Past, Present, Future } Christianity

    Our God, the God of the Bible, is the God of all things past, present, and future.  He created all things.  He is the Alpha.  He is the uncaused cause of all that we know.  We can take much comfort in this thought, for the God who created the universe also cares for us.  His care toward us leads me to the fact that He is the God of the present as well.  Not only did God exist in all times past, He exists in the constant present, drawing us ever closer in our walk toward Him, and wooing the lost to come in as sons and daughters through Christ.  He actively hears our prayers.  He is aware of the pains and the sorrows that we face in this sin-affected world with our sin-affected bodies.  There is comfort found there.  Also, God is the God of the future.  He is the Omega, the End.  Only He has the right to end things as they are, as He sees fit.  God is the Victorious Warrior over sin, and the punishment for the evil one has been spelled out.  As sure as we, in our broken bodies, will one day face our appointment with death and then be judged, the great deciever will meet his end at the hand of the LORD.  God has reigned from the beginning, He continues to reign, and He will reign in the future forever.  Amen!!!

    As God Himself is the God of all things past, present and future, it is rightly reflected as such in His word, the Bible.  In the Bible, we have a historical account of the dealings of God with man.  We understand why things are as they are through history, which in turn provides us with a clear worldview by which we live.  The stories of the dealings of God with man hit home, because we can see certain qualities of ourselves in the characters of the Old Testament.  Namely, the brokenness of man that is common to all.  It is a comfort to know that God cares about the broken.  By relating the past to ourselves in the Present, and through the active work of the Holy Spirit on our lives, the Bible is a book of the present as well.  Amazingly, although this book is thousands of years old, it still pierces to the heart of sinful man, drawing men to come to faith in Christ.  God has spelled out the future for us in the Bible as well.  It is through the reading of His word that we understand our gift of eternal life and the punishment that will come to those who reject Him.  We understand that the enemy has already been defeated, because God has decreed it to be so.  And now, we wait, and we look, and most importantly, we work.

    Thus, as God is the God of all things past, present, and future, and as His word reflects all three, it only makes since that we, as God’s children, should be concerned with the past, present, and future as well.  Personally, I would venture to say that most of my life is spent in the present-past, immediate present, or the present-future.  Basically, most of my attention is turned toward the events that have happened, are happening, or will happen in a week or so.  I truly think that this is a problem that I have.  How would my life be different if I considered the far past in relation to today more often?  How would my life be affected if I considered the far future, even unto death, and the promise of God of eternal life after death, and yet even the judgement of God?  I think that focusing on such things cannot help but change the way that we live out our lives in the present.  Now, there is also work to be done in the present.  And there is joy to be found in life and in rest in the present.  My case is simply that I do not spend nearly enough time thinking about the past or the future.

    On a personal note, I am truly benefitted in my own life to stop and think about some of the great memories of times past and the hopes of the time future.  God has blessed my life richly.  I have had a wonderful life so far, and I look forward to what God will do with my flawed person in the future as He sanctifies and draws me to Himself. 

    Mostly, though, I praise God today for rest.  Rest in things past, rest in present troubles, and rest in life eternal.  Glory to God in the Highest!

What’s In A Name?

My birth name is Daniel.  When I was younger, I remember going into Christian bookstores and looking at all of the different name tag trinkets.  Many of them had a name listed, along with the Hebrew meaning of the name.  Not suprisingly, I looked mine up and found out that Daniel means “God is my Judge.”  When I was a child, I did not understand this entirely.  I mean, sure, I understood the basics behind judgement and grace, but nothing of the deeper implications of what they meant.

I am realizing more and more the necessity for me, and for many other Christians, to say as a matter of fact that “God is my Judge” or even “God is our Judge” and finally ”God is the Judge.”

All too often, Christians are criticized for being judgemental toward others.  The conservative church is characterized by self-righteousness and intolerance instead of love and compassion.  Here’s a great example, which I’m sure many of you have heard.  In the book unChristian, research shows that these percentages of people outside of the church believe that Christians are:

* antihomosexual 91%
* judgmental 87%
* hypocritical 85%
* old-fashioned 78%
* too political 75%
* out of touch with reality 72%
* insensitive to others 70%
* boring 68%

Notice that the top three things on the list directly relate to the judgement of others.  So I think: What right do I have to criticize someone of wrongdoing when I myself am guilty of wrongdoing every single day (if not in deed, in thought)?  It’s quite simply the pot calling the kettle black.  Also, my definition of wrongdoing might differ from someone else’s definition of wrongdoing, because not everyone believes in the Bible as the Word of God.  And even of those who claim to believe in the Bible, not everyone believes that it is inspired in plenary verbal form, which in effect allows for personal interpretation to cloud the intent of the Bible’s message, if you even believe that the authors of the Bible had an intent to begin with.

I do know this, though.  When it comes to matters of accountability for sin, I am accountable to no man, but to God.  God is my judge.  I believe, based on the Bible, that we will all give an account for our lives, even for every idle word that is spoken.  I have no right to condemn my fellow man, but I do have an obligation to bring my fellow man into the knowledge of the good news of Christianity:  That there is forgiveness found at the foot of the cross of Christ!  I am not ashamed of this message, for it is the power of God unto salvation.

I cannot judge a person’s righteousness or lack thereof, but God can.  He is the one Just Judge, and He alone defines morality.  No man is accountable to anyone else other than Him.  My only goal is to bring people face to face with the Scripture, as I myself was brought into contact with it.  Sure, it’s offensive.  It hurts our human pride, because we want to think we’re basically good.  The prophet Isaiah even considers our good deeds to be polluted garments in the sight of God’s pure Holiness.  The scripture reveals to us who we really are: sinful humans in need of a Savior.  But…ultimately, what a person does with the gospel is up to them.  I am just thankful for the opportunity to preach it and to try and live it out as God works on me.

Hebrews 9:27,28 – “Just as man is destined to die once, and after that to face judgment, so Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many people; and he will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for him.”

Sometimes…

Sometimes I think about who I have been.  Sometimes I think about the part of me that still is, the part of me that I want to fight against.  Some of the bad choices that I have made, some of the terrible things that I have done or wanted to do, some of the horrible thoughts that have gone through my head, some of the awful words that have escaped my lips.  And I have to wonder…why?  Why should God care about someone so selfish, so undeserving, so flawed?  How can a sinner such as I merit the grace of a perfectly just God?  It’s a mystery to me, one for which I will be eternally grateful.

“Sin and despair like the sea waves cold,
Threaten the soul with infinite loss;
Grace that is greater, yes, grace untold,
Points to the refuge, the mighty cross.”

Shoddy Biblical Scholarship

Oftentimes critics of the Bible engage in rather shoddy scholarship, resorting to weak theories of analysis, picking apart apparent inconsistencies, and then acting as if they are indeed scholars of the highest regard.  (Perhaps not always the last part.)  What many fail to realize is that the Bible is indeed one of the most complex books ever written, which draws upon at least 9 different areas of expertise.  I ran across a well-written article on the internet that addresses this topic.  Be aware though:  he’s rather sarcastic and blunt; however it’s worth reading if you are new to reading the Bible or have questions regarding Biblical interpretation.

Calculated Contempt: Why Bible Critics Do Not Deserve the Benefit of the Doubt

What amazes me is how the Bible can be so complex, yet simple enough that all who will can understand and accept Christ.  Only the inspiration of God could have led to the formation of such a book.

On a side note, the same author addresses in detail the flaws in the popular atheistic film “The God Who Wasn’t There,” which caused a bit of a stir last year (I think last year???).

Again, I do not quite agree with his overall presentation.  Sure, it can be funny to sarcastically make fun of the inconsistencies of others (as atheists often attempt with Christianity), but it does nothing to further the cause of Christ (or atheism, for that matter).  Instead of attacking boldness and pride with boldness and pride, perhaps it would be better to respond with Christ-like humility.