CAN I TRUST THE BIBLE? The Internal and External Evidence, Part 2

Today, we will turn to THE AFFIRMATION OF ARCHAEOLOGY concerning the trustworthiness of the Bible.  The more digging is done in the Middle East, the more archaeology affirms Scripture. 

Weigh the words of Isaiah 40:8:

The grass withers, the flower fades,
But the word of our God stands forever.

It isn’t that Satanically motivated men have not tried to destroy the Word of God.  No Book has been so attacked, burned, critiqued, and dissected as the Bible.  That, itself, is a powerful testimony—it endures!  Each Lord’s Day, millions of people gather to open and study the Bible.  They don’t do that for Aesop’s Fables or Shakespeare, as good as those are.  The Bible is unparalleled in popularity and influence.  But, can we trust it?

In 1947, a shepherd threw a rock into a cave in Qumran, near the Dead Sea.  He heard a crash.  On further investigation, it was a clay pot that shattered and inside were scrolls of Scripture, dating back a couple of centuries before Christ.  There are fragments of almost every Old Testament book, including a complete scroll of Isaiah. It was one of the preeminent archaeological discoveries made connecting our Bible today with the text used by the ancients.  Compared to the Old Testament texts we have, there is no substantive difference in them.  The promise of Isaiah 40:8 has again been affirmed! The Dead Sea scrolls say what my Bible states,

The grass withers, the flower fades,
But the word of our God stands forever.

Volumes have been written on archaeology in its relation to the Word of God.  Many proofs have been unearthed.  I will discuss three.

Genesis 1 features the creation of the universe, where we read of God speaking all things into existence in six days and resting in that finished work on the seventh.  The ancient city of Nineveh, in modern Iraq, was excavated.  There was found the library of King Ashurbanipal of Assyria who reigned in the 600’s BC. The library consisted of a multitude of clay tablets—seven of them known as the “Creation Epic.” Although that ancient retelling of the Creation is marred by polytheism (the belief in many gods), it is fascinating to note that it presents creation in six days, with the deity resting on the seventh.  The epic parallels Scripture in that the creation begins with the cosmos in chaos, the beginning with light shining into the darkness, followed by sun, moon, and stars put in place, and on to the culmination of Creation—the making of man. 

Then, there is the Epic of Gilgamesh—a Babylonian flood story.  It features an heroic figure called upon by the gods to build an ark, where his family and all kinds of creatures would be preserved.  In the end, he sends out a dove, a swallow, and a raven.  Archaeologists have unearthed thirty three such flood stories from varying cultures, only two that do not parallel the Biblical story of Noah found in Genesis 6-9.

Next, examining the story of the Tower of Babel in Genesis 11, we find the affirmation of archaeology in an ancient monument from Ur of the Chaldees—also located in Iraq. It depicts King Ur-Nammu, who was commanded by the gods to build a tower reaching into the heavens.  Those towers were known as ziggurats.

“Interestingly, a clay tablet was unearthed that tells how the gods were highly offended and in a single night they destroyed what had been built, and the people were scattered abroad and their speech made strange. Again, the most reasonable explanation is that the story of the Tower of Babel did in fact take place.” Lutzer, Erwin W.. 7 Reasons Why You Can Trust the Bible (Kindle Locations 907-908). Moody Publishers. Kindle Edition.

The skeptic would argue that the writer(s) of Genesis took the ancient stories and put their spin on them.  While that might be possible, it is highly improbable.  The predisposition of those who give their take on such stories is to embellish them, rather than simplify them.  They add details instead.  It is much more likely that the true story as revealed by God to Moses in Genesis shares a commonality with these ancient legends because they were all rooted in the truth—a message that pagans distorted in their plunge into false religion.

We could explore other archaeological finds that affirm Scripture, but I have chosen these in relation to Genesis, because of all the books contained in the Bible, it is likely the most frequently assailed.  Really, it is foundational, and if Genesis is not true, then the rest of the Bible means nothing.  Someone has well said, “If you can accept the first four words of the Bible, ‘In the beginning God…’ then everything that follows should give you no problem believing.”

CAN I TRUST THE BIBLE? The Internal and External Evidence, Part 1

All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.  (2 Timothy 3:16-17)

Suppose you are jogging on a mountain trail, and you hear someone groaning.  You look over and see a lady on the ground, just off the path, with blood oozing from her head.  As you stop to help her, she gasps, “Thank you.”  Then you help her sit up, and she tells you her name, that she tripped while running, bumped her head and was knocked unconscious. 

It is possible she is lying.  She may be bait for some thieves in the woods waiting to rob you.  She may have been hurt running away as an escaped criminal.  She may have been knocked senseless and doesn’t really know who she is, despite what she claims.  But as you hear the story, see her condition, note she is wearing jogging apparel and running shoes, you believe her.  It is a reasonable assumption, unless there would be incontrovertible evidence to the contrary.

The Bible makes some remarkable claims about itself—that it is inspired by God. Paul believed it.  Other Bible writers claim it.  Jesus lived by it and fulfilled it as the object of it.  The Bible claims to be the Word of God—inerrant (without error), infallible (will never lead you astray), immutable (unchanging), invincible (always accomplishing its purpose), and indestructible (preserved eternally).

Archaeology, history, prophecy and the unity of the Bible all testify to its accuracy.  Skeptics will say, “You can’t accept the Bible’s own claims—that’s circular reasoning.”  But, if there is evidence to support those claims, then we should see that it is reasonable to trust the Bible.  This is the internal evidence of what the Bible claims and the external evidence that corroborates those claims and will be the subject we explore this week.

CAN I TRUST THE BIBLE? The Logical Rationale, Part 6

I cannot prove to you that the Bible is true if you do not want to believe.  There are still people who do not believe that man walked on the moon.  If you are willing to examine the evidence with an open mind, you will find plenty to lead you to believe that it is reasonable to trust the Bible.  Here are some more scientific statements in Scripture.

The Bible speaks of hydrology.

For He draws up drops of water,
Which distill as rain from the mist,
Which the clouds drop down
And pour abundantly on man.  (Job 36:27-28)

All the rivers run into the sea,

Yet the sea is not full;
To the place from which the rivers come,
There they return again.  (Eccl.1:7) 

Science calls this the hydrologic cycle and it is described in what is likely the oldest book in the Bible.

Related to this, Scripture touches on meteorology.

The wind goes toward the south,
And turns around to the north;
The wind whirls about continually,
And comes again on its circuit.  (Eccl.1:6)

To establish a weight for the wind,
And apportion the waters by measure. (Job 28:25a)

The fact that air has weight was proven scientifically only about three centuries ago.  We call this barometric pressure.  The movement and pressure of the air around us affects weather patterns.  The God who established these patterns knew what is a recent scientific discovery.

Furthermore, the Bible deals with paleontology.  Everyone wants to know, “What about dinosaurs?”  There were dinosaurs and some walked among men.  Two species are described in Job 40:15-41:34. It is interesting that in ancient cultures around the world there were legends of dragons and sea monsters.  Some might even insist there is still one hanging around Loch Ness.  These legends I am convinced are based in reality.  Job knew of such beasts.

Scripture also speaks to physics.  One such place is 2 Peter 3:10, “But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night, in which the heavens will pass away with a great noise, and the elements will melt with fervent heat; both the earth and the works that are in it will be burned up.”  In World War 2, the race was on to discover the ultimate weapon—to find a way to split the atom and release great fire and fury.  We did that and the atomic bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki happened less than a century ago.  Man has harnessed that energy for productive purposes, as well—and generates electric power by nuclear fission.  One day, God is going to split the atom in judgment, that He might reform the elements into new heavens and a new earth! 

These truths are meant to be more than informational—they are meant to be transformational!  The Word of God that speaks to the physical universe with clarity, can be trusted to speak to the metaphysical with confidence.  Science cannot.  The Bible does.  It tells us about heaven and hell—and that everyone of us will spend eternity in one or the other.  We are told that through faith in Jesus we can be forgiven of our sins.  His death and resurrection in this physical realm have made it possible to have eternal life in the spiritual domain. 

Scripture speaks to the will of God for the believer in this world.  Sadly, I will hear church members sometimes say, “I know the Bible says, but…” which is something we dare not say.  If the Bible says it, that settles it. 

The church must be faithful to the Word.  Is that true of the church you attend?  If not, then you should look for one that believes, preaches, teaches, and seeks to live according to God’s Word.  None will get it right 100% of the time—only heaven affords that kind of environment—but, we sure need to aim at that goal!

CAN I BELIEVE THE BIBLE? The Logical Rationale, Part 5

We continue today to observe the abundant scientific evidence that attests to the accuracy of the Bible.

Consider the field of biology.

Then God said, “Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb that yields seed, and the fruit tree that yields fruit according to its kind, whose seed is in itself, on the earth”; and it was so. And the earth brought forth grass, the herb that yields seed according to its kind, and the tree that yields fruit, whose seed is in itself according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. (Gen.1:11-12)

So God created great sea creatures and every living thing that moves, with which the waters abounded, according to their kind, and every winged bird according to its kind. And God saw that it was good.  (v.21)

And God made the beast of the earth according to its kind, cattle according to its kind, and everything that creeps on the earth according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. (v.25)

Scientists call the process being described here, “biogenesis”—the development of living organisms from other living organisms with the ability of every living thing to reproduce after its kind—according to its genetic code.  By the way, a fish never becomes a frog and a frog a bird and a bird a dinosaur and a dinosaur a possum and a possum a monkey and a monkey a man.  Dogs are dogs and cats are cats.  There are dogfish and catfish but no dog or cat becoming a fish!  That is not just theology.  It is biology!

Here is something the Bible says about how human bodies are made:

And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being.  (Gen.2:7)

In the sweat of your face you shall eat bread

Till you return to the ground,

For out of it you were taken;

For dust you are,

And to dust you shall return.  (Gen.3:19)

Our bodies are composed of elements like oxygen, carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen, calcium, phosphorus, and some others—we are made from dirt—and when we die, decompose back to dirt.  No wonder that some university professors are full of mud!

Furthermore, we have the testimony of geology.

Thus says the Lord:

“If heaven above can be measured,

And the foundations of the earth searched out beneath,

I will also cast off all the seed of Israel

For all that they have done, says the Lord. (Jer.31:37)

As we have not reached the end of the universe, we have not been able to drill beyond the upper 25-30% of earth’s crust.  Neither will the end of God’s promises to Israel be reached.

Science taught the earth was flat for millennia, yet God knew it was a sphere as Isaiah wrote.  Poor Chris Columbus—he was going to sail right off the edge of the ocean and never return!  How did that turn out?  The prophet also speaks of the heavens being stretched out and science agrees the universe is expanding.  No scientist in Isaiah’s time was aware of such.  They would have laughed at the suggestion.

It is He who sits above the circle of the earth,

And its inhabitants are like grasshoppers,

Who stretches out the heavens like a curtain,

And spreads them out like a tent to dwell in.  (Isa.40:22)

How about a little physics?

According to the laws of thermodynamics, the universe is not only expanding (stretching) but energy is dissipating.

Of old You laid the foundation of the earth,

And the heavens are the work of Your hands.

They will perish, but You will endure;

Yes, they will all grow old like a garment;

Like a cloak You will change them,

And they will be changed. (Ps.102:25-26)

Like the universe, this lesson could keep expanding because there is so much to say, but I don’t want the subject to wear thin!  So, God willing, we will have another Scripture science lesson tomorrow.

CAN I TRUST THE BIBLE? The Logical Rationale, Part 4

Although the Bible is not a science textbook, the science expressed in the text is remarkable. Today, we begin to examine some of the scientific proof of the trustworthiness of Scripture.

The Bible deals with Astronomy.

     He stretches out the north over empty space;

     He hangs the earth on nothing.  (Job 26:7)

When Job wrote those words, the learned believed the world was held up by something.  Ancient Greeks believed the world rested on Atlas’ shoulders.  The Hindus taught that earth is on the back of a giant elephant and the elephant stands on a gigantic turtle who swims in a cosmic ocean.  Yet, Job gives an answer in accordance with scientific fact.  The earth rests on nothing!

You say you have the answer: gravity holds the earth in its orbit.  Well, what exactly is gravity and where does it come from?  We know what it does, but not really what it is!  It is a force, a power.  I can explain it this way: Jesus, “who being the brightness of His glory and the express image of His person, and upholding all things by the word of His power” (Heb.1:3).  The Lord has decreed it so, and so it is!

Jeremiah tells us that the rising and setting of the sun, and the ebb and flow of the tides, are fixed by the Creator—sunrise and sunset according to the tilt and rotation of the earth, and high and low tide according to the gravitational forces exerted by the Moon and Sun and earth’s rotation.

     Thus says the Lord,

     Who gives the sun for a light by day,

     The ordinances of the moon and the stars for a light by night,

     Who disturbs the sea,

      And its waves roar

     (The Lord of hosts is His name):

     “If those ordinances depart

     From before Me, says the Lord,

     Then the seed of Israel shall also cease

     From being a nation before Me forever.” (Jer.31:35-36)

God assures Israel of the faithfulness of His covenant promises with them by illustrating with the faithfulness of His covenant with creation.  Thus, we can calculate the precise time the sun peeks over the horizon in the morning and when it slips beneath it at night.  Should you go to the beach this summer on vacation, you can look up in advance when high tide and low tide are reached.  The prophet knew this scientific fact, ordained by God.

Jeremiah also points to the innumerable stars and sands to illustrate God’s intended blessing on David’s descendants.  "As the host of heaven cannot be numbered, nor the sand of the sea measured, so will I multiply the descendants of David My servant and the Levites who minister to Me." (33:26)

Have you tried to count them?  At first, men could only see them with the naked eye and it was an impressive number, then telescopes came along and we discovered more stars, now with space telescopes we see even more.  God knew they were there all along. He even has a name for each one (just as He knows the location of every grain of sand, and their total number)!

Here is what modern science says,

"In a typical galaxy, if you measure its mass by looking at the rotation curve, about 90 percent of that is dark matter," David Kornreich, an assistant professor at Ithaca College in New York, previously told Space.com.

Multiplying the number of galaxies — which is about 2 trillion — by the 100 million stars in the galaxy suggests there could be about 10 raised to the19th power stars in the universe, Conselice says.

"But this could easily be a factor of 10 higher," Conselice said.

(https://www.livescience.com/56634-how-many-stars-are-in-the-universe.html)

In other words—with all our technology and computing power—we don’t know!

We have discovered there is a great difference in the size and light from the stars—that they differ one from another.  The Apostle Paul wrote about that in the first century, “There is one glory of the sun, another glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars; for one star differs from another star in glory.” (1 Cor.15:41).

In further lessons, we will see what the Bible says about biology, geology, hydrology, meteorology, paleontology, and physics.  What an amazing Book—the Bible!

CAN I TRUST THE BIBLE? The Logical Rationale, Part 3

In this post, we will begin to explore THE SCIENTIFIC PROOF of the Bible’s accuracy.  Science and the Bible are, very often, pitted against each other—as though they are enemies.  How can this be, since God is the Author of both?  God is Truth and all that is true comes from God.  True Christian faith is not anti-science, and proven science is not anti-faith, since both are grounded in fact.

Now, here is a difference—the Bible is set, fixed, and final—the complete revelation of God to which nothing can be added or subtracted in terms of what we need to know about God and how to have eternal life in Him—to serve and glorify Him.  The Bible doesn’t tell us all we want to know, or all we could know, even all we will know, but it gives us all we need to know for life here and for the hereafter.  Science ever changes—new discoveries are made and knowledge increases.  Old ideas are discarded or amended.  Some have estimated that in the library of the Louvre in Paris, France, there are at least 3and ½ miles of science books that are obsolete.  No one reads a word of them.  The rate at which science and technology are expanding is exponential—so that the science textbook used this year will be outdated perhaps before the year is out! 

Consider once more a vital truth: although the Bible is not a science textbook, the science expressed in the text is remarkable.  It was light years ahead of its day, and where it touches on the realm of science the Word of God is accurate.

For instance, in Acts 7:22, we are told that Moses was learned in all of the science of the Egyptians. …He knew all the latest scientific fads, he was abreast with all the latest scientific discoveries of his day.  These Egyptians were brilliant people [witness their construction of the pyramids, DT]. …Those Egyptian scientists believed…that this earth was hatched out of a great cosmic egg, an egg that had wings and was flying around through space. …That was the latest scientific theory among those who taught in the days of Moses.

So I turn over here to the Word of God expecting to read about that flying egg, for after all, Moses was learned in all the science of the Egyptians.  But I find nothing at all about an enormous hatchery.  Instead of that, I read of creation in the sublimest words that man could pen: “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.”

Those Egyptians also had a science of astronomy.  They believed that the sun was the reflection of the light on the earth, and that the earth was the center of this universe, but in Genesis I find that Moses reversed the order—it is the sun that gives light to the earth.

The Egyptians had a science of anthropology.  They were naïve evolutionists.  They believed that mankind sprang from little white worms that they found in the slime and ooze and mud of the alluvial deposit after the Nile’s annual overflow. …The scientists of Moses’ day with their theory of evolution from worms were not far behind those today who would have you believe that your remote ancestors were fleabitten apes hanging by their tails in a primeval jungle.  I read in the Bible that Moses was learned in all the science of the Egyptians.  But he says nothing about those little white worms and how we were descended from them.  Instead, he writes in the most majestic language in human speech: “And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness.”  (W.A. Criswell, “The Bible for Today’s World, pp.18-19)

This introduces our topic.  In future posts, we will roll out evidence after evidence of science that underscores the trustworthiness of the Bible.

CAN I TRUST THE BIBLE? The Logical Rationale, Part 2

The skeptic wants to make the Bible out to be irrational, illogical nonsense.  Bible believers are viewed as some backwoods, barely literate yokels.  The reality is that you do not have to check your brain at the door with your hat when you enter the church house.

Let me begin by stating THE REASONABLE PROPOSITION. God exists, and He is a God who communicates; since we are made in His image and communicate, it is logical that He would communicate with us; and since written communication is the most accurate and enduring form of communication, God has given us His written revelation.

“Thus says the LORD, the King of Israel, And his Redeemer, the LORD of hosts: ‘I am the First and I am the Last; Besides Me there is no God. And who can proclaim as I do? Then let him declare it and set it in order for Me, Since I appointed the ancient people. And the things that are coming and shall come, Let them show these to them. Do not fear, nor be afraid; Have I not told you from that time, and declared it? You are My witnesses. Is there a God besides Me? Indeed there is no other Rock; I know not one. ’ ”  (Isaiah‬ ‭44:6-8‬ ‭NKJV‬‬)

This purports to be God’s testimony—that He exists, He speaks, and those who heard Him have witnessed to Him.

So, God exists.  It is folly to think otherwise.  I spent several weeks this year on the evidence for God.  I am not going to re-preach those sermons—you can go online and listen to them again, if need be.  Visit www.polecreek.org and go to the sermon tab, and look for “Can I Believe in God?” It is ludicrous to believe nothing became something, and that through random accidents and mutations over millions and millions of years the material became biological and the biological transformed into one new form after another—a process unobserved in history and not replicated in a laboratory.  There is only one reason not to believe in God—we want to be our own god and set our own standards.  That is the underlying reason for rejecting Scripture, as well.

To think that there would be a God and God would not choose to communicate His nature, attributes, and will for us is unreasonable.  We know from nature and conscience that there is a God and that He has moral demands—but what is that God like and what are His demands?  If we look to nature, we can come up with all kinds of speculations about the nature of God—even worshipping nature itself—with innumerable ideas about Him.  How would you know?  If we look to conscience, it becomes very subjective—some would say this is right and some would say it is wrong—and we would find nothing authoritative to guide us.

It is reasonable then that God would choose to communicate to us clearly.  That we—as creatures made in His image—communicate with each other, and those words reveal who we are, points to a higher Being who would communicate in a flawless manner.  The medium of communication is words. If you want to build a brick house, you need bricks.  If you want to construct an automobile, you need auto parts.  If you want to communicate, you need words.  Humans communicate with words—we speak them, compose songs, write poetry, post on social media, text, email, and the like.  It is a wondrous, God-given trait.  This is also His way of communicating with us via His Word—the Bible.  That makes sense, doesn’t it?

We do not want people to lie to us—and yet they do.  But we do not like it, and we would certainly think it unreasonable that an infinitely higher moral Being than even the most honest of mortals should lie.  He does not.  What has been given by God is perfect as He is—inerrant and infallible.

The best way for God to communicate in an accurate and enduring manner would be for it to be written communication.  We don’t have to rely on our memory—that is a dangerous thing.  If I want to recall something, I better write it down!  We don’t have to rely on oral traditions handed down by word of mouth from generation to generation.  Did you ever play the “Gossip Game?”  You know—you whisper a sentence in someone’s ear, and then they do it to the next person, and as it is relayed down the line, by the time it reaches the last person, what is spoke barely resembles what was first uttered.  God’s message would get that twisted.  Instead, we can look it up and read it.  Rather than trying to recall the ingredients of a cake with precise measurements and baking time, we can open a cookbook and look at the recipe—and God’s recipe for successful life is found in His Book.  We might try to recall the directions the man in the convenience store told us about how to reach our destination, but looking at a map is far better—and God’s roadmap for reaching heaven is the Bible.

The existence of God and the nature of man provide the logical rationale for why we must have the Bible.  It just makes sense!

CAN I TRUST THE BIBLE? Part 1 THE LOGICAL RATIONALE

People have many opinions about the Bible.  Gentlemen’s Quarterly just published an article of 21 books they say aren’t worth reading despite their reputation as great books. The Bible is listed at No. 12 because, they opine, it is “not the finest thing that man has ever produced.” They state, “Those who have read it know there are some good parts, but overall it is certainly not the finest thing that man has ever produced,” and that, “It is repetitive, self-contradictory, sententious, foolish, and even at times ill-intentioned.”  To that, I would simply say, many more people purchase copies of the Bible than GQ, a lot more would know what the Bible is than have ever heard of GQ, and when that magazine is relegated to the trash pile of human history, the Word of God will endure!

So, there are certainly many opinions about the Bible.  But, opinions are like armpits—everybody has them and some of them stink!

But, the question before us is, “Can I trust the Bible?”  Many of our congregation (I would hope ALL) would quickly and emphatically answer, “Yes!” 

Then, if I follow up with, “Why do you trust it?” I would get a lot of responses like:

      “I just do!”

      “It’s a matter of faith.” 

      “It’s what I was taught.” 

      “The Bible claims it is the Word of God.” 

These may be satisfactory answers for conservative Christians, but they will not assure the child who is confronted by a skeptical teacher or friend; those answers will not satisfy a lot of those that the church should be trying to reach in the community who doubt the Bible. 

Here is a better response: The existence of God and the nature of man provide the logical rationale for why we must have the Bible.  Although the Bible is not a science textbook, the science expressed in the text is remarkable.

There is a logical rationale that we will follow in this series.  We will set forth a reasonable proposition and scientific proof.  I hope this will encourage you to read, study, believe, obey, and share the Word of God.

ETERNAL HOPE; EVERLASTING HOME

Unless Christ rose from the dead, I am wasting my time writing this and you are wasting your time reading.  Thankfully, He lives!  There are so many implications to that truth.    For one, it establishes eternal hope and provides an everlasting home.  Paul talks about this in 2 Corinthians 4:16-5:10.

Life is relentless—it just keeps coming at you, like the waves of the restless sea.  At times, those waves become tsunamis of trouble.  It is easy to lose heart.
 
Yet, we need not.  Paul reminds us here that although the pain of earth is real, the promise of eternity is far superior.  Outwardly, our strength and health will decline over time—this physical frame eventually grows frail and will fail.  Inwardly, the real person that is housed in a body, can grow stronger and stronger, and with it, the magnetic appeal of heaven overcomes the bonds of earth and we are lifted up to real home in glory.

Paul knew what it was like to suffer.  Do you hear him whining?  His tone is one of triumph.  Far from affliction overwhelming him, he sees how pain aids him—the knowledge that God uses the sorrows of this world to shape us into Christlikeness—that the weight of glory is incomparable when placed on the scales of our soul, in relation to the lightness of difficulty. What we see is temporary, as this material universe passes away, while what we know by faith concerning the spiritual, invisible Kingdom of God is eternally fixed.

For now, we groan.  Today we abide in a tent—a temporary structure that houses our souls.  Someday it will be exchanged for a permanent dwelling in a resurrection body.  Our groans give way to glory!  Our homesickness for heaven will eventually be met with a happy homecoming.  God’s Spirit within the child of God gives us that tug heavenward and His presence assures us of ultimate arrival.

So, let us walk by faith, and not by sight.  Looking around us will burden us.  Looking above us will bless us!  The moment we die, gazing into the face of Jesus will make every heartache forgotten.

Some have accused Christians of, “being so heavenly minded as to be of no earthly good.”  Not so!  Paul tells us that a correct perspective of eternity brings a compelling passion on earth.  Living in light of eternity makes us into difference-makers!  We labor for the Lord as those who must give account at the judgment seat of Christ.  Lord, make us faithful that in the judgment we may be declared fruitful!

MARCH ON!

And when they had sung a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives.

He went a little farther and fell on His face, and prayed, saying, “O My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as You will. ”

And those who had laid hold of Jesus led Him away to Caiaphas the high priest, where the scribes and the elders were assembled.

And when they had bound Him, they led Him away and delivered Him to Pontius Pilate the governor.

And when they had mocked Him, they took the robe off Him, put His own clothes on Him, and led Him away to be crucified.

And Jesus cried out again with a loud voice and yielded up His spirit.

When Joseph had taken the body, he wrapped it in a clean linen cloth, and laid it in his new tomb which he had hewn out of the rock; and he rolled a large stone against the door of the tomb, and departed.

“He is not here; for He is risen, as He said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay. And go quickly and tell His disciples that He is risen from the dead, and indeed He is going before you into Galilee; there you will see Him. Behold, I have told you.”

Then the eleven disciples went away into Galilee, to the mountain which Jesus had appointed for them.

Now when He had spoken these things, while they watched, He was taken up, and a cloud received Him out of their sight. And while they looked steadfastly toward heaven as He went up, behold, two men stood by them in white apparel, who also said, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand gazing up into heaven? This same Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will so come in like manner as you saw Him go into heaven.”

(Matthew 26;30, 39, 57; 27:2, 31, 50, 59-60; 28:6-7, 16; Acts 1:9-11)

Jesus left the Upper Room following the institution of the Lord’s Supper—crossing the Kidron Valley and up the Mount of Olives to Gethsemane.  Knowing what He was going to face, He did not hesitate. March on Jesus!  March on!

Into the garden, He left the disciples to pray—and instead, they slept—so He prayed alone, wrestling as He would drink the cup.  Might it be avoided?  No, for this cause He came.  March on Jesus!  March on!

The violent mobbed seized Him.  Peter whipped out his sword to fight for Him, but He could have summoned the legions of heaven to rescue Him.  But, He surrendered Himself—the Holy One in the bloody hands of those brutes.  March on Jesus!  March on!

Marched to trial before the religious and government authorities—a kangaroo court—yet He did not protest, a Lamb led to the slaughter. Brutally beaten and cruelly mocked, yet He did not flee.  March on Jesus!  March on!

Shouldering the cross:

Up Calv’ry’s mountain, one dreadful morn,
Walked Christ my Savior, weary and worn;
Facing for sinners death on a cross,
That He might save them from endless loss. (Avis Christiansen)

March on Jesus!  March on!

And so He was nailed to that cross—suffering as none had ever suffered, paying the excruciating price of all sins of all men of all time, that we who received Him might be forgiven.  He went where no one else could go—marching to the gates of hell—and declaring His victory over the demonic realm.  He crushed the serpent’s head!  March on Jesus!  March on!

Out of the grave, He walked!  Conqueror over death, hell, and the grave—nail-scarred feet strode from the tomb in triumph!  No stone could seal His grave.  No guards could prevent His exit.  March on Jesus!  March on!

He walked among men, the Lord of Glory for forty more days until He met the disciples on the Mount of Olives again, where He would commission His church and depart through the clouds—and on to heaven itself.  What a reception He received as He returned from His mission now accomplished—on to the throne of His Father, and reunion!  March on Jesus!  March on!

And the promise is that the very place where His feet last touched the ground, will once more be the place where they will touch down—maybe very soon—and He will seize the scepter of universal dominion, treading all His foes beneath those blessed feet.  Lord, hasten that day!  March on Jesus!  March on!

FOLLOW YOUR HEART?

Read Jeremiah 17.

We have heard the instruction, “Follow your heart!” We dare not! Rather, heed the will of God found in the Word of God. The heart of man is deceitful and desperately wicked. Sin has been engraved on it with a diamond-tipped, iron pen, so that what we think is good is bad and that which we brand bad is good.

The people of Judah were doomed to judgment for following their hearts’ diabolical desires. They worshipped the creation rather than the Creator. They trusted in what they could see instead of the immortal, invisible God who saw them.

The beautiful, bountiful blessings of a land flowing with milk and honey would be stripped and plundered by a marauding army. It would be as though they were sitting in the gasoline of God’s wrath, and their sins were the match they would continually be striking, until one day the explosive flame of HIs fury ignited.

We can know the blessing of trusting in God or the cursing of trusting in ourselves. To look to the Lord as our hope is to find the stability of being rooted by the river of His grace, the beauty of evergreen foliage where we reflect His glory, and the productivity of fruitfulness as His Spirit works in and through us.

Jeremiah testifies to his faithfulness in a populace that had forsaken the Lord. He cries out for God to spare him even as he visits judgment on his generation. He confesses his hope in the Lord.

It is never easy to stand alone. But, really the child of God never does—the Lord is near all who trust in Him. We can speak against the evil of our day. They may not be persuaded to repent. This generation may choose to stop their ears to the truth—that is the deceitfulness of the heart. What I have control over is my own path—to choose God’s way, as I look to His wisdom and lean on His strength. In the words of the old hymn:

“Stand up, stand up for Jesus!
Stand in His strength alone,
The arm of flesh will fail you, ye dare not trust your own.”

RUN FOR YOUR LIFE!

Read Jeremiah 16. 

When you wake up and your house is on fire, you don’t have time to shower and make breakfast—you run out as fast as you can.  Typical activities are set aside and we shift into crisis mode.  That is essentially what God alerts Jeremiah to in this chapter.  Jerusalem is about to be engulfed in the flames of God’s wrath.  The usual activities—good in their place—are no longer a priority.

Gruesome deaths will soon be witnessed in Jerusalem—whether by starvation, as the Babylonian army besieges the city or by sword, as the pagan power breaks through the defenses.  The carnage will be overwhelming—carcasses littering the ground—and not enough people to bury them.  The survivors will be carried into captivity, while the corpses will rot as human refuse, picked over by buzzards and beasts.  They had first forsaken God, and so God will now forsake them.

Because of this, Jeremiah is forbidden to marry, mourn, or engage in mirth.  He will have no marriage, for having a wife and seeing her suffer would only compound his sorrow exponentially.  He cannot mourn by attending a funeral.  There will be no funerals—too much death and not enough people to bury them.  There will be no mirth, as the prophet will attend no wedding celebrations. The young will die—the voices of the bridegroom and bride vanishing from the land, replaced by their dying gasps.

The spiritually senseless people question Jeremiah.  They can’t imagine God would do such a thing to them.  So, once more, the prophet reads heaven’s indictment against them.   Persistent sin that might prick the conscience at first, has a way of callusing our soul.

Three figures of God’s fury are presented.  God will cast them out as a warrior would hurl a spear.  Those who are cast out will be caught by the Babylonian invaders, like fish caught in a net.  Should some escape, the fishermen will become hunters to track them down.  There will be no place to hide, because God always sees and knows.  Ultimately, it is not the hand of the Babylonians that will seek them, but the hand of the Lord that will seize them in His sovereign decree of judgment.  It is the long arm of the law which they have violated.  Like a banker coming to collect a debt—the Lord will hold them accountable for their sin debt and charge them interest, as well.  What a painful day of reckoning!  

Jeremiah, however, knows where refuge can be found—as Luther wrote, “A mighty fortress is our God; a bulwark never failing.”  A ray of grace breaks through the storm clouds of judgment descending.  The Jews carried into captivity will someday be released to return.  As God brought their forefathers out of Egyptian slavery and into the Promised Land, so in an even greater way, He will bring the Jews out of captivity and back to Jerusalem.

An even more amazing display of grace will transpire—the very Gentiles whose paganism had been embraced by the Jews, leading to their chastisement, will be converted from idolatry through the Jews restored to the land.  Out of the remnant that returns, a Jew will arise, Christ Jesus, Savior not only of Israel, but Savior of the world!

Now, dear reader, understand the crisis we are in—the urgency of your setting aside all things for the main thing—getting your heart right with God.  It may be the world will soon go up in flames.  Will you escape?  We will either pay the price for our sins in the fires of eternity, or run to Christ as our Refuge, by faith receiving the forgiveness of our sin debt, in the price He paid on the cross.  You cannot run from Him, but you can run to Him!