The Blessed X

Welcome to the Blessed X

2008-10-02T20:44:00.000-07:00

Hey there to all who stop by. Today I'd like to welcome Christian Turner especially since I just talked with him tonight about the website. No longer does theblessedx.com exist, so this blog is the only location now. That means that the forum is gone, the merchandise is gone, and the newsletter sign up is gone.

This was pretty inevitable. The site was neglected for some time and finally went bust. The blog it was based around (here) lives on, however, and that was really the core of the site anyway. Now, you all can enjoy the offerings in the simple blog form. I actually think it's better.

For Christian, I've included a link that should take you the post on Daniel 9. Like I said, I don't really touch on the end times stuff, but I do get into the mathematics of the 493 weeks. Take a look and let me know what you think.

Daniel's Seventy Weeks

Communion

2008-02-25T16:57:00.000-08:00

I said that I'd come back and give this a little further explanation. First, let's view the communion as it happened.

Matthew 26:17-30, Mark 14:12-26, Luke 22:7-23

Then came the day of Unleavened Bread on which the Passover lamb had to be sacrificed. Jesus sent Peter and John, saying, "Go and make preparations for us to eat the Passover."

"Where do you want us to prepare for it?" they asked.

He replied, "As you enter the city, a man carrying a jar of water will meet you. Follow him to the house that he enters, and say to the owner of the house, 'The Teacher asks: Where is the guest room, where I may eat the Passover with my disciples?' He will show you a large upper room, all furnished. Make preparations there."

They left and found things just as Jesus had told them. So they prepared the Passover.

When the hour came, Jesus and his apostles reclined at the table. And he said to them, "I have eagerly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer. For I tell you, I will not eat it again until it finds fulfillment in the kingdom of God."

After taking the cup, he gave thanks and said, "Take this and divide it among you. For I tell you I will not drink again of the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God comes."

And he took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them, saying, "This is my body given for you; do this in remembrance of me."

In the same way, after the supper he took the cup, saying, "This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you. But the hand of him who is going to betray me is with mine on the table. The Son of Man will go as it has been decreed, but woe to that man who betrays him." They began to question among themselves which of them it might be who would do this.

It would behoove you to imagine, as you take communion, that you are sitting at the table with Jesus, just as his disciples did. It's closer to what's actually happening than you might think. After all, in Galations 2:20 Paul tells us,"I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me." So, to imagine that he's right there with us is not only sobering, but is also true.

Communion has, at its essence, the crucifixion. Every time you undertake to practice communion you are acting out the crucifixion. I just recently read a short story called The Martyr's Song, by Ted Dekker. It tells the story of a woman who reads a story about martyred Christians regularly so that the memory of what happened doesn't fade. It really sunk in that recounting that story and taking communion are similar acts. You can admit it, we are a people that have incredibly short memories. In time, even the holocaust will fade from memory. Knowing that, many have undertaken to provide constant reminders of that atrocity as a means to preserve the memory. Those that work to keep it alive in our psyche do it so it lasts as a standing warning of what can happen.

However hard we try, though, memory becomes a 2 dimensional piece of trivia with the passage of time. For instance, Alexander the Great, who, it is said, came to think himself deity, was guilty of slaughtering entire peoples and carrying out mass brutality, but he's now remembered as "The Great". His claim was that he conquered for his own glory. By contrast, Hitler conquered for the glory of the Fatherland--a much more selfless approach by comparison.

Like I said, as time passes, we forget. Memories that once caused the living pain to recount get lost in the shroud of history never to be anywhere near as poignant as it once was. It's almost on par with blasphemy to point out that the holocaust will probably eventually be remembered as a small blip on the radar screen rather than the life altering tragedy that it really was in its time. In the scope of history, what's another tyrant?

That is why we have to work so hard to preserve our memories. The Jews did it with Passover as a way to remember the angel that "passed over" the houses of the faithful while stopping and killing the Egyptian firstborns at every other house. It was a means to keep alive the memory of their God. Even those that actually experienced it began to grumble at God in the very beginnings of wandering through the desert. To us, that seems ridiculous, but look at the luxury (by comparison) that they came from and consider what you would do if everything you once clung to was now gone. We in the "first-world-countries" are oftentimes consumed with our lives and concerns and very much take for granted the luxuries we have. If any of us were thrust into a desert to wander, relying solely on God for provision, it might not be such a different story.

Ultimately, it was a tradition passed to us not by church fathers or the Catholic popes, but by Christ himself--God. He knew us better than any other and, as can be seen throughout the Bible with his treatment of his people, he knows that we forget. Jesus, in his Godly wisdom saw to it that we had something to remember him by. So, when practicing communion, do it in remembrance of Him.

On Communion in Reply to Cyndi

2008-02-04T21:29:00.000-08:00

This is the beginning of my answer to your question. On the surface there is much I can say about the taking of communion, but I'm certain there's more to it than I can say now without having done any work to research it. That being said, I'll attempt to give a concise answer now and then revisit the subject later when I've discovered the finer points.

For whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until he comes. 1 Cor. 11:26

First, communion is definitely a tradition. It was taking place early in the church--as early as the first century. (1 Cor. 11:17-34) The tradition, as with all traditions, can turn into a mindless ritual if not done properly. It is supposed to serve not only as a reminder, however, but an opportunity as well.

Secondly, I daresay that if we were to take communion every day and were forced to give an accounting for our sins regularly that we would not only grow closer to God, but also that we would never run out of things to examine. A heart that no longer requires improvement is dead. Our goal in this life is to continually improve ourselves--to become more Christ-like.

The act of communion is a time for spiritual meditation. We take time to listen to the voice that guides us and tells us what we should work on. That time is seldom grasped outside of the church, so communion serves a purpose in that it gives us those moments to truly reflect.

Thirdly, the actual partaking should only be done with a clear conscience. This means that you're required to make yourself right with God before drinking and eating. I don't know if most people fully understand the weight of what they're doing when they take communion, but it should be well understood. (Read this to find out how serious it is.) Partaking in an unworthy manner is on par with heaping judgment on your shoulders.

Therefore, whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of sinning against the body and blood of the Lord. A man ought to examine himself before he eats of the bread and drinks of the cup. For anyone who eats and drinks without recognizing the body of the Lord eats and drinks judgment on himself. 1 Cor. 11:27-29

The price you'll pay is an unknown, but you can be sure that doing this hypocritically will not have a pleasant outcome.

So, now understanding the weight of the tradition you can begin to appreciate that the tradition is never to be taken lightly. It can become a monotonous ritual only if you become careless or don't understand it. If you've become careless, then you need to examine yourself and make it right before partaking.

Having said all that, a person who feigns examination and true repentance will likely suffer from it. It is a lesson that he or she will learn through the discipline of God. They may endure hardship that forces them to turn back to God--after all, he works that way.

Endure hardship as discipline; God is treating you as sons. For what son is not disciplined by his father? If you are not disciplined (and everyone undergoes discipline), then you are illegitimate children and not true sons. Moreover, we have all had human fathers who disciplined us and we respected them for it. How much more should we submit to the Father of our spirits and live! Our fathers disciplined us for a little while as they thought best; but God disciplines us for our good, that we may share in his holiness. No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it. Hebrews 12:7-11

Communion

2008-01-28T10:00:00.000-08:00

Cyndi: Communion has been a baffling concept for me for about two years now. I try so hard to look at it from every possible light. I try to think of it as a shower, the act of refocusing diffused light, and many other analogies. Unfortunately, I typically arrive at the same conclusion no matter how many different analogies pop into my head: it is a ritual.
This isn't necessarilly bad, I suppose. It's an act of obedience, and it somewhat reminds of baptism. But baptism seems more practical to me. Communion is supposed to be very personal, and very meaningful. I don't disagree with the fact that periodically, we all need a reminder. We all need that point that gets us back on track, right where we belong. However, my problem is this: communion is often associated with a return to a right life, and right living. If a person is headed astray, then communion may perhaps remind him of where he belongs, but if he is not ready to return, but communion arises, he may partake and feign a return, but it won't be lasting. This seems pointless to me. A person will return when they are ready. I realize it is a point of self-examination, and I think this is good, and that everyone should examine their lives regularly. I just feel that the "body and blood" idea is very much a ritual. Don't many come to Christianity from other faiths to escape such ritualism?
Any thoughts? This has been bothering me for a long time now.

Death Penalty & War

2008-01-13T17:56:00.000-08:00

The other day I decided to make a recording on my drive home. It deals with our Biblical standing on the death penalty and war. I hope you enjoy it.

Listen to the broadcast

Make sure you read the written conclusion at the bottom of this post!

Reference scriptures:

Matthew 5:38-42
You have heard that it was said, 'Eye for eye, and tooth for tooth.' But I tell you, Do not resist an evil person. If someone strikes you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also. And if someone wants to sue you and take your tunic, let him have your cloak as well. If someone forces you to go one mile, go with him two miles. Give to the one who asks you, and do not turn away from the one who wants to borrow from you.

Matthew 5:17
"Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them.

These are the scriptures that kicked off my thought process. Read and tell me what you think.

Fox's Book of Martyrs

This book details the manner in which the disciples met their deaths. Read it if you haven't. It will give you tremendous perspective.

Genesis 9:6
And for your lifeblood I will surely demand an accounting. I will demand an accounting from every animal. And from each man, too, I will demand an accounting for the life of his fellow man. "Whoever sheds the blood of man, by man shall his blood be shed; for in the image of God has God made man.

This is the scripture that sets forth the death penalty. Many would separate it from the Mosaic Law (Law given to Moses) and say that it is exempt from the work of Jesus and therefore remains in effect today.

Genesis 4:3-4a
In the course of time Cain brought some of the fruits of the soil as an offering to the LORD. 4 But Abel brought fat portions from some of the firstborn of his flock.

This scripture demonstrates the precedent of giving the Lord an offering or sacrifice that was in practice even before the Flood.

Genesis 7:1-2
The LORD then said to Noah, "Go into the ark, you and your whole family, because I have found you righteous in this generation. Take with you seven of every kind of clean animal, a male and its mate, and two of every kind of unclean animal, a male and its mate,

This portion of scripture clearly shows that there was already an established distinction between clean and unclean animals. Noah knew exactly what God was asking him to do, no doubt, because the law had been given to these antediluvian (pre-flood) people.

Genesis 8:20
Then Noah built an altar to the LORD and, taking some of all the clean animals and clean birds, he sacrificed burnt offerings on it.

Noah already knew to sacrifice to the Lord and did it right after the flood. Not only did he just sacrifice, but he sacrificed "clean" animals and birds. In the audio I say he sacrificed a lamb, but I was mistaken.

Romans 13:1-4
Everyone must submit himself to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God. Consequently, he who rebels against the authority is rebelling against what God has instituted, and those who do so will bring judgment on themselves. For rulers hold no terror for those who do right, but for those who do wrong. Do you want to be free from fear of the one in authority? Then do what is right and he will commend you. For he is God's servant to do you good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword for nothing. He is God's servant, an agent of wrath to bring punishment on the wrongdoer.

This is the Biblical order that the government has the authority to carry out capital punishment (the sword).

Conclusion
The laws we institute in our government become like the laws of gravity. If you leap from a cliff, it is nobody's fault that you fall to your death. In the same way, the laws of this country simply take effect when you commit a crime. You live under these rules by choice (more choice than you have over escaping gravity). Therefore, the only one to blamed when a murderer is executed is the murderer.

War is simply an extension of our "gravity" in that if another nation or people attacks us they have subjected themselves to our laws. If they do not attack us then they are not under our laws. In the same way, if they make an agreement with us to abide by our laws, then they are subject to war if the agreement specifies such upon violation.

If you argue that the death penalty should be done away with because of a seriously flawed system then we have departed from the Biblical argument and I can level with you. When does a flawed human justice system become too flawed? That I can see.

Let me know what you thought. Thanks!

Reasons Not to Believe

2007-03-07T22:40:00.000-08:00

Well, you’ve probably seen the news and even the documentary about the supposed tomb of Jesus. According the documentary, in the tomb, discovered in 1980, six notable ossuaries were found. They were labeled Yeshua bar Yosef (Jesus son of Joseph), Maria (Mary), Yose (Joseph), Matia (Matthew), Mariamene e Mara (Maria the Master believed to be Mary Magdalene by the filmmakers) and Yehuda bar Yeshua (Judah son of Jesus believed to be the son of both Jesus and Mary Magdalene by the filmmakers). This, of course, provides more reason for atheists not to believe.

Upon further investigation, however, the whole thing seems more like a doubtful concoction. Amos Kloner, the original excavator of the tomb described the documentary as “nonsense” in his comments. Rather than first seeking a peer-reviewed scientific article to publish the theory the story was presented to the media and purported to be respectable. Jodi Magness, an archaeologist at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill said that this documentary’s makers “have set it up as if it's a legitimate academic debate, when the vast majority of scholars who specialize in archaeology of this period have flatly rejected this." (Cooperman, A., 2007)

After reading numerous articles concerning the story and documentary’s claims the argument for this actually being Jesus’ tomb becomes more and more shaky. DNA evidence is fractured and inconclusive. These were all common names that people of the day had. This family was from the area of Judea where individuals were called by their first name and father’s name while Jesus came from an area that called him by his first name and city of origin: Jesus of Nazareth. Many respected archeologists, not filmmakers, including the original excavator, have cast numerous denunciations over the claims of the documentary.

To make the claims that this documentary makes and to believe that it poses a true question or threat to the resurrection of Jesus and therefore Christianity is pretty ludicrous. It’s another notch for an uncaring atheist to throw out in an argument, but for the people seeking truth this is no more than a clever ploy to capitalize on the inquisitive market. Its popularity will make the filmmakers lots of money because it’s so controversial, but the truth will come out and the whole thing will eventually fall into obscurity. The basis it stands on can’t hold it up to scrutiny for very long. So, don’t worry brothers and sisters, your faith is well placed and will not fail you.

-Steve

Cooperman, Alan. (March 2, 2007). 'Lost Tomb of Jesus' Called a Stunt. Leading

Archeologists Denounce Documentary As Fiction. Retrieved March 7, 2007 from http://www.nwaonline.net/articles/2007/03/07/religion/030307tomb.txt

Apologetics January 22, 2007

2007-01-25T22:20:00.000-08:00

Topic1: Asked by Ed: It seems like the prevailing Christian view is, regarding accepting Jesus, that one has to accept Jesus to go to heaven. If we follow that logic, if one does not accept Jesus, that person goes to Hell. This says that the default is Hell. Unless one takes action, one goes to Hell.

What if that is backwards? If God loves us and wants us to join him, what if it is the other way around? What if the default is heaven? What if one has to reject Jesus to go to hell? If this were the case, it would explain why babies go to heaven. People who have never heard of Jesus and therefore, never had the opportunity to reject Jesus would go to heaven too. That answers a lot of questions.

Answers: God is just. A loving and just God will give everybody the chance they are due. Just as with the point of accountability (Dt. 1:39, 2 Sm 12:23, & Is 7:15), people who haven’t heard are not held to the same standard as those who have.

Romans 1:20 says “For since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities--his eternal power and divine nature--have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse.” Therefore, it can be ascertained that the proof of God lies in his creation. That creation is His signature of sorts. Although the whole truth may not be known, i.e. Jesus Christ in all detail, the simple acknowledgement of the true creator might be what God is looking for.

Also take note of Romans 2:13-15: “For it is not those who hear the law who are righteous in God's sight, but it is those who obey the law who will be declared righteous. (Indeed, when Gentiles, who do not have the law, do by nature things required by the law, they are a law for themselves, even though they do not have the law, since they show that the requirements of the law are written on their hearts, their consciences also bearing witness, and their thoughts now accusing, now even defending them.)” It is well known that God knows the hearts of men and judges accordingly. He has the knowledge of a wicked heart that, given the chance, would reject him. And he has the knowledge of a good heart that, given the chance, would accept him.

Finally, Romans 10:14 says, “How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them?” and verse 17 says, “Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word of Christ.” Take into consideration Hebrews 11:1 which says “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” The very creation is evidence of a God that is not seen. The pursuit of truth that drives humans embraces the life within them and leads to the understanding that there is more beyond this life; this is the substance of the hope for life after death. If one takes an honest look at the world he or she lives in, that person will quickly realize how much suffering, pain, and death there is. This should clue them in that something is awry in the world. This is the evidence of sin. With these elementary levels of understanding, one can deduce that we are in need of a higher power. Our inabilities and finite lives are evidence enough that something or someone more is required to set things right. Could these rudimentary truths be the very thing to be understood from what has been made? Given an honest evaluation, I’d say that men are without excuse.

Scripture References: Deuteronomy 1:39, 2 Samuel 12:23, Isaiah 7:14, Romans 1:18ff, Romans 2:13ff, Romans 10:12ff

Topic 2: In Romans 8:29ff predestination is mentioned. Ed made the point that perhaps God, knowing the hearts of men, predestined them to be born in places in the world that would basically doom them to be one religion their whole life, i.e. Islam. He mentioned that 99% of all people die in the religion they were born into and this seems like a case for predestination in action. The topic was not covered thoroughly and will be picked up again next week.

Truth

2007-01-05T09:09:00.000-08:00

Recently I was asked about religion in general and whether there is an original standard that can be trusted and if so, how can it be known. This actually took place in my class studying religion and came from my teacher. I can tell by some of his statements that he doesn’t really believe in all this religion stuff, but he’ll take money to teach it. I only make that speculation about him—it may not be the case at all, but from what I gather, this is the case. At any rate, I took some time to respond to his questions and below is my response.

In response to your question, "What is the "original standard?"-- Who is to say what it is and on what basis? And what is the 'truth behind religion?'", I'd like to weigh in with some of my thoughts.

The idea that truth in the "sacred realm" cannot be known is an escapist mentality appealed to to avoid having to think about mortality, eternal responsibility, or possibly the realization of some previously unknown set of consequences. To write it off is either laziness or reluctance based on some preconceived notion about the subject instead of a conclusion based on evidence or lack thereof. I am not accusing anyone here of taking such a position; I bring it up because I meet with it frequently.

Now, barring rejection without good reason, what good reason is there to believe in a "sacred realm or reality"? In my years as an unbound Christian I've immersed myself (and consequently my faith with me) in many areas of critical thought. I haven't limited myself to merely reading the Bible and only reading critical analysis by other Christians. Instead, I've gone to many neutral, critical, and even anti-Christian sources to find out what has been said about my chosen faith.

First, let me explain a little about myself. As with many people that purchase a new car, I wouldn't know how it all worked before I bought it. I didn't feel that I needed to understand the fuel mixture computer as a prerequisite for buying my car--I just bought it based on face value and trusted that a new car would run. Similarly, I became a Christian without knowing much about the Bible. I was raised believing in Christianity as much as Santa-Clause. My child-like mind couldn't distinguish in a critical way to make an educated decision while I was young; I just accepted it because my parents accepted it and lived it. Later in life, I was faced with the decision to truly take this faith and define myself with it or to reject it and live life how I saw fit. Presented with a rudimentary understanding of the Bible and the faith, I chose to pursue it as my own for life.

From that point, I found myself asking question after question, but then found it difficult to get answers to those questions. I discovered opposition from non-Christians who pointed out elements that seemed contradictory and I was bombarded with questions about the nature of a loving God that exercised sovereign authority over a world filled with suffering and other questions like it. I began to lose my faith and seriously question my eternal destination. Throughout this time, I had only read my Bible sporadically, sometimes with large gaps of time between readings. I eventually realized that I was standing on my own strength.

After a long conversation with my new wife about my struggle, I resolved, with her support and advice, to actually read the Bible. During my reading I began to understand things that were complete mysteries to me before. The big questions about suffering, those who don't hear the message of Jesus Christ, and the nature of a Triune God all began to take shape in my mind with valid and surprisingly logical answers. An understanding of my faith gave me answers to these once difficult questions.

After finding my foundation right where it was supposed to be, I moved on to more difficult fields of study like Greek, historical accuracy, archeological confirmation, and scientific arguments. Needless to say, I've found nothing that has proven to be a true contradiction. There are differences in accounts, but these differences are complementary and not contradictory. There is some question about historical accuracy, but throughout our short archeological history the seeming inconsistencies have later been validated by more recent findings. And projects like RATE (Radioisotopes and the Age of The Earth) done by the Institute for Creation Research have shed light and validity on the Bible's claim to a young earth. Finally, the scriptures themselves, written over a 1700 year span, make amazing predictions that were later fulfilled with precise accuracy. In one instance, a specific number of years is given to the cutting off of the Messiah. The math comes out to exactly the time of Jesus' crucifixion.

I only say all this because I think it conveys a reliability to you the reader. Reliability is a basis for trust. This trust can be placed on the writings that have earned it. Then these trustworthy writings go on to make great claims about a reality outside our own and a God that created it all. So, what is the original standard and truth behind religion? That there really is something to it, and that some people don't just believe it for no good reason. The evidence and reliability is there, it just requires action on the part of the seeker.

Revelation 12 and Christmas

2007-01-05T08:51:00.000-08:00

My mother-in-law Bonnie sent me a link to the blog of a friend of Maggie and I that provokes some thought. Rather than posting the body of what Kev said here, I'll give you a link to the article. This way, you'll have the opportunity to bookmark his site and visit it from time to time. It's always a good read because Kev is a talented writer. He was a journalist before going to China to teach at a university there. His current teaching profession is a major calling from God. So, take a trip over, read this article and others, and bookmark it to your favorites.

The link: Not So Silent Night

Just a Theory

2007-01-02T19:29:00.000-08:00

How would you respond to someone who tells you that he or she does not believe in biological evolution because it is "just a theory"?

In the event that I was told that evolution is “just a theory,” I’d respond as follows here. In March of 2005 a discovery was made that rocked the world of evolutionist scientists. An excavation took place in Bozeman Montana that lasted 3 years. Paleontologists unearthed the skeletal remains of a T-Rex (Mayell, H. 2005). Mary H. Schweitzer, a paleontologist at North Carolina State University in Raleigh took samples from a freshly broken thigh bone and found intact, soft tissue. The finding challenges our knowledge of decay or, more likely, our modern evolutionary concepts of dinosaur extinction. If the extinction, that took place 65 million years ago, did not take place 65 million years ago, the geological time table must be questioned. If the geological time table is questioned and deemed unreliable, the very development of species must be questioned.

It just so happens that many of the greatest opponents to evolution are Christians. Some of those Christians also happen to be respected scientists as well. One such group is the Institute for Creation Research (ICR). ICR began a project RATE (Radioisotopes and the Age of The Earth) that set out to study radioisotope relationships. “It was concluded that the uranium (238U) and polonium (Po) radiohalos frequently found in granitic rocks had to have formed simultaneously.2 This implies that hundreds of millions of years of radioactive decay (at today's rates) had to have occurred in a matter of a few days!” (Snelling, A 2005) Research this and then consider the implications that it presents. The documentation is extensive and ultimately calls the age of the earth into question. With a shortened lifespan for earth the evolutionary concept begins to come apart at the seams.

Another interesting element worth consideration is the map drawn by Admiral Piri Reis. During the year 1513, in the libraries of Constantinople, the Admiral Piri Reis, with the help of older source maps, drafted a map that challenges the current understanding of civilization and dating methods. The map accurately depicts the uncovered coastline of Antarctica. The latest time that this map could’ve been drawn, according to modern dating methods and theories concerning the ice caps, was 4000BC and the earliest time was around 13,000BC (Hancock, G ). From this small piece of information one can trace out evidence for advanced civilization in prehistoric times, evidence for a flood, and ultimately evidence for a younger earth with an inconsistent geological time table.

Another difficulty within evolution is known as the Cambrian explosion. Many scientists grapple with the inconsistency between the theory and the evidence. “The question of how so many immense changes occurred in such a short time is one that stirs scientists. Why did many fundamentally different body plans evolve so early and in such profusion?” (WGBH Educational Foundation and Clear Blue Sky Productions, Inc. 2001) The proposed answers draw heavily on speculation.

Some point to the increase in oxygen that began around 700 million years ago, providing fuel for movement and the evolution of more complex body structures. Others propose that an extinction of life just before the Cambrian opened up ecological roles, or "adaptive space," that the new forms exploited. External, ecological factors like these were undoubtedly important in creating the opportunity for the Cambrian explosion to occur. (WGBH Educational Foundation and Clear Blue Sky Productions, Inc. 2001)

If one delves a little deeper into the claims listed above, these claims are exposed as suggested theories formed to answer the questions of the already struggling theory of evolution.

If one takes the time to research the opposition, a mere claim that evolution is “just a theory” becomes an understatement. A large amount of evidence undermines the concept and leaves a mere misallocation of time spent learning it. My answer would conclude with a challenge to back up the statement. Only by actually researching it can an individual speak with conviction on the matter.

References

Mayell, Hillary. (2005). T. Rex Soft Tissue Found Preserved. Retrieved December 13, 2006

from

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2005/03/0324_050324_trexsofttissue.html

Snelling, Andrew A, Ph.D. (2005). Polonium Radiohalos: The Model for Their Formation Tested

and Verified. Retrieved January 2, 2007, from http://icr.org/article/2467/

Hancock, Graham. (1995) Fingerprints of the Gods. New York: Crown Publishing Group.

WGBH Educational Foundation and Clear Blue Sky Productions, Inc. (2001). The Cambrian

Explosion. Retrieved January 02, 2007, from

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/evolution/library/03/4/l_034_02.html

Defibrillation

2006-12-22T23:17:00.000-08:00

Statistic-June 24, 2004: More than 8 in 10 Americans are Christian, including roughly half who are Protestant and about a quarter who are Catholic.

• The following tribute is sometimes credited to Phillip Brooks, who wrote the hymn, “O Little Town Of Bethlehem.”

“He was born in an obscure village, the child of a peasant woman; He grew up in another village, where He worked in a carpenter shop until He was thirty. Then for three years He was an itinerant preacher. He never wrote a book. He never held an office. He never had a family or owned a home. He didn’t go to college. He never visited a big city. He never traveled two hundred miles from the place where he was born. He did none of the things that usually accompany greatness. He had no credentials but Himself.

“He was only thirty-three when the tide of public opinion turned against Him. His friends ran away. One of them denied Him. He was turned over to His enemies and went through the mockery of a trial. He was nailed to a cross between two thieves.

“While He was dying, His executioners gambled for His garments, the only property He had on earth. When He was dead, He was laid in a borrowed grave through the pity of a friend. Nineteen centuries have come and gone, and today He is the central figure of the human race.

“All the armies that ever marched, all the navies that ever sailed, all the parliaments that ever sat, all the kings that ever reigned, put together, have not affected the life of man on this earth as much as that one solitary life” (quoted in Kennedy, pp. 7-8).

• Jesus was not attractive. Isaiah 53:2 “He has no stately form or majesty that we should look upon Him, nor appearance that we should be attracted to Him” (NASB)

• Jesus had no wealth to launch a significant movement (Lk. 9:58; 2 Cor. 8:9).

• He was reared in one of the most despised communities of his country (see Mt. 2:23; Jn. 1:46; 7:52). The query, “Can any good thing come out of Nazareth?” was proverbial in Canaan.

• He had no formal rabbinical training (Jn. 7:15). Even his own people had little regard for him (Jn. 1:11; 7:5; 6:66). And yet, somehow, he changed the world forever.

• In his famous speech on St. Helena, Napoleon exclaimed:

“I know men, and I tell you that Jesus Christ is not a man. Superficial minds see a resemblance between Christ, and the founders of empires and the gods of other religions. That resemblance does not exist. There is between Christianity and any other religion the distance of infinity . . . Alexander, Caesar, Charlemagne, and myself founded empires. But upon what did we rest the creations of our genius? Upon force. Jesus Christ alone founded his empire upon love; and at this hour millions of men would die for him” (Monser, pp. 503,508).

On the day of Pentecost, the church gained 3,000 men. (Acts 2:41) That’s minimum. Women and children were not counted.

By Acts 4:4, the number of men was 5,000. It is estimated that by the time Stephen was martyred, at the church was at least 20,000 strong.

From here, Christianity spread throughout the land and flourished.

Martyrs

1. Stephen: died by being stoned to death.

2. James the son of Zebedee, the elder brother of John: as James was led to the place of martyrdom, his accuser was brought to repent of his conduct by the apostle's extraordinary courage and undaunted ness, and fell down at his feet to request his pardon, professing himself a Christian, and resolving that James should not receive the crown of martyrdom alone. Hence they were both beheaded at the same time.

3. Philip: He was scourged, thrown into prison, and afterwards crucified, A.D. 54. Upper Asia

4. Matthew: killed by the axe. Parthia, and Ethiopia

5. James the brother of the Lord: At the age of ninety-four he was beat and stoned by the Jews; and finally had his brains dashed out with a club.

6. Mathias: He was stoned at Jerusalem and then beheaded.

7. Andrew, brother of Peter: he was taken and crucified on a cross, the two ends of which were fixed transversely in the ground. Edessa

8. Jude, brother of Jesus: crucified at Edessa, A.D. 72

9. Bartholomew: cruelly beaten and then crucified

10. Simon: crucified, A.D. 74

11. Thomas: thrust through with a spear.

12. Mark: was dragged to pieces by the people of Alexandria.

13. John: cast into a cauldron of boiling oil. He escaped by miracle, without injury afterwards banished to the Isle of Patmos, where he wrote the Book of Revelation and died of old age.

14. Luke: hanged on an olive tree

15. Peter: was crucified upside down in Rome.

16. Paul: beheaded by the sword at the order of Caesar Nero.

I counted a total of 30 times that we are warned not to forget about God or his words.

It seems that the world has forgotten however.

Acts 2:42-47 42They devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. 43Everyone was filled with awe, and many wonders and miraculous signs were done by the apostles. 44All the believers were together and had everything in common. 45Selling their possessions and goods, they gave to anyone as he had need. 46Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, 47praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.

Acts 4:32-33 32All the believers were one in heart and mind. No one claimed that any of his possessions was his own, but they shared everything they had. 33With great power the apostles continued to testify to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and much grace was upon them all.

Acts 8:4-8 4Those who had been scattered preached the word wherever they went. 5Philip went down to a city in Samaria and proclaimed the Christ there. 6When the crowds heard Philip and saw the miraculous signs he did, they all paid close attention to what he said. 7With shrieks, evil spirits came out of many, and many paralytics and cripples were healed. 8So there was great joy in that city.

Amazing and wonderful things occurred in the early days of the church. The question is why don’t those things happen with any sort of frequency now?

What are we missing that our fire is not spreading like the wildfire of the old church?

Christians today seem to have fallen into a comfortable rut.
We must be the ones that strike up a new revival. Young and old, strong and weak, it is our business to defibrillate the Christians of today and bring them back to being on fire for God.

2 Cor 4:16 16Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day.

Matt 5:13-16 13“You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled by men. 14“You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. 15Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. 16In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.

Preview

2006-11-07T21:15:00.000-08:00

Right now I'm working on a post about the Deity of Jesus Christ. He was not just a good man, He was God. This post is turning out to be a much greater undertaking than I thought it would be, so bear with me, it is coming.

Interesting bulletin I received

2006-10-07T16:12:00.000-07:00

Who really knows if Ben Stein really said this (or said exactly this) because I did get it via a My Space bulletin. But I found it to be profound nonetheless.
~Leah

::Added by Steve: I verified that this article is legitimate. It can be found among others at http://www.benstein.com/::
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Think about this...sad but very true If they know of him at all, many folks think Ben Stein is just a quirky actor/comedian who talks in a monotone. He's also a very intelligent attorney who knows how to put ideas and words together in such a way as to sway juries and make people think clearly.

The following was written by Ben Stein and recited by him on CBS Sunday Morning Commentary, Sunday, 12/18/05. Herewith at this happy time of year, a few confessions from my beating heart: I have no freaking clue who Nick and Jessica are. I see them on the cover of People and Us constantly when I am buying my dog biscuits and kitty litter. I often ask the checkers at the grocery stores. They never know who Nick and Jessica are either. Who are they? Will it change my life if I know who they are and why they have broken up? Why are they so important? I don't know who Lindsay Lohan is either, and I do not care at all about Tom Cruise's wife. Am I going to be called before a Senate committee and asked if I am a subversive? Maybe, but I just have no clue who Nick and Jessica are. If this is what it means to be no longer young , it's not so bad. Next confession:I am a Jew, and every single one of my ancestors was Jewish. And it does not bother me even a little bit when people call those beautiful lit up, bejeweled trees Christmas trees. I don't feel threatened. I don't feel discriminated against. That's what they are: Christmas trees. It doesn't bother me a bit when people say, "Merry Christmas" to me. I don't think they are slighting me or getting ready to put me in a ghetto. In fact, I kind of like it. It shows that we are all brothers and sisters celebrating this happy time of year. It doesn't bother me at all that there is a manger scene on display at a key intersection near my beach house in Malibu. If people want a creche, it's just as fine with me as is the Menorah a few hundred yards away. I don't like getting pushed around for being a Jew, and I don't think Christians like getting pushed around for being Christians. I think people who believe in God are sick and tired of getting pushed around, period. I have no idea where the concept came from that America is an explicitly atheist country. I can't find it in the Constitution, and I don't like it being shoved down my throat. Or maybe I can put it another way: where did the idea come from that we should worship Nick and Jessica and we aren't allowed to worship God as we understand Him?I guess that's a sign that I'm getting old, too. But there are a lot of us who are wondering where Nick and Jessica came from and where the America we knew went to. In light of the many jokes we send to one another for a laugh, this is a little different: This is not intended to be a joke; it's not funny, it's intended to get you thinking.Billy Graham's daughter was interviewed on the Early Show and Jane Clayson asked her "How could God let something like this Happen?" (regarding Katrina) Anne Graham gave an extremely profound and insightful response. She said, "I believe God is deeply saddened by this, just as we are, but for years we've been telling God to get out of our schools, to get out of our government and to get out of our lives. And being the gentleman He is, I believe He has calmly backed out. How can we expect God to give us His blessing and His protection if we demand He leave us alone?"In light of recent events...terrorists attack, school shootings, etc. I think it started when Madeleine Murray O'Hare (she was murdered, her body found recently) complained she didn't want prayer in our schools, and we said OK. Then someone said you better not read the Bible in school . the Bible says thou shalt not kill, thou shalt not steal, and love your neighbor as yourself. And we said OK.Then Dr Benjamin Spock said we shouldn't spank our children when they misbehave because their little personalities would be warped and we might damage their self-esteem (Dr. Spock's son committed suicide). We said an expert should know what he's talking about. And we said OK. Now we're asking ourselves why our children have no conscience, why they don't know right from wrong, and why it doesn't bother them to kill strangers, their classmates, and themselves. Probably, if we think about it long and hard enough, we can figure it out. I think it has a great deal to do with "WE REAP WHAT WE SOW." Funny how simple it is for people to trash God and then wonder why the world's going to hell. Funny how we believe what the newspapers say, but question what the Bible says.Funny how you can send 'jokes' through e-mail and they spread like wildfire but when you start sending messages regarding the Lord, people think twice about sharing. Funny how lewd, crude, vulgar and obscene articles pass freely through cyberspace, but public discussion of God is suppressed in the school and workplace. Are you laughing? Funny how when you forward this message, you will not send it to many on your address list because you're not sure what they believe, or what they will think of you for sending it. Funny how we can be more worried about what other people think of us than what God thinks of us.

How Do I Get Saved?

2006-09-29T18:22:00.000-07:00

So, you want to sign up for the persecution huh? Okay. First, imagine yourself as a child. Now, imagine Jesus knocking at a door. You’re standing on the inside and you open the door. Jesus walks in. This is taking place inside your heart. When you were a child, it was easy to show your open emotion. If you’re an adult male, it may be difficult to lower your walls and imagine running into the arms of a man, so imagine that you’re a little child, running into the arms of your heavenly father. Now, you must understand that you are not and never will be able to save yourself. No one else can save you either. “No man comes to the Father but by me,” Jesus said. I’m not picking on you by the way. “All have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.” Everybody falls under the same desperate situation. Now that you know, admit your sin to God. Now believe that Jesus died on the cross and spilled his blood, taking the weight of the sins of the whole human race on his shoulders. He put an end to the debt on the cross two thousand years ago. Believe that he rose from the dead, conquering death for you and me. Our Savior lives. Now, choose to place your trust in him and live for him. You are now a believer in Jesus Christ and are saved from eternal death in hell. You’re in his arms now and you never have to leave. That was easy, huh? Okay, I’m saved. Now What?

Now What?

2006-09-29T18:20:00.000-07:00

You are now a brother or sister of Jesus Christ. You will now be faced with struggles, hardship, failures, and problems. You’re now probably going to have to endure persecution from non-believers. You’ll be hated by some. You’ll always be misunderstood when you talk about the things of God by those who don’t know him. You’ve now got a bounty on your head in the eyes of Satan and his followers. You’re going to undergo spiritual attack that will attempt to keep you from moving past this point. I’m sad to say that many Christians fall prey to this attack and never go beyond the first step. I can tell you, however, that once you begin to push through the adversity, you’ll experience real faith. Your heart will experience peace that can’t be explained, joy that surpasses understanding, and love that goes beyond any you’ve ever known.

The first order of business is getting into a church or finding a group of believers to fellowship with. You can email me. I’m always available to talk to you because that is God’s calling on my heart.

Secondly, you need a Bible. Click Here to get a Bible. If you can’t get one because of financial hardship, email me and we’ll see what we can do. Once you have your Bible, you have the spiritual sustenance that’s going to maintain you daily. You need to spend as much time in it as you humanly can. In its absence, you become more vulnerable. Of course you’ll have questions, but that’s what we’re here for.

Third, maintain the relationship with God through prayer. Reading his word and prayer go hand in hand. He speaks to you through the Bible and your heart while in prayer. Talk to him like you would a father that knows everything about you, because that’s what he is. He is your Father, he is your God. Taking care of you is his business, so give it all to him.

Now, one of the key factors in becoming a Christian is leaving the old life behind. Remember this: once saved, you should not be comfortable in the life you lived before. You’re life needs to change radically for Jesus. Some people get discouraged by this, but let me tell you that while it seems daunting at first, it only gets better. That’s not to say that you’ll never encounter problems. In fact, you’ll probably encounter many problems. The very fact that you now follow Jesus brings them to you. You will learn to take joy when you encounter trials of many kinds. It is the only way to build your faith. The truth is there can never really be long lasting happiness unless you change and live for him. There is temporal satisfaction, but it’s temporal—it comes to an end. Momentary satisfaction doesn’t carry you to eternity, Jesus does. His yoke is easy and his burden is light. Don’t look at it as though coming to Jesus is giving you all kinds of new burdens; rather, you are the one with all the problems and Jesus offers to take them from you. He doesn’t have problems—he’s God. Once with Jesus, he’s going to raise you up and discipline you as a loving father would—it just happens that he’s a perfect father as well.

When you are told that you should take joy in the fact that you’re having problems, it’s because your faith is being tested. If you rise to the occasion and trust in Jesus during the crises your faith will be strengthened. Imagine working out and having sore muscles afterward. It may not be pleasant at the time, but getting through it and dealing with the pain results in strengthened muscles. Be comforted by the fact that God administers his lessons in bits and pieces being careful never to give you more than you can handle. He always gives you a way out of temptation and he always works to build you up.

Sometimes, your problems won’t be from God, they’ll be brought on by your own stupid choices. These problems, while your own fault, can result in bring you closer to God. In all honesty, there are many of these moments during your walk. Just keep in mind that you’re being unfaithful, not God. When you’re ready to admit your stupidity, he’s already there waiting for you. God is always faithful. When you stumble, just try to make it one step backward followed by two steps forward. Your faith should not revert to where it was when you were first saved. Keep it growing. Nurture it. If you find that you’ve gone back to your old ways, make the changes necessary. You’ll find that God’s been there waiting for you the whole time.

So, my word of advice to you is to continue to know God better. Love him with all your heart, mind, strength, and soul.

Witnessing

2006-08-22T20:53:00.000-07:00

How do we witness?

First, ground yourself in your faith. It is your foundation. If you still have significant doubts keeping you from being sincere, then you need to get those worked out.
Let your mind think on God as often as you can. Put Him first in your life and you’ll speak about Him more naturally.
Many people love to bring up the hypocrisy in the church. Tell them not to let a hypocrite stand between them and God. And people aren’t perfect, that includes Christians.
People like to argue for intellectual reasons. 99 out of 100 people have some other reason for refusing Jesus. The intellectual argument is only a curtain hiding deeper issues. Accountability is the problem.
Some people have the idea that they’re too bad off and there’s no saving them. This person has the right idea, because there is nothing they can do to save themselves, but at this point, they may be open to receive the gospel of grace.
Always keep yourself sharpened and ready to go to work at any moment.
Inspiration is that we all die. The time could be very soon. Don’t just stand by and allow that person to continue without the knowledge of salvation. This is a knowledge that you can provide them.
Do they have assurance of where they’ll be going? If they seem to think so, go for their very foundation. What authority did they hear such a thing from? On what basis can they make such bold statements about the unknown?
Sometimes, you’ll get a quick result. At the same time, there are some people that take seriously invested time. You must work to build trust and depth forming a friendship before you can approach them head on. When you’re more of a friend, they’ll be more willing to hear what you have to say.
Being young creates a unique challenge, because many people think you’re just a kid without any real wisdom.

1 Timothy 4:12 Don't let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in life, in love, in faith and in purity.

The concept of being too young is wrong. Don’t let anything about who you are or how much knowledge you think you’re limited to get in the way of witnessing. Let God determine how ready you are.
Subtlety is powerful. When Jesus shines through you, you begin to shine like a city on a hill. (Matthew 5:14). Your example can break down your witnessing ability or set you up for it. Don’t allow yourself to appear hypocritical to those watching you.
Let’s clearly define what your job is all about. Your workplace has been given to you so you can make a difference for the kingdom of God. If you’re not serving God where you are, then you’re not where He wants you to be. That might be with your walk, where you’re working, or who you’re keeping company with.
My dad uses his work as a witnessing platform.
Don’t be intimidated and think, “Okay, I’m going to go and witness.” Your attitude should not be that you’re carrying out an obligation, but having meaningful conversation because you truly care and desire to see your friend saved.
Speak to them about where they think they’ll go when they die.
Ask them what assurance they have for going to heaven.
Share about your own assurance.
Be sure that you convey the true salvation message during conversation. Jesus died so we wouldn’t have to suffer an eternal death.
Finally, we have been charged with the task of preaching the gospel.

Mark 16:15 ¹⁵And He said to them, "Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation.

But we also need to follow up and build up. Evangelizing is great, but you’re not carrying out the full mission unless you make disciples out of the new believers.

Matthew 28:19 ¹⁹"Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations

Always remember, that it is not only the words we say or the actions we make, but God who moves the hearts of men. You are His chosen method, but He is not limited to you. In other words, do not become discouraged because God is in control.

Jonah

2006-08-20T02:58:00.000-07:00

I am sure most if not everyone reading this are familiar with the story of Jonah. This was not something I had planned to write, but it was something that occurred to me just now, as I studied the word tonight. We all know the story, how God told Jonah to go to Ninevah and preach to them, but Jonah ran away from God on a ship. But you cannot run from God and God caused there to be a great storm. The men on the ship cast lots and the lot fell to Jonah, meaning he was the reason for the storm. So he told them everything that had happened and they threw him overboard. But the part that caught my eye...something I've never even heard before but it is definitely a truth of God. Even then, while Jonah was still running from God...still disobeying Him, God moved among the people of the ship. When the storm first happened, "the mariners were afraid; and every man cried out to his god..." (Jonah 1:5a). After Jonah had told them what happened, they cried out to the Lord, "and said, 'We pray, O Lord, please do not let us perish for this man's life, and do not charge us with innocent blood; for you, O Lord, have done as it pleased You." (Jonah 1:14). Then they threw Jonah into the sea and the storm stopped. "Then the men feared the Lord exceedingly, and offered a sacrifice to the Lord and took vows."(Jonah 1:16).

What I learned from this is that when God wants to use you for something, whether you run, whether you hide, no matter what you do, He is going to use you! Jonah thought he was running from God, but He was actually running to a place right where God would use him! Truly God's plan is a perfect plan and we should always strive to follow it!

Daniel's Seventy Weeks

2006-08-19T20:39:00.000-07:00

The Seventy Weeks of Daniel is an intriguing prophecy that proves to be a challenging but fun study. As you probably know, this prophecy is pointing toward Jesus Christ I through a precise timeline. Today I’ll cover the details and mathematics of the prophecy.

• How did we arrive at Daniel’s seventy weeks in the first place?
• The Israelites were given the command to keep a Sabbath Year every seventh year.

Leviticus 25:1-7, “¹ The LORD said to Moses on Mount Sinai, ² "Speak to the Israelites and say to them: 'When you enter the land I am going to give you, the land itself must observe a sabbath to the LORD. ³ For six years sow your fields, and for six years prune your vineyards and gather their crops. ⁴ But in the seventh year the land is to have a sabbath of rest, a sabbath to the LORD. Do not sow your fields or prune your vineyards. ⁵ Do not reap what grows of itself or harvest the grapes of your untended vines. The land is to have a year of rest. ⁶ Whatever the land yields during the sabbath year will be food for you—for yourself, your manservant and maidservant, and the hired worker and temporary resident who live among you, ⁷ as well as for your livestock and the wild animals in your land. Whatever the land produces may be eaten.”

Leviticus 26:14-20 ¹⁴ " 'But if you will not listen to me and carry out all these commands, ¹⁵ and if you reject my decrees and abhor my laws and fail to carry out all my commands and so violate my covenant, ¹⁶ then I will do this to you: I will bring upon you sudden terror, wasting diseases and fever that will destroy your sight and drain away your life. You will plant seed in vain, because your enemies will eat it. ¹⁷ I will set my face against you so that you will be defeated by your enemies; those who hate you will rule over you, and you will flee even when no one is pursuing you. ¹⁸ " 'If after all this you will not listen to me, I will punish you for your sins seven times over. ¹⁹ I will break down your stubborn pride and make the sky above you like iron and the ground beneath you like bronze. ²⁰ Your strength will be spent in vain, because your soil will not yield its crops, nor will the trees of the land yield their fruit.

• In Jeremiah, God finally punishes Israel for its negligence. In the same way, we must pay close attention to our own negligence. Though we are under grace, God will still allow hardship into our lives as punishment. (Hebrews 12:4-13)
• Here God issues a seventy year sentence against them.

Jeremiah 25:8-11 “⁸ Therefore the LORD Almighty says this: "Because you have not listened to my words, ⁹ I will summon all the peoples of the north and my servant Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon," declares the LORD, "and I will bring them against this land and its inhabitants and against all the surrounding nations. I will completely destroy them and make them an object of horror and scorn, and an everlasting ruin. ¹⁰ I will banish from them the sounds of joy and gladness, the voices of bride and bridegroom, the sound of millstones and the light of the lamp. ¹¹ This whole country will become a desolate wasteland, and these nations will serve the king of Babylon seventy years.”

• The land itself was due a certain amount of lost rest.

2 Chronicles 36:21, “²¹ The land enjoyed its sabbath rests; all the time of its desolation it rested, until the seventy years were completed in fulfillment of the word of the LORD spoken by Jeremiah.”

• If we assume that each year of captivity was a year of rest that was missed then the seventy years could be making up for a lost rest for 490 years.
• Daniel’s prophecy marks out a 490 year period yet to come, thus placing Daniel in a sort of mid point in God’s plan.
• Daniel knew, by Jeremiah’s prophecy, that the issued amount of time for Israel’s punishment was nearing an end, so he offered up a prayer in Daniel 9:4-19. He confessed his sin and the sin of his people and requested that God lift his wrath and permit the temple to be rebuilt.
• Daniel received his answer from Gabriel. Gabriel came to him in the form of a man and told him not just of the rebuilding of the temple, but of the coming of the Anointed One.
• He got more than he bargained for.
• We pick up at this point. Now, let’s read one of the most radical prophecies of the Old Testament.

Daniel 9:20-27, ²⁰ While I was speaking and praying, confessing my sin and the sin of my people Israel and making my request to the LORD my God for his holy hill- ²¹ while I was still in prayer, Gabriel, the man I had seen in the earlier vision, came to me in swift flight about the time of the evening sacrifice. ²² He instructed me and said to me, "Daniel, I have now come to give you insight and understanding. ²³ As soon as you began to pray, an answer was given, which I have come to tell you, for you are highly esteemed. Therefore, consider the message and understand the vision:
²⁴ "Seventy 'sevens' are decreed for your people and your holy city to finish transgression, to put an end to sin, to atone for wickedness, to bring in everlasting righteousness, to seal up vision and prophecy and to anoint the most holy.
²⁵ "Know and understand this: From the issuing of the decree to restore and rebuild Jerusalem until the Anointed One, the ruler, comes, there will be seven 'sevens,' and sixty-two 'sevens.' It will be rebuilt with streets and a trench, but in times of trouble. ²⁶ After the sixty-two 'sevens,' the Anointed One will be cut off and will have nothing. The people of the ruler who will come will destroy the city and the sanctuary. The end will come like a flood: War will continue until the end, and desolations have been decreed. ²⁷ He will confirm a covenant with many for one 'seven.' In the middle of the 'seven' he will put an end to sacrifice and offering. And on a wing of the temple he will set up an abomination that causes desolation, until the end that is decreed is poured out on him. "

• This is the prophecy pinpointing the crucifixion of the Messiah. It's a little difficult to understand at first, but I'll guide you through the math. This excerpt extends, many believe, into the very end of time, but I won't approach that at this time.
• First, we are given this strange reference to sevens. These are known as heptads, or units of seven, and can mean days, weeks, or years. In this instance, it means years.
• When multiplied out, it gives us a measure of time equaling 490 years.
• The terminus a quo or starting point of the 490 years is "From the issuing of the decree to restore and rebuild Jerusalem..." The decree is as follows:

“¹ In the month of Nisan in the twentieth year of King Artaxerxes, when wine was brought for him, I took the wine and gave it to the king. I had not been sad in his presence before; ² so the king asked me, "Why does your face look so sad when you are not ill? This can be nothing but sadness of heart." I was very much afraid, ³ but I said to the king, "May the king live forever! Why should my face not look sad when the city where my fathers are buried lies in ruins, and its gates have been destroyed by fire?" ⁴ The king said to me, "What is it you want?" Then I prayed to the God of heaven, ⁵ and I answered the king, "If it pleases the king and if your servant has found favor in his sight, let him send me to the city in Judah where my fathers are buried so that I can rebuild it. ⁶ Then the king, with the queen sitting beside him, asked me, "How long will your journey take, and when will you get back?" It pleased the king to send me; so I set a time.
⁷ I also said to him, "If it pleases the king, may I have letters to the governors of Trans-Euphrates, so that they will provide me safe-conduct until I arrive in Judah? ⁸ And may I have a letter to Asaph, keeper of the king's forest, so he will give me timber to make beams for the gates of the citadel by the temple and for the city wall and for the residence I will occupy?" And because the gracious hand of my God was upon me, the king granted my requests. ⁹ So I went to the governors of Trans-Euphrates and gave them the king's letters. The king had also sent army officers and cavalry with me."—Nehemiah 2:1-9

• Artaxerxes began his reign in the year 464 B.C., so 444 B.C. would be the year in which Nehemiah’s story begins.
• This is the decree spoken of by Daniel.
• It is believed that the city was rebuilt with walls, streets and moats during a 49 year span, the completion of the: “seven 'sevens”
• Knowing that the Jewish year consisted of 360 days, not 365 days we can do the math accordingly from 444 B.C.

1. The total number of years except for the final seven is 483 years from the issuance of the decree to the coming of the Anointed one.
2. We must multiply 483 years by 360 days to find out how many days that was by Jewish time standards. This comes out to 173,880 days.
3. If we take into account the number of leap years, which is 116 extra days that we factor into our years, we arrive at a figure of 173,764 days.
4. Now, using our time standard of 365 days, if we divide 173,764 by 365 we arrive at 476.07 years.
5. If we move from the month of Nisan, or around March or April, 444 B.C., by 476.07 years into the future, we arrive in the beginning of a few days into Nisan, 33 A.D. This is about the beginning of April.

• April of 33 A.D. is the proposed area of time that Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem occurred.

“while I was still in prayer, Gabriel, the man I had seen in the earlier vision, came to me” –Daniel 9:21a

“²⁶ In the sixth month, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee, ²⁷ to a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David. The virgin's name was Mary. ²⁸ The angel went to her and said, ‘Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you.’ ²⁹ Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be. ³⁰ But the angel said to her, ‘Do not be afraid, Mary, you have found favor with God. ³¹ You will be with child and give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus. ³² 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, ³³ and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever; his kingdom will never end.’” –Luke 1:26-33

• It is also notable that Gabriel brought both the prophecy to Daniel and the news to Mary about her pregnancy. His second appearance is possibly an unspoken clue as to the fulfillment of this particular part of the Daniel 9 prophecy.
• This all means that the precise time of Jesus' ministry was predicted by Daniel, who finished his writings in 532 B.C., more than five hundred years before the birth of Jesus.
• The precise mathematic calculation boggles the minds of skeptics.

Conclusion
In the end, there is no argument that stands up to scrutiny. Daniel clearly and beautifully points toward Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior.

Jesus Christ and Judaism - Revised

2006-06-19T20:00:00.000-07:00

Who is Jesus Christ to the Jewish people?

For thousands of years the people known as the Jews have lived as God's chosen people. They have gone through captivity, exile, turmoil, and restoration. They have looked for thousands of years even to the present for a Savior of their people, or a Messiah.

Sadly, the Jewish majority in this world reject the Christian belief in a Savior named Jesus Christ. He is believed to be the promised messiah spoken of through the prophets of the Old Testament. Near 4 B.C., a child was born in Bethlehem by no causation of natural origin. The mother, a chosen woman named Mary, was a virgin when she became pregnant. She was given the child by the Holy Spirit. This child grew up in relative silence for thirty years. He then began a three year ministry and guided himself toward a purposeful conclusion.

His words spoke of love, repentance of sin, and great wisdom of all things. His actions reached the poor, the depraved, and the sick by his wonderous miracles and healing. Most importantly however, he acted as though given the power to forgive (Luke 5:17-26, Luke 7:36-50, Micah 7:18-20). This and his certain claim to be God (John 8:48-58, John 10:22-39) enraged the Jews. His impact on the people of that time and in that place was great and it gained the attention of the powerful Jewish leaders called Sanhedrin. These men saw the growing popularity of Jesus and conspired to kill him.

Though one would assume Jesus was caught and killed, this is not the case. He was never "caught" at all, but willingly went to be beaten, mocked, and crucified. "About the ninth hour Jesus cried out in a loud voice, 'Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?'—which means, 'My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?'" His blood was spilled and he gave up his life. (Matthew 26-27).

It would seem that a terrible end came to this great and powerful man, and it is true that his followers fell into dispair upon his death. His followers had, in that back of their minds, expected him to deliver himself from his death by exercising his great power, but they were let down when he did not and passed from life.

Fortunately, this was not the end. Three days after the crucifixion Jesus rose to life again. His followers hadn't understood when he'd spoken of it prior, but he'd actually predicted his death and resurrection to them (Matthew 16:21-28, Matthew 20:17-19).

For forty days Jesus appeared many times to many people (Mark 16:9-20, John 20:10-31, John 21). His impact was powerful while he was alive and preaching, but his impact after the resurrection sent forth shock waves that are still being felt even today. He had died and shed his blood for the sin of the world. He was to be the perfect sacrifice, God's Lamb, that took away the sin of the world (John 1:29).

Now, back to the originial question, who is Jesus Christ to the Jewish people? Well, first it must be said that Jesus was a Jew. This should immediately dispell any thoughts of anti-semitism being ascribed to true Christians. Jesus probably grew up just like any other Jewish boy. He no doubt practiced all the traditions of the Jewish people and we're even told that he worked among them as a carpenter following in the trade of his step father Joseph.

The fact that Jesus is Jewish is no small matter. It was said in Isaiah 11:1-10 of Jesus, "A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse; from his roots a Branch will bear fruit. The Spirit of the LORD will rest on him—the Spirit of wisdom and of understanding, the Spirit of counsel and of power, the Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the LORD..." It continues on. The significance is that this book, Isaiah, is accepted as scripture by the Jews and it speaks of a lineage to a messiah coming from Jesse through the line of David. Jesus is a direct descendant of this line (Matthew 1, Luke 3:23-38). Genealogy was very important to the Jews and this prediction seven hundred years prior knew that.

Now, using some excerpts from the Old Testament, the scripture accepted by the Jews, I will attempt to convey the story of Jesus Christ. I warn you, these scriptures are astounding in their depiction.

The Prophecies

Genesis 3:14-15
¹⁴The LORD God said to the serpent, "Because you have done this, Cursed are you more than all cattle, And more than every beast of the field; On your belly you will go, And dust you will eat All the days of your life; ¹⁵And I will put enmity Between you and the woman, And between your seed and her seed; He shall bruise you on the head, And you shall bruise him on the heel."

This is the first of the messianic prophecies. It takes place after Adam and Eve eat of the forbidden tree and God is dealing out the curse. The Lord curses the deceiving serpent and then he refers to the seed of the woman. God refers to this seed as "He" which is peculiar. It paints a picture of a man stamping on the serpent's head while the only recourse of the serpent is to bruise his heel.

Genesis 12:3
³And I will bless those who bless you, And the one who curses you I will curse And in you all the families of the earth will be blessed."

Here, God speaks to Abram (before he is named Abraham) and tells him that through this single man "all the families of the earth will be blessed." Jesus Christ, along with all the Jews, were descended from Father Abraham.

Genesis 18:17-18
¹⁷Then the LORD said, "Shall I hide from Abraham what I am about to do? ¹⁸Abraham will surely become a great and powerful nation, and all nations on earth will be blessed through him.

Here, God is speaking of Abraham as he and his two companions walk on their way to destroy the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah.

Genesis 22:1-18
¹Some time later God tested Abraham. He said to him, "Abraham!" "Here I am," he replied.
²Then God said, "Take your son, your only son, Isaac, whom you love, and go to the region of Moriah. Sacrifice him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains I will tell you about."
³Early the next morning Abraham got up and saddled his donkey. He took with him two of his servants and his son Isaac. When he had cut enough wood for the burnt offering, he set out for the place God had told him about. ⁴On the third day Abraham looked up and saw the place in the distance. ⁵He said to his servants, "Stay here with the donkey while I and the boy go over there. We will worship and then we will come back to you."
⁶Abraham took the wood for the burnt offering and placed it on his son Isaac, and he himself carried the fire and the knife. As the two of them went on together, ⁷Isaac spoke up and said to his father Abraham, "Father?" "Yes, my son?" Abraham replied. "The fire and wood are here," Isaac said, "but where is the lamb for the burnt offering?"
⁸Abraham answered, "God himself will provide the lamb for the burnt offering, my son." And the two of them went on together.
⁹When they reached the place God had told him about, Abraham built an altar there and arranged the wood on it. He bound his son Isaac and laid him on the altar, on top of the wood. ¹⁰Then he reached out his hand and took the knife to slay his son. ¹¹But the angel of the LORD called out to him from heaven, "Abraham! Abraham!" "Here I am," he replied.
¹²"Do not lay a hand on the boy," he said. "Do not do anything to him. Now I know that you fear God, because you have not withheld from me your son, your only son."
¹³Abraham looked up and there in a thicket he saw a ram caught by its horns. He went over and took the ram and sacrificed it as a burnt offering instead of his son. ¹⁴So Abraham called that place The LORD Will Provide. And to this day it is said, "On the mountain of the LORD it will be provided."
¹⁵The angel of the LORD called to Abraham from heaven a second time ¹⁶and said, "I swear by myself, declares the LORD, that because you have done this and have not withheld your son, your only son, ¹⁷I will surely bless you and make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as the sand on the seashore. Your descendants will take possession of the cities of their enemies, ¹⁸and through your offspring all nations on earth will be blessed, because you have obeyed me."

Here is a strange story, but once understood it becomes a beautiful picture of God's own sacrifice. It is interesting that Isaac carried the wood for his own sacrifice just as Jesus Christ carried his cross for at least part of the way (John 19:17).

Take note that Isaac asks, "where is the lamb for the burnt offering?" and Abraham answered with a very powerful response, "God himself will provide the lamb for the burnt offering, my son."

Understand the significance that the Father is leading his son to be sacrificed. Next observe that Abraham mentions, though he perhaps doesn't fully understand the significance of his statement, that God Himself will provide the sacrifice. This seems to be a foreshadowing of Jesus Christ.

Finally, God tells him, "because you have done this and have not withheld your son, your only son, I will surely bless you and make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as the sand on the seashore. Your descendants will take possession of the cities of their enemies, and through your offspring all nations on earth will be blessed, because you have obeyed me."

God also did not withhold his only son, Jesus Christ (John 3:16 "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life."). How else would all nations and families on earth be blessed except that Jesus Christ should die for their sin?

Psalm 22
¹ My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?
Why are you so far from saving me,
so far from the words of my groaning?
² O my God, I cry out by day, but you do not answer,
by night, and am not silent.
³ Yet you are enthroned as the Holy One;
you are the praise of Israel.
⁴ In you our fathers put their trust;
they trusted and you delivered them.
⁵ They cried to you and were saved;
in you they trusted and were not disappointed.
⁶ But I am a worm and not a man,
scorned by men and despised by the people.
⁷ All who see me mock me;
they hurl insults, shaking their heads:
⁸ "He trusts in the LORD;
let the LORD rescue him.
Let him deliver him,
since he delights in him."
⁹ Yet you brought me out of the womb;
you made me trust in you
even at my mother's breast.
¹⁰ From birth I was cast upon you;
from my mother's womb you have been my God.
¹¹ Do not be far from me,
for trouble is near
and there is no one to help.
¹² Many bulls surround me;
strong bulls of Bashan encircle me.
¹³ Roaring lions tearing their prey
open their mouths wide against me.
¹⁴ I am poured out like water,
and all my bones are out of joint.
My heart has turned to wax;
it has melted away within me.
¹⁵ My strength is dried up like a potsherd,
and my tongue sticks to the roof of my mouth;
you lay me in the dust of death.
¹⁶ Dogs have surrounded me;
a band of evil men has encircled me,
they have pierced my hands and my feet.
¹⁷ I can count all my bones;
people stare and gloat over me.
¹⁸ They divide my garments among them
and cast lots for my clothing.
¹⁹ But you, O LORD, be not far off;
O my Strength, come quickly to help me.
²⁰ Deliver my life from the sword,
my precious life from the power of the dogs.
²¹ Rescue me from the mouth of the lions;
save me from the horns of the wild oxen.
²² I will declare your name to my brothers;
in the congregation I will praise you.
²³ You who fear the LORD, praise him!
All you descendants of Jacob, honor him!
Revere him, all you descendants of Israel!
²⁴ For he has not despised or disdained
the suffering of the afflicted one;
he has not hidden his face from him
but has listened to his cry for help.
²⁵ From you comes the theme of my praise in the great assembly;
before those who fear you will I fulfill my vows.
²⁶ The poor will eat and be satisfied;
they who seek the LORD will praise him—
may your hearts live forever!
²⁷ All the ends of the earth
will remember and turn to the LORD,
and all the families of the nations
will bow down before him,
²⁸ for dominion belongs to the LORD
and he rules over the nations.
²⁹ All the rich of the earth will feast and worship;
all who go down to the dust will kneel before him—
those who cannot keep themselves alive.
³⁰ Posterity will serve him;
future generations will be told about the Lord.
³¹ They will proclaim his righteousness
to a people yet unborn—
for he has done it.

Whopping evidence Figure #1! Remember what Jesus cried out on the cross? ("My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" [Matthew 27:46]) This chapter in Psalm seems to point directly to the crucifixion, an act not even invented during David's time. David wrote it, but he seems to be describing someone else's suffering. When was David pierced? When were his bones out of joint?

Isaiah 7:14
¹⁴ Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel.

Immanuel means God with us. Remember that Jesus Christ was born of a virgin (Matthew 1:18-22) This prediction came seven hundred years before Jesus was born.

Isaiah 11:1-10
¹ A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse; from his roots a Branch will bear fruit. ² The Spirit of the LORD will rest on him—the Spirit of wisdom and of understanding, the Spirit of counsel and of power, the Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the LORD - ³ and he will delight in the fear of the LORD. He will not judge by what he sees with his eyes, or decide by what he hears with his ears; ⁴ but with righteousness he will judge the needy, with justice he will give decisions for the poor of the earth. He will strike the earth with the rod of his mouth; with the breath of his lips he will slay the wicked. ⁵ Righteousness will be his belt and faithfulness the sash around his waist. ⁶ The wolf will live with the lamb, the leopard will lie down with the goat, the calf and the lion and the yearling together; and a little child will lead them. ⁷ The cow will feed with the bear, their young will lie down together, and the lion will eat straw like the ox. ⁸ The infant will play near the hole of the cobra, and the young child put his hand into the viper's nest. ⁹ They will neither harm nor destroy on all my holy mountain, for the earth will be full of the knowledge of the LORD as the waters cover the sea. ¹⁰ In that day the Root of Jesse will stand as a banner for the peoples; the nations will rally to him, and his place of rest will be glorious.

This is the promise that the messiah would come through the line of King David. When Jesus Christ has finished his work, the whole prophecy will come to fruition.

Isaiah 52:13-53
¹³ See, my servant will act wisely; he will be raised and lifted up and highly exalted. ¹⁴ 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—¹⁵ so will he sprinkle many nations, and kings will shut their mouths because of him. For what they were not told, they will see, and what they have not heard, they will understand.
¹ Who has believed our message and to whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed? ² He grew up before him like a tender shoot, and like a root out of dry ground. He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him, nothing in his appearance that we should desire him. ³ He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows, and familiar with suffering. Like one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not. ⁴ Surely he took up our infirmities and carried our sorrows, yet we considered him stricken by God, smitten by him, and afflicted. ⁵ But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed. ⁶ We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all. ⁷ He was oppressed and afflicted, yet he did not open his mouth; he was led like a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is silent, so he did not open his mouth. ⁸ By oppression and judgment he was taken away. And who can speak of his descendants? For he was cut off from the land of the living; for the transgression of my people he was stricken. ⁹ He was assigned a grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death, though he had done no violence, nor was any deceit in his mouth. ¹⁰ Yet it was the LORD's will to crush him and cause him to suffer, and though the LORD makes his life a guilt offering, he will see his offspring and prolong his days. and the will of the LORD will prosper in his hand. ¹¹ After the suffering of his soul, he will see the light of life and be satisfied; by his knowledge my righteous servant will justify many, and he will bear their iniquities. ¹² Therefore I will give him a portion among the great, and he will divide the spoils with the strong, because he poured out his life unto death, and was numbered with the transgressors. For he bore the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors.

Whopping Evidence Figure #2!

"his appearance was so disfigured beyond that of any man
and his form marred beyond human likeness"

This sounds like the result of Jesus' torture and crucifixion.

"He grew up before him like a tender shoot,
and like a root out of dry ground."

A shoot from the root of Jesse?

"He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows,
and familiar with suffering. Like one from
whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we
esteemed him not."

Jesus Christ was despised (John 1:11 "He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him."). His own people crucified him, but Jesus said in Luke 23:34, "Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing."

"Surely he took up our infirmities and carried our sorrows, yet we considered him stricken by God, smitten by him, and afflicted. But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed. We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all."

This is the picture of Jesus' sacrifice. Because of his death we are saved. He was the perfect sacrifice that took away our sin. He took it all, past, current and future sins, our iniquity, on his back and died in our place. We now have peace and are healed.

"After the suffering of his soul, he will see the light of life and be satisfied; by his knowledge my righteous servant will justify many, and he will bear their iniquities."

Though he died, it appears here that he sees the light of life and is satisfied. This seems to be a picture of the resurrection.

Micah 5:2-5
² "But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah,
though you are small among the clans of Judah,
out of you will come for me
one who will be ruler over Israel,
whose origins are from of old,
from ancient times. "
³ Therefore Israel will be abandoned
until the time when she who is in labor gives birth
and the rest of his brothers return
to join the Israelites.
⁴ He will stand and shepherd his flock
in the strength of the LORD,
in the majesty of the name of the LORD his God.
And they will live securely, for then his greatness
will reach to the ends of the earth.
⁵ And he will be their peace.

This is the prophecy of the birthplace of the messiah. Jesus Christ was born in Bethlehem (Luke 2:1-7). It speaks strongly of his shepherdship and majesty.

Who is Jesus Christ to the Jewish people?
No.
Who is Jesus Christ to all people?

Jesus came, he died, and overcame the grave by rising again. This is known, but what is less understood is that he brought the Old Covenant to a close and established a New Covenant. What is meant by this? The Old Covenant brought the Ten Commandments (Exodus 20:1-17) and Laws. This occurred in the Old Testament section of the Bible. (Testament means Covenant) Humankind cannot abide by the Ten Commandments as Jesus Christ demonstrated through his teachings (Matt 5:21-48), because, though we may abide outwardly, we do not abide in our hearts. This spoke pwerfully that all men have been rendered guilty and cannot enter heaven (Matthew 19:16-30). Mankind was thus faced with a problem: Who then can be saved?

The ministry, death, and resurrection of Christ can ultimately be understood by the following excerpt from Paul's writings in the letter to the Roman church:

Romans 3:21-26
²¹But now a righteousness from God, apart from law, has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify. ²²This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference, ²³for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, ²⁴and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. ²⁵God presented him as a sacrifice of atonement, through faith in his blood. He did this to demonstrate his justice, because in his forbearance he had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished— ²⁶he did it to demonstrate his justice at the present time, so as to be just and the one who justifies those who have faith in Jesus.

You see, Jesus brought the Old Covenant, the one that separated mankind from God, to a close when he paid the price for all our sins. He simultaneously began a New Covenant that promises salvation through faith and following Jesus Christ. Jesus encounter with the rich man (Matthew 19:16-30) shows us the amount of surrender we must have in following Him. It is our striving of complete surrender and elevation of Him above all else that separates us. All that is required of us is to trust in Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior. From this, me may be certain that our eternal place is in heaven Him.

Conclusion

After seeing just a few predictions out of a great many more of the coming messiah and the fulfillment of Jesus Christ, the implications for the Jewish people suggest that they've missed their long sought after messiah.

Even more unfortunate is that a majority of Jewish people don't even know that they are to be looking for a messiah. Many hear the word messiah and it means nothing to them. Many people who claim to be Christians don't understand what they say they believe, but the Jew doesn't always understand what he believes either. So, if you decide to minister to a Jewish person, understand that they may not have any idea what you're talking about when you mention a "messiah." You'll need to tell them by explaining and showing them their own prophetic scriptures concerning a messiah. From this foundation, you can better introduce Jesus Christ and the Good News of salvation.

John 3:1-21

¹Now there was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a member of the Jewish ruling council. ²He came to Jesus at night and said, "Rabbi, we know you are a teacher who has come from God. For no one could perform the miraculous signs you are doing if God were not with him."
³In reply Jesus declared, "I tell you the truth, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again."
⁴"How can a man be born when he is old?" Nicodemus asked. "Surely he cannot enter a second time into his mother's womb to be born!"
⁵Jesus answered, "I tell you the truth, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit. ⁶Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit. ⁷You should not be surprised at my saying, 'You must be born again.' ⁸The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit." ⁹"How can this be?" Nicodemus asked.
¹⁰"You are Israel's teacher," said Jesus, "and do you not understand these things? ¹¹I tell you the truth, we speak of what we know, and we testify to what we have seen, but still you people do not accept our testimony. ¹²I have spoken to you of earthly things and you do not believe; how then will you believe if I speak of heavenly things? ¹³No one has ever gone into heaven except the one who came from heaven—the Son of Man. ¹⁴Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the desert, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, ¹⁵that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life.
¹⁶"For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. ¹⁷For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. ¹⁸Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God's one and only Son. ¹⁹This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but men loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. ²⁰Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that his deeds will be exposed. ²¹But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what he has done has been done through God."

Alton Gansky Asks, "Why do you think so few men buy books in Christian bookstores?"

2006-06-08T22:18:00.000-07:00

Alton Gansky asks why men frequent Christian book stores less than women.
I recently read an article put out by Biola University that pointed out the increasing feminization of the church. It was titled, "The Feminization of the Church: Why Its Music, Messages, and Ministries Are Driving Men Away." The article points out the fact that there is a well known deficiency of men in the church today caused by the church's inclination to cater to women.

Some say it started with the industrial revolution, when men were required to leave home and enter the work force. Family farming was no longer the most viable of occupations. So, women were left to be the leader of the household while their husbands spent long hours at work. The man was distanced from his family. Isn’t it true that society as a whole is being feminized?

As capitalistic drive increased, so did self interest and greed. Men eventually became rough and rugged heathens instead of strong and admirable spiritual leaders. The responsibility fell on the woman to attend church and rear the children properly. Women began to outnumber men in church services. Church was steadily became more of a place for women and children than it was for men.

In response to this imbalance, many churches began to retool the ministry to accommodate the new audience. Without the presence of strong, decisive men in the church, it was allowed to shift with culture.

Now, take an honest look at your own church. How many events and functions are actually for men? Your church might have a women’s bible study, a women’s craft day, a women’s breakfast, a women’s tea, a women’s support group, three women’s retreats throughout the year, a quilting day, a women’s prayer meeting, an annual women’s banquet, of course many ministries geared toward the children of those women, and one men’s bible study that meets weekly. Oh, and they’re talking about going on a retreat sometime in the future, maybe. Of course, I’m exaggerating a little, but then again, I might be describing your church. Men sometimes see the church as a big ladies' club.

It’s interesting to note that men are much more present in churches that are just getting their start. This is probably because risk and decision making is involved in a new church. Men thrive on this sort of thing. However, once a church is established or has been established a long time, men find themselves out of place.

The truth is that love songs, a romantic relationship with Jesus, crying in prayer, etc., are all things that men don’t always particularly look for in their own lives. The idea is even perpetuated that these more feminine experiences are actually godlier. Men get the idea that the church is a nurturing place that serves to help weaker people in need of support. A man who prides himself for being the head of the household isn’t naturally inclined to present himself as weak. His mind is set to appear strong for his family. The article quotes Mike Erre, director of a men’s ministry at Rock Harbor Church in Costa Mesa California, as saying, “The classic example is the worship pose of the eyes shut and the arms raised in this tender embrace, singing a song that says, ‘I’m desperate for you. You’re the air I breather.’ Guys don’t talk to guys like that.” It’s also notable that men who are in the church are actually portrayed hugging and crying in highly emotional circumstances. Promise Keepers has moved its ministry away from this portrayal and toward a tougher, manlier advertising strategy because they realized that a man doesn’t want to be “reduced” to crying and hand holding. To quote Hank Hill, “It just ain’t right.”

Now, take into consideration the fact that many a Christian book is written in this same spirit of feminization. The writers know in that back of their minds that the audience consists of mostly women, so they write the books for the people who’ll buy them. It’s only common sense that they’d write what sells and what the church is centered around. Thinking, in the first place, that Christianity is for women and wussy men who need a crutch, men who value their strength and manhood are unwilling to even enter such a store. It would risk his image.

So, that may be the reason for men’s absence in Christian book stores, and, for that matter, in the church as well. Promise Keepers has an oft repeated statistic (quoted in the Biola article) that goes as follows: “[W]hen a mother comes to faith in Christ, her family follows 34 percent of the time, but when a father comes to faith, his family follows 93 percent of the time.” Perhaps the church needs to shift back to a good balance again. What can you do?

Ashes to Apolgetics

2006-03-01T21:14:00.000-08:00

For those of you who are interested, I'm planning on starting apologetics meetings again. This time, they'll be monthly, instead of semi-weekly, they'll be geared not only to answering questions, but to equipping you with the ability to actively search for answers, and we may have a rotation on locations.

I'm hoping for a group that's ready to delve into some serious study and some deeper questions. I not only want to teach others, but also to be taught. I believe that the Bible holds layers upon layers of mystery and intrigue that's just waiting to be uncovered. Apologetics should be an active study, without limitation, without curricular boundaries, and without end. I want each person to not only contribute in the meeting, but to study and hypothesize during the month. With thirty or so days between studies, I think that each individual should have ample time to gleam some truth, or root out some confusing excerpt, or dissect a complicated set of scriptures.

Apologetics is sorely missed by yours truly. I'm excited to get it going again. Perhaps I can document some of our findings here on the sadly neglected Blessed X.

Apologetics

2005-08-07T20:04:00.000-07:00

Nice New Look

2005-08-05T23:37:00.000-07:00

Hey guys. I did a little work on the site. It was looking a little boring, so I gave it a new look. I recorded an intro to the site. Take a listen and leave me some feedback. Thanks for visiting and come back often.

Adventures In Christ

2005-07-16T11:18:00.000-07:00

Hey all. I was looking for a television show that my co-worker (a brother in Christ) was telling me about. It's called The Way Of The Master and you can visit it by clicking here. If that site doesn't load well for you, because it's for high speed users with cable and dsl, click here.

After looking at this site for a while, I found another site called Adventures In Christ. A guy named Joey goes to people with an iPod and interviews them. He starts by asking a simple question like, "If you saw a human and a cat both drowning in a pool, which would you save?" This leads into all kinds of interesting conversation. At that point he addresses their values and why they hold them. It leads into conversation about God very naturally. The result? Evangelism.

To visit this site click here. I've also added links to both these sites in the side column for you visit at any time. Thanks for stopping by.

What Happened?

2005-07-13T19:29:00.000-07:00

Many times, the question is asked, why don’t we see miracles like there were in the early church? Why aren’t people being miraculously healed, why aren’t demons being cast out, and why aren’t supernatural experiences of all kinds occurring?
Allow me to read to you some of the things that the early church was doing.

Acts 2:43-47
43Everyone was filled with awe, and many wonders and miraculous signs were done by the apostles. 44All the believers were together and had everything in common. 45Selling their possessions and goods, they gave to anyone as he had need. 46Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, 47praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.

Acts 5:12-16
12The apostles performed many miraculous signs and wonders among the people. And all the believers used to meet together in Solomon's Colonnade. 13No one else dared join them, even though they were highly regarded by the people. 14Nevertheless, more and more men and women believed in the Lord and were added to their number. 15As a result, people brought the sick into the streets and laid them on beds and mats so that at least Peter's shadow might fall on some of them as he passed by. 16Crowds gathered also from the towns around Jerusalem, bringing their sick and those tormented by evil spirits, and all of them were healed.

The church at this time was on fire for God. People didn’t believe because they were coaxed by miracles, they believed because of Jesus.

The miracles happened only after there was belief in Jesus, not before. Not to compel belief…

John 20:29
29Then Jesus told him (Thomas), “Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”
Hebrews 11:1
1Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.

We look for miracles to occur, begin to doubt God’s presence, but miss the point. It’s not about what God can do to impress you; it’s about whether or not you’re giving your all to allow God to use you.
Have you put everything else aside and adopted the same zeal and passion that the people in the first church had? You probably haven’t if you’re convinced you need to see something to believe.

That’s the problem with the church as a whole today. People have allowed their values to lax, their minds to wander, and an all encompassing desensitization in their lives.

It is our responsibility as the church to revitalize the faith and only then will amazing and extraordinary things occur. Consider miracles as evidence of life. The presence of evidence for life means that life produced it first, not the other way around.

Can I Trust My Pastor's Teaching?

2005-07-13T19:15:00.000-07:00

Acts 17:11
Now the Bereans were of more noble character than the Thessalonians, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true.

It’s important to check the scriptures against the things you hear. Even if it is a friend or a pastor, it’s your responsibility to make sure that you’re not being misguided.

It’s not hard to mislead people who don’t check for themselves.

JWs took their own meaning from the original text and created The New World Translation: a skewed and extremely inaccurate version of the Bible.

Amazingly, even though false on many counts, over 5 million people are current believers in the Jehovah’s Witness Cult.

The religion has had many false prophets as well.

Deuteronomy 18:20-22
But a prophet who presumes to speak in my name anything I have not commanded him to say, or a prophet who speaks in the name of other gods, must be put to death." You may say to yourselves, "How can we know when a message has not been spoken by the LORD ?" If what a prophet proclaims in the name of the LORD does not take place or come true, that is a message the LORD has not spoken. That prophet has spoken presumptuously. Do not be afraid of him.

All this came about from misinterpretation of the scriptures.

When you read the Bible and you think you know what it means, check other reliable translations, check other parts of the Bible (no contradictions), and ask those that have been consistently right and knowledgeable about the Bible. This could mean a pastor, a teacher, or a friend.

20 20 RULE

Always make sure that when you read a verse or verses that don’t seem to make sense, read twenty verses before and twenty verses after to try to gain understanding. If that doesn’t work, read more.

If you don’t gain the understanding you want, stay undecided until you read across something else in the Bible that sheds more light on the subject. Cross references appear in many good Bibles. Take advantage of it.

It’s important not to let your entire understanding be from other people. You need to read and learn it.

Colossians 1:25-27
I have become its servant(speaking of the church) by the commission God gave me to present to you the word of God in its fullness--the mystery that has been kept hidden for ages and generations, but is now disclosed to the saints. To them God has chosen to make known among the Gentiles the glorious riches of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.

God has made available to us the mysteries of Christ our savior, but to gain it we must search out the answers.

So, to answer the question, you may trust your pastor's teaching, but only after you know he's trustworthy. To know that, it takes your effort to research the things he talks about. The better you know the Bible, the easier it is to recognize truth from untruth.

What is the meaning....

2005-06-28T06:59:00.000-07:00

Alot of people are familiar with the phrase, "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength." (Deuteronomy 6:5, Matthew 22:37, Mark 12:30, Luke 10:27). But what does it mean to love the Lord with all your heart? What does it mean to love Him with all your soul? What does it mean to love Him with all your mind? And what does it mean to love Him with all your strength?

An Interesting Question

2005-06-16T10:31:00.000-07:00

I was just reading a theological article that I found at an interesting website. It's entitle Up With Legalism! The interesting question posed here was this:

"As a parent, what would I do if I were offered a choice between two (and only two) outcomes--(1) a daughter who, though an unwed mother, had come to thoroughly understand her own sinfulness and had thereby come to a true faith in the gospel; or (2) a daughter who was a self-righteous virgin, completely confident of her own inherent goodness and virtue? As a parent, which outcome would I prefer?"

Wow, what a question. One of the basic ideas of this article that I found extremely interesting, and a rather good point, is that the people that even bother to make the effort today to strive for "goodness", strive for a wordly goodness. We are more concerned with looking good and living a blameless life. Now, honestly, it is not wrong to want to live the best life possible, but to believe that one is able to do it on his own is outright foolish. Jack Crabtree, the author, makes to to say that the goal in itself is a truly upright cause, however it will be a humbling for one to realize he cannot make it on his own. This article makes a few good points, and those are the ones on which I am concentrating, however I encourage you to read it for yourself using the link I posted about. I found this question extremely interesting, a question I had never heard before, so I hope you all enjoy the prospect as much as I did. I think my own opinion is obvious. I am in agreeance with our author.

Do Christianity and the Public School System Mesh?

2005-06-01T20:07:00.000-07:00

Q: What Does "Bound" & "Loosed" Mean?

2005-05-27T18:28:00.000-07:00

Steve's A:

Matthew 18:18 says,

"I tell you the truth, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven."

The key to this scripture is in the Greek. Let's look at a few translations to gain some better understanding.

"Truly I say to you, whatever you bind on earth shall have been bound in heaven; and whatever you loose on earth shall have been loosed in heaven.
(NASB)

Truly I tell you, whatever you forbid and declare to be improper and unlawful on earth must be [a]what is already forbidden in heaven, and whatever you permit and declare proper and lawful on earth must be [b]what is already permitted in heaven.(AMP)

a. Charles B. Williams, The New Testament: A Translation: "The perfect passive participle, here referring to a state of having been already forbidden [or permitted]."

b. Charles B. Williams, The New Testament: A Translation: "The perfect passive participle, here referring to a state of having been already forbidden [or permitted]."

I think the Amplified version said it well, footnotes included. This is to say that where two or more are gathered in Jesus' will, the things that we bind or loose (things that are forbidden or things that are permitted) will have already been predetermined in heaven because it was already in God's will.

It is alright for us as Christians , to declare that a person professing to believe in Christ is forgiven. It is basically a statement of what is obvious to us, yet hidden to the unsaved.

It can also be said with authority that a person who denies Christ will not enter the kingdom of heaven. You may also expect that a person who is disobeying and rebelling against God, while at the same time professing to be a born-again believer, will be storing up wrath for himself/herself.

Romans 2:5 But because of your stubbornness and your unrepentant heart, you are storing up wrath against yourself for the day of God's wrath, when his righteous judgment will be revealed.

To put to rest the idea that Peter was given the right to forgive sins, it seems as though he receives knowledge that "was not revealed to you by man, but by my Father in heaven." Peter is given this insight to declare what Jesus has already done. He is not physically able to forgive sin, because Jesus already did. In order that Peter forgive sins, he would have had to be Jesus and die on the cross. Peter could, however, state that a person had received forgiveness as a result of Jesus Christ's death and their profession.

I hope that clears that up. Simply put: when we gain spiritual knowledge in Christ, we then see things that were once hidden from us as obvious. The statements we make in God's will are, of course, going to be accurate.

1 Corinthians 2:6-16 ⁶We do, however, speak a message of wisdom among the mature, but not the wisdom of this age or of the rulers of this age, who are coming to nothing. ⁷No, we speak of God's secret wisdom, a wisdom that has been hidden and that God destined for our glory before time began. ⁸None of the rulers of this age understood it, for if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory. ⁹However, as it is written: "No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him"— ¹⁰but God has revealed it to us by his Spirit. The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God. ¹¹For who among men knows the thoughts of a man except the man's spirit within him? In the same way no one knows the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. ¹²We have not received the spirit of the world but the Spirit who is from God, that we may understand what God has freely given us. ¹³This is what we speak, not in words taught us by human wisdom but in words taught by the Spirit, expressing spiritual truths in spiritual words. ¹⁴The man without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned. ¹⁵The spiritual man makes judgments about all things, but he himself is not subject to any man's judgment: ¹⁶"For who has known the mind of the Lord that he may instruct him?"But we have the mind of Christ.

News Update

2005-05-21T16:15:00.000-07:00

We've recently added some new contributors to The Blessed X.

Mom: Darla McLain. She's our mom (Stephen, Leah, & Cyndi). Her faithfulness to God has helped us to be the God fearing people we are today. She's been a wife for almost twenty-four years and has been a mother for nearly twenty-three. Not only is she a mother to the three of us, but she's looked to by many of our friends as a second mom as well. She continues to be a lover of Christ and an awesome mom today. Her desire to reach out and encourage has been a vital part of my life growing up. She is truly one of the most important people in my life and an instrument used powerfully by God.

Leah McLain: Leah (18) is my younger sister. She's a full time student who is currently enrolled at Cal State University, which she begins in the fall semester. Her active life leaves little time to contribute, but her heart is for God and he can use her here. She's grown up searching for a closer relationship with Jesus Christ. She has an open understanding of the hardships of the daily walk and seeks to uplift her friends and family in their own walks. She's straight forward, unwavering, and intellectually formidable in her day to day life.

Cyndi McLain: Cyndi (16) is my youngest sister. Her compassionate and loving attitude wins the admiration of many. She's an overcomer in life. She find questions in the faith and actually seeks out the answers, making her a great candidate to contribute here. Some of her strengths include her willingness to forgive, her strong ability to continue loving, a knowledge of the Mormon faith, and a tremendous sense of humor that brings joy.

My hope is that you may benefit from the people that I have benefited from in my life. They sharpen me, encourage me, and love me; I believe they will do the same for you.

Q: How Do I Deal With Christians Who Try To Justify Sinful Behavior?

2005-05-07T00:37:00.000-07:00

Question Posted By Mike

May 23, 2005, 5:34 PM

Steve's A: Matthew 18 says,

"If your brother sins against you,[a.] go and show him his fault, just between the two of you. If he listens to you, you have won your brother over. But if he will not listen, take one or two others along, so that every matter may be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses.' If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church; and if he refuses to listen even to the church, treat him as you would a pagan or a tax collector.
"I tell you the truth, whatever you bind on earth will be[c.] bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be[d.] loosed in heaven.
"Again, I tell you that if two of you on earth agree about anything you ask for, it will be done for you by my Father in heaven. For where two or three come together in my name, there am I with them."

a. Some manuscripts do not have against you.
c. Or have been
d. Or have been

Matthew 7 says,

"Do not judge so that you will not be judged. "For in the way you judge, you will be judged; and by your standard of measure, it will be measured to you. "Why do you look at the speck that is in your brother's eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? "Or how can you say to your brother, 'Let me take the speck out of your eye,' and behold, the log is in your own eye? "You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother's eye. ["]

Matthew 7 says,

"Do not give what is holy to dogs, and do not throw your pearls before swine, or they will trample them under their feet, and turn and tear you to pieces.["]

Paul writes in his letter to the Corinthians,

It is actually reported that there is sexual immorality among you, and of a kind that does not occur even among pagans: A man has his father's wife. And you are proud! Shouldn't you rather have been filled with grief and have put out of your fellowship the man who did this? Even though I am not physically present, I am with you in spirit. And I have already passed judgment on the one who did this, just as if I were present. When you are assembled in the name of our Lord Jesus and I am with you in spirit, and the power of our Lord Jesus is present, hand this man over to Satan, so that the sinful nature may be destroyed and his spirit saved on the day of the Lord.

These words spell out a reasonable process of correction in the church (church: anyone in the body of Christ, not limited to a congregation of people in one place). If you see a professing brother or sister in Christ sinning, first examine yourself so that you may bring correction with a clear conscience free from hypocracy. When you speak with your brother, attempt to correct in love. If you are unsuccessful, try again, but this time with two or three other brothers or sisters. If you are again unsuccessful, go to the church with your concern. If the brother or sister in Christ still does not turn from their sin, it is time to hand them over to Satan. Perhaps this will break that person and they will turn.

This is the Biblical process that we are to follow. It may seem difficult to carry out the last step, but it is God's way. He uses even the bad to bring back a lost sheep. Provers 29:1 A man who hardens his neck after much reproof will suddenly be broken beyond remedy.

It must be your prayer that your friend and brother or sister, if they are unyielding to the last step, may have their heart broken that they might humbly return to Jesus Christ. Sometimes it takes hitting "rock bottom" before a person will actually realize they cannot do it without Jesus Crhist. Many times, this is God's method. We, as obedient children of God, cannot caudle each other and hold the hand of the sinner. We must allow for God's plan by putting our own selfish desires for that person aside. To learn from one's mistakes, one must be allowed to make mistakes.

May 23, 2005, 11:28 PM

Leah's A:

Courtesy of BibleGateway.com, 1 John 2:1-6 says,

¹My dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin. But if anybody does sin, we have one who speaks to the Father in our defense—Jesus Christ, the Righteous One. ²He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for^[a] the sins of the whole world.

³We know that we have come to know him if we obey his commands. ⁴The man who says, "I know him," but does not do what he commands is a liar, and the truth is not in him. ⁵But if anyone obeys his word, God's love^[b] is truly made complete in him. This is how we know we are in him: ⁶Whoever claims to live in him must walk as Jesus did.

1 John 2:2 Or He is the one who turns aside God's wrath, taking away our sins, and not only ours but also
1 John 2:5 Or word, love for God

And 1 John 2:15-17 says,

¹⁵Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. ¹⁶For everything in the world—the cravings of sinful man, the lust of his eyes and the boasting of what he has and does—comes not from the Father but from the world. ¹⁷The world and its desires pass away, but the man who does the will of God lives forever.

God never ceases to amaze me. I have had a struggle with doubts lately, and perhaps I will take time to write about that in a separate post. But the reason I bring that up is because I decided last week to start reading 1 John, and tonight I came across this passage. It's funny that Mike would bring this question up, because I have been dealing with this issue lately, as well. It's amazing that I sat down to read my Bible and this passage was right there! I feel as though God has used this to let me know that He sees me struggling, and it's almost His way of letting me know He's there by giving me a specific answer to something I am dealing with. So that's why I brought up the issue of my doubts. It's encouraging when, in a time of questioning and when feeling as though God is absent, He has His little ways of letting me know that He is there.

So basically this passage says that, plain and simple, Christians that try to justify sinful behavior are wrong. No "if"s, "and"s, or "but"s about it. "Whoever claims to live in Him must walk as Jesus did." Obviously we can't walk as Jesus did--we make mistakes, we aren't perfect. But we need to try. If you have a friend that just doesn't get it and that keeps heading down a path of destruction, don't make excuses for that person. He or she knows right from wrong and will someday be held accountable for his or her own actions. Nothing in this world is worth sinning for. This is a tough issue. Sometimes we want to live for the here and now, but God knows what's best for us. By playing it safe and doing what He says, we are greatly helping ourselves. Christians that justify sinful behavior know they're wrong, and they need to realize that they are much better off if they obey. I know it's hard. I have things I struggle with, too. But I know God's rules are for my own good. It's important to keep that in mind.

Just thought I would share what I came across. Steve's answer dealt alot with how to deal with those kinds of Christians, but I thought this passage was especially relevent, too, because sometimes we forget that it doesn't matter how much someone justifies his or her behavior--if the Bible says it's wrong, it is.

May 25, 2005, 10:40 AM

Cyndi's A:

This is my opinion about the previous question: "How Do I Deal With Christians Who Try To Justify Sinful Behavior?" In this post, I also found a question myself:
"I tell you the truth, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven." Does this mean that if you and another Christian die on bad terms, you will not get along in Heaven? I'm not really sure what that verse means.

My outlook on this subject is a little blurred. I even have some more questions of my own. Is it an earthly view that if it isn't you business, you shouldn't get involved? Are you only allowed to correct that brother or sister "If that brother has sinned against you."? Or are we held accountable as Christians to let them know when they are doing something wrong if it is against someone else? However, in many of Paul's letters to the church, he corrects them repeatedly. I think my conclusion until otherwise proven might be that it is proper to correct your brother if he has sinned against you and follow the process described in Matthew 18, and I think it is proper to share your opinion on a subject if a brother asks you about it.

May 25, 2005, 4:03 PM

Mike's Response:
Matthew 16 is probably one of the favorite chapters of Catholics. Verses 13-20 is the story where Jesus asked the disciples who everyone says that He is. ¹⁴They replied, "Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets." ¹⁵"But what about you?" he asked. "Who do you say I am?" ¹⁶Simon Peter answered, "You are the Christ,[b] the Son of the living God."

From here Jesus tells Peter that he is the rock and upon this rock I will build my church. He goes on to say that he will give him the keys to heaven and "whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven." This is the basis for the Papacy (the Popes) and that Peter was the first Pope. I think it is entirely possible that Jesus was speaking just to Peter in this verse. His entire quotation is preceded by, "Jesus replied, 'Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah.'" So if that is the case, it seems Jesus was giving Peter the keys to the gates of heaven. It almost seems like Jesus was giving him the power to forgive sins. We know that's not possible, as Jesus is the only way to heaven. It could mean that Jesus had given him the power to show the way to lead people to heaven. In which case, we also have this power.

Another possible explanation is that this was the point at which salvation was directly available and sacrifice was no longer necessary. The Message puts it this way, "You will have complete and free access to God's kingdom, keys to open any and every door: no more barriers between heaven and earth, earth and heaven. A yes on earth is yes in heaven. A no on earth is no in heaven."

There's Something To Christianity

2005-04-15T12:12:00.000-07:00

What is it about Christianity? I just bought a new truck on Wednesday and we sat down to fill out the paperwork with a brother in Christ. His name is John. I was struck by his enthusiasm and love for God. He spoke about Him with tremendous excitement and it was easy to see that he was quite familiar with the Holy Spirit in him.

This started me thinking. I go to work every day, come home, might go to church or hold a Bible study, and almost always read a little of the Bible. I attend church regularly, I pray very often, and I meditate on the things of God almost all the time. These are all good things, but I noticed my attitude through much of my day had its high points and low points. I can become discouraged about some things, automatically worry about problems, and sometimes speak using poorly chosen words.

Sometimes, I don't wake up looking forward to my day. I unenthusiastically go through the motions, I commonly allow for autopilot at work, and often just try to make it by. I don't work my hardest. I don't do my best. Have you recognized my problem yet?

When I talk to somebody at work about Jesus Christ, about the word, or about the purposes of life, I get very excited. My mind begins to come to life, my mouth becomes a tool for God, and my heart fills with... The word is "joy". Why don't I feel so great all the time?

I have learned through living my life these twenty-two years, that all it takes to be happy, wherever you are, is the right attitude. I just remain happy, refuse to focus on the bad of a situation or situations, and navigate into a carefree mindset. I roll with the punches, enjoy the good days, and bring all the good I can find to the forefront of my thoughts.

I write this knowing that I can write for hours on end and that you, the reader, may never grasp my own personal revelation, but I leave that to the Holy Spirit.

My original question was, "What is it about Christianity?" When a non-Christian person sees a Christian, what do they see? Do they see what appears to be just another person, or do they notice a city on a hill? A Christian can be seen both ways, but it might be a problem to be seen as just another person.

You see, as a Christian, we have a peace that transcends all understanding. We have joy that is always with us. A Christian can go through complete and utter turmoil. A Christian can endure what, to most, would be hopelessness. A Christian can lose his family, his friends, and all he owns. But a Christian will keep his joy despite it all.

How can a Christian keep joyful when he has nobody in his life? How can a Christian smile, though he lacks his health? Why does a Christian try, when there's nothing left to try for?

The Christian has Jesus.

It is our peace that transcends that keeps us going. It is our hope of eternal life. It is our encouragement of seeing our Savior. Our path is narrow and less traveled, but its end is the greatest reward anyone could have.

The trick is finding that joy when you feel wronged at work by your boss. The challenge is keeping a smile when you face the same thing you face each and every day. The identity is that of letting your joy shine in the areas of your life that you would otherwise lack joy.

Try waking up and looking forward to your day. Go to work and do your best. Continue doing your best. Work as unto God. Look to be an example in Christ.

Don't be a lukewarm Christian anywhere in your life. Grab onto and hold tight to God's joy. Be encouraged by Jesus' faithfulness to you. Pick yourself up quickly each time you fall. Never lose your joy, because having that joy is to embrace God.

Q: What evidence is there for the infallibility of scripture?

2005-04-11T20:29:00.000-07:00

Steve's A: What grounds do we have to say that the Bible, though written by way of man, was actually written by God and is therefore infallible?
Steve’s A: The infallibility of scripture is reinforced through the following verses:

2 Peter 1:20-21
²⁰But know this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture is a matter of one's own interpretation,
²¹for no prophecy was ever made by an act of human will, but men moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from God.
&
2 Timothy 3:16-17
¹⁶All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness;

But, the writers could have written that by their own will in order to gain more credibility for their writing. Isn’t that at least a possibility?

No. It is obvious, by looking at the tremendous amount of accuracy of prophetic writings, that the accounts are obvious acts of God. To gain the amount of accuracy that the Gospels had there had to be one coherent author and that was God. Each Gospel did carry with it its own details, but no inconsistencies are found between them. The consistency and flow is not just uninterrupted between the three Gospels, but throughout the entire Bible. Its message remains directed, focused, and continuous. It is the story of the redemption of man.

Each detail included in the Bible is significant. It is living and dynamic, causing the reader to continually render meaning from it. This is why a person can read the same verse twice and receive different application from each time.

The Bible has stood the test of time, the test of prophetic fulfillment, and the test of archeological findings. It remains free of contradiction, above all other religions for its truth, and the right choice through the millennia.

Prayer of Change

2005-04-10T22:38:00.000-07:00

Lord, my prayer tonight would be that my heart would be open. I desire to know my dull edges. I don’t want to be stubborn and unchanging. It is not in our born again nature to cease to change. I always want to be better and never to accept that I simply can’t defeat my short comings. I will not reject the correction I receive, nor will I become content with myself. I have to keep moving forward, working on my temper, working on my moments of bitterness, and working on my very thoughts. These are not my traits; they are my anchors and my chains. I can break free with your help. I can become a better man, but I know that becoming a better man is to never stop trying to move toward you. Change me O God. Make me more like you.

Q: Is God Bound By Time?

2005-04-08T08:56:00.000-07:00

Steve's A: Actually, the concept, as we all know, probably can't be fully grasped. As with Philippians 4:6-7
⁶Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. ⁷And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

I like the word transcend. I am of the school of thought that God transcends time and space. His perfect plan is known from start to end and was known from our beginning and is known at our end. It would seem that God is interacting with every moment at his present. Like I said, we probably won't be able to fully grasp it.

On the other hand, I've heard it mentioned in serious debates over the subject that God has allowed himself to be subject to time. He interacts in our present and shares time with us. This is of course a self imposed limitation. A good analogy would be to observe how Jesus Christ, who is God, came and was subject to the human weaknesses. In the same way, God has allowed himself to be bound by time.

Some interesting text on God and time follow here:

Psalm 90:1-4
¹ Lord, you have been our dwelling place
throughout all generations.
² Before the mountains were born
or you brought forth the earth and the world,
from everlasting to everlasting you are God.

³ You turn men back to dust,
saying, "Return to dust, O sons of men."
⁴ For a thousand years in your sight
are like a day that has just gone by,
or like a watch in the night.

2 Peter 3:7-9
⁷By the same word the present heavens and earth are reserved for fire, being kept for the day of judgment and destruction of ungodly men.
⁸But do not forget this one thing, dear friends: With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day. ⁹The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.

It would seem however, that God set into motion the law of time so that he might interact with us on the plain of time. If God transcended all "time" and "time" has an "end" at the end of time and the beginning of eternity, do we then begin to transcend? It would seem that eternity is an unending span of time, but time nonetheless. Therefore, it can be said that the interaction God has with us through the life on earth and throughout eternity is on the plain of time. I'm confused, how about you?

Mike and I have been talking through it while sitting here. We read a little of William Lane Craig and our minds were stimulated into new areas of thought on the matter. Mike will weigh in on the topic as well. I must say however, that at the beginning of this post, I was pretty grounded in the transcending camp, but now I may have changed my mind. I'm sure that Mike will bring some intriguing items to the arena of thought as well.

I do want to take a look at the word transcend right now. To transcend is to pass beyond limits, to be outside of laws or guidelines. To transcend time is to be outside of it. To transcend time would imply that he could feasibly interact with the past at the same moment as now and the future. If God is this way, it boggles my mind to follow the logic all the way through. God transcends time, so he exists in a moment, in all places, knows all, and transcends every possible law available to make any sense of the whole thing. I believe in God's power enough that this idea, though impossible to comprehend, it entirely possible for God.

Now, if whatever I just said makes any sense to you, let me know.

Mike's A: The ultimate answer in my viewpoint would technically be no. God is the creator of all that we see, know, and experience, except for Himself. So surely He does not have to be bound by one of His creations.

Now, I think it's important, in order to fully answer the question, to ask a different question. What IS bound by time? This will help to establish the purpose of time, and will help us understand what God's relationship to time is. The definition of the word "bound" is "Confined by bonds; tied" and "Being under legal or moral obligation" and "Predetermined; certain" and "Determined; resolved."

Clearly, everything we can see and touch and measure and observe is bound by time. My soul is bound to my body and this earth by time. Job 14:14 says: "If a man die, shall he live again? All the days of my appointed time will I wait, till my change come." We clearly have an appointment to die that we cannot accelerate, nor prevent or postpone. Our soul is inseperable from this world, until that time comes.

Now a good question would be, what is the purpose of time? The things we do during the days appointed to us are what decides what will happen to us once they have expired. Everyone's fate is bound by the choices we make while we are bound by time. Clearly the purpose for time is a chance. A chance given to see what we will do in the limited amount of time given to us.

So what is the right choice? The right choice would be to acknowledge God as the creator of the universe, the ultimate and sovereign being. And the right choice is to acknowledge Jesus Christ as His Son, who came to this earth as a man and lived a perfect life without sin, yet was crucified for the sins of us all. But He rose again on the third day, defeating death for those who have faith in Him.

When that decision is made, it is a particular point. 2 Corinthians 5:15-19 says, "And he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again. So from now on we regard no one from a worldly point of view. Though we once regarded Christ in this way, we do so no longer. Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting men's sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation." We become new creations. At that moment, God's Holy Spirit enters into us. The angels rejoice in heaven.

Clearly, many of God's actions are time specific actions. His spirit enters into us at a specific point, and at that same point, the angels who are in heaven with God, rejoice. Luke 15:10 says, "In the same way, I tell you, there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents."

Going back to the original question, different definitions for bound will probably bring a different conclusion. God is definitely not "confined" by time, and I don't believe that He is "under legal or moral obligation" to it. But the ultimate progression of time is definitely predetermined by Him, and He is definitely determined to bring it about.

So I think the answer is this. God is not confined by time. But we are. And His purpose for creating us was to serve Him and to have fellowship with Him. Time was created as a way for God to interact with us. A parallel discussion is that, although God is not bound by humanity, for a time He was. When He came to this earth, He did not have to follow the laws of humanity, as the Devil reminded Him while tempting Jesus. But He chose to interact with the world the same way we do, in order to truly have a way to interact with us. In the same way, He does not have to follow the laws of time, but He does so in order to interact with us.

We do not have a choice in that matter. We have to follow the laws of this earth. Gravity binds us, time binds us, all the laws of this world bind us. God, however, does have the choice. Yet He chose to experience these things so that we might have a way to come to Him.

The Question of Suffering

2005-04-05T20:22:00.000-07:00

One of the biggest obstacles for the faith is suffering.

The question is as follows: Why would a loving God allow such suffering in this world?

I’ve been reading a book called The Case for Faith by Lee Stroble and so far it’s impressed me intellectually and spiritually. Lee Stroble, who started out being an atheist, was faced with a struggle when his wife became a Christian. She dragged him to church at one point after many failed attempts and he walked out with a few questions on his mind. Being a journalist for the Chicago Tribune gave him the inquisitive edge that led him to write The Case for Christ, a powerful book that addressed the burning objections that the skeptics throw in the face of Christians, the same objections that Lee himself shared. His book was originally intended to disprove Christ’s existence. He assumed that this crutch for the weak, this springboard for indoctrination would fall apart under the microscope, but his search for the truth left him utterly beaten—and a believer.

In his second book The Case for Faith, Lee comes back with his skeptical edge and attacks leading Christian Philosophers with his deep cutting questions. He demands full and complete responses rather than simple generic answers. All too often Christian teachers and even some pastors are intimidated by the tough issues and discourage young Christians and skeptics from asking. Unfortunately this leads some to think that there are no answers, but there are.

I love the direction that Lee took when he asked the aforementioned question. He went to the once right-hand-man of the famed Billy Graham, Charles Templeton. Charles explained to him that he couldn’t understand how a loving God could allow starvation, drought, death of innocent children, and even Alzheimer’s disease. Templeton himself was suffering from Alzheimer’s. These things finally ripped Templeton’s faith away from him. This quickly personalized the debate and hit Lee hard. He wasn’t just speaking to a skeptic, but a suffering individual. This entire section is very touching and I sympathize with his struggle. I also have struggled with these concepts.

Lee finally sits down with Dr. Peter John Kreeft, a Catholic writer and philosophy professor. Here Kreeft argues his points magnificently and tactfully. His answers are not simple ones that leave the inquirer feeling short changed and unfulfilled, but instead were deeply insightful and colorful. His language was articulate and ultimately yielded a web of philosophical, logical, and understanding thoughts that tied up in the end to present a rock solid argument from the Christian perspective. I was stunned to read his responses and find his conclusions. They seemed familiar, but refreshingly new. His speech finally wound up pointing to suffering as having at least the potential for good. It would seem that suffering can lead to both atheism and strengthened faith. Those looking in from the outside often question why God would allow such suffering which leads them to close up and take up atheism, while those experiencing it are forced to place their trust in God and then realize that Jesus is there every step of the way with them. Of course my summation here leaves much to be explained, but I think the book does a fine job of that, and I’m not here to give you the whole story, but to share about something that is impacting in my life.

At any rate, I’ve come to the conclusion that God’s master plan is unknown to us, and why he allows such terrible things may not be fully understood, but the fact remains that God has a plan for this fallen world, and that will be done.

James 1:2-4 2 Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, 3 because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. 4 Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.

Hello World

2005-04-05T17:39:00.000-07:00

Welcome to the Blessed X.