Category: Christian

The Thoughts of Many Hearts Revealed

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Young Jesus presented to Simeon at the Temple

“Then Simeon blessed them and said to Mary, his mother: ‘This child is destined to cause the falling and rising of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be spoken against, so that the thoughts of many hearts will be revealed.'” (Luke 2:34-35)

People tend to focus on the “Christmas story”, but this verse that follows the account of the birth of Jesus is significant, if not subtle, in its ramifications.

Simeon was a temple priest who entertained the rituals performed by Mary after Jesus was born. Luke says that it was revealed to Simeon by the Holy Spirit that Simeon would not die before he had seen the Messiah.

Devout Jews of the time were expecting a Messiah (“Christ” in Greek). Keep in mind that more than 300 years had passed since the last of the Old Testament prophets who foretold the Messiah. Simeon knew this baby was the One because the Holy Spirit had spoken to him!

Following an article I read recently, the author had a back and forth discussion with a reader about whether Jesus actually existed. The skeptic questioned the reliability of the Bible and did not believe that Jesus of Nazareth was an historical figure. Among other things, he questioned the lack of reference in First Century historical accounts sources external to the Bible of Jesus and the miracles that the Bible describes. The reader argued: if so many miraculous things really happened, wouldn’t everyone have heard about them and made mention of them in historical accounts?

Never mind that social media was late to arrive in First Century Galilee and CNN had not yet been picked up Jerusalem at that time. I wonder, though, even if social media and CNN existed, would you believe accounts of miracles if they were reported in India? Mexico? Montana? Would you have even give it a second thought if some fishermen, homeless people, or prostitutes claimed to be healed?

Of course, this question begs another question: Is the Bible an historical account? The “books” of the New Testament are written like historical accounts, especially the Gospels and the Book of Acts. The epistles (letters) also have historical significance.

Simeon is recorded as saying to Mary that the Christ child was “destined to cause the falling and rising of many in Israel”. Isn’t that what happened with Jesus, who only lived a short 30 some years? He caused quite a stir, and the stir even continues today, almost two millennia later.

Many continue to speak against Jesus today, just as Simeon said they would, which is an odd thing if Jesus was never an historical figure. The thoughts of many hearts are revealed if this Jesus really was God who came in the flesh to walk among us. He is the continental divide between those who are open to God and those who deny him.

But, what is the evidence that Jesus was an historical figure who claimed to be God in the flesh?

Continue reading “The Thoughts of Many Hearts Revealed” →

In Times of Trouble

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lightstock_62496_xsmall_user_7997290We have all been there. You have done your best, but your best is not good enough. Maybe you have not done your best, and now your best is not good enough to fix the mess you are in. Maybe your impossible circumstances are totally beyond your control.

The feeling of abject desperation is the same.

In those times, the temptation may be to withdraw, curl up and bury your head. Maybe the temptation is to beat yourself up, hang your head in despair and live in condemnation. Maybe the temptation is to throw up your hands, say it doesn’t matter anyway and drown your woes in alcohol or drugs. The options may seem dismal and dark.

But, this is a critical point! The last place we often want to turn is the first place we should go – down on our knees in prayer to the God who made us and loves us.

There you will find God greeting you, not with judgment, but with open arms. “For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.” (John 3:17)

You may not be able to see your way out of the predicament you are in, but God stands high above your predicament. He is also with you in your circumstances, and He is bigger than your circumstances

When you are trapped in a hopeless situation, or what seems hopeless to you at the time, when you cannot see your way out of the darkness and the world is caving in all around you, cry out to God. He hears you! (Psalm 18:6) The righteous are those who cry out to God in their distress (Psalm 34:17), and God will deliver you from your troubles!

We are not righteous because we are good; we are righteous because we cry out to God!

He may (or may not) deliver you from your circumstances, but He will deliver you from your troubles. That is the promise of God, and “God is not human, that he should lie, not a human being, that he should change his mind.” (Numbers 23:19)

When we go to God, we go to the Maker of the Heavens and the Earth, of all that is seen and unseen. When He makes a promise, He keeps his promise.

“Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! …. Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” (Phil. 4:4-7)

Rejoice always means to rejoice in every circumstance, good and bad. God is above all of our circumstances! When we are anxious, that is exactly the time for us to go to God in prayer. When we are anxious, we should petition God. With Thanksgiving, we should make our requests known to God. We should appeal to God in all of our troubles…. and the promise of God is peace for our troubled hearts!

In this verse, we are not promised deliverance from our circumstances, but we are promised peace – peace from our troubles!

“God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble.” (Psalm 46:1)

Sometimes God allows us to come to the end of ourselves, to a place where we are powerless (or feel powerless) to help ourselves, and in that place is where God does His most significant work in us. We simply need to turn to Him.

We can choose not to turn to God. We can go it alone. That is always our choice, but in turning to God we not only have ready help, peace that passes understanding and a deliverer from our troubles, we have a Savior – One who delivers us not only from our troubles but from ourselves and the sin that leads to death. When we turn to God, we have Life and, we have life more abundantly.

“The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.” John 10:10) The thief, the robber of our souls, is a condemner, an oppressor and a liar. When we feel desperate and hopeless, the thief is at your door.

Turn to God in your time of trouble; cry out to God, and then rejoice in God and His promises; pray to God – He will meet you where you are. That is His promise!

Dreamers and Dreams

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Super r\Ryan“‘Here comes that dreamer!'” Joseph’s brothers said. Joseph, the favorite son of Isaac, the son of Abraham, was handsome and gifted by God. Joseph’s brothers saw it and were jealous. There is a difference between a dreamer and one who has dreams.

You probably know the story of Joseph of Joseph in Genesis. His brothers sold him to a caravan on its way to Egypt. The caravan sold him again as a slave to Potiphar, captain of the palace guard of the Pharaoh. From slave to charge of the captain’s household, from falsely accused and imprisoned to the right hand man of the Pharaoh, Joseph’s life was a roller coaster of highs and lows.

Joseph was not a dreamer. He was gifted by God, and he was aware of God’s gifting. He was not shy about telling his brothers, but they were not a very receptive audience. They plotted to snuff out his gifting. Over many years, from the depths of despairing circumstances he rose to prominence; and through another cycle of desperate circumstances, he rose to greater prominence.

In those circumstances, Joseph was loyal, faithful and trustworthy. He was diligent and dependable. He was gifted, but his success grew out of the character that was forged in the difficult times. He was steady in the good times and the bad.

Joseph’s dreams were no pipedreams. Those dreams were not his fanciful musings; they were given by God. They took root and ripened in his heart, and the fruit became the character that others recognized in him . The character borne in the dreams that came from God, forged in the difficulty of his circumstances, were fulfilled in faithfulness to God.

When Joseph shared the dreams with his brothers, they was no reality, other than the gifting. Though Joseph experienced the dreams, the dreams were not yet evident in his life. Those dreams needed to take root in fertile soil. For Joseph, the dreams went through cycles of death and rebirth, growth and pruning back. From his father’s favor to a captive of the caravan; from captive to charge of the captain’s household; from charge of the captain’s household to imprisonment; from imprisonment to right hand to the Pharaoh.

If Joseph was just a dreamer, he would have not have risen above his circumstances. Those dreams that come from God must take root, be nurtured and grow. They need to be watered and nurtured. In the beginning, they are more real in one’s own heart than in the reality that others see. Others will undoubtedly minimize those dreams that God has given us, but we should treasure them nonetheless – and all the more as they come from God.

We do not know what form those seeds/dreams God has put in our hearts will take. As with the cycle of a seed that falls from a tree, we must go through death to those dreams, growing in character and pruning back. Our faithfulness, diligence and resilience in those times, staying true to the character that God desires to grow in us is the formula for turning dreams into reality. Joseph was tempted along the way, but he stayed true to his God. Staying true to God means not compromising what we know to be right and worthy.

Other people, even those closest to us, may not appreciate what God has placed deep within us. Whether our friends, family or neighbors see those things that God has shown us and placed in us is not at all important. We must not allow others to convince us to abandon the things God has given and placed within us. What God gives us is more real than all the criticisms and smirks of others.

Ultimately, the test of the dreams we have is their staying power. We might be tempted to abandon them, especially when others fail to see them. If we hold on to them and hold onto God, those dreams will bear fruit. The fruit is the character forged in the soil our circumstances. People may not see the dreams we see, but they will see the fruit in our character. Ultimately, the character is what God desires – being conformed to Christ is the goal of the dreams God gives us. The rest is just a natural outgrowth of dream that has grown into reality.

How Can a Loving God….?

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Sunscreen

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In 1 Samuel 15, God told King Saul to wipe out the Amalekites, every last one of them, and leave no survivors. The story is about Saul failing to follow God’s directions while claiming to have done so. He kept King Agab alive and allowed his men to save the best of the sheep and other animals. When Samuel, the prophet, asked, “What is this bleating of sheep I hear?” Saul blamed the men for his failure to obey God, but Saul was the one who did not obey God. That is how the story goes….

But, wait a minute! …. God told Saul to kill them… all of them. That sounds incredibly harsh. It sounds worse than harsh. Is God not supposed to be a loving God?

This is a pretty common question (a rhetorical one) posed by people who oppose Christianity and reject the Bible. “A loving God would not kill people,” they say. Since the Old Testament, in particular, depicts God in this way, the Bible cannot be true, the Christian God is fiction and the whole thing is bunk.

The unspoken sentiment behind that line of thinking is that “we” (humankind) have come a long way since primitive times. We have evolved past the Enlightenment into a modern scientific age in which we have superior moral and intellectual stature. We are the gods of our own world. We have thrown off superstitious belief in a tyrant God that stifles human potential in this post-enlightenment age.

But does history add up that way?

Continue reading “How Can a Loving God….?” →

Immigration: the Strangers Among Us

If Christians are to be instructed by the Word of God on immigration, what would that instruction be?

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In the wake of Obama’s executive orders on immigration and the outcry and fallout from it, I realized that I did not have a biblical framework on which to analyze the issues. I could not definitely say exactly what the Bible instructs us on the issue of immigration.

The Syrian refugee crisis at that time was much in the news, and I was conflicted by the many Christians urging our government not to allow Syrian refugees into the country. I was conflicted because I didn’t know what to think.

I realized that, as a Christian, I need to be instructed by the Word of God, and I wondered, “What would that instruction be?” Therefore, I took the time to study it, and the answer surprised me in its clarity.

Continue reading “Immigration: the Strangers Among Us” →