Time as we know it is not eternal, it is created. Before there was time there was God. After time ends there will be God. This is one reason God refers to himself as I Am. God is infinite, he cannot be measured by time. He simply and profoundly is. Time is temporal, having to do with what is temporary. As Paul says, don’t focus on what is temporary, but focus on eternity. Faith has to do with eternity. This means that faith is rooted not in time but in the person and character of God! For example, when we say, “I have faith everything will work out,” our understanding of faith is misplaced. Faith is not primarily about everything […]
Apologetics
He Rules With Truth and Grace (Part 4 of 4) Verse four of “Joy to the World” completes the biblical worldview contained in this Christmas hymn. This last verse is a dynamic testimony to the power of the gospel. The King: who was anticipated in the first verse, celebrated for his rule in the second verse, and viewed as the Savior of this sin-cursed world in third, now is praised for bringing a just judgment to the world. Life often appears to be unfair and unjust. Will evil people prevail? Will the hard things in your life ever be resolved? Corruption and perversion are everywhere. The Holy Spirit says there is no need to despair at the apparent inequities […]
The Savior Reigns! (Part 2 of 4) The second verse of “Joy to the World” builds on the theme of the first verse, where Isaac Watts anticipates the coming king. Now he exults in the current reign of Christ. This is the next foundation stone in constructing a biblical worldview based on this hymn. This truth is simple, yet profound – if Jesus is reigning, it is a good thing. Here is the second verse: Joy to the World, the Savior reigns! Let men their songs employ; While fields and floods, rocks, hills and plains Repeat the sounding joy… All that is good, noble, and excellent in life stems from the glory and goodness of God, not from any other […]
Let Earth Receive Her King! (Part 1 of 4) Worldview can be an intimidating topic to discuss, let alone teach to your children. Isaac Watts has done the church a huge favor in putting a biblical worldview in the form of a song—the Christmas Carol, “Joy to the World.” In this post and in 3 upcoming posts we will look at each of the hymn’s four verses and see how they combine to offer a compelling worldview that brings honor to God. By singing and believing this carol you have the basics for teaching a biblical worldview to your family! Isaac Watts’ Christmas carol is one of the most beloved of all the Christmas hymns. The words (at least the first […]
On a quiet night, the sky erupted with the praise of heaven to shepherds in a pasture with their sheep. In an age of global communication and media fanfare, it seems unsettling that the most important announcement ever made to humans was given to just a few shepherds. They had no political connections. They were not celebrities with social media connections. I don’t believe they even had a youtube channel. Yet the angels gave them the wondrous message of Christmas that was meant for all people. Glory to God in the highest heaven, and peace on earth to people he favors! However, this message was broadcast in ways quite different from the internet and social media channels. It was proclaimed […]
The Holy Spirit makes a statement about the uniqueness of God in Psalm 62. It is a simple, straightforward declaration: He alone is my rock and my salvation, my fortress where I will never be shaken. When David says God alone is his rock and his place of safety, he means just that. God is the only safe place. He is not one option among many possibilities. He is the only option, period. There is no person, place, or thing that can take God’s place. The greatest miscalculation that any person can make is to believe that there are other places of security besides God. This does not mean that we can’t find peace and safety in people, places, or […]
For everything there is a season, a time for every activity under heaven. Monday was the beginning of Fall and Spring, depending on which side of the equator you reside. The Sun’s direction relative to the equator will be to the south until 11:19 p.m. December 21st when it starts its six-month journey northward again. This is the way it has been and the way it will be as long as God intends. The Sun’s annual trek means that the earth will be constantly exposed to changing angles of the Sun’s intense heat. It is this movement that produces our seasons. The changing seasons produce the rains that produce the crops that feed and nourish you and me. Psalm 65 […]
Change is coming for your children. They will live in a different world than the one that greeted you when you left home. It is a world that views social media as a moral compass. Constantly changing public opinion pools drive online and cable news. Personal fulfillment has become life’s most important focus. Morality is measured by individual desires and lusts. This is the climate that shapes the culture you children will inhabit. It is true that these themes have been emerging for the last couple of decades. However, what will strongly impact your children is that now there is no biblical, social counter-balance to this trend. Biblical Christianity is equated with hatred in this emergent world. Christianity has become […]
Another shooting. Funnel clouds forming. People dying. Families broken. Lives shattered. Hatred rules. Where is safety? It was another quiet Sunday. Church had just ended. All seems normal until some motorcycles ride onto the church property. The pastor and 5 other men are pulled out and ordered “Convert to Islam or die.” They refuse, and they are executed, one-by-one behind the church.* Yes, this is a normal Sunday afternoon in Burkina Faso and in many other countries in sub-Saharan Africa. Many news agencies, including the BBC, are reporting that thousands and thousands are being slaughtered for their Christian faith, to the point it is being called genocide. Where is safety? Twelve people in Virginia Beach are murdered by a co-worker […]
Humans have somehow gotten the idea that God is optional. We have come to think that God is a choice, that we can take him or leave him as we think best. But the universe doesn’t work that way. Everything was formed at the command of God and designed to function as he determined, people included. As Paul told the leading thinkers of the Greek-Roman world, everyone depends on God for everything, including their next breath. People think God can be picked up or discarded as we choose. If you had the power to make that choice, you would be God! We exist at God’s command, to function how he designed. God is the ruler all that we see. Our […]