Posted in Atheism • Authority • God • Relevance • Theology

Can God Make a Rock Bigger (Heavier) Than He Can Lift?

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The question, “Can God make a rock bigger (or heavier) than He can lift?” is asked by skeptics and the willfully ignorant of Christians on a regular basis. It is intended to mock the existence of God, and the supposed lack of knowledge and understanding of believers. On the surface, the question appears unanswerable. However, with a little thought and a smidgen of reasoning, the answer(s) are apparent. We just have to remember there is more to God than creating and lifting.

First answer: Of course He can. Jesus only had the strength of His human body. There were lots of rocks around that He made yet couldn’t lift. This answer focuses on Jesus and His incarnation, and the fact that He gave up some of His abilities in order to be as we are. He even submitted to death, a death that was necessary to atone for sin.

Second answer: Let me clarify. What is the reason for lifting? Is it just to show off muscles? Or is it to show off creating ability? He is not in the habit of doing things just to show off. He has a lot more intelligence and wisdom than that. It would not make any sense to make a rock bigger than He could lift, anymore than it would make sense for me to try and lift a rock when I could go around. His creation obviously was put together with much more practicality and purpose than that.

Third answer: God could make a rock that would fill everything. Then what? Who would care if He could lift it? There wouldn’t be anyone left to care!

Fourth answer: God could make a big rock, but why lift it? Wouldn’t it make more sense to simply reduce the rock to gravel with a word? And if that was the case, wouldn’t it make more sense to make the gravel in the first place, if indeed gravel were needed? This puts the spotlight on His forethought and planning. His omniscience includes what we might call “common sense.” Indeed, He is the author of common sense.

Fifth answer: God made everything, including physical laws such as gravity. I have no doubt that He has many other laws we know nothing about. So would He make the rock without mass? Could it be physical yet not weigh anything? (As we think of weight with our current knowledge of physical laws.) So if the rock was large, yet had no mass, then He obviously could lift it. If it was heavy, how big would it have to be before He couldn’t lift it? Doesn’t He hold planets in the palm of His hand, or are held up by the word of His power? The rock would have to be really, really huge, and I don’t think we can even conceive of just how huge. This puts the spotlight on the ignorance of the questioner, especially since the average atheist (and it is mostly atheists who ask this question) worships science yet has very little understanding.

I’m sure there are other answers to this question too. In fact, it is a fun exercise for believers to use our wider and deeper understanding of God to see just how many ways this foolishness can easily be answered. I would also add this warning to the answers: “God is not mocked. Whatever one sows, that he shall also reap. Was I you I would be extremely careful about my questions. Because God might decide to answer you Himself.”

Shalom
Bruce

Posted in Authority • Daily Living • Gospel • Judgment • Repentance • Righteousness

I Stand At The Door And Knock

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“ ‘I know your works: you are neither cold nor hot. Would that you were either cold or hot! So, because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth. For you say, I am rich, I have prospered, and I need nothing, not realizing that you are wretched, pitiable, poor, blind, and naked. I counsel you to buy from me gold refined by fire, so that you may be rich, and white garments so that you may clothe yourself and the shame of your nakedness may not be seen, and salve to anoint your eyes, so that you may see. Those whom I love, I reprove and discipline, so be zealous and repent. Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me. The one who conquers, I will grant him to sit with me on my throne, as I also conquered and sat down with my Father on his throne. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.’ ” (Revelation 3:15–22, ESV)

The “I stand at the door and knock” phrase is frequently directed at the unsaved as an invitation to be saved. But notice that the door Jesus is standing outside of is the door of the church. Why is He outside?

Will we argue that this is just the church of Laodicea, and doesn’t relate to today’s church? It relates if we do the same things. If we act like Laodicea, then we ARE Laodicea. Can anyone deny that our works are lukewarm? Can anyone deny that the huge buildings, the expensive cars and designer clothing, and the lush interiors of our homes and meeting places fairly scream “I am rich, I have prospered, I need nothing?” Compare the modern church to the church right after Peter unleashes the Word of God in his first powerful public sermon.

And they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers. And awe came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were being done through the apostles. And all who believed were together and had all things in common. And they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all, as any had need. And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts, praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved. (Acts 2:42–47, ESV)

It is the church that needs to answer the door and invite Jesus back in. It is the church that is wretched, pitiable, poor, blind, and naked. It is the church that has locked out His Word, His Law, His ways and statutes and commands. We reject the hot and yet are not fully cold. The words of Jesus are rejected, and as His words go so goes He.

The one who rejects me and does not receive my words has a judge; the word that I have spoken will judge him on the last day. For I have not spoken on my own authority, but the Father who sent me has himself given me a commandment—what to say and what to speak. And I know that his commandment is eternal life. What I say, therefore, I say as the Father has told me.” (John 12:48–50, ESV)

Therefore be zealous and repent. Buy gold from Him refined by fire, so that you may be rich, and white garments so that you may clothe yourself and the shame of your nakedness may not be seen, and salve to anoint your eyes, so that you may see.

Shalom
Bruce

Posted in Authority • Daily Living • Faith • God • Humility

Is God Always Leading?

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Numbers 22 through 24 is the story of Balaam and his hire by Balak king of Moab to curse Israel who was camped at their doorstep peacefully asking to pass through the land of Moab. Balaam is told by the Lord not to go the first time Balaam was asked. The second time Balak sends messengers Balaam is told to go. On the road, the angel of the Lord appears in order to destroy Balaam. Famously, his donkey refuses to approach the angel, saving Balaam’s life, and speaks to him.

This is an interesting back and forth. It’s hard to tell what’s right. God tells Balaam not to go, but Balaam asks a second time and is told to go. But then God has an angel accost Balaam and almost kill him. Balaam arrives at the border of Moab, makes sacrifices and God gives him words to say which turn out to be blessings for Israel instead of the curses Balak purchased. Was Balaam doing right, or doing wrong? Was He following the will of the Lord? If so, why did God send an angel to destroy him?

There are several things to remember here. One is that Balaam is not a man of God. He is a diviner, one who reads omens for money. Two is that he was told once by God not to go, but asked a second time. Even though God gave permission after the second request, that did not mean it was okay to go. A man of God would’ve simply refused the money Balak was offering. The angel tells Balaam (Numbers 22:32) that he risked death because of his perversity. So three, Balaam was being perverse which means going against God. Balaam really, really wanted to go. He did not really, really want to listen to God. Peter (2 Peter 2:15) says that Balaam “loved gain from wrongdoing.” Balaam wasn’t motivated by love of the Lord, he was motivated by love of money. His love of money kept him questioning God because he didn’t really, really want to do what God said.

This is a story of how God used a perverse person to do something according to His will though the person was trying to work his own will. Just because God gave the man permission to go, does not mean that it was in the will of God for him to do it. A man of God wouldn’t have even had to consult God. He would’ve known that Israel was God’s chosen people, and would not have entertained the notion of cursing them for any amount of money. This is why the story seems to have odd ups and downs.

Lots of things we do in life we do because we really, really want to. Some of those things might be against God’s will. Sometimes God makes the things we do work His will anyway though we might not have intended it that way. We don’t even ask God what His will is many times, yet His will is always being worked out. It behooves us to prepare ourselves beforehand to conform to His will in all things by consulting the words He has given us and being obedient to them. Then when He gives us a personal direction we are more ready to hear it and do it.

Just because we CAN do a thing, doesn’t mean we SHOULD do a thing. The way to tell up from down is to hear and obey on a daily basis, strengthening our faith by working with the Word constantly. We work out with the Word regularly so that when heavy lifting is required, we know when and where and how God wants things done.

Shalom

Posted in Authority • Church • Faith • Grace • Law • Love • Whole Bible Christianity

Great. Joseph Prince, Mega putz, er, pastor

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Wonderful. Another traveling “pastor” of a huge church (30,000 member Singapore church) preaching a part-Bible message is making his way around the U.S. What are his qualifications? He’s pastor of a big church, that’s what. He reaches “over 680 million households in over 200 countries” with a TV show. He’s got a book titled The Power of Right Believing, 7 Keys to Freedom from Fear, Guilt and Addiction. His influences are Kenneth Hagan and Watchman Nee. So this must mean he’s okay, right?

Not to my way of thinking. The only thing that qualifies a preacher’s messages is whether or not they are biblical. All you have to do is listen to Joseph Prince for about 5 minutes and you can tell he’s another big name with a false message. Which explains his popularity. So what is it about his message that doesn’t ring true? He’s another one that separates law and grace. He talks about “heavy rules and regulations” weighing him down when he was younger and that “grace” set him free. This might be true, but the rules weren’t God’s rules. The yoke of the Father and the Messiah is easy and the burden is light. This yoke is none other than His Word. All of His Word. Including the “rules and regulations.”

He speaks of “rules and regulations” as negative things (in particular God’s rules and regulations), then comes up with his own rules and regulations. He’s got seven “rules and regulations” or “keys” in the book, none of which are in the Bible (at least, not the way he teaches them). They are: 1. Believe in God’s love for you. 2. Learn to see what God sees. 3. Receive God’s complete forgiveness. 4. Win the battle for your mind. 5. Be free from self-occupation (change to “Christ occupation”). 6. Have a confident expectation of good. 7. Find rest in the Father’s love.

Sounds reasonable, doesn’t it? Except the goal is to listen to him, not the Word. God’s Laws accomplish all those things (without having to buy Joseph’s book), simply by doing God’s rules and regulations in the Spirit with a heart of flesh. Read the New Covenant, and it doesn’t mention a word about 7 Keys. It does, however, mention God’s Laws written on a heart of flesh by the Spirit.

Mr. Prince says “Jesus did not come to give us more laws.” Well, that’s true. First, it’s because the Laws were already there. He came to rip away false interpretations (or 7 keys) that cover over His laws and prevent people from reaching the kingdom. Second, Jesus for sure didn’t mean for us to reject His Laws then come up with 7 keys either. What this guy, and many like him, are saying is, “Hey. Don’t listen to God’s Laws. Listen to mine.” He is like a Pied Piper in sheep’s clothing, softly and gently leading away from God’s Word. For those of us who follow God’s living oracles (as Stephen called them in Acts 7:38) it is easy to hear his Piper music is discordant and out of tune with what Jesus delivered to us. Jesus said His will and the Father’s will were the same. The words He spoke were the Father’s words. Jesus didn’t eliminate the Law, He eliminated tradition that was interfering with the Word of life.

This guy is wrong on so many levels. He uses part of the Bible, mixed with his interpretations, to lead away from the Word. For instance, he says that Jesus was preaching “you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free” to a bunch of Jews who knew the law. Therefore the Law was the problem. But actually, the Law was not the problem because God’s Law was not being lived. Jesus reminded them (and us) that His Law includes love and the Spirit. The Jews knew “laws” but not God’s Law. They had many “Keys” for living, but they were not God’s keys. The Jews were not living God’s Laws, they were living rabbi’s rulings. These rulings were much different than the living oracles. God’s living oracles had been obscured my “rabbi’s keys” just like Mr. Prince is obscuring them now by his own keys.

How in the world (pun intended) these mega-putz, er, mega-pastors think that we “simplify” by chucking God’s Law while adding to the Word with their own books and keys is beyond me. It doesn’t get any more simple that reading and doing the Word. We don’t need more keys. All we need is the will of Jesus which He got straight from our Father and is expressed in His “rules and regulations.” If you want to “see as God sees,” then you will see that His Law is good and holy. Observing His Laws is the way to change from self-occupation to “Christ occupation.” It’s what Jesus did. The focus then is on God, as it should be. Everything from God is good, and we find rest for our souls when we abide in His living Word. If you see God’s Laws only as “rules and regulations,” then I suggest you don’t see God at all.

Shalom

Posted in Authority • Clean & Unclean • Daily Living • God • Love • Punishment • Repentance • Righteousness

I Don’t Know

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It’s okay to say “I don’t know,” especially when talking about the Bible or answering someone’s objections.

 

I don’t know for sure who the people before the flood (antediluvians) married. I assume brothers married sisters for at least a while, but I don’t know. Later, it appears this was not something to continue because God tells us to stop.

 

I don’t know who the “sons of God” were that took daughters from the “sons of men” in Genesis 6:1-4. I know that it wasn’t good. It seems to be connected to the wickedness of man being great on the earth (Genesis 6:5). But I don’t know for sure.

 

I don’t know for sure, but I’ve got a good idea that people in the Land before Israel moved in needed to be wiped out. They were asking for it. Every abomination conceivable at the time was in practice in Canaan. Children were routinely sacrificed. Sexual perversion was out of control. Leaders were defiant towards God and God’s ways. Their own actions caused the wiping. There were no innocents. The only option was to be removed from breathing for a while.

 

“Do not make yourselves unclean by any of these things, for by all these the nations I am driving out before you have become unclean, and the land became unclean, so that I punished its iniquity, and the land vomited out its inhabitants. But you shall keep my statutes and my rules and do none of these abominations, either the native or the stranger who sojourns among you (for the people of the land, who were before you, did all of these abominations, so that the land became unclean), lest the land vomit you out when you make it unclean, as it vomited out the nation that was before you. For everyone who does any of these abominations, the persons who do them shall be cut off from among their people. So keep my charge never to practice any of these abominable customs that were practiced before you, and never to make yourselves unclean by them: I am the LORD your God.” (Leviticus 18:24–30, ESV)

 

I know. It sounds like today, doesn’t it? I certainly want to spew when I see actions from people like Miley Cyrus or other so-called entertainers. I don’t know why people are repeating the same abominations that caused the destruction of the antediluvians or the Canaanites, or that will cause the destruction of what we see very soon. But I know it’s going to happen. We’re asking for it.

 

Maybe my understanding needs a little help. Maybe the text is not translated correctly. Maybe I just need to keep reading and keep pondering. Or maybe there are more things from His Word I need to be doing in my life, and as I add those my understanding will increase and I’ll figure it out. I don’t know.

 

That’s okay though. It doesn’t affect anything, because I know that God is good and merciful and whatever He had to do was needed and the only option. Whatever He does with the current Canaanites and pagans will be in the same vein. He created; He can do what He wants with His creation. In the meantime my understanding is good enough to know what He requires of me. Do what He says. All the other stuff will become clear. What he wants from me is very clear. I may not know about some of the things in the Word, but I know this: He is love and will always act in accordance with love. Even His judgment is from love.

 

If I don’t know something, it doesn’t detract from who He is, or what He wants. When we get in the middle of talking with people it’s no shame to say, “I don’t know.” I don’t know about a specific thing that happened 6,000 years ago, but I know what He wants from me. And I know what He wants from you. Do what He says. Avoid abominations. Abide in His Word. Repent. Turn from our own ways to His.

 

That part I know is very clear.

Shalom

Posted in Authority • Clean & Unclean • Daily Living • Faith • Healing • Judgment • Law

Judging with Righteous Judgment Pt. 6 – Faith and Vaccines

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An outbreak of measles centered in a Texas church has gotten some people in a tizzy. It’s supposed to have started with a missionary who returned from overseas. At least 21 people are alleged to have been affected at the church and the liberal media are trying to make a case that a “majority” of people had not been immunized. This of course ignores the fact that the missionary is immunized. People going overseas get a range of shots before they go. The “majority” argument is also a lie, because of the 27 measles cases in Texas, only 11 have apparently not been immunized. The reason some are saying a “majority” have not been immunized is that 11 of 16 at the church were not immunized. So five at the church were immunized and still got measles, while presumably (because the idiot media are not talking about it) 11 others in the state got it even though immunized. So a total of 11 were not, and 16 were, immunized. Seems to me the “majority” have in fact been immunized.

 

Obviously there is an attempt here to attack the church (in general), those who refuse vaccinations, and homeschooling. The facts are twisted out of shape to facilitate the attack. The fact that 16 of the 27 were immunized and still got measles is conveniently left out of the stories, because it doesn’t fit the agenda.

 

Then, to add insult to stupidity, the pastor of the church, one Terri Pearsons, false teaching daughter of the false teacher Kenneth Copeland, tells people that “faith” is doing what the government tells you to do. Or not. Her version of “faith” can apparently lead you to vaccinate, or not vaccinate. You are the determining factor.

 

This is not biblical faith. Biblical faith begins with trust in God and abiding in every word out of His mouth. There is no word in the Bible specifically about vaccinations. But there are related commands. The decision rests on applications of God’s Word. For instance, we’re not supposed to eat an animal carcass that died of itself, or eat blood. Vaccines are made from the blood of people and animals. Hmm. Faith, then, would be following what God said about blood.

 

Many of us who have decided not to vaccinate are going by what is in the vaccinations, their actual lack of effectiveness, the lies of the medical establishment and government, the side effects, and so on. Following all of God’s Words opens the eyes to the real agenda of the world, and the total lack of godliness in agendas such as the vaccination agenda.

 

A vaccination introduces the disease into your body in a way that is supposed to stimulate your body’s resistance to it. A percentage of people get the disease anyway. Another percentage experience side effects ranging from mild seizure to deafness, comas and permanent brain damage (for the MMR vaccine). Allegedly the side-effects are tiny, and the disease problems they are trying to avoid are huge. This turns out to be crap when it is you or a loved one who faces the side-effect. And considering that the vaccine doesn’t do that great of a job protecting from the disease, it seems plain that people with “faith” are the ones who see through the bull-doo doo because they follow God’s Word. His Laws are comprehensive and frequently protect us from bad stuff without even being aware of it. All we have to do is follow the prohibition on blood (which is even mentioned in Acts 15) and it protects us from untold problems. Gee, who would’ve thunk it?

Posted in Authority • Cults • Daily Living • Idolatry • Law • Love • Prophecy • Repentance • Worship

Judging with Righteous Judgement Pt. 5 – How To Spot a False Prophet

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It’s very simple to spot a false prophet. The Bible gives us excellent instructions. All we’ve got to do is read and we’ll figure it out in an instant. Not only must he be 100% correct if he prophesies about the future, he must not direct other people away from God or God’s Word.
“But in the prophets of Jerusalem I have seen a horrible thing: they commit adultery and walk in lies; they strengthen the hands of evildoers, so that no one turns from his evil; all of them have become like Sodom to me, and its inhabitants like Gomorrah.” Therefore thus says the LORD of hosts concerning the prophets: “Behold, I will feed them with bitter food and give them poisoned water to drink, for from the prophets of Jerusalem ungodliness has gone out into all the land.” (Jeremiah 23:14–15, ESV)
Jeremiah is not just speaking of prophets of a particular location, but to all those who do the same things.

 

A false prophet talks about following the Bible but doesn’t follow the whole book. He is a part-Bible expert, like his father, the father of lies. He picks and chooses what Scripture he preaches, and is even pickier about which Scripture he follows. He wants people to follow himself rather than God.
“To the teaching and to the testimony! If they will not speak according to this word, it is because they have no dawn.” (Isaiah 8:20, ESV)
“Though they know God’s righteous decree that those who practice such things deserve to die, they not only do them but give approval to those who practice them.” (Romans 1:32, ESV)

 

The false prophet takes the Law into his own hands to misuse it for his own gain. He allows and encourages sexual immorality including divorce and homosexuality (the teachings of Balaam). He is more concerned about self-defined acceptance, tolerance, and unconditional love than God’s definition of holy love and grace or His command to repent.

 

A true prophet will speak according to the entirety of God’s Word. One of the ways we know Jesus was a true prophet, and The Prophet whom Moses said would come, is that He spoke the words of God given to Moses. All other prophets of God do the same. A simple test is, do they follow all of God’s Law or not?
“I will raise up for them a prophet like you from among their brothers. And I will put my words in his mouth, and he shall speak to them all that I command him. And whoever will not listen to my words that he shall speak in my name, I myself will require it of him.” (Deuteronomy 18:18–19, ESV)

 

A false prophet glorifies himself rather than God. God is glorified when His Word is taught, lived, and defended.
“The one who speaks on his own authority seeks his own glory; but the one who seeks the glory of him who sent him is true, and in him there is no falsehood. (John 7:18, ESV)”
The minister sent by God is one who speaks all of God’s words without fail and without compromise.

 

A false prophet speaks visions of their own minds, not from the mouth of the Lord. He says “all will be well” and “no disasters will befall” those who despise the word of the Lord and follow their own heart instead of God’s heart.
“Thus says the LORD of hosts: ‘Do not listen to the words of the prophets who prophesy to you, filling you with vain hopes. They speak visions of their own minds, not from the mouth of the LORD. They say continually to those who despise the word of the LORD, ‘It shall be well with you’; and to everyone who stubbornly follows his own heart, they say, ‘No disaster shall come upon you.’ ” (Jeremiah 23:16–17, ESV)

 

A true prophet of God will warn of departure from God’s word. He will speak the words of God, the first one of which is REPENT.
“I did not send the prophets, yet they ran; I did not speak to them, yet they prophesied. But if they had stood in my council, then they would have proclaimed my words to my people, and they would have turned them from their evil way, and from the evil of their deeds.” (Jeremiah 23:21–22, ESV)

 

A false prophet tells people to go after other gods, either in the form of idols or self-image. Going after other god’s means to obey something or someone other than God. God tests us with many false prophets, and there are many today teaching that we don’t have to listen to all of the words of God. The true prophet says that we shall keep God’s commandments and obey His voice, serve Him and hold fast to Him.
“If a prophet or a dreamer of dreams arises among you and gives you a sign or a wonder, and the sign or wonder that he tells you comes to pass, and if he says, ‘Let us go after other gods,’ which you have not known, ‘and let us serve them,’ you shall not listen to the words of that prophet or that dreamer of dreams. For the LORD your God is testing you, to know whether you love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul. You shall walk after the LORD your God and fear him and keep his commandments and obey his voice, and you shall serve him and hold fast to him. (Deuteronomy 13:1–4, ESV)

 

Do not fail the test.
Shalom

Posted in Authority • Balance • Continuity & Discontinuity • God • Holy Spirit • Jesus • Law • Whole Bible Christianity book

Distractions Part Five, A Split God

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“Hear, O Israel! The LORD is our God, the LORD is one! 5“You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. (Deuteronomy 6:4-5 NASB95)

 

We have to talk about God being One because a main tool used to distract from, eliminate or severely prune the Law is to cast it as a different message from another God. It’s as if Jesus and the Father were two separate gods kind of at loggerheads with each other. If a person wants to dodge the Law he can pretend it came from someone who either changed His mind or didn’t mean what He said in the first place. We also have to talk about this because there is a big group of people who advocate for the Law in a believer’s life yet deny the deity of Jesus.

 

You may already accept that God and Jesus are one, but you may not realize exactly what it means. The church tends to skip over that part. For instance, if God and Jesus are one, then Jesus gave the Law at Sinai. So when He tells us in Matthew 28 to teach the disciples “all I commanded,” it includes the Law that He “filled up full” or fulfilled.

 

guernica

 

A cubist painting looks like it has been cut up and put back together out of order. You know, the nose is where the ear is supposed to be, and the eyes are not lined up. Every part is out of place (Like Pablo Picasso’s “Guernica,” pictured above). The picture of God painted by the modern church now looks sort of cubist. God is variously described as a fierce, distant and unfriendly god, or a buddy from out of town who winks at sin. He’s either a god of cloud and flame and lightening, or a pacifist hippie flower child who spouts one-liners about peace and love.

 

We use artistic license like cubism to interpret the patterns in the Word and make a picture that doesn’t even resemble the original. One pattern is for Jews and another is for the church. This part is for me and that part is for you. There are “old” and “new” god models. The old god is supposed to be a severe, demanding god of bloody sacrifices and death. The new god is a sweet guy who looks the other way when we sin. The old god beat us up with rules we couldn’t obey and restricts what we eat. The new god came to change all the stuff the old god gave us, and died so we could eat a ham sandwich. We have created, as Dr. Michael Brown says, a “worldly, cultural Christianity” with a “Jesus who radically empowers us” rather that a “Jesus who radically changes us.” I agree with him that “that’s why we have ‘Christian’ lingerie models and ‘Christian’ rappers who frequent strip clubs.”

 

The picture of God is critical to faith. When we paint Him as capricious, powerful and judgmental, giving us laws we could never obey, we can’t trust Him or do what He says. On the other hand when we paint Him with the color of sentiment (without justice or holiness) our false picture might let us do what we want even if it kills us. But it isn’t love.

 

From the book Whole Bible Christianity a draft of which is available to read at www.wholebible.com/Whole_Bible_Christianity.htm

Posted in Authority • Bible • Comfort • Faith

Declaration of Interdependence

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I thought it would be appropriate today to list some of the facts behind our ultimate Declaration of Independence, or more properly Interdependence. All other government comes from God, God gives them permission to rule, and they are supposed to rule according to His Word. Sad for us that they mostly don’t. The U. S. was founded and has endured on many of His rules, but now we are in danger of passing into history because we have departed from them.

His book gathers His principles together and is like no other, ever.

    Written over 1,600 years by 40 different authors in three languages (not to mention the many languages spoken by the authors) representing three continents yet having amazing unity and continuity.

    Each testament is built around a historic section, a didactic section, and a prophetic section (past, present, and future or history, teaching, and proclamation).

    The Bible tells a single story of God’s people who still exist as a nation when all others have been relegated to the dust bin of history.

    All prophecy in the Bible though separated by time and distance forms an unbroken agreement on the future.

    The Word is unified like no other around the promise of God to provide a solution to the problem of sin and death and a return to a whole and right relationship with God the father in the person of our Messiah Jesus the Christ.

    The Bible has power greater than the sum of it’s parts to change lives, impart hope, soften hearts, and transform the world.

    It is unchanging, steady, and true. Many people have tried to destroy it and instead have been destroyed themselves. It is the best selling book ever produced in 6,000 years, and the only one which has had thousands of people willing to die to defend it and actually dying because of following and preaching it. Pascal famously said, “I prefer to believe those writers who get their throats cut for what they write.”

    No other religion or religious writing, from Atheism to Zoroastrianism, comes close to the wisdom, love, and peace of God’s living oracles. Every other religion imagined contains elements of God’s Word and testifies to some of His works but fail to answer questions of why we are here and where we are going. His writings give rest and direction to humble hearts willing to give up the false idea of their own godhood to acknowledge, worship and obey His.

Truly His Declaration will continue and lead us to real freedom in a kingdom without end ruled by a righteous, just and loving King of Kings Yeshua haMashiach. It is a rod of iron and a sword of steel to those who rebel, but life and health and all things good to those who humbly receive it into a heart of flesh filled with His Spirit.

Posted in Atonement • Authority • Jesus

Two Lambs

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“Now this is what you shall offer on the altar: two lambs a year old day by day regularly. One lamb you shall offer in the morning, and the other lamb you shall offer at twilight. (Exodus 29:38–39, ESV)

 

A regular sacrifice was instituted by God at least by the time of Exodus 29:38 of two lambs, one in the morning and one in the evening. This probably was to keep the sacrifice of the Christ before the Lord on a consistent basis. But another intriguing possibility is it speaks of the way the Messiah will come two times, or come in two different ways. In the gospels He comes as a meek lamb to the slaughter, and takes on the sin of the world in the process. At the end of the Tribulation the lamb comes back as a triumphant conqueror and “takes on” the sin of the world in a different way.

 

While slaughter is still in view it’s not the Lamb that gets it this time. It’s His enemies. Two different Greek words are used (Strong’s 286 ἀμνὸς amnos John 1:29; Strong’s 721 ἀρνίου arnion Revelation 22:3) which both mean lamb but from the context one (amnos) seems to be the meek Lamb and the other (arnion) is the conquering Lamb.

 

The meek Lamb took on the sin of the word and offers forgiveness of that sin to anyone who believes. By His stripes they are healed. He will wipe away every tear of those and give them a place He has prepared for them in glory. The conquering Lamb will destroy the ones who reject His gracious offer. The blood will flow to the depth of a horse’s bridle and birds of the air will feast on the carcasses. At the end of a thousand years His enemies will be resurrected only to be thrown into the lake of fire.

 

Which Lamb do you want to meet?