, one of the missionaries killed, brought the gospel to the Aucas, and their mission was explained.

“Thus, the Huaorani realized that the visitors were indeed their friends, willing to die for them if necessary. When in subsequent months they heard the message that the Son of God had come down from heaven to reconcile men with God, and to die in order to bring about that reconciliation, they recognized that the message of the missionaries was the basis of what they had seen enacted in the lives of the missionaries. They believed the Gospel preached because they had seen the Gospel lived.” (DAVID YONKE, Toledo Blade)

Why is this important?

Our job as Christians isn’t to condemn others.  They are already condemned if they don’t know Jesus.  Our job is to share the gospel with those who haven’t taken advantage of it whether it’s the kindly 84 year old lady who lives down the street, an angry man who has taken the life of a young Ukranian woman, or those who have celebrated the murder of a man who held differing views from theirs.  Jesus didn’t come to condemn the world.  He came to save the world, and these people are among those for whom Christ died.

Let’s pray for Decarlos Brown Jr. who stabbed 23 year old Iryna Zarutska to death, for Robin Westman who shot all those beautiful children at Annunciation Catholic School in Minneapolis killing two, for 16 year old Desmond Holly who shot up Evergreen High School in Colorado wounding two, and for Tyler Robinson who ended the life of Charlie Kirk at an event at Utah Valley University in Orem, Utah.  We need to pray for all of these people, and we even need to pray for those celebrating these terrible events.  No matter how differently we view the world, they are still people Christ died for.

Is Christianity Reasonable?

Mark 12:28-30 (ESV)  29 Jesus answered, “The most important is, ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. 30 And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’

Christianity is a unique religion in several ways.  For one, it presents a loving God Who has reached out to His creation with grace and unconditional love while other faiths teach one must earn their way to God through good deeds.  The one aspect of Christianity I would like to address today is Christianity is reasonable.  It makes truth claims that can be checked – it can be tested.

In the passage in Mark’s gospel quoted above, Jesus tells us in the greatest commandment to use our mind, and in the Greek this means with our intellect.  We don’t see this command in other religions, only in Christianity.

So, what are some of the claims Christianity makes that can be checked?  Let me answer this with a true story of a man named Dr. Hugh Ross.  Dr. Ross is an astrophysicist who studied the universe intently and came to the conclusion it couldn’t have arisen through chance.  It was too orderly.  It showed too many signs of design.  So, Dr. Ross realized there must be a God who created it.  This being must have been greater than the universe He created, intelligent enough to have created it, powerful enough to have created it, and so on.

Dr. Ross then thought a God who is this intelligent and personal may well have tried to communicate with His creation.  This communication probably wouldn’t have been a one-time thing since that communication might be distorted or lost over time.  No, this God would have most likely have communicated in some sort of writings which could be preserved over centuries and read by His creation.  So, Dr. Ross began to read original source documents from the major religions.

He was very disappointed through most of his research as the writings of most major religions didn’t match what Dr. Ross knew of God’s creation.  He was disappointed, that is, until he began to read the Bible.  In the Bible Dr. Ross saw the creation story which matched the story he saw in the universe itself.  The creation order matched what must have taken place for the universe to make sense.  Dr. Ross became a Christian because he used his mind to check out what God has said. As a result, he began Reasons To Believe, an apologetics ministry.

The other day, I was in a large group of Christian men and made the statement “I find Christianity to be extremely logical and rational.”  I was very surprised to find the room went silent.

Now, I’m no Hugh Ross by any stretch, but I find ideas like “There is only one God who exists in three persons” to be very logical.  For a loving God to love, there must be at least two persons so one could love the other.  Otherwise God’s loving nature could not be fulfilled.  To make His love perfectly complete, though, requires the love of two for another like parents for their children.  The love between two who are in love is wonderful but is not really complete until they can love someone together.

I find the idea of an infinite God taking on finite human form to save mankind to be very logical.  What better mediator between God and man than Someone who shares the essence of each – has a foot in both camps, so to speak?

God’s justice is consistent and logical as well.  God is absolutely just as we saw in a recent blog.  His justice is consistent.  His standard that blood must be shed to pay for sin does not change through the thousands of years from Adam and Eve to the present day.  He sent His Son to save us and not to condemn us.  He did this by shedding the blood of the perfect man.  Logically, if we are held responsible for the sin of Adam as our perfect representative, then the sacrifice of another perfect representative but without sin was necessary to put things right.  And this is where our logical consistent God really shines: there is no requirement for accepting this sacrifice and be cleansed.  There is no creed to memorize, no test to pass, no personal payment that must be made.  All that is needed is to ask Jesus to apply His blood to your sins.

Why is this important?

We as Christians should never wonder if our faith is rational.  Have you ever wondered why there are no books on Hindu apologetics or Buddhist apologetics?  It’s because those two religions no not present themselves as reasonable.  How about Islam?  Have you ever wondered why there are so few Muslim apologists?  It’s because their arguments cannot stand the test of logic. Islam is inconsistent.  Their god can change his mind, send the devout to hell, reward evil.  Inconsistency cannot be defended logically.  Philosopher Rene Descartes said we can tell truth from a lie by looking for consistency.  Truth is consistent, falsehood is not. 

Our faith is not a blind faith.  Christians write books like Reasonable Faith, Evidence that Demands a Verdict, Cold Case Christianity and hundreds of others showing the truth of the claims of Christianity.  We need only look.

Christian Looking

Romans 12:1-2 (ESV)  I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. 2 Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.

The early church took verses like these very seriously.  For a few years after Christ’s resurrection, the church was fairly small.  We were mostly unnoticed by the world and were usually mistaken for Jews since the early Christians were mostly Jewish and the whole movement started in Judea.  We were trying to figure out how this whole Christianity thing worked.  Was it just a sect of Judaism?  How did the Gentiles fit then?  Was it a whole new religion?  How did this Messiah idea fit, then and why were the Jewish Scriptures so important?  How were Christians different from everyone else?

Well, the early church became dedicated to follow the words of Scripture and display evidence of the Spirit within for all to see.  Once Emperor Nero came on the scene, this was pretty easy.  The Christians were the ones being killed in the arena, many of them proudly and willingly. 

It wasn’t until 313 and the Edict of Milan that Christianity was legal in all of the Roman Empire and the persecutions all but ended. 

Before this, Christians didn’t have a lot of trouble standing out.  We refused to worship Roman gods and emperors.  This alone was enough to be sentenced to death.  It wasn’t so much the Romans saw us as against Roman gods so much as antisocial.  They were a very social society.  Romans like to have parties, attend plays, worship together.  Since their parties were usually immoral gatherings, the plays were often obscene, and the worship of other gods was blaspheme for Christians, we stayed away from social gatherings.

The Romans heard instead that we gathered with our own fellow Christians in secret love feasts.  We married those we called brother and sister.  We spoke of eating the body and blood of Christ.  Is it any wonder the non-believers saw us as an incestuous bunch who married our family members and were even cannibalistic?  As a result, the love feasts were thought to be orgies.  There was even a widespread belief we ate babies.  Yes, the Romans had low moral standards, but this sort of behavior was even below them. 

When Rome burned (July 18, 64), Nero pointed to us to take the heat (pun intended) off of himself.  We were an odd bunch anyway.  We were the perfect scapegoat. 

So, the Romans started to persecute us.  This made us easy to spot.  We were the ones being fed to wild animals, burned on stakes to light Nero’s garden parties, and sliced up by gladiators.

It was after the persecutions ended in 313 it became more difficult to stand out.  The Emperor claimed to be a Christian. It was legal now, so even the elite claimed Christ.  The rank and file Christian found it more difficult to stand out, though, so they looked for new ways to let people know they were believers.  Jesus said there would be no marriage or giving of marriage in heaven, so some became celibate to identify with heaven.  Some went into the desert alone as hermits to spend time growing in Christ with no distractions.  One of the earliest of these was Anthony the Hermit who heard a sermon on the Jesus’ words that touched his heart:

Matt. 19:21 (ESV)  Jesus said to him, “If you would be perfect, go, sell what you possess and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.”

Anthony sold all he had and slipped away to a cave in the desert to seek Christ through fasting and prayer.  Soon people who admired his faith would seek advice, inspiration, and healing from him.  They would bring food, and that’s how Anthony lived until his death.

Why is this important?

When I look at the things Christians over the centuries gave up to be identified with Christ and how little I give to do the same, I’m ashamed.  I catch myself wondering if it would be “appropriate” to wear a Christian tee shirt somewhere, or I hesitate before bowing my head at a restaurant before I eat.  Maybe I should think more about those who gave up their lives or their chance at families, or their human comforts just to be identified as Christians.  What am I afraid of?

I live in a country where Christianity is much more acceptable than it was for most of these people.  Why is it so hard for me to do such petty displays when people gladly gave their lives before thousands in the Roman Arena.  Yes, it’s the Spirit within us what needs to be on display, but maybe we should be more obvious in our faith.  Maybe the baptismal description of “an outward display of an inward change” shouldn’t just be about baptism.

God is Just

1 John 1:9 (ESV)  If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

Our pastor has been teaching through 1 John the past few weeks, and though I’ve read and recited 1 John 1:9 for the nearly 50 years I’ve been a Christian, the word just really hit me during his exposition.  What struck me is God didn’t save us only because He loves us:

John 3:16 (ESV)  “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.”

Nor was it only because God is merciful that He saved us:

Titus 3:5 (ESV)  he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit

Putting His love and mercy aside for a moment, think of this: God was still justified in saving us.  So when Satan comes to accuse the brethren (Job 1; Rev. 12:10), he can’t accuse God of being a loving old softie.  God – the Judge of the universe – has a just, a legal, reason for forgiving us of our sins: the sacrifice of His Son.  The penalty has been suffered in full for our transgressions.

This thought led me to some questions I have long had in Romans 8:1-2 (NASB)  There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. 2 For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and of death.

What are these two laws mentioned in verse 2?  Well, I think the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus is in verse 1 and elsewhere in Scipture, that Christ has released us from the penalty of sin.  And this relates directly to 1 John 1:9.  God is faithful and just to forgive us of our sins because there is a law requiring this: Romans 8:1 and in other places.

So, what is the law of sin and death?  I used to think this was the Mosaic law, but I think now that it goes farther back all the way to the Garden when God basically said to Adam and Eve: “If you sin, you die.” This death, of course, is spiritual death: separation of fellowship with God.

Because these are God’s laws they are absolutes, they cannot and will not change. They are the same throughout the universe because God is infinite and infinitely consistent. 

These are not laws as we often think of them. They are not civil or criminal laws. These are laws in the sense of how things work.

There are laws of logic for instance.  The first law is the Law of Non-Contradiction states that A cannot be non-A at the same time, in the same way, and under the same conditions.  In other words, an object cannot be an apple and not be an apple at the same time, in the same way, and under the same conditions.  Now this seems obvious to most of us.  It’s like the Vulcan proverb Spok quotes in Star Trek 4: “Nothing unreal exists.”  Of course it’s true.  There can be no argument against it. It’s important, though, to know there is certainty in the universe, absolutes, things that only sound true but things that must be true or reality itself would crumble.

God’s laws of sin and death and of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus are just as certain as the Law of Non-Contradiction and Spok’s Vulcan proverb if not even more certain since they originate with the God who is the standard of truth and justice.

Why is this important?

God doesn’t just love us, He’s not just a God of mercy.  He has good reason to forgive us of our sins.  He is justified beyond all question to forgive us of our sins.  We only need to confess our sin, and we’re forgiven.  This is more certain than the law of gravity.  So, when we approach God to confess our sins, we’re not just asking for His love or His mercy, we can ask for justice, and He will apply the sacred sacrifice, the righteousness requirements of the law (Rom. 8:4) to our plea and judge us holy.

Another 10 Questions Christians Can’t Answer?

A while back, I said once in a while I’d offer some answers to the questions atheists say Christians can’t answer.  Here is the second installment of that quest.

  1. Why will God allow people to be born with defects?

The “Why questions” are often difficult ones since we are asked to read God’s infinite mind with our finite minds.  I think this one, though, is fairly clear: we have sin in the world.  Suffering is a result of the fall, of our own poor choices, sometimes it just has a specific purpose.  It can cause us to grow in Christ, for instance:

James 1:2-3 (ESV)  2 Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, 3 for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness.

John 9:1-5 (ESV) As he passed by, he saw a man blind from birth. 2 And his disciples asked him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?” 3 Jesus answered, “It was not that this man sinned, or his parents, but that the works of God might be displayed in him. 4 We must work the works of him who sent me while it is day; night is coming, when no one can work. 5 As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world.”

  1. Why can’t dead sinners’ sins be forgiven?

I suppose for the same reasons dead murders can’t confess.  God’s requirement for salvation is to give our lives over to Jesus.  If we aren’t alive to do so, it seems clear we can’t ask forgiveness.  Death is separation.  The dead sinner is not just separated from his body but also from God due to his sin.  If he can’t connect with God, he can’t ask for forgiveness.

  1. Is God a tyrant for wanting everyone to worship Him alone?

No.  If He is the only God, and people are worshiping things or myths which are not the true God, it is only right to want them to act in line with the truth especially since the benefit is so great.  Are teachers tyrants for insisting 2 + 2 = 4?  Of course not.  Same reason.

  1. Since God knows and sees all, why did he deceive Eve?

I’m not sure why the questioner thinks God deceived Eve unless it is when He said she would die if she ate the forbidden fruit.  Death means “separation” in the Bible.  Eating the fruit was sinful.  Sin separates us from God.  Eve didn’t die physically but died spiritually at that moment.  Restoration was available through sacrifice and repentance, though.

  1. Since God is merciful, why can’t we all go to heaven?

Because God is also just.  It would be unjust for God to save those who spit on or even just ignored His Son and never repented.  We are accountable for our actions while here on earth.  This is also true when He forgives us of our sins: He must act justly.  The blood of Jesus makes it possible for Him to do this:

1 John 1:9 (ESV)  9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

  1.  If doing evil for evil is wrong, should God be punishing us for our sins?    

This is another question I’m not clear about what is meant.  Maybe they think God’s punishment is sinful.  God cannot sin since He is holy and He is the standard of righteousness.  Loving punishment is meant for correction or rehabilitation, good things.

  1. If God loves only those who love him, does that make him a sinner?         

There is no human being God does not love.  The premise of the question is flawed.

  1. Why do daily atrocities exist?

Daily atrocities exist because man has the free choice to do as he wishes.  We can choose to follow God, to align with God’s nature, or we can choose to do ungodly acts: atrocities.

  1. How did Noah get all the various species of living organisms into the ark?

Interesting question.  First, the animals were not separated into species but into kinds.  A kind is a category of animals that can interbreed.  So, two of the horse kind, two of the dog kind, two of the rabbit kind (not for long, probably), etc. were all that would be needed.  Also they don’t need to be adult animals.  Fish or other water wildlife wouldn’t need to be on the ark.  The ark was pretty big: at least a football field and a half long, 75 feet wide, and 45 feet tall.  That’s at least a million and a half cubic feet (169,000 cubic yards).  It could hold a lot of creatures.  According to Creation Ministries International, John Woodmorappe’s book, Noah’s Ark: a Feasibility Study, says there would only need to be about 8000 kinds on the ark: 16,000 since two of each were needed plus those needed for sacrifice.

  1. Why does the Bible give the earth only about 6000 years while scientific research has found objects to be millions of years older?

The Bible doesn’t say the earth is about 6,000 years old: another false premise.  Some men say the Bible says that.   By the way, it is also men who says the earth is older.  Even within the church this is a controversial topic. 

These questions were taken from this site

Ways of Praise

Psalm 7:17 (ESV)  I will give to the Lord the thanks due to his righteousness, and I will sing praise to the name of the Lord, the Most High.

Praise seems like such a simple thing.  We praise God for Who He is, for the things He has done both in our lives and in the lives of others through all of history, for the fact He even desires to be active in our lives.  But, there is so much more God is and does that is praiseworthy. 

There are times God works in our lives, touches our souls, heals a friend, when we can’t express our praise in simple words.  Even the psalmist expresses these times:

Psalm 106:1-2 (ESV)  Praise the Lord! Oh give thanks to the Lord, for he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever! Who can utter the mighty deeds of the Lord, or declare all his praise?

Sometimes we are so overwhelmed by God’s grace in our lives, by His care and concern for our well-being, that we have no ability to praise Him for even His presence in the situation let alone for His resolution.  Sometimes a simple thanks just isn’t enough after your daughter comes through open heart surgery or you’re told you son might lose the use of his hand due to a dog bite, and God steps in.  We’re at a loss for words in situations like that.  A simple “thank you” doesn’t come close to expressing our praise.  When these times occur, we can ask for help in how we praise God, and God’s Spirit will praise Him for us with appropriate praise that is beyond our capabilities:

Rom. 8:26-27 (ESV)  Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words. 27 And he who searches hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.

We have all seen times when we have been in God’s overwhelming presence and have no idea how to praise Him, no expression is enough, yet God lets us know He is pleased to simply be there in that connection with us.  His love for us is so apparent. Sometimes, this happens during or just after we have repented and confessed our sins.  We’ve returned to Him as prodigal sons, and like the father in that parable, He holds us close, joyful our relationship has been restored:

Luke 15:20 (ESV)  And he arose and came to his father. But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and felt compassion, and ran and embraced him and kissed him.

What can be more praiseworthy in our lives than the embrace of God?  What can cause us to adore Him more than that?  The supreme Being of the universe wishes to draw close to us. He promises this:

James 4:8a (ESV)  Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you.

Why is this important?

Ps. 7:17 (NASB)  I will give thanks to the Lord according to His righteousness, And will sing praise to the name of the Lord Most High.

Like so many things in our Christian walk, praise is something we cannot do well alone.  It requires God’s help for us to even approach the level of praise worthy of our God.  Fortunately, God receives the praises however we offer them.  The position of our hearts, the obedience to His commands, and our dedication to His Word keeps our relationship with Him rich:

Psalm 119:7-8 (ESV)    I will praise you with an upright heart, when I learn your righteous rules. I will keep your statutes; do not utterly forsake me!

The praise God is worthy to receive is a level of praise we cannot offer on our own.  God Himself, through His Spirit, guides us and even intercedes for us in our praises.  That guidance says, like prayer, our praises are never to cease: 

Psalm 34:1 (ESV) I will bless the Lord at all times; his praise shall continually be in my mouth.

Let’s walk the walk, look to His Word for direction, then follow that direction.  Those are forms of praise in themselves.

God’s Praise of Men

1 Cor. 4:5 Therefore do not pronounce judgment before the time, before the Lord comes, who will bring to light the things now hidden in darkness and will disclose the purposes of the heart. Then each one will receive his commendation from God.

We seldom think of praise for men as a godly act, but here in 1 Cor. 4:5, Paul tells us God will praise men for their deeds.  He points this out again in Romans. 2:28:

But a Jew is one inwardly, and circumcision is a matter of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the letter. His praise is not from man but from God.

So, How do we get praise or commendation from God?  Well, we know God doesn’t look at the outside but at the heart.  We see this with God’s choice of David to be king of Israel:

1 Sam. 16:7  But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not look on his appearance or on the height of his stature, because I have rejected him. For the Lord sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart.” 

It’s not our appearance or social status, our wealth or fame.  God will commend the man or woman who is like David and has a sincere heart for the Lord.

But, even with this, those of us who have a good idea of the sinners we truly are can hardly believe God might praise us even for a sincere heart.  We need to remember God says He wants praise us if our hearts are right.  It is that grace thing again where God favors us for no other reason than because He loves us.

Paul’s mention of circumcision in Romans 2:29 speaks of holiness, of dedication to the one true God.  Circumcision in the Old Testament was a sign to foreigners that those with that mark were to be considered holy, were the people of the great God YHWH.  The New Testament speaks differently of circumcision. It speaks of the heart, that God has set us aside, holy and separate from the world: His people.

When our hearts fully seek to separate from worldly thoughts and desires, God commends us for this. 

There is another type of praise for men that I need to mention here, of course, and that is the praise of other men.  Jesus, in Luke, tells us to be careful of the praise of other men:

Luke 6:26 (ESV)  “Woe to you, when all people speak well of you, for so their fathers did to the false prophets.”

We can fall into a heightened self-image, think better of ourselves than we should, become puffed up, conceited:

Rom 12:3 (ESV)  For by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think with sober judgment, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned.

 Why is this important?

As Christians we need to keep our minds and hearts on the path of seeking God’s will and His good pleasure.  In this way, we seek God’s praise and commandment regarding our faith in Him.

Next week, ways we can praise God.

Humility & Meekness

Humility & Meekness

Col. 3:12-13 (ESV)  Put on then, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, 13 bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive.

I’ve asked myself about the words humility and meekness: “What exactly do they mean?  Are we to be shy as Christians?  Does it mean we should crawl under our desks or be taken advantage of?  Is that what it means to be humble or meek?”  Those descriptions of the words don’t seem to match with the heroes of the Bible.  Even when God did use shy people like Gideon, He gave him strength to fulfill his call.

In looking at the words in the above passage, I’ve found they do not mean what I thought.  They mean something much more.  For one thing, a humble person is someone who puts the needs of others above himself.  James defines it well for us:

James 4:10-12 (ESV)  Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will exalt you. 11 Do not speak evil against one another, brothers. The one who speaks against a brother or judges his brother, speaks evil against the law and judges the law. But if you judge the law, you are not a doer of the law but a judge. 12 There is only one lawgiver and judge, he who is able to save and to destroy. But who are you to judge your neighbor?

Look at the qualifications for an elder of the church:  1 Tim. 3:1-7  (ESV)  The saying is trustworthy: If anyone aspires to the office of overseer, he desires a noble task. 2 Therefore an overseer must be above reproach, the husband of one wife, sober-minded, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, able to teach, 3 not a drunkard, not violent but gentle, not quarrelsome, not a lover of money. 4 He must manage his own household well, with all dignity keeping his children submissive, 5 for if someone does not know how to manage his own household, how will he care for God’s church? 6 He must not be a recent convert, or he may become puffed up with conceit and fall into the condemnation of the devil. 7 Moreover, he must be well thought of by outsiders, so that he may not fall into disgrace, into a snare of the devil.

As an example to the church and community at large, elders are to be humble and have all the traits listed above, and yet it is humble to seek the office itself.  Elders are to stand against false teachers, to discipline those in the church who are causing disruption, in short, to hold people accountable.  These men aren’t shy.  They are men who must do these things while loving God’s people, acting in love and in humility.  Humility, then, is to know your status as a Christian and as a member of the church and fulfill that – no more and no less.

I think misunderstanding this causes problems in the church.  We concentrate so much on “humbling” ourselves we do nothing.  We see ourselves as unworthy to be used by God, so those jobs God wants us to do don’t get done.

Humility, then, is not to think better or less of yourself than you actually are.  Do not take positions you do not deserve or shrink from positions to which you are called.  We must seek a balanced life as a child of God.

Meekness, much like humility, is power under control.  Moses was the meekest man in the Old Testament:

Num. 12:3 (ESV)  Now the man Moses was very meek, more than all people who were on the face of the earth.

The meaning of the Hebrew word for meek here is this:  “An adjective meaning poor, oppressed, afflicted, humble. It is used of persons who put themselves after others in importance; persons who are not proud, haughty, supercilious, self-assertive, low in rank or position. Moses in the Old Testament is the prototype of the humble man before God and other human beings (Num. 12:3), but he was not poor or low in rank.” (The Complete Word Study Dictionary: Old Testament)

Moses stood before Pharaoh, the most powerful man in Egypt, and delivered God’s commands.  Moses knew who he was and who God saw him to be.  He knew his mission and that God had his back. 

Why is this important?

I think we spend too much time trying to be unimportant in God’s kingdom.  We have a difficult balance to keep, and most of us don’t keep it well.  We stray toward the “I’ll do nothing” side for fear others may expect too much of us or see us as prideful.  We’re safe there, just sitting in the pew and resisting our call to serve. 

When we look at Biblical examples such as David, Paul, Deborah, Stephen, we see those who stood for something, who were willing and happy to serve God once the call was recognized.  These people weren’t always humble.  Moses was punished for becoming prideful.  But, humble people get things done in God’s kingdom.  Those who ignore the call on their lives and abilities do not.