Dan's Place

The Essence of God

How small are we compared to God? Some of us don't think that we're all that small at all - we are arrogant, thinking that we can somehow compete with God on an intellectual level or challenge Him somehow. As God asked Job, where were we when He hung ths stars in the heavens or placed the earth just so on it's 231/2 degree tilt, creating seasons and renewal for all things living? Evidence of God's awesomeness is all around us, yet many of us choose to think of it as some incredible happenstance or cosmic accident. If our science is so sophisticated, why is it that we can mix up all of the chemicals necessary to form DNA but we can't make it live? Why can't we figure out how a human brain works? Nevermind a human brain - we can't even figure out how a worm's brain works!
The attributes of God as I understand them are fairly simple; He exists in all time in all places at once; He knows everything - nothing is unknown to Him; He is all-powerful - no energy exists outside of His will. Now, let's examine those things, shall we? Nothing has ever happened and nothing will ever happen, that God does not know about - He is already there and knows what will happen in the future because of it. Now, I know that this always opens a can of worms with the Predestination people. "See! God knows what's going to happen! It's already been decided! Why should we put ourselves out if it's a done deal!" Well, it's NOT a done deal, but God knows how we will choose before we make the choice! He also knows what will transpire if we change our minds and choose another way! Perhaps more astounding to us is the fact that God is all-powerful - nothing moves without His say-so! This usually brings the scientists to the fore! "The Law of Conservation of Energy states that energy cannot be created or destroyed but only changed in form! God cannot suspend a natural law!" Oh yeah? Where did the energy come from in the first place? God created all things, including all of the energy in the universe. If God created it, the so-called "Law" has already been disproved - who's to say that God cannot in fact destroy what He created? I believe that He can, which means that God exists outside of the bounds of natural law! Such being the case, other so-called "Laws" are void in the presence of God - gravity, conservation of matter, motion, etc. Since we understand our natural world by applying these laws to the behavior of things in it, is it any wonder that we cannot understand God except by applying His Word to His nature? His very word tells us that His ways are not our ways and His thoughts are not our thoughts! How arrogant are we to even attempt to understand the awesomeness of God outside of what He has given us in His Holy Word?

Dan's Place

Time

"Does God Want You To Be Rich?" read the cover title of the September 18, 2006 edition of Time magazine. An interesting question, no? As the article portrays, many in today's Christian church have bought into the gospel of greed, picking apart small verses of scripture and reinterpreting them as directives for prosperity. I went a few years ago to see Evangelist Jessie Duplantis, who's message was right in line with this new interpretation. Mr. Duplantis even wrote a book covering the topic entitled "God is not enought; He's too much!" As I remember the message, Jesse quoted Matthew 13: 1-9

"1That same day Jesus went out of the house and sat by the lake. 2Such large crowds gathered around him that he got into a boat and sat in it, while all the people stood on the shore. 3Then he told them many things in parables, saying: "A farmer went out to sow his seed. 4As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up. 5Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow. 6But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root. 7Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants. 8Still other seed fell on good soil, where it produced a crop—a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown. 9He who has ears, let him hear."

Now, in Jesse's interpretation, the seed of the parable represents NOT the Word of God, but the offerings of the faithful. Jesse contended that offerings given to God for purposeful ministry would return to the person giving offering by as much as 100 times! One dollar becomes One Hundred dollars; 10 becomes 1,000; 100 becomes 10,000, etc. Frankly, I was appalled!

I was appalled for several reasons. First, the scripture manipulated refers not to monetary "seeding," but to the spread of the gospel of Christ! Jesus told us as much in the verses following!:

Matthew 13: 18-23 - 18"Listen then to what the parable of the sower means: 19When anyone hears the message about the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what was sown in his heart. This is the seed sown along the path. 20The one who received the seed that fell on rocky places is the man who hears the word and at once receives it with joy. 21But since he has no root, he lasts only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, he quickly falls away. 22The one who received the seed that fell among the thorns is the man who hears the word, but the worries of this life and the deceitfulness of wealth choke it, making it unfruitful. 23But the one who received the seed that fell on good soil is the man who hears the word and understands it. He produces a crop, yielding a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown."

How can anyone misinterpret such a plain message? The words "When anyone hears the message about the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what was sown in his heart" have plain meaning, do they not? The seed is clearly the "message about the Kingodom" and anyone who does not understand it will have it snatched away by the evil one. So how does satan invade the church and snatch away the very words of promise that have given life to so many? Why, the promise of financial gain, of course!

Not only is this "gospel of greed" a misinterpretation of plain scripture, it's also in contravention with the plain Word of Christ as expressed elsewhere. Did Jesus not plainly state that it was easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the Kingdom of God? (Matthew 19:24) Did He not say that no man can serve two masters, both God and money? (Matthew 6:24) Did He not direct a wealthy young man to give away his wealth in order to "be perfect?"(Matthew 19:21). I tell you, this new interpretation is nothing more than another attempt of that master of equivocation to steal away the souls of those who would hear the Word but allow the thorns of that evil one to choke it from them.

God cares little about the worldly condition of His creation; His concern is that we join Him in Paradise eternally. His primary concern is for our souls, the very divine spirit that He breathed into us at the beginning. He wishes that all would be saved, but He knows that He cannot allow freewill and have it come to pass.

Dan's Place

As I've said before, I'm a 7th-grade science teacher and a coach. There's a huge debate taking place right now about public education. SAT scores are down; other nations are graduating far more science and math-oriented degrees than is America; test scores here are lower than ever! What is the problem?! Here it is! Somewhere along the line, we decided that the self-esteem of naturally low achievers (Special Education kids; kids with learning disabilities; autistic kids) was more important than developing our gifted students to their highest potential. Since legislation has been passed that imposes that moral judgement, society has deemed it so (Individuals with Disabilities Education Act - 1997). The result has been the "dumbing down" of curriculum, making it harder for high achievers to get the education they need to succeed. What's even sadder is the fact that the kids IDEA was designed to assist has made it more difficult for them to get a practical education commensurate with their abilities; they get passed along without learning anything, simply because teachers cannot afford the time to fail them.

What's the solution? Well, in other countries, high-achieving kids are removed from the general education population and are challenged with a much more rigorous curriculum. Those countries recognize that those kids represent the future and they're given every opportunity to excel. What happens to regular-ed kids? They are educated as well, just not on a track that will prepare them for higher degrees in college. Special ed kids are educated commensurate with their abilities. They are taught simple math, reading, and other skills that will benefit them in their future lives. Such kids are not taught in general ed classrooms as they are in America; they are separated and taught as a group so that instruction for them does not hinder the instruction of others. In America, all kids are taught together so that some do not lose "self-esteem" because of peer derision. I know that self-esteem is important. We, as teachers, should do everything necessary to ensure that children are taught with dignity and that whatever self-esteem they enter with leaves with them at the end of the day. However, this country is sinking in the world economy, and its sinking fast! Our best and brightest are as good as they ever were, but they're drowning in the tide of mediocrity created by the effort to save the self-esteem of a few. Look; I'm sorry that some kids are not born with the abilities that are inherent in other kids. I wish every kid were a genius! However, wishing does not make it so. We need to wake up and realize that God blessed some with superior intellect, just as He blessed others with superior strength, or superior abilities of some other kind. Not every kid is the same! The sooner we realize that and start teaching kids according to their strengths, the sooner we'll regain our place as the world's pre-eminent superpower!

Dan's Place

I was talking to my next-door neighbor Brian yesterday, as I do often. Brian is one of those guys who'd give you the shirt off of his back one second (without being asked, mind you) and lay down a string of cussing that would make a sailor blush the next. I told him, "Brian, you're a Christian, you just don't know it yet." to which he said "you know, I was raised in the church. I went to church every Sunday; went to Sunday school; I even got saved. The thing is, when I got married the first time, the church we attended was so overrun with hypocrites I just didn't see the benefit." I asked him what he meant and he told me that a lot of the church deacons were having extramarital affairs and out of wedlock births from those affairs were nearly epidemic. I told him that church hurts are the worst because you're among people who you think you can trust and then you find out that they're people, too, just as capable of slipping up as anyone else. I don't think I convinced him - those kind of disappointments last a long time.

I say that to say this - many of us are concerned with our oral witness - what we tell people when the Holy Spirit prompts us to mention the name of Jesus - but we pay little attention to how we live our lives! I say, our personal witness, i.e., how we go about living everyday, is just as powerful, if not more, than what we say when a "Jesus moment" arises! We are commanded by the Savior to "be perfect as our Father in Heaven is perfect," yet many of us leave perfection to the saving grace of Jesus and forget that just as many are watching how we live just as are listening to what we say. - Dan

Dan's Place

Okay. I'll admit it. This one's a passion with me.

For years, most denominations of the Christian church have taught that the church will be removed before suffering any of the plagues of the tribulation. When I was asked to teach a Sunday School class in my Assembly of God church, I asked to use a book, "The Rapture Question Answered - Plain and simple" as a basis for the class. My pastor asked to see the book, so I provided him with a copy. Several days later he told me that I could teach eschatology if I chose, or I could even teach a class about end-times prophecy if I wanted to, but I could not teach a class that was based upon the book that I had offered. When I asked him why, he simply said that it went against the teaching of the denomination and he could not allow it. I probably should have said "yes sir" or some other appropriately worded response in deference to his office as pastor, but I could not, in good conscience, let it go. "Does not the bible teach us to 'be Berean' ?" I asked him. "Does not the word tell us to examine the scripture for ourselves and determine for ourselves what is truth and what is not? If the teaching of the AoG is the true word of God, then what does the AoG have to fear from me or from this, or any other book?" I asked. He had no answer, but stood firm. I was not to teach a class from that book. That was when I left the Assembly of God and went non-denominational. Denominations are the works of men - God has ONE church; the church of true believers in Jesus!

Anyway, I've continued to study the subject - the relative timing of the rapture and the plagues that will precede it, and I have come to the conclusion that the true church WILL be protected from the first part of the tribulation. It will not avoid it, but be carried through it by the very will of God. How can I say such a thing? Scripture is convincing!

Note that in Matthew 24, Jesus tells us that many things will happen before He returns for His church, then He gives us the sign of His coming: 29"Immediately after the distress of those days " 'the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from the sky, and the heavenly bodies will be shaken.' 30"At that time the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and all the nations of the earth will mourn. They will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky, with power and great glory. 31And he will send his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of the heavens to the other."

Now, when we compare scripture with scripture, we see the exact sign mentioned by Jesus in Revelation 6:12, which is PRECEDED by the four horsemen of the apocolypse and the famine, death, disease and ruin that they represent.

12I watched as he opened the sixth seal. There was a great earthquake. The sun turned black like sackcloth made of goat hair, the whole moon turned blood red, 13and the stars in the sky fell to earth, as late figs drop from a fig tree when shaken by a strong wind. 14The sky receded like a scroll, rolling up, and every mountain and island was removed from its place.
15Then the kings of the earth, the princes, the generals, the rich, the mighty, and every slave and every free man hid in caves and among the rocks of the mountains. 16They called to the mountains and the rocks, "Fall on us and hide us from the face of him who sits on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb! 17For the great day of their wrath has come, and who can stand?"

So, does the church escape this wrath? It doesn't look like it! Jesus does not remove His church until AFTER the riding of the four horsemen, the first of which is the rider on the white horse, generally thought to be antichrist.

So, how does the church escape the horrible result of a world-wide famine, drought, plague, war, and starvation? By the very power of God Almighty, that's how! Jesus tells us that many will fall away in the last days. He also tells us that the tares will be removed from the wheat. What better way to make the tares separate than to present them with a horrible demise as they trust in their true god, the systems of the world, rather than the God of the universe, God the Creator?

Dan's Place

I was thinking the other day about similarities in history. People like to point to the rise and fall of the Roman Empire and try to make comparisons to the state of present-day America. You've heard the comparison. Rome fell because it became more interested in creature comfort and the pursuit of lust that in maintaining its empire through conquest, and that is what America has become; a society that is soft and morally bankrupt - ripe for a fall. Frankly, I understand the comparison, but I don't necessarily agree.

To me, a better comparison would be present-day America to ancient Israel. The Israelis were led from Egypt by the hand of God himself. He told them that if they would simply remember Him, keep His commandments, and love Him before everything else, He would maintain them in the promised land. Over the course of a single generation, Israel forgot the mighty works of God and turned to pagan gods. Ever mindful of His promise, God eventually got enough of their arrogance and banished them to Babylon. Even when they returned, the land was never again a Hebrew possession. Instead, it was conquered by the Medes, the Persians, the Greeks, and then the Romans, who eventually lost it because, they too, forgot God and His promises.

What does that have to do with America, you say? Think about the people who founded this country. Most of them left Europe to escape religious persecution. They founded the country upon religious principles straight from the Bible, and worshipped God with their whole heart, praying publicly for His providence and protection. Sessions of Congress were opened in prayer, not because of some arcain tradition, but because they truly sought the wisdom that only God can provide. The primary book of study in school was the Bible, and children were brought up in nuclear families who taught that reverence for God comes before everything else. In less time than it took the ancient Israelis, Americans have forgotten God and His guidance in this our land. We quake with fear as threats arise from Islam, India, China, and other world economic powers, coming in the name of a god whose name we don not know and cannot recognize because we do not know the God of our fathers. This land, like ancient Israel, will be taken away if we do not cherish the gift and return to the foundation that brought us to where we are; God first and foremost, then country, then family.Dan's Place

Welcome to my Blog!

My name's Dan, and this is my Weblog. I've been posting in various web forums for several years, but this is the first time I've ventured into "Blog" territory. A thing or two about me. I'm a 48 year old science teacher in Pasadena, Texas, who also coaches football and basketball. I'm also a devout Christian and have more recently become single. My marriage of 25+ years yeilded four wonderful children, the youngest of which is now 19. I enjoy fishing, watching almost any team sport (can't stand soccer!), and working with "my" kids, which usually total around 150 or so in any given year. Before I started teaching science, I was a social studies teacher, and I enjoy talking politics with almost anyone who can do so without yielding to the temptation to resort to personal attack, a political maneuver that gained great acceptance during the Clinton years despite the damage it did to general political discourse. So there you have it. I like to talk religion and politics; the two taboo subjects!

What do I believe? I believe that, despite continued vilification from the left, Ronald Reagan was one of the best Presidents this country has ever had and was definitely in the top three for the Twentieth Century. I believe that people need to be empowered to be the best that they can be without interference from an overbearing government, meaning that taxes, intrusions into personal liberty, and other forms of governmental regulation should be scaled back to the point of near non-existence. People will produce when it is in their best interest to do so. As long as the government encourages people to be ordinary and dependent upon government for their existence, people will fall short of their capabilities. I also believe that Jesus of Nazareth was (is) the living Son of God, the second member of the Godhead. I believe that He was born of a virgin as predicted in scripture, that He was God incarnate, that He taught His followers about the Kingdom of God and what God expects of those who would be called sons of God, that He died the ignominious death of a criminal, taking our shame upon Himself, then rose in triumph three days hence, later to be accepted into the bosom of God at the ascension. I believe that Jesus now sits at God's right hand and makes intercession for us, the believers. I also believe that He is coming again as He said He would and that He will judge the living and the dead at that time. I also believe that the time of Jesus' second coming is near and that any who would call on His name at this time will be saved!

There. I have many other beliefs, but that should give anyone who reads this enough ammo for now! - Dan