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2007-06-19T10:36:00.000-07:00

Pentecost Extraordinaire

"And when the day of Pentecost was fully come ... they were all amazed, and were perplexed, saying one to another, What meaneth this? ... This is that ..." (Acts 2)

What made this Pentecost different from all others?

Something extraordinary was being fulfilled.

Devout Jewish men from every nation had gathered for generations at Jerusalem to celebrate this yearly feast. The eleven disciples with friends were no doubt gathered in the Upper Room as part of this festival, but with a greater purpose in view.

Suddenly - the skies gave no indication - a distant sound, growing ever louder, like a gathering windstorm, then a thunderous explosion as its epicenter struck the room where the 120 were gathered, sitting. This otherworldly wind filled the house profoundly affecting each person present. Bolts of fire distributed, settling upon everyone - young and old, men and women, regardless of status. This heavenly fire so infused their beings and captivated their powers of speech that they began speaking the very languages of the many gathered for Pentecost, declaring the wonders of God

The sound of the tornado-like wind and its effects upon nature and the 120 drew a bewildered crowd to this never-seen-before scene, asking:

"What Does This Mean?"

God the Holy Spirit had come!

God had come upon Mount Sinai.

God had come to the Tabernacle of Witness.

God had come to Solomon's Temple.

God had come to Bethlehem's Manger.

Now He had come in baptizing power upon the nucleus of the first early church, the Body of Christ on earth.

The question awoke memories of something similar, to the days of Joshua, when a memorial of stones were set up of the crossing of the Jordan - a witness to God's deliverance to future generations (4:1-9). These many years later God's activity in their daily lives were all but a faded memory. They weren't expecting anything different from life than the normal. Thus the question held somewhat of a rebuke of the supernatural. Perhaps too to their tired faith and dreams it carried a breath of fresh hope.

Sweet Wine or This?

The Spirit-filled Peter responded to the fears, doubts, and hopes of the crowd by reminding them of ancient prophecies when God would once again visit and claim His desolate people, and that this time He would come with salvation to everyone who called upon the name of the Lord. No, this activity of speaking in tongues wasn't the result of sweet wine. This was God's time. God was taking this early morning opportunity, before man's inventions could mar it, to literally pour His Spirit upon men and women, with a promise of more to come.

When Peter quoted Joel 2 he did not say, 'this fulfills that spoken by the prophet Joel', as a past event, but rather, 'this is that' ... as a continual action, meaning that it will continue indefinitely.

Even today.

To “know Christ and the power of His resurrection”, we ask for the Holy Spirit.

To see what God can and will do through His Church, locally, we ask for the Holy Spirit.

To make a difference for God to reach a dying world and our communities, we ask for the Holy Spirit.

This Is That ....

* which helped Moses become the man and leader he was, led His people by fire and cloud, anointed David for kingship, inspired holy men to write the Holy Bible we have today
* likened as oil for anointing, water for life, wind for power, fire for purity, a dove for meekness
* a rest and refreshing for the weary, aids us in prayer and worship, a sign from God to the unbelieving, a means of edification and communication with God, extols the wonderful works of God
* gives wisdom, understanding, counsel, and might to people; lifting a standard against the kingdom of darkness
* fathered Jesus, anointed Him in life and for service, raised Him from death, gives life today
* the source of hope, miracles, boldness, purity, spirituals gifts and leadership roles
* gives access to God, strengthens our inner person; creates, illuminates truth, convicts of sin
* prophesied by the prophets, the Promise of the Father, commanded by Christ to receive
* "This is that" is God the Holy Spirit, ready to fill and empower us today

No Opportunity Wasted

Take the challenge. Face your greatest fears. Seize the day. See what the Holy Spirit can and will do through you. We can be ordinary people doing extraordinary things.

Through the Holy Spirit we can:

1. Speak the Kingdom of God into lives and situations (Acts 1:3,4).
2. Devote ourselves increasingly to prayer (Acts 1:14)
3. Be continually filled with His presence and power (Acts 2:17; Eph. 5:18).
4. Live in an atmosphere of repentance toward God (Acts 3:19).
5. Live as the reconciled (Acts 2:43-47).
6. Empower the coming generation (Acts 2:39a).
7. Be the voice and vision of God; no Spirit, no voice - no Spirit, no vision (Acts 2:39b)
8. Suffer for the glory of Jesus Christ (Acts 5:41)
9. Bring the healing Jesus to suffering humanity and a skeptical world (Acts 4:30)
10. Extend the blessing of Christ to the nations (Acts 3:25)
11. Elevate our praying into new dimensions through the gift of tongues (1 Cor. 14:14,15)

Father God, I want to be a difference in my world of influence; I ask for the Holy Spirit.

2007-06-19T10:16:00.000-07:00

Pentecost: Memorial or Legacy

And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. And suddenly ... Acts 2:1,2)

A memorial is something designed to preserve the memory of a person or event; therefore, a specific reminder. A legacy is something handed down from the past; a perpetual inheritance, endless in existence. Memorials are standing monuments, legacies are gifts of a LIFEtime. A memorial is also a written statement of facts or a petition presented to a sovereign, legislative body, or CEO.

Pentecost is both a memorial to a past event and a legacy of the present and future. The past lay a foundation upon which to build today for tomorrow. Pentecost, as an event, cannot be repeated. However, as experiencing its reality, there are many 'fillings' of the Spirit. Many just are content with remembering the past, but not God. From God's perspective, Pentecost is His living legacy, or will, to the church, His governing body. For the church, it is a factual statement and petition presented to God of our rightful inheritance.

Sudden things do not occur with stationary monuments, they happen with the releasing of a legacy.

Latin American Exodus

The Catholic Church in Latin America has embarked upon a "continentwide, great evangelical mission" in an attempt to reach out to the faithful, especially in their cities slum areas, where Protestants have been gaining converts. In so doing the Church hopes to stem the exodus tide from Catholicism to evangelicalism.

One billion Catholics live in Latin America but Pentecostal churches are seeing enormous growth in recent years. Brazil's census shows that the Catholic population dropped from 89% in 1980 to 74% in 2000, while evangelical Protestants rose from 7% to 15%. In Guatemala, the evangelical community represents almost 25% percent of the population.

The faithful poor are leaving the stale and inactive liturgy dedicated to the past for the personal and vibrant faith where God lives and acts through the Holy Spirit in daily life. In reinvigorating itself the Catholic Church must return to the basic tenets of Pentecost.

Pentecost's Continuum

This Jesus God has raised up, of which we are all witnesses. Therefore being exalted to the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, He poured out this which you now see and hear. (Acts 2:32,33)

This is the legacy. The Holy Spirit! The Spirit is a continuum of the life and death, the resurrection and ascension of Jesus Christ, being poured back into our lives to reproduce the same life and works. One part cannot be distinguished from the other; it's a whole.

Speaking of the Spirit Jesus promised, "He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water." (John 7:37-39) The fountainhead of these 'rivers of living waters' is Pentecost . These waters are living, not stagnant. He also said that the streams would flow from Jerusalem to the most secluded, remote, out-of-the-way places of earth. (Acts 1:8) Its grand earthly finale is discovered in Revelation 22:1 where it flows eternally.

When Jesus commented that the source of the rivers in the believer is his 'belly' he was referring to the area know anatomically as the solar plexus, a large network of sympathetic nerves located behind the stomach; the area where we really feel things, thus the pit of the stomach. Some has translated it as 'heart', as the 'heart of the matter'. The Spirit assists in the very core issues of life. And this is the area where the gift of tongues exists.

It is also interesting that in Peter's pentecostal message he confirms that of these things we are 'witnesses', someone who gives a firsthand account of something seen, heard, or experienced, furnishing evidence. We affirm our Christian faith, as a witness, being present when a spiritual transaction took place, and we sign our name, our life, to its authenticity.

Generational Blessing

We speak of generational curses but the promise of Pentecost is a generational blessing. God covenanted with Abraham to make of him a great nation, Israel, and through them "all peoples on earth" would be blessed. That blessing was fully realized with the coming and continuum of Jesus Christ through the New Covenant beginning at Pentecost. The blessing of Abraham is one of faith and the Holy Spirit. (Gal. 3:7-9, 14)

Isaiah spoke of the Gospel era in these terms, "As for Me," says the Lord, "this is My covenant with them: My Spirit who is upon you, and My words which I have put in your mouth, shall not depart from your mouth, nor from the mouth of your descendants, nor from the mouth of your descendants' descendants," says the Lord, "from this time and forevermore." (59:21) At Pentecost Peter reminded, "you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promise is to you and to your children, and to all who are afar off, as many as the Lord our God will call." (Acts 2:38-39)

We are blessed to be a blessing to, in, and with every generation! Let's be living legacies.

Source:http://www.christianpost.com/article/20070531/27714.htm

2007-06-19T10:00:00.001-07:00

Pentecost: Before and After

When the Day of Pentecost had fully come ....

The Day of Pentecost is the Jewish Feast of Shavu'ot. It is also called the Feast of Weeks, the Feast of Harvest, and the Feast of Ingathering. Pentecost follows Passover by fifty days. It commemorates the giving of the Law at Mount Sinai. This was one of three feasts in which every male was to attend. Ritual sacrifices, offerings, and holy worship were observed.

This then is the setting for the Day of Pentecost. Jesus attached special significance to this day. God was up to something, something out of the usual, something different from the normal, something new and extraordinary. He spoke of the fulfilling of a promise. As the fulness of the season arrived in the Temple city of Jerusalem, on schedule, the Ruach HaKodesh blew in and consumed those seated in the Upper Room with divine unction.

Days of Waiting

Before His ascension Jesus gathered with His family of disciples, commanding them not to leave Jerusalem, but to "wait ... until". They did not fully understand what they were waiting for, nor could they have predicted the events of Pentecost. Similarly, we also pray as we wait and wonder what God is up to; we cannot predict when or how the Holy Spirit will act out His plan and desires. Often nothing seems to be happening; our work of faith has gone unrewarded, our prayers unanswered. This is the business of waiting on God. The church waits to hear from its Lord; we know not what the Holy Spirit will do in the church and in our lives anymore than the early disciples did. In this waiting time of birth and rebirth things cannot be rushed, contrary to the "fast food mentality" of our world. We wait prayerfully, attentively, expectantly. The Holy Spirit will come, with new orders. Ascension days are preparatory to pentecostal days.

Ascension Day

Forty days after His Passion and Resurrection Christ Jesus "was received up into heaven, and sat down at the right hand of God". His re-entrance presents four priorities of Ascension Day.

1) The Son of God has resumed His role in the Godhead. While upon earth the Son of God lived and acted solely as Son of Man, limited as a human being. Now exalted to the right hand of God, the Son of Man lives and acts solely as the Son of God, unlimitedly. "And now, Father, glorify me in your presence with the glory I had with you before the world began."

2) The Son of God is enacting His role as Saviour of the World, administering His sacrificial salvation on a worldwide basis to all who believe. "But this man, after he had offered one sacrifice for sins for ever, sat down on the right hand of God."

3) The Son of God is mediating His role as Advocate and Intercessor. "Who is he who condemns? It is Christ who died, and furthermore is also risen, who is even at the right hand of God, who also makes intercession for us."

4) Being ascended the Son of God shall descend at His Second Advent to rout His enemies. "For He must reign till He has put all enemies under His feet. The last enemy that will be destroyed is death."

The tenor of New Testament thought is that the Resurrection and Ascension are contemporary events; being raised from death Christ is raised in position. Jesus is not living and moving about short-changed from earth; He is actively engaged and involved from a heavenly position.

Fully Come

Pentecost is more than an event, it became an experience. Christians worldwide live out Christmas and Easter; less experienced are Ascension and Pentecost. Pentecost came yearly, as usual, but this time it came with a difference. It arrived with wind, fire, and speaking in tongues, causing the gathering crowds to question, "Whatever could this mean?" Whenever God did the unusual it evoked, "What does this mean?" So, Pentecost means ....

a) The Holy Spirit has come. It was in the Heavenly Father's eternal plan to send His Son to earth as the Redeeming Sacrifice. Everything in history pointed in that direction. Jesus came and lived the perfect life, died to remove sin, rose in conquest of death ... end of story. But it's not; Jesus ascended in exaltation and sent forth the Spirit in His place. This is equally as true and important as the sending forth of the Son to initiate the plan of God. The Son writes the covenant agreement with His life, death, and resurrection. The Spirit now enacts the conditions of the covenant, to the end of time. One initiates, the other consummates. One without the other leaves the plan of God unfulfilled and incomplete.

b) The Church was born. It was conceived in eternity past, it birthed at Pentecost. In and through the church God's plan is carried out across the face of the earth. Without the church the Cross dies; it has no vehicle to propel itself. Without the Cross the church dies; it has no message and no reason for existence. The church is the single most important entity in the world today. The church is comprised of many individual ministries, but ministries alone does not the church make. At Pentecost the flames came individually, but then collectively they were "all filled with the Holy Spirit". The Spirit created the church as a body, "a dwelling in which God lives by His Spirit". Let us honour that, because together is better.

c) The Church is gifted. The Spirit endows and empowers the church with His manifold gifts, graces, and abilities, for the common good of its members and the benefit of mankind through the proclamations of the Gospel. "But we have gifts that differ and which are meant to be used according to the grace that has been given to us." God wants us to discover and develop our gifts and to use them to His glory. No gift or ability is too insignificant for God. And God expects churches to allow the members to use the gifts He entrusted them with. He wants no one left behind. In this way the life and ministry of Christ is replayed in our day for all to see.

That makes God smile!

Source: Acts 2:1, Ex. 34:22; 23:16, Lev. 23:15,16, Ex. 12:6,12; 19:1,11, Deut. 16:16, Lev. 23:18,19, Duet. 16:11,12, Lk 24:49, Acts 1:4, Mark 16:19, John 17:5, Rom. 3:22, Heb. 10:12, Rom. 8:34, 1 Cor. 15:25-26, Acts 2:12, 33, Eph. 2:22, Rom. 12:6

2007-06-19T09:36:00.000-07:00

Forum Explores Pentecostal Explosion

Whatever could the global explosion of Pentecostal "renewalism" have upon the religious, political, national, and social landscapes of countries increasingly being touched and impacted? Like countries in North America, Latin America, Africa and Asia?

This question has been repeatedly asked and debated since its inception in the Upper Room at Jerusalem during the Jewish Feast of Pentecost (Acts 2:1-13)

To address the rapid growth of one of the fastest-growing segments of global Christianity with a quantitative study on the religious, political and civic views of the participants, the Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life, with financial help from the Templeton Foundation, revealed some interesting data.

Before identifying the survey, key terms must be understood. Pentecostal is used to describe individuals who belong to classical Pentecostal denominations, such as the Assemblies of God (AOG) or the Pentecostal Assemblies of Canada (PAOC).

Christians who have experienced the "in-filling" of the Holy Spirit but who are not members of Pentecostal denominations are Charismatics (graced with gifts from God). Most charismatics belong to mainstream Protestant, Catholic and Orthodox denominations.

The report when referring to Pentecostals and charismatics as a group uses the umbrella term "Renewalist".

The World Christian Database suggests that 1/4 of the world's 2 billion Christians are Renewalists. The common denominator of the Renewalists is the belief that God, acting through the Holy Spirit, continues to play a positive, direct and active role in their everyday lives.

Survey Says

The Pew Forum surveyed 10 countries with larger than normal renewalist populations. These were the United States; Brazil, Chile and Guatemala in Latin America; Kenya, Nigeria and South Africa in Africa; and India, the Philippines and South Korea in Asia. In each country, the surveys were randomly taken of the public at large, as well as a larger representation of pentecostals and charismatics.

The report is lengthy and comprehensive. Therefore, for the sake of brevity we'll crunch the numbers. In the United States 5% are Pentecostal, 18% Charismatic, for a total of 23%. Brazil is 15% and 34% respectively, totaling 49%; Chile, 9% and 21%; Guatemala, 20% and 40%; Kenya, 33% and 23%; Nigeria, 18% and 8%; South Africa, 10% and 24%; localities in India, 1% and 44%; the Philippines, 4% and 40%; and South Korea, 2% and 9%. These findings show that Renewalists not only make up a significant portion of the country’s population but as well make up the majority of all Protestants.

Pentecostal Distinctives

There are certain distinctives that distinguish pentecostals and charismatics to a lesser degree, from other Christians. In seven countries surveyed nearly half of pentecostal churches include the gifts of the Holy Spirit, such as tongues speaking, prophesying or praying for healing of the sick. Charismatic services are less so, though still prevalent.

When it comes to healings and miracles, receiving divine revelations from God, and the casting out of evil spirits (exorcisms) renewalists outnumber other Christians. In South Korea, for example, healings have been witnessed by 56% of Pentecostals, 61% of Charismatics, and 20% of other Christians.

It is interesting to note, however, that outside of the United States these manifestations of the Spirit do rise significantly among non-renewalist Christians. In the USA only 28% of non-renewalists witnessed healings, 25% received a direct revelation from God, and 7% saw an exorcism while in Guatemala, for instance, it's 47%, 39%, and 28% sequentially. Perhaps this is because the need is greater.

Beliefs and Politics

Renewalists also have a higher view of traditional Christian doctrines and practices. In eight of ten countries renewalists believe the Bible is the literal Word of God. Amazingly this drops in the USA and Chile.
> Compared with non-renewalist Christians, renewalists stand out for their views on the "end times". The survey showed that in six countries over half believe that Christ will return in their lifetime. More than 80% in each country believe in the Rapture.

Pentecostals also share their faith with unbelievers at least once a week. And 70% in every country, except South Korea, completely agree that Jesus Christ is the only way of salvation.

Renewalist Christians are not apolitical; they believe there is a place for faith in political and public life. In every country they are as likely as others to express their views on day-to-day social and political issues. They also believe that political leaders should have strong Christian beliefs. Most believe in separation of church and state, but many adhere to the idea their nation should be Christian. This view is strongest among African pentecostals; 48% in Kenya, 58% in Nigeria, and 45% in South Africa.

Pentecostals are divided on whether or not AIDS is a punishment from God, are more likely to stand with Israel than with the Palestinians and are more willing to allow women leadership roles.

You can access and resource this and other survey material at http://pewforum.org/surveys/pentecostal/.

2007-06-14T12:00:00.000-07:00

The fire alarmed sounded at my apartment complex. The housing authority usually does a monthly Tuesday system check so, personally, I considered it such until it didn't stop ringing. The fact is, nobody down my wing, including myself, believed it, and that is dangerous and could have been fatal.

No one systematically did the drill check, we just sat/walked around wondering if it was real and what we should do. We even took the word of a tenant that everyone was out of their rooms or at work without checking.

I don't even know who the fire monitors are. We have the emergency info but at this moment that was useless; I forgot about it or what it contains. But clearly we're not prepared for the 'real' thing! Staff were in our wing at the time and they were in the same boat as the rest of us, unbelieving and unsure of procedure.

I just couldn't believe our ignorance and stupidity.

But on a broader scale it reminded me of what I believe as a Christian, about a judgement to come, a place of separation. And we sit around, talking/discussing/wondering if the fire is real and the siren is trustworthy. When it comes to spiritual matters we're just as ignorant and stupid.

What do you say, is there life after death? Is there a hell or a heaven? On what do you base your beliefs on? How trustworthy is it?

Something to think about ....

2007-05-06T13:31:00.000-07:00

"God is faithful, by whom you were called into the fellowship of His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord". (1 Cor. 1:9) As I survey the past years I am humbled and thankful for God's faithfulness in my life. Undeserving am I. Who but God would come my way. Who but God would come to stay. Who but God could see and understand the real me, and provide things I really need, like family, friends, opportunity, faith. I know now it is but His grace, His amazing grace shown to me.

Who but God could take the time of day for me. I live life through a wheelchair. I
stammer. My body is twisted. I have nothing to give. Nothing that would benefit Him on a large scale. I have dreams, unspokened. I have hopes, unfulfilled. I struggle with nagging fears. I weep, tears of disappointment and frustration. This is common to everyone I know. But it is my pain, and that is the difference. My life is ongoing. Others may change their circumstances. I cannot. Here I sit. But God makes the difference ....

Maybe that is the secret I hold. If I take what little I do have - my hurts, my abilities, my gifts - maybe I can just, without being noticed, just kinda sneak over to Jesus with my box of leftovers and with gratitude pour it - I know I'll spill most - over Him, maybe, just maybe, He will see and welcome my efforts. Maybe He will bless and multiple, creating something new from many old. But if not, I have Him. Him alone. His smile. His scars. His touch. His lap to cry upon. His friendship. His hope. His upward call. His faithfulness.

Thank you Jesus. You are mine. I am Yours.

Signed Forever: Albert

2007-04-09T18:08:00.000-07:00

Remembering Vimy And The Cross

This month Canada is remembering the Battle of Vimy Ridge in France 90 years ago where 3,598 Canadian soldiers paid the ultimate sacrifice for freedom. Along with that death toll were 7004 wounded returnees.

That victory during The Great War gave rise to the birth of our nation. The Cross of Christ gave birth to the Christian nation called the Church. As death and combat shaped our nation so the death and battle of the Cross shapes the Christian's life.

The frontlines between the German and Canadian soldiers were in places talking distance apart. The Cross connected heaven and earth, locked in mortal eternal conflict; Jesus dies and rises the Mighty Conqueror.

The Vimy Monument symbolizes the War to end all Wars. The Cross symbolizes the defeat of Satan and his agents of sin, death and hell.

About four thousand Canadian students bore the names and stories of soldiers at Vimy. Christians bear the name and story that's all about Jesus before the world.

The Twin Towers of the monument represent Canada and France. The twin timbers of the Cross represent Divinity and humanity.

After decades of discoloration the Monument has been restored to its former beauty, shining like a gem in the sunlight. The message of the Cross needs no facelift. It will forever shine as a beacon of hope in the darkness of depravity.

Though a testament to Canadian courage the Monument also stands as a testament to human failure in resolving conflicts. The Cross too was erected because of human sin and the need to reconcile mankind to God.

The cost for the Monument's restoration ran into the millions. The cost to the Cross runs red with blood, sweat, and tears.

Though located in France the Monument grounds were perpetually donated to Canada in remembrance. The ground surrounding the Cross has forever been given by God to His Community and the nations of the world for rebirth and victory.

Let us remember!

2007-04-09T14:02:00.000-07:00

The Fools of Easter

He said to them, "How foolish you are, and how slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken! (Luke 24:25)

It is significant that this year April Fool's Day, Passover and Easter fell during the same week. Much has been said and done to discredit and marginalize faith. Christians are regularly made the blunt of jokes for their beliefs, as if our faith system is not historically sound. Faith alone makes the facts believable. The only measurement to believing anything is whether it is true. The tenets of the Christian faith, based upon the life, death, and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ, are not found wanting. Both biblical and extra-biblical sources attest to the validity of our faith. Passover gives identity to the Jewish family. Easter gives identity to the Christian community. It is the distracters and doubters who always become the fool for their unbelief.

Who Is A Fool?

There is a difference between being foolish and a fool. The disciples were being foolish in forbidding mothers with their tiny tots away from Jesus when He desired to bless them. Peter was foolish in his attempt to talk Jesus out of the sacrifice He was committed to make. They all made brave boasts and then ran away in the dark of night. Their intentions in protecting Jesus were noble but foolish; they were naive but teachable. Foolish but not fools.

A fool, on the other hand, is willfully and deliberately ignorant and rebellious toward God; they are godless, void of any spiritual and moral aptitude.

King Herod was monarch when Jesus was born in Jerusalem. He was known for his political savvy and building programs. History has nominated him: "Herod the Great." But any man who tries to defeat the eternal promises of God through an inquisition of infants is a fool.

Judas surrendered to his greed and for fool's gold kissed his Master good-bye. The priests in the office of God arrested and illegally tried Jesus, buying the testimony of liars, creating new and ever-changing charges, and bullied Pilate into arranging the crucifixion. Pilate himself thought he could have peace by washing his hands of the whole set-up. The crowds thought they could please their leaders if they shouted long and hard enough for the blood of the only One in the world who loved them best. All fools with intentions of playing the wise.

In the end the government which boasted of its legal system crumbled like a house of cards and the religious leaders rebelliously rejected the facts of the empty tomb as reported by the guards in favour of a bribe. They'd rather create a lie than face the truth.

Modern Fools

Today there are voices saying that God and His church are liars when we proclaim God's Gospel: That Jesus died on the cross and rose from the dead. That our sins were paid for that day on Golgotha. To them Jesus wasn't anything more than a misunderstood carpenter's son.

These fools want you to believe that Jesus was just a man. A good man, a great man even, but only a man. They want you to believe that the resurrection of Jesus is a
hoax; that Jesus was buried and then revived in that cold, damp tomb. After recovering from being whipped, beaten, crucified, and stabbed in the heart with a Roman spear Jesus managed to escape, married and had children and lived happily ever after.

Others say that the Scriptures have lied and that Jesus and His bones and those of His family have been discovered in some Jerusalem excavation. These fools would have us believe that our forgiveness is unfounded; our hope is based on falsehood and our belief in heaven is nothing but some cosmic April Fool's Day joke.

The Fool of a Dean

The Church of England has a fool in its midst. The Dean of St. Albans, Rev. Jeffery John, a practicing homosexual, has revealed his reprobate intelligence by rejecting penal substitution - that man is sinful and needs a Saviour - and announcing that Christ's sacrifice is 'repulsive', 'insane', 'nonsensical', and makes 'God sound like a psychopath'. His reinterpretation of the Cross is merely one of example and encouragement in our hour of trial and suffering. Jesus died to share our pain, not to redeem from sin.

Needless to say John hasn't pleased everyone within the ranks of Anglicanism. Though the Church has suffered in attendance since the 197o's due to liberal theology there is a growing conservative element, consisting of evangelical and charismatic churches, praying and working to restore the Church to its authentic faith.

Is God a Psychopath?

Are we to understand and view the God of the Cross as a mentally unbalanced person who is inclined toward antisocial and criminal behaviour? No, being psychopathic is a human condition, never associated with the Divine Being who is God. But God has an adverse condition to human folly, anything and everything that distorts human life. The Cross is the answer for both parties. And God initiates the comeback to reconciliation.

This month Canada is remembering the Battle of Vimy Ridge in France 90 years ago where 3,598 Canadian soldiers paid the ultimate sacrifice for freedom. Along with that death toll were 7004 wounded returnees. That victory during The Great War gave rise to the birth of our nation. The Cross gave birth to the Christian nation called the Church. As death and combat shaped our nation so the death and battle of the Cross shapes the Christian's life.

The frontlines between the German and Canadian soldiers were in places talking distance apart. The Cross connected heaven and earth, locked in mortal eternal conflict; Jesus dies and rises the Mighty Conqueror.

The Vimy Monument symbolizes the War to end all Wars. The Cross symbolizes the defeat of Satan and his agents of sin, death and hell. The Twin Towers of the monument represents Canada and France. The twin timbers of the Cross represent Divinity and humanity.

About four thousand Canadian students bore the names and stories of soldiers at Vimy. Christians bear the name and story that's all about Jesus before the world.

After decades of discoloration the Monument has been restored to its former beauty, shining like a gem in the sunlight. The message of the cross needs no facelift. It will forever shine as a beacon of hope in the darkness of depravity.

Though a testament to Canadian courage the Monument also stands as a testament to human failure in resolving conflicts. The Cross too was erected because of human sin and the need to reconcile mankind to God.

The cost for the Monument's restoration ran into the millions. The cost to the Cross runs red with blood, sweat, and tears. Though located in France the Monument grounds were perpetually donated to Canada in remembrance. The ground surrounding the Cross has forever been given by God to His Community and the nations of the world for rebirth and victory.

Would anyone dare call that valiant act of Canadian history psychopathic? The death and resurrection of Jesus Christ answers the call of God's justice, God's grace, God's integrity, and God's law. (Rom. 3:25-31)

The Cross does four things: 1) It introduces forgiveness and freedom. 2) It demonstrates the love and justice of God. 3) It reveals the human condition ..."sin entered the world" (Rom. 5:12). 4) It presents Jesus as God's ultimate sacrifice for reconciliation, through faith in His blood. The Cross remedies the statement by Matthew Henry (1661-1714), 'There is nothing we can call our own but our sins and our death.'

The Foolishness of The Cross

For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. For it is written: "I will destroy the wisdom of the wise; the intelligence of the intelligent I will frustrate." Where is the wise man? Where is the scholar? Where is the philosopher of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? For since in the wisdom of God the world through its wisdom did not know him, God was pleased through the foolishness of what was preached to save those who believe. We preach Christ crucified: Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. For the foolishness of God is wiser than man's wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than man's strength. But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. Everything that we have - right thinking and right living, a clean slate and a fresh start - comes from God by way of Jesus Christ. (1 Cor. 1:18-30 NIV/Mes)

There is a foolishness to the message of the Cross - a foolishness not born of naivety or rebellious unbelief but of profound simplicity. The worldly minded seek to defame it. The enemies of the Cross, within and without the Christian Community, seek to destroy it. The Jewish hierarchy, the Roman government, and the crowds, were responsible and instrumental in the murder of Jesus. And Islamic jihadists were responsible and instrumental in the crucifixion of a 14-year-old male youth in Basra, Iraq, in an effort to destroy one of the oldest Christian churches in the world, the Assyrians. This not only reveals the ongoing persecution of the Body of Christ but also the depravity to which mankind will stoop to eradicate the message of the Cross.

However, Christians worldwide joyfully celebrate Easter - the Cross and Resurrection/Ascension - because we are given a "new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus." (1 Peter 1:3) This hope is not a wishful desire. It is secured in historical and personal evidence. It's a firm foundation of our saving faith and a comfort in the midst of suffering, more precious than gold.

Through Christ's resurrection we know and believe that truth is stronger than lies, good is stronger than evil, love is stronger than hate, and life is stronger than death.

Christ is risen! Christ is risen indeed!

2007-03-30T19:28:00.000-07:00

Stones 'n Bones

Above the entrance of the so-called recent discovery in Jerusalem of the lost burial plot of Jesus Christ, His family, and extended family, by some Hollywood moguls should be engraved this epitaph: "Why are you looking in a tomb for someone who is alive? He isn't here! He has risen from the dead! (Luke 24:5-6)

The whole discovery and documentary fantasy is suspect and bogus by noted scholars and archeologists. This Hollywood blitz and other 'blockbuster' attempts to question the validity of biblical evidence of the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ is nothing but the resurgence of Gnosticism, an ancient form of 'hidden knowledge' not historically factual.

Modern Gnostics have five defining elements. 1) The removal of God from center stage to off stage. 2) Installing Man (you) from off stage onto center stage. 3) Man becoming God. 4) Man having 'secret' insights unknown by others. 5) Man drawing possibilities to themselves, becoming their ideal selfs and effecting personal redemption.

Such possibility thinking is toted as Truth when, in truth, it is The Lie. They exchanged the truth of God for the lie (Gk.), and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator ... (Rom. 1:25)

Gnostics would have us believe their 'secret knowledge' completes the Gospel accounts. Balderdash! It's an aberration to the written testimonies!

It was once ignorantly but falsely held that the earth was the center of the universe. Science has since debunked that theory for the sun. Similarly Man is not the center of his universe, the Son of God is.

Returning to the crime scene (the lost tomb), there are stones but no bones.

So what became of the bones of Jesus after dying His redeeming death and being buried in a borrowed tomb?

The truth? His body did not see decay but was brought back to life, imperishable and immortal, by the power of God. The New Testament writings provide irrefutable evidence for His physical, bodily resurrection.

Jesus appeared to them and said, "Peace be with you." They thought they were seeing a ghost and were scared half to death. He continued with them, "Don't be upset, and don't let all these doubting questions take over. Look at my hands; look at my feet - it's really me. Touch me. Look me over from head to toe. A ghost doesn't have muscle and bone like this." As he said this, he showed them his hands and feet. They still couldn't believe what they were seeing. It was too much; it seemed too good to be true. They gave him a piece of leftover fish they had cooked. He took it and ate it right before their eyes. Then he said, "Everything I told you while I was with you comes to this: All the things written about me in the Law of Moses, in the Prophets, and in the Psalms have to be fulfilled." (Luke 24:36-44)

Forty days after His rising from death we see His body of flesh and bone on the Mount of Olives. "Raising his hands he blessed them, and while blessing them, took his leave, being carried up to heaven." (vs. 50-51)

And today? "Christ Jesus, who died - more than that, who was raised to life - is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us." (Romans 8:34)

The body of Jesus Christ is not to be found in any ossuary or tomb but in Heaven, alive and well. He took His bones with Him!

After the Resurrection news was given, (the women) remembered his words. (And when) they came back from the tomb, they told all these things to the Eleven and to all the others. (vs. 8-9) We too must tell others the real story, the story that's all about Jesus!

For our personal salvation, daily living, and eternal destiny where do we wish to place our trust, The Truth or The Lie?

Christ is risen! He is risen indeed!

2007-03-24T18:37:00.000-07:00

Are Savants a Reflection of Earlier Times?

The quest of modern science is to discover the 'missing link' of our beginnings and existence. Their theory is that we have grown or evolved from lesser to greater, from non-intelligent to intelligent life. There is a significant group within our population that may defuse this theory in favour for a creationist worldview. These individuals possess rare intelligence unknown in the rest of the population. Their intelligence is not acquired but 'wired'; it's just there. They could not learn their knowledge even if opportunity existed for they are either autistic or mentally challenged. They are called savants. Some are concluding that their islands of genius are a throwback (known as atavism) to a former time, as when Adam and Eve and descendants walked the earth as mental giants, and that savants represent the abilities God gave humans at creation but ones we have since lost due to man’s fall into sin.

Society holds this unknown treasure within its embrace, not of its choosing or making but that of its Creator. The treasure captured by the most vulnerable of all, our children, and not any child, but a developmentally challenged child is a wonder. We often think of a gifted child as a well balanced person, perfectly coordinated -- someone like Wayne Gretzky, Steve Nash, or Tiger Woods. Gifts do not always come perfectly wrapped. Disappointments are often God's appointments.

Jesus compared entrance into the kingdom of heaven to the simplicity of a child. Likewise He spoke of it as a hidden treasure being discovered, or a pearl of great price being purchased and developed. The Apostle Paul catches this imagery as he describes our earthen bodies as containers of the glory of God. (Matt. 18:1-4; 13:44-46; 2 Cor. 4:7)

In the end we must ask ourselves, do savants in their own way represent the incredible abilities God intended all men to have at creation?

What is Savant Syndrome?

Savants are individuals with astounding abilities usually in one area such as math or music and yet are incredibly challenged in other areas.

Interestingly the word 'savant' means a person of profound or extensive learning; a learned scholar in a particular subject. But when combined to some form of mental disability the word was used describing someone referred historically as idiot savants. At that time, the term idiot was an accepted scientific term for IQ below 25. The term idiot savant has since fallen into disrepute. Almost all reported cases now occur in persons with IQ above 40. The term Savant Syndrome has been substituted and widely accepted.

Savants have been known throughout history, having been reported as early as 1751. The term 'savant' was not applied to these special people until 1887 by Dr. J. Langdon Down, the man known for having named Down's Syndrome.

In recent years savants are looked upon with interest as medical science seeks to understand 'savantism'.

Islands of Genius

Savants, among other special skills, are able to memorize facts, numbers, license plates, maps, sports and weather trivia. They can recall perfectly a very long sequence of music, numbers, or speech. Or, estimate distances and angles by sight and calculate the day of the week for any given date going a long way back. Others tell time without the assistance of a clock.

Prodigious savants are very rare persons whose genius is so high that it would be spectacular to be found in a non-handicapped person. Probably fewer than 50 of these are presently living today.

Savantism is usually recognized during childhood. It has also been discovered in adults whose left side of the brain has been injured or impaired. Some suggest that these highly intelligent abilities can be induced, supporting the view that within everyone are these powers, hidden and undeveloped. By stimulating the cranial neurons, temporarily disrupting the left front part of the brain, researchers are theorizing that savant-like skills can be increased in a healthy individual. While no single theory can explain all savants one consistently rises to the top: left brain injury with right brain compensation. If savantism can be acquired - without the disability - scientific research may be taking us forward in our potentiality and back to what Man originally was.

Savant Syndrome is not normally a disorder or disease. Amazingly, it is having extraordinary skills and memory grafted onto an already existing brain dysfunction or nervous system disorder. Let’s take a look at what some of these savants are capable of doing.

Meet Mr. & Ms. Savant

* Ask KIM PEEK and he will give your day of birth, your present year's birthday, and the year and the day you will turn 65. Ask him for the telephone area codes in Alabama and all major zip codes in Ontario, ask him for all American TV stations and their markets, ask him to identify the classical music compositions and when the music was written and the composer's birth date and place of birth and death, and if you have the time Kim will gladly tell you all that and more.

* Concerning GEORGE WIDENER, John Hendricks, the world's most prolific and published magic squares mathematician, relates this incident on the Wisconsin Medical Society's website, "George Widener sat outside the library in the drizzly afternoon, where a documentary film crew has just finished a calendar calculation contest between him and a former NASA engineer. While the engineer has access to complex algorithms and a laptop, George has only the information found in his head. As dates spanning thousands of years were read aloud, the engineer scribbled fiercely, tapping his computer with increasing frustration. "Looks like a Thursday," George answered within seconds, sometimes almost before the host finished speaking. And, every single time, he was right."

* BRITTANY MAIER is a very accomplished female prodigious musical savant. Beginning at age 5, she played "twinkle, twinkle little star" on a children's toy keyboard. Brittany soon progressed into "Ave Maria", "Phantom of the Opera" and others. Around age ten, she began composing her own music, playing by ear, and performing for audiences. Her genre has grown to over 15,000 songs, most of which she learned after only hearing them a few times.

* DANIEL TAMMET says "numbers are my friends" and has massive memory skills. On international Pi Day he recited, from memory, Pi to 22,514 decimal places, in just over five hours. This set a new European record. His exceptional language skills include French, German, Spanish, Lithuanian, Esperanto and Icelandic. When told to master the difficult Icelandic language he did so in seven days.

* ELLEN is a blind female savant with an astonishing musical ability. Ellen has developed a vast recollection of tunes and styles. In Led Zeppelin's apassionata, 'Whole Lotta Love', Ellen was asked to replicate every voice, instrument and studio sound effect. She flawlessly accomplished the feat.

* BLIND TOM, an internationally recognized musical savant around the time of the civil war, was known as "the eighth wonder of the world" and "the greatest musical prodigy of the age". He became the most celebrated black concert artist of the 19th century. His vocabulary was less than 100 words but his musical ability was over 7000 pieces.

* ALONZO CLEMONS saw a fleeting image of a horse on a television screen and in 20 minutes had created a three-dimensional perfect replica, down to each and every detail. The puzzling thing is, Alonzo can't even feed himself or tie his shoes.

* HENRIETT SETH F, a Hungarian autistic savant, is an accomplished, highly recognized, writer, poet and artist. At age 8 Henriett's 'read' Attila Jozseff's book of poems by memory. Also at that age she played flute and played contrabass at the age of 10-12. Until the age of 13 she played in many concerts. At age 9 she was composing poems.

The Image of God Among Us

In the beginning (when) God created the heavens and the earth He called the dry land Earth, and the gathering together of the waters He called Seas. And the earth brought forth grass, the herb that yields seed according to its kind, and the tree that yields fruit, whose seed is in itself according to its kind. God created great sea creatures and every living thing that moves, with which the waters abounded, according to their kind, and every winged bird according to its kind. God made the beast of the earth according to its kind, cattle according to its kind, and everything that creeps on the earth according to its kind.

Then God said, "Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth." So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. Then God blessed them, and God said to them, "Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth." The Lord God planted a garden eastward in Eden, and there He put the man whom He had formed. There (previously) was no man to till the ground. Out of the ground the Lord God formed every beast of the field and every bird of the air, and brought them to Adam to see what he would call them. And whatever Adam called each living creature, that was its name. So Adam gave names to all cattle, to the birds of the air, and to every beast of the field. - The Creation Story, Genesis 1 & 2

The Creation account demonstrates a simple yet profound truth, that Man - Adam and Eve, the progenitors of the human race - was created whole beings, complete in spirit, soul, and body. This wholeness is God's image and likeness. There was no lack of life or ability. His mental IQ was astonishingly intriguing. Not only was Man sufficient to manage life's directives but God distinctly gave him the responsibility and privilege of naming every animal, bird, and plant species. This is the first indication of man’s savant-like genius.

Sin has blemished our world, blighted our nature, and defected our intelligence. We use only a small percentage of what we are capable. Even through these distortions of sin early mankind showed capabilities of intelligent genius, reflections of God. Lamech married two women, Adah and Zillah. Adah gave birth to a baby named Jabal. He became the first of the herdsmen who live in tents. His brother's name was Jubal, the first musician, the inventor of the harp and flute. To Lamech's other wife, Zillah, was born Tubal-cain. He was the first to work with metal, forging instruments of bronze and iron. (Gen. 4:19-22)

And here we thought we derived from monkeys and cavemen.

It's impossible not to reflect God in some way because we are His image, whether we use our hands, minds, or voices.

The genius and skills of savants are a distinct reminder that intelligence is not man-made but God-bestowed. The prophet Isaiah spoke of a day when the incredible is accomplished with a people created for His glory. (43:7)

It is interesting to note that at Christian conversion and the entrance of the Holy Spirit our spirits are regenerated or reborn, our emotions healed, our bodies often rejuvenated, and our intellects renewed. So much so that we come into a right relationship and understanding of God and the world heretofore unknown. As if we become savants by virtue of the life and gifts of God's Spirit within. (1 Cor. 2:12,14; Rom. 8:6-8)

Our amazing God likes doing amazing things!

Source: http://www.wisconsinmedicalsociety.org/savant/profiles.cfm

2007-03-12T09:51:00.000-07:00

The Lost Tomb of Jesus Documentary

There are good reasons to doubt the conclusions of this documentary. Having
seen the documentary, here are some problems that quickly come to mind:

* Scholars have known about these tombs for over 25 years. There's a
reason they haven't taken these names seriously. Only three have any
direct biblical significance: Jesus, Mary, and Joseph. And that cluster
of names is statistically unremarkable. In fact, it would be odd if a
family with those three names was not found in a tomb together, given
their common use (there are at least four ossuaries discovered inscribed
"Jesus, son of Joseph," and one in four women were named Mary, so it's
even money that one of these tombs would have that combination). And
connection of Jesus to any of the other names? Wild speculation. So what you have here is a creative guessing game.

* The entire argument is based on the statistical significance of the
names in a cluster. If Jesus was married, and if Jesus was married to a
woman named Mariamne, and if Mariamne was also a nickname for Mary
Magdalene, and if Jesus had a brother named Matthew, and if Jesus had a
son named Judas, and if the now-famous Jame sossuary belonged to James the brother of Jesus, then you'd have all the members of Jesus' family together in one tomb. But that's a lot of "ifs.

* Even though this is called the "Jesus Family Tomb," there is no hard evidence that any of these so-called "family members" is even related. The only DNA testing that's been done - between Jesus and Mariamne - came up negative. Let me repeat that: The DNA test came up negative. That is fact. The rest is speculation.

* The documentary claims, "Jesus and Mary were married, as the DNA evidence suggests." This is nonsense. Think about it. How can DNA evidence suggest someone is married? DNA can't "suggest" anything about legal relationships, only biological ones. In this case, the DNA evidence showed Jesus and Mary were not related by a mother, not that they were husband and wife. The truth is, she could have been
married to any one of the males in the tomb, or to none of them for that matter. The DNA "suggests" nothing.

* The researchers claim they're just trying to connect the dots? Fair enough. But why connect the dots the way they did? I'll tell you why. Because it tells their story. There are many other legitimate ways to connect those same dots - some much more probable than the way the documentary connects them, but won't give the story they're promoting. But, of course, that wouldn't create breaking news, would it?

* Jesus' family was a poor family from Nazareth, not a middle- to upper-class family from Jerusalem. So this tomb is the wrong kind of tomb located in the wrong city.

* The documentary claims Jesus spoke in codes. This is false. Jesus spoke in parables, like many of the teachers of His day, not in codes that needed to be deciphered. They say Mary Magdalene was Jesus' most trusted apostle. But you have
to wait 400 years before this evidence pops up in any alleged historical record. They said that Jesus' family members were executed because He was a pretender to the throne of Israel. This is pure fiction. Notice what this accomplishes, though.
All of these little exaggerations and inaccuracies make an unlikely tale sound more plausible when, on its own unembellished merits, it is not.

* What we have here are two different characterizations of what happened to the body of Jesus of Nazareth 2,000 years ago. One is based on artifacts - the ossuaries - and one is based on documents - the historical records of Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, Peter and Paul. Now granted, these kinds of things are not entirely exact science, but all things being equal, which do you think gives us more precise
information, bone boxes or written records? The written records, obviously.

* The claim of Jesus' resurrection, was part of the earliest, most primitive testimony regarding Jesus. And it was made by those very same people that the documentary suggests knew Jesus' bones were actually secretly buried in Jerusalem. Why would so many of them die for this lie when they knew it was a lie? It doesn't add up. But that's what you must believe if you take seriously the conclusions of
this documentary.

- By Gregory Koukl,
Abridged from an e-mail

2007-02-13T13:30:00.000-08:00

The Trial of Trevis Smith -

Whether big league, little league, on no league sports play a fascinating role playing scenario in the lives of young and old around the world. We all love our games of sport and idolize our best. The youth emulates their heroes.

That is why when a role model fails morally it is such a tragic outcome. A recent court trial plays this out. Trevis Smith, married and a father, played football in the Canadian Football League (CFL) with the Saskatchewan Roughriders. He was accused and convicted of having unprotected sex with two women while knowing he was HIV positive. While the sex was consentual the women was unaware of his health needs. Fallen from grace Smith is sentenced to a six year prison term. He is appealing the judgement set.

While Trevis Smith is responsible for his sexual misconduct and must be held accountable a nagging question keeps resurfacing. What were these two 'victimized' women doing in his life in the first place? Surely they could have and should have discovered his martial status without difficulty, being a high profile sports personality. Surely you don't sleep with a person at the drop of a smile. Or, am I too old fashioned for my own good? In my mind these women are as guilty, responsible, and accountable for what they did to themselves as much as what T.S. did to them.

You can't run wild with your sexual drives and then blame another for the consequences. You are as much a morally responsible person as the next guy. In our morally disordered and adrift society we have forgotten that. There is a divine moral code in the universe. By ignoring and breaking it we only harm ourselves. And we have no one to blame but the person in the mirror.

The T.S. trial was, really, about the accused and the victims breaking two of these fundamental codes: "You shall not covet" (i.e. wanting is not yours) and "You shall not commit adultery".

And God doesn't give us the Ten Commandments just to make us feel unhappy or unfulfilled. He gives us the Ten Commandments in order to order our lives so that we can be happy and fulfilled.

By living a life that's impure, you rob yourself of a relationship with a spouse. You rob yourself of a relationship with immediate and extended family. Most of all you rob yourself of your relationship with God.

The universal moral code is all about establishing a well-ordered society. Greed and adultery are not good for our society. Adultery leads to broken homes and disrupted families, and sometimes families without fathers and all the ills of society that come because we don't care whether we commit adultery or not. The Ten Commandments are designed not as rules to make you unhappy, but as rules to make society work right. Living morally is about living a good life.

God's moral code makes provision for divine forgiveness. While this is true, for everyone, the consequences live on in life.

Trevis, his wife, his children, the victims, know this to be true; too late but they know.

2007-02-06T12:18:00.000-08:00

A Miracle In Sudan

So the people believed; and when they heard that the Lord had visited the children of Israel and that He had looked on their affliction, then they bowed their heads and worshiped. (Exodus 4:31)

After years of slavery and oppression the miracle of a new dawning rose upon the ancient Israelites - and they bowed and worshipped.

After centuries of silence from the heavens God broke forth with the hope of a new day for the world in the birth of His Son and our Saviour.

After 20 years of civil war ....

After years of persecution and exile ....

After years of intolerant policies and brutality against black Christians and animists in Southern Sudan ....

After two million deaths and 6 million refugees ....

After years of total inaction by the United Nations ....

After darkness, a miracle!

I am not referring to the tentative Peace Accord signed in 2005 with the assistance of the USA, Britain and Norway - though a miracle of answered prayer in itself - banning Islamic terrorism against non-Muslims.

I'm speaking of a little known event by the world's media and churches but which made history and will make a better world for everyone, especially the Sudanese.

A miracle occurred during November 13-18, 2006, in Juba, Southern Sudan when the first joint Sudan Pentecostal Church Conference took place. These Christians were sent into exile and divided from one another due to despotic Islamic measures. Now they came from the north and south with joyful tears, joining together for the first time in over 20 years, determined to be an united force and impact upon their nation for Christ, helping to shape it into a democratic free society.

Present were one hundred delegates from across Sudan representing over 400 churches. Dr. Bob McCley, Principal of the A.O.G. Khartoum Bible College was one of the architects of the new constitution. Dr. Isaiah Majuk Dafu, Principal of the Pentecostal Bible College in Nairobi, Kenya, acted as official chairman of the elections. Together with monitors from several countries the elections were held and the birth of a new constitution was observed. Canadian Evangelist Max Solbrekken delivered the closing message to the Convention.

The Exodus was the beginning of a new chapter in the deliverance and formation of a new nation. The birth of Jesus two millennia ago started the long march of victories from satanic bondage and misery. It is believed that the historic events of November will mark the dawn of miracles in the deliverance and formation of the nation of Sudan.

After the darkness, HALLELUJAH!

2006-12-25T10:41:00.000-08:00

The Work of Christmas Begins

When the song of the angels is stilled,
when the star in the sky is gone,
when the kings and princes are home,
when the shepherds are back with the flocks,
then the work of Christmas begins.

To find the lost,
to heal those broken in spirit,
to feed the hungry,
to release the oppressed,
to rebuild the nations,
to bring peace among all peoples,
to make a little music with the heart ...

And to radiate the Light of Christ,
every day,in every way, in all we do
and in all that we say.

Then the work of Christmas begins.

- Canadian Bible Society Christmas card, 2006

2006-12-23T19:43:00.000-08:00

THE KING

The prophets spoke of a coming Messianic King. This King would rise from the dynasty of David.

I will take away the chariots from Ephraim and the horses from Jerusalem. The bows used in war will be broken. The king will talk to the nations about peace. His kingdom will go from sea to sea, and from the Euphrates River to the ends of the earth. (Zech. 9:10 NCV)

His ever expanding, peaceful government will never end. He will rule forever with fairness and justice from the throne of his ancestor David. The passionate commitment of the LORD Almighty will guarantee this! (Isa. 9:7 NLT)

Such were the hopes and prayers of Israel as they languished under the domination of Caesar's Rome. They believed the Messiah would be in the same order of their mighty warrior, King David; a conquering Champion, overthrowing the foe.

Instead, Jesus came. Outwardly He bore the image of a commoner but inwardly He bore the image of The King. The Magi came looking for One who is born King, not a prince. ( Matt. 2:2) And the angels sang! Jesus moved about with a royal presence. No one spoke like Him. His authority was unparalleled, His power unequalled. Over nature, demons, death. Life itself rested in the palm of His hands.

He did not attempt to subvert the existing government. He came preaching the Kingdom of God. He led, not an army, but a motley crew of 12. With these He demonstrated the Kingdom of God, preaching conversion, a change from within of heart and life. Such conversional change would transform societal standards for the benefit of all. The inner tendencies toward evil would be conquered.

Popularity disintegrated into betrayal. I wonder if the angels cried. Condemned to death by crucifixion Jesus stood before Pilate. Condemned but kingly. So much so that Pilate inquired, Are you the King of the Jews? Jesus answered, "I am not an earthly king. If I were, my followers would have fought when I was arrested by the Jewish leaders. But my Kingdom is not of this world."

Pilate had Jesus flogged with a lead-tipped whip. The soldiers made a crown of long, sharp thorns and put it on his head, and they put a royal purple robe on him. "Hail! King of the Jews!" they mocked, and they hit him with their fists. Then Jesus came out wearing the crown of thorns and the purple robe. And Pilate said, "Here is the man ... Here is your king!" !" (John 19:1-3, 14 NCV)

Reading this and parallel passages I am always reminded and intrigued by Psalm 93:1 (NCV) The Lord is king. He is clothed in majesty. The Lord is clothed in majesty and armed with strength. The world is set, and it cannot be moved.

Clothed in majesty! Armed with strength! Fully in control!

No greater - nor grander - display of majesty do we see than Jesus coming forth wearing the crown, the blood, the robe, in purchasing our salvation! Like His ancestor David, Jesus went to battle armed with just the essentials. The Cross became the eternal sword of the LORD against everything wrong and evil. Jesus wore the mockery with a regal dignity, a majesty no other could or did. The battle was His. And He conquered all! He proved Himself The King!

A television program asked the question "Where are they now?" The program was about celebrities and child stars who had been famous but had quickly faded from the public eye. Now, with 2000 years of hindsight, years littered with the bones of the famous and infamous, we might ask, "Where are they now?" Where is Caesar and his kingdom? Well, Augustus died, and his kingdom faded long ago. But Jesus lives, and His kingdom - not of this world - is all around us.

We await today His second advent. The final scene of the Bible is the coronation of Jesus Christ - the act and ceremony of crowning Him King of Kings and Lord of Lords - the banishment of Evil and its consequences, and the ushering in of the eternal Kingdom of God.

Then I saw heaven opened, and there before me was a white horse. The rider on the horse is called Faithful and True, and he is right when he judges and makes war. His eyes are like burning fire, and on his head are many crowns. He has a name written on him, which no one but himself knows. He is dressed in a robe dipped in blood, and his name is the Word of God.

Jesus rides in splendor and victory to establish the final installment of the Kingdom of God on earth. His robe dipped in blood - reminiscent of another time - signals ultimate defeat of the forces of evil and victory for the armies of heaven. The King rides magnificently! And angels will rejoice!

Of this King and His Kingdom the promise is made: He was in the world, the world was there through him, and yet the world didn't even notice. He came to his own people, but they didn't want him. But whoever did want him, who believed he was who he claimed and would do what he said, He made to be their true selves, their child-of-God selves. These are the God-begotten, not blood-begotten, not flesh-begotten, not sex-begotten. (John 1:10-13 Msg)

We get in on the eternal victory of The King!

Come, let us sing to the LORD! Let us give a joyous shout to the rock of our salvation! Let us come before him with thanksgiving. Let us sing him psalms of praise. For the LORD is a great God, the great King above all gods ... Come, let us worship and bow down. Let us kneel before the LORD our maker ... (Psa. 95 NLT)

Let Earth receive her KING! The ruler of the kings of the earth ... King of the nations ... All the nations will come and worship you ... (Rev. 1:5; 15:3,4)

Gloria in Excelsis Deo!

2006-12-21T20:14:00.000-08:00

WHAT WAS THE STAR? - John MacArthur/Grace To You/12-21-06

What was the nature of the star? “We have seen his star in the east, and are come to worship him.” What was the nature of the star? So I did some reading this week and last week, to try to find out what the star was, you won’t believe the suggestions. First of all, some people say it was a genuine, real, bonafided, gild edge, honest to goodness star. Some say it was Jupiter, because Jupiter is called the king of the planets. Some say, and this was Kepler’s theory that it was the conjunction of Jupiter and Saturn in the sign of the fish. And some say it was just an erratic comet. Some say it was a low hanging meteor, and some say it was the star of destiny in the heart of mankind. That’s a lot of dribble if ever I heard it.

You wanta know what it was ... I’ll tell ya what I think it is. Look at Luke 2:9 and maybe this will help to answer a question you’ve probably had since you were a little kid, if you’re still a little kid you’ve still got it. Luke 2:9, now wa...here’s a good key, here we are not at the wise men incident but at the shepherds, and they were the first to come, and they were of Israel. And they are a sort of a picture of the remnant. “There were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And, lo, an angel of the Lord came on them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them; and they were very much afraid.”

Now what was shining in the sky when the shepherds saw it? What was it? It was the glory of the Lord. And if you go back into the Old Testament and you studied the concept of the glory of God, you will find that the glory of God is manifest as light, right?

Over and over and over again in the Old Testament the glory of God is manifest as light, when God radiates His presence He transforms it into ineffable light. When the glory of God appeared at the daytime it was like a cloud of light, when it appeared at night it was a pillar of fire, when the glory of God descended on the tabernacle it was as light, when Moses went up into the mountain, and he said, show me Thy glory, God hid him in a rock and God showed him His glory manifest as light, and it was so much light that it got on his face and when he came down the mountain side and spoke to the people his face was lit up. The glory of God is blazing light.

And when Jesus revealed who He was, and revealed His glory on the mount of transfiguration, He pulled back His flesh and they beheld His what? His glory, as transparent light. And when Jesus comes the second time out of heaven, He will come in blazing light, and Revelation says, God will turn out all the lights of heaven, all the stars will fall, all the suns, all the moons, everything goes pitch black, heaven rolls up like a scroll, and when it’s pitch black then Christ comes revealed as blazing light, and people cry for the rocks and the mountains to fall on them to hide them from the face of His glory.

Now all that just to remind you that God’s glory is manifest in the scripture as light, as light. He told Moses he couldn’t look upon His face and live, he'd be consumed in it. It’d be like standing ten feet from the sun only it would be like a million, million suns. And I believe that it was the glory of the Lord that shone that night when God’s glory was as ... was descending to earth, it was God’s glory descending on the earth, coming in the form of a man, and I believe that that glory of God is the thing that the wise men saw.

Now let me give you a little more support on this cause I think it’s kind of interesting to trace this thought. The chief word in the Old Testament, the Hebrew word for star is the word kôwkâb, not that that’s important just a point of contact with the Hebrew. But it has a basic meaning, and its basic meaning is to shine or to blaze forth, to shine or to blaze forth. Now sometimes the word kôwkâb is used of a real star, sometimes it’s used to speak of just a regular star, sometimes it’s used to speak of an angel, sometimes it is used to speak of men. So it doesn’t necessarily always mean a real star, it can mean anything that blazes, anything that shines, in an incredible way.

In fact in Numbers 24:17, a most interesting scripture. It says, and this is a Messianic prophecy. “I shall see him, but not now: I shall behold him, but not near: (now listen) there shall come a kôwkâb out of Jacob, and a Scepter shall rise out of Israel.” That’s Numbers 24:17. That is a Messianic prophecy, there will come a blazing forth, there will come a shining One, there will come a star. And people I believe that the prophecy there is, that none other than the glory of God incarnate is the star, the blazing.

Look for a moment at uh, Matthew chapter 24, Matthew 24:4, well let’s go over to verse 30, we’ll just ... Instead of trying to go through all of it we’ll just go to verse 30, “Immediately after the tribulation (verse 29 says) of those days the sun’s dark and the moon doesn’t give its light,” that’s what I told you, all the stars fall out of heaven and everything goes black and then 30, “Then shall appear (now watch this, then shall appear) the sign of the Son of man,” now mark that phrase out, “the sign of the Son of man.” In other words, whenever the Son of man is about to show up there will be a sign pointing to Him.

Now do you know what a sign is for? The sign is to point you to something that you want to see. You’re driving on the road, and the sign says, Roscoe Boulevard three quarters of a mile. The sign is not Roscoe Boulevard but it’s there to point you to Roscoe Boulevard, it has a function, it’s purpose is to point you to something. And the Son of man has a sign, “the sign of the Son of man in heaven;” oh, interesting, that sign is in heaven, and what is it? “they shall see the Son of man coming In the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.”

Now here is His kôwkâb, His blazing forth. And although kôwkâb, the Hebrew word is not used in the New Testament it is the same idea. I believe that this sign of the Son of man is nothing more and nothing less than the shekinah glory of God Himself. God revealing Himself in ineffable glorious light. In fact, it even tells us, I think it’s Revelation 1:16 that, that the Son shines, the Son of God, shines as if He were the sun in its strength.

Somehow, now watch this, somehow connected to Jesus Christ is this incredible blazing glory of God, it is His sign in the heavens, He is a spirit, He is a spirit being, He is also in a sense a physical being in the glorified body that He has from His resurrection, but there is a sign that goes with Him, and it is blazing glory, and one day on the mount He showed it to His disciples. And one day when He returns the sign of His coming, the sign of the Son of man in heaven will be there, blazing glory in the heaven.

Well, you know what I think? I think He had the very same sign the first time He came too. I just think it was the sign of the Son of man in heaven. And the sign of the Son of man in heaven is not a star, it’s not an astral body, it’s not a conjunction of planets, it’s not uh, thoughts of human destiny rattling around in somebody’s mystical mind, the sign of the Son of man is nothing more and nothing less than the shekinah glory of God revealed in light, blazing, dazzling in the heavens.

I would add this thought, verse 2 says, “We have seen (watch this) his aster.” His blazing. The word astēr incidentally people, the word is translated star here, but it is used of other things than stars. So He has His own ... and again it means a blazing forth or a shining. “We have seen his shining in the east.” We have seen His kôwkâb, His astēr, His blazing, His glory.

And the very fact that it’s His star means it’s something very special. It has appeared. That’s an interesting word. “We have seen his star in the east.” His star. Verse 7, Herod says, I want to know the time the star appeared. And the word phainō in the Greek means that which lights up. What, what time was it when that thing lit up? And the word ... the same word, interesting thought, the same word is used with lightning. Lightning is a form of astēr, sometimes it’s translated as a star in the sky, sometimes it’s translated as lightning, sometimes as the shining forth of something, and here it is a shining forth. We can’t push it any further, we can’t make it mean a real star, and there is the sense in which Herod says, when did this particular shining forth light up? And even that is sort of a hint that it was something that never existed and was called into existence only because Jesus was coming, and so I believe this was His astēr, the sign of the Son of man, in the heavens. It was there at His first coming, and beloved it’ll be there at His second coming. It’s His sign, it’s His star, it’s not some astral body.

The pseudoscience of astrology could never predict the Lord, they weren’t looking in their little puny deals and seeing, well looky there, there’s old Saturn and whatever doin’ their thing, it must be that He’s being born, no, no. What they saw was something they never saw before, and they knew that it had to be something unique and they tied it together with what the Old Testament said and what Daniel had told them. No astronomical research gave them their direction, God revealed Himself. It was no different than the pillar of fire in the Old Testament.

And you remember the pillar of fire and the cloud, in the Old Testament stood over the Holy of Holies? Well in this it tells us that whatever this star was it went and stood over the house where He was born. Now you tell me how a literal star would ever do that. Can’t do it, it’s none other than the sign of the Son of man.

You say, well, well if it was such a blazing magnificent glory of, of Christ’s sign in the heavens, how come only the wise men over there in Persia and nobody else saw it? Now that’s a fair question, that’s the second question I asked. How come God is so selective? Well, you know He ... that’s nothin’ new for God, He can make everybody in the world blind to something if He wants to.

In Exodus chapter 14, 1 found a good parallel, 14:19 says, “And the angel of God, who went before the camp of Israel, removed and went behind them;” now they’re going to go through the Red Sea, so the angels been leading them down to the Red Sea, once they get to the Red Sea he goes around the rear, gets behind them. You say, to push? No, I’ll show ya what: “the pillar of cloud (of cloud, here’s the glory of God, the pillar of the cloud) went from before their face, and stood behind them.”

Now behind the Israelites you’ve got the pillar of cloud, God’s glory, and you’ve got the angel of the Lord, and who’s the angel of the Lord? Jesus Christ. “And it came between the camp of the Egyptians and the camp of Israel; and it was a cloud and darkness to them, but it gave light by night to these, so that the one came not near the other all the night.” You know what happened? Israel saw it as light and the...and the Pharaoh and his army saw it as what? Darkness. And it was the same thing. There’s something about God revealing what He wants to reveal just to those to whom He wants to reveal it. And that’s all I can say about it. How did they connect it with Jesus Christ’s birth? I don’t know, I really don’t know, except that God made it so obvious that they knew, that they knew.

Now do you want to know something very fascinating people, this may shake you up a little bit, might mess up your Christmas story next year. But do you know in nowhere in the Bible does it ever say they followed the star to Bethlehem, from Persia? No. It doesn’t say it led ‘em to Jerusalem, it doesn’t say it went anywhere, not at all. “We have seen his star (where?) in the east.” They saw the star in the east, and it didn’t need to tell them where to go. They knew where the Jewish Messiah was supposed to be, they knew the royal city was Jerusalem, they knew that’s where all Jewish kings reigned, they knew exactly where to go they didn’t need some star to guide them, and when they saw His glory, and God made it so evident and obvious as He always does when He reveals what He wants to reveal to whomever He wants, that they didn’t even ask a question, they got on their horses and they went, and they went right to the right place.

And Matthew doesn’t give us all the bits and pieces and details of how they saddled a Persian horse and how many miles and how it was and where they ate and all of that, because this isn’t the story of these people - it’s the story of Jesus Christ. And they have a place only in so far as it’s related to Him. So the details aren’t there. But it ‑ it’s incredible to me how God works things out when He wants to get His things done, He gave these Magi, God fearing Gentiles way off in Persia, king makers, His sign and they knew that it was His sign and they knew where to go to Jerusalem.

And the emphasis of Matthew is so beautiful, he says in verse 2 that they said, “we have seen his aster in the east, and are come (for what purpose?) to worship him.” They knew that He was to be worshiped, to worship Him, they knew there was no other one as worthy as this one, and they were right. Here ya have it, pagans who had nothing to guide them but smatterings of Old Testament prophecies, nothing to guide them but their own science mingled with its funny superstitions, and yet they are the true seekers of God. And when the sign came with all of their misgivings and lacks in knowledge, they were enthusiastically embarking on a journey to seek a king they had a long time waited for.

2006-12-21T17:41:00.000-08:00

Who Were the Wise Men? - John MacArthur/Grace To You/12-18-06

Matthew 2:1

We really are very, very limited in terms of specifics. In addition to what we have here in Matthew which is very limited, it says, "There came wise men from the East." That's it, folks, right there. We don't know their names, we don't know anything from that. But as we put the pieces together historically and we do have some very fascinating history. Some of it from the Old Testament, books such as Daniel where the Magi or wise men appear in several different texts, other Bible books as well as the writings of Herodotus and other historians. We basically have found, and here's the basic thrust of who they were and then we'll get into the specifics and I think you'll be fascinated by it, we're going to spend a lot of time with history tonight, this is going to be teaching not preaching.

We believe they were members of an Eastern priestly group, descendant of a tribe of people originally associated with the Medes, M‑e‑d‑e‑s. Now I just want to remind you of something so you'll get a little bit of a picture. Basically in the history of the world there have been four major world empires, all right? First one was the Babylonian Empire. And that basically was settled in the fertile crescent area east of Israel in the valley of the Tigris and Euphrates River, north or the Arabian gulf, east of what we know is Israel today. That was where the Babylonian Empire was. It was followed by the second great Empire that Daniel talks about and that was the Empire known as the Medo‑Persian Empire, it was a conglomerate Empire made up of the Persians and the Medes. The Medes were a very large and powerful people. The third great world Empire was Greece. When the Medo‑Persian Empire was conquered by Alexander the Great the world became Greek, as it were. The fourth great Empire was the Roman Empire.

Now as we go backwards even while the Babylonian Empire was in existence there was still Medes and Persians. So they are very ancient people. In fact, there are many people in history who trace the origin of the Medes all the way back to the time when Abraham was called out of Ur of the Chaldees, way back in the 12th chapter of Genesis. So it may well be that these are very, very ancient people. Certainly they are people who appear in the Babylonian Empire because we see them in the book of Daniel. They are people from the Medo‑Persian Empire and existed on through the Greek Empire and are still in existence in the Roman Empire when Christ is born. So they are a very ancient and long lived people were these wise men.

And by the way, the word wise men it says, "When Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judaea in the days of Herod the king behold there came magi." The Greek is magos, magoi, magi, it is really an untranslatable word. It is not a translatable word it is simply the name of a certain tribe of people. It should better be translated, perhaps, magi. The magi were a priestly line, a priestly tribe of people from among the Medes. This very ancient and large people. They were very skilled in astronomy and astrology, this was a very great preoccupation with them. Their interest in astronomy and astrology was only part of their involvement. They were sort of occultists in a way, they had some sort of divination processes, they were involved in certain kinds of things that we would assume, perhaps were like a sorcery and that's why the word magi was corrupted through history into the word magic, magician which is a synonym for sorcerer. But the magi originally were basically a pagan, priestly tribe of people from the Medes and the Persians and there are many, many historical sources to validate this.

They became interested in astronomy and astrology and the study of the stars and in those days they didn't make much of a separation between the superstition and the science. The science is astronomy, the superstition is astrology and they were pretty well blended at the time. Now what's interesting about this is that during the time of the Babylonian Empire these magi were dwelling in the area of Babylon. They were there during the Babylonian time and the Medo‑Persian Empire as well. Now while they were there during the Babylonian Empire they were very heavily influenced by the Jews. You remember that one of the things that Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon did was take Israel, rather take Judah into captivity. Do you remember that?

That's what Jeremiah was saying, You are going to be taken into captivity. Jeremiah pronounced this fact and of course even the book of Lamentations laments this reality. And they were carried off into the Babylon captivity. Well, here in Babylon were existing these magi and they were very high ranking officials, by that time they had ascended to a high place in the Babylonian Empire because of their amazing intuition, wisdom, knowledge, astrology, occultic ability whatever you want to call it, they had risen to a place of prominence and so immediately they came into contact with all these Jewish people who had been brought into captivity. They also came into contact witH one very specific Jew by the name of Daniel who was elevated in the Babylonian Empire. Consequently, they were very familiar or made familiar in the dispersion of the Jews in Babylon with Jewish prophesy regarding the Messiah. They were made aware of what was really on the Jewish prophetic plan for this one who was to come. And so that's basically who they were.

Now I want to really dig into that a little bit and set the scene for what happens in this incredible incident in chapter 2 of Matthew. Let's go back and see their history. According to the ancient historian Herodotus the magi were a tribe of people within a larger people called the Medes. Now listen to this. They were a hereditary priesthood tribe. In other words they were like the Levites in Israel. In Israel there were twelve tribes but one of those tribes was set apart as the priestly tribe and they were the ones who ministered in the rituals and the religious ceremonies of the temple and they were the Levites. Well the pagan Medes had a similar thing. Of all of the tribes within the Medes they had selected one of them to function as priests in their pagan rituals.

And that tribe which they had selected was the magi, again it's an untranslatable word, really. This is the name of that priestly group of people. It was a hereditary priesthood. Now as I said earlier some historians see them all the way back in Ur of the Chaldees as a part of a nomadic people that were wandering about in that part of the world. Whichever is true, whether they go all the way back to Ur or whether they first kind of surface in the Babylonian time we don't know, the point is this ‑ during the Babylonian World Empire they were significant, during the Medo‑ Persia Empire they were significant, during the Greek Empire they were significant and during the Roman Empire. they were significant. And in all of those empires they maintained a place of tremendous prominence in the orient, in the east. You see, even when the Greek Empire was in vogue there was still certain eastern culture and power. Even when the Roman Empire was in vogue there was certain eastern power. And in both of those periods the Magi were really the key people in the government of the easts, centered in the fertile crescent, the area around Babylon and Medo‑Persia.

Now they always appear with tremendous political power. Now this is very important for you, you have a little history lesson. They always appear with tremendous political power. I would say the majority of historians, at least the ones that I read and the ones that were referred to, see them as an eastern people who rose by virtue of their very unique priestly function, by their unique rather occultic powers of divination, by their astrological, astronomical knowledge, they rose to places of prominence. And they rose high in Babylonian government, Medo‑Persian government, even in some cases in the East during the Greek period and for sure during the Roman period to be the advisors to the royalty to the East. And that's where they got the name the Wise Men. They were the ones that were consulted about the various things that the kings and the rulers and the nobles and the princes wanted to know. Now we even have some history that tells us about their religious activities. Now I'll give you a little description of the kind of religion that the Magi were involved in. Their priesthood had certain functions and here are some of the things:

The principle element of their worships seems to have been fire. It's apparent from history that they worshipped or that they sort of reverenced fire. And we don't know for sure why but perhaps they saw fire as some kind of incarnation of deity. And, by the way, they were monotheistic, they only believed, really, in one God and so they had that in common with Israel. But they looked at fire as the principle element of their worship. And in connection with that they had an altar which burned with a perpetual flame. And they believed that that perpetual flame was kindled by God from heaven.

So they had this perpetual flame altar. Now, over beside that in their temples and wherever they also had another altar and on that altar they offered blood sacrifice. So they actually had a blood sacrificial system. And they lit the fire to burn the sacrifice with the flame off the perpetual altar. And then when they had burned their sacrifice, this is interesting, the victim was then eaten by the worshiper and by the Magian priests. What's fascinating about that is that's almost a direct parallel to Judaism. And you can see how way back then Satan was counterfeiting true religion ' from the very beginning, you see.

He's always done that. You know, even today, there is real Christianity and there is phony. And in that day there was real sacrificial system with genuine worship toward the one right true God and there was phony monotheism, phony blood sacrifice, false sacrifice and offering burned and then eaten by the worshiper and the priest.

Additionally, these people had a hereditary priesthood. Again, a counterfeit of the Levitical priesthood. These people carried about small bundles of divining rods in their garments and they used these divining rods for their little ceremonies. Not unlike the Urim and Thummim of the priests, the high priest, by which the knowledge of God was sought. They believed in the distinction of certain kinds of unclean animals. That's interesting. They believed that certain insect and certain reptiles were unclean. Again this is an interesting parallel to what God truly revealed to Israel. And another thing that I felt very interesting as I was reading about it was they were very ritualistic about ever touching and disposing of a dead body. Another thing common to God's standard for Israel.

So in the Babylonian Empire this very interesting religious group of people appears. And they rose to tremendous prominence. In Jeremiah 39:3 and verse 13. A man by the name of Nergal‑sharezer is mentioned. And Nergal‑sharezer is the chief of the Magi in the court of Nebuchadnezzar.

Okay? These oriental kings starting with Nebuchadnezzar had elevated the Magi, and even before that but as far as the Scripture is concerned we see them first with Nebuchadnezzar, they had elevated this priestly group from the Medes to the place of being the official advisors to the king. And so they are tremendously powerful people.

And even when Babylon fell and the Medo‑Persian Empire came in and you have great rulers like and Cyrus and others you still have the high ranking officials of the Medo‑ Persian government being taken from this group called Magi. They were unmatched in political power.

Now I want you to turn in your Bible with me for a minute, back to Daniel and I want to show you how they appear in the book of Daniel.

Daniel, chapter 2, when I get all done with this and you re‑read verse 1 of Matthew 2 it's going to make a lot more sense. Daniel chapter 2 and verse 10, and we won't take time to set all the context, but here we are in the court of Nebuchadnezzar, Daniel is there, the Jews are in captivity in Babylon and it says, "The Chaldeans answered before the king and said, There is not a man on the earth that can reveal the king's matter: therefore, there is no king, lord, nor ruler that asked such things of any Magi or astrologer or Chaldean." And it' very likely that those are all synonyms. And then astrologer and Chaldean may just be other ways of saying the same thing. So here we find the word Magi, it's not strictly the word magician, that's an English corruption, it's the word Magi. It's talking about this priestly tribe.

They had a very prominent place at that time. They were known as those who could interpret dreams. Now you remember Nebuchadnezzar had this bizarre dream and none of them could handle it. New you know what's so fascinating about it is there was one man who could interpret it.

You know who that man was? It was Daniel. Let's go on a little bit, Chapter 4 verse 7. We again see the Magi. Chapter 4 verse 7: "Then came in the Magi, the astrologers, the Chaldeans and the soothsayers, and I told the dream to them but they didn't make known unto me its interpretation." Verse 9, "O Belteshazzar, master of the magicians.” Now here we meet the master of the Magi.

And I'm just trying to point out that they are mentioned repeatedly in the book of Daniel. And rather than call them magicians, they should be Magi, that's essentially what he is referring to. Now when Daniel came along and all these Magi who were in the high, high ranking place of advisors to the king couldn't give any answers, Daniel could, something amazing happened. Daniel 5:11, "There is a man in thy kingdom, in whom is the spirit of the holy gods, and in the days of thy father light and understanding and wisdom like the wisdom of the gods was found in him:" talking about Daniel now, "Whom the king Nebuchadnezzar thy father, the king I say, thy father made master of the Magi." Now how interesting. Daniel was so adept at telling the dreams of the king that the king made Daniel the master of the Magi.

So that Daniel was literally in Babylon the chief over this whole priestly group. Okay? It's fascinating. Now, that puts Daniel in the tremendously unique position of being able to dispense to these Magi all of his information about the Old Testament which without a shadow of a doubt is precisely what Daniel did. We know that Daniel was a man of God. We know that Daniel was a man totally devoted to worship and expression of his faith because he wound up in a lion's den because of it, didn't he? And there's no question in my mind but that Daniel and the other godly remnant in the diaspore of the dispersion shared their knowledge of the Old Testament and their copies of the Scripture with these people in Babylon and additionally, when the final decree of Cyrus came that they could go back to the land the majority of the Jews never went back.

The majority of the Jews stayed in Babylon, intermingled, intermarried and throughout the remaining history of Babylon and Medo‑Persia there were people in the noble families, people in the high ranking offices, some say even monarchs in that part of the world who had part Jewish blood. And certainly we would have to conclude that Daniel had a profound impact in the dispensing of that information. And, by the way, I want to add another footnote to this that as I was studying this ‑ it was very fascinating to me because I began to think about this ‑ if Daniel was so good at winning these Magi over and convincing them about this fact of the coming Messiah why was it that they plotted against him and threw him in the lion's den? If he was so influential and believable.

And so I began to study and the 6th chapter of Daniel revealed a most interesting thing, you don't need to ‑ we're not going to go all through it but this, in the sixth chapter of Daniel we find a plot against Daniel based on jealousy but what is really amazing about this plot is that it is not a plot devised by the Magi who dominated the hierarchy of the royal court, it is a plot developed by men known as the satraps, and I don't mean s‑e‑t I mean s‑a‑t, satraps. That was the term used to describe the regional governors who had nothing to do with the palace. So remember, the plot that was hatched in jealousy against Daniel was not a plot hatched at the hands of the Magi. Which again leads me to see that very likely Daniel was extremely believable and convincing in his impact.

In fact, do you realize that when Daniel was actually being thrown in the lion's den the king said, "Daniel, I know that your God will deliver you." You remember the king actually said that? He was so convinced of the power of God through the testimony of Daniel. And I'm sure he just checked it as often as he possibly could to see that that anticipation was in fact a reality.

So, the Magi kept their place of prominence. Influenced, no doubt, by such a great man as Daniel and there were few ever lived like him, influenced by Godly Jews in the dispersion.

Influenced by the intermarriage and the constant Jewish culture that was imposed upon them in many ways. And they became and maintained a position in the Medo‑Persian Empire of great power in the court of the king.

Now let me tell you something else interesting. In the sixth century B.C. there was a great king of Persia by the name of Darius. Darius the Great, this is in the Medo‑Persian Empire.

This is right around the time of Daniel. And Darius came in and Darius said ‑ "I am going to establish a national religion." And you know which one he picked? Zoroastrianism. Now we don't have time to go into Zoroastrianism but Zoroastrianism had with it a lot of astrology. And it may well be that the final little nuances of astrology and the pre‑occupation of the Magi with that came in the merging of Zoroastrianism..

So, now what you've got, you've got these Magi who have their own culture religion on top of that has been superimposed Judaism and on top of that has been superimposed Zoroastrianism. Now that's really a can of worms to put it mildly. But what's so interesting is the Magi was so anxious to maintain their political power and they were so anxious to maintain their religious power that when the decree came from Darius that Zoroastrianism was the religion that was going to exist they just slid right in and said ‑ Fine with us. And they made some adaptations.

But now what you've got is very interesting. You've got the Magi all gobbled up here and you've got some of them, no doubt, committed to Zoroastrianism as time went on, some of them committed to ancient magian formulas and some of them maybe believing honestly in their heart that the God of Daniel was the real God. And so this is the key as history moved on from here, the Magi began to depart from a singular commitment to their historic religion and they began to find their way into different things. Some of them may be leaning toward Zoroastrianism, some toward the ancient magianism and I believe in my heart that some, like these Magi that show up at the birth of Christ were really true seekers of the true God. So that gives you a little bit of the background.

Now, I'm going to talk some more about this history. The Magi were so powerful that historians tells us that no Persian was ever able to become king, now watch this one, never able to become king except under two conditions: one ‑ he mastered the scientific and religious discipline of the Magi: two ‑ he had to be approved of and crowned by the Magi. Now that's something, that's power.

Do you know what they called the wisdom of the Magi? They had a name for it. The name for it was this ‑ the law of the Medes and the Persians. That law was the law or the code defined by the Magi. And if you want to see that phrase it's in Esther 1:1? and Daniel chapter ? a couple of times. The law of the Medes and the Persians was the code the scientific religious discipline of the Magi and their wisdom was that which was required for anyone to be a monarch in Persia. Additionally, historians tell us that they controlled the judicial office as well as the kingly office.

In Esther 1:13 we have the indication that the royal bench of judges was all chosen from the Magi. Man, they were powerful. And you have to remember when you talk about the Persian Empire and the Median Empire and the Babylonian Empire you are talking about control of the Orient. These were powerful men. And they were not only responsible for making every monarch that was made in that era but they were responsible for setting up the judges as well. They had a check system for the despotism that could grow out of a kingship and so they were the judges that counter‑ balanced the dictator king. History tells us they knew astronomy that they were very good in mathematics, they knew natural history, they were good at agriculture and architecture And do you remember back in ‑ I think it's Acts 7 that talks about the fact that Moses was raised up in all the wisdom of the Egyptians?

Samething was true of anybody who was raised in a nobility in the East, theY were raised in the law of the Medes and the Persians. All nobility, raised by them. And they were the king makers. They were the king make And no one ruled at all apart from them. Now, as I mentioned earlier on of their special skills was interpreting dreams. And when they failed to do that and Daniel moved in on top of it and became the chief as we saw in Daniel 5:11, the set‑up was made by God to set the scene from Matthew chapter 2.

Hundreds of years before Jesus was born. Six‑hundred. God was setting up the situation for a great Hebrew prophet to rule a group called the Magi so that one day when a baby was born in Bethlehem some of those Magi would find their way to the house where the baby was. That's planning history. And so the syncretistic hybrid religion of the Magi very much like Judaism, monotheistic and hereditary priesthood, blood sacrifice, believed also in supernatural revelation, believed in prophesy, these common things sort of made Judaism an easy thing for them to accept and I believe in my heart, and this is just what I believe because of what I see happen in Matthew 2, I believe that apparently there were some God fearing Gentile Magi historically existing in that eastern part of the world.

Now I want to move to the time of Jesus. Look with me at Matthew 2. Time has gone one, century after century until Jesus is to be born. Somehow and by some marvelous way God has managed to maintain some true seeking Magi. Most, may be corrupted. Certainly, may corrupted. And we'll meet a few of the corrupt ones that are in the New Testament. But there were some real ones, some like Cornelius, you know, God fearing Gentiles. There were some like Lydia, a God fearing Gentile.

There were some back there in that part of the world, some from the Magi, high ranking king makers in the great Empire of the east. There were some at that time who were still waiting for Daniel’s great hope to be fulfilled, you see.

Now let me set the stage. Politically speaking, Rome was scared of the eastern Empire. Now if you'll just focus in your mind a little map of Europe and that was the Roman Empire, this massive chunk of Europe. And technically it swept to the east. But by virtue of distance cross the Mediterranean, across the blazing desert to get to the east, there was a certain isolation in the east which caused Rome a lot of anxiety. And they were always fearful that what then became known as the Parthean Empire, the eastern empire made up of the Medes and the Persians and the old Babylonian Empire that Parthean Empire was always kind of an anxiety for Rome. Rome, you know, had stretched its tentacles out as it were to rule the world but they never really felt secure about the Parthean Empire. And they had become violent enemies, violent enemies. And they fought. In 55 B.C. they fought. In 40 B.C. they fought. And what's fascinating is, you know where they always fought? The great empire in the west, the great empire in the east came together and guess where they always fought?

Right along the coast of the Mediterranean, Syria, Jordan, Palestine.

Israel was a little no‑man's land between the powers of the east and the powers of the west.

Now Rome was afraid of them. And if you look at verse 3 of Matthew 2 it says, "When Herod the king had heard these things, he was", what? "Troubled" When he heard that Magi, oriental, Parthean king makers had arrived in Jerusalem he was rattled. And we'll see more about that in a few minutes. Now, let me tell you a little more about what happens. By the time we get to the time of Christ the Magi are still in tremendous power in the east.

Some of them used their power their position, their skills with a great amount of human wisdom. Some of them just really turned into awful people. Like any scientist, any priest, any preacher any other skilled person of modern days we can either apply our craft deceitfully or we can apply it honestly. Some of the Magi were honest and they exalted the craft of wisdom and political advice. Some of them were corrupt and they prostituted it. Both kinds were vary common in the Mediterranean era when Christ was born.

Let me introduce you to a couple of corrupt ones. Turn in your Bible to Acts 8. Acts 8, verse 4: "Therefore they that were scattered abroad went everywhere preaching the Word", Acts 8:4 says. "Then Philip went down to the city of Samaria and preached Christ to them and the people with one accord gave heed to those things which Philip spoke, hearing and seeing the miracles which he did." And it tells all about those.

And you come to verse 9, "But there was a certain man called Simon who previously in the same city used sorcery and bewitched the people of Samaria, giving out that himself was some great one:" Some great one.

"To whom they all gave heed from the least to the greatest saying, This man is the great power of God." Now here is Simon, Simon Magus if you will, Simon the Magi. And here is a man who has prostituted his position into deceit as it were, he has sold himself to Satan. He used sorcery, did you notice that? The root of that word is Magi, maguo in the Greek, he used his Magi art in a prostituted manner.

And later on he tried to buy the Holy Spirit and Peter really lays him out, he says in verse 2O your money perish with you, you have, verse 21, neither part nor lot in this matter. Verse 22, repent of your wickedness. Verse 23, I perceive you are in the gall of bitterness and the bond of iniquity. Boy, oh Peter didn't mince any words.

Look at the 13th chapter of Acts. Acts 13:6: "And when they had gone through the isle unto Paphos", and this is, of course, Paul and Barnabas starting on the first missionary journey, and they're in Cyprus the little island there in the east coast of the Mediterranean, "the isle of Paphos, they found a certain sorcerer, a false prophet, a Jew whose name was Bar‑jesus." And it goes down in verse 8 and it say "Elymas, the sorcerer." The Greek is Elymas the magos. Elymas the Magi.

Here's another one who also has prostituted this craft, prostituted this strange pagan religion in order to seek the ends of Satan. And of course, he tried to mess up Paul and Paul says, ‑ O full of all deceit and mischief, you child of the devil, you enemy of righteousness will you not cease to pervert the right ways of the Lord and now behold the hand of the Lord is upon you, verse 11, and you will be blind and not see the sun for a season and immediately there fell on him a mist and a darkness and he went about seeking some to lead him by the hand. Paul dealt with this one. Now you see, both Simon and Elymas were brought into the bondage of Satan himself who is the god of all astrologers and the god of all sorcerers.

And frankly, these were the kind of people that made intelligent folks in the Roman Empire despise such sorcerers. Philo the Roman says they are are vipers, they are scorpions and they/other venomous creatures. You see, these were the kind of people the kind of Magi the Romans despised. but in the east as I said, they were tremendously powerful men. And some among them, no question in my mind, were genuine men.

Now at the time of Christ, at the time of Christ in the eastern empire there was a ruling body called the Megastones, you don't need ‑that won't be on the quiz so you don't need to worry about ‑ but there was a ruling house called the Megastonnes and they would be like the United States Senate. Okay. That's just a name ‑ Megastonnes. And this ruling house ruled in the Parthean‑ Persian Empire at this time.

Now listen, it was totally composed of Magi whose duty it was, now watch this, to have absolute choice for the selection of a king. They were king makers. And you know what happened? They had some real problems with the king that they had. They wanted to fight Rome and knock off Rome but they had a loser for a king, Freidas the Fourth and Freidas the Fourth had been deposed and listen, the Magi were looking for a new king, a new king for the east, a new king of the eastern empire who could come against Rome. When they arrived in Jerusalem Herod knew what was going on. They were king makers and when they wandered around town saying ‑ Where is this new king of the Jews?

Herod got panicky. When suddenly these Persian king makers appeared in Jerusalem no doubt traveling in full force with all their oriental pomp and they use to wear conical hats with points on the top and big deals clear down to the bottom of their chin and they rode Persian steeds not camels. And when they came in they didn't come alone, the estimates of history are they came with Persian cavalry. When they came charging into the city of Jerusalem and Herod peeked out his little palace window he flipped.

These are powerful men and to make it worse his army was out of the country on a mission. And the Bible says Herod was troubled.

I guess he was. The word in the Greek is he was agitated like your washing machine he was shaking. You see, Herod had a title. You know what Herod's title was? King of the Jews. He got it from Caesar Augustus. Caesar Augustus crowned him king of the Jews.

And he realized the great dream of his life was to get that little buffer state under his power and here he was in the middle of two huge contending empires. And all of a sudden this massive coterie of Persians arrive in the city and he is panicked and they say we're coming to find the new king.

Now at the time Herod was close to death. And Caesar Augustus was really old and hanging by a thread. And since the retirement of Tiberius the Roman army didn't even have a commander‑in‑chief.

And they knew that this would be the time to bring about an eastern war against the west. It was right. And so Herod was shaking. You say, Well, what were the Magi thinking? I don't know. Maybe, they had looked at it politically. Maybe they thought ‑ Oh, man, here comes the king. And I think that that's probably true but additionally I think they looked at it spiritually. Because when they got to that little room in Bethlehem the Bible says they worshipped Him. They saw more than just a king. I believe they saw the Messiah they had heard about from the days of Daniel. I think we have God‑fearing, seeking Gentiles. And it was two‑fold. I'm sure they were thinking maybe this is the Savior. The Savior who is called the Anointed One which is a term describing a king. And maybe He will not only be the Savior, the Messiah but maybe He will be the one who will gather all this people of the east together and go against the oppression of Rome.

By the way, the Magi knew that the people of Israel were on their side, not Rome's. And so that's why they came into town and started asking the people where this new king was. They thought the people of Israel would be just as excited as they were. But you see the people of Israel were blinded by their unbelief. Isn't it fascinating to you?

It is to me that the first people in the world to recognize the arrival of the King were Gentiles. Gentiles! Does that tell you something about history? He came unto His own and His own what?

Received Him not.

And Matthew follows that all the way through. The rejection of the King. Could this be the invincible monarch? They could crown Him.

They could take Him back and they could make Him king and they could unify the east and with this great Messiah that Daniel had prophesied they could go against Rome with invincibility. And so into Jerusalem rides the group of Magi. King makers of the east on their fine Persian steeds escorted by mounted cavalry. And so the stage is set. What happens after this?

Let me close by saying this. Isn't it exciting to you how God controls history. Does that excite you? Now see, you looked at every‑thing I said and you listened to it and I talked to you for fifty minutes and you know why it was so fascinating to you? Not because it was just a bunch of historical facts but because you were seeing God at work. History is His story. Long ago He picked out a man named Daniel, put him in a place to influence some men who had arrived in perfect timing.

You say, ‑ Well, why does Matthew present this? Why? Listen!

Matthew, all the way through his gospel is trying to tell the world that Jesus Christ is what? King. And just to make sure nobody misses it he has the most famous king makers in the world come and bow down at His feet. Do you see= It's all a part of Matthew's strategy. He's the king. And if Israel isn't going to acknowledge it then God is going to drag a bunch of people from Persia to acknowledge it. He's king. God has master‑planned history. And the sad part of it is that the people who should have known, the people who should have known missed it and the people from way off who should have never guessed showed up and worshipped. That's history. Jesus came. Paul said, To the Jew first, also to the Gentiles. Jesus came and said, "I'm come not but for the lost sheep for the house of Israel." Israel turned his back on Christ and He called a people from a no‑people. He reached out to the Gentiles, Romans says, and grafted us in. And the hint of that was right here in the beginning.

Remember what it says, if ‑ the Bible says if we don't praise Him what? The very rocks will cry out.

And when the king arrived, beloved, when the king arrived, if His people wouldn't praise Him then God will make sure that there's somebody there to do it and there was. And you know in our world today they celebrate Christmas. Pass around the Christmas cards, look at the wise men, they don't understand the point, they don't know the meaning, they don't see who He is but here and there, hither and yon some of us do. Right?

And there's some of us who bow to the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords.

2006-12-19T09:51:00.000-08:00

Silent Nights, Silent Miracles

"I, Jesus, ... am the bright morning star." (Rev. 22:16 NCV)

One of the most beloved of Christmas carols is Silent Night. Though full of activity there is a stillness, a calmness, reflected as we watch God bring about His story that silent, holy night long ago. Silence though serene can also be unnerving.

The Silence of God. For four hundred years between the Old and New Testaments the voice of God remained silent. The Mosaic Covenant closes with the promise of a coming Messiah, without which the earth remains cursed. Then a deafening silence. Hope ebbed and flowed with each passing year and each succeeding generation. Would the promise be fulfilled and the curse removed?

Even in His silence is God really silent? No. Matthew's Gospel opens with the detailed family tree from Abraham to Jesus the Messiah. Such accounting reveals from generation to generation God's design, though detoured many times, was never derailed. There was always a moving forward. God was at work.

In our own times of silent nights we can be encouraged knowing that God is aware and working behind the scenes bringing us into position.

Miracles are public affairs. But there are miracles of the silent type, that go unnoticed and unannounced. Jesus on occasion operated in this realm. Stars are active bodies of gas and energy but on a starlit night they are seen as twinkling points of light. They shine constantly but are seen best at night.

I have a picture of a silhouetted steeple cross on a dark starlighted night. That's Jesus, our morning star, always present, always shining; our guiding light in the night.

The Silence of Doubt. The first person God spoke to after His silence was Zechariah announcing the forerunner of the Messiah and he was to have a part in it. So unbelievable was the message that the aged priest doubted and fell silent. Doubt peels away our confidence and we are left speechless. God didn't leave Zechariah in that state. The next time we meet him he is Zechariah the prophet, filled with the Holy Spirit and prophesying. The fulfilling of God's word changes everything and we proclaim His glories.

The Silence of Contemplation. Everyone was amazed at what the shepherds said to them. But Mary treasured these things and continued to think about them. Then the shepherds went back to their sheep, praising God and thanking him for everything they had seen and heard. It had been just as the angel had told them. (Luke 2:18-20)

Such amazement. Such wonder. Such praise. And adoration. But Mary treasured these moments in her heart. Some things are just too holy, too precious, to talk about. Simeon, Anna the prophetess, the Magi, all had their seasons of holy devotion before speaking.

"He was praying, or he was weeping, or he was staring into eternity." This is how the servants of George Fridric Handel described the master's fevered labour as he composed the classic work Messiah. After reading a compilation of biblical texts Handel was overcome by their power. The music began dancing and exploding within him. Closeting himself in a room he worked night and day, often forgetting to eat or sleep. His servants often heard sobs as their dedicated master poured his soul into the musical composition. In just 24 days the masterpiece was completed.

The Silence of grief. In a frenzied attempt to silence the messianic threat to his rule Herod initiated the Slaughter of the Innocents.

"A voice was heard in Ramah of painful crying and deep sadness: Rachel crying for her children. She refused to be comforted, because her children are dead." (Matt. 2:18)

This is the other side of Christmas; the sad side, the dark side. Death. Separation. Hatred. Homelessness. Hunger. War. Sorrow. Tears. This is for many today, US!

What a gift it is that God in Jesus became a human, a human who cries as we do, who understands our tears, and who has assured us He is coming ... and asks us to hold on! (John 11)

The Silence of the Journey. Each character in the Christmas Gospel walked individually toward their destiny. Alone and often lonely. Their they encountered doubt, failure, uncertainty. Their they discovered hope, future, God. So will we. So do we.

One final silent night which puts all others into perspective is the Silence of the Cross.

He was beaten down and punished, but he didn't say a word. He was like a lamb being led to be killed. He was quiet, as a sheep is quiet while its wool is being cut; he never opened his mouth. (Isa. 53:7)

When His persecutors falsely accused Him, Jesus said nothing.

Hanging in torment on the cross for nearly six hours, He spoke only a few brief sentences.

While darkness covered the land and it was like night for three hours - the voice of Jesus and the voice of the Father were both silent.

Silent for you. For me. For the world.

Silently bearing our wrong doing. Our rebellion. Our pain.

Silently turning our nights into bright tomorrows.

Our silent nights, of whatever kind, can produce silent miracles.

And we sing The Hallelujah Chorus!

Joy to the World!

2006-12-14T10:04:00.000-08:00

UNWRAPPING CHRISTMAS

The last book of the New Testament is the Revelation and contains these words of introduction, This is the revelation of Jesus Christ ... It is the word of God; it is the message from Jesus Christ. (NCV)

A revelation is an unveiling, an unwrapping. It enlightens and informs. It's a dramatic understanding of something not previously known or realized; in theology, a manifestation of divine will or truth.

The Bible claims such revelation. The Sciptures are not merely the "record" of revelation; they are the revelation itself in a written form, in order to have the accurate preservation and propagation of truth.

This revelation lifts the veil on God, His plans and purposes for the world and humankind. This information is general - revealing God through Creation and Human Conscience - and specific - the Word of God. The Word of God is communicated verbally in written and human form. The latter being the person of Jesus Christ. The Son is the radiance of God's glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word. (Heb. 1:3 NIV) Jesus puts a face to the unseen God.

Unwrapping Jesus Christ as the Messiah and legal King of Israel Matthew introduces his Gospel reminiscent of Revelation 1:1, This is the family history of Jesus Christ. He came from the family of David, and David came from the family of Abraham. He then ends this section with these poignant words, All this happened to bring about what the Lord had said through the prophet: "The virgin will be pregnant. She will have a son, and they will name him Immanuel," which means "God is with us." The Gospels are a revelation of the God-Man, Jesus, come to earth, and as the Samaritans declared, the Saviour of the World. (John 4:42 NCV)

Hollywood has unwrapped this gift in a new movie, The Nativity Story. Its description is, One family. One journey. One child who would change the world forever. Two themes are woven throughout the story: the prophetic stance and the human factor.

Centered around Jeremiah 23:5-6, "The days are coming," declares the Lord, "when I will raise up to David a righteous Branch, a King who will reign wisely and do what is just and right in the land. In his days Judah will be saved and Israel will live in safety, the Judean King Herod, subject to Caesar and the Roman Empire - and also to paranoia, searched to stop this messianic threat. The prophetic secret was while Herod sought for a man God had a baby. Herod's attempts to 'end this prophecy' failed.

The human factor is often missed. The people laboured under an oppressive heel and yearned for a deliverer and a return to Davidic glory. Mary and Joseph, though obedient to the call, had questions, fears, and tears, alongside of the joys. They had to withstand the awkward silence of family and friends, and the vocal disapproval of the community. Travelling one hundred miles over rugged, dangerous terrain and encountering all sorts of weather was not easy. Understanding God's purposes in everything they suffered, even in the comfort of shepherds and magi, tested their resolve. Living homeless in Egypt tore at their fabric of life. They lived on a promise.

Mel Gibson's blockbuster Passion of the Christ unwraps the story further. Jesus is in the olive grove battling dark spiritual forces. He surrenders to the religious and political authorities. Tried. Sentenced. Crucified. Again human emotions are raw in every scene and cannot be ignored. Anger. Hope. Betrayal. Love. Sorrow. But so is the prophetic stream:

You people know nothing! You don't realize that it is better for one man to die for the people than for the whole nation to be destroyed." Caiaphas did not think of this himself. As high priest that year, he was really prophesying that Jesus would die for the Jewish nation and for God's scattered children to bring them all together and make them one. (John 11:49-52)

Jesus dies a substitutionary, in place of, death. It was not for Himself but for you and me. His resurrection breathes HOPE. This Christmas, hope is coming from Heaven.

Another movie which brings the story to a personal level is, Walk The Line, the Johnny Cash story. Johnny grew up on a cotton farm with Christian principles. His love of music led him down different paths and into drugs. With help from friends and family his life and career was saved. Foundational during the ups and downs was his upbringing and faith in God. That faith is central from beginning to the end of the movie.

I like that. The Christmas story must be personally unwrapped. Faith to be effective must become personalized. From being externalized to being internalized. It must move from head to heart, from fact to trust. Fact alone could not save The Man in Black but trust would and did. We all need the "Johnny Experience".

Real-life stories that will change your life story ....

2006-12-07T13:18:00.000-08:00

Why Jesus is better than Santa Claus

Santa lives at the North Pole.
Jesus is everywhere.

Santa rides in a sleigh.
Jesus rides on the wind and walks on the water.

Santa comes only once annually.
Jesus is an ever-present help.

Santa fills your stocking with presents.
Jesus fills your heart with love.

Santa comes down your chimney uninvited.
Jesus stands at your door and knocks, then enters your heart when invited.

You have to wait in line to see Santa.
Jesus is as close to you as the mention of His name.

Santa lets you sit on his lap.
Jesus lets you rest in His arms.

Santa does not know your name.
Jesus knew your name before you did.

Santa has a belly full of jelly.
Jesus has a heart full of love.

All Santa can offer you is HO, HO, HO.
Jesus offers you health, help, and hope.

Santa says, "You better not cry."
Jesus says, "Cast all your cares on me for I care for you."

Santa's little helpers make toys.
Jesus makes new life, mends wounded hearts, repairs broken homes, and builds mansions.

Santa may make you chuckle, but...
Jesus gives you joy that is your strength.

While Santa puts gifts under your tree,
Jesus became our gift and died on a tree.

It is obvious that there is really no comparison. We need to remember what Christmas is all about. We need to put "Christ" back into the word "Christmas". Jesus is the reason for the season.

2006-12-07T12:33:00.000-08:00

The Twelve Days of Christmas

People often think of 'The Twelve Days of Christmas' as the days preceding the festival. Actually, Christmas is a season of the Christian year that lasts for the twelve days beginning December 24 and lasting until January 6 - the Day of Epiphany, when the church celebrates the revelation of Christ as the Light of the world and
recalls the journey of the magi.

Concerning the popular song 'The Twelve Days of Christmas', a couple of years ago, I learned the story behind the text from an article in the newsletter of the Immanuel
Presbyterian Church in Montgomey. From 1558 until 1829 Roman Catholics in England were not allowed to practice their faith openly. During that era someone wrote 'The Twelve Days of Christmas' as a kind of secret catechism that could be sung in public without the risk of persecution. The song has two levels of interpretation: the
surface meaning plus a hidden meaning known only to members of the church.

Each element in the carol is a code word for a religious reality.

The partridge in a pear tree is Jesus Christ.

The two turtledoves are the Old and New Testaments.

Three French Hens stand for faith, hope and love.

The four calling birds are the four Gospels.

The five gold rings recall the Torah (Law), the first five books of the Old Testament.

The six geese a-laying stand for the six days of creation.

Seven swans a-swimming represent the seven-fold gifts of the Spirit.

The eight maids a-milking are the eight beatitudes.

Nine ladies dancing? These are the nine fruits of the Spirit (Gal. 5)

The ten lords a-leaping are the Ten Commandments.

Eleven pipers piping stand for the eleven faithful disciples.

Twelve drummers drumming symbolize the 12 points of belief in the Apostles' Creed.

DURING TIMES OF PERSECUTION GOD AND THE CHURCH ALWAYS FINDS A WAY TO PRESERVE AND SPREAD THE FAITH ...

2006-10-23T13:33:00.000-07:00

GOD Always Answers Prayer ...

When the idea is not right God says, "No."

No - when the idea is not the best.
No - when the idea is absolutely wrong.
No - when though it may help you, it could create problems for someone else.

When the time is not right, God says, "Slow."

What a catastrophe it would be if God answered every prayer at the snap of your fingers. Do you know what would happen? God would become your servant, not your master. Suddenly, God would be working for you instead of you working for God.

Remember: God's delays are not God's denials. God's timing is perfect. Patience is what we need in prayer.

When you are not right, God says, "Grow."

The selfish person has to grow in unselfishness
The cautious person must grow courage.
The timid person must grow in confidence.
The dominating person must grow in sensitivity.
The critical person must grow in tolerance.
The negative person must grow in positive attitudes.
The pleasure-seeking person must grow in compassion for suffering people.

When everything is all right, God says, "Go."
Then miracles happen:

A hopeless alcoholic is set free!
A drug addict finds release!
A doubter becomes as a child in his belief.
Diseased tissue responds to treatment, and healing begins.
The door to your dreams suddenly swings open and there
stands God saying, "Go."

- by Dr. Robert Schuller

2006-10-20T15:25:00.000-07:00

I recently wrote to a family in India whose newborn was diagnosed with Hydrocephylus. Not expected to live BABY HANAH IS CELEBRATING HER FIRST BIRTHDAY! Many are suffering with heartbreaking situations, so you may be encouraged by what I wrote this family.

Happy Birthday Hanah, and God's Blessings upon Mom & Dad, Lena and Malka. I am glad for you at the way God has provided and cared for you during this time of joy and difficulty. His Presence will comfort and strengthen you for the days ahead.

The Bible gives this encouraging word in the life of Jesus: And he took the children in his arms, put his hands on them and blessed them. (Mark 10:16)

We may never know the many times that Jesus took Baby Hanah in His arms over these past 12 months to cradle and watch over.

Look at our hands. They are a necessary part of our lives and livelihood. They are given in token of friendship and used in embracing. Jesus used His hands to become friends with, and embrace children.

A blessing was a public declaration of a favored status with God. The blessing also endowed power for prosperity and success. In all cases, the blessing served as a guide and motivation to pursue a course of life within the blessing.

In other words Jesus speaks a word of favor, of goodness, of direction and purpose into the life of Baby Hanah.

O Baby Hanah, you are blessed by Jesus Christ! Let's sing: Jesus loves me, this I know, for the Bible tells me so. Little ones to Him belong, they are weak, but He is strong. Yes, Jesus loves Hanah! Yes, Jesus loves Hanah! Yes, Jesus loves Hanah! The Bible tells me so!

And for Lena and Malka, there is another wonderful story in the Bible of a mother, a parent, who though not of the family of faith, came to Jesus out of desperate concern for her daughter, who was demon possessed. She was a Gentile, an outsider to the Jewish people. But she had faith in the Messiah of God's people. And so she cried for His mercy.

At first Jesus did not answer. Aware of her own inadequacies she knelt in the dust and pleaded, Lord, help me! Jesus chose to test this parent's faith in the extent of His mercy. Jesus saw that she believed His mercy could stretch all the way to her! She passed the test. She asked but for a crumb of mercy, she received much, much more - the healing of her daughter and a new beginning in life! (Matthew 15:21-28) How extraordinarily good Jesus is!!

Wherever there is simple faith in Jesus, divine mercy is extended. This is the good news that every burdened, anxious parent needs to hear and can receive. God bless you, Lena and Malka.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY ONE AND ALL!

Albert Kienle

2006-10-20T14:36:00.000-07:00

I thought this was too good to pass by; may it remind us where our hope and strength is found -

YOU SAY ... GOD SAYS ...

You say: "It's impossible."

God says: All things are possible. (Luke 18:27)

You say: "I'm too tired."

God says: I will give you rest. (Matthew 11:28-30)

You say: "Nobody really loves me."

God says: I love you. (John 3:16 & John 3:34)

You say: "I can't go on."

God says: My grace is sufficient. (II Corinthians 12:9 & Psalm 91:15)

You say: "I can't figure things out."

God says: I will direct your steps. (Proverbs 3:5-6)

You say: "I can't do it."

God says: You can do all things. (Philippians 4:13)

You say: "I'm not able."

God says: I am able. (II Corinthians 9:8)

You say: "It's not worth it."

God says: It will be worth it. (Romans 8:28)

You say: "I can't forgive myself."

God says: I Forgive you. (I John 1:9 & Romans 8:1)

You say: "I can't manage."

God says: I will supply all your needs. (Philippians 4:19)

You say: "I'm afraid."

God says: I have not given you a spirit of fear. (II Timothy 1:7)

You say: "I'm always worried and frustrated."

God says: Cast all your cares on ME. (I Peter 5:7)

You say: "I'm not smart enough."

God says: I give you wisdom. (I Corinthians 1:30)

You say: "I feel all alone."

God says: I will never leave you or forsake you. (Hebrews 13:5)

2006-09-27T13:38:00.000-07:00

Who Is Jesus Christ? He is every letter of the human language; therefore Jesus is right for whatever's wrong in your life, however you spell it:

A = Alpha and the Omega (Rev. 1:8)
Amen, the faithful and true witness (Rev. 3:14)
Ancient of Days (Dan. 7:9)

B = Beginning and the End (Rev. 21:6)
Behold, I am coming soon (Rev. 22:7)

C = Chosen before the creation of the world (1 Peter 1:20)

D = Deliverer and my stronghold (Psa. 144:2)

E = Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace (Isa.. 9:6)

F = Faithful and True (Rev. 19:11)
First and the Last (Rev. 2:8)

G = Great and marvelous are Your ways (Rev. 15:3)
Great is the Lord and most worthy of praise (Psa.145:3)
Great is Your faithfulness (Lam. 3:23)

H = Holy and true, who holds the key of David (Rev. 3:7)
Hallelujah! For our Lord God Almighty reigns (Rev. 19:6)
His face was like the sun shining in all its brilliance (Rev. 1:16)
Hair of his head was white like wool (Rev. 1:14)

I = I am alive for ever and ever (Rev. 1:18)
I am the root and offspring of David (Rev. 22:6)
I hold the keys of death and Hades (Rev. 1:18)

J = Just and true are Your ways (Rev. 15:3)

K = King of kings and Lord of lords (Rev. 19:6)
King of the ages (Rev. 15:4)

L = Lion of the tribe of Judah (Rev. 5:5)
Lord will be your everlasting light (Isa. 60:19)

M = Majesty and splendor are before Him (1 Chron. 16:27)

N = Name is Jesus (Matt. 1:21)
Name that is above every name (Phil. 2:9)

O = One and Only (John 1:18)

P = Pearl of great price (Matt. 13:46)

Q = Quickening spirit (1 Cor. 15:45)

R = Ruler of the kings of the earth (Rev. 1:5)

S = Sovereign Lord, holy and true (Rev. 6:10)

T = The bright morning star (Rev. 22:6)

U = Unspeakable gift (2 Cor. 9:15)

V = Voice was like the sound of rushing water (Rev. 1:15)

W = Worthy is the lamb that was slain (Rev. 5:12)
Who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty (Rev. 1:8)
Word of God (John 1:1; Rev. 19:13)

X = Exalted be the God of the rock of my salvation (2 Sam. 22:47)

Y = Yes, Lord God Almighty, just and true are Your judgments (Rev. 16:7)
Your God will be your glory (Isa. 60:19)

Z = Zion - the Deliverer will come from Zion (Rom. 11:26)

Father, be magnified in my perception of You so I can behold You in all Your beauty, Your majesty and Your glory.

- by Donna Mielke

2006-09-22T13:49:00.000-07:00

In Honour of The 36 - And Those Who Follow ....

The average age of the Canadian military man is 18 years. He is a short haired, tight-muscled kid who, under normal circumstances is considered by society as half man, half boy. Not yet dry behind the ears, not old enough to buy a beer, but old enough to die for his country. He never really cared much for work and he would rather wax his own car than wash his father's; but he has never collected unemployment either.

He's a recent High School graduate; he was probably an average student,
pursued some form of sport activities, drives a ten year old jalopy, and has a steady girlfriend that either broke up with him when he left, or swears to be waiting when he returns from half a world away. He listens to rock and roll or hip-hop or rap or jazz or swing and 155mm howizzitor.

He is 10 or 15 pounds lighter now than when he was at home because he is working or fighting from before dawn to well after dusk. He has trouble spelling, thus letter writing is a pain for him, but he can field strip a rifle in 30 seconds and reassemble it in less time in the dark. He can recite to you the nomenclature of a machine gun or grenade launcher and use either one effectively if he must.

He digs foxholes and latrines and can apply first aid like a professional. He can march until he is told to stop or stop until he is told to march. He obeys orders instantly and without hesitation, but he is not without spirit or individual dignity. He is self-sufficient. He has two sets of fatigues: he washes one and wears the other. He keeps his canteens full and his feet dry.

He sometimes forgets to brush his teeth, but never to clean his rifle. He can cook his own meals, mend his own clothes, and fix his own hurts. If you're thirsty, he'll share his water with you; if you are hungry, his food. He'll even split his ammunition with you in the midst of battle when you run low. He has learned to use his hands like weapons and weapons like they were his hands.

He can save your life - or take it, because that is his job. He will often do twice the work of a civilian, draw half the pay and still find ironic humor in it all. He has seen more suffering and death then he should have in his short lifetime. He has stood atop mountains of dead bodies, and helped to create them. He has wept in public and in private, for friends who have fallen in combat and is unashamed. He feels every note of the National Anthem vibrate through his body while at rigid attention, while tempering the burning desire to 'square-away' those around him who haven't bothered to stand, remove their hat, or even stop talking. In an odd twist, day in and day out, far from home, he defends their right to be disrespectful.

Just as did his Father, Grandfather, and Great-grandfather, he is paying the price for our freedom. Beardless or not, he is not a boy. He is the Canadian Fighting Man
that has kept this country free. He has asked nothing in return, except our friendship and understanding. Remember him, always, for he has earned our respect and admiration with his blood.

And now we even have women over there in danger, doing their part in this tradition
of going to war when our nation calls us to do so.

As you go to bed tonight, remember this picture ... a short lull, a little shade and a picture of loved ones in their helmets!

"Lord, hold our troops in your loving hands. Protect them as they protect us. Bless them and their families for the selfless acts they perform for us in our time of need. Amen."

2006-09-18T15:10:00.000-07:00

The following is in response to an article in a health periodical:

I found the latest RQHR HealthNews article on the rise of STDs interesting, informative, frightening, and disturbing. I do appreciate the intent of the initiatives presented but feel that the scope should be broadened to include parents and the church.

Also ……..

I believe we are ignoring/missing a vital component in the battle against STDs.

Initially the slogan was "safe sex".

We discovered that didn’t work.

Now it is "safer sex".

And we’re still fining it does not work ….. due to ‘safe-sex fatigue’.

I am not that naïve to suggest that promiscuity will suddenly disappear with my input but I do think we need to consider another option, that of abstinence and life affirming choices.

Because sefe sex/safer sex/unprotected sex/latex condoms/dental dams/limited sexual partners/testing/treatment/free condoms/or whatever other well meaning attempt is made/it is still Russian Roulette – one shot away from death.

We need to supply our youth/young adults more than the status quo now being promoted.

We need to impart values/empowerment/purpose/personal goals/and moral assets.

Morality isn’t a swear word; it is a compass for healthy living.

Our youth need more than free advice. They want a reason for their lives, a reason behind their choices.

As is, we’re saying, You’re going to do it, so here use these.

We need to be saying, There’s another way, a better way; you can wait, you can have no regrets; don’t put your life on hold, put sex on hold. We’ll equip you.

They’ll be up for the challenge.

Right now youth are down because we are not brave enough to challenge them with healthy life choices.

We give them whatever we think they want and they sink to that level.

Give them a challenge and they’ll rise to that level.

That is why I can safely promote OptionS Pregnancy Center Resources and Lifestyle Coaching Inc. They have a wide range of programs and resources, building positive self-esteem and the moral assets for improving the lives of young people.

I would hope and appreciate the inclusion of OptionS in your upcoming discussion groups.

If we are really serious about dealing with STDs we must consider the life options that OptionS Pregnancy Center presents.

If not, we’ll continue to ‘window dress’

Contact them 757-1371 – and check them out.

Respectfully,

Albert Kienle

2006-08-16T14:09:00.000-07:00

Sloppy Journalism - The Sum of All Hatred ...

On Friday, June 9th, the "Breaking News" banner interrupted my work with the horrible news from the BBC reporter in Gaza saying, "An Israeli bomb dropped on Gaza Beach and killed ten people, most of them from the same family. I was very close and I could see where it came from." There was no doubt in his quivering voice: this unspeakable travesty was Israel's fault.

The media reports apparently were so convincing that Israel's top leaders were expressing regret and apologies for the 'obvious mistake'. Voices in many sectors in Israel condemned the tragedy. There were two government officials that were cautious in their immediate response. Both Defense Minister Amir Peretz and IDF Chief of Staff Lt.-Gen. Dan Halutz were quick to express sorrow over the incident, but stopped short of accepting responsibility.

It is a shame that such restraint was not exhibited by the head of the United Nations. The first paragraph of the first press release from the UN is as follows: 13 June 2006 - United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan today said he was 'shocked and saddened' by the latest Israeli missile attack into Gaza, which killed nine people and wounded about 40, but at the same time reiterated his condemnation of Palestinian rocket attacks against Israel and called for them to end.

If there had never been any photo ops of tragedies that were later shown to be absolutely false, there might be some excuse for the quick pointing of the finger at Israel. Pictures of supposedly dead children have been carried by the majority of major media around the world. "How could Israel be so cruel?" Careful research has been released sometimes months later that the same child is alive and well. No way can the negative feelings in the heart of millions ever be changed because the evidence receives little or no space. It would be very self-servicing to the news source that first broke the story.

Annan 'shocked and saddened' at deaths of Israeli missile attack in Gaza.
Annan urges full investigation of killings in Gaza.

And then a few days later .... the Israeli Defense Force issued their report concluding for several reasons that the tragedy could not have been caused by Israel.

Annan admits being media manipulated.
UN Chief forced to retract skeptical comments in face of solid Israeli proof.

Charles Krauthammer, in an article for the Washington Post, pointed out three reasons why it could not have been caused by Israel. 1) The shrapnel taken from the victims was not the ordinance used in Israeli artillery. 2) Aerial photos have shown that the crater could not have been caused by Israeli artillery. 3) Israel could account for five of the six shells that were fired during this period and the one unaccounted for was launched prior to the explosion.

Normally, this publication does not report this kind of happenings, but when such deception takes place we need to do our part in exposing the fraud. The way the whole world jumped on what they thought was a big mistake, so fast without checking reveals a horrendous weakness in mainstream journalism. This event is a revelation of an unexplainable hatred for Israel and the Jewish people. This is loud and clear Anti-Semitism. IT IS THE SUM OF ALL HATRED.

- Inside Israel Newsletter, July 2006

2006-06-14T13:56:00.000-07:00

I Will Fight, I Will Stand ...

For the sake of a Nation
For the name of the LORD
For the sake of a generation
Yet unborn
I will fight
I will stand

Will there be brother beside me?
Sister in view?
Whatever the measure
If many or few
Still - I will fight
Still - I will stand

There's a roar in my spirit
A fire in my bones
With eyes lifted to heaven
I find my console
And I fight
And I stand

So, I pray on that glorious morn
When my face meets Yours, LORD
On my sleeve will read 'faithful'
In my hand, a crown that is Yours
For a Nation called righteous
A Nation called free
A Nation that bows
Worshipfully
I will fight
I will stand
O Canada, I will stand on guard for thee

- Faytene C. Kryskow

2006-06-14T13:45:00.000-07:00

O Canada ...

O Canada! Our home and native land
True Patriot love, in all thy sons command
With glowing hearts we see thee rise,
The true North, strong and free,
From far and wide, O Canada,
We stand on guard for thee.

God keep our land, glorious and free!
O Canada, we stand on guard for thee
O Canada, we stand on guard for thee.

O Canada, Where pines and maples grow
Great prairies spread and lordly rivers flow
How dear to us thy broad domain,
From East to Western Sea,
Thou land of hope for all who toil!
Thou true North, strong and free.

Canada! Beneath thy shining skies,
May stalwart sons and gentle maidens rise,
To keep thee steadfast through the years
From East to Western Sea,
Our own beloved native land.
Our true North, strong and free.

Ruler Supreme, who hearest humble prayer,
Hold our dominion in thy loving care
Help us to find, O God, in Thee
A lasting, rich reward
As, waiting for the better day,
We ever stand on guard.

2006-06-14T13:02:00.000-07:00

On July 1, 2006, Canada will be celebrating its 139th birthday. Nations are not born in a vacuum. That is to say, outside forces influence the birth of a nation and determine its development, growth, and direction.

Each nation has its own true nature, a worldview, a set of core values. This DNA defines its national identity, sets a course for the future, and gives the populace direction. Canada has the rich Christian heritage of many explorers and missionaries as its DNA.

India's influence came from Hinduism. The belief of reincarnation has caused India many problems, especially among the poor. Pre-90s Russia was Communism. South Africa was apartheid, now it's forgiveness and reconciliation. In some instances wholesale changes are made. Progression, going from something negative to a positive is preferable to digressing from positive to a negative.

It is for history to record that our foundational building block was faith-based, faith in God and the gospel of His Son.

The Viking Lief Ericsson converted to Christ in 1003 AD, wintered in Newfoundland in 1004, and was the first known white man to present the gospel of Jesus Christ to Canada's native peoples.

John Cabot, the official discoverer of Canada, landed on and claimed Newfoundland "for God and England" in 1497.

French explorer, Jaques Cartier, founded Montreal in 1533 and later wrote, "We all kneeled down in the company of the Indians and with our hands raised toward heaven yielded our thanks to God."

Concerning Samuel de Champlain it is written that his devotion to his God, his country and his task marked him as truly one of the brightest of historical figures in the world.

Jeanne Mance, founder of the first hospital in Montreal, said, "God's will is the only desire and love of my heart."

Frontenac, a Governor of early Canada and a French Protestant, committed himself to "extending the Empire of Jesus Christ throughout all this land."

During the 1700s the Holy Spirit was falling profoundly in Nova Scotia. Hundreds were converted to Christ and the entire province awakened to God. This religious revival set the foundation for the spread of the gospel in the Atlantic Provinces. New Brunswick felt the impact of revival fervor in the early 1800s. In 1805 2,500 gathered in Kingston, Ontario, for an outdoor revival where great miracles of healing the sick, the conversion of countless sinners, and six raisings from the dead, all took place.

The Micmac Nation was one of the initial First Nations groups to receive the gospel of Jesus Christ. To date the Micmac prayer book, made by French missionaries, is one of our nation's oldest publications.

We have a rich Christian heritage extending back to pre-Confederation days!

At the birth of our nation many righteous foundations were laid. When reading Psalm 72:8, "He shall have dominion from sea to sea," the thought occurred to Sir Samuel Leonard Tilley, one of the 33 Fathers of Confederation and a committed Christian, "What a splendid name to give Canada." It passed. A letter from John A. MacDonald explained to Queen Victoria that the name was a tribute to the principles they earnestly desired to uphold.

A plaque in Charlottetown referring to the Fathers of Confederation says, "Providence being their guide, they builded better than they knew."

Even the educational school systems were positively influenced. Bishop John Strachan, founder of Ontario's school system, acknowledged, "You cannot divorce religion from education because schools will inevitably reflect the philosophical and religious or (irreligious) biases of those who direct them."

Egerton Ryerson, the founder of public education in Ontario, believed in making men Christian - "Christian in heart and life, in temper and work". He clearly said that the Ontario school system was to be a Christian public system.

The 1896 Public School Act says, in part, "It shall be the duty of every teacher in a public school system to teach diligently and faithfully (along with the pursuit of learning) ... respect for religion and the principles of Christian morality."

Canada's coat of arms, adopted in 1921, also stands on Psalm 72:8.

Parliament's House of Commons foyer has four creatures carved in stone - the face of a man, a lion, an ox, and an eagle, taken from Ezekiel 1/10 and Revelation 4/6-7. There are scriptural carvings in the Cabinet Room and the Opposition Boardroom.

The Peace Tower Memorial is replete with scriptural references. Above the east window in the tower is inscribed, "He shall have dominion also from sea to sea". The south window says, "Give the king Thy judgments, O God, and Thy righteousness unto the king's son". The west window has "Where there is no vision the people perish". Carved on the largest bell of the tower is "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace and good will to men". (Psalm 72:8, 1; Proverbs 29:18, Luke 2:14)

And carved into the Speaker's Chair among other maxims, is the phrase, "Laus Deo" -- Praise to God. A crucifix adorns the top of the Speaker's Chair.

There is indeed a spiritual component to our Nation.

The current French version of our national anthem, O Canada, by Judge A.B. Routhier contains several Christian themes, as does the English by Robert Stanley Weir. The English version has four verses, sadly we just know one. The last verse is:

Ruler Supreme, who hearest humble prayer,
Hold our Dominion in Thy loving care,
Help us to find, O God, in Thee,
A lasting, rich reward,
As waiting for the better day
We ever stand on guard.

God keep our land, glorious and free!

Several newspapers of the day echoed the sentiments of the Halifax Evening Reporter, June 29, 1867: "The secret of greatness and prosperity lies in our rising above ... sectional feelings ... and ascending to that national, patriotic spirit which ought to animate us." And of the Toronto Globe & Mail, July 1, 1867: We "fervently pray that all the blessings anticipated from the measure (Confederation), by its promoters, may be fully realized."

God has designed that Canada be a dwelling place and a gathering place for the nations. We cannot impose a state religion, or one's religious point of view, nor should we. But that doesn't mean we should be lax in the practice of our faith by ignoring, discrediting, or denying our Christian heritage. To do so we exact a great disservice to ourselves, those who would follow us, and to our fellow countrymen.

The Fathers of Confederation clearly gave Jesus Christ access to the affairs of the nation by naming it the Dominion of Canada. On the basis of the historical and foundational facts of Canada, the belief that the Church has no place in national affairs misrepresents the truth. The Church in this generation must take the responsibility to remind the nation of our inheritance, to bring into view, reestablish, and steward the righteous foundations laid by past generations but which has been covered up through neglect, unrighteous ideals and systems.

We must be vigilant to STAND ON GUARD for Canada!

Much of the material in this post is gratefully acknowledged and taken from Fasytene C. Kryskow's excellent resource book, Stand On Guard. Visit her web site, www.flyhighministries.com.

2006-06-09T08:42:00.000-07:00

JUST FOR THE FUN OF IT ....

A couple notices a pet-shop sign advertising CHRISTIAN PUPPIES. Their interest piqued, they go inside.

'How do you know they're Christian?' they ask.

'Watch,' says the owner, who tells one of the dogs, 'Fetch the Bible.' The dog runs to the table, grabs the Bible, and returns. Putting the Bible on the floor, the owner says, 'Find Psalm 23.' The dog flips pages with his paw until he reaches the right page. Amazed, the couple buys the dog.

That evening they invite friends over and have the dog do his routine. Impressed, one visitor asks, 'Does he also know regular commands?'

'Gee,' replies the husband, 'we didn't even ask.'

He tells the dog, 'Sit.' The dog sits.

'Lie down.' The dog lies down.

'Roll over.' The dog rolls over.

'Heel.' The dog jumps on the sofa, puts both paws on the owner's forehead and bows his head.

The wife exclaims, 'He's Pentecostal!'

YEAH!

2006-06-09T08:29:00.000-07:00

Two poems recently came across my desk. I thought I'd like to pass them along.

ANYWAY

People are illogical, unreasonable,
and self-centered.
LOVE THEM ANYWAY.

If you do good, people will accuse you of selfish,
ulterior motives.
DO GOOD ANYWAY.

If you are successful, you will win
false friends and true enemies.
SUCCEED ANYWAY.

The good you do today will be forgotten tomorrow.
DO GOOD ANYWAY.

Honesty and frankness make you vulnerable.
BE HONEST AND FRANK ANYWAY.

People favour underdogs but follow only top dogs.
FIGHT FOR A FEW UNDERDOGS ANYWAY.

What you spend years building may be
destroyed overnight.
BUILD ANYWAY.

People really need help but may
attack you if you do help them.
HELP THEM ANYWAY.

Give the world the best you have and
you'll get kicked in the teeth.
GIVE THE WORLD THE BEST YOU HAVE - ANYWAY.

- by Dr. Kent M. Keith

Travelling on My Knees

Last night I took a journey to a land
across the seas. I didn't go there by
ship or plane - I travelled on my knees.

I saw so many people there in bondage
to their sin. And Jesus told me I should go,
as there were souls to win.

But I said, 'Jesus, I can't go to lands across the
seas.' He answered quickly, 'Yes, you can, by
travelling on your knees.'

He said, 'You pray, I'll meet the need. You call,
and I will hear. It's up to you to be concerned
for lost souls far and near.'

And so I did; I knelt in prayer, gave up some
hours of ease, And with the Saviour by my side
I travelled on my knees.

As I prayed on, I saw souls saved and twisted
persons healed. I saw the strength of men
renewed, while they laboured in His field.

I said, 'Yes, Lord, I'll take the job. Your heart I
want to please. I'll heed Your call and swiftly
go by travelling on my knees.'

- Sandra Goodwin

2006-06-05T13:31:00.000-07:00

As I write this 17 people, teens and youths, mainly Muslims, have been arrested in Toronto and charged with allegedly plotting terrorist acts within the city but attacking the country itself. What's behind this? Some 3000 pounds of potential bomb making chemical were discovered in their possession, far more than was used in the Oklahoma Federal Building bombing.

Were they politically motivated, religiously incited, mad at the world, lonely and looking for a place to belong, a purpose and mission in life? Does it all filter down to the need to fill an empty void with power, or at least a sense of power.

Whoever we are we all have an innate desire for fulfillment, purpose, and power. Every human being needs to know experientially that their existence is not simply a biological accident but has been willed by God. God wants each of us to discover, in conversation with Him, that there can be a meaningful plan for life.

When you come to Jesus, you will come to know that purpose. When you discern His plan for you, you will know what your life is all about. Only then will your quest be realized.

There is something great that you will never do unless you come to Jesus, the Master Builder, something wonderful that God will never be able to accomplish through you until you surrender to His will, something of ultimate importance that God wants to achieve through you.

When Jesus died on the cross to save you from sin, He did so to make you into a person who could do magnificent things for others in His name, to work through you and accomplish things that He wants to have done in our world.

Jesus wants to eliminate the hunger of many people through you, to deliver the oppressed into freedom and bring justice to the downtrodden .....

He wants you to be one of those through whom such important things can be done, an agent for His revolution in the world, to bring about some of the changes that are essential if He is to make this world into the kind of world He created it to be.

How I wish those 17 would have known this!

Power, like dynamite, can either be used constructively or destructively. Improperly handled, it can hurt, maim, and kill. Properly set and monitored toward a predetermined objective it can set off a chain of events that results in positive change.

Jesus engaged His culture in the power of the Holy Spirit.

God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power, who went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with Him. (Acts 10:38)

The whole makeup of God, everything that makes God who He is (Father, Son, and Holy Spirit) is seen as being actively involved in the healing processes of mankind and against the evil personified that seeks to destroy the betterment of the human race.

Since God in His fulness wants people healed in every area of life, why aren't we cooperating with Him towards this goal? Why do we ignore or deny Him His rights? Why are we content to go it alone when there are resources unlimited and untapped?

The success that Jesus bore witness to in His life was the anointing and power of the Holy Spirit. At Creation's dawn the Spirit of God hovered over a world that was "formless and empty". The Holy Spirit of God descended into the darkness that covered "the surface of the deep" to bring order out of chaos and to shine light into dark places. And again, to bring about the recreation of mankind the Holy Spirit hovered and descended upon Christ to prepare Him for His work.

The Holy Spirit is essential not just for church life but at the core of life, where we live, work, learn, and recreate. We tend to forget that. We think we can manipulate the raw material of life and bring order out of anarchy. But we don't have the wisdom or strength to shape life's raw material into something wondrous and beautiful.

Shortly before His Passion Jesus spoke extensively about the coming and mission of the Holy Spirit, preparing His followers to follow in His steps and do what He had done. From His discourse in John's Gospel, chapters 14 - 16, I'd like to draw my thoughts.

The Holy Spirit is a fascinating Person, at least to me He is. Jesus said, And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor, who will never leave you.

Grab onto that, He's an 'another'. He is an 'another' of what Jesus was to His followers; another of the same kind. In Greek the word is Paraclete and means One called alongside of; or Comforter, Encourager, Advocate, Helper. The Holy Spirit, therefore, is Jesus' Other Self.

The Holy Spirit always was, and always presently active. But a change was to take place after Jesus' death, burial and resurrection. Jesus would ascend to His heavenly position and send His Spirit as His personal representative; the Spirit would represent Jesus to His followers, in His name, in His character, in His authority and power. It would be as if Jesus had never left. Only now it would be His spiritual presence, not His physical presence.

An added dimension to this was that the Holy Spirit would never leave them. Physically, Jesus could only be with the people locationally, one by one, one group at a time. Jesus instructed that by His returning to Heaven and sending the Holy Spirit He would be with each and every one personally, universally, never to leave.

Also to this is, there's just one thing that keeps God from us: sin. And there's just one way to a relationship with God: Jesus. Christ paid the price for sin on the cross, and now, because the barrier has been removed, we have the abiding presence of God, the Holy Sprit, constantly.

The Holy Spirit would come in fullness, in abundance, no hold backs; like gushing rivers of thirst quenching living waters breaking forth from our innermost being, up unto God in prayer, praise and worship, and out to a dry and barren wasteland of human misery, loneliness, and need.

Yes, the Spirit is with us, as One called alongside to help. Never miss that; even when we feel alone or abandoned, we are not. When assistance is needed He is there. We are not left orphans, He has come.

Not only is He with us daily, He lives within us hourly. He's in us by the second. Jesus made a wonderful comparison: When I am raised to life again, you will know that I am in my Father, and you are in me, and I am in you.

Then, the Holy Spirit comes or rests upon us as an investiture, an enduement, of power. With this power the early Christians did the same things that Jesus did, even greater things, if not in quality than in quantity. With this Holy Spirit power they went everywhere in the world and told the Good News to people, and the Lord helped them. The Lord proved that the Good News they told was true by giving them power to work miracles. (Acts 1:8, Mark 16:20)

Through the Holy Spirit you and I can experience God's presence every moment of the day. When we have the Holy Spirit guiding us each day, we will not only experience the presence of God in our own lives, but we'll also be able to show His presence to others, as we live God's way, displaying the fruit of the Spirit which are love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. (Galatians 5:22,23)

When we cannot pray - sometimes for lack of energy, sometimes life deals us such a blow that we cannot even talk, much less pray, sometimes there's too much pain, or our depression is too deep; sometimes praying seems impossible - the Spirit helps us with our weakness. We do not know how to pray as we should. But the Spirit himself speaks to God for us, even begs God for us with deep feelings that words cannot explain. (Romans 8:26) The Holy Spirit knows what's going on in our lives and He takes over for us.

Through the Spirit of God we become a witness to the reality of Christ in our own life, a sharer of our faith. We speak of that which we know; what we have heard, seen, and felt. It's personal, it happened to me. It's real. And it's worth talking about! Witnessing is also doing what Jesus did in acts of mercy and service; practical deeds but also works of supernatural power bestowed by the Spirit. The Spirit's anointing is for service. (1 Corinthians 12)

We have access to truth. Jesus often referred to the Holy Spirit as the Spirit of Truth. Not a fashionable idea today. Truth has fallen in the streets. We are led to believe there are no absolutes, everything is relative to the occasion. How wrong and empty a philosophy. There are absolutes in the universe and all around us.

Everything about God is about truth, ultimate truth. God does not reveal Himself through Buddha or any of the other world religions, icons, or religious figures past, present or future. They may have beneficial teachings which contain some truth, but in and of themselves do not have, or claim exclusivity to ultimate truth alone. I believe it was Ghandi that said, "I am still seeking."

Only through God Himself as Father, Son and Holy Spirit do we realize true truth. And when God gave us the Bible, He gave us something to believe in. It has the voice of truth. The Gnostic gospels and books like The Da Vinci Code and The Jesus Dynasty fall flat because they don't ring true. They do not have the voice of truth.

The Holy Spirit has come. He is with us today, helping us in the 21st Century to engage our culture, society, and world much in the same way that He assisted those in the first century. We have the same Spirit, faith and power, dressed in modern garb to address and meet the needs of the modern world.

The Spirit of God has often come with refreshing winds to rekindle the dying embers of faith. The coming of the Spirit will always have a continuity with the past and a flare for the future. The Spirit is not held to the past, not limited by the past, not stuck in the past. He is in the NOW, our NOW. Jesus said, He will tell you what is yet to come. Therefore we should expect the Holy Spirit to come to us robed with his majesty but in the relativeness of modern man.

He has come to us. I hope we will come to Him.

2006-05-24T10:23:00.002-07:00

I believe when it comes to the Da Vinci Code God has something to say to us and our families about it. In the ancient world, as described by a prophet of God, Jeremiah, in chapter 10 of his book, wooden and stone idols were set up to worship and appease their man-made gods. Let's read a portion:

Family of Israel, listen to what the Lord says to you. This is what he says: "Don't live like the people from other nations, and don't be afraid of special signs in the sky, even though the other nations are afraid of them. The customs of other people are worth nothing. Their idols are just wood cut from the forest, shaped by a worker with his chisel. They decorate their idols with silver and gold. With hammers and nails they fasten them down so they won't fall over.

There's an application here. It's a directive toward families. The admonition is to not follow the trends of the day with their 'special signs' and 'customs' (reminiscent of the 'Code') which are worthless, futile and foolish, though skillfully fashioned by 'a worker with his chisel' (reminiscent again of the Da Vinci author and film producer using modern tools to sway the public into another direction). Any type of idol is a substitution for the true.

Then the prophet makes this remarkable statement in verse 5, Their idols are like scarecrows in melon fields; they cannot talk. Since they cannot walk, they must be carried. Do not be afraid of those idols, because they can't hurt you, and they can't help you either.

Scarecrows in the garden patch! Scantly dressed and lacking substance; having a facade of reality but packed with falsehood. This is how God views something like The Da Vinci Code, The Gospel of Judas, The Jesus Papers, etc. Though disconcerting we are told not to fear. God has the last word, even the last laugh, because the LORD is the only true God, the living God. He is the eternal King! (v. 10).

When we consider the big picture these sort of things are but a blimp on the screen. I often smile at the irony of it all. Whenever the media creates a blockbluster to question or discredit the tenants of faith God steps in with one of His own, like The Lord of the Rings, The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe (with their biblical themes), and The Passion of The Christ and busts the blockbuster. I'm waiting to see what He does with this one! Stay tuned is all I can say!

I've seen the same thing take place in other areas of the media. Television programs promoting family/faith based values like Touched by an Angel, 7th Heaven, Sue Thomas, and Doc. Country music has several hits which spoke of strong sentiments: Where Were You?, Who'd You Be?, Jesus, Take the Wheel. Romance novels with Christian ideals are sold alongside Harlequin. When God comes by ....

I'm reminded too of the biblical story of Joseph, sold into slavery by his jealous brothers. Then framed and thrown into prison for several years; forgotten by family, friend, and foe. But through a series of strange twists of events he ends up as prime minister of Egypt. And saves the nation and his family through a famine. At the end Joseph can say to his frightened siblings, Now don't be worried or angry with yourselves because you sold me here. God sent me here ahead of you to save people's lives.

Indeed, God turns into good what others meant for evil. (Genesis 50:20)

The day Jesus rose from the dead something strange took place, even stranger than the Resurrection itself (Matthew's Gospel, chapter 28). The detractors began to set the stage to reinvent the story. The Roman guard couldn't explain the phenomena. The religious guard didn't want to face the obvious, so resorted to bribery. Pilate probably doubted the news release but expediency won the day.

In the midst of all this misinformation and lies Jesus was alive and well, He met with His followers, instructing them to carry His mission to the world. In effect He was saying, The two versions of what really happened will always exist side by side. Truth remains; the other come and go. Be aware of the counterfeits but be preoccupied with our mission. They say, but you know!

The early Christian Church instructed their congregations not to spend their time on stories that are not true and on long lists of names in family histories. These things only bring arguments; they do not help God's work, which is done in faith. (1 Timothy 1:4)

Ok, so in view of this what should our response be? Basically, three things.

We must be aware of its potential for harm but also for a witness of personal faith. Strange as it seems spiritual seekers will read the book or attend the movie because they are seeking truth.

Secondly, we must educate ourselves on it. Anyone not wishing to read the book or see the movie to be informed can click into www.discussdavinci.com or www.haventoday.org/archives.php for necessary information.

A charge put forth in the book is that the Church suppressed people, especially women. While the Church hasn't always mirrored or modelled its Founder, Jesus Christ, the closer we come to the Gospels and early teachings we realize the value and importance that women played in church life.

People tend to be tribal, associating with those like us and avoiding those who are different. Jesus breaks down walls of tribalism. He brings into His church people who are different from each other. He brings Jews and Gentiles into the family of God. Jesus calls people from every racial and national background. Jesus calls women and men, boys and girls. Jesus calls rich and poor. Jesus calls people with different political convictions. Jesus shatters social barriers dividing us. The church isn't an elite social club but a spiritual fellowship.

Lastly, we need to learn and actively engage our culture, the world of the uninterested, the seeker and the deceived. Some seek to engage through boycotts. Our culture reacts first and foremost to the financial dollar or the lack thereof. This is legitimate. I believe it is morally, socially, and political correct to protest against the misinformation and assault on our beliefs (Acts 16) I appreciate the Muslim community standing with Christians and refusing to attend the movie.

At the same time, however, we must be careful not to think of the government as the protector and defender of the faith. In our multiculturalistic society which faith would that be? That could be a messy situation. And what Caesar gives Caesar can take away.

There is a danger of buying into the cult of victimology (always being the victim) and the belief that all justice and wisdom to settle disputes rests with the government. We should put no faith in secular institutions such as the courts and legislatures to preserve our religion.

In such matters there must be a balance.

We possess more powerful spiritual weapons than the law and politics, the power of prayer. Christians should use this opportunity to engage this phenomenon and explain the truth about their beliefs.

In engaging others we need to be intentional about our approach, sensitive with our words and knowledgeable about the topic. If we wish to be listened to we must listen too. We must learn to appreciate their interest in spiritual things even when they're unorthodox, and encourage the aspects of it that can lead back to orthodox Christian faith One of the core reasons for the wild popularity of The Da Vinci Code is spiritual seeking.

In whatever form we engage our culture it must always be in the power of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is given to enable and empower us to effectively engage our culture. He is with us in this task. He lives within transforming us into Christ's image and witness. He endues us with God's power to effect change around us.

The early Christians didn't have modern media conveniences but they engaged their culture and their world and changed it with the power of the life-giving Gospel. We can do the same. We can do no less.

2006-05-20T14:58:00.000-07:00

THE DA VINCI CODE, based on the bestseller novel, opened May 19/06 in theaters worldwide. People do have a thirst for conspiracy theories and the controversial so while movie critics are calling it a dud I imagine the lines will stretch down the block awhile until the novelty wanes.

I will not be one of them. Nor do I intend to read the book. It isn't the kind of detective mystery that interests me. And I can find better use for my time and money. I have read much and listened to many interviews and therefore feel I can write about it with some knowledge and conviction.

Movies and books have a way of molding our thinking. Is what's presented true, not just the facts but the ideas underlying the fiction that is told as true? In Dan Brown's doublespeak he claims it to be fiction and yet repeatedly attests to its factual and historical authenticity. Scholars and historians of notable worth debunk his claim as baseless and inaccurate. It is a covert attempt to rewrite history, to reinvent Jesus Christ.

History cannot be rewritten; nor can the life of Jesus. What has been is! One can better understand history but it cannot be altered. I have no problem coming to a better understanding of Jesus Christ, who he was, what he did, and his influence upon the world today. We can discuss and debate but some things have inalienable rights to its historicity.

Because of Brown's desire to rewrite the past and recreate Jesus into a more palpable image I find such undertakings unprofessional, scandalous, blasphemous, and sacrilegious. Countless seekers will unknowingly and unwittingly buy into this line of lies on the assumption that Dan Brown is credible, which he isn't.

This is my concern. And it is to these truth seekers that I address my comments.

The Da Vinci Code is an unusual brew of a little bit of true and a lot of falsehood. Presented as a novel it contains statements as fact. We need to recognize that just because some of the statements are true not everything is true. There are a lot of errors. It is based on unhistorical assertions, falsehood, and in some cases manufactured and fraudulent documents.

While purporting to be a novel it does claim to be communicating truth. That is just not true. Spiritual opinions are being changed by it. A recent poll indicate that 1 out of every 3 Canadians has bought into what it teaches. Two million Americans had their beliefs about Jesus changed by it. Two-thirds of people in England who read the book now believe that Jesus and Mary Magdalene fathered a child.

And this is the real danger. It isn't so much about the novel or movie. It's the anti-Christ, anti-Christian, view of Jesus Christ that is being portrayed that is the crux of the matter. It isn't about coming up with theories on Jesus. It is discovering the real Jesus, the Jesus of history, the Jesus of faith, the One who holds the keys of life and death. Faith is taking a step in the direction where the evidence points.

To know more about Jesus please read my other postings. And because of the scope of Da Vinci I invite you to link into www.discussdavinci.com and www.haventoday.org/archives.php

Six things you should know before reading the book or seeing the movie are:

* Dan Brown's portrayal of the Church's understanding of women is wrong. The Church didn't do a smear campaign against women.
* His portrayal of the Church's understanding of sex is wrong. The Church did not demonize sex.
* His portrayal of Jesus as not divine, a later invention of the Church, and His alleged marriage, is wrong. There's no evidence in the New Testament, the Church Fathers, or even the Gnostic writings for such an idea.
* His portrayal of the Church is wrong, as the oppressor of people's histories.
* His view of how the New Testament came together, in the 4th century under Constantine, is wrong.
* His definition of God is wrong. Scripturally God is transcendent, being above and beyond with His personality. Brown has Him within ourselves, within the created order; a Pagan origin, the worship of Mother Earth.

Even his art history concerning Leonardo da Vinci is dead wrong.

We need to change wrong thinking shaped by a work of fiction. I hope these things will help you through the confusion into the light of day.

2006-05-05T10:04:00.000-07:00

The Gospel of Judas: A Plea for Some Sanity ...

The news wires have been buzzing these last weeks with racy headlines announcing the newly published Gospel of Judas. Various members of the academy have chimed in. Bart Ehrmann declares it to be “one of the greatest historical discoveries of the twentieth century.” Another noted scholar Elaine Pagels triumphantly declares that it “explodes the myth of a monolithic religion, demonstrating how diverse and fascinating the early Xn (Christian) movement was.”

For those who have not heard, this gospel relates a purported secret conversation between Jesus and Judas during the last three days of the Passion Week. The juicy bit is actually just one line toward the very end where Jesus instructs Judas to betray him so that his eternal spirit can be freed from his mortal body.

Coming hard on the heels of The DaVinci code, for some the Gospel of Judas raises new
questions - did Jesus collude with Judas? - and presses old ones - was Judas really the bad guy, are the canonical gospels reliable, and is Christian orthodoxy merely a later suppression of an early, free-thinking carnival of ideas?

To put the headlines in perspective, I’d like to say some things about the actual content of GJu (Gospel of Judas) and then to reflect on what this document does and does not tell us.

First, the content. Even though we have about 3000 words of text, as with most ancient documents the manuscript is fragmentary. There are places where the text simply drops out.

In general outline, GJu begins by telling us that it is a secret account of the revelation Jesus gave to Judas three days before his (Jesus’) death on Passover. It next recounts a conversation Jesus had with the twelve, but they are obtuse, work for “the other god,” and blaspheme Jesus in their hearts. Sensing Judas’ special spiritual sensitivity, Jesus separates him from the others and offers an enigmatic hint of his future superiority over the other disciples. Jesus then disappears
(apparently to another realm).

On his return, the disciples tell him of a vision they had about the Temple, which he interprets and which again reflects poorly on them. At this point, about half way through the document, Jesus focuses on Judas and launches into an extended Gnostic speculation on the cosmos which continues almost to the end when he reveals his unique plan for Judas.

The Gnostics were a diverse array of second century AD groups with an even more bewildering variety of doctrines which makes it very difficult to isolate any definitive body of teaching. Essentially these elitist groups believed the physical world and hence the body were inherently evil, and only the purified spirit good. This created something of a problem given that Genesis says God called creation good.

In order to get around this and to separate the transcendent God (or, better perhaps, Good Spirit) from evil matter, the Gnostics proposed the existence of a complex hierarchy of emanations - imagine the waves of a radio transmitter with the transcendent Good Spirit at the centre — which became more and more distorted the further they were from their origin.

Far down the emanation chain came a lesser ignorant deity called the Demiurge, whom they often associated with the God of the Old Testament, who created matter and so caused the pure human spirit to become trapped in the prison of the material body.

They were elitist because they believed that only a few specially enlightened people would eventually be saved. Most people, including most Christians, were too dull to gain the necessary insight. Finally, their Jesus was sardonic and escapist. More concerned with abandoning this world than transforming it, he is detached, clever, and self-absorbed. He is hardly to be confused with the canonical gospels’ Jesus who envisaged heaven on earth and a new humanity predicated on an inclusive love of not only one’s neighbor but one’s enemies.

It is not hard to see why the early shepherds (bishops) of the church strongly opposed the Gnostics. Israel’s God was not to be divorced from Jesus, nor Israel’s scriptures from what God had done in him. Creation is good and Jesus’ healing of bodies shows that they too are to be valued, as does Jesus’ own bodily resurrection.

Finally, the entire ancient world was built on a crushing elitism. Early Christian belief undermined this since in Christ there was no longer Jew nor Gentile, male nor female, slave nor free. In what was a scandalous claim at the time, they held that everyone had equal status before him. In denying that Christ’s death was sufficient for all the Gnostics were simply reintroducing the old pagan hierarchical elitism.

In this particular document one finds then the characteristic fantastic references to emanations, aeons, clouds, and various beings fanning out from the one to four, then twelve, 24, 32, and finally 360, along with references to variously named angels, etc. There is also a strong animosity toward the disciples — they blaspheme Jesus in their hearts and they serve the other god - whereas, in true elitist form, Judas alone reflects on exalted things. And one meets the same superior, slightly mocking, and disengaged Jesus.

Only toward the very end does one get the one line that has created this no small stir: “But you will exceed all of them. For you will sacrifice the man that clothes me.” That is, you will release me from my body. Judas then enters a luminous cloud (his own transfiguration experience?) and hears a voice (all this purportedly happening by the way during the last three days of the Passion week). There’s another gap in the text (about five lines) and then Judas is in the temple and accepts money in return for information on Jesus’ whereabouts.

The point is not hard to see. Judas, far from being a traitor, was Jesus’ closest confidant and ally, and as such had the special task of betraying him so that he could be released from his body. In other words, Judas (and those who like him are “in the know”) alone of Jesus’ followers is the truly enlightened one (and all those thousands of ordinary Christians who follow the other disciples are not).

What can we say about all this? First, the reports are right in that GJu is indeed a truly ancient document. But based on well-established parallels, the developed nature of its cosmic speculations clearly indicates that GJu belongs to the second century. Indeed, the hostility toward the twelve and the rehabilitation of Judas helps us be even more precise. This fits well with a particular sect of Gnosticism known as the Cainites who sought to turn Cain, the people of Sodom, Esau, and Korah (who led the wilderness rebellion) into heroes.

Irenaeus, a second century church father who steadfastly opposed the Gnostics, apparently refers to GJu and so this discovery also corroborates his accuracy. So it is old, but, and this is crucial, it is certainly not as old as the first century canonical gospels.

It also further illustrates the diversity of “Christian” belief from this period. But this hardly justifies Ehrmann’s and Pagel’s sensationalist claims. Anyone who has read the church fathers already knows about this diversity and the fathers have been around for 1800 years. What happened was that in the middle of last century scholars found ancient copies of the documents to which the fathers refer: primary evidence that these groups existed. So what is new is certainly not “diversity.”

What’s new is this particular copy of a Gnostic document. But we’ve already found numbers of them before so most of what GJu says, apart from the comments about Judas, is largely ho hum. In this sense there was and is “no myth of a monolithic religion” in the second century to be exploded. We have known about it for a long time.

So why the fuss? First, Ehrmann and Pagels, by reading this second century diversity back into the first, want to suggest that the idea of a common core of orthodox belief in the first century is a fiction imposed later by a hierarchical church. In other words the unity of the New Testament is the result of a conspiracy (enter the equally Gnostic-like speculations of The DaVinci Code, which apparently 17% of Canadians take to be largely true). Second, for others, GJu offers a more accurate account of what happened before Jesus’ death and so rehabilitates Judas.

But one can no more read back second century evidence into the first than one can read the twentieth century use of “gay” to mean sexual orientation back into nineteenth century reports of “gay” times at church picnics. Since the only concrete evidence for this kind of diversity is from the second century, the simplest and therefore most likely best explanation is that as the church expanded geographically and attracted more people the greater the potential of various fringe groups forming outside the mainstream.

In other words, GJu is only evidence of growing diversity away from a core first century tradition, not of an initial first century diversity. As perhaps the premier North American sociologist of religion Rodney Stark has pointed out, when the first century church father Ignatius took his long walk to Rome and martyrdom, the fact that he was well received at a host of small Xn communities along the way suggests they shared a common conception of their faith.

Ehrmann and Pagels are engaging in wishful thinking - and as scholars they really ought to know better (and frankly we all end up getting tarred with the same sensationalist brush). There was no conspiracy and there is no myth to be exploded.

Finally, does GJu tell us anything about what really happened? Almost certainly not. The wild disembodied speculations of the group who created GJu do not inspire confidence. Would you buy a used chariot from these people?

If there was a highly secret conversation between the uniquely enlightened Judas and Jesus, both of whom died very soon afterward, to whom was this story told and how was it passed on? Some might suggest that Judas related it to his friends and family in his last hours. But if Jesus did not share this secret teaching with the twelve whom he had chosen to be with him for nearly three years, why would Judas just a few days or hours later share it with even more unenlightened outsiders like his family or friends?

Further, if Judas truly was the uniquely enlightened figure GJu suggests and if he was acting directly on Jesus’ instructions, why would he commit suicide just a few hours later (assuming of course that he did and did not end up marrying Mary Magdalene’s cousin before heading to India where he and Jesus spent the rest of their days constructing hidden clues for Dan Brown to discover)? All he had to do was wait for the resurrection when Jesus could have explained everything to the other disciples.

But perhaps the biggest question is this. If all Jesus needed was to be freed from his mortal body, why use Judas? Why not just hand himself over or throw himself sans angels from the Temple (as in the Temptation)? Why the charade of a betrayal at all? Indeed, just how reasonable is it to suppose that after spending three years with Jesus the only one of his followers who really knew what was going on was Judas? Not very.

A friend of mine who works with Revenue Canada at a border crossing once told me that the fundamental assumption in his job is that “the truth is bottomless.” No matter how many questions you ask, the answers will fit. Clearly this is not the case with GJu. Even a few simple questions like these see the whole thing begin to unravel. Everything suggests that this is a later, somewhat clumsy, attempt by an fringe group to rewrite a well-entrenched betrayal tradition to fit their own particular elitist agenda.

So yes, GJu is a new and interesting discovery for students of an aberrant and marginal second century group. But I suspect that once the circus has left town, more sober minds will see the present media brouhaha for what it is: a great deal of overblown fuss about a mildly interesting curiosity. Perhaps the more interesting question, at least for me as a member of the academy, is why do scholars who really ought to know better behave in this way? Would you buy a used car from them?

Rikk Watts, BSc (hons), MA (summa), MDiv (summa), PhD (Cambridge University)
Assoc. Prof. NT at Regent College, NT.
Good Friday, April 14, 2006.

2006-05-01T14:02:00.000-07:00

THE DAY GOD REWROTE MY LIFE STORY I BEGAN A NEW LIFE .... I met and had an experience with God. No, I'm not a poached egg. Neither is my experience self or drug induced. And it has nothing to do with New Age philosophy. My spiritual encounter is real and life changing and life affirming. It wasn't of my initiation; it was all of God who is and became knowable.

Perhaps I should backtrack a little.

I am the last of five children born to farm parents at Quill Lake, Sask. Father was a German Lutheran. Mother, a Ukrainian Catholic. Because of the language and religious barriers we learned English and didn't attend church. We learned the value of family, hard work, and good times together. We attended a one room schoolhouse with a pot-bellied stove. This would play a significant role in our lives.

However, soon after my birth it was discovered I had cerebral palsy, affecting my walking and speech; something I bear to this day. I wasn't isolated though and partook of a regular life. My parents sought help from the best of medical science. They also contacted spiritualists and other forms of spiritual healing both for myself and mother's asthmatic attacks. For several years I was at a rehabilitation hospital in Regina, Sask.; this was a painful experience for me as a young boy being separated from family. Travel wasn't as accessible as it is today so I didn't get home regularly.

A Christian schoolteacher was hired for our district and it was from her that we were first exposed to the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Friends invited mother and me to a healing crusade in Prince Albert where mother was converted and healed. She began praying for her family. When a travelling evangelist was invited into our area several family members made decisions for Christ. I was hospitalized during this time so did not have direct contact with the Gospel; mine was more of a mental assent to the faith rather than a living faith.

That was to change. As new believers in Christ my family took every opportunity to attend church; the closest being, at the time, Saskatoon, a 2 1/2 hour drive. One summer day the decision was made to go there. I was home again and, quite reluctantly, went along.

While waiting in the back seat of our 1959 VW for the rest to come to make the long trip something strange but miraculous began to take place. I do not know what was on my mind but I wasn't in the mood for the trip Suddenly, without warning and anticipation on my part, the presence of Jesus Christ came into and filled the back seat of the 'Bug'.

In an instance I was absorbed by it and in it. I cannot explain it but this living Presence enveloped me and I felt happy, free, forgiven, and given a purpose for life. In that moment it was Jesus and me. I felt Him. I knew Him and He knew me. I wanted Him for all time and He wanted me for all time. I loved Him and He loved me. Jesus became a Person to me. And for the first time I felt like a real person. I mattered. I was someone. He cared about me.

I was different. I wanted MORE OF JESUS. I read the little white Bible Mother gave me. I talked with God in prayer and God talked with me.. Church was exciting, fresh, and new every time. We, as a family, was baptized in water, taking on the name of Jesus for our lives. I was also filled with the Holy Spirit, speaking in a heavenly language.

I'm grateful to the Lord Jesus Christ, for who He is and what He has done for and in me. I'm very passionate for the Cross and the Resurrection, the one event that changed the face of history and has the power to change the life and direction of every individual as it has mine. I'm thankful that God is now my heavenly Father; we are friends and I am, really am, His child. Also, the Holy Spirit has come to be with me; His residence is now in me and He empowers me to live and serve. He, to me, is the equilibrium to my life.

Over the years I've grown and developed as a Christian. There are things I'm unable to do so I've honed my reading and writing skills. I completed my education through correspondence and GED, along with several Bible courses. I live independently in Regina. In 1979 I received my driver's license and drive a wheelchair equipped van. I enjoy going out to the farm every summer, helping where possible. My greatest joy is sharing my faith through speaking engagements as they arise but mainly through writing. I count it a privilege to tell you what the Lord has done for me for He is the living and good God. And I ask you to seriously consider Jesus Christ for your life and what He can do for you. Thank you.

2006-04-25T12:39:00.000-07:00

History or hoax?

The resurrection has been the cornerstone of the Christian faith for 2,000 years. Christians believe Jesus is the Son of God, and that His death and resurrection provide salvation for those who trust in Him. If it is all an elaborate hoax, it is among the most wicked and heartless ever devised. If it is true, however, it must be the most significant event in history.

Convicted without a proper trial or evidence, Jesus was crucified, a punishment reserved only for the worst criminals. According to the Bible, death could not keep Jesus in the grave. After three days, He rose again. What really happened? Let's look at the facts of the case, CSI-style. The following theories, devised by sceptics, can all be refuted by an analysis of the crime scene.

The swoon theory

Sceptics have suggested that Jesus did not really die, but only fainted from exhaustion. Mistaken for dead, Jesus was buried and revived in the coolness of the tomb.

Problem: This theory ignores the circumstances surrounding Jesus' death. Crucifixion was the cruellest form of punishment—designed to inflict maximum suffering and result in certain death. To survive being beaten, whipped, nailed to the cross and speared through the heart, would be a bigger miracle than the resurrection.

It is unthinkable that a man in Jesus' condition could have ripped through the grave clothes, pushed aside the enormous stone blocking the tomb's entrance and fought off the guards. John, the disciple, records how the grave clothes (see John 20:5-7) lay undisturbed, exactly as they had been when around the body of Christ.

Even if Jesus had wriggled out of His bandages, He could not have appeared to His disciples without weeks of recuperation. But the Bible records that He walked seven miles with them on the Emmaus road. One look a Jesus convinced the disciples that He had conquered death.

The hallucination theory

What if Jesus' post-resurrection appearances were hallucinations? Perhaps the disciples were so disoriented by their grief that they imagined His return.

Problem: At one time, 500 people saw the risen Christ (see 1 Corinthians 15:6). Could so many people have had the same hallucination? Psychologists suggest that only paranoid schizophrenics have hallucinations. But Christ's appearances were not restricted to people of any particular psychological makeup.

Jesus' disciples were reluctant to believe in the resurrection. Hallucinations usually occur in a spirit of hopeful anticipation. According to Scripture, however, Jesus' followers felt disheartened. They forsook Jesus and fled (see Mark 14:50). On the road to Emmaus they lamented: "We had hoped that He was the one who was going to redeem Israel … " (Luke 24:21). The resurrection must have been more than wishful thinking to have inspired such a dejected lot.

The impersonation theory

This theory suggests that someone impersonating Christ made those appearances. This is evident, opponents say, because some people did not recognize Jesus at first.

No one could duplicate this miraculous act except the resurrected Christ.

Problem: The disciples had spent years studying with Jesus — they ate, taught, slept and travelled together. Even a master of disguise couldn't have fooled them. The disciple Thomas was so doubtful about the resurrection that he refused to believe until he put his hand into Jesus' wounds (see John 20:24-25).

When Jesus appeared to His disciples, they were gathered together in a locked room (see John 20:19). No one could duplicate this miraculous act except the resurrected Christ. Admittedly, the disciples sometimes had trouble recognizing Him. But this was a phenomenon of Jesus' glorified body, brought about for His own purposes: "They were kept from recognizing Him" (Luke 24:16).

The spiritual theory

Some believe Christ's resurrection was not physical, but spiritual — His body stayed in the grave and the biblical account is a metaphor for spiritual resurrection.

Problem: It's a historical fact that Christ's physical body disappeared from the tomb. If the enemies of Christ wanted to disprove the resurrection, why didn't they simply produce the body?

Jesus invited the disciples to touch His physical body and He even ate with them (see Luke 24:39; John 21: 12). The Apostle Paul stressed that without a bodily resurrection " … our preaching is useless and so is your faith" (1 Corinthians 15:14), for faithful Christians have been promised the same "spiritual bodies" when they die. Although Jesus' resurrected body had unique capacities—He could pass through solid objects and appear at will (see John 20:19) — it was also a physical body of flesh and bone.

The theft theory

This theory purports that the disciples stole the body and claimed that Jesus rose from the dead. This rumour was spread by the Jewish authorities who wanted to keep Christ's resurrection a secret (see Matthew 28:11-15).

Problem: The Jewish leaders had actually requested a Roman guard to protect the tomb against theft (see Matthew 27:63-66). The soldiers who kept watch over Jesus' body would have guarded it with their lives. The likelihood of the Galilean disciples stealing the body of Jesus out from under the noses of highly disciplined and skilled Roman soldiers while they slept (an offence punishable by death) is remote.

The tomb was also sealed with a large rock, which would have taken many men to move. The women who discovered the empty tomb when they went early Sunday morning to finish the burial preparations marvelled that the rock had already been removed (see Mark 16:3-4).

The most important evidence is the growth of the early Church. The frightened disciples, who were ready to throw away all they had believed, were transformed by their encounter with the resurrected Jesus. They went from a dejected, disorganized group to a confident mission of whom many were beaten, stoned to death, thrown to the lions, tortured and crucified. No one would die for something they knew to be a lie. They must have been convinced of the truth of the risen Christ.

Body of evidence

How do you evaluate this overwhelming evidence? What is your decision about the fact of Christ's empty tomb? The fictional detective Sherlock Holmes remarked: "When you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth." Although it seems improbable, the evidence points to the fact that Jesus rose from the grave.

What difference does it make? By His resurrection, Jesus conquered sin and death, and opened the way for a relationship with God. Only Jesus can offer us forgiveness, joy and peace. The Bible promises those who believe in Christ will also be resurrected to spend eternity with God (see 1 Corinthians 6:14). The resurrection is our reason for hope. This Easter, celebrate the resurrected Christ. The evidence is impossible to ignore.

Written by Geoff Moulton, a writer based in Toronto. Used by permission. Originally published in Faith & Friends. Posted on www.christianity.ca April 2006.

2006-04-25T10:35:00.000-07:00

Choices. We make choices from the day we were born:

Where can I go to escape the pain of the past? How can I manage the pressures of the present? Is there freedom from the pessimism about the future? Where do I find security? For my friends, and the world at large? We each are aware of our own pain, life pressures, insecurities, and fears.

I am still in a reflective mood about the message of the Cross of Easter; its life is on-going.

I've been intrigued lately by a scripture that concludes the trial of Jesus.

So Pilate released Barabbas to them. He ordered Jesus flogged with a lead-tipped whip, then turned him over to the Roman soldiers to crucify him. (Matthew 27:26)

It was the Jewish custom to free a prisoner - any prisoner - during Passover. The day had come. And there were two to choose from:

1) Barabbas, or as some manuscripts read, Jesus Barabbas
2) Jesus who is called the Messiah (Christ)

Pilate had a choice; so do we.

A simple choice, yet one that held eternity in his hands.

The names strike me - Jesus Barabbas and Jesus Christ.

Both bearing the names of Jesus ... same but so different!

And I guess that's our first choice, Which Jesus do we want? A counterfeit or the true Jesus? There''s plenty of false Christs being presented today, promising everything but delivering little, just enough to keep us from the real thing. Then there are distortions of Christ built on lies and misinformation. But there is, really, only one Jesus that fits and fills the bill, required by God and adequate for our needs. We must be discerning between the true and the false.

The Jesus of The Da Vinci Code, The Gospel of Judas, and The Jesus Papers is not the true Jesus Christ. Listen: there is more documented scholarly evidence for the New Testament Jesus than for Julius Caesar. And yet no one is denying the authenticity of that J.C. There's something so unsettling about Jesus, about His claims, that we wish to reinvent Him. But in passing judgment upon Jesus we, like Pilate, judge ourselves.

Pilate had a choice; there was a fork in his path. He took the wrong turn, caving in to high-pressure tactics and popular opinion. And the consequences of his decision changed the course of history, and also for himself personally. He tried to wash himself of Christ but could not. Ideas have consequences.

Pilate released Barabbas. Barabbas was an insurgent, a murderer; in short, a terrorist. His destiny was the Third cross. But Jesus, the innocent, took his place and Barabbas, the guilty, went free. Jesus was substituted for the sinner. In theological terms that's known as substitutionary atonement.

While this scene was being played out in the physical it is also the stage on which the drama of the ages played out - the drama of Christ's victory over sin, death, hell and Satan. Yes, Jesus was doing the work of saving me and you by becoming our substitutionary atonement.

Saving us, what does that mean? Remember 911?. Many perished, others were rescued. The Tsunami? Thousands died, others were helped to safety. Katrina? In the midst of destruction, hope. Flood waters? Someone came in compassion and rescued, saved, giving hope. On a worldwide scale Jesus gave Himself to save everyone who believes from physical, spiritual, and eternal death. The sword of Damocles hangs over our heads.

Barabbas lived to see another day. Jesus died to create a new dawn of grace. I wonder how Barabbas lived thereafter - for himself or in gratitude?

So much could be said but let''s hurry on.

He ordered Jesus flogged with a lead-tipped whip. Other translations/versions say: beaten with whips or scourged.

The irony of this is that the Creator is at the mercy of the created, and the result of the flogging, beating, mocking, abuse, produced an unrecognizable and unimaginable mass of flesh for a human. "His appearance was so changed he did not look like a man; his form was changed so much they could barely tell he was human." (Isaiah 52:14 NCV)

The ferociousness with which the torture was carried out was so ghastly and far-reaching that it became an enactment of all the venomous hatred directed toward God throughout human history, from beginning to end. It was as if every person stood there beating on Him, getting even with Him for all time and for all the times we thought He failed or disappointed us, or didn't fulfill our desires, or wasn't there when we needed Him, or intruded into our space. Hit Him. Hit Him again. Again, for me. Away with Him. Crucify Him. He isn't worthy of my allegiance.

"Then turned him over to the Roman soldiers to crucify him." Or, handed Him, released Him. Jesus was released for crucifixion to the powers of Rome, Judaism, and Greek culture; his death signature was written over the cross in the three main languages of the day, Hebrew, Latin and Greek. Jesus was releasing Himself to the torture and death of the cross as the Saviour of the world. Jesus was given to die for our sins, and he was raised from the dead to make us right with God. (Romans.4:25) When mankind was doing his worst, God was doing His best!

Not only did Jesus die for mankind but also to redeem the institutions of government, religion and culture for God. He took it all to the cross that it all might belong to Him. And one day it shall.

The Cross has no walls, no boundaries. At the Cross God sees us in our depravity, lostness, and insecurity with love and value. At the Cross we can open our minds to the power of God, our hearts to the grace of God, our lives to the love of God. The Cross comes with wide doors. No one is bad enough to not come. No one is good enough to stay away. There is room yet for one.

If you use your mouth to say, "Jesus is Lord," and if you believe in your heart that God raised Jesus from the dead, you will be saved. (Romans 10:9)

Through the Cross we can stand corrected before God and in life.

Sing, O sing, of our Redeemer!

2006-04-25T10:18:00.000-07:00

On Good Friday I had the opportunity to attend The Passion produced by the Regina Apostolic Church, complete with live animals and ensemble. It ran for three days with solded out audiences. Not bad for the first attempt at such a huge undertaking. Viewing the play has a way of renewing the hope of the power and wonder of Passion Week. I so often get caught up with non-essentials.

Today being Easter Monday the events go on. As on the first Easter there are mixed emotions today as to what actually took place. One thing for sure, the followers of Jesus were not expecting a resurrection. The good thing about that is it could not have, therefore, been staged.

Consider their reactions: So the women left the tomb in a hurry, afraid and yet filled with joy ...
But the apostles thought that what the women said was nonsense, and they did not believe them.
When they saw him, they worshiped him, even though some of them doubted.

The bad thing is that Jesus had instructed and forewarned them of what would happen. It fell upon deaf ears. But then, how would a resurrection from crucifixion look like?

Yes, the range of emotions among friend and foe ran from low to high to everything in between; an emotional upheaval. No different from today whenever the claims of Jesus come up on radar. I suppose that's one reason why queer things such as The Gospel of Judas periodically pop up.

Twenty centuries after He first appeared, Jesus Christ remains as fascinating and compelling as ever. No other person has left so profound an impact on the course of human history. No other person has been so revered, so despised, so controversial.

We question everything about Jesus because, quite honestly, the answers has relevancy to our own lives and mortality. We seek to know about Jesus because in reality we are seeking ourselves. We want a reason for our living. For the disciples and friends of Jesus honest doubts led to honest faith. The hallmark of discovery came as Jesus revealed and opened their understanding of the Scriptures concerning Himself. It can be the same for us. For His committed enemies, well, they are still burrowing around tombstones.....

April is Cancer Month. Cancer has invaded every family or acquaintance. It strikes fear in us. But cancer is so limited in many ways. It cannot cripple love. It cannot shatter hope. It cannot corrupt faith. It cannot eat away peace. It cannot destroy confidence. It cannot kill friendship. It cannot shut out memories. It cannot silence courage. It cannot invade the soul. It cannot reduce eternal life. It cannot quench the human spirit. It cannot lessen the power of our own resurrection ... all because of the power of HIS Resurrection (Phil. 3:10)

I don't know whether we are that afraid of cancer or any other dreaded disease as much as we are of our own mortality, of dying and death, both unknowns. That's what frightens us most, the unknown. Though death threatens us from every side, we still know virtually nothing about it because we haven't been there. We can't get there to see what's in store, much less come back and tell about it.

Some people have reported near-death experiences .... a light at the end of a tunnel, a vision of a river, a stairway of light, or even talking with a spiritual being as in a dream. But near death is not the same as being dead. Jesus, however, has been there. He says, "Don't be afraid! I am the First and the Last. I am the living one who died. Look, I am alive forever and ever! And I hold the keys of death and the grave (Rev. 1:17,18). Yes, He hold the keys of death. He broke out of death's prison and took the keys with Him. Although some, like Lazarus (John 11), had died and come back, they didn't have the keys -- so they eventually died again.

Death also scares us because it interrupts our normal pattern of life, leaving many things unfinished. Of the young we say, "He still had so much to do" or "Her life is ended, not finished." The aged look back at missed opportunities, unmended relationships, and other shortcomings. Their lives may be over, but they don't seem finished.

Jesus died when He was finished with His mission. God created humankind to glorify Him and enjoy Him forever. But they fell into sin, their work unfinished. Jesus came to finish that work -- and more, to buy back all who believe in Him for eternal life. That gives hope.

Ultimately, that's what we all search for: HOPE. And Jesus inspires hope. That's why we -- and I -- keep coming back to Him, as noted above. We hope there is something to Him; even if it's a hope-so hope. Somehow, without Christ, life is incomplete; with Him, somehow all comes together to make a perfect and completed life.

Of hope Chuck Swindoll writes, "To hope is to anticipate. It is more than dreaming, however. It is possessing within ourselves an expectation that someday there will be the fulfillment of that desire. It will become a reality. Hope always looks to the future. It's always on tiptoes. It keeps us going. It makes a dismal today bearable because it promises a brighter tomorrow.."

Hope is vital to our daily walk through life.
Hope comes from the Holy Spirit of God.
Hope in God is eternal; hope in the things of this world is temporary.
Hope is meant to be shared.

So, where will we look for hope? It can be found in the faith we have, or lost, or rejected, or despised.

See ya again.

Easter

2006-04-13T10:39:00.000-07:00

Hello Everyone. I am a new blogger trying out the new 'digs'. I shall return ... in a moment. Hey, I've returned. I believe I'm going to enjoy blogging and I trust you'll enjoy reading and, in turn, sharing your perspectives. I created a profile too.

Today, on the Christian calendar, is Maundy, or Holy, Thursday. Lent has passed and we now enter and process the Passion and Resurrection of Jesus Christ and its significance for our lives here and now. Today is also the start of the Jewish Passover and ends April 20. In redemptive terms the Passion and Passover have similar roots and themes: the exodus out of slavery.

Easter derives from an old Germanic word meaning the dawn - a very early translation of the Hebrew word for Passover, pesha.

To my Christian and Jewish believers I say Shalom!

Before proceeding, what effect did Lent have on you? What importance does the Passion or Passover have for you, if any? At another time I'd like to share what made a believer out of me.

Anyway ....

I'd like to pose the question, Will the real Jesus please stand up?

What is your take on Jesus? Someone has accurately observed that we have tried to domesticate Jesus. We try to mold Him to our liking. Is that wise? Who is He really? Does our future really hinge on our belief or disbelief of Him? Everyone has an opinion.

The Da Vinci Code presents one. The Gospel of Judas, another. And The Jesus Papers, yet another. It seems that, particularly at these seasons of Christian faith, it's open season to either discover, to remold, or to discredit the claims of Jesus.

Dan Brown's Da Vinci Code, by his own admission, is written as a novel; yet it is taken, even by Brown himself, as factual. The Judas Gospel was written, it is claimed, in the 300's AD. Its authenticity is only in its being part of the historical record, but not in its content. Its content is, as one noted scholar on such matters puts it, gibberish.

Some of these 'gibberish' claims are: Jesus often appearing to the disciples as a child, ill feelings between Jesus and the 12 apostles, angels creating angels, and other story-like fantasies. These writings are based on Gnostic beliefs; beliefs rejected by early Church Leaders and knowledgeable scholars today.

The New Testament Gospels were all written soon after the events recorded, between 50 AD and 90 AD; in fact, the complete New Testament was written from 45 AD to 95 AD. Such early dates would give credence to the Gospels and Writings; many of the characters were still alive.

The Cross of Jesus Christ nails history together. Literally. The story of man, from its beginning to its present, is so varied and disconnected that it had to be nailed together to give it continuity. Ever since the nail was driven, the human story reads more smoothly. It connects all the scattered dots. There's an interrelatedness between the various parts. There's a reason. A rhythm. A purpose. A goal. The Cross connects BC and AD.

Tony Campolo writes, There is something great that you will never do unless you come to Jesus. There is something wonderful that God will never be able to accomplished through you until you surrender to His will. There is something of ultimate importance that God wants you to achieve for Him. I am convinced that God has a special mission for you to perform in His name.

And C. S. Lewis adds, A man who was merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher. He would either be a lunatic - on the level with the man who says he is a poached egg - or else he would be the Devil of Hell. You must make your choice. Either this man was, and is, the Son of God; or else a madman or something worse.

If these things be true, it does matter, really, where we come down on Jesus.

Well, this is the end of my first blog.

Happy Easter!