Head-dibs

When I was perhaps six or seven years old we made a vacation stop at Carlsbad Caverns in Carlsbad, New Mexico. I did not appreciate the adventure as much as I could have being so young. Perhaps I was travel weary. Perhaps I was scared to death. Maybe both. One feature along the path was dark hole opening up in the floor just a few feet beyond the rail. Not much separated small children from the void and there was no help to confidence in the placard that read, “The Bottomless Pit.” Walls and columns of stalagmites were lit up with blue and pink and white lights, but this hole was the epitome of all things black. I distinctly remember a rope ladder with wooden rungs anchored at the top of the hole spilling down into the abyss and it may be a trick of memory, but I recall the ladder seemed to be broken just about the place where the light ended and the yawning chasm began. There may have been some dusty scientific equipment staged to feed the imagination. As if I was not terri...

Superman is easy to pick out in a crowd provided he is not out of costume. Any figure able to squeeze into smashing tights and a cape instantly conjures the image of “hero.” The Incredibles helped us rethink the whole cape thing; nevertheless, we still have this modern-day picture of a figure based on those tell-tale signs. The Gospel of Mark begins with a description of a very peculiar man. He is dressed in camel’s hair with a leather belt around his waist and his diet is locusts and wild honey. We are also told the whole country of Judea was going out to him and all the people of Jerusalem and they were being baptized by him in the Jordan river, confessing their sins. Now, what was attractive about this man? Why were so many going out to him, spilling their guts and being baptized? Was it is attire? What does the dress say about a man? Guys, there’s a great website out there called, “The Art of Manliness” which comes complete with a section on dress and grooming . Yes, men m...

Like a string of firecrackers on the Fourth of July, the Gospel of Mark strings together very a concise and very explosive account of the life and ministry of the Lord Jesus Christ. The gospel opens with quite a pop: “The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ the Son of God.” (Mark 1:1) When Mark was inspired to write this gospel, the Lord Jesus Christ had already been crucified, resurrected and ascended back into heaven. Reading through the book of Acts one is able to grasp what the world was like as the news of Jesus and His followers spread. Today there are many ideas about who Jesus is and what He did and the same was true in the ancient world. Mark wants his readers to know unmistakably who Jesus is, and this is what he means by “the beginning of the gospel.” The way  “gospel” is used today is not the same as in the ancient world. Presently, we underscore the trustworthiness of a testimony as “the gospel truth.” We describe the integrity of a friend as “gospel.” Ma...

"The Gospels say that women were the first to see the resurrected Christ (Mary first and then to the other women) and then to Peter and then to the Twelve. Later in the New Testament, Paul says that Peter (Cephas) was the first one to see Christ after His resurrection (1 Corinthians 15:5). Which is correct?" Since men’s testimonies were considered legal (official) in the first century, it is understandable that the apostle Paul would not list the women as witnesses in his defense of the resurrection in his letter to the Corinthians. Jesus did appear first to Mary Magdalene, then to the other women, and then to Peter. Paul was not giving a complete list. The order of the appearances of Christ is as follows: The order of the Resurrection appearances is as follows: Mary and the women (Matthew 28:1-10; John 20:10–18); Peter (1 Corinthians 15:5); Two disciples (Luke 24:13–35); Ten apostles (Luke 24:36–49; John 20:19–23); Eleven apostles (John 20:24–31); Seven apostles ...

This question reminds me of those lateral thinking problems: “A man and his son are in a car crash. The father is killed and the child is taken to hospital gravely injured. When he gets there, the surgeon says, 'I can't operate on this boy - for he is my son!!!' How can this possibly be?” Some evidence has been withheld behind the question, so the problem appears to be more difficult than it really is; for example: Matthew 28:2-5 describes at least one angel who seemed to be the one responsible for rolling the stone, as witnessed by the guards, not the women. “ And behold, a severe earthquake had occurred, for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven and came and rolled away the stone and sat upon it. And his appearance was like lightning and his clothing as white as snow. The guards shook for fear of him and became like dead men .” When the women arrive, there is no mention that they see the one who sat on the stone. We do know they see at least one sitting inside t...

Matthew 27:57-60, Mark 15:43-46 and Luke 23:5-53 each state the Joseph of Arimathea took down and buried the body of Jesus. John 19:38-42 says the same thing, only adding one piece of information the others did not: Nicodemus helped Joseph. That’s not a problem, nor is it a contradiction. So what? Well, Acts 13:27-29 says that the Jews and their rulers crucified, took down and buried the body of Jesus. “ For those who live in Jerusalem, and their rulers, recognizing neither Him nor the utterances of the prophets which are read every Sabbath, fulfilled these by condemning Him. And though they found no ground for putting Him to death, they asked Pilate that He be executed. When they had carried out all that was written concerning Him, they took Him down from the cross and laid Him in a tomb .”  Ok, so who are the Jews and their rulers? Mark 15:43 shows that Joseph of Arimathea is both a Jew and a ruler, “ Joseph of Arimathea came, a prominent member of the Council, who hi...

Playwright Herb Garner introduced us to two brothers, Arnold and Murray Burns in his 1962 play, “A Thousand Clowns.” Arnold is a successful businessman who has “made his peace with the world” for the price of his annual income. Murray is basically a bum, who seems to be hiding from life while trying to get the most out of it. Their story centers around their 12-year old nephew their sister dropped off years ago with Murray, along with some luggage and other items (she later came back to claim the luggage and the items). Murray, an eccentric and a rebel against society, is faced with a decision: get a job or lose Nick to Social Services. This clip from the 1965 movie version gives a sense of Murray’s free spirit: Why did their sister choose to drop her son off with the ne’er-do-well Murray and not well-to-do Arnold? Why doesn’t Arnold offer to take care of Nick? He drops off food every day at Murray’s apartment, but why will he not take care of Nick? One obviously cares for people while...

A student was drifting off to sleep in class again when the teacher finally had enough and pounded the desk. “You know, if you would quit goofing off at night and get a good rest, you will be able to stay awake and in the ‘land of the living.’” The student sleepily replied, “but I’m a superhero at night.” Ok, perhaps this is not the best example of the one who comes swooping down into a desperate situation to bring a victim to victory. Nevertheless, we nowadays are in awe of that masked man (though we know him as an outside observer). Who was he? Where does he come from? (**whoosh**) There he goes. There is a man in the Bible who very closely fits this approximation. His name is Simon, and he comes in a very unusual circumstance at a very unusual time. Unusual, because it is the hero of mankind (as it were), our Savior who is in distress. We don’t know much about the man—he suddenly disappears as fast as he appears; and, something incredible happens to him. “ After they had mocked Him,...

Ray Stedman shared this amazing insight into the lesson of the fig tree. He wrote: “When I came to California, I planted a fig tree just to see what it would do and to learn from it. I learned the answer to this riddle from the fig tree in my yard. The first spring, I watched with interest as the barren limbs of that tree began to swell, the buds began to fill out, and the leaves began to appear. And to my astonishment (I did not know this about a fig tree) little figs appeared right along with the leaves. I thought, ‘Well, that’s strange: the fruit comes right along with the leaf. Fig trees must be very unusual that way.’ So I watched these little figs grow and turn from green to yellow, and begin to look as if they were ripe. One day I sampled one. To my amazement, instead of being full of juice and pulp as a normal fig would be, it was dry and withered inside, with no juice at all. I opened another, and another, and found the same thing. I thought, ‘Oh, my fig tree is a lem...

“The evidence for our New Testament writings is ever so much greater than the evidence for many writings of classical authors, the authenticity of which no-one dreams of questioning. And if the New Testament were a collection of secular writings, their authenticity would generally be regarded as beyond all doubt. It is a curious fact that historians have often been much readier to trust the New Testament than have many theologians.” ( F.F. Bruce, “The New Testament Documents: Are They Reliable?” 1949, p.15 ). “No literary fact is more remarkable that that men, knowing what these writers knew, and feeling what they felt, should have given us chronicles so plain and calm. They have nothing to say as from themselves. Their narratives place us without preface, and keep us without comment, among external scenes, in full view of the facts, and in contact with the living person whom they teach us to know . . . . Who can fail to recognize a divine provision for placing the disciples of a...

Saturday night, July 12 became (in a sense) a historical night for our evangelism team (more on that later). Before every evangelism outing, we meet about 1 ½ hours beforehand for prayer and Bible study in the Gospel of Mark. We are looking to our Master for further examples in evangelism by studying His interactions. Mark 2 gives us four controversies for our example, where objectors questioned Jesus’ ability (2:1-12), His motives (2:13-17), His actions (2:18-22), and His beliefs in contrast to tradition (2:23-28). We came up with four contemporary questions that are answered by timeless principles found in Jesus’ reply: Questioning Jesus’ ability, the Pharisees asked, “Who can forgive sins but God alone?” Even today people feel paralyzed in their sin, perhaps reasoning in their own hearts that they’ve sinned too much to be forgiven. Jesus not only forgives, but brings healing that one can be released from the paralyzing bondage of sin. Questioning Jesus’ motives, the Pharisees sa...

Psalm 139:1-6 ; 41:4 ; Matthew 6:25-33 ; Luke 12:22-31 ; Mark 8:33 The Lord is not a God of passive interest. Of all that is in creation, He is intensely familiar, relational with you and me, individuals. He does not merely acknowledge men and women, boys and girls, even the nations as a casual observer; rather, God recognizes, acknowledges and instructs. He has thoroughly investigated and grasps who we are and loves enough not to leave us alone. He leaves our mouths gaping . . . Of all the arguments for the existence of God, this is most compelling: He is present and is closing in, “pressing in from the outside,” but not forcing. This is beyond comprehension. Someone has asked, “Who said you have to believe in God?” God did. Who said you had to reject Him? The problem is that we love God too little, and this is sin. Besides “himself,” the only interest to a pagan is what he will eat, what he will drink, what he will wear, and what he will do with tomorrow when/if it comes. What makes ...

Years ago I developed a strange obsession. I was determined to understand all I could about astrophysics and the workings of the universe. This led to many hours of late night conversations, notebooks filled with notes and computations, which all seemed to funnel into theories of time travel and lesser scientific and greater science fiction topics. If one could choose an example of most desirable method of time travel, one must consider a few models known, breaking them down to personal and corporate devices. Personal devices would include those such as H.G. Wells’ “Time Machine”, the first and most recognized. The rider sits in a generator-enhanced (dynamo) electric couch, spins dials, flips switches and away one goes. Another well-known devise is less a devise but an exertion of strength; namely, such as that demonstrated by Superman who can reverse the spin of the earth and subsequently, adjust time. And of course, the great Christmas chronological cowboy Ebenezer Scrooge who galliv...

(i wrote this about 3 years ago. i felt it was appropriate considering the context of previous posts). Read Matthew 4:1-11; Mark 1:12-13; Luke 4:1-13 The Holy Spirit coming upon Jesus at His baptism was not an arbitrary event. The divine event marked the start of a life of dependence. We could spend the words discussing the humanity of God and the role of the Spirit in this regard; however, at this time we will be satisfied with this one principle: Jesus immediately demonstrated the human life in complete submission to God under the control of the Holy Spirit. He did not wander about letting life happen as He tried to discover where He could fit in. Rather, the divine work in humanity was happening to Him from the moment He was compelled to return from Jordan (Lk). Think about this: does “return from the Jordan” mean that He had once already been in the wilderness on His way to be baptized? If so, note: nothing significant happened between Galilee and the Jordan. In fact, nothing “note...