Christian the Lion

I'm sure you've seen this because I'm always the last to know, but I needed a hankie to watch it. And then I researched to see if the story is true. And it is, and that just breaks my heart. For some reason, if this was a story about people who found each other again, I'd just think, "Oh, that's nice." But add an animal to it and I could just sob. And then there's the cheesy and yet heartfelt music and sentiment. I just cry. To find out more, you can search "Christian the Lion" and go to the Wiki page or the Snopes.com page to find out more. And then I launched into "Deep Thoughts" about pets like Christian the Lion and Darcy the Dog. I still don't know what I think.

Beth Moore's study listed this verse in her discussion of song. In the video,she mentions C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkein, asking the question "What if they were on to something?" It looks like, at the very least,all of creation will worship Christ at His return.

Revelation 5:13 (New International Version)
13Then I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and on the sea, and all that is in them, singing:
"To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb
be praise and honor and glory and power,
for ever and ever!"

From the Message:
I looked again. I heard a company of Angels around the Throne, the Animals, and the Elders—ten thousand times ten thousand their number, thousand after thousand after thousand in full song:

The slain Lamb is worthy!
Take the power, the wealth, the wisdom, the strength!
Take the honor, the glory, the blessing!
Then I heard every creature in Heaven and earth, in underworld and sea, join in, all voices in all places, singing:

To the One on the Throne! To the Lamb!
The blessing, the honor, the glory, the strength,
For age after age after age.
The Four Animals called out, "Oh, Yes!" The Elders fell to their knees and worshiped

WARNING! Added a music player!

So I added a music player. Turn down your volume if you're at work. Not that you'd read blogs at work. Right? To make it stop, hit the pause button in the corner.

Or complain to the blogger (me) and I'll change the setting. It's too much for me today.

Galatians-Week 3-Then, what's law got to do with it?

Here's a confession: I break the law sometimes, usually on the way to work. And on the way home. I drive faster than the posted speed limits, even though I understand in my head that driving laws are in place for my safety and others. I also rip tags off of pillows and walk my dog in the park that says "No dogs allowed." I'm a rebel.
What about you? Have any similar challenges under the law?

16. If the law can't save us, why did God give it to Moses in the first place?
That answer is pretty easy. Paul outlines it in the next verses:

15Brothers, let me take an example from everyday life. Just as no one can set aside or add to a human covenant that has been duly established, so it is in this case. 16The promises were spoken to Abraham and to his seed. The Scripture does not say "and to seeds," meaning many people, but "and to your seed," meaning one person, who is Christ. 17What I mean is this: The law, introduced 430 years later, does not set aside the covenant previously established by God and thus do away with the promise. 18For if the inheritance depends on the law, then it no longer depends on a promise; but God in his grace gave it to Abraham through a promise.
19What, then, was the purpose of the law? It was added because of transgressions until the Seed to whom the promise referred had come. The law was put into effect through angels by a mediator. 20A mediator, however, does not represent just one party; but God is one.

21Is the law, therefore, opposed to the promises of God? Absolutely not! For if a law had been given that could impart life, then righteousness would certainly have come by the law. 22But the Scripture declares that the whole world is a prisoner of sin, so that what was promised, being given through faith in Jesus Christ, might be given to those who believe.

23Before this faith came, we were held prisoners by the law, locked up until faith should be revealed. 24So the law was put in charge to lead us to Christ that we might be justified by faith. 25Now that faith has come, we are no longer under the supervision of the law.

In a nutshell: the law makes us aware of our sin and need for salvation, our utter inability to do it ourselves.

Abraham's covenant is better than Moses' law and Abraham was saved 430 years before God gave Moses the commandments (and isn't it just another sign of Paul's superiority that he has that fact at his fingertips?). In God's covenant with Abraham, God said "I Will" but the commandments said "Thou Shalt"...dooming them to failure! The responsibility for the covenant was on God who does not fail. Only 1 part was required to do anything for success and that party was God. Unlike the commandments which was more of a 2 party agreement...that totally depended on you and me for success. And here's the truth about that: man can't succeed and God can't fail.

So then why did the tablets come down?
They lead us to Christ. They show us our sinfulness, our inability to please God through our own works, our need for mercy and grace. Grace means nothing unless you know you gotta have it. Thanks to the "Thou shalts" we know we must have grace.

Are people inherently good? Are there any laws that you routinely break? Can anyone keep the perfect law of God?

Galatians-Week 3-Let's all sing it...

For some reason, this song is coming to mind as I work on the Bible study. Now you can sing it with me!

The next part of Chapter 3 says this:
6Consider Abraham: "He believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness."
7Understand, then, that those who believe are children of Abraham. 8The Scripture foresaw that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, and announced the gospel in advance to Abraham: "All nations will be blessed through you." 9So those who have faith are blessed along with Abraham, the man of faith.

Why do you think Abraham comes up here? Don't you think part of the Judaizer's argument revolved around the covenant God made with Abraham? Here's what it says in Genesis 15:2-6:
2Abram said, "O Lord GOD, what will You give me, since I am childless, and the heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus?"

And Abram said, "Since You have given no offspring to me, one (A)born in my house is my heir." Then behold, the word of the LORD came to him, saying, "This man will not be your heir; but one who will come forth from your own body, he shall be your heir." And He took him outside and said, "Now look toward the heavens, and count the stars, if you are able to count them " And He said to him, "So shall your descendants be." Then he believed in the LORD; and He reckoned it to him as righteousness.

Paul's point: salvation is personal. It doesn't come through rituals or observances. The circumcision that marks people under God's covenant with Abraham had nothing to do with salvation. Abraham's belief had everything to do with his salvation, or his being made "righteous" just as it does ours. And it was credited to him...before he was circumcised.

The next part of the letter: verses 10-14

10All who rely on observing the law are under a curse, for it is written: "Cursed is everyone who does not continue to do everything written in the Book of the Law." 11Clearly no one is justified before God by the law, because, "The righteous will live by faith." 12The law is not based on faith; on the contrary, "The man who does these things will live by them." 13Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us, for it is written: "Cursed is everyone who is hung on a tree." 14He redeemed us in order that the blessing given to Abraham might come to the Gentiles through Christ Jesus, so that by faith we might receive the promise of the Spirit.

15...Isn't "good" good enough?
Paul clearly answers that here. Only perfection is good enough. There are no exceptions. The law is a curse that no one can live with and Jesus took that curse for us when he hung on a tree. Without him, the perfect sacrifice, there is no good enough. And even more clearly, he is the fulfillment of that covenant.

Galatians-Week 3-It's grace, people, get the message

Ok, so we've laid just a very little background for Chapter 3. In this chapter, Paul is going to annihilate the idea that the law could ever surpass or supplant or in any way challenge the grace offered through Jesus Christ.


14. How do you know you're saved in the first place? Answer: Hello, Holy Spirit, come on in.

1You foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you? Before your very eyes Jesus Christ was clearly portrayed as crucified. 2I would like to learn just one thing from you: Did you receive the Spirit by observing the law, or by believing what you heard? 3Are you so foolish? After beginning with the Spirit, are you now trying to attain your goal by human effort? 4Have you suffered so much for nothing—if it really was for nothing? 5Does God give you his Spirit and work miracles among you because you observe the law, or because you believe what you heard?

Here Paul says "Don't you remember how you even came into the family in the first place? It wasn't through anything you did, but through something that Jesus did and because you believed. You experienced it for yourself and you saw the effect of this change in the lives of the people around you. Why would you think you can change it now? Oh, and you know that feeling of difference that you have...let's just call that the 'Holy Spirit.' That's proof of God's favor, proof of salvation, and your guarantee that no matter what happens here, your future is secure. Forever."

I could be paraphrasing, but really, he has an excellent point. The Holy Spirit, which is God, comes to the believer at salvation. And never leaves.

1 John 4:13: We know that we live in him and he in us, because he has given us of his Spirit.

Ephesians 1:13-14: And you also were included in Christ when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation. Having believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God's possession—to the praise of his glory.

Here's how someone smarter than I am said it:

No ritual, ceremony, regulation or any other thing devised or accomplished by men can pick up where the cross leaves off--because the cross never leaves off. The cross is the continuing and eternal payment for all sin, and every sinner who puts his trust in the cross is forever and continually being forgiven. A believer can no more stay saved by works than he could have been saved by works in the first place. The cross keeps moving powerfully and relentlessly through history, and it will stand forever as living proof that men cannot redeem themselves.

Galatians-Week 3-What is faith?

Chapter 3 of Galatians is a doozy, lots of questions are answered here. Big questions that can cause some confusion and stumbling among Christians, new and old alike. If you're in the class, make sure that you jump in and answer this first question if you're reading it beforehand. I'll be so impressed.

12. Were the people misled by the Judaizers in danger of losing their salvation because they were adding all these requirements to salvation?
Short answer: uh, no. They weren't in danger of losing their salvation. But they were still in big danger. They were in danger of losing all of the joy and hope that is supposed to be a part of the Christian life. And the bigger danger: the harm to their witness to the world. The world knows us because we're different. We have a hope and a future which should mark us as different. Struggling under the law, these Christians were no different than the lost to the world's eyes.

Here's another way Paul addresses the simplicity of salvation:
Romans 3:22

22This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference, 23for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.

There is no difference...all have sinned and all are justified freely.

13. What is faith?
I think this is a tough question, one I really struggle with sometimes. Do I have (enough) faith? I want to measure up. But it's so much simpler than that. I already do. It's more of an "either or" decision, not a measuring stick.

Here's what Hebrews 11 has to say about faith:
1Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see. 2This is what the ancients were commended for.
3By faith we understand that the universe was formed at God's command, so that what is seen was not made out of what was visible. 4By faith Abel offered God a better sacrifice than Cain did. By faith he was commended as a righteous man, when God spoke well of his offerings. And by faith he still speaks, even though he is dead.

7By faith Noah, when warned about things not yet seen, in holy fear built an ark to save his family. By his faith he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness that comes by faith.

8By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going. 9By faith he made his home in the promised land like a stranger in a foreign country; he lived in tents, as did Isaac and Jacob, who were heirs with him of the same promise. 10For he was looking forward to the city with foundations, whose architect and builder is God.

11By faith Abraham, even though he was past age—and Sarah herself was barren—was enabled to become a father because he considered him faithful who had made the promise. 12And so from this one man, and he as good as dead, came descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as countless as the sand on the seashore.

13All these people were still living by faith when they died. They did not receive the things promised; they only saw them and welcomed them from a distance. And they admitted that they were aliens and strangers on earth. 14People who say such things show that they are looking for a country of their own. 15If they had been thinking of the country they had left, they would have had opportunity to return. 16Instead, they were longing for a better country—a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them.

17By faith Abraham, when God tested him, offered Isaac as a sacrifice. He who had received the promises was about to sacrifice his one and only son, 18even though God had said to him, "It is through Isaac that your offspring will be reckoned."19Abraham reasoned that God could raise the dead, and figuratively speaking, he did receive Isaac back from death.

29By faith the people passed through the Red Sea as on dry land; but when the Egyptians tried to do so, they were drowned.

30By faith the walls of Jericho fell, after the people had marched around them for seven days.

31By faith the prostitute Rahab, because she welcomed the spies, was not killed with those who were disobedient.

32And what more shall I say? I do not have time to tell about Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, David, Samuel and the prophets, 33who through faith conquered kingdoms, administered justice, and gained what was promised; who shut the mouths of lions, 34quenched the fury of the flames, and escaped the edge of the sword; whose weakness was turned to strength; and who became powerful in battle and routed foreign armies. 35Women received back their dead, raised to life again. Others were tortured and refused to be released, so that they might gain a better resurrection. 39These were all commended for their faith, yet none of them received what had been promised. 40God had planned something better for us so that only together with us would they be made perfect.

Isn't it interesting to see what the writer of Hebrews (probably not Paul) says about these heroes of the Old Testament? These are heroes of faith. And they had faith in God and his promises...and their salvation is complete only in Jesus Christ.

Is it really black and white?

Do you remember seeing this test image before? I think what you see is supposed to reveal something about you or your brain or something. Since I seem to know so very much about it, what's it doing here?

I was thinking yesterday during all the time I spent it my car hurrying to meet this appointment and then that one and then this other thing...about Paul and how much I admire his personality. We talked about this for just a minute in our Bible study, but Paul was a sharp guy. He knew his stuff. He had convincing arguments for the Judaizers so he knew the law and the requirements but he was also smart enough to let them go. He could see easily how Jesus replaced the law.

And then we read about how he confronted Peter. What a man of conviction to go up against no other than Peter, leader of the early church, and the Jews in the church at Antioch who were being hypocrites. And in public, no less. There's a reason I admire that: I am in no way prepared for confrontation in public. Peter would have wiped the floor with me. Maybe. Probably. I would have thought of snappy comebacks. Three days later.

So how lucky we are to have both men, both Peter, who is so human to make mistakes and still lead and be used by God, and Paul, who knows his stuff so well that he can correct even men like Peter.

Paul didn't live in the gray area that I live in. I understand from his letter that he very much lived in a black and white world. You're either right or you're wrong. There is no in between.

Those people are hard to find. And usually, I don't want to spend time with time. Because gray is more comfortable. Tolerance is more comfortable. Going along to get along is more comfortable. "Situational ethics" is more comfortable. And still, even for all the comfort, these are terrible choices when it comes down to the important decisions in life. So I probably need to do a little more black and white and a little less gray.