A People for His Name

O How He Loves Us!

February 21, 2011

The song, “Jesus Loves Me,” is a great song and a favorite of many people, especially many children. A few years ago, I wrote new words to be sung to the same tune. “O How He Loves Us!” still communicates that Jesus loves us, but it also communicates additional doctrinal truth. This song exposes people of all ages to key Scriptural ideas and stresses to them that God loved us, loves us, and will love us.

I designed this format for my guitar students so that they could learn the lyrics, the melody, and the chords.
The top line and time signature show how to count out each measure.
The capital letters are the basic guitar chords to play in the key of C when strumming or picking the song.
The numbers take the place of notes on a staff; they show the frets on which to play the melody on the second (B) string of a guitar. (Playing these same frets on either the first string or the sixth string transposes the melody to the key of F.)
William B. Bradbury produced the original tune from which I generated the numbers.
I wrote the words, except for the last part of the chorus, which I slightly modified from the original ending by Anna B. Warner.

In Discipleship, Music Music

Spiritual Warfare Parable

February 20, 2011

You are returning to your home out in the country from a weekend trip with your wife. Your cell phones are dead because you forgot your chargers at home. When you are a few miles away from your home, you see thick, black smoke coming from the direction of your home.

You rush home to find police cars and fire trucks on your property. The police prevent you from going to the house. From a safe distance, you watch what little is left of your home burn completely to the ground. Soon, you learn that the mutilated bodies of all your pets have been found in your swimming pool.

Shortly thereafter, the police inform you that they found the bodies of three security guards out in the woods behind your home. You inform them that you had four security guards. A few minutes later, they find the fourth one. Though he had been shot four times, he managed to survive by playing dead. Just before he finally dies, he informs the police that some gang members are responsible for what happened and that they have stolen your brand new Hummer and ransacked your home before setting it on fire.

Immediately, your thoughts turn to your three girls, whom you left for the weekend with your parents. You rush off to their home, a mile down the road. You pound on the door, but no one answers. Finally, in desperation, you break a window and get in the house. To your great horror, you find the lifeless bodies of your parents out back on their deck.

Frantically, you begin to search for your girls. You search everywhere, but you are unable to find your eight, ten, and twelve-year old daughters. In desperation, you head for the church that you pastor, which is three blocks down the road.

You arrive there and find the police at the church. You explain who you are and the chief with great sorrow explains that during a youth activity just a few hours ago, lightning struck during a storm that suddenly became violent and killed your three daughters as they were running toward the church to escape the storm.

As the pastor of a large, rural church in California that has taken a strong stand for Christ, how will you cope? Will you vow to spend the rest of your life to find those gang members and see that they get what they deserve? What will you make of the lightning? Will you abandon your faith in the midst of such horrific suffering?

Or, will you bow in worship: “Then Job arose and tore his robe and shaved his head, and he fell to the ground and worshiped. He said, ‘Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked I shall return there. The LORD gave and the LORD has taken away. Blessed be the name of the LORD’” (Job. 1:20-21).

And, will you think aright about what those gang members have done and about the lightning that killed your daughters? “Then the LORD said to Satan, ‘Behold, all that he has is in your power, only do not put forth your hand on him.’ So Satan departed from the presence of the LORD. . . . A messenger came to Job and said, ‘The oxen were plowing and the donkeys feeding beside them, and the Sabeans attacked and took them. They also slew the servants with the edge of the sword, and I alone have escaped to tell you.’ While he was still speaking, another also came and said, ‘The fire of God fell from heaven and burned up the sheep and the servants and consumed them, and I alone have escaped to tell you.’ While he was still speaking, another also came and said, ‘The Chaldeans formed three bands and made a raid on the camels and took them and slew the servants with the edge of the sword, and I alone have escaped to tell you.’ While he was still speaking, another also came and said, ‘Your sons and your daughters were eating and drinking wine in their oldest brother’s house, and behold, a great wind came from across the wilderness and struck the four corners of the house, and it fell on the young people and they died, and I alone have escaped to tell you’” (Job. 1:14-19).

“For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places” (Eph. 6:12).

In Discipleship, Parables Parable, Spiritual Warfare

‘God is My Judge’

February 19, 2011

In the 357 verses of the book of Daniel, there are more than 300 occurrences of words pertaining to civil authority: king (150); king’s (20); kings (12); kings’ (1) [183]; kingly (1); kingdom (54); kingdoms (3) [57]; prince(17); princes (18) [35]; reign (6); rule (4); ruler (6); ruled (2); rulers (2); ruleth (3) [17]; lord (4); and, lords (6) [10]. Noting much of this content, especially verses like Daniel 4:35, people often come away from the book thinking and saying that it is about God’s sovereignty.

The meaning of the word, “Daniel,” however, is not, ‘God is my Sovereign’; it means, ‘God is my judge.’ In keeping with the meaning of the title of the book, Daniel 7, the key chapter of the book, sets forth the Ancient of Days as the Judge who renders judgment (7:10, 22, and 26). His judgment brings about the rise and fall of the successive major kingdoms of the world and will one day bring in the kingdom of God and of His Christ.

Appreciation of the work of God as judge in the book of Daniel and in Scripture in general is not infrequently obscured by the overuse of the terms, “sovereign” and “sovereignty,” because God’s work as judge does not seem to be readily in view in such statements about His sovereignty. It seems that at least some people often think of sovereignty mostly in terms of an administrator or an executive and thereby lose sight of God’s work as judge.

Psalm 75 supports regarding Daniel as emphasizing the work of God as judge by declaring that promotion comes from God the Judge (75:6-7; see also 1 Sam. 15:3, 17-18; 1 Kings 19:16-17 [raising up kings] and 1 Sam. 15:23, 26; 2 Chron. 24:24 [removing kings in connection with His judging]). As the Judge, God is the One who puts down one and sets up another (75:7). Nearly the entire book of Daniel manifests the judicial activity of God in connection with the rise and fall of kings and their kingdoms.

It is important for us to have a scriptural understanding of the work of God as judge. His judging is not just His condemning, destroying, punishing, etc. His judgment is multifaceted and includes His promoting people and rewarding those who are upright. For example, God as the Judge of all manifests Himself gloriously in the book of Daniel by repeatedly exalting Daniel and his friends in spite of others’ attempts to destroy them (2:46-49; 3:28-30; 6:23-24).

Let us praise our God, the Judge who both exalts and abases!

Model Prayer Handout

February 18, 2011

When His disciples asked Him to teach them to pray, Jesus gave them the Model Prayer. He commanded them to pray in that manner continually. The Model Prayer played a role in my life even before my salvation. Several years before I was saved, I attended religious services with some friends on a fairly regular basis on Saturdays. In each service, the highlight for me was when we would sing a somewhat shortened version of the Model Prayer. Although I was not a believer, I always felt something drawing me when I would sing those words.

A few years later, because of my reading some books about the Bible, I was praying the Model Prayer on a regular basis for several weeks even though I was not saved yet. At some point while I was doing so, I was saved.

Since my salvation, I have prayed the Model Prayer in some form nearly every day. Jesus said to pray this way, and we should heed His command.

Several years ago, I produced a handout based on the Model Prayer that compiles many prayers from Scripture that I have used as I pray in that manner. This handout aligns those prayers with the corresponding statements in the Model Prayer.

In Discipleship Prayer

Adam to Noah: Profiting More From Genesis 5

February 17, 2011

Working with the information in Genesis 5, I created a table that shows how long each person from Adam to Noah lived. I used my “After Adam” (AA) dating scheme to generate the table. Examining this table provides interesting information that simply reading through the text does not:

Everyone in the list from Seth to Lamech at least theoretically had the opportunity to know Adam personally. This fact has intriguing implications especially for what Enoch likely knew and how that information probably affected him (see my post, “In the Year after Adam“). Think also how many people may have attended the “funeral” of Adam (930 AA) and what it must have been like!

Everyone listed from Adam to Lamech had the opportunity to know Enoch for at least one century during the period that he walked with God. Yet, Scripture does not say that any of these people walked with God.

Jude 14-15 does not tell us when Enoch prophesied of the Lord’s future coming in judgment. If Enoch performed that ministry prior to Adam’s death, everyone listed before Noah could have had opportunity to hear Enoch’s prophesying personally. If he began to preach that message immediately after Adam’s death, all the rest listed from Seth to Lamech could still have had more than half a century to hear his preaching because Enoch was translated 57 years after Adam’s death.

Seth was still alive when Enoch was translated (987 AA), and so were Enosh, Cainan, Mahalel, Jared, Methuselah, and Lamech. What effect must Enoch’s not being found (Heb. 11:5) have had on all those who learned of it?

In fact, Seth lived 55 years after Enoch’s translation, and the rest lived from 153 (Enosh) to 669 (Methuselah) years after Enoch’s translation. Every one of these, therefore, could have had the opportunity to perpetuate Enoch’s message for at least more than half a century.

Enosh, Cainan, Mahalel, Jared, Methuselah, and Noah’s father, Lamech, were alive when Noah was born in 1056 AA. These all were still alive until Noah was 84 (when Enosh died). Noah, therefore, had abundant time to get first hand information from and about his ancestors, especially about Enoch and his prophesying and not being found.

The flood occurred in the year 1656 AA, which means that all human beings other than Noah and those who were with him in the Ark died before man had existed for even two millennia. Noah died in 2006 AA.

I hope that this fascinating study somehow stimulates your studying the Scripture more thoroughly and profiting more from the parts of it that are often glossed over.

In Interpretation Interpretation

God's Mercy in His Judgment

February 16, 2011

God fiercely judged Saul for his disobedience. He rejected him from being king (1 Sam. 15:23), rent the kingdom of Israel from him, and gave it to David (15:28). “The Spirit of the Lord departed from Saul, and an evil spirit from the Lord troubled” him (16:14).

Somehow, Saul’s servants knew that “an evil spirit from God” troubled Saul (16:14). They informed him of that fact and counseled him to seek out a skilled musician whose playing would relieve him of the affliction caused by the evil spirit (16:16). Responding to Saul’s request that his servants provide such a musician for him, one of his servants commended David to him (16:17-18).

The servant’s commendation informed Saul of much more than the fact that David was a skilled musician. The servant ended his six-fold commendation by saying, “The Lord is with him” (16:18). Saul sent for David (16:19-22), and David ministered effectively to him when he was troubled by the spirit: “Saul was refreshed, and was well, and the evil spirit departed from him” (16:19-23).

This account is often referenced by Christian musicians in their discussions of the value of good music. Although such use is valid, what the passage teaches about God’s mercy in His judgment is sometimes not fully appreciated. God rightly and fiercely judged Saul for his sinfulness. But, God extended mercy to Saul in His judgment through providing a means for him to be relieved of some of the ill effects of part of that judgment. Had God chosen to do so, He could have prevented Saul from ever learning of an effective remedy for the trouble the evil spirit was causing him.

Furthermore, God did not just allow him to learn of an effective remedy (16:16); He also put a servant among Saul’s servants who informed him of someone who could provide that remedy (16:18-22). Then, God allowed Saul’s request for that one to come to minister to him to be granted, and He allowed the ministry of that person to be effective in relieving him of his trouble (16:23).

As He did for Saul, God extends mercy in His judgment today to many who are suffering directly for their sinfulness. For example, He often allows people who have health problems directly attributable to their own evil behavior to yet learn of and obtain effective treatments that relieve some or all of their suffering.

God’s providing David as a means of relieving Saul of some of his trouble should inspire great appreciation for His mercy in His judgment. Let us praise God that He is the Judge who delights in mercy (Micah 7:18)!

In Interpretation, Music Interpretation

Evangelize Jesus and the Resurrection!

February 15, 2011

Concerning apostolic evangelism, few chapters in Scripture provide as much important information as Acts 17 does. With great skillfulness, Luke presents the Apostle Paul’s evangelistic ministry in multiple settings. The chapter records Paul’s evangelizing in three cities (Thessalonica, Berea, and Athens) on at least five separate occasions. We learn of his gospel ministry to Jews and Gentiles, men and women, rich and poor people, devout people and philosophers, and people in synagogues, in the marketplace, and at the Areopagus.

Thorough attention to all that Acts 17 records shows emphasis on Pauline proclamation of “Jesus and the Resurrection” at the beginning, the middle, and the end of the chapter (17: 3, 18, 32). Despite this consistent element of his preaching, some scholars and not a few preachers have asserted, in effect, that Paul more or less “failed” in his gospel ministry at the Areopagus. Lack of explicit record to his testifying concerning faith in the name of Jesus, the Cross, and Jesus as Savior lead many to regard this passage as a record of his departing from his normal evangelistic strategy.

Through three messages that I preached in October 2010, I have addressed such assessments to show that that they are unwarranted. Acts 17:18-34 is not in any sense a monument to Pauline failure in evangelism. Rather, the entire chapter plainly declares that Pauline evangelism at its essence was to evangelize Jesus and the Resurrection.

Acts 17 – Another King

Acts 17 – Make Known the True God

Various passages – Evangelize Jesus and the Resurrection

In Evangelism, Gospel, Interpretation Evangelism, Interpretation

Stress Management Truths from Scripture

February 14, 2011

Proper attention to these truths is essential to our managing stress effectively as Christians:

Proper confession of our own sin: Psalm 32:1 Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered. 2 Blessed is the man unto whom the LORD imputeth not iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no guile. 3 When I kept silence, my bones waxed old through my roaring all the day long. 4 For day and night thy hand was heavy upon me: my moisture is turned into the drought of summer.

Proper response to others who trespass against us: Matthew 18:32 Then his lord, after that he had called him, said unto him, O thou wicked servant, I forgave thee all that debt, because thou desiredst me: 33 Shouldest not thou also have had compassion on thy fellowservant, even as I had pity on thee? 34 And his lord was wroth, and delivered him to the tormentors, till he should pay all that was due unto him. 35 So likewise shall my heavenly Father do also unto you, if ye from your hearts forgive not every one his brother their trespasses.

Proper heart state: Proverbs 14:30 A sound heart is the life of the flesh: but envy the rottenness of the bones.

Proper prayer life: Philippians 4:6 Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. 7 And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.

Proper thought life: Isaiah 26:3 Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee.

Proper ministry by leaders who properly discipline their bodies and bring them into subjection: Eccl. 10:17 Blessed art thou, O land, when thy king is the son of nobles, and thy princes eat in due season, for strength, and not for drunkenness!

Proper reception of the preaching of the Word of God: 1 Cor. 14:3 But he that prophesieth speaketh unto men to edification, and exhortation, and comfort.

Proper response to adversity: Acts 20:24 But none of these things move me, neither count I my life dear unto myself, so that I might finish my course with joy, and the ministry, which I have received of the Lord Jesus, to testify the gospel of the grace of God.

Proper counsel from friends: Proverbs 27:9 Ointment and perfume rejoice the heart: so doth the sweetness of a man’s friend by hearty counsel.

Proper response to godly counsel: Proverbs 13:10 Only by pride cometh contention: but with the well advised is wisdom.

Proper observance of a regular day of rest: Mark 2:27 And he said unto them, The sabbath was made for man, and not man for the sabbath.

Proper laboring: Ecclesiastes 5:12 The sleep of a labouring man is sweet, whether he eat little or much: but the abundance of the rich will not suffer him to sleep.

Proper strength: Psalm 19:4 In them hath he set a tabernacle for the sun, 5 Which . . . rejoiceth as a strong man to run a race.

Proper food & water consumption: Isaiah 44:12 The smith with the tongs both worketh in the coals, and fashioneth it with hammers, and worketh it with the strength of his arms: yea, he is hungry, and his strength faileth: he drinketh no water, and is faint.

In Discipleship, Health Health

Resurrection Parable

February 13, 2011

Many people doubt or even deny that Jesus rose from the dead because they think the accounts of the Resurrection in the Bible are filled with contradictions. Through a parable, this post shows how that even if the so-called contradictions were true contradictions, which they are not, the Resurrection would not automatically be disproved.

PARABLE

Four part-time workers in the shipping department of a large company are working together in the warehouse. Through an intercom message, I and another worker, Jim, are called into the manager’s office. Two other workers at our work station, Joe and Sam, tell us before we leave that they hope everything goes ok.

In the meeting, the manager strongly chides me about my work. At one point, he calls in my work supervisor, Frank. Frank also briefly reproves me and then leaves. The manager then calls in Joe from the back and continues to chide me in front of Jim and Joe. The meeting ends.

Jim goes back and says to Sam, who was not in the meeting at all, that the manager really let me have it. Joe, who only came to the meeting later, comes back after some time and also says to Sam that the manager really let me have it.

Later, I come back and tell Sam that both the manager and my work supervisor really let me have it. When I get home that evening, I tell my roommate that my manager really let me have it at work today.

DISCUSSION

Sam received three reports of what happened at the meeting. Jim said to him that the manager let me have it, but did not mention that the work supervisor was also there for part of the time. Jim knew that information, but chose for whatever reason not to mention it.

If asked about a second person, Joe would say that only the manager was there at the meeting when he was there. But a second person was in fact there earlier and left prior to Joe’s arrival.

To Sam, I chose to give a more complete statement by saying that two people chided me. Focusing on the manager, I could have just as legitimately told him that my manager chided me in the meeting. To my roommate, I chose to report that I was chided by the one who was the most important. Because I did not say in the first report that I was chided in the meeting by only one person, my statements are not contradictory.

Sam would not be justified in seeing a contradiction in the reports that he received from Jim, Joe, and me. My roommate would not be justified in thinking that I had lied to him because I told him that my manager had chided me that day.

The differing reports given by the different workers and me to different people at different times do not prove that the meeting never took place nor do the “discrepancies” in the reports prove that all the reports are untrustworthy. Similarly, alleged discrepancies in the accounts of the Resurrection do not show that they are all false. Nor do they disprove that the Resurrection ever happened. To disprove the Resurrection, each account would have to be shown to be false on its own.

In Parables Apologetics, Parable, Resurrection

None Like Him in the Earth

February 12, 2011

In two celestial encounters, God confronted Satan concerning His servant, Job. God stated that there was “none like him in the earth” (Job 1:8; 2:3). He explained Job’s uniqueness on both occasions by declaring that he was “a perfect and an upright man,” one who fears God and turns away from evil. These statements highlight the exceeding godliness of Job.

These statements, however, do more than just informing us of Job’s spiritual excellence. They teach us truth about our God that is easily overlooked. We all understand that God examines our spiritual state and knows everything about us. What’s interesting about these statements is that they reveal that God not only evaluates all mankind, but that He also makes comparative evaluations about the spiritual state of all mankind. God declared Job’s unique spiritual status: there was “none like him in the earth.”

Scripture does not seem to provide any revelation that bars us from thinking that God does not continue to evaluate all people in the same manner today. We ourselves lack the ability to evaluate rightly who is the godliest person in our day. Perhaps, however, keeping in mind that God apparently does comparatively evaluate us and knows who the godliest living person is would somehow motivate us to excel in our own lives?

In Interpretation Interpretation

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