All scripture is inspired by God . . . (2 Timothy 3:16).
Faith requires credibility. Those who believe the incredible have a faith that will not save them--it is faith in the truth that makes the difference. True scripture bears the marks of being God-breathed. One of the characteristics of God-breathed scripture is that it is true. First, it is true in its relationship to the events of history. Though the Bible is not intended to be a history book, it has been used as that because it has proven itself to be a trustworthy representation of the time periods of which it speaks.
Second, the Bible is true in its representation of geography. The names and places of which it speaks are accurate according to time period. Those writing much later, or writing a fiction, would not have expressed the such accuracy.
Third, the Bible is true in its representation of the culture in the time periods of which it speaks. The Bible speaks of many cultures, but when it speaks it truly represents the culture from which it is written. Some of the apparent contradictions of the gospels are solved when one understands this.
Another characteristic of God-breathed scripture is that it is dynamic. Scripture is the primary means by which God confronts mankind with himself. One is forced to wrestle with the message of scripture and make a decision about it--what will I do with what the Bible tells me? Because the Bible speaks with such authority, there are many who seek to discredit the Bible, contending that the authors of many books of the Bible are not the actual authors because miracles do not happen, because of differences of style, because of a great time gap between the events of scripture and actual authorship and because of the Hegelian process that must have occurred before Petrine and Pauline teaching could coalesce. However, none of these charges can with stand objective history and archeology--they simply hold no water.
The Bible is the most studied book of all time, without question, the most scrutinized book of all time by both friend and foe alike. There are many foes who would like nothing more than to discredit the Bible. They do not want to be accountable to a holy God. Of course, there are many friends of God who study the Bible because they want to serve Him and worship Him.
The Bible is a dynamic book. It will change your life, for better or for worse. How will you allow it to change your life?
Our Father's Love,
Tom
Sunday, April 28, 2013
Tuesday, April 23, 2013
TAXMAN
Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's (Matthew 22:21).
The Beatles recorded this song in 1966--it is just as true today as it was then!
Let me tell you how it will be
There's one for you, nineteen for me
'Cause I'm the taxman, yeah, the taxman
Should five per cent appear to small
Be thankful I don't take it all
'Cause I'm the taxman, yeah I'm the taxman
Don't ask me what I want it for
If you don't want to pay some more
'Cause I'm the taxman, yeah, I'm the taxman
Now my advice for those who die
Declare the pennies on your eyes
'Cause I'm the taxman, yeah, I'm the taxman
And you're working for no one but me.
The Jews of Jesus' day were taxed to death. That was one of the reasons they were so rebellious. After studying the history of the time of Jesus Christ on this earth, I have often thought, "Would I have been any different than them?" Indeed, I was a Constitutional tax protester, and I still believe that the income tax and property taxes are unConstitutional. There are legal and better ways to raise money and we are close to being taxed to death.
But Jesus refused to be drawn into politics. The matter of first importance for every person is to render to God what is God's--your life!
Our Father's Love,
Tom
The Beatles recorded this song in 1966--it is just as true today as it was then!
Let me tell you how it will be
There's one for you, nineteen for me
'Cause I'm the taxman, yeah, the taxman
Should five per cent appear to small
Be thankful I don't take it all
'Cause I'm the taxman, yeah I'm the taxman
Don't ask me what I want it for
If you don't want to pay some more
'Cause I'm the taxman, yeah, I'm the taxman
Now my advice for those who die
Declare the pennies on your eyes
'Cause I'm the taxman, yeah, I'm the taxman
And you're working for no one but me.
The Jews of Jesus' day were taxed to death. That was one of the reasons they were so rebellious. After studying the history of the time of Jesus Christ on this earth, I have often thought, "Would I have been any different than them?" Indeed, I was a Constitutional tax protester, and I still believe that the income tax and property taxes are unConstitutional. There are legal and better ways to raise money and we are close to being taxed to death.
But Jesus refused to be drawn into politics. The matter of first importance for every person is to render to God what is God's--your life!
Our Father's Love,
Tom
Monday, April 15, 2013
THE VICTORS
No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us (Romans 8:37).
Hail! to the victors valiant. Hail! to the conqu'ring heros . . . (University of Michigan fight song).
First, it is important to note that I am not a Michigan fan, except for the times when they are representing the Big Ten. Such was the case a week ago when they were playing Louisville for the NCAA basketball championship. It was late in the game. I believed Michigan had a run in them. The Michigan band boomed their fight song. It seemed to energize the team and they did respond, but they still fell short. I've always thought that the Michigan fight song was worth a touch down in a tight football game or five points in a tight basketball game, as seemed to be the case last week. Sadly, it was not enough.
What makes the Michigan fight song different from the typical college fight song is that it does not exhort the team to fight harder. The song celebrates a victory already won. From Michigan's perspective, to put on the Michigan uniform and play on the university's team makes one a winner in any case. That is good Christian theology. When a person puts on Christ, our uniform, and faces life head on, he is the winner! Sometimes I think Christians need a great fight song to remind them of that! Sometimes we need a pep band booming in the background reminding us of who we are!
I'm getting to be a little sappy* in my old age, so when the Michigan pep band began to play at the time they did, my eyes began to water as I began to think the thoughts I have shared with you.
Our Father's Love,
Tom
*I know that "husker red," "gobucks" and "hawkeye gold" will think I have gone over the edge.
Hail! to the victors valiant. Hail! to the conqu'ring heros . . . (University of Michigan fight song).
First, it is important to note that I am not a Michigan fan, except for the times when they are representing the Big Ten. Such was the case a week ago when they were playing Louisville for the NCAA basketball championship. It was late in the game. I believed Michigan had a run in them. The Michigan band boomed their fight song. It seemed to energize the team and they did respond, but they still fell short. I've always thought that the Michigan fight song was worth a touch down in a tight football game or five points in a tight basketball game, as seemed to be the case last week. Sadly, it was not enough.
What makes the Michigan fight song different from the typical college fight song is that it does not exhort the team to fight harder. The song celebrates a victory already won. From Michigan's perspective, to put on the Michigan uniform and play on the university's team makes one a winner in any case. That is good Christian theology. When a person puts on Christ, our uniform, and faces life head on, he is the winner! Sometimes I think Christians need a great fight song to remind them of that! Sometimes we need a pep band booming in the background reminding us of who we are!
I'm getting to be a little sappy* in my old age, so when the Michigan pep band began to play at the time they did, my eyes began to water as I began to think the thoughts I have shared with you.
Our Father's Love,
Tom
*I know that "husker red," "gobucks" and "hawkeye gold" will think I have gone over the edge.
Saturday, April 13, 2013
POINTY-HEADED INTELLECTUALS
In all toil there is profit, but mere talk leads to poverty (Proverbs 14:23).
I came on to this while reading this morning--it is from my financial newsletter: Karl Marx's wife once told him he should stop writing about capital and go out and make some. Karl Marx and his wife lived in poverty even though he was an intellectual. Of course we know that Marxism resulted in the execution of over 100,000,000 people in the 20th century and brought virtual poverty to many many more millions than that. Watch out for the pointy-headed intellectuals!!!
Having said that, I need to go out and get to work.
Our Father's Blessings,
Tom
I came on to this while reading this morning--it is from my financial newsletter: Karl Marx's wife once told him he should stop writing about capital and go out and make some. Karl Marx and his wife lived in poverty even though he was an intellectual. Of course we know that Marxism resulted in the execution of over 100,000,000 people in the 20th century and brought virtual poverty to many many more millions than that. Watch out for the pointy-headed intellectuals!!!
Having said that, I need to go out and get to work.
Our Father's Blessings,
Tom
Tuesday, April 09, 2013
THE PROBLEM WITH STATISTICS
Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head into Christ . . . (Ephesians 4:15).
The problem with statistics is that they often do not tell the truth. This is what prompted Benjamin Disraeli to say, "there are three kinds of lies, lies, damned lies and statistics." Very often statistic are only factoids, meaning that they look factual, they sound factual because the researchers have some credibility behind them, but the research is flawed so that what appears to be a fact is not a fact, it is only a factoid. So, question the research!
A conversation I had recently with a pastor who fell into the trap of statistics that all of us fall into is what precipitates this "bullet." He repeated this statistic that Christians divorce at the same rate as non Christians. That stat has been out there for 15 years--I remember dealing with it in grad school. First, it must be noted that there are some reasons why Christians should divorce, there are circumstances when there is no other choice. Having said that, I am going to mention a blurb by Gary Foster in the Christian Counseling Connection that reports some of the most recent research that more likely fits reality:
The research actually showed couples who are active in their faith are much less likely to divorce. Catholic couples were 31% less likely. Protestant couples 35% and Jewish couples 97%. (Foster quoted Ed Stetzer's Church Report).
If one wants to question this research, that's okay, but from my experience, it fits reality much better.
Our Father's Blessings,
Tom
The problem with statistics is that they often do not tell the truth. This is what prompted Benjamin Disraeli to say, "there are three kinds of lies, lies, damned lies and statistics." Very often statistic are only factoids, meaning that they look factual, they sound factual because the researchers have some credibility behind them, but the research is flawed so that what appears to be a fact is not a fact, it is only a factoid. So, question the research!
A conversation I had recently with a pastor who fell into the trap of statistics that all of us fall into is what precipitates this "bullet." He repeated this statistic that Christians divorce at the same rate as non Christians. That stat has been out there for 15 years--I remember dealing with it in grad school. First, it must be noted that there are some reasons why Christians should divorce, there are circumstances when there is no other choice. Having said that, I am going to mention a blurb by Gary Foster in the Christian Counseling Connection that reports some of the most recent research that more likely fits reality:
The research actually showed couples who are active in their faith are much less likely to divorce. Catholic couples were 31% less likely. Protestant couples 35% and Jewish couples 97%. (Foster quoted Ed Stetzer's Church Report).
If one wants to question this research, that's okay, but from my experience, it fits reality much better.
Our Father's Blessings,
Tom
Saturday, April 06, 2013
HOW TO FEEL BETTER ABOUT YOURSELF
Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven (Matthew 5:3).
If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just, and will forgive our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness (I John 1:9).
I was listening to the Rush Limbaugh program last week when Rush quoted some source about people who refused to apologize had higher self-esteem than those who did apologize. So I did a quick search on line and and found that a University of Queensland researcher, Tyler G. Okimoto, surveyed 228 Americans and found that those who refused to apologize seemed to exhibit higher self-esteem than those who did apologize. Okimoto said, "Refusing to apologize makes you feel more empowered . . . power and control seems to translate into greater feelings of self worth."
That may very well be true. We put feeling better about our selves pretty high on the list of virtues, but, as usual, it is about completely back wards to the way of God. What is important is doing the right thing. What is important is taking responsibility for our behavior. If we have done wrong, apologizing is taking responsibility for our behavior. People who can apologize are the kind of people God can work with. Those are the kind of people who will inherit the Kingdom of Heaven.
Our Father's Blessings,
Tom
If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just, and will forgive our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness (I John 1:9).
I was listening to the Rush Limbaugh program last week when Rush quoted some source about people who refused to apologize had higher self-esteem than those who did apologize. So I did a quick search on line and and found that a University of Queensland researcher, Tyler G. Okimoto, surveyed 228 Americans and found that those who refused to apologize seemed to exhibit higher self-esteem than those who did apologize. Okimoto said, "Refusing to apologize makes you feel more empowered . . . power and control seems to translate into greater feelings of self worth."
That may very well be true. We put feeling better about our selves pretty high on the list of virtues, but, as usual, it is about completely back wards to the way of God. What is important is doing the right thing. What is important is taking responsibility for our behavior. If we have done wrong, apologizing is taking responsibility for our behavior. People who can apologize are the kind of people God can work with. Those are the kind of people who will inherit the Kingdom of Heaven.
Our Father's Blessings,
Tom
Tuesday, April 02, 2013
BE CONTAGIOUS--IN A POSITIVE WAY
Your boasting is not good. Do you not know that a little leaven leavens the whole lump? (I Corinthians 5:6).
I found another article in the 4-13 issue of Psychology Today by Ron Friedman called Motivation is Contagious that I thought was important. Essentially the article speaks about how motivation is contagious--both positively and negatively. University of Rochester research has shown that when highly motivated employees are grouped with lesser motivated employees the performance of all the employees was enhanced. It also worked the other way as well. When an employee was paired with a less motivated employee, "their inspiration dwindled and their performance dropped, too." When participants in the study were asked if they had been influenced by the other person they said, 'absolutely not.' They did not personally recognize an influence of the other on their own performance.
There are some lessons here: 1. Though you may not have a choice in a tough job market, choose to work around the most positive people you can because the people you work around have a huge effect on you. 2. Be the one who is positively contagious. Sometimes we don't have the choice, we have to have a job. Determine to be positive, put on a happy face, to look for the good in every desperate situation because, for the Christian, God works together for good in everything for those who love Him, who are called according to His purpose (See Romans 8:28). 3. We do not recognize how others are affecting us, that is why we need to hang around the most positive person there is, Jesus Christ. Praise, prayer, reading the Word, the Lord's Supper celebration, intentional fellowship with the most positive people, brothers and sisters in Christ.
Our Father's Blessings,
Tom
I found another article in the 4-13 issue of Psychology Today by Ron Friedman called Motivation is Contagious that I thought was important. Essentially the article speaks about how motivation is contagious--both positively and negatively. University of Rochester research has shown that when highly motivated employees are grouped with lesser motivated employees the performance of all the employees was enhanced. It also worked the other way as well. When an employee was paired with a less motivated employee, "their inspiration dwindled and their performance dropped, too." When participants in the study were asked if they had been influenced by the other person they said, 'absolutely not.' They did not personally recognize an influence of the other on their own performance.
There are some lessons here: 1. Though you may not have a choice in a tough job market, choose to work around the most positive people you can because the people you work around have a huge effect on you. 2. Be the one who is positively contagious. Sometimes we don't have the choice, we have to have a job. Determine to be positive, put on a happy face, to look for the good in every desperate situation because, for the Christian, God works together for good in everything for those who love Him, who are called according to His purpose (See Romans 8:28). 3. We do not recognize how others are affecting us, that is why we need to hang around the most positive person there is, Jesus Christ. Praise, prayer, reading the Word, the Lord's Supper celebration, intentional fellowship with the most positive people, brothers and sisters in Christ.
Our Father's Blessings,
Tom
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