Category: Biblical Worldview

Artificial Intelligence – February 14, 2023

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Artificial Intelligence

Serious-minded Christians (and I’m doubtful there is any other kind) ought to be sure they know how to navigate their paper-bound Bibles, how to use Bible commentaries and dictionaries, and how to discern between true and false teachers and preachers. We better also be digesting and studying the Bible at a level that enables our minds to begin connecting all parts of the entire counsel of God’s Word, that we might evaluate everything else in life through the lens of the Bible. We ought to be conscientiously dependent on the Holy Spirit for wisdom and discernment.

Why is this pressing on my heart? One reason is because artificial intelligence (AI) is here to stay, and it has advanced by astronomical degrees. Microsoft has developed (and continues to refine) a new version of its Bing search engine that utilizes ChatGPT by OpenAI. A recent article in the USA Today newspaper warned of inaccuracies and slants against conservative viewpoints. Additionally, another article in the same paper noted that Microsoft created an AI model that works behind the scenes to decide what resources to use to answer your question or request.

We know that search engines have always had inherent flaws and biases. This is only going to grow worse, and it is growing worse very quickly.

All of this, my friends, is being used by the antichrist spirit to pull people further and further from God’s truth by bias, deception, and dependence on artificial intelligence, rather than on the human mind God has created and graciously given.

It is the human soul in which the Holy Spirit resides when a person trusts in Jesus for salvation from sin. The Holy Spirit does not reside in artificial intelligence. AI has no ability to depend on God. AI cannot willfully submit to the Lord.

We CAN submit to Jesus. And we better. And we ought to get very serious about our knowledge of, and relationship with, the Lord. The beginning of the end is upon us.

– Shelli Prindle

“The coming of the lawless one is by the activity of Satan with all power and false signs and wonders, and with all wicked deception for those who are perishing, because they refused to love the truth and so be saved. Therefore God sends them a strong delusion, so that they may believe what is false, in order that all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness.” (2 Thessalonians 2:9-12)

Who Said Israel Should Be Wiped Off the Earth?

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missile“Israel should be wiped off the Earth.” These were the stark words etched on two ballistic missiles launched by the country of Iran on March 9, 2016. In fact, Amir Ali Hajizadeh, the head of the Revolutionary Guard’s aerospace division, declared, “Israel is surrounded by Islamic countries and it will not last long in a war. It will collapse even before being hit by these missiles.” (1)

The hatred of Israel by many people and nations is evident. And though it is distressing to Christians, the very existence of such extreme animosity only serves to lend credence to the truth of God’s Word. In fact, when I read the headlines marked so boldly with this anti-Semitic message, my heart leaps to think of how the enemies behind this provocation are only proving the Bible’s veracity. Let me explain.

God gave the land of Israel (which is bigger than its current political borders) to His chosen people, the Israelites. The promise began with Abraham (then “Abram”), the father of our faith. Genesis 12:7 (ESV) declares, “Then the LORD appeared to Abram and said, ‘To your offspring I will give this land.'” God reiterated this promise over and over. We find it emphasized again when the Israelites were in the worst of circumstances – as slaves to the Egyptians. In the midst of seeming hopelessness, God firmly reminded them, “I will take you to be my people, and I will be your God, and you shall know that I am the LORD your God, who has brought you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians. I will bring you into the land that I swore to give to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob. I will give it to you for a possession. I am the LORD” (Exodus 6:7-8, ESV).

God’s chosen people have struggled throughout history with the promise of their inheritance. They battled with the Canaanites, the Assyrians, the Babylonians, and the Romans during Bible times. They have been assaulted throughout modern history in obvious ways, including that of the Nazis. The hellish attacks notwithstanding, God’s promise remains. The fiendish attacks serve only to demonstrate that there exists something most peculiar and supernatural about this people and this land. Such pointed hatred can only come from an established reality, for no such loathing is the result of fairy tales or light-hearted belief. Our archenemy, Satan, stands behind every plot to abolish God’s people and God’s Promised Land.

The Scripture that jumped out to me when I first heard of the missiles marked with the threat, “Israel should be wiped off the Earth,” is Zechariah 14:2-3 (ESV): “For I will gather all the nations against Jerusalem to battle, and the city shall be taken and the houses plundered and the women raped. Half of the city shall go out into exile, but the rest of the people shall not be cut off from the city. Then the LORD will go out and fight against those nations as when he fights on a day of battle.” Unbelievably, the Lord predicted 2,500 years ago that “all the nations” will eventually go to war against Jerusalem. The attack will culminate just before the visible second coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. Jesus will return to the very same mountain from which He left (as recorded in Acts 1:9-12), the Mount of Olives. His toes will hit the mountain, and the mountain will split, and the Lord will conquer His enemies! Hear Zechariah 14:4-5b (ESV): “On that day his feet shall stand on the Mount of Olives that lies before Jerusalem on the east, and the Mount of Olives shall be split in two from east to west by a very wide valley, so that on half of the Mount shall move northward, and the other half southward … Then the LORD my God will come, and all the holy ones with him.”

The culmination of Christ’s victory over the enemies of Israel is explained in Zechariah 14:11b (ESV), “Jerusalem shall dwell in security.” No more will she be subject to war and degradation. Apparently, Amir Ali Hajizadeh is right in predicting a violent war with Israel, but he is certainly wrong about the ultimate result! God wins, and God keeps His vows.

After all end times events have taken place and the devil and all His worshippers have been deposited in the lake of fire (Revelation 20:7-15), we hear the amazing words of the Apostle John in Revelation 21:1-2a (ESV), “Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem coming down out of heaven from God, …” Not only a portion of land in the Middle East, but all lands and all the universe will be inhabited by God and His people, with the New Jerusalem as our capital. Amen!

As we are barraged with world news, we are encouraged to see than in trying to destroy God’s plan, His enemies are actually proving the Bible. Iran’s declaration to attempt to wipe Israel off the Earth only demonstrates that everything God has said is unequivocally accurate. Is not God incredible, that He uses even His adversaries to fulfill His plan and show His Word to be firm and timeless?

It reminds me of wicked King Herod the Great of the first century. In order to try to destroy Jesus, He used the words of the Old Testament prophet Micah to determine the location of Jesus’ birth (see Micah 5:2 and Matthew 2:1-6). Herod must have actually believed that the Old Testament prophecy had something to it. And when He killed all the male children in the Bethlehem region who were two years old and younger, He fulfilled yet another prophecy of God! (See Jeremiah 31:15 and Matthew 2:18)

Even unbelievers and enemies bring glory to God’s Word by demonstrating in real time and space its accuracy. So, go ahead leaders of Iran. Go ahead all enemies of God. You seek to annihilate His sovereignty, but only end up proving it!

“I know that you can do all things, and that no purpose of yours can be thwarted.” (Job 42:2, ESV)

(1) Gambrell, Jon. Iran Fires Two Missiles Marked with “Israel Must Be Wiped Out.” abcnews.go.com. 9 March 2016.

– Shelli S. Prindle

Can We Be Sure About the Election?

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Election-Day-artThe current election cycle is enough to give a person the heebie-jeebies. The ludicrous nature of what is happening concerning the highest office of this country makes me think of the Bible’s truth that as the time of Christ’s return draws nearer, times will grow increasingly difficult or dangerous. “People will be lovers of self, lovers of money, proud, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, heartless, unappeasable, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not loving good, treacherous, reckless, swollen with conceit, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having the appearance of godliness, but denying its power” (2 Timothy 3:2-5, ESV, emphasis mine). Do any of the aforementioned terms make you think of any of the candidates – or us – the people casting the votes? History has always demonstrated the reality of sin and selfishness in humanity at every turn, but the Word of God does hold forth that this actuality will become more and more rampant and increasingly obvious as time flows on. Jesus likened the proliferation of sin and deception in the last days to birth pains – growing in both intensity and frequency (Matthew 24:8). Jesus Christ also pointed out that deception will intensify (Matthew 24:11, 24). It is no real surprise, then, that each election brings new, shocking disappointments. Placing all events, including this coming election, against the backdrop of God’s grand revelation of truth provides a comfort in tumultuous times.

We cannot be sure about the coming presidential election. We cannot know the result yet, and we certainly do not have much confidence in what will happen after a specific man or woman is put in office. But there is an election that we can be sure about, and that is the choice that really matters. In fact, the solidifying of this particular election can allow a soul to rest in the midst of political chaos and pain. God is always calling us to act obediently with respect to each detailed circumstance of the day and to trust implicitly with regard to the big picture of life and eternity. Our responsibility as citizens of earth is clear, but our responsibility as citizens of heaven is even more explicit. As the Apostle Paul joyfully proclaimed, “But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform our lowly body to be like his glorious body, by the power that enables him even to subject all things to himself” (Philippians 3:20-21, ESV). My first allegiance is to heaven and all things heavenly. Accordingly, I obey the Word of God in caring for my citizenship on this earth as God commands; and if ever my allegiance to heaven is challenged by earthly government, heaven must prevail every time. In the meantime, God calls me to care for my soul’s position before Him as my foremost priority. He, then, takes care of all else – including, incredibly, my life and the government under which I reside.

Let’s look at the election to which God draws our attention. He speaks the mandate through Peter, an apostle of Jesus who at this specific time of his writing is about to die and enter the Lord’s presence. Peter said, “For our Lord Jesus Christ has shown me that I must soon leave this earthly life, so I will work hard to make sure you always remember these things after I am gone” (2 Peter 2:14-15, NLT). So we see that whatever Peter is relaying to us in this passage is of utmost importance, because he wants us to remember it long after he is gone. 2 Peter 1:10 spells it out for us: “Therefore, brothers, be all the more diligent to confirm your calling and election, for if you practice these qualities you will never fall.” Do you see it here? We are to confirm – or make sure of – our calling and election. The election spoken of here is the election of you by God for His salvation through Jesus Christ. God cast His vote for you when He sent His only Son to die for your sin. In believing in Jesus Christ, you responded to God’s call. The Holy Spirit now admonishes us through Peter that our momentous responsibility is to confirm that election through a life meticulously examined under the lens of the holiness of God and powerfully submitted to righteousness by the Holy Spirit who lives in us. Charles Spurgeon, the “Prince of Preachers” (1834-1892) said it this way, “It requires a great deal of diligence and labor to make sure our calling and election; there must be a very close examination of ourselves, a very narrow search and strict enquiry, whether we are thoroughly converted, our minds enlightened, our wills renewed, and our whole souls changed as to the bent and inclination thereof; and to come to a fixed certainty in this requires the utmost diligence, and cannot be attained and kept without divine assistance, as we may learn from Psalm 139:23 and Romans 8:16.”

Have we recently spent time scrutinizing our election? Are we continually assessing our position with God? It is what we must do to ensure that we “never fall” (2 Peter 1:10, ESV). I am to be responsible as a citizen to vote for a presidential candidate whom I believe has good character traits, but I cannot ensure that fact. My greatest duty is to be sure of my own standing before God. A growing display of the fruit of God’s Spirit in my life, an increased devotion to Jesus Christ, and a growing sensitivity and repulsion to sin are evidence of my election – my having been chosen by God to be His child. This duty is so great that 2 Peter 1:11 (ESV) promises the following, grand result: “For in this way there will be richly provided for you an entrance into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.” Did you hear that? Ensuring my election causes me to gain a rich entrance into the eternal kingdom of the Lord! No matter how great a president we have ever had or ever will have, none comes even slightly close to the glory of the King of kings and Lord of lords! No earthly government or kingdom provides the infinite peace and growth of the coming government of Jesus Christ (Isaiah 9:6-7). Though I cannot be confident of what will happen in the next election in the United States of America, I am guaranteed a truly miraculous result when I yield my life to God with earnestness and self-examination.

There is an election of which you can be certain. It is the election of your soul by God through the blood of Jesus Christ. If God commands us to confirm this election, then it, indeed, can be confirmed! God does not cruelly demand the impossible. He means for you to work it out, to keep growing, and to make your relationship with Him the thing about which you invest most of your affection, time, and care. With this priority in place, all other issues fall into their proper place. God will care for His own no matter who wins the presidency. You simply cannot be positive about earthly, government elections; but you can be confident of your heavenly election. And you can count on the One who is sovereign over all (Psalm 47:2, Ephesians 1:11). His kingdom is coming without regard to the presidency. His kingdom is coming for those who make their own election sure.

Animals in the Scheme of Things

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A student recently asked me if animal experimentation is wrong from a biblical perspective. This is an important question that actually gives opportunity to highlight the invaluable nature of humanity, the preciousness of animals, and the incomprehensible love of God.

I will say at the outset that my heart is particularly grateful for animals used in the field of medicine, as the insulin I had to inject for survival during my first years as an insulin-dependent diabetic was pork insulin. Pork insulin was made from pig pancreases. As Erika Gebel, Ph.D., notes, “We’ve come a long way since more than two tons of pig parts were required to produce eight ounces of purified insulin. Today, the insulin that comes in vials, pens, and pumps is not from pigs and cows but from designer microorganisms. These critters provide more of the hormones (and in forms more similar to the body’s own) to the millions of people across the globe who depend on a steady stream of high-quality insulin.” (1)

All of us are touched personally by disease and deformity. Everyone loves or knows someone who survives and/or benefits because of animal use in medicine. Each of us has also been touched by the lives of animals in other ways. God has made them good and beneficial for a number of reasons. We enjoy the companionship of domesticated animals as pets and the beauty and mystery of other creatures.

But as our culture continues to deemphasize the value of human life while simultaneously emphasizing the significance of the environment and animals, we begin to see questions surface. As Christians, we rightfully need to think through the issues using biblical principles; for the biblical perspective is the only perspective that is always correct and never changing. Despite our culture’s changing standards, God’s Word is timeless, and its principles stand true through all of history. As we will explore in the Scriptures in a moment, human value is above that of both the environment and animals (though the other parts of creation are vital and blessed!). William A. Dembski (mathematician, philosopher, and theologian) asserts, “Genesis clearly teaches that humans are the end of creation. For instance, Genesis describes the creation as merely ‘good’ before humans are created but describes it as ‘very good’ only after they are created. God’s activity in creation is therefore principally concerned with forming a universe that will provide a home for humans. Although this anthropocentrism sits uneasily in the current mental environment, it is not utterly foreign to it. Indeed, the intelligibility of the physical world through our intellects and, in particular, through such intellectual achievements as mathematics suggests that we live in a meaningful world whose meaning was placed there for our benefit.” (2)

I appeal to two passages of Scripture at the outset. First, Genesis 1:20-28 (ESV):

    And God said, “Let the waters swarm with swarms of living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the expanse of the heavens.” So God created the great sea creatures and every living creature that moves, with which the waters swarm, according to their kinds, and every winged bird according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. And God blessed them, saying, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the waters in the seas, and let birds multiply on the earth.” And there was evening and there was morning, the fifth day.
    And God said, “Let the earth bring for the living creatures according to their kinds – livestock and creeping things and beasts of the earth according to their kinds.” And it was so. And God made the beasts of the earth according to their kinds and the livestock according to their kinds, and everything that creeps on the ground according to its kind. And God saw that it was good.
    Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.”
    So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.
    And God blessed them. And God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth.”

Notice that the living creatures were created and deemed “good” by their Creator. Notice also that when God created man and woman, He jumped into a new paradigm, making them “in his own image” – unlike anything else He had made. Humans were designed to have a unique relationship with God that no plant or animal or galaxy can ever have, no matter how beautiful or enjoyable. Additionally, humans were instructed to “have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth.” Part of the human task of filling and subduing the world God created was to dominate the other creatures. Certainly this dominion is not for evil purposes, as evil goes against the very nature of God. The subduing of creation is for the purpose of building society.

The second passage to which I appeal at the start is Psalm 8:3-8 (ESV):

    When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, what is man that you are mindful of him, and the son of man that you care for him?
    Yet you have made him a little lower than the heavenly beings and crowned him with glory and honor. You have given him dominion over the works of your hands; you have put all things under his feet, all sheep and oxen, and also the beasts of the field, the birds of the heavens, and the fish of the sea, whatever passes along the paths of the seas.

We see here reiterated the emphasis of Genesis. Added though, is the truth that people are made just a bit lower than heavenly beings and are crowned with glory and honor. All things are put under our feet in order that our true destiny of godly glory and honor is fulfilled. Again, I add that it is dishonorable to mistreat any part of God’s creation out of a malicious heart. Moving toward honor and glory in a broken and sinful world must happen as we seek to do so within the parameters of God’s plan, for honor and glory can only come from Him.

Our Lord clearly tells us that unneeded cruelty is wrong. Proverbs 12:10 (ESV) proclaims, “Whoever is righteous has regard for the life of his beast, but the mercy of the wicked is cruel.” Jesus Himself often uses the metaphor of being a Shepherd, and He even speaks of “laying down his life for the sheep” (John 10:15, ESV). When we look at righteous King David of the Old Testament, we see a man who valued the keeping of His sheep enough to risk his own life in protecting them from lions and bears (1 Samuel 17:34-35). In fact, when necessary, he would kill the beasts if both the life of the sheep and his life were threatened by them. So we see – that in a fallen world – the best option to protect what is valuable can involve death.

Research seems to demonstrate that domesticated animals can be a benefit to their owners in terms of emotional and physical health. This seems right, as God made animals to live on the same earth as humans, yet under our ultimate dominion and as part of the plan for us. In the same way, animals can benefit humans by providing health research for the treatment and cure of illness and disease.

Here is the ultimate biblical point that brings home the case for both the precious nature of animals and the allowance for their use in saving human health and life. Think about our redemption from sin. Our salvation from our own sinful nature is necessary to preserve our eternal life with God. Without salvation from sin, we die one day physically and we die spiritually for an eternity. Our Creator thought our redemption so vital that He provided His own Son as the sacrifice to stand in our place. His death on the Cross and His blood that was shed appease the wrath of a holy God against our sin (Ephesians 1:7).

God sacrificed Himself in real flesh – and in real space and time – to save us. (No other religion’s god claims to have done this utterly unique and historically evidential act.) Our value is inestimable. Not only do we read of our worth in His Word, but we know of our value because the infinite Son of God gave His own life for ours. Two thousand years ago, Jesus began the restoration project of giving back to us our intended glory under the sovereignty of God. Made in His image to reign under Him, we will see that reality in the future. The cost was the very life of the Son of God.

Now think about this. Before Jesus came to earth to die and do the most pivotal thing God could do to demonstrate our human value and His love for us, how did He instruct humans to look forward by faith to that coming promise? The answer is critical: He told humans to make animal sacrifices. Innumerable animals were continuously slain so that their precious blood could point to the perfect blood of Jesus. As Scott Langston and E. Ray Clendenen note, “Leviticus 1-7 gives the most detailed description of Israel’s sacrificial system, including five types of sacrifices.” (3) As a matter of fact, when Adam and Eve attempted to cover themselves with fig leaves after the shame of their sin, God quickly demonstrated the inadequacy of such an attempt, and made them garments of skin (Genesis 3:7, 21). Skin clothing requires the death of an animal. And from then on, humans were instructed to deal with their sins by shedding animal blood to look forward to the final answer in the blood of Jesus (Genesis 4:3-5).

Sacrificial animals were precious enough (having been made by God) to foreshadow the work of Jesus. But they were not as valuable as the people for whom their blood would temporarily point to redemption by Jesus. God Himself makes clear both animal value and the limits of that value when compared to humanity. To God, our spiritual hope is worth animal sacrifice. Most assuredly, then, our physical health is worth it, too.

God cares for the animals. “He gives to the beasts their food, and to the young ravens that cry” (Psalm 147:9, ESV). Jesus said, “Look at the birds of the air; they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them” (Matthew 6:26a, ESV). But then He directly adds, “Are you not of more value than they?” (Matthew 6:26b) This rhetorical question Jesus asks, which follows an affirmation of His care for little birds, drives home the point. Animals are important. God sees all that happens with them. But people are more important, and one of the ways God has certainly provided for humans is by animal life.

We rejoice in the New Heavens and New Earth God that God is creating, because the sin curse will be erased and all disease eradicated (Revelation 22:3). People and animals will live without the hindrance of sin’s nasty effects. For now, we thank God for His calling on us to take dominion of this world under His sovereignty. Above all, we thank Him for the unimaginable price He paid for our entrance to the new world – foreshadowed at great cost by precious animals – and fulfilled in His Son. As I Peter 1:18-21 (ESV) tells us:

    Knowing that you were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your forefathers, not with perishable things such as silver or gold, but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot. He was foreknown before the foundation of the world but was made manifest in the last times for the sake of you who through him are believers in God, who raised him from the dead and gave him glory, so that your faith and hope are in God.

All of us who value animals and what they provide by way of medical help and emotional help rejoice in this promise about the millennial reign of Christ in the beginning of that new world (Isaiah 11:6-9, ESV):

    The wolf shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the young goat, and the calf and the lion and the fattened calf together; and a little child shall lead them. The cow and the bear shall graze; their young shall lie down together; and the lion shall eat straw like the ox. The nursing child shall play over the hole of the cobra, and the weaned child shall put his hand on the adder’s den. They shall not hurt or destroy in all my holy mountain; for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the LORD as the waters cover the sea.

References:

(1) Erika Gebel. “Making Insulin: A behind-the-scenes look at producing a lifesaving medication.” Diabetes Forecast. July 2013. Web. Jan. 27 2015.

(2) William A. Dembski, The End of Christianity (Nashville, TN: B&H Publishing Group, 2009), 143-44.

(3) Scott Langston & E. Ray Clendenen, Holman Illustrated Bible Dictionary (Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers, 2003), 1429.

The Very First Thing God Ever Told Us To Do

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When the average person (or even an average Christian) thinks about the commands of God, he thinks mainly of all God says we can’t do. Our minds first go to the Ten Commandments, where we are instructed in many “no’s.” Do not take God’s name in vain, do not murder, do not steal, etc. Sadly and mistakenly, we often think of Christianity in terms of what is forbidden, rather than the glorious promise of all that is given!

Do you know what is the first command of God directly to humans? It’s certainly not a “don’t do this” instruction. It’s actually a “do everything” kind of command! Check out God’s first mandate in Genesis 1:28 (ESV). Keep in mind that at this point He has just created Adam and Eve and has not yet put the close on the sixth day of creation. No sin has yet entered the picture. The Bible boldly proclaims, “And God blessed them. And God said to them, ‘Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on earth.'”

So there stand the first two human beings, having been blessed by their Creator and commanded to fill up the earth and take charge of it! They are to subdue under their feet all God has given to them. They are to bring glory to their Creator by ruling for Him at His direction while walking in unhindered relationship with Him.

Imagine the scene back then. Adam and Eve are standing on that section of earth in what is now the Middle East. How would they proceed to fill the earth? At the very least, this meant to bear children. But to fill the earth – to get from where they were to all over the earth – they would need transportation. For transportation they would need to observe and study and learn about all the natural resources God had given. They would need to educate the children and families. They would need to build societal structure as the population increased. Housing would be necessary. As society grew, cities would be built. Government would be established. Systems of trade and buying would be developed. Education must continue. Harnessing resources for medicinal purposes would become necessary. People would learn to specialize in their areas of passion and ability.

Fast forward to today. Eventually even the silicon God put in the earth’s crust would be used to build computers. Those computers would access the internet that humans developed. That technology combined with more advanced transportation methods would enable the Gospel to be spread throughout the world in order that Jesus’ command in Matthew 28:19 (ESV) might be fulfilled, “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, …”

You see, the first command of God is critical and eternal. Knowing that we would fall into sin, God still gave this original mandate to people. We are to be his vice-regents, harnessing the stuff of the world in order to take dominion for God’s purposes. The instruction God gave in Genesis 1:28 is often referred to as the “Cultural Commission” or the “Cultural Mandate.” It is a beautiful gift to each of us. We can get up each morning and take our part in filling and subduing the earth. We can use the passions God has given to us and enjoy being who He made us to be. In order for us to take dominion, some will have to enjoy academics, some car repair, some construction, some teaching, some musical arts, some medicine, some government, some space exploration, some farming, some manufacturing, some engineering, some journalism, some cleaning, some ocean exploration, some nutritional science, some economics, etc. We are commanded by God to enjoy and take pride in our calling, knowing that all work is sacred when done in obedience to Genesis 1:28. The person delivering packages to our doorstep does sacred work just as the Sunday school teacher – if both are responding to the call of God to fill and subdue this creation for His glory.

One of the greatest gifts for which we can be thankful is the cultural mandate of Genesis 1:28. This gift never ends. God is not going to throw away His creation. He will redeem it and remake it. And I will miraculously dwell one day in this New Heavens and New Earth, passionately studying and teaching as I do now, and exploring a universe restored by my Jesus! We will learn, travel, explore, engage, eat, connect, laugh, run, rule, and reign under the King of Kings!

The critical change will be that the curse of sin will have been removed. We will at last be free to pursue God’s will unhindered by the burdens and stresses we now carry. Our sinfulness has caused our work to contain an element of pain and disappointment (Genesis 3:16-19). In the new creation, all that misery will be removed (Revelation 22:3). We will pursue the desires God put in our heart without resistance – the ultimate fulfillment of Psalm 37:4. What a day that will be!

Do you remember hearing that familiar Christmas passage from Isaiah 9:6-7 (ESV)? “For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and of peace there will be no end, on the throne of David and over his kingdom, to establish it and to uphold it with justice and with righteousness from this time forth and forevermore. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will do this.”

That child, Jesus, was born so that the command and promise of Genesis 1:28 could continue in my life. He came to die and pay for the sin that otherwise would damn me and banish me from a relationship with Him now and the New Heavens and New Earth to come. Were it not for the sacrifice of the Son of God, my part in the glorious Kingdom of God would come to nothing. But, because of Jesus, I will be a part of the plan. “Of the increase of his government and of peace there will be no end,” and I will be there … doing what He made me to do …. reigning with Him!

If we have died with him, we will also live with him; if we endure, we will also reign with him …” 2 Timothy 2:11b-12 (ESV)

Birth Pains of the End Times

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People and politicians promising deliverance from the ills of the world. War. Threats of war. Entire nations clashing with other nations. Famine. Earthquakes. Persecution of Christians. Betrayal. False teachers making people believe wrong doctrine. Lawlessness. Half-hearted believers. Yet, in all this, the true Gospel is preached everywhere.

Does all this sound like the days in which we live? Surely it does. We do, in fact, live in the last days of which Jesus spoke. Since He left this earth in the early first century A.D., all people have been passing their time in “the last days.” The only question is, “How much longer will the last days … well … ‘last'”? Actually, that’s not the question, because God clearly tells us that we cannot know its answer.

However, our great Savior outlined a pattern we may observe. The pattern does not give us a day, year, or century; but it assures us of the absolute direction of the plan’s fulfillment. We are left with a confidence in the sovereignty of God despite the trouble of the last days.

The troubles and events of the first paragraph of this article are the things of which Jesus spoke in Matthew 24:5-14. He knew that rudimentary methods of war would escalate to more technological and biological methods. He knew that natural disasters would devastate entire regions. He knew that ISIS would drive Christians by the tens of thousands from their homes in Iraq and torture and kill many of them. He knew many false preachers and teachers would water down true Christianity and cause numerous souls to be disillusioned and many hearts to grow cold in their love and faith. He knew that the internet and satellites would make it possible for the Gospel to be preached nearly anywhere.

In speaking of many of these difficulties, Jesus clearly articulated, “All these are but the beginning of the birth pains” (Matthew 24:8, ESV). I want to emphasize His use of the phrase “birth pains.” The Apostle Paul spoke similarly in Romans 8:22 (ESV), “For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now.” So what has this discussion of such a vivid and trying human experience to do with the last days of history and the whole creation?

Birth pains notoriously increase in intensity and frequency as the time for delivery draws near. Clearly, God wants us to know that all of the difficulties and disasters of which we spoke at the beginning of this article have always been with us, but they will happen with greater frequency and greater intensity as the time of Christ’s return draws near. Wars and Christian persecution and natural disasters and the influence of false prophets and the downgrade of Christian dedication will be on the rise. None of this should discourage us, for Jesus said, “See that you are not alarmed, for this must take place, but the end is not yet” (Matthew 24:6b, ESV). In other words, we are not caught off guard by the daily news; but we grow ever more prayerful and vigilant, as all the news is just a reminder that the time until God’s final judgment grows shorter. However, none of it happens outside the sovereignty and watchful eye of the Lord!

Jesus said of the “labor pains” that “this must take place.” Yes! Just as the labor pains of a mother must occur in order to ensure the delivery of a child, the labor pains of this world must happen in order for the delivery of the new creation. A woman’s body ramps up the production of certain hormones in order to stimulate delivery. Though the process is painful, the process is necessary. The pains are not for the purpose of destruction, but for the purpose of life! So, too, it is with the delivery of God’s kingdom. The New Heavens and the New Earth will only be born after the labor pains of the end times. We are not to be destroyed by these convulsions, but we are to be prepared by these pains. The distress is meant to push forward the process of delivery – not impede it. The pains awaken us to the reality of our own frailty and inability to navigate the judgment of God without the grace of Jesus Christ. The afflictions prod us to witness to those who are lost in their sin. The pains alert us to the short life of this old, sinful world. The pains get us ready for delivery by making us stronger in difficulty and more vigilant in living.

Birth pains lead to life. The contractions result in delivery and new life. And so it is. Jesus endured the greatest pain ever imagined on the Cross. Using the same Greek root for “pangs” in Acts 2:24 (ESV) as is used for “birth pains” in Matthew 24, Luke declares, “God raised [Jesus] up, loosing the pangs of death, because it was not possible for him to be held by it.” In other words, the miseries of death could not prevail when it came to the Son of God. He was delivered! The pain led to victory and new life for all who believe.

This is why Romans 8:29 (ESV) declares that Jesus is “the firstborn among many brothers” (emphasis added). After experiencing the pain of the human dilemma throughout His earthly life, Jesus’ “birth pains” intensified toward the end. Hatred for Him and false accusations about Him grew until He was finally arrested, tortured, and crucified. Nonetheless, the pain led to life and resurrection for Jesus and new, spiritual life to all who believe and walk with Him.

Meanwhile, we remain watchful, guarding our lives carefully as we see God’s plan unfold. The labor pains will lead eventually to life. The pangs spur us on to value what is important – to stay focused on our Hope, our Savior. The contractions grow in intensity and frequency, as they lead to the great delivery of God’s people and this creation. Don’t give up as the pain comes; look up to the Ultimate Deliverer. Jesus said, “But the one who endures to the end will be saved” (Matthew 24:13, ESV).

Stick around for the birth, will you?

Far As the Curse Is Found

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Third verse of Joy To the World:
“He comes to make his blessings known far as the curse is found…”

Just exactly how far IS the curse found?

It reaches down every aisle at Walmart in the hearts of frustrated people.
It’s found at every opening of a bottle of medicine at the hands of the sick.
It strikes the houses in the neighborhood in the hearts of lonely people.
It stretches to the office of every person with an unfulfilled dream.
It extends to the corner of the classroom with the isolated child.
It spreads through the community after the devastating storm.
It seizes the face of the hurting as tears run down their cheeks.

Jesus came to bring His redeeming grace far as the curse is found. This grace currently enables us to hold on while we walk in the places touched by the curse. This redeeming power will one day overcome the curse in all places of its grasp.

The God who brought the curse because of our sin, will soon remove the curse because of His Son. The curse does not magically disappear; it has been undone through the curse put upon the Son of God on the cross. (II Corinthians 5:21)

Thank you, Jesus, that one day no person will walk in frustration.
No medicine will ever again be needed.
No person will ever be lonely.
No worthy dream will ever go unfulfilled.
No natural disaster will ever wreak havoc.
And no tear of sadness will ever be shed.

“He comes to make his blessings known far as the curse is found, far as the curse is found, far as, far as the curse is found.”

(Revelation 21:3)

Your Christmas Is Too Small

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Your Christmas is too small. And by that, I do not mean your tree is too short, you don’t have enough lights outside, or your gifts are not expensive. Your Christmas is too small if it leaves Jesus in the manger, or on the Cross, – or even rising from the tomb and ascending to Heaven.

If your “Silent Night” does not give way to “Resounding Day,” then your Christmas is too small. No amount of presents, perfectly placed wreaths, wonderfully decorated cookies, delightful parties, or time-tested traditions can erase the ultimate letdown you will feel when your Christmas is too small and your “Silent Night” does not point you to the greater “Resounding Day.”

See Christmas through to its infinitely, far-reaching end. Let the star of Bethlehem over the tiny manger remind you of how stars, moon, and sun will be eclipsed one day by the light of Christ’s all-consuming glory. He who lay under a star in the prickly hay of a feeding trough will soon outshine every heavenly body He has made! (Revelation 21:23)

Let the fact that He could find no place in the inn at birth (Luke 2:7), and that He had no place to lay his head in life (Luke 9:38), remind you that He is returning to this universe to take over all places. . . . And prepare them perfectly for you! (Romans 8:21, Revelation 21:1-4, John 14:2-3)

Precisely because Jesus walked this broken earth, we can walk the restored earth soon. He came to the real world in order to bring real hope for a new, real world. Though the best of Christmas seasons come and go in this life, we will enter an eternal season of unending joy and activity – never to be bothered again by the stinging pain of sin as it currently invades every facet of living.

Your Christmas is too small unless you connect the message of the angel Gabriel two millennia ago to the future message of the nameless, seventh angel and many loud voices:

    FIRST CHRISTMAS: “And [Gabriel] said to her, ‘Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus'” (Luke 1:30-31, ESV).
    FINAL, ETERNAL ADVENT: “Then the seventh angel blew his trumpet, and there were loud voices in heaven, saying, ‘The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, and he shall reign forever and ever'” (Revelation 11:15, ESV).

When Christmas seems too small, remember a line from the third stanza of “Silent Night”: “Radiant beams from thy holy face with the dawn of redeeming grace . . .” Christmas is only the beginning – the dawn of the new Day.

Silent night of long ago will give way to the resounding day of yet-to-come when the humble Jesus of the manger re-enters the world as the mighty Christ of the universe. The story goes from obscure birth without fanfare to angelic trumpets and loud voices proclaiming the inversion of a godless world into the glorious kingdom of God. He who served us with His birth and death will finally rule us with His life!

47th Greatest Invention . . .

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Though the printing press was deemed the number one innovation since the invention of the wheel by The Atlantic magazine’s group of scientists, historians, and technologists; it was number 47 on the list that caught my eye. Don’t get me wrong, we as Christians understand God’s hand in the development of the printing press, for God chose to reveal Himself through a book! However, check out the succinct description of the 47th greatest breakthrough since the wheel according to The Atlantic: “The nail, second millennium B.C. ‘Extended lives by enabling people to have shelter.’ -Leslie Berlin”

Wow. The nail enabled people to have shelter. Though Leslie Berlin was probably thinking of the physical shelter nails help to provide when they are pounded into wood and concrete, my mind went immediately to the spiritual shelter we find because of the three nails used by Roman soldiers two thousand years ago. And actually, those three nails were in the “hands” of God the Father, who willingly sacrificed His Son so you and I might find shelter from the justly deserved wrath of a Holy God. The ultimate effect of my own sin cannot rain down upon me, because I am under the shelter of the sacrifice of Jesus Christ on that old, rugged Cross.

The Atlantic says that nails “extended lives by enabling people to have shelter.” Again – no doubt – the extension refers to earthly years. Physical life could go on longer because our bodies were better protected from the elements, wild animals, and enemies. But we as children of God apprehend the measureless value of spiritual life. No matter the year or day of our physical demise, salvation ensures eternal life. As Peter so beautifully records, “You have been born again, not of perishable seed but of imperishable” (I Peter 1:23, ESV). The nails that pierced the body of Jesus on Mount Calvary have brought to us an endlessly extended life!

Just as those nails of long ago punctured the physical body of Jesus, they will also help bring to our physical bodies the new and glorified existence we shall enjoy forever and ever. I Thessalonians 3:20b-21 (ESV) proclaims, “We await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform our lowly body to be like his glorious body.” The crucifixion of Jesus – aided by nails – ensures our safety in an incalculable and everlasting sense.

A thank you to The Atlantic for reminding us of the importance of nails. We take much for granted. And the biggest thank you to our God who gave humans the capacity to invent the nail, which He knew would be used to crucify His own Son. No doubt, God was thinking of sheltering us when He created trees and inspired the invention of nails.

“He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will abide in the shadow of the Almighty. I will say to the LORD, ‘My refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust.'” (Psalm 91:1-2, ESV)

Reference: Fallows, James. “The 50 Greatest Breakthroughs Since the Wheel.” The Atlantic. Nov 2013. 56-58.

IF YOUR MAN DOESN’T WIN: A Broad View of Politics and God’s Plan

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The Apostle Paul declares in Romans 13:1 (ESV), “Let every person be subject to the governing authorities.” He boldly added in verse seven, “Pay to all what is owed to them: taxes to whom taxes are owed, revenue to whom revenue is owed, respect to whom respect is owed, honor to whom honor is owed.” Clearly, God’s plan is one that requires order and includes human government because of man’s sinful nature. We will not all keep reign over our own behavior, therefore, a higher human authority established by God must do so. Some people allow God’s principles to rule generally over their actions because they have relationship with God. Others throw off the thought of God and His authority and must be directed in behavior by outside influence rather than the Spirit of God in their hearts. This need for outside parameters when internal criteria are rejected is expressed beautifully in Psalm 32:8-9 (ESV),

    I [God] will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you with my eye upon you. Be not like a horse or mule, without understanding, which must be curbed with bit and bridle, or it will not stay near you.

God’s desire is a man who willingly accepts God’s rule in His life. However, due to our fallen nature; God intervenes with human authority’s influence when we fail to restrain ourselves. Human government is a tool of God for a broken universe filled with broken people.

We must keep in mind that government consists of human beings and so is inherently fallible. God’s intention for authorities is clear and expressed in Romans 13:3-4 (ESV),

    For rulers are not a terror to good conduct, but to bad. Would you have no fear of the one who is in authority? Then do what is good, and you will receive his approval, for he is God’s servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword in vain. For he is the servant of God, an avenger who carries out God’s wrath on the wrongdoer.

Generally, then, God intends authorities to promote good and punish evil. We know beyond the shadow of any doubt that this does not always happen. Without reference to myriad contemporary examples, think of the Apostle Paul’s personal experience. Though he writes very succinctly of government’s meaning, he was killed under the reign of Emperor Nero. He and Peter were martyred by authorities because they were Christians! In both of their lives, authorities acted perversely – in direct contradiction to God’s expressed purpose for government. Paul was not a fool, and he understood what we apprehend – that government fails at many points – just as people do.

Nonetheless, people of God understand the importance of government within its human limitations. It is both a creation and tool of a sovereign, unfailing God. As a created institution, it must align itself with God’s truth in order to fulfill its right aim. Government is not a stand-alone entity, and it is not the solution to the human dilemma. Jesus Christ stands alone as the Way to existence as God intended. No man, woman, or child will ever experience the right-working, soon-coming, perfected and re-made universe without first entering into a relationship with the Creator through Jesus Christ. The answer to human failure and misery is spiritual in nature. People need reformed on the inside – in the spirit. A right spirit in a woman gives her the power to live as she should, and that new heart can only come from God.

Good behavior, good laws, good decisions, good government, good families, good economic plans, good relationships, and good education – all these are the result of an inside job, if you will. A person is delivered first from his enslavement to sin’s power, and then he can act rightly on a more consistent basis. With the Holy Spirit of God abiding in his clean heart, a man can now act as one should whose goal is a right-working, God-glorifying universe (the ultimate goal of God!). Note the incredible thoughts of Charles Colson (2007),

    Today’s enthusiasm for political solutions to the moral problems of our culture arises from a distorted view of both politics and spirituality – too low a view of the power of a sovereign God and too high a view of the ability of man. The idea that human systems, reformed by Christian influence, pave the road to the Kingdom – or at least, to revival – has the same utopian ring that one finds in Marxist literature. It also ignores the consistent lesson of history that laws are most often reformed as a result of powerful spiritual movements. I know of no case where a spiritual movement was achieved by passing laws. (pp. 343-344)

Vital is our responsibilty to keep God’s order of things from being turned inside-out. Government is an important part of God’s plan; government is not the salvation of man. God is the Savior, and He is in the business of transforming people’s individual lives so they can help transform the world around them – including political systems.

Throughout history, governments and rulers have both succeeded and failed in their proper endeavor. We thank God for the privilege of observing His hand in the working of the government of the United States in many ways throughout the years. We think also of atrocities resulting from governmental rule – including our own political system. We often stand in speechless horror when we think of the sins committed and the misery wrought by political entities. Going directly to the Word of God, we have many examples. There is faithful Daniel who is tossed into a den of lions during the sixth century B.C. by decree of the Persian King Darius because Daniel refused to stop praying to His Savior. Daniel’s firm trust in God (his spiritual underpinning) resulted in his deliverance from the lions and a counter decree by King Darius charging citizens to reverence the God of Daniel.

There is the Apostle Paul, whose last years were spent often in prison under the authority of the Roman government. Nonetheless, faith in God grew as people witnessed the spiritual strength God gave to Paul despite the grave error and persecution of government. We see Paul gazing intently at his heavenly citizenship even as he walked this earth and sat in chains. The Word of God rang out with divine power despite – perhaps even because of – the evil committed by a government turned against its God-given intention. As he sat in a dungeon, chained to a Roman soldier, Paul wrote Philippians 1:12-14 (ESV),

    I want you to know, brothers, that what has happened to me has really served to advance the gospel, so that it has become known throughout the whole imperial guard and to all the rest that my imprisonment is for Christ. And most of the brothers, having become confident in the Lord by my imprisonment, are much more bold to speak the word without fear.

The apostle saw God using this circumstance – this perversion of government – to God’s glory! Paul knew the only true answer for the human condition was found in salvation. If his imprisonment meant more souls could enter the greatest place to be a citizen – Heaven – then Paul counted persecution worth the cost. He no doubt prayed for His release and the turning in repentance of Roman authority, but he patiently waited on the greater plan of God while doing so. Paul lived rightly, honored human authority rightly, and prayed rightly; but he staked his life on a greater reality than this world’s system. Hear his amazing words written from prison in Philippians 3:20-21 (NIV),

    But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, who, by the power that enables him to bring everything under his control, will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body.

In line with Paul’s words are those of Russell Kirk as quoted by Colson (2007),

    Christian faith may work wonders if it moves the minds and hearts of an increasing number of men and women. But if professed Christians forsake heaven as their destination and come to fancy that the state . . . may be converted into the terrestrial paradise – why they are less wise men than Marx.

Yes, Heaven is our destination. Its perfect justice and overwhelming beauty will be the result of God’s miracle in human hearts. Jesus died so we could live rightly. Note I Peter 2:24 (NIV), “[Jesus] himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness.” In Heaven, we will finally live rightly without hindrance!

For now, our encumbrance is a sinful nature. That nature prohibits perfection in both individuals and institutions. But it does not prohibit the purpose of God! God is transcendent, existing outside the universe and independent of any institution. He is able to fulfill the truth of Ephesians 1:11 (ESV), “[God] works all things according to the counsel of his will.” All things. Not some. All. Everything. Without a wasted circumstance. Incredibly, He even works the result of every presidential election after the counsel of His own will!

We must pray continually. We must act righteously in a dark world. We must vote. We must promote the heart of God to a world in trouble. Ultimately, though, we must trust in God. We must put all our hope in an infinitely big God who saves people one at a time now and will save the entire world system one day for those who trust in Him. No matter who the president is, God is the ruler of every inch of reality. Put your hope in Him, and influence others to do the same. Tend to the spiritual matters of the heart, and political matters will fall into line – along with all other interests. For there is a King greater than all kings, and His name is Jesus. He was born in the days of evil King Herod (Matthew 2:1). God allowed even His own Son to endure governmental injustice. Though Herod sought to kill Jesus, Jesus lived on! The plan of God for our salvation endured. Herod died. God’s purpose continued. That is the way it will always be. Evil is vanquished; God’s goodness prevails. No matter what it ever appears in this imperfect world, the curse will one day be fully erased! (Revelation 22:3)

God’s man wins! His name is Jesus.

Reference:

Colson, C. (2007). God & Government: An Insider’s View on the Boundaries Between Faith & Politics. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan.

Reality Just Beyond the Glass

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I sit behind a polished windowpane
Hearing the hum of heated air through vents.

On the other side of the glass
Lie trees in autumn splendor on a hillside.

The gentle breeze takes yellowish foliage
To a carpet of gold and green below.

Wafting in every direction under sunlight,
Drop beautiful leaves.

On goes a gorgeous shower of what was,
Making room for what will be.

The sunbeams on the shimmering trees
And the continual dance of the season proceeds;

As I sit behind glass panes in a building made by man,
Peering out at the artistry of God.

On the wall beside me hangs a framed photograph
Of an autumn scene.

While beautiful the picture is,
It does not compare to the reality just beyond the glass.

What comes directly from God
Cannot be adequately reproduced by man.

Chairs, buildings, heating systems, automobiles,
Framed art, calculators, tennis shoes, cherry pie, basketballs.

All these reflect the mind of our Creator,
Who designed our minds to design these things.

Yet, for all we make,
Nothing compares to what God creates!

Galaxies, mountains, antelopes, apple trees,
Sunshine, emeralds, sharks, bluebirds, waterfalls.

I appreciate the comfortable library in which I sit.
I enjoy looking out its windows when the ice of winter comes.

But my soul longs for the day
When I will not be separated from any of the handiwork of God.

I wait for the day when the city in which I walk
Will not have been manufactured by the hand of people.

Come quickly the day when everything about existence is as beautiful and rich as God intended,
Untainted by the messiness of humanity.

I wait for . . .
“The holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God.”

A city that comes from Heaven, right down from the throne of God!
This will be my home!

In that day, nothing will be unsatisfactory
Because nothing will be “once-removed” from God’s perfection.

All will be as He desires,
Which is – in our heart of hearts – what we, in fact, desire.

We will work beside Him then,
For He will finally and fully dwell with us.

The work of men will be the work of God,
For then we shall completely please Him.

All creation will be new – and uncursed –
Never wearing out, never growing old.

We will create and enjoy and explore forever
Because of the grace of precious Jesus . . .

When we finally enter the reality just beyond the glass.

“For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face.” (I Corinthians 13:12, KJV)

“I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God.” (Revelation 21:2, ESV)