Kindness and Truth

In Proverbs 3:3 (here @ BibleGateway) we are told about the importance of kindness and truth.  The combination of truth with kindness is a tough balance.  One is charged to be truthful while at the same time being kind in the process.

Looking at the verse more closely, the word translated “do not let” is imperfect, which suggests the action is still continuing or in process of accomplishment.  In this context it would seem that Solomon is suggesting an ongoing action.  So that we are continually to prevent kindness and truth from leaving us.

How we are to prevent that is described in the next two clauses.  The verb translated “bind” is imperative.  It is a command.  Both are to be bound around our necks.  Similarly, “write” is also an imperative.  Kindness and truth are to be both on our neck and heart.

“Neck” (Hebrew גַּרְגֶּרֶת) only appears 4 times in our Bibles, all in Proverbs 1:9 (here @ BibleGateway), 3:3 (here @ BibleGateway), 22 (here @ BibleGateway), 6:21 (here @ BibleGateway).  One of the lexicons in its definition of גַּרְגֶּרֶת states, “there may be an associative meaning of the throat being close to the center or the inner being or self¹.”   Another, referencing all four of the usages states, “the part of a human or animal that connects the head to the rest of the body².”   Yet another presents ַּגַּרְגֶּרֶת as a synonym for  רֹאשׁ head, נֶפֶשׁ soul, and לֵב heart³. 

“heart” (Hebrew לֵב) in contrast is in our Bibles 593 times.  All the lexicons have some form of defining heart as inner man, mind, will, and heart⁴.  

The parallel use of these terms can be taken as a Hebrew parallelism this emphasizing the need for kindness and truth to persist in the character of the people of God.  And, or, considering the second definition of neck above the connection of the head to the rest of the body; that kindness and truth will inform not only the way we think, our rational selves, but also the core of our being and beliefs, our heart.

I like both.

If one studies 1 and 2 Timothy and Titus as a unit, we notice that Paul immediately calls both men into conflict with false teachers.  However, in 1 Timothy 1:12 – 16 (here @ BibleGateway), Paul shares a bit of his testimony.  He shares that though he was a false teacher, in that he not only denied Christ as the Messiah but also as the Son of God.  He also persecuted the church.  He was one of the people with which he is calling Timothy and Titus into conflict.

Then in 2 Timothy 2:24 – 25 (here @ BibleGateway), Paul echoes Proverbs 3:3 in that we are to approach those who are false teachers, teaching truth, without quarreling, with patience and gentleness.

Think about that, in approaching people that way, the Lord may grant repentance to one who will have an impact like Paul.

  ¹James Swanson, Dictionary of Biblical Languages with Semantic Domains : Hebrew (Old Testament) (Oak Harbor: Logos Research Systems, Inc., 1997).

  ²The Lexham Analytical Lexicon of the Hebrew Bible (Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2017).

  ³David J. A. Clines, ed., The Dictionary of Classical Hebrew (Sheffield, England: Sheffield Academic Press; Sheffield Phoenix Press, 1993–2011), 374.

  ⁴Francis Brown, Samuel Rolles Driver, and Charles Augustus Briggs, Enhanced Brown-Driver-Briggs Hebrew and English Lexicon (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1977), 524.

Intention in Pain

In Psalm 35 (here @ BibleGateway), David lists all many of the ways, if not all, that his enemies are acting against him.

Verse	Action
1	Contend with David
1	Fight against David
3	Pursue him
4	Seek his life
4	Devise evil against him
7	Hid a net for him
7	Dug a pit for his soul
11	Ask of him thing he did not know
12	Repay him evil for the good he did
15	Rejoice at his stumbling
15	Smiters gathered around him
15	Slandered him without ceasing
16	Gnashed at him with their teeth
19	Hate him without cause
20	Do not speak peace
20	Devise deceit against the innocent
21	Open their mouth wide against him
21	Said Aha our eyes have seen it
26	Rejoice at my distress
26	Magnify themselves over him

There are 20 issues or actions David’s enemies take against him on that list.  In 2 Corinthians 6:1 – 10 (here @ BibleGateway), one of Paul’s long sentences, Paul shares a similar list.  Challenges he faced in serving the Lord.  David is called a man after God’s own heart, 1 Samuel 13:14 (here @ BibleGateway), Acts 13:22 (here @ BibleGateway).  Paul was God’s chosen instrument to the Gentiles Acts 9:12 (here @ BibleGateway).  When God stated that about Paul, He told Ananias He would show Paul how much he must suffer for Him.

If it is the case that Psalm 139:3 (here @ BibleGateway) is true, God knows what we are going through.  If it is the case that Ephesians 2:10 (here @ BibleGateway) is true, God has a specific work that He wants us to do.  If 1 Corinthians 12 (here @ BibleGateway), Romans 12 (here @ BibleGateway), and Ephesians 4:11 – 16 (here @ BibleGateway) are true, God gives gifts intentionally in the body for the purpose of equipping us and building us up in Him.  Additionally, if 2 Timothy 3:16 – 17 (here @ BibleGateway) and John 16:13 (here @ BibleGateway) are true He has given us His Word in order to equip us for every good work and to know Him.

Whatever we are going through, whether it is hard, painful, difficult, joyful, whatever… it is intentional in our lives.  It is purposeful.  It is shaping us into the tool that will bring Him glory.

Overcoming the Obstacles – Part 2

Yesterday, I suggested that you invest some time in 1 Peter (here @ Bible Gateway); specifically, 1:3 – 4 (here @ Bible Gateway), it really should have been 3 – 6 (here @ Bible Gateway).  In there you might have found a couple of thoughts about how to overcome the obstacles we face.

Mauri’s comment on the post yesterday was apt.  We face multiple kinds of obstacles.  In the world things like financial issues, health, relationships that sour, people that hate us.  When we add the reality of the spiritual life, we face the certainty of constant and increasing resistance from the enemy of our Lord whose goal is to devour, destroy us.  That resistances increases as we engage in a life that seeks to follow hard after our Lord.

Then as Mauri noted, as we mature, as our understanding of our Lord grows as our time with Him lengthens, we become physically weaker.  It is my belief that is intentional.  Seemingly, 2 Corinthians 12:9 – 10 (here @ Bible Gateway) validates that thought.

There are those who proclaim that if we follow the Lord, the obstacles will be removed.  In fact, some claim that if they are not removed, that we face obstacles such as cancer, financial pressures, etc. it is evidence that we lack faith.

That does not seem to be the message of either Peter or Paul.

Peter, in 1 Peter 1:3 – 6 (here @ Bible Gateway) gives us two things to which we are to hold on tightly as we face “various trials”.  They are and imperishable and undefiled inheritance and a salvation.  Note, however, when the inheritance and the salvation will be revealed.  The inheritance is reserved in heaven and the salvation will be revealed in the last time.  They are not promised to be revealed now, or amid the various trials.

No, in fact they are the anchors of our hope.  They are the means of our perseverance.

In the midst of all of the difficulty we face as believers in a fallen world, with the certainty that we will, if we wish to live godly, will be persecuted, 2 Timothy 3:12 (here @ Bible Gateway), our certain inheritance and our salvation is that to which we cling.

Romans 5:3 – 5 (here @ Bible Gateway) exhorts us to exult in our tribulations, our certain tribulations; Peter shows us how.

Overcoming the Obstacles

First, I did not plan on this break.  It was the result of travel and some changes to my schedule that created obstacles that I did not navigate well.  I share that before we get into this to, well for one reason, to confess that I am struggling on this journey as well.

We are exhorted in Scripture to study, to abide, to practice what we encounter in the Word of God.  The purpose, according to Peter in his second letter chapter 1 verses 3 – 4 (here @ Bible Gateway), is that we can become partakers of the divine nature, to truly know Him.

For the past several years it has been my mission to equip as many of those who were willing to do, at least the first couple of those.  The main problem has been that there are seemingly few who are willing to engage for themselves.  Many would rather feed at the trough of those who would study and then tell them what they found; tell them what to believe.  While that may seem easier, it is not what is imagined as the normal Christian experience.

However, there are those who seem to wish to engage.  Those who do will face resistance in multiple forms.  The enemy does not wish for men to seriously engage in the Word of God, to be equipped to take on the full armor of God, Ephesians 6:10 – 20 (here @ Bible Gateway).

So, what I share here, I do not claim to fully and completely practice.  I strive, weakly.  I am facing the reality that instead of becoming stronger, I am becoming weaker.  I tire more easily than I did.  I read that I can live in His strength, but I don’t seem to be able to do that well or consistently.

All that is a preamble to what was intended to follow the last post.

Which is…

If you would please look for a moment at 1 Peter 1:3 – 9 (here @ Bible Gateway).  This is a small portion of the larger answer that Peter outlines in this letter.  It would be a profitable investment to read the entire epistle.

I will, through God’s strength, share observations on how to overcome in the next post, tomorrow.

Spiritual Obstacle Course

In Paul’s final letter to his protégé Timothy he proclaims that he has fought the good fight, finished the course, and kept the faith (2 Timothy 4:7 (here @ Bible Gateway)).  Have you known those who have not done so?  Have you known those who have stumbled in their race, fallen and not returned?  I have.

There are other passages that challenge us in this.  1 Corinthians 9:24 – 27 (here @ Bible Gateway), Hebrews 12:1 – 2 (here @ Bible Gateway), and 2 Timothy 2:5 (here @ Bible Gateway) are a few.

We know that the race is such that some do not finish.  In Paul’s circle Demas deserted, he loved the present world more than he loved Christ (2 Timothy 4:10 (here @ Bible Gateway)).  John speaks of those leaving the race, 1 John 2:19 (here @ Bible Gateway).

It is not only in the New Testament that we see this.  A cursory reading of Kings and Chronicles will yield a list of those who started and did not finish well.  Focus for a moment on Genesis 49:15 (here @ Bible Gateway).  Jacob is prophesying over the 12 sons.  Note what he says about Issachar.  He found a resting place that was pleasant, bowed his shoulder to bear the burdens of that place, and became a slave to it.  He chose to rest rather than to fight.

Peter shares a similar warning in 2 Peter 2:19 (here @ Bible Gateway), by what a man is overcome, he is enslaved.  Issachar was overcome by a desire to rest in a pleasant place.  Demas was overcome by a love for the world.

This journey is a long obstacle course.  We continually confront distractions, difficulties, detours, that would take us out or take us off course.  In a competition if we fail to win, fail to finish, there is always the next race.  In this race, this journey, there is not.

What must we do to finish, and finish strong?  We will look at that next time.

Crumbling Foundations

Ever have your faith tested?  Ever been challenged by someone who is not a believer?  Ever been attacked for what you believe?  For many Christians in the world those are daily realities.  How does a believer cope?

Psalm 11:3 (here @ Bible Gateway) sheds some light on this.  In the context David is under attack, the wicked are loading bows with arrows with which to fire at him.  Note the response.  If the foundation is destroyed there is little hope.

There are seemingly two elements to the foundation.  First, Christ (1 Corinthians 3:11 (here @ Bible Gateway)).  Second, the Word of God (John 8:31 – 32 (here @ Bible Gateway)), if we do not abide in His Word we are not disciples.  Further, if we do not abide we do not have with which to fight (Ephesians 6:10 – 20 (here @ Bible Gateway)).

It may not be a stretch to suggest that if we do not build those foundational elements into our communities, they will fail.

Overwhelmed

Have you ever felt overwhelmed, helpless, and useless?  Faced with a circumstance that, regardless of any effort, looked insurmountable?

Read Judges 6:11 – 12 (here @ Bible Gateway).

If you look at the context, the Midianites were treating Israel like their corner grocery store.  They were coming in at harvest and taking everything they saw.  Judges 6:5 (here @ Bible Gateway) compares them to a plague of locusts.

In the midst of this the angel of the lord finds Gideon – now Gideon was hiding in a wine press beating out wheat.  I do not have any experience with growing and harvesting wheat, nor have I ever been involved in the making of wine.  That being said, I am relatively certain that a wine press is not a normal wheat harvesting implement, nor is beating out wheat a regular task in the making of wine.  The text backs this up.  Gideon was hiding what he was doing so the Midianites would not get the wheat.

It is in this context that the angel of the Lord addresses Gideon as a valiant warrior.

He’s hiding in a wine press to beat out wheat so the bad guys won’t get it – hiding, valiant warrior – the math doesn’t seem to work.

Gideon does turn out to be a valiant warrior.  But, he wasn’t at the moment – or perhaps the better way to say that is that he was not functioning as he was designed.  Perhaps the Lord views us through the lens of Ephesians 2:10 (here @ Bible Gateway).  We are made to do His work.  We are His workmanship to accomplish what He wants.  So, He sees us how He made us.

So, when confronted with the overwhelming, perhaps our best course of action is to seek the Lord as Gideon did and tackle the overwhelming in His strength.

Spiritual Discipline – Personal Testimony Analysis

Yesterday we looked at two times Paul shared his testimony.  In both cases there were three elements, what he was like before he met Christ, how he met Christ, what he was like after, as a result of meeting Christ.

The content of the testimony is simple.  The means of conversion is the same.  The focus is on Christ as a person, Lord, one whom Paul followed.

There are several things though that are conspicuous by their absence.  Paul does not share either with Agrippa or with the Philippians how or when he was baptized.  Nor does he mention what church, denomination, or system of theology under which he was converted.  Further, there is no mention of the role of the Holy Spirit, the need for him to be baptized in the Spirit, or for him to speak in tongues.  Paul doesn’t refer to any form of confirmation in his testimony, nor does he mention being allowed to join in a communion.

Those things are important to many, they were not important to Paul when he was given an opportunity to share his faith with Agrippa and wrote about the effects of his conversion to the church at Philippi.

The single focus of Paul’s testimony was that he had met and accepted Jesus as his Lord and savior.

That makes it simple for us.  We share what we were like before we met Christ.  Share how we met Christ and that we accepted Him as He is, Lord and savior.  We share how that has affected our life.

Simple.

Spiritual Discipline – Personal Testimony Content

Yesterday we looked at the importance of the personal testimony. We saw that it is more than an evangelistic tool. I suggested that you look at Acts 26 (here @ Bible Gateway) and Philippians 3 (here @ Bible Gateway) to see how Paul shared his testimony. In both instances Paul shares what his life was like before he met Christ. He then shares how he met Christ. Lastly, he shares what is life was like after he chose to follow Christ.

Steps	Acts 26	Philippians 3
Before	He was a Pharisee who was committed to punish Christians to the full extent of the Jewish law including death. He was on his way to Damascus with authority to continue this practice	Paul describes himself as a Hebrew of Hebrews, a Pharisee, a persecutor of the church, blameless as to the la
How	Christ stopped him with a bright light on that road blinding him in the process and telling him what He wanted Paul to do.	Upon meeting Christ all that he thought was gain for him, he now counted as manure.
After	Paul accepted what he was told by Christ. He turned from persecuting the church to spreading the message of the gospel primarily to the Gentiles.	He now focused all of his zeal to know Christ Jesus his Lord. He lived to be found in Christ having Christ’s righteousness. His repeats that his focus is to know Christ. He wants to know the power of His resurrection, the fellowship of His sufferings, and be conformed to His death. Rather than viewing himself as having made is as he did as a Hebrew. He views himself as one who needs to continually strive to know Christ.

Spend some time considering that content.  It is a really excellent model for your or others personal testimony.  What were you like before you met Christ?  How did you meet Him?  What difference, what are you like after you met Him?

There is more to say about this.  There are some significant things missing from Paul’s testimony.  We will look at that more closely tomorrow.

Spiritual Discipline – Personal Testimony

Note: This is a couple of days late, got sick Christmas Eve and felt bad all day Christmas – So, belated Merry Christmas…

We have been examining the value and means of some spiritual disciplines.  In the past few weeks there is one discipline that has gained much in value for me.  Further, it seems to be a discipline that is neglected in many churches.  That is the personal testimony.

Look at Revelation 12:11 (here @ Bible Gateway).  Look at the context.  The devil and his angels were thrown down to earth.  He accuses the brethren day and night.  1 Peter 5:8 – 9 (here @ Bible Gateway) tells us that this same enemy is seeking to devour us.

What overcomes him?  The blood of Christ and, emphasis here, the word of their testimony.  That is huge.  When the enemy accuses us, makes us feel less than acceptable to our Lord, or tells us that we can’t possibly be redeemed, it is the word of our testimony that overcomes him.

The testimony is much more than a evangelistic tool, it is a first line of defense against the enemy.

So how do we equip someone to share their testimony?  There are two examples of Paul’s testimony in the Scripture.  One is in Acts 26 (here @ Bible Gateway), the other is Philippians 3 (here @ Bible Gateway).  Spend some time looking at those.  Paul’s example is a good one to follow.

Think through how he presented his testimony and tomorrow we will look at how to apply that both personally and in equipping others to share their personal testimony.

Turmoil

Life has been interesting for the past few weeks, months, and years.  I was on the phone this morning with a friend who has been dealing with a family crisis for the past few days.  He found out this morning that his father is probably in his last hours.

This friend is in the midst of leading a ministry that is going through some changes.  The changes seem to be aligning the thrust of the ministry more closely to the purposes of the Lord described in the New Testament.  Since this effort has begun, all kinds of turmoil has erupted in that community.

The Scripture warns us of this.  1 Peter 5:8 (here @ Bible Gateway) tells us that the enemy is about destroying us.  He isn’t in the business of distraction or irritation, no, destruction is his end game.  But, there is a way to avoid destruction, don’t do anything that would get his attention.  That is don’t be engaged in making disciples or seeking first the Kingdom of God.

He will leave you alone then.  You are not a threat.

Step in the direction of obedience, expect turmoil.

Don’t Believe – So What?

You may have read or heard in the past few days that the philosophical and scholarly paragon, GQ, has deemed that you would be better served not to bother reading the Bible.

Set aside for a minute that they have, based on Psalm 14:1 (here @ Bible Gateway), which, no doubt they have not read, proven themselves fools.  Instead, take a minute and review 1 Timothy 4:1 – 3 (here @ Bible Gateway) and 2 Timothy 3:1 – 9 (here @ Bible Gateway).  Think through how the GQ editors fit into Paul’s description of the attitude of those of “later times”.

As believers, we tend to get exercised when people reject our beliefs.  Why?  Somehow their rejections seem at some level to call into question the validity of our faith.  But this is not a new phenomenon.  Spend some time reading and pondering Romans 1 – 3 (here @ Bible Gateway).  Specifically consider Romans 3:3 – 4 (here @ Bible Gateway).

Some don’t believe?  Some don’t consider the Bible important?  So what?  That doesn’t disprove, invalidate, trivialize, or otherwise diminish God.  He doesn’t change.  Frankly, their unbelief doesn’t catch God by surprise.  He already knew.

Through the years I have had many tell me that the Bible is irrelevant.  Ok.  I share it with them anyway.  Why?  They don’t have to believe that the Bible is relevant for it to work on them any more than someone has to acknowledge the existence of a sword before it can run them through.  The sword, by the way, is that to which the writer of Hebrews compares the Word of God, Hebrews 4:12 (here @ Bible Gateway); Paul also, in Ephesians 6:17 (here @ Bible Gateway).

So people do not believe and trivialize the Word of God.  Not new.  Not unexpected.  Has zero effect on God or the value of the Bible.  Just reveals their need and condition.

Standing Alert

If you are like me, there are times when you just need to check out.  Yesterday was like that.  For some reason, perhaps it was the cumulative effect of the last several weeks, I was out of it.  I did not want to do much of anything.  Pretty much vegged out.  It doesn’t happen often, but it happens.

At some significant level, I fear those times.  I fear they will become more frequent, normal.  That scares me.

I also fear that there are more and more people who live vegged out.  They do not think for themselves, they accept what the “experts” tell them.  They do not stretch or challenge their thinking, they opt continually for entertainment, fiction, movies, TV series.

This afternoon I was reviewing a journal entry from early last year.  The passage that started the thought was Matthew 24:42 (here @ Bible Gateway).  The phrase in the passage that caught my attention was “be on the alert”.  I jotted down several other passages that echoed that imperative. 

That caused me to look for other places that word showed up in the text.  So I searched in Logos for instances where the Greek word that was translated “be alert” showed up.  Here is that list.

The command to be on the alert seems to be a relatively consistent theme in the New Testament.  It seems that there are two primary reasons for this consistent exhortation.  First, we have a Lord that will return for us, and we are to be alert, looking for His return, being about His business, not, as I was yesterday, vegged out.

Second, we have an enemy who would love nothing more than to take us out.  Which will be easier for him if we are, like I was yesterday, vegged out.

It is almost as if the Lord is calling us to stand watch.  We are to stand watch over ourselves, our families, our communities, and the Truth.

It is an assignment that I need to take more seriously.  What do you see in those passages?

The Timeline of Training

Genesis 14:14 (here @ Bible Gateway) is striking. 

What interests me here is that Moses had built an army capable of defeating four kings.  He had trained them, equipped them when he did not need the force.

Leadership seems to train people for what may, will come and not what is on their plate now.

Some of the things that I have seen in the past year that people needed to know to navigate well the circumstances of their lives:

• The Love of God
• Trusting God
• The Sovereignty of God

If you need help with these.  Let me know.

Responding to Sin

Look at Ezra 10:6 (here @ Bible Gateway) and Nehemiah 1:4 (here @ Bible Gateway).  .

The response of the Ezra and Nehemiah over the sin or circumstances of others was to mourn and pray.

To be honest, that is not my first response.  My first response may be something like, “They should have known better.”

That’s certainly helpful.  It’s a thought with such eternal significance and effectiveness.

Truth is, when I catch myself in sin or difficult circumstances, my first response is not to mourn and pray either.  Probably, it is to justify.  Claim special circumstances, blame shift, or try to figure a way to solve the problem.  (We come by blame shifting genetically – check out Genesis 3:12 – 13) (here @ Bible Gateway).

It occurs to me that Ezra and Nehemiah had it right, I have it wrong

Weapons of the Enemy Summary

For the last couple of days we have been looking at Genesis 3 (here @ Bible Gateway).  Specifically how the enemy attacked Adam and Eve resulting in the fall of the human race.  Today well summarize and to some extent expand what we have seen.

At the time of this attack Adam and Eve were living in the garden and had a personal relationship with God.  He would come and walk through the garden, visiting with them.  The attacks of the enemy seem to be directed at this relationship primarily calling the veracity of the Word of God into question and thus tacitly raising the question, “Can we really trust God?”

He did this three ways:

1. He questioned the Word of God, “Has God said?”  There are at least three implications of this question:

1. We cannot trust what we read or hear there is something beyond what is on the surface of what we can observe or hear.
2. The source is really not God.
3. We are not able to understand what God said or we misunderstood Him.

2. He contradicted what God said essentially calling God a liar.  This has at least two implications:

1. It calls into questions the trustworthiness of God.  If we cannot believe what He says, we cannot trust Him.
2. It suggests that the messages of God are false.

3. He claims that we can become God.  Again two possible implications.

1. This mirrors the enemy’s sin outlined in Isaiah 14:12 – 14 (here @ Bible Gateway), Revelation 12:7 – 17 (here @ Bible Gateway), the enemy wanted to be like God, above God.
2. In place of trust in God, relationship with Him, and acceptance of His Word, the enemy offers “knowledge.”

It is instructive that all of the cults are based on one or more of these three  ways the enemy challenged Eve.

Results of the Weapons of the Enemy

Yesterday we looked at Genesis 3:1 – 5 (here @ Bible Gateway) cataloging the three weapons the enemy used against Eve in the garden.

Let’s consider the impact of those weapons on Eve and by extension Adam.

Genesis 3:6 (here @ Bible Gateway) – “She took…ate;…and gave also to her husband with her…”
Eve listened to the enemy.  This morning the Tuesday group was in 1 Timothy 4:1 (here @ Bible Gateway).  The first step in falling away is to pay attention to the false teaching, the weapons.  To avoid them one needs to know the truth.  Eve paid attention to the enemy.  That resulted in her:
Reconsidering what God had said – she saw that the tree was:

• Good for food
• A delight to the eyes
• Desirable to make one wise

So she acted on what she saw.  Note that the enemy did not suggest that she eat the fruit, he just called the Word of the Lord into question.

There is more here than we can cover, so I am just going to hit the high points…

Genesis 3:7 (here @ Bible Gateway) – They covered themselves
They immediately moved to shame and covered themselves.  One of the first effects of sin then is shame.

Genesis 3:8 (here @ Bible Gateway) – They heard and hid
They knew what God sounded like.  They walked with Him in the garden on a regular basis.  This time when they heard Him they hid.  The relationship was broken.

Now it gets interesting.

Genesis 3:9 (here @ Bible Gateway) – Then the Lord called
To whom did he call?  It was the woman that the enemy approached.  It was the woman who reconsidered the command of God and decided it was not necessary to obey.  It was the woman who gave the fruit to her husband.  But the Lord calls the man.  He calls to the one to whom He gave the command.  He called to the one who was responsible.

Genesis 3:22 (here @ Bible Gateway) – Like one of us…
Who is God talking about here?  Some will say it is a generic “man” meaning both Adam and Eve.  However the Hebrew says, “the man.”  God specifically focuses on the male.

Chew on these.  As I said above there is much, much more in this chapter that is worth consideration.  I wanted to focus on these for now.

Tomorrow I will summarize some of these observations.

Weapons of the Enemy

There are some observations about Genesis 3:1 – 24 (here @ Bible Gateway) we should investigate.  This will take a couple of days to cover…

The first set of observations is on the schemes of the enemy.

Genesis 3:1 (here @ Bible Gateway) – “Has God said…?”
The first weapon in the enemy’s arsenal is to call the Word of God into question.  He does this either by directly challenging what the Word says or else works at trying to convince us that the text does not say what it says.

A cursory review of the media, some churches, some denominations, some “Christian” authors or scholars will quickly validate that this is not only first but one of his most effective tools.

Genesis 3:4 (here @ Bible Gateway) – “You surely will not die!”
The second weapon is used hot on the heels of the first.  Emphatically contradict the Word of God; calling God a liar.  Again this is evident in our culture.  We are not bad people!  Man is basically good!  There is no God!  This is usually done in a way that requires one to engage in an argument.  Typically, it is couched in terms that are a logical fallacy.  “Are you foolish enough to still believe the creation account?”  Which is a complex question forcing you to defend two positions for which no evidence has been presented.

Genesis 3:5 (here @ Bible Gateway) – “You will be like God…”
The third weapon is to promise equality with God.  In the case of Adam and Eve to emphasize knowledge over relationship with God.  It could be the tagline for most cults.  It is also a subtle trap those of us who love and revere the Word of God too often fall.  We become enamored of the content of the Word over our relationship with the One whom it reveals.

Tomorrow we will consider the impact and response of man to these weapons.

Not PC

I have been accused of a lot of things.  Being politically correct is not one of them.  I find that whole movement destructive of rational dialog and thought.  So this post will be anything but politically correct.

Genesis 2:18 – 25 (here @ Bible Gateway) has been in my reading in the past month, and it was as well a year ago.  Focus on 2:18 (here @ Bible Gateway).  Throughout the two accounts of the creation the Lord calls all that He did, “good” or “very good”.  Yet here, He says that it is “not good” that the man be alone.

As a result, God chooses to fix the “not good” situation.  Consider 2:22 (here @ Bible Gateway).  God fashions a woman for man.

A few days ago I got the December issue of JETS (Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society).  The table of contents for each issue is on the cover.  The first article listed was, “Does Genesis 2 Support Same-Sex Marriage?  An Evangelical Response”.  My first reaction – actually all of my reactions were – “you’ve got to be kidding me!”

But there it was.

Those who have an agenda will twist the Scripture into an unrecognizable shape.  They use their advanced degrees, condescension, “compassion”, and “scholarship” to bury the text with convoluted arguments that have not a scintilla of connection to what the text says.

It has been my observation that the more committed one is to proving the text does not say what it says the more ink and paper will be employed and the response to those questioning them will be branded as ignorant or “hate speech.”

To disagree with those who hold “compassionate”, “informed”, and “enlightened” positions, is to be a hater.  The convenient result of this response is it removes the “enlightened” from having to rationally discuss their errors.

Despicable Me…

There are times when the Word of God is stunning to me.  Two days ago reading 2 Samuel 12:9, the Word of God not only stunned but filleted me.

The writer under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit describes disobedience as despising the Word of God.  It occurs to me that to despise God’s Word is to despise Him.

Concurrent to my devotional and Bible study I have been working through How Long, O Lord? Reflections on Suffering and Evil, by D. A. Carson.  When I read 2 Samuel 12:9 this passage came to mind:

The ultimate measure of evil is the wrath of God (Rom. 1:18ff.), and that wrath is so resolute that it issues in the cross. We are all “by nature deserving of wrath” (Eph. 2:3): apart from the cross, there is no hope for any of us.
In this primal sense, then, evil is evil because it is rebellion against God. Evil is the failure to do what God demands or the performance of what God forbids. Not to love God with heart and soul and mind and strength is a great evil, for God has demanded it; not to love our neighbor as ourself is a great evil, for the same reason. To covet someone’s house or car or wife is a great evil, for God has forbidden covetousness; to nurture bitterness and self-pity is evil, for a similar reason. The dimensions of evil are thus established by the dimensions of God; the ugliness of evil is established by the beauty of God; the filth of evil is established by the purity of God; the selfishness of evil is established by the love of God.
(D. A. Carson, How Long, O Lord? Reflections on Suffering and Evil, 2nd ed. (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2006), 42.)

For me to disobey, lust, covet, not to love, is sin, despising God’s Word, and by extension, God.

James 4:17 reinforces this.  In Psalm 51:4, David declares that his disobedience is against God, he despised God and His Word.

This is hard.  It is especially hard when someone sins against or betrays me.  I have to respond to them in God’s grace or I become engaged in despising Him and His Word.

I am in dire need of His grace to live like this.