Can I Be Confident Good Friday and Easter Happened?

This weekend, churches through the world are getting to celebrate Good Friday and Easter. In preparing to do that, we should remember that churches do that because they hold that Good Friday and Easter commemorate 2 historical events. Do we have any reason to believe that those event actually happened  back in history? Clearly not everyone in the world believes that Jesus died and rose again. 

Let's start with Good Friday, the day that marks when the Lord Jesus was crucified by Romans soldiers. Two ancient historians, Josephus, a Jewish historian writing at the end of the 1^st Century AD and Tacitus, who is considered the most important source on Ancient Rome who wrote at the beginning of 2^nd Century, both noted in their histories that Jesus was crucified. Neither of these men were follower of the Lord Jesus, but they both affirmed that Jesus was crucified by the authority of Pontius Pilate ( Josephus, Jewish Antiquities 18.63-64; Tacitus, Annals 15.44). A contemporary scholar, a man who is highly critical of the Bible, John Dominic Crossan stated in his book Jesus: A Revolutionary Biography “That he was crucified is as sure as anything historical can ever by” – (John Dominic Crossan,  Jesus: A Revolutionary Biography, HarperCollins, 2009, 163). The New Testament clearly affirms that the Lord Jesus died, but it is not just the New Testament that makes that affirmation.

What about Easter? Easter marks the day the Lord Jesus was resurrected or rose again from the dead. Given that I am a pastor, and I have said publicly a number of times that the Resurrection of the Lord Jesus is the hinge of history, you would probably expect me to say that I believe the Lord Jesus rose again. My authority for that conviction is the New Testament. 1 Corinthians 15 is a chapter in the Bible that has influenced me hugely. But I recognize that not everyone believes that the Bible is the Word of God. But I do not think you have to believe the Bible is God's Word to see that the resurrection is a historical fact. Critical scholars of history do believe there is reason for us to understand that the resurrection was a historical event. Those scholars, many who do not consider themselves followers of Jesus see good reason to believe the resurrection happened. They point to a few things that lead them to conclude that:

(1)   The disciples sincerely believing that Jesus rose again - the disciples claimed that they believed it to the point they were willing to suffer and die for that belief

(2)  The conversation of Saul the church persecutor to Paul the apostle

(3)  The conversation of skeptical James the brother of Jesus

A slightly smaller number of critical scholars, probably 75% of those who seriously study the resurrection also believe the empty tomb is a historical fact. Again, not every scholar or person believes the resurrection took place, but there is noted historical evidence to suggest that it did take place (For more information on this topic, please see Gary R. Habermas and Michael R. Licona, The Case for the Resurrection of Jesus, Kregel, 2004).

Clearly part of the challenge for anyone considering the Resurrection is the fact that dead people stay dead. That is our experience. The  Resurrection by nature would have to be a miracle. Anthony Flew, who, during his life, was considered to be the world’s foremost philosophical atheist was not willing to affirm that the resurrection was a historical event. But he was willing to say, and did say, “The evidence for the resurrection is better than for claimed miracles in any other religions." (Antony Flew Interview in Philosophia Christi Winter 2004). This comment from a man who was also considered one of the chief philosophical commentators on the topic of miracles.

The events being celebrated this weekend are historical events. But they are more than historical events. They are are events that change history, and can your life. If you would like to know about how Good Friday and Easter change history and your life, please contact me. I would love to talk with you about either.

Embraced by God's Word

Two Sundays ago, we focused on Psalm 1 and our need to embrace God’s Word. I pray that you are taking the time to do that very thing – to get God’s Word into your life and then have it run through your life. One thing I do not think we talked about that Sunday connected to embracing God’s Word is that when you embrace God’s Word, you will undoubtedly find that God’s Word will be embrace you. What I mean by that is at different places and times, verses you have memorized and meditated over will seemingly pop to mind, challenging you to think about the verse again and again. When this type of thing happens, I believe that is an indicator of the Holy Spirit seeking to help us. Last Sunday during the Lord’s Supper I mentioned a verse the Holy Spirit has used with me a lot of times – Romans 5:8. Another verse the Holy Spirit uses with me is Ephesians 5:8

Ephesians 5:8 – for at one time you were darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light

In those few words, God has reminds me of a couple of critical facts. First, I was darkness. Second, I am light in the Lord Jesus. Because the Lord Jesus came, died for our sins on the cross, and rose again, He made it possible for me to go from darkness to light. The way that happens – for me to go from darkness to light, for anyone to go from darkness to light, is that I was introduced to the story of the Lord Jesus and I learned that if I would turn from sin to God and trust the Lord Jesus as my Savior, He would make me light in Him.

God has also used Ephesians 5:8 to remind me that because I am light in the Lord, that fact should change the way I approach and live life – I need to walk as a child of light. That fact and its call for the right response is literally life change in a big broad sense, but it should also show up and impact each area of life. God’s Word really can spark changes in our lives.

Some Thanksgiving Thoughts

This week is a bit odd for me. Part of my work time has been about preparing for the Thanksgiving Eve service on Wednesday night and part of it has been about getting ready for Sunday and the start of new series from John 1 for Advent. Yet I have also been asked to take part in a discussion about physician assisted suicide, and probably like many of you, I was deeply saddened to hear the protests in Ferguson turned destructive. We are living in a context that is dark, which means distress and gloom of anguish are around us. That is a very sad and even disturbing thought, especially as we prepare for Thanksgiving and anticipate Christmas. And yet, maybe that thought brings Thanksgiving and Christmas into focus. The Lord Jesus did not come to earth because everything was rosy and bright. He came because we desperately need Him to be the Light of the world. Our world needs the reality of Christmas.

But what about Thanksgiving? 1 Thessalonians 5:18 states, “give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.” How can we give thanks when businesses are burning and people are looting? Please note carefully that we are not called to give thanks for all circumstances, but rather in all circumstances. How can we do that? Perhaps Christmas, the coming of the Lord Jesus can be the spark for our giving of thanks. Even though circumstances are not great, the steadfast love of the Lord never ceases. He sent His Son for us, and part of the Son coming, dying, rising again, and returning to heaven leads to His soon return to earth to put all things in subjection (1 Corinthians 15:24-28). We can give thanks because God’s past actions on behalf of His people provide confident hope that He will complete His plan and as Revelation 22:5 tells us, night will be no more. Darkness and that all comes with darkness will be done. The Lord God will our light. Let us give thanks because the God of Christmas calls us out of darkness and into His marvelous light (1 Peter 2:9).

Thoughts About a Tough Message

I write this blog with a heavy heart. For the next two Sundays we will be doing a short series called, “What is Next?” The series is a brief look at heaven and hell.  This Sunday we will start with hell.  I just finished my notes for Sunday, and I can say this message has been one of the more difficult messages I have ever prepared. In preparing I read some words of a theologian, Sinclair B. Ferguson that perhaps set some of the tone for my heart and mind. He wrote, “To speak of hell is to speak of things so overwhelming that it cannot be done with ease. . . . The contemplation of hell prostrated holy humanity. Our Lord never spoke of it with relish.”[i]  In light of my inner turmoil you might be wondering why we are doing this series or at least this message. Perhaps these words written by Timothy Keller express it best: “If Jesus, the Lord of Love and Author of Grace spoke about hell more often, and in a more vivid, blood-curdling manner than anyone else, it must be a crucial truth.”[ii]

I believe the wisest attitudes and actions to hold in life are attitudes and actions that align with the Lord Jesus. Hell is not an easy subject, but it is a subject that the Lord Jesus spoke about. It is something that He took seriously. That should lead us to also take it seriously. In the fall of 1939, C. S. Lewis preached a sermon, “Learning in War-Time” in the Church of St. Mary the Virgin in Oxford, England. Early in the message he said concerning the Lord Jesus and our attitude to hell, “I know, too, that nearly all the references to this subject in the New Testament come from a single source. But then that source is Our Lord Himself. . . . They are not really removable from the teaching of Christ or of His Church. If we do not believe them, our presence in this church is great tomfoolery. If we do, we must sometime overcome our spiritual prudery and mention them.”[iii] Please pray for our time together on Sunday, please come on Sunday expecting for the Lord Jesus to speak to us through His Word about a tough subject.

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[i] Sinclair B. Ferguson, “Pastoral Theology: The Preacher and Hell,” in Hell Under Fire, ed. Christopher W. Morgan and Robert A. Peterson (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2004), 220.

[ii] http://www.redeemer.com/redeemer-report/article/the_importance_of_hell

[iii] The text of this message can be accessed by a Googling “C. S. Lewis Learning in wartime”

Getting Ready for Sunday

I have been pondering ideas related to love, gratitude, attitude, and worship that were sparked by looking at a story Jesus told in Luke 7. Given that we gather as a church every Sunday, it is possible for us to think of church simply as a routine that might be a good thing in our lives, but hey, we all get tired or even bored of routines. 

The main thrust of the story in Luke 7 is not about worship, but is about love and gratitude. As I thought about my love for and gratitude toward God for what He has done for me, I was challenged to consider my attitude toward worship and how love and gratitude impact my attitude toward worship. Here is where my pondering took me: when we gather on a Sunday morning for a time of group worship, I believe that my love and gratitude toward God should be the motivator for me to be present in a service and for me to participate in the service. But clearly, my love and gratitude do not start with me. I do not create them. They are products of or responses to God’s love and forgiveness freely given to me through the Lord Jesus. To me there should be a wow in our lives, even in the context of a routine, when we consider what God has done for us. A wow that ignites me to action. When I ponder the truth of what God has done for me, the idea of gathering with others to worship seems like an incredible blessing, one in which I want and need to be a part of. Those thoughts are making me very eager to participate in our worship service on Sunday. Yes we gather every week, but when I consider what God has done, we need to gather very week and give thanks. I hope you are eager to participate too when you consider what God has done through Christ. 

A Prayer for 2014

When one year ends and another one begins, it is pretty common for us to stop, though maybe only for a moment, to take stock of our lives. But should we take the time to do this kind of thing? According to Plato, during Socrates’ trial for corrupting the youth of Athens in 399 B.C. Socrates said, “The unexamined life is not worth living.” (http://www.patheos.com/blogs/scriptorium/2010/02/the-examined-life-of-socrates/). Should you take some time and examine your life?

I believe the quick answer to that question is a qualified yes. Your life should be examined, but it is nothing something that you can do alone, you need help, honestly we all need help to accomplish such a task. Recently I was reminded of why that is in fact the case. Jeremiah wrote these words a long time ago:

Jeremiah 17:9-10 – The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it?  ¹⁰ "I the LORD search the heart and test the mind, to give every man according to his ways, according to the fruit of his deeds."

Our hearts, not the physical organ, by heart Jeremiah was speaking of the totality of our inner lives, are not something we understand. And sadly, our inner lives are not very pretty sometimes, yet how we act and the attitudes we project come from that mess. Though we need to be examined, it is not a private activity. As verse 10 shows us, the Lord alone is the One who can do such an examination.

As we embark on a new year, I would like to suggest that with some measure of regularity we need to pray a couple of verses of Scripture and wait and listen carefully for the Lord to answer that prayer. The verses are Psalm 139:23-24:

Search me, O God, and know my heart! Try me and know my thoughts! ²⁴ And see if there be any grievous way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting!

Most men and undoubtedly many women go through each day at full speed and do not carve out time for the discipline of praying, contemplating, and reflecting over God’s answers. Such an activity may sound to some as a type of useless nasal gazing. But I believe it should sound to us like an incredible gift from God to us. Psalm 139 is written in the context of distress – note the harsh words of verses 19-22. And in that context, the psalmist, presumably David has noted that God’s knowledge of his life is complete and full (verses 1-12). Such knowledge should not surprise us given that God is the One who made us (verses 13-16) and should drive us to worship God (verses 17-18). If the first parts of the Psalm are true, then in a world that is not always what it should be, we may not always be the people we should be. We probably need an examination.

Maybe I am alone in this concern, but I wish I could do parts of 2013 over again, and way too many previous years. I made choices and mistakes that were ill informed, hurtful to others, and just plain stupid.  I know that I am capable of repeating the same actions in 2014 without inviting and heeding God’s examination. I need Him to help me see His discernment of my motives and actions. I need to move toward His transformative work in my life. Without asking for His examination, I will miss what I truly need, which only He can give.

Please pray Psalm 139:23-24 regularly this year. 

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.