While we at Think-Biblically.com generally steer away from politics and sports as topics for articles, there are occasions when something is just too good to not comment on. What erupted in yesterdays news cycle (no pun intended, reader's in Hawaii) deserves a brief recap. During the last football season a player by the name of Colin Kaepernick started to kneel during the national anthem that is played before every game. He did this in order to bring awareness to social injustice particularly regarding police and low income black communities. President Trump has stated (repeatedly) that such behavior disrespects the nation and its flag.
In Christianity there are two types of theology, each supporting the other. There is Biblical Theology, which is all we learn about God through his Holy Word; then there is Systematic Theology, a vein of understanding that attempts to categorize and organize what we learn from Scripture and extend that knowledge through logical and philosophical disciplines. For example, the Bible affirms often that God is all-loving in regard to humanity. What, then, do we do with a passage like Malachi 1.3 where God proclaims "Jacob I have loved and Esau I have hated."
We've talked a lot about connecting with God here at Think-Biblically.com, about how building multiple connections draws us nearer our Creator. Our goal, however, isn't simply to draw near to, but to walk closely with, the heavenly Father over the course of our lives. We've been trained to think of "walking with God" as a figurative exercise but nothing could be further from the truth. Today I suggest to you that you can begin literally walking with God every day of your life. Despite the work schedule, the business of family and the good times with friends.
The Shema is one of the most ancient revelations of God about himself. It is the first prayer a Jewish child learns to pray, and the last every bellieving Jew hopes to have upon his lips. But what is the Shema? It is broken into three parts, and comments on how we are to live and addresses the issues of polytheism, monotheism and even the Trinity. These truths make it one of the central teachings of the Bible itself, even though it is rarely preached on in Christian churches. This is a shame, especially since it is a central conviction of Paul's theology.
I've previously mentioned that I've taken an online course through the Israel Institute for Biblical Studies. That course was The Jewish Background of the New Testament and, I have to say, it was great. The caliber of the instructors was first rate, the material was unlike anything I've been taught from other Christian colleges and seminaries, and it was all live so students could ask questions of the instructor or each other. My only complaint with the course is the instructors used the camera built into their laptops and the very average lighting in their home or office.
My high school chemistry teacher was a good man. Patient during class and willing to work with those that needed help after. He openly confessed his belief in Jesus. As I said, a good man, but one who didn't think long enough, or hard enough about his theology. He was more than a chemistry teacher to me, however, as I also served as his student assistant. I would prep the classroom for next day, making sure everything the students would need. It was on one occasion when I was diluting a mixture of hydrochloric acid that we had an opportunity to talk about our mutual faith in Jesus.
During our series on the book of Acts we learned that most of the apostles had more than one name, specifically a Hebrew and a Roman name. For example, Saul didn't become Paul, Saul was his Hebrew name and Paul his Roman. This is a practice that had its roots in ancient times. Abram became Abraham, Jacob became Israel — names given by God. One of the most mysterious, however, is Joseph who was given the name Zaphenath-Paneah by Egypt's Pharaoh. One would think this was an Egyptian name, though no Egyptologists today can decipher it's meaning.
Last week the world was informed of the death of of Reverend Billy Graham. Born in 1918 and not only witnessed a century of human advancement, but spent the bulk of that time in ministry to our God. He became a believer in 1934 at a tent revival meeting led by Reverend Ham in Charlotte, North Carolina and a couple years later began attending Bible college. He was ordained by the Southern Baptist church in 1939. In 1943 he became the pastor of a church, and his life as a minister of the Word of God began. It would last another 75 years.
Confidence in God and the salvation he offers to us has been a source of hope and conviction for believers since the earliest of times. At the beginning of Israel's monarchy King David longed to hear the words from God's own lips asking, "Assure me with these words: “I am your deliverer!” (Psalm 35.3) Toward the end of the monarchy, at the end of Jonah chapter two, the prophet proclaims, "Salvation belongs to the Lord!" What is most amazing about these statements is how many people misunderstand them. Most modern believer's think these are statements regarding eternal life, but they aren't.
I'm just home from a one-night event. the showing of a documentary titled Fragments of Truth by Faithlife Films. The script was put together by Dr. Craig Evans, professor at Houston Baptist Seminary and whom appears in the film frequently. The narration, however, was performed by none other than John Rhys-Davies — also known as Gimli in The Lord of the Rings or as Indiana Jones' friend Sallah. This movie can be considered an apologetic discussing the reliability of the Bible we hold in our hands today, and as such it does a fine job.
We have exciting news to relate from Think-Biblically.com headquarters. We've been working on a few projects for you, our faithful readers, and a couple of them are close to completion. I'll be sharing more of the details of these projects with you here, and on our Facebook group, when they are ready for your review. As exciting as this is, there is one problem. Time. There are only so many hours in a day, and it is nigh impossible to finish these projects at our current pace of publishing. For this reason we are making a temporary change.
Over the past couple days we've been discussing the non-sign gifts of the Holy Spirit Paul discussed in 2 Timothy 1.7. So far we've looked at the first, power, and the second, love and today we complete the series by examining self-control. The idea of self-control is all about restraint and is based on the Greek word sophronismou which means moderation and soundness of mind. It is an appropriate time for this discussion, as we exercise self-control during this season of Lent. The Holy Spirit empowers us to successfully complete our promise to God but it begs the question, if the Holy Spirit helps us is it really self-control?