Faith – Page 6 – HeartQuest 101

Are Miracles Possible?

Posted on March 24, 2009 by Scott Chafee

Jonah being swallowed by a great fish. Jesus feeding 5000 people with two fish and five loaves. Did these really happen? Are we to take this literally?

The whole concept of God:

The real problem is not with miracles or prophecy but with the whole concept of God. Once we assume that God actually exists, there is no problem with miracles, because by definition God is all-powerful.

God is not bound by natural laws:

The real question becomes, “Does an all-powerful God who created the universe, exist?” If He does then miracles are possible. A miracle transcends natural law which God is the author. Some people define miracle as a violation of natural law, but this definition practically deifies natural law, and God becomes a prisoner to that natural law, and in effect ceases to be God. It’s fine to believe in natural law, because we can see the usual cause and effect process at work year after year. God does not restrict His right to intervene because He is over and beyond natural law, not bound by it. Laws do not cause anything but are a description of what happens or is observed.

What is a miracle?

We generally use the term to describe anything out of the ordinary or something unexpected; however the term is used in the Bible in a different sense. Some events in the bible could have a natural explanation, like the parting of the Red Sea. High winds could have pushed the waters back, but the miraculous part was the timing. They just reached the shore, the Egyptians approaching, and all the Hebrews were able to cross on dry land.

One the other hand, there are some that do not have a natural explanation, like Lazarus being raised from the dead, or many of the physical healings (like leprosy or the man born blind). This is more than a psychosomatic situation.

Some believe that ancient people were gullible, ignorant and superstitious. Perhaps the disease they had could be explained by modern science, like demon possession could have been psychosis or epilepsy. A primitive person might see a modern jet and call it a silver bird god in the sky. But there is a problem with this perception, since many of the miracles do not fit in this category.

There is no natural explanation for the healing of a person born blind, then or today. How could anyone explain the resurrection of Jesus? One cannot get away with the supernatural aspects of the Bible.

Not in conflict with natural law:

Miracles are not in conflict with natural law! One definition of miracle is that they are unusual events caused by God; the laws of nature are generalizations about ordinary events caused by Him. Some people believe that miracles employ a higher natural law which is unknown to us. We must increase our knowledge we actually realize that the things we thought were miracles were actually higher laws of the universe, of which we were not aware at the time.

An act of creation:

On the other hand, we can view them as acts of creation. Biblical miracles are not scattered throughout the Bible randomly, but are associated with purpose. From the Exodus, through the prophets and into the time of Christ, miracles confirmed faith by authenticating the message or the messenger, or to demonstrate God’s love by relieving suffering.

Miracles are never performed for personal prestige, or to gain money or power. Jesus was tempted to do this in Matthew 4, and resisted, but He regularly used miracles to show evidence of His claims (John 14:11, John 10:25).

Why not now?

Many believe that if God would only do it today, then I would believe. But even in Jesus’ day, He dealt with this in Luke 16 in the story of the rich man and Lazarus. The kicker verse is Luke 16:31. If people have ruled out the possibility of miracles, no amount of evidence will convince them otherwise. It’s like the talking animals in the movie, Babe (1996 – the dog spoke slowly and precisely to the sheep because it was a cold fact of nature that all sheep were stupid and no one could convince him otherwise).

We have reliable records:

We don’t need miracles today because we have reliable records that tell us these miracles really happened. If miracles are capable of sensory perception, then they can be matters of recorded testimony. If they are adequately testified to, then the recorded testimony has the same validity for evidence as the same experience of beholding the event. Every court operates on the basic of reliable testimony. If an eyewitness saw and recorded the event (like Lazarus’ raised from the dead), then this witness’ testimony is as good as being at the event.

Miracles were done in public: anyone could have seen and investigated the events. Even the chief opponents of Jesus never denied the fact He could do miracles! They either attributed the event to Satan or tried to suppress the witnesses.

Miracles were performed in front of unbelievers: Jesus was no cult member that deluded his private audience, it was before unbelievers, too.

Miracles were performed over a period of time and involved a great variety of powers: power over nature (John 2:1-11), power over disease (Mark 1:29-34), power over demons (Mark 1:21-27), power with supernatural knowledge (John 1:48), power over creation (Mark 6:30-44), power over death (Mark 5:35-43).

We have testimony of the cured: lie in the case of the man born blind (John 9:25) and Lazarus (John 12:10-11).

We cannot discount biblical miracles because of the extravagant claims of pagan miracles: many pagan believe in these miracles because they already believe in the pagan religion; the Bible uses miracles to help people discover the true religion (John 20:30-31).

Pagan miracles:

These do not display the same order, dignity and motive as those found in the Bible. They do not have solid authentication of the miracle. Same can be said of miracles in our time today, they do not stand to investigation. Just because some miracles are counterfeit, does not mean all miracles are counterfeit (like discovering a few counterfeit bills does not less the authentic bills).

The question is philosophical:

The question as to whether miracles are possible is not scientific but philosophical. Science says they do not occur in the normal course of nature or observation. Science cannot forbid them because natural laws do not cause not forbid miracles. They are merely description of what happened. The only question the scientist must ask is, “Are the records of miracles historically reliable?”

Miracles in the Bible are seen as God communicating with us. The whole matter depends on our belief in the existence of God; settle that question and miracles cease to be a problem.

Refuse to be a Target

Posted on March 3, 2009 by Scott Chafee

The Men of Steel looked into this topic; how often do we wrestle with God?

Men, if we don’t confront our frailty and capacity for sin, we will always have a target on our back, just ripe for the enemy to shoot his flaming arrows into and make us fall – Ephesians 6:16. Beware guys; this is another depressing post about being on your guard against the enemy. This is part three of the wrestling match series.

I read a great book years ago called, Ordering Your Private World. Years later the same author wrote another book called, Rebuilding Your Broken World. The basis for the first book was to help Christians order their lives in such a way that they live on purpose and for God. The second book was written after the restoration process the author went through due to a moral failure. He mentions the one thing he could never see himself doing was committing adultery… and that’s what took him down. A prominent pastor and author did not see himself as vulnerable to the enemy’s attack.

We need to admit to ourselves that we are vulnerable. There’s something in every man of steel that acts like kryptonite, which has a sole purpose of bringing each of us down. If you don’t believe that you can commit a certain sin, you remain vulnerable to it. Why? Because if we are so sure we will never do it, we never set up safeguards against it. Without safeguards, you are vulnerable to any sin.

You never thought you could get that angry.
You never thought you could get that aggressive.
You never thought you could have an affair.
You never thought you could be that weak.
You never thought you could be addicted to porn.
You never thought you could be an alcoholic.
You never thought you could leave your family.
You never thought you could be that hurtful.

For many men, they never thought they could… so they did. You’ve got to look square in the mirror and say to yourself, “I could commit every sin.” Whatever your problem may be, there’s always a problem behind your problem, and the Bible calls that problem sin.

What is it that makes a 40 year old married man try to act like he’s 20 and single?
What makes a man try to drown his trouble in alcohol or illegal drugs?
Why does a man need to prove himself by doing daredevil stunts?

It’s called our sin nature! This is the part of you that wants to do the bad stuff rather than what is right. When we accept Christ, this old nature is trying to fight back for control in your life. But it is this sin nature that is supposed to be put to death while we are made alive in Christ – Galatians 2:20. If we continue to sin, it shows where our loyalties really lie – 1 John 3:8.

If you’ve messed up… forgiveness is ready for all who submit to Christ, putting their faith in Him and allowing His Spirit to help us to repent of our sin. It’s a conscious effort to repent, which is to turn from sin and turn toward God. Remember that He is ready and able to forgive – 1 John 1:9. Restoration of relationships takes more time, because while we are forgiven for our past sin, the consequence of our sin may remain for a long time.

I’m glad that you are a part of the Men of Steel. It shows a commitment to being the best man that you can be, for God’s sake, for your wife’s sake and your kids’ sake.

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Does Archaeology Confirm Scripture?

Posted on March 3, 2009 by Scott Chafee

At first the ancient cities were the targets of study, but soon there were found names and places that are in the OT. Persian governors spoke through their letters and Egyptian Pharaohs in gold-lined coffins can now be identified. Scholars found rich discoveries about the neighbors of the early Israelites. Reliability of the Bible has been affirmed in a number of important areas, substantiating the claims of the Bible.

Mostly the goal is to verify some specific biblical events that were doubted or ridiculed. Another is to help explain biblical culture and practices. When an apparent conflict exists, rather than conclude that the Bible is wrong, it is best to admit the problem exists and hold it open to further discoveries.

Sources for archaeologists:

There have been over 25,000 sites excavated in the Holy Land. Some sites the names have changed and others have remained the same for 3500 years, like Damascus.

How can these finds be dated?

Cities were rebuilt on top of the previous one. Fashions of pottery change. King’s had inscriptions on temple door hinges, and the names of the gods were written. Sumerian scribe had a catalogue system. A few miles from Ur there was found an inscription of a king with an unknown name, of the first dynasty of Ur, which the scribes speak as the third dynasty after the great flood. This is 3100 years before Jesus and 1000 years before Abraham.

Abraham’s time:

Places could not be identified until in 1933 a party of Arabs unearthed a stone statue that revealed a name of an elaborate palace called Mari (covering six acres and 260 rooms). 20,000 cuneiform tablets were found describing the culture. Another city, Nuzi, east of Mari on the Tigris River, discusses the customs that Abraham faced in Genesis 15:4 and Genesis 16:1-2, regarding Ishmael and Isaac. Hammurabi’s code required the slave’s child be kept, which was preempted by God’s command for Hagar to flee with Ishmael.

Writing in the patriarchal times:

The city of Ebla has the most extensive discovery unearthed in the New East, dating back to the third millennium BC. It was a modern city, a highly developed culture. There was a room that had been burned, discovered in 1975, with 20,000 clay tablets on the floor; 5000 years of history. We know that biblical history took place in a world where writing was common.

The biblical kings:

Solomon’s splendor had been questioned, the large navy with no suitable coastline for a harbor. An army of 1400 chariots, and 1200 horses. Huge building projects… confirmed by excavations.

Solomon’s gold – 1 Kings 10:21

The description is breathtaking – 1 Kings 6:21-22, 9:11. This is not a scribe’s exaggeration, but a reflection of ancient times.

A conflict described:

In 1868, the Moabite Stone was discovered and the local Arab men thought they could get better prices by selling more pieces, so they heated it and then poured on cold water to break it. The archaeologists had already made an impression of the stone so the story was not destroyed. Chemosh is confirmed – 1 Kings 11:33, 2 Kings 23:13, Jeremiah 48:3. The stone also mentioned the God Israel, YHWY.

Daniel and Belshazzar:

Daniel names Belshazzar as the last king of Babylon, while Nabonidus is named in ancient Babylonian documents. Later discoveries were that Nabonidus removed himself for a ten-year stint in Arabia, leaving his son Belshazzar in charge, for all purposes he was the king. Prior to the Babylonian chronicles, Daniel is the only one that named Belshazzar as the king.

New Testament accuracy:

This is not so much digging for ancient civilizations, but finding written documents, with public or private inscriptions: shopping lists, private notes, legends on coins. Turns out the NT Greek was very similar to the language of the common people.

Stone inscriptions:

Luke took history very seriously and was right on all accounts. He includes many lines of historical details – Luke 2:1, 3:1.

No pious forgery:

Paul’s timeline confirmed at Felix’s replacement by Festus (Acts 24:27) in Nero’s fifth year, before October AD 59. Jerusalem was destroyed in AD 70 and a new pagan city was built on the site in AD 130. Keith Schoville, “Archaeological excavations have produces ample evidence that the Bible is not a pious forgery.” Basically, he says the Bible has never been proven false.

God Sparing Your Life

Posted on March 2, 2009 by Scott Chafee

The Men of Steel looked into this topic; how often do we wrestle with God?

Years ago at a youth conference (anybody remember Bill Gothard’s Institute for Basic Youth Conflicts?), anyway, I saw a “campaign” button that read, “PBPWMGINFWMY.” Confused? It stood for, “Please be patient with me, God is not finished with me yet.” Men today need to listen to that advice. We want to be fixed, and want God to do it now. But the problem is that it has taken so long to develop the habits that have made us as “lame” as we are that it is going to take a whole lot of time to undo what we have built and start fresh on a new foundation.

Men, none of us has arrived. There is always more work to be done, more home improvement that can be accomplished, more areas in life that could be made better… don’t think so? Let’s go visit your wife! She will likely come up with a bulleted list, or pull out the hidden list she has been working on since you came back from the honeymoon!

God needs to work on each one of us. That should not surprise any man when he takes an honest look at himself… desiring to be the best husband and father he can be for his family’s sake. With all the mistakes of life, we should be grateful that God has kept us alive long enough so He can continue to work on us, in us and sometimes in spite of us. I’m personally grateful for what He has poured into me over the years.

Perhaps you can see God’s hand on your life. He’s brought you through some events in life that made you wonder why He ever saved you? Maybe at some point you were driving home drunk, just an accident waiting to happen… maybe you were arguing with your wife, just on the verge of getting physical… maybe you were friendly with a woman at the office and the flirtatious invitation to get a bite to eat after work was a bit too tempting. God was there, even when you did not realize it.

Some men are grieving over having already fallen, but remember God was still here, ready to forgive and help you get back on the right path. He continues to have you in His grasp. Pray as we have been directed in the Bible, “Lord, be merciful to me, a sinner” (Luke 18:13).

If God had not been merciful to us when we were sinners, we’d all be dead! Some men have been through so much that they are amazed that they are still alive. Other men would have self-destructed much earlier. Some men get depressed too easily. Others become discouraged too easily. A few become suicidal too easily. Men need to reach deep inside to find their inner Rambo! Put on your camouflage face paint, tie a bandana around your forehead, and grit your hunting knife in your teeth… it’s time to fight! Fight the enemy whose sole purpose is to see you fall. Seeking biblical support for all this fighting? Check out 1 Timothy 6:12, and 2 Timothy 2:3-4.

I am reminded of another man, in the Bible, whose life was spared… the wrestler, Jacob (Genesis 32:30). This is the story where Jacob wrestled with “God” all night, and he eventually dislocated his hip in the process. Jacob came away with a limp, but he also came away a changed man; this event had a spiritual impact on his life. The point is that Jacob needed God. His name meant “deceiver” or “swindler” and he lived up to it. His brother was out to kill him for his treachery. But God was not finished with Jacob yet. His name is changed to Israel, which is the name that is echoed throughout the Old Testament, representing the people to God, specifically the twelve tribe of Israel.

Are you ready to rumble? God has brought you this far for a purpose. He wants to spare your life, if only we will submit to Him. How often have you found yourself wrestling against God, and after it was all over you were amazed that your life was spared? Change may not come quickly, but hang in there; God is not finished with you yet.

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Did Jesus Rise from the Dead?

Posted on February 23, 2009 by Scott Chafee

The resurrection is the foundation of the Christian faith – 1 Corinthians 15:14. Since we have already looked into the big questions of life (Where did we come from? Why are we here? Where are we going?), so if Christ rose from the dead, we know for certain that God exists, what He is like and that He has a great plan for humankind!

Not wishful thinking:

If the resurrection had never happened, Christianity is nothing more than a museum piece, and devotees whom many have given their lives were only poor deluded fools. Skeptics attack the resurrection because Christianity stands or falls on this fact.

One skeptic promotes that it is all a fable or fantasy, attempting to expose the faith as a fraud and superstition. While Frank Morison was doing his research, he could not get past the question, “Who moved the stone?” Lee Strobel has a similar testimony, while trying to expose Christianity as a lie, he examined the evidence and came to faith in Christ.

Data to be considered:

The fact of the Christian church: It can be traced back to the first century Palestine, around AD 32. Did it just happen or was there a cause for it? They were first called Christians in Antioch, and they turned the world up-side down – Acts 11:26, 17:6. They constantly referred to the resurrection as the basis for their teaching and living.

Then there is the fact of the Christian day: Sunday is the day of worship, and can be traced back to around AD 32. Something significant must have happened to change the day from the Jewish Sabbath to the first day of the week. Even more remarkable is the fact that many of the first Christians were Jewish!

There is the Christian book, the New Testament: There are six independent testimonies to the fact of the resurrection; three of them by eyewitnesses (peter, John and Matthew). These who helped transform the moral fabric of society could not have been skilled liars or deluded madmen.

Accounting for the empty tomb:

The earliest explanation was the disciples stole the body (Matthew 28:11-12, 13-15) – Religious leaders gave money to guards to say the disciples came and stole the body while they were asleep. It was so false that Matthew did not even bother to refute it. If they were asleep, how would they know the disciples did this? It would be laughed out of court. This was also totally out of character of the disciples; they would be thieves and liars. But each of these disciples faced torture and martyrdom. People will die for what they believe to be true, though it may actually be false. They do not however die for what the know to be a lie.

The Jewish or Roman authorities stole the body: But why? Evidence they did not comes out of their silence in the face of the bold preaching of the resurrection by the apostles. They were in rage and did all they could to squash this new faith. The truth is that if they had taken the body, they would have paraded the bloody corpse through the streets of Jerusalem!

The women, distraught with grief in the pre-dawn light, went to the wrong tomb: They imagined Christ was alive because they found a tomb empty. If this happened, the authorities would have just gone to the right tomb and produced the body. It is also inconceivable that all the disciples would have made such a mistake, and Joseph of Arimathea would not have gone to the wrong tomb (it belonged to him – Matthew 27:57-59, 60-61).

The swoon theory: Jesus did not actually die, but was weak, exhausted and passed out, but in the cool of the tomb was revived and got out. First off, these Roman guards were good at their trade; they knew dead when they saw it! If Jesus revived, how did he regain strength without food or water for three days? What about the blood loss? How did He remove the grave clothes? How did He roll away the stone, overcome the guards, and walked miles on spike pierced feet? How do you explain the appearances of Christ with only the nail wounds? He would have looked like a resuscitated corpse not a glorified Savior.

The appearances of Christ:

This happened from the morning of the resurrection to 40 days later. He appeared to Peter and John, the disciples, over 500 people, in different places (the tomb, the upper room, to the Emmaus Road). These eyewitnesses testify that this actually happened.

Was it a hallucination? These people were a diverse group and dispositions, not said to be imaginative of nervous minded. Hallucinations are subjective and individual; no two people have the same experience. When He appeared to the 500, over have of them were alive by the time Paul wrote about it in First Corinthians 15. Hallucinations usually take place at certain times and places. These appearances happened indoors, outdoors, and at all times during the day. Some of these experiences took place over a long period of time, abruptly ending after the ascension.

A hallucination is generally comes from an intense desire to believe something that is not there, so he attached reality to the imagination. But these disciples were persuaded against their wills to believe He was raised from the dead. They came to the tomb with spices in hand. Mary did not expect to see Jesus alive, and even mistook Him for the gardener. The disciples believed he story to be an idle tale. When they thought they had seen a ghost, He calms then by inviting them to touch Him and even eating with them, something a hallucination would not have done.

Then there’s Thomas. He wasn’t about to believe in this hallucination! When Jesus shows up, he exclaims “My Lord and my God.” To hold to the hallucination theory is to ignore the evidence. What changed these cowardly disciples into men of courage and conviction? How do we explain Peter’s denial before the crucifixion to Peter’s sermon at Pentecost, later risking harm and jail time?

Contemporary proof:

If Jesus is alive, He is ready to invade your existence. Thousands of people across the globe have trusted Him with their salvation, and testify how He changed their lives.

Are You Trapped at the Gate?

Posted on February 6, 2009 by Scott Chafee

The Men of Steel looked into this topic; this lame man represents all men and the issues we face:

Who was the Lame Man at the Gate? (Acts 3:1, 2, 3)
What are You Expecting From the Church?
How Did You Get Where You Are?
Are You Trapped at the Gate?
Was the Lame Man at the Gate Distracted?

I thought I was finished with the Lame Man at the Gate, but not so fast, here’s part four… I find his story very appropriate for men today, and I have another observation to bring up. (Acts 3:2)

Remember that friends carried this lame guy to the gate, and at the end of the day they took him back to his home. Take a look at just where they left him; at a gate of the temple that was so beautiful that they called it the “Beautiful Gate.” See the irony? This man had an ugly problem and it matters little that he was at the Beautiful Gate! Any man with an ugly problem (visible or secret) cannot enjoy or appreciate the beauty around him.

Don’t forget, all this is taking place in the Promised Land, the “land flowing with milk and honey.” This was a descriptive for God’s care, provision and blessing; providing His people with the land that He promised Abraham generations ago. As a lame man, he was not able to enter the temple (2 Samuel 5:8), which was reserved for able-bodied men. Even though he was in the right place, he’s not really a part of the religious community.

Today, so many men are close to being in the right place, they are not fully there. They’re close enough to the church to know what’s going on, to know who’s who and what is being preached, but they are not all the way into the body of Christ. These guys are trapped at the gate.

The contemporary Christian music group, Building 429, has a song out called, “You Carried Me” (fits the lame theme, right?). Here are a few lines from the song…

I’ve been so busy. I missed the reasons.
I missed Your love and I nearly missed it all.
Still You’ve held me and You’ve healed me.
You’ve given all and it brought me to Your cross.
And I stand only because
You’ve given me grace to walk, only because…

You carried me. You carried me.
You carried me through it all.
And I believe. Yes I believe.
You’ll carry me all the way home, ‘cause mercy covers all.

I know the Scripture. I’ve known the songs.
I sang the words from my hollowed heart.
But You’ve spoken softly through the storm.
I’ve heard Your voice and I’ve felt the calm.

We can be so familiar with the church and the ritual that we fail to encounter the God whom the church worships and serves. He is the only reason we gather in the first place. Men can sit at a distance, at a beautiful gate, and then feel as if they are exactly where they need to be. But they are still trapped by their ugly problem, this whole life-affecting problem. They don’t get it; that God can heal their heart, their marriage, their family, their relationships, and touch their soul and bring peace, purpose and potential.

All this to say that men today can be so close to the church yet still embrace the problem that causes their lameness. Rather than going through the motions, we need to get connected to the source of life, meaning and our only real help. God can carry us through our brokenness, and when that happens, the essence of the beautiful gate will rub off on us and we can live up to it’s name.

How Did You Get Where You Are?

Posted on February 2, 2009 by Scott Chafee

The Men of Steel looked into this topic; this lame man represents all men and the issues we face:

Who was the Lame Man at the Gate? (Acts 3:1, 2, 3)
What are You Expecting From the Church?
How Did You Get Where You Are?
Are You Trapped at the Gate?
Was the Lame Man at the Gate Distracted?

This is part three from the Men of Steel topic on the Lame Man at the Gate and What Are You Expecting? (From Acts 3:1-5).

Ever think about that question? Sometimes we ask this question when we get deep into trouble, but not so much when things go well. Do well, and it’s internal… it’s my giftedness, ability or determination, but if we’re in trouble it goes to something more external like dumb luck, circumstances, “the devil made me do it” or life is just out of control. As the Nationwide commercial goes, life comes at your fast.

A friend told me about a story about a turtle on the top of a fence post. If you find someone at the top of his game like that, you have to assume that someone else put him there. No one gets to the top alone. Another positive illustration of community.

Just how do we get through the rough things of life? We often look at our lame legs and fail to see the bigger picture. Remember that our lameness is anything that is considered to be a problem, a personal need or an area of weakness in our lives. Sometimes we don’t consider where we are because we don’t have a clear picture of where we’ve been or how we got there.

The lame man did not get that way due to an injury because he was born a cripple. This is all he had ever known. His lameness was not a disease or an injury, but a weakness. But think about it, this guy had two advantages that men today do not have:

He knew he had a problem: It was obvious to him and to those around him. He was forced to face his problem, and faced it daily. Men today do not see any major flaws in their lives. Perhaps making it through the day, not getting fired, not messing up in a social situation is a sign that they are doing life just fine. Each of us has our kryptonite and we must face it even if it is not obvious to others.
This guy also knew there was a reason for his lameness: He knew the cause of his problem; he was lame from birth. He knew the answer to the question, “Why am I like this?” If we want to get our lives back on track, we have to ask the same question, “Why am I like this?” or “Why do I do what I do?” Until we know why we are filled with hate, envy, foul language, lust, anger, bitterness… we can’t fully understand how to get beyond our lameness.

Have you ever asked yourself questions like these?

Why do I come home from church (where I’ve acted like a saint) and act like a monster with my wife and children?
Why don’t I know how to communicate?
Why am I unwilling to communicate better?
Why do I feel inner rage all the time?
Why is my life out of control?
Why don’t I succeed at work?
Why do I feel depressed?
Why am I not further along in my walk with God?

I recently read about a challenge to look over my resume, to look back over my life, and try to discover why I’ve camped out with my lameness for so long. When we look closely, we discover that we need a Savior, a Lord, and relationships with other believing men who will teach us the Bible, model a godly lifestyle, and help us to become more like Jesus Christ. It’s a great journey of discovery, and I’m glad that the Men of Steel group is a part of that healing process.

There is a reason that we are like we are, and there’s a greater reason or purpose for our lives. You are who you are, but you are not yet who you will become. Pastor Jerry reminded us that “the best is yet to be.” God has bigger and better things for you, for your marriage and for your family. So consider your problem of lameness, but also consider the cause, not forgetting the result that we find by being in Christ.

Like the turtle on top of the fence post, how can we help each other to make it to the top of our potential? How can we help you be all you can be for Christ?

Is There a God?

Posted on January 28, 2009 by Scott Chafee

Quite a profound question, since the dawn of time:

“More consequences for thought and action follow the affirmation or denial of God than from answering any other basic question.” – Mortimer Adler.

The whole tenor of human life is affected by whether people regard themselves as supreme beings or acknowledge a superhuman being whom they conceive as an object of fear or love, a force to be defied or a Lord to be obeyed.

God in a test tube:

God cannot be proved through scientific methodology.
The reason lies in the nature of history itself, and the limits of the scientific method. In order to be provable scientifically, it must be repeatable. But while the facts of certain events in history can’t be proven by repetition, it does not disprove their reality as events (creation, assassination of Lincoln, crucifixion).
Scientific method deals only with measurable things. No one has ever seen three feet of love or two pounds of justice, but it is foolish to deny their reality.
Evidence for God?
1. Anthropology: a universal belief in God, a Great Spirit, a Creator, even in societies that are polytheistic.
2. Old idea of how religion developed: monotheism was the apex of gradual development that began in polytheism.
3. New research: oldest traditions around the world of a Supreme Being.

Ecclesiastes 3:11 – eternity is set in the hearts of men. Pascal called this the God-shaped vacuum in every man; Augustine wrote that “our hearts are restless until they find rest in You.”

The law of cause and effect:

No effect can be produced without a cause.
Bertrand Russell, in Why I Am Not a Christian, God was the answer given to him for many of his childhood questions. In desperation he asked, “Well, who created God?” No answer came and his faith collapsed. But by definition God is eternal and uncreated.
R. C. Sproul – “Being eternal, God is not an effect. Since He is not an effect, He does not require a cause.”

Infinite time plus chance:

Inventions do not come into existence without first having a design. We find objects and books that mandate that an intelligent mind was at work. How much more would the complexity of the universe and life itself require a Designer.
Our two choices: Our universe came together by chance, or our universe came together by purpose and design.
1. Ideally prepare primordial soup, jolted by frequent electrical charges, over an unlimited period of time, that some life form would then evolve. How long would it take a blind person to solve a Rubik’s Cube? One move per second, without resting, it is estimated that it would take 1.35 trillion years; therefore a blind person could not solve a Rubik’s Cube.
2. So look at DNA. To get 200,000 amino acids in one living cell to come together by chance, it would be 293.5 times the estimated age of the earth (which is set at 4.5 billion years). The odds are better that a blind person can solve a Rubik’s Cube!
3. Junkyard mentality: What are the chances that a tornado might blow through a junkyard containing all the parts of a 747, accidentally assembling them into a plane, and leave it ready for take-off?

Order and design in the universe:

Look beyond the observable world: protons and neutrons, and the vastness of galaxies. Who gave the specifications?
A working TV – glass, metal, wood, wires, all coming together by natural selection or it is a self-assembled product?
The earth is in delicate balance: (pp. 28-29) temperatures, peculiar properties of water, size of the atmosphere, distance from the sun, the lunar orbit,
The human eye: lens, retina, nerve, brain – chance? Darwin stated in his Origin of Species, “To suppose that the eye with all its inimitable contrivances for adjusting the focus to different distances, for admitting different amounts of light, and for the correction of spherical and chromatic aberration, could have been formed by natural selection, seems, I freely confess, absurd in the highest degree.” (Chapter 6, p. 186). He then goes on to explain how it could have actually happened. The problem is that he appeals to reason, then goes on to paint a picture of imagination and possibility, desiring us to accept the process even without evidence. (Irreducible complexity).

The universe had a beginning:

The Lord laid the foundations of the earth – Psalm 102:25.
Continuous or steady-state theory – galaxies move farther apart and new galaxies where formed in between. Matter is continually being created. Hydrogen is renewed out of nothing. But Robert Jastrow, founder of NASA’s Institute for Space Studies says the opposite is true. Whenever a star is born, it begins to consume some of the hydrogen in the universe. The theory of a continual universe is untenable or indefensible.
Oscillating Model – The universe is like a spring, expanding and contracting, repeating endless cycles. A closed theory, no new energy is put into it, and gravity always pulls everything back together. But the universe is clearly losing density with no sign of going into reverse. Both of these fail to look at the observable cosmology!
Big Bang Theory – Dr, Edwin Hubble, plotted speeds of galaxies, and confirmed they are moving apart at enormous speeds. If it is all moving away, at one time it must have all been compacted into a very dense mass. In 1965 science discovered that the earth was bathed in a faith glow of radiation, an exact pattern from an explosion. But Robert Jastrow (an agnostic) comments: astronomical evidence points to the biblical view of the origin of the world. Details differ, but the essential elements in the astronomical and biblical accounts of Genesis are the same – a definite moment in time, in a flash of light and energy.
Even if the universe began in a bang, science cannot explain how the elements were ripe for the event. It certainly cannot be a Who that got it started! Jastrow concludes, “For the scientist who has lived by his faith in the power of reason, the story ends like a bad dream. He has scaled the mountains of ignorance; he is about to conquer the highest peak; as he pulls himself over the final rock, he is greeted by a band of theologians who have been sitting there for centuries.”

The moral argument:

C. S. Lewis – “right and wrong as a clue to the meaning of the universe.” That’s my seat. That’s not fair. Suppose I did the same to you. C’mon, you promised.
There is an appeal to some behavioral standard that the other person is assumed to accept. Is there a law or rule of fair play? Lewis says that quarreling is one man’s way of showing the other man is wrong.
This law has to do with what ought to take place. It is more than cultural or societal standards. There is surprising consensus from civilizations about moral decency. If there were no set standard, there would be no difference between Christian morality and Nazi morality.
Lewis said it cannot be a social convention, but more of a mathematical table. Two plus two is always four, no matter what your culture. So, there is a Somebody who set a standard: fair play, unselfishness, courage, good, faith, honesty, truthfulness.

God – the celestial killjoy:

Who can fathom the mysteries of God – Job 11:7.
He does not peer over the balcony of heaven and zap us, saying, “cut it out.”
He is not the sentimental grandfather in the sky saying, “boys will be boys.”

God has penetrated the finite:

In these last days He has spoken through His Son – Heb 1:1-2.
If you wanted to communicate to a colony of ants, the best way would be to become an ant.
J. B Phillips, the earth is “the visited planet.”

Changed lives:

There is a clear presence in the lives of men and women today.
Change takes place in believing individuals.

Study Questions:

What must happen for something to be scientifically proven?
Why can we not prove God’s existence?
Since the beginning of time, peoples of the world have sensed a creator of the universe, why do you think that atheists believe they have the upper hand by saying it ain’t so?
Discuss the cosmological and teleological arguments for the existence of God.
Discuss the moral argument of the existence of God. How would you argue for and against this argument?
Changed lives as a proof is very subjective. How would a born-again believer’s testimony be different from the devotee of another religion?
What personal evidence can you offer?
What other arguments for or against the existence of God can you think of?
Which argument seems most meaningful to you? Which one least helpful?

Is Christianity Rational?

Posted on January 28, 2009 by Scott Chafee

Know Why You Believe:

My Sunday School class studied the book, Know Why You Believe, a classic book by Paul Little. It’s plain and simple apologetics for the rest of us.

What is faith? Does it mean to believe in something you know isn’t true?

Don’t check your brains at the door:

It is not only essential to know what we believe but to know why we believe it.
Christianity is true whether we believe it or not.
Two broad viewpoints these days:
1. The anti-intellectual approach: (Colossians 2:8) suggesting that Christianity is non-rational if not irrational. A clear presentation of the gospel is important but it is not a substitute for faith. The Spirit is at work helping people to understand the truth, convicting the world of sin. Read the Invisible Gardener quote and the response (p 15).
2. The exclusively rational approach: perhaps everything depends upon the mind. There is an intellectual factor, but there is also a moral factor (1 Corinthians 2:14) that says apart from the Holy Spirit, no one will ever believe.
How do you feel the world challenges your faith?

Know some answers:

We are commanded to be knowledgeable (1 Peter 3:15) for sound reasons. Why would the Bible have such a command?
1. To strengthen our faith – we should know more than the fact that Jesus lives in our hearts.
2. To validate our experience – a non-believer can claim his experience is just as valid and we are stumped. We cannot drive ourselves to believe something of which we are not intellectually convinced.
3. To show that we believe something that is objectively true, regardless of who told us (like our parents or SS teacher, first-hand faith).
How would obeying 1 Peter 3:15 help dispel the faulty concept in non-believers’ minds that faith is believing something you know isn’t true?

A rational body of truth:

Perhaps no one has ever presented the facts to us logically. Faith is more than superstition based on emotions.
The Great Commandment to love God will all our heart, soul mind and strength (Matthew 22:37) which involves the whole person.
Paul defends and confirms the gospel (Philippians 1:7) which tells us that the gospel can be rationally understood and supported.
The gospel is equated with truth, and opposed to error (2 Thessalonians 2:11-12). Non-Christians are defined as rejecting the truth (Romans 2:8).
Paul asserts that it is not because people don not have enough knowledge to know the truth (Romans 1:20) but they have exchanged the truth for a lie (Romans 1:25).

Moral smoke screens:

The moral issue overshadows the intellectual issue: it is not that people cannot believe, but that they will not believe (John 5:40).
Moral commitment leads to a solution of the intellectual problem (John 7:17).
Question: If Christianity is rational and true, why don’t more educated people believe it? It’s simple, because they don’t want to believe it! It’s not a matter of brain power; it is a matter of the will.
Do you agree of disagree?
Do other factors (like an abusive earthly father) keep someone from fully trusting God?

Doubt strikes terror:

Sometimes we question our faith and wonder if it’s true, especially if you were raised in a Christian home. We believe it because we have confidence and trust in the person who told us about it. Re-examination is needed; to become first-hand faith.
How can we know that we are not taken by church propaganda? Come back to two factors:
1. The objective, external, historical facts of the resurrection.
2. The subjective, internal, personal experience of Christ.
Would a good Christian ever doubt? Like your faith is slipping because you began thinking. When challenged by an educated skeptic, they conform under pressure and then shed a faith that they never embraced as their own.
How are doubting Christians usually handled in this church?
Is there a group where doubters can discuss their issues in a non-threatening way?

Don’t hit the panic button:

If you don’t have the answer, just promise to get one; no one has thought up just this week a question that will bring Christianity crashing down.
Some things are never going to be answered (Deuteronomy 29:29). Christian faith goes beyond reason, not against it.
Exposure to non-Christians reveals the same questions come repeatedly, and are limited in the range. One can predict the questions that will arise within a half-hour.

A doubter’s response:

Doubters need to understand that they must come to a decision rather than find an answer.
To make no decision is to decide against Christian position.
To continue to doubt in the face of adequate information may indicate an unwillingness to believe and a will set against God.

Study Questions:

For centuries the church did nothing to foster spiritual knowledge and Christian growth. Today we have millions of Bibles, thousands of churches and hundreds of ways to access information. Do you think it is easier or harder to have a genuine and growing relationship with Christ than in earlier centuries?
What reasons do you see in your friends who refuse to believe? How can you help them through the roadblocks?
Apart from the Holy Spirit, no one will believe. Pray now for the Spirit’s intervention in the lives of people you know.

What Are You Expecting From the Church?

Posted on January 27, 2009 by Scott Chafee

The Men of Steel looked into this topic; this lame man represents all men and the issues we face:

Who was the Lame Man at the Gate? (Acts 3:1, 2, 3)
What are You Expecting From the Church?
How Did You Get Where You Are?
Are You Trapped at the Gate?
Was the Lame Man at the Gate Distracted?

This is part two from the Men of Steel topic on the Lame Man at the Gate (From Acts 3:1-5).

Just why is it that you go to church? Why are you really there? Is this a question that you have ever asked yourself…besides perhaps during a particularly boring guest speaker?

Are you at church so you have the right to tell others they need to be in church?
Are you at church so you can play a role that you feel gives you status in your community?
Are you at church because your family expects you to be there?
Are you at church to keep your wife from nagging and pleading for you to be there?
Are you at church because it is a habit?
Are you at church because you enjoy the company of friends?
Are you at church out of some sense of guilt, or for fire insurance?

This question of expectation is not too far from what Jesus said in Matthew 11:7-15 (Just who did you go out to the wilderness to see?). So, let’s add another question to the list above, Who are you going to church to see and to hear?

It’s not for the choir, not for the preacher, not for the fellowship, not for the business contacts… just as the lame man at the gate, we often go to church looking for the wrong thing (Acts 3:4-5). He sought a handout, not healing.

We also need to take a look at the way in which we see other people around us each day. What do we expect from these encounters? Do we approach people the same way as this lame man did? Are we looking for something that we can get from them, or for what they can do for us? We should be looking for what God wants to do through us or even what God will do in us.

Sometimes we are looking for people to help us get out of some problem in our lives. This guy was looking for what he could take from others; something which would comes to him without effort or responsibility. These types of people are users. They use people and love things, rather than the other way around.

God calls us to see Him when we look at other people. Jesus said that when we do something for the least of these my brothers, you have done it to Me (Matthew 25:45).

So, when you go to church, do you come expecting to encounter God?

Do you expect Him to show you something new out of His Word?
Do you expect Him to work among His people here at King’s Grant?
Do you expect that God will show you the best thing for your life, and heal you from the lameness that keeps us bound and begging?
Do you expect that God is the One to set you free from the bondage that keeps you lame in the first place?
Do you freely pass on that which God has so freely given you (Matthew 10:8)?

Take a few moments right now to identify what you expect from God. Gather with the church this Sunday because it is the right thing to do, and because God deserves your worship. Identify the barriers that are keeping you from being the man of God that He wants you to become.

As Men of Steel, we must constantly be on the lookout for the kryptonite that so easily trips us up (2 Timothy 2:4, Hebrews 12:1, 2 Peter 2:20).