Picking Yourself Up

How does a person live on after a major set back? When mistakes are made and the wrongdoer is punished, how does he or she pick up and go on? What if he or she was punished for a mistake that was not theirs alone? What if he or she was singled out unfairly and made the focal point of people’s frustrations and disappointments? How do people carry on without just giving up?

Genesis 4:17-26
"Cain lay with his wife, and she became pregnant and gave birth to Enoch. Cain was then building a city, and he named it after his son Enoch. 18 To Enoch was born Irad, and Irad was the father of Mehujael, and Mehujael was the father of Methushael, and Methushael was the father of Lamech. 19 Lamech married two women, one named Adah and the other Zillah. 20 Adah gave birth to Jabal; he was the father of those who live in tents and raise livestock. 21 His brother's name was Jubal; he was the father of all who play the harp and flute. 22 Zillah also had a son, Tubal-Cain, who forged all kinds of tools out of bronze and iron. Tubal-Cain's sister was Naamah. 23 Lamech said to his wives, "Adah and Zillah, listen to me; wives of Lamech, hear my words. I have killed a man for wounding me, a young man for injuring me. 24 If Cain is avenged seven times, then Lamech seventy-seven times." 25 Adam lay with his wife again, and she gave birth to a son and named him Seth, saying, "God has granted me another child in place of Abel, since Cain killed him." 26 Seth also had a son, and he named him Enosh. At that time men began to call on the name of the LORD." 

This account of the early biblical history of humanity is at times puzzling, because the Scripture does not explain what would seem to modern readers as very basic questions, namely: 1) where did Cain’s wife come from? and 2) how could Cain build a city if there were only a handful of people in the world, a group out of which Cain had been cast? There are speculative explanations, such as Adam and Eve had other children that Genesis does not mention, and so Cain married one of his sisters or nieces, but that does not explain how Cain was building a city. We will probably never know the answers on this side of life.

Cain had committed the first murder, and was rightly punished by being cursed and cast away from God’s presence. His great-great-great-grandson Lamech also killed someone, and pronounced a curse upon himself in the form of a poem to his two wives. But how could Cain live with himself after that terrible act? He must have paid for it countless times throughout his life, and yet he went on to build a city. Life goes on, even after terrible mistakes are made, and pretty soon nearly everyone but yourself has forgotten. Hopefully Cain was able to draw wisdom from the experience. We can only hope to do the same when we make terrible mistakes. The alternative is to remain frozen at the point of the consequences of your mistake, permanently fixed and defined for the rest of your life, a worse curse if there ever was one.

Our Legacy

How will you be known after you die? I am not sure how many people spend time considering this and similar questions, but the significance of a human life and its impact on others seems to occupy some piece of mental landscape in our minds. We’d all like to think that our lives will matter, that someone will mention us in a meaningful way after we are gone from this life. We yearn to be appreciated.

Genesis 5:1-31
"This is the written account of Adam's line. When God created man, he made him in the likeness of God. 2 He created them male and female and blessed them. And when they were created, he called them "man." 3 When Adam had lived 130 years, he had a son in his own likeness, in his own image; and he named him Seth. 4 After Seth was born, Adam lived 800 years and had other sons and daughters. 5 Altogether, Adam lived 930 years, and then he died. 6 When Seth had lived 105 years, he became the father of Enosh. 7 And after he became the father of Enosh, Seth lived 807 years and had other sons and daughters. 8 Altogether, Seth lived 912 years, and then he died. 9 When Enosh had lived 90 years, he became the father of Kenan. 10 And after he became the father of Kenan, Enosh lived 815 years and had other sons and daughters. 11 Altogether, Enosh lived 905 years, and then he died. 12 When Kenan had lived 70 years, he became the father of Mahalalel. 13 And after he became the father of Mahalalel, Kenan lived 840 years and had other sons and daughters. 14 Altogether, Kenan lived 910 years, and then he died. 15 When Mahalalel had lived 65 years, he became the father of Jared. 16 And after he became the father of Jared, Mahalalel lived 830 years and had other sons and daughters. 17 Altogether, Mahalalel lived 895 years, and then he died. 18 When Jared had lived 162 years, he became the father of Enoch. 19 And after he became the father of Enoch, Jared lived 800 years and had other sons and daughters. 20 Altogether, Jared lived 962 years, and then he died. 21 When Enoch had lived 65 years, he became the father of Methuselah. 22 And after he became the father of Methuselah, Enoch walked with God 300 years and had other sons and daughters. 23 Altogether, Enoch lived 365 years. 24 Enoch walked with God; then he was no more, because God took him away. 25 When Methuselah had lived 187 years, he became the father of Lamech. 26 And after he became the father of Lamech, Methuselah lived 782 years and had other sons and daughters. 27 Altogether, Methuselah lived 969 years, and then he died. 28 When Lamech had lived 182 years, he had a son. 29 He named him Noah and said, "He will comfort us in the labor and painful toil of our hands caused by the ground the LORD has cursed." 30 After Noah was born, Lamech lived 595 years and had other sons and daughters. 31 Altogether, Lamech lived 777 years, and then he died."

There are two basic theories of explanation for this passage, assuming that you take the Bible seriously. The first is biological: the genetic material of the human race had not yet produced mutations and errors, and so human beings were still free from much of the chronic diseases and conditions which hasten old age. This, combined with an atmosphere full of moisture (it had not yet rained upon the earth) that protected people from radiation, allowed the early humans to live a very long time. The second explanation is literary. Noting parallels of very long lifespans in other geneologies (Babylonian lists of kings include some who had reigns over 10,000 years), these names may represent ancestral family dynasties and their relative importance rather than the lifespan of one individual.

Did any of these men realize that we would be considering them and their significance, thousands of years later? Methuselah lived 969 years, Jared lived 962, Adam 930, Seth 912 years. But, apart from their prodigious long lives, what else is there to say about them?

They mattered to God. Each life He creates contains His image, and is therefore sacred. Apparently Enoch found favor with God, because God took him away. A whole 90 chapter book was written about Enoch (1 Enoch), speculating about where exactly God took him, and what he did there.

Each life is given meaning and significance because of its origin in God. What they do to enhance and build upon that meaning and significance is up to them, whether it was when the human race was young or 3,000 years from now, floating through space in vast city-ships, light-years from Methuselah’s grave.

The Birth of Violence

I don’t think our world is particularly more violent than in ages past. I think we are entering a new era of barbarism, where violence is more commonplace, but it is not any more or less violent than other eras, such as the Roman Empire or the Middle Ages. We hear more about violence each day, due to the instant information we have at our disposal, and that leads to the misconception of more violence.  Because of technology, we can create violence with more casualities in less time, but when you consider the death toll during the Civil War or the Viking invasion of the late 900's AD, the violence is fairly similar and the suffering caused by it is identical. We have lived with violence in our midst since very near to the beginning of time.

Genesis 4:1-16
"Adam lay with his wife Eve, and she became pregnant and gave birth to Cain. She said, "With the help of the LORD I have brought forth a man." 2 Later she gave birth to his brother Abel. Now Abel kept flocks, and Cain worked the soil. 3 In the course of time Cain brought some of the fruits of the soil as an offering to the LORD. 4 But Abel brought fat portions from some of the firstborn of his flock. The LORD looked with favor on Abel and his offering, 5 but on Cain and his offering he did not look with favor. So Cain was very angry, and his face was downcast. 6 Then the LORD said to Cain, "Why are you angry? Why is your face downcast? 7 If you do what is right, will you not be accepted? But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must master it." 8 Now Cain said to his brother Abel, "Let's go out to the field." And while they were in the field, Cain attacked his brother Abel and killed him. 9 Then the LORD said to Cain, "Where is your brother Abel?""I don't know," he replied. "Am I my brother's keeper?" 10 The LORD said, "What have you done? Listen! Your brother's blood cries out to me from the ground. 11 Now you are under a curse and driven from the ground, which opened its mouth to receive your brother's blood from your hand. 12 When you work the ground, it will no longer yield its crops for you. You will be a restless wanderer on the earth." 13 Cain said to the LORD, "My punishment is more than I can bear. 14 Today you are driving me from the land, and I will be hidden from your presence; I will be a restless wanderer on the earth, and whoever finds me will kill me." 15 But the LORD said to him, "Not so; if anyone kills Cain, he will suffer vengeance seven times over." Then the LORD put a mark on Cain so that no one who found him would kill him. 16 So Cain went out from the LORD's presence and lived in the land of Nod, east of Eden." 

In the early chapters of Genesis, we have the origins of many significant characteristics of human civilization: agriculture, clothing, shepherding, childbirth, and violence. Why did Cain kill his brother Abel? The implication is that he was jealous of the favor shown to Abel after they presented offerings to the Lord. Abel brought the best of what he had, while Cain just brought some of what he had. Anger led to hatred, and hatred led to the first murder committed. The Lord warned Cain ahead of time that sin was crouching at his door, desiring to have him. Instead Cain became the slave instead of the master, forever cursed to walk ground closed up to his efforts.

The point here is that it didn’t take long, perhaps 15-20 years, from the Fall of Adam and Eve to the first murder. And the time between that murder and next would be shorter, and the next one shorter, until over the course of time there were murders being committed simultaneously all over the world. Today there must be hundreds of individual people murdered every hour around the world, and who knows how many thousands die every day, from bombs, gas attacks, robberies, etc., in groups of two or more.

Violence has been with us since the beginning. Violence will remain as a part of human civilization until its end. But violence has a soft underbelly, and that is where its downfall was determined. The death of another innocent Man, put to death with extraordinary violence, changed the course of human violence from never ending cycle to something that will end in justice for those who have been wronged.

"Snakes, why did it have to be snakes?"

Indiana Jones and I have at least one thing in common. We have always hated snakes. I have an irrational fear of them, and just generally don’t ever like to be around one, unless it is behind glass. I hate them for the two most obvious reasons: 1) they bite, and 2) they’re very sneaky. There are many reasons why you will never see me living in the jungle somewhere – but the main and overwhelming reason is the jungle is full of snakes.

My dad used to take us camping in the Sierra Nevada mountains when I was a kid. One time, my sister and I were taking a bucket down to the stream to get some water when we heard a sound like water rushing through  a garden hose. There, right in the path before us, was a great big timber rattlesnake. My sister said I literally jumped 10 feet straight backward.

Genesis 3
“Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the LORD God had made. He said to the woman, "Did God really say, 'You must not eat from any tree in the garden'?" 2 The woman said to the serpent, "We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden, 3 but God did say, 'You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die.'" 4 "You will not surely die," the serpent said to the woman. 5 "For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil." 6 When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it. 7 Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they realized they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves. 8 Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the LORD God as he was walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and they hid from the LORD God among the trees of the garden. 9 But the LORD God called to the man, "Where are you?" 10 He answered, "I heard you in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid." 11 And he said, "Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree that I commanded you not to eat from?" 12 The man said, "The woman you put here with me--she gave me some fruit from the tree, and I ate it." 13 Then the LORD God said to the woman, "What is this you have done?" The woman said, "The serpent deceived me, and I ate." 14 So the LORD God said to the serpent, "Because you have done this, "Cursed are you above all the livestock and all the wild animals! You will crawl on your belly and you will eat dust all the days of your life. 15 And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel." 16 To the woman he said, "I will greatly increase your pains in childbearing; with pain you will give birth to children. Your desire will be for your husband, and he will rule over you." 17 To Adam he said, "Because you listened to your wife and ate from the tree about which I commanded you, 'You must not eat of it,' "Cursed is the ground because of you; through painful toil you will eat of it all the days of your life. 18 It will produce thorns and thistles for you, and you will eat the plants of the field. 19 By the sweat of your brow you will eat your food until you return to the ground, since from it you were taken; for dust you are and to dust you will return." 20 Adam named his wife Eve, because she would become the mother of all the living. 21 The LORD God made garments of skin for Adam and his wife and clothed them. 22 And the LORD God said, "The man has now become like one of us, knowing good and evil. He must not be allowed to reach out his hand and take also from the tree of life and eat, and live forever." 23 So the LORD God banished him from the Garden of Eden to work the ground from which he had been taken. 24 After he drove the man out, he placed on the east side of the Garden of Eden cherubim and a flaming sword flashing back and forth to guard the way to the tree of life.” 

History blames Eve for this whole debacle, which is not at all fair. First of all, the serpent was there to stir up trouble. He is later identified in Revelation as none other than Satan himself in disguise. Why did Satan disguise himself as a serpent? Maybe because Eve would’ve recognized him in his original form. Who knows what the first man and woman saw, with eyes untainted by sin? They may have been able to see all of eternity, but because of their downfall, we barely see at all.

Next, we need to notice Adam and the role he plays in all of this. Consider this: the only time Adam says anything at all in the whole Bible is when he is blaming his wife for eating the fruit. The problem with this – and I think a lot of people miss this little tidbit of information – it says right there in verse 6b that Adam was right there with her at the same time! He knew all about where that fruit came from and who induced Eve to take it in the first place. Sorry, Adam, nice try.

The real issue here is not whose to blame. I think this is what irritated God the most. If Adam had stepped up and said, “God, I ate this fruit even though I was told not to, and now I am sorry I disobeyed,” I doubt if his punishment would’ve been as severe as it was. But both the man and the woman tried to shift blame onto one of the others instead of owning up to what they had done. So they were cursed. Thanks a lot, guys.

So, if the part of the serpent’s curse was to crawl on its belly and eat dust, does that mean it stood upright and walked around before?

Wired For Community

I enjoy solitude. Through the normal course of my workweek I get a good dose of solitude each day, especially in the mornings. I like being with people, too, of course, especially my family, but I need some solitude on a regular basis just to get focused and think for a while.

I know that at times my preference for solitude can keep me from connecting with people. It is a great struggle for me sometimes to get out and visit with people, because I can’t shake the feeling that I am intruding on their lives and I might be wasting their time.  I suppose for the most part that is not true, but that thought is always nagging me in the back of my mind whenever I sit down with someone.

Genesis 2:18-25
"The LORD God said, "It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him." 
19 Now the LORD God had formed out of the ground all the beasts of the field and all the birds of the air. He brought them to the man to see what he would name them; and whatever the man called each living creature, that was its name. 20 So the man gave names to all the livestock, the birds of the air and all the beasts of the field. But for Adam no suitable helper was found. 21 So the LORD God caused the man to fall into a deep sleep; and while he was sleeping, he took one of the man's ribs and closed up the place with flesh. 22 Then the LORD God made a woman from the rib he had taken out of the man, and he brought her to the man. 23 The man said, "This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called 'woman, 'for she was taken out of man." 24 For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and they will become one flesh. 25 The man and his wife were both naked, and they felt no shame." 

God stated that it is not good for man to be alone, but He never gives the reason why. Why is it not good for man to be alone? Was God tired of Adam talking to Him all the time, like a small child who has nothing to do? Or did He feel sorry for Adam, rattling around the garden, hair all messed up, three days beard stubble on his face, eating leftover eggplant Parmesan for breakfast? Who knows? But for some reason God decided that it was not good for man to be alone. So then, what is God’s first proposal? He brings all the animals for Adam to name. It would seem that God initially thought that one of the animals would be a good companion for the man. Perhaps there were a few, like monkeys or cheetahs, that Adam thought would be fun to hang out with, but apparently, God did not agree.

God decided instead to make another human being, this time not out of the dust of the ground but out of one of Adam’s ribs. But why? Why take something out of Adam to make another person? What does this mean for us?

God has wired us for community. No matter how solitary a person might be, at some point they require human contact. The movie, American Splendor, tells the true story of Harvey Pekar, a socially inept slob who works a dead-end job as a file clerk. He has no friends, and reeks of loneliness, but finds a creative outlet drawing comic books about his mundane life. They become an underground hit all over the country, and a woman who owns a comic book store in Delaware falls in love with him and they get married. When he is diagnosed with cancer, she helps him through to remission. She gives him a foundation on which to build some less inept social skills, and in the end he is still working his dead-end job, but he is finally, finally happy.

In reality, God made us less than a whole person. That is why we feel something missing when we are separated from our God or other people. We are really only about two-thirds of a person, and it is only  when we conjoin ourselves with our helper that our center part is complete.

Digging cisterns of your own

I recently read an account of thirst. Nathaniel Philbrick’s book, In The Heart of The Sea: the true story of the whaleship Essex, is a breathtaking chronicle of real suffering and survival. In 1823, the Essex was rammed and sunk by a sperm whale 3,000 miles west of the coast of South America, and twenty-one men went into three whaleboats. A whaleboat was like a large rowboat. Only seven men made it to Chile, surviving only by eating those who died along the way. Philbrick points out, though, that the real issue for the men of the Essex was not food, but water. In this circumstance, it literally was: “Water, water everywhere, and not a drop to drink!”

It is said that the limits of human survival runs in 3's. We cannot live long after 3 minutes without oxygen, 3 days without water, and 3 weeks without food. The survivors of the Essex managed to rescue some freshwater casks from the shipwreck, but not nearly enough to last them 3,000 miles. The most torturous part of the trip was the ever increasing thirst that plagued the men. When the fresh water ran out, they drank their own urine. They could only do this a few times before their urine became a paste instead of a liquid. When it rained, they tried to catch water in the sails, but the salt-encrusted fabric made the water undrinkable.

When the first of the survivors was found by a coastal ship, those that were there stated that the survivors did not look like men at all. Extreme dehydration had taken all moisture out of their bodies, so that they looked literally like living skeletons. Their eyes were sunk into their heads, their lips had disappeared, their tongues has turned black and split open, and their skin looked like a mummy. The survivors, hardened sailors who had experienced tremendous hardships, stated that they had experienced nothing even remotely as agonizing as the lack of water.

Water plays an important role in the Scriptures as well as in our physiology. The Garden of Eden was watered by a river, the world was cleansed by a flood, the Nile was turned to blood, the Red Sea was crossed, the Jordan was stopped and then started again. And there’s more: Jonah was cast into the sea and swallowed by a big fish, John baptized Jesus in water, Peter was forgiven on the shore of the Sea of Galilee, water flowed from Jesus’ side, and Paul sailed the Mediterranean. And the last picture in the Bible is much like the first: a river flowing, watering the new Garden of God.

Genesis 2:4-17
“This is the account of the heavens and the earth when they were created.
When the LORD God made the earth and the heavens-- 5 and no shrub of the field had yet appeared on the earth and no plant of the field had yet sprung up, for the LORD God had not sent rain on the earth and there was no man to work the ground, 6 but streams came up from the earth and watered the whole surface of the ground-- 7 the LORD God formed the man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being. 8 Now the LORD God had planted a garden in the east, in Eden; and there he put the man he had formed. 9 And the LORD God made all kinds of trees grow out of the ground--trees that were pleasing to the eye and good for food. In the middle of the garden were the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. 10 A river watering the garden flowed from Eden; from there it was separated into four headwaters. 11 The name of the first is the Pishon; it winds through the entire land of Havilah, where there is gold. 12(The gold of that land is good; aromatic resin and onyx are also there.) 13 The name of the second river is the Gihon; it winds through the entire land of Cush.   14 The name of the third river is the Tigris; it runs along the east side of Asshur. And the fourth river is the Euphrates. 15 The LORD God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it. 16 And the LORD God commanded the man, "You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; 17 but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat of it you will surely die."

Our bodies require a daily intake of water. But then we thirst again. Jesus has promised to give our souls Living Water, the kind through which we never thirst again. But what happens when we become shipwrecked, when we have wandered off the edge of the map? What occurs when we leave the source of the Living Water, and dig cisterns of our own? Our tongues swell and split open, our eyes sink back into our heads, and our desiccated bodies wander deliriously from mirage to mirage. Who will save us from this body of death? Who can rescue us as we lay at the bottom of the boat, in the heart of the sea?

I don't think this is what God had in mind....

The vegetarians do have a point. Human beings initially ate food solely derived from plants. It was only after the Fall of Humanity that we began to eat meat. From that point on, meat has been with us, a reminder that something was killed in order for us to eat and live.

The environmentalists also have a point. Our responsibility to rule over the natural world is one that we have not taken very seriously up until now. We overfish our oceans and rivers, pour toxic waste into them, and then bemoan the fact that we are losing species every day. Recently, I read that the Chinese baiji, a pink freshwater dolphin that lived in the Yangtze River, is now thought to be extinct. Usually a ruler does not erase his subjects from existence, so I am wondering how this will look on our annual report......

Genesis 1:28-2:3
"God blessed them and said to them, "Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air and over every living creature that moves on the ground." 29 Then God said, "I give you every seed-bearing plant on the face of the whole earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it. They will be yours for food. 30 And to all the beasts of the earth and all the birds of the air and all the creatures that move on the ground--everything that has the breath of life in it--I give every green plant for food." And it was so. 31 God saw all that he had made, and it was very good. And there was evening, and there was morning--the sixth day. 2:1 Thus the heavens and the earth were completed in all their vast array. 2 By the seventh day God had finished the work he had been doing; so on the seventh day he rested from all his work. 3 And God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it he rested from all the work of creating that he had done." 

When God had finished creating this existence, He set aside a day as sacred, or set apart. This is the origin of shabbatt, or the Sabbath. The Jews were commanded to honor the Sabbath and keep it holy, which meant you were supposed to refrain from your everyday activities and spend time with your family and your God. But like so many other responsibilities we humans have messed up, the Sabbath was either so protected that it became cocooned in ridiculous man-made rules, or it was treated like any other day of the week.

Nowadays, in our own post-Christian society, we tend to lean toward the latter, rather than the former. Most people treat Sunday as just another Saturday – a day they can sleep in, or mow the lawn. Sunday mornings have also become a favorite time for sporting events like soccer and baseball games. Every Sunday, the park near my house is filled with people whose only association with the word Holy is to put it in front of an expletive referring to what goes into the sewer.

I don’t condemn the people, aware as I am that I am no better at being holy than they at times. It just saddens me that we have taken the gifts God has given us and misused them so badly. Regardless of the endless debate over climate change, it is plain to see that we have poisoned this planet with our irresponsibility. Recently, we’ve been warned not to eat too much tuna or shark because their food contains too much mercury. Mercury does not occur like that in nature, it is a result of human industry. Can the planet recover from the mess we have made? Probably, given enough time.

We fall so short of God’s intentions for His creation. In our own blind selfishness, we make impure what we received as pure. During our harsh rule over the rest of creation we have been narcissistic tyrants, in everything from fish and dolphins to soccer on Sundays.

God forgive us.

Its normal to struggle, for Pete's sake!

A little while back Mother Teresa was in the news, this time because of a new book containing some of her private letters. The media was all abuzz about it (It made the front page of the Oregonian), because the letters reveal a side of the saintly woman that astounds secular people: she struggled in her faith. In those private letters, Mother Teresa confesses to having doubts about Jesus, the focus of her faith, and wrestling with a crippling despair over the existence of God. The media, of course, has really run with this “revelation” about her. This kind of thing sells papers.

When I first saw this on the morning news, my response was, “So what?” As a person who struggles and wrestles and grapples with faith every single day, that someone else has done so is not news to me. At times my lack of faith opens before me like a yawning abyss, and I am compelled toward the edge.

What faithful, sincere Christian hasn’t struggled with faith? It does not come naturally to us: to submit to God’s reign over us is what we fight against in our pride to know both good and evil. We “kick against the goads,” and then ask for help again when we are barely hanging on to the edge of the abyss. A typical week for the serious Christian. In knowing Mother Teresa wrestled with God, she become even more of a saint in my eyes than before.

Genesis 1:14-27
“And God said, "Let there be lights in the expanse of the sky to separate the day from the night, and let them serve as signs to mark seasons and days and years, 15 and let them be lights in the expanse of the sky to give light on the earth." And it was so. 16 God made two great lights--the greater light to govern the day and the lesser light to govern the night. He also made the stars. 17 God set them in the expanse of the sky to give light on the earth, 18 to govern the day and the night, and to separate light from darkness. And God saw that it was good. 19 And there was evening, and there was morning--the fourth day. 20 And God said, "Let the water teem with living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the expanse of the sky." 21 So God created the great creatures of the sea and every living and moving thing with which the water teems, according to their kinds, and every winged bird according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. 22 God blessed them and said, "Be fruitful and increase in number and fill the water in the seas, and let the birds increase on the earth." 23 And there was evening, and there was morning--the fifth day. 24 And God said, "Let the land produce living creatures according to their kinds: livestock, creatures that move along the ground, and wild animals, each according to its kind." And it was so. 25 God made the wild animals according to their kinds, the livestock according to their kinds, and all the creatures that move along the ground according to their kinds. And God saw that it was good. 26 Then God said, "Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move along the ground." 27 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.” 

God gave us humans a precious gift: a free will and time to decide for ourselves. In this we are unique. The angels seem to have some sort of limited free will, otherwise Satan and the demons could not have fallen, but they dwell only in eternity, not in time. On the other hand, the other creatures of this world do not have free will, and so do not get to choose their destiny.

This gift comes with a tremendous cost, however. Because of the rebellion of those first humans, we now live in a world that is gangrenously corrupt. We still have the gift of free will and the time to use it, but the decision to do the right thing and obey our Creator becomes much more difficult. And our own rebellion contributes exponentially to the worldwide sinful state of this existence, to the point that we despair of ever seeing anything truly pure and beautiful again. Because of this, faith means struggle. I think, at this point in the history of the world, if you aren’t struggling with submission to God, something is not quite right with your soul.

When I step out of time at long last, Teresa, let’s do lunch; I think we’ll have a lot to talk about.

God is an Artist

I have often wished I was more creative. I am about as creative as a brick wall, which isn’t very creative at all. I want to be creative – to be able to come up with new ideas and perspectives. However, I am better at taking other people’s ideas and using them, modifying them for my own purposes, and then relating them to others. I guess that makes me a better teacher than a creator. However, I still wish I more creative. I know a few people who can come up with the most creative ideas and solutions to problems. I know just a couple of people who are natural-born artists, people who can paint and sculpt and build beautiful and thought provoking images. I have always admired the many talented musicians who can create a song that fills the imagination, at times conveying to the listener an association not even intended by the author, but still beautiful in the catalyst of each unique human soul.

I guess for every creative person there needs to be those who can admire their creations. Perhaps that is my contribution to the creative process.

Genesis 1:1-12
1:1" In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. 2 Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters. 3 And God said, "Let there be light," and there was light. 4 God saw that the light was good, and he separated the light from the darkness. 5 God called the light "day," and the darkness he called "night." And there was evening, and there was morning--the first day. 6 And God said, "Let there be an expanse between the waters to separate water from water." 7 So God made the expanse and separated the water under the expanse from the water above it. And it was so. 8 God called the expanse "sky." And there was evening, and there was morning--the second day. 9 And God said, "Let the water under the sky be gathered to one place, and let dry ground appear." And it was so. 10 God called the dry ground "land," and the gathered waters he called "seas." And God saw that it was good. 11 Then God said, "Let the land produce vegetation: seed-bearing plants and trees on the land that bear fruit with seed in it, according to their various kinds." And it was so. 12 The land produced vegetation: plants bearing seed according to their kinds and trees bearing fruit with seed in it according to their kinds. And God saw that it was good. 13 And there was evening, and there was morning--the third day."

God is the ultimate Creator. The poem found in the first chapter of Genesis was written to express God’s supremacy as the Artist without rival or peer. He is the initiator of light into the darkness, earth and sky, land and sea, and vegetation and fruit. He designed each with words from His mouth. His words called the universe into existence, from atomic particles to the largest galaxies.

The earth was formless and empty, in darkness. The Spirit of God was there, over the waters of chaos. How long did God remain there, and what was He thinking about? Did He at some point get the impulse to make something, a creative urge to construct and paint and shape? As He put together some carbon molecules did He receive an epiphany – “I could make something from all this dirt!”? Or did it just happen as He swept the water aside and made a dry place, planting a garden of botanical delights, thinking : “Next I should make a creature to keep this garden nicely tended”?

Was the human race planned ahead of time or did God create us as He went along, only coming to the inspiration for our existence by the sheer exhilaration of His craft?

The Whole of Life

Being a pastor is a strange experience. It is a mix of so many things, for example, I am a spiritual leader in a community but not recognized as such by many people outside the church. Another example is the fact that the vast majority of my time is spent on mundane issues as opposed to spiritual ones, like phone calls, letters,planning, and preparing. I keep lists of projects and activities on Post-Its on my desk to remind me of what needs to be done. In many communities, the many hats of the pastor wouldn't end there. It is not uncommon in many communities for the pastor to be responsible for the upkeep of the grounds and church building, sorting the mail, printing the bulletin, taking out the garbage, and changing the light bulbs. I am thankful to be blessed with many willing volunteers who serve the Lord by helping out in these ways.

Hebrews 13:1"Brotherly love must continue. 13:2 Do not neglect hospitality, because through it some have entertained angels without knowing it. 13:3 Remember those in prison as though you were in prison with them, and those ill-treated as though you too felt their torment. 13:4 Marriage must be honored among all and the marriage bed kept undefiled, for God will judge sexually immoral people and adulterers. 13:5 Your conduct must be free from the love of money and you must be content with what you have, for he has said, “I will never leave you and I will never abandon you.” 13:6 So we can say with confidence, “The Lord is my helper, and I will not be afraid. What can man do to me?” 13:7 Remember your leaders, who spoke God’s message to you; reflect on the outcome of their lives and imitate their faith. 13:8 Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever! 13:9 Do not be carried away by all sorts of strange teachings. For it is good for the heart to be strengthened by grace, not ritual meals, which have never benefited those who participated in them. 13:10 We have an altar that those who serve in the tabernacle have no right to eat from. 13:11 For the bodies of those animals whose blood the high priest brings into the sanctuary as an offering for sin are burned outside the camp. 13:1   Therefore, to sanctify the people by his own blood, Jesus also suffered outside the camp. 13:13 We must go out to him, then, outside the camp, bearing the abuse he experienced. 13:14 For here we have no lasting city, but we seek the city that is to come. 13:15 Through him then let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of our lips, acknowledging his name. 13:16 And do not neglect to do good and to share what you have, for God is pleased with such sacrifices.13:17 Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they keep watch over your souls and will give an account for their work. Let them do this with joy and not with complaints, for this would be no advantage for you. 13:18 Pray for us, for we are sure that we have a clear conscience and desire to conduct ourselves rightly in every respect. 13:19 I especially ask you to pray that I may be restored to you very soon.  13:20 Now may the God of peace who by the blood of the eternal covenant brought back from the dead the great shepherd of the sheep, our Lord Jesus Christ, 13:21 equip you with every good thing to do his will, working in us what is pleasing before him through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever. Amen. 13:22 Now I urge you, brothers and sisters, bear with my message of exhortation, for in fact I have written to you briefly. 13:23 You should know that our brother Timothy has been released. If he comes soon, he will be with me when I see you. 13:24 Greetings to all your leaders and all the saints. Those from Italy send you greetings. 13:25 Grace be with you all."

 The letters of the New Testament generally follow a particular pattern when it comes to topics: doctrine or teaching first, and then practical matters of the Christian life. The idea is that belief and action are intertwined for the Christian. The separation of the spiritual and temporal is a product of Western culture, and is essentially pagan in origin. The biblical view of life is holistic – all aspects of our lives are connected and influence each other. Simply believing and not doing is an oxymoron for the disciple of Christ. To have a set of beliefs that have no bearing on daily living is the very definition of classical paganism, like the Greeks or Romans. They would go to the temples and give offerings, appeasing the gods or asking their blessing, and then go home to their regular routine. The realm of the  spiritual and the realm of the mundane never came together. Sound familiar?

The Demise of Christendom

The age of Christendom is long over. Christendom was a time in the Western world when Christianity was accepted by nearly everyone as a fact of life, from birth to death. Christendom lasted for about 800 years,  from the evangelization of the last pagan kings of Europe in 1100 to the rise of secular humanism around 1750. Since that time, regions that had been historically Christian have been rapidly receding, until today, when fewer than 2% of Europeans attend church on a monthly basis. The figures aren’t much better as you travel west – 4% in Great Britain and Canada. America has seen a slower decline, but it is steadily progressing toward that of Europe – 40% in the South and Midwest,  12% in the Northeast, and 8% in the Northwest.

Hebrews 12:1"Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, we must get rid of every weight and the sin that clings so closely, and run with endurance the race set out for us, 12:2 keeping our eyes fixed on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of our faith. For the joy set out for him he endured the cross, disregarding its shame, and has taken his seat at the right hand of the throne of God. 12:3 Think of him who endured such opposition against himself by sinners, so that you may not grow weary in your souls and give up. 12:4 You have not yet resisted to the point of bloodshed in your struggle against sin.  12:5 And have you forgotten the exhortation addressed to you as sons?“My son, do not scorn the Lord’s discipline or give up when he corrects you.12:6 “For the Lord disciplines the one he loves and chastises every son he accepts.”12:7 Endure your suffering as discipline; God is treating you as sons. For what son is there that a father does not discipline? 12:8 But if you do not experience discipline, something all sons have shared in, then you are illegitimate and are not sons. 12:9 Besides, we have experienced discipline from our earthly fathers and we respected them; shall we not submit ourselves all the more to the Father of spirits and receive life? 12:10 For they disciplined us for a little while as seemed good to them, but he does so for our benefit, that we may share his holiness. 12:11 Now all discipline seems painful at the time, not joyful. But later it produces the fruit of peace and righteousness for those trained by it. 12:12 Therefore, strengthen your listless hands and your weak knees, 12:13 and make straight paths for your feet, so that what is lame may not be put out of joint but be healed."

The Scripture states that we are trained by the difficulties and persecution we encounter as followers of Jesus. God allows for our circumstances in order to train us toward holiness and strength. We are not to be discouraged in the midst of this hardship, but to keep in mind the bigger picture, that our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the powers and principalities of this dark world and age (cf. Ephesians 6).

One of the amazing and unforeseen events in the world today is the shifting of the center of gravity for the Christian world to the South instead of the North. Today, the average Christian is poor, brown skinned, and female, where 200 years ago it was wealthy, white skinned, and male. Over 400 people are baptized every week in Brazil, and in China underground churches have sprouted up by the tens of thousands. Even if Christendom has crumbled, the Church is still alive and well in the world  -- it just doesn't look like it used to. :)

Faith like a searchlight

It is a common idea to consider life as a journey from cradle to grave. Along that journey come challenges, blocked roads, high mountains, and dark valleys. Life as a journey is a very common concept, but the  interesting part is how and with what do people navigate? There are some, perhaps many, that really don’t navigate at all. These allow circumstances to determine where they go next. There are some who believe in Destiny or Fate. These look to a prescribed set of options and when events happen in a predictable way, they believe it was meant to be. Others have faith, and they use their faith like a searchlight, swinging it this way and that to find their way.

    Hebrews 11:17 By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac. He had received the promises, yet he was ready to offer up his only son. 11:18 God had told him, “Through Isaac descendants will carry on your name,” 11:19 and he reasoned that God could even raise him from the dead, and in a sense he received him back from there. 11:20 By faith also Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau concerning the future. 11:21 By faith Jacob, as he was dying, blessed each of the sons of Joseph and worshiped as he leaned on his staff. 11:22  By faith Joseph, at the end of his life, mentioned the exodus of the sons of Israel and gave instructions about his burial.11:23 By faith, when Moses was born, his parents hid him for three months, because they saw the child was beautiful and they were not afraid of the king’s edict. 11:24 By faith, when he grew up, Moses refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter, 11:25 choosing rather to be ill-treated with the people of God than to enjoy sin’s fleeting pleasure. 11:26 He regarded abuse suffered for Christ to be greater wealth than the treasures of Egypt, for his eyes were fixed on the reward. 11:27 By faith he left Egypt without fearing the king’s anger, for he persevered as though he could see the one who is invisible. 11:28 By faith he kept the Passover and the sprinkling of the blood, so that the one who destroyed the firstborn would not touch them. 11:29 By faith they crossed the Red Sea as if on dry ground, but when the Egyptians tried it, they were swallowed up.  11:30 By faith the walls of Jericho fell after the people marched around them for seven days. 11:31 By faith Rahab the prostitute escaped the destruction of the disobedient, because she welcomed the spies in peace.     11:32 And what more shall I say? For time will fail me if I tell of Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, of David and Samuel and the prophets. 11:33 Through faith they conquered kingdoms, administered justice, gained what was promised, shut the mouths of lions, 11:34 quenched raging fire, escaped the edge of the sword, gained strength in weakness, became mighty in battle, put foreign armies to flight, 11:35 and women received back their dead raised to life. But others were tortured, not accepting release, to obtain resurrection to a better life. 11:36 And others experienced mocking and flogging, and even chains and imprisonment. 11:37 They were stoned, sawed apart, murdered with the sword; they went about in sheepskins and goatskins; they were destitute, afflicted, ill-treated 11:38 (the world was not worthy of them); they wandered in deserts and mountains and caves and openings in the earth. 11:39 And these all were commended for their faith, yet they did not receive what was promised. 11:40 For God had provided something better for us, so that they would be made perfect together with us."


Faith is the catalyst for God’s grace and mercy. Our belief that God exists and that He actually cares about our situation enough to personally get involved is the chemical needed to complete the reaction. From the very beginning, faith has been the component missing from those who fail to find what they are looking for on their journey. Faith is the searchlight that shines on the face of God.

But that searchlight can also become a target. There are forces at work, both human and spiritual, that do not want you to find your way to God. And so they will use your searchlight as a way to bomb your position, and send troops to oppose your advance. In fact, God has told us that the journey of faith is the most difficult one to take, because of the hardships along the way. Those of the dark inevitably hate those of the light, and that hatred provokes them into action.

But the good news is that this path has been traveled long before we came along. We are the blessed ones,because in addition to our searchlights of faith, we have a well-worn path to walk upon. We follow in the footsteps of millions of travelers with their own searchlights wavering before them.

Bon Voyage!

Both Death and Faith Are Nearer Than You Think

Up until recent times, people were constantly thinking about death. Before modern medical practices, safety regulations, and the elevation of the common man, death was a daily possibility. In a family of five it was likely that at least one would die of a contagious disease, killed in a war, or die on the job.  Life expectancy in the Middle Ages was around 35, and if you were lucky enough to live that long it was probable that many of the people you knew growing up would already be dead, including your spouse, parents, and children. For most people, this life was a difficult struggle to survive, and it still  is for most people in the world today.

Within those circumstances, imagine what it would be like to hear that your family, friends, ancestors, and descendants would someday once again be united with you. Released from a life of constant hardship and suffering, death was a transition to another, better life. In Heaven, death would become irrelevant, and you would be reunited with all your loved ones who had gone before you, including people who had lived hundreds or even thousands of years before you.

 Hebrews 11:1 "Now faith is being sure of what we hope for, being convinced of what we do not see. 11:2 For by it the people of old received God’s commendation. 11:3 By faith we understand that the worlds were set in order at God’s command, so that the visible has its origin in the invisible. 11:4 By faith Abel offered God a greater sacrifice than Cain, and through his faith he was commended as righteous, because God commended him for his offerings. And through his faith he still speaks, though he is dead. 11:5 By faith Enoch was taken up so that he did not see death, and he was not to be found because God took him up. For before his removal he had been commended as having pleased God. 11:6 Now without faith it is impossible to please him, for the one who approaches God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him. 11:7 By faith Noah, when he was warned about things not yet seen, with reverent regard constructed an ark for the deliverance of his family. Through faith he condemned the world and became an heir of the righteousness that comes by faith  11:8 By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to a place he would later receive as an inheritance, and he went out without understanding where he was going. 11:9 By faith he lived as a foreigner in the promised land as though it were a foreign country, living in tents with Isaac and Jacob, who were fellow heirs of the same promise. 11:10 For he was looking forward to the city with firm foundations, whose architect and builder is God. 11:11 By faith, even though Sarah herself was barren and he was too old, he received the ability to procreate, because he regarded the one who had given the promise to be trustworthy. 11:12 So in fact children were fathered by one man – and this one as good as dead – like the number of stars in the sky and like the innumerable grains of sand on the seashore.  11:13 These all died in faith without receiving the things promised, but they saw them in the distance and welcomed them and acknowledged that they were strangers and foreigners on the earth. 11:14 For those who speak in such a way make it clear that they are seeking a homeland. 11:15 In fact, if they had been thinking of the land that they had left, they would have had opportunity to return. 11:16 But as it is, they aspire to a better land, that is, a heavenly one. Therefore, God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them." 

Perhaps the reason most people in our culture are losing faith is because it seems like the need for it is diminishing. After all, we live in the most privileged society in the world. Most of us have been inoculated against the major life-threatening diseases. If we break an arm or leg we can get it fixed instead of having to be held down while someone saws it off with a dirty and rusty knife. We stand a pretty good chance of not being murdered while going to market or killed defending our master’s property. Indeed, the main complaint young people in our culture make is (take a guess) “I’m bored.” Bored people don’t worry about death and the afterlife much.

The pressing issue is, though, that death is still a distinct possibility for all of us at any given time. Our material security as a nation is slowly but observably eroding, as evidenced by 9/11. Our society is steadily becoming more barbaric, where only the rich and strong survive. While information is becoming more accessible, and the amount of information doubles roughly every 18 months, the actual education level of most people is rapidly lowering down toward what it was during the Middle Ages. Our culture and government is becoming perceptibly more and more hostile toward the Christian faith. Soon, young people may not complain about being bored anymore, they’ll be too busy trying to survive. And at that point, death and those who have gone before us into Heaven will become subjects of much contemplation once again.

Celebration of Mediocrity

The celebration of mediocrity is one of the many signs of decline in America. So is competitive eating! But the celebration of mediocrity is an even more critical indicator because it broadcasts the message that we as a nation and culture have pretty much decided not to pursue excellence any more. Instead, we are content to let the underdogs like China and India do that for us.

As an example, take the current situation in public education. Elizabeth Gold’s book Brief Intervals of  Terrible Sanity records her experiences teaching for a year at what was considered to be one of New York City’s more progressive public high schools. As she discovered, more progressive meant celebration of mediocrity, since the rest was too horrible to consider. A full three-quarters of her class was unteachable, due to the students’ refusal to sit down, be quiet, and learn. A small handful of students attempted to actually learn, but their progress was thwarted at every turn by the majority who, even though they were disruptive and chaotic, were not expelled. Gold describes the effect this environment made on an idealistic and naive new schoolteacher, who saw her hopes of “really reaching those kids” diminish to simply a desire to survive the year. The real tragedy is that although these students could barely read at a fifth-grade level, they continued to ascend toward graduation because failure was not an option. Meanwhile, our top universities are awarding PhDs in science, mathematics, and technology to literally hundreds of foreign nationals every year  who then take their education and talent back to their home countries. We don’t want to hear it, but our status as a world leader in things other than bombing and  shooting is not just in decline, it is circling the drain. A society without consequences  is a terrible place.

    Hebrews 10:11 And every priest stands day after day serving and offering the same sacrifices again and again – sacrifices that can never take away sins. 10:1 But when this priest had offered one sacrifice for sins for all time, he sat down at the right hand of God, 10:13 where he is now waiting until his enemies are made a footstool for his feet. 10:14 For by one offering he has perfected for all time those who are made holy. 10:15 And the Holy Spirit also witnesses to us, for after saying, 10:16 “This is the covenant that I will establish with them after those days, says the Lord. I will put my laws on their hearts and I will inscribe them on their minds,” 10:17 then he says, “Their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no longer.” 10:18 Now where there is forgiveness of these, there is no longer any offering for sin. 10:19 Therefore, brothers and sisters, since we have confidence to enter the sanctuary by the blood of Jesus, 10:20 by the fresh and living way that he inaugurated for us through the curtain, that is, through his flesh, 10:21 and since we have a great priest over the house of God, 10: 22 let us draw near with a sincere heart in the assurance that faith brings, because we have had our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed in pure water. 10:23 And let us hold unwaveringly to the hope that we confess, for the one who made the promise is trustworthy. 10:24 And let us take thought of how to spur one another on to love and good works, 10:25 not abandoning our own meetings, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging each other, and even more so because you see the day drawing near.     10:26 For if we deliberately keep on sinning after receiving the knowledge of the truth, no further sacrifice for sins is left for us, 10:27 but only a certain fearful expectation of judgment and a fury of fire that will consume God’s enemies. 10:28 Someone who rejected the law of Moses was put to death without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses. 10:29 How much greater punishment do you think that person deserves who has contempt for the Son of God, and profanes the blood of the covenant that made him holy, and insults the Spirit of grace? 10:30 For we know the one who said, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay,” and again, “The Lord will judge his people.” 10:31 It is a terrifying thing to fall into the hands of the living  God.10:32 But remember the former days when you endured a harsh conflict of suffering after you were enlightened. 10:33 At times you were publicly exposed to abuse and afflictions, and at other times you came to share with others who were treated in that way. 10:34 For in fact you shared the sufferings of those in prison, and you accepted the confiscation of your belongings with joy, because you knew that you certainly had a better and lasting possession. 10:35 So do not throw away your confidence, because it has great reward. 10:36 For you need endurance in order to do God’s will and so receive what is promised. 10:37 For just a little longer and he who is coming will arrive and not delay. 10:38 But my righteous one will live by faith, and if he shrinks back, I take no pleasure in him. 10:39 But we are not among those who shrink back and thus perish, but are among those who have faith and preserve their souls."

 Too often we hear God presented as a kind of cosmic big brother. He’s our buddy, our pal, a guy who wants to give us a helping hand. He’s the “Man Upstairs,” who can get you out of a jam. And this type of thinking isn’t found just among secular people, it is also widespread within God’s Church. Unfortunately, the idea that God is our personal genie is not only unbiblical and heretical, it is also  fatally dangerous. As Jonathan Edwards illustrated centuries ago in Sinners in the Hands of an Angry  God, the human race, both individually and collectively, is hanging by a thread over the fiery pit of Hell.  God is not our buddy, He burns with a deadly holiness that would consume you whole if it weren’t held  in check by God’s equally powerful mercy.

As I have pointed out, consequences, especially eternal ones, are not popular in our culture. We are not  comfortable with the idea of eternal punishment because it sounds to harsh to our sophisticated ears. And yet it can be shown that a healthy fear of God can do wonderful things to motivate a culture – ever hear of the Protestant Work Ethic? Our society was formed on the idea that there are eternal  consequences to our actions, but now that concept has been rejected by many. And so we circle the  drain..........

The Compound Interest On Sin

Credit card debt is a terrible problem in America, particularly among young people. The ease in which a card is authorized all but guarantees it will be used. Credit  cards  themselves  can  be  very  useful  things, provided  they  are  used responsibly. If you pay off any amount you charge before the end of the month, then no interest will be added to your debt. However, many people seem to think credit cards are an additional source of income, rather than a convenient way to spend it. Pretty soon, interest begins to take its heavy toll and people are up to their  eyeballs  in  debt,  making  the  minimal  payments  to  get  by,  but  never  resolving the principal debt.

 Hebrews 10:1"For the law possesses a shadow of the good things to come but not the reality itself, and is therefore completely unable, by the same sacrifices offered continually, year after year, to perfect those who come to worship. 10:2 For otherwise would they not have ceased to be offered, since the worshipers would have been purified once for all and so have no further consciousness of sin? 10:3 But in those sacrifices there is a reminder of sins year after year. 10:4 For the blood of bulls and goats cannot take away sins. 10:5 So when he came into the world, he said, “Sacrifice and offering you did not desire, but a body you prepared for me.10:6 “Whole burnt offerings and sin-offerings you took no delight in.10:7 “Then I said, ‘Here I am: I have come – it is written of me in the scroll of the book – to do your will, O God.’”10:8 When he says above, “Sacrifices and offerings and whole burnt offerings and sin-offerings you did not desire nor did you take delight in them” (which are offered according to the law), 10:9 then he says, “Here I am: I have come to do your will.” He does away with the first to establish the second. 10:10 By his will we have been made holy through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all."

The purpose of the establishment of the Law was to form and guide a national community of people in their dealings with their neighbors and the God that had rescued them from slavery. Sacrifices and offerings were required by the Law to serve as reminders to the people of the price of their sins, but the sacrifices did not absolve the people of their sin. Instead, they merely postponed the due date for payment until God sent His Son Jesus Messiah to pay the debts, not only of the Israelite community, but the debt of the whole of the human race. Jesus made a payment we couldn’t make, even if we were willing to, because the debt was greater than our ability to pay. But because Jesus was God’s Son, both perfectly human and divine, He was able to pay the debt with the sacrifice of His own body on the cross of suffering.  In addition to paying the impossible debt hanging over us, He sent His Holy Spirit to invade our lives, find our spiritual wallets, and cut up all those sin credit cards we use to add more debt than we already had. Gradually, the Holy Spirit teaches us how to be the master of sin, rather than its slave. In time, we learn what it is to be truly wealthy, using our spiritual resources for good rather than evil.

The Blood Is The Life.

My wife has been diabetic since she was ten. Unlike some types of adult-onset diabetes, her type requires daily injections of insulin in order to live. Insulin is a chemical that breaks down glucose in the bloodstream, and it is produced by the pancreas. Krista’s pancreas quit making insulin, so she must check her blood  sugar levels often throughout the day to make sure she gives herself enough insulin. She uses a device to prick her finger and squeezes a drop of blood onto a  strip, which is read by a small machine she carries with her. Her life literally depends on the ability to read that drop of blood.

    Hebrews 9:11 "But now Christ has come as the high priest of the good things to come. He passed through the greater and more perfect tent not made with hands, that is, not of this creation, 9:12 and he entered once for all into the most holy place not by the blood of goats and calves but by his own blood, and so he himself secured eternal redemption. 9:13 For if the blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a young cow sprinkled on those who are defiled consecrated them and provided ritual purity, 9:14 how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without blemish to God, purify our consciences from dead works to worship the living God 9:15 And so he is the mediator of a new covenant, so that those who are called may receive the eternal inheritance he has promised, since he died to set them free from the violations committed under the first covenant. 9:16 For where there is a will, the death of the one who made it must be proven. 9:17 For a will takes effect only at death, since it carries no force while the one who made it is alive. 9:18 So even the first covenant was inaugurated with blood. 9:19 For when Moses had spoken every command to all the people according to the law, he took the blood of calves and goats with water and scarlet wool and hyssop and sprinkled both the book itself and all the people, 9:20 and said, “This is the blood of the covenant that God has commanded you to keep.” 9:21 And both the tabernacle and all the utensils of worship he likewise sprinkled with blood. 9: 20 Indeed according to the law almost everything was purified with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness. 9:23 So it was necessary for the sketches of the things in heaven to be purified with these sacrifices, but the heavenly things themselves required better sacrifices than these. 9:24 For Christ did not enter a sanctuary made with hands – the representation of the true sanctuary – but into heaven itself, and he appears now in God’s presence for us. 9:25 And he did not enter to offer himself again and again, the way the high priest enters the sanctuary year after year with blood that is not his own, 9:26 for then he would have had to suffer again and again since the foundation of the world. But now he has appeared once for all at the consummation of the ages to put away sin by his sacrifice. 9:27 And just as people are appointed to die once, and then to face judgment, 9:28 so also, after Christ was offered once to bear the sins of many, to those who eagerly await him he will appear a second time, not to bear sin but to bring salvation."

From very early in the history of humanity, it was understood that sacrifice was necessary to approach God. One of the first things Noah did after leaving the ark was sacrifice in worship to the God that had saved him and his family from destruction. When God made his covenant/contract with the children of Israel, it was  finalized in the shedding of blood, which was considered to contain the life essence. Blood was sprinkled on everything to be used in ceremonial worship, and daily, monthly, and yearly animal sacrifices were established. But all this is now inferior to that which came next – the death and blood of Jesus Messiah. His blood is superior to animal blood, because He is God’s Son, and so new the covenant/contract God has made because of that blood is superior as well. We are cleansed from sin and our own death sentence is cleared because of that blood, shed once for all. We are no longer required to sacrifice inferior animals because the  superior God-Man has done it for us. We are dependant on that blood for so much: hope, joy, peace, purpose, and salvation in God.

Keep Your Head Above Water

Many people wrestle with suicidal thoughts now and again. I am no exception, although I rarely have them now. When I was a teenager, I had them on a regular basis. The summer after I graduated from high school was probably the time I came closest to actually acting on those feelings. We had moved to Oregon the year before and I was struggling to find myself. Most of the misery I felt was self-induced, but I was beginning to seriously contemplate swallowing the barrel of a shotgun. I felt like I had ruined my life, and circumstances being what they were, it was awfully hard to get out of bed.

The only thing that kept my nose above the waterline was the dim hope, somewhere in the back of my mind, that at some point my life would get better. I knew deep down that I would be robbing myself of the chance to experience what life was really all about. So I waded through that swamp of depression until I found some solid ground again. The solid ground was the hope that Jesus would do a better job building my life than I had done.

Hebrews 9:1 "Now the first covenant, in fact, had regulations for worship and its earthly sanctuary. 9:2 For a tent was prepared, the outer one, which contained the lampstand, the table, and the presentation of the loaves; this is called the holy place. 9:3 And after the second curtain there was a tent called the holy of holies. 9:4 It contained the golden altar of incense and the ark of the covenant covered entirely with gold. In this ark were the golden urn containing the manna, Aaron’s rod that budded, and the stone tablets of the covenant. 9:5 And above the ark were the cherubim of glory overshadowing the seat. Now is not the time to speak of these things in detail. 9:6 So with these things prepared like this, the priests enter continually into the outer tent as they perform their duties. 9:7 But only the high priest enters once a year into the inner tent, and not without blood that he offers for himself and for the sins of the people committed in ignorance. 9:8 The Holy Spirit is making clear that the way into the holy place had not yet appeared as long as the old tabernacle was standing. 9:9 This was a symbol for the time then present, when gifts and sacrifices were offered that could not perfect the conscience of the worshiper. 9:10 They served only for matters of food and drink and various washings; they are external regulations imposed until the new order came."

God always has something better in store for us. Just as He established the first tabernacle as an indication of how He would bring salvation to the world, God places within our lives clues about the abundant life He has waiting for us just around the bend. The fact that the High Priest could never enter the Holy of Holies without blood was a foreshadow of how the blood of Jesus the High Priest would become the means by which we would all freely and with joy enter into the presence of God Almighty. As we stand in God’s presence, He looks at us with blood covered eyes, the blood of His own Son. And what He sees is everything we were ever meant to be as His children, no matter how ruined we may think we are.

The Flight of Our Souls

The Greek philosopher Plato (circa. 330 BC) had a tremendous influence on Western civilization, nearly as powerful as the Judeo-Christian worldview. His teachings included the mind/body duality, in that we have a mortal physical body that is inhabited by an immortal soul. He expanded on that concept by postulating that since the soul is immortal, and this physical world is subject to mortality, the soul’s true home must be somewhere else. He described an eternal world of ideas, where the soul would fly when it was freed from its body. This world of ideas contained the primary source of everything that exists in the physical universe, for example, a chair that exists here is only a copy of the eternal idea of the chair,which resides in the spiritual world. All of this is contained within the World Soul, or God, the primary source of everything.

   Hebrews 8:1"Now the main point of what we are saying is this: We have such a high priest, one who sat down at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in heaven, 8:2 a minister in the sanctuary and the true tabernacle that the Lord, not man, set up. 8:3 For every high priest is appointed to offer both gifts and sacrifices. So this one too had to have something to offer. 8:4 Now if he were on earth, he would not be a priest, since there are already priests who offer the gifts prescribed by the law. 8:5 The place where they serve is a sketch and shadow of the heavenly sanctuary, just as Moses was warned by God as he was about to complete the tabernacle. For he says, “See that you make everything according to the design shown to you on the mountain.” 8:6 But now Jesus has obtained a superior ministry, since the covenant that he mediates is also better and is enacted on better promises.  8:7 For if that first covenant had been faultless, no one would have looked for a second one. 8:8 But showing its fault, God says to them,“Look, the days are coming, says the Lord, when I will complete a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah. 8:9 “It will not be like the covenant that I made with their fathers, on the day when I took them by the hand to lead them out of Egypt, because they did not continue in my covenant and I had no regard for them, says the Lord. 8:10 “For this is the covenant that I will establish with the house of Israel after those days, says the Lord. I will put my laws in their minds and I will inscribe them on their hearts. And I will be their God and they will be my people. 8:11 “And there will be no need at all for each one to teach his countryman or each one to teach his brother saying,  ‘Know the Lord,’ since they will all know me, from the least to the greatest.8:12 “For I will be merciful toward their evil deeds, and their sins I will remember no longer.”8:13 When he speaks of a new covenant, he makes the first obsolete. Now what is growing obsolete and aging is about to disappear."

Plato had a tremendous influence on the New Testament and the early Church as well. The first generation of Christians were nearly all Jews, but after that the Church became primarily made up of Gentiles. These people brought with them the culture and ideas of the Greco-Roman world, including Plato’s teachings. Plato’s work was read beside and compared to the Old Testament and in many cases was the lens through which books of the New Testament were written, especially Hebrews.

Plato helped to make clear some of the teachings of the NT authors. Many of his explanations became assumed ideas of Western culture, like the mind/body duality and the temporary status of the physical world, and, most importantly, the idea that this world is not our true home –  that rather our home is with God in eternity. God is the primary source of everything, and He has established a home for us, complete with an eternal tabernacle and Ark of the Covenant, to greet us when we arrive.

“Some glad morning, when this life is over, I’ll fly away
To that home on God’s celestial shore, I’ll fly away
I’ll fly away, oh glory, I’ll fly away
To that home on God’s celestial shore, I’ll fly away.”

Jesus doesn't run for office.

I’ve never really been interested in politics. When I was younger, I used to debate political issues, usually more from the left side than right, but my heart was never really in it. As I grow older, I am growing slightly more conservative,  but  at  the  same  time  I  am  more  convinced  than  ever  that political solutions are not the answer to our problems as Americans. Using politics to solve our problems is like putting a Band-Aid on a cancer patient – it helps us feel better because we did something, but it didn’t even address the true illness. There are people who honestly  believe politics to be the best  arena for change, but unless you address the hearts and minds of the masses, nothing will change but who is in office.

Hebrews 7:20 "And since this was not done without a sworn affirmation – for the others have become priests without a sworn affirmation, 7:21 but Jesus did so with a sworn affirmation by the one who said to him, “The Lord has sworn and will not change his mind, ‘You are a priest forever’” – 7: accordingly Jesus has become the guarantee of a better covenant. 7:23 And the others who became priests were numerous, because death prevented them from continuing in office, 7:24 but he holds his priesthood permanently since he lives forever. 7:25 So he is able to save completely those who 
come to God through him, because he always lives to intercede for them. 7:26 For it is indeed fitting for us to have such a high priest: holy, innocent, undefiled, separate from sinners, and exalted above the heavens. 7:27 He has no need to do every day what those priests do, to offer sacrifices first for their own sins and then for the sins of the people, since he did this in offering himself once for all. 7:28 For the law appoints as high priests men subject to weakness, but the word of solemn affirmation that came after the law appoints a son made perfect forever."

Jesus is the perfect High Priest, eternally better than those men of the line of Levi. One of the real drawbacks to our political system is that politicians spend 2/3 of their time running for and staying in office. Because of who Jesus is and what He has done for us, He will never need to run for office. His position is a permanent one, and because Jesus is perfect, His work on our behalf is perfect. We can have complete confidence in our High Priest, because corruption and politiking will never touch Him. His priorities are all about advocating on our behalf before God Almighty. No stump speeches, no promises never to be fulfilled, no manipulation, He just gets it done.

He’s got my vote.

Waiting for Superman

I grew up reading comic books, mostly superhero ones. The most famous of these being Superman.
 I’ve never been a huge Superman fan myself, but millions of people over four generations have followed his adventures. The story is well-known, a family on another planet called Krypton, faced with worldwide destruction, sends their baby boy in a rocket ship to Earth in order to save him. Because of the radical differences between Earth and Krypton,                         particularly our yellow Sun, the boy grows up with incredible strength, invulnerability, x-ray vision, and the ability to fly. He is nearly indestructible – his only weakness being exposure to an element from the core of his home world called kryptonite.

I heard a very interesting analysis of Superman once. The adventures of Superman are indeed stories meant to entertain. But below the surface there is another story being told, a story about ourselves. Most superheroes, whether its Batman, Spiderman, the incredible Hulk, etc., change from being a normal mild-mannered human being into their superhero form. As an exception to this, Superman is one of only a few superheroes  who has to put on a disguise to blend into the human race. His normal state is being  Superman. And how he disguises himself is a telling commentary on us. In trying to look and act human, Superman creates the alter ego of Clark Kent. And what kind of human being is Clark Kent? He’s weak,shy, afraid of his own shadow, passive, and deceitful. In growing up around humans, when Superman tries to become one, Clark Kent is his summation of being human.

Hebrews 7:11 "So if perfection had in fact been possible through the Levitical priesthood – for on that basis the people received the law – what further need would there have been for another priest to arise, said to be in the order of Melchizedek and not in Aaron’s order? 7:12 For when the priesthood changes, a change in the law must come as well. 7:13 Yet the one these things are spoken about belongs to a different tribe, and no one from that tribe has ever officiated at the altar. 7:14 For it is clear that our Lord is descended from Judah, yet Moses said nothing about priests in connection with that tribe. 7:15 And this is even clearer if another priest arises in the likeness of Melchizedek, 7:16 who has become a priest not by a legal regulation about physical descent but by the power of an indestructible life. 7:17 For here is the testimony about him: “You are a priest forever in the order of Melchizedek.” 7:18 On the one hand a former command is set aside because it is weak and useless, 7:19 for the law made nothing perfect. On the other hand a better hope is introduced, through which we draw near to God." 

As our new and much improved High Priest, Jesus is better than the old priesthood because He has an indestructible life. In conquering death, Jesus is immortal, and our only true Superhero. Like Melchizedek,who was a priest of God from a different tribe, Jesus has come to intercede for us before God. And like  Superman, Jesus took on human form in order to live among us and understand us better. But the form Jesus took on was similar to Clark Kent in that by taking on human flesh he chose to be weak like us, even though he could still  command legions of angels, cast out demons, and heal the sick. Because Jesus is both human and divine, completely in the flesh and at the same time completely God, he is the only Superhero High Priest we’ll ever need.