On the blog again....

Wow it has been almost 3 months since my last post... now wonder no one looks at it much. But here is a quick update. We are now living in Centennial (east of Cherry Creek Resevoir, the worst fishing lake I have ever met...). I have started a new semester at Horizon College Denver teaching Theology. Vicki and I are working and planning on a trip to Africa in November so getting ourselves prepared for that. Life in the city is not so bad (but at times I sure miss the mountains.) Send me a note and let me know what is going on and what I can pray for, for you. By the way, we should be grandparents today... Tara and Ryan are at the hospital as I type this.

response from World Religions Conference ONLY ONE GOD?

Last weekend I attended the World Religions Conference at Horizon Christian Fellowship in Denver. It was a good day and well worth the investment. The speakers included Bill Honsberger of  Haven Ministry, Dr. Darrell Ferguson of Summit Ministries Int'l,  Bill McKeever of Mormonism Research Ministry and Sammy Tanagho a converted Muslim. Each of these men are worth hearing and well educated in their area of expertise. They detailed for us clearly many of the tenents of the particular religion or belief system. Mark these guys to memory. 
However, as I sat there I felt that a basic pre-amble or pre-requisite was missing from the seminar. For in our modern world rift with its post-modern world view and pluralism, what seemed lacking was a discussion of the very nature of divinity, the very basic concepts of any deity that would garner our attention. For any discussion other than atheism, that posits a divine being shouldn't there be some basic principles that are understood for any discussion? Let me clarify, it is my contention that there can be only ONE GOD. There cannot be 2 COMPETING GODS. This immediately smacks against any post-modernist understanding whereby they hold competing views even contradictory opinions as equally valid, thus making my case... can there truly be any discussion about a supreme being without explaining the basic definition of "SUPREME". So let me state for the record and for discussion this precept:

"GOD BY DEFINITION CAN ONLY BE ONE".

In other words you cannot have a god of one religion and a god of another and both exists in reality. We are not choosing whom to worship by vote of one candidate over another. We are asking whether the God we are choosing to "believe in" or "worship" is truly an existent being at all, and secondly worth our devotion or worship? For a moment let me unpack my statement that God can ONLY BE ONE.
God: the discussion of any eternal being, a supreme being, any being outside of our selves that we must recon with.
by definition: here is the critical juncture, to define God as any of you might, as stated above as something "outside of ourselves" must be defined in terms of greatness. For God to be anything like a God we would define, he must be outside of, greater than, different than, older, wiser etc than us. When you begin to define God with those concepts he/she/it becomes to some degree greater than us. Greater begs the question to be qualified as greatest. An Illustration: If someone where to ask you who is a great something... say Basketball player, the answer wouldn't really matter much because great is nothing unless compared to a lesser or greater But if someone asked you who was the greatest...wouldn't you by natural cause begin to compare attributes of various players until you arrive at an answer you feel is satisfactory? Wouldn't it seem strange to say well "all basketball players are the greatest"? Or even the following five players are the greatest... Wouldn't you ask again that they further define their answer to come up with the greatest? Someone might say well Jordan was the greatest shooter and Abdul Jabar the greatest rebounder, but that changes the question. I did not ask which was the greatest shooter or rebounder. I asked for your opinion of the greatest basketball player ever. 
So if we are going to speak of a god, any god, are we not asking which is the greatest? To worship a lesser god knowing that there is a greater, would be foolishness. For sake of argument lets say that there could be more than one god, there are two. We will call them Bill and Bob. In our considerations of these two beings wouldn't we want to worship the one who is greater? but let's say that Bob is good at loving and Bill is the most powerful. Which attribute do you consider more worthy of worship and being called the "supreme" being the "weak lover" or the "unloving power"? Scary to think about isn't it. We desire a God that is greatest at everything and has no limits. Well at least that is what I would worship. More next time.  (if there is only one what is He like?) Give me some feed back!

could we move that far East?

Hey Team,
 I promised an update. Here it is. We are looking very strongly at the east side of town near Piney Creek. I would never had thought that we would consider moving that far east, but the prices are good and the homes are functional and lovely. Keep praying that we make a good decision that will honor our Lord. Maybe the "eastern peoples" need some ministering too. Hey I will be updating you all soon on a possible trip to Sierra Leone, Africa in November. Save your pennies I will need to raise a lot of money.

Absent again?

Hey team,
Just a quick note about where I have been. I have been to Kansas and back helping my mother-in-law move to Colorado. Sorry I have not posted recently. Hopefully, I will be able to a get back at it. Hey we are getting close to making a decision on a house to buy in Denver sooo Please PRAY. more tomorrow

two types of "evil, bad, or suffering"

When we discuss the problem of evil, we must determine what kind of evil are we talking about. For there is one kind of evil we call "moral evil" in that it comes from the moral choice of human beings usually upon other human beings, but may also be exercised upon plants animals and the natural world. Moral evil then is from humans toward things or people outside of themselves, and at times against themselves.
There is a second kind of evil as well we call "natural evil" It is that suffering or evil that is not prompted by the will moral choice of humans but comes as a consequence of living on a broken earth. This would include all kinds of sicknesses, natural disasters (e.g. hurricanes, tsunamis etc) accidents etc. These "troubles" find no source in the moral choice of mankind but in random external events. They may find their source in the course of weather patterns. They may  find their source in a stronger being (God) acting upon this finite world. The distinction is that you cannot trace the end of the matter to some willful act of man.
Now when we discuss the problem of evil and our all powerful, loving God we will discuss it from these two different angles.
As we have been looking at the life of Job and the Book of Job, we will need to first of all determine into which of these categories the problem or troubles that Job faces are suffering from the Moral or Natural category. I vie for the later. What about you?

some important definitions

As we tackle the problem of evil and suffering we will need to define some terms. Namely because they are often confused categories:
EVIL: 

· The absence of what ought to be…

· It is a lack in good things…

· “It is in the will, the choice, the intent, the movement of the soul, which puts a wrong order into the physical world of things and acts…” Handbook of Christian Apologetics, pg 132

TYPES OF EVIL:

 For a proper understanding of evil we must make a distinction between types of evil. .

“

  the evil we are not.” Handbook of Christian Apologetics, pg .132

SUFFERING:

Experience or be subjected to (something bad or unpleasant)

- he'd suffered intense pain

- he'd suffered a great deal since his arrest

Be affected by or subject to (an illness or ailment)

- his daughter suffered from agoraphobia

Become or appear worse in quality 

-his relationship with Anne did suffer

Undergo martyrdom or execution

Tolerate

- France will no longer suffer the existing government

Allow (someone) to do something

- my conscience would not suffer me to accept any more

Tomorrow we will discuss the 2 kinds of evil (as mentioned above) MORAL & NATURAL.

So how do we view the idea of Suffering? (part 1)

Let me begin by asking you the same question that I have to ask myself. How do I view the world in which I live?

• (1) Is it a world where suffering should not exist and if it does; it is out of order... ( a perfect world gone bad)?
• (2) Or do I live in a world in which suffering and evil exists normally and when it doesn't that seems out of order (a bad world experiencing temporary good) ?

Why is this question necessary? Because it establishes our worldview and how we will not only approach the problem of suffering and evil but how we will interpret the data. I am convinced that those of us who have been raised in the "secure west' will approach the question from the first position. Because of faith in progress, medicine, military and money we have been promised that eventually we can rid ourselves of all injustices, suffering and evil. While I can only speculate on this point I think that parts of the world racked with suffering, hunger, evil and pain might approach the problem from the second position stated above. Our presuppositions on this are very important. It determines how we state the question of suffering and evil. It determines how we go about solving it.
How would you think that Job views the world? would he choose option 1 or 2 above? Because he was so wealthy, satisfied etc. wouldn't he naturally view it from view 1? Does this effect the way you interpret this ancient book?
Let me give you two possible hints that Job may have viewed the world from position 2, (contrary to his station in life.)

• Job 1:5 "Perhaps my sons have sinned and cursed God..." Here Job seems to very realistic about the nature of sin in the world and in the human heart. His "perfect" world did not shield him or his children from sinful acts or destruction.
• Job 1:21 "Naked I came from my mothers womb and naked I shall return there." Naked is not a biological or physical description only here. It also refers to how pitiful is our basic station in life is at the beginning and ending of life.

Enough to chew on for one day. Tomorrow we will define some terms because I have already made too many assumptions with the terms used. 
Tell your friends to visit that blog and let's see what they think!
Scott

thinking about suffering

As we engage the story of Job and the issue of suffering, I heard a remarkable statement by the worship leader and musical artist at church yesterday. The artist name is Danny Oertli. His story is quite amazing and touching. He wrote a song that encourages his son Jack to embrace struggles and with his faith work through them. Is this normal? Well, probably not normal and yet extremely biblical and deeply spiritual. The song he wrote for his young son is called "Thought You Should Know" from his "Nothing Left To Prove" album. Normally we don't expect contemporary Christian artists to be the source of deep theological "stuff" but Danny breaks that mold. Does he begin to understand James words "to count it all joy my brethren, when you encounter various trials" (Ja. 1:2)?  Does our dear friend Job understand something of this as well, when he states "the Lord gives and the Lord takes away, blessed be the name of the Lord"? (Job 1:21)
So, I am learning. I like so many others have struggled to embrace the difficulties of life and question why I have had to face tough things. But alas, God is patient and I am not.  By the way f you want to see Danny's website it is www.dannyoertli.com.
Bless you all and keep on keeping on.

Sorry I have been out of touch.

Wow what a couple of months it has been. I am sorry that I have not been current on my blog. Hopefully it will get better some. Since my last post the following has happened:

• I had surgery immediately below my eye for skin cancer.
• We installed new counter tops in our kitchen.
• We listed our house for sale.
• We visited Mexico for a bit of R & R.
• Our middle daughter Kelli got married.
• I traveled to Wichita for a two day exploration trip.
• I got the motorcycle into the garage for its spring cleanup.
• Celebrated Easter, and have two visits by family from Kansas.

This is on top of my normal tasks of teaching at, and promoting the College and sending out 100 support letters to friends and family.

But now it's time to get back to the blog at hand and where were we?

Angels in Heaven, sure but Satan?

This passage for sure has caused much herat burn for commentators and Bible scholars. Was this the Satan of the Garden and Revelation 12:10? How is satan allowed into the presence of God. Does he accuse others even ourselves just as he is accusing Job? Does he have the power to afflict us as he does with Job?  Why does the Hebrew use the definite article before his name (making it "the Satan")? Is he literal of figurative? Why do the angels come to present themselves before God, does he not know what they are doing?

Beyond some simple answers that are mostly wanting we need to understand several key principles.

1. All things are before God's presence, while we maintain that nothing evil has a permanent presence or existence before GOd we cannot say that no evil whatsoever has ever come before God.
2. We know that angels present themsleves before God to do His bidding, it also seems clear that the fallen ones or the chief fallen one has some presence in court before God as attested to by this passage a nd others like Luke 22:3 and Rev. 12:10.
3. Many theologians  maintain that while Satan was cast from heaven prior to the fall of man in Gen. 6; he will be permanently cast from God's presence and the presence of mankind at the final judgement in Revelation.

All in all, the key to understanding this section of Job is to realize that there is an accuser of mankind before God and that accuser is the liar and destroyer Satan and his minions. He thoughrougly enjoys this role and task. Anything to disrupt and destroy the work of God at any point in the evangelsitic process (Matt. 13:36; 2 Cor. 11:13-15; 2 Thess. 2 :8). Christians should never be found assisting the work of Satan and become one anothers "accuser"!

So how do we respond to this message?

• Believe and know that Satan is at work against us, but he is impotent when we are strong in Christ.
• Realize that like any penal act it can be a deterrant as well. Let's not give Satan opportunity to prove us sinful without making him lie!
• Prayer keeps us presenting oursleves before the LORD as the angels do. Let's enter into His presence with confidence and boldness becuase we have our best to present.
• Remember that we are eternally grateful that Christ is our advocate, presenting our innocence through Himself.

Mat_13:25, Mat_13:28; 2Co_2:17, 2Co_11:3, 2Co_11:13-15; Eph_2:2, Eph_6:11-12; 2Th_2:8-11; 1Pe_5:8; Rev_12:9, Rev_13:14, Rev_19:20, Rev_20:2-3, Rev_20:7-10

Money and the Cause of Christ

OK, so we all agree that money is more fun to have than to not have. If you disagree with this statement I would like to hear about life from under your rock. Just like having a car is more fun than not having one (even though maybe a horse is fun to a degree, it wears thin in places... isn't that why we chose to invent a iron one?) Anyway, we live in a world in which money is integral, necessary and many times critical. But do necessary things need to become things of worship? Money is a tool and thus a means to an end; not the end in itself. So we ask ourselves; "to what (end) do we expect the (means of) money to accomplish: wealth? security?  What will the tool called money accomplish in my hands? If we continually ask this question it will be amazing how we begin to change our views of money. Can  money really accomplish the end we desire. Does money truly create security? Does money really make me a better person by the volume of it?

Notice that Job, in our ongoing study here, uses much of his money to keep his family connected with God. To what end does Job need to offer sacrifices for his "party-ing" children, is a subject of debate. Is this a act of a father trying to cover the overt sins of his children who are squandering their lives? Or is it a father that takes a very active, maybe even pro-active, role in the spiritual guidance of his children? Here is how it reads:
Job 1:5
When a period of feasting had run its course, Job would send and have them purified. Early in the morning he would sacrifice a burnt offering for each of them, thinking, "Perhaps my children have sinned and cursed God in their hearts." This was Job's regular custom.
NIV

I see things generally from the positive view point and I think that Job is hedging his bets. Notice the phrase "perhaps". (in the NASB and NIV) "it may be" ( in the ESV and KJV). Was Job being very careful and proactive. Or was he only ignorant and didn't want to know. Was he functioning as the "priest" of his home? For the sake of argument let's say he is functioning as the priest of his home. Is he teaching us that the end for which he uses some of his money is to promote or prompt the spiritual life of his kids? Is he using money to help his kids walk closer to God? Wow, when was the last time we saw any of our money being used for this end or purpose? How might that look? Well obviously tithing at our local church assembly might be an indirect way. How about a more direct way?
What if you used your money to take your family on a missions trip. What if you funded the whole thing without sending support letters to friends and family? 

Something to "think as we should!"

Lord God, we bow before you as the giver of all gifts and tools. One of those tools you give to us is money. Forgive us when we use this tool to support our own desires and ends. Help us to look beyond the world of our need to the idea of money used for your glory. Help us to seek after your call to us that we may have tuned out. We love you and desire to honor you even now with our money.  


Send me your thoughts and comments!

Money and Integrity: uncommon partners

Morning to all.
I find this morning a fascinating verse. In verse 2 of Job 1 we hear how wealthy Job was. A family of 10 kids (7 sons 3 daughters) and a phenomenal amount of livestock. 7000 sheep. 3000 camels 500 oxen for yokes, 500 donkeys and a "large number" number of servants. (Makes me wonder if there were so many it was hard to count the servants.) I guess you can count sheep easier than servants, especially if you have insomnia. When verse 3 states that he was the greatest man in all the East it is in reference to his wealth and station in life. I do not think it is a stretch to say that he was the Bill Gates of his day. Nonetheless he was as we say: "Healthy, Wealthy and Wise". The Hebrew word used for great can refer to great in any sense (wealth, character, strength etc.). Could it be that for the sake of the drama of the beginning of Job, he was great in all respects. It seems he is great in character, piety and wealth. Now realize that Scripture rarely couples wealth and piety, riches and character. It is more prone to describe the rich as lacking significantly in integrity. Notice,
Proverbs 3:9-10 Solomon's understanding that if wealth is not used for God's honor, it is soon to vanish.
Proverbs 11:4 Wealth cannot save anyone in the day of Wrath or Judgement. Righteousness does however. (In Hebrew poetry which uses parallelism, this can be seen as an antithetical parallel. The first is the opposite of the second.)
Of great importance to note is Ecclesiastes 5:8-20 where Solomon the richest man of his day betrays the benefit of riches and sees the great trouble it brings. Read this passage and commit it to memory, it will serve us all well.
So here we find a man with the perfect set-up. He is righteous (has integrity) and wealth. Not many like him in history. What becomes, will test and try every aspect of his life.

How do I view riches: Well for me, it is the means to getting what I want. Unfortunately, I have had a lust for wealth much of my life. It is a secret passion and desire. I find it resident in me at significant times. How about you? But see for me, wealth is not for the having, but for the spending. In there lies the deception. Let me explain. For example; the wealth affords me the chance to buy nice cars, and anybody that knows me, knows I like anything with a MOTOR and shiny paint. Car, boat, plane, motorcycle etc. Oh boy, what I could buy if I had MONEY! So God reminds me, The more you have, the more everyone expects from you. Your money won't do you any good--others will just spend it for you.
(Ecc 5:11)

Instead he reminds me that money is to be used for HIS HONOR. Tomorrow we will explore that idea in depth.

Integrity of the Whole

So yesterday we looked at God's description of Job. A man of blameless character, at least in comparison to all else who lived. Helpful  is this statement from the Expositors Commentary:
He was not sinless, for nobody can claim that distinction, but he was complete and mature in character and "straight" in conduct. The word translated "perfect" is related to "integrity," another important word in Job (2:3,9; 27:5; 31:6). People with integrity are whole persons, without hypocrisy or duplicity. In the face of his friends' accusations and God's silence, Job maintained his integrity, and the Lord ultimately vindicated him.
The author of Job was making it quite clear that compared to those around Job, he was above the rest. Notice these phrases:
Job 1:3
was the greatest of all the people of the east.
ESV
Job 1:8
that there is none like him on the earth
ESV
The Book of Job is about a man who is being tested not about his faith or integrity but about his love for God. As we will see in days to come the test of Job is more about Satan's accusation against God then about Job's faith.
 For today let's revisit the quote from Hendrickson and the Expositors Commentary. Do you agree with his definition of someone of integrity? How would you describe integrity? Here are some definitions:

an undivided or unbroken completeness or totality with nothing wanting; "

moral soundness;

wordnetweb.princeton.edu/perl/webwn

Integrity as a concept has to do with perceived consistency of actions, values, methods, measures, principles, expectations and outcome. People use integrity as a holistic concept, judging the integrity of systems in terms of those systems' ability to achieve their own goals (if any). ...en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Integrity

Integrity then involves the totality of who we are, not just parts of us. In all areas, in all demonstrations we are to have integrity.
Dear Heavenly Father, We know that only you are complete and full of integrity in all that you are. We are parts and pieces of what we were to be when you first created mankind in the Garden. Please help us to be put back together again, for your glory and our sakes. Amen. 

Feb. 8 2011

Welcome to my blog and daily devotional site. I hope that you will enjoy reading and participating with us as we venture into new areas of ministry and faith. For the next several days we will be looking at two major sections of Scripture. The Old Testament book of JOB and the New Testament book of Hebrews. I encourage you to read them through, a couple of times during the next month.

(Job 1:1) "Many years ago, a man named Job lived in the land of Uz. He was a truly good person, who respected God and refused to do evil." (Contemporary English Version)

The Book of Job starts in an unusual manner and with a very unique statement regarding the man Job. The unusual manner is with the pithy statement that sounds like a children's book, more than a sacred text. Kind of like the ol' "A long time ago, in a far away land...". But there is very little that is childish about this book and its introduction. We will be faced with a variety of perplexing and striking statements throughout the pages. The first is the unique statement that, "Job was a truly good person, who refused to do evil." Can that be truly said of any of us? Is he without sin? With those questions I encourage you to begin to interact with me on this blog.
In the mean time, let's spend an intimate moment with God on this verse. I see a couple of things that encourage my heart and hopefully yours.

• It matters to God about the "where" and "when" and "who" of us. It matters enough that we see Him including this information about Job in the first verse of the book; which actually has more to do with who God is than, who Job is! (More on that later)
• Secondly, I find it interesting to notice that God notices the "righteousness and goodness" (whatever degree that is a reality) of Job and He is not afraid to state it outright. Have you ever thought that God was keeping track of your "goodness" rather than your "badness". If God keeps lists at all, what kind do you think He keeps?

Dear Heavenly Father,
I must admit that initially I would be very afraid, if you kept lists. But I am finding that maybe you are not at all like me, and when you keep lists, you keep them for the good and better of someone rather than the worst. After all, if you love us, should it surprise us that you remember the things in us that you created for your delight? I am humbled and thankful for your loving character. Amen