Get a life by Gary Rose

"if I get a life"? If you can see the sign, you have a life, so what's this person referring to? So, I turned to my electronic dictionary for some definitions...

My Wordnet 3.0 defines life as...
The noun life has 14 senses (first 13 from tagged texts)                  
1. (66) life -- (a characteristic state or mode of living; "social life"; "city life"; "real life")  (emphasis added)
2. (54) life, living -- (the experience of being alive; the course of human events and activities; "he could no longer cope with the complexities of life")  (emphasis added)
3. (41) life -- (the course of existence of an individual; the actions and events that occur in living; "he hoped for a new life in Australia"; "he wanted to live his own life without interference from others")  (emphasis added)
4. (29) animation, life, living, aliveness -- (the condition of living or the state of being alive; "while there's life there's hope"; "life depends on many chemical and physical processes")
5. (22) life, lifetime, life-time, lifespan -- (the period during which something is functional (as between birth and death); "the battery had a short life"; "he lived a long and happy life")
6. (18) life -- (the period between birth and the present time; "I have known him all his life")
7. (5) life -- (the period from the present until death; "he appointed himself emperor for life")
8. (5) life -- (a living person; "his heroism saved a life")
9. (5) liveliness, life, spirit, sprightliness -- (animation and energy in action or expression; "it was a heavy play and the actors tried in vain to give life to it")
10. (5) life -- (living things collectively; "the oceans are teeming with life")
11. (3) life -- (the organic phenomenon that distinguishes living organisms from nonliving ones; "there is no life on the moon")
12. (2) biography, life, life story, life history -- (an account of the series of events making up a person's life)  (emphasis added)
13. (1) life -- (a motive for living; "pottery was his life") (emphasis added)
14. life sentence, life -- (a prison term lasting as long as the prisoner lives; "he got life for killing the guard")

While most of these seem to apply generically, number 14 doesn't (to me, anyway). However, some of those definitions seemed particularly relevant to me and perhaps you as well, so I emphasized them. 

So, what does it mean to "get a life"?

The apostle John says...

John, Chapter 1 (World English Bible)

  ¹ In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. ² The same was in the beginning with God.  ³ All things were made through him. Without him, nothing was made that has been made.  ⁴ In him was life, and the life was the light of men.  ⁵ The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness hasn’t overcome it. ⁶ There came a man, sent from God, whose name was John.  ⁷ The same came as a witness, that he might testify about the light, that all might believe through him.  ⁸ He was not the light, but was sent that he might testify about the light.  ⁹ The true light that enlightens everyone was coming into the world. 

  ¹⁰ He was in the world, and the world was made through him, and the world didn’t recognize him.  ¹¹ He came to his own, and those who were his own didn’t receive him. ¹² But as many as received him, to them he gave the right to become God’s children, to those who believe in his name:  ¹³ who were born not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God. (emphasis added)¹⁴ The Word became flesh, and lived among us. We saw his glory, such glory as of the one and only Son of the Father, full of grace and truth.  ¹⁵ John testified about him. He cried out, saying, “This was he of whom I said, ‘He who comes after me has surpassed me, for he was before me.’”  ¹⁶ From his fullness we all received grace upon grace.  ¹⁷ For the law was given through Moses. Grace and truth were realized through Jesus Christ.  (emphasis added)  ¹⁸ No one has seen God at any time. The one and only Son,  who is in the bosom of the Father, has declared him.

If I understand him correctly, John's answer to that question is-  Jesus. This solitary man, this man among and above all others is the answer. Why? Several reasons. First, because he lived a GOD directed life and therefore embodied perfection in all that he did. I wonder, can we say the same about the way we live? Second, he answered the question of what life really is- a life lived with the one who is the creator. Lastly, Jesus provided a way to be with God that went beyond adhering to rules and regulations- Grace, given by Jesus' sacrifice of his own perfect life for all who will come to him as LORD and SAVIOR. 

Those who will follow Jesus in obedience to God's will have their sins forgiven and will be with him in heaven, forever. 

I don't know what you think about all this- but to me, it sounds a lot like "getting a life"!!!

Get one.

Bible Reading January 3, 4 by Gary Rose

Bible Reading January 3, 4

(World English Bible)

Jan. 3

Genesis 3

Gen 3:1 Now the serpent was more subtle than any animal of the field which Yahweh God had made. He said to the woman, "Has God really said, 'You shall not eat of any tree of the garden?' "

Gen 3:2 The woman said to the serpent, "Of the fruit of the trees of the garden we may eat,

Gen 3:3 but of the fruit of the tree which is in the middle of the garden, God has said, 'You shall not eat of it, neither shall you touch it, lest you die.' "

Gen 3:4 The serpent said to the woman, "You won't surely die,

Gen 3:5 for God knows that in the day you eat it, your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil."

Gen 3:6 When the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit, and ate; and she gave some to her husband with her, and he ate.

Gen 3:7 The eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that they were naked. They sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves aprons.

Gen 3:8 They heard the voice of Yahweh God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of Yahweh God among the trees of the garden.

Gen 3:9 Yahweh God called to the man, and said to him, "Where are you?"

Gen 3:10 The man said, "I heard your voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself."

Gen 3:11 God said, "Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree that I commanded you not to eat from?"

Gen 3:12 The man said, "The woman whom you gave to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I ate."

Gen 3:13 Yahweh God said to the woman, "What is this you have done?" The woman said, "The serpent deceived me, and I ate."

Gen 3:14 Yahweh God said to the serpent, "Because you have done this, cursed are you above all livestock, and above every animal of the field. On your belly you shall go, and you shall eat dust all the days of your life.

Gen 3:15 I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring. He will bruise your head, and you will bruise his heel."

Gen 3:16 To the woman he said, "I will greatly multiply your pain in childbirth. In pain you will bring forth children. Your desire will be for your husband, and he will rule over you."

Gen 3:17 To Adam he said, "Because you have listened to your wife's voice, and have eaten of the tree, of which I commanded you, saying, 'You shall not eat of it,' cursed is the ground for your sake. In toil you will eat of it all the days of your life.

Gen 3:18 Thorns also and thistles will it bring forth to you; and you will eat the herb of the field.

Gen 3:19 By the sweat of your face will you eat bread until you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken. For you are dust, and to dust you shall return."

Gen 3:20 The man called his wife Eve, because she was the mother of all living.

Gen 3:21 Yahweh God made coats of skins for Adam and for his wife, and clothed them.

Gen 3:22 Yahweh God said, "Behold, the man has become like one of us, knowing good and evil. Now, lest he put forth his hand, and also take of the tree of life, and eat, and live forever..."

Gen 3:23 Therefore Yahweh God sent him forth from the garden of Eden, to till the ground from which he was taken.

Gen 3:24 So he drove out the man; and he placed Cherubs at the east of the garden of Eden, and the flame of a sword which turned every way, to guard the way to the tree of life.

Jan. 4

Genesis 4

Gen 4:1 The man knew Eve his wife. She conceived, and gave birth to Cain, and said, "I have gotten a man with Yahweh's help."

Gen 4:2 Again she gave birth, to Cain's brother Abel. Abel was a keeper of sheep, but Cain was a tiller of the ground.

Gen 4:3 As time passed, it happened that Cain brought an offering to Yahweh from the fruit of the ground.

Gen 4:4 Abel also brought some of the firstborn of his flock and of its fat. Yahweh respected Abel and his offering,

Gen 4:5 but he didn't respect Cain and his offering. Cain was very angry, and the expression on his face fell.

Gen 4:6 Yahweh said to Cain, "Why are you angry? Why has the expression of your face fallen?

Gen 4:7 If you do well, will it not be lifted up? If you don't do well, sin crouches at the door. Its desire is for you, but you are to rule over it."

Gen 4:8 Cain said to Abel, his brother, "Let's go into the field." It happened when they were in the field, that Cain rose up against Abel, his brother, and killed him.

Gen 4:9 Yahweh said to Cain, "Where is Abel, your brother?" He said, "I don't know. Am I my brother's keeper?"

Gen 4:10 Yahweh said, "What have you done? The voice of your brother's blood cries to me from the ground.

Gen 4:11 Now you are cursed because of the ground, which has opened its mouth to receive your brother's blood from your hand.

Gen 4:12 From now on, when you till the ground, it won't yield its strength to you. You shall be a fugitive and a wanderer in the earth."

Gen 4:13 Cain said to Yahweh, "My punishment is greater than I can bear.

Gen 4:14 Behold, you have driven me out this day from the surface of the ground. I will be hidden from your face, and I will be a fugitive and a wanderer in the earth. It will happen that whoever finds me will kill me."

Gen 4:15 Yahweh said to him, "Therefore whoever slays Cain, vengeance will be taken on him sevenfold." Yahweh appointed a sign for Cain, lest any finding him should strike him.

Gen 4:16 Cain went out from Yahweh's presence, and lived in the land of Nod, east of Eden.

Gen 4:17 Cain knew his wife. She conceived, and gave birth to Enoch. He built a city, and called the name of the city, after the name of his son, Enoch.

Gen 4:18 To Enoch was born Irad. Irad became the father of Mehujael. Mehujael became the father of Methushael. Methushael became the father of Lamech.

Gen 4:19 Lamech took two wives: the name of the one was Adah, and the name of the other Zillah.

Gen 4:20 Adah gave birth to Jabal, who was the father of those who dwell in tents and have livestock.

Gen 4:21 His brother's name was Jubal, who was the father of all who handle the harp and pipe.

Gen 4:22 Zillah also gave birth to Tubal Cain, the forger of every cutting instrument of brass and iron. Tubal Cain's sister was Naamah.

Gen 4:23 Lamech said to his wives, "Adah and Zillah, hear my voice. You wives of Lamech, listen to my speech, for I have slain a man for wounding me, a young man for bruising me.

Gen 4:24 If Cain will be avenged seven times, truly Lamech seventy-seven times."

Gen 4:25 Adam knew his wife again. She gave birth to a son, and named him Seth, "for God has appointed me another child instead of Abel, for Cain killed him."

Gen 4:26 There was also born a son to Seth, and he named him Enosh. Then men began to call on Yahweh's name.

Jan. 3,4

Matthew 2

Mat 2:1 Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the east came to Jerusalem, saying,

Mat 2:2 "Where is he who is born King of the Jews? For we saw his star in the east, and have come to worship him."

Mat 2:3 When Herod the king heard it, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him.

Mat 2:4 Gathering together all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he asked them where the Christ would be born.

Mat 2:5 They said to him, "In Bethlehem of Judea, for thus it is written through the prophet,

Mat 2:6 'You Bethlehem, land of Judah, are in no way least among the princes of Judah: for out of you shall come forth a governor, who shall shepherd my people, Israel.' "

Mat 2:7 Then Herod secretly called the wise men, and learned from them exactly what time the star appeared.

Mat 2:8 He sent them to Bethlehem, and said, "Go and search diligently for the young child. When you have found him, bring me word, so that I also may come and worship him."

Mat 2:9 They, having heard the king, went their way; and behold, the star, which they saw in the east, went before them, until it came and stood over where the young child was.

Mat 2:10 When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceedingly great joy.

Mat 2:11 They came into the house and saw the young child with Mary, his mother, and they fell down and worshiped him. Opening their treasures, they offered to him gifts: gold, frankincense, and myrrh.

Mat 2:12 Being warned in a dream that they shouldn't return to Herod, they went back to their own country another way.

Mat 2:13 Now when they had departed, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream, saying, "Arise and take the young child and his mother, and flee into Egypt, and stay there until I tell you, for Herod will seek the young child to destroy him."

Mat 2:14 He arose and took the young child and his mother by night, and departed into Egypt,

Mat 2:15 and was there until the death of Herod; that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the Lord through the prophet, saying, "Out of Egypt I called my son."

Mat 2:16 Then Herod, when he saw that he was mocked by the wise men, was exceedingly angry, and sent out, and killed all the male children who were in Bethlehem and in all the surrounding countryside, from two years old and under, according to the exact time which he had learned from the wise men.

Mat 2:17 Then that which was spoken by Jeremiah the prophet was fulfilled, saying,

Mat 2:18 "A voice was heard in Ramah, lamentation, weeping and great mourning, Rachel weeping for her children; she wouldn't be comforted, because they are no more."

Mat 2:19 But when Herod was dead, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt, saying,

Mat 2:20 "Arise and take the young child and his mother, and go into the land of Israel, for those who sought the young child's life are dead."

Mat 2:21 He arose and took the young child and his mother, and came into the land of Israel.

Mat 2:22 But when he heard that Archelaus was reigning over Judea in the place of his father, Herod, he was afraid to go there. Being warned in a dream, he withdrew into the region of Galilee,

Mat 2:23 and came and lived in a city called Nazareth; that it might be fulfilled which was spoken through the prophets: "He will be called a Nazarene." 

What does God want me to do? by Roy Davison

http://www.oldpaths.com/Archive/Davison/Roy/Allen/1940/032-whatdoes.html

What does God want me to do?

People who heard the gospel on Pentecost cried out: “What should we do?” (Acts 2:37).
This is a good question -- also for Christians. Instead of doing what we want to do, we should continually ask ourselves: “What does God want me to do?”
How can we know what God wants us to do? Only through the holy Scriptures. “All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work” (2 Timothy 3:16, 17).
As we study the Scriptures we should ask ourselves, “What does God want me to do?”
The Scriptures are full of instructions for daily living. Jesus tells us to follow Him, to repent, to bear fruit, to be meek, to hunger for righteousness, to be merciful, to be pure in heart, to be peacemakers, to do good, not to call anyone a fool, not to commit adultery, not to look at a woman lustfully, not to divorce our spouses without a valid reason, not to swear, not to resist one who is evil, to go the second mile, to love our enemies, to be perfect like our Father, not to be religious for show, to forgive, not to lay up treasures on earth but in heaven, not to serve money, not to be anxious about physical needs, to seek God's kingdom and righteousness first, not to judge, to do to others as we want them to do to us, to do what He says and not just listen, to be wise as serpents and harmless of doves, to endure to the end, to be like Him, to preach the gospel, to mention just a few items from the first ten chapters of Matthew.
Let us examine just three of these points.

God wants me to follow Christ.
“And Jesus, walking by the Sea of Galilee, saw two brothers, Simon called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea; for they were fishermen. Then He said to them, 'Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men'” (Matthew 4:18, 19).
“Then a certain scribe came and said to Him, 'Teacher, I will follow You wherever You go.' And Jesus said to him, 'Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head.' Then another of His disciples said to Him, 'Lord, let me first go and bury my father.' But Jesus said to him, 'Follow Me, and let the dead bury their own dead'” (Matthew 8:19- 22).
“Then Jesus said to His disciples, 'If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me'” (Matthew 16:24). “And he who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me” (Matthew 10:38).
“Jesus said to him, 'If you want to be perfect, go, sell what you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me'” (Matthew 19:21).

God wants me to be meek.
“Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth” (Matthew 5:5).
To be meek is to be mild tempered, soft, gentle, humble, lowly, unpretentious, yielding, not easily provoked or irritated, enduring injury with patience and without resentment.
Is this the way we tend to be? Is this the way the world thinks people should be? The world tells us that we should be self-assertive, stand up for our rights, not allow others to get the best of us. But God wants me to be meek.
This is part of following Christ, for He said: “Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light” (Matthew 11:28-30).
Meek is the best way to be. If we are self-assertive and aggressive, others will resist us and try to beat us down.
Meekness must be genuine. Some people appear meek as a lamb when all is going their way, but if something irritates them they begin to snarl and snap and growl like a vicious wolf.
Meekness can be learned. It is not how we tend to be. To have peace for our souls we must follow Christ and learn to be gentle and lowly in heart. Our glorious King came to us lowly, riding on a donkey (Matthew 21:5).

God wants me to be merciful.
“Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy” (Matthew 5:7).
To be merciful is to have a kind, compassionate and forgiving attitude that overlooks injuries and does not give deserved punishment.
“But go and learn what this means: 'I desire mercy and not sacrifice.' For I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance” (Matthew 9:13).
Jesus refers to Hosea 6:4-6.
“O Ephraim, what shall I do to you? 
O Judah, what shall I do to you?
For your faithfulness is like a morning cloud,
And like the early dew it goes away.
Therefore I have hewn them by the prophets,
I have slain them by the words of My mouth;
And your judgments are like light that goes forth.
For I desire mercy and not sacrifice,
And the knowledge of God more than burnt offerings.”
A similar thought is found in Micah 6:6-8.
“With what shall I come before the Lord,
And bow myself before the High God?
Shall I come before Him with burnt offerings,
With calves a year old?
Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams,
Ten thousand rivers of oil?
Shall I give my firstborn for my transgression,
The fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?
He has shown you, O man, what is good;
And what does the Lord require of you
But to do justly,
To love mercy,
And to walk humbly with your God?”
Jesus also referred to this principle when His disciples were condemned by the Pharisees for plucking grain on the Sabbath: “But if you had known what this means, 'I desire mercy and not sacrifice,' you would not have condemned the guiltless” (Matthew 12:7).
“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faith. These you ought to have done, without leaving the others undone. Blind guides, who strain out a gnat and swallow a camel!” (Matthew 23:23,24).
God wants me to be merciful. “For judgment is without mercy to the one who has shown no mercy. Mercy triumphs over judgment” (James 2:13).
What does God want me to do? I must continually study the Scriptures to find out. We have examined three things from the book of Matthew. Although sermons and group Bible studies are helpful, we must all spend time studying the Scriptures ourselves to learn all that God wants us to do.
God wants me to follow Christ, to be meek and to be merciful.
Roy Davison

The Scripture quotations in this article are from
The New King James Version. ©1979,1980,1982, Thomas Nelson Inc., Publishers.
Permission for reference use has been granted.

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

Mustard Seed Mistake or Misunderstanding? by Eric Lyons, M.Min.

http://apologeticspress.org/AllegedDiscrepancies.aspx?article=3738&b=Matthew

Mustard Seed Mistake or Misunderstanding?
by Eric Lyons, M.Min.

In Matthew 13:31-32, the apostle recorded a brief parable that Jesus taught regarding His heavenly kingdom. “The kingdom of heaven,” Jesus said, “is like a mustard seed, which a man took and sowed in his field, which indeed is the least of all the seeds; but when it is grown it is greater than the herbs and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and nest in its branches.” The central truth of Jesus’ lesson was that the kingdom of heaven (i.e., the church; Matthew 16:18-19; Colossians 1:13), would be very small in the beginning (Acts 2), but in time would become very large. Rather than be a movement that died with its leader (cf. Acts 5:33-39), history shows that Jesus was exactly right in His prophecy: since His death and resurrection 2,000 years ago, multiplied millions of people have become citizens of this heavenly kingdom of which Jesus foretold.

Rather than acknowledge Jesus’ impressively fulfilled prophecy, His critics allege that He blundered in His reference to the mustard seed being “the least of all the seeds” (or as Mark words it, “smaller than all the seeds on earth”—4:31). Since other plant seeds technically are smaller than mustard seeds (e.g., epiphytic orchid seeds found in tropical rainforests), critics claim that Jesus made a scientific mistake (Wells, 2011; McKinsey, 2000, p. 263).

Although the Bible has shown itself to be historically and scientifically accurate time and again over the last 2,000 years (see Butt, 2007), the reader must bear in mind that, just as we often do in modern times, Jesus and the Bible writers frequently used figures of speech. They sometimes used numbers as names instead of literal numbers (e.g., calling the apostles “the twelve” after Judas had died—1 Corinthians 15:5; see Lyons, 2002). They oftentimes referred to things as they appearedinstead of as they actually were (e.g., Christians who had died were said to have “fallen asleep”—1 Corinthians 15:6). They used Hebrew idioms, even when writing in the Greek language (e.g., “three days and three nights”—Matthew 12:40; see Lyons, 2004). And, just as we communicate truths in the 21st century through easily interpreted exaggeration (e.g., “I’m so hungry I could eat a horse”), Jesus and the Bible writers also made use of hyperbolic expressions. For example, when Paul noted in his letter to the church in Colosse that the Gospel “was preached to every creature under heaven” (1:23), readers understand that Paul is not technically saying that every living thing on Earth heard the Gospel. He’s not even saying that every person, including every infant, invalid, and mentally-ill person, heard the Gospel. Paul was obviously using a figure of speech to communicate an astounding truth: the then-known world (of both Jews and Gentiles) had been exposed to the Good News of Jesus Christ.

So what about Jesus’ comment regarding the mustard seed being “the least of all the seeds” (Matthew 13:32)? Was Jesus scientifically inaccurate? Only in the same sense that people are today when they refer to it “raining cats and dogs” during heavy precipitation, or “burning up” during a heat wave. The fact is, Jesus was speaking proverbially in this parable. In Palestine, mustard seeds were used comparatively when talking of very small things. For example, when Jesus taught about how the smallest amount of faith could bring about great results, He referred to this “faith as a mustard seed” (Matthew 17:20). Since the Jews were very familiar with the mustard seed, Jesus referred to what they could understand and appreciate. In their world, where they lived, planted, and harvested, they understood that the mustard seed was the smallest of the seeds they normally planted. And still, it could germinate, take root, and flourish, eventually becoming an eight- to 10-foot tall shrub (Lane, 1974, p. 171).

Similar to how we might say to someone, “everyone knows that two plus two is four,” Jesus told His Palestinian peers that the mustard seed is “the least of all the seeds.” Do most people on Earth likely know that two plus two is four? Yes. But millions of infants are ignorant of this mathematical fact, as are many mentally-ill individuals. Thus, the term “everyone” would be used in a limited sense. Likewise, when Jesus spoke of the mustard seed, He was speaking hyperbolically in a limited sense. The mustard seed “was the smallest usually sown in Jewish fields” (McGarvey, 1875, p. 121, emp. added).

REFERENCES

Butt, Kyle (2007), Behold! The Word of God (Montgomery, AL: Apologetics Press).

Lane, William (1974), The Gospel of Mark (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans).

Lyons, Eric (2002), “The Twelve,” http://www.apologeticspress.org/articles/148.

Lyons, Eric (2004), “Three Days and Three Nights,” http://www.apologeticspress.org/articles/570.

McGarvey, J.W. (1875), Commentary on Matthew and Mark (Delight AR: Gospel Light).

McKinsey, C. Dennis (2000), Biblical Errancy (Amherst, NY: Prometheus).

Wells, Steve (2011), The Skeptic’s Annotated Bible, http://www.skepticsannotatedbible.com/mt/sci_list.html.

Gambling, the Military, and Christian Ethics by Dave Miller, Ph.D.

http://apologeticspress.org/APContent.aspx?category=7&article=2354

Gambling, the Military, and Christian Ethics

by	Dave Miller, Ph.D.

Aaron Walsh had a bright and promising future. A Warrant Officer in the U.S. Army and a decorated Apache helicopter pilot, he had a lovely wife and two young children. When he joined the Army, however, he developed an addiction to gambling due to the presence of slot machines on overseas military posts. (The Department of Defense uses slot machine revenues to fund military recreation programs). In 2005, he went AWOL, only to be found sitting in front of a video slot machine on a military post in Seoul, South Korea. Unable to break his addiction, young Walsh lost his family and his career in the Army, and spent time homeless on the streets of Las Vegas, Nevada. In 2006, he returned to Maine in hopes of reconnecting with his wife and children, but his gambling addiction only continued. Sadly, on September 26, 2006, at the age of 34, Walsh went to Baxter State Park and killed himself with a gunshot to the head (Griffin, 2007). “[T]he way of the transgressor is hard” (Proverbs 13:15, ASV).

American civilization has declined to such an extent that most citizens today would be surprised to learn that, from the very beginning of our nation until about 50 years ago, the majority of Americans viewed gambling as immoral. In fact, the Founding Fathers forthrightly addressed the issue of gambling. The Continental Congress passed a resolution on October 12, 1778, declaring their condemnation of gambling:

Whereas true religion and good morals are the only solid foundations of public liberty and happiness: Resolved, That it be, and it is hereby earnestly recommended to the several states, to take the most effectual measures for the encouragement thereof, and for the suppressing theatrical entertainments, horse racing, gaming, and such other diversions as are productive of idleness, dissipation, and a general depravity of principles and manners (Journals..., 1823, 3:85, emp. added).

The laws of Connecticut included a prohibition against gambling:

Gaming is an amusement, the propensity of which is deeply implanted in human nature. Mankind in the most unpolished state of barbarism and in the most refined periods of luxury and dissipation, are attached to this practice with an unaccountable ardor and fondness. To describe the pernicious consequences of it, the ruin and desolation of private families, and the promotion of idleness and dissipation, belong to a treatise on ethics (as quoted in Swift, 1796, 2:351).

In a letter to Martha Jefferson in 1787, Thomas Jefferson commented on the degrading influence of gambling:

In a world which furnishes so many employments which are useful, so many which are amusing, it is our own fault if we ever know what ennui is, or if we are ever driven to the miserable resources of gaming, which corrupts our dispositions, and teaches us a habit of hostility against all mankind (as quoted in Forman, 1900, p. 266).

In his proposal for a revision of the laws in his home state of Virginia, Jefferson offered the following “Bill to Prevent Gaming,” which restricted the holding of public office to non-gamblers:

Any person who shall bet or play for money, or other goods, or who shall bet on the hands or sides of those who play at any game in a tavern, racefield, or other place of public resort, shall be deemed an infamous gambler, and shall not be eligible to any office of trust or honor within this state (1950, 2:306).

Ironically, as Commander-in-Chief of all U.S. military forces, George Washington frequently addressed the deleterious effect of gambling on the soldiers of the Continental Army he commanded. In General Orders issued on February 26, 1776, Washington admonished:

All officers, non-commissioned officers and soldiers are positively forbid [sic] playing at cards, and other games of chance. At this time of public distress, men may find enough to do in the service of their God, and their Country, without abandoning themselves to vice and immorality (1931, 4:347, emp. added).

Courtesy Library of Congress: www.loc.gov

The majority view of America and its Founders from day one has been that gambling in its various forms is a vice that is destructive of the moral fabric of society—a view they gleaned from the Bible (see Miller and Butt, 2003). With uncanny anticipation, George Washington declared to his troops on May 8, 1777: “As few vices are attended with more pernicious consequences, in civil life; so there are none more fatal in a military one, than that of Gaming; which often brings disgrace and ruin upon officers, and injury and punishment upon the Soldiery” (8:28, emp. added). The death of Aaron Walsh is a tragic testimony to the truth of Washington’s declaration. If the military’s morality protocol from the beginning of our nation was still in effect, Aaron Walsh likely still would be alive, and his family would still have a father and husband. Even more tragically, if the Continental Congress was correct in its claim that “true religion and good morals are the only solid foundations of public liberty and happiness,” then America is moving swiftly down a road that will result in “a general depravity of principles and manners” and the dissolution of “public liberty and happiness.”

REFERENCES

Forman, S.E. (1900), The Life and Writings of Thomas Jefferson (Indianapolis, IN: Bowen-Merrill).

Griffin, Drew (2007), “Bill Would Ban Military Slot Machines,” CNN News, [On-line], URL:http://www.cnn.com/2007/POLITICS/12/15/military.gambling/index.html.

Jefferson, Thomas (1950), The Papers of Thomas Jefferson (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press).

Journals of the American Congress: From 1774 to 1788 (1823), (Washington, D.C.: Way and Gideon).

Miller, Dave and Kyle Butt (2003), “Christians, Gambling, and the Lottery,” [On-line], URL:http://www.apologeticspress.org/articles/2301.

Swift, Zephaniah (1796), A System of Laws of the State of Connecticut (Windham, CT: John Byrne).

Washington, George (1931), The Writings of George Washington from the Original Manuscript Sources, 1745-1799 (Washington, D.C.: United States Government Printing Office).

Cause and Effect—Scientific Proof that God Exists by Kyle Butt, M.Div.

http://apologeticspress.org/APContent.aspx?category=9&article=879

Cause and Effect—Scientific Proof that God Exists

by	Kyle Butt, M.Div.

The Universe exists and is real. Every rational person must admit this point. If it did not exist, we would not be here to talk about it. So the question arises, “How did the Universe get here?” Did it create itself? If it did not create itself, it must have had a cause.

Let’s look at the law of cause and effect. As far as science knows, natural laws have no exceptions. This is definitely true of the law of cause and effect, which is the most universal and most certain of all laws. Simply put, the law of cause and effect states that every material effect must have an adequate cause that existed before the effect.

Material effects without adequate causes do not exist. Also, causes never occur after the effect. In addition, the effect never is greater than the cause. That is why scientists say that every material effect must have an adequate cause. The river did not turn muddy because the frog jumped in; the book did not fall off the table because the fly landed on it. These are not adequate causes. For whatever effects we see, we must present adequate causes.

Five-year-olds are wonderful at using the law of cause and effect. We can picture a small child asking: “Mommy, where do peaches come from?” His mother says that they come from peach trees. Then the child asks where the trees come from, and his mother explains that they come from peaches. You can see the cycle. Eventually the child wants to know how the first peach tree got here. He can see very well that it must have had a cause, and he wants to know what that cause was.

One thing is for sure: the Universe did not create itself! We know this for a scientific fact, because matter cannot create matter. If we take a rock that weighs 1 pound and do 50,000 experiments on it, we never will be able to produce more than 1 pound of rock. So, whatever caused the Universe could not have been material.

FROM NOTHING COMES NOTHING

I know that it is insulting to your intelligence to have to include this paragraph, but some people today are saying that the Universe evolved from nothing. However, if there ever had been a time when absolutely nothing existed, then there would be nothing now, because it always is true that nothing produces nothing. If something exists now, then something always has existed.

THE BIBLE SPEAKS ABOUT THE CAUSE

The Bible certainly is not silent about what caused the Universe. In the very first verse of the first chapter of the first book it says: “In the beginning God created the heavens and the Earth.” Acts 17:24 records: “God, who made the world and everything in it…He is Lord of heaven and earth.” Exodus 20:11 notes: “For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them.”

• God is undoubtedly an adequate cause, since He is all-powerful. In Genesis 17:1, God told Abraham “I am Almighty God.”
• He came before this material world, fulfilling the criteria that the cause must come before the effect. The psalmist wrote: “Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever You had formed the earth and the world, even from everlasting to everlasting, You are God” (Psalm 90:2).
• And He definitely would instill within mankind the concept of morality, since He is a God of morals. Titus 1:2 says that He cannot lie.

Only God fits the criteria of an adequate cause that came before the Universe.

WHY DOES GOD NOT HAVE A CAUSE?

Hold on just a minute! If we contend that every material effect must have a cause, and we say that only God could have caused the Universe, then the obvious question is: “What caused God?” Doesn’t the law of cause and effect apply to God, too?

There is a single word in the law of cause and effect that helps provide the answer to this question—the word material. Every material effect must have a cause that existed before it. Scientists formulated the law of cause and effect based upon what they have observed while studying this Universe, which is made out of matter. No science experiment in the world can be performed on God, because He is an eternal spirit, not matter (John 4:24). Science is far from learning everything about this material world, and it is even farther from understanding the eternal nature of God. There had to be a First Cause, and God was (and is) the only One suitable for the job.

CONCLUSION

The law of cause and effect is a well-established law that does not have any known exceptions. It was not conjured up from the creationists’ magic hat to prove the existence of God (although it does that quite well). The evidence is sufficient to show that this material Universe needs a non-material cause. That non-material Cause is God. If natural forces created the Universe, randomly selecting themselves, then morality in humans never could be explained. Why is this Universe here? Because “in the beginning, God….”

Did Jesus Christ Exist in the Form of God While on Earth? by Wayne Jackson, M.A.

http://apologeticspress.org/APContent.aspx?category=10&article=354

Did Jesus Christ Exist in the Form of God While on Earth?

by	Wayne Jackson, M.A.

Some conservative writers have attempted to defend the idea that the second Person of the Godhead, at the time of the “incarnation” (i.e., when “the Word became flesh”—John 1:14), laid aside “the form of God.” They contend that the concept of an infinite God being clothed within a human body is illogical. Though these authors undoubtedly mean well, their position is quite erroneous as to the nature of the incarnate Christ.

Several arguments have been employed in attempting to buttress this position. For example, it has been argued: (a) God cannot be tempted (James 1:13); but (b) Jesus was tempted (Hebrews 2:18). The conclusion is thus supposed to be: Jesus did not exist in the form of God.

The logical consequence of this position is that Jesus Christ was not deity in the flesh. Advocates of this view usually do not mean to affirm explicitly that conclusion, but that is where such reasoning leads. What these writers have failed to realize, with reference to James 1:13, is that God the Father—not Christ the Son—is in view in that context. James was not discussing the nature and/or role of Christ. Thus, it is improper to generalize regarding the nature of the Lord from this brief reference.

The text commonly appealed to as proof that Jesus did not exist on Earth in “the form of God” is Philippians 2:6. Here is the full context of what Paul wrote:

Have this mind in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: who, existing in the form of God, counted not the being on an equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, taking the form of a servant, being made in the likeness of men; and being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, becoming obedient even unto death, yea, the death of the cross (Philippians 2:5-8, ASV).

But the position advocated is incorrect for the following reasons.

In Philippians 2:6, Paul spoke of Christ as “existing in the form of God.” The term “existing” is not a past tense form. It translates the Greek term huparchon, a present tense participle. The present tense reveals that the Savior’s existence, in the “form of God,” is a sustained mode of being, not one that was interrupted by the incarnation. A.T. Robertson called attention to the difference between the present tense, huparchon (denoting “eternal existence in the morphe[form] of God”), and the Lord’s “becoming” (aorist tense) in the likeness of man (1931, 4:445). There was a time when the second Person of the Godhead did not exist as man; there never has been a time when He was not in “the form of God.”

W.E. Vine commented that this grammatical form denotes “an existence or condition both previous to the circumstances mentioned and continuing after it” (1991, p. 279). Another scholar noted that the word expresses “continuance of an antecedent state or condition” (Abbott-Smith, 1923, p. 457). Hendriksen was quite correct when he asked: “[O]f what did Christ empty himself? Surely not of his existence ‘in the form of God’ ” (1962, p. 106). Wuest amplified the present tense form of the participle by suggesting that Jesus “has always been and at present continues to subsist” in the form of God (1961, p. 462). It is unnecessary to multiply additional examples.

Contrary to the evidence, however, it has been alleged that whereas Christ existed in the form of God prior to the incarnation, He divested himself of that status while on Earth. Finally, according to the theory under review, Jesus resumed the form-of-God nature when He returned to heaven. There is no biblical support for this concept, which violates the explicit testimony of Scripture.

The Greek word for “form” is morphe. This term denotes that which is “indicative of the interior nature” of a thing (Green, 1907, p. 384), or as Kennedy observed, morphe “always signifies a form which truly and fully expresses the being which underlies it” (1956, 3:436). Trench commented that “none could be en morphe theou [in form of God] who was not God” (1890, p. 263). All of this simply means that if Jesus gave up the “form of God” when He became incarnate, then He ceased being God at that time. This is equivalent to the doctrine advocated by Jehovah’s Witnesses, namely, that Christ was “nothing more than a perfect man.” I must say, in the kindest way possible, that the position under review is unrepresentative of the teaching of the New Testament.

But it is alleged that Jesus could not have existed in “the form of God” because the New Testament speaks of the Lord being led of the Spirit, protected by angels, etc. Obviously, therefore, Christ was not “infinite God.”

The thing that seems to be at the root of this misunderstanding is a failure to recognize that the Lord’s earthly limitations were not the consequence of a less-than-God nature; rather, they were the result of a self-imposed submission reflecting the exercise of His sovereign will. Of what did Christ “empty” Himself when He became flesh?

A.H. Strong expressed it well when he noted that, by means of the incarnation, Jesus “resigned not the possession, nor yet entirely the use, but rather the independent exercise, of the divine attributes” (1907, p. 703). To say the same thing in another way, the Lord’s incarnate status involved, not a divestiture of divine form/essence or attributes, but rather a subordination of those attributes to the Father in terms of role function. When Jesus affirmed, “[T]he father is greater than I” (John 14:28), He was not disclaiming divine nature; rather, He was asserting that He had subjected Himself voluntarily to the Father’s will.

Think about this for a moment: How could Christ be void of the divine attributes, and still be divine? A thing is the sum of its attributes. This is an insurmountable difficulty for those who argue that the incarnate Christ was not in the “form of God.”

If Christ was not fully God, i.e., existing in the “form of God,” exactly what was He? Quasi-God? Half-God? Merely appearing to be God (as certain Gnostics held)? Only perfect Man? What?

Moreover, if Jesus did not exist in the “form of God” while He lived on Earth, how could He claim to be “one” (neuter gender, suggesting unity of nature) with the Father (John 10:30)? Why did the Lord allow Thomas to call him “God” (John 20:30)? Why did Jesus accept worship (Matthew 8:2), when He plainly taught that only God is worthy of worship (Matthew 4:10)?

Finally, if it is to be argued that Christ laid aside His status of being in “the form of God” by virtue of His humanness and His subordination to the Father, then one must contend, to be consistent, that Jesus does not possess the “form of God” now, because as our Mediator He is “the man, Christ Jesus” (1 Timothy 2:5), and He still is in subjection to the Father (1 Corinthians 15:27).

Some may feel that this is simply a matter of inconsequential semantics. However, sometimes semantics is quite important. Gospel truth is a message of words, and the Christian teacher needs to be accurate in the language he employs. May the Lord help us to be precise in the expression of biblical truth.

REFERENCES

Abbott-Smith, G. (1923), A Manual Greek Lexicon of the New Testament (Edinburgh: T. & T. Clark).

Green, Samuel (1907), Handbook to the Grammar of the Greek Testament (London: Religious Tract Society).

Hendriksen, William (1962), Philippians, Colossians, Philemon (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker).

Kennedy, H.A.A. (1956), “Philippians,” The Expositor’s Greek Testament, ed. W.R. Nicoll (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans).

Robertson, A.T. (1931), Word Pictures in the New Testament (Nashville, TN: Broadman).

Strong, A.H. (1907), Systematic Theology (Old Tappan, NJ: Fleming H. Revell).

Trench, R.C. (1890), Synonyms of the New Testament (London: Kegan, Paul, Trench, Trubner, & Co.).

Vine, W.E. (1991), Amplified Expository Dictionary of New Testament Words (Iowa Falls, IA: World Bible Publishers).

Wuest, Kenneth (1961), The New Testament—An Expanded Translation (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans).