What Will the Year 2012 Bring?

What will the new year bring? This past year was a tough one for many reasons. You can guarantee that there will be political unrest around the world in the new year. In the United States as the presidential election draws near the mud slinging will grow worse. Some people are expecting the Occupy Wall Street protests or other protests to intensify.

Economically things don’t look that good either. The new manager of the International Monetary Fund warns that the global economy faces the prospect of “economic retraction, rising protectionism, isolation and. . .what happened in the 1930s” (i.e. an economic depression). Some sources see the Europe Union imploding both economically and politically. Sorry for the bad news before the new year even begins.

But there are things that you can do to have a blessed new year no matter the circumstances. First, make a commitment to read Scripture. An ancient psalmist wrote about Scripture, “Your word is a lamp to my feet And a light to my path (Psalm 119:105).Allow the light of God’s Word to give you wisdom, insight, comfort and courage for all of life.

Second, trust God. The writer of Proverbs said, “Trust in the LORD with all your heart, And lean not on your own understanding; In all your ways acknowledge Him,  And He shall direct your paths (Proverbs 3:5, 6).” No matter what the new year brings trusting in God to direct your path is wise counsel.

Third, be generous in your charitable giving and serve others with the love of God. The New Testament proclaims, “But this I say: He who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and he who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. So let each one give as he purposes in his heart, not grudgingly or of necessity; for God loves a cheerful giver.  And God is able to make all grace abound toward you, that you, always having all sufficiency in all things, may have an abundance for every good work (2 Corinthians 9:6-8).” And “through love serve one another. For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself’ (Galatians 5:13, 14).”

Finally, share the good news of Jesus Christ and the coming kingdom of God with others. The Bible proclaims “Now then, we are ambassadors for Christ (2 Corinthians 5:20).” There are people looking for love and hope and answers to life’s questions. “You are an epistle of Christ (2 Cor. 3:3).” In other words, you are Christ’s love letter to someone out in the world.

So read the Bible daily, trust God in all you do, cheerfully give, serve in love and make known the good news. Have a very happy and blessed new year!

The Branch: The Son of God

The last prophecy concerning the one called “The Branch” is found in Isaiah 4:2. “In that day the Branch of the LORD shall be beautiful and glorious.” The day spoken of is the future day of Christ’s reigning as the King of kings upon the earth. At that time Jesus will be seen in all his glory.

We learned in previous blogs that the Branch is revealed as a king, as a servant and as a man. He is now revealed as “the Branch of the LORD.” And as the phrase “a Branch shall grow out” from Jesse, David’s father, indicates that Jesus would be the son of David, so “the Branch of the LORD” indicates that Jesus is also the Son of God. Matthew’s gospel reveals Jesus as the king, Mark as the servant, and Luke as the man. John’s gospel shows that Jesus Christ is “the Branch of the LORD” the Son of God.

Like Mark’s gospel the gospel of John has no genealogy for Jesus. He simply writes “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made (John 1:1-3).” The Greek pronoun translated “He” and “Him” are impersonal pronouns in the Greek and therefore should be translated as “it” when referring to the “Word.” Every English Bible before the King James Version of 1611 translated the pronouns this way. The following is an example. “In the beginning was the word, and the word was with God: and the word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by it, and without it nothing was made that was made.” [my emphasis]

 The word translated “Word” is logos and it means a plan, purpose, saying, expression of thought, a message, or an intention. And so when we read “the Word was God” the original intent of the Greek is to convey the idea that the “Word” was fully representative of God. The “Word” is not Jesus, it is the thoughts and intents of God’s heart and character. If we understand God’s Word we know what God is like. In other words the logos fully expresses God’s purpose, mind, heart and will. Therefore you could very accurately paraphrase John 1:1-3, like this, “In the beginning God had a creative and redemptive plan. And this plan or purpose revealed His heart and was fully representative of all that God is. All things were made through this plan and without this divine plan nothing was made.”

With all of this in mind John 1:14 reveals a wonderful truth. “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.” The word, the logos, God’s plan, His purpose, became flesh and dwelt among us. With the coming into existence of Jesus Christ at his conception and birth, the full plan and heart of God was expressed in a human being. Jesus Christ was full of divine “grace and truth (John 1:17).”

What became flesh in John 1:14, was not a preexistent or eternally begotten Son of God. What became flesh was God’s final revelation of what He is like revealed in the Man, Jesus Christ. This is why John went on to write “No one has seen God at any time. The only begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, He has declared Him (John 1:18).” The Son revealed the Father. And so John wrote his gospel showing the many signs and wonders Jesus performed so “that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in His name (John 20:31).”

The four Old Testament prophecies concerning the Branch as king, servant, man and Son of God find their fulfillment in Jesus Christ as presented in Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. Each gospel writer was inspired by God to set forth a unique and yet complimentary portrait of the Christ.

As we read the Word of God and come to faith in Christ we find our own fulfillment as well. The New Testament says to us, “Beware lest anyone cheat you through philosophy and empty deceit, according to the tradition of men, according to the basic principles of the world, and not according to Christ.  For in Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily; and you are complete in Him, who is the head of all principality and power (Colossians 2:8-10).” Merry Christmas!

The Branch: The Man

In my last two blogs about the Old Testament prophecies concerning the Branch we have seen that one prophecy concerns the Branch, Jesus Christ, as a king. And the second concerns the Branch as the servant of the Lord. Correspondingly we have seen that Matthew picks up the theme of the king while Mark presents the servant. Now we come to the third prophecy again in the book of Zechariah.

Behold, the Man whose name is the BRANCH! From His place He shall branch out, and He shall build the temple of the LORD (Zechariah 6:12).

The first feature of this third prophecy is that the one called “the Branch” is a man. This may startle some readers but Jesus is not a god/man. He is a genuine human being. There was no eternal being called God the Son (a phrase never found in the Bible). Jesus did not pre-exist in heaven as God and then decide to reduce himself and then pass through time and space and enter Mary’s womb as a baby. An entity like this is not “conceived” or “begotten” (Matthew 1: 20; Luke 1:31; John 3:16) he merely passes through one form of life into another—kind of like a sci-fi character.

In the Old Testament Jesus is prophesied to be the seed or offspring of the woman (Genesis 3:15), the seed or offspring of Abraham (Genesis 22:18) and the seed or offspring of David (2 Samuel 7:12-16). Moses declared that the Messiah would be a prophet like himself (Deuteronomy 18:15, 18). Nowhere in the Old Testament is there ever the tiniest hint that Jesus is a god/man; he is presented as a genuine man. 

Luke’s gospel corresponds to the prophecy of “the Man whose name is the BRANCH.” And once again in Luke we have a genealogy for Christ. Matthew’s genealogy shows the royal lineage and it goes forward from Abraham to David to Jesus. But Luke’s genealogy moves backward from Jesus, through some very common people, all the way back to Adam, a real man, who is called “the son of God”!

Adam came into being by a direct act of God. And Jesus is a real man who came into existence by a direct act of God (Luke 1:35). In fact the Bible says that “in all things He [Jesus] had to be made like His brethren (Hebrews 2:17).” The Savior had to be just like the rest of us in every way except that he never gave in to sin.

In tracing Jesus’ genealogy back to Adam, Luke shows us that Jesus is not just a Jewish man, he is related to all mankind. Luke shows Jesus as a friend of publicans and sinners. He shows Jesus ministering to not only Jews but to Gentiles. We see Christ’s emotions more deeply in Luke’s gospel. And we see his dependence upon God through prayer more in Luke than in any other gospel. Jesus depended upon the power of God to do the great things that he did (Acts 2:22; 10:38).

The fact that Jesus is a real human being makes his ministry and obedience to God even to the point of death heroic! He is the only man who has ever loved God with all his heart, soul, mind and strength. And he has won the victory that the first man, Adam, lost. Scriptures says, “Therefore, as through one man’s offense judgment came to all men, resulting in condemnation, even so through one Man’s righteous act the free gift came to all men, resulting in justification of life. For as by one man’s disobedience many were made sinners, so also by one Man’s obedience many will be made righteous (Romans 5:18, 19).”

The birth of Jesus Christ “the Man whose name is the BRANCH” was to bring about the fulfillment of the promise of Genesis 3:15. This is the promise that the seed of the woman will crush Satan’s head. Through the man, the Lord Jesus Christ, the day is rapidly approaching when “the God of peace will crush Satan under your feet shortly. (Romans 16:20).” Praise God!

The Branch: The Servant

In the previous blog we saw that Isaiah and Jeremiah prophesied about one who would be called “the Branch” who would be king. This is the Messiah, the Christ, Jesus, the descendant of King David. One day Christ will rule from Jerusalem over the entire world. He will rule in righteousness and there will be everlasting peace (Isaiah 9:6, 7).

Jesus has won the right to rule the world because He is the only person who has been completely devoted to God. Jesus Christ is the servant of the Lord God Almighty. This is the prophetic message given through Zechariah. “For behold, I am bringing forth My Servant the BRANCH (Zechariah 3:8).”

Isaiah tells us that this “Branch” will have the “Spirit of the LORD” upon him, The Spirit of wisdom and understanding, The Spirit of counsel and might, The Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the LORD.  His delight is in the fear of the LORD (Isaiah 11:1-3a).” Through the Spirit of God, Jesus Christ was able to overcome every temptation to sin. He was able to be humbly obedient to God in all things even to the point of death on the cross (Philippians 2:8).

The gospel of Matthew shows Jesus as the Branch: the King. Mark’s gospel proclaims Jesus as the Branch: the Servant. Matthew’s gospel has a genealogy for Jesus showing him to be the descendant of King David. But Mark’s gospel has no genealogy for Christ because a genealogy is not needed for a servant as it is for a king.

You want to see a servant working and being faithful to his Master. Mark’s gospel is action packed and Jesus is the action hero. Jesus is seen teaching, healing and preaching. When you read Mark’s account of the life of Christ you see words like “immediately,” “arose” and “went.” Mark constantly uses the present tense in his writing. There are also several sections on suffering and discipleship, though Mark’s gospel presents the working Jesus more than the teacheingJesus.

Then in the tenth chapter of Mark we have Jesus speaking these famous words: “You know that those who are considered rulers over the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them. Yet it shall not be so among you; but whoever desires to become great among you shall be your servant. And whoever of you desires to be first shall be slave of all. For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many (Mark 10:42-45).” [my emphasis]

The Lord Jesus Christ is the Branch: the Servant of the Lord God Almighty. And he calls to us to follow him in loving service to God and to others. This Christmas season rejoice in the truth that the Servant of the Lord has set you free—free from sin, free from guilt, free from the condemnation of God’s holy law. But do not use your freedom to do as you please. Rather “through love serve one another (Galatians 5:13)” just as your Lord did. For you too are empowered with the Spirit of God (Acts 1:8; Romans 5:5).

The Branch: The King

During this Christmas Season I thought it would be a good idea to contemplate several Old Testament prophecies concerning the coming of our Savior Jesus Christ. The prophecies that we will look at concern someone known as “The Branch.” My goal is that as we study these prophecies together our faith will be strengthened and our joy increased.

Have you ever wondered why there are four gospels, Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, instead of just one account of Jesus Christ’s life? Did you ever wonder why there are genealogies concerning the lineage of Jesus in Matthew and Luke but not in Mark or John? Though similar in many ways each author gives us a view of Christ from a unique perspective. Matthew desires to show Jesus as the rightful heir to King David’s throne. Mark reveals Christ as the Servant of Yahweh, the one true God. Luke portrays Jesus as the perfect man. And John’s goal is to help us believe that Jesus is the Son of God.

Each of these perspectives in the four gospels flow from the Old Testament prophecies of the One called “The Branch.” The Hebrew word is tsemach. The word means a young plant, or sprout. The two prophecies that we will examine today concern a coming king. The first is from Isaiah and the second is from Jeremiah.

“There shall come forth a Rod from the stem of Jesse, And a Branch shall grow out of his roots. The Spirit of the LORD [Yahweh] shall rest upon Him, The Spirit of wisdom and understanding, The Spirit of counsel and might, The Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the LORD. His delight is in the fear of the LORD, And He shall not judge by the sight of His eyes, Nor decide by the hearing of His ears (Isaiah 11:1-3).”

“Behold, the days are coming,” says the LORD, “That I will raise to David a Branch of righteousness; A King shall reign and prosper, And execute judgment and righteousness in the earth. In His days Judah will be saved, And Israel will dwell safely; Now this is His name by which He will be called: THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS (Jeremiah 23:5-6).”

Both of the prophecies above concern the coming of a king. Jesse was the father of King David, Israel’s greatest king. By the time Isaiah and Jeremiah wrote these words there had been a long procession of kings from David’s lineage. Some were good but most were evil and because of this evil, Jerusalem would suffer great destruction, which it did. Centuries followed with no one ruling from the house of David. It was as if a great royal tree and been cut down never to flourish again. But God promised that from the “stem [or stump]of Jesse” He would “raise to David a Branch of righteousness.”

Matthew wrote his gospel to show that Jesus was this promised king. He began his account of Jesus’ life writing, “The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the Son of David (Matthew 1:1).” Jesus is called the son of David more times in Matthew than in any other gospel. The adoptive father of Jesus, Joseph, is also called by an angel “son of David (1:20), establishing the fact that Jesus had a legal and royal right to rule.” Only Matthew records the visit of the Magi (Matthew 2:1-12), who came looking for the new born king.

In Matthew’s gospel Jesus uses Psalm 110 (Matthew 22:41-46) concerning himself. This was a familiar Messianic psalm concerning David’s heir. Matthew’s gospel also speaks about the kingdom of heaven/God more than the others. And there are ten parables unique to the book all of which relate to a king. Finally, when Jesus was crucified this charge was hung above his head: “This is Jesus, the King of the Jews (Matthew 27:37).”

Matthew shows us that God kept His word about the birth of this promised king. Therefore we can trust that there is a day coming (and each new day brings us closer) when Christ will return and “The kingdoms of this world [will] become the kingdoms of our Lord and of His Christ, and He shall reign forever and ever! (Revelation 11:15).”

This Christmas season remember that God keeps His promises (He always does!): a king was promised, a king was born and he will reign over the world. One day we will literally sing “Joy to the world! The Lord has come! Let earth receive her King.”

Thanksgiving

The American tradition of Thanksgiving as a time to focus on God and His blessings dates back about 400 years. The earliest celebration was probably in 1607 at Cape Henry, Virginia. But our current holiday traces its history back to the Separatist Pilgrims.

The Separatists were English Christians who wanted to serve and worship God according to the Bible rather than the traditions of men. Persecuted in their home country of England they initially moved to Holland. But the culture in Holland was very ungodly. Through the grace of God the Separatists were given the opportunity to colonize the New World. So in 1620 they sailed to New England committed to building a community that would help future generations come to faith in Jesus Christ. William Bradford, the first Governor of Plymouth Colony, wrote of their dedication stating that they were willing to sacrifice their lives “even though they be but stepping stones for future generations of believers.”

The Colonists arrived in the New World of America in November of 1620. Unprepared for the harsh New England winter, nearly half of the Pilgrims died before spring. Then early in 1621 they were offered the chance to return to England: no one did. With confidence in God and by His grace through the help of the Native Americans, the pilgrims learned to live and thrive in their new home. In fact the Indian Chief Massasoit and almost his whole tribe became followers of Christ and there was peace between the Pilgrims and the Native Americans for almost 50 years. In December of 1621 the Governor declared a three day feast to thank God for His many blessings and thus began America’s holiday of Thanksgiving.

America has strayed far from the biblical convictions of these early settlers. But we shouldn’t point fingers at others. Rather we should ask ourselves “Am I striving to live and promote biblical truth with the full energy of my convictions?” To paraphrase Bradford, are we willing to make the sacrifices needed for future generations to learn the truth about God, Jesus Christ and the coming kingdom? I pray that we are. Make time this week to allow your heart to express gratitude to God for His many blessings. Happy Thanksgiving!

The Consequences and Characteristics of Laziness

Earlier this week at the Asian Pacific Economic Conference in Hawaii, President Obama said that the United States has become a “little bit lazy” when it comes to bringing new businesses into our country. He went on to say that in the business world we have “lost our ambition” and “our imagination.”

Whatever the merits or non merits of the President’s position about corporate America the Bible has a lot to say about laziness. Here are some pertinent points on laziness from a more personal perspective.

Consequences of laziness:

1. You will bring harm to yourself

Proverbs 10: 4, 5 - He who has a slack hand becomes poor, But the hand of the diligent makes rich. He who gathers in summer is a wise son; He who sleeps in harvest is a son who causes shame.

Proverbs 19:15 - Laziness casts one into a deep sleep, And an idle person will suffer hunger.

2. You will cause harm to others

Best case scenario – Proverbs 10:26 - As vinegar to the teeth and smoke to the eyes, So is the lazy man to those who send him.

Worst case scenario – Proverbs 18:19 - He who is slothful in his work Is a brother to him who is a great destroyer.

Characteristics of laziness:

1. You're slow to start working

Proverbs 24: 30-34 - I went by the field of the lazy man, And by the vineyard of the man devoid of understanding; And there it was, all overgrown with thorns;  Its surface was covered with nettles; Its stone wall was broken down. When I saw it, I considered it well; I looked on it and received instruction: A little sleep, a little slumber, A little folding of the hands to rest; So shall your poverty come like a prowler, And your need like an armed man.

2. You put off completing your work

Proverbs 19:24 - A lazy man buries his hand in the bowl, And will not so much as bring it to his mouth again.

3. You enjoy too much sleep

Proverbs 6: 9-11 - How long will you slumber, O sluggard? When will you rise from your sleep? A little sleep, a little slumber, A little folding of the hands to sleep— So shall your poverty come on you like a prowler, And your need like an armed man.

4. You make excuses for not working

Proverbs 22:13 - The lazy man says, “There is a lion outside!  I shall be slain in the streets!

5. The lazy have unsatisfied desires

Proverbs 13: 4 - The soul of a lazy man desires, and has nothing;  But the soul of the diligent shall be made rich.

6. You are wise in your own eyes

Proverbs 26:13 - The lazy man is wiser in his own eyes than seven men who can answer sensibly.

Laziness doesn’t come at us all at once in a loud abrasive manner. It creeps up on us and lulls us to sleep. But there is a cure. The Bible says, “Therefore, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God (1 Corinthians 10:31).” When you wake up in the morning dedicate all that you will do to the glory of God. It doesn’t matter if you are going to school, flipping burgers, managing a business, doing research or raising children. Dedicate your work to the glory of God and both you and the work will prosper.

How To Listen To A Sermon

This coming Sunday, November 13^th I will finish a preaching series titled “The Word of Truth.” The series presents basic Bible doctrines on who God is, who we are, the tragedy of sin, life and death and the great redeemer from sin the Lord Jesus Christ. You can read or listen to the sermons at the “Teachings” section of our church’s web site (www.graceministryinternational.org). Now I begin preparing for our up coming Christmas series based on John 3:16. If you are in the Chicago area you are welcome to come hear the Word of God and worship with us. We meet at the Gorton Community Center, 400 E. Illinois Rd., Lake Forest, IL. The service begins at 10:30am.

In light of this I thought it would be good to provide some tips on listening to a sermon. First, pray for the person giving the sermon. Your pastor has worked hard in prayer and study to bring a biblical, fresh message to your heart. He has done this because he loves God and he loves you! Pray for him and his message.

Second, when you are going to church to hear a teaching, ALWAYS pray a prayer like this: “God please speak to me today through Your Word. Help me to hear the truth and apply it to my life by the power of your Spirit.”

Third, in every sermon you hear, you should be listening for truth to build on and an action point. Bring paper and pen and take notes. Then go back over the notes during the week and think through one truth to pray over and one action point to apply in your  life.

Fourth, be a Berean! A BERE-WHAT? A Berean. Real quick, turn to Acts 17 and read verses 10-12, I’ll wait... Now be like a Berean - always check out what a preacher says by the Word of God. Preachers can get it wrong sometimes. That’s why they should always be preaching the Bible instead of what they think, and the listener should be checking it out in the Scriptures.

Fifth, you should try to get to church early and sit as near the front as possible. Be prepared mentally, spiritually and physically. And share something about the sermon with someone afterward.

Finally, EXPECT God to speak to you. If you come expecting nothing, that’s probably what you’ll get. I decided as a young Christian always to take notes and always to apply something the minister said, and God has blessed my Christian growth greatly.

As you pray today, ask God to give you a love for the one who speaks God’s Word to you. Pray for his work, his family and his needs as well as your own. Ask forgiveness if you have let the Word you have heard go in one ear and out the other. And commit now to being both a hearer and doer of the Word (James 1:22-25).

Kraft Cheese and Tithing

How much do you give in offerings to your church? I know that’s a loaded question. Here’s why I am asking. Recently a report titled “The State of Church Giving” was released. The report used data from mainline churches across the United States and it noted that financial giving was at its lowest point in 41 years.  Church members were giving about 2.38 percent of their income.

I understand and you do too that times are tough financially. In fact the bad economic situation across our country and even around our world may get worse. But poverty is not an excuse for not giving. In the first century when the apostle Paul wanted to motivate the relatively well off Corinthians to give generously he pointed to the very poor Macedonians. He wrote that the Macedonian’s “great trial of affliction the abundance of their joy and their deep poverty abounded in the riches of their liberality (2 Corinthians 8:2).” In other words, troubles plus poverty plus joy in the Lord resulted in gracious, generous giving. It is our joy in the Lord that overcomes troubles and poverty when it comes to our offerings to the Lord (see also Mark 12:41-44).

The standard for giving set in the Old Testament was called a tithe, which means that giving was set at 10 percent of your income. Many times people gave more, much more and this was called a free will offering (Exodus 35:20ff). There is no set amount of giving required in the New Testament. Scripture simply says “He who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and he who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. So let each one give as he purposes in his heart, not grudgingly or out of necessity; for God loves a cheerful giver (2 Corinthians 9:6-7).

I know, I know you are all thinking when is he going to tell us about Kraft cheese? The answer is now. All of us have heard of Kraft Foods. Kraft is a huge international company founded by James L. Kraft. But not many of us know the story that began it all. Kraft was sent to Chicago in 1903 by a cheese company in Buffalo, New York to be their representative. But he was soon released from their employment and found himself stranded and alone. He took the little money he had left and bought a horse named “Paddy” and a wagon and began to sell cheese. But it didn’t go well at all.

After one very unsuccessful day Kraft had a conversation with Paddy. He remarked to his horse that he needed a business partner. Being raised in a faithful Christian family Kraft realized that he needed to reorganize his priorities. He needed to “seek first the kingdom of God” (Matthew 6:33) and then all that he needed would be provided. So he decided to give 25% of his personal profits to the Lord in his offerings. Things turned around in a very big way for James Kraft. And he gave 25% and more of his own personal profits to the church for the rest of his life. Later in life he made this statement: “The only investment I ever made which has paid consistently increasing dividends is the money I have given to the Lord.”

Now it would be good to find yourself prospering like Kraft did for your generosity. And the Bible says that we can (Proverbs 3:9, 10). But our first reason to give must be worship! The Bible says that “the tithe” was to be given so “that you may learn to fear the LORD (Numbers 14:23). Financial giving to the church shows that we honor God and that we trust Him to meet all of our needs, spiritually and materially. Therefore giving at church is not just a time when the offering plate is passed and we put in our two bits; it is an act of worship or it should be.

When we receive the offering in our church we use a cornucopia like the one pictured above. We do this for two reasons: our abundance towards God and God’s abundance towards us. The divine promise is that as you give with a cheerful heart “God is able to make all grace abound towards you, that you, always having sufficiency in all things, may have an abundance for every good work (2 Corinthians 9:8). Don’t let the economy dictate how you honor God with your finances. Do I hear Paddy neighing in agreement in the background?

New Scientific Theory

Pangaea means “all lands” in Greek. It is the theory that all of the continents around the earth today were once one large land mass. This land mass was called Pangaea. Eventually the one continent began to drift apart to form the continents we have today.

This theory was treated with much skepticism when it was first presented. But since then there has been much evidence to support the concept. Below is a video of how the land mass drift may have begun. “A merry heart makes a cheerful countenance (Proverbs 15:13a).” Sorry for the commercial at the beginning. Enjoy!

Occupy Wall Street and the Boogey Man

Haunted houses, ghouls, zombies, mad men with chain saws ready for mayhem, witches, horror movies and “Occupy Wall Street”. It must mean one thing, Halloween! I mean, really; have you seen the protestors?

When the Occupy Wall Street protests began a few weeks ago conversation about the demonstration centered on the protestor’s grooming and hygiene (or lack thereof for some). But looking on with disdain from our Ivory soap tower there was a growing, grudging awareness that the protest against corruption in Washington and Wall Street had some merit. Is there corruption in government and business? Yes, there is corruption; there always has been and there always will be until the time of “the regeneration, when the Son of Man sits on the throne of His glory (Matthew 19:28).” I’ll get back to this last thought in a moment.

At first we were unsure of what the protestors wanted. But now the protest has continued for a while and we know what many of them want. Some of them desire a revolution where communism and or socialism overthrow capitalism.  But as Margaret Thatcher, former Prime Minister of Great Britain once said, “The trouble with socialism is that eventually you run out of other people’s money.” And as far as communism is concerned, is there anyone at the protest who really desires a one way ticket to Cuba or Venezuela or even some third world country? How would they live without their smart phones allowing them to upload YouTube clips on the go while they sip Starbuck’s coffee?

Other protestors have argued for the overturning of the US Constitution, mortgage and student loan forgiveness, extended unemployment benefits, green energy jobs, free health care, even an expropriation of other people’s property and money for redistribution to those who are “less fortunate.” This is all pie in the sky thinking. The protestors don’t want to compete in the free market, they want to be supported.

Do these people realize where their demands have brought Greece, Spain and Portugal?  Do they understand that Europe is tottering on collapse? The welfare state is doomed. It seems none of this matters, however. The protestors are so serious about their demands that there is now violence in the similar protests in Europe. And it may not be long before it happens here. There is also a large anti-Semitic sentiment in the protests rearing its ugly head—watch out.

I jokingly said all of this must mean Halloween. But there really is a “Boogey Man” behind all of this. Oh, yes there are those puppet masters like billionaire (a hundred times over!) George Soros, who funds leftist radical groups for his own benefit and who made his money in the good old capitalist system. And there are some unethical union and political leaders pulling strings, taking advantage of opportunities and working in various ways for a new world order. But there is a more evil one behind the curtain. The real “Boogey Man” is Satan. And he stirs up chaos on both the left and the right side of politics. The course of human history is always changing and yet always the same. Ever wonder why?

The Bible tells us that at some point all of us live life “according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience (Ephesians 1:2).” What this means is that Satan manipulates the world order, setting up values, philosophies and standards of living that are ungodly. He is the instigator of class warfare, hatred, greed and corruption. He is “the god of this age (2 Corinthians 4:4)” who blinds men and women to the truth. The only way to not live according to “the course of this world” is to be rescued by God’s grace through faith in Jesus Christ. Knowing the truth about Jesus Christ, trusting in him for salvation and obeying his word “shall make you free (John 8:32).”

The “Boogey Man” will not operate freely forever. The Bible says that his rule over the earth will come to an end. Jesus Christ will return to this earth to rule it justly and righteously. As I mentioned earlier this will be the time of “the regeneration, when the Son of Man sits on the throne of His glory (Matthew 19:28).”

There is a day coming when our world will be renewed and healed. There will be no more injustice, no more hatred, greed or corruption when Jesus Christ rules as “King of kings and Lord of lords (Revelation 19:16).” And so I encourage you to discover Christ if you have not and to commit yourself to him. If you trust in Christ follow him more completely in every way. And I pray in the words of Scripture “Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus! (Revelation 22:20).”

Steve Jobs And Changing The World

Last Wednesday, October 5, 2011 Steve Jobs died at the age of 56. Mr. Jobs was one of the pioneers of the personal computing era and the founder and CEO of Apple.

Many years ago Jobs asked a now famous question of John Sculley. At the time Sculley was the head of Pepsi and Jobs wanted to recruit him to take the lead at Apple. Jobs asked, “Do you want to sell sugar water for the rest of your life, or do you want to change the world?” Who would not rise to a challenge and opportunity like that?  And in fact, in terms of how technology affects how we live, work and play Steve Jobs revolutionized our world. There is no question about this.

But here is another Jobs quote to ponder. “The problem is I’m older now, I’m 40 years old, and this stuff doesn’t change the world. It really doesn’t. I’m sorry, it’s true. Having children really changes your view on these things. We’re born, we live for a brief moment, and we die. It’s been happening for a long time. Technology is not changing it much, if at all.” Jobs words are sobering and 180 degrees opposite the first quote.

So, why would Jobs say something like this? Well, as Jobs said, “It’s true.” Technology doesn’t change why we are born, why we live and why we die. Technology doesn’t answer any of the big questions in life. It doesn’t get to the heart of the matter. There is only one thing that does—the good news of Jesus Christ and the kingdom of God.

In the first century the apostle Paul walked by foot into the city of Thessalonica and made known the good news of Jesus Christ. A great many people came to the faith. But there were also many merchants who were angry at Paul and his companions because the market for idols was declining. So they accused the missionaries before the local authorities saying that they had “turned the world upside down (Acts 17:6).”

In one sense what these critics said was true, though in its natural state our world is already upside down. Our world was turned wrong side down at the fall of Adam and Eve and it’s been lying flat on its back ever since. The only way to get turned around in the right direction is by faith in Jesus Christ.

So let me paraphrase Jobs and ask you a question. Do you want to live like everyone else, or do you really want to change your world? Only the believer in Jesus Christ has the power to live right-side-up in a topsy-turvy world. Only a person who has faith in Jesus Christ can escape being “conformed to this world (Romans 12:2).”  In fact he or she can be transformed more and more into the image of Christ (2 Corinthians 3:18).  Only the person who has faith in Jesus Christ has the sure and certain expectation of everlasting life. The promise is “And this is the testimony: that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son (1 John 5:11).”

 Scripture declares, “if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new (2 Corinthians 5:17).” Do you want to change your world? Jesus Christ changes everything.



The Church is Beautiful

The picture above is a church in Tanzania pastored by Augustino Otieno. This church is affiliated with the church I serve Grace Ministry. Look at the picture again. Isn’t this a beautiful church?

Perhaps some of you are thinking what does Chuck mean by “beautiful?” The building is just a wooden frame with corrugated tin walls, no windows and a dirt floor. I know. But I am not talking about the building I am talking about the church—the people!

The Greek word translated “church” in the Bible is ekklesia and it means a called out assembly of people. The Bible calls Christians “the church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth (1 Timothy 3:15).” The church is in reality the called out assembly of the one true living God. We are called out of a sinful, hopeless world and into the family of God. We are called to obtain everlasting life and glory. The church; you and I and every Christian everywhere, are the pillar and ground of the truth.

Like the magnificent pillars of a great temple we stand out offering hope through the good news of Jesus Christ. We are the ground, the foundation upon which God’s truth rests. Each and every believer in the church is filled with the Spirit of God. We have Christ in us the hope of glory. And we have been commissioned to bring the good news of Jesus Christ, the salvation he offers from sin and the gift of everlasting life in his coming kingdom, to every man woman and child.

The church is beautiful! It doesn’t matter what kind of building we have in which we gather to worship. It doesn’t matter if we have a building at all. The church is not a building of brick, stone, stained glass windows or corrugated tin; it is the assembly of the one true living God. The church is God’s called out community. It is His family. God’s people are “a holy temple” the “dwelling place of God in the Spirit (Ephesians 2:21, 22).” Awesome!

The next time you gather with the church look around at all the people gathered with you. Aren’t they beautiful? The church is the most glorious thing in the world. What a privilege it is to be a part of “the church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth.”

Barn Cats and Butter Paws (By Michael Tracy)

Over the years that our family has lived in Iowa, we have quite naturally met many people who grew up on farms.  Since my early years were spent in the suburbs of Buffalo NY, Boston MA and Cleveland OH, the stories and experiences that these friends had were far different than mine.  I have found these stories to be interesting, entertaining and educational.

One structure that farms have in common is a barn.  There are a lot of different barn designs and buildings.  Depending upon the type of farm, the barns may have different purposes.  A barn for hay storage is different than a barn for milking the cows.  One feature that they seem to have in common though are cats.  Barn cats can be really helpful in keeping the rodent populations down.  Apparently these cats can have a tendency to reproduce and also to get underfoot and in the way when things are going on in the barn.

One friend in particular told us what their family did when they needed to have the barn cats out of their way.  They would catch the cats, put butter on their paws and put them in an out-of-the-way corner of the barn.  The cats would be so focused on licking their paws to get all the butter off that they would stay put and pay no attention to what else may be going on.

That is quite a picture of course and it made me think of how God’s adversary works.  (Yes, there is an adversary and sadly most Christians seem to be ignorant of his devices and therefore vulnerable to him). This adversary has two desires:  to be like the Most High and secondly, to hinder the purposes of the True God. 

One way that this adversary will hinder the purposes of the True God is to distract God’s children from God’s Will and Purpose for their lives.  It seems that there is no end to the variety of the distractions!  Work, sports, television, the computer, religious activities (gasp) can all be “butter on the paws”.  Obviously that list is not exhaustive.

If it seems that you never have time to quietly and privately commune with God – you may have butter on your paws.

If you are always too tired to stay your mind and meditate upon God’s Word – you may have butter on your paws.

If it is never convenient to fellowship and worship with likeminded believers – you may have butter on your paws.

If you are too busy to pray with and be of service to a brother or sister in Christ – you may have butter on your paws.

If you are never able to find a way to share out of your abundance – you may have butter on your paws.

There is nothing more satisfying in life than to live in harmony with our Heavenly Father and in alignment with His purpose for our lives.

What if?

What if we stopped treating Sunday like an extra Saturday? What if we didn’t think of it as one more day to go to Home Depot, or one more day for kids’ sporting events or another day to prepare for Monday? What if we treated Sunday like the Lord’s Day? What would be the difference in our lives between making this decision this week and a year from now?

One year from this Sunday, we will have spent 52 days with our heart focused on God and Jesus Christ. Seven and half weeks learning about the blessings and responsibilities of salvation—what would that do to us?

Wait! What if we actually treated Saturday as the day to prepare for Sunday? I’m not saying all day, but you know.  What if we got our mind and heart ready on Saturday to worship God, hear His Word preached and fellowship with other believers?

Wait, again! What if we treated Monday like the first day to review and put into practice what we learned on Sunday? What would the rest of the week look like?

Wait, wait, wait!! What if during the week we took some action to connect with other believers to encourage one another, to pray for one another. What if we just connected by phone, e-mail or over coffee? What if we encouraged our pastor?

Wait (I know, I know, I get too excited)! What if we took the first and greatest commandment  – “You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind ” and the second commandment “You shall love your neighbor as yourself (Matthew 22:37, 38)”  and applied it to how we live? Just thinking.

Theistic Evolution

As I mentioned a few blogs back, there is renewed effort to send the Bible’s account of creation and Adam and Eve to the garbage dump. I also mentioned that this renewed effort is being made not only by atheist Darwinists, but by some Christians and other religionists. They call their theory of the origin of life “Theistic Evolution.” These are people who believe in God but who reject the creation account in Genesis. Personally I do not know how you can believe in God and yet reject the beginning of the Scripture as fantasy. If you can’t trust the beginning of the Bible how can you have faith in another section of Scripture (a topic for another blog)?

Theistic evolutionists propose that after the initial “Big Bang” God unleashed evolution to do its work. Thus trees, frogs, birds and man were not created by a specific act of God, but slowly came into being by a process of random acts of evolution that took billions of years.

One such theistic evolutionist is scientist Francis Collins. Collins is a brilliant scientist who once headed the Human Genome Project. This was the monumental and successful endeavor that mapped the 3.1 billion letters of the human genetic code. Collins work is to be applauded heartily. President Obama appointed Collins to direct the National Institute of Health.

Mr. Collins has said that God might have known and perhaps even determined the outcome of evolution, but nevertheless made it look like it was produced by random and undirected processes. My question to Mr. Collins would be “Why?” Here is Collins in his own words:

“…evolution could appear to us to be driven by chance, but from God’s perspective the outcome would be entirely specified. Thus, God could be completely and intimately involved in the creation of all species, while from our perspective, limited as it is by the tyranny of linear time, this would appear as a random and undirected process.” [my emphasis] (F. Collins, “The Language of God: A Scientist Presents Evidence For Belief,” New York Free Press, 2006, p. 136)

Call me dumb, but why would God do that? Why would He tell us in the Bible that He specifically created each and every species “according to its kind (Genesis 1), but then make it look like He didn’t? Why would He tell us one thing but then make nature look as if it came about by random acts of evolution over billions of years? To paraphrase the words of Gollum from The Lord of the Rings: “Sneaky little God. Wicked, tricksy, false!”

But wait a minute, you better be seated, Collins a Christian Darwinist believes that God made nature to look like life evolved randomly. But, Richard Dawkins, an atheist Darwinist asserts that the world of nature is full of “complicated things that give the appearance of having been designed for a purpose.” [my emphasis] (Richard Dawkins, “The Blind Watchmaker,” NY: W.W. Norton, 1996, p. 1).

Confused yet? Collins says that life looks like it came about randomly and without a purpose and Dawkins says life looks like it was designed for a purpose? Holy thought transference Batman!

You should know that a growing number of scientists question the validity of Darwinism and the idea that life arose from undirected, natural selection and random variations. A study published by Douglas Axe in The Journal of Molecular Biology details the amazing rarity of certain working protein sequences, raising important questions about how blind, random chance could generate them. Axe states that the possibility that these protein sequences evolved is “less than one in a trillion, trillion, trillion, trillion, trillion, trillion.” (John West’s article in Evolution News and Views, Jan. 10, 2007

University of Wisconsin-Superior biologist Ralph Seelke has demonstrated that natural selection and evolution cannot produce complicated life. Seelke tested “the ability of evolution to produce a new function when two changes are needed at effectively the same time…in a population of trillions of bacteria and over thousand of generations.” What happened? “A requirement for two changes effectively stops evolution.” (BIO-Complexity 2, 2010, pp.1-9)

I could give you even more examples of research that stops the theory of evolution in its tracks. Over eight hundred scientists from places like Princeton, Ohio State, University of Michigan and MIT have signed a statement expressing their serious doubt that Darwin’s theory of evolution can explain the complexity of life (http://www.dissentfromdarwin.org/).

So what are we to do? How about we seriously take God at His Word? “In the beginning God created (Genesis 1:1).”

Should Financial Giving Always Be Kept Secret?

Here is what the Bible says about our financial offerings to the church, “But this I say: He who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and he who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. So let each one give as he purposes in his heart, not grudgingly or of necessity; for God loves a cheerful giver. And God is able to make all grace abound toward you, that you, always having all sufficiency in all things, may have an abundance for every good work (2 Corinthians 9:6-8).”

Now here’s a question: should Christians share with other believers how much they give in their offerings? I think most of us would say no, it’s a personal matter. After all didn’t Jesus say, “Take heed that you do not do your charitable deeds before men, to be seen by them. Otherwise you have no reward from your Father in heaven. Therefore, when you do a charitable deed, do not sound a trumpet before you as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may have glory from men. Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward. But when you do a charitable deed, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, that your charitable deed may be in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will Himself reward you openly (Matthew 6:1-4).”

Further thinking about this passage may shed new light on it, however. Our Lord is dealing with motives in this passage. The key verse is the first one about doing charitable deeds to be seen by men. So the verses above are not a prohibition against other believers being aware of our good deeds or giving. The command is for us to not do good things just to receive recognition and approval from others. In other words don’t slam dunk your wad of cash into the offering basket.

But there are times when it is good for others to know what someone is giving to the Lord. When the poor widow gave her two mites in the offering, Christ specifically pointed her out and said, “Assuredly, I say to you that this poor widow has put in more than all those who have given to the treasury; for they all put in out of their abundance, but she out of her poverty put in all that she had, her whole livelihood (Mark 12:43, 44).” The widow’s giving was inspirational to say the least.

In Acts 2:45 we are told that the early Christians “sold their possessions and goods, and divided them among all, as anyone had need (Acts 2:45. See also 4:32-35).” Did other people know who gave what to whom?  Most likely. If you had two prize camels and everyone knew it and then only had one, but Bob who never had a camel now has one, I think people would know what happened and again be inspired by your generosity.

In Acts 4:36, 37 we are told about a man named Barnabas who had lands and sold them and brought the money to the apostles. If Barney was looking for a high five for his gift to the church then his motive was wrong. But it is also clear that it was not wrong for others to know about his gracious gift, because the Bible reveals it.

In order to stir up the Corinthians to get involved in financial giving, the apostle Paul pointed to the very poor Macedonians who dug deep and gave much (2 Corinthians 8: 1-7). And he informs us what inspired the Macedonians: “they first gave themselves to the Lord (v 5).” In the Old Testament, 1 Chronicles 29 declares exactly how much the leaders of the people gave to build the temple. Then Scripture says, “Then the people rejoiced, for they had offered willingly, because with a loyal heart they had offered willingly to the LORD (v 9).”

In the same sermon where our Lord Jesus said not to do our charitable giving just to be seen by men, he also said “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven (Matthew 5:16).”

The body of Christ needs to let its light shine both in the church, to motivate other believers and to the world, in order to offer hope. There’s a time when our giving should be seen, acknowledged and honored, but only at the right time and for the right motive, for the good of others and the glory of God.