May 26, 2015

From Mark Copeland... "CONVERSIONS IN THE BOOK OF ACTS" The Twelve Disciples Of John (19:1-10)



                   "CONVERSIONS IN THE BOOK OF ACTS"

                      The Twelve Disciples Of John (19:1-10)

INTRODUCTION

1. In our survey of "Conversions In The Book of Acts", we have 
   considered the following examples of conversion...
   a. The 3000 on Pentecost - Ac 2:1-41
   b. The 2000 at Solomon's Porch - Ac 3:1-4:4
   c. The Samaritans - Ac 8:4-25
   d. The Ethiopian Eunuch - Ac 8:26-40
   e. Saul Of Tarsus - Ac 9:1-19; 22:6-16; 26:12-18
   f. Cornelius And His Household - Ac 10:1-48; 11:1-18
   g. Two Households At Philippi - Ac 16:6-34
   h. The Athenians - Ac 17:16-34
   i. The Corinthians - Ac 18:1-11

2. There were others that we might have considered, but did not...
   a. Those at Antioch of Syria - Ac 11:19-21
   b. Sergius Paulus on the island of Paphos - Ac 13:4-12
   c. Those at Antioch of Pisidia - Ac 13:13-48
   d. Those at Iconium, Lystra and Derbe - Ac 14:1-20
   e. Those at Thessalonica and Berea - Ac 17:1-12
   f. Apollos, who was taught by Aquilla and Priscilla - Ac 18:24-28

3. But in those we examined, I shared the following observations:
   a. The gospel message was one that focused on Jesus...
      1) Who died for our sins
      2) Who was raised from the dead
      3) Who is both Lord and Christ, returning again one day to judge
         the world
   b. The response expected of those who heard was one of...
      1) Faith in Jesus as the Christ, the Son of God (which included
         confessing that faith)
      2) Repentance of one's sins
      3) Baptism for the remission of sins

4. Before we conclude this series, I wish to examine one more case of
   conversion...
   a. It is the last example of conversion in Acts (with the possible
      of exception of some in the audience when Paul spoke at Rome 
      - Ac 28:23-24)
   b. It is unique for several reasons, one of which is that it 
      describes a "re-baptism"

[I am referring to "The Twelve Disciples Of John", recorded in Ac 19:
1-10.  As we begin this study, let's review the Biblical record...]

I. THE CONVERSION OF TWELVE "DISCIPLES"

   A. PAUL'S ARRIVAL IN EPHESUS...
      1. He had just started his third journey - Ac 18:22-23
      2. At the end of his second journey, he had made a quick stop at
         Ephesus - Ac 18:19-21
      3. True to his word, he returned to Ephesus - Ac 19:1

   B. PAUL MEETS TWELVE "DISCIPLES"...
      1. He finds some "disciples", who were twelve in number - Ac 19:1b,7
      2. Upon questioning, he learns they were disciples of John the 
         Baptist - Ac 19:2-3
         a. He asked them if they had received the Holy Spirit when 
            they believed
            1) As explained in the conversion of "The Samaritans" 
               (Ac 8:4-25), I believe the phrase "receive the Holy Spirit"
               to be a metonymy for receiving a miraculous gift from 
               the Spirit
            2) As an apostle, Paul had the ability to impart spiritual
               gifts - Ro 1:11; 2Ti 1:6
            3) Assuming the "disciples" to have been baptized into 
               Christ, he desired to give them gifts from the Spirit 
               (such as the gifts of tongues and prophesy, cf. 1Co 12:10)
         b. Their immediate answer sparks another question from Paul
            1) They had not heard about a Holy Spirit
               a) They must not have known much of John's own teaching,
                  for he taught about the Holy Spirit - cf. Mt 3:11
               b) They clearly could not have been properly baptized
                  into Christ, for it is a baptism into the name of the
                  Father, Son and Holy Spirit! - cf. Mt 28:19
            2) So Paul inquires into their baptism
               a) He learns that it was John's baptism
               b) Some have suggested that these 12 may have been 
                  converted by Apollos before Apollos himself learned 
                  the truth - cf. Ac 18:24-25

   C. THE TWELVE ARE "RE-BAPTIZED"...
      1. Paul explains that while John did teach a baptism of 
         repentance, he directed people to believe on Jesus who would
         come after him - Ac 19:4
      2. The twelve are then baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus 
         - Ac 19:5
         a. This would be the baptism commanded by Jesus - Mt 28:18-20
         b. And the baptism expected of all would-be disciples of Jesus
            - Ac 2:38; 22:16
      3. Following their baptism, Paul laid hands on them and the 
         Spirit imparted gifts of tongues and prophesy - Ac 19:6-7

[Such was the beginning of a very successful period for the gospel (cf.
Ac 19:8-10).  Again we see what was considered the normal response of
one who wished to become a disciple of Jesus (faith and baptism).

The example of "The Twelve Disciples Of John" does raise an interesting
question concerning "re-baptism":  Under what circumstances should one
be baptized again?  Here are some thoughts regarding this question...]

II. IS "RE-BAPTISM" EVER NECESSARY?

   A. OBSERVATIONS CONCERNING THE TWELVE DISCIPLES...
      1. They had been previously "baptized"
      2. Their baptism, however, was lacking in some way
         a. Even though it was immersion
         b. Even though it was "for the remission of sins" - Mk 1:4
         c. But baptism was not in the name of Jesus - Ac 2:38; 10:48;19:5
            1) That is, by His authority
            2) Which would have been a baptism into the name of the 
               Father, the Holy Spirit, and the Son - Mt 28:19
      3. Because their first baptism LACKED AN ESSENTIAL ELEMENT, 
         "re-baptism" was necessary!
      -- May we not conclude that if an earlier baptism lacks some 
         essential element, then "re-baptism" is necessary?

   B. WHEN "RE-BAPTISM" IS APPROPRIATE...
      1. There are four "essential elements" of Bible baptism
         a. The proper MODE:  a burial (immersion) - Ro 6:3; Col 2:12
         b. The proper AUTHORITY:  in the name of Christ - Ac 19:5
         c. The proper PURPOSE:  remission of sins - Ac 2:38; 22:16
         d. The proper SUBJECT:  penitent believer - Ac 2:38; 8:37;Mk 16:16
      2. When just one of these "essential elements" was lacking, 
         "re-baptism" was commanded
         a. In Ac 19:1-5, the proper AUTHORITY was lacking
         b. Even though their previous baptism had the right MODE, 
            PURPOSE, and SUBJECT
      3. Some cases where "re-baptism" would seem appropriate
         a. If we were baptized by SPRINKLING OR POURING, for the 
            proper mode is immersion
         b. If we were baptized by THE AUTHORITY OF ANYONE OTHER THAN
            JESUS, for the proper authority is Jesus Christ
         c. If we were baptized AS A PUBLIC CONFESSION OF FAITH
            (thinking that we were already saved), for the proper 
            purpose is the remission of sins
         d. If we were baptized BUT WERE NOT PENITENT BELIEVERS, for a
            proper subject is one who believes "with all their heart"
            1) E.g., when one is baptized just because their friends
               are doing it
            2) E.g., Because their spouse, fiance‚ or parents are 
               pressuring them to do it (and they do it to please them,
               not God)
      4. But let me be sure to clarify:
         a. When one is baptized because their "first" baptism lacked
            an essential element...
            1) It is not really "re-baptism!"
            2) For in the strictest sense, that person is finally being
               baptized scripturally for the FIRST time!
         b. When one has been scripturally baptized ONCE...
            1) There is never a need to be baptized again!
            2) Once we have clothed ourselves with Christ in baptism:
               a) The blood of Christ continually cleanses us of our 
                  sins
               b) As we REPENT and CONFESS our sins to God in prayer 
                  - Ac 8:22; 1Jn 1:9

CONCLUSION

1. The example of "The Twelve Disciples Of John" certainly illustrates
   that one can...
   a. Be religious
   b. Have undergone some baptismal experience
   ...and still not be a true disciple of Jesus Christ!

2. One can rest assured that they are a true disciple of Jesus when 
   their baptism had...
   a. The right MODE - immersion
   b. The right AUTHORITY- Jesus Christ
   c. The right PURPOSE - remission of sins
   d. The right SUBJECT - penitent believer
   -- Lacking any of these "essential elements", one should consider 
      being baptized again in order to "make your calling and election
      sure"

3. If we desire to truly be disciples of Jesus Christ, then let's make
   sure...
   a. We proclaim the pure gospel of Jesus Christ, as preached by His
      apostles in the first century A.D.
   b. We have responded to that gospel in the same manner as those who
      heard the good news preached in its purity and simplicity

I pray that this study, "Conversions In The Book Of Acts", has been
beneficial toward that end.


Executable Outlines, Copyright © Mark A. Copeland, 2011

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From Gary... More than a dog...


If dogs could read..

1. They would be smarter than they are today.
2. They just might gain knowledge without us.
3. They would get what they want.
4. They would become more powerful.
5. They just might control us.
6. They still would be dogs.
7. They would be a lot like us.

I wonder, would they be any better off?  Humans strive for all the things above (in the list) and when they gain them, are their lives fulfilling? For most, the answer is NO, but there are exceptions...

Philippians, Chapter 4 (WEB)
 8  Finally, brothers, whatever things are true, whatever things are honorable, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report; if there is any virtue, and if there is any praise, think about these things. 9 The things which you learned, received, heard, and saw in me: do these things, and the God of peace will be with you.  10 But I rejoice in the Lord greatly, that now at length you have revived your thought for me; in which you did indeed take thought, but you lacked opportunity. 11 Not that I speak in respect to lack, for I have learned in whatever state I am, to be content in it.  12 I know how to be humbled, and I know also how to abound. In everything and in all things I have learned the secret both to be filled and to be hungry, both to abound and to be in need.  13 I can do all things through Christ, who strengthens me. 

Christians, faithfully following God can reach a state of true contentment because God changes them. In thought (verse 8), in deed and truth (verse 9) and in acceptance, which leads to contentment (verse 11). 

Perhaps you like the way you are and do not want to change.  Tell me- How DO you feel about squirrels, anyway???

May 25, 2015

From Gary... Bible Reading May 25




Bible Reading  

May 25

The World English Bible


May 25
Judges 7, 8

Jdg 7:1 Then Jerubbaal, who is Gideon, and all the people who were with him, rose up early, and encamped beside the spring of Harod: and the camp of Midian was on the north side of them, by the hill of Moreh, in the valley.
Jdg 7:2 Yahweh said to Gideon, The people who are with you are too many for me to give the Midianites into their hand, lest Israel vaunt themselves against me, saying, My own hand has saved me.
Jdg 7:3 Now therefore proclaim in the ears of the people, saying, Whoever is fearful and trembling, let him return and depart from Mount Gilead. There returned of the people twenty-two thousand; and there remained ten thousand.
Jdg 7:4 Yahweh said to Gideon, The people are yet too many; bring them down to the water, and I will try them for you there: and it shall be, that of whom I tell you, This shall go with you, the same shall go with you; and of whoever I tell you, This shall not go with you, the same shall not go.
Jdg 7:5 So he brought down the people to the water: and Yahweh said to Gideon, Everyone who laps of the water with his tongue, as a dog laps, you shall set him by himself; likewise everyone who bows down on his knees to drink.
Jdg 7:6 The number of those who lapped, putting their hand to their mouth, was three hundred men: but all the rest of the people bowed down on their knees to drink water.
Jdg 7:7 Yahweh said to Gideon, By the three hundred men who lapped will I save you, and deliver the Midianites into your hand; and let all the people go every man to his place.
Jdg 7:8 So the people took food in their hand, and their trumpets; and he sent all the men of Israel every man to his tent, but retained the three hundred men: and the camp of Midian was beneath him in the valley.
Jdg 7:9 It happened the same night, that Yahweh said to him, Arise, go down into the camp; for I have delivered it into your hand.
Jdg 7:10 But if you fear to go down, go with Purah your servant down to the camp:
Jdg 7:11 and you shall hear what they say; and afterward your will hands be strengthened to go down into the camp. Then went he down with Purah his servant to the outermost part of the armed men who were in the camp.
Jdg 7:12 The Midianites and the Amalekites and all the children of the east lay along in the valley like locusts for multitude; and their camels were without number, as the sand which is on the seashore for multitude.
Jdg 7:13 When Gideon had come, behold, there was a man telling a dream to his fellow; and he said, Behold, I dreamed a dream; and behold, a cake of barley bread tumbled into the camp of Midian, and came to the tent, and struck it so that it fell, and turned it upside down, so that the tent lay flat.
Jdg 7:14 His fellow answered, This is nothing else save the sword of Gideon the son of Joash, a man of Israel: into his hand God has delivered Midian, and all the army.
Jdg 7:15 It was so, when Gideon heard the telling of the dream, and its interpretation, that he worshiped; and he returned into the camp of Israel, and said, Arise; for Yahweh has delivered into your hand the army of Midian.
Jdg 7:16 He divided the three hundred men into three companies, and he put into the hands of all of them trumpets, and empty pitchers, with torches within the pitchers.
Jdg 7:17 He said to them, Look on me, and do likewise: and behold, when I come to the outermost part of the camp, it shall be that, as I do, so you shall do.
Jdg 7:18 When I blow the trumpet, I and all who are with me, then blow the trumpets also on every side of all the camp, and say, For Yahweh and for Gideon.
Jdg 7:19 So Gideon, and the hundred men who were with him, came to the outermost part of the camp in the beginning of the middle watch, when they had but newly set the watch: and they blew the trumpets, and broke in pieces the pitchers that were in their hands.
Jdg 7:20 The three companies blew the trumpets, and broke the pitchers, and held the torches in their left hands, and the trumpets in their right hands with which to blow; and they cried, The sword of Yahweh and of Gideon.
Jdg 7:21 They stood every man in his place around the camp; and all the army ran; and they shouted, and put them to flight.
Jdg 7:22 They blew the three hundred trumpets, and Yahweh set every man's sword against his fellow, and against all the army; and the army fled as far as Beth Shittah toward Zererah, as far as the border of Abel Meholah, by Tabbath.
Jdg 7:23 The men of Israel were gathered together out of Naphtali, and out of Asher, and out of all Manasseh, and pursued after Midian.
Jdg 7:24 Gideon sent messengers throughout all the hill country of Ephraim, saying, Come down against Midian, and take before them the waters, as far as Beth Barah, even the Jordan. So all the men of Ephraim were gathered together, and took the waters as far as Beth Barah, even the Jordan.
Jdg 7:25 They took the two princes of Midian, Oreb and Zeeb; and they killed Oreb at the rock of Oreb, and Zeeb they killed at the winepress of Zeeb, and pursued Midian: and they brought the heads of Oreb and Zeeb to Gideon beyond the Jordan.
Jdg 8:1 The men of Ephraim said to him, Why have you treated us this way, that you didn't call us, when you went to fight with Midian? They rebuked him sharply.
Jdg 8:2 He said to them, What have I now done in comparison with you? Isn't the gleaning of the grapes of Ephraim better than the vintage of Abiezer?
Jdg 8:3 God has delivered into your hand the princes of Midian, Oreb and Zeeb: and what was I able to do in comparison with you? Then their anger was abated toward him, when he had said that.
Jdg 8:4 Gideon came to the Jordan, and passed over, he, and the three hundred men who were with him, faint, yet pursuing.
Jdg 8:5 He said to the men of Succoth, Please give loaves of bread to the people who follow me; for they are faint, and I am pursuing after Zebah and Zalmunna, the kings of Midian.
Jdg 8:6 The princes of Succoth said, Are the hands of Zebah and Zalmunna now in your hand, that we should give bread to your army?
Jdg 8:7 Gideon said, Therefore when Yahweh has delivered Zebah and Zalmunna into my hand, then I will tear your flesh with the thorns of the wilderness and with briers.
Jdg 8:8 He went up there to Penuel, and spoke to them in like manner; and the men of Penuel answered him as the men of Succoth had answered.
Jdg 8:9 He spoke also to the men of Penuel, saying, When I come again in peace, I will break down this tower.
Jdg 8:10 Now Zebah and Zalmunna were in Karkor, and their armies with them, about fifteen thousand men, all who were left of all the army of the children of the east; for there fell one hundred twenty thousand men who drew sword.
Jdg 8:11 Gideon went up by the way of those who lived in tents on the east of Nobah and Jogbehah, and struck the army; for the army was secure.
Jdg 8:12 Zebah and Zalmunna fled; and he pursued after them; and he took the two kings of Midian, Zebah and Zalmunna, and confused all the army.
Jdg 8:13 Gideon the son of Joash returned from the battle from the ascent of Heres.
Jdg 8:14 He caught a young man of the men of Succoth, and inquired of him: and he described for him the princes of Succoth, and its elders, seventy-seven men.
Jdg 8:15 He came to the men of Succoth, and said, See Zebah and Zalmunna, concerning whom you taunted me, saying, Are the hands of Zebah and Zalmunna now in your hand, that we should give bread to your men who are weary?
Jdg 8:16 He took the elders of the city, and thorns of the wilderness and briers, and with them he taught the men of Succoth.
Jdg 8:17 He broke down the tower of Penuel, and killed the men of the city.
Jdg 8:18 Then said he to Zebah and Zalmunna, What kind of men were they whom you killed at Tabor? They answered, They were like you. Each one resembled the children of a king.
Jdg 8:19 He said, They were my brothers, the sons of my mother: as Yahweh lives, if you had saved them alive, I would not kill you.
Jdg 8:20 He said to Jether his firstborn, Up, and kill them. But the youth didn't draw his sword; for he feared, because he was yet a youth.
Jdg 8:21 Then Zebah and Zalmunna said, Rise and fall on us; for as the man is, so is his strength. Gideon arose, and killed Zebah and Zalmunna, and took the crescents that were on their camels' necks.
Jdg 8:22 Then the men of Israel said to Gideon, Rule over us, both you, and your son, and your son's son also; for you have saved us out of the hand of Midian.
Jdg 8:23 Gideon said to them, I will not rule over you, neither shall my son rule over you: Yahweh shall rule over you.
Jdg 8:24 Gideon said to them, I would make a request of you, that you would give me every man the earrings of his spoil. (For they had golden earrings, because they were Ishmaelites.)
Jdg 8:25 They answered, We will willingly give them. They spread a garment, and did cast therein every man the earrings of his spoil.
Jdg 8:26 The weight of the golden earrings that he requested was one thousand and seven hundredshekels of gold, besides the crescents, and the pendants, and the purple clothing that was on the kings of Midian, and besides the chains that were about their camels' necks.
Jdg 8:27 Gideon made an ephod of it, and put it in his city, even in Ophrah: and all Israel played the prostitute after it there; and it became a snare to Gideon, and to his house.
Jdg 8:28 So Midian was subdued before the children of Israel, and they lifted up their heads no more. The land had rest forty years in the days of Gideon.
Jdg 8:29 Jerubbaal the son of Joash went and lived in his own house.
Jdg 8:30 Gideon had seventy sons conceived from his body; for he had many wives.
Jdg 8:31 His concubine who was in Shechem, she also bore him a son, and he named him Abimelech.
Jdg 8:32 Gideon the son of Joash died in a good old age, and was buried in the tomb of Joash his father, in Ophrah of the Abiezrites.
Jdg 8:33 It happened, as soon as Gideon was dead, that the children of Israel turned again, and played the prostitute after the Baals, and made Baal Berith their god.
Jdg 8:34 The children of Israel didn't remember Yahweh their God, who had delivered them out of the hand of all their enemies on every side;

Jdg 8:35 neither did they show kindness to the house of Jerubbaal, who is Gideon, according to all the goodness which he had shown to Israel.

 May 24, 25
John 5

Joh 5:1 After these things, there was a feast of the Jews, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem.
Joh 5:2 Now in Jerusalem by the sheep gate, there is a pool, which is called in Hebrew, "Bethesda," having five porches.
Joh 5:3 In these lay a great multitude of those who were sick, blind, lame, or paralyzed, waiting for the moving of the water;
Joh 5:4 for an angel of the Lord went down at certain times into the pool, and stirred up the water. Whoever stepped in first after the stirring of the water was made whole of whatever disease he had.
Joh 5:5 A certain man was there, who had been sick for thirty-eight years.
Joh 5:6 When Jesus saw him lying there, and knew that he had been sick for a long time, he asked him, "Do you want to be made well?"
Joh 5:7 The sick man answered him, "Sir, I have no one to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up, but while I'm coming, another steps down before me."
Joh 5:8 Jesus said to him, "Arise, take up your mat, and walk."
Joh 5:9 Immediately, the man was made well, and took up his mat and walked. Now it was the Sabbath on that day.
Joh 5:10 So the Jews said to him who was cured, "It is the Sabbath. It is not lawful for you to carry the mat."
Joh 5:11 He answered them, "He who made me well, the same said to me, 'Take up your mat, and walk.' "
Joh 5:12 Then they asked him, "Who is the man who said to you, 'Take up your mat, and walk' ?"
Joh 5:13 But he who was healed didn't know who it was, for Jesus had withdrawn, a crowd being in the place.
Joh 5:14 Afterward Jesus found him in the temple, and said to him, "Behold, you are made well. Sin no more, so that nothing worse happens to you."
Joh 5:15 The man went away, and told the Jews that it was Jesus who had made him well.
Joh 5:16 For this cause the Jews persecuted Jesus, and sought to kill him, because he did these things on the Sabbath.
Joh 5:17 But Jesus answered them, "My Father is still working, so I am working, too."
Joh 5:18 For this cause therefore the Jews sought all the more to kill him, because he not only broke the Sabbath, but also called God his own Father, making himself equal with God.
Joh 5:19 Jesus therefore answered them, "Most certainly, I tell you, the Son can do nothing of himself, but what he sees the Father doing. For whatever things he does, these the Son also does likewise.
Joh 5:20 For the Father has affection for the Son, and shows him all things that he himself does. He will show him greater works than these, that you may marvel.
Joh 5:21 For as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, even so the Son also gives life to whom he desires.
Joh 5:22 For the Father judges no one, but he has given all judgment to the Son,
Joh 5:23 that all may honor the Son, even as they honor the Father. He who doesn't honor the Son doesn't honor the Father who sent him.
Joh 5:24 "Most certainly I tell you, he who hears my word, and believes him who sent me, has eternal life, and doesn't come into judgment, but has passed out of death into life.
Joh 5:25 Most certainly, I tell you, the hour comes, and now is, when the dead will hear the Son of God's voice; and those who hear will live.
Joh 5:26 For as the Father has life in himself, even so he gave to the Son also to have life in himself.
Joh 5:27 He also gave him authority to execute judgment, because he is a son of man.
Joh 5:28 Don't marvel at this, for the hour comes, in which all that are in the tombs will hear his voice,
Joh 5:29 and will come out; those who have done good, to the resurrection of life; and those who have done evil, to the resurrection of judgment.
Joh 5:30 I can of myself do nothing. As I hear, I judge, and my judgment is righteous; because I don't seek my own will, but the will of my Father who sent me.
Joh 5:31 "If I testify about myself, my witness is not valid.
Joh 5:32 It is another who testifies about me. I know that the testimony which he testifies about me is true.
Joh 5:33 You have sent to John, and he has testified to the truth.
Joh 5:34 But the testimony which I receive is not from man. However, I say these things that you may be saved.
Joh 5:35 He was the burning and shining lamp, and you were willing to rejoice for a while in his light.
Joh 5:36 But the testimony which I have is greater than that of John, for the works which the Father gave me to accomplish, the very works that I do, testify about me, that the Father has sent me.
Joh 5:37 The Father himself, who sent me, has testified about me. You have neither heard his voice at any time, nor seen his form.
Joh 5:38 You don't have his word living in you; because you don't believe him whom he sent.
Joh 5:39 "You search the Scriptures, because you think that in them you have eternal life; and these are they which testify about me.
Joh 5:40 Yet you will not come to me, that you may have life.
Joh 5:41 I don't receive glory from men.
Joh 5:42 But I know you, that you don't have God's love in yourselves.
Joh 5:43 I have come in my Father's name, and you don't receive me. If another comes in his own name, you will receive him.
Joh 5:44 How can you believe, who receive glory from one another, and you don't seek the glory that comes from the only God?
Joh 5:45 "Don't think that I will accuse you to the Father. There is one who accuses you, even Moses, on whom you have set your hope.
Joh 5:46 For if you believed Moses, you would believe me; for he wrote about me.
Joh 5:47 But if you don't believe his writings, how will you believe my words?"

From Jim McGuiggan... Luke 18 and the tireless widow

Luke 18 and the tireless widow

 In the story the widow's future is in the hands of the wicked judge. Her hunger for justice (vindication) against her enemies finally gains for her what she hungers for. The point we need to stress is her refusal to settle for less and so her constant coming because we're told that that's why the story was told, "that they should always pray and not give up." We're shown a woman who wouldn't give up! She wouldn't give up even though she had to deal with a judge that cared nothing for justice. It's because a host of people believe they can't get justice in the courts that they don't report crimes or they sink into despair or, in some cases, become vigilantes.
 God's elect (Luke 18:7) are to pay attention to the woman who wouldn't give up even in the face of circumstances that would make it look like there wasn't any point in going on.
Unlike the judge who has no commitment to justice God is wholly committed to it. The slow appearance of justice for the elect is not due to anything in God that is like the judge. [He won't give the elect what they ask just so he can have peace and quiet.]
 OT textual background to the parable
The background to the story and the situation that led to the story, without doubt, would be passages like Malachi 2:17 and 3:1-6. The implication in Malachi 2:17 is that God is like the unjust judge of the Luke 18 parable—he shows no obvious interest in justice, which is why we have the sneering question by the ungodly in the Malachi text—the words that God said wearied him, "Where is the God of justice?". If you put the question in the mouths of the wicked (as we clearly should do) it would mean they weren't afraid of the God of justice. If you put the question in the mouths of the Jewish oppressed—a question such people ask in other texts—it would mean that they were near despair.
Malachi 3 insists that God will indeed come in keeping with his commitment to righteousness. He would come in and as the "messenger of the covenant" for whom Israel looked (3:1-3) but when he comes it won't be all joy because those he'll meet will generally be faithless people. Here's what Malachi 3:5 says: "So I will come near to you for judgement. I will be quick to testify against the sorcerers, adulterers and perjurers, against those who defraud laborers of their wages, who oppress the widows and the fatherless, and deprive aliens of justice, but do not fear me, says the Lord Almighty."        
Notice the things Malachi has in common with the Luke 18 text. There's the similarity in terms and setting such as, "perjury," oppression, justice withheld, widows, judges (implied) who respect neither God nor aliens, whom they deprive of their  due.
In addition to the court terms and setting there's the notion of delay in Malachi 2:17 and throughout the story Jesus tells, and specifically in Luke 18:7. Finally, there's the coming of the Lord in the person of the Messenger of the Covenant and the coming of the Son of Man (Malachi 3:1-3 and Luke 18:8).
 Some interpretive pointers from Jesus
Jesus centres the story around justice not yet given and not simply some blessing we'd like to have or obtain.
[I'm thinking of our asking God for healing for ourselves or our loved ones, or a better job or a cure for a hurting marriage. Other texts encourage such requests but this text isn't one of them.]
Jesus clearly implies that the request for justice is one that has been going on for quite some time—it has been delayed (see 18:7).
[Christ's remark about God while it assures the praying people that they will get justice nevertheless indicates that it has been some time in coming. "Will he keep putting them off?" See the comments above on Malachi.]
Jesus parallels this individual in the story to the elect (plural) and the prayers of the elect for justice.
[Certainly the elect is made up of individuals but "the elect" is more than a collection of persons—it is a plural unity, a community, a people. In the application of the story Jesus tells us that he is speaking of "the elect" and the prayers of the elect for justice (in the face of oppressors).]
Jesus insists that despite the delay justice was coming and it was to come soon.
["Will he (God) keep putting them off? I tell you he will see that they get justice, and quickly." Luke 18:7-8; I'm following the NIV and numerous other versions that render similarly. We mustn't dismiss this double assurance. Not only will the elect get it, they will get it "quickly" (the versions agree on that.) Bearing in mind that Jesus said that vindication of the elect would come soon we need to insist on an historical setting.]
Jesus clearly associates the soon coming vindication of the elect with the coming of the Son of Man.
[There are several possible and reasonable understandings of the "coming" of the Son of Man. His yet-future and final coming is hardly one of them since Jesus spoke those words 2,000 years ago. There is the coming of the Son of Man in judgement on the Jewish nation, culminating in 70AD (see Matthew 24:26, 30, 34, Luke 17:22-37). There is the coming of the Lord in the person of the Holy Spirit at his exaltation, when he was made Lord and Judge of all (see John 14:16, 18, 23, 28-29, Acts 2:33-36). Allthese comings are distinct in reference and should be held as distinct but they're interrelated and are manifestations of the one King of Kings and his authority. You might wish to read this.]
 Final remarks
What I'm sure we're not to do with the section is to personalise it and make it a promise that God will give us anything we ask if we just keep asking for it. There is a copper-bottomed assurance in this text that God would grant—and soon—the vindication his elect sought for but we're not to ignore the very words of the text, the section's historical setting and the vast issue in Jesus' mind.
We're not to reduce this divine promise to "vindicate the elect" to God's promise to give us (even good) things that we judge important and for which we hunger. Let me repeat, if I ask God for the recovery of a loved one from debilitating disease (maybe rheumatoid arthritis) there is no guarantee that the loved one will recover and there's certainly no assurance that they will recover soon. This is not what the section is about.
Teachers only injure people when they make promises in God's name that God did not make! This is especially true when what the person earnestly and patiently seeks doesn't come about. In the case above, the agonised arthritic sufferer gets worse and finally dies—what then of our use of this section?
It's our tendency to take all passages on prayer as promises to each and every individual and concerning all of our personal needs and wants. It's hardly surprising then that in so much of the evangelical world prayer becomes self-centred; we encourage it. It also becomes a source of resentment toward God when it appears that God isn't living up to his promises. Sometimes it generates great feelings of guilt for desperate people begin to think that God isn't answering their prayers because they are unworthy. This only adds a great burden to heavy burdens already existing.
This isn't a fair treatment of the text nor is it helpful to a sometimes desperate believer who feels he/she has come to the end of their tether only to find God doesn't keep his promises (the promises we say he made).
©2004 Jim McGuiggan. All materials are free to be copied and used as long as money is not being made.

America's Sexual Anarchy by Dave Miller, Ph.D.


http://apologeticspress.org/APContent.aspx?category=7&article=698

America's Sexual Anarchy

by Dave Miller, Ph.D.

A host of social indicators document the continuing moral and spiritual decline of America. Two of the most recent ought to evoke national mourning. One comes from a biennial study of the sexual content of television programming by the Kaiser Family Foundation. Their findings: The number of sexual scenes on television has nearly doubled since 1998. The study found that 70% of all shows include some sexual content, and that these shows average five sexual scenes per hour (Graham and Kingsley, 2005, emp. added).
The second social indicator comes from a report by the National Center for Health Statistics that summarizes the 2004 birth rates for the United States. Childbearing by unmarried women reached a record high of almost 1.5 million births in 2004. More than 4 in 5 births to teenagers were nonmarital. Over half of births to women in their early twenties and nearly 3 in 10 births to women aged 25–29 were to unmarried women. This data means that in 2004, 35.7 percent of all births were illegitimate(Hamilton, et al., 2005, emp. added).
These social indicators are staggering! From the 1960s to the present, American civilization is being sucked into the vortex of sexual disorder and confusion. The dismantling of the Christian foundations of America has resulted in a plethora of sexually deviant actions. America is literally spiraling downward into the abyss of moral depravity and degradation. Many are emulating the adulterous woman, who “eats and wipes her mouth, and says, ‘I have done no wickedness’” (Proverbs 30:20). But God still warns: “flee sexual immorality” (1 Corinthians 6:18). Indeed, doom is inevitable for a nation gripped by such widespread sexual anarchy. “Stolen water is sweet, and bread eaten in secret is pleasant. But he does not know that the dead are there, that her guests are in the depths of hell” (Proverbs 9:17-18).

REFERENCES

Graham, Rob and Sarah Kingsley (2005), “Number of Sexual Scenes on TV Nearly Double Since 1998,” Kaiser Family Foundation, [On-line], URL: http://www.kff.org/entmedia/entmedi a110905nr.cfm.
Hamilton, Brady, Stephanie Ventura, Joyce Martin, and Paul Sutton (2005), “Preliminary Births for 2004,” National Center for Health Statistics, [On-line], URL: http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/products/pubs/pubd/hestats/prelim_births/prelim _births04.htm.

A Sponge with Fiber Optics by Kyle Butt, M.A.


http://apologeticspress.org/APContent.aspx?category=9&article=961

A Sponge with Fiber Optics

by Kyle Butt, M.A.

The last time you picked up a phone to call your business partner about a work project, you might have been using fiber optics. The last time you logged onto the World Wide Web from your home computer, you might have been using fiber optics. We hear much about fiber optics these days, but what, exactly, is meant by the term “fiber optics”? In simple terms, a fiber-optic cable has a core (center) made of very thin glass. Light can travel through the glass and relay light signals that can reproduce sound and other information. Fiber-optic cables stretch thousands of miles all across the world, and can send information quickly and efficiently.
But there are some problems with these cables. First, since they are glass, they can be brittle, which means they can crack and break. Digging up the cables and replacing them is very expensive. Second, in order to produce the cables, factories must use very high heat, which also is very expensive. Fiber optics are amazing, but they could use some improvement.
Interestingly, scientists have found an amazing sponge that has wonderful fiber-optic “cables.” The sponge, called the Venus Flower Basket, lives in the deep waters of the ocean. This sponge produces several fiber-optic cables that grow out of its base. These tiny cables are about as wide as a single human hair, and grow to be anywhere from 2 to 7 inches long.
The fibers produced by the Venus Flower Basket have several advantages over the manmade ones. First, they are produced in cool temperatures. If we humans could learn to copy this, we could save millions of dollars. Second, the fibers from the sponge are very strong and flexible, and do not crack and break like the ones humans produce. In fact, the fibers from the sponge are so flexible they can be tied into a knot. If scientists could learn to make such strong, flexible fibers, we would not have to spend as much time and money repairing our current fiber-optic cables.
Dan Vergano, in an article for USA Today, wrote about the Venus Flower Basket. He quoted several researchers who had been working with the fiber-optic cables of the sponge, or some other facet of biomimetics (the science of copying nature). George Matsumoto, a marine researcher of the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute in Moss Landing, California, said: “Nature often provides us with a better way of doing thing [sic].” He went on to comment that sponges have evolved varied traits over more than 400 million years (2003).
It is amazing that many scientists who are working in the field of biomimicry do not acknowledge the implications of their work. It is a self-evident truth that where there is design, there must of necessity, be a designer; where there is a painting, there must be a painter. Those who study biomimicry freely acknowledge design in nature. For example, what seems to be the official Web site on biomimicry offers a course from its home page titled “Biologists at the Design Table.” In the course summary, under the heading of “Workshop Logistics,” the site describes the participants in the course as those who are “biologists and naturalists with a passion for the natural world, an understanding of sustainability and an interest in applying nature’s elegant design strategies to human challenges” (n.d., “Biomimicry,” emp. added).
Supposedly, then, over a period of billions of years, nature developed “elegant design strategies”—the likes of which even our most educated, brilliant minds have yet to plumb the depths. And yet we are to believe that this “design” somehow originated by a process of blind, evolutionary chance. Such a conclusion steps beyond bounds of logic.
Intelligent scientists have been working on fiber-optic cables for many years, just to get them to work as well as they do now. Yet, the Venus Flower Basket has strong, flexible fibers that are produced in cool temperatures. If there is design, which is even more intricate and efficient than that produced by highly intelligent humans, then the designer of such must have an intellect equal to or greater than the humans themselves. The writer of Hebrews accurately noted: “For every house is built by someone, but he who built all things is God” (3:4). God’s design in the sponge’s fiber-optic “cables” proves that animals like the Venus Flower Basket did not evolve. Design demands a Designer.

REFERENCES

“Biomimicry,” (n.d.) [On-line], URL: http://www.biomimicry.org/intro.html.
Vergano, Dan (2003), “Sponge Goes Man-made Fiber Optics One Better,” USA Today, [On-line],URL: http://www.usatoday.com/tech/news/techinnovations/2003-08-20-sponge-fibers_x.htm.