I Have No Rest

It was all too much for Job—the loss of his wealth, the death of his children, his wife's hopeless urging to curse God and die, his horrible disease, and now his friends crying beside him. He finally let it all come cascading, cursing the day of his birth:

"Let the day perish on which I was born, and the night that said, 'A man is conceived.' Let that day be darkness! May God above not seek it, nor light shine upon it. Let gloom and deep darkness claim it. Let clouds dwell upon it; let the blackness of the day terrify it. That night--let thick darkness seize it! Let it not rejoice among the days of the year; let it not come into the number of the months. Behold, let that night be barren; let no joyful cry enter it. Let those curse it who curse the day, who are ready to rouse up Leviathan. Let the stars of its dawn be dark; let it hope for light, but have none, nor see the eyelids of the morning, because it did not shut the doors of my mother's womb, nor hide trouble from my eyes. "Why did I not die at birth, come out from the womb and expire? Why did the knees receive me? Or why the breasts, that I should nurse? For then I would have lain down and been quiet; I would have slept; then I would have been at rest, with kings and counselors of the earth who rebuilt ruins for themselves, or with princes who had gold, who filled their houses with silver. Or why was I not as a hidden stillborn child, as infants who never see the light? There the wicked cease from troubling, and there the weary are at rest. There the prisoners are at ease together; they hear not the voice of the taskmaster. The small and the great are there, and the slave is free from his master. "Why is light given to him who is in misery, and life to the bitter in soul, who long for death, but it comes not, and dig for it more than for hidden treasures, who rejoice exceedingly and are glad when they find the grave? Why is light given to a man whose way is hidden, whom God has hedged in? " - Job 3:1-23 ESV

Why? Why? Why?
Why did I not die at birth?
Why did the knees receive me?
Why the breasts that I should nurse?
Why was I not as a hidden stillborn child, as infants who never see the light?
Why is light given to him who is in misery?
Why is life given to the bitter in soul who long for death, but it comes not, and dig for it more than for hidden treasure?
Why is light given to a man whose way is hidden, whom God has hedged in?

Job's plaintive cries echo the ever present cries of countless men, women and children who find no answers to the question of a God who permits suffering, sorrow, anguish and death? Does He get some sort of perverse pleasure from it all? Who can believe in such a God? Who can delight in His presence, promises and purposes?

These are the questions that haunt us like jackals in the wilderness, laughing and salivating in the hideous hope of devouring our souls, sending them carelessly into the fathomless darkness of hades. Do we dare to crawl along this painful journey with this pitiful man? Are there answers, any answers to our dreadful doubts? Do we dare to turn the page?

Listen to Job's wretched cries, for they are our own. . .

For my sighing comes instead of my bread, and my groanings are poured out like water. For the thing that I fear comes upon me, and what I dread befalls me. I am not at ease, nor am I quiet; I have no rest, but trouble comes. - Job 3:24-26 ESV

Your Soul's Sure And Steadfast Anchor

In my last post we heard that there are those who may have fallen from the faith and cannot be returned to it. Nevertheless we pray for them. Now turn this around. What if you are fearful that this may happen to you by some weakness of your sinful heart or some temptation of the devil? What confidence can you have that you too will not lose your faith? Can you have any confidence in God's blessings? Listen.

Though we speak in this way, yet in your case, beloved, we feel sure of better things--things that belong to salvation. For God is not unjust so as to overlook your work and the love that you have shown for his name in serving the saints, as you still do. And we desire each one of you to show the same earnestness to have the full assurance of hope until the end, so that you may not be sluggish, but imitators of those who through faith and patience inherit the promises. - Hebrews 6:9-12 ESV

If you are reading these words of Holy Scripture, if you're heart rejoices in the promises that are yours in Jesus and if you are even concerned that you might lose your faith, then please, my brother or sister, take heart. " Better things, things that belong to your salvation, await you."

For God is not unjust so as to overlook your work and the love that you have shown for his name in serving the saints, as you still do. - Hebrews 6:10 ESV 

He knows you. He knows your heart. He knows what moves you to love your friend. He knows why you went out of your way to send your friend a check to cover expenses when he was forced to spend all that he had for medicines for his sick and dying child. He knows how you spent long hours visiting and encouraging a fellow member of your Christian fellowship, encouraging her as she mourned the death of her husband. He knows and remembers that commitment you have to your Bible class for teens in your neighborhood. He knows your heart and sees the faith that you have for Him, faith that expresses itself in love.

And just as He promised to bless Abraham, so He promises to bless you. Abraham was willing to obey the LORD, even when He was commanded to sacrifice his only son, Isaac (Gen. 22:1-18). Then the LORD knew that Abraham believed and trusted Him—and, as before, He renewed His promise to bless Abraham (Gen. 17:1-8).

And the angel of the LORD called to Abraham a second time from heaven and said, "By myself I have sworn, declares the LORD, because you have done this and have not withheld your son, your only son, I will surely bless you, and I will surely multiply your offspring as the stars of heaven and as the sand that is on the seashore. And your offspring shall possess the gate of his enemies, and in your offspring shall all the nations of the earth be blessed, because you have obeyed my voice." - Gen 22:15-18 ESV 

As Hebrews says, "since God had no one greater by whom to swear, he swore by himself, saying, 'Surely I will bless you and multiply you'" (Hebrews 6:13-14). And it is very important that you understand what that means for you so that even in times when you struggle with doubts and darkness you do not completely despair of God's love for you, sinner though you are. What strengthens us in those moments is the unchangeable nature and person of God and the fact that He cannot lie. In other words,

1. God's purpose for you is that you receive forgiveness because of Jesus' sacrifice for you on the cross of Calvary. In Jesus He said, "Surely I will bless and multiply you. I WILL, I WILL!" 
2. And he has guaranteed this with an oath, swearing by Himself, just as He did to Abraham. 

So we return to what He said to us earlier in this letter about Jesus, the Son of God.

Since we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. - Hebrews 4:14-15 ESV

We have a high priest, we surely do. His name is Jesus, the Son of God. He understands, relates and sympathizes with your weakness, your confusion, your fear. Again, as we said before, He knows. He too was tempted, just as you are. Yet He did not sin, but offered His sinful life for you.

Jesus is then your soul's "sure and steadfast anchor" in the midst of the storms assailing you. He is your one certain hope. He has "passed through the heavens" into the very presence of God, the presence represented in the old tabernacle and later in the temple by the Most Holy Place (Exod. 26:33-34; 40:18-38; Hebrews 9:1-28).

So do not fear. He will preserve your faith. Your hope of heaven and eternal life is certain. We'll learn more of this later.

No Rest, No Sleep, No Hope—Forever!

I'm not a night owl. I have zero appreciation for those of you who love to stay up into the wee hours of the morning. My eyes begin to droop around 10 p.m. I want my bed. I need my rest and I want it to start long before midnight. Then when 6:30 a.m. comes I'm rested and ready to roll out to begin the new day. I've had my eight and I'm on the way.

Whether you're a lark like me or an owl, one of the huge problems of our day is getting enough sleep. Tons of products promise to put you to sleep. Some work for some. Many don't and they droop along through the day, fighting to keep going. Stress, anxiety and tension follow and soon sickness of one sort or another sets in. Can't sleep, can't work, not gonna make it.

That's what happened to the thousands who were rescued from slavery in Egypt under the leadership of Moses and the saving Hand of the LORD. They didn't make it. It's all recorded in the Biblical Book of Exodus. They made it out, but the foreboding wilderness of Sinai stood between them and the Promised Land. And when they came up to the very borders with orders to march, they caved in. They believed the reports of most of the spies. Those guys are as big as giants; its hopeless, they said. And so Israel turned back in doubt and rebellion toward the heat and horror of the desert. Hebrews puts it this way:

Therefore, as the Holy Spirit says, "Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion, on the day of testing in the wilderness, where your fathers put me to the test and saw my works for forty years. Therefore I was provoked with that generation, and said, 'They always go astray in their heart; they have not known my ways.' As I swore in my wrath, 'They shall not enter my rest.'" - Hebrews 3:7-11 ESV

No rest for the wicked. And the most wicked thing you can do is to doubt the promises of the loving and forgiving Savior. That's what the Children of Israel did. They gave it up. They threw in their towels. They lost hope and turned to other gods. They didn't, they wouldn't believe in the LORD who brought them out and set them on the path leading to freedom and security. So they invited the anger of the LORD upon themselves.

I swore in my wrath, "They shall not enter my rest." Hebrews 3:11 ESV

And the LORD's anger was kindled on that day, and he swore, saying, 'Surely none of the men who came up out of Egypt, from twenty years old and upward, shall see the land that I swore to give to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, because they have not wholly followed me, none except Caleb the son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite and Joshua the son of Nun, for they have wholly followed the LORD.' And the LORD's anger was kindled against Israel, and he made them wander in the wilderness forty years, until all the generation that had done evil in the sight of the LORD was gone. - Num 32:10-13 ESV 

No rest, no sleep, no hope. That's today's warning for all who once claimed to be members of the household of God in Christ Jesus, but threw it all away in unbelief and rebellion.

Take care, brothers (and sisters), lest there be in any of you an evil, unbelieving heart, leading you to fall away from the living God. - Hbr 3:12 ESV

It's hell not to be able to sleep in the darkness, plagued by fear, guilt and remorse. It's hell to wander through the house, staring out at the night while everyone around you is quietly and happily taking deep breaths in sleep. No rest, no sleep, no hope. That's your future if you throw away all that is freely given to you in Jesus. No rest, no sleep, no hope—forever!

 

                 

The Blessing Of Faith In The Risen Christ

In the past week I commented on the physical resurrection from the dead promised by and through our Lord Jesus Christ. This is such an astounding promise that many have a most difficult time accepting. Just as they struggle with the idea of a virgin birth, so they seriously doubt the return of our bodies from the dead. Would the Lord God give this promise to such a sinner as I? Does He truly care enough to rescue me? Why then does He permit this grief and pain into my life? Why does God seem so incapable of answering my prayers?

So go the doubts and struggles. Thomas, one of Jesus' Twelve Apostles, also had such doubts. His name in Aramaic (Tau'ma - תאומא) means twin. In Greek it is Didymus. If Thomas was indeed a twin we know nothing about his twin. Some have suggested that his wavering back and forth in his initial inability to accept the witness of the other Apostles earned him this name. In doubting, however, he was not completely different from the other disciples of Jesus.

Now Thomas, one of the Twelve, called the Twin, was not with them when Jesus came. So the other disciples told him, "We have seen the Lord." But he said to them, "Unless I see in his hands the mark of the nails, and place my finger into the mark of the nails, and place my hand into his side, I will never believe." - John 20:24-25 ESV

When Jesus appeared among them eight days later, even though they were behind locked doors, he offered them Peace (Shalom in Aramaic or Hebrew) —a word that fulfills all the promises of eternal forgiveness and oneness with him and with his Father. Then he turned at once to Thomas,

The Incredulity of St. Thomas by Caravaggio

"Put your finger here," he said, "and see my hands; and put out your hand, and place it in my side. Do not disbelieve, but believe." Thomas answered him, "My Lord and my God!"
- John 20:27-28 ESV

Thomas' doubts were gone. His senses of touch and sight confirmed what the others had said. Jesus was indeed alive, returned from the grave. He was indeed Thomas' Lord and God. Like the other Apostles, Thomas went out into the world to proclaim the Gospel of the Risen Christ. Legend has it that he was martyred in India in the year 72.

But note then Jesus' other words to Thomas and to all who struggle to cling to faith.

"Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed." - Jhn 20:29 ESV

As I've pointed out numerous times before, faith in Jesus as Savior and Risen Messiah is a gift of God, a blessing granted by the Holy Spirit. Paul emphasizes again and again that no one—including Thomas—can say "Jesus is my Lord" except in the holy Spirit (1 Cor. 12:3). Before Jesus' resurrection Peter had acknowledged that Jesus was the Messiah and the Son of the living God. To that Jesus said,

"Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven. - Mat 16:17 ESV

Blessings are always gifts from the LORD, gifts poured out by the Holy Spirit at work in and through God's Word. Paul also emphasized this as he said,

So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ. - Rom 10:17 ESV

When you doubt, cry out. When you are afraid, reach out for help. Jesus will always meet you at your deepest point of need. He will grant you the most precious gift of His Spirit. He will come to you to speak to your heart. He will take up residence in your soul and give you life. He will grant you faith in His love and hope in His promises. He will give you living water to drink (John 4:10; 7:37).

And I tell you, ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened. What father among you, if his son asks for a fish, will instead of a fish give him a serpent; or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion? If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!" - Luk 11:9-13 ESV

As the Psalmists said so long ago,

Blessed is the man who makes the LORD his trust, who does not turn to the proud, to those who go astray after a lie! - Psalm 40:4 ESV

Blessed is the one you choose and bring near, to dwell in your courts! We shall be satisfied with the goodness of your house, the holiness of your temple! - Psalm 65:4 ESV

Blessed are those who dwell in your house, ever singing your praise! Selah Blessed are those whose strength is in you, in whose heart are the highways to Zion. - Psalm 84:4-5 ESV

Blessed is he whose help is the God of Jacob, whose hope is in the LORD his God, - Psalm 146:5 ESV

The Life-giving Word From God

We continue our discussion of temptation in the Christian's life with a more detailed look at our Lord Jesus' temptations by the devil after his baptism.

Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. And after fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry. And the tempter came and said to him, "If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread." But he answered, "It is written, "'Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.'" - Matt 4:1-4 ESV

Everything Jesus did was for us. Empowered and led by the Spirit, he spent 40 days in the wilderness. No one lived in the wilderness. In the wilderness John the Baptist called the Jewish people to repent. The wilderness had symbolical meaning. After their exodus from Egypt Israel was born while wandering for 40 years in the wilderness. John called his people to remember their history, to rethink who they were and whence they had come. He called them to turn away from their sinful ways, seek forgiveness from God for their sins and recommit themselves to His service. Jesus accepted this responsibility by being baptized by John out in the wilderness. At first John insisted that he was the one needing baptism by Jesus, not the other way around. To this Jesus replied,

"Let it be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness." Then he consented. - Matt 3:15 ESV

The Father in heaven sent Jesus to live in complete and total obedience and to give himself as the final sacrifice for all men's sins. In this way he fulfilled all righteousness. As Jesus said,

"My food is to do the will of him who sent me and to accomplish his work. - John 4:34 ESV (see also John 3:16-18)

But Jesus also knew he would have to fight the devil in our place. He must be tempted by him as are we. And he must show us how to overcome these temptations. We study these temptations in order to learn what to expect and how to resist them.

The first thing the devil did was to plant a seed of doubt: "If you are the Son of God." Jesus had gone without food for 40 days and was extremely hungry. He was probably so weak that he wondered if he could even make it back to civilization. Had his Father forsaken him?

In a 1997 editorial in the British Medical Journal, Peel briefly reviewed the available literature regarding human starvation. Generally, it appears as though humans can survive without any food for 30-40 days, as long as they are properly hydrated. Severe symptoms of starvation begin around 35-40 days, and as highlighted by the hunger strikers of the Maze Prison in Belfast in the 1980s, death can occur at around 45­ to 61 days

In such extreme cases of starvation the most common cause of death is heart or other organ failure. 

People are still starving in our day. For example, the United Nations World Food Programme has suspended operations in southern Somalia after recent terror threats, leaving a million people at risk of hunger because of the severe drought that is currently devastating the Horn of Africa.

Our Lord identified himself with Israel's wilderness journey by his life-threatening 40-day fast. He also identified with all the millions that starve to death because of lack of food. And he faced the temptation to doubt his Father's love as a result. Why does the heavenly Father permit such things to happen? The answer is sometimes hidden in the unknown counsels of God. 

In this extremely fragile situation the devil tempted Jesus to set aside his humanity and simply command the stones and rocks of the wilderness to become bread. To be sure, he could have done that, but then he would not have completely emptied himself of his divine nature and been completely one with us (Phil 2:6-8).

This he refused to do. Instead he threw himself into the hands of his Father by drawing on the written account of Israel's wilderness experience. Israel also had no food all the days of the Exodus. Each day they went out to pick up manna, that strange food that simply appeared. In this way they learned complete dependence upon the LORD. Moses reminded them of this as they prepared to enter the land of promise.

And he humbled you and let you hunger and fed you with manna, which you did not know, nor did your fathers know, that he might make you know that man does not live by bread alone, but man lives by every word that comes from the mouth of the LORD. - Deu 8:3 ESV

So Jesus teaches us about hunger, weakness, starvation, suffering, sickness, the danger of death and how to deal with the temptation to doubt in those situations. We must not question what the Father allows to happen. Our task is to trust and submit. The Father may well answer our prayers and provide manna. Or he may not. In any event we know that our earthly lives are in the hands of our loving Father. We know it because we have Jesus. He is our life. In him we have been reborn and he lives within us (2 Cor. 12:9; Gal. 2:20). Regardless of what may come in this present age, that is enough.

"'Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.'"

 

Stages of faith

In a previous post I talked about doubt and about the one we have called Doubting Thomas. Doubt does not mean the loss of faith. In fact, Paul Tillich once wrote that doubt is not the opposite of faith; it is one element of faith. He also said, "The old faith must die, eaten away by doubts, but only so that a new and deeper faith may be born." We who are physical or spiritual parents are concerned that faith in the Risen Christ, the forgiveness of sins and the hope of eternal life be passed on and claimed by our children.

To that end we must be aware that this faith has four basic stages:

1. Experienced faith (preschool and early childhood)— in this stage children imitate our actions. They learn to pray the Lord's Prayer, for instance, but certainly do not understand all the meanings of the words. This is simply what we do in our family. This is how we act. 
2. Affiliate faith (childhood and early adolescent years)—Here is where the Christian community begins to be important. Children belong to a group, Sunday School for instance. The group lives and acts in certain ways. So the child imitates what the group does. This is what WE believe and do. This is OUR group or OUR church.
3.  Searching faith (late adolescence) — At this stage the boy is moving toward manhood, the girl toward womanhood. He or she asks, "Is this what I believe?" We spoke about Doubting Thomas. He would not merely accept what others said. He needed to find out for himself. At this stage of faith the believer adds the head to the heart of the earlier stages.
4. Owned faith (early adulthood) -- The maturing believer arrives at this stage only by moving through the searching stage. The young person must deal with doubt. Is this what I believe? We pray that our children will indeed discover what Thomas found. Christ is alive. He is risen indeed. Then they will join Thomas to kneel before the Christ and say, "My Lord and my God." This is an owned faith, not one that others believe. This is the strong, personal faith that openly bears witness to Jesus, a faith the believer is willing to die for.

William Barcley writes:

If we believe someone, we do no more than accept whatever statement that person may be making at the moment as true. If we believe in someone, we accept the whole person and all that that individual stands for in complete trust. We would be prepared not only to trust the spoken word, but also to trust ourselves to that purpose. To believe in Jesus Christ is not simply to accept what he says as true; it is to commit ourselves into his hands, for time and for eternity. 

Certainty is attained through doubt. The man who insists on being sure is going to arrive at a solid and lasting faith, far more certain than the person who glibly repeats things he has never thought out—and which he does not fully believe. Doubt serves that person. Thomas fought his way through doubt to the solid conviction that Jesus Christ was his Lord and his God. Legend says that he went on to become the Apostle to the people of Syria and India.

One more thing about the stages of faith. They are not so clear as the paragraphs above may suggest. We must deal with these stages throughout our lives. Little children ask questions, as do teens. And so do mature adults. Believers of all ages have times of certainty. We celebrate them. On Easter Sunday we shout, "Christ is risen!" And our friends respond, "He is risen indeed!" However, there are times of questioning. Do not despise such moments. We must beware of simply going along with the crowd. There are even times when we must stand against them. Only by working through these times of doubt do we grow.

Perhaps it is best that we do not refer to Thomas as Doubting Thomas—a person we do not want to imitate. Perhaps we should call him Thomas The Confessor. He was, after all, the only one among that crowd of trembling, insecure disciples who openly confessed his faith in Jesus as his risen Lord and God.
May we all come to the same place on our faith journeys.

Doubts Are Not Unbelief

Do Christians doubt what they believe? Is doubt the same as not believing at all? Will we Christians ever come to the place where all doubts disappear? In order to deal with these questions I revisit the brief story of the Apostle Thomas, about whom I wrote a year ago. He is called Doubting Thomas with good reason.

Thomas insisted on tangible proof of Jesus' resurrection. Unless he could see and touch the mark of the nails that bound Jesus to his cross and place his hand into his side where the Roman soldier had driven the spear, he would never believe (John 20:25).

When Jesus appeared eight days later and permitted Thomas to do what he demanded, the Lord said to him, "Do not disbelieve, but believe" (John 20:27). And he did. He answered Jesus, "My Lord and my God!"

So back to my question. Are doubts a form of unbelief? And what exactly are we doing when we struggle with doubts? Let's look at some places in the Bible where the actual doubt word is used.

When Joseph's jealous brothers sold him into slavery they needed to convince their father that he was dead, killed and devoured by a wild beast. So they brought Jacob a bloody robe and asked him if this was his son's robe or not? Jacob concluded that it was indeed Joseph's robe and said—according to most translations—"Without doubt Joseph is torn to pieces" (Genesis 37:33).  The interesting thing is that the Hebrew text doesn't use a word for doubt. The text repeats the 'torn to pieces' verb twice, intensifying it. This is a way of saying that Jacob believed without doubt that Joseph was dead.

In Matthew's Gospel we read of Peter walking on the water with Jesus in the midst of a raging storm on the inland Sea of Galilee. "But when he saw the wind he was afraid and beginning to sink cried out, 'Lord, save me.'" Jesus did of course give Peter his hand, but he also rebuked him, saying, "O you of little faith, why did you doubt? (Matthew 14:30-31). The Greek verb here is distazoh, a verb that only occurs one more time in the Bible, at the very end of Matthew's Gospel.

Now the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them. And when they saw him they worshiped him, but some doubted. - Mat 28:16-17 ESV

From this brief study I conclude that there are times when you are so convinced by the evidence that you have absolutely no doubt in your mind and heart. Such was the case of Jacob as he looked upon his son's bloody tunic. He was without doubt. He truly believed that Joseph was dead.

But you can and will have doubts even while you have faith. Peter believed that he saw Jesus out there and that Jesus was indeed walking on the waves. That was why Peter was able, at least for some seconds, to  accept Jesus' invitation to join him and actually walk on the water. However, he took his eyes off Jesus to focus instead upon the wind and the waves. At that moment his experience as a fisherman took over. Walking on water was simply not possible. He was going to drown.

Some of Jesus' disciples were still struggling with the reality of Jesus' resurrection and its implications some 40 days after Easter Sunday. They were unable to absorb and integrate that event into their belief systems. How could all this be so? They believed. They had seen him, heard and talked with him. And they did after all go to Galilee as Jesus had directed. They did kneel before him in worship and adoration. But they had doubts.

And so do we all. It is not wrong or evil or even sinful to have doubts. Jesus our Lord understands this. Whatever your doubts are, admit them. Place them before him as you pray to him. Search your Bible. Open yourself to the guiding of his Spirit. Go to your pastor or a trusted friend in the faith. Let them help you. You will receive help. You will find peace. Jesus promises,

Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. - Mat 11:28 ESV

God's Two Revelations - Psalm 19

I've seen many young people deeply troubled by the assumed conflict between modern science and the Bible. Older folks struggle too. As recently as this week a retired geo-physicist shared his appreciation for the help I gave him to find ways to reconcile his lifelong experience as a scientist with his faith in Jesus and the authority of the Bible.

This is, undoubtedly, a very real challenge for many and a leading cause for the destruction of childhood Christian faith. There are significant resources and great and powerful reasons why that need not happen. Here are some organizations and individuals working toward this common goal of reconciling modern science with the Bible.

1. Reasons to Believe - sample article

Reasons To Believe : Hobbits Grab Headlines, Again!: Our assertion is that the hominids were animals created by God. These extraordinary creatures walked erect and possessed some level of intelligence. These abilities allowed them to cobble crude tools and even adopt some level of "culture." The RTB model maintains that the hominids were not spiritual beings made in God's image, however. RTB's model reserves this status exclusively for modern humans. Based on this view we predict that biological similarities will exist among the hominids and modern humans to varying degrees. But also major biological differences, as this new study attests.

2. Answers in Genesis - sample article

Creationism:There are various forms of creationism, including old-earth creationism, progressive creationism, and young-earth creationism (some also label the Intelligent Design Movement as being a form of creationism). Most forms of creationism contend that an intelligence, not natural processes, created the universe and all life. However, only young-earth creationism is supported by a straightforward reading of Genesis without introducing outside suppositions and beliefs foreign to the text (e.g., that “science” has proven the ancient age of the earth).

 3. Genesis Veracity - sample article

Level of Logic of Old Earth Creationism: Hugh Ross (Reasons to Believe) would have us believe that after billions of years of geological processes (which caused the rock strata that we see), Noah's Flood then occurred only in Mesopotamia, and wiped out all of humanity except the eight who were saved on the Ark. Why would some of the humans have not successfully migrated away from a merely regional flood? And why would have all of humanity (Ross estimates 1 billion people) been confined to merely Mesopotamia, thousands of years ago? (And why would all of the animals also have been only in Mesopotamia, with none having migrated from harm's way?)

4. Evidence for God from Science - sample article

Does Genesis One Conflict with Science? Day-Age Interpretation : I would first like to point out that God has not revealed the entire creation process in the Genesis creation account, but only that which is particularly relevant to mankind. Many events in the creation account of the Bible have been intentionally left out (unicellular life forms, dinosaurs, etc.), I believe, because they would have been difficult to express in the Hebrew language, and would have lead to confusion, since they would not have been understood through the vast majority of mankind's existence (i.e., only understandable in the last two centuries). The interpretation of the Genesis creation account should not be made independently of the remainder of the Bible, as many "young-earth" creationists do. The interpretation presented here is based upon the creation accounts found throughout the entire Bible (Job, Psalms, Proverbs, etc.¹) as it relates to God's creation of the heavens and the Earth, and is consistent with all the biblical texts in addition to the revelations of science.

The Bible was the first written work to describe the expanding universe model for the universe (indicated by verses stating that God spreads out the heavens, 2), which is consistent with the Big Bang model.

5. Rev. Dr. John Polkinghorne - sample article

How the Resurrection Makes Sense: In the history of much Christian thinking, and in much popular piety, people have thought of themselves as if they were apprentice angels. In that case, the "real me" would be a spiritual component, trapped in a body but awaiting release at death. Today, that is an increasingly difficult belief to hold. Studies of brain damage and the effects of drugs show how dependent our personalities are on the state of our bodies. Charles Darwin has taught us that our ancestry is the same as that of the other animals. Earth was once lifeless and life seems to have emerged from complex chemical interactions. Many scientists think that we are nothing but collections of molecules and they write popular books to assert this belief. 

Yet that also is a pretty odd thing to believe. Could just a bunch of chemicals write Shakespeare or compose Handel's Messiah, or discover the laws of chemistry, for that matter? There is something more to us than the merely material. Yet, whatever that extra something is, it is surely intimately connected with our bodies. We are a kind of package deal, mind and body closely related and not wholly detachable from each other. It is a puzzle.

These samples are enough to indicate that there is plenty of controversy among Christian apologists as they work diligently to demonstrate that there are no irreconcilable conflicts between God's two revelations in nature and the Bible.

In addition, there are conservative Jewish resources that are also very helpful. Chief among them is the work of Gerald Schroeder. Once a teacher at MIT, he now resides in Jerusalem.

6. Gerald Schroeder - sample article:

The Age of the Universe:  In 1959, a survey was taken of leading American scientists. Among the many questions asked was, "What is your estimate of the age of the universe?" Now, in 1959, astronomy was popular, but cosmology - the deep physics of understanding the universe - was just developing. The response to that survey was recently republished in Scientific American - the most widely read science journal in the world. Two-thirds of the scientists gave the same answer. The answer that two-thirds - an overwhelming majority - of the scientists gave was, "Beginning? There was no beginning. Aristotle and Plato taught us 2400 years ago that the universe is eternal. Oh, we know the Bible says 'In the beginning.' That's a nice story; it helps kids go to bed at night. But we sophisticates know better. There was no beginning." 

That was 1959. In 1965, Arno Penzias and Robert Wilson discovered the echo of the Big Bang in the black of the sky at night, and the world paradigm changed from a universe that was eternal to a universe that had a beginning. Science had made an enormous paradigm change in its understanding of the world. Understand the impact. Science said that our universe had a beginning. I can't overestimate the import of that scientific "discovery." Evolution, cave men, these are all trivial problems compared to the fact that we now understand that we had a beginning. Exactly as the Bible had claimed for three millennia. 

Of course, the fact that there was a beginning does not prove that there was a beginner. Whether the second half of Genesis 1:1 is correct, we don't know from a secular point of view. The first half is "In the beginning;" the second half is "God created the Heavens and the Earth." Physics allows for a beginning without a beginner. I'm not going to get into the physics of that here. "The Science of God," my second book, examines this in great detail.

7. The Torah Science Foundation - sample article:

Time and Purpose in Science and Mathematics: The infinite number of questions asked in every sphere of human culture can be reduced to three general, fundamental questions. These questions contain many more detailed, more elaborately phrased questions, which can be expressed in complex philosophical forms, or spelled out through professional scientific analysis. These questions relate to both the simplest objects encountered in everyday life and to complex cultural or scientific systems, to concrete objects and realities that people cannot help but notice, and to creations of the mind, whose actual existence is uncertain. These three questions may be summarized in very simple words: "What?" "How?" "What For?"

In more abstract language we can say that "What" is the question about the essence of things, their definition and identity, and their relationship to other entities. "How" is the question of the reason for things: why do things happen the way they do, what brings about their existence, and what causes various events. "What For" is the question of purpose: what is the purpose for which certain things are done, or exist.

There is enough information here to keep all of us busy for many, many hours. Regardless of where you end up in your conclusions, there is one thing that impresses me in them all. They take the Bible very seriously. They believe in its authority. God has two revelations, nature and His Word (Psalm 19:1-5). And the two agree with one another.

Who Is Setting Your Table?

Recently I've become very concerned about the influence of the world's culture upon my family, friends and readers of this blog. When I mentioned this in an email to the writers of our ezine by the same name as this Blog, I received a couple responses. One interested me especially. The writer, a pastor, mentioned that he too is concerned. He suggested we view it with the image "Who is setting your table?" In other words, who is providing the spiritual food you and your family are eating day by day? And what's it doing to you and for you? 

This is, of course, an old question, one with which the church has struggled from the beginning. A hundred years ago, in 1913, J. Gresham Machen, Presbyterian professor at Princeton and founder of Westminster Theological Seminary, Philadelphia, wrote a very helpful article in the Princeton Theological Review, Vol. 11, "Christianity and Culture."  For the next couple days I'd like to comment on his article. Here is his conclusion.


"The Church is puzzled by the world's indifference.  She is trying to overcome it by adapting her message to the fashions of the day.  But if, instead, before the conflict, she would descend into the secret place of meditation, if by the clear light of the gospel she would seek an answer not merely to the question of the hour but, first of all, to the eternal problems of the spiritual world, then perhaps, by God's grace, through His good Spirit, in His good time, she might issue forth once more with power, and an age of doubt might be followed by the dawn of an era of faith."


We are indeed puzzled by the indifferent world. Why are people not flocking to our churches by the thousands, begging and pleading for us to tell them the secret of eternal life? Why the indifference? 


The way to overcome such indifference seems obvious to many pastors and church leaders. Adapt the message to the fashions of the day. Does that mean we are to adapt the message to the very internet and computer with which these words are being written? And what about video and TV and drama and yes, what I'm particularly interested in, the art of novel writing, as well as all the other arts? 


But I move ahead of Machen and myself. 


Before getting wrapped up in all that, we must take his concluding advice very seriously. Before the conflict, before the battle, before the clash of swords, let us move to the secret place, the hiding place (Psalm 32:7) who is none other than our Lord Himself. There find solace and comfort, forgiveness and mercy for all the failings of the past. He instructs and guides us in the way we should go from here on, whether we are a pastor, parent or a friend in prayer for a beloved one. 


From our Lord seek answers not merely to the questions of the hour, for these come and go. Instead seek answers to the eternal problems of forgiveness, life and salvation. These our Lord supplies in His Word, in the Gospel. Thus armed we will come back with power to address the doubts and confusion that surround us on all sides. Perhaps we shall yet be used by Him to bring faith. 

Teen Suicide and Faith

When my cousin Eloise and I were children growing up on our families' farms, we'd often play cowboys and Indians while our twin mothers chatted on the front porch. We were always partners in those imaginary battles, saving one another from many imaginary foes.

As I entered my teens I began to realize a different kind of battle and prayed for a different kind of partner. Many teens fight the same battle as I did, a battle for self-esteem, recognition by peers, a growing sense of meaning and purpose. Many continue to lose that battle to suicide.

Suicide is the third leading cause of death for 15-to-24-year-olds, and the sixth leading cause of death for 5-to-14-year-olds.

I still remember the despair I felt when I tried out for the basketball team and found out that I was not on the roster. The athletes in our school were the heroes, the people admired and applauded. Sure I was allowed to play on the B-team, but was even more ashamed and humiliated when I realized I was to spend most of my time on the bench of even that team. I wanted to run away to some place where no one knew me, some place where I could hide, some place where I would never have to feel the rotten feelings broiling inside.

Teenagers experience stress, confusion, self-doubt, pressure to succeed, financial uncertainty, and other fears while growing up. For some teenagers, divorce, the formation of a new family with step-parents and step-siblings is the cause of anxiety and doubt.

I grew up in a farm community and went away to a church boarding school when I was but 13 years old. During the first semester of my freshman high school year I contracted pneumonia. My parents brought me home and enrolled me in our local public high school for the second semester of that year. While there the feelings of isolation and loneliness increased as I spent week after week with kids who shunned me. They knew I was only there for that one semester and would then return to my "private school." It was a wretched experience.

To an adult these hardly seem like reasons to take your own life. Sadly, this is not always so for a teen. The strange reality is that some irrationally believe that death is only temporary, like when Eloise and I pretended we were killed in one of our mock battles. In a few seconds we would rise up again with the words, "I'm a new man," and the play would continue.

From a pastor's viewpoint, I would strongly suggest that we do whatever it takes to keep in touch with our children and to encourage them with the words based upon what the Apostle says in 1 Corinthians: "God, who has called you into fellowship with his Son Jesus Christ our Lord, is faithful." In other words, you can always count on Jesus to guide you through all this stuff. And again in his letter to the Romans he reminds us, young and old, that no matter what comes along, we will always taste victory through Him who loved and still loves us (Rom.8:31-39).

How Slow of Heart to Believe

It's been a while since I've posted. I could say that I've been busy, but that would be only partly so. The truth is, I've been depressed and discouraged, an old familiar pain that spans my entire lifetime. I can distinctly recall it since my early teens. If I could find it, I'd point you to a journal from those days in which I scrawled, "What good to live, if but to die.

Sounds like the Book of Ecclesiastes, one Biblical book I avoid, because it is too painful for me. "Meaningless! Meaningless!"
says the Teacher.
"Utterly meaningless!
Everything is meaningless."

It doesn't help that I've been reading a dismal book. Why do I dip into such stuff? I've just finished One Second After by William R. Forstchen. He writes about what might happen if enemies of the USA were to manage to explode nuclear bombs a couple hundred miles above Kansas, causing an EMP (electro-magnetic pulse). Telephones, cars, the entire electrical grid, everything electronic--all of it--could in theory be destroyed while people and animals would not be affected. However, that would leave us helpless, pushed back to a civilization like that in medieval times. Millions upon millions would die.

My goodness, what moves me to read such stuff? Fiction, of course, but potentially . . . Well, you get the picture.

As I read that I suddenly began to realize how the two disciples on the road to Emmaus must have felt when they thought Jesus was dead. Everything they hoped for, dreamed about, was gone. Their Messiah was dead, murdered by the Romans and their own country's leaders on a cross outside of Jerusalem.

"He was a prophet, powerful in word and deed before God and all the people," they told the stranger who encountered them on the way. "The chief priests and our rulers handed him over to be sentenced to death, and they crucified him; but we had hoped that he was the one who was going to redeem Israel" (Luke 24).

"We had hoped. . ." The dream was gone, dissipated by the cruel reality of the day. The night was now closing in and with it hope was dying.

And yet, here was this stranger. They didn't recognize him. They couldn't. Their eyes were blinded by their disbelief. Rather blunt, no very blunt was he. "How foolish you are, and how slow of heart to believe . . ." And from there he went on to explain that it was all part of the plan, all written through the prophets centuries before.

I guess I'll have to take another look at my depression, wiggle my little finger at my doubts and ask, "Is what you believe really the truth? Is God dead? Has Satan won after all?"

Perhaps not. Christ is risen! He is risen indeed! Hallelujah!

I'd best get on with the tasks of the day before me. I pray you will do the same.