Certainty by Gary Rose

The title says “The Roman dodecahedron..”, but that is just the shape of the object. No one knows exactly what it is or what it was used for. Some say it was used in surveying, others for divination of ancient Roman gods and still others think it was a child’s toy. We do not know, we can only guess!

So many things in this world are open for discussion and many times it seems like opinions change back and forth endlessly. But, Christianity should NOT be one of those topics. We have two thousand years of Christian history to verify what we believe and credible people like the physician Luke to verify the truth. I enjoy the Gospel bearing his name and the book of Acts, both of which are written clearly and in an straightforward manner. These books give certaintyto what we believe and provide a basis for confidence in the religion that Jesus founded. Along with the Apostle Paul’s writings they testify to the certainty of the truth of the Gospel.

Here are but two passages which add reason to believe that Christianity is true!!!

Luke 1 (World English Bible)

 ¹ Since many have undertaken to set in order a narrative concerning those matters which have been fulfilled among us,  ² even as those who from the beginning were eyewitnesses and servants of the word delivered them to us,  ³ it seemed good to me also, having traced the course of all things accurately from the first, to write to you in order, most excellent Theophilus;  ⁴ that you might know thecertainty concerning the things in which you were instructed. (emphasis added)

And

  1 Corinthians 15 (World English Bible)

¹ Now I declare to you, brothers, the Good News which I preached to you, which also you received, in which you also stand,  ² by which also you are saved, if you hold firmly the word which I preached to you—unless you believed in vain.  ³ For I delivered to you first of all that which I also received: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures,  ⁴ that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures,  ⁵ and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve.  ⁶ Then he appeared to over five hundred brothers at once, most of whom remain until now, but some have also fallen asleep.  ⁷ Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles, ⁸ and last of all, as to the child born at the wrong time, he appeared to me also. (emphasis added) ⁹ For I am the least of the apostles, who is not worthy to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the assembly of God.  ¹⁰ But by the grace of God I am what I am. His grace which was bestowed on me was not futile, but I worked more than all of them; yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me.  ¹¹ Whether then it is I or they, so we preach, and so you believed. 

In any court of law, the testimony of many witness confirm a fact. How about 500 of them? Doesn’t it seem reasonable that if that many people saw the resurrected Jesus, they should be believed? And many of those who followed Jesus in the first century were martyred for their faith; doesn’t that provide undeniable proof?

The Truth is: Christianity is true because Jesus really lived, died and rose again. His sacrifice for our sins is the most powerful witness of the love of God that could ever be!!!

Believe these things, for they are true!

Bible Reading October 24, 25 by Gary Rose

Bible Reading October 24, 25 

World English Bible

Oct. 24

Song of Solomon 1-4

Son 1:1 The Song of songs, which is Solomon's. Beloved

Son 1:2 Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth; for your love is better than wine.

Son 1:3 Your oils have a pleasing fragrance. Your name is oil poured forth, therefore the virgins love you.

Son 1:4 Take me away with you. Let us hurry. The king has brought me into his chambers. Friends We will be glad and rejoice in you. We will praise your love more than wine! Beloved They are right to love you.

Son 1:5 I am dark, but lovely, you daughters of Jerusalem, like Kedar's tents, like Solomon's curtains.

Son 1:6 Don't stare at me because I am dark, because the sun has scorched me. My mother's sons were angry with me. They made me keeper of the vineyards. I haven't kept my own vineyard.

Son 1:7 Tell me, you whom my soul loves, where you graze your flock, where you rest them at noon; For why should I be as one who is veiled beside the flocks of your companions? Lover

Son 1:8 If you don't know, most beautiful among women, follow the tracks of the sheep. Graze your young goats beside the shepherds' tents.

Son 1:9 I have compared you, my love, to a steed in Pharaoh's chariots.

Son 1:10 Your cheeks are beautiful with earrings, your neck with strings of jewels.

Son 1:11 We will make you earrings of gold, with studs of silver. Beloved

Son 1:12 While the king sat at his table, my perfume spread its fragrance.

Son 1:13 My beloved is to me a sachet of myrrh, that lies between my breasts.

Son 1:14 My beloved is to me a cluster of henna blossoms from the vineyards of En Gedi. Lover

Son 1:15 Behold, you are beautiful, my love. Behold, you are beautiful. Your eyes are doves. Beloved

Son 1:16 Behold, you are beautiful, my beloved, yes, pleasant; and our couch is verdant. Lover

Son 1:17 The beams of our house are cedars. Our rafters are firs. Beloved

Son 2:1 I am a rose of Sharon, a lily of the valleys. Lover

Son 2:2 As a lily among thorns, so is my love among the daughters. Beloved

Son 2:3 As the apple tree among the trees of the wood, so is my beloved among the sons. I sat down under his shadow with great delight, his fruit was sweet to my taste.

Son 2:4 He brought me to the banquet hall. His banner over me is love.

Son 2:5 Strengthen me with raisins, refresh me with apples; For I am faint with love.

Son 2:6 His left hand is under my head. His right hand embraces me.

Son 2:7 I adjure you, daughters of Jerusalem, by the roes, or by the hinds of the field, that you not stir up, nor awaken love, until it so desires.

Son 2:8 The voice of my beloved! Behold, he comes, leaping on the mountains, skipping on the hills.

Son 2:9 My beloved is like a roe or a young hart. Behold, he stands behind our wall! He looks in at the windows. He glances through the lattice.

Son 2:10 My beloved spoke, and said to me, "Rise up, my love, my beautiful one, and come away.

Son 2:11 For, behold, the winter is past. The rain is over and gone.

Son 2:12 The flowers appear on the earth. The time of the singing has come, and the voice of the turtledove is heard in our land.

Son 2:13 The fig tree ripens her green figs. The vines are in blossom. They give forth their fragrance. Arise, my love, my beautiful one, and come away." Lover

Son 2:14 My dove in the clefts of the rock, In the hiding places of the mountainside, Let me see your face. Let me hear your voice; for your voice is sweet, and your face is lovely.

Son 2:15 Catch for us the foxes, the little foxes that spoil the vineyards; for our vineyards are in blossom. Beloved

Son 2:16 My beloved is mine, and I am his. He browses among the lilies.

Son 2:17 Until the day is cool, and the shadows flee away, turn, my beloved, and be like a roe or a young hart on the mountains of Bether.

Son 3:1 By night on my bed, I sought him whom my soul loves. I sought him, but I didn't find him.

Son 3:2 I will get up now, and go about the city; in the streets and in the squares I will seek him whom my soul loves. I sought him, but I didn't find him.

Son 3:3 The watchmen who go about the city found me; "Have you seen him whom my soul loves?"

Son 3:4 I had scarcely passed from them, when I found him whom my soul loves. I held him, and would not let him go, until I had brought him into my mother's house, into the chamber of her who conceived me.

Son 3:5 I adjure you, daughters of Jerusalem, by the roes, or by the hinds of the field, that you not stir up, nor awaken love, until it so desires.

Son 3:6 Who is this who comes up from the wilderness like pillars of smoke, perfumed with myrrh and frankincense, with all spices of the merchant?

Son 3:7 Behold, it is Solomon's carriage! Sixty mighty men are around it, of the mighty men of Israel.

Son 3:8 They all handle the sword, and are expert in war. Every man has his sword on his thigh, because of fear in the night.

Son 3:9 King Solomon made himself a carriage of the wood of Lebanon.

Son 3:10 He made its pillars of silver, its bottom of gold, its seat of purple, its midst being paved with love, from the daughters of Jerusalem.

Son 3:11 Go forth, you daughters of Zion, and see king Solomon, with the crown with which his mother has crowned him, in the day of his weddings, in the day of the gladness of his heart. Lover

Son 4:1 Behold, you are beautiful, my love. Behold, you are beautiful. Your eyes are doves behind your veil. Your hair is as a flock of goats, that descend from Mount Gilead.

Son 4:2 Your teeth are like a newly shorn flock, which have come up from the washing, where every one of them has twins. None is bereaved among them.

Son 4:3 Your lips are like scarlet thread. Your mouth is lovely. Your temples are like a piece of a pomegranate behind your veil.

Son 4:4 Your neck is like David's tower built for an armory, whereon a thousand shields hang, all the shields of the mighty men.

Son 4:5 Your two breasts are like two fawns that are twins of a roe, which feed among the lilies.

Son 4:6 Until the day is cool, and the shadows flee away, I will go to the mountain of myrrh, to the hill of frankincense.

Son 4:7 You are all beautiful, my love. There is no spot in you.

Son 4:8 Come with me from Lebanon, my bride, with me from Lebanon. Look from the top of Amana, from the top of Senir and Hermon, from the lions' dens, from the mountains of the leopards.

Son 4:9 You have ravished my heart, my sister, my bride. You have ravished my heart with one of your eyes, with one chain of your neck.

Son 4:10 How beautiful is your love, my sister, my bride! How much better is your love than wine! The fragrance of your perfumes than all manner of spices!

Son 4:11 Your lips, my bride, drip like the honeycomb. Honey and milk are under your tongue. The smell of your garments is like the smell of Lebanon.

Son 4:12 A locked up garden is my sister, my bride; a locked up spring, a sealed fountain.

Son 4:13 Your shoots are an orchard of pomegranates, with precious fruits: henna with spikenard plants,

Son 4:14 spikenard and saffron, calamus and cinnamon, with every kind of incense tree; myrrh and aloes, with all the best spices,

Son 4:15 a fountain of gardens, a well of living waters, flowing streams from Lebanon. Beloved

Son 4:16 Awake, north wind; and come, you south! Blow on my garden, that its spices may flow out. Let my beloved come into his garden, and taste his precious fruits. Lover

Oct. 25

Song of Solomon 5, 6

Son 5:1 I have come into my garden, my sister, my bride. I have gathered my myrrh with my spice; I have eaten my honeycomb with my honey; I have drunk my wine with my milk. Friends Eat, friends! Drink, yes, drink abundantly, beloved. Beloved

Son 5:2 I was asleep, but my heart was awake. It is the voice of my beloved who knocks: "Open to me, my sister, my love, my dove, my undefiled; for my head is filled with dew, and my hair with the dampness of the night."

Son 5:3 I have taken off my robe. Indeed, must I put it on? I have washed my feet. Indeed, must I soil them?

Son 5:4 My beloved thrust his hand in through the latch opening. My heart pounded for him.

Son 5:5 I rose up to open for my beloved. My hands dripped with myrrh, my fingers with liquid myrrh, on the handles of the lock.

Son 5:6 I opened to my beloved; but my beloved left; and had gone away. My heart went out when he spoke. I looked for him, but I didn't find him. I called him, but he didn't answer.

Son 5:7 The watchmen who go about the city found me. They beat me. They bruised me. The keepers of the walls took my cloak away from me.

Son 5:8 I adjure you, daughters of Jerusalem, If you find my beloved, that you tell him that I am faint with love. Friends

Son 5:9 How is your beloved better than another beloved, you fairest among women? How is your beloved better than another beloved, that you do so adjure us? Beloved

Son 5:10 My beloved is white and ruddy. The best among ten thousand.

Son 5:11 His head is like the purest gold. His hair is bushy, black as a raven.

Son 5:12 His eyes are like doves beside the water brooks, washed with milk, mounted like jewels.

Son 5:13 His cheeks are like a bed of spices with towers of perfumes. His lips are like lilies, dropping liquid myrrh.

Son 5:14 His hands are like rings of gold set with beryl. His body is like ivory work overlaid with sapphires.

Son 5:15 His legs are like pillars of marble set on sockets of fine gold. His appearance is like Lebanon, excellent as the cedars.

Son 5:16 His mouth is sweetness; yes, he is altogether lovely. This is my beloved, and this is my friend, daughters of Jerusalem. Friends

Son 6:1 Where has your beloved gone, you fairest among women? Where has your beloved turned, that we may seek him with you? Beloved

Son 6:2 My beloved has gone down to his garden, to the beds of spices, to feed in the gardens, and to gather lilies.

Son 6:3 I am my beloved's, and my beloved is mine. He browses among the lilies,

Son 6:4 You are beautiful, my love, as Tirzah, lovely as Jerusalem, awesome as an army with banners.

Son 6:5 Turn away your eyes from me, for they have overcome me. Your hair is like a flock of goats, that lie along the side of Gilead.

Son 6:6 Your teeth are like a flock of ewes, which have come up from the washing; of which every one has twins; none is bereaved among them.

Son 6:7 Your temples are like a piece of a pomegranate behind your veil.

Son 6:8 There are sixty queens, eighty concubines, and virgins without number.

Son 6:9 My dove, my perfect one, is unique. She is her mother's only daughter. She is the favorite one of her who bore her. The daughters saw her, and called her blessed; the queens and the concubines, and they praised her.

Son 6:10 Who is she who looks forth as the morning, beautiful as the moon, clear as the sun, and awesome as an army with banners?

Son 6:11 I went down into the nut tree grove, to see the green plants of the valley, to see whether the vine budded, and the pomegranates were in flower.

Son 6:12 Without realizing it, my desire set me with my royal people's chariots. Friends

Son 6:13 Return, return, Shulammite! Return, return, that we may gaze at you. Lover Why do you desire to gaze at the Shulammite, as at the dance of Mahanaim?

Oct. 24

1 Thessalonians 1

1Th 1:1 Paul, Silvanus, and Timothy, to the assembly of the Thessalonians in God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

1Th 1:2 We always give thanks to God for all of you, mentioning you in our prayers,

1Th 1:3 remembering without ceasing your work of faith and labor of love and patience of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ, before our God and Father.

1Th 1:4 We know, brothers loved by God, that you are chosen,

1Th 1:5 and that our Good News came to you not in word only, but also in power, and in the Holy Spirit, and with much assurance. You know what kind of men we showed ourselves to be among you for your sake.

1Th 1:6 You became imitators of us, and of the Lord, having received the word in much affliction, with joy of the Holy Spirit,

1Th 1:7 so that you became an example to all who believe in Macedonia and in Achaia.

1Th 1:8 For from you the word of the Lord has been declared, not only in Macedonia and Achaia, but also in every place your faith toward God has gone out; so that we need not to say anything.

1Th 1:9 For they themselves report concerning us what kind of a reception we had from you; and how you turned to God from idols, to serve a living and true God,

1Th 1:10 and to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead--Jesus, who delivers us from the wrath to come.

Oct. 25

1 Thessalonians 2

1Th 2:1 For you yourselves know, brothers, our visit to you wasn't in vain,

1Th 2:2 but having suffered before and been shamefully treated, as you know, at Philippi, we grew bold in our God to tell you the Good News of God in much conflict.

1Th 2:3 For our exhortation is not of error, nor of uncleanness, nor in deception.

1Th 2:4 But even as we have been approved by God to be entrusted with the Good News, so we speak; not as pleasing men, but God, who tests our hearts.

1Th 2:5 For neither were we at any time found using words of flattery, as you know, nor a cloak of covetousness (God is witness),

1Th 2:6 nor seeking glory from men (neither from you nor from others), when we might have claimed authority as apostles of Christ.

1Th 2:7 But we were gentle among you, like a nursing mother cherishes her own children.

1Th 2:8 Even so, affectionately longing for you, we were well pleased to impart to you, not the Good News of God only, but also our own souls, because you had become very dear to us.

1Th 2:9 For you remember, brothers, our labor and travail; for working night and day, that we might not burden any of you, we preached to you the Good News of God.

1Th 2:10 You are witnesses with God, how holy, righteously, and blamelessly we behaved ourselves toward you who believe.

1Th 2:11 As you know, we exhorted, comforted, and implored every one of you, as a father does his own children,

1Th 2:12 to the end that you should walk worthily of God, who calls you into his own Kingdom and glory.

1Th 2:13 For this cause we also thank God without ceasing, that, when you received from us the word of the message of God, you accepted it not as the word of men, but, as it is in truth, the word of God, which also works in you who believe.

1Th 2:14 For you, brothers, became imitators of the assemblies of God which are in Judea in Christ Jesus; for you also suffered the same things from your own countrymen, even as they did from the Jews;

1Th 2:15 who killed both the Lord Jesus and their own prophets, and drove us out, and didn't please God, and are contrary to all men;

1Th 2:16 forbidding us to speak to the Gentiles that they may be saved; to fill up their sins always. But wrath has come on them to the uttermost.

1Th 2:17 But we, brothers, being bereaved of you for a short season, in presence, not in heart, tried even harder to see your face with great desire,

1Th 2:18 because we wanted to come to you--indeed, I, Paul, once and again--but Satan hindered us.

1Th 2:19 For what is our hope, or joy, or crown of rejoicing? Isn't it even you, before our Lord Jesus at his coming?

1Th 2:20 For you are our glory and our joy.

Will Good Works Save Me? by Richard Mansel

http://www.oldpaths.com/Archive/Mansel/Richard/Dale/1964/works.html

Will Good Works Save Me?

I was speaking to a non-Christian who had not attended in a long time and he said, "I'm hoping good works will save me." This person certainly is not alone in their wish. Millions harbor the same desire to be saved without any commitment or change in lifestyle. Spending any time with Scripture will show this is certainly wishful thinking. God called us to live for Him through dying to self (Romans 6:1-11).
We ask, "What are good works?" They are considered to be kind deeds done to others. What would this include? How far should this go? If I go to the grocery store and a lady in front of me drops her grocery list and I pick it up for her, have I earned heaven? What if I help a child across the parking lot? Will that earn me heaven? What if I offer to carry someone's case of beer and cigarettes to the car? Will that earn me heaven? What if I go to a crack den and offer to hold the spoons and mix the drugs? Will that earn me heaven? What if I offer to feed the fish while an assassin goes across the country to execute someone? Will that earn me heaven since it is a good deed? What if I offer to sweep up for free at a brothel? Will that good deed earn me heaven? What if I volunteer to keep the supplies ready for satanists to worship Satan? Will that good deed earn me heaven?
My point is that "good deeds" are terribly subjective. Everyone will have their own definitions. There won't be any standard. What if I hold the coats while a Christian is executed in China? Will that good deed earn me heaven? Paul certainly did not think so.
In Acts 7:58, Saul (whose name would later be changed to Paul) held the coats of those who executed Stephen for preaching the gospel. In the next chapter he hunted down Christians and had them executed. Of the entire ordeal he later said he was the chief sinner of all men (1 Timothy 1:15). Paul by no means felt good deeds where going to save him. They won't save us either. If so, there was no point in Jesus coming to this earth to die for our sins.
God could have had a prophet tell us that good deeds will save us and saved millions of martyrs for the Cross. There would have been no use to spend the blood and pain of men getting the Bible into our hands. There would have been no reason to start the church because anyone could do good works without the church.
Jesus said we must do good works toward other men if we will be saved (Matthew 25). But, they are to be extensions of our faith and not in place of it (Ephesians 2:10). In fact, the previous two verses say, "For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast" (Ephesians 2:8-9).
If we will be saved by good works then we will be lost by bad works. So, do we get merits for good works and demerits for bad works? Does that mean if you help ten old ladies across the street then you can push two down the steps? Won't it just be a mathematical equation? And who decides what are bad works? And what if some decide they are good while others decide they are bad? How do we solve that dilemma? Why didn't God just give us an exhaustive list?
It all becomes very messy. It won't matter though as it is not true anyway. Praise the Lord.
Richard Mansel


Published in The Old Paths Archive
(http://www.oldpaths.com)

Danny & the preacher (2) by Jim McGuiggan

https://web.archive.org/web/20160426084527/http://jimmcguiggan.com/nonbelievers2.asp?id=47

Danny & the preacher (2)

Sean died a few months after the surgery. The cancer raged through him with lightning speed. The poor, worn out child made his departure from the world and the parents were beyond consolation. It must have been three weeks later that the preacher got a call from Sean’s daddy who just couldn’t bear to think that the last word had been said when they laid Sean in the ground. But he couldn’t pretend to believe what he felt he had no grounds for. The opening line was simple.

I’m Sean’s dad, Do you remember me?

"I do," the man said. "Have been wondering how you were getting on."

"I told you at the hospital that I thought Sean’s life was pointless." There was a catch in his voice. "But I didn’t feel that. I only meant...I was only saying since there’s no God then this whole existence was unplanned. Sean meant everything to us and whether anyone planned him to be here or not he made our lives richer, and our hearts are broken. I needed you to know that."

"I knew it," said the man. "Nobody with a grain of sense would have thought you were dismissing Sean. In any case, those were awful days and maybe not the best time for a discussion of world-views. I say ‘maybe’ because I’m not sure. In any case, here you are and I want to tell you I’m genuinely saddened by your loss."

The grieving father said, "You said things I didn’t understand, things I wasn’t in the mood to wrestle with. But I knew you were saying that our son’s life and death had some profound meaning. It didn’t matter to me at the time for all I could think of was that he was going to die. I think I’m grasping at straws simply because I want to believe that there’s more to his life than a few happy years and a hard death. I’d like you to tell me what you meant, unless you were only saying stuff in an attempt to make us feel a bit better."

They arranged to meet, met, sat a while, walked a while and then sat some more. And all the while they talked.

"I wanted to talk now," said Danny, "because I think I’m more open now to being persuaded. I want to believe. As the months go by and the pain eases and I become adjusted to his being gone I’ll not feel the need as I feel it now. I know I’m vulnerable but I think I’ll recognise religious nonsense when I hear it."

"All that makes sense," the man said. "And I think you’re right in talking further about this while you feel this way. I hear a lot of talk about ‘rational argument’ and the fact that we shouldn’t discuss things while we’re emotional. Cool logic and rationality’s critically important but there are areas of life that don’t fit neatly into the realm of logic and rationality. Computers are marvellous things but they have their limitations; people are more than breathing computers. To battle injustice in society with nothing but rationality isn’t possible and there are things that human icicles can’t see. There are truths we can’t grasp until we experience love or driving passion. Not everything’s settled by the law of the excluded middle."

"You said something about Sean and kids like him suffering for the world. If you meant that a child’s suffering might move some people to be more compassionate, I can see that. But it’s one of those empty pious remarks. It can equally make people bitter. Is that what you meant?"

"No, that’s not what I meant; and you’re right, a child’s suffering can work either way. We see that nearly every day, don’t we? Look, I told you that what I believe has nothing to support it if we can’t give Jesus Christ and the Hebrew-Christian scriptures our trust."

"Do you mean I have to believe everything I read in the Bible before I can see Sean in a right way? If that’s it, we’re wasting our time here."

"I don’t believe that, but the Bible does have a grand drift that comes to a head in Jesus Christ. I’m one of those that believe God is the ultimate author of the Bible. I’m not interested here in theories of inspiration or exactly how he got that done, but I believe that in the final analysis we have the Bible we have because God wanted it that way. It’s like an historical drama that’s moving toward a finale of cosmic renewal, where all wrongs are righted and there’s a happy ending. Yes, I know, I know—. But it isn’t always wrong to want something to be true. The atheist H.J Blackham said the most powerful argument against atheism is that it’s too bad to be true."

"So what is it you say we have to do, believe it before we can believe it?"

"I’m saying that to the degree that you’re able, give the Story a fair hearing. Do what you would do in so many other areas when someone is proposing something you don’t go along with—give it a good hearing. Nothing’s gained if the proposal is attacked at every point before it is heard in its entirety."

"What if it’s stupid at every point? Should we pretend to be listening?"

"No, I think life’s too short to throw that much time away; but I’d hope that you wouldn’t think that the Christian faith is that far out of whack. I know you know people that are devoted Christians, people intellectually capable, maybe even brilliant, and practical too, so there must be something credible in it.

"Well, can we cut to the chase? I’ll just have to do my best and if I feel I’ve heard enough we’ll leave it at that. That okay with you?"

"Sure. But I need you to understand that ‘cutting to the chase’ doesn’t mean there’s a ten-minute presentation coming up. And you need to understand that to give it a fair hearing means you have to judge the Story within its own parameters. The blacksmith that proved iron ships couldn’t float by throwing a horseshoe into a barrel of water helped nobody."

"The biblical Story says that God created us out of love and joy. That he created us in his own image—that is, he created us to live in creative, joyful and holy reflection of himself. So we didn’t arrive here by chance and our lives weren’t meant to be misery, a ceaseless brawl with disease and death."

Sean’s dad stirred but said nothing.

"But the human family—our parents at that point—rebelled and ‘sin’ entered. From there it spread throughout the human family, polluting everyone it touched. Sin enters people and it’s there it must be dealt with. God moved to deal with sin and brought ‘curse’ on his creation; a curse that affected both the earth and the life on it. Death was part of that curse."

"Spiteful, isn’t he!"

"I can see how you could view it that way, but that’s not the only option. The biblical claim is that the move was to redeem humanity from sin and mend the relationship—life was the end aim."

"The final goal is life, so he brings death? Even to innocent children? If you’re saying that God put the guilty to death I’d even have reservations about that, but when you talk about his punishing kids...I think that’s obscene."

"God doesn’t punish the innocent! But yes, the Bible says that he subjects even children and good people to pain and loss. We choke on that too. But, again, motive matters supremely, doesn’t it? You watched surgeons do things to Sean that were appalling. No, you didn’t watch it; you asked for it and even paid to have it done. You couldn’t have done that unless you loved the boy supremely. This was no easy decision for you and Denise and it was nothing but your love and compassion for the child that drove you to say yes. The aim was life! If you can even begin to credit a God with love for the human family—the kind of love you and Denise felt and feel for Sean—you are on your way to the possibility of seeing Sean’s life and suffering in a different light.

"Well, I can see some point to that. But we did that only because Sean was desperately ill. We wouldn’t have done it to him if he’d been well. If you’re saying that God brought this on him that means God thought he was ill—I suppose you’d say with sin."

"I’m making no suggestion that your child was a sinner or God was punishing him. No, the point I want to make about paramedics and surgeons is that their motive is not spite, and it’s not to inflict pain. It’s to save life! Motive makes a difference to actions. And the more desperate the situation the more radical our loving response will be.

To bring life to your child you subjected him to terrible trauma. If you’re able, give God the credit for wanting to bring life to a whole human family by dealing with the thing that devours it—sin. I’m saying that your motive relative to Sean is God’s motive relative to his entire human family."

"But how does Sean fit into this? I can make sense of my putting him to this because he was desperately ill, but are you saying God thought he was desperately ill and gave him bone cancer?"

"No, Sean was a member of a family that’s desperately ill and he suffered from the curse that God brought on the family to bring it back to life."

"But why should an innocent child be punished for the crimes of the family? That stinks!"

"Listen, and listen to this carefully, God doesn’t punish the innocent! Punishment is only for the guilty. Sean’s suffering was not punishment for wrong that he did! He’s a sweet child that suffered on behalf of a guilty human family. The biblical Story says that Jesus became a boy like your boy and that he suffered on behalf of the human family. Jesus and Sean have some things in common. God wouldn’t exempt his unique Son who was part of the human family—a family under God’s redeeming judgement—and he wouldn’t exempt Sean. I’m not suggesting that Sean and Jesus are altogether alike—Christ alone is the world’s Redeemer! The way in which God has moved to redeem the world comes to its highest point in Jesus Christ—a place no other can share. But the principle of vicarious suffering is at the heart of that process and it didn’t begin with Jesus on the cross and it didn’t end there."

"But why should Sean suffer for anyone? Why him? How does his pain affect anything? Why should God pick on him? His suffering is so senseless!"

"It would be if atheism is true! It would all come down to ‘bad luck’. All life and death would turn out to be sheer chance. At some point you came to believe that, and it brings you no comfort. There’s a choice to make. Believe that death is another pointless inevitability in a pointless universe or believe that it’s the work of God that’s a part of the process that brings eternal life to humanity. God’s Son suffered and died as your son did. Christ rose from the dead and lives immortal now. His claim is that death is not the final word about Sean."

"So, I’m to find comfort in the fact that Sean will live again?"

"Yes! That’s part of it. It’s the claim of the living Christ over against the theory that the only future is the vast death of the universe, eternal darkness and unimaginable cold. All heat and light exhausted, all life extinguished and no possibility of it ever returning."

"If that’s the truth, it’s the truth and there’s nothing we can do about it."

"Of course! I’m just pointing out that facing that kind of future should make anyone want something better. I’m saying that Christ says we don’t have to believe that about Sean or anyone else. He isn’t gone forever and the life he lived here was not without significance. The Christ’s life, suffering and death give meaning to Sean’s. In the light of Jesus Christ we can’t look at suffering and death and simply damn it as pointless. In the light of Jesus Christ we can’t look at Sean’s suffering and death and reduce it to nothing more than something to weep about. The glory of God was seen here! Mary mourned at the cross of her Son as you and Denise mourn at the death of yours—that makes perfect sense. But there’s more there than something to mourn! I don’t want to suppress your grief. I say that innocent children suffer because humanity is morally insane and God is using them to bring it back to sanity and life.

"Using them sounds like they expendable—paper plates and plastic forks."

"No! No! God loves Sean even more than you do. Your son will live again. The whole story about your son will be told, along with the stories of millions of other innocents that have borne the burden of humanity’s guilt. Atheism might offer the view that we’re organisms that just happened to grow like fungus on the face of a tiny planet in the middle of nowhere. Christ knows Sean personally and they have shared some things in common."

They agreed to meet again.

Prepare To Meet The Lord Our God by Alfred Shannon Jr.

Prepare To Meet The Lord Our God

Whatever gets one into hell, keeps one in hell, and whoever goes to hell, stays in hell. It is hard to imagine anyone who is willing and waiting, to be weeping and wailing for an eternity in the lake of fire. It’s hard to imagine anyone willing to take this risk, yet everyone who knows not God, and has not obeyed the gospel of Christ has this waiting for them. God is already prepared to meet us, but the question is, are we prepared to meet him? Prepare to meet the Lord our God.

2 Thess 1:7-9; Rev 20:15; Amos 4:12; Mk 13:37; 1 Thess 5:1-10; Rev 3:3; 1 Cor 15:1-4; Rom 10:17; Rom 10:10; Acts 2:38; Rev 2:10

Peace, Be Still Mark 4:35-41 by Ben Fronczek

http://granvillenychurchofchrist.org/?p=1140

Peace

Peace, Be Still Mark 4:35-41 “ That day when evening came, he said to his disciples, “Let us go over to the other side.” 36 Leaving the crowd behind, they took him along, just as he was, in the boat. There were also other boats with him. 37 A furious squall came up, and the waves broke over the boat, so that it was nearly swamped. 38 Jesus was in the stern, sleeping on a cushion. The disciples woke him and said to him, “Teacher, don’t you care if we drown?”

39 He got up, rebuked the wind and said to the waves, “Quiet! Be still!” Then the wind died down and it was completely calm.

40 He said to his disciples, “Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?”

41 They were terrified and asked each other, “Who is this? Even the wind and the waves obey him!”

(Based on a sermon by Jeff Strite)

A mother and her young daughter were at home alone. The father was gone on a trip for his company and night was coming on. Outside, it became increasingly dark and very windy. The moon was out, but the wind howled menacingly in trees and the branches of some of those trees brushed ominously against the house. As old houses will in a fierce windstorm, the wood creaked and moaned as the house was nudged by the wind.
It was kind of scary, and the mother and daughter were both uneasy.
As the mother was putting her daughter to bed, the young girl looked out the window at the bright moon and asked her mother “Is the moon God’s night-light?”
The mother smiled and replied “Well, yes, you could say that”.
Her daughter thought about that for moment – then asked: “Does God turn out his light when he goes to sleep?”
“Oh, no honey, God never sleeps.”
“Oh,” said the child quietly. “Well then, if God’s going to stay up all night, there’s no sense both of us staying awake.” And with that, the little girl turned over in bed, pulled her blanket up to her neck and fell asleep.

Now, why was that little girl able to go to sleep? The night was still dark. The wind was still blowing. The house was still creaking.  And she and her mother were still all alone in that house. Everything was still the same…

Only one things had changed. Only one thing was different?
The little girl knowing that God was there made all the difference.
Once she brought God into her bedroom, her fear faded and her faith grew. When she thought about WHO God was, and WHERE He was, and what He was capable of, she reasoned: If God was going to be up all night anyway… she knew she’d be safe, and so she could sleep peacefully.

In our text this morning, we find this simple verse: “Jesus was in the stern, sleeping on a cushion. The disciples woke him and said to him, ‘Teacher, don’t you care if we drown?”Mark 4:38  Jesus was sleeping???

To understand how bizarre this must have seemed to the disciples, you need to visualize what was going on. Their boat is half way across the lake and a fierce storm begins to beat against their boat. The waves are so high they begin to spray them and even wash over the sides of the boat. So their little ship began to take on water.

In other words – they’re beginning to sink. Maybe they were bailing water out as fast as they could, but more was coming in than going out, and it’s obvious that if the storm didn’t die down… they’d be the ones who would die.

Some of these disciples are seasoned fishermen. They know about boats and what they can handle and they probably known of boats that have gone down in this kind of weather. They knew of sailors who never came home. And so they are frightened, and they’ve got good reason to be frightened.

And here is Jesus… asleep.    How can He do that???
Well, two reasons:  Jesus knows WHO He is, and He knows WHERE He is going. And even more obvious, He was tired

So, Who was Jesus?   He was the Son of God.  And where was He going?  He was going to the Cross. Jesus was not going to die until He’d fulfilled His destiny, and He knew that.

I believe because of those two facts – Jesus knew that the ship wasn’t going down as long as He was on board, and so He had no problem sleeping.

But the disciples were frightened and frustrated because they weren’t thinking that way. They weren’t thinking of Him as the Son of God. They weren’t thinking about Him going to a cross to die for our sin.  As far as they were concerned…They knew they were in a dangerous storm and there was a chance that the boat was going to swamp and they were going to drown.

The disciples wake him up and cry, “Teacher, Don’t You Care…?”Mark 4:38   Don’t you care???

And at that Jesus got up and He rebuked the wind and said to the sea, “Be quiet! Be still!” And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm.
He said to them, “Why are you so afraid? Have you still no faith?”

Can you just imagine the look on those disciple faces? They had to be blown away. The text says that they were filled with great fear and said to one another, “Who then is this, that even wind and sea obey him?”

Now what happened there?  Well, let’s start from the beginning.
Mark 4:35 says “On that day, when evening had come, he said to them, “Let us go across to the other side.”

So whose idea was it to go to the other side of lake? It was Jesus’ idea.  Jesus was the one who said they should cross to the other side of the lake that night.

So, if it was Jesus’ idea, do you think Jesus knew this storm was coming?    Of course He did. He’s God. He knows this stuff.

So why would Jesus send His disciples into the teeth of scary storm… and then go to sleep?   Answer: To see what they’d do, and to teach them something.

This was a test. A multiple choice quiz. And in this test, the disciples had at least 3 choices:
1) They could try to take thing into their own hands bail until they sank.
2) They could remember who Jesus was and the things He had done up to that point in time and ask Him for help.   3) OR they could do what they did.

And what did they do? They went to Jesus and they complained.
They didn’t go to Jesus for help. They didn’t look for Him to fix their problem.
They were frightened and anxious and they wanted Him to wake up… so that He could be worried along with them.

You could say – they flunked the test.  Jesus calms the wind and the sea then turns to them and asks: “Why are you so afraid? Have you still no faith?”

A lesson was learned in that storm that day. That’s the way Jesus taught.  In elementary school, high school, or college teacher gives the lesson first, and then the test.  Jesus gave the test FIRST… then the lesson.

I believe the storm was the classroom.  And what lesson was Jesus teaching?
1st – If they were going to follow Him, they were going to need more faith in Him than  they had.
And 2nd – when He was finished with them –when they graduated from His school – they would be able to face even worst storms with a peace the world would not understand.

Later in His ministry before He leaves them, Jesus told them: “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.” John 14:27

Paul wrote to the Christians at Philippi and taught them, and us, that if we do what Jesus wanted, he wrote we would have “…the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, (and that peace would) guard our hearts and our minds in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 4:7  (even during the storms)

ON the lake that night, Jesus was giving them an object lesson showing them the kind of peace they could have. When the storm was at its worst, Jesus was in control and simply stood up and He spoke to the winds and the waves.
“BE QUIET, BE STILL”    And there was peace.

Essentially, Jesus was teaching His disciples that when they reached the level of faith that He wanted them to have – they would trust Him even in the most difficult of times. They would have this kind of peace that could endure even in the worst of storms, whether they be threats, trials, persecution, imprisonment, or even death itself. Later we do find them sleeping peacefully after being arrested, or even singing in jail. Like the little girl that windy night, they knew that God was close at hand and was watching over them.

What about you? Have you learn to trust God that much? Do you realize that when you are in the midst of a storm that Jesus is in control. He is in the room with you and will be up all night he will lead you through that storm so you can sleep peacefully. We can try to bail ourselves out on our own (like the disciples in the boat), or we can complain to everyone including God, or we can simply turn to Him and ask for His help and then trust Him. When we turn it over to Him to handle our problems in His own time. That relieves the burden and the stress.

Just like with those disciples on the boat, sometimes Jesus teaches us this same lesson by leading us through a storm.

ILLUS: Someone once said: “Jesus does not lead His children AROUND hardship, but leads them straight THROUGH hardship. But He leads! And amidst the hardship, He is nearer to us than ever before.” Otto Dibelius

Now, that (of course) is the point. Our circumstances may not change, the storm may still rage, but when we see ourselves being led by Jesus, our attitudes change.  When we come to the realization that Jesus is in control  that will change our heart and attitude from fear and anxiety to that of peace when in that storm.

Just imagine how different their attitudes and response would have been if they only realized Who Jesus really was and What He was capable of.     Mark 4:41 tells us that when Jesus calmed the seas:“They were terrified and asked each other, “WHO is this? Even the wind and the waves obey him!”Did you get that? It’s like they didn’t have a clue as to WHO He was!!

But weren’t they there when He healed the sick, caused the lame to walk, the blind to see, the deaf to hear? So what were they thinking while on that boat? I guess that’s the point; they weren’t thinking.

If they’d only remembered Who Jesus was, and what He could do, just think how different this story would have been. Instead of becoming like little children who were terrified by the storm, I can see them going over to Jesus – shaking Him awake just like they did in this story. But this time it’s not in fear, but in anticipation. “Wake up Jesus. Wake up. There’s a storm swamping our boat… and we just want to know – what kind of miracle will you perform this time?”

But they didn’t do that!  They didn’t have that kind of faith.
Did Jesus expect these disciples to pass this test. Probably not! Rather He probably expected them to fail! Not only because of the lesson that they were to learn that day… but because of the lesson we could learn through them.

The Bible records this story about the disciples’ fears and failures in this storm so we can learn the fact that God knows we struggle in our storms, and He is more than capable of helping us as well thru those storms.

The Bible is very clear about the fact that we’re gonna have storms in our lives. Jesus Himself told His disciples: “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble”Jn 16:33
No matter who you are or how good a live you live…There will be storms.
There are going to be times of trouble/heartache/loss and disappointment.

But in the midst of those storms, Jesus says, we can have peace.
Why? Because He will be there with us to help us thru those hard times.  In scripture He said “I will never leave you nor forsake you.” Hebrew 13:5

When we realize Who is in the boat with us, and What He’s capable of doing, then the storms will not overwhelm you. And you will experience His PEACE.