May 26, 2016 | Changes in Worlds and Hearts

 

“A son was born to Seth also, and he named him Enosh. At that time people began to call on the name of Yahweh.“
[Genesis 4:26 HCSB]
This coming Sunday, I will not be in our church’s pulpit since I am working on a new series all week. In my stead a brilliant scientist friend of mine is teaching about life before Noah’s flood. Using scripture, archeology, and logic, he paints a fascinating picture of what things were like in that very different era. Talking with him, I have found that I read Genesis 3-6 very differently.
If you are in North Texas this coming Memorial Day weekend, I think you’ll be blessed to hear from Dr. Huffman. Even for those farther afield, you can always study with us by video at www.friscobible.com. In preparation, I suggest we read Genesis 1-6 and spend a few moments thinking about the radical changes God brings in His world – and in our hearts.
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May 19, 2016 | Change the World

“Now the acts of King David, from first to last, are written … his rule and his might and of the circumstances that came upon him and upon Israel and upon all the kingdoms of the countries.”
[1 Chronicles 29:29-30 ESV]
When I speak to young adults, I am impressed how nearly every one present burns with desire to alter the planet for good. They intend to mightily overcome all circumstances, leading to their inevitable question, “How can we change the world?” It’s always a rather ticklish moment, because the students tend to be less than enthusiastic about my answer: “Live truth when it’s unpopular.”
Example of polygamy
An example from an area of Davidic weakness illustrates. Polygamy was the default setting in most of the ancient world. Multiple wives spoke to a clan’s power and apologists for the practice touted how polygamy provided protection for more females and children. Yet Israel knew the dark truth, that polygamy is an unmitigated disaster. From manifold witnesses – including the life of their namesake father, Jacob/Israel – it was evident to the Hebrews that polygamy brought only grief. Nonetheless, even in Israel polygamy continued to supplant the Genesis 2 gold standard of one man joined with one woman before God forever.
Until the prophets slowly turned the tide. Alone in a world bent on ignoring God’s Word, the prophets relentlessly lived and spoke biblical truth. Hosea is the boldest example, but he is by no means alone in calling Israeli men and women to God’s standard. By the time the Jews returned from exile in Babylon, the unimaginable had occurred – polygamy was dead. While the rest of the world still wallowed in marital confusion, Israel had turned back to God’s two-in-one ideal. The prophets had truly been used to change the world.
Spiritual context 
Of course, Hebrew prophets often paid with their lives. Speaking unpopular ideas, even when doing so in love, regularly leads to martyrdom. Yet the prophets concerned themselves with pleasing God, not people. In fact, their entire lives focused on the Lord. Even Hosea focused primarily on the need for people to respond rightly to YHWH. This doesn’t mean cultural sin was ignored; merely that it was placed in context.
This focus is the key to effective change in any era, something Paul powerful expounds in 1 Thessalonians 2. Today, some of my pastoral peers misstep because they are focused primarily on social issues. Others wisely concentrate on Jesus as the main thing, but then pretend that social issues don’t matter. Neither of these approaches will change the world. Real impact requires a prophetic touch. Otherwise, one merely ties in to the accepted political morality of one’s culture or one becomes known only for what one opposes – instead of the God one is for.
When Christians pretend cultural excuses for morality are acceptable or miss the God-centeredness of the biblical message, their world is left without an effective voice of scriptural reason. This is tragic because the accepted morality of every culture is in need of continual reformation. Since Genesis 3 there has never existed a “good old day” in which prophetic voices were unnecessary.
In practice 
Recently I was discussing all this with a wonderful group of 20-something Christians and asked them to list some examples of areas where they might be used to genuinely change the world by speaking God-centered truth. I found these responses especially interesting:
  • XX and XY chromosomes are not malleable since “male and female He created them.”
  • The poor are rescued by God’s ethics and His grace. They are not ultimately helped by private loan companies, most government programs, or non-profit ideas of “social justice.”
  • Women are made in God’s image. They are not objects to be ogled in London tabloids. [I could say the same of Frisco (my town) restaurants.]
  • Fruitful parenting is about honoring God, not raising “successful” kids.
  • Anti-Semitism is evil, yet so are many actions of Jews and the current Israeli government. The Jewish Messiah is the only answer for each side.
What would you add? Where has God called you to speak and live truth?
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May 12, 2016 | Anti-Semitism

 

“However, I know that the king of Egypt will not allow you to go, unless he is forced by a strong hand. I will stretch out My hand and strike Egypt with all My miracles that I will perform in it. After that, he will let you go.”
[Exodus 3:19-20 HCSB]
Identity
While studying Exodus last week, I was appalled to read the recent headlines from Britain:
  • Ken Livingstone, the mayor of London back when I was getting my doctorate there, proclaims that Hitler actually supported Zionism – espousing a link between Israel and Nazism.
  • A Labour Party MP suggests openly that Islamic State is an Israeli front.
  • Another advises that all Jews be “transported” to America.
  • Jeremy Corbyn, the Marxist leader of that party, publicly rededicates himself to friendship with Hamas.
3500 years after Moses, it’s horribly evident that anti-Semitism is on the rise. And of course this is not limited to the U.K. In every nation, rage pours forth as Jews are viewed in the worst-possible light. As with Pharaoh, today’s leaders ignore history and violate past contracts. They determine to retain all Jews and the state of Israel in a grip of fear and misunderstanding.
As in every age, it will require the very strong hand of God to break the grip. Thankfully, YHWH will keep His covenant promises, no matter how the nations rage.
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April 28, 2016 | Identity

She gave birth to a son whom he [Moses] named Gershom, for he said, “I have been a foreigner in a foreign land.” [Exodus 2:22 HCSB]
Recently I was blessed to teach through Exodus 2, a chapter in which Moses appears to be examining his early identity and the prior learning that prepared him for what God set aside for Moses to accomplish. It’s a moving set of stories with great application to the lives of each of God’s people.
Wonderfully, my mailbox the next day showed that my fellow students are taking Exodus 2 to heart. Here are a few of the notes that encouraged me to learn like Moses …
“As I was taking notes and thinking about Moses, I saw him as a person from so many nationalities and so many different parents. It made me smile thinking of how God had pieced his life together. And, although I am no Moses, I felt encouraged by the patchwork of places and parents in my own story.” – TG
“It is always interesting how things in life come up in succession. I woke up last night around 2:30 and was unable to sleep so I started to listen to an audio book of Marcus Aurelius’
Meditations. The start of the book was rather interesting. Aurelius begins chapter 1 by listing the things that he has learned from the people in his life. I was immediately reminded of Exodus 2.” – MM
“I always imagine this is the time when Moses wrote Psalm 90, which contains beautiful reminders like “Teach us to number our days carefully so that we may develop wisdom in our hearts.” (12)” – CS
Unlike poor, brilliant Marcus Aurelius – who was stuck with mere Stoicism – we have the opportunity to know YHWH as Moses did. Because of Messiah Jesus we can find our identity in our relationship with God, even here in this foreign land.
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April 21, 2016 | Being Reuel

Now the priest of Midian had seven daughters. They came to draw water and filled the troughs to water their father’s flock. Then some shepherds arrived and drove them away, but Moses came to their rescue and watered their flock. When they returned to their father Reuel he asked, “Why have you come back so quickly today?”
They answered, “An Egyptian rescued us from the shepherds. He even drew water for us and watered the flock.”
“So where is he?” he asked his daughters. “Why then did you leave the man behind? Invite him to eat dinner.” Moses agreed to stay with the man, and he gave his daughter Zipporah to Moses in marriage. [Exodus 2:21 HCSB]
Reuel
Reu-el [Ray yoo el’] means “friend of God.” And he becomes a great mentor to Moses. His other name is Jethro, which means “excellence” or “profitable.” Isn’t that a grand name for a mentor? Time with him is always excellent and profitable.
Reuel/Jethro appears to be one of subset in Midian called the Kenites. The Kenites worshipped the one true covenant God, YHWH, carrying on the truth they learned from Father Abraham. Later, many of the Kenites will leave Midian and become part of Israel, seamlessly joining the Hebrew faith and culture.
Reuel/Jethro is likely part of what led to that seamless joining, since he is a priest of the covenant God of Abraham. Later in Exodus, we see a small slice of how this wise man guided Moses and instructed him, as a priest should. Reuel provides a better education than the best schools in the world back in Egypt.
Stephen Spielberg got really excited about how Jethro mentored Moses, and it led Spielberg to put together what I think is one of the great scenes in movie history. I suggest you take three minutes to enjoy his “Look at your life” scene from the film The Prince of Egypt. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oG0a9WFkgzU
The desert
Spielberg does an excellent job capturing the man who grabs hold of Moses and makes sure he is welcome in their compound. By the way, hospitality customs in that part of the world were very strong even then and they have not diminished since.
Not many years ago, I was chatting with a Bedouin Arab in a tent not too far from the Red Sea. Since a village nearby was named for Moses, he and I got to discussing Moses and Midian. We were both appreciating what Reuel/Jethro did for Moses, and my new Arab friend said something very interesting. He said, “The desert does that to people. It either makes you share with the one in need or take what he has.”
That made me think about us, friends. We who know Jesus as Savior are meant to live as friends of God. We are described in the New Testament as a priesthood of believers. We’re supposed to be sharing and caring – teaching people to look at life through heaven’s eyes. The desert of this life is meant to make us overcomers who are more compassionate, not less.
But when people try to describe me and you and our impact on their lives, will they call us “Jethro” – excellent and profitable? What might be preventing that from being your legacy? Think of one thing…just start with one thing…that needs to change in your life in order for that to become reality. What needs to change for people to see interaction with you as excellent and profitable engagement with a friend of God?
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April 14, 2016 | Old No-Name

 

“A new king, who had not known Joseph, came to power in Egypt.” [Exodus 1:8 HCSB]
In Exodus 1:8, God purposefully has Moses list the supreme ruler of the western world as merely “a new king.” It’s not that Moses is unaware of his Egyptian history. He knows the man’s name [likely Ahmose I], but doesn’t deign to record it – thus subtly crafting one of the most pointed snubs in history. My colleagues at Ouachita Baptist University, Danny Hays and Scott Duvall explain:
“This king (i.e., pharaoh) even though he plays a huge role in the story of Israel remains unnamed. We suspect that this is intentional and represents a put-down of sorts. This arrogant pharaoh was the most powerful man in the world at the time and was considered by the Egyptians to be divine. The Bible, however, does not even leave us his name. In contrast, the names of two lowly midwives are given (1:15), suggesting perhaps that in the overall scheme of things, the midwives are more important to God than the hard-hearted pharaoh.”
– J. Daniel Hays and J. Scott Duvall, The Baker Illustrated Bible Handbook, 62
Shiphrah and Puah, the Hebrew midwives, fear God. They respond to the covenant YHWH and are thus known by name. In the same way, the modern person who responds to YHWH by trusting Messiah Jesus has a named bond with God. He or she enjoys a relationship akin to that enjoyed by Moses, who spoke with God face-to-face. In fact, “to all who did receive him [Jesus], who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God [John 1:12 ESV].” God knows His own children by name. Unlike Pharaoh, they are never just somebody that God used to know.
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