Signs of the Everlasting Covenants

I have just completed the text of my fourth book in "The Faith" series. This one, that is now going out for proofreading, and endorsements, is entitled "Living the Faith", and is based on the Letter from James. There is, however, an Appendix on what is referred to as "Replacement Theology" or "Supersessionism". Preparing that, over recent weeks, has made me think a lot about Bible covenants and, in this post, I want to share on four of them.

The first mention of the key word "covenant" is in Genesis 6:18, where God promised to establish a covenant with Noah after the Flood. "I will establish My covenant with you; and you shall come into the ark, you, your sons, your wife, and your sons’ wives with you." 

This everlasting covenant was made with all the earth's future populations and is still in effect, symbolized continually by the beautiful rainbow arching through the sky after rain. "When the bow is in the clouds, I will look upon it and remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is upon the earth." (Gen. 9:16)

Almighty God also made an everlasting covenant with Abraham and Isaac. "And I will establish my covenant between me and you and your descendants after you throughout their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be God to you and to your descendants after you. And I will give to you, and to your descendants after you, the land of your sojournings, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession; and I will be their God." (Gen. 17:7-8). This time, the symbol of God's everlasting covenant between them and their descendants, the people of Israel, was that of circumcision, "You shall be circumcised in the flesh of your foreskins, and it shall be a sign of the covenant between Me and you." (Gen. 17:11).

There is still another everlasting covenant with the Children of Israel. "I will make with them an everlasting covenant, that I will not turn away from doing good to them; and I will put the fear of Me in their hearts, that they may not turn from Me." (Jeremiah 32:40). These are just some of the covenants that Almighty God has made with the Children of Israel, and that confirm their right to the land that is now the State of Israel.

Finally, God has made this "new covenant" applicable to all of the saved and, this time, the sign of the covenant is nothing less than the precious blood of the Christ, shed on our behalf. "Now may the God of peace, Who through the blood of the eternal covenant brought back from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great Shepherd of the sheep, equip you with everything good for doing His will, and may He work in us what is pleasing to Him, through Jesus Christ, to Whom be glory for ever and ever. " (Hebrews 13:20-21). 

Are you in that covenant relationship? If not, why not? If I may be of any assistance, please feel free to contact me at the e-mail address at the top of the page.

In the Beginning - Pt.11

11 chapters; 11 posts! I didn't set out to produce this much, but what feedback there has been has been positive, so I trust that many others who read these weekly messages will have been helped by our thinking about these seminal chapters of the written Word of Almighty God, the Bible.

However, we are at the end - I have no wish to go through the various genealogies, important 'though they are in their own way - as we look at Gen.11:1-9: « Now the whole earth had one language and few words.  And as men migrated from the east, they found a plain in the land of Shinar and settled there. And they said to one another, "Come, let us make bricks, and burn them thoroughly." And they had brick for stone, and bitumen for mortar. Then they said, "Come, let us build ourselves a city, and a tower with its top in the heavens, and let us make a name for ourselves, lest we be scattered abroad upon the face of the whole earth." And the Lord came down to see the city and the tower, which the sons of men had built. And the Lord said, "Behold, they are one people, and they have all one language; and this is only the beginning of what they will do; and nothing that they propose to do will now be impossible for them. Come, let us go down, and there confuse their language, that they may not understand one another's speech." So the Lord scattered them abroad from there over the face of all the earth, and they left off building the city. Therefore its name was called Ba'bel, because there the Lord confused the language of all the earth; and from there the Lord scattered them abroad over the face of all the earth. »

It was the Augustinian monk and founder of the Order, Augustine, who coined the phrase « Man proposes, but God disposes. » However, Solomon perhaps put it best in Prov. 19:21 : « Many are the plans in the mind of a man, but it is the purpose of YHWH that will be established. » When we read this episode in the history of humanity, we realise just how true this is!

Notice the opening words - « ... one language and few words. ». As one who has lived in France for, now, seven years I would love that that situation could have continued! Of course, this unity of language of the whole human race followed from the unity of its descent from one human pair. 

In Gen.10:8, we discover that Cush, Noah's grandson, « … became the father of Nimrod; he was the first on earth to be a mighty man. ». We also discover, in 10:10, that he was a man of ambition, who established a kingdom, beginning with Babel, in the land of Shinar. This land was the setting for the record that we are now considering. By the way, Babel and Babylon are identical. The first is the transliteration of the Hebrew language word, the second is the Greek language equivalent.

Babel was the first centre of civilisation in the ancient, post-Flood, world. It was famed for its "ziggurats" - tall, wide-based, stepped towers; and its name even meant "gate of the gods". However, their gods were their own perceived cleverness and power - and how many counterparts they have today! In the Bible, Babel/Babylon is the type of society without God (see, e.g., Rev. 17-18). Here, the true God scorns the self-reliant pride of the inhabitants - their great power is actually so puny that He has to "come down" to see the city and its tower! Of course, Almighty God doesn't have to literally investigate what is happening in His universe. The language is used simply in order to make a point in anthropomorphic terms. I think, too, of the words of Psalm 2: 2-4 - worth looking up! 

This infamous project was, effectively, an arrogant « spitting in the face » of Almighty God. They wanted to « … make a name for themselves, ». Was this a follow-on from the first temptation of the satan, at which we looked earlier? They wanted it to be « a tower with its top in the heavens, » - to be   « like God »? It was certainly a revolutionary act! In Gen.9:1, Noah and his family were instructed to « Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth. ». These people wanted to stay, together, in one place. However, the firm establishment of an ungodly unity, the wickedness and audacity of men would have led to fearful enterprises. A society without God at its centre falls apart into communication breakdown, and international disputes - and we are seeing evidence of that in our own time!

« A society without God at its centre falls apart. » and so does an individual! Augustine also said that « Thou hast made us for Thyself, O God, and our hearts are restless until they find their rest in Thee » A modern equivalent is «There's a God-shaped hole in every heart that only God can fill. » Those words are usually attributed to the 17th century French philosopher and mathematician, Blaise Pascal. Sadly, he didn't use those precise words! However, they are catchy enough, and are not far from what he did write: « There is a God-shaped vacuum in the heart of every man, and only God can fill it. »  If you are finding life to be heavy going; if you sometimes feel that you are coming apart at the seams; if you have reached the end of your tether; may I encourage you to turn to the One Who has, and is, the answer to even your situation? He may not remove the difficulty - but He will show you how to cope, and He will be right there with you!

In Matt.28:19-20 we have what is usually referred to as "The Great Commission" - the final words of the risen Lord Jesus to His disciples: « Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, to the close of the age. » (emphasis added). Those emphasised words apply to every situation in which any of His disciples find themselves. No other friend can make that promise, with such absolute assurance. Let Him fill that vacuum, and discover that He truly did come that you « ...  may have life, and have it abundantly. » (Jn.10:10).

In the Beginning - Pt.10

So, Noah and his family, and all of the creatures involved, have left the ark. What is the first thing that you would have done? Start building a house, or at least erecting a tent - just in case it rained!!!! Perhaps you would have thought that gathering wood for a fire would be a priority. Maybe you would have encouraged the land animals to get as far away as possible - you wouldn't really want the larger ones to be wandering around too close to where you were! But what did Noah do? The record states it simply: "... Noah built an altar to YHWH, and took of every clean animal and of every clean bird, and offered burnt offerings on the altar." (Gen 8:20).

This is a new order that God has brought out of the chaos of the Flood. But it was more than just a new beginning; it was a new peace after hostility - the hostility that had grown between the holy Creator, and His disobedient and sinful creation. Noah's sacrificial offering was not merely a "Thank You" to Almighty God for His safe-keeping. It was an understanding that sin had been the cause of God's judgement, and that Noah and his family were still sinners. Noah knew that sin would remain as a barrier between God and humanity. So we are informed that "... when YHWH smelled the pleasing odour, YHWH said in His heart, "I will never again curse the ground because of man, for the imagination of man's heart is evil from his youth; neither will I ever again destroy every living creature as I have done. While the earth remains, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night, shall not cease." (Gen 8:21-22).

God accepted Noah's sacrifice with pleasure, not because of any virtue in Noah, or in the clean animals and birds, but because of the coming Peace-maker that they represented. Peter reminds us that we, who are in Christ Jesus "... were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your fathers, not with perishable things such as silver or gold, but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot. He was destined before the foundation of the world but was made manifest at the end of the times for your sake." (I Peter 1:18-20). God then declared peace in two ways:

1. by a covenant.

Part of that covenant is in His promise at the end of chapter 8. However, in chapter 9, we have more spelled out: "Then God said to Noah and to his sons with him, « Behold, I establish my covenant with you and your descendants after you, and with every living creature that is with you, the birds, the cattle, and every beast of the earth with you, as many as came out of the ark. I establish my covenant with you, that never again shall all flesh be cut off by the waters of a flood, and never again shall there be a flood to destroy the earth." And God said, "This is the sign of the covenant which I make between me and you and every living creature that is with you, for all future generations: I set my bow in the cloud, and it shall be a sign of the covenant between me and the earth. When I bring clouds over the earth and the bow is seen in the clouds, I will remember My covenant which is between Me and you and every living creature of all flesh; and the waters shall never again become a flood to destroy all flesh. When the bow is in the clouds, I will look upon it and remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is upon the earth. » God said to Noah, « This is the sign of the covenant which I have established between me and all flesh that is upon the earth. »" (Gen 9:8-17).

YHWH guarantees that the world is under His protection. Note the repetition of the words "never again". Note how long the covenant is to last - "for all future generations". Note how wide is the scope of the covenant - "between Me and you and every living creature of all flesh;". Then as a reminder of that covenant, He gives us the rainbow - a picture, it has been suggested, of the laying aside of His war-bow.

But we must note, also,

2. His commands.

"And God blessed Noah and his sons, and said to them, « Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth. The fear of you and the dread of you shall be upon every beast of the earth, and upon every bird of the air, upon everything that creeps on the ground and all the fish of the sea; into your hand they are delivered. Every moving thing that lives shall be food for you; and as I gave you the green plants, I give you everything. Only you shall not eat flesh with its life, that is, its blood. For your lifeblood I will surely require a reckoning; of every beast I will require it and of man; of every man's brother I will require the life of man. Whoever sheds the blood of man, by man shall his blood be shed; for God made man in his own image. And you, be fruitful and multiply, bring forth abundantly on the earth and multiply in it. »" (Gen 9:1-7).

YHWH restores mankind's mandate to look after the planet, but He recognises that it is no longer the "very good" world that He had created. It is now a sinful world of fear and bloodshed. In order to recreate order in a tangle of disordered relationships, He stresses the supremacy of human life, and the sanctity of all life. People may now use animals for food, but this is not to lead to inhumane, or murderous, violence. As I read the daily newspapers; as I watch the news programmes on television; I realise how far humanity has travelled from those simple commands. 

Of course, under the New Covenant in the Lord Jesus, each of us may enter into a relationship with our Creator that is personal - "God has no grand-children" to use the title of one of the books on my shelves. The salvation that is offered is offered to individuals, and each of us must make our own decision as to whether we accept it, or reject it. For those who accept it, it is greater by far than being saved from drowning, by entering a wooden ark. It is being saved from sin - its penalty, its power and, ultimately, its presence - and the assurance that when we fall (and we do!) "...  if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin. If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just, and will forgive our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His word is not in us." (I John 1:7-10).*

May all who read these words be among those who can say with Paul: "Henceforth there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will award to me on that Day, and not only to me but also to all who have loved His appearing." (II Tim.4:8).

In the Beginning - Pt.7

The record of Genesis 6:5-22 is possibly one of the best-known, and most controversial, passages to be found in the whole of the Tanakh (the "Old Testament"). It is, of course, with the following chapter, the record of the Flood.

Verse 5 gives us the verdict of the Creator on the humanity that He had created, but that had quickly fallen into disobedience, and had been banished from His near presence. « YHWH saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. » As someone once put it, « The heart of man's problem is the problem of man's heart. » There was, however, one exception - the man named Noah who, we are told « … found favour in the eyes of YHWH. » (v.8).

What was YHWH to do? He could see that « … the earth was corrupt in [His] sight, and the earth was filled with violence. » (v.11 - and doesn't that sound just like the situation in which we live today?!). So, He shared His divine thoughts with that one « … righteous man … » ( v.9), Noah. « And God said to Noah, "I have determined to make an end of all flesh; for the earth is filled with violence through them; behold, I will destroy them with the earth. Make yourself an ark of gopher wood; make rooms in the ark, and cover it inside and out with pitch." » (vs.13-14). The means of that destruction was, we later discover, a flood that covered the whole earth, so that the tops of the highest mountains were under 15 cubits (about 22'6", or just under 7 metres) of water! It was an historical, global, catastrophe. 

Now, of course, there are those who would try to show that this was just a "local flood". I have seen "local floods", and none covered the tops of mountains - or even small hills! Certainly, other Biblical writers have no doubt as to its extent!  Peter, for example, writes of « … the world that then existed was deluged with water and perished." (II Peter 3:6). The issue has been the subject of many academic books and other studies, and is certainly much too big to deal with here, but I will simply state that the evidence for a worldwide flood is more than a little solid, and we shall look at this a little more closely next time, DV.

What, then, are the basic lessons that we may learn from this part of the record of the flood? It shows the reaction of Almighty God to the human sinfulness that had become so prevalent. It shows, first of all, 

1. God's grief

Notice the sharpness of the language in vs.5-7, and 11-13. We know how much sin hurts, and sickens, us - but how much more must it pain our Creator? It's little wonder that He decided to wipe out humanity! Indeed, the amazing thing is that He has not done so again - totally and permanently. Of course, that is partly because He keeps His promises (spoiler: 8:21-22). However, this Flood record also shows

2. God's grace.

In His love, Almighty God rescued the one family that honoured Him and, through them, gave humanity a fresh start. Notice how orderly righteousness is. Sin destroys, but the description of Noah: « Noah was a righteous man, blameless in his generation; Noah walked with God. … … he did all that God commanded him. » (vs 9,22) provides a model of health and growth. 

God's rescue act - prepared, remember, since before the beginning of time! - is planned to perfection. It is practical and precise in every detail. And it is an advance model of a still greater rescue act, from which each of us may benefit.

Peter writes: « For Christ also died for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, that He might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive in the spirit; in which He went and preached to the spirits in prison, who formerly did not obey, when God’s patience waited in the days of Noah, during the building of the ark, in which a few, that is, eight persons, were saved through water. Baptism, which corresponds to this, now saves you, not as a removal of dirt from the body but as an appeal to God for a clear conscience, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ, Who has gone into heaven and is at the right hand of God, with angels, authorities, and powers subject to Him. » (I Peter 3:18-22).

The death, and resurrection, of the Lord Jesus were just as perfectly planned and executed - and, you may recall, they too were no "afterthought"! In Gen.3:15 we read these words, spoken by YHWH to the serpent: « I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her seed; He shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise His heel. » At Calvary, the Lord Jesus bruised the head of the satan, even although « He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; upon Him was the chastisement that made us whole, and with His stripes we are healed. » (Is.53:5).

Praise God for His love, and grace, and mercy - and for the wonderful salvation that is the lot of all who trust, wholly, and solely, in the Son. May that be your personal experience. It will be for your good, and to His glory.

Looking for a sign?

It was in Glasgow, this morning, that I was faced with the question in the heading! It was on a large billboard - and was actually advertising said billboard. However, the question set my mind off! I thought of the year that has passed, and the number of "signs" each of which was going to be, we were assured, the sign that heralded the "end of the world"! Of course, as I am here today, typing this, I must assume that all of those signs were, to put it as delicately as possible, "misread"!

People, it would appear, are always "looking for a sign". It may be the special gift that signifies "I love you". It may be the "Well done" that signifies that the boss is pleased with one's efforts. It may be the 'look across a crowded room' that signifies a romantic interest. It may be the handshake that signifies that a deal is acceptable to both sides. There are even those who claim to be experts in body language and who can tell more from the movements of my hands; the way in which I am standing; the look in my eyes; than from the words that I actually speak.

Not surprisingly, the written Word of God - the Bible - mentions signs more than once my online concordance has almost 250 references to "sign" and its associated words!). Right at the beginning we read: "And God said, “Let there be lights in the firmament of the heavens to separate the day from the night; and let them be for signs and for seasons and for days and years, ..." (Gen.1:14). Later on, and after the Flood, God says to Noah: "I set my bow in the cloud, and it shall be a sign of the covenant between me and the earth." (Gen.9:13).

Many of us recalled one of those signs just a couple of weeks ago! In Isaiah 7, we read of the word of YHWH to Ahaz, king of Judah (the southern kingdom), when the latter refused to ask for a sign from YHWH. "Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign. Behold, a virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call His name Imman′u-el." (v.14). Now I know that the Hebrew word "almaah" may be translated simply as "young woman"./ However, God the Holy Spirit, Who inspired the Biblical writers made the situation crystal clear for even sceptical people in the 21st century AD. When the seventy (or, possibly, seventy-two - six from each of the twelve tribes) translators of the Hebrew text into the more common Greek language in use in the 3rd century BC, came to that verse, they used the Greek word "parthenos" - and that can only mean "virgin".

However, one of the most important references, in terms of what was being claimed over the past year, is found in Paul's second letter to the believers in Thessalonica: "Now concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our assembling to meet Him, we beg you, brethren, not to be quickly shaken in mind or excited, either by spirit or by word, or by letter purporting to be from us, to the effect that the day of the Lord has come. Let no one deceive you in any way; for that day will not come, unless the rebellion comes first, and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of perdition, who opposes and exalts himself against every so-called god or object of worship, so that he takes his seat in the temple of God, proclaiming himself to be God. Do you not remember that when I was still with you I told you this? And you know what is restraining him now so that he may be revealed in his time. For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work; only He who now restrains it will do so until he is out of the way. And then the lawless one will be revealed, and the Lord Jesus will slay him with the breath of His mouth and destroy him by His appearing and His coming. The coming of the lawless one by the activity of Satan will be with all power and with pretended signs and wonders, and with all wicked deception for those who are to perish, because they refused to love the truth and so be saved. Therefore God sends upon them a strong delusion, to make them believe what is false, so that all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness." (2:1-12; emphases added).

Whatever 2018 may hold, I will state, with Biblical authority, that the day of the Lord will not take place until the signs that have been prophesied as preceding it have taken place. I would encourage you to read all of Matthew 12, Matthew 16, and Matthew 24, (and the rest of the Bible, for that matter!!) but here are just a few verses from each of those chapters: "Then some of the scribes and Pharisees said to Him, “Teacher, we wish to see a sign from You.” But He answered them, “An evil and adulterous generation seeks for a sign; but no sign shall be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah." (12:38-39); "And the Pharisees and Sad′ducees came, and to test Him they asked Him to show them a sign from heaven. He answered them, “When it is evening, you say, ‘It will be fair weather; for the sky is red.’ And in the morning, ‘It will be stormy today, for the sky is red and threatening.’ You know how to interpret the appearance of the sky, but you cannot interpret the signs of the times. An evil and adulterous generation seeks for a sign, but no sign shall be given to it except the sign of Jonah.” So He left them and departed." (16:1-4); "Immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken; then will appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory; and He will send out His angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather His elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other." (24:29-31).

May you know the blessing of Almighty God throughout this coming year - and may you be among those who seek "... to live sober, upright, and godly lives in this world, awaiting our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Saviour Jesus Christ, Who gave Himself for us to redeem us from all iniquity and to purify for Himself a people of His own who are zealous for good deeds." (Titus 2:12-14).

A blessèd New Year to one and all.

Game of Thrones.

The more we look at the world in which we live, the more we might conclude that the people who are corrupt, and violent, and untrustworthy, outnumber those who are not! What else would account for the real-life evil and violence that fills our newspapers, and other news media, and that forms so much of the make-believe world created by the entertainment industry - with the exponential increase in computerised graphics taking the whole genre to a frighteningly new level.

One example of the latter is, I am led to believe, the almost cultic "Game of Thrones". I have never accessed this "programme", and have neither the intention nor desire to do so. However, Jim Denison wrote about it, just last week. In that post he explained that "... Internet reviews are so abundant that it's not hard to identify reasons for the show's enormous popularity. Each of them says something frightening about our culture today.

One: The plots are unpredictably complex. As Forbes notes, "Central characters are killed, psychopaths claim power, weddings become bloodbaths, and bad guys develop consciences as time passes." The show is built on the premise that there is no logic to life, that we live in a chaotic world with no central purpose or direction.

Two: The show embraces amorality. "Good" characters make horrific mistakes, while "bad" characters act redemptively. One psychologist lauds the "progressive tolerance" the show legitimizes. In a postmodern culture that views all truth as personal and subjective, the characters legitimize our rejection of right and wrong.

Three: All sexuality is endorsed. Rape, lesbianism, sex between siblings, prostitution, and other acts so despicable I won't mention them here—all are regular fare. As millions of people watch such perversion, they are desensitized and far more likely to embrace the "sexual liberation" the show articulates.

Four: Violence is normalized. Heads are crushed, people are stabbed through the eye, victims are burned alive, mass murder is depicted graphically. Why is this a problem? Exposure to media violence is clearly linked to violent acts as watching violence changes brain patterns and alters behaviour." (Denison Forum, 13-08-17).

Of course a disregard for God's standards, and the lack of godly fear, are not just modern phenomena that depend on modern technology and communications! The same kind of situation prevailed several thousand years ago, in the time of Noah. Indeed, the situation then was even worse! The only person who found favour with Almighty God was Noah himself. (Gen.6:8)! However, because Noah believed God's warnings about the flood that would destroy human, and animal, life on planet Earth (with the exception of those who were to be in the Ark) he took God seriously and prepared the Ark in accordance with God's directions. 

Noah displayed at least two character traits that should guide your life and mine. First of all, he  "... was a righteous man, blameless in his generation;" and one who "... walked with God." (Gen.6:9). Secondly, when he received a command from God, he didn't organise a consultation; form a committee; or look the other way. He was "... moved with godly fear, ..." (Heb.11:7; ASV) to take action. This "godly fear" was not some kind of cowering dread, but a healthy reverence and respect for the holy and omnipotent Creator.

As various cities around the world are shocked at the deaths and injuries caused by Muslim extremists in just the past few days, are we willing to obey God, as Noah did, and take a stand against the tide of evil in our world? Do we pray for those who have been bereaved; those who are injured, and traumatised? Or are we content that it is NIMBY (Not In My Back Yard)?

Of course, as the Book of the Revelation of Jesus, that I am currently using in my private devotions, makes clear, these are all indications that we are in the "end times". That being the case, we should surely ensure that we are ready for the rapture of the saints of God, and that as many others as possible are also ready. Then we can truly say: "Come, Lord Jesus!" (Rev.22:20), and be among those "... who have loved His appearing." (II Tim.4:8). 

Mything the boat!

No - the title is not intended to indicate that my keyboard has developed a lisp! I've taken it from an article I read, some time ago, that described the insidious manner in which some modern scholars pass off many of the Biblical records as unreliable legends, rather than accepting them as true historical accounts!

With a display of humour, the writer pointed out that, when it comes to the record of Noah, the worldwide flood, and the ark, such an unwarranted approach to the written Word of God is "mything the boat"! To be accurate, the word "myth" is being used, in these situations, in its modern, 'popular', sense of "untrue"; when it is originally a very precise word that means "a usually traditional story of apparently historical events that serves to unfold part of the world view of a people or explain a practice, belief, or natural phenomenon."

Those modern (and some are not so modern!) critics of the Word are not concerned about the accuracy of certain passages, considering them to be of little significance. They discount them by referring to them as "myths" - using the word in its original definition. However, those who read their books, or listen to them speak, assume that these learnèd people are accepting that much of the Bible is false!

This, of course, discredits the Lord Jesus Himself, as He clearly accepted the Old Testament (the Tanakh) as a reliable document of people, places, and events! For example, He believed that Moses really lived (Matt.19:8; Mk.12:26; Lk.20:37, 24:44; Jn.3:14; inter al). He believed that Sodom and Gomorrah really existed (Mt.10:15). He believed that Jonah was actually swallowed by a great fish - the Bible nowhere states that it was a whale! (Mt.12:40-41; Lk.11:32; inter al). He believed that Noah built an ark that floated on the flood that covered the whole earth (Mt.24:38; Lk.17:26; inter al).

The Lord Jesus didn't "myth the boat" - and neither should we! One of the gravest consequences of minimising the historical accuracy of Biblical events is the risk of eliminating, in the process, the reality of God's redemptive work! If jesus did not literally die on the cross, and literally rise from the dead, then His Person and work are stripped of all meaning and significance. As Paul wrote to the disciples in Corinth: "I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received, that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the scriptures,  that He was buried, that He was raised on the third day in accordance with the scriptures, ... if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain. We are even found to be misrepresenting God, because we testified of God that He raised Christ, whom He did not raise if it is true that the dead are not raised. For if the dead are not raised, then Christ has not been raised. If Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins. Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. If for this life only we have hoped in Christ, we are of all men most to be pitied.  But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep." (I Cor.15:3-4; 14-20. emphases added)

Beware of those who would turn the truth of God's Word into fables! Whether it involves Noah, or the Lord Jesus, if you accept their teachings, you are "'mything' the boat"!

If you would like to look at some of these issues further, you will find a fund of information at https://answersingenesis.org   Well worth a look!

Michael Bublé

It is now almost three years since our younger daughter informed my wife and me that she had been diagnosed with breast cancer. Thankfully, due to prompt action, excellent medical and surgical treatment, and the prayer support of countless people, she is still alive and well - and just about to celebrate another birthday anniversary!

Our family situation, as with that of the majority of such situations, didn't "hit the headlines"! None of us is a so-called "celebrity". But today's reports that Noah, the three-year-old son of well-known singer Michael Bublé, has been diagnosed with cancer show that even the rich and famous are not immune to such circumstances.

I know very little about Michael Bublé.  However, I find it interesting that he is reported as having said: "Luisiana [his wife] and I will devote all our time and attention to help Noah to get better, for now suspending our professional activities. During this difficult time, we ask you to pray for him and please respect our privacy. We have a long road ahead and we hope that with the support of our family, friends, fans around the world and our faith in God, we can win this battle."

"... we ask you to pray for him ..." "... our faith in God, ..." What do such words mean to this man and his wife? I don't know. I hope that they mean as much to him as they did to my wife and me in our own situation. We had many friends praying for our daughter; our faith (and hers!) in Father God did not waver. That doesn't mean that the time leading up to her operation; the operation itself; the course of chemo-therapy that she had to undergo; and the succeeding course of radio-therapy; were all plain sailing. They were anything but! I would suspect that Michael Bublé would, as I would gladly have done in my own family's case, take all of the treatment himself if it would still lead to the cure of his son.

We live in a fallen world.  It's a world in which sin has taken, and continues to take, a terrible toll. However, it is still, as the song proclaims, "my Father's world". His love for you and for me was, and is, such that He did take our place - in the Persona (not a typo - see my book "Great Words of the Faith"; details above!) of the Son Who paid the penalty for our sin so that we might go free. As I put it to a group of English-speakers here in France, just a week or so ago: "He made the Son of His love (His 'only-begotten' Son) to be the object of His wrath, so that the objects of His wrath (you and me) might become the sons of His love!" That goes way beyond taking medical treatment for a dearly-loved child!
 

Of course, if it had been possible for me to take the treatment, and my daughter to have been declared free of cancer, but she had rejected her dad's offer, not only would she have had to go through the treatment herself, but she would have been considered to be totally mad! Yet so many either reject, or neglect, the wonderful offer of full salvation that is made to them.

Have you even considered your eternal destiny? It is in your hands. I can only tell you about it, and recommend my Saviour to you. Will you turn to Him, right now? Will you? You'll never regret it, if you do!

Give me patience - and give it to me NOW!

Life has been unusually busy these past days - and a dodgy wi-fi connection at the camp-site hasn't helped when trying to catch up with e-mails, news items and, of course, this blog!

We (my wife and I!) had been advised by the Notaire who is dealing with the purchase of our new home in the Dordogne, that the final contract would be signed this morning.  Yesterday, we were to meet with the recently deceased owner's widow, and the Immobilier, to read the utility meters, and ensure that all was as in order regarding the property itself.  We had even arranged to spend a couple of days with friends who are much closer to the house, to save us two consecutive 110 mile (c.170 km) round journeys, each direction taking about 1 3/4 hours.

Yesterday morning, I received a 'phone-call from the Notaire. The widow was feeling unwell, and so the meter reading etc. had been cancelled.  No-one knew what would happen to day.  I can now reveal that she was unable to attend the final signing of the contract, and so we are back at the static, waiting to hear from the Notaire tomorrow.  As if that was not enough, I was also informed that the funds for the purchase have not yet arrived in the Notaire's bank account.  I contacted the bank.  The manager informed me that he is still awaiting confirmation from my Currency Exchange (to confirm that I am not seeking to 'launder' ill-gotten gains!!), and is unable to release the funds until this is received.  As I had received a copy of the e-mail that they had sent him I was surprised to learn that he had not done so - but have just realised that the bank was happy enough to accept a large deposit - without any additional information!!!

So, from a human perspective, we are disappointed, frustrated, angry.  However, as disciples of Jesus, we believe that Father God is in full control.  In my latest book, I have provided an appendix on the Fruit of God the Holy Spirit.  That Fruit is Love - agape love - and it is demonstrated by eight other characteristics.  One of these is patience.

Patience is a character trait that God desires to produce in each one of His born-again children (see Galatians 5:22-23). However, the only way to really learn what it means to be patient is to experience it firsthand. Patience is an oh-so-gradually unveiled gift.

Noah lived in a time when lawlessness and sin were the rule, not the exception. Imagine his reaction when God told him about His plan to destroy humanity! Picture Noah's reaction when God told him to build a boat, giving him specific dimensions and directions! Imagine having to wait 120 years to see it happen! I wonder if Noah ever said to himself, "Okay Lord, things are getting worse instead of better. Aren't you going to execute your plan? After all, it's already been fifteen years!" Thankfully, Noah had learned the lesson of patience.  He trusted God's timing, and was spared from the flood as a result.

Our response when something doesn't happen on schedule indicates how well we have learned to be patient. Maybe God has something better just around the corner (our being led to this particular house is a case in point - but the story is too long for a blog-post!). He will let you know when He is ready - or perhaps when you're ready. 

If you are a praying person, please join with us, and many others, in praying for a speedy conclusion to this matter - and one that will be honouring to God.  I'll let everyone know when the matter is concluded!