The King of the Jungle and Milo

Well, life gets stranger every day—but in a good way. The king of the jungle and a dachshund have become good buddies. At the Wayne Exotic Animal Park in Wynnewood, Oklahoma a 500 pound lion named Bonedigger and his dachshund pal, Milo, are inseparable.

The two friends were introduced in 2008 when the lion was just four weeks old. The Park president, Joe Schreibvogel said, “The dog thought it was just a big puppy and [they] have loved each other since.” The two animals cuddle, dine together and even try to imitate one another. In fact Milo often tries to growl like Bonedigger. After the animals eat Milo licks the lion’s teeth clean and Bonedigger licks Milo back. Isn’t friendship grand?

Did you know that Milo’s and Bonedigger’s friendship point to a great biblical truth? Sure! One day the whole world will live in peace. The prophet Isaiah declared, “The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, The leopard shall lie down with the young goat, The calf and the young lion and the fatling together; And a little child shall lead them.  The cow and the bear shall graze; Their young ones shall lie down together; And the lion shall eat straw like the ox…They shall not hurt nor destroy in all My holy mountain, For the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord As the waters cover the sea (Isaiah 11:6-9).”

There is a new world order coming at the return of the Lord Jesus Christ. The prophet Daniel revealed that all people, nations and languages shall serve him (Daniel 7:14). A psalm of Solomon declares that Christ will rule in righteousness and with justice and there will be an abundance of peace (Psalm 72:1-4). The prophet Micah informs us that nations will learn war no more (Micah 4:3). And Ezekiel proclaims that this earth will again become like the Garden of Eden (Ezekiel 36:33-35).

When Jesus Christ returns as the King of kings then the hopes of humanity will be realized. The Scripture declares “God will wipe away every tear from [our] eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away (Revelation 21:4).

You can be a part of this coming new world—the kingdom of God. “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life (John 3:16). If you live in the greater Chicago area I invite you to worship with the church I pastor, Grace Ministry Int. We meet on Sunday mornings at 10:30 at The Gorton Community Center 400 East Illinois Rd, Lake Forest, IL. If you can’t join us, our foundational Bible class “Powerful Christian Living” and all our Sunday teachings are available for free at the “Teachings” section of the web site - www.graceministryinternational.org

And one last thing: thanks Bonedigger and Milo for a sneak peak of what’s to come!

Answering Christianity’s Critics, Part 2

In last week’s blog we began to look at some of the questions and objections some people have about faith in God and Christ. It is important to answer these questions honestly. We want to lead people to faith in Christ. And genuine faith is not a careless leap into the dark. It is a reasoned response to solid information. Therefore here are a few more objections and questions and possible responses for you to think about and use.

Why is Jesus different from other important men of history? Jesus Christ is set apart from all other people because of his prophesied coming. The books of the Old Testament contain hundreds of passages about the Messiah or Christ and they are all fulfilled in Jesus of Nazareth. It was foretold that he would be born in Bethlehem (Micah 5:2/Matthew 2:1). It was revealed that he would be a descendant of King David (2 Samuel 7:12, 13/Luke 1:32, 33). Christ’s crucifixion was prophesied about a 1000 years before it occurred (Psalm 22:16, 18).

The odds of any one man in all of history fulfilling even only eight of the sixty major prophecies (and 270 ramifications) fulfilled by the life of Christ are huge. The probability that Jesus of Nazareth could have fulfilled even eight such prophecies would be only 1 in 10¹⁷. That's 1 in 100, 000, 000, 000, 000, 000. But he fulfilled them all. But even more importantly his resurrection was foreseen (Psalm 16:9-11). And it was known to both the Jewish and Roman authorities, as well as the disciples that the empty tomb of Jesus was empty.

I don’t think I’m a sinner. I’m not so bad. So why do I need a Savior? All of us have thought this way at one time or another. But being “not so bad” or “not as bad as the other guy” won’t gain you everlasting life in God’s kingdom. The Bible says that in one way or another we have all fallen short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23). He is the standard of being righteous, not your buddy at work. Sin is sin whether it is a lie, stealing or murder. And not a one of us has been able to keep the Great Commandment which is to “love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.” And “your neighbor as yourself (Mark 12:30-31).” And the wages for sin is death, everlasting death, but out of love God offers a rescue from sins penalty through faith in Jesus Christ (John 3:16, 17; Romans 6:23).

But all Christians are hypocrites. Why would I want to be with people like that? Yes, I admit that there are hypocrites in the church. We humans are imperfect people and many times we fail to live up to the standards that God has set for us, we even fail to live up to our own standards at times. But if you think about it you probably know people who are hypocrites who are not Christians. And Christians don’t claim to be perfect, just forgiven. God loves us and forgives us just as we are when we place our faith in Jesus Christ (Romans 5:6-8). Then we are encouraged to grow to be more and more like our Savior (Romans 13:14). God offers you Jesus Christ to make you whole, not other Christians.

If God is so good then why is there so much evil and suffering in the world? God’s purpose in creating humanity was to have people who reflected His righteous image and loved Him freely. God gave us free will and placed our first parents in a garden and provided for all of their needs. There was only one prohibition—to refrain from taking to themselves the knowledge of good and evil (Genesis 3). But Adam and Eve rebelled against God’s authority and sin entered the human experience. Sin, our own sin, is at the root cause of every tear, tragedy, sorrow, heartbreak and ultimately death itself.

But immediately after Adam’s sin that brought suffering to our world, God announced a plan of salvation. One would be born who would destroy the works of sin and evil (Genesis 3:15/1 John 3:8). That person is the Son of God, Jesus Christ. Through faith in Jesus, God delivers from this present evil age brings us into the kingdom of His Son (Galatians 1:3, 4/Colossians 1:13, 14).

 

PCL

 

 

Answering Christianity’s Critics, Part 1

In the book of Acts, chapter 17, the apostle Paul, while in Athens, was invited to speak about Christianity to Epicurean and Stoic philosophers. After his presentation Scripture records the response, “some mocked, while others said ‘We will hear you again on this matter…However, some…believed (Acts 17:32, 33).” Today, just like in ancient Athens there are people who want to know what Christianity is all about. But many people come with objections to the faith as well. It is important to answer those objections honestly. And like the philosophers in Athens, some will mock, some will desire a little more information, and some will believe.

In answering someone’s objection to Christianity it is important to know why they are asking the questions they have. Ask what issues are stirring in the person’s mind; what is motivating them to look for answers. And “and always be ready to give a defense to everyone who asks you a reason for the hope that is in you, with meekness and fear (1 Peter 3:15).” The following are some common objections.

I don’t believe that God exists. How can anyone be sure? Objections like this come from the atheist and the agnostic. But think about this: atheism demands complete knowledge of all things in order to say that God doesn’t exist. And no human being has that! So how can the atheist know that there is no God? There is evidence for God’s existence. Both science and the Bible acknowledge that our universe had a beginning. Nature itself reveals that there is a Creator (Romans1:20). The complex designs of life from planets to flowers to DNA show intelligent design. Could all of nature really be the result of mindless, purposeless happenstance?

The agnostic says that she can’t know anything for sure about God. But people are naturally hungry to learn. Why are we that way? Perhaps God created us with a natural sense of inquiry so that we might actually search for Him and find Him. Paul told the Athenian Philosophers that God “has made from one blood every nation of men to dwell on all the face of the earth, and has determined their preappointed times and the boundaries of their dwellings, so that they should seek the Lord, in the hope that they might grope for Him and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us (Acts 17:26, 27).” There is nothing wrong with having questions and not being sure. But our response to that should be “Come and see.”

But what about evolution: doesn’t evolution prove there is no God? Evolution does take place within a species. There are big dogs and little dogs. There are red roses and white ones. But the theory of evolution claims that over time one species can change into another and that life itself randomly occurred from non-living material. But the famous scientists Francis Crick, L.M. Murkhin and Carl Sagan have estimated that the difficulty of a human evolving by chance processes alone is one in 10 to the negative 2,000,000,000th – which Borel’s law says is no chance at all! Science has recently revealed what Charles Darwin never knew. Proteins and nucleic acids are too complex to have arisen spontaneously. And the fossil record does not show gradual evolution. If it can be relied on to show much of anything at all, it shows fully developed life-forms with only limited variation within each group – just as the Bible’s wording “according to its kind” (Gen. 1) would indicate.

How can we be sure that the Bible is reliable? The copies of the Old Testament manuscripts are of a far superior quality than any other equivalent document. The oldest books of the Old Testament date from around the same time as some of the oldest Egyptian works. And where scholars find significant differences between Egyptian documents relating to the same events, they find almost no differences in Old Testament documents that cover the same material. And where there are differences they are minor ones like spelling and make no changes in the actual material covered. The discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls in the 1950’s confirms the historical reliability of these ancient documents. And archeology has never disproved an Old Testament historical event. It has only confirmed the Scriptural account.

What about the New Testament? From an historical point of view the New Testament is unquestionably the most reliable ancient document in the world. Two factors are crucial in determining the reliability of an historical document. These are the number of copies in existence and the time between when the document was first written and the oldest copies. Take for example the writings of Julius Caesar. His works were written between 100-44 B.C. The oldest copies of his works come from one thousand years after the fact and there are ten copies. With the writings of Plato there is a span of twelve hundred years between when he first wrote and the date of the oldest copies of which there are seven. And with Aristotle there are five copies of his works and the oldest manuscripts date from fourteen hundred years after he wrote.

Now let’s compare the New Testament to these other works. Whereas we have ten copies of Caesar’s works and seven copies of Plato’s, and five copies of Aristotle’s, there are over twenty four thousand ancient copies of the New Testament! And the oldest copies date not from one thousand years after the fact, nor even five hundred years, but from twenty-five years after the originals were written. No other ancient document even comes close to meeting the test for historical authenticity and reliability as does the New Testament.

These are but a few of the objections to Christianity and some examples on how you can respond. Next week’s blog will look at a few more objections.

Happy Mother's Day

It takes someone brave to be a mother, someone strong to raise children and someone special to love others more than herself. Words are difficult to find to express the power, beauty and heroism of a mother’s love. Being a mother is learning about strengths you never knew you possessed and overcoming fears you didn’t know existed.

A mother thinks about her children day and night even when they are grown. She loves them in ways they will never understand until the day they too are parents. Our 16^th President of the United States, Abraham Lincoln said, “I regard no man as poor who has a godly mother.” Amen, Mr. President, Amen.

The goal of becoming a godly mother is the highest and most noble pursuit of womanhood. But there are many voices in our word today that would deny this truth. There are those who would tear you, dear mother, away from God’s high calling on your life. “Focus on your career” they say. “Buy more stuff,” “Pamper yourself”—you’ve heard it all, I’m sure. Please don’t buy what they are selling. It is a lie. If God has granted you a child or children, your child or children “are a heritage from The LORD…a reward (Psalm 127:3).” God has entrusted the development of a new generation of godly men and women to you!

Also, contrary to some experts, the most important characteristic of a godly mother is not her relationship with her children, it is with her husband. The lessons you teach your children through your relationship with your husband will endure for the rest of their lives. By watching you and your husband your children are learning the foundational principles of life—love, self-sacrifice, integrity, virtue, kindness, compassion, understanding and forgiveness. Secondly, and perhaps this should have been first, is your relationship with God and the Lord Jesus Christ. When they see you trusting in the Lord and acknowledging Him in all you do (Proverbs 3:5, 6), they will learn to do the same.

So happy mother’s day to all of you great moms! May your children rise up and call you blessed (Proverbs 31:28).

A Court Martial for Being Christian?

The first amendment to the Constitution of the United Sates declares in part, “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech.” Well, as Bob Dylan once sang, the times they are a changing.

Last April 23, Mikey Weinstein, president of the Military Religious Freedom Foundation met with ranking members of the Air Force. His concern was Section 2.11 of the publication titled “Air Force Culture, Air Force Standards.” The section reads, “Leaders at all levels must balance constitutional protections for an individual’s free exercise of religion…and the constitutional prohibition against governmental establishment of religion.” Weinstein wants the first part of that statement scrapped.

Here’s why. He said that U.S. troops who share their Christian faith are guilty (or should be) of sedition and treason and should be punished by the hundreds if necessary to stave off a “tidal wave” of Christian evangelism. Weinstein told Fox News that “Someone needs to be punished for this [evangelism]. Until the Air Force or Army or Navy or Marine Corps punishes a member of the military for unconstitutional proselytizing and oppression, we will never have the ability to stop this horrible, horrendous, dehumanizing behavior.”

That’s right, sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ in the military is “dehumanizing behavior.” In the Fox News interview Weinstein compared leading someone to faith in Christ with rape. “It is a version of being spiritually raped” he said. “When those people [Christians] are in uniform” and they share their faith “they are creating tyranny, oppression, degradation, humiliation and horrible, horrible pain upon members of the military.” Currently evangelism is against military regulations the Pentagon told Fox News, although it is not enforced.

Tony Perkins, president of the Family Research Council told Fox News that he was stunned that military leaders were meeting with Weinstein. “Why would military leadership be meeting with one of the most rabid atheists in America to discuss religious freedom” Perkins asked. “That’s like consulting with China on how to improve human rights.” Well, maybe that’s not far behind.

Weinstein calls witnessing about Christ “a national security threat…it is sedition and treason…It should be punished.” Weinstein’s proposal, if enacted would make Christian military personnel enemies of the state. Ron Crews, the executive director for the Chaplain Alliance for religious Liberty states that Weinstein’s proposal would “significantly impact religious liberty. Lt. Gen (ret) William Boykin said, “If chaplains and other personnel are censored from offering the full solace of the Gospel, there is no religious freedom of the military.”

So, it may soon be possible if you are in the armed services to face a court martial as an enemy of the state for sharing your faith as a Christian. If this occurs guess who is next in line for prosecution? What can be done? Pray, share your faith, love people even your enemies, make a commitment to love God, follow Christ and contribute to your church. And call or write to your representatives in the U.S. House and the Senate. Let your voice be heard before it is silenced.