Seek and Ye Shall Find

Then And Now

2011-08-20T01:25:00.000-04:00

Let's check out the interior workings of the Bible. I have been doing so many extra-scripture studies because to me it helps to bring the Word alive when I know everything else that was going on at the time!

Jerome (340-420) began his lifestyle of contemplation and rigorous self-denial for religious purposes, as a hermit but found he needed something to occupy his mind. He took up Hebrew and eventually began teaching classes in biblical interpretation. In A. D. 382 he would translate the Old and New Testament from their original languages (Hebrew and Greek) into Latin─what we call the "Vulgate."

The test of canonicity included: (1) the book had to have a history of being used in Christian worship; (2) the book had to be written by an apostle, or associated with an apostle; and (3) the book had to have evidenced power in the lives of believers.

No New Testament. During the entire first century and much of the second century there was no concept of a New Testament canon. Church fathers often quoted from sources that were familiar in tone yet different in the names of the sources. Paul's writings were the most well known and were quoted often, but they were not thought of as scriptural.

The term New Testament was created by Tertullian around the year 200. In an attempt to move the church away from Greek and toward Latin, which has become the preferred language of scholars, Tertullian referred to the writings of the Christian church as Novum Testamentum--a phrase we still employ today. Interestingly Tertullian also coined the term Trinity to refer to the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

A New Testament Canon was not looked upon favorably at first. In fact it was through heretical movements that the New Testament came into being as a legitimate part of the Holy Bible. Marcion was a teacher who broke away from the church in Rome. Around A. D. 150 he rejected the Old Testament and instead chose to accept only ten letters from Paul along with the Gospel of Luke as authoritative Christian Scripture.

The Muratorian Canon is named for its discoverer, L.A. Muratori, who first published it in 1740. A fascinating look into the early church, it reveals that by the year 190, Christians had developed their own New Testament and put it alongside the Jewish Scriptures─the former the fulfillment of the latter. It contains in order: Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, Acts, 1 and 2 Corinthians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, Galatians, 1 and 2 Thessalonians, Romans, Philemon, Titus, 1 and 2 Timothy, the Apocalypse of John (Revelations), the Apocalypse of Peter, and the Wisdom of Solomon.

Some books of Scripture faced challenges. Christians in the West didn't like Hebrews, while those in the East opposed Revelation. Church historian Eusebuis, writing in the fourth century, noted that James, 2 Peter, 2 and 3 John, Jude, and Revelation were the only books "spoken against." Martin Luther would challenge the Book of James in the sixteenth century, calling it "an epistle of straw."

Accepted at last. The Eastern church accepted the New Testament as we know it in A. D. 367 with the 39th Pashal Letter of Athanasius, and the Western church followed suit after Pope Damascus called a synod together in Rome in 382.

The allegorical method of interpretation went to extreme lengths to try to make the Old Testament into a Christian book. Origen, one of the first Christian theologians, believed that "the Scriptures were composed through the Spirit of God and have both a meaning which is obvious and another which is hidden." He then proceeded to create all sorts of allegorical meanings to the Word of God─infuriating his critics, who felt that Origen was crafting theological implications out of thin air.

I hope I didn't cross your eyes too much, but this kind of info is fascinating to me! I'll finish this up in the next lesson!

by Bonnie Calhoun

Moses And The Exodus

2011-06-26T00:00:00.005-04:00

In our Sunday lesson, I want to delve into the incredible accuracy of the Old Testament. Although the Bible has been relentlessly attacked by unbelieving scholars for more than a century, it still stands as the most accurate and authoritative book ever written.

Evidence from historical inscriptions and manuscripts discovered in the last century prove that the Word of God is inspired. Although we will never be able to verify every miniscule piece of data, the overwhelming evidence will provide any reader with the confidence that we have established the credibility of the greatest book ever written!

For example: Critics denied that Moses could have written his account in the fifteenth century before Christ because they claimed that writing was not yet invented. However, the discovery by archeologists of numerous ancient written inscriptions, including the famous black stele containing the Laws of Hammurabi written before 2000 B.C., have conclusively proven that writing was widespread for many centuries before the time of Moses.

The Greek historian Herodotus discussed the Exodus in his book Polymnia, section c. 89: "This people [the Israelites], by their own account, inhabited the coasts of the Red Sea, but migrated thence to the maritime parts of Syria, all which district, as far as Egypt, is denominated Palestine."

It is an interesting note about Herodotus is that he was a secular historian. In his own history, he wrote, "my business is to record what people say. But I am by no means bound to believe it." We can also note that he was extremely careful and accurate in his recording of historical fact.

Another interesting note is that Strabo, a pagan historian and geographer who was born in 54 B.C., also confirmed the history of the Jews and their escape from Egypt under the leadership of Moses. He wrote, "Among many things believed respecting the temple and inhabitants of Jerusalem, the report most credited is that the Egyptians were the ancestors of the present Jews.

An Egyptian priest named Moses, who possessed a portion of the country called lower Egypt, being dissatisfied with the institutions there, left it and came to Judea with a large body of people who worshipped the Divinity." (Strabo, Geography, lib.xvi.,c.2).

Many critics have also suggested that such a dry desert area as the Sinai could never have supported the huge flocks of sheep of the Israelites as recorded in Exodus. In 1860, W. Holland explored most of the Sinai Peninsula. Despite the present conditions, he found some areas that would still support large herds and that at one time the peninsula itself was formerly thickly wooded. (W. Holland, Recent Explorations in the Peninsula of Sinai, 1869)

by Bonnie Calhoun

Land Of The Bible

2011-04-27T23:15:00.001-04:00

Today lesson from the land of the Bible, will literally be a lesson of the land where the Bible originated.

Most rivers in the Bible lands dry up during the rainless summer, but not the Nile. Heavy rains and melting snow feed the tributaries that form the Nile River. The torrent of water reaches Egypt during the late summer and it overflows the banks, leaving a fresh layer of fertile moist soil along its banks.

The Holy Land is so small that a soaring eagle can see almost all it at once on a clear day. From Dan to Beersheba is little more than 150 miles, roughly the same distance as from New York City to Albany. From east to west, the Holy Land is even narrower. At its widest point, a hundred miles lie between the Mediterranean coast and the Arabian Desert on the east. The land in which such great events took place is only a little larger than the state of New Jersey and smaller than Belgium.

The Holy Lands position at the crossroads of three continents makes it a meeting ground for species of plant and animals of different origins. Almost every kind of bird, for example, that inhabits northern Africa, southern Europe, and western Asia has been seen at one time or another in the Bible Lands. The fauna comes from as far away as Central Asia (the horse), equatorial Africa (the crocodile), and western Europe (the stork).

The great variety of deserts, mountains, forests, grasslands, lakes, and seashores provide nearly every possible habitat in which plants and animals can find the exact living conditions they need. About 2,500 species of trees and shrubs and annual and perennial plants grow in the Holy Land; Egypt, although much larger, has only 1,500. About 700 species of mammals, birds, and reptiles are found in the Holy Land.

The contrasts in the landscape are remarkable. Mount Hermon rises to 9,400 feet, and its summit is artic in climate. A little over a hundred miles away, at the Dead Sea, the climate is tropical. In the same glance you can see snow-capped mountains and sun-baked deserts. Alongside cultivated fields are stark deserts that afford scarcely enough pasture for flocks.

The road from Jerusalem to Jericho drops three thousand feet in only fifteen miles, and while fruit is growing on the farms around Jericho, it may be snowing in Jerusalem. The varied animals and plants, the many different landscapes, the abrupt changes in climate─all these realities were observed by the bible's writers. And they put them to use to illustrate spiritual teachings.

The Jordan Valley is part of the Great Rift that extends from Turkey deep into Africa for four thousand miles. The Great Rift is the deepest chasm on the face of the globe. Unlike the Grand Canyon, which was formed by the process of erosion, great swells and cracking of the earth's crust caused huge blocks of land to collapse, leaving deep valleys that were flooded. In the Holy Land this formed the Jordan River, Lake Huleh, the Sea of Galilee, and the Dead Sea.

The shore of the Dead Sea is the lowest place on the land surface of the earth. This sea is also the saltiest body of water in the world, and nine times saltier than the oceans! It is so salty that it is impossible for a human swimmer to sink in it. During the Roman siege of Jerusalem in A.D. 70, a Roman commander sentenced some prisoners to death by having them thrown in from a hill, but they did not drown, Several times they were pulled out and tossed in again, yet each time they bobbed to the surface. The commander was impressed by this seeming miracle, since he did not understand its cause, and he pardoned the prisoners.

Ancient Hebrew had an unlimited supply of salt. They formed brine pits called "salt-pans" along the Dead Sea's flat coastal area. The sun evaporated the water in the pits, leaving behind an abundant supply of mineral salts.

Salt was the chief economic product of the ancient world, and the Hebrews used it in a variety if ways: for flavoring foods, preserving fish, curing meat, and pickling olives and vegetables. Infants were rubbed in salt to insure good health before swaddling. Salt was also believed to have been an antidote for tooth decay. Salt was an ingredient in the sacred anointing oil and ritual sacrifices symbolizing God's perpetual covenant with Israel (Numbers 18:19).

by Bonnie Calhoun

My Jesus

2011-03-08T13:59:00.000-05:00

My Jesus is the . . .

Light of the World, so I will invite His warmth and radiance into all the dark and cold places of my life that He might expose and remove my sin and selfishness.
Only Wise God, so I can boldly ask and receive from Him necessary insight, guidance and direction for my life today.
Rock of my Salvation, so I will rest secure and safe, knowing that He has already done everything to save me and to keep me in His love forever.
Desire of all Nations, so I will passionately proclaim his truth and beauty in every place, expressing to others the delight I have found in Him.

Justifier, so I do not have to work today to be accepted by God, but can simply live in the grace that has made me pure and lovely in His sight.
Emmanuel, so I will enjoy and practice His wonderful presence in my life today, knowing that He is with me always.
Strength of My Soul, so I come to Him in humility, delighting in my weaknesses, that His power may be demonstrated through me in every situation I encounter.
Unchanging Friend, so I will enjoy his faithful companionship and rest securely in his always-reliable love and commitment to me.
Savior, so I will kneel before His cross in grateful worship and will live by faith in the One who loved me and gave Himself for me.

Cornerstone, so I will confidently base my well-being on the truth of who He is and allow Him to build my life by His strength and stability.
Healer of my Soul, so I will come to him in with all my hurts, disappointments and fears to receive His supernatural touch of wholeness, encouragement and peace.
Resurrection and the Life, so I will let Him live through me today in the triumph He has already achieved over all sin and death.
Image of the Invisible God, so I will draw near and gaze upon Him in intimacy today that He might reveal the fullness of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit to my heart.
Shield of my Salvation, so I will trust Him today to protect my faith and to preserve my life in Him by His promise and power.
Truth, so I will come to Him with all my doubts and questions, receiving counsel from His reliable word and consolation from His Spirit in order to live with confidence in this world.

by Bonnie S. Calhoun

A Spirit Was Sent #2

2011-02-23T13:19:00.000-05:00

Let us continue our study of the Holy Spirit.

One of the most common descriptors for the Holy Spirit is the name "Comforter." This comes from the Greek word paracletos, which literally means "one who comes alongside." The Holy Spirit is God's way of personally coming alongside each believer (see John 15:26)

The Holy Spirit is referred to as our "guide" in several New Testament passages. This reveals the Spirit's job of leading believers into maturity in Christ. As John 16:13 puts it, "The Spirit of truth...will guide you..."

Romans 8:26-27 describes the Holy Spirit as our intercessor. In that role he will reveal the Father's will, pray with us, and connect us to the Father.

The work of the Holy Spirit is evident in creation (see Gen. 1:2, 26), in the inspiration of Scripture (see 2 Tim. 3:16 and 2 Peter 1:21), and in the salvation of humankind (see John 7:38-39).

The Holy Spirit was active in the Old Testament. He empowered Gideon in Judges 6:34, Samson in Judges 14:6, and David in 1 Samuel 16:13.

"Quenching the Spirit" is referred to in several passages of Scripture, including 1 Thessalonians 5:19, Psalm 51, and 1 Samuel 16:14. Sin, particularly secret sin in the life of a believer, will prevent the Spirit from working in one's life.

The Holy Spirit became manifest in the lives of believers on the day of Pentecost, when he came upon the members of the early church and allowed them to speak in other tongues so that everyone in the crowd heard their own language (see Acts 2).

"And be not drunk with wine... but be filled with the Spirit," Paul wrote in Ephesians 5:18. The "filling of the Spirit" is likened to being drunk, since control of our lives is turned over to something else─in this case, God. Some charismatic and Pentecostal groups believe this is a regular event in the lives of believers, while most other believers see the filling of the Spirit as a one-time event, occurring at the moment of salvation.

One if the activities of the Holy Spirit is to provide believers with spiritual gifts. Romans 12 and 1 Corinthians 12 both describe a number of gifts the Spirit gives to believers, including wiadom, knowledge, faith, healing, miracles, prophecy, tongues, interpretation, serving, teaching, discerning, and encouraging. While each believer has been given at least one spiritual gift, no one has a right to ask for a particular gift. These gifts blend together in a church to bring unity to the body of Christ.

The Holy Spirit also produces "fruit" in the lives of believers. Galatians 5:22-23 details some of the fruit that is produced: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.

"Blasphemy against the Holy Spirit" is sometimes referred to as "the unpardonable sin." According to Matthew 12:22-32, Mark 3:22-30, and Luke 12:10, blasphemy against the Holy Spirit refers to examining the clear, supernatural work of God and ascribing it to satan.

The Spirit was active all along from the beginning of time, hovering over the waters at creation and inspiring God's messengers throughout the Old Testament history─378 passages in the Hebrew Bible mention the Spirit!

by Bonnie Calhoun

A Spirit Was Sent

2011-02-21T11:51:00.000-05:00

Today, I felt led to study the Holy Spirit.

This study is called "pneumatology," which comes from the Greek words pneuma (meaning "spirit") and logos (meaning "doctrine").

The Hebrew word that is commonly translated "Spirit" literally means "wind" or "breath." Thus the "Spirit of God" is literally the invisible, active presence of God. You can hear the wind and see its result as it moves the branches of a tree, but you cannot see the wind itself. Similarly the actions of the Holy Spirit are evident in the lives of believers, even though we cannot see him directly.

The Spirit is a person. Before ut can be decided that the Holy Spirit is God, it must first be established that he is a person, not mere influence or divine power. And he truly is. Though the Greek term for spirit is neuter, Jesus in John 14:26 and 16:13-14 used the masculine pronoun "he" when speaking of the Holy Spirit. He also has the three essential elements of personality: intellect (1 Cor. 2:11), sensibilities (Rom. 8:27; 15:30), and will (1Cor. 12:11). He can be tempted (Acts 5:9), lied to (Acts 5:3), grieved (Eph. 4:30), resisted (Acts 7:51), insulted (Heb. 10:29), and blasphemed (Matt. 12:31-32).

The Holy Spirit is recognized as God. He is a divine person as can be shown by his attributes of diety: He is eternal )Heb. 9:14), omniscient (1 Cor. 2:10-11), omnipotent (Luke 1:35), and omnipresent (Ps.139:7-10). Works of Deity are also ascribed to him such as creation, regeneration, inspiration of the Scriptures, and raising of the dead.

Some groups (for example, the Jehovah's Witness) view the Holy Spirit as a "force" or "power", rather than as a person. However, that heresy grew largely from the translators of the King James Bible, who referred to the Spirit as "it."

The Holy Spirit has personality, as revealed by the fact that he has a will (1Cor. 12:11), a mind (Rom 8:27), knowledge (John 14:26), the ability to communicate (Acts 1:16), and emotions (Eph. 4:30). His personality is also demonstrated in the fact that he has a job: to teach, guide, restrain, comfort, and intercede on behalf of believers.

The New Testament reveals that the Spirit can be grieved, quenched, resisted, blasphemed, and insulted.

The Holy Spirit is referred to as "God" in Acts 5:3-4, as "Lord" in 2 Corinthians 3:18, ans as being equal to the Father and the Son in Matthew 28:19.

Scripture reveals the divine attributes of the Holy Spirit, referring to him as eternal (Heb. 9:14), omniscient (John 14:26), omnipotent (Job 26:13), all wise (Isa. 40:13), sovereign (1 Cor. 12:11), and the giver of life (Rom. 8:2).

I will finish this study of the Holy Spirit on Wednesday evening.

by Bonnie Calhoun

92 Year Old Preacher

2010-08-19T14:09:00.005-04:00

While watching a little TV on Sunday instead of going to church, I watched a church in Atlanta honoring one of its senior pastors who had been retired many years. He was 92 at that time and I wondered why the church even bothered to ask the old gentleman to preach at that age.

After a warm and welcoming introduction of this speaker, and as the applause quieted down, he rose from his high back chair and walked slowly, with great effort and a sliding gait to the podium. Without a noteor written paper of any kind he placed both hands on the pulpit to steady himself and then quietly and slowly he began to speak...

"When I was asked to come here today and talk to you, your pastor asked me to tell you what was the greatest lesson ever learned in my 50-odd years of preaching. I thought about it for a few days and boiled it down to just one thing that made the most difference in my life and sustained me through all my trials... The one thing that I could always rely on when tears and heartbreak and pain and fear and sorrow paralyzed me... the only thing that would comfort was this verse...

"Jesus loves me this I know.
For the Bible tells me so.
Little ones to Him belong,
we are weak but He is strong...
Yes, Jesus loves me....
The Bible tells me so."

When he finished, the church was quiet. You actually could hear his foot steps as he shuffled back to his chair. I don't believe I will ever forget it.

A pastor once stated, "I always noticed that it was the adults who chose the children's hymn 'Jesus Loves Me' (for the children of course) during a hymn sing, and it was the adults who sang the loudest because I could see they knew it the best."

"Senior version of Jesus Loves Me" (Below)

Here is a new version just for us who have white hair or no hair at all. For us over middle age (or even those almost there) and all you others, check out this newest version of Jesus Loves Me.

JESUS LOVES ME

Jesus loves me, this I know,
Though my hair is white as snow
Though my sight is growing dim,
Still He bids me trust in Him.
(CHORUS)
YES, JESUS LOVES ME.. YES, JESUS LOVES ME..
YES, JESUS LOVES ME, FOR THE BIBLE TELLS ME SO.

Though my steps are oh, so slow,
With my hand in His I'll go
On through life, let come what may,
He'll be there to lead the way.
(CHORUS)

When the nights are dark and long,
In my heart He puts a song..
Telling me in words so clear,
"Have no fear, for I am near."
(CHORUS)

When my work on earth is done,
And life's victories have been won.
He will take me home above,
Then I'll understand His love.
(CHORUS)

I love Jesus, does He know?
Have I ever told Him so?
Jesus loves to hear me say,
That I love Him every day.
(CHORUS)

If you think this is neat, please pass it on to your friends. If you do not pass it on, nothing bad will happen, but you will have missed an opportunity to "reach out and touch" a friend or a loved one.

God Bless Us All!

by Bonnie S. Calhoun

Answers :How Many of These Bible Stories Can You Name?

2010-07-17T19:10:00.000-04:00

I'm sorry for the delay but life got in the way!

ROFLOL...now that I have regaled you with my poetic rhyme I will give you the awaited answers. And LOL...only two of you were somewhat close!

The well-known evangelist that committed suicide is Judas in Matthew 27: 1-10

The innocent man tortured and executed while townspeople cheer is Jesus in Luke 23:13-25

The fat man found murdered is the story of Ehud in Judges 3:12-25.

The man who cuts up his raped wife is the Levite in Judges 19:22-30.

The woman savaged by vicious dogs is Jezebel in 2Kings 9:30-37.

And the woman who used the tent peg thru the head to pin the man to to ground is in the Song of Deborah. It's Jael in Judges 5:20-27.

There are a ton more great and interesting stories in the Bible. How many of them do you know?

God bless.

by Bonnie S. Calhoun

How Many of These Bible Stories Can You Name?

2010-07-02T01:45:00.000-04:00

How many of these bible stories can you name? I'll give you the answers over the weekend...LOL...or tomorrow if enough people bug me :-)

And there's another one to add to the mix:

42 Youth Mauled by Bear for Taunting Prophet!

by Bonnie S. Calhoun

The Names of Jesus

2010-06-19T11:30:00.003-04:00

Prompted by a Facebook comment about the name of Jesus not being valid, I decided to share this teaching I have done on His name in the past.

The Tanakh, which is the Old Testament in Hebrew, was translated into Greek for the Jews of the 2nd and 3rd centuries B.C.E. The translation was called the Septuagint or LXX. Septuagint means “Translation of the Seventy” because it was transcribed by 70 Jewish translators.

You must remember that this was a translation of the Masoretic Text, so even though it works great really for certain types of biblical research, it does not take authority over the original Hebrew. Now that I’ve added that caveat, let’s look at the Hebraic concepts that were translated into Greek.

The Greek equivalent of “Christ” comes from their word “christos,” which is the equivalent of the Hebrew “messiah” (masciach) meaning the “Anointed One.”

In the Septuagint, a short list of finding “christos” (Christ) and “christian” which are the the direct subjects of verbs takes us to these places in the Old Testament.

Leviticus 4:5, 6:15, 21:12
1 Samuel 24:7, 24:11; 26:9, 11, 16, 23
2 Samuel 1:14, 16; 2:5, 19:22, 23:1
2 Chronicles 22:7
Lamentations 4:20
Amos 4:13
Psalm 19:7, 20:6, 88:39

There is also textual evidence that before Jesus came, the Greek-speaking Jews of that day referred to the Maschiach as Christos…ergo “Christ.” During the time of Jesus, when he was considered the Messiah, they referred to him as ho christos “the Christ.”

Now for the name of Jesus. Yeshua originated from Joshua’s Hebrew name, Yehoshua, which when shortened was Yeshua, which when translated to Greek becomes Iesous (Yay-soos). In old English, the “y” sound was rendered as “j”, and so we get “Jesus.”

To argue that Yeshua’s name was incorrectly transliterated is like complaining that the Jews are called “Jews” rather than the exact term “Y’hudi” which was also transliterated from the Greek word Ioudaios and thusly became our English word “Judean.”

ROFLOL…So we should really be calling Judiasm by the name “Yoodiasm.”

The bottom line is that for those of us raised with the Latin alphabet in English speaking countries, our Lord’s name is Jesus Christ…and it’s all good. AMEN.

by Bonnie S. Calhoun

Son Of God Scroll

2010-06-18T22:14:00.001-04:00

Today we're going to look at the "Son of God" scroll.

This was found in Cave Four known as 4Q246, and it refers to the hope of a future Messiah figure. Amazingly this scroll refers to the Messiah as "the son of God" and the "son of the Most High." These words are the exact words recorded in the Gospel of Luke.

The Text of Scroll 4Q246 – the Son of God Scroll

"He shall be called the son of God,
and they shall designate [call] him son of the Most High.
Like the appearance of comets, so shall be their kingdom.
For brief years they shall reign over the earth and shall trample on all;
one people shall trample on another and
one province on another until the people of God shall rise and all shall rest from the sword."

Compare the words in the scroll to the inspired words found in Luke 1:32 and 35!

Anyone comparing these two first century texts will be startled by the amazing similarity of concept and wording describing the Messianic leader. One of the great differences between Christians and Jewish conceptions of the promised Messiah revolves around His relationship to God.

While the Jews believe the Messiah will be a great man, such as Moses, with a divine mission, the Christians believe that the Bible teaches that the Messiah would be uniquely "the Son of God."

The Jewish view usually held that the concept of a "son of God" violated the primary truth of monotheism found in Deuteronomy 6:4, "Hear, O Israel" The Lord our God is one Lord."

The Christians believed that Jesus' claim to be the Son of God was not a violation of Deuteronomy 6:4. Rather, Christians believe in the Trinity, the doctrine that the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit are revealed in the Bible to be One God, revealed in three personalities.

As Christians, we do not believe in three separate Gods. Therefore, Christians understand the statement about Jesus as the Son of God to be in complete conformity to the truth of monotheism─there is only one God.

The presence of these statements in the Dead Sea scrolls suggests that some of the Essenes either accepted the Messianic claims of Jesus to be the Son of God or anticipated this concept. The discovery of the virtually identical wording "the Son of God" from Luke 1:32 and 35 with the scroll found buried in a cave in A.D.68, stands as a tremendous witness to the early existence and transmission of the Gospel record within thirty-five years of Christ.

If the Gospels were written and distributed within thirty-five years of the events of the life of Jesus, then they stand as the best witness historical records we could ever hope to possess.

In fact, all of these ancient historical records confirm the truth of the Gospels

To do personal study on the Dead Sea Scrolls, I recommend these two sites"

Portions of this article came from Grant R. Jeffries "The Signature of God"(but this is a revised edition not the original that we studied)

Scrolls from the Dead Sea

Dead Sea Scrolls

by Bonnie Calhoun

Get Walking

2010-06-15T10:44:00.002-04:00

Someone sent this to me today I couldn't resist sharing. It's written by Dan Miller of 48 Days.

"I prayed for twenty years but received no answer until I prayed with my legs."
-- Frederick Douglass

Far too many people who are 'praying' for solutions and answers, and simply living in that prayerful mode - hands folded and eyes closed, waiting on God to supernaturally give them the specific answer that will remove their challenge. So, just how does God answer our prayers?

Imagine any of these situations with me:
You really need a job
You'd like a better car
You want to make peace with your spouse
Your lawn mower is broken
You want to have a best-selling book
You would like to have a college degree
You want to be a more effective parent
You must have $5,000 for a new air conditioning unit

I believe God is the providential supplier of everything we need. But I also believe that his delivery system requires our active participation - 'praying with our legs.' If you need a job identify 30-40 target companies; contact them each three times and God will provide a job. If you want a best-selling book write something of value then be willing to persist through the rejection of 14 publishers as Max Lucado did with his first book (his books have now sold over 30 million copies.) - and watch God open doors. If you want a college degree explore six options for doing so that are possible even while you continue working. Block out 2 hours a day for focused study and see God allow that degree to be yours.

And can I find scripture to support faith and prayer that involve our legs? Oh yeah. My favorite is in Exodus 14:15. Moses is dealing with those whining, complaining children of Israel who see the Egyptians coming after them in the desert. I can just see them on their knees, praying and begging God to solve their problems. And the verse says - 'Then the Lord said to Moses, "Quit praying and get the people moving! Forward, march!" - (Living Bible)

God provides food for the birds - but he doesn't just show up and throw it in their nest. Sometimes the exercise of faith we need most may be to engage our spiritual quadriceps, stretch those hamstrings and use our gluteus maximus for something other than supporting our head while we pray.

by Bonnie S. Calhoun

The Dead Sea Scrolls

2010-06-11T02:07:00.001-04:00

This week and next week we're going to study the biblical evidence about Jesus, written in the Dead Sea Scrolls.

If someone had asked a minister in 1947 to prove that the original Hebrew Scriptures from the Old Testament were reliably copied without error throughout the last two thousand years, he might have had difficulty proving an answer.

The oldest Old Testament manuscript used by the King James translators was dated approximately A.D. 1100. Obviously, that old manuscript was a copy of a copy of a copy, for over two thousand years.

How could we be sure that the text in the A.D. 1100 copy was identical to the original text? An extraordinary discovery occurred in the turbulent years before Israel became a nation!

A Bedouin Arab found a cave in Qumran near the Dead Sea which ultimately yielded over a thousand priceless manuscripts dating back to A.D.68, when the Roman legions destroyed the Qumran village during the Jewish war against Rome.

When the ancient Hebrew scrolls, discovered by this Arab shepherd boy, were examined by scholars, they found that the Qumran site contained a library with hundreds of precious texts of both biblical and secular manuscripts that dated back before the destruction of the Second Temple and the death of Jesus Christ.

The most important discovery was the immense library of biblical texts in Cave Four. They found every single book of the Old Testament with the exception of the Book of Ester. Multiple copies of several biblical texts such as Genesis, Deuteronomy and Isaiah were found in Cave Four.

Scholars were able to reach back a further two thousand years in time to examine biblical texts that has lain undisturbed in the desert cave during all of the intervening centuries. The scholars discovered that the manuscripts copies of the most authoritative Hebrew text, Textus Recepticus, used by the King James translators in 1611, were virtually identical to these ancient Dead Sea Scrolls.

Aside from a tiny number of spelling variations, not a single word was altered from the original scrolls. How could the Bible have been copied so accurately and faithfully over the many centuries without human error entering into the text?

The answer is found in the overwhelming respect and fear of God that motivated Jewish and Christian scholars whose job was to faithfully copy the text of the Bible. In a later lesson I will show how the Masoretic scribes meticulously copied the text of the Scriptures over the centuries.

In 1991 the world was astonished to hear that one of the unpublished scrolls included incredible references to a "Messiah" who suffered crucifixion for the sins of men. The scroll was translated by Dr. Robert Eisenman, Professor of Middle East Religions of California State University.

This five line scroll contained fascinating information about the death of the Messiah. This exciting discovery reveals that the Essene writer of this scroll understood the dual role of the Messiah as Christians did.

This scroll identified the Messiah as the "Shoot of Jesse" [King David's father] the "Branch of David", and declared that he was the "pierced" and "wounded." The word "pierced reminds us of the Messianic prophecy in Psalm 22:16: "They pierced my hands and feet." The prophet Jeremiah [23:5] said, "I will raise unto David a righteous branch."

We will continue this study next week with the "Son of God" scroll!

by Bonnie Calhoun

Power Verse of the Week

2010-02-03T11:36:00.000-05:00

My power verse for the week: 2 Corinthians 5:10..."For we must all appear before the judgement seat of Christ, that each one may receive the things done in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad."

Yikes! Doesn't that put a stab in your heart! First response is, "But I'm washed in the blood and forgiven." In other words..."I should be forgiven for everything I ever do bad, even when I know I'm doing wrong 'cause I'm cleaned of my sins by Jesus."

ROFLOL...right! And what do you think that God thinks when you willingly sin, but ask for forgiveness after the fact?

Accepting Jesus as our Lord and Savior gives us that reliablity that we are NOT going to be sent to hell for our sins. Because God can not look upon sin. He turns away. But when we accept Jesus, He covers those sins so God doesn't have to turn away.

But the verse clearly tells you that we're going to get a talking to...just thankfully not sent to hell for the transgressions. I like to say in heaven there are many crowns. Some of us are going to get crowns...and some of us are going to get crowned!

The teens in my Sunday School class were discussing this a few weeks ago, as they had never seen this particular verse, and were aghast that their going to get a talking to.

My response: "If you don't want a talking to...live a righteous life."

by Bonnie Calhoun

The 12 Days of Christmas called Epiphany

2010-01-06T11:46:00.000-05:00

The celebration of the 12 Days of Christmas has long been heralded in the song by the same name and that song has led to the misnomer that it is celebrated in the 12 days leading up to Christmas. But this is not the case.

Eastern and Western churches both celebrate the Epiphany 12 days AFTER Christmas. But they both celebrate it slightly different to add to your confusion!

The Eastern Churches celebrate the baptism of Christ in the Jordan, calling it the Feast of Theophany, where the emphasis is on the "shining forth" and revelation of Jesus Christ as the Messiah and Second Person of the Trinity as the baptism occured. They celebrate on January 6th.

The Western Churches celebrate the coming of the Magi (traditionally named Caspar, Melchior, and Balthasar) when they sought out the infant Jesus with gifts that carried great prophetic significance. Gold reflected the kingship of Jesus the Messiah. Frankincense was a spice used in the priestly duties. And myrrh was an embalming ointment that signified Jesus' death.

The Western historically observed it as 12-day feast beginning on Christmas Day and ending on January 5th. But the liturgical church (Roman Catholic Church) in 1970 revised their calendar of saints and Epiphany is now celebrated on January 6th.

Urban legend declares that religious symbolism is hidden in the gifts named in the popular 12 Days of Christmas song. That is questionable, but it's interesting to take note of the symbolism that some people have placed on the gifts:

A Partridge in a Pear Tree - Jesus Christ
Two Turtle Doves - The Old and New Testaments
Three French Hens - Faith, Hope and Charity, the theological values
Four Calling Birds - Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, or the Four Gospels
Five Golden Rings – The five books of Moses, the "Pentateuch", which gives the history of man's fall from grace.
Six Geese-a-Laying – The six days of creation before God rested
Seven Swans-a-Swimming – The seven gifts of the Holy Spirit, the seven sacraments
Eight Maids-a-Milking – The eight Beatitudes
Nine Ladies Dancing – The nine fruits of the Holy Spirit
Ten Lords-a-Leaping - Ten Commandments
Eleven Pipers Piping - Eleven faithful disciples
Twelve Drummers Drumming -Twelve points of belief in the Apostles' Creed

Here is a great rendition of the Twelve Days of Christmas. Be blessed!

by Bonnie Calhoun

Historical Evidence of Jesus

2009-12-04T14:12:00.000-05:00

by Bonnie Calhoun

I though today that I'd like to take a tiny peek at the historical evidence about Jesus.

My concentration will be on Flavius Josephus.

"Now there was about this time Jesus, a wise man if it be lawful to call him a man, for he was a doer of wonderful works, a teacher of such men as receive the truth with pleasure. He drew over to him both many of the Jews, and many of the Gentiles. He was [the] Christ, and when Pilate, at the suggestion of the principal men among us, had condemned him to the cross, them that loved him at the first did not forsake him: for he appeared to them alive again the third day: as the divine prophets had foretold these and ten thousand other wonderful things concerning him. And the tribe of Christians so named from him are not extinct at this day" (Flavius Josephus, Antiquities of the Jews, bk. XVIII, chap.III, Section 3).

Flavius Josephus was a Pharisee and priest living in Jerusalem. Born in A.D. 37, following the death of Christ, he witnessed first-hand the events leading up to the destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple. He fought as a general of the Jewish rebel forces in Galilee in the war against Rome. Josephus was captured by the Romans at the fall of the city of Jotapata and became friends with the Roman general Vespasian.

As a historian, with access to both Roman and Jewish governmental records, he described the events in Israel during the turbulent decades of the first century. One of the most fascinating passages in his important history concerned the events in the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

Numerous liberal scholars have declared that this reference to Jesus Christ and other references to James and John the Baptist must be interpolations or forgeries by later Christian editors. Yet none of these so-called scholars can produce a single copy of Josephus' Antiquities that does not contain these passages on Jesus.

In another passage in Josephus' book Antiquities (bk.XX, chap.IX, sect. 1) he described the death of James, the brother of Jesus...

"As therefore Ananus (the High Priest)) was of such a disposition, he thought he had now a good opportunity, as Festus (the Roman Procurator) was now dead, and Albinus (the new Procurator) was still on the road; so he assembled a council of judges, and brought before it the brother of Jesus the so-called Christ, whose name was James, togehter with some others, and having accused them as law-breakers, he delivered them over to be stoned."

Josephus also described the death of John the Baptist as follows: "Now, some of the Jews thought that the destruction of Herod's army came from God, and that very justly, as a punishment of what he did against John, that was called the Baptist; for Herod slew him, who was a good man, and commanded the Jews to exercise virtue, both as to righteousness towards on another, and piety towards God....by hearing his words, Herod, who feared lest the great influence John had over the people....thought it best...to put him to death. (Antiquities of the Jews, bk.XVIII, chap. V, sect. 2)

These historical descriptions by Josephus, together with other sources, provide ample evidence that Jesus of Nazareth lived in the first century of this era!

Sorry...I had pictures but Blogger is being difficult!

Angels, The Ministering Spirits Of God

2009-09-01T12:30:00.001-04:00

Let's do a short study on Angels.

The word angel comes from the Greek word aggelos (pronounced angelos) and means "messenger." In the Bible this is the form used in almost every mention of angels except one─in Luke 20:36 (KJV) where the phrase reads "equal unto the angels," or the Greek word isaggelos, which means "like an angel" or "angelic."

Angels are beings that are created as "intermediate" beings between God and man. They are created beings by God, making them lower, but Psalm 8:5 states that man was made a little lower than the angels.

There are more than three hundred references to angels in the Bible. They play an important role and are seen in some of the most famous Bible stories, including the Christmas story.

An angel is neither a god nor a human. Angels are spirits, as Hebrews 1:14 says:"[they are] ministering spirits sent to serve those who will inherit salvation." As such they come to our aid and offer help where they can to make our lives better. They are spiritual beings that remain invisible.

The first mention of angels in the Bible is where Adam and Eve left the Garden after the fall. They are banished from Eden, and Eden is protected by cherubim, angels that are depicted elsewhere as winged bulls or lions with human heads.

Cherubim are symbolic attendants to places of the Lord's "enthronement" on earth in the Old Testament. They guard the Garden of Eden and the ark of the covenant.

Angels have three important responsibilities: to attend God's holy throne, to protect people, and to serve as messengers carrying special news or tidings. They are worshipful beings that serve God by carrying out His wishes through these three main roles.

Guardian angels are spoken of throughout the Bible. Abraham spoke of God sending His angel before His servant Elias as the steward went to seek out a wife for Abraham's son Isaac. Psalm 91:11-12 also speaks of watchful angels:

For he will command his angels concerning you
To guard you in all your ways;
They will lift you up in their hands,
So that you will not strike your foot against a stone.

As messengers the angels communicate God's will to us. They serve as rescuers (such as when Lot was saved from Sodom); as bearers of great tidings (to Mary concerning the birth of Jesus); to instruct prophets (Daniel was given detailed directions from "the man Gabriel"). Angels are mediators who pass along messages God has for his people.

Jacob's vision depicts the angels as being lined up on an immense ladder that stretches between the earth and the heavens (Gen 28:12-15). God looks down and sees us and watches as the angels bring their messages from Him.

The apostle Paul tells us four of the orders of angels in his letter to the Ephesians: "above all principality, and power, and might, and dominion"(KJV). He also writes to the Colossians concerning angels: "whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers.

Only two personal names for angels are given in the Bible: Michael and Gabriel. Other angels with personal names are given in the Apocrypha, such as Uriel and Jeremiel.

Gabriel makes appearances in both the Old Testament and the New Testament. He interprets Daniel's visions in the Book of Daniel and also announces the births of John and Jesus to their respective parents.

Michael is an archangel and a warrior in the angelic realm. He is the protector of Israel, according to several references in the Book of Daniel and one in the Book of Revelation. The Book of Jude also says that he disputed satan for the body of Moses.

Fallen angels are angels who have rebelled against God and lost their standing in heaven (also in the Book of Jude) They have not been cast into hell, and they are under God's power, but they take orders from satan (Rev. 12:7)

Satan is perhaps the most famous angel of all time. He is a fallen angel, one who was cast out of heaven after rebelling against God. Paul speaks of how satan "masquerades as an agel of light" (2 Cor. 11:14). In reality satan is "the prince of darkness."

A final battle between the good angels and the fallen angels is prophesied in Revelation 12:7-9.

Christians will see angels on the last day. Matthew 24:31 states that God will "send His angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather His elect from the four winds, from one end of the heavens to the other." Angels will escort believers into heaven and the holy throne!

by Bonnie Calhoun

The Way The Bible Reads Today

2009-08-20T00:30:00.000-04:00

by Bonnie Calhoun

Today I want to look at how the Bible actually reads. By the time we are done with these lessons, I will hope to have answered every question someone could make to you about the Bible. There have been some good observations so far! If there are any that I've missed, please let me know and I will try to cover it!

More than three thousand versions of the entire Bible, or portions of it, exist in English.

Chapter and verse divisions in the Bible were not determined by those who wrote the words that we read. These divisions were added to the text hundreds of years after the authors died. The original writers neither planned nor anticipated these divisions.

Chapter and verse numbers in the apostles' letters, for example, would appear as strange to them as the following does to us:

Dear Aunt Sue,

Chapter One

Last week we went to town and learned that....

"Divided on horseback" was the criticism of Robert Estienne, a French publisher and convert to Protestantism who decided to number the verses in the New Testament in order to make it easier to study and memorize. While Stephen Langton had divided the text into chapters, Estienne then broke each chapter into numbered verses. According to his son, he did much of the work while on horseback—leading some critics ever since to suggest the reason some verses' divisions are short and others are long was because of the bumpy ride between his office in Paris and his home in southern France.

The Bible was designed more for the ear that the eye. In antiquity people passed history and genealogy from generation to generation by oral tradition—through storytelling or by reading aloud. Those who wrote the Bible did so knowing that their words would be read aloud. So puns, acrostics, and cryptograms are all used widely throughout the Hebrew Scriptures.

Mgn rdng ths bk wtht vwls. Myb ftr whl y cld fll n sm f th blnks nd fgr t mst f t. Ftr ll, t's smpl sglsh. Bt nw, mgn t s prt f n ncnt lngg tht hs flln nt dss vr svrl cntrs. Tht s hw th Bbl nc pprd. Imagine reading a book without vowels. Maybe after a while you could fill in some of the blanks and figure out most of it. After all, it's simple English. But now. Imagine it as part of an ancient language that has fallen into disuse over several centuries. That is how the Bible once appeared!

Hieroglyphics—derived from two Greek words that mean "sacred carvings," since the signs were at first chiseled on stone—were the basci writing system in Egypt at the time of Moses. Since young Moses was educated in the Egyptian sciences and arts, he no doubt learned to read and write Egyptian hieroglyphics. About 750 pictures were used at first in hieroglyphics. At least twenty-two signs existed for various birds, such as the curved neck of the Egyptian vulture, the flat face of an owl, and the tail feathers of the pintail duck.

We will finish up this lesson next week!

Inscriptions in the Sinai

2009-08-11T11:36:00.000-04:00

by Bonnie Calhoun

Our lesson this Saturday is looking at more of the inscriptions found in the Sinai attesting to the passing by of Moses and the Israelites. Also adding to the validity of the applicable Bible passages. These references come from A.P. Stanley, Sinai and Palestine, London: John Murray, 1905.

Explorers found two inscriptions in Wadi Sidri that refer to the murmuring of the Jewish people against Moses about their great thirst, hunger and terror they experienced during their flight from the Egyptians as they entered the great desert of the Sinai Peninsula.

The inscriptions:

Pilgrims fugitive through the sea find a place of refuge at Sidri.
Lighting upon plain ground they proceed on their pilgrimage full of terror [77]

The Hebrews pass over the sea into the wide waterless desert, famished with hunger and thirst. [17]

Moses recorded the experience in the wilderness when the Israelites complained bitterly against God and their leaders, in Exodus 17:1-3.

Another Sinai inscription describes God's miraculous provision of water to the Children of Israel through god commanding Moses to cause water to flow from a rock.

The people clamor vociferously. The people anger Moses.
Swerving from the right way, they thirst for water insatiably.
The water flows, gently gushing out of the stony rock.
Out of the rock a murmur of abundant waters.
Out of the hard stone a springing well.
Like the wild asses braying,
the Hebrews swallow down enormously and greedily.
Greedy of food like infants,
they plunge into sin against Jehovah (YHWH) [46]

The people drink, winding on their way,
drinking with prone mouth,
Jehovah (YHWH) gives them drink again and again. [39]

The people sore thirst, drink vehemently.
They quaff the water-spring without pause, ever drinking.
Reprobate beside the gushing well-spring. [58]

The Book of Exodus also record this in Exodus 17:6.

Despite God's ample and miraculous provisions for them, the Israelites remained reprobate in their attitude, refusing either to thank God or trust in His continuing provision for their daily needs!

Another inscription in the Sinai records that the Israelites' succumbed to gluttony in eating the quails which God miraculously provided at a place called Kibroth-hattaavah.

Despite God's daily provision of manna, the Israelites rebelled against the Lord and Moses by complaining about the sameness of food. This rebellion unleashed the wrath of God on their sinfulness. He sent a massive flock of quail to provide meat.

Rather than gratefully accept this as a gift from God, the Israelites greedily stuffed their mouths with the quail. Many died there in the plague of gluttony.

The inscription:

The people have drink to satiety. In crowds the swillFlesh they strip from the bone, mangling it.
Replete with food, they are obstreperous.
Surfeited, they cram themselves; clamoring, they vomit.
They people are drinking water to repletion.
They tribes, weeping for the dead, cry aloud with downcast eyes.
The dove mourns, devoured by grief.
The hungry ass kicketh: the tempted men, brought to destruction, perish.
Apostasy from the faith leads them to the tomb. [28]

Devouring flesh ravenously, drinking wine greedily
Dancing, shouting, they play.
Congregating on all sides to ensnare them,
The people voraciously devour the quails.
Binding the bow against them, bringing them down.
Eagerly and enormously eating the half raw flesh,
The pilgrims become plague-stricken. [34]

Moses gives us this account in Numbers 11:31-33. The next statement by Moses recorded in Numbers 11:34 gives the location where this event occurred: the very same place where the inscription was discovered over fifteen centuries later.

In 1761, the German explorer Barthold Niebuhr (Voyage en Arabie, tom. I, p. 191) discovered an extensive ruined cemetery with carved inscriptions and engravings of quail, standing, flying and apparently, even trussed and cooked, on the tombs and within a sepulcher on top of an inaccessible mountain in Sinai called Sarbut-el-Khadem. The

Byzantine monk Cosmas Indicopleustes had previously recorded his discovery of these graves in A.D. 535

The Earth - Created by God For Humans

2009-07-24T11:31:00.000-04:00

Today in our quest to demonstrate the scientific accuracy of the Bible, we're going to explore Bible verses.

Critics of the Bible falsely suggested that the Bible stated the earth was flat because of the biblical expression, "the four corners of the earth" (Isaiah 11:12; Rev. 7:1), like writers actually believed in a flat earth. However, this phrase was simply a colloquial expression. It is still used by educated individuals to indicate either the whole earth or the four extremities of the globe from a central position.

God inspired the prophet Isaiah to reveal that our planet was a globe, knowledge that was far in advance of what the men in that day knew. "It is he that sitteth upon the circle of the earth, and the inhabitants thereof are as grasshoppers; that stretcheth out the heavens as a curtain, and spreadeth them out as a tent to dwell in" (Isaiah 40:22) This expression "the circle of the earth" clearly describes the earth as a sphere or globe!

The ancient pagans, who were contemporary with Job, believed that the earth was balanced on the back of an elephant that rested on the back of a turtle. Other Pagans believed that the mythological hero Atlas carried the earth on his shoulder.

While as recently as a century ago scientist believed that the earth and stars were supported by some kind of ether. However, four thousand years ago, Job was inspired by God to correctly declare that God "He hangs the earth on nothing"(Job 26:7).

Another astonishing discovery by astronomers recently revealed that the area to the north of the axis of our earth toward the polar star is almost empty of stars in contrast to the other directions. There are far more distant stars in every other direction from our earth than in the area to the far north of our planet. As Job reported, "He stretches out the north over empty space" (Job 26:7).

Mitchell Waldrop wrote: "The recently announced 'hole in space', a 300 million-light-year gap in the distribution of galaxies, has taken cosmologists by surprise...But three very deep core samples in the Northern Hemisphere, lying in the general direction of the constellation Bootes, showed striking gaps in the red shift distribution. [Mitchell Waldrop, "Delving the Hole in Space," Science magazine, Nov. 27, 1981].

The gospel writer Luke described the coming of Christ in the daytime as follows: "Even thus shall it be in the day when the Son of man is revealed." However, several verses later, Luke described the same event by declaring that Christ will come in the night: "I tell you, in that night there shall be two men in one bed; the one shall be taken, and the other shall be left" (Luke 17:34).

In that era it must have seemed contradictory. However, now we understand that, on whatever day Christ returns, it will be a daytime event for those on one side of the globe while the event will occur during the night for those living on the other side of the planet!

In the Book of Amos we read about the seven stars in the constellation known as Pleiades. The King James Version says: "Seek him that maketh the seven stars and Orion" (Amos 5:8 [KJV]). The King James Version translators confirmed that Amos' original Hebrew statement about "the seven stars" referred to the constellation Pleiades. However, modern translators render this verse as, "He made the Pleiades and Orion" (Amos 5:8 [NKJV]) Early translators were puzzled by this verse because there were only six stars that could be seen by the naked eye in the constellation Pleiades. Now, modern telescopes have revealed the existence of a seventh star in Pleiades; it is so dim only a telescope can detect it! Amos knew it 2500 years ago!

"In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth" (Genesis 1:1). This statement revealed that God created our earth and the universe in a single moment of time. However, Genesis also reveals God's purpose: "Then God blessed them, and God said to them, 'Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth'" (Genesis 1:28)

The Creation Of The Universe

2009-07-21T02:23:00.000-04:00

Today we are going to continue our quest to explore the scientific evidence that the Bible is accurate, by looking at the creation of the universe,

The Book of Genesis begins with the words, "God created the heaven and the earth." Until 1950, most scientists believed in some variation of the "steady state theory," which suggested that the universe had always existed as we observe it today.

Today, virtually all scientists accept some variation of the "Big Bang Theory" which suggests the whole universe came into existence at a particular point of time, when an incredibly dense mass of matter exploded, forming all of the stars, galaxies and planets we witness today.

Dr. P. Dirac, a Nobel Prize winner from Cambridge University, wrote: "It seems certain that there was a definite time of creation." Until quite recently, the word creation was never written or spoken by scientists with approval. Then, a scientific article in the 1982 issue of Physics Letters, an international journal of physics, contained an article by Dr. A. Vilenkin which was titled "Creation of the Universe from Nothing."

The Lord challenged Abraham to count the stars to demonstrate the awesome number that He had created by his supernatural power. "Look toward heaven, and count the stars if you are able to number them" (Genesis 15:5). The unaided eye can see and count about 1029 stars. With a pair of binoculars or inexpensive telescope you can see over 3,300 stars. Modern telescopes allow us to view over 200 million stars in our own galaxy called the Milky Way. (As late as 1915 astronomers believed that our galaxy composed the entire universe).

The in 1925, the great astronomer Edwin Hubble created a new telescope that proved the universe contained as many galaxies outside our galaxy as there were stars inside our home galaxy!

During the last century very powerful telescopes revealed the known universe contains over ten billion...with a B...galaxies like our Milky Way. However, in the last ten years scientists using the Hubble Telescope, have focused on a tiny point in space so small that it is equal to focusing your eye on an area the size of a grain of sand held at arms length.

After intense study astronomers determined that this spot contained an additional 1,500 galaxies, each the size of our Milky Way. They were astonished to find that the universe is more than five times larger than they thought.

They now know that the known universe contains more than fifty billion...again with a B...galaxies containing more 200 million stars each...millions of trillions of miles in every direction!

In 1980, the astronomer Professor Herman Bondi declared the total failure of modern science to account for the universe. (Herman Bondi, New Scientist, Nov. 21, 1980).

Another great astronomer, Sir Harold Jeffreys, wrote, "To sum up, I think that all suggested accounts of the origin of the solar system are subject to serious objection. The conclusion in the present state of the subject would be that the system cannot exist" (Harold Jeffreys, The Earth: Its Origin, History, and Physical Constitution [Cambridge: England: University Press, 1970], p.359.

In other words, Professor Jeffreys admitted that none of the atheistic theories can account for the universe as it exists.

The Bible declares that God separated the waters below from the waters that were above (in the heavens): "And God said, Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters. And God made the firmament, and divided the waters which were under the firmament from the waters which were above the firmament: and it was so" (Genesis 1:6-7)

This statement declares that God created a large amount of water which He placed in the heavens or outer space. The existence of water in space seemed improbable to scientists until quite recently. Further studies have proven that massive amounts of water do exist in space. Because of extreme temperatures, the waters in space are frozen into permanent ice. We now know that the huge comets traveling through our solar system, are composed of massive amounts of ice.

The latest scientific research has revealed that massive amounts of ice also exist at the outer edge of our solar system. The Ort Cloud at the edge of our solar system is a vast region of space that is estimated to hold as many as a trillion large comets composed of ice and rock. The oceans on earth pale in comparison to the amount of water in space!

A passage in Job also refers to the ice and frost in the heavens: "Hath the rain a father? Or who hath begotten the drops of dew? Out of whose womb came the ice? And the hoary frost of heaven, who hath gathered it? The waters are hid as with a stone, and the face of the deep is frozen. Canst thou bind the sweet influence of Pleiades, or loose the bands of Orion?" (Job 38:28-31)

by Bonnie Calhoun

Complexity of Weather Patterns

2009-07-14T18:14:00.001-04:00

Today we shall continue studying the complexity of weather patterns stated in the bible.

King Solomon described the complex climatic circular wind patterns that determine the weather throughout the globe. "The wind whirls about continually, and comes again on its circuit" (Ecclesiastes 1:6) How could Solomon have known three thousand years ago that the planetary winds followed a circular pattern from south to north and south again?

Job speaks of God controlling the weather: "For He looketh to the ends of the earth, and seeth under the whole heaven; To establish a weight for the wind, and apportion the waters by measure." (Job 28:24-25)

In this intriguing statement the Bible reveals that the winds are governed by their weight, a fact that scientists have only determined in the last century. How could Job have known that the air and the wind patterns are governed by their actual weight? Meteorologists have found that the relative weights of the wind and water greatly determine the weather patterns.

This passage also reveals a profound appreciation of the fact that there is a scientific connection between lightening, thunder, and the triggering of rainfall. Apparently, a slight change in the electrical charge within a cloud is one of the key factors that causes microscopic water droplets in the clouds to join with other droplets until they are heavy enough to fall to earth.

In addition (the technical explanation will curl your hair...LOL) but we know that an electrical charge in a cloud sends a leader stroke to the ground. A millisecond later a more powerful stroke returns to the cloud on the same path. The air in this channel is superheated, and expanding outward, it creates thunder!

Job's description, "He made a law for the rain and a path for the thunderbolt" (Job 28:26) is startling in its accuracy. No human could have known this in ancient times without divine revelation by God.

King David, the writer of Psalms, refers mysteriously to "the paths of the seas." He wrote, "The fowl of the air, and the fish of the sea, and whatsoever passeth through the paths of the seas" (Psalm 8:8). It wasn't until 1786 that Benjamin Franklin published the information he gleaned from conversations with ocean-going captains that huge currents such as the Gulf Stream ran like deep rivers far beneath the surface of the Atlantic Ocean.

The massive Gulf Stream carries more that five thousand times as much water as the great Mississippi River. Scientists have discovered that the Gulf Stream is only a small part of an enormous "gyre," a huge thirteen-thousand-mile current of water circling the Atlantic Ocean. They have recently discovered that the Pacific Ocean has its own "Black Current" gyre as well!

In another passage Job referred to deep springs of water at the bottom of the ocean. "Have you entered the springs of the sea? Or have you walked in search of the depths?" (Job 38:16) In this verse the Bible refers to the existence of springs of water flowing beneath the depths of the sea.

It is only in the last thirty years that underwater exploration of the ocean depths has revealed a phenomenon of numerous huge springs of fresh water pouring out of the ocean floor. The Book of Job also contains questions that suggest a level of knowledge that would be impossible for a human writer living in the Middle Eat during ancient times.

For example, Job refers to deep oceans whose surface waters are frozen hard like a stone: "From whose womb comes the ice? And the frost of heaven, who gives it birth? The waters harden like a stone, And the surface of the deep is frozen" (Job 38: 29-30).

A question to ponder until we meet again next week....How could someone like Job, living in the area of Saudi Arabia in ancient times, have known about the Artic ice caps?

The Hydrological Weather Cycles

2009-07-14T12:55:00.004-04:00

It's time to delve into more mysteries of the Bible that display its scientific accuracy.

Today we're going to look at weather.

People living in past centuries didn't have a clear understanding about the weather and climatic patterns that controlled our planet's environment. However, the book of Job, Ecclesiastes, Isaiah and Jeremiah all describe details about the complexity of the weather system far beyond the knowledge of the inhabitants living at that time.

The complete hydrological cycle governing evaporation, cloud formation, thunder, lightening and rain is explained in surprising detail in the words of the Old Testament. For example, Ecclesiastes 11:3 states, "If the clouds be full of rain, they empty themselves upon the earth".

Throughout history most people assumed evaporation of water from lakes and rivers was responsible for the clouds. However, Ecclesiastes 1:7 confirms that most clouds are formed by evaporation from the oceans: "All the rivers run into the sea, yet the sea is not full; to the place from which the rivers come, there they return again".

Incredibly, a recent study by the United States Department of Agriculture proved that most of the water that forms into the clouds worldwide comes from the evaporation of the waters found in the oceans that cover over seventy percent of the planet's surface!

In Job 37:16, it asked the question, "Do you know how the clouds are balanced, Thou wondrous works of Him who is perfect in knowledge?".

When you consider the weight of water compared to air it is astonishing that enormous quantities of water are raised from the oceans and lakes every hour by evaporation and lifted thousands of feet in the air where they remain suspended for long periods.

Air rises upwards as it cools supporting the water vapor in the clouds until the drops become large and heavy enough to fall to earth as rain. The answer is also found in Job 36:27-29..."For, He draws up drops of water, which distil as rain from the mist, Which the clouds drop down and pour abundantly on man. Indeed, can anyone understand the spreading of clouds, the thunders from His canopy?".

This incredible biblical passage reveals the complete hydrological cycle of evaporation, cloud formation, and precipitation!

What's In A Name? The Names Of God

2009-07-13T23:39:00.003-04:00

by Bonnie Calhoun

Today, we're going to study names. This placque is the name of Yeshua (Jesus) in ancient Hebrew script.

In our modern culture, very little attention is given to the names we choose for our children. But in ancient Israel names were chosen as an expression of the character traits hoped for the child.

There is power in the authority of a name, especially God's. To give an example of that power, God actually swore by His own name in Jeremiah 44:26, to make a point.

However, it is possible to use His name incorrectly. Exodus 20:7 and Deuteronomy 5:11 warn us not to use God's name in vain. Leviticus 19:12 tells us not to swear falsely by His name.

We who are called by the name of the Lord need to be very careful how we are representing Him. Don't wear a T-shirt saying "In God We Trust" if you are not walking in a way that honors Him.

Besides conferring authority, the Hebraic use of a name often depicts the character of a person or place. Jacob (surplanter, replacer), Israel (wrestled with God), and Jabez (to grieve) to name a few. Look up you favorite Bible characters in a book like Strong's Exhaustive Concordance to discover their character meaning.

There are 16 names for God in the Hebrew scriptures (Old Testament):

--Elohim, meaning "God," refering to God's power and might (Gen. 1:1; Ps. 19:1)

--Adonai, meaning "Lord," refering to the Lordship of God (Mal. 1:6)

--Yahweh,(sometimes called Jehovah), refering to God's divine salvation (Isa. 12:2)

--Yahweh-Meccaddeshchem, meaning "The Lord thy sanctifier" (Exod. 31:13)

--Yahweh-Rohi, meaning "The Lord my shepherd" (Ps. 23:1)

--Yahweh-Shammah, meaning "The Lord who is present" (Ezek. 48:35)

--Yahweh-Rapha, meaning "The Lord our healer" )Exod. 15:26

--Yahweh-Tsidkenu, meaning "The Lord our righteousness" (Jer. 23:6)

--Yahweh-Jireh, meaning "The Lord will provide" (Gen. 22:13-14)

--Yahweh-Nissi, meaning "The Lord our banner" (Exod. 17:15)

--Yahweh-Shalom, meaning "The Lord is peace" (Judg. 6:24)

--Yahweh-Tsevaot, meaning "The Lord of Hosts" (Isa. 6:1-3)

--El-Elyon, meaning "The most high God" (Gen. 14:17-20; Isa. 14:13-14)

--El-Roi, meaning "The strong one who sees" (Gen. 16:13)

--El-Shaddai, meaning "The God of the mountains" or "God almighty" (Gen. 17:1; Ps 91:1)

--El-Olam, meaning "The everlasting God" (Isa. 40:28-31)

Jehovah, which we hear in many scripture songs, is not the correct pronunciation of the name of God gave to Himself. In fact this tetragrammation is unpronounceable, even in Hebrew, because it is sacred, and therefore unmentionable.

For centuries, it was pronounced among the Israelites by inserting certain vowel sounds between the four consonants. The pronouciation was lost 2,000 years ago. The closest scholars have come is: YaHWeH. In the Bible it is generally written as LORD.

Jehovah as a name came down to us from non-Jewish European bible scholars who tried to sound it out. Most erroneous is the sounding out of the first letter as "J". that sound does not exist in Hebrew. The yad (letter) is sounded as "ya" not "ja". Consequently, in our English Bibles, we pronounce Joel, Jonah, Jesse etc, incorrectly.

The Hem Of His Garment

2009-07-05T23:50:00.000-04:00

by Bonnie Calhoun

In Matthew 9:20-22, we see a sick woman becoming well by touching Jesus' clothes:

"Just then a woman, who had been subject to bleeding for twelve years, came up behind Him and touched the hem of His garment; for she said to herself, 'If I only touch His cloak, I will be healed.' Jesus turned and saw her. 'Take heart, daughter,' He said, "your faith has healed you." And the woman was healed from that moment."

What is it about the hem of Jesus' garment? At first it seems like an odd practice. But when we understand the significance of the hem of one's garment, these passages have more meaning.

The word translated, hem, is actually referring to the fringes, or tassels (called tzitziyot, in Hebrew) required to be on the four corners of all clothing of Jewish men, in accordance with God's instruction:

"The Lord said to Moses, 'Speak to the Israelites and say to them: Throughout the generations to come, you are to make tassels on the corners of one's garments, with a blue cord on each tassel. You will have these tassels to look at and so will remember all the commands of the Lord, that you may obey them and not prostitute yourselves by going after the lusts of your own hearts and eyes. Then you will remember to obey all My commands, and will be consecrated to your God. I am the Lord your God.'" (Num. 15:37-41a)

The tassels are to remind man each Jewish of his responsibility to fulfill God's commandments. Wearing these tassels would be comparable to us wearing a large Bible on a rope around our necks. How would we behave in public, how would we speak to others, where would we go? God intended them to be a constant reminder of His Word when He told the Israelites to wear these fringes.

In ancient Israel, this outer garment became known as a tallit, and eventually evolved into the more formal prayer shawl. These shawls are white, representing the heavens, or the dwelling place of the Lord. The blue stripes represents the Ruach HaKodesh, or the Holy Spirit of God.

Therefore praying under the tallit, or prayer shawl, is covering yourself with the presence of God. The word tallit is derived from tallith... tal meaning tent, and ith meaning little. Therefore you get 'little tent'. From biblical times, this custom was a prayer closet, and it is likely this is what Jesus was referring to in Matthew 6:6 when He told us to get into our closet, apart from the people around, and pray in secret to the Lord.

The tallit was worn by Samuel (1Sam. 15:27) and it was Elijah's mantle that was conferred upon Elisha (1Kgs. 19:19). It was also worn by Jesus, and the 'hem of the garment' that the woman touched was actually the tzitziyot or tassels of His tallit.

Each tassel was to have a blue thread. With the color blue everywhere today, it is hard to imagine that during the entire biblical period, blue (or purple)was the most expensive color to produce. That's why it was reserved for royalty. The only source was a small gland in the Murex Snail. It took 12,000 snails to fill up a thimble of blue dye.

In 200 BC, one pound of cloth, dyed blue, cost the equivalent of $36,000. By AD 300, this same pound of blue cloth cost $96,000. This indicates that Lydia, the seller of purple and an early convert of Christianity, was one of the wealthiest women in the Empire (Acts 16:14).

It doesn't mean much to us, but to early readers, it said, "Hey one of the wealthiest and most influential people in the Roman Empire has gotten saved!" Imagine the impact this had on the message of the Gospel.

The Tower Of Babel

2009-06-19T00:10:00.000-04:00

by Bonnie Calhoun

Good afternoon. Let us continue with our study of the archeological evidence in support of the Bible.

It is fascinating to note that numerous biblical personalities (including Nebuchadnezzar, Belshazzar, and Darius), who were totally repudiated by higher critics in past decades, have now been reliably verified by recent historical and archeological discoveries.

In the past, critics of the Bible's accuracy rejected the story of the defeat of the confederation of five kings from the east by the small army of Abraham as found in Genesis 14. However, continuing research by Dr. Nelson Glueck, a leading Palestinian archeologist, and president of the Hebrew Union College brought forth this report:

"Centuries earlier, another civilization of high achievement had flourished between the 21st and 19th centuries B. C., till it was savagely liquidated by the Kings of the East. They gutted every city and village at the end of that period from Ashtaroth Karnaim, in southern Syria through all of Trans-Jordan and the Negev to Kadesh-Barnea in Sinai (Genesis 14:1-7)" (Nelson Glueck, Rivers in the Desert, [New York:Farrar, Straus and Cudahy, 1959], p. 11).

King Nebuchadnezzar's Inscription About the Tower of Babel
From the time of Adam and Eve, "The whole earth had one language and one speech" (Genesis 11:1), before the dispersion of the population following God's supernatural act causing the confusion of their language at the Tower of Babel. God purposely confounded the language of all the people on the earth (Genesis 11:9) so they could not understand the speech of their neighbors to force them to disperse throughout the earth.

The people had gathered in sinful pride against God in their attempt to build a tower that would reach to the heavens. Moses recorded God's subsequent judgment and destruction of the Tower of Babel and the city of Babylon. The remains of the Tower are vitrified (melted to form a kind of rough glass) which indicates that God used a huge amount of heat to destroy this tower.

Scientists who study the origin of languages, known as philologist, have concluded that it is probable that the thousands of dialects and languages throughout the planet can be traced back to an original language in man's ancient history. (Joseph Free, Archeology and Bible History, Wheaton: Scripture Press Publications, 1969])
The French government sent a professor to report on the cuneiform inscriptions discovered in the ruins of Babylon. One of the translations where King Nebuchadnezzar referred to the tower in the Chaldean language as Barzippa, which means Tongue-tower, clearly identified the original tower of Borsippa with the Tower of Babel described by Moses in Genesis.

Nebuchadnezzar rebuilt the base of the ancient Tower, built over sixteen centuries earlier by Nimrod, the first King of Babylon. He also called it the Temple of the Spheres. During the millennium since God destroyed it, the tower was reduced from its original height and magnificence until only the huge base (four hundred and sixty feet by six hundred and ninety feet) standing some two hundred and seventy-five feet high remained within the outskirts of the city of Babylon.

Today, the ruins have been reduced to about one hundred and fifty feet above the plain with a circumference of 2,300 feet. In this inscription found on the base of the ruins of the Tower of Babel, King Nebuchadnezzar speaks in his own words from thousands of yeas ago confirming one of the most interesting events of the ancient past.

It is interesting to note that today, because of Sadaam Hussian multi-billion dollar investment, the city of Babylon is partially restored to its original elegance.

Facts...Biblically Relevant..Or Not

2009-06-08T08:22:00.000-04:00

by Bonnie Calhoun

Good Monday to you all! Tonight I would like a few more places in the Biblical Lands. Several of these are an extremely interesting study, because recently I was told that the Bible couldn't be real because it doesn't talk about the Pyramids of Egypt. To that I say,"Hrump!" Let's start with another rumor that needs to be dispelled!

The ancient cities of the Near East were usually walled, and at night the gates were closed for protection against invaders. In case any of the citizens were unable to return before nightfall, one small opening was left in the gate, an opening known as "the needles' eye." It was so low and so narrow that a camel laden with riches could never fit through. Only when the owner unloaded the camel and left the load outside the gate could the camel, with its head bent low, squeeze through.

Now this has added significance because of the Matthew 19:24 reference to "It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God." The myriad of stories that you can read discount the needle gate, saying that Jerusalem never had a "needle gate" therefore the reference is erroneous.

It is true that Jerusalem never had a needle gate, but other cities did! Thus the reference stands! Jesus teaching in Matthew 19 seized on the analogy of the camel making its way through "the needle's eye" and compared it to a rich man trying to leave the earth with riches to get into heaven. A rich man can enter the kingdom of heaven─but only if he first casts off his worldly goods and. Like the camel squeezing through the needles' eye, bows his head in humilty.

The civilization of the Egyptians was already an ancient one by the time Joseph arrived there some 3,650 years ago. The first pyramid was built about five thousand years ago. It is known as the Step Pyramid because it rises in a series of steps or terraces to a height of 250 feet, much like the ziggurats of Babylon.

The Great Pyramid of Cheops at Giza, built only a few hundred years after the Step Pyramid, was the tallest structure ever erected until the nineteenth century. It rises to a height of 481 feet, and its base is 756 blocks of stone, many blocks weighing as much as five thousand pounds. This pyramid was built with no other mechanical equipment that the lever and the roller, because at that time the Egyptians has not yet learned the use of the wheel.

More than thirty major pyramids were built during the thousand years before Joseph. Each one guarded the body of a pharaoh entombed in a chamber deep inside the pile of stone blocks. However, no pyramids are mentioned in the Bible. Despite the fact that these structures would have certainly been the talk of the ancient world, the authors of the Bible didn't consider them worthy of note. They did not play a part in the unfolding of the biblical narrative.

There are many other incidents of "facts of life" that are not included in the Bible. Their exclusion does not make the bible erroneous....It just makes these, so called "facts" irrelevant to biblical history!

Passover To Pentecost

2009-05-30T14:31:00.002-04:00

by Bonnie Calhoun

Today we are going to study tomorrow.

Tomorrow is Pentecost Sunday. Pentecost is the fiftieth day of the Jewish Passover. I say 'of Passover' and not 'after Passover' because the counting begins with day one, rather than zero.

Though various Christian denominations commemorate Pentecost, many forget that it was a Jewish holiday before the Church was established. The name Pentecost comes from the Greek word for fifty, but the Jewish name is Shavuot (meaning weeks or sevens).

The Torah - the five books of Moses - details seven feasts during the Hebrew calendar. The first three feasts are in the spring, in the month of Nisan: Passover, the Feast of Unleavened Bread, and the Feast of First Fruits.

The first Passover was defined in Exodus, chapter 12, when the Jews covered their doorways with blood so that the Angel of Death would pass over them.

The first Feast of Unleavened Bread and Feast of First Fruits occurred in Exodus, chapter 13 as a seven day feast after leaving Egypt and before crossing the Red Sea. The Lord commanded that they east unleavened bread and consecrate their first-borns to the Lord

These feasts are predictive of the First Coming of Jesus.

Christ is our Passover. It is His shed blood that saves us. He is the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world. He is the Lamb of God which taketh the sin away.

He became this on Palm Sunday when He entered Jerusalem riding on an ass, demonstrating the lion-like quality of the Lamb. The Feast of Unleavened Bread was kept four days later at the Passover Supper, after which He and His disciples went to the Garden of Gethsemane.

There He could say in His prayer to the Father, “I have finished the work Thou gavest Me to do.”
Then followed His three days and nights’ after which He burst the bonds of death. On Resurrection morning, He became ‘The Resurrection and the Life and the First Fruits of them that slept’.

In between the spring and fall feasts, fifty days after the Feast of First Fruits, there is the Feast of Pentecost (or Feast of Weeks).

This feast, celebrated this week, is associated with the Church.

The Birth of the Church appears to be a fulfillment of the Feast of Pentecost. See Acts 2:1. (It is interesting to note that this is the only feast in which leavened bread is ordained.) With this difference — the first was unleavened bread, the second was two loaves baked with leaven. Our Lord was sinless - the church is not.

The last three feasts are in the fall, in the month of Tishri: the Feast of Trumpets, the Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur), and the Feast of Tabernacles.

These are associated with Jesus Second Coming.

These seven holidays were later refined by the Lord in Leviticus chapter 23.

The confusion over Pentecost comes from the word 'Easter'. The holiday 'Easter', is called Passover in other languages─this is fitting, because Easter is the Christian Passover.

There are three methods for calculating the day. Within each system Pentecost is the fiftieth day of Passover. That is, Pentecost is the fiftieth day of the Jewish Passover, the Orthodox Pentecost is the fiftieth day of the Orthodox Passover, the western Christian Pentecost is the fiftieth day of the Christian Passover, which we confusingly call 'Easter' in English.

Some wrongly think that the chief purpose of the Church is to provide a place for people to worship and enjoy God. This view of only one function of the Body as its prime purpose generates an "upper room" mentality that has us huddled together, waiting for God to act.

Surely there are times when we ought to wait on the Lord for His empowerment, but He wants an active, dynamic Church to bring His message of salvation to the ends of the earth (Acts 1:8). He doesn't want us to remain in seclusion waiting for miracles. He wants us to go out among those who do not know Christ to tell them, in the power of the Holy Spirit, of God's salvation.

Word Etymology - "Born Again"

2009-05-20T01:19:00.000-04:00

by Bonnie Calhoun

Today, lets study the etymology of a phrase used by Jesus..."born again".

Although some people regard the phrase as modern lingo denoting enthusiastic Christians, Jesus Himself used the expression to describe those who have experienced genuine salvation. However, the idiom didn't originate at His John 3 encounter with Nicodemus.

To the first century Jew, "born again" was a commonly understood term for certain rites of passage in a man's life—six different events were so labeled in Rabbinic Judaism.

First was the bar mitzvah (literally, "son of the commandment"), a confirmation ritual whereby 13-year-old boys entered manhood and shared the moral and religious responsibilities of the adult community. A man was said to be "born again" a second time when he married, and the expression was also used if he was ordained as a rabbi. Becoming the head of a rabbinic academy—a position open only to rabbis who were married—was a fourth time the term applied. The final two usages of "born again" were a Gentile's conversion to Judaism and a man being crowned king.

In light of this, the encounter between Jesus and Nicodemus in John 3:1-21 becomes more understandable. As a member of the Jewish ruling council known as the Sanhedrin, Nicodemus is identified as a "ruler of the Jews" and "the teacher of Israel." (vv. 1, 10) As such, he was obviously considered "born again" in the first four ways; namely, he was bar mitzvahed, married, ordained, and a rabbi in leadership.

So when Jesus said to him, "Unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God" (v. 3), Nicodemus was naturally confused—he had already been "born again" in all of the four ways available to him. Notice his response: "How can a man be born when he is old? He cannot enter a second time into his mother's womb and be born, can he? (v. 4) He was thinking that the only way to go through any of those rites of passage would be to start physical life over as a baby.

The Lord met Nicodemus where he was and then broadened his understanding to include the spiritual: ",,,Unless one is born of water and the Spirit he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit" (vv. 5-6).

Though his comprehension was incomplete that night, Nicodemus later showed evidence that he understood another way to be born again (John 7:50; 19:39)

Miracles Of The New Testament

2009-05-11T19:26:00.000-04:00

by Bonnie Calhoun

This evening let's take a look at some of the miracles of the New Testament.

The virgin birth. No doubt the first miraculous event recorded in the New Testament is the birth of Jesus Christ. Mary, a virgin, was "found to be with child through the Holy Spirit," according to Matthew 1:18. Several other miracles surrounded that birth, including the striking dumb of Zechariah in Luke 1, the angels' appearance to the shepherds in Luke 2, and the star which led the magi to visit in Matthew 2.

Water into wine. The first recorded miracle of Jesus occurs in John 2, when Christ was attending a wedding in the city of Cana and the hosts ran out of wine. Jesus requested six large jars to be filled with water, and they then miraculously turned into fine wine. As John records, "He thus revealed his glory, and his disciples put their faith in him.

Healing. One of the things Christ was most known for was his ability to heal the sick. Matthew 4:23-24 records that "Jesus went throughout Galilee...healing every disease and sickness among the people. News about him spread all over Syria, and people brought to him all who were ill with various diseases, those suffering severe pain, the demon-possessed, those having seizures, and the paralyzed, and he healed them." The sick included lepers, paralytics, and those with internal bleeding.

A man born blind. Certainly one of the most amazing miracles of Jesus was the healing of man born blind in John 9. Christ made some mud with his saliva, rubbed it on the man's eyes, and instructed him to wash in a nearby pool. Upon doing so the man received his sight. Jewish leaders denounced him as a fraud, but when questioned, the man responded, "One thing I do know. I was blind and now I see!

The centurion's servant. Since Roman conquerors were hated by most Jewish citizens, it was generally forbidden for a Jew to enter a Roman's house. Thus when a God-fearing Roman centurion told Jesus that his servant was ill, he informed the Lord that Jesus didn't have to enter his home to perform the healing. Instead Christ could do it from a distance. Marveling at the man's faith, Jesus replied, "I have not found anyone in Israel with such great faith" (Matthew 8:10). Before the centurion could get home, the servant was healed.

Jesus calms the storm. Matthew 8 relates the story of Jesus asleep in a boat when a violent storm arose. When the disciples, fearing they would drown, awakened the Lord, he simply rebuked the winds and the waves, making them calm.

Raising the dead. In Matthew 9, Jesus tells a crowd of mourners that a ruler's young daughter is not dead but asleep. Though the mourners laughed at him, Jesus proceeds to raise her from the dead. Like 7 also tells of Jesus raising the dead, this time a widow's son. And John 11 records the raising of Lazarus, which was witnesses by a crowd of people.

Feeding the multitudes. After preaching to a large crowd, the disciples encouraged Christ to send the people away so that they could find something to eat. Instead the Lord had them gather their food─five loaves of bread and two fishes─and proceeded to feed five thousand people.

Walking on water. After his disciples has sailed off in a boat to the other side of a lake, the disciples watched Jesus walk out to them on the waves. Peter asked to join him, and also walked on water for a short time. But Matthew notes that as soon as Peter took his eyes off the Lord and began to look at the waves, he began to sink. Christ helped Peter back into the boat─prompting the disciples to say, "Truly you are the Son of God."

The transfiguration. A few days before his death, Jesus took Peter, James, and John up to a high mountain. There he was "transfigured" before them. His face "shone like the sun and his clothes became as white as the light." Moses and Elijah, two of the handful of miracle workers in Scripture, then appeared with Jesus, and the voice of God announced, "This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased" (Matt. 17:5).

The tearing of the veil. Matthew 27:51 records an important miracle that took place during Christ's death on the cross: "At that moment the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom." The tearing of that curtain, which created a barrier between the worship area and the holy of holies where God dwelt, meant that man was no longer to be separated from God.

The resurrection. The greatest of all miracles in the Christian faith is the fact that Jesus rose from the dead, conquering death and sin. The evidence fro the resurrection as a historical fact (the empty tomb, the Roman guard, the eyewitness reports of those who were there, the lack of any other explanation) is overwhelming.

Apostles heal a cripple. In the apostolic age some of the followers of Christ had the power to do miracles. Acts 3 records Peter and John healing a beggar who had been crippled since birth, and Acts 5:12 notes that "the apostles performed many miraculous signs and wonders among the people."

Peter's escape from prison. When Peter was arrested fro preaching the gospel, he was held in prison, bound to a soldier on either side. But Acts 12 related that late one night Peter was awakened by an angel, his chains simply fell off, and the gates before him miraculously opened by themselves. He walked to freedom...while the guards who were supposed to be keeping watch over him were later executed.

Scientific Accuracy of the Bible

2009-05-02T01:11:00.001-04:00

by Bonnie Calhoun

Good Saturday! Today we are going to start studying the scientific accuracy of the Bible.

One of the greatest proofs that the Scriptures are inspired by God is that they reveal a staggering amount of advanced scientific knowledge. The bible is not a scientific book, however when it does make scientific statements, they are stunningly accurate.

These bible statements are literally thousands of years in advance of the knowledge present in that day. The psalmist David wrote, "That I may publish with the voice of thanksgiving, and tell of all thy wondrous works" (Psalm 26:7).

As you consider God's "wondrous works" and the astonishing level of scientific knowledge presented in this study, ask yourself a question: How could the writers of the Scriptures possibly know these facts unless they were supernaturally inspired by God?

Throughout the Word of God are statements which can now be tested as to their accuracy due to the incredible advances in scientific knowledge in the last few decades.

Genesis describes the supernatural creation of man in these words, "And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and man became a living being. (Genesis 2:7)

For many years, scientists laughed at the apparent simplicity of the scriptural account that God used "dust of the ground" to construct the complex elements and molecules that make up a human being.

However, after a century of scientific examination of the elements within the body, scientists have discovered that clay and earth contain every single element found in the human body.

A Readers Digest article in November 1982, described a fascinating discovery by the researchers at NASA's Ames Research Center which confirmed the Bibles' account that every single element found in the human body exists within the soil.

It also might surprise you to know that many of the greatest scientific minds of the last several centuries were Bible-believing Christians who totally accepted the scientific accuracy of the Word of God.

For example, Isaac Newton firmly accepted the Word of God and creation. Other strong believers in God who changed the face of scientific knowledge included: Lord Kelvin, creator of the science of thermodynamics; Louis Pasteur, the discoverer of pasteurization; Johann Kepler, who created modern astronomy; and Robert Boyle, the greatest chemist of his age.

With every new scientific discovery we find additional proof of the complexity of the great design that God used to create our universe. In the coming weeks we will delve into many of these discoveries. Next week we're going to look at the Creation of the Universe!

Medical Knowledge in the Bible

2009-04-21T01:06:00.000-04:00

by Bonnie Calhoun

Today is a study of the Advanced Medical Knowledge in the Bible.

Keep in mind that man's medical knowledge was virtually nada until the beginning of the twentieth century. Even the existence of germs was unknown until around A.D. 1890. Yet the first five books of the Bible, known as the Torah, or the Law, recorded by Moses approximately 1491-1451 B.C., reveals surprising advanced scientific principles. God inspired Moses to record these medical commandments to protect the health of His chosen people.

Moses, in Leviticus 17:11, declared, "For the life of the flesh is in the blood." This statement revealed advanced scientific knowledge at a time when the level of pagan medical knowledge was abysmal. Moses' statement was incredibly astute because doctors have discovered that our blood is essential to many of our body's life processes.

The blood carries nutrients and material that produce growth, healing, store energy as fat and support every organ in our body. When the blood supply is restricted to any part of the body, that part begins to die. Blood is essential to fighting disease, clotting wounds and growing new skin and cells.

For centuries ignorant doctors used to "bleed" their patients by draining large amounts of blood from their bodies in a vain attempt to defeat disease. They did not realize that our blood is the key to our flesh. Truly, as the Bible declares, "the life of the flesh is in the blood."

Moses was adopted and grew up as son of "Pharaoh's daughter", which gave him access to the knowledge of the royal and priestly colleges of Egypt, where, I might add, the main ingredient in almost any medical cure, was dung...animal or human! Yet the Torah contains detailed medical laws regarding the careful kosher inspection of meat and exacting sanitation regulations regarding the burial of bodies.

Next week we will get into the Laws written to prevent infectious diseases.

The Last Supper

2009-04-13T23:53:00.001-04:00

by Bonnie Calhoun

As we wait with anticipation of the commemorative anniversary of our Lord and Savior's rise from the grave...Hallelujah!...let's look at what transpired before that glorious day...particularly the Last Supper.

You would not necessarily think it important to consider the table setting of the Last Supper or where the disciples sat. however, just the opposite is true. If we understand this, it explains why certain things we read about in the Last Supper narratives were said and done.

First, we need to consider the table setting itself. The Passover meal was a celebration of the Exodus and it was required to eat this meal in a manner usually reserves for the wealthy.

That is to recline around the table, enjoying one's freedom in the Land. It would be impossible to recline around a table such as we eat at today. However, we do know that they are around a U-shaped table, called a triclinium.

The table is placed low on the floor to allow for the people around it to recline on their left side while eating with their right hand. Everyone is facing the same direction around the table, often making it hard to speak to those behind you.

When looking at a triclinium, the left arm is the place of the most important guests, the cross arm is the place of the fairly important guests, and on the right arm we find the less important people, with the last seat on the end being called the Servant's Seat. If there is no servant present to serve the meal, then the person in the Servant's Seat had the job of waiting on those who had need of more food or drink.

Certain other seats had special functions. On the most important left arm, the second seat was that of the host. It was the custom that the first seat on the end was that of a trusted friend of the host. Why? This person helped protect the host, who might be a king or an important official. This person was also the food taster.

Seat #3 is the traditional seat of the most honored guest at the banquet. Therefore the left and right hand of the host were considered important places. This is why John's mother made a request of Jesus, "Grant that one of these two sons of mine may sit at Your right and the other at Your left in Your kingdom" (Mt. 20:21).

It is obvious that Jesus was seated in seat #2, as He was the host. We also know that John was in seat #1, because John 13:23 tells us that John, "the disciple whom Jesus loved," was reclined next to Him. We know it was the right side because Peter motioned to John to ask Jesus which one would betray him. The Bible says, "Leaning back against Jesus, he asked Him, 'Lord who is it?'" (Jn. 13:25).

Around a triclinium, the only way to talk to the person behind you, is to lean back. Since the custom was toalways lean on your left side, that places John on Jesus' right.

Since Jesus responded to John's question as to who would betray him, Jesus said, "He who had dipped his hand in the dish with Me, will betray me" (Mt 26:23). There was only that seat close enough to Jesus for the person to dip in the common bowl.

There is also another indication that Peter was in this last seat, because it would have been this persons job to carry around the basin and water to wash the hands of the guests. Whether this occurred or not is not recorded. However, Jesus did something very unusual, with regard to washing, to make a point.

Always the Teacher, Jesus used this opportunity to teach His disciples about being a servant, by His example. He got up and took the basin and water and started to wash their feet. Peter then realized his error in not washing everyone's hands in the beginning, and was grieved when he saw the Lord's selflessness when he had acted so selfishly.

The conversation in John 13:6-9 records their exchange"

Peter: "Lord, are you going to wash my feet?"

Jesus replies: "You do not yet realize now what I am doing, but later you will understand

Peter then declare: "No, You shall never wash my feet!"

Jesus: "Unless I wash you, you have no part of Me."

Peter responded: "Then Lord, not just my feet, but my hands and my head, as well."

Jesus later told them" "I tell you the truth, no servant is greater than the one who sent him. (Jn. 13:12-17)

Only later do we see that God's way is the best way and that our way is often selfish and self-serving.

Maybe we all need to spend a little time in the "Servant Seat" to learn that "whosoever will be great among you, let him be your servant: (Mt, 20:26b).

In the Book of Acts, we see that Peter did become one of the greatest leaders of the early Church, full of the Lord and carrying His Gospel forth to the world.

Have a happy and blessed Easter!

Blessings From God

2009-03-30T00:07:00.000-04:00

by Bonnie Calhoun

Today, instead of a lesson from the land of the Bible, I'm going to give you a lesson about the people of the land of the Bible. This will start in a seemingly odd place, but I'll tie it together at the end.

In many of his diaries, Christopher Columbus wrote that he was compelled to sail west by the "inspiration from the Holy Spirit." He continued, "It was the Lord who put into my mind the fact that it would be possible to sail from here to the Indies."

You might ask what this has to do with the people of Israel? Well, although Christopher Columbus (Christoferens Colombo in Italian) was born in Geneo, Italy, there is evidence to suggest that his lineage was of Spanish-Jewish origin. Columbus' paternal grandfather was a converso who had changed his name from Colon to Columbo.

Conversos were Jews who had, by choice or necessity, converted to Christianity. Apparently, in the midst of the Spanish Inquisition, Columbus was raised a Christian, perhaps to survive Jewish annihilation. His use of Spanish forms of his name in his diaries and letters and certain oddities associated with his voyage to the New World, lend credence to the idea that he was Jewish.

In his letters to his son Diego, Columbus put a mark in the upper left corner of the paper that resembles the Hebrew letters bet and hei. These letters denote the Hebrew blessing b'ezrat haShem, meaning with the help of God. The use of bet hei is a blessing that Jews used in letters to loved ones.

This symbol appears only in letters to his son, and during the last years of his life, unusual symbols, as in the picture to the left, began to appear in his writings that suggest he was familiar with Jewish mysticism. He began to sign his name in this triangular fashion, asking that his descendants continue to use this signature. This is a cryptic substitute for the Kaddish, the mourner's prayer. Thus, Columbus supplied his sons with a signature that would allow his sons to say Kaddish for their father when he died.

On March 30, 1492, King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella signed a decree to expel the jews from Spain. Until this time, Spain had been one of the few safe havens for Jews. On April 30, 1492, one month after the edit was signed, it was read publicly. That same day Columbus received the order to prepare for his expedition. On August 2, 1492, thousands of Jews departed from Spain. One of their ports of departure was Palos, the same port and the same day, from which Columbus had intended to depart. Faced with throngs of despairing, heartbroken people that day, Columbus delayed his voyage by one day.

I said all that to get to this:

Jews gathered at the ports, clutching whatever possessions they had been allowed to keep along with dirt from the earth. That day, the 9th of Av., in the Jewish calendar, also commemorated the destruction of both Temples. For centuries, this day had been observed as a day of mourning. On August 2, 1492, the 9th of Av took on a whole new meaning. According to Jewish tradition, to undertake any enterprise on the 9th of Av is considered bad.

Consider some of the following events that transpired in Hebrew history on the 9th of Av. (since the Hebrew calendar has more days than our modern one, this day never falls on the same date each year)"

-The twelve scouts sent out by Moses returned with a bad report.
-The Exodus generation was condemned to die.
-Nebuchadnezzar set fire to the first Temple.
-Romans destroyed the second Temple.
-Romans plowed up the Temple Mount to convert it to a Roman colony.
-The last independent outpost of the Bar Kokhba rebellion fell to the Romans (Mesada).
-King Edward of England expelled all Jews in 1290A.D.
-The last group of Jews left Vienna in 1670 after expulsion from Austria.
-The Turkish government banned the immigration of Russian and Romanian Jews into Palestine in 1882.
-World War I began, precipitated by the assassination of Archduke Francis Ferdinand.
-A decree to expel Jews from parts of Hungary was issued in 1941.

In the very beginning of the Bible, in Genesis 12:3, God tells Abram about his future generations, the people of God. He says, "I will bless those who bless you, And I will curse him who curses you: And in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.

It is notable to reveal that all of these places that expelled the Jews, at the time of expulsions, were prominent powers. They all fell from grace with God.

The only place left today is America.

Purim - The Feast Of Ester

2009-03-13T16:58:00.002-04:00

by Bonnie Calhoun

Jewish Year 5769 : sunset March 9, 2009 - nightfall March 10, 2009

In the twelfth month, which is the month of Adar, on its thirteenth day ... on the day that the enemies of the Jews were expected to prevail over them, it was turned about: the Jews prevailed over their adversaries. - Esther 9:1

And they gained relief on the fourteenth, making it a day of feasting and gladness. - Esther 9:17

[Mordecai instructed them] to observe them as days of feasting and gladness, and sending delicacies to one another, and gifts to the poor. - Esther 9:22

Purim is one of the most joyous and fun holidays on the Jewish calendar. It commemorates a time when the Jewish people living in Persia were saved from extermination.

The story of Purim is told in the biblical book of Esther. The heroes of the story are Esther, a beautiful young Jewish woman living in Persia, and her cousin Mordecai, who raised her as if she were his daughter. Esther was taken to the house of Ahasuerus, King of Persia, to become part of his harem. King Ahasuerus loved Esther more than his other women and made Esther queen, but the king did not know that Esther was a Jew, because Mordecai told her not to reveal her identity.

The villain of the story is Haman, an arrogant, egotistical advisor to the king. Haman hated Mordecai because Mordecai refused to bow down to Haman, so Haman plotted to destroy the Jewish people. In a speech that is all too familiar to Jews, Haman told the king, "There is a certain people scattered abroad and dispersed among the peoples in all the provinces of your realm. Their laws are different from those of every other people's, and they do not observe the king's laws; therefore it is not befitting the king to tolerate them." Esther 3:8.

The king gave the fate of the Jewish people to Haman, to do as he pleased to them. Haman planned to exterminate all of the Jews.

Mordecai persuaded Esther to speak to the king on behalf of the Jewish people. This was a dangerous thing for Esther to do, because anyone who came into the king's presence without being summoned could be put to death, and she had not been summoned. Esther fasted for three days to prepare herself, then went into the king. He welcomed her. Later, she told him of Haman's plot against her people. The Jewish people were saved, and Haman was hanged on the gallows that had been prepared for Mordecai.

The book of Esther is unusual in that it is the only book of the Bible that does not contain the name of God. In fact, it includes virtually no reference to God.

Mordecai makes a vague reference to the fact that the Jews will be saved by someone else, if not by Esther, but that is the closest the book comes to mentioning G-d. Thus, one important message that can be gained from the story is that G-d often works in ways that are not apparent, in ways that appear to be chance, coincidence or ordinary good luck.

Purim is celebrated on the 14th day of Adar, which is usually in March. The 13th of Adar is the day that Haman chose for the extermination of the Jews, and the day that the Jews battled their enemies for their lives. On the day afterwards, the 14th, they celebrated their survival. In cities that were walled in the time of Joshua, Purim is celebrated on the 15th of the month, because the book of Esther says that in Shushan (a walled city), deliverance from the massacre was not complete until the next day. The 15th is referred to as Shushan Purim.

In leap years, when there are two months of Adar, Purim is celebrated in the second month of Adar, so it is always one month before Passover. The 14th day of the first Adar in a leap year is celebrated as a minor holiday called Purim Katan, which means "little Purim." There are no specific observances for Purim Katan; however, a person should celebrate the holiday and should not mourn or fast. Some communities also observe a "Purim Katan" on the anniversary of any day when their community was saved from a catastrophe, destruction, evil or oppression.

The word "Purim" means "lots" and refers to the lottery that Haman used to choose the date for the massacre. The Purim holiday is preceded by a minor fast, the Fast of Esther, which commemorates Esther's three days of fasting in preparation for her meeting with the king.

The primary commandment related to Purim is to hear the reading of the book of Esther. The book of Esther is commonly known as the Megillah, which means scroll. Although there are five books of Jewish scripture that are properly referred to as megillahs (Esther, Ruth, Ecclesiastes, Song of Songs, and Lamentations), this is the one people usually mean when the speak of The Megillah. It is customary to boo, hiss, stamp feet and rattle gragers (noisemakers) whenever the name of Haman is mentioned in the service. The purpose of this custom is to "blot out the name of Haman."

Jews are also commanded to eat, drink and be merry. According to the Talmud, a person is required to drink until he cannot tell the difference between "cursed be Haman" and "blessed be Mordecai," though opinions differ as to exactly how drunk that is. A person certainly should not become so drunk that he might violate other commandments or get seriously ill. In addition, recovering alcoholics or others who might suffer serious harm from alcohol are exempt from this obligation.

In addition, Jews are commanded to send out gifts of food or drink, and to make gifts to charity. The sending of gifts of food and drink is referred to as shalach manos (lit. sending out portions). Among Ashkenazic Jews, a common treat at this time of year is hamentaschen (lit. Haman's pockets). These triangular fruit-filled cookies are supposed to represent Haman's three-cornered hat. I can supply the recipe for any who wish to make the cookies!

It is customary to hold carnival-like celebrations on Purim, to perform plays and parodies, and to hold beauty contests. I have heard that the usual prohibitions against cross-dressing are lifted during this holiday, but I am not certain about that. Americans sometimes refer to Purim as the Jewish Mardi Gras.

Purim is not subject to the sabbath-like restrictions on work that some other holidays are; however, some sources indicate that we should not go about our ordinary business on Purim out of respect for the holiday.

PRAYER FOCUS for Christians
This is a wonderful opportunity to pray for the nation of Israel as Jews around the world remember God’s deliverance. God is calling out a generation of Esthers who will stand in the gap for Israel “for such a time as this.” Pray that God will continue to show Himself as Israel’s great Defender and that Israel will recognize that He is their only defense.

SCRIPTURE
“But I will sing of Your power; yes, I will sing aloud of Your mercy in the morning: for You have been my defense and refuge in the day of my trouble. To You, O my Strength, I will sing praises; for God is my defense, my God of mercy” (Psalm 59:16–17)

Phoenicia, Cyprus and Antioch

2009-03-03T16:46:00.000-05:00

by Bonnie Calhoun

Does Evil Exist? Did God Create Evil?

2009-01-19T02:16:00.000-05:00

by Bonnie Calhoun

I just wanted to hit you with one profound thing that I was sent today! Read On!

The University professor challenged his students with this question."Did God create everything that exists?"

A student bravely replied, "Yes he did!"

"God created everything?" The professor asked.

"Yes sir", the student replied.

The professor answered, "If God created everything, then God created evil, since evil exists, and according to the principal that our works define who we are, then God is evil."

The student became quiet before such an answer. The professor, quite pleased with himself, boasted to the students that he had proven once more that the Christian faith was a myth.

Another student raised his hand and said, "Can I ask you a question professor?"

"Of course", replied the professor.

The student stood up and asked, "Professor does cold exist?"

"What kind of question is this? Of course it exists. Have you never been cold?" replied the professor.

The students snickered at the young man's question.

The young man replied, "In fact sir, cold does not exist. According to the laws of physics, what we consider cold is in reality the absence of heat. Every body or object is susceptible to study when it has or transmits energy, and heat is what makes a body or matter have or transmit energy. Absolute zero (-460? F) is the total absence of heat; all matter becomes inert and incapable of reaction at that temperature. Cold does not exist. We have created this word to describe how we feel if we have no heat."

The student continued, "Professor, does darkness exist?"

The professor responded, "Of course it does."

The student replied, "Once again you are wrong sir, darkness does not exist either. Darkness is in reality the absence of light. Light we can study, but not darkness. In fact we can use Newton's prism to break white light into many colors and study the various wavelengths of each color. You cannot measure darkness. A simple ray of light can break into a world of darkness and illuminate it. How can you know how dark a certain space is? You measure the amount of light present. Isn't this correct? Darkness is a term used by man to describe what happens when there is no light present."

Finally the young man asked the professor, "Sir, does evil exist?"

Now uncertain, the professor responded, "Of course as I have already said. We see it everyday. It is in the daily example of man's inhumanity to man. It is in the multitude of crime and violence everywhere in the world. These manifestations are nothing else but evil."

To this the student replied, "Evil dies not exist sir, or at least is does not exist unto itself. Evil is simply the absence of God. It is just like darkness and cold, a word that man has created to describe the absence of God. God did not create evil. Evil is the result of what happens when man does not have God's love present in his heart. It's like the cold that comes when there is no heat or the darkness that comes when there is no light."

The professor sat down.

The young man's name -- Albert Einstein

Happy Sunday to you all.

New Testament Persons of Interest #2

2008-12-23T01:16:00.000-05:00

by Bonnie Calhoun

To finish up our notable people of the New Testament.

Phoebe is one of the few women missionary figures of the New Testament. History indicates that it was not uncommon for women to be in leadership roles in the early church, though it was certainly not typical in Jewish synagogues. Phoebe traveled to Rome, most likely to bring Paul's letter (what we know as the Book of Romans) to the Christians there.

Apollos was a Jew from Alexandria. He was actually a missionary before he met Paul. John the Baptist had mentioned him and helped Apollos become a powerful preacher. He found help for his questions about Jesus in Corinth when he spoke with Priscilla and Aquilla.

The first martyr of the church was Stephen. A young Pharisee named Saul was present. Eventually Saul would be converted and receive the name Paul. His conversion is a sign of the wondrous grace God has in store for those who believe in Him. When Stephen was stoned, he died with a vision of Jesus in sight. He was at peace and thus incensed his captors even more. Before he died Stephen said, "Lord, do not hold this sin against them."

Another famous Ananias was Ananias of Damascus. When Paul was converted, he became blind. Ananias was told to go to the house where Paul was staying. He did so, though he knew that the man Saul was coming to arrest Christians. He prayed and the newly converted Paul received his sight back.

Dorcas, who was also called Tabitha, also received a miracle during the early days of the church. She lived in Joppa. She fell ill and then died. Her distressed friends sent for Peter, the "rock" of the church. He prayed for her even as she was dead! She was given her life back and sat up. Many of her friends became believers as a result of this miracle.

Cornelius was actually a Roman soldier and was stationed at Caesarea. He was a Gentile who had joined a synagogue in order to seek God. He was a "God fearer." An angel appeared to him one day and told Cornelius to send for Peter. When Peter came, Cornelius and his entire family learned about Jesus. They were baptized immediately and praised God.

Eutychus had been named well. His name means "lucky." While he was listening to Paul preach, he fell out of a three-story window (he fell asleep) and was lying still and believed to be dead when they reached him. Paul embraced him and he was healed. He had been blessed, not lucky, but his name seems appropriate!

Philemon had an interesting conversion experience. He was a wealthy Christian from Colosse, and he was converted by his slave, Onesimus. Onesimus had rn away and eventually met the apostle Paul and became a believer. Paul sent him back to his master, Philemon, and urged Philemon to receive him as a "beloved brother." Philemon did so and was also saved!

Lydia is one of the few women mentioned in the early church. She was a seller of purple cloth and a Gentile, but sought God by going to a Jewish prayer center. She then met Paul and his fellow missionaries. She became converted, and eventually she and her family and even their workers were baptized. Paul and his friends stayed in her home.

Stephanas and his entire household were the first Christians to convert during Paul's ministry in Achaia. As the church grew in that area, Stpehanas took a more active role in caring for other new Christians. Paul was fond of him and his family and he especially enjoyed Stephanas's visit with him in Europe.

Aquila and Priscilla were a tent-making couple from Corinth. They became Christians after listening to Paul preach. They were dear friends of Paul and supported him to the very end, even risking their lives for him. They were loved and known in many churches in Greece and Asia Minor.

One final note on Paul. Acts closes with Paul incarcerated and under a mild form of house arrest in the imperial capital. He continued preaching the gospel and writing letters to the churches he had established. Acts says nothing more about Paul's appeal or ultimate fate, or that of Peter. Both eventually disappear from the biblical account without any specific word about what happened to them. According to well-established tradition, both apostles were martyred during Emperor Nero's persecution of Christians after the great fire in Rome in A.D. 64.

New Testament Persons of Interest

2008-12-04T01:15:00.000-05:00

by Bonnie Calhoun

We've been talking back and forth with a lot of biblical names here in the New Testament. Let's get a handle on some of the people that we've met and some that we will meet in coming books.

The list of disciples differ slightly from one book to another. The Gospel of Matthew lists Simon, Andrew (Simon's brother), James and John (the Sons of Zebedee), Philip, Bartholomew, Thomas, Matthew the tax collector, James the son of Alphaeus, Thaddaeus, Simon the Cananite, and Judas Iscariot. Luke refers to Simon as "the zealot" (a brand of political protestors) and mentions "Judas son of James" instead of Thaddaeus. Many of these men were pillars of the early church.

Peter, who was called Simon before Jesus renamed him, was the first leader of the early church. Peter had a long history with the Lord; he denied Christ three times before the cock crowed but went on in faith following Christ's death and resurrection to become exactly what his new name meant─"the rock."

James and John, both sons of Zebedee, were brothers. They both were active in the early church. Both had been especially close to Jesus, being present at the transfiguration. It is strongly believed that John went on to write the Gospel of John.

Acts introduces the New Testament's second most influential figure (Jesus was the first!), an educated, pious Jew and tent-maker named Saul. Born in what is now Turkey, Saul went to Jerusalem to learn from the esteemed rabbi Gamaliel, grandson of legendary rabbi Hillel, the most prominent pharisaic rabbi of the first century. Given authority by the high priest to arrest followers of Christ in Damascus for blasphemy, Saul vigorously persecuted early Christians. His name was changed to Paul after he experienced a transforming vision and conversion.

Barnabas was one of the earliest convert to Christianity and a close friend of Paul's. A Greek-speaking Jew from Cyprus, Barnabas's real name was Joseph, but because he was an excellent teacher, his friends called him Barnabas, which means "Son of encouragement." He accompanied Paul on the first missionary journey through Asia Minor.

Timothy was one of Paul's main helpers. Paul mentored the younger man through two letters (1 and 2 Timothy) and called him his "true son in faith." Timothy also traveled on his own.

Philip became a missionary and was the first to preach the gospel to those living in Samaria. He is especially remembered for how he helped an Ethiopian read a passage from Isaiah. An angel directed him to go to the Ethiopian. Upon arriving they read the passage together. The foriegner asked to be baptized and became the first Ethiopian Christian.

Silas traveled as a missionary with Paul and Peter. He sang hymns joyously to Christ when he was imprisoned with Paul during the earthquake in Philippi. The jailer became a Christian because he was so moved by their display of faith. He was to Paul a "faithful brother."

I'll finish up the list of notable characters of the New Testament tomorrow night.

Hebrews - Chapter 1

2008-11-20T03:38:00.000-05:00

by Bonnie Calhoun

Today we are looking at the book of Hebrews. Since chapter 1 is short, I've decided to give you some background on this book.

The author does not identify himself, but he was obviously well known to the original recipients. Though for some 1,200 years the book was commonly called "The Epistle of Paul to the Hebrews," there was no agreement in the earliest centuries regarding its authorship. But since the Reformation it has been widely recognized that Paul could not have been the writer.

Moreover, the statement, "This salvation, which was first announced by the Lord, was confirmed to us by those who heard him" (2:3), indicates that the author had neither been with Jesus during his earthly ministry nor received special revelation directly from the risen Lord, as had Paul (Gal 1:11-12).

Hebrews must have been written before the destruction of Jerusalem and the temple in A.D. 70, or it would have been mentioned, and the author wouldn't have used the present tense when speaking of the Temple and the priestly activities connected with it.

The letter was addressed primarily to Jewish converts who were familiar with the Old Testament and who were being tempted to revert to Judaism or to Judaize the gospel.

The theme of Hebrews is the absolute supremacy and sufficiency of Jesus Christ as revealer and as mediator of God's grace.

Chapter 1

In these first five verses we see that all Old Testament writers are now viewed as prophets in that their testimony was preparation for the coming of Christ. The words, "by His Son" is a new and unique category of revelation in contrast to that of the prophets.

The superiority of the Son's revelation is demonstrated by seven great descriptive statements about Him:
1.) Appointed heir of all things
2.) Through whom He made the universe
3.) Radiance of God's glory
4.) Exact representation of His being
5.) Sustaining all things
6.) Provided purification for sins
7.) Sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven

And to top it off...He is superior to the angels. Now that is the topper, because to most Jews angels were exalted beings, especially revered because they were involved in giving the law as Sinai, and to the Jews, the law was God's supreme revelation

Themes Of Hebrews

2008-11-09T00:36:00.000-05:00

by Bonnie Calhoun

Today let's explore the theme of the book of Hebrews.

It deals with the absolute supremacy and sufficiency of Jesus Christ as revealer and as mediator of God's grace. The prologue (1:1-4) presents Christ as God's full and final revelation and it states that Jesus Christ is superior in every respect to the Law. In other words...there would be no others that would surpass the message that Jesus had for the world.

He also far surpassed the limited preliminary revelation given in the Old Testament. The prophecies and promises of the Old Testament are fulfilled in the "new covenant" (or "new testament"), of which Christ is the mediator.

From the Old Testament itself, Christ is shown to be superior to the ancient prophets, to angels, to Moses (the mediator of the former covenant) and to Aaron and the priestly succession descended from him. Hebrews could be called "the book of better things" since the two Greek words for "better" and "superior" occur 15 times in the letter!

Practical applications of this theme are given throughout the book. The readers are told that there can be no turning back to or continuation in the old Jewish system of sacrifices or regulations, which has been superseded by the unique priesthood of Christ. Some have suggested that these professing Jewish Christians were thinking of merging with a Jewish sect, such as the one at Qumran near the Dead Sea. It has also been suggested that the recipients were from the "large number of priests who became obedient to the faith" (Acts 6:7).

The point was that God's people now must look only to him, whose atoning death, resurrection and ascension have opened the way into the true, heavenly sanctuary of God's presence. Resisting temptations to give up the struggle, believers must presevere in the spiritual contest to which they have committed themselves.

Otherwise they may meet with judgment as did the rebellious generation of Israelites in the desert!

Ephesians Chapter Six

2008-10-02T21:21:00.000-04:00

In the preceding chapter the church was designated as the bride of Christ. Now in this chapter it is to be a good soldier of Jesus Christ. I have told you that my humorous friend says this sequence is to be expected—after a couple gets married, the war begins. Therefore, the church should be a good soldier. He was being facetious, of course. In the future the church is to be presented as the bride of Christ. This is the expectation of the church. Today is the period of the engagement and exhibition of the church before the world.

Now this chapter presents another side of the life of a believer. In the world today the church is to be a good soldier of Jesus Christ. In Ephesus there stood the great temple of Diana, one of the seven wonders of the ancient world. It stood for all that was pagan and heathen; it was grossly immoral. It was time for the believers in Ephesus to recognize that they had an enemy. Not only did the Christians in Ephesus have an enemy, but we have an enemy today. Our enemy is not the worship at the temple of Diana. I think we have something infinitely worse than that. We are seeing immorality and heathenism not only in the name of religion but actually in the name of Christianity—when it is not Christian at all!

The first part of the chapter opens with instructions to children, parents, servants, and masters. This may seem foreign to the life of a soldier. However, a soldier’s training does not start in boot camp; it begins when he is a child in the home.

V1 Children, obey your parents in the Lord: for this is right.

The first lesson that a soldier must learn is obedience to those in authority. He must follow orders. This basic training is learned in the home. After the soldier has learned to obey, then he is in a position to be promoted to the rank of an officer where he gives commands to others. To know how to give orders depends largely on how the soldier learned to obey. This basic training is found in the home with the parent-child relationship, and then with the master-servant relationship.

V10-11 Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might. Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.

What in the world is Paul talking about? He is talking about spiritual wickedness, about that which is satanic. Notice that he is coming to the end of the epistle and says, “In conclusion be strengthened in the Lord, and in the power of His might.” You cannot overcome the devil in your own strength and your own power.

The enemy whom the Christian is to fight is not flesh and blood. The enemy is spiritual, and the warfare is spiritual. That is why we need spiritual power.

V24 Grace be with all them that love our Lord Jesus Christ in sincerity. Amen.

And Paul ends with “Grace” which is the key word of the epistle. It opened the epistle (Eph. 1:2) and is the subject of the epistle (Eph. 2:7–8). It now concludes the epistle. It is a fitting word because it is God’s grace which saved us and which sustains us today.

Ephesians : Chapter One

2008-09-14T19:34:00.000-04:00

Tonight we're starting on the book of Ephesians. Mimi did a very good job of introduction, so we'll start right in.

Chapter one is one of my favorite chapters in the New Testament because it talks about our God-given purpose on this earth.

V1-2 Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, to the saints which are at Ephesus, and to the faithful in Christ Jesus: Grace be to you, and peace, from God our Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ.

This is the briefest of all the introductions to Paul’s epistles. It’s brief because, very frankly, this epistle was sent to the church in Ephesus but was intended to be for all the churches. In some of the better manuscripts en Epheso is left out—it’s not there. Ephesians was apparently the epistle that Paul referred to when he said in Colossians to read the epistle to the Laodiceans. In other words, this was a circular letter for the churches in that day. He’s not writing here to the local church as much as he is to the church in general, that is, the invisible body of believers.

“Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ” should be changed to Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus. I hope you’ll not think I’m splitting hairs here, but all the way through this epistle and in many other places it should be Christ Jesus. The word Christ is His title. That’s who He is: “… Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God” (Matt. 16:16). Jesus was His human name.

V1:4 According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love.

"...And any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous: And he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world” (1 John 2:1–2).

By the way, that answers once and for all the question of a limited atonement, that is, that Christ died only for the elect. This verse in 1 John makes it clear that He died for the world. I don’t care who you are, there is a legitimate offer that has been sent out to you today from God, and that offer is that Jesus Christ has died for you. You can’t hide and say, “I am not one of the elect.” You are of the elect if you hear His voice. You also have free will not to hear His voice. The free will of man is never violated because of the election of God. The lost man makes his own choice.

V15-16 Wherefore I also, after I heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus, and love unto all the saints, Cease not to give thanks for you, making mention of you in my prayers.

Paul prayed that all the Ephesians would gain knowledge and power through prayer. Paul says, when he heard the good news and wonderful reports about the Ephesian church, “I…. cease not to give thanks for you.”

It’s interesting that we don’t too often think of Paul as an outstanding man of prayer. We would put him at the top of the list as a great missionary of the cross. We can’t think of any greater example of apostleship than Paul. If you were to make a list of ten of the greatest preachers of the church, you would certainly put Paul as number one. He was also one of the greatest teachers. The Lord Jesus was, of course, the greatest of all—“… Never man spake like this man” (John 7:46)—and Paul certainly followed in that tradition. He is also an example of a good pastor. According to Dr. Luke, Paul wept with the believers at Ephesus when he took leave of them. He loved them, and they loved him.

I always judge the spiritual life of a church by the way they love their pastor, providing he stands for the Word of God. One can pretty well judge the attitude of the people by the way they love their pastor. Today we need to judge folk by their attitude toward the Word of God rather than how big a Bible they carry under their arms. The Ephesians not only loved Paul, but they loved God’s Word.

And that's where we should all be today!

Romans Chapter Thirteen

2008-09-07T20:46:00.000-04:00

Well, I'd like to say a big hello to all of our returning readers. For everything there is a time and a season. We rested for a season, now it is time to put the rubber to the road.

Chapter 13 of Romans is one of my favor chapters because it is so truly modern. This shows us how we are to act toward our government, whether Republican, Democrat or Independent. God set down the rules....Submit to Government!

1. Let every soul be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and the authorities that exist are appointed by God.

It is true that the kingdoms of this world belong to Satan and that injustice and corruption abound in all governments; yet God still has control.

2. Therefore whoever resists the authority resists the ordinance of God, and those who resist will 1bring judgment on themselves.

We need to beware of those who would change our government under the guise of improving it. Remember John the Baptist was beheaded by Herod, Jesus was crucified under Pontius Pilate, James, the brother of John, was slain with the sword of Herod, and Paul was put to death by Nero. Yet Paul chose to tell us this.

Therefore, Christianity never became a movement to improve government, help society, or clean up the town. The gospel was the power of God unto salvation of the individual. Paul never went around telling about the deplorable conditions of Roman jails—and he knew them well from the inside.

In our day the government is corrupt. What is the Christian to do? Our business is to get out the Word of God, and our business is to obey the law. That is what Paul is saying here. Christianity is not a movement to improve government or to help society clean up the town. It is to preach a gospel!

5. Therefore you must be subject, not only because of wrath but also for conscience’ sake.

The government is to maintain law and order. When it does not do that, it has failed. I feel that a Christian should be opposed to the breakdown of law and order. We are to respect our rulers who are enforcing the law. I have great respect for our army, although it is honeycombed with corruption. I have great respect for police officers, although I know they make mistakes.

AND MY FAVORITE VERSE:

6. For because of this you also pay taxes, for they are God’s ministers attending continually to this very thing. 7. Render therefore to all their due: taxes to whom taxes are due, customs to whom customs, fear to whom fear, honor to whom honor.

Although we may resent the way our tax money is being used, we are to pay taxes anyway. 'Tis The Tax Season!!!!

8. – 10. Owe no one anything except to love one another, for he who loves another has fulfilled the law. For the commandments, “You shall not commit adultery,” “You shall not murder,” “You shall not steal,” “You shall not bear false witness,” “You shall not covet,” and if there is any other commandment, are all summed up in this saying, namely, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” Love does no harm to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfillment of the law.

There is nothing to explain here. It is self-explanatory!

12.b – 14. Therefore let us cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armor of light. Let us walk properly, as in the day, not in revelry and drunkenness, not in lewdness and lust, not in strife and envy. But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to fulfill its lusts.

We hear a great deal about night life. The believer is identified with day life. He walks as one who belongs to the day. Oh, how many believers are making every provision for the flesh but are making no provision to go into His presence. My friend, I beg you to put Christ first in your life and to get out the Word of God. This is all important.

And be sure to stop by and visit us on Saturday as I resume the Lessons From the Land of The Bible series!

Romans Chapter Nine

2008-08-29T14:49:00.000-04:00

At the time Paul wrote this he was accused of being an enemy of his own people. We are told in Acts 23:12, “And when it was day, certain of the Jews banded together, and bound themselves under a curse, saying that they would neither eat nor drink till they had killed Paul.” Now Paul uses an expression that is a favorite with him: “I tell the truth, I do not lie.” This poor man is full of anguish that Israel is rejecting Christ.

Verse 6 brings up an interesting point.

Not as though the word of God hath taken none effect. For they are not all Israel, which are of Israel [Rom. 9:6].

This is a strange expression. In other words, not all the offspring, the natural offspring of Israel, are the real Israel. The Jew in Paul’s day raised the question as to why the Jew had not wholeheartedly accepted Christ since theirs was an elect nation. Is not this failure on God’s part? Paul partially dealt with this problem at the beginning of Romans 3.

Now Paul is going to make a distinction between the natural offspring of Jacob and the spiritual offspring. Always there has been a remnant, and that remnant, whether natural or not natural, has been a spiritual offspring. This is a distinction within the nation Israel, and he is not including Gentiles here at all. The failure was not God’s; but the people had failed. God’s promises were unconditional.

What shall we say then? Is there unrighteousness with God? God forbid [Rom. 9:14].
What will we say to this? Is there injustice with God? Perish the thought! Let it not be. The answer is a resounding no! The natural man rebels against the sovereignty of God. If anything is left to God to make the choice, man immediately concludes that there is injustice. Why is that?

Although we cannot intrude into the mysterious dealings of God, we can trust Him to act in justice. We cannot avoid the doctrine of election, nor can we reconcile God’s sovereign election with man’s free will. Both are true. Let’s keep in mind that this is His universe. He is sovereign. We are but little creatures on earth, and He could take away the breath from us in the next moment.

Do I have the audacity to stand on my two feet, look Him in the face, and question what He does? That would be rebellion of the worst sort. I bow to my Creator and my Redeemer, knowing that whatever choice He makes is right. By the way, if you do not like what He does, perhaps you should move out of His universe and start one of your own so you can make your own rules. But as long as you live in God’s universe, you will have to play according to His rules. Little man needs to bow his stiff neck and stubborn knees before Almighty God and say, “There is no unrighteousness with Thee” (see John 7:18).

What shall we say then? That the Gentiles, which followed not after righteousness, have attained to righteousness, even the righteousness which is of faith [Rom. 9:30].

This is a thrilling statement. Gentiles, without willing or working, found righteousness in Christ because God worked and God willed it. The Old Testament Scriptures had prophesied it. As we have seen, Isaiah had said that Gentiles were to be saved.

But Israel, which followed after the law of righteousness, hath not attained to the law of righteousness [Rom. 9:31].

In other words, Israel, pursuing after a law which should give righteousness, did not arrive at such a law. This is a terrifying statement. The Jews tried to produce a righteousness of their own through the Mosaic system. They didn’t produce it—look at the nation today. Religious people are the most difficult people to reach with the gospel—church members, who think they are good enough to be saved.

You will never be able to reconcile the sovereignty of God and the responsibility of man. But Paul is making it very clear here that if you are going to be saved it is your responsibility!

Romans: Chapter Six

2008-08-07T11:35:00.000-04:00

Chapter 6 of Romans tells us that we are dead to sin, but alive to God. Well all I can say is praise the Lord for that!

We see that Paul is being argumentative. He wasn't, you remember, when he was discussing sin. Rather, he was stating facts. He wasn't trying to prove anything. Bu tnow he's using this idiomatic question and being argumentative!

The very fact that Paul is asking this question makes it obvious that he understood justification to mean a declaration of righteousness; that it did not mean to make a person good, but to declare a person good. Justification means that the guilt or the penalty of sin is removed, not the power of sin in this life.

Now he is going to talk about removing the power of sin. If God has declared you to be righteous and has removed the guilt of your sin, then, my friend, you cannot continue in sin. The answer is, “God forbid!”

What did Paul mean by the word baptize in this third verse? I do not think he refers to water baptism primarily. Don’t misunderstand me; I believe in water baptism, and I believe that immersion best sets forth what is taught here. But actually he is talking about identification with Christ.

You see, the translators did not translate the Greek word baptizō, they merely transliterated it. That is, they just spelled the Greek word out in English, because baptizō has so many meanings. In my Greek lexicon there are about twenty meanings for this word.

Actually baptizō could refer to dyeing your hair. In fact, there was a group in Asia Minor who dyed their hair purple; and they belonged to a baptizō group. But here in Romans 6:3 Paul is speaking about identification with Jesus Christ. We were baptized or identified into His death. In 1 Corinthians 12:13 Paul says, “For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body...” We are identified in the death of Christ, as Paul will explain in the next verse.

“We are buried with him by baptism [identification] into [His] death.” Frankly, I think that immersion is a more accurate type of this identification. I think the Spirit’s baptism is the real baptism. Water is the ritual baptism, but I do think that immersion sets forth the great spiritual truth that is here. This is the reason a child of God should be baptized in water in our day. It is a testimony that he is joined to the living Christ. That is all important.

When Paul says your “old man” is crucified with Him, he doesn’t mean your father; he means your old nature is crucified with Him. “That the body of sin might be destroyed”—the word destroyed is katargeo, meaning “to make of none effect, to be paralyzed or canceled or nullified”—“that henceforth we should not serve sin.” Paul is not saying that the old nature is eradicated. He is saying that since the old man was crucified, the body of sin has been put out of business, so that from now on we should not be in bondage to sin.

We have seen that sanctification is positional. That means we are to know something. We are to know God’s method of making a sinner the kind of person He wants him to be. While justification merely declared him righteous, removed the guilt of sin, it did not change him in his life. It gave him a new nature.

Now he is to know that he was buried with Christ and raised with Him. God wants him to live in the power of the Holy Spirit. The believer is joined to the living Christ. He is to reckon on that fact; he is to count on it. He is to consider it as true. You see, God saved us by faith, and we are to live by faith. Many of us have trusted Him for salvation, but are we trusting Him in our daily living? We are to live by faith.

And I'm going to leave you on that note...Trust Him in our daily living!

Romans Chapter Three

2008-07-27T13:51:00.000-04:00

The theme of chapter three is the availability of a righteousness from God

In the first section we have God's judgment being defended:

What advantage then hath the Jew? or what profit is there of circumcision? [Rom. 3:1].

"Profit" means that which is surplus, that which is excess, and the Question has to do with the outward badge of God’s special covenant with the Jews, circumcision.
It looks as if Paul is in danger of erasing a distinction which God has made. The question is, if Jew and Gentile are on the same footing before God, what then is the supposed advantage of the Jew and what good is circumcision? Paul is saying, "Yes, the Jew has an advantage." The advantage, however, created a responsibility. We need to note carefully the advantage the Jew had because there is a great deal of confusion in this area.

Paul is making it clear that God not only gave to the nation Israel the oracles of God—they were the ones who communicated the Word of God—but in the Word of God was something special for them, promises, not yet fulfilled, and peculiarly their own.

The Jew failed; doesn’t that mean God failed? No. God’s promise to send Israel the Redeemer was not defeated by their willful disobedience and rejection. All His promises for the future of the nation will be fulfilled to His glory in spite of their unbelief. I personally thank God that His promises to me do not depend on my faithfulness. If it had depended on me, I would have been lost long ago.

Now, the whole point is this: if my unrighteousness reveals the marvelous, wonderfully infinite faithfulness of God in the grace of God, then has God a right to judge me? That’s what Paul is asking here. This makes it very clear that the unsaved world in Paul’s day understood that Paul was preaching salvation by the grace of God.

Secondly we have that, "all have sinned."

What then? are we better than they? No, in no wise: for we have before proved both Jews and Gentiles, that they are all under sin [Rom. 3:9].

Now Paul doesn’t mean "proved" here. That word is a little too strong; it does not have quite that shade of meaning, because Paul is not trying to prove man a sinner. Rather, he is showing that God judges sin. He assumes man is a sinner, and you don’t have to assume it—it is evident. He is merely stating that which is very obvious today. The better word is charged—“for we have before charged both Jews and Gentiles, that they are all under sin.” He is just stating the case, by the way, that it doesn’t make any difference who we are today—high or low, rich or poor, good or bad—we’re all under sin.

Third is God's righteousness through faith:

But now the righteousness of God without the law is manifested, being witnessed by the law and the prophets [Rom. 3:21].

"The righteousness of God" should be a righteousness of God, since the article is absent in the Greek. This "righteousness" is not an attribute of God—He says that He will not share His glory with another—nor is it the righteousness of man. God has already said that “… our righteousness is as filthy rags …” (Isa. 64:6), and God is not taking in dirty laundry.

And lastly: boasting excluded:

Where is boasting then? It is excluded. By what law? of works? Nay: but by the law of faith [Rom. 3:27].

If God is saving by faith in Christ and not by your merit, your works, then where is boasting? What is it that you and I have to crow about? We can’t even boast of the fact that we’re fundamental in doctrine. We have nothing to glory in today. Paul asks, “Where is boasting then?” And he answers the question he raises.
“It is excluded. By what law? of works? Nay: but by the law of faith.”

Romans Chapter One

2008-07-10T23:05:00.000-04:00

Today we start the Book of Romans. Chapter one's theme is Paul's personal greetings, Paul's purpose, Paul's three "I ams"; a natural revelation of God; subnatural response of man; and the unnatural retrogression of man.

Romans teaches the total depravity of man. Man is irrevocably and hopelessly lost. He must have the righteousness of God since he has none of his own. Verses 16 an 17 have long been recognized as the key to the epistle. These two verses should be memorized and the meaning of each word digested.

For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, “The just shall live by faith.

Paul starts off by identifying himself as a slave, or doulos, of the Lord Jesus Christ. On the road to Damascus, the Lord said to Paul, “Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me?” And Paul replied, “Who art thou, Lord?” He said, “I am Jesus whom thou persecutest.” It was at this moment that Paul came to know Him as his Savior. Then Paul’s question was, “What wilt thou have me to do?” (see Acts 9:4–6). This is when Paul made himself a bondslave of the Lord Jesus Christ.

In Verse 6, the called are the elect. Who are the called? Well, they are those who have heard. The Lord Jesus made it clear when He said, “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me” (John 10:27).

Paul's purpose: He wants to come to Rome to teach the Word of God. Paul loved to teach the Word of God.

His three "I am's": Paul said, “I am debtor both to the Greeks, and to the Barbarians.” He had had a personal transaction with Jesus Christ which put him in debt to every man, because the grace of God had been so bountifully bestowed upon him. Paul was in debt to a lost world. Second "I am": In verse 15: "I am ready to preach the gospel...." Paul has said that he is a debtor; now he says he is ready to pay. The third "I am" is the bock quote I gave at the beginning.

The natural revelation of God: The wrath of God is revealed.” Actually, if you want to know what salvation really is, you have to know how bad sin is. In other words, “Sin is the measure of salvation.”

The subnatural response of man: Verses 21-23... There is no such thing as man moving upward. Man is not improving physically, morally, intellectually, or spiritually. The pull is downward. Of course this contradicts all the anthologies of religion that start with man in a very primitive condition and move him up intellectually and toward God.

The unnatural regression of man: Now we see the results of man’s revolution against God. In the remainder of this chapter it says three times that God gave them up.
Man has a revelation from God, but he flagrantly flaunts it by defying the judgment of God against such sins. He continues to practice them and applauds and approves those who do the same.

As usual, when I want pictures, Blogger shows me who's boss!

Matthew Chapter Twenty-Seven

2008-06-21T23:57:00.000-04:00

Chapter 27 is a pretty heavy chapter because of our Lord's death and crucifixion.

As the chief priests and elders were leading Jesus through that hall to take Him to Pilate, here comes Judas to address the religious rulers.

They tell him, “You did the job, and it’s over with. We have the One we were after. We have paid you off, and we have no need of you any farther”. This man leaves the Temple area, goes out and hangs himself.

The significant thing is that Jesus was present when Judas returned with his thirty pieces of silver. In fact, Jesus was on His way to die...even for Judas. Our Lord had given him an opportunity to come back to Him there in the Garden of Gethsemane, and He had said, “Friend, wherefore art thou come?” And even at this eleventh hour, Judas could have turned to the Lord Jesus and would have been forgiven.

The next section is Jesus going before Pilate. You see, the religious rulers wanted to get rid of Jesus because of what they considered blasphemy. You remember that when the high priest put Him on oath and asked Him if He was the Christ, the Son of God, Jesus said that He was.

To the religious rulers that was blasphemy, and they would have stoned Him on that charge, but Rome did not allow the Jews to carry out the death penalty. So they had to deliver Jesus to Pilate with a charge that would stick in a Roman court. Treason would be one that would stick, and so Jesus was charged with claiming to be the King of the Jews.

The answer of Jesus to the charge was, “Thou sayest”...or...“It is as you say.” He didn't answer because He was the Lamb of God. Matthew simply states the bare facts.
Obviously, Pilate felt that the religious rulers had no basis for requesting the death penalty. He wanted to please the religious leaders in order to maintain peace in Jerusalem, but he felt that he could not arbitrarily sentence the Lord Jesus to death.

So he hit upon a solution to the problem. Since it was his habit to release a Jewish prisoner during the Passover celebration, he would offer the crowd a choice: Jesus; or a very notorious prisoner called Barabbas, who was guilty of murder, robbery, and treason.

Pilate was a clever politician. He could see what was taking place, and he was sure that the crowd would ask for Barabbas to be crucified and Jesus to be released. This would give him a happy “out” to this situation. While the religious rulers were clever politicians themselves. They circulated among the crowd asking the opposite.

Pilate tried to wash his hands of the matter, but "crucified under Pontius Pilate will stick for eternity!

The crucifixion is hard for me to write about. Our Lord was put on the cross at the third hour, which would be nine o’clock in the morning. By twelve noon, man had done all he could to the Son of God. Then at the noon hour, darkness settled down, and that cross became an altar on which the Lamb who taketh away the sin of the world was offered.

Jesus cried out, “My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? We find the answer to that question in Psalm 22, verse 3: “But thou art holy …” (Ps. 22:1, 3, italics mine). When my sin is put upon Jesus, God has to withdraw. Our Savior had to be executed if He were going to take my sin and yours.

Matthew Chapter Twenty-Five

2008-06-02T11:52:00.000-04:00

To better understand the customs in Israel during the New Testament period, we refer to the Peshitta, which is a Syriac version of the Bible. Although it is not a text to be recommended, it does shed light on some of the customs of the day. The Peshitta translation indicates that the virgins went forth to meet the bridegroom and the bride, which means that the bridegroom is coming from the marriage to the marriage supper.

Although the marriage of Christ and the church takes place in heaven, the marriage supper takes place on this earth. A passage in the Gospel of Luke substantiates this. Our Lord is giving warnings and parables, in the Book of (Luke 12:35–36).

You see, the wedding has taken place, and the bride is with him. Obviously, if he is coming from the wedding, the bride is with him; no man ever went on a honeymoon by himself—if he did, it wasn’t a honeymoon!

In the parable of the ten virgins, Christ is the bridegroom, and bringing the bride with Him. The believers on earth are waiting for Him. While the Great Tribulation has been going on upon the earth, Christ has been yonder in heaven with His bride, the church. At the conclusion of the seven years of Tribulation, He comes back to earth with the church.

This, now, is the attitude toward His coming on the part of those on the earth—Oil is symbolic of the Spirit of God. In that day I think there will be phonies as there were at His first coming. Jesus called them hypocrites. They will have lamps but no oil.
Notice both the wise and the foolish virgins slept. The difference was that some had the Holy Spirit ( the oil) and some did not, because they were not genuine believers.

Our Lord concludes this parable with a warning—Notice that it is “the day nor the hour” rather than the century or the year, as it is from our perspective. The attitude for His own during this future period is to watch. That is the important thing for them to do.

The parable of the Talents is another parable for that future generation that will be waiting for our Lord’s return to earth. Notice that the master gave to his servants responsibilities according to their individual abilities.

Notice that the “talents” were sums of money. They do not represent talents in the sense of the natural endowments of a person such as a musical talent. The application to us is that whatever God has given to us, we are to use for Him.

All were given a certain sum of money and told to use it profitably. But one buried the talent he had been given. He was not faithful to his master.

The response of his master was this...the one who buried his talent, so that he would have it for the master was considered slothful and wicked!

There is a great principle in this parable for us. And it was given in the light of the fact that all of us—you and I included—are going to have to stand in the presence of God and give an account of how we have used what He has given to us. The Lord is not going to ask us how much we have done for Him but how faithful we have been to that which He wanted us to do.

For the child of God there are two important things: (1) Find out what God wants us to do; that is, determine what the talent is that He has given us, and then (2) be faithful in the use of it. To some of us God gives a very small ministry, and that may be upsetting to us; but if we are one—talent people, God expects us to be faithful with that.

Sorry, no pictures....Blogger is being a booger!

Matthew Chapter Twenty-Two

2008-05-27T23:41:00.000-04:00

Tonight this chapter begin with The Parable of the Wedding Feast. This is significant because this was one of the greatest parables Jesus gave for the period in which we live. Take note of the first line:

And Jesus answered and spake unto them again by parables, and said [Matt. 22:1].

Take note of the word again. This little word indicates that Jesus is still addressing the chief priests and elders mentioned in Matthew 21:23.

Obviously, “a certain king” is God the Father, and “his son” is the Lord Jesus. He resorts to the expression “kingdom of heaven” instead of kingdom of God which He used in the previous two parables.

He “sent forth his servants to call them that were bidden to the wedding.” Who were bidden? The lost sheep of the house of Israel. Our Lord sent His apostles to them. And the prophets had been the messengers back in the Old Testament. Israel's response was rejection of God’s invitation. They killed His messengers, including the Jesus Himself.

In verse 8 we will see a definite change in the method and manner of the invitation, and it refers to the present age in which we live. Notice what happens. The King's invitation is for everyone, but there is a danger of coming without meeting the King's demands. The wedding garment is the righteousness of Christ, which is essential for salvation, and it is supplied to all who believe!

Notice verse 12, he was speechless! I hear some folk say that they don’t need to receive Christ, that they will take their chances before God, that they intend to argue their case. Well, our Lord said that this fellow without the wedding garment was speechless.

Whether or not you accept the wedding garment is up to you. Christ has provided it for you. The invitation has gone to everyone, but you will have to come on the King’s terms.

In the next three sections we have the Herodians coming with the question of paying tribute to Caesar. The Sadducees coming with a question regarding the resurrection. And the Pharisees coming with their question concerning the great commandment of the Law.

First Jesus answers the Herodians. They were a political party favoring the house of Herod, who wanted deliverance from the Roman yoke. Herodians weren't a religious party but were strongly political. However, the Pharisees apparently used them, and it is quite possible that many Pharisees were Herodians as well.

It was a trick question. If He said no to paying taxes to Caesar, He would be accused of being a traitor. If He said, yes to paying tribute, then He could not be the true Messiah. Notice Jesus calls them what they are...hypocrites.
It's notable that He used their coin. They were using the legal tender of the Roman government, walking on Roman roads, where Rome provided them with a measure of peace, so they owed Rome. Therefore render unto Caesar, what is Caesar's! But there is another side to this coin...render unto God what is God's!

Now Jesus gets to answer the Sadducees. This is a really funny story because it reminds me of a modern soap opera like As The Stomach Turns...LOL! The Sadducees use a ridiculous illustration to try and trap the Lord, because they didn't believe in the resurrection. Just think of a woman who had seven brothers for her husbands. She must have lived in Hollywood! Their question: In the resurrection, whose wife would she be?

Notice what Jesus says, we will be like angels in that we will not marry in heaven. There will be no necessity to continue the race by procreating. This doesn't mean that a husband and wife who were close here can't be together there. If they want to, they can. Think of the ones who wouldn’t want to be together. They won’t have to be! They both will have new dispositions, and probably they'll get along better there than they did here! LOLOkay Herodians and Sadducees down, now come the Pharisees! The Pharisees have a huddle and send forth a very clever lawyer, that is, a scribe who is expert in Mosaic Law to ask which is the greatest commandment in the law?

Notice Jesus doesn't pick one of the Ten Commandments. He says: "Love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind." Then gives them a second. "Thou shall love thy neighbor as thyself." These two commandments actually summarized the entire Mosaic Law. And show us how we fall short.

The Pharisees go back to the huddle and try to trap Him again, but He beats them to the punch and asks them a question. The Lord Jesus is quoting Psalm 110:1. How could David call his son his Lord? The Pharisees would have to say that the son would have to be supernaturally born for David to call him “my Lord.” The Lord Jesus was forcing the Pharisees to face up to the real issue and to acknowledge Him as David’s son and as David’s Lord. This ended the verbal clash with the religious rulers.

Matthew Chapter Twenty

2008-05-12T21:39:00.000-04:00

Chapter Twenty contains a lot of meat, as my Pastor would say. The first sixteen verses deal with the Parable of the Workers in the Vineyard.

This parable is closely related to the previous chapter. So you see that at both the beginning and at the end of this parable the concept of the last being first and the first, last, forms sort of a parenthesis around it.

You see the landowner going out four times to gather workers. This is a tremendous parable (vv1-16) which illustrates an important truth: It is not the amount of time which you serve nor the prominence or importance of your position which determines your reward. Rather, you will be rewarded for your faithfulness to the task which God has given you to perform, regardless of how small or how short or how insignificant it appears.

Perhaps God has not called you to do something great for Him, but are you faithful in what He has assigned to you?

The next section (vv17-19) we have is Jesus' fourth announcement of His death and resurrection. This is the fourth time He is telling them, in detail, exactly what is going to happen to Him. Somehow the disciples didn’t comprehend it, cause it just didn’t fit into their program. However, as you and I read it now, we see very clearly that it was Christ’s intention to go to Jerusalem to die. Let’s ponder the significance of this. He went there deliberately to die for you and for me. That is something to think about. The disciples of Jesus just couldn’t believe it!

The next section (vv20-28) deals with the request of the mother of James and John. At the time of Jesus’ significant announcement of His pending death, the mother of James and John came to Jesus to ask Him a favor. There are a great many of us who worship Him with the same motive!She wants for her sons to sit on Jesus' right and left hand, in the kingdom. On any other occasion this request would be a natural one for a mother who was ambitious for her children. In this instance, however, she missed the atmosphere and the very understanding of what was really taking place.

Don’t miss the meaning here because it is so important to Christians today. Our Lord is not saying that there is no place at His right hand and left hand for somebody. He is saying that He will not arbitrarily give the positions to James and John or to anyone else. Rather, the places are for those who prepare themselves for them.

Heaven is for the asking. You do nothing for salvation. You are saved by faith in Christ through His marvelous grace. However, your position, your reward in heaven is determined by what you do down here on earth. That is very important, and Christians seem to have lost sight of it. What kind of a place are you preparing for yourself?

Personally, I have no ambition for the places on Christ’s right or left hand. I’m sure I have missed those, but I am working for a place. All of us should be doing this. In Philippians 3:14 Paul said, “I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.” The trouble with Christians today is that too few are even trying to win anything. We need to recognize salvation as a free gift, but we need to get on the race course in order to receive a reward.

And the last section (vv29-34) is the two blind men who get their sight back. Jesus and His disciples are going from Jericho to Jerusalem, which is the opposite direction from the man who went down from Jerusalem to Jericho and fell among thieves. The Lord is going from Jericho up to Jerusalem to die with thieves.

By the way, some folk think that because at His trial He did not defend Himself, He never defended Himself, and that Christians should follow the same policy. However, at other times He did defend Himself. When He went to Jerusalem to die, He did not defend Himself because He was taking our place, and we're guilty. Believe me, there was no defense! That is the reason He did not open His mouth at that time. He was bearing our sin at that time.

They acknowledged His kingship. Even though the Lord could see their problem, why did the He ask what He could do for them? When you come to the Lord Jesus Christ, you must tell Him your need. If you are coming to Him for salvation, you must tell Him that you are a sinner and need His salvation. If you don’t, you will not be saved. That’s the offense of the cross.

Everybody would like to come to the cross if they could bring along the perfume of their self-righteousness and good deeds. But, you and I haven’t any goodness at all, none whatsoever, to present to God. You can no more sweeten human character with training and psychology and education than you can sweeten a pile of fertilizer out in the barnyard with Chanel No. 5. We have to come to Him as sinners and receive Him as our Savior. And the blind men came to the Lord Jesus with their need, “Lord, that our eyes may be opened”!

Our Lord healed them, and they followed Him. Remember where He is going. He is on His way to the cross.

WHAT'S IN A NAME - #2

2008-04-20T01:00:00.000-04:00

by Bonnie Calhoun
Tonight I'm, going to continue with another post on the wild words from the Bible. Let's continue with words and Phrases for ten, Alex.

"Do not throw pearls before swine." Jesus ' words in Matthew 7:6 urge believers to take care with their message; it is not necessary to teach to those who are openly hostile to the gospel. A person wouldn't throw precious pearls to pigs, and Christians shouldn't throw the gift of salvation to those who will only turn around and attach them.

"Eat, drink and be merry" was a phrase created by Jesus in Luke 12 while telling a cautionary tale about a rich fool who thought the rest of his life was set. The fool dies that very night. The words are still generally used in the sarcastic or pejorative sense.

"The straight and narrow." Following the small. Less-traveled path leads to the narrow gate of life. In Matthew 7:14, Jesus cautioned his followers against following the more glamorous, broad, and well-traveled path that led to a wide gate full of destruction.

"A good Samaritan." Someone who goes out of the way to help another can be likened to the famed character of Jesus' parable in Luke 10:30-37. The hero acts for the good of another with no thought to his own situation.

"Sweating blood" is a phrase used to describe someone going through a very difficult time. The etymology of the word relates back to Luke 22:44, when Christ's anguish in the Garden of Gethsemane caused him to sweat blood—something physicians say is, in fact, possible for those enduring great duress.

"The forbidden fruit" is one of many Old Testament phrases still used regularly in the English language. The original "forbidden fruit" was the fruit from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Adam and Eve were instructed to stay away from it in Genesis 2:17, but when the Serpent tempted them to eat of it, the couple disobeyed God and chose to sin. Now we use the phrase to refer to partaking in an activity we know to be wrong or sensual.

"Fire and brimstone" were the tools God used to destroy the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah, according to Genesis 19:24. The apostle John used those same words to describe the ultimate end of Satan in Revelation 21:8. Due to its colorful imagery, the phrase is generally used to describe preachers who focus on the punishment aspects of the biblical story, or for any fiery speaker who makes reference to a bad end for wrongdoers.

"Taking a sabbatical" comes from the old Jewish notion of "taking time off." Leviticus 25 commands the people to allow the ground to lie fallow every seventh year in order to refresh itself—an action that was referred to as the "sabbatical year"

"An eye for an eye" is a phrase that first appears in Leviticus 24:20. Rather than being a vindictive call for revenge, it actually limited the damage one person could do to another when taking retribution. Human nature encourages an individual to hurt others, but the Old Testament law wanted to limit that hurt to equivalent damage.

The word beautiful was first used in the English language by William Tyndale when he produced his English translation of the New Testament in 1526. Some scholars considered it an outrage that a translator would use a new, fashionabe word in his interpretation of Scripture.

What's In A Name

2008-04-10T00:57:00.000-04:00

by Bonnie Calhoun

This is a new series that I contemplated starting!
"Let's have Famous Words and Phrases for ten, Alex!" Sheesh...you'd think I watched Jeopardy a lot!

"Raising Cain" means to act with abandonment or wildly. As a phrase, it is most likely descended from the Genesis character Cain who killed his brother, Abel, and was forever marked as a violent man.

"Jezebel" or "Delilah" is the name often given to a woman of cunning and deceit. Both bible characters were beautiful, though calculating in nature. Delilah was a seductress; Jezebel was a queen.

"A "Judas" can only refer to one personality trait: betrayal. Judas Iscariot betrayed his relationship to the Lord for thirty pieces of silver.

"Doubting Thomas" didn't believe Jesus had truly risen from the dead. He insisted on touching the nail marks in the Lord's hands and side before he would believe. Today we call a person with doubts a doubting Thomas.

"Jonah" is considered an unlucky name. The prophet Jonah tried unsuccessfully to run from God's calling. He took refuge on a boat and brought nothing but trouble to the other passengers, because God would not forget Jonah. Someone who brings bad luck or misfortune is considered a Jonah

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"The salt of the earth" Many of the words we use in our culture come from the Lord Jesus. In describing his disciples with these words in Matthew 5:13. Christ was saying that they were valuable--salt being the preferred method of payment in those days. The phrase is still used to describe people we find valuable or important

"Seek and ye shall find" These oft-quoted words of Jesus come from his Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 7:7. It is still generally used as advice or encouragement to those who need to be seeking...
"A wolf in sheep's clothing" Jesus created this phrase in Matthew 7:15 to describe religious leaders who appear righteous on the outside but are actually evil on the inside. We still use it to describe hypocrites or those who portray goodness while intending evil.

"The faith to move mountains" Although not currently used quite as often as it was in the twentieth century, the phrase refers to the power of belief. The words were first said by the Lord Jesus in Matthew 17:20 when He was talking to His disciples about healing the sick and the demon possessed.

"The blind leading the blind" Jesus coined this phrase in Matthew 15:14 when describing false teachers who insist they know the truth but do not, therefore leading innocent people astray. In our culture we generally use it as a negative descriptor for the self-important ans self-deluded.

Well folks, this is the first ten in the series. Let me know what you think!

Paul's Third Missionary Journey

2008-04-01T15:55:00.000-04:00

by Bonnie Calhoun

Paul's Second Missionary Journey

2008-03-23T14:30:00.000-04:00

by Bonnie Calhoun

Paul's First Missionary Journey

2008-03-13T17:48:00.000-04:00

by Bonnie Calhoun

Peter's Ministry Journey

2008-02-16T01:43:00.000-05:00

by Bonnie Calhoun

Roman City Of Damascus

2008-01-20T00:40:00.001-05:00

by Bonnie Calhoun