davidbowerkingwood

It is unlikely that anyone has avoided all of the hoopla about 2012. It has become a popular enough topic that even a movie was made on the subject. I must admit not only have I seen the movie I have a copy of it. Do I agree with its conclusions, emphatically not, it’s Hollywood hype.

Beyond the movie, which was simply opportunistic, there has been a great deal written about what, if anything, may happen in or around 2012. It has been speculated that this may be the end of the world or at least the end of life as we have known it.

As students of the Bible we know this is not the case; true enough the world as it is will be destroyed completely along with the entire universe but not in 2012. We are also told  things will get deadly during the Tribulation but God’s judgment will stop short of world destruction at that point.

Information provided in the Bible tells us there will be a minimum of 1007 years before this event takes place. The one incident that will start that clock ticking is the signing of the covenant between Israel and the Antichrist. Before that happens I believe it is clear in Scripture that the church will be called home by the Rapture and will not experience the terrible judgments of the Great Tribulation.

None of us knows when the Rapture will take place or how bad things will get before the church is called home; only time will tell us that information.

On the subject of 2012 there seems to be a mixture of a little science with a whole lot of urban legend type speculation. While it is true that sunspot activity will experience a cyclical solar maximum in or around 2012 the impact of that increased activity is not precisely known.

Let us consider the science behind the sunspot part of this equation. If one searches for 2012 sunspots one will find nestled among the urban legends some articles by NASA Science News. These articles have indicated the possibility of damaging sunspot activity in the 2012-2013 timeframe.

While NASA can estimate the possibility of a negative impact on our electronics and electrical grid, the impact of a more severe level of sunspot activity is unknown since there has not been a truly severe level of activity since we entered our present technological era.

The last moderately severe event took place in 1958 and the last truly intense event took place in 1859. The 1859 episode is called the Carrington Event and caused overloaded telegraph lines to cause fires in telegraph offices as well as the northern lights to be visible in the United States.

The National Academy of Sciences reported that a similar event today could cause between $1 to 2 trillion in damages to our highly developed electronic/electrical infrastructure and take between four to ten years to completely repair. Would you like to imagine being without electricity for even four years?

An event comparable to the 1958 event could cause damage to cell phone and other satellite dependent services and potentially damage some of the orbiting satellites along with some possible damage to our electrical infrastructure.

Since we have not had even a moderately disruptive event since technology achieved its present state of complexity no one really knows how bad it will be. By this time in 2013 we may have a much better understanding of the consequences of a sunspot event of some magnitude.

Now all we can do is to wait and see what the sun will do over the next few months; Dean Pesnell of the Goddard Space Flight Center is quoted as saying:”The sun is behaving in an unexpected and very interesting way.”

Those in the know seem to agree we could be in for some surprises and it seems to be generally understood that a storm is coming, a solar storm. In my last blog I mentioned a foundation that could withstand the storms which life will surely bring; it appears possible that one of those storms may be approaching in the not too distant future.

This of course leads my thinking to Luke 21:25 where the Lord refers to signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars; although this verse has a specific reference to conditions at the close of the tribulation, I find it easy to believe we may see precursors of these signs taking place as a warning of what is coming.

I believe we who love the Lord can agree we’re thankful our times are in His hands and join together in saying even so, come Lord Jesus.

First let us address the question posed by the subject, who let the traitor in. The clearest answer to that question takes us to Paul’s letter to the Romans, chapter 5 starting in verse 12: “Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin, and so death passed upon all men, for all have sinned.

This is a reference to Adam’s sin described in Genesis 3:6b: “and he did eat.” God had told Adam specifically in Genesis 2:17: “But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it; for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.” That was a specific command and warning from God to Adam which Adam disobeyed when he ate of the fruit of that tree. When Adam ate, Adam, Eve, and all of their future progeny died spiritually; that most specifically included you and me as well as every other human being who has ever lived except the Lord Jesus Christ. Spiritual death was instantaneous although physical death came later.

Paul describes the results of Adams sin on his progeny in verses 13 and 14: “For until the law sin was in the world; but sin is not imputed when there is no law. Nevertheless, death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over them that had not sinned after the similitude of Adam’s transgression, who is the figure of him that was to come.”

What is Paul telling us here? After Adam and Eve were ejected from the Garden of Eden there was no possibility that anyone could eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil as the way to the Garden was sealed. No one in the Old Testament, before the Law was given, could have sinned as Adam did, against a direct command of God because no other commands had been given which required obedience or death.

Yet as we read the Old Testament before the giving of the Law of Moses we find death as the end result of every life. How could these people have been judged worthy of death when they could not have violated God’s only commandment given before the Law was given to Moses? They were, however, judged and did die.

God’s charge against all of them was they were progeny of Adam and were judged guilty of Adam’s sin; this is known as the “federal headship of Adam.” This is God’s primary charge against all of mankind; not the personal sins we commit.

When our Lord Jesus Christ died on the cross He died for the sins of the world that all who believe in Him as their personal Savior “should not perish but have everlasting life.” The sin barrier has been removed by the death of Christ on the cross; the only issue now is the question of personal faith in the Lord Jesus Christ as Savior.

This is clearly spelled out for us in John 3:36, “He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life; and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abideth on him.”

Our perceptions of ourselves, others, and this entire world system must be based on the Bible; no other foundation can provide the support we need when the storms of life assail us as they surely will.

Being 78 years old brings advantages and disadvantages. One of the advantages is the wealth of opportunity the years have provided to learn, love and live. I have been blessed a countless number of times by the Lord’s faithfulness to me and I really do rejoice in that.

Time has provided the needed hours to absorb the Bible and use its limitless resources to build a foundation for my life that has withstood the testing’s and tumult the world brings to all believers. I’m also confident by faith that this foundation will hold steady regardless of what the future may bring.

Another advantage is each year brings me closer to the Lord; like most believers I too eagerly await the return of the Lord but age has provided me the assurance that I will not have to wait all that long. Statistically I’m already living on borrowed time; this is the Lord’s doing and I’m truly delighted that my times are in His hands.

One of the disadvantages is the steady process of wearing down; I’m watching as various parts of my body began to develop aches and pains and not function as well as they once did.

To me it is fascinating to watch the process of aging; this is something the Lord has programmed into each of us and it is amazing to behold. Not too long ago I discovered the existence of telomeres. These are found on the ends of chromosomes which are long strands of DNA.

As cells replicate the number of telomeres is reduced and after around 50 replications there are not enough telomeres left to permit the cell further replication and the cell enters a phase called cell senescence and can no longer replicate. This process produces the symptoms of aging.

This life of the cell was involved when the well known Dolly was cloned in 1996; the DNA used to clone Dolly was from a sheep that was 6 years old so Dolly was effectively 6 years old at birth. From what I’ve read the typical lifespan of a sheep is 10 – 12 years so sure enough Dolly lived 6 years and died. Her DNA had survived a normal lifespan of 12 years.

I find it totally fascinating to see how our Creator designed our lifespan into our very DNA; regardless of whatever else we do our life is limited by our own body.

Another thing time has taught me is to totally despise sin; first and foremost the sin within me, and secondly the sin that is in the world. Does this mean I have stopped sinning, sadly no, the sin nature within me has its moments. It may do well to mention the identity of sin; “for whatever is not of faith is sin.” Romans 14:23b

Any sort of fear, fear of circumstances, fear of persons, fear of the economy, fear of job loss, fear of the future all represents walking by sight and not be faith. This is sin. There are of course countless other examples that might be given but this should get the idea across.

This is why I confess my sins to God many times a day; (I John 1:9) I’m a frail creature of dust and I need all the help I can get.

The bottom line on all of this is God has provided all we need to deal with all of these problems and to spend our days, however many may be left, rejoicing in Him and the day He hath made. I can say with complete sincerity that my normal disposition is one of joy and rejoicing in the Lord and I give Him all the glory.

In an earlier blog, “The Traitor Within” I discussed the reality of the traitor within and God’s provision for dealing with the traitor. Also mentioned was the importance of the Holy Spirit’s control in our lives if we wanted to live a life consistent with God’s standard for us and experience the blessings God intends for us to enjoy.

OK, so we’ve got a traitor within us; how did he get there? I’ve spoken with many Christians who were not really aware of the traitor within; their concept of sin involved demonic forces operating to tempt the believer and lead him astray. This is where the idea “the devil made me do it” came from and we were only victims of demonic or even Satanic temptation.

Although Satan and his demons are powerful, they are not omnipresent, only God is omnipresent. The Bible does not give us a precise number of demons but there is only a finite number; I have no idea what that number might be.

What I do know is that each and every human being has their own personal sin nature which will be with them until the rapture or physical death. We must cope with this enemy all of our mortal lives.

I mentioned part of God’s defensive plan for His children given in I John 1:8-10. Well there is more God has provided for our defense that was accomplished by the Lord Jesus Christ when He was crucified.

In the next study we will consider what the Lord did to the traitor on our behalf. I believe Romans chapters 5 – 8 offer the most complete picture of the Christian life to be found in the Bible. I have heard it said one can determine the level of maturity of a believer by the amount of wear in their Bible at Romans 5.

All of this is directly related to your quality of life; it is all part of building a solid foundation for life that is based on the manufacturers instructions. The Bible is best compared to a food pantry filled with spiritually nutritious foods which will help you grow into a strong, mature Christian adult. As with any food it requires faithful eating and drinking to absorb the benefits.

Although the Bible can be used as a medicine cabinet from which first aid supplies are dispensed to deal with spiritual scratches etc. that is not its primary function. I’ve seen Bibles that have an index of ills with references to verses to deal with that specific ill; helpful perhaps on occasion but not the primary roll the Bible should play in the life of a believer.

“For the word of God is living, and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.” Hebrews 4:12

You will get the answer to the question in “Who Let The Traitor In? Part II.” DV

The major news item recently has been the national debt and the threat of default. Accompanying that is the danger of downgrading our AAA credit rating to a lower one. Much has been written on the impact of a downgrade on the USA and the world.

I find it ironic that the same people who created the problem are the ones charged with finding a solution to the problem they created in the first place; that reminds me of the old saying about the fox guarding the hen house.

As our government haggles over a solution it appears that partisan polarity is keeping the two sides sufficiently far apart to avoid implementing a workable answer to the problem. I wish I could say this phenomenon is new to our political arena but I cannot.

Even a casual perusal of American history shows that this sort of thing has gone on since our very beginning as a nation. I believe I can safely say that we have succeeded as a nation in spite of our government, not because of it.

The Bible is very clear as it speaks regarding governments; in Daniel 4:17b “to the intent that the living may know that the Most High ruleth in the kingdom of men, and giveth it to whomsoever he will, and setteth up over it the basest of men.”

Again in Romans 13:1 “Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers. For there is no power but of God; the powers that be are ordained of God.” These verses among many others give conclusive evidence that governments are put in place by God for the accomplishment of His purposes.

In light of all of this I believe I can safely say that President Obama and all of the members of our government were ultimately placed there by God to accomplish His purposes; whether they realize it or not they are servants of the Most High God. That does not mean they are all born-again believers, just servants being used by God in the accomplishment of His will. This is what the Bible teaches.

I’ve heard many say that the secret to restoring the USA is a return to constitutional government as prescribed in the Constitution. I’ve heard the praises heaped upon the “Founding Fathers” as the reason for our national success.

I propose to you that we succeeded as a nation not because of our wisdom and cleverness but in spite of it. I propose to you that our success was strictly because of God’s hand of blessing on our nation.

The fourth verse of our National Anthem is far and away my favorite; it is rarely if ever sung. These are some of the words from the fourth verse: “Oh thus be it ever, when freemen shall stand between their loved homes and the war’s desolation, blest with victory and peace, may the Heaven-rescued land praise the power that hath made and preserved us a nation.”

These words identify the source of our success as a nation, Almighty God alone is the reason we have succeeded as a nation. The troubles we observe afflicting out nation are all symptoms of the basic problem; we have nationally turned our backs on God, the only one who has made and preserved us a nation.

Students of Bible prophecy have long wondered why the United States is not even hinted at in prophecy; I think we are seeing the reason take shape before our eyes.

The news today is filled with stories of real or potential threats; how should a Christian react to these threats?

The answer I use and value the most is based on Galatians 2:20, “I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.”

The implications of this verse are profound and all-encompassing; David Bower ceased to exist as an independent, unaligned individual at the point of his salvation because he was crucified and died to himself.

The life he is now living is the life of Christ who died on his behalf and now lives out His life through him. Although I, David Bower, am still alive I am living a life controlled by Christ, not by me as I walk by faith. That is God’s plan for David Bower and every other believer who has accepted the Lordship of Christ. I have not only accepted it, I rejoice and delight in it!

During WW II many Jews were imprisoned in dreadful prisons; one of those prisoners was a Jewish man named Viktor Frankl. He survived that period of terrible suffering because of his perception of his situation. He later wrote this: “Everything can be taken from a man or a woman but one thing: the last of human freedoms to choose one’s attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one’s own way.” Viktor E. Frankl

As a Christian we have the privilege and opportunity to choose God’s way for our lives. This is the only way that is guaranteed to work. The troubles of the world seem to be multiplying rapidly; it’s hard to even keep up with all of the disasters and tragedy that seems to be taking place.

What I heartily recommend is God’s perspective on life; we are royal priests and ambassadors for God as well as God’s children and God’s servants. Let us choose to remember those realities and place our hope and faith in God’s faithfulness to us. In Romans 8:28 we are told: “And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.” We are not told that everything will be good, but that all things work together for good.

I am convinced that we are living in the end times foretold in the Bible; I have no idea how long it will be before God calls His children home but I don’t think it will be long. In the meantime we have the opportunity and privilege of honoring God by believing His word and acting on that belief.

“Trust in the Lord with all thine heart, and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.” Proverbs 3:5-6.

We live in Satan’s world; mankind forfeited its rights to the world in the Garden of Eden. It is Satan who is the prince of the power of the air as explained in Ephesians 2:2. All is not lost, however, as mankind has a kinsman redeemer, the Lord Jesus Christ.

When He died on the cross the Lord paid off the debt that mankind had incurred on that fateful day in the Garden when Adam decided to do it his way and not God’s way. Although the earth has yet to actually be redeemed, the price has been paid; the redemption will take place at a time chosen by God when the Lord Jesus Christ returns to earth at the Second Advent.

Although the price has been paid and the redemption secured by the death of the Lord, those of us who are God’s children by faith in the shed blood of Christ still live out our lives in a world controlled by Satan.

I suspect that most readers will agree that this arrangement is fraught with problems. We, as small specs of divine righteousness, are all submerged in a world of sin. I’ve used the analogy of a submarine being submerged under water and needing to be constantly on guard against leaks which could cause great difficulty. We too must maintain constant vigilance against the pressures of sin imposed by our society.

Our challenge is complicated by the fact we have a saboteur on board our little life sub; a traitor in the crew that is trying to disable us, that wants us to take on water/sin and sink. This saboteur is called our sin nature and is a formidable foe with which we must deal. I am personally convinced that the majority of problems we face in life are a direct result of our sin nature, not a Satanic or demonic attack.

As with any analogy this one is not perfect; although we might be put out of commission we can never be sunk without any hope of recovery. God is fully aware of our problem and has provided a means of effectively dealing with this traitor; it’s called confession of sin and is described in I John, Chapter 1 verses 8-10: “If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.”

That appears very clear to me, all of us have the same sin problem and here is how God wants us to deal with it. This problem is inherent in each and every one of us no matter who they may be or their positions of authority.

Unlike the submarine our position as born-again children of God, is ultimately safeguarded by the faithfulness of Christ to each and every one of us; although we can be disabled we cannot be sunk.

I have found that things work much better for me if I keep a very short account with God; I confess my sins many times every day. Please notice that when we confess know sins that God is faithful and just to cleanse us of all unrighteousness.

What is the point of all this? It all goes back to the Spirit led life and the fruit of the Spirit. Unconfessed sin quenches the power of the Holy Spirit in our lives; when the power of the Spirit is quenched there is no hope of fruit. The secret to consistent fruit in our lives is the controlling presence of the Holy Spirit.

My printer is an important part of my computer set up; I’ve noticed when it is turned on it always performs a self-test. I’ve always found that interesting in its potential application to life. It might be helpful if we think in terms of a test that would suggest some reference standards against which our results would be measured.

The printer’s manufacturer designed into the equipment certain performance characteristics which were intended to serve as a norm for the printer’s operation. When the printer performs the self-test it is comparing its present condition against the design norms. Could it be that our Creator has done likewise, are there a set of norms for us as believers? I believe the answer to that is a resounding yes.

As children of God we were given design parameters when we were saved which should characterize our performance; I believe these are detailed in Galatians 5:22-26 and are called “the fruit of the Spirit.” Notice the singular fruit, this is a package deal from God; we either have it all or we don’t have any. It is important to note that the fruit of the Spirit is not reserved only for the giants of the faith but is the rightful possession of every child of God. We have the fruit of the Spirit when we are living a Spirit led life; the Spirit in control and our sin nature quenched.

Now back to the self-test line of thought and keep in mind this is a private test between you and God, no one else. Ask yourself how you are measuring up against God’s standard for you keeping in mind that this has to do with quality of life and service, not salvation.

As a believer in Jesus Christ as Savior your eternal destiny is secured by the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ and is absolutely secure. All we’re talking about is how well is your life working in comparison with God’s design standard for you?

I’ve mentioned my experiences as an usher in church to many of the classes I’ve taught; how so many of the people walking into church on Sunday mornings seemed to be carrying the weight of the world on their shoulders. This is not God’s plan for their lives.

I’m absolutely convinced that the Lord wants the very best for His children and has made all necessary provisions for a blessed, happy life. It saddens me when I see so many of His children appearing to miss out on His blessings.

I am not the only one to refer to the Bible as “the manufacturers assembly instructions;” life comes with a great deal of assembly required and in too many cases we may be inclined to consult the manufacturer’s assembly instructions only as a last resort, if at all.

The sooner in life we start to utilize the assembly instructions from the manufacturer the less likely we’ll need massive help to correct all of the mistakes we will otherwise surely make.

Do it God’s way early and always and may your self-test always measure up to God’s design standard for you.

Thank you for the amazing interest you have shown in the blog; that is very encouraging to me and suggests my wife may have been right all along, time will tell.

One of yesterday’s comments posed the subject of questions; as those of you who have sat under my teaching know very well, I love and encourage questions. I will, as the Lord enables me, try to answer every question you submit. I’ll either reply as a comment or if the question has enough general interest I may address it as a blog.

To this point the blogs have been more organizational in nature; I’m giving careful consideration to the topic of my first “official” blog and hope to have it ready next week. The problem is not thinking of one but selecting the right one from so many possibilities.

Those of you who know me best are aware of my deep interest in current events in light of Bible prophecy. I’ll devote some of my blogs to that subject as well as the area of quality of life for us as Christians. It appears that entirely too many of our brothers and sisters are short changing themselves when it comes to the blessings inherent in the Christian life as intended by our heavenly Father.

Thank you again for your interest; I pray by God’s grace that I may fully meet your expectations.

P.S. I’ve made better progress than expected on my first “official” blog and will post it tomorrow, 7-24-11 D.V.

What do you know, it was easier than I thought it would be, I got the “About” page updated and have added the email subscription box.

When I get through the mechanics of this process I can give some thought to other things. Once the blog page is fairly well settled I’ll send an email notification to everyone on my distribution lists and a few others that I think may have an interest in my writings.

My beloved wife has already notified several of our friends about the blog so if you receive a second notice I apologize in advance for the redundancy. 

After that it will be up to you to determine if you want to read my blog as I’ll not be constantly reminding people it’s there. The way I think it will work is on the occasion I write a new blog, those subscribed will receive a copy which they can read if it seems of interest to them.

It should not be necessary to go to the blog as the blog will come to those subscribed although anyone is welcome at any time. This may all be very familiar territory to many of you but I’m sort of finding my way one day at a time.

While it is true that I have a lot of thoughts on a variety of subjects; how many of those would be of general interest only time will tell. Although my wife had to twist my arm to do this I have to admit I’m getting a little bit excited by the prospect of sharing my thoughts and reflections on life and current events.