Dear Roger,   My friend and I got into a discussion about whether or not God would actually hurt or punish a Christian. I said, “No. He loves us too much.” He said, “Yes. He loves us too much not to!”   What do you think?   Sincerely, Alex   Dear Alex,   Your friend wins!   I think that most everyone agrees that children who experience little or no discipline often grow up to be stubborn, unmanageable, misguided, rebellious teenagers and adults.   Therefore, it should come as no surprise that because we are His spiritual children, our Father in heaven has every intention of disciplining us so that we will grow up to be effective, strong spiritual mothers and fathers.   I watch a lot of families when Julie and I go out to eat. Whenever I see well-behaved children sitting with mom or dad or both, I always walk over and say, “Excuse me, you must be great parents. Your children are so well behaved.” Mom and dad grin from ear to ear. It’s quite clear that these children have been carefully disciplined and will grow up well.   So let’s consider a few things.   FIRST: DISCIPLINE IS A REQUIREMENT FOR CHRIST FOLLOWERS.   The Lord disciplines the ones he loves, and he chastens everyone he accepts as his son. Hebrews 12:6   When you choose to trust Jesus Christ as Savior, you will soon discover that some of our teachers are named “Pain” and “Suffering.” We have all experienced heartache, broken relationships, broken homes, disease, loss of a child, being misunderstood, financial difficulties, wayward teenagers, and on and on.   In our sin-filled, imperfect world, life hurts. And when God chooses to allow us to experience pain as discipline, we can respond in two ways: embrace and overcome the pain with His help or fall into a spirit of bitterness and anger. Your choice.   It was the Sunday night before Christmas and I was finishing my class on principles of spiritual growth. The main theme of the thirteen week class was how God uses difficulties to mature us to look like Jesus.   “Any more questions before we go,” I asked? One obviously pregnant woman said,” if I pray to be a spiritual woman at any price, would God might take my baby to help mature me in Christ.”   “What a question! I know that God uses difficulties to mature us to look like Jesus. However, I doubt that God has anything in mind for you like that.”   On January 5, I received a call. She said, “I just want you to know that I gave birth to my baby and my baby passed away. Could you come see me?”   With great consternation I walked up her sidewalk wondering, “What in the world can I say to her?”   When I arrived, her husband ushered me to one of their lounge chairs across from her in the room.   “I just wanted you know that I have no idea if God had anything to do with what happened; but, I do know this, God will use this experience to grow me to look more like Jesus.”   I walked a mile with Pleasure, She chatted all the way, And left me none the wiser, For all she had to say.   I walked a mile with Sorrow, And ne’re a word said she, But Oh the things I learned that day, When Sorrow walked with me.   SECOND: DISCIPLINE PROVES THAT THE FATHER LOVES US.   And have you completely forgotten this word of encouragement that addresses you as a father addresses his son? It says,   “My son, do not make light of the Lord’s discipline,and do not lose heart when he rebukes you,because the Lord disciplines the one he loves, and he chastens everyone he accepts as his son.” Hebrews 12:5-6   When troubles set in and trials arrive most of us react first by wondering,   “Am I really saved? If I were really saved, why am I having all these problems? Has God forsaken me? I’m a Christian; I’m not supposed to have so many problems. If God really loved me, He wouldn’t let these things happen to me.”   Certainly he would! The troubles prove that He loves us.   C. S. Lewis observed, “We want not so much a father in heaven as a grandfather in heaven whose plan for the universe is such that it might be said at the end of each day, ‘and a good time was had by all.’”   It takes a lot of love to carry out consistent discipline for a child. Pity the poor child whose parents don’t love him enough to discipline him or her consistently.   THIRD: DISCIPLINE PROVES THAT WE BELONG TO GOD.   Endure hardship as discipline; God is treating you as his children. For what children are not disciplined by their father? Hebrews 12:7   Think about this: God does not punish nor discipline unsaved people in this life. They are not his children. He saves their judgment for the Great White Throne Judgment when their sins will be exposed and all will be cast into the lake of fire.   Revelation 20:11-13 .   Unsaved people are Satan’s children, and he wreaks havoc upon them.   If you are not disciplined—and everyone undergoes discipline—then you are not legitimate, not true sons and daughters at all. Hebrews 12:8   Simply stated, a person with no problems is illegitimate and not a Christian. Discipline is not brought to us in spite of our following Christ; it is because we are following Christ.   Dr. Harry Ironside had a student ask to pray for him to have more patience. Ironside begin to pray,   “Dear Lord, would you please give this young man some problems.   Knowing that Ironside was going deaf the student shook him and said, “No, No, not problems. I want patience.   Ironside prayed again, “Lord, would you please send this man some problems.” The student shook Ironside again.   The student said, “I want patience, not problems.”   Then Ironside replied, “Don’t you know that it is troubles and problems which produce patience?”   FOURTH: THOUGH PAINFUL, DISCIPLINE IS ULTIMATELY VALUABLE.   Moreover, we have all had human fathers who disciplined us and we respected them for it. How much more should we submit to the Father of spirits and live!   They disciplined us for a little while as they thought best; but God disciplines us for our good, in order that we may share in his holiness.   No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it.   Hebrews 12:9-11   Never, ever did one of my children look at me after disciplining her and say, “Boy that was a great delight, Dad. Thanks so much. Let’s do it again soon!”   No child likes discipline; but as parents, we must never lose sight of the goal. Discipline produces a “harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it.”   One of my favorite Chinese proverbs perfectly illustrates the painful things that God is doing in your life…   “Once upon a time, far off in the heart of the Western Kingdom, the master came to walk day by day. In the midst of the garden, there was the most beautiful bamboo tree that ever grew in all the earth. The master would come by and look at his plants; but he had a special affinity for that old bamboo tree. He watched it as it grew. He nurtured it complete maturity.   One day, as the great master was walking through his garden, he came to that bamboo tree, and on impulse that bamboo tree bowed down in loving adoration of his master. The master said, “Bamboo, most beautiful of all the trees in my garden, I think that you’re just about ready to become useful to me.”   Bamboo said, “Oh, great master, if I can do anything for you, I will. Just take me. Use me.” The great master said, “Bamboo, Bamboo, most beautiful of all the trees in my garden, if I’m going to use you I have to cut you down.” The wind stopped blowing, and the birds stopped singing and all the butterflies were still.   Then Bamboo said, “Well, master, I’m yours. But, you yourself said that I’m the most beautiful of all the trees in the garden, must you cut me down?”   “I must, if you’re going to be useful to me.” The sounds of the garden were hushed in silence as that great bamboo bent his neck, and the master cut him down.   Then the master said, “Bamboo, you’re still not useful to me. If you’re going to be useful to me, I must cut off all your branches.”   Bamboo pleaded, “Oh, master, not that. You’ve already cut me down. Isn’t that enough? Please don’t cut off my branches.”   But, the great master said, “No, I must cut off your branches.” Once more the garden was silenced, and all the plants looked on with rapt attention as the great master snipped off branch after branch, and bared that great bamboo.   Then the master said, “Bamboo, you’re not useful to me yet. There’s one more thing. If you’re going to be useful to me, then I must split you open and cut your heart out.”   Bamboo wept, “Oh, master, not that! “You’ve already taken away my beauty. There’s nothing left now—just me. Must you scrape my heart out?”   “I must if you’re to be useful to me.’” Once more the garden was hushed as the great master took that bamboo, split him down the middle and scraped his heart out.   Then the great master took that bamboo shoot, now hollowed out and scraped clean, and walked over to a spring that was bubbling with water. He laid one end of that hollowed-out bamboo shoot in the stream. He placed the other end of that bamboo shoot in the irrigation ditch that watered his garden.   Then the waters began to flow; and the fields began to grow. The wind began to blow again. The birds began to sing. The rice was planted and the harvest came. And that bamboo who—standing all alone in the garden was the most beautiful of all the master’s plants—that bamboo—which meant so much to the master—when that bamboo was stripped bare and hollowed out, then and only then could he be useful in the great master’s garden.   Well Alex, I hope my thoughts are helpful in giving you a little more material for you and your friend to discuss.   May God grant you and your friend many good years ahead.   Sincerely, Roger

Dear Roger, What’s the best advice you ever gave to your congregation to help them through the New Year? Sincerely, Phil   Dear Phil, I don’t suppose that I can pick the best advice I gave over four decades of New Year’s sermons. However, looking back, one theme surfaced often: “Life Is Tough. We Need To Huddle Up With Good Friends To Handle Well The Coming Events Of The New Year.”   God said to Adam, “It is not good for man to be alone.” If it were not good for Adam, then being alone is not good for us either.   Julie and I got into a discussion with a young waiter who was soon to be married. He was impressed that Julie and I were still married after forty-two years.   “I’ve been asking married people what advice they can give to make a marriage last a long time. How would you answer?” He asked.   “You’ve got to become best friends,” I said. “You’ve got to be sitting in the rocking chairs when you’re ninety-years old with your best friend.”   “No one’s ever suggested that,” he said. “I think that’s the best advice that I’ve gotten.”   “That’s why you want to marry your best friend. The real purpose of marriage is to remove our aloneness,” I said.”   One of the best things we can do is to surround ourselves with people who can navigate with us both the victories and struggles of life.   HUDDLE UP: HOW DO YOU CREATE A SUPPORT SYSTEM OF FRIENDS?   FIRST, BE LIKE JESUS AND RECOGNIZE THAT FRIENDS ARE ESSENTIAL.   If Jesus Needed His Friends, What Must Our Need Be.   Jesus chose his men that they should be with him ( Mark 3:14 ). Jesus, too, needed friends.   Jesus needed those to whom he could open his heart and reveal his mind ( Matthew 16:16 ).   Jesus pleaded for their prayers and support as he suffered in the Garden of Gethsemane (“ Matthew 26: 38 ).   Perhaps, no passage better illustrates his need for friends than when he said to them, “No longer do I call you servants… but I have called you friends” ( John 15:15 .).   Friends are not optional. There is no substitute like a friend to care, listen, feel, comfort and reprove. Friends are essential, not optional.   SECOND, BE LIKE JESUS AND CAREFULLY CULTIVATE DEEPENING FRIENDSHIPS.   There are three accounts of the choosing of the twelve – Mark 3:13-19 ; Matthew 10:1-4 ; and Luke 3:13-16 . As we examine the lists, we discover that there were three organized groups of four disciples each.   Peter led the first group which also included Andrew, James and John. These were Jesus most intimate friends.   Philip led the second group which also included Bartholomew (Nathaniel), Thomas and Matthew. These were obviously close friends.   James the son of Alphaeus led the third group which also included James the Less, Lebbaeus (also known as Thaddaeus or Judas of James), Simon the Zealot, and Judas the traitor. This group seems to be more like acquaintances.   Jesus spent most of his time with the first group; not quite as much with the second group; and even less with the third group.   Chuck Swindoll Says That Friends Come In Four Classifications – Not One.   1. Acquaintances are those with whom we have spasmodic contact and superficial interaction, and we don’t ask hard questions.”   2. Casual friends share common interests with us. We feel free to ask more specific questions. We might even ask for a personal opinion from a casual friend.   3. Close friends have similar life goals. We feel free to ask hard questions. These are people with whom we play handball and tennis. We might go on a vacation trip with close friends.   4. Intimate friends share regular contact and feel free to criticize, correct, embrace, and encourage because there is a built-in mutual understanding of love and commitment. We feel open to share our most intimate emotions, feelings, fears and joys. We keep few if any secrets from an intimate friend.   Most of us have many acquaintances, a number of casual friendships, some close friends; and very, very few intimate friends. Ideally if we’re married, one of these is our mate; but sometimes it is not.   The tragedy is that many people have no intimate friends. There is no one with whom they can open up. That’s why life is so tough.   We are very fortunate if we have three or four intimate friends in our lifetime. Most people never have even one.   THIRD, LOOK FOR FRIENDS WHERE YOU CAN FIND THEM. GOD HAS PROVIDED SAFETY NETS AGAINST ALONENESS.   David Ferguson teaches that the first line of defense against aloneness is marriage. Unfortunately not all marriages work out well. A second safety net is the family. Unfortunately, not all families are functional. As a result, God has provided the church. Unfortunately, not all churches are good ones. In that case, go start your own church. Just kidding!   I’ve discovered that the best way to make friends in church is to consistently attend church activities. Eventually the right doors will open.   Julie and I had more friends than we knew what to do with while pastoring in Tucson, Arizona. We didn’t have any friends when we moved to Dallas. We knew that life would be tough without them. So we went looking.   We were invited to join a small group consisting of pastors and leaders of a large church family. We just didn’t fit.   Then, the door opened to join a group populated by just “normal, ordinary, church people.” We’d never been in a group where I was just a normal person instead of being a pastor. We now have fifteen new friends and the number is growing. I’m glad we didn’t stop looking when the first group didn’t work out.   FOURTH, RESIST THE TEMPTATION TO TURN TO SELF RELIANCE, SELF-CENTEREDNESS AND/OR SELF-CONDEMNATION TO FULFILL YOUR NEEDS. INSTEAD, TURN TO OTHERS.   Julie and I were in Albany, New York, leading a conference for pastor’s and wives on how to heal the hurts of ministry. One pastor’s wife was hurting and very alone. She tried to handle her hurt with self-reliance, self-centeredness, and self-condemnation. Things were not going very well.   At the close of the conference she handed me a folded sheet of paper and said, “I’ve written a poem, based on the Beatitudes, about my feelings toward life. Read it later.”   Her poem was gut wrenching.   Blessed are the poor in spirit. No, Blessed are the strong, who are always in control and never show weakness.   Blessed are those who mourn, No, Blessed are those who deny their pain and deaden their hearts—they need no comfort.   Blessed are the meek. No, Blessed are the survivors who need no one and depend only on themselves.   Blessed are those who hunger and thirst after righteousness, No, Blessed are those who have killed their longings, who no longer have any expectations—nothing will disappoint them.   Blessed are the merciful, No, Blessed are those who have minimized the damage in their soul so that there is no need for mercy or forgiveness for “nothing bad really happened.” Blessed are the peacemakers, No, Blessed are those who keep the peace at any cost (even to the peril of their own soul) so that conflict, self-revelation and the possibility of rejection is avoided at all costs.   How sad! Solomon knew better.   “Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their work. If one falls down, his friend can help him up. But pity the man who falls and has no one to help him up!   Also, if two lie down together, they will keep warm. But how can one keep warm alone? Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves. A cord of three strands is not quickly broken” ( Ecclesiastes 4:9-12 ).   Our Loneliness needs can only be met in the company of others.   FIFTH, BE PROACTIVE IN MAKING FRIENDS   Friends don’t come automatically. “A man who has friends must show himself friendly” ( Proverbs 18:24 ).   Samuel Johnson wrote: “If a man does not make new acquaintances as he advances through life he will soon find himself left alone. One should keep his friendships in constant repair.”   My daughter, Bronwyn went as a 16-year-old exchange student to Hamburg, Germany. She was very alone. It took her 2.5 hours to get to church. But she never missed a Sunday. She needed those friends. She met a group of friends at the military base, also 2.5 hours away. One evening she unloaded all the pain and suffering that she was enduring with her German family and life in school. When she finished no one said a word. They were shocked into silence. Bronwyn then asked, “Isn’t anyone going to comfort me?” So she taught them how to comfort. She discovered that the military children were just as lonely and afraid as she was.   SIXTH, MEET PEOPLE’S NEEDS AND THEY’LL LOVE YOU FOREVER!   Memorize the following Top Ten Intimacy Needs:   Acceptance Affection Appreciation Approval Attention Comfort Encouragement Respect Security Support   When you’re with people listen carefully and before long you’ll hear one or more of these needs being expressed. Jump on it. Verbally, begin to meet that unmet need. People will love you for it.   Well, Phil, I hope that my answer is helpful to you in the upcoming year.   Sincerely, Roger Used by permission of Dr. David Ferguson, www.greatcommandment.net .

Dear Roger, With everything that is taking place in the Mid-East, it is easy to see Bible prophecy playing out right before our eyes. The Bible is clear about what will happen to Jerusalem before God intervenes, and it isn’t pretty. Yet, we are continually encouraged to pray for the peace of Jerusalem. Are our prayers just an exercise in futility or can they actually affect the outcome in that region.  Gary Dear Gary,   Things don’t look very good for Israel, does it? Things don’t look very good in the Middle East for the United States either! We’ve seen headway in 2020 to move the American Embassy to Jerusalem, but Jerusalem is a hotbed of controversy and contention between the Arabs and the Jews.   Let me start with the Scriptures pertaining to this subject: God tells us to pray for the peace of Jerusalem in  Psalm 122:6-9 : “Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: ‘May those who love you be secure. May there be peace within your walls and security within your citadels.’ For the sake of my brothers and friends, I will say, ‘Peace be within you.’ For the sake of the house of the LORD our God, I will seek your prosperity.” From this passage, we see that praying for peace and good to come to God’s holy city benefits those who pray. God promised blessings on those who bless Israel and curses on those who curse her ( Genesis 12:3 ), and since Jerusalem is depicted as the center of Jewish life, it follows that those who pray for her peace and security will be granted peace themselves. Praying for the peace of Jerusalem is most appropriate for a city whose name literally means “peaceful” and which is the residence of the God of peace. The phrase “peace be upon Israel” is found also at the end of  Psalm 125:5  and  128:6 , indicating that it was a common farewell blessing. Further, Jerusalem will be the scene of Christ’s return ( Acts 1:11 ;  Zechariah 14:4 ), and at that time He will establish permanent peace with its walls. All Christians should be eagerly awaiting His return and praying for the time when the Prince of Peace will reign in Jerusalem. Jesus also said that we should be peacemakers, which would include praying for peace. “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God” ( Matthew 5:9 ). And we are commanded to do our best to live at peace with others. “If possible, so far as it depends on you, be at peace with all men” ( Romans 12:18 ). So, God wants us to seek peace among all people, and that would include praying for peace in Jerusalem, especially because of its special place in His heart.   In my opinion, the reason that attacks on the US in the Middle East is important is because the only nation willing to stand by Israel militarily and politically is the United States. Who would have ever thought we would take a stand to place our embassy back in Jerusalem.  The United States has always politically controlled what Israel can and can’t do on the world scene. Israel is always front page news on the world scene. Israel is not peaceful today. Threats arrive from numerous quarters. In the midst of all of this confusion, the Bible speaks. We are encouraged to pray for the peace of Jerusalem! In historical context, many enslaved Jews have returned home to Jerusalem after 70 years of captivity in Babylon. nehemiah has rebuilt the wall to bring some sort of security to their ancestral home. Ezra and others soon commenced rebuilding the Temple. All is peaceful and well in the city of Jerusalem and the people want it to stay that way. So, they are encouraged to pray for peace to continue unabated.   Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: May those who love you be secure. May there be peace within your walls and security within your citadels.” For the sake of my brothers and friends, I will say, “Peace be within you.” For the sake of the house of the LORD our God, I will seek your prosperity( Psalm 122:6-9   Unfortunately, the peace did not last long. Jerusalem has been a battle ground ever since the Jewish return from Babylon. The number of foreign occupations and merciless battles for control of Jerusalem is staggering: decimation by Antiochus Epiphanies (200-175 B.C.); total annihilation by the Romans (70 A.D.);multiple Moslem invasions (700-1000 A.D.); the three-fold-European Crusader waves of invasion (1000-1200 A.D.)—just to mention a few.   The current, ongoing wars between the Arab nations and Israel began in 1917 when the British took control of Palestine. In 1948 A.D. the Balfour Declaration ended British occupation and immediately the Israeli war of independence flared. Divine miracles from the hand of God alone culminated in Israel becoming a sovereign nation.   But the hostilities were far from over. The 1967 Six-Day War, the Yom Kippur War and the present-day battles with Hezbollah will pale in comparison when all hell breaks loose with the unveiling of the Anti-Christ.   How tragic that what may well be the holiest for three major religions is a battle ground and will continue to be so until the Seconding Coming of Jesus Christ!   So why pray—because prayer can change things! Prayer often works like a safety deposit box at the bank which requires two keys to open it. The bank has a key and the bank depositor has a key. When both keys are turned simultaneously the box will open. Answered prayer often occurs when God’s key (His will for a particular situation) combines with the bank depositor’s key (his/her prayers). Our prayers plus His will blend powerfully. So we pray.   I am convinced that much of what Jesus intends to accomplish on earth never occurs because we never put “our keys in the box” by prayer. After all, James said, “You have not because you ask not.”   Who knows how much more destruction and how many more battles might have been avoided if only we Christians and Jews had prayed. Therefore, praying for the peace of Jerusalem is not futile.   So, we pray for the present peace of Jerusalem—knowing that our prayers can make a difference—even though we know that as prophecy is fulfilled Jerusalem will become the final-battle ground.   Well, Gary, I hope this helps in some ways to answer your question.   Love, Roger

Dear Roger, Now we have the results: many Presidents have not supported Israel as in the past…until. now.  It seems to me that a lot of older Christians have an unhealthy obsession with Israel. They view the country as sacred, and support it both politically and financially. I’ve always believed that since God created everything no part of creation is more holy than another, and that Israel should be regarded no differently than any other country. Do you think it’s appropriate for Christians to be so loyal to a country based solely on its biblical history? – RD Dear RD, The answer to your question hinges on whether or not God is still dealing with Israel and the Jews, or if, as you say, Israel is just like every other nation. Does God still have a special plan for Israel?  Many theologians debate whether or not the promises that God made to Israel before the coming of Christ were passed on to the Church. In other words, are God’s promises to Israel forfeit because of unbelief and the promises that God made to Israel now are for the church. Israel must still be part of God’s eternal plan. Nothing less than the hand of God can explain today’s existence of the nation of Israel. In 1948 Britain withdrew from Israel and 200 million Arabs stood ready to annihilate the newly formed nation. Some Arab leaders predicted that the war would last two or three days. In Ezekiel 37 God promised that one day Israel would be reborn as a nation. That rebirth took place in 1948 when Jews from all over the world returned to the land. No Israel existed from 70 a.d. when Rome devastated the land in 70 a.d. until our generation. This seems to me rather miraculous. Surely, God has special plans for Israel! This is Ezekiel 37 fulfilled for the nation of Israel–right before our eyes! For a comprehensive information from a Jewish perspective, read our article from the Jewish Federation Foundation.   In May, 1948, the Arabs were driven from the land. The 1948 war of Independence was a success. Who could ever imagine!  Israel was caught off guard by the Yom Kippur War in 1973. Israel abandoned all defense of the Golan Heights north of Israel because of Egypt’s stunning successes in the south. As a last resort, all Israeli troops were mobilized to fight Egypt on the southern border. The heart of Israel was open all the way from the Heights to Jerusalem. Instead of marching ahead all the way to Jerusalem, the Arab commanders suspected a trap and held their positions for three days until the Israeli army secured their southern border with Egypt and were able to deploy troops to defend the Golan Heights. Only a miracle of God could save Israel and God came through just in time. If God is no longer dealing with Israel, then Christians are misguided in feeling that they need to help to defend and support Israel. Some wonder how God can still call Israel His chosen when they see Israel acting like the other nations of the world. They question Israel’s aggressive policies regarding the Gaza Strip. But I fully support any nation under attack to fight back–especially Israel.  Replacement theology is the idea that the Church has replaced Israel in His plans. According to this interpretation the Jews are no longer God’s chosen people. If this is true then you are right in perceiving that the Zionist perspective of many (often evangelical Christians) is misguided. Israel is a nation just like any other and to be treated as such.  On the other hand, if the interpretation is correct it is fine for Christians to do all they can to further the nation of Israel. Jews are, biblically speaking, the “chosen people of God” and dearly loved by Him. Another reason for Christians to support the nation of Israel is because of the Abrahamic Covenant. We read of God’s promise in  Genesis 12:2-3 , “I will make you into a great nation and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you” (see also  Genesis 27:29 ;  Numbers 24:9 ). However there is a third perspective. In my opinion the answer to your question is found in Romans 11:16-36 where Paul described the symbol of an olive tree. He described Israel as the natural branches of which some are broken off because of unbelief. The new branches which are grafted in represent the Church. The key is to understand that God has two plans operating simultaneously. He has a plan for Israel that began in Genesis Twelve when He promised to make Abraham a great nation. His plan for Israel will end when He returns to establish His kingdom on earth. He has a plan for the church that began on Pentecost and will end when He establishes His kingdom on earth. According to Paul we are in the Church Age. The existence of the church was a “mystery”, or secret that was hidden from the Old Testament prophets and only revealed in the New Testament. Thus, both plans intersect in the Olive Tree. There is a lot more to an Olive Tree than two branches. The Olive Tree represents the whole plan of God. The branches together make up the whole. By the way, at the Second Coming of Christ the nation of the Jews will weep at Jesus’ appearance. Zechariah pictures Jesus’ return with scarred hands, feet and side. They will recognize in horror that they crucified their own Messiah and many will turn to Christ. We have a definitive command to pray for Israel. Well, RD, from my perspective, it is important for Christians to do anything they can to help the nation of Israel. I hope this helps. May God bless you in the days ahead. Love, Roger

Dear Roger, My husband and I are planning to buy a house. Are there biblical guidelines for house buying? If so, could you please share them with us? We would also appreciate any advice you could give. Sincerely, Kimberly and Don. Dear Kimberly and Don, When I began studying the subject of the Bible and houses I was surprised to see that the Bible has a lot to say about the subject. I attended my first biblical finances seminar when I was twenty-years old. Forty-five years later Julie and I are still living by those financial principles. I long ago forgot the name of the man who set forth for us these principles; but, Julie and I owe him a tremendous debt. He changed our lives for the better, forever. I hope that these guidelines are helpful for you, too. Let me give you an example. By following good biblical economics God has kept his financial promises to us and we have never lacked for anything. Our first daughter, Jesse, was born to die. Her chromosome confusion doomed her to an early grave. Forty days in the neonatal section of the hospital plus all the attending doctors, tests and medicines produced an astronomical financial bill. Fortunately, we had medical insurance which paid for everything except for $11,000. We didn’t have $11,000. We didn’t have anything. It was my first year pastoring in Tucson and finances were tight. In fact, the church agreed to pay me a salary of $1,000 per month. However, when we arrived the head deacon told me that they had changed their minds and could only afford $900 per month. I got a $100 cut in salary before I ever preached my first sermon.) The night Jessie was born, our obstetrician, out of the goodness of his heart, cut his bill in half. The church took up an offering and other friends and neighbors donated to help us reduce the debt. Then, Merle invited me to lunch at the local Village Inn Restaurant. After we were seated he asked me how much more money we needed to completely pay off the debt. Frankly, I was embarrassed by his request. But he insisted. Finally I said, “We are still $1800 short.” He reached in his coat pocket, pulled out his checkbook and wrote a check to me for $1800. I protested; I felt very uncomfortable taking his money; but, he kept on insisting. Finally, with great gratitude of heart and many “thank yous,” I reached out and took the check. Then, he held open his checkbook and put it right to my face while saying, “If you have any more bills come in, they are mine.” I knew then, and still believe, that because Julie and I were following God’s financial plan, He met our needs to the very dollar. Several very practical ministries have grown up around the idea of how to handle our money in a Christian way. One of the best resources is Larry Burkett’s “Crown Ministries”. Check out some of the terrific Internet resources on how to handle God’s money effectively. Let me share with you some things to keep in mind from a biblical perspective when you are thinking about purchasing a house. 1. BIBLICAL ECONOMICS BEGINS WITH GOD’S PROMISE THAT IF WE GIVE HIM THE TOP PORTION OF OUR INCOME, HE WILL MEET OUR FINANCIAL NEEDS. The first portion of our income is called the “tithe” (10%) which is validated by Jesus in Luke 11:42 .I’m convinced that the reason many Christians struggle in financial bondage is because they refuse to follow this first step in a godly financial plan.“Will a mere mortal rob God? Yet you rob me.“But you ask, ‘How are we robbing you?’“In tithes and offerings. You are under a curse—your whole nation—because you are robbing me. Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house,” says the Lord Almighty, “trust me in this and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that there will not be room enough to store it” ( Malachi 3:8-10 ).This is the only verse in the Bible where God invites us to trust Him. This is really important. 2. REFUSE TO BE SEDUCED BY MATERIALISM AND STATUS SYMBOLS. Psalm 49 is the Psalm of the rich materialist. God is warning us that if we’re overawed by someone else’s house, envious of it, or attracted to it, we are in danger of falling into the trap of materialism.The most universal, time-tested, status symbol in human history is the house. The house is not the only status symbol in society. Cars, clothes, jewelry, club memberships, and suntans would be a partial list of others.It ’s no surprise that when God wants to teach us the danger of seeking after status symbols in Psalm 49 , He would use the house as an illustration.God never teaches that a big house is proof that the occupants are materialists. After all, there are many very rich and righteous people in the Bible – like Abraham and Joseph. The result of materialism and status seeking is often misery and despair ( Ecclesiastes 2:4-11 ). This is especially true when we buy more house than we can afford.“But godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it. But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that. Those who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs” ( 1 Timothy 6: 6-10 ). 3. HOUSES AREN’T THE PRIORITY THAT WE THINK THEY ARE. Paul defined contentment in 1 Timothy 6:8 : “If we have food and clothes we will be content with that.” There is no mention of houses.There are entire cultures in our world where practically no one owns a house. In many countries four or five families live in a house smaller than one American house. I’ve seen it. 4. BEGIN YOUR FINANCIAL PLANNING ON THE BASIS OF YOUR FINANCIAL RESOURCES, NOT YOUR DESIRES. Don’t ask: “What do I want? What does the world say that I should have? What does my peer group say that I should have? What is fashionable?” Instead, ask questions: “What resources do we have? What can I do with the resources that I have? What buying power do I have? What earning power do I have? How does God want me to use it?”  “Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said, “Never will I leave you;     never will I forsake you” ( Hebrews 13:5 ). “Keep your lives free from the love of money…” These are our desires. Stop thinking materialistically. “And be content with what you have…” These are our resources.“ Because God has said, ‘Never will I leave you, never will I forsake you’. ”God says, “I will give to you the right amount of resources; you will use these according to my will. It is that simple. You be content with what I have given to you. ”When we take this approach we allocate our resources rather than attempt to pay for our desires. If we go through life attempting to pay for our desires, we will ultimately crash and burn. 5. HOW MUCH MONEY CAN I SPEND ON A HOUSE? “Put your outdoor work in order and get your fields ready; after that, build your house” ( Proverbs 24:27 ).The context here is a farming society; however, this principle is just as applicable to our society today as it was to theirs then. Let me give to you a rule of thumb used by most financial planners to give you an idea of an approximate amount that you can afford to spend on your house. The average realtor will examine your annual salary and say that you can safely spend 30 to 35% of your annual income on a mortgage for your house. In some cases it’s possible to go as high as 40%. But that’s pushing it. The only problem is that your realtor has not factored in God. Getting our fields ready means that we take a closer look at how much we are really going to need. Let me share with you some of the things to keep in mind from a biblical perspective when you are thinking about purchasing a house. Oh, by the way, recognize that the realtor is really working for the seller and not for the buyer. This means that the more money that you spend to buy a house the more money the realtor will make. Don’t forget to check the tax rolls to get some sort of an idea of what your prospective house might really be worth. Most Christian financial planners work with a term called “Net Spendable Income.”Take your gross income per month and subtract three things from it. God’s part… the government’s part… savings… What is left we can define as our Net Spendable Income.. For simplicity’s sake, let’s illustrate and use 33%. Let’s say your gross income is $36,000 per year, or $3,000 per month. God’s part =10% or $300. Leaving $2700. Government’s part = 20% or $600 . Leaving $2100.Savings = $300. Leaving $1800. $1800 x 33% = $600 per month to spend on housing if you make $36,000 per year. Let’s not forget that too many families struggle by with an income of $36,000 per year or less. Now , let’s go to a higher figure and say that your gross income per year is $120,000, or $10,000 per month. God’s part = 10% or $1,000. Leaving $9,000.Government’s part = 30% or $3,000. Leaving $6,000. Savings = 10% or $1,000. Leaving $5,000. $5,000 x 33% = $1,650 per month to spend on housing if you make $120,000 per year. Of course, we recognize that we may not have much of a house by following this rule. But by following this rule, we remain faithful to the principle of allocating resources rather than trying to pay for our desires. In this way, we have a financial plan that is designed by God for solid success. If we go out and find the house we desire and then try to pay for it, we are going to fail. We have to allocate resources. Remember that 95% of divorcees say that finances were a major cause in their divorce. Is it all right to have a mortgage? The Bible teaches that it is all right to borrow money on an appreciating asset. It is not all right to go into debt for depreciating items like cars and refrigerators. A house can be a great asset and a marvelous investment. But remember, houses can go up and down in value. There are many scenarios in today’s economy where renting a house is a much wiser decision than buying a house. And we are not throwing our money away by renting.We are getting value received when we rent. We are getting a place to live and we get the total flexibility to walk out of it clean at any time without a mortgage hanging around our necks. We are free of the worry of maintenance, insurance, and taxes.And, we have gotten rid of the risk that the property will go down in value.Biblical economics helps us to reach healthy financial goals. One goal is to own our house debt-free before we retire. When Julie and I first married we lived in a rented, one-bedroom, apartment with a grand piano in the living room. Julie taught over 50 piano students each week to help us survive financially. From that inauspicious beginning, as we move into our retirement years, Julie and I now own our house debt-free. The feeling is great; the security is even greater. Paying off the house mortgage is a major step in good biblical economics. 6. PROVERBS 24:27 PROVIDES THE GUIDELINE WHICH PREPARES US TO BUY A HOUSE: “FINISH YOUR OUTDOOR WORK AND GET YOUR FIELDS READY; AFTER THAT, BUILD YOUR HOUSE.” Let me show you what, “finishing our outdoor work and getting our fields ready,” involves. Only when the work is done and the fields are ready is it time to buy a house. Number One: We Are Paying The Lord His Proper Share Of Our Income. Number Two: We Are Paying The Government Taxes According To The Law. Number Three: We Are Out Of Debt For All Depreciating Items. Number Four: We Are Saving A Portion Of Our Income For The Future. This includes an Emergency Fund that is set aside to cover our unpredictable (as well as predictable) future needs. Many economists say that our emergency fund should be somewhere between three to six times our monthly gross income. Number Five: We Have A Positive Cash Flow. A positive cash flow means that we are taking in every month more money than we are spending. Every month we pay all our bills and there is something left.If we will follow these principles, then we will discover that we are Biblically allocating our resources rather than having to pay for our desires. I am convinced that if we begin to commit ourselves to follow God’s Biblical principles we will be delighted to see that God just might start doing some things that we could never do with the resources that we have. May God bless you, Kimberly and Don, with great wisdom as you make one of the biggest financial decisions of your lives. May God make His will so clear to you that you can’t miss it. Sincerely, Ask Roger

Dear Roger, My teenager is obsessed with reading books and watching movies about vampires. That really seems to be the rage with her teenage friends. She wants to know what God has to say about vampires. Could you help me here? I don’t have an answer for her. Thank you, B…. Dear B….What a time to be raising teenagers! How can a parent keep up with the cultural onslaught that faces our children? I was surprised, at first, by your question. No one has ever asked me that one. However, when this week I saw that three of the top five books on the USA Today Best Seller List for Young Adults were books on zombies and vampires, I realized how relevant this is for parents and teenagers. Before I do anything else, let me commend you on the fact that you have instilled spiritual sensitivity in your daughter. It is a good thing that she is questioning what she is experiencing in the world. And it is even better that she feels free enough to come to you with her questions. Now, let me address the issue of what God says about vampires and then make several observations which I hope will be helpful. The Bible never mentions the word, “vampire,” nor is the concept addressed directly in the Scriptures. However, The Bible does address the issue of drinking or eating blood. In essence God says, “Don’t drink it.” For example, God says in Leviticus 17:10-12 : “Any Israelite or any alien living among them who eats any blood—I will set my face against that person who eats blood and will cut him off from his people. For the life of a creature is in the blood, and I have given it to you to make atonement for yourselves on the altar; it is the blood that makes atonement for one’s life. Therefore I say to the Israelites, “None of you may eat blood, nor may an alien living among you eat blood.” But, why did God so strongly prohibit the drinking of blood? Without sounding sacrilegious, I might direct your attention to John chapter six. In one of Jesus’ most demanding teachings on discipleship He declared that only those who eat His flesh and drink His blood will be “part” of Him. He was talking about total commitment. We can taste something and still spit it out. But, once we eat or drink it, it becomes part of us. It is no wonder that the people who heard His challenge were scandalized! They were quite familiar with Leviticus 17 ! It is no wonder that every one of His followers left Him that day—except the Twelve. Communion (or the Lord’s Supper) is a symbol of eating the flesh and drinking the blood of Jesus. His body and blood were given on the cross as the working tools of the divine transaction that forgave our sins and made us Christ Followers fit for Heaven. Christ’s work on the cross is often identified as the “atonement” God was pointing to in Leviticus 17:10-12 . By sharing communion we not only remember His sacrifice on the cross, we are demonstrating our whole-hearted commitment to Him. So back to vampires—in a sense, the concept of a vampire is a perversion of Scripture. When we come to Christ, we choose to trust Him and give control of our lives to Him. The metaphor of “drinking his blood” represents becoming a part of His body—part of His family. On the other hand, vampires are imagined to forcibly drink the blood of others. The victims have no choice. They are forced to become part of this dark world without their consent. See the contrast? Here is another thought about vampires and the Bible. When we think of vampires, we think of blood, death and gore. It is easy to want to reject vampire stories because they are so “unedifying.” But, remember, the Bible is also filled with blood, death, and gore. One of the goriest Bible stories is found in Judges 19:25-30 : “So the man took his concubine and sent her outside to them, and they raped her and abused her throughout the night, and at dawn they let her go. . . . When her master got up in the morning and opened the door of the house and stepped out to continue on his way, there lay his concubine, fallen in the doorway of the house, with her hands on the threshold. He said to her, ‘Get up; let’s go.’ But there was no answer. Then the man put her on his donkey and set out for home. When he reached home, he took a knife and cut up his concubine, limb by limb, into twelve parts and sent them into all the areas of Israel. . . .” Vampire stories are not the only unpleasant stories in the world. Now, let me share a few simple observations about helping your children with vampires. 1. We are wise to realize that many stories are written with hidden agendas—like hooking children into witchcraft and evil. Many stories espouse values that are unchristian or certainly not the values that we want our children to emulate. Some really nasty aspects of our culture reside just below the surface where our children are too easily exposed to them. Here we must be vigilant. For example, according to author Stephenie Meyer, the creator of the Twilight Series years ago, the inspiration for her books came from a “very vivid dream.” She writes: “In my dream, two people were having an intense conversation in a meadow in the woods. One of these people was just your average girl. The other person was fantastically beautiful, sparkly, and a vampire. They were discussing the difficulties inherent in the facts that (a) they were falling in love with each other while (b) the vampire was particularly attracted to the scent of her blood, and was having a difficult time restraining himself from killing her immediately. For what is essentially a transcript of my dream, please see Chapter 13 (“Confessions”) of the book.” Well, B…, it sounds to me that before deciding whether or not to give the OK for your daughter to read the vampire trilogy, a little time invested in parental research would be energy most well spent. 2. Anne Rice is a popular writer of vampire stories. She has inspired a massive cult following, becoming one of the bestselling fiction authors of all time. Her stories are dark, morbid, and frightening. But people are utterly fascinated by the world she has created. In an incredible spiritual twist, Anne recently became a Christian and has written significant novels about her journey moving out of darkness into light. She is now writing a new series novels about how Jesus related to people during His life on earth. Her first two books are “Out of Egypt” and “The Road to Canaan.” On her website she addresses her new Christian status like this: “I am being asked many theological and religious questions. When I get back to my home in California I will write more on these. People are far more interested in my conversion to Christianity than I ever expected. MY HEARTFELT THANKS TO ALL OF YOU, MY READERS FOR SUSTAINING ME DURING THIS JOURNEY TO FAITH.” Hers is a testimony worth sharing with your daughter. 3. Recommend to your daughter and her friend that they read “This Present Darkness” and “Piercing the Darkness” by Frank Peretti. These Christian novels are about the battles behind the scenes in the spiritual realm for the souls of men and women on earth. The books are filled with adventure and suspense. I guarantee that they will not be able to put down either book. Even though they are fiction, they hold much truth about the reality of the spiritual world. I think that many people are captivated by the spirit world because we do inherently know that there is something beyond our physical senses. These books can begin a study of what is really happening “behind the scenes.” 3. On the other hand, before being too hasty in our zeal against vampires, it is probably good to remember that “spooky stories” are not inherently evil. Stories are often just stories. My opinion is that we Christians can overreact in trying to protect children from the world and just push them closer to hiding their investigations into the supernatural. Please be sure that you fight your battles wisely. 4. Read the books your child (teen) yourself. It is not fair to comment or condemn a book you have yet to read yourself. I often encourage parents to get involved in their kids’ worlds. This may sound controversial, but you might choose to read this book together, discussing the concerns you both have about the content. Go to some of the movies she watches. Read some of the magazines she reads. And then talk. Don’t panic! Be open to her opinions. Be careful not to instantly dismiss them out of fear. Consider that it is OK for her to be searching for truth rather than already knowing the truth. The ultimate goal is for you, as a parent, to lovingly help her develop a spiritual “filter”—a high level of spiritual discernment. As she becomes an adult, she will be able to search out and formulate answers to these questions on her own. 5. Help your son or daughter who is reading media he or she “doesn’t feel right about.” It shows that she is violating her conscience. God instructs us never to violate our consciences because the conscience often acts as the interface between our inner spirit where God lives and our mind where we live. We must be careful never to violate it ( 1 Corinthians 10:23-30 ). If the book is really okay, then anyone whose conscience is not being violated can read it without sinning. Remember, Paul wrote, for Christians to stop worrying about “disputable things”—enjoy them! On the other hand, if your activities (freedoms of conscience) violate your conscience—or the consciences of those around you—then stay away from them. 6. Finally Philippians 4:8-9 gives good advice for anything we allow ourselves or our children to read or be involved in: “Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.” Well, B…, I hope this answers your question. May God give you wisdom—and spiritually discerning sons and daughters. Love, Roger

Dear Roger, Give me the best! I need to preach Revelation, simply and thoroughly. Can you help? A Young Pastor   Dear Pastor, Here are my notes on Revelation 1:9-20 . I hope it helps! Revelation was basically written to Christians under persecution to encourage them to persevere. Don’t give up! Things are not as they appear on the surface. Jesus Christ is going to win! Bob Weiland, standing over six feet tall and weighing 200 pounds, went to Vietnam in 1969. In less than a year, he came back only three-and-a-half feet tall, weighing only 87 pounds after a land mine exploded at his feet, blowing away both of his legs.  It was a devastating trauma, but he did not let himself get destroyed. He said jokingly to his parents, “I used to have at least a hundred options and now I am down to more like, five, but I am going to concentrate on what is left and not on what I have lost.” Do you know what? Twenty years after those terrible injuries, Bob Weiland completed the twenty-six+ mile New York marathon. Do you know how he did it? He had learned to run on his hands; moving leapfrog fashion. He did not set a record time-wise, but a newspaper reporter wrote, “There was not a dry eye in the crowd watching, when that fraction of a human body came leaping exuberantly across the finish line, four days and 17 hours later.   What impossible problems are you facing?   John wrote Revelation at a time when both he and the early church faced impossible problems.   The Roman Emperor Domitian was on the throne when John wrote the Revelation in 95 AD. History records him as one of the most cruel and wicked of all Roman emperors. He declared himself to be God and sentenced those to death who refused to worship him.  The Roman government was not always so horrible.  30 AD – Jesus said: “Give to Caesar what is Caesar’s and give to God what is God’s.” 55 AD – Romans – Pax Romana – “Government is ordained by God” – “Obey the government.” 60 AD – 1 & 2 Peter – Good government like Romans – Brings peace – “Submit to leaders.” 95 AD – John writes Revelation. Rome had gone sour. John calls Rome “Babylon, the great whore…” All knew who he meant. God needed to destroy this government. This is apocalyptic. Prophecy says , we can fix the government. Apocalyptic says : we need new government.   Caesar Nero came along in 65 AD. Nero was insane. He murdered his friend when he was a teenager.  Nero callously watched him bleed. He murdered his brothers…poisoned his mother. Nero began to believe that he was god.   He developed an Empire-wide system of priests: “Caesar is Lord.” Citizens must offer a pinch of incense and then have their own gods.   Christians could not swear allegiance to Caesar. They followed another as Lord. “Jesus is Lord.”   Caesar Nero = The Antichrist =666   John writes about another Beast, the Whore: we are talking about Roman Emperor Domitian.   The early Christians refused to worship him and were sentenced to die by the thousands. Some were thrown to the lions in the Coliseum; some were burned at the stake. Others were wrapped in the skins of wild animals and fed to the dogs; some were dipped in tar, crucified and then ignited as torches for the emperor’s night-time gardens. Some mothers were crucified with their murdered babies draped around their necks.   It may bother you that I said the Antichrist, 666, has already come. Is Revelation only history? I thought 666 was still to come. 666 is past. But 666 is the future.   Revelation had a context in the first century and it has a context still in the future. Both the Double Fulfillment and Mountain Peak Principles of Prophecy are important.   The mountain peak effect has to do with the distance between two prophetical events. For example, you may look at a mountain range and see one up close and one at a distance; however, it’s impossible to tell from that vantage point how far those two mountains are apart. In the same way, in Bible prophecy, many events that seem back-to-back are really separated by many years.   The Double Fulfillment of Prophecy refers to an event that happens in the present and then the same event occurs in the future. For example, Antioches Epiphanes slaughtered a pig on the altar in Jerusalem about 250 A.D. One day, during the final days on earth, the prophecy regarding the Antichrist, 666, will be fulfilled.   Revelation is apocalyptic more than prophetic .   Most of the symbols are really not hard to understand.  Revelation is an open book: not the hiding of information. God intends for us to understand it.    Revelation 1:9 , John, your brother and companion in the suffering and kingdom and patient endurance that are ours in Jesus, was on the island of Patmos because of the word of God and the testimony of Jesus.   Who is this John? There was some discussion as to author: It is a different kind of Greek from the gospel, etc, after all is said and done, Revelation was penned by John the Apostle—one of the 12 disciples of Jesus Christ.   John was the Brother of James, the first martyr for Christ. This Son of Thunder was transformed into the Apostle of Love. He was asked by Jesus on the cross to look after his mother Mary in her old age. John moved to Ephesus with Mary. Mary died there.   When Revelation was written, John is 95 years old. He was increasingly aware of the aging process. Think of his challenges; the physical toll on the human body. He probably knew the pain of arthritis, insomnia, dullness of hearing, sight and weakness that comes with old age.   Revelation 1:9 , “John, your brother and companion…”   There is something disarmingly simple about his opening lines. “I am your brother.” Here is a man who could have said, “I walked three years with the Lord Jesus. I was one of the three closest apostle friends he had. I witnessed the transfiguration. I am the one who cared for his mother when He died. None of that.  He simply says, “I am John. I am your brother.”   And companion (Greek: Sun koinonia : idea of a fellow sharer..) I am one with you in three areas.   First, in tribulation. Thlipsis . The pressure of life. This describes a boulder falling and crushing whatever is underneath.   Domitian demanded that everyone call him Lord. And John called another Lord. He was exiled to the tiny 6×10 mile island named Patmos, 38 miles off the coast of present-day Turkey. Several early church fathers tell us that Patmos was a Roman penal colony. John was forced to labor in the mines.  Some relate that he was burned with oil just after sentencing.   Hopefully that banishment would silence him forever! He just left us with the Gospel of John, three letters, and the book of revelation. Not bad for a little time on an island. He gave us the Gospel to give us tell us what to believe ( John 20:31 ). He gave us the three letters to help us be certain of our faith ( 1 John 5:13 ). He gave us the Revelation to make us ready for his return ( Revelation 22:20 ).   That ought to encourage some of you who are up in years, bodies hurting, that life is never over until it is over.   John was exiled to Patmos. What impresses me, he is not writing a word of complaint, not a word of bickering. He didn’t say: “What kind of treatment is this, Lord? I walked with you, I served with you, I took care of your mother when you died. I was closest to you with James and Peter….”   First, he is a co-sharer in the persecution . He was on the island because of his unequivocal, uncompromising commitment to the Word of God and to the testimony of Jesus Christ.   Second, he is also a co-sharer in the kingdom . The same king who rules over his life, rules over your life.  We bow before the same Lord, anticipate the same coming.   Third, he is also a co-sharer in endurance. Hupomone (Under, abide = to abide under) Used of a beast you load up before a long trip and the beast because he does not buckle at the knees is said to be a hupomone beast. He abides under the load.   What is your Patmos? A hospital bed, a workplace where you are the only Christians? A small house full of small children? A rest home for elderly? A new city or new job? There are different kinds of Patmos.   Revelation 1:10 : On the Lord’s Day I was in the Spirit, and I heard behind me a loud voice like a trumpet,   It’s not Sunday – but refers to the Day of the Lord. “I Was In The Spirit….” I take it he was caught up in a vision inspired by the Holy Spirit. “I was in the Spirit and he transported me to see the Day of the Lord!”   The trumpet got his attention. It was not a trumpet. It was like a trumpet.   Revelation 1:11 : which said: “Write on a scroll what you see and send it to the seven churches: to Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia and Laodicea.”   Why only these seven? There were many more churches in Asia Minor than these seven. Read the list and be intrigued: Where is Colossae? Where is Corinth? These are representative of the ages—same struggles of churches in every generation.   It was like a postal route (Patmos and the seven cities where churches were)   Revelation 1:12 : “I turned around to see the voice that was speaking to me. And when I turned I saw seven golden lampstands,”   What are the lampstands? READ REVELATION 1:20 : “ the seven lampstands are the seven churches.” What great symbolism! “You are the light of the world.” The church is to radiate God’s light in a world of darkness. Every church that’s true is a lampstand in the midst of darkness. A golden lampstand! Not tin.   Revelation 1:13 : “…and among the lampstands was someone ‘like a son of man,’ dressed in a robe reaching down to his feet and with a golden sash around his chest.”   John did not yet recognize Him as Jesus. “…robe reaching down to His feet” is the description of the high priest of the Old Testament.  A priest ministering in the temple.   Keeping the lamps lit – no church has light of its own. He pours in the oil. In John’s day the churches were experiencing great problems of pain, persecution, and pressure. John sees Jesus in the midst of the lampstands. Do you know that Jesus draws near to those who are suffering?   Revelation 1:14 : His head and hair were white like wool, as white as snow, and his eyes were like blazing fire.   “White hair” reveals His wisdom.   “Eyes of Blazing fire” represents anger. It is easy to see he is angry with sin. But there is more.  He was angry with the suffering of believers in the early church, as well as with John’s own suffering.   Zechariah 2:8 : “We are the apple of God’s eye.” The apple of the eye is the pupil. When someone or something hurts you it is as though someone has tried to stick a finger in God’s eye!   Revelation 1:15 : His feet were like bronze glowing in a furnace, and his voice was like the sound of rushing waters.   The feet of King stand for judgment. A King is always elevated. A subject was brought beneath His feet – symbol of authority and judgment.   This is the same little voice that whimpered in the manger. Now, it is the sound of mighty waters.   Revelation 1:16 : In his right hand he held seven stars, and out of his mouth came a sharp double-edged sword. His face was like the sun shining in all its brilliance.   What are the seven stars? Read verse 20, jump ahead: the “angelos” of the seven churches. The word means messenger . Probably not angels, these are the pastors of the seven churches.   Our world has its stars. Tell you where the real stars are. Right in the hand of Jesus. Our world doesn’t know what the true stars are. “I’d like to be a star” You can be. READ DANIEL 12:3 – turns many to faith and be a star.   Double-Edged Sword Rhomphia a battle sword- Held with two hands used for whacking off heads. This is judgment. Another sword, makaira , – dagger get close and cut off head and wouldn’t know it until you sneezed. Hebrews 4:12 – Word of God. Sharp and piercing like a scalpel: It means “convicts.”   Face Like Shining Sun: It’s a p icture of unveiled glory.   Revelation 1:17 : “When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead.”   John fell like a sack of sand. He was overwhelmed. He has witnessed unveiled Deity.   If Revelation teaches us nothing else, it teaches us to place in the highest regard the person of Jesus Christ—in His glory.   Jesus Christ isn’t a great big pal upstairs. Don’t go there ever again. He is the risen, magnificent matchless sovereign Savior of the world—who when He speaks, we are muted, we have nothing to say. And when we see Him, as we will someday see Him we will fall at his feet.   When we see Him for who he really is it is like the nursery rhyme, we all fall down.   What does it mean to fall prostrate before Christ as though you were dead?   A person who falls prostrate is silent. I never heard a dead man speak. To fall at the feet of Jesus means that there is no more discussion about what you think He should do or not do—no more argument about His will—no more rationalization about your behavior—no more excuses for your sin.   Falling prostrate means that you are silent before Christ, dead silent.   A person who falls prostrate is still. I never saw a dead man move. To fall at the feet of Jesus means there is no more wrestling with Him for the will of your life, no more pursuit of your own plans, walking off in your own directions. Falling prostrate means that you are dead, dead still.   John is experiencing Galatians 2:20 : “ I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.”   It is at this point that fullness of life with Christ begins. His glory becomes personal.   Falling prostrate means that you surrendered, dead surrendered.   Revelation 1:17 : “Then he placed his right hand on me…”   Christ in judgment still has time to stop and touch the one He loves.   Revelation 1:17b-18 : “I am the First and the Last. I am the Living One; I was dead, and behold I am alive forever and ever! And I hold the keys of death and Hades.”   Listen to the identification: Alpha and Omega!   Christ is there in moment of our birth and our death. Death has gates. ( Psalm 9:13 ; 107:18 ; Isaiah 38:10 ). And Christ has the keys.   What does this mean to me?.   1. Our faith must rest in the person of the resurrected Jesus Christ—not the teachings or the things we can or cannot understand.   Faith is in the person of Christ, not figuring out all the answers in John 6 .   There comes a time in our spiritual growth when we transition into faith in the Person of Christ. I have more questions now than ever!   2. The deeper our commitment to the person of Christ, the deeper will be the truths He reveals.   Look at Revelation 1:12 : “I turned to see” = blepo = John at the vision. The Greek word means to glance—like scenery as you drive by. It is not that significant, see that tree, sign, turn off. You just see it.   Travel back to the empty tomb at the resurrection. John and Peter had a foot race to the tomb. John 20:5 : John looked in = blepo . He glanced in but did not go in.   John 20:6 : Peter goes in and saw the mummy like wrapping and the napkins. The word “saw” is a different word = theoreo .  We get our word theorize from it. Peter is trying to theorize what happened. Where did He go?   John 20:8 : John went in and he “saw and believed.” Another Greek word = arao . It means, I got it! I perceived the reality of what occurred. John immediately perceived the reality and truth of the resurrected Christ.   Look back at Revelation 1:17 : When I saw him, I fell at His feet though dead.” It is arao. When I perceived the truth of Who He is, I fell at his feet. I was floored.   I want that for us in all its beauty and reality. When we come to this place in our lives where the vision of the living Christ becomes that real and we leave humbled and submissive, we haven’t arrived but you are well on your way.   Join me in praying.   Close your eyes, in darkness get a good look at yourself—all your dreams, hopes, disappointments, addictions, areas of sin, there you are. See the risen living Lord in your mind’s eye and he is touching you and saying to you, “I love you, I forgive you, I am here for you.” You are the reason that I came and I was dead and I came back to life—and if you have never before turned your heart and soul over to him this is the moment. Submission begins at the foot of the cross: By faith alone you and I come to Christ—alone—and when we do we are forgiven and enter into a relationship with the living God which is in no other way possible. He is the way, the truth and the light.   This is an invitation offered to you to come by faith to Christ, right where you are sitting, to fall at his feet in trust.

Hi, Roger, Recently two of my young friends have raised questions about the creation story. One, a young lady, had been deeply hurt when another gal at her Bible study group told her that if she didn’t believe in a literal 7 days creation, she might not even be a Christian! The other, a young guy science major whose father is a scientist and atheist, was beginning to question the whole “faith-thing,” since he can’t reconcile literal 7 days with scientific method…. I don’t know if you want to address something this controversial and divisive, but … since the elephant is in the room, I think maybe we (er, that would be you, as “we” doesn’t have the answers…) should talk about it. Love ya, “L”   Dear “L”,   Your question breaks my heart. I am grieving for your first friend. How we interpret the creation story can never be a test of our Christianity. Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 15 that the key to Christianity is the resurrection—not how we interpret Genesis One.   I also grieve for your science friend who is unable to reconcile the “whole faith thing.” A seven-day creation is counter intuitive for one who can and find multiple examples of scientific evidence that the universe was fashioned over billions of years; that every element heavier than lead on earth was cooked up in a star explosion somewhere else in the universe; and that the earth is about four and one-half billion years old.   Trying to reconcile scientific findings and theological truth misses the point. The mark of a good Bible student is figuring out what the Biblical writers had in their minds when they wrote what they wrote. I don’t think Moses had any of the above in his mind when he wrote what he wrote. Sorting out the truths of cosmology was the least of his worries. His big worry was leading a rebellious and stubborn people who were having a hard time letting go of the Egyptian gods.   During the 40 days of wanderings the people expressed their wishes to return to Egypt where the food was better and the gods were well known—even at the cost of reentering into slavery.   I believe that when Moses finished the creation story he not only affirmed God Almighty as the Creator, He also destroyed every Egyptian god as a figment of man’s imagination. He raised his nose in insult by saying to the people of Egypt: “My God is better than your gods. In fact, your gods aren’t gods at all. The only true Creator is, ‘I AM WHO I AM.’”   I believe that the literary device Moses used in communicating these truths was Hebrew poetry. This is not to say that the opening chapters of Genesis are myths or untruths. Much—but certainly not all—of the Bible is written in prose. We understand prose to be literally true just as written.   But, the Bible writers also used all sorts of literary devices to communicate. For example, when Jesus said, “I am the door of salvation,” no one believes that statement is literally true. Jesus is not made of wood. He used a metaphor. Paul used allegories in Galatians four to contrast Mount Sinai that represented the Law with Mount Calvary that represented grace. The Bible is filled with similes, onomatopoeias, hyperboles, and chiasms. No one interprets these grammatical devices as literal prose.   Most English poetry rhymes words. For example, “Hickory, dickory dock, the mouse ran up the clock.” Dock rhymes with clock. Here is another example, “Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall, Humpty Dumpty had a great fall…” wall and fall rhyme.   Hebrew poetry is different. It rhymes thoughts. Psalm 1:1-2 is a great word rhyming illustration. Notice in the passage below how “walk, “stand,” and “sit” rhyme. Notice how “counsel,” “way,” and “seat” rhyme. Notice how “wicked, “sinners,” and “mockers” rhyme.   Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked or stand in the way of sinners or sit in the seat of mockers. But his delight is in the law of the LORD, and on his law he meditates day and night.   In the Bible we interpret poetry as poetry. For example, in Psalm 91:1-4 , the Psalmist declares: “He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty. He will cover you with his feathers, and under his wings you will find refuge…”   No one interprets this as literal. God does not have wings and feathers. This is a poet’s way of giving us a picture experience of God’s love and care: like a mother hen gathers her chicks under her wings when threatened (remember similes?), so God brings protection and care to His children. Poets paint pictures with words and we interpret poetry accordingly.   Matthew related that Jesus entered Jerusalem on Palm Sunday riding on both a donkey and a colt. Can you imagine Him seated on two animals? Of course not! Matthew used Hebrew poetry to celebrate this glorious event. His comment is a direct quote from a Messianic prophecy recorded in poetry in Zechariah 9:9 ab out the entering of Jesus into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday.   As I examine Genesis one I see Moses using a Hebrew literary device to communicate truth to the people of God.   In Genesis 1:1-2 Moses declared that God was the creator of all things and that the earth was formless and empty. Utilizing Hebrew poetry Moses declared that God took the formless earth and gave it form. He then took the empty earth and filled it.   The structural form was put in place on days one through three. On day one God created Light and Darkness (1:3-5). On day two God separated the Sky and Waters (1:6-8). On day three God created dry Land and Vegetation (1:9-13).   The filling was accomplished on days four through six. On day four God created the Sun, Moon and Stars (1:10-19). On day five God created Birds and Fish (1:20-24). On day six God created Animals and Man (1:25-26).   Let’s examine the rhyming scheme more closely. Day one rhymes with day four. On day one He formed light and darkness. He filled it on day four with the Sun, Moon and stars. Day two rhymes with day five. On day two the Almighty formed sky and sea. On day five He filled the sky with birds and the waters with fish. Day three rhymes with day six. On day three God formed dry land and vegetation. On day six He filled dry land and vegetation with animals and man.   On each of the six days of creation Moses knocked down one or more of the Egyptian gods: light and darkness; sea and sky; land and vegetation; sun, moon and stars, birds and fish; and animals and man. Even Pharaoh and his son were gods. Now, think about it, Moses declared that these Egyptian gods were not gods at all. They all were creations of the one God who stands tall above all!   By the way, on day seven God rested (2:2-3). In Hebrew poetical structure, rest rhymes with create. The Babylonians had a ten-day week based on three cycles per month. Other cultures had varying lengths. “God established a seven-day week with one day of rest for our best benefit.   Many interpretations are put forth to explain the complexities of the opening verses of Genesis. The “young-earth theory” assumes that the earth is really 6,000 years old but that God created the earth and universe in six days to look as if it were billions of years old. This is also called the mature-earth creation.   The Hebrew word for day is “yom”. But the word “yom” does not always mean twenty-four hours. It also means, “age”, like, “back in grandpa’s day” they used to drive “Model T” cars. As a result some try to understand the Biblical creation story in terms of long million (billion) year ages. Thus, the creation of Light and Darkness is the flash at the moment of the big bang followed by hundred of thousands of years of darkness until the proto galaxies flashed into existence. One of the eventual problems that must be faced by those who espouse this theory is that vegetation (day three) was growing on earth millions of years before the Sun is created on day four.   In addition, many struggles are fought between those who espouse Theistic Evolution verses Naturalistic Evolution. Both groups agree that evolution of some kind or other is the means for the continuing process of creation. The theistic evolutionist believes that God is the One behind the design and process while the Naturalistic Evolutionist believes that evolution began by chance and is still proceeding by chance.    “L”, I want you to know that I struggled mightily for twenty-five years over reconciling the Genesis creation account. For years I wondered how the Bible could possibly be correct in the light of modern scientific discoveries. Fortunately, I was given the book, The Meaning of Creation : Genesis and Modern Science [1] by Conrad Hyers. He is the one who presented the ideas of Moses fighting the Egyptian gods and using Hebrew poetical form.   How easily the Genesis creation interacts with science. No, it doesn’t! That’s why there’s such confusion. Genesis one is a religious book dealing with the issue of worshipping other gods besides “Elohim”. Science is all about uncovering the marvels of how God built and continues to empower His creation.   Well, “L”, I hope my answer will shed some light on the issue of creation and on ministering understanding and grace to your friends. The Bible is not trying to explain or be understood by Science; and, Science is not trying to explain or be explained by the Bible. My hope is not that every one reaches the same conclusions as I. There is plenty of room for diversity and individual decision-making.   Love, Roger

Dear Roger,   How do we know which Old Testament Laws should be acknowledged and which ones can be ignored? My pastor says that some laws were cultural (like eating shellfish and wearing mixed cloth) while others were spiritual (like adultery and witchcraft), and that we can discard the cultural ones while still following the spiritual ones. That doesn’t make any sense to me though, since laws about touching dead bodies ( Numbers 19:11 ) or dealing with rape ( Deuteronomy 22:28-29 ) were probably considered spiritual. Your thoughts? – Karen Dear Karen, Your pastor is on the right track. Let me flesh out the three types of Old Testament Laws. He mentioned two. Israel really had three.   First, The Ceremonial Laws Governed Israel’s Worship. The Sacrificial System Was The Heart Of All Old Testament Worship.   The wages of sin is death. Either we die for our sin, or God will allow an animal to be sacrificed in our behalf. Once per year the High Priest went into the Holy of Holies and brought the blood of the bulls and goats as a sin offering to the Lord ( Leviticus 16:18-19 ).   All of the Ceremonial and sacrificial laws pointed to and were fulfilled by Christ on the Cross (( Hebrews 9:11-14 ). At the moment when Jesus cried, “It is finished”, all of the Ceremonial Laws were rendered null and void. The curtain of the temple in Jerusalem which divided the Holy Place from the Most Holy Place was torn in two from top to bottom ( Matthew 27:51 ). At that moment every priest in Jerusalem was out of a job. No longer is God approached through a curtain, by a priest, with animal blood in his hands. The verses about the Sabbath are no longer valid. The Sabbath is not an eternal day of worship. All of the Ten Commandments are repeated in the Old Testament except one: “remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy.” The Sabbath is no longer to be obeyed. Paul says no day has precedence over any other day.   In 70 A.D. the Temple was destroyed by the Romans and there has been not one single sacrifice since. We don’t follow the Ceremonial Laws because followed, and fulfilled all of them for us. Anybody, any time, any place can come to God through Jesus Christ( John 3:16 ).   We can ignore all of the ceremonial laws of the Old Testament.   Second, The Governmental Laws Brought Order To The National Life Of Israel.   These laws provided a unique identity for Israel as a nation that belonged to God. The laws relating to agriculture, settlement of disputes, diet, cleanliness, dress, and such things were special standards by which His chosen people were to live as distinct and apart from the world.   One of the reasons that the Jews have existed for over 2,000 years is because of the existence of the Governmental Laws. The Talmud, for example, and all of its prescribed rituals gave foundation to a world-wide movement of Jews. After all, when is the last time you saw a Babylonian or Hittite walking down the sidewalk! The Jews exist because of a common set of rules which govern them wherever they live.   The United States will not last forever. Once we had a common set of rules known as the Judeo-Christian Ethic. They glued our nation together. When the Supreme Court ordered the Judeo-Christian Ethic out or our schools (and essentially our society), they failed to replace them with another set of common values. Thus, our nation is in the throes of negative cultural change with more stealing and swindling and violence than ever before. The people known as “Jews” will be in existence long after the people known as Americans will have slid out of existence. Once again, these laws were fulfilled and superseded when Israel rejected the Messiah ( Matthew 21:43 ).   We can ignore all of the Governmental Laws.   Third, The Moral Law Transcends Time And Behavior.   Like many of the Ten commandments. Prohibitions against stealing and adultery and coveting transcend time and space. Jesus fulfilled the Moral Law by His perfect righteousness. Every commandment He obeyed. Every requirement He met. Every standard He lived up to. He died for it on the cross. Notice that there is some crossover among the three types of Laws. For example, “You shall commit adultery is both a Governmental as well as a Moral Law. Paul speaks of our not being under law but under grace. ( Romans 6:12-15 ; and Galatians 5:17-18 ).   In considering which parts of the Old Testament we can ignore and which we keep we must delve into the concept of cultural differences. Many of the Laws are not applicable for us. We must compare their culture to ours in order to have good application.   Let me illustrate with the Old Testament teachings regarding tattoos. Tattoos are mentioned specifically by name in Leviticus 19:28 : “‘Do not cut your bodies for the dead or put tattoo marks on yourselves. I am the LORD.   Some, often parents of teenagers, read this verse and say, “The Bible says that getting a tattoo is wrong.” As far as many are concerned, the issue is settled. Tattoos are expressly forbidden by the Word of God.   Before we delve more deeply into a proper Biblical interpretation of this verse, let me give you my conclusions regarding the Biblical teaching regarding tattoos.   First, some people decorate themselves with body marks which purposely magnify things that are not of God like Satan, evil, false religions, killing, neo-Nazi symbols and such. These are an affront to the Lord Jesus and have no part in the Kingdom of God ( Matthew 5-7 ). Therefore, tattoos like those mentioned above are sinful to adorn our bodies.     Second, some people decorate themselves with distinctly Christian markings like crosses, Bible verses, Holy Spirit doves and other Christian symbols. Many glorify the Lord Jesus Christ, propagate evangelism, focus on the love of Christ and so forth. I see no harm in these types of tattoos. In fact, I think God relishes the advertisement.   Finally, some people have tattoos that are clearly neutral. One friend of mine is an airplane pilot and has a small airplane tattooed on her right ankle. One of my neighbors is a Dallas Cowboys football team fanatic. If having a Cowboy tattoo on his arm brings him joy, then rejoice with him. Sports, girlfriends, wives, butterflies, hobbies, etc. all fit into the neutral category.   Now, let’s see how I reached my conclusions.   While the passage in Leviticus says, “no tattoos,” it also says in Leviticus 19:27 : “Do not cut the hair at the sides of your head or clip off the edges of your beard.” It declares in Leviticus 19:26 : “Do not eat any meat with the blood still in it.” Of course, very few of us today believe that getting a haircut or enjoying a steak cooked rare is inherently evil. In the same way, tattoos are not inherently evil. However, tattoos that glorify Satan or evil are inherently wrong.   The prohibition against touching dead bodies was a worship issue for the Jews having to do with purity (cleanliness).   Refraining from touching dead bodies is irrelevant in our culture. My fireman/paramedic son-in-law has to do this all too often. But, no one would ever consider his work to be a sin.   Israeli worship included drums and guitars of every kind imaginable. Dancing proliferated. Culturally, today, are free to follow that model or not.   Well, Karen, I hope that knowing these three types of Israeli laws can help as you decide which teachings of the Old Testament follow and which can be ignored.   Love, Roger

Hi Roger, I have a spiritual warfare question. I pray for two of my kids to be released from Satan’s grip. I pray this on a daily basis. I fully believe that God is able to free them. I have faith and complete confidence in God’s power to do this. I just don’t know when or how. My question is, WHY AM I NOT SEEING RESULTS? I can halfway answer my own question by saying that they themselves need to repent and appropriate a new life and freedom in Christ. Now, is there more to it that I need to know as I pray for them. Can you give me a more complete answer? If you use my question in your website, that is fine. I just don’t want my name revealed.   Thanks, Anonymous   Dear Anonymous,   First of all, I grieve with you. We all want our children to have wisdom, to make good choices and to manifest solid morals and values. We want to see them living for Christ and moving well on the way to maturity. I know your heart is in agony. I am so sorry for your pain and hurt. I also grieve for the pain and hurt they well may experience while they are living away from Christ. Perhaps I can give you a little hope.   The most obvious answer to your question, “Why am I not seeing results?” is likely the half answer you gave above: “They themselves need to repent and appropriate a new life and freedom in Christ.” The truth is, their choices are of paramount. You can pray and pray and pray but their decisions to continue in sin and most probably to remain under Satan’s grip will continue until they decide otherwise.   In Ephesians 4:27 Paul taught that it is possible for individuals to continue in perpetual sin long enough that Satan gains a foothold. You may need to pray for your children’s repentance and victory over specific, ongoing sins before they themselves can dislodge Satan’s grip! In James 4:7 James taught that only when we stop our sin, do we have the freedom to demand that the Devil flee our presence. By the way, it is possible to personally confess the sins of others. Daniel confessed the sins of his people in Daniel 11 . God heard that prayer.   Obviously, your questions indicate that you are familiar with spiritual warfare. Neil Anderson has many helpful guideline prayers for overcoming Satan’s grip in particular areas of our lives. His “Bondage Breakers” books are ever so helpful. You might consider praying some of his specifically designed, spiritual warfare, guide-line prayers to overcome any stronghold that Satan may be using against your children.   While the choice to remain in sin lies primarily with your children, our prayers are still important. Let me share some thoughts that may help lay the foundation for their eventual freedom.   Pray specifically for their minds to be free enough to choose against Satan and for the Lord. One prayer you might add to your arsenal is based on 2 Corinthians 4:4 : “The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.” Pray specifically for their blinded eyes to be opened to see the truth of what’s becoming of their lives.   The prayer for pain and suffering is hard to pray—but often necessary. Many wayward souls return to a Christ-like life when events so turn against them that there is nowhere else to look except up!   For effective praying I believe that we must be on what I call, “Praying Ground.”   God said, “Take off your shoes, Moses, you are on holy ground.” We want a pure and humble heart, and a righteous life when we kneel on holy ground before God in prayer. James declared: “The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective” (5:16).   Let me share a Biblical checklist to ensure that we are on praying ground so that our prayers are powerful and not hindered.   1. Am I submitting to God’s will at any price ( Matthew 26:39 , 42 )?   2. Is the sin in my life cleaned up and confessed ( Isaiah 59:1-2 and 1 John 1:9 )?   3. Are my motives pure and unselfish ( James 4:3 )?   4. Is my relationship with my spouse intimate and in order ( 1 Peter 3:7 ).   5. Am I praying with faith and belief ( Mark 11:25 )?   6. Is any unforgiveness tucked away in the recesses of my heart ( Mark 11:25 )?   One more thing, pray for close relationships with your wayward children. It is easy for parents to become estranged from children who make unwise choices. You want to keep a good relationship with them so that they feel free to come to you when they do want advice. If your relationship with them is solid you can speak into their lives in ways you never can if they don’t like or trust you.   Always keep in mind: The Prodigal Son may be just around the corner.   Again, I am sorry you are in pain regarding your children. God never designed it to be this way. May God give you grace to handle these times and peace not to worry about it all the time.   I hope this helps.   Love, Roger   P.S. Remember how answers come: 1. Sometimes immediately ( Isaiah 65:24 ) 2. Sometimes delayed ( Luke 18:7 ) 3. Sometimes different than we asked ( Acts 16:6-10 ) 4. Sometimes we get even more than we ask for ( Ephesians 3:20 ) 5. Sometimes a flat out “No” ( 2 Corinthians 12:7-9 ) Roger

Hi, Roger, Recently two of my young friends have raised questions about the creation story. One, a young lady, had been deeply hurt when another gal at a Casas evening group told her that if she didn’t believe in a literal 7 days, she might not even be a Christian! The other, a young guy science major whose father is a scientist and atheist, was beginning to question the whole “ faith -thing,” since he can’t reconcile literal 7 days with scientific method… I don’t know if you want to address something this controversial and divisive, but… since the elephant is in the room, I think maybe we (er, that would be you, as “we” doesn’t have the answers…) should talk about it. Love ya, “L” Dear L, I almost lost my faith over this issue. I believe the Word of God is infallible, inspired and completely true. I found peace when I asked myself the question: what did the writer intend when he wrote what he wrote? Here’s a bit about my journey to faith. I grew up in a church which taught  Genesis One  as proclaiming a literal-seven-day creation. Any other interpretation was a slap at the veracity of the Bible. Those not falling into line were considered outside the historic Christian Faith since they failed to “believe in the Bible.” And yet… this literal interpretation was not fitting well with what I was being taught in school. I loved math and science and took every course available: biology, advanced biology, chemistry, physics, advanced physics, geometry, trigonometry and calculus. Then, my senior year, I read  Worlds In Collision by the Russian physicist, Immanuel Velikovsky and my faith was somewhat shaken. But, I stood firm with the positions taken by The Center for Scientific Creation . I learned about young-earth theories and mature-earth creation stories; that God created the earth 6,000 years ago but made it to look as if it were 4.5 billion years old. I considered the day-age interpretations that attempted to explain the apparent old age of the earth by interpreting the Hebrew word for day, “ yom ,” as long-indeterminate eras that could have lasted millions of years. Then, five years into my pastoring, I came across The Red Limit by Timothy Ferris . My faith was shaken to the core. The more I learned about cosmology and creation the harder and harder it was for me to believe in the Bible. I was in spiritual agony. I wondered if I could be a man of integrity and continue preaching while I doubted the integrity of the Bible. In  Psalm 73 , Asaph, the worship leader during David’s reign, also struggled with doubts. God told him to continue his ministry. However, he was to keep his mouth shut about his doubts until he had worked through them successfully. Asaph became my biblical model. I took by faith that the  Word of God was living and powerful . I felt I could confidently proclaim that the truths and teachings and proclamations of the Bible were absolutely capable of changing lives and evangelizing the lost. (By the way, I’m surprised how many Christians have the same struggle I did. I wished I were more like my wife  Julie , who doesn’t worry about this at all. But, I’m not). I intensified my research. I read books on general and special relativity, quantum mechanics, chaos and string theories, cosmology, time dilation, the standard model of particle physics, multiple dimensions, multiple universes, evolution and natural selection. Then, I tackled anthropology and genetics. You can read and study a lot of books in 15-20 years! I cherished the things I learned, but none stabilized my faith. Everything was either/or. Either I accepted the literal seven-day creation or I accepted the findings of Science. No intermeshing of Science and Genesis One was apparent on the horizon. I was as confused as ever. Then, I was introduced to Conrad Hyers and his book, The Meaning of Creation . Genesis One began making sense.  Hyers demonstrates how Moses used Hebraic poetry to declare that the Most High alone is God while the gods of Egypt were just creatures, all of which were made by the hand of the Most High. What might Moses have been thinking about when he composed the creation story? He had just engineered the Exodus from Egypt. Many of the people were still worshipping Egyptian gods (cf. the golden calf ( Exodus 32 )); they wanted to worship like they had in Egypt. Aaron caved in and made them a god. Moses was so angrily out of control that he smashed the stone tablets to powder! Moses’ biggest concern was that the people would forget the Most High and begin (or continue) worshipping the Egyptian gods ( Joshua 24:14 ). It boggles the mind to think that Moses was at that time focused on a literal, scientific teaching of when and how the world came to be. To make his appeal as simple as possible he wrote in thoughtful, poetic, rhyming schemes that were easy to grasp and remember orally. Poetry was just the tool he needed. Most of us recognize a poem as a poem because the words rhyme. But as we immerse ourselves deeper into poetry, we discover the genius of rhyme schemes and rhyming thoughts instead of just words. Poems are, in fact, more likely to rhyme thoughts than words. Shakespeare, for example, never rhymed words in his sonnets, but he utilized poetic patterns to rhyme thoughts; his plays were poetic narratives written in unrhymed iambic pentameter. Observe that several contemporary songs are rhythmic and tell stories without a single word rhyming with another. Similarly, Hebrew poetry seldom, if ever, rhymed words. Ancient Hebrew poetry utilized eight different patterns to rhyme thoughts. Psalm 91:1-4  is an excellent example of rhyming thoughts in Hebrew poetry: He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty.I will say of the LORD, “He is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust.”Surely he will save you from the fowler’s snare and from the deadly pestilence.He will cover you with his feathers, and under his wings you will find refuge… No one interprets this passage literally. We all know that God is not a bird; He does not have wings and feathers. He is a spirit. This passage is poetry. Rhymes are all over this passage. Shelter, as a concept, “rhymes” with ‘fortress,’ ‘refuge,’ ‘feathers’ and ‘wings.’ Each passage also rhymes with others. The lyric, “He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High,” rhymes with “and under his wings you will find refuge.” In essence the Psalmist is giving us a pictorial experience of God’s love and care—like a mother hen gathers her chicks under her wings when they’re threatened, so God brings protection and care to His children when they are in need. The point is well made. So back to Genesis One, where Moses declared that God is the Creator of all things. In the beginning God created the Heaven and the Earth . In verse two, Moses declared that God’s creation was formless and empty . What is formless needs form. What is empty needs filling. Now notice how on days 1-3 God gave form to the formless and on days 4-6 He filled what was now formed. By the time God gets to day seven He is able to rest because the formless has form and the empty is now filled. On day one God created Light and Darkness (1:3-5). On day two God created and separated the Sky and Waters (1:6-8). On day three God created dry Land and Vegetation (1:9-13). On day four God created the Sun, Moon and Stars (1:10-19). On day five God created Birds and Fish (1:20-24). On day six God created Animals and Man (1:25-26). On day seven God rested (2:2-3). The poetical framework is now in place. The rhyming begins. Day one rhymes with day four. On day one He formed light and darkness. He filled it on day four with the Sun, Moon and stars. Day two rhymes with day five. On day two the Almighty formed sky and sea. On day five He filled the sky with birds and the waters with fish. Day three rhymes with day six. On day three God formed dry land and vegetation. One day six He filled dry land and vegetation with animals and man. Be certain to notice that each of the things God created in Genesis One were things the Egyptians worshipped as gods themselves: light and darkness; sea and sky; land and vegetation; sun, moon and stars, birds and fish; and animals and man (Pharaoh and his son were ‘gods’). On each of the six days of the creation story, Moses toppled one or more of the Egyptian gods. We might say that Moses was thumbing his nose at the Egyptians, singing, “My God is better than your gods! Your gods aren’t gods! My God made your gods!” I had no doubt in my mind that when Moses wrote down Genesis One he was thinking about God the Most High vs. gods who were only idols. Consider Moses’ final charge to Israel just before he died not to return to the gods of Egypt. In this passage he repeated the pantheon of gods he addressed in Genesis One: “Therefore watch yourselves very carefully, so that you do not… make for yourselves an idol, an image of any shape, whether formed like a man or a woman, or like any animal on earth or any bird that flies in the air, or like any creature that moves along the ground or any fish in the waters below. And when you look up to the sky and see the sun, the moon and the stars—all the heavenly array—do not be enticed into bowing down to them and worshiping things the LORD your God has [created]” ( Deuteronomy 4:15-19 ). My struggles ceased. My faith soared. No longer were seven-day creation and Science my only choices. Now that I understood Moses’ intention in writing Genesis One, there was no need for both to mesh—or for my mind to be forced to choose one side or the other. Finally, I no longer had to answer the oft-asked question, “How do dinosaurs fit into the Bible?” In this understanding of Genesis One, they don’t. L, I hope that my journey might be of help to your young friends and others. At the minimum, these are some things you might consider as you are reconciling the Bible with Science. Love, Roger P.S. Dear Reader, You may stop reading here. My answer is completed. However, if you want to know more about the literary devices used by biblical authors to communicate truth to us, I have summarized several of them below. I hope you find them informative and helpful as you study the Bible. Much of the Bible is written in prose and understood as literally true just as it is written. The Bible is replete with narrative stories which actually occurred as recorded. So, we interpret prose as prose. In the same way, we interpret poetry as poetry. The Bible also contains metaphors . A metaphor is a comparison not using the words “like” or “as.” For example, Jesus declared, “I am the door.” None of us believe that statement to be literally true. Jesus is not made out of wood and hinges. He used a metaphor to describe Himself as the way into eternal life. We understand metaphors as metaphors. The Bible is filled with similes . A simile is a comparison using the words “like” or “as.” In the Olivet Discourse Jesus described the end times as follows: “ As it was in the days of Noah, so shall the coming of the Son of Man be.” The end will not come with the days of Noah; however, the end will be like the days of Noah. So, we understand that similes are not literally true, but they use one thing to help make something else easier to understand. So, we interpret similes as similes. Onomatopoeia is a literary device that uses a word that sounds like the meaning of the word itself. For example, when the Rich Young Ruler turned His back on Jesus, Jesus “looked upon him with compassion.” ‘Compassion’ is translated from a Greek word that actually sounds like someone’s inner-most body parts being spilled out. Jesus’ insides did not literally pour out. But, we experience from that particular word an insight into Christ’s deep, emotional, heart-broken feelings of compassion for the young man who made the wrong choice. We interpret onomatopoeia as onomatopoeia. Jesus often used Greek chiasms to teach truth. A chiasm is a Greek literary device used to invoke deep thought and consideration. Four clauses are arranged like an “X” in the rhyme scheme a-b-b-a. For example, Jesus said in  Matthew 7:6 : “Do not give dogs what is sacred; do not throw your pearls to pigs. If you do, they may trample them under their feet, and then turn and tear you to pieces.” His statement is only understood by unraveling the chiasm. The first and fourth clauses go together as do the second and third. Now, His words make sense. Otherwise they seem like gibberish. We interpret chiasms as chiasms.

Dear Roger,   Our Bible study group was studying the Song of Solomon and came across Song of Solomon 2:15 : “Catch for us the foxes, the little foxes that ruin the vineyards.” Could you please elaborate? Sincerely, Susan   Dear Susan,   The context of this verse is the poetic picture of sexual love in marriage composed by Solomon’s fiancé as she looks forward to her upcoming wedding with King Solomon.   She knows that there are things which can spoil their relationship. These little foxes can destroy their marriage.   In the same way, little foxes can sneak in and spoil our Christian lives. We’ll look at the verse of this perspective.   FOXES THAT SPOIL THE VINEYARD   Little foxes need little exposition. I won’t take time to elaborate because they are really self-explanatory.   Besides, I want to focus shortly on the Biggest Little Fox.   Look carefully! Some of these little foxes may be in your vineyard.   Quarreling with other Christians ( First Corinthians 3:1-3 )   Pride (Proverb 16:18)   Simmering bitterness ( Ephesians 5:21 )   Sexual immorality ( Colossians 3:5 )   Materialism ( Colossians 3:5 )   Prayerlessness ( James 4:2 )   Filthy language ( Colossians 3:8 )   Envy ( Galatians 5:21 )   Drunkenness and drugs ( Galatians 5:21 )    WORLDLINESS IS THE BIGGEST LITTLE FOX    How incredible would it be after the pastor pronounces, “husband and wife” at a wedding ceremony for the groom to take the maid of honor by the arm and walk her back down the aisle and out the door!   Unfortunately, Christians this all the time. We are married to Jesus Christ ( Revelation 19:7 ). Yet, we leave Jesus at the altar and walk down the aisle arm in arm with worldliness!   “You adulterous people don’t you know that friendship with the world means enmity against God? Therefore, anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God” James 4:4 ).   The word, “enmity”, means that worldly Christians are at war with God. What an awful position in which to be!    DEMAS: THE PREEMINENT PICTURE OF INCREASING WORLDLINESS    Three times Demas is mentioned in the New Testament. We see here three points on a graph which reveal his downward spiral into materialism   Point One: Demas was Paul’s close companion and fellow worker. There are few greater honors than that!    “ Epaphras, my fellow prisoner in Christ Jesus, sends you greetings. And so do Mark, Aristarchus, Demas and Luke, my fellow workers” ( Philemon 23-24 .   Point Two: Unfortunately, Demas was sliding away. In verses 7 to 13 Paul gave thanks for six fellow workers who had done great things for Christ. Unfortunately, Paul has no word of commendation for Demas: “Our dear friend Luke, the doctor, and Demas send greetings” ( Colossians 4:7-14 ).   Is it any accident that in a context of eight Christian laborers, seven are pointed out for some good work, and one is passed over in silence?   Can you imagine that some Christian lives are best passed over in silence   Point Three: The final portrait of Demas is relayed in 2 Timothy 4:10 :   “Do your best to come to me quickly, for Demas, because he loved this world, has deserted me and has gone to Thessalonica.”   “Demas, my fellow worker; Demas; Demas has deserted me!”   Three points on a curve enable us to plot the downward journey of a man who started with Jesus Christ, and ended up with the world!   Many Christians find it easy to love this present age. We make fine beginnings and some comfortable corner of this present age invites us and we nestle down in worldliness.   If I should accuse some of us of being Judas, we would be indignant. We would never deliberately sell anyone out.   But Demas, how many of us have been that?    HOW TO DRIVE OUT THE FOXES    I’m listing below a number of things we can do to help us conquer worldliness. Don’t try to do them all at once. Just pick two or three and when you’ve conquered those pick a couple or three more.   Understand correctly that worldliness is being concerned with worldly affairs to the neglect of spiritual ones.   Make growing to spiritual maturity a top priority ( Ephesians 4:14-15 ).   Skip through the TV commercials: All advertising entices us to become worldly materialists.   Whether you have much or little, be content with what you have ( Philippians 4:10-14 ).   Downsize: Be generous rather than selfish ( Matthew 6:2 ): Think of the rich young ruler.   Manage your money well so you don’t over spend on worldly things (Proverb 27:23).   Associate with spiritual people instead of social climbers ( Psalm 1:1-3 ).   Do not covet your neighbor’s house ( Exodus 20:23 ).   Walk humbly with God ( Micah 6:8 ).   Be warned. “Everything in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—comes not from the Father but from the world” ( 1 John 2: 16 ).   Refuse to be polluted by the world” ( James 1:27 ).   Be warned: Choose to be a friend of the world and you’ll become an enemy of God ( James 4:7 ).   Walk in the kingdom of light and stay away from the kingdom of darkness (Matthew: 6-33).    TEST YOURSELF .    One of the basic reasons that we have foxes in our vineyards is because we struggle with worldliness. We have yet to fully commit ourselves to doing things God’s way ( James 4:7 ).   Either we are walking in the Kingdom of Light or we are walking in the Kingdom of Darkness.   In God’s Kingdom of Light everything is based on God’s will and way: “Let’s do it God’s way! Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.”   On the other hand, in the Kingdom of Darkness most everything is based on my way: “Let’s do it MY way.”   The language in the Kingdom of Darkness is spelled, “G-R-I-P-E”. People who live in the Kingdom Of Darkness are like the Israelites in the wilderness. They murmured and griped for 40 years. They griped about the food, the weather, the work, the water, and Moses!   On the other hand, the language of the Kingdom of God is spelled P-R-A-I-S-E. “In everything give thanks!” “I will bless the Lord at all times; His praise will continually be in my mouth.”   It’s easy to pick out the people who live in the Kingdom of Light. They spend a lot of time praising the Lord: “The Lord gives, Lord takes away, Blessed be the name of the Lord!”   The problem with many Christians is that we’re living too close to the border. We want to submit to God but keep on doing things our way.   People who live in border towns often mix together the languages spoken on each side of the border. In my country, on the Texas side, people speak English. On the Mexico side they speak Mexican or Spanish. Over the years the two languages have meshed together. We call the new language, “Tex-Mex” or Spanglish”.   You’ll know if you have a foot in each kingdom, when you begin speaking, “Gripe-Praise”. “I feel terrible, but praise the Lord anyway!”   God says, “Stop flirting with worldliness! Keep both feet in the Kingdom of Light. From now on, let’s do it my way!”   After all, the problem with straddling the fence is that it always hurts in the middle!   Susan, I hope this is helpful.   Sincerely, Roger