Tom Wolff's Blog

Summary of the Commands Jesus gave the most

2012-01-15T11:44:00.001-06:00

Summary of the Commands Jesus gave the most.

I had a friend recently send me some verses on giving to the needy, and I wondered if this was really the focus of Jesus' teaching (it is). So I looked back to the Commands of Jesus that I posted back in October / November 2008 to see what Commands Jesus gave the most (as reported by His disciples in the Gospels). If you believe as I do that repetition is done for emphasis, then the fact of some commands being given more than others is to stress their importance. And yes, the single most repeated Command of Jesus is to love others by giving to the needy and to have generosity (24 times). But close behind it is the Command to 'Listen' (22 times), for example Jesus taught that we should listen and give special attention to the Scriptures. Another interesting fact is that Jesus did not teach repeatedly that we should not murder, nor lie, nor steal. These are only mentioned a couple of times each. But what was the main sin Jesus taught most about? We are taught not to have fear, doubt and being anxious (10 times). And overall, Jesus' Commands dealt much less significantly with Sin than with His Commands on loving others. I broke down the Commands of Jesus into three main categories, and here are the top five Commands from each category:

I. Commands of Jesus – by Obedience to God;

Listen / Give Special Attention to / Remember – taught 22 times;
Believe / Faith – 15 times;
Pray / Prayer – 13 times;
Abide in God / Jesus – 6 times;
Forsake / Renounce / Surrender all – 6 times.

II. Commands of Jesus – involving fruit and others;

Love Others / Giving – taught 24 times;
Love others – 19 times;
Virtue – Love others / Family -19 times;
Virtue / Moral Behavior – 15 times;
Love Others – Evangelize – 13 times.

III. Sin – Commandments enjoining / Guard Against;

Do not be anxious / doubt / fear / indecision – taught 10 times;
Do not commit adultery – 5 times;
Avoid world entanglement – 5 times;
Do not divorce – 4 times;
Selfish ambition – 4 times.

And Jesus also gave us the number one reason of why we should we follow His Commands, and this is contained in John 14:15 - If you love Me, keep My commandments. If you would like the verse lists for any of the Commands, feel free to contact me, and I can get them to you. May God bless you this week. /s/Tom

Merry Christmas 2011

2011-12-25T11:22:00.001-06:00

It's been a wonderful Christmas for the Wolff family this year. Last night we saw both Peggy's side of the family, and we had the full complement of the Wolff family at my parent's celebration. And my Mom's oyster stew was out of this world!

Merry Christmas to you. Today's post will talk about the source of the Good News of Christmas – that God Himself came to Earth in the form of human flesh. Yes, that's right, Jesus is God. More correctly put, Jesus is the Second Person of the Trinity, God the Son. Here are some Bible verses showing Jesus' Divinity:

Job 19:26 (NKJV)
²⁶And after my skin is destroyed, this I know, That in my flesh I shall see God,

Jeremiah 23:6 (ESV)
⁶In his days Judah will be saved, and Israel will dwell securely. And this is the name by which he will be called: 'The Lord is our righteousness.'

John 1:1-2 (ESV)
¹In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. ²He was in the beginning with God.

John 20:28 (ESV)
²⁸Thomas answered him, "My Lord and my God!"

Acts 20:28 (ESV)
²⁸Pay careful attention to yourselves and to all the flock, in which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to care for the church of God, which he obtained with his own blood.

1 Corinthians 2:8 (ESV)
⁸None of the rulers of this age understood this, for if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.

Romans 9:5 (ESV)
⁵To them belong the patriarchs, and from their race, according to the flesh, is the Christ who is God over all, blessed forever. Amen.

Colossians 2:9 (ESV)
⁹For in him the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily,

Philippians 2:6 (ESV)
⁶who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped,

Titus 2:13 (ESV)
¹³waiting for our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ,

Hebrews 1:8 (ESV)
⁸But of the Son he says, "Your throne, O God, is forever and ever, the scepter of uprightness is the scepter of your kingdom.

1 John 5:20 (ESV)
²⁰And we know that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding, so that we may know him who is true; and we are in him who is true, in his Son Jesus Christ. He is the true God and eternal life.

So this Christmas praise our Divine Savior, who saves us all from the judgment our sin deserves. And we can claim this gift of salvation and forgiveness through repentance and faith. Merry Christmas and a happy New Year to you all.

Who is in There?

2011-12-10T12:57:00.001-06:00

If you ask most Christians, 'which Person of the Trinity indwells believers?' Most Christians would answer the Holy Spirit. But would it surprise you to know that all three persons of the Trinity are actually inside a believer once they become born again? Let me back up this bold statement with some Bible verses:

Romans 8:11 starts out by saying: "If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you…" And here is what the Study Guide Commentary Series (R.J.D. Utley - Volume 5: The Gospel According to Paul: Romans) says about this verse: "the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you"
Which Person of the Trinity indwells believers? Most Christians would answer the Spirit. This is certainly true, but in reality, all three Persons of the Trinity indwell believers.

Here are the Bible verses cited by the Commentary:

1. God the Holy Spirit:

John 14:16–17 (ESV) - And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever, ¹⁷even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, for he dwells with you and will be in you.

Rom. 8:11 (ESV) – If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit who dwells in you.;

1 Corinthians 3:16 (ESV) - Do you not know that you are God's temple and that God's Spirit dwells in you?

1 Corinthians 6:19 (ESV) - Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own,

2 Timothy 1:14 (ESV) - By the Holy Spirit who dwells within us, guard the good deposit entrusted to you.

2. God the Son:

Matthew 28:20 (ESV) - teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age."

John 14:20 (ESV) - In that day you will know that I am in my Father, and you in me, and I in you.

John 14:23 (ESV) - ²³Jesus answered him, "If anyone loves me, he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him.

John 15:4-5 (ESV) - ⁴Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me. ⁵I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.

Romans 8:10 (ESV) - ¹⁰But if Christ is in you, although the body is dead because of sin, the Spirit is life because of righteousness.

2 Corinthians 13:5 (ESV) - Examine yourselves, to see whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Or do you not realize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you?—unless indeed you fail to meet the test!

Galatians 2:20 (ESV) - ²⁰I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.

Ephesians 3:17 (ESV) - ¹⁷so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith—that you, being rooted and grounded in love,

Colossians 1:27 (ESV) - To them God chose to make known how great among the Gentiles are the riches of the glory of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.

3. God the Father:

John 14:23 (ESV) - ²³Jesus answered him, "If anyone loves me, he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him.

2 Corinthians 6:16 (ESV) - ¹⁶What agreement has the temple of God with idols? For we are the temple of the living God; as God said, "I will make my dwelling among them and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.

So these verses show that the three persons of the Trinity, God the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit are all present inside of a believer, helping the believer grow in faithfulness, holiness and righteousness. Praise God for His work in making us more Christ like! Amen, /s/Tom Wolff

Happy Anniversary (to My Blog)

2011-12-03T08:54:00.001-06:00

With this post, I am celebrating two milestones: This post is my 200^th post, and I have been posting for four years. It is interesting to me which of my posts are the 'most viewed' Here are my most viewed posts:

1. The 10 Greatest Bible Verses - 1,277 views;

2. Lenski's E-Coli Experiments – 1,062 views;

3. Four Winged Fruit Fly – 140 views;

4. Best Male Rock Vocalists – 138 views;

5. Jesus Commands – Sin – 127 views.

OK, I know that my blog is not visited ny many people. But for some reason, over 1,000 visitors to take a look at my post on Lenski's e-coli experiments? Or one guy's opinion on the top verses in the Bible? I don't get the internet, or what draws people to a blog. The 1980's post on greatest male vocalist makes me happy to see a few others are also interested, with the 1980's being American music's highest peak.

Anyway, I enjoy posting, and I appreciate all who visit. Have a great weekend. /s/Tom Wolff

Jesus Feeding the Thousands

2011-11-26T09:54:00.001-06:00

I wish everyone a happy start to the holiday season. My family and I watched a movie entitled 'Joshua' last night. It was great. It has a story line where someone walks into a small town and he just starts helping everyone around. And through his work and help, others join in, and through this he starts transforming lives. It is billed as a movie about Jesus' Second Coming, but it is not anything like what this connotes. Instead, it is a great example of what lives with faith looks like. We recommend it!

Today's topic is a discussion of the different Greek words used for 'baskets" in the Gospel stories on Jesus feeding the thousands with loaves of bread and a few fish. Yes, this is the sort of family I have, where a Thanksgiving celebration often brings up a discussion involving the Bible. And this year, my cousin's husband Bob brought out that in the miracles of Jesus feeding thousands with a few loaves and fish, that different Greek words were used for the 'baskets' used to pick up the left over portion afterwards. In the miracle of 5,000 being fed with 5 loaves and three fish (described in Matthew 14:20-21, Mark 6:43-44, Luke 9:14-17, and John 6:10-13), there were 12 'baskets' of leftover food that was gathered. The Greek word used in the story of the 5,000 being fed is kophinos – which means large baskets. While in the other similar miracle of 4,000 being fed (described in Matthew 15:37-38 and Mark 8:8-9) with seven loaves and a few fish, there were seven 'baskets' left over and gathered. Here, the Greek word used by the Gospel writers is spyris – which means large hampers. This is the sort of a hamper large enough to hold a person. See, Acts 9:23-25 - (ESV), where Paul is lowered in a spyris (or a large hamper to escape): 23 When many days had passed, the Jews plotted to kill him, 24 but their plot became known to Saul. They were watching the gates day and night in order to kill him, 25 but his disciples took him by night and let him down through an opening in the wall, lowering him in a basket. Thus, the Gospel writers were showing that even though fewer people were being fed in the story of Jesus feeding 4,000 people, there were larger baskets / hampers of food left over. This use of different words used was later kept when Jesus spoke to the disciples about the two different miracles in Mark 8:19-20: (ESV): 19 When I broke the five loaves for the five thousand, how many baskets (i.e., kophinos) full of broken pieces did you take up?" They said to him, "Twelve." 20 "And the seven for the four thousand, how many baskets (i.e., spyris) full of broken pieces did you take up?" And they said to him, "Seven."

Here is how one commentator describes the difference: … The distinction between the feeding of the four thousand and of the five thousand is emphasized by the Gospel writers' use of Gk. Kophinos (Strong's Greek #2894) for basket in the former miracle (Mt. 14:20; 16:9; Mk. 6:43; 8:19; Lk. 9:17; Jn. 6:13), but Gk. Spyris(Strong's Greek #4711) in the latter (Mt. 15:37; 16:10; Mk. 8:8, 20). Both words denote a hamper, kophinos appearing elsewhere in a Jewish context, and spyris, in which Paul was lowered from the wall of Damascus, being the larger (Acts 9:25…) from, A. R. Millard, New Bible Dictionary (3rd ed.) (125). Leicester, England; Downers Grove, Ill.: InterVarsity Press.

There was also another comment that I thought was worth passing along from J. H. Smith, comment on the feeding of the 4,000 in the 'New Treasury of Scripture Knowledge':

This was another incontestable miracle—four thousand men, besides women and children (Mt 15:28), fed with seven loaves (or rather cakes) and a few small fishes! Here there must have been a manifest creation of substance—for they all ate, and were filled.

I liked this Comment not only because it stresses the importance of the miraculous nature of the creation of the food enough to feed thousands (more than 4,000 (because the women and children were not counted.) But also because instead of using 'loaves' J. H. Smith thinks 'cakes' is a better description of what Jesus actually used. To me, 'cakes' seems something smaller, and again emphasizes the amazing nature of the miracle.

From these stories I praise Jesus who is concerned about making sure that our needs are met. May God bless you this week in the sure and increasing knowledge of His love for you. /s/Tom Wolff

What Does God Want of You?

2011-11-01T19:35:00.001-05:00

There was an interesting segment on radio host Dennis Prager's "Ultimate Issues" show today. He discussed the Bible being the most wisdom-filled book in human history, and showed this by pointing to a famous Bible verse that explains in a clear picture what God wants from us. Here is the Bible verse Dennis Prager talked about today on his radio program:

He has showed you, O man, what is good.

And what does the Lord require of you?

To act justly and to love mercy

and to walk humbly with your God.

Micah 6:8 (this is from the NIV, which is the translation he used.) See, Hosea 6:6. What does God require of us? The spokesperson Micah explains that it is -To act justly, love mercy, and to walk humbly before God. As background, in case you are not familiar with him, Mr. Prager, he is a practicing Jew, who is also very supportive of Christians. And so, it is not surprising that he would look to an Old Testament verse as being so important. To explain why this is so important to him, he emphasized that he does not care if a person is religious or not. Instead, he looks at one's actions toward him and to others –he says that if your religion does not make you a better person, then it is worthless. Dennis Prager calls his view "virtues based", where virtues of good actions from others is all that is important to him.

OK, so it should not be surprising to us Christians that a Jewish teacher / radio host would be focused on actions (or could we say, works?) But can we argue against the importance of being a good person? Of course not! When we want justice or mercy in our lives, we want a person's action to respond to our need. I don't care where if I was in need, whether the person who helped me was a religious person, an atheist, a pagan, or a follower of Cthulu. It is their response that I need, and Christians certainly do not have the market cornered on being nice people. See Jesus' Parable of the Good Samaritan. And this was Dennis Prager's point, it doesn't matter what you believe (or have faith in), it is only actions that other people look at and see.

As a Christian, I reflexively objected to what Dennis Prager was saying. Actions are more important than faith? For Christians, faith in Jesus is the beginning and end of what we believe. Our actions have no eternal significance, but faith in Jesus does. But does faith in Jesus make our actions unimportant? As James the brother of Jesus writes in the New Testament, faith without actions is dead (James 2:17). Our actions are obviously very important. So how should we piece this together?

Let's look at Jesus' teaching on the two Greatest Commandments we have: "'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: 'Love your neighbor as yourself." (Matthew 22:37-38; see, Leviticus 19:17-19). So the greatest Commandments are to love God and to also love our neighbors. So here is my take: The first and greatest Commandment to love our God with all of our heart, soul and strength, is what we know of as Faith. We trust in God and His promises to us, as set out in the Bible. And when we receive this gift of faith from God (Ephesians 2:8-9), and we reflect back this love to the Creator, we are then empowered to love others. For me, the transformation in my life took place when I started seeing God doing things in my life. This led me to begin reading the Bible, and taking what was written there seriously. Next, I saw my sinful and broken condition before a Holy God (perhaps the last part of Micah 6:8). But then I also started beginning to turn the focus off of me and my life and I was for the first time, realizing the needs of others around me. So the connection in my life was that God's love caused me to love Him, and His love then helped me to love others. I think this is what Matthew 22:37-38 means when Matthew writes saying that loving others is "like" loving God – that loving God is tied to loving others. In my case, loving God first enabled me to start seeing and then love others.

My final note is that for the most part while your actions are more important to me than your faith or religion, but for me, my faith is the most important part of my life. Again, this makes sense in that once I received my faith and the salvation offered by faith in Jesus, I no longer was an enemy of God, under His anger. What gratitude joy and peace I received on that day – have you heard the song "Oh Happy Day"? This gratitude, joy and peace I have towards God allows me to be part of other's lives and to walk alongside them in their battles and trials, and to help them if I can. I now understand that what happens to others is really important, and I want to help them in their needs, and rejoice with them in their victories. So Dennis Prager is partially right – actions are important for others. But for me (and from your perspective also) faith is by far the greatest gift of all.

May God bless you this week with growing insights, financial provision, and the Lord's shalom peace, in Jesus' name, Amen. /s/Tom

Skepsis

2011-10-08T17:25:00.001-05:00

Our Church at Hosanna in Lakeville, Minnesota is running a new program called 'Skepsis' which I have found to be truly unique and interesting. 'Skepsis' I am told is a Greek word that means looking at a truth statement from all different angles, similar to the way one would look at a diamond's different facets from different angles. From the Greek Skepsis, we get our English word skepticism. There are many things that make Skepsis unique for a Church, but the main one seems to be that it is not trying to convert its attendees to believe like Christians do. Instead, it is designed to make us all be more open minded in our thinking.

]Let me give you an example. Last week we discussed the topic of "Exclusiveness". The main question asked was "how can you can you possibly claim that your religion is the one true religion?" Now understand that we are not opening up the Bible. We are not bringing out Bible verses that show why Christianity makes the claim that it is the exclusive way for people to receive salvation. No, it treats all religions on the same level, and that they all teach that they are the best way to understand the world around us. The authors suggest that there are three responses to religious claims and the bad things that religions are doing in the world today:

Seek to suppress and even stamp out religion;
Push to privatize and completely personalize religion – you believe what you want to believe and I will believe what I believe;
Accept that all truth claims are ultimately exclusive and ask: "which one is best"?

I hope this draws the philosophical nature of the "Skepsis" program. So the initial question is whether ALL truth claims are ultimately exclusive. You may have heard of the story of the blind-folded people touching an elephant, as an analogy of the world's different religions. One blind-folded person touches the side of the elephant and says God is like a big wall. While another grabs a leg and says God is like a tree trunk. Another person touches the tail and says God is like a rope, etc… The point of the Elephant story being God is too big for any one religion to accurately describe. They even showed at Skepsis this hilarious video of a Bayer commercial. But even this viewpoint suffers from a flawed assumption – "how can you possibly know that no religion can see the whole truth unless you yourself have superior comprehensive knowledge of reality you just claimed that none of the religions have?" (T Keller).

Another thing that makes Skepsis different is that it breaks into small group discussions very frequently. So you get people from very different backgrounds trying to get their minds around some pretty heavy philosophical teachings. But again the objective of Skepsis is not to teach everyone to believe the same thing. Instead its emphasis is to view things differently. To show this, here is one of the discussion questions they asked the Table Leaders to ask the group: "Try to genuinely identify with where someone from the opposite perspective viewpoint is coming from. Why might they have come to this conclusion?" Wow! Most of the attendees would say they are Christians, though many come with varying levels of a skeptical mindset. But to ask them to think and understand what someone else believes who they disagree with is revolutionary for a Church program.

The final topic for last Thursday's topic dealt with the following question: "do you think it is possible for one religion to be "best" or "right"? Why or why not?" This is a fair question. What makes our religion better than any other? Or is everything just a different path up to the top of the mountain? No final answers were given, again showing the open-ended nature of Skepsis.

Hosanna Church in Lakeville is running this interesting and innovative program. It runs every Thursday up until Thanksgiving, from 6 p.m. until 8:15 p.m. Each week a different obstacle to faith is discussed, and next Thursday's topic is suffering. You will be blessed if you come and check it out.

Prayer – Led by the Spirit

2011-09-18T11:49:00.001-05:00

It's been an eventful past few weeks. Asia has her driver's license. The kids have started school. We celebrated Asia's birthday. Elijah's flag football season has started. And Elijah and I went out to the TCF Bank stadium for the first time, as we watched the Gophers football team lose their home opener. I loved how when the Gophers scored, the announcer would say "that's six points in the Bank". It's a fun place to watch a football game. And this week is Burnsville homecoming, and both Asia and Maggie are going to the homecoming dance.

For today's post, I thought I would talk a bit more about the full Armor of God (Ephesians chapter 6) which protects believers from the enemy's attacks. More specifically, I wanted to talk about Ephesians 6:18's discussion that as part of believer's armor, we need to pray in the Spirit. Here is Ephesians 6:18:

¹⁸praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication…

The Apostle Paul is not telling us that we should be praying at all times by speaking in 'tongues' (a gift of the Holy Spirit, see 1 Corinthians 12:10). Because speaking in tongues is a spiritual gift that only a portion of the believer's are blessed with, it would not make sense for Paul to tell us that everyone should be praying in tongues at all times. Instead, I believe he is telling us that our prayers should be led by the Holy Spirit. We do this through reading God's Word, taking the items that are on our heart, and asking God how we should pray about these things. By this, I mean that when something is causing us anxiousness, or even fear, then we should ask God what our prayers about this should look like. And God has always gently taught me through the something in the Bible, through something said by other believers, or by providing me with a new insight. Here is a short example of how this has worked for me. As our children starting going off to school, I didn't know how to pray for God's protection upon them. This is when an associate Pastor at Hosanna mentioned that for her children, she prayed a blessing upon them as they left for school. Her blessing was that God keep them "physically, spiritually and emotionally safe" this day. I love the conciseness and power of this blessing. And so, since then this has become a regular prayer for my children. This is how I think God leads us to pray being led by the Spirit (Ephesians 6:18, above) with things that are causing us stress in our lives. He loves us, He wants us to come to Him with our troubles, and He answers our prayers, in this case by putting someone in our lives to teach us how they deal with this same problem. God is great, and this has been a source of strength and peace to me every time I pray this simple blessing. This is an Ephesians 6:18 prayer in the Spirit.

So I want to see if my regular prayers may bless you, and if you are willing to share, how your regular prayers may be a blessing to others. Here are some of my regular prayers:

I start the day praying the Lord's Prayer (Matt 6). I try and pray it 2 to 3 times a day (see, the Didache, chapter 8). It's the best prayer, and again I love its conciseness and power;
I love the Apostle's creed (link here). I regularly pray this when my faith is running low;
I regularly pray for the forgiveness of my sins and the sins of my wife and children. I sometimes pray for the forgiveness of my friend's sins;
Once a week, I pray the physical and spiritual protection of my family and friends, co-workers and even clients. I ask for angels (cherubim, seraphim, arch-angels, angels and heavenly host) to be active in this protection, and the body of Christ (and for us to likewise bless and protect others). I pray for God's protection of us from Satan and his ally's and servant's attacks. I also pray against the enemy's camp with prayers that they be divided, even attacking each other. Finally, I pray that we are protected from the sins and negligence of others, and that we likewise not hurt others;
I like to regularly pray Pastor John Eldredge's prayer from his book 'Waking the Dead. Link here;

So, if you have any regular prayers that you are blessed by, I hope that you will share them as a comment. Thank you, and I pr ay that the Lord bless you with His strength, wisdom and peace this week. /s/ Tom Wolff

Whole Armor of God

2011-08-31T18:34:00.001-05:00

Congratulations to my sweet daughter Asia for passing her driver's license test today. Today's topic for this post is the Armor of God. Maybe you've seen the Halloween costume with the different pieces of the Ephesians 6 armor. To start, here are the verses:

Armor of God

¹⁰Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. ¹¹Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. ¹²For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. ¹³Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm. ¹⁴Stand therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, ¹⁵and, as shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace. ¹⁶In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one; ¹⁷and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God, ¹⁸praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. To that end keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints. (Ephesians 6:10-18, ESV).

I am writing today about the Ephesians chapter 6 the whole "Armor of God" which Christ-followers use to defend themselves against Satan's schemes. Here are a few quick points about this armor:

We are not to battle against other people. Instead, we are to fight the unseen enemies that are in the devil's camp (v. 12);
The shield of faith is foundational. The New King James version states in verse 16 "above all, taking the shield of faith…" While the ESV says that "in all circumstances take up the shield of faith";
A vital part of our armor is "praying in the Spirit" (v. 18) and keeping "alert" (v. 18). If you pray this prayer as a regular part of your daily petitions, remember to include these pieces of the armor as well.

Now, for the main reason why I am writing today about the armor of God. The Apostle Paul did not just pull this armor idea out of thin air. Instead, he pulled together a number of different Old Testament verses to show what we are to wear in fighting our true enemy. Here are the whole armor of God, Old Testament references:

belt of truth (v.14); Isa 11:5 (Righteousness shall be the belt of his waist,, and faithfulness the belt of his loins.)
breastplate of righteousness (v. 14); Isa. 59:17 (He put on righteousness as a breastplate, and a helmet of salvation on his head)
shoes having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace (v.15); Isa. 52:7 (How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him who brings good news, who publishes peace, who brings good news of happiness, who publishes salvation, who says to Zion, "Your God reigns.")
also, Nahum 1:15 (Behold, upon the mountains, the feet of him who brings good news, who publishes peace!)
shield of faith (v. 16); Genesis 15:1 (After these things the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision: "Fear not, Abram, I am your shield; your reward shall be very great.)
helmet of salvation (v. 17); Isa. 59:17 (He put on righteousness as a breastplate, and a helmet of salvation on his head)

also, Psalm 140:7 (O Lord, my Lord, the strength of my salvation, you have covered my head in the day of battle.)

sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God (v.17); Hosea 6:5 (Therefore I have hewn them by the prophets; I have slain them by the words of my mouth, and my judgment goes forth as the light.)

May God bless us all with His whole armor of protection against the enemy's attacks. In our Lord and Savior's name Jesus I pray, Amen. /s/Tom

Who (or What) is the Restrainer?

2011-08-07T08:15:00.002-05:00

Do you feel like the world is spinning out of control? Now I am not just talking about a horrible week on Wall Street, starving people in East Africa, the threatened impending doom of Global Warming (it's been a hot summer hasn't it), everyone fighting with each other (let's see, we have the Minnesota Government shut-down, the NFL lockout, the NBA lockout, and the furor and animosity on both sides over the debate with the raising the federal government debt ceiling). Everything seems really crazy to me, like things are falling apart.

Which leads me to 2 Thessalonians chapter 2, which teaches that at some point in our future a "restrainer" will be removed from the world. This connotes to me an even more lawless, uncontrolled world. Chaos will reign. In today's post, I want to review the identity of this "restrainer", and start by looking at 2 Thessalonians chapter 2. This chapter is fantastic reading because it has everything – it discusses the end-times, it talks about the Antichrist, and it talks about two mysteries – one of which is this "restrainer". Well, let's take a look at 2 Thessalonians chapter 2:

Now concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our being gathered together to him, we ask you, brothers, ²not to be quickly shaken in mind or alarmed, either by a spirit or a spoken word, or a letter seeming to be from us, to the effect that the day of the Lord has come. ³Let no one deceive you in any way. For that day will not come, unless the rebellion comes first, and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction, ⁴who opposes and exalts himself against every so-called god or object of worship, so that he takes his seat in the temple of God, proclaiming himself to be God. ⁵Do you not remember that when I was still with you I told you these things? ⁶And you know what is restraining him now so that he may be revealed in his time. ⁷For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work. Only he who now restrains it will do so until he is out of the way. (ESV)

Wow, this is a great set of verses filled with important information. So, from these verses we see that Jesus is going to return to Earth (His Second Coming), and that this has not yet taken place. We also see that before Jesus' return, there will be a rebellion, and that the "man of lawlessness" is revealed, and that he will seat himself in the temple of God. This man of lawlessness does not violate the speeding and traffic laws. No, instead he will be a violator of God's Law: he will not honor God, he will have a life of idolatry, placing other things (rather than God) as preeminent in his life, he will take the Lord's name in vain, and he will not honor the Sabbath Day (these are the first table of the 10 Commandments). And he will also violate the second table of Commandments: he will not honor his parents, he will murder, he will be an adulterer, thief, liar, and also be covetous of other's belongings. This is also where the second mystery is discussed – the mystery of lawlessness (v. 7). This "man of lawlessness", the Antichrist sounds like a despicable character, right? But how far are we from following these Commandments?

But I find the most interesting insight from these verses being the discussion of the restrainer in verses 6 and 7. The restrainer is restraining the Antichrist (v. 6). And his restraining will continue until he is removed, or until he is "out of the way". This sounds almost like a mafia hit, doesn't it? Guido says let's remove the problem, and his hit man responds by saying that he will make sure that "he is out of the way". I think this wording could be lifted from one of the Godfather movies. A couple of quick notes about verses 6 and 7 – first, in verse 6, the restraining is placed as a neuter (the ESV properly uses "what" here), while in verse 7 the author uses the masculine to describe "he who now restrains". One commentator says that the switching from neuter to masculine means that what is being described is an influence capable of personification. And second, Paul is being purposely unclear about the identity of the restrainer, and this is another key clue to revealing the identity of this mystery person or institution. In addition, remember that the Thessalonians would have understood who Paul was talking about.

The traditional explanation of the identity of the "restrainer is as follows:

Tertullian taught that this was the governing authorities, or more specifically the Roman Empire – see, Romans 13;
Some explain that this is the removal of angelic authorities watching over the nations, similar to what is described in Daniel chapter 10;
And the most popular recent explanation is that these verses describe the secret rapture of believers from the world, which means that God the Holy Spirit is removed from Earth.

These explanations all have something going for it. But I came across a very good commentary by J H Smith in his New Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (citing Vine), which adds a twist to the "restrainer" being the governing authorities, but also adds a complete refuting of the secret rapture explanation. Here is what J. H. Smith writes:

… This factor of obscurity immediately rules out the possibility that the reference is to God, the Holy Spirit, or the Church, for if any of these were what he meant, he could have unhesitatingly named any of them without risk. Grammatical considerations also remove God, the Church, or the Holy Spirit from consideration. In this passage two grammatical genders are used of the restrainer: neuter gender, and masculine gender. If the Holy Spirit were the intended reference, Paul would have consistently used the neuter gender. Since the Holy Spirit is omnipresent (Ps 139:7, 8), and does not merely indwell believers, the removal of the saints at the Rapture does not constitute his removal. His removal is not suggested here or elsewhere in Scripture. … If the Church were Paul's intended reference, Paul would have consistently used the feminine gender, for in Greek the word "church" is feminine in its grammatical gender. … But the masculine and neuter gender does fit the future government (neuter gender) and its king (masculine gender). This leaves human government as the only remaining choice of those given. But the reference is not to human government in general, for prophecy nowhere states that such government will cease just prior to the revelation of the Antichrist. Rather, Paul has a specific reference to biblical prophecy in mind, Daniel 7:8, 24, where Daniel speaks of the Antichrist defeating three kings which until that time restrained his power. That Paul's reference is to prophecy in the book of Daniel is confirmed by his reference to Daniel in ver. 4, and his statement in ver. 5, which indicates that when he was present with the Thessalonians he had been teaching them about Bible prophecy from the book of Daniel.

Wow, I like how this is explained. This means that because Paul uses the neuter and masculine gender descriptions for the "restrainer" in verses 6 and 7, that it cannot be either the church or God the Holy Spirit. The fact that Paul is intentionally not providing the identity of the "restrainer" means that it is likely that Paul was cautious in making sure that unnecessary persecution not result from his writing. Thus, Paul likely was referring to the Roman government as the identity of the "restrainer", which is why it is unnamed. But here is the twist, in the Old Testament book of Daniel there is a prophecy that the Antichrist will "put down" three kings on his rise to power (Daniel 7:24). Putting down rivals, eliminating the enemy? This sounds like my Godfather reference for 2 Thess. 2:7 that I started this post writing about. Taking out, or putting down enemy heads of state sounds like this is something the Antichrist will do. And so, the "restrainer" of 2 Thess. 2:6-7 might be three powerful country's leaders who are removed by the Antichrist. Think of how the world would look if this actually took place. Therefore, in thinking of the "restrainer", there is the possibility that it is more than just the world's governing authorities – it may be the heads of three powerful world countries or institutions (see, Daniel 7:8, :24).

Alright, that is enough thinking about the scary future for today. Remember for those who place their hope and trust in Jesus, He will be with us until the end of the age (Matthew 28:20). May God bless you this week. /s/Tom

Scripture Memory - Memlok

2011-07-24T11:02:00.001-05:00

Hi everyone. Peggy and I celebrated the wedding of Peggy's sister Theresa to Erik. The celebration took place yesterday at friends of Theresa's, who live in Wisconsin near the Apple River. So yes, Peggy's side of the family, along with Peggy and I and the kids were taken tubing on the Apple River, upstream from Sommerset. The tubing lasted about 35 minutes, no rapids, and the hosts provided boys to steer our group of tubers down the river. They drove us, provided the tubes, picked us up at the end, and drove us back to the farm where the party was taking place. It was a lot of fun, although Elijah and I are the worst victims of sun burn today. But despite the sunburn, it was a great way to celebrate the marriage.

Today's post is about my favorite Bible memorization program, which I can now whole heartedly recommend – Memlok. They recently updated their program so that it works with Windows 7, and the new program is better than ever. Memlok uses a picture to help you get started with the memory verse, then you can type in the verse, or play a word jumble, or fill in the blank. It uses the combination of the word picture and repetition to lock in these great verses. It works, it stretches your brain, but it is well worth it. The Family version costs $29.95. Try it, it's a great way to learn Bible verses.

Unity, not Uniformity

2011-07-11T19:55:00.001-05:00

In our Thursday morning Men's Group we are studying the Book of Ephesians. And this week's lesson includes Ephesians 4:3, the unity verse. It reads:

Unity in the Body of Christ (Ephesians 4:1–3 (ESV))

4 I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called, ²with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, ³eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.

So in verse 3 we see Paul's instruction to Christians that the Church be eager to maintain "unity". With three main braches of Christianity (Catholic, Eastern Orthodox and Protestant), how can the call given Ephesians 4:3's for unity when we have (according to Christianity Today) over 38,000 different denominations today? I am a Protestant. I am also a 'Lutheran' Protestant. Protestant's tend to place more emphasis upon Scripture than the other branches of Christianity – sola Scriptura is one of our battle calls. Yet nearly all of the 38,000 denominations that exist today are from the Protestant branch. So how come Protestants have so blatantly ignored this call for unity?

The reason I am writing today's post is that I do not think that the divisions in Christianity are such a bad thing. Yes, I know the primary reason for so many denominations is human pride. They might say, I know this better than you do, so if you won't follow me, then I will start my own Church. This is pure arrogance, and this attitude clearly flies in the face of Ephesians 4:2's call for humility. But each denomination has something different to offer, that when taken together shows the beautiful bouquet of the "flowers" of faith that are in the different denominations of the Body of Christ:

Roman Catholics – Who fights harder for marriage and against abortion than the Catholics? They also tend to be more freely giving of their time and effort to help those in need;

Baptists – No one loves the Holy Scriptures like the Baptists. Their love of the Gospel of Jesus Christ and the proclamation of the Gospel is second to none.

Lutherans – I see Lutherans as the most "normal" of those who call themselves Christians. And many times, normal is important – they cherish family, the Protestant work ethic, and volunteering their time. All good things. And the Christians I I respect the most for their proper understanding of God's Grace, are Lutherans - Simultaneously saint and sinner.

Pentecostal – The faith of Pentecostals is fun. They believe in miracles, answered prayer, and the Gifts of the Holy Spirit. There is joy in their worship of God. And they really believe God hears their prayers, and that their prayers are answered. If I want someone to pray for me, I want someone with a Pentecostal background doing that prayer.

Eastern Orthodox – The incense, the beauty of their Church and services, and the seriousness they take the mystical worship of God. There is a lot to be said for going to the same place of worship that has been around for hundreds of years.

Anglican – I don't know much about the Church of England. But I watched the wedding ceremony of William and Kate on TV. And I loved the preaching, the message that gave the royal couple, and the singing of their choirs.

Christian Liberal – The social Gospel, of helping those in need. They help the poorest around the world to have food, water, clothing and shelter. Their compassion has changed how the world responds to disasters.

And yes, there are many more denominations, but I hope that you see my point. And I understand these are generalizations, and that I am painting with a broad brush. But the point I want to make is that if we see fellow members of the Body of Christ, those who call themselves Christians, and we focus on the positive things that they are doing, then we don't have to worry so much about the differences we have in our faith. Let God sort out on the Last Day the mistakes in our interpretation of the Bible, and the misunderstandings we have of salvation, forgiveness, missions, the work of the Holy Spirit, etc. If we turn this over the God, then we do not have to worry so much about pointing out the problems in other's faith, and instead concentrate the positive things that we see in their faith. Is it possible if we focus on the good things in others faiths, then perhaps we can start incorporating all of the positive things in the faiths of those around us. Do you want a Bible verse that teaches this? How about Philippians 4: 8:" Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things." In other words, let our brains tune into pure, excellent, good things, and stop thinking about things that are wrong with others.

So my take away this week is look at the different denominations of those around you not as a sign that Christians are hopelessly divided, and that unity is impossible. Instead, try looking at the other Christian faiths as part of wonderful bouquet of flowers, with all different kinds of smells and looks, coming together in a wonderful way. And the individual beauty of each comes together with the others to show the glory and majesty of the One who made these flowers – the Triune God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

God please bless us in our upcoming week. Thank you for your sending your Son. Amen.

Disc Golf (and Happy 4th)

2011-07-04T17:01:00.001-05:00

I wish a Happy Independence Day (July 4, 2011) to everyone. We are blessed to live in a country where we have so many freedoms. I feel blessed today, as I dragged my wife and four children out to play Disc Golf with me. Here is what my initial attempt at Disc Golf was like:

A friend at work recommended Disc Golf (or Frisbee Golf for the unlearned) as a fun, cheap way to enjoy the outdoors with the family. So to start, I checked out the local second-hand sports equipment store, and I was able to pick up 7 disks. Here is where I discovered that there are different discs depending on how far you want your throw to go. Yes, just like in golf they have drivers, putters and mid-range discs. So I began with mostly drivers, because doesn't everyone enjoy it when the disc / ball / puck goes far and fast? So last Friday with my collection of discs in hand, the next step was to find a course to play on.

There are all sorts of FREE Disc Golf courses around the area. The two I focused my attention on were the Braemer Pool, Edina course, and the Alimagnet (on the border of Apple Valley and Burnsville) course. I was afraid the Edina course would be too crowded. And so my focus turned to Alimagnet. Now, I heard that the Alimagnet course was hard to reach. But I knew it must be near to the Alimagnet Dog off-leash park, where we have been many times taking our pooches. So after convincing my family to test this sport out earlier today, we gave the Alimagnet Disc Golf course a try.

Here I thought Disc Golf would be easy – you hurl your disc as far as you can, and drop it into the hole / basket. The "holes" are really poles covered with chains and a basket to catch the discs. But I couldn't whip my disc anywhere near as far as I would like. But the first couple of baskets were nice, short holes that gave us a good introduction to the game. Just toss it as far as you can, then try and get it close to the basket. But it's much tougher than it looks…

So Asia had the best looking, straight and long throws. But it turned out to be Elijah who caught on the quickest. After the first hole, Elijah ended up having the best score of the family in three of the next four holes. He's such a natural athlete. And I did horribly. Sigh.

OK, it was a beautiful day outside, no bugs, and together with the family. What could be better? Well, it would have been much better if we could have parked in the Alimagnet Disc Golf course parking lot, and not at the Dog Park parking lot. I am told it is off of Garden View Lane, but next time we will have to search it out. But we tried to discover the course through walking the back paths of the Dog Park, which led to a much longer stroll than we were looking for. I am saying we did something on the order of a 'Stripes' 20 mile hike in the forest to finally find the course. But after playing 5 holes, hiking back and finally returning to our car, I saw that we had only spent 1 hour and 45 minutes with our hiking and disc golfing. So it probably was a little shorter than 20 miles. But to my credit, it was mountainous. Err, I mean hilly.

So my overall impression was that if we eliminated the hike trying to find the course, and allowed us to just play disc golf, it was fun enough to try again. I hope to get my family out again here one of these days. Maybe with practice, I can improve from horrible.

May God bless you with peace, provision, and more laughter today and this week. /s/Tom Wolff

3 Signs of the End

2011-06-26T09:24:00.001-05:00

Happy near-end of June to everyone. Now that we have survived Harold Camping's debacle because of his failed prediction of the end of the world, I thought it would be a good time to discuss the Bible's signs of the last day / end-times. There are two main camps in Christianity discussing Christ's Return and the end of times: first, we have the Pre-Tribulationists, who believe that a rapture of believers can take place at any moment. They also see many events taking place as "signs" that the end is near. An example of this is 'The Rapture Index' link here, which lists 45 signs that the Rapture is really near. Based upon these signs, this website also post a "Rapture Index" to show how close we are to the Rapture. Today, they have listed our Rapture Index as 182, with anything above 160 described as "fasten your seatbelts". So Pre-Tribulationists see many Bible verses as pointing to the imminent return of Jesus Christ and the rapture of believers.

Now the second group is the Amillennialist camp. An excellent example of this line of Christian thought was published in a recent 'Modern Reformation' magazine. The article is by Pastor Kim Riddlebarger (link to his blog is here), and he is a top Reformed thinker on end-time's issues. In his article entitled "You are Here", he discusses the Biblical signs pointing to the Last Day. He finds only three signs that "herald the end of the age and the return of our Lord." Here are Pastor Riddlebarger's three signs pointing to the End of the Age:

The first sign is that the Gospel is preached to the end of the world; Matthew 24:14 (ESV): And this gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.
Tom's Thought: The New Testament Gospel is translated and published in over 1,200 languages, which covers over 75% of the world's population (Wycliffe.org). So this looks as though we have met or are close to meeting the completion of this first Sign;
The second sign that foretells the end is the salvation of "all Israel"; Romans 11:25–26 (ESV): Lest you be wise in your own sight, I want you to understand this mystery, brothers: a partial hardening has come upon Israel, until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in.²⁶And in this way all Israel will be saved, as it is written,
"The Deliverer will come from Zion, he will banish ungodliness from Jacob";
Tom's Thought: This sign is not yet met. When we see mass ethnic Jewish conversions to Christianity, we should know that the end is near. I assume this mass conversion would take place in a relatively short timeframe, because although we are given the signs of the end, we are also told that the end can come upon us at any moment – Matt. 24:37. So for this one, we need to wait.
The third sign of the impending end is the age of the great apostasy, and with this the appearance of the Man of Sin, who is the Antichrist. The final Antichrist will be given Satan's power and great authority (Revelation 13:2). There will be a great persecution of Christians during this time.
Tom's Thought: This sign is also not yet met. Although I think many would agree that we are seeing the beginning of the Great Apostasy – with even in the Church there is the denial of sin, denial of Hell, and all sorts of date-setters of Jesus' Return. So again for this one, we must wait. But the wait may not be long…

So here you see the stark contrast between the two main schools of thought that deal with the end-times – Pre-Tribulationists see many Bible verses as showing the "signs" that the Rapture of believers can take place at any time. While on the other hand, the second school of thought is Amillennialism, which sees perhaps as few as three signs which point to the Last Day and Jesus' Return. So there you have it. I found Pastor Riddlebarger's article helpful in discussing the signs that point to the coming of the end of the age, and I hope you have as well. God bless you, today and this week. /s/Tom Wolff

Must Hitler Burn Forever?

2011-06-11T08:38:00.002-05:00

Have you thought much about the traditional doctrine of Hell? Unbelievers in Christ, we are taught, will spend eternity in a place of punishment called Hell (or H-E-double hockey sticks for those of you from Minnesota). Well, here I am greeted this morning in the Christian Post with having to reflect on whether unbelievers and even evil scoundrels like Adolf Hitler are they really spending eternity in Hell.

Link HERE. The author is Randall Rauser, who is the associate professor of historical theology at Taylor Seminary in Edmonton. And his approach to the topic is first using reason and logic in suggesting that Christians have misunderstood the doctrine of an eternal Hell. He has a very persuasive line that summarizes his position: can the finite life (of 70 to 80 years) commit sins that deserve eternal punishment? He uses the worst of all lives, Adolf Hitler as his example. And if God punished Hitler for 3,000,000,000 (3 billion) years in Hell, with perhaps physical, emotional or even psychological torment, wouldn't this stir in even our hearts compassion that the torment end? His point is that if even Hitler does not deserve eternal Hell, then how can Christianity continue to cling to the eternal Hell doctrine?

I am sympathetic to Professor Rauser's argument. However, anytime that you go against 2,000 years of Christian teaching and rely upon our reason primarily, we are treading in dangerous waters. So let us remember the clear teaching of our Lord Jesus:

Mathew 25:31-34, :41 says: When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on his glorious throne. ³² Before him will be gathered all the nations, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats ³³And he will place the sheep on his right, but the goats on the left. ³⁴Then the King will say to those on his right, 'Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world… ⁴¹"Then he will say to those on his left, 'Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. (ESV)

So Jesus' teaching on Judgment Day is that all the nations will be gathered before Jesus' throne. And He will separate them into two groups: sheep on the right and goats on the left. The sheep will enter God's Kingdom, and the goats will depart "into the eternal fire". So the teaching could not be much clearer: the sheep of Jesus will go to Heaven, and the goats will depart into Hell.

So perhaps Hell is eternal fire, while the punishment is not eternal (annihilationism). Or perhaps everyone goes to Heaven (universalism). Professor Rauser does a good job explaining what the alternatives and implications of what his teaching really means.

My take away is this – I hope that you will read Professor Rauser's chapter, and if you disagree with him, at least have a thoughtful response of why you disagree. For me, I found it helpful and refreshing in seeing that someone else besides me was wrestling with the same doctrine on eternal punishment in Hell. God bless you, /s/Tom Wolff

92% of People Believe in God

2011-06-06T18:38:00.001-05:00

From a Gallup Poll that has been run every decade going back to November 1944. Yes, 92% of Americans believe in God. Darwinism and Atheism have made little in-roads in people's belief in God.

Here's the Link. A couple on interesting parts of the survey – first, the percentage of people who believe in God actually increases if they have graduated college – 94% of college graduates believe in God.

Second, if you ask the question do you believe in God or a universal spirit, the number of people who say yes actually drops. This seems odd, as it is a seemingly a broader question.

No other comment, other than there are still a few people who believe the Earth is flat. There's just no way to get everyone to believe in something, no matter how obvious.

Harold Camping is Wrong.

2011-05-25T12:12:00.001-05:00

We survived May 21^st, without the return of Jesus inflicting judgment upon the world's inhabitants. And unless you've been living under a rock, you have heard about Harold Camping a California Radio network (called "Family Radio") owner, who spent a great deal of money to make sure America knew of his prophecy. Harold Camping is not a trained Bible instructor. He also is NOT associated with any denomination, and was punished by the last church he was a part of. He is just a guy who loves the Bible, and thought he had a secret message from his reading of Scripture, that only he understood. That Jesus' return would take place in 1994 (his first failed prophecy), no, I mean May 21, 2011. And this May 21^st prediction was also wrong.

I am not going to jump on the bandwagon of those making fun of him, or make hurtful statements about him. I truly feel sorry for him, and hope that he and his failed prophecies are quickly forgotten. I know of the power of when you feel the Spirit telling to do something, and then learning that this was not from God. So please have mercy on him. Instead, what I want to do with this post, is to review WHY Camping was wrong, and suggest that his failed method of Bible interpretation (looking at Old Testament verses on par with the New Testament teachings) is a warning for those who follow the Pre-Trib / Dispensational method of interpreting the Bible. The Traditional Church method of interpreting the Bible is to focus on the New Testament Gospels for the foundations of all doctrine for Christians. The New Testament Epistles help explain and shed further light on the Gospel teachings. And here is the important part of what I am saying – the Old Testament is read in light of what is taught and said in the New Testament. The teaching of Jesus in the Gospels sheds light and help us better understand what is in the Old Testament, not the other way around.

This is where Harold Camping, and other Pre-Trib Dispensationalists (the poster boy for what I am talking about is Tim LaHaye's 'Left Behind' end-times book series) go wrong. They treat Old Testament teachings as equally instructive for Christian foundational issues. Here is an example. Here is my brief (and too simplistic) explanation of Camping's failed prophecy: The Old Testament story of Noah's Ark took place on May 21^st , 7,000 years ago. For God a day is like 1,000 years (Psalm 90:4; 2 Peter 3:8). There are 7 days in Creation, and on the 7^th day God rested. So after the 7^th day (here 7,000 years), God will start something new – and it will start with Jesus' return that initiates God's judgment upon our world.

Here are some similar examples of Dispensationalist / Pre-Trib use of Old Testament verses to support their view of what takes place during the " end-times": Redevelopment of the Roman / European Empire (Daniel 2:32-33); The appearance of a Red Heifer after 2,000 years (Numbers 19:2-7), and ; The Rise of Russia (Ezekiel 38:2,4,8). Now some of these can be read along with what the New Testament books say about the "end-times", like Daniel 12:4, which predicts that during the "end-times" there will be a great increase in knowledge and travel. But otherwise, if we keep our focus on what is taught in the New Testament, then the errors of Harold Camping are avoided.

As an example, Jesus taught that the Day of Jesus' Return will come unexpectantly (Luke 21:34); and "no one knows the day or hour" (Matthew 24:36) when this return will take place. This should end anyone's attempts of telling the world when Jesus will return. And so, my hope is that we learn two things from Harold Camping's mistake of prophesying Jesus' return taking place on May 21, 2011: first, that we read everything in the Old Testament in light of what is taught in the New Testament; and, second that if anyone else predicts a date for Jesus' return, then we will boldly tell others that their prediction is false, and not in line with what Jesus taught. In Christ, /s/Tom Wolff

Law News

2011-05-14T09:40:00.001-05:00

Hey, I am a lawyer after all. So I thought I would provide a few news stories involving the LAW. Here are the stories I thought that were interesting:

Osama Bin Laden's Will. Just 3 months after 9/11, Osama Bin Laden had his Will drafted. And in his Will, there were a couple of interesting provisions: his wives – not allowed to marry again. And his children – they are not allowed to join Al Qaeda. So much for continuing in the family business…
For 1^st time, more women getting advanced degrees than men. Story here. For the first time, American women have passed men in gaining advanced college degrees as well as bachelor's degrees, part of a trend that is helping redefine who goes off to work and who stays home with the kids….Among adults 25 and older, 10.6 million U.S. women have master's degrees or higher, compared to 10.5 million men. Measured by shares, about 10.2 percent of women have advanced degrees compared to 10.9 percent of men — a gap steadily narrowing in recent years. Women still trail men in professional subcategories such as business, science and engineering.
When it comes to finishing college, roughly 20.1 million women have bachelor's degrees, compared to nearly 18.7 million men — a gap of more than 1.4 million that has remained steady in recent years. Women first passed men in bachelor's degrees in 1996…
Betting has gone crazy in the US. But have you thought about betting on whether or not someone will be convicted? You can do it at Intrade – which had as its odds that Raj Rajaratnam to be found guilty of at least one count of insider trading is 94% probable). He ended up being convicted.
Elizabeth Taylor Requests that She Will be Late to Her Own Funeral. Story here. True to the sense of humor and flair that defined her life, Elizabeth Taylor knew exactly how she wanted her final starring role to play out… The service was scheduled to begin at 2 pm but at Miss Taylor's request started late. Miss Taylor had left instructions that it was to begin at least 15 minutes later than publicly scheduled, with the announcement, "She even wanted to be late for her own funeral."
Most Americans Do Not Have a Will. Story here. The March 2011 survey of 1,001 adults revealed that more than half of all adults (57 percent) do not have a Will, including a shocking 92 percent of adults under age 35 and 44 percent of baby boomers (ages 45-64). Hey, you have to have a Will, so if you do not have one, give me a call or drop me an email at tewolff@aol.com.

The Lord Bless You

2011-05-01T19:30:00.001-05:00

The cub scouts were out collecting bags of food yesterday for the food shelves. Yes, it was early, cold, raining and windy. But Elijah was a trooper. He kept knocking on door after door to see if people were willing to help the needy. And they were! With two scouts, we were able to collect 86 pounds of food. So it lifted my heart to see the willingness of people and their desire to give.

Today, I wanted to post on the topic of God's blessing. Who doesn't want to be blessed? Yes, and the classic statement of blessing comes from Numbers 6:22-27, which is sometimes called the Priestly (or Aaron's) Blessing. It is a blessing upon the nation of Israel, but it definitely looks as though it can also be claimed by New Testament believers. I say this because of the repetition of the name "Lord" or "Jehovah" three times (and as Matthew Henry points out, each use of Jehovah places a different accent in the original), expresses the great mystery of the Godhead—three persons, and yet one God. The expressions in the separate clauses correspond to the respective offices of the Father, to "bless and keep us" (v.24); of the Son, to be "gracious to us" (v.25); and of the Holy Spirit, to "give us peace." (v.26). This promise of blessing for New Testament believers also bring to mind 2 Corinthians 1:20 (all the promises of God find their Yes in him.) So here is the "Priestly Blessing", which is for everyone, Jew and non-Jew alike:

Numbers 6:22-27 (ESV)
²² The Lord spoke to Moses, saying, ²³ "Speak to Aaron and his sons, saying, Thus ^zyou shall bless the people of Israel: you shall say to them,

²⁴ The Lord bless you and keep you;

²⁵ the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you;

²⁶ the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace.

²⁷ "So shall they put my name upon the people of Israel, and I will bless them."

This Priestly blessing is also the oldest recovered verse of the O.T. and is found engraved on a piece of thin metal foil. Let's do a little unpacking of the meaning of these blessings: Verse 24 asks for God to "bless" and "keep" us. This blessing is upon each person. To receive his blessing of us is doing well for us; those whom he blesses are blessed indeed. For God to "keep" us is God to protect us. Blessed protection is the promise of verse 24.

Verse 25 speaks of God making "his face to shine" upon us and that he be "gracious" to us. The analogy here of God's face shining upon us is made to the sun pouring out its light upon. When we are bathed in the warmth and light of the sunshine, it feels wonderful. When we feel God's love upon us, the blessing is even greater: we cannot but be happy if we have God's love; and we cannot but be easy if we know that we have it. God's gracious love is the focus here in verse 25.

In verse 26, the blessing is of God's "countenance" upon us, and His shalom peace. God giving us His "countenance" seems to allude to the smiles of a father upon his child, or of a man upon his friend whom he takes pleasure in. If God give us the assurances of his special favor and his acceptance of us, this will put gladness into the heart, Ps. 4:7, 8. The promise of peace here is the greater peace of completeness, wholeness, health, peace, welfare, safety soundness, tranquility, prosperity, perfectness, fullness, rest, harmony, and the absence of agitation or discord. What a wonderful blessing in verse 26 of God's kindness and full peace being given to us.

Finally, in verse 27, because the benediction, though pronounced by the lips of a fellow man, derived its virtue, not from the priest but from God, the encouraging assurance was added, "I the Lord will bless them." It is up to God, and not dependent on anything about us or what we have done.

So here is my blessing upon you, May the Lord bless you and keep you; may the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you; may the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace. This blessing is for everyone, so please go out there this week and live in God's blessing upon you.

Happy Easter

2011-04-24T08:57:00.001-05:00

Happy Easter to everyone. Sometimes it is easy for Christians to have our focus be on the "Good Friday" Jesus. The "Good Friday" Jesus is our Savior, who died for our sins. Through faith in Jesus we receive the forgiveness of our sins and Jesus' sacrifice in our place on the Cross, our sins are paid, and we receive our salvation. This is why as John 14:6 says that Jesus is the only "way" to God the Father – because without our sins being forgiven we cannot approach God. And only Jesus can cleanse us of our sins. Without Him, our dirt-filled lives are too wicked to be in God's presence. Until we make Jesus our "Savior" this is when we have our Savior's sacrifice to cleanse and purify us, and providing us our salvation.

But enough about the "Good Friday" Jesus being our Savior. Easter is the focus of our Holy Week celebration, and I hope to encourage you to consider the importance of the "Lord" Jesus. The one who rose from the dead, after three days in the tomb, He arose. Hallelujah! This "Lord" Jesus showed himself to be God the Son through the resurrection. And his appearances after his resurrection to the Apostles turned them from cowardly, simple students into world-changing evangelists, telling others what they had seen and learned. Their message spread like wild fire throughout the world, and the world has never been the same again. So let us also remember the "Lord" Jesus who was resurrected, defeating death (O death where is thy sting?), and providing us with the clear portrait of God – and His love for us. Happy Easter everyone.

Baptism and China’s Faith

2011-04-17T08:28:00.001-05:00

G'day everyone. I am a proud papa today. I just came back (on Saturday) from a Baptism class at Hosanna led by Pastors Larry and Susan Fannon. Our daughters Asia (age 16) and Olivia (age 13) have chosen to be baptized and attended the class as part of their baptism which will take place today. The class was great and I learned another great verse that supports Baptism of all Christians. Take a look at Matthew 3:15, where Jesus asks John to baptize him, and John says he's not worthy to. Here is Jesus' response – " But Jesus said, "It should be done, for we must carry out all that God requires.^*" So John agreed to baptize him". (Matthew 3:15 - NLT). So baptism is a requirement from God for the Christian life. In the Great Commission, Jesus commanded it, God requires it, so we should do it!

Second, I found what I thought was a really interesting article in the Washington Post on China's religious explosion. What's going on in China? Here are portions from the article: Constitutional changes in 1982 led to greater freedom of religion, all this is very sudden. It was barely 25 years ago since the Amity Press, the official press for the Patriotic Church, started printing Chinese Bibles. Only three years since Hu Jintao, president and general secretary of the Communist party told the Chinese Politburo:"We must strive to closely unite religious figures and believers... to build an all-around...prosperous society while quickening the pace towards modernization and socialism". These are sentiments supported in public statements by Premier Wen Jiabao.

This has resulted in more Muslims in China than in the whole of Europe. There are more practicing Protestants in China than in Britain. More practicing Catholics than in Italy. And an estimated 100 million or more people who consider themselves Buddhists. … Official Chinese surveys show that nearly one in three Chinese describe themselves as religious. This is not where they were 30 years ago.

Tom's thought: China is now an open field where different religions are staking their claims to a country with over 19% of the world's population (see Wikipedia). With over 1.3 billion people, it is difficult to expect that China will continue to allow the expansion of Buddhism, Islam and Christianity. Something's gotta give.

Link to the article is here.

IBM Helps in Fight against MRSA

2011-04-09T09:59:00.001-05:00

A great e-letter sent out by K-House news (April 5, 2011), on IBM's development of tiny, degradable plastic "nano-particles" that tear down the walls of MRSA cells. Here is their article:

When superbugs attack, get out the plastic nano-armies. Engineers in San Jose, California have created a new form of antibiotic out of manmade nano-particles 50,000 times smaller than the thickness of a human hair. According to researchers, these microscopic soldiers of germ warfare are able to search out and destroy even the scariest of antibiotic-resistant bacteria. When their job of slaughtering the bacterial enemy is finished, the nano-particles harmlessly biodegrade away.

Misuse of standard antibiotics has led to the rise of drug-resistant "super" bacteria. If antibiotics don't quite kill off all the bacteria in their host, the most drug-resistant ones are left to reproduce after their kind, producing virulent strains that refuse to die through normal treatment. Typical drugs also kill the beneficial bacteria that bodies need to function well.

Bacteria like methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) infected at least 94,360 people in 2005, according to the most recent statistics from the Centers for Disease Control. About 18,650 died during their hospital stays due to this serious staph infection that has been busily defying common antibiotics.

IBM is behind a technology to use nano-particles to take over where antibiotic drugs have failed. These newly developed plastic nanoparticles use a different method of attack, as reported in this week's issue of Nature Chemistry. The engineers have given the nano-particles a charge so that they are attracted to oppositely charged bacteria. In this way, they can be used to target infected cells, reportedly eradicating bacteria like MRSA while leaving beneficial bacteria alone.

According to the IBM researchers, these nano-particles also take a different approach to killing the bacteria. Rather than attacking the bacterial DNA, these brutal plastic machetes beat down the cell walls, destroying the bacteria from the outside-in.

"These are designed to slice the cell membrane, to rip the membrane up and eliminate the contents," explains James Hedrick, advanced organic materials scientist at IBM Almaden Research Center. "It's kind of like the way a virus would work - a virus drills a pore, empties the contents and hijacks it. This is drilling in little holes, and all the contents leak out."

IBM's technology "goes outside the scheme of current antibiotics to something that physically destroys bacteria", said Mario Raviglione, chief of the World Health Organisation's Stop TB department. "If this is proven to work in humans, it will simply revolutionize the way we deal with antimicrobial treatment."

While the technology sounds promising, it has yet to be tested on humans. IBM declares that the nano-particles harmlessly degrade into an "innocuous byproduct." It is encouraging that these microscopic machines can attack harmful bacteria without any threat that they themselves will reproduce or remain forever in the blood stream. Yet, a great deal of testing needs to be done to make sure that the nano-particles only attack the cells of the organisms they are intended to attack.

Humankind continually presses upward in its technological advances, offering promises of wonder cures. An awareness of possible unforeseen results needs to keep us cautious in our biotech race.

The article provides several links about this story, and here is a good one. One of the statistics it mentions is that 25,000 people in the European Union are dying each year from infections like MRSA! Let's hope that this technology really works.

Second, Here is another article on the "super-bug" MRSA-like infection known as NDM-1 (named for New Delhi metallobeta-lactamase, because it is widespread in New Delhi, India). The World Health Organization (WHO) called for action in fighting NDM-1 and warns that it is posing a global health risk. Currently, it is spreading through India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Great Britain. New research published Thursday in a U.K. medical publication shows the source of NDM-1 is widespread in sewage and drinking water outside the hospital environment in Delhi, India, circulating because of sewage contamination in bacteria that inhabit drains and tap water.

How serious are drug-resistant infections? The article cites statistics that in the US, hospital-acquired, drug-resistant bacterial infections kill 63,000 patients each year and cost $34 billion. Wikipedia reports that for a study done on New Delhi water samples studied, 20 strains of bacteria were found to contain NDM-1 gene in 51 out of 171 seepage samples and 2 out of 50 tap water samples. Although there hasn't been many deaths yet from NDM-1, this is one to keep your eyes on.

Give us this Day our “Daily Bread”

2011-03-26T08:30:00.001-05:00

Happy Sabbath and Lord's Day (or weekend, if you prefer) to everyone. We have started Spring Break here in Burnsville. And Ohio State and Wisconsin both got knocked out of March Madness, leaving us with no Big-10 teams in college basketball's final tournament. But all is good in our home this day – everyone is healthy, bills are paid, relationships are good, and if it weren't for my oldest two daughters learning to drive (Asia is set to take her driver's license test, and Maggie her permit test), I would be at real peace with the world. Which brings me to today's topic the Lord's Prayer.

This isn't such a big jump in topic as you may think. I like to regularly pray the Lord's Prayer, after I read in the early Christian writing called the Didache (written around 150 AD) that we should pray the Lord's prayer three times a day (Didache 8:3). In today's post I wanted to talk about the Fourth Petition in the Lord's Prayer that we be given this day our "daily bread". In our men's group we discussed Martin Luther's description of what is meant by "daily bread", and here is what Luther wrote:

Fourth Petition – Luther's Small Catechism - Give us today our daily bread.

What does this mean?

God surely gives daily bread without our asking, even to all the wicked, but we pray in this petition that he would lead us to realize this and to receive our daily bread with thanksgiving.

What, then, is meant by daily bread?

Daily bread includes everything that we need for our bodily welfare, such as food and drink, clothing and shoes, house and home, land and cattle, money and goods, a godly spouse, godly children, godly workers, godly and faithful leaders, good government, good weather, peace and order, health, a good name, good friends, faithful neighbors, and the like.

Martin Luther makes the claim that "daily bread" covers not only our food, clothing and home, but also the weather (?), health, peace and order, good government, good friends, etc. So I wanted to see why Martin Luther makes such a broad description of what is meant in the Fourth Petition in the Lord's Prayer for our "daily bread" (Matthew 6:11). Here is what I found (all verses are from the ESV):

Food:

Psalm 132:15 (for Zion) I will abundantly bless her provisions; I will satisfy her poor with bread.

All Food - Genesis 3:19 (ESV) ¹⁹By the sweat of your face you shall eat bread, till you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken; for you are dust, and to dust you shall return."

And meat, and all that they craved; - Numbers 11:18-19 (ESV) ¹⁸And say to the people, 'Consecrate yourselves for tomorrow, and you shall eat meat, for you have wept in the hearing of the Lord, saying, "Who will give us meat to eat? For it was better for us in Egypt." Therefore the Lord will give you meat, and you shall eat. ¹⁹You shall not eat just one day, or two days, or five days, or ten days, or twenty days; and, Psalm 78:27-29 (ESV) ²⁷he rained meat on them like dust, winged birds like the sand of the seas; ²⁸he let them fall in the midst of their camp, all around their dwellings. ²⁹And they ate and were well filled, for he gave them what they craved.

Who provides food for all living creatures? Job 38:41 (ESV) ⁴¹Who provides for the raven its prey, when its young ones cry to God for help, and wander about for lack of food?

(Do not worry) Matthew 6:25-27
For this reason I say to you, do not be worried about your life, as to what you will eat or what you will drink; nor for your body, as to what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? "Look at the birds of the air, that they do not sow, nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not worth much more than they? And who of you by being worried can add a single hour to his life?

Matthew 6:31-32
Do not worry then, saying, 'What will we eat?' or 'What will we drink?' or 'What will we wear for clothing?' For the Gentiles eagerly seek all these things; for your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things.

Clothing: Genesis 28:20-21 (ESV) ²⁰Then Jacob made a vow, saying, "If God will be with me and will keep me in this way that I go, and will give me bread to eat and clothing to wear, ²¹so that I come again to my father's house in peace, then the Lord shall be my God,

Deuteronomy 8:3-4 (ESV)
³And he humbled you and let you hunger and fed you with manna, which you did not know, nor did your fathers know, that he might make you know that man does not live by bread alone, but man lives by every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord. ⁴Your clothing did not wear out on you and your foot did not swell these forty years.

Matthew 6:28-29
²⁸And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, ²⁹yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.

God provides whatever there is a desire for - Psalm 145:15-16 (ESV) ¹⁵The eyes of all look to you, and you give them their food in due season. ¹⁶You open your hand; you satisfy the desire of every living thing. (this looks to include food, shelter, job, love, companionship, friendship, etc.)

For he who walks in righteousness, a promise of defense, food and water, and peace - Isaiah 33:15-16 (ESV) ¹⁵He who walks righteously and speaks uprightly, who despises the gain of oppressions, who shakes his hands, lest they hold a bribe, who stops his ears from hearing of bloodshed and shuts his eyes from looking on evil, ¹⁶he will dwell on the heights; his place of defense will be the fortresses of rocks; his bread will be given him; his water will be sure. (See, Isaiah 32:15, 17-18);

Food for our children:

Psalm 37:25
I have been young and now I am old, yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken or his descendants begging bread.

Spiritual Life-
Matthew 7:11 If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give what is good to those who ask Him!

OK, and here is where it gets really good. Check out these promises:

(All sufficiency in everything so that we may do good deeds) 2 Corinthians 9:8
And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that always having all sufficiency in everything; you may have an abundance for every good deed;

(All needs) Philippians 4:19
And my God will supply all your needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus.

Psalm 23 – The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not want… (also peace, see Psalm 23:2-3).

(Relation with God/A.S.K.) - Matthew 7:7-11 "Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened for you. 8 For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened. 9 Is there anyone among you who, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? 10 Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? 11 If you then, although you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!

(Our prayers are heard and answered) 1 John 5:14-15 - And this is the confidence that we have before him: that whenever we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. 15 And if we know that he hears us in regard to whatever we ask, then we know that we have the requests that we have asked from him.

Matthew 6:8
Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.

Psalm 84:11
¹¹For the Lord God is a sun and shield; the Lord bestows favor and honor. No good thing does he withhold from those who walk uprightly.

(Seek His Kingdom) Luke 12:30-31 (ESV)
30 For all the nations of the world seek after these things, and your Father knows that you need them. 31 Instead, seek his kingdom, and these things will be added to you.

(God's Grace gives all things – which means we don't deserve it) Romans 8:32 (ESV)
³²He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things?

(All sufficiency is given so that we may be generous) 2 Corinthians 9:8-11
⁸And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that having all sufficiency in all things at all times, you may abound in every good work. ⁹As it is written, "He has distributed freely, he has given to the poor; his righteousness endures forever." ¹⁰He who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will supply and multiply your seed for sowing and increase the harvest of your righteousness. ¹¹You will be enriched in every way to be generous in every way, which through us will produce thanksgiving to God.

And now three verses to take away with you this week – Proverbs 30:8-9 (ESV) ⁸Remove far from me falsehood and lying; give me neither poverty nor riches; feed me with the food that is needful for me, ⁹lest I be full and deny you and say, "Who is the Lord?" or lest I be poor and steal and profane the name of my God.

2 Corinthians 1:20 – all the promises of God find their Yes in Him.

Ephesians 3:20-21 (ESV)
²⁰Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, ²¹to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen.

CONCLUSION: Yes, Martin Luther correctly described the portion of the Lord's Prayer asking for our "daily bread" as very broad. It includes for believers not only food, clothing and shelter, but our protection, blessing on our children, everything we need, including relationship with the Creator of the Universe. And God provides for our needs so that we can be generous with those in need around us. The Lord's Prayer is an amazing prayer, so let's get out there and pray the Lord's Prayer and place our trust that what we pray for will be given. Amen, /s/Tom Wolff

Repent

2011-03-20T08:20:00.001-05:00

Another world crisis in Japan this week, with the 9.0 earthquake and tsunami, and the massive loss of lives and destruction of property. My hope is that America steps up and provides the great amount of support and aid, as we did in Haiti. The string of recent tragedies is growing impressive - In just the past decade, we've had the attacks of Sept. 11, the tsunami in the 2004 Indian Ocean resulting in at least 130,000 deaths in Indonesia, Hurricane Katrina, the global financial crisis, the revolutions taking place in the Arab nations, a global flu pandemic, the earthquake in Haiti, the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, and devastating floods in Australia and New Zealand. Now, Japan has been hit with a triple whammy of earthquake, tsunami and nuclear crisis. In this post, I want to talk about what our response should be to these tragedies. Let's get started.

The people of Japan need help. There is a great deal of loss of life, with some entire villages lost. The loss of life, the loss of the means of making a living, the fear of nuclear fall-out and disease, even the basic necessities of food and water for the displaced, all of these require a response. So besides our empathy, what should we do to help? Of course, as Christ-followers we start with prayer for the people of Japan. But what next? Here are a few snippets that I borrowed from Pastor John Piper that he wrote on his Desiring God blog, starting with the idea of love: Therefore, love commands, "Weep with those who weep" (Romans 12:15). We need to feel the enormity of what has taken place the heartbreak of this tragedy.

Then comes aid. We want to help relieve human suffering—all of it, especially eternal suffering: So then, as we have opportunity, let us do good to everyone, and especially to those who are of the household of faith (Galatians 6:10)… Love your neighbor as yourself (Matthew 5:43), and if you are to love someone then their physical needs must be a primary focus for us all. If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink (Romans 12:20).

But when a tragedy took place in the Israel of Jesus' day, Jesus made sure that we keep our eye focused on one thing - repenting. In Luke 13, Pontius Pilate murdered some Jews offering animal sacrifices – the worshipper's blood was mixed with the blood of the sacrifices. And near this same time, a Tower in Siloam fell and killed 18 people. Jesus discussed these two tragedies, one tragedy because of man's evil (Pontius Pilate's murder) and the other a tragedy an evil from nature (the tower falling from maybe even caused by an earthquake?) A person's natural response to tragedy is to try and make sense of it all, by blaming these people – perhaps they were ungodly. Or they were worse sinners than us. Or they were just really bad people, and so they deserved this judgment. And through this kind of rationalization, we see these victims of the tragedy deserved it, and because we are better than they are, we do not deserve to be hit with this kind of tragedy. But Jesus would have none of this. Don't think they were worse sinners than you, he teaches in Luke 13:2 and 4. Instead, our focus needs to be on our own shortcomings – Repent, or you will also likewise perish (Luke 13:3 and 5). Whenever we see tragedy, we need to look at ourselves and see where we need to repent. Here are a couple of verses dealing with repentance:

Mark 1:15 (ESV)
¹⁵and saying, "The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel."

And,

Acts 3:19 (NIV)

Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord,

Repent because the Kingdom of God is at hand. Repent and turn to God so that your sins may be blotted out. These are the messages that need to sink into our hearts, as we see these tragedies. And this is the message we need to proclaim to the world as we provide aid to the victims of the tragedies. Repent. The world needs hope right now, and our hope is in Jesus. /s/Tom Wolff

Healing -1 Year Anniversary

2011-03-09T05:25:00.001-06:00

Happy Ash Wednesday to everyone. This week I am celebrating the one year anniversary of the healing of MRSA that took place on March 7, 2010. It (MRSA as an active infection) has not returned since I received prayers that Sunday night at Hosanna Church. Praise God who is the Lord of miracles. Here is my March 13, 2010 blog post describing what happened:

Praise God Who is a Living God, and Who cares about our troubles. Today's post is my testimony of a healing that has taken place, all glory to God:

I have been battling MRSA / drug-resistant staph for several years. It came back again this past February, with an infection on the back of my left calf. I had three lumps, one of which was opened up by a surgeon at my Clinic. The Clinic's physicians put me first on one anti-biotic to treat the infection, and then a second anti-biotic. The second anti-biotic helped a bit, but by the time the prescription ended a week ago Friday, my left leg was already swollen to one-third again the size of my right leg. Last weekend I was discouraged, and I felt crappy / nauseous, with an upset stomach. The swelling was increasing, and I know from my previous experience with MRSA, that once my leg swells and the lumps appear, that in short order the lumps will spread and grow in size quickly.

So I went last Sunday to our Church (Hosanna in Lakeville) and attended the Alpha course of which I am a table leader. I went to the Leader's prayer meeting beforehand, and the Alpha Facilitator asked if anyone had a bad week, and when no one else raised their hand, I raised my hand. Approximately eight other Alpha leaders came around me to pray for me. All I said when they asked what they could pray for me was "health". And they prayed for my health.

That night I felt fine, but I didn't think anything special happened. But something strange happened. I kept going to the bathroom. And going, and going. I had previously scheduled an appointment for this past Tuesday with an Infectious Disease Specialist to take a look at my MRSA, and get me on the right medicine to fight my leg infection. But by this appointment my lumps were gone. The swelling of my left leg was gone. And after examining my whole body, my doctor said that "there was no active infection" in my body. The MRSA was gone!

God healed me by answering the prayers of those friends, and family who prayed for me. He also answered the prayers of those Alpha leaders who prayed for me this past Sunday. I love seeing God's miraculous answer to prayer, and I want to sing His praises for what He has done to help me. Thank You Lord for healing me through the answer of prayer. In Christ's name I give this testimony, Amen.

Abiding in Jesus

2011-03-06T09:51:00.001-06:00

Good morning to everyone. We had an exciting day yesterday, where Elijah, our 9 year old son had his first communion. Hosanna did a great job with its teaching on what communion (the Lord's Supper) means. Two things stuck with me from yesterday's teaching – first, they brought out the connection between Jesus' instruction of the wine and the bread given at communion, with the Jewish celebration of the Passover. They gave each table (there were about 70 children taking their first communion) yesterday the items to celebrate the Passover, including the unleavened bread, and some juice. But the one item that made Elijah's stomach turn was when they took parsley and had the kids dip it in salt water as an example of the "bitter herbs" which they use at Passover to remember the bitterness of the Jews 400 years of slavery in Egypt. He did not like that taste! The other thing that was interesting to me at the first communion church service was that our worship leader dressed up like Jesus and he gave a short homily on the Lord's Supper. I liked that because we are told of Jesus' presence in the bread and the wine, and this really helped me to grasp this.

Onto today's topic – Abiding in Jesus and allowing Him to abide in us. Abiding in Jesus is one of Jesus' Commands to us, and is a pre-condition to believer's "bearing fruit". Here is Jesus' main teaching to us on abiding in our Lord:

¹"I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinedresser. ²Every branch in me that does not bear fruit he takes away, and every branch that does bear fruit he prunes, that it may bear more fruit. ³Already you are clean because of the word that I have spoken to you. ⁴Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me. ⁵I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing. ⁶If anyone does not abide in me he is thrown away like a branch and withers; and the branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned. ⁷If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. ⁸By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples. ⁹As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Abide in my love. ¹⁰If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father's commandments and abide in his love. (John 15:1-10, ESV).

Verse 4, above is the command to abide in Jesus, and to have Jesus abide in you. Abiding in Jesus allows us to bear much fruit (v. 5). We will be thrown away like a useless branch if we do not abide in Jesus (v. 6). Jesus' love for us is as much as the Father loves Jesus, and we are to abide in this love of Jesus (v. 9). And Jesus uses the analogy of a vine and its branches symbolizing what it means to "abide" in Jesus. The Greek word used here is meinate which means - "to stay, abide, remain" (Swanson, Dictionary of Biblical Languages).

Here are a few more ways Jesus draws out of what it means to abide in Jesus:

Abide in My Word (John 8:31, John 15:7, above, 1 John 2:24);
Abide in the Will of God to abide forever (1 John 2:17);
He who keeps God's Commandments abides in God, and He in them (1 John 3:24a);
By the Holy Spirit's living in us, we know that we are abiding in God (1 John 3:24b).

So what is my conclusion? Abiding in Jesus is important! Jesus commands it, and when we become His followers it is our pleasure to abide, or stay in Him. And do not miss the importance of love here. Verse 9 speaks of God's great love for His Son. And this same love is what Jesus has for us. The same love that God has for Jesus, is the love that Jesus has for us? It is a mind-blowing thought. But this is one of the ways (along with remaining in His Word, and unfortunately for us, obedience) that we can abide in Jesus, remembering His love for us. So my challenge for us during the start of Lenten season (Ash Wednesday comes up this week) is to think how much God loved Jesus, and what this means to us in remembering the amount of love Jesus has for you. So go out there and abide in Jesus, you followers of Christ!

Odds n’ Ends (20)

2011-02-26T06:42:00.001-06:00

Here are some recent news stories that caught my attention:

1). Hawaii State Senate Becomes First to Stop Legislative Prayer. Story here.
I like the headline: A Sad, Tragic, Dumb Day in the Hawaii Senate. Fearing a possible court challenge, Hawaii's state Senate has voted to silence the daily prayer offered before each session began — making it the first state legislative body in the nation to halt the practice. Then on February 23rd, they became the 7th state in the nation to legalize civil unions.

2). San Francisco Proposal May Ban Circumcision. Story here. Self-described "civil rights advocates" say that a ballot proposition to ban circumcision is on track for gathering signatures, meaning that San Franciscans may vote on the measure this November. Tom's thought: Circumcision is the covenant that Jews have with God, showing that they are God's chosen people. Newborn males are circumcised at 8 days old and are thus "brought into the Covenant of Abraham" (Gen. 17:10-14). According to Wikipedia, 30% of males globally are circumcised. Wikipedia further says that it is widely practiced by Muslims. So San Francisco is willing to protect an 8 day old from being circumcised, yet if the child was only 9 days younger, it could be aborted? Does this make sense to anyone?

3). London Ice Cream Parlor Sells Out of Breast Milk Ice Cream. Story here. Ewwwww.

4). A Couple Global Warming Stories. A glacier on Peru's Huaytapallana Moutain shed half its surface ice in just 23 years, officials said Wednesday, reinforcing concerns of climate change's growing threat to fresh water resources. "Recent scientific studies indicate that between June 1983 and August 2006, the glacier has lost 50 percent of its surface ice," Erasmo Meza, manager of natural resources and the environment in the central Andean region of Junin, told the official Andina news agency. Story here.

But for those of you who don't believe in Global Warming, check out the Wall Street Journal's article on a recent study showing that our weather is not getting more extreme: Story here. Some climate alarmists would have us believe that recent storms are yet another baleful consequence of man-made CO2 emissions. In addition to the latest weather events, they also point to recent cyclones in Burma, last winter's fatal chills in Nepal and Bangladesh, December's blizzards in Britain, and every other drought, typhoon and unseasonable heat wave around the world. But is it true? To answer that question, you need to understand whether recent weather trends are extreme by historical standards. The Twentieth Century Reanalysis Project is the latest attempt to find out, using super-computers to generate a dataset of global atmospheric circulation from 1871 to the present. As it happens, the project's initial findings, published last month, show no evidence of an intensifying weather trend…

5). 12 Year Olds Shown 'Brokeback Mountain' in School – No Emotional Distress Damages Awarded. Story here. Substitute teach Marnetta Buford showed the 'Brokeback Mountain' film in, of all things, a math class, allegedly after warning students that "what happens in Ms. Buford's class stays in Ms. Buford's class." She showed the first 44 minutes of the film, including the homosexual sex scene to her students. But the jury did not award the 12 year old 7^th grader any emotional distress damages, finding that the teacher's conduct was not sufficiently outrageous.

What Does Faith Look Like?

2011-02-20T09:39:00.001-06:00

I wish everyone a happy President's Day weekend. Here in Minnesota we look forward to facing the latest 'snownami' expecting to see another foot of snow - yikes. Today, as I am reading through the Holy Word contained in Second Chronicles, I thought I would briefly talk about faith. More specifically, the faith of Judah's King Jehoshaphat described in this Book as he faced the battle of his life. I hope that the way he faced his challenge is helpful for us all.

So here's the scene described in Second Chronicles – Judah, which is the southern portion of the nation of Israel which includes Jerusalem, is going through a faith 'Revival'. After Solomon's ungodly son Rehoboam takes the throne, Judah is blessed with three Kings in a row who are faithful and God-fearing. These Kings are described in 2^nd Chronicles chapters 13 through 20: Abijah, Asa and Jehoshaphat. All three were faithful and obedient to God. And they all have amazing stories of their own. But in today's post I want to focus on the major challenge faced by Jehoshaphat during his reign.

King Jehoshaphat is an interesting study. He allied himself with Israel's King Ahab (2 Chron. 18) and later King Ahaziah (2 Chron. 20:35-37), even though they were described as being wicked and ungodly. He also drove out the Asherah from Judah. And he set up judges throughout Judah to resolve disputed cases. His invocation of the judges shows his strong faith: "Consider what you do, for you judge not for man but for the Lord. He is with you in giving judgment." (2 Chron. 19:6) But I want to focus on his faith when he learns that a massive army has formed to take over Judah.

King Jehoshaphat learns in 2 Chronicles 20 that a great "horde" from the Ammonites, the Moabites, and Meunites were marching against him. Now in chapter 17, we see that Jehoshaphat had built forts and supplied cities in Judah, and that he had hundreds of thousands of men in his army. But when Jehoshaphat learned of this great army amassing against him, he was still "afraid" (2 Chron. 20:3). And here is where we can learn from the faith of this great King, his first response to this news is to declare a nationwide fast and then he led his nation in prayer to God.

King Jehoshaphat's prayer in verses 6 though 12 is amazing. He reminds God that this land was promised to Judah by God, and that these pagan armies were going to take it over (v. 11). He also reminds God that Israel wanted to destroy these nations before but God did not let them do this (v. 10). He concludes his prayer by assuming that there was no way to militarily defeat this great horde, but they still sought God's help, not knowing what that help would look like. I love how the prayer ends in verse 12:

We do not know what to do, but our eyes are upon you.

Sure it could have been easy for Jehoshaphat to put on a brave face, and say that his armies were going to win against impossible odds. But reality faced him. He knew this was a battle that he could not win. How many times have you faced a challenge where you can't even imagine what God's answer to prayer would look like? Where you don't even know what to ask for? If you are like me, I don't know how to pray in those situations. But nowI am going to start using Jehoshaphat's model, and in situations where the odds look impossible, I want to just pray that I don't know what to do, but our eyes are upon You, Lord God. Rather than trying to articulate exactly what I want or need in a situation, or what I should pray for someone else who was unsure of what to do when faced with this kind of trouble. I want to have the humility enough to be able to pray – I don't know what to do, but my eyes are upon You.

So how does the story end? The Prophet Jahaziel received a prophecy from God – don't worry Judah, you won't even have to fight and you'll win the battle (v. 15-17). You would think that this Prophecy might be something hard to believe, but look at what the hero of our story does – he fell with his face to the ground, and worshipped God (v. 18). When King Jehoshaphat sent out his army the next day – here is what I am talking about when I say that this is what faith looks like, he put a praise and worship team at the front of his army, singing "Give thanks to the Lord for his love endures forever"! (v. 21) Now that is what real faith looks like – facing an impossible battle, receiving a Prophecy, and believing it enough that instead of relying on the strength of your army, you rely on the prophecy and lead everyone around you to praise and worship God even before the battle has even begun. The joy shown from this kind of faith is inspiring. And what happened as the battle begun? Sure enough, the enemy mob started fighting against each other, killed each other off, and as the Word of the Lord had said – Judah and King Jehoshaphat won the day.

Praise God for the people of faith around us, and in God's Word that give us hope that one day we can have faith like them. May God bless you with increasing faith this week. /s/Tom

Christian Heresy - Arminianism

2011-02-13T12:55:00.001-06:00

Happy Valentine Day's Eve to everyone. I am blessed to have a wonderful woman as my wife, that is also my best friend, and who I continue to be attracted to, even after 18 years of marriage. I sometimes see at my work the pain of failed marriages, and the permanent scars that this causes in a person's life. So I count as one of my life's most important blessings the blessing of a happy marriage. Ok, so I have to share a quick story from this past week. This past week, my wife and I had a fight. It was so bad, that she told me to sleep on the couch, and when I did not, she slept on the couch herself. When I came home the next day, I tried to make amends by buying her chocolate, and making dinner for the family. But when I went upstairs to our bedroom, I was caught by a BIG surprise. Peggy was not home. But she pulled back the corner of the comforter on our bed, and there laying on the mattress was her wedding ring. I thought the message was clear, she had left me.

My initial reaction was one of anger – she would leave me over a simple fight? I was going to read her the riot act when she got home. How dare she! But as I thought about the pain of thinking she had left me, I thought that because I wanted her to forgive me for the previous night's fight, that I needed to unconditionally forgive her for removing her wedding ring. So when she finally came home I greeted her with a heart-felt hug and a kiss, and told her how glad I was to see her.

Now here's the kicker of the story – after the family ate dinner together, I sat down with her and I asked to see her hand. And the wedding ring was back where it belonged. When I asked her about why she removed her ring, she simply told me that she was retaining water, and removed it when she was sleeping. No message was intended, and she was not threatening to end our marriage. We laughed together when I explained what I thought when I saw the ring lying on our mattress. Anyway, just remember to not read too much into things, especially when it involves your spouse.

My topic today is to discuss a major Christian heresy – Arminianism. John MacArthur, perhaps the leading Protestant voice in America himself has ranked Arminianism as the third most important theological crisis that the North American Church is facing today. Article is here. So allow me to speak generally about this heresy, and perhaps we can learn together why it is so dangerous to today's Church.

Arminianism is a response to the hard to swallow John Calvin doctrine of pre-destination. Theopedia describes it as follows: Arminianism is a school of theology based on the teachings of Dutch theologian Jacob Arminius (1560-1609), for whom it is named. It is perhaps most prominent in the Methodist movement and found in various other evangelical circles today. It stands in contrast to Calvinism, with which it has a long history of debate…

The Arminian followers published something called a 'Remonstrance' which outlined these 5 Arminian beliefs of salvation:

On their own, humans can do nothing good;
Before the foundation of the world, God chose to save everyone who would freely choose to put their trust in Jesus;
Jesus died for everyone, but His death only redeems believers;
People can choose to reject God's attempts to save them;
Scripture does not clearly state whether believers can lose their salvation. (this summary is from 'Christian History Made Easy', Jones, p. 123.

The Calvinist response was to hold the Synod of Dort in 1618, which is where the Calvinist's articulated their 5 TULIP points of Calvinism. Arminianism was also condemned by the Synod.

I have previously been accused of being an Arminian, and so it is a topic I would like to spend more time learning about and discussing. So if anyone has any comments or explanations of Arminianism, I hope you will feel free to share them Thanks, and may God bless you abundantly this week. /s/Tom

Does God Punish People or Nations Today?

2011-02-06T11:54:00.001-06:00

Happy Super Bowl Sunday to everyone. This is a day I have feared for a month now. The Packers are in the Super Bowl, and are actually favored to win. Nooooo! Besides the dread I am experiencing because of the Super Bowl, I am also recovering from a bout of strep throat, as is Elijah. Olivia is at a Holy Spirit retreat this weekend, and I cannot wait to see what she takes away from this experience.

For today's topic, I thought I would write about the topic of whether God punishes people or nations in today's world. Clearly in the Old Testament, we see that God is described as being 'Sovereign', meaning He is the responsible agent for all blessings and all adversity as well. As one example among many we have Ecclesiastes 7:14 which says: "In the day of prosperity be joyful, and in the day of adversity consider: God has made the one as well as the other." In dealing with Israel, God's chosen people we also see in the Old Testament that God is the author of blessings upon both Israel and Individuals when they are faithful, while also punishing wickedness for their lack of faith. Again there are many examples, but I will provide two: first, as an example in the Old Testament of God punishing an individual, we have the example of King Saul, the King of Israel before the famous King David. In 1 Chronicles 10:13-14, we see that Saul "died because he was unfaithful to the Lord" (NLT). So God was the agent of Saul's death because of his unfaithfulness to the Lord.

And as an example in the Old Testament of God punishing a nation, we again see many examples of God's sovereign punishment. The example I have chosen is God's punishment of Israel in 2 Kings 17, where God "removed Israel from His sight" (v. 18). They feared other gods (v. 7), they served idols (v. 12). They did secretly what was not right (v. 9). They did wicked things (v. 10-11). But here is the real clincher of the reason for God punishing Israel: they did not believe in the Lord their God (v. 13-14). This was shown by their ignoring the prophets sent by God. They despised His statutes and His covenant (v. 15). And they abandoned all of the 10 Commandments (v. 15). But the key for God's punishment is found in verses 13-14, where Israel did not believe anymore in their God.

Thus, in the Old Testament God was responsible for punishing both individuals and nations for their lack of faith. But can we draw the conclusion that God still does this in the age after Jesus Christ's death and resurrection, in the age of the New Testament? Let me give a quick reason why this is not necessarily so. First, the Old Testament has the focus of God's relationship with Israel. God made a Covenant with Moses and Israel and this is found in Exodus 19:5 - Now therefore, if you will indeed obey my voice and keep my covenant, you shall be ^wmy treasured possession among all peoples, for all the earth is mine". As you can see from the wording this is a conditional agreement. If Israel obeys and keeps the Commandments, then it will be God's treasured possession. But if it was not faithful…

But today, we do not have this sort of Covenant with God. And so, God's reason for punishing his people or nations is not the same as it is in the Old Testament.

The example of an event that some preachers have attributed as an action of God is the recent Haiti earthquake. But does this make sense to say God punished Haiti, and not other nations of the world? For example, the claim is that Haiti made some sort of pact with the devil, involving voodoo practices. Why are we so quick to judge others as being worthy of judgment? I know little about this, or even the claim, but don't you think that if there is another nation that unjustifiably slaughtered millions of unborn, innocent children, that this might be a better reason for God's punishment? I'm just saying that America likewise deserves God's punishment. As does Russia. And China. And England, and every other nation on the planet. And so, should we really say the Haitian earthquake is from God, when there was no direct fingerprints of God having acted. It looks like a "natural" tragedy, right? This lack of clarity is a good reason for believing that this was not God using His Sovereign judgment. If we cannot see that God judged Haiti, than this earthquake judgment does not glorify God. We all deserve punishment from God, and we should not so quickly attribute an isolated tragedy as being God's wrath or judgment.

The New Testament story that helps me to draw this conclusion is found in Luke 13. In this chapter, there is a recent tragedy of a tower falling resulting in 18 deaths which was discussed by people asking Jesus the simple question – did they deserve this tragedy because they were terrible sinners? Here is Jesus' response:

"Do you think that these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans, because they suffered in this way? ³ No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish. ⁴ Or those eighteen on whom the tower in Siloam fell and killed them: do you think that they were worse offenders than all the others who lived in Jerusalem? ⁵ No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish." (Luke 13:2-5)

So Jesus reminds us that we are all miserable sinners in God's eyes, deserving punishment. And when we see tragedies likes earthquakes or tidal waves, etc. we should not be so quick to judge these people as making a "pact with the devil". Or judging them for not being the right religion. Instead, we need to see our own need for a Savior, and repent. Isn't it that a simple application for today? May God bless you this week.

Greatest Quarterbacks of All-Time

2011-01-16T07:03:00.001-06:00

On the Access Viking website this morning, Mark Craig of the Strib looks at the top 10 Quarterbacks of All-Time. The link is here. A Daily News reporter's list of the top NFL QB's is as follows:

Joe Montana (4 Super Bowl wins – San Francisco, played with Jerry Rice and a young Terrell Owens as his receivers, and a great back in Roger Craig);
Tom Brady (3 Super Bowl wins – going for his 4^th SB victory this year);
Johnny Unitas (1 Super Bowl win);
Dan Marino (1 Super Bowl win with some great receivers in the Mark's Brothers - Mark Duper and Mark Clayton);
John Elway (2 Super Bowl wins);
Peyton Manning (1 Super Bowl win);
Troy Aikman (3 Super Bowl wins with Michael Irvin as his main receiver and a great running back in Emmitt Smith);
Brett Favre (1 Super Bowl win);
Terry Bradshaw (4 Super Bowl wins, Lynn Swan and John Stallworth as his main receivers, and an offence including Franco Harris and Rocky Bleier);
Otto Graham – (token old-timer?)

First, let me comment about 2 graet quarterbacks left off the list: where is Bart Starr? He won 2 Super Bowls (the first 2), as well as three league championships before they had Super Bowls. He has to be on the top 10 list. I also think Steve Young (1 Super Bowl win as a starter), should be on the list. He changed the quarterback position in the NFL, by having a great arm as well as the ability to effectively run the ball as a big part of the offense (all due respect to the Viking's Fran Tarkenton, but his scrambling wasn't a big part of the offense).

Having watched all of these guys play (except Otto Graham), here's my take on the list. Troy Aikman and Terry Bradshaw don't belong on the list. Yes, they won Super Bowls but they weren't great quarterbacks. They didn't have great percentages of completions, and the running backs they had were the larger part of why they won. So they'd be out of my list.

Tom Brady is better than Joe Montana. Period. No doubt. Look at what he's done this year, with back up wide receivers like Deion Branch, he led his team to the best record in the NFL this year. And he had no good running backs. And a defense without many big names. This was Tom Brady's show this year. It was all him. Yes, Montana had some great teams in San Francisco. But do you remember his two years in Kansas City? While Joe Montana played for Kansas City with a normal offense, he was mediocre. What did Montana do when the offense was focused on him? Not much, and his quarterback rating during those 2 years was 87 or less. Nope, Brady has done more with less talent around him than Montana did.

And although he's a Packer, Brett Favre belongs ahead of Peyton Manning, John Elway, Johnny Unitas, and certainly Troy Aikman. I put him at number 3 all-time. All of the QB records he has have to mean something.

That's my take. Feel free to share your thoughts about this list or my comments. Have a happy Martin Luther King Jr. holiday weekend. /s/Tom Wolff

2011-01-09T08:50:00.001-06:00

Something weird's going on here. Check out these stories:

Apocalfish? 2 million dead fish wash on shore in Maryland. (Link here.) Also, reports in Arkansas of thousands of fish deaths in the Arkansas River.
"Aflockalypse?" Mass bird deaths rare, not apocalyptic. (Link here.) Mass deaths in Oslo, Louisiana, and the Arkansas River,
39% of NYC Pregnancies Result in Abortion. (Story here.) In 2009, there were 225,667 pregnancies in the City with 126,774 resulting in live births and 87,273 resulting in abortions. In addition to those abortion numbers, there were 11,620 spontaneous terminations. Forty-six (46%) percent of all births in the Bronx result in abortions—the highest among the five boroughs, according to the report.
End of Days Coming May 21^st – (Story here.) Harold Camping has a radio program in California, which is where I believe the report is coming from. It sure is getting a lot of press. Here is a part of the story:
Camping, 89, believes the Bible essentially functions as a cosmic calendar explaining exactly when various prophecies will be fulfilled. The retired civil engineer said all his calculations come from close readings of the Bible, but that external events like the foundation of the state of Israel in 1948 are signs confirming the date. "Beyond the shadow of a doubt, May 21 will be the date of the Rapture and the day of judgment," he said…

Christian Heresy – the Donatists

2011-01-01T10:05:00.001-06:00

Happy New Year to everyone. Recently, I am enjoying a good book by Rose Publishing called 'Christian History Made Easy'. And one of the topics it deals with is how the early Church has dealt with controversies and even (gasp) heresies. And so, today's post is on one of the major early heresies dealing with the Donatists (DAW-na-tists).

First, let me explain the importance of this issue through a real-life example – FACT EXAMPLE 1 – Suppose there was a strong believer, a natural leader, who makes a real, heartfelt commitment to the Lord. No one doubts his commitment to Jesus and his fellow believers. But he slips. When the going gets tough, he denies Jesus several times to others. The question raised by his denial is this – should this person be allowed back into Christian leadership?

Now back to the heresy of the Donatists. Imagine, if you will, the party that took place in the Rome as it celebrated its thousandth year birthday. This is what took place in AD 247. Roman orgies are still famous to this day, and so I know that I do not want to go into the details of what took place at Rome's 1,000 year birthday. But because the Roman pagan gods were part of the celebration, the early Christians did not take part in the Roman celebration. No problem, right? Yes, until a major plague broke out in Rome right after the 1,000 year celebration. And guess who got blamed? You got it – the Christians were blamed by the Romans for not taking part in the celebration. The plague was punishment of the gods. Emperor Decius (DEE-see-us) launched an empire wide persecution against the Christians. The Emperor required people to sacrifice to the Roman gods. If people were willing to sacrifice to the Roman gods, they received Sacrifice Certificates. Without the Certificates, people were imprisoned and tortured.

An actual Sacrifice Certificate, AD 251: "To: the Sacrifice Commission

From Diogenes, aged 72 years, with a scar over my right eyebrow.

I've always sacrificed to the gods. Now, in obedience to the emperor, I've sacrificed again, poured out a drink offering, and eaten meat offered to the gods. Please certify this below.

I, Syrus, saw Diogenes and his son sacrificing." (paraphrased from Harvard Theological Review 16 (1923), as quoted from 'Christian History Made Easy', 35).

Many prominent bishops of the Church, including Origen, were imprisoned and died during these persecutions, for failing to sacrifice to the pagan gods, or for not having the required Certificates. The persecutions continued until Emperor Constantine issued the Edict of Milan, AD, 313. But here is what caused a schism in the early Church – what should the Church do with the priests, bishops and elders who forged false Certificates? Or what should be done with those like Bishop Felix who turned over copies of the Scriptures to Roman authorities? A Bishop named Cyprian of Carthage ruled that those Christians who obtained forged Certificates could be re-admitted if these people showed outward signs of repentance, through prayer and fasting. But this caused the schism with the Donatists who believed that those who complied with the Romans were 'false converts', and should not be re-admitted to the Church. The issue came to a head in AD, 311 when Felix (who turned over the Scriptures to the Romans) with two other Bishops consecrated a successor Bishop in Carthage – Caecilian. And the Donatists refused to recognize Caecilian's ordination to Bishop because of Felix's previous failings. The Donatists, being more strict believers, considered martyrdom rather than cooperation as the only proper response for a true Christian leader. So what should be done with sacraments performed by "lapsed" priests or Bishops (like Felix's consecration of a successor Bishop)?

Through this, the Church developed the sacrament of the sacraments of confession and penance, enabling those who had committed serious sins after baptism to receive absolution and enter into full communion. At the same time, it established the principle that even sinful priests could dispense valid sacraments. The Donatists eventually died out. But was the right decision made? Several places in the New Testament describe the qualities a Christian leader (or elder) should have. If you want to see an example of what traits are needed when selecting an elder/Pastor, see Titus 1:5-9. And it is safe to say that lacking faith in persecution is not what we want in our leaders. But should repentant leaders who made a serious mistake be allowed back as leaders? This leads me back to how I started this Post, with FACT EXAMPLE 1 (above). Of course, this describes the Apostle Peter, the first leader of the early Church. To me, a strong understanding of the importance of God's Grace in a Church leader, is the most important trait to have. If we expect perfection in our leaders to be perfect, we will be disappointed. But as long as the leaders are wrestling with sin, not wanting it in their lives, then their mistakes should be expected and their heart-felt repentance accepted. So I say, yes the right decision was made in accepting back the repentant "lapsed" priests and Bishops.

I think Luther hits a homerun with his description of the Christian life as "simultaneously saint and sinner". I believe there is a greater danger of the leader who leans toward self-righteousness and pride, more so than a leader who has humility with a teachable heart, who understands their daily need of a Savior. But yes, the Church scandals of failed leaders gives all in the Church a black-eye,. My hope is that we be more accepting of imperfections in our Church leaders, and pray for their (and our) continued growth in the faith and knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. If you have any thoughts on this, please share them. Have a great New Year! /s/Tom Wolff

Merry Christmas, 2010

2010-12-25T07:25:00.001-06:00

Merry Christmas to you. We saw lots of animals at Hosanna's Christmas Eve service. We had a nice evening seeing my family last night. We ate oyster stew and lots of Christmas cookies. We watched 'Monty Python and the Holy Grail' after we opened presents. And my son was as excited as I've ever seen him, from his grandparent's gift of a Nintendo DSI. It has a camera, voice recorder, and of course, the games. Right before bed, he explained that Santa might bring him some more DSI games. I asked him how could Santa know that Elijah was going to receive a DSI from his Nana and Papa? He said, simple dad, he sees you when you're sleeping, he knows when your awake. He just knows these things.

Have you thought about the phrase "have a Merry Christmas"? This thought is all over the place during Christmas-time. Here's a few examples off of the top of my head – have a holly, jolly Christmas. Joyful, joyful we adore you. It's the most wonderful time of the year. Joy to the World, etc… So why is having a "Merry Christmas" such a big theme at this time of year?

Yes, I know this time of year is hard for a number of people, especially for those who have lost loved ones during the preceding year. And the pressure of wrapping up work year-end reports and projects, and the culture driven drive to find the "perfect" gift for those close to us, is upon us all. So with all these things working against us, why should Christmas time be a time of joy and merriment?

If there is any chance for joy during this time of the year, it is only in Christ Jesus. This message of joy to the world was clearly provided by angels to the shepherds at the first Christmas:

And the angel said to them, "Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. ¹¹ For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. ¹² And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger." (Luke 2:10-12).

So the baby Jesus, the Lord come to Earth, the Savior, is the "good news of great joy" for us. And don't miss the point made by the angels at the end of verse 10 – this joy is for all people, not just Christians. So my hope for you this Christmas is that we be given more light, more smiles, more laughter, more joy for us, through the remembering of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ's birth. So go out there and have a Merry Christmas!

Displeasing the Lord

2010-12-19T09:51:00.001-06:00

We are coming to the last week before Christmas here at the Wolff homestead. All of Peggy and the children's shopping is completed. And what about me? I haven't even started yet. So it looks like a busy week ahead for me.

My wife's the best. My wife received recognition this past week on a local radio station (KTIS, which is a Christian Contemporary music station). Here is what she did: she saw that a neighborhood teenage boy was wearing clothes totally inappropriate for this Minnesota winter. He was always wearing shorts, and his tennis shoes were torn along its sides. The boy's mother is a single working mom, and she was stressed out because she didn't have the time or money to help her son out. Peggy learned that the boy didn't have any winter clothes. So Peggy took the kid out to a store that has nice clothes for dirt cheap prices, and was able to get him new winter clothes, a new pair of shoes, without breaking the bank. The boy was happy and grateful. But the mom was so relieved and thankful, that she had to let others know what Peggy had done. So she called the radio station and let them know what a wonderful act of love that Peggy had shown. Peggy has the best heart around, and it is so cool that she received this 'shout-out' from someone she helped.

For today's topic, I wanted to bring up a story from 2nd Samuel which caught my attention. 2nd Samuel deals with King David, after he rises to become King of Israel. David is expanding Israel's borders by defeating the pagan city-states neighboring Israel. And God's hand is with him – he achieves victory after victory. God's relationship with David was special – God's Word describes him as a "man after God's own heart". God loves David. But we see from the story of David and Bathsheba, how God's relationship works even with those whom He loves. During this particular spring described in chapter 11, David decides to stay home instead of going out to lead his armies. He's lounging on a couch, and decides to take a stroll on the King's roof. While out on this stroll, he sees a young lady taking a bath. And even though David has lots of wives and concubines, he asks after this beautiful woman. David learns that she is married to one of his soldiers, Uriah the Hittite (what's a Hittite?) And he still takes her, and has sexual relations with her. You know the story from here – Bathsheba becomes pregnant, and David ends up ordering the death of his faithful and honorable soldier Uriah. One sin leading to many other sins. It's a tragic story.

But the verse that caught my attention is 2 Samuel 11:27, which says: "the thing that David had done displeased the Lord." David displeased the Lord? I think I am like most Christians in thinking that my sins are always covered by God's Grace. My sins are placed on the Cross, and covered by the Blood of Jesus. Grace is a wonderful doctrine that is so freeing, my actions don't make God love me any greater or less in providing me with my salvation. But then I see someone like David who is a Bible hero, and greatly loved by God, but David still "displeased" the Lord. I'm not sure that this verse truly brings out the emotion of God from what David had done. You know, David committed a sexual sin, lied, and eventually caused the death of an honorable man. "Displeased" just doesn't seem to accurately describe what God is feeling here. A couple of other Bible translations describe it as "David had done was evil in the sight of the Lord" (NASB), or even "the Lord was angry at what David had done" (CEV), I think this brings out God's feeling a bit more clearly. God was angry and though He loved David, God was going to do something about it.

So for today's believers, can we make God angry like King David did, even though we are covered by the Blood of Jesus? Well, of course! If you need a New Testament verse, let's go to Revelation 3:19, which says:

"I correct and discipline everyone I love. So be diligent and turn from your indifference." (NLT)

These verses show that being in a relationship is difficult. Our actions hurt and even make others angry. And being in a relationship with God is no different. God wants the best for us, and He acts to help grow us into the righteous people that He wants us to be. So my take away application is this – are you willing to ask God if there is anything in your life that is making Him angry? Let us appreciate God's Grace enough to not view sin with "indifference". Have a peace-filled and thankful ending week of Christ's advent. /s/Tom

What was the Best Gift You’ve Given?

2010-12-04T14:02:00.001-06:00

As we are buried in 6" of snow here in Burnsville, I am starting to get in the Christmas spirit. A week ago, I sat out in front of the Microcenter store for 45 minutes on a cold, Back Friday morning, getting a gift for one of my children. With this, I am thinking about the whole idea of gifts, and I kicked around the idea of the best gift that has been given. So I will ask those of you who visit my Blog – what was the best gift that you have given?

This topic came up when my friends and I were talking about an appropriate response for a really good gift – what is more important: to receive a "thank you", or to see the Recipient truly enjoying the gift as much as you hoped.

Isn't this an easy one? Of course, we expect our children to have the good manners enough to say "thank you". But isn't it much more important to see them actually enjoy the gift, and take real pleasure in using the gift. When I was growing up, there are a few gifts that bring back special memories. The time I woke up early and found a toy baseball player. It had a stand to hold the baseball, and if you hit his head, he swung and popped the baseball. I was sitting there for an hour, playing with this toy, while the rest of my family was sleeping. It was great and a pure moment of joy for me.

Another favorite Christmas gift my family received was an early Apple computer. The computer was connected to our television, and so the whole family played a murder mystery game called "Cranston Manor", with everyone shouting out clues we saw and things we should try. And then my brothers and I played a game called Olympic Decathlon. This crazy game had you pound the keyboard arrows to move the Olympic runner – so the faster you pounded the keys, the faster your athlete went. We spent many hours in front of that computer, and it left me with many happy memories from that time in my life. We also went through many keyboards from playing the Decathlon game!

I don't even remember if I told my father "thank you" for those gifts. But I know he saw the happiness his gifts brought to us. And I am sure that was more important to him – to see his gift received with joy. Which brings me to the point of this post – what does God want from us in response to His Gift of salvation through Jesus' death on the Cross? Jesus' sacrifice in our place is the Best Gift given to humanity, and so it is an important question - Does God expect us to just say "thanks", and then not do anything with this Gift? Yes, saying "thank you" is important, but it can't be nearly as important as having an appreciation of this Gift? Perhaps even a life changing appreciation.

So my take away application is this – what should our response be to God's Gift of His Son? How should we should we show our acceptance and appreciation of this Gift? As we go through this Christmas 2010 season, I hope this post helps you in thinking of ways that we can show our heavenly Father our true gratitude. In Christ, /s/Tom

Elijah – Flashback to 2001

2010-11-14T10:22:00.001-06:00

Praise to our God Who cares about us, is loving, Who heals, and is Lord of Hosts and of miracles. Here is portions of a letter of thanks I wrote on the birth of our son Elijah, back in September 2001: Peggy and I were blessed with the birth of our baby son, Elijah on September 2, 2001. Elijah is a blessing from God, and we want to thank the Lord for showing His power through this pregnancy. And we also wish to thank the many people who prayed for us, and provided us with encouragement during this long pregnancy. Elijah's story is one of many prayers and God's love.

On December 29, 2000 we took a pregnancy test, and it came back with a light 'positive' result. Peggy immediately obtained a prescription for Progesterone, which helped us with our two other successful pregnancies. But Peggy started bleeding/spotting almost immediately.

So I prayed and attempted to fast. I wanted some credit for the healthy birth of this child, and so I reasoned that if I fast, I will have earned this baby son I had prayed for during the past three and a half years. God has to listen to me when I fast, right? But on the day I fasted, Peggy brought home a Big Mac extra value meal for lunch, and I weakened. The next day, New Year's day of 2001, Peggy passed some blood clots. We were both convinced that she had miscarried, and that we had lost another baby (We had suffered six previous miscarriages). I should have known better than to think God zaps babies because I ate a Big Mac!

But God's power and our son Elijah are both strong. During the next week, to see if she had miscarried, Peg took blood tests on two different days to see the HCG levels. When the test came back that the levels were increasing, this showed she was still pregnant.

Although the pregnancy was a blessing in testing our perseverance in prayer, we were dealt several tough battles from this pregnancy. Peggy was put on partial bed rest beginning in February 2001. She was still bleeding/spotting, and it turned out that she had a 'sub-chorionic hemorrhage'. This was a small spot by the gestational sack, which often grows larger and causes miscarriages. The first doctor we saw said that it was "fifty-fifty" whether Peggy would miscarry from this hemorrhage. But God's power shone through, as He listened to the prayers of such saints as the people in my Bible study, men's group, Peg's women's group, our family members, and the people at church. On March 2^nd, Peggy had her fourteen week ultrasound, and the hemorrhage was completely gone. Praise God the healer and great Physician! And wonderfully, Peggy no longer had to be on bed rest.

But the Periontologist (a specialist in high-risk pregnancies) and ultrasound technician that were present during the ultrasound discovered another problem. I emphasize that it was a specialist doctor and the ultrasound technician here because they were very careful in checking what they discovered - there are supposed to be three vessels between Peggy and the baby, two going in to the baby and one taking waste out. During the ultrasound, they saw that there was only one cord, instead of two feeding the baby. The artery going to the baby and the one bringing waste out. Talk about life hanging by a thread! This is also a sign that the baby could later have a heart defect. But this is God's story, and so we asked for more prayers. Praise God Who is sovereign.

On April 17^th, Peggy had a 'level 2' ultrasound, which is a more detailed look at the baby. During this ultrasound, we learned that the baby was healthy, and that there were no heart defects. We also saw that all three vessels/cords were present between Peggy and the baby. The third blessing was that we saw that the baby was a boy.

Now, I don't want to give the impression that our pregnancy experience was a stroll through the park. Peggy was in a great deal of pain right from the start. She had two hernias, back pain, sciatic nerve pain, and increased weight from the bed rest she was on, and so this was a hard pregnancy for my wife. But through this Jesus was our foundation and He shined and carried us through. Somehow the hernias disappeared. And the summer turned out all right, because of friends in the neighborhood that helped keep our girls busy. During the nine years we lived in our neighborhood, there were few playmates for our children. While over the summer two new families moved in with children of the same age.

Adding to Peggy's pain in the beginning of the second week of July, she started having irregular contractions. These were often strong enough to double her over with pain. But because Elijah was sitting so high in the uterus, the contractions were not effective in moving him out. So Peggy went through constant contractions, taking away her sleep, along with the considerable pain throughout her body. Only the Lord could provide us with the strength to get us through this past summer. (I hope you don't mind my adding myself in the last sentence. It's not easy being the husband during a pain-filled pregnancy, too). J

Because of Peggy's pain, I prayed that after Elijah's lungs and anti-bodies developed, that he be delivered early. I thought I heard God's voice saying that Elijah would be delivered at 37 weeks. This would be a delivery date around August 15^th. However, when this date passed it was clear that the Lord's answer was that we should wait. His timing is perfect.

Which leads us to the end of August 2001. Peggy's contractions continued, but starting in the final week of August the contractions became regular. Every ten to fifteen minutes, she would have a contraction. On Saturday night (September 1^st), the contractions came together as close as every three to five minutes, and so we went into the hospital. But we received what we thought was terrible news when they took an ultrasound, at approximately 9:00 p.m. Elijah had his head up near Peggy's ribcage – he was in a breach position. When the doctor arrived, she did a second ultrasound not fifteen minutes later. This time, Elijah had his head near the birth canal, but his legs were horizontally across Peggy's stomach. He was doing flip-flops!

We were blessed with a wonderful, caring doctor – Dr. Suzie Cho. She explained to us the different ways we could give birth to this somersault baby, and Peggy decided on having a c-section. We scheduled the c-section for the next morning at 8:00 a.m.

When the next morning arrived, they did one last ultrasound. Sure enough, the little stinker got in perfect position for a normal delivery. The doctor and I talked to Peggy to have her consider canceling the c-section and having a normal delivery. But Peggy was not to be swayed. Peg had fears about delivering the baby. Her fear was that there would be trouble if the she went through with the delivery. So she chose the c-section, and good thing she did. It turned out that Elijah was 9 pounds, 8 ounces, which is a big baby. And when they did deliver him, he had the umbilical cord around his neck. Both hands were also blue, and so it was fortunate for the baby that he was delivered in this way. If Peggy had waited the two weeks until his due date, who knows what they umbilical cord's cutting off of Babe-E's circulation would have meant for him.

So on September 2, 2001, Elijah Carr Wolff was born. He is healthy, strong, and beautiful. Mom, Dad, and the sisters have fallen madly in love with our Babe 'E'. It's easy when he's such a good child. Thank you again for your prayers, and praises to our heavenly Father for the many blessings He has provided. To us all.

Final note – I count 5 miracles in the birth of my son. And, let me add that Elijah is a healthy, strong boy who has no heart defects, or any other health issues. Except for, perhaps his inability to listen when Mom and Dad ask him to clean-up! My hope is that this helps you in seeing God's love and power. God answers prayer, and gives us who delight in the Lord, the desires of our heart (Psalm 37:4). /s/Tom Wolff

Retreat Today

2010-11-06T07:21:00.000-05:00

Hi everyone,

My wife and I are attending a Holy Spirit Retreat today at Hosanna church. We are hosting an Alpha group, and so we would appreciate your prayers for our time at this retreat. Also, please remember my Mom who has pain in her side, and will not be able to see a doctor until Tuesday. Here is my prayer that God's Power connects to the needs of our Alpha guests. /s/Tom

Utterly Depraved?

2010-10-31T10:09:00.000-05:00

I am a bit down this weekend. OK, so I am not at all depressed at the thought of the end of the political ads coming this Tuesday. But part of my being down is how hard the economy has hit my family and others, and how slow any recovery appears. And this weekend, as I allow this darkness to seep into my soul, I was hit by a quote from Martin Luther. Here’s his quote:

The works of God, though they may always look evil and have the appearance of being very bad, are yet in fact works of eternal merit.

As I chewed on Marty’s quote (that’s how close I am to the founder of Protestantism, I can call him Marty), I thought about how some people (not naming names, but their initials are Ed and TJL) see everything done by God as wrong. Even evil. And I suppose that why this quote initially caught my attention. The Heidleberg Disputation provides further explanation and insight into Martin Luther’s quote, and it states:

Heidleberg Disputation: That the works of God are unattractive is clear from what is said in Isa. 53:2, »He had no form of comeliness«, and in 1 Sam. 2:6, »The Lord kills and brings to life; he brings down to Sheol and raises up.« This is understood to mean that the Lord humbles and frightens us by means of the law and the sight of our sins so that we seem in the eyes of men, as in our own, as nothing, foolish, and wicked, for we are in truth that. Insofar as we acknowledge and confess this, there is »no form or beauty« in us, but our life is hidden in God (i.e. in the bare confidence in his mercy), finding in ourselves nothing but sin, foolishness, death, and hell, according to that verse of the Apostle in 2 Cor. 6:9-10, »As sorrowful, yet always rejoicing; as dying, and behold we live.« And that it is which Isa. 28:21 calls the »alien work« of God »that he may do his work« (that is, he humbles us thoroughly, making us despair, so that he may exalt us in his mercy, giving us hope), just as Hab. 3:2 states, »In wrath remember mercy.« Such a man therefore is displeased with all his works; he sees no beauty, but only his depravity. Indeed, he also does those things which appear foolish and disgusting to others.
This depravity, however, comes into being in us either when God punishes us or when we accuse ourselves, as 1 Cor. 11:31 says, »If we judged ourselves truly, we should not be judged by the Lord«. Deut. 32:36 also states, »The Lord will vindicate his people and have compassion on his servants.« In this way, consequently, the unattractive works which God does in us, that is, those which are humble and devout, are really eternal, for humility and fear of God are our entire merit.

Tom’s Wrap:I know this is a lot to put your mind around, especially on a weekend morning. Especially on a day when our blood is pumping for the anticipated sugar fix that is coming later on (Halloween, and all). But here is my take. I think what Luther and the Disputation are getting at is not so much how God’s ways can only be viewed over the long-term, and over many years when everything will be put it order. Instead, I think it is more likely pointing toward man’s utter depravity and God’s holiness and righteousness. When I say man’s utter depravity, I mean that every inclination of our heart is to do the sinful, rebellious, self-centered action. While God’s actions cannot possibly be understood by us for what they truly are. God’s actions alone are of “eternal merit”, as Luther describes.

The 1 Corinthians 11:31 verse is powerful. If we were able to judge ourselves properly, then there would be no need for God’s judgment. My final takeaway is this: think about Nehemiah’s response upon learning of Jerusalem’s destruction. His response to the Sovereign God allowing Jerusalem to be destroyed and disgraced? He “sat down and wept”, and then pleaded for forgiveness of Israel’s sin (Nehemiah 1:4-6). As we face trouble and battles, and as we see the pain that the economy’s devastation is taking all about us, I hope we don’t ask “where is God”? Instead, I hope we trust in the holy and righteous Sovereign God, and what He is doing through this time. I praise Your holy name Lord God, /s/Tom Wolff

Death for All

2010-10-23T09:05:00.001-05:00

We recently discussed the topic of sin in the Men's Group I have breakfast with every Thursday morning. I found our discussion helpful, and so I wanted to write about this same topic this morning. First, what is sin? It's a big word, and the traditional description of sin is "missing the mark". But I prefer the Pastor Keller (Reason for God) definition of sin as not simply doing bad things, it is putting good things in place of God. Think about it, God gives us good things in this world, things like food, sex, work, and others, etc. But sin is when we take these good things and put them in place of God. Sin is seeking to become one-self, and to get an identity apart from Him.

OK, I hope everybody gets two points on sin that are foundational for the Gospel, the Good News of Jesus Christ: We are all sinners, and that Jesus came as the world's Savior to pay the price for our sins: death on the Cross. But does this mean that our sins deserve to be punished with the Death Penalty? Sure, Osama Bin Laden deserves the death penalty. Yes, Hitler and Stalin, but why should my sins deserve the just punishment of death? Yeah, maybe my sins deserve 2 or 3 years in prison, but DEATH? C'mon, the death penalty should only be given to those who have murdered, or done realllly bad things. But not me, right?

So I wrestled with this issue a few years ago, and I decided to start by looking at the 10 Commandments (Exodus 20). Yes, I have honored my father and mother, I don't steal much, I've never murdered, and those commands on coveting other people's property are kind of slippery, so I felt ok looking at my sinfulness looking at most of the 10 Commandments. But then I started looking at the portion of the Commandments that dealt with God – No, I don't always Honor the Sabbath, and no, sometimes I take the Lord's name in vain. And the First Commandment of Honoring the Lord our God, and having no other gods beside Him, was the one that stuck with me. What was I putting in place of God? Yes, I am prideful, and being logical is very important to me. And being able to spend my time doing what I want is very important to me. But was I putting these in place of God? I think this is what Pastor Keller was getting at with his definition of sin as taking "good things and putting them in place of God".

But do I really deserve to be put to death for not honoring God? So I did some Bible work to look up the punishments that ought to be given to someone who violates the 10 Commandments. And I discovered that for any violation of a single Commandment, the Death Penalty should be given. Here is my breakdown:

1^st and 2^nd Commandments (Honor God and No Idols): Deut. 13:6-10; Lev. 20:1-5

Those who draw others away from God – Deut. 13:6-9

Those who lead others to idolatry – Deut 13:1-5, 18:20.

Witchcraft, consulting spirits, necromancy, divination, sorcery, augery, soothsaying Lev. 19:26, 20:6; Deut 18:10-16;

3^rd: Taking Lord's Name in Vain: Lev. 24:10-14;

4^th: Break Sabbath: Exod. 31:14-15, 35:2; Numbers 15:32-36;

5^th: Honor your Parents: strike your parents, punish with death – Exod. 21:15; curse parents, death penalty Ex. 21:17, Lev 20:9; Those who are disobedient to their parents: Deut. 21:18-21, Rom. 1:30-32;

6^th: Murder: Intentional – Ex. 21:12-14; Numb. 35:9-28; Deut. 19:4-13; cause miscarriage Ex. 21:22-25;

7^th : Adultery punished with death – Lev. 20:10; Deut. 22:22-24; rape Deut 22:25; incest – Lev. 20:11, 12, 14, 17, 19-21; Deut. 27: 20-23; Lev. 20:11, 14; Homosexuality – Exod. 22:19, Lev. 18:22-3, 20:13, :15-16; Prostitution Gen. 38:24, Deut 22:21-26, Lev. 19:29, 21:9; Bestiality Ex. 22:19, Lev. 18:23, Deut. 27:21.

8^th: Thou shall not steal – restitution plus interest Ex. 22:1-4, Lev. 6:4-5; if can't pay back what was stolen, thief is sold into slavery – Ex. 22:1; kidnapper of a person – death, Ex. 21:16, Deut. 24:7; Death for all thieves, Zech. 5:4; Thieves will not inherit the kingdom of God – 1 Cor. 6:9-10;

9^th: Thou shall not bear false witness: whatever was intended to be done to victim of false witness, should be done to liar – Deut. 19:15-21; Death – Zech. 5:4; Rev. 21:8, death for lying to Church, Holy Spirit (Ananias and Sapphira): Acts 5;

10^th: Thou shall not covet – Deserves death - Rom. 1:28-32.

And so, by checking into the punishments for sinning against the 10 Commandments, I discovered I did not deserve 2 or 3 years of jail time for my sins, no, instead I deserved death. You cannot flagrantly disobey and dishonor the God, Maker of the Universe without there being a consequence. This is what makes God a holy God, who deserves to be feared. And so, this list helped me better understand what the Apostle Paul meant when he wrote that the wages of sin was death (Romans 6:23). And of course, this helped me understand the debt that was owed when Jesus took the punishment that was owed for my sins, when He died on the Cross. He died to save me from the punishment that my sins deserved. My sins are paid for, I don't need to feel guilty about what I have done. And the extra bonus is this – Jesus' death and resurrection also provides us with the freedom so that we don't have to keep on sinning. Praise God for His plan and the giving of Jesus as a sacrifice in my place!

I hope this post was helpful for you in better understanding what sin means and deserves. But enough of this theological stuff. Go Vikings against those stinking Packers playing on Sunday night. And my favorite Halloween candy? Reese's Peanut Butter cups – what's yours? /s/Tom

A New “Earth” Found?, and other topics

2010-10-03T11:46:00.001-05:00

Good morning. I wanted to address last week's news story about a "new" Earth, as well as another topic. First, the New Earth – this is a planet scientists discovered that has similar conditions to that of Earth, and may be able to support life. Here's the story from Sept. 30 CNN:

A New Earth Found? Gliese 581g may be the new Earth. A team of astronomers from the University of California and the Carnegie Institute of Washington say they've found a planet like ours, 20 light years (120 trillion miles) from Earth, where the basic conditions for life are good. "The chances for life on this planet are 100 percent," Steven Vogt, a UC professor of astronomy and astrophysics says. "I have almost no doubt about it." The planet is three times the size of Earth, but the gravity is similar. Dr. Elizabeth Cunningham, planetarium astronomer at the Royal Observatory in Greenwich, says the discovery is a huge deal. "It could have liquid water on the surface," she said. "That's the first step to find life." …
But if we did - we'd find some other things familiar. The atmosphere and gravity are similar to Earth, and if you're from the polar regions, you'd definitely feel right at home. Scientists say the highest average temperature is about -12 degrees Celcius (10 Fahrenheit), but they point out that the planet doesn't have a night and day - one side continually faces the star and the other side faces the darkness of space. This means one side is blazing hot and the other freezing cold. But Cunningham also called it a Goldilocks planet – it's not too cold, and it's not too hot, it's just right for water to form.
Tom's view – in the past I have shown skepticism on the chance of life being found on another planet. I based this on the exceptional number of unique characteristics that Earth has in which to support life. Not just water, but other things like the right force of gravity, a right sized moon, the right speed of rotation, the right atmosphere, etc. But now that this other planet was found, with a temperature of 10 degrees, that does not rotate, and because Gliese 581g has two of these conditions: the possibility of water on the planet along with a similar gravity, Professor Vogt states that there is a 100% chance that life will form. A body of water is all that it takes for life to form on a planet? Hmmm, I may be wrong, but it seems that life is little more difficult to create than having just a body of water. It's interesting to me that they are able to discover the possibility of water on a planet 20 light years away, and that they make a good guess as to its gravity. Science is amazing, but the quote that there is a 100% chance that life will form on Gliese 581g, is clearly overstated.
Clues to God's Existence. I have been asked before what evidence is there to support God's existence. I believe that Intelligent Design is the best position to explain life on Earth. I may be wrong, but when it comes to either a naturalist explanation (like Darwinism) or a supernatural one, it seems to me that the supernatural explanation makes more sense. And the evidence of how Darwinism actually works, continues to support my understanding. As one writer submits, don't we have "astronomical numbers of organisms" in the real-world data collected in the cases of malaria, HIV and e-coli? In these cases, Random Mutation + Natural Selection produced only trivial changes and no other evolutionary processes came into play at all, despite strong selection pressures. In the case of e-coli, the data were produced in the lab over the space of about a decade. Isn't it likely that we'll have more and more sets of data of this kind as medical science proceeds? Why keep telling stories about how a Lexus evolved from a Ford and a Volvo when you can go inside the Lexus factory and actually observe workers assembling parts produced entirely in Japan?
Well, I am reading a book by Pastor Timothy Keller entitled "The Reason for God", and it has a good way of describing "clues" of God. These are not proofs of God's existence. But instead they are strong clues that point to His existence. Divine fingerprints if you will. Here are a few:

Big Bang. Scientist Francis Collins writes, "15 billion years ago, the universe began with an unimaginably bright flash of energy from an infinitesimally small point. That implies that before that, there was nothing. I can't imagine how nature, ion this case the universe, could have created itself. And the very fact that the universe had a beginning implies that someone was able to begin it. And it seems to me that had to be outside of nature." Everything we see is 'contingent', meaning that there is a cause outside of itself. Why should the universe be any different? This makes a lot of sense to me, but it certainly is not a proof;
The Cosmic Welcome Mat. Keller: Everything about physics from the speed of light, the gravitational constant, the strength of weak and strong nuclear forces – must all have values that together fall into an extremely narrow range. This is called the "fine-tuning" of the universe, that makes it appear that the universe was prepared human beings. It seems as though there were a large number of dials that all had to be tuned to a narrow setting, and they all were turned to that setting. Again, this is not a proof. I'm sure there is a theoretical chance that there are billion upon billions of unobservable other universes out there. Yeah, sure. But the one universe that we can see, tells us that someone has made sure that life be created on Earth. The clues point to a Creator.

Love. Yes, it is possible that chemical reactions in our brain create an attraction to another person. But that doesn't tell half of the story. Chemical reaction doesn't explain my wife's love of someone like me who can be grumpy, selfish, and not give her the attention of love back to her that she deserves. Yet, she still loves me. Chemical reactions seem as a laughable explanation for love. We have free choice to love others in our life by our actions, or to make selfish, unloving choices to those around us. We don't get to blame our genetics for our choices.

And of course, God's example of sending His Son as a sacrifice to pay for all of the World's sins is the best example of love. The Gift of Jesus' sacrifice was made to allow people to be in relationship with God. No one is forced to believe or accept this gift. But if it is accepted this is the beginning of a grand adventure. A relationship with the Creator of the universe, who gives us jobs to do – to help others, and provide glory to God. And the relationship gives us what we need, peace, growing is purity, growing in our faith and knowledge of the Creator. It's a great plan, and it's open to everyone.

Thanks for those who email me with comments. May God bless you this week with His joy and peace. /s/Tom

Difference Between Darwinism and Intelligent Design, Part 2

2010-09-19T08:29:00.001-05:00

My thanks to TJL and Edward Oleander for their comments to my last post on the difference between Darwinism and Intelligent Design. I wanted to spin-off one of the issues raised from their comments on the fossil record, and more specifically the fossil record of the "Cambrian Explosion". Edward Oleander writes:

Very few creatures get fossilized. … By looking at how modern species are spread out, it is possible to estimate that the vast majority (perhaps as much as 95%) of species never left any remains behind at all.
The Fossil record records very little data about soft tissues.

It appears Edward O. is drinking the Kool Aid of Richard Dawkins. As the Arch-Bishop of Darwinism Richard Dawkins notes: "It's as though they (the Cambrian fossils) were just planted there, without any evolutionary history" (Dawkins 1996: 229). Dawkins doesn't claim to know why there is so little pre-Cambrian fossil evidence but he suspects "it might be that many of these animals had only soft parts to their bodies: no shells or bones to fossilize" (Dawkins 1996: 230).

The Fossil Record. So let me start by making clear what the Cambrian Explosion fossil record is, then both sides can suggest why the record is the way that it is. The Pre-Cambrian fossil record is from the Ediacaran, and an example of the sort of fossils is the Treptichnus pedum, which is a segmented, soft-bodied worm (a brief description and picture is found in Wikipedia here.) And from this worm, in a period as short as 5-10 million years, we have as Time Magazine describes "worms and flies, mice and fish". And most interesting, is the fact that in the Cambrian Explosion we see the appearance of all of life's basic body plans found in nature today are here: bodies with heads, tails, and appendages (this is from pbs.org). We get crab shells, the skeletal structure of fish, with eyes, fins, gills and mouths. We have the air breathing ability of mice, and their tails, paws, and teeth. We have the birds, with their ability to fly, with wings, feathers, and tails. We have insects. And the Darwinist claim is that this all arose from this soft-bodied worm.

So. to aid our discussion, let me ask a few questions:

Why have no new body plans for life arisen after the Cambrian Explosion?
The Darwinist claim is that there are few fossils, and the fossils provide little detail about "soft tissues". So I want to know what exactly you are claiming is missing: is it all of the transitions from (for example) the Trept Ped worm to the crab and its' shell? Or is it all of the transitions from the Trept Ped worm to the first fish, PLUS all of transitions from the fish to the Crab and its' shell?
Why is that all of the same transitions are missing from the fossil record all over the world? The Cambrian Explosion shows the same record throughout the world.
Think of all of the new parts of life created in the Cambrian Explosion. Here's just a few:

All of the life's Body Plans;
The brain;
Wings and limbs, feet and fins;
Shells;
The spinal column;
From an asexual reproductive system to a sexual reproductive system, along with the creation of the womb, placenta, etc. to sustain the newborn life;
Teeth and the digestive system;

I could go on. So I will, the blood system, antibodies, muscles, the ability to walk on four feet, and two feet, the five senses all working together with the brain, and all of this comes from the Trept Ped worm? There's much more, but let me stop here.

And so, my question to the Darwinists out there, what is there in life that leads you to think that this kind of rapid change in the DNA of these creatures. Specific examples are demanded in your answer.

Thanks in advance to anyone who adds to the discussion. My final thought is this – we all have to live with the "truth" of our worldview. We cannot one day decide the truth of the Tooth Fairy, and then live in full acceptance of the Tooth Fairy's power and existence. But alongside the need for "truth" in our lives, is the question how is your worldview helping you? With the big questions that we all have, like Why are we here? What's the meaning of life? What am I supposed to do with my life Today? I think Christianity is the best way to have both "truth" and those large questions of life answered. Ask me if you would like more details on this. May God bless your health, your relationships, and provide you with sufficient provision, In Jesus the Messiah's name, Amen. /s/Tom

The Difference Between Intelligent Design and Darwinism

2010-08-29T08:36:00.001-05:00

Summer is coming to an end, and my family and I went to Elko speedway for the first time last night. I had no idea of what to expect, but we had a blast. They have a great community feel to it, where it seems like there are a lot of people who know each other, who support their drivers, and who enjoy partying. On to today's post, which is my attempt to explain the main difference between those who believe in unguided evolution (Darwinism) and those who believe in Intelligent Design. So let's get started:

Intelligent Design. Most of those who believe in Intelligent Design start with the foundation that there is some sort of Creator responsible for our universe, Who I will refer to as God. All evidence is then viewed in light of the assumption of God's existence and direct responsibility for the creation of our world and life around us. With this foundation, we have the following evidence to support our acceptance of the Intelligent Design position:

Big Bang. The universe has a start, and the best explanation for this start is that there is a Creator God who caused this to take place. The massive amount of energy squeezed into an impossibly small space sounds like a supernatural event to most people. Energy doesn't just appear out of thin air, right? And the resulting order that came out of the Big Bang which led to the creation of a life-sustaining planet, again points to God. Anyone who looks at the start of our universe and does not assume God's Hand as the cause of it, must do some serious mental gymnastics to get around all of the surrounding problems where random forces are assumed as the cause;

Fossil Record. Sudden appearance, sudden disappearance. No intermediate transitions. This is the fossil record. And this is the record that caused the now departed Harvard Professor /Darwinist Stephen Jay Gould to come up with his theory of punctuated equilibrium. Darwinism is supposed to make small changes over great periods of time, resulting in things even as great as a species change. But Professor Gould's theory looked at the evidence and postulated that some unknown force caused a great deal of change to take place in a very short period of time, which could explain the creation of new structures (like an eye or brain) and even new species. The fossil record evidence is a serious problem for anyone who holds to traditional Darwinist beliefs;

Mutation Rate / Complex Structures. E Coli has been studied for over 44,000 generations by Professor Lenski. Malaria infects 500 million people a year, and the malaria replicates in an ill person until there are 1 trillion malaria cells. And science has thoroughly studied what happens when these cells reproduce over their short life-spans. Especially with malaria, given the number of these cells and the number of people effected, it is an easy analogy to make for those who hold to an Intelligent Design viewpoint that over the whole lifespan on Earth, we are able to see in the battle against malaria what the Darwinist force of random mutation can actually do, as if the history of life was being replayed before us. And the result? Not much. Mutation can create a resistance to an anti-biotic designed to fight malaria. But the mutation rate is far too low to do anything useful. As an example, in order for the malaria cell to develop resistance to chloroquine ( a common early drug used to fight malaria), it takes a change in just two amino acids. How easily does this take place? Oh, about 1 in 10²⁰ of the malaria cells that have reproduced. Infinitesimally small, right? There just isn't enough mutations taking place to cause what Darwinists think evolution can do.
And the problem of complex structures was analogized by Professor Behe to a mousetrap. Darwinism believes small changes take place that can lead to create something new. But inside the cell, even the simplest of structures require many parts, self assembled, and all working together at the same time. And the addition of 1 piece provides no benefit to the organism, until all 10 (or however many are needed) pieces are put together. Darwinist belief is that any improvement or benefit will be passed on to the next generation. But without a benefit, the change will be lost. You know, like a mousetrap. You can't catch a mouse with just a board and a spring. It takes all of the parts assembled before there is a working mousetrap. In other words, there is no benefit to a creature to just having 2 of 10 pieces. Adding this to the extremely low mutation rate, and it is hard to see why anyone would believe in random mutation as the creative force behind Darwinism.

Darwinism. Which leads me to Darwinism, which has the following foundation:

Naturalism. According to Darwinists, every cause has a natural effect. Claimed Supernatural events are unproven, and cannot be repeated.
Similarities in Structure / Chromosomes. You look at an ape and it kind of looks like a less 'evolved' human. A fin looks like a wing which looks like a hand. I get it. And there is similarity in the chromosomes of humans and other animals. For example, humans have one fewer pair of chromosomes than chimpanzees – a human has 23 pairs, while a chimpanzee has 24. Scientists can look at the chromosomes and say that the chimpanzee chromosome 2 a and 2 b somehow fused together into a large chromosome 2 in humans. And this genetic evidence supported the Darwinist's belief in common descent, that in the Tree of Life all species came from one ancestor. And the crowning claim of Darwinism that humans are nothing but evolved monkeys.

But the Darwinists were tied to the theory Darwin's mechanism for change by Random Mutation, which science has shown to be impotent. The mutations in the genome take place too slowly, and certainly cannot account for the large differences in life. And so, this is the essence of the differences between Darwinists and Intelligent Design – Darwinists see similarity and assume a natural, non-supernatural connection will be found that accounts for this similarity, and all of the changes in the life around us. While in Intelligent Design, we see the evidence before us, and make the claim that natural mechanisms cannot account for these changes. Darwinists have theory, and rely on circumstantial evidence. While in Intelligent Design the evidence of the fossil record and the limitations of change within the genome show that something else is responsible for the difference between a monkey and a human, as well as the other life in the world around us. And although it is not part of Intelligent Design, most assume it can point to God as the responsible Agent.

So that is my conclusion, Darwinists have theory, and rely on circumstantial evidence. While in Intelligent Design the evidence of the fossil record and the limitations of change within the genome show that something else is responsible for the difference between a monkey and a human. And although it is not part of Intelligent Design, most assume it can point to God as the responsible Agent. Let me know if you would like to add or correct anything for either of the positions discussed. Thanks. /s/Tom Wolff

God is Sovereign, Part 2

2010-08-21T12:10:00.001-05:00

"…. Thy Kingdom come, Thy Will be done on Earth as it is in Heaven…" (Lord's Prayer, Matthew 6:10). With this simple, yet powerful prayer, Jesus taught His followers that God's Will is only done where His Kingdom is present. And so, in this post I will discuss several Bible verses that raise the possibility that Satan has sovereign power over the Earth. In addition to the petition in the Lord's Prayer that God's Will be done through the coming of His Kingdom, we have the confrontation between Jesus and Satan in the story of the temptation in the desert (Matthew 4:1-11). Satan tempts Jesus with three different temptations, but it is the third that I want to focus upon – where Satan takes Jesus upon a high mountain, and showed Jesus all of the kingdoms of the world, and said "all these I will give you, if you fall down and worship me." What was the temptation? Think of how many people Jesus could have helped – illness, disease, famine eradicated. The end of wars. The pain of this life could be lifted. I think Satan was preying upon Jesus' compassion with this temptation. Yet Jesus stood firm and quoted the Old Testament command - 'You shall worship the Lord your God and him only shall you serve.' (from Deut. 6:13.)

The conclusion I want to draw out from this Third Temptation of Christ is that Satan has authority and control over all of the kingdoms f Earth. This is supported by other verses in the Bible such as his being given title of 'god of this world' (2 Cor. 4:4, Job 9:24, John 14:30); And that he is the prince of the powers of air (Ephesians 2:2). So what sort of power does Satan over the world? Is Satan's kingdom at war with God's Kingdom?

Let me raise two other verses on this topic – first, is a verse from Daniel chapter 10, which I have raised several times before in my blog. In this story we have Daniel a prophet of God praying and fasting to God. An Angel is immediately sent by God in response to these prayers – See, Daniel 10:12: "Fear not, Daniel, for from the first day that you set your heart to understand and humbled yourself before your God, your words have been heard, and I have come because of your words…" But the Angel's response was delayed for three (3) weeks even though it was God's Will that the Angel come to Daniel. The reason for the delay? An unseen demonic spiritual force referred to as the "the Prince of the kingdom of Persia" battled the Angel until the arch-Angel Michael came and defeated this demonic "prince". From this story, we see that Satan's kingdom can temporarily delay God's Will through attacks upon the servants of God. And so, it is not God who is attacked, but God's faithful servants. And this battle caused a short delay in God's Will (an answer to Daniel's prayers) from being answered.

Another interesting story of the spiritual warfare taking place around us is contained in 2 Kings chapter 3. The villain in the story is Mesha the king of Moab. The Good Guys were the divided kingdoms of Israel – where Israel is divided into the northern and southern kingdoms, yet they joined together with the king of Edom and set out to destroy all of the cities and villages of Moab. Would they win? A prophet of God Elisha son of Shaphat was asked and he told the kings that God "will also give the Moabites into your hand…" (2 Kings 3:18). They received confirmation of this prophecy with God's provision of water for their armies. And the combined forces overthrew all of the Moabite cities (v. 25). But then comes the interesting party of the story – the combined armies surrounded the last Moabite city, Kir-hareseth, which appears to be the Moabite capital. And our villain, Mesha, the desperate king of Moab took his 700 tough swordsmen to try and break the siege but they failed (v. 26). He then took his eldest son, and…, well, let's read how God's Word describes it:

Then he (Mesha) took his oldest son who was to reign in his place and offered him for a burnt offering on the wall. And there came great wrath (NIV describes it as a great "fury") against Israel. And they withdrew from him and returned to their own land. (v. 27)

What?! God's Will of destroying all of Moabite cities was prevented by Mesha's sacrifice of his son to the Moabite god, Chemosh. And I like the way the NIV describes it, as a "fury" coming upon the combined forces, and the Moabite was saved. Despite God's prophecy through Elisha, that God would give the Moabites into the combined force's hands, the sacrifice of king Mesha's son caused some sort of force and impact to save the Moabite city of Kir-hareseth. What was this fury or wrath that defeated the combined force's armies? Well, this is a subject of some dispute, but my take is that this was a powerful demonic attack brought about by the sacrifice to the Moabite god Chemosh. And this somehow prevented God's Will of the destruction of Moab from taking place.

Can a man hide himself in secret places so that I cannot see him? declares the Lord. Do I not fill heaven and earth? declares the Lord. (Jeremiah 23:24 – ESV)

So, how do I put together the verses in my last post on God's sovereignty, and this beautiful verse from Jeremiah 23:24, that describe God as an active God, involved in all parts of our lives throughout the whole Earth, with the verses on Satan's power (and his allies), that have demonstrable power against the servants of God? I think that is the key – they can only battle the servants of God. The enemy can only delay the implementation of God's plan, not thwart it. But God's Will is carried out. Well, that is what is on my mind this week. May God bless you with His peace (shalom) this week. In Christ, /s/Tom

Sovereignty of God

2010-08-15T11:31:00.001-05:00

Congratulations to my nephew and his wife who were blessed with a boy they named Timothy Robert last night. It's great to hear that everyone is doing well after the childbirth.

I wanted to post this morning on the topic of the sovereignty of God. The Bible makes clear that God is Creator of everything in heaven and on Earth (Genesis 1). Here are but four of the dozens of verses proclaiming that God is Sovereign (Rules with supreme authority having controlling power over all that takes place in heaven and on Earth): Dan. 4:25, :35; Romans 9:15-23; 1 Timothy 6:15 ; Revelation 4:11.

So if there is anyone who could have authority other than God, it would be Satan. Satan is called the god of this world - 2 Cor. 4:4, John 14:30. He is also called the adversary (Job 1:6-7, 1 Pet. 5:8). And so, the initial question I ask is this: is Satan the adversary of God, or as is more likely, the adversary of humans?

And so, to answer my initial question, Satan is the adversary of mankind and not the adversary of God. This is made clear in other verses describing Satan and his activity:

He seeks to cause evil John 13:2,27, 1 Tim. 4:1

He seeks to secure or trick people to worship him; Luke 4:6-8, 2 Thess. 2:3-4

He seeks to make men renounce God Job 2:4-5

He seeks to undo God's work in people's lives Mark 4:15, Matt. 13:19,38, Luke 8:12-13

He seeks to steal, kill and destroy John 10:10

He attacks through thoughts 1 Chron. 21:1, Matt. 13:37-39, Acts 5:3 , 2 Cor. 10:5

The people of the world are his children Acts 13:10 , 1 John 3:10

They do his will John 8:44, 2 Cor. 12:7

He possesses them Luke 22:3

He blinds them 2 Cor. 4:4

He deceives them Rev. 20:7-8

He ensnares them 1 Tim. 3:7

He confuses them 1 Cor. 14:33

He causes distress and trouble 1 Sam. 16:14

He makes evil attractive Gen. 3:6

He tempts thru lack of self control in sex 1 Cor. 7:5

And so, from these Bible verses, I have shown that Satan is an adversary of all people, believers and unbelievers alike. I make this my first step in showing that God is Sovereign over the universe. If there is interest, I will show and deal with at least three sets of verses where Satan attacks the work of God more directly. But I will still try to make the point that despite these verses God is Sovereign despite the activity of Satan in the world. For God's glory, /s/Tom

Judging Others

2010-08-08T11:16:00.001-05:00

Ask a person on the street whether someone should judge their personal behavior, and I bet many will come up with a response inspired by Jesus – people should judge not, lest they be judged. The reason for this is obvious – who wants others looking down their noses with judgment of the private done in the privacy of their home. No one likes a finger wagger, right? Anyway, I am thinking about Jesus' teaching at the Sermon on the Mount telling us that we should not judge lest we be judged (Matthew 7:1), and how this fits in with other New Testament verses. For example, there are a few other verses that teach something different, like 1 Corinthians 2:15 (the spiritual person judges all things…) And so, with this post I will try and piece these verses together.

Local Pastor John Piper is writing some great posts on his blog – and he's writing frequently, so check him out here. But he recently wrote on this topic that is of interest to me – judging others. Pastor Piper wrote on the benefit of a Church being able to judge its own members. Here is his post:

But now I am writing to you not to associate with anyone who bears the name of brother if he is guilty of sexual immorality or greed, or is an idolater, reviler, drunkard, or swindler—not even to eat with such a one. For what have I to do with judging outsiders? Is it not those inside the church whom you are to judge? (1 Corinthians 5:11-12)

It is dangerous not to be judged. We need other people to judge us, with righteous judgment (John 7:24). We need accountability. If we don't have Christian friends that are close enough to confront us when our lifestyle doesn't match our confession, then we ought to tremble.

The type of judgment I am referring to is not generated by a desire to look down on others for the sake of feeling superior—a condescending disposition. Rather, it comes from a tender disposition of love. It comes from a Nathan who is willing to tell David to repent and turn to God (2 Samuel 12).

We should fear God in light of the sin that can deceive and destroy us. We should not fear the judgment that comes from friends in the church which helps us to fight sin. This is grace!

It is immeasurably more safe to be a part of a local church that watches for our souls. Praise God for the safety that is in the righteous judgment of his people. It is grace from heaven! (Pastor John Piper, Desiring God post).

So the message from the 1 Corinthians 5:11-12 verse (above) is that Christians are not to judge non-believers, but we are to be accountable to someone in the Church. This could be a Pastor we confess our sins to, a small group, or any other Christian who has sound judgment, a clear understanding of God's Grace, and wisdom in handling the battles we are facing. Pastor Piper does a good job in drawing out the importance of this in his post. But Christians should not, and need not judge others outside the Church. God has this job, and doesn't need any help! Anyway, here are a few other verses dealing with the topic of judging others:

John 7:24 - Do not judge by appearances, but judge with right judgment.

Romans 2:1-2 Therefore you have no excuse, O man, every one of you who judges. For in passing judgment on another you condemn yourself, because you, the judge, practice the very same things. ²We know that the judgment of God rightly falls on those who practice such things.

1 Corinthians 2:15 - The spiritual person judges all things, but is himself to be judged by no one.

1 Corinthians 4:3-5 But with me it is a very small thing that I should be judged by you or by any human court. In fact, I do not even judge myself. ⁴For I am not aware of anything against myself, but I am not thereby acquitted. It is the Lord who judges me. ⁵Therefore do not pronounce judgment before the time, before the Lord comes, who will bring to light the things now hidden in darkness and will disclose the purposes of the heart. Then each one will receive his commendation from God.

James 4:11-12 Do not speak evil against one another, brothers. The one who speaks against a brother or judges his brother, speaks evil against the law and judges the law. But if you judge the law, you are not a doer of the law but a judge. ¹²There is only one lawgiver and judge, he who is able to save and to destroy. But who are you to judge your neighbor?

From these verses, I think Christians need to focus on love. Christians need to stay away from judging the actions of non-believers. It turns off the non-believer from "religion" (see this CNN news story of author Anne Rice quitting Christianity, but not quitting Jesus.) I'm not sure how this works in real life, so maybe you can help me with this. As an example, does this mean we should not protest outside of an abortion clinic? Exercising love for the unborn fetuses seems to be more important than hurting someone's feeling by use of the protest "judgment". But I don't know, and I certainly am not certain of this. So if there are any thoughts on this, I would be interested in hearing from you. May the Lord bless you with growing knowledge of God through Christ our Lord, /s/Tom

Odds n’ Ends (15)

2010-08-02T19:00:00.001-05:00

Here are a few stories / reports that I have recently found:

1). A Dog Has 1^st Amendment Rights to Bark? Story here. Dogs and cats have been given the right to free speech — in Massachusetts anyway.

A law that went into effect on July 21 bans surgical devocalization — the cutting of animals' vocal cords — except in cases of medical necessity. The procedure is commonly referred to as "debarking" when it's done to dogs.

The measure was signed into law by Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick. A violation carries up to five years in prison and a fine of up to $2,500.

2). Ayatollah Khamenei Declares Himself the Representative of Muhammad on Earth – and that He's the 12^th Imam. Story here. Iran's Supreme Leader has reportedly issued a fatwah, or Islamic edict, demanding that people obey him as the earthly 'deputy' of both the Prophet Muhammad and Shi'ism's mysterious 12th Imam. He also accused the U.S. and Britain of sowing division among Muslims and of fomenting the recent mosque bombing in Sistan-Baluchestan. Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has created a stir after apparently issuing a religious edict Tuesday claiming ultimate spiritual powers on Earth. Iranian media reported that he told followers that they must 'obey him' as the "representative of the Prophet Muhammad and [Shi'ism's] 12th Imam on Earth…..'" Isn't it better if someone else declares you to be the 12^th Imam? And I believe I'm right in saying that a portion of Muslims believe that the 12^th Imam is a sign of the impending end of the world (sorry, no cite for this comment.)

3). Scientists Find Most Massive Star. Story here. LONDON – A huge ball of brightly burning gas drifting through a neighboring galaxy may be the heaviest star ever discovered — hundreds of times more massive than the sun, scientists said Wednesday after working out its weight for the first time. And here is the cool part: it's burning itself off with such intensity that it shines at nearly 10 million times the luminosity of the sun.

4). 9 Year Old Boy Finds Skeleton of New Human Ancestor. 60 Minutes story here. In case you missed this 60 Minutes report this past Sunday, an archaeologist and his son discovered 5 human fossils in a cave around Johannesburg. The fossils date back to being 1.9 million years old. I don't understand how the fossils could be dated, when the cave was an excavating site that used explosives. The archaeologist claims to have found a "new" species.

5). Stop Global Warming – Eat Bugs! Story here. Here is the crazy Global Warming story of the day: The Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN has held a meeting in Thailand on the subject of using insects for food and plans a 2013 Summit on the subject. The UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) is formally considering recommendations in a paper suggesting greater consumption of insects as a way of limiting global warming. Well, if that's all it takes to save the planet. Hey wait! I love my burger and steak. No way, UN, no way.

Predestination?

2010-07-27T21:32:00.001-05:00

Hi everyone. I'm starting to like our new dog Humphrey (half lab and half Great Dane). Last night we had a break in to a house that is four houses down from ours. It's nice to know that our big dog is here to discourage any ne'er-do-wells in our neighborhood. His big bark should scare away even the most determined bad guys. We had a wonderful time last weekend up at Gull Lake – the kids did lots of boating / tubing. We did some shopping. And it was great spending time with my family. Kelly, our thoughts and prayers are with you.

So, now that I am relaxed and in an easy-going mood, I thought I would take on a light subject, predestination (does sarcasm show up in a blog post?). But I am going to do this from a story that I have never seen discussed as dealing with the topic of predestination – the story by Jesus of the Rich man and Lazarus.

First, a quick definition of 'predestination'. Divine predestination means that God has a purpose that is determined long before it is brought to pass. It implies that God is infinitely capable of planning and then bringing about what he has planned (Evangelical Dictionary of Biblical Theology (Elwell). It especially is used by those of a Calvinistic background as dealing with the topic of those who are predestined to be saved – the elect, having nothing to do with their merit or anything to do with their actions. God's grace and mercy is wholly responsible for anyone being saved.

Here is the story I would like to discuss - Luke 16:19-31 (ESV) ¹⁹"There was a rich man who was clothed in purple and fine linen and who feasted sumptuously every day. ²⁰And at his gate was laid a poor man named Lazarus, covered with sores, ²¹who desired to be fed with what fell from the rich man's table. Moreover, even the dogs came and licked his sores.

²²The poor man died and was carried by the angels to Abraham's side. The rich man also died and was buried, ²³and in Hades, being in torment, he lifted up his eyes and saw Abraham far off and Lazarus at his side. ²⁴And he called out, 'Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus to dip the end of his finger in water and cool my tongue, for I am in anguish in this flame.' ²⁵But Abraham said, 'Child, remember that you in your lifetime received your good things, and Lazarus in like manner bad things; but now he is comforted here, and you are in anguish. ²⁶And besides all this, between us and you a great chasm has been fixed, in order that those who would pass from here to you may not be able, and none may cross from there to us.'

²⁷And he said, 'Then I beg you, father, to send him to my father's house— ²⁸for I have five brothers—so that he may warn them, lest they also come into this place of torment.' ²⁹But Abraham said, 'They have Moses and the Prophets; let them hear them.' ³⁰And he said, 'No, father Abraham, but if someone goes to them from the dead, they will repent.' ³¹He said to him, 'If they do not hear Moses and the Prophets, neither will they be convinced if someone should rise from the dead. (English Standard Version (Wheaton)).

Tom: so here are a few notes about this story. Jesus describes heaven as "Abraham's side" or Abraham's bosom". From v. 22, what exactly are the angels carrying? Lazarus' body, his soul, or something else? And when the rich man in purple (hopefully not a member of the Viking's team) was dead and buried, it is his soul that is in 'Hades'. Lazarus' anguish in Hades is in flame with a great thirst, which is something that appears to be never ending. Jesus does an excellent job in showing the anguish, torment and misery of what it means to be judged and cast into Hades.

But I wanted to draw out something that is perhaps too obvious from the story. What is the Rich man in purple's response when he sees that there is no escape from his torment? The Rich man asks Abraham to send Lazarus to his house where his 5 brothers live. His hope is that seeing a resurrected person (i.e., Lazarus) who would tell them about the torment that the rich man in purple was in, that this would save his brothers from their hellish destination. Abraham's response was that if they ignored the Old Testament books of the Law and Prophets, then they would not be persuaded by seeing someone who was raised from the dead.

Of course, Jesus tells the story to show the hardness of the human heart where even after Jesus' resurrection, he would still be rejected in Israel. But the main point I wanted to draw out was that at least from the perspective of the rich man in purple, he believed his 5 brothers had the free-will to see evidence and to have their hearts turn to God. Abraham shoots down his hope by explaining that the Scriptures are enough for anyone to accept, and so even a miraculous resurrection would not save them. And so, for me the story seems to revolve around the importance of human free-will and choice when it comes to living our lives: when we live our lives without God, then we start on a path that means that our hearts are hardened to the point where even a miracle shown in front of us will not be accepted. And when we read and accept the Scriptures, we are allowing God to work in our lives. This will have eternal consequences. The emphasis in verse 31 is that the brothers should "hear" Moses and the Prophets. This looks to me as Jesus saying that people should choose to hear, with the emphasis on "choose". If it was fully God's will on whether his 5 brothers would receive salvation, then wouldn't the Rich Man's response be to beg God asking for mercy upon his brothers?

Before I am called a heretic, or a Pelagian, or something worse, I want to reassure any readers out there that I understand God alone is responsible for our salvation. But there seems like there is also a bit of room for human responsibility, otherwise Christ's judgment is meaningless. Anyway, I hope I have given you something to think about. Have a great week in Christ - /s/Tom

New Computer Issues

2010-07-16T18:08:00.001-05:00

I'm sorry that I haven't posted recently. I am transferring files from my old computer to the new one, and one of the issues I am having trouble with is blog posting. Well, here is my attempt at a post:

It's been an eventful past month – Asia hanging out with a friend who is a boy; Asia coming home from a friend's house, and a couple of middle aged guys stalk / harass her (she was fortunate enough to get away from them.) And Asia's new friend sat down with me and asked 'permission' from me to ask her out on a date (wow!, this was a cool kid.) We've seen the movies Twilight, Marmaduke, Despicable Me, and Airbender in the last 6 weeks. Oh, and yes, we have a new pet dog in our house, Humphrey the Great Dane mix. Don't ask…don't ask how this could happen.

Work is going well. We are healthy. We are down to 1 puppy. And we will be going on vacation to brother and sister's cabin soon. I'm looking to seeing family and having some time off. Well, let's see if I can really post this… Here goes nothing.

Back from Wisconsin

2010-06-28T07:50:00.000-05:00

Most of my family and I have returned home from a long weekend at the in-law's cabin in Wisconsin. It was a nice relaxing weekend watching the four dogs we brought up play, go on walks, and wrestle, and run around. With the rain, I spent some time putting together a jigsaw puzzle. The family shopped and had fun at the lumberjack festival in Heyward. It was great spending time with family!

Weird small-world meeting - the time we staid at is about 500 people big. When we attended mass, one of my clients from Edina was there. They had known my in-laws for over 30 years and never knew the connection. Now that's a weird coincidence.

Best Rock Male Vocalists – 1980’s

2010-06-13T10:38:00.001-05:00

Happy Birthday to my daughter Olivia, who with this day is now a teenager. We will be celebrating by going bowling as a family, and anticipating the big day tomorrow. What you don't celebrate June 14^th Flag Day like we do? Oh yes, it will be my 48^th birthday on June 14^th.

For today's post, I thought I would write about one of my favorite topics – 1980's Rock n' Roll. And this time I will try and order the best male vocalists of the 1980's. So let's get started!

Robert Palmer; I have placed my favorite crooner at number one, the late, great Mr. Palmer. His early work was much more focused on his great singing, and if you would like an example of his work during his early years seek out "Every Kinda People" – it's awesome. And of course, when he became popular his vocals really shone through during his rocking years with songs like 'Addicted to Love', 'Bad Case of Loving You (Doctor, Doctor)', and his work with the Super-Group Power Station. He's the best!
George Michael; George Michael was much more than the pretty face in Wham. His soulful voice owned the charts in 1986. I don't know why with such a great voice he wasn't able to have much more success, but such is the way of life. His almost-mystical voice in songs like 'Faith' shows that he deserves this spot;
Michael Jackson Now that Michael's estate has passed $1,000,000,000 in sales since his passing, we know that he still has something magical with his music. Although I don't consider him a super-great vocalist, his songs are so great that he has to be ranked near the top;
Rod Stewart This may surprise you that I think this highly of Mr. Stewart's vocals. But his cover of Robert Palmer's 'Some Guys Have All the Luck' is amazing. Robert Palmer's version is nothing like what Rod Stewart did with the song, and it showed by becoming a number 1 hit. His version of Van Morrison's 'Have I told You Lately' was less impressive, because it eliminated the spiritual aspect to the song, yet it still became number 1. He has an amazing gift for interpreting songs, which is why I placed him at Number 4;
Bono; OK, how can I put someone this high who made his performing name 'Bono Vox', is Latin for Good Voice? Well, I listen to the passion and emotion of songs like 'With or Without You' and 'Sunday, Bloody Sunday', and it's easy to see why he has to be considered alongside the best;
Boy George; The singing 'Boy looks like a Girl' shares a birthday with me (and Jeanne K.) has some great chops. When I first heard 'Do You Really Want to Hurt Me', I knew this was a great vocalist. His voice was pure and filled with an element of soul/blues. It's too bad that he wasn't able to keep his singing career going;
Paul Carrack; The journeyman rocker was the great sultry, smokey, bluesy voice of groups like Ace, Squeeze, and Mike & the Mechanics. He had a not-so impressive solo career did produce the stellar 'I Need You', but you probably know him better as the lead singer in songs like 'Tempted", 'Silent Running', and the ancient 'How Long'; Too bad he didn't stick it with Squeeze, just as they were starting to become "the" next big thing, he left them, and they were never the same without him. The Carrack Collection only has 8 songs, but it has all his best from wherever he put his considerable singing talents to work – check it out!
Don Henley; The voice of many great Eagles' songs, as well as a solid solo performer. He has that special 'it' when it comes to singing a song with emotion. 'The Last Worthless Evening' is one of my favorites from him;
Stevie Wonder; Over 4 decades of wonderful pop / Rhythm and Blues. His voice is made fun of by those who try and impersonate him, but you hear his great gift in songs like 'Chemical Love';
Chris Isaac; Love him! He has that bluesy kind of country voice, that rings pure. 'Wicked Game' and 'Don't Make Me Dream About You' off of his best work in 'Heart Shaped World' CD are wonderful. And his subtle fun personality helps make his songs in concert even better;
Darryl Hall; The greatest 'blue-eyed soul' performer, and the better half of Hall & Oates. Great voice. Great pop songs. I can listen to him all day. Good song that shows his talent: 'She's Gone'. And I always crank 'Sara Smile';
Belois Some; OK, I'm going off the board with this one. Belois is a synth / dance music maestro from the 1980's, with the music overshadowing his great pipes. His song 'Some People' is great. So here is a great voice that you've never heard of!

As you can probably see from this list, I have left off some of the most popular 1980's acts. But I do it without regret. I don't think Prince, Billie Joel, Michael Hutchens (INXS), David Lee Roth, Sammie Hagar, Mick Jaggar, Bob Seger, Simon LeBon (of Duran Duran), Peter Wolf (J. Geils), John Mellencamp, and the guys from Journey and Aerosmith should make the list, talented though they may be. And I only had two black singers on the list, but I'm sure I'm forgetting many more. Oh well, help me if you can.

So tell me who your favorite male singers from the 1980's is and why. And if you have some that were left off of my list, I would enjoy hearing from you. Have a wonderful week.

Smoking and Damage to the Genome

2010-06-06T10:20:00.001-05:00

Good morning. We had a fun evening of gaming over at Clay's last night. Sorry, but Blarney was partially eaten.

I came across an interesting recent story dealing with a smoker and the impact smoking has on our DNA: The story is reported here. 50,000 mutations in a tumor, and the complete failure of the error-correcting mechanisms in the DNA, leads to a scary outcome for Mr. Smoker. From the author's calculations in the story, each time the smoker smoked 3 cigarettes, a new mutation in the tumor was created!

One Man, One Tumor, Tens of Thousands of Mutations

Posted by Kristie on May 26, 2010

A team of researchers at Genentech in California compared the genome, all the genes present in DNA, from cells in healthy tissue with the genome of cells in lung tumor tissue from the same patient. This 51 year old man smoked about 25 cigarettes a day for 15 years. Researchers looked at the number of mutations, genetic changes in DNA in this case primarily caused by toxins in cigarette smoke, between the tumor and healthy tissues. What they found was astounding.

Cancer is usually the result of an accumulation of mutations over a long period of time but researchers were not ready for what they found in this patient's tumor tissue. The tumor tissue contained 50,000 genetic mutations in the man's genomic DNA. Researcher Zemin Zhang said his team was so shocked that they rechecked their work to make sure their results were correct.

Zhang calculated three cigarettes per mutation found in the tissue of this patient. See the calculations below:

(25 cigarettes/day x 365 days/year = 9125 cigarettes/year; 9125 cigarettes per year x 15 years =136875 cigarettes; 136875 cigarettes/50,000 mutations = 2.7 cigarettes/1 mutations –round up to 3)…

(Back to Tom again) Here is what I think is a helpful description of how things like a tumor or even cancer can be created in our cells: Cancer is a multistep process. First initiation then promotion. In some (heck a lot) of cases a single point mutation can occur and elude repair mechanisms. At some point a promotion event occurs and that single point mutation is fixed in the cell genome. Once that happens the cell can begin to divide without restraint and the tumor growth begins.

It does not take an accumulation of mutations over time to cause cancer. That some tumors may have an accumulation of mutations may be more a factor of the lack of control over cell division as a result of the initial event/damage to the DNA.

So what does this all mean? I don't have a clue. But it is interesting to me that the researchers tried to tie in the amount of cigarettes with the amount of mutations. I don't think that's how tumors / cancer work (see the comment after the story excerpt.) But if anyone has some helpful additions to this, I would be interested in learning more about it. But for now, if you are going to smoke, smoke only 2 cigarettes, don't touch that third! /s/Tom

The Millennium – Revelation Chapter 20

2010-05-31T10:57:00.001-05:00

Happy Memorial Day weekend to everyone. This past Saturday, we went to a wonderful wedding ceremony of my niece Allie and her beau David. It was a beautiful ceremony, and a special reception, because we were able to see so many family members that we've missed. Congratulations to Allie and David.

I have recently read a great book on the Millennium by M Waymeyer called 'Revelation 20 and the Millennial Debate', and I wanted to write a little bit about it. Professor Waymeyer is a graduate of the Masters Seminary in California, and he has provided a clear summary of the three main positions in understanding the Millennium. The opening chapters are written in the form of a class syllabus. This makes it a quick and easy read that provides a good deal of depth of understanding on the various Millennial positions. Another good thing about this book is that it doesn't try and present something new on this topic, instead it is a very good summary of existing thought. Prof. Waymeyer writes from a Pre-Trib / Pre-Millennium position, where Jesus first comes in a Rapture of the Saints, followed by 7 years of Tribulation, concluding in the literal 1,000 year reign of Christ on Earth with the Saints.

He provides a guide to some crucial questions in trying to understand Revelation Chapter 20. The various interpretations of Revelation 20:1–6 seek to answer these five crucial questions:

A. Is the binding of Satan present or future?

B. Is the "first resurrection" spiritual or physical?

C. Is the duration of the thousand years symbolic or literal?

D. Is the locale of the millennial reign heaven or earth?

E. Is the chronology of Revelation 19:21–20:1 recapitulatory or sequential?

A Summary of Key Interpretive Issues in Rev 20:1–6
Issue	Premil	Postmil	Amil
Satan's Binding:	Future	Present/Future	Present
First Resurrection:	Physical	Spiritual	Spiritual
Thousand Years:	Literal	Literal/Symbolic	Symbolic
Locale of Reign:	Earth	Earth/Heaven	Heaven
Chronology of 19–20:	Sequential	Sequ/Recap	Recap

From M Waymeyer, 'Revelation 20 and the Millennial Debate'.

Is the Binding of Satan happening today or sometime in the future?
Here, with this initial question, Prof. Waymeyer does a very good job setting out the reasons for accepting the PreTrib view. Let's start by looking at Rev. 20:1-3

¹Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven, holding in his hand the key to the bottomless pit and a great chain. ²And he seized the dragon, that ancient serpent, who is the devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years, ³and threw him into the pit, and shut it and sealed it over him, so that he might not deceive the nations any longer, until the thousand years were ended. After that he must be released for a little while. (ESV)

These verses show that an Angel comes from heaven (I believe this is Jesus, see Rev. 1:18, as He is the One with the keys to the Abyss and Hades). This Angel seizes Satan and throws him into the Abyss/pit, shut it and seals the door, so that Satan may not deceive the nations any longer. He is placed in this "jail" for 1,000 years, and then is released for a little while.
So as shown on the chart (above), the PreTrib view believes this binding of Satan takes place in the future. While Amillennialists believe that Satan is currently bound, so that he cannot deceive the nations. And the Post-Trib view have some understand Satan to have been bound at the time of Christ's victory on the cross, while others see the binding of Satan to represent a future point in time when the successful proclamation of the gospel will have effectively reduced Satan's influence to nothing (Gregg 1997: 457). Because postmillennialists teach that the present age gradually merges into the millennium, the precise time of the binding is not always emphasized in their writings. (This is fn 3 in Waymeyer's book).
Here are three author's quotes from Prof. Waymer's book that persuasively show that this passage does not mean that Satan is presently bound (as the Amillennialist's believe):
a.    "The imagery of throwing Satan into a pit and shutting it and sealing it over him gives a picture of total removal from influence on earth" (Grudem 1994: 1117).
b.     "The elaborate measures taken to insure his custody are most easily understood as implying the complete cessation of his influence on earth (rather than a curbing of his activities)" (Mounce 1977: 353).
c.    "If a symbolic presentation of the binding of Satan were intended to teach that Satan was rendered completely inactive, what more dramatic picture could be provided than is here portrayed?" (Walvoord 1986: 231).

These writer's are very persuasive to me in showing that we should not interpret Revelation 20:1-3 as saying that Satan is somehow bound today. Yet I have a difficult time embracing the PreTrib view for a number of reasons related to Revelation Chapter 20. But for now, let me raise perhaps this argument, perhaps the best argument for the PreTrib viewpoint, and I will try in my next post and summarize the reasons I still reject the PreTrib view of the Millennium. I think it's important to address the best arguments of a position, to make sure that I truly understand a topic.

Until next time, Praise Jesus our Redeemer and Savior. We can trust that because our God is not a God of confusion, and that His Spirit will lead us into all truth. Have a great week. /s/Tom

The Devil Doesn’t Touch Christians?

2010-05-22T10:03:00.001-05:00

Happy Sabbath to y'all. I am battling rattling lungs and a cough and sniffly sinuses, but I think I am on the upswing for better health. Here's to a nice warm, sticky weekend!

I have recently thought about the promise of God that the Elect are free. Free from the chains of having to sin. Free from having our thought-life consumed by thinking about sinful actions. And free from a life that is characterized by sin. Praise Jesus Who for freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery. (Galatians 5:1). Now I am also wrestling with one of those tough verses 1 John 5:18 which I think has application to the topic of freedom in Christ. Here is 1 John 5:18:

We know that everyone who has been born of God does not keep on sinning, but he who was born of God protects him, and the evil one does not touch him. (ESV)

So did we read this right? The Devil does not touch anyone who is born of God? Let's place this in context with another section of the Bible, the wonderful Book of Job. In this we see the righteous servant of God Job. And the Devil accuses Job before God on the grounds that God has blessed Job so much that if everything was taken away, then Job would "curse" God (Job 1:11). And so God lifts His protection from Job and allows Satan to attack him with all of the worst tragedies a person can face in this life: Job's 10 children were killed (Job 1:19), all of his property and wealth were stolen by thieves (Job 1:15-17), and Job's good health was taken by horribly painful sores all over his body (Job 2:7). And through all of this, Job did not sin with his lips and did not curse the Lord (Job 2:10).

So how does the story of Job help in explaining 1 John 5:18's teaching that Satan does not touch the Elect? I think that if we look at the main objective of Satan against Job (to cause Job to sin, to curse God – Job 1:11), we see the close connection between Satan and our own sinful nature. This means that Satan wants us to become slaves to sin, and to thereby have our lives filled with sin (whatever consumes a person to that he is enslaved – 2 Peter 2:19). And so, there is an intertwining of our sinful lives and Satan. We want to sin, and Satan helps us to do it.

We see this drawn out in 1 John 5:18, where the verse starts out by saying that those born of God do not keep on sinning. Does this mean that long-time Christians will live perfect lives? No, I don't think so. Even the Apostle Paul considered himself a "wretched man", and that there was a war taking place in his mind - I see another law at work in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within my members. ²⁴What a wretched man I am! (Romans 7:23-24) And so, Christians are in a battle against their own sinful lusts and desires, and a powerful enemy is attacking us to have us go back to our previous sinful life.

So what is Paul's shout of joy in facing this battle that we are involved in?His shout is this Who will rescue me? Thanks be to God—through Jesus Christ our Lord! (Romans 7:25)
Our Rescuer is the righteous life lived by Jesus the Messiah, and His perfect sacrifice offered on our behalf that saves us from our sins. Through Jesus' death, and our faith making Jesus our Lord and Savior, we are now "dead" to sins (Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? ²By no means! We died to sin; how can we live in it any longer? - Romans 6:1-2). And so we see the reason for Paul's joyful praise in Romans 7:25, the Elect are rescued by Jesus, and by His death we are now dead to sins. How much can a dead person be tempted to sin? It's hard to sin when your eyes can't see, your tongue can't speak, and there are no feelings in your members, right? And so our death to sin provided by Jesus is the source of the freedom that is provided to us all who call Jesus Lord (Galatians 5:1). We are free to no longer sin! Yeah!

Thus, though Satan can "touch" us by harming our possessions, our health, even by harming our loved ones as he did with Job (if God so permits), he cannot touch us by making us sin. To that, we are protected.

My take away application is this - Do you feel free? Do you feel as though you are dead to all of the sins that have plagued you in your past life? Live as people who are free, not using your freedom as a cover-up for evil, but living as servants of God. (1 Peter 2:16). Thanks be to God for His Grace and for sending His Son. Amen.

The Bible – Has it Changed Over Time?

2010-05-16T13:24:00.001-05:00

Happy Fishing Opener to everyone in Minnesota. The fish must be biting, but who cares when you have the beautiful weather that we have this weekend.

Let me discuss in a little bit more detail what I posted as a comment to my most recent post. A common charge against the faith of Christians is that the Bible is untrustworthy. I'll call this "the Evolution argument", and by this I mean that because everything changes over time, then the Bible must likewise also be unreliable because it was written so long ago. It must have changed a lot since it was originally written, right? These people who attack the faith suggest that later Christians must have changed the Bible to add things about Jesus that couldn't be true, like His Divinity. And so, this is an important topic. If the Bile is unreliable, why should anyone trust what is said about Jesus?

The Example of the Dead Sea Scrolls.

The Dead Sea Scrolls are the oldest untouched copies of the OT books.

Here's my technical artistic depiction of the difference between the DSS and the Masoretic text <grin>:

Dead Sea Scrolls roughly 100 AD -------------------------------------à 1950 AD discovered

(The Dead Sea Scrolls not touched or copied for 1,850 years)

Masoretic Text of the OT copied again and again for over 2,000 years:

llllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllà copied many times over 2,000 years. And it still is 95% the same as what is contained in the Dead Sea Scrolls. And no significant doctrine is effected by any of the copyists differences. Instead, most of the differences are minor, mostly consisting of spelling variations.

The Masoretic Text is the same as the Dead Sea Scrolls. Example of Isaiah 53. DSS and the Masoretic text are 95% identical. If any OT text was going to be changed by Christian copyists it would be the prophecy about the Messiah contained in Isaiah 53. But instead there are only 17 differences between the DSS and the Masoretic text.

10 of the 17 differences is alternate spellings (similar to in America 'Judgment' is spelled without the 'e', while in Great Britain it is spelled 'judgement' with the 'e' in the middle.) These differences have no effect on any meaning,
4 of the 17 differences are the addition of a conjunction. Again, no change in the meaning.
3 of the 17 changes are contain in Isaiah 53:11, where it says 'They shall see", and the DSS add "light" which is not contained in the Masoretic text. Again no change in the meaning.

And that's all of the changes between the Dead Sea Scrolls that are pure, uncopied, untouched for 1,850 years and the Masoretic text of the OT which was repeatedly copied for over 2,000 years. They are identical in meaning, with only a very few, minor changes, with most of these differences being spelling changes. And it is the same with the other portions of the OT as well. The text contained in the DSS is the same as the Masoretic text, again with only a few, immaterial differences between the two manuscripts. This is the best example showing that copyists of the Bible took their job seriously, and that we are able to trust that the Bible we now have in our hands today is a near-perfect copy of what the original author wrote.

Early Papyrus from Gospel of Matthew.

Here is another reason to trust in the Bible's authenticity of being what the original author's actually wrote:

Papyrus Discovery
In 1994, a segment of the Greek text of Matthew's Gospel appears to now have been dated before AD 66. This Papyrus, P64, contains segments of Matthew 26:23, 31 on both sides of three fragments.

Carsten Peter Thiede, then Director of the Institute for Basic Epistemological Research in Paderborn, did the research on this Papyrus. According to The Times of London, December 24 1994, he determined, "that the Gospel according to Matthew is an eyewitness account written by contemporaries of Christ."

It appears that within five years after the death and resurrection of Christ, most of His words and deeds had been committed to a simple written (Tom's note, perhaps a common verbal group of stories) Hebrew form and Matthew is, of course, assumed to be part of this compilation. Within a decade, this corpus would have been translated into a Greek version for church requirements. This body of information is often called the "Q-document" (for German, quelle, source). Around the year AD 50 the original material was developed into written Greek form and the "synoptic" Gospels were composed, probably since the persecutions were imminent. The key point is that eyewitnesses were still around to verify the details.

While some argue that Matthew, as an eye-witness, would not have depended on other sources for his Gospel, it can also be argued that he didn't need to reinvent the wheel regarding the narrative of Jesus' life. It had been sufficiently written down, and Matthew verified it by accepting much of it. Rather, the information unique to Matthew's Gospel demonstrates that Matthew was indeed with Jesus – and with his pen in hand. (from Koininia House E-News, May 4, 2010).

Conclusion. Be careful to note what I am not saying. I am not saying that because we have confidence that we have something very close to the original transcripts of the Biblical writings, that this proves that the Bible is Divinely created. No, instead, my post today is instead my attempt to show that the Biblical Books were not corrupted through the years of copying. We can have assurance that the Bible we read today is something very close to what the original authors wrote. God bless you, and your walk with the Creator, through Jesus the Messiah our Lord. /s/Tom

10 Questions – Is Islam a Religion of Evil?

2010-04-11T09:52:00.001-05:00

My friend Edward Oleander asked me to provide 10 Questions when years ago called Islam a "religion of evil" Ed has two Muslim friends who are willing to respond to my questions. Here is Ed's description of his challenge to me: "The 10 questions was a challenge I put to Tom after he called Islam a religion of evil back in 2008. It was also an expression of my frustration with Tom for accusing me of failing to explore Christianity deep enough, despite his complete lack of ever exploring any other religion himself.

I work with a few Muslims, including one man and one woman who agreed to each answer, in writing, a set of any 10 questions that Tom cared to pose. Both of them are, I believe, far closer to "real" Islam than the extremists we see on TV…"

The 10 Questions:

1). My understanding of Islam is that it believes the Christian Bible is something that has been corrupted (I believe this is called Tahrif). Please tell me when exactly the Bible was corrupted and by whom. I ask you to keep in mind the example of the Dead Sea Scrolls (currently being shown at the Science Museum in St. Paul), which were buried and untouched for 2,000 years with no significant changes when compared to the traditional text.

2). What is there in the Qur'an that leads you to believe that it is the prophetic, or truthful Word from Allah?

3). Would you mind sharing with us a portion (do you also call these verses?) of a sura or two that are your favorite in the Qur'an?

4). Do you agree that the primary way that Islam is spread after Muhammad's death in 632 AD is by the sword?

a). Are there missionaries of Islam? If so, what do they tell those who are unbelievers?

5). One writer states that polling data shows that 60% to 70% of Muslims worldwide are Salafi, meaning ancestor (what we Americans would call fundamentalist). The leaders in Islam that are Salafi include the Shia leaders in Iran, Pakistan and the Taliban. Is Salafi Islam the religion of Muhammad and the Qur'an?

a). A recent poll found that one-third (1/3) of Muslim Americans believed that it is proper to use terrorism on behalf of the Islam faith. Do you agree with this? Why or why not?

b). As France is about to pass legislation preventing the Muslim head and face covering, do you believe that the covering of Muslim women's face and head dehumanizes these women? And isn't the promise of 70 (or 72) virgins for Muslim martyrs, and Paradise being filled with sexual pleasures really a human / male concept?

c). Why did Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad (someone who does not believe the German holocaust actually took place and has shown his desire for the removal of Israel) receive 62% of the popular vote in the most recent election?

6). Philosophically speaking, which is greater, a God who demonstrates his love by himself coming to Earth as a sacrifice for the world's sins (see, John 3:16; Philippians chapter 2) or one who refrains from becoming involved with humanity?

7). My understanding of Islam is that at its foundation there are 5 Pillars: confession, daily prayer towards Mecca, almsgiving, and pilgrimage to Mecca; Is this correct?

a). Is there any concept of Grace (mercy given though you don't deserve it) in Islam? For example, suppose a Muslim was able to go to Mecca, but didn't. How is this failure to meet one of the 5 Pillars (or any failure or sin) met by Allah? Is it always punished or is there room mercy?

8). Is Allah holy? Is he perfect? If so, how can any of us who are not perfect ever be in Allah's presence in Paradise?

9). Are people born basically good or bad? My understanding of Islam is that they believe people are born basically good. If this is right, how come it is so difficult to go any length of time without sinning. Can you go a week without sinning? How about a day? Why do we so naturally drift toward selfishness, and need to make a conscious effort to be good (or the flip side is why is it NOT a struggle for us to be bad)?

a). If people are born basically good, then why is there so much pain and suffering in the world?

10). How do you define love? Where does love come from?

OK, I realize that if you count the sub-questions, I have gone over the 10 Question limit. I plead for your grace on this. J Thank you Ed for arranging this. And my thanks to those who are providing their responses. In Christ, /s/Tom Wolff

Easter Weekend 2010

2010-04-03T12:31:00.001-05:00

Happy Easter weekend to y'all. Today is a special day of life here at the Wolff household – this morning one of our Siberian cats is giving birth to kittens. Three kittens are born so far. And mother cat and kittens are doing well. She chose an unusual birthing spot though. We just purchased a set of new Parade of Homes chair and couches which we put in our family room. One of the couches had a small tear in the bottom of it, and this cat crawled up into that rip, and gave birth to the first two kittens in the bottom of the couch while we were sleeping. Funny, funny, funny cats.

I am feeling especially blessed this Easter season. Work is going well. I have good health (see the March 13^th post on the healing of my MRSA that took place on March 7^th). And my family is doing well – and there is the hope of better health for my beautiful bride, who may have stomach by-pass surgery sometime in the next couple weeks. Peace and hope are good things to have, especially during the spring like weather that we have been having. And the Twins are playing at their new Target Field!

Which brings me to Easter. My thought this Easter weekend, is first to make sure that all know that Easter is a celebration of Jesus' Resurrection from His death by Crucifixion. On Pastor Tom Brock's local radio show this morning, he quoted a recent poll that shows that 42% of Americans do not know that Easter is about Jesus' Resurrection. It seems so obvious to me that Easter is about the celebration and remembrance of Jesus' Resurrection. And so, this is a disappointing statistic, showing the failure of the Church's mission in our country. So join with me to proclaim to others Jesus' Resurrection this Easter weekend.

Finally, my challenge to you to this Easter – will you join me in asking God what is there in our lives with which God is not happy. And then sit and listen. I once had a Pastor preach that if we want to hear from God, we should ask this question of God, and see if the opening scene of Star Wars appears. He said that if we are open to really hear of the sins in our lives, a long scroll, like the one used in Star Wars' opening scene, will just keep rolling for as long as we care to listen. I think this is a wonderful description reminding us of our sinfulness before a Holy God, and to also grow in our appreciation for the payment of these sins in the sacrifice by Jesus' death on the Cross. Thank You Jesus for redeeming me through your death, and providing me with new life, through Your Resurrection on Easter morning some 2,000 years ago.

Happy Easter everyone! Celebrate our Lord's Resurrection, He has defeated the grave!

Freedom in Christ

2010-03-21T13:23:00.001-05:00

Who's your Master? My friend Edward Oleander has again asked me to explain the important differences between Biblical Christianity and other religions. Although I believe that I have previously provided a good explanation, it seems as though I should provide a different angle on these differences. And so, today's topic is Freedom in Jesus Christ for the elect.

I started by asking who is your Master. The Apostle Peter understood the deceitfulness of sinful desires in people when he wrote 2 Peter 2:9: "For whatever overcomes a person, to that he is enslaved." And so, if there is something that overwhelms us, makes us feel as though we are out-of-control, this sort of desire is described by the Apostle Peter as enslaving us. We are the slave. The sinful desire is the Master.

This is why Jesus in His teaching made clear that He came to set the captives free. Luke 4:18; See, John 8:31-36; Free from the penalty of sin (death); free from the chains that sin wraps us in; free from the law, and the desire to prove ourselves 'righteous' based upon our own actions; and free from the guilt that we need to do something 'more' in order to have God be pleased with us. Instead, once we have become born anew in Christ's sacrifice and resurrection, we are free; we no longer have to follow our sinful desires (although sometimes these desires have a nasty way of returning.) We are as Martin Luther described at the same time as being both a saint and a sinner.

Here are three verses that are helpful to me that speak of the freedom provided to the followers of Christ:

2 Corinthians 3:17 - Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.

Galatians 5:1, :13 - For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery… For you were called to freedom, brothers. Only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another

Romans 6:22 - But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves of God, the fruit you get leads to sanctification and its end, eternal life.

If you would like more to read about on the topic of the Freedom in Christ, Romans chapter 6 and the entire book of Galatians are excellent places to start.

Finally, the great benefit that this Freedom provides us is that we can enjoy all of God's creation. God has created this world for us to enjoy (Genesis 9:3; 1 Timothy 4:4; 1 Timothy 6:17). He has given us spouses so that we can enjoy the wonderful pleasure of physical love with another. He has given us all things, not as traps for the unwary, but as a blessing that points us to a loving Creator (1 Corinthians 8:6). Yet Jesus wants us to consider others in our use of this Freedom, so that we do not injure other Christian's consciences (1 Corinthians 8:12). Yet the rule stands - "All things are lawful for me," but not all things are helpful. "All things are lawful for me," but I will not be enslaved by anything. (1 Corinthians 6:12). The Christian is free to enjoy all of God's creation, with a thankful heart.

The examples of the use of this Freedom are shown in the Apostle Paul's writings. There were those in the early Church who thought that the Hebrew dietary laws (e.g., forbidding the eating of pork, etc.), yet both Peter and Paul showed we are Free in Christ from the dietary restriction; There were those who taught the Church should follow the Hebrew law of circumcision, yet we are also Free from this requirement; There were some in the early Church who worshipped on Saturdays (the Sabbath), and some on Sundays (the Lord's Day). Yet, Paul made clear that this was not important, because we are free in Christ (Colossians 2:16). What a terrifically clear teaching of Paul in 1 Corinthians 8:8, where he writes that if we follow one of these laws/rules, God does not love us any more nor any less. "We are no worse off if we do not eat, and no better off if we do."

In conclusion, the Freedom that Christ provides His followers is something totally unique among religions. Other religions teach that we reach out to God through our actions – and their god in this life rewards good actions, and punishes sinful actions. Yet, the promise of the Bible is that out of thankfulness for God's Grace, and the sacrifice of Christ on the Cross, we grow in our desire to trust God, and to grow in our own personal holiness. And do not forget the importance of a Christian living their life guided by the Spirit of Christ. The "fruit" of a life guided by the Holy Spirit is one filled with love for others, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control (Galatians 6:22). And who doesn't want this kind of life, that is a result of being a follower of Jesus Christ? Free in Christ - /s/Tom

A Miracle of Healing

2010-03-13T11:33:00.001-06:00

Praise God Who is a Living God, and Who cares about our troubles. Today's post is my testimony of a healing that has taken place, all glory to God:

MRSA (and Something Worse)

2010-03-03T09:41:00.001-06:00

MRSA (or drug resistant staph), is a difficult to treat infection. But as difficult as MRSA is, I came across this article in the New York Times that describes something even worse:

1). Gram-negative Bacteria Far Worse than MRSA. (article here). A very interesting article, I recommend it highly to everyone. Here is a portion:

… Acinetobacter baumannii, or the Gram-negative germ is one of a category of bacteria that by some estimates are already killing tens of thousands of hospital patients each year. While the organisms do not receive as much attention as the one known as MRSA — for methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus — some infectious-disease specialists say they could emerge as a bigger threat.

That is because there are several drugs, including some approved in the last few years, that can treat MRSA. But for a combination of business reasons and scientific challenges, the pharmaceuticals industry is pursuing very few drugs for Acinetobacter and other organisms of its type, known as Gram-negative bacteria. Meanwhile, the germs are evolving and becoming ever more immune to existing antibiotics…

"In many respects it's far worse than MRSA," said Dr. Louis B. Rice, an infectious-disease specialist at the Louis Stokes Cleveland V.A. Medical Center and at Case Western Reserve University. "There are strains out there, and they are becoming more and more common, that are resistant to virtually every antibiotic we have."

Tom: This is scary stuff. And the NY Times' charge that the pharmaceutical industry is not pursuing treatments for Gram-negative's treatment looks to be a failure of the system.

2). New Book – SuperBug, the Fatal Menace of MRSA. Author Mary McKenna has written a new book that will be published later this month. Here is a portion from the book, (which can be found here):

LURKING in our homes, hospitals, schools, and farms is a terrifying pathogen that is evolving faster than the medical community can track it or drug developers can create antibiotics to quell it. That pathogen is MRSA—methicillin-resistant Staphyloccocus aureus—and Superbug is the first book to tell the story of its shocking spread and the alarming danger it poses to us all.Doctors long thought that MRSA was confined to hospitals and clinics, infecting almost exclusively those who were either already ill or old. But through remarkable reporting, including hundreds of interviews with the leading researchers and doctors tracking the deadly bacterium, acclaimed science journalist Maryn McKenna reveals the hidden history of MRSA's relentless advance—how it has overwhelmed hospitals, assaulted families, and infiltrated agriculture and livestock, moving inexorably into the food chain. Taking readers into the medical centers where frustrated physicians must discard drug after drug as they struggle to keep patients alive, she discloses an explosion of cases that demonstrate how MRSA is growing more virulent, while evolving resistance to antibiotics with astonishing speed. It may infect us at any time, no matter how healthy we are; it is carried by a stunning number of our household pets; and it has been detected in food animals from cows to chickens to pigs.

Ms. McKenna called me up last year to interview me, as someone who has had several bouts of MRSA, for her book (nothing I said is being used), and so she was gracious enough to let me know about the release of her upcoming book. It looks like it is going to receive some major national attention.

Odds ‘n Ends, vers. 18

2010-02-26T06:52:00.001-06:00

I hope this week finds you in good health and spirits. Here are a few articles that caught my attention:

1). US Lab Recreates Big Bang Temperatures. Makes Quark Soup. Article here. US Department of Energy's lab Brookhaven National Laboratory performed a remarkable experiment simulating temperatures close to those that may have taken place at the Big Bang. BNL can add a stunning achievement to its list -- achieving temperatures likely not seen since the Big Bang. The lab produced temperatures of 4 trillion degrees Celsius, 250,000 times hotter than the Sun's interior, during collisions of gold atoms hurtling at almost the speed of light. To give another benchmark, the collision produced internal heat approximately 40 times that at the center of an imploding supernova star.

The collisions produced a stunning "soup" of quarks and gluons. The analyzed data indicates that record high temperature caused the protons and neutrons of the gold atoms to "melt" into the quarks and gluons that compose them, which then formed a plasma, known as quark gluon plasma (QGP). This appears to be the first time man has been able to make such a quark soup.

This is amazing. My question is – how on Earth could they do this?

2). Russia Delays Delivery to Iran of Advanced Air Defense System. Article here. Russia raised Western hopes that it will support tougher international sanctions against Iran's nuclear program by announcing a delay in delivery of S-300 advanced air defense missiles. The postponement for unspecified "technical problems" was made public a day after Binyamin Netanyahu, Israel's Prime Minister, urged Russia to support "crippling" sanctions against Tehran during a visit to Moscow.

The United States and Israel have been pressing Russia not to deliver the S-300 missiles, which would make a successful military strike much more difficult if diplomacy failed to resolve the stand-off over Iran's nuclear facilities…

3). Faith Healer Benny Hinn Receives Divorce Papers. This story makes me sad. If you have ever heard someone criticize a Christian faith healer, it is likely Benny Hinn they are talking about. But I thought I have seen him grow in his faith, and willingness to preach the Gospel in recent years. Article here. Benny Hinn Ministries on Thursday confirmed that his wife, Suzanne Hinn, filed a petition for divorce in Orange County Superior Court on Feb. 1. She cited irreconcilable differences.

Funniest line from the story – A long time advisor to the Hinn ministries is quoted as saying, "Although Pastor Hinn has faithfully endeavored to bring healing to their relationship, those efforts failed and were met with the petition for divorce that was filed without notice." Faith Healer heal yourself?

4). Pets and the Law. Two items I found as interesting involving pets.

Rapture Insurance for your Pet? What if you are raptured away to be with the Lord? Who would take care of your pets who are "Left Behind"? Atheists have come to the rescue offering their services by an insurance policy, in the event you are raptured. Article here.

Include your pets in a Domestic Relation's Protective Order. Article here: I learned this week that judges in Colorado would be able to order suspected domestic abusers to keep away from family pets under a bill being considered by state lawmakers… And yes, the Minnesota Senate is taking a look at this bill in SF0838.

5). From RC Sproul's book The Truth of the Cross, as summarized on Challies Dot Com. Early in the book he spends some time discussing the human condition and as he does so he uses three biblical concepts: debtors, enemies, and criminals. The Bible describes each of us in these terms. What Sproul does here, and this really helped it hit home for me, is show how it is always the Father who has been offended and the Son who intercedes. We have committed crimes against God and are, thus, justly termed criminals. The Father stands as Judge, passing the just sentence of death. But Christ stands between us and the Father, acting as substitute. Our sin puts us in debt to God so that we are debtors to Him. God is the creditor who demands repayment, but Christ stands in as surety. And sin puts us at enmity with God, making us His enemies. He has been violated by our sin, but Christ intercedes as mediator, opening the way between man and God.

Sproul breaks this down into the following simple table:

Sin As…	Man	God	Christ
Debt	Debtor	Creditor	Surety
Enmity	Enemy	Violated One	Mediator
Crime	Criminal	Judge	Substitute

Idolatry

2010-02-20T16:07:00.001-06:00

I have wanted to work on the topic idolatry for some time now. Given that if you review the Old Testament, one major theme of these books is Israel's hunger for worshipping other gods, and their rebellion against Yahweh in their pursuit of these false idols. I have found Israel's continual desire to worship idols as something I do not understand. And so, that is one of the topics I will discuss in today's post – why would anyone worship an idol? But let me start by reviewing the background of idolatry:

Worshipping Idols was forbidden to Israel in the 10 Commandments (Exodus 20). In fact the way God provides the Second Commandment provided Israel with one of its unique characteristics from other nations – the fact that Israel's God was invisible and unseen. Here is the Commandment: You shall not make for yourself a carved image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. (Exodus 20:4) And so, Israel was distinguished from other nations because of her imageless worship.

Scripture condemns all forms of idolatry;

One of major reasons for outlawing idolatry was to prevent 'syncretism'. 'Syncretism' is the assimilation of another's religious beliefs or practices into another. When other religions were permitted by Israel, we see things like King Solomon who built the famed Solomon's Temple in Jerusalem, also built high places devoted to the foreign gods of Chemosh and Molech (1 Kings 11:7).

So what makes idolatry so desirable? Why even when God did such miraculous things to free Israel from its slavery in Egypt like the Plagues, the splitting of the Red Sea, manna from heaven, water from a rock, etc, would Israel so easily and so quickly turn to worshipping idols? For example when Moses ascended Mount Sinai and was communing with God for 40 days, the people of Israel and Moses' brother Aaron were afraid at this delay. And so, they gathered some gold, and Aaron molded it into a golden calf. Wouldn't you think that after seeing miracles up close and personal like the Israelites had, that they would remain faithful a little longer than they did?

Here are a few of my thoughts on why idolatry is so attractive: 1) Human Sensual Desire. first, there is a sense of meeting sexual desires in the worship of idols. Temple prostitutes are described in stories of the Old Testament. Also, the unrestrained revelry of worshipping an idol is shown in the story of Aaron's making the gold calf. Exodus 32:6 describes it as "and the people sat down to eat and drink, and rose up to play". Most commentators read the story of the golden calf as including sexual revelry. Sexual immorality is a chief example of rebellion against God.

But there are other things that make idolatry desirable as well. 2) Works Righteousness. By Works Righteousness I mean our desire to do something that requires God to do something for us. This is obviously a common desire for people – we think we are entitled to something if we do something (or refrain from doing something) that we think God will reward us for. There is something of a bargaining with God, which makes it wrong. For me, I know that after I lead a class, I always reward myself with a beer or a bowl of ice cream. My reward for doing something good.

But in the Old Testament, we see a bunch of people sacrificing their children to idols. We see sacrifices being made to Molech (Lev. 18:21, 20:2-5), to Baal (Jeremiah 19:4-7), and to Chemosh (2 Kings 3:26-27). And the only way I can make sense of this is that people are sacrificing something so precious to them, like their children, so that their god will have to answer their prayer. In this way, it is like the foreign concept to Christianity of Works Righteousness – that by our actions, by what we do, God will reward us. Instead, Christianity is the only religion of Grace – God's love for us through the death of Jesus on the Cross, which we do not deserve or merit.

3) Lawless Idolatry. 1 Peter 4:3 describes idolatry as lawless idolatry. Lawless actions brings to mind a number of things – being unrestrained, wild, unconcerned about rules and others. Therefore, Lawlessness is another major way of an ungodly person to be rebellious against God. To worship in idolatry is to be self-centered and self-focused.

4) Material Benefit. There is an element of human longing for more wealth and possessions. This is brought out in Daniel 5:4 / Revelation 9:20, where it describes "idols of gold, silver, bronze, stone and wood". Who wouldn't want to worship a god whose primary concern is to act like a genie in a bottle, and give you the money and home and car and bling etc. that we deserve, right? Rather the God of Christianity is a God of mercy, love for others, and building us into righteous people, not out of obligation but out of our hunger for it.

This is also the theme of the New Testament discussion of idolatry. The Apostle Paul describes idolatry as something other than being sexually immoral, or greedy, or a swindler (1 Cor. 5:10). And I think this is brought out in Colossians 3:5 (and its related verse in Eph. 5:5), where idolatry is equated with covetousness. Here is Colossians 3:5:

Put to death therefore what is earthly in you: sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry.

I think Matthew Henry in his commentary has a helpful description of covetousness equating idolatry: The love of the world: And covetousness, which is idolatry; that is, an inordinate love of present good and outward enjoyments, which proceeds from too high a value in the mind, puts upon too eager a pursuit, hinders the proper use and enjoyment of them, and creates anxious fear and immoderate sorrow for the loss of them. Observe, Covetousness is spiritual idolatry: it is the giving of that love and regard to worldly wealth which are due to God only, and carries a greater degree of malignity in it, and is more highly provoking to God, than is commonly thought.

Finally, note that covetousness can also include an inordinate desire or enjoyment for other people (or as the Bible describes this "your neighbor's wife"), and not just things. See, Exodus 20:17.

In conclusion, I think it is easy to see the pull that worshipping an idol has in people's lives. It centers on our desire to control things, to have more and more of whatever is driving our worldly impulses, and displaces God's place as Sovereign Lord of our lives. It is hard to trust in the control of our lives to an unseen God, and His promises of love, care and provision, especially in hard times. The question that is left open in this discussion is what is the impact of God's hatred of idolatry for people living in today's world? Given that we do not worship Asherah poles, or figurines of angry looking gods, are we still in danger of violating the Second Commandment (Thou shall not worship a graven image)? I think Matthew Henry's Commentary (above)has hit the nail on the head for us when he tells us that if we are giving love and regard to anything worldly and this love and regard is instead due to God only, this is the sort of covetousness that provokes God. Thanks be to God for the sacrifice of Jesus which redeems from our deserved punishment. Amen.

FAITH Healings

2010-02-13T10:33:00.001-06:00

Happy President's Day weekend to all of you. This morning I am writing to you about Faith. Not just about the saving faith in Jesus, God the Son needed for salvation. Instead, I have assembled the eleven (11) examples in the New Testament where a person's faith in Jesus resulted in God's miraculous healing of a person. These healings include restoration of sight, the lame being able to walk, lepers healed, and demons being cast out. Before I list these verses, here is my quick summary of the observations I have from reviewing these verses:

Faith must be in Jesus;

The Healing is done through faith, and through Jesus (Acts 3:16);

A specific, clear request of what needs to be healed should be made (Luke 18:41-42, Mark 10:51-52);

There is a connection between forgiveness of sins and healing (Luke 5:20, James 5:15);

Healings were not only done by Jesus, but also Paul, John, Peter and Barnabus.  A prayer made by someone with the robe of Christ's righteousness is powerful as it is working (James 5:16);

God heals because of His mercy (Matthew 15:22, Luke 17:13);

Your faith can be used to heal a family member (Luke 7:9-10, Matt. 9:18-29) or even a friend (Luke 5:20);

Sing God's Praises when a healing has taken place!

Although there are more examples of healings in the New Testament, I found only these 11 stories where faith was actually mentioned. Alright, here are the New Testament verses that show God's miraculous healing through a person's faith in Jesus:

Luke 5:18-20 – (Story of the Paralytic's Friends) And behold, some men were bringing on a bed a man who was paralyzed, and they were seeking to bring him in and lay him before Jesus,
¹⁹ but finding no way to bring him in, because of the crowd, they went up on the roof and let him down with his bed through the tiles into the midst before Jesus.
²⁰ And when he saw their faith, he said, "Man, your sins are forgiven you."…

Luke 7:1-2, 9-10 – (Story of the Roman Centurion) Now a centurion had a servant who was sick and at the point of death, who was highly valued by him.
³ When the centurion heard about Jesus, he sent to him elders of the Jews, asking him to come and heal his servant…And Jesus went with them. When he was not far from the house, the centurion sent friends, saying to him, "Lord, do not trouble yourself, for I am not worthy to have you come under my roof. ⁷ Therefore I did not presume to come to you. But say the word, and let my servant be healed… When Jesus heard these things, he marveled at him, and turning to the crowd that followed him, said, "I tell you, not even in Israel have I found such faith."
¹⁰ And when those who had been sent returned to the house, they found the servant well. (Also in Matthew 8:5-13);

Luke 7:37-38, 47-50 – (Sinful Woman Wiping Jesus' Feet with her hair) And behold, a woman of the city, who was a sinner, when she learned that he was reclining at table in the Pharisee's house, brought an alabaster flask of ointment, ³⁸ and standing behind him at his feet, weeping, she began to wet his feet with her tears and wiped them with the hair of her head and kissed his feet and anointed them with the ointment…Therefore I tell you, her sins, which are many, are forgiven—for she loved much. But he who is forgiven little, loves little." ⁴⁸ And he said to her, "Your sins are forgiven." ⁴⁹ Then those who were at table with him began to say among themselves, "Who is this, who even forgives sins?"
⁵⁰ And he said to the woman, "Your faith has saved you; go in peace."

Luke 17:12-13, 19 – (Jesus Heals 10 Lepers) And as he entered a village, he was met by ten lepers, who stood at a distance
¹³ and lifted up their voices, saying, "Jesus, Master, have mercy on us." ¹⁴ When he saw them he said to them, "Go and show yourselves to the priests." And as they went they were cleansed. ¹⁵ Then one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, praising God with a loud voice; ¹⁶ and he fell on his face at Jesus' feet, giving him thanks. Now he was a Samaritan.
¹⁷ Then Jesus answered, "Were not ten cleansed? Where are the nine?
¹⁸ Was no one found to return and give praise to God except this foreigner?"
¹⁹ And he said to him, "Rise and go your way; your faith has made you well.

Luke 18:35-38, 41-42 – (Jesus heals Blind Beggar) As he drew near to Jericho, a blind man was sitting by the roadside begging.
³⁶ And hearing a crowd going by, he inquired what this meant. ³⁷ They told him, "Jesus of Nazareth is passing by."
³⁸ And he cried out, "Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!"…
⁴¹ "What do you want me to do for you?" He said, "Lord, let me recover my sight." ⁴² And Jesus said to him, "Recover your sight; your faith has made you well."

Matt. 9:18-25, 29 – (Jesus Brings Ruler's Daughter Back to Life/Healing of Woman Bleeding for 12 Years) While he was saying these things to them, behold, a ruler came in and knelt before him, saying, "My daughter has just died, but come and lay your hand on her, and she will live."
¹⁹ And Jesus rose and followed him, with his disciples. ²⁰ And behold, a woman who had suffered from a discharge of blood for twelve years came up behind him and touched the fringe of his garment,
²¹ for she said to herself, "If I only touch his garment, I will be made well." ²² Jesus turned, and seeing her he said, "Take heart, daughter; your faith has made you well." And instantly the woman was made well.
²³ And when Jesus came to the ruler's house and saw the flute players and the crowd making a commotion,
²⁴ he said, "Go away, for the girl is not dead but sleeping." And they laughed at him. ²⁵ But when the crowd had been put outside, he went in and took her by the hand, and the girl arose.

Matt. 15:21-28 – (Healing of Non-Jewish Woman's Demon Possessed Daughter) - And Jesus went away from there and withdrew to the district of Tyre and Sidon. ²² And behold, a Canaanite woman from that region came out and was crying, "Have mercy on me, O Lord, Son of David; my daughter is severely oppressed by a demon."
²³ But he did not answer her a word. And his disciples came and begged him, saying, "Send her away, for she is crying out after us."
²⁴ He answered, "I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel." ²⁵ But she came and knelt before him, saying, "Lord, help me."
²⁶ And he answered, "It is not right to take the children's bread and throw it to the dogs."
²⁷ She said, "Yes, Lord, yet even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters' table."
²⁸ Then Jesus answered her, "O woman, great is your faith! Be it done for you as you desire." And her daughter was healed instantly.

Mark 10:46-47, 51-52 – (Jesus Heals Blind Bartmaeus) And they came to Jericho. And as he was leaving Jericho with his disciples and a great crowd, Bartimaeus, a blind beggar, the son of Timaeus, was sitting by the roadside.
⁴⁷ And when he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to cry out and say, "Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!"…
⁵¹ And Jesus said to him, "What do you want me to do for you?" And the blind man said to him, "Rabbi, let me recover my sight."
⁵² And Jesus said to him, "Go your way; your faith has made you well." And immediately he recovered his sight and followed him on the way.

Acts 3:1-9, 16 – (John and Peter Heal Lame Beggar) Now Peter and John were going up to the temple at the hour of prayer, the ninth hour.
² And a man lame from birth was being carried, whom they laid daily at the gate of the temple that is called the Beautiful Gate to ask alms of those entering the temple.
³ Seeing Peter and John about to go into the temple, he asked to receive alms. ⁴ And Peter directed his gaze at him, as did John, and said, "Look at us." ⁵ And he fixed his attention on them, expecting to receive something from them. ⁶ But Peter said, "I have no silver and gold, but what I do have I give to you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk!"
⁷ And he took him by the right hand and raised him up, and immediately his feet and ankles were made strong. ⁸ And leaping up he stood and began to walk, and entered the temple with them, walking and leaping and praising God…And his name—by faith in his name—has made this man strong whom you see and know, and the faith that is through Jesus has given the man this perfect health in the presence of you all.

Acts 14:8-10 – (Paul and Barnabas Heal Crippled Man) Now at Lystra there was a man sitting who could not use his feet. He was crippled from birth and had never walked.
⁹ He listened to Paul speaking. And Paul, looking intently at him and seeing that he had faith to be made well,
¹⁰ said in a loud voice, "Stand upright on your feet." And he sprang up and began walking.

James 5:14-16 – …Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord.
¹⁵ And the prayer of faith will save the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up. And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven.
¹⁶ Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working.

Salvation, part 1

2010-01-30T11:17:00.001-06:00

My friend Edward Oleander recently asked me a rather straightforward question: "Tom, tell me, briefly, what separates Christianity from the rest of the religions. What makes it special and unique?" It is a common understanding of many people that all religions want their followers to act righteously, and not to hurt others. And the impression of this viewpoint is that God is primarily concerned with how we act – He wants us to act kindly, and to stay away from doing evil.

But is this the core of Christianity? Let me answer this question by reviewing recent events at the church my family and I belong to – Hosanna Lutheran Church in Lakeville, Minnesota. Our church recently voted to start the process to leave the governing denomination it belongs to, the ELCA. The ELCA is the largest Lutheran denomination in America. There was strong unity at Hosanna in the vote to leave the ELCA with over 90% of the members wanting to leave. Although there are a number of reasons for Hosanna's decision, the most recent lightning rod for the vote was this past summer's decision by the ELCA to allow the ordaining of homosexual Pastors and the blessing of homosexual unions.

But why do I bring Hosanna's decision to leave the ELCA up? I am told that one of the members at Hosanna asked Pastor Bohline the following question: Will Hosanna still be Lutheran if we leave the ELCA? And this was a good question, because it highlights that except for the denomination, it is often difficult to know what the core beliefs of a church are. Despite Pastor Bohline's assurance that Hosanna will remain "Lutheran" even after leaving the ELCA, it is hard to know what now exactly makes us a "Lutheran" church.

And so, let me spell out my understanding of what it means to be a "Lutheran". And by this, I hope to also answer Ed's question of what sets Christianity apart from other religions.

What Makes Someone Lutheran / What Separates Christianity from Other Religions?

Sin and Redemption

All people are sinners unable to do anything to save themselves. All of our actions are so selfish, and so vile, that if God judged us this day, we would receive the ultimate penalty – loss of our life. Yet, God the Son was sacrificed and took this death punishment upon Himself, to save us, and to redeem us that we might individually have relationship with God, through God's Grace and by faith.

Justification is only by God's Grace, through faith in Jesus Christ alone. Scripture is the primary authority. I really like Luther's summary of the importance of Scripture: Luther himself regarded the Bible to be "so much like himself [God], that the Godhead is wholly in it, and he who has the word has the whole Godhead."(from Pelikan and Lehman's "Luther's Works') The summary of these 'sola's" is by these wonderful Latin phrases:

sola fide (faith alone)

sola gratia (grace alone)

sola Scriptura (Scripture alone)

soli Christo (Christ alone)

Baptism, including infant baptism (see my previous post on this topic)

Christians will mission to those who do not call Jesus their Savior, give freely their service, and use of gifts provided by God, the Holy Spirit, out of gratitude/thankfulness, and not as a way to obtain salvation.

Faith in Jesus' return and Judgment

A complete rejection of Global Warming.

OK, I'm JOKING on the last one. And so, I see God as more interested in saving people through the Crucifixion of God the Son, and through this faith, changing people through the work of the Holy Spirit, rather than having people try their best to act righteously. This is not meant as a listing of all of the foundations of Christianity. Instead, this is my attempt to show the different important doctrines that separate Lutherans from other religions. I hope this provides you with a good starting for our discussion. /s/Tom

Four (4) Winged Fruit Fly

2010-01-24T12:18:00.001-06:00

Go Vikes! Wouldn't it be great if the Vikings were able to make it (and win?!) the Super Bowl? I am still in the afterglow of last week's Vikings victory, and a wonderful evening at Alpha. But today's topic has nothing to do with football, but instead is the ubiquitous fruit fly. I am once again responding to my oft-commenting friend Edward Oleander's request for me to provide evidence of what Darwinism can do in an organism. Although it is very clear from scientific studies that organisms like E-coli, malaria and HIV/Aids can mutate to develop very helpful resistance to medications, although its' ability to mutate appears very small. And so, perhaps the mutation rate for living creatures (like the fruit fly) is much higher than for malaria. I started (see January 3, 2010 post) by showing that although evolution is helpful in providing something like malaria with resistance to Chloroquine, the mutation rate is far too small to accomplish anything more significant. In this post, I will take a look at the fruit fly to see if Darwinism can more easily modify something more significant like body shape (called a morphological change) in a living creature.

The fruit fly is a two (2) winged insect that is one of the most intensively studied organisms in biology and genetics. It is widely studied because of its short lifespan, and the fact that the heredity of a fruit fly can easily be studied because it has a short generation time of about 10 days. The female lays about 100 eggs each batch, and up to 2,000 during its lifetime. It also only has four (4) pairs of chromosomes, which makes it an ideal study for studying genetic changes from generation to generation. With 10 day generations and 100 offspring the application of these genetic studies is obvious – they can replicate changes / mutations with an eye toward longer lived animals (like mammals), to see what Darwinism can really do, especially for changes to an organism's body.

So can Darwinism make the sort of large scale changes to an organism's body (called morphological changes) as Darwinism predicts? My conclusion is that the fruit fly experiments show that through the scientific study and expertise of genetic study, we can manipulate a two (2) winged fruit fly to have four (4) non-functioning wings, but otherwise Darwinism once again fails to show the possibility that large scale genetic changes can take place. Again, as I asked after reviewing the malaria studies, is that it? I was hoping for something that would help me to believe that we can go from a squirrel in one generation to a kitten in the next. Or at least a significant step in that direction. But as I will show, the four (4) winged fruit fly studies show that random mutation + natural selection (this is the core of Darwinian belief) is NOT the mechanism for the claimed changes of Darwinism, and even with intelligently designed manipulation of the fruit fly's DNA, a body shape can be changed over several generations, but only in a harmful way. The question is straightforward, what changes do we see in living creatures in the world around us?

The bodies of fruit flies are divided into segments. What is cool about the genes of a fruit fly is that they divide into segments just as is shown in the fruit fly's body. The anterior (forward) section has the wings. In 1978, California Institute of Technology geneticist Ed Lewis reported his findings from an extensive study of the genes of a fruit fly that he conducted: he was able to manipulate the fruit fly's genes over three generations, where he was able to grow a second set of wings, but this time on the fruit fly's posterior (rearward) compartment. A single mutation cannot cause the second set of wing's mutation. Instead, only a fly with three mutations (called anterobithorax, bithorax, and postbithorax mutations – these mutations affect a single large gene called Ultrabithorax) will have the second set of wings. Dr. Lewis was able to manipulate the Ultrabithorax genes regulatory sequences so that the rearward compartments wings rather than halters (minute appendages that appears on the normal fruit fly) would appear.

This picture or sketch of a fruit fly with four wings is a common example in textbooks of an example of what Evolution can do in a living organism. But is this really something that Darwinists can show as proof of what Darwinism does? No, what Dr. Lewis has shown is that even with intensive, intelligent manipulation of the fruit fly's genes, through successive generations, that four wings can be added to a creature with two wings. But this is a horrible example of Darwinism because the second set of wings don't work. The genetic manipulation by Dr. Lewis is impressive, but apparently is possible through intelligent engineering. And even with this genetic manipulation, the changes that were done did not include muscles for the fruit fly to use with this second set of wings. Dr. Lewis' four-winged fruit fly could not use the second set of wings because it did not have the muscles to use these extra wings. Instead of showing that body changes are possible through Evolution, the four-winged fruit fly shows that major changes to a living creature are much more complicated, involving more than just adding extra wings. It also takes changes to the muscles, the circulatory system (if needed), and the additional instructions for the creatures brain, etc. In Dr. Lewis's study he has only added the second set of unusable wings, an evolutionary disadvantage. There is no survival of the fittest advantage here.

So in summary, living organisms face the same mutation problems shown in my previous post on malaria. Morphological changes are much more complex, and involve more than even what Dr. Lewis' genetic manipulations adding a second set of wings to a fruit fly over three generations. The second set of wings were unusable, because there was no muscles, and so no way for these wings to be used. And the observed natural mutations of a fruit fly again reveals that Darwinism cannot accomplish the large scale changes needed. If large scale changes cannot take place in the fruit fly which has 10 day generations, what hope is there for Darwinism to show large scale changes in mammals, where there are years of generations? Again, the fruit fly shows that Darwinism cannot turn a squirrel into a kitty, or even a significant step in that direction, and so something else is needed. My hope is that the reader of this blog will start looking at the evidence and see that Darwinism isn't the reason why you are here today. There are big questions in life. Why are we here is a one of the biggest. Where are you looking for these answers?

I hope I've given you something to think about. In Christ, /s/Tom

Odds n’ Ends, #17

2010-01-09T09:53:00.001-06:00

1). God's Grace. From the website 'Of First Importance': "For there is no calm haven where our minds can rest until we come to God's free love."- (John Calvin, NT Commentary on John p75)

2). End of the World Coming May 21, 2011. It seems as though these are times of great urgency, no matter one's viewpoint. The challenging times of our world include issues such as Global Warming, the economy in crises, famines, wars, natural disasters, the possibility of the Packers going to the Super Bowl, etc. This sense of urgency is now appearing more frequently. Here is a Harold Camping, a Christian radio talk show host's prediction that the world will end May 21, 2011. And note that despite there being clear Scripture that no one knows when the end will come (here), Mr. Camping uses a very strained interpretation of the Bible, mathematics, and numerology to come up with the May 21, 2011 date:

The number 5, Camping concluded, equals "atonement." Ten is "completeness." Seventeen means "heaven." Camping patiently explained how he reached his conclusion for May 21, 2011.

"Christ hung on the cross April 1, 33 A.D.," he began. "Now go to April 1 of 2011 A.D., and that's 1,978 years."

Camping then multiplied 1,978 by 365.2422 days - the number of days in each solar year, not to be confused with a calendar year.

Next, Camping noted that April 1 to May 21 encompasses 51 days. Add 51 to the sum of previous multiplication total, and it equals 722,500.

Camping realized that (5 x 10 x 17) x (5 x 10 x 17) = 722,500. Or put into words: (Atonement x Completeness x Heaven), squared.

"Five times 10 times 17 is telling you a story," Camping said. "It's the story from the time Christ made payment for your sins until you're completely saved. "I tell ya, I just about fell off my chair when I realized that," Camping said.

3). Child Sacrifices on Rise in Uganda. Witch doctors in Uganda have admitted their part in human sacrifice amid concerns that the practice is spreading in the African country. Story is here. One man said he had clients who had captured children and taken their blood and body parts to his shrine, while another confessed to killing at least 70 people including his own son.

The latter has now given up the ritual and is campaigning to stamp it out, according to BBC News.

The African country's government claimed human sacrifice was on the increase.

According to officials trying to tackle it, the crime is directly linked to rising levels of development and prosperity - and an increasing belief that witchcraft can help people get rich quickly…

Tom's Thought – There is nothing more precious than children. And so, when people are willing to sacrifice children, a universally evil act, in order to obtain financial gain, it is a sign that some switch has gone on that is causing people to lose their senses. And a question to ask ourselves during the financial crises that our country is facing, is what are you willing to do in order to keep a roof over your family's head, or food on the table?

4). Dolphins Should Be Treated as Non-human Persons?. Story here. Dolphins have been declared the world's second most intelligent creatures after humans, with scientists suggesting they are so bright that they should be treated as "non-human persons".

Studies into dolphin behavior have highlighted how similar their communications are to those of humans and that they are brighter than chimpanzees. These have been backed up by anatomical research showing that dolphin brains have many key features associated with high intelligence…

Tom's Thought – The legal implications of this are mind-boggling. Does this mean dolphins are entitled to "life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness"? Should a boat captain be arrested for hitting a dolphin? Should the ACLU be able to represent them? Should it be a criminal act to defeat the Miami Dolphins in an NFL game?

5). Top 10 Religious Blogs. According to the Technorati website (here), the top 10 religious websites are:

I haven't checked out, or heard about these blogs, except for the last two, and so who knows what these sites might contain. But I thought it was interesting to see that someone came up with a list like this.

What Does The Prayer Really …

http://wdtprs.com/blog/

Recent: The Feeder Feed
There was a lot of snow and a lot of cold and a lot of wind. The birds are doing their best. Post from: …

	Religion Auth: 971
	Change +1

Top 100 living

2.

moved up 3 places

Tall Skinny Kiwi

http://tallskinnykiwi.typepad.com/

Recent: Winkie Pratney's Communication Secret
Winkie Pratney just suffered an aneurysm last week and " apparently is not doing very well ." His speech …

	Religion Auth: 900

Top 100 living

Jesus Creed

http://blog.beliefnet.com/jesuscreed

Recent: Weekly Meanderings
It's been a cold week in Chicago, our home town. But that doesn't mean Chicagoans can't have some fun …

	Religion Auth: 893

Top 100 living

Justin Taylor

http://thegospelcoalition.org/blogs/justintaylor/

Recent: Thomas Sowell's New Book: Intellectuals and Society
If Thomas Sowell writes a book, I get it. I find his writings invariably insightful and helpful. Paul …

	Religion Auth: 891

Top 100 living

5.

moved down -3 places

TheResurgence

http://theresurgence.com

Recent: Featured Media: Leadership Lessons from Nehemiah
In this series from the Acts 29 2007 regional conference in Seattle, Mark Driscoll answers twenty leadership …

	Religion Auth: 888

Top 100 living

Apprising Ministries

http://apprising.org

Recent: TONY JONES TRACES THE CORRUPTION OF YOUTH SPECIALTIES
In his post An Open Letter to YouthWorks Tony Jones, heretical "theologian in residence" at the emerging …

	Religion Auth: 884

Top 100 living

7.

moved up 2 places

Beyond Babylon

http://beyondbabylon.blogspot.com

Recent: God is reproducing Himself!
Re: Hebrew midwives #13. To: BobCeleste (#6 ) Or perhaps a follower of Armstrong. But whatever, as one who …

	Religion Auth: 880

Top 100 living
Top 100 world

8.

moved down -1 places

Creative Minority Report

http://www.creativeminorityreport.com

Recent: Something Happened on the Way to Damascus
Why do I despise the Republican Party? Charlie Crist is as good an answer as I can come up with right now. …

	Religion Auth: 864

Top 100 living

9.

moved down -2 places

Parchment and Pen

http://www.reclaimingthemind.org/blog

Recent: A Grief Letter to My Sister Angie (1969-2004)
Dear Angie, We just passed the 6 year anniversary of your death. I guess it was the evening of January 4, …

	Religion Auth: 861

Top 100 living

10.

moved down -1 places

AlbertMohler.com – Blog

http://www.albertmohler.com

Recent: NewsNote: The Death of a Feminist
Radical theologian Mary Daly died Sunday at age 81, ending one of the most interesting and tragic careers