May 27, 1997
Book stores feature a novel that alleges to be the memoirs of Jesus. It is written in first person format, just as if Jesus Himself wrote it. However, author Norman Mailer debunks or diminishes most of the Bible stories about Him. Instead, he treats his own opinions as if they belong to the Lord and claims readers should look upon this book as a “small miracle” compared to the biblical miracles. He “hopes to remain closer to the truth . . . . “ than the Bible does.
In speaking for Jesus, Mailer says His death on the cross was a “debacle and disaster” and that Christianity was invented to disguise or cover up that failure. Remember, this is not a writer merely disagreeing with the Bible but a writer claiming his thoughts are God’s thoughts, then publishing them with the hope people will buy it.
What’s new? It sounds like the same old denial of Christ and His work, dressed up for profit in an genre no one ever used before now. Mailer simply fails to realize the impact of what God has said (through the prophet Isaiah): “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts”?
We have no more idea what God thinks than we can accurately guess the thoughts of other people. Unless we are told, or in God’s case, unless He reveals them, His thoughts are largely beyond the scope of our senses. In fact, God’s thoughts are beyond even our imagination.
For instance, a young pastor preparing to relocate went to a certain city near Calgary was looking for rental property. He was surprised to find none, and even more shocked that housing was at Calgary prices he could not afford. We prayed that God would solve his seemingly unsolvable problem.
A few days later, he called to tell us that the church he is going to work with had been bidding on some property but had given up when a land developer also began bidding. They assumed the developer had more funds to work with. However, the church was awarded the bid. Included with the property, was a house, a place where he could live at a price he can afford.
No one thought of that as a possibility. We saw again how God answers prayer. It is always “exceedingly abundantly above all we ask or think.” No matter how great our imaginations, no one successfully second-guesses God.
As for Mailer, Jesus also said, “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven” even if they claim they “prophesy in (His) name, and in (His) name drive out demons and perform many miracles.” He says, “I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evil doers!’”
The point is, if people are rejected by God because they did not know Christ, even though they use His name and do what appears to be godly deeds, what then will happen to a man who claims to speak for Christ yet blatantly denies that He is who He claimed to be? What happens when anyone denies the written revelation God gave to help us know and believe in Him?
Besides that, God has another way of giving people understanding into His thinking. In 1 Corinthians 2, Paul, who had great faith, says, “No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him—but God has revealed it to us by His Spirit . . . For who has known the mind of the Lord that he may instruct him? But we have the mind of Christ.”
Truth about God is revealed, not imagined. To grasp that revelation, we need the mind of Christ, given freely to those who trust in Him. But the revelation is withheld from anyone who “has not received His Spirit” because they have denied and rejected God’s Word.
Showing posts with label God's thoughts higher than our thoughts. Show all posts
Showing posts with label God's thoughts higher than our thoughts. Show all posts
Friday, March 3, 2017
Friday, April 29, 2016
Supernatural or super dangerous .................. Parables 425
June 14, 1994
A young pastor was not particularly interested in the daily horoscope column. While he knew Christians were not supposed to dabble in such things, he thought it was basically harmless. However, he decided to read it every day, just to prove that it was nothing.
Within weeks, this man lost his ability to minister to his congregation. He could not sleep properly and struggled with roller-coaster emotions, particularly fear. His doctor could find no physical cause for his problems. After other counseling, his daily reading habit came to light. He was encouraged to stop and when he did, his difficulties dramatically ceased.
Horoscopes, Ouija boards, seances, crystal balls, and divining rods have been around for a long time. These and other devices have been used to predict or discern the unknown or communicate with the dead or the spirit world.
Often, those who have experience with such things will tell you of their success. They have discovered their future, or been told to avoid certain things they may otherwise have chosen. Many claim to have talked with, or at least seen images of someone who is dead.
Every now and then, a community hosts a “fair” that features these and other related elements. Those who attend often think nothing of it; it’s just harmless fun.
If asked about the origin of such “supernatural” happenings, some might say “it’s all in your head” or “people have untapped powers” or “there is a lot we don’t know.” Some might even say this belongs to the same realm as God.
While the Bible leaves a lot of things unexplained, it plainly says not everything supernatural is from God. The miracles that He did are not the same as those done by magicians. God’s miracles are never described as tricks or stunts. Their purpose was to deliver His people from danger, make the sick well, give sight to the blind, cause the lame to walk, or demonstrate His power over nature and the elements.
Neither are prophecies God gave the same as those given by fortune-tellers. His predictions concerned what He would do in the lives of His people (usually either to bless or chasten them) or the appearance of the Messiah, or His second coming and the events surrounding the end of the world as we know it. He did not tell people things about their personal future except as it related to their obedience or disobedience to Him.
According to the Bible, other than the realm that relates to God, all intriguing and mystical supernatural activities are off-limits. God warned His people: “Do not turn to mediums or seek out spiritists, for you will be defiled by them. I am the Lord your God” (Leviticus 19:31).
Deuteronomy 18 is more specific: “Let no one be found among you who sacrifices his son or daughter in the fire, who practices divination or sorcery, interprets omens, engages in witchcraft, or casts spells, or who is a medium or spiritist or who consults the dead. Anyone who does these things is detestable to the Lord, and because of these detestable practices the Lord your God will drive out those nations before you. You must be blameless before the Lord your God.”
Notice what God calls these things. He does not find them imaginary, or fascinating, or harmless. To Him, they are detestable, offensive, even repulsive. So are those who practice them.
A person who believes in Christ is given the mind of God (1 Corinthians 2:16) and ought to feel the same way about these things as God does. However, as the young pastor found out, the ungodly side of supernatural also has power to attract and hold even a Christian in bondage. This is one “fair” and one “roller-coaster ride” to stay away from.
A young pastor was not particularly interested in the daily horoscope column. While he knew Christians were not supposed to dabble in such things, he thought it was basically harmless. However, he decided to read it every day, just to prove that it was nothing.
Within weeks, this man lost his ability to minister to his congregation. He could not sleep properly and struggled with roller-coaster emotions, particularly fear. His doctor could find no physical cause for his problems. After other counseling, his daily reading habit came to light. He was encouraged to stop and when he did, his difficulties dramatically ceased.
Horoscopes, Ouija boards, seances, crystal balls, and divining rods have been around for a long time. These and other devices have been used to predict or discern the unknown or communicate with the dead or the spirit world.
Often, those who have experience with such things will tell you of their success. They have discovered their future, or been told to avoid certain things they may otherwise have chosen. Many claim to have talked with, or at least seen images of someone who is dead.
Every now and then, a community hosts a “fair” that features these and other related elements. Those who attend often think nothing of it; it’s just harmless fun.
If asked about the origin of such “supernatural” happenings, some might say “it’s all in your head” or “people have untapped powers” or “there is a lot we don’t know.” Some might even say this belongs to the same realm as God.
While the Bible leaves a lot of things unexplained, it plainly says not everything supernatural is from God. The miracles that He did are not the same as those done by magicians. God’s miracles are never described as tricks or stunts. Their purpose was to deliver His people from danger, make the sick well, give sight to the blind, cause the lame to walk, or demonstrate His power over nature and the elements.
Neither are prophecies God gave the same as those given by fortune-tellers. His predictions concerned what He would do in the lives of His people (usually either to bless or chasten them) or the appearance of the Messiah, or His second coming and the events surrounding the end of the world as we know it. He did not tell people things about their personal future except as it related to their obedience or disobedience to Him.
According to the Bible, other than the realm that relates to God, all intriguing and mystical supernatural activities are off-limits. God warned His people: “Do not turn to mediums or seek out spiritists, for you will be defiled by them. I am the Lord your God” (Leviticus 19:31).
Deuteronomy 18 is more specific: “Let no one be found among you who sacrifices his son or daughter in the fire, who practices divination or sorcery, interprets omens, engages in witchcraft, or casts spells, or who is a medium or spiritist or who consults the dead. Anyone who does these things is detestable to the Lord, and because of these detestable practices the Lord your God will drive out those nations before you. You must be blameless before the Lord your God.”
Notice what God calls these things. He does not find them imaginary, or fascinating, or harmless. To Him, they are detestable, offensive, even repulsive. So are those who practice them.
A person who believes in Christ is given the mind of God (1 Corinthians 2:16) and ought to feel the same way about these things as God does. However, as the young pastor found out, the ungodly side of supernatural also has power to attract and hold even a Christian in bondage. This is one “fair” and one “roller-coaster ride” to stay away from.
Wednesday, September 30, 2015
Understanding Jesus ................ Parables 333
September 1, 1992
Is the Bible hard to interpret? Or does it simply say what it means? Or does it mean whatever the interpreter wants it to mean? Valid questions.
A few weeks ago, I was with nine others who had been given the name of a person in the Bible and some verses to read. We were told to interpret that person’s main character traits and decide what could be learned from him or her. Our group soon discovered we had very different views on the main characteristics of a woman from the New Testament named Martha.
Most of our information came from two passages, Luke 10:38-42 and John 11. Martha was the sister of Mary and Lazarus. One day Jesus came to visit them. Apparently both sisters “sat at Jesus’ feet and heard His word” but this day “Martha was distracted with much serving” so she approached Him and said, “Lord, do You not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Therefore tell her to help me.”
At that, Jesus answered, “Martha, Martha, you are worried and troubled about many things, but one thing is needed, and Mary has chosen that good part, which will not be taken away from her.”
The other passage tells how these sisters reacted to the death of their brother and to Jesus’ apparently deliberate delay in coming to their aid. Martha came out to meet Him with, “Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died.” Jesus talked to her about the resurrection but she thought He meant something in the distant future, not the miracle He was about to perform. Neither passages reveal Jesus’ or Martha’s tone of voice.
A few in the group thought Martha was a whiner who complained even to the Son of God about her lot in life and that she had little confidence in Him. Others thought she was a conscientious person who seemed to believe in Jesus because she brought her problems to Him. The rest of the group wavered, because up to this point, they had never considered the questions.
What I noticed is that those people in the group who are compassionate, even lenient, towards the misdeeds of other Christians, their children, and sometimes even their own sins, were sympathetic to Martha. They saw her as a hard-working woman who took her responsibilities seriously.
In contrast, those in the group who tend to be quick to judge and hold high standards of performance for their families and themselves came down much harder on Martha. To them, she was self-centered and demanding, a person so caught up in temporary matters that she had her priorities wrong.
The real issue in interpretation is not what we think but what did the author intend to reveal? In this case, Luke gave the Lord’s evaluation of Martha. Personally, I would like it better if He had said, “Martha, you are to be congratulated for selflessly giving up Bible study to make lunch...” but that is not what He said. Jesus gently rebuked her — yet note it was not for making lunch, but for being troubled and anxious about all the work that had to be done. Her sister, Mary, had apparently discovered the secret of remaining calm — choosing to sit at the feet of Jesus, at least for a time. Lunch was important but not worth getting an ulcer over.
Interpreting Scripture is seldom simple. The meaning of some passages will always be debatable because there is not enough information to offer certainty regarding the author intentions. However we can and should be aware of our own prejudices and presuppositions. Considering that, my understanding of Martha has been affected by whether or not I personally value “service” over “sitting at Jesus feet.” Sometimes Jesus’ rebuke has applied to me.
Therefore, a vital consideration when interpreting Scripture is that it may not always agree with and confirm our own particular perspective... instead, it will likely challenge us to change.
Is the Bible hard to interpret? Or does it simply say what it means? Or does it mean whatever the interpreter wants it to mean? Valid questions.
A few weeks ago, I was with nine others who had been given the name of a person in the Bible and some verses to read. We were told to interpret that person’s main character traits and decide what could be learned from him or her. Our group soon discovered we had very different views on the main characteristics of a woman from the New Testament named Martha.
Most of our information came from two passages, Luke 10:38-42 and John 11. Martha was the sister of Mary and Lazarus. One day Jesus came to visit them. Apparently both sisters “sat at Jesus’ feet and heard His word” but this day “Martha was distracted with much serving” so she approached Him and said, “Lord, do You not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Therefore tell her to help me.”
At that, Jesus answered, “Martha, Martha, you are worried and troubled about many things, but one thing is needed, and Mary has chosen that good part, which will not be taken away from her.”
The other passage tells how these sisters reacted to the death of their brother and to Jesus’ apparently deliberate delay in coming to their aid. Martha came out to meet Him with, “Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died.” Jesus talked to her about the resurrection but she thought He meant something in the distant future, not the miracle He was about to perform. Neither passages reveal Jesus’ or Martha’s tone of voice.
A few in the group thought Martha was a whiner who complained even to the Son of God about her lot in life and that she had little confidence in Him. Others thought she was a conscientious person who seemed to believe in Jesus because she brought her problems to Him. The rest of the group wavered, because up to this point, they had never considered the questions.
What I noticed is that those people in the group who are compassionate, even lenient, towards the misdeeds of other Christians, their children, and sometimes even their own sins, were sympathetic to Martha. They saw her as a hard-working woman who took her responsibilities seriously.
In contrast, those in the group who tend to be quick to judge and hold high standards of performance for their families and themselves came down much harder on Martha. To them, she was self-centered and demanding, a person so caught up in temporary matters that she had her priorities wrong.
The real issue in interpretation is not what we think but what did the author intend to reveal? In this case, Luke gave the Lord’s evaluation of Martha. Personally, I would like it better if He had said, “Martha, you are to be congratulated for selflessly giving up Bible study to make lunch...” but that is not what He said. Jesus gently rebuked her — yet note it was not for making lunch, but for being troubled and anxious about all the work that had to be done. Her sister, Mary, had apparently discovered the secret of remaining calm — choosing to sit at the feet of Jesus, at least for a time. Lunch was important but not worth getting an ulcer over.
Interpreting Scripture is seldom simple. The meaning of some passages will always be debatable because there is not enough information to offer certainty regarding the author intentions. However we can and should be aware of our own prejudices and presuppositions. Considering that, my understanding of Martha has been affected by whether or not I personally value “service” over “sitting at Jesus feet.” Sometimes Jesus’ rebuke has applied to me.
Therefore, a vital consideration when interpreting Scripture is that it may not always agree with and confirm our own particular perspective... instead, it will likely challenge us to change.
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