Origins Matter

“By faith we understand that the universe was formed at God’s command, so that what is seen was not made out of what was visible.”

—Hebrews 11:3—

There’s been a lot of media attention given to recent announcements in the general scientific community over “proof” of the Big Bang Theory’s reality (i.e., that everything began from matter and not from God).

The Bible clearly claims God’s creative power over everything:

• “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth” (Genesis 1:1).
• “By the word of the Lord the heavens were made, their starry host by the breath of his mouth” (Psalm 33:6).
• “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind” (John 1:1–4).

Obviously the above three passages do not comprise all of what the Bible says in addressing the reality of God’s creative power in speaking everything into existence. Too often we overlook the foundational principle of origins is—Where did we come from? Why are we here?—are both questions which everyone at some point is going to seek to know the answers; and those answers shape our understanding of nearly everything else.

The creative power of God is exactly what the apostle Paul began with when preaching about Jesus and the resurrection to people who knew nothing about the Bible (see Acts 17:18–31, specifically v 24).

Actually, these people believed in gods—as evidenced by all the idols they made—but Paul begins with them at the beginning! Again, the questions concerning mankind’s existence, and the beginning of all things—whether from matter which has always existed or God who has always existed—is foundational to everything else.

When I was public education I remember the gradual shift of the unacceptability and eventual disregard for God in the lab. I remember arguing (as much as any high school student could with a high school evolutionary professor) about the beginning of all things. Usually, I would end what I was trying to say with what the Bible said. To some degree, that has always been a problem to some: because they don’t care what the Bible says about anything at all (unless, of course, they’re quoting Matthew 7:1). He would come back to me about what science says. The problem is that the facts of scientific discovery never contradict the word of God! Now theories (such as the so-called Big Bang) do contradict God’s word; but again, the facts never have, and I truly expect that they never will.

The issue is not as much about origins as it is about authority: “The fool says in his heart, ‘There is no God’” (Psalm 14:1). But why does the fool say this? Is it because of facts presented? Or rather, because of an attitude that will not submit to God’s will and way? “The Atheist is the fool pre-eminently, and a fool universally. He would not deny God if he were not a fool by nature, and having denied God it is no marvel that he becomes a fool in practice” (Charles H. Spurgeon, The Treasury of David).

If there is no God, then there’s no Bible, and there’s no authority for anything about what we can and cannot be or do or think—in other words, there is no basis for any thought or act to be considered moral or immoral. Everything is morally neutral. And so you live and let live: tolerate everything. (Yes, this is ultimately all tied together.)

I realize some who call themselves Christians want to hold to God’s existence and simultaneously deny God’s creative power: which absolutely denies God’s full and real nature (Isaiah 45:5–12; Matthew 6:24). Remember, “Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. … By faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that the things which are seen were not made of things which are visible. … But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him” (Hebrews 11:1, 3, 6).

Faith begins with “In the beginning God …”

Keeping Our Lives Free From the Love of Money

Keep your life free from love of money, and be content with what you have, for he has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.” So we can confidently say, “The Lord is my helper; I will not fear; what can man do to me?” (Hebrews 13:5–6)

We live in a different time in which economic competition is no longer limited to our neighbors, but has expanded to the great unknown of those we watch on television. We no longer keep up with the proverbial Joneses; rather, we try to keep up with advertisers’ ideas of what will make us happy and fulfilled. And the key, of course, has to do with purchasing what they are selling!

But it’s not just advertising which may cause us to want more. Reality TV sometimes is all about more: I enjoy watching Velocity Channel, and they have different shows about rare and iconic cars. One show was about a gentleman who wanted to buy a vintage Aston Martin race car from the 1960s. The car was so rare that it had a purchase price over three million dollars! He bought the car, but not before dickering over $20,000. To settle it, the two men played a game of ping pong!

On DIY TV (Do-it-yourself) they have reality shows all about people upgrading their bathrooms or kitchens; and sometimes the prices for their upgrades go into the $100,000 range. It is stunning how much people are willing to spend to be happy and fulfilled … in a bathroom. Time to turn off the TV because the more we watch the more we are tempted to think their way.

It’s easier to be critical when we don’t have as much to spend on upgrading our homes, but we may very well be trapped by the same spirit of greed. The apostle Paul warns us, as he warned Timothy,

But godliness with contentment is great gain, for we brought nothing into the world, and we cannot take anything out of the world. But if we have food and clothing, with these we will be content. But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation, into a snare, into many senseless and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evils. It is through this craving that some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pangs. But as for you, O man of God, flee these things. Pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, steadfastness, gentleness (1 Timothy 6:6–11).

Jesus said, “No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money [So why do we sometimes try?]. Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? … But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble” (Matthew 6:24–25, 33–34).

In what we call the model prayer, Jesus taught us to have a “daily bread” attitude: “Give us each day our daily bread” (Luke 11:3). This is an easier attitude to adopt when we don’t have much and therefore depend more on God for necessities (Psalm 37:25); but when our attitude is tied to things, we won’t depend on God the way we should (Hebrews 13:5–6).

We all have wants: and to be clear wants are desires for different (i.e., new to us) or brand new things. The problem is not having wants, but having those wants become what we think about all the time. “For by what a man is overcome, by this he is enslaved” (2 Peter 2:19).

Contentment is the key. And contentment is learned—“Not that I speak from want; for I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I am. I know how to get along with humble means, and I also know how to live in prosperity … I can do all things through Him who strengthens me (Philippians 4:11–13). The more we allow the Lord to be in our lives, the less we will depend on things to fulfill us. The opposite is also true: the less we allow the Lord to be in our lives, the more we will depend on things to make us happy (the void will be filled by something). We all have needs, but we shouldn’t allow wants to rule our thoughts and motivations.

The Ides of March

Today marks my paternal grandparents' wedding anniversary. If they were alive, they would be celebrating; but now the date serves to mark a clear memory for me: what marriage is supposed to be.

My grandparents were not perfect people, but they were sincerely trying to be good: to one another, and to everyone else -- they were very well known and recognized for the generous hospitality through the years.

I remember times here and there when my grandfather would kinda punch me in the arm and ask me to "Look at that: the most beautiful woman in the world!" Since my grandmother's hearing wasn't the best (she would never ever have acknowledged that) I am more certain he was trying to impress me more than her. As I married, I'd argue with him over that point of who was the most beautiful woman in the world.

I cherish the memory of my grandparents because that's all I have now (except when I'm around Dad: he seems to conjure them in things he says and does).

They loved each other dearly, and I truly hope to be married to Cindy as long as they were married … and just as in love.

Self-Control

Homosexuality is not modern. It’s been around for a very long time. Some suggest that it is because of homosexuality that God destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah and the surrounding towns. “Now the men of Sodom were wicked, great sinners against the Lord” (Genesis 13:13).

And the angels who did not stay within their own position of authority, but left their proper dwelling, [God] has kept in eternal chains under gloomy darkness until the judgment of the great day—just as Sodom and Gomorrah and the surrounding cities, which likewise indulged in sexual immorality and pursued unnatural desire, serve as an example by undergoing a punishment of eternal fire (Jude 6-7)

I know this is a volatile subject, but the only reason it is (in my opinion) is because people want to do what they want to do—and they don’t want to be told they’re wrong in wanting what they want.

·         Fat people don’t like hearing that they need to diet and exercise!

·         Lazy people don’t like hearing that they need to get off their butts and work!

·         Gossips don’t like hearing that they need to shut up!

·         Heterosexual fornicators don’t want to be told how they’re hurting people emotionally and that they need to stop “screwing around”—people continue living sexually unrestrained lives and will insist abortion is a right and don’t want to be told that murdering babies is horrific!

·         Adulterers don’t like hearing that they need to stop tearing up families and can’t marry the one they committed adultery with, thus legitimizing their behavior.

Yes, addictions are real, but too often people want to do what they know they shouldn’t because: THEY WANT TO DO IT!!!!!

Like Jeremiah’s day, the people didn’t know how to blush (Jeremiah 6:15; 8:12). This is one proof that people generally haven’t changed. In the book of Judges the conclusion is offered a few times that because there was no king, people did want they wanted no matter if it were well-pleasing to the Lord or not (Judges 17:6; 18:1; 19:1; 21:25). Their behavior made them happy, and that’s all that was needed.

The bottom line? We don’t like being told anything—which means we loathe authority. We’d rather go along the highways of life texting and drinking and speeding … and we’ll let anyone “have it” who’d actually try to stop us.

And … we don’t like self-control. We’d rather do what it is we want to do.

And THIS is the issue with regard to homosexuality. Immature thinkers don’t want to be told that they can’t do something: so they’re going to fight and scream until you leave them alone. And, yes, THIS is also the issue with regard to liars and gossips; baby murderers and whores.

Rejoice, O young man, in your youth, and let your heart cheer you in the days of your youth.
Walk in the ways of your heart and the sight of your eyes.
But know that for all these things God will bring you into judgment.

Ecclesiastes 11:9

I Will Live To Be 115

They say only the good die young. I am inclined to agree; therefore, I will live to be 115.

We met at camp. We were fourteen (born in the same year, but he was actually six months older, his 46th birthday would have been Sunday, February 9th). Looking back on it I don’t know how our friendship really began; it seems to have simply always been. We hit it off very quickly and were not merely fast friends, we were best friends.

Now this doesn’t mean we always got along; like brothers we sometimes fought, but unlike brothers we always forgave. I can honestly say this is one thing I have missed so much about him: quick and complete forgiveness. It’s not that nothing was remembered, it just wasn’t remembered well. I have enjoyed other friendships in life (I truly consider my wife of nearly 22 years my actual best friend ever). But it is important—at least I think it’s important—for a man to have another man as his best friend. And I miss that.

I know when he died a part of me (deep within) died too. I can’t explain it with words, I explain it best with the tears that flow freely from me eyes when I hear a song that reminds me of him, or just some silly something happens. There have only been a couple times when I literally tried calling him, realizing as I dialed that he could not answer.

I know he’d laugh at me for being such a slobbering dummy, but I would like to think he’d miss me if our places were reversed.

It’s not like we talked all the time; as friends we didn’t need to (we sometimes would go a couple months without one word being exchanged). But whenever we finally came around to calling or writing or talking face-to-face, we picked up where we left off. And he was always there for me, as I tried to be there for him.

It’s been a little more than four years, but sometimes it feels a lot longer, and sometimes it feels like it happened just yesterday: reminders of him are everywhere if I choose to stop and look. Pictures in my office, an original drawing, Diet Dew.

We don’t get over the tragic losses, we just try to get through them.

I am thankful he is a part of my life; yes, I miss him dearly; and yes, I gauge other friendships by the one he and I enjoyed. There is always the hope another unique relationship will present itself. And I imagine at times that—if and when we see one another again in heaven—he will ask me what took so long. And we will pick up right where we left off.

Truth Set Right

Sometimes I’ve heard people speak about Jesus that he turned the truth upside down. But quite honestly I think “truth” was already upside down, and Jesus came and turned it aright (Jn 8.32; 14.6), showing everyone what truth was all about; except most could not handle the truth (most of us prefer a version much more palatable to our own tastes). He “fixed” the broken truths people had come to know and accept.

For example, in what we call the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus addressed the Pharisees’ and scribes’ traditions against what God had commanded — “For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven” (Matt 5.20).

In Matthew 5.21-48 Jesus speaks against their self-righteousness by addressing about different things the people had come to learn and accept that were not entirely true. Murder is wrong, but being angry without cause is the root to murder and is equally wrong. Adultery is wrong, but lusting after someone with the intent to commit sexual immorality is equally wrong. Yes, we are to love our neighbors, but we’re also to be perfect as our heavenly Father is perfect and love our enemies (Rom 5.6-8). And if we are honest with ourselves then we’d admit how difficult that really is.

The heart is the heart of the matter (Mk 7.21-23). “For with the heart a person believes” (Rom 10.10). 

Divine Coercion

The following is copyrighted material. It is written by Philip Yancey and I recently came across it in his book Grace Notes: Daily Readings With A Fellow Pilgrim (2009). The article is from the entry for February 7 (it’s an annual reader). After reading it I considered putting his thoughts into my own words, but I would rather share what he wrote because it is both thought-provoking and well-written. Quite honestly, I wouldn’t do well with it.

Sometimes I believe we are professionals first who happen to be Christians rather than Christians first who happen to be professionals. Along that line of thought I would recommend a book written by John Piper entitled Brothers, We Are Not Professionals.

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Sometimes I wonder how Jesus would have fared in this day of mass media and high-tech ministry. I can’t picture him worrying about the details of running a large organization. I can’t see him letting some makeup artist improve his looks before a TV appearance. And I have a hard time imagining the fund-raising letters Jesus might write.

Investigative reporters on television like to do exposés of evangelists who claim powers of supernatural healing with little evidence to back them up. In direct contrast, Jesus, who had manifest supernatural powers, tended to down-play them. Seven times in Mark’s gospel he told a healed person, “Tell no one!” When crowds pressed around him, he fled to solitude, or rowed across a lake.

We sometimes use the term “savior complex” to describe an unhealthy syndrome of obsession over solving others’ problems. Ironically, the true Savior seemed remarkably free from such a complex. He had no compulsion to convert the entire world in his lifetime or to cure people who were not ready to be cured.

I never sense Jesus twisting a person’s arms. Rather, he stated the consequences of a choice, then threw the decision back to the other party. For example, he once answered a wealthy man’s question with uncompromising words, then let him walk away. Mark pointedly adds this comment about the man who rejected Jesus’ advice, “Jesus looked at him and loved him.”

In short, Jesus showed an incredible respect for human freedom. Those of us in ministry need the kind of “Savior complex” that Jesus demonstrated. As Elton Trueblood has observed, the major symbols of invitation that Jesus used had a severe, even offensive quality: the yoke of burden, the cup of suffering, the towel of servanthood. “Take up your cross and follow me,” he said, in the least manipulative invitation that has ever been given.