Understanding the Trinity

One of the things I struggled with over the years is reconciling the monotheistic concept of Judaism with the Christian doctrine of the Trinity. Since the term "Trinity" is not in the Bible I have felt a need to understand why it has been considered a core doctrine by Christian churches for virtually all of church history.

So before I raise questions in your mind about my own orthodoxy, let me explain. I tremble to even consider that I might misrepresent God's nature, and don't believe that anyone can truly comprehend the nature of God since he exists beyond our frame of reference in time and space. However, I really want to understand what the Bible says about the nature of God and his relationship to Jesus our Lord, so I will proceed with my limited analogy if you will bear with me in this endeavor.

The SHMA

Hear, O Israel! The LORD is our God, the LORD is one! (Deuteronomy 6:4 NASB)

This is a phrase that every Jew knows and memorizes as a child. It is the foundation of Judaism and the first commandment in the Torah. Jesus, being a Jewish Rabbi, understood and agreed with the writings of Moses, calling the SHMA the Greatest Commandment. However, the New Testament clearly indicates that Jesus made Himself equal with God by calling God His Father. So now God appears as two personalities in a family relationship.

This Father-Son relationship is most fundamental to Christianity and most abhorrent to the religion of Islam, who consider Christianity to be a polytheistic religion. So how do you explain to a Muslim (or a Jew for that matter) that you believe in one God who has multiple forms or personalities? Is He one God or two or three? One morning recently I awakened with thoughts that helped resolve that question in my mind.

The FORM of God

Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus, who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men. (Philippians 2:6 NASB)

All through the Old Testament there are references to the "right hand" or "strong arm" or "outstretched arm" of God. These references uniformly occur in places where God is interacting with creation as Lord and Savior, in other words, in the role of Messiah. In fact in practically every reference you can substitute the name of the Messiah for this term and it makes perfect sense. For example,

My righteousness is near, My salvation has gone forth, And the Messiah will judge the peoples; The coastlands will wait for Me, And for the Messiah they will wait expectantly. (Isaiah 51:5)

Ah Lord GOD! Behold, You have made the heavens and the earth by your great power and the Messiah. (Jeremiah 32:17)

Try this yourself; I think you will find a blessing in that.

In the New Testament we see the glorified Jesus our High Priest, seated at the right hand of God. The thought occurred to me that perhaps Jesus actually is analogous to God's right hand. The concept of a spiritual body consisting of multiple interacting personalities is not foreign to the Bible; reference the Body of Christ for example.

So when Jesus communicates with the Father, is this a conversation, or an interaction analogous to the interaction of the brain with the body, where the brain communicates via a type of nervous system to produce visible action? In this case, even though the Son of God is communicating to the Father as a person, in the spirit the two are considered one. You would not refer to me as "they" in reference to my body parts, but as to "him" who has a single will and many interconnected members. Is it possible that in the incomprehensible nature of God we can make such an analogy? Let me continue.

The Spirit Connection

I now understand that the Holy Spirit is analogous to the central nervous system of God. The Holy Spirit makes it possible to connect directly to God. It was the Holy Spirit that rested upon Jesus, fusing His will to God and allowing Jesus to carry out the perfect plan of God on earth. The Holy Spirit so fully embodied the Father's presence in Jesus that He could say "whoever has seen Me has seen the Father."

Now, the body analogy may be confusing since the Holy Spirit is invisible, like the wind. In my lifetime this has become much easier to visualize since we transmit control signals invisibly all around the world and through the darkness of space by various forms of electromagnetic radiation. Certainly the Creator of the universe could operate in ways that go far beyond our mortal technologies, even transcending the boundaries of time.

Jesus said that those who worship God must worship Him in spirit and in truth. That is our connection protocol. We authenticate by being authentic, by emptying ourselves of our old lives to put on the righteousness of Christ. We connect to Jesus through the Holy Spirit, the Helper whom the Father sends to be with us and in us, who teaches us and intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words. The Holy Spirit translates our earthly requests to heavenly and perfect petitions before the throne of God.

Jesus said "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." In our human form we cannot behold the face of God and live, but through His Spirit we can grasp the nail pierced hand of God and draw near with confidence to the throne of grace.

Conclusion

Though we may not comprehend God's true nature while we exist in earthly form, we can understand that God took the form of a man (Jesus), and was indwelt by the Holy Spirit who empowered Him to perfectly reflect the nature and will of God on earth. The creator is still worshiped as the one true God. There is one throne in Heaven, not three, and Jesus is seated or standing there at the right hand of God to execute God's plan for creation.

The Death of Fighting and the Birth of Faith

I give up! Those are sweet words to the angels in heaven, who rejoice when a sinner is saved. Many times, until we give up God can't really begin to work in our lives.

I was reminded of this in a powerful way at Bible study tonight, where we studied from John 5 about a man whom Jesus healed at the pool of Bethesda. This man had been paralyzed for thirty eight years, presumably waiting much of this time for an angel to come and cure his paralysis.

Our teacher Gene Smith pointed out that there was another significant time of thirty eight years mentioned in the book of Deuteronomy.

"Now the time that it took for us to come from Kadesh-barnea until we crossed over the brook Zered was thirty-eight years, until all the generation of the men of war perished from within the camp, as the LORD had sworn to them." (Deuteronomy 2:14 NASB)

Gene thought that the Jews would recognize his thirty eight years of paralysis as a reference to the time that God denied Israel entry into the promised land due to their lack of faith. At that time the Israelites were paralyzed by fear. God told Moses that Israel must wander in the wilderness until every man of fighting age is dead.

Something in my spirit echoed this thought - thirty eight years is enough time for everything in us that wants to fight, to find our own solution, to use human strength instead of Godly power, is exhausted and dies.

The lame man at the pool of Bethesda had given up too. Perhaps his parents or some friends who had brought him here year after year for healing had finally given up, or perhaps they were just too old and lame to carry him there themselves. This man told Jesus he had no one to bring him to the pool when the angel stirred up the healing waters. The only known solution at that time had failed him, so when Jesus asked him if wanted to be healed, he could only offer an excuse why he couldn't be healed.

Now the miracle could begin. Now this man's heart was tender and open to a different kind of healing, not by balmy waters but by living water flowing through the healing hands of Jesus. Now the wall of human effort was down and the Spirit of God came crashing into his life when Jesus spoke the words, "Get up, pick up your pallet and walk."

Faith was born in his heart that day. Faith to defy the temple priests who stood ready to exile him for picking up his bed on the Sabbath. Faith to accept Jesus at his word, even in place of the "medicine men" of his day. Faith that was willing to look foolish in front of a large crowd that knew him from years of struggling in this place. Faith that expected a miracle and caused him to rise in obedience and receive the healing touch from Jesus.

Pastor Gene told an amazing story of evangelism and healing when he was traveling on a mission to Brazil. The testimony of healing in one of his mission services led to an opportunity to testify before the president of one of the regional provinces, resulting in many conversions inside the capitol building.

In third world countries miracles are much more common and expected than in the modern world. I think this is because the wall of human effort is already down. The people are already "poor in spirit" so faith finds an open door in their hearts. There is no human solution to their problems so they have to rely on the power of God. I spend most of my time planning and implementing my own solutions to my own problems. I think if I want to experience the true power of God I will need to let these "men of war" in my own life die.

An Urgent Admonition for America

I'm deeply concerned about the suffering of people in the Middle East and Africa who are caught in the crossfire of radical Islamic organizations hell-bent on precipitating the apocalypse and the coming of their Mahdi to judge the world. While I pray that these evil forces are brought to a hasty and final demise, I would also give an urgent admonition to America to wholeheartedly return to God before engaging with hubris against this kingdom of fear. Here's why:

Joshua was regarded as a great spiritual and military leader of Israel. His initial conquest of the land of Canaan resulted in the defeat of the heavily fortified city of Jericho in the most miraculous conquest ever recorded. In the very next chapter of the book of Joshua we see what happens when the people become complacent and lax with respect to their covenant with God.

Now Joshua sent men from Jericho to Ai, which is near Beth-aven, east of Bethel, and said to them, "Go up and spy out the land." So the men went up and spied out Ai. They returned to Joshua and said to him, "Do not let all the people go up; only about two or three thousand men need go up to Ai; do not make all the people toil up there, for they are few." So about three thousand men from the people went up there, but they fled from the men of Ai. The men of Ai struck down about thirty-six of their men, and pursued them from the gate as far as Shebarim and struck them down on the descent, so the hearts of the people melted and became as water. (‭Joshua‬ ‭7‬:‭2-5‬ NASB)

Swollen with pride following their miraculous defeat of Jericho, Israel not only underestimated their enemy, but overestimated their own power and their relationship with God. You see, Israel was commanded to have no part in the customs and possessions of the Canaanites, but at least one Israelite had taken spoils from Jericho and hidden them. This sin had broken Israel's covenant relationship with God and made them spiritually weak. The "JV team" at Ai was ready for them and easily defeated the "B team" Israeli troops, instilling terror in all the camp of Israel.

In a desperate petition to God, God explained why Israel was not defended by the armies of God.

Israel has sinned, and they have also transgressed My covenant which I commanded them. And they have even taken some of the things under the ban and have both stolen and deceived. Moreover, they have also put them among their own things. Therefore the sons of Israel cannot stand before their enemies; they turn their backs before their enemies, for they have become accursed. I will not be with you anymore unless you destroy the things under the ban from your midst. Rise up! Consecrate the people and say, 'Consecrate yourselves for tomorrow, for thus the LORD, the God of Israel, has said, "There are things under the ban in your midst, O Israel. You cannot stand before your enemies until you have removed the things under the ban from your midst." (‭Joshua‬ ‭7‬:‭11-13‬ NASB)

The American Covenant

Like the nation of Israel, America has entered a covenant with God and received his abundant blessings and mercy. But now we see a very different America and her western allies. America no longer boasts in God but in her military might, and in her libertine freedoms. Instead of righteousness and justice, America has chosen a foundation of tolerance and moral ambiguity.

Instead of defending Biblical families, we not only accept but promote alternative lifestyles and use the power of government to bless those lifestyles and force all to accept and condone it.

Instead of defending innocent unborn children we use government funds to pay doctors to murder them in the womb.

We use the power of technology to produce and distribute graphic entertainment to pollute the minds of young men and boys, and we use our God-given constitution to defend the rights of these sex trafficking predators who profit from their trade around the world.

We borrow from future generations to squander our wealth on debauchery and allow our black markets to finance the gangs and terrorist organizations that seek our destruction. Now we have even opened the door to produce our own drugs and become intoxicated with the delusion of our own sorcery.

We experience drought and severe weather but blame industry and global warming instead of repenting and asking for God's mercy. Think about the words to this patriotic poem and song.

O beautiful for spacious skies,

For amber waves of grain,

For purple mountain majesties

Above the fruited plain!

America! America!

God shed His grace on thee

And crown thy good with brotherhood

From sea to shining sea!

O beautiful for pilgrim feet,

Whose stern, impassioned stress

A thoroughfare for freedom beat

Across the wilderness!

America! America!

God mend thine every flaw,

Confirm thy soul in self-control,

Thy liberty in law!

O beautiful for heroes proved

In liberating strife,

Who more than self their country loved

And mercy more than life!

America! America!

May God thy gold refine,

Till all success be nobleness,

And every gain divine!

O beautiful for patriot dream

That sees beyond the years

Thine alabaster cities gleam

Undimmed by human tears!

America! America!

God shed His grace on thee

And crown thy good with brotherhood

From sea to shining sea!

America, America, did not God shed His grace on thee? What ever happened to "thy good crowned with brotherhood?" Why have we turned our backs on Him now in this time of darkening clouds?

We must turn back to God if we wish to see our children and heirs inherit this land of blessing and liberty. We must neither ignore the threat, nor cower in fear, nor rush to war without first seeking purity and national unity under the God of our fathers. The time is short and the mountain is high; please pray with me that we will see revival in this land and around the world, starting with me, my family, and the body of Christ!

The Divided Kingdoms of Satan

The final empire in Nebuchadnezzar's dream from Daniel chapter 2 is a kingdom characterized by the strength of iron, yet in its final form it is divided into "feet and toes" of iron and clay. I will relate this to a statement Jesus made regarding a kingdom divided against itself, and the meaning of the final conflict in the book of Revelation.

The statue in Nebuchadnezzar's dream is symbolic of coming empires that will rule the earth. Most bible scholars equate the final empire in Daniel 2 to Rome, with various explanations of the union of vassal states comprising the toes of the statue. Many western scholars claim that the toes of this statue still rule the earth today, being mostly European states and former colonies that maintain a weak hold on power in "old earth" west of Eden.

If you have studied European history you know that the Roman Empire was divided into two empires after Constantine established Byzantium as the new "Rome". The weak successors of Constantine were unable to maintain the vast military dominion of the old Roman Empire, and gradually allowed the empire to be divided into an Eastern and Western alliance. The Byzantine or Eastern Empire was able to maintain its iron grip on the Middle East for a few hundred more years until the rise of the Islamic Caliphates overthrew their seat of power and established the Ottoman Empire in what is now called Istanbul.

During the time that the Byzantines ruled the Eastern Empire, the Western Empire deteriorated into the clay of feudalism and internal conflict. Though there were several attempts to reconstruct a revived Holy Roman Empire, none would ever prove to be as strong and durable as the iron kingdom that came before. The last attempt to reconstitute the Roman Empire (the so-called Third Reich) ended in the destruction of both the western and eastern empires (Germany and the Ottoman Empire) during the world wars of the twentieth century.

What we have left today are still two kingdoms divided against each other. These are border-less kingdoms which I will call the Kingdom of Greed and the Kingdom of Fear. In the book of Revelation they are known as Mystery Babylon and the Beast respectively.

The Kingdom of Greed - Babylon the Great

Mystery Babylon is a harlot, a city that sits on many waters. She is the mother of harlots and the abominations of the earth.

Babylon is the great city, which reigns over the kings of the earth. The merchants of the earth have become rich by the wealth of her sensuality. Babylon has become rich by shipments of every kind of luxurious and splendid cargo - horses and chariots (i.e. cars, trucks, military equipment) and human lives (slavery or human trafficking). Babylon is also the merchant of arts and entertainment, of fine foods and wines and all manner of music. It uses all these things to make a sorcerer's brew by which it intoxicates and deceives its denizens.

Babylon is the love of money, the root of all kinds of evil. It is the kingdom of Mamona (wealth) which draws people away from the kingdom of God. It is life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness used by sinful men to reject the Giver of life, liberty and happiness.

Babylon is the city in which most Jews were comfortable to stay and never return to the holy land of their fathers. It is the city that first intended to build a tower to heaven, from which Abram and his family left to find the land of promise.

In short, Babylon is the world, and all that is in the world - the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life. The citizens of Babylon are motivated and dominated by these worldly passions.

Babylon trusts in its wealth and military might to guard its life of splendor and luxury. Babylon knows no earthly or temporal boundaries, but today is referred to as "the west" by those who live in the kingdom of fear.

What makes Babylon a harlot is that the citizens of Babylon once knew God, but did not honor Him as God or give thanks, but became futile in their speculations and darkened in their hearts. This is the apostate people that once invoked the blessing of God on their bountiful harvests, but now seek to reject the very mention of His name.

The Kingdom of Fear - The Beast

The beast of Revelation is a seven-headed monster which rises from the sea before the coming final conflict.

The heads of the beast are seven kingdoms that have ruled the holy land since the time of Abraham. They are Egypt, Assyria, ancient Babylon, Medo-Persia, Greece, Rome and the Islamic caliphates. The beast is also the eighth kingdom which is one of the seven, which had a fatal wound that will be healed.

This beast rules a kingdom of fear. The kingdom of fear is the fear of man, the fear of death, the fear of fear itself. It is based on laws and brutal punishments that cannot bring life, but can only bring men into bondage to other men.

The kingdom of fear is the enemy of joy and peace; it loves only warfare and violence. The kingdom of fear has utter disdain for mercy and forgiveness; it lives for bloodshed and vengeance; it seeks power only to subjugate and terrorize its subjects.

The kingdom of fear appears to be at peace when all its subjects live under the dominion of fear.

The kingdom of fear knows no earthly or temporal boundaries, but today is most dominant in totalitarian countries outside the "western realm of influence". These regimes tend to support each other, as the Axis powers did in the world wars and as China and Russia today support despotic regimes in the Middle East and Africa.

Modern technology has allowed the kingdom of fear to spread rapidly around the world. The "Net" so to speak is being used like a great fishing net to dredge the remnants of Islamic radicalism from the depths of the Mediterranean Sea. While the citizens of Babylon attempt to use technology to spread the kingdom of greed, the kingdom of fear is stronger, like iron is stronger than clay. Only the mountain of the kingdom of God can crush these kingdoms of iron and clay.

It is apparent to me that the final head of the beast is likely to be an Islamic caliphate that will rule the world for the final hour. It could also be that its caliph will overcome the apostate church and take its seat in place of the pope in Rome. However this turns out, make no mistake, that final hour is near.

The Final Hour

Jesus said "Every kingdom divided against itself is laid waste, and a divided household falls. If Satan also is divided against himself, how will his kingdom stand?" Indeed, in the final hour, the divided kingdoms of Satan will be arrayed against each other - the beast and his kingdom of fear against the kingdom of Babylon, and Babylon will fall. This is the meaning of this verse:

And he said to me, "The waters which you saw where the harlot sits, are peoples and multitudes and nations and tongues. And the ten horns which you saw, and the beast, these will hate the harlot and will make her desolate and naked, and will eat her flesh and will burn her up with fire. For God has put it in their hearts to execute His purpose by having a common purpose, and by giving their kingdom to the beast, until the words of God will be fulfilled. The woman whom you saw is the great city, which reigns over the kings of the earth."

But this hour will be quickly followed by the One called Faithful and True and His armies from heaven, who will cast the beast and his false prophet alive into the lake of fire and feed his followers to the birds who fly in mid-heaven. That's a scene that would make even Alfred Hitchcock cry for mercy.

The Kingdom of God

God's people are called to come out of Babylon to escape her sins and the judgments that are coming upon her. There is another kingdom that knows no earthly boundaries for the people of God, called the kingdom of God, the kingdom of heaven, Mount Zion or the heavenly Jerusalem. The citizens of this kingdom are motivated by love and loyalty to their King, and follow Him day and night.

For those living in the kingdom of fear, God has provided a way out. He made a part of Himself to appear in human flesh, and through His own death has rendered the devil powerless over you. If you choose to become His disciple (just as you may now be following another so-called prophet), you can come out of the kingdom of darkness and into the glorious light. God calls this man His Son, and His son (whom we know as Jesus) calls us His brethren if we choose to follow Him and be called by His name. Yes, our God is One God, but he chose to reveal Himself to mankind in the body of Jesus, and promises to save those who call on His name. This man, whom some in the kingdom of fear know as Isa, is more than a prophet, and more than just a man. He is our Savior and our High Priest and our King, if you choose to be part of His kingdom. Just ask Him to deliver you from your sins, accept you into His kingdom and fill you with His Holy Spirit of life-giving power!

There's Something About Noah

Science is funny to me because it is based on an assumption that sometimes forces wrong conclusions. The foundation of modern science is an assumption that all events have natural causes and can be explained by physical laws and properties.

Although this assumption has been at the core of many advances in understanding and has defeated lazy science and superstition in advanced societies, it fails when in fact there IS a supernatural force at work. When we're talking about really big events like creation or the flood, there are some important gaps that science just cannot close.

Noah and Other Really Old Men

Look at the story of Noah in the book of Genesis. Before the flood came upon the earth man's lifespans were much greater - Noah's father lived to 777 years of age and his grandfather Methuselah was the granddaddy of them all at 969 years of age. Even Noah himself (literally the granddaddy of them all) lived three hundred fifty years after the flood, making him one of the oldest characters in the Bible. After the flood lifespans began to rapidly decrease until they reached roughly what they are today. You can see that in the diagram below. God seems to have placed a limit on lifespans of 120 years, as foretold in Genesis 6:3:

Then the Lord said, "My Spirit shall not strive with man forever, because he also is flesh; nevertheless his days shall be one hundred and twenty years."
Genesis 6:3 NASB

Many years ago I remember reading an article in a national news magazine in which they revealed that archaeologists had discovered a remarkably modern-looking human skeleton that dated back to times when all other human skeletons looked much more ape-like. These ancient humans had thicker bones and larger skulls. The scientists were puzzled that a smaller boned modern man could be discovered in that time frame. This only makes sense if you consider that it was the rare person before the flood who died earlier than 100 years of age, maybe due to an accident or murder. This odd modern-looking skeleton from that era could have been such an early casualty. If you consider that God made changes in mankind after the flood to shorten their lives, the larger skulls and bones of ancient humans who may have had more than 900 years of bone growth makes more sense.

Another thing to consider if you are interested in science and anthropology: assuming there were people who actually lived nearly a thousand years, that would allow much more variety in skeletal development over such a long period of time. Humans go through periodic genetic mutations as they age - 900 years or more would allow many more genetic mutations and this could explain the wide variety of hominid fossils found in roughly the same time periods. We need more scientists who are willing to consider the Bible when formulating theories about the early stages of life on earth. (Reference: http://www.theguardian.com/science/2013/oct/17/skull-homo-erectus-human-evolution)

Noah and the End Times

Recently I learned that some scientists now believe they may be able to extend the life expectancy of humans to many times the current limits using embryonic or placental stem cells which would be stored and re-injected later in life when the original stem cells start to die. This leads me to wonder, it seems that God has placed a limit on the lifespan of mankind - if man is on the brink of breaking this barrier, would God intervene again as he did at the tower of Babel when he confused and scattered mankind?

Perhaps this tinkering with the foundation of life, especially if it involves embryonic stem cells from aborted human babies, is what will ultimately release the wrath of God and culminate in the return of Christ. In that case I have a new understanding of this verse:

For the coming of the Son of Man will be just like the days of Noah.
Matthew 24:37 NASB

People who live really long lives can become really evil. That's what happened then and I expect that's what would happen again.

Noah and Abraham

Speaking of Noah's lifespan, I just realized that long lives mean that people would be around to see many more generations. This might astonish you - Noah was still alive during the first 58 years of Abraham's life. I don't know if Abram (as he was then called) ever met Noah, but if he did that would help explain where he got his great faith in God. Noah's son Shem (who was 100 years old when he entered the ark) stayed around even longer, living until after the children of Israel were born. Methuselah could have known Adam for a few hundred years, and Noah probably knew Methuselah for five hundred years. I can imagine Noah talking to Methuselah - Grandpa Methuselah tell me about Adam and the Garden of Eden again! Tell me about when God took your daddy to heaven in a chariot of fire! I imagine Methuselah had a great influence on Noah. Methuselah was a preacher's kid; his father Enoch was probably the most amazing preacher of all time, warning about the second coming of Christ before anyone even knew there was going to be a nation of Israel or a Messiah to save them. Perhaps for Noah's sake God delayed the flood until Methuselah died.

One final thought: genealogies are not a problem if most of your ancestors for the last thousand years are still alive. It doesn't have to be based on word of mouth passed from generation to generation; if you have doubts just go straight to the source and ask. We tend to just forget about people after the Bible drops them off, but many of these characters went on for hundreds of years after the last Bible story about them. Here's a little visual aid...

Patriarch Timeline - Click to enlarge

Aaron's God

Shortly after Moses led the nation of Israel out of Egypt, Moses and Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, and 70 elders went up on Mt. Sinai and to see God. He was standing on pavement that had an appearance like clear blue sapphire (Ex. 24:9). These men had a close encounter with the eternal God, yet God withheld His consuming fire and allowed these men to eat and drink and return to their camp in the wilderness.

A few days later while Moses was still on the mountain, the people of Israel came and told Aaron to make a new god to go before them. Aaron did not hesitate or council them to turn back to the one true God, but immediately used his God-given gift to fashion a molten idol from their gold jewelry.

It's hard to believe somebody with great authority like Aaron could have a direct, personal encounter with God and then turn away to false gods so quickly. What happened to the "Angel of God" who was sent to lead them through the wilderness into the promised land? He did not leave them; they simply weren't following. You see, the people of Israel weren't really following Christ, they were following Moses. When Moses was gone, it became apparent that they didn't really have true faith.

I've had extended times in my life where I was only living to please Christians, instead of living to please Christ. It's pretty hard to tell the difference from the outside, but during this time I knew on the inside that I had become weak in faith. Like the children of Israel I spent years wandering around the wilderness following whoever I was with on that day of the week. I even encountered God directly at times, but my mind quickly wandered back to my wilderness, and my heart and spirit gradually grew cold.

Aaron didn't have a strong personal faith in God, and he allowed Israel to stray into idolatry, even making the very idol that brought God's wrath. Yet by God's mercy, Aaron remained the high priest and patriarch of the Levitical priesthood. Aaron and the rest of Israel were under the covenant of the law. Moses and his protege Joshua were under the covenant of grace. In a manner of speaking Aaron's god was Moses, who kept him under the bondage of the Torah law until the age of grace came to all men through Jesus Christ. With the exception of a few great men and women of faith, the entire nation of Israel was under this law of sin and death.

I think God sometimes allows godly men like Moses to be drawn away from their followers to separate those who are following God from those who are following men. It is times like these that test our faith and reveal whether it is built on an everlasting foundation. When I finally realized that I was following men and not God, I became desperate to find a deeper personal faith that could not be shaken. Praise God, I think I found it!

Brush Strokes From Heaven

A friend of mine from college occasionally writes a prophetic message under the title "Brush Strokes from Heaven". I hope he doesn't mind if I borrow his title, but when I saw this sunset last night those were the words that came to mind.

Occasionally I like to watch the science channel when they talk about the universe. In the last decade or so since the Hubble telescope became operational, scientists have been able to identify thousands of planets in nearby solar systems. What they have learned should come as no surprise to Christians - our planet is unique, and as we discover more planets in space we come to a deeper appreciation of this unique gift that God has given us. God gave us both dominion and stewardship over this beautiful blue planet. I will look to heaven with gratefulness in my heart as long as my eternal father gives me breath!