Road trip! Why on earth did Joseph take Mary with him?

There is one niggling little aspect of the Christmas narrative that has always puzzled me a little.

Why did Joseph take Mary with him on his trip from Galilee to Bethlehem? 
She was obviously nearing her delivery date. Why would he take the chance that she would go into labor on the trip? Why would she choose to endure the discomfort of such a trip? 

Now, remember they weren't just climbing in the ol' minivan for a road trip. At least one of them was probably walking. They may have both been walking. Considering just how pregnant she was, it may well have taken them a week to make the journey. For her that would have been a miserable and dangerous week.

And that is what has always puzzled me just a little. Why? Why not have her just stay with her family (or his) in Nazareth? Wouldn't that have been safer? He was only going to be gone a few days. The purpose for the trip was to register for the census. He could have registered without her at his side. If the baby came she would be safe in a home and have the assistance of a local midwife. A man alone could travel lighter and faster. He could be back in half the time. So why did he take her?

Before I go any farther, let me acknowledge one point. Ultimately she went because it was the plan of God for the baby to be born in Bethlehem as had been prophesied centuries before.

"But you, O Bethlehem Ephrathah, who are too little to be among the clans of Judah, from you shall come forth for me one who is to be ruler in Israel, whose coming forth is from of old, from ancient days." -Micah 5:2 esv

While the fulfillment of prophesy was the reason from God's perspective, I doubt that was the reason from Joseph's perspective. 

Frankly, I think she went out of necessity at the last minute. Here is why.

The other day as I was reading in Acts chapter five, I was drawn to something that a Jewish councilman named Gamaliel said.  The council had called Peter and John on the carpet for preaching in Jesus' name and were making it rough on them. Then Gamaliel steps up and makes an argument for the council to back off a little. 

Now his argument isn't all that important for this topic, but part of the evidence for his argument is. He says,

"...After him Judas the Galilean rose up in the days of the census and drew away some of the people after him. He too perished, and all who followed him were scattered." -Acts 5:37

That little titbit of information is very useful. He gives us a window into what was going on in Galilee at the time of Jesus birth. This fellow known as Judas the Galilean was brewing a revolution because of the census (and resulting taxation).

On a hunch I also decided to consult the writings of the Jewish historian Josephus. Here is what I found. Because of this Judas and his followers, Josephus says,

"...one violent war came upon us after another, and we lost our friends...from them arose murderers of men, which sometimes fell on their own people...and sometimes on their enemies...a famine coming upon us reduced us to the last degree of despair as did also the taking and demolishing of cities...They also do not value dying any kinds of death, nor indeed do they heed the deaths of their relations and friends..." 

--Antiquities of the Jews, book XVIII, chapter 1

Now we begin to see things a little more clearly. She went with him because the perils of the road were becoming less than the perils of staying home. Galilee was quickly becoming the proverbial powder keg. It was time for Joseph to take the little woman and get out of town. The census provided them with a good reason to hit the road.

This also explains a few other things.  

1. It explains the pitiful accommodations. If things started going sideways in Galilee right before Joseph planned to leave he would not have had time to send a message ahead and make arrangements for Mary's arrival. Her advanced pregnancy undoubtedly slowed them down. The were the stragglers of the travelers. The inns were all full when they arrived.

2. It explains why they were still in Bethlehem several months after Jesus birth. When the wise men arrived Jesus was already several months old, perhaps as old as two years.  Why hadn't they already went home? With Galilee roiling in civil unrest, Joseph would not have been eager to take his family back to Nazareth.

3. It also sheds light on King Herod's surly mood and infanticidal rage when he receives word of the Messiah's birth.  He had been dealing with revolutionaries for months when the Magi arrived. The revolutionaries were probably making him look bad to Rome. The last thing he thought he needed was for a messiah to show up and further inflame the radicals.



Having arrived at these conclusions there is one more thing I can pull from all of this. God had a plan in motion for Jesus' birth to occur in Bethlehem. It is quite likely that Joseph and Mary were unaware of that plan. 

Imagine all of this from Joseph's viewpoint. 

Do you suppose he felt like a failure as he stared at the baby in the manger? He had had to make a snap decision and chose the lesser of two evils. Should he leave his wife in the middle of a revolution or risk the dangers of a road trip. Had he made the right choice? Had he already failed in his role as guardian? Because of his decision, it would seem, the baby was born in a stable.

I think that it is fair to say that many of our "failures" are not actually failures at all. Instead, they are part of God's plan to put us at the right place at the right time to accomplish his purpose. God has not called us to do all things perfectly. Rather he calls us to the right thing daily, even if it makes us look like a failure.  If we will consistently follow him, I think, it is quite likely that we will someday look back on our lives to discover that our failures weren't really failures at all. They were actually the unexpected detours God used to place us where he wanted us all along.

Prayer for Newtown, Connecticut and Sandy Hook Elementary School

I usually try to edit my blog posts pretty thoroughly, but this one is going to be a little more "off-of-the-cuff".

My heart is heavy tonight for the families who lost loved ones at the school shooting today in Connecticut, especially for the families of those children. I have experienced prolonged grief and heartache, but I have never experienced what these families are enduring tonight.

As I watch and listen to the reports of the horrors of the day the typical templates are already being followed. The lines for the gun control / civil liberty / second amendment argument will be renewed in a few hours, at most. On this topic I too have a very definite opinion, but for tonight I know all I need to know. Twenty kids and several adults are dead. Lives have been cut short, and the shooter is dead. We can exact neither revenge or justice on the killer, and we can do nothing for the innocent ones gunned down.

The only thing that we can do tonight is grieve for the dead and pray for the living. 

And so my prayer is this:

"O my God, please wrap your arms around those grieving families in Connecticut. Their hearts are broken, and our grief is great. 

"Dear Lord, wrap your arms around those children tonight. Please pull them close to you. 

"Help the parents of those killed today. Help them breathe just one breath at a time, over and over again until a new day dawns.

"Help us to say with the Psalmist,

Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me. 

 "O my God, be with us all, give us courage, and may righteousness triumph over evil in all its forms. Your kingdom come, your will be done. In Jesus name I pray. Amen."

Counting Fish

Maybe it is an insight into men.
Maybe it is an insight in people.
Maybe it’s just a little insight into Simon Peter.

Take a look at John 21 where Peter & Co. go on their famous all-nighter fishing trip.  We read in verse 11 that Peter “dragged the net to land, full of large fish, one hundred and fifty-three” [nkjv]. 

Whoa!  I’m not amazed at the catch, I am amazed at the disciples.  Here stands the resurrected Lord on the shore. He has directed them to a miraculous catch. He has prepared for them a miraculous meal, and yet they stop to count the fish! Now 153 large fish in a single cast is quite a fish story but does it compare to standing in the presence of the resurrected Lord?

My amazement at Peter is tempered however, by my conscience.  Have I ever turned away from the  presence of my Savior to gaze in wonder at his blessings?

I supposed we all have things we love.
Maybe it is a dream home.
Maybe it is a dream job.

Peter loved the smell of the sea, the sound of the waves and the feel of the deck beneath his feet. He loved to see the dawn arrive above the watery horizon.

Maybe this gives us a little insight into Jesus’ question to Peter, “do you love me more than these?” He had appeared on the shore and directed the catch. He had fixed breakfast (if you’ve ever fixed fish at dawn on a creek bank you know the smell is heavenly)  and yet Peter stops, turns around and counts the fish.

How easy it is for us to gaze in wonder at our blessings and neglect the Savior who gave them to us in the first place!

Now what?

This Presidential election, the election of 2012, posed  the clearest choice between two opposing world views that I have seen in my lifetime. 

My side lost. 

I'm not sure that anyone will even care what I think, but I offer you my postmortem.


This election, I believe, was lost decades ago. I used to think that the Republicans could have won in '92, '96 and '08 if they had ran more conservative candidates. Now I'm not so sure. In each of those races the Democrats ran a likeable candidate. The Republicans ran G.H.W. Bush, Bob Dole and John McCain. All were older white guys with honorable war records, but none of them were particularly likeable. They didn't make anyone feel good. 

I think we believed that the era of President Reagan was a national turn toward conservatism. Maybe it was to some extent, but it was also inspiring to listen to him speak. We liked him. As more history accumulates behind the Reagan era, it now appears to be more of a cultural anomaly than a cultural redirection. From early in the twentieth century, the trend has been toward a larger and more centralized government. That trend continues. 

It may well be that George W. Bush won in 2000 and 2004 simply because he was more likeable than either Vice President Al Gore or Sen. John Kerry.

For most of us on the "right" the election was more about voting for an ideology than a candidate.  I am a Christian conservative with a flavoring of libertarian ideas. From where I stand, my vote is cast on the basis of ideology.  I presume that those on the far left (socialists, communists, liberation theology adherents, etc.) also vote on the basis of their ideology. I get that. Now, clearly they will never get my vote for their candidate, but I can plot the course they are taking as they make the case for their world view.

 It is the true American liberal/self-styled progressive world view that baffles me. To me, it is random reasoning wrapped in anarchy. It appears irrational, void of  overarching principles and fixed points of truth. I have trouble imagining what the world looks like through the eyes of an American liberal. Do they understand the principles of cause and effect? Action and reaction? Do they see the "big picture" or is each event and topic an island unto itself? I don't know. 

I understand why some of those on the left voted the way they did. Although I think they are misguided, they have reasons to believe that they were making the best choice for their families and themselves.  Left of center ideologues really do not worry me that much, nor do thinking people who make decisions based on faulty information. 

It is the "undecided" crowd in the middle that concerns me. They have more than enough information from which to draw a conclusion, yet it seems that they lack the critical thinking skills to do so. Fiscal policy is beyond them. The ramifications of various social issues apparently penetrate no deeper than a sound byte. To some it seems, the Constitution is just is some nebulous idea on a fading ancient document. Yet, their collective votes forever alter the direction of the nation. They determine who receives those votes often with the shallowest of reasons. 

Why do so many of those around us lack the ability to think? I don't know.

•  Perhaps it is the by product of increasing technology and perpetual entertainment.
• Maybe it is a failure of the public school systems to teach thinking skills.
• It may very well stem from a systemic failure within America's Christian churches to evangelize and disciple the individuals in their communities.
• Or it may be a combination of some or all of the above.

Regardless of the cause, I realize it is possible we are going to be here (socially) for a very long time, perhaps for decades. Among other things,

• It is now unlikely the Roe v. Wade will ever be overturned. 
• Socialized medicine will be implemented.
• The combination of high energy prices, crippling regulation, and high taxation will prevent a robust economy.
• Division (or even the perception of division) between the U.S. and Israel increases the likelihood of an all out Middle Eastern war.  
• The great ideological divide between the urban and rural areas of our nation will most likely deepen. 
• There is little chance that Social Security (perhaps even other retirement programs) will survive in any recognizable form.

So where does that leave us? 

Well, first of all, it leaves us in God's hands. It will do us well to remember that nothing catches him by surprise, and nothing cripples his ability to act on our behalf. God does not have an express covenant with the United States of America. He does have a covenant with his Church. 

It will also serve us well to remember that no place on this earth provides us with our true identity. For the Christian, that identity comes from Jesus Christ.

Although we are reluctant to admit it, we Americans like our stuff, Christians included. The bad news is that the consequences of this election may in fact cost you your stuff, and there isn't much you can do about it. 

For decades the Church as been able to exert its influence on society by voting as a bloc. Nationally, it seems, we no longer have that power. 

It is time for the Church in America to do some serious soul searching, and refocus on the things of eternal weight.  Quite simply, it is our job in this world to present the Gospel to those who don't know Jesus Christ as Savior, and to disciple those who turn to him. Everything else is secondary. Everything else we place in the hands of God.

Secondly, we have got to accept the fact that there are no quick fixes. This trend has been decades in the making. It will not be fixed by a mass conversion of people turning to our ideals. It will only be fixed if we do what we should have been doing all along, that is reaching the hearts of individuals with the gospel of Jesus Christ. 


So where do we start? Well, here is an idea: 

Start with a child. Teach that child about sin and redemption. Cause him or her to understand the relationship between behavior and consequences. Provide a fixed point of reference, of identity from which he or she can navigate life. Teach them to think. Teach them the Bible.

Reenter the cities. We cannot evangelize the world and avoid our own cities. We must learn to see our own urban areas as a mission field.

Be patient. The road back is a tedious and long and painful one. I realize I may not see my country make an about face in my lifetime. Even so, we can still present the gospel of Jesus Christ to those around us. 

Ultimately that has been our purpose all along anyway.

Hauling Hay ...and Grace

My wife's grandfather, Jess, is in very poor health these days, and I find myself thinking about him quite a lot. He has told me many stories of his life. Here is one I would like to share with you.

Not long after Jess had return from the European theater of World War II, he and his brother, Earl, decided to try their hand at farming. I don't think they ever made much money in this venture, but it did provide them with many stories to share with their kids and grandkids. 

Jess tells of one summer day when he and Earl were putting up hay. It had been cut, raked and baled. All that was left was to put it in the barn. Unfortunately, it was about to start raining later that day. Jess had tried to find someone to help with the hauling but had been unsuccessful. So, he and his brother were struggling to put it up by themselves. 

Now, if you have ever hauled square baled hay, you know it is not a two man job. You need at least one man driving, one man on the ground loading, and one man on the truck or trailer to do the stacking. If only two men are doing the hauling it is a very slow process, to be sure.

Jess and Earl were in the field exhausted and struggling to do a three (or four) man job as the clouds began to darken the horizon. If the bales got soaked they would be ruined and worthless. Not only the hay, but also  all of the time and expense of the baling would be lost.

Just then, one of their neighbors drove past the field and saw these two young men struggling to save their hay crop. Sitting behind the wheel was an older gentleman many years their senior. He could have justifiably been called an "old man". If he had simply driven on by no one would have thought the worse of him. But this old man still had considerable strength and he knew it.  He pulled his truck to the side of the road and crossed through the fence, sliding his broad shoulders between the strands of barbed wire.

As dark clouds continued to boil higher into the sky, he strode across the field toward Jess and Earl's truck. He grabbed a bale of hay in each hand and tossed them onto the truck. Wordlessly he continued to toss bales of hay onto their truck two at a time until the field was clean. Jess, Earl, and this kind old neighbor drove the last load of hay in to the barn just as the rain began to fall. 


With the hay crop saved, Jess and Earl turned to the old neighbor and thanked him for coming to their aid, then Jess tried to pay him for his help. "Son," the old man replied, "you can't pay me enough to haul hay!"

"Son, you can't pay me enough to haul hay!" 

Of course I am going to draw a moral from this story...

Grace is illustrated here. The hay crop is like your eternal soul. It is valuable but it is under a cloud of judgment. You can't work hard enough to save it, and you can't buy your way out of a fix. You are about to lose the crop.

God sees your plight. Motivated by love for your everlasting soul, he crosses the "fence" that separates man from God and becomes "God with us" in the person of Jesus Christ. He offers you the gift of salvation. He provides an escape for your from the storms of sin and judgment.

Should you be grateful? Absolutely.
Can you pay him back? Never.

I'm sure that the old man who help Jess and Earl has been gone a long time now, but the story of his kind deed as been told for many years and still lives on. 

So here is the question: 
If you had been in Jess and Earl's situation would you have accepted the old man's help? I'm guessing you would have. 

Jesus is offering far greater salvation than that of a hay crop. He offers salvation for you soul. Will you accept his help today?

Be careful who you pick on...

For several days I have felt compelled to spend my study time in the book of Lamentations. To be honest, it falls among the list of Old Testament books that I consider to be largely "neglected" these days. As it's name indicates, the author is lamenting the destruction of his beloved country and city. Some of the saddest, heart rending verses you will ever read are found in this book. Judah had repeatedly sinned, and God had allowed their enemies to overrun them. The author grieves that his beautiful, proud people has been reduced to squalor and starvation...

...then, somewhere in chapter three, his grief turns to repentance and repentance turns to hope.

I have heard people say (in jest), "'Vengeance is mine,' says the Lord, but I am his tool!"    Uh, yeah. You don't want to be that. Here is the thing.As illustrated in this book, God will allow outside forces to overrun his people when is call to repentance has been ignored, but the purpose of the destruction is still repentance.

When that repentance does occur, his children are forgiven and their sins are forgotten. The child who has repented is instantly restored to his favor.

So when God then looks on his beloved child and sees an enemy abusing that favored child, how do you think God is going to react? That's right it isn't going to go well for the one doing the mistreating.

So here is the take away.
1) If God is subjecting you to his discipline, repent! He doesn't hate you, he has your best interest at heart.
2) If you see someone who is suffering as a result of their sin, do not jump on the "they deserve what they are getting" band wagon. Instead, be ready with a compassionate heart to help and restore those that God has disciplined. Someday it may be you.

Galatians 6:1 "Brothers, if anyone is caught in any transgression, you who are spiritual should restore him in a spirit of gentleness. Keep watch on yourself, lest you too be tempted."
Matthew 5:4 "Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted."

Why did Herod Hate the Lord?

This is the audio of a message I was privileged to preach at Calvary Life Church in Granite City, IL (Mark Maynard, Pastor) on December 26, 2010. Someone recently send me the CD. I had to put it on Movie Maker to get it on here.

I hope it helps you in some way.

Text: Matthew 2:16

"Then Herod, when he saw that he had been tricked by the wise men, became furious, and he sent and killed all the male children in Bethlehem and in all that region who were two years old or under, according to the time that he had ascertained from the wise men."

Getting The Last Word...and I like it!

If you go to the last verse of the last chapter of the last book of the Bible you will read this:

Rev. 22:21 The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen.

Is this the most important verse in the book of The Revelation? I don’t know. We really can't elevate one verse over another, but I am sure that it is one of the most often overlooked. This phrase (or some variation of it) is contained in nearly one-half of the books of the New Testament.

This passage follows on  the heels of some pretty dramatic reading. For twenty-two chapters the reader has been reading about some pretty astounding things. There have been trumpets and vials and bowls of judgment. Mountains are falling out of the sky. Weird creatures have come out of the earth to torment mankind. Prophets breath fire. All kinds of judgments have been unleashed on a sin corrupted earth. Wars have been waged and kingdoms over thrown. We have also been ushered into the throne room of God to witness the greatest worship service the universe has ever seen, and the King of kings returns to earth on a white horse.

Now imagine you are one of the first people to hear the message of the Revelation. Perhaps you are sitting with the church at, say, Philadelphia when the minister reads the message. As he finishes this letter and reads this last verse the audience sits in stunned  silence.

Most of the crowd thinks they have heard from God.

Some of them may think that John has been out in the sun too long.

To be sure, the closing verse is not the most notable one in the book; yet, it is a very important verse. Here is why.

First, the Revelation is addressed to  working churches, persecuted churches, faithful churches,   loving churches, dying churches, patient churches, healthy churches and lukewarm churches. I am guessing that you and the church you attend fit somewhere in that list.

Second, these the final words of this book to these churches. In fact the final words penned to the church, the entire church, in the canon of scripture is “The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen.”

I want to take this phrase apart and look at it.

I. First of all is the word “grace”. It is that unearned, unmerited favor of God. It is one of those churchy words that we use in church and in very few other places. Yet, grace is so important because without the grace of God we cannot be saved.#

You see, here is the thing:

We cannot demand salvation because we are too weak.
We cannot buy it because we are too poor.
We cannot scheme our way into it because we are too simple.

Salvation comes only by faith through grace.#

II. The next stop on our tour of this verse is the word “Lord” . It means “master”. Our times are an oddity in the history of the world. Odds are, you were born as a free person, as you should be. You may not have two nickels to rub together, but you are a free man or woman, and (unless you commit a crime that warrants incarceration) you will die a free man or woman. That has not always been the case. In fact, for most of the history of this world, slavery has existed as the accepted norm.

Because we are a free people, the word master does not carry for us its full meaning, but Jesus, by virtue of the fact that he is God, is our Master. The good news is that we have the grace of the master. That is, we have His unearned favor. It is his grace which elevates us above the status of a mere servant. In John we are called friends. In Galatians we are called sons.*

III. “Jesus” . His name means “Jehovah is salvation”. The wonder of the incarnation is contained in this name. This name, in five letters, contains the entire meaning of John 3:16.

The first instance we have of anyone who says his name “Jesus” is when the angel announces his birth with the words “…And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins.”^

Have you ever felt inferior? Well, think about this for a bit. Within the name of Jesus we have a description  of the unearned favor of Jehovah, the great I AM at work to redeem the helpless.  Christians who routinely hide behind “I ain't.....” and "I can't...." statements need to realize that they have received grace from the omnipotent "I AM".

IV. “Christ”. This is not Jesus’ last name. It is a title. It means the anointed one, chosen of God. The Messiah. The Deliverer. He came to this earth the first time humbly, as a servant to save.

Soon, the Bible teaches, he will return to this earth as a King. He is King of kings and Lord of lords.

 And I have his unearned favor.

V. Here is an important word you may not suspect. It is the word "With". This little word is sometimes translated from the Greek as “after”, “among”, or “behind”.  

This best way I know to illustrate for you the meaning of this word is to compare it to perfume.

Have you ever known someone who really, really likes their perfume or cologne?

Grace is like that. I’ve known people whom you could identify by their perfume. You didn’t have to see them to know they were in the room. Strong perfume will fill a room where a person is. It will linger after they are gone. If they hug someone, the perfume will transfer to that person. They carry their fragrance "with" them wherever they go.

Similarly, grace not only flows from God to us, but through us to those around us. In other words, to be like Christ we show "unearned favor" to those around us.

It is not enough to be kind to those who are kind to us. That isn't grace. That's normal. Grace goes beyond normal. We truly display grace when we show our favor to those who have not earned it.

The Conclusion on all of this is tied to the little word “all” . Do you want to know how to get this blessing? How to receive the “grace of our Lord Jesus Christ”?

I have the secret right here. Look at 1 Peter 5:5.

 “ ...all of you be submissive to one another, and be clothed with humility, for "God resists the proud, But gives grace to the humble.”

Have a wonderful day my friends!  And may the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with each of you!

 

# Ephesians 2:8 For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; [it is] the gift of God...
* Galatians 4:4-7, John 15:15-17
^ Matthew 1:21

 

Is Ethanol Ethical?

When talking about any supply and demand issue, it is easy for all of the numbers and statistics to turn into numerical fog. 

The simple fact is that the grand push to “save the earth” has resulted in increased hardship for most of the people on it.

Here is the story of Sam and Tom. 

Sam is a farmer who grows lots of corn. Every year, Tom and his neighbors buys Sam’s corn so they can feed their families.

This year Sam decided he isn’t going to sell his corn for food. Instead he is going to burn it for fuel. Sam doesn’t need to burn it for fuel. He has a large reserve of fuel oil he can use to heat his home, but he has decided that he prefers the smell of burning corn.

This means Tom and his neighbors will have to find his corn somewhere else, only there isn’t anywhere else. This means that the little bit of corn that is available for food is getting very expensive.

Does Sam have a “right” to burn his own corn, even though it is less efficient than burning his oil? Sure. But Sam is being a very bad neighbor by withholding his corn crop from his neighbors.  They are hungry and he is burning the food that they are willing to buy and eat.

Sam’s neighbors start to hate him for making their lives difficult.

As you have probably figured out, Sam is the United States and Tom is everyone else.

Here are a few of those inevitable statistics:

• In the last ten years corn prices have tripled* while corn supply has only increased by about one third.**
• Because there is only so much farm land, other crops, such as wheat and soybeans,  have come under pressure and have similar trends to corn.**
• Over the same period of time world bio-fuel (primarily ethanol) production has also tripled.^
• Price of cereal food grains has tripled.^^ This has an effect of raising meat and dairy prices as well.
• Overall, food prices worldwide have more than doubled in the last ten years.^^

This increase in world food prices is driven primarily by U.S. laws that mandate the use of ethanol. We are burning the world’s food supply in our gas tanks, and frankly, it make us bad neighbors.

pecad.fas.usda.gov

Many times in the Bible we see God’s displeasure with those who would oppress the poor, the hungry, and the helpless.  In my estimation, that kind of oppression is being  placed on the world via these unethical economic policies.

I think this would be a good time for our nation to pause and read Matthew 25:31-46 and examine our behavior. I think some national repentance is in order.

________

footnotes

* http://www.agmanager.info/livestock/marketing/graphs/Crops/Corn/U.S.AvgCornPr.htm
**http://www.agmanager.info/livestock/marketing/graphs/Crops/Corn/USTotCornSupply.htm
^ http://www.dupontelastomers.com/autofocus/a8/af8.asp?article=biofuel
^^ http://www.fao.org/worldfoodsituation/wfs-home/foodpricesindex/en/

Pedigree or Legacy?

And after Abimelech there arose to defend Israel Tola the son of Puah, the son of Dodo, a man of Issachar; and he dwelt in Shamir in mount Ephraim. And he judged Israel twenty and three years, and died, and was buried in Shamir.

 And after him arose Jair, a Gileadite, and judged Israel twenty and two years. And he had thirty sons that rode on thirty ass colts, and they had thirty cities, which are called Havothjair unto this day, which [are] in the land of Gilead. And Jair died, and was buried in Camon.

Judges 10:1-5

The book of Judges is a gut wrenching book. It chronicles the spiritual struggles of national Israel. They are seemingly trapped in a cycle of mediocre success and dismal failure. When they turn from serving God, God withdraws his blessing from them. Their enemies overtake them. Then they are oppressed. They cry out to God. He delivers them. They live in peace and prosperity, and then they backslide into idolatry again.

Now, certainly many of the judges that we read about in this book are themselves severely flawed characters, and we know most of them by their failures as much as their successes.

These two judges, however, are different. We actually know very little about them, which probably means they are the two most successful of all of the judges.  Good times are good to live in, but they don’t make for very interesting history.

I. The first judge is Tola the son of Puah, the son of Dodo.

We know he defended Israel.
We know who his daddy was.
We know who his grandfather was.
We know he was from the tribe of Issachar.
We know he lived in Shamir of Mt. Ephraim.
We know he judged Israel for 23 years.

II. The second man is Jair.
We know he was from Gilead.
We know he judged Israel 22 years.
We know he had 30 sons who rode 30 donkeys and ruled 30 cities.

III. The Similarity. These men each governed successfully for a little more than 20 years.

IV. The Difference. Tola was known by his pedigree, Jair by his legacy.

There is nothing wrong with a good pedigree. In fact, the Bible says:

Pro 22:1-2   A [good] name [is] rather to be chosen than great riches, [and] loving favour rather than silver and gold. The rich and poor meet together: the LORD [is] the maker of them all.

Pro 27:10   Thine own friend, and thy father's friend, forsake not…

But a good legacy is better:

Psa 127:3   Lo, children [are] an heritage of the LORD: [and] the fruit of the womb [is his] reward.

While your good legacy may very well involve rearing a family that will be about the Kingdom of God, that legacy may also reach well beyond the walls of your own home.

For instance:

• Elijah acted as a father figure to Elisha who then in turn became a mentor to a group of young men known as “the sons of the prophets”.
• Jesus spent over 3 years teaching his disciples the things of the kingdom.
• Titus 2 tells us that the “aged women” are to “teach the younger”.
• Barnabas mentored Paul and Mark (and probably others) who did great things for God.

There is absolutely nothing you can do about your pedigree. It is what it is. (The truth is, even those who brag about their family tree have probably pruned a few branches first.)  

You can however do something about your legacy.  It is unlikely that any of us will ever have thirty flesh and blood son's like Jair, but we can certainly have a positive life altering impact on the lives of thirty people. Make a legacy, my friend, and impact your world for Christ.

Jesus Strikes Back...

I have simplified this as best I can. It may still be a bit tedious, but I think it will be worth it.

    The Gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke all record the baptism and temptation of Jesus. The gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke tell us that he immediately left the Jordan River after his baptism to spend forty days fasting in the Judean Wilderness. At the end of those forty days Satan came to him to  tempt him.

    The first temptation overcome by Jesus was a challenge by Satan for Jesus to use his divine power to satisfy the desires of his own flesh; that is, to transform stones into bread to satisfy his hunger. In the second, Satan took him to the pinnacle of the temple and (using a misquotation of scripture) challenged Jesus to throw himself from the top of the Temple and land safely at the base. In the third temptation, Satan shows Jesus all of the Kingdoms of the World and offers to surrender them all to him in exchange for one thing that Satan wants above all else; that is, worship.

    The Gospel of John is the most unique of the four gospel accounts. We sometimes use chapter one as an account of Jesus baptism and anointing by the Holy Spirit. Technically it is not. It is a record of John the Baptist's dialogue with priests and Levites about his role in the kingdom of God. In this dialogue John the Baptist is recounting  the baptism of Jesus which had occurred a few weeks prior. The next day, after this dialogue, Jesus returns and John the Baptist makes a public proclamation that Jesus is the Messiah.

Here is what I find so interesting.

    In the wilderness Jesus repelled the temptations Satan brought to him, and upon his return Jesus begins a counter attack against Satan in the very same venues in which Satan had declared war.

 Counter attack #1: Transformation

   Three days after Jesus has returned from his wilderness experience he is at a marriage in Cana of Galilee. It is here that he performs his first miracle: he transforms water into wine...not privately for himself but publicly for the benefit of others. This act manifests his glory and causes his growing band of disciples to believe on him. There is no mention that he prayed over the water. There is no mention of the Father or the Spirit in this passage. This was an autonomous divine action by the Son of God.

Counter attack #2: The Temple

    A few days later he attends the Passover in Jerusalem. He enters the Temple and promptly throws the merchants and their livestock out. This marked his entrance into Jerusalem (and particularly the Temple).   His zeal for holiness is unmistakeable. His entrance is not self aggrandizing, rather, he openly chastises the merchants for polluting the house of the Father.

Counter attack #3: Nature of the Kingdom

    The third item of interest come from the next chapter, John chapter 3. While Jesus is in Jerusalem, a young ruler named Nicodemus comes to him by night to consult with him. Jesus immediately reads his heart and begins to discuss with him the nature of the Kingdom of God, and emphasizes the work of the Holy Spirit in salvation.

1. Bread and wine are both symbols/types of the suffering of Christ. Satan tried to corrupt these symbols, Jesus reinforced them.

2. Satan tried to turn the Temple into a circus and Christ into a clown. Jesus cleansed the temple, and left the resurrection as his calling card.

3. Satan bargained with the kingdoms of the earth in an attempt to elevate himself. Jesus reveals the depth of the sacrifice of the Godhead so that he might give men the key to the Kingdom of God.

The wilderness temptations were not solely and attack on the Son of God, they were an attack by Satan on the Godhead as a whole. Notice the emphasis on each person of the Godhead in the progression of events. The Son, the Father and the Spirit are all emphasized in turn.

Additional thoughts...

...on throw yourself from the pinnacle

The challenge here was to make a spectacle of himself in the temple by doing something supernatural, and in essence trade his mission of salvation for a carnival act.

...on worship me and I'll give you the kingdoms.

Essentially Satan was offering Jesus a way around the cross. In exchange however Satan would be allowed to exalt his throne to the level of Godhood. by the very act of worship, Jesus would have been acknowledging Satan as a superior . [cf. Isaiah 14:12-14].

...on John 3.

 It is in this dialogue that the much quoted John 3:16 occurs (for God so loved the world...etc.), but we also see that in this passage the wilderness experience is still very fresh on his mind, for he says,

"And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up:That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life. For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life." [John 3:14-16]

I, for one, have enjoyed this study. Hopefully it will inspire you as well. Blessings.

No "rights" are granted under the Constitution!

Here's the thing...

I frequently hear people say something to this effect: "The Constitution gives us the right to free speech."
-Or the right to assemble.
-Or own a gun.
-Or any of the other rights we enjoy and try so hard to defend.

There is a problem with these statements.

The Constitution doesn't give you the right to do anything, nor does it claim to.

The Constitution (and more specifically, the Bill of Rights) is not a document by government that grants goodies to the subjects.  It is a document formed by representatives of the people to define the role and method of a common (or federal) government.

The Constitution does not grant rights. Instead it is an enumeration of naturally existing rights on which government is not allowed to infringe.

Go back a few years before the Constitution and you will find another document we call "The Declaration of Independence".  In their complaint against the King of England, the representatives of the colonies are accusing the king of being a bully and violating the terms of their charters. He has failed to perform the basic functions of government and has used government as a tool of oppression rather that for the "common good."

The basis for their complaint is found in the following line. It is a line I hope you have committed to memory...

"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness."

There did you see it? Rights are not granted by government. They are granted by a Creator.

Now, back to the Bill of Rights. While the Bill of Rights itself does to specify the origin of rights, it does specify to whom they belong. We are quick to quote the first and second amendments. We all know about freedom of religion, freedom of the press, freedom to lawfully assembly, and the right to keep and bear arms.

Perhaps we should look a little beyond those and commit to memory amendments nine and ten as well. They are not quite as poetic, but they are very important.

Amendment IX
The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people.

Amendment X
The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.

Have a great Independence Day!

--Tony

Weird little "Church Words"...Why do we say "Amen"?

Have you ever gotten into the habit of using "church words" so often that they have lost all real world meaning? How about the word "Amen".  Christians routinely end prayer with this word. Without knowing why, we use it like a period at the end of prayer. If you can spare a minute of your time, you will see why the word "amen" is a most remarkable word. 

Please, indulge me for a little word study...

 

1. “Amen” comes from a Hebrew root word pronounced ‘aman. In Hebrew this is a verb which is translated into English the following ways:

"to support,   confirm,   be faithful,   uphold,   nourish;   to be established,   be faithful,   be carried,   make firm;   to stand firm,   to trust,   to be certain,   to believe in"

2. Old Testament examples of the word “aman”…

a. Abraham’s belief in God

 "And he [Abraham] believed {'aman} in the LORD; and he counted it to him for righteousness." Gen 15:6

b. Israel’s belief in God

"And the people believed {'aman}: and when they heard that the LORD had visited the children of Israel, and that he had looked upon their affliction, then they bowed their heads and worshiped." Exd 4:31

c. God’s is faithful

  "Know therefore that the LORD thy God , he is God, the faithful{'aman}…" Deu 7:9

d. God’s Promises David an “aman” house

"And thine house and thy kingdom shall be established {'aman} for ever before thee: thy throne shall be established for ever."  2Sa 7:16  

3. Amen in the New Testament

The Hebrew word was transliterated into Greek and carried this meaning:

"firm, faithful, verily, amen"

a) When the word is used at the beginning of a discourse it is translated as "verily, surely, truly, of a truth".
b) When it is used at the end of a discourse it is translated as - "so it is, so be it, may it be fulfilled."

Saying "Amen" is a custom that was carried over from Jewish synagogues into early Christian worship.  The custom was for the congregation to "Amen" after a prayer as an affirmation of agreement with a public prayer. This made the substance of the prayer theirs as well as the individual's who had prayed.

a. In our English New Testament Translations the word “Amen” shows up about 50 times, but the Greek word “amen” is in the New Testament 152 times and translated into English using different words…

b. For instance, here is how some of the more popular translations render the beginning words of  Matthew 5:18…

ESV   "For truly {amen}, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law until all is accomplished.

KJV    "For verily {amen} I say unto you...        

NKJV  "For assuredly {amen}, I say to you...

NLT     "I tell you the truth {amen}…        

NIV      "I tell you the truth {amen}…

4. We typically end prayer with an “Amen”. Why?

When you say “Amen” you are expressing your trust in God, and affirming his faithfulness.

Jesus taught us to pray after this pattern:

"After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. [I am more concerned about your exaltation than my own.] 

Thy kingdom come. [Even if it brings me discomfort. Ie. Believers in Jerusalem suffering persecution.] 

Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven. [Speedily, eliminating any excuse I might have to procrastinate.] 

Give us this day our daily bread. [Please just give me what I need today, I’ll trust you with the long term stuff.] 

And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. [I will demonstrate your grace even as I have received it.] 

And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: [I will follow your lead and steer clear of sin.] 

For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever.     Amen.

The purpose of the word “Amen” is not to cue God on when we are done praying. We don’t say “Amen" so that God knows when to open his eyes and look up.  It is a means by which we affirm our trust in Him, and place ourselves in agreement with his will!

Amen!

Have a great day!

Thinking Clearly...

Odd, to me it seems, that my clearest thoughts and reasoning occur in that fragile real estate between consciousness and unconsciousness. The conscious mind is often cluttered by the weeds of distraction and the thoughts of sleep devolve into silliness.

Yet, somewhere between the two, is that thin beach where the distractions of the day play out and the silliness of dreams has not entered. It is there that the deep churnings of the mind and spirit bring good things to the shore and lay them at the edge of my consciousness.

I have found that I must scoop them up immediately. If I do not rouse and commit them to paper, they will be lost to the light of the morning. It is best that I close my eyes thinking of the things of God, and that I keep pen and pad near me as I sleep.

So, I sometimes spend a few minutes before I finally drift off, running from the beach to weeds trying to preserve the things that I find washing around in tidal pools of my mind. Then, with reluctance, I wade into the sea of sleep.

I just wish my rapid mid-night scrawl was a bit more legible.

"I will both lie down in peace, and sleep; For You alone, O LORD, make me dwell in safety." Psalm 4:8 nkjv

What goes around comes around...

I want to show you a story about kindness that you may have never seen before. It is from the life of the great king of Israel, King David.


David is an interesting guy. We first start following his story when he is a shepherd boy in the Judean pastures. In the Bible we read about his triumphs, his trials, his failures and his comebacks. This story of kindness spans a great portion of his life.


In 2 Samuel 17:27-29 (esv) we read:

"When David came to Mahanaim, Shobi the son of Nahash from Rabbah of the Ammonites, and Machir the son of Ammiel from Lo-debar, and Barzillai the Gileadite from Rogelim, brought beds, basins, and earthen vessels, wheat, barley, flour, parched grain, beans and lentils, honey and curds and sheep and cheese from the herd, for David and the people with him to eat, for they said, 'The people are hungry and weary and thirsty in the wilderness.'"

Here is the setting for these verses. David had a son (one of many) named Absalom. Absalom staged a coup against his father, and David and his household fled into the wilderness, running for their lives.

Now David (and company) left Jerusalem with little more than the clothes on their backs. There were women and children in the group, and David himself was now advancing in years. They had no food and no bedding. The situation was serious and getting worse.

As they were running they came to a place called Mahanaim. Word of the coup was spreading. They were met there by three men; Shobi, Machir, and Barzillai. These men helped David and his family in a time of desperation by bringing them bedding and some high calorie, high protein food.

Now remember, there was a coup underway, and these guys were sticking their necks out by picking sides. Why would they do such a thing? Why not hang back and see who was going to come out on top first?

There is an interesting story for each of these guys, but I want us to look at this fellow known as “Machir…of Lo-debar” for a minute.
  
Machir's back story

If we scroll back through the life of David to 2 Samuel chapter 9 we will find him as a much younger man. At this point in his life he is on top of the world. He has finally succeeded in defeating his enemies and the Kingdom of Israel has been consolidated under him.

Then he does a very classy, non-typical thing, especially for monarchs of that period in history. He sent for the crippled, orphaned grandson of the previous king, King Saul. The boy's name was Mephibosheth.  David brought the boy to sit continually at the royal table and restored to him his grandfather's property.

In this event, David sowed seeds of kindness in the way he treated this unfortunate child.  He had no way of knowing that some day those seeds would come to fruition in his own life.

How can we draw such a connection? Well, let's take a look at where they had to go to get Mephibosheth so they could bring him to the kings house:

"The king [David] said … 'Where is he?' And Ziba said to the king, 'He is in the house of Machir the son of Ammiel, at Lo-debar.'" [2 Samuel 9:4 esv]

 Yes, that's right. It is the same guy. Many years before he had watched as David went out of his way to show kindness to this crippled orphan boy.  Now David was in need and it was payback time.  Funny how that turned out.

What goes around does come back around after all…

Baby, you're my "Life"!

 

In Genesis 2-3 the Bible gives us the account of the creation of our first parents. Here are some things you may not know.

1. The Hebrew word that is transliterated as the proper name “Adam” is used through out the Old Testament as a non-proper designation for “man” or “mankind”. While the translators of our English language Bibles are compelled by necessity and tradition to translate this word into a proper name for the first man, the God-given purpose of his name was to designate his order in creation. That is, he is called “adam” designating him as the one created from the dust but in the image of God, brought to life by the breath of God, and therefore in a standing higher than the animals.

2. “Adam” is one vowel sound different from the Hebrew word for “ground” which is pronounced “adamah”. This usually refers to inhabited or cultivated land.

It is quite conceivable that as God would walk into the garden to talk to Adam, his call is something equivalent to “hey, dirt guy”. Remember Adam is a guy. This name is as good as any other. (Hey, most men will adopt names and nicknames for themselves and for other men that very, very few women would ever be willing to carry.)

3. There is another word that is translated “man”. This words is the Hebrew word “ish” which is used to contrast between male and female. This is first used in Gen. 2:23.

4. The word used for woman or female is similar to “ish”. It is the word “ish-shah”. This is the word that the Bible uses for the first woman all of the way through the creation narrative down to Gen. 3:20.

 

I want to show you what changes in Genesis 3:20.

You may be familiar with the story of the “fall of man”, but if you are not you will need to read the first three chapters of Genesis for this to make sense. Here it is in a nut shell.

• The man (adam) and his wife (ish-shah) are created by God and placed in a garden paradise.
• They are occupied, but not overworked.
• Every need is supplied.
• They are in fellowship with God.
• They have one little restriction. They cannot eat the fruit from one tree, the “tree of the knowledge of good and evil”. If they do, they will die.
• Satan enters the picture and tempts the woman. She succumbs and eats the fruit.
• She give to her husband. He is not deceived, but he eats anyway [see 1 Timothy 2:14].
• God comes on the scene, and everything goes sideways.
• The curse falls on this world because of their sin. They will suffer. They will die.

Now imagine you are the woman.

She was “deceived”. In the midst of her disobedience to God, she genuinely thought she was doing the right thing. She gave him the “forbidden fruit.” She had not meant to harm Adam, but because he had eaten the fruit she handed to him…

Adam lost the best job in the world,
Adam lost the best home in the world (God soon evicts them from the garden),
He was now subject to sickness and disease,
Adam was sentenced to hard labor for the rest of his life, and
Adam would die.

Now as the woman stands there next to her husband, they are both the recipients of God's displeasure. She watches as her husband begins instantly to age. I am quite certain, she felt overwhelming guilt. She was guilty. They were both guilty.

Can you hear her weeping to Adam? “I’m so sorry. I’ve brought you misery and death. You would have been better off without me. I’ve messed your life up. Oh Adam, I am so, so sorry.”

Here is where verse 3:20 comes in:

“And Adam called his wife's name Eve; because she was the mother of all living.”

Look at that! Isn’t this an odd time for “dirt guy” to rename his bride? Up until now she has been known as “ish-shah” or “female”, but now she will be known as “Eve” which means “Life”.

Can you see it? There they stand guilty before an offended God, their beautiful life is crashing down around them and he turns to her and says, “Oh honey, you’re my ‘Life’!”


Then something curious happens:

Notice that when the man accused the woman and the woman accused the snake, God came down hard on everyone involved. Now the man shows tenderness and forgiveness to his wife and watch what happens in verse 21:

“Unto Adam also and to his wife did the LORD God make coats of skins, and clothed them.”

Was God withholding mercy until Adam showed mercy? I don’t know. I cannot draw such a causative link based on this verse alone, but I can tell you that that principle is consistent with the New Testament teachings of Jesus. Look at Matthew 6:12. This is from what we commonly call the “Lord’s Prayer”. Jesus said we are to pray,

“And forgive us our debts, as we have forgiven our debtors.”
esv

Then he goes on to explain,

“For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you, but if you do not forgive others their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.”

This is probably the least favorite line of the Lord’s prayer. I’m afraid we often try to modify the Lord’s prayer and pray this way :

“God forgive me, and help me forgive everybody else.”

I’m sorry, but this isn’t a prayer consistent with Jesus pattern for us. The correct way to pray, according to Jesus, is to pray, “Father, forgive me as I forgive others…”

That kind of prayer really raises the bar on the importance of our forgiveness of others, doesn’t it? Here is the thing: if we live our lives harboring unforgiveness against other people, we have no expectation of forgiveness from our Heavenly Father.

We could certainly develop this train of thought a lot farther, but at some point you would stop reading. By now I think you probably get the point anyway. So, I'll leave you with this...

“And whenever you stand praying, forgive, if you have anything against anyone, so that your Father also who is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses.” -Mark 11:25 esv