Category Archives: God’s Word: The Bible

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December 4, 2014

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Bible Stories, God's Word: The Bible, Nature, Sharing Our Faith

IT’S NOT A DEAL BREAKER! (Genesis, part 1)

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All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right. God uses it to prepare and equip his people to do every good work. [2 Timothy 3:16-17 (NLT)]

For some people, the Book of Genesis keeps them from becoming Christians. “How can you possibly believe it all happened in six days?” they ask. Because they can’t reconcile apparent contradictions between science and Genesis’ story of creation, they reject the entire Bible. To borrow my mother’s phrase, “That’s like throwing out the baby with the bath water!”

The accuracy of the creation story can bring about heated discussions but, for me at least, it is a nonessential debate. Let the creationists and evolutionists, the fundamentalists and liberals, the scientists and theologians argue all they want. I’ve chosen not to become preoccupied with the cosmology, biology and geology of the creation story. Whether the creation of our world took six twenty-four hour days or six million year days is not the foundation of my faith. I’ve seen models of DNA, taken astronomy, studied biology and geology and I can’t really understand, let alone explain, the big bang theory, black holes, geologic eras, gene mutation, or evolution. I would hardly expect ancient people to understand these concepts. Genesis is not a book of science; it is a book of theology! The Bible’s purpose is not to be a scientific document; its purpose is to tell us about God and its ultimate goal is our salvation.

I accept the Book of Genesis as the word of God told in such a way that His people could understand and comprehend its meaning. Many others, however, have more fundamental or more liberal interpretations. While we may disagree about the exactness of the creation story as told in Genesis, this disagreement should never keep us from agreeing about the important things like sin, forgiveness, redemption, salvation, love, faith, resurrection and the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Our purpose is not to win people to our interpretation of Genesis; our purpose is to win people for God!

The Lord merely spoke, and the heavens were created. He breathed the word, and all the stars were born. He assigned the sea its boundaries and locked the oceans in vast reservoirs. Let the whole world fear the Lord, and let everyone stand in awe of him. For when he spoke, the world began! It appeared at his command. [Psalm 33:6-9 (NLT)]

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November 21, 2014

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God's Word: The Bible, Knowing Him, Trusting God, Wisdom & Guidance

NOTHING BUT THE TRUTH

“Teacher,” they said, “we know that you speak and teach what is right and are not influenced by what others think. You teach the way of God truthfully. [Luke 20:21 (NLT)]

I’ve had a busy week of hearing from a variety of authorities. “In my expert opinion,” said the physician. “It’s my understanding,” opined the lawyer. “From past experience,” offered the political science professor. All of their statements allowed for some wiggle room, different interpretations, or alternative conclusions. Did I hear the truth or only their version of the truth? Jesus never guessed, or assumed, and certainly never presumed; He knew! Let’s remember that Jesus didn’t offer an approximation, a guesstimate or an opinion; he offered the truth—the whole truth and nothing but the truth, because he was the truth!

Jesus told him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me. [John 14:6 (NLT)]

Since you have heard about Jesus and have learned the truth that comes from him, throw off your old sinful nature and your former way of life, which is corrupted by lust and deception. Instead, let the Spirit renew your thoughts and attitudes. Put on your new nature, created to be like God—truly righteous and holy. [Ephesians 4:21-24 (NLT)]

 

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November 12, 2014

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Church & Worship, God's Word: The Bible, Knowing Him, Temptation & Sin, Wisdom & Guidance

THE FRAUD

If anyone tries to flag you down, calling out, ‘Here’s the Messiah!’ or points, ‘There he is!’ don’t fall for it. Fake Messiahs and lying preachers are going to pop up everywhere. Their impressive credentials and dazzling performances will pull the wool over the eyes of even those who ought to know better. So watch out. I’ve given you fair warning. [Mark 13:21-23 (MSG)]

Last spring, thrilled to see a beautiful goldfinch gracefully perched on a decorative bird feeder, I turned on my camera and moved closer. Surprised that the bird remained so still, I knew why it didn’t fly away once I’d focused in on it; it was a fake! I’d been fooled briefly but recognized the bird for what is was, a fraud, and quickly walked away. Yesterday, I walked by the same house and noticed that the summer storms had knocked the feeder on its side and the once bright yellow bird is now faded and covered with mold.

My experience with the phony bird reminds me of the Biblical warnings about false prophets. Like the fake goldfinch, they, too, can be appealing and look quite authentic. When browsing through a bookstore or channel surfing the TV, it’s easy to come across today’s false prophets. Their messages are often about self, not selflessness; being spiritual, not the Holy Spirit; and wealth in this world instead of riches in the next. They may refer to Jesus as a good man instead of Jesus being God as man or speak of Him as a prophet instead of the fulfillment of prophecies. There may be just enough truth in their ideas to make them appear believable and correct. Before accepting anything, we need to examine their message closely to see if it breathes of God’s word. Beware of false prophets and their messages; they may look good at first glance. Like the fake bird, however, they won’t hold up to the test of time. Storms will batter them, the bright light of day will fade them, and they’ll eventually decay and rot.

Frauds! Isaiah’s prophecy of you hit the bull’s-eye: These people make a big show of saying the right thing, but their heart isn’t in it. They act like they’re worshiping me, but they don’t mean it. They just use me as a cover for teaching whatever suits their fancy. [Matthew 15:7-9 (MSG)]

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September 27, 2014

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Bible Stories, God's Word: The Bible, Holy Spirit, Temptation & Sin

DO WE NEED TO BE RESCUED?

Rescue me from my enemies, O God. Protect me from those who have come to destroy me. Rescue me from these criminals; save me from these murderers. They have set an ambush for me. Fierce enemies are out there waiting, Lord, though I have not sinned or offended them. [Psalm 59:1-3 (NLT)]         

The ropes of death entangled me; floods of destruction swept over me. The grave wrapped its ropes around me; death laid a trap in my path. But in my distress I cried out to the Lord; yes, I prayed to my God for help. [Psalm 18:4-6a (NLT)]        

Many of David’s psalms are about battles, protection from his enemies, or being rescued from an attack. For example, Psalm 59 was written about the time soldiers were sent to watch David’s house in order to kill him and Psalm 18 was sung on the day David was delivered from the hand of his enemies and King Saul.

Granted, there may be people who don’t particularly like us, but they’re not our enemies and, while we may have a few disputes, we aren’t preparing for combat. Since we’re probably not on anyone’s “hit list” and we don’t have an angry king or opposing armies waiting to ambush us, how do David’s psalms relate to us? Who are our enemies and what are our battles?

Our enemy, of course, is Satan, and we enter into a spiritual battle with him every day. It’s good to remember that no matter how safe we may feel in our comfortable homes and lives, we are never safe from him. He is always looking for ways to ambush or trap us because he wants our souls. God, however, wants our salvation. With the power of the Holy Spirit we have all of fire power we need for today’s encounter with the enemy.

When the devil comes knocking upon the door of my heart and asks, “Who lives here?” the dear Lord Jesus goes to the door and says, “Martin Luther used to live here, but he has moved out; now I live here.” The devil, upon seeing the pierced hands takes flight immediately. [Martin Luther]

I called on the Lord, who is worthy of praise, and he saved me from my enemies. [Psalm 18:3 (NLT)]

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September 24, 2014

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Challenges & Difficulty, Faith & Hope, God's Word: The Bible, Nature

BRACE ROOTS

9-26-14corn-crop338-cropWEBOnce there was a man who went out to sow grain. … Some of it fell on rocky ground, where there was little soil. The seeds soon sprouted, beause the soil wasn’t deep. But when the sun came up, it burned the young plants; and because the roots had not grown deep enough, the plants soon dried up. … The seeds that fell on rocky ground stand for those who receive the message gladly as soon as they hear it. But it does not sink deep into them, and they don’t last long. So when trouble or persecution comes because of the message, they give up at once.  [Matthew 13:3,5-6,20-21 (GNT)]

We’ve had several storms with high winds and yet the corn stands strong and tall in the fields. With such a thin stalk, I wondered how it could grow so high without being bent and battered by the severe weather. Looking down at the base of the stalk, I noticed several little roots growing into the soil. Corn has two sets of roots that can reach as deep as six to seven feet in the ground. The little roots above the ground are called brace roots. Not only do they help take up water and nutrients from the soil but they also provide support for the seven-foot 9-26-14brace root-cropWEBplant. Lack of enough brace roots might not harm corn in absolutely perfect growing conditions, but the plant won’t survive adverse conditions such as drought or high winds without them.

Seeing the corn’s brace roots reminded me of Jesus’ farming parable in Matthew. I thought about the seed that was unable to develop deep roots. Without deep roots, the seed couldn’t survive harsh conditions. It’s easy to be like that seed: we attend church more or less regularly and read a few devotions, but we don’t dig deep into God’s word to take in His strength. We’re fine as long as everything goes smoothly and the conditions are ideal. When adversity comes (and we all know it eventually will), we lose faith; there will be nothing to harvest because survival is impossible without strong roots. It’s not enough for us to simply hear God’s word; we need to absorb it into our lives and use it for spiritual nourishment and support. When we do that, like the corn, we’ll develop brace roots that will keep us standing tall and strong during the droughts and storms of life.

Since you have accepted Christ Jesus as Lord, live in union with him. Keep your roots deep in him, build your lives on him, and become stronger in your faith, as you were taught. And be filled with thanksgiving. [Colossians 2:6-7 (GNT)]

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September 15, 2014

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Fear & Doubt, God's Word: The Bible, Knowing Him

TRUST THE ONE YOU FEAR

All you who fear the Lord, trust the Lord! He is your helper and your shield. … He will bless those who fear the Lord, both great and lowly. [Psalm 115:11,13 (NLT)]

Even though we know that the words “Fear the Lord” don’t necessarily mean we have to cower in terror, we may still find that phrase troubling when used in reference to our relationship with God. Many of us were afraid of people in our own families so we may carry some heavy baggage when we see the word “fear” in our Bible reading. There are some who grew up in homes where there were arguments instead of discussions and shouting instead of speaking. While punishment was readily handed out, forgiveness wasn’t readily offered. Perhaps there were more tears than laughter and more hostile silences than words of comfort. Children were afraid to approach their parents with a problem because, instead of a solution, they would get a lecture on how their failures brought on the difficulty in the first place. There may even have been outright abuse.

Psalm 115 tells us that, if we fear the Lord, we can trust Him and He will bless us. How are we supposed to trust a god who frightens or terrorizes us as a parent or someone else in authority might have done in the past? If you find it troubling when the word “fear” is used in the context of your connection to God, look to other translations. For example, instead of the word “fear,” the Easy-to-Read Version often uses the word “respect,” the Good News Translation frequently uses the words “honor” and “obey,” and the Message Bible uses “worship.”

God does not want us filled with terror at his presence nor does He does want us cowering in a corner, afraid to seek him. He wants to have a relationship with us, one that is based on love not dread, trust not anxiety, and reverence not fright.

You must fear the Lord your God, serve him… [Deuteronomy 6:13a (GW)]

Revere the Lord your God, serve him… [Deuteronomy 6:13a (CEV)]

Respect the Lord your God and serve only him.… [Deuteronomy 6:13a (ERV)]

Honor the Lord your God, worship only him… [Deuteronomy 6:13a (GNT)]

When you are full, don’t forget to be reverent to him and to serve him… [Deuteronomy 6:13a (TLB)]