tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-64802607830111422012024-03-13T01:49:34.357-07:00THE WAY WITH WORDSA blog by Dave SwavelyDave Swavelyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10903342933814792279noreply@blogger.comBlogger162125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6480260783011142201.post-5853914284998076922021-06-07T08:11:00.000-07:002021-06-07T08:11:14.337-07:00Reformers before the Reformers (yes, true biblical faith existed in the Middle Ages)<p>I made an amazing discovery tonight as I was looking for biblical statements made during the Middle Ages to be included in a list of historical documents that contain the system of doctrine for a new non-profit ministry I'm working on. </p><p>I already had included early church statements like 1 Corinthians 15:3-4 (55 AD) and the Apostles' Creed (300-400 AD) and later Reformation statements like the Heidelberg Catechism (1563) and the Westminster Confession (1646), but I was hoping to find something medieval that captured a biblical worldview consistent with the Scriptures. The difficulty with finding such written statements, of course, is that the leaders of the Roman Catholic Church (and the Orthodox churches in the latter half of the Middle Ages) controlled what was published and preserved during that time and did not allow anything to endure that contradicted their corrupted dogma.</p><p>But my search led me to a fascinating list of beliefs held by the Waldensians, a movement that started in the 1100s in France, spread throughout Europe in the following centuries, and was eventually enveloped into the the Protestant movement at the time of the Reformation.</p><p>What's so fascinating about this particular list is that it's probably very accurate historically, unlike a lot of what is written about the Waldensians. Everyone wants to claim them as forbears, from Mennonites to Anabaptists to Seventh Day Adventists to feminists and more, so accounts tend to be prejudiced and shaped according to each writer's point of view. But this list comes from a Roman Catholic scholar who <i>does not agree </i>with anything the Waldensians believed and is highly skeptical of most accounts coming from those who do. So he probably got pretty close to the truth with his list.</p><p>Before I tell you what's on the list, here's a footnote from <b><a href="https://www.xenos.org/essays/waldensian-movement-waldo-reformation#_ftnref55">the article</a></b> documenting what I just said, so you can see that I haven't made it up: "Pius Melia, D.D., <i>The Origin, Persecutions, and Doctrines of the Waldenses</i>, pp. 101-129. This section of Melia's book.... not only cites several original Waldensian and inquisitorial documents for each point in the original and in translation, but in addition, each doctrine mentioned is answered from the Roman Catholic point of view."</p><p>So what did the Waldensians believe? Well, Melia's list (with the article author's additions) reads like a doctrinal statement of affirmations and denials that Reformational Christians today would be proud to have written. Here it is:</p><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><p>The Church of God has failed.</p><p>The Holy Scriptures alone are sufficient to guide men to Salvation.</p><p>The blessings and consecrations practiced in the Church do not confer any particular sanctity upon the things or persons blessed or consecrated.</p><p>Catholic priests have no authority; and the Pope of Rome is the chief of all heresiarchs.</p><p>Everyone has the right to preach publicly the word of God.</p><p>Every oath is a mortal sin.</p><p>Purgatory is a dream, an invention of the sixth century.</p><p>The indulgences of the Church are an invention of covetous Priests.</p><p>There is no obligation to fast, nor to keep any holy day, Sunday excepted.</p><p>The invocation of Saints cannot be admitted.</p><p>Every honor given in the Church to the holy images of paintings, and to the relics of Saints is to be abolished.</p><p><i>To this list, he adds doctrines that belong to the period between the Hussite revolt and the Lutheran Revolution:</i></p><p>Auricular Confession [to priests in a confessional booth] is useless, and. . .it is enough to confess our sins to God.</p><p>The definition of the church is, "the whole of the elect from the beginning of the world to its end." and that regarding ministries, "the holy Catholic Church is the congregation of all ministers and people obeying the Divine will, and by obedience united."</p><p>It is necessary to receive the Eucharist under two kinds. [everyone should take both the bread and the wine.]</p><p><i>To these I </i><i>[the author of the article] </i><i>would add, </i></p><p>The church and the state should remain as separate authorities.</p><p>The Eucharist is to be viewed as a memorial, not as a sacrifice.</p></blockquote><p>Wow... How about that? There's an amazing confluence between those persecuted medieval believers and many of us today! I myself would agree with almost everything on those lists, with a few exceptions where I think the ideas are overstated, which is typical and understandable among groups who are being exiled and killed for their faith - they tend to radicalize to one degree or another when they're so violently cut off from the institutional church and become reactionary against those who are persecuting them.</p><p>So I would include this Waldensian "doctrinal statement" as an example of one that contains the <i>system</i> of theology (though not all the specific points, of course) that has been believed by all true Christians throughout the history of the church. I hope you've found it interesting and encouraging!</p><p><br /></p>Dave Swavelyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10903342933814792279noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6480260783011142201.post-55936591539682517142021-06-05T10:59:00.004-07:002021-06-05T11:03:07.068-07:00Spirit and truth in worship (and social media)<p>I posted the vlog below this past week and after I did, God brought an interesting insight to mind as I was thinking about John 4:21-24, where Jesus says this to the Samaritan woman (in answer to her question about whether to worship in Jerusalem or Mount Gerizim, where the Samaritans worshipped):</p><p>"The hour is coming when neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem will you worship the Father. You worship what you do not know; we worship what we know, for salvation is from the Jews. But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father <i>in spirit and truth</i>, for the Father is seeking such people to worship him. God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship <i>in spirit and truth</i>."</p><p>There are many applications of Jesus' words here, especially when we realize that "worship" biblically is not only referring to corporate worship when believers gather to sing, pray, learn from the Word, etc., but also to what we do the rest of the week as well. And that would certainly include what we do on social media (that should be worship for God just as much as church is).</p><p>The application of Jesus' words to our social media practices, I think, are very similar to what I'm saying in the video below, and what Jesus says in the passage I discuss there (Matthew 6:1:5):</p><p>“Beware of practicing your righteousness before other people <i>in order to be seen by them</i>, for then you will have no reward from your Father who is in heaven. Thus, when you give to the needy, sound no trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, <i>that they may be praised by others</i>. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward.... And when you pray, you must not be like the hypocrites. For they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, <i>that they may be seen by others.</i>" </p><p>Notice (from the italicized words) that <i>the wrong motives</i> are what ruined the otherwise good practices of the hypocrites in Jesus' day. And that is what can ruin our social media practices today, even if they are otherwise good ones - or, in other words, even if our posts on social media are <i>true</i>, our motives can be wrong and thus make them displeasing to God (and harmful to ourselves and others).</p><p>The "truth" part of "spirit and truth" in John 4 is probably intended for the Samaritan woman and others who might say, "It doesn't matter if what I'm doing is biblical as long as I love God (or my motives are good)." The "spirit" part, however, is probably more for the Jews who so often did the right things for the wrong reasons. And that was somewhat new to me - I usually think of "spirit" as referring to our inner engagement or passion in corporate worship. But when we take into account the historical context I just mentioned, it seems more likely to me now that Jesus was referring to the <i>motives</i> we have for everything we do in life.</p><p>So when we post something on social media, Jesus would say that we should examine what we do carefully to make sure that we are being truthful according to His Word, but also that we are being motivated rightly in our hearts. </p><p>For more on this, check out my "In the Light" vlog at <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6qEV7wRoHjA&list=PLgV1oO3yYGp9Aqdt1JOmFpRaT5jQPkh0U&index=19&t=268s">(1) Social Media Pharisees? - YouTube</a> :</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/6qEV7wRoHjA" width="320" youtube-src-id="6qEV7wRoHjA"></iframe></div><p><br /></p>Dave Swavelyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10903342933814792279noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6480260783011142201.post-71622963166326182362021-05-29T12:46:00.002-07:002021-05-29T20:25:11.511-07:00The Real Zombie Apocalypse<p>I've never been much for zombie movies; in fact, I can count on one hand those I've seen (and none of them completely): parts of the original <i>Dawn of the Dead</i> (turned it off after I started to get sick to my stomach from seeing people - though loosely defined, I know - eating the organs of other people); an edited version of <i>28 Days Later</i> (because it was on sale and I was interested in the director and the post-apocalyptic London); the non-subtitled Korean version of <i>Train to Busan </i>(that's right - I didn't understand anything they were saying, but it wasn't hard to figure out what was going on); and now, just recently, I watched some of <i>The Girl With All the Gifts</i> (fast-forwarding a lot after the grossness started, just to see what would happen to the characters).</p><p>I guess I should add that I tried two episodes of <i>The Walking Dead </i>once (mostly out of curiosity, because there was so much buzz about it). I found the over-frequent gory deaths of the zombies disturbing to begin with, but then was really turned off when that kind of pornographic violence was perpetrated by "the good guys" on live humans as well.</p><p>I'm sure I'll lose many of you who like this kind of "entertainment" (if I haven't already) by saying that I don't understand the appeal of such over-the-top gore, unless it taps into some primeval feature of sinful human nature that doesn't exist in me (I have many vices, but that doesn't happen to be one of them...yet). I'd like to know how Christians can possibly justify watching that sort of thing over and over again, let alone enjoying it. But I'm only referring to the gory killing when I say that... while I was perusing <i>The Girl With All the Gifts </i>(which I do not recommend, by the way), I thought of another possible appeal of zombie movies that led me to some real-life reflections.</p><p>I think our interest is captured and adrenaline starts surging when the protagonists in these stories are up against seemingly insurmountable odds (something that other kinds of stories make good use of as well, of course - <i>The Matrix</i> and <i>Lord of the Rings </i>come to mind). The hordes of flesh-eating attackers are nearly impossible to escape, and even more to the point, the real human survivors are almost always a tiny minority compared to the walking dead.</p><p>This also may tap into a deep knowledge inside our hearts, because it actually happens in the real world of humanity (in the spiritual realm)! Do you realize that? Ephesians 2:1-3 describes the state of "the world" (meaning all the people who have not been "born again" by the Spirit, as Jesus says in John 3): "You were <b>dead</b> in the trespasses and sins in which you once <b>walked</b>, following the course of <b>this world</b>, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience—among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like <b>the rest of mankind</b>."</p><p>God says that most of the people on this planet are dead yet walking around - the walking dead! Spiritual zombies. They are not in their right minds but under the control of something like a contagious fungus (as in <i>The Girl With All the Gifts</i>, or whatever other explanation might be offered) - or, in this case, someone: "the prince of the power of the air" (Satan and demons, who are very much like the machines and agents in <i>The Matrix</i> or Sauron and the Ring in <i>Lord of the Rings</i>). Like the zombies of lore, those who have not yet been spiritually awakened are dominated by their selfish desires and fleshly passions (much like a passion for flesh-eating) - more like animals than the way humans were meant to live (with a higher purpose and a heavenly mindset). In the real world, those who have been regenerated ("born again") are as different from others as the living humans are from the zombies in those made-up stories.</p><p>I remember noticing that sad dynamic in my father when I lived alone with him for a number of years while I was a teen (my parents were divorced). I had been spiritually awakened through learning the Bible at a Christian school, and so in my immature, halting way I wanted to know more about spiritual issues, talk about them, etc., but he had no such interest whatsoever. He just wanted to do his crosswords, drink his Manhattans, watch baseball, date his girlfriend, and play his horns on the weekend (he was a clarinet and sax pro). The difference between us was so obvious that I actually wondered at times if he was really human, because my human experience included an inescapable concern for God, or at least an inescapable knowledge that He was concerned for me. But nothing like that existed in my dad.</p><p>That spiritual deadness continued until the last few weeks of his life, when he found out that he was going to die from terminal lung cancer and asked me if I would teach him what I had learned about the Bible. As I did, I saw his spiritual eyes opening and his heart warming to the truth of the gospel. He said things that would have never come out of his lips before, like "I've wasted my life; I wish I would have lived for God instead of myself" and "I deserve to go to hell, and I know I can only be saved by the mercy of Christ who died for me." It was amazing to see this transformation, and I had no doubt that he had been made alive by the Spirit of God for the first time - a spiritual zombie changed into the kind of human that God had originally designed us to be, just in time to meet his Maker. (Kind of like what happens in <i>Warm Bodies, </i>a zombie movie I forgot to mention that was very different from the others, though I still did feel queasy during some parts.) </p><p>Notice that Ephesians 2 also mentions "this world" and "the rest of mankind." There you have, in reference to the reality we live in, the additional dynamic where some of us "survivors" (those "still living") are a small minority compared to the waves of spiritually dead people surrounding us. In fact, such spiritual zombies control most of the institutions in "this world," from government to business to entertainment and so on. So we have to band together and somehow stand against all the forces that are trying to destroy us spiritually in this post-apocalyptic setting (post-Fall, that is: the Fall was a world-ruining apocalypse if there ever was one). </p><p>For all of you who have been exposed to zombie stories (and any of you who like them, if you're still with me), perhaps seeing the parallels between the imagined world of those stories and the real world we live in will motivate you to be a hero who is willing to be different and fight against the tide of unbiblical influences and ideas that attack us. They are so prevalent that they can seem to be right, but are really just a product of a world that has been ruined and minds that are enslaved to selfish desires, which feel good at the moment of satisfaction but in the end turn out to be merely myopic and destructive. </p><p><br /></p>Dave Swavelyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10903342933814792279noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6480260783011142201.post-18819174620039982122021-02-19T07:47:00.001-08:002021-02-19T07:48:49.526-08:00Some words of hope and encouragement for LGBTQ friends who have regrets or questions about their choices<p>We had grown up together as young men in a Christian school and then attended the same Christian college together for a year. Now, many years later, my friend was a transgendered atheist with a body that had been extensively and expensively transformed by chemicals and surgery. At a breakfast together one morning my friend said (I don't remember the context), "If I would repent, I would then be in the category of a eunuch."</p><p>So I thought of that friend (and others in the LGBTQ community) when I read the following passage in Isaiah this morning for my time with the Lord: "Let not the foreigner who has joined himself to the Lord say, 'The Lord will surely separate me from His people.' Nor let the eunuch say, 'Behold, I am a dry tree.' For thus says the Lord, 'To the eunuchs who keep My sabbaths, and choose what pleases Me, and hold fast My covenant, to them I will give in My house and within My walls a memorial, and a name better than that of sons and daughters; I will give them an everlasting name which will not be cut off" (Isaiah 56:3-5).</p><p>Not only is such a person as my friend in the biblical category of a eunuch (someone who is not able to live out their natural gender sexually), but in a way so are many gay men and women, because if they would choose not to live out their same-sex desires, they would have to live celibately, at least for a certain period of time. I do believe it's possible for sexual "orientation" to change (there are many real-life examples, easily accessed online) but it doesn't usually happen quickly and sometimes not at all, of course. So for a time, at least, or for the rest of their lives in some cases, people with same-sex attraction who choose to live according to biblical morality will be those who "make themselves eunuchs for the sake of the kingdom of heaven," as Jesus said in Matthew 19:12. And people like my friend who have surgically altered their sexual organs are those "who were made eunuchs by men" (same verse)--the "men" being themselves and the doctors who assisted them.</p><p>So the hope and encouragement offered to eunuchs in Isaiah 56 is directly applicable to any LGBTQ friends who have regrets or questions about their lifestyle choices. (And I know there are many who do, even when they have loudly proclaimed the opposite, because I've talked to some and read the stories of many others online.) God promises, if you choose to follow his ways, you will not be a "dry tree." That's one of your fears, right? That if you repent of your desire to have a same-sex partner (or multiple ones) and don't act on it, you will be unhappy and unfulfilled the rest of your life. You can't imagine living without something that is so important to you right now. But realize, like every true Christian has, that our desires and priorities can change over time (and sometimes even quickly) when we turn away from being our own god and master and turn to Jesus Christ as our Savior and Lord. I myself have strong propensities toward certain sins, as a result of both heredity and environment, but now looking back on my life I am so glad for when I have said no to them and so regretful for when I indulged them. My perspective has changed significantly and so have my desires. That's not to say those wrong desires don't ever rear their ugly heads and even win the day sometimes, but I am truly happy that I concluded that they were wrong and decided to fight them rather than let them define my identity and lifestyle. And I have seen God replace them with much better fruit, so I have emphatically not become a "dry tree" because I chose not to live according to my sinful orientation. No, I have seen the truth of some other words of Jesus, when he says, "Whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake, he is the one who will save it" (Luke 9:24).</p><p>God also promises, "To the eunuchs who keep My sabbaths, and choose what pleases Me, and hold fast My covenant, to them I will give in My house and within My walls a memorial, and a name better than that of sons and daughters; I will give them an everlasting name which will not be cut off." The idea of a "name" in Scripture is tied to the issue of identity, which I know is another significant reason why many LGBTQ friends hesitate to even consider a commitment to biblical morality. Giving up the practice of your preferred sexuality or gender would seem to be giving up who you are, and everyone always tells us that being who we are is the most important thing in life and the best path toward happiness and success. But the Bible tells us that we were made in the image of God and the best thing for us is to recover that image (marred because of sin) by finding our identity in Jesus Christ, taking <i>his</i> name upon us, and allowing him making us more like him (because he is the only perfect person who has ever lived in this broken world).</p><p>That's what the "covenant" Isaiah mentions is all about, by the way. "I will be your God," he says, "and you will be my people." God promises to forgive all our sins and adopt us into his family so we can have an identity as his sons and daughters (and heirs) that will last forever--one that we will never regret or question. As a part of his covenant people, we also receive the blessing of many brothers and sisters that we didn't have before--a new community of mutual love and acceptance that transcends different backgrounds because we are all one in Christ. I know you may not be able to imagine that happening, because Satan and his system (called "the world" in the Bible) work overtime to make you think Christians are all bigots and backstabbers, but if you can't see it in your mind, you'll just have to believe it because God said it's true. And his Word is far more trustworthy than the opinions and theories of very limited and finite humans.</p><p>That issue of faith is alluded to in Isaiah's reference to "keeping the Sabbaths," because that practice was a way for people in the Old Testament to show that they trusted God's promises even though they couldn't see all the evidence ahead of time. They had to be willing to stop work for one day each week and <i>believe</i> that God would provide what they needed when the time came. In the same way, we must "rest from our works" spiritually by not trying to make ourselves good enough to earn God's favor and not trying to figure out everything by ourselves. Instead we should say to God, "I will rely on Jesus' death to take away my sins and his resurrection to give me a new life, and I will trust in what you say to know what's really best for me."</p>Dave Swavelyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10903342933814792279noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6480260783011142201.post-67423715964117499442021-02-09T20:05:00.000-08:002021-02-09T20:05:46.015-08:00What is love? (the meaning of agape in the Bible)<p>I was recently editing a book by a long-time pastor I respect and noticed that he defined <i>agape</i> love in the Bible as "self-sacrificial action on behalf of others," or something like that. I wrote a version of the following comments on the manuscript and he ended up changing his definition to what I suggested, so I must be on to something! :)</p><p></p><p class="MsoCommentText">I would suggest that <i>agape </i>love itself (narrowly defined) is not an action, but a desire of the heart that <i>produces </i>actions. And it is not merely self-sacrifice, because then non-Christians could have it without any reference to God, as long as they are sacrificing for someone else. In 1 Corinthians 13:3
Paul says, “If I give all my possessions to feed the poor, and if
I surrender my body to be burned, but do not have love, it profits me
nothing.” The person described there has self-sacrificial actions, but according to Paul does not actually have love. That and other passages like Romans 5:5 seem to indicate that love
itself is actually something in the heart, which is then manifested in actions.
Plus, because it can only be produced by the Spirit and is directed toward God,
it must include spiritual purposes (to set it apart from merely human
self-sacrificial love). So my working definition of <i>agape</i> is “a
Spirit-created desire of the heart for the spiritual good of others, which
produces self-sacrificial actions on their behalf.”<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoCommentText">In other words, I don’t think <i>agape</i>
= action for the reasons stated above (e.g. “God so loved the world that he
gave…” His love was the <i>reason </i>for His action of giving). And I also
think “spiritual” needs to be added before “good” to accurately capture
the biblical meaning of the word (same example).</p><p class="MsoCommentText"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoCommentText"><i>Agape </i>= action is problematic because we can
do sacrificial action for our wives (or whomever) without actually loving them
in our hearts (like “this people honors me with their lips, but their hearts
are from me”). And even if it is heart-driven action, it might come from wrong
motives in the heart, like selfish ones.</p><p class="MsoCommentText"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoCommentText">Emphasizing the goal of <i>spiritual </i>good helps
because otherwise unbelievers could practice <i>agape </i>love, and the Bible
says it’s a fruit of the Spirit (Gal. 3:24) that is shed abroad in our hearts by the
Spirit (Rom. 5:5). That part of my definition is what sets the use of <i>agape </i>in the
NT apart from its infrequent use in the ancient world (and the other Greek
words for love, of course). My belief after studying it is that Jesus “coined
the term” (or at least co-opted and changed it) in order to communicate these
ideas.</p><p class="MsoCommentText"><o:p></o:p></p>I illustrated the importance and implications of our definition of love in a recent Facebook post, which elicited some interesting responses:<p></p><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0 0 0 40px; padding: 0px;"><p style="text-align: left;">What do you think about this? I'm wondering if one of the reasons why the younger generation of Christians are so open to unbiblical ideas about sexual morality is because we have failed to draw a clear distinction between the world's definition of love and the Bible's. "Love is love," they say. But the primary New Testament Greek word for love (<i>agape</i>) means something so different from the way we usually use the word in our culture. Here's what "love" means in the Bible: "A Holy Spirit-created desire in the heart for the spiritual good of others, which issues in self-sacrificial action on their behalf." This kind of love can only happen by the power of God transforming us from the inside out (Rom. 5:5, 1 Cor. 13:3), like God's love it is focused on and acts for spiritual and eternal goals (John 3:16, Gal. 6:1-2), and it is clearly not based on feelings or the attractiveness of the object (Matt. 5:44, Rom. 5:10). Since this is so different from the way "love" is used in our culture, I wonder if we should use different words for one or the other, and if so what should we call them?</p></blockquote><p>Maybe we should start using the term "<i>agape</i> love" when we're talking about the kind of love that God has and we should have as well (as long as we understand it correctly, of course:).</p>Dave Swavelyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10903342933814792279noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6480260783011142201.post-45509890789090428282020-11-25T12:54:00.000-08:002020-11-25T12:54:19.925-08:00Why You Need a Good Church<p>You believe in God, but you don’t think you need to go to church. Or you attend church, but you do not see any need to become a member of one. If so, there are increasing numbers of people who think the same way you do. But is this a good trend? Take a moment to examine it with me…</p><p>In this article I won’t be discussing the issue of what a good church is and isn’t, though I do cover that in the book I mention at the end. Here I simply want to suggest some reasons why you need a good one—especially if you believe in God.</p><p>According to the Bible, which repeatedly claims to be the Word of God to us, the church is God’s idea. It is not merely a human invention, like clubs, sports teams, support groups, and other attempts we make at developing community among us. In Old Testament times, God called a group of people out of the rest of the world to be His worshippers and servants (the people of Israel), and when Jesus came He told His disciples, “I will build My church” (Matthew 16:18). He then proceeded to organize this assembly of believers (the meaning of the word “church”) by giving instructions about its administration through His appointed spokesmen, the apostles (see 1 Tim. 3, 1 Cor. 11, etc.). These directions included such topics as how people could become members of the church, how they should worship God when they came together, how to meet the financial needs of members, and perhaps most importantly, what kind of person should be a church leader and what those leaders should do.</p><p>That issue of leadership, which the Bible addresses repeatedly, is one of the most important reasons for not only attending a good church, but also making a commitment to membership in one. Take just one verse, for example: Hebrews 13:17 says, “Obey your leaders and submit to their authority. They keep watch over you as men who must give an account. Obey them so that their work will be a joy, not a burden, for that would be of no advantage to you.”</p><p>The idea of “authority” in the spiritual realm may seem strange to you, or perhaps it conjures up images of witch trials and mass suicides by unquestioning, mindless followers. But notice that God says that true spiritual authority (in the church He has established) is something that is good for you, and even something that is necessary for your spiritual health. After all, the definition of spiritual sickness would have to be disobeying God’s commands, which He has given us for our good—and this is a command God has given us! We all need mature, loving leaders who can “keep watch” over us through their teaching, counsel, and accountability, if our goal is to become more spiritually mature ourselves.</p><p>In this short article I have said nothing about the helpful relationships we can develop in a good church, the needs that can be met, and the desires that can be fulfilled when we become members of what the Bible calls “the family of God” (1 Tim. 3:15). To learn about those benefits and more, please take a look at a book I co-authored, <i>Life in the Father’s House: A Member’s Guide to the Local Church</i>. You can order a copy <b><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Life-Fathers-House-Members-Church/dp/1596380349/ref=sr_1_2?crid=1D1G4R3EED9R4&dchild=1&keywords=life+in+the+father%27s+house+mack&qid=1606337386&sprefix=life+in+the+father%27s+house+%2Cstripbooks%2C155&sr=8-2" target="_blank">here</a></b>. </p><div><br /></div>Dave Swavelyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10903342933814792279noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6480260783011142201.post-63270337711314481932020-11-14T12:11:00.012-08:002020-11-14T12:26:20.820-08:00Satan and God are both at work in your entertainment... Who will win?<p>I am so often amazed at how an ancient collection of books like the Bible can be so relevant and even sufficient to answer the difficult questions we face as Christians even today. For example, I was recently listening to a song by a non-Christian artist who has practiced and advocated many things that are abhorrent to God in his life, yet is so obviously gifted with incredible musical talents, and questions were going through my mind (as they often do)... </p><p>Where did he get this amazing talent? Has Satan empowered him so that he would influence people to turn away from God? If so, should I not listen to him and enjoy his talents? If I do, would I be participating in the evils of his life and how the devil is using his music for evil purposes? Or can I thank God for his talents and enjoy them, as long as I am discerning and don't let it influence me toward evil? Fortunately for me, as often as these questions come into my mind, I also think of answers that come from the Scriptures, and I can process the whole thing in a way that honors God. </p><p>What are those answers? Well, rather than "re-invent the wheel" here by writing new material, I'd like to share with you the following excerpt from my book <i>Who Are You to Judge? </i>Hopefully it will help you to think and choose wisely regarding this important area of our lives that we could call... </p><p style="text-align: center;"><b>Entertainment and the Popular Arts</b></p><p><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>What kinds of movies, television, music, novels, etc. can a Christian enjoy, and still be honoring to God? No other issue has been the source of more friction between Christians in our media-soaked, pleasure-worshipping society, and no other issue has given rise to as many legalistic rules in an attempt to keep us from being “contaminated by the world.” Some Christians say we should avoid movies altogether, others say only G-rated ones are acceptable. Some say no secular music is good to listen to, others add “Christian contemporary” as a taboo because it sounds too much like what unbelievers are producing. On every issue in this general category, there are many examples of Christians who are far too “loose” in their practice, but on the other hand many over-react to the dangers of modern media by going “beyond what is written,” and are therefore susceptible to all the dangers described in this book. So how can we understand this issue in a way that avoids the extremes and maintains a biblical balance?</p><p><span> </span><span> </span><b>A Matter of the Heart</b></p><p><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>First, we need to understand that the Bible offers very few specific rules about this issue, if any, and therefore we should not expect to find easy answers that apply to everyone. It is mostly an individual matter of “the heart”—a term which in the Bible means our “inner man,” where we think, desire, worship, and make choices (“mind” and “will” are aspects of the heart). In Mark 7:18-21 Jesus says that “whatever goes into the man from outside cannot defile him…that which proceeds out of the man, that is what defiles the man.” He then goes on to say evil comes “from within, out of the heart.” What we take into our eyes and ears can certainly tempt or influence us, as we will discuss, but it cannot necessarily cause us to sin. So the response of our hearts to what we see and hear is the ultimate issue in morality. This is very important to understand, in order to avoid legalism in this matter. An activity that might be wrong for one person might be right for another, depending on what is happening in their hearts.</p><p><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Some Christians, either in creed or merely in practice, advocate a rejection of any kind of artistic expression and enjoyment. But that approach is clearly inconsistent with Scripture. As T. M. Moore points out,</p><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><p style="text-align: left;">Anyone who reads the Bible, paying careful attention not only to the words of the text but also the forms of God’s revelation, will be struck by the widespread and varied use of the arts for communicating God’s purposes and will. The Old and New Testaments alike make abundant use of the arts: visual arts (the Tabernacle and Temple and all their decorations, the pillar of memorial stones on the banks of the Jordan); musical arts (psalms and spiritual songs); literary arts (story-telling, poetry, perhaps even drama, all kinds of metaphors and images); and a wide variety of abstract and visionary art forms (the first chapters of Ezekiel and Revelation, for example). </p></blockquote><p><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>We could add to that list the fact that the apostle Paul seems to have enjoyed reading the Greek poets, because he quoted from them in his message on Mars Hill in Acts 17:28. And to mention a different but related issue, he also seems to have been a spectator at the Greek Olympics and other sporting events of his time, because he makes frequent reference to them in his letters (e.g. 1 Cor. 9:24-27; Heb. 12:1-2). </p><p><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>So there is nothing inherently wrong with any of the art forms that people enjoy today, and there is nothing wrong with enjoying them, even as “mere entertainment.” This is important to discuss because some Christians point out that the Bible does not mention “entertainment,” and therefore infer that it is somehow a questionable concept. But of course the Bible does not mention pizza or toothbrushes either, and that does not make those things bad. And the Bible does contain the idea of entertainment, if not the word itself. One of the themes of the book of Ecclesiastes, for instance, is that God wants you to “enjoy life” (Eccl. 9:9) when it is centered on Him. He tells us to “eat, drink, and be merry” several times in the book (5:18, 8:15, 9:7), and says that you should “follow the impulses of your heart and the desires of your eyes” (11:9).</p><p><span> </span><span> </span>The reference to eating and drinking is especially helpful in understanding how God wants us to enjoy ourselves (in moderation, of course). Some of the food and drink He has given us, and some of the eating and drinking we do, are merely for utilitarian purposes, to nourish our bodies. But beyond that He has blessed us with enjoyable food and drink, and we partake sometimes merely for the pure pleasure of it, not simply to keep ourselves alive. And this is according to His design—just as He has designed the arts for our enjoyment, as well as for our edification.</p><p><span> <b>What About Secular Artists?</b><br /></span></p><p><span> </span><span> </span>Most Christians will admit that modern forms of entertainment are not sinful in themselves, and that they can be used by believers for godly purposes. But many have a problem with anything produced by unbelievers, because it almost always contains ideas that are contrary to God’s Word and depictions of behavior that God has forbidden. Plus unbelieving artists often live very ungodly lifestyles. We must remember, however, that unbelievers can indeed produce things that are acceptable and helpful to Christians. This is obvious in the scientific realm, of course, because we benefit from the medical and technological skills of unbelievers all the time. But it is also true in the realm of the arts, as evidenced by Paul’s use of the work of Greek poets, which I mentioned above. Most Christians can appreciate the music of Mozart and Tchaikovsky, for example, even though one was a libertine and the other a homosexual. So why can we not enjoy the good work of modern-day artists, even though they may not be godly themselves?</p><p><span> </span><span> </span>The book of Ecclesiastes is again helpful in this regard, because it says that to His people God “has given wisdom and knowledge and joy, while to the sinner He has given the task of gathering and collecting so that he may give to one who is good in God’s sight” (Eccl. 2:26). The abilities that unbelievers have, including their cinematic, musical, and literary skills, have been given to them by God so that they can produce art that can be beneficial and enjoyable to Christians. This does not mean that all the art or entertainment produced by the world is okay for Christians to enjoy, but it is certainly reasonable to assume that some of it is. </p><p>[If you would like to read the rest of the chapter, which contains seven principles from Scripture that apply to our choices regarding entertainment and the popular arts, you can purchase a copy <b><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Who-Are-You-Judge-Legalism/dp/159638011X/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=who+are+you+to+judge+swavely&qid=1605383752&s=books&sr=1-1" target="_blank">here</a></b>. You can also read about those principles in a series of blog posts that begins <b><a href="http://www.thewaywithwords.net/2015/01/the-es-of-entertainment-1-exalt-god.html" target="_blank">here</a></b>.]</p><p><br /></p><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><b>If my writing is a blessing to you, please consider supporting me using the Patreon button on the right side of this webpage.</b></p>Dave Swavelyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10903342933814792279noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6480260783011142201.post-49811647856688814462020-11-08T07:59:00.005-08:002021-12-02T18:05:52.593-08:00Why I Am Not A Progressive Christian<p>I don’t think being “progressive” is a good thing, unless it means we are making progress toward a better understanding and application of the original meaning and intent of Scripture. That is the only kind of progress that God encourages and commends in the Bible itself. Progress beyond what the Bible meant and intended when it was inspired by the Holy Spirit, as if it needs to be updated or improved based on modern thought, is consistently warned against in Scripture. In fact, the repeated message from God throughout biblical history is that God’s people should return to the Scriptures and recover their original meaning and application, not update or improve upon it. Let’s walk through a survey of what God says about this “from beginning to end,” starting with the beginning of the Bible, then the end, then everything else in between (and especially Jesus)…</p><p>NOTE: In this article I’m referring to progressive Christianity (see a definition <b><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Progressive_Christianity#:~:text=Progressive%20Christianity%20is%20an%20approach%20to%20the%20Christian,viable%20way%20to%20connect%20to%20God%20%28is%20non-exclusive%29." target="_blank">here</a></b>), not progressive politics, though there are some parallels between the two—like the issue of how the Constitution is understood and applied. The difference is that the Constitution can be wrong and in need of correction—and even for that I suggest that the standard should be the timeless truth of God rather than current theories, trends, and preferences that so often change with the wind. It’s also interesting to note that the word “liberal” has been used for both theological and political beliefs, and that those who are “liberal” or “progressive” in the one often are in the other as well—with a few notable exceptions like Andrew Klavan. So it would seem that there is an inevitable connection, to some degree at least, between what we believe about God and what we believe about politics. (See <b><a href="https://www.patheos.com/blogs/shatteringparadigms/2017/08/politics-and-the-progressive-christian/" target="_blank">here</a></b> for an interesting article about that.)</p><p><b>The Beginning of the Bible</b></p><p>In Genesis 1 God speaks everything into existence, and then in Genesis 2, as soon as He creates humans, He speaks a command to them (not to eat of that one tree in the Garden). In Genesis 3 Satan casts doubt on the Word of God by tempting the woman with “Did God really say?” The devil also gives a “nuanced” new interpretation of what God said that changes only a few words but ends up promoting the opposite of what God intended. I don’t think it is a coincidence that the very first (and most tragic) story about our sin shows God’s enemy doing basically the same thing that progressive or liberal Christians do when they cause people to doubt the Scriptures rather than encouraging trust in them. God knew that Satan would do this all throughout history in one way or another, and He wants us to ask the question, “Does the way I talk about the Bible cause people to question its truthfulness, authority, and relevancy?” If so, we are being more like Satan than Jesus Christ (more on His perspective later).</p><p>God then reveals His written law through Moses as a standard that He will constantly call people to return to rather than advance upon. On the eve of their entrance to the Promised Land, for example, both Moses and Joshua make this point clearly:</p><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><p style="text-align: left;">Now this is the commandment, and these are the statutes and judgments which the Lord your God has commanded to teach you, that you may observe them in the land which you are crossing over to possess, that you may fear the Lord your God, to keep all His statutes and His commandments which I command you, you and your son and your grandson, all the days of your life, and that your days may be prolonged. Therefore hear, O Israel, and be careful to observe it, that it may be well with you…. And these words which I command you today shall be in your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up. You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates…. You shall diligently keep the commandments of the Lord your God, His testimonies, and His statutes which He has commanded you. (Deuteronomy 6:1-17)</p></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><p style="text-align: left;">[The Lord said to Joshua,] “Be strong and very courageous, that you may observe to do according to all the law which Moses My servant commanded you; do not turn from it to the right hand or to the left, that you may prosper wherever you go. This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate in it day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success.”</p></blockquote><p><b>The End of the Bible</b></p><p>It is also no coincidence that the Bible ends with this warning: “Blessed are those who do His commandments, that they may have the right to the tree of life, and may enter through the gates into the city.... For I testify to everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: If anyone adds to these things, God will add to him the plagues that are written in this book; and if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part from the Book of Life, from the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book” (Revelation 22:14-19).</p><p>In the second-to-last book of the Bible, God says, “Beloved, while I was very diligent to write to you concerning our common salvation, I found it necessary to write to you exhorting you to contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all delivered to the saints. For certain men have crept in unnoticed, who long ago were marked out for this condemnation, ungodly men, who turn the grace of our God into lewdness and deny the only Lord God and our Lord Jesus Christ” (Jude 3-4).</p><p>And the fourth-to-last book of the Bible says, “This is love, that we walk according to His commandments.... For many deceivers have gone out into the world.... Whoever transgresses [literally, “goes beyond,” a synonym for "progresses"] and does not abide in the doctrine of Christ does not have God. He who abides in the doctrine of Christ has both the Father and the Son. If anyone comes to you and does not bring this doctrine, do not receive him into your house nor greet him; for he who greets him shares in his evil deeds.”</p><p>Just like He did when He delivered the first part of His revelation (the Mosaic law) 1500 years before, God is saying, “I’ve given you a written Word that is what I want to say to you for all time. Don’t add to it or try to improve it; rather always come back to it as the standard for truth, trying to understand it better and apply it with wisdom to whatever situation you might face. Satan and his servants will always be the ones who want to make you question whether it’s all true or whether it really applies to you.”</p><p>Someone might say at this point, “But you believe that parts of Scripture don’t apply to us today, like the sacrificial laws in Leviticus or the tongues instructions in 1 Corinthians.” No, I actually do believe that even historically-bound texts apply to us, though I would say they apply to us in a different way than they did to the original recipients, because of the changes in the way God has worked in the world in different ages. And—this is key—I believe God told us in the Word that these changes would occur. The cessation of animal sacrifices is attested by so many passages (like Hebrews) that it’s a consensus among Christians, though the tongues issue rests largely on our interpretation of 1 Corinthians 13:8 and the nature of the gift in Acts. But wherever we land on issues like that, we “conservatives” believe the text of Scripture was true and sufficient when delivered—it’s just a matter of interpreting and applying it correctly. Progressivism, on the other hand, says that the original meaning of the text was in error and needs to be corrected in light of modern “knowledge,” or that it simply isn’t enough to understand and solve modern problems. That kind of “progress,” as you can see from the passages in this article, is never predicted or approved of in the Bible like the historical stages are (e.g. the “better” covenant in Hebrews and the “fuller” knowledge in 1 Corinthians 13).</p><p><b>Everything in Between (and especially Jesus)</b></p><p>The prophets, the Psalms, and the wisdom literature of the Old Testament are filled to overflowing with references to the timeless truth of the written Word of God and calls to return to it rather than improve or re-interpret it according to the spirit of the age. (And keep in mind that a lot of development in human culture took place over the 1500 years following the writings of Moses.) Here are some examples:</p><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><p style="text-align: left;">[5th Century BC, 1000 years after Moses:] And all the people gathered as one man at the square which was in front of the Water Gate, and they asked Ezra the scribe to bring the book of the law of Moses which the Lord had given to Israel. Then Ezra the priest brought the law before the assembly of men, women and all who could listen with understanding, on the first day of the seventh month. He read from it before the square which was in front of the Water Gate from early morning until midday, in the presence of men and women, those who could understand; and all the people were attentive to the book of the law. Ezra the scribe stood at a wooden podium which they had made for the purpose…. They read from the book, from the law of God, translating to give the sense so that they understood the reading. (Nehemiah 8:1-8)</p></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><p style="text-align: left;">[7th Century BC, during the reign of Josiah] Then Hilkiah the high priest said to Shaphan the scribe, “I have found the book of the law in the house of the Lord.” And Hilkiah gave the book to Shaphan who read it…. And Shaphan read it in the presence of the king. When the king heard the words of the book of the law, he tore his clothes. Then the king commanded Hilkiah the priest…“Go, inquire of the Lord for me and the people and all Judah concerning the words of this book that has been found, for great is the wrath of the Lord that burns against us, because our fathers have not listened to the words of this book, to do according to all that is written concerning us”…. Then the king sent, and they gathered to him all the elders of Judah and of Jerusalem. The king went up to the house of the Lord and all the men of Judah and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem with him, and the priests and the prophets and all the people, both small and great; and he read in their hearing all the words of the book of the covenant which was found in the house of the Lord. The king stood by the pillar and made a covenant before the Lord, to walk after the Lord, and to keep His commandments and His testimonies and His statutes with all his heart and all his soul, to carry out the words of this covenant that were written in this book. </p></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><p style="text-align: left;">Forever, O Lord, your word is firmly fixed in the heavens…. Your commandment makes me wiser than my enemies, for it is ever with me. I have more understanding than all my teachers, for your testimonies are my meditation. I understand more than the aged, for I keep your precepts…. Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path. (Psalm 119:89, 98-100, 105)</p></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><p style="text-align: left;">The conclusion, when all has been heard, is: fear God and keep His commandments, because this applies to every person. For God will bring every act to judgment, everything which is hidden, whether it is good or evil. (Ecclesiastes 12:13)</p></blockquote><p>Even when the Old Testament prophets predict a new covenant (in the future kingdom of the Messiah), they don’t say the existing Scriptures will be proven wrong or somehow improved—they say the Scriptures will be “fulfilled” in various ways that actually honor rather than denigrate or cause them to be questioned. Notice what Jeremiah 31:31-33 says, for example: “‘Behold, days are coming,’ declares the Lord, ‘when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah, not like the covenant which I made with their fathers in the day I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt, My covenant which they broke, although I was a husband to them,’ declares the Lord. ‘But this is the covenant which I will make with the house of Israel after those days,’ declares the Lord, ‘I will put My law within them and on their heart I will write it; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people. They will not teach again, each man his neighbor and each man his brother, saying, “Know the Lord,” for they will all know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them.’” Similarly, Ezekiel 36:26-27 says, “Moreover, I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; and I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will be careful to observe My ordinances.” </p><p>The future age of the New Covenant will not be better because antiquated, inaccurate ideas in the Old Testament will be corrected and improved—no, it will be better because people will actually understand and obey those Scriptures more than they did before.</p><p>Jesus Himself echoed that truth over and over again in his interactions with the Jews, as He doggedly refused to give any ground to the “progressive” or “liberal” sects like the Sadducees (who, interestingly, denied the Resurrection, among other parallels with modern thinkers). And He never condemned the Pharisees for believing in the truthfulness (and even “inerrancy”) of the Old Testament—rather He rebuked them for not truly understanding and obeying it. Here are some examples:</p><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><p style="text-align: left;">Do not think that I came to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I did not come to abolish but to fulfill. For truly I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter or stroke shall pass from the Law until all is accomplished. Whoever then annuls one of the least of these commandments, and teaches others to do the same, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever keeps and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven. (Matthew 5:17-19)</p></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><p style="text-align: left;">You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; it is these that testify about Me; and you are unwilling to come to Me so that you may have life…. Do not think that I will accuse you before the Father; the one who accuses you is Moses, in whom you have set your hope. For if you believed Moses, you would believe Me, for he wrote about Me. But if you do not believe his writings, how will you believe My words? (John 5:39-47)</p></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><p style="text-align: left;">Jesus answered them, “Has it not been written in your Law, ‘I said, you are gods’? If he called them gods, to whom the word of God came (and the Scripture cannot be broken), do you say of Him, whom the Father sanctified and sent into the world, ‘You are blaspheming,’ because I said, ‘I am the Son of God’? (John 10:34-36)</p></blockquote><p>The apostles, whom Jesus chose to deliver the final parts of His “once-for-all” revelation, could not have been more clear that our goal as Christians should be to trust and apply the written Word as it was originally given and intended. Referring primarily to the Old Testament (and only by extension to their own writings), Paul and Peter say this:</p><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><p style="text-align: left;">You, however, continue in the things you have learned and become convinced of, knowing from whom you have learned them, and that from childhood you have known the sacred writings which are able to give you the wisdom that leads to salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; so that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work. (2 Timothy 3:14-17)</p></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><p style="text-align: left;">We have the prophetic word made more sure, to which you do well to pay attention as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star arises in your hearts. But know this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture is a matter of one’s own interpretation, for no prophecy was ever made by an act of human will, but men moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from God. (2 Peter 1:19-21)</p></blockquote><p>One-and-a-half millennia after the first books of the Bible were written and hundreds of years after the rise of Greek philosophy, Alexander’s world empire, and the Pax Romana, these men said that even the ancient Old Testament books were completely true and applicable to their age and the ages to come. God had told them that their writings would have the same character (1 Corinthians 14:36-38, 2 Peter 3:16), so no doubt today’s “progressives” would have them rolling over in their graves (if there were no Resurrection, as many believe).</p><p>That half-joke leads me to my conclusion, which is to highlight the extreme danger of the progressive or liberal views of Scripture by saying that they are indeed a slippery slope. (Just because that’s the name of a logical fallacy in argumentation doesn’t mean it’s not a real dynamic in many people’s experience.) Why should we believe in the Resurrection of Christ if other accounts in Scripture are merely mythological, and then how could we have a confident expectation of our own resurrection through a union with Him (Romans 6:8)? Speaking of logic, I think we can safely add a preface to Paul’s “syllogism” in 1 Corinthians 15:17-19:</p><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><p style="text-align: left;">[If the Scriptures contain myths and you can’t know whether its stories are true, then you can’t be confident that Christ has been raised (because that’s a whopper of a tale).] If Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins. Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. If in Christ we have hope in this life only, we are of all people most to be pitied.</p></blockquote><p>On the other hand, if Jesus Christ actually rose from the dead and is still alive 2000 years later, than it’s possible and even very likely that all the other fantastical stories are true, and that we do have a confident hope for the future.</p><div><br /></div><div><div>POSTSCRIPT: Here’s another “syllogism” to summarize my main point in this article:</div><div><br /></div><div>Progressive Christians say they believe God speaks through the Bible (to some degree at least). The Bible itself warns against progressing beyond the original intent and meaning of the text by adding to or modifying the original intent and meaning, to which the Bible repeatedly calls us back. So progressive Christians should hear this message from God and seek to modify their beliefs and lives to be more consistent with it. Otherwise their Christianity makes no sense, because the book that is foundational to their Christianity (in any scheme) weighs in against the kind of house they’re building upon it. </div></div><div><br /></div>Dave Swavelyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10903342933814792279noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6480260783011142201.post-15681250476970522152020-10-24T12:22:00.007-07:002020-11-08T07:19:39.077-08:00An open letter to Francis Chan about healing<p>Dear Brother Francis, </p><p>I don't know if you remember me, but we had some seminary classes together. I recently reached out to you via email for some input after reading your very good book on marriage and listening to some of your thought-provoking discussions about church ministry. (I couldn't find anything but an old and possibly defunct email address, so if you didn't get it and happen to read this, I'd still love to ask your advice on some things.) I admire and appreciate many things about you. But shortly after I wrote my email to you, I happened upon <b><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9X7uqS_m1FI&t=1035s">this video</a></b> and was concerned enough to write this open letter, hoping that you and/or others might somehow benefit by reading it.</p><p>First of all, let me recount a few things you said in your "Last Message to America"...</p><p>You said that you were taught and believed for years that supernatural healing doesn't happen anymore.</p><p>You said you've been thinking for a few years that the "sign gifts" like healing are still operative today, but didn't experience them yourself until a recent trip to a village in Asia, where you said things like "Be healed" and everyone you touched was healed.</p><p>You said the village was a difficult place where the people had never heard the gospel before and when you were preaching it, you said to yourself, "I have no power, I'm speaking through a translator. You need to do something" like signs and wonders in order to convince them to believe (the full quote is below in the comments).</p><p>You said, "This is no different than if Jesus walked through this village...I am Jesus right now." </p><p>Here are some thoughts for you about each of those...</p><p><b>Don't misconstrue or misrepresent the "cessationist" perspective. </b>Cessationists (at least myself and the ones I respect) are <i>not </i>saying that God no longer heals supernaturally today--we believe he does. We're just saying that there are no apostles anymore and therefore God doesn't do it <i>in the same way.</i> You are not an apostle, so you shouldn't expect the exact same things to happen with you as happened with them, and you shouldn't describe it in the same terms (that has scary potential for misleading people about your role, by the way, especially in cultures like that). Was there prayer for healing being offered by you or others at the village? I believe that people are healed through prayer, "if the Lord wills," so certainly God may have chosen to heal people in response to those prayers (even when they're offered in the midst of some errors). But do you think he will heal "on command" or <i>always </i>answer "yes" to such prayers if people have enough faith? If so, that is unbiblical and dangerous teaching, which has been refuted so often and conclusively that I don't need to address it here.</p><p><b>Don't allow your experience to have more authority than the sound interpretation of Scripture.</b> This is not safe nor wise, to borrow Luther's phrase, and it's led to most of the heresies and cults throughout church history. We have to view our experiences through the more objective lens of Scripture and not the other way around, and we need to recognize and guard against the ever-present tendency to get that backwards. We should ask ourselves, "What would my beliefs and terminology be if I based them entirely on the Bible, without factoring in my experiences (because experience can be <i>so </i>misleading)?" I know you're probably thinking that you <i>are </i>basing everything on the Bible, but I just wanted to challenge you as a brother that I got the vibe while listening to you that you might be putting experience too high on the authority scale. For example, you seem to think and imply that what happened in the village <i>proves</i> your recent thoughts about signs and wonders to be true. But nothing could be further from the truth, for many reasons (some of which I will discuss below). I remember driving a Prime Time shuttle to and from the airport when I was a seminary student (Did you ever do that? Many of us did) and talking to a number of Mormons who gave me their testimony about how someone had showed them a verse in the book of Mormon that says that God will reveal the truth of that book if we pray and ask him to. They prayed and then had a supernatural experience that was so profound "it could only be from God," so they knew that the Book of Mormon was true. But as I lovingly told them, I wouldn't deny their experience, but it proves <i>absolutely nothing</i> except that they had an experience. That leads me to...</p><p><b>Don't forget that Satan can do miracles too. </b>In fact, you've probably never considered this (I had never heard it before), but it seems to me that the only future signs and wonders predicted in the New Testament (to happen after its writing) are ones done by Satan and demons. The New Testament never clearly says that God will do signs and wonders after the initial stage of the church, but it does say that the forces of evil will do them in order to deceive people. (Read more about this <b><a href="http://www.thewaywithwords.net/2015/09/a-metaxas-miracle.html#comment-form">here.</a></b>)<b> </b>I know you quote John 14:12, like everyone does, but you can't base a whole theology on a verse like that, considering the way Jesus regularly spoke in irony and hyperbole and there are a number of different ways to understand that passage. At the very least, I think we can safely say that Jesus did not mean that our works would be more amazing signs and wonders than he performed: he raised several people (including <i>himself</i>) from the dead and fed 5000, for example, and <i>no one</i> after him has outdone those miracles, let alone every believer. Given that, it's much more likely that he was speaking ironically and meant that even the typical ministry of his people in the New Testament age would be greater than what he did, which leads me to...</p><p><b>Don't underestimate or understate the power of the gospel.</b> What caused me the most concern was when you said "I have no power" when you were preaching the gospel (full quote in the comments below). With all you know of the Scriptures, I can't believe you would say that--unless something is clouding your mind like a desire for "more" and/or some false teaching that you've opened your mind to. The gospel <i>is </i>the power of God unto salvation (Rom. 1:16)! I know you know that verse (and many others that say the same thing), so again, why would you even say something like "I didn't have any power"? If you no longer believe that the gospel's power is sufficient to save people without "signs and wonders," I suggest you definitely have been led astray by a desire for "more" and/or some kind of false teaching. Furthermore, as I'm sure you also know, people can be converted to Christianity because they see signs and wonders without even understanding the gospel, let alone embracing it truly in their hearts. I know you know this because you've preached about false conversion, and I also know you know about the reality of demonic power because you've preached about that too. So don't you realize that demons might heal people (or even use the amazing power of the mind that is behind many healings) to get people to focus more on supernatural experiences than on the real, lasting power of gospel discipleship?</p><p>Why couldn't you just pray for the sick, encourage them to pray themselves, make sure they know that God does not promise to heal every sickness at all times, and teach them how to trust and thank God even if he does not take away their suffering (like Jesus did in the Garden, etc.)? Why couldn't you take that clearly biblical approach rather than using questionable terminology like "I healed them" or "everyone I touched" or "the gift of healing" etc. That terminology had a specific purpose and application for special people like Christ and the apostles in validating their credentials to deliver God's written revelation, which is contained and completed in the New Testament (Heb. 1:1-2, 2:3-4, Jude 3, etc.). Do you think your prayers will have less real power if you simply ask for healing and then trust God to do what is best for the spiritual health of people (which is sometimes allowing sickness to continue)?</p><p><b>Don't say "I am Jesus." </b>I understand our union with Christ and that we are his "hands and feet" in the world, and I even agree with you (as I explained above) that, in a sense, we are doing works like he did on his behalf and in his place in the world today. But though the Bible says (over and over again) that we are "in Christ" and other similar phrases, it never says we <i>are </i>Christ. That very important distinction must be upheld in our terminology, to maintain both the ontological uniqueness of Christ and also the historical uniqueness of his life and ministry. The fact that you would use those words makes me wonder again if you are being negatively influenced by false teaching, since it echoes the way some heretical Word/Faith teachers talk. </p><p>I hope you believe that I'm only writing this out of love and concern for a brother who has been used greatly of God (much more than I have). I am not a "company man" and have also progressed beyond the teaching of our seminary background in various ways. But I don't want to see someone with so much past fruit and future opportunity deviate from what the <i>Scripture</i> <i>itself </i>teaches (2 John 8-11).</p><p>In Christ,</p><p>Dave</p>Dave Swavelyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10903342933814792279noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6480260783011142201.post-17257494385899870712020-10-23T09:51:00.001-07:002020-10-23T09:53:43.503-07:00Favorite Songs - How Great You Are, by me and others<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/lLFUtkgLM6E" width="320" youtube-src-id="lLFUtkgLM6E"></iframe></div><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">(Are there some songs that never get old for you? You can listen to them over and over again, even after you've just listened to them, and you still enjoy them? When they also make you think about interesting and important stuff, you get the kinds of songs I'm talking about in this series of blog posts.)</span></span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">I've had the privilege over the years of improving some contemporary worship songs by modifying their lyrics--one example is that I've added the rest of the Psalm into some songs that use only a small part of it, so we could sing the whole song that God inspired. In the case of this one ("How Great You Are"), the lyrics were very sparse but I loved the tune and thought it deserved some more extensive words from Scripture to describe how truly great our God is. So about 20 years ago Bob Tevlin and I came up with this hymn/praise song hybrid that still moves me today. If you can put up with the amateur vocals, I hope it will be a blessing to you too. </span></span></p><p></p><div style="margin-right: 0.3in; text-align: center;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></b></div><div style="margin-right: 0.3in; text-align: center;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">How Great You Are<br /></span></b><o:p><span style="font-family: inherit;"> <br /></span></o:p><span style="font-family: inherit;">You are so faithful, Lord You are
glorious<br /></span><span style="font-family: inherit;">Holy and righteous, Your sovereign
choices are just<br /></span><span style="font-family: inherit;">For Your love endures forever; Your
mercy never ends<br /></span><span style="font-family: inherit;">Majestic Lord yet still my precious
Friend<br /></span><o:p><span style="font-family: inherit;"> <br /></span></o:p><span style="font-family: inherit;">How great You are, how great You are<br /></span><span style="font-family: inherit;">You are the Mighty King,<br /> </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">Who has come to reign in me<br /></span><span style="font-family: inherit;">How great You are, how great You are<br /></span><span style="font-family: inherit;">I give You all the praises of my heart<br /></span><o:p><span style="font-family: inherit;"> <br /></span></o:p><span style="font-family: inherit;">You are deserving of all the praises
Lord<br /></span><span style="font-family: inherit;">For You have raised me, to a new life
I'm born once more<br /></span><span style="font-family: inherit;">For You walked the road to Calv'ry<br /></span><span style="font-family: inherit;">there You bore my sin and shame<br /></span><span style="font-family: inherit;">You nailed it to the cross and took my
blame<br /> </span><o:p><span style="font-family: inherit;"> <br /></span></o:p><span style="font-family: inherit;">How great You are, how great You are<br /></span><span style="font-family: inherit;">You are the Holy Lamb,<br /> </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">Who has come to rescue man<br /></span><span style="font-family: inherit;">How great You are, how great You are<br /></span><span style="font-family: inherit;">I give You all the praises of my heart<br /></span><o:p><span style="font-family: inherit;"> <br /></span></o:p><span style="font-family: inherit;">You have been given a seat in the
highest place<br /></span><span style="font-family: inherit;">Your lovingkindness has left me with
no debt to pay<br /></span><span style="font-family: inherit;">For Your life became a ransom, now my
life has been redeemed<br /></span><span style="font-family: inherit;">You intercede for me eternally!<br /></span><o:p><span style="font-family: inherit;"> <br /></span></o:p><span style="font-family: inherit;">How great You are, how great You are<br /></span><span style="font-family: inherit;">You are the Gracious Lord,<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> <br /> </span></span><span style="font-family: inherit;">And I am Yours forevermore<br /></span><span style="font-family: inherit;">How great You are, how great You are<br /></span><span style="font-family: inherit;">I give you all the praises of my heart</span></div>
<p align="center" class="BodyText21" style="margin-right: 0in; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Lucida Grande"; font-size: 9pt;">©
1993 Maranatha Praise, Inc.\Christ For The Nations Music (Admin. by The
Copyright Company)\(Maranatha! Music [Admin. by The Copyright Company]) Shannon
Wexelberg. Additional verses by Robert
Tevlin and Dave Swavely. </span></p>
<p align="center" class="BodyText21" style="margin-right: 0in; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Lucida Grande"; font-size: 9pt;"> All rights Reserved. CCLI #2799265<b><o:p></o:p></b></span></p><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 16px;"></span><p></p>Dave Swavelyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10903342933814792279noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6480260783011142201.post-30702972256864379682020-10-06T07:19:00.000-07:002020-10-06T07:19:26.405-07:00Red, Orange, and Yellow (for Jill on our 30th anniversary)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjv0Gmcz6Kbx0L0aiWs1aAUDRMDzVvTMKs2I1U5AnfKE6ppZZRBMdsGXMzfnlIhTIeEm7U4MAeoNV7TfhdFagfM4KPDIvv1-X0bVnciU2JQrvFAIzZ7HO4FrYfMzLOlx2_dwjopwe89rp_M/s2048/Fall+in+Chester+County.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1152" data-original-width="2048" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjv0Gmcz6Kbx0L0aiWs1aAUDRMDzVvTMKs2I1U5AnfKE6ppZZRBMdsGXMzfnlIhTIeEm7U4MAeoNV7TfhdFagfM4KPDIvv1-X0bVnciU2JQrvFAIzZ7HO4FrYfMzLOlx2_dwjopwe89rp_M/s320/Fall+in+Chester+County.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><p><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; text-align: justify;">May
these colors remind you of the Fall</span></p><p>
</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif;">My
favorite season, above them all<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif;">And
remember, as you always tell me—<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif;">It’s
death that makes the greatest beauty<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif;">Think
of me and my love for you<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif;">And
how God can make all things new<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif;">Think
of what the colorful cycle of life from death tells—<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif;">I
wouldn’t want to go through a F/fall with anyone else!<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif;">Our
anniversary always falls in the Fall<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif;">30
times now through hard falls and all<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif;">We’ve
celebrated the union that God put together<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif;">And
a friendship that (without the falls) will go on forever!<o:p></o:p></span></p><br /><p></p>Dave Swavelyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10903342933814792279noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6480260783011142201.post-25328019357998387482020-09-21T08:08:00.002-07:002020-09-21T08:10:09.432-07:00You should try this! (it will be good for you spiritually)<p>[This post is an unabashed advertisement, but it's purpose is not to benefit me--it's purely for your benefit. For the first time in a while I opened a wonderful book I have on my Kindle this morning for my prayer time--I have often turned to it over the years when I wanted to "spice up" my prayers or when I'm not sure what to say myself and want to pray along with the words of another. This prayer--reproduced in its entirety here, with headings added--is one of a collection of profound entries found in <i>C. H. Spurgeon's Prayers. </i>You can get inexpensive copies <b><a href="https://www.amazon.com/C-H-Spurgeons-Prayers-Illustrated-ebook/dp/B008LDZ7NS/ref=sr_1_2?dchild=1&keywords=c.+h.+spurgeon%27s+prayers&qid=1600699841&s=books&sr=1-2">here</a></b> in various formats, and I strongly encourage you to do just that. Learn from a master and let his words guide you in your own prayers...I guarantee you will be blessed!] </p><p>O LORD God! the Fountain of all Fullness, we, who are nothing but emptiness, come unto Thee for all supplies, nor shall we come in vain, since we bear with us a plea which is all prevalent. Since we come commanded by Thy Word, encouraged by Thy promise, and preceded by Christ Jesus, our great High Priest, we know that whatsoever we shall ask in prayer, believing, we shall receive. Only do Thou help us now to ask right things, and may the utterances of our mouth be acceptable in Thy sight, O God our Strength and our Redeemer. </p><p><b>Trinitarian Praise</b></p><p>We would first adore Thy blessed and ever-to-be-beloved Name. “ All the earth doth worship Thee, the Father everlasting.” Heaven is full of Thy glory. Oh! that men's hearts were filled therewith, that the noblest creatures Thou hast made, whom Thou didst set in the Paradise of God, for whom the Saviour shed His blood, loved Thee with all their hearts. </p><p>The faithful, chosen, called, and separated, join in the everlasting song. All Thy redeemed praise Thee, O God! As the God of our election we extol Thee for Thine everlasting and immutable love. As the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, we bless Thee for that unspeakable gift, the offering of Thine Only-begotten. Words are but air, and tongues but clay, and Thy compassion is divine, therefore it is not possible that any words of ours should “ reach the height of this great argument,” or sound forth Thy worthy praise for this superlative deed of grace. </p><p>We bless Thee, also. Divine Son of God, co-equal and co-eternal with the Father, that Thou didst not disdain to be born of the Virgin, and that, being found in fashion like a man thou didst not refuse to be obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. Let Thy brows be girt with something better than thorns; let the eternal diadem for ever glitter there. Thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by Thy blood; unto Thee be glory, and honour, and power, and majesty, and dominion, and might, for ever and ever! </p><p>And equally, most blessed Spirit, Thou who didst brood over chaos and bring it into order, Thou who didst beget the Son of God's body of flesh; Thou who didst quicken us to spiritual life, by whose divine energy we are sanctified, and hope to be made meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light, unto Thee, also, be hallelujahs, world without end! </p><p>O Lord! our soul longeth for words of fire, but we cannot reach them! Oh! when shall we drop this clay which now is so uncongenial to our song? When shall we be able with wings to mount upward to Thy throne, and having learned some flaming sonnets that have once been sung by cherubim above, we shall praise Thee for ever? </p><p>Yet even these are not rich enough for Thy glory. We would sing unto Thee a new song. We will, when we reach the heavenly shore, become leaders of the eternal music. “Day without night“ will we “circle God's throne rejoicing,” and count it the fullness of our glory, our bliss, our heaven, to wave the palm and cast our crowns with our songs at Thy feet for ever and ever! </p><p><b>Intercession for the Lost</b></p><p>Our Father, which art in heaven; next to this we would offer prayer for those who never think of Thee; who, though created by Thee, are strangers to Thee; who are fed by Thy bounty, and yet never lift their voices to Thee, but live for self, for the world, for Satan, for sin. Father, these cannot pray for themselves for they are dead; Thy quickened children pray for them. These will not come to Thee, for, like sheep, they are lost; but do Thou seek them, Father, and bring them back. </p><p>Oh! our glorious Lord, Thou hast taught us to pray for others, for the grace which could have met with such undeserving sinners as we are must be able to meet with the vilest of the vile. Oh! we cannot boast of what we are; we cannot boast of what we have been by nature. Had we our doom we had now been in hell. Had we this day our proper, natural, and deserved position, we should still have been in the gall of bitterness and in the bond of iniquity. 'Tis Thy rich, free, sovereign, distinguishing grace which has brought us up out of the miry clay, and set our feet upon a rock. And shall we even refuse to pray for others? Shall we leave a stone unturned for their conversion? Shall we not weep for those who have no tears and cry for those who have no prayers? Father, we must and we will. </p><p>“Fain our pity would reclaim and snatch the fire-brands from the flame.” </p><p>There are those who are utterly careless about Divine Things. Wilt Thou impress them! May some stray shot reach their conscience! Oh! that they may be led solemnly to consider their position and their latter end! May thoughts of death and of eternity dash like some mighty waves, irresistibly against their souls! Oh! may heaven's light shine into their conscience! May they begin to ask themselves where they are, and what they are, and may they be turned unto the Lord with full purpose of heart. </p><p>There are others who are concerned, but they are halting between two opinions. There are some that we love in the flesh who have not yet decided for God. Behold it trembles in the balance! Cast in Thy cross, O Jesus, and turn the scale! Oh! Love irresistible, come forth, and carry by blessed storm the hearts which have not yet yielded to all the attacks of the law! Oh! that some who never could be melted, even by the furnace of Sinai, may be dissolved by the beams of love from the tearful eyes of Jesus! </p><p>Lord, Lord, if there be a heart that is saying, “Now, behold I yield; lo! at Thy feet rebellion's weapons I lay down, and cease to be Thy foe, Thou King of kings“ — if there be one who is saying, “I am willing to be espoused unto Christ, to be washed in His blood, to be called in His righteousness“ — bring that willing sinner in now! </p><p>May there be no longer delay, but may this be the time when, once for all, the great transaction shall be done, and they shall be their Lord's, and He shall be theirs. </p><p>Oh! that we could pour out our soul in prayer for the unconverted! Thou knowest where they will all be in a few years! Oh! by Thy wrath, we pray Thee, let them not endure it! By the flames of hell be pleased to ransom them from going down into the pit! By everything that is dreadful in the wrath to come we do argue with Thee to have mercy upon these sons of men, even upon those who have no mercy upon themselves. Father, hast Thou not promised Thy Son to see of His soul's travail? We point Thee to the ransom paid; we point Thee once again to the groans of Thy Son, to His agony, and bloody sweat! Turn, turn Thy glorious eyes thither, and then look on sinners, and speak the word, and bid them live. </p><p><b>Prayers for the Church and the Country</b></p><p>Righteous Father, refresh every corner of the vineyard, and on every branch of the vine let the dew of heaven rest. Oh! that Thou wouldest bless Thy church throughout the world! Let visible union be established, or if not that, yet let the invisible union which has always existed be better recognised by believers. Wilt Thou repair our schisms; wilt Thou repair the breaches which have been made in the walls of Zion? Oh! that Thou wouldest purge us of everything unscriptural, till all Christians shall come to the law and to the testimony, and still keep the ordinances and the doctrines as they were committed to the apostles by Christ! </p><p>Remember our land in this time of need. Do Thou be pleased by some means to relieve the distress prevalent. Quicken the wheels of commerce that the many who are out of employment in this city may no longer be crying for work and bread. Oh! that Thou wouldest make wars to cease, to the ends of the earth, or, when they break out break Thou the slave's fetters thereby, and though desperate be the evil, yet grant that Satan may cast out Satan, and may his kingdom be divided, and so fall. </p><p><b>Plea for Christ's Return</b></p><p>Above all. Thou long-expected Messiah, do Thou come! Thine ancient people who despised Thee once are waiting for Thee in Thy second coming, and we, the Gentiles, who knew Thee not, neither regarded Thee, we, too, are watching for Thine advent. Make no tarrying, O Jesus! May Thy feet soon stand again on Olivet! Thou shalt not have this time there to sweat great drops of blood, but Thou shalt come to proclaim the year of vengeance for Thy foes, and the year of acceptance for Thy people. </p><p>“When wilt thou the heavens rend, In majesty come down?” </p><p>Earth travails for Thy coming. The whole creation groaneth in pain together until now. Thine own expect Thee; we are longing till we are weary for Thy coming. Come quickly. Lord Jesus, come quickly. Amen and Amen.</p><p> </p>Dave Swavelyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10903342933814792279noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6480260783011142201.post-20534718677754993552020-08-22T13:37:00.002-07:002020-08-22T14:00:45.837-07:00Favorite Songs - At Your Mercy, by a sinner who needs it every day<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dz2HxIOYW0qVp5By2t8l4f_xURSdTiEsQK1JpUaj0-XLmWaSrpttdlvaUbVTFaaB_CW7oF0rK0dWJYd40Zq5w' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div><p></p><p>(Are there some songs that never get old for you? You can listen to them over and over again, even after you've just listened to them, and you still enjoy them? When they also make you think about interesting and important stuff, you get the kinds of songs I'm talking about in this series of blog posts.)</p><p>I had a dream last night that I was driving a huge double-trailer truck through the countryside somewhere in Africa (probably Uganda because that's where I've visited and where my missionary friend Ryan Vance lives). I took my eyes off the road for a moment for no good reason, lost control of the truck, and watched helplessly in horror as the truck careened through a village and struck numerous people, including children. When it finally came to rest, I could hear the wails of pain and grief from behind me and then could see an angry mob of men approaching through my mirror, presumably to inflict the kind of tribal justice that I've heard about from my missionary friend. Then I woke up.</p><p>It occurred to me in the aftermath that when we drive any vehicle we are all just a moment away from hurting or killing someone through our own negligence, and I thought about how thankful I should be that such a thing has not happened to me in reality. It's certainly not because I never take my eyes off the road to fiddle with my phone or stereo or whatever, so I definitely don't deserve to be spared from such a fate. In other words, it reminded me that only God's mercy has prevented me from so many consequences I could have suffered, and God's mercy is my only hope for the future. </p><p>It made me think of one of the songs I often sing to God during my prayer time (usually early in the "rotation"). It's called "At Your Mercy" and it's not a favorite because of the quality of the song (the vocals are certainly nothing to write home about:), but because it means so much to me after singing it to God thousands of times over the years. If you listen to it and can put up with the sparse instruments and amateur singing, maybe it will be a blessing to you. But even if not, the lyrics below should be, because they are all from Scripture and especially echo the famous phrase in Lamentations 3:23 that God's mercies are "new every morning." I usually think of that verse in positive terms as a promise that God will provide for us all we need every day even though we don't deserve it, but my dream made me think about it in a different way: Every day we should be grateful that we have not received the judgment and punishment we deserve for our sins.</p><div><b>At Your Mercy<br /></b><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit;">At Your mercy, oh Lord<br /></span><span style="font-family: inherit;">I’m at Your mercy, oh Lord<br /></span><span style="font-family: inherit;">Nothing in my hands I bring<br /></span><span style="font-family: inherit;">Only to the cross I cling</span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit;">At Your mercy, oh Lord<br /></span><span style="font-family: inherit;">I’m at Your mercy, oh Lord<br /></span><span style="font-family: inherit;">Amazing grace—how can it be?<br /></span><span style="font-family: inherit;">To save a wretch like me</span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit;">I was lost, but I was found<br /></span><span style="font-family: inherit;">Lord, You turned my world around and upside down<br /></span><span style="font-family: inherit;">I was blind, but now I see<br /></span><span style="font-family: inherit;">And I’m dependent on the life you make in me</span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit;">At Your mercy, oh Lord…</span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit;">I was down, and I was out<br /></span><span style="font-family: inherit;">Lord, You lifted me from the valley to the mount<br /></span><span style="font-family: inherit;">I was going, Lord, I was gone<br /></span><span style="font-family: inherit;">And now I need Your strength to carry on</span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit;">At Your mercy, oh Lord…</span></div><p>If you could stand some more minimilistic (but meaningful) amateurism, here is another short song I sing to the Lord in my prayer times...</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dzVSjntiR74SX_OuO-ofcFPfh3JJSUeSJj8GdxXj9Octx0I_GBgqTs2hSIMZJPLhSkhR81sthd4XQpfr6naJw' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><p><br /></p>Dave Swavelyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10903342933814792279noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6480260783011142201.post-31320597922716321252020-07-21T09:07:00.001-07:002020-07-23T12:33:22.385-07:00Favorite Songs - Holding Back the Storm, by Paul Rodgers<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 16px;">(Are there some songs that never get old for you? You can listen to them over and over again, even after you've just listened to them, and you still enjoy them? When they also make you think about interesting and important stuff, you get the kinds of songs I'm talking about in this series of blog posts.)</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 16px;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 16px;">While my wife Jill was away for a couple days helping a family in need, this song came on in my rotation and was already on my list to do a blog entry on it, so since I was missing Jill and thinking about her, I figured this was the time to do it.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 16px;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 16px;">This is my favorite of a number of songs on <b><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Paul-Rodgers/dp/B000QZVS0A/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=paul+rodgers+now&qid=1595345310&s=dmusic&sr=1-1" target="_blank">this album</a></b> by Paul Rodgers that I love, because I think he has one of the best voices ever and on this more mature solo album (compared to his Free and Bad Company days), he actually uses it to sing about some important and meaningful issues (rather than "All Right Now," "Feel Like Making Love," "Ready for Love," and their ilk, which are great vocal performances but not very meaningful:). </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 16px;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 16px;">"Holding Back the Storm" is actually an ode to a godly woman, a Proverbs 31 woman even, which of course is what my wife is. The song says she flies "on the wings of a white dove," which can only be a reference to the Holy Spirit, and other lyrics in it echo these verses from Proverbs 31:</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 16px;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Who can find a virtuous wife?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">For her worth is far above rubies.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">The heart of her husband safely trusts her;</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">So he will have no lack of gain.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">She does him good and not evil</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white;"></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">All the days of her life....</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">She girds herself with strength,</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">And strengthens her arms....</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">She extends her hand to the poor,</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Yes, she reaches out her hands to the needy....</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Strength and honor are her clothing;</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">She shall rejoice in time to come.... [The song says "Fly on the wings of tomorrow"]</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">She opens her mouth with wisdom,</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">And on her tongue is the law of kindness.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">She watches over the ways of her household....</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Her children rise up and call her blessed;</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Her husband also, and he praises her:</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">“Many daughters have done well,</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">But you excel them all.”</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Charm is deceitful and beauty is passing,</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">But a woman who fears the Lord, she shall be praised.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Give her of the fruit of her hands,</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">And let her own works praise her in the gates.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 16px;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 16px;">About the music in the song... As I've said before, powerful rock music can be very appropriate for various emotions that God wants us to feel, such as anger against injustice and other consequences of sin. In the case of this song, I find it very fitting for the celebration of one of God's greatest gifts to the world--a godly woman whose "worth is far above rubies." </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 16px;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 16px;">I posted my own song and video tribute to my wife Jill (and "the fruit of her hands") <b><a href="http://www.thewaywithwords.net/2019/10/favorite-songs-shining-eyes-song-for.html" target="_blank">elsewhere on this blog</a></b>, but here are the lyrics that are sung by a much, much better voice than mine:</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 16px;"><br /></span>
<b><span style="font-family: inherit;">Holding Back the Storm</span></b><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">She has the heart of a lion</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">The soul of a mountain stream</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">That flows through the heart of the valley of love</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Pure as an baby's dream</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">She has the eyes of a tiger </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Watching her children grow</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">The power and grace of the love on her face</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Sharing the secret she knows </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Hold back the storm</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">With a love so warm</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Holding back the storm</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">With a love so strong</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Holding back the storm</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Fly, with the power of love</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Fly, on the wings of a white dove </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Fly, away with my sorrow</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Fly on the wings of, the wings of tomorrow</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Holding back the storm</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times new roman";"><br /></span>
She has a way of believing<br />
When nobody else gives a damn<br />
She has a way of seeing the truth<br />
Touching the soul of a man<br />
<br />
Hold back the storm<br />
With a love so warm<br />
Holding back the storm<br />
With a love so strong<br />
Hold back the storm<br />
<br />
My message to you baby, is that I love you, and you hold back the storm...<br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 16px;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 16px;"><br /></span>
Dave Swavelyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10903342933814792279noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6480260783011142201.post-36380301281936596592020-07-18T16:06:00.000-07:002020-07-18T16:06:28.916-07:00A Discernment Exercise re: Progressive ChristianityIn the course of my writing work I happened upon this statement of faith (of sorts) on the website of Church of the Redeemer in Bryn Mawr, PA, and I thought it would serve as a good exercise in discernment to compare what the statement says with some related passages from the Bible. Ask yourself if these church leaders are teaching the traditional faith of Christians throughout the centuries based on the Scriptures, or if they are creating their own "updated" version of religion in an attempt to improve on both.<br />
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The quotes from the church's statement are in bold and the Scriptures I'm adding are in plain print. (I didn't spend much time on this, by the way, but just put in some passages off the top of my head to help you compare the two.)<br />
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<b>What We Believe</b><br />
<b><br /></b>
<b>The mystery of the Christian liturgy well celebrated remains: God is faithful and waits.</b><br />
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<b>So the liturgy in its whole range—from daily prayer, to initiation rites, to Eucharist, to burying the dead—waits patiently for our humanity to be opened to it. The liturgy waits patiently, like the Scriptures, like Jesus, like the whole life of God who, as Tolstoy once observed, “Sees the truth but waits.” (1)</b><br />
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"The hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him. God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.” (John 4:23-24)<br />
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"And I, brethren, when I came to you, did not come with excellence of speech or of wisdom declaring to you the testimony of God. For I determined not to know anything among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified. I was with you in weakness, in fear, and in much trembling. And my speech and my preaching were not with persuasive words of human wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, that your faith should not be in the wisdom of men but in the power of God." (1 Cor. 2:1-5)<br />
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<b>Heaven is revealed upon the earth both in the cup of cold water which is given to the poor... and in Michelangelo’s David: in both the dance of a child and the melody of Mozart. (2)</b><br />
<b><br /></b>
<b>Alertness is all. (3)</b><br />
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"But we are all like an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are like filthy rags; we all fade as a leaf, and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away." (Isa. 64:6)<br />
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"Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I have become sounding brass or a clanging cymbal. And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, but have not love, it profits me nothing." (1 Cor. 13:1-3)<br />
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"Test all things; hold fast what is good. Abstain from every form of evil." (1 Thess. 5:21-22)<br />
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<b>Belief is appropriately a moving target, which shifts and adjusts with time, circumstances, and the continuing new revelation of the Spirit of God. It’s also so varied and complex—even within a single parish—that any attempt at a summary would be immediately misleading. Belief isn’t a set of ideas or propositions. It’s rather an approach to life and a dynamic engagement with the mystery of God.</b><br />
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"Without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him." (Heb. 11:6)<br />
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"Beloved, while I was very diligent to write to you concerning our common salvation, I found it necessary to write to you exhorting you to contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all delivered to the saints. For certain men have crept in unnoticed, who long ago were marked out for this condemnation, ungodly men, who turn the grace of our God into lewdness and deny the only Lord God and our Lord Jesus Christ." (Jude 3-4)<br />
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"For I delivered to you first of all that which I also received: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures." (1 Cor. 15:3-4).<br />
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"And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness:<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
God was manifested in the flesh,</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Justified in the Spirit,</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Seen by angels,</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Preached among the Gentiles,</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Believed on in the world,</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Received up in glory."</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
(1 Tim. 3:16)</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<b>The Episcopal Church is not principally identified by its adoption of a creed or an approved statement of doctrine; we are primarily a community formed by the practice of worship. Praying shapes our believing, and, thus, there are no insiders and outsiders but, instead, we are people who gather prayerfully to seek, across all divisions, peace and unity with God and one another and the joy that comes from sharing love directly and personally. Our churchyard, our church building, our facilities, our programs, our ministries, and our worship are open to all, because openness without limitation is the keenest form of spiritual alertness.</b><br />
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“'Most assuredly, I say to you, he who does not enter the sheepfold by the door, but climbs up some other way, the same is a thief and a robber'... Then Jesus said to them again, 'Most assuredly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep. All who ever came before Me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not hear them. I am the door. If anyone enters by Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture.... I told you, and you do not believe. The works that I do in My Father’s name, they bear witness of Me. But you do not believe, because you are not of My sheep, as I said to you. My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me." (John 10:1-2, 7-9, 25-27)<br />
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"If your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault between you and him alone. If he hears you, you have gained your brother. But if he will not hear, take with you one or two more, that ‘by the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established.’ And if he refuses to hear them, tell it to the church. But if he refuses even to hear the church, let him be to you like a heathen and a tax collector." (Matt. 18:15-17)<br />
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"I wrote to you in my epistle not to keep company with sexually immoral people. Yet I certainly did not mean with the sexually immoral people of this world, or with the covetous, or extortioners, or idolaters, since then you would need to go out of the world. But now I have written to you not to keep company with anyone named a brother, who is sexually immoral, or covetous, or an idolater, or a reviler, or a drunkard, or an extortioner—not even to eat with such a person. For what have I to do with judging those also who are outside? Do you not judge those who are inside? But those who are outside God judges. Therefore 'put away from yourselves the evil person.'” (1 Cor. 5:9-13)<br />
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<b>Being alert in this way opens to us the reality of God’s heaven in our midst and in our world. Heaven is not merely a distant reward. This is a terrible caricature. Glimpses of heaven are, rather, present to us in the beauty of creation and in our sharing the image of God in our own creativity. They’re also made manifest in many acts of redemption: by our reaching out in care, by our offering forgiveness and reconciliation, and by our making our first delight service to others.</b><br />
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"Therefore we make it our aim, whether present or absent, to be well pleasing to Him. For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive the things done in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad. Knowing, therefore, the terror of the Lord, we persuade men." (2 Cor. 5:9-10)<br />
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"Therefore, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God." (1 Cor. 10:31)<br />
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"Then one of them, a lawyer, asked Him a question, testing Him, and saying, 'Teacher, which is the great commandment in the law?' Jesus said to him, ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’" (Matt. 22:35-38)<br />
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<b>True belief unfolds slowly, across the spans of lifetimes....</b><br />
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"Therefore I said to you that you will die in your sins; for if you do not believe that I am He, you will die in your sins.” (John 8:24)<br />
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"By faith Noah, being divinely warned of things not yet seen, moved with godly fear, prepared an ark for the saving of his household, by which he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness which is according to faith." (Heb. 11:7)<br />
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"For what does the Scripture say? 'Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness.'” (Rom. 4:3).<br />
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"Once at the end of the ages, He has appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself. And as it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment, so Christ was offered once to bear the sins of many. To those who eagerly wait for Him He will appear a second time, apart from sin, for salvation." (Heb. 9:26-28)<br />
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Those last verses highlight what is <i>missing</i> from that church's "statement of faith"--the gospel (1 Cor. 15:3-4)! What Christ has done for us on the cross, the most important truth for us to believe, is not explained in it. Of course, the leaders of that church may not even believe in the penal substitutionary sacrifice of Christ, because denying that doctrine is common in "progressive" or "liberal" circles. It's not my purpose here to defend it or to explain the nuances of the passages I listed above--I just wanted you to see and think about the disparity between the way many people talk about the Christian faith and what is actually contained in the Word that He gave us as a basis for it. But if you'd like to discuss any of this further, I'd be glad to.<br />
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<br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;">Footnotes from "What We Believe":</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;">1) Donald Saliers: Worship as Theology</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;">2) Gerardus van der Leeuw: Sacred and Profane Beauty</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;">3) Michael Fishbane: Spiritual Attunement</span><br />
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<br />Dave Swavelyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10903342933814792279noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6480260783011142201.post-37597747282979514632020-06-22T09:04:00.000-07:002020-06-22T09:04:31.904-07:00An All-Star Team-Up vs. DepressionI wanted to share with you, in its entirety, what I read for my time with the Lord this morning. First because it features three of the most profound and powerful wordsmiths in history--the prophet Isaiah, Charles Spurgeon, and Martin Luther (with God behind it all, of course). Secondly because it cut me to the core after a Father's Day when I struggled deeply with thoughts and feelings of depression when I should have been trusting and praising God, like these literary giants reminded me.<br />
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I also wanted to share it because I know I'm not the only one who struggles in that way. "Most men lead lives of quiet desperation," as Thoreau famously said, and though he was using "men" in a general sense, middle-aged males and fathers in particular may be some of the most susceptible targets for depression (especially the "quiet" kind). But, of course, what is said in this excerpt from Spurgeon's comments on Isaiah 41 applies to everyone, regardless of gender or age. The Scripture verses are in bold and Spurgeon's comments (including a great story about Martin Luther and his wife) are in italics...<br />
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<b>17, 18. When the poor and needy seek water, and there is none, and their tongue faileth for thirst, I the Lord will hear them, I the God of Israel will not forsake them. I will open rivers in high places, and fountains in the midst of the valleys: I will make the wilderness a pool of water, and the dry land springs of water.</b><br />
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<i>See what God can do. Men are thirsty, they have no water; and lo! on a sudden, behold rivers, fountains, springs, pools, floods; for God does nothing in halves. He is an all-sufficient, overflowing God. When he gives, he gives like a king. He does not measure his gifts of water by the pint and by the gallon; but here you have pools, and springs, and rivers. When he has given waters, he will give trees to grow by the waters. When God gives blessing, he makes other blessings to spring out of it.</i><br />
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<b>19. I will plant in the wilderness the cedar, the shittah tree, and the myrtle, and the oil tree; I will set in the desert the fir tree, and the pine, and the box tree together. Making a paradise of streams of water and lovely trees, evergreen trees of the most comely aspect, and of great variety.</b><br />
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<i>See what God can do. Where there is a wilderness, where there were hills and valleys, and all was dry and parched, he makes woods and forests, rivers and fountains. He can do all things. Oh, that we had faith in him! But we forget him: we turn not to him; we look everywhere but to God; we try every method except that of trusting in the living God. Have we a God? If so, why do we act as we sometimes do? </i><br />
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<i>Martin Luther was a very cheerful man, as a rule; but he had terrible fits of depression. He was at one time so depressed that his friends recommended him to go away for a change of air, to see if he could get relief. He went away; but he came home as miserable as ever; and when he went into the sitting-room, his wise wife Kate, Catherine von Bora, was sitting there, dressed in black, and her children round about her, all in black. “Oh, oh!” said Luther, “who is dead?” “Why,” said she, “doctor, have not you heard that God is dead? My husband, Martin Luther, would never be in such a state of mind if he had a living God to trust to.” Then he burst into a hearty laugh, and said, “Kate, thou art a wise woman. I have been acting as if God were dead, and I will do so no more. Go and take off thy black.” </i><br />
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<i>If God be alive, why are we discouraged? If we have a God to look to, why are we cast down? Let us rejoice and be glad together; for God will do all that he has promised, for this reason:? </i><br />
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<b>20. That they may see, and know, and consider, and understand together, that the hand of the LORD hath done this, and the Holy One of Israel hath created it.</b><br />
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<i>God wants you to know that he is at work on your behalf. He wants you so to trust him as to see how his promises can be applied to your case, and what his right hand can accomplish even for you. Let us trust him with all our hearts.</i><br />
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<br />Dave Swavelyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10903342933814792279noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6480260783011142201.post-10496265883432573032020-06-20T03:29:00.002-07:002020-06-20T04:37:28.959-07:00Favorite Songs - Always, by Owl City<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 16px;">(Are there some songs that never get old for you? You can listen to them over and over again, even after you've just listened to them, and you still enjoy them? When they also make you think about interesting and important stuff, you get the kinds of songs I'm talking about in this series of blog posts.)</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">I'm not a fan of pop music in general, and someone might think that Owl City is the epitome of pop music. But not really, for several reasons. Adam Young's music is just quirky and unique enough to set it apart from typical pop fare--maybe there's something like it out there, but I haven't heard it personally. Admittedly, I'm not heavily versant in pop music, but for me Owl City is unlike anything I else I've listened to. And then there's the fact that Adam is a committed Christian who is not afraid to say that publicly (see <b><a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/B-41xt6hADJ/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link" target="_blank">this recent Instagram post</a></b>, for example). That alone takes him out of the category of typical pop star.</span></span><br />
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Adam might also be criticized for being a sentimentalist, but that doesn't stop me from loving many of his songs. I am, after all, a big Charles Dickens fan, and like Dickens, Adam manages to pull off his sentimentalism in an effective and (again) unique way. No artist I know communicates an innocent sense of wonder and optimism better than he does. And when Adam's sentimentalism is being expressed in lyrics that are truly encouraging spiritually, because they come from God's Word, those songs really hit the sweet spot for me in a big way.<br />
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Even though "Always" is tied for my favorite with another song I'll mention below, I've chosen it for this blog entry because it mentions a verse I've studied recently--Isaiah 40:31. It says, "They who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint." A rare thing happened when I read Charles Spurgeon's comments on that famous verse recently in my time with the Lord: I actually disagreed with Spurgeon! He said that the "running" we do is unfortunate and the "walking" is better, but after looking at the passage further and reading Edward J. Young's commentary on it, I think Isaiah is saying that we will be given grace both to "run" in crisis situations when we're weary and also to "walk" during the normal course of life. In other words, the strength God gives us will not only be a temporary one in a time of crisis, but will continue throughout our "walk of life."<br />
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Another great insight I discovered while studying that verse, by the way, is that the Hebrew text uses terminology indicating that God <i>exchanges </i>our weakness for His strength, echoing and presaging the "Great Exchange" of the gospel (see 2 Cor. 5:21). He freely gives us something we didn't have before, something that was completely foreign to our nature--namely, wings in Isaiah and righteousness in the gospel.<br />
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The other song that is tied with "Always" for my favorite Owl City song is the short but oh so sweet "Meteor Shower." Even after hundreds of times listening to the song, I still get goosebumps on my skin and in my soul every time I hear it...<br />
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Most of Adam Young's songs are not directly about God or spiritual issues, but many are also favorites of mine because of their quirkiness and uniqueness, and because they just make me feel good listening to them. If you could use some of those good feelings right now, check out <b><a href="https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLgV1oO3yYGp_l0_bVuUyhC_h5JYEPQI-y" target="_blank">this playlist of Owl City favorites</a> </b>I made on YouTube. I hope you enjoy them and will feel encouraged...as Adam's music says to us, "There's hope!"<br />
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<br />Dave Swavelyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10903342933814792279noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6480260783011142201.post-30108635410761289092020-06-08T07:58:00.000-07:002020-06-08T07:58:07.364-07:00Not Hidden to God – A Tribute to My Father-in-Law Jim Hallman (1938-2020)<br />
<i>“The growing good of the world is partly dependent on unhistoric acts; and that things are not so ill with you and me as they might have been, is half owing to the number who lived faithfully a hidden life, and rest in unvisited tombs.” </i><br />
<i><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>--George Eliot</i><br />
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First, I wanted to say that I’m so glad that I didn’t wait until after his death to say these things to and about Jim (don’t let that happen to you!). I often told him how loved, admired, and appreciated he was, and just as often he seemed somewhat embarrassed by it (but never as much as when I awkwardly hugged him). I even called him “Dad” since he’s been my only living father for the last 20 years.<br />
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On a long flight to Africa a few months ago I thought I was just killing time by watching the three-hour movie A Hidden Life, but I ended up being deeply moved by it (and also loved how almost every frame looks like a painting). It’s a true story about a conscientious objector in Austria during World War II who, as an “unsung hero,” embodied the quote from George Eliot above. After the movie was over and that quote graced the screen at the end, I thought of Jim Hallman.<br />
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More importantly, my father-in-law embodied this quote from Scripture: “Make it your ambition to lead a quiet life and attend to your own business and work with your hands” (1 Thessalonians 4:11).<br />
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Jim’s work ethic was legendary among those who knew him, all the way up until he could not physically work anymore. He was also known for his quiet demeanor, except when an opportunity arose to talk about his baseball career. But actually, though he would discuss sports to get a laugh or make conversation, you could tell that his favorite topic was Jesus and the Scriptures. He listened regularly to Bible teaching on the radio and loved to share about what he had heard.<br />
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I don’t want to make him out to be a saint (in the Catholic sense), as if he was perfect. I remember him crying with regret a number of times, several of which were because he was physically unable to take care of our property anymore (okay, he was a saint). But, seriously, I remember him crying one time after his health problems began, wondering if it was because of sins he had committed. No, he was human, which is important for us to know because many of the stories you’ll hear about him make him seem superhuman, and rightly so.<br />
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Walking almost five miles to work when there was too much snow to drive, writing a letter to Jill every single week for over ten years while we lived in California and he in Pennsylvania, doing all the landscape work on our big property and others well into his 70s, and of course all those legendary baseball stories. He also had an amazing trust in God and the gospel (the fears mentioned above were just an understandable speed bump on his spiritual journey). He faced death with faith and thankfulness, which he expressed over and over, and some of his last words were a prayer in which he mentioned every member of his family by name and begged God that we would all be true believers in Christ.<br />
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Though Jim was a superhero in those ways and many others, there weren’t many people who knew about it. His multiplied good deeds will not go down in the history books and there won’t be large crowds of people at his gravesite. But the depth and quality of his influence on those of us who knew him and the exponential effect it will have on countless others through us will be obvious in eternity, which started for Jim recently when he heard these words: “Well done, thou good and faithful servant: thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy Lord” (Matthew 25:31).<br />
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Dave Swavelyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10903342933814792279noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6480260783011142201.post-90069550116215343592020-05-26T05:04:00.000-07:002020-05-26T14:03:59.019-07:00Favorite Songs - My Eyes Are Dry, by Keith Green<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 16px;">(Are there some songs that never get old for you? You can listen to them over and over again, even after you've just listened to them, and you still enjoy them? When they also make you think about interesting and important stuff, you get the kinds of songs I'm talking about in this series of blog posts.)</span><br />
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Facebook is often referred to as Fakebook, and with good reason. Our posts are more about what we wish our life would look like than what it really looks like. Well, this post (which I will share on Facebook) will be a dose of reality.<br />
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I was recently reminded of the song "My Eyes Are Dry" by Keith Green when I did my Bible reading for the first time in a while (that's a big part of my problem, by the way). I read Isaiah 35 and then Charles Spurgeon's comments on it, and I realized that one section unfortunately described me.<br />
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Spurgeon was commenting on Isaiah 35:3, which says that God's people will "rejoice even with joy and singing... they shall see the glory of the LORD and the excellency of our God." He says:<br />
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</i> <i>A wonderful sight to see, for there is one of the most lovely sights in the world when the glory and excellency of God are to be seen in the works of his grace in his own people. It is such a sight that it makes men first rejoice in their hearts, and then rejoice with their tongues. They shall “rejoice with joy and singing,” which is the double rejoicing of the heart and of the lip. Well, these must be a favored people who, wherever they go, can make others glad after this fashion. Brethren, they must be full or they could not overflow! They must be themselves alive, or else they could not quicken the desert places. They must themselves be in flower, blooming like the rose, or they could not make the wilderness so full of verdure. The Lord grant that we may be in that state that we may be able to go into the wilderness. <b>There are some of God’s people that cannot trust themselves to go where they are wanted, because they have not grace enough. They are so weak that they are like the weak man standing on the river’s brink, who cannot leap in to pull out a drowning man for fear they should be pulled in themselves.</b> But, oh! they are blest indeed who dare go into wildernesses and into the solitary places, and carry the transforming benediction of heaven with them till the wilderness changes its dress, and the brown of the and sand gives place to the ruddiness of the rose, because God has come there with his people.</i><br />
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The part of that quote that describes me in recent days, I realized, is the negative part in the middle (in bold). I haven't been rejoicing in the Lord and receiving His grace as I should, so I haven't had much to give to others spiritually, and haven't even wanted to at many times. I realized that I was not at a good place and the song "My Eyes Are Dry" came to mind. So I started to sing and pray it to the Lord, as I have at many such times of spiritual dryness in my life. That's one of the reasons it makes my list of favorite songs, along with the fact that it has such a beautiful, haunting, moving, and memorable melody.<br />
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In addition to praying the words of that song, I went on YouTube and downloaded a couple dozen songs by Keith Green that used to be a regular part of my listening diet but I haven't heard for a long time. I'm adding them to my regular rotation, and I encourage you to rediscover his music or discover it for the first time, whichever may be the case. Here are some of my other favorites by Keith, all of which are especially helpful when our eyes are dry and our hearts are cold:<br />
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Create in Me A Clean Heart<br />
Dust to Dust<br />
I Don't Want to Fall Away from You<br />
Grace By Which I Stand<br />
Cut the Devil Down<br />
I Want to Be More Like Jesus<br />
Make My Life a Prayer to You<br />
Romans VII<br />
Rushing Wind<br />
When I Hear the Praises Start<br />
Oh Lord, You're Beautiful<br />
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(I made a <b><a href="https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLgV1oO3yYGp_YAfd8vCERNP78laAtedCN" target="_blank">playlist</a></b> of those songs on YouTube, for myself but also for you. Would you consider taking just about 30 minutes to listen and pray through them?)<br />
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The good news is that I feel revived after hearing those blessed songs and praying their words to the Lord, but the bad news is that if I don't keep filling my mind and heart with His Word and making use of the other <b><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cUehr7cxK80&feature=youtu.be" target="_blank">means of grace</a></b>, I will quickly slip back into spiritual coldness and deadness, like <b><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cW_3iADNMPc&list=PLgV1oO3yYGp9Aqdt1JOmFpRaT5jQPkh0U&index=14&t=52s" target="_blank">a branch cut off from its vine</a></b>.<br />
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However, if I do abide in Him, I will bear much fruit, as Jesus said, and the positive side of Isaiah 35 will be true of me. Here are verses 5-6 and Spurgeon's comment on them:<br />
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"Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped. Then shall the lame man leap as an hart, and the tongue of the dumb sing: for in the wilderness shall waters break out, and streams in the desert." <i>See what the presence of Christ does. See what the presence of Christ’s people will do when he comes in them and with them. They make the wilderness rejoice. But, besides that, the dwellers that are found in the wilderness—these lame and deaf people—get the blessing. Oh! may God make us to be a desert to others of this sort.</i><br />
<br />Dave Swavelyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10903342933814792279noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6480260783011142201.post-81040075260858828702020-05-21T16:45:00.000-07:002020-05-22T06:49:05.366-07:00What God has joined together... (A Biblical understanding of divorce and remarriage)In March of this year I had the gracious privilege of speaking to about 40 pastors and their wives at two conferences in Kampala, Uganda. During part of each conference, I presented what I believe is a biblical understanding of divorce and remarriage that takes into account all the relevant passages of Scripture and brings them together in a consistent system. As a summary and teaching tool, I used some carefully worded propositions with supporting references, which those Christian leaders (and others through the years) have found to be helpful.<br />
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I realized recently that the propositions weren't available anywhere online, so I'm remedying that with this post. Much of my learning about this issue can be found in <b><a href="https://www.gracechurch.org/about/distinctives/divorce-and-remarriage" target="_blank">this statement</a></b> by the elders at John MacArthur's Grace Community Church, where I served on staff and wrote the original draft of the statement. But I've always found that these propositions are a simple and helpful format for teaching and discussion, so I'll reproduce below the one-page version of them that I've often printed out for those purposes.<br />
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At the center of my "system" for understanding and reconciling all the relevant passages (and also at the center of the propositions page, interestingly) is Jeremiah 3:6-10, which is often overlooked but absolutely critical to these issues. I think my best contribution to the thorny questions about divorce is how I point out that since Jesus used only one word for his "exception" in Matthew 5:32 and 19:9, his Jewish audience must have known what he was talking about, and undoubtedly they would have been familiar with Jeremiah 3:6-10, a striking and memorable passage where God divorces Israel. And the word <i>porneia </i>that Jesus uses in Matthew is found <i>four times in four verses</i> in the Greek Septuagint version of that passage. So when they heard that word, they would have understand that Jesus was talking about unrepentant sexual sin, because that was the grounds for God's divorce of Israel (twice it says "she did not return"). It then follows, like I say in the propositions, that the only time divorce is acceptable to God is when reconciliation to a monogamous, cohabitant relationship is not possible.<br />
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I've also recently added a proposition (IV) about criminal physical abuse, because the issue always comes up in discussions about grounds for divorce and is in the spotlight now more than ever (see <b><a href="http://www.thewaywithwords.net/2019/11/wayne-grudem-is-missing-something.html" target="_blank">this post</a></b> about a well-known theologian who changed his view).<br />
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Limits on time and space keep me from elaborating about all this further as I do in my teaching, but you can listen to the recordings at the link in the first paragraph below and also correspond with me in the comments or any other way. I welcome any and all dialogue about this important issue. But here are my propositions:<br />
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<span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">by Dave Swavely<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 11.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The following propositions, summarizing my views on the
biblical teaching about divorce and remarriage, are the result of many years of
considering the exegetical, theological, and practical issues facing the church
today. An explanation of the biblical basis for each of these propositions is
available in a series of audio files that can be streamed at…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 11.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><a href="https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLgV1oO3yYGp_f57vAVEcp-yLvy7EeqUZf">https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLgV1oO3yYGp_f57vAVEcp-yLvy7EeqUZf</a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 11.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">I. Because of the sacredness of
marriage and the seriousness of covenant vows (Gen. 2:24; Eccl. 5:4-6; Mal.
2:14-16; Mark 10:2-12), all biblical means should be exhausted to keep any
marriage together (Matt. 18:15-17; 1 Cor. 7:12; 1 Pet. 3:1‑7). Divorce is only
allowed by God in rare and extreme circumstances (Matt. 19:8-10; 1 Cor.
7:10-15), and long-term separation as often practiced today is neither biblical
nor wise (Matt. 19:6; 1 Cor. 7:1-5, 15).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 11.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">II. When even serious sins like abuse,
sexual immorality, or separation occur in a marriage, but repentance occurs and
reconciliation to a monogamous, cohabitant relationship is possible, then the
faithful partner should forgive and reconcile (Luke 17:3‑4; Matt. 5:23‑24; Eph.
4:32). Reconciliation <i>after</i> <i>divorce</i> is not possible when one partner
is remarried or is an unbeliever (2 Cor. 6:14ff; 1 Cor. 7:39), but it is a
necessary fruit of repentance when two believers have been divorced and are
able to remarry one another (Mal. 2:13‑16; Matt. 5:32, 1 Cor. 7:11).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 11.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">III. When one partner resists all means of
reconciliation and refuses to maintain a monogamous, cohabitant relationship
(through unrepentant sexual sin or desertion), then the faithful spouse cannot
fulfill his or her covenant obligations and is released from the moral
responsibility to do so (Jer. 3:6‑10; Matt. 5:32; 1 Cor. 7:15). When that
marriage bond is severed through divorce (Deut. 24:1-4, 1 Cor. 7:11), the faithful spouse is then free to
marry another Christian (1 Cor. 7:8‑9, 27‑28).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 11.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">IV. Criminal physical abuse often falls
into the category of “desertion” (1 Cor. 7:15) because unrepentant abusers prove
that they do not want to live with their spouses. Such abuse should be reported
to the police as well as the church (Rom. 13:1-5, Matt. 18:15-17) and an
initial separation should occur for the safety of the victim (Prov. 22:3, 27:12).
If abusive partners do not repent and change significantly, they should be
treated as unbelievers who don't really want to live with their partners,
because legal and/or safety considerations would keep the abused partners from
returning to the home.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 11.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">V. Believers who have been divorced
prior to their identification with Christ and the church, and cannot be
reconciled because their former spouse is an unbeliever or is remarried, are
free to remain single or marry another believer (1 Cor. 7:20, 24, 27; 2 Cor.
5:16‑17).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 11.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">VI. In cases where an unbiblical divorce
has taken place in a single person's past, the leaders of the church should
help that person to repent and "unscramble the egg" according to
biblical principles (Heb. 13:17; Matt. 18:18). If true repentance has taken
place and reconciliation is not possible with the former spouse, then the
forgiven believer could pursue another relationship under the oversight of his
or her spiritual authorities (1 Cor. 7:27-28, 36-39; 1 Tim. 5:11-14).</span><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11.5pt; text-indent: -0.5in;"> </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11.5pt; text-indent: -0.5in;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11.5pt; text-indent: -0.5in;">VII. </span><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11.5pt; text-indent: -0.5in;">In cases where believers have been
divorced and remarried unbiblically, the answer is confession and repentance
(Prov. 28:13; 1 John 1:8-9) and then continuing in their current marriage
according to biblical principles (Eph. 5:21-33), because they are now bound to
the obligations of the covenant made with the new spouse (Deut. 24:1-4; 1 Cor.
7:17-24). </span></div>
</div>
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<br />Dave Swavelyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10903342933814792279noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6480260783011142201.post-41115318116449532152020-04-27T04:59:00.002-07:002020-05-04T14:57:47.466-07:00Favorite Songs (Coronavirus Edition) - Nobody But You by James Taylor<br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/WYXd5aAT6n0/0.jpg" frameborder="0" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/WYXd5aAT6n0?feature=player_embedded" width="320"></iframe></div>
<br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: black; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">(Are there some songs that never get old for you? You can listen to them over and over again, even after you've just listened to them, and you still enjoy them? When they also make you think about interesting and important stuff, you get the kinds of songs I'm talking about in this series of blog posts.)</span><br />
<b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike><br />
I've named this as one of my favorite songs (top two or three actually) ever since I was a kid--I grew up on James Taylor so I had to include one of his songs toward the top of my list. But over time and life experience it has taken on new meaning for me, which became even fuller recently when I remembered it and thought about it in light of one of the great lessons in the coronavirus crisis. I'll get to that below, but first let's talk about the song...<br />
<br />
What I love about it musically: It's short, just the right length that leaves you wanting more. It's the perfect mix of sadness and hope in tone and feeling. It's catchy, and it saves the catchiest part for the end and only the end...if commercialization was the goal, the ending "chorus" would have been repeated over and over again. But Taylor, having aced the commercial thing already with the albums <i>Sweet Baby James</i> and <i>Mud Slide Slim</i>, wanted to do something more "concept" with this album (<i>One Man Dog</i>, still tied for my favorite with <i>Dad Loves His Work</i>) and he was aiming more for art than for sales. I love the guitar solo and that little roll on the drums at the end of it, and every other little thing about the song. It's perfect and so so smooooooth.<br />
<br />
What I don't understand is why Taylor never plays it live (as far as I know...maybe someone can tell me differently). This doesn't make sense to me, especially since in his later years he's revisited so much of his obscure early stuff...even "<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mfMvkeM9s_8" target="_blank"><b>Chili Dog</b></a>" from this same album (you can't get any more obscure that that).<br />
<br />
The lyrics are about everything letting you down except one person. Money, career, family, and even religion have now left this normal "Joe" empty and unsatisfied like Solomon in Ecclesiastes. Yes, some folks have been good to him in some ways. But only one person really understands, really cares, really is there for him in all the details of everyday life.<br />
<br />
Is that one person God, or more specifically Jesus Christ? I don't know and can't find anything online that tells me, and of course Taylor could have been merely thinking of a lover or a friend. But it's not out of the question when you consider the fact that just two years earlier he wrote this in another favorite song of mine, <b><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gpUB7-oSoF4" target="_blank">"Fire and Rain"</a></b>:<br />
<br />
<span style="background-color: white; border-collapse: collapse; border-spacing: 0px; color: #444444; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 1.5em; list-style-image: none; list-style-position: outside; list-style-type: none; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">Won't you look down upon me, Jesus </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; border-collapse: collapse; border-spacing: 0px; color: #444444; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 1.5em; list-style-image: none; list-style-position: outside; list-style-type: none; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">You've got to help me make a stand</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; border-collapse: collapse; border-spacing: 0px; color: #444444; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 1.5em; list-style-image: none; list-style-position: outside; list-style-type: none; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">You've just got to see me through another day</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; border-collapse: collapse; border-spacing: 0px; color: #444444; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 1.5em; list-style-image: none; list-style-position: outside; list-style-type: none; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">My body's aching and my time is at hand</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; border-collapse: collapse; border-spacing: 0px; color: #444444; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 1.5em; list-style-image: none; list-style-position: outside; list-style-type: none; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">And I won't make it any other way</span><br />
<b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike><br />
So I like to think of "Nobody But You" as referring to Jesus. Only He really understands, really cares, and really is there for us in all the details of everyday life. And only He can provide the true satisfaction we need, especially in regard to the truth we need to know to have a good relationship with God and others (not to mention eternal life).<br />
<br />
In contrast, if the coronavirus crisis has proven one thing, it's how much we as humans<i> don't know</i>. Consider these "lockdown rules" I saw on Facebook (sorry, I don't know who wrote them, but kudos to whoever did):<br />
<br />
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The Rules:</div>
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1. Basically, you can't leave the house for any reason, but if<span class="text_exposed_show" style="display: inline; font-family: inherit;"> you have to, then you can.</span></div>
<div class="text_exposed_show" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; color: #666666; display: inline; font-family: inherit; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<div style="font-family: inherit; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 1em;">
<span style="font-size: small;"> 2. Masks are useless, but maybe you have to wear one, it can save you, it is useless, but maybe it is mandatory as well.</span></div>
<div style="font-family: inherit; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 1em;">
<span style="font-size: small;"> 3. Stores are closed, except those that are open.</span></div>
<div style="font-family: inherit; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 1em;">
<span style="font-size: small;"> 4. You should not go to hospitals unless you have to go there. Same applies to doctors, you should only go there in case of emergency, provided you are not too sick.</span></div>
<div style="font-family: inherit; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 1em;">
<span style="font-size: small;"> 5. This virus is deadly but still not too scary, except that sometimes it actually leads to a global disaster.</span></div>
<div style="font-family: inherit; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 1em;">
<span style="font-size: small;"> 6. Gloves won't help, but they can still help.</span></div>
<div style="font-family: inherit; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 1em;">
<span style="font-size: small;"> 7. Everyone needs to stay HOME, but it's important to GO OUT.</span></div>
<div style="font-family: inherit; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 1em;">
<span style="font-size: small;"> 8. There is no shortage of groceries in the supermarket, but there are many things missing when you go there in the evening, but not in the morning. Sometimes.</span></div>
<div style="font-family: inherit; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 1em;">
<span style="font-size: small;"> 9. The virus has no effect on children except those it affects.</span></div>
<div style="font-family: inherit; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 1em;">
<span style="font-size: small;"> 10. Animals are not affected, but there is still a cat that tested positive in Belgium in February when no one had been tested, plus a few tigers here and there…</span></div>
<div style="font-family: inherit; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 1em;">
<span style="font-size: small;"> 11. You will have many symptoms when you are sick, but you can also get sick without symptoms, have symptoms without being sick, or be contagious without having symptoms. Oh, my God.</span></div>
<div style="font-family: inherit; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 1em;">
<span style="font-size: small;"> 12. In order not to get sick, you have to eat well and exercise, but eat whatever you have on hand and it's better not to go out, well, but no…</span></div>
<div style="font-family: inherit; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 1em;">
<span style="font-size: small;"> 13. It's better to get some fresh air, but you get looked at very wrong when you get some fresh air, and most importantly, you don't go to parks or walk. But don’t sit down, except that you can do that now if you are old, but not for too long or if you are pregnant (but not too old).</span></div>
<div style="font-family: inherit; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 1em;">
<span style="font-size: small;"> 14. You can't go to retirement homes, but you have to take care of the elderly and bring food and medication.</span></div>
<div style="font-family: inherit; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 1em;">
<span style="font-size: small;"> 15. If you are sick, you can't go out, but you can go to the pharmacy.</span></div>
<div style="font-family: inherit; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 1em;">
<span style="font-size: small;"> 16. You can get restaurant food delivered to the house, which may have been prepared by people who didn't wear masks or gloves. But you have to have your groceries decontaminated outside for 3 hours. Pizza too?</span></div>
<div style="font-family: inherit; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 1em;">
<span style="font-size: small;"> 17. Every disturbing article or disturbing interview starts with " I don't want to trigger panic, but…"</span></div>
<div style="font-family: inherit; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 1em;">
<span style="font-size: small;"> 18. You can't see your older mother or grandmother, but you can take a taxi and meet an older taxi driver.</span></div>
<div style="font-family: inherit; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 1em;">
<span style="font-size: small;"> 19. You can walk around with a friend but not with your family if they don't live under the same roof.</span></div>
<div style="font-family: inherit; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 1em;">
<span style="font-size: small;"> 20. You are safe if you maintain the appropriate social distance, but you can’t go out with friends or strangers at the safe social distance.</span></div>
<div style="font-family: inherit; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 1em;">
<span style="font-size: small;"> 21. The virus remains active on different surfaces for two hours, no, four, no, six, no, we didn't say hours, maybe days? But it takes a damp environment. Oh no, not necessarily.</span></div>
<div style="font-family: inherit; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 1em;">
<span style="font-size: small;"> 22. The virus stays in the air - well no, or yes, maybe, especially in a closed room, in one hour a sick person can infect ten, so if it falls, all our children were already infected at school before it was closed. But remember, if you stay at the recommended social distance, however in certain circumstances you should maintain a greater distance, which, studies show, the virus can travel further, maybe.</span></div>
<div style="font-family: inherit; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 1em;">
<span style="font-size: small;"> 23. We count the number of deaths but we don't know how many people are infected as we have only tested so far those who were "almost dead" to find out if that's what they will die of…</span></div>
<div style="font-family: inherit; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 1em;">
<span style="font-size: small;"> 24. We have no treatment, except that there may be one that apparently is not dangerous unless you take too much (which is the case with all medications). Orange man bad.</span></div>
<div style="font-family: inherit; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 1em;">
<span style="font-size: small;"> 25. We should stay locked up until the virus disappears, but it will only disappear if we achieve collective immunity, so when it circulates… but we must no longer be locked up for that?</span><br />
<span class="_5mfr" style="font-family: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 1px; margin-right: 1px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="_6qdm" style="background-image: url("https://static.xx.fbcdn.net/images/emoji.php/v9/t80/1/16/1f92a.png"); background-repeat: no-repeat; background-size: contain; color: transparent; display: inline-block; font-family: inherit; font-size: 16px; height: 16px; text-decoration: none; text-shadow: none; vertical-align: text-bottom; width: 16px;">🤪</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman";"></span>Nobody But You</h2>
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<div class="b_factrow" style="color: #767676; line-height: 20px; padding-bottom: 2px;">
<a h="ID=SERP,5313.1" href="https://www.bing.com/search?q=james+taylor&filters=ufn%3a%22james+taylor%22+sid%3a%226a4d9e28-45f6-1f8e-c0aa-75f145254bf5%22&FORM=SNAPST" style="color: #1a0dab; text-decoration: none; touch-action: manipulation;">James Taylor</a></div>
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<div class="b_paractl" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; border-bottom-color: currentColor; border-bottom-style: none; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-collapse: collapse; border-image-outset: 0; border-image-repeat: stretch; border-image-slice: 100%; border-image-source: none; border-image-width: 1; border-left-color: currentColor; border-left-style: none; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-color: currentColor; border-right-style: none; border-right-width: 0px; border-spacing: 0px; border-top-color: currentColor; border-top-style: none; border-top-width: 0px; color: #444444; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,Sans-Serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 1.5em; list-style-image: none; list-style-position: outside; list-style-type: none; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; orphans: 2; padding-bottom: 10px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
Everybody knows that I'm just a Joe that likes to hang around,<br />
Talking about my problems, bringing other people down.<br />
Well this may be so, but not long ago, I was sitting on the top of the world.<br />
Sure is strange how things can turn themselves around.</div>
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When I'm in need of a little bit of consultation, used to call on my Uncle John.<br />
Took a trip down to West Virginia, found him dead and gone.<br />
And as some sort of silly little consolation, they gave me a ticket back.<br />
What you gonna do with folks like that?</div>
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You can talk about bands of angels,<br />
And they think you come with your soul in your hands to set their children free.<br />
But you talk about little bit of understanding, things that happen day to day.<br />
Some of you folks sure enough have been good to me.</div>
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You come on talking about angel bands,<br />
And they think you come with your soul in your hands just to set their children free.<br />
But you talk about little bit of understanding, things that happen day to day.<br />
Someone has been good to me.</div>
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Nobody but you, nobody but you, nobody but you, nobody but you.<br />
Nobody but you, nobody but you, nobody but you, nobody but you.<br />
Nobody but you, say nobody, nobody, nobody, nobody, nobody but you.</div>
<br />Dave Swavelyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10903342933814792279noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6480260783011142201.post-13152500191237388392020-03-22T03:36:00.001-07:002020-03-22T09:45:08.671-07:00Can I pray to God now, even if I've not been doing it?On my way back from my recent trip to Uganda, I made a new friend on the interminable flight from there to Brussels. She was a wonderful young lady with many exciting and interesting life adventures. She was also a self-described agnostic Jew who was scared to death of flying and struggled with panic throughout the trip. I shared with her how my wife had a similar issue for many years but God helped her to overcome it. I asked her if she had ever prayed and she said something like, "Yes, but it kinda seems unfair." I was pretty sure she meant that praying in a crisis would be an insult, or at least pointless, when she didn't pray any other time. So I mentioned that even if my older daughter only talks to me when she wants something or has a problem, I'm still glad to hear from her and I'm still happy to help her out. Because I love my daughter and am eager to hear from her at any time, regardless of whether she ever talks to me otherwise.<br />
<br />
I woke up in the middle of the night last night and among many other things, that young lady came to mind and I prayed for her. Then I opened my Kindle to read something from God's Word, as I usually do in such situations, and amazingly this was the verse I read (Isaiah 26:16), followed by some comments by the great Charles Spurgeon:<br />
<br />
<b>LORD, in trouble have they visited thee, they poured out a prayer when thy chastening was upon them.</b><br />
<br />
<i>That is true of hypocrites; but it is also sweetly true of some whom God is bringing to himself. Child after child has died, loss after loss has broken down the business; now they turn to God. Oh, it is a blessed loss that makes us find our God! What we gain is infinitely more than what we have lost. What a mercy that God is willing to hear us in the time of trouble, that all our putting-off and rejection of him do not make him put us off! I remember one who wished to hire a conveyance to go to a certain town, and he went to the place where he could hire it, and asked the price; he thought that it was too much, so he went round the town to other people, and found that he could not get it any cheaper; but when he came back to the place visited first, the man said to him, “Oh, no, no! I will not let my horses to you. You have been round to everybody else, and now you come back to me because you cannot get what you want elsewhere; I will have nothing to do with you.” That is man’s way of dealing with his fellow man; but it is not the Lord’s method of dealing with us. When you and I have gone round to everybody else, the Lord still welcomes us when we come back to him. Yes, just as harbours of refuge are meant for ships in distress that would not have put in there except for the storm and danger, such is the mercy of the Lord God in Jesus Christ. If you are forced to accept it, you are still welcome to it. If you are driven to it by stress of weather, you may come in, for the harbour was made for just such as you are.</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
Wow, can you believe that amazing "coincidence" of God's providence? It could be helpful for my friend on the plane, of course, but I believe it was given to me for all of you to read and consider also. I think we all struggle to some degree with the fact that we pray a lot more in times of crisis and wonder if God will hear us if we haven't prayed as much as we should have before. But we need to realize that He allows difficulties (like a scary situation) in our lives precisely because He loves us and wants us to talk to Him more. <b>"Whoever calls on the name of the Lord will be saved" </b>(Rom. 10:13), and the "whoever" includes even those who are calling for the first time, or for the first time in a long time.<br />
<br />
Consider Hebrews 12:5-11:<br />
<br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>H<span class="text Heb-12-5" id="en-ESV-30201" style="box-sizing: border-box;">ave you forgotten the exhortation that addresses you as sons?</span></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><span class="text Heb-12-5" style="box-sizing: border-box; position: relative;"><sup class="crossreference" data-cr="#cen-ESV-30201J" data-link="(<a href="#cen-ESV-30201J" title="See cross-reference J">J</a>)" style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 22px; position: relative; top: 0px; vertical-align: top;"></sup>“My son, <sup class="crossreference" data-cr="#cen-ESV-30201K" data-link="(<a href="#cen-ESV-30201K" title="See cross-reference K">K</a>)" style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 22px; position: relative; top: 0px; vertical-align: top;"></sup>do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord,</span><br style="box-sizing: border-box;" /><span class="indent-1" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span class="indent-1-breaks" style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 0;"> </span><span class="text Heb-12-5" style="box-sizing: border-box; position: relative;">nor be weary when reproved by him.</span></span></b></span><br />
<span class="text Heb-12-6" id="en-ESV-30202" style="box-sizing: border-box; position: relative;"><sup class="versenum" style="box-sizing: border-box; display: block; left: -4.4em; line-height: 22px; position: absolute; top: 0px; vertical-align: top;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;"><b>6 </b></span></sup><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>For <sup class="crossreference" data-cr="#cen-ESV-30202L" data-link="(<a href="#cen-ESV-30202L" title="See cross-reference L">L</a>)" style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 22px; position: relative; top: 0px; vertical-align: top;"></sup>the Lord disciplines the one he loves,</b></span></span><br />
<span class="indent-1" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><span class="indent-1-breaks" style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 0;"> </span><span class="text Heb-12-6" style="box-sizing: border-box; position: relative;">and chastises every son whom he receives.”</span></b></span></span></div>
</div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><span class="text Heb-12-7" id="en-ESV-30203" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><sup class="versenum" style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 22px; position: relative; top: 0px; vertical-align: top;">7 </sup>It is for discipline that you have to endure. <sup class="crossreference" data-cr="#cen-ESV-30203M" data-link="(<a href="#cen-ESV-30203M" title="See cross-reference M">M</a>)" style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 22px; position: relative; top: 0px; vertical-align: top;"></sup>God is treating you as sons. For what son is there whom his father does not discipline?</span> <span class="text Heb-12-8" id="en-ESV-30204" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><sup class="versenum" style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 22px; position: relative; top: 0px; vertical-align: top;">8 </sup>If you are left without discipline, <sup class="crossreference" data-cr="#cen-ESV-30204N" data-link="(<a href="#cen-ESV-30204N" title="See cross-reference N">N</a>)" style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 22px; position: relative; top: 0px; vertical-align: top;"></sup>in which all have participated, then you are illegitimate children and not sons.</span> <span class="text Heb-12-9" id="en-ESV-30205" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><sup class="versenum" style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 22px; position: relative; top: 0px; vertical-align: top;">9 </sup>Besides this, we have had earthly fathers who disciplined us and we respected them. Shall we not much more be subject to <sup class="crossreference" data-cr="#cen-ESV-30205O" data-link="(<a href="#cen-ESV-30205O" title="See cross-reference O">O</a>)" style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 22px; position: relative; top: 0px; vertical-align: top;"></sup>the Father of spirits <sup class="crossreference" data-cr="#cen-ESV-30205P" data-link="(<a href="#cen-ESV-30205P" title="See cross-reference P">P</a>)" style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 22px; position: relative; top: 0px; vertical-align: top;"></sup>and live?</span> <span class="text Heb-12-10" id="en-ESV-30206" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><sup class="versenum" style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 22px; position: relative; top: 0px; vertical-align: top;">10 </sup>For they disciplined us for a short time as it seemed best to them, but he disciplines us for our good, <sup class="crossreference" data-cr="#cen-ESV-30206Q" data-link="(<a href="#cen-ESV-30206Q" title="See cross-reference Q">Q</a>)" style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 22px; position: relative; top: 0px; vertical-align: top;"></sup>that we may share his holiness.</span> <span class="text Heb-12-11" id="en-ESV-30207" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><sup class="versenum" style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 22px; position: relative; top: 0px; vertical-align: top;">11 </sup><sup class="crossreference" data-cr="#cen-ESV-30207R" data-link="(<a href="#cen-ESV-30207R" title="See cross-reference R">R</a>)" style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 22px; position: relative; top: 0px; vertical-align: top;"></sup>For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields <sup class="crossreference" data-cr="#cen-ESV-30207S" data-link="(<a href="#cen-ESV-30207S" title="See cross-reference S">S</a>)" style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 22px; position: relative; top: 0px; vertical-align: top;"></sup>the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.</span></b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><span class="text Heb-12-11" id="en-ESV-30207" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><br /></span></b></span>
You might say, if you're thinking along with me, "Isn't that passage written to those who already believe in Christ?" Yes, but like Spurgeon wisely says at the beginning of the quote above, it is also "<i>sweetly true of some God is bringing to himself</i>." Many people have found that when they cry out to God in a time of crisis, even for the first time or the first time in a long time, He sends a person or message to them that will lead them into further knowledge and understanding of His truth. That's because He has already chosen to love them before the foundation of the world and planned to adopt them into His family through the redeeming work of Christ.<br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: black; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "times new roman"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; color: black; display: inline; float: none; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Ephesians 1:3-14 tells us about all that:</span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: black; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "times new roman"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><br /></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><span class="text Eph-1-3" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><sup class="versenum" style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 22px; position: relative; top: 0px; vertical-align: top;">3 </sup><sup class="crossreference" data-cr="#cen-ESV-29193E" data-link="(<a href="#cen-ESV-29193E" title="See cross-reference E">E</a>)" style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 22px; position: relative; top: 0px; vertical-align: top;"></sup>Blessed be <sup class="crossreference" data-cr="#cen-ESV-29193F" data-link="(<a href="#cen-ESV-29193F" title="See cross-reference F">F</a>)" style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 22px; position: relative; top: 0px; vertical-align: top;"></sup>the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing <sup class="crossreference" data-cr="#cen-ESV-29193G" data-link="(<a href="#cen-ESV-29193G" title="See cross-reference G">G</a>)" style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 22px; position: relative; top: 0px; vertical-align: top;"></sup>in the heavenly places,</span> <span class="text Eph-1-4" id="en-ESV-29194" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><sup class="versenum" style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 22px; position: relative; top: 0px; vertical-align: top;">4 </sup><sup class="crossreference" data-cr="#cen-ESV-29194H" data-link="(<a href="#cen-ESV-29194H" title="See cross-reference H">H</a>)" style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 22px; position: relative; top: 0px; vertical-align: top;"></sup>even as he <sup class="crossreference" data-cr="#cen-ESV-29194I" data-link="(<a href="#cen-ESV-29194I" title="See cross-reference I">I</a>)" style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 22px; position: relative; top: 0px; vertical-align: top;"></sup>chose us in him <sup class="crossreference" data-cr="#cen-ESV-29194J" data-link="(<a href="#cen-ESV-29194J" title="See cross-reference J">J</a>)" style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 22px; position: relative; top: 0px; vertical-align: top;"></sup>before the foundation of the world, that we should be <sup class="crossreference" data-cr="#cen-ESV-29194K" data-link="(<a href="#cen-ESV-29194K" title="See cross-reference K">K</a>)" style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 22px; position: relative; top: 0px; vertical-align: top;"></sup>holy and blameless before him. In love</span> <span class="text Eph-1-5" id="en-ESV-29195" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><sup class="versenum" style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 22px; position: relative; top: 0px; vertical-align: top;">5 </sup><sup class="crossreference" data-cr="#cen-ESV-29195L" data-link="(<a href="#cen-ESV-29195L" title="See cross-reference L">L</a>)" style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 22px; position: relative; top: 0px; vertical-align: top;"></sup>he predestined us for <sup class="crossreference" data-cr="#cen-ESV-29195M" data-link="(<a href="#cen-ESV-29195M" title="See cross-reference M">M</a>)" style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 22px; position: relative; top: 0px; vertical-align: top;"></sup>adoption to himself as sons through Jesus Christ, <sup class="crossreference" data-cr="#cen-ESV-29195N" data-link="(<a href="#cen-ESV-29195N" title="See cross-reference N">N</a>)" style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 22px; position: relative; top: 0px; vertical-align: top;"></sup>according to the purpose of his will,</span> <span class="text Eph-1-6" id="en-ESV-29196" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><sup class="versenum" style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 22px; position: relative; top: 0px; vertical-align: top;">6 </sup><sup class="crossreference" data-cr="#cen-ESV-29196O" data-link="(<a href="#cen-ESV-29196O" title="See cross-reference O">O</a>)" style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 22px; position: relative; top: 0px; vertical-align: top;"></sup>to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in <sup class="crossreference" data-cr="#cen-ESV-29196P" data-link="(<a href="#cen-ESV-29196P" title="See cross-reference P">P</a>)" style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 22px; position: relative; top: 0px; vertical-align: top;"></sup>the Beloved.</span> <span class="text Eph-1-7" id="en-ESV-29197" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><sup class="versenum" style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 22px; position: relative; top: 0px; vertical-align: top;">7 </sup><sup class="crossreference" data-cr="#cen-ESV-29197Q" data-link="(<a href="#cen-ESV-29197Q" title="See cross-reference Q">Q</a>)" style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 22px; position: relative; top: 0px; vertical-align: top;"></sup>In him we have <sup class="crossreference" data-cr="#cen-ESV-29197R" data-link="(<a href="#cen-ESV-29197R" title="See cross-reference R">R</a>)" style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 22px; position: relative; top: 0px; vertical-align: top;"></sup>redemption <sup class="crossreference" data-cr="#cen-ESV-29197S" data-link="(<a href="#cen-ESV-29197S" title="See cross-reference S">S</a>)" style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 22px; position: relative; top: 0px; vertical-align: top;"></sup>through his blood, <sup class="crossreference" data-cr="#cen-ESV-29197T" data-link="(<a href="#cen-ESV-29197T" title="See cross-reference T">T</a>)" style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 22px; position: relative; top: 0px; vertical-align: top;"></sup>the forgiveness of our trespasses, <sup class="crossreference" data-cr="#cen-ESV-29197U" data-link="(<a href="#cen-ESV-29197U" title="See cross-reference U">U</a>)" style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 22px; position: relative; top: 0px; vertical-align: top;"></sup>according to the riches of his grace,</span> <span class="text Eph-1-8" id="en-ESV-29198" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><sup class="versenum" style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 22px; position: relative; top: 0px; vertical-align: top;">8 </sup>which he lavished upon us, in all wisdom and insight</span> <span class="text Eph-1-9" id="en-ESV-29199" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><sup class="versenum" style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 22px; position: relative; top: 0px; vertical-align: top;">9 </sup><sup class="crossreference" data-cr="#cen-ESV-29199V" data-link="(<a href="#cen-ESV-29199V" title="See cross-reference V">V</a>)" style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 22px; position: relative; top: 0px; vertical-align: top;"></sup>making known to us the mystery of his will, <sup class="crossreference" data-cr="#cen-ESV-29199W" data-link="(<a href="#cen-ESV-29199W" title="See cross-reference W">W</a>)" style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 22px; position: relative; top: 0px; vertical-align: top;"></sup>according to his purpose, which he <sup class="crossreference" data-cr="#cen-ESV-29199X" data-link="(<a href="#cen-ESV-29199X" title="See cross-reference X">X</a>)" style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 22px; position: relative; top: 0px; vertical-align: top;"></sup>set forth in Christ</span> <span class="text Eph-1-10" id="en-ESV-29200" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><sup class="versenum" style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 22px; position: relative; top: 0px; vertical-align: top;">10 </sup>as a plan for <sup class="crossreference" data-cr="#cen-ESV-29200Y" data-link="(<a href="#cen-ESV-29200Y" title="See cross-reference Y">Y</a>)" style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 22px; position: relative; top: 0px; vertical-align: top;"></sup>the fullness of time, <sup class="crossreference" data-cr="#cen-ESV-29200Z" data-link="(<a href="#cen-ESV-29200Z" title="See cross-reference Z">Z</a>)" style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 22px; position: relative; top: 0px; vertical-align: top;"></sup>to unite all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth.</span></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><span class="text Eph-1-11" id="en-ESV-29201" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><sup class="versenum" style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 22px; position: relative; top: 0px; vertical-align: top;">11 </sup>In him we have obtained <sup class="crossreference" data-cr="#cen-ESV-29201AA" data-link="(<a href="#cen-ESV-29201AA" title="See cross-reference AA">AA</a>)" style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 22px; position: relative; top: 0px; vertical-align: top;"></sup>an inheritance, <sup class="crossreference" data-cr="#cen-ESV-29201AB" data-link="(<a href="#cen-ESV-29201AB" title="See cross-reference AB">AB</a>)" style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 22px; position: relative; top: 0px; vertical-align: top;"></sup>having been predestined <sup class="crossreference" data-cr="#cen-ESV-29201AC" data-link="(<a href="#cen-ESV-29201AC" title="See cross-reference AC">AC</a>)" style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 22px; position: relative; top: 0px; vertical-align: top;"></sup>according to the purpose of him who works all things according to <sup class="crossreference" data-cr="#cen-ESV-29201AD" data-link="(<a href="#cen-ESV-29201AD" title="See cross-reference AD">AD</a>)" style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 22px; position: relative; top: 0px; vertical-align: top;"></sup>the counsel of his will,</span> <span class="text Eph-1-12" id="en-ESV-29202" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><sup class="versenum" style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 22px; position: relative; top: 0px; vertical-align: top;">12 </sup>so that we who were the first to hope in Christ might be <sup class="crossreference" data-cr="#cen-ESV-29202AE" data-link="(<a href="#cen-ESV-29202AE" title="See cross-reference AE">AE</a>)" style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 22px; position: relative; top: 0px; vertical-align: top;"></sup>to the praise of his glory.</span> <span class="text Eph-1-13" id="en-ESV-29203" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><sup class="versenum" style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 22px; position: relative; top: 0px; vertical-align: top;">13 </sup>In him you also, when you heard <sup class="crossreference" data-cr="#cen-ESV-29203AF" data-link="(<a href="#cen-ESV-29203AF" title="See cross-reference AF">AF</a>)" style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 22px; position: relative; top: 0px; vertical-align: top;"></sup>the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, <sup class="crossreference" data-cr="#cen-ESV-29203AG" data-link="(<a href="#cen-ESV-29203AG" title="See cross-reference AG">AG</a>)" style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 22px; position: relative; top: 0px; vertical-align: top;"></sup>were sealed with the <sup class="crossreference" data-cr="#cen-ESV-29203AH" data-link="(<a href="#cen-ESV-29203AH" title="See cross-reference AH">AH</a>)" style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 22px; position: relative; top: 0px; vertical-align: top;"></sup>promised Holy Spirit,</span> <span class="text Eph-1-14" id="en-ESV-29204" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><sup class="versenum" style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 22px; position: relative; top: 0px; vertical-align: top;">14 </sup></span><span class="text Eph-1-14" id="en-ESV-29204" style="box-sizing: border-box;">who is <sup class="crossreference" data-cr="#cen-ESV-29204AI" data-link="(<a href="#cen-ESV-29204AI" title="See cross-reference AI">AI</a>)" style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 22px; position: relative; top: 0px; vertical-align: top;"></sup>the guarantee of our <sup class="crossreference" data-cr="#cen-ESV-29204AJ" data-link="(<a href="#cen-ESV-29204AJ" title="See cross-reference AJ">AJ</a>)" style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 22px; position: relative; top: 0px; vertical-align: top;"></sup>inheritance until <sup class="crossreference" data-cr="#cen-ESV-29204AK" data-link="(<a href="#cen-ESV-29204AK" title="See cross-reference AK">AK</a>)" style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 22px; position: relative; top: 0px; vertical-align: top;"></sup>we acquire <sup class="crossreference" data-cr="#cen-ESV-29204AL" data-link="(<a href="#cen-ESV-29204AL" title="See cross-reference AL">AL</a>)" style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 22px; position: relative; top: 0px; vertical-align: top;"></sup>possession of it, to the praise of his glory.</span></b></span></div>
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">So don't let the fact that you haven't prayed enough keep you from doing so in the middle of a problem. If you do find yourself talking to God, it's probably because He loves you and is bringing you into a relationship with Him. You were created for that purpose and will only find your ultimate satisfaction and reason for living when you embrace it. As Augustine said (and experienced personally), <span style="color: #444444;">"Our hearts are restless until they rest in Him." And as Blaise Pascal wrote, <span style="font-family: inherit;">"<span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; display: inline !important; float: none; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: inherit; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">What else does this craving, and this helplessness, proclaim but that there was once in man a true happiness, of which all that now remains is the empty print and trace? This he tries in vain to fill with everything around him, seeking in things that are not there the help he cannot find in those that are, though none can help, since this infinite abyss can be filled only with an infinite and immutable object; in other words by God himself."</span></span></span></span></span><br />
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<br />Dave Swavelyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10903342933814792279noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6480260783011142201.post-46287261153867069722020-03-21T03:50:00.000-07:002020-03-23T15:50:30.053-07:00Thank God for the coronavirus?After not sleeping for over two days because of a trip home from Uganda that started at midnight there (I can't sleep in airports or airplanes more than a few minutes for some reason), I woke up in the middle of the night in the midst of a fever dream (but not a literal fever, thank God) and realized that on the return trip I had let my doctor down in two ways. I had forgotten to take my malaria medicine and my Airborne.<br />
<br />
As I got up and did that (better late than never!), an interesting thought came to me, as they often do in the early hours, which is reproduced in my first point below. But that thought expanded into several others (as they often do), so here we go...<br />
<br />
In Uganda I had the tremendous privilege of teaching almost 40 pastors and their wives (some of the finest, I believe, from all over the country) in two three-day conferences about "the theology of marriage" (see <b><a href="https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLgV1oO3yYGp-CxoKdhsf1XIZkTUBBqMOh" target="_blank">this series </a></b>on YouTube for some of what I taught). I mentioned to them one of my favorite counseling assignments, which is based on Romans 8:28: "Make a list of all the ways you think that God could possibly bring good out of this trial." Here are a few such items, which are not even close to being exhaustive but serve as appropriate examples. (And I'll comment on my title at the end.)<br />
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<b>The coronavirus reminds us that there is such a thing as absolute truth</b><br />
<b><br /></b>
A man I talked to on one of the planes said he believed that "all paths lead to God" or some similar expression of subjective relativism in religion, and I wish I would have thought to use the following illustration in my discussion with him...<br />
<br />
Imagine if someone on the airplane had a serious cough and hacked right in people's faces without even putting an arm or hand up to block their germs. Even not wearing a mask would be enough for such a person to be criticized by his fellow travelers, and they probably would think badly of him for even getting on the plane with them! Imagine if he said, "Who are you to say I'm wrong? I sincerely believe I don't have the virus" or even, "I might have it but I need to live out my truth. Don't say your opinions are better than mine."<br />
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Everyone would recognize that as nonsense, of course, because things like the coronavirus give the lie to relativism. I remember a similar dynamic after the 9-11 World Trade Center attack, when even the most "tolerant" people had to admit there was such a thing as good and evil in the world. If there is right and wrong and true and not true in disease and terrorism prevention, why would we think there are no absolute truths that reward a search for them in the spiritual realm?<br />
<br />
This absolute truth exists even without our absolute understanding, by the way. We will never know <i>all</i> the truth about coronavirus or terrorism, but that truth exists, and we can know<i> enough</i> about it to achieve the needed goals of stopping a pandemic or preventing another 9-11. In the spiritual realm we will never know everything about God and His ways, but we can learn enough to have a saving relationship with Him and to live a life that is pleasing to Him and good for us, because He has promised to give us that knowledge by the Holy Spirit (John 16:13, 2 Timothy 3:15-17, 2 Peter 1:3).<br />
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<b>The coronavirus gives us an opportunity to trust God in the face of fear</b><br />
<b><br /></b>
The conferences in Uganda were planned long before the coronavirus happened, of course, and I and others wondered if we should cancel the trip. (My dear mother was definitely of the opinion that I shouldn't go.) But I remembered the biggest lesson that I learned from my only other trip to a third-world country (the Philippines when I was in my twenties): "Fear is never a reason to not do something good." There can be other legitimate reasons, of course, but fear alone should never keep us from it. So I went on the trip to minister God's Word to a wonderful group of Ugandan people who were so hungry to learn and had made their own plans to give up four days of their lives and travel up to seven hours to be there.<br />
<br />
Ironically, I was probably safer in Uganda than I would been if I stayed in America. I certainly had less chance of contracting the virus, because as of now Uganda still has no reported cases. (Some think the high temperatures keep it from thriving, and the government of the country has taken strong steps early on to keep it out.) I did, however, have to face the fear of not being able to return to America or at least being quarantined for a while upon my return. Allan and Lucy Topham, my beloved companions and sponsors on the trip, had to leave halfway through to avoid those eventualities because of some health needs. So I had to decide whether to continue by myself for the last day of the first conference and the entirety of the second.<br />
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I decided to stay, largely because my wife was okay with it and even for it, and I am so glad I did! Many of the attenders said the conferences were life-changing and begged me to come back, and God's providence was evident in so many details of the trip. For example, we arrived in Uganda one day before the country was closed to Americans, and I left one day before all flights through Europe were cancelled and all group meetings were banned (and three days later all plane travel from the country was grounded)! Another example was that the coordinator for the second conference decided at the last minute to add translation to the teaching, which meant it would take twice as long to get through the material, but because the other speaker had left we now had only half of it to cover, so it worked out perfectly. And I could go on with many other examples, but suffice to say that God showed himself trustworthy again, as He always does.<br />
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<b>The coronavirus makes us go deep in our theology</b><br />
<b><br /></b>
Whenever crises and tragedies like this occur on a large scale, it causes people to think about deep theological issues, which is one of the reasons God allows them to happen. I say "allows" because all Bible-believing Christians can agree on that terminology, regardless of our particular theological understanding of the sovereignty of God and theodicy (or "the problem of evil"). I had an interesting discussion recently about whether it is accurate and/or wise to say "I'm thankful for the coronavirus" or "Thank God for the coronavirus" in light of the fact that it is so terrible and so many people are suffering because of it, and therefore we don't want to "blame God" for it or be insensitive to human suffering.<br />
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It can't be wrong to use terminology like that, because in the Scriptures God says things like, "I form light and create darkness; I make well-being and create calamity; I am the Lord, who does all these things" (Isa. 45:7). Jesus himself said, in a context about people rejecting Him, "<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: black; display: inline; float: none; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">In that same hour </span><sup class="crossreference" data-cr="#cen-ESV-25376AI" data-link="(<a href="#cen-ESV-25376AI" title="See cross-reference AI">AI</a>)" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 22px; orphans: 2; position: relative; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; top: 0px; vertical-align: top; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"></sup><span style="background-color: white; color: black; display: inline; float: none; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">he rejoiced </span><sup class="crossreference" data-cr="#cen-ESV-25376AJ" data-link="(<a href="#cen-ESV-25376AJ" title="See cross-reference AJ">AJ</a>)" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 22px; orphans: 2; position: relative; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; top: 0px; vertical-align: top; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"></sup><span style="background-color: white; color: black; display: inline; float: none; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">in the Holy Spirit and said, </span></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: black; display: inline; float: none; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">'</span></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="woj" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">I thank you, Father, <sup class="crossreference" data-cr="#cen-ESV-25376AK" data-link="(<a href="#cen-ESV-25376AK" title="See cross-reference AK">AK</a>)" style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 22px; position: relative; top: 0px; vertical-align: top;"></sup>Lord of heaven and earth, that <sup class="crossreference" data-cr="#cen-ESV-25376AL" data-link="(<a href="#cen-ESV-25376AL" title="See cross-reference AL">AL</a>)" style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 22px; position: relative; top: 0px; vertical-align: top;"></sup>you have hidden these things from the wise and understanding and <sup class="crossreference" data-cr="#cen-ESV-25376AM" data-link="(<a href="#cen-ESV-25376AM" title="See cross-reference AM">AM</a>)" style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 22px; position: relative; top: 0px; vertical-align: top;"></sup>revealed them to little children; yes, Father, for <sup class="crossreference" data-cr="#cen-ESV-25376AN" data-link="(<a href="#cen-ESV-25376AN" title="See cross-reference AN">AN</a>)" style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 22px; position: relative; top: 0px; vertical-align: top;"></sup>such was your gracious will.'" So we shouldn't be too critical of those who thank God for even bad things that happen--in fact, I watched a <b><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vjf8h3M6sds" target="_blank">video </a></b>and read a<b><a href="https://djfromtheorphanage.org/2020/03/16/thank-god-for-the-coronavirus/" target="_blank"> post </a></b>online with titles without the question mark and was blessed by them. </span></span><br />
<span class="woj" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"></span><br /></span>
<span class="woj" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">But I didn't want to write it without the question mark because I question (no pun intended) whether that is the best and wisest terminology to use while the crisis and tragedy is happening. (Perhaps it would be better<i> afterward</i>, as we're looking back and see God's providence after the fact and the pain is not so fresh). Most people who hear it won't understand the fine lines between God causing evil directly and allowing it as a part of His plan (see R.C. Sproul's great book <i>Chosen By God </i>for a discussion of that distinction). But I definitely think we can and should say things like, "We are thankful in the midst of the coronavirus" and "I'm thankful for the good things God is able to bring out of this."</span></span><br />
<span class="woj" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span>
<span class="woj" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Whatever way you prefer to say it, I hope that the basic idea summarized in Romans 8:28-29 will be an anchor to you in the storms that are raging (and any that will be in the future): "And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love Him and are called according to His purpose. For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son." God is making you more like Christ now (especially through exposing and removing idols in your life) so that you can be with Him one day forever, when trials like the coronavirus will not even be worth remembering except for the spiritual good that came out of them.</span></span><br />
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<b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike>Dave Swavelyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10903342933814792279noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6480260783011142201.post-74901676082043655022020-03-04T08:58:00.000-08:002020-03-04T10:45:46.388-08:00More prayers and words for my family (and anyone else who dares to read them)Last August I wrote <b><a href="http://www.thewaywithwords.net/2019/08/prayers-and-words-for-my-family-and.html" target="_blank">a post</a></b> called "Prayers and words for my family (and anyone else who dares to read them)" that's accumulated a surprisingly large number of views. Since it apparently struck some kind of a chord, here's another similar post based on what I read this morning in my time with the Lord...<br />
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Jill and I prayed last night together for all of our children, as we sometimes do (but not nearly enough), and with that still fresh in my mind I woke up to the Bible reading and prayer that I usually do in the mornings (though still not often enough).<br />
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I read through the book of Isaiah by itself a few months ago and since then I've been reading through it again with <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Commentary-Isaiah-Spurgeon-Charles-ebook/dp/B00MN0LG94/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=spurgeon+isaiah&qid=1583339391&s=books&sr=1-1" target="_blank"><b>comments by Charles Spurgeon</b></a> interspersed. And I couldn't help thinking of my children when I read this verse and Spurgeon's comments (in italics):<br />
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Isaiah 26:11 - "LORD, when thy hand is lifted up, they will not see: but they shall see, and be ashamed for their envy at the people; yea, the fire of thine enemies shall devour them."<br />
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<i>There are some people who will not see; and, as the old proverb hath it, there are none so blind as those that will not see; but they will one day be made to see, if not to their salvation, then to their everlasting shame and confusion. They shall he made to see that, after all, there is a God, and that he is strong to punish the ungodly, and to overthrow his adversaries. <b>I pray that no one of you may refuse to see by the light of the gospel </b>until he is forced to see by the blaze of the judgment-day; yet, alas! there will be such.</i><br />
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Does it surprise you that I pray for my children's salvation (especially if you know them and know that they are wonderful people)? I pray for their souls precisely because they have so many great things about them, and especially because I love them so much, for I know the dangers of false profession and apostasy all too well. For me to assume that neither of those horrors could assail my own children would be highly presumptuous on my part. (I'm starting to talk a bit like Spurgeon, aren't I? Well, worse things could happen.:)<br />
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And because my children are so great and so loved, I well know the Adversary will spare no attack on their souls. Shockingly numerous and creative false gods can be generated by the idol-factories in their hearts and encouraged by Satan's world system. So I pray along with Isaiah and Spurgeon that God would grant them repentance, even as He does so in my own unfaithful heart:<br />
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Isaiah 26:13 - "O LORD our God, other lords beside thee have had dominion over us: but by thee only will we make mention of thy name."<br />
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<i>O Lord, how sadly, how long, how grievously, did those other lords domineer over us; but from this time forth we will know no name but thine; and, when we mention it, it shall be by thy grace, and by thy power alone, that we even put our trust in thy wondrous name!</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
Above all, I pray that God would be glorified in my children's lives and that they would live for His glory. I also pray that they would live for the good of others, because as I was reminded in a recent conversation with my son Nathan, we are communal people created for community, and the community that God created for us is the community He calls "the Church." (It is also called His new "nation" and the "kingdom" that Christ came to establish on earth, far superior to all usurpers.) So I'll end with Isaiah 26:15 and Spurgeon's comment on that verse:<br />
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"Thou hast increased the nation, O LORD, thou hast increased the nation: thou art glorified."<br />
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<i>God is always glorified in the increase of his people, therefore, we should, above all other reasons, pray for the increase of the Church because God will be thereby glorified.</i><br />
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<br />Dave Swavelyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10903342933814792279noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6480260783011142201.post-21454122877633817582020-02-01T03:24:00.002-08:002020-02-01T03:47:43.743-08:00Multiple Referents - A Key to Understanding Biblical Prophecy and EschatologyMany theologians and commentators (and even mere readers of Scripture) have noticed a dynamic called "the already and not yet" of prophetic passages. That phrase is usually applied to Old Testament prophecies and their fulfillment in both the New Testament "church age" and in the still-to-come future age after Christ returns. But in a sense it also applies to prophecies that have been completely fulfilled in history like many about the first coming of the Messiah that are found in Isaiah, the book that I've been reading and studying for my time with the Lord in the last few months. And I also believe that the dynamic is true of the bulk of the prophecies in Revelation (I'll explain as we go).<br />
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I like to use the term<i> multiple referents</i> when referring to this dynamic (no pun intended:). What I mean is that a particular prophecy often refers to something that will occur in the near future (from when it was written) but then also speaks in a broader sense to things that will happen in the far future (from when it was written). Almost all scholars of any eschatological stripe recognize that this is happening with some prophecies at least, including dispensationalists who insist on a "literal" interpretation of prophecy but acknowledge that certain passages refer to both the church and a future Israel. A good example would be the New Covenant promises, which must apply to the church because several NT passages directly say that, but they also believe there is a future fulfillment in a Jewish millennial kingdom.<br />
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So why can't we all agree that there are multiple referents for many, if not all, biblical prophecies, both in the Old and New Testaments? It seems that this would provide some "reverse polarity" in our eschatological battles (to quote the late Neil Peart:) and allow us to be more open to one another's perspectives without throwing around pejorative labels like "allegorist" or "wooden literalist." For example, my dispensational and pre-millennial friends could be more open to the possibility that the events described in Revelation 6-19 could have been referring (at least initially) to the fall of the deicidal systems of Jerusalem and Rome, and I could be more open to a future conversion of Jews and other more "literal" fulfillments of Old Testament prophecies in the new heavens and earth.<br />
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The more I read and study biblical prophecy, the more I think that our experience at the consummation will be similar to what we do now with Old Testament predictions about the first coming of Christ. We say "Wow, that's amazingly accurate!" and realize that what it was saying became clear only after the events actually happened in history. (I have that experience with Revelation 6-19, by the way.) I think we'll be even more amazed when history comes to a close and we see all the ways many other prophecies have been fulfilled (though we see now "through a glass darkly"). And I think we'll see multiple referents for many, if not all, of those prophecies.<br />
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Here's an example that I just read about in my time with the Lord this morning. (I was reading Spurgeon's comments on the passage, so that's why the version quoted is KJV.)<br />
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In Isaiah 22 the prophet talks about events that will occur during his lifetime--he actually names the people he's talking about, like Shebna the scribe and Eliakim the son of Hilkiah (vv. 15 and 20). But when we read the description of Eliakim in particular, we can't help but see indications that he was a type of the Messiah who would come 700 years later, especially since some of the terminology used for him is found in other passages where Isaiah is clearly talking about Jesus (9:6-7, 16:5). Here's Isaiah 22:20-23...<br />
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"And it shall come to pass in that day, that I will call my servant Eliakim the son of Hilkiah: And I will clothe him with thy robe, and strengthen him with thy girdle, and I will commit thy government into his hand: and he shall be a father to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and to the house of Judah. And the key of the house of David will I lay upon his shoulder; so he shall open, and none shall shut; and he shall shut, and none shall open."<br />
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The initial referent of that prophecy is a person and circumstances that were familiar to the readers, and the events predicted would soon come to pass in their world. (I believe this is like the predictions about Jerusalem and Rome in Revelation, where John says they "must shortly take place" "for the time is near.") But Eliakim is not the only ruler referred to in the passage--Jesus Christ is almost certainly a second referent of the prophecy. (And in my understanding of Revelation there can still be referents<i> after</i> the early centuries, because the dynamics described in the book take place in different ways throughout history, a la the historicist and idealist views, and even may at the consummation of history, a la the futurist view.)<br />
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Because of the multiple referents in biblical prophecies, it is completely legitimate for preachers and teachers to apply what Isaiah says about Shebna and Eliakim to us today, and I want to leave you with some of the tremendously insightful and encouraging thoughts Spurgeon shared about Isaiah 22. (That's <b><a href="http://www.thewaywithwords.net/2010/05/ethical-eschatology.html" target="_blank">the main purpose of all biblical eschatology</a></b>, by the way--to change our lives now for the better.)<br />
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About the stubborn "nail" of Shebna being removed (Isa. 22:15-19), and the downfall of his glory, Spurgeon writes:<br />
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<i>Whenever Jesus Christ comes into the heart, before he rides in state into the Castle of Mansoul, there is a battle, a strife, a struggle, a down-casting of the image of sin, and then a setting up of the cross in its place. All men, by nature, have some kind of righteousness. There is no man so vile but he still wraps himself up in his rags and cajoles himself into the belief that he has some degree of excellence, spiritual or moral. Before Christ can come into the heart, all this natural excellence must be torn to shreds; Every single stone of the wall upon which we have builded aforetime must come down, and the foundations must be utterly destroyed before we shall ever build aright and surely for eternity upon the cornerstone of Christ Jesus.</i><br />
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<i>The tendency of human nature, as long as we are in this world, is to get something to rest upon in ourselves. We can hardly be indulged with the light of Jehovah’s countenance before we begin to make a confidence of it; and if our graces for a little while bud and bloom like seeming flowers, we very soon begin to compliment ourselves upon our imaginary goodness. Borrowed though every excellence be, we begin to be proud of it, and to forget too much that in him is all our salvation, and all confidence. This knocking down has to be persevered in, for the flesh lusteth against the Spirit; and yet as fast as we can, in our pride build up anything in which we can glory, the Lord sends a terrible blast of some kind or other against the wall, and sweeps it all down, that Jesus Christ may alone be exalted in our experience.</i><br />
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Then, after profoundly picturing the repentance we need for both salvation and sanctification, Spurgeon goes on to wonderfully describe saving and sanctifying faith and the promise of the gospel in verses 20-23 (the nail fastened in a sure place):<br />
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<i>If God bids me lean my whole weight upon his Son, and I do so lean, and yet am not sustained, then is there a great mistake, not on my part only, but on the part of Infinite Wisdom. But we cannot suppose that. The Lord knew what he was doing when he appointed the Only Begotten to be the sinner’s pillar of strength, upon which he might lean. He knew that Jesus could not fail; that as God he was all-sufficient; that as perfect man he would not turn aside; that as a bleeding surety, having paid all the debt of our sin upon Calvary, he was able to save to the uttermost all them that come unto God by him.</i><br />
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I hope those words will be a blessing to you, both today and throughout whatever future God has planned for you!<br />
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[If you're curious about the different understandings of Revelation, you can listen to some teaching of mine <b><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=amwSdnj7oms&t=1553s" target="_blank">here</a></b>, <b><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ESj6AxJFDZg&t=62s" target="_blank">here</a></b>, and <b><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9aJkzfW7ags" target="_blank">here</a></b>.]Dave Swavelyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10903342933814792279noreply@blogger.com1