Civility in Disagreement - Social Media - Gamestop

"When you are disagreeing with someone about politics, or Covid response, or about race, see if you can find a way to speak about the brother and sister with whom you are disagreeing, and their positions, kindly.  And summarize [their view] in ways that they would agree with.  And you appreciate the weightiness of their perspective.  Not just that you respect them as made in the image of God, but that their ideas are not stupid.  And then give your own ideas, and say, "but I'm persuaded of this, for this, this and this reason."  If we can help to not join the cancel culture, but help to dignify and honor people whose - not every perspective a person might have... but that will help our ability to talk with each other and love each other."  Mark Dever, 12.15.20 - at 10:00 mark.

"Social media exploits our desire to be influencers."

I forgot where I heard this, this week, but it's true.

David Bahnsen is quite good on what to think of the Gamestop stock thing.

This is a new podcast by National Review - it's first issue was an opening salvo in defense of free markets.  Worth your time!

The Ten Plagues - Bible Notes - Exodus 6-11

 HOW do you read the Bible?

1. Summarize

2. Find Jesus

3. Apply

Exodus 6 - God promises to deliver Israel, sending Moses back to Pharaoh.

Jesus faced a tough crowd like Moses did, but was not reluctant to go.

Apply - Israel didn't believe, because of their oppression by Pharaoh.  God saved them anyway.

Exodus 7 - The signs & plagues begin: staffs turn into snakes, and the Nile into blood.

Jesus also gave many signs to show He was from God, and Israel largely refused to believe it.

Apply - Egypt worshiped the Nile, so God showed He could take it away from them.  Over time, God will plague your idols and point you to Him.

Exodus 8 - Frogs!  Gnats!  Flies!  Egypt's magicians can't keep up their farce.  Pharaoh makes false promises to remove the plagues.

Jesus - some like Nicodemus admitted He was from God, though official rejection continued.

Apply - We pretend earthly things can give us what only God can.  We bargain deceitfully with God when He lovingly brings pain into our lives.

Exodus 9 - Livestock, boils and hail.  God starts protecting Israel from the plagues.  How does Egypt have livestock in vs 19, after they all died in the first plague in chapter 9?  Couldn't find a good answer in my resources, but I think Egypt just took Israel's, that had been spared.

Jesus distinguishes between sheep and goats at the last day, bring plagues on those refusing Him, and sparing those who trust Him.

Apply - the plagues can be misapplied to our Covid times, but not every application is an abuse of Scripture.  Take verse 15, where God says to Pharaoh, "by now I could have put out my hand and struck you and your people with pestilence, and you would have been cut off from the earth."  We deserve to be wiped out as a species, and God would be fair to use a virus to do it.  No amount of human resolve, unity, and science can stop God if He decides to do this.  As Egypt kept their faith in their gods as God plagued them, so we are doing the same today.  We just have different gods.

Exodus 10 - Locusts and darkness.  Pharaoh edges closer to submission, but keeps taking it back.

Apply - all God's people must worship Him, with all their lives.  Take every part of you out of Egypt, and go to God.

Apply - we have stubborn, God-refusing hearts, like Pharaoh.

Exodus 11 - God predicts the firstborn death, and Pharaoh's submission

Jesus' death as God's Son was planned and known by God, and also brought about our deliverance from powers greater than us.

Apply - God will humble you as low as it takes to change you.  Predicting Pharaoh would give in ahead of time, made it all the more humiliating for Pharaoh when he did let Israel go.

Should Christians Marry without a State License?

You're 80 years old and don't want to mess with your childrens' inheritance.

Or you want to marry a spouse coming into the country recently.

Or you are Christians in a country hostile to Christianity and don't want to put yourself on the state's radar.

Several situations like these bring about this question:

Can I get married in the eyes of God without the government knowing about it?

Most pastors won't do this, with good reason.

Avoiding a state registered marriage to benefit you financially, or to get around legal barriers (immigration, etc.), is deceitful and wrong.  I wouldn't conduct a marriage for that reason.  I suspect that's what many are trying to do.  

A friend suggests that it should be easy and inexpensive to have a lawyer draw up papers to keep inheritances with the children, instead of going to the spouse.  If they just want to use the church as an easy way to justify moving in together, without becoming one legally, that degrades the institution of marriage.

But there are some reasons to leave the state out of a Christian marriage.  The main one is persecution.  In the movie Braveheart, Mel Gibson's character marries incognito, so the king doesn't claim "first rights" on the bride.  That's legit.  Maybe also, two Christians in an officially Muslim country today would face punishment and persecution if they registered with the government.  They come up on the state's radar as a problem to "investigate."  

I might marry a couple without the state knowing about it, in these situations.  Probably not in our country at this point, though.

Bible Notes - Genesis 50-Exodus 5

HOW do you read the Bible?

1. Summarize

2. Find Jesus

3. Apply

Genesis 50 - Jacob and Joseph die in Egypt, with their hearts set on God's Canaan promise.

Where is Jesus: Jesus' kingdom is the land we long for.

Apply: all our lives, and up to the end at the brink of death, we are longing for another, better country.  An inheritance promised by God.  Even if we rise to the height of ruling in our earthly land, that nation is not our final home.

Exodus 1 - Israel is subjugated in Egypt, in population size and to economic slavery.

Where is Jesus: earthly kingdoms are often hostile to Christ's people.

Apply: there are ways to resist unjust rule, and it is right to do so.

Ex 2 - Moses is born, then raised in Pharaoh's house!  He flees to Midian after seeking justice for Israel in Egypt.

Where is Jesus: Jesus lived a life vulnerable to the threats of earthly rule, as we sometimes suffer through, too.

Apply: we ought to work for life and justice, even when threatened for it.

Ex 3 - God appears to Moses in the burning bush and sends him to Egypt to free Israel.

Where is Jesus: God sent Jesus to free us from slavery.  He came to us without objection, with greater miracles than Moses.

Apply: God will call you to a mission that meets with resistance.  Stay faithful.

Ex 4 - Moses objects.  God gives signs to prove He is real and that Moses is his spokesman.  Israel is God's son.  Moses' and Pharaoh's sons are both threatened.

Where is Jesus: God redeems His Son from the clutches of His enemy, using His appointed Mediator/Son.

Apply: 1) Trust God to equip you for that to which He calls you.  2) Be urgent (though not desperate!) to apply God's promises to your children with the sacraments (circumcision back then; baptism and Communion now).  3) Encourage God's people that He will redeem them from all their troubles.

Ex 5 - Pharaoh refuses God, and persecutes Israel more.  Israel is discouraged.

Where is Jesus: as with the Sanhedrin and Pilate, there were times Jesus was rejected by society and its leaders.

Apply: be not discouraged when life gets harder, because you follow Jesus.  Sometimes that is God's design.

China is Hitler - Critical Race Theory - Thinking like a Man - Cultural Patience

1.  Xi is Hitler.

Chinese dictator Xi Jinping (don't call him "President") gave such a winsome speech to the movers and shakers at Davos.

But he is a modern-day Adolph Hitler, confining, sterilizing, and killing Uighurs in his concentration camps.  This is NOT an exaggeration.  (HT Al Mohler)

How do we SAY we would respond to a Hitler today?  And how are we now actually treating the Chinese Communist Party?

Why are we "canceling" normal people, while catering to Xi?  

Do we go easy on China so we can make a buck off the Chinese economy?  How is this different than buying German in 1940?

2.  Critical race theory

Pastor Steve Jeffrey has a great series here.  What is Critical Race Theory?  This is the best take on it I've seen.

3. Be men!

Pastor Bill Smith exhorts men to think and live unashamedly as men.

He does a great job showing the tendencies of men and women.  He's a bit simplistic at first, but nuances it well as he goes on.  This article is really helpful to understand the differences between men and women.  The focus is to let men be men.  The world generally prefers the woman's way of thinking today, contrary to popular belief.  Because of that, this letter to young men is water in the desert.

4. Christians need to learn patience, culturally.

John Stonestreet of the Colson Center nails it.

Bible Notes - Genesis 47-49

Genesis 47 - Jacob meets Pharaoh!  Israel settles in Goshen, a discrete distance from the pagan Egyptians.  Joseph sells grain to Egypt until they are slaves.

Application: 

a. we live IN nations, but must remain distinct FROM them somehow.  

b. Was Joseph right to enslave Egypt?  Was it the people's fault for not saving grain as they should have?  Was it wisdom or exploitation on Joseph's part?

48 - Jacob takes Joseph's first two sons as his.  Why?  He blesses them as he was blessed: the younger over the older.

Application: the old ought to pass on God's blessing to children and grandchildren.

49 - Jacob blesses/prophesies about his 12 sons.  The first three are passed over and Judah is given the rule.

Application: God knows each of His people, and their tendencies.  He ordains every ruler, especially the Lion of the tribe of Judah.

Communion Exhortation - Psalm 81:10-11

“Open your mouth wide, and I will fill it. But My people would not heed My voice.”

[Sermon from 1 Samuel 15 - see verse 22]

We must both obey, and sacrifice. We must come to the table, and we must come in faith. God calls everyone to believe on His Son, who has died for the sins of the world. All men are to come to Him and identify with Him in this meal. His body was broken for us. We must be united with Him to share in the benefits He offers. 

So seal that union as you eat. Proclaim His death as you drink. 

As the bread is carried to every part of your body to nourish it, let Christ permeate every part of your life. Any limb or member that refuses to be nourished must eventually be cut off from the body, or it will die and spread its death. Do not refuse Him who speaks. Heed His voice. Open your mouth wide, and receive the manna, the water from the rock, receive Christ.

1/24/21

Call to confess sin - James 1:22-25

"But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks intently at his natural face in a mirror. For he looks at himself and goes away and at once forgets what he was like. But the one who looks into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and perseveres, being no hearer who forgets but a doer who acts, he will be blessed in his doing."

Notice – if you hear but don’t do the Word, it’s like not knowing yourself.  You deceive yourself.  We think if we’ve heard it, we’ve done it.  How often does mom tell the kids to clean their room, and they nod their heads with resolution.  And 2 hours later, it’s done in their minds, b/c they heard it.  But the room is still a pit.  Hearing isn’t doing.  Going to church and sitting through a sermon isn’t the full sum of obedience, and now you can go back to life as usual. 

No.  Let us do the Word, and confess where we have neglected to do it.

1/24/21

Bible notes - Genesis 43-46

Genesis 43 - Joseph's brothers return to Egypt with Benjamin, expecting condemnation, but getting a meal.

Application: we avoid God, though it starves us, because we expect anger from Him.  But love awaits our return to Him.

44 - Joseph gets Benjamin in trouble.  Judah intervenes for Jacob's sake, showing a change from how they treated Jacob and Joseph before.

Application: Jesus intercedes for us like Judah, sparing our lives and restoring damaged relationships.

45 - Joseph reveals himself, and his good will, to his brothers.  Jacob also hears of it.

Application: to have the man in charge prioritize reconciliation is a deep blessing.

46 - The 70 members of Jacob's family are listed.  Judah leads the way to Egypt.

Application: Jacob had heartache over his family for a long time before God eased it.  Some would call this karma, but God did it for Jacob's personal growth.  Jacob had caused strife with Esau, so he suffers from the strife that his own favoritism had caused.   Now, in mercy, God blesses Jacob to see Joseph.  It is also a blessing not to know what is to come for Israel in Egypt in future generations.

The Source, by James Michener

This isn't a book review.  Instead, I want to make the case for you to read this book.

I was once asked who my top five theologians were, and I included C.S. Lewis on my list.  Lewis? I was challenged.  He was wrong on several points.  Tashlan, Scriptural infallibility, etc.  Yes, I agreed - he was wrong on those points.  But when he was right, he said it so clearly and beautifully it can't be missed.

The sign of an important writer is not only that they are free from error, but that they convey truth powerfully.

James Michener is no C.S. Lewis.  But he depicts life in Bible times so well, it's worth sifting through the weirdness and errors.

The Source is in one sense a book version of walking through a secular history museum.  You're going to get a lot of evolutionary and old-earth assumptions about history.  I'm a young-earth, Darwin-rejecting Christian.  So why would I be interested in this?

1. The place.  

Michener surveys the history of the land of the Bible, especially the Old Testament.  Modern Christians generally are clueless about how people lived and thought back then.  Michener may not have it all right, but he certainly makes one think in non-modern categories about people of Bible times and places.  As Michener expands on the history museum's secular assumptions in story form, The Source helps us to better filter through them from a biblical lens.

2.  Old Testament context.  

There are 2-3 chapters in the Source that especially deal with this theme: what were the religious thoughts, the worldview of people, during the time from Abraham to Samuel?  Christians know the Bible's perspective.  What was the other side in the culture war - the Philistines, the Baals - thinking and doing during Joshua and Judges?  When we learn about that, it greatly illumines the Bible, and the culture war in our own day.

3.  Archaeology.  

The Source conveys well the science of archaeology.  It isn't about proving the Bible right or wrong.  It seeks simply to uncover as much history as possible.  Most archaeologists are indifferent to Scriptural revelation; they take the Bible as one historical source among the rest, at best.  Most archaeologists also cannot write compellingly to describe the history they unearth.  Michener does a stellar job making up for this.

How do we engage with a culture or a book that rejects most of our assumptions, as Bible-believing Christians?

One side of the spectrum is to ignore and reject anything produced without all of our pre-suppositions.  This makes Christians too insulated, insular and isolated.  But you can't take in everything that's out there, either.  That's the other side of the spectrum.  Lots of Christians take in way too much junk because they think they need to stay abreast of what the culture is thinking.  We should be really picky.

Take in some of the best of the mainstream culture, engage with it, filter out the unbiblical truth, and talk with people about it.  This assumes the truth of common grace: non-Christians will hit upon important truth and convey it well in ways that edify all.  I'd put some Pixar movies in that category, as well as Michener's The Source.  Both have humanist assumptions, and miss a lot that could be said.  But part of what they say is true and depicted with excellence.

Bible Notes - Genesis 39-42

Again, the point here is to show how to read your Bible devotionally by doing it.  Be able to summarize what you read, and apply it to your life in basic ways - see Jesus, and see His instruction for your living.

Genesis 39 - Joseph rises and falls in Potiphar's house

Application: whatever great or gross thing happens to you, God is with you through it all.

40 - Joseph interprets dreams but is forgotten in prison.

Application: God can grow us spiritually in our troubles, even when they don't end.

41 - Joseph interprets Pharaoh's dreams, and saves 20% of Egypt's produce for the lean years to come.

Application: God has provided spiritual food for the whole world through His wise Son, ruling for us.

42 - Joseph tests his brothers' repentance: how will they think of a single brother in trouble NOW?

Application: God puts us in situations that call for acting on our repentance, changing for the better after past sins and mistakes.

The Main Stream Media's Assault on Conservatism

 It seems the media is in an all-out assault on the Republican party right now.  They smell blood in the water, as it is naturally divided over the Trump "Stop the Steal" debacle.

News about the inauguration is a great example.  It assumes that a wide-scale assault is expected.  Which assumes that half the country wants to undo the election and keep Biden by force from office.  This is nonsense.  A couple hundred crazies do not represent half the country.

My local paper today had headlines about state capitol protests.  The "story" was that a tiny number of protestors came out for Trump claiming the election was illegit, with their guns, extremism, and weird attire.  And some normal, sane people came out in support of Governor Whitmer's lockdown policies.  That's the narrative we are to believe.

This is media malpractice.  It divides the country further.  Using the logical fallacy of bifurcation, the press is telling us that if you aren't for Biden, then you're a fringe insurrectionist.  It's an overt political play to sway people's thinking, done by those charged with reporting to us the facts in the most objective manner they can.  It's a travesty.

Most people are neither for the Proudboys, nor for ongoing lockdowns.  I don't want to give "Stop the Steal" any support at all - Biden's election is legit.  But I also don't support Biden's, Whitmer's, Newsome's, or Cuomo's COVID lockdowns at all.  Where is my viewpoint represented in the press?  It isn't.

Another headline: something like "Democracy has waned in the Trump era, poll shows."  It's just an opinion piece, disguised as news, arguing the bandwagon fallacy: most people think democracy has been hurt by Trump.

Another headline: some Republicans still voted to object to the electoral count, even after the Capitol was savaged!  Gasp!  The media moves the Overton window for the left.  A riot should not remove any reasonable objection to the election.  Objecting was a bit of a stunt to cater to the radical right, which I don't like so much.  But it's fine to say, "Hey there were irregularities here which ought to be looked into."  That doesn't put you on the side of viking man in the Senate chamber.

Does any of this mean Trump was blameless, to speak as he did Jan 6?  No.  He was reckless, given the moment.  But standard political speech is a bit militant ("let's fight"), without actually calling for violence.  The left is taking as much ground with the Jan 6 incident as they can.  Republicans are scattered and on the defensive, because the MEDIA (not Democrats) are attacking them.

Martin Luther King, Jr.

For the last few years I've observed Martin Luther King, Jr. Day by watching his "I Have a Dream Speech," or the "Mountain Top."  They are on YouTube.  This year I watched the full version of both.

Caveats:

1. I know about MLK's moral failings.  They don't take much away from his significant influence.

2. I know how leftists today seek to hijack his name and reputation for their own different agendas.  This also should not lead us to dismiss his historic import.

3. In my situation, some may dismiss me as being "woke" for writing about MLK at all.  This is the politics of perception more than substance.  His goal was biblical: equal treatment for blacks along with whites under the law.

A key lesson from MLK's legacy:

He sought to hold together a movement that tended to drift to extremes.

Some went the way of Malcolm X: the ballot or the bullet.  Violence condoned.

Others wimped out and compromised to easily with the other side.

MLK challenged both sides to stay focused, determined, and non-violent.

This is a lesson for conservatives today.  Where is the statesman today with the moral authority to denounce storming the Capitol while also determining to fight on for biblical principles?  Not to make stupid claims about a stolen election, but to rally around a dream:

- color-blind equity before the law, not rascist Critical Race Theory and intersectionality.  

The anti-racism of White Fragility is in direct contradiction to MLK's dream of judging a person by the content of their character, instead of by the color of their skin.  Our leftist media has judged that rioters for George Floyd can loot and burn, but that rioters for Trump at the Capitol are unforgivable.

- limited government

where states, counties and communities have more sway over our lives than the U.S. Congress.

- our laws aligned with the Bible

Not celebrating what they condemn.

I also need to say, MLK challenges the old guard conservative in our land.  There are times the minority challenge and protest is good and right.  It needs to be heard and considered carefully.  America DID owe our black brothers delivery on the check they sought to cash.

But just because you are protesting like MLK, maybe even in his name, doesn't mean your cause is automatically as just as his was.  Rafael Warnock brings a VERY different message to the U.S. Senate than MLK ever did.  It's hard to believe we are racist like we were back in 1963, though tiny vestiges remain.

The media's current narrative is a lie, damaging and dividing our country:

- Trump was a white supremacist

- his ideas and those of conservatives generally, are racist

- conservatives endanger democracy

- we should shut down conservative voices, so we don't have more Capitol stormers

NO.

Let us celebrate our nation's heritage of free speech, that gave MLK the platform to advocate for civil rights.

Let us thank God for a nation that has grown (too slowly) out of racism and bigotry

Let us remember that the kingdom of God is made up of people of every color, tribe, people, and nation.

Call to Confess Sin - 1/17/21

Nehemiah 4:10-14

In Judah it was said, “The strength of those who bear the burdens is failing. There is too much rubble. By ourselves we will not be able to rebuild the wall.” 11 And our enemies said, “They will not know or see till we come among them and kill them and stop the work.” 12 At that time the Jews who lived near them came from all directions and said to us ten times, “You must return to us.” 13 So in the lowest parts of the space behind the wall, in open places, I stationed the people by their clans, with their swords, their spears, and their bows. 14 And I looked and arose and said to the nobles and to the officials and to the rest of the people, “Do not be afraid of them. Remember the Lord, who is great and awesome, and fight for your brothers, your sons, your daughters, your wives, and your homes.” 

Nehemiah was trying to build a city wall while military enemies were intimidating them.  Their goal was to frighten and demoralize Israel so they’d give up.  Their main weapon was words.  “That wall is easily torn down.  We’re coming for you, from every side.  You’d better hide before the assassins strike!”  Nehemiah’s response is to keep building, to give Israel courage, and be ready to fight when needed.

We are easily led to discouragement and despair by recent news.  Sometimes I’m sure that is precisely their goal, to demoralize us.  But God’s word forbids it.  Be strong in the Lord and in His might. 

Let us confess our own sins before Almighty God.

Communion exhortation - 1/17/21

What is going on when we celebrate the Lord’s Supper? We are being fed in our souls by uniting with our Savior, Jesus Christ. We receive Christ, by faith. Although Christ’s body is in heaven, there is a real joining a union here, accomplished by the Holy Spirit.

 

Jesus asks us to do this to remember Him, but more is going on here than just using some visual aids to help us remember Him, or to move us more deeply. Jesus also calls Himself the bread of God, come down from heaven. He says that unless we eat this bread – His Body – unless we drink this wine – His blood of the covenant – we have no life in us. Where there is faith, there is union with Christ. If we aren’t united to the vine we are dry and dead and cannot be saved. Eating and drinking here signifies that union, renews it, reconfirms it to us. We receive what we need for life – Jesus Christ.

 

Also remember that in this Supper, Jesus is feeding His own Body, the Church. Just as husbands are to nourish and cherish their wives, as their own bodies, so we see Christ nourishing us, His Body, here. So be mindful of the whole Body as you partake. This isn’t about making you as an individual more spiritual.  We do this together, as one Body. Discern the Body as you partake. This means the Body of Christ you see embodied in the bodies sitting around you. We are all part of the same vine.

Bible Notes - Genesis 35-38

The purpose of Bible Notes is basic biblical literacy, and simple life application.

Genesis 35 - after the awkward (to say the least) incident at Shechem, God sends Jacob to Bethel, where he had the ladder dream.  God affirms His covenant with Jacob, changes his name to Israel, and protects him as they leave Shechem.  Rachel dies giving birth to Benjamin.  Jacob goes back to Isaac in Hebron, and Isaac dies.  Amidst tensions with neighbors and family members dying, Jacob goes where God tells him - Bethel.  But he also made the choice himself to not live near Esau (end of chpt 33), and to return to his father Isaac.

Application: God's direction is sometimes clear, but often we react ourselves to traumatic events in ways that may lead to trouble, or may be helpful in the self-preservation kind of way.

Genesis 36 - Esau's descendants are listed.  Genesis is not an even-handed history.  It mentions every family tree line, but focuses in on the lives of those with whom God limits His covenant: from all Noah's descendants, Abraham - not Nimrod or Japheth.  From all Abrahams's descendants, Isaac - not Ishmael or his concubines' children.  From Isaac's descendants, Jacob - not Esau.  From Jacob's descendants, Judah and Joseph - not Reuben or Gad or the rest.  

Application: God knows all mankind, but takes a peculiar interest in His people.

Genesis 37 - Joseph's brothers resent his dreams, almost kill him, and sell him into slavery instead.

Application: do not underestimate the destructive power of envy in your life.  Kill it, or it'll kill you.  Resolve conflict, and admit it when you hate someone without a good reason.

Genesis 38 - Judah leaves his brothers, marries a Canaanite, his sons die, he sleeps with his daughter-in-law as a prostitute without knowing it.  When she is found pregnant, she proves it was Judah.  He admits his hypocrisy, sparing her and the baby.

Application: This is the head of the tribe from which Jesus comes!  You can make huge mistakes in life, even capital crimes, and God will still use you in His plan.

Freaky Friday - The Three Little Pigs on Verbal Steroids

 Think you've got a good vocabulary?

 

 HT Doug Wilson

Security amidst Secularism

Nine months ago, after the first lockdown had begun, many corporations began putting out interesting statements.  They would all begin with “In these uncertain times,” and go on to assure their customers that they were “here for you” in some way.

 

It was really strange.  How can my credit card company comfort me in the face of disturbing events in our country?  But here’s the truth they were targeting:

 

America experienced an intense loss of security in 2020.

 

Security in routine.

Security in expecting life to continue as normal.

Security in civic order and rule of law.

Security in our government not making arbitrary rules that interfere with our lives.

 

I believe our nation is in the process of a mass conversion to secularism.  Christians continue to lose their kids to a materialistic and Darwinistic worldview in droves.  And the loss of security is one of the consequences of abandoning the truth.  When we grasp for control with only earthly things, they will fail us.  When we “Imagine” there is no heaven above us, or hell below, then we cling too hard to (take your pick):

The economy

Government policy

My job security

Election results

Family relationships being preserved and peaceful

 

Christians are tempted to copy the faith of such secularists, forgetting that we have a firmer foundation than things this life can give us.  OUR only security is that we belong to Jesus in life or in death, prosperity or problems.  Our forefathers knew better.  That’s why they wrote such words as the Heidelberg Catechism.  That’s why Horatio Spafford, after the death of a young son, financial ruin, and then the death at sea of all 4 of his daughters, could still write, “It Is Well with My Soul.”  Or, notice what another hymn has to say about the source of our security.

 

My hope is built on nothing less than Jesus’ blood and righteousness.

I dare not trust the sweetest frame, but wholly lean on Jesus’ name.

On Christ the solid rock I stand!  All other ground is sinking sand.

 

Let not your hearts be troubled by what President Joe Biden might do.  Rather, fear Him who can destroy both soul and body in hell.  In a sort of paradox, we find our deepest security in fearing our Creator who could completely undo and annihilate us, but promises to bless us instead.  Because of the sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the cross.

Bible notes

Here are short notes on my devotional reading the last week or two.

Gen 15:6-8 - Ab's faith is noted by Paul in Romans 4, and it's a hallmark both for defining his life personally, and for our doctrine of justification by faith.  But Abram was obviously impatient and uncertain, too (Gen 15:2 and 8).

Gen 16 - the Israel-Ishmael feud began with Sarai's lack of faith, like Eve in the Garden.  Ab "heeds the voice" of Sarai, as Adam did (Gen 3:17; 16:2).  Hagar gloats.  Sarai mistreats her.  Both are at fault, but the most seems to go to Ab and Sarai.

Gen 17 - God renews and develops His covenant with Ab and his family, giving the sign of circumcision, even after they had messed up badly.

Gen 18 - God deals with both His people (promising Isaac) and His world (judging Sodom).  Ab intercedes between them, with Lot in Sodom.

Gen 19 - Lot's wife a pillar of salt: connect with the next episode.  Her daughters want to continue their line at all costs!

Gen 20 - sometimes those without knowledge of God are wiser than God's people.

Gen 21 - Ab has to put all his eggs in the "baby-Isaac" basket, when he had a stronger, older son Ishmael already.  God chooses the weak to shame the strong.

​Gen 22 - God will often give what you’re grasping after you give it up.

Gen 23 - Ab takes an opportunity at the death of his wife to obtain a bit of land in Canaan.

Gen 24 - Abraham obtains a wife for Isaacs.  This is the long, center chapter of Genesis.

Gen 25 - Abraham's other children are catalogued.  Esau's unworthiness to inherit the blessing.

Gen 26 - Isaac learns like Abrham, that pagans can be more virtuous than you think.

Gen 27 - Jacob steals the blessing with Rebecca's help, and Isaac's passive acceptance.

Gen 28 - Jacob goes to Laban to avoid Esau.  God affirms His blessing on him with the ladder dream.

Gen 29 - loving Rachel, the decever is deceived - serves 14 years for Leah and Rachel.

Gen 30 - using sinful rivalry, God multiplies Jacob's family and flocks.

Gen 31 - Jacob painfully disentangles himself from Laban.

Gen 32 - Jacob tries to manage his encounter with Esau, but God makes him vulnerable.  He wrestles with Jacob and leaves him with a limp.

Gen 33 - Jacob meets Esau, afraid he will be hostile, but he is not.  Sometimes the offender is more scarred by past sins than the offended.  Esau seems to expect Jacob to live near him, but Jacob tricks him again, to go somewhere else.

Gen 34 - Jacob's daughter is raped by a prominent neighboring Philistine.  Jacob's sons deceive as Jacob did, and take violent vengeance.  What would justice have been?  How do we live among unbelievers?  With hostility, deceit, and violence?  Willing to compromise true justice?

Strength for the Weary

 

Strength for the Weary by Derek W.H. Thomas
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

A series of 8 sermons/meditations on select passages from Isaiah 40-65, Thomas does stick with the theme: God Himself is strength for the weary. Through His endurance, forgiveness, Sabbath rest, even His chastisement, which is NOT abandonment, the Lord God of all causes us to endure, and even to rejoice in Him.

Thomas' style (and accent?) is much like Sinclair Ferguson's. The emphasis is on explaining Scripture in a clear and engaging way, with the occasional illustration. Some examples:

On idolatry from Isaiah 47:
"Getting what our hearts dream of could be our greatest undoing. Why? Because our hearts dream of less than they should. We were made to glorify God, but our hearts dream of self-glory." (52)

On God as gatherer and rescuer of His people from Isaiah 43:
" 'I will find you,' God seems to be saying, 'wherever you are.'"
Thomas recounts "The Last of the Mohicans," when Nathaniel says to the girl, "I will find you, no matter how long it takes, no matter how far. I will find you."
A powerful illustration for those who know the story. (27)

The best thing about the book is that Thomas points us to who God is, as the source of our encouragement and strength. It isn't tips or life hacks or positive thinking that we need, but God Himself.

View all my reviews

Marriage in Genesis 1-16

 I hope to write regularly on Christian family issues:  marriage, parenting, siblings, singles, extended family relations, etc.

To get started, let's consider marriage from Genesis 1-2 and 16.

On January 1, I began again at the beginning: Genesis 1.  

The first 11 chapters explain the setup of the world:

• Sea, sky, and soil - the structure of the physical world (chpts 1-2)
• Sin - why do we suffer? the structure of the spiritual world (ch 3-4)
• Seed, from Seth to Shem - the generations of human beings (ch 5)
• Seasons and span of life - after the flood God regulates the world and man's life more tightly (ch 6-9)
• The sons of Noah - of humankind, the scattering of the nations (chpts 10-11).

Foundational to all of this setup is sex and marriage.

Genesis 2:20-24: "The man gave names to all livestock and to the birds of the heavens and to every beast of the field. But for Adam there was not found a helper fit for him.  So the LORD God caused a deep sleep to fall upon the man, and while he slept took one of his ribs and closed up its place with flesh.  And the rib that the LORD God had taken from the man he made into a woman and brought her to the man.  Then the man said, “This at last is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man.”  Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh."

See your spouse as a blessing from God.  "He who finds a wife finds a good thing" - Proverbs 18:22.  Marriage makes the life of humanity possible for the future.  God knew Adam would disobey and deserve death at the tree.  But He had mercy and gave Eve, the life-giver, to Adam anyway.  Every husband should see his wife as a God-given mercy to him.  "You doesn't deserve her, but she seems to love you."  (Sabrina quote - new version with Harrison Ford...)  God didn't just spare Adam's life.  He gave help and beauty and pleasure with Eve, when Adam deserved death and pain.

Marriage alleviates the curse of isolation that sin brings.  A life long companion is a deep blessing.

But marriage can also amplify the consequences of our sin.

In Genesis 16, Abram's wife Sarai is desperate for the child God promised, and asks Abram to have a child with her servant Hagar.  Abram consents, and strife results.

Sometimes we ask things of our spouse that we shouldn't.  Or we let things go that we shouldn't.  Then when things go sideways we blame them for approving, when it was our idea in the first place.

Just as a nation can sin corporately, so a married couple can fall into sin together.  This calls for individual repentance by each, talking it through together in humility, and changing bad behavior patterns.

Most marriages are also a picture of God's mercy, as with Christ and the Church: when one screws up, the other may be upset.  But in the big picture, they really want their partner to succeed.  They still love them.  Reflect God's mercy and purity in your marriage this year, with the help of the Lord Jesus.

Confession and Communion - 1/10/21

Call to Confession:

2 Samuel 12:1-14

In a new year, We tend to jump to resolutions and forget repentance.

2020 is a great year to reflect on with the goal of learning where we need to repent.

David’s case was easy.  He had taken another man’s wife and killed that man to cover it up.  Who do you have in your life like Nathan, to confront you if you go off the rails?

And do you respond like David here, or like Saul?  David admits it and accepts the consequences of his sin.  Saul makes excuses and tries to control the damage.

And the LORD sent Nathan to David. He came to him and said to him, “There were two men in a certain city, the one rich and the other poor. 2 The rich man had very many flocks and herds, 3 but the poor man had nothing but one little ewe lamb, which he had bought. And he brought it up, and it grew up with him and with his children. It used to eat of his morsel and drink from his cup and lie in his arms, and it was like a daughter to him. 4 Now there came a traveler to the rich man, and he was unwilling to take one of his own flock or herd to prepare for the guest who had come to him, but he took the poor man’s lamb and prepared it for the man who had come to him.” 5 Then David’s anger was greatly kindled against the man, and he said to Nathan, “As the LORD lives, the man who has done this deserves to die, 6 and he shall restore the lamb fourfold, because he did this thing, and because he had no pity.” 

7 Nathan said to David, “You are the man! Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel, ‘I anointed you king over Israel, and I delivered you out of the hand of Saul. 8 And I gave you your master’s house and your master’s wives into your arms and gave you the house of Israel and of Judah. And if this were too little, I would add to you as much more. 9 Why have you despised the word of the LORD, to do what is evil in his sight? You have struck down Uriah the Hittite with the sword and have taken his wife to be your wife and have killed him with the sword of the Ammonites. 10 Now therefore the sword shall never depart from your house, because you have despised me and have taken the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be your wife.’ 11 Thus says the LORD, ‘Behold, I will raise up evil against you out of your own house. And I will take your wives before your eyes and give them to your neighbor, and he shall lie with your wives in the sight of this sun. 12 For you did it secretly, but I will do this thing before all Israel and before the sun.’ ” 13 David said to Nathan, “I have sinned against the LORD.” And Nathan said to David, “The LORD also has put away your sin; you shall not die.

Communion Exhortation

You have before you the Old Testament equivalent of the peace offering, or the fellowship offering, a sacrifice given and eaten to remember, and thank God for, His blessings. Because Saul was trusting in horses and chariots and not remembering the Lord His God, he never got to the peace offerings. Samuel showed up and stopped the masquerade. The peace offering was never offered.

 

Don’t let this happen to you. What we do now, blessing God, breaking bread and eating it, we do by faith. It brings to God’s mind, and to our mind the once for all sacrifice of Christ. We do this by faith.  We believe that Jesus Christ died to take our guilt on Himself, so that we could be restored to PEACEFUL fellowship with the Father. In that faith, come and remember the God who restores peace between us through His Son Jesus Christ.

 

If you know you don’t believe this, then stop the masquerade. Do not bring God sacrifices and offerings that you know are worthless in His sight. Only what is of faith pleases Him.

 

And if you find yourself crying out for God to help your unbelief, then remember with the Psalmist that “The Lord is near to those who have a broken heart, and saves such as have a contrite spirit.” Do not shrink back. This supper is for you. This supper not only remembers the blessing of salvation through Christ’s body and blood, it also seeks and provides the blessing of nourishment for our souls. And a weak faith needs nourishment, not to be sent to bed without supper.

Freaky Friday - politics

Wow, what a week for politics.  Here's a field guide for conservatives, from a Christian pastor's perspective.

1. Take a breath.

Cooler heads need to prevail.  Anyone trying to make you angry right now is not doing the country any favors.  It's very likely that ALL of your favorite news sources have been doing this.  Learn to detect this and reject it.  We need more light and less heat.  God remains on the throne when things go sideways.

2.  Learn humbling lessons.

a. We were lied to.

By the main stream media, with their liberal bias, yes.  It's gone beyond liberal bias to touting false narratives: "Trump is a white supremacist.  Basic conservative ideas are racist."  Etc.  Millions have believed this, and thus hate Trump.  This accounts for the record turnout for Biden and the Georgia far left senators.  Many of them were "not Trump" votes.  We just don't want to believe so many could reject Trump so strongly, but the MSM's false narratives and influence remain strong.

b. YOU were lied to.  By the far-right media.  OANN, Newsmax, and by Trump himself.  They tried to tell you the election was rigged, but when they went to court they didn't argue that at all.  Newsmax walked back its allegations of Dominion, once threatened with legal action.  They shamelessly whipped you up to a frenzy in a vain hope that it would change things.  Such talk depressed the Georgia Senate conservative vote and gave the Democrats control of the Senate.  Anyone who told you January 6 was our last chance to turn this around was lying to you.  Everyone knew congress had no authority to overturn state results Wednesday.  Except the barbarian weirdos who believed the lies.  It's humbling to admit when you are convinced by Sidney Powell's sincere tone, or by other media tricks.

c. You were manipulated - by big tech: Twitter, Facebook, etc.  They showed you what they wanted you to see, and kept from you the news that would have hurt Biden.  This was the real election interference, but it isn't prosecutable at this point.  They don't fight fair, but that doesn't mean we feel free to flout the law.  Hold them accountable next time, instead.

d. TURN AWAY FROM LIES.  

Stop chasing clickbait rumors on the internet.  

Don't take what Trump says at face value.  Daily Wire half the time just repeats Twitter threads.  Don't dismiss anyone who listens to any news left of Newsmax?  You are not entitled to your own set of facts, regardless of the evidence.

Don't point to liberal hypocrisy to excuse your own calumnies.  BLM riots don't justify last Wednesday, it shows them both wrong, especially the "mostly peaceful" excuses from both sides.  

Stop listening to news sources that pass on (give credence to) theories without evidence, just because they've been reported elsewhere.  

Exodus 23 couldn't be more clear: "You shall not circulate a false report."  Some of my allies (coughfightlaughfeastcough) have done this, to my deep chagrin, while at the same time vociferously advocating for following God's law.  They are tempted to put viewership above truth and journalistic professional practice.

e. Else you are part of the problem.  Do conservatives care about truth anymore?  Doesn't seem like it.  Make up and pass on allegations about Dominion.  Ignore or spin it when Trump demands a Georgia state official "find" 12,000 votes.  Pretend Trump might somehow stay in office.  Sheesh.

I told good family friends recently that Trump and their support of Trump at this moment was wrecking the country.  They didn't like that, and refuse to believe it.  How do I mean?  By believing his lies and supporting his personality over the truth.  Wednesday, he raised the temperature and came dangerously close to inciting violence.  You may believe the right things: pro-life, limited government, etc.  But if you support that kind of tactic, then you're for fighting fire with fire until the whole country is burned to the ground.  Don't continue to support Trump as if he remains president, when he lost by the rule of law, or you are advocating anarchy.

3.  Read a book

It's time to rebuild.  Wrap your mind around conservative principles again, separate from urgent events like Wednesday, separate from personalities like Trump and Tucker.  Read something by Russell Kirk or Milton Friedman.  The Federalist Papers or The Law, by Bastiat.  Re-orient your mind to truth.  Unhitch from following personalities.  Reading instead of watching helps with this.  Build up your own mind and thoughts in sound political principle, which is more reliable than the rhetoric that flies around news feeds and youtube clips.

4.  Survey the candidates

The republican party and conservative movement is re-aligning before our eyes.  Who is on the horizon, now that Trump just ditched his own political career?  (I hope and pray he gives up politics, or it'll wreck the GOP for the next 4-8 years.)  Cruz and Hawley want to harness and lead the Trump-angry crowd, but seem too willing to pander to it.  Tom Cotton and Ben Sasse appear to reject this for a higher-principled approach.  Listen to what they all say and how they respond to the radical left's onslaught for the next two years.  We need a political leader to fill this huge vacuum.  Ben Sasse 2024, for me, at this point!

5.  Reform your state and local elections.

In the vein of "hold them accountable next time," we have to do the hard work of ensuring no funny business in the future.  Voting weeks ahead of an election is foolish of citizens.  What if your candidate changes or bombs after you vote for him?  Require ID.  Mail-in voting is open to a lot of fraud.  Work to tighten things up locally.

6.  Trust and Obey and Pray

Most of all, remember God sets up and tears down rulers and nations.  As America declines, recall that God's Kingdom is not tied to America's future.  His kingdom has withstood the fall of Rome, the Norman conquest, the barbarian and Turkish invasion of Europe, jihadist beheadings, and the secularization of modern nations.  Christ will conquer through it all, whatever injustice wins in the short term, whatever wickedness society endorses for a time.

"The kingdoms of this world have become the kingdoms of our Lord and of His Christ, and He shall reign forever and ever!" - Rev 11:15.

Weekly exhortation to Church - 2020 and 2021

Whew, what a year 2020 turned out to be!  I'll spare you the typical "good riddance" stuff.  As your pastor, I have a burden that you look at 2020 and 2021 through the lens of faith in Jesus Christ, not natural/worldly wisdom.  What does that look like?

a. Thankfulness.  Instead of "good riddance," Christians believe in the providence of God.  As the Heidelberg Catechism Q&A 27 tells us, "fruitful and lean years,... health and sickness... all things, in fact, come to us not by chance but by His Fatherly hand."  God disrupted, stretched, taught, and grew each of us this past year.  Reflect on how, and thank Him for it.  Many are seeing this as their worst year ever, which tells you how spoiled we are in our time and country.  Thank God in every circumstance (1 Thessalonians 5:18).

b. Hope.  Where is yours?  In a vaccine?  In Donald Trump?

If you find your spirits dashed and your soul discouraged after the last few days of news, you may need a hope adjustment.

"O Israel, hope in the LORD!" - Psalm 130:7.

Be careful of the world's subtle cues to hope in other things.  Keeping our fingers crossed for 2021 is just hoping in chance.  A call to fight for fair elections can be hoping in politics.

Let's recalibrate where we place our hopes.  News of the world has its ups and downs, but God's purposes and plan are constant and firm.  "He who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ" (Phil. 1:6).  God is sovereign, not a virus or a political party/candidate.  In the end He will see His will done on earth, as it is in heaven.

c.  "New normal"

There will be a few new normals coming at us that are abnormal, biblically speaking.  Treating people as health threats.  Identity/radical left politics and cancel culture driving policy.  Rethinking and minimizing in-person encounters in shopping and worshiping.  We will need to be willing to buck some major cultural trends and groupthink, to continue living faithfully when challenged by society to go their way.

d. Read the Bible

Find or develop a plan for exposing yourself and your family to the whole Word of God over time.  Ligonier has lots of options here.

https://www.ligonier.org/blog/bible-reading-plans/

The Lord's blessings be upon you in 2021!

Epiphany 2021

Epiphany is Greek for "shine upon."  

The star of Bethlehem shone on the magi, guiding them to Jesus.

Isaiah 60 speaks of God shining on us in our darkness.  That camels will come from other lands bringing gold and frankincense to the Lord.  This comes true in Matthew 2's account of the wise men.

We sit in darkness without God shining light on us.  "God, who said, 'Let light shine out of darkness,' has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ" (2 Corinthians 4:6).

In common parlance this is called a "eureka" moment.  "He had an epiphany, a revelation," we say.  Yes, but it didn't just come to him.  God sent it.  Give thanks to God today for shining light on our thoughts, for revealing truth to us.

Those Magi, hundreds of miles away, read scrolls and stars, and God led them to the Way, the Truth, and the Life.  In 2021, God will be leading you further into His truth.  (I'm sure He did this in 2020!)  Will you hear Him and follow, as the wise men did the star?  It cost them a lot of time and energy, but it was worth it in the end.  Will you receive God's truth and change your life for it?  Or will it fall to the ground as you walk down your own path?

A Church Live Stream Experience

Last Sunday, I was on vacation from duties leading worship at my church.  I'm a pastor but I became a participant in a live stream church worship service.

The result was really enlightening.

We had plans to attend another local church for a change of pace.

But the snow fell a few inches deep the morning before.

So the first question is, how easy is it to give up on physically getting to a church for relatively minor reasons?  So many believers around the world sacrifice and risk so much to get to a worship service with other believers.  Was I wimping out?  I felt guilty, but I'm not sure I was.

My plan A church for tuning in didn't work - they usually have a live stream going on Sunday mornings, but didn't this week.  I was all ready with my bulletin and a few hymnals, to follow along.  Oh, well.  So I went to plan B, the church I intended to visit in person, and they were on, so we stuck with it.

There's a weird thing.  Having 2-4 options (I had a plan C and D ready), depending on which one's tech works or what you prefer on a whim.  Is that really church?

Next weirdness: how engaged are you?  I was really proud of my family at this moment.  Once we tuned in, they closed their eyes when the pastor prayed, they sang when the song came on.  Even though it was only six of us in our living room!  It would be so easy to see it as a video to watch, like a movie, as a consumer.  But it was a real event we took part in.  That's very important.

My wife took notes on the sermon as she always does.  It was an edifying and convicting message.  We could have done with Communion, but those who say it's "not really church" aren't quite right either.  If you engage with it properly, it can be.

I'd encourage you to get to church physically this Sunday.  Only stay home and participate online if there is a severe restraint.  It is worth it to be with the saints.  If you need to stay home, engage as fully as you can with the online options you have.  Do not forsake the assembling of the saints! (Hebrews 10:24-25).

Twelfth Day of Christmas

Here’s a brief blog series on each of the 12 days of Christmas, with Christian meanings.

 

On the twelfth day of Christmas, my True Love [God] gave to me:

Twelve drummers drumming

Twelve Tribes of Israel

 

For the completion of the Christmas season, on Twelfth Night, we celebrate the twelve tribes of Israel.  Twelve is a number of completion and perfection in the Bible.  In both Old and New Testaments the number was preserved after adjustments.  In the Old, Ephraim and Manasseh each became a tribe, from Joseph’s one, so Levi was dropped from receiving an inheritance.  In the New, Judas was replaced by Matthias, to keep 12 apostles (Acts 1:21-26).  Revelation especially describes the perfections of God’s people with the numbers of 12 and 144, which is 12 times 12 (chpts 7 and 14). 

 

As usual, God’s enemies like to mess with His gifts.  The holy fast of Lent was tainted by the immoral revel of Mardi Gras the day before.  All Saints’ Day on November 1 was corrupted by All Hallows’ Eve (Halloween) the night before.  And so Twelfth Night became a festival signified by twisting natural things to the unnatural.  Shakespeare is the prime example of this in his play, “Twelfth Night,” where a woman dresses as a man, and a servant passes as a nobleman.

 

God’s perfect order is twisted by sin.  How is this happening in your life?

Singles resist the pursuit of marriage.  Men and women find themselves attracted by same-sex sexual desires.  Married people want out.

The siren song of the world likes to proclaim that God’s natural design is “boring.”  Giving it a twist would be interesting and fun!  Where are we called to stay with God’s order, and where does He give us freedom to be creative?  This takes wisdom.

 

The contrast jars me.  The 12 Israelite tribes on the 12^th day of Christmas, and the Gentile focus of Epiphany on January 6.  There is an order to God’s people, reflecting the 12-ness.  But don’t forget the unpredictable, untamable wildness to the Gentile inclusion among God’s people (Romans 11:13-21).  Magi from the east, after all!  The church tends toward one or the other of these.  Reformed types might emphasize our Israelite origins and the generational covenantal succession.  Evangelical types might stress that God brings ANYONE to Him – prostitutes, astrologers, tax collectors, etc.  Both are true, but uniting them in one body is our call.  Since Christ is our Lord, this is not impossible!

Eleventh Day of Christmas

Here’s a brief blog series on each of the 12 days of Christmas, with Christian meanings.

 

On the eleventh day of Christmas, my True Love [God] gave to me:

Eleven pipers piping

Eleven Faithful Apostles

 

Of course, there were eleven faithful apostles because Judas betrayed Jesus.  This is a sober reminder that one can follow the Lord closely and for a long time, as Judas did, but not be a real believer.

 

We don’t often think of the original disciples as gifts to us, but they are.

 

Most importantly, they gave us the New Testament.  In it we have a few crucial keys:

 

1.  History recorded.  The birth, baptism and temptation of Jesus.  His healing, teaching of the people, arguing with the Jews.  His betrayal, arrest, crucifixion, burial, resurrection, and ascension to God’s throne.  These are events they record, as history.

 

2.  The first responses of people generally, and of His closest followers, to Jesus’ teaching and actions.  Peter’s, “No, Lord.”  Nathanael’s “can anything good come from Nazareth?”  Wondering how to feed the 5,000 with five loaves and two fish.  In the apostles’ responses to Jesus, we see our own reactions to God in how our lives unfold.

 

3.  The meaning of Christ’s coming.  What did His death and resurrection accomplish?  “He reconciled us both [Jew and Gentile] to God in one body through the cross” (Ephesians 2:16).  “He has canceled the record of debt that stood against us” (Colossians 2:14).  Romans is the classic example of this: bringing together the whole Old Testament with the good news of Jesus Christ.  The apostles explain Jesus to us.  They are His witnesses (Acts 1:6-8).  Witnesses who not only say what happened, but what it means.  Witnesses to those who already believe and read them (the Church), but also to the whole world.

 

Remember, these apostles worked and sacrificed to offer up this witness to the world.  They worked, in composing the New Testament.  Such writing!  Arranging words, Scriptures, thoughts, events, to show forth the glory of Christ!  And their sacrifice.  Tradition records that most of these apostles died painfully for their testimony.

 

What a gift of God to His Church!  Eleven faithful apostles.