Joshua Elsom: Blog

Eric Bolling v. Dan Barker

2011-12-14T07:26:00.000-08:00

The atheists over at the Freedom From Religion Foundation aren’t ashamed to let their anti-faith message be heard loud and clear.

The Blaze has spoken with the group and heard, first-hand, just how strong-worded and offensive (to people of faith, at least) its message can be. Last night, the Fox Business Network’s Eric Bolling invited a FFRF representative onto his show to discuss the group’s anti-Christian stance.

During a dialogue with FFRF spokesperson Dan Barker (who is married to FFRF co-president Annie Laurie Gaylor), “Follow the Money” host Eric Bolling was so dumbfounded by the group’s anti-Jesus views that he ended up booting the atheist-spokesperson off of the program. Mediaite’s Colby Hall called the moment a “‘War on Christmas’ miracle!”

At the center of the discussion was a Texas nativity scene that the Madison, Wisconsin-based FFRF has been demanding be torn down immediately. During the dialogue, Barker claimed that America is not a Christian nation and that the nativity should not be present on government property. He went on to say that the nativity represents “an insult to human nature that we are all doomed and damned.”

It was this comment that commenced the uncomfortable exchange between Bolling and Barker. “Sir, I have to take exception to the way you’ve described the nativity scene. It’s not an insult. It’s certainly not an insult to me. I’m a Christian,” Bolling explained. “It is an insult, sir,” Barker countered. At this point, the interview continued, as Bolling sought to move on to another question. But it didn’t take long for Barker to, once again, push Bolling’s buttons.

“Why was Jesus born? To save us from our sins. What an insult that we are degraded, depraved human beings — that Jesus created a hell — a place or torture,” Barker quipped. “And how would you feel if you didn’t believe that… superstition?”

Bolling interrupted the insults and abruptly ended the interview. (courtesy of the BLAZE.)

My thoughts:

"A dog barks when his master is attacked. I would be a coward if I saw that God's truth is attacked and yet would remain silent." ~ John Calvin

I am thankful for anyone who is willing to stand up for their faith and the name of their Savior. And to that end I am thankful for what Eric Bolling did on his show. Dan Barker is an enemy of the Cross and he is doing everything in his power to censure Christians and silence the Gospel in our country.

However, I think Mr. Bolling may have kicked Mr. Barker off of his show because he was unable to properly defend his faith. Dan Barker's theology was mostly right, wasn't it? He said, "“...we are all doomed and damned.” and “Why was Jesus born? To save us from our sins...we are degraded, depraved human beings...Jesus created a hell — a place or torture...” All true! Of course we know that God created Hell for the rebellious angels but does He not also now send law breaking humanity there? If that is the case then why did Mr. Bolling get so offended and why did say these things were not true?1

Mr. Barker was not entirely wrong about the nativity being a message of hate, either. From his perspective it most definitely is. God does not send sin to Hell, He sends sinners there. Remember, God hates evildoers and His Gospel smells repulsive to them. No wonder Dan Barker wants these Nativity scenes taken down. Every time he drives by one it is a reminder that he has fallen short of the glory of God!

God's disposition toward the sinner:

Psalm 5:4-6 For you are not a God who delights in wickedness; evil may not dwell with you. The boastful shall not stand before your eyes; you hate all evildoers. You destroy those who speak lies; the LORD abhors the bloodthirsty and deceitful man.

The Aroma of the Gospel:

2 Corinthians 2:14-16 But thanks be to God, who in Christ always leads us in triumphal procession, and through us spreads the fragrance of the knowledge of him everywhere. For we are the aroma of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing, to one a fragrance from death to death, to the other a fragrance from life to life.

The Nativity, and by extension the Gospel, is life and hope to us who are called by Jesus' name, but for God-hating rebels like Dan Barker it is the message that damns. God have mercy upon him.

May we, by God's grace, be prepared to give a good and ready defense of the Gospel to everyone that asks!

[1] To be fair Mr. Bolling may have been trying to say that the Nativity does not communicate hate but love. And that is why he told Mr. Barker that what he was saying about the Nativity was not true.

The Illusion of Time: God's Sovereignty Revealed

2011-11-10T11:36:00.001-08:00

According to modern physicists the future has already been written; it is just as real as the past once was and just as real as the present now is; it is immutable and set. If this is true, then Who might we think is responsible for writing the storyline that is captured in space-time?

Who knows the end from the beginning? Who knows the future and writes it as if it were history? Who has chosen a people unto Himself before the world was made?

Watch The Fabric of the Cosmos: The Illusion of Time on PBS. See more from NOVA.

The Knowledge of God by A.W. Pink

Back Yard Baptisms

2011-11-04T11:22:00.000-07:00

Maple Valley Baptisms from MVMC on Vimeo.

Check out this short video of my fellow laborer Seth McBee baptizing two of the neighbors he reached for Jesus. It is beautiful.

For more of the story please visit http://jeffvanderstelt.wordpress.com/2011/09/05/a-story-of-one-mc-by-seth-mcbee/

ONE THING I HAVE IN COMMON WITH HAROLD CAMPING AND ONE THING I DO NOT

2011-10-21T13:17:00.000-07:00

Ever since the day that Jesus left this earth his followers have been trying to figure out when He would be coming back. Harold Camping, who has predicted that that day is today,1 is only the most recent in a vast sea of men and women who have purported to have knowledge of the End. Camping certainly will not be the last.

Just to give you an idea of how early these predictions and false teachings of Christ’s return began to trouble the Church, consider that the Apostle Paul had to deal with them. In his second letter to the church at Thessalonica Paul wrote to assure this flock that the Day of God’s wrath had not yet come. Apparently there had been a false prophet milling around the church who had suggested that the persecution that the Thessalonians were then experiencing was evidence that God’s judgement was being poured out on them and that they had been left behind. Paul assures them that this was not the case and then he reminds them of what he had previously taught.

“Do not be quickly shaken in mind or alarmed, either by a spirit or a spoken word, or a letter seeming to be from us, to the effect that the day of the Lord has come. (1 Thes 2:2, ESV)”

From the Apostle’s day on there has likely not a decade passed without some pronouncement that Jesus was either already here or that he was soon to arrive. Most of these have passed into obscurity without any tangible consequence, save a little mud on the face of the one who offered the false prediction. But then there are the others. Predictions which stand out in history because they have ended in great tragedy. These false predictions serve as a warning to all who would offer their prognostication of the Day of the Lord.

One of these tragic stories centers on a town in northwest Germany called Münster. In the 16th century Münster was the center of much controversy because of two apocalyptic visionaries named John Matthys and John of Leiden. These radical Anabaptists not only displaced the existing government in Münster and replaced it with an Old Testament theocracy but they also claimed that their small Westphalian town was the “New Jerusalem” foreseen in the book of Revelation; the city from which Jesus would execute His Millennial Judgement upon the world.2 Matthys had assumed leadership of a fringe Anabaptist movement after its former leader Melchoir Hoffman had been imprisoned. Hoffman had speculated that Jesus' return would happen a millennium and a half after the nominal date of his execution, in 1533, and that Christ would reign from Strasbourg, Germany.3

After Hoffman’s imprisonment Matthys and Leiden began to doubt whether Hoffman’s prediction about Strasbourg was accurate. So they decided that it must be their hometown of Münster, which was already under the control of Anabaptists, and they led his followers there. Matthys knew that his new theocratic government would be unwelcome and would draw a swift reaction from the Bishop, so Matthys began to prepare Münster for certain war. He expelled all those who would not submit to his radical views, he rallied his followers, sent for help and acquired what weapons he could. Franz von Waldeck, the bishop over Münster, lay the city under siege and tried to starve Matthys and his followers into submission. They would not. On Easter Day 1534 Matthys left the safety of Münster’s walls, with 30 of his followers, believing himself to carry the spirit of Gideon. Matthys and his small team met the Bishop’s troops on the field of battle and were very quickly killed. His head was put on a spike and displayed before the city's walls with the hope that Matthys’ death would discourage his remaining followers, he could not have been more wrong. Leiden was quickly named the “King of Jerusalem” and began to lead the 9000 citizens of Münster. The siege on Münster lasted many more months but was finally successful when the Bishop’s troops were led into the city by a traitor. In the end, thousands of lives were lost, one false prophet was killed in battle and the other was left to die, hanging from the spire of the Lamberti Church in a cage for all to see.

On May 22 of this year Harold Camping was proven to be a false prophet after Jesus failed to show up on the twenty-first. And I suspect that tomorrow when we wake up his amended prophecy will be proven false as well. Back in May much was said about those who had been duped into believing Camping. His followers sold their property, cashed in their retirements, and handed it all over to Camping and Family Radio’s massive publicity campaign. But what you may have not heard was that lives were lost over Camping’s teaching. Did you know that a 14-year-old girl from Russia was so scared of the May 21 doomsday and rapture prediction that she committed suicide the same day?4 Did you know that a man in Eugene, Oregon shot his coworker after he was mocked for having believed the false prophecy of Harold Camping?5 Did you know that hundreds of men and women in North Vietnam were shot to death and decapitated because they were emboldened by Camping’s sure word of prophecy and began to proclaim the day of God’s judgement.6

“But concerning that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father only. (Matt 24:36, ESV)”

By this point in the article you may be wondering if I will ever get around to telling you what I have in common with Harold Camping. You might be able to think of many things I would not have in common with him but what do I share with this man? To my shame, like Camping, I have made a prediction about the End and the day of Jesus’ return. In fact, I started this blog to promote that date. It has been quite a few years since then and my understanding of the Scripture has radically changed. I have removed all of those articles from this website and any outside forums where I was able to access them and take them down.

The thing that causes me some amount of fear is that my prediction was far less cryptic and much easier to understand than Harold Camping’s was. Once I posted it on the internet it went everywhere. I saw myself quoted on a number of websites and even heard my theory mentioned on a radio program. To this day I still get emails from people who have read it and want to know more; one man even wanting to quote me in the book he is writing on the subject. I will not reproduce the error of that prediction here and perpetuate it further. No doubt, some of your interests will be piqued beyond control and you will go looking for it. I am sure you will not have to search long because it is still floating around on the web. Please, if you do read it, use discernment and do not pass it around. Fortunately, I was a nobody when I wrote it (still a nobody) and did not have the backing of a 200 station radio network behind me like Camping did. Otherwise, who knows how far it could have gone. Who knows what tragedy might have befallen, or more accurately stated, might yet befall those who would listen to my prediction of the Judgement.

So what do I not share in common with Harold Camping, specifically? Repentance. I wish to publicly repent of everything I have written or said concerning the date I once presented as the day of Christ’s return. I hereby, disavow any association with this prediction and call those who might still believe it to do the same. I was wrong for pursuing it, wrong for promoting it and I want to ask your forgiveness and the Lord’s for such a reckless use of His Word. May God’s grace spare the hearts and lives of those who might read it still today.

It has been said that the man who admits he was wrong yesterday shows himself to be wiser today. I pray that is true of me. God censured Harold Camping by removing his voice.7 I pray that God would spare me this shame and rather inflict my guilt upon His Son who died for my rebellion against Him.

Maranatha!

Footnotes:

180

2011-09-26T05:05:00.000-07:00

A stunning new Pro-Life documentary that will make an excellent tool for the fight against abortion.

Go to http://www.180movie.com to watch the full length video or go to Living Waters to download the video. Free Download.

What is the Gospel? - Gospel Fluency

2011-05-12T13:13:00.000-07:00

What is the Gospel - Jeff Vanderstelt from Living Stones on Vimeo.

Super True Stories: Best. Conspiracy. Ever.

2011-04-29T17:10:00.000-07:00

How about some apologetic humor!

Soma Communities

2011-04-27T10:00:00.001-07:00

Soma Communities - Tacoma, WA from Verge Network on Vimeo.

Who is Jesus?

2011-04-26T12:19:00.000-07:00

Watch the entire sermon here: http://www.marshillchurch.org/easter

Gospel Fluency

2011-04-25T14:04:00.000-07:00

Gospel Fluency - Jeff Vanderstelt from Living Stones on Vimeo.

Gospel Fluency
By Jeff Vanderstelt
Gospel Growth

Speaking the TRUTH in Love IN Ministry
In Ephesians 4:11-16, we are instructed about the means by which the Church grows up into maturity. God gives certain people to the church to equip all believers for ministry (Apostles, Prophets, Evangelists, Pastors and Teachers). Then as each part is doing their job, they build up the body of Christ to maturity and the stature of the fullness of Christ. Paul goes on to describe what must take place for this growth to occur:

Speaking the Truth in Love – The truth is found in the person and work of Jesus. Jesus said, “I am the Way, the Truth and the Life”. So, speaking the truth in love is another way of saying – “Speak the Gospel to one another.”
In Ministry (and on mission) – The way in which the body is built up is through each part ministering to the others (v. 16). It is in ministry and on mission that we become aware of where each of us is need of being built up in the Gospel. The areas of deficiency in our belief in the Gospel show up when we are called to Love Others and Makes Disciples.

Therefore, in order to grow up in Christ and help others grow up in Christ, we need to be Gospel Fluent and call people to live lives that both demand the power of the Gospel and reveal where we are not living in the truth of the Gospel

FOR DISCUSSION:
How have you grown in Gospel Fluency?
What has been most effective in shaping you to be able to “Bring the Gospel to Bear” on issues in your life and others?
How have you shaped your group to be Gospel Fluent?
What have you found to be most effective in equipping your Missional Community to speak the truth in love to one another and prepare them to share with those who don’t yet believe?

Creating a Culture
In order to effectively equip your missional community in Gospel Fluency, you will need to create a culture where it is normal to speak the Gospel to each other regularly. Every sin and issue that stands in the way of our faithfulness to Jesus’ commands is ultimately a Gospel issue, since sin is the outcome of unbelief in Jesus (John 16:9).

One of your key jobs will be to equip your people to KNOW the Gospel, APPLY it to all of life and SPEAK it to each other.

It Starts With You
Shaping a Gospel Fluent Culture starts with you being regularly shaped by the truth of the Gospel. This means you have to KNOW it and APPLY it to everyday stuff, while asking others to SPEAK it into your life.

Do you know the Gospel? Could you articulate it? Can you address everyday issues with the Gospel?
If you know it and can articulate it, the next question is: Are you experiencing ongoing repentance and growing faith in the Gospel?

This will look like you “taking every thought captive to make it obedient to Christ”. It means you are regularly checking your motives, beliefs, attitudes and actions to see if they reflect faith in Jesus or faith in someone or something else. This includes inviting others to have the freedom to speak openly into your life as well.

Then, when it is apparent that your faith is in something other than Jesus and what he accomplished for you through his life, death and resurrection, you need to be reminded how the Gospel shows Jesus to be the sufficient one for you in that issue, repent of unbelief and put your faith for that thing in Jesus and his sufficiency.

The more you are actively applying the Gospel to all of life, the more normal it will become to both speak of it and to equip others in it.

Lead Your Group Into Gospel-Centered Life
You will need to lead in Gospel engagement in a variety of ways in order to make Gospel conversations normative for your life together and your mission to make disciples of others. There are several ways you can make Gospel conversations more normative, but below are few suggestions to start with:

Rehearse the Gospel Regularly
Ask your group to regularly restate the elements of the Gospel out loud together to see how well they’re getting it. You may have to lay it out for them a couple of times until they begin to remember it.

Here are three questions I ask to help people remember…

1. Who is Jesus?

He is the perfect man who lived a perfect life fully submitted to God the Father in all things
He is the God-Man who is God in the flesh so that we could know what God is like and God would be near us
He is the Messiah sent by God to save us from our sin, death and destruction

2. What Did Jesus Do?

On the cross, He exchanged his perfect obedience (His righteousness) for our sin so that those who have faith in Jesus get Jesus’ righteousness credited to their account and their sin credited to His account
When he died on the cross not only were my sins removed, but they were paid for (atoned for)
He rose from the dead to show his power over sin and death (the wages of sin is death so Jesus’ resurrection shows the debt is paid in full)
He ascended to the right hand of God the Father from where he sent His Spirit to bring faith and new life to us, empowering us to live lives of obedience

What Must We Do?

Repent – Have a change of mind about who is God around here and in particular Who Jesus Is and how we need him and his work on our behalf
Believe – By faith put our trust in Who Jesus Is and What He Has done, believing it was accomplished for us
Be Baptized – Publicly express our faith that our lives are now united and identified with God in Christ

What Happens to Us?

We are forgiven and cleansed of our sins
We receive the gift of the Holy Spirit
We are included in the forever Family of God
We are commissioned to Make Disciples of Jesus

How might you restate this to embody the language of your missional context?

Apply the Gospel to Personal Stories

Give each person in your Missional Community the opportunity to share their personal story. Before they do so, encourage them to tell it in light of what they believe about Jesus and how the Gospel has affected all of life. Also, encourage the group to listen with “Gospel Ears” paying close attention to areas where the Gospel has redeemed and rightly informed their story as well as where the Gospel needs to be spoken into their Story.

For example, if their story recounts a life without a father present or maybe a life with an abusive father, listen for where they came to see that they have a perfect Heavenly Father who was always present. If that doesn’t come up, the group should ask them how they perceive the Father in Heaven and how knowing the truth about him sending the Son to save us shapes how they see this part of their story.

What are some other key areas to be listening for when hearing each other’s stories? How would you apply the Gospel to those areas?

Go Through the Story-Formed Way

The Story-formed Way was designed to both lead people through the basics of the Gospel and provide a foundational structure for the key doctrines of Christianity. If you are taking a mixed group of believers and unbelievers through it you will better establish the believers in the foundations and show them how to have Gospel conversations with Unbelievers. At the same time, the unbelievers are exposed to the Gospel and will learn how to share it themselves once they come to faith.

The other bonus of this activity is that it provides a variety of stories through which to see the Redemptive work of God thus giving the believer many different forms to engage in Gospel Conversation. For example, when dealing with someone struggling with financial provision, one could share the story of God feeding the Israelites in the wilderness and ultimately pointing to how Jesus is the bread of life that most deeply satisfies. Then go on to show that if God would give us his very best to meet our deep spiritual hunger, why wouldn’t he also give us everything else that we need. The more Biblical Stories we know, the more versatile we become in engaging in Gospel conversations.

Name some other key Biblical Stories that relate well to your community and missional context and state how they point to Jesus.

Express Gospel Need and Fulfillment with Communion

Have the communion elements ready to celebrate our Lord’s Death. Then ask each person to particularly identify with one of the elements (the bread or the wine) and share how they are aware of their need for the gospel in light of how the bread or wine speaks to them. This gives each person the opportunity to express the Gospel in light of their need and how the Gospel satisfies their need.

For example, someone might say: I particularly identify with the bread this week because I am realizing that I have been trusting in my own works to make me righteous before God instead of trusting in the righteous life of Jesus lived on my behalf in human flesh. Or, someone might say, I am so grateful for the cup this week because I have been overcome with the reality of my sin this week and I need to be reminded that Christ blood was poured out for me for the forgiveness of my sins.

Before you begin this process, encourage each person to listen closely to the person on their right because they will be serving them the elements in light of the gospel need they expressed after everyone has shared. This gives each person the opportunity to listen for the Gospel need in others and then “preach” the gospel into their situation.

It might sound like, This bread is to remind you that Jesus’ righteous life lived in his body that was given for you on the cross is the righteousness of God exchanged for your sin and His blood was poured out for you to forgive you of your sin, including trusting in your own righteousness.

Throughout the experience the group gets to hear the Gospel need proclaim several times and then observes several different Gospel proclamations specifically applied to a unique person and situation. At the end of the night, the group will have grown in their ability to express their Gospel need, listen for the Gospel need in another's life, proclaim the Gospel contextually into that person's life and situation AND listen to other people proclaim it as well.

Regularly ask, “How does the Gospel address this?” and, “What about the Gospel are you not believing?”

Whenever life challenges or difficulties come up in the group’s conversation, instead of giving quick advice, ask, “How does the Gospel address this?” Train your group to regularly ask how Who Jesus Is and What He Has Done shapes how we handle the stuff of life. A couple of things will happen if you do this regularly: 1) You will teach the group that the Gospel really can and does address everything in life; 2) The group will become much more fluent in Gospel conversations the more they have them; and 3) You will learn over time if they are coming to know and believe the Gospel fully.

What are some of the key issues that immediately come to your mind that seem to surface regularly in your group? How would you address them with the Gospel?

Slow Down to Identify Idols and Compare to Jesus

As the group gathers, listen closely to the conversations and the stories. Listen for what they are ultimately putting their trust in – ask, “What idol/god are they putting their trust in? “Sometimes the best way to identify the idols of the heart is by calling people to ministry and mission. Idols become easiest to see when we are calling people to be faithful to Jesus’ mission. Listen for the excuses or reasons for not being willing or able to obey – fear, insecurities, selfishness, pride, approval of man issues, worship of children, family or work, etc…

Then, as you or the group becomes aware of the people or things that have become idols or “little gods” take the time to compare them to Jesus, showing Jesus to be the “better”; the resolution to what they are seeking elsewhere; the opposite of what they are experiencing; or the deeper reality of what they are searching for.

What are some of the obvious “idols” in your group? How would you show that Jesus is the “better”?

Identify Key Descriptions of Jesus’ Work and Display them on Mission

Take some time to talk through what is true of Jesus in the Gospel (i.e. Advocate, Mediator, Sacrificial Offering, etc…) and then discuss how the group might display this truth about Jesus in the midst of the missionary context, being prepared to share how this work is really a result and picture of what Jesus has done and is doing.
In light of the missional context you have been sent to, what key descriptors of Jesus’ identity and work if displayed would be Good News? How would you share the Gospel through that?

Assignment: Pick 3 of the 7 suggestions to try. Do the written work connected to them and plan to implement them in your group in the next 2 months. Turn your written work in to your Coach.

Fixing Our Eyes on the Cross

2011-02-11T07:10:00.000-08:00

A Social Network Christmas

2010-12-15T15:31:00.000-08:00

Where Does Your Child’s Identity Lay… Truly?

2010-12-13T18:55:00.001-08:00

“The greatest need of our children is to cherish and know the infinite value of God. Therefore we want them to become so saturated with the Word of God that they treasure Jesus alone as the One who saves and satisfies the heart.”

- ChildrenDesiringGod.org

“The greatest gift we can offer them is to begin forming and molding their identity in Jesus alone.

Our identity, how we view ourselves and what we find our worth in, will directly determine how we view God, how we treat others, and how we will operate in this fallen world. If our children find their identify in something other than Jesus then they will pursue that thing above Jesus. If they presently find their worth in school, their relationships, or sports, again, something other than Jesus, then they will grow up viewing the faith of their parents merely as ancillary to the more important pursuits of their lives. They will learn to use everything at their disposal to worship that “thing” above the Creator who made it. So, it is our job as parents and as the covenant community of Christ to tell our children who they are.

One of the best ways we can do this is by telling them the story of the Bible, and, what I mean by that is not simply telling them random stories out of it but by showing them the grand redemptive arc of Jesus’ story throughout Scripture and then showing them how their lives intersect with that story.”

– Joshua Elsom via the Gospel Community Mission Collective Forum

Joshua recommended using The Jesus Storybook Bible: Every Story Whispers His Name I haven’t used it yet myself, but am going to check it out!

Sourced from: http://rossroadkids.wordpress.com/

Repentance: What Is It and How Do We Present It?

2010-11-29T16:37:00.000-08:00

Today Ray Comfort posted a defense of the biblical warrant for preaching and commanding repentance on his Facebook fan page. His purpose in writing his defense is to speak out against those who would “..say that we should never tell a sinner to turn from his sins, because that implies that he must “do” something to be saved” and those who would “..say that repentance merely means a change of mind about Jesus.”

You can read the entire article here: Is Repentance Just a Change of Mind?

While I certainly agree that repentance is more than “changing your mind about Jesus,” I would add a few things to Ray’s presentation.

Repentance does not have as much to do with what you are turning away from, as much as it has to do with the One to Whom you are turning. A turn toward Christ will always result in a turn away from rebellion against Him. If He be lifted up, He will draw all men to Himself. To explain repentance solely as a "turning away from sin", without exalting Jesus as the reason for that turning, will surely produce legalists.

How many times have you heard this explanation of repentance following the preaching of the Law and Grace?

"To receive this free gift of God's grace through Jesus Christ you must repent and believe. Repentance is this - Remember all of those laws which you broke, that found you condemned before God? You must now turn from your Law-breaking! Stop lying, stop stealing, stop looking with lust and hating. Turn from your sin and God will save you. This is what faith is..."

This is an unbiblical presentation of repentance, unfortunately, this is how many people continue to share the gospel. Why is this wrong? Consider this, if you tell someone that they must now keep the very Law that condemned them to be saved, have you really given them any good news? You've just told them that it is impossible to keep the Law and 5 minutes later you tell them that they must keep that same Law to be saved. It makes no sense.

Let's clean up both our definition and presentation of repentance.

Art Azurdia - Unequaled Greatness of the Son of God

2010-11-24T13:52:00.000-08:00

Missional vs. Evangelistic

2010-11-01T13:46:00.000-07:00

The Missional Church...Simple.

2010-10-25T07:34:00.000-07:00

Gospel Rhythms

2010-10-22T16:15:00.000-07:00

A Wholistic Approach to Ministry

“Dear friends, I urge you, as aliens and strangers in the world, to abstain from sinful desires, which war against your souls. Live such good lives among he pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us.”

1 Peter 2:11-12

In order to lead our people to see all of life as ministry and mission we must equip them to live out the gospel in everyday activities – rhythms. We have found some transferable patterns or rhythms of life that should be lived out in light of the Gospel and our gospel identity.

Everyday Rhythms:

Story-Formed

We understand, experience and intersect with God’s Story and Other’s God has been unfolding his Story since before time began. We believe we are participants in the Story and need to understand it and see how our lives intersect with it. Therefore, we regularly reacquaint ourselves with the Story by interacting with God’s Word. We look for ways and times to tell the Story often. We also take time to listen to others stories and help them find their lives within God’s Story. (Genesis 1:1-2; John 1:1; Psalm 1; 2 Timothy 3:16-17)

Listen

We set aside regular times to listen to God both backward and forward Jesus listened to God in prayer to know his Father’s will. We are also called to listen to God. We listen ‘backward’ by regularly interacting with God’s Word–the Story and the Son. We also believe he speaks today through his Spirit in us and through creation. We spend time actively listening ‘forward’ to hear what God is saying to us today. (Mark 1:35-37; John 16:7-15; Hebrews 1:1-3; Romans 1:20)

Celebrate

We gather together to celebrate God’s extravagant blessings God’s calls people to regularly celebrate his goodness and grace. We gather weekly in missional communities and regularly as a larger family, to share stories and celebrate all that God is doing in and amongst us. We invite everyone to these celebrations as a way of displaying God’s glory. (Leviticus 23; Acts 2:42-47; Hebrews 10:24-25)

Bless

We intentionally bless others through words, gifts or actions God desires that all nations–all people–would be blessed through Jesus. And now, as his Body, we believe we live out this mission as we bless others. We intentionally seek God’s direction for who he would have us tangibly bless each week. (Genesis 12:1-3; Ephesians 1:22-23; 2:8-10; 1 Peter 2:12)

Eat

We regularly eat meals with others to invite them into the community of God. Meals are a daily reminder of our common need for God and his faithfulness to provide both physically and spiritually. Jesus called us to remember him and his sacrifice for us through a meal. When we eat together, we commune around this truth. We regularly eat meals with those not in our immediate family or circle of close friends, discipling them toward a life of dependence on God. (Leviticus 23; Matthew 6:11; 26:17-30; Acts 2:46-47; Romans 12:13)

ReCreate

We take time to rest, play, create and restore beauty in ways that reflect God to others. After powerfully and joyfully creating the universe, God rested. We were created in his image and therefore were made to joyfully create and rest as well. We regularly take time to rest, play, create and restore beauty in ways that reflect what God is like to our community. (Genesis 1-2:3; Deuteronomy 5:12; Mark 2:23-28; Hebrews)

Video Courtesy of Verge Missional Community Conference

The Kindness of God that Leads to Repentance

2010-06-10T20:11:00.000-07:00

Have you ever had a well meaning Christian suggest that you not speak to unbelievers about God's wrath or judgment; that such speech is divisive and may very well be counterproductive to the very thing you are attempting to accomplish? Have they further suggested that you simply let the world see Jesus through you, in your life and through kind actions? Have they ever used, "It is the kindness of God that leads us to repentance." as proof-text for their position? If so and you've not known how to properly respond to this application of Romans 2:4, then keep on reading.

"Or do you presume on the riches of his kindness and forbearance and patience, not knowing that God's kindness is meant to lead you to repentance?" Romans 2:4

The first thing to look at with any verse that is used as a proof-text is to see the verse in its actual context. You'll immediately note that this portion of Scripture, which is so often quoted, is actually not even contained in the text. It is a clause contained within Romans 2:4 that has been modified to stand alone as a sentence. The problem with this is that when this clause is lifted out of its context it completely changes its intended meaning. This is not only made clear by reading the entire verse but further established by considering the surrounding verses.

So let's take a look and see why this common application of Romans 2:4b does not fit the text.

Therefore you have no excuse, O man, every one of you who judges. For in passing judgment on another you condemn yourself, because you, the judge, practice the very same things. We know that the judgment of God rightly falls on those who practice such things. Do you suppose, O man—you who judge those who practice such things and yet do them yourself—that you will escape the judgment of God? Or do you presume on the riches of his kindness and forbearance and patience, not knowing that God’s kindness is meant to lead you to repentance?

It is clear, Paul was not saying that God grants repentance through the conduit of kind actions, he was saying that God is kind in that He does not crush us for our rebellion immediately. Paul was addressing the hypocrisy of those who were standing in judgment over others in the church while at the same time committing the very same sins as those whom they were condemning. He asked them a rhetorical question, "..do you presume on the riches of his kindness and forbearance and patience [of God]..?" And then we come to our proof text,"..not knowing that God’s kindness is meant to lead you to repentance?" So what is the kindness of God that is meant to lead us to repentance? Is it kind actions? No, the antecedent of the "kindness of God" is "the riches of His kindness, forbearance, and patience." In other words, Paul was saying, "The LORD is slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love, forgiving iniquity and transgression, but he will by no means clear the guilty. You who are judging unrighteously are despising and showing contempt for this gracious patience of God; the very thing which is intended to lead you to repentance."

Obviously, to use Romans 2:4 as a suggestion that a faithful Gospel witness does not speak of God's wrath or judgment but rather shows the love of God through kind actions, simply does not work. Especially when you consider the following verse, Romans 2:5, where Paul speaks of God's wrath and righteous judgment.

"But because of your hard and impenitent heart you are storing up wrath for yourself on the day of wrath when God’s righteous judgment will be revealed."

Pentecost

2010-05-18T18:35:00.000-07:00

Did you know that this evening’s sunset will begin the Feast of Pentecost? Do you even care? What do you think about when you hear the word? Do you think of speaking in tongues, the birth of Christianity, the giving of the Holy Spirit, or maybe even a Christian denomination? While all or some of these things might come to mind when considering Pentecost there is likely far more to this event than most Christians realize.

Pentecost or Shavuot^[1] in Hebrew is the 3500 year old festival which celebrates the spring wheat harvest in the Land of Israel. This holy day falls on the 50th day after the first day of Passover (Lev. 23:15-16) and is the day when the first fruits of the wheat harvest were offered to God (Lev 23:7). Beyond Pentecost’s clear agricultural importance the feast also took on a historical significance. Because this feast falls on the third month of the Hebrew calendar and coincides with the period that the Law was received (Ex 19:1) the Harvest also came to be a time for commemorating the giving of the Law at Mount Sinai.^[2]

This historic understanding of the Feast of Pentecost can be seen in the portions of the Torah and Prophets which are read by every observant Jew in synagogues all over the world on Pentecost. It has been the practice of the Jews to read a portion^[3] of the Torah and the Prophets publicly and aloud on every Sabbath and on every holy day since before the coming of the Messiah. The potions which are read on the first day of Pentecost are Exodus 19-20 and Ezekiel 1-2.

With that background in mind let us take a look at Acts 2.

When the day of Pentecost arrived, they were all together in one place.

Most assume that the primary reason for the 120 disciples gathering for prayer was in obedience to Jesus’ command that came in the previous week. (Acts 1:8) While this certainly is true it must not be overlooked that these disciples were observant Jews who would have gathered together specifically for the celebration of the Harvest. It is precisely because these Messianic believers were devout that we must assume that they also read the traditional reading portions for this holy day.

And suddenly there came from heaven a sound like a mighty rushing wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. And divided tongue as of fire appeared to them and rested on each one of them.

Consider now what every faithful Jew in Jerusalem would have been listening to as the Scriptures were read that morning of Pentecost.

Exodus 19:16-19

On the morning of the third day there were thunders and lightnings and a thick cloud on the mountain and a very loud trumpet blast, so that all the people in the camp trembled. Then Moses brought the people out of the camp to meet God, and they took their stand at the foot of the mountain. Now Mount Sinai was wrapped in smoke because the LORD had descended on it in fire. And the smoke of it went up like the smoke of a kiln, and the whole mountain trembled greatly and as the sound of the trumpet grew louder and louder, Moses spoke, and God answered him in thunder.^[4]

Ezekiel 1:1, 4, 26-28

In the thirtieth year, in the fourth month, on the fifth day of the month, as I was among the exiles by the Chebar canal, the heavens were opened, and I saw visions of God. As I looked, behold, a stormy wind came out of the north, and a great cloud, with brightness around it, and fire flashing forth continually, and in the midst of the fire, as it were gleaming metal. And above the expanse over their heads there was the likeness of a throne, in appearance like sapphire; and seated above the likeness of a throne was a likeness with a human appearance. And upward from what had the appearance of his waist I saw as it were gleaming metal, like the appearance of fire enclosed all around. And downward from what had the appearance of his waist I saw as it were the appearance of fire, and there was brightness around him. Like the appearance of the bow that is in the cloud on the day of rain, so was the appearance of the brightness all around. Such was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the LORD. And when I saw it, I fell on my face, and I heard the voice of one speaking.

Notice that both of these passages closely parallel the manifestations of the Spirit coming upon the 120 who were assembled in the upper room.^[5] Both passages indicate that the coming of God’s presence was accompanied by fire and with great power and with the sound of the blast of a trumpet and wind.

Acts 2:15 tells us that this manifestation of the Spirit of God happened during the third hour (9 o’clock). This would have been precisely the time when thousands of Jewish worshipers would have filled the streets having just left Temple after the morning service. Consider that these Jews would have also just listened to and meditated upon the traditional reading portions out of the Torah and Prophets.

And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit…

It should be stated that regeneration or the Spirit of God opening the hearts of men occurred no differently prior to the coming of the Messiah than it does now after. (Rom 4:1-3) What makes this a hard pill to swallow for many is a misunderstanding of what happened in Acts 2. Luke, in writing Acts, seems to point to the Spirit's presence as an endowment of power by the Spirit and not the inauguration of a new salvation paradigm (Acts 1:8, 6:8, 10:38)^[6]; though we do recognize that it was at this time that God was making His people His Temple.

What we see happening here with the giving of the Spirit in Acts 2 is different than what we see in the Old. Under the old covenant this anointing of God’s Spirit was given very rarely, sometimes temporarily, and for the most part to the kings of Israel and the prophets. They were given the Spirit so that they might rule their kingdom, prophesy, and perform miracles; something not everyone enjoyed. With the coming of the Spirit in Acts everyone was given the Spirit of Holiness and endowed with power to proclaim the Gospel. Consider this event parallel to and typified in what we read in Numbers 11:16-30 where God took a portion of His Spirit from Moses and dispersed it amongst 70 appointed elders. In the same way, I think it could be argued that after Jesus had ascended to His Father He sent the fullness of the Spirit that rested upon Him and dispersed it amongst His people on Pentecost.^[7]

…and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance. Now there were dwelling in Jerusalem Jews, devout men from every nation under heaven. And at this sound the multitude came together, and they were bewildered, because each one was hearing them speak in his own language. And they were amazed and astonished, saying, "Are not all these who are speaking Galileans? And how is it that we hear, each of us in his own native language?

This miraculous event amounts to a reversal of what happened in Genesis 11 at the Tower of Babel. At Babel the people had unified in rebellion against God so He divided their tongues. Here God enabled people whose different languages had separated them to understand each other praising God, which is the proper use of unity.^[8]

With many other words he warned them; and he pleaded with them, "Save yourselves from this corrupt generation." Those who accepted his message were baptized, and about three thousand were added to their number that day.

The three thousand that were saved on the day of Pentecost is contrasted against the three thousand who were killed on the day that Moses descended Mount Sinai with the Law and found the Children of Israel worshiping the golden calf.

This, of course, was not the first time that such a spectacular manifestation of God’s glory had occurred in Jerusalem.^[9] Second Chronicles gives us the story of when another 120 men were assembled in Jerusalem and God manifest His presence before His people. After Solomon had completed the building of his Temple he gathered the people together for its dedication.

2 Chronicles 5:11-14

And when the priests came out of the Holy Place (for all the priests who were present had consecrated themselves, without regard to their divisions, and all the Levitical singers, Asaph, Heman, and Jeduthun, their sons and kinsmen, arrayed in fine linen, with cymbals, harps, and lyres, stood east of the altar with 120 priests who were trumpeters; and it was the duty of the trumpeters and singers to make themselves heard in unison in praise and thanksgiving to the LORD), and when the song was raised, with trumpets and cymbals and other musical instruments, in praise to the LORD, "For he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever," the house, the house of the LORD, was filled with a cloud, so that the priests could not stand to minister because of the cloud, for the glory of the LORD filled the house of God.

That a parallel exists between the Acts 2 narrative and the one found in 2 Chronicles is not surprising. I believe that the 120 disciples^[10] present at the coming of the Spirit in Acts are intended to point us back to the 120 priests present at the dedication of the Temple. Further, I believe that this points to the earlier, 2 Chronicles, event as being a type of the future indwelling presence of God in the hearts of men. The message is clear. The believer has become the New Temple of the LORD. We have become the Dwelling Place of the Dwelling Presence of God.

In conclusion, Pentecost represents far more than most people understand. In fact, Colossians 2:16-17 tells us that the substance of Pentecost is Jesus. It is all about Him. We read in Acts 2 that we were given the first fruits of our inheritance in the Holy Spirit; the escrow payment securing our future salvation. We also see the first fruits of the Harvest gathered into the Body of Christ on Pentecost. In Exodus we find that the Law was written on tablets of stone, in Acts we realize the fulfillment of the New Covenant by the Spirit writing the Law upon the hearts of men. At Pentecost we caught a glimpse of the future Kingdom when the languages that now separate us are finally reunited in praise to our God. With the coming and the gift of the Holy Spirit we find that God’s glory no longer dwells in a temple made with hands but in the temple of the hearts of His people. And finally, we understand that where God would not allow the Children of Israel to approach the mountain because His glory rested upon it has now, through the work of His Son and the power of His Spirit, made a way for His glory to come and rest upon us.

Endnotes:

[1] – Shavuot, “The Feast of Weeks”, Yom-HaBikkurim (“Day of the First fruits”, Numbers 28:26), Chag- HaKatzir (“Feast of the Harvest” Exodus 23:16)

[2] – Matan Torah

[3] – http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Torah_reading

[4] – וְהָאֱלֹהִ֖ים יַעֲנֶ֥נּוּ בְקֽוֹל׃ - and God answered him by a voice.

[5] – Acts 2:5-6 suggests that the 120 may have been gathered in a house located in close proximity to the Temple, if not in the Temple's court itself. That 3000 were saved by the preaching of Peter suggests a much larger crowd was present to hear his message and that a larger area for such an assembly of hearers would be necessary to accommodate the crowd.

[6] – Fee, Stuart, How to Read the Bible For All Its Worth, pg. 96

[7] – We see additional significance in Numbers 11 because it would appear that Moses prophesies, in verse 29, that the Spirit of God would not be limited to the 70, or to him alone, but would one day be poured out upon all flesh. This is further anticipated in the prophecy of Joel 2, which is quoted by Peter on Pentecost. We also see some significance in the number of elders that were given this disbursement of empowerment by the Spirit. You will note that the number 70 is indicative of the Nations. Genesis 10-11 lists 70 fathers of Nations that were scattered throughout the earth after God confused the languages at Babel. So again, we see the theme of God’s Spirit being poured out upon all men, not just Israel, and we once again see a connection to the reversal of the confusion of the languages.

[8] – Stern, David, Jewish New Testament Commentary, pg. 222

[9] – We see a very clear movement of God’s presence throughout the Biblical narrative. In the Garden we see the Creator walking with His son Adam until Adam breaks Covenant with his God by eating the fruit. God casts Adam from His presence.

Many years later we see the glorious presence of God moving earthward from Heaven and resting upon Sinai. (Ex. 19) God commands the Children of Israel to keep away from the mountain lest they be killed. After the giving of the Law and the acceptance of the Mosaic Covenant God moves his glory from the mountain and into the Tabernacle so that He might dwell among His people.

We see God’s glory in motion once again many years after the Hebrews entered the Land of Promise when King David decides to build a permanent structure for the LORD. David was not able to complete the Temple because of the blood he had spilled but he was able to finance it for his son Solomon. It was at the completion and dedication of the Temple that we see the presence of God making His home in the Holy of Holies. (2 Chr. 5) Unfortunately because of Israel’s disobedience God forsakes the Temple and we see His glory leaving Jerusalem just before the Babylonian captivity. (Ez. 10)

Finally we see God’s glory returning to Jerusalem but in a much more remarkable way. God still came with fire and wind, just as he had done before, but rather than entering the Holy of Holies as He had in the Tabernacle and Temple, He instead takes up His residence within the bodies of the believers gathered there that day.

[10] Interestingly, the 10 Commandments are made up of 120 Hebrew words. At Sinai, on the inaugural Pentecost, there are 120 words testifying of the Law of God. On Pentecost, the anniversary celebration of the giving of the Law, we have 120 disciples testifying of the Grace of God in many languages.

It’s not all that Hard to Understand Hardening

2010-04-26T21:24:00.000-07:00

It has almost been 1600 years since the Pelagian controversy was settled, yet the same questions still seem to arise. Does man have free will? Or, does God impose His will upon men? To understand and answer these questions we must consider closely the story of the Exodus. However, as you will soon discover, as we begin to examine these Scriptures we quickly note quite a few apparent contradictions. Consider the following verses complied by Rick Appelton of Wretched Radio.

God hardened Pharaoh's heart

1. Exodus 4:21 The LORD said to Moses, "When you return to Egypt, see that you perform before Pharaoh all the wonders I have given you the power to do. But I will harden his heart so that he will not let the people go.

2. Exodus 7:3 But I will harden Pharaoh's heart, and though I multiply my miraculous signs and wonders in Egypt.

3. Exodus 9:12 But the LORD hardened Pharaoh's heart and he would not listen to Moses and Aaron, just as the LORD had said to Moses.

4. Exodus 10:1 Then the LORD said to Moses, "Go to Pharaoh, for I have hardened his heart and the hearts of his officials so that I may perform these miraculous signs of mine among them.

5. Exodus 10:20 But the LORD hardened Pharaoh's heart, and he would not let the Israelites go.

6. Exodus 10:27 But the LORD hardened Pharaoh's heart, and he was not willing to let them go.

7. Exodus 11:10 Moses and Aaron performed all these wonders before Pharaoh, but the LORD hardened Pharaoh's heart, and he would not let the Israelites go out of his country.

8. Exodus 14:4 And I will harden Pharaoh's heart, and he will pursue them. But I will gain glory for myself through Pharaoh and all his army, and the Egyptians will know that I am the LORD." So the Israelites did this.

9. Exodus 14:8 The LORD hardened the heart of Pharaoh king of Egypt, so that he pursued the Israelites, who were marching out boldly.

10. Exodus 14:17 I will harden the hearts of the Egyptians so that they will go in after them. And I will gain glory through Pharaoh and all his army, through his chariots and his horsemen.

11.Joshua 11:20 For it was the LORD himself who hardened their hearts to wage war against Israel, so that he might destroy them totally, exterminating them without mercy, as the LORD had commanded Moses.

Pharaoh hardened his own heart

1. Exodus 8:15 But when Pharaoh saw that there was relief, he hardened his heart and would not listen to Moses and Aaron, just as the LORD had said.

2. Exodus 8:32 But this time also Pharaoh hardened his heart and would not let the people go.

3. Exodus 9:34 When Pharaoh saw that the rain and hail and thunder had stopped, he sinned again: He and his officials hardened their hearts.

4. 1 Samuel 6:6 Why do you harden your hearts as the Egyptians and Pharaoh did? When he treated them harshly, did they not send the Israelites out so they could go on their way?

Pharaoh's heart became hard

1. Exodus 7:13 Yet Pharaoh's heart became hard and he would not listen to them, just as the LORD had said.

2. Exodus 7:22 But the Egyptian magicians did the same things by their secret arts, and Pharaoh's heart became hard; he would not listen to Moses and Aaron, just as the LORD had said.

Pharaoh's heart was hard

1. Exodus 8:19 The magicians said to Pharaoh, "This is the finger of God." But Pharaoh's heart was hard and he would not listen, just as the LORD had said.

2. Exodus 9:35 So Pharaoh's heart was hard and he would not let the Israelites go, just as the LORD had said through Moses
.
So what’s the story; what’s going on here? Does Pharaoh harden his own heart or does God harden it for him? We have some verses which say Pharaoh is to be blamed for his hardening and others which say God is responsible. So which is it?

The answer, without contradiction, is both.

The reason why we might conclude that there is a problem in the Exodus account is because we sometimes act like the Bible was written in English, when of course it was not. So the first step in figuring out this mystery is to look at these verses in their original Hebrew? Let’s see what we find. Consider the following two seemingly contradictory passages, Exodus 8:15 and Exodus 4:21.

Exodus 8:15 “But when Pharaoh saw that there was relief, he hardened his heart and would not listen to Moses and Aaron, just as the LORD had said."

The word translated in English as “hardened” in Exodus 8:15 is the Hebrew word kabad, which means:

1. to make heavy
2. to make heavy, make dull, make unresponsive
3. to cause to be honored

Exodus 4:21 The LORD said to Moses, "When you return to Egypt, see that you perform before Pharaoh all the wonders I have given you the power to do. But I will harden his heart so that he will not let the people go.

And the word translated as “harden” in Exodus 4:21 is the Hebrew word chazaq, which means:

1. to make strong
2. to restore to strength, give strength
3. to strengthen, sustain, encourage
4. to make strong, make bold, encourage
5. to make firm
6. to make rigid, make hard

What we notice then is that when Pharaoh is the source of the hardening, the word kabad is used. And when God is the source of the hardening, the word chazaq is used.

Here then is what we learn from this simple exercise:

Pharaoh’s rebellion was the result of his own wicked heart which he made unresponsive and heavy (kabad) against the Prophet, the Hebrew slaves, and the God of Israel. This was of course according to the plan of God, because as we read in Exodus 7:1-5, God desired that He might deliver His people with great power and by great acts of judgment, so that all of Egypt would know that YHWH is the LORD. In Exodus 14 we see something interesting take place. Pharaoh had finally relented and released the Children of Israel from their slavery when suddenly he experiences a change of heart. Verse 4 gives us the reason for that change. God says, “I will strengthen and encourage (chazaq) Pharaoh’s heart, and he will pursue them...” He did indeed and we know the rest of the story.

What we discover is that Pharaoh hardened his own heart against God, but whenever he was ready to give up, God gave him strength to continue in his rebellion. It’s like God had Pharaoh in the boxing ring and was battering him around until Pharaoh hit the mat. 5..6..7..8..9..and just before the 10 count was up God picked Pharaoh up off the ground, walked him to his corner, gave him a drink of water, and a pep talk. “You’re not quitting on me yet Pharaoh! We are going the distance, all 10 rounds!” You see, God not only wanted the knock-out but He also wanted the points. In Exodus 11:9 God said, ”Pharaoh will not listen to you, that my wonders may be multiplied in the land of Egypt.” That is exactly what happened isn’t it? God encouraged Pharaoh to stay in the fight so that He might beat him silly until the end of 10th and make His name famous in the entire world.

The reason that these “hardening” passages are so controversial is that those who deny that God would harden a man’s heart errantly believe that God’s participation in such an act would both implicate Him in that man’s wickedness and cause Him to violate that man’s free will. Neither is the case. As we have seen, God merely strengthens the already hardened heart so that wicked men might act, according to their free will, in such a way as to bring about the ends which God has decreed. He, therefore, takes no part in their sins nor does He violate their will to choose exactly what their wretched hearts already desire. Namely, continued rebellion against God.

Solus Libri - The 6th Sola

2010-04-23T19:18:00.000-07:00

This is my final post in this series of responses to my not-yet-continuationalist brethren who dismiss the possibility that God spoke to and led James King through an alligator infested swamp.

Over the past week since making my position known on this topic I have received a couple comments/questions regarding specific passages in the Bible, which at first glance would seem to refute the continuationalist position that the gift of prophecy is ongoing. They are Proverbs 30 and Revelation 22.

Proverbs 30:5-6

"Every word of God is flawless; he is a shield to those who take refuge in him. Do not add to his words, or he will rebuke you and prove you a liar.”

Revelation 22:18-19

For I testify to everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: If anyone adds to these things, God will add to him the plagues that are written in this book; and if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part from the Book of Life, from the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book.

The argument which is being made by the presentation of these verses is plain. If one claims to have received a revelation from the Lord in 2010, and subsequently after the closing of the Canon, then the one who pronounces such a word is “a liar”. These prophets, “so called”, by their prophecies have added to the Scripture and will soon find themselves rebuked and the recipients of every plague contained in the Bible.

Is this true? Is this what the authors intended us to understand from their statements? Let’s see.

Proverbs 30:5-6

The first thing that pops into my head as I consider the argument is this; if the author intended his readers to understand that there would be no more prophetic revelation then how is it that the Sons of Israel ever accepted another Prophet of God? If Agur, being carried along by the Holy Spirit, meant that anything beyond what He was writing was an addition to God’s Word how did the people of God receive the remaining Old Covenant Scriptures, or the New for that matter? Obviously, that was not what he meant; otherwise John would have never dared record the Revelation for us. So what did he intend for us to understand?

Revelation 22:18-19

The reason that this verse is offered as a refuting text is essentially no different than that found in the Proverbs passage. However, because this portion lies at the end of the last book in our Bible it is presumed by those presenting it that their argument is strengthened. Not so. Again one must simply ask the question, “Is this what the author intended for his audience to understand?” What do you think? Did the Apostle intend for his readers to dismiss the Spirit empowering grace of the prophetic gift when he wrote these words down? Are we to believe that John was speaking to any Scripture outside what he was immediately writing? Was he announcing the end of prophecy at this point in his letter; did he even understand that there was a New Testament Canon or that he was closing it? If not what was John endeavoring to communicate?

The Key is Systematic

So what did they mean? If we are to properly understand these passages two things must happen. First, we must not isolate these verses from their context and import our own ideas into the reading. This is what was corrected above when we looked at the passages separately and examined their authorial intent. Second, we must scour the Bible and search for similar declarations to determine whether a system of interpretation is developed. So, let’s take a look at the rest of the inspired Testimony and see what we find.

Deuteronomy 4:2

“You shall not add to the word that I command you, nor take from it, that you may keep the commandments of the LORD your God that I command you.”

Deuteronomy 12:32

"Everything that I command you, you shall be careful to do. You shall not add to it or take from it.”

Galatians 1:6-9

I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting him who called you in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel— not that there is another one, but there are some who trouble you and want to distort the gospel of Christ. But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach to you a gospel contrary to the one we preached to you, let him be accursed. As we have said before, so now I say again: If anyone is preaching to you a gospel contrary to the one you received, let him be accursed.

When we look at these three passages and compare them with Proverbs 30 and Revelation 22 we immediately see the similarities. The portions from Deuteronomy both declare “You shall not add, nor take away” and “You shall not add to it or take from it.” And we see a commonality between the Galatians passage and Revelation 22 as well. Namely, that a curse is upon anyone who alters the message that was delivered. What else do we see? We discover the object which we are forbidden to modify, the commands of God.

So, what Moses was intending for us to understand was that men should not add to or subtract from what God has already commanded. He was not at all concerned about what God may add, by way of prophecy, in the future. No, his principle concern was that the Children of Israel remain obedient to God’s Law alone. He was warning the people to not heap man made commandments upon what God had already established, as the Pharisees would one day do, and not to subtract from what God had commanded and attempt obedience apart from faith.
Let’s now return to the texts in question and ask ourselves why the authors might have included “do not add or subtract”.

Proverbs 30: I believe that Agur was doing nothing more than quoting Moses’ sermon in his Proverb. It’s interesting, don’t you think, that cessationists run to this passage and completely ignore both Deuteronomy 4 and Deuteronomy 12. Why are they not offered as refuting texts against modern day prophecy? The reason they do this is because it is not possible to proof-text Moses like they do Agur. The reason they make their eisegetical mistake is that they are not reading the passage systematically or in the original Hebrew.

"Every word of God is flawless; he is a shield to those who take refuge in him. Do not add to his words, or he will rebuke you and prove you a liar.”

The word translated as “words” in Proverbs 30:5-6 is dabar. This is the same Hebrew word which is translated as “commandments” in Deuteronomy 4:2. Which means, we may also render Proverbs 30:5 in this way, “Do not add to his commandments, or he will rebuke you and prove you a liar.” Reading Proverbs 30 that way makes it impossible to import the meaning that it is typically given when dabar is translated as “words”. When Proverbs 30 is approached without its context and without an understanding of the original language the uninformed reader imports “Word” (Bible), in place of “words” and error is introduced.

Revelation 22: I believe that the same thing holds true for John’s usage of Deuteronomy as it does for Agur’s. He was quoting Moses. However, given the literary genre which John was writing in makes this Mosaic quote far more powerful and significant. In the wisdom literature Agur was merely quoting Moses but John was establishing that his testimony was equal with Moses’ testimony. In other words, John was declaring his writing Holy Scripture.

So you see, these passages, Proverbs 30 and Revelation 22, may not be used as a polemic against those who prophecy today, that is unless by their prophecy they are adding new meaning to the Scripture. What is ironic about this whole misapplication of Scripture is that those who misinterpret the “don’t add or subtract” passages find themselves far closer to violating this command than those who they are attempting to correct.

Solus Libri - The 6th Sola

Most are aware of the 5 Solas which were a product of the Protestant Reformation. They are Sola scriptura ("by Scripture alone"), Sola fide ("by faith alone"), Sola gratia ("by grace alone"), Solus Christus ("Christ alone"), and Soli Deo gloria ("glory to God alone"). The 6th Sola (which I have just coined) on the other hand is not a product of the Reformation but of those who allow their tradition to interpret the text. Their mishandling of the Doctrine of Sufficiency has unfortunately led them down a path of rejecting the Gifts of the Spirit and believing that the revelation of God is limited to paper and ink.

By the way, Solus Libri, in case you were wondering means (“by a Book alone”)

You Can’t Have Your Cake and Eat it Too

2010-04-20T19:33:00.000-07:00

I’ve been thinking a lot about my latest blog entry since posting it last night. Specifically about those who would reject the continuationalist position yet are willing to say that it might be possible that God may have actually spoken to James King.

Check out the following video for an example of what I am talking about; pay particular attention to 2:31 – 2:44.

Notice that the host, Todd Friel, is quick to say that “[God’s] revelation to us is done. We don’t get that type of revelation anymore.” in one breathe and in the next asks, “Could it have happened?” Does that sound right to you; is Todd’s question in keeping with his previous statements? Either Todd misspoke or he is unaware that his question is inconsistent with his position on Biblical Sufficiency. I tend to think he meant what he said because of comments he made earlier on the Wretched Radio program. Listen here.

Todd goes on to respond to his own question, ”Of course God could have...” but qualifies his answer by pointing out that God speaking to men in this age would “absolutely” and “positively” not be normative.

Clearly, the problem with this position is that if it could be demonstrated that we have evidence of even one instance of extra-biblical revelation, this side of the closing of the canon, then the door to the contuationalist position is flung wide open and Todd’s position is defeated. Whether that revelatory communication is normative or not makes no difference, Todd’s stance cannot afford for it to happen even once. So, Mr. Friel is left with a decision, he must either demand that God did not speak to James King or he must reassess both his view of Sufficiency and pneumatology.

Does James King Trump the King James?

2010-04-19T21:35:00.000-07:00

What an amazing story of a miraculous rescue! While every Christian celebrates Nadia Bloom’s rescue there are many within the evangelical world who have their doubts about what James King allegedly heard or experienced this past week in that Florida swamp.

According to Mr. King, in an interview with Meredith Vieira on the Today television program, Nadia’s rescue was the direct result of his hearing and response to the voice of the Almighty.

“It was very rough. I was prepared. I’ve been in swamps,” said King, who took a GPS device, two cell phones, a Bible, a machete, water, trail mix and a nutrition drink with him. “The Lord told me to follow where the sunrise was, so I went directly east — as much as you can go direct in a swamp.

“I would call, ‘Nadia?!’ and then I’d be praying and talking to the Lord, and the Lord would be directing me. And then one time I said, ‘Nadia?’ and I heard, ‘What?’”

As of this writing I have yet to hear or read an interview in which Mr. King explains exactly how he was “told” to find 11 year-old Nadia. Was it a feeling, a prompting, did he have a vision, or did he actually hear the audible voice of God? These are questions that are yet to be answered. Ultimately his explanation of the method of communication would be inconsequential. For no matter how Mr. King explains it people will still ask, “Did it really happen?” and “Does God speak to people today and does He speak outside of His Word?”

Those who would answer, “No, it did not happen.” and “No, God does not do that.” mount their defenses in the stronghold of the Doctrine of Sufficiency and find their support in the Holy Scriptures. Most often the verses that are used as a proof for this position are 2 Timothy 3:16-17.

All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be competent, equipped for every good work.

The argument that is offered is as follows: If the inspired Scriptures are profitable for every good work, as Paul tells Timothy, then there is no longer any need for God to speak outside of them; since we now have the Scriptures in their entirety they and they alone are all that is needed to make one wise for salvation and righteous living.

So how do those who hold this position, that the closing of the Canon of Scripture silenced God’s voice, respond to stories like this most recent one? I suppose that one might get a hundred different answers from a hundred people asked, anything from “King is delusional!” to “He was listening to a demon.” but there is one answer (which may assume delusion or the demonic) that I hear quite frequently when this topic comes up and it is this specific objection that I would like to address. Invariably, whenever someone claims to have received a message from God, whether it was an audible voice or they simply felt His leading, a skeptic somewhere down the line will inevitably and sarcastically object, “Well, if you heard God speak then you had better write it down and staple it to the back of Revelation.” The point of the remark, of course, is that if God is still speaking to men today then the Canon of Scripture remains open. That is, at least according to their rendering of 2 Timothy 3:16-17.

So, is this true? Does James King’s claim that God communicated with him directly and outside of the Bible contradict the Doctrine of Sufficiency? I don’t think it does.

What I think is often missed when approaching this topic is that not all things that are received by direct revelation carry equal theological weight. One revelation may bear immense theological significance while another may carry little to none whatsoever. Those revelations which carry the most weight I will call inspired Scripture; they are in a class all by themselves and are no longer given. Those revelations which carry less theological weight could be thought of as a reiteration of Scripture or an expression of a scriptural principle that is encouraging or exhortative in nature. These revelations, I believe, are ongoing and given by the Spirit of Christ, however, they will never present novel theology. Those revelations which are non theological could be considered strategic for one’s personal affairs or for corporate direction. Therefore, (leaving Scripture out of the equation) not all revelation is necessary for the Church Universal.

I believe that the faulty logic of the cessationist’s accusation, that prophecy violates Sola Scriptura, may be demonstrated in a couple of ways. First, we do not have all prophecy ever delivered. Why not? If all divine revelation is to be inscripturated then what does one do with those prophecies that were never written down? And second, we see that some prophecy contained in Scripture was personally specific and strategic in nature; these revelations were intended for one or two people and held no bearing on the rest of the Church.

First Objection:

If all “alleged” prophecies which are delivered in this age must be considered on a level playing field with inspired Scripture, as the cessationist flippantly argues, then what is one to do about the possibility of the many thousands of unrecorded prophecies that were received in ages past and which are assumed by an examination of Scripture? I believe that these are questions that the cessationist must answer. Let me explain, we know for instance that there were numerous prophets both named and unnamed in the Old and New Covenant Scriptures yet we have no record of what they actually prophesied. Here are a few examples: There were 70 elders assembled about the Tabernacle in Numbers 11, what did they prophesy? How about Saul, what utterance did he give as he prophesied amongst a group of prophets at Gibeah in 1 Samuel 10? What did those prophets with whom Saul was assembled say? What about Agabus, what did he prophesy outside of what was recorded by Luke? What about Philip the Evangelist's four daughters who prophesied, what did they share and why do we not have any record of their divine revelation? Or what of all the prophecies that were received by those in the 1st Century church before the Canon was closed? Certainly there was divine revelation given to those prophets who were given to the Church and distributed throughout the Body of Christ? So you see, the person who argues that every revelation or prophesy given by God today must be canonized has to account for a thousand revelations that were not recorded yesterday.

Second Objection:

Not all prophetic utterances that we see in Scripture are theological. For instance, what were the theological implications from Agabus' prophecy that there would be a famine in the Roman Empire? How did such a strategic revelation of a famine confirm or expand previous understanding of established doctrine? What about Agabus’ prophecy that Paul would be arrested in Jerusalem? What does that revelation have to do with me living in Tacoma, Washington today? Nothing…it has nothing at all to do with me. These prophecies, while they inform our theology on how the Spirit dealt with and directed the burgeoning Church, contain no theology themselves and are relevant only to those who received them. While one never wishes to argue from what is not written, it is hard to imagine that these prophecies recorded in Acts are all that were ever received by those who were given a prophetic grace.

Okay, considering all that I have written about unaccounted for prophecies, revelation of varying theological degree, and utterances of a strategic nature one needs only to ask themselves if there is room in their Doctrine of Sufficiency for the presence of God’s extra-biblical voice today. I think that it is clear that God speaking to men today, no matter the form of communication, does not encroach upon the sufficiency of God’s Word. We absolutely have everything we need for life and godliness in the Bible. However, it remains the prerogative of the Spirit to speak to whom He wishes to speak, when He wishes to say it, how He decides to deliver it, and to do it without contradiction.

It is for these reasons that I absolutely believe that God responded to James King’s request to direct him to Nadia Bloom. If you disagree and you believe that 2 Timothy 3:16-17 limits God’s children to receiving absolutely everything we need from the Bible, then I’d like to know which verse you might have chosen to navigate that swamp?

What is a Missionary?

2010-03-24T13:01:00.000-07:00

What do you think about when you hear the word missionary? My idea of what a missionary is was greatly influenced by the small Baptist Church that I grew up in. What usually pops into my head when I think about missionaries are the global map and missionary postcards that hung on the back wall of the sanctuary and the eccentric and awkward looking men in cheap three piece suits who would come and show us a slide show of a far off land; usually consisting of a picture showing a tinned roof single room cinderblock church with a small group of indigenous people wearing cheap three piece suits and holding their Bibles. We would hear of all the successes and struggles that they had celebrated and endured; all of the baptisms and all of the disease. And after all the stories were shared the pastor would ask the congregation to take up a love offering and visit the missionary’s table after the service was over. So for me a missionary was someone who was super excited about telling foreign peoples about Jesus, had no money, worked really hard, lived without A/C, and had a lot of kids. They were people I could not identify with and they lived a calling that I prayed I would never receive.

I was curious about what others might think about when they hear the word “missionary” so I posted a question on Facebook to see what I might get. Here are a few of the responses I received:

* A person commissioned to take the Gospel of Jesus Christ to another culture.

* Christians who suffer persecution, at the hands of those who do not want to hear the good news of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

* Someone who serves unconditionally and loves without being judgmental. Sometimes you have to leave the place you love and travel to places you never imagined.

I believe that we, in the contemporary church, need to reexamine this word “missionary”. Many errantly believe that "missionary" is a title that is found in the Scriptures, when actually the word was unknown before 1598 when the Jesuits sent members of their priesthood abroad. If we examine the etymology of the word we understand why it was used; “Missionary” is derived from the Latin word missio, meaning "act of sending" or mittere, meaning "to send". Now to be fair the concept of one who is sent is found in the Greek word apostolos, which means “a delegate, messenger, one sent forth with orders.”, and there is of course an office within the Church called Apostle. However, I do not believe that this apostolic office and our modern idea of a missionary are synonymous. I believe what we have done is inadvertently taken this relatively new word, missionary, and invented a new office within the Church. The title or position of missionary is not a bad one in and of itself but what has unfortunately occurred as a result of the position is that it has created an environment within our churches that tells the average congregant that it is an elite and radical people, called missionaries, who “Go” and that to be a person who is on mission you must travel to another continent and assume a foreign culture.

Now it may appear that I am splitting hairs here in my explanation of what a missionary is but I believe that words are very important and they do inform how we think. Most Christians today, especially those in the West, no longer understand the Church to be an apostolic entity and they certainly do not believe that they themselves have been sent. So I propose if we are to use this term “missionary” may it be used in such a way that every Christian understands that they too have been sent. Their mission and the people group to whom they have been called may only be across the street but it is missionary work none the less. Some may be blessed with an extra measure of grace to take the Gospel farther and make greater sacrifices for the sake of the mission but this should not elevate their work above another’s. Let it be understood, there is no such office within the Church called "missionary". It is we, the gathered ones of God, collectively who are on mission. We are one body with many parts all participating in the sweeping expansion of God's Kingdom to bring all peoples into obedience to the Gospel of Christ. We are a Missional Church!

Saved Unto Something

2010-02-25T06:55:00.000-08:00

Sermon by Josh Elsom; Ephesians 2 from Vic Napelenok on Vimeo.

Sermon preached January 31st, 2010 at Spring of Life Church in Mukeltio, WA.

James White v. Dan Barker

2009-10-07T20:09:00.000-07:00

Copied from Last Words Radio.

Dr. James White debated Dan Barker on the “Jesus Myth” answering the question about Jesus being a mashup of pagan myths. Read their article here. Or, watch the full video here. Our own Josh Elsom had the privilege of interviewing James White before the debate and you can listen to it here.

Here are Josh’s thoughts after the interview and debate.

At the beginning of Dan Barker's opening statement I leaned over to Paul Kaiser and said,"Man this stuff just does not sound that convincing, I think I could argue against this." Then the knots he was tying progressively got more complicated. He gave a lot of quotes from historical texts that seem to present a pretty parallel story to Jesus. So at the surface it seemed rather convincing. At this point I leaned over to Paul and said that I was glad to be sitting down here and not in Dr. White's seat.

It was when Dr. White got to the cross examination that the claims of Dan came clear to me. Dan's position was this:

We have a lot of stories that are very similar to the Gospel account therefore the probability that the Jesus story was authentic,unique, and original goes way down. Dan admitted that this was not empirical proof that the Gospels were fabricated but the odds are really stacked against it being true.

This is what I gleaned from Dr. White's presentation:

That there are similarities in the story prove nothing and is not surprising. Every religion purposes to answer the BIG questions of Life. Where did I come from? What am I here for? and What will happen to me when I die? Therefore there is bound to be similarity in the stories. e.g. There is a creator that transcends what he/she created. There is some level of accountability/ethic that is owed to that creator. There is some version of Heaven, Nirvana, Valhalla, crossing the Styx or Hell, Hades, Tartaros, etc.

While some of the myths precede the time of Jesus, most often the close parallelism that Dan was suggesting did not happen until some time after the spread of Christianity.

The myths that seem to have parallel storylines are often not nearly as close as suggested upon deeper study. Unbelievers will find a theme, in the Bible, Jesus' resurrection for instance, then go to the myth and try and shoehorn that theme into it. Then they will clothe the myth with Christian terminology and say,"See, Mithra rose from the dead too."

The NT Gospels are not written in the same way as the alleged parallel myths. It is written as investigated historical fact, Luke and Acts in particular.

There is no way that Mark could have written and convinced a bunch of devout Jews that their Messiah was Jesus using a bunch of recycled pagan myths.

Here are some objections that I raised in my own head:

We have external confirmation that the Jesus story is true while the others do not. There were over 500 people that witnessed the resurrected Jesus. No one can provide any evidence to substantiate the life or existence of any of the other gods.

Jesus fulfilled hundreds of prophecies that were centuries older than the myths that have supposed parallels to Jesus' story. So Jesus' story was written far before He was born in Bethlehem.

This is a question that I wrote and which was selected and asked in the audience question segment of the debate:

We have thousands of Flood myths from all over the world from every conceivable people group; using your logic on probabilities wouldn't the parallelism of these myths increase the likelihood that a global flood actually occurred?

I found Dan Barker to be condescending, disrespectful and disingenuous. He made repeated insults against Jesus and the Faith, he violated the rules of the debate, and he made claims about Christianity that he absolutely must know are not true. Being that he grew up in church and studied the Bible there is no way he could honestly misrepresent what we believe in such a gross way. He did not seem interested in convincing any of us Christians that we were wrong, rather it appeared to me that he was far more interested in reaffirming the unbelief of the atheists that were present

Thanks, Josh, for a great contribution to the show!

We Read the Bible . . . You Can Too!

2009-09-30T17:19:00.000-07:00

Copied from LifeAction.org

I've made many attempts to have a faithful devotional life, but they were always short-lived. I suppose I expected the discipline of Bible study to be easy for a Christian. When it was difficult and overwhelming for me, I felt discouraged and defeated.

In the process of a family struggle, I cried out to God for help, and He did something I wasn't expecting at all. He revived me. He placed in me a hunger to know Him more intimately, along with a deep desire to read His Word.

I was thrilled. I couldn't wait to delve into the Bible. However, there was something ironic about God's timing. I was the mother of three children under age four. God gave me this great hunger for His Word at the most hectic time of my life! Yet I was determined not to let the busyness of being a wife and mom—or my past discouragements—diminish this appetite.

So I launched into a routine of Bible reading and prayer. Unfortunately, I quickly faced those same struggles with inconsistency that had plagued me for years. But I kept trying.

I also felt an urgency to get more of God's Word into the hearts of my kids. We had just finished a children's devotional book, and I was looking for what to do next ... when an idea hit. I had two goals: I wanted to read the Bible, and I wanted my children to know God's Word. Why not do both at the same time? Why not read the entire Bible together?

My plan was simple: one chapter a day, five days a week. I shared this plan with my husband, Wes, and he provided much needed encouragement. However, after voicing the plan, I became curious to know how long it would take us to read the entire Bible. I put pencil to paper (factoring in "sick days"), and—Yikes!—my plan was going to take EIGHT YEARS!
I must admit, the idea of such a long-term commitment intimidated me, but I had a longing that would not go away. So, we began.

The first few days of reading were tricky. I was all jazzed at the prospect of reading the whole Bible. For some unknown reason, I thought my children would share my enthusiasm. Instead, while I was reading about the fall of man, they were jumping and spinning in their chairs. I felt like I was reading out loud to myself.

But God was gracious to not leave me feeling this way for long. On the fourth day, after our reading, my kids went off to play. Then I noticed what they were playing. They were acting out what we had just read—in great detail. They hadn't appeared to be listening, but they were hearing. They were hearing the Word of God. This was the boost I needed to keep going.
I soon realized that reading the Bible to children is not without some complications. Let's face it, the Bible (particularly the Old Testament) can be quite graphic. I almost panicked when my preschool kids asked, "Mom, what's a prostitute?"

Moments like that prompted me to start scanning ahead so I would know what was coming. I also came up with my own definitions for certain words—words my children needed to hear in order to understand the story but didn't necessarily need a complete definition for just yet. So, for example, a virgin is "a woman who has never been married." A prostitute is "a woman who goes from one man to another to another, instead of remaining faithful to a husband." You get the idea.

Before long, I could tell that they really were listening and getting drawn into each story. After reading about a long line of Israel's kings who did what was evil and provoked the Lord to anger, we came to the end of 1 Kings 16. Here we read about Ahab becoming king of Israel. The Bible says he did more to provoke the anger of the Lord than all the kings of Israel who were before him. When we finished reading chapter 16, I said, "Tomorrow, Elijah comes on the scene." My daughter yelled, "Yay, we need this guy!"

Not only were they following along closely with the stories, but God was increasing their capacity to understand. Once I was working hard to explain what it means to quench the Spirit. I likened it to throwing water on a fire. I was trying to come up with another illustration when I looked over at my son. He had his index finger pointing up, with the other hand covering his finger, while he was singing softly, "Hide it under a bushel, no! I'm gonna let it shine." He got it.
I shouldn't be surprised when they understand, just like I shouldn't be surprised when they want to respond to what we read. I saw this in an unusual and amusing way one morning as Wes was packing for a business trip. My son exclaimed, "While Dad's away, we should fast from sinning." Wes and I looked at each other. "Fast from what?" "From sinning," he said again, smiling. "And the reward for not sinning is donuts!"

That was the first of a series of requests he made to fast and pray. We had read accounts of people who fasted and prayed, and he was ready to participate. He wanted to obey, and that obedience was prompted by the Word of God. We did try to fast from sinning while Dad was away. (And Dad agreed to try not to sin while he was gone.) I'm not sure it was a total fast, but in the end we did enjoy the donuts.

How could I go from an inconsistent devotional life to a steady time of reading and meditating on Scripture? God used my children! He took a discipline that had been a struggle for me and made it an immeasurable joy. I am overflowing with gratitude to God for giving me this idea and for constantly fueling the desire to be in His Word.
After five years, we finished the Bible on March 19, 2007. We spent the day celebrating together as a family. The experience was more than simply maintaining a discipline; it was about getting to know God.

On March 20, 2007, we started over in Genesis. Together, we continue—one chapter and one day at a time.

Carrie Ward is a wife and mother of four. She and her husband, Wes, make their home in Niles, Michigan.

The Finest Food in Israel

2009-09-12T23:02:00.000-07:00

In John chapter 6, we read a very interesting exchange between Christ, the Jews, and his disciples. Within this exchange we read one of a few difficult teachings that Jesus delivered over the course of his ministry. This teaching found in the greater context of the Bread of Life discourse says:

"Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day.”

This proved to be a very divisive saying by Jesus. In fact, it was because of this teaching that many of Jesus’ followers left him.

Clearly in the context of John chapter 6 we see that Jesus is revealing himself to be the archetype of the Manna “come down from Heaven”. However there may be more to consider in our Savior’s statements than what we see in the immediate context.

The Priest’s Provision

The tribe of Levi was distinct from the other 11 tribes. Unlike their brothers, God said that they would have no inheritance when they arrived in Canaan; that is, they would not receive any tribal land as their own. Rather, God said that He would be their inheritance. This meant that the Levites responsibilities within the nation of Israel were a little different than the other tribes. They attended local altars, supervised cities of refuge, served as judges and educators, and were charged with the daily duties in and around the Tabernacle. Since the Levites had no land of their own and because of their differing role within the nation they were not able to provide for themselves. Therefore, the Levites lived off of the tithes, offerings, and burnt sacrifices of the other tribes. This of course meant that the priesthood was supplied with and survived on the very best provisions that the Land of Israel had to offer.

Upon first consideration the idea that anyone would dare eat the burnt sacrifices off of the Altar of God sounds blasphemous. It is often assumed that these offerings were holy, set apart, unto God alone. This was not the case. In fact we read in the Torah that the diet of the priests was specifically outlined and commanded. Leviticus, chapters 6 and 7, gives us the specific instructions on what the sons of Aaron should eat and how they were to partake of these offerings.

“The LORD spoke to Moses, saying, ‘Speak to Aaron and his sons, saying, This is the law of the sin offering. In the place where the burnt offering is killed shall the sin offering be killed before the LORD; it is most holy. The priest who offers it for sin shall eat it.’”

"These are the regulations for the guilt offering, which is most holy: The guilt offering is to be slaughtered in the place where the burnt offering is slaughtered, and its blood is to be sprinkled against the altar on all sides. All its fat shall be offered: the fat tail and the fat that covers the inner parts, both kidneys with the fat on them near the loins, and the covering of the liver, which is to be removed with the kidneys. The priest shall burn them on the altar as an offering made to the LORD by fire. It is a guilt offering. Any male in a priest's family may eat it, but it must be eaten in a holy place; it is most holy.”

"The same law applies to both the sin offering and the guilt offering: They belong to the priest who makes atonement with them. The priest who offers a burnt offering for anyone may keep its hide for himself. Every grain offering baked in an oven or cooked in a pan or on a griddle belongs to the priest who offers it, and every grain offering, whether mixed with oil or dry, belongs equally to all the sons of Aaron.”

Things are far different today than they were those thousands of years ago. The current age in which we find ourselves and the New Covenant that we are under has rendered the Levitical priesthood and the sacrificial system obsolete. Today we understand that it is Jesus who is our Great High Priest and the perfect satisfactory sacrifice. We also know that we, the Church, are a priesthood unto God. In fact, we are called a Holy Nation of royal priests unto the Lord (1 Peter 2:9, Revelation 5:10).

So where does that leave us with regard to Jesus’ declaration in John chapter 6, that unless we eat of his body and drink of his blood then we will not be raised to life? Again the context clearly shows that Jesus was revealing himself to be the better Manna; the Manna that sustains and yet does not perish. However, could have Jesus also been pointing forward toward the Communion Meal? We remember that Jesus would later break the bread of the Passover Seder and instruct his disciples to take and eat. “This is my body broken for you.”, and he would pass the cup of wine saying, “Take this cup, it is my blood poured out for you.”

It Is All About Him

Jesus tells the Pharisees in John chapter 5 that while they had diligently searched the Scriptures to find the way of eternal life they had failed miserably because they had not understood that the testimony of the Scriptures and the true way to eternal life was found in him. We see something similar in Revelation 19:10; John tells us in this passage that the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy. That is, the central theme of the Old and New Testaments is the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Finally we see Jesus making the definitive claim that all the Scriptures were about him in his Sermon on the Mount. Jesus said that he, “…did not come to destroy the Law and the Prophets but to fulfill.” I believe that Jesus is here declaring that he is both the fulfillment of prophecy and the embodiment of the Moral and Ceremonial Law. In other words, he was not only perfectly obedient to the Moral Law but Jesus was the realization of everything the Ceremonial Law’s types and symbols pointed to.

Therefore, this is what we see when looking for Jesus in the sacrificial system. - That Jesus is the total atoning provision for our sin in the Burnt Offering, he showed himself to be wholly consecrated to the will of the Father in the Grain Offering, he made reconciliation with God in the Peace Offering, he is the perfect propitiatory sacrifice in fulfillment of the Sin Offering, and he is the complete redemptive payment of the Guilt Offering.

What Now?

Next time you take communion meditate on this; think about how we, the royal priesthood of God, symbolically feast upon the eternal and perfect once-for-all sacrifice given for us. It is a meal that we did not work for but was provided for us by the labor of another. This meal is solely the result of a sacrifice given for the guilt of sin and without it we’d starve to death. Though it is marked by death it is absolutely satisfying and all that we need; in fact, we are being nourished by the finest food that the Land of Israel has to offer.

For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes. – 1 Corinthians 11:26

3000

2009-09-11T22:22:00.000-07:00

I woke up this morning totally oblivious to the significance of the day. It was not until I opened my Facebook account to see the many status updates memorializing the event that I remembered. It was 8 years ago this morning that 3000 souls were lost in the terrorist attacks that came against our nation. As we memorialize those 3000 and reflect upon the tragedies that befell those in the toppling of the Twin Towers I want to remind you of another 3000 who perished, another tower that fell, and 3000 that were saved.

3000 Lost

It was only a few weeks into the Exodus of the Hebrew nation that their leader Moses ascended Mount Sinai to commune with God and receive the tablets of the Law that had bound them to their God. After forty days upon the mountain Moses descended to hear a great celebration. Unfortunately, the celebration was not in exultation of God’s covenantal Law coming down to them but was in worship of the idolatrous golden calf that was built from the bounty of Egypt and fashioned by the hands of Aaron. Because of this great rebellion Moses' anger boiled and he called for all those who were on the side of God to come to him. The Levites rallied to the call of Moses and in accord with his command they went through the camp slaughtering all those who were worshiping the lifeless beast. Three thousand were killed that day.

The Tower That Fell

In Luke 13 Jesus is told about a certain group Galileans that were killed by Pontius Pilate. The inquiry was intended to find out whether these Galileans were worse sinners than their brothers since they had died in such a tragic way. Jesus answered them, "Do you think that these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans because they suffered this way? I tell you, no! But unless you repent, you too will all perish." He then uses another tragedy to highlight this point. "Or [how about] those eighteen who died when the tower in Siloam fell on them—do you think they were more guilty than all the others living in Jerusalem? I tell you, no! But unless you repent, you too will all perish."

3000 Saved

Seven weeks after Jesus' sacrifice on the cross and his resurrection from the grave his disciples were gathered together in the upper room celebrating the Feast of Weeks and waiting to receive unto themselves the promised gift of the Holy Spirit. As they were assembled together there came a sound from heaven like the blowing of a violent wind and the manifestation of the Holy Spirit in flames above each of the disciple's heads. They were each filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in different languages as the Spirit enabled them. This miracle caused a great stir in Jerusalem and many were drawn in by the disciple's miraculous declarations. However, some mocked the gathering and accused them of being drunk. Peter stood, with the other Apostles, in defense of Jesus' followers and addressed the crowd. He explained that they were not drunk as they had supposed but that it was the fulfillment of a prophecy given by Joel. He then declared to them that Jesus was the Promised One of God, that he was both the Messiah and Lord, and that they had murdered him. When the people heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the other apostles, "Brothers, what shall we do?" Peter replied, "Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off—for all whom the Lord our God will call." Those who accepted Peter's message and were baptized that day were 3000.

God's Good Pleasure

So as we reflect on this day let us not forget that we are only alive today because of God's good pleasure. He has allowed us the grace of only memorializing September 11th and not falling victim to it. Like the Hebrew rebels we too have worshiped a creation of our hands or minds rather than the Creator and we warrant the wrath of a just God. Those 3000 that tragically died 8 years ago were not greater sinners than you or me, for there is none that does good and we have all fallen far short of God's glory. We are all deserving of their fate and unless we repent we will likewise perish. The wonderful news is that Jesus the Messiah is Lord and if we turn from our rebellion, turn to Jesus, and call upon his name we will be saved from death.

Becoming a Slave

2009-06-19T10:05:00.000-07:00

Today, June 19th, is a day that is celebrated by many in the United States. Today is Juneteenth. June 19th, in the year 1865, is the day that the last state in the union received the news that slavery had been abolished. I thank God that slavery has been abolished in the United States.

Not all slavery is bad however. I thank God that there is one slave owner who will never release His slaves. I want to thank my Master for the day He purchased me. July 15th, 1987 I became a slave of Jesus Christ.

Happy National Athiest's Day

2009-04-01T06:16:00.000-07:00

The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God. They are corrupt, they have done abominable works, there is none that does good. -Psalm 14:1

Professing to be wise they became fools. -Romans 1:22

I have learned, through years of experience in dealing with drug addicts, that the way to reach them is not to argue with them about what they are doing, but to show them how stupid they are. They are not abusing drugs; they are using drugs to abuse themselves. The same applies with the stupidity of denying a Creator, with creation staring at you in the face. The atheist will only harm himself. - Ray Comfort

Atheists Who Inspire

Doing My Job While I Work

2009-03-27T19:15:00.000-07:00

I had the wonderful blessing of sharing the faith while at work today. I have done this in the past but I distinctly felt like today's witnessing encounter was ordained by God. Granted, they are all ordained but this one was a bit different. Let me try and explain...

One or two days ago I was struck with the curious thought of why unbelievers in the past have often apologized for cussing around me. I sat and contemplated the possible reasons why that might happen. Is it merely a matter of respect? Are they just concerned that a Christian might be overly sensitive to vulgarities or is it something more? Maybe they feel convicted around us. Is it a visceral response to a person whom they perceive spiritually to be a representative of God? I thought it might be a little bit of both. While it had been some months since this last happened I thought I might considered how I should respond to an apology should it ever happen again.

Flip the calendar forward to today. This afternoon I stopped to speak with a coworker about some work related issues and during the course of the conversation he let a 4-letter word fly. Guess what he immediately did next? He apologized.

In a split second I determined that God was in this encounter. God had brought the very scenario that I was immediately involved in into my heart just days before. Realizing that the Holy Spirit had orchestrated this conversation gave me great boldness to witness.

So I immediately went into my line of questioning. It was a very short line as I only needed to ask one.

"Why did you just apologize?"

"Cause some religious people get offended by cussing."

"Funny it really doesn't offend me too much."

"None of it?"

"Well, yes actually. I do not like it when people blaspheme God?"

"What is blaspheming?"

"When you use God's name as a cuss-word. Have you ever done that? Said, 'Jesus Christ' or 'G. D.?'"

"Yeah but not too often. I sometimes say Jesus Christ when I hurt myself."

"Have you ever considered what you are doing when you do that?"

And that was the transitional point in the conversation.

We spoke for about 10 minutes from that point on about the Law and the Gospel. I could truly see the conviction of his sin and the fear of judgement upon him. He became fidgety and he tried to dodge the topic a few times but we were able to keep the conversation on point. It went very well and I am overjoyed that I was afforded the opportunity to share the Gospel with him while at work.

Witnessing on the job is almost as hard as witnessing to a family member.

Please pray for Scott.

Deborah 13: Servant of God

2009-03-26T20:36:00.000-07:00

Late last year I posted a video on YouTube called "How to Make Your Child a False Convert". What you will see if you watch this video is an evangelistic invitation in which a pastor invites a room full of children to become Christians without explaining sin, Christ's atoning work on the cross, His death, or His resurrection. She simply has the children repeat an impotent prayer after which she popishly pronounces them saved.

For the most part the majority of the responses to the video were positive. I did however receive my fair share of negative commentary. Most of the negative comments revolved around a singular complaint; namely, that the speaker was addressing the audience at a level of their understanding. Therefore, my criticisms were unwarranted.

well considering she is talking to children and its really up to the parents to teach about God and salvation , I don't see any thing wrong in the video.pretty tame actually and sounded ok.
This is for kids remember. She just talks to them in a language they understand!!Give it a rest whith those stupid comments!!!
Pharisees!

In response to the video I wrote an article which I entitled "How To Not Make Your Child a False Convert". In it I argued that children are much brighter and have a much greater capacity to understand than we give them credit. I contended that while we should use age appropriate language when proselytizing children we should not remove those essential elements that actually make the Gospel good news. The children can get it!

Consider Deborah Drapper. Deborah was saved at 6 years old and is now 13. Watch this short biography on Deborah and you decide if you think that this young girl has the mental capability to understand the doctrines of Salvation.

To view the full length video please hit the following link: Deborah13:Servant of God

Marriage and Men

2009-03-25T22:16:00.000-07:00

Jesus is the only perfect man to ever live. Because most men fail to look to Him as our example, there exists 2 extremes in men: chauvinism and cowardice. Pastor Mark Driscoll preaches to men about being real men who love God and serve their family well in this sermon from Trial.

NOTES:

1. Your father: Adam (Genesis 1–3)
Marriage is a covenant (Prov. 2:16; Mal. 2:14).
Men are the covenant head, responsible for their wife and family (Gen. 2:18; 5:2; 1 Cor. 11:2–16, 14:33–34; Eph. 5:21–33; Col. 3:18; Titus 2:3–5; 1 Pet. 3:1).
Adam and Eve both sinned, both are at fault, and both are cursed, but God held Adam responsible (Gen. 3:9).
Marriage is cursed (Gen. 3:16). Work is cursed (Gen. 3:17–19). Jesus is the only hope (Gen. 3:15).

2. Your Manhood
Like Adam, the sins of men fall into two general categories: sins of comission (doing what you’re not supposed to do) and sins of omission (not doing what you’re supposed to do). This leads chauvinistic or cowardly tendencies:

Chauvinism

No Sissy Stuff Sam: whatever women do, do the opposite

Success and Status Stewart: masculinity = material success

Give’em Hell Hank: angry and abusive

I’m the Boss Bob: domineering and controlling; in authority, not under authority
Cowardice

Little Boy Larry: never grew up, disorganized, lives with his mother, etc.

Sturdy Oak Owen: absolutely dependable but emotionally absent

Hyper-Spiritual Henry: Hides behind religious behavior and “God talk.” Talks at you but not to you.

Good Time Gary: irresponsible life of the party

3. Your Savior: Jesus Christ (the Last Adam, 1 Cor. 15:45)
Ephesians 5:25 calls men to love their wives as Christ loves the Church. Men are not ready to be good husbands until they are a part of the Church and understand how Christ loves the Church by taking responsibility for her and sacrificing himself for her.

The essence of true masculinity is taking responsibility.

4. Your Wife
Understand that a wife’s fears (1 Pet. 3:6) are legitimate; men dominate the lives of women and children, for good or for evil. Honor your wife:

Honor her maritally. Take a wife honorably. Establish right priorities, and be a one woman man–absolutely faithful to your wife.

Honor her physically. Be strong for your wife, not against her. Be protective of her and present with her.

Honor her emotionally. Be emotionally present and intimate. Take her on dates.

Honor her verbally. Speak honorably to her. Speak honorably of her, when she is present and absent.

Honor her financially. Provide for the financial needs of your family, organize your budget, and be generous towards your wife.

Honor her practically. Consider her needs and how you can serve her.

Honor her parentally. Be “Pastor Dad” by shepherding your children (praying with them, teaching them about Jesus, reading the Bible with them, etc.).

Honor her spiritually. You initiate and lead prayer, Bible, chats, church attendance, etc. Take responsibility for your church.
What happens when you fail to honor your wife? God ignores you (1 Pet. 3:7). Repent.

Further Study:

Recovering Biblical Manhood and Womanhood, by Wayne Grudem and John Piper
God, Marriage, and the Family, by Andreas Kostenberger
New Men, Soft Patriarchs: How Christianity Shapes Fathers and Husbands, by W. Bradford Wilcox

The Fallacy of Relevancy

2009-03-24T13:01:00.000-07:00

So, what's wrong with this picture?

Nothing.

Josh Elsom captured this moment; and a picture is worth a thousand words.

The picture reminds me of the old Sesame Street song, "One of these things is not like the others. Which one is different? Do you know?"Four kids on bikes. Their bikes are similar. Their clothing is similar. Their hats and sunglasses are similar. And standing in the midst of those four kids, proclaiming the Law and the Gospel, is Mark Mackey--a 57-year-old bread truck driver and evangelist.

Mark doesn't look like the people to whom he is speaking. He isn't dressed like them. He's old enough to be their father. And he doesn't have a spiffy BMX bike so that he can relate to them.

What Mark has, however, is of far greater value and is far more powerful than relevancy. The reason Mark was able to engage these four young people in spiritual conversation is simple, really. Mark loves God and loves people.

Mark long ago realized that he didn't have to be "of" the world in order to reach the world with the gospel of Jesus Christ. Unlike so many so-called ministries these days that cater to the worldliness of the lost, Mark is modeling Christ-likeness in his evangelism efforts by speaking the truth in love.

Yes, it is true that those kids would have remembered Mark had he rode up to them on his own BMX bike, sporting the hair, clothing, and backward hat of a person 1/4 his age. They would have remembered how silly and unauthentic he looked.

Instead, what those kids will likely remember is that an older guy who they will never likely see again cared enough about them to speak honestly and lovingly to them about the things of God.

And it is the proclamation of the gospel of Jesus Christ, not worldly relevance, that the Lord uses to draw unbelievers to repentance and faith.

Thanks for your godly example, Mark.

-Tony Miano

The Lawman Chronicles

Protecting Our Idols

2009-03-23T06:09:00.000-07:00

What pops into your head when you hear the word "idol"? The first thing that may come to many of our minds might be a small figurine carved out of wood or ivory and placed on an altar. Or a statue adorned with jewelry or flowers with incense burning on either side. In many cultures and religions that would be an accurate definition of an idol. The Hindu religion for instance has hundreds of millions of these idols which are ascribed deity.

In the West our idols look much different. They look like office buildings, bank accounts, sports teams, televisions, or even family. You see an idol does not have to be carved out of wood it can be carved out of the heart. An idol is simply anything that you pay obeisance to. It is the thing you work for, the thing which you invest in, the thing you love, and that you sacrifice for. Idolatry happens when a gift of God is esteemed higher than God Himself, the giver of gifts.

Idols are the objects which we attempt to guard when they are endangered. When something or someone threatens our idol we sin to protect it. For instances people will lie on their 1040A to protect their bank account, they will spend 80 hours a week at work to further their career, and they will tear down a friend to protect their idol of pride.

People will do the most unbelievable things to protect their idols. Consider the following story published this morning in the AP.

More women needing cash go from jobless to topless

By KAREN HAWKINS, Associated Press Writer Karen Hawkins, Associated Press Writer Mon Mar 23, 12:01 am ET

CHICAGO – As a bartender and trainer at a national restaurant chain, Rebecca Brown earned a couple thousand dollars in a really good week. Now, as a dancer at Chicago's Pink Monkey gentleman's club, she makes almost that much in one good night.

The tough job market is prompting a growing number of women across the country to dance in strip clubs, appear in adult movies or pose for magazines like Hustler.

Employers across the adult entertainment industry say they're seeing an influx of applications from women who, like Brown, are attracted by the promise of flexible schedules and fast cash. Many have college degrees and held white-collar jobs until the economy soured.

"You're seeing a lot more beautiful women who are eligible to do so many other things," said Gus Poulos, general manager of New York City's Sin City gentleman's club. He said he got 85 responses in just one day to a recent job posting on Craigslist.

The transition to the nightclub scene isn't always a smooth one — from learning to dance in five-inch heels to dealing with the jeers of some customers.

Some performers said they were initially so nervous that only alcohol could calm their nerves.
"It is like giving a speech, but instead of imagining everyone naked, you're the one who's naked," Brown, 29, said.

Eva Stone, a 25-year-old dancer at the Pink Monkey, said dealing with occasional verbal abuse from patrons requires "a thick skin."

Makers of adult films cautioned that women shouldn't rush into the decision to make adult movies without considering the effect on their lives.

"Once you decide to be an adult actress, it impacts your relationship with everyone," said Steven Hirsch, co-chairman of adult film giant Vivid Entertainment Group. "Once you make an adult film, it never goes away."

The women at the Pink Monkey say dancing at a strip club might not have been their first career choice, but they entered the business with their eyes wide open. The job gives them more control and flexibility than sitting in a cubicle, and "it's easy, it's fun and all of us girls ... look out for each other," Brown said.

In this economy, "desperate measures are becoming far more acceptable," said Jonathan Alpert, a New York City-based psychotherapist who's had clients who worked in adult entertainment.
For some, dancing is temporary, a way to pay for college loans or other bills. Others say they've found their niche.

Dancers at the upscale Rick's Caberet clubs in New York City and Miami can make $100,000 to $300,000 a year — in cash — even with the economic downturn, club spokesman Allan Priaulx said.

Priaulx said 20 to 30 women a week are applying for jobs at the New York club, double the number of a year ago.

Still, analysts say, the industry isn't immune to the economic recession. Business is down an estimated 30 percent across all segments, including adult films, gentleman's clubs, magazines and novelty shops, said Paul Fishbein, president of AVN Media Network, an adult entertainment company that has a widely distributed trade publication and an award show.

"In the past, people have said this industry is recession-proof," said Eric Wold, director of research for financial services firm Merriman Curhan Ford. "I definitely don't see that; maybe recession-resistant."

Strip club dancers and managers said they're drawing in the same number of customers, but fewer high rollers.

"They're not getting the big spenders," said Angelina Spencer, executive director of the Association of Club Executives, a trade group for adult nightclubs. "They're not getting the guys who come in and drop $3,000 to $4,000 a night anymore."
Still, the clubs' operating structure leaves them with low overhead and profit margins of up to 50 percent, Wold said.

Dancers are independent contractors, paying clubs a nightly flat fee depending on how long they work. At the Pink Monkey, for example, dancers who arrive at 7 p.m. Sunday through Thursday pay a $40 "house fee," while women who don't arrive until midnight pay $90. And they keep their tips.

Wold and others say it's almost impossible to estimate the size of the adult entertainment industry because few companies are publicly traded. He does pay close attention to three that are: Lakewood, Colo.-based VCG Holding and Houston-based Rick's Caberet, which own clubs, and New Frontier Media, a Boulder, Colo.-based adult film producer and distributor.
All three are profitable.

Rick's Caberet had $60 million in revenue in its 2008 fiscal year, up from $32 million the year before, Wold said, and he estimates VCG will have $57 million for last year, compared with $40.5 million in FY2007. New Frontier Media generates more than $400 million in consumer buying a year.

Larry Flynt, whose half-billion dollar Hustler empire publishes magazines, produces and distributes films and operates a casino, said he's continued to do well. But he doesn't expect those who are solely in the film business to survive.

"A lot of the small studios are out of business now, there's no doubt about that," Flynt said.
Adult magazines also are struggling along with the larger publishing industry, and have to cut pages like everyone else.

But the economic realities aren't keeping jobseekers away.
Vivid Entertainment's Hirsch said the number of women in his business has doubled in the last couple years, with roughly 800 working as adult actresses. "It is more competitive than I've seen it in 25 years," he said.

That doesn't mean all the newcomers are planning on lengthy careers in the industry.
Stone, who has a bachelor's degree in graphic design, took up dancing four years ago to help pay her student loans. She plans to go to graduate school this year to pursue a master's in education.
Brown, meanwhile, has a ready answer for those critical of her career choice.

"I have job security," she said.

Bobby Schott

2009-03-21T14:29:00.000-07:00

1 Corinthians 1:21 tells us that,"..it pleased God through the folly of what we preach to save those who believe." and in verse 27 of the same chapter that,"God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong..."

God is in the business of taking weak vessels and using them for His glory. He uses the shepherd boy to defeat the giant, the farmer with an army of 300 to defeat a nation, and rag tag group of 12 to change the world. Such is the case of Bobby Schott.

Please watch the following video and consider how God uses the most unlikely people to do the most amazing things for His Kingdom.

Christ's Only Prayer Request

2009-03-20T20:08:00.000-07:00

Did you know that Jesus made only one request for prayer in the Scriptures?

Yep, and it is found in Matthew 9:37-38.

Then he said to his disciples, "The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest."

Sadly this is a prayer which is woefully neglected in the hearts of most professing followers of Jesus Christ. Why do we not pray with great sincerity to the Lord to send more laborers into the harvest? There can only be three reasons; ignorance, apathy, or self-preservation.

First, one may have no knowledge that this request has been made by our Lord. This state of ignorance would indeed be temporary, of course. For if one knows what he has been saved from and how he has been saved from it then his conscience would demand that something be done. Intuitively the regenerate man will pray for laborers to be dispatched into the world.

Second, the professing christian may be apathetic to this request. They simply do not care whether other people (neighbors, friends, or family) are saved from the wrath of God. They may claim with great passion that they care but in the deepest parts of the heart they do not. This is a very dangerous place to live by the way. Charles Spurgeon said,"Have you no wish for others to be saved? Then you are not saved yourself. Be sure of that."

The third reason that this prayer fails to be uttered is because of self-preservation. Understand, there is no way that this prayer can be honestly spoken without taking action. How can one genuinely pray for laborers to be sent while sitting on one's own hands? It can not be done, the faithful child of God knows who they are and knows to what they have been called. The carnal man may know as well but still refuse to execute faithfully that which is required of his commission. So because of the burdening of the conscience this third man will not pray the request of his Lord. He knows that praying this prayer for laborers would implicate him in his lack of zeal for the lost. He would therefore rather remain quite, exclude the prayer for laborers, and remain safely planted in his home. There is no suffering for the sake of Christ for this one. There is no mockery for the one who does not move, there are no stones thrown at those who do not speak, and there is no burning stake for those who do not love.

You know the only safe person of these three would be the one who is ignorant, but if you've read this far then you no longer have an excuse.

So pray to the Lord of the Harvest that He would send more laborers into the fields; that is, in addition to you.

God Is My Provider

2009-02-10T21:19:00.000-08:00

This post is a little different than those which I have written in the past because it will expose some information that I would normally consider private. However, I believe what God has miraculously done in these recent days will far outweigh what small amount of humiliation I may experience in revealing my fallibility. I pray that this, the story of my past mistakes and God's restorative work, will serve as both a lesson and a blessing to you.

God has been working aggressively over the last 5 years to tear down the idols in my life. Many of these gods were quite visible and took center stage on the mantle, while others were tossed in the dark recesses of the closet. One by one they have fallen. Two weeks ago God completely destroyed the largest of my asherah poles. His name was Mammon.

Mammon manifest himself in a number of ways; the nicest television I could afford, the most impressive surround sound I could get my hands on, an overpriced home, a hot rod Mustang, and on and on. I was always hot on the tails of the Joneses.

What God revealed to me about this god in these last weeks was that he was a god of materialistic pursuit; a lifestyle of having, getting and pride. One of the problems associated with serving a god like mammon is that one's sins are not confined to the obeisance one pays him. He requires more time at work and less time at home. He demands that one gets more and give little back (even to God).

This was the god that my God began to expose this last year and fully destroyed two weeks ago.

The following video contains the short story of how God through the working of His Holy Spirit transformed my heart and redeemed what was lost.

The Cup

2009-01-21T17:55:00.000-08:00

What did Christ actually go through in Gethsemane? Listen to this amazing sermon clip by C.J. Mahaney to find out.

Jesus Said,"I AM God, Worship Me."

2009-01-19T07:50:00.000-08:00

Two articles below this one you will find an entry entitled "You Shall Worship the Lord Your God". Last week this article and its associated video were picked up by Todd Friel, host of Wretched Radio.

This video is Todd Friel's response to Khaled Yasin's $5000 Challange.

You Shall Worship the Lord Your God

2009-01-11T20:34:00.000-08:00

I found myself in another online debate this weekend. This time it was on YouTube. I normally do not pay much attention to the comments that go on below the videos that play on YouTube, many of them are sensless and many more are just profane. However, both the video I watched and the comments that followed could not be left unchallenged.

The claim that is made in this video is that Jesus Christ never claimed to be God. The man attempting to make the case is Khaled Yasin, a lecturer and teacher of Islam. The argument that this man brings is remarkably weak and intellectually dishonest. However, his weak reasoning and poor hermenuetics may be enough to trouble the unprepared heart and unrenewed mind. Rather than presenting his complete arguments here I will just have you listen to this teacher in his own words. The video will be posted at the end of this article.

There were a few points that I made in the course of this debate but I want to focus on one issue. That is, that Jesus allowed Himself to be worshipped. And the fact that Jesus would allow Himself to be worshipped can only mean one of three things. He was either a blashpemous liar, a lunatic, or He was who He claimed to be, God manifest in the flesh.

I used a bit of strategy when coming to this point and I believe that it will prove to be very useful. I wanted the Muslims to tell me that men should not be worshipped as God and that God alone is worthy to be praised. The line of questioning went as follows:

YeshElsm
What is a person to expect by worshipping Muhammed? What would Muhammed do for them or tell them if they got down on their knees and praised him as Allah? Would he accept them? Would he take them to Paradise?

0wnag3f3v3r
Muslims do not worship Muhammed (pbuh). We worship Allah only.

YeshElsm
I realize that. But if I wanted to worship Muhammed as Allah would he allow it and receive it?

0wnag3f3v3r
nope, he wouldnt allow it. because he himself is a human being messenger, only saying the "words" of god, not being godly himself.

The following is the unabridged response:

Mohammed would be wise not to allow himself to be worshipped; for as Jesus said in His rebuke to Satan, “You shall worship the Lord your God, and Him only shall you serve.” The Apostle Peter took this commandment very seriously. When he entered the house of a man called Cornelius, the man fell down at Peter’s feet and worshiped him. But Peter, being a wise disciple of Jesus, lifted him up and said "Stand up; I too am a man." The Apostle Paul and his disciple Barnabas reacted in like manner when the people of Lystra tried to bring bulls to sacrifice to them. They both tore their clothes and rushed out into the gathering crowd and shouted, "Men, why are you doing this? We too are only men, human like you!” These were very wise men who would not allow themselves to be worshipped. In the book of Acts we actually have a great example of what may happen to a person who does allow men to worship them. King Herod put his life on the line when he allowed his audience to worship him as a god. When Herod failed to direct this praise toward the one true God, an angel of the Lord struck him down, and he was eaten by worms and died.

Jesus was different than all of these men. He was worshipped many times, yet he never once rebuked a person for giving Him the thanks, honor and praise that should only be given to GOD.

Here are but a few examples:

Matthew 2:2 - The wise men who came from the East came looking for the Jewish Messiah, King of the Jews. Not only did they come bearing gifts but they came to worship him.
Matthew 14:33 – After Jesus demonstrated His power and authority to even control the weather his disciples worshiped him.
Matthew 28:9 – After the two women discovered that Jesus had risen from the dead they ran to spread the news of His resurrection. On their way back to tell the disciples, Jesus appeared to the women. They both fell at His feet and worshipped him.
John 9:38 – After Jesus reveals Himself to the blind man He had healed, the man worshipped Jesus. In each case Jesus did not forbid their worship nor did he defer their worship toward GOD.

But perhaps the most conclusive and inescapable passage in the scriptures that shows Jesus allowing Himself to be worshiped as God can be found in John 20:28. Thomas was absent the first time that the Messiah appeared to His disciples. When his friends told him about Jesus’ appearing, Thomas said that he would not believe unless he were able to see the scars with his own eyes and thrust his finger and hand into Jesus’ wounds. Eight days later Jesus appeared and said to Thomas, "Put your finger here, and see my hands; and put out your hand, and place it in my side. Do not disbelieve, but believe." Thomas answered him, “My Lord and my God!"

Jesus the Messiah was either a lying blasphemer who allowed himself to be worshipped or He was precisely who He claimed to be, the God of Heaven and Earth.

Before I close this article I want to share with you one more perspective concerning the worship of the God-man Jesus, the perspective of GOD ALMIGHTY. I will spare you my commentary and simply allow the inspired writer of the letter to the Hebrews to speak for God himself.

God, who at various times and in various ways spoke in time past to the fathers by the prophets, has in these last days spoken to us by His Son, whom He has appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the worlds; who being the brightness of His glory and the express image of His person, and upholding all things by the word of His power, when He had by Himself purged our sins, sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, having become so much better than the angels, as He has by inheritance obtained a more excellent name than they.

For to which of the angels did He ever say: “You are My Son, today I have begotten You”? And again: “I will be to Him a Father, and He shall be to Me a Son.”? But when He again brings the firstborn into the world, He says, “Let all the angels of God worship Him.” And of the angels He says: “Who makes His angels spirits and His ministers a flame of fire.” But to the Son He says: “Your throne, O God, is forever and ever; a scepter of righteousness is the scepter of Your kingdom. You have loved righteousness and hated lawlessness; therefore God, Your God, has anointed You with the oil of gladness more than Your companions.”

Not only do we see that the holy angels worship Jesus as God but we also find that GOD Almighty declares the Son worthy of woship as God.

Amen.

The thread of comments can be found here. Warning: Explicit Language
$5000 Reward If You Prove That Jesus Said I am God, Worship Me

Listen to Todd Friel discuss this article and video on Wretched Radio!

Prepare to Suffer!

2009-01-08T20:58:00.000-08:00

"Will you join the Son in diplaying the Supreme Satisfaction of the Glory of Grace in joining Him on the Calvary Road of Suffering?
There is no other way the World is going to see the Supreme Glory of Christ today except that we break free from the Disneyland of America and begin to live lifestyles of Missionary Sacrifice that look to the world that our Treasure is in Heaven and not on this Earth.
Are you living a lifestyle that says that? Does the world look at your lifestyle and know that your Treasure is in Heaven and not in your Home, Car, Paycheck, Retirement account?
Paul says in 1 Corinthians 15:19: If in this life only we have hoped in Christ, we are of all people most to be pitied. Why?

Do our lives represent one to be pitied if Christ, the Cross, the Gospel, Heaven, and Hell are not true?" - John Piper

For the complete sermon see How Our Suffering Glorifies God.

Joseph: The Shadow of Messiah

2009-01-05T22:27:00.000-08:00

In the entries to follow this brief article I will be writing about the amazing story of Joseph, son of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. I will be focusing my study on the specific typology that we see in the account of Joseph's life and how it applies prophetically to the Savior; both what has been fulfilled and what is yet to be fulfilled in the life of Messiah Jesus.

I want to lay a quick foundation before digging into this story and this may require a brief review or explanation of what a type is. Simply put a type, or typology, is an interpretive practice of taking a person, thing or an event and defining it as symbolically representative of something yet future. So we can look at people, things or events in the Old Testament and see that they are prophetically symbolic of people, things or events fulfilled in the New Testament, or even in our future. For an example of this please read my article on Noah.

I pray that this short series of articles will be as much a blessing to you as the study of this story has been for me. For many, the striking similarities between the lives of Joseph and Jesus will be new and exciting. For the rest of you who are familiar with these amazing parallels, well I hope to surprise you. Many would suggest that all has been fulfilled in the shadows of Joseph's life. I simply ask that you stick around and see what treasures may have been left on the ground and are ready to be gleaned.

Atheists Who Inspire

2008-12-30T19:52:00.000-08:00

The life of C.T. Studd stands as one of the great stories of sacrifice and service in modern Christian history. Charles Thomas Studd was from a wealthy English family and was an all English-Cricketer. He had everything a young man could desire; he had enough money to last a lifetime and he had fame. Although C.T. enjoyed all of these things he gave them all up to become one of the greatest missionary leaders of his day.

His life stands as a sign to all succeeding generations that it is worth while to lose all this world can offer and stake everything on the world to come. His life will be an eternal rebuke to easygoing Christianity. He has demonstrated what it means to follow Christ without counting the cost and without looking back.[1]

So what was it that caused this wealthy athletic Brit to turn from a life of fame and comfort to a life of relative anonymity and sacrifice? God certainly used many circumstances to transform the life of this young man. But perhaps the most defining and catalytic moments of C.T. Studd's life came in the form of a tract. Not a gospel tract mind you, but an Atheistic tract intended to insult weak-minded Christians. The tract read:

"Did I firmly believe, as millions say they do, that the knowledge and practice of religion in this life influences destiny in another, religion would mean everything to me. I would cast away earthly enjoyments as dross, earthly cares as follies, and earthly thoughts and feelings as vanity. Religion would be my first waking thought and my last image before sleep sank me into unconsciousness. I should labour in its cause alone. I would take thought for the morrow of Eternity alone. I would esteem one soul gained for heaven worth a life of suffering. Earthly consequences should never stay my hand nor seal my lips. Earth—its joys and its griefs—would occupy no moment of my thoughts. I would strive to look upon Eternity alone and on the immortal souls around me soon to be everlastingly happy or everlastingly miserable. I would go forth to the world and preach to it in season and out of season, and my text would be, ‘What shall it profit a man if he gain the whole world and lose his soul?"
He was never the same again.

Penn Jillette, comedian/illusionist/juggler/writer best known for his work with fellow illusionist Teller in the team Penn & Teller, is also an outspoken atheist. He has on many public occasions in Carlin-esque fashion picked apart and ridiculed the faith of millions. He is an enemy of God and no friend of the faithful. Nevertheless, Penn Gillette said something recently that sounds very much like the atheistic tract that landed in C.T. Studd's hands. Penn's words should stand as a rebuke to the "easygoing christian" and a charge to the faithful.

[1] C.T. Studd: Cricketer & Pioneer by Norman Grubb

Ten Indictments

2008-12-23T19:13:00.000-08:00

Ten Indictments was delivered by Paul Washer at the 2008 Revival Conference, October 21st - 23rd in Lilburn, GA.

Audio can be downloaded here.

Has Jesus Ever Accepted You Into His Heart?

2008-12-08T22:36:00.000-08:00

John Piper tells the story about the first time he was offered an opportunity to speak at his alma mater, Wheaton College.

“It was my first chance in this big, chandeliered, blue, beautiful chapel. And I stood up and said, 'The chief end of God is to glorify God and enjoy him forever.' And all my friends who were up in the balcony just went, 'Oh no, he blew it on his first chance at his own alma mater to speak to these students, coming back after 20 years, and he misquotes the Westminster Catechism right off the bat and says, 'The chief end of God' instead of 'The chief end of man.' And to their great relief I went on to say, 'I really meant that.'"

Well I really meant what I said in the title of this article too. Has Jesus ever accepted you into His heart? You see we get it backward when we ask people this cliché in its original form, “Have you ever accepted Jesus into your heart?” First of all we do not accept Jesus, as if the Almighty needed a review of His worthiness to be accepted by us. Unfortunately this is often the gospel that has been pitched to the unbeliever. “Give Jesus a 60 day trial. If Jesus doesn't change your life then you can get your money back". No, we can only receive the gift of Jesus Christ, and it may only be obtained on His terms.

Secondly, “accepting Jesus into your heart” implies the idea that Christ has come merely to supplement the sinner’s life. We know this to be false. God did not descend from His throne on high to take on the likeness of sinful flesh and lay it down on a Roman cross to one day compliment an already okay life. Jesus Christ had to brake into human history to save sinners that were otherwise hopeless. Without the purchasing power of Christ’s blood there would be no repentance and no faith given to the sinner. And without the imposition and power of the Holy Spirit, no sinner whose heart is desperately wicked would ever choose Him. Jesus did not conquer death so that He could conform to our lives. He has come so that we may be conformed to His. There is only one reason for God needing you and that's to bring you to the place where, in repentance, you've been pardoned for His glory. And in victory you've been brought to the place of death that He might reign.

Finally, while I understand the sentiment and implied theology behind Jesus being invited into the sinner’s heart, it would perhaps be better to cast off all unbiblical evangelical jargon all together. Let us be so consumed with the heart of the Father that the Gospel of the Kingdom of God would flow uninhibited from our hearts upon the ears of the unbelieving.

Oh God accept me into your Kingdom and let me be conformed to your heart!

Preach the Gospel Always, and if Necessary Use Words?

2008-12-05T20:35:00.000-08:00

I recently found myself in a sparring match with some friends of a friend on Facebook. My friend had written a note wanting some encouragement about a rather insensitive email that she had received about the “lie” of Christmas. She has good friends because they all were ready to give her the support she needed. However, during the course of the dialogue there was some language that I was not entirely comfortable with. One well meaning friend, I believe, gave some ill-informed advice.

The best way to show you are a Christian is to not argue. Show them through your loving example what being a Christian really means... Actions speak louder then words. Love people to Christ. :)

To which I replied:

Great post Anonymous but I want to take exception on a couple of points. You are correct we should not argue, except when an assault comes against the faith. In which case we are commanded to defend it with great vigor. (Jude 3-4)
Actions can lend credence to your words but they do not speak louder. The best way to love people to Christ is to tell them the truth. That is why Jesus told us to go into all the world and PREACH the Gospel.

This was soon rebutted by another person on the thread who claimed that “Actions will always speak louder than words.” And,

“Arguing and constant defense only continues to perpetuate the negative stigmas christians are viewed with in this day and age. It's not about you're wrong I'm right...it's about loving God and people.”

He later revealed that he chooses not to argue the merits of the Gospel with unbelievers because he does not want to alienate them. I will leave this one alone except to say that the Gospel is an offense to the unbeliever and Jesus tells us this. He says that the Gospel is a sword and that it will turn family and friends against us. The Savior also warns us that unless we love Him more than we love our earthly relationships we are not worthy of the Kingdom of God. So we are to anticipate persecution and we are to expect that we will alienate people. That is the nature of the Gospel.

The following is an unabridged version of my response to these arguments. I trust that the following will be an encouragement to some and a catalyst for others.

I never said that we should not live out the Gospel. Not in the least. 1 John 3:18 says that very thing, "…let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth." It is similar to what we see James arguing when he says that faith without works is dead faith. So, in this case it could be said, that preaching without a lifestyle that supports the message may cause the message to be irrelevant to the hearer. We can stand together on that all day long. But deeds without the words are completely worthless. “Loving people to Christ” by doing unendorsed deeds can never convey the Gospel. People who feed the hungry, care for the sick, and build houses for the poor and never share the Gospel have ultimately failed. Sure they offer temporary comfort but in the end these poor hungry people who have been served die in their sin. I can help the proverbial woman across the street a million times but if I fail to tell her about the Gospel what good have I done? It would do her as much good as giving a guy in the electric chair a hand tailored Kiton suit and a $200 haircut.

So again my point is not for apologetic argument and preaching devoid of caring for people. Quite to the contrary, in fact I would say that the most loving thing a person could ever do is preach the Gospel. Sometimes this preaching takes place over a cup of coffee or in an email, sometimes it happens from a soap-box in the middle of the city, and sometimes it is manifest in the defense of the faith. My primary point of contention is this, that actions alone are never enough. It is a mistake to put a cliché like "Actions speak louder than words" above the authority of Scripture. I challenge anyone to find me a single scripture that support such a notion. I can guarantee that I will find you a score of admonitions to preach the Gospel, and preach it using actual words. The idea that we can be defenders of the faith and heralds of the Gospel without opening our mouths is ludicrous. Jesus certainly did not disciple His followers this way. He stood up against the self-righteous people of His day and He did it by proclaiming the Word of God with great authority in the public arena. Peter did this, as did Paul, John, Stephen and a thousand others that were killed for their public defense and proclamation of the Gospel. And we as Christians are called to nothing less than this.

It is my belief that people fall into a "let me show them Christ through my actions" lifestyle because of one of three reasons. The first, which I believe to be the most common, is that ultimately this person is ashamed of the Gospel. The end result of this shame is that the person attempts to pacify their guilt for their shame by doing random acts of kindness. And if we examine this a little further we see what this is in truth, self-righteousness. This person manages to suppress the truth of God and attempts to appease His God by “doing” good things.

The second reason, which I fear most of all, is that the person who fails to be obedient to the Lord’s command to preach the Gospel is self deceived and not truly saved. It has been said that there are only two types of people who truly believe in Hell; those who have been saved from it and those who are suffering in it. And if we as believers truly believed in a place where God’s omnipotent wrath is being poured out continually and eternally on the unrepentant sinner how could we not proclaim the Gospel? What would you say of a fireman who sat idly by and watched as a family burned in their house because he was too busy helping an old lady get her cat out of a tree? You would scream that their blood was on his hands. Sure it was nice of him to help the old lady with her cat but his priorities were completely wrong. And so are our priorities when we choose “do” without the “tell”.

Listen to the Word of the Lord in Ezekiel:
"Son of man, I have made you a watchman for the house of Israel; so hear the word I speak and give them warning from me. When I say to the wicked, 'O wicked man, you will surely die,' and you do not speak out to dissuade him from his ways, that wicked man will die for his sin, and I will hold you accountable for his blood. But if you do warn the wicked man to turn from his ways and he does not do so, he will die for his sin, but you will have saved yourself.”
These words should terrify the passive Christian. Do you hear what this text is saying? It is saying that if you fail to open your mouth about the judgment that is going to be poured out upon humanity that God will hold you accountable. God goes onto say that you will have saved yourself only if you have warned the perishing. I think Spurgeon captured the heart of this text perfectly when he said, “Have you no wish for others to be saved? Then you are not saved yourself. Be sure of that.”

The third reason I think Christians trade the proclamation of the Gospel for social action or “loving them to Christ” may be ignorance to the command of Scripture. But listen, the Great Commission was not upon those alone who stood at the Mount of Olives, it is upon you and upon me. We are all called as ambassadors of Christ and ministers of reconciliation. We are a unique people because we are a kingdom of priests to the Most High GOD.

If you happen to find that you have been living in this third category of ignorance let me serve you notice. You have now just been evicted by truth.

If you find that you are in the first or second category let me plead with you to examine the validity of your salvation. Matthew 7 paints a very grim picture of the judgment of Christ. Jesus tells us that many will come to Him on that day proclaiming Him as Lord and professing the many works that they did in His name. But He will say to them, “Depart from me you worker of iniquity, I never knew you.” Calling Jesus Lord is not enough to enter into the Kingdom of God; it is only he that does the will of the Father that will gain entrance.

You know what is absolutely terrifying? That most of the people that we work with, most of the people we see at the grocery store, and perhaps some of you that are reading this right now will one day hear those very words from the Lamb of God.

DEPART!

I am certain that on that day we will care little about the alienation we may have risked or the offense that we might have caused. And for those whom have we failed to warn, who are even now being cast into everlasting darkness, they will have an eternity to wonder why we did not care enough to open your mouth.

"If sinners will be damned, at least let them leap to hell over our bodies. And if they will perish, let them perish with our arms around their knees, imploring them to stay. If hell must be filled, at least let it be filled in the teeth of our exertions, and let not one go there unwarned and unprayed for." - C.H. Spurgeon.

Does God Change His Mind?

2008-11-26T11:55:00.000-08:00

In a recent blog posting by Ray Comfort at Comfort Food he makes the case that God does not change His mind. The key verse that Ray uses is found in Genesis 6:6 "And it repented the LORD that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart."

Now you need to know that Ray is a bit of a masochist. He has nicknamed his blog "Atheist Central" as an attempt to share the Gospel with people that would otherwise never step into the church. It is his virtual soap-box on the Internet.

Well, just like a pack of wild dogs the atheists pounced on Ray's explanation. They did not buy it at all. And since this is an objection that you are likely to face one day let me add my understanding and exegesis of this text.

There are a couple things that you need to know about this passage. First, God often speaks using anthropomorphic terms of expression that we can understand. God is far above all of us and all together separate. So we see that He often speaks using language to express emotions that we can relate to.

Second, God cannot change ( Malalachi 3:6, James 1:17 ); He is perfect in all His ways, so there must be a way to reconcile this seeming contradiction.

Third, you need to understand that Genesis was not written in English, it was written in Hebrew. So it is a mistake to take a word like "repented', as seen in Genesis 6:6, and plug it into an English dictionary. You can not take a Hebrew word, translate it into old English, then try to apply its semantic range in modern English. That is making a translation out of a translation out of a translation. Funny, that this is often the accusation that is thrown at those of us who believe in the inspiration and inerrancy of Scripture.

Now usually the word for “repent” that we see in the Old Testament is the word שוב (shuwb). It means to turn away from or to revoke or reverse. This is not the word that is used in Genesis 6:6. The word that is used in this passage is the word נחם (nacham).
Nacham means to be sorry, to grieve. It means to draw breath forcibly, to pant. Do you remember as a kid sobbing so badly that you found it hard to catch your breath? That was Nacham. What Moses was telling us in Genesis 6:6 was that God was so grieved because of the world’s wickedness that it was as though God was unable to grab His breath. This interpretation is further supported by the word עצב (‘atsab) found in that same verse. “It grieved the Lord” or “it ‘atsab the Lord” ‘Atsab means to carve. So the disobedience of the people that God had given so much was like a knife carving His heart.

Have you ever loved someone who did not return your love? Imagine yourself showering that person with love, affection and many gifts; only to have those gifts ignored or destroyed. Think about how you would feel after all of your invested time and money were treated with total disregard. Would you be nacham? ‘Atsab?

Man’s heart is only evil continually. This was the condition of humanity before the flood and what it is today. God knew that He would one day grieve over His creation. He knew that the ones to whom He had given everything would treat Him with utter disrespect and total disregard. Yet He loved them, and us, so much He created us anyway. And He knew that while many would suffer under His omnipotent wrath that some would one day be reconciled to Him. So He gave everything in the death of His Son Jesus Christ.

Now tell me; if you had given everything, even the life of your child, to reconcile a rebellious people and they treated it with absolute disdain, what would you do?

*Do not be surprised if the Numbers 23:19 comes back at you when rendering this exposition.

"God is not a man, that he should lie; neither the son of man, that he should repent: hath he said, and shall he not do it? or hath he spoken, and shall he not make it good?"

The word "repent" found in Numbers 23:19 is nacham. However, it should be noted that the context is clearly speaking about His word not His actions. God will never regret what He has said but He is clearly grieved by the rebellion that is manifest by His creation. (Isaiah 63:10, Ephesians 4:30)

How to Make Your Child a False Convert.

2008-11-24T14:39:00.000-08:00

Read the follow up article How to Not Make Your Child a False Convert.

Check out Tony Miano's thoughts on this video at The Lawman Chronicles.

How to Not Make Your Child a False Convert.

2008-11-24T14:11:00.000-08:00

I am constantly amazed at my son Noah. He is only 2 years old but already he can count to 20 and with a little help can even count to 10 is Spanish. He knows the alphabet, his colors and shapes, he knows animals and he has an amazing memory. When I read him his children’s books at night he will often finish the sentences because he’s heard the story already and when we sing songs together he can finish the line if I stop singing. He is really doing well for being only two years old. Of course, I am probably just like any proud father who believes his child is advanced beyond his peers. But truth be told, I think that dads like me are impressed with our children not because the child is necessarily advanced for their age but because we just underestimate how intelligent our children really are.

Jeff Foxworthy’s television show Are You Smarter than a Fifth Grader has proven to be a big hit over the last couple of years. The show’s success probably has to do more with displaying how foolish grownups can look than being a stage for how bright the children are. Unfortunately, I believe that many parents do not understand how smart their young child really is and how much potential they have for understanding and doing hard complex things. This seems to be a late development in the evolution of our society. Did you know that John Hancock entered Harvard University when he was 13 years old, that Samuel Adams completed his master’s degree before he turned 21 and that Thomas Jefferson frequently studied 15 hours a day during his time at the College of William and Mary?[1] There truly has been a fundamental shift in how we raise and educate our children.

By misunderstanding a child’s ability to learn and understand hard and complex ideas a parent can potentially stunt their child’s intellectual and cognitive growth. I think this can happen in a couple different ways. The first way a parent can bring a child’s development to a crawl is by speaking and teaching the child below his or her current stage of development. The second, which is really just the flip side of the first, is done by not challenging the child beyond their current stage of development.

So right about now you may be asking, “What does this have to do with leading a child to Christ?” Well I will tell you. I believe that we do a serious disservice to our youth and blaspheme the Lord by contextualizing and dumbing down the Gospel for our children. Children can handle much bigger ideas and concepts than you think. They can understand their depravity, their need for salvation and that God’s wrath was satisfied through the atoning work of Jesus Christ on the cross. They need to understand Heaven and Hell, faith and repentance. Serious harm can and has been done by offering a pseudo-gospel to children. Unfortunately, today our Sunday Schools and Vacation Bible School programs have become the breeding ground for false converts. Our kids are being fed an impotent gospel that, in reality, is no gospel at all.

Another issue, which does not relate to our underestimation of our children’s ability to understand and reason, is the problem of leading a child in the decision for salvation. Children can be manipulated very easily and it does not take much effort to persuade them in any one direction. So parents and teachers we must be very careful not to be overzealous and usurp the ministry of the Holy Spirit. It is His job to convict a person of sin and the work of the Father to draw them to Jesus. Children are prone to make false professions simply to please their overzealous parents or teachers. Let us not make this grave error of pressuring our children to make a decision; the result of which can have damnable consequences. Leading a child, or any person for that matter, in a decision for salvation can give a false sense of security. A person’s faith should not be put in the raising of their hand, the signing of the card, the baptism, or the sincerity of their decision; it should be in Christ alone. If the child is genuinely converted then they have become a new creation in Christ and will henceforth bear fruit in keeping with their repentance. Also be wise in your language. Avoid evangelical jargon such as “ask Jesus into your heart” or “plead the blood”. These terms are not only confusing but they are often unscriptural.

In closing let me just add that while I am not a trained psychologist, and my advice should not be treated as if I were, it would appear to me that what I have shared is grounded deeply within truth and logic. Your children are smarter than you think and you should treat them that way. Treat them as fools and that is what they will become. Train up a child in the way that they should go and when they get older they will not depart from it. Find the balance of using age appropriate language when sharing the Gospel with your child without compromising on those areas that are hard and that sting. And finally, don’t fret. Remember salvation is of the Lord and He is sovereign over your child’s election. Now let the truth of that knowledge guide you as you as you disciple your little ones and point them to the cross of Jesus Christ.

[1] The Rebelution

Stepping on the Box.

2008-11-21T10:18:00.000-08:00

I suppose it has been about 3 years now since I was walking in the West End of downtown Dallas. Last I was there I saw a young man standing on a step stool preaching. To that point, in my 30-some years of life, I don't think I had ever witnessed anybody ever preaching in the open-air. I had seen people in the past wearing sandwich boards or holding up signs but never had I heard a person preach in public outside of a church. I had certainly heard about people doing this in the past; I had even heard a few preachers talk about what they use to do back when they had "zeal without knowledge". But I had never seen it myself.

Oddly, one of my initial responses to the preaching of the Gospel in public was embarrassment. The difficult part to understand though is that the embarrassment was not necessarily for the man yelling from the stool, it was for myself. I felt strangely uncomfortable, like every eye in the gathering crowd might at anytime turn toward me. It was kind of like watching a television program where the characters are in a very awkward and embarrassing situation and somehow their embarrassment is transmitted to you. I always end up watching those shows through cupped hands. That is how the preaching made me feel.

There was also a hint of anger that I felt toward the preacher. I thought he sounded arrogant, angry and hateful. His message was true but somehow it lacked the love that I knew Christ held for the lost. After about 10 minutes of watching the preaching we left and jumped into the car. I am quite sure we ridiculed that poor guy the entire ride back to Duncanville. I think we all felt that the preacher was courageous but he lacked love and was likely ineffective.

As I lay in bed that night and considered everything that I had witnessed that evening I became honest with myself. Honest about my embarrassment and honest about my angry reaction toward the preaching. Ultimately, I had to concluded that my embarrassment and anger was due to a singular fact; I was ashamed of what the man was saying and I was mad that I lacked the courage to do what that man did. I certainly believed in what he was saying and I had up to that point even dared shared my faith with non-christians. But something within me that night wanted to find a shovel, dig a hole and jump in.

One thing I was absolutely sure of that night was that I would never do what I saw that man do.

Fast forward about a year, my good friend Chad Cossette, who I actually led to Christ in high school, gave me a message to listen to; Hell's Best Kept Secret by Ray Comfort. I instantly loved it, but what I did not realize at that time was that one message would have more impact on me than any other message I had ever heard. That message altered the course of my life. As I began to seek out more teaching by Ray Comfort I discovered that his ministry had a daily two hour radio show called Way of the Master Radio. The radio show often played clips of Ray Comfort preaching open-air. I absolutely loved it and it didn't take me long before I started to fear that I would one day soon find myself preaching from on top of a box.

This past July, a mere two years after I swore my oath of never publicly proclaiming the Gospel, I did it. This Independence Day I stood on a concrete barrier and preached the very same message that had once caused me so much embarrassment. It was my Independence Day, I was exercising my liberty and freedom from the bondage of shame, anger and pride. Since that July 4th I have preached in the open air about 15 times and was even blessed with the opportunity to be personally trained by the man whose message had meant so much to me. Preaching in the public square has proven to be the most terrifying thing that I love to do.

I now find myself in a very privileged line of preachers, Ray Comfort, Todd Friel, Tony Miano, David Wilkerson, Dwight Moody, Charles Spurgeon, John Wesley, John Knox, Stephen, the Apostle Paul, the Apostle Peter, Jesus Christ and it is my hope that you will one day join me and experience the absolute pleasure of heralding the Good News of Salvation!

"No sort of defense is needed for preaching out-of-doors; but it would need very potent arguments to prove that a man had done his duty who has never preached beyond the walls of his meetinghouse. A defense is required rather for services within buildings than for worship outside of them." C. H. Spurgeon

Noah's Flood - Part III

2008-11-19T10:03:00.000-08:00

Genesis 5 is a rather boring chapter in the Bible. It is one of those chapters that is often skipped because of all of the begats. However, there is something very interesting hiding just beneath the surface; and unless you know it’s there you’d never see it. So let’s take a close look at these otherwise overlooked names and their respective meanings. The following I give credit to Chuck Missler.

Adam

The first name, Adam, comes from adomah, and means "man." As the first man, that seems straightforward enough.

Seth

Adam's son was named Seth, which means "appointed." When he was born Eve said, "For God hath appointed me another seed instead of Abel, whom Cain slew."

Enosh

Seth's son was called Enosh, which means "mortal," "frail," or "miserable." It is from the root anash: to be incurable; used of a wound, grief, woe, sickness, or wickedness. (It was in the days of Enosh that men began to defile the name of the Living God. )

Kenan

Enosh's son was named Kenan, from which can mean "sorrow," dirge," or "elegy." (The precise denotation is somewhat elusive; some study aids unfortunately presume an Aramaic root synonymous with "Cainan.") Balaam, looking down from the heights of Moab, employed a pun upon the name of the Kenites when he prophesied their destruction.

Mahalalel

Kenan's son was Mahalalel, from mahalal, which means "blessed" or "praise"; and El, the name for God. Thus, Mahalalel means "the Blessed God." Often Hebrew names included El, the name of God, as Dani-el, "God is my Judge," Nathani-el, "Gift of God," etc.

Jared

Mahalalel's son was named Jared, from the verb yaradh, meaning "shall come down." Some authorities suggest that this might have been an allusion to the "Sons of God" who "came down" to corrupt the daughters of men, resulting in the Nephilim ("Fallen Ones") of Genesis 6.

Enoch

Jared's son was named Enoch, which means "teaching," or "commencement." He was the first of four generations of preachers. In fact, the earliest recorded prophecy was by Enoch, which amazingly enough deals with the Second Coming of Christ.

Methuselah

The Flood of Noah did not come as a surprise. It had been preached on for four generations. But something strange happened when Enoch was 65, from which time "he walked with God." Enoch was given a prophecy that as long as his son was alive, the judgment of the flood would be withheld; but as soon as he died, the flood would be sent forth. Enoch named his son to reflect this prophecy. The name Methuselah comes from two roots: muth, a root that means "death" ; and from shalach, which means "to bring," or "to send forth." Thus, the name Methuselah signifies, "his death shall bring."And, indeed, in the year that Methuselah died, the flood came. Methuselah was 187 when he had Lamech, and lived 782 years more. Lamech had Noah when he was 182.7 The Flood came in Noah's 600th year. 187 + 182 + 600 = 969, Methuselah's age when he died.It is interesting that Methuselah's life was, in effect, a symbol of God's mercy in forestalling the coming judgment of the flood. It is therefore fitting that his lifetime is the oldest in the Bible, symbolizing the extreme extensiveness of God's mercy.

Lamech

Methuselah's son was named Lamech, a root still evident today in our own English word, "lament" or "lamentation." Lamech suggests "despairing." (This name is also linked to the Lamech in Cain's line who inadvertently killed his son Tubal-Cain in a hunting incident. )

Noah

Lamech, of course, is the father of Noah, which is derived from nacham , "to bring relief" or "comfort," as Lamech himself explains.

Now let's put it all together:

Hebrew---------English

Adam------------Man

Seth-------------Appointed

Enosh-----------Mortal

Kenan-----------Sorrow

Mahalalel--------The Blessed God

Jared------------Shall come down

Enoch----------- Teaching

Methuselah------His death shall bring

Lamech----------The despairing

Noah-------------Rest, or comfort

“Man is appointed mortal sorrow but the blessed God shall come down teaching that His death shall bring the despairing comfort.”

Here is a summary of God's plan of redemption, hidden here within a genealogy in Genesis! You will never convince me that a group of Jewish rabbis deliberately "contrived" to hide the "Christian Gospel" right here in a genealogy within their venerated Torah!

Noah's Flood - Part II

2008-11-19T10:02:00.000-08:00

Catch this, do you know what biblical typology is? Simply put typology is an interpretive practice of taking a person, thing or an event and defining it as symbolically representative of something yet future. So we can look at people, things or events in the Old Testament and see that they are prophetically symbolic of people, things or events fulfilled in the New Testament, or even in our future.

A classic example of this can be found in John 3:14 where Jesus says, “And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up.” In this case we see that the serpent that was lifted up foreshadowed the healing that would come to all those who, through faith, look upon the God-man that was lifted up on the cross.

We also have a type of Christ in the Flood account. It probably is pretty clear but for the sake of making my point I will go ahead and lay it out. The flood waters represent God’s justice and wrath and the ark of Noah represents salvation in Christ. Here is the cool part that I want to point out; in Genesis 6:14-16 God gives Noah the blueprints for constructing the Ark. Let’s look just at verse 14, and we will look at it in the KJV because the translation is more precise. “Make thee an ark of gopher wood; rooms shalt thou make in the ark, and shalt pitch it within and without with pitch."
Now I just want to focus in on the two words in this passage that are translated “pitch”. The word translated “and shalt pitch” is kaphar and the word “pitch” is kopher. Pitch was used in the construction of this boat for two reasons; first, to act as a preservative so the timbers would not rot and secondly, to act as a sealing agent, to prevent water from coming in. Now I will let the Hebrew speak for itself:“and shalt pitch” (kaphar) - to cover, purge, make an atonement, make reconciliation, cover over with pitch“pitch” (kaphor) - price of a life, ransom, bribe, asphalt, pitch (as a covering)

Isn’t that amazing? The sealing and preservative agent of Jesus Christ, the antitype of the Ark, is His blood. Remember, you were not redeemed or ransomed by corruptible things like silver and gold but by the precious blood of the one who came to give His life a ransom for many.

AMEN!

Noah's Flood

2008-11-19T10:01:00.000-08:00

I lead a weekly Bible study at my home here in Tacoma, Washington and we have been going through the "Story of God". The Story of God is basically teaching the Bible in story-form (I will write on this in the future). We started at the very beginning at the creation and we have been working our way forward. We've gone through Beginnings, the First Humans, Separation, Cain and Abel, The Flood and we just finished talking about the Covenant this past Wednesday.

While I was studying for the story of Noah I dug up some old notes and did some new research that I though I would share with the group. It was received very well by them so I thought you might like it too.

When did the Flood of Noah occur? Did you know that the Bible tells us? Let's see what Moses has to say about it; you might be very surprised!

Genesis 7:6-11 6 Noah was six hundred years old when the floodwaters were on the earth.7 So Noah, with his sons, his wife, and his sons’ wives, went into the ark because of the waters of the flood. 8 Of clean animals, of animals that are unclean, of birds, and of everything that creeps on the earth, 9 two by two they went into the ark to Noah, male and female, as God had commanded Noah. 10 And it came to pass after seven days that the waters of the flood were on the earth. 11 In the six hundredth year of Noah’s life, in the second month, the seventeenth day of the month, on that day all the fountains of the great deep were broken up, and the windows of heaven were opened.

Keeping in mind that Noah was under the Civil Hebrew Calendar and not the Ceremonial, which was not instituted until the time of the first Passover; the rains started on the 17th of Cheshvan – That falls on the 15th of November this year.

Genesis 7:12
And rain fell on the earth forty days and forty nights.
40 days after the 17th day of Cheshvan (15th of November) is the 28th of Chislev – That falls on the 5th and middle day of Hanukkah. It is believed by many that Jesus was conceived by the Holy Spirit in Hanukkah. That is, that the Light of the World came into the world during the Festival of Lights. This year the 5th day of Hanukkah falls on December 25th, Christmas day.

Genesis 7:24- 8:4

24 And the waters prevailed on the earth one hundred and fifty days. 8:1 Then God remembered Noah, and every living thing, and all the animals that were with him in the ark. And God made a wind to pass over the earth, and the waters subsided. 2 The fountains of the deep and the windows of heaven were also stopped, and the rain from heaven was restrained. 3 And the waters receded continually from the earth. At the end of the hundred and fifty days the waters decreased. 4 Then the ark rested in the seventh month, the seventeenth day of the month, on the mountains of Ararat.

This happened on the 17th day of Nissan. This is the Feast of First Fruits, the day that Jesus raised from the dead. So our new beginning in Christ was on the anniversary of the Earth's "new beginning" under Noah! The 17th of Nissan falls on the 11th of April in 2009.

Genesis 8:13
By the first day of the first month of Noah's six hundred and first year, the water had dried up from the earth.
The first day of the first month is the 1st day of Tishrei. The 1st of Tishrei, is Rosh Hashanah and thought, by Jews, to be the anniversary of the creation of the earth. It is also Yom Teruah, the Feast of Trumpets. The 1st of Tishrei falls on the 19th of September in 2009.

Another interesting fact is that the judgment of God began with the 600th birthday of Noah and in its totality lasted through into his 601st birthday. So, the transitional event from Noah's previous 6 centuries and the beginning of his 7th was the judgment of God in the Flood. We are now closing out our 6th millennium and are on the verge of our 7th. I wonder, is there is some transitional time of judgment on our near horizon?

Interesting how God put this book together, eh?

This past Saturday was the anniversary of God's judgment in the Flood.