TCN's Biblical Journey May 8th

Today's reading is Job 20-24

The tech bubble, the housing bubble, and two recessions have shot a hole through the Prosperity Gospel. However, some still seem to hold to what Eliphaz says in Job 22:21, “Submit to God and be at peace with him; in this way, prosperity will come to you.” There is an idea that if you come to Christ everything will work out.

In one since it is true. Eventually, all things work together for good as Paul says in Romans 8:28. The problem is the eventually may not be in this life. In actuality, Jesus promised in this world there would be troubles (John 16:33). However, for the Christian life doesn’t end in death. Death for the believer is only the beginning.

Does this mean that no one who serves God will ever be rich? No, but as with everything in life, it all belongs to God and we are stewards of it.

At the end of the day, wealth or poverty, health or sickness are not a sign of being right with God. What makes a man or woman right with God is the state of his/her heart. 

TCN's Biblical Journey - May 7th

Today's reading is Job 15-19

 Pilot error isn't always the cause of plane crashes.

Job being the oldest written book in the Bible carries some ideas that might be easy to miss.  The depressing back and forth arguing between Job and his friends for many is long-winded and repeats the same points over and over. Yet how often in arguments still today do people do the same thing. However, what me may miss is the concepts and ideas that have already been established in the minds of these people.

We see in verse 14, a clear idea of sin and total depravity. “What are mortals, that they could be pure, or those born of woman, that they could be righteous?”(15:14) Yes, we understand and believe that God wants to make people righteous but these people seemed to understand that in there own strength humans are bent toward sin and selfishness.

Of course, the problem with this doctrine taken by itself is a world without hope. It also serves as Eliphaz’s proof that Job must have sinned and done something evil to deserve all that has happened to him.

For us this reference is a reminder that depravity isn’t a doctrine devised by medieval monks, but something that was clear from the oldest Biblical records. Eliphaz’s use of this doctrine the way he did reminds us that though something is true it may not be true for this situation. Just as though pilot error is usually the cause of plane crashes, it isn’t always and to make that assumption, as Eliphaz did here, is wrong. 

Photo by Asa Rodger on Unsplash

The Holiness Perspective on Alcohol

The Holiness Perspective on Alcohol 

Pastor Keith Taylor is the pastor of the Assemblies of God in Terre Haute first shared this and agreed to allow me to repost this on my blog.

It's longer than I normally write, but it is really well explained. This position is also shared by the Church of the Nazarene which I am a part (CSA).

The effects of alcohol 

[God loves those who are bound by alcohol - Jesus will set the captive free - we are to minister with such love to those bound - we also as Christians need to take a long look at alcohol and what the scriptures reveal]

ABSTINENCE
This statement on abstinence was approved as the official statement by the General Presbytery of the Assemblies of God on August 6, 1985.

The General Council of the Assemblies of God has historically opposed the consumption of alcohol in any form. Early documents of the church declare, without reservation or compromise, a position of total abstinence.

In more recent years, however, this mark of separation from the world and this token of dedicated service to God has been questioned by some. Yet the continued effective work of reaching the lost and of challenging all believers to be always filled with the Holy Spirit is seriously jeopardized by a careless attitude concerning the consumption of alcoholic beverages.

For two reasons we urge all believers to avoid the Satanic tool of alcohol which destroys lives, damns souls, and blights society:
(1) A studied review of the Scriptures affirms a stern warning against intoxicating drink and a call to separation from this evil for the purpose of better service to God and mankind; and
(2) Current social abuses and the public outrage over the high cost of alcohol in terms of human misery, death, and destruction of property cry out with urgency for the church of Jesus Christ to oppose firmly any use whatsoever of a beverage which so insidiously afflicts and binds the bodies and minds of men and women.

The Scriptures Record Tragedies Caused by Alcohol

Although there is disagreement among Bible scholars about the true nature of the drink referred to by the various Hebrew and Greek words for "wine," it is only too evident that some persons in the Old Testament drank fermented wine.

Noah, after saving his family from the destruction of the Flood, planted a vineyard, made wine, became intoxicated, and brought disastrous results on himself and his family (Genesis 9:20-27). Noah was no doubt surprised, upon his return to sobriety and clear thinking, to realize his simple act of taking a drink had ended in such shame.
The two daughters of Lot made their father drink liquor until he became drunk; then they committed incest with him (Genesis 19:30-38).

Xerxes was powerful. He ruled over a great kingdom and had a beautiful wife. But his foolish action before his drinking guests resulted in the deposition of his queen and the dissolution of their marriage (Esther 1:9-22).

Belshazzar, in a state of drunkenness, committed sacrilege with the sacred vessels from the Jewish temple. That very night he was killed as a fulfillment of prophecy (Daniel 5).

Drunkenness, according to Scripture, is a sin. But what about such references in the Old Testament as "wine which cheers" (Judges 9:13) and "wine that makes glad" (Psalm 104:15)?
We believe such references are accommodations to human weakness and hardness of heart (cf. Matthew 19:8).

The spirit and intent of Scripture emphasize the evil consequences of alcohol.

Scriptural Principles and Examples Recommend Abstinence

Alcohol destroys the body. Even in small amounts it begins its subtle work of destruction, taking its toll on mental and physical reactions. God knew this fact very well when He gave instructions that priests and kings (spiritual and secular leaders) should refrain from any use of alcoholic beverages.

In the Old Testament instruction to the Levites, the spiritual leaders of Israel, priests were commanded to abstain from wine or intoxicating drink when they went into the presence of the Lord to minister (Leviticus 10:8-11).

This requirement of abstinence was given so the ministering priest would be able to distinguish between the holy and the unholy, between the clean and the unclean, and so he could be a teacher of all the statutes of God.

Today, all born-again Christians have been made priests to God
(1 Peter 2:9; Revelation 1:6).
As such we should always give our best and be at our best in His service.

We believe the standard of abstinence demanded of the Old Testament priest should be the standard of every Christian today. We too must distinguish between right and wrong.
We must be Spirit-led teachers in a society that greatly needs divine instruction and godly example.

Secular leaders are also to abstain from alcohol.

"It is not for kings to drink wine, nor for princes intoxicating drink; lest they drink and forget the law, and pervert the justice of all the afflicted" (Proverbs 31:4,5, NKJV).

If the prohibition is absolutely essential for spiritual and secular leaders, it is certainly essential for every believer.
We who are kings and priests unto God (Revelation 1:6) must live according to His standards.

A Little Alcohol Is Too Much

The Christian who advocates or condones "drinking in moderation" is providing Satan an opening he would not have with an individual committed to total abstinence.

By medical definition, alcohol is a drug.
The moderate drinker is naive if he does not recognize the peril of eventually becoming addicted himself.

The condition of the drunkard is tragic; and God's Word gives clear warning of the final tragedy.
The individual who refuses to have anything to do with such a dangerous taskmaster is wise indeed.

No alcoholic ever intended to become an alcoholic when he/she took the first drink. And no individual who persistently refused to take the first drink ever became an alcoholic.

The church of Jesus Christ must take a bold stand against this evil that in the end "bites like a serpent, and stings like a viper" (Proverbs 23:32, NKJV).

The effects of alcohol are vividly described in Proverbs 23.
There is a physical and emotional impact. "Who has woe? Who has sorrow? Who has contentions? Who has complaints? Who has wounds without cause? Who has redness of eyes?"
(Proverbs 23:29, NKJV).

The answer is obvious: "Those who linger long at the wine" (v. 30). But the woe, the sorrow, the contention, the complaints, the injuries, are not reserved for the drunkard in the gutter. They begin all too frequently with the social drink.

Just like every other temptation of Satan, the drinking of alcoholic beverages has its attraction. Hence the warning of Holy Scripture: "Do not look on the wine when it is red, when it sparkles in the cup, when it swirls around smoothly" (Proverbs 23:31, NKJV).

The warning is so strong because the attraction of the temptation soon turns the pleasure seeker into a pathetic embarrassment to the human race: "Your eyes will see strange things, and your heart will utter perverse things" (23:33, NKJV).
Even the normal physical protection systems of pain and caution are defeated by alcohol (23:34,35).

"Wine is a mocker, intoxicating drink arouses brawling, and whoever is led astray by it is not wise" (Proverbs 20:1, NKJV).
God's will is for His people to abstain from this deceitful betrayer that mocks and destroys the basic dignity of mankind.

God Calls His People to Holiness

The standard for God's people is no less in the New Testament than in the Old.
The Old Testament warnings about the abuses and excesses of alcohol become in the New Testament a call to holy living through the power of the Holy Spirit.
Our bodies are the temples of the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 6:19).

We need to cleanse them from all profane habits, including alcohol. Opening up the human temple to the possible influence and control of alcohol is absolutely contrary to the Biblical admonition to keep those temples filled with the Holy Spirit (Ephesians 5:18).
The only safe way is to leave alcoholic beverages alone.

First Timothy 3:3 states that a bishop must be one "not given to wine." A spiritual leader should set the highest example for all Christians to follow.
The apostle Paul willingly invited his fellow believers to follow his example, even as he followed the example of Christ
(1 Corinthians 11:1).

A minister who drinks alcohol risks disobedience to the Word of God.

Some well-meaning people have misused the instruction given by Paul to Timothy in 1 Timothy 5.

When Paul suggested that Timothy "Stop drinking only water, and use a little wine because of your stomach and your frequent illnesses" (5:23, NIV), he was not recommending wine as a social drink.

The fact that Paul had to mention the medicinal use of wine indicates rather strongly that Timothy was committed to abstinence as a lifestyle.

The call to holy living and to total abstinence is most appropriate for a Movement that looks with expectation for the soon return of Jesus Christ and the eventual inauguration of His kingdom on earth.

Jesus warned His disciples, as well as all who would live between their time and the end time, "Take heed to yourselves, lest your hearts be weighed down with carousing, drunkenness, and cares of this life . . . . Watch therefore, and pray always that you may be counted worthy to escape all these things that will come to pass, and to stand before the Son of Man" (Luke 21:34, 36, NKJV).

As we watch and pray for the return of Jesus, our senses should be as sharp and clear as they can possibly be.

The Use of Alcohol Weakens the Christian's Testimony

The use of alcohol violates some basic principles laid down for all believers, whether minister or laymen.
One of these important principles is the Biblical caution not to offend a weaker brother or cause a younger Christian to fall.

The apostle Paul deals with the responsibility of the stronger brother toward the weaker brother in Romans 14. "It is good neither to eat meat nor drink wine nor do anything by which your brother stumbles or is offended or is made weak" (v. 21, NKJV).

It takes a stronger act of the will to abstain from the consumption of alcohol than to participate in this social practice of the world.
Yet believers who take their Christian responsibility seriously cannot avoid the obvious importance of total abstinence to their Christian testimony.

This truth is especially significant when it is applied to the young people of the world who are turning to alcohol in unprecedented numbers as an acceptable mind-altering drug.
They are going beyond moderation, no matter what their parents and elders say. If Christian parents and adults use alcohol even in moderation or just to be socially accepted, the next generation will use it with less care and self-control.

The best example our generation can set for the next generation is to practice and teach total abstinence.

Jesus spoke very clearly to the disciples about the responsibility of the older generation to its children and youth: "It is impossible that no offenses should come, but woe to him through whom they do come! It would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck, and he were thrown into the sea, than that he should offend one of these little ones" (Luke 17:1, 2, NKJV).
We must not set an example that will send others to hell and destruction.

As believers we must draw a line on the use of alcohol.
If we draw the line at the point of moderation, our ministers will soon find it necessary to exhort congregations to forsake drunkenness.
If we draw the line at total abstinence, we will save a multitude of young and old from the sin of alcoholism.

Social Drinking Is Satan 's Cruel Deception

The term social drinking suggests that the consumption of alcohol in respectable surroundings is in some way different from drinking in other environments.
There was a time when it would have been unthinkable that we would have to speak out against social drinking among Christians. The fact that such a problem has grown to the currently distressing proportions shows what a powerful and insidious influence the present age exerts on the church of Jesus Christ.

The Holy Spirit can deliver from the shackles of social drinking, and we plead with all Christians who have fallen into this bondage to cry out for God's help immediately.

Many people who experience psychological problems (and some of them unfortunately are Christians) are tempted to seek an easy solution in "a little bit" of alcohol. But what was used as a supposed cure has caused even greater problems. We are set free through Jesus Christ, not through a drug that dissipates and destroys us when we submit to its influence.

Every one of the 13 million problem drinkers in the United States today started on the road to alcoholism with a social drink or an innocent first taste. Half of the fatal automobile accidents in this country are caused by drinking drivers.

According to government estimates, the economic cost of alcoholism-including lost production, automobile accidents, health care, violent crimes, and fire losses- exceeds 100 billion dollars every year.

Alcohol is consistently linked to a high percentage of reported murders, assaults, and rapes, as well as to suicide. domestic violence, and child abuse.
The role of social drinking as the starting point for much of this abuse can only be estimated.

Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS) is one of the leading causes of mental retardation as a birth defect in the United States.
Whatever alcohol the pregnant mother consumes crosses the placenta and enters the bloodstream of the baby.
The result too frequently is below-average birth weight and size, deformed and improperly formed joints and limbs, as well as heart defects. We should not be concerned only about the life of the unborn child; the health of the child is important too.

The consumption of alcohol has become a national crisis, tearing at the moral fabric of our nation.

Christians cannot meet their moral responsibilities by a posture of neutrality about alcohol.
The problem is not merely economic, cultural, or social.

In the final analysis, the use of alcohol is a spiritual problem.

Alcoholism is sin, not sickness.
Its shocking increase is another manifestation of the permissive, lawless spirit produced by the spiritual degeneration so much in evidence today.

The Call to Abstinence

Alcoholic beverages should have no place in the life of the Christian. Let there be no doubt about the Assemblies of God stand on this critical issue. (Or the Church of the Nazarene added CSA)

We declare unequivocally our conviction that total abstinence from alcoholic beverages is the only acceptable way of life for the Christian.
We call upon every member and adherent in our Fellowship, including both the ministry and the laity, to teach by word and example a lifestyle that abstains totally from the consumption of alcoholic beverages.
__________
1Statistics provided by the National Council on Alcoholism, Inc., 12 West 21st Street, New York, NY 10010. Up-to-date materials and statistics may be secured from the Council upon written request.
2National Council on Alcoholism, Inc.
(c)1985 by the Assemblies of God Gospel Publishing House Springfield, Missouri 65802 Printed in the United States of America 34-4187

Fight the good fight, with love and truth.

TCN's Biblical Journey May 4th

Today's reading is Job 10-14

Matthew Henry’s Commentary says “Job, being weary of his life, resolves to complain, but he will not charge God with unrighteousness.”[1] I find this observation very interesting because usually people who complain will point at God and say he is unrighteous. Job though repeats his confusion, which is understandable.

Side note: Though Job despises being alive, he doesn’t do anything to end it. This to me is a sign of faith though maybe weak on Job’s behalf.  

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[1] http://biblehub.com/commentaries/job/10-1.htm

TCN's Biblical Journey May 3rd

Today's reading is Job 5-9

Hebrews 12:5
And you have forgotten the exhortation that addresses you as sons: "My son, do not make light of the Lord's discipline, or lose heart when He rebukes you.

Hebrews 12:6
For the Lord disciplines the one He loves, and He chastises everyone He receives as a son."

Job 5:17
"Behold, how happy is the man whom God reproves, So do not despise the discipline of the Almighty.

Psalm 94:12
Blessed is the man whom You chasten, O LORD, And whom You teach out of Your law;

Proverbs 3:11

My son, do not despise the LORD's discipline, and do not resent his rebuke,

All of these scriptures say the same thing that Eliphaz says to Job in chapter 5:17. Yet later in the book, God criticizes Eliphaz and his friends for speaking the way they did to Job. Does this seem like God is being double-minded? Not at all.

The reason is though the words are true, it wasn’t true for this situation. God wasn’t punishing Job. The lesson we need to learn here is we may not see the whole problem. It is like the person who criticizes a person who is overweight and says they just need to eat less and exercise more. However, they don’t realize the true problem is they have a thyroid problem or other medical condition.  Yes, it is true that if you are overweight you need to eat less and exercise more, but it isn’t always the case for everyone.

The lesson I see here for us is we shouldn’t assume there is always a simple answer. Yes, usually there is but not all the time. Does this mean that what Job’s friends said was wrong? No, it was the way they said it and the attitude they had that got them in trouble. This is why Paul says we need to go to a brother (or sister) in a spirit of meekness/gentleness (Galatians 6:1).

TCN's Biblical Journey May 2nd

Today's reading is Esther 10 and Job 1-4

Moving away or staying doesn't matter...

Job was a probably a contemporary of Abraham. Abraham was in Ur and was called to leave. Job was in Uz and wasn't called to go anywhere. Both in their own ways faced challenges and difficulties.

There is sometimes an idea that location and place are the causes of problems. This wouldn't have happened if we didn't move or if we did. However, the truth is that in this world there is going to be trouble. Job was a righteous man and yet trouble found him. Abraham was a righteous man and trial and difficulties found him. Jesus told us in the New Testament that we would have troubles in this world and we will (John 16:33).

The first thing I want to share is that mobility or the lack of it doesn't keep away trials. They will come, what matters is how we face them. We need to face them and keep praising God. This is what Job did in this first chapter. Yes, he grieved and so will you, but he still gave God praise.

Side note: Satan is submissive/less than God. There aren't evil and good forces which are equal.


Photo by Kyle Glenn on Unsplash

TCN's Biblical Journey - May 1st

Today's reading is Esther 5-9

I wanted to look at a chapter from yesterday's reading. I also want to add someone else’s thoughts as we look at Esther 3:6.

“Haman’s wrath was so excessive that to punish the man who excited it seemed to him as nothing. The whole nation to which his enemy belonged must perish. A little more than forty years previously, at the accession of Darius Hystaspes, there had been a general massacre of the Magi, when the people “slew every Magus who came in their way” (Herod. iii. 79). This and other instances [67] which might be adduced illustrate the tendency towards passionate and excessive vengeance on the part of the Oriental disposition, which holds human life cheap. Some, however, have seen in Haman’s conduct the operation of a wider principle in the shape of race-hatred, paralleled in later days by anti-Semitic outbursts upon the continent, or the persecution of Eastern Christians by the Turks.”[1]

This was more than just anger toward a person there seemed to be a prejudice or vengeance. If Haman is as some believe the descendant of the Amalekites and king Agag then this prejudice would make perfect sense. Most but not all of the Amalekites were killed by King Saul and being slighted by Mordecai may have fueled an ancient desire for revenge.

It is never explained in the story why Mordecai wouldn’t bow to Haman. We could guess but whatever the reason right or wrong there are consequences. Mordecai’s action nearly cost the lives of all his people. A reminder that if we are going to offend we had better be doing it for the right reason.

Yes, the person responding to a rude jester and demonstrating road rage is wrong, but it would never have happened if the first person hadn’t made the jest in the first place. In our lives, we need to ask, “Should I really do this?” and “Am I ready to pay the consequences?”

Side note: Is it possible that if Saul had done what God commanded what unfolded here might never have happened? We need to remember actions good and bad have consequence.

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[1] The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges. http://biblehub.com/commentaries/esther/3-6.htm