Gamaliel

You probably looked at the Title of my blog and said "What's that? Is it a new recipe or something?" No, I don't post recipe's on my blog, although I should post some cooking recipe's on another blog. I was reading the book of Acts and came on Acts 5. The name Gamaliel came up in my studies, and it hit me that I never knew much about him before.

In Acts 5, while Peter and the apostles are preaching God's word in Jerusalem (or in the area near) the Sanhedrin and Pharisee's grew jealous of the popularity of the apostles. They threw Peter and the apostles in jail. During the night, the Lord came and opened the jail and told the apostles to go and keep preaching. When word got out in the morning that the same apostles that were thrown in jail were in the temple preaching, the high priests (or Sadducee's) got angry and wished to kill the apostles.

But a man named Gamaliel, who was a pharisee, came and scolded the high priests to not lay a hand on them. He told them that there have been other groups that gained popularity and became dispersed after some time. Gamaliel told the Sadducee's that if these men were not of God that the same thing would happen to them, but if they were of God, that nobody would be able to stop them.

I see this man and what he told the high priests at the time, and look at Christianity today. It has not been stopped. There are still people, governments, groups that wish to stop, overthrow, or  murder Christians and still it gets stronger. If we are in the Lord, nobody will be able to stop you. While it is true that Christianity is dying in parts of our world, those of us who are still practicing Christians still go out and spread the gospel on a daily basis. We cannot be stopped as we are sent from God to do God's work given to us in Acts 1:8.

My challenge to my fellow Christians is to stop giving in. Stop letting society make your decisions for you. Stop basing your beliefs on what the popular decision in our society is, and base your beliefs on what God has given you in His Word. If you keep spreading the gospel of Christ, nobody can stop you!

Rachel and Teraphim

“Quick, we need to hurry. Pack all your things, we need to leave here as fast as we can. Your father no longer wants me here and we may be in danger. Pack your things and meet me at the gate as soon as possible.” This is how I picture Jacob and Rachel, when Laban no longer wanted Jacob around. Jacob was always a great helper, and he was the son he never had...until he had one. Jacob was probably the one going to receive the inheritance from Laban, but Laban had a son later in life and grew to be bitter towards Jacob. We see here that God's plan was not to stay with Laban, but to go back home to his brother Esau. So, in this picture from the opening statement, we can see how Rachel needs to pack her things quick and they need to leave as fast as they can. So why does she take, of all things, her father's teraphim. Genesis 31:19 says “When Laban went to shear his sheep: and Rachel had stole the images that were her fathers.” (KJV) Rachel knows that Jacob loves the Lord, the God of gods, so why does she do this?

One explanation is made by John Wesley when he says that “Some think they were only little representations of the ancestors of the family in statue or picture, which Rachel had a particular fondness for, and was desirous to have with her now she was going into another country. It should rather seem they were images for a religious use, penates, household gods, either worshiped, or consulted as oracles; and we are willing to hope, that she took them away, not out of covetousness much less for her own use, or out of any superstitious fear lest Laban, by consulting his teraphim, might know which way they were gone; (Jacob no doubt dwelt with his wives as a man of knowledge, and they were better taught than so) but with a design to convince her father of the folly of his regard to those as gods which could not secure themselves.”¹ This says here that Rachel knew exactly what these teraphim were, that she viewed them as some sort of oracle or false god. The Hebrew word for teraphim means “...primitive Semitic house-gods whose cult had been handed down to historical times from the earlier period of Nomadic wanderings.”² These things that Rachel was taking were meant for a purpose, and she wanted to use them. It never states anywhere in this passage that she told Jacob about them, which means she probably kept it quiet to him as well because she knew that Jacob worshiped the one true God. This also probably meant that Laban didn't worship God or he worshiped God with other gods. We see a lot of ancestor or oracle worship in old oriental societies, so Rachel still may be caught up in this act.

John Gill views this act of Rachel as an act of compassion for her husband and their family. He states that the “teraphim” could also be translated as “seraphim” and that they were angelic figures that some would place in their household and pray to for protection. Gill says that Rachel may have taken these “...that her father might not consult them, and know which way Jacob fled...”³ So Rachel was placing claim that she believed that these figurines would lead Laban to where they were and where they were going. Many 'Christian” religions today still pray to idols of saints or angels such as St. Peter or the Virgin Mary. Rachel was placing the same importance on these figurines as many religions place on different artifacts and statues today.

Another interpretation by W. Gunther Plaut says that “Nuzi records indicate that teraphim were often symbols of property rights and family status. Their possession could indicate that certain privileges had been confirmed by transmitting the ownership of the teraphim (cf. the symbolism of the scepter or of keys to a house). Thus, Jacob's possession of the teraphim might prove that he was no longer Laban's servant and that he was, therefore, entitled to a part of the latter's estate.”⁴ This means that these artifacts were a type of legal presiding, meaning that once Rachel took them for her family, that the legal rights of Laban would transfer over to Jacob. Jacob not knowing of the theft meant that Rachel used her cunning skills to grab the artifacts without her father knowing, and thus trying to transfer all of her families legal rights to her husband.

While I have never heard of the third explanation by Plaut, it made an impact on my beliefs of what Rachel did. However, my belief lies mostly in that Rachel took these Teraphim as an act of idol worship. Many cultures at this time were very polytheistic, even the land that Abraham came from, so it would occur to me that Rachel and her family were most likely polytheistic as well. This probably meant that Jacob has yet to make an importance on his family to be monotheistic and place their trust in God. Rachel doing this act of theft without her husbands knowledge most likely means that Jacob has stressed an importance of God, but not enough. I think this act of theft means that Rachel still has a belief that these teraphim, or false idols, will either protect them or give them guidance.

(Below is an example of what a teraphim is)

Jewish Encyclopedia. Teraphim. 1906.

Gill, John. Exposition of the Bible. (1748-1763)

Plaut, W. Gunther. Rachel Steals the Household Idols (Teraphim). The Torah: A Modern Commentary. Union of American Hebrew Congregations (New York). 214.

Wesley, John. Commentary of the Whole Bible. (1754-1765)

 

As a man, a Christian, a husband and a father

As a man, a Christian, a husband and a father, here are the things that I promise:

1. To fight for my faith - I will always fight for what I believe in. I will not tell you that you are wrong, but I will tell you why I believe what it is right. 1 Corinthians 16:13 says to "Be on your guard; stand firm in the faith; be courageous; be strong." (NIV) I will fight for what I believe in and I will be strong for the Lord. When things don't go my way, I will not waver, I will stand firm. If I get punched in the gut, I will not get KO'd! I will stand firm and punch back.

2. To fight for my wife - My wife, Amanda, is the best thing to ever happen to me, besides becoming a Christian. She is my rock, my better half, my everything. I will stay strong for her, I will fight for her, I will guide us. If there is EVER any problems in our marriage, it is my responsibility to find help. It is my responsibility to make sure that our marriage stays on the right path. I am responsible to God for my family's actions and our family's decisions. Ephesians 5:25 says "Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church, and gave Himself up for her." (NIV) That last part is often skipped or forgotten, "And GAVE HIMSELF up for her."! As husbands, we are to give ourselves up to our wives, to give it our all, to FIGHT like a man and make sure that whatever you do, it is for your family.

3. To fight for the lost - My fight as a Christian is to fight the good fight and fight the evil of this world for the souls of the lost. In Acts 1:8 Jesus tells the disciples and tells future disciples to go out and spread the gospel. As a man, put on your big boy pants and go out there to fight for the souls of the lost. Ephesians 6:16-17 tells us to "...take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the spirit, which is the Word of God." (NIV) God was telling us here to not sit on our butts and be lazy, but to be ready, to stand up, and go into war for yourself and for those around us.

4. To fight for my daughter - Lorelai, you are the most amazing little girl ever. Your daddy will fight for you always. I am going to fight the world for you and I am going to give my all for you. You will never see me giving up, you will never see me throwing in the towel. I am your daddy and I will fight for you. If I am going through hard times, I will not let this hinder my fighting spirit. Your daddy is a fighter and I am your knight until you find the right man to take care of you. Men, you make sure to fight for your children, to not give up on them, do not leave them, show them you will fight for them! You don't give up when times get hard, you don't wave the white flag when the battle is just beginning.

Do you notice the common theme here? Too many men these days don't know what it takes to stand up and fight like a man. God made us with an unhindered spirit and we were beautifully made! God made us and He was VERY pleased! Do you think He gave us this fighting spirit on accident? This is our responsibility as men, as Christians, as husbands and as fathers. Do not give up this battle!

Jacob wrestling a "man"?

    As you read the book of Genesis, there are many hidden reasons behind the words of Moses that you have to dig a little deeper to find out the true meaning, and not take the words at face value. One of these passages is Genesis 32: 22-32. In this passage, Moses talks about how Jacob slept and wrestled with a “man.” I want to dive a little deeper and talk about who this “man” could be and what it meant for Jacob to wrestle with him and to be blessed by him. The reason I chose this question as my next topic of discussion is that a friend recently asked my opinion of this subject matter, and so I am going to dive a little deeper and find out differing opinions to help form my own.

     Many times through out the Old Testament, God, or a part of God, manifests Himself in a human or majestic form. John Calvin states in his commentary that “Moreover, it is not said that Satan, or any mortal man, wrestled with Jacob, but God Himself: to teach us that our faith is tried by Him, and whenever we are tempted, our business is truly with Him...”¹ Calvin states that he believes that the “man” that Moses stated here is actually God manifested in human form. The reason for his thinking this is that Calvin states that God is testing the faith of Jacob. Not just the physical strength of Jacob, but the faith strength of Jacob. Before this passage, Jacob was about to reconcile with his brother, and God wanted to be sure that Jacob was prepared for this task. Jacob had run his whole life; from responsibilities, from his family, and from God. Now he was about to try and make everything right, and God, in the form of this “man” was testing Jacob and his resolve.

     However, Molen states that it may be a variety of people. Molen states that the “man” in this passage could be either “God, Esau or somehow both.”² He states in his journal that the “man” in this passage could have been an incarnation of Jacob's fears of visiting Esau, and Jacob was literally fighting the demons within himself while dreaming, and this could have caused this injury. He goes on to state that it could have been God that sent the image of Esau to fight Jacob, in preparation of seeing Esau for the first time in many years after their dispute.

     The third opinion I found was that on Wesley when he stated that the “man” that wrestled with Jacob was that of an “...angelic being. Rather it was the angel of the covenant, who often appeared in human shape, before he assumed the human nature.”³ The Angel of the Covenant means that he was a theophany, or Jesus Christ before taking human form. Often in the Old Testament there are cases of theophanies, which are appearances of the Christ in the Old Testament.

     I would have to agree with this last opinion. Many times in the Old Testament, an angel of the Lord appeared and made Himself known to man. He would often guide people and give them direction or blessings. Many question if this Angel of the Lord in the Old Testament is the existence of the Holy Spirit in the Old Testament, or if it is the Christ. Well, I agree it could be both. The Holy Trinity has always existed, and the son and Holy Spirit existed before Christ appeared in the New Testament. He just came in human form in the New Testament. One thing that seems to be a common opinion though is that this “man” came to help Jacob battle his demons before meeting up with his brother Esau. This is just another example of the Lord being with those that don't deserve him. Me, I am thankful for a loving and forgiving God that is always there for me no matter what I am battling.

1Calvin. 1554.

2Molen. 1993.

3Wesley, 1754-1965.

Valentine's Week

So, this week is Valentine's Day! Just as a hint gentleman who read this blog, the day is this Thursday. Amanda and I were chatting yesterday about the upcoming so-called holiday. Ernesto Alaniz also mentioned it in his sermon yesterday. It got me thinking a little about my love for Amanda and I thought this would be the best week to post a mushy blog.

"You know you're in love when you can't fall asleep because reality is finally better than your dreams." Here I quote a famous Doctor, not one in whom I would usually take love advice from except if it was for One Fish or Two Fish; or Green Eggs and Ham. But the statement is unbelievably true. When you dread going to sleep because you love your reality more than your dreams, that is one reason you know you are truly in love. I often lay in bed and just stare at my wife (Yes, a bit creepy) and think that I don't want to go to sleep, I just want to lay awake and love this woman.

One thing I think our country is missing today is the thinking of Dr. Seuss. In our culture, there are things to consume your time so that you don't have to spend that extra hour with your spouse. There are movies, video games, bars, television, etc. to shift focus off of what/who is right next to you. I am not saying that any of these things are necessarily bad, but when it takes priority over the important things, that is when it becomes a problem.

Yesterday, we were driving around and I look at my wife and tell her that I love my Sunday's with my family. Every other day I have so much going on in my life. Sunday is our day to spend some time together and have fun together; even if it is just going to the mall to hang out and then coming home to take a nap together.

So for those of you who are married or have that special someone to spend Valentine's Day with; cherish that time and let that special someone know how much you love them. So many things in our lives consume our time, that when you get that time to spend with that person, make the most of it.

Cain and Abel: Sacrifice?

What is the significance and nature of Cain and Abel’s gifts? i.e., what was the basis of their

acceptance or rejection?

Personally, reading the history of Cain and Abel has always been one of those Bible passages I always go back to try to completely understand what God is trying to tell me in this passage. Is this passage just another story of sibling rivalry, or is there more meaning behind it? Out of all the history of sibling rivalry through the OT, why does this one stick out so much? To use a personal example of sibling rivalry, my brother and I were always striving to seek the attention of our parents. My brother would often do something wrong, and sometimes I would often think to myself if he was just seeking attention. Is this the case in the history of Cain and Abel? Was Cain seeking attention from his birth parents, or even from his heavenly Father? There are three commentaries that introduce topics to discuss in this passage.

On Adam Clarke's Commentary of the Bible, Mr. Clarke recognizes the sacrifices of Cain and Abel and differentiates them and their significance. Mr. Clarke states “According to this interpretation, Cain, the father of Deism, not acknowledging the necessity of a vicarious sacrifice, nor feeling his need of an atonement, according to the dictates of his natural religion, brought a minchah or eucharistic offering to the God of the universe. Abel, not less grateful for the produce of his fields and the increase of his flocks, brought a similar offering, and by adding a sacrifice to it paid a proper regard to the will of God as far as it had then been revealed, acknowledged himself a sinner, and thus, deprecating the Divine displeasure, showed forth the death of Christ till he came.”1 Clarke believed that Cain's refusal to offer a living sacrifice to the Lord was less grateful than Abel's living sacrifice. While Abel offered up a living sacrice, I believe Clarke recognizes this as a representation of the coming Messiah and how He was offered as a living sacrifice for the sins of the world. Clarke goes on to say that “Thus his [Abel] offerings were accepted, while those of Cain were rejected; for this, as the apostle says, was done by Faith, and therefore he obtained witness that he was righteous, or a justified person, God testifying with his gifts, the thank-offering and the sin-offering, by accepting them, that faith in the promised seed was the only way in which he could accept the services and offerings of mankind.” So in other words, Abel's gift came with faith and thanksgiving, while Cain's may have been given half-heartedly or out of requirement.

John Calvin puts this argument into use when he says “...but he begins with the person of the offerer; by which he signifies, that God will regard no works with favor except those the doer of which is already previously accepted and approved by him. And no wonder; for man sees things which are apparent, but God looks into the heart.”2 Calvin goes on to state that Cain was trying to appease God with his sacrifice. Calvin does not believe that Cain was offering his sacrifice with a humble heart and was trying to give to God what he could muster, while Abel was giving to God, in Calvin's words, a “...good odour of faith, they had a sweet-smelling savor.” Abel's gift to God was given through faith and he was giving his best. He was showing obedience to his Lord and Father, and this is why his gift was accepted and not Cain's.

Winifred Borlee seems to take Calvin's view a little further in The Christian Science Journal and says that Cain, when he became wroth at his rejection of his gift to the Lord, “betrays a proud and self-righteous state far from that humble spirit...”3 Cain never felt that humble spirit when approaching the Lord, but Abel did. Abel approached the Lord with humility and a pure heart. This view is like telling someone they didn't do a good job after they did something for you, but they did it for a reson that is purely for them, and they have a temper tantrum. This is what happened with Cain. Borlee suggests that Cain had a temper tantrum after being told his gift was not suitable, which also shows he had other, or selfious, purposes for giving this gift.

My personal view on this subject is a mixture of all three views. I recently listened to a sermon by Pastor Robert Morris from Gateway Church in Texas. He introduced that Cain didn't give his first offering, and kept some of his goods for himself before giving some to God. He tied this in with tithing. When we receive a gift, or paycheck, we should give to God first out of thanks, and then do what we need with it. In Genesis, it says that Abel gave his first born of his flock. So he gave to God first, before keeping any for himself or taking some for him, I never looked at this passage this way. I feel that we need to give our first and best to God. I think that Cain kept the best for himself, and then gave to God what he could, just to appease God. Well, there is no such thing as appeasing God. You should always strive to give God your best.

Eugenics

 I have always known about mass destruction, the petty value that humans put on life. We discuss abortion like it is not death or murder/ Abortion has become a common phrase for television and music. A young girl on television gets pregnant and the first thing that is said is that "we have choices." But while studying about Eugenics, and how it is viewed even in today's "human rights" age, it makes me sick. 

 "A prevention of the faculty and opportunity to procreate on the part of the physically degenerate and mentally sick, over the period of only six hundred years, would not only free humanity from an immeasurable misfortune, but would lead to a recovery which today seems scarcely conceivable."¹ This quote was from the evil mind of the man who wanted to create the perfect human being, Adolf Hitler. He killed thousands of innocent men, women and children because they didn't fit the mold that he thought was socially acceptable. Eugenics is the same thing, and many in today's society still view this acceptable. There is a test that you can get while you are pregnant called a amniocentesis. This test is a procedure that they measure a pregnant woman's amniotic fluid to help see if the baby will have a mental disorders or complications. This test is only 50% accurate and can also cause higher results of miscarriages. What happens if you are told your baby has down syndrome? There are many productive members of society that have mental disorders, but it is so common to get this test done and results in an abortion because doctor's pressure future parents. Just as DeWitt said "Eugenics now carried out by abortion!"²

 It saddens me to think of all the lives that have been taken to please the few. We don't know who these kids could have grown up to be, what they could have done; they never even had the chance to show what how much they could give to this world. 

¹ Hitler, Adolf. Mein Kampf (English Edition). Hurst and Blackett Ltd. March 21, 1939.  

² DeWitt, David A. History of Life ePack. 2012. 8

New Year! New Adventure!

HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYBODY! Well, with this new year comes new adventures. Above is the picture of my 18 credit hour next semester. I am extremely excited and nervous. Excited to continue my education, but nervous because I hope I can handle 18 credit hours. I am sure I will have a lot to blog about in the coming weeks.

Also, the Lord has blessed us with the amazing opportunity to lead a new Bible study for couples at Faith this year. It has been on both Amanda and my heart that we need to be involved in something to help us grow together but no weekly Bible study was offered that we could attend weekly. This year is a new adventure. We will be leading a weekly couples Bible study on Tuesday nights. This will give us the opportunity to share our 8 years of experience and the love that God has given us as a couple.

This year is going to bring amazing opportunities from the Lord, I can feel it!

"For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." Jeremiah 29:11

Wild Ride!

Wow, this last year has been a crazy ride. While working full time with Joe Lunghamer selling cars, going to school full time, working more and more with the youth at Faith and loving on my family, this last year has been a huge blessing.

I often remind myself that everything I do is for the Lord. I cannot express the amount of knowledge I have gained while attending Liberty University. Everything from my Theology classes to Philosophy, to the love gospel of John, it has been an incredible journey. I thank those people that have encouraged me to follow this path that the Lord has given me; my beautiful wife Amanda, Pastor Chris Doak, Pastor Jayson Combs, Pastor Jim Combs and Pastor Ernesto Alaniz. You all kept encouraging me to get my schooling and now that I only have 6 months left, it makes me a little sad. I don't want to stop. I have learned so much about God's word that I didn't know before.

                                                       

My amazing wife has been so awesome this last year. She has had to put up with a lot of late nights, me staying up to do homework, not coming to bed with her, Sunday's with me locked in the bedroom studying, not being able to help as much with household chores. Thank you babe for being so amazing and supporting me through this amazing journey!

                                                  

My little girl has gotten so big! Every day is new, every day is a new adventure, a new word, a new look. Lorelai changes everyday and sometimes I feel like I missed something. She is now speaking in full sentences. This morning as I am leaving I give her a kiss and say I love you, and she says Love you too, and that she'll miss me. When did my baby girl turn into this sweet little girl that runs up to me when I get home and raps her arms around my legs.


                                                                

To the amazing pastors that are my spiritual mentors and guides, you guys are amazing. I am SURE that Jayson is probably getting annoyed with me, asking so many questions. We don't always agree on things, but you have sure been a huge help to me through this time. I love being able to work with you in the church, and learning how to work with youth. These kids are a huge part of my world! I am so blessed by these kids everyday and especially this year working on these service events.

                                              

Writing this blog has been an amazing journey for me. I thank all of you that continue to read it. It helps me further my knowledge and my writing skills. It is amazing to write down all that I feel on a specific subject and get feedback from a lot of you. Writing this helps me to expand on what I am learning at Liberty and also let all of you learn right along with me. This is probably my last blog for the year. I am taking 18 credit hours next semester, so I am sure I will be posting a lot of material after January 14. Pray for me because this will be hard but I know that the Lord has a plan for me, and I know that He will guide me.

MERRY CHRISTMAS AND HAPPY NEW YEAR TO YOU ALL!

Christmas Spirit

"Best of all, Christmas means a spirit of love, a time when the love of God and love of our fellow men should prevail over all hatred and bitterness, a time when our thoughts and deeds and the spirit of our lives manifest the presence of God." -George F. McDougall

It's Christmas everyone! Be of good cheer!

While Lorelai is only 2 years old, we try to teach her the true meaning of Christmas. She knows about Santa, about Christina Marie (Her Christmas elf,) and that Christmas she gets presents; but we also ask her what Christmas really means. We try and teach her that the true meaning of Christmas is all about Jesus. We are teaching Lorelai that Christmas is Jesus' birthday.

In the time that should be all about God and His gift to us, His son Jesus, we should remember to follow the words of Jesus. While reading the quote above, I thought of what Christ teaches us about prevailing over hatred. In Matthew 5:43-48 Jesus teaches "You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you,  so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven. For he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust.  For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? And if you greet only your brothers, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same?  You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect." How are each of us loving our enemies in this time. How about loving strangers, people that you don't even know their names? It is important to remember that Christ teaches us to love everybody, not just our friends, our family, and our enemies.

There are so many outlets out there that are showing hate, what's the latest news on the shooter at the school, instead of showing all the people that are helping the town. Do something for someone today that you would not normally do. Send a card to somebody that needs it, call someone and pray for them and be a blessing to a person that would not expect it from you.