I was teaching the other day through the book of Matthew with the students and I made this comment, "If you want to see where someone's heart is, check their Day Planners and their Checkbooks." After I said that, one of the students added, "and their Facebooks!"
After class, I started looking at people's Facebooks and I must totally agree. For the first time, I started looking at what the postings where about and who they were about. Many of them where innocent enough and not very revealing, others very clearly indicated that the things of God where the most important to them. and yet others were quite obvious that the things of this world occupy their hearts and minds. I'm not saying this to condemn, but quite frankly I was saddened and sometimes a little shocked at what we as Christians are willing to reveal about ourselves to the entire world. To you, it may be just a picture. However, the old saying still holds true, "A picture is worth a thousand words."
Yes, I agree, if we want to see where someone's heart is, we need only check their Day Planner, Checkbook and their Facebook. All three added together will really give you a pretty good glimpse as to what is going on in their lives spiritually. It's the places were we spend our time, our money and our thoughts that ultimately determine where we are spiritually. I can't check anyone's Day Planner or Checkbook, but my own. However, I can check their Facebook. What does your Facebook say about you?
Sunday, September 27, 2009
Thursday, September 10, 2009
Evidence of Inspiration
I shared this with my Matthew class at the Bible College today. "Using the Masoretic text, which has not changed by as much as one character for more than 2000 years, we find the word TORAH spelled out at skip sequences at the start of the books of Genesis, Exodus, Numbers and Deuteronomy. The Hebrew word TORAH means law, or teaching, and is the title rabbis use to describe the first five books of the Bible, the Law of Moses.
Finding this pattern does not mystify the Bible. It is simply there. It is a fact. It can be checked by counting the letters manually or, today, with computer programs. That the pattern is there is remarkable. It recurs too many times to be considered coincidental. It is an indication, a seal so to speak, of divine authorship.
The first word in Genesis 1:1 is BERESHEET, meaning “In the beginning.” The last letter of the Hebrew word is a tav. Hebrew is read from right to left. Tav is the first letter of the word TORAH. Count seven times seven letters, or 49 characters, and the 50th letter in the Hebrew text is vav – the second letter in the word TORAH. Keep going in this way, every 50th letter, and TORAH is spelled out. Also starting with the first occurrence of the letter tav in the book of Exodus, the word TORAH is spelled out in the same way.
Do the exercise in the fourth and fifth books of the Bible – Numbers and Deuteronomy – and we find the same phenomenon, except that the word TORAH is spelled backwards; pointing inwards, so to speak.
What about Leviticus, the middle book of these first five books of the Bible? In that book, dominated by the seven opening chapters detailing blood sacrifices for sin, we find the ancient name for God spelled out. Starting with the first letter yud, skipping seven letters and counting the eighth, we find the word YHWH, translated into English, by the way, as Yahweh or Jehovah.
It is impossible that this could have happened by chance. The only conclusion is that the Spirit of God directed the men who wrote the text."
Finding this pattern does not mystify the Bible. It is simply there. It is a fact. It can be checked by counting the letters manually or, today, with computer programs. That the pattern is there is remarkable. It recurs too many times to be considered coincidental. It is an indication, a seal so to speak, of divine authorship.
The first word in Genesis 1:1 is BERESHEET, meaning “In the beginning.” The last letter of the Hebrew word is a tav. Hebrew is read from right to left. Tav is the first letter of the word TORAH. Count seven times seven letters, or 49 characters, and the 50th letter in the Hebrew text is vav – the second letter in the word TORAH. Keep going in this way, every 50th letter, and TORAH is spelled out. Also starting with the first occurrence of the letter tav in the book of Exodus, the word TORAH is spelled out in the same way.
Do the exercise in the fourth and fifth books of the Bible – Numbers and Deuteronomy – and we find the same phenomenon, except that the word TORAH is spelled backwards; pointing inwards, so to speak.
What about Leviticus, the middle book of these first five books of the Bible? In that book, dominated by the seven opening chapters detailing blood sacrifices for sin, we find the ancient name for God spelled out. Starting with the first letter yud, skipping seven letters and counting the eighth, we find the word YHWH, translated into English, by the way, as Yahweh or Jehovah.
It is impossible that this could have happened by chance. The only conclusion is that the Spirit of God directed the men who wrote the text."
Monday, August 24, 2009
What is our Liberty?
Galatians 2:4-5 says, “And that because of false brethren unawares brought in, who came in privily to spy out our liberty which we have in Christ Jesus, that they might bring us into bondage: To whom we gave place by subjection, no, not for an hour; that the truth of the gospel might continue with you.” The false brethren spoken of here are those who had questioned the “liberty” of the believers at Antioch. In other words, Paul didn’t give these guys the time of day.
In Paul’s ministry, he had met a lot of these guys. He spoke of them in 2 Corinthians 11:26 when he said, “in journeys often, in perils of waters, in perils of robbers, in perils of my own countrymen, in perils of the Gentiles, in perils in the city, in perils in the wilderness, in perils in the sea, in perils among false brethren;”
Make no mistake about it. They are still around today. Peter spoke of them in 2 Peter 2:1-3 when he said, “But there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who privily shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them, and bring upon themselves swift destruction. And many shall follow their pernicious ways; by reason of whom the way of truth shall be evil spoken of. And through covetousness shall they with feigned words make merchandise of you: whose judgment now of a long time lingereth not, and their damnation slumbereth not.”
What is our liberty? No more bondage to the Law (3:25, 5:1, 4:9)! In contrast to the two commands of Christ, (love the Lord your God with all of your heart, soul, and mind and your neighbor as yourself), the Pharisees had developed a system of 613 laws, 365 negative commands and 248 positive laws...By the time Christ came it had produced a heartless, cold, and arrogant brand of righteousness. As such, it contained at least ten tragic flaws. (1) New laws continually need to be invented for new situations. (2) Accountability to God is replaced by accountability to men. (3) It reduces a person's ability to personally discern. (4) It creates a judgmental spirit. (5) The Pharisees confused personal preferences with divine law. (6) It produces inconsistencies. (7) It created a false standard of righteousness. (8) It became a burden to the Jews. (9) It was strictly external. (10) It was rejected by Christ.
They try to put us back under the Law even today. Jesus told the Pharisees in Matt 23:25 you are “Blind guides, who strain out a gnat and swallow a camel!” This illustration reminded me of what it is like trying to live under bondage. “Professional golfer Tommy Bolt was playing in Los Angeles and had a caddy with a reputation of constant chatter. Before they teed off, Bolt told him, "Don't say a word to me. And if I ask you something, just answer yes or no." During the round, Bolt found the ball next to a tree, where he had to hit under a branch, over a lake and onto the green. He got down on his knees and looked through the trees and sized up the shot. What do you think?" he asked the caddy. "Five-iron?" "No, Mr. Bolt," the caddy said. "What do you mean, not a five-iron?" Bolt snorted. "Watch this shot." The caddy rolled his eyes. "No-o-o, Mr. Bolt." But Bolt hit it and the ball stopped about two feet from the hole. He turned to his caddy, handed him the five-iron and said, "Now what do you think about that? You can talk now." "Mr. Bolt," the caddy said, "that wasn't your ball." Legalism takes all of the fun out of being a child of the King.
In Paul’s ministry, he had met a lot of these guys. He spoke of them in 2 Corinthians 11:26 when he said, “in journeys often, in perils of waters, in perils of robbers, in perils of my own countrymen, in perils of the Gentiles, in perils in the city, in perils in the wilderness, in perils in the sea, in perils among false brethren;”
Make no mistake about it. They are still around today. Peter spoke of them in 2 Peter 2:1-3 when he said, “But there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who privily shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them, and bring upon themselves swift destruction. And many shall follow their pernicious ways; by reason of whom the way of truth shall be evil spoken of. And through covetousness shall they with feigned words make merchandise of you: whose judgment now of a long time lingereth not, and their damnation slumbereth not.”
What is our liberty? No more bondage to the Law (3:25, 5:1, 4:9)! In contrast to the two commands of Christ, (love the Lord your God with all of your heart, soul, and mind and your neighbor as yourself), the Pharisees had developed a system of 613 laws, 365 negative commands and 248 positive laws...By the time Christ came it had produced a heartless, cold, and arrogant brand of righteousness. As such, it contained at least ten tragic flaws. (1) New laws continually need to be invented for new situations. (2) Accountability to God is replaced by accountability to men. (3) It reduces a person's ability to personally discern. (4) It creates a judgmental spirit. (5) The Pharisees confused personal preferences with divine law. (6) It produces inconsistencies. (7) It created a false standard of righteousness. (8) It became a burden to the Jews. (9) It was strictly external. (10) It was rejected by Christ.
They try to put us back under the Law even today. Jesus told the Pharisees in Matt 23:25 you are “Blind guides, who strain out a gnat and swallow a camel!” This illustration reminded me of what it is like trying to live under bondage. “Professional golfer Tommy Bolt was playing in Los Angeles and had a caddy with a reputation of constant chatter. Before they teed off, Bolt told him, "Don't say a word to me. And if I ask you something, just answer yes or no." During the round, Bolt found the ball next to a tree, where he had to hit under a branch, over a lake and onto the green. He got down on his knees and looked through the trees and sized up the shot. What do you think?" he asked the caddy. "Five-iron?" "No, Mr. Bolt," the caddy said. "What do you mean, not a five-iron?" Bolt snorted. "Watch this shot." The caddy rolled his eyes. "No-o-o, Mr. Bolt." But Bolt hit it and the ball stopped about two feet from the hole. He turned to his caddy, handed him the five-iron and said, "Now what do you think about that? You can talk now." "Mr. Bolt," the caddy said, "that wasn't your ball." Legalism takes all of the fun out of being a child of the King.
Tuesday, August 18, 2009
The Lord is Faithful
The Bible says in Daniel 1:13-15: “Then let our countenances be looked upon before thee, and the countenance of the children that eat of the portion of the king's meat: and as thou seest, deal with thy servants. So he consented to them in this matter, and proved them ten days. And at the end of ten days their countenances appeared fairer and fatter in flesh than all the children which did eat the portion of the king's meat.” The Lord proves faithful to Daniel. You know, it’s far better to please God, than to please the world. God will always prove Himself faithful if you do it His way.
There is no better example of this than Noah. I heard Adrian Rodgers say one time that it is better to be in the right and in the minority than to be wrong and in the majority. He also said when speaking of Noah, “He went into the ark in the minority, but he came out in the majority!” We would all do well to remember that.
There is no better example of this than Noah. I heard Adrian Rodgers say one time that it is better to be in the right and in the minority than to be wrong and in the majority. He also said when speaking of Noah, “He went into the ark in the minority, but he came out in the majority!” We would all do well to remember that.
Saturday, August 15, 2009
The Gospels
The Gospels cover a period of about thirty-five years. They open with an announcement in the Temple of God (Lk. 1:11-20) and close with the ascension of the Son of God (Lk. 24:51). As the Old testament began with man made in the image of God (Gen. 1:26), the Gospels open up with God made in the image of man (Jn. 1:14). The man made in the image of God was defeated by Satan in a garden (Gen. 2:8), but the God made in the image of man defeated Satan in a garden when He submitted to His Father’s will (Lk. 22:39-42). Prior to the Gospels, sheep died for shepherds (Ex. 12:1-13), but now the Shepherd was going to die for the sheep (Jn. 10:11). At his birth he was offered gold, frankincense, and myrrh by wise men who worshipped him (Mt. 2:11), while at his death he was offered thorns, vinegar, and spittle by wicked men who ridiculed him (Mt. 27:29, 34, 26:67). The Gospels describe Jesus saving sinners under a tree (Jn. 1:48), up a tree (Lk. 19:4-5), and on a tree (Lk. 23:43). Looking forward to my study through the book of Matthew with the students!
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