Melody's Little Corner

Christmas: Mary's Perspective (part 5)

2009-12-17T13:56:00.006-05:00

A few weeks later, I was in my usual place of prayer. It was an open space with a large tree whose branches stretched out offering shade. I loved that tree because it was a reminder that even in that dry place, God provided life. When I was there I always felt God's presence. But on this particular morning, He seemed even closer. As I rounded the tree to sit in my usual place I was surprised to see a man sitting there. He rose quickly and his words startled me, "Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you."

I'd never heard such a greeting and I'll admit it upset me. I wanted to run from this strange man. I was all alone and I feared what he might do to me. As if reading my thoughts he spoke again.

"Do not be afraid, Mary, you have found favor with God." He knew my name. I was so confused, yet, held there by curiosity as he continued, "You will be with child and give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever; his kingdom will never end."

For the first time I spoke, my voice clammy and unsure," How will this be since I am a virgin?"

The words had barely left my tongue when he gave answer. It was as if he knew my question before I asked. "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God. Even Elizabeth your relative is going to have a child in her old age, and she who was said to be barren is in her sixth month. For nothing is impossible with God."

Finally it occurred to me: this was no man! It was an angel of the Lord most high! The Lord had been silent for over 400 years and now He chose to speak to a lowly girl like me? I was in complete awe and said the only thing I could, "I am the Lord's servant. May it be to me as you have said."

And he was gone.

I fell to my knees and cried out to God.

Oh God, I don't understand! I feel as though I've just received the biggest blessing, yet the biggest curse known to mankind. You gave me my desire of a husband, but then you turn around and supernaturally make me pregnant. Joseph will never have me now. If I escape stoning, I will face a lifetime of shame. Will I be forced to raise this child, your very son, on my own? Will I never experience the tender caress of a loving husband? But... Lord, how can I forget? You provided a husband for Rahab who was the harlot people will suppose me to be. And what did you require of her? Only that she trust you. My God, I will trust you with my life. What may come but that you allow it? My only request: make me trust you more each day!

I lingered there for some time in quiet peace. Then slowly stood to make my way home, stopping at the town well to dray up a drink. As I pulled the bucket up I was interrupted by a hand on my shoulder. I jumped and let go of the rope, hearing the bucket splash a moment later.

"Mary!" It was Asher. "I have a letter here from your cousin Elizabeth."

I was overjoyed! Nodding my thanks I wished him a good day and raced home to read it.

Dearest Mary,
I greatly understand your dilemma. I remember well being your age with all the joy of growing up and discovering love. I would very much like to tell you the story of Zechariah and I, but, I want to do it in person. I would like you to come visit me. There is something wonderful I want you to witness.
The Lord is the giver of many blessings, Mary. Even in my old age he smiled kindly upon me and has opened my womb. I am even now in my sixth month. I want you to come and be here for the birth of my son, John. I have set the arrangements. You need only ask your parents. Then while you are hear we can sit down and discuss everything.
Enclosed are the travel arrangements if you chose to come.
With much love,
Elizabeth

The angel was right. She was pregnant. But, of course he was right. He came from God did he not?

At dinner that night my parents read the letter and said they would talk it over. It was another long night. I was anxious to go. I wanted to spend time with Elizabeth, rejoice with her in her new circumstances, but also get away from all these people that I knew so well. They would notice a change in me even before the child began to show. And I knew Elizabeth, who had also experienced something miraculous would possibly believe my story.

In the morning, my parents gave their answer and I began packing immediately. Within a few days, merchants came through town. They were who I was to travel with. The trip was long, but throughout it all, I remembered that God was with me. I was at peace in His arms.

Christmas: Mary's Perspective (part 4)

2009-12-06T16:50:00.003-05:00

My father returned home earlier than normal, and to my surprise, Joseph was the guest my mother had mentioned. I was very embarrassed because I had been so busy all day that I didn't have any idea what I looked like. I looked at my mother, pleading with my eyes. She understood and handed me a bucket.

"Mary, we need water. Would you mind?"

Smiling my thanks I headed for the well. My reflection in the water was clear and I went to work combing my hair with my fingers. I drew some water with which I washed my face, then lowed the bucket once more.

Dinner stretched for an eternity. Finally my mother sent Heidi outside with all the children. It was only my parents, Joseph, and me left in the house. After a moment's awkward silence my father cleared his throat.

"Mary, Joseph has requested the chance to speak with you."

My heart skilled a beat and I felt myself blush. As Joseph began to speak I recall that I'd never seen him so nervous.

"As you know, I've just completed my apprenticeship and Hezekiah has accepted me as a partner. Mary, you are a beautiful woman of God and I want to marry you."

I said nothing. What could I say? The moment you realize that the thing you've thought and dreamed about has actually happened, all words escape you. Sure, it wasn't quite the romantic marriage proposal I'd imagined, but I didn't care. I finally managed to smile and say something.

"Joseph... wow!" Taking a deep breath I tried to continue, "I would be honored to marry you."

I wasn't sure if that sounded right. Like, is that what you are supposed to say? I was afraid it sounded dumb. But then, did it really matter? I mean, if he wanted to marry me he probably loved me and if he loved me he probably wouldn't think I was too dumb.

I don't remember what happened next. It's all a blur of happiness now. I remember him kissing my hand before he left. But I don't know how much time lapsed before he left. 5 minutes? An hour? I really don't know. But I was floating in the clouds that night. I know I didn't really sleep. Overwhelming happiness is one of those things that you cannot describe, but when you experience it, you know. It's beautiful.

Christmas: Mary's Perspective (part 3)

2009-12-03T22:12:00.002-05:00

Days went by. Life went on. All was normal, except my father’s recent daily visits to Hezekiah’s carpentry shop. I tried not to question his motives. Though that evening when Joseph was at our house for dinner was odd, and Joseph had just finished his apprenticeship for Hezekiah and now worked for him, there was no real reason to think my father spending time there was out of the ordinary.

For some time he had talked of replacing our table with a larger one. My family fit around it, but without any elbow room. And my parents loved entertaining guests, which meant many of my younger siblings were sent outside to eat. Even I was sometimes banished to the outdoors to help with the crowding. Yes, a new table would be nice.

Hezekiah was also one of my father’s childhood friends. This made his frequent visits seam very natural. They loved to reminisce over there boyish antics and laugh at themselves for being so ridiculous when they were young. This close friendship, added to the new table was good enough reasons to keep curiosity at bay. So I did my best to mind my own business.

My parents began to speak often in hushed tones when they thought everyone else was asleep. I couldn’t hear what they were saying, nor did I try to, but I kept getting the feeling they were talking about me. One night, as I rolled over trying to get to sleep I’m sure I heard my name. I told myself it was my imagination, but I didn’t truly believe it. One night I even asked God if all parents were this strange. It wasn’t exactly a respectful thing to ask, so in the morning I determined to apologize. But how could I without telling them of my curiosity?

“Mama…”

“Yes? What is it, Mary?”

“Last night I asked God a question about you and I think it was disrespectful… so… I want you to know I’m sorry.”

Somehow, that just didn’t seem natural. I spent most the night trying to figure out how to begin such a conversation. If only I was better with words. I felt like I was Moses trying to figure out how to tell Pharaoh that his slaves were all about to leave. If only I had a brother named Aaron. But I didn’t, so I had to just do the best I could.

“Mother, may I ask you a question?”

“Of course! I may not have a wonderful answer, but you may always ask.”

“What’s going on? I’m very confused right now. I see father entering and leaving Hezekiah’s shop nearly every day. I hear you and him talking late at night, though I don’t know what you talk about. Mother, one night I’m sure I heard you say my name. And I feel as though perhaps you and father are turning as strange as Heidi with all that is happening. I don’t mean it disrespectfully. I just don’t understand.”

“Oh, I see. This is something you father will tell you about. He’s planning on telling you tonight. You’ll have to wait until then. Oh, and we are having a guest tonight so we’ll need to make extra food for dinner.”

If I was confused before, I was even more now. It was so mysterious. I didn’t know what to think of it all. But I knew that I would simply have to wait until evening.

Christmas: Mary's Perspective (part 2)

2009-12-02T22:36:00.000-05:00

I walked slowly, weighing a small coin purse in my hand as I went. Knowing money was a luxury not to be thrown away carelessly, I worried that the letter was perhaps not important enough. There was also the fear that the money would never reach its destination and the money would be wasted. Traveling Roman soldiers could, with a decent pile of coins and strong persuasion skills, often be convinced to be a form of mail system. But many times they were not diligent in looking for the person the letter was intended for and it would never reach them.

“Mary! How are you this fine day?”

Asher, whose name fit his personality wonderfully, was not only a happy man, but also one known for his ability to get mail from one place to another. He knew which Roman soldiers were reliable and, equally important, cheap.

“I’m doing well! And you look as cheery as ever.”

“That I am! The Lord has been good to me. Now tell me, what brings you here?”

“I have a letter for my cousin Elizabeth.”

“The Lord watches over you today. I have a bundle of letters going that way this very evening. It will cost you very little.”

I was overjoyed. I nearly skipped home, blessing the Lord for His kindness the whole way. When I reached home I must have been beaming, for my youngest sister gave me the most peculiar look. I picked her up and twirled her in the air at which we both began to giggle. At the sound of our voices Heidi came out of the house and gave me a triumphant smile while pointing at the house. Then without explanation she ran.

I must say, this confused me. Heidi was a peculiar child. She had such strange ways and I rarely could interpret her actions. After a moment’s pause, I walked with trepidation toward the house. Stepping inside I saw my mother stooped over, kneading dough. My father was in the corner speaking with someone in hushed tones. The bright sun outside made it difficult to make out the face in the dim interior. As my eyes adjusted I recognized Joseph. I now understood Heidi’s behavior. I wanted to run back outside, to escape the awkwardness of standing there looking at him, but I felt that would be more awkward still.

“Marry, set the table, dear!”

My mother’s shrill voice was a relief. I horridly set the table and then moved to help her with the other dinner preparations. I feared Joseph would stay for the meal and make it very uncomfortable. He did.

After he left my father smiled at my mother and she smiled back as if reading his thoughts; thoughts I was unable to decipher. I pushed it out of my mind and pretended not to notice.

Christmas: Mary's Perspective (part 1)

2009-12-01T18:35:00.006-05:00

I've been asked many times to write about the birth of my son. I've spent years treasuring all that took place and pondering it in my heart. And now, I am ready. This tale will leave many shaking their heads in disbelief. All that happened, all the pieces, not all of them are as important as all the others. Some details are far more significant than others. The most important parts can be found in the account by Matthew, the former tax collector, and that of Luke, the physician. Here, I will start before either of them did. For me, I feel the conversation started with a conversation with my sister...

"Joseph is looking at you!"
"Be quiet Rachel! It's not fair to tease me. Besides, some day you will understand and you won’t wish to be teased. And what if someone heard?"
"Someone? Who, Joseph or Mama? You've been in love with him for two years, it's about time mama knew."
"You wouldn't dare!"
"You should at least tell Elizabeth. Perhaps she'll have helpful advice."
"You're right, and I can open up to her much more easily than mama. Thanks Rachel!"
"What are little sisters for?"

As Rachel scampered away I found myself crying out to God. At this time in my life I was often confused and spent much of my time asking God questions. After all, if anyone is to know the answer, it's Him.

God, is she right? Should I tell mama? I feel it is unnecessary. Yes, I find Joseph very attractive. He seeks You with his all. He is an upright man and he's also industrious. He's nearly completed his apprenticeship and is an accomplished carpenter. But of course, you know this God. I know this is silly, but God, he makes me laugh. He's so funny, yet he knows how to be serious. I love when he laughs. His eyes light up and sparkle like the stars in the heavens. But God, when he looks directly at me, my heart melts in my chest. I become giddy and usually tongue tide. I find myself unable to do anything but smile and avert my eyes. Am I wicked to have such feelings? I long to know I do the same to him. But I feel that I am the only girl ever to have such horrid thoughts. I've asked you many times to take away these feelings if they are wrong. Yet they remain! I ask again God, purge me of wrong thinking. Direct my heart to the man you intend for me, but first direct it to yourself. I will do as Rachel suggested and write to my cousin Elizabeth. Please speak to me through her.

As I prayed, I walked home. I took out some parchment and composed a letter which I do not have, but it said something like this.

Cousin Elizabeth,

You once told me that if I ever needed help or advice, that I shouldn't hesitate to seek you out. You've told me that not having a daughter of your own, you cherish the moments when I bring life’s problems to you, asking for your help as an older, wiser woman.

Today I venture to seek your council. There is a young man who I find quite attractive. Perhaps you remember him? Joseph, son of Jacob, a descendant of King David, like myself. He is a good, Godly, hard working man who probably deserves much better a wife than me, but I can't help but hope that some day he'll notice me. I feel that thinking this way is wrong though. Please, would you tell me of when you and Zechariah were young? What was it like for you? Am I wrong to ask God to cause Joseph to notice me?

With love,
Your very confused cousin,
Mary

"Trusted with very little......"

2009-04-28T19:30:00.000-04:00

So often, we read a passage of scripture and miss some rather significant things. We focus on the 'big' things and pay little attention to the things we deem small. How many times have we read Luke 16:10-11? Most of us memorized it years ago and can quote it mechanically.

"Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much, and whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with much. ¹¹So if you have not been trustworthy in handling worldly wealth, who will trust you with true riches?"

These verses were shown to me recently in a whole new way. The youth group at my church meets on Thursday night for bible study and my small group just started going through a book called Discipleship Essentials: A Guide to Building Your Life in Christ by Greg Ogden. As the title says, the theme of the book is discipleship. The first lesson covered Matthew 28.
When we read this we generally focus three main points. First the DUH one, the resurrection. Second, the guards report to the chief priests. And third, the 'great commission'. But, there is something I have never seen before.

Matthew 28:10b says, "Go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee; there they will see me."

Normally, when reading this passage this one small command of Jesus doesn't mean anything. I think nothing of it. But don't overlook it again. Look at it and think. Put yourselves in the disciples shoes as the women give them Jesus' message.

We have to go to Galilee? But why? He appeared to you in the garden didn't he? Why on earth can't he just come here to us and speak with us? Galilee? It's a long walk. I really don't see the point.....etc. etc.

Are these questions ones we ask every day? Yes. So why did Jesus tell them to go to Galilee to see him? Think about it, he was about to send them on a mission to the entire world. He was going to tell them to GO. And not just a little go, a HUGE go. Go and make disciples of ALL nations. That is a big go. So what did Jesus do? He gave them a little go first. He told them to go to Galilee. So that when they proved themselves trustworthy of the little go, He could entrust them with a big go.

Look at Luke 16:10-11 again:
"Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much, and whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with much. ¹¹So if you have not been trustworthy in handling worldly wealth, who will trust you with true riches?"

Is Jesus command to go to Galilee not an awesome example of this?

It convicted me greatly. How many times do I receive a little go and think it is unimportant? I am so busy looking for the "Great Commissions" in life that I often miss the importance of the little ones. The small things that seem so unimportant are just as important as the big things.

My Personal Catechism

2009-03-30T20:45:00.005-04:00

This is my catechism... sorta an imitation of the Shorter Catechism, but it's far shorter than the shorter catechism. =P

My personal Catechism

1. What is the number of God; what is this relationship?

Deut 6:4; 1 Cor 8:4, 6; 1 John 5:7-8; Mat 3:16-17; 28:19; II Cor 13:14; John 1:14, 18; 15:26; Gal 4:6

There are three persons in the unity of the Godhead, consisting of one substance, power and eternity: God the father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. The Father is begotten by and proceeds from none; the Son is eternally begotten of the Father; the Holly Spirit eternally proceeds from the Father and the Son.

2. What is the nature/character of God?

Deut 6:4; 1 Cor 8:4,6; 1 Thes 1:9; Jer 10:10 ; Job 11:7-9; 26:14; 1 Tim 1:7; Deut 4:15-16; John 4:24; Luke 24:39; 1 Kings 8:27; Jer 23:23; Psalms 90:2; 1 Tim 1:17; Psalms 145:3; John 5:26; Acts 17:24-25; Psalms 119:68; Acts 7:2; 1 Tim 6:15; Ro 9:5; Ex 3:14; John 4:24; Acts 14:11, 15; James 1:17; Mal 3:6; Gen 17:1; Rev 4:8; Ro 16:27; Isa 6:3; Rev 4:8; Psalms 115:3; Eph 1:11; Prov 16:4; Ro 11:36; 1 John 4:8; Ex 34:6-7; Heb 11:6; Neh 9:32-33; Psalms 5:4-6; Nahum 1:2-3; Job 22:2-3; Ro 11:36; Rev 4:11; 1 Tim 6:15; Dan 4:25; Ps 145:17; Ro 7:1;

There is only one, living and true God; invisible, without body parts; immense, unfathomable, all powerful, all wise, Totally holy/pure, free, loving, unchangeable; Always was, is, and will be;. His being and perfection has no limit. He is not susceptible to impressions from external agents. Absolute and complete in Himself .Working all things in accordance with His righteous and holy will for His own glory, He abounds in mercy and forgiveness; rewarder of those that seek Him. He is terrible in judgment because of his hatred for sin; not clearing the guilty. He has all things in and of Himself, He needs nothing and derives no glory from any of His creation, but manifests His own glory on His creation. He has complete dominion over all and does to, for, and by them, whatever he pleases. Knowing all, nothing is uncertain for Him. All He does is Holy.

3. How did all that exist come into existence?

Col 1:15, 16; John 1:2,3; Genesis 1:2; Job 26:13; 33:4; Ro 1:20; Jer 10:12; Ps 104:24; 33:5, 6; Gen 1; Heb 11:3; Col 1:16; Acts 17:24; Heb 1:3

God created all things for His pleasure and the manifestation of his character. He created everything out of nothing. Everything whether visible or invisible, was created to be very good. Last of all His creation was first of all His creation. God created Man last and set him up as head of all the rest of creation. The Godhead performed creation as a unit; Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

4. After creating all, what involvement did God have with His creation?

Dan 4:34-35; Ps 135:6; Acts 17:25-28; Job 38-41; Matthew 10:29-31; Pro 15:3; Ps 104:24; 145:17; Acts 15:18; Ps 94:8-11; Acts 2:23;

God is in control of all that happens to His creation. From the greatest to the least, nothing happens to his creation without His knowledge.

5. What was the nature/character of man as God created him?

Gen 2:7; Ecc 12:7; Luke 23:43; Matt 10:28; Gen 1:26; Col 3:10; Eph 4:24; Ro 2:14-15; Ecc 7:29; Gen 3:6; Gen 2:17; 3:8-11, 23; Gen 1:28

Man, the last being created by God was created in the image of God with an immortal soul, capable of reason. God gave him knowledge, righteousness and true holiness in His image. On man’s heart God wrote His law and gave him the power to fulfill this law. God left man with the ability to sin; the liberty to transgress against his own creator. Along with the law written on his heart God also gave man a command; to not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. While they kept this law, they were happily in communion with God and had dominion over the creatures.

6. Did man stay in this state of righteousness allowing communion with God?

Gen 3:13; 2 Cor 11:3; Ro 11:32; Gen 3:6-8; Ecc 7:29; Ro 3:23; Gen 2:17; Eph 2:1; Tit 1:15; Gen 6:5; Jer 17:9; Ro 3:10-18;

The first man and woman (Adam and Eve) sinned by eating the forbidden fruit. God allowed this sin in order to use it for His own glory. In committing this sin, Adam and Eve lost communion with God and fell from righteousness. They became dead in sin and every part of their bodies and souls were defiled.

7. Did this corrupted sate affect all of mankind?

Gen 1:27, 28; 2:10, 17; Acts 17:26; Ro 5:12-19; 1 Cor 15:21, 22, 45, 49; Ps 51:5; Gen 5:3; Job 14:4; 15:14; Ro 5:6; 8:7; 7:18; Col 1:21; Gen 6:5; 8:21; Ro 3:10-12; James 1:14-15; Ephesians 2:2, 3; Mat 15:19

Being the root of all mankind, Adam’s and Eve’s sin was imputed to all of their decedents; and with the sin, death. All of mankind is in a state of opposition to all that is good; inclined toward all that is evil. It is from this complete corruption that all transgressions precede.

8. How does sin affect man’s state before God?

1 John 3:4; Ro 2:15; 3:9,19; Eph 2:3; Gal 3:10; Ro 6:23; Eph 4:18; Ro 8:20; Lam 3:39; Mat 25:41; 2 Thess 1:9

Every sin,, being contrary to the law of God, brings guilt upon the sinner. This guilt binds man to the wrath of God and the curse of the law. Man is made subject to death by this sin; with all anguishes whether spiritual, temporal, or eternal.

9. Is man capable of restoring his relationship with God?

Isaiah 40:13-17; Job 9:32, 33; 1 Samuel 2:25; Ps 113:5; 100:2, 3; Job 22:2, 3; 35:7, 8; Luke 17:10; Acts 17:24, 25;

The distance separating man from God is so great that man can never breach it through any amount of obedience or good works. Only through God’s grace can the separation be eliminated.

10. How did God breach the separation?

Gal 3:21; Ro 8:3; 3:20, 21; Gen 3:15; Isaiah 42:6; Mark 16:15-16; John 3:16; Romans 10:6, 9; Gal 3:11; Ez 36:26-27; John 6:44-45;

Man by his fall broke the first covenant between him and God, so God was pleased to make a second covenant. This covenant of grace was based on Christ alone; His death, burial, and resurrection. God, through the Holy Spirit makes those he has divinely called able and willing to believe and turn back to God.

11. What is the benefit of this new covenant and the renewed relationship with God?

Heb 9:15-17; 7:22; Luke 22:20; 1 Cor 11:25; Heb 8-10; Ro 4:11; Col 2:11, 12; 1 Cor 5:7; Gal 3:7-9,14; Col 2:17;

Man is no longer responsible for any part of the covenant. God does it all. It is through the messiah and the messiah alone that man receives full remission for sins. With this covenant, man’s relationship with God is restored and with this restoration, he receives the everlasting inheritance as a son of God.

My Personal Confession (think Westminster only not so awesome)

2009-03-30T20:29:00.006-04:00

After studying the Westminster Confession, the Shorter Catechism, and excerpts from the Institutes of Religion by John Calvin, for school, I had an amazingly scary assignment. I had to write my own confession and catechism. So yeah, they are nothing like the Westminster or Shorter, but I really need a post because this blog is dying so here is my confession.

My Personal Confession

Knowing that mankind was unable to find God, even with the signs He placed in creation, God gave to man the scriptures which He inspired men to write. The scripture, being the words of God, are most necessary for man to understand salvation and to be protected from the snares of Satan. Only through scripture can man truly understand God, the universe, man, morality and ethics, evil and suffering, man’s state after death, and the meaning of history.

God
There is only one, living, and true God, who is infinite in being and perfection. His is a spirit, entirely pure, invisible, without body, parts, or passions; immutable, immense, eternal, incomprehensible, almighty, completely wise, thoroughly holy, entirely free, utterly absolute. He works all things according to His own immutable and most righteous will, for His own glory. He is most loving, gracious, merciful, long-suffering, abundant in goodness and truth, forgiving iniquity, transgression, and sin. He is the rewarder of all who seek Him diligently. To all men, He is completely just, and terrible in His judgments, hating sin. He will by no means clear the guilty.

God has all life, glory, goodness, and blessedness in and of Himself; and is alone all sufficient, not needing any creature which he has made, nor deriving any glory from them. He instead manifests His own glory in, by, and upon them. He has sovereign dominion over all things, to do by them, for them, or upon them whatever He pleases. He sees all, His knowledge is infinite, infallible, and independent, so nothing is contingent, or uncertain to Him. All His counsels, all His works, and all His commands are completely holy. He is due all worship, service, and obedience from every creature.

There are three persons in the unity of the Godhead, consisting of one substance, power, and eternity: God the father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. The Father is begotten by none and proceeding from none; the Son is eternally begotten of the Father; the Holly Spirit eternally proceeds from the Father and the Son.

The Universe
All that makes up the universe is created by God, out of nothing. All things whether visible or invisible were created in six days and declared good by God. Nothing came about of its own will; nothing was made by any other besides God. Everything God created reflects all that He is. His power, His size, His creativity, all that God is, is reveled to man through his creation. Every aspect of the universe is unique for each part is formed by God to be distinct.

Man
After creating all other beings, God formed Man, male and female, with reasonable and immortal souls. He endued them with knowledge, righteousness, and true holiness, after His own image. He wrote His law in their hearts, and gave them power to fulfill it. But He gave them freedom under their own will and possibility of transgressing. Beside this law written in their hearts, God also commanded them not to eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. While they obeyed this command they were happily in communion with God. But on breaking this command, they would become separated from God and suffer the humility and pain of this separation.

Man being created above animals was given dominion over them. He ruled over them and protected them. But on disobeying God’s command, this changed. Enmity was put between Man and beast.

Morality and Ethics
God alone is good. He is the Rock, his works are perfect, and all his ways are just. He is a faithful God who does no wrong. He is upright and just. He is our only paradigm. To discover what is right and what is wrong, God’s character must be studied for his character is goodness.

Evil and suffering
At the moment of Man’s disobedience to God, everything changed. Immediately separation came into every relationship. Man was separated from God; separated from man; and separated from animal. From that first sin against God, man has been wicked. Though created righteous, man had the ability to sin and he gave into the temptations placed before him by Satan. Evil entered the world with that sin. The perfect world that God had created was corrupted by man’s disobedience. And as a result of this corruption that permeates the world, suffering is everywhere. This suffering could be taken away by God, along with the evil. For the two are inseparable. But the only way to take away the evil and suffering is to destroy all that is living, for evil resides in the hearts of men. So instead God made a different solution. Rather than destroying all that He had created, He paid the penalty for the sin Himself. The suffering and evil are still here, but for those that are saved, there is joy and peace in God.

Man’s state after death
Man was created with an immortal soul. Even after the body dies, the soul lives on. God created two destinations for the souls of men: Heaven and Hell. Heaven is where all those found righteous will spend eternity after their earthly death. Hell is the destination of those found unrighteous. All men, being corrupt and wicked, have the eternal destination of Hell.

God, however, did not wish for men to perish so He made a way for man to be saved from eternal damnation. He sent His own Son, Jesus Christ to die for the sins of the world. After His resurrection on the third day, Jesus ascended back into Heaven to sit at the right hand of God where He acts as our mediator. It is only through trusting in Him that any man can be saved from Hell. For Jesus is the only way to the Father.

Man, however, would never choose to put his faith in Jesus; he sees no problem with himself and desires to be the master of his own life. So there is still no eternal hope for man by himself. It is only through the effectual and divine calling that man will ever come to God. God draws men to Himself and gives them their faith in Christ so that they might be saved. It is in this way and in this way alone, that man can be found righteous in God’s sight. It is not man’s own righteousness but the righteousness of Jesus Christ.

If, however, man is not called to belief, if he lives his life in his own way, doing as he pleases, he will be found guilty in God’s sight. The righteousness of Christ will be found nowhere near him. And he will spend eternity in the burning fire of Hell, where worm does not die, nor is thirst quenched. There is nothing but misery; the gnashing of teeth and weeping of tears.

History
The world is growing gradually worse and it will become no better. We see this in history. The purpose of history is to show us what to expect next. As we look at past empires and nations we can often predict what will happen in modern nations. We see the truths of the Bible unfold in history as well as in the present. And if we have a good idea of the history of the world, we will be well prepared for what will come about in the future.

So yeah, um, that's it. Nothing like the Westminster, I know, but I suppose they had several people to write it and it took them years, so I'm trying to be satisfied with it.

10 Commandments: #6

2009-02-26T05:33:00.000-05:00

Exodus 20:13
"You shall not murder.

This commandment goes beyond what most people take it to mean. It doesn't mean to simply not kill people. There is a requirement of protection. Psalms 82:3-4 tells us to protect the weak, needy, fatherless, and oppressed from the wicked. Proverbs 24:11-12 Tells us that in standing by and doing nothing to protect those that need protection, we are essentially helping their oppressors. So we are no better than the murderers themselves. But then of course there is the more obvious part of the commandment. The part about not killing. In order to understand this, we really need to understand why we are told not to kill. Genesis 9:6 reminds us that man is made by God, in God's image. That is the only reason we need for not killing. So when commanded to not murder, not only are we not to be murderers ourselves, but we are supposed to do our utmost to stand up against murderers. To protect those weaker than ourselves. Because they are beautiful creations of God, made in God's image.

Restoring a Biblical Legacy.

2009-02-23T23:10:00.002-05:00

Last fall my mom told all of us that she would like us to enter an essay contest for home-schoolers. Now, I was not terrible excited about this idea. While I may enjoy writing essays, I'm not wonderful at it. So I knew that I didn't stand a chance against all the home-schooled high schoolers in my state. But since it wasn't exactly up for discussion I obviously did write it. Unfortunately, I tend to be a terrible procrastinator, so I didn't actually write the first draft until last Monday. And it had to be post marked today if it was to qualify. So it's definitely not my best work ever. The essay was supposed to answer the question, 'How do you restore a Biblical legacy while living in a secular world?' So I hope it did a decent job of that. I wont find out until March 15 or some time around there. But I decided to post the essay I wrote here.

L. E. G. A. C. Y

How far we as a nation have fallen! By allowing worldly influences to seep into our lives, we Christians have lost sight of what walking with God truly means.Leaving behind the truths of God's word, we seek after all that worldly men have to offer. The Christian legacy on which our nation was founded is in disrepair and must be reconstructed. To repair a legacy, a plan must be contrived and pursued. The necessary steps in restoring a Biblical legacy can be demonstrated by the acronym LEGACY. The renewal of a Biblical legacy requires Looking at and Evaluating God's Word, so as to Grow in faith and learn to Apply this faith to our lives so that we may Coach our children and teach them to Yearn for God.

The L and E of the acronym LEGACY go hand-in-hand. It is impossible to look in-depth at the Bible without also evaluating its words. The psalmist speaks of hiding God's words in his heart in order to eliminate the sin in his life. He indicates that looking isn't enough. It is necessary to memorize scripture so that it can be brought to mind and pondered later. In thoughtfully going back over the words of the Bible, there will doubtless be a measure of evaluation and meditation on them.

The increased time spent studying the Bible is sure to cause a corresponding increase in the understanding of the true meaning of its words. In turn, we also gain a better understanding of God. This will lead to a closer relationship with Him and a greater dependency on Him in every area of our lives. Our faith in and our dependency on Him are really the same thing. That which we put our faith in, we depend on. So as we look at the Bible and evaluate it, our faith will grow.

Once we have a stronger relationship with God and a greater dependency on Him, it is important to apply it in our lives. It is easy to have head knowledge without the actions that should follow. Once we better understand who God is, and we see how the different parts of the Bible fit together, we can't leave it there. This understanding must lead to action. We must live out the Biblical principles in our day-to-day lives. This is what James was saying when he spoke of the relationship between faith and good deeds. While good deeds can in no way save us, they are a sign of our faith to believer and unbeliever alike. James tells us of the importance of bearing fruit in our lives. While trying to rebuild a legacy founded on the Bible, the importance of this fruit is crystal clear. For if our actions do not show others our faith, the reality of this faith will be difficult if not impossible to pass on.

A Biblical legacy is not like that of money or property. It is not a simple matter of writing a will and leaving possessions to a specific person. This legacy is immaterial. No matter how strong the faith of a parent is, it will not automatically be passed to the children. It must be cultivated from the time the children are young. Proverbs 22:6 speaks of this kind of coaching of young children. The phrase, "in the way he should go," leads to Jeremiah 6:16 where Israel was commanded to ask for the ancient paths, the good way, and walk in it. God's promise of rest accompanies obedience to this command. Hence we must instruct our children to yearn for the ways of God so their souls will be at rest, rather than having the turmoil of a soul that is fighting God.

This process of Looking, Evaluating, Growing, Applying, and Coaching to Yearn, does not happen overnight. It is a lifetime task that each Christian must dedicate himself to accomplish. The secular world we live in too easily ensnares the young. So we must do the work necessary in our own lives so that we will have something worth passing on, but then do the work necessary to impress our children with that which has previously impressed us. This will draw us away from the influences that have seeped into our lives, and bring back into focus that which is important. Herein lies the true meaning of walking with God: having Him be the head of our lives.

Valentines Day!

2009-02-14T15:23:00.001-05:00

Today, as I'm sure you're well aware, is Valentines Day. I've been thinking a lot about this holiday as it approached. Valentines day is basically a holiday of love. But what does that mean? In order to have a holiday devoted to love we really have to understand what love is. So I did some experimenting. I went on yahoo-answers and asked for a definition of love. Here a sampling of the answers I received:

Answer 1. Loving someone means seeking the interest of the other person. Treat him/her as you would want to be treated.

Answer 2. You can ask 100 different people this question, and get 105 different answers...

Love means something different for everyone...

Just be careful of any answers that are purely emotion. If love is only an emotion, then the moment you're mad at someone you no longer love them and that's simply not possible.

Answer 3. Love is God and God is Love....

oh u mean in the human aspect...

well when u take a breath, u can smell them..when u eat..u can taste them..when u think ur thoughts are of them..u see your life as u know it being consumed by them...when u open your eyes u see them..when u look at your hands u see theirs on your or vice versa...when u hear a voice or a wonderful medley u hear them..

Answer 4. A deep, tender, ineffable feeling of affection and solicitude toward a person, such as that arising from kinship, recognition of attractive qualities, or a sense of underlying oneness.
A feeling of intense desire and attraction toward a person with whom one is disposed to make a pair; the emotion of sex and romance.

Sexual passion.
Sexual intercourse.
A love affair.
An intense emotional attachment, as for a pet or treasured object.

if you like someone soo much that you wanna hav him forever then that means your in love..(other cases also there)

Answer 5. Love is priority.

Answer 6. you'll know that feeling of love when you're with someone and it's totally different than anyone else you have been with.

love can't really be defined. it's just a feeling that no one can describe until you're in it. love is special. it's something different to loving your friends and family. loving a boyfriend/girlfriend will come over a period of time. not instantly. don't expect to be in love by 2 weeks of a relationship. love will come to you when you're ready.
i think that if you look for love it won't come to you.

there are different forms of love.
it's a different feeling from anything else.

Answer 7. When you really care about someone. your willing to do anything for that person not matter what. be there

Answer 8. you just know, theres no way to explain or define it, it just happens

It's sad to me that the majority of the answers either basically said, "Love is selfish." or "Love just happens and it can't be defined because it's just emotional warm fuzzies." I mean, I really didn't expect any better. In fact, I was surprised by the few I got that were different. Number 1 and 2 for example were shockers for me. I really didn't expect to see anyone talk about looking to the interests of others or not leaving it to emotions. Those two really don't fit the cultural norm that I thought I would see. And it's sad that I would expect so little, but such is the world we live in.

Okay, so the point of doing that? Well, I was just trying to make a point which will be more evident after examining the Biblical definition of Love. There are tons of verses that talk about Love, but I've been told my posts are always way too long so I'm only going to look at a few. The first being an obvious one to anyone that is at all familiar with the Bible.

1 Corinthians 13:4-8

With this alone, we could come up with a pretty sufficient definition of Love. But there are a few more that we have to look at as well.

1 John 3:16, 18, 4:7-12

Okay, now we really have what we need to define Love. First, we see what love is not. Then what it is.

Love is not envious, boastful, proud, rude, self-seeking, or easily angered. It keeps no record of wrongs, it does not delight in evil, and it never fails. It is not just words, but actions done in truth. It is patient and kind, always trusting, hoping, persevering, and protecting. It rejoices with the truth. Love sacrifices all, even to laying down one's life for a brother.

So now that a proper definition has been established, how can this be applied to the holiday? Well, not by buying candy and roses, that's for sure. It's something more than that. And I'm not really sure yet. This is a very recent way my thoughts have been going. I generally don't think that much about love but because of a couple conversations with a friend I've thought about it more in the last week or so. But yeah, I really don't know how to change the way of looking at this holiday. Just that I think the way Christians celebrate it should differ from the world's way. Any input/ideas/thoughts on the idea would be appreciated. And maybe I'm nuts. Maybe there is nothing wrong with the way the world goes about celebrating 'Love'. I'd love feedback, even if it is just to tell me I'm off my rocker.

10 Commandments: #5

2009-02-09T22:54:00.000-05:00

Exodus 20:12
12 "Honor your father and your mother, so that you may live long in the land the LORD your God is giving you.

This commandment speaks about the way a household should be. It shows us that in a family, there are levels of authority. We see this in other places as well. Ephesians 5:22 for example speaks of the submission of wives to their husbands. This is something that is learned by girls when they are young. As they learn to honor and submit to their father, they are practicing they way they will treat their husband. Along with honor, children are also commanded to be obedient in Ephesians 6:1. Much like the honoring of a father is practice for unmarried girls for how they will later respect their husbands, the honor of parents is practice for how all children will one day respect the governmental authorities. Romans 13:1 tells us to submit to governing authorities and as a child learns to submit to his/her parents, it is important to note that in the same way, they will respect every other authority in their life. If they cannot honor they parents, they wont honor their employers. So while it is definitely not easy to submit, honor, obey, and respect your parents, it is so important. It is a learning process on so many different levels. And you will be so much happier throughout all of life if you learn to give them the honor they deserve.

10 Commandments: #4

2009-02-08T14:50:00.002-05:00

Exodus 20:8-11
"Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. 9 Six days you shall labor and do all your work, 10 but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the LORD your God. On it you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your manservant or maidservant, nor your animals, nor the alien within your gates. 11 For in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but he rested on the seventh day. Therefore the LORD blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.

Here we are required to rest every seven days. One thing I'm not sure about is whether the day matters. What I mean by this is, when we Christians have our day of rest on Sunday, I don't know if it's right, or wrong. God rested on the last day of the week, so it only makes sense that the Sabbath was intended to be on Saturday. This is something I've talked about a little with a friend and I really just don't know. Perhaps it's wrong for us to have our day of rest on Sunday. But whenever I think about this, Mark 2:27 always pops into my head. Because of this verse, I feel that the day we choose to take our rest is not as important as making sure we do take a day to rest.

10 Commandments: #3

2009-02-07T11:02:00.001-05:00

Exodus 20:7
"You shall not misuse the name of the LORD your God, for the LORD will not hold anyone guiltless who misuses his name.

In the commandment, we are required to ascribe to the Lord the glory due His name. We are forbidden to misuse His name in any way. The verse makes it clear that there are consequences for those that disobey. They will be found guilty. Often today, we use this verse in reference to not using any of God's names as cuss words. But I think it goes beyond that. It is not about NOT doing something. It is about doing something. We are to treasure His name as holy. Revering it above all other names. So while we are not to use His name as a form of profanity, that is just the beginning. The real key is, don't use His name separate from His person. If you remember the person to whom the name belongs, it will be much harder to misuse it.

10 Commandments: #2

2009-02-06T23:08:00.001-05:00

Exodus 20:4-6
"You shall not make for yourself an idol in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. 5 You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, 6 but showing love to a thousand {generations} of those who love me and keep my commandments.

In this commandment, we are required to do just one thing. Trust! I can better explain this after discussing what is forbidden. We are forbidden to make images in the form of anything in creation. This is not just talking about making idols of created things and worshiping them. It is also talking about depicting God by something created. Depicting God by any form is forbidden. This is why I said that this commandment requires nothing but trust. We humans often find ourselves wanting to put some image behind that which we worship. It helps us feel that it is real. When we cannot see our God, it is easy to question His existence. This commandment does not allow for us to rely on our eyes. It requires us to trust with our hearts that which we have not seen.

10 Commandments: #1

2009-02-03T22:27:00.001-05:00

In school, I'm studying the Reformation. As part of this study, I've been looking at The Shorter Catechism. Right now I'm studying the section covering the ten commandments and since I honestly can't think of anything else to blog about, I decided to write my thoughts on each of the commandments.
The thing about the commandments is that they tell us what is required as well as what is forbidden. So I'm going to try to incorporate that into my posts.

#1
Exodus 20:3 - "You shall have no other gods before me.

The requirement: Deuteronomy 26:17, 1 Chronicles 28:9, Matthew 4:10

We are required to serve God with wholehearted devotion. This means walking in His ways, keeping his decrees, commands, and laws, and obeying him in everything.

The forbidden: Romans 1:21, 1:25

We are forbidden to allow our hearts to because foolish or let our thinking become futile causing us to neither glorified Him as God nor give thanks to Him. We are not to exchange the truth of God for a lie, serving the created things rather than their Creator.

There is a reason for not putting our trust in any other God but the One True God. Hebrews 4:13 tells us that God sees everything. That means nothing can happen to us without His knowledge. So why would we even want to put our trust in something else that can offer us less? Deuteronomy 32:16 also gives us a good reason for worshiping God alone. He is a Jealous God and the worship of idols angers Him. He is THE all powerful God, angering Him is NOT a good plan.

Euthyphro Dilemma: Solution

2009-01-13T15:08:00.003-05:00

The solution to the dilemma I previously presented is quite simple really. In debating anything, you cannot allow your opponent to corner you. You absolutely must be alert enough to find a way out of the corner your being shoved into. The only way to accomplish this is to be well prepared. Since it's not possible to at all times be prepared to debate anything under the sun, you have to decide what is truly important to you. As Christians, it only makes sense to prepare our minds with a knowledge of the bible.It is our foundation for life. And as such, we should equip ourselves with an understanding of it's content.

This of course doesn't happen over night. You can spend every waking moment of your entire life studying the Bible and yet not fully comprehend the vast stores of wisdom it has to offer. So, you must pick what you will study. But there are somethings that are needed. One of the most frequently attacked aspects of Christianity is the nature of God. This means that knowing God's nature is of utmost importance.

For those with a decent understanding of God, Euthyphro's dilemma is really not to difficult to solve. The thing is, there are not two options, but three. Christians must reject the two options laid out for them. Neither is correct and therefore neither can be chosen. The only remaining question, after rejecting the two given, is, what is the third and correct answer. God's goodness is not a matter of His demanding what goodness is. If that was the case, He could have declared rape, or other physical abuses, as moral. Even mandatory. Goodness also does not come from some higher power above God. There is no one greater than God. Instead, goodness is in God's character. His commands are His expression of His character. So what He tells us is right/wrong is a direct reflection of His own self. Now of course, this all sounds good. But you can't leave things too 'sound good'. You must test everything against scripture.

To start, the idea of God's character being good/righteous must be backed up.

Ezra 9:15, Nehemiah 9:8, Psalm 4:1, 7:9, 7:11, 11:7, 116:5, 119:137, 129:4, 145:17,
Proverbs 21:12, Isaiah 41:10, 45:21, Jeremiah 12:1, Lamentations 1:18, Daniel 9:14,
Zephaniah 3:5, John 17:25, Acts 3:14, 7:52, 1 John 2:1

While these verses tell us of God's righteousness, there still could be confusion. After all, could God's nature not change and thus the paradigm for righteousness change? This is where a very important part of God's nature comes into play. Without His immutability, His goodness is meaningless.

Psalm 102:26-27, Malachi 3:6, Hebrews 13:8, James 1:17

So really, now you can almost say that the first of the two original options is in a way, correct. God does decree what is right and wrong. But it is based on His unchanging nature so it does not vary.
So a thing is good because God has said to to be so, but ALL that he says is based on His nature.

Euthyphro Dilemma

2009-01-05T20:34:00.005-05:00

Quite some time ago, a question was posed to me. I have been really busy and therefore have not answered it until now. Well, I must admit, busyness was not all that stopped me. For the most part, I don't like answering questions such as this one rashly, without pondering and musing over the best way to effectively answer. I was also hindered by a fear that creeps up on me quite often. "What if I answer wrong? What if I word it wrong? What if, by something I say, I confuse someone?" So, I was hesitant to make this post. But, I knew I could not put it off much longer, so here I am, rather nervously hoping I can properly convey my thoughts.

"Tell me, is God good because he decides what the good is, or is He good because He is being measured to a standard other than Himself? If the first is the case, then Morality is simply an arbitration and has no objective stake in the truth. If the latter is the case, then God is no longer the basis for objective moral truth and we no longer require Him to fill such a role.

This is called the Euthyphro Dilemma, based on Plato's character of the same name, and is often given in response to the Moral Argument for the existence of God. Have fun with it."

Kerry

This dilemma Euthyphro faced is used today as an attack against Christianity. An example of such attacks is that of Bertrand Russell in his argument against faith, Why I am Not a Christian.

"If you are quite sure there is a difference between right and wrong, you are then in this situation: Is that difference due to God's fiat or is it not? If it is due to God's fiat, then for God Himself there is no difference between right and wrong, and it is no longer a significant statement to say that God is good. If you are going to say, as theologians do, that God is good, you must then say that right and wrong have some meaning which is independent of God's fiat, because God's fiats are good and not good independently of the mere fact that he made them. If you are going to say that, you will then have to say that it is not only through God that right and wrong came into being, but that they are in their essence logically anterior to God."

Russell is endeavoring to undermine God, as portrayed in the Bible, by cornering believers and giving them only two options, both extremely inimical to Christian theism. The question is much like the well known, "Can God create a rock he cannot move?" These questions are enough to make you pull out your hair in despair! Which of course, is exactly their purpose. What better way to turn someone away from their faith than to give them the feeling of inferiority due to confusion and lack of answers to preposterous questions.

To choose the first option takes away God's holiness and righteousness. Though God told us that adultery and covetousness are wrong, He could have arbitrarily said otherwise. There would be no way to know if what we did was right or wrong because the concepts would be relative. God could chose at any time to change the moral standards He set up. We know that this is wrong, because the Bible makes it quite clear that God CANNOT sin. If He cannon sin, that leads us to the conclusion that He did not arbitrarily decide what was right, and what was wrong.

What then? We are left now with the second option. This too, like the first, is not in keeping with what we know from scripture. To state that God is held by a higher law is blasphemous. In the case of this being true, He loses His sovereignty and becomes no better than us. Dependent, secondary, and subject.

Christianity has now 'lost'. With only these two options, there is nowhere to turn. The God that we know and have put our faith in has seemingly been proven false. God is either not good, or He is not sovereign. Both claims refute the Bible. If the Bible is found to be untrue by any contradiction or fallacy of any kind, what is left of Christianity? It is no more. Totally and utterly made obsolete.

I am going to give the solution to this dilemma in a separate post. This is basically just to lay out the problem, let all of you think about it, and hopefully comment on it. Then in a few days (at most a week, all depending on busyness with school), I will post the follow up.

Thanksgiving!

2008-11-27T02:07:00.001-05:00

Thanksgiving! What does that word bring to mind? Turkey and mashed potatoes both covered with gravy. Green beans, stuffing, rolls, and sweet potatoes. And then the amazing pumpkin pie, cooked to perfection with all the right spices, a dollop of whipped cream on top, and to go with it, a mug of steaming coffee or hot chocolate depending on your preference. All the while laughter is filling the air as stories of holidays past are told and retold.

Nothing could beat that picture of thanks giving. Or could it? Is there something even better that could come to mind when the word thanksgiving is spoken? What does the bible say about it?

The bible has many many verses discussing giving thanks. Some are simply commands to give thanks. But there are also those that tell us how, when, where, and why to give thanks.

Give Thanks

Psalms 100:4, Colossians 1:12, Colossians 3:17, Colossians 3:15, Colossians 4:2, Hebrews 12:28

How to Give Thanks

Psalms 28:7, Psalms 105:1, Psalms 147:7, Isaiah 12:4, 2 Corinthians 4:15, Ephesians 5:20

We are to give thanks by making known to the nations what God has done. We are to call on the name of the Lord and sing songs of praise in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. Our thanksgiving should overflow.

When to Give Thanks

Psalms 30:12, Psalms 119:62, Ephesians 5:20

We are to give thanks always and forever. This is emphasized Ps. 119:62 where it tells us to give thanks at midnight. If we are commanded to give thanks at midnight we can know that 'always' is literal. We are to give thanks at all times of the day. This might be confusing to some, for how can we always be thanking God and do other things as well? Though we can not be constantly saying thank you, we can be in a constant state of thanksgiving. One void of grumbling and complaining.

Where to Give Thanks

Psalms 95:2, Psalms 100:4, Psalms 35:18, Isaiah 12:4

We are to give thanks while we stand before God. As we enter His gates, and as are in His courts. And while in the great assembly. If we left it there it would seam that as long as we were not at church or worshiping God is some way, we are 'safe'. We don't have to worry about being thankful. That is why Is. 12:4 is so important. It tells us that we must also give thanks where the nations can see us. That means at school, where peer pressure is overwhelming. On the Job, where fellow employees are watching and may well be critical. Anywhere and everywhere we are, we are commanded to give thanks.

Why to Give Thanks

Psalms 7:17, Psalms 75:1, Psalms 106:1, Psalms 107:1, Psalms 107:15, Psalms 107:21, Psalms 107:31, Psalms 118:1, Psalms 118:21, Psalms 118:28, Psalms 118:29, Psalms 119:62, Psalms 136:1, Psalms 136:2, Psalms 136:3, Psalms 136:26, Isaiah 12:4

We should give thanks because we serve a good, righteous God who's unfailing love endures forever. He is our God and his name is near. His laws are righteous. He answers us and has become our salvation. Isaiah 12:4 tells us why by the phrase, "what He has done". Now of course it is impossible to list all that God has done. His works are to numerous for us to count. I would, however, like to highlight a few. Some that are rather obvious and should be enough of a reason to give thanks even without all the rest.

Genesis 1-2:2

God creates life.

Genesis 6-8

God preserves life.

Luke 2:4-7, John 19:30, Matthew 27:57-28:10

God redeemed life.

Those are just three out of many things that God has done to deserve our thanks. But they alone are awe inspiring and should cause us to give thanks. We must remember what He has done. If we forget, we will cease to be thankful.

So what are you going to do this Thanksgiving? Are you going to think about the feast you'll be eating with family and friends? Or will you put yourself in the spirit of giving thanks, reflecting and contemplating what God has done for you. This is the true reason for the holiday. We as Christians have just lost site of it's true meaning and once again allowed the world to influence our outlook on life. Let's start something old and again appreciate this day as it was meant to be appreciated. And when they day is over, don't stop being thankful. We are called to be thankful everyday of the year, at all hours of the day.

The Divine Comedy:What Dante believed

2008-11-25T16:19:00.000-05:00

The back cover of The Divine Comedy says, "Dante is the greatest of Italian poets, and his Divine Comedy is the finest of all Christian allegories". What is meant by this statement? Are Dante's writings a source of Christian theology? Can he be trusted as a proponent of Biblical teaching? Does his writing portray a worldview parallel to the Bible? As Christians, it is important to understand the meaning behind what people say and write; everything must be tested against a sound Biblical worldview before it should be accepted as fact. Because Dante's work is considered by most to be accurate Christian theology, it is especially necessary to test it against the truth of God's word. The first, and most logical comparison to make while testing Dante's accuracy against the Bible, is the views on life after death, this being the topic of The Divine Comedy.

According to the Bible, what happens to man after death?

Hebrews 9:27 - Just as man is destined to die once, and after that to face judgment,

Romans 14:10b - For we will all stand before God's judgment seat.

Romans 2:2 - Now we know that God's judgment against those who do such things is based on truth.

After death, man must face judgment. All men will stand before the God's judgment seat and there God will determine based on truth where they shall spend eternity. Those found washed in the blood of Jesus will spend eternity in Heaven with God. However, those that have not accepted God's gift of eternal life will spend eternity in the anguish and torment of Hell. What of Dante? What do we know of his view of life after death?

The fact that he wrote a three part book describing in great detail what happens to man after death indicates that he must have thought a great deal about it. The question is, what is it he thought? In his allegory, Dante describes ferrymen. One of the ferrymen ferried souls to Hell, and the other ferried them across the sea into Purgatory. The souls which had died without faith in God were taken to Hell where they would be led to the level equated with the atrocity of their sins; whereas the souls which had died in God were taken to the shores of Purgatory where they could pay for their sins. According to Dante, heaven could only be attained after the climb of Mount Purgatory was complete. Dante's belief in Purgatory brings the sufficiency of Christ's death into question.

Is Jesus Christ’s death on the cross totally sufficient to pay for the salvation of all of mankind? Must anything be added to it to complete it?

John 14:6 - Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.

John 19:30 - When he had received the drink, Jesus said, "It is finished." With that, he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.

Titus 3:5 - he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit,

Ephesians 2:8 -For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—

Jesus is all sufficient. Jesus death is in fact the only thing equal to the price of salvation. When he died, salvation's price was paid in full. There was nothing left to be done. Jesus said Himself that all was finished and complete. Because of His mercy, He did it all. Christ left nothing for us to do, not even our faith is our own. Mankind is completely deprived and must remain in complete dependence on God. What did Dante think about Christ’s death and human dependency and reliance on His finished work?

Dante only saw Christ's death as the first step toward salvation. In his view it was the first separating factor between Heaven and Hell. However the death of Jesus Christ was not the end of the journey toward Heaven, instead it was only partially sufficient. His death did not pay the price of sin. Sin was paid for by each individual in the climbing of Mount Purgatory. For each sin, a time and punishment was allotted and there was no escaping it. Christ's death did not ensure that the 'saved' souls would spend eternity with God. Even though they were in heaven, the levels of heaven were separate. Dante’s heaven was not the heaven described in the Bible. Dante seemed to indicate that there was still separation from God in heaven. The worse a sinner you were in life, the farther you resided from God in heaven. These are just the start of the flaws in Dante’s work.

It would be far easier to let Dante’s work rest in peace, but flaws in theology can never go unnoticed. One of the biggest mistakes Dante made was the mixing of Christian and classical thinking. Specifically, he mixed the ideas of the Greek and Roman philosophers with those of the Bible. In writing an allegory supposedly based on Biblical theology, Dante did not make good character choices. His choice of Virgil, a non-Christian poet, as his guide through the afterlife was especially unwise. Similarly, for readers not grounded in the Bible, the many references to Greek and Roman deities can be confusing. The mixing of Greek, Roman, and Christian thinking gives the reader a sense that each perspective is equal.

Along with his overuse of classical thinking Dante also dwelt far too much on the figure of Beatrice. In his work she was the guide through heaven. He saw her as a moral paradigm and one of the threefold images of divine grace. He spent an inordinate amount of time lingering on her character, though he relayed only a few distinct details to us in his repetitious descriptions. He gave her more credit and attention than he did God. In doing so, he was setting her up as his god.

The underlying problem with Dante's work is the removal of God’s significance in our lives. By raising man to God's level and refusing to give glory where glory is due, he undermined the finished work of Jesus Christ in our lives. Twisting the Bible to fit his own beliefs, and mixing it with classical thinking caused him to lose touch with what was really true. As Christians it is important to be mindful of truth so we do not fall into the same trap. Through critical reading and the testing of everything against scripture, we can stay strong in our faith and not be swayed by everything that comes our way.

Biblical World View-Question 6

2008-11-24T14:44:00.000-05:00

What happens to man at death?

Death is a subject pondered by all at some point or another. Some await it with trepidation. Others are fascinated by it's mystery. And then there are those that try to simply not think about it at all. But all have thought on the result of death to some extent.
Is death the empty beginning to nothing? Is it the end, with nothing on the other side? Or is it just the passing into another form? Will we live again on this earth creature befitting the behavior of our previous life? Is there a Heaven or Hell? If there is, how do I know which will be my future home? The list of questions goes on. Do we as Christians have answers to these questions? The answer is yes. We can be completely calm about death. We don't need to fear the unknown because it's not an unknown. We have the answers in the Bible.

Jesus gave us glimpses of what heaven will be like in His parable about Lazarus and the Rich man. Luke 16:19-31
The first thing to notice about these two men is their status on earth. The rich man was just that, rich. He was dressed in fine linen and spent every day in the luxuries that accompanied one of his wealth. Lazarus on the other hand was a beggar. He was starving and ready to accept the scraps from another man's table. Talk about losing you dignity. On top of that, his body was covered in sores and these sores were licked by dogs. A pretty miserable situation. Now, you are most likely sitting there thinking "What on earth does this have to do with death?" Verse 22 answers that.

Luke 16:22 - The time came when the beggar died and the angels carried him to Abraham's side. The rich man also died and was buried.

"Ok? So what? What are you trying to get at?" Simply this, EVERYONE DIES!!! That's right. No sugar coating. It doesn't matter how rich or how poor you are, YOU ARE GOING TO DIE! Now that that's settled, we can really get down to business. What lies on the other side of that unspeakable abyss we call death? What happened to these men who lived such different lives?

The rich man, after death, entered Hell, where he was tormented. Lazarus, however, was carried to Abraham's side. The rich man seeing this former beggar pleaded with Abraham and in his pleadings he gave us a small peak at what Hell is like. He calls for Lazarus to put water on his tongue which is in agony because of the fire. From this small request we learn a lot. There is fire in Hell. The fire causes agony. There is thirst for those who dwell there. And no water is available to quench this thirst.

How does Abraham respond to the rich mans cry? He reminds him of the good he received in his life and the bad Lazarus received in his. He then tells us something about the passage from Heaven to Hell. It is inhibited by a great chasm. There is no passage from one to the other.

So how did Jesus answer the question"'What happens to man at death?'. In the glimpse that He gave, He showed two possibilities. Heaven, and Hell.

Heaven:What is it like?

Psalms 33:13-14, Matthew 6:9, Acts 1:11

Heaven is God's dwelling place.

John 14:1-3, John 17:5, 24, 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17,

A place is being prepared for us in heaven.

2 Corinthians 12:2,4, 2 Corinthians 5:1-8

While only God knows all that is in store for us in heaven, we do know that it will be more wonderful than anything we can imagine. We will be clothed with heavenly dwellings.

Psalms 23:6, Revelation 21:4

Heaven will be without tears, pain, and suffering. It is an eternal home of goodness and mercy.

Revelation 5:6, Revelation 14:1, Revelation 22:4

The Lamb (Jesus) will be enthroned, and all who are saved will be with Him and His father's name will be on their foreheads.

Jeremiah 30:22, Ephesians 2:7, Ephesians 3:9, 1 Corinthians 2:9

That which God has prepared for His people is incomprehensible.

Hell:What is it like?

Matthew 25:41-46 Revelation 20:11-15

Those who's names are not found in the book of life will be thrown into the eternal lake of fire which was prepared for the devil and his angels.

Matthew 8:12, Matthew 13:42,50, Matthew 22:13, Matthew 24:51, Matthew 25:30, Luke 16:23, 1 Thessalonians 5:3, 2 Thessalonians 1:7-9, 2 Peter 3:7, Jude 7, 13, Revelations 20:10

Hell is an eternal fire of burning sulfur which is enshrouded in the blackest darkness. It is filled with weeping and gnashing of teeth because of the great torment. There is no water to quench the thirst of those dwelling there. But worse than all these torments is the separation from God.

What does the bible teach about the resurrection?

Psalms 49:15, Psalms 71:20, Hosea 13:14, John 5:25, John 6:40, Acts 24:15, 1 Corinthians 15:22, 2 Corinthians 4:14, 1 Thessalonians 4:16

All will be raised from the dead and taken to God for judgment. Those that have believed in Christ, however, will be raised first. God has ransomed us from the graves power and it no longer has dominion over us.

When you add all this information together you get the answer to the question, 'what happens to man at death'. First, all shall be raised from the dead and taken to the judgment seat of God. There He will judge all men and send them to their eternal home. Those that are redeemed by the finished work of Jesus Christ will spend eternity in Heaven with God. Those that are without redemption will be spend eternity in the fire of Hell.

Biblical World View-Question 5

2008-10-29T15:44:00.000-04:00

What is the cause of evil and suffering?

"Do I serve God for nothing?"
"I just don't understand! Why did this happen to me?"
"Either God must not be all-good or He is not all-powerful."
"If a righteous, holy God created the world, where did all the ugliness come from?"
"How could a good God exist in light of all the misery in the world?"

Questions such as these have plagued man kind for nearly as long as there has been man kind. Man has struggled to understand. He has looked for answers. But only those that look in the right place have been successful in finding what they seek. There is only one place where answers can be found. That place, is the Bible.

Psalm 25:8 , Psalm 33:5, Psalm 34:8, Psalm 119:68, Psalm 145:7, Isaiah 63:7, Jeremiah 33:11,
Nahum 1:7, Matthew 19:17, Romans 2:4, Romans 11:22,

In summery, these verses tell us that the God of this universe, the one and only God, is a God of abundant goodness, righteousness, uprightness, justice, kindness, compassion, tolerance, patience, refuge, night, and love that endures forever.

Well, that right there can lead to more of the same questions above. "How can a God like that be in control and yet evil and suffering are so rampant?" or "Is God the source of evil and suffering?"

Genesis 1:4, Genesis 1:10, Genesis 1:12, Genesis 1:17-18, Genesis 1:21, Genesis 1:25, Genesis 1:31

If all that God created was good, then He cannot be the source of evil and suffering. So what is? Did God create man as a robot without the ability to make moral choices, or is he a free moral agent?

Genesis 2:15-17, Jeremiah 35:15, Ezekiel 33:11, Hosea 6:1, Matthew 22:3, Luke 14:17,
2 Corinthians 5:20, Revelation 3:20,

Man is not a robot. He has the ability to choose right or wrong. So what did he choose? Is he the cause of evil and suffering?

Genesis 3:6 , Isaiah 43:27

Man chose to disobey God. This was the first sin committed by man. What was the result to this sin?

Genesis 3:16-19, Romans 5:12-13, 1 Corinthians 15:21

The result of sin, is the evil and suffering that so prevails in the world around us. And since the sin was committed by man, the cause of evil and suffering is man. Well, what about the omnipotent God that is supposedly in control? Does God have enough power to stop evil?

Job 42:2, Psalm 115:3, Psalm 135:6, Isaiah 43:13, Habakkuk 3:6, Matthew 19:26, Mark 14:36,
Luke 1:37, Revelation 19:6

Yes, God has enough power to stop evil. Nothing is impossible with Him. Well, then why doesn't He destroy evil?

Genesis 6-7 , 2 Peter 3:3-13, Lamentations 3:22, Ezekiel 33:11

You ask, "Why doesn't God destroy evil?". I say, do you really want Him to? The last time God destroyed all evil, He did it by destroying the entire earth by a flood. He will destroy all evil again. When He does it then, He will consume the whole earth with fire. It is only because of his love that we are not yet destroyed. He is patient with us and is giving us more time to come to Him before the whole world perishes.

But that's not the end of the story. God did do something about evil. He sent His only Son to become sin for us, that we might become righteous.

2 Corinthians 5:21, Isaiah 53:12, Psalms 69:20-21, Romans 5:8, Luke 19:41

As Christians, how should we respond to suffering?

Job 42:5-6, 2 Corinthians 1:9, Hebrews 12:5-6, 2 Corinthians 12:7-10, 1 Peter 1:6-7, Hebrews 3:17-18,
James 1:4, 1 Peter 4:12-13, Philippians 3:10-11, 1 Corinthians 11:20-32, 1 Peter 5:10, John 9:3

As Christians, when we see suffering we should let it remind of several things. How lowly we are. How much we need to rely on God to raise us up. If it's a punishment for something we have done, we can be assured that God truly loves us. It reminds us of what Jesus went through for us. We can be sure that it will bring us to a more mature state if we let it. We can have the knowledge that Gods work might be displayed through our sufferings. And we will remember the grace that God has bestowed upon us. This is the Christian response to Suffering.

Biblical World View-Question 4

2008-10-28T21:24:00.000-04:00

What is the basis of ethics and morality?

This question is a very important one. Today, people are trying to eliminate the line between right and wrong. Or they say that everyone has their own right and wrong. They claim it's all a matter of opinion. This is a chaotic view. But if it's not correct, on what grounds does a person decide right from wrong? What does the Bible have to say?

Deuteronomy 32:4 - He is the Rock, his works are perfect,
and all his ways are just.
A faithful God who does no wrong,
upright and just is he.

If God is upright and just, and his works are perfect, then He must be 'a' paradigm. A foundation of what we call right and wrong. But is He the only one? Is it possible that there is more than one basis for morality?

Matthew 19:17 - "Why do you ask me about what is good?" Jesus replied. "There is only One who is good. If you want to enter life, obey the commandments."

Mark 10:18 - "Why do you call me good?" Jesus answered. "No one is good—except God alone.

God is the only being that is good. He is the only one that can, in His own person, define good. Therefore, all that is moral has it's foundation in God. He is the basis of ethics and morality. As David Quine puts it; "Because His word is the exact expression of His character, God Himself is therefore the standard." God is the standard, therefore we must know God in order to know right from wrong. God made Himself known to us through his word, the Bible. So we must constantly study the Bible and learn from it what God calls right and wrong.

We have been given a map to life. If we know the map, we will know what our lives should be like. And we will not have to sit and wonder if what someone says about ethics and morals is true. So get out your map and start studying, and discover where the line between right and wrong really is.

Biblical World View-Question 3

2008-10-03T18:23:00.000-04:00

What is the essential nature of man?

What is man? Is he anything more than a mere animal? If he is different from animals, what makes him different?

Genesis 1:26-27 tells us the distinguishing factor, setting man apart from animal. Man was made in the image of God. The image of God? What does that mean. It means that, unlike animals, man can think. He doesn't run on instinct. He can make choices, reason, have preferences, have motivations, etc. All the personal attributes god processes, man also has because God gave them to him.

When God created man, He created him to be righteous.

Genesis 1:31 -God saw all that he had made, and it was very good. And there was evening, and there was morning—the sixth day.

The Hebrew word 'tob' used in this verse, translated in the NIV as 'good', can refer to quality as well as to moral goodness.

Man was righteous, never having sinned. But God didn't want a bunch of automatons. So He gave man a choice. The ability to obey or disobey. And then He gave them a rule. Just one, not that hard to keep track of and obey, right? Unfortunately Adam and Eve found it to hard to obey. They broke Gods one rule and imediately, things went wrong for them.

Seperation! Everything began to separate. First, the relationship between man and God was severed. Genesis 3 tells us all about mans becoming separated from God. It let's us know that the intimate relationship previously shared was gone and Adam and Eve were banished from the garden. Man was also separated from Man.

Genesis 3:12 - The man said, "The woman you put here with me—she gave me some fruit from the tree, and I ate it."

The passing of blame here signifies the beginning of mans' separation from other men. Here they are no longer united. They now have an 'every man for himself' attitude. Thirdly, man became separated from nature(animals, plants, etc.).

Genesis 3:15 - And I will put enmity
between you and the woman,
and between your offspring and hers;
he will crush your head,
and you will strike his heel."

Genesis 3:17b-19 - "Cursed is the ground because of you;
through painful toil you will eat of it
all the days of your life.

18 It will produce thorns and thistles for you,
and you will eat the plants of the field.

19 By the sweat of your brow
you will eat your food
until you return to the ground,
since from it you were taken;
for dust you are
and to dust you will return."

So because of the disobedience of Adam and Eve, all of man kind would now be sinful.

Romans 5:12 - Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all men, because all sinned

But that's not the end. God did not turn His back on the people he created. We have not been deserted to live our despicable lives with no rescue. God chose to save us from our unrighteousness. Now of course, unrighteousness must be punished. So the only way to save us from our unrighteousness is by way of punishment. But God declared that the only punishment equal to our crime was that of death.

Romans 6:23a - For the wages of sin is death

So someone had to die in order for our sins to be payed for in full. And not just someone. It had to be an innocent party. For if the person paying the price was sinful, it would be what he deserved and would not be able to save himself or anyone else. So an innocent person had to be found. Unfortunately.......

Romans 3:32 - for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God

There was not a single member of the human race that could be the sacrificial lamb. So God, out of His love and mercy did the unthinkable. He sent His only son to the earth, and allowed Him to be taken and killed by men. Jesus Christ became the perfect sacrifice for our sins. This allowed us to be once again united with God.

Romans 5:15-19 - But the gift is not like the trespass. For if the many died by the trespass of the one man, how much more did God's grace and the gift that came by the grace of the one man, Jesus Christ, overflow to the many! 16Again, the gift of God is not like the result of the one man's sin: The judgment followed one sin and brought condemnation, but the gift followed many trespasses and brought justification. 17For if, by the trespass of the one man, death reigned through that one man, how much more will those who receive God's abundant provision of grace and of the gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man, Jesus Christ.

18Consequently, just as the result of one trespass was condemnation for all men, so also the result of one act of righteousness was justification that brings life for all men. 19For just as through the disobedience of the one man the many were made sinners, so also through the obedience of the one man the many will be made righteous.

Being made righteous by Jesus' death, we are no longer separated from God. But just as Adam and Eve were not robots, we also are not. We can still choose to sin. And our nature is still inclined toward sin. So at this point, man's nature is evil. Unlike the common teaching of today, man is not 'basically good'.

The essential nature of man is evil. He is still in the image of God, but he lacks all attributes related to righteousness. But now, he has a way to escape from that evil that resides in him. God has provided the way.

Biblical World View-Question 2

2008-09-11T21:56:00.000-04:00

What is the nature of the universe - its origin?

Genesis chapter 1 and 2, and 5 verses 1-2 give us a detailed description of the universe's origin. They tell us that God created the universe out of nothing. He formed it in six days and then declared it good. Some people(Christians, not non-Christians), however, don't like to think of this as literal. They claim that, yes God did create the universe, but He used evolution to do it. The six days talked about are figurative. They refer to six passages of time. Well, I believe that if this was the case, the rest of the bible would give us some evidence to back it up.

Gen. 2:7 - the LORD God formed the man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being.

Gen. 2:19 - Now the LORD God had formed out of the ground all the beasts of the field and all the birds of the air. He brought them to the man to see what he would name them; and whatever the man called each living creature, that was its name.

Ps. 33:6, 9 - By the word of the LORD were the heavens made,
their starry host by the breath of his mouth.
9 For he spoke, and it came to be;
he commanded, and it stood firm.

Ps. 148:5 - Let them praise the name of the LORD, for he commanded and they were created.

Isa. 45:18 - For this is what the LORD says—
he who created the heavens,
he is God;
he who fashioned and made the earth,
he founded it;
he did not create it to be empty,
but formed it to be inhabited—
he says:
"I am the LORD,
and there is no other.

Ez. 28:13 - You were in Eden, the garden of God; every precious stone adorned you: ruby, topaz and emerald, chrysolite, onyx and jasper, sapphire, turquoise and beryl. Your settings and mountings were made of gold; on the day you were created they were prepared.

Heb. 11:3 - By faith we understand that the universe was formed at God's command, so that what is seen was not made out of what was visible.

All of these verses definitely support Genesis' literal meaning. Evolution doesn't even make sense in light of these verses. I mean, think about it. If God is all powerful, when He spoke things into existence, why would it have taken billions of years to fully form the way her wanted it. But Genesis 2:19 is the one that makes it the most clear. Evolution is based on the idea that each living creature evolved from another living creature, that evolved from another living creature, that evolved from another living creature, that evol..........Genesis 2:19 states that all the beast of the field and birds of the air were formed from the ground. There was no evolving from one to another. But then it goes on to say that God had the man(Adam) name them all. According to evolution, man wasn't even around during the lives of some of the creatures that have lived in the past and are now extinct. This can't be true if he named each and ever one of them.

So, through studying the entire bible, we can see that the first chapter of Genesis can be taken literally. God created the universe in 6, 24 hour, days. He spoke it into existence with no starting point except for his own ingenuity. He didn't google the recipe for creating man from dirt. He already know how.

Biblical World View-Question 1

2008-09-07T19:04:00.001-04:00

Is there a God or gods? If so, what is He like?

What does the bible have to say about this? Let's take a look and see.
"In the beginning God......." Genesis 1:1

The first verse of the bible tells us that there is a God. So, what is he like?

Duet. 6:4 - Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one.

James 2:19 - You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that—and shudder.

These verses tell us that there is only one God.

Gen. 1:26 - Then God said, "Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move along the ground."

Gen. 11:7 - Come, let us go down and confuse their language so they will not understand each other."

Isaiah 6:8 - Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, "Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?"

Matt. 3:16-17, John 15:26, 1 Pet. 1:2

In these verses God uses a plural pronoun which seams to indicate that there is more than one.

Mat. 28:19 - Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit

This verse gives us the three separate beings of God.

John 1:18 - No one has ever seen God, but God the One and Only, who is at the Father's side, has made him known.

John 17:11b - Holy Father, protect them by the power of your name—the name you gave me—so that they may be one as we are one.

John 17:21 - that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me.

John 17:22 - I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one

While God does have separate beings they are part of the same person. Though this is hard to rap our finite minds around, it's what the bible says so we can be sure that it's true.

Gen 1:1, Gen 1:31, Ps. 33:9, Isa. 44:24, Isa. 45:18, John 1:1-3, Col. 1:16-17, Heb. 11:3, Rev. 4:11

God created all things.

Neh. 9:6 - You alone are the LORD. You made the heavens, even the highest heavens, and all their starry host, the earth and all that is on it, the seas and all that is in them. You give life to everything, and the multitudes of heaven worship you.

Ps. 36:6,7 - Your righteousness is like the mighty mountains,
your justice like the great deep.
O LORD, you preserve both man and beast.

7 How priceless is your unfailing love!
Both high and low among men
find refuge in the shadow of your wings.

Ps. 107:9 - for he satisfies the thirsty
and fills the hungry with good things.

Ps. 121:8 - the LORD will watch over your coming and going
both now and forevermore.

Heb. 1:3 - The Son is the radiance of God's glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word. After he had provided purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven.

The father sustains all things. Jesus, being the exact representation of God's being has the same sustaining power.

1Chron. 29:11,12 - Yours, O LORD, is the greatness and the power
and the glory and the majesty and the splendor,
for everything in heaven and earth is yours.
Yours, O LORD, is the kingdom;
you are exalted as head over all.

12 Wealth and honor come from you;
you are the ruler of all things.
In your hands are strength and power
to exalt and give strength to all.

Ps. 66:7 - He rules forever by his power,
his eyes watch the nations—
let not the rebellious rise up against him.
Selah

Is. 45:7 - I form the light and create darkness,
I bring prosperity and create disaster;
I, the LORD, do all these things.

Dan. 4:35 - All the peoples of the earth
are regarded as nothing.
He does as he pleases
with the powers of heaven
and the peoples of the earth.
No one can hold back his hand
or say to him: "What have you done?"

Ro. 11:36 - For from him and through him and to him are all things.
To him be the glory forever! Amen.

Eph. 1:11 - In him we were also chosen, having been predestined according to the plan of him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of his will,

Rev. 19:6 - Then I heard what sounded like a great multitude, like the roar of rushing waters and like loud peals of thunder, shouting:
"Hallelujah!
For our Lord God Almighty reigns.

God is a powerful ruler. He is over everything. Everything belongs to him.

Mat. 6:26 - Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?

Mat. 10:29 - Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from the will of your Father.

1 Pe. 5:6,7 - Humble yourselves, therefore, under God's mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time. 7Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.

God care about us.

Now, this is just scratching the surface of Gods character and attributes, but covering them all and giving each justice would require more than just a single post. It would require an entire blog dedicate to the topic. So for now, I'll just sum up what we do have.

There is one Godhead made up of three individual persons. The father, the son, and the holy spirit. Some kind of way, they are united into one, while still maintaining there uniqueness and identities. As humans we can't really fathom how this is possible but we can accept it as true because the infallible word of God says that it is. God created all things that are in existence. But He didn't create them and then leave them alone. He is here, sustaining all things. Being the creator of all things, He is the ruler over all. Everything belongs to Him. And, on top of this all, He loves and cares about us.

What is a World view anyway?

2008-09-04T15:02:00.000-04:00

This is a question that is important. If we don't know what a world view is in the first place, how can we know what ours is. And if we don't know what ours is, we really don't know what we believe. That's a bad situation to be in. So, what is a world view?

A world view is the thing through which you see everything in life. It is like tinted glasses. The color of the glasses effects the colors you see in the world around you. It's your outlook on life. Everyone has a world view, even you. You may not know exactly what it is but you have one non the less. My reason for posting on the subject is to hopefully help you understand the importance of developing a world view, the importance of knowing what your world view looks like, and the importance of being able to recognize what other peoples world views look like.

So, how do you know what your world view is? It's not always easy to analyze yourself and what you believe. After reading Answers for Difficult Days by David Quine, I came to the conclusion that the best way to discover what you believe(what your world view is) is to answer a few questions. 7 to be exact.

Is there a God or gods? If so, what is He like?
What is the nature of the universe- It's origin?
What is the essential nature of man?
What is the basis of ethics and morality?
What is the cause of evil and suffering?
What happens to man at death?
What is the meaning of history?

By answering these questions, you can get a better idea of what you really believe. You can also use them to understand what others believe.

"....take up his cross and follow me."

2008-08-31T16:29:00.001-04:00

Do we as Christians really understand what this verse is saying? Look at it again.

Then Jesus said to his disciples, "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. Matthew 16:24

Do we really understand what it means to pick up our cross and follow him. I don't think most of us do. And if we do, we forget far too easily. We all need constant reminders of what it really means to be a Christian. So what does it mean to carry a cross? What did Jesus really go through when He died on a cross? Well, though I'm not a bible scholar or expert on the subject, I have some thoughts on the subject.

First, when we talk about what Jesus did for us, I think we always start at the wrong place. Yes Jesus death was a huge sacrifice but that's not the beginning of what He went through. He brought Himself low enough to become a man. Do you honestly understand what that means? Well, ok, I know that we can't fully understand it, but do you have even a glimpse of it's meaning. The distance that lies between the greatness of God and the lowliness of man is unfathomable. Yet He humbled Himself and became a man. Why? All for love.

That's not all though. The story is just getting started so take a seat, you'll be here for awhile. Jesus, who is God, became not just a man. He became the son of poverty. He was among the poorest of all mankind. He was born in a stable to the betrothed of a carpenter. He was a nothing. A nobody. He lowered himself from position in heaven to become a nobody. Why? All for love.

Then, when He grew, He started His ministry. He was God, He could have made all bow before Him. Did they receive him? No! They hated His teachings. They hated His rebukes. They hated His perfection. But most of all, they hated Him. After all the miraculous signs and wonders, they turned away and became an angry mob. They wanted an end put to Him. They were determined and they found a way. They took full advantage of the Roman custom of crucifixion. Three men were to be crucified for being thieves. (The Greek word stasiastes used to describe them in Mark 15:7 translates insurrectionists or revolutionaries.) These men weren't just common thieves. They were people trying to over throw the Romans and give the Jews the freedom they longed for. The Jews knew that in Roman custom, they could get an exchange. They could get Barabbas freed and have Jesus take his place. For the Jews, Barabbas modeled a better Messiah than Jesus. They believed the Messiah would free them from the Romans and set up an earthly kingdom. That was what Barabbas strove to do so he seemed pretty appealing. Jesus was handed over the Romans by his own, chosen people. He could have fought it. He could have stopped them. But He didn't. Why? All for love.

Now for the crucifixion itself. When we think crucifixion, we usually think something like this right?

A holy pose, halo of light around the head, a cut in the side where the spear pierced him, crown of thorns that gives him an extra kingly look, and a loin cloth. It doesn't even look that painful right? So what Jesus did was no biggie. Ummmm......wrong!!!!! Think again. Let's back up to before He was put on the cross. I'm a weird person who likes to use my imagination so bare with me please. Let's use our imaginations and go back to that day........

Can you see it...........

Jesus, God's own son, is in the garden praying. We see Him, crying out to His father. Suddenly, we see lights. Soldier come into view. Anywhere from 600-6000. We watch as they take Jesus away like a common criminal. What can we or the disciples do? We are helpless. We try to find out what's happening. We can't get into the Sanhedrin but we hear that Jesus has been accused of speaking blasphemy. We then see Peter deny his Lord, who he claimed to love. When Jesus is brought before Pilot, He is found innocent. But the Jews aren't satisfied. They want his blood. Pilot gives then a choice. Barabbas can be set free, or Jesus. The roar of the crowd is almost too much to bare. It's deafening. They choose Barabbas.

The soldiers take Jesus to the Praetorium and strip Him. They place a scarlet robe on Him, give hHm a staff to take the place of a scepter, and then make Him a crown of thorns. The thorns on this crown where not little rose thorns. They were about as long as your little finger. The crown was fitted to Jesus' head snugly so that the thorns went deep. Now that they have him "dressed like a king", they mock him. Bowing before him, they hailing him as king of the Jews. They spit on Him and took his staff from Him and hit Him on the head with it again and again.

Let me step back to the present for a moment to ask a question or two. Have you ever seen someone who has been beat up? Do they have a face like that of the Jesus pictured above? Or are they misshapen, bloodied, even unrecognizable? Just some questions. Now let's go back to the scene we left.

After they have mocked Jesus, we see the the soldiers take Him to be flogged. The Roman implement for this treatment was whip consisting of leather thongs that had bits of stone and broken bone attached. It was very effective. When the flogger lashed out with it, the hard sharp bits would embed themselves in the flesh of the flogged person. When the flogger pulled back on the instrument it would rip the flesh. By the time someone was done being flogged, they would not resemble a human being anymore. Our Lord went through that for us. Isaiah 52:14 prophesied this by saying:

"Just as there were many who were appalled at him —
his appearance was so disfigured beyond that of any man
and his form marred beyond human likeness"

After He was flogged beyond recognition, He was taken away to be crucified. We follow closely and see a man name Simon given the task of carrying Jesus cross. When we arrive at Golgotha along with the rest of the crowd, we watch as the three prisoners are offered wine mixed with gall. We are not surprised because this is the custom. It is given to ease the pain of crucifixion. But as we watch, we see that Jesus refuses to drink it. He is taking our places and dieing, and He won't even take this rudimentary form of pain killer first.

When he is at last nailed to the cross and raised up, He is mocked by the entire crowd. In horror, we find that we too are shouting insults at Him. We have pinned Him to that cross and the hammer is in our own hands. Everyone in the crowd is holding the same hammer. They can't see it in their hand, but it's there. Darkness covers everything. We hear Him cry out to His father in heaven. He is mocked again. Then He gives up His spirit and dies.

Ok, back to the here and now. Were you able to see it? Did the trip in your imagination show you what Jesus really went through for us? I hope you at least have a more realistic idea of what took place in order that you might be saved from your sins. So, let's look at that picture of Jesus death again shall we.

Still look like the Jesus that we hear about in the bible? Not to me. The man in that picture has gone through nothing compared to the Jesus that saved me from my sins.

Don't worry, I haven't forgotten my original topic. I was just leading to it. So from what was said above, what do you think it truly means to take up your cross and follow him? It's not an easy decision, choosing to follow Christ. The road will be tough, painful, exhausting, and we will all want to give up at times. But the reward is everlasting. And we can rest in the knowledge that no matter what we go through, Jesus Christ has endured much more. So much more that you can't even compare our suffering to His. So no, following Jesus isn't easy in the worldly sense. But it's easy when you think of all that He has done for you. Picking up our crosses is the least we can do to show our appreciation.

So, who's joining me. Who's ready to stop living the Christian life of daisy chains and meadows full of butterflies, and exchange it for the life that seeks after God, no matter the cost?