Successive Boxes

The Scriptures are written to tell us about God. Early in my Bible college days at Multnomah, I found that there were often different conservative views of the same Scripture passage, or the same Scripture book. Sometimes the different ideas were ones that I could discount as being a “bit out there”, but more often I became perplexed as I went over the same verses with someone and found their interpretation to be validly different than mine. Which was right?

Of course, I thought, mine was. But as God began to foster humility in me, I realized my right interpretation was no more likely to be accurate than my friend’s interpretation was. One of the things which I think helped me to develop more humility was that I was fairly provincial in my outlook. In 1973, when at Multnomah, I had been a Christian for just over a year. I had taken some correspondence courses from Moody, and had trained myself assiduously with my study Bible, the Scofield Reference Bible. Imagine my surprise when I found that there was so much more to learn and study and investigate.

By nature I am a voracious reader, not intimidated by reading. Already I had read original thoughts in many fields, Darwin’s Origin of Species, Locke’s Second Treatise of Government, and Hobbes’ Leviathan. But frankly there was so great a field before me that at first I found it bewildering. Fortunately, I sat under John G. Mitchell, The Walking Bible, and he shared with me his deep love of the Word of God, and it became a passion of mine.

Growing and being used by God were drives that pushed me into intense study, reading, and prayer, all of which were good. But it was not until I really came to reflect on the truth of God in His Word that I really began to look at myself. I believe the Holy Spirit convicted me, asking me whether I wanted to believe what God said and taught, or whether I was looking to the Bible to present my own views, as an excuse to validate me. The conviction was large and lingering, causing me to renew myself in study, to try to understand, but always to believe what He was saying.

I am not saying I have arrived, but it does make life so much easier with the philosophy: God says it, I believe it, and that’s all there is to it. Much of my Bible doctrine has had to be rearranged, some of it thrown out. I do assure you that is not easy on my ego, but I believe it is a mark of growing maturity. Of course, as says 2 Tim. 3:16, “All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:” But I found first I must plea with God to show me his intent, to let me set aside my views, and to simply believe what it is that He tells me. With this attitude the next verse more readily comes true: “That the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works.” And I grow a bit, uncovering the mysteries of God.

And that is one of the wonderful things about being immersed in the Word. My life goes along and I grow a bit in my appreciation of God. As I grow I think anew of God and am amazed that He no longer fits in the box that I had constructed for Him. So, in my foolishness I build a new box, confident that this one will be big enough, only to find that God exceeds that one too.

I read recently a personal account of Mrs. Jonathan Edwards, speaking of her inexpressible happiness that seemed to come directly from heaven, to be eternal and unchangeable, insomuch that she found herself fainting under the intenseness of the feeling. I, too, have experienced many times of walking so close to God that I imagine Him to be holding my hand, though I fainted not. I thought my experience to be rather singular, but am glad to say one of the good benefits of growing older, is finding that many many saints have similar experiences. I do wonder if the Christian walk is not partly finding out that our boxes are not yet big enough to fit God into; He is always more majestic than we can conceive. In the words of Lucy, we might well say, “Aslan, you are bigger.” Well might the Lord say to us as Aslan did to Lucy, “every year you grow, you will find me bigger.”

What a glory it is to be called by His name! Eye has not seen, ear has not heard, neither has mind conceived the things He has prepared for us. How majestic is His name in all the earth!

Station vs. Standing

I need to remember that I have the highest standing before God, but my calling is from the lowest station. Woe unto me for I am a captive of sin (my station), and yet I have cause for much joy as I am cleansed of all my sin, and called to live with the holy God himself (my standing). I am determined this day to anwer this highest calling to pursue my standing rather than my station.

The Immeasurable Mercy of God

I had an interesting short discussion with my nephew recently. I am deeply envious of his going through seminary, remembering what a wonderful time I had when I went. Those days, long ago, still measure fresh with often revisited thoughts of all the truths I began to wonder about as I learned the key purpose of seminary: to begin to know how to study my Bible. My favorite class was one not listed in the course catalog: Coffeeshop 101. It was there I met with other married men, and we spent long hours analyzing our professors and classes (and sharing our own viewpoints). I learned more from my peers than I did in most of my Bible classes.

At any rate our discussion centered around the theme of the mercy of God. My nephew was inclined to emphasize the great merciful character of our God while I wanted to point out that without knowing our sinful selves that we could not possibly begin to appreciate how deep and wide His mercy really is. Lo and behold, our pastor spoke on the woman at the well this morning in church, emphasizing both of the points my nephew and I had made. I would like to write a bit upon some points on which I have been meditating.

First, notice the woman at the well (John 4). Jesus classically approached the woman, a Samarian who “good Jews” studiously avoided, with the command: “First, go and find thy husband. To which the woman honestly replies, “I have no husband.” “Well said,” responds Jesus, “thou hast had five husbands, and he whom thy now hast is not thy husband.” As I reflected on those words this morning in church, I could not help looking around the church at my peers. All of us, trying to walk the walk of faith, trying to be people of good reputation. Most likely I would reject such a woman out of hand because of her remarkably deviant lifestyle. I can’t help thinking that many of my peers might do the same thing.

But the Scripture tells us that “Jesus must needs go through Samaria”, suggesting the purpose and election of God included someone’s lifestyle which would scandalize the church today. And that point brings me to a very important conclusion: it is not what we do, or who we are that is the measure of salvation; rather it is the measure of mercy extended to those who do not deserve it. What a wonder of the universe! That God would deliberately and provocatively seek such a woman, with such a terrible life of sin, to call her with his special call of love and mercy.

But look again at the passage. I notice Jesus, before he reveals who he is, tells the women he knows of her whole life, of her five husbands, and of her current man. The first thing God tells me in my walk of salvation is that he knows me. He knows everything about me. And still He chooses to love me, to show me his mercy. I think we must come to a place in our Christian walk where we see ourselves through the eyes of God, utterly contemptible, beyond repair, and yet still loved, still wanted by God Himself.

Charlie Daniels sings Two out of Three (a song that I wish I knew who wrote) and his song asks the question “How could you love me, because when I have the choice between good and bad, I pick bad two out of three?” The writer of the song knew himself through God’s eyes- and thus is the stronger Christian who can speak of the mercies of God, because he begins to understand himself as he truly is.

Many Biblical people understood this unwarranted mercy. Paul acknowledges it when he proclaims himself the chief of sinners. In another places he says, “What a wretched man I am! Who shall deliver me from this body of death?” Isaiah says, “Woe unto me for I am a man of unclean lips.” David, after his sin with Bathsheba, says, “Wash away all my iniquity.” Did not the Old Testament people fear God so much that they thought they would die when they saw him? To view his holiness is also to view my complete sin, and I do not know how I could possibly have a meaningful walk with God unless I am able to see myself a bit from his perspective. To know God is also to know the miserable wretch that I am.

It seems to me that the converse must also be true. To not know God seems to be where people do not know their utter and desperate need. The believer has to begin along this path to believe. He may at first say that the Bible says Christ died for our sins, but believing, may not comprehend what that sin is. But how can he walk very far with God and not begin to understand his utter and desperate plight? If I as a believer, think that Jesus died for me because I broke the speed limit, then isn’t my understanding of the compassion of God going to have a small base? Jesus alludes to something of the same idea, I think, when he says “he that has been forgiven little loves little.”

My wife pointed out to me that our eyes should be on the cross, thinking that perhaps the focus should not be on ourselves. I agree totally! But part of what he did on that cross involves me looking at his sacrifice. Christ died on that cross for my sins! He was raised for my justification. I should understand my need for him to die. It was a desperate need for I was without hope. When I eat the bread and drink the cup I am required to contemplate his sacrifice. How can it be much of a sacrifice if I only think he forgave little? It is there on that cross that I was reconciled to God because my sins were part of what is nailed up there. And hope is only given me through the justification—now I can look forward to living in eternity with Christ, but only because of the tremendous payment he willingly made for me. “While I was yet ungodly, Christ died for me.”

Magic?

Thanks to Danielle for reminding me of this great essay:

"In short, I had always believed that the world involved magic: now I thought that perhaps it involved a magician."

GK Chesterton in "The Ethics of Elfland" (Orthodoxy)

“It’s magic,” exclaimed my son-in-law, as he watched me buff his plastic headlight to a soft new glaze. Of course he did not really mean what he said, for he knew that it was not magic. In point of fact he had watched me smear toothpaste on the plastic casing and then rub it thoroughly before buffing it off. What he was saying was that he thought the results were profoundly unexpected, and therefore he used the term “magic” to explain it.



His use of the term magic got me to meditating on the word and its apparent overuse in our world today. From the viewpoint of my cats or my dog, much of what we do must appear magic to them. I push a button on the wall and the garage door opens allowing the cats out. So far as I have been able to tell, the cats have never connected the push of the button to the opening of the door. Similarly, in my home office I am able to start music at the click of my mouse, something my dog apparently does not appreciate, neither understands. It must appear magic to him.



We know that it is not; but from the viewpoint of the animal perhaps it appears so. Similarly, what we falsely ascribe as magic could rather be just something about which our understanding is limited. In the Old Testament, we are told that Balaam’s ass begins to speak to him. Someone watching might falsely conclude that magic was somehow used to allow the ass to do something physically impossible, not to mention perhaps beyond its mental capability. Under the normal rules of creation it must be quite impossible for an ass to speak; much less to berate his owner for hitting him. Yet when God acts the normal rules of creation can be suspended.



Daniel was thrown into the den of lions, yet they shut their mouths and did not eat him. I find myself wondering whether they were blinded somehow to his presence, or were they rather fooled into thinking he was their friend. Did they nuzzle him all night, or ignore him totally? The Biblical account is silent and I can only speculate, but one thing is certain: it is almost as “magic” for such an event to happen. Of course I do not mean that in the literal sense, but I cannot see the “button” that God pushed to close the lion’s mouths, nor do I even understand that that button exists. Rather I see the profoundly unexpected and marvel.



In Moses’ being called, he saw the burning bush. Why did he turn aside? Because the bush did not burn up, and if Moses knew anything, he realized the rules of his world were not being followed. Again the Marvel of creation, God himself, chooses to suspend the “rational” viewpoint of our world, and shows me once more that my world is not all that it appears to be. Magical? If the definition of magical is that I do not understand the profoundly different results, then it is indeed magical.



But I do know the God who suspends the rules, and that explains the trick. The world is coming to a time soon when regular rules will be suspended. First for seven years of judgment of the world; then for the reign of Christ on earth itself. I shall be at His feet in those days, wondering and marveling at His mighty acts. I wonder how many “rational rules” of our world will be suspended then, and how often we will see what would seem to be “magic”.

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Atmospheric Changes during the Apocalypse

The judgment is almost upon us. Today we are going to look at the atmospheric changes during this time of God’s judgment. First I must answer an unstated question that might be implied from the closeness of this judgment. If one finds himself in the apocalypse what must he do to be saved? In every age that God has dealt with mankind the answer to that question remains remarkably consistent.

The answer is in one short word: trust. Abraham believed God and it was reckoned unto him for righteousness. Hebrews 11:6 says that without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who would come to God must believe that He is, and that he is a rewarder of those who diligently seek him. So all of Hebrews is written as a hall of faith for those of us today who would believe. Enoch, before Jewish law, before Moses, before Christ, had to believe God and it was credited to him as righteousness. Noah, similarly before the revelation to the Jewish people, and way before His revelation to Christians, was saved by his faith. Read and study Hebrews 11, the Great Hall of Faith to see how to be accepted of God.

But as many as received him, to them he gave the right to become the sons of God. What does it mean to receive Christ, except that you must trust God’s message of salvation in Christ. We see things that Noah and Enoch sorely searched for, and had to trust in what was yet unseen, in order that they might be saved. Similarly you are called to trust God, even if you find yourself in the most fearsome trials of the earth, the apocalypse.

Having said that, let us move on to higher things. (pun intended) What sort of things will be the signs in heavens in those days, whenever they may come? Know first that these terrible signs are passing, and “are to be put into effect when the times have reached their fulfillment—to bring all things in heaven and on earth together under one head, even Christ.” (NIV, Eph. 2:9 & 10) In other words, these terrible times have limits, and will pass to make way for the rule of Christ.

The very end of the apocalypse is marked by, Zephaniah tells us, “On that day there will be no light, no cold or frost. It will be a unique day, without daytime or nighttime—a day known to the Lord. When evening comes, there will be light. (Zeph. 14:6) In other words, signs in the heavens finish the apocalypse with a sign unlike any other the world has ever known. Evidently God himself provides light for the earth as a sign of approval of his son.

Old Testament passages tell us that the apocalypse will be “a day of darkness and gloom, a day of clouds and blackness” (Zephaniah 1:15), but it is really only in the Revelation that atmospheric changes of the apocalypse are spelled out. We are told again that the sun turns black, the moon turns red, and stars fall from the sky to the earth. Evidently what John saw was meteors or asteroids falling to the earth, streaking like stars across the sky. So horrendous is the damage from the celestial objects that it levels mountains and destroys islands. (Revelation 6)

Revelation 8 tells us of the first four angels who have trumpets. There are seven in all, but the first four are what concern us today, as they are the angels who announce the devastation from atmospheric changes. The first angel who sounds his trumpet is announcing hail and fire mixed with blood being hurled down upon the earth. So awful is this fire that it burns up a third of the earth. The second angel announces that “something like a huge mountain” (NIV) is cast upon the earth, killing a third of the creatures in the oceans, and destroying a third of the ships of mankind. The third angel announces a “great star, blazing like a torch” falling to the earth. This star, so huge that it is even named (Wormwood) will turn many waters bitter, and many people will die from the resulting poison. The fourth angel announces that the air itself becomes dark, even to the point of diminishing the light of the sun and the stars. In fact, it becomes so dark that a third of the day is darkness as well as a third of the night.

Here I am guessing a bit at what has happened, but it seems to me that with all things striking the earth a terrible (perhaps poisonous) cloud of dust is raised over the earth. It seems to fill the atmosphere and so seemingly darkens the sun and the stars. Remember the verse above from Zephaniah? Prophets across the ages of Biblical times seem to see the terrible cloud of darkness over the earth. It will be an unparalleled time of disaster upon this earth.

Know this: the judgments of God are not only righteous, but also they are measured—there is an end to them at which time the mercies of God will be extended to all the earth. At that time, the Bible tells us, there will be no need to teach anyone to know the Lord, for they will all know the Lord from the least to greatest. A long time of peace and prosperity will ensue upon the earth under the reign of Christ himself.

Simple but Hard Logic

“Logic,” said the Professor half to himself. “Why don’t they teach logic at these schools? There are only three possibilities. Either your sister is telling lies, or she is mad, or she is telling the truth.”
(The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe)

The claims of Jesus are very clear. He claimed to be God incarnate, just as God his father, and this was something the Jews of his day very much wanted to put him to death for (John 8). He said I and the Father are One. He claims to be the Savior of the world, able to forgive sins themselves, and to reconcile the alienation man and God have (John 3). He claims to have brought those who believe “another Comforter”, one whom the Father sent in the name of his son, even the spirit of truth (John 14). And in the same chapter Jesus clearly promises that he goes now to prepare a place for us, and that he intends to come back for us, that where he is, we may be also.

In the application of pure logic here, there are three clear possibilities. One, Jesus was just a good man. Two, Jesus was mad. And three, Jesus was telling the truth. I shall briefly describe the outcomes of all three choices.

First, if Jesus did lie to us, deliberately and provocatively, then he must be, not good, but the most evil human ever conceived. His grand deception has fooled millions of hapless people who are deceived and bereft of the great promises of God. Christians, as Paul says, are of all people, most miserable, if his claims are not true. Christians have broken their lives apart and chosen to live for one who is the greatest deceiver ever known.

Is this likely? In examining the narrative of the life of Jesus in the gospels, there is nothing that would indicate anything other than this Jesus is a remarkable man, devoutly holding to truth, and peeling apart the deceptions of the world. His life shows no deception.

Second, Jesus was mad. The only place in the gospels where madness might show through is when Jesus cleanses the temple, driving the merchants out and overturning their tables of wares. The Life of Christ in Stereo (a very fine book to study) makes it clear that Jesus cleansed the temple twice; once at the beginning of his ministry, and once just before the end of his ministry. Certainly his message was divisive; it has divided mankind into two distinct groups, one very large and the other relatively small. The larger portion of humans have refused his message while the smaller portion claims drastically changed lives.

Is madness a likely outcome? Jesus shows great intelligence in his presentation of parables that spoke above the heads of his enemies. He shows normal emotions when facing the death on the cross, asking his closest friends: “What? Could you not stay awake and watch one hour?” and in petitioning his Father: “Father let this cup pass from me. Yet not my will, but thine be done.” And even in the cleansing of the temple, Jesus, rather than being mad, is better seen as being angry at those who were trying to buy and sell his Father’s love. Madness is not likely.

Third, Jesus was telling the truth. He clearly said I am the way, THE TRUTH, and the life; no one comes to the Father except by me. Logic clearly dictates this as the only viable alternative. Jesus was who he claimed to be. He clearly predicted that most people would end in hell because of rejecting him, and he clearly told us that only a few would find “the narrow path” of salvation.

If this is, as I present, the most likely outcome of logic, then there can be no more important thing for any man or woman to do other than study the claims of Jesus. After all he who came first as the sacrificing Lamb of God is coming the second time as the judging Lion of Judah.

A final word. I have many friends who take what they think is a viable fourth option. They commit the error of modern solipsism and try to have it both ways. My friends try to tell me that Jesus was a good man, but the gospels have hideously presented him, and that they will believe only the parts of Jesus being a good teacher, such as when he tells us to love one another, and not the parts where he is being exclusive such as when he says that NO ONE comes to the Father apart from him.

I think there are two errors of logic entangled with this view. First, as I have tried to show, Jesus could not have been a good man if we read his claims at all literally. But also it seems to me that those following the error of solipsism are remaking God into their image, a very dangerous thing to do indeed. If the claims of Christ are real, then one day every person shall have to stand before God. Do you really think that my friends will find credibility in saying to the Judge, “I found some of your claims to be offensive to my lifestyle, and so I chose not to believe them.”? Aren’t they saying I did not agree with the God presented in the Bible, and so I remade god to be more acceptable? Such a course is perilous and fraught with more problems than just logic. What will be the outcome of those who have been freely offered the truth and have sought to remake it?

“Bless me,” [said the Professor] what do they teach them at these schools?”
(The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe)

Apocalypse Soon- Jesus Ruling on Earth

4 He will judge between the nations
and will settle disputes for many peoples.
They will beat their swords into plowshares
and their spears into pruning hooks.
Nation will not take up sword against nation,
nor will they train for war anymore.
Isaiah 2:4
In this study I shall try to simply exhibit some of the vast number of verses which promise the coming rule of Jesus on earth. This series that I have envisioned is what I would term bibliocentric- that is, I am trying to present the verses as they appear in Scripture. Essentially I am trying to present an inquiry based study of prophecy. In so doing I am trying to remove some of the opinion which sharply divides even Christians on this great topic.
In establishing an inquiry into what God actually says I am not trying to remove my opinion; as a Christian I have quite sharp opinions that probably do a lot to shape apocalypse topics chosen. Having said the obvious, that my biases will color my reading, it is still my contention that someone should present what God has said on this important topic.
Comments, both published and unpublished, are always welcome. I have noticed that many of those who disagree with me are evidently ignoring the scriptures; they speak for themselves. Thus, disagreements with me tend to fall into a larger disagreement with God himself. God speaks; we believe. That should be all there is to it. If we disagree on anything, we should be limited to disagreeing over what God has said and not being silly enough to contend that while God may have said it, I do not choose to believe it.
(all Bible quotes are from NIV)
10 I make known the end from the beginning,
from ancient times, what is still to come.
I say: My purpose will stand,
and I will do all that I please.
Isaiah 46:10
3 I foretold the former things long ago,
my mouth announced them and I made them known;
then suddenly I acted, and they came to pass.
Isaiah 48:3
God clearly tells us signs of the end of our age; his purpose will stand, regardless of time having passed, and he will do as he promised. It is our job to try to figure out what he has promised; not whether he is truthful or not. Hence I have chosen inquiry. If you choose to comment on this presentation do not be surprised if I continue to present to powerful argument of Scripture back at you.
If the Bible has no value in shaping your concept of who God is I will be arguing first and foremost that you should accept the authority of the revelation of God. And that is a whole different argument than Christians commonly have over interpretation. In my introduction I purposely chose a famous passage of Scripture that has not come to pass. It is a prophetical statement and must come true. Isn’t it wonderful that God has foretold of a time when all peoples should live at peace with one another?

6 The wolf will live with the lamb,
the leopard will lie down with the goat,
the calf and the lion and the yearling [a] together;
and a little child will lead them.
7 The cow will feed with the bear,
their young will lie down together,
and the lion will eat straw like the ox.
8 The infant will play near the hole of the cobra,
and the young child put his hand into the viper's nest.
9 They will neither harm nor destroy
on all my holy mountain,
for the earth will be full of the knowledge of the LORD
as the waters cover the sea.
Isaiah 11: 6-9
The Bible clearly tells us of a time when the earth will be full of the knowledge of the LORD. Has that come to pass yet? Not in my study of history! It is a forward event, yet to be fulfilled.
There are hundreds of verses on the topic of the Lord ruling the earth. I present just a few of them, for I have already taken up more than a page on my blog and that is more than most are willing to read. I have chosen two passages for emphasis, (one of which we will study today and one in the next post) but if you desire for me to send the several pages of scriptures I have found thus far, I will be glad to email them to you. It does make a fascinating study.
The first passage is from a minor prophet, Zechariah. In the fourteenth chapter Zechariah reveals some very apocalyptic things to us. In verse two he seems to be referring to a sacking of Jerusalem:

2 I will gather all the nations to Jerusalem to fight against it; the city will be captured, the houses ransacked, and the women raped. Half of the city will go into exile, but the rest of the people will not be taken from the city.

But the next verse definitely skips to the end times:

3 Then the LORD will go out and fight against those nations, as he fights in the day of battle. 4 On that day his feet will stand on the Mount of Olives, east of Jerusalem, and the Mount of Olives will be split in two from east to west, forming a great valley, with half of the mountain moving north and half moving south. 5 You will flee by my mountain valley, for it will extend to Azel. You will flee as you fled from the earthquake [a] in the days of Uzziah king of Judah. Then the LORD my God will come, and all the holy ones with him.

Here we learn two very important facts. First the feet of Jesus touch the Mount of Olives and cause a great valley to form, running east to west. After he provides this avenue of escape for the Jews, then the second important thing happens. He returns with all of his holy ones. Who are the holy ones? That would be the saints of God. We are already with Jesus before he makes his awesome visible return to rule on earth.

Zechariah further tells us important things about that day:
8 On that day living water will flow out from Jerusalem, half to the eastern sea [b] and half to the western sea, [c] in summer and in winter.
9 The LORD will be king over the whole earth. On that day there will be one LORD, and his name the only name.
Living water will pour out of the Mount of Olives spreading outward to the seas east and west. The Lord will be the king of the whole earth. Now Zechariah tells us more things:
12 This is the plague with which the LORD will strike all the nations that fought against Jerusalem: Their flesh will rot while they are still standing on their feet, their eyes will rot in their sockets, and their tongues will rot in their mouths. 13 On that day men will be stricken by the LORD with great panic. Each man will seize the hand of another, and they will attack each other. 14 Judah too will fight at Jerusalem. The wealth of all the surrounding nations will be collected—great quantities of gold and silver and clothing. 15 A similar plague will strike the horses and mules, the camels and donkeys, and all the animals in those camps.
This passage always reminds me of the famous scene where the Nazis' faces melt in Indiana Jones (The Ark of the Covenant). Evidently there is not much of a war. Such great terror and confusion strike the enemies of God that they spend the rest of their short lives trying to destroy each other.
This is the dramatic end (check out prior post here) of the seven year tribulation period as I shall hopefully later show. For the prophet Zechariah now turns to a more pastoral scene:
16 Then the survivors from all the nations that have attacked Jerusalem will go up year after year to worship the King, the LORD Almighty, and to celebrate the Feast of Tabernacles. 17 If any of the peoples of the earth do not go up to Jerusalem to worship the King, the LORD Almighty, they will have no rain. 18 If the Egyptian people do not go up and take part, they will have no rain. The LORD [d] will bring on them the plague he inflicts on the nations that do not go up to celebrate the Feast of Tabernacles. 19 This will be the punishment of Egypt and the punishment of all the nations that do not go up to celebrate the Feast of Tabernacles.
Zechariah ends telling us of a Jerusalem that becomes the center of the world. All nations go there to worship the King of Kings.
In my next post I will cover the other, more well known scripture that talks of Jesus ruling in Jerusalem. Someday God will judge us all on one basis: did you believe him? You do not have to understand all that he says; you do have to be willing to believe it. The old saying is: God says it, I believe it, that’s all there is to it. An excellent Bible study to see how God looks at us is in Hebrews 11. I commend it to your study. I do hope this post has given you food for thought.

Apocalypse Soon- the Great Shakeup

My summers give me time (some might say too much time) to delve into books. This summer I became interested in lining up the many many Scripture references to latter times. I am trying to categorize the Scripture references to specific areas to make it easier to understand. Even though I knew I was undertaking a very large project I felt that the benefits would be manifold and perhaps life challenging.

Though the study is barely begun, I have noticed one factor, emphasized, which deserves an advance talk: that of earthquakes. My preliminary studies suggest that there may be no other single factor which authors of Scripture, over a thousand year span of time, saw fit to emphasize quite so much. Isaiah, many minor prophets, and John all have foreseen the same thing: earthquakes that come in such a violent degree so as to be incomparable in history.

As I start this series, I hope first to abide by one simple rule: let the Scriptures speak for themselves. As I list the Scriptures below (all from the New International Version), please do keep in mind that they reflect a beginning study from the viewpoint of just a public school teacher. There are many many more verses which describe the great shakeup.


There will be signs in the sun, moon and stars. On the earth, nations will be in anguish and perplexity at the roaring and tossing of the sea. Men will faint from terror, apprehensive of what is coming on the world, for the heavenly bodies will be shaken.
Luke 21:25,26

19 Men will flee to caves in the rocks
and to holes in the ground
from dread of the LORD
and the splendor of his majesty,
when he rises to shake the earth.
Isaiah 2:19

21 They will flee to caverns in the rocks
and to the overhanging crags
from dread of the LORD
and the splendor of his majesty,
when he rises to shake the earth.
Isaiah 2:21

17 Terror and pit and snare await you,
O people of the earth.
18 Whoever flees at the sound of terror
will fall into a pit;
whoever climbs out of the pit
will be caught in a snare.
The floodgates of the heavens are opened,
the foundations of the earth shake.
19 The earth is broken up,
the earth is split asunder,
the earth is thoroughly shaken.
20 The earth reels like a drunkard,
it sways like a hut in the wind;
so heavy upon it is the guilt of its rebellion
that it falls—never to rise again.
21 In that day the LORD will punish
the powers in the heavens above
and the kings on the earth below.
Isaiah 24: 17 - 21

16 The LORD will roar from Zion
and thunder from Jerusalem;
the earth and the sky will tremble.
But the LORD will be a refuge for his people,
a stronghold for the people of Israel.
Joel 3:16

12I watched as he opened the sixth seal. There was a great earthquake. The sun turned black like sackcloth made of goat hair, the whole moon turned blood red, 13and the stars in the sky fell to earth, as late figs drop from a fig tree when shaken by a strong wind. 14The sky receded like a scroll, rolling up, and every mountain and island was removed from its place.
The Revelation 6: 12 - 14

Then the angel took the censer, filled it with fire from the altar, and hurled it on the earth; and there came peals of thunder, rumblings, flashes of lightning and an earthquake.
The Revelation 8:5

At that very hour there was a severe earthquake and a tenth of the city collapsed. Seven thousand people were killed in the earthquake, and the survivors were terrified and gave glory to the God of heaven.
The Revelation 11: 13

18Then there came flashes of lightning, rumblings, peals of thunder and a severe earthquake. No earthquake like it has ever occurred since man has been on earth, so tremendous was the quake. 19The great city split into three parts, and the cities of the nations collapsed. God remembered Babylon the Great and gave her the cup filled with the wine of the fury of his wrath. 20Every island fled away and the mountains could not be found.
The Revelation 16: 18 – 20

Summary Thoughts
These are my ramblings and not Scripture, but it seems evident even from my very incomplete list that the world is going to be experiencing the greatest series of earthquakes it has ever had. What will be the outcome of my own country, the United States?
If it is not already severely harmed by other judgments going on, it seems to me that the United States can expect, at a minimum, the following things:
1) Massive failure of dams and roads, ruining our infrastructure
2) Partial or complete failure of our power grid, cutting off electricity for most of our country
3) Levee failure, which along with the dams, will result in massive failure
4) Partial or total building collapse, similar to the San Francisco 1906 earthquake. Fires also are probable afterwards, destroying what is left intact.
5) Almost an instantaneous loss of world leadership, as the US would be totally engrossed with fixing its massive infrastructure problems.

Please note that these earthquakes will be worldwide, and the probable result, even if these were the only judgments of the apocolypse would be a greater devastation than recorded history has ever shown.

How shall we then escape?
1. In all periods of history, God requires one thing from his people: belief. The Bible says Abraham believed God and it was counted unto him as righteousness.
2. Pick up your dusty Bible, and begin in John. John 3:16 says that God loves the world and sent his son that we might be saved.
3. It is not necessary to understand all that God tells us in scripture; it is necessary to trust and believe that what he has told you is right.
4. Know that if you do find yourself caught in this judgment, that it is a judgment that is measured, and at the proper time will end. Perseverance is what God expects from you until the appointed end.

Wishing Meets Reality

I had a comment I chose not to publish on my blog last week, even though frankly I can’t afford to get very choosy since I have less than a dozen comments a year. (That’s what I’m talkin’ about!) The reason I chose not to publish the comment was that it was so far erroneous as far as doctrine went that I feared it might encourage that rare reader who comes to my blog unbidden.

The reader who commented evidently thought Scripture to be something which needed to be corrected; the wise person could “reset” the button on what God really meant. Thus, in the final analysis, God becomes defined by man. In this comment, the writer’s central thesis is that there is no hell, there is no judgment, and the times that Jesus did mention hell are because the “copies” of original manuscripts are errant. The comment was so full of errors that answering them one by one would probably take several responses. The author’s ulterior motive becomes more clear when I found his listed web site with a book on the topic of no hell. I thoughtfully and prayerfully did not include his website here.

But the question I wish to examine today is whether there is really a hell awaiting nonrepentant men. There is, of course, nothing more sure in this lifetime. “God sent not his son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through him might be saved.” (John 3:17) At the outset of this discussion we need to establish that God has long established the means for everyone to be saved. “For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten that whosoever believeth in him shall not perish, but have everlasting life.” (John 3:16) It cannot be said that God is not inclusive as he does make the gift of salvation available to all.

But what happens to the one who does not believe? “He that believeth not is condemned already because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten son of God.” (John 3:18) God asks only one thing of us—that we believe him. Nothing more, but also nothing less. Abraham believed God and it was reckoned unto him as righteousness.” (Romans 4:3) The scripture is quite plain on this point, and Jesus does spend a lot of time warning the religious leaders of his time about impending doom if they chose not to repent.

A final word on the reality of God. God is who he is. We do not have a “wish God”. Our God is absolute and real. He is the same yesterday, today, and forever. He does not change to fit our preferences. We may decide that He should do this, or He should do that, but it is not us who are in control. It is our very responsible duty to figure out from his word who he is and what he wants from us. If we decide we can make God whatever we want him to be we begin the process of reinventing God. The scripture is clear on this point in many places. God is sovereign. We may want to have a God who wags his parental finger at our nonbelief when we die, and says to us, “That’s okay, but don’t do it next time.” But it is no matter what we wish—we have a God who warns us most severely that we are “sinners in the hands of an angry God.” It remains a fact that Jesus is the only way, the only truth, and the only way to eternal life No one comes to the Father except through Him. Hard facts? It is who God tells us he is.

Thoughts about our world, reprinted from 2005

By Patrick Davis 2005

When I first became a Christian, others sometimes ridiculed my decision saying I was using religion as a crutch. I would rejoin that that was totally an incorrect analogy; Christianity is not a crutch. Rather it is the whole hospital, and not just a hospital, but the emergency wing of the hospital, and not just the emergency wing of the hospital, but the heart-attack room, with the patient’s heart having just quit, and the whole hospital staff working to revive even the faintest of heart beats. I am on that table now, receiving “urgent medical care” for my soul, and apart of the care of God in Christ, I shall surely come to complete and utter ruin. I could wish for the crutch analogy to be true, but it is about the biggest understandment of the need for grace that I know. I am a total wretch, a lost street urchin, a homeless soul bereft of food or clothing. There is no hope for me, until I met Christ.

And so, it is in that spirit that I wish to make the following statement. Jesus spent more of his time warning about hell and judgment than he did telling about the promises of heaven. In our day of “niceness” where no one is ever told anything distasteful, this statement must jar the ears like fingernails across the blackboard. Last month I concluded a class discussion in which someone in the class made the statement that she did not believe in a God who would judge someone evil; rather she believed in a God who saw good in people no matter who they were. The class was not religious and since I did not want to offend her, I suggested that she line up the words of Jesus. What do they actually say? I suggested that she might be surprised. Jesus spent many words warning of condemnation and coming judgment.

C.S. Lewis aptly points out that this choice is not one logically left open to us; in spite of that there are many people today who platonically state that Jesus was a good man. To say he is a good man ignores the content of his message which simply put was he that has seen me has seen the Father. Obviously we only have two choices left to us in the face of such a claim. One is that he was a delusional nut who, in evangelizing the world, committed the greatest crime against mankind ever conceived. He got the world to believe in a savior who wasn’t. The second choice is that he was who he claimed to be. The Son of God come to rescue a needy planet. He absolutely could not be the third choice, a good man.

So the record of what he said is vital to us. Was it a nice message? I submit that it mostly was a message warning of mortal judgment coming upon man except for those who heard his message and received his freely offered grace. What is the mortal judgment of which he warns?
First he tells us that it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God. He tells us that if we act unjustly towards others we will be handed over to the jailers to be tortured. He tells us in many parables that if we do not measure up to the standards of heaven, we will be cast out into the outer darkness where there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth. He says that those who do not measure up will go away to eternal punishment. Not trivial punishment, not temporary punishment, but eternal punishment, where as he says, the worm does not die and the fire is not quenched. Whoever does not believe, he declares will be condemned. And how condemned? He that believes not is condemned already because he has not believed in the name of the only son of God. Whoever rejects the son will not see life.

And it is on this basis that I would offer that it is necessary for Christians to warn of the coming storm. Not only is the gospel defined aptly as one beggar telling another beggar where to get bread; it is sometimes the needed thing for the beggar to tell where not to get bread.
Whatever else we may know about Christianity, we are certain of this. Christ himself claimed to have exclusive truth and to be the only way to God. No one is allowed to come to God except through him. Again, I refer you back to the logic. Either Jesus was a demented and crazed man, or he was who he said he was. There is no third option.

So what can be said for those who reject this grace of God? Their judgment includes the eternal decision of God. And where are they put? They are put into the hell which causes eternal torment evidenced by weeping and gnashing of teeth. Are there special judgments for those who are specially wicked? Revelation 21:8 seems to indicate so for it spells out the sexually immoral, the vile and the murderers.

So what shall we say about those who terrorize our society today? Who believe that their bombs will explode them to instant heaven? If we are to believe the words of Jesus, their bombs will explode them into eternal judgment where the worm does not die and the fire is not quenched.
What an awful waste of life! And what sort of judgment will fall on those men who teach these young men to blow themselves into Hell? I shudder at the coming judgment. Jonathan Edwards had it right: Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God.

The Hoopla Over Brit Hume's Comment-

The Hoopla over Brit Hume’s Comment,
from a Christian Perspective
by Patrick Davis

Before starting on this comment I wanted to tell you of an interesting article that thoroughly covers the controversy here. The controversy is over Brit Hume’s comment that Tiger Woods would be better off if he turned to Christianity:
"I don't think that faith offers the kind of forgiveness and redemption that is offered by the Christian faith. So my message to Tiger would be, 'Tiger, turn to the Christian faith and you can make a total recovery and be a great example to the world.'"

From my perspective as a Christian, Brit’s comments do not seem to be controversial except that I do note that in giving news a reporter should strive towards fairness. But in this instance, Brit made the comment not as a reporter, but rather as a commentator as part of a panel discussion.

I suppose what strikes me as so odd is not the number, or the vitriol of those many other columnists (very well covered in the above link), but rather the sheer hypocrisy of our culture. Hillary, as much as I hate to admit it, was right about the 3 A.M. phone call. Obama, and his administration simply do not get it: the system is not working. Islam, not Christianity, has the violent history. It is the religion which says convert or die. It is the religion that murders cartoonists and rewards its most violent with promises of virgins.

Christianity in history has certainly had its faults; we find history full of Christians who have warped the good news to their own destructive ends. But the message of Christ has remained true to mankind, and the good news is still that Christ has come to redeem a lost world. To really believe that message is apparently too much for many in America, but it has always been too much for some. Rejection of Christ is nothing new, and that part of the gospel remains as fresh today as yesteryear: “But he that believeth not is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten of the Father.” (John 3:18) When society tries to have equivalence of Islam and Christianity, they are right in one respect but wrong in the main comparison.

Christians have remained meek, seeking to change the heart from decisions; it is Islam which carries the sword, and preaches destruction. It is Christianity which has brought forth the flower of mankind while Islam brings forth the thorns and thistles of mankind. There is no moral equivalence between the two; equivalence between them does lie in the fact that they are both closed systems, and preclude all others necessarily as being correct. Islam seeks to control the closing of that system by destroying those who do not believe; Christians are content to warn the world of immanent judgment.

Hinduism, if I understand it at all, would be quite comfortable with adding the God of the Bible to its ever-growing list of gods. It is our jealous God who forbids all others. It is our jealous God who tells us that He will one day judge the world, not for its many sins, but rather for its rejection of Himself. For Woods to depart from false worship to the worship of the living God would be dramatic and permanent improvement. And it seems to me, that for Brit to say so is a quite normal observation for a Christian to make. Even those who are not Christian should surely be able to see the normalness of his comment. Bully for Brit’s comment! May he find other sources to more fully express his faith in the future.

Christianity is the one great difference that has lead western civilization to the most successful and tolerant government of all time. America, contrary to what the president says, is exceptional. Denying the exceptionalism which Christianity has given us is the first mark of the great fool. Unfortunately, it seems to be a growing mark that separates liberals from conservatives.

What is death?

In the day that you eat of it, you shall surely die. (Genesis 2:15)

I have been a believer since the ripe old age of 19. Being 57 now, and schooled well in public school math, I am able to do simple subtraction and come up with 38 years of being a believer. Remarkable, isn’t it? How much public schools taught me. Forgive my cynicism—I am a public school teacher and live with the guilt of what is avoided in education. But this piece is not meant to be about public education, or the lack thereof, but it is meant to be a reflective piece on what death means. I have spent 2/3 of my life believing that we did indeed die when we (in Adam) partook of that fruit. But I do still wonder what it means, and the difficulty of understanding what it means may lie in the fact that we have never known what it means to live. That is, we never have the experience of living and walking and talking with God, so how can we possibly explain that which we have never known?

In Bible school, the professors taught me that death means separation from God. I think in a wholesome sense that is the best meaning, for who am I to argue with men that spend their lives in theology? I have often pondered the ramifications of death and what it means. At the least, I suspect that it must include a loss of the wholesome “rightness” that comes from our relationship with God. Perhaps an analogy will serve here to clarify what might have happened that fateful day when man first disobeyed God.

When our relationship with someone close is severed, such as a man and woman severing their relationship, or the loss of a loved one, we see some gleanings of what that separation from God might mean. When a man (and here I speak from a man’s point of view, naturally) loses the woman he fancies, he dwells on that loss. It fills his imagination, and in extreme circumstances, even the most minor corners of his thinking. Everything in the course of his ordinary day just serves to remind him of his loss of her. Even after the separation continues his loss may bring fresh remembrances and longings for lost companionship.

What if, in the beginning of the separation of God and man, it was still possible to remember that companionship? Indeed, possibly some men remembered it so well that they continued some of that relationship in their minds. Are there things which we study about that time that could give us hints about that being true? I think of the long life spans of man, 900 years or more, as being part of the radiance of the lost relationship with God. The Bible tells us of one man, Enoch, who missed companionship so sorely that he found it in an extraneous walk with God, who eventually took Enoch to be in companionship with him.

If I may extend the analogy a bit, perhaps it may help to think of those who we all know, the poor souls who seem never to be able to make it through the loss of a loved one. The presence of their beloved lost one so fills their minds that they never get over it; their minds are consumed with their loss so much that even their everyday life is spoiled. The normal grieving process becomes extended to years and even decades; their whole life is afflicted by their loss, and neurosis eclipses totally the joy of continued life.

Which is the point of my wondering. What if mankind has become so neurotic in their loss of fellowship to God that they have become “walking dead people”? What if we have so lost our remembrances of fellowship with God that we are nothing but walking zombies? Indeed Scripture seems to indicate that very fact, declaring over and over that we are dead in our trespasses and sins.

I am convinced that we do not even realize our zombie-like condition. One day, perhaps right after we are allowed to drink from His spring of living water, then and only then, will we realize just how dead we really were.

The Raccoon

If you are skeptical of the existence of God, the slightest contemplation of the raccoon should not only tell you of the Creator, but also that He has a great sense of the comic.

Remembering the Fall

In these times, part of the world, mostly those who were locked within, are celebrating the destruction of the Berlin Wall. It is no accident that those who would do the locking up behind new walls are the ones who stay away from commemorating the destruction of the old.

But I was drawn to another Fall, one that is even more ignored by much of mankind to its eternal detriment. Man sinned and death resulted. Not even the most modern science of man has been able to undo the curse of God. Man is frail, and after almost a hundred years of “modern” medicine the life span of man is the same as it has always been. Moses, in Psalm 90, comments that 70 years hath the life of a man and 80 years if due to strength.

Today we realize that someone reaching 80 with good health to be as remarkable as it was in Benjamin Franklin’s day. Soon, with the kind help of our national government, we may look forward to living to 70—as long as we senior citizens do not impinge our poor health on the rest of the system.

It is abhorrent to me that society built on human dignity and rights would so cavalierly discard both that dignity and those rights. But may I add that I am not surprised? Disappointed but not surprised. You see, my religion teaches that men are intrinsically evil, unable even with utmost effort to effect salvation upon themselves. Even when we manage to create, in the words of Winston Churchill, the worst form of government ever devised by mankind, saving all others. The problems of our society are growing faster than we are able to reason our way toward morality and rationality—if indeed we are ever able to get there at all.

I used to call this the pull of evil and in my mind, fancied it as sort of a 20:1 ratio. That is for every problem attempted to be addressed and eradicated, twenty others would spring up to pull society down again. Sort of like Jason fighting the perennial soldiers that sprang from the earth. It seems to me that this is one of the rare points where I do find agreement between conservatives and liberals is in the decay of society. Neither group seems to have much hope for the redemption of mankind and see an ongoing, seemingly unstoppable, degradation of our society. They might disagree about the points of society’s fall, but both groups would not expect to see another generation of Americans grow old.

Which leads me to my point of these feeble comments: the redemption of mankind. Christ said that He would return, that his return would be visible and manifest to all. He also said that if He did not return mankind would destroy all. The elements themselves will be burned with fervent heat, He declares, and that does sound to me like a nuclear holocaust. He told us to not count Him slack concerning His promise, but also asked the rhetorical question if He would find any faith when He returned. It is to rescue us from the Fall that He came the first time; it seems that He is coming the second time to stop the total Fall of civilization itself.

That time, that day, will be like no other. Those who are waiting believing in God’s Son, and in his redemption will be made forever holy, separate unto Him, a cherished people. But life on earth will continue with a peace that knows not conflict, where swords will be beaten into plowshears, where a child who dies at 100 will be thought to be cursed.

Even so, come Lord Jesus.

On Christian Unity

I was in church this morning with someone who mentioned that he had been raised Catholic, and before I realized it, we were in a quite interesting conversation speculating on whether the Catholics we personally knew really had faith in Christ. Such speculation is always incomplete, though at times fascinating, since who can know the heart except God alone? At any rate I came home thinking of one of the greatest statements of unity of all time was made by Paul the apostle: There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. (Galatians 3:28) Of late I have been studying Revelation, and have pondered long on the “Roman prostitute” that is in league with the beasts and also hated by them. Long have I pondered of the meaning of the prostitute, and after 2,000 years of Bible scholars similar ponderings, I confess that I have nothing more to offer other than this weak observation: God will reveal His truth in time, and that time is almost upon us.

The unity of our faith is most precious. But the world unity and the unity which we will have under Christ’s hand seem to me to be very different. In the former, faiths are taught to give up ideals and principles of heritage and doctrine to bring a neutral harmony of mankind; in the latter, Christians are transformed into the correct beliefs of Sonship, and share that transformation eagerly and fluidly with one another for all of eternity. I see the march of many churches fighting to give up one Biblical doctrine after another in hopes of pursuing their elusive goal of harmony balanced with a tolerance that they seem to expect will make them more greatly respected (but, it seems to me, only makes them more despised, for in their efforts towards tolerance they give up their very character, and the one least respected is the one without character).

In our present world thus lies the difficulty; we are commanded to be one, yet find ourselves to be many. If we force ourselves to compromise and be the one, we find no character left to our message, and the world receives it as such. Do let me remind you that the world church will draw together in the last times, and they will proudly proclaim the false messiah. So part of the movement of our churches to unite must be seen as preparatory for the false world church. Our unity is nevertheless our strongest testimony of Christ. If you keep on biting and devouring each other, watch out or you will be destroyed by each other (Galatians 5:16). And again the prayer of our Lord: May they be brought to complete unity to let the world know that you have sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me. (John 17:23).

I figure my bottom line is to unite in Christ with my brothers present in this world, but is also to hold fast to the doctrines revealed in the Scriptures. In our present time, I admire Mr. Billy Graham for his steadfastness with core principles, yet his ability to reach across to others who accented different strands of the Christian faith.

Lastly, I would say make no mistake for God is not mocked. Whatever a man may sow, we are told, that shall he also reap. If your doctrine is one that splinters man from knowing God, you shall be judged of your false teaching. Not many of you should presume to be teachers, my brothers, because you know that we who teach will be judged more strictly (James 3:1). But we have this from the Word to comfort us: Abraham believed God and it was reckoned unto him as righteousness. If we are to be saved in these most perilous times, it will be because we believed God when He sent His Son to save us- not for correct or incorrect doctrine. The advantage of steering the correct course of truth is that we become much more free to emphasize the true gospel that can save all men.

If you are Catholic or Protestant or otherwise in the Christian faith, it is not what is false in your teaching that saves you—it is your faith in believing God only which shall save you. I believed God and it was reckoned unto me as righteousness. At that time, we shall become like Him, for we shall see Him as He is. And I shall walk through eternity, not with Catholics or Protestants, but with men and women who are changed, just like me, into the very image of our Lord. What a marvelous time that will be! What unity we shall at last have!

The Day that Death Dies

Death is the antithesis of life. In Revelation, God tells us that “Death and Hades will be thrown into the lake of fire.” In the third chapter of Genesis the fall of mankind takes place when woman and man both disobey God. God banishes them from the Garden of Eden, and will not allow mankind to escape the penalty of death until the Supreme Sacrifice is made, and time is given to all man to believe their God. Then we are told to look forward to a time on earth when the wolf shall lie down with the lamb, where the child will play next to the adder and suffer no harm, and where “none” shall be told of the Lord, for all mankind, from the least to the greatest, shall know him. Swords will be beaten into plowshears as a time of peace unbeknown to man shall abide on him. The “child” who dies at age one hundred shall be thought to be accursed, since the lifespan of even sinful man shall be extended dramatically.

When well-meaning but thoughtless people say about the death of their loved ones, “Oh, it is just the natural life cycle, and I know that, but I have a hard time with it anyway,” I cringe at their statement even while I try to offer sympathy. The sympathy is easy because there is so much empathy in each of us about the subject of death. Death shadows us all until it at last conquers. We empathize deeply with others losing their grandparents, or their parents because the same has happened to us. But it is only when we come to terms with the gospel of God that we see death is the enemy, the antithesis of what life should be.

There is nothing “natural” about death. The natural state was before the Fall, when man was in harmony with God. The unnatural state is to have to watch older generations diminish and die as they lose control of their bodies. So the position of the Christian should always be to utterly reject this awful penalty of death, for it is a curse, and it is for a specified duration, and it is to one day be lifted.

In our debate on health care, I wonder if it is we Christians who are causing much of the problem. It is our nature, the nature of life, to perceive death as the “last enemy.” Hence we reject utterly the offers of a peaceful assisted suicide, or any giving in to what is now inevitable: the march of death sweeping over mankind. Hence, we tend to support the “heroic” measures that Obama is against because we have such value in life itself.

“For the Lord Himself will come down from heaven, and the dead in Christ shall rise first. After that, we who are alive and are left will be caught up together with them to meet the Lord in the air.” Death will be no more for we shall be with the Lord forever!

The pearls

I have often stumbled over the precious gems of life in my pursuit of the cheap and shiny.

Reflections on The Abolition of Man

In reading The Abolition of Man, I found myself thinking in a new way. I have observed that this often happens with Lewis, who is a master at taking things of an ordinary sort and putting them in quite a fresh perspective.

Lewis talks extensively, and I confess, somewhat boringly, about his Tao. His Tao as best I can conceive, is an unassailable perspective or philosophy which is the kernel of who man is, or should I say, should be. I have always found The Abolition of Man to be more remote and abstract than it should be, and have found his arguments persuasive while not heroic, and certainly not central to the way I might want to present the rationale of Christ. Until I read him this time.

What I find so different in this time perusing through the book was, of course, my own reflection. The power of the best writers is not found in their ability to persuade us to their cause, but rather to cause us to begin persuasion of ourselves in trying to fit that piece in our philosophy which has not quite fit before, but now, because of the great writer, seems a bit more abhorrent than it ever was before. In rethinking this little bit that does not fit, the thinker may find himself trying to refine his own sense of philosophy, of decency by twitching a little this way, or by tinkering with a little thought that way. Frustrated at his efforts he perseveres, annoyed that no matter how he twists or bends his thoughts, it does not fit; in the end he is forced to throw out the whole bit and start over. Of course this is the result of and the power of great writers.

What is it that I threw out? Not so much I would warrant, just that I saw where Lewis was coming from. He was presenting the very bad arguments that I myself have had from my Father’s generation when they told us of the sixties’ generation that we should do this or that. “Go pick up your rifle and give your life cheerily for your country. Live your life virtuously. Be brave and be truthful. Your country needs your body and it is your duty to go to war.” All of these maxims my generation questioned. I also questioned them, and found many of the older generation unable to voice why I should do this or that. What is it, I would reasonably ask, that makes me want to die for my country, or be a hero, or even truthful, for that matter?

My father, not being a Christian, and not being a philosopher either, could never articulate the reason why we should do this or that over another, perhaps more preferable course. It was not until I encountered Christ that I began to see that most of what he had been teaching me, was part of Lewis’s Tao. That is, it was the underpinnings to the why of life, and it was largely left out by my father’s generation. His generation subscribed to a plethora of dictums that largely came from Christianity.

I realized this fact very soon after my receiving Christ, but as hard as I tried to articulate it to my Dad, it never seemed to soak in. I do not think it soaked in for a lot of his generation—my Father did not believe himself until near the end of his life. I find it ironic in thinking about his generation, a segment of heroic men and woman who became much bigger than themselves and gave us the greatest gift—our continued freedom. The irony is, of course, they knew not whom they served.

In thinking about it today, I could extend a metaphor of a great generation handing us the greatest engine of civilization of all time. They had given us the greatest and most powerful diesel engine by one of the great American generations, but they forgot to tell us about the fuel to run the engine. We of the sixties frustrated them to no end with our questions of why; they could only see their marvelous diesel engine of civilization and could not understand our questions. What we should have been talking about was, of course, the fuel. Neither generation was finding The Christ, the master of both generations, and the diesel fuel on which the greatest engine runs.

An Analogy of Time

As a child I remember learning to fly a kite. There was something very empowering to me to finally successfully launch a kite, and watch it bob and weave in the wind. I remember trying to see how high I could get the kite, sometimes tying two or three rolls of string together, until the kite became just a speck in the sky that could hardly be seen.

I remember when using a new ball of string I had to be very careful. I could let the string run through my fingers as the ball unraveled at my feet, but if I was not careful I would not see that I was at the end and the kite would soar off into the sky, not to be recovered.

An apt analogy for today, I think. The string of time is running through our fingers in a steady stream. But the string of this age is about to run out, and the only connection to that string is the time of great judgment that is coming on the world. Fortunately for earth and mankind, that roll of string is also connected to a time on earth when peace will rule, when our swords will be turned in plow shears, when the wolf will lie down with the lamb.

I can feel the string of time whizzing through my fingers now. The end of the string will be upon us before we know it. As the seconds go by, waiting for the end, I would ask: are you ready?

Abraham believed God and it was credited to him for righteousness. Patrick also believed God, and it was also credited to him for righteousness. God so loved the world that whosoever believeth. . .

Truth

Truth never shares its pedestal.
Jesus said, "I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life. No one comes to the Father except through me."

Simple logic. Jesus was one of three people. First we could suppose him a liar, bent on the worst evil and deceiving the world. He built a deception in his whole life that would unalterably change the world to accomadate a lie.

Don't like this Jesus? Good, because neither do I. Second, we could suppose Jesus to be crazy, a maniacal man bent on his destruction and the destruction of his people. He did what he did out of some mental disease and was unable to help himself. Indeed, not only did he end on the cross, he has followers by the thousands who have irrationally followed his madness.

I don't think that works too well either. Third we have the Jesus who was who he said he was. The Son of God come to redeem a lost world. As Lewis so aptly points out we are not ever, in strict logic, left with the idea that Jesus is merely a nice man.

Would that the world was better trained in simple logic! What do they teach them in schools these days? (Oops, that would be me!)

Romans One and Two

Concluding Thoughts

Key verses:
Romans 1:32 and Romans 2:1 (NIV)

Although they know God’s righteous decree that those who do such things deserve death, they not only continue to do these very things but also approve of those who practice them.
You, therefore, have no excuse, you who pass judgment on someone else, for at whatever point you judge the other, you who pass judgment do the same things.

Just a few brief thoughts to note hear. Verse 32 tells us plainly not to 1) do the sorts of things previously listed (including homosexuality) and 2) to definitely not give approval of those who practice them. But verse 1 tells us plainly that we are completely unfit to judge others without condemning ourselves because we do the same things.
In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus plainly sets a bar so high that it is impossible that we should reach it; rather it is only faith which can save us. Jude further tells us that “we are to snatch others from the fire and save them; to others show mercy, mixed with fear—hating even the clothing stained by corrupted flesh.”
The walk of the believer then is most assuredly a narrow one. He is called to stand against sin, condemning it completely, shunning it and denouncing it as sin. At the same time he is called to stand with the sinner, being merciful and humble, hoping by any means that the sinner might recognize that he too is naught but a beggar in need of grace.

Romans One Part Two

The general theme of Romans is succinctly stated in the maxim: “The just shall live by faith.” Paul’s cogent argument that we are “without excuse” is powerfully built in the last half of Romans One. I shall try to demonstrate his persuasive points in these next few paragraphs.

First Paul establishes that “men are without excuse” by depicting the downward spiral of sin. First he tells us that “their thinking became futile.” It is futile thinking which marks the beginning of the trek away from God. How many ways are there for modern man to engage in “futile thinking”? I wonder about our movement into the worship of nature and its mythical balance. Today we are more worried about our carbon production than we are about being judged by an angry God. The former is largely imagined while the latter is a coming reality. We are engaged in futile thinking when we imagine ourselves as saviors of the earth--it is we ourselves who are in desperate need of a Savior.

If “futile thinking” is the first mark of the sinful man, the second mark is “darkened hearts”. I see a connection here. Futile thinking would frequently lead to darkened hearts. People become captured by their vain imaginings and those imaginings bring about a heart which is darkened. I look at the wonders of creation, having gazed at the beauties of the Grand Canyon and Yellowstone. They make me see the Creator, but those with darkened hearts and vain imaginings only see accident and happenstance. I cannot look at a tree without wondering about the one who created it, but those who vainly imagine darken their own hearts. Paul tells us that they are “without excuse” because the Creator is plainly seen, “being understood from what is made”. They think they are wise, yet they are but fools, worshipping created things rather than the Creator.

Sexual impurity is the next result. Fools who pretend they are responsible to no one begin to act toward one another without righteousness. The loss of any righteous stance leads the sinner to sexual impurity, and Paul lists the worst outcomes of sexual impurity: women lust toward other women, and men lust toward other men. Such behavior comes from those who “do not retain their knowledge of God”. (Please scroll down to see Marriage Compact, written several years ago).

Those who leave their knowledge of God so willfully spiral yet further into sin and disobedience by developing “depraved minds”. The rest of the chapter lists the marks of the depraved mind:
“29They have become filled with every kind of wickedness, evil, greed and depravity. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit and malice. They are gossips, 30slanderers, God-haters, insolent, arrogant and boastful; they invent ways of doing evil; they disobey their parents; 31they are senseless, faithless, heartless, ruthless.” I count 21 ways that depravity is counted here.

I can quite imagine the righteous man, indeed it is my tendency too, to read this list and become incensed at the wickedness of mankind, thinking foolishly that it is “those others” who engage in sin. The next verse especially seems to make me want to establish myself as different, better than ‘those sinners’.
32Although they know God's righteous decree that those who do such things deserve death, they not only continue to do these very things but also approve of those who practice them.

I find myself wondering about how other people have gone so far wrong, and in my suppositions I fall into Paul’s trap. Paul’s trap comes in the next verse, which is the first verse of the second chapter. When Bible scholars chopped the text up into chapters and verses they correctly saw verse one of chapter two as beginning a new thought; but it is also the summation of what Paul has been building. It is put there as a cold bucket of water to be tossed over the righteous head and awaken him to his dire need. I find myself a bit shocked in reading it, even after all these years of being a Christian, because it does point at my utter depravity.

1You, therefore, have no excuse, you who pass judgment on someone else, for at whatever point you judge the other, you are condemning yourself, because you who pass judgment do the same things.

I, then, am guilty of the same things, the sexual sins, the list of 21 sins, the wickedness of futile thinking and darkened hearts. I think of Jimmy Carter who famously spoke of the lust in his heart, and I think of Bill Clinton who never quite acknowledged the lust of his zipper. Together they are both condemned. Moreover I am condemned right along with them. Jesus makes this explicit in his Sermon on the Mount, but Paul makes us see the three fingers pointing back at ourselves when we point our accusatory fingers and say “j’accuse”. The gospel has been magnificently explained as one beggar telling another beggar where to get bread. I need to forever remember my own beggar status when I speak to others about unrighteous lifestyles. I definitely should not approve of such lifestyles, but if I lose sight of my utter wretchedness I risk losing not only my testimony, but also my very proper perspective. I am a sinner who is made righteous, and called to live by faith.

Romans One part one

Key verses:

18For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness;

19Because that which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God hath shewed it unto them.

20For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse:

In Romans Paul starts out immediately letting me know that God includes more than His people, the Jews, in his grand designs. The key verses of the book are found in Romans 1:16 & 17.

16For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.

17For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, The just shall live by faith.

Paul tries to succinctly state the broad theme of Romans by letting us know first that the very Power of God is illumined when the merest man partakes in belief. It is only faith which brings us imputed righteousness. My belief in God is the only thing that pleases Him; I receive that which was done on the cross with His Son, and that alone is what pleases God.

Hebrews tells us this also: But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him. (Hebrews 11:6). Paul is restating this in Romans, or perhaps it was first, for if my memory serves Romans is the earlier book.

Now Paul begins to craft his arguments that all men are in the same fix: lost without Christ. His first argument is almost a trap to the righteous Jew, or to the righteous Christian. He begins with stating clearly that righteousness comes by faith but then moving to a great list of sins that are favored by those with a “depraved mind”.

Paul brilliantly marshals his arguments by plainly telling us that all men are without excuse:
19Because that which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God hath shewed it unto them.
20For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse.

In other words the natural mind is capable of and responsible for discerning the Creator through His creation. We should be able to look at a tree or a tall mountain and see the Creator behind them.

But men’s willfulness always corrupts them; though we do see God’s handiwork, and even His presence everywhere we have so darkened our understanding that we are incapable of seeing the Light of the World.

21Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened.
22Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools,
23And changed the glory of the uncorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man, and to birds, and fourfooted beasts, and creeping things.

Idolatry is a chief manifestation of the wickedness of men- I wonder if we have really changed all that much this last several years. In the Old Testament the Israelites sacrificed their children to Molech by casting them into the fire; these times woman are counseled to sacrifice their unborn to the god of convenience. In former ancient times men worshipped the sun and feared it; today we have the religion of global warming that still fears angering the sun.

In our next passage to look at, Paul brilliantly captures the supposed righteous man by listing many more of the awful sins of the depraved mind. Stay tuned.

A Layman’s Look at Romans

For me, Romans is a most exciting book. I remember my college semester studying Romans but even before that, some 36 years ago, my wife and I attended young couples conference, and a man named Roger taught us about Romans. I recall some of his words as freshly as they were spoken still. He spoke to us of the old man that we are to put away and be renewed in the “new man” to which we are called. But as I recall those messages I do remember his summary of the earlier chapters, encapsulating great themes and arguments in single sentence summaries.

Even today, after reading through my Bible many hundreds of times, I find the words penned in Romans some of the most humbling and liberating for the wayward soul. It teaches the Christian of his relational place to Christ, from our humble, sinful, and lost beginnings to the exalted status that even the angels look on with amazement and wonder at what God has done.

I am undertaking to memorize key verses of each chapter, and have chosen those key verses from my own study, not from notes or another Bible study source. They are words chosen by me, the sole guidance I use is what God seems to speak to me as important. Romans, is, of course, a very coherent and strong argument to explain the complete and total loss of man’s righteousness apart from faith in Christ. It also gloriously explains to us what majesty that faith restores to us as the sons of God.

I intend to give the key verses of each chapter as I wind my way through this. My guide to “key” verses is my own, and I use only my sense of what is important, hopefully coupled with the conviction of the Holy Spirit. Though I enjoy checking commentaries out from time to time, it is again, my reliance on my common sense and the Holy Spirit which dominate my studies.

A final word on memorization. I have given myself through my life to much memorization (and sometimes I think- more forgetting!). I have found it a wonderful tool for getting familiar with the Word of God, but also for mediation and reflection, it is for me, an unparalleled tool. If by chance anyone ever bothers with reading this blog, please do accept my recommendation of committing this verses to your memory. I trust that God will enrich your life as He has mine.

A Flair for the Dramatic?

In the beginning there was the Word.
In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.
In the beginning there was the Word.

In the end of all things God tells us in The Revelation that Christ meets the armies of Armageddon with a sword protruding from His mouth. His sword is invincible, and the vast armies of the world are instantly and completely defeated, apparently without one more casualty on the part of the saints who are standing behind him.

What is this sword that protrudes from the mouth? It is the awesome power of the Creator, fully exhibited in His Son; the power of God Himself in the spoken word. One word from Jesus and it all ends- all the thousands of years of man striving against his Creator, all the sin and willfulness meeting against a single word.

Consider for a moment the setting. All the armies of Europe, and all the armies of the east mass together in one valley. The eyes of the world are upon them. They threaten the continued existence of Israel. Then steps in the Creator, in all of His awesome power, at the last moment, at the very last possibility. With one word it all stops and amounts to exactly nothing.

Does God indeed have a flair for the dramatic?

These Truths are Self Evident

What truths are self-evident? Today I read a sad story about a nine year old girl killed after she annulled her marriage to a forty-five year old man. She was killed as a matter of honor by her family.

I know not all the self-evident truths, but this I do know. Man is responsible to his Creator, who will hold us in judgment for all our deeds. Solomon told us to eat, drink, and be merry, but know that we will account to God for our lives. This country where the vile deed was done has politicians defending the practice, saying that it includes hundreds of years of tradition.

Of course, on its own, that is a fallacious argument, for tradition itself has no merit other than force of habit. Habits may be good or bad, but it is my own observation that most habits are bad and the ones which we would keep and abide by are so much harder to develop and maintain. Following tradition for tradition’s sake would mean that if we had opportunity we would crucify Christ yet again. Thinking about this analogy, I do not doubt that we would do exactly that if He offered us the chance. This time around, however, he is coming as the Lion of Judah, not the Lamb of God.

The Lion of Judah will severely judge misdeeds that happened to this nine year old girl. I think of the apostle Paul, belittled so often by our American culture. He said in perhaps the greatest equality statement of all time, that we are all part of one body, Jews or Gentiles, slave or free, male or female. Those cultures treating women as property shall not escape a harsher look. The Lord comes and with Him, so does judgment.

Socialism in Action

Years ago I worked among the homeless in Skid Row. I recall that we served two different meals: one to the staff men who worked and lived with us, and one for the men who came to us directly from the street. The staff would get a better fare- a balanced meal (though I remember it very heavy on carbs!). The homeless would get a stew or beans with bread.



We got a new director who saw this discrepency and decided to do something about it. Standing before all the staff men, he announced that these differences would no longer be tolerated. Henceforth all men would be treated equally with regard to meals. It was a rousing speech and one of the few times I actually saw the staff men stand and cheer. Someone was here to put things right at last!



Imagine their disappointment the next day when they found their meals now consisted of the plainer fare- beans and bread or stew and bread. Yes, things were now the same, just as promised. How awful was the result!



So it is with me when politicians promise national health care for all. I always think of those poor gullible souls believing in their director. Government will apportion and deny health care in the most bizarre fashion. We will all become casualties of care!

History is yet to be told

There is a famous aphorism that history is always written by the victor. Imagine what history might read like had Hitler won his global conquest. Just maybe it would be a tad different than what we read today. Imagine reading a biography of Hitler’s archenemy, Churchill. Undoubtedly we would read of many vile and contemptible deeds done by this dastardly character.

It occurs to me that history, even as close as it is to culmination, has not yet been written. One of my private passions is the reading and understanding of history, but if my musing is correct, the real view of history, as told through the ultimate Victor, has yet to be written. I wonder how the stories of history will change when we see them through the hand of the Pattern-Maker.

Random Recent Thoughts

He who carries the biggest baseball bat inevitably wants to swing at your head; if you really want to give government a bigger bat you should probably invest in a good helmet (government-approved, of course).

Overheard from church:
I work for DMV and am looking to the Lord’s return because I really want to see what he is going to do with the DMV.

There has never been a time in history where it has not been later than it ever has been before; nevertheless all the rehearsals of the Last Supper are culminating in the real event.

What is Truth?

Reflections on Truth

Doesn’t the very word “truth” imply one-sidedness and bigotry? If there is a truth to be found, would it not necessarily divide people? That division would of necessity be in two camps: 1) those who believe and embrace the truth, and 2) the larger group of those who reject the truth.

Thinking over this, a probable outcome would be that the larger group would be divided into many further subsets.

Now suppose that there is one truth for knowing and coming to the Divine. Part of those rejecting the truth would inevitably twist portions of the truth for themselves, proclaiming that their new version is genuine. Inevitably there would be a falling out and new versions would result. Part of those rejecting would reject in total, asking what is truth?

That which I find amazing is the world about me seems to pretty much reflect this argument. In the United States it is not even considered polite anymore for someone to stand and say he has the truth. Perhaps that is what Jesus meant when he said I am not come to unite, I am come to divide, to set father against son, etc.

Oh, the sharp point of truth! Take care for upon it all of history has already divided, cleaving us neatly into our two groups. “I am come that ye may know the truth, and the truth shall set you free.”

Howard Dean- prophet?

Howard Dean, chairman of the Democratic Party, and theologian extraordinaire, states: “The Democratic Party believes . . . that there are no bars to heaven for anybody.”
Jesus, a theologian of no small note, states: “No one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again.” He also said: “Whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son.”
It is one thing to be tolerant of others who do not believe as they should; it is quite another to state that all will go to heaven. There is no support for this in the Bible, which plainly states: “But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.”
Indeed Jesus spent most of his ministry (count and categorize his words if you will) warning the world of the way that it was going and the penalty thereof. The world is clearly on a path to mass destruction, and Jesus did not mince words about it. He frequently picked on the leaders of his day, calling them “hypocrites” and “vipers”.
There are of course only three logical assumptions from these contrary teachings. First Howard Dean is right and Jesus is wrong. Second Howard Dean is wrong and Jesus is right. Third, both Howard Dean and Jesus are wrong.
If the first assumption is right then all of mankind should be at the feet of Howard Dean rather than Jesus. If the second is right then all of mankind should reject Howard Dean’s statement as absurd, and should be at the feet of Jesus. If the third is right, solipsism reigns supreme, and there is no reason to be at the feet of anyone.
Choose which leader you will follow; but as for me and my house we will follow Jesus. And Jesus clearly taught that there are many bars, the chief of which shall be the rejection of God’s only son.

Uniforms in School

As a teacher I absolutely hate the way our society seems to want to shred individual dignity. Uniforms for school children was in its heyday about five years ago, and good school behavior was linked to getting kids all into the same blah white shirts. I enjoy seeing my children express their individuality with their shirts. One shirt I remember from this past month was worn by a boy and said, “Blame My Sister”. I think it is wonderful to stimulate creativity and individuality.

Today we have evolved to let the gangs own certain colors. It is now against most school laws for students to wear gang colors. Now may I ask what made them gang colors? Did gangs purchase the trademarks? Obviously not; what has happened is that schools have unwittingly handed gangs a major victory. Henceforth children will not be allowed to wear red or blue because they are the sole province of gangs. The gang leaders ought to send thank-you’s to all the foresighted educators who gave them this victory.

It sort of reminds me of the argument against guns. We have been told for sixty years that if we just make guns illegal, crime will disappear. So the battle is on; laws are constantly being fashioned to take guns out of the hands of lawful citizens, but those same laws are ignored by the lawless. What we have now is a society where only the police and criminals have guns- frankly we ought to be a little afraid of both elements. So are we moving to a society in which we will have no colors allowed- all of us becoming bleached-out-empty-human-shells devoid of all individuality?

In church this morning, our minister taught on the righteousness of Christ. I always think of the white robes of righteousness that Christ clothes us with in the end times. That is one uniform I can accept! And even beg for- because without it I am lost in my wickedness- as out of place as Dan Brown at the Second Coming. Willingly I will take the white robe of righteousness and cling to it most tightly, mindful of my need and His wonderful grace.

Awestruck- or thoughts from the morning sermon

Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ. Ephesians 1:3 NIV SB


Our job as Christians is to be awestruck, and sometimes I forget that. I had a rather marvelous conversion at the ripe old age of nineteen. I had learned much from my world and was very analytical for a nineteen year old. Somehow I had never connected much in my life to the numinous, though in early childhood I do have memories of dealing with spiritual issues on a childhood level (isn’t that the way Jesus commands us to come, as children?) in praying for sick animals and people.
Nonetheless it was a profound change in the way of appreciating the world about me that took place, and I had moments where I even feared for my sanity. Some might point out that that fear was righteously place (isn’t there another place in scripture that says the wisdom of God is as foolishness before men?). To see spiritual forces around me was both dismaying and exciting at the same time; dismaying because I saw them as unverifiable, exciting because I saw them as true.
My analytical nature soon tried to classify and present that remarkable discovery of truth to my immediate friends, none of whom were themselves believers. I tried through reason, to no avail, to present that which had so profoundly and dynamically changed my life.
I was more awestruck than many new believers, I think, because a deadness was creeping over my soul rather early with the modern American belief that what you see is what you get. Analytically that appealed to my nature, and the occasional friend I had who still went to church I would challenge on an analytical basis until I found that they appeared to have no rational reason why they believed, they appeared uncertain as to what they believed, and, in some cases, appeared to be believing out of fear of hell rather than conviction of reason.
After my conversion, apologetics appealed to my analytical nature, and I developed many strengths in arguing persuasively for Christ. In my thirty six years since then I have seen scores of people come to Christ, but I freely admit none have been persuaded through apologetics. I have come to see apologetics as merely the entrance argument to open the eyes of the willing skeptic so that the true testimony can take over.
I am convinced that people are not rational creatures. Has not one of the chief skeptics of the modern age, Bertrand Russell, said: “It has been said that man is a rational animal. All my life I have been searching for evidence which could support this.” People can have a semblance of rationality which is always over-ridden by their emotional core. Hence the topic of this essay: being awestruck.
Ephesians points out that God has presently blessed us with every spiritual blessing in Christ. In my better moments I know this; there are days and sometimes weeks going by where I feel both close to and presently blessed by Christ. I am awestruck. If I am to convince my neighbor of the reality of unseen things, then I need to regularly affirm the way in which He makes me awestruck.
Note:
I think the best way to approach people is through what Christ does to us in our emotional department. This is exactly contrary to the Four Spiritual Laws, which always rated facts as the engine, faith as the coal car, and feeling as the caboose. I think that even Bill Bright was a bit taken with the American myth that what you see is what you get. In thinking this through though, I do wonder if perhaps it is a mark of our post modernism age that causes this shift to emotion. I do think modern man tends to say that facts are different things to different people and thus impossible to ascertain (relativism).