Social Justice

"Social Justice," as most Christians understand it (and everyone else for that matter), is a complete misnomer. Justice is when some one gets something they deserve, i.e. - the innocent go free and the guilty are punished. Justice is not when someone in an advantageous position reaches out their hand to help one in a less advantageous position - This is called Mercy. Jesus took our guilt and died on the Cross to fulfill the requirements of the Law, to bring Justice. That shed blood forgiving you of your sins and cleansing you of your Sin Nature, that's Mercy - you didn't deserve that. It's not semantics, it's theology.

The Hard Questions

An online acquaintance of mine (who shall remain nameless to those of you who can't do simple Brian Ross style internet research) posed to me the following questions. Questions that came up out of the supposed Chic-fil-A controversy:

Scott, can you explain to me the method for picking/choosing which parts of the bible are legitimate?

Serious question.

I'd like to know how someone makes life choices based on a book that contains God's instructions if only bits and pieces are acceptable.

Christians seem confused by their own book.

Is it "love thy neighbor", and "judge not" or is it "use the bible to justify hate while ignoring injunctions in the very same chapter"?

 ALL anti-gay bible quotes are old testament. if some of it applies, all of it applies.

 otherwise, strap on the hypocrite helmet, it's gonna be a bumpy ride.

My answer was as follows, please feel free to comment/correct my theology or apologetics:

There's a lot here, I'll try to answer your questions sincerely:

The first one, "picking/choosing," boils down to reading comprehension, really. There is a lot of ceremonial/cultural law that's sole purpose was to create for God a chosen and unique people, set aside from the "world" for His expressed purpose. A great example of this, which is often misused by haters, is that Torah observant Jews cannot wear cloth with mixed fabrics or have tattoos (apparently because God is that concerned with purity). This was, and never has been, intended to be observed by the NT church (in large part because we aren't born into the church, like the Jew is "born" into Judaism, so if I already have a tattoo or a nice cotton/polyester blend button-up when we become a Christian, then we're screwed straight away).

That being said, the OT as a whole still gives us great insight into the character of God, like the example I used - His concern for His people to be pure, even if some of the specific laws don't "apply" anymore.

Generally speaking, people that use "doesn't the Bible say don't judge" (et al) are just as wrong as the people that use the Bible to hate on other people. Personally, I believe that there is absolutely no justification for Christians to expect non-believers to adhere to dictates they don't believe are truly from God, that makes no sense, and is why I never speak against SSM equity and the likes. It makes no hill-of-beans difference to me if two dudes that couldn't care less about the Bible, or the God who wrote it, want to violate its statues. (But I also don't want the Gov't telling my church it has to marry dudes, which is in contradiction to its beliefs (I'm speaking generally here))

"Judge not" and others like, are often (I'd almost say always actually) taken out of context by non-believers to justify their sin in the face of a critical Christian populace. In my reading of it, Jesus was instructing His followers to be gentle when dealing with others' sin because of the very fact that we ourselves are sinners (otherwise, why did Jesus die?). He wasn't saying, "Hey, it's open season on sinning, and those of you that makes uncomfortable, too bad, you'll have to deal!" He was saying, "Hey, yeah, your bother is a sinner, and that's bad, but so are you, so take care of yourself before you go trying to correct him, and either way, I got it covered"

It's a misconception that all "anti-gay" quotes are from the OT. The ones you see used most often are from the OT probably because of their familiarity, but as Paul said in his letter to the church in Rome:

Therefore God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, to the dishonoring of their bodies among themselves, because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever! Amen. For this reason God gave them up to dishonorable passions. For their women exchanged natural relations for those that are contrary to nature; and the men likewise gave up natural relations with women and were consumed with passion for one another, men committing shameless acts with men and receiving in themselves the due penalty for their error.

That states pretty clearly that homosexuality is both unnatural (for humans) and sinful.

And ultimately Christians are hypocrites, and for that I am genuinely sorry. Followers of Jesus should never claim to be perfect, because we aren't, we are, however, perfectly forgiven, through the Blood of Jesus Christ, thanks be to God!

People are people, that's plain to the both of us. We never do anything perfectly. To expect Christians to "do" Christianity "perfectly" (whatever that would look like) seems as misguided and hypocritical as me expecting you to come to church with me every Sunday, because the Bible says so, and me getting angry with you when you don't show.

(this obviously only scratches the surfaces of a bunch intensely complex subjects, but as always, I appreciate your candor and willingness to have the discussion)

And as always, thank you for taking the time to read!

Lessons from My Son

Alexander is an amazing little man. Wide-eyed, he explores the world around him with reckless abandon. The thing about him that really amazes me is that he truly is "no respecter of persons" when it comes to social situations. Alexander doesn't see the things which men see, he does not care if you smell or if your teeth are all nasty or if you're morbidly obese or if you look as if you do not bathe regularly or if you're from a bad family or bad neighborhood or what skin color you have or your sexual orientation or what religion you have or if you are older than dirt or just a little sapling. Alexander does not care. No matter what, he'll walk right up to you in a crowded room, with a smile, and ask you "what's your favorite thing?" He'll try the best he can to strike up a conversation and leave you smiling and feeling the better for it.

I have a lot to learn from my son. I have a feeling this is just the beginning.

July and August

Isn't it always the way, that you really want to start something and stick to it, then it peters out, slowly, you don't even notice, then one day you realize, oh yeah, that's gone.

Well that's the way I am with blogging. I really love it. I love writing my thoughts down like this. But for one reason or another I just can't seem to stay on top of it.

July and August were particularly busy months for us (I almost wrote weeks, because they seems more like it than months this year). In July we moved. I know. Get over it. That was a hassle. It didn't last all month, but the process of unpacking and trying to figure out what goes where and all that does. You would think we'd have it down by now, but it just doesn't seem to work out that way. And Stephanie's responsibilities at work tripled. She replaced a guy at work that decided to walk the Appalachian Trail instead of being a responsible adult (yes, I'm jealous) and she had to learn everything he knew well enough to do it when he left. It meant a lot of extended hours. It also meant I was playing Mr. Mom every evening. That lasted until near the end of August. We had virtually no free time and only ate about one meal a week together. Our most intimate moments were giving each other a kiss in the parking lot as we swapped our son for the evening. We're still on a similar schedule, but it's a little more relaxed now, so we at least get to eat two or three meals together every week.

Near the end of August we decided that I was going back to school, college specifically. So I started my general education classes at Onondaga. The end goal is seminary. I have a misty vision of starting an urban church where the Bible is preached clearly, thoroughly and expositionally. I'm not up to the task, but I'm going to give it everything I got. We're still unclear where I am going to go for both undergraduate and seminary and I'm very much open to suggestions.

An unfortunate side affect to busyness is a loss of priority. My reading has fallen to a new low, both Biblical and non-Biblical alike, which I'm not excited about. I've just recently picked back up Bonhoeffer: Pastor Martyr Prophet Spy, which is very interesting. I hope to have it finished sooner rather than later.

So, right now we're in a very interesting place. Stephanie is the breadwinner, I'm a student working part-time and our future is a little foggy. God has something in store for us, and He's trustworthy, I know that, it's just tough not really knowing when to pull the trigger and when to leave the safety on.

Pat and Emily's Wedding →

We made our way over the last hill, the line of cars on the side of the road indicated that our three and a half hour drive had finally come to an end, and we had at long last reached our final destination. A light blue farm tractor was pulling a covered wooden cart full of others that had traveled from near and far to come and celebrate this truly joyous occasion. We watched as it slowly ferried it's way up to the top of a small clearing on a rolling hill tucked back among woods and corn fields. We thought about walking ourselves up but reconsidered as a light but steady sprinkle started. Shortly the ferry had returned to pick up another load of passengers.

As we approached the spot in the middle of a clover field we could see a small pergola covered in flowers with a couple of sections of split rail fence on either side that looked like they had been constructed just for the occasion, both the pergola and the fence were left untouched by stain or paint and accented its surroundings nicely with their natural color. The place overlooked a shallow valley and more wooded rolling hills and with the wisps of fog settling in it gave you a breath of the old country. Folding chairs mingled with bales of hay greeted the guests as we made our way to our seats. Reading the beautifully hand drawn programs it was plain to see that this was going to be a simple yet eloquent country wedding. Verbose or hackneyed vocal performances by cousins or college roommates were replaced by the rhythmic melodies of faint Irish guitar and fiddle playing quietly in the wind.

As the announcement was made that the "Girls Are Coming!" something that can only be called a true blessing, and what most of us were praying for, happened, the rain stopped. It was at this point that the groom himself walked his own mother, followed by his soon to be mother-in-law, down the aisle to be seated in the front row. The bride and her maids made their way in their white chariot pulled by their own tractor up the hill to the back of the congregation. As they stepped from their ride each one slowly walked down the aisle and took their place. Then the time had come! As the congregation took to its feet the beautiful country girl in her pure white dress made her way to the moment she had planned for her whole life and to the man she was about to promise the rest of it to. As she walked, slowly but surely, in her father's arm, you could see the wellspring of joy bubbling over on the groom's face. Soon they would make the simple yet profound promises that we all who are married make, to love and cherish in any and all circumstances. After a brief yet concise Gospel message was presented the two exchanged vows and rings, kissed and began what will certainly prove to be the best time of their lives.

The Holy Scriptures: True

It is popular these days to postulate that the Holy Scriptures cannot be fully understood, that there is a cloud of mystery surrounding them that keeps us from there full value. A claim to that end is that they are not true, historically speaking. Some make claims that although the Scriptures contain many great "truths" they are not themselves "true." Some have gone so far to say that the Scripture actually makes no claim to "be true" but just that it is "truth". The clear dangers of such a post-modern, relativistic view of Scripture is easy to see and depending on how far one would take such a notion, could in fact dismantle the entire Gospel itself.

Does the Scripture make claims that it is in fact fact? I think it does. In the Gospel According to Luke, the author Luke plainly states that he has "undertaken a narrative of the things that have been accomplished among us" just as they were delivered to him by the "eyewitnesses and ministers of the word". And that he had "followed all things closely...to write an orderly account". He said these things that we "may have certainty concerning the things [we] have been taught" (emphasis added).

It was Luke's purpose to make sure that we understood that the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus, as he recorded it for us, was true. A clear problem that arises from a Truth not True position is that you have to pick and choose what you are going to believe is true and what is not. The Corinthian church, for example, wanted to believe that Christ was raised from the dead, but that there would not be a "resurrection of the dead." They started to slip in their understanding of the Gospel. They believed the the Gospel had Truth but they stopped believing that is was True.

For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures, and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. Then he appeared to more than five hundred brothers at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have fallen asleep. Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles. Last of all...he appeared also to me...Now if Christ is proclaimed as raised from the dead, how can some of you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? But if there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised. And if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain. We are even found to be misrepresenting God, because we testified about God that he raised Christ, whom he did not raise if it is true that the dead are not raised. For if the dead are not raised, not even Christ has been raised. And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins. Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. If in Christ we have hope in this life only, we are of all people most to be pitied. But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the first-fruits of those who have fallen asleep. For as by a man came death, by a man has come also the resurrection of the dead. (Emphasis and underlines added)

Notice Paul's emphasis of the facts. If certain facts about Jesus' life aren't true then we have no hope, for this life or the next. Our hope does not lie in some theoretical truth that applies to our lives in only some meta-physical way that we can then apply to our lives. No, our hope lies in the fact that Christ lived the life described in the Scriptures and that He died the death described in the Scriptures and that He was raised according to the Scriptures. Without it we have nothing.

The very reason the Scriptures were written is so we can have full assurance that Jesus was and is who He said was. This is certainly not a comprehensive argument, by any means, and it wasn't intended to be. It's simply a reminder, to myself as much as anyone else. A reminder that God is and God has spoken and that His words are True.

Exodus Facebook

I'm not a particularly "liturgical" guy. I only loosely follow any kind of liturgical calendar. My wife and I see the value in family traditions that highlight certain Biblical events, but we also see the dangers in them becoming overly "religious." We like to read some Scripture and light the wreath during Advent and sometimes we'll even give something up for Lent. But most years we either forget or just decide not to.

This was not one of the forgetting years.

So my wife has told me for quite a few months that I have a problem. That I'm addicted. Not to drugs or alcohol but to Facebook (FB). That it consumes too much of my time and mental energy. After a careful and lengthy consideration I realized that she was wrong. I had no problem at all, I didn't have to get on if I didn't want to and that I didn't even really get on FB that often (in number of minutes counted, not times a day). So I continued with my normal FB routines. Checking to see who commented on my status updates, see who commented on my comments to other's status updates and to make sure that all my friends knew exactly how I felt about what they thought. So this continues for months. But then something crazy happened. It seemed like everyone on Facebook turned into a me, and I didn't like it. All of my "friends" who apparently disagreed with my point of view made it perfectly clear how they felt, no matter how wrong they were, and I, of course, returned the favor. Things really started to get heated.

Then it hit me one day.

That's no way to build the Kingdom. If I'm arguing and fighting with every-which-one about complete and utter nonsense then there's virtually no chance that I could be an effective witness if and when the time would come. All of this was coming to a climax in early March. So I thought about giving it up for Lent. I discussed it with my wife, (can you believe that she thought it was a good idea?) then prayed about it and decided it was a good choice.

So, I haven't been on Facebook since March 9th (except once when I needed to look up a friend's phone number because my phone was in his car and his number wasn't in my wife's phone), and it's been pretty great. As it turned out, I might actually have been a little addicted to it. I missed it a lot at first. Thinking about how every little thing would be such a great status update or site to share. But as time goes by I miss it less and less and enjoy my free time more and more. I'm reading more, I'm paying more undivided attention to my wife and son and I'm not frustrating my friends with my opinions about stuff that only barely matters at best.

I'm not sure what's going to happen April 25th when Lent is over. I hope that I won't get back on FB like I used to. Maybe once or twice a week, to try to keep up with the Mangines and other people I can't talk to everyday. But over all I feel like I'm done with it. Maybe do one of those famous "Facebook Friend Dumps" when you delete all the people that aren't actually your friends in real life. But time will tell. As for now I'm just going to stay off it for another week an a half or so and hope for the best.

I love it when you realize that something has power over your life and by the Grace of God you conquer that thing. Freedom. It was for freedom that Christ set us free, let's don't put ourselves back into bondage. Especially Facebook bondage.

Holiness: Defining Sin, Part Two: Origin and Scope

I won't spend too much time on this one, but I wanted to briefly point out these two very important points concerning sin.

Origin

That sin has it's origins within us, not, as some would choose to believe from external forces. Ryle speaks plainly and directly to our own generation when he writes I am afraid that the views of many professing Christians on this point are sadly defective and unsound. ... Let us, then, have it fixed down in our minds that the sinfulness of man does not begin from without, but from within. It is not the result of bad training in early years. It is not picked up from bad companions and bad examples, as some weak Christians are too fond of saying. No! It is a family disease, which we all inherit from our first parents, Adam and Eve, and with which we are born.  And he reminds us that the fairest child, who has entered life this year and become the sunbeam of a family, is not, as his mother perhaps fondly calls him, a little "angel" or a little "innocent," but a little "sinner." Alas! As that infant boy or girl lies smiling and crowing in its cradle, that little creature carries in its heart the seeds of every kind of wickedness! The neglect of this orthodox doctrine has many far reaching implications which has lead us right into the state of affairs that we see ourselves in today as a nation. "Everyone is basically good" is something that we have all heard many times, and it is even more often used to excuse misbehavior, but the Bible never teaches it.

Scope


But how deep does this sin penetrate in to us as individuals? If we are all born with this wicked condition, this moral disease, how bad is the diagnosis? ...let us beware that we make no mistake. The only safe ground is that which is laid for us in Scripture. "Every imagination of the thoughts of his heart" is by nature "evil," and that "continually." "The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked" (Gen. 6:5; Jer. 17:9). Sin is a disease which pervades and runs through every part of our moral constitution and every faculty of our minds. The understanding, the affections, the reasoning powers, the will, are all more or less infected. Even the conscience is so blinded that it cannot be depended on as a sure guide, and is as likely to lead men wrong as right, unless it is enlightened by the Holy Spirit. In short, "from the sole of the foot even unto the head there is no soundness" about us (Isa. 1:6). The disease may be veiled under a thin covering of courtesy, politeness, good manners and outward decorum, but it lies deep down in the constitution. And that ...man has many grand and noble faculties left about him, and that in arts and sciences and literature he shows immense capacity. But the fact still remains that in spiritual things he is utterly "dead" and has no natural knowledge, or love, or fear of God.


I quoted Ryle a lot today to keep it short, I have a tendency to ramble if left to my own devices.

Understanding these two points about sin, along with the first, is the initial step we must take in righting our relationship to God. It is only as a sinner that we realize we need a savior. It can also go along way in helping us understand the world around us. We have no need to question "why" if we hold firmly to these truths about sin. No need to ask "why" when there are atrocities all around the world, or terrorist attacks, or broken marriages or abused children. The "why" is plain, because we're sinners. The solution is also just as plain, His name is Jesus.

Holiness: Defining Sin

To determine what Holiness is, you have to start with what it isn't. What ever Holiness may be, we all know for sure that sin isn't it. But what is sin? Can we give a clear definitive answer? The Scripture, in 1 John 3:4, simply says "sin is lawlessness" (ESV).

"...a right knowledge of sin lies at the root of all saving Christianity."

Without clearly understanding sin, Christ's sacrifice will mean nothing to us."Why would anyone need to die for my sins, I'm a relatively good person, I make a mistake now and again, but nothing too big, I never hurt anyone else, plus I do a lot of good." This is a very logical position, if we do not understand the nature of sin.

The COE, in part, defines sin, in the Ninth Article of Religion:

"[Sin] is the fault and corruption of the Nature of every man, that naturally is engendered of the offspring of Adam; whereby man is very far gone from original righteousness, and is of his own nature inclined to evil, so that the flesh lusteth always contrary to the Spirit; and therefore in every person born into this world..."

As Ryle points out, in short, "the entire human race" regardless of their life position or social class, where they were born or decide to reside, or even what language they speak, everyone is infected with this "vast moral disease." A disease that "from which there never was but one born of woman who was free."


So right off the bat we must understand that we are by our very nature sinners, and that sin nature has pushed us far from any lingering righteousness of our own. But what is "a sin"? "If you call me a sinner tell me what a sin is, so I know what not to do, if I can."

"A sin...consists of doing, saying, thinking, or imagining anything that is not in perfect conformity with the mind and law of God." That is quite a list. One that is insurmountable, to say the least. Too often we neglect those sins that are internal. We simply gloss over them, assuming, perhaps, that because no one else knows that you hate that guy that cut you off, or that you sneaked a peak at some internet pornography, or muttered under your breath something too vile for anyone to hear, that these do not count. As if God did not hear them or see them or feel them on the cross. External sins are ofttimes easy to pass off as "bad habits" that we don't often take part in, because of the embarrassment that comes along with them. But even those, just as with the internal, when they do come separate us from God.

More on this soon.
Thank you for reading!
Scott

Intercessory Prayer

"Intercessory prayer is a powerful tool in the hands of a righteous people (James 5:16)"
-John MacArthur

Too often we (I) disregard (or simply forget) the power of intercessory prayer, in both asking for it and offering them up for others, forgetting that it's an actual communication with our Heavenly Father. So much can be accomplished through prayer. In a book by John MacArthur I read of a nurse who used her hands like a physical mnemonic to help her remember to pray for people. The thumb being closest, reminds us to pray for those nearest and dearest to us. The index finger points, so it reminds us to pray for those who instruct. The middle being the tallest reminds us to pray for leadership. The ring finger being the weakest is for the weak, distressed and those in pain. And finally the pinky finger, last and least important, reminds us to pray for ourselves.

Pray for others, practice intercessory prayer and be blessed by the joy that comes with seeing God work in the lives of others.

Thank you for reading!
Scott

Holiness

I'm reading an abridged version of a classic, Holiness It's Nature, Hindrances, Difficulties, and Roots. I'm not far into it yet and already it's stretching me considerably. It's format is great, easy to read an understand and it content is really phenomenal. I'm not getting into that too much here, because I will be writing about what I discover while we go. I highly recommend this book, even before reading it.

Thank you for reading!
Scott.

Love, Love Changes Everything

"Love your enemies. Do good to those who hate you."

The transforming power of choosing to love your enemies is unbelievable. The other day I was listening to a sermon series by John MacArthur and he spoke on what it truly means to love your enemies and what it looks like to bless those who curse you and why. Luke 6:27-38.

And I realized, while listened to him expound upon the words of Jesus, our Lord and Savior, that I hate all my enemies. I hate the guy that cuts me off in traffic. I hate the guy at work that tells me I don't work hard enough to make himself fell better about his own short comings. I hate the guy that's constantly antagonizing me and makes my job harder by being intentionally lazy. All of them, too many to count.

There was a lot in those three sermons and every bit of it was piercing my heart. The Spirit was there with me, speaking to me more clearly than I have heard in a long time. People outside the Kingdom hate their enemies. God loves his enemies, I was his enemy, he loved me to the cross. After realizing that I was actually hating my enemies I was liberated to have the choice, the choice not to. I am free. I am free from hating my enemies. I can still choose to if I want, and I'm sure undoubtedly that I will. But I have been set free. It was for freedom that Christ set me free. I feel like my heart is brand new!

"Love your enemies. Do good to those who hate you."

Thank you for reading!
Scott.

A Confession

I'm not good enough.

To be a husband,
to be a father,
to be a follower of Jesus Christ.

To be successful,
to be happy,
to bless others.

To be faithful,
to be wise,
to love.

I'm not good enough.

To do any of the things that I need to do,
be any of the things I need to be,
change in the all the ways I need to change.

God you have given me all I need, still I am without.

I need your help,
I need your wisdom,
I need your faithfulness.

I need you.

Two Horses, One Butt

My friend Nick has this saying that he got from a movie that he likes to use a lot in respect to nostalgia and a human's desire to be with everyone they ever knew, it goes something like "you're trying to ride two horses with one butt."

Well, that's how I feel today. Two of our very best friends came over for a very short visit. They live far away and can only really come home once a year or so. When they left to go back and be with family for the night, we all realized that we probably wouldn't see each other for a really long time, years, maybe longer.

It sucks that we have to live our lives in a place like this, a fallen world I mean. That they live on the other side of the world and we can't live right here in good old CNY and we also can't live next door to each other. I struggle with not wanting to live near them our whole lives, yet, as I hold my son and sing him a lullaby, I realize that there are other places I need to take my life. Other things that I need to concentrate on and worry about. Yes it would be great if they came back to live in this area, and I would enjoy their company as often as possible. But that most likely will not happen. And I just need to move on.

It's hard to have an eternal perspective. It's hard to understand and live out the fact that in reality, we'll be together forever. We have no less time together now than we did twenty minute before they left, but my temporal self wants it NOW. I want to ride the horse of their friendship three years ago and ride the horse of right now at the same time, but... I only have one butt. And so I'll ask our Abba to help me move on with a joyful heart. To help me keep the here-and-now in perspective, that our son needs his diaper changed, and that he needs a man to raise him up unto the Lord. And that's my job. My job isn't to wish our best friends lived closer, to pine away for something that won't be. But to pray that their lives glorify God and that I do everything in my power, with God's help, to make sure ours do too.

Thank you for reading!
Scott.

Starting Over

When I lived in North Carolina I had a time sowing and reaping in the Word. It was great. I was drinking in the Scripture like it was water and writing a lot about what it meant and the questions I had. Well, that all seemed to slowly fade away as my time went into other things, namely marriage and a baby and trying to figure out how to actually be a father and a husband and much more.

Well, as it turns out, and with no surprise, the way to become both of those things is to spend time daily with the Lord. So I'm recommitting myself to spending time in the Scriptures daily and to writing as often as I receive the motivation. I need to write to process the ideas that go through my mind, otherwise they just sit in there and slowly atrophy and eventually die. I don't really expect anyone to read these entries, except my wife. But if anyone does happen to they are all welcome to comment and correct as they see fit.

So this is the new beginning! I'm starting over, Thanks be to God for second chances!

Thank you for reading!
Scott.

Genesis: A Rant

(originally published WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 20, 2008)

This is an excerpt from an impassioned email that I wrote to a friend, it's not quite a complete thought, yet, I would love to hear your comments...


-This is all I'm saying. Clearly scientist can show us good evidence that the Earth is billions of years old, that all life on Earth has one ancestor, that the universe is who-knows-how old and started with a big-bang. But what scientists never take into account, even the vast majority of believing ones, is the eye witness testimony of the person who was not only there, but actually did the whole thing to begin with, the person of Jesus Christ.


God said, through the prophet Moses, that He made the whole Earth, and everything on it, including all life, (which of course includes man) in six days. If those words are not to be trusted, then God is useless to me. If I cannot trust the very first words that are shared by God in His Holy Scriptures, then which ones can I trust.


But let us say for a moment that it is not a literal story, but just a story, telling us about God's character and lovingkindness. Well, then you have to make a choice I am not as quick to make, at what point does Genesis become literal?


Clearly, according to this new wisdom, (which is really no wisdom at all) the creation story is not literal. Obviously, this is the very thing in question. But, if chapter one in not intended to be literal, what of chapter two? In chapter two we get a close up account of when God created man. But that took place on day six, so we can assume that that also is not literal. Building on that assumption, Adam and Eve are not literal figures in the history of the world, and with that we write off chapter three as well. If we all descended, or ascended, I guess, which ever, from a common ancestor the concept of a single couple in a special place somewhere is down right irrational. So Adam and Eve were never literally tempted by anyone. Which really up to this point, is not that big of a deal, it's just a story, I can deal with that. But of course, if Adam and Eve are not literal, then neither are their children. Cain, Abel and Seth and such.


What are we up to? Oh yes, chapter six. The flood. Well, we have already ruled out Noah, by extension of genealogy. He was somebody's kid that was somebody's kid, so on and so on who was Adam's son. Which makes our job easy, because that is a long story. Now we are up to chapter eleven, not bad. Who would really believe a story like the flood anyway, it is utterly impossible for water to cover the entire Earth. Where did it come from, where did it go?


So the tower of Babel falls once again, lost in the fact that it was populated by the descendants of Noah and his children. Which leads us up to Abram, the Father of the Chosen Ones of God. Let us assume that up to this point it was just a story that leads us to Abram. I will not go as far to entertain that Abram is not a literal figure, that would be really crazy.


So we are left with eleven chapters of Genesis on the block, by way of rational scientific theory.


We are left with one little problem... Luke. Luke is considered one of the best historians of ancient times, his account of the Gospel is, from a historical perspective, flawless. In his account, around the end of the third chapter he gives a great genealogy that starts with Joseph, Jesus' earthly father and ends with "Seth was the son of Adam and Adam was the son of God."


This is why it is so important to have Genesis as our foundation. A story we can trust and believe in. Genesis is the foundation of all of the Scripture that comes after. If it cannot be trusted there is absolutely no reason to trust anything that follows.


Thank you for reading!
Scott

SBE #7: The Will of Our Lord

(originally published FRIDAY, OCTOBER 06, 2006)

We are here to do the Will of the Lord. Like Jesus, we must forsake our own wills for that of His. We can say, "if it is possible let this cup pass," but we must be also willing to say, "not my will, yours." The Will of Our Lord is rarely easy, but the reward is always sweet. The problem we face as man is that we are so temporal, so here-and-now. If we are to be rewared to do the Will, we want our come-up-ins NOW. Having no experience with eternity, we find it hard to wait for it to come.


Two flaws in thought:


First: Doing the Will should always be reward enough. Knowing that we are doing exactly what Our Father wants should be bliss. Can we know what exactly is the Will, well, I think so. We can especially know what it is not. Call on Abba for His Will, and He will reveal it to you. Spend time in His Word, in His Presence, kneeling before His Throne. He wants us to do His Will, should He not let us know what it is?


Second: Why should we expect a reward in the first place? If the Sovereign of the universe tell us to do this or that, then we should, no questions asked, no reward expected. No one ever got a "you paid your taxes" bonus. I never heard of anyone getting a prize for not speeding. So why the expectation?


Thank you for reading!
Scott.

SBE #6: Living With the Past

(originally published FRIDAY, MARCH 31, 2006)

We cannot live in the past.


We must have regrets, but we cannot live with regrets. A lot of us want to spend our time dwelling on the sins of our past, constantly looking over the shoulder. Satan has convinced us that we need to be always thinking, and feeling guilty about what we have done. God does not want this from us. He does not ask us to dwell on such things, if we have confessed and repented, He has made us whole again. Now look forward. Run the Race, pushing onward, with our eyes fixed on our Prize: Our Heavenly Father.


When will we realize that we have been called, that Abba has made us for another purpose. We are not here to be slaves to sin any longer.


We have all done things that we wish we had not. What is done is done. If God is not going to hold against me my sin, then I am not going to hold my sin against me either. And, maybe, more importantly, I am not going to hold the sins of others against them. I have no need to know about the sin of my loved ones, the sins of their past. That would cause me unnecessary pain. It would be a stumbling block for me. Why drudge up the past. Why create a a situation where I must forgive but might not. God is willing to make Himself ignorant of our sin, for His sake. I think we should be willing to do the same. Let ourselves be ignorant of the sins of others, for His sake, their sake and for our own sake.


"I, even I, am he who blots out your transgressions, for my own sake, and remembers your sins no more.Isaiah 43:24-26 (in Context)Isaiah 43




Thank you for reading!
Scott.

STOP SWEARING!! (A short rant)

(originally published SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 25, 2006)

You know what really gets me lately. I was just thinking about it last night. What is all this hub-bub about people that want to swear to tell the truth, the whole truth on a book other than the Bible, so help them someone or something other than God. I say, go ahead and let them. And while you're at it. Stop fighting for the right to swear on the Bible, it's a sin. We are told very directly that we are not to swear on anything on Earth or in Heaven. I am pretty sure that includes copies of Holy Scriptures, or BY GOD! for crying out loud! Just 'Let your yes be yes, and your no, no.'


Thank you for reading!
Scott.

SBE #5: Merry Holidays! Take a Stand For Jesus!

(originally published TUESDAY, DECEMBER 13, 2005)

Okay, I am finally taking an official position on this whole "Merry Christmas"v."Happy Holidays" nonsense. Do I say "Merry Christmas," do I say "Happy Holidays?" Well I will tell you what I say, I say: Merry Christmas, because I want everyone to have a, you guessed it, MERRY CHRISTMAS! Well, Scott, what if I do not celebrate Christmas,what then? Well, then say Happy Holidays; and I will apologize if I have offended you, which I undoubtedly have not. But Scott, what if I am a huge cooperation trying to sell as many things as possible to as many people as possible regardless of whether or not they celebrate Christmas. Well, then say Happy Holidays if you think it's going to sell you more packages, which it will not, but go ahead and say whatever you want.

What is really frustrating me is the ridiculous uproar that "Christians" have made about people and companies saying or not saying Merry Christmas. What a waste of your time. News flash! This world is goingto Hell, and telling them Merry Christmas on their way there, is not the answer. We should put all that energy and all that focus on winning souls for Christ instead of meaningless boycotts and angry letters to Bill O'Reilly.

Christmas is not about saying Merry Christmas, it is not about giving presents to your loved ones, or putting up a holiday tree, oops, I mean, Christmas Tree, or wait... yeah, Christmas Tree. It is not even really about spending time with your family. All of those things are good, fun, tradition, but it is not what Christmas is about. Christmas is about when God came to Earth, the Word made flesh! It is just the beginning of a really great story about how God loves people so much that He had to come to save us from ourselves. The people that Jesus came to save were the people that would not say Merry Christmas, that is the point. We should not be fighting them, we need to love them, show them that Jesus is better then their sad, empty lives. That He can fill holes in their hearts that they are too dead to even know are there. Maybe if Christians in America were more loving, as opposed to angry, people would be more apt to want to say Merry Christmas, instead of trying to force them to; I mean how much sense does that make?

This is my challenge to you: Every time someone says "Happy Holidays" to you, instead of being reminded about how angry you should be, pray for that person. That's it, just pray. Pray that God would reveal Himself to them, in a new way, in a way that would be irresistible! I know that is a lot of prayer, but come on, America needs it.

Thank you for reading!
Scott.