A GENOGRAM CAN HELP

. . . for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, but showing steadfast love to thousands of those who love me and keep my commandments (Exodus 20:5-6).

An indispensable piece of my counseling treatment modality is to do a genogram with my client, or in the case of marriage counseling, a genogram with each spouse.  Some counselors might spend as much as four hours completing genograms for a married couple.  I try not to spend that much time, but the time spent doing a genogram is time well spent for it can make invisible family dynamics visible and be an aid in helping the client  understand the dysfunctional dynamics with which he or she is dealing.

A genogram is similar to doing a family tree.  It is a family map of at least three generations, outlining births, deaths, miscarriages, abortions, personality types, marriages, divorces, addictions, conflicts, over involements, military service, occupations, education, disease and medical problems, etc.  In other words, every aspect of a person's family life for three generations, that can be recalled, is discussed and diagrammed so that inter generational patterns come to light.  It might very well be seen that the problems the client is dealing with are problems that are being repeated from previous generations.  It is not uncommon for a client to reap the consequences of a grand parent's behavior.

At some point  the client, when he or she recognizes the dysfunctional emotional and behavioral patterns of the preceding 2 generations, has to commit to breaking the dysfunctional cycle in the family.  It is never easy to do and, I think, can really only be done with God's help because the dysfunction has become second nature, and once one of the family members begins to move toward health, another family member will, almost always, try to sabotage the attempt to become healthy because if one member of the family becomes healthy, every member will have to change.

The best way to bless yourself and your children, and your children's children, is to humble yourself before the Lord Jesus Christ, seeking his pardon and forgiveness, and follow him in the obedience of faith.

Our Father's Blessings,
Tom

THE GOOD CONFESSION

Now when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, "Who do men say that the Son of man is?"  And they said to him, "Some say John the Baptist, others say Elijah and others say Jeremiah or one of the prophets."  He said to them, but who do you say that I am?"  Simon Peter replied, "You are the Christ, the son of the living God."  And Jesus answered him, "Blessed are you Simon Bar-Jona!  For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven.  And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the powers of death shall not prevail against it" (Matthew 16:13-18).

Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life; he who believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and whoever lives and believes in me shall never die.  Do you believe this?"  She said to him, "Yes, Lord, I believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, he who is coming into the world" (John 11:25-27).

With this post I am merely sketching out a sermon, it will be a broad outline for my sermon.  If you would like to add to it, dear reader, you are welcome.

Getting the identity of Jesus of Nazareth right is essential to the Christian faith.  That is why the traditional prebaptismal confession, "I believe that Jesus is the Christ, the son of the living God" is necessary for a valid baptism.  One isn't expected to have a mature faith at baptism, but one is expected to have a sufficient faith at baptism.  The truth of this confession is the foundation stone of the faith of God's people.

Though each member of God's family must personally possess this faith, I am not sure that many could defend it, let alone treasure it.  God has no grandchildren, only children.  Under normal circumstances, no one will make it into God's kingdom on the faith of a relative or loved one.  I know a family that is proud of the fact that a couple of its members are ministers of the gospel, but many of the family's members live like the devil; not like people who possess this faith.

One of the things that many orthodox Jews believe about Jesus is that he is a hoax, that he never really existed so their remarks about him and those who believe in Jesus are venomous.  Some things never change.  When Jesus asked his disciples, "Who do men say that I am?" they did not reply with all the venomous things that men had said about him, but only the more respectable things.  Jesus did not intend to be a "respectable" person, he intended to be a polarizing person.  Either his is who he says he is, or he is a liar, or something worse.  Though the evidence for the historical existence of Jesus is abundant, there are  those who fall into the same category as the Holocaust deniers and will never be convinced otherwise--they have a vested interest in keeping things the same.

The "Christ" is a rough Greek equivalent of the Hebrew term, "Messiah."  They both mean, "anointed one."  High Priests, Kings and Prophets were anointed in the Old Testament.  Jesus is the king of God's kingdom (Ephesians 1:20-23).  He is the perfect high priest (Hebrews 2:17-18).  He is a prophet in the sense that he was one like Moses (Acts 3:22).  Jesus was anointed with God's Spirit at his baptism in water (Matthew 3:13-17) similarly to a Christian's baptism.

Jesus is the Son of the living God.  Hebrews 1:1-3 gives us a clue as to what that means: In many and various ways God spoke of old to our fathers by the prophets, but in these last days he has spoken to us by a Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things through whom he also he created the world.  He reflects the glory of God and bears the very stamp of his nature, upholding the universe by his word of power.  There is only one living God--all other gods are dead or bring death!  The living God is the only one who can bring life out of death!

We do not know what 2011 will bring, but whatever it brings, the confession is true.  It will bring strength in time of hardship and sorrow.  As Martha was grieving the loss of her brother, Lazarus, she confessed her faith in Christ.  Whatever happens in 2011, always hold fast to the good confession.

Our Father's Blessings,
Tom

THE GOOD WIFE

A good wife who can find?  She is far more precious than jewels . . . Strength and dignity are her clothing . . . Charm is deceitful, and beauty is vain, but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised ( Proverbs 31:10, 25 & 30).

It is New Year's Eve.  The house is quiet and I have a little time to reflect.  Our Iowa children were home for a few days for Christmas.  The house was full and we just had a great time being together.  I always feel a little empty inside after the celebration is over and everyone goes home--lonely might be a better word than empty to describe my feelings.  Still, I have a great wife to keep me company, and I am grateful for that!

To prepare for our Christmas I pretty much cleaned the house, though Helen did a lot of cleaning, her job was stressing her out as she spent a lot of time at work.  I scrubbed and waxed the floors by hand.  I learned from a woman whom I respect as a cleaner that to clean floors right they must be done by hand.  So, I donned a set of knee pads and went to work.  Even with the knee pads, my knees hurt as I did the job, and my back hurt too.  Though age has something to do with it, even if one is young, cleaning is a taxing job.  Then I imagined myself as a young housewife with three children to care for, how hard it must be.  Young wives and mothers have to be very disciplined in order to run an orderly household.  I think many husbands simply do not appreciated what their women to.  Men need to be involved in the cleaning too, so they can appreciate what their wives do.

Our Father's Blessings,
Tom

JUDGMENT OR NOT?

. . . we make it our aim to pleas him.  For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may receive good or evil, according to what he has done in the body (II Corinthians 5:9c-10).

This is one of the more sobering scriptures in the Bible because it was written to Christian people.  From my theological perspective it does mean that Christians will stand before Christ in judgement, but because we have trusted in the sacrifice of Jesus Christ on our behalf, repentance and baptism being our witness, then Jesus counts us as his and does not see our sins.  My sins are as great as any man's so the only claim I have on salvation is on the basis of what Jesus has done for me.

One of the great enemies of the gospel is secularism because secularism suggests that when a person dies there is nothing of the person that lives on except for the children he/she has brought into the world and the family teachings and dynamics they live out.  They, and those who commit suicide assume that death is the end of it all.  Phenomenally, it might seem that they are right because after death the physical body is only so much dead meat, but God says otherwise.  Imagine the surprise of those who die without Christ.  First they go to sleep.  Then, they go through the experience of a dying brain, seeing the light at the end of the tunnel, seeing relatives and other loved ones embedded in the memories of their brains.  Finally, being escorted by angels to their abode to await final judgment, though this temporary abode is a judgment in its self, being a foretaste of eternity. 

The 5th chapter of II Corinthians is one of the great chapters of the Bible, I just finished reading it as a daily Bible reading.  It begins with these words of hope with which it is good to close this Bullet:  For we know that if the earthly tent we live in is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands eternal in the heavens.  Here indeed we groan, and long to put on our heavenly dwelling, so that by putting it on we may not be found naked.  For while we are still in this tent, we sigh with anxiety; not that we be unclothed, but that we would be further clothed, so that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life.  He who has prepared us for this very thing is God, who has given us the Spirit as a guarantee (II Corinthians 5:1-5).

Our Father's Blessings,
Tom

CHARACTER AND COMPETENCY, IS THERE ONE WITHOUT THE OTHER?

A righteous man turns away from evil, but the way of the wicked leads them astray (Proverbs 12:26 RSV).

What precipitated this bullet was an interview in Christian Counseling Today of Dr. Tim Irwin.  The interview simply set me to thinking about the role of character in counseling competency--or any competency for that matter.  The subject of the interview was, "Character Trumps Competence."  My thoughts are not intended to disagree with what was said in the interview, but merely add my perspective.

Rather than being two different categories, I believe that character is a necessary quality of competency so that one cannot be fully competent without it.  A dictionary definition of competency is having the necessary qualities and skills.  Is character a necessary quality for competency in any arena?  Yes!

Skill development requires a degree of character.  Some are so gifted that the development of skill requires little effort so the quality of their character is not revealed until significant stress sets in--it's a tragedy that this often happens when someone is desperately depending on him/her.  Those not so gifted might cut corners or cheat in their skill development, and thus do their work with compromised competency. 

In my Ethic and Legal Procedures class in seminary we talked of the ethics of sharing our faith in Christ with a client.  There are times in counseling when that might be appropriate, but basically the truth is that the counselor's faith and value system cannot help but be revealed indirectly; it just is part of the counselors personality.  Though the counselor might not speak of Christ directly, Christ is in the counselor, coming out in empathy, and how we respond and direct.  However, a compromised character is revealed in the same way.  A Counselor might very well be competent in the art and science of counseling, but if he/she is not a person of character, that will come out in their counseling too, thus short-term existential success can give way to long-term failure. 

I hope my thoughts made sense.  Though I applied this to counselors, I think it is applicable to all areas where competency and leadership is required--even on the football field.  The beloved Iowa Hawkeyes found that out this season.

Our Father's Blessings,
Tom

REFLECTIONS ON PARENTING 101 (part 2)

He who spares the rod hates his son, but he who loves him is diligent to discipline him (Proverbs 13:24).

The scripture here is often used as a proof text for spanking.  I do believe that spanking is an effective tool of discipline when used appropriately, but can be destructive when used inappropriately.  The emphasis of the text is on discipline and spanking is only one of the tools in the effective parent's disciplinary tool box.  Rosemond has more thoughts on effective discipline upon which I will reflect.

The parent must be at the center of the child's attention, not the other way around.  As a general rule, the more attention you pay a child, the less attention the child will pay to you.  It is much easier to discipline a child who is paying attention than one who is not.  What has been said should not be interpreted to mean that the child is out of your awareness as a parent--but the child should believe that he/she is not the center of your attention.

Your child must have a meaningful role in your family.  That means the child must have responsibilities known as chores.  Rosemond says that by the time a child is 4 years old, he/she should be contributing significant time and effort on a daily basis to the maintenance of the household.  This means keeping his/her own space clean and orderly as well as the common areas of the home--dusting and vacuuming.  Helen and I did not do well at this, but our children have grown to be responsible adults in this regard.  I think Helen would wish that her own husband would do much better himself about cleaning up around the house.  Having said that, without chores, children are mere consumers who think they are entitled to having the parents serve them.  Entitlements do not strengthen people or grow strong children.

"Keep television and other electronic media out of your child's life until your child as learned to read well and is self-entertaining.  The research is clear that electronic media shortens attention span, interferes with the development of certain critical thinking skills and develops a dependency that leads to frequent complaints of boredom."  This is one thing we did do well during our children's growing up years--we didn't have a television.  We read to the kids and the kids did a lot of reading--may be that's why they do so well now.

"From day 1, keep clutter out of your child's life by keeping toys and other 'stuff' at a minimum.  Paradoxically, children who entertain themselves well (low-maintenance children) tend to have few toys.  These children also are more grateful for and take better care of what they have."  Even among poor families, children tend to have too many toys--as did our children.  Too many toys make for too much clutter.  If children can learn to make their own entertainment, they will not require a lot of toys as adults.  They will tend to become more givers than takers.

"Emphasize manners, not skills.  Sixty years ago, most children came to overcrowded first grads not knowing their ABCs; yet, at the end of the year were reading at a higher level than today's kids, most of whom already are reading in kindergarten.  That happened because parents of 60 years ago taught proper behavior, not skills; therefore, teachers taught skills, not proper behavior.  Grow a polite child."  My wife is a teacher--I know she, and all of her colleagues, would agree.  They have to spend so much time teaching proper behavior that there is little quality time left for teaching skills.  Academic scores in the US have declined in direct correlation to the disintegration of the home.

"Love your child enough to grow a happy child."  This is the most important--it is in direct agreement with the cited scripture text.

Our Father's Blessings,
Tom 

REFLECTIONS ON PARENTING 101

Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it (Proverbs 22:6).

In the area of child psychology, John Rosemond is a hero of mine.  He does not worship at the alter of contemporary thought, but he does respect the tried and true wisdom the was reflected in the parenting of those who made our country great.  Rosemond recently wrote a two-part series called, "Parenting 101."  My reflections are in two parts as well.

If you are married with children, put your marriage first.  Dr. James Dobson always said the same thing.  Helen and I grew our family up on Dobson--he came into prominence just at the time we were growing our family.  Though we believed this, we did not do well at it.  Money was a big issue.  Small-church ministers, it seems like, live on the edge of poverty so the needs of the children come first.  Date nights with the spouse were hard to come by.  In any case, single parent or married parents, the children have to know that they are not the center of your universe, rather, you are the center of theirs.  Your children have a much greater feeling of security when they know that mom and dad are taking care of their marriage and other necessary business first. It must be remembered that workaholism and the romantic flings of a single parent are destructive.

By the time your children are three years old, you should build a boundary between yourself and them, one that limits their access to you.  Children need to understand that they are not at your beck and call.  I believe that it is impossible to spoil a child under two.  If he/she cries they should be picked up, but that third year is critical, they need to begin understanding that you have a life beyond them.  One shouldn't pick a child up every time he cries.  Differentiation is necessary!

Say "No" more than you say "Yes."  Rosemond says that the proportion of No's to Yes's should be about five to one.  Helen and I weren't aware of the ratio of no's to yes's, but we tried to say "Yes" as often as we could because we had to say "No" so often.  Children who will not take "No" for an answer have parents who do not say "No" often enough and with conviction!

"Put the horse of leadership in front of the cart of relationship."  This was probably my greatest failing.  During my years as a youth worker at a residential treatment facility I tried to build relationship with the residents first.  It is impossible to build a meaningful and therapeutic relationship if the child does not have a clear understanding of who is in charge.  If the leader is easily manipulated so that a relationship can continue, then the child becomes the leader.  As a result, there is relationship sickness rather than health.  The children must understand who makes the decisions and who is in charge.

Our Father's Blessings,
Tom

VICTORY IN JESUS

But thanks be to God, who always leads us in triumphal procession in Christ . . . (II Corinthians 2:14).

No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us (Romans 8:37).

When read in context, these words of Scripture do not mean that Christians will not face adversity, but they do mean that when we are facing adversity we can take courage and hope because of our relationship to Christ.  In Christ we have already won!  We are in his victory parade!  Bring it on! The final celebration is yet to come--be there!

Our Father's Blessings,
Tom

DEALING WITH DIFFICULTY

Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ!  In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade--kept in heaven for you, who through faith are shielded by God's power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time.  In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials.  These have come so that your faith--of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire--may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed (I Peter 1:3-7).

Presently, the lovely and gracious Helen and I are in Kansas celebrating the Thanksgiving holiday with her parents.  During the time since we have arrived we have received word of two families who are dear to us who are presently facing crises.  Helen's parents are elderly and because of the changing state of health care are dealing in the confusing world of bureaucracy.  Helen and I are getting an education as we have spent the last 2 days helping with that.

I'm sharing all this, not because I have any profound insights, theological or otherwise, but just to remind you all that while we live in the flesh we will suffer--we will not get through this life without it!  But, we have a reasonable hope because of the death, burial and resurrection of Christ.  Our best days are yet ahead of us!
In Christ we are family so let us rally to the support of each other, being the Holy Spirit with skin on as we support each other in this life so that we can be together in the life to come!

Our Father's Blessings,
Tom

FOR YOUR COMFORT

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.  For as we share abundantly in Christ's sufferings, so through Christ we share abundantly in comfort too (II Corinthians 1:3-5).

And I will pray the Father, and he will give you another Counselor (Comforter in KJV) to be with you for ever, even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor know him; you know him, for he dwells with you, and will be in you (John 14:16-17).

In my daily Bible reading I just started the book of second Corinthians today.  I had underlined verses 3-5 of chapter one from previous readings so they drew my attention again.  I stopped and thought of the times when it seemed as if I was all alone--that no one cared enough to even make an attempt to understand.  There have been several times in my life when that was the case, BUT, this experience is not unique to me.  Further reading in second Corinthians one Paul says that he and his companions were "unbearably crushed that we despaired of life itself" (vs 8).

God has sent the Holy Spirit to be the comforter of Christians, the one who walks along side of us.  How does he bring us comfort?  Sometimes it is just the feeling of reassurance of grace and peace in the middle of trials and tumult.  Sometimes it is through the words of hope in the Scripture when all evidence seems to be to the contrary--hope truly is an audacious thing!  Sometimes it is the arm of another believer around your shoulder, the Holy Spirit with skin on, one who isn't afraid to come into understanding distance and share his/her faith and life experience.  As you receive comfort, share it with someone else.

Our Father's Blessings,
Tom

WHAT DO YOU TREASURE?

For the love of money is the root of all evils; it is through this craving that some have wandered away from the faith and pierced their hearts with many pangs (I Timothy 6:10).

Do not love the world or the things of the world (I John 2:15).

Set your minds on things above, not on things that are on the earth (Colossians 3:2).

For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also (Matthew 6:21). 

All quotations are from the Revised Standard Version.

My daughter posted her offering meditation on her blog, Sleepy Thoughts . . . It shows that the apple does not fall too far from the tree.  Though I have expressed similar thoughts I would like to expand/expound on the subject.

Traditional interpretation of Matthew 6:19-21 has assumed that money is the treasure, and if one gives his money, the heart will follow it.  As an intervention for those who love money, it is not a bad thing to tell them to give their money away and follow Jesus (Matthew 19:21); sometimes behavioral therapy on adults does work, changing them from the outside in rather than the inside out.  But, even in 19:21 the emphasis is on following Jesus; notice what the rich young ruler could not do--be obedient to Jesus.  His possessions were his treasure, not Jesus.

God doesn't need our money.  God will not go out of business if we stop giving; He owns the cattle on a thousand hills; He owns the world and everything in it.  Often our preaching conveys the idea that God needs our money; He doesn't!!!  What God desires is our hearts!  What one treasures is where his heart is.  Ask any young man who is madly in love; he will gladly spend all his money on the love of his life. 

Often the message of the church is: "We will go out of business if you do not give," or "If you would just give more we could do . . ."  That message is a message of materialism, that the Church of Christ is more dependent on money that the power of the Spirit for its existence.  Preachers have yet to learn the meaning of Zechariah 4:6, Not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit, says the Lord of hosts.  The church can be just as guilty about loving money and coveting it as any person.  I have known several people who have quit a church because the church was all about trusting money rather than the Spirit of God.

If  money is our treasure, then almost every time, money will be given with a begrudging heart, not a cheerful heart.  A whole lot more money will be given when Jesus is our treasure because it will be given with a cheerful heart and not a begrudging one.  The Lord loves a cheerful giver!

Our Father's Blessings,
Tom

GIVE THANKS WITH A GRATEFUL HEART

Rejoice always, pray constantly, give thanks in all circumstances, for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you (I Thessalonians 5:16-18).

Chris Peterson is a psychology professor at the University of Michigan.  Several years ago Psychology Today had a blurb about an assignment he gives class.  He has his class members write a gratitude letter.  It's a kind of thank-you note to any one, including God.  Peterson says his students feel happier 100% of the time.  This exercise provides a long-lasting mood boost to the students.

There are exceptions.  If a student is skeptical that the exercise will work, it will still work, but if a student is cynical, it will not work.  Cynicism is the attitude that, "I really do not have anything to be thankful for," or "I have to be thankful for this?"  If cynicism is the attitude then the gratitude not will not work.

When I was a graduate student in seminary, there was a young secretary who was afflicted with Multiple Sclerosis.  She spoke to our class one day about how she dealt with her disease.  She made sure that thankfulness was in her attitude.  One of the things she was thankful for was that her "personal plumbing" still worked.  If you have ever had to deal with incontinence you would be thankful that your "personal plumbing" still worked. 

With disciplined diet and exercise, she is still doing all she can for that to continue.  One of the ways to find something for which to be thankful is to make a list of the things you would like to continue.  How would you feel if food, clothing, shelter, freedom, love and other relationships, hope for eternity, etc. were taken away?

God's will for His family is that they be a thankful people.  When they are thankful they are happy!

Our Father's Blessings,
Tom 

IT IS BETTER TO BE THOUGHT A FOOL THAN TO SPEAK AND REMOVE ALL DOUBT

Even a fool who keeps silent is considered wise; when he closes his lips, he is deemed intelligent (Proverbs 17:28).

Sometimes the comments to an article are more profound than the article.  I found this gem in the comments section of Town Hall.  There is no space so vacant as an actor without a script.

Our Father's Blessings,
Tom

A SISTER IN CHRIST

I commend to you our sister Phoebe . . . (Romans 16:1).

It was a cold snowy day in Amman, Jordan.  Our flight was to be the first flight out that morning.  We sat on the plane for nearly two hours while the crew attempted to de-ice the plane to prepare it for flight; the plane had about two inches of snow on it.  To me the plane looked the same after their de-icing attempts as before, but the flight crew decided it was time to fly.  The plane taxied to the runway and readied for take-off.  The big jet engines roared when the pilots throttled up for take off.  The big Boeing 747 was lumbering down the runway carrying the weight of the snow as well as spoiling the air flow over the wing; it was taking longer than usual for the plane to lift off.  I noticed one of the stewardesses was as anxious as I was as she made the sign of the cross on herself.  I immediately felt kinship with her as she, in her sign, expressed faith in the same One in whom I believe. 

I thought of this incident as I heard of the massacre of Christians in an Iraqi church.  While there are doctrinal differences of faith that are important, these people died for their faith in Christ--that makes them kin of mine.  Carl Ketcherside, one of my spiritual heroes when I was a young minister, used to say, 'I would rather be wrong about including a person as a brother or sister is in this life than to arrive in heaven and find that I had wrongly excluded them.'  To live as a committed Christian in a muslim nation is difficult!!!  The little stewardess was not ashamed of her faith in Christ, so there is a kinship that is meaningful to me to this day.

The family of God is found in every nation and every race and every tongue.  What a wonderful day it will be when we are all at home together.

Our Father's Blessings,
Tom

MEDIOCRITY

. . . are you not of the flesh, and behaving like ordinary men? (I Corinthians 3:3).

It has been a busy harvest season, and we in the upper Midwest have to get ready for winter.  Other responsibilities, as well, have left me with a huge writing block, so I apologize for writing with much less frequency than I should.  The way one breaks through a writing block is to write, so that is what I am doing.

This is a little desperate, but I saw this quote by Joseph Heller in the Jewish World Review this morning that made me laugh--and it is true.  I thought it to be worthy of sharing with you: Some men are born mediocre.  Some men achieve mediocrity.  And some men have mediocrity thrust upon them.  How has it come to you?

Our Father's Blessings,
Tom

NOTES ON HOW THE GOSPEL CHANGED THE WORLD

.How beautiful are the feet of those who preach good news! (Romans 10:15).

The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor.  He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and recovering of sigh to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed, to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord (Luke 4:15-18).

For God so love the world that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.  For God sent the Son into the world, not to condemn the world but that the world might be saved through him (John 3:16-17).

My thoughts have not been refined on this topic so they might sound a little awkward when you read them--feel free to comment, though I'm sure that Husker Red will comment in any case.

Literally, the word "gospel" means, "Good message."  Now what is a good message to some is not a good message to others.  Those who have a vested interest in keeping things as they are do not welcome a message that can be life-changing!  When a member of a dysfunctional family begins to act positively and bring about change in the family, one other member of the family will always undermine and sabotage the functioning family member so that nothing will really change.

It is important to understand that concept as I talk about how the gospel changed the world.  Significant positive change will never happen without opposition, so it is understandable that the first Christians faced great opposition and persecution as they began to live their lives for Christ.

But the gospel about Jesus Christ really did change the world!  I have been perusing a book my son Paul gave me called, The Rise of Christianity by Rodney Stark.  Having been through a Bible College church history class and a seminary church history class, I thought I knew a lot about church history, but Dr. Stark gave me a few things to think about.  My thoughts written here are reflections from reading his book.

The first Christian missionaries first went to the Greco-Roman cities.  Because city walls were expensive to build, they limited expansion.  Thus, the population behind them became very dense with densities approaching modern-day Calcutta and Bombay.  Add to that the animals that were required for transportation and business and crowding was intense.  The streets were less than 10 feet wide.  Roman law limited the upward limit of housing to about 60 feet--these houses frequently collapsed.  There was no privacy.  A family might have only one room.  Though sewers were built, they were for the wealthy, otherwise they were open pits.  Those who found the stairs to steep and the journey too long to the pit simply emptied the contents of the chamber pot on to the street.  Good water was very scarce as well, so a bath seldom, if ever, occurred for the poor.  Crime rates were extremely high so venturing out after dark was extremely dangerous.  All of this needed to be said so that it is understood that disease was rampant and life was hellish behind the city walls.  The average life expectancy was less than thirty.  Adding to this was the different ethnicities in the city.  In Antioch, the fourth largest city in the empire, there were 18 different ethnic divisions. It was into this environment that Christians brought the gospel.  The result of the gospel was a culture that made life in the city more stable and tolerable because the gospel is about God and the life to come!

First, the good message says that God loves people.  The simplicity of John 3:16 was astounding to those of the first centuries of the Christian era.  The gods only demanded service, then they might do something good for the worshipper, but they did not care for the worshipper.  OTOH, the basis for human behavior is the love of our Father in Heaven.  The worship and the moral behavior He demands is for our good and our welfare.   The change in behavior resulting from the preaching of the gospel was the birth of a counter culture which brought a better life here as well as ensuring a life to come.

The gospel was good news to the children.  Both Plato and Aristotle taught that infanticide was legitimate state policy.  As a result, unwanted children were routinely exposed, left to die.  Of course, it was Christian teaching that the killing of innocent life is murder.  There were two kinds of people who picked up exposed infants to care for them, those from the pagan temples who reared them to be prostitutes and the Christians who took their faith seriously.

The gospel was good news for women.  It might seem strange that the life expectancy for a woman was shorter in those times than for men, but there were reasons for this.  In the Roman world there were about 135 men for every 100 women.  Reasons for a higher female mortality rate were infanticide, females were not as highly valued as men, sexually transmitted diseases and abortion.  Only the women of Sparta in the ancient world enjoyed much higher esteem and thus lived longer as well.  Christianity demanded sexual fidelity of men in marriage, condemned infanticide and abortion and entitled women with the same inheritance as men (Galatians 3:27-29).

The gospel was good news to the poor and the sick. Because of the gospel, they were seen as objects of God's love.  In 165 during the reign of Marcus Aurelius, what is thought to be the first smallpox epidemic swept the Roman empire.  During the 15 year duration of the epidemic, between a quarter and a third of the population died of the disease.  Then in 251 a new and equally devastating epidemic that is thought to have been the measles swept over the empire again.  These mortality rates are of the book-of-Revelation proportions!  Depopulation was severe not only because of death, but because people of means could flee the plagues, but Christians did not flee.  They practiced their Christian faith, giving a drink of water in the name of Jesus, not fearing death because of the heavenly life to come.  Generally, the pagans left the sick to die, but Christians nursed the sick.  The gospel gave meaning to their work because they viewed heaven as their destination and the epidemic was merely schooling for the life to come.  The gospel says that God demonstrates his love through sacrifice and that Christians must demonstrate love in the same way.  The plagues did not "passover" the Christians, but their mortality was much less, about 20% less, due to simple nursing, food and water.  The pagans noticed this and many were converted as a result.

CONCLUSIONS: A culture is what it believes.  The more I study history the more I believe that had Christ not come into the world, it would be a vastly different place than it is now; not advancing beyond the "Greco-Roman" level of advancement because a sufficient foundation for advancement could not be built.  Without commenting on Islam, which is another study that verifies my conclusion, the pagan cultures could not explain or give reason why one should be charitable to the sick and the dying.  The emperor, Julian, who hated Christians, nevertheless admired their charity, tried to mobilize the pagans to charity, but could not because they had no reason to.

Our Father's Blessings,
Tom

DOES PSALMS 51:5 SUPPORT THE DOCTRINE OF ORIGINAL SIN?

Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin did my mother conceive me (Psalms 51:5).

Short answer, no.  As is often the case in the Psalms and Proverbs, this is a Hebrew parallelism.  The second half of the sentence defines the first.  The circumstances of the conception do not mean that the results of the conception are tainted with sin.  Actually, David understood the systemic nature of sin, sin is my family history.  David could have said, "Ten generations ago (see Ruth 4:12-22; Matt. 1:2-6; Genesis 38:12-30; Deuteronomy 23:2) my family was conceived in sin and I did what my family has always done."  A sinful family system has an immediate influence on a conceived, innocent baby, unborn and newborn.  A pregnant woman who smokes, drinks, over eats, is unmarried has negatively influenced the little one immediately after conception.  At birth, anger, lack of self discipline, over work and under involvement, dysfunctional relationship with dad, etc. all are part of a sinful family system and exert a huge amount of sinful influence on the baby.  When I counsel, on the second session, I have the counselee do a genogram, a 3 or 4 generation family history that helps me to understand both the negative and positive dynamics  that have influenced my client.

Truth be told, we are all in sinful family systems, but that does not mean that the new-born is a sinner at birth!  It only means that he/she was born into a sinful family and as a result, will become a sinner.

In short, the new-born will experience some of the consequences of the parent's sin, but none of the guilt of the parent's sin. 

Regardless of what I have said above, the genre is poetry and thus highly emotional.  That's hardly the basis on which to build Christian doctrine.

Our Father's Blessings,
Tom

FOR WHOM TO VOTE?

. . . choose this day whom you will serve . . .but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord (Joshua 24:15).

The Bible does not speak about what form of civil government is superior to another, but in God's dealing with human kind, He gives human beings the freedom to choose who they will follow.  The freedom to choose our civil leaders in one of those God-given, inalienable rights with which human beings have been endowed. 

For whom, then, should we vote?  For me, the litmus test is life; where does the candidate stand on protecting the most innocent and vulnerable life, the unborn?  I do not consider myself a single issue voter, but it seems to me that a candidate's stand on the "life" issue is a window into their soul; is the life in the womb nothing but an unviable tissue mass good only for infant stem cell research or is it a unique human being with its own DNA?  First, being pro life means that the candidate will likely be a person of faith, one who is sensitive to God's perspective.  Thus the judge up for retention will not legislate matters of faith from the bench; civil unions are for the state, marriage is for the institutions of faith. 

Second, if a candidate will stand for the unalienable rights of the unborn, he/she will most likely stand for my rights and freedom.  One who is pro abortion will likely think I am not worth the money when I am elderly. Notice that Medicaid is already being defunded. 

Third, the candidate who is pro life is more likely to understand the economics of freedom.  When people are most free to pursue their vision, working at what interests them, and doing the jobs that step up to their dreams, a great economic dynamo is produced, making more and more prosperity. Government does not produce jobs and money, but government sure can destroy them!  While understanding, because of human nature, that government cannot be completely lazze' fare, the pro life candidate understands the sanctity of the fruits of one's risk and labor, knowing that it is not the government's money!

I like my tea hot.  I like my tea iced.  But know this, no "Bart Stupac" will get my vote!  Stupac was not willing to stand against his party for life.  That kind of luke-warm stand for life will not get my vote.

Our Father's Blessings,
Tom

WATER BAPTISM OR SPIRIT BAPTISM: A FALSE CHOICE (Part 5 in a series).

And the Spirit said to Philip, "Go up and join this chariot." . . . Then Philip opened his mouth, and beginning with this scripture he told him the good news of Jesus,  And as they went along the road they came to some water, and the eunuch said, "See, here is water!  What is to prevent my being baptized?" (Acts 8:29,35-36).

The anti water baptists would have you believe that every reference to baptism in the New Testament is Spirit baptism; they would have you believe that I Peter 3:21 is Spirit baptism if the context didn't prevent it, so then they try to tell you why it doesn't mean what it says.  As I have taught earlier, water and Spirit baptism are two facets of the one baptism (See part 4).  From the text above, the providence of the Spirit moves people to be baptized as well as being the baptizer (I Corinthians 12:13).

Preaching the gospel also demanded teaching a response to the gospel, and baptism was taught as part of the response to the gospel.  In the conversion stories of Acts, faith isn't always mentioned because it is obvious that it exists when a person asks in response to hearing the gospel, "Men and brethren, what should we do?" It is interesting that in the conversion accounts, not once is a person instructed to pray the sinners prayer, or bow his head and raise his hand, or some equivalent.  Baptism in water with the acaccompanying Holy Spirit was the normal response to the gospel.  That was the understanding at the writing of the New Testament and is how it should be understood when one encounters baptism when studying the New Testament, unless it is an obvious metaphor.

for in Christ Jesus you are all sons of God, through faith.  For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ.  There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus (Galatians 3:26-28).

Our Father's Blessings,
Tom

Note:  Whole books have been written on this subject, but I have decided to end the series with this post.  I have painted with some very long and broad strokes, but I can back them up with credible scholarship.  I understand why there is disagreement on this subject, but as teachers and preachers of the gospel we have the responsibility to rise above the creeds and systematic theologies and teach truthfully from the Bible.

BAPTISM AND THE HOLY SPIRIT (4th in a series)

. . . one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of us all . . . (Ephesians 4:5-6a RSV).

When the people heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the othe apostles, "Brothers, what shall we do?"  Peter replied, "Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ so that your sins may be forgiven.  And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit" (Acts 2:37-38 NIV).

For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body--Jews or Greeks, slaves or free--and all were made to drink of one Spirit (I Corinthians 12:13 RSV).

One of the characteristics of Christian baptism that is different from John's baptism is the Holy Spirit.  John's was, like Christian baptism, an immersion in water on condition of repentence for the forgiveness of sin.  The Holy Spirit was not a part of the promise of John's baptism (Note: Acts 19:1-3. Rebaptism was necessary in this case.).  If the Holy Spirit is not involved in the baptism, it is not Christian baptism. 

So how is it that there is but one Christian baptism, yet it appears that there are two baptisms that are a part of conversion, one in water and one in the Spirit?  John 3:5 gives us a clue:  . . . unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God (RSV).   There is one baptism with two facets, the outward baptism in water which dramatizes ones faith in the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ and the inward baptism of the Spirit, which is the surrender our our spirit to the renewing of the Holy Spirit.  Romans 6:6 indicates the baptism of the Spirit when it says, For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body of sin might be rendered powerless, that we should no longer be slaves to sin--because anyone who has died has been freed from sin (Roman 6:6-7).

Have you received the one baptism?

Our Father's Blessings
Tom