Category Archives: Holy Bible

Old Paths

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path

The young man at the thrift store was quite serious when he said, “Oh my, you don’t see many of these anymore.” I had to chuckle. It’s not like I was purchasing an eight track player; it was a telephone, and it wasn’t even a rotary.

I don’t know about you, but technology is moving way too fast for my comfort – or my comprehension. Of course, I do enjoy my laptop, but this is honestly the most technologically advanced piece of equipment I own, and seeing that today’s electronics age even faster than doggie-years, it is pretty much a relic already. As far as cell phones go, I did finally move up to a $20 flip phone for my $15 a month pre-paid plan, but that was only after I dropped my last one on the floor and gave it a concussion. My children actually laughed at that one because it had an antenna –no, I am not kidding.

What can I say? I would rather be a Flintstone than a Jetson.¹

When it comes to my faith, I feel the same way. Clearly the church, as a whole, has elected to trade in their “antiquated” methods of reaching the lost for the flashier, “technologically correct” gizmos and gadgets, but as for me, I’m sticking with the prophet Jeremiah on this one:

Thus saith the LORD, Stand ye in the ways, and see, and ask for the old paths, where is the good way, and walk therein, and ye shall find rest for your souls. (Jeremiah 6:16).

I happen to believe the “old paths” are the best ones, and hold to the old adage, “if it aint broke, don’t fix it.” Besides, I get plenty worn-out trying to figure-out all this new stuff, so I relish the chance to find rest anywhere I can! Speaking of which, it is time for me to go read some Scripture on my iPad. Nah, I’m just kidding; I’m going to go read my Bible from an actual book, like they did in the good-old-days.

Blessings.

¹For those of you who live outside the United States, and have never seen the Flintstones or Jetsons; these were both television cartoons from the 1960’s. The former represented a family living in the primitive Stone Age, and the latter represented a family living in the futuristic Space Age.

pencil lady

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Falling Rock

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falling rock

As a child, I passed many an hour in the back of a station wagon, watching for a Native American chief named Falling Rock. My mother told such fanciful tales of the Chief and his many adventures. No wonder his fame had spread so rapidly that signs were posted across the country reminding travelers to keep an eye out for him.

On those long trips, I wanted nothing more than to spot Chief Falling Rock, mostly because he was so legendary and yet so elusive. I hunted for the Bigfoot monster for many years for the same reason. To this day, I haven’t seen either. No surprise there.

I’m not sure what age I was when reality hit; Falling Rock was obviously not an Indian chief. But I am thankful that my mother found creative ways to help me beat the road-trip blues. Heaven knows, imagining the exciting adventures of Chief Falling Rock was a lot more interesting than watching for literal rocks to fall. Back then, I could have written a whole book on the Chief’s exploits, and probably those of his whole tribe.

Childhood imagination is a wonderful thing. But there comes a time when we must all mature –a time when wisdom and understanding are crucial for guidance and protection!

Thankfully, the Lord has graciously erected many guidepost for us in His word.  Consider the following in the book of Proverbs:

My son, if you accept my words
and store up my commands within you,
turning your ear to wisdom
and applying your heart to understanding—
indeed, if you call out for insight
and cry aloud for understanding,
and if you look for it as for silver
and search for it as for hidden treasure,
then you will understand the fear of the Lord
and find the knowledge of God.
For the Lord gives wisdom;
from his mouth come knowledge and understanding.
He holds success in store for the upright,
he is a shield to those whose walk is blameless,
for he guards the course of the just
and protects the way of his faithful ones
Then you will understand what is right and just
and fair—every good path.
For wisdom will enter your heart,
 and knowledge will be pleasant to your soul.
Discretion will protect you, and understanding will guard you.
(2:1-11 NIV)

Time to Book It

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books

When is the last time you heard someone say that it was time to “book it”? For those of you who aren’t familiar with this phrase, it means that the person speaking it needs to leave; usually in a hurry. Perhaps we don’t hear this phrase very much anymore because our fast-paced society has become so hurried that ‘booking it’ is pretty much implied.

I still like to ‘book it’ every chance I get, but not in the same way. When I tell my family that I am going to “book it,” they know that I’m headed to the library to load-up on books.

My love of reading started when I was very young, and thankfully, my children have inherited that same bookworm gene. In fact, there are many evenings when the only sound in our home is the sound of turning pages. I must admit, as a parent this brings me great joy.

I know of another parent who surely feels the same way; our Heavenly Father. I believe it pleases Him greatly when His children shut-out all the distractions of this world and immerse themselves in His Word; like the Bereans, for example, “…. in that they received the word with all readiness, and searched the Scriptures daily to find out whether these things [which the apostles taught] were so.” (Acts 17:11)

Personally, I long to be a Berean. After all, 2 Timothy 2:15 instructs us all: “Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.” Although, truth be told, I’m not always as disciplined as I should be, and sometimes let the demands of life keep me from studying the Bible as much as I would like.

Can anyone relate? I know how overwhelming life can sometimes be, and how very hectic. Perhaps, though, (and I’m preaching to myself), those are the best times to pull out our Bibles and ‘book it’ like a Berean.

Perfect Heathen

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“Listen, that boy is a perfect heathen,” she said. Actually, I wasn’t really listening as much as overhearing, but I couldn’t help but marvel at the obvious paradox. A heathen is, by definition, a person that does not acknowledge the God of the Bible, let alone live by His instruction. The Bible speaks of the heathen one-hundred-fifty times, and never in a good light. In fact, God calls the ways of the Heathen filthy and abominable. He commands us time and again not to participate in the “shame of the heathen” nor learn their ways.

If someone were aspiring to be “perfect” at something, heathenism would certainly not be a good choice. True, the word heathen seems pretty benign in American culture. How about the word pagan? That word tends to evoke lots of horrible images –images of everything from polytheism to the heinous, unspeakable sins that the pagans commit– yet the words heathen and pagan are pretty much synonymous.

Conversely, striving for “perfection” is a worthwhile and desirable pursuit. King David said, “I will sing of mercy and judgment: unto thee, O LORD, will I sing. I will behave myself wisely in a perfect way (Psalms 101:1,2a). The Hebrew word for perfect is taw-meem, which means that David’s heart was undefiled, full of integrity and truth. The Bible uses the word, perfect -with all its derivatives- almost one-hundred-fifty times as well. However, that which is “perfect” is always pleasing to God.

Perhaps you believe, dear reader, that you can never be perfect. Truthfully, if you are striving for perfection according to the heathen’s definition, you probably won’t ever attain it. But if you acknowledge the God of the Bible, and have a heart like King David’s, you most assuredly can. After all, perfection and righteousness are pretty much synonymous; and the Holy Bible has given us ample instruction as to how to live righteously before the LORD.

Having therefore these promises, dearly beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God (2 Co 7:1).

Having said that, I pray you all have a perfectly glorious day!

Two Coins in a Mountain

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Photo: Gabi Laron, Institute of Archaeology

Last night I had a few moments to relax so I spent time at the B.A.R. –Biblical Archaeology Review magazine, that is. Being a biblical archaeology enthusiast, I love this magazine for several reasons. Most importantly, B.A.R reports on the latest finds from the Middle East that validates the absolute historicity of the Holy Bible.

This month’s magazine reported on the find of two ¹bullae that date to the time of Jeremiah, the prophet. These bullae are inscribed with the names of two of Jeremiah’s worst adversaries. The names of both of these men, Jehucal and Shelemiah, are found in the Bible in the 38th chapter of Jeremiah –imagine that.

“What if tangible proof of these princes existed? It would corroborate Jeremiah’s account –and be colossal proof of the accuracy of the Bible…. Rarely do science and the Bible converge as dramatically as with the Jehucal and Gedaliah bullae.” B.A.R. Jan/Feb 2012.

Clearly, these two bullae do exist as proof of the Bible’s absolute accuracy; as do countless other artifacts. Amongst them, are two very significant coins which have recently been unearthed in the area of the temple mount in Jerusalem. One of the coins, a silver half-shekel, was minted by Israelite temple authorities in 66-67 AD. The half-shekel was required of the Israelites to be given as temple tax, as recorded in Scripture. The other coin, from the period of the First Revolt against the Romans, which preceded the destruction of the Second Temple, bears the phrase “For the Redemption of Zion. These coins are invaluable given the ownership issues which surround the temple mount –ownership which was clearly established in Scripture (That would be Israelite ownership –not Palestinian).

While there will always be those who scoff at the Bible, I am thankful for the archaeologists which labor tirelessly to prove its accuracy and validity. I guess it just goes to show, no matter how deeply the past gets buried, someone is bound to dig it up eventually!

Regarding the aforementioned artifacts (and more), B.A.R invites us all to “Come see these remarkable artifacts and discover the inspiring story of ancient Israel’s dramatic rise under King Solomon, its tragic collapse under King Zedekiah –and the faith-filled work of Jeremiah.

January 16 through October 16, 2012
Armstrong Auditorium
Emund, Oklahoma
(405) 285-1010
Armstrong Auditorium.org

¹A bulla (singular) is a hard clay seal impression used in the ancient world to record important information.

Click here to visit Biblical Archaeology Society online

This Book

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“Never compare this Book with other books. This Book is from heaven. It does not contain the Word of God; it is the Word of God. It is supernatural in origin, eternal in duration and value, infinite in scope and Divine in authorship. Read it through! Pray it in! Write it down.”

~ “Apostle of Faith” Smith Wigglesworth speaking of the Holy Bible.

Of this book, he also said:

“Some like to read the Bible in the Hebrew. Some in the Greek. I like to read it in the Holy Ghost.”

Mr. Wigglesworth, I like the way you think!