Posted by: davidbowerkingwood | January 28, 2015

A Sad Messiah Substitute

The Futile Search for an Alternate Messiah

Throughout mankind’s long history there has been dissatisfaction with one or more aspects of life and an awareness that something was not quite as it should be. Efforts to address this deficiency have taken many forms.

One of the devices used has been the creation of an imagined individual who would heroically correct the problem, a superhero, a messiah. This individual would be willing and able to address the problem and bring it to a satisfactory resolution.

In other instances, individuals might even see themselves as the messianic figure that would solve the problems and deliver the people from some particular evil; I suspect a number of recent world leaders may come to your mind.

An Objectivist Messiah

I have read all 1,168 pages of Atlas Shrugged more than once and was interested in the decision to make it into a movie. The book is in three parts so the movie tracks that order and came out as three different movies. In this instance, different is the operative word as each of the movies features an entirely different cast of characters; while that was rather jarring it was manageable.

I had discovered Ayn Rand during my participation in a management development program over 45 years ago where the massive volume was assigned as required reading. The program also included several non-fiction works by Ayn Rand which were also required reading.

I developed an appreciation for certain aspects of Ms Rand’s Objectivist philosophy and actually subscribed to her magazine while she was still alive. Ms. Rand’s defense of capitalism and her opposition to socialism and communism struck a sympathetic chord in my thinking.

At the time I first learned of Ms. Rand I was already a serious student of the Bible and a staunch evangelical Christian; I did not believe there was any contradiction in that concerning the economics of Objectivism and Christian principles. Capitalism is the only economic system which realistically factors in the fallen human condition although this is likely providential and consequential.

The Missing Element, a Solution that Works

The problem came in when the subject of solutions to the problems facing mankind were proposed; Ms. Rand’s fictional solution was a messiah figure named John Galt. As a Christian I knew there is only one Messiah and that is the Lord Jesus Christ.

I’ve commented before on the sadness I felt as I saw Ms. Rand propose such a pathetic alternative to the real thing. Try as she might, the philosophical concept of a John Galt fails miserably to measure up to the glorious reality of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Now, back to the Movie

I’m still trying to complete the adjustment required by the cast changes; I made the mistake of watching Part 2 just before watching Part 3 for the first time which only emphasized the different cast. Moving on past that issue, a rather predictable problem began to emerge as the movie progressed.

While I agree with Ms. Rand’s analysis of the economic ramifications of socialism I take exception to her concept of a solution. Ms. Rand falls into the same trap that ensnares the socialists and that is a failure to recognize the fundamental problem facing humanity which is spiritual death and the fallen sin nature.

The Bible explains the problem by identifying the disobedience of Adam as the cause for Adam’s and the balance of mankind’s spiritual death when Adam disobeyed a direct command of God. All mankind ever since, born of human fathers, have been born spiritually dead; spiritual life can only come on the occasion of the new birth by faith in Jesus Christ as Savior.

While parts 1 and 2 do an adequate job of presenting human corruption and depravity, part 3, as it presents John Galt as the messiah figure, fails to live up to expectations and falls short in delivering a convincing answer to the problems demonstrated in the first two movies. The truth of the matter is the Bible offers the only solution that will work, a solution that is clearly beyond the ability of mankind, individually or collectively, to provide.

God’s Answer to Man’s Problems

The divine answer includes not only a new birth, but a new heaven and a new earth; a solution to the problem that is clearly beyond the ability of man to arrange. What a joy and privilege to know we are living in divine reality and not Objectivist fiction.

Regardless of whether it is a natural or supernatural messiah figure created in the minds of men; the results will be the same, miserable failure to measure up to reality. It is only in the Lord Jesus Christ that complete fulfillment can be found; it is only in Christ that we find a final solution that really works.

 

 

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Posted by: davidbowerkingwood | January 21, 2015

Money, Guns, Tire Tools and Christianity

Money is the Root of All Evil, Right?

No, not right, money is nothing more than a tool, a medium of exchange which facilitates commerce and trade. The Bible does not condemn money as evil; the better translation of 1 Timothy 6:10 would be:

“10 For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.”

Our Lord spoke on the subject of money versus God in Matthew 6:24 where it is written:

24 “No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.”

The point is that money is an inanimate, amoral tool which exists as a convenience in the exchange of value. The form used today is light, portable and easy to use. In the past various things have been declared to have value as money; one of the stranger forms of money was the large round stones used as money on Yap, an island in the Western Pacific.

Rai Stone 3A Rai stone, used as currency on the island of Yap, stands in the atrium of the Bank of Canada “Rai stone from Yap currency” by Beades – Own work. Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons

These were massive stones requiring a number of men to carry them and were in no way a convenient, portable medium of exchange. They could, I suppose, be used as a weapon and then one might say that money kills. The point being that whether a piece of paper or a rock, money has no inherent tendency toward either good or evil but is simply a tool to be used by a human being as a medium of exchange. This principle applies to all other tools as well!

The Same Old Problem

What then is the source of this wicked misbehavior of tools about which one hears so much? Well, no surprise there, it too comes from the fallen sin nature of man; whether money, guns, or any other tool, all can be used for good or evil depending on the motivations of the individual human using the tool. A tire iron can be used to change a tire or bash someone over the head, tire irons do not kill, people kill; the same principle applies to all other tools as well. Tools are not good or evil, they are just tools!

We do ourselves and society a great disservice when we endorse the idea that societies’ problems are the result of tools gone wild. If we tighten up on the behavior of tools all would be well: let us pass more laws controlling tools and societies’ problems will disappear. I hope you realize just how foolish that sounds; what amazes me is that this is the popular solution in many parts of our society today. Legislating the ownership or use of tools fails to address the problem at its roots; the problem is the fallen nature of man, not the fallen nature of tools.

Two Philosophies of Behavior

When my wife and I had little children we believed the notion that children should be taught to behave. There were clearly defined boundaries for their behavior and going beyond those boundaries resulted in certain discipline of some sort. We also knew that children were not born with this knowledge and had to be taught.

We had learned that it was not the severity of discipline that counted but the certainty of discipline that provided the deterrence; a violation of the boundary resulted in certain discipline, it was non-negotiable. The children learned very early that it was better to observe the limits set for their behavior so within a few years little discipline was ever required; they had learned the value of self-discipline.

During this time a new notion was becoming popular, a notion which we rejected for our family; a notion that avoided setting limits on children’s behavior coupled with efforts to remove all temptations that might result in inappropriate behavior. Families were trying to childproof the environment of the child so there was nothing the child could actually do to step over the boundaries of acceptable behavior; I referred to it as childproofing the house.

I was amazed at these efforts and thought of all the problems that a lack of self-control could generate when these children grew up and tried to integrate into society. What I had not anticipated were the efforts that society would eventually try to childproof itself and remove all things with which the out-of-control child/adult could damage or use to possibly harm themselves or others.

I had not anticipated society seeing these undisciplined adults as victims of an unfeeling society that had failed to adequately remove all of the dangerous objects from their environment. The beautiful vase was there so they broke it, the sharp object was there so it was used to injure themselves or others, and regardless they were innocent victims of a thoughtless society that had failed to properly prepare the environment for their arrival.

What Does the Bible Say about This?

In Proverbs 22:15 it is written:

15 Folly is bound up in the heart of a child, but the rod of discipline will drive it far away.

Proverbs 13:24

24 Whoever spares the rod hates their children, but the one who loves their children is careful to discipline them.

Hebrews 12:7-11

“7 Endure hardship as discipline; God is treating you as his children. For what children are not disciplined by their father? 8 If you are not disciplined—and everyone undergoes discipline—then you are not legitimate, not true sons and daughters at all. 9 Moreover, we have all had human fathers who disciplined us and we respected them for it. How much more should we submit to the Father of spirits and live! 10 They disciplined us for a little while as they thought best; but God disciplines us for our good, in order that we may share in his holiness. 11 No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it.”

These verses reflect our attitude toward child-raising and discipline; I can testify that they have worked as our children have harvested righteousness and peace, praise God for His mercy and grace. During the early years when I would occasionally have to discipline a misbehaving child the first part of the process would involve an explanation from me on why the discipline was required; we wanted them to clearly understand the reason discipline was to be administered. Later one of our boys told me that my lecture was the hardest part for them and was much more painful than the mild discipline which followed. Fortunately it got their attention and quickly became no longer necessary as they learned the value of self-discipline.

The Perfect Society

There is a perfect society coming but it is not in the immediate future; the Bible tells us we are in for troubled times which will get progressively worse until the Lord Jesus Christ returns to set things straight. I’m sure all of us who love the Lord look forward to those times!

Even so, come, Lord Jesus!

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Posted by: davidbowerkingwood | January 14, 2015

How Long will You Live? Concluded

Created in the Image of God

Previously we considered the fact that human beings were created in the image of God; now I would like to examine just one of the ramifications of that reality. The most significant fact is you will live forever; that is the answer to the title question, no matter how far you go into the future you will be there; there will never be a future time when you are not alive.

It is vital to acknowledge that fact if we are to establish a realistic perspective on the life we presently live in our mortal bodies and establish a rational order for our priorities. Every human being will live for all eternity; although our bodies, which are made from the dust, will not last, the true essence of who we are, the breath of God, will continue forever! Ready or not, you’re eternal, you will live forever; your living essence is made in the image of God!

The Christian’s New Body

Since we will live forever should we not wonder how and where we will be? Forever is a really, really long time and how you will spend your forever should be a topic of concern for you; our mortal lives, by comparison, are infinitesimally short. The Bible gives us some clues about our new bodies. In 2 Corinthians 5; 1-5 it is written:

5 For we know that when this earthly tent we live in is taken down (that is, when we die and leave this earthly body), we will have a house in heaven, an eternal body made for us by God himself and not by human hands. 2 We grow weary in our present bodies, and we long to put on our heavenly bodies like new clothing. 3 For we will put on heavenly bodies; we will not be spirits without bodies. 4 While we live in these earthly bodies, we groan and sigh, but it’s not that we want to die and get rid of these bodies that clothe us. Rather, we want to put on our new bodies so that these dying bodies will be swallowed up by life. 5 God himself has prepared us for this, and as a guarantee he has given us his Holy Spirit.

When Paul says we, he is referring to Christians, only those who have received Christ as Savior during their mortal lives on earth will be included, only they will receive these heavenly bodies.

There is Bad New and Good News, the Bad News First, the Lake of Fire

What about those who reject Christ as Savior, what will happen to them; they too have the image of God and will live forever with bodies that will suffer in the Lake of Fire for all eternity. The Bible provides some information on that too; in Revelation 20:11-15 it is written:

11 And I saw a great white throne and the one sitting on it. The earth and sky fled from his presence, but they found no place to hide. 12 I saw the dead, both great and small, standing before God’s throne. And the books were opened, including the Book of Life. And the dead were judged according to what they had done, as recorded in the books. 13 The sea gave up its dead, and death and the grave gave up their dead. And all were judged according to their deeds. 14 Then death and the grave were thrown into the lake of fire. This lake of fire is the second death. 15 And anyone whose name was not found recorded in the Book of Life was thrown into the lake of fire.

More information is provided in Revelation 19:20, “Then the beast was captured, and with him the false prophet who worked signs in his presence, by which he deceived those who received the mark of the beast and those who worshiped his image. These two were cast alive into the lake of fire burning with brimstone. 

In Revelation 20:10 we are given further information on the beast and the false prophet; after the 1,000 years they are still identifiable as individuals at the time Satan is thrown into the Lake of Fire, “10 The devil, who deceived them, was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone where the beast and the false prophet are. And they will be tormented day and night forever and ever.”

During the 1,000 years, there will be others with the beast and the false prophet; all those who have survived the Tribulation but rejected Christ as Savior will have been judged and thrown into the Lake of Fire:

 “Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels.” Matthew 25:41

This is an unimaginably severe punishment for rejecting Christ; it shows how very seriously God takes rejection of His Son; while there may be no immediate adverse results for rejecting Christ, the long term results are devastating!

Now the Good News, Heaven and the New Jerusalem

Those who have received Christ as Savior have an entirely different forever awaiting them; we get some indications how it will be in Revelations 21:1-7 where we are told something about that forever:

21 Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the old heaven and the old earth had disappeared. And the sea was also gone. 2 And I saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven like a bride beautifully dressed for her husband.

3 I heard a loud shout from the throne, saying, “Look, God’s home is now among his people! He will live with them, and they will be his people. God himself will be with them. 4 He will wipe every tear from their eyes, and there will be no more death or sorrow or crying or pain. All these things are gone forever.”

5 And the one sitting on the throne said, “Look, I am making everything new!” And then he said to me, “Write this down, for what I tell you is trustworthy and true.” 6 And he also said, “It is finished! I am the Alpha and the Omega—the Beginning and the End. To all who are thirsty I will give freely from the springs of the water of life. 7 All who are victorious will inherit all these blessings, and I will be their God, and they will be my children.

Now this is a forever to get excited about and one that is available to all who will simply receive Christ as their Savior. God has paid a terrible and difficult price that salvation might be by grace through faith in Jesus Christ as Savior.

The Choice Facing You Today

If you have not made the decision to receive Christ as your Savior, then I urge you to take this opportunity to move from darkness to light. Although you may have been born spiritually dead you can, by faith in Jesus Christ, be born again and become spiritually alive.

16 For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. 17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. 18 Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son. John 3:16-18

The stakes are infinitely high and there is no straddling the fence in this matter; you have to choose sides so I encourage you to choose life in Jesus Christ!

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Posted by: davidbowerkingwood | January 7, 2015

How Long will You Live?

How Long Do You Want to Live?

One afternoon I was watching “The Five” on Fox News; the subject happened to be longevity. If memory serves me correct one of the “Five” said she would like to live forever; since the speaker was young and beautiful that might be easier to understand but I was very sure that would not be what I wanted.

The difficulty I have with living forever as I am now is one I inherited, a birth defect, a problem I actually share with you and everyone else alive today on this planet including the young lady referenced in the first paragraph. We have all been born spiritually dead with a fallen, sinful nature living in us and we’re inhabiting a sin-cursed mortal body which will return to the dust from which it was made. Despite this common problem, many seem to be concerned about how long they will live; lifespan or longevity is a popular subject today.

The subject of longevity, as often viewed, seems to focus on techniques and procedures for keeping our mortal, dust bound bodies intact and functioning as long as possible. The number of options that are available to supposedly slow down the aging process are too numerous to mention in a short article and can range in price from pocket change to a king’s ransom.

What About our Bodies?

It is natural for each of us to associate others with their bodies; someone walks into the room and we identify them by their bodies, they are their bodies and if their bodies aren’t there neither are they. This is the way our human experience has conditioned us to think of others; if their bodies are there, they are there; if their bodies are not there then they are not there. This approach seems to work well so it is easy to buy into that way of thinking.

The problem comes in when the body starts to wear out and then, eventually, shuts down, dies; the body must then be buried but does that mean we have buried our friends and family; do they accompany their bodies into the grave or perhaps cease to exist?

There are some who believe our mortal lives are the beginning and end of who we are and when we die it’s all over; that is a rather sad perspective if this mortal life is all there is to our existence. As with any subject that is beyond our human experience, the Bible is the only reliable source of information so what does the Bible tell us about human life?

What Does the Bible Say About Human Life?

Those of us who have received Christ as Savior generally believe the Bible to be the word of God, inspired and free of error in the original languages, this is what I believe with all my heart. From the very beginning, the Bible provides some fascinating insights into the human condition.

In Genesis Chapter 1:1-25 we are given the account of the creation of all of the heavens and earth and all living things excepting mankind. All of this creation is spoken into existence by the power of our omnipotent God.

In verse 26 we encounter an infinitely significant and astounding change, God determines to make man in His own image; think about that for a moment, mankind is made in the image of God; mankind is unique in the creation account. We have the first record of mankind’s creation in verse 27 where it is written:

27 So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them.

We get more information on this event in Genesis 2:7,

7 Then the Lord God formed a man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being.

We see from this that while our bodies are from the dust of the ground, our living being, the living essence of who we are, came from the eternal creator God of the universe; we are made in the image of God, we share God’s image. Although the image of God in man was marred by Adam’s sin it was not removed; our living essence still shares certain significantly important characteristics of God’s image.

We will conclude our consideration of this matter next week as we examine the ramifications of being made in the image of God.

 

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Posted by: davidbowerkingwood | January 1, 2015

2014 in review

The WordPress.com stats helper monkeys prepared a 2014 annual report for this blog.

Here’s an excerpt:

A San Francisco cable car holds 60 people. This blog was viewed about 2,000 times in 2014. If it were a cable car, it would take about 33 trips to carry that many people.

Thank you for being a subscriber; may our gracious and loving Lord bless you and watch over you in 2015!

David Bower

Click here to see the complete report.

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Posted by: davidbowerkingwood | December 29, 2014

2015? You’ve Got to be Kidding!

Are We Really Living in the Distant Future?

I’ve been a science fiction fan most of my life and have enjoyed stories of future worlds which would have interplanetary and interstellar space travel as a routine experience. Many science fiction writers have a positive vision of the future where earth would enjoy the benefits of scientific discoveries while others would paint a darker picture and see earth as devastated and in some cases abandoned as the earth’s population migrated to the stars.

In either case, all of this would happen in the distant future, somewhere around 2015 perhaps? You have to realize that back in the 1940’s and 1950’s, 2015 seemed like a lifetime away; that was way off in the future. George Orwell wrote of a dystopian world that would take place in 1984, even that was way into the future when the book was first published in 1949.

Big Brother is Watching You

Publicity Poster

Fortunately Orwell’s vision of his “Big Brother is watching YOU” world didn’t come to pass on schedule although we may be moving in that direction. It still feels sort of strange to be living in the science fiction future world of 2015; while we have made progress, reality comes nowhere close to what the writers had anticipated.

Dystopian or Utopian?

Although the science fiction writers can speculate and imagine futures both dystopian and utopian, those of us who are living in 2015 would likely cast our vote, should we be given the option, for a utopian world. Life is not, however, decided by popular vote; there are forces at work that go far beyond our ability to even imagine. The near and long-term future of our world has already been decided and I’ll promise you that no science fiction writer has ever even come close to what reality will finally reveal. The future of this world and the universe in which it exists is so wild that no human writer could have ever dreamed it up!

That is one of the reasons it’s so easy for me to believe in the divine inspiration of Scripture, the Bible is so far removed from the way mankind thinks as to place it in an entirely different category. Not one science fiction or fantasy writer that I’ve read even comes close to the revelation of the Bible. The Bible is amazing, incredible, fantastic, and totally alien from human thinking in virtually every way; the Bible is not the product of human thinking; it is the product of divine thinking, it brings a dimension of thought that is beyond the imagination of mankind!

Again the Question, Dystopian or Utopian?

When it comes to the future there is only one dependable source of information and that is the Bible; written by the only one who knows the end from the beginning, the only one who can control all things by the counsel of His own will, the only true reality. The Triune God.

While the Bible tells us in general terms what will happen it does not tell us when; there are signs that will provide a clue that some events may be coming closer and we are told to be aware of the signs so we are not taken by surprise.

In broad, general terms, the Bible tells us spiritual conditions in the world will steadily decline until the last seven years before the earthly return of the Lord. Three and one-half years before the Lord’s return, both  spiritual and physical conditions will get dramatically worse but at the return of the Lord conditions will be restored to a perfect state for 1,000 years after which the entire universe will be replaced with a new heaven and earth.

Will this happen in 2015, well not all of it but it may get started; the next prophetic event is the Rapture of the Church and this could happen at any time. It may be that those of us who love the Lord will not even be around for 2015; perhaps we’ll be home with the Lord, only He knows and I’m very happy with that arrangement.

I don’t know what the future holds; but I do know who holds the future.

-Unknown

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Posted by: davidbowerkingwood | December 22, 2014

The Happy Return of Christmas

The Happiest Season of the Year!

That wonderful, happy time of the year is almost upon us, this Thursday is Christmas. The stores I’ve happened to visit have been packed with customers who seemed to be in a good mood in spite of the long lines; it seems that Christmas can often bring out the best in us.

The enormous significance of Christmas, the First Advent of our Lord, may sometimes get lost in the hustle and bustle of the season and the sometimes frantic preparations that seem to be an inevitable part of the days before Christmas. We have even witnessed an effort on the part of some to remove Christ and Christmas from the winter “Holiday Season” and to secularize the season so as not to offend those who prefer to reject the message of Christ and Christmas; fortunately that trend seems to be losing ground.

For those of us who love the Lord Jesus Christ, this season is a beautiful reminder of our Lord, the wonder of His birth and the enormous significance of the Word becoming flesh and dwelling among us.

Four Hundred Years of Silence

The voice of God through His prophets had become silent; for 400 years Israel did not receive any word from God through the prophets. Much had happened that was instrumental in setting the stage for the events that would transpire during the First Advent but there was no word from the Lord; just silence for 400 years.

God was planning on breaking that silence in the most dramatic way possible; God the Son, the living Word, would be born of a virgin and become flesh of our flesh and bone of our bone. The silence would finally be broken by the birth of Jesus Christ, our Lord; the Word of God would be made flesh and dwell among us. We would have a Kinsman/Redeemer, a Savior who would take our place of judgment and die on the cross for the redemption of our sins.

The Birth of the King

It is fascinating to me to reflect on the decisions God made as to the birth of the Son of God. The eternal creator of the universe was not to be born in a palace or even a major city of the time; but was to be born of humble parentage in a small insignificant village named Bethlehem. Although both were of the line of King David, any association with royalty had faded generations before. His mother, Mary, was a peasant girl and her husband, Joseph, was a simple carpenter; hardly a likely couple to become the caregivers for the humanity of the Creator and Sustainer of the Universe.

All proceeded according to God’s eternal plan and the precious baby was entrusted to humans to care for and love as He grew in stature and wisdom over the early years of His life.

The Shepherds

The Bible describes two events surrounding the birth and early childhood of our Lord. The first had to do with the angelic host appearing to the shepherds. I have read that these particular shepherds and the sheep of their flock were very special; these were the sheep destined for temple sacrifice. How fitting that the announcement of the birth of the Lamb of God, slain before the foundation of the world, should be made to shepherds tending the sheep to be sacrificed on the Temple altar.

The Magi

The second event concerns the arrival of the magi whose number is not specified in Scripture. I have previously written on the magi and the mysterious star they followed and have some strongly held opinions concerning both. The account of the magi is only given in Matthew 2:1-12, and the implications are the magi appeared around two years after the birth of Jesus. I believe these particular magi were of a group founded by the prophet Daniel, and the gifts presented by the magi were placed with that group originally by Daniel himself.

Daniel had prophesied the very day our Lord would enter Jerusalem as the Lamb of God and I believe he instructed the magi to pay particular attention as that time drew closer. I believe the star was in fact the Shekinah Glory of God and led the magi to the place where Jesus was living. While none of this is specified in Scripture, it would explain a lot.

Christmas Today

Although under attack, Christmas is still a powerful factor in the lives of many. I think we can all agree that the mood becomes a bit more joyous and happy around Christmas especially in the Christian community. The traditions of Christmas are always welcome and bring remembrances of Christmas past and the fun and fellowship of family and friends. The traditional Christmas hymns are a great blessing and tell the story of our Lord’s birth with beauty and simplicity.

Christmas is a happy time and I’m thankful it is here again!

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year

This is an updated version of an essay first published on December 18, 2013.

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Posted by: davidbowerkingwood | December 17, 2014

The Christian Exile from Mosul, Iraq

Hanna Awwad, Jerusalem, Israel

Hanna Awwad Photo

We have been joined by a brother in Christ who has a ministry in Jerusalem, Israel. I first got to know Hanna through Global Media Outreach when he contacted us and was assigned to me for a response. I thought about how totally different our lives have been, yet both of us, by God’s grace, have become part of the family of God.

On his website the following “About” can be found:

Hanna Awwad

Pastor, Tour Guide and Poet.

Born in Taybeh on November 14.1943.

Graduated from St. George’s School in 1963.

Worked for the Bible Society in Jerusalem from 1963-1988.

Licensed Tour Guide from the Ministry of Tourism in Israel since 2000.

Dedicated to the work of the Gospel ministry in the Holy Land by authority of Liberty Baptist Church in Shawnee, Oklahoma since 1983.

Involved in a Christian literature ministry to reach local people and pilgrims coming to the Holy Land .

Author of a guidebook in English: “Touring the Bibleland ” (2004).

Wrote two books of poetry in Arabic: ” Exile and Return” (1989) , “Beyond time” (1995), and one in English: “A Voice Crying in the Wilderness” (2014).

It would appear that Hanna Awwad has had an active life of service for the Lord Jesus Christ in an area that has known much turmoil, an area that is yet to know even more turmoil over the years ahead.

I looked up Liberty Baptist Church in Shawnee, Oklahoma and found a very impressive website, http://www.libertyshawnee.com/index.html; it is always gratifying to me to see the message of the Gospel delivered with enthusiasm and excitement.

A little research on Taybeh also produced some interesting results; quoting a section of 60 Minutes Overtime called, “The Last Christian Village in the Holy Land” dated April 29, 2012:

“What makes Taybeh the last all-Christian village in the Holy Land? The village has no mosque and is home to three distinct Christian communities: Roman Catholics, Greek Orthodox and Melkite Greek Catholics.

Taybeh’s roots are deep, and for Christians, important: the biblical name of the village is Ephraim. According to the Bible, Jesus Christ came to Taybeh from Jerusalem before his crucifixion. John 11:54 states: “Jesus therefore walked no more openly among the Jews; but went thence unto a country near to the wilderness, into a city called Ephraim, and there continued with his disciples.”

I can only imagine the great differences growing up in Taybeh would produce compared to growing up in Houston, Texas; nevertheless I now know something about Hanna and you are learning about him too.

A Request from Hanna

Hanna wrote a comment on my blog, ISIL, ISIS and Islam:

“This a poem from my collection entitled,”A Voice Crying in the Wilderness “. Is it possible to publish it through your outreach?”

The Christian Exile from Mosul, Iraq

By: Hanna Awwad, Jerusalem, Israel.

The devils came to steal, kill, destroy and terrify, they came to burn, hang, behead and crucify, they came to drive us away from our homeland, to find ourselves suddenly scattered and fanned, by the blowing wind like a threshed pile of sand, left with nothing, but memories for our native land.

They came to end the dance of joy in our eyes, to prevent the smile of hope on our lips to rise, they came to steal the peace of mind and heart, to make us shattered, smashed and torn-apart.

They came to destroy churches and break crosses, they came with hate to make us suffer great losses, but the radiant church in us, they can’t demolish, the holy church that we cherish, they can’t perish, the pure church without stain, they can’t abolish, it will be there to preach the Gospel to the parish, and the deep faith in our hearts, they can’t vanish, their deed is the fuel for faith to burn and flourish.

As Jesus defeated death by death on the Cross, as He became for me a gain and life became a loss, as I am no longer live, but Christ lives in me forever, so, this earthly life is meaningless to me whatsoever.

Note: in July 2014, ISIS drove away the Christians from Mosul, Mesopotamia(Iraq) after refusing to convert to Islam. In the Bible Mosul is Nineveh where Jonah preached.” – http://hannaawwad.webs.com/

I was touched by the poem and reminded of the great blessings those of us in the United States have enjoyed because of God’s grace poured out on this nation. In His mercy, God has protected this nation from conquest; let us pray that His hand of mercy and grace is not withdrawn as both internal and external forces of evil seek to destroy that which we love.

 

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Posted by: davidbowerkingwood | December 10, 2014

The Unsettled World in Which We Live

 Is Your World Unsettled?

This morning I was reading a devotional sent by Jeff Wells, the senior pastor at Woodsedge Community Church, titled, “Michelangelos.” The devotional referenced the restoration of Michelangelo’s Sistine Chapel paintings and included a quote from a 1993 issue of Time Magazine on the subject which included this sentence:

“The 40-45 foot fresco on the west altar wall of the Sistine Chapel, on which Michelangelo labored for five years, is also a searing, unsparing personal document – both of the unsettled world in which Michelangelo lived and of the artist’s inner torment and fear of approaching death.”

While the major thrust of the devotional was on man’s sin and God’s grace, that one part of the quote from Time Magazine on the “unsettled world in which Michelangelo lived” jumped out at me.

As I reflected on that thought I began to consider the fact that no one has ever lived in a world that was not unsettled; unsettled is the norm for this world and seems to characterize the experience of every generation that comes along.

It has saddened me to think of the world that is being handed over to our children and grandchildren, but then I reflect on the world that was handed over to my generation, a world in the midst of The Great Depression which was to be followed shortly after by the Second World War and then followed by a succession of trials and tribulations which continue to this day.

It would appear the world we’re handing over to our children and grandchildren is, historically speaking, a fairly average unsettled world; not too much at all out of the ordinary. That does not mean I am pleased with the world condition being turned over to them because I am certainly not pleased, but perhaps I am becoming more resigned to the reality of the situation; they, in turn, will have to labor and strive to build their lives in their own unsettled world.

Fair Warning

God, in His grace, has given us fair warning that our lives on this earth would have problems. Starting back in Genesis 3:17-19:

“17 To Adam he said, “Because you listened to your wife and ate fruit from the tree about which I commanded you, ‘You must not eat from it,’

“Cursed is the ground because of you; through painful toil you will eat food from it all the days of your life. 18 It will produce thorns and thistles for you, and you will eat the plants of the field. 19 By the sweat of your brow you will eat your food until you return to the ground, since from it you were taken; for dust you are and to dust you will return.”

This may sound bad enough but it is only the tip of the iceberg because Adam’s disobedience also caused the spiritual death of the entire human race; all humanity with human fathers is born spiritually dead and that most specifically includes you and me and everyone any of us have ever met or known about.

Now the Good News

As we read through both the Old and New Testaments it is easy to find many additional warnings about the unsettled condition of our world. We also find some exceedingly good news, which includes the fact this world is not our home, this world and our mortal lives on it is not the beginning and end of who we are.

While the world was cursed because of Adam’s disobedience, God had also developed a plan for mankind’s redemption from the penalties of the curse. The plan required that God pay a great price for mankind’s restoration and the removal of the curse from the earth; God would have to become a part of His creation, He would have to become a human being and shed His blood as the atoning sacrifice for Adam’s disobedience in the Garden of Eden; our eternal God would have to actually die and rise again to life on the third day in order to restore mankind and provide the deliverance mankind so desperately needed.

God the Son, the second person of the Trinity, took on human form and was born of a virgin by the power of the Holy Spirit; He was named Jesus and became God’s revelation of Himself to a fallen humanity; the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. We can now look forward to death with the absolute certainty that our eternal home is with the Lord; death is our doorway to Christ.

Looking Beyond our Unsettled World

One of the great joys of being a Christian in our unsettled world is the sure knowledge the best is yet to come. While it pleases the Lord to leave His children on this earth while the process of being conformed to the image of His Son is begun in each child; the Lord has also blessed us with the opportunity to look, by faith, beyond the confines of this unsettled world to the spiritual realities which will ultimately prevail.

In Romans 8:18-25 it is written:

“18 I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us. 19 For the creation waits in eager expectation for the children of God to be revealed. 20 For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope 21 that the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the freedom and glory of the children of God.

22 We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. 23 Not only so, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption to sonship, the redemption of our bodies. 24 For in this hope we were saved. But hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what they already have? 25 But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently.”

As we approach this wonderful time when we celebrate the birth of the Son of God, our Kinsman Redeemer, let each of us determine to set aside our concerns about this unsettled world and simply rejoice in the Lord and the promises of the blessings to come.

Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Philippians 4:4

 

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Posted by: davidbowerkingwood | November 27, 2014

Love Revisited, Another Reason to be Thankful on Thanksgiving Day!

The Greatest of These is Love!

One of the most staggering truths revealed in the Bible is the nature of God; God is love! Even when mankind, created in the image of God, committed spiritual suicide by disobeying a direct command; God still loved mankind so much He sent His own Son to be born of a virgin with the sole purpose of dying as the substitute payment for the penalty that had been incurred by that disobedience.

We are told in Romans 1 how creation reveals the majesty and power of God and one look at the heavens on a clear night reveals the magnitude of the one who created it all and sustains its existence from moment to moment. It is only in the Bible, however, the basic nature of this powerful creator is revealed; it is only in the Bible we discover God is love.

In 1 Corinthians 13 the Apostle Paul discusses faith, hope and love and concludes the greatest of these is love. The need for both faith and hope will pass when we are finally home with the Lord but the joy of love will always remain. A great beauty of the Christian life is the opportunity to experience the joy of God’s love right now.

Love Came First

In Romans 5 Paul writes of the order of events; in verses 6-8 we are told:

“6 You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. 7 Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous person, though for a good person someone might possibly dare to die. 8 But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”

Mankind, lost in sin, was the object of God’s love, mercy and grace and the Lord Jesus Christ, in His humanity, died on the cross to make redemption a possibility for all who receive Him as Savior.

At the point of salvation we receive the earnest of our inheritance, are made spiritually alive and given the indwelling Holy Spirit of God to live with us forever; part of the gift of the Spirit is love, a love of God and all that is His.

The Apostle John gives us a beautiful summary of the blessings we have received at salvation when he writes in 1 John 4:7-12:

“7 Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. 8 Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love. 9 This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. 10 This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. 11 Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. 12 No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us.”

The Beauty and Blessings of Love

I’m sure we have all marveled at the positive and uplifting feelings love can generate; how the very core of our being seems to be stirred by the deep emotions we feel as we observe or think on someone loved very deeply. In my experience this has been true of not only human beings but also other living beings in which I see the hand of our Creator.

In the beginning mankind was given the responsibility for all of the living creatures, in Genesis 1:26 it is written:

“26 Then God said, “Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness, so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.”

Although mankind lost its position of rulership there still remains a responsibility to love and care for those creatures that were originally entrusted to us. The situation has changed dramatically under the curse of Genesis 3:14-19 but mankind still feels the responsibility to love and care for God’s creation as intended.

That we can love God’s creation, both animate and inanimate, is God’s gift of love to us that we might love and appreciate that which is important to God. In an earlier essay on God’s love I concluded with the following and would like to include it again.

“A Final Thought

One of the joys of loving people and all of God’s creation is a better understanding of how God can love us. If each of us, with all of the flaws we know we possess, can love each other and God’s creation, it becomes much easier to believe a Holy God who is free of all of these flaws can really love us as much as He says He does.”

For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. John 3:16

 

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