Virtual Devotions

"The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel" —which means, "God with us." – Matthew 1:23

Dear Friends,

About a month ago, near Easter, I told you not to be surprised if some story came out that denied the resurrection.  It seems that whenever we reach one of the Christian holidays someone puts out a story to undercut the basis of that observance.

Well, today I read that a new book is coming out to be released in the US in 2009 (I’d bet just in time for Christmas) that claims that the Holy Spirit did not conceive Jesus, but instead Jesus was conceived by a Roman soldier who raped Mary.  And this book comes to us from Paul Verhoeven.

Who is Paul Verhoeven?  A renowned Biblical scholar?  A respected historian?  No.  Paul Verhoeven is a movie director, the one who brought us ‘Basic Instinct’, ‘Robocop’ and ‘Starship Troopers’ (a personal favorite).

To make it worse, Verhoeven didn’t even come up with idea himself; he stole it.  The story is best known from Celsus, a Greek philosopher who wrote vehemently against Christianity in the 2^nd century.  Of course, like Verhoeven, Celsus is believed to have stolen the idea too, most likely from the Tosefta, a compilation of Jewish oral law of the time.

No matter what the origin, the fact remains that time and again those who want to deny the whole truth of the birth, life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, will bring up the same old lies wrapped in new packaging and unleash it on the unsuspecting world.  They refuse to believe that God is powerful enough to actually make miracles happen so they try to explain them away in naturalistic terms.

Friends, do not be deceived or dismayed.   The Church has withstood these attacks for 2,000 years and will do so until Christ returns.   In the meantime, pray for those who do not know Christ and hold fast to the saving truth of the Gospel.

In Christ,

David

“Whoever acknowledges me before men, I will also acknowledge him before my Father in heaven. But whoever disowns me before men, I will disown him before my Father in heaven.” – Matthew 10:32-33

Dear Friends,

A little over a year ago, I wrote a blog in which I stated that I did not like American Idol.  I felt the premise of the show, to elevate someone to the level of an idol, and even more so, the obsession that some people have with the show, was dangerous ground for any Christian.  I said in that blog that I would leave the viewing of the show to the individual conscience.

Recently, it seems as if American Idol has gotten religion.  A few weeks ago, Dolly Parton unashamedly praised the name of Jesus and sang a song called “Jesus and Gravity.”  I know that many Christians watch Idol and I wondered if the producers were somehow changing their format to make the show more attractive to the Christian audience.  But apparently, they wouldn’t have any more of that.

Last week, there was a group rendition of one of the most favored contemporary praise and worship songs, “Shout to the Lord.”  However, if you listened closely, there was one key component missing; the name of Jesus.

The lyrics begin as, “My Jesus, my Savior, Lord there is none like You.”  But in the American Idol version they sang, “My shepherd, my savior, lord there is none like you.”  To some, this may not seem like a big deal.  After all, they did sing a contemporary Christian song.  Isn’t that enough? 

I can only say, absolutely not.  To remove the name of Jesus is to deny the Lord and Savior Himself, something He warned us against.  How dreadful a day it will be for those who chose to compromise and disown the only way to salvation.  Pray that they repent and turn to Jesus in faith.

So I stand by my original assessment.  I don’t like American Idol.  Not only do they look to turn people away from the Lord Jesus, but they deny His holy name as well.  I expect to see a greater turning against Jesus.  The days of denying Jesus on American Idol are only beginning.

In the name of the One and only true God, Jesus Christ, I pray.

David

“Be devoted to one another in brotherly love. Honor one another above yourselves.” – Romans 12:10

As we continue in our study of 2 Peter 1, ‘Making your Calling and Election Sure,’ we come to a word in the Greek that all of us have heard before, philadelphia.

There are four primary words in ancient Greek that can be translated as love.  Eros, from which we get erotic, is a passionate, romantic love; storge, which means affection, is primarily the love between family members; and phila, which encompasses people beyond the immediate family, but can include friends and other in the community at large.  It is a general type of love.

The other half of this word is adelphia from the Greek word for brother, adelphos, which in the plural is not always specifically male, but can mean male and female members.

I would think that we should all know how to show love to our brothers and sisters in Christ, but Paul makes it very simple in his letters to the Romans.  We are to put others above ourselves or to use another phrase from Paul, we ought not to think too highly of ourselves, but instead with sober judgment.

So if you want to express philadelphia when dealing with others, be kind and gentle with them, be willing to give someone the benefit of the doubt, and remember before you condemn someone that without God's grace, we would all be condemned.

Above, I said that there were four Greek words for love, yet only two appear in the Bible.  The first is phila and the second one I haven’t listed yet, but many of you know it.  It is agape.  And agape is the final ingredient Peter lists in making our calling and election sure and the subject of our final devotional in this series.

In Christ,

David