By Topnotch Worldd
25 May 2016
Here is a little bit different post than what I normally do. This video is an captivating look at David and Goliath from a contemporary perspective. Good theology, fun delivery.
https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=701912279949365&id=485666574907271
By Bob Beanblossom
12 December 2016
It seems to me that, as we quickly approach Christmas, we would do well to stop, take a breath, and think about what Christmas is all about.
The last few months of electioneering–and continuing through today–have been strongly contentious. Everyone knows best and all others are a variety of epithets that are anything but considerate.
With the We-They thing in full force, we might ask, “Who did Jesus come and die for?” Some might emphatically answer, “Not for them!”
Do you remember what the angel said to the shepherds on the night He was born?
Most of us can quote the first part: “Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy . . .” We sure could use some joy today, couldn’t we? Did you know that the joy is still where the angel said it was to be found–exclusively and certainly in Jesus Christ.
Back to our subject. The angel didn’t seem to be a Republican or Democrat, liberal or conservative. He was “just” the messenger of the most high God.
He finished like this: ” . . . which shall be to all people” (Luke 2:10). Not just the folks who agree with you, who go to your church, who speak your language, and all the other We-They distinctions we can come up with.
Which takes us directly to the Great Commission. Jesus commanded us to “Go ye therefore, and teach all nations . . .” (Matthew 28:19a). Elsewhere, He tells us to start at home and work our way out to the rest of the world.
“All people.” “All nations.” “Go ye.” Sounds like this might be a bit more important than politics, the next big game (there’s always a next big game), or anything else that ties us up in knots. Stuff that gets us so upset that we compromise our witness.
If Jesus could suffer the cross and keep His witness, and fulfill his earthly mission, without sidetracks and compromises (and He did), shouldn’t we consider Him our example and try to follow His lead?
It isn’t easy. in fact, we can’t do it on our own. But, remember what He promised: “Lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the world” (Matthew 28:20b). We will succeed with His help, and still fail sometimes as we loosen our grip on Him occasionally. He has made provisions for that, too. As a Christian, the Holy Spirit is always a part of us, even when we ignore Him. Prayer is the link that only we can break.
This Christmas, try getting alone with your Bible and God for a little R & R. I suspect you will find it time well spent. It might even get to be a habit.
It seems to me that this is a good time to step back a moment and review what this special season is all about:
“For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, the mighty God, the everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace” (Isaiah 6:6)
“For God sent not His Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through Him might be saved” (John 3:17). “. . . even to them that believe on His name . . .” (John 1:12b).
“And He said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature (Mark 16:15).
Sincerely,
GOD:
The Father
The Son
The Holy Spirit
By Bob Beanblossom
15 November 2016
It seems to me that we have a basic misunderstanding about what humility means. We had an interesting pair of questions posited in Sunday School recently that got me thinking and considering what the Word had to say about humility. For this discussion, I will use the words humility and humble interchangeably.
These are the questions: 1) People who exhibit humility don’t know they have it. How do the rest of us become humble?, and 2) People who say, “In my humble opinion,” are seldom humble. Let’s look at those, and a bit more.
Language is a powerful and abused gift of God. Words today are being hijacked to mean something different while sounding like something else. For instance, 100 years ago gay meant happy and carefree. Today it signifies a male homosexual. Quite a change. Another is marriage. God instituted marriage as a unique inseparable bond when he created woman to complete man: marriage was established as the inexplicable union of one man and one woman. It was the framework in which to procreate the race and raise offspring in a safe and nurturing environment. This understanding was universal in all societies, in all times. Man has abused and distorted that concept over the years, but the definition has not changed. Today, the term gay marriage or equivalent is accepted in ‘enlightened’ societies for a legally sanctioned relationship between two individuals of the same-sex. That is an oxymoron, a combination of words that doesn’t fit together. The meaning is meaningless.
Stability in language is a primary reason that I prefer the King James Bible. I accept that there have been advances in Hebrew and Greek scholarship since 1611 when it was translated, and that additional manuscripts have been discovered, both of the canon and as historical adjuncts. I don’t ignore them. But, to me, the stability of the language in King James provides a benchmark for study. I can go to the original languages if I find a confusing word or phrase. They, too, are stable. I can deal with thee and thou, and even Britishizing coinage, calling a shekel a penny. (We do know that the 1611 language and some format was updated in 1769–very few of us use, or would recognize, the original). But, I don’t get bogged down in comparing versions and paraphrases, remembering when each was written so that I can linguistically place each in a contextual timeframe of changing ‘written for today’ language and environment in order to understand them as intended. The advances are not worth the setbacks for me.
The point is, that words should have relatively stable meanings. I know the world is changing rapidly, but if we don’t have a stable language, communication is impossible. Meanings do change over time, but the process should not be intended to foster an intentional deception.
Now, let’s look at the first question: what is humility, the act of being humble, and how do we get it–or do we even want it? Foremost for Christians is that we understand that humility is not a man-made characteristic, not a personality trait, but a gift of God. Our perfect example was Jesus. He exhibited humility throughout His ministry. As you consider that statement, you might question my competence to write on this subject. The first thing that comes to mind is Jesus making a whip, overturning tables, and violently running the money lenders and sellers of sacrificial animals out of the temple. But at that moment in history as throughout his life on this earth, he was exhibiting humility. We will get two lessons from this event.
Our first lesson is that humility is not introverted, mousey behavior. The expression of humility is situational. I’ll explain in the second lesson.
The next, and most important lesson about what humility is, is that all humility is of God; it is a gift of God; it reflects the righteousness of God, not the goodness of man.
We looked at Jesus clearing commerce from the sacred precincts of God’s temple. Let’s look at Jesus when the woman taken in adultery was brought to Him (John 8:1-11). Jesus talked about the evils of adultery some 18 times in the New Testament. Yet when the spiritual leaders brought this woman to Jesus, He stooped down and wrote in the sand. When they persisted, He quietly charged them to stone her as the law provided–with the proviso that the one who threw the first stone must be without sin. Her accusers melted away, and Jesus dealt with her sin. He did not argue, did not call the wrath of God down upon the adulteress or her equally sinful accusers. He exhibited great humility as He stooped down and let them vent. He appeared passive, but was, in fact, in charge of the whole event, the event that led to the salvation of a lost soul.
These are, perhaps, the two extremes of Jesus humble behavior until we approach the cross. We have to remember who Jesus was: John said He was the WORD, eternally existing, that He was with God, and, in fact, was God (John 1:1-2). The writer of Hebrews said, “He made the worlds” (Hebrews 1:2b).
Jesus is the Son of God, Himself the Creator, yet one with God the Father. His humility was seen every time He prayed: Jesus always sought God’s will through prayer throughout His earthly ministry. In the garden before He was arrested, he “prayed, saying O my Father, if this cup may not pass away from me, except I drink it, Thy will be done” (Matthew 26:42). God the Son, with the greatest humility, accepted the will of God the Father to go forward to the torture and death to come in order to accomplish the will of His Father: the plan of salvation for lost man.
Throughout His trial, torture and crucifixion, He meekly took the abuse of the religious and political leaders without a murmur in order that God’s perfect will be achieved for our salvation. During the trial His silence was overwhelming. He did respond when the governor “asked Him, saying, ‘Art thou the King of the Jews?’ And Jesus said unto him, ‘Thou Sayest’ ” (Matthew 27:11-12). This is God the Son’s humility, Jesus’ example for us.
In spite of an intensely cruel government, Jesus ignored the political situation and concentrated on presenting the Gospel to lost man. On one occasion where His enemies again sought to trap Him, they asked if it was lawful to give tribute to Caesar. Jesus asked for a shekel, held it up for their inspection, and answered, ” ‘Whose is this image and superscription?’ And they said unto Him, ‘Caesar’s.’ And Jesus answering said unto them, ‘Render to Caesar all things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s’ “ (Mark 12:14b-17a). The lesson in our context is this: Humility is of God, and is granted to us to serve Him in His way, in His time, and in His place. For guidance, He has provided us with the indwelling Holy Spirit. Following is a decision we make individually and continually.
Humility is not something of man, nor is it something that we don’t know we have. Humility is the gift of God that allows us to be the Christian he wants us to be in a world that is sin-sick and hostile. It is a manifestation of His grace to each of us as Christians. It is a tool He uses through us to achieve His will. It is a characteristic of Christ that increases in us as we allow the Holy Spirit to work in us. There are markers: A Christian who consistently tells us what “I” have done, where “I” have been, and who “I” have talked to, may be missing the mark; the Christian who regularly tells us of the grace of God and the leadership of the Holy Spirit in their lives, is probably growing in this all important characteristic. Personal pronouns are scarce in their vocabulary. It is a growing process.
Let me not ignore the secular side of this. There are humble individuals in the world. They are caring, empathetic, and altruistic. Just remember, it is a gift of God, and it is not mousey, self-effacing behavior. It is far more than humanistic altruism that seeks to ‘make the world better.’ It is the essence of the Christian lifestyle as we endeavor to live more like our Savior in subservience to God the Father, and in service to our calling, that “vocation wherewith ye are called” according to Paul in Ephesians 4:1 through the power (alone) of the Holy Spirit.
“And we know that the Son of God is come, and hath given us an understanding, that we may know Him that is true, and we are in Him that is true, even His Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God, and eternal life” (1 John 5:20)
Humility is the bright spot on the horizon. It is the light of Jesus Christ in our world today, and a pointer to that time when we will live in the presence of the source of all light.
By Bob Beanblossom
With Edward Goodspeed
25 October 2016
It seems to me that this world that claims that science is the basis of all that is real fails to look reality in the face.
“It is in fashion nowadays to belittle sin and represent it as a sort of theological fiction.
“But one does not have to look far about us in the modern world to find plenty of conduct which cannot be called by any less serious name.” (Edward Goodspeed, Introduction to the New Testament, 1937)
We can’t be honest with ourselves and claim that either the world or ourselves is free from evil–from sin. Paul, the Apostle, wrote: For the good that I would I do not: but the evil which I would not, that I do. (Romans 7:19) If we were honest with ourselves, I think that we would have to admit that that describes us–each of us.
Only through the redeeming grace of Jesus can we rise above the mire of this world. We are too weak to do it by ourselves. We lack even a right concept of what good truly is and how to achieve it. We are mired down in ‘rights’ and hide our wrongs.
When we do finally realize that the consequences of sin far outweigh the pleasures, we have a solution: thru to Jesus. He will take you into His salvation–on His terms: all or nothing. He will not accept a tentative or partial commitment. Jesus’ death on the cross was not a partial death, and the salvation He offers is just as complete and final.
As you think about this, remember that the decision to accept or reject Him has eternal consequences. Have problems believing that He will save you? Here is the prayer of a father that wanted Jesus to heal his child: the father of the child cried out, and said with tears, Lord, I believe; help thou my unbelief. (Mark 9:24) He will hear and answer that sincere prayer.
By Bob Beanblossom
25 October 2016
It seems to me that a byproduct of today’s bustling world is a sense of despair–sometimes even overwhelming. Health issues. Family problems. Work and finance concerns. Children and school, sports and academics. All competing for our attention.
Consider this, from the Apostle Paul, who had his own problems. He was in a Roman prison when he wrote this:
Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on those things. (Philippians 4:8) I would encourage you to read the whole section.
Paul didn’t say that we should neglect any of those important issues. He didn’t say that we were to isolate ourselves from the world, but rather to insulate ourselves through Christ from the effects of the world. You know that the ‘power of positive thinking’ just doesn’t work. You cannot just turn your concerns on and off at will.
But there is a solution. It is a growing relationship with your Savior. And salvation is the first step, a necessary step. Accept the saving grace that he offers and you are on your way to inner peace.
Just like so many areas, follow-up is vital. As I mentioned, this is a relationship. You are coming to Him to carry the load: Matthew wrote, Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. (Matthew 11:28) As this relationship develops and matures, you will be able to trust Him more and take advantage of the power of the Holy Spirit in your life.
He doesn’t promise utopia on earth–Paul ended up being executed for his Savior. But his witness to us is that throughout the experience he had an inward peace and calm and an outward burden for the lost. His life had aligned with God’s will for him. That combination determined his worldview and his actions.
It will work for you. The world will not change. The bills will still come due. Relationships will still ebb and flow. Babies will be born and folks will die. But you will grow in a relationship with the very Creator that will sustain you and help you develop into the person He wants you to be. It just doesn’t get better than that.
By Bob Beanblossom
18 October 2016
It seems to me that as Christians we need to be extra careful to give credit where credit is due. And, to make sure that we are followers of Christ instead of trying to lead Him. If we call ourselves Christians because we have a personal relationship with our Savior Jesus Christ, we know we can walk and witness in the power of the Holy Spirit as we are called to do.
With true American spirit, though, we sometimes get caught up in doing–check list Christianity. After all, we know what has to be done and how to do it. Really? On a scale of now to eternity do you really think we have even a clue?
Here’s a benchmark for our lives. Paul wrote these words to Timothy some two thousand years ago, yet their application for us is as current as the second hand on a fine watch:
Be not thou ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, but be thou partakers of the afflictions of the gospel according to the power of God; Who hath saved us, and called with an holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ before the world began. (2 Timothy: 8-9)
Then comes the plan of action: But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and His righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you. (Matthew 6:33)
First: Get close to God. Seek Him first. Establish a relationship with Him and discover His unique will for your life. We do that through prayer and personal Bible study. As you do so, and conform to His plan for you, you will be seeking–and finding–His righteousness.
Next: With a direction for your life that clearly conforms to Scripture, you can get to work doing what He wants as He wants when He wants. Sound a bit oppressive? Paul called himself a prisoner of the Lord and found great freedom and joy in that relationship. This relationship and obedience is the source of personal peace and joy, for you are becoming the person you were born to be.
Last: Keep up the process. It will never end on this side of eternity. The relationship grows in maturity and depth, you are given knowledge, understanding and discernment to deal with the life He has given you. As you grow, you will want to share this good news that you are discovering with others. Go ahead. That is what the witnessing that He called us to do is all about. You give witness–testimony–of what your God is doing for you. You will find that when you put God in the driver’s seat, the world just seems to fall into place.
Pain, suffering, illness, heartache–all the human baggage remains because we are still human. We shouldn’t expect our car not to break down or our bank account to suddenly overflow.
But our perspective on life and our ability to meet and overcome challenges has changed. We couldn’t have a stronger ally and mentor than the very Creator Himself.
Give it a try. Not because I say so, for I am but a pilgrim like you. But, because He says so.
By Bob Beanblossom
8 September 2016
It seems to me that all men know that God is real. Many would deny that in today’s ‘enlightened’ world, but the Scripture and their actions would indicate the lie of that claim.
Since the WORD (Jesus) is the source of our knowledge of God, and the Bible is His select media, let’s look briefly at what it says about the universality of God’s revelation to his creature:
John, the Baptist, “was sent to bear witness of that Light (Jesus). That was the true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world.” (John 1:8-9)
That is all-encompassing. In some sense satisfactory to God, “every man” who has ever been born, or ever will be born, has received the knowledge, or light, of the knowledge of God.
The inspired writer of Romans continued: “For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold truth in unrighteousness; Because that which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God hath shewed it unto them. . . . Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools.” (Romans 1:20-21, 22)
Jesus called any ‘religion’ that is not centered on the one true God a philosophy.: “Beware lest any man spoil you thru philosophy, and vail deceit, after the tradition of men, after the after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ.” (Colossians 2:8) Philosophy, then, is the opposite end of a continuum from the one true religion–the worship of the triune Godhead: God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit.
This, of course, is not popular thinking in today’s culture of ‘accept everything (except Christianity): all is good; all gods are the same; god is good, there is no (need for) judgement by a righteous god; there is no god of creation–he was born in the immature mind of evolving man in his various primitive forms and exists only as an ancestral memory.’
Let’s back up and take a different look at the subject.
The quest for God is a universal phenomenon, and appears to be pervasive both in man’s pre-history and throughout history. From pre-writing cave drawings and man-made images through the beginning of writing, and continuing into the present time, man has sought a being greater than himself. Even those who militantly deny the existence of God (a comparatively recent development in man’s history) seem obsessed with attacking both Him and His advocates–an illogical activity for a non-believer, a petitio principii begging the question. Why would you attack Someone who does not exist? Why not just ignore us, the poor, deluded people who do believe in and seek fellowship with their God?
Citing individual autonomy and science as their driving force, atheists, also known as humanists, with various prefixes, include in their statements of belief (their philosophies) that there is no god, that there is no scientific proof of god. The latter is, of course, true. Science cannot deal with the issue of God any more than it can deal with issues of philosophy. Both are outside the realm of scientific proof. The question, then, is, why are atheists so adamant about believing what their science cannot prove. It is a logical given that what is not proven is not necessarily false, just not proven. Archeologists and historians for years said the Bible was wrong about the existence of the Hittite Empire. There was no proof outside of the Bible (ignoring some Egyptian documents), so it had never existed. “History” was completely re-written in the late 19th Century when proof of the vast empire was discovered, complete with evidence of very early writing and extensive trade. Silence (or, lack of evidence) is not proof: it is only a lack of evidence, which is subject to change.
Although I have had atheists assert that the god-quest of man is either a recent or non-universal phenomenon, the claims run counter to historical evidence. In fact, I can find no ancient civilization anywhere in time or anywhere in the world that did not have and worship gods.
Why does man seek God? What drives this interest? This investment of energy and resources? We must conclude that the drive is internal. What, then, is the source of our understanding of God? The knowledge of God either comes from God Himself or it is, as the atheist says, a creation of man. If this knowledge comes from God, it is an inherent and necessary truth. It it comes from man, it is sicut deus, that is, man replacing God with himself, and necessarily is untrue. So said Dietrich Bonhoeffer in a series of lectures on the Creation and the Fall. I will be borrowing extensively from him in this section.
I hold that there is one true God, the God of Creation, the God of man the creature. God’s source of information for–of revelation to–man, as noted in the introductory comments, is His written Word, the Bible.
If the truth proposed aligns completely with the Word, it is of God; if not, it is false, it is sicut deus, like God, but not God: it is man attempting to be like God to the point of replacing Him. We see this today in the atheist who denies God, the agnostic who ignores God, and the religionist who redefines God–all to suit their own ends.
Man was created imagio dei, in the image of God, but not sicut deus, like God, for there is nothing created that can be sicut deus. For man, “This is disobedience in the form of obedience, the desire to rule in the semblance of service, the will to be creator in the semblance of being a creature, being dead in the semblance of life.”
Archeology has shown us with a vast pantheon of gods man has created. These gods share many common attributes: 1) They are created in the image of man, 2) They share the most base and vile characteristics of man, 3) Their form is often a grotesque caricature of the spirit of man, 4) Each existed to meet a specific need of man: agricultural plenty, success in battle, 5) A vigorous love life with many male offspring, 6) The sacrifices demanded were costly. Based on the needs of man and his perception of the environment, there were repeated similarities among the gods of all ages and locations. Some, like the Greeks of Paul’s day, recognized an “unknown god” just to be on the safe side and not offend some entity not identified:
“For as I passed by, and beheld your devotions, I found an alter with the inscription, TO THE UNKNOWN GOD.” (Acts 17:23a)
Paul, however, went a step further, exposing their false gods and at the same time introducing them to the true God:
“Whom therefore ye ignorantly worship, him declare I unto you. God that made the world and all things therein, seeing that he is Lord of heaven and earth, dwelleth not in temples made with hands; neither is worshipped with men’s hands, as though he needed any thing, seeing he giveth to all life, and breath, and all things; and hath made of one blood all nations of men for to dwell on all the face of the earth, and hath determined the times before appointed, and the bounds of their habitation; that they should seek the Lord, if haply they might feel after him, and find him, though he be not far from every one of us: for in him we life, and move, and have our being; as certain also of our own poets have said, For we are also his offspring. Forasmuch then as we are the offspring of God, we ought not to think that the Godhead is like unto gold, or silver, or stone, graven by art and man’s device.” (Acts 17:23b-29)
There was more to Paul’s message than that the unknown God he spoke of was Creator:
God “commandeth all men every where to repent: because he hath appointed a day in the which he will judge the world in righteousness by that man whom he hath ordained; whereof he hath given assurance unto all men, n that he hath raised him from the dead.” (Acts 17:30-31)
The response of the Greeks was not unlike that we encounter today:
“And when they heard of the resurrection of the dead, some mocked: and others said, We will hear thee again of this matter. So Paul departed from among them. Howbeit certain men clave unto him, and believed:” (Acts 17:32-34)
So, we have only a god, but The God, the God of creation, the God of our salvation, the Triune God who is one, but three. The God who is infinite in every respect and aspect.
How does that affect me? He has a plan for you. But that plan requires a change in you remove the sin that each of us is born with and lives with: “for all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;” (Romans 3:23)
If I accept that I am a sinner, what can I do about it? The very next verse answers that question: “being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus: whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God,” (Romans 3:24-25)
“Being justified” is simply talking to God (yes, He is a loving and communicating God) and admitting to Him that you recognize that you are a sinner–you are not what He wants you to be. Then, accept his saving grace.
“Freely” states without reservation that He does all the work–there is no price you can pay for the forgiveness for your sins that is your salvation.
“By His Grace” is the power behind salvation. It is God’s will and His will alone. There is no other authority in the universe that can accomplish this unmerited act.
“Through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus: whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God” tells us that:
If you accept his saving grace today, I strongly suggest you immediately find a Bible believing church and become part of it. There is much to be learned, and the ministry of a local church is God’s stated path to that knowledge and understanding.
By Bob Beanblossom
7 September 2016
It seems to me that ‘everyone’ is demanding respect these days. That in itself shows a fundamental misunderstanding of what respect is.
Respect is like love, and like trust. It can be demanded, but cannot be taken: it can only be received as a gift of the giver.
The gift is completely independent of the receiver. Respect can be reciprocal, but from both sides it is an independent decision, attitude, action of the giver to give and the receiver to take and, in return, to give back.
To a large extent, it must be earned. It has to do with concepts described by
the old Boy Scout Oath and Law:
“On my honor . . .” As I am honorable, so honor I you.
The Scout also promised to be:
These are qualities inherent in earning and giving respect. Some may take some thinking on, but it would be worth the effort–even some looking in the mirror. Together they suggest that respect for others starts with respect for self. Self respect is based upon living up to standards and principles, not living down to animalistic wants and satisfactions.
No amount of wealth, or power, or coercion can require respect. No organization or march or protest will ever earn respect without demonstrating those qualities. You can edit them, add to or take from the list. But you cannot change the intangible called respect.
It is not defined or limited by age, background, or any other socio-economic identifier that the world would like to use to box it in, to limit it, and corrupt it into a tool for self-advancement. It is not secured by social or economic position, or job title, or profession. It has no relationship with the too common, “Do you know who I am . . . !”
We do need more respect in this country–in our schools, in government, on the highways . . . But the best way to get it is to give it first. As individual as it is in giving, it is still a cooperative effort, a matter of give and take, of compromise, of incremental improvements, of recognizing that neither of us approximates perfection. That is not a popular concept in our winner-take-all society where each one of us knows so much more than anyone else, where our way is obviously the best way. If so inclined, check out 1 Corinthians 1:19-20.
Many social problems could be mitigated by the sharing of respect. It replaces demands and threats and ultimatums with cooperation and mutual problem solving. Life is not the Big Game. Life is the only game. It is not something to win at all costs. It is something to savor, to share. It is the attitude of the Greatest Generation, the WW II generation: “We will make a better place for our children–by hard work, by education, by living for God, and by mutual respect.
Respect has a price: The “I” must shrink relative to the “WE.” The “WE-THEY” game must be replaced by the new “US.”
Or, maybe not so new. Maybe this is what those founding fathers meant by “We the People . . . .” The didn’t say “We the Persons . . . ,” did they. And by Ike’s added phrase, “One nation, under God . . .”
By Bob Beanblossom
29 August 2016
It seems to me that we Christians get caught up in nuts and bolts when we look at creation, and lose God’s message for us.
Christians spend an inordinate amount of energy trying to understand and explain Genesis 1 and 2 in scientific terms to answer the questions and attacks of non-Christians and the doubts of confused Christians—often including ourselves.
This is not what God intended for us to do with His story of creation. The Bible is nowhere a science text book. It is never in conflict with any scientific fact (as opposed to prevailing scientific theory), nor is any scientific fact ever in conflict with it. If you can remain objective and discriminating as you watch scientific developments, you will see every field of science (again, fact, not theory) aligning more and more closely with the Word. The same goes for history as archeologists and their associated fields dig up the past and refine readings and interpretations of recovered items. But that’s another story. This is not what the popular press will relate, but that is to be expected.
The substance of God’s intent is captured in the opening statement: “In the beginning God created . . .” It speaks of three things: 1) the beginning—the first meeting point of God’s eternity with the time and space He created for man, 2) the moving and controlling force–God, and 3) the action—the creation and formation of the universe for man. It goes further back than science can conceive—a time when matter and energy began from nothing. There is no scientific discipline that can deal with ‘The Beginning.’ The limits of His statement are that the story encompasses all of “the heaven and the earth.” In other words, it is all-inclusive. There are ‘scientific’ theories about the first moments of creation—the Big Bang is the most popular at the moment—but they are really philosophy, not science. They are beyond the criteria of scientific proof. The ‘proofs’ offered are various conflicting computer simulations. Before you put your trust in them, remember that the daily weather forecasts are computer simulations.
While scientific principle is imbedded in this opening statement and those that follow, it is neither about protons, neutrons, and electrons, nor is it about suns, moons, and planets. Revelation 4:11b tells us what it is about: “Thou hast created all things, and for Thy pleasure they are and were created.” God the Creator has created all things for His pleasure. To that extent, creation is for us (but not about us) so that both we and the rest of creation can please Him. Our failure—the original sin of Adam, the first man, and the continual sins of every human since Adam—do not change the purpose or perfection of His creation.
Creation is the beginning of God’s revelation of Himself to His creation. Genesis 1 and 2 are His initial revelation. It is an Intro-level course, followed by increasing depth and breadth as we move through the Bible. Even so, the finite creature can only begin to understand the infinite Creator. The post-grad work will be on the other side of this life, and the coursework will last thru eternity future. Every Christian is being prepared here for that course. Like our early schooling, we don’t choose the courses, we just follow the curriculum laid out for us. As we mature and grow we realize that every course we have completed has prepared us for the next. Again, that preparation and growth cycle will continue thru eternity.
Some of the primary lessons are these:
1) God is in complete control. Creation is not a mandate to Him or a necessity, but a choice. He is the incomprehensible triune godhead, one in three, and three in one: God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. No part of this godhead is created; all are eternally eternal in every way. This godhead has no peers. He is not the chief god. He is not one among many gods. He is Master of all—everything, everywhere, always, from eternity past thru eternity future. Beyond our comprehension. Beyond our imaginations. Beyond our ability to quantify and package.
2) God is a communicating God. He reveals Himself thru His written Word and thru our observation and understanding of nature—of the nature of nature, the essence of His power and order. His revealing Light has touched all men:
Jesus, the Word, “was the true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world.” (John 1:9)
He is available to us thru prayer, the always-open channel of personal communication with man the creature. While He hears and answers our prayers, He cannot be used to meet our desires. Our meeting point is His will. It is not just paramount, it is absolute.
3) God is the Creator, not the created. He is not in, or a part of, or the essence of anything. He remains above creation as “the author and finisher” of His works as well as our faith to believe in Him. (Hebrews 12:2) A vital concept is that ‘Neither is nature in God, nor God in nature.’ Commonalities in ancient names for God (such as the Hebrew el) with man-made gods throughout the ancient world in various languages are phenomena of human language, not an indication that He is one with the false gods. We might consider that issue some other time.
4) God creates (Hebrew bara) from nothing by His spoken word, and further makes (“Let there be . . .” and variations) from the substance of that creation. Bara interpreted as ‘create’ is always and only associated with the action of God in the Bible. Man never creates.
5) God sustains His creation as He chooses. Some things He continues to sustain, while others He allows to pass from existence. Creation in some sense is ongoing. Today we see evidence of change as some plants and animals have come and gone, even as He has given us a glimpse into the future when He will “make all things new.” (Revelation 21:5) Some of His change is cyclic: night and day, summer and winter, life and death. Some is catastrophic: species die out and are replaced, volcanoes erupt changing the landscape and weather, the earth quakes and land sinks, slides, and rises to new heights. This is God’s work. Man is His steward, not the commander, of the process. God’s will prevails in spite of man, not because of him. It is not dependent on the will or work of man.
6) Creation serves Him. As creation progressed, God commented that “it was good.” This is independent of the state of creation—with the fall of man and curse upon nature just ahead—and in sight for God—He declared it good, culminating in the observation that it was very good. Man is incidental to creation, an object of creation. We should take this into account as we attempt to ‘create’ life and alter lifeforms in our laboratories.
Here we will look very briefly at just the first day of creation to flesh out some of these concepts. Neither time nor space allow more. We will do this to align our understanding and application of the creation story with God’s purpose. As noted above, the creation story does include highlights of the nuts and bolts of the process, but only as the fabric in which the true story is woven, and only to the extent that He chose. It is the vehicle rather than the trip.
God made light on the first day, but there is far more here than we often understand. We are short-sighted by the magnificence of the physical, the concept of creation by His spoken word, the beginning of light, the first night and day. We wonder where the light came from, and why He seems to make the heavenly bodies later, on the fourth day. We want to understand the physical, to explain it for God. But let’s read what He really told us:
3 And God said, Let there be light: and there was light. 4 And God saw the light, that it was good: and God divided the light from the darkness. 5 And God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And the evening and the morning were the first day. (Genesis 1:3-5)
Attempting to understand and explain these statements, we often go to science to ‘prove’ various untenable theories and show what God ‘really meant.’ We are caught in the snare of those who are enemies of God and His Word. We become tools for those very enemies as we leave God’s will, and push forward—with good intent, but poor choice—into the trap set before us. We have forgotten that God needs no defense or explanation. He said:
“I am the Lord and there is none else. I form the light, and create darkness: I the Lord have created it.” (Isaiah 45:6,7a, 8c)
This approach requires that we take what He gave his people several thousand years ago for their use and our application, and translate it to current scientific data, not even recognizing that science is in perpetual change while His Word has never changed, nor will it ever change. We attempt to find, then create, ‘facts’ to make the Bible a scientific textbook that provides identifiable, quantifiable, and testable ‘facts’ and sequences of the development of the earth and life. Then we face the need to integrate the Fourth Day of creation:
14 And God said, Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days, and years: 15 and let them be for lights in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth: and it was so. 16 And God made two great lights; the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night: he made the stars also. 17 And God set them in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth, 18 and to rule over the day and over the night, and to divide the light from the darkness: and God saw that it was good. 19 And the evening and the morning were the fourth day.” (Genesis 1:14-19)
What did those refugees from Egypt know? The Patriarch Abraham came from Ur of the Chaldees in the land of Sumer (south Iraq, today), according to scripture. That was the birthplace—long before him—of writing, astronomy, advanced mathematics including quadratic equations (before the Greek Euclid, who is still credited with its development), a calendar, and a numbering system on base 60 which gives us the division of a circle (360 degrees), the number pi, and so much more. That base is essential for calculations of circles and spheres. Egypt credited its math and science excellence to Ur and its close city-states, as the early Greeks credited theirs to Egypt. So, science and math were known to the Israelites of Moses’ day—if not to the common man, then at least to the educated. Remember that Moses was educated in the court of the Pharaoh, the seat of power and education. If God had intended to describe His creation in scientific terms, the target audience would have had some understanding of the details. But that is not what He chose to do. We try to interpret it on a scientific basis. They did not. Moses’ books—the Pentateuch—were their history and law as revealed to them by God.
Our attempts to extract, create, and manipulate data satisfies no one. As the cartoonist Al Capp had a character say many years ago, “We have met the enemy, and they are us.”
Gone is the miraculous creation of an all-powerful God, the God of our salvation. Gone is the all-powerful God of creation who spoke and everything came from nothing. Gone is the need for faith. Gone is the opportunity so share God’s faith, replaced by man’s faulty science. Gone is our holding to the divine inspiration of the Word.
But it doesn’t work. It never will. The only thing we succeed in doing is adding fuel to the atheistic fire attempting to torch God and His Word into oblivion. Miracles cannot be explained in scientific terms: not only creation, but all of them, including our own salvation. Dissatisfied and disillusioned, nominal Christians who rely on what others say instead of God’s Word and prayer fall by the wayside.
Let’s go back to Day 1 and take God’s approach. On that day, He established order. He used light and time to do this.
The light of that first day of creation is much more than lumens or foot candles of visible radiation reaching Earth’s surface. It is the Light of the world, Light that brings order and symmetry to the Hebrew “tohouw” and “bohouw” (“without form and void.”) Note that God said “Let there be . . .” rather than ‘God created.’ Before the tohouw and bohouw the Light already existed. It was at this point that the God the Son was given the go-ahead to prepare the world for man and man for God:
1God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets, 2 hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds; 3 who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, (Hebrews 1:1-3a)
We simply cannot grasp the concept of light without a physical source any more than we can understand time—including infinity—outside of our God-given reference. To us, form and numbers are as much a part of our sense of reality as words are. Without them we are adrift. Only faith in the Word make sense out of them. Both exist because both are necessary. We can quantify light and measure it, giving it values such as the amount from a source or striking an object, the quality of the light in terms of how ‘real’ colors and textures appear, and so on. Sort of. Another interesting aspect of light is that there is no standard for these measurements. Every measure of light is based upon relative, assumed, and more or less agreed upon standards. There are precise standards for electrical energy—volts, amps, resistance, power—but none for light. It simply is not quantifiable in absolute terms. You notice this when you try to specify a color, a function of light. You find that even ‘simple’ problems such as finding a white or black to match is mind boggling. Digging deeper, scientists have noticed that light has both the characteristics of waves of energy, and the characteristics of particles of matter. To understand light, we must go to the source: the Creator.
Man can make light through chemical, electrical, and mechanical means. But man cannot make dark. There is no source of dark. He can only remove light or cast a shadow and call that dark. God, in Genesis 1:2b told us that in the beginning the world was dark. He created that. He retains the key to making darkness.
The light of Day 1 is the Light of God, Himself. In Him and thru Him and on His authority, God the Son, the Living Word—who would one day be born Jesus, the Christ, the Messiah of fallen man–was made the Agent of God the Father. See Hebrews 1:1-3, and John 1:1-5. This was not a point source of light in ‘outer space,’ nor was it a chemical or physical glow from a cooling planet. It was the Light of God the Creator. Man has been privileged to see very small manifestations of this Light: Moses on the mountain (Exodus 24:15-18), the three disciples at Jesus transfiguration (Matthew 17:1-2). But only the world transitioning from chaos to order on that first day has ever seen that Light in that level of intensity. Creation reacted, as it must: it was forever changed from formless and void to order, subject to ‘laws of nature’ established by the Creator as both the necessary foundation for the creature, but also as an example of God’s will for that creature: in tune with His laws, acknowledging absolute dependence upon Him, and worshiping the Master of the universe.
As the Light shone on God’s command, He saw “that it was good.”(Genesis 1:4a) As He “divided the light from the darkness,” (Genesis 1:4b), He began to create order from the formless void. The undefinable non-order of darkness became the order of light and time.
Time was required. God created the stars, including our sun, the planets and the moons as spheres. They could have been any shape He chose, but the sphere works as no other shape to produce regular and symmetrical days and seasons as the planets and moons rotate on their axis and at the same time circle their master. Natural laws—hierarchical laws–established by Him create stable days, months, and years while slight variations produce seasons and ages. The Earth’s rotation approximates a 24-hour day, the Moon’s path produces about a 30-day month, and the earth’s circuit of the Sun gives us just over a 365-day year. The differences challenge man’s creativity. Still, time is a mystery. Based upon experimental evidence, we have defined in earth-terms the distance light travels in a year as about 186 thousand miles or 300 million meters. Einstein’s famous formula of Relativity holds the speed of light as a constant—a number that does not change. But more recent experiments show that the speed of light—that is time—is variable. We already knew that light changes with speed. This, even as Einstein’s theory holds in its own sphere of calculations. The theory of time exists—in verifiable terms—in two separate contradictory realms. I believe that our God enjoys the consternation of man as he makes one ‘final’ determination after another, each in turn falling down like dominoes in a row. Again, man’s ego falls before the God of the Universe.
For common purposes—when we accept and understand the parameters–time is a constant with very precise parameters. Our clocks and watches are accurate to amazing tolerances today. The precision and repetition of the factors that are time are essential for modern computers to function. One factor often overlooked is that our measure of time is based solely on the relationship between Earth, our Sun, and our Moon. Outside of Earth, our time has absolutely no meaning. The relationships are not valid. Time on Mercury, Venus, Mars, and the further reaches of the universe is different. God established our time for us on this world and this world alone. In space, our fixed time becomes relative, even a convention instead of an absolute.
The combination of light and time completed the requirements for Day and the other cycles to follow on subsequent days. Here, if you will allow, we can see the first glimpse of the marriage relationship as time and light are united. Rising out of darkness and chaos, God was beginning the preparations for man, the creature intended to please and worship God, to supervise and husband creation, to be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth with others who would do the same.
But it was not to be. The perfect creation would not long last in the hands of man. The will to choose given to man would allow his failure to honor the Creator. Ego would override servitude. Man, like Lucifer before him, would choose self as his god. As we attempt to explain the miraculous, Adam attempted to put self above his Creator. Both are sin. God knew it already. The plan to provide a Savior was already completed. Man would fail his Maker, but his Maker would never fail him. Jesus the Creator would become Jesus the Savior, but at great cost.
Day One of creation. A day like none other ever was or will be. It was the day that God created order out of chaos so that man might have order in his life, that he might praise and worship his Creator, and man might take the Light of that very first day and:
“Let your light so shine before men that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.” (Matthew 5:16)
There was a warning, too:
“Take heed therefore that the light which is in thee be not darkness.” (Luke 1:35)
We have been given the written Word that we might always remember the source of our Light, which is of Him, not ourselves:
Jesus “was the true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world.” (John 1:9)
Yet, not every man will receive the Light:
“And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.” (John 3:19)
The first day of creation. The day that God set the world in order. The beginning of the process that led to the creation of man. The day that started all days. God said of it, “It was good.” Can he say that of us?
