Wednesday, April 30, 2014

Preparing To Cross River Jordan

Then Joshua rose early in the morning and they set out from Shittim. And they came to the Jordan, he and all the people of Israel, and lodged there before they passed over. At the end of three days the officers went through the midst of the camp; and they commanded the people, saying, "When you see the ark of the covenant of the LORD your God with the Levitical priests carrying it, then you shall set out from your place and go after it. However, there shall be between you and it a distance of about 2,000 cubits by measure. Do not come near it, that you may know the way by which you shall go, for you have not passed this way before."

Then Joshua said to the people, "Consecrate yourselves, for tomorrow the LORD will do wonders among you." (Joshua 3:1-5 NASB)

Diligence: rose early in the morning;
Thorough: the officers went through the midst of the camp;
Follow: set out from your place and go after it.
Distance: there shall be between you and it a distance
Consecration: Consecrate yourselves

Tuesday, April 29, 2014

Closet Prayer

Now when Daniel knew that the document was signed, he entered his house (now in his roof chamber he had windows open toward Jerusalem); and he continued kneeling on his knees three times a day, praying and giving thanks before his God, as he had been doing previously. (Daniel 6:10 NASB)

A definite place: roof chamber;
A correct posture: kneeling on his knees;
A definite time: three times a day.

Sunday, April 27, 2014

Saints - Who They Are And How They Are Made

Today (Sunday 27 April 2014), Pope Francis declared two of his predecessors, John XXIII and John Paul II, saints of the Roman Catholic church in an unprecedented double-canonisation mass in St Peter's Square.

But who are saints and how are they made? What did the Bible say about saints?

Saints are living Christians, like you and I, once alienated from God, but now reconciled by the cross of Jesus Christ.
For through him we both have access in one Spirit to the Father. So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone, in whom the whole structure, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord. (Ephesians 2:18-21 ESV)

They stayed in houses in towns and cities, like you and I.
Now as Peter went here and there among them all, he came down also to the saints who lived at Lydda. (Acts 9:32 ESV)

They populate the churches.
To all those in Rome who are loved by God and called to be saints: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. (Romans 1:7 ESV)
To the church of God that is in Corinth, to those sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints together with all those who in every place call upon the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, both their Lord and ours: (1 Corinthians 1:2 ESV)
Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother, To the church of God that is at Corinth, with all the saints who are in the whole of Achaia: (2 Corinthians 1:1 ESV)
Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, To the saints who are in Ephesus, and are faithful in Christ Jesus: (Ephesians 1:1 ESV)
Paul and Timothy, servants of Christ Jesus, To all the saints in Christ Jesus who are at Philippi, with the overseers and deacons: (Philippians 1:1 ESV)
To the saints and faithful brothers in Christ at Colossae: Grace to you and peace from God our Father. (Colossians 1:2 ESV)

You can write letters to greet them and they can greet you.
Greet every saint in Christ Jesus. The brothers who are with me greet you. All the saints greet you, especially those of Caesar’s household. (Philippians 4:21-22 ESV)

They can be persecuted, imprisoned or killed.
But Ananias answered, "Lord, I have heard from many about this man, how much evil he has done to your saints at Jerusalem. (Acts 9:13 ESV)
And I did so in Jerusalem. I not only locked up many of the saints in prison after receiving authority from the chief priests, but when they were put to death I cast my vote against them. (Acts 26:10 ESV)

God gave some special gifts, so that the saints are well-equipped for His work.
And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, (Ephesians 4:11-12 ESV)

When you need justice, you can come before the saints.
When one of you has a grievance against another, does he dare go to law before the unrighteous instead of the saints? (1 Corinthians 6:1 ESV)

Some saints are urged to submit to other saints.
Now, brothers and sisters, you know about the household of Stephanus, that as the first converts of Achaia, they devoted themselves to ministry for the saints. I urge you also to submit to people like this, and to everyone who cooperates in the work and labors hard. (1 Corinthians 16:15-16 NET)

Some saints are poor and need contributions.
Contribute to the needs of the saints and seek to show hospitality. (Romans 12:13 ESV)
At present, however, I am going to Jerusalem bringing aid to the saints. For Macedonia and Achaia have been pleased to make some contribution for the poor among the saints at Jerusalem. (Romans 15:25-26 ESV)
Pray that I may be rescued from the unbelievers in Judea, that the gift I am bringing to Jerusalem may be acceptable to the saints, and that, by God's will, I may come to you with joy and be refreshed together with you. (Romans 15:31-32 HCSB)
For the ministry of this service is not only supplying the needs of the saints but is also overflowing in many thanksgivings to God. (2 Corinthians 9:12 ESV)

Sometimes they need help when they are on a journey.
I commend to you our sister Phoebe, a servant of the church at Cenchreae, that you may welcome her in the Lord in a way worthy of the saints, and help her in whatever she may need from you, for she has been a patron of many and of myself as well. (Romans 16:1-2 ESV)

Sometimes, they need exhortation.
But sexual immorality and all impurity or covetousness must not even be named among you, as is proper among saints. (Ephesians 5:3 ESV)

Their hearts need to be refreshed.
For I have derived much joy and comfort from your love, my brother, because the hearts of the saints have been refreshed through you. (Philemon 1:7 ESV)

Saints need help in prayer.
Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words. And he who searches hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God. (Romans 8:26-27 ESV)

We need to pray for the saints, but we do not pray to them, because they are living Christians, like you and I. What can I do for you if you pray to me? Am I God? But I need you to pray for me.
Pray at all times in the Spirit with every prayer and request, and stay alert in this with all perseverance and intercession for all the saints. (Ephesians 6:18 HCSB)
May you be strengthened with all power, according to his glorious might, for all endurance and patience with joy, giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in light. (Colossians 1:11-12 ESV)

The Holy Spirit dwell in the hearts of all the saints.
For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named, that according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith - that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God. (Ephesians 3:14-19 ESV)

Saints have a glorious inheritance in future.
I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened, so that you will know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, and what is the surpassing greatness of His power toward us who believe. (Ephesians 1:18-19a)

They will be coming back with Christ.
To the end he may stablish your hearts unblameable in holiness before God, even our Father, at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ with all his saints. (1 Thessalonians 3:13 KJV)
They will suffer the punishment of eternal destruction, away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his might, when he comes on that day to be glorified in his saints, and to be marveled at among all who have believed, because our testimony to you was believed. (2 Thessalonians 1:9-10 ESV)

Saint Jude's appeal to us, one saint to all the saints, to contend earnestly for the faith, that God has entrusted once for all time to us.
Beloved, while I was making every effort to write you about our common salvation, I felt the necessity to write to you appealing that you contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all handed down to the saints. For certain persons have crept in unnoticed, those who were long beforehand marked out for this condemnation, ungodly persons who turn the grace of our God into licentiousness and deny our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ. (Jude 1:3-4 NASB)

Be a saint while you are alive. You can never be one when you are dead.

Friday, April 18, 2014

The Crucifixion Of Jesus Christ

When they finished mocking him, they stripped him of the purple robe and put his own clothes back on him. Then they led him out to crucify him.

Simon, a man from Cyrene, Alexander and Rufus' father, was coming in from the countryside. They forced him to carry his cross.

They brought Jesus to the place called Golgotha, which means Skull Place. They tried to give him wine mixed with myrrh, but he didn't take it. They crucified him. They divided up his clothes, drawing lots for them to determine who would take what. It was nine in the morning when they crucified him. The notice of the formal charge against him was written, "The king of the Jews." They crucified two outlaws with him, one on his right and one on his left.


People walking by insulted him, shaking their heads and saying, "Ha! So you were going to destroy the temple and rebuild it in three days, were you? Save yourself and come down from that cross!"

In the same way, the chief priests were making fun of him among themselves, together with the legal experts. "He saved others," they said, "but he can't save himself. Let the Christ, the king of Israel, come down from the cross. Then we'll see and believe." Even those who had been crucified with Jesus insulted him.

From noon until three in the afternoon the whole earth was dark. At three, Jesus cried out with a loud shout, "Eloi, eloi, lama sabachthani," which means, "My God, my God, why have you left me?"

After hearing him, some standing there said, "Look! He's calling Elijah!" Someone ran, filled a sponge with sour wine, and put it on a pole. He offered it to Jesus to drink, saying, "Let's see if Elijah will come to take him down." But Jesus let out a loud cry and died.

The curtain of the sanctuary was torn in two from top to bottom. When the centurion, who stood facing Jesus, saw how he died, he said, "This man was certainly God's Son."
(Mark 15:20-39 CEB)

Wednesday, April 16, 2014

Reprove The Correct Person

Whoever corrects a mocker is asking for insult;
whoever reproves a wicked person receives abuse.
Do not reprove a mocker or he will hate you;
reprove a wise person and he will love you.
Give instruction to a wise person, and he will become wiser still;
teach a righteous person and he will add to his learning.

(Proverbs 9:7-9 NET)

Tuesday, April 15, 2014

Perspective - Good and Evil

The earth is round. That is a fact. However when you are standing on the ground, do you feel that the earth is round? Why is it that what your eyes see and your hands feel, that the earth is flat? It is because you are so small and the earth is so big.

The Bible says that you are wicked beyond description and deserve eternal damnation in the lake of fire with Satan and his minions. Do you feel that you are wicked? When you compare men with men, you are quite okay, in fact, you feel good. Why then God consider you wicked? It is because you are so small and the earth is so big. The earth is so small and the creation of God is so big. Your goodness is so small and God's goodness is so big. Thus if you have a chance to see God, you will die in your wickedness.

Then said I, Woe is me! for I am undone; because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips: for mine eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts. (Isaiah 6:5 KJV)

Monday, April 14, 2014

Old Testament Canonisation

The Torah is canonised by Moses.
Then Moses wrote this law and gave it to the priests, the sons of Levi, who carried the ark of the covenant of the LORD, and to all the elders of Israel. (Deuteronomy 31:9 ESV)

It was recognized as scripture by his successors.
And there, in the presence of the people of Israel, he wrote on the stones a copy of the law of Moses, which he had written. (Joshua 8:32 ESV)

And Hilkiah the high priest said to Shaphan the secretary, “I have found the Book of the Law in the house of the LORD.” And Hilkiah gave the book to Shaphan, and he read it. (2 Kings 22:8 ESV)

Some process of canonisation may have occurred before the final canonisation of the entire Old Testament by Ezra.

David might have canonised some psalms.
This collection of the prayers of David son of Jesse ends here. (Psalm 72:20 NET)

Some canonisation of Old Testament may have occurred during the reign of Hezekiah by "the men of Hezekiah".
These also are proverbs of Solomon which the men of Hezekiah king of Judah copied. (Proverbs 25:1 ESV)

There is a "the book of the LORD" in the time of Isaiah, but the contents of this book are not identified.
Seek and read from the book of the LORD: Not one of these shall be missing; none shall be without her mate. For the mouth of the LORD has commanded, and his Spirit has gathered them. (Isaiah 34:16 ESV)

Jeremiah quote from Micah.
And certain of the elders of the land arose and spoke to all the assembled people, saying, "Micah of Moresheth prophesied in the days of Hezekiah king of Judah, and said to all the people of Judah: 'Thus says the LORD of hosts, "'Zion shall be plowed as a field; Jerusalem shall become a heap of ruins, and the mountain of the house a wooded height.' Did Hezekiah king of Judah and all Judah put him to death? Did he not fear the LORD and entreat the favor of the LORD, and did not the LORD relent of the disaster that he had pronounced against them? But we are about to bring great disaster upon ourselves." (Jeremiah 26:17-19 ESV)

Daniel also understood from some books about the word of the LORD to Jeremiah the prophet.
In the first year of Darius the son of Ahasuerus, by descent a Mede, who was made king over the realm of the Chaldeans - in the first year of his reign, I, Daniel, perceived in the books the number of years that, according to the word of the LORD to Jeremiah the prophet, must pass before the end of the desolations of Jerusalem, namely, seventy years. (Daniel 9:1-2 ESV)

Zechariah quoted from some former prophets.
Should you not have obeyed the words that the LORD cried out through the former prophets when Jerusalem was peacefully inhabited and her surrounding cities, the Negev, and the Shephelah were also populated? (Zechariah 7:7 NET)

"Do not be like your ancestors, to whom the former prophets called out, saying, 'The Lord who rules over all says, "Turn now from your evil wickedness,"' but they would by no means obey me," says the Lord. "As for your ancestors, where are they? And did the prophets live forever? But have my words and statutes, which I commanded my servants the prophets, not outlived your fathers? Then they paid attention and confessed, 'The Lord who rules over all has indeed done what he said he would do to us, because of our sinful ways.'" (Zechariah 1:4-6 NET)

The Old Testament refers to many non-Biblical sources, but they are not part of the scriptures:
The Book of the Wars of the Lord (Numbers 21:14)
The Book of Jasher (Joshua 10:13; 2 Samuel 1:18)
The Book of the Acts of Solomon (1 Kings 11:14)
The book of Nathan the Prophet (1 Chronicles 29:29)
The Book of Gad the Seer (1 Chronicles 29:29
The Prophecy of Ahijah the Shiloite (2 Chronicles 9:29
The Visions of Iddo the Seer (2 Chronicles 9:29)
The Book of Shemiah the Prophet (2 Chronicles 12:15)
The Book of Jehu the Son of Hanani (2 Chronicles 20:34)
The Sayings of Hosai (2 Chronicles 33:19)

Sunday, April 13, 2014

Deny Ourselves

Take up our cross and deny ourselves
Then said Jesus unto his disciples, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. (Matthew 16:24 KJV)
And calling the crowd to him with his disciples, he said to them, If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. (Mark 8:34 ESV)
And he said to them all, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me. (Luke 9:23 KJV)

How? Example:
Every athlete exercises self-control in all things. They do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable. (1 Corinthians 9:25 ESV)

Saturday, April 12, 2014

Dynamic Equivalence In KJV

God forbid! There is dynamic equivalence in KJV!

Easter for Passover
And when he had apprehended him, he put him in prison, and delivered him to four quaternions of soldiers to keep him; intending after Easter to bring him forth to the people. (Acts 12:4 KJV)

Diana for Artemis
And when they heard these sayings, they were full of wrath, and cried out, saying, Great is Diana of the Ephesians. (Acts 19:28 KJV)

God forbid
By the way, "God forbid" is not found in the original languages of the Bible. Is it found in KJV? May it never be!

Friday, April 11, 2014

Sinners By Nature

Among them we too all formerly lived in the lusts of our flesh, indulging the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, even as the rest. (Ephesians 2:3 NASB)

Thursday, April 10, 2014

The Three Sinners

They cried out again, "Not this man, but Barabbas!" Now Barabbas was a robber. (John 18:40 ESV)

One of the criminals who were hanged railed at him, saying, "Are you not the Christ? Save yourself and us!" (Luke 23:39 ESV)

And he said, "Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom."
And he said to him, "Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise."
(Luke 23:42-43 ESV)

Three sinners were scheduled to be crucified. One was substituted by the Lamb of God and two died. After their death, one went to Paradise and one went to Hell.

"One thief was saved that no sinner might despair, but only one, that no sinner might presume." J. C. Ryle

"Do you not fear God, since you are under the same sentence of condemnation? And we indeed justly, for we are receiving the due reward of our deeds; but this man has done nothing wrong." (Luke 23:40-41 ESV)

He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed. (1 Peter 2:24 ESV)

Wednesday, April 9, 2014

Cross Versus Burden

We bear our own cross
Whoever does not bear his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple. (Luke 14:27 ESV)

And whoever does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me. (Matthew 10:38 ESV)

Then said Jesus unto his disciples, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. (Matthew 16:24 KJV)

And calling the crowd to him with his disciples, he said to them, If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. (Mark 8:34 ESV)

And he said to them all, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me. (Luke 9:23 KJV)

We cast our burden upon the Lord
Cast thy burden upon the LORD, and he shall sustain thee: he shall never suffer the righteous to be moved. (Psalm 55:22 KJV)

Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light. (Matthew 11:28-30 KJV)

Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you. (1 Peter 5:7 KJV)

Tuesday, April 8, 2014

Worthy Exchange

These things were my assets, but I wrote them off as a loss for the sake of Christ. But even beyond that, I consider everything a loss in comparison with the superior value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. I have lost everything for him, but what I lost I think of as sewer trash, so that I might gain Christ and be found in him. In Christ I have a righteousness that is not my own and that does not come from the Law but rather from the faithfulness of Christ. It is the righteousness of God that is based on faith. The righteousness that I have comes from knowing Christ, the power of his resurrection, and the participation in his sufferings. It includes being conformed to his death so that I may perhaps reach the goal of the resurrection of the dead. (Philippians 3:7-11 CEB)

For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us. (Romans 8:18 ESV)

Monday, April 7, 2014

The Cross

Fellow Israelites, listen to these words! Jesus the Nazarene was a man whose credentials God proved to you through miracles, wonders, and signs, which God performed through him among you. You yourselves know this. In accordance with God’s established plan and foreknowledge, he was betrayed. You, with the help of wicked men, had Jesus killed by nailing him to a cross. (Acts 2:22-23 CEB)

He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed. (1 Peter 2:24 ESV)

For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross. (Colossians 1:19-20 ESV)

And you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses, by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross. (Colossians 2:13-14 ESV)

Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: but made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: and being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. (Philippians 2:5-8 KJV)

Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God. (Hebrews 12:2 KJV)

And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in him may have eternal life. John 3:14-15 ESV)

And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself." (John 12:32 ESV)

But as for me, God forbid that I should boast about anything except for the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ. The world has been crucified to me through him, and I have been crucified to the world. (Galatians 6:14 CEB)

Sunday, April 6, 2014

Cross's Foolishness Is God's Wisdom

For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but it is God’s power to us who are being saved. For it is written: 
I will destroy the wisdom of the wise,
and I will set aside the understanding of the experts.
Where is the philosopher? Where is the scholar? Where is the debater of this age? Hasn’t God made the world’s wisdom foolish? For since, in God’s wisdom, the world did not know God through wisdom, God was pleased to save those who believe through the foolishness of the message preached. For the Jews ask for signs and the Greeks seek wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to the Jews and foolishness to the Gentiles. Yet to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ is God’s power and God’s wisdom, because God’s foolishness is wiser than human wisdom, and God’s weakness is stronger than human strength.
(1 Corinthians 1:18-25 HCSB)

For I determined not to know any thing among you, save Jesus Christ, and him crucified. (1 Corinthians 2:2 KJV)

On the contrary, we speak God’s hidden wisdom in a mystery, a wisdom God predestined before the ages for our glory. None of the rulers of this age knew this wisdom, for if they had known it, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory. (1 Corinthians 2:7-8 HCSB)

Saturday, April 5, 2014

Be Reconciled to God

So then, from this point on we won’t recognize people by human standards. Even though we used to know Christ by human standards, that isn't how we know him now. So then, if anyone is in Christ, that person is part of the new creation. The old things have gone away, and look, new things have arrived!

All of these new things are from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and who gave us the ministry of reconciliation. In other words, God was reconciling the world to himself through Christ, by not counting people’s sins against them. He has trusted us with this message of reconciliation.


So we are ambassadors who represent Christ. God is negotiating with you through us. We beg you as Christ’s representatives, "Be reconciled to God!" God caused the one who didn’t know sin to be sin for our sake so that through him we could become the righteousness of God.

2 Corinthians 5:16-21 Common English Bible

We beg you as Christ’s representatives, "Be reconciled to God!" The One who has the right to be angry, condescend to beg through us, "Be reconciled to God!". We have found the Bread of Life and we are now telling you where to get it.

We are all mere beggars showing other beggars where to find bread.
Martin Luther

Christianity is one beggar telling another beggar where he found bread.
D.T. NILES, New York Times, May 11, 1986

And Jesus said unto them, I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst. (John 6:35 KJV)

Friday, April 4, 2014

I Have Life

Lord, I want to thank you that I have eternal life because I have You. I am nearer and nearer to eternal life, moment by moment. I cannot imagine how those who do not know you carry on their lives, knowing that they are always approaching death.

He who has the Son has the life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have the life. (1 John 5:12 NASB)

And this is eternal life, that they know you the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent. (John 17:3 ESV)

Thursday, April 3, 2014

Difficult To Proof God's Existence

How do we know God exists? There is a very good answer from this website, "How Do We Know There Is a God - Answers in Genesis".

QUOTE
The skeptic’s condemning cry often comes as, "Prove to me there is a God." Usually the agnostic or atheist expects physical or scientific evidence for the existence of God, but when the Bible believer cannot point to a living being and say, "There is God," the skeptic thinks he has won.

What people often do not realize is that even if God appeared on the earth (which He has, in the person of Jesus Christ), we did not exist in eternity past and do not know the future, so we cannot prove by any human standard that He is eternal. Our understanding is limited, so we cannot prove that God knows all. And our limited perspective renders us incapable of proving God’s standard of morality as absolute and true. Not only that, but by our own fallible standards, our "telescopes are short-sighted," and we cannot determine if He is the only God that exists inside (or outside) the universe. So, even if we could observe and scientifically test God by our own standards of operational science, we would be unable to prove all of His divine, eternal attributes because of our own limited mortality.

So any answer to the question, "How do we know there is a God?" that does not start with God’s own statements regarding Himself is self-refuting, inconsistent, and limited by human frailty because a finite, limited man can never ultimately prove the existence of an eternal, all-powerful, all-knowing God. Only an eternal, all-powerful, all-knowing being could prove the existence of the God described in the Bible.
UNQUOTE

It is difficult for the finite to prove the infinite, for the temporal to prove the eternal, for the creature to prove to creator.

Have you not known? Have you not heard? The LORD is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He does not faint or grow weary; his understanding is unsearchable. (Isaiah 40:28 ESV)

Wednesday, April 2, 2014

God Viewed As A Moral Monster

The huffingtonpost.com in an article "The Embarrassment of Noah" by Ronald A. Lindsay described the values in Noah as morally repugnant and God as a moral monster.

QUOTE
Let's not mince words: if the story of the Flood is to be believed, God is a moral monster. To say his response to the alleged wickedness of humans is disproportionate is a gross understatement. Moreover, God engages in conduct that we would expect from the worst dictators, namely collective punishment that sweeps in the innocent along with the guilty. Children, presumably, were among those drowned (unless we assume that wicked adults had no offspring) as were most all of the animals, who bore no responsibility whatsoever for the misdeeds of humans. Intentionally drowning a kitten is conduct we'd expect of some psychopathic juvenile, not a loving deity.
UNQUOTE

Now we can understand why all the nations in the world will gather in Jerusalem to fight against God in the end times, as prophesised in Psalm 2. They are there to fight a monster, a moral monster named Jesus. And the nations are there to fight for democracy, for freedom from the worst of all tyrants, namely, Truth Himself.

Why do the heathen rage, and the people imagine a vain thing?
The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the Lord, and against his anointed, saying,
Let us break their bands asunder, and cast away their cords from us.
He that sitteth in the heavens shall laugh: the Lord shall have them in derision.
Then shall he speak unto them in his wrath, and vex them in his sore displeasure.
Yet have I set my king upon my holy hill of Zion.
I will declare the decree: the Lord hath said unto me, Thou art my Son; this day have I begotten thee.
Ask of me, and I shall give thee the heathen for thine inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for thy possession.
Thou shalt break them with a rod of iron; thou shalt dash them in pieces like a potter's vessel.
Be wise now therefore, O ye kings: be instructed, ye judges of the earth.
Serve the Lord with fear, and rejoice with trembling.
Kiss the Son, lest he be angry, and ye perish from the way, when his wrath is kindled but a little. Blessed are all they that put their trust in him.
Psalm 2:1-12 KJV