Beginning? Of What?

The graphic is enlarged detail from Michelangelo’s fresco Creation of Adam on the Sistine Chapel's ceiling. You may follow the link of you wish to see an artful work of fiction, according to the Bible. The biblical story of Adam’s creation follows what is given as “the beginning”:

In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. (Genesis 1:1 KJV)

Not until verse 26 do we read of man’s creation – the last of the created. There’s no description there of how it was done. The creation process is given in chapter 2:

And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul. (Genesis 2:7 KJV)

We know from Exodus 33:17-20 that no man can look upon the face of God, though Moses was given a glimpse of His glory. We know that Adam and Eve heard His voice:

And they heard the voice of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day: and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God amongst the trees of the garden. (Genesis 3:8 KJV)

If you read yesterday’s post, by now you are thinking, “She sure was wrong when she said it was the beginning!” Not hardly. There are always beginnings – and sometimes there is no end. God created a perfect earth, but sin entered, tempted, mankind gave in and there was a beginning of trouble as Adam and Eve realized they were guilty, and hid from God.

The crucifixion of Jesus, Christ, was supposed to be the end. The “princes” of this world thought it would be:

But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, even the hidden wisdom, which God ordained before the world unto our glory: Which none of the princes of this world knew: for had they known it, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory. (1 Corinthians 2:7-8 KJV)

Instead, it was the beginning of the most important, miraculous event God has given us – resurrection. Without the resurrection, we are lost:

But if there be no resurrection of the dead, then is Christ not risen: And if Christ be not risen, then is our preaching vain, and your faith is also vain. (1 Corinthians 15:13-14 KJV)

And we are foolish for believing what Jesus said:

Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live: And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die. Believest thou this? (John 11:25-26 KJV)

His death was absolutely necessary. His resurrection was known to Him. Because of that, we can answer that last question with, “Yes - Lord, I believe; help thou mine unbelief.” (see Mark 9:24 KJV)

Many do not believe – that God created heaven and earth; that God exists; that Jesus was resurrected; that we are loved enough to be offered heaven. So what.

For what if some did not believe? shall their unbelief make the faith of God without effect? (Romans 3:3 KJV)

My beliefs will never convince God anyone else belongs in heaven. That’s a choice we each make. Each one of us decides what God is – or isn’t. Each one of us makes the decision whether or not there is an eternity, even when the possibility of hell’s reality dangles with the question. Yes, God created hell – but He sends no one there. That is as personal a choice as accepting, in faith, His gift:

For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast. (Ephesians 2:8-9 KJV)

Have you made your choice? What did you begin?

“A Pretty Day”

“A Study In Scarlet” by James Greig (1861-1941)

A friend posted a Facebook request to share a “pretty day,” which can be difficult for people experiencing chronic diseases. The day I described was yesterday:

Yesterday was a pretty day - we had three missionary families visit our church. Each of the fathers gave a sermon and described their ministries in Thailand, South Korea and South Africa. After evening service, they and some families from our church went out for pizza and I sat with several girls, age 5 to 10 - one a missionary's child who spoke of her travels and life in Cameroon. It gives me hope for our world in generations growing up.

Yes – it was a pretty day! And the services were so uplifting. I took notes on all three sermons and will be incorporating them as I renew my commitment to sharing my Bible reading and Christian beliefs. A major resource for those two items is prayer.

Jesus gave us a model prayer that is easily remembered:

But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen do: for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking. Be not ye therefore like unto them: for your Father knoweth what things ye have need of, before ye ask him. After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen. (Matthew 6:7-13 KJV)

There’s a bit more before these verses that make for good reading, but I truly love knowing we need to pray from the heart, not simply repeat prayers – not even this one – and that God knows what we need before we pray. He doesn’t “need” for us to pray, but does require our obedience. Praying is essential, as is knowing what we are praying.

Our – a simple acknowledgement that we are not the only person reaching out to God.

Father – accepting that we are His children, responsible to see Him as our Creator. Without Him, we would not exist.

Which art in heaven – this is as important as knowing He is our Father since it entails belief in an eternal, spiritual, existence.

Hallowed be thy name – acknowledging that our Father in heaven is worthy of worship; that the angels before His throne crying “Holy, holy, holy” speak truth.

But Christians know all of this, and more. The question before us is whether we practice what we know, what we “preach.” I’ve been remiss in prayers, and in sharing His worthiness to be worshipped.

Oh, I’ve not missed most services since this blog stopped. What I’ve missed at church can be attributed to medicine – or the consequences of medicine. But that did not affect my ability to prayer nor my knowledge of subjects for prayer. I have continued to pray – for myself, for loved ones’ health issues, for friends with a variety of needs and for salvation for some loved ones who openly reject God and His Son. For their souls, that we might share eternity. Those are my most important prayers.

And, that is the most important message through this blog. It is the same message Paul preached two millennia ago:

But we preach Christ crucified, (1 Corinthians 1:23a KJV)

That’s just the beginning.

What Slipped?

Last Sunday we had a visiting preacher, Chesford Carr. You can pick up a couple of his sermons online. I won’t try to cover what he did Sunday morning – there was much more than I can fit into this space. Just know that we began in Hebrews and looked at several other verses.

The admonition in Hebrews 2:1 caught my attention early on:

Therefore we ought to give the more earnest heed to the things which we have heard, lest at any time we should let them slip. (Hebrews 2:1 KJV)

It’s a well-known English idiom that we are capable of letting things slip away from us, but the Greek παραῤῥυέω carries that same concept of being swept by or missing. The thought is also shown as:

lest the salvation which these things heard show us how to obtain, slip away from us

That thought is continued in the next two verses:

For if the word spoken by angels was stedfast, and every transgression and disobedience received a just recompence of reward; How shall we escape, if we neglect so great salvation; which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord, and was confirmed unto us by them that heard him; (Hebrews 2:2-3 KJV)

We have all had opportunities slip by us. I won’t even go into examples because I know that some of mine are similar to some of yours. We let time slip by, too. We’ve lost contact with people we care about simply because time passed and we let that contact slip.

But what does happen if we let these things we’ve heard about God, about Jesus, about His followers, about His message – what happens if we let this slip away from us? What happens if we do neglect so great salvation?

That determines how we will spend eternity, if God is real and eternity exists. If it doesn’t, there is no difference. We could do as Nero did and allow our world to burn. We could do as Hitler did and be the worst example of mankind for generations – until someone else came along, but it wouldn’t matter. Philosophers, prophets, intellectuals and the most common of mankind have spent time on that question. Belief is a very personal matter.

I believe God does exist, has existed before time began and will exist after time ceases. I believe God created the universe we see and the spiritual world beyond it. I believe what we do makes a difference here and in God’s kingdom (which is a very poor manmade word to describe eternity.) I believe what we do here, determines what we do there.

I believe God inspired Paul to describe what does happen:

For we are labourers together with God: ye are God's husbandry, ye are God's building. According to the grace of God which is given unto me, as a wise masterbuilder, I have laid the foundation, and another buildeth thereon. But let every man take heed how he buildeth thereupon. For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ. Now if any man build upon this foundation gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, stubble; Every man's work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man's work of what sort it is. If any man's work abide which he hath built thereupon, he shall receive a reward. If any man's work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved; yet so as by fire. (1 Corinthians 3:9-15 KJV)

I am not the least bit interested in what you build – I’m concentrating on being certain on the foundation, which goes back to part of yesterday’s thought from Matthew 7:24-27.

We’ve heard, haven’t we? What have we let slip?

How Long?

I
This painting by the Danish artist Carl Heinrich Bloch depicts Jesus teaching His disciples at what we call the Sermon on the Mount – Matthew chapters 5-7.

And seeing the multitudes, he went up into a mountain: and when he was set, his disciples came unto him: And he opened his mouth, and taught them, saying, (Matthew 5:1-2 KJV)

I’ll hope you click on the reference to read those three chapters, or pick up your Bible to do so. There’s a great deal of Christian beliefs defined in Jesus words. Many of these verses are used stand alone to offer solace or uplift hearts.  A few are used as pejoratives to express contempt toward professing Christians who do not live up to standards set by men.

Jesus took His disciples up into a mountain – the verse does not describe the multitudes accompanying them, but it is possible others besides the disciples heard His words. Matthew was inspired to write them down. The other gospels include the lessons, too, indicating He was consistent in His descriptions and sermons.

How they were received, though, is of interest. He was with these disciples for only three years. How long have we spent learning from one person outside of family? Our parents, yes. Our spouse, yes. Our children, yes – we do learn from them. But a non-family member? How long?

Yes, I have had friendships that lasted years, but I’ve never spent three years traveling and discussing religion with one person.

These disciples did not get the message in those three years, either, did they? They heard Him prophesy His death, but abandoned Him at Gethsemane. Peter followed to see what would happen, but ended up denying Him three times, as He prophesied. None of them buried Him and only women came to see to His funeral Sunday morning.

One was the reason He was taken at the garden. For that, he received money, which was appropriate since he saw after their finances. Judas’ guilt brought anger, regret, a change regarding his desire for money – but no indication that he turned to God to acknowledge his sin. His actions show no indication that he believed Jesus’ messages. Yet could have at the very last moment of life asked to be remembered when Jesus’ kingdom came. A thief did, and received a promise. (Luke 23:39-43)

These three chapters are filled with Jesus’ teachings – many of them familiar through multiple tellings, both in and out of churches. How we apply them to our own lives tells much about ourselves.  Too often we see other’s examples where we should see ourselves. It would do us good to remember one very short verse:

Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. (Matthew 7:21 KJV)

How can we do the will of God until we study what is known of God? I believe that comes through scripture, as Paul wrote Timothy:

And that from a child thou hast known the holy scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus. All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: That the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works. (2 Timothy 3:15-17 KJV)

That’s where we get our doctrine – which astounded people as the Sermon on the Mount closed:

And it came to pass, when Jesus had ended these sayings, the people were astonished at his doctrine: For he taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes. (Matthew 7:28-29 KJV)

As In Athens

Raphael’s depiction of Paul in Athens is similar, but yet different, from street preachers today. Instead of going to Athens, we see him leaving Berea, where his words were met with learning and researching but detractors couldn’t stand that interest in his words. (Acts 17:11-14)

In Athens, Paul reaches out to his primary audience:

Now while Paul waited for them at Athens, his spirit was stirred in him, when he saw the city wholly given to idolatry. Therefore disputed he in the synagogue with the Jews, and with the devout persons, and in the market daily with them that met with him. (Acts 17:16-17 KJV)

He has an audience with a long cultural history with their own beliefs, along with temples, statues and monuments to their deities. As a Jew, Paul would recognize idolatry, but as a follower of Jesus, he cared about what happened to the Athenians. What he said did not condemn them, and they were interested in learning more:

Then certain philosophers of the Epicureans, and of the Stoicks, encountered him. And some said, What will this babbler say? other some, He seemeth to be a setter forth of strange gods: because he preached unto them Jesus, and the resurrection. (Acts 17:18 KJV)

There’s a place in Athens where people expect to hear new ideas. Paul stands before them without protest signs. That’s not necessary in a city that prides itself on education and debate – they have platforms for speakers to share thoughts. (Acts 17:19-21)

Then, Paul preached. (Acts 17:22-33)

Please read that for yourself. He did call them superstitious – the Greek word used is δεισιδαιμονέστερος, a compound word that combines “more” and “religious”, which could be taken two ways:

1. in a good sense
   
   1. reverencing god or the gods, pious, religious
2. in a bad sense
   
   1. superstitious

I believe we can take away a serious lesson from Paul’s interaction with the Athenians as we interact with people of other faiths – and our opportunities to do just that will grow and grow as our nation diversifies. We have opportunities today. Across my work years, I interacted with devout believers of Atheism, Christianity (in its various interpretations) Hinduism, Islam (both Shiite and Sunni, perhaps Wahhabism), Judaism (Conservative, Orthodox and Reformed), Sikhism, Taoism and Wicca.
A kind Jewish gentleman taught me how to break a number of Religious Laws by eating a ham sandwich on a high holy day. A Wiccan explained how he left Catholicism for Wicca. I also heard how an abused wife left Christianity as her soon-to-be-ex-husband’s abuse was justified by their church with Ephesians 5:22 and Colossians 3:18, completely out of context.  One supervisor, a Catholic, Jesuit trained for priesthood, explained to me how wrong it was to use biblical references, which should be left up to a priest to interpret for today’s world.

I’ve discussed my beliefs under a number of circumstances, but the simplicity of Paul’s sermons is as valid today as it was in Athens. The only better of his sermons (in my view) was before Agrippa. (Acts 26:1-28)

That’s all we can do – tell of Jesus, His life, His teachings, His death – but most of all, His resurrection. We can refer to the apostles who wrote of Him, the changes in their lives. We can refer to changes in our own – but that’s all. And, we can move on when we’re told – as Paul was:

Then Agrippa said unto Paul, Almost thou persuadest me to be a Christian. And Paul said, I would to God, that not only thou, but also all that hear me this day, were both almost, and altogether such as I am, except these bonds. (Acts 26:28-29 KJV)

Plain Speech

Not all of my readers will be familiar with Dick and Jane. It was used long before I was in school, and I don’t remember using the books – but it is often shown as an easy way to teach. It was full of repetition and short, easy words for new readers. Plain speech is very important – has always been and is still today. Paul certainly thought so:

Seeing then that we have such hope, we use great plainness of speech: (2 Corinthians 3:12 KJV)

Even plain speech is hard. Maybe not hard to understand, but hard to accept – as Peter mentioned:

Wherefore, beloved, seeing that ye look for such things, be diligent that ye may be found of him in peace, without spot, and blameless. And account that the longsuffering of our Lord is salvation; even as our beloved brother Paul also according to the wisdom given unto him hath written unto you; As also in all his epistles, speaking in them of these things; in which are some things hard to be understood, which they that are unlearned and unstable wrest, as they do also the other scriptures, unto their own destruction. (2 Peter 3:14-16 KJV)

Back to Paul’s “plainness of speech,” Matthew Henry’s Commentary says that remains important today:

It is the duty of the ministers of the gospel to use great plainness, or clearness, of speech.

While being peaceful, without spot and blameless while speaking of Christ’s life and a Christian’s responsibilities may take a great deal of explaining, the gospel, God’s love, needs to be spoken plainly understandable:

But the great precepts of the gospel, believe, love, obey, are truths stated as clearly as possible. And the whole doctrine of Christ crucified, is made as plain as human language can make it.

The Bible does teach God is love. 1 John explains that much better than I can. But – there are things God does not accept. The Bible even states who will not be in His presence:

And he that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. And he said unto me, Write: for these words are true and faithful. And he said unto me, It is done. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give unto him that is athirst of the fountain of the water of life freely. He that overcometh shall inherit all things; and I will be his God, and he shall be my son. But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death. (Revelation 21:5-8 KJV)

Proverbs 6:16-19 speaks specifics that are hated and are abominations to the Lord. Those aren't the only items, though. A false balance, a froward heart, lying lips, way (and thoughts) of the wicked, proud of heart and condemnation of the just are all written as things that are an abomination to the Lord. And, one more, in Proverbs 15:8:

The sacrifice of the wicked is an abomination to the LORD: but the prayer of the upright is his delight. (Proverbs 15:8 KJV)

Speaking plainly, if using scripture to prove what is being done is in God’s will – be certain to speak as plainly about what is not. Be certain we can say with Paul:

For I have not shunned to declare unto you all the counsel of God. (Acts 20:27 KJV)

Why?

The above is a screen capture from a website about the movie “Risen” – a good movie we’ve enjoyed. Not a “great” movie, but it is about a great subject. The fact that Jesus is risen changed the world.  Not His death, though it was planned without knowing the result:

Which none of the princes of this world knew: for had they known it, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory. (1 Corinthians 2:8 KJV)

Those who killed Him did not understand what they sat in motion. Paul understood how very important this very point was in understanding God’s message:

Now if Christ be preached that he rose from the dead, how say some among you that there is no resurrection of the dead? But if there be no resurrection of the dead, then is Christ not risen: And if Christ be not risen, then is our preaching vain, and your faith is also vain. (1 Corinthians 15:12-14 KJV)

It was very important then that Jesus was truly dead, buried and remained in the grave donated by Joseph of Arimathaea. So important that a large stone was placed before the entrance and guards assigned.

The movie is fiction, though what is shown and said does not deny nor negate biblical narratives. A bit of scripted wording is out of order, but the words are stated in the Bible and is acceptable in giving the gospel message.

I enjoyed the movie, but one phrase sticks in my mind:  Why do you follow Him? The Roman tribune Clavius asks that question – and the answer in the scene is valid. But it is difficult for us, two thousand years later to give that same answer.

Yes – it is one reason why I follow Him, but I did not see what Clavius and the disciples saw. I did not see what the disciples saw for three years, yet did not affect Judas Iscariot.

A Muslim, in attempting to evangelize, explained very carefully that we are all born Muslim, but are led astray by cultures and other religion. Since I was born in what was considered a Christian nation, I grew up not understanding his “truth.” He would not accept that the same was true for him and learning more was important.

I do not accept at face value what I am told. That attitude was necessary in most of my work environments. Questions are necessary to achieve the best results. Questions asked early and answers researched thoroughly made the work easier. We cannot assume our beliefs are valid without questions, but it still comes down to faith because not all of the answers make sense.

Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. (Hebrews 11:1 KJV)

The rest of that chapter lists a number of people who placed faith in God and we know the result of that faith. Jesus, on the other hand, had knowledge, so in the next chapter we read:

Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God. (Hebrews 12:2 KJV)

Why do I follow Him? Not only because He died for us, but because He lives. I believe He was, is and will remain risen.