The Source of Evil

Now the serpent was more subtil
than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made.
And he said unto the woman,
Yea, hath God said,
Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden? Gen 3:1

Adam and Eve must have spent a long time in the Garden of Eden, but little is recorded of what they did. We are told that Adam’s job was to work in the Garden “to dress it and to keep it”. All they knew from God was goodness. So where did evil come from? Why is there evil today? Many people believe that we can achieve goodness and peace through education and without God, but will this work?

The first indication of evil or deception in the Bible is from the serpent, not from God. The serpent was more subtil than any other living thing. No wonder Adam and Eve were led away from God. But the evil did not originate with them or with God. There is another source.

The serpent’s deception started with a very simple question. Implicit in this question is the idea that God Himself might not be telling Eve everything. So when the serpent contradicts God’s Words, it seems plausible. Evil often seems very simple, very subtil. It often starts out not appearing to be wrong, just another idea to think about. But soon, evil questions what God has said. Evil soon makes God’s Words sound just a little off. Evil blurs the line between right and wrong, morally right and morally wrong, between good and evil. Soon it is easy to set aside God’s Words for us. This is why goodness without God is impossible. Without God, there is no standard, no way to know if you are pursuing good, or falsely led astray by evil.

Leadership Training

The following was suggested by a sermon given by Doug LaPlante of the Wilmington Baptit Church on April 22, 2007.

You therefore must endure hardship
as a good soldier of Jesus Christ.
No one engaged in warfare entangles himself
with the affairs of this life,
that he may please him who enlisted him as a soldier.
And also if anyone competes in athletics,
he is not crowned unless he competes according to the rules.
The hardworking farmer
must be first to partake of the crops. II Timothy 2:4-7

The two letters to Timothy are written by Paul to instruct a younger man in leadership in the Church. People today who desire to be leaders can also learn from the instructions given to Timothy. Paul describes the standard of endurance and steadfastness that a leader must possess:

A Christian leader is like a soldier; he endures hardship, he puts his attention fully on the task at hand without entangling himself with civilian life, and he is in obedience to a single authority, who is God.

The leader is also like an athlete who competes. If he competes, then he knows the value of consistent training and practice. At the competition, he obeys the rules, so that the victory is honestly achieved.

And he is like a farmer, who plants seeds, tends the field, and waits until the proper time for the harvest. The leader must remember that the purpose of this work is to produce fruit.

It is not necessary for every Christian to be a leader, but it is often a desire that grows as the Christian matures. Anyone who desires greater growth may be instructed by God; His instructions are in His Word.

Consider what I say;
and the Lord give thee understanding in all things. II Timothy 2:7

Coffee at Mom's House

According as his divine power hath given unto us
all things that pertain unto life and godliness,
through the knowledge of him
that hath called us to glory and virtue. 2 Peter 1:3

Every week I have dinner with my Mother. After dinner I make coffee. The coffee pot is on the counter, right at hand. The grounds are in the refrigerator, the filter in the far right-hand cabinet. The measuring spoon is in the small drawer. Water from the sink. To get the cups, I open the far left cabinet; the saucers are in the middle one. Spoons are in the big drawer. Sugar is on the counter, no, it’s on the table. Mom’s sweetener should be on the shelf, but it’s tucked behind a jar on the counter. Two simple cups of coffee, and I’ve managed to open every door, cabinet and drawer in the kitchen. I’ve searched the counter and the table. Did I mention the coffee grounds were hidden behind the milk?

Getting coffee should be simple, but people tend to make things complicated. We tend to see uncertainty where there is clarity; we see many choices where there are only two. But God made things simple for us. He put all we need in one place. The Bible. Between two covers, on pages you can pick up with one hand, you will find all you need in this life.

But wait, there’s more! In this same place, you can find all you need for godliness. The same place. No searching, no looking in place after place. If you want something complicated, have a cup of coffee. When you’ve gotten it, sit down and try something simple. Open up those pages and read about life and godliness.

Direct My Path

Let your eyes look directly forward,
and your gaze be straight before you.
Take heed to the path of your feet,
then all your ways will be sure.
Do not swerve to the right or to the left;
turn your foot away from evil. Prov 4:25-7

It's Not Fun to be a Horse

My heart is in anguish.
The terror of death overpowers me.
Fear and trembling overwhelm me.
I can't stop shaking.
Oh, how I wish I had wings like a dove;
then I would fly away and rest! Psalm 55:4-6

It’s not fun to be a horse. At least, not always. There are some times when it is great to be a horse. Travis the horse spends his summer day in the pasture, sun on his back, shady trees for the heat of the day. There’s a brook of cool water for a drink and sweet grass for a snack. And there’s this person who brings grain every morning, and provides a new pasture when the grass is all eaten.

But we’re in the middle of a big storm. It’s cold and rainy. The whole pasture is mud covered with sloppy snow. The wind blows cold rain up under his fur and icicles hang off his sides. So I put Travis in the barn and now he’s mad. He whinnies when I leave and looks longingly out the door. He doesn’t like the stall. It’s a nice stall, with a dry floor and out of the wind. But Travis remembers the summer pasture, green and warm, with lots of room and a sandy place to roll. He’d like to go out there and I won’t let him.

Travis forgets the storm. It’s just above freezing. The rain has soaked the snow and the mud underneath is ankle deep. There is no grass. The brook is frozen. Travis can look out the barn door and see all this. He’s still mad and wants me to let him out of the stall. But he’s in the stall for protection from the storm. It’s not as nice as a summer pasture, but it’s better than the storm. When the storm clears, I’ll let him out.

God protects us, too. He brings us into shelter, and we long for the summer grass, not seeing the storm that rages outside. We too, get mad, and complain about the shelter God provides. But we’re in the shelter for a reason. If we didn’t have shelter, we’d be in the storm.

You will keep in perfect peace all who trust in you,
whose thoughts are fixed on you! Is 26:3

Small Things

But truly God has listened;
he has attended to the voice of my prayer.
Blessed be God,
because he has not rejected my prayer
or removed his steadfast love from me! Ps 66:19-20

There is nothing too large for God, and nothing too small. He can make the sun stand still, or find a lost earring. So why is it that we ask God for help only when we are desperate? Why do we go to Him only as a last measure, when everything else (that is, ourselves) has failed? When we are sick, or a friend betrays us, we turn to God. When we have a financial need, or face the grief of death, our prayers go to God.

But what about the little things? What about that lost earring, what about the stubbed toe, the hurried day? God should hear from us at the small times as well as the large troubles. God should be before us and a part of our lives at every moment. No moment is too small or trivial for God to attend to.

When you see the morning light, your thought should be thankfulness to God for providing it. When your day is rushed, you should remind yourself of the peace of God. When you feel guilty for your thoughtless words, you should rely on the forgiveness of God. Go to Him continually. When you go to God for small things, you learn to rely on Him; you build the relationship with God that will be there when you really need Him. Learn to know God everyday, and He will be with you on all days.

…do not be anxious about anything,
but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving
let your requests be made known to God. Phil 4:6

Adopted

…but ye have received the Spirit of adoption,

whereby we cry, Abba, Father. Rom 8:15

Why are we adopted? We say that we are born again (I Pet 1:23), so why aren’t we the natural sons of God? Does this mean that we have received second-best? When a child is adopted, it is the parent who chooses the child, the child does not choose the parent. But we have chosen God through our belief in His Son. Instead, God is trying to tell us something about our sonship and about God as our Father.

Our culture sees the natural child as the best child, and the adopted child as second best. But the Bible was not written in our times or in our culture. Adoption was almost completely unknown in Hebrew culture. A Hebrew man could marry more than one wife, so usually had opportunity to have several sons to inherit. But in the Greek and Roman customs, a man might not have a legal son to inherit; so adoption became a legal means for a man to adopt a son who would inherit all that he owned.

Children in the Roman world were under the authority of their father. This law, called Patria Potestas, gave the father authority over his children. But there was one significant difference between a natural child and an adopted child. A natural child could be disowned or rejected. But once a son was adopted, the father could never reject him. So when Paul says that we are God’s adopted children, he is telling us that we a re permanently, completely God’s, and that God will never reject us. I glad that I’m adopted.

Who Is Jesus? Who Is Christ?

But Jesus held his peace.
And the high priest answered and said unto him,
I adjure thee by the living God,
that thou tell us whether thou be
the Christ, the Son of God. Matt 26:63

Is there a difference? Usually these names are used interchangeably, as if there is no difference between them. We know Jesus. He is our Savior, our Redeemer. We know that he is the Christ. So why does he have two names? People then usually had only one name, and if it was a common name, they might add “the son of John”, or “the one from Galilee”. But we aren’t confused about which Jesus we’re talking about, are we?

“Christ” is used only in the New Testament, and is a Greek word. “Messiah” is a Hebrew word, and is used in the Old Testament. It means “Anointed One”. It appears twice in the Gospel of John, but is a Hebrew word carried over into the Greek text. The Old Testament is full of prophecies about “the Messiah”. The Messiah is someone who would come to redeem the people of Israel, the promised King, but no one knew who or when he would come. Christ, or Messiah, is a title, like “King” or “President”.

“Jesus” is just a name. Through the centuries it has been spelled and pronounced differently, just as the modern name “John” is “Ivan” in Russian and “Jean” in French today. In the Old Testament, it was “Yesua” and “Joshua”, but still a name that any boy might be given.

Put the two together, and we have a man’s name: Jesus; and a title: Christ, Anointed One. During Jesus’ lifetime, he was not referred to as Christ Jesus. At most, he was called, “Jesus, who will be the Christ”. That is because he was not completely “the Christ” until his resurrection. Only then did he become the King. “Jesus Christ” is the man Jesus who would become the Christ. Christ Jesus is the risen Lord, the Anointed King.


But these are written,
that ye might believe that Jesus is
the Christ, the Son of God;
and that believing ye might have life
through his name. John 20:31

Test Them

Dear friends, do not believe everyone
who claims to speak by the Spirit.
You must test them to see if the spirit they have comes from God.
For there are many false prophets in the world. I John 4:1

This verse makes it clear that there is falseness, deception, in the world. That deception is of a spiritual nature. And the deception takes the form of someone who appears to speak in conformance with God’s will. We would not be deceived by something that is obviously evil. The evil hides behind an apparent good or truth, and so we are deceived.

So how should we learn to know the false from the truthful? God tells us to “…test them to see if the spirit they have comes from God”. God would not give us instructions and not give us the tools to obey, so we do have the means to test false spirits. Deception that is secular (fleshly) in nature can be perceived by secular (fleshly) means. But deception that is spiritual can only be perceived by spiritual means.

Many false prophets and teachers are in the world, and many people believe and follow them. Just because someone has followers does not make them Truthful.

These people belong to this world,
so they speak from the world's viewpoint,
and the world listens to them. 1 John 4:5

How do we know if a new teacher “passes the spiritual test”? The True Teacher or Pastor will preach Christ. And spirit knows spirit. The spirit of God within the Christian believer teaches us the truth if we ask of God.

Now we have received, not the spirit of the world,
but the spirit which is of God;
that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God. I Cor 2:12

Freedom Through Discipline

…a doubtful mind is as unsettled as a wave of the sea
that is driven and tossed by the wind.
People like that should not expect
to receive anything from the Lord.
They can't make up their minds.
They waver back and forth
in everything they do. James 1:6-8

Have you ever watched an ice skater perform, and thought how effortless it seemed? All the skater’s strength and determination is overshadowed by the beauty and freedom of the performance.

What does it take to achieve this beauty and freedom? The skater practices with discipline. She practices each portion of the routine; every jump and twirl. Even the practice session has a routine of warm-up, individual moves and then a series of moves. New techniques are tried again and again to perfect them. The performance routine is practiced with extra attention to weak areas. Finally the skater does the cool-down routine. This practice schedule is adhered to week after week, year after year. The beauty and freedom of the performance is the result of disciplined practice.

Our spiritual life should also be disciplined, one of diligent adherence to God’s precepts. Just as the beauty and freedom of the skater is the result of discipline, the successful walk with God will result only from the discipline of putting on the thoughts of God.

And now, dear brothers and sisters, let me say one more thing
as I close this letter. Fix your thoughts
on what is true and honorable and right.
Think about things that are pure and lovely and admirable.
Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise.
Keep putting into practice all you learned from me
and heard from me and saw me doing,
and the God of peace will be with you. Phil. 4:8-9