July 6, 2009

I am back today. Because of church and concentrating on spending time with my kids and grandkids, I didn't carve out the time to blog. It seems Barbara and I have to enjoy our family time in occasional doses. We had a great time!

I hope you grabbed plenty of family time, too.

In my Bible reading schedule I am in Acts in the New Testament and Job in the Old. Good stuff!

Here's what grabbed attention as I read:

"It was about this time that King Herod arrested some who belonged to the church, intending to persecute them. He had James, the brother of John, put to death with the sword. When he saw that this pleased the Jews, he proceeded to seize Peter also. This happened during the Feast of Unleavened Bread. After arresting him, he put him in prison, handing him over to be guarded by four squads of four soldiers each. Herod intended to bring him out for public trial after the Passover. So Peter was kept in prison, but the church was earnestly praying to God for him. The night before Herod was to bring him to trial, Peter was sleeping between two soldiers, bound with two chains, and sentries stood guard at the entrance. Suddenly an angel of the Lord appeared and a light shone in the cell. He struck Peter on the side and woke him up. "Quick, get up!" he said, and the chains fell off Peter's wrists. Then the angel said to him, "Put on your clothes and sandals." And Peter did so. "Wrap your cloak around you and follow me," the angel told him. Peter followed him out of the prison, but he had no idea that what the angel was doing was really happening; he thought he was seeing a vision. They passed the first and second guards and came to the iron gate leading to the city. It opened for them by itself, and they went through it. When they had walked the length of one street, suddenly the angel left him. Then Peter came to himself and said, "Now I know without a doubt that the Lord sent his angel and rescued me from Herod's clutches and from everything the Jewish people were anticipating." When this had dawned on him, he went to the house of Mary the mother of John, also called Mark, where many people had gathered and were praying. Peter knocked at the outer entrance, and a servant girl named Rhoda came to answer the door. When she recognized Peter's voice, she was so overjoyed she ran back without opening it and exclaimed, "Peter is at the door!" "You're out of your mind," they told her. When she kept insisting that it was so, they said, "It must be his angel."

This story is intriguing on several levels.

First, Herod had James killed, but had Peter arrested. Could that have been because of his high profile and popularity? Could they have feared his spiritual power and authority? Was it because the Church was praying for him? Maybe all of the above.

Second, I can't help but notice the difference between a man motivated by political popularity (Herod) and one who operated by principle (Peter). As a result, Herod lived in fear as a people-pleaser while Peter lived by faith, pleasing God. Herod might have been in control but Peter was in charge!

Third, Herod surrounded Peter with guards. God surrounded Peter with angels. That was true because of two reasons: Peter was in God's will and the Church mobilized in prayer.

Fourth, angels are better than guards. When they woke Peter in the middle of the night, they slipped him out of the chains and out of the prison. The guards never knew the difference. When God wants to deliver His people - no chains or prison can hold them. People of faith are free even when they are captives!

Five, prayer is powerful! More powerful than they expected, apparently, because when Peter showed up at the site of their prayer meeting they were in disbelief. Has that ever happened to you? Have you ever prayed intensely for something and then found yourself surprised when God gave you what you asked for in a timely fashion? They went from belief to disbelief - then to greater belief!

There is tons of good preaching material here, but the bottom line is this, God will use anyone to overcome anything to accomplish the thing He wants accomplished. It doesn't take perfect faith, it just requires a perfect heart!

Pray persistently. Perservere consistently. Perfect your heart continually!

July 4, 2009

"So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed." John 8:36

Happy Independence Day!

As our great nation celebrates freedom for the 234th time, our freedom is under attack for the 234th time. Freedom is never free and it certainly isn't easy. God bless our troops on the front lines of freedom around the world today! We can never repay the debt of gratitude we owe them.

But freedom is under attack within our borders, too.

I have been writing about two conflicting worldviews that are vying for power in our culture. These are, in fact, two vastly different visions of freedom. One is the secular humanist worldview that sees the world as impersonal matter shaped by chance and human beings as just another animal. To them there are no absolute values or laws. Every person is the arbiter of his own truth. The Biblical worldview recognizes a Creator Who established moral laws and absolute truth revealed in the Bible. This viewpoint understands that man is created in God's image and therefore, each life is precious.

Due to the vastly different perspectives represented by these worldviews, their ideas of how to govern are diametrically opposed. One view claims that rights originate with government while the other sees rights given by God.

Which worldview do you think our Founders embraced?

"It is impossible to rightly govern the world without God and Bible." George Washington

"Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people." John Adams

"We have staked the whole future of American civilization, not upon the power of government....but upon the capacity of mankind for self-government, upon the capacity of each and all of us to govern ourselves, to control ourselves, to sustain ourselves according to the 10 Commandments of God." James Madison

"The principles of genuine liberty and of wise laws and administrations are to be from the Bible." Noah Webster

"God governs in the affairs of man. And if a sparrow cannot fall to the ground without his notice, is it probable that an empire can rise without His aid? We have been assured in the Sacred Writings that except the Lord build the house, they labor in vain that build it. I firmly believe this. I also believe that, without His concurring aid, we shall succeed in this political building no better that the builders of Babel." Benjamin Franklin

How about taking a wild guess which worldview our Founding Fathers held as the vision for our Republic?

Compare that with the vision of current politicians and leaders.

While it may be true that our Founding Fathers were not saints or spiritual giants, they understood the truth of what Jesus said, "So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed."

Here are three profound spiritual truths to wrap your mind around on this Independence Day 2009:

1) All freedom begins and ends in God. So, the further you get from God the less freedom you enjoy.

2) Freedom does not consist of rights, it consists in a relationship (with God through Christ).

3) Freedom is not given - it is received. Therefore, true freedom cannot be taken from you.

God bless you! God bless America!

July 3, 2009

"After his suffering, he showed himself to these men and gave many convincing proofs that he was alive. He appeared to them over a period of forty days and spoke about the kingdom of God." Acts 1:3

Since this is the Fourth of July weekend, I have to work in a baseball illustration because American is about baseball, apple pie and Chevrolet. Baseball is all we have left because Chevrolet is owned by the government and is about to go the way of the dinosaur and the trans fats in apple pie will soon be banned.

Thank God for baseball!

Here's a baseball trivia question. What is the highest fielding percentage for a middle infielder in Major League history (minimum of a 1,000 games played) and who was that infielder?

The best fielding percentage was .989, which means for every 100 balls that were hit to him he made the play 99 times. Or, if you're the negative type, he booted one ball in every one hundred plays.

Having played some infield myself, I know how good that is! But you know what?

It isn't perfect. But then what is?

THE BIBLE.

While a 98.9% fielding average might get you to Cooperstown (Baseball Hall of Fame) a 1% error rate doesn't work for the Word of God. He never makes an error and He has had to handle some hard hit balls!

One more defense against the attacks on the Bible's accuracy. One more fact for those who say God may have bobbled a grounder here or there.

Some have questioned: What about the conflicting accounts of Resurrection morning?

Think of four people you know. Any four. Put them on a street corner in your town and have them witness a fender bender at that intersection then ask them to describe it. You know you will get four different accounts of the same event. BUT, they will all agree on the significant parts - what color were the cars, what color was the light, who was at fault, etc. You will in fact, end up with a much more complete and accurate recounting of the events because of the four view points.

So it is with the seeming conflicts with the Resurrection accounts. All four Gospel writers recorded this crucial occurrence from a slightly different vantage point much like your four witnesses to the fender bender. But while there are nuances of details, there is complete agreement on all of the significant facts. There is in fact, no conflict.

Allow me to list the important points of agreement:

1) Jesus did die and was buried; 2) every disciple was devasted; 3) the disciples scattered in despair and fear of their own safety; 4) on the third day the women and the disciples found the huge stone removed from the tomb; 5) when the tomb was entered it was found to be empty; 6) angels appeared and announced the news of the Resurrection; 7) Jesus had, indeed, risen; 8) Jesus later appeared to His disciples; 9) all of His disciples eventually became absolutely convinced of His resurrection and proclaimed it to the world.

In a court of law, differing details within agreement of a main point for a defendant only serves to strengthen the case. That added validity and credibility goes a long way with the judge and jury.

God has a 1.000 career fielding percentage. His word is 100% error free! It can take all challenges. It can go deep in the hole, it can charge the slow roller, it can defend up the middle, it can chase down the looping pop-ups, it can handle the line drives, and it can turn the double play!

Don't doubt it! Depend on it!

By the way, the infielder with the all-time best fielding percentage - Ryne Sandberg! (Go, Cubbies)

July 2, 2009

"He (Jesus) answered, "A wicked and adulterous generation asks for a miraculous sign! But none will be given it except the sign of the prophet Jonah. For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of a huge fish, so the Son of Man will be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth." Matthew 12:39-40

"Three days and three nights in a fish's belly? Are you kidding me?"

You have to admit the story of Jonah sounds a bit far-fetched. He ran from God's will and was thrown overboard during a vicious storm. When he was thrown overboard he was swallowed by a "great fish" where he remained for three days and nights. That unfortunate event was enough to convince him to obey God. Once he made that decision, the gigantic fish spit him up onto dry land - exactly where he needed to be.

Wow! Happens all the time, right?

I believe it because I believe God's Word and I know God is well able to do something like this. In this case, I believe it because Jesus refers to the story of Jonah as a true story. Even his adversaries believed the story of Jonah even though they didn't believe Jesus.

A second objection that skeptics offer to challenge the inerrancy of the Scriptures is this one, "Could Jonah REALLY have survived in the belly of a fish?"

Actually, yes! There a several reports of mariners in the modern era who have been swallowed by whales yet survived the ordeal. It's been documented that there would be enough oxygen within the whale's body for a human to survive for three days. Those are the natural facts, but Jonah's survival was supernatural!

Those who ridicule the story of Jonah and point to it as evidence to discredit the Bible offer no objective or logical argument. Neither do they offer any contrary evidence. All they bring to the table is their anti-supernatural bias. From that standpoint alone, our argument is just as valid as theirs because we have as much right to an opinion as they do.

However, we do have some evidence to support our claims. Chief among the evidence is the fact that Jesus twice is documented as referring to Jonah (Matthew 12 and Luke 11). He is not pointing to Jonah as a fairy-tale, but as fact.

If you don't take the supernatural out of play, you can easily believe that God could create a "great fish" especially designed for the task, He could put the fish where it needed to be and turn it into transportation to deliver to the shore near Nineveh.

God created all the other sea creatures, He could certainly have done this.

Incidently, the miracle of Jonah and the fish was the next to last miracle that happened in the Old Testament.

What was the last miracle?

The final miracle of the Old Testament was what happened when Jonah went to the wicked city of Nineveh and preached - the entire city repented and was converted! Talk about supernatural!

It is easier to prove that the Jonah event did happen than it is to prove otherwise! So, if someone tells you this sounds "fishy" - don't take the bait!

July 1, 2009

Jesus answered, "It is written: 'Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.'" Matthew 4:4

I am glad that Jesus said "every word". I am also glad that He didn't say, "Man does not live on bread alone but on almost every word that comes from the mouth of God."

Apparently, Jesus believed in the inerrancy of the Word. Evidently He was confident that the Word of God was inspired and reliable.

Alex McFarland, in his book "The Ten Most Common Objections to Christianity" says, "Biblical writers use phrases such as 'Thus saith the Lord' or "The word of the Lord came to me saying.....' at least 600 times. In total, there are around 3,000 references of the Bible as a whole, or at least a part of it, as being the Word of God. Keep in mind that none of the writers collaborated on their works. This wasn't a Bible Boys Club where everyone brainstormed book ideas. There were years - sometimes centuries - between writers. Yet it is obvious that each scribe understood the divine interpretation behind other books."

Who would recognize divine inspiration more than one who had experienced it himself?

So, why do some doubt its inspiration? Why are there those who claim it is filled with errors? What are their objections?

Let me deal with some of the so called "errors" of Scripture.

So called error one: Because the Bible doesn't tell us where Cain found his wife, it is suspect.

Skeptics sometimes raise the topic of Cain's wife (Gen. 4:17). So, where did Cain's wife come from? Were there other races of people that the Bible fails to mention? Did aliens come down from a far away galaxy and mingle with humans? Huh? What about that, huh?

What do you say we start with the obvious? Cain married one of his sisters.

But doesn't that violate the biblical commandment against incest? Huh? How about that, huh?

No! The command from Moses that prohibited marrying a close relative did not come until at least 400 years later.

Interesting how these skeptics who often want to undermind the Scriptures in order to banish the foundations of absolute morality, suddenly become moral guardians when it suits their purposes.

"Every promise in the book is mine, every page, every verse every line......."

June 29, 2009

"All your words are true; all your righteous laws are eternal." Psalm 119:160

Have you ever thought that some of the critical problems that people have with the Bible might actually be in the heart and mind of the critic?

Yesterday in my message I mentioned several attitudes that people have toward the Scriptures:

1) It Is A Storybook - The Bible is filled with dramatic stories but it can't be taken seriously.

2) It Is A Spiritual Scam - Devious men wrote the Bible to gain control over people's hearts

and minds.

3) It Is Sacred Literature - The Bible should be revered as a holy book, like the Koran or

others religious writings.

4) It Is A Smorgasbord - Some who believe in the Bible pick and choose the parts that they

and reject the parts that make them uncomfortable. They make the

Bible work for them.

5) It Is Spirit-Inspired - What the Word says about itself is God inspired every word and there

are no errors.

Whichever view of the Scriptures you adopt will obviously influence how you view the accuracy and veracity of the Bible. If you approach the Bible from any of the first four positions you will be prone to reading into the Scriptures rather than reading from them.

If you are skeptical about the truth of God's Word and believe it is prone to error, I ask you to extend the same courtesy that is extended to a witness in a courtroom. Listen to the testimony it gives in its own behalf.

"All your words are true; all your righteous laws are eternal." Psalm 119:160

"All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness....." II Timothy 3:16

Here's what Jesus said about the Bible:

".....Scripture cannot be broken" John 10:35

"I tell you the truth, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished." Matthew 5:18

It is clear from theses verses and a number of others that Jesus fully believed the Bible was the inspired Word of God. So, if you cannot believe in Jesus and doubt what He believed about the Bible.

So, here are a couple of things to ponder today:

Am I reading into the Bible or am I reading out of it?

Am I treating the Word of God like a smorgasbord?

Honest answers to those questions could radically change your relationship to the Word.

June 28, 2009

"How can a young man keep his way pure? By living according to your word. I seek you with all my heart; do not let me stray from your commands. I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you. Praise be to you, O LORD; teach me your decrees. With my lips I recount all the laws that come from your mouth. I rejoice in following your statutes as one rejoices in great riches. I meditate on your precepts and consider your ways. I delight in your decrees; I will not neglect your word." Psalm 119:9-16

If I have not yet made the case for the truth and reliability of God's Word, let me try one more time. First, let's review. The evidence we have presented to this point:

1) Fulfilled Prophecies - every prophecy concerning Jesus was fulfilled completely.

2) Historical Accuracy - if measured by the same standards as other commonly accepted ancient

documents, the Bible would fare well.

3) Miraculous Preservation - for ages the Scriptures have been under attack by kings, emperors, and czars. These tyrants have tried to destroy copies if the Bible, killed the people who printed them, and arrested those who possessed them. Still, the Scriptures not only survived, but remain a number one best-seller!

4) Unity of Structure - The Bible was written over 1,500 years by 40 different writers in three different languages on three continents and yet there is a single theme - the redeeming love of God!

5) The Influence for Good - It can easily be documented that everywhere the Bible has been honored and taught, the social climate and culture have been superior to non-biblical cultures. That has been true throughout biblical history. No other sacred writing has impacted history to a greater extent than the Bible.

So, faith in the Bible is well-founded. However, there is one more convincing and powerful proof for the veracity of the Word. What is it? It is the proof of a changed life!

When someone begins to study and believe and live by Biblical truths, that life changes dramatically. People who used to be hateful, suddenly become loving. Why? The power of the Word? People who once were very selfish, suddenly begin devoting their lives to serve others. Why? The power of the Word. The Word of God has tranforming power!

How can you see that power in your life?

Love the Word

Is the Word of God a controlling passion in your life? Do you love it more than life itself? Light the Psalmist, you should delight in His Word. When you do it will transform your heart and mind.

Learn the Word

The Psalmist hid God's Word in his heart. That takes time and effort and study. Read it. Memorize it. When you do it will transform your heart and mind.

Lean on the Word

What do you depend on when you have to make a tough decision? Where do go to find strength during a difficult time? When you need encouragement, where do you go to find it? Jesus leaned on the Word - even though He WAS the Word! When you lean on the Word you will find it transforms your life.

Live the Word

If you are a believer in Christ and a lover of the Word, I am guessing that you chose that way because of a significant person in your life who lived out the Word. For me it was a man named Ralph Westafer. He lived out the Word so well and with such passion that it was hard NOT to believe in the Word. I'll bet you know someone like that.

Will you commit to become someone like that?