A Boomer in the Pew

Question: Why Does God Today Seemingly Require Faith Without Sight?

Bible in a Year Series - Day #323 -  This post is part of a year-long series where we are reading chronologically through the Bible.  Click here to learn more.  You are most welcome to join along at any time.

"Now there was in Joppa a disciple named Tabitha, which, translated, means Dorcas. She was full of good works and acts of charity. 37 In those days she became ill and died, and when they had washed her, they laid her in an upper room. 38 Since Lydda was near Joppa, the disciples, hearing that Peter was there, sent two men to him, urging him, “Please come to us without delay.” 39 So Peter rose and went with them. And when he arrived, they took him to the upper room. All the widows stood beside him weeping and showing tunics and other garments that Dorcas made while she was with them. 40 But Peter put them all outside, and knelt down and prayed; and turning to the body he said, “Tabitha, arise.” And she opened her eyes, and when she saw Peter she sat up. 41 And he gave her his hand and raised her up. Then calling the saints and widows, he presented her alive. 42 And it became known throughout all Joppa, and many believed in the Lord." (Acts 9:36-42)

If one thoughtfully considers the testimony found in the gospels, the record of the miracles of Jesus staggers the mind, let alone his claim to be the Messiah.

Now here, in the Acts of the Apostles, we find that the Holy Spirit is now active in the disciples and they are raising people from the dead!

We are witnessing the building of the church through many miraculous things seen.

I wonder, why don't these things happen today?  Wouldn't it be easier for people to believe if they witnessed such things?

Do You Believe the Testimony of the Four Evangelists?

Bible in a Year Series - Day #320 -  This post is part of a year-long series where we are reading chronologically through the Bible.  Click here to learn more.  You are most welcome to join along at any time.

Today I am back home in the saddle after a quick trip to Michigan for my mother's wedding.

While there, our journey through the four gospels was finished and ended with a most remarkable claim:  this Jesus, who was also God in the flesh, was crucified and resurrected from the dead.

The whole of the Christian faith rests on the authenticity of these facts.  If Christ did not raise from the dead, then we are but fools.

It doesn't take a tremendous amount of research to find that these books are authentic documents and contain the eye-witness accounts of these four men.

The question that remains is do you believe it?  If Jesus Christ was the Messiah, God incarnate, then what does that mean to you and I?

Here's John at the end of his testimony:

"Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; but these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name."  (John 20:30-31)

"This is the disciple who is bearing witness about these things, and who has written these things, and we know that his testimony is true. Now there are also many other things that Jesus did. Were every one of them to be written, I suppose that the world itself could not contain the books that would be written." (John 21:24-25)

There are a great many worldviews and faith-claims in this world.  For me, however, when you consider the whole of history's record this is the only belief that is both plausible and live-able. 

The poor Darwinist has no reason to live, and a great many other beliefs rest upon the testimony of someone's dreams in the night.

Unfortunately, there are a lot of nut-balls who claim to have the same belief as I and who would add to the testimony of this book.  Clearly they have not read the last chapter of Revelation.

My testimony to you is this:  If you are a serious seeker of truth, then give this book an honest read.  Ask lots of questions, and see if you don't find it's claims to be true. 

Jesus said, in Luke's testimony, that he "came to seek and to save the lost".  If you honestly approach God, have the courage to get your concerns out on the table, then God will certainly not leave you lost and alone.

If you do, it is highly unlikely that a great miracle will come over your life.  You will likely not magically become a different person who no longer has evil desires.

But, you will find a new path and as you travel down that new path, change will begin to occur.

I invite and welcome you to the journey.

Leonardo da Vinci, the Last Supper, and the World's Greatest Sin

Bible in a Year Series - Day #314 -  This post is part of a year-long series where we are reading chronologically through the Bible.  Click here to learn more.  You are most welcome to join along at any time.

Today's text from the ESV Study Bible: Luke 22 and John 13.

When I was growing up, my mother had a copy of this painting on the wall of our living room.  Later, when I was a junior in college, I had the opportunity to stand in front of the original in Milan and Leonardo da Vinci had become one who I admired.

I don't know that I will ever understand the relationship between Jesus and Judas Iscariot.  Was he of another substance than you and me?  Was he completely without conscience?  When he became one of the disciples, was he knowingly a betrayer then?  Did he think, particularly after seeing all that Jesus had done, that he could escape Messiah's purview?  Satan cannot possess that which belongs to God; didn't the disciples see that this man was not on the team?

Nonetheless, his betrayal and kiss set into motion a series of events that the Hebrew prophets had long ago predicted, and in just a few days God will put into place the new covenant promised by the prophets and told of Christ at his last supper.

I enjoyed watching Dr. John Piper's video explaining this scene in: Judas Iscariot, the Suicide of Satan, and the Salvation of the World.

Who can comprehend all that took place at this table?

Unfathomable Love Displayed on Gethsemane's Holy Ground

Bible in a Year Series - Day #313 -  This post is part of a year-long series where we are reading chronologically through the Bible.  Click here to learn more.  You are most welcome to join along at any time.

Today's text from the ESV Study Bible: Matthew 26 & Mark 14.

It is 3:13 in the morning.  There seems to be of late a stirring of my soul that finds me awake each night mulling over this and that.

Having awakened at 2:30, I temporarily gave up on sleep and decided to rise and read today's narrative in our year-long, chronological journey through the Bible.

It is now Thursday of Holy Week in our study, and today we stand before the last supper, Gethsemane, Judas' betrayal, Christ's arrest, and Peter's denial.

As I play the movie of this chapter in my mind, and again see and understand the horror of what we are about to witness, I find myself stricken to the core.

In the last 312 days we have witnessed creation, the fall of man, and here, many thousands of years later we find Immanuel in Gethesemane (the olive press), with no human companionship, likely sparring with Satan, standing before the realization that Yaweh is about to abandon him, make him to become sin, and unleash his holy wrath upon him.

We can not begin to plumb the depths of this.  C.H. Spurgeon states that "few are sufficiently advanced in grace to be admited to behold the mysteries of "the agony"".

I implore you, take some time and read this sermon from the late C.H. Spurgeon on Gethsemane's Agony.  Pray that God will admit you to a fuller understanding, and be prepared to be melted with the beauty of infinite love.

Jesus taught that love was the greatest of the commandments; love of God and love of others.  Never before has love been so demonstrated as we witness our Savior in Gethsemane's garden.

Read "Gethsemane's Agony" and weep with me as you view and understand perfect love. 

The Bible, A Pillow, and Meeting God

Bible in a Year Series - Day #312 -  This post is part of a year-long series where we are reading chronologically through the Bible.  Click here to learn more.  You are most welcome to join along at any time.

Today's text from the ESV Study Bible: Matthew 25.

I was interacting recently with a professing atheist and he was desiring that we hop into the intellectual boxing ring and do a little sparing.

Certainly there is nothing wrong with such sport and it is good to exercise the mind of faith.

However, it seems that a great many desire to take some of the most difficult parts of the Bible, like today's reading, and begin the boxing match from there.

This is folly.

Here are a few keys points to understand about an individuals relationship with God:

• No one comes to God unless God draws him.  "No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him. And I will raise him up on the last day." (Matthew 6:44) No amount of intellectual sparing will create what Jesus called the new birth.  God doesn't need us to prove his existence.  Our job is to point others to Christ.  Cast the net.
• God has revealed himself to us in three ways:
  • Creation.  When you are standing at the rim of the Grand Canyon, something inside every human being is stirred.  What is that?  The Bible tells us that God demonstrates his existence through his creation.  “The heavens declare the glory of God,
 and the sky above proclaims his handiwork.
 2 Day to day pours out speech,
 and night to night reveals knowledge.
 3 There is no speech, nor are there words,
 whose voice is not heard.” (Psalm 19:1) For me, it takes a greater leap of faith to think that creation was the result of randomness.  
  • The Bible.  “All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness”. (2 Timothy 3:16) “We ourselves heard this very voice borne from heaven, for we were with him on the holy mountain. 19 And we have something more sure, the prophetic word, to which you will do well to pay attention as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts, 20 knowing this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture comes from someone's own interpretation. 21 For no prophecy was ever produced by the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.” (2 Peter 1:18)
  • Jesus Christ.  “For in him the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily” (Colossians 2:9)  “Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, 2 but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world. 3 He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power.” (Hebrews 1:1) “Jesus said to him, “Have I been with you so long, and you still do not know me, Philip? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’?” (John 14:9)  Only Christianity makes the claim that God came to earth. 
• We must honestly listen to our conscience when we lay our heads on the pillow at night.  A great many like to hear themselves talk, and walk around with puffed up chests thinking themselves wise.  However, at night, with your head on your pillow, all alone, you have no one to boast with.  It's just you, God, or randomness.  If randomness, then what is the purpose of your existence?  If God, then ask him to reveal himself to you.

I am not suggesting that intellectual discourse is a bad thing.  I am simply suggesting that for many who call themselves intellectuals, they lack the courage to take the simple steps of the young boy pictured above.

Any man, woman, or child who earnestly seeks God's face will find him. 

Therefore, dear atheist friend; grab your pillow, get alone, get a copy of the Bible, and ask God to help you find him.  No one is watching, so you can't be made a fool. Right?

You might start with the book of John.

The Olivet Discourse, End Times, Abomination of Desolation, and the Second Coming of Messiah

Bible in a Year Series - Day #311 -  This post is part of a year-long series where we are reading chronologically through the Bible.  Click here to learn more.  You are most welcome to join along at any time.

Today's text from the ESV Study Bible: Matthew 24.

The Bible is a very tough read for a thinking person.

In our journey of 311 days we have stood before very, very difficult passages.  We have also traversed a fair amount of prophecy and these passages challenge our sensibilities in a completely different way.

To make all of this even more challenging, we find that the prophecy sections tend to bring nutballs out of the woodwork.

In spite of all of this, the person who believes in God, who has done his/her homework on the trust-fullness of the Bible, and has come to believe that this man Jesus was indeed the Messiah and has placed their faith in him must greatly wrestle again with these words.

The Olivet Discourse is going to instruct of unheard of destruction on earth, the anti-christ, the end of times, a final judgment of all who ever lived, and a final kingdom ruled by Yahweh himself occupied only by the elect.

If these things don't melt the mind of a Christ-follower, what will? 

Clearly, sharing with your friends that you believe in such things will produce a tilting of their heads and a raising of their eyebrows.  Perhaps, they will think you're the nutcase.

Nonetheless, there it is.  Ben Franklin can cut these words out of his bible, but the words remain.

Who is this man Jesus? 

A nutcase?  A liar?  A lunatic?  A legend made up in someone's mind?

That is a question that we must all decide for ourselves.  It is not my job to persuade you one way or the other. 

If the words of this book are true, then God himself, given a fair read by you, will do the persuading.

Hang on to your hat.  When we get to the book of Revelation, it gets even more interesting.

Thomas Jefferson, the Jefferson Bible, the Chosen and Elect, and the Hard Sayings of Messiah

Bible in a Year Series - This post is part of a year-long series where we are reading chronologically through the Bible.  Click here to learn more.  You are most welcome to join along at any time.

We have now reached Tuesday of what Christians call Holy Week.  On Friday, Jesus will be crucified.

It is absolutely impossible for a thinking person to read the words of Jesus and not find themselves forced to make a decision about who he is.

Furthermore, Jesus has really turned up the heat and has transitioned from miracle-worker to laser focused teachings that cut deep wounds in the thinking of the religious establishment.

Consider this:

The Parable of the Wedding Feast

"And again Jesus spoke to them in parables, saying, 2 “The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who gave a wedding feast for his son, 3 and sent his servants to call those who were invited to the wedding feast, but they would not come. 4 Again he sent other servants, saying, ‘Tell those who are invited, See, I have prepared my dinner, my oxen and my fat calves have been slaughtered, and everything is ready. Come to the wedding feast.’ 5 But they paid no attention and went off, one to his farm, another to his business, 6 while the rest seized his servants, treated them shamefully, and killed them. 7 The king was angry, and he sent his troops and destroyed those murderers and burned their city. 8 Then he said to his servants, ‘The wedding feast is ready, but those invited were not worthy. 9 Go therefore to the main roads and invite to the wedding feast as many as you find.’ 10 And those servants went out into the roads and gathered all whom they found, both bad and good. So the wedding hall was filled with guests.

11 “But when the king came in to look at the guests, he saw there a man who had no wedding garment. 12 And he said to him, ‘Friend, how did you get in here without a wedding garment?’ And he was speechless. 13 Then the king said to the attendants, ‘Bind him hand and foot and cast him into the outer darkness. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’ 14 For many are called, but few are chosen.” (Matthew 22:1-14)

Here's a few of my understandings of this text:

• The first words out of Jesus' mouth, when he started his teaching ministry, were "repent, the kingdom of God is at hand".   Kingdom of God = Wedding Feast.
• God prepared this wedding feast for his chosen (the Jews) but they refused to come.
• We see an angry king (God), murderers killed, cities burned, and instruction to invite all (Gentiles) to the wedding feast.
• At the wedding feast, a man is found without a wedding garment (true faith in Christ) and is thrown into hell where there is weeping and gnashing of teeth.
• And then Messiah ends with this, "For many are called, but few are chosen."
• As C.S. Lewis said, there will be surprises in heaven.  Some who thought they were chosen weren't, and perhaps some who we might think were not chosen, in fact are.

As I said earlier, it is impossible for a thinking person to read this passage and not have a reaction of some sort.

Benjamin Franklin's response to these types of passages, in his Jefferson Bible, was to create his own bible where he simply cut out the things that were not appealing to his sensibilities.

What say you?

How do you respond to this historical man Jesus who came claiming to be God, healed thousands, told of a place called heaven and a place called hell, of a coming judgment, an end to the world, and an infinite time of joy for those who are chosen and his elect?

Jesus Weeping Over Jerusalem

Bible in a Year Series - Day #306 - This post is part of a year-long series where we are reading chronologically through the Bible.  Click here to learn more.  You are most welcome to join along at any time.

Today's text from the ESV Study Bible: Luke 18:15-19:48

I was thinking as I read this morning's narrative, for well over 200 days we have read of the history of God's dealings with a fallen world, and here we are, God is again dwelling with his people.

Yet, the chosen ones don't recognize him.  And, in fact, in but a few days in our narrative, will crucify him.

As the God-man looks over Jerusalem, and considers this fact, he weeps:

"And when he drew near and saw the city, he wept over it, 42 saying, “Would that you, even you, had known on this day the things that make for peace! But now they are hidden from your eyes. 43 For the days will come upon you, when your enemies will set up a barricade around you and surround you and hem you in on every side 44 and tear you down to the ground, you and your children within you. And they will not leave one stone upon another in you, because you did not know the time of your visitation.” (Luke 19:41-44)

I am currently sitting on a mountain in a posh Paradise Valley, Arizona resort as I read this.

Here's my view:

As I meagerly attempt to understand all that must have been swimming through the mind of Christ, fully God and fully man, I too find myself grieved. 

The most important thing to happen in the history of mankind, and a great many simply ignore, reject, or are completely blind.

Spend a few minutes and try to put yourself in Christ's shoes in this scene.

The Day God Cried

Bible in a Year Series - This post is part of a year-long series where we are reading chronologically through the Bible.  Click here to learn more.  You are most welcome to join along at any time. 

Carol and I are back home from our 10-Day Coastal California road trip.  What indescrible beauty we saw.  If you like, check out our The Roaming Boomers website over the next week or so as I share our stories, photographs, and video.

You probably also noticed that I made a decision that I couldn't keep the pace of my writing in this website when we were traveling and creating content for our other website.

Nonetheless, as I look back upon all that has happened in our year-long chronological journey through the Bible, I find myself at a bit of a loss how to share so much that we read about in the last nearly two weeks.

As I contemplate the over arching things happening in the life of Christ, I see:

• Christ healing
• Christ teaching
• Christ confronting
• Christ in relationship
• Peter confessing Jesus as the Messiah
• Messiah starting to predict his death
• and tears!

There is so much in the words of this book that is hard to wrap the mind around.

God created all and for some reason God allowed evil/sin in his creation which resulted in death.  And in John 11:35 we find Jesus, Immanuel, God with us, weeping over the death of his good friend Lazurus. 

Clearly Jesus is deeply moved at the pain of death, and in particular the pain brought to Lazurus' loved ones upon his death.

Remarkably, he will solve this immediate pain by resurrecting Lazurus.  That must have been a complete shock!  Right?

But, there is another death and resurrection coming.

Who can comprehend all of this?

Sometimes, me thinks, it is a hinderance to have heard these "stories" from childhood.  In some way, it seems to pull the heart and gut out of the message.

So here's the question:  If God cried, shouldn't we seek with all of our strength to fully understand the whole reason why?

Immanuel, give us eyes to see!

Why Do Men Marvel at the Scenic Beauty Of Big Sur?

Bible in a Year Series - This post is part of a year-long series where we are reading chronologically through the Bible.  Click here to learn more.  You are most welcome to join along at any time.  

Carol and I are on the road working on our The Roaming Boomers enterprise.

As we were driving up the coast of Big Sur, I caught this scene out of the corner of my eye and pulled over to snap a photograph.

Furthermore, I was not alone.  A great number of people were pulling their cars to the side of the road and photographing this very same scene.

Tourism is consistently in the top ten industries in the world.  Even in a recession, there are untold numbers of people traveling up and down the coast of Big Sur to stand mute before this untold beauty.

Why?

"For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. 20 For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse."  (Roman 1:19-20)

God is visible, made known, through creation.

"My sheep hear my voice"...(John 10:27a)

I suppose some will marvel at the infinite randomness that could create such a scene.  But I don't happen to believe that infinite randomness can create.  I believe that just as this photograph required me to create it, so too must there be a Creator of creation.

And more importantly, I believe that this Creator's creation screams to us of His existence.

Further still, being a part of the Creator's creation, I believe that I am hard-wired to hear the Creator's call, his pull, to see his love of beauty through his very creation.

You will never get me to believe that the beauty of Big Sur was mere happenstance. 

I believe in Yahweh.

The 1,121 posts I have written in this blog are my sincere efforts to get to know Him.

What do you see when you stare at creation's beauty?

PS  I am still working along in my year-long chronological journey through the Bible, I have just been unable to keep with with the daily posts while traveling.