Selfishness, not Kindness

"Many leaders who struggle with [holding those they lead accountable] (again, I’m one of them) will try to convince themselves that their reluctance [to confront behavioural problems] is a product of their kindness; they just don’t want to make their employees feel bad. But an honest reassessment of their motivation will allow them to admit that they are the ones who don’t want to feel bad and that failing to hold someone accountable is ultimately an act of selfishness. After all, there is nothing noble about withholding information that can help an employee improve. Eventually that employee’s lack of improvement is going to come back to haunt him in a performance review or when he is let go. And I’m pretty sure there is nothing kind about firing someone who has not been confronted about his performance."

 The Advantage: Why Organizational Health Trumps Everything Else In Business by Patrick M. Lencioni 

Is the Bible Enough?

Isaiah 2:1-3 The word that Isaiah the son of Amoz saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem. And it shall come to pass in the last days, that the mountain of the LORD'S house shall be established in the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills; and all nations shall flow unto it. And many people shall go and say, Come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths: for out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem.

In the Millennial Kingdom, when Christ sits upon His throne in Jerusalem, people will long to hear the Word of God. They happy multitude move like a stream flowing uphill to be in God's house. The cry of that day will be "let's go to the house of God!" There will be a desire to hear the Word, to hear listen to the law, to learn from Christ Himself of His ways. The Zion will published forth the law of God and the nations will receive it in joy.

It's quite a different attitude now. Isaiah turned from the blessed scene of the future to what he saw. A nation that had the word of God but didn't find any joy or satisfaction.

Isaiah 2:6 Therefore thou hast forsaken thy people the house of Jacob, because they be replenished from the east, and are soothsayers like the Philistines, and they please themselves in the children of strangers.

They were not replenished, or satisfied, with God's word. They went and looked for satisfaction and fulfillment in the east. God has spoken to the house of Jacob. God had revealed Himself and His will in the law and the prophets and God had provided a glimpse of the blessed future that awaited them when the Messiah would come. But that wasn't enough. Instead of the sure testimony of God, they went and looked for satisfaction in the fortune tellers. Rather than finding fulfillment in God, they looked for it with the ungodly men.

In the future kingdom, the word of God will be enough. It will satisfy and fulfill. Now – not so much. Let us hear from the pundits and the prognosticators. Let us hear from the celebrities and the politicians. Give us entertainment to please us. The Bible isn't enough for people. Knowing what God says isn't enough anymore. It is the heartbreaking reality that most people do not want to hear from God. It will be enough in the Millennial Kingdom, but it doesn't seem like it's enough today.

This glimpse of this future kingdom should be an encouragement to faithful men to keep preaching the Word. A stream flowing uphill is a miracle. And it takes a miracle of grace to change the heart of men to love to hear the Word of Christ. The means God uses in accomplishing this is the published gospel of Christ. Keep declaring thus saith the Lord, because the Bible is enough.

Vain Religion

As you read Isaiah 1:10-20, you discover that God’s people were doing the right things. They were offering sacrifices, like God commanded. They were coming to the temple, as God told them to. They were observing the Sabbaths and the feast days, as dictated in the law. The problem was not neglecting to obey the outward requirements as God commanded. The problem was God's people were going through the motions of worship without having a heart of adoration towards God.

God wanted his people to love him (Deuteronomy 10:12) and to devote themselves body and soul to Him and Him alone. As they entered the temple or as they prayed, they were to come to God in love and offer up their sacrifices. By faith, look to these ordinances as figures and shadows of the Messiah to come. As a result, their “worship” was actually repulsive to God. It disgusted Him and made Him angry because they had no thought of God or no fear of God as they supposedly worshiped. Their dead religion did not draw them in good standing with God, it had the opposite effect.

This is the fatal folly of trying to earn favor with God by good works. The offering given to God to gain goodwill with God, merely angers God and brings judgment. Yes, the Lord calls his people to do good works, but not good works to earn God’s approval. Judah did not come to Him in faith, offering their sacrifices and prayers to God as acts of worship.

We could draw a parallel to every Sunday in America. In every town, there are pews filled with people who have gathered to put in their time, do their duty and get back to the house in time for kickoff. What do you imagine God thinks about that worship? Singing “Amazing grace, how sweet the sound” while we are thinking about lunch. How about spending a few minutes in prayer and having no idea what you are saying; just mouthing words instead of offering prayer. Reading the Scripture, like God has instructed us, checking off the daily chapters to make sure you read, but you have no idea what was on the pages your eyes just glossed over. Outwardly going through the motions.

None of those things are wrong. In fact, you should go to church. You ought to pray, sing, and read your Bible. I’m not telling you to stop any more that God was telling His people to stop offering the sacrifices He demanded them to offer. Instead of dead religion, have a relationship. Instead of mindlessly going through the motions, thinking that you are getting on God’s good side through your works, come to God, by faith, through Jesus Christ and know Him as the perfect Saviour He is. God's call was not to stop worshiping, but to repent of their sins, serve from a clean heart by faith. This can only happened through the cleansing blood of Christ (Isaiah 1:16-18).

Against the Gods by John D. Currid

Unbelief is amazing. Though the book is dealing with the relationship between the Old Testament and the religious beliefs of nations surrounding Israel, the real issue at hand is unbelief. Currid takes accounts from the text of the Bible and show that the authors were not plagiarizing other religions,

Though perhaps not intended, the book is a good case study in presuppositions. The unbelieving scholars come to the evidence with the presupposition that the Bible is merely literature, so everything they see is going to confirm their unbelief. So it is always Israel borrowing from the pagans and never the other way around. I appreciate the evidence Currid brings to the table, but no amount of evidence is going to convince the unbeliever. I also was struck by the supposed “parallels” in some of the cases. Some of these pagan myths were hardly parallels, but at best, similar in some regard.

The problem that I had with the book was in some cases, he takes the polemic problem too far. In a comparison of the rod of Moses and the rod of Pharaoh were “linguistic parallels” and “the very events and objects of the episode as a critique of Egyptian practice. What a masterful, skillful, and profound way to argue! It truly stands as a monument to the literary genius of the Exodus author.” What a strange argument to make. There are other places where he asserted Biblical authority and condemned those who condemned the Scripture. But “literary genius”? Imagine if I found a parallel between an ancient myth and the Battle at Gettysburg. Would I describe an historians account of the battle to be “literary genius”? Certainly, God may have and likely, in His providence, mocked the gods of Egypt in the plagues and in the rod, but that is God in His power, not a literary device of the inspired author.

I prefer a more full-throated apologetic, especially from a book that is on the polemics of the Old Testament. I will refer back to this work, especially as reference to the pagan myths. Since much of the archeological finds have been in the last 200 years, so there is a lot of new information about these ancient civilizations. I appreciated the stress and the defense of the polemic nature of some of the Old Testament. But all truth is God’s truth. If something is true, then even those imaginary myths will borrow from what is true. Of course there are flood myths from different cultures. The flood really happened and all cultures descended from Noah’s family, who survived the flood. As Currid pointed out, a person who denies God will seek to find anyway to pervert known truth to deny the true God.


but in many cases, simply mocking their beliefs and their gods.

Ordination - Tuesday with Timothy #59

1 Timothy 4:14 Neglect not the gift that is in thee, which was given thee by prophecy, with the laying on of the hands of the presbytery.

The Holy Spirit gave Timothy this gift - not the presbytery - when He called Timothy, and provided this gift to carry out the ministry. The giving of the gift accompanied the laying on of hands of the elders. I believe that the gift of the Holy Spirit in preaching is not dependent upon other men laying hands. The Spirit gives gifts at His sovereign pleasure and just because a man has been ordained does not mean he has been given gifts to preach  and visa versa. But when God calls a man to the ministry, the Holy Spirit will provide the man the power to do the job. When the church sets a man apart for the work, the Lord will bless him to do the work. Having said that, this gift could be neglected. Timothy would need to diligently work to improve and strengthen himself in the ministry. There are two errors to avoid here. The first, considering that the ministry is a mere intellectual exercise and there is no spiritual component to preaching or being a pastor. The other is believing that getting "the call" means that you live however you want, never read, study, pray, apply yourself, but just show up and preach "what the Lord laid on your heart" Saturday night while you were watching TV.

The gift Timothy received at the time of his ordination accompanied a  prophecy. I believe this was a special, prophetical word that accompanied the ordination, not just someone preaching a sermon. The Holy Spirit confirmed to all (maybe especially to Timothy) that it was the will of God for Timothy to preach. The presbytery, or the body or council of elders, laid hands on Timothy, which was a common practice and is one of the basics that Christians ought to know about (Hebrews 6:1-2). In the book of Acts, laying on of hands was either to pray and to bless or to pray and set apart for the work of the ministry. The presbytery prayed for Timothy, laid their hands on him as the church ordained him to gospel ministry.

What's an elder? Elders, in general, were men who have authority in a particular group. Starting in the Old Testament, this was how the Jewish people ruled and governed themselves, and continued through the New Testament (Luke 22:66). In 1 Chronicles 24-25, David divided the priesthood into  24 orders. Elders or chiefs would represent the whole priesthood, 24 Chief Priests and 1 High Priest. In the church, elders were representatives and leader (Acts 15:2; 20:17) who were called to shepherd the church from that local body. Being an elder, doesn't necessarily mean one has to be an old man to be one, but it does mean that one should have the wisdom that comes with maturity, that one would expect from an older man. Timothy, being a young man in age, was a mature Christian man, entrusted to be an elder of the church, to lead and shepherd God's church. The presbytery was a group of other ordained men, and they laid hands on Timothy and prayed for him as he was set apart for the work of the ministry, recognizing God's call in his life and his aptness for the work. You see this with the deacons as well in Acts 6:6.

Who were the elders? We don't know. Those that vouched for Timothy were from two different cities, Lystra and Iconium, likely being two different churches (Acts 16:1-3). Paul had just recently ordained elders in these cities and surrounding cities (Acts 14:21-23). I suppose your view of church government will determine how you answer the question of who these elders were. If these passages from Acts are the places where Timothy was ordained, it would appear that more than one church participated in the ordination. While it is true that elders in the context of the church is referred in the plural, it is also true that a many of the passages referring to elders is also talking about more than one church, or it is unclear, such as this passage.

The Solitary Reaper

By
William Wordsworth

Behold her, single in the field,
Yon solitary Highland Lass!
Reaping and singing by herself;
Stop here, or gently pass!
Alone she cuts and binds the grain,
And sings a melancholy strain;
O listen! for the Vale profound
Is overflowing with the sound.

No Nightingale did ever chaunt
More welcome notes to weary bands
Of travellers in some shady haunt,
Among Arabian sands:
A voice so thrilling ne'er was heard
In spring-time from the Cuckoo-bird,
Breaking the silence of the seas
Among the farthest Hebrides.

Will no one tell me what she sings?—
Perhaps the plaintive numbers flow
For old, unhappy, far-off things,
And battles long ago:
Or is it some more humble lay,
Familiar matter of to-day?
Some natural sorrow, loss, or pain,
That has been, and may be again?

Whate'er the theme, the Maiden sang
As if her song could have no ending;
I saw her singing at her work,
And o'er the sickle bending;—
I listened, motionless and still;
And, as I mounted up the hill,
The music in my heart I bore,
Long after it was heard no more.

This crowd is bigger

I'm preaching through Revelation on Sunday evenings and we are in chapter five this week and this chapter came a good time for me. After the pro-abortion feminist marches over the weekend that pretended to be concerned about women, combined with the ridiculousness of comparing the size of inauguration crowds, I was refreshed thinking about this crowd. Millions and millions of blood bought saints of God gathered around the throne in perfect unity, shouting praises to the Lamb, the Redeemer, the Savior.

They celebrated because the Lamb was there to take and open the book. There is only one man who was worthy to open it. No man in history, no man living today is worthy to open the book. No celebrities. No leaders. No generals. No one was worthy. The angels dropped their head, not able to answer the call. But Jesus, from the midst of the throne stood and took the book of redemption. The Worthy One, the Lion of the tribe of Judah has prevailed.

If the size of the crowd means anything, this crowd is bigger and I'm glad to be part of it. 

And I saw in the right hand of him that sat on the throne a book written within and on the backside, sealed with seven seals. And I saw a strong angel proclaiming with a loud voice, Who is worthy to open the book, and to loose the seals thereof? And no man in heaven, nor in earth, neither under the earth, was able to open the book, neither to look thereon. And I wept much, because no man was found worthy to open and to read the book, neither to look thereon. And one of the elders saith unto me, Weep not: behold, the Lion of the tribe of Juda, the Root of David, hath prevailed to open the book, and to loose the seven seals thereof. And I beheld, and, lo, in the midst of the throne and of the four beasts, and in the midst of the elders, stood a Lamb as it had been slain, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven Spirits of God sent forth into all the earth. And he came and took the book out of the right hand of him that sat upon the throne. And when he had taken the book, the four beasts and four and twenty elders fell down before the Lamb, having every one of them harps, and golden vials full of odours, which are the prayers of saints. And they sung a new song, saying, Thou art worthy to take the book, and to open the seals thereof: for thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation; And hast made us unto our God kings and priests: and we shall reign on the earth. And I beheld, and I heard the voice of many angels round about the throne and the beasts and the elders: and the number of them was ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands; Saying with a loud voice, Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honour, and glory, and blessing. And every creature which is in heaven, and on the earth, and under the earth, and such as are in the sea, and all that are in them, heard I saying, Blessing, and honour, and glory, and power, be unto him that sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb for ever and ever. And the four beasts said, Amen. And the four and twenty elders fell down and worshipped him that liveth for ever and ever.  (Revelation 5:1-14)

The Older Brother

A multitude has gathered around Jesus (Luke 15:1-2). Some have come to hear Jesus, but others are more than a little upset with the Lord. He was a man who spoke and taught with authority, who wasn't looking up to the Scribes and Pharisees. Rather than praising them, Jesus has begun to condemn them (Luke 11:38-54). They look at Jesus and wonder how this man, who is rebuking them, of all people, can eat with sinners. He is talking to sinners and allowing them to come near and associating themselves.

Jesus, knowing their hearts tells them a parable. "I got a story for you." There was a shepherd who had a 100 sheep and he lost one. He went out and searched until he found the sheep. He picked the sheep up, carried it home, and called all his friends to rejoice with him, he found his sheep. Likewise, Heaven rejoices when the Saviour finds the lost sinner. So far, everyone nods the head in agreement. "Let me tell you another story". There is this woman who lost 10% of all her money, and she turned her house upside down looking for it. By and by, she found the lost money and called everyone she knew and said "rejoice, I found my money!" Likewise, Heaven rejoices when the lost sinner is found by the Saviour. Scribes, Pharisees, and sinners all nod the head. Good stories.

Jesus has one more tale. There was this family, a Dad and two boys. The younger boy got a little restless and wanted his  inheritance cashed out so he could get out of the house. He ends up wasting all his money partying and living it up. He ends up in the gutter, eating with the hogs. Finally, he comes to his senses. "Daddy's servants are better off than I am right now.  I'll go back home and be his slave and at least have a full belly." So he goes back home and before he can get in the drive way, Daddy runs to him and rejoices. The lost son! "Clean the boy up, kill the calf, and throw a party, have everyone come and rejoice!"  And everyone does. Everyone but the older brother. He was mad because he never left and he never had a party. Why didn't Daddy ever throw him a party?
The Pharisees and Scribes were the elder brother. They could understand rejoicing over a found sheep, a found coin, even a found son - in the story. But in real life, they were not rejoicing. Heaven rejoiced when lost sinner are found, but they were self-righteous.  They were good and deserving of honor. They would have preferred the younger brother to have remained lost so they could cluck their tongue at the poor sinner. The Pharisees didn't rejoice that Jesus saved sinners. It's hard to be happy at a lost sinner being saved if you really don't think you were every lost, or needed saving.

Bird Tragedy

By
Geerhardus Vos

Ye birds, no fence can bar you out,
Whether of steel or stone,
From any garden of delight
Ye choose to make your own.

Yours were the freedom of the fields,
Could ye beware the nets,
Which, to beguile your innocence,
The crafty fowler sets.

Yours is the sky up to the clouds;
But from huge birds of prey
Is no defence: they lurk and watch,
Swoop down and clutch and slay.

One moment, and a feathery ball
Floats fluttering on the air;
No one knows, did it reach the earth,
Or, if it did so, where.

Should by incalculable chance
It light upon the spot,
Where hung the sheltering mother-nest,
The place would know it not.

What a pathetic tragedy,
That such things should befall,
In ways so disproportionate,
The big upon the small!

Come, hear the Preacher of the Mount
His wonder-sermon preach:
“No sparrow falleth to the ground
Outside my Father’s reach.”

Ye more than sparrows through his grace,
All your anxiety,
Your heights and depths, your falls and flights
He has in memory.

All creatures are, with Him compared,
Mere nothings; none the less
He can reclaim a ravished bird
From next to nothingness.

What does "Rising from the Dead" Mean?

Mark 9:9-10  And as they came down from the mountain, he charged them that they should tell no man what things they had seen, till the Son of man were risen from the dead.  And they kept that saying with themselves, questioning one with another what the rising from the dead should mean.
Jesus took James, John, and Peter up on the mount where they saw the glory of Jesus. They also saw Jesus talking with Moses and Elijah and heard God the Father say "This is my beloved Son: hear him." Pretty amazing. Jesus told them not to tell anyone about what they saw until after he rose from the dead. They began talking among themselves about "what the rising from the dead should mean." That is amazing too. How much clearer could Jesus have been? He said "until the Son of man were risen from the dead" and the disciples wondered what He meant. Jesus couldn't have spoken the truth any plainer but the disciples wouldn't hear. They had their own presuppositions about what was going to happen next.  They had their own way of thinking about how the world works.

What Jesus told them didn't fit into their system. They believed at any time, Jesus was going to go into Jerusalem and take over. Any day now, Jesus was going to be King. Soon, they thought, Jesus was going to crush the Roman Empire and set Israel free. But their notion of what was going to happen did not coincide with the truth. Jesus was going to die, and they didn't want to hear it. So they didn't hear it, even when Jesus told them as much.

We might shake our heads at the dullness of the disciples, but is it any different than how we can approach the Bible? When we come across a command that we don't like or a truth that makes us uncomfortable, do we believe the plain truth we read? Or, do we do a word study to try and figure out what it REALLY means? The truth can be unsettling when we come to see that it goes against our preconceived notions. It can turn our world upside-down.

The disciples could have asked Jesus what he meant. They also could have compared what they heard with other messages He had given. When a confusing passage presents itself, compare Scripture with Scripture. Yes, do a word study if you don't understand what you are reading, but study to understand, not to explain away. Unbelief takes clear passages and makes them fuzzy, confusing, and nuanced. When God rebukes you or the culture you love, don't start looking for a way out of believing. Don't twist the truth in order to ignore the truth and harden your heart. When God rebukes your lifestyle; when God rebukes your view of marriage, don't rebel against the Lord by looking for a way to make God always agree with you.