Thinking about an Incredible Christmas Gift

One of the blessings of God in my life was being raised in a family that loved God and loved each other. A noted result of that is Christmas is filled with many positive memories for me. Memories from the wonder of a six year old looking at the presents wrapped under the tree to 30 family members filling my parents’ home for Christmas dinner seem to bubble up for me this time of year.

Another memory that seems to re-surface each year is of being a college student teaching Sunday school. A couple of years in a row, as I taught 6^th graders and then moved up to work with junior high students (7^th-9^thgraders), the story of the angel appearing to Joseph seemed to be a part of the curriculum at Christmas time. Though the story has much richness to it, one verse repeatedly struck me:  Matthew 1:23. It reads:

"Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel" (which means, God with us).

For a number of reasons the words “God with us” have always wowed me. The Lord Jesus came as a baby to save us from our sins, as Matthew 1:21 states, but the reason He did that was to be with us. Perhaps because as a college student I struggled with issues of personal worth and value, I was taken back in a good way by the statement that God the Son came to be with us. God desires to have a relationship with us to the extent that He reached out to us by coming to us. Though the analogy is far from perfect, indulge me for just a moment. As a child, and maybe even as an adult, there is something about having another child knock on your door and ask if you wanted to play. In coming, the Lord Jesus is like the neighbor kid coming and knocking on the door asking us to come out and play with Him. As I said, I know the analogy is not perfect, but it strikes me that Jesus came to be with us. I do not deserve His interest or attention, but I am dramatically blessed by it. We have been given an incredible gift in Jesus’ coming.

No longer being in college – now we have two sons and a daughter-in-law in college, with a third son starting next fall – that Sunday school teaching college student era seems like a life time ago, but the wowness of Jesus coming to be with us still shows up every Christmas. And I suppose part of the reason why is because before the Lord Jesus ascending to heaven, He made an amazing promise at the very end of the Gospel of Matthew. Matthew 28:20 ends with the words:

And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.

The gift of God’s presence at Christmas is not just a Christmas thing. Jesus is not just present during the time you have your nativity set out. If you are a follower of the Lord Jesus, He has promised to be present always. That is a Christmas gift that keeps giving and giving to us all year round. God gives the most incredible gifts. I pray your Christmas is about celebrating and thanking God for the amazing gift of a relationship with Him this Christmas.

Being Impacted

Since I was in the 11^th grade and God brought me into a personal relationship with Himself through the Lord Jesus, the Bible has been really important in my life. As I have studied the Bible and had lots of opportunity to teach the Bible, I have become increasingly convinced that the Bible is a gift from God to us to mark our lives. Perhaps more exacting, I should say that I believe is vital to us really being able to live life. 2 Timothy 3:16-17 have influenced me to reach that conclusion. Those verses read:

All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, ¹⁷ that the man of God may be competent, equipped for every good work.

That belief seems like a pretty big claim. Claims are easy to make, but do they actually happen in life? It feels trite to say that the Bible can promote or stimulate change in your life so you can really life. In the trenches of real life, we want to that it does, and we want to know how we can experience the impact, influence, and outcome of the Bible in our lives.

This Christmas season we have been studying Luke 1 and 2 as a church family. In going through those chapters I have been hit by a couple of things related to the above discussion. One is that Zechariah, hesitant to believe a message from God, was given 9 months of silence. Coming out of that period, he was changed (see Luke 1:5-20, 57-79). Mary, the mother of the Lord Jesus, is described in Luke 2:19 and 51 as treasuring and pondering the things said concerning the Lord Jesus.

Then, as I have trying to do work ahead on the series we will be doing in the New Year from the book of Joshua, the words of Joshua 1:8 captured my attention:

This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success.

Zechariah, Mary, and Joshua are three people who were greatly impacted by God’s Word. A common thread in their stories seems to be either by choice (Mary), command (Joshua), or consequence (Zechariah) the impact of God’s Word can be traced to their noted reflection on God’s Word.

There are a multitude of things that constantly clamor for our attention, and often it is the squeaky wheel that gets the grease. To be impacted by the Bible so that God informs our attitudes and actions, maybe I need to see the Bible as a squeaky wheel. I need to give noted attention to what God says, so my life is shaped by God and not by those other sounds. A God-shaped life can look pretty good according to Psalm 1:1-3:

Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers; ² but his delight is in the law of the LORD, and on his law he meditates day and night. ³ He is like a tree planted by streams of water that yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither. In all that he does, he prospers.

Sounds like if we want to prosper as 2013 ends and 2014 begins,  we need to take some time to mull over God’s Word so God, through His Spirit, does some molding and moving work in us. 

Who Am I? How Reconciliation Should Impact Your Answer

In getting ready for Sunday’s message that will finish our 4 week Involveagram series, I was encouraged to think about the gospel – the good news that Jesus came, died for our sins, and rose again, making it possible for us to be forgiven and reconciled to God if we would repent and trust the Lord Jesus as our Savior. Specifically I was encouraged to think about some of the impacts in our lives of being reconciled to God, impacts that should inform how I look at myself. 2 Corinthians 5:14-21 is a passage that has helped me think about those impacts. It reads:

For the love of Christ controls us, because we have concluded this: that one has died for all, therefore all have died; ¹⁵ and he died for all, that those who live might no longer live for themselves but for him who for their sake died and was raised.  ¹⁶ From now on, therefore, we regard no one according to the flesh. Even though we once regarded Christ according to the flesh, we regard him thus no longer.  ¹⁷ Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. ¹⁸ All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; ¹⁹ that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation. ²⁰ Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. ²¹ For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

In brief, here are five impacts those verses tell us are true about followers of Jesus:

·         Impact #1 – You Receive a New Life – 2 Corinthians 5:17 – In being reconciled to God, we receive new lives – literally we are new creations.

·         Impact #2 – You Gain a New Outlook – 2 Corinthians 5:16 – instead of looking at people based on gender or ethnicity or socioeconomic status, we can look at people in light of eternity. So often we put barriers between ourselves and others people because of short-term stuff. But when with the new perspective we gain through being reconciled, we can invest in relationships across what used to be barriers.

·         Impact #3 – You Report to a New Leader – 2 Corinthians 5:15 – being reconciled means that the Lord Jesus is really the driver of my life bus, which means that my life is being led by the smartest, most powerful person there is. But that raises a question: Why I follow the best leader? My life can be very different when I do.

·         Impact #4 – You Are Stimulated by a New Motive – 2 Corinthians 5:14 – Lots of things can be the driving motive of our lives. Paul wants us to know love can be that motive of our lives, specifically verse 14 it telling us that we can be motivated by Christ’s love for us. Sometimes starting a new day is hard, but think of how different each day can be when the spark in our lives is not the cup of coffee we might crave, but will soon wear off, but instead is Jesus’ love for us that He declared in dying on the cross while we were His enemies.

·         Impact #5 – You Have a New Mission – 2 Corinthians 5:18-20 – when you receive Jesus, you are given the privilege of joining God’s State Department as His ambassador to your home, school, neighborhood, workplace, and social networks. There is a very real purpose for your life.

If you are a follower of the Lord Jesus you need to see yourself according to those impacts. That is who God reconciled you to be. Lots of things can influence how we view ourselves. But because of what the Lord Jesus did on the first Christmas, first Good Friday, and first Easter, one influence can truly be the most influential. Please, live according to the person God has reconciled you to be. Many will be blessed by the impact of you being the God-reconciled person you are in the Lord Jesus.

Praying for Central

Prayer is an incredible gift from God to us. But for many of us, prayer is something we struggle with and find hard to do. As a church, Central needs to be praying, but we can struggle with how to do that too. The more I try to study about prayer and look for ways to help people, including myself through the struggles we seem to have related to prayer, I keep being pointed to the same conclusion: to become a "pray-er," I need to pray, but then I run into my struggle as if it is a reinforced brick wall. In an effort to help all of us grow in prayer, please read this helpful article -Simple and Strategic Prayer for Your Church - by one of my professors. I pray it helps you and me grow in prayer.

Is God Central?

Recently, a man whom God has used greatly in my life, Dr. Gary Inrig, spoke at the Fall Bible Conference at Grace University, where our second son and our first son’s wife are currently students. Thanks to internet technology I have been able to listen to those messages (you can too by using this link http://blogs.graceuniversity.edu/gracelife/ and scrolling down). Dr. Inrig began his first message by quoting from the first sentence of A. W. Tozer’s book, The Knowledge of the Holy, “What comes into our minds when we think about God is the most important thing about us.”

I have been pondering that sentence since hearing it. I am confident that there is much more to Tozer’s words than I have grasped or can write in a blog post – after all, the sentence was the springboard to an entire book – but I would like to share a couple of thoughts that I trust are of some value.

First, I believe the sentence reminds us of the centrality of God to all of life. Romans 11:36 I believe underlines that truth:

For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be glory forever. Amen.

Often, too often, I can be self-absorbed and view life as if everything revolves around me. I suppose a good word to describe that is pride. But my pride is baseless. Things do not revolve around me or you. That in no way means we have no value. We have value, but that value is derived from God. What I mean by that is each person has value because each person is created in the image of God. That fact should have huge bearing on how we treat other people, recognizing God’s fingerprints on and purpose for their lives. In addition, when a person receives the Lord Jesus as his or her Savior, Ephesians 2:10 says that we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works which God prepared in advance for us. God believes we have something significant to contribute, we bring value to life.

If I forget or do not live in light of the centrality of God, I will actual undermine or even remove the basis for my personal value. Thinking that what I think about God is the most important thing about me does not diminish me, it allows me to see myself accurately. Though that is contingent on at least one factor, which is the second thought I had.

If Tozer’s sentence is true and God is central to life, including my life, then it becomes really important for me to have an accurate understanding of who God is. To process life, I need to think correctly about God. On page three of The Knowledge of the Holy, Tozer offered, “I believe there is scarcely an error in doctrine or a failure in applying Christian ethics that cannot be traced finally to imperfect and ignoble thoughts about God.” Thinking about God is a theological concern. But if God is central to life, then if I have mixed up thoughts about God, I can have some pretty mixed up attitudes and actions in my everyday life. To function well, I need to think rightly about God. If I do not, there will be disconnect, and sadly I may not even be aware of that disconnect. Tozer, on the second page of the book noted, “We tend by a secret law of the soul to move toward our mental image of God.” If my thoughts about God are off, a lot of things will be off. I need to seek to understand God as He revealed Himself in the Bible, not how I would like God to be.

Please let me know your thoughts about thinking rightly about God.

What Made Moses Moses? Prayer?

I have always wondered how different biblical characters came to play the roles they did and become the people they did. After Christmas we will be doing a series on Joshua, so I have been thinking about Joshua, but whenever I think of Joshua, I think of Moses, whom Joshua followed as the leader of Israel. Deuteronomy 34:10 gives us some idea of how Moses was viewed:

“Since that time no prophet has risen in Israel like Moses, whom the Lord knew face to face.”

Yet, when Moses started out, Moses was incredibly reluctant to assume the responsibility of serving God. Walter C. Kaiser, Jr. described Moses, at the being of his ministry, as “timid, unsure of himself, and shrank back from any self-assertiveness that his divine commission demanded of him.”[1] How did Moses become the hero of Israel and an incredibly prominent figure in the Bible?

A brief editorial insertion in the golden calf narrative of Exodus 32-34 may offer the answer to that question. Exodus 33:7-11 read as follows:

Now Moses used to take the tent and pitch it outside the camp, far off from the camp, and he called it the tent of meeting. And everyone who sought the LORD would go out to the tent of meeting, which was outside the camp. ⁸ Whenever Moses went out to the tent, all the people would rise up, and each would stand at his tent door, and watch Moses until he had gone into the tent. ⁹ When Moses entered the tent, the pillar of cloud would descend and stand at the entrance of the tent, and the LORD would speak with Moses. ¹⁰ And when all the people saw the pillar of cloud standing at the entrance of the tent, all the people would rise up and worship, each at his tent door. ¹¹ Thus the LORD used to speak to Moses face to face, as a man speaks to his friend. When Moses turned again into the camp, his assistant Joshua the son of Nun, a young man, would not depart from the tent.

Please notice three observations from these verses that seem to explain how Moses changed and how following Moses’ example could stimulate change in our lives too.

First, Moses’ action in verse seven of putting up the tent suggests that Moses regularly took time to meet with God. Moses’ life and his service for God operated out of the context of his continuous interaction with God. Moses’ time with God, in prayer, empowered him and gave him life for the tasks and responsibilities he faced.

Second, verses 8 to 10 provide somewhat of an explanation to the people of Israel and us of why Moses changed. People saw that Moses actively sought time with God. It probably helped them to understand that when Moses spoke, his words undoubtedly came from his time with God. Moses’ leadership was not from Moses’ skills, it was from his pursuing the leadership of God in his own life.

Third, the story ends with a reference to Joshua, son of Nun, Moses’ servant. The narrative seems to suggest that Joshua not only stayed when Moses left the tent, but also was present when Moses met with the Lord. Joshua directly saw how Moses commitment to prayer and his relationship with God changed Moses; that vantage point undoubtedly marked Joshua. It also must have made God’s words to him in Joshua 1:5 emphatic:

No man shall be able to stand before you all the days of your life. Just as I was with Moses, so I will be with you. I will not leave you or forsake you.

Donald H. Madvig observed, “The secret of Moses’ success had been God’s presence with him. It would be the secret of Joshua’s success also, and it continues to be the secret of success for the church (cf. Matt 28:19-20).”[2] Moses was changed by God, in part because Moses sought God in prayer.  Out of that habit, he was empowered and able to do things he did not think he could do. As people watch his example, they saw the secret of his success was his relationship with God. From a front row sit, Joshua saw how being God transform a person and lead a person to do incredible things for God, because God is present.

Often we think that prayer is about bring requests and asking God to do things for us. Requests are a part of prayer, but prayer is so much more than that. Prayer can be a tool God uses to transform us to  become people that do things beyond what we would have ever imagined ourselves doing for God’s glory.  Let’s pray like Moses.

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[1]Walter C. Kaiser, Jr., Exodus, in vol. 2 of The Expositor’s Bible Commentary, ed. Frank E. Gaebelein and J. D. Douglas (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, Regency Reference Library, 1990), 318.

[2]Donald H. Madvig, Joshua, in vol. 3 of The Expositor’s Bible Commentary, ed. Frank E. Gaebelein and J. D. Douglas (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, Regency Reference Library, 1992), 256.

Does God Only Give Us What We Can Handle?

Given that we live in a fallen world, because of things like social media and the context of what I do for a living, I will regularly hear stories of people who are dealing with incredibly difficult situations. In short, they are facing the harshness of life and are having to experiencing incredible levels of suffering. How should we respond when that happens? What should we say to them? In reading the book of Job I know that I do not want to be like one of the Job’s friends and say things with great intentions but which are inaccurate, wrong, hurtful, and even harmful.

One expression I have heard used a number of times, and probably have said myself, is either stated positively, “God only gives you what you can handle,” or negatively, “God does not give you more than you can handle.” I am confident those words are offered with good intentions of seeking to offer comfort and encouragement. But there is a problem with those words, whether stated positively or negatively: those words are not exactly from the Bible, and they do not seem to ring true in our experience. As such, the good intentions fail to deliver the intended outcome. I do not believe it is accurate to say that God only gives us what we can handle.

So where do we come up with this idea? So where did this expression come from? The words probably come from a less than complete understanding of 1 Corinthians 10:13 which reads:

No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it.

I believe the words “not temped beyond your ability” may have been twisted to mean that God will not give us more than we can handle. I do not believe that is what the verse means though. The verse is talking about temptation not suffering. The point of the verse is that as followers of the Lord Jesus, we can never be tempted by something that is beyond the resources available to us to defeat. As a follower of Jesus, I can say no to sin. Temptation does not have to triumph. God does not allow me to be tempted in a manner that I have no choice but to give into the temptation. There is always a way out for us from temptation – God provide us that.

So what should we do about or with suffering? If I venture to say anything what should I say? When I am suffering is there any scriptural hope or promise that I should lean on? Or does God just let stuff happen? Does He just stand by and watch us or ignore us struggle? If God does not promise that we will never be given more than we can handle, what does He do?

In the midst of suffering God promises His people that He will be with us. Verses like Isaiah 41:10, 13, and 43:1-5 speak not of perfect or even good circumstances, but of God’s presence in ugly circumstances. And when God is present, He always brings his mercy and faithfulness (Lamentation 3:22-23).

For reasons that are hard to fathom, and probably we will not find a completely satisfying reason this side of eternity, God does not crush all of the ugliness of life yet – He will, but not yet. He is aware that we hurt and sometimes that hurt grows to be a huge mountain balancing on a fragile person. But what He does do is to promise His presence (Psalm 34:18).

I wish I could say more or offer more when we suffering. There is a degree of mysterious discomfort in suffering that is beyond intellectual processing. But in the midst of that God offers Himself to be with us in our sorrow and suffering. The suffering may go on, but God’s presence endures.  What God offers all of us this side of eternity is not a wonderful life, but a reconciled relationship with Him, a relationship in which He is present. That is what He offers each of us.

Live Q&A Follow-up - The Husband of One Wife

Last night we had a second Live Question and Answer night to help conclude our message series, “God, I have a question.” One of the questions asked was: what is meant by the husband of one wife in the qualifications for elders and deacons? We did answer the question, but I wanted to provide a more detailed answer given the importance of the concept.

This characteristic, the husband of one wife, is the first of six positive qualities that Paul employed to help describe a life that is above reproach – being above reproach is fundamental qualification of a church leader. The husband of one wife is also the most difficult or contentious of the list to define. A scholar named C. K. Barrett described this characteristic as “notoriously obscure.”[1]

At least four basic interpretations and a number of variations of those views have been offered. One scholar suggested that it could mean: “(1) ‘Must be married,’ (2) ‘Not polygamous,’ (3) ‘Faithful to his wife,’ or (4) ‘Not remarried/divorced.” Another suggested that the trait was meant to exclude those who “(1) were unmarried, (2) were polygamous, (3) had been divorced, or (4) had remarried after the death of their first spouse.” Yet another writer described the views as marriage as a requisite, one wife in a lifetime, no divorce, and faithful to one’s wife. And one final scholar expressed the views as elders must be married, elders must not be polygamists, elders may marry only once, and elders must be martially and sexually above reproach.

Perhaps the simplest explanation for the challenge with this trait is that the phrase itself is unusual. A Greek scholar William Mounce noted, “The Greek has to be ‘squeezed’ to illicit any meaning.”[2] Homer A. Kent, Jr. wrote, “The interpretation of this short phrase has been disputed from the earliest times.”[3]

To help interpret the expression, two considerations should be made. First, the overall tenor of the list found in 1 Timothy 3 deals with issues of character not events or conditions. The marital fidelity view understands the phrase “the husband of one wife” not as a description of a condition that results from past events, but as a moral quality that is currently being demonstrated. From a review of the grammatical structure of the phrase in the context of the list, it appears that Paul was emphasizing the man’s character related to male-female relationships and not his actual marital situation. Well known pastor, John MacArthur affirmed the same conclusion when he stated: “Paul is not referring to the leader’s marital status, as the absence of the definite article in the original indicates. Rather the issue is his moral, sexual behavior.”[4] The first consideration gives merit to a marital fidelity view, which would be understood as Paul calling for an elder to be faithful in his relationship with his wife and with women in general.

Second, a scholar named Sydney Page concluded from a study of the New Testament and comparable literature that there was no obvious way at the time to express the concept of marital fidelity in the Greek language at that time.[5] The lack of such an expression may be a result of excessive moral laxity within the Greek culture. Again, John MacArthur noted this qualification of marital fidelity “was especially important in Ephesus, where sexual evil was rampant.”[6] The end result means that if you wanted to express the idea of man who was faithful to his marriage vows or to sexual morality if single, in a positive way, you would probably have to coin a phrase.

Understanding exactly what is meant by the words the husband of one wife is not simple. But it would appear that a noted part of being above reproach as a church leader would mean that the man in question exhibits faithfulness and fidelity to the marriage relationship. His interaction with his wife and women in general is worthy of imitation.

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[1]C. K. Barrett, The Pastoral Epistles in the New English Bible: With Introduction and Commentary (London: Oxford University Press, 1963; reprint, Grand Rapids: Outreach Publications, 1986), 58.

[2]William D. Mounce, Pastoral Epistles, Word Biblical Commentary, vol. 46 (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 2000), 172.

[3]Homer A. Kent, Jr., The Pastoral Epistles: Studies in I and II Timothy and Titus (Chicago: Moody, 1958), 126.

[4]John MacArthur, Jr., 1 Timothy, MacArthur New Testament Commentary (Chicago: Moody, 1995), 104.

[5]Sydney Page, “Marital Expectations of Church Leaders in the Pastoral Epistles,” Journal for the Study of the New Testament 50 (June 1993): 119.

[6]MacArthur, Different by Design, 116. 

Live Q&A Follow-up - Satan and Pride

I am almost through the questions we did not have time to answer at the Live Question and Answer night on September 29. Here is another question: If heaven is perfect and there is not sin there, how did Satan have the sin of pride which got him thrown out of heaven?

This question, like the other question, is a good question. Sometimes good questions are not easy to answer. We do have a good sense that at some point Satan had to sin. Some scholars have offered Isaiah 14 and Ezekiel 28 as expressions of that very sin. But not all scholars would agree those passages are directly referring to Satan and his fall. So though they might give us some idea of what the sin of pride looks like, it may not be an actual reference to Satan.

So how did Satan have the sin of pride? I do not believe that the Bible takes the time to deal with that question. The Bible was written to help us live in a world that is marked by Satan and his sin of pride. But given the validity of the question let me offer a suggestion from Augustine. In his book The City of God, Augustine wrote, “For when the will abandons what is above itself, and turns to what is lower, it becomes evil – not because that is evil to which it turns, but because the turning itself is wicked.” What I am suggesting is that perhaps Satan allowed himself to be captured more by the wonder of himself as a creation of God than he was with the God who created him. Pride came into his life because he got caught up in his goodness, but forgot that goodness was a gift of God. Pride came because of failing to focus on the One who was the completeness of goodness. God’s creations are amazing. But they will always be lower than God. When we forget that, we will be in big trouble. I would suggest that Satan got caught up in himself instead of God and the whole of creation has paid ever since. Even in the perfection of heaven, turning attention from lesser good can bring the evil of pride.

Live Q&A Follow-up - Pacifism

One more question from the September 29 Live Question and Answer night: should Christians be pacifists?

This question deals with a subject that I am not well versed on in any measure. I do know that a number of serious, thoughtful people have come to the conclusion that we should embrace such an approach to life. In contrast I do know other mature believers who would disagree with the idea that Christians must be pacifists.  Given that this issue is not one that I have study in depth in the past, I thought it might be wise to offer three links to other people who obviously have thought through the subject. If you have questions after reading their thoughts, please comment below.

Link #1 - Five Biblical Reasons Why Christians Should Be Pacifists

Link #2 – Five Reasons Why Pacifism is Not a Biblical Approach to Ethics

Link #3 – Must Christians Be Pacifists

Live Q&A Follow-up - Euthanize a Pet?

Another question from the Live Question and Answer night: Do you believe it is right to euthanize pets? Is it right to take their life just because they suffer?

To answer this question I think it is wise to remember Genesis 1:26-28:

Then God said, "Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth." ²⁷ So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them. ²⁸ And God blessed them. And God said to them, "Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth."

As a part of our creation as humanity, God gave us responsibility to rule over creation. The idea of the word translated dominion is that of absolute mastery. God has given us the responsibility over creation as listed in those verses. Please note carefully though, we do not have absolutely right over ourselves or other people.

If we take into consideration the responsibility God has given us to rule or have dominion, then I think it is possible to suggest when it comes to our pets that God has placed them into our responsibility in manner similar to God being responsible for our lives (Job 1:20-21 teaches that God is rightfully sovereign over our beginnings and endings). If that suggestion is accurate, then I would offer that we do have the right to make decisions about the ending of the life of a pet who is suffering. We have been given the responsibility to make, in the case of the pet, that kind of decision. We do not have the right to make that decision about ourselves or other people, because God has not given us that responsibility – that is His responsibility.

Live Q&A Follow-up - Cremation

I am trying to answer a few more of the questions left over from the Live Question and Answer night on September 29. The question for this post is: Cremation – how should we view it – is it biblical? how should we discuss this option with others?

To answer the first part of the question in terms of whether or not cremation is biblical, two things should be noted. First, there are at least three examples in the Old Testament of a type of cremation – Achan in Joshua 7:25, Saul in 1 Samuel 31:12, and the King of Edom in Amos 2:1. Though cremation took place, each of those examples is tied in some way to God’s judgment and curse. Second, there is no direct command that I am aware of that prohibits cremation. So if we just give consideration to the biblical data, we can say on occasion cremation took place, but it is not something that was promoted and the more normal practice was burial. Why was that the case?

To answer the why question we should probably consider history and tradition for a moment. Cremation was a normal practice for Greeks and Romans, yet the catacombs in Rome suggest that the early Christians buried their dead. Christian grave sites, cemeteries, which comes from a word that means sleeping places, were understood o reflect a belief in the future resurrection.

Why did the early church adopt that view in a culture pro-cremation? It seems that early church believed that cremation was associated with pagan rituals and beliefs that were unbiblical. As such the most God-honoring way to handle the body of a Christ follower who died was to bury the body in anticipation of the future resurrection. As result for most of church history, burial was the common method.

Cremation entered into American culture on December 6, 1876 when Baron Joseph Henry Louis Charles De Palm was cremated in Washington, Pennsylvania. Baron De Palm was part of the Theosophical Society, a group that was influenced by many things other than God and the Bible. The cremation ceremony included readings from Charles Darwin and Hindu sacred writings.

So where does that leave us? Well, I cannot say that the practice of cremation is unbiblical, in that it is not directly prohibited in Scripture. But, cremation does have a tainted history and was not associated with God in a positive manner. Personally, I believe it might be wiser for a follower of the Lord Jesus to be buried rather than cremated.

To address the second part of the question in terms of how do you talk to others about cremation and burial, I would suggest you start with recognizing it is difficult to talk about things related to death. Then I would simply look at the history of cremation and its biblical connection.  Then I would probably ask the question:  Does my burial method communicate any message about the hope of the gospel? Should the resurrection have any impact on how I am buried? Please note, I am not saying that cremation prevents a person from being resurrected in any way. But I do see value in thinking about the how a burial may make a statement about the resurrection and not simply think about the economics of cremation versus a full casket burial.

Live Q&A Follow up - Pentecostals and Tongues

Here is another question that we did not have time to answer at the Live Question and Answer night on September 29: Why do Pentecostals seem to the gift of tongues and we don’t?

In trying to answer this question, I sense the possibility of the answer generating follow-up questions. Please either use the comment section of the blog site or bring your question to the next Live Question and Answer night on October 27 from 6 to 7:30 pm.

To answer the question I think we need to start by explaining the Classical Pentecostal understanding of salvation and the connection of the salvation to the Holy Spirit. To double check my answer please refer to the Assemblies of God's Fundamental Truths, especially points 7 and 8.

First, the whole process obviously begins with a person repenting and trusting the Lord Jesus as his or her Savior. Then, subsequent to that, this same person should expect and earnestly seek to experience the baptism of the Holy Spirit. Please note, I do not believe this experience is guaranteed, so it might be possible for a person who is saved to not experience it. It is at this point that tongues come into the picture, Classical Pentecostals hold that the initial physical evidence of experiencing the baptism of the Holy Spirit is speaking in tongues. Though this type of speaking in tongues is similar to the gift of tongues discussed in 1 Corinthians, it is actually different in purpose and use.

So when we talk about Pentecostals having this gift, they might in fact state that in a number of cases it is not the gifts of tongues, but rather it is the initial physical evidence of the baptism of the Holy Spirit.

That kind of changes the question to why do we not have this initial physical evidence for the baptism of the Holy Spirit? We would agree very much with our Pentecostal friends that people do repent and trust the Lord Jesus as their Savior. But, in light of verses like 1 Corinthians 12:13, we believe that the baptism of the Holy Spirit is not something that we should seek subsequent to being justified by the Lord Jesus. Rather the baptism of the Holy Spirit is something that occurs simultaneously to every believer at conversion. It is an objective salvation fact every believer benefits from not an experience that comes later that we may or may not receive. The initial physical evidence, the most controversial portion of the Classical Pentecostal position, is something that we do not see as having biblical warrant. We do not believe that a person needs to speak in tongues to give evidence of having received the baptism of the Holy Spirit. So that is why you will see many Pentecostals speaking in tongues, but we do not.

Prophets today?

Here is another question left over from the Live Question and Answer night on September 29: Are there still prophets today?

In pondering this question I think we need to keep a few things in mind as we move toward an answer. First, in the Old Testament there appeared to be an office of prophet (see for example 1 Samuel 10:11). There are also a number of books in the Old Testament that we refer to as the Prophets. It has been suggested that the Old Testament prophets did basically two things. One, they were involved in foretelling, meaning they revealed new information that was not previously known. I was told, though I cannot find a footnote to confirm it that about 10% of the prophecy was foretelling. The second thing the prophets did was to forth telling or remind people of things that had already been said. This function could account for 90% of what is called prophecy in the Old Testament.

Second, in looking at 1 Corinthians 14, specifically verse 3, it seems like the role or function of the prophet was to speak to people for their strengthening, encouragement, and comfort. They did not necessarily speak with divine authority according to 1 Corinthians 14:29. Other people, most likely the elders of the church, would evaluate and weigh what had been shared.

Third, the book of Revelation appears to share with the church a message about how the future will unfold. At the end of Revelation 22, the following is stated in verse 18 and 19:

I warn everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: if anyone adds to them, God will add to him the plagues described in this book, ¹⁹and if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God will take away his share in the tree of life and in the holy city, which are described in this book.

It seems like God believes He has spoken a final word to us in Revelation, and there is not a need for the church to receive a further divinely authoritative message concerning the future. We may like to have more information, but God does not seem to be of the same conviction on the matter.

Putting those three matters into the mix, here is how I would answer the question.  In 1 Corinthians 14:1 and 14:39 Paul speaks highly of prophecy that would lead me to think that there could very well be a role for prophecy or a prophet today. With the statement in Revelation, I would hold that the idea of prophecy being something new and authoritatively binding on church is not possible. Foretelling would seem to be something that came to an end. But the idea of forth telling, especially in the sense of forth telling to encourage and strength people seems valid and within the biblical message. In that sense I do believe that we could have people today who could serve as prophets or speak prophetically in that they could remind us of God’s truth, renewing our minds to a heavenly or divine perspective on issues. In many ways I can see that we need that type of prophetic voice as we seek to operate in a changing culture.

Another Live Q&A Response

Here is another question from the Live Question and Answer Night on September 29:

What is meant by believing children as far as being eligible to be an elder?

This question refers to a phrase in Titus 1:6. The whole verse reads this way in the English Standard Version:

If anyone is above reproach, the husband of one wife, and his children are believers and not open to the charge of debauchery or insubordination.

To answer the question we need to understand what is meant by the Greek word, πιστός, which is translated as “believers” in the ESV cited above. That particular Greek would can be translated in the active sense of believing, or as in three older English versions, the King James, the Geneva Bible, and the Douay Rheims, and three newer English versions, the New King James, the New English Translation, and the Holman Christian Standard Bible, it can be translated in a passive sense of  being faithful. To answer the question we need to reach a conclusion about what is the correct way to translate that word – are children to be believers or faithful?

First Timothy 3:4 seems to be a parallel verse to Titus 1:6. First Timothy 3:4 reads:

He must manage his own household well, with all dignity keeping his children submissive.

The emphasis of 1 Timothy 3:4 is on the elder’s ability to manage his household well, which is expressed by his ability to keep his children under control. The children are mentioned in relation to the father’s functioning, which makes sense in that list of characteristics in 1 Timothy 3 are to help Timothy determine in a man is qualified to be an elder. In the English versions that translate πιστός in an active sense in Titus 1:6, the focus would seem to shift from the father onto the child. That does not seem to fit the way the rest of characteristics are understood.

According to Greek scholars it is “not easy” to determine the correct interpretation of πιστός in Titus 1:6. The reason for that is the word πιστός has both an active and a passive sense in the places it is used. Having said that, from analyzing the usage of πιστός in the writings of the Septuagint, Philo, Josephus, the apostolic fathers, and the New Testament, a scholar named Norris C. Grubbs concluded that the vast majority of usages of πιστός were passive. He wrote, “Approximately 92 percent of the usages of πιστός, a total of 241 occurrences, display the passive idea of ‘faithful,’ trustworthy,’ or ‘reliable.’”[1]

Paul’s usage of πιστός in the Pastoral Epistles varies from that percentage of usage. Of the 33 times Paul used πιστός, 17 of those usages were in the Pastorals. Six of the 11 times Paul used πιστός in 1 Timothy, he used it in an active sense. In light of that, it should not be surprising to learn that many commentators agree with an active translation.

Taking all of that data into consideration, I believe, in contrast to the majority of the English translations, it would be best to adopt a passive translation of πιστός in Titus 1:6 for the following reasons. First, when Paul used πιστός a second time in the Titus 1 list in verse 9 and in a similar list in 1 Timothy 3:11, it is normally translated in a passive sense. The usage in Titus 1:9 is not as strong a reason for concluding that Titus 1:6 should be understood passively, given that in verse 9, πιστός is modifying word (λόγος), rather than speaking in reference to a person. But in 1 Timothy 3:11, Paul clearly used πιστός with respect to describing a person.

Another reason in support of the passive reading would be the structure of Titus 1:6. An active reading of πιστός would suggest that Paul is first addressing the eternal status of the child, and then the next qualifier emphasizes the children’s behavior. If that was correct, in the words of Homer Kent Jr., “It is possible for one’s children to be professed Christians but still be a source of embarrassment to their fathers because of unrighteous lives.”[2] Such an understanding would seem to be in conflict with Paul’s understanding of what God’s grace does in a person’s life according to Titus 2:11-14. Titus 2:12 suggests that not only does God’s grace saved believers, but God’s grace also has the ongoing task of teaching them to live righteously. The active translation in Titus 1:6 would seem to make it a very real prospect for children to be distant from the ongoing task of grace in their lives. That would not seem to fit the thrust of Paul’s message in Titus as a whole. A passive understanding would fit the overall context better, and would render Titus 1:6 as stating the behavior of children in both positive and negative terms.

To try and answer the question, the issue of Titus 1:6 is not so much about children being believers, as it does a father, who is being considered as an elder, operating as a dad in a way that his children are well behaved. I do not think that means that they are perfect, but as we look at how a dad operates with his children does he teach them to be responsible, empathetic, and respectful. Does he discipline and correct them or does he just punish them or perhaps worse, ignore them? To be an elder involves managing and leading God’s people. Paul, inspired by the Holy Spirit, is telling us a way we can discern if a man is ready for that responsibility is to look at how he is doing as a father and whether or not his children are behave and function.

---

[1]Norris C. Grubbs, “The Truth about Elders and Their Children: Believing or Behaving in Titus 1:6?” Faith and Mission 22, no. 2 (Spring 2005): 8.

[2]Homer A. Kent, Jr., The Pastoral Epistles: Studies in I and II Timothy and Titus (Chicago: Moody, 1958), 220.

Called to Ministry Question

One of the questions from the Live Question and Answer Night on Sunday was:

How can a person know if they are called to full time ministry?

Here is a link to an article by Albert Mohler, the president of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary that addresses that question:

Has God Called You? Discerning the Call to Preach

Question from Luke 16

Here is another question from the Live Question and Answer Night on September 29:

Luke 16:11 says, “So if you have not been trustworthy in handling worldly wealth, who will trust you with true riches?” What are these true riches? And Will this happen only after we get to heaven?

To try and answer the question, let me first set the scene. The context of this verse is the parable of the shrewd manager. A noted emphasis of verses 10 to 12 is that how we handle money is a reflection of our characters. God puts resources into our hands to train us to handle true riches.

Though we seem to put incredible value on money in our everyday lives, the Lord Jesus seems to be reminding us in verse 11 that money is not true riches. To answer the first part of the question, true riches are most likely spiritual blessing of services in God’s kingdom. And to answer the second part of the question, these true riches are future to us, and I think the sense is that we will encounter true riches in eternity.

To wrap up this question and answer, it should be underlined that the Lord Jesus is telling us that how we handle money has eternal consequences. If we play games with what God has given us now, it reveals a great deal about our characters, and will have consequences. We need to remember: how we operate with money matters for more than just today.

God, I Have a Question Follow-up

As church, Central is in the middle of a series called, “God, I Have a Question.” The series was generated from questions asked by people in the church during the spring of 2013. On September 29, as a part of the series, we did a live Question and Answer night. More questions were submitted then could be answered on that night, so I will try to answer more of the questions through this blog.

Here is one of the questions: Why and how did the Sabbath get changed to Sunday? It is not in the Bible. Shouldn’t we do what the Bible says?

In answering this question, we should probably keep a couple of things clear. First, the Sabbath never changed to Sunday or the Lord’s Day, at least in the Bible. From the practice of the early church, both in Greek and Jewish areas, suggests that they did not view the Lord’s Day as a fulfillment or replacement of the Sabbath.  The assessment of a scholar by the name of R. J. Bauckham suggested that the idea of Sunday replacing the Sabbath did not begin to show up until after Constantine, which would be in the 300s AD, well after the early church began worshiping on Sundays.

Second, though the time or day of worship of the early church does not get much attention in the New Testament, there is some references we should note. Acts 20:7, 1 Corinthians 16:2, and Revelation 1:10 speak either of the first day of the week – i.e. Sunday - or the Lord’s Day. We would understand the expression the Lord’s Day or the day of the Lord as a reference to Sunday, the day of the week on which the Lord Jesus rose again.

It would appear that the early followers of the Lord Jesus began to gather together on Sundays to worship the Lord. There does not appear to be any debate in early church history over when the church should meet – they understood that the day of the Lord, the day of the Resurrection was a very good time to meet.

To wrap up this answer, Sunday did not replace the Sabbath, but our worshiping on Sundays does in fact seem to be something expressed in the New Testament as the practice of the church, and early church history would seem to support the practice.

Divine Constructs: Grace

Here is another post from my son Zach. I would love to hear your thoughts about it.

Grace is an easy sermon topic, it is all about getting things that we do not deserve but I think we often miss the heart of grace. Grace has a purpose and a desire. Grace is one of many instruments that God has implemented to bring about the realization of His plan. Grace’s construct or the desire of grace is restoration. The divine construct that grace is exists primarily to reconcile God and humanity but it exists to reconcile also humanity within itself.

Grace is more than God simply pouring His love out lavishly upon those whom he chooses, no doubt this is part of grace but if we reduce God to a divine grandma who spoils us then we have committed idolatry and reduced God to the pathetic musings of our imagination. Thankfully God is much more than a divine grandma and His grace is not the arbitrary dispersion of some abstract characteristic like a sprinkler over your lawn. Though as a culturally conditioned western man it is hard to grasp the idea that I am the bride of Christ it is a true statement and is an important reality. Christ pursues his bride with a passion and intense love that sent him to the cross, demonstrating the perfection of the Father’s grace. The intent of the cross was restoration, reconciling a pathetic people with their Savior King who lavished a divine love to remind the wayward hearts of His people that He is the perfection of good and the embodiment of satisfaction and only in Him can we find these things. Robert Robinson expressed this idea very well in his hymn “Come thou fount” with the lyrics

“O to grace how great a debtor
Daily I’m constrained to be!
Let Thy goodness, like a fetter,
Bind my wandering heart to Thee.
Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it,
Prone to leave the God I love;
Here’s my heart, O take and seal it,
Seal it for Thy courts above.”

Robinson understood the failings of his own heart very well and knew tendency to abandon what he knew to be good and perfect. He understood something else though, he understood the role that grace plays in God’s wooing of His people back to him. There are time when punishment is needed but I have found it to be very true in my life that God chooses to show me grace in a variety of ways and I find that it often comes despite my sin and is accompanied with blessed conviction. God desires to show His people how good He is, He promises to bless His people and these promises can be seen throughout the Old and New Testaments to Abraham, Moses, David and through the Apostles and most notably through Christ on the cross. These blessings are the manifestations and evidence of the grace of God being poured out upon us. Though I may seem repetitive it is because I want to try and explain this clearly and from as many sides as possible, the grace God shows us is not impersonal or arbitrary, it is deeply personal and intentional, a divine conspiracy to bring a people hell bent on their own destruction into the presence their mighty Creator and loving friend. The design of grace is not a talent show or God showing off. The construct of Grace is the holy design of a sovereign and loving God bringing his people His people into an active relationship with Him through subtle and extravagant reminders of the radical love of God for his people.   

The Absence of Fathers

The following blog was written by my oldest son. He felt compelled to share these words about fathers.

For those of you who have come to the Central within the last four years there is a good chance that you know who I am from my dad’s sermon illustrations and stories but let me introduce myself. I am Zach Grant and am the oldest son of Pastor Lloyd, I spent three years as a Worship Ministries Major at Grace University in Omaha, NE and am currently a Banking Law and Finance Major at the University of Nebraska. Last July I married my beautiful wife Rachel.

The longer that I live the more I realize how lucky I am to have been gifted by God with the parents that I do have. Bloggers and writers have been talking about the fatherhood crisis. For me it has become much more apparent and real than the abstract crisis and figures that writers spout. This however, is not because of the absence of my father, I am not writing this as a member of the generation of absent fathers but as a member of the fatherless generation watching his friends and peers suffer under the sins of the absent fathers. I write this as a man who is tremendously blessed to have the father that I do but who is greatly concerned for my friends.

It is a sad truth that so many of my friends do not have positive memories of their father, no memories of laughing around the kitchen table or learning to change the oil in the car or learning to tie a tie or even being able to call dad and ask for help on tomorrow’s assignment. Can any good come from the chasm left by a distant or absent father? The absent father is not just the father who took off with his mistress when his daughter was two; it is the cold, harsh man who pushed his family away because of some past pain or the father too busy with his career to see the way his wife and kids desperately want to know they are loved by him. Too many men live in a house with their wife and children but never seek to build a home and never desire to bring about feeling of family that we each desire. When the children grow and become disinterested or resentful of their father he reacts with surprise and anger, demanding the respect that he deserves but his wife and kids have had enough of his hypocritical lies.

Fathers matter; dads matter. When we realize that people where made in the image of God and that men and women are expressions of the character of God we can understand how having both of these present is necessary for the growth of the individual. We need the strength and leadership of the father and the loving support of the mother.

Absent fathers destroy the formation of masculinity in young men and reduce it to sex and alcohol which creates broken marriages. Broken marriages create broken homes. Broken homes create more absent fathers. Absent fathers only create more absent fathers.

I am not naïve enough to think that this does not happen inside the church and I hope you are not either. I do not have a study to spout of to you with some statistic but my experience living in the fatherless generation has taught me otherwise, even within the confines of the church of the fatherless generation I see the brokenness and pain.

Come back men, you have a responsibility to fulfill. It does not matter if it was an accident or a purposeful decision that you could not figure out how to handle, you have a responsibility. For Father’s Day this year don’t get a new driver or a GPS, instead reassume or take up for the first time the role of father and give that gift to your wife and children and see if it doesn’t pay off.

Come Sunday I know that few of my friends and peers will reminisce fond memories with their dad like I will. I know the value of a good dad, who loves me, loves his wife, and who lives his life in subjection to the authority of Christ and this is something that I would wish for all but every day I see and interact with young men and women who suffer because of absent fathers. Take back the role of father; if you are out of the picture, get in it, if you are on the sidelines get up and fight for your wives, fight for your children and fight for your families. No marriage is too lost to save and no family to broken to heal. In the fight for your families look to the Heavenly Father who lovingly fights for you and me and who subjected Himself to frail, pathetic humanity so that we could know Him and be his children. 

What are Our Priorities?

On Wednesday I read a tweet by Albert Mohler. He stated: There are now 7 billion people in the world. 6 billion of them have access to a cell phone. Only 4.5 billion have access to a working toilet.

The content of the tweet grabbed my attention. I did some research and found a short article from Time that offered more information(More People have Cell Phones than Toilets). The article quoted U.N. Deputy Secretary-General Jan Eliasson describing these numbers as a global crisis people “don’t like to talk about.” That comment sparked more of my attention.

I did not take the time to study the history of toilets, but I am pretty confident in making the assertion that toilets have been around much longer than cell phones, at least at a popular, everyday, consumer kind of level. If that is true, why is it that so many more people have access to a cell phone than a toilet? Especially given that toilets offer consider health benefits to all people?

I wonder if part of the reason is one of priorities. We live in a world that values certain things. We value the appearance of cool. Having the latest cell phone in the US can give you a cool factor. Perhaps in places like Haiti having any cell phone makes you cool. I am not sure that we ever make a connection between cool and toilets. Maybe we need to change that perception.

Another issue we tend to value is money. Though I do not know for sure, I am under the impression that companies involved with cell phones have made a great deal of money as the cell phone market has expanded. Though there is a considerable capital investment in developing and then expanding a cell phone network, the return on the investment has certainly been profitable for many. And with continued usage of cell phones, cell phone service providers generate a noted level of income. Much like the coolness factor, toilets do not seem to be an income generating commodity. We will apply effort and resources if it leads to income, but will we do the same for the health and benefit of others?

The tweet I read on Wednesday has led to considerable personal reflection. What are my priorities? How important is money or having at least some measure of coolness? Perhaps one way to begin addressing this global crisis is by addressing the personal issue of priority. I wonder if Jesus’ words in Matthew 6:33 – “But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you” – need to be re-visited by each of us. If we need to re-align our values and priorities with the Great Commandment found in Matthew 22:34-40 of loving God and loving people. Maybe we need to think about how Philippians 2:3-4 could be applied in our lives the next time we touch our cell phones, and the next time we use the restrooms.

Philippians 2:3-4 – Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of us look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others.

Prayerfully, we will see a dramatic increase in people with access to toilets in the next five years. For that to happen, I think our priorities will need to be addressed.

Boston Thoughts

My usual thoughts on the third Monday of April, after the news reports how fast the winners of the Boston Marathon completed the 26 mile course is how fast they can run, and how slow I jog. This year, that thought never crossed my mind. Rather, I was simply shocked when I heard the news. Later on Monday evening I had the chance to watch a portion of the news coverage and see a video of the explosion. I went to bed pondering how is it that people can do those kinds of things to other people. Then this morning, I heard on the radio warnings about how some people were malevolently pretending to raise money for people impacted by the explosion. How can people manipulate the good will of other in response to tragedy?

Judges 21:25 came to mind as I was walking from the car into my office this morning. It reads:

In those days there was no king in Israel. Everyone did what was right in his own eyes.

Two things stood out in the verse as I thought about it. The first part of the verse speaks of a disregard for God’s leadership. Israel may not have had a human king during the period of the Judges, but they did have God, the One they were in a covenant with. Yet they operated without regard for God. And as the second part of the verse points toward, they also operated without regard for God’s commands.

In their contempt for God, brought themselves heart and grief God never intended for them. In fact, in Deuteronomy 12:28, God had promised them a much better life, if they would do what was good and right in the sight of God. God’s commands were not intended to hinder life; they were intended to enhance life.

How should I respond two days after Boston? I believe the words of the Great Commandment offer us great wisdom. Matthew 22:37-40 read:

And he said to them, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it. You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets.”

To respond to things like want happened in Boston on Monday or in Newtown on December 14 or in Aurora this past summer, we need to be people who love God and love people. We need to follow God’s leadership by honoring His commands.