Rajesh

Why a “3D” View of Politics is Essential

March 28, 2016

Yes, God is sovereign and whomever He has willed to become the next president of the US will become the next president. Nothing that anyone anywhere can do or will do is going to change that reality.

It is also true that God holds all people accountable for all their actions. Americans who have the privilege of voting must carefully consider who the candidates for an office are and what they are doing and saying.

I think that many Americans, including Christians, are overlooking a vital third dimension in their thinking about politics. Scripture teaches us that there is a vast horde of evil spirit beings who are continuously active in heaven and earth in opposing the purposes and people of God.

We cannot know in advance, who the sovereign choice of God for the next president of the US is. We cannot know with full certainty what is in the heart of any of the candidates.

We can, however, know from Scripture that every evil spirit being would be the most supportive of all of candidates who most actively oppose the purposes of God with their character, actions, and policies.

Viewed from this standpoint, which of the current candidates running for president of the US is the one towards whom satanic activity would be the most intensely directed in trying to prevent him from becoming the next president? Would not demonic forces most strongly oppose the candidate who is more strongly pro-Israel and pro-Christian than any of the other candidates are?

In Theology

Hoarders, Soiled Diapers, and the Work of Christ

March 26, 2016

Imagine a family of hoarders that lives such a dysfunctional life that they even hoard soiled diapers. After filling a whole room of their house with them, they proceed to litter all the rest of their house with them as well.

The stench throughout and from the house becomes so bad that even the neighbors are unable to bear it. Imagine then that some concerned community members decide to take action by first getting approval from the authorities to address the problem themselves. They then team up by having one group distract the family of hoarders for a whole day while another group goes through the home and removes all the soiled diapers without the knowledge or consent of the family of hoarders.

How should we label the people in the group that removed the soiled diapers without getting permission from the family? Should we call them thieves because they took something that did not belong to them?

By definition, a thief does what is unrighteous when he takes something of value that belongs to someone else. Would it be right to consider these people as thieves who did what was unrighteous by removing soiled diapers that belonged to the hoarders and not to them?

By definition, a thief takes something from someone else without having authorization to do so. Because the people in this account had proper authorization, is it right to call them thieves because they took something that did not belong to them?

This illustration shows that it would not be right to call these people thieves because they took something that did not belong to them. What they did was righteous and they had authorization to do what they did.

Application to the Work of Christ

Some think that it is ok to speak of Jesus as the third thief who died at Calvary because He took sins that belonged not to Him but to others. Analyzing what Jesus did at Calvary in light of the discussion of the illustration above shows that this is not a right thing to say.

Jesus did not die as a thief at Calvary because what He did was righteous. Jesus did not die as a thief at Calvary because God the Father authorized Him to take the sins of other people upon Himself.

We do not honor God when we speak of three thieves dying at Calvary. Jesus was not in any way a thief when He died at Calvary!

In Theology

Mi Oración por La Ofrenda – 3.20.16

March 20, 2016

Padre santo, gracias por darnos a todos nosotros vida, aliento y todas las cosas. Ayudanos a que te adoremos en espíritu y en verdad. Gracias por todos los que estan presentes. Muéstranos tu gloria en tu palabra de modo que seamos más como tu Hijo Jesucristo. Bendice lo que se ha dado ahora por amor de tu reino y tu justicia. En el nombre de tu Hijo amado, Jesús de Nazaret.

In Ministry, Prayer, Spanish

Guitar Music and Audio for “Hallelujah, What a Savior!”

March 19, 2016

“Hallelujah, What a Savior!” is a familiar song that is easy to play on the guitar. Here is a PDF of the guitar music for the song with the melody notes, first stanza, and chords, including chord diagrams. You can practice playing the song by playing along with this audio of it:

To simplify playing the song, play the slash chords as regular chords (play C instead of C/E) and skip playing some of the chords, such as E7 in measure 2.

In Guitar Music, Music

Another Glorious Dimension of the Goodness of God

March 14, 2016

The entire Bible testifies to the inexhaustible goodness of God. God gave the Israelites revelation concerning the Sabbath that testifies to another glorious dimension of His goodness that I had not given much thought to until recently.

Speaking directly to Moses, God declared the following concerning the Sabbath:

Exodus 23:12 Six days thou shalt do thy work, and on the seventh day thou shalt rest: that thine ox and thine ass may rest, and the son of thy handmaid, and the stranger, may be refreshed.

In giving the Sabbath to His people, God displayed that He cared not just for the well-being of humans but also for the well-being of their animals! God is so good that He wanted even the Israelites’ oxen and donkeys to have one day out of seven that they could rest physically from the exhausting labors that they endured on the other six days of each week!

Let us praise our God for this glorious dimension of His infinite goodness!

In Exposition, Theology

Elisha’s Glory as A Man of God

March 7, 2016

Scripture speaks to us of thousands of different people. Many of those people are named, but a sizable number are not.

Of the thousands that are named, only eight share the distinction of having Scripture explicitly speak of them as being men of God.

The following table presents the 78 times in Scripture that men are designated as being men of God.

David	2Ch 8:14 And he appointed, according to the order of David his father, the courses of the priests to their service, and the Levites to their charges, to praise and minister before the priests, as the duty of every day required: the porters also by their courses at every gate: for so had David the man of God commanded.
David	Neh 12:24 And the chief of the Levites: Hashabiah, Sherebiah, and Jeshua the son of Kadmiel, with their brethren over against them, to praise and to give thanks, according to the commandment of David the man of God, ward over against ward.
David	36 And his brethren, Shemaiah, and Azarael, Milalai, Gilalai, Maai, Nethaneel, and Judah, Hanani, with the musical instruments of David the man of God, and Ezra the scribe before them.
Elijah	1Ki 17:18 And she said unto Elijah, What have I to do with thee, O thou man of God? art thou come unto me to call my sin to remembrance, and to slay my son?
Elijah	24 And the woman said to Elijah, Now by this I know that thou art a man of God, and that the word of the LORD in thy mouth is truth.
Elijah	2Ki 1:9 ¶ Then the king sent unto him a captain of fifty with his fifty. And he went up to him: and, behold, he sat on the top of an hill. And he spake unto him, Thou man of God, the king hath said, Come down.
Elijah	10 And Elijah answered and said to the captain of fifty, If I be a man of God, then let fire come down from heaven, and consume thee and thy fifty. And there came down fire from heaven, and consumed him and his fifty.
Elijah	11 ¶ Again also he sent unto him another captain of fifty with his fifty. And he answered and said unto him, O man of God, thus hath the king said, Come down quickly.
Elijah	12 And Elijah answered and said unto them, If I be a man of God, let fire come down from heaven, and consume thee and thy fifty. And the fire of God came down from heaven, and consumed him and his fifty.
Elijah	13 ¶ And he sent again a captain of the third fifty with his fifty. And the third captain of fifty went up, and came and fell on his knees before Elijah, and besought him, and said unto him, O man of God, I pray thee, let my life, and the life of these fifty thy servants, be precious in thy sight.
Elisha	2Ki 4:7 Then she came and told the man of God. And he said, Go, sell the oil, and pay thy debt, and live thou and thy children of the rest.
Elisha	9 And she said unto her husband, Behold now, I perceive that this is an holy man of God, which passeth by us continually.
Elisha	16 And he said, About this season, according to the time of life, thou shalt embrace a son. And she said, Nay, my lord, thou man of God, do not lie unto thine handmaid.
Elisha	21 And she went up, and laid him on the bed of the man of God, and shut the door upon him, and went out.
Elisha	22 And she called unto her husband, and said, Send me, I pray thee, one of the young men, and one of the asses, that I may run to the man of God, and come again.
Elisha (2x)	25 ¶ So she went and came unto the man of God to mount Carmel. And it came to pass, when the man of God saw her afar off, that he said to Gehazi his servant, Behold, yonder is that Shunammite:
Elisha (2x)	27 And when she came to the man of God to the hill, she caught him by the feet: but Gehazi came near to thrust her away. And the man of God said, Let her alone; for her soul is vexed within her: and the LORD hath hid it from me, and hath not told me.
Elisha	40 So they poured out for the men to eat. And it came to pass, as they were eating of the pottage, that they cried out, and said, O thou man of God, there is death in the pot. And they could not eat thereof.
Elisha	42 ¶ And there came a man from Baalshalisha, and brought the man of God bread of the firstfruits, twenty loaves of barley, and full ears of corn in the husk thereof. And he said, Give unto the people, that they may eat.
Elisha	2Ki 5:8 ¶ And it was so, when Elisha the man of God had heard that the king of Israel had rent his clothes, that he sent to the king, saying, Wherefore hast thou rent thy clothes? let him come now to me, and he shall know that there is a prophet in Israel.
Elisha	14 Then went he down, and dipped himself seven times in Jordan, according to the saying of the man of God: and his flesh came again like unto the flesh of a little child, and he was clean.
Elisha	15 ¶ And he returned to the man of God, he and all his company, and came, and stood before him: and he said, Behold, now I know that there is no God in all the earth, but in Israel: now therefore, I pray thee, take a blessing of thy servant.
Elisha	20 But Gehazi, the servant of Elisha the man of God, said, Behold, my master hath spared Naaman this Syrian, in not receiving at his hands that which he brought: but, as the LORD liveth, I will run after him, and take somewhat of him.
Elisha	2Ki 6:6 And the man of God said, Where fell it? And he shewed him the place. And he cut down a stick, and cast it in thither; and the iron did swim.
Elisha	9 And the man of God sent unto the king of Israel, saying, Beware that thou pass not such a place; for thither the Syrians are come down.
Elisha	10 And the king of Israel sent to the place which the man of God told him and warned him of, and saved himself there, not once nor twice.
Elisha	15 ¶ And when the servant of the man of God was risen early, and gone forth, behold, an host compassed the city both with horses and chariots. And his servant said unto him, Alas, my master! how shall we do?
Elisha	2Ki 7:2 Then a lord on whose hand the king leaned answered the man of God, and said, Behold, if the LORD would make windows in heaven, might this thing be? And he said, Behold, thou shalt see it with thine eyes, but shalt not eat thereof.
Elisha	17 And the king appointed the lord on whose hand he leaned to have the charge of the gate: and the people trode upon him in the gate, and he died, as the man of God had said, who spake when the king came down to him.
Elisha	18 And it came to pass as the man of God had spoken to the king, saying, Two measures of barley for a shekel, and a measure of fine flour for a shekel, shall be to morrow about this time in the gate of Samaria:
Elisha	19 And that lord answered the man of God, and said, Now, behold, if the LORD should make windows in heaven, might such a thing be? And he said, Behold, thou shalt see it with thine eyes, but shalt not eat thereof.
Elisha	2Ki 8:2 And the woman arose, and did after the saying of the man of God: and she went with her household, and sojourned in the land of the Philistines seven years.
Elisha	4 And the king talked with Gehazi the servant of the man of God, saying, Tell me, I pray thee, all the great things that Elisha hath done.
Elisha	7 ¶ And Elisha came to Damascus; and Benhadad the king of Syria was sick; and it was told him, saying, The man of God is come hither.
Elisha	8 And the king said unto Hazael, Take a present in thine hand, and go, meet the man of God, and enquire of the LORD by him, saying, Shall I recover of this disease?
Elisha	11 And he settled his countenance stedfastly, until he was ashamed: and the man of God wept.
Elisha	2Ki 13:19 And the man of God was wroth with him, and said, Thou shouldest have smitten five or six times; then hadst thou smitten Syria till thou hadst consumed it: whereas now thou shalt smite Syria but thrice.
Igdaliah	Jer 35:4 And I brought them into the house of the LORD, into the chamber of the sons of Hanan, the son of Igdaliah, a man of God, which was by the chamber of the princes, which was above the chamber of Maaseiah the son of Shallum, the keeper of the door:
Moses	Deu 33:1 ¶ And this is the blessing, wherewith Moses the man of God blessed the children of Israel before his death.
Moses	Jos 14:6 ¶ Then the children of Judah came unto Joshua in Gilgal: and Caleb the son of Jephunneh the Kenezite said unto him, Thou knowest the thing that the LORD said unto Moses the man of God concerning me and thee in Kadeshbarnea.
Moses	1Ch 23:14 Now concerning Moses the man of God, his sons were named of the tribe of Levi.
Moses	2Ch 30:16 And they stood in their place after their manner, according to the law of Moses the man of God: the priests sprinkled the blood, which they received of the hand of the Levites.
Moses	Ezr 3:2 Then stood up Jeshua the son of Jozadak, and his brethren the priests, and Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, and his brethren, and builded the altar of the God of Israel, to offer burnt offerings thereon, as it is written in the law of Moses the man of God.
Moses	Psa 90:1 <A Prayer of Moses the man of God.> Lord, thou hast been our dwelling place in all generations.
Samuel	1Sa 9:6 And he said unto him, Behold now, there is in this city a man of God, and he is an honourable man; all that he saith cometh surely to pass: now let us go thither; peradventure he can shew us our way that we should go.
Samuel	7 Then said Saul to his servant, But, behold, if we go, what shall we bring the man? for the bread is spent in our vessels, and there is not a present to bring to the man of God: what have we?
Samuel	8 And the servant answered Saul again, and said, Behold, I have here at hand the fourth part of a shekel of silver: that will I give to the man of God, to tell us our way.
Samuel	10 Then said Saul to his servant, Well said; come, let us go. So they went unto the city where the man of God was.
Shemaiah	1Ki 12:22 But the word of God came unto Shemaiah the man of God, saying,
Shemaiah	2Ch 11:2 But the word of the LORD came to Shemaiah the man of God, saying,
Timothy	1Ti 6:11 ¶ But thou, O man of God, flee these things; and follow after righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, meekness.
Unnamed1	Jdg 13:6 Then the woman came and told her husband, saying, A man of God came unto me, and his countenance was like the countenance of an angel of God, very terrible: but I asked him not whence he was, neither told he me his name:
Unnamed1	8 ¶ Then Manoah intreated the LORD, and said, O my Lord, let the man of God which thou didst send come again unto us, and teach us what we shall do unto the child that shall be born.
Unnamed2	1Sa 2:27 ¶ And there came a man of God unto Eli, and said unto him, Thus saith the LORD, Did I plainly appear unto the house of thy father, when they were in Egypt in Pharaoh’s house?
Unnamed3	1Ki 13:1 ¶ And, behold, there came a man of God out of Judah by the word of the LORD unto Bethel: and Jeroboam stood by the altar to burn incense.
Unnamed3	4 And it came to pass, when king Jeroboam heard the saying of the man of God, which had cried against the altar in Bethel, that he put forth his hand from the altar, saying, Lay hold on him. And his hand, which he put forth against him, dried up, so that he could not pull it in again to him.
Unnamed3	5 The altar also was rent, and the ashes poured out from the altar, according to the sign which the man of God had given by the word of the LORD.
Unnamed3 (2x)	6 And the king answered and said unto the man of God, Intreat now the face of the LORD thy God, and pray for me, that my hand may be restored me again. And the man of God besought the LORD, and the king’s hand was restored him again, and became as it was before.
Unnamed3	7 And the king said unto the man of God, Come home with me, and refresh thyself, and I will give thee a reward.
Unnamed3	8 And the man of God said unto the king, If thou wilt give me half thine house, I will not go in with thee, neither will I eat bread nor drink water in this place:
Unnamed3	11 ¶ Now there dwelt an old prophet in Bethel; and his sons came and told him all the works that the man of God had done that day in Bethel: the words which he had spoken unto the king, them they told also to their father.
Unnamed3	12 And their father said unto them, What way went he? For his sons had seen what way the man of God went, which came from Judah.
Unnamed3 (2x)	14 And went after the man of God, and found him sitting under an oak: and he said unto him, Art thou the man of God that camest from Judah? And he said, I am.
Unnamed3	21 And he cried unto the man of God that came from Judah, saying, Thus saith the LORD, Forasmuch as thou hast disobeyed the mouth of the LORD, and hast not kept the commandment which the LORD thy God commanded thee,
Unnamed3	26 ¶ And when the prophet that brought him back from the way heard thereof, he said, It is the man of God, who was disobedient unto the word of the LORD: therefore the LORD hath delivered him unto the lion, which hath torn him, and slain him, according to the word of the LORD, which he spake unto him.
Unnamed3	29 And the prophet took up the carcase of the man of God, and laid it upon the ass, and brought it back: and the old prophet came to the city, to mourn and to bury him.
Unnamed3	31 And it came to pass, after he had buried him, that he spake to his sons, saying, When I am dead, then bury me in the sepulchre wherein the man of God is buried; lay my bones beside his bones:
Unnamed3	2Ki 23:16 And as Josiah turned himself, he spied the sepulchres that were there in the mount, and sent, and took the bones out of the sepulchres, and burned them upon the altar, and polluted it, according to the word of the LORD which the man of God proclaimed, who proclaimed these words.
Unnamed3	17 Then he said, What title is that that I see? And the men of the city told him, It is the sepulchre of the man of God, which came from Judah, and proclaimed these things that thou hast done against the altar of Bethel.
Unnamed4	1Ki 20:28 And there came a man of God, and spake unto the king of Israel, and said, Thus saith the LORD, Because the Syrians have said, The LORD is God of the hills, but he is not God of the valleys, therefore will I deliver all this great multitude into thine hand, and ye shall know that I am the LORD.
Unnamed5	2Ch 25:7 But there came a man of God to him, saying, O king, let not the army of Israel go with thee; for the LORD is not with Israel, to wit, with all the children of Ephraim.
Unnamed5 (2x)	9 And Amaziah said to the man of God, But what shall we do for the hundred talents which I have given to the army of Israel? And the man of God answered, The LORD is able to give thee much more than this.
Generic	2Ti 3:17 That the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works.

As can be plainly seen from the table, Elisha the prophet has the glory of being called a man of God far more times than any other man!

Elisha (29x)

Elijah (7x)

Moses (6x)

Samuel (4x)

David (3x)

Shemaiah (2x)

Igdaliah, Timothy (1x)

It is fascinating to ponder why the Holy Spirit inspired the Scripture writers to emphasize this designation for Elisha in this profound way. If you have any thoughts about why this might be, I would love to hear what you think.

In Bible reading, Theology

Matthew 6:33 and American Presidential Politics

February 29, 2016

How should Christians who have the opportunity to vote decide which candidates they should vote for? Many people seem to answer this question by voting for the candidates that they think will have the best policies that will most benefit them, especially economically.

In the Sermon on the Mount, however, Jesus taught that God’s people must always prioritize God’s kingdom and His righteousness above all other concerns, including even such essentials as seeking what they will eat, drink, and wear:

Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed? 32 (For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things. 33 But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you (Matthew 6:31-33).

As you consider whom you will vote for in this year’s elections, especially for determining who will be the next president of our country—if you are a Christian—you must keep in mind that God demands that you put His interests first in your deciding which candidates you choose to vote for and support in other ways. You must, therefore, carefully examine how each candidate rates concerning who they are in the sight of God and what they have done and will do concerning the things that matter most to God!

Christians are responsible before God to vote for candidates on the basis of a thoroughly biblical assessment of the things that most directly concern the kingdom of God and His righteousness.

In Discipleship, Interpretation

Through the Bible in 59 Days in 2016!

February 28, 2016

I began this year reading the Bible with an intense desire to read as much of the Bible as I could in preparation for teaching two combined Sunday school classes at my church. I praise God tonight that He has given me grace and perseverance to finish reading the Bible through for this year in 59 days!

Having read the Bible in English this year, my goal now is to try to read through the Bible in Spanish by the end of the year. Because I have not taught the second combined Sunday school class yet, I will also be studying many passages in the Bible in English intensely until I have taught that second class.

In Bible reading, Sunday School

Getting closer!

February 21, 2016

1051 chapters read in the Bible this year; 138 to go!

In Bible reading

Bible Reading Update 2.15.16

February 15, 2016

I have now read 915 chapters of the Bible this year, praise the Lord! To finish by the end of the month, I will need to read 274 chapters in the next 14 days.

In Bible reading

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