Maintaining Control

 I'm reading a book by a new friend at church named Dean Rush. He was an Air Force pilot as a young man, then an airline executive, entrepreneur, and finally the executive pastor at Community Bible Church in San Antonio.

The book is called Flying Free - Life After Crisis, and I just finished a chapter called "Maintain Control - Manage Chaos". This chapter recounts a great example of maintaining control in a crisis, in this case an engine failure while then 17-year-old Dean was flying to his first pilot certification appointment.

In Paul's letter to the church at Philippi, he wrote:

Only conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or remain absent, I will hear of you that you are standing firm in one spirit, with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel; in no way alarmed by your opponents—which is a sign of destruction for them, but of salvation for you, and that too, from God.

Philippians 1:27-28

The word alarmed is translated from Greek ptyromenoi which means frightened, the root meaning - "becoming psychologically detached from reality" or "to fly off into unrealistic, irrational behavior".

Being frightened and alarmed is the exact opposite of psychologically maintaining control. Whether preparing for flight, preparing for battle, or just preparing to speak before a hostile audience, the key to maintaining control always begins with preparation. I recently heard some military men recounting their experiences in battle, and how their military training created instinctive reactions that got them through the fog of war.

Our preparation as Christians begins by relinquishing control of our lives to the Almighty Creator. That step of faith opens the door for the Holy Spirit to establish His presence in our hearts and minds.

Next we must hear the word of the Lord by reading and listening to godly instruction from the Bible. 

Finally we should begin each day preparing for spiritual battle by putting on the full armor of God. That means living in truth, dressing in the righteousness of Christ, training in the good news of peace, holding fast to faith, relying on our Savior Jesus who intercedes for us, and boldly speaking the word of God.

When we are prepared and able to maintain control in the midst of battle, our opponents will see that the battle is in the Lord's hand, and in any situation the outcome will be victory for the kingdom of God. Paul gave this admonition to the Philippians even as he was suffering and facing death in a Roman prison. Even in death there is victory when we stand firm in faith and fellowship. Indeed that is the ultimate victory, to demonstrate God's righteousness in the midst of tribulation.

I am enjoying reading this book and find great encouragement in its pages. Lessons learned in life are the best lessons to share with others. I hope you find encouragement here as well!

Your Trial Ends Tomorrow

For a few days recently, I exchanged email with some friends with the subject Re: Your Trial Ends Tomorrow. The thread started with a message from an online service about to expire.

Sometimes email subjects like this persist when the thread becomes quite different. Today I looked at one of these emails and thought - I wish my trials would end tomorrow!

Isn't that a wonderful thought! The only problem is that tomorrow, -Your Trial Ends Tomorrow- will still be in the future. Tomorrow will always be in the future as long as today is still called today. That reminds me of this verse:

But encourage one another day after day, as long as it is still called “Today,” so that none of you will be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin. Hebrews 3:13

Sin always wants to deceive us, to tell us "you can do it tomorrow" or "you can quit tomorrow." In the Bible, Today is the time to act. Tomorrow is some time in the future and in my case it's usually too late!

As far as Trials go - will they ever end? Jesus says "In the world you have tribulation, but take courage; I have overcome the world." John 16:33

James says "Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance." (James 1:2-3)

Thankfully trials come and go and we get stronger through them. Our final trial will end when the last enemy is defeated, which is death. The Bible says we should not fear death because that is the end of the conflict, the day when we shed this old shell and put on immortality.

Victory in God's kingdom is not what we expect. Jesus re-defined victory in a surprise attack on the gates of hell, by offering His blood to purchase our souls from the law of sin and death. What our Adversary saw as defeat was actually the ultimate victory for the kingdom of heaven. Now Jesus is seated at the right hand of God and says to all men: You are welcome here - leave your baggage at the gate!

I can see this clearly now - we can experience victory where the world sees defeat. Though we can rest assured that our trials will end tomorrow, every pain and shame of this mortal body reminds me that victory is certain and we can rejoice in it -the hope of glory- today!

But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. 1 Cor 15:57

Healing the Blind

One Sunday recently a friend in my Bible Fellowship shared the experience his wife is going through with the loss of sight in one eye. He related how God had spoken to him in this and other circumstances to grow his faith. He finished that testimony by playing this Willie Nelson song "It's Not for Me to Understand" from 1971, which he heard on the country radio station recently during their time of deepest concern. The song is about a boy born blind, and God's answer to the question - Why?

The ninth chapter of the Gospel of John is about Jesus healing a man born blind. The chapter ends with Jesus saying basically the same thing that Willie sang - you too are blind without My eyes. Like the song, the meaning is profoundly simple but deep.

And Jesus said, “For judgment I came into this world, so that those who do not see may see, and that those who see may become blind.” Those of the Pharisees who were with Him heard these things and said to Him, “We are not blind too, are we?” Jesus said to them, “If you were blind, you would have no sin; but since you say, ‘We see,’ your sin remains."

John 9:39-41 NASB

Is Jesus saying that blind people are sinless? Not at all; that would be far too shallow and meaningless. No, Jesus is talking about innocence vs. arrogance, spiritual awareness vs. the wisdom of this world. What the blind man saw, that the Pharisees missed, was his own spiritual poverty and need of healing that only God can provide, of both soul and body. The Pharisees were blinded by their arrogance and religious zeal, unwilling to accept the promise of eternal life that only Jesus could give.

This analogy of blindness as innocence continues with the parable in John 10 where Jesus presents Himself as the Shepherd of sheep that only know His voice. The loss of innocence through the awareness of sin begins -not surprisingly- in the beginning with the original sin.

When the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was desirable to make one wise, she took from its fruit and ate; and she gave also to her husband with her, and he ate. Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves loin coverings.

Genesis 3:6-7 NASB

The forbidden fruit gave Adam and Eve the wisdom of the world, but caused them (and all their descendants) to be blinded to the presence of God, banned from Eden and the Tree of Life.

It is our sinful flesh that separates us from God and blinds us to His presence. The more we experience the desires and cares of this world, the less we will experience the still small voice that speaks to us in the darkness of night.

While we are blinded by this world and sin, if we have received the Spirit of Truth we "have ears to hear". We simply must take time to listen. This is why there are times when fasting and prayer are required, to put aside the desires of the flesh and open our ears to hear.

The Word of God is living and active when we listen and apply it to our lives. This is a lesson that I need to re-learn every morning and every day. But as time wears away my flesh and my eyes grow dim, my spirit grows stronger and more aware of the unseen treasure that is available in the presence of the Almighty. That is where we all need to focus as we see the day of our redemption drawing near.

Turn your eyes upon Jesus 

Look full in His wonderful face 

And the things of earth will grow strangely dim 

In the light of His glory and grace!

 From the hymn "Heavenly Vision" by Helen Howarth Lemmel

 

 

 

Faith #1: The Holy Spirit in Me

I suppose the top reason for faith in the life of any follower of Jesus is the Holy Spirit of God.

Without the sovereign grace of God through our Lord Jesus Christ we would not have access to the Holy Spirit who convicts us of our need for forgiveness and plants the seed of faith in our heart.

I was not born with faith, nor did I receive it by growing up in a Christian home. When I was old enough to reason I dismissed the existence of God based on my ignorance and the deception of the enemy. I even rebelled against God during a summer golf camp, run by Christians who wanted me to accept Jesus.

This skepticism grew in my early high-school years, in spite of friends reaching out to me and inviting me to church and fellowships. My analytical mind could not grasp the concept of an invisible God and his supernatural influence on people around me. The Bible seemed to be written in a foreign language that I could not understand. (Actually it WAS foreign in more ways than I knew).

All that began to change later in high school when a friend on my high school golf team began to question me about my eternal destiny. "Do you know what will happen to you when you die?" he would ask me on the tee box while we waited to tee off. I had no good answer, but this did provoke much concern in my adolescent mind. I was beginning to think long-term and the thought of mortality could not be satisfied by parties and shallow relationships.

Though I never stopped going to church with my parents, I began to accept invitations to fellowship and Bible study meetings with friends. I listened to Christian music and tapes by evangelists and teachers at my friends' churches and houses. During this time I began to sense the presence of the Holy Spirit, and the warm love of believers in fellowship with each other.

The conviction of the Holy Spirit and the word of faith was breaking down the walls of skepticism and leading me to repentance. I had to accept a lot of things I didn't understand, but felt that I had found the source of life and hope. The truth of this matter is that He found me! I remember having to tell some of my old friends I was moving into a new life and leaving some of their ways behind. Of course, I wanted them to come along but had to accept their own decisions to delay or deny the way I had found.

In college I was baptized for the first time and began to seriously study the Bible and spend time with new Christian friends I met in school. This was not the end of my struggles with skepticism and sin, but the Holy Spirit was teaching me by the word of faith that He was planting in my heart. That faith grew through my college years to form dear friendships, including my wife whom I married toward the end of college.

Marriage and career presented me with the most fundamental challenge of my life - how to deal with people that I worked with, ate lunch with and rarely went to parties with, who didn't know God and were following a more sinful lifestyle. My first job was with a team of young college graduates like myself in the field of Information Processing and Computer Science. I enjoyed the work and even the office humor, but attempting to be a light in this spiritual darkness proved my faith to be immature and fragile. Marriage and the five years I spent in college had left me disconnected when we moved back to the Houston area, and we initially failed to settle into a Christian fellowship that would provide any meaningful support.

After several years of wandering I began the much longer experience of learning to walk out of the wilderness of Sin and to let the old nature die. We found a church in our neighborhood and Christian friends to share our faith and fellowship. Through the years that followed we have been involved in a few churches in the Houston area and harvested much fruit from our fellowship. These were not years without struggles with family and the cares of the world, but we have been learning endurance through the testing of our faith. These were also years filled with the blessings and joy of the Holy Spirit that kept our marriage strong and our family safe. I can testify that my own experience with the God of the Bible has proven Him to be faithful, merciful, and exceedingly gracious when I need Him the most.

Where can I go from Your Spirit? Or where can I flee from Your presence? If I ascend to heaven, You are there; If I make my bed in Sheol, behold, You are there. If I take the wings of the dawn, If I dwell in the remotest part of the sea, Even there Your hand will lead me, And Your right hand will lay hold of me. If I say, “Surely the darkness will overwhelm me, And the light around me will be night,” Even the darkness is not dark to You, And the night is as bright as the day. Darkness and light are alike to You. For You formed my inward parts; You wove me in my mother’s womb. I will give thanks to You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Wonderful are Your works, And my soul knows it very well. My frame was not hidden from You, When I was made in secret, And skillfully wrought in the depths of the earth; Your eyes have seen my unformed substance; And in Your book were all written The days that were ordained for me, When as yet there was not one of them. How precious also are Your thoughts to me, O God! How vast is the sum of them! If I should count them, they would outnumber the sand. When I awake, I am still with You. Search me, O God, and know my heart; Try me and know my anxious thoughts; And see if there be any hurtful way in me, And lead me in the everlasting way. 

Psalms 139:7-18,23-24 

 

Faith #2: The Faith of Our Fathers

Hebrews chapter 11 lists many fathers of our faith, in chronological order, which the author calls a "cloud of witnesses". Their testimony of the faithfulness of God, and the testimony of our Christian heritage provides me with my Number 2 reason for faith in Jesus.

Honestly, without our spiritual ancestors' faith, this world would be a very different place. I owe my existence and my faith to their sacrificial offering of obedience to God.

Noah undoubtedly endured mockery and isolation over many decades as he built the Ark to save his family and life on Earth from extinction.

Abraham demonstrated his faith by his willingness to give his only son on the same mountain where Jesus would be sacrificed for our salvation.

Moses encountered God in the Sinai desert, then in the power of faith convinced the most powerful emperor on Earth to let his people escape from their slavery in Egypt.

Rahab was a Canaanite prostitute whose faith enabled her to overcome sexual slavery and become an ancestor in the lineage of Jesus.

King David (Rahab's great great grandson) received the promise to inherit an eternal kingdom through Jesus, whom David worshipped as his Lord.

Mary the mother of Jesus was found worthy to bear the Son of God in her womb. She endured the unjust and cruel execution of her son before her eyes, and testified to His resurrection among the apostles.

The apostles each testified of their faith in Jesus and demonstrated it by discipling the nations of the known world, leaving their testimony in writing and with their own blood. The church fathers who came after the apostles, such as Ignatius and Polycarp, suffered similar fates at the hands of the Roman Empire for simply refusing to worship the Roman emperors and gods.

Reformers such as Wycliffe, Luther, and Tyndale were instrumental in spreading the word of faith using the Bible translated in their own languages. They established organizations and churches that encouraged the priesthood of believers and personal relationships with God. Many, like William Tyndale, paid the ultimate price for spreading this gospel at the hands of the religious rulers of their day. 

Some of my ancestors in Europe were Anabaptist, which put them at odds with the state church. Others may have been Bavarian Jews. Many fled Europe to America when the "Holy Roman Emperors" forced them to flee or face persecution. These hearty and faithful souls endured peril and threats of death, escaping these corrupt systems to become pioneers of religious liberty in the new land of America.

My own parents raised me in a Presbyterian church, in which my father taught Sunday School and demonstrated his own commitment to the Lord. I remember him taking me to a Billy Graham crusade when I was around 10 years old, where I first walked the aisle with him to receive Christ. Even though I did not yet understand or believe the gospel as a young teenager, my later conversion and maturity in Christ helped me understand the role both my parents played in my walk of faith. For them and people like those mentioned above, I will be eternally grateful.

Faith #3: The Last Days

Making the top 3 on my top 10 list of reasons for faith in Jesus is the collection of prophecies in the Bible  regarding the Last Days.

These eschatological prophecies cannot be understood without a broad understanding of the Gospel of Christ and the Kingdom of Heaven. This messianic kingdom is the fulfillment of Old Testament prophecy to establish the anointed descendant of David as ruler of an everlasting kingdom.

The establishment of the eternal kingdom of our Lord necessarily fulfilled and concluded the animal sacrifice and ritual ceremonies of the Old Testament. Jesus our Lord is the final Messiah in the lineage of King David and His kingdom is built on His righteousness and the faith He has given us.

Once I understood this I was able to see that many of the end-times prophecies in the Bible refer both to the destruction of Jerusalem in the first century, and the establishment of the eternal kingdom of Messiah. What the prophets and scholars (and even the disciples of Jesus) did not understand is that this coming kingdom would be invisible to human flesh, ruling hearts and minds rather than armies and nations. Of course a righteous eternal kingdom could never be established using earthly power to rule sinful mankind. This is obvious to us now, having the mind of Christ and the Holy Spirit to guide us.

We are living in the last days. Today Christ the Messiah reigns at the right hand of God in the midst of His enemies. There is a coming day of wrath when Christ will return with the host of heaven to remove His enemies from creation and give eternal peace and joy to the people of God.

This mystery that is buried deep in ancient Jewish prophecies is unique in the religions of this world. It was intentionally hidden by God, to be revealed by the Holy Spirit after Jesus was seated at the right hand of God. This revelation is a constant source of life-giving faith for me. We do not wait for an earthly kingdom; Jesus the Messiah is now and always the Lord of all creation. That is the gospel of the kingdom and the hope of glory that is promised to all who believe.

Faith #4: The Preposterous Gospel of Christ

Number 4 on my list of top 10 reasons for faith in Jesus is probably the most compelling reason, because this preposterous Gospel of Christ was born in a hostile culture and has succeeded in the most hostile nations, growing miraculously in the worst conditions.

The way of faith in Jesus is not designed to be imposed on its followers, nor is it designed to bring its leaders wealth or respect in this world. It was not intended to be sold or marketed - it is difficult and some would say impossible to spread this faith without the miraculous work of the Holy Spirit. Even after Jesus was resurrected and appeared to over 500 of his followers, the kingdom that he established in heaven only "went viral" after Christ had been seated on his throne and sent the Holy Spirit to those he called.

[Note: If you haven't noticed from my other posts on this "Reasons for Faith" topic, the kingdom of heaven has nothing to do with religions and governments.]

The gospel message itself is called "foolishness" to the nations of this world, and a "stumbling block" to the Jews whom Christ came to reach first. Of all the improbable ways to start, this kingdom began with the King himself being whipped and hung naked on a cross to suffer and die with criminals. To make it even more unlikely, he called his followers to take up their own cross and follow him - which almost all of them did - leading to lives of eternal impact that ended in persecution and death. These are not the ways of charlatans or philosophers, but rather simple men who were transformed by a revolutionary gospel piercing deep into their hearts by the Holy Spirit of God.

This is the Gospel of Christ:

1. God created this world and gave mankind authority over his creation.
2. Mankind sinned by rejecting God and choosing to live by their own knowledge.
3. Sin resulted in the mortality and depravity of mankind.
4. As he promised, God sent his only Son to redeem mankind from their slavery to sin and death.
5. The accumulated debt of the sin of mankind could only be paid by the precious blood of God's perfect sacrifice - the death of his only Son.
6. The resurrection and ascension of Jesus to the right hand of God makes him the Lord of all creation.
7. We are saved from sin and death when we believe in our heart and confess Jesus as Lord.
8. When we receive Christ we are blessed with joy, eternal life and the riches of heaven.

This preposterous gospel of an all-powerful but merciful, self-sacrificial God is the message of the eternal kingdom that rules the hearts and minds of believers. It is built on things only God can do and continues only by His grace and the power of his Holy Spirit. It is this grace that provides my faith and sustains my soul.

Faith #5: The Resurrection

This is Number 5 on my top 10 reasons for faith in Jesus.

The defining reason why Christians over the millennia have professed faith in Jesus is the resurrection. Without the resurrection there would be no Christian faith. Even though Jesus performed miracles and preached a revolutionary and very righteous message, without the resurrection Jesus would be viewed as perhaps just another Old Testament prophet, or just a good man as many humanists believe.

The resurrection of Jesus is one of the most irrefutable events in the Bible, and its impact on his followers and on world history are undeniable. Early in my journey from skeptic to believer I was presented with the evidence for the resurrection by Josh McDowell. Rather than creating my own list of proofs I will just refer to this page "Evidence for the Resurrection" for background.

To summarize, the disciples of Jesus were so convinced of the resurrection and ascension of Jesus Christ to the right hand of God that they were willing to suffer and die to obey him and spread the good news to the ends of the world. They did this not out of greed, nor were they converted at the point of a sword or spear.

To the contrary they resisted these forces and spread the gospel in the face of opposition from both their own culture and the rulers of the world. This is not the response expected from a group that had been scattered in fear while their Rabbi was captured, tortured and crucified by soldiers acting on the demands of an angry radicalized mob.

The resurrection of Jesus and the coming of his Holy Spirit changed the disciples into a fearless group of evangelists who changed the world. The truth of the resurrection means that Jesus lives forever as the Lord of all creation for all time.

Faith #6: The New Covenant

Number 6 on my top 10 reasons for faith in Jesus is the New Covenant - the covenant of Grace, sealed by the blood of Jesus, which provides the promise of redemption, forgiveness, and eternal life.

The Bible describes many covenants between God and men. Here are a few:

• The covenant with Noah (Genesis 9) - the promise of natural order based on Noah's faith and sealed by the shedding of blood.
• The covenant with Abram (Genesis 15) - the promise of land based on Abram's faith and sealed by the shedding of blood.
• The covenant with Abraham (Genesis 17) - the promise to make Abraham the father of many nations through faith and sealed by the shedding of blood in circumcision.
• The covenant with Israel  (Exodus 19) - the Law given through Moses that effectively became the constitution for the nation of Israel. This covenant was also sealed by the shedding of blood. This covenant promised blessings or curses conditioned by Israel keeping the covenant.
• The covenant with David (2 Samuel 7) - the promise of God to establish the Kingdom of David and the everlasting kingdom of his descendant, prophesying the Messianic age.
• The promised covenant of grace (Jeremiah 31) that would be fulfilled by the coming Messiah.

The fact that this ancient faith prophesied its own fulfillment in a way that its most ardent proponents did not even understand is testimony to the truth of the Gospel. The prophets of the Old Testament even prophesied the rejection of the Messiah and the obsolescence of the old covenant of blessings or curses. This mysterious ending was intentionally hidden until it was fulfilled and revealed by the Holy Spirit at Pentecost.

Then a shoot will spring from the stem of Jesse, and a branch from his roots will bear fruit. The Spirit of the Lord will rest on Him... (Isaiah 11:1-2)

The covenant of faith remains, sealed for all time by the blood of Jesus and available to people of every nation because of His resurrection and enthronement at the right hand of God. The covenant with Israel and the Law of Moses with its Levitical priesthood was made obsolete at the same time by the priesthood of Jesus.

What we are left with from now until the end of this age is what all Christians trust and believe, which is the Kingdom of God and Jesus Christ at his right hand, ruling our hearts through the power of his Holy Spirit. The kingdoms of this world and our own sinful flesh remain to be destroyed at his coming. It is this promise, the hope of glory, that gives me faith to live in this present age.

Faith #7: Messianic Prophecy

Number seven on my list of reasons for faith in our Lord Jesus is the set of Messianic prophecies found in the Hebrew scriptures of the Old Testament. Jewish Rabbis and Church Fathers both recognized these prophecies as Messianic, but the fulfillment of these prophecies in the life of Jesus reveal the astonishing surprise ending.

The Old Testament or Covenant between God and Israel was given to Moses as recorded in the Torah or Pentateuch, the first five books of the Bible. The books of history, poetry, and prophecy comprise the rest of what we call the Old Testament, and many of these books contain prophecies of the Messiah as a "man of sorrows." The Jewish Rabbis did not understand these messianic prophecies and would not accept their fulfillment in the life of Jesus. Yet the prophecies still testify to this day to Jews and Christians alike for those who choose to study them.

Here are the verses that are most compelling to me:

Genesis 22 - The Sacrifice of the only Son

He said, “Take now your son, your only son, whom you love, Isaac, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I will tell you.” Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering and laid it on Isaac his son, and he took in his hand the fire and the knife. So the two of them walked on together. Isaac spoke to Abraham his father and said, “My father!” And he said, “Here I am, my son.” And he said, “Behold, the fire and the wood, but where is the lamb for the burnt offering?” Abraham said, “God will provide for Himself the lamb for the burnt offering, my son.” So the two of them walked on together.

Christians recognize this story as foreshadowing God's sacrifice of his own Son for our sins. The location of Moriah is understood to be Zion, where Jesus carried the wood for his own sacrifice on the cross. It was a very specific place God had in mind for this sacrifice, and Abraham presented the perfect picture of what a great sacrifice this was for a father to give his only son whom he loved.

God did provide a ram for the sacrifice, and as the writer of Hebrews says, He gave Isaac back to his father as a foreshadowing of the resurrection. The Lamb of the final sacrifice would be fulfilled in Jesus, and His resurrection would demonstrate that He alone has become Redeemer and Lord of all creation.

Psalm 22 - The Crucifixion of Christ

For dogs have surrounded me; A band of evildoers has encompassed me; They pierced my hands and my feet. I can count all my bones. They look, they stare at me; They divide my garments among them, And for my clothing they cast lots.

Psalm 22 is a graphic prophecy of the crucifixion of Messiah Jesus. It is quoted in the New Testament in the last words of Jesus on the cross - "My God, my God, why have you forsaken Me?" There is astonishing detail here written about this cruel execution method, thousands of years before the Romans used it in Judea. Here's a good post on Psalm 22 from Jews for Jesus.

Isaiah 49-53 - The Suffering Servant

But He was pierced through for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; The chastening for our well-being fell upon Him, And by His scourging we are healed. All of us like sheep have gone astray, Each of us has turned to his own way; But the Lord has caused the iniquity of us all To fall on Him. He was despised and forsaken of men, A man of sorrows and acquainted with grief; And like one from whom men hide their face He was despised, and we did not esteem Him. Surely our griefs He Himself bore, And our sorrows He carried; Yet we ourselves esteemed Him stricken, Smitten of God, and afflicted.

This One who is called the arm of the LORD - the Servant of YHWH - is prophesied in these chapters of Isaiah to suffer in our place and bear our iniquity. These most treasured scriptures give a clear description of substitutionary sacrifice, demonstrating the goodness and righteousness of God in scriptures that were hidden in plain sight for hundreds of years before Christ.

Daniel 9 - The End of Sin and the New Covenant

“Seventy weeks have been decreed for your people and your holy city, to finish the transgression, to make an end of sin, to make atonement for iniquity, to bring in everlasting righteousness, to seal up vision and prophecy and to anoint the most holy. So you are to know and discern that from the issuing of a decree to restore and rebuild Jerusalem until Messiah the Prince there will be seven weeks and sixty-two weeks; it will be built again, with plaza and moat, even in times of distress. Then after the sixty-two weeks the Messiah will be cut off and have nothing, and the people of the prince who is to come will destroy the city and the sanctuary. And its end will come with a flood; even to the end there will be war; desolations are determined. And he will make a firm covenant with the many for one week, but in the middle of the week he will put a stop to sacrifice and grain offering; and on the wing of abominations will come one who makes desolate, even until a complete destruction, one that is decreed, is poured out on the one who makes desolate.”

These verses in Daniel are difficult to understand but are clearly Messianic prophecy, repeated by Jesus himself in reference to the destruction and desolation of Jerusalem. The end of the Old Testament system of ritual sacrifice is accompanied by a New Covenant initiated by the blood of the perfect Lamb of God, which is an everlasting covenant of righteousness, based not on our works, but the finished work of Christ on the cross.

Faith #8: The Declaration of Creation

[I have been working on this post for a couple of weeks, but yesterday the pastor of my church made this his sermon topic, which confirmed my conviction on this subject.]

Number 8 on my top 10 list of reasons for a reasonable belief in God is the testimony of His creation.

The heavens are telling of the glory of God

And their expanse is declaring the work of His hands.

Psalms 19:1

The more I learn about the universe, the more I appreciate the miraculous Power that crafted it, and the more thankful I am for this little blue speck we call Earth. From the unimaginably large space stretched across an incomprehensible span of time to the intricate anatomy of life, everything we can now observe shouts "MASTERFULLY PLANNED AND CREATED."

Our main problem understanding creation is that our understanding of God is too limited. Simply put, the nature of the Almighty Creator is far beyond human comprehension. Therefore we need to stay a little more flexible on the box we try to put Him in, however big that box may be.

That being said, the Bible does not shrink from extolling the attributes of God and the magnificence of His creation. Even the Name of God is amazing - Yahweh, the One who always IS. There is no time or place where God is NOT. As a matter of fact, God exists outside of time since He created the dimensions of time and space. This is explained as something that we understand only by faith.

By faith we understand that the worlds were prepared by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things which are visible. 

Hebrews 11:3 

About a year ago I discovered a very advanced concept in the original Greek text of this verse. It literally says "the ages (aionas - also translated universe or worlds, from which we get the word "eon") were prepared (katertisthai - crafted to perfection) by the spoken word of God (rhemati Theo), not a phenomenon (phainomenon - made visible), but an act of creation (gegonenai - brought into being - the Greek word from which we get "Genesis"). This verse makes it clear that the things which we can observe through all our scientific tools and reasoning did not just suddenly appear, but were carefully prepared and set in motion for a specific purpose. This is an assurance that is not only incomprehensible without faith, but once understood - reinforces your faith.

The ancient book of Genesis starts out with this unimaginable miracle in the very first verse. The beginning is a concept which I believe encompasses the transition from "timeless" to "the beginning of time" to the eons that elapsed before sunlight first appeared on the surface of the earth. The remainder of the creation account describes the supernatural power of God creating this perfect habitation for mankind. 

The creation account establishes many principles of the law (the Torah) such as the sanctity of human life, mankind's accountability to God, and the penalty for sin which is separation from the life-giving power of God. Genesis also contains the first prophetic reference to the promised Savior of mankind, who will "step on the serpent's head". That prophecy is the beginning of the ultimate solution to the problem of evil that was introduced by sin.

The order of the creation account, the beauty of creation, the vast expanse of the heavens and the intricate details of life all testify to the Truth of God. If you have ears to hear, listen closely to the song of creation.

Faith #9: The Undeniable Presence of Evil

This is Number 9 on my top 10 reasons for faith in Jesus.

The Bible presents heaven and earth as the creation of an all-powerful God, who himself declared it to be good. It also presents the conflict that arises when man pursues independence from God and becomes subject to the power of evil.

This human evil - that was introduced by "the original sin" - is unique in creation. All living beings created by God are "lesser beings" - lacking the perfect goodness of God. Although people were created in the image and likeness of God, they were created innocent and totally dependent on fellowship with God. This fellowship was broken when they decided to assume the role of God in their own lives by seeking to be like Him, knowing good and evil.

Without the goodness of God, mankind quickly devolved into evil. In a fit of jealous rage, Cain slew his brother Abel and fled to the land of Nod, east of Eden and away from God. Cain and his descendants built a city there (the first form of government) where people could fashion their own protection and entertainment. Without God, these cities became cesspools of sin.

Why though, is the existence of human evil a foundation of my faith?

First, the Bible is unique in explaining that evil has its origin in moral knowledge. This differentiates sinful man from innocent creatures. It explains to me why innocent babies become accountable as sinners when they inevitably grow into moral knowledge. Paul describes this in the seventh chapter of Romans - "the principle that evil is present in me, the one who wants to do good" and "I was once alive apart from the Law; but when the commandment came, sin became alive and I died". The evil that grows in the human heart is fed by selfish ambition and pride, deceit and self-justification. Ultimately sin places itself above others to the extent that a person is capable of using his God-given intellect to lie, steal, and even inflict pain and death on others to preserve and promote his own interests.

Second, the Bible identifies this "original sin" in a time and place that is consistent with the development of civilization. There really is no other rational explanation for the sudden introduction of civilization into the timeline of history. The gradual evolutionary principal at the core of Naturalism cannot explain the sudden explosion of knowledge and communications that appeared a relatively short time ago in geological terms.

Finally, the utterly depraved nature of human evil leaves one with no other choice than to seek a supernatural solution. Outside the influence of the American experiment in constitutional democracy and rule of law, humanity has been dominated by the unspeakable cruelty of people who have fought their way into absolute power and from it become absolutely corrupt. Except in very primitive cultures, the advancement of knowledge has resulted in more and more power for the ones who possess it to dominate the ones who do not. Christian faith is an influence which, when exercised with restraint and separated from the institutions of government, produces virtue and progress for all who find it.

The undeniable presence of evil in this world cries out for faith in the goodness and mercy of God, which is demonstrated by His self-sacrificial love in the person of Jesus my Lord and Savior. Faith in this righteous and merciful God is what motivates me to leave this written legacy.

American Edelweiss

Recently I learned of Christopher Plummer’s death. I loved this man's role as Captain von Trapp in the Sound of Music (even though Plummer expressed contempt for the movie after it was released).

Captain von Trapp had pride in his country and would never accept domination by the Nazi Anschluss. One of his lines has a haunting resonance in American culture today:

"I was under the impression, Herr Zeller, that the contents of telegrams in Austria are PRIVATE! At least, the Austria.... I know."

Is there any privacy in America today, especially for those who are being “cancelled”? Most of our communications today go through companies who feel honor-bound to abuse the rights of anyone who swims against the tide of progressive globalism. And anyone can see that the global power that is coming will not be friendly to Americans who don’t collaborate.

Of course, Austria wasn’t a perfect place for people who didn’t have the wealth and power of the von Trapp family, and many Americans including myself owe their immigrant roots to ancestors persecuted by the Austrian empire.

America isn’t a perfect place either, but our liberty is a gift from God, established by people who had personal experience with government control and corruption. I am both praying for restoration of this precious gift and mourning its passing.

God bless America

Land that I love

Stand beside her

and guide her through the night

With your light from above!