October 31st

I did read further through the Bible today, but very little. Instead of addressing my meager studies, I'd like to address October 31st.

With respect to the holiday many celebrate on the 31st of October, I’m not sure where it came from, but I can see where it is now, and I can tell where it’s going. There is nothing inherently evil with costumes or candy, and celebrating the day is quite harmless for many.

I offer simply a prayer that instead of taking a day off to celebrate death, fear, darkness, or evil, we use this day especially to proclaim and celebrate the God of life, hope, light, and good. There is only one way, and we have a hard enough time following Him without making it a point to consciously celebrate His antithesis…even if it is just for one day a year.

“…and the Lord shut him in.”

In case you’ve ever wondered how the ark survived the flood; Gen 7 says it was a miracle.

God ensured Noah and his family was safe and secure by shutting them inside the ark Himself…supernaturally. Much like a parent putting their child in a car seat or on a bicycle, or tucking them into bed, God attended Noah and his family in the ark; but unlike a parent who must then walk away, God stayed with Noah the entire time.

I’m thankful that God is on the job, because I don’t think I could stand by my child’s bed all night or run everywhere along side their bike. I have faith that God holds my children safely in His hand, much like He held Noah. He brought Noah through the flood, He can bring us through this and every day.

Noah's Ark, God's Noah

Genesis 6, the account of Noah and the Ark has always struck a chord with me. As I have gotten older, I am still amazed. Why didn’t God just call it a day? He saw the evil in man’s heart and deeds, but he did not just wipe all of mankind out of existence. He saved Noah and his family. Why? What did Noah do that made him so special? Why was he saved?

Simple, he built the ark.

Noah trusted God and built the ark. Plenty of times in the Bible, we see accounts of people quibbling with God over His will/plans, but we see no such account with respect to Noah. God said jump, and Noah didn't even bother to ask how high.

Between Adam and Noah

I didn't read any further in the Bible yesterday, but today I read the rest of Genesis 5. It seems the entire point to the chapter was to follow the specific lineage from Adam to Noah. I must admit I am typically bored by these chapters of one guy with a strange name “begot” a son with an often even stranger name, and I seldom come away with any divine enlightenment. Of course, these were very real people and it’s a very real lineage, so that makes the history much more interesting (if you like history, anyway).

Could you imagine living for over 900 years?


While yesterday I didn't read any further, I did spend a significant period of time listening with my wife to a couple series by Ravi Zacharias: The Search for Absolutes in a Pluralistic Society and Christ’s Answers for Man’s Questions. They were part of a Ravi Zacharias International Ministries (RZIM) radio broadcast, Let My People Think.

Dr. Zacharias, originally from India, is pretty much a modern philosopher and Christian apologist and is extremely adept at taking an academic, objective, comprehensive, and faith-filled approach to Christianity in a fallen world. I cannot speak to every aspect of his ministry, but when put to the test, so far he holds up as a man of the one, true God.

If you get an opportunity, I would suggest exploring his ministry and listening to some of his messages. Below is the link to get to the series we listened to; I’ll post the link to RZIM in the sidebar.

http://www.rzim.org/radio/archives.php?p=LMPT

The other children of Adam and Eve

In reference to the first comment for the previous post, Brotherly Hate, Genesis 5:1-5 demonstrates plainly God’s strategy in telling us about the children of Adam and Eve.

“After he begot Seth, the days of Adam were eight hundred years; and he had sons and daughters.” (Gen 5:4)

I’m sure that Adam and Eve had plenty of children and grandchildren over the course of Adam’s very long life. Adam may have even had other wives. Of course, even after pointing out that they had sons and daughters, the Bible continues on to focus only on Seth.

We don’t need to know everything; God tells us all we need to know. The real issue isn’t what we know or don’t know, but whether or not we trust Him.

Brotherly Hate?

I read Gen 4 today. I am always saddened to read the account of the two brothers. It didn’t have to be that way.

While it was Cain’s fault that his offering was not pleasing to God, he didn’t listen to God’s guidance and fix the problem. Instead of adjusting his own heart and submitting to God, he murdered his own brother. Did he actually think murdering Abel was going to solve anything, or did he just want to hurt God?

It reminds me of a lot of the violence of the inner city where I grew up. There are specific, proven, and available ways to improve your situation in life, but violence and crime are often chosen instead, and then others are blamed for the situation and the choices that led to the situation. It doesn’t have to be that way.

Starting the Fall

Yesterday I only read Gen 3:1 (actually, only the first sentence). I noticed for the first time that the Bible seems to distinguish between the serpent and the animals which God made. Things that make you go “hmmm.”

Today I read the rest of Gen 3. It reminded me of a woman who once told me that she had rejected Christianity in exchange for some form of paganism worshipping a goddess. The reason she gave was that Christianity was oppressive to women, and she cited the “blame” that Christianity attributes to Eve in Gen 3 as proof.

I thought it was ironic that a serpent had crawled into her life and cunningly convinced her that God had mislead her and did not have her best interest in mind, and she would be better served by following a different path rather than obeying God; in her pride…she believed.

Sound familiar?

Creation Concluded

I decided to begin the day with my Bible reading and blog entry today. I finished reading the rest of Genesis 2, concluding all accounts of creation.

I forgot to pray again before I started. That might explain why instead of being awed by the power and creativity of God, all I could think about was inconsistencies and contradictions. People always claim the Bible is filled with inconsistencies or contradictions, but I have yet to have anyone point them out, and I cannot find them myself.

What are these alleged flaws?

Sometimes these arguments remind me of politics. It’s not uncommon to hear an objection to policy (just as many object to God), only to discover later that the person objecting has never searched out the claims and issues, or they base their objections on false assumptions.

Don't waste your breath.

I only read Genesis 2:4-7 today. I was going to read more, but I got sidetracked by the fact that God breathed the breath of life into Adam (and obviously Eve).

The greatest mystery for man is life…the consciousness and sentience of man…we cannot explain it. We can’t explain it because it is of God. We, all of us, have the breath of life, the breath of God Himself, within us.

Now, consider the expression “wasted breath.”

Pastor Joe Wright at the Kansas House of Representatives

My wife’s grandmother, GG, sent us an email chain (don’t ya just love those) about a prayer offered at the opening of a government session. Whenever I get email chains, I either delete them or research them and delete them, but make no mistake…I delete them. This was different; the claims in the email were such that I actually hoped it to be true. I researched the event and discovered the truth was even more impressive than the email.

Here’s a link for you, so you can familiarize yourself:
http://www.snopes.com/inboxer/outrage/wright.asp

One thing that struck me about the prayer was how all inclusive it is. Rightfully, there isn’t one people group that doesn’t fit into the prayer as having sinned and needing God’s grace. It’s a very convicting prayer, and I can see how it might evoke either humility (submission to God) or pride (rebellion against God…man’s original sin).

The other thing that struck me was the outrage against the prayer, calling it a “message of intolerance,” and an “extreme, radical” view held by “right wing extremists.” Are we supposed to tolerate anything and everything? If so, how does the liberal intolerance of the Christian value system figure into liberal “tolerance?” And what’s so extreme about not wanting a human child to be killed, wanting to protect and preserve our culture (not just Christian culture) and children from the obvious and unavoidable damage of pornography, or wanting to be free to engage in the religion that believes homosexuality is one of a countless number of sins committed by all human beings instead of being forced to practice the religion that believes homosexuality is moral because there is no such thing as sin?

This whole situation is a wonderful example of how our pride - assuming to know better than God what is right or fair or “good for us” - blinds us to the peace and grace that God offers equally to us all. And if you don’t think that’s the issue, explain how the vast, overwhelming majority of Americans believes and votes one way, but the law (elected alleged representatives and nine judges) sends us in a completely different direction.

This prayer was right on target except for maybe one thing; instead of asking God to “give us clear minds to accomplish our goals,” we should pray for Him to give us contrite hearts to submit to His will.

God takes a break ... or does He?

Just read Genesis 2:1-3.

God rested. Do you think He was tired? What about day eight? Did He go back to work, pick up where he left off? Does God still take that seventh day off? How does God rest or take a day off? His job is to be God, so what is He when He’s taking the day off?

Just some of the stuff I think about when I read that kind of thing.

Cliff's Lost and Found

My wife showed me a blog today called Cliff's Lost and Found. It's a wonderful, funny, intense, honest, and candid blog about being a father in a fallen world. It actually addresses some serious struggles in a very serious way, but also reflects the joy and simplicity that life can be when we trust God.

Two things I really like about the blog is how easy it is to relate to and how hard it is to read. It's easy (for me anyway) to relate to the worthlessness and emptiness that Cliff felt, but it's hard to read it because I tend to suffer with people who suffer.

There are a couple of things to consider if and when you read Cliff's Lost and Found. Cliff describes himself as worthless, but he's far from worthless. Even those who refuse God's grace have worth in His eyes; His grace alone, by definition, is proof. Also, things are only ok if you accept Yeshua as your savior (God’s provision for your sin). Life may still come at you sideways at 100 mph, but no matter what happens to you in this life, God’s got you in the next.

It’s the strangest thing…I love Cliff. I haven’t the slightest idea how or why, but it’s on my heart that I love him.

On a final note about Cliff's Lost and Found, for you parents out there, take a lesson from Cliff and watch what you’re letting your children watch. Look very closely at what your children put in their heads; garbage in, garbage out. Also, watch VeggieTales (and sing along). You can learn a lot…from a tomato.

Creation

I read the rest of Genesis 1 today. At first I was a bit “put out” by the task, but I prayed and dived right in. Genesis 1 is such a great chapter. I think I kind of feel like it’s a drag sometimes because almost every time I start to read the Bible, I start in Genesis 1. Consequently, I have read Genesis 1 about a billion times, and it has come to represent an arduous and seldom accomplished journey (I’ve only read Revelation 22 like twice…ok, 1.5 times).

When I read Genesis, I always wonder how God communicated the beginning of everything to a man to write it down. Did He dictate the words? Did He draw him a picture using crayons, so man could understand? Maybe, He showed him, and let the Holy Spirit do the rest.

If God showed you the creation of everything, do you think you could capture it and retell it? Could you adequately express the majesty and wonder of God’s power and all of His creation?

Do you think people would believe you?

In the Beginning, Again.

I just started reading through The Bible again (because once is not enough). The first thing I noticed was my desire to find my Bible. I have links to multiple Bible translations online and we have several Bibles around our house, but I seemed fixated on my specific Bible. It stalled the process and almost angered me before I realized what I was doing.

I decided that I knew plenty of places to find God’s holy word, so I grabbed one and went to town. I read, “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” (Genesis 1:1)

That’s it (I'll read more later...I promise).

What more do you need though, right? What a great statement of God’s being, power, personality, and wisdom. Before anything there was God, the great I AM. He created all that is seen and unseen. He didn’t just create something for Him: heaven. He created something for us, too: earth. And the heavens and the earth are no joke; they’re infinitely more complex than anything man could ever even collectively imagine.

This one statement alone commands fear, reverence, and humility.

What a way to start! My only regret is that I did not pray before I began my reading. If I am supposed to turn to God in all things, obviously the reading and understanding of the Bible is included among the “all things.” A great start, but I’ve obviously fallen behind and have a lot yet to learn.

Duty Daily

My wife made a good point the other day. She asked me about the content of a specific book in The Bible. I had no real answer. While we’ve both read The Bible from cover to cover, it's been so long since I read that book of The Bible, or any of The Bible for that matter, that I'm at a loss for specific details of its content. I was beginning to wonder why my life seemed to be lacking peace lately.

The most poignant part of my little tale is that my wife’s question to me was with regards to what we were going to teach the children. If we don't know it, how can we teach it to the children? It’s like not having any food in the cupboard and still expecting to be able to feed the children.

As the spiritual leader of our family, it’s my duty to obey God and stay on top of this sort of thing. Starting today, I will be reading a portion of the Bible daily and relaying my daily experience. Sure, I’ll write about the content of the readings, but the initial focus will be on the journey. This is going to be more of a snapshot of the daily journey rather than a detailed description.

I must selfishly admit that this is more for me than for anyone who might happen across the blog. If anyone happens to read any of this, I hope you are blessed by it. Feel free to comment as you see fit (refer to the Rules of Engagement in “the hood”).