Life: Short and Unpredictable

Picture after the Boston Marathon bombing
Courtesy: Ben Thorndikehttp://www.cnn.com/2013/04/17/us/boston-blasts/index.html?hpt=hp_t1

Life's short and upredictable.

Last week we celebrated the life of Tim Pickle, buried in my hometown at the age of 38.  He died of a heart attack.  A beautiful six-year-old girl left fatherless.  Life is short.

In the middle of a day of celebrating my oldest daughter's 12th birthday, news reports shout of bombings at the Boston marathon.  People that gathered to congratulate runners become victims or survivors in the matter of seconds.  Life is unpredictable.

With reminders that life is brief and always changing, people react in different ways.  One classmate went to get his heart checked demonstrating physical life and health are important.

Others gather to pray for victims of the Boston marathon.  Sometimes crisis bring us to our knees.  God, our only help and comfort, is always near. 

Some people may ask more spiritual questions through tragedy.  As they realize they may not be promised tomorrow, they may ask themselves if they are ready for death. 

But today I had a different reaction.  I told my athiest friend about Tim's sudden death.  My friend could relate to heart problems with a history of open heart surgery and blood pressure issues.  His response, "I guess we all die sometime and turn to dirt."  Yes.  He's right.

As I began to ask him questions about what would happen to him after he died, he quickly jumped to evolution.  He tried to say there is no God.  He agreed it would take more faith to believe in evolution vs. creation, yet held his ground.  I asked him if his study of science gave him hope.  "No," he responded.

He didn't want to hear about the God-particle, evidence that nature couldn't happen by chance.

He began to ramble about the Bible as if it were fiction.  Sadly, he wouldn't listen to proof that the Bible is the Word of God given to share God's love story to us.

It came down to this, my friend didn't want to hear about the Bible.  He has hardened his heart against truth.  Of all the tragedies this week, this is the saddest for me.  If my friend were to die today, he would be separated from God forever and live in eternal punishment.  It makes my heart sad that he won't even listen.  

Because life is short and unpredictable, followers of Jesus, we can't keep our mouths shut about the promise of hope in the Bible.  Hope that helps people in tragedy.  Hope that gives us a reason to live.  And hope of eternal life when we die.

Do you have hope?    http://stacyneus.blogspot.com/2012/04/need-hope.html

What has been your reaction to the Boston Marathon bombing?

 

 



The Pep Rally

photos by Holly Emig

 

Who doesn't like to see the underdog win?  (I guess if you are the team playing the underdog, it's never fun).  This weekend many celebrated the underdogs of the NCAA Basketball tournament, the Florida Gulf Coast University Eagles.  When they took down the #2 ranked Georgetown, people jumped on the bandwagon of rooting for the underdog (again).  (And how about those AMAZING dunks!)  It would have been so fun to cheer at the pep rally for the team, Monday March 25th.

Speaking of pep rallies:  Sunday morning we celebrated Palm Sunday.  It reminded me of a pep rally.  Our children reenacted "The Triumphal Entry" of Jesus into Jerusalem.  They waved palm branches while walking down the aisles to the front of the church.  They quoted scripture shouting, "Hosanna!  Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord."  Our "pep rally" brought smiles to the crowd and cameras out of pockets (hence, the pics above).

But imagine the Jews at the original "pep rally."  To the "fans," (I won't put it in quotes any more) this would just be another week of Passover (the yearly celebration remembering God's deliverance of their ancestors, the Israelites, out of Egypt).  Would it be a redundant celebration or a week that would change history forever? 

They heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem.  Some believed He was the Messiah, the Christ, the long awaited deliverer that God had promised from the time of Adam and Eve.  If Jesus really was the Christ, they could just taste victory over the Romans, the oppressive rulers.  And in their minds, Jerusalem would be the perfect battlefield, the capital of the Jewish religion.  The home of the temple.  Perfect timing:  the Passover.  All the Jews had to gather in Jerusalem for the Passover.  Surely the Jews had the home court advantage.  The perfect set up to change history forever.

So imagine the fans dismay when their hero, Jesus came riding into town on a donkey.  Really?  A donkey?  I'm sure they were asking each other, "Where is the mighty white horse to show power like other warrior kings?"  But the crowd went with it.  They began crying out "Hosanna," meaning "save us now."  I guess they didn't recall the prophet Zechariah saying, "Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion ! Shout in triumph, O daughter of Jerusalem ! Behold, your king is coming to you; He is just and endowed with salvation, Humble, and mounted on a donkey, Even on a colt, the foal of a donkey." (Zech. 9:9) 

Jesus, the promised King.  Would He defeat the Romans?  Only time would tell.

(I'm skipping some major events to shorten this post, but you should read the whole account.  In Mark's account, chapters 11-13 are events after Jesus' arrived in Jerusalem.  http://www.biblestudytools.com/nas/mark/11.html)

Jesus found Himself thick in a plot for the Jewish leaders to have him killed.

Mark 14: 1-2  Now the Passover and Unleavened Bread were two days away ; and the chief priests and the scribes were seeking how to seize Him by stealth and kill Him; 2 for they were saying, "Not during the festival, otherwise there might be a riot of the people." 
 
(I'm skipping again.  Some major events starting in Mark 14  http://www.biblestudytools.com/nas/mark/14.html  The Last Passover, The Lord's Supper, Jesus in Gethsemane, Jesus betrayed by His follower, Judas Iscariot, and Jesus' Arrest)

But why would the Jews want Him killed?  Jesus claimed to be God.  For those who didn't believe, this was blasphemy!
 
Mark 14: 53  They led Jesus away to the high priest ; and all the chief priests and the elders and the scribes gathered together.

Mark 14:61- 64
^{Mark 1MaMMMarMMaMar}Again the high priest was questioning Him, and saying to Him, "Are You the Christ, the Son of the Blessed One?" 62 And Jesus said, "I am ; and you shall see THE SON OF MAN SITTING AT THE RIGHT HAND OF POWER, and COMING WITH THE CLOUDS OF HEAVEN."63Tearing his clothes, the high priest said, "What further need do we have of witnesses ? 64 "You have heard the blasphemy ; how does it seem to you?" And they all condemned Him to be deserving of death.  

By now, many of the fans have jumped off the bandwagon.  Even Jesus' closest followers, including Peter (the end of Mark 14), ran away in fear. 

What is happening?  Where is the sword?  But Jesus didn't come to fight.  Next, they took Him to Pilate, the governor.   

Mark 15: 1-3  Early in the morning the chief priests with the elders and scribes and the whole Council, immediately held a consultation ; and binding Jesus, they led Him away and delivered Him to Pilate. 2Pilate questioned Him, "Are You the King of the Jews ?" And He answered him, "It is as you say."3 The chief priests began to accuse Him harshly.

In Luke's account, Pilate voices Jesus' innocense.
Luke 23:4 Then Pilate said to the chief priests and the crowds, "I find no guilt in this man."  

I can imagine if the fans that welcomed Him to Jerusalem were still cheering, they would be yelling, "Now would be the perfect time to show your power, Jesus.  The crowds are stirred up against you."  Compared to a basketball game: it's the 4th quarter, 2 min.on the clock, down 10 points.  It's now or never for the underdog.  Would He show His power? 

The next part of the story went from bad to worse.  Instead of an innocent man let free, Pilate released Jesus over to be crucified as the crowd chanted, "Crucify! Crucify!"  I cannot describe the horrow Jesus experienced next without tears running down my face as I write. 

How could they?  Beat Him.  Spit on Him.  Force Him to wear a crown out of thorns and a purple robe,only royalty would wear.  Mocked Him, bowing before him and shouting,  "Hail, King of the Jews!"  After their child-like game, they forced Him to carry a cross up a hill where they would nail His hands and feet to hang in shame.  

I imagine some of the fans yelling, (well, probably only thinking), "Come down!  I know you can!  Now, Jesus! Now!" 

But He hung.  Finally hanging His head.  Breathless.  Dead.

The sign that hung above His head read, his charge, "THE KING OF THE JEWS."

Did the fans realize giving Jesus the title of "King" would be his only charge?  They wanted a Savior.  Someone to save them from Roman rule.  But, their King hung on a cross.  Powerless to save them.  Or was He?

Three days later, some of Jesus biggest fans, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome showed their loyalty.  They brought spices to annoint Jesus, as was the custom.  To their surprise, the grave was empty.  The stone rolled away.  And Jesus appeared to them.  They ran to tell the disciples, Jesus' followers the news.  Jesus was alive! http://www.biblestudytools.com/nas/mark/16.html

His resurrection:  Victory!  Victory over death.  He never really was the "underdog."  His fans just didn't understand the Savior.  Jesus provided them more than a victory over an immediate enemy.  Jesus, the Savior: a savior for their spiritual lives.  His death on the cross paid the penalty needed for their sin.  God could accept them if they believed Jesus really was the Son of God, the Christ, the Deliverer, who died in their place.  If they turned from their sins and accepted Jesus as their personal Savior, God would change them from merely fans to followers. (Jesus offers you the same).

Followers that remain faithful, even with loss (Persecution. Read the accounts of His closest disciples, who died for their beliefs). 
Followers that trust the coach (God), even when they don't agree with the play calls (life). 

Jesus showed Himself to the disciples and over 500 people before He returned to heaven, proving He really was God.  His promise:  He will return.  Next time, on a white horse.  http://www.biblestudytools.com/nas/revelation/19.html

John describes the final pep rally in Revelation 7:9-10.  A pep rally for Jesus' followers.
After these things I looked, and behold, a great multitude which no one could count, from every nation and all tribes and peoples and tongues, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, and palm branches were in their hands ; 10 and they cry out with a loud voice, saying, " Salvation to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb."  (emphasis mine)

And the final battle:
Revelation 19:11
And I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse, and He who sat on it is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and wages war.  

Revelation 19:16
16 And on His robe and on His thigh He has a name written, "KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS."

The conquering KING!

Revelation 19:20 And the beast was seized, and with him the false prophet who performed the signs in his presence, by which he deceived those who had received the mark of the beast and those who worshiped his image ; these two were thrown alive into the lake of fire which burns with brimstone. 21 And the rest were killed with the sword which came from the mouth of Him who sat on the horse, and all the birds were filled with their flesh.

I'm looking forward to the final pep rally!  Will you join me?
Will you celebrate Easter this year as a skeptic?  Merely a fan?  Or a Follower?
  

The Mountain

My husband and I decided this would be a good year to take our girls snow skiing.  They are now 11, 9, and 7 years old.  I wanted to wait until they were old enough to dress themselves, keep up with their snow gear, and not whine when they got cold (2/3 isn't bad). 

We live nine hours from our ski destination.  As we got closer, the younger two girls began to discuss the mountains.  The last time they were in the mountains, they were 3 years old and 6 months respectively.  By their questions and comments, they obviously didn't remember their trip.  When we were driving through the foot hills, M, the youngest, kept asking, "Are those mountains?"  We kept repeating, "No, not yet."  They couldn't understand the concepts of snow on the mountains, going further up the mountain to ski, and how there could be a town on a mountain.

As we ascended up the winding, steep roads of the "real mountain," the girls began to "ooh and aah."  The mountain amazed the girls.  They began to understand what we told them about the mountain.  They experienced the mountain for themselves.  

The road trip into the mountains reminded me of how we experience God.

1.  Understand God's existence.

Even at a young age, I began to understand God's existence by hearing the stories of the Bible, God's message to us.  God wants us to know Him.  To relate it to our trip, it would be like I got into the car and began driving closer to the mountain (God) with every new understanding of Him through the Bible.  Also, we could have never taken the girls to the mountain.  That wouldn't change the fact that the mountain exists.  Likewise, just because people deny God's existence, doesn't mean there is no God. 

2.  Understand God's awesomeness.

With the process of learning more about God, you realize the majesty of God.  The closer we drove to the mountains, the more aware the girls became of the mountain's majesty.  They also realized how small they are compared to the awesome mountain.  Like the mountains, the further away you are from God, the smaller, less powerful He seems.  You will never understand God's power if you don't "drive towards the mountain."  Remember God provided you the road map (the Bible) and a navigator (the Holy Spirit, the very person of God) to explain the map.

3.  Understand God's invitation.

God wants you to experience His life changing power.  He invites you to "the mountain."  How silly would it have been to drive to the foot of the mountain and tell the girls, "Well, we are here."  If we stayed at the bottom, we never would have experienced the mountain.  Likewise, God doesn't force you to accept Him (drive up the mountain).  He lovingly invites you into a permanent friendship with Him.  He provided a way "up the mountain" through Jesus.  Jesus paid the penalty for your sin so you can stand before a perfect God (experience the mountain).  He wants you to accept His invitation if you haven't already.  http://stacyneus.blogspot.com/2012/04/need-hope.html 

And the final challenge for those who live on the mountain (follower of Jesus):

**Don't keep"the mountain" a secret!

Romans 10:14-15  How then will they call on Him in whom they have not believed? How will they believe in Him whom they have not heard? And how will they hear without a preacher? ¹⁵ How will they preach unless they are sent? Just as it is written, “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news of good things!”

I've told several people about our trip and the mountain.  We've invited others to join us next time.  When is the last time you invited others into the presence of God?  Maybe they need a "road map" or a friend to explain the plan.  Go with the Good News! 




Linking with The Alabaster Jar, cornerstoneconfessions
 

Louie Giglio's Exclusion

The headlines that Louie Giglio will not pray at President Obama's inauguration didn't surprise me.  Why would it?   Addie Whisenant, the committee’s spokesperson stated "As we now work to select someone to deliver the benediction, we will ensure their beliefs reflect this administration’s vision of inclusion and acceptance for all Americans”**  (emphasis mine) What she really should have said, "We want someone to say a prayer to a god that accepts what we have defined or undefined as sin.  We don't care what God defines as sin.  We have taken homosexuality off the list.  We want everyone to accept it now."

Also with this controversy,  I suppose Addie Whisenant should've added a parenthesis to her quote regarding "vision of inclusion and acceptance for all Americans."  It should say, "vision of inclusion and acceptance for all Americans (except for Jesus followers who accept the Bible as truth and agree with God that homosexuality is sin: you are not accepted).  With Louie Giglio's withdrawal from praying in the inauguration, Bible believers are obviously excluded.

The administation must realize that Louie Giglio did not define homosexuality as sin, God did.  They are not against Lou Gigio's beliefs, they are against the God of the Bible.  They, however, agree with God that sex trafficking is wrong and want to make a stand against it (Louie Giglio's stance against sex trafficking drew the commitee to ask him to pray in the first place). 

I'm kind of confused.  So does the administration's "vision of inclusion and acceptance for all Americans" include the sex traffickers?  Many of them are Americans, right?  We should  include and accept them?  What about the murderers?  Many are Americans that we must include and accept?  I suppose the administration gets to pick and choose which Americans are included as "all Americans". 

Now what?
As Jesus followers, we must
1)  Stand for truth even if:

We lose the popularity vote.
 
The truth of the Bible has not and will never change.

Isaiah 40:8 says, "The grass withers, the flower fades,
But the word of our God stands forever".

People will always have a choice to accept the Bible's truth, or reject it.  But truth is not democratic.  We can't vote on what we believe is truth, or not.  God defines truth.  He IS truth.  Jesus said, "I am the way, the TRUTH, the life...(emphasis mine)" in John 14:6.   The majority vote doesn't change this truth., or any other truth.

We are persecuted for the truth.

The morals the Bible teach will always be misunderstood by our society.  When people choose to ignore one part of the Bible, they reject the whole Bible.

"If you are insulted for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the spirit of glory and of God rests upon you." 1 Peter 4:14

 "If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own; but because you are not of this world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you." John 15:19

 

2) Pray for ourselves.

 

You may not be a homosexual or a sex trafficker, but we all have sin that separates us from God. 

We are not perfect.  We need God's forgiveness.  Ask God to point out personal sin.  1 John 1:9 says, " If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness".

 

3) Pray for our nation.

 

2 Chronicles 7:14 says,

^{14 "}and My people who are called by My name humble themselves and pray and seek My face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, will forgive their sin and will heal their land."

Even though God spoke these words to the Israelite, His chosen people, He cares that all nations obey Him.   
 

** Quote from http://tv.msnbc.com/2013/01/10/pastor-bows-out-of-obamas-inauguration-over-anti-gay-sermons/

What are your thoughts on Louie Giglio's controversy?




 Linked with my friend Kathy Gossen at cornerstoneconfessions and Time Warp Wife and The Better Mom

Approaching the Throne

This morning my nine-year-old, J, had to face the unthinkable (at least to a 4th grader).  Last Thursday as she waited outside for school to start, she got her library book out of her backpack to read (not sure she read much).  When the students scurried inside to start the day, she left her book behind.  She didn't say anything about it until last night when we were gathering school items for Monday morning (We had to find lost books for her two sisters, too).

So today, I walked into school with her to look for her book.  We checked the office.  She talked to the librarian.  We dug through lunch boxes, jackets, and folders in the lost and found.  No book.  Then the unfathomable.  She had to approach her teacher and admit she had lost her book.  I walked with her to the classroom, and waited outside the door.  Her teacher, Mrs. P., welcomed her to class.  "Did you forget a book for an assignment?  Come on in and finish it," she said.  J, looking down at the ground and shuffling her feet, took the dreaded step into her classroom.  "No," J said.  She then, very timidly with a downcast face, explained the situation to her teacher.

Now, Mrs. P.'s response.  Mrs. P. has the reputation of being very strict.  She made a girl stay in for recess for humming.  As J weeped last night, she anticipated she'd have to stay in for recess for two weeks!  To our surprise, Mrs. P. said, "Did you check the bookshelf?  Go look and see if it is there.  Accidents happen.  Don't make something small into something big."  I couldn't see J's face, but I'm sure she felt relief as she sauntered over to the bookshelf and found another copy of the book.  (We're still not sure if it was the one she lost).  I thanked Mrs. P. for her mercy, hugged J., and left.

J's experience of approaching her teacher reminded me that we must approach God.  Unlike J's careless mistake, easily overlooked by her teacher.  Our purposeful disobedience toward a perfect, and just God must result in punishment.  The punishment required: death (Romans 6:23 says, For the wages of sin is death...).

No wonder people are surprised when they hear that we can approach the throne of God with confidence.  The Bible says, in Hebrews 4:16, "Therefore let us draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need."

The throne of grace in this verse is the very throne of God in heaven mentioned 37 times in the book of Revelation (Biblestudytools.com).

The verses just before Hebrews 4:16 explain that Jesus is our high priest that makes it possible for us to stand before the throne of grace with confidence (may blog about high priests sometime...Love it!).  

What about you?

Will you approach the throne by yourSELF or with your SAVIOR?  Jesus wants to represent you as your high priest.

Will you approach the the throne with GOOD WORKS or GRACE?  God offers you grace, a gift through Jesus.  Romans 6:23, "For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord."  (emphasis mine)
 
Will you approach the throne as a COWARD or with CONFIDENCE? Without Jesus, you will coward before a judging God.

Choose a Savior, Grace, and Confidence today! 

Labor Day

Labor Day, the official last day of summer. (Pretend today is Labor Day.  It took me a several days to get all this down.)  Our family labored today.  My husband cleaned our van (even vacuumed the sand from our trip to the beach a month ago).  I attacked the overflowing, outdated condiment filled refrigerator.  My girls "worked" hard at swimming as much as they could in our neighborhood pool, the last day it was opened this year. 

"Labor" Day, it made me think about work.  It reminded me of some conversations with friends I've had over the past few weeks.  I have several friends from other religions.  A few weeks ago, my Hindu friend said, "All religions are the same.  Everyone tries to be a good person."  It was not the appropriate time to tell him what the Bible says about being a good person.  Last week, my Muslim friend had a similar response.  She believes her good works in life must outway her bad works to go to heaven.  When she asked if I do things to please God and commented that Christianity and Islam are the same, "We both try to do good things for God", I had the opportunity to share what the Bible says about good works.

Most people would agree, "good people should go to heaven".  Why wouldn't they?  We live in a society that feels people deserve a reward for being good citizens, showing kindness to their neighbors, and giving to the poor.  Isn't that enough to deserve heaven?
What does the Bible say about being a good person? 

Romans 3:10 says, "as it is written, "THERE IS NONE RIGHTEOUS, NOT EVEN ONE;

"Righteous" means, 'keeps God's commands, innocent, acceptable or "right" before God.'  According to the Bible, no person can consider themselves a "good person".

Isaiah 64:6 says,
6 For all of us have become like one who is unclean, And all our righteous deeds are like a filthy garment ;

In other words, anyone who thinks his or her righteous deeds (good works) will allow us access to a holy (perfect) God, needs to look closer at this verse.  Our sin makes us unclean.  There are many examples of "unclean" in the Bible.  The Bible says that lepers were "unclean".  Not only were lepers not allowed to enter the city, they were not allowed to worship.  Likewise, because we are "unclean", we are not allowed to stand before God.  God cannot allow sin into heaven.  If we try to present God our good deeds, he calls them "filthy", "unclean", "unfit".

TO BE CONTINUED...

Can't wait to hear about the good news?  Here's Hope

Truth: Part 3

This is the 3rd and final post about "Truth" (for now).  You may want to read Truth Part 1 and  Truth Part 2 before you read this part.  Truth Part 1 shares, "Truth promotes Logic". Truth Part 2 shares, "Truth promotes Law." And now,  

3)    Truth promotes LORD (had to have a "L" word for God)

 I agree with Nietzsche that we all have different perspectives (way we look at life, opinions).  Perspectives do not guide us to truth.  And, truth exists independent of all perspectives.  Either a person’s perspective is true or false.  An example I used with my daughter: we could both look at my purple cell phone and have different perspectives (opinions) of the color.  I could wrongly say, "It is black," She could disagree saying, "It's purple."  I asked her if the the phone has a true color.  She said, "Yes, it can only have one true color."  I agree with my nine-year-old.  Because the phone exists, it has a TRUE color.  What if we both decided to call the color of my phone, red?  Would that change the TRUE color?  No.  What if we agree on the color, does that mean it is correct?  Not necessarily.  The phone's true color is true because it is true.  True? (my daughter laughed at the last statement)   

Nietzsche denied God’s existence (his perspective).  Can God not exist for Nietzsche and others who deny God, and yet exist for those who do believe in God?  No.  Either God exists or he doesn’t.  Our perspectives do not change the truth.  Because we live in reality, we can believe the truth about who we are as people, who God is, and how we relate to God.

Many Christian philosophers offer several arguments for God's existence.  The editors of the book, "To Everyone an Answer: A Case for the Christian Worldview" include five different arguments:  the kalam cosmological argument, an argument from design, a Thomistic cosmological argument, a moral argument, and an ontological argument* (may simplify these in a future blog post).  Philosopher Paul Copan summarizes the moral argument in his chapter as:  If objective moral values exist, then God exists. Objective moral values do exist.  Therefore, God exists.*  Simply speaking:  "objective" defined as "measurable"; "moral values" defined as "what is right and wrong (true or false)" The moral argument bases this statement on the fact that truth exists.  Moral truth (right or wrong) must exist for objective moral values to exist.  Therefore, truth promotes the moral argument that God exists. 

Wow!  My brain hurts.  
   

*Francis J. Beckwith, William Lane Craig, and J.P. Moreland, To Everyone an Answer: A Case For the Christian Worldview , (Downers Grove, Illinois:IVP Academic, 2004) .

Truth: Part 2

 
I remember the first questions each of my girls asked repeatedly, "what's that, what's that, what's that?" I answered this question with one or two words for them to add to their vocabulary. The next phrase, "why?" wasn't as easy to answer. My simplified answer usually led to another, "why?". After answering about five "whys" in a row, I would usually exasperatedly answer, "That's just the way it is. Or, I don't know. Or, depending on the question, sometimes I used the phrase I heard my parents say and promised I would never use, "because I said so."

When it comes to questions about what I believe about the Bible, God, Jesus, heaven, faith, and other religions, I had easy answers for the “what’s that?” questions the girls asked.  However, when I had no answer for God’s existence when talking to my atheist neighbor a year and a half ago, I knew I needed better answers for the “why?” questions.  I want to defend my faith with truth and not just respond with, “I don’t know.  Or, that’s just the way it is.”  I desire for my girls to know why they believe what they believe and not just, “because my parents told me so.”

1)    Truth promotes LOGIC (see last post; Truth part 1)

2)  Truth promotes LAW

According to Douglas Groothuis, who quotes from Friedrich Nietzsche’s books, The Will to Power and The Portable Nietzsche, Nietzsche’s philosophy of perspectivism has influenced the “no truth” person today.  Nietzsche claimed that facts do not exist, “only interpretations (or constructions) created according to one’s particular needs to enhance one’s life, what he called “the power to will.””  Groothuis quotes Nietzsche, “There is no true world, “only “a perspectival appearance whose origin lies in us.” In other words, we all have different points of view and none of them are actually true.  Reality doesn’t exist. *1

Perspectivism also supports the idea that lying does not exist.   If there is no truth, only a matter of interpretation, the facts in which to deny (lie), do not exist.  Can that be true?  Sounds like the law of non-contradiction again.  Ironically, the biggest problem in our world began with a lie, a lie from the “father of lies”, Satan himself.  Satan lied to Eve, telling her she will not die, like God said, if she ate of the fruit (Genesis 3).  Eve believed Satan and not God.  Choosing disobedience caused sin to enter the perfect world God created.  We will always be tempted to believe Satan’s lies, tell lies ourselves, and believe in the obvious lie, that truth does not exist.*1    

To summarize, if perspectivism is true, (which can’t be by its own definition), there is no reality, no lying, and no need for laws.  Does that sound absurd to you? However, because truth exists and people still lie, we need laws against lying.  Think about it, God included “not lying” in the Ten Commandments, Exodus 20:16 says, “You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.”  God knows people don’t you think?  He created us, you know.  And He died for us, "while we were still sinners, Christ died for us." Romans 5:8.

Truth (and lies) promotes the need for law.

Source:*1) Douglas Groothuis, “Facing the Challenge of Postmodernism” in Francis J. Beckwith, William Lane Craig, and J.P. Moreland, To Everyone an Answer: A Case For the Christian Worldview , (Downers Grove, Illinois:IVP Academic, 2004) .



For Truth Part 3

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Truth Part 1

After completing a certificate from Biola University in Apologetics (defending the faith), I’m finally trying to get thoughts on paper that I can understand and teach my girls.

 Why stand for truth?

1)    Truth promotes LOGIC

When I explained to my girls, ages 10, 9 and 6, the idea that some people don’t believe truth exists, they looked at me as if I’m from another planet.  They’ve learned enough math to understand 1+1=2  is always true.   If they would answer differently on a test, they would get it wrong.  They couldn’t argue, “Well teacher, in my opinion, 1+1 = 3.” Math demands absolute truth. 

However, Douglas Groothuis, in the book To Everyone an Answer: A Case For the Christian Worldview states, “The postmodernist deconstruction of objective truth and rationality amounts to this: truth does not lodge in statements that correspond to reality.  Truth is a matter of perspective only; it is something that individuals and communities construct primarily through language.”

 In simple words, people today will argue, “We cannot know if anything is 100% true or not.  What is true for you may not be true to me and that’s ok.  With no truth, every word we say is really only opinion and should not be stated as fact.” 

I modeled the following argument  to the girls. A “no truth” person argues, “There is no absolute truth.”  Another person asks, “Really? Is that true?”  The “no truth“ person says, “Absolutely.”  My nine-year-old started laughing.  She understands the contradiction of the “no truth” statements.   She understands Aristotle’s  law of non-contradiction, “opposite assertions cannot be true at the same time” (Metaph IV 6 1011b13–20)*2,  without knowing the brainy term.  In other words, a statement cannot be both true and false at the same time.  The “no truth” person breaks the philosophy law of non-contradiction.

Do you stand for truth? Why, or why not?
Sources:

*1) Douglas Groothuis, “Facing the Challenge of Postmodernism” in Francis J. Beckwith, William Lane Craig, and J.P. Moreland, To Everyone an Answer: A Case For the Christian Worldview , (Downers Grove, Illinois:IVP Academic, 2004) .

*2) Malpas, J., "Donald Davidson", The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (Winter 2003 Edition), Edward N. Zalta (ed.), URL = http://plato.stanford.edu/archives/win2003/entries/davidson/>.

For Truth Part 2

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Can a Baby Be God?

Can a Baby Be God?

As a mother of three girls, I remember looking at them as babies (and still do) and wonder, "What will be like when they grow up?"  I love the song, “Mary Did You Know?” by Kutless.  The song asks “Mary did you know that your baby boy (Jesus) would…”  One of the lines says “Did you know when you kiss your little baby, you kiss the face of God?”   How can this be?  Can a baby be God?

You can understand how a baby can be God if you understand God’s three persons, God’s promises and God’s plan      (Note:  All scriptures are taken from the New American Standard Version, unless noted.)

(For other languages and translations go to biblegateway.com)

First, God’s three persons

Well, it starts at the beginning.  According to Genesis (the first book of the Bible that means “beginnings”), when God created the world (the first message of the Bible), the word “God” in the original Hebrew language (in which most of the Old Testament , including the first five books of the Bible known as the Torah) is a plural form.  No, that doesn’t mean there is more than one God.  The Bible repeatedly and adamantly teaches that there is only one God.  Deuteronomy 6:4 (part of the Torah) says “Hear, O Israel! The LORD is our God, the LORD is one!” (Also see Isaiah 45:21-22 and Isaiah 46:9)  But God, in His awesomeness, cannot be simplified into a concept we can fully understand.   God is only one, but three persons (plural), God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit.  After God created the world, the Bible says in Genesis 1:26 Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; (emphasis mine).  Again, the Bible teaches God as plural persons using the words “Us” and “Our”.  With these two Genesis references alone, we can see that God’s person is not singular, but plural  (Also see Psalm 110:1, Matthew 28:19, 1 Peter 1:2, and Jude 1:20-21 to read verses about God’s three persons).   This leaves room for a baby to be God.  But how?

Second, God’s promises

Immediately after Adam and Eve broke God’s rule to not eat of the forbidden fruit, God promised He would send a Deliverer to take care of our sin problem.  When God punishes the serpent (Satan) in Genesis 3: 15, “And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her seed; He shall bruise you on the head, And you shall bruise him on the heel.” God promised that someone born of woman would destroy Satan by crushing him.

God promised this  Deliverer would come from the line of Abraham.  In Genesis 18:  God tells Abraham and Sarah that they will have a child in their old age.  In verse 17, The LORD said, “Shall I hide from Abraham what I am about to do, ¹⁸ since Abraham will surely become a great and mighty nation, and in him all the nations of the earth will be blessed?  (emphasis mine)  The only way ALL the nations could be blessed is the fact that the Deliverer would come from Abraham’s descendants.

God gave the same promise, or covenant to Isaac.  God told Abraham and Sarah that they would have a son in their old age.  They laughed and Genesis 17: 18 – 21 says 18 And Abraham said to God, “Oh that Ishmael might live before You!” ¹⁹ But God said, “No, but Sarah your wife will bear you a son, and you shall call his name Isaac; and I will establish My covenant with him for an everlasting covenant for his descendants after him. ²⁰ As for Ishmael, I have heard you; behold, I will bless him, and will make him fruitful and will multiply him exceedingly. He shall become the father of twelve princes, and I will make him a great nation. ²¹ But My covenant I will establish with Isaac, whom Sarah will bear to you at this season next year.” (emphasis mine)

God promised this Deliverer come from the line of David and establish an eternal kingdom.  I Kings 2:45 “But King Solomon shall be blessed, and the throne of David shall be established before the LORD forever.” (emphasis mine) 

Isaiah 9: 6-7  ⁶ For a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us;
And the government will rest on His shoulders;
And His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace.
⁷ There will be no end to the increase of His government or of peace,
On the throne of David and over his kingdom,
To establish it and to uphold it with justice and righteousness
From then on and forevermore.
The zeal of the LORD of hosts will accomplish this. (emphasis mine)

Isaiah 9:6-7 could be a blog post of its own!  This promise written around 700 B.C. ties God’s promise in 1Kings about David’s everlasting kingdom to a child, Mighty God (vs. 6), that will given TO US!  Wow!  I love the other names given to Jesus in verse 6.  Can you find them?

Isaiah, the prophet, also wrote (Isaiah 7:14) “Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, a virgin will be with child and bear a son, and she will call His name Immanuel.”  I love this verse.  Immanuel means “God with us”.  This means the baby will be God.

We know God always keeps His promises.

Finally, God’s plan

When the time was just right (God’s timing is always perfect), God kept His promise to send the Deliverer. (For the complete line of descendants from Abraham to the Deliverer, see Matthew Chapter 1, part of Injil).

God told Mary the plan through an angel.  She responded like this:  In Luke 1:30-35 (book in New Testament, also in the Injil) ³⁰ The angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary; for you have found favor with God. ³¹ And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall name Him Jesus. ³² He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David; ³³ and He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and His kingdom will have no end.” ³⁴ Mary said to the angel, “How can this be, since I am a virgin?” ³⁵ The angel answered and said to her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; and for that reason the holy Child shall be called the Son of God. (emphasis mine). 

Nothing is impossible with God.  God is all-powerful.  When he decided Jesus needed to be born of woman (totally human), yet divine (totally God) to be the sinless sacrifice needed, the Holy Spirit (also person of God) came upon Mary, not in any sexual way, but in a supernatural way.  And for this reason, the holy (perfect) Child shall be called the Son of God.  The “Son” describes the spiritual relationship with the “Father”, not a physical relationship of Father/Son (descendant).  Therefore, Jesus is not a second god, as some believe.  Jesus IS God.  

Galatians 4:4-5 ⁴ But when the fullness of the time came, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the Law, ⁵ so that He might redeem those who were under the Law, that we might receive the adoption as sons.

God sent His son (person of God we talked about at the top, Jesus), born of a woman (virgin Mary, promised in Isaiah) so that God will redeem us (pay for our sin), that we might receive the adoption as sons (and daughters).  Really?  We can have a relationship with God?  Yes.  Jesus IS the promised Deliverer that the whole Old Testament prophesied about. 

The book of John (book in New Testament and in the Injil) one of Jesus’ closest friends, also explains how God’s plan from the beginning, included God becoming a baby, Jesus.

John 1:1  In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.  John 1:14   And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth.

Jesus is “the Word”.  Substitute “Jesus” for “Word”.  In the beginning was Jesus (part of the three persons of God that created everything), and Jesus was with God, and Jesus was God.  And Jesus became flesh (became a human baby or “put on skin”) and lived on earth (dwelt among us, another blog post), and we saw Jesus’ glory, glory because He is begotten (not created, but in God’s exact representation, also another blog post), full of grace (Heba, for my Arabic friends) and truth.

I’m so thankful that the God of the universe would want to have a relationship with me.  I am a daughter, co-heir with Jesus himself.  I’m thankful we have the Bible, the word of God, that never changes to give us the answers to how a baby could be God.    And yes, as we celebrate Christmas, we can believe that Jesus, the baby is God. 

John 1:12 says, ¹² But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name,

 “Him” and “His” is Jesus.  Will you receive Jesus as God?  Will you believe in His name?  You, too can be a child of God. (1-888-Jesus-2000)

Jesus didn’t stay a baby….Did He claim to be God? (a future post)

Mary Did you Know? (youtube video)