jump to navigation

And He Shall Be Called…"The Advocate" June 15, 2007

Posted by Josh in And He Shall Be Called....
add a comment

In my last post on the Names of Christ I wrote about the name “Amen,” which is found in Rev. 3:14. If you read that post then you may recall that I said that faithfulness is not something that Jesus does, faithfulness is what He Is. There’s a tremendous difference between doing something and being something!

“Amen” is certainly one of my favorite Names of Christ. One reason that it is one of my favorites is because it opens up a window to understanding Christ and who He Is. After all, if Christ wasn’t faithful then why would any of His other Names matter? Why would it matter if He called Himself “Redeemer” or “Savior” if He couldn’t be counted on to tell the truth? Yet when we understand that Jesus is not just faithful, but He is faith–when we understand that He is not just truthful but that He is Truth–then our understanding of the Nature of Christ takes on a whole new dimension.

Now, some readers might be thinking, “Yeah, Josh, I understand the difference between doing something and being something, but I still don’t see why you’re making such a big deal out of it; Why do the Names of Christ matter so much anyway?”

Well, dear Reader, I’m glad you asked 🙂

The reason it matters is because, quite simply, Jesus claimed to be God (John 8:56-59; cf. Ex. 3:14). He didn’t claim to be a spiritual guru, He didn’t claim to be helping people find the light inside of themselves or anything of that nature. No, Jesus claimed to be God Himself. The Big Cheese. The Top Dog. The Boss. Papa. The Head Honcho Himself. More than that, one New Testament writer said that Jesus is “the exact imprint of [God’s] nature” (Heb. 1:3), and another writer said that God “lives in light that no one can come near….No human has ever seen God or ever can see Him” (1 Tim. 6:16). If we put these two Scriptures together then they add up to one simple fact: No one can see God, but we can understand Him by looking at Jesus. In other words, Jesus our only way to know God and to come to understand Him. We will only know God by knowing Jesus.

So if we truly want to know what God is like then we need to look at Christ and what He was like.

And what’s the best way to do that? I am convinced that the best way to understand what Christ was like is to study the Names that He used for Himself.

Now up until this point I have been rehashing things that I’ve already written. I am doing this for two reasons. First, it’s been a few weeks since my last post, and it’s good to have a refresher. Second, reviewing this information makes for an excellent introduction into the Name that I am about to write about: “The Advocate.”

I ended my last post with a couple of suggested Scripture passages for further reading. One of those passages was 1 John 2:1-6, and I’d like to look at that now:

1Jn 2:1-6 HCSB
(1)  My little children, I am writing you these things so that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father–Jesus Christ the righteous One.
(2)  He Himself is the propitiation for our sins, and not only for ours, but also for those of the whole world.
(3)  This is how we are sure that we have come to know Him: by keeping His commands.
(4)  The one who says, “I have come to know Him,” without keeping His commands, is a liar, and the truth is not in him.
(5)  But whoever keeps His word, truly in him the love of God is perfected. This is how we know we are in Him:
(6)  the one who says he remains in Him should walk just as He walked.

Now there’s two words in this passage that immediately jump out. The reason that they jump out is because they are words we don’t use much anymore. The first is advocate, and it means “one called alongside” [1]. The basic meaning of the word is defense attorney [2], but there’s a little more to it then that. We’ll come back to it in a moment. The second word that jumps out is propitiation. That’s a word that many people have probably never ever heard before–we just don’t use it today! I’m not going to deal with the word propitiation in this post, I only mention it so that the passage will make more sense. Basically the word propitiation means covering [3]. Let’s look at the passage again with the words advocate and propitiation replaced by their definitions, and then it might make a bit more sense:

1Jn 2:1-6 HCSB
(1)  My little children, I am writing you these things so that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have a defense attorney with the Father–Jesus Christ the righteous One.
(2)  He Himself is the covering for our sins, and not only for ours, but also for those of the whole world.
(3)  This is how we are sure that we have come to know Him: by keeping His commands.
(4)  The one who says, “I have come to know Him,” without keeping His commands, is a liar, and the truth is not in him.
(5)  But whoever keeps His word, truly in him the love of God is perfected. This is how we know we are in Him:
(6)  the one who says he remains in Him should walk just as He walked.

The meaning of this passage is quite clear; it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to understand it! John is saying that we should not commit sins, but if we do commit a sin then we have a defense attorney ready and waiting to defend us. Who is that defense attorney? Well, His Name is Jesus. He’s The Advocate.

That concept alone is beautiful! But what if I told you there was even more meaning in this passage?

Let’s use an example to explain this.

Suppose you committed a crime. Not a big crime, just a small one. Let’s say that you ran a red light and got pulled over by a police officer and given a ticket. The police officer has your traffic violation on camera; He knows what you did and you know it to. There’s no getting out of it. You ran the red light, and now you’re going to pay the price in the form of a speeding ticket. So what do you do? Well, if you’re smart you just pay the ticket. No point in trying to get out of it. But let’s say that you’re not smart. Let’s say that you go before the judge and try to get out of the ticket.

You wait for your court date to come around and you enter the court room. You stand before the judge, and…what do you say? Do you claim that you didn’t commit the crime? The police officer knows that you did it. He has it on video! Do you try to come up with some lame excuse? What do you do?

Obviously, this isn’t a good situation to be in!

But let’s take this illustration a step further. Let’s say that you didn’t just run a red light. Let’s say that you did something worse. Far worse. Let’s say that you found out that your spouse cheated on you, and in a fit of rage you shot them. Now let’s say that a nosy neighbor saw the fight through the window and got it all on video tape. What do you say when you go before the judge? What do you do?

What if you’re the spouse who cheated? You’re a wife or a husband with a spouse and children who depend on you. You have a family to take care of and children who look up to you. In a fit of lust, with no excuse, you fall into sexual sin with a co-worker. You’ve just committed a crime against your spouse. It’s not anything that will send you to jail, but in the eyes of your family it’s far worse than murder. You’ve betrayed them. What do you do?

If you were in any of these three situations then you’re wrong. There’s no excuse. There’s no getting out of it. There’s no reasons. You’re just wrong. Period.

So what do you do?

Interestingly enough, this is the position that we find ourselves in spiritually whenever we commit any sin, no matter how small. James wrote that if a person slipped up in just one tiny point of God’s law then that person was guilty before God (James 2:10). So whenever we commit a sin–whether it be a “big one” like adultery or a “small one” like a lie–we find ourselves standing spiritually before our Judge: God.

What do we say? What do we do?

We have no excuse. We can’t say that we didn’t commit the sin. He knows that we did. We can’t say that we’re innocent. He knows that we’re not.

So now we turn to 1 John 2:1 and read that if we commit sin we have a defense attorney: Jesus. But earlier in this post I said that the word advocate has a little different meaning than just defense attorney. The reason I said that is because the role that Jesus plays is a little different than that of a human defense attorney. What’s the difference? It’s real simple, but it’s real crucial:

A human defense attorney tries to proclaim our innocence, but Jesus proclaims our guilt.

Stop and think about that for a moment.

Jesus does not get us off the hook for our sin by just claiming that we were innocent or by trying to make excuses for us. No, Jesus knows that we are guilty. So what does He do? In verse 2 we find the answer: He covers our sin.

That’s it. It’s gone. Covered. Done away with. The memory remains for us, but not for God. Why? Because Jesus Christ, the Righteous One, has come to stand beside us and to use His blood to cover our sin.

So we find that Jesus’ role is so much more than that of a defense attorney. Sin demanded a price, and that price was death (Rom. 6:23), but Jesus paid the price. Now when we commit sin He simply points to the blood and the sin is erased in the mind of God, never to be remembered again.

We carry the memory of our sin, but God doesn’t. We feel guilt, but God has no idea why we are feeling guilty. We feel shame, but God has no idea why. For “As far as the east is from the west, So far has He removed our transgressions from us” (Ps. 103:12).

bar3

References:

  1. John Jr MacArthur, The MacArthur Study Bible, electronic ed. (Nashville: Word Pub., 1997, c1997). 1 Jn 2:1.
  2. Ibid.
  3. “Propitiation.” King James Dictionary

And He Shall Be Called…"The Amen" May 28, 2007

Posted by Josh in And He Shall Be Called....
add a comment

Wow, it’s hard to believe that this is my first post in the entire month of May! Let me tell you guys a little bit about what this month has been like:

  • May 3-5th – worked 13-hour days
  • 6th – Spent all day doing errands, went to church
  • 7th – 11th – Spent all week commuting to Greenville for training
  • 12th – Friend’s birthday lunch, did errands, went dancing
  • 13th – Mother’s Day! Can’t remember what I did, since Mum was out of town
  • 14th – 16th – Worked 13-hour days
  • 17th – Dr’s appointment, helped friends move, younger brother’s graduation, went dancing
  • 18th – Spent all day buying camping gear and getting ready for my awesome camping trip
  • 19th – 20th – Awesome camping trip, rolled out at 5:30 AM on the 20th so we could get back in time for church; Younger brother’s graduation party at 5, family in town so visited with them afterwards
  • 21st – 23rd – Family in town, spent quite a bit of time with them, plus two small study groups, errands, etc.
  • 24th – 26th – Worked 13-hour days
  • 27th – Went hiking, went to cookout at church, hung out with friends
  • 28th – Back at work! But it’s a holiday so it’s slow, so now I’m writing this post!

Ok, so now let me tell you guys why I shared all of that; there really is a method to my madness!

The point is, there’s a lot going on in my life, just like there’s a lot going on in everyone’s life. Now I absolutely love having a busy life; God has blessed me with so many wonderful friends and with so much to do…but sometimes it can be hard to remain faithful to all of the various commitments that I have. Sometimes it’s hard to find time for all of the things that I need to do. Sometimes it’s really easy to overbook myself and schedule one thing too many, and then I find myself having to back out on something that I’ve promised a friend that I would do.

I don’t know about you, but I feel horrible when that happens. I feel horrible when I’ve promised someone that I’ll do something and then I find that I’m unable to follow through with it. I try my best to accomplish everything that I’ve committed to, but sometimes it’s really hard.

I think we’ve all experienced those times when we’re unable to keep a commitment to a friend, and I also think that we’ve all experienced times when we’ve been let down by a friend, a parent, or a loved one. One of the worst feelings in the world is to have someone who should care for us–like a parent, a husband, wife, boyfriend, or girlfriend–let us down. I think we’ve all experienced that pain.

Here’s the good news, though: Jesus never does that!

Now I know that might sound a little bit corny, but allow me to explain.

In my last post I said that I was studying the Names of Christ this summer, and I also said that the first Name that I am studying is “The Amen.” Jesus called Himself “the Amen” in Rev. 3:14, which says:

Rev 3:14 CEV
(14) This is what you must write to the angel of the church in Laodicea: I am the one called Amen! I am the faithful and true witness and the source of God’s creation. Listen to what I say.

Most of us only think of the word “Amen” when we finish saying a prayer. You know, “God bless this food, don’t let it kill me, in Jesus’ Name, Amen.” We think of the word “amen” as something that we say at the end of a prayer, but most people don’t really know what the word means.

The King James dictionary says that the word “amen” means “faithful, true, certain” [1]. One Greek dictionary defines it as “firm, steady, trustworthy” [2]. Now read Rev. 3:14 again with the definition of the word “amen” substituted:

Rev 3:14 CEV
(14) This is what you must write to the angel of the church in Laodicea: I am the one called faithful, true, certain, firm, steady, and trustworthy! I am the faithful and true witness and the source of God’s creation. Listen to what I say.

I don’t know about you, but when I read the Scripture with the definition substituted I find that the verse takes on a whole new meaning.

You see, it is so hard to find people today who are trustworthy. It is so hard to be trustworthy ourselves! We have all let down those who we care about, and we have all been let down by those we care about. But Jesus took the words “faithful, true, certain; firm, steady, trustworthy,” and He applied them to Himself as a proper Name.

You see, faithfulness is not just something that Jesus does, faithfulness is what He Is!

I find this concept so overwhelming! In a world where unfaithfulness abounds–in a world where supposedly reputable news stations run stories examining whether or not Americans are a bit strange when they feel guilty for cheating on their spouses [3]; where people are consumed with what others can do for them, instead of what they can do for others; in a world where parents abandon children and children abandon parents–it’s hard to imagine someone who is the epitome of faithfulness. It’s hard to imagine someone who is not only faithful, but someone who incarnates faithfulness.

Yet that is exactly what Jesus claims to do.

Faithfulness is not just what He does, faithfulness is what He Is.

Even more beautiful is the fact that God’s faithfulness to us does not depend on our faithfulness to Him. Don’t get me wrong; I’m not saying that Christians can just go out and do whatever we want. I do believe that the proof of Christianity is found in our lifestyle (cf. Mat. 7:15-23; Gal. 5:17-26), but I also believe that all of us make mistakes. Every one of us slips up and falls. The only perfect person to ever walk the face of this planet was Jesus. Every one before Him and since Him has blown it. The awesome thing, though, is that Jesus promises to remain faithful to us even when we are not faithful to Him! Check this Scripture out:

2Ti 2:11-13 CEV
(11) Here is a true message: “If we died with Christ, we will live with him.
(12) If we don’t give up, we will rule with him. If we deny that we know him, he will deny that he knows us.
(13) If we are not faithful, he will still be faithful. Christ cannot deny who he is.”

Again, I’m not saying that we can just all go do whatever we want and still be saved. What I am saying is that if a person slips up and falls then Christ is still there for them. It doesn’t matter how many times a person falls, and it doesn’t matter how many times they fail. All that matters is that they never give up. 

For there is truly nothing that can separate us from the arms of our Father.

Scriptures for additional reading:

References:

  1. King James Dictionary
  2. “G281”, The Complete Word Study Dictionary
  3. “French Men Don’t Get Caught”. MSN, “Lifestyle: Men”. <http://men.msn.com/articlebl.aspx?cp-documentid=4096355>. Accessed 5-28-2007.

What’s In A Name? April 30, 2007

Posted by Josh in And He Shall Be Called....
add a comment

A few days ago in this post I wrote about how I plan to spend some time studying the Names of Christ this summer, in an effort to get to know Him better. Before I start getting into the Names of Christ, I thought it would be good to explain a little bit more about why I decided to study His Names.

As I mentioned in my previous post, the reason that I am doing this is to get to know the Christ behind all the theology. But some might be wondering why I choose to do this by studying His Names and titles. After all, a Name is just an identifier, right?

Well, that’s the way that it is today, but that’s not the way that it was in biblical times. Today we use names for identification and nothing more. For instance, my name is Joshua Spiers, and people call me Josh or Joshua. If I am in a place where there are several Joshua’s, then people might call me Spiers, or Joshua Spiers. If things got really confusing then people could identify me by my full name: Joshua Michael Spiers.

Today parents pick names for their children that have meaning to the parents, but those names ultimately serve only as a way of identifying the person. Many people probably could not even tell you the meaning of their names.

But in Bible times it was very different. A name wasn’t meant to just to identify you, it was meant to tell other people something about you. In other words, your name said something about the type of person that you were. This wasn’t always the case, of course, but it was very common.

For instance, Jacob’s name literally means “heel grabber” [1]. He was named this because he was holding onto his twin brother’s heel when he was born (Gen. 25:26). In another Bible passage a man’s name is Nabal, which means “fool” [2]. Once again, people’s names didn’t always represent who they were, but the practice was very common. The point is that names meant something in Biblical times; a name was more than a way of identifying a person, it was a way of finding out something about them. This practice was so important that Nelson’s Illustrated Manner’s and Customs of the Bible (an excellent book about biblical cultures) says, “Jewish people believed that they must first know a person’s name before they could know the person themselves” [3].  

So let me ask this question: If a person’s name was so important in ancient times, then how much more important was the name of a god? If ancient cultures believed that a person’s name said something about who they were, then wouldn’t they believe the same thing about the names of their gods? Interestingly enough, archaeology confirms that this is exactly the case. One study Bible says that “In ancient times a ‘name’ represented the actual nature or essence or power of the person or god that it designated” [4]. Catch that? People believed that knowing the name of a god told you something about that god’s power.

So it’s obvious from all of this that a name carried extreme importance in biblical times–especially when it was the name of a god. This explains the exchange between Moses and God in front of the burning bush (Ex. 3:1-22). When God told Moses to go to Egypt and demand the emancipation of the Israelites, one of the questions that Moses asked God was: “I will tell the people of Israel that the God their ancestors worshiped has sent me to them….But what should I say, if they ask me your name?” (13 CEV). In other words, Moses wanted to know the Name of God. Judaism was not a formal religion yet, so Moses only knew Jehovah as someone Who his ancestors worshiped. Moses wanted to know Jehovah personally, so He asked for His Name! God’s response was very important. He replied, “I am the eternal God….So tell them that the LORD, whose name is ‘I Am,’ has sent you….This is my name forever, and it is the name that people must use from now on” (14 CEV).

It is obvious that this exchange was of supreme importance. God revealed Himself in a very personal way to Moses, and He did so by giving Moses His Name. The Name was never meant to simply identify God (although it served that function as well), but the Name that God gave Moses was designed to identify who God was, and to say something about Him.

Now that I’ve explained all of this it might make more sense why I have decided to get to know Christ better this summer by taking the time to study His Names. The most important Name is, of course, “Jesus,” which basically means “Salvation of Yahweh [Jehovah]” [5]. However there are hundreds of other Names that describe Jesus as well.

The first name that I am studying is from Rev. 3:14. In this passage Jesus calls Himself “the Amen.” The next post that I make about the Names of Christ will be looking at this Name and talking a little bit about what it means.

(Rev 3:14 CEV) This is what you must write to the angel of the church in Laodicea: I am the one called Amen! I am the faithful and true witness and the source of God’s creation. Listen to what I say.

  

References:

  1. J.I. Packer, Merrill Chapin Tenney and William White, Nelson’s Illustrated Manners and Customs of the Bible (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1997, c1995). 446.
  2. Earl D. Radmacher, Ronald Barclay Allen and H. Wayne House, Nelson’s New Illustrated Bible Commentary (Nashville: T. Nelson Publishers, 1999). 1 Ki 18:22-23.
  3. J.I. Packer, Merrill Chapin Tenney and William White, Nelson’s Illustrated Manners and Customs of the Bible (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1997, c1995). 446.
  4. The Open Bible : New King James Version, electronic ed. (Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1998, c1997). Ge 1:1.
  5. J.I. Packer, Merrill Chapin Tenney and William White, Nelson’s Illustrated Manners and Customs of the Bible (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1997, c1995). 446.

Every Little Thing’s Gonna Be Alright April 27, 2007

Posted by Josh in Thoughts.
add a comment

Anyone who reads my blogs knows that Delirious? is one of my favorite bands. This morning I was listening to one of their songs titled “Every Little Thing (Is Gonna Be Alright),” and I started thinking about the words. More specifically, I started thinking about the word little.

As Christians we usually understand that “God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them” (Rom. 8:28). The problem is that we all too often think of this in a big scale. At least I do. What I mean is that I often trust God to handle the big issues; the major things. When a car breaks down and I am left without transportation, I trust God to work the situation out for the best. When a disease flares up or an unexpected bill arrives in the mail, I trust that God will sort everything out for the best. But as I was listening to the song “Every Little Thing” this morning I started to think about how God wants to take care of the little things in our lives–not just the big things.

As I started to meditate on this I was reminded of the Scripture passage in Matthew 6:25-31 where Jesus says:

“So I tell you, don’t worry about everyday life–whether you have enough food, drink, and clothes. Doesn’t life consist of more than food and clothing? Look at the birds. They don’t need to plant or harvest or put food in barns because your heavenly Father feeds them. And you are far more valuable to him than they are. Can all your worries add a single moment to your life? Of course not. “And why worry about your clothes? Look at the lilies and how they grow. They don’t work or make their clothing, yet Solomon in all his glory was not dressed as beautifully as they are. And if God cares so wonderfully for flowers that are here today and gone tomorrow, won’t he more surely care for you? You have so little faith! “So don’t worry about having enough food or drink or clothing. Why be like the pagans who are so deeply concerned about these things? Your heavenly Father already knows all your needs, and he will give you all you need from day to day if you live for him and make the Kingdom of God your primary concern. “So don’t worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring its own worries. Today’s trouble is enough for today” (NLT).

I think that the point Jesus is making is obvious: He cares about taking care of the little things in our lives. He came to not just give us life, but to give it to us “in all its fullness” (John 10:10).

I just find it so awe-inspring that the God of the entire universe–the Creator and sustainer of all things–cares enough about us that He is willing to take care of us “from day to day.” In another place Jesus said that He sees every time that a sparrow falls to the ground, and that we are much more important to Him than the sparrows (Mat. 10:29-31). The implication here is clear: God cares about every detail of our lives!

There is one more point that I should make before I complete this post, though. Jesus did come to give us life “in all its fullness,” but we humans often look for fulfillment in the wrong places. Many people read about the fulfillment that Christ offers, and they begin to ask God for the things that they think will fulfill them. Some people ask for things, others for relationships, others for money, etc. There is nothing wrong with any of these things, but it is crucial that we remember that things will never bring fulfillment. The only thing that will bring true fulfillment is a relationship with Christ. That is why Jesus said, “Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and [God] will give you everything you need” (Mat. 6:33).

For many years I made the mistake of seeking fulfillment in the wrong places. I was not living a bad lifestyle, but I was living with the mindset that a different job would bring fulfillment, or a relationship, or friends, or a better vehicle, etc. Again, none of that is bad. As a matter of fact, many of those things were designed by God to contribute to our fulfillment and happiness. The mistake is to think that those things on their own can bring us fulfillment and contentment. It took me years to finally understand that fulfillment only comes through Christ. He understands what we need, and when we make Him and His kingdom our #1 priority then He takes care of everything else, for He cares about every little thing.

When Theology Becomes Practical April 26, 2007

Posted by Josh in And He Shall Be Called..., Thoughts.
add a comment

I returned to school as a psychology major in February 2006. Since I was going to a Christian university I had to take a lot of theology electives. As many of my friends know, I fell in love with my theology courses and formally switched from psychology to theology this summer.

The upshot of this is that I have been taking theology courses (or courses closely related to theology) non-stop since February 2006. I love the courses, but sometimes it’s easy to fall so in love with the different philosophies and concepts that we fall out of love with the One Who we are studying for.

I have done school for 14 months straight (except for a brief break around Christmas time) and I must say that I have loved my classes. One thing that I have not loved, though, is how much my classes have cut into my personal devotion time. Sure, my classes are teaching me about God, but I’ve never yet seen a debate on Calvinism versus Arminianism help a person when they’re hurting. This isn’t to say that theology is bad–there’s a place for all of that stuff–I’m just saying that theology is worthless if it’s not practical.

As this semester was winding down I was thinking about all of this, and I decided that this summer I want to take some time to get to better know the God behind all the theology. I was trying to think of a good way to do this when I happened to glance out my bedroom door and noticed a poster I have hanging in my hallway. It is called, “And He Shall Be Called…”, and it lists some of the Names and titles of Christ. And that gave me a great idea: Why not get to know Christ by studying His Names and titles?

There are hundreds of Names and titles of Christ spread throughout Scripture, and they were placed there so that we can get to know the God that we serve. (It might disturb some that I use the terms “God” and “Christ” interchangeably, but the author of Hebrews wrote that Jesus is “the exact representation of [God’s] nature” (Heb. 1:3). In other words, if you want to get to know God, then get to know Jesus).

So throughout the rest of the summer I’m going to spend some time blogging about the Names and titles of Christ. I won’t blog every day, and I won’t blog about every single one, but as I find something interesting I’m going to try to take the time to share it.

The name that I am studying right now is simply “Amen,” and it is a name that Jesus called Himself in Rev. 3:14. I’m going to blog about that soon. For now, you might want to read up on it yourself, for it is a beautiful Scripture.

(Rev 3:14 CEV)
This is what you must write to the angel of the church in Laodicea: I am the one called Amen! I am the faithful and true witness and the source of God’s creation. Listen to what I say.

Also, here’s a link to 177 Names and Titles of Christ that I found on the Internet today. If you take the time to read through it then you might find out that God is more poetic than most people give Him credit for 🙂

God bless!

Why is this night different from every other night? April 4, 2007

Posted by Josh in Thoughts.
1 comment so far

Tonight I had an interesting experience. One of the families in my church hosted a traditional Passover dinner. The family is not Jewish, but they wanted to host the dinner to show people how the Passover in the Old Testament relates to Jesus Christ in the New Testament.

Most of you reading this blog may be familiar with the Passover, but for those of you who aren’t I will give a brief explanation. When Moses went to Egypt and demanded that they free the Israelites from slavery, the pharaoh would not do it. So God cause 10 separate plagues to come upon the Egyptians. None of the first 9 would cause the pharaoh to let the Israelites go free, so the 10th plague was the worst. In this plague God commanded an angel to go through the nation of Egypt and kill the firstborn male child in every house.

Of course, God wanted to spare the Israelites from this plague of death, so He gave them some special commands. He told them to kill a lamb and smear its blood on the doorposts of their houses. When the angel of death saw the blood it would pass by that house and not kill anyone inside of it. What God wanted to show the Israelites (and us today) is that sin is punishable by death, and that “no sins can be forgiven unless blood is offered” (Heb. 9:22).

This is all very important to us Christians, because we believe that Jesus was the ultimate sacrifice for sin. When John the Baptist saw Jesus he said, “There is the Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world!” (John 1:29). We believe that when Jesus’ blood was shed that He gave us the opportunity to have our sins taken away by placing our faith in Him.

Going back to the Passover dinner, now, there are several questions that Jewish fathers ask their children during the course of the meal. These questions don’t come out of the Bible, they are just tradition. One of the questions is this:

“Why is this night different from every other night?”

The answer that the child gives is:

“Because once we were slaves…and we are slaves no longer.”

This is very important to the Jews, because it represents their freedom from slavery in Egypt. It’s also important to us Christians, because it represents are freedom from slavery to sin and death.

Our Scriptures say that “the payment for sin is death” (Rom. 6:23). They also say that everyone has sinned (Rom. 3:23). We believe that when Jesus came to earth and died He paid the price for our sin. Now if a person places their faith in Him (Rom. 10:9-11) then that person can be saved from the payment for sin and they can experience eternal life.

I was thinking about all of this when I was eating the Passover meal. I was also thinking about how the Scriptures call Jesus the “Sunrise from on high” (Luke 1:78). I don’t know if you’ve ever seen a sunrise, but it is a beautiful thing to experience. I remember that one time I went up to the top of Cadillac Mountain in Maine for sunrise. It’s the first place in the United States to see the sun rise. I remember the experience of seeing the sun come up over the horizon, and how everything turned from gray to beautiful light.

And that’s the way that the Scriptures describe Jesus. Except, of course, they’re talking about a spiritual sunrise, not an earthly one.

So when I was eating the Passover dinner and the question was read–“Why is this night different from every other night?”–and the answer was read–“Because once we were slaves, and we are slaves no longer”–I thought of it in the context of being free from the power of death.

Some people view Christ as a good moral teacher, others as a prophet, and others as a philosopher or spiritual guide. But I view Christ as so much more than that. He’s not just a prophet, teacher, or guide to me. He is God become flesh (Mat. 1:23).

I view Him as the “Sunrise from on high” because He has done so much in my life. He’s not just something or someone that I choose to believe in. No, He has done great things in my life. He’s never turned water into wine for me (then again, I’ve never asked Him to), but I have seen His hand all throughout my life. I have had prayers answered, been healed of sickness, and become such a better person through following Christ.

I guess tonight I could ask a question kind of like the one asked during the Passover dinner, but slightly different. I could ask:

“What makes Christianity so different?”

After all, many other religions make the claims that Christianity makes. Many other religions claim to have the ultimate revelation of truth. Some claim that their religion is the only way to God (like Christianity does) and others claim that all religions are like different paths that take us to the same place (many Eastern religions teach this). So what makes Christianity different?

Well, there are lots of things that make Christianity different. There are lots of reasons that I am a Christian. Let’s just say that I am a Christian because I believe Christianity to be true, I do not believe that Christianity is true because I am a Christian.

In other words, I’m not a Christian because I was raised Christian, or because I was raised southern, middle-class white American, and going to church on Sunday is just what I do. No, I am a Christian because I have examined the evidence and I believe that Christianity is true. I do not believe that Christ is just a path to God, I believe that He is the path to God.

Of course, some might read this blog and disagree with me. That’s fine, I respect other people’s views (anyone who knows me well knows that I don’t attack people over their views). However, if you’re reading this and you disagree with me that Christianity is the only path to God, then I offer you this challenge: Examine the evidence for yourself and show me why I’m wrong!

I don’t offer that challenge because I like to debate. I offer that challenge because if I’m wrong then I want to know. After all, we’re talking about a subject with eternal consequences here! If I’m wrong then I want to know, and I would hope that anyone reading this blog would feel the same way, no matter what their religion is.

If you are interested in finding out what makes Christianity different than other religions, and why I am a Christian, then I can offer a couple of places to start searching.

First, you can ask me :). I’ll always be happy to tell you.

Another thing that you can do is check out these two Web sites:

  1. http://www.garyhabermas.com/
  2. http://www.leestrobel.com/

Dr. Gary Habermas was raised in a Christian family, and he is a Christian again now, but he was a skeptic for over 10 years. He examined different world religions searching for truth. Christianity was eventually the religion that He returned to, because He was convinced from the evidence that it was true.

Lee Strobel was an atheist for most of his life. He eventually set out to research Christianity, and he ended up becoming a Christian.

I picked these two Web sites for a couple of reasons. First, both of these men were skeptics and/or atheists for much of their life. They are Christians now because they are convinced that Christianity is true. Also, they both have a lot of free resources available on their Web sites. They both have some excellent videos that you can watch for free.

Lee Strobel also wrote three very famous books: The Case for Christ, The Case for Faith, and The Case for a Creator. If you live here in Spartanburg then you can find all three of these books in the local Spartanburg county library.

If you’re going to start researching Christianity, then I recommend going to the two Web sites that I’ve listed above and watching some of their videos on the resurrection of Jesus Christ. It’s a great place to start…especially since it’s Easter time! Another reason why it’s a good place to start is because if the resurrection is true then it says a lot for Christianity, because no man can rise from the dead on his own. If the resurrection is false, then even the Bible says that Christianity is “worthless” (1 Cor. 15:17)!

Well, it’s past my bed time, so I guess I’ll go ahead and post this blog. Whatever your religious beliefs, I hope that this blog has given you, the reader, something to think about! God bless you all, and have a happy Easter!

John 5:1-9 – The Miracle Maker March 16, 2007

Posted by Josh in Thoughts.
add a comment

Ok, so I should be working on a couple of papers for school right now, but I feel like blogging instead. Before I get going, though, I should mention why I haven’t written any blogs in several weeks. The reason is not that I’ve given up on blogging, or that I’ve been too busy, or anything like that. No, it’s just that I’ve been going through one of those “learning phases” that God occasionally puts us through. I’ve had a lot on my mind, and my thoughts have been really scattered. So this blog isn’t dead, or anything like that, I just needed some time to work through some things and get my thoughts back on track.

Oh yeah, and I upgraded my computer to the new Vista operating system (which took several days), and I worked 80 hours in 6 days, so that had something to do with it too 😛

Now that all of that’s cleared up I’m going to go ahead and share what’s on my mind tonight.

During the last few weeks I’ve been listening to the song “Miracle Maker” by the Christian band Delirious?. (No, that’s not a typo, their name ends with a question mark.) The song “Miracle Maker” is based on one of the miracles that Jesus performed. The miracle is recorded by John, and I’ll quote the text, and then write a little bit about it.

John 5:2-3; 5-9 ESV
(2) Now there is in Jerusalem by the Sheep Gate a pool, in Aramaic called Bethesda, which has five roofed colonnades.
(3) In these lay a multitude of invalids–blind, lame, and paralyzed.
…
(5) One man was there who had been an invalid for thirty-eight years.
(6) When Jesus saw him lying there and knew that he had already been there a long time, he said to him, “Do you want to be healed?”
(7) The sick man answered him, “Sir, I have no one to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up, and while I am going another steps down before me.”
(8) Jesus said to him, “Get up, take up your bed, and walk.”
(9) And at once the man was healed, and he took up his bed and walked. Now that day was the Sabbath.

There are a lot of things that I really like about this story. On the surface it looks so simple, but there is a lot of depth to it. I’m not going to go into every reason that I like this miracle, but I will make a few points.

The first thing that I like about this miracle is the fact that the man Jesus healed had been “an invalid for thirty-eight years.” Now, anyone who knows me well knows that I put a lot of stock in hope. If a person has hope then they can make it through anything, no matter how rough it might be. When I read this miracle I can’t help but wonder, “How many times did the man that Jesus healed almost give up hope?” We don’t know the answer to that question, but we do know that after thirty-eight years he was still hoping for a miracle.

Another thing we know is that he wanted to be healed. I find it fascinating that Jesus walks up and asks him, “Do you want to be healed?” At first glance that seems like a really, really dumb question! The guy’s been an invalid for thirty-eight years! Of course he wants to be healed!

Or does he?

Notice that there’s no record of Jesus healing anyone else there that day, even though the Bible says that there was a “multitude of invalids” there. I don’t want to speculate too much, but I find it hard to believe that this was the only invalid that Jesus was willing to heal. Did Jesus ask others if they wanted to be healed, and they said no? Did they laugh Him off, or shrug off the question? Did they make a joke out of it? Who knows?!

What we do know is that change is uncomfortable. It’s a step into the unknown. Sometimes it seems better to stay in a miserable situation, if stepping out of that miserable situation could cause us even greater misery! Put another way, it might be easier to give up hope than to say, “Yes, Jesus, I want to be healed,” knowing (from the invalid’s point of view) that Jesus might not do it. Sometimes it’s easier to just bury hope and give up.

Been there, done that, got the t-shirt, and I don’t care to go back.

Another possible reason that an invalid might not want to be healed is because it would bring about a complete change of life for them. After all, if you’re an invalid, then someone has to take care of you. The Jewish Law required that people give you “alms.” Being an invalid is certainly a horrible life, but what if you’re healed? What happens to you then? Then there’s all the worries and fears about finding a profession, making a living, etc.

The reason that I say all of this is because we don’t know about all of the other invalids that were there that day, but we do know that there was this one–a guy who had been an invalid for thirty-eight years–who refused to give up hope. He waited patiently by a pool, hoping that an angel would stir up the waters of the pool so that he could be healed. In addition to all of that, the legend said that only one person could be healed, and this invalid was hoping against hope that somehow he could be the first one in the pool when the angel stirred the waters! Talk about hope!

So, to recap, one of the reasons that I like this miracle is because the guy who was healed refused to give up hope. Even after thirty-eight years he was still hoping against hope that something would change.

Then one day Jesus walked by.

That’s worth stopping and thinking about.

Another thing that I love about this miracle is the way that Jesus healed the invalid. Look carefully at these Scriptures again, and notice what Jesus did not say:

John 5:6-9 ESV
(6) When Jesus saw him lying there and knew that he had already been there a long time, he said to him, “Do you want to be healed?”
(7) The sick man answered him, “Sir, I have no one to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up, and while I am going another steps down before me.”
(8) Jesus said to him, “Get up, take up your bed, and walk.”
(9) And at once the man was healed, and he took up his bed and walked.

What Jesus did not do was heal the guy of whatever problem afflicted him.

Think about that for a moment, because it’s such a powerful point.

We don’t know what caused this guy to be an invalid, but we do know that it probably was not something that afflicted him from birth. The Bible doesn’t say that he was an invalid from birth, it says that he was an invalid for thirty-eight years. This implies that at one point the guy was not an invalid.

So what happened to cause him to become crippled? The Bible doesn’t say. Was he a roof maker who fell and broke his neck? Was he a child who was dropped by his parents and suffered damage to his spine? Was he beaten and abused when he was young? We don’t know. We don’t know if it was spinal injury or injury to his legs that caused him to be unable to walk. It could have even been other things.

So I find it fascinating that Jesus didn’t heal the guy of whatever caused his problem in the first place. He just commanded him to get up, pick up his bedding, and walk. As soon as Jesus commanded the man to do these three things, this is what happened:

  1. The man was healed of whatever caused him to be an invalid.
  2. The man’s legs received strength. The muscles must have been atrophied after thirty-eight years.
  3. If the man’s upper body was paralyzed then he received strength there as well, so that he was able to pick up his bedding.
  4. Any lost motor skills were regained.

But did Jesus command all of this to happen? No! He just commanded the guy to get up and walk. As soon as Jesus gave the command, reality changed to make the command happen!

Let me say that again: Reality warped itself around the words of Jesus.

Now you might think that’s really cool (like I do), or you might think I’m making a big deal out of nothing. Here’s my point, though: Jesus completely changed reality, and He did it immediately. There were no fireworks going off in the sky; Jesus didn’t have the disciples hold the guy up so that He could blow on him and knock him down again (like certain faith healers like to do). Jesus didn’t even do anything really cool, like make a spit ball out of mud or walk on the waters of the pool, or anything like that. As a matter of fact, Jesus didn’t even touch the guy who was lame!

One moment the sun is shining, then Jesus spoke…and the sun was still shining.

One moment the wind was blowing through the trees, then Jesus spoke…and the wind was still blowing through the trees.

One moment a bird was singing and people were walking around and talking, then Jesus spoke…and a bird was still singing and people were still walking around and talking.

Thunder didn’t roar, lightning didn’t fall from the sky.

But, in one moment, everything changed for the man who was lame. Jesus spoke one sentence, and in doing so He changed a person’s life forever.

A lame man was given the ability to walk, and the Life-bringer brought hope.

The reason that I say all of that is to say this: Jesus never seems to do things in the way that we would expect Him to do it.

If I were God in the flesh, then I would be tempted to at least put on a good fireworks display and let everyone know that I had just healed this guy. That would have been cool. Or I might have let everyone know just how bad this guy’s injury was, and just how complicated a problem it was medically, so that they would all know how powerful I was when I healed him.

But Jesus didn’t do anything of that. He just asked the guy if He wanted to be healed, the guy said yes, and Jesus changed reality to make it happen.

Thirty-eight years of waiting…thirty-eight years of never giving up hope…and then Jesus showed up.

So let me ask you: What is it that you are hoping for? What is it that you need changed in your life? I’m not talking about getting a six-figure salary, or anything like that (if that’s your priority then you’ve got your priorities in the wrong place). But what is it that you need from God?

Is it peace? Hope? Deliverance? Faith? Belief?

Whatever it is, Jesus still walks by today and He asks the question, “Do you want to be healed?” That puts the ball in our court.

Change is never comfortable. A lot of times it puts us in really difficult, uncomfortable situations. (As a matter of fact, if you read the rest of John 5 then you see that the guy Jesus healed got in trouble for carrying his bed around on the Sabbath.)

Not only is change uncomfortable, but sometimes we don’t really want to get what we’re asking for. I’m reminded of the words of St. Augustine’s famous prayer for chastity: “Oh Lord, make me chaste, but please don’t do it just yet” [1]. When St. Augustine wrote that he was recounting his earlier life, before he fully converted to Christianity, and it is quite humorous. How many times do we do the same thing, though? How many times do we pray for things that we don’t really want? How many times do we pray for the strength to “take up our cross,” all the while praying that God will never answer our prayer? After all, taking up our cross is just so darn hard sometimes!!

Anyway, I had all of this on my mind tonight, and I don’t really know why. I wasn’t planning on writing this blog until 1 hour and 8 minutes ago when I started 😛

Maybe it’ll speak to someone, though.

Let me summarize everything:

  • Our God is a God of hope. Even if you’ve been waiting for something for a long, long time, don’t give up hope. Stay focused on God, keep delighting in Him, and remain faithful (Ps. 37:4-5). Remember that He always desires the best for His children. He “causes all things to work together for good” (Rom. 8:28).
  • God never does things the way that we expect Him to do it. I think He just likes to amaze us. He’s such a show-off! Being all powerful must be really fun. (Personally, I’d have a blast if I was all powerful…it would totally rock…I can think of all kinds of stuff I’d like to do.)
  • Be willing to embrace change, even if it’s uncomfortable. Be willing to face the unknown. When hope comes your way, be willing to embrace the opportunity. God will never forsake you (Ps. 37:25), and He always wants what is best for His children (Mat. 7:11).

Finally, I said at the start of this blog that I have been listening to the song “Miracle Maker” a lot lately. I am going to conclude this post by quoting the lyrics of the song. You can also go to www.napster.com and listen to the song on-line for free if you’d like to. Just follow their instructions for creating a free account.

As you read the lyrics, or listen to the song, imagine yourself in the place of the invalid; lying on the ground for thirty-eight years, waiting for something to change. That’s where this song starts off, and it’s just so powerful. I can’t get enough of it!

Miracle Maker

I’m waiting here for my life to change,
When the waters stir you can rearrange me.
Just one touch is all I need,
I’ve nothing much but the wounds I feel,
I’m looking for the hand of the miracle man.

Holy, you are holy,
Who was and is and is to come.
Holy, you are holy, Saviour, Healer,
I’m standing at the feet of the miracle maker.

I’m holding on, with your life in mine,
Living water’s come,
And you’ve rearranged me.

Holy you are holy,
Who was and is and is to come.
Holy, you are holy,
Saviour, healer,
I’m staring in the face of the miracle maker.

Holy, you are holy,
Who was and is and is to come.
Jesus, precious Jesus,
Thank you, Saviour,
I’m walking in the shoes of my miracle maker.
I’m standing with the faith of a miracle maker.

Written by Delirious? ©2005 Curious? Music UK

http://www.delirious.org.uk/lyrics/songs/miraclemaker.html

Prov. 3:5-6 – Smooth Paths February 15, 2007

Posted by Josh in Thoughts.
add a comment

Pro 3:5-6 GW
(5) Trust the LORD with all your heart, and do not rely on your own understanding.
(6) In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths smooth.

Yesterday morning I woke up thinking about the need for Divine guidance. As I was still laying in bed, I realized that lately I have been not putting my trust in God in the way that I should. I realized that I have been worrying over things that I should be leaving up to God to solve.

I got out of bed and pulled up my Bible study software, and I started looking up some Scriptures on guidance. Proverbs 3:5-6 was the first one that I turned to, and I noticed something about it that I had never noticed before. See, I have always thought of Proverbs 3:5-6 as a guidance Scripture, and in a way it is. What it actually says, though, is that if we put our trust completely in God then He will make our paths smooth.

I spent some time thinking about that, and I realized that there is a difference between God guiding us and God making our paths smooth. Of course God does indeed guide us–that theme is repeated over and over throughout Scripture–but, according to Proverbs 3:5-6, He also makes our paths smooth.

As I meditated on this I started thinking about how there are so many things in our life that could be so difficult, but it seems that God just smooths out the paths. For instance, when I moved into my new apartment I was worrying about all of the things that could go wrong. I had to get the gas turned on, had to get Internet service, electricity, had to move, and also had to do all of the other miscellaneous things that moving involves. I was so worried about everything that could go wrong, but when I look back on it I see how it went so smoothly! God truly smoothed out my path.

That’s a small example, but I can think of big examples as well. It’s not that everything’s all a bed of roses since I’m a Christian, it’s just that I know that I have a God who cares about me personally, and He cares about making my ways smooth. He not only directs me along the right paths, but He smooths them over for me as well.

I could give example after example of how God has done this for me, but I think that I’ve said enough. I am just so incredibly thankful to God that He cares about me enough to smooth over the small areas in my life, as well as the big ones.

Thinking about all of this built up my faith, because I realize that if God will do this for the little things, then He will certainly do it for the big things as well!

Gen. 41:51 – He Helps Me Forget February 10, 2007

Posted by Josh in Thoughts.
1 comment so far

For the last few days my daily Bible reading has been taking me through the story of Joseph. When I read this verse today, it blew me away:

Gen 41:51 GW
(51) Joseph named his firstborn son Manasseh [He Helps Me Forget], because God helped him forget all his troubles and all about his father’s family.

I’ve heard the story of Joseph so many times, and read the story so many times, but I’ve never noticed this little verse before: “God Helps Me Forget.”

I’ve been thinking about it all day today. Life gets rough sometimes, but I don’t think any of us have had it as bad as Joseph. We all have our own burdens to bear, and I’m not making light of anyone’s problems–including my own–but I don’t think that anyone reading this blog can claim that they had it worse than Joseph.

Sold as a slave by his brothers (they were going to kill him!)

Sold again as a slave to an Egyptian–someone who had absolutely no knowledge of Joseph’s God

Wrongfully accused

Thrown into prison

Forgotten about by the one person who could have gotten him out of that prison

And then, after seven years in prison, everything turns around…in one day! The thing is, when most people teach this story, they jump from the part where Joseph gets made governor of Egypt to the part where he is reconciled to his brothers and his family. But right in the middle of those two parts of the story is the beautiful statement, “God Helps Me Forget.”

I have been through rough times in my life…we all have! But there may be people reading this blog right now who are going through those rough times right now. It’s not a thing in the past for you, it’s a thing in the present.

And you’re wondering if it’ll ever get better.

Maybe you were betrayed by a family member…wrongfully accused…or forgotten by a friend.

If that’s you, then let me promise you, there will come a time that you will look back and realize that God has helped you to forget. I know that God has done it for me, and He’ll do the same for you. If you make it through the rough times now, then there will come a time when the hardships that seem so overwhelming now are nothing more than a faint memory.

Because God is the God Who Helps You Forget.

I think it appropriate to end this blog with the words of King David. He said:

Psa 34:18-19 GNB
(18) The LORD is near to those who are discouraged; he saves those who have lost all hope.
(19) Good people suffer many troubles, but the LORD saves them from them all…

So if you’re going through a rough time right now, then just keep  on hanging on. There will come a day when your hope will be restored, because our God is the God Who Helps You Forget.

Answered Prayers February 8, 2007

Posted by Josh in Thoughts.
add a comment

Wow! What a tough couple of weeks! First, a week of solid sickness, then two weeks of moving while I worked and did school. Total craziness!

But Tuesday morning I stopped and took some time for reflection, and I realized how many prayers God has answered in a brief time span. It really, really amazed me. You see, I keep a list of prayer requests on my PDA, and Tuesday morning I was going through the list during my daily devotions. As I started going through various requests on the list I started realizing that that many of the requests had been answered. What a great feeling!

One of the things I have been praying about for a while is an apartment in Spartanburg (where I work). I have been having to drive 1 and 1/2 hours round trip every time I came into work or to church or any other activity in Spartanburg. Not only was this very hard on gas, but it was very tiring and time consuming since almost all of my activities are here in Spartanburg.

Well, God has answered the prayer for an apartment. And not only did He open the door for an apartment, He answered some very specific requests that I had. First, I wanted a place that was cheap (I like my spending money). Second, I wanted a place with good neighbors. Third, I wanted a place that’s quiet. Fourth, I wanted a place very close to work (within walking distance). I have to confess that I didn’t expect all of those prayers to be answered, but they were!

As I thought about all of this I started realizing that we Christians can be kind of funny about the way that we pray. I often find myself praying for more than I expect to get. I mean, I had a whole list of things that I wanted in an apartment, and I kind of had this subconscious idea in the back of my mind that if I asked for them all then maybe I’d get lucky and God would give me a few of the things I wanted. You know, shoot for the moon, and maybe you’ll reach the sky…that sort of deal…kind of like I did with my parents when I was younger.

The thing is, the Bible says that God likes to give things that are good to those who ask Him! Just look at what Jesus said here:

Mat 7:11 GW
(11) Even though you’re evil, you know how to give good gifts to your children. So how much more will your Father in heaven give good things to those who ask him?

Now I’m not a prosperity preacher (you know, the type that tells people to come to God so that they can get a new Jaguar), but I do believe that God loves to answers our prayers when we pray for things that are good.

I have decided that I am going to start keeping a list of the prayers that God has answered. It’s such a great faith building exercise. Every time God answers a small prayer, that gives me faith to pray for bigger things. (Keep in mind that I’m not talking about materialistic things, I’m talking about real needs that we need met. I needed an apartment in Spartanburg, but I don’t need a Hummer–although I won’t complain if God gives me one, as long as He gives me the ability to afford to put gas in it too).

Well, I’ve rambled a bit in this post, but I’m sure you guys get the picture. Prayer is such a great tool. It is just so awesome to realize that we as Christians have a direct channel to the Almighty Creator, and that He hears our prayers and loves to answer them!