Unfortunately, to understand the flaw you have to decide where you stand. There are three responses to the claims,

1. You don’t really care
2. You believe that God cannot lie and everything he says is true
3. You think that it is possible for there to be encoded, hidden messages in the text of the Bible

Points 2 and 3 don’t sound like opposites but God says in Isaiah 45:19 “I publicly proclaim bold promises, I don’t whisper obscurities in some dark corner.” Therefore if you believe option #2 then you can safely assume that God’s word is plain and there are no hidden obscurities.

In Hebrews 6:18 it says that “it is impossible for God to lie.” Therefore I feel safe in the confidence that when Jesus said of God in Matthew 24:36 that “Regarding the [date and time] … only the Father knows,” and in Acts 1:7, regarding the date and time the world would end “…it is not for you to know,” he was speaking the plain and simple truth: there is no encoded message about the date the world would end.

The surest way to identify a cult is by the leader proclaiming to have some special, secret knowledge that is not easily found in the Bible. Again, referring back to Isaiah 45:19 “I would not have told [them] to seek me if I could not be found.” Again in Psalm 119:104-105 “Your commandments give understanding… your word is a lamp to guide my feet.” I could go on and on, you don’t need special revelation to comprehend God’s word.

Anytime someone says there’s a secret hidden in the bible that only a super-smart person (or a person with a special angel or revelation) can locate, they are lying.

So there’s nothing to fear, right?

The end of the world could be today or next week or next century. God has said there will be an end (cf Revelation 21:1) and no one but Him knows when it is. Or you very likely could die before the end of the world. In either case, when the time comes you will fall into one of two camps:

1. Those that know Jesus as the son of God
2. Those that don’t

There is no division for people who were really nice or had good intentions or didn’t commit any horrible crimes. There’s not even a special category for people who don’t believe in God. Either you will stand in front of the throne of glory and be declared righteous because of the great thing that Jesus did, able to offer your good deeds as a gift to lay at God’s feet, or you will stand in front of the throne of judgement and will be shown unworthy to be in the presence of God.

When your life has ended there is no more that can be done for you, either by yourself or others on your behalf. Follow the example of the thief on the cross next to Jesus. He realized who Jesus was, felt shame for living a life in opposition to God and asked Jesus to remember him. Jesus assured him that he would join Jesus in heaven. That is all it takes. Don’t wait until the day of your death though.

In each of the cases below, the underlying premise is that God is the source of all wisdom and distancing ourselves from His council increases the chances of big mistakes. As a bonus, I’m including the notes from the follow-up class where we covered a few good examples to compliment the bad.

Israel and the Gibeonites – Joshua 9:3-6,14-16

³ However, when the people of Gibeon heard what Joshua had done to Jericho and Ai, ⁴ they resorted to a ruse: They went as a delegation whose donkeys were loaded with worn-out sacks and old wineskins, cracked and mended. ⁵ The men put worn and patched sandals on their feet and wore old clothes. All the bread of their food supply was dry and moldy. ⁶ Then they went to Joshua in the camp at Gilgal and said to him and the men of Israel, “We have come from a distant country; make a treaty with us.”

¹⁴ The men of Israel sampled their provisions but did not inquire of the LORD. ¹⁵ Then Joshua made a treaty of peace with them to let them live, and the leaders of the assembly ratified it by oath.

¹⁶ Three days after they made the treaty with the Gibeonites, the Israelites heard that they were neighbors, living near them.

What went wrong? They did not seek God’s council. (see below for how to get God’s council)

Beheading of John the Baptist – Mark 6:18-26

Just to be clear, it was not John that made the mistake, but Herod.

¹⁸For John had been saying to Herod, “It is not lawful for you to have your brother’s wife.” ¹⁹So Herodias (Herod’s wife) nursed a grudge against John and wanted to kill him. But she was not able to, ²⁰because Herod feared John and protected him, knowing him to be a righteous and holy man. When Herod heard John, he was greatly puzzled; yet he liked to listen to him.

²¹Finally the opportune time came. On his birthday Herod gave a banquet for his high officials and military commanders and the leading men of Galilee. ²²When the daughter of Herodias came in and danced, she pleased Herod and his dinner guests.

The king said to the girl, “Ask me for anything you want, and I’ll give it to you.” ²³And he promised her with an oath, “Whatever you ask I will give you, up to half my kingdom.”

²⁴She went out and said to her mother, “What shall I ask for?”
“The head of John the Baptist,” she answered.

²⁵At once the girl hurried in to the king with the request: “I want you to give me right now the head of John the Baptist on a platter.”

²⁶The king was greatly distressed, but because of his oaths and his dinner guests, he did not want to refuse her.

We see here that John was beguiled into doing something he would not normally have done.

What went wrong? two things: The influence of an ungodly spouse and having a higher regard for the opinion of his peers than for God.

Johoshaphat and King Ahab – 2 Chronicles 18 (select verses)

¹ Jehoshaphat enjoyed great riches and high esteem, and he made an alliance with Ahab of Israel by having his son marry Ahab’s daughter. ² A few years later he went to Samaria to visit Ahab, who prepared a great banquet for him and his officials. They butchered great numbers of sheep, goats, and cattle for the feast. Then Ahab enticed Jehoshaphat to join forces with him to recover Ramoth-gilead.

³ “Will you go with me to Ramoth-gilead?” King Ahab of Israel asked King Jehoshaphat of Judah.

Jehoshaphat replied, “Why, of course! You and I are as one, and my troops are your troops. We will certainly join you in battle.” ⁴ Then Jehoshaphat added, “But first let’s find out what the Lord says.”

⁵ So the king of Israel summoned the prophets, 400 of them, and asked them, “Should we go to war against Ramoth-gilead, or should I hold back?”

They all replied, “Yes, go right ahead! God will give the king victory.”

⁶ But Jehoshaphat asked, “Is there not also a prophet of the Lord here? We should ask him the same question.”

⁸ So the king of Israel called one of his officials and said, “Quick! Bring Micaiah son of Imlah.”

¹⁴ When Micaiah arrived before the king, Ahab asked him, “Micaiah, should we go to war against Ramoth-gilead, or should I hold back?”

Micaiah replied sarcastically, “Yes, go up and be victorious, for you will have victory over them!”

¹⁵ But the king replied sharply, “How many times must I demand that you speak only the truth to me when you speak for the Lord?”

¹⁶ Then Micaiah told him, “In a vision I saw all Israel scattered on the mountains, like sheep without a shepherd. And the Lord said, ‘Their master has been killed. Send them home in peace.’”

If you read on after this you find that Ahab and Jehoshaphat go on into battle despite the warning against doing so. As foretold, Ahab is killed – the only causality – but not in battle, an errant arrow pierces his armour.

What went wrong? Ahab and Jehoshaphat went through the effort to learn what God’s directions were and then promptly ignored them.

To summarize the mistakes:

1. Pray to seek God’s council
2. Avoid the influence of the ungodly
3. Seek the approval of God instead of those of your peers
4. Don’t ignore God’s advice

Counterpoint: Examples of good decision makers

Gideon and the fleece – Judges 6:33-40

³³ Soon afterward the armies of Midian, Amalek, and the people of the east formed an alliance against Israel and crossed the Jordan, camping in the valley of Jezreel. ³⁴ Then the Spirit of the Lord took possession of Gideon. He blew a ram’s horn as a call to arms, and the men of the clan of Abiezer came to him. ³⁵ He also sent messengers throughout Manasseh, Asher, Zebulun, and Naphtali, summoning their warriors, and all of them responded.

³⁶ Then Gideon said to God, “If you are truly going to use me to rescue Israel as you promised, ³⁷ prove it to me in this way. I will put a wool fleece on the threshing floor tonight. If the fleece is wet with dew in the morning but the ground is dry, then I will know that you are going to help me rescue Israel as you promised.” ³⁸ And that is just what happened. When Gideon got up early the next morning, he squeezed the fleece and wrung out a whole bowlful of water.

³⁹ Then Gideon said to God, “Please don’t be angry with me, but let me make one more request. Let me use the fleece for one more test. This time let the fleece remain dry while the ground around it is wet with dew.” ⁴⁰ So that night God did as Gideon asked. The fleece was dry in the morning, but the ground was covered with dew.

Gideon highly valued the direction of God and, as we see in chapter 7, obeyed him. But he didn’t trust himself and searched deeper to ensure he was acting in accordance with God’s desires.

What we learned: Understand God’s desires before you act.

Esther prepares to meet the king – Esther 4:10-17, 5:1-3

¹⁰ Then Esther told [her servant] to go back and relay this message to Mordecai: ¹¹ “All the king’s officials and even the people in the provinces know that anyone who appears before the king in his inner court without being invited is doomed to die unless the king holds out his gold scepter. And the king has not called for me to come to him for thirty days.” ¹² So [the servant] gave Esther’s message to Mordecai.

¹³ Mordecai sent this reply to Esther: “Don’t think for a moment that because you’re in the palace you will escape when all other Jews are killed. ¹⁴ If you keep quiet at a time like this, deliverance and relief for the Jews will arise from some other place, but you and your relatives will die. Who knows if perhaps you were made queen for just such a time as this?”

¹⁵ Then Esther sent this reply to Mordecai: ¹⁶ “Go and gather together all the Jews of Susa and fast for me. Do not eat or drink for three days, night or day. My maids and I will do the same. And then, though it is against the law, I will go in to see the king. If I must die, I must die.” ¹⁷ So Mordecai went away and did everything as Esther had ordered him.

¹ On the third day of the fast, Esther put on her royal robes and entered the inner court of the palace, just across from the king’s hall. The king was sitting on his royal throne, facing the entrance. ² When he saw Queen Esther standing there in the inner court, he welcomed her and held out the gold scepter to her. So Esther approached and touched the end of the scepter.

³ Then the king asked her, “What do you want, Queen Esther? What is your request? I will give it to you, even if it is half the kingdom!”

What we learned: Earnestly seek God’s will

The Bereans – Acts 17:10-12

¹⁰ That very night the believers sent Paul and Silas to Berea. When they arrived there, they went to the Jewish synagogue. ¹¹ And the people of Berea were more open-minded than those in Thessalonica, and they listened eagerly to Paul’s message. They searched the Scriptures day after day to see if Paul and Silas were teaching the truth. ¹² As a result, many Jews believed, as did many of the prominent Greek women and men.

What we learned: God’s plan never contradicts the scriptures, therefore always check to ensure your actions are in line with the Bible.

I hope this is helpful to you, the list of good and bad examples is short, share your favourite in the comment area below.

The details are:

Good clean clothing for the entire family! Men’s work clothes, boots, shoes, winter clothes, hats, gloves, ladies’ and children’s clothing, and more (all sizes). Plus bedding, blankets, baby items, toys, and other misc. household items.

**Shopping Hours**

Thursday and Friday, November 20th and 21st

* 8:00 a.m. – 11:00 a.m.
* 12:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m.
* 4:00 p.m. – 7:00 p.m.

Saturday, November 22nd

* 8:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.

You can get to the church by taking bus route #7 Ft. Des Moines – Walker which stops right at the church’s parking lot entrance at [4200 E 25th Street Des Moines IA 50317](http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&geocode=&q=4200+E+25th+Street+Des+Moines+IA+50317&sll=37.0625,-95.677068&sspn=33.160552,60.732422&ie=UTF8&ll=41.639533,-93.569655&spn=0.007633,0.014827&t=h&z=16&g=4200+E+25th+Street+Des+Moines+IA+50317&layer=c&cbll=41.636778,-93.569467&panoid=qMhCAEn-j1x5lBBd6TtPvw). (It’s the big green-roofed church you see on i235 north of the Euclid exit – link above is a google map you can use to get directions)

Please pray that many needy people will be helped to get what they need (materially speaking), pray also that hoarders will be kept at bay (a perennial problem) and lastly pray that those who are [spiritually needy will also find what they're searching for](http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=John%204:10-15;&version=51;).

As parents its critical to admit that one of our most important job is to raise our children properly (cf Proverbs 22:6, Deuteronomy 6:6-7). But that doesn’t mean the children become the center of the family. They need to learn that the world does not revolve around them. Therefore the class’s goal will hopefully help draw the mom and dad together. Doing this helps the whole family.

But… the husband/wife relationship is not the most important relationship in the family. The most important is the parent/God relationship. God invented the family and He knows how to make it work best. Not only that, but He knows our temperament, gifts and needs better than even we do ourselves. He also knows what’s coming down the road. When we draw close to God we benefit in too many ways to describe, but the most relevant to this topic is that it helps us as parents make wise decisions for our families. So here’s the illustration:

I have a two story house with a finished basement. If I’m on the top floor and my son is in the basement and I want to give him instructions, what do I do? Do I try and yell detailed instructions across the house? Picture it, “Son, I need you to make your bed and clean your room, also, take your dirty clothes to the laundry and brush your teeth.” The son can’t hear me well so he yells back, “What?” So you try again and he yells back, “What?” Wouldn’t it work much better if you just said, “Son, come closer, I need to tell you something.”

When we get too busy to spend time with God _daily_ we start to distance ourselves from Him. And admit it, its easy to go far longer than a couple days. If you’ve gone weeks or months without opening your bible or praying seriously it’s like you’re on different ends of the house. You have no clue what God’s trying to tell you, you need to get closer.

So the point of the class was to encourage people to work on the relationship with God. If you’ve gotten away from doing it you’re probably discouraged and if you’re a normal parent the thought of setting a substantial amount of time aside from your already hectic day sounds impossible. Therefore I taught the class my technique for getting back on track, “7 minutes with God.” I’ve found that finding half an hour is hard but I can find 7 minutes.

This topic warrants another blog post but in a nutshell it works like this, and its utterly simple – about two minutes goes to prayer, but not your normal prayer. Do nothing but praise God. You have no problem making time during the day for prayers like, “God help me with xxxxx!” so this prayer time is for remembering who God is and how great He is. “God, thank you for the rain, I can’t wait to see the flowers bloom and the green grass…” Then the remaining minutes go for a mini bible study.

If the need to lug a bible around will make it difficult for you to do your 7 minutes then you can print out a chapter of the bible from [www.biblegateway.com](http://www.biblegateway.com) and stash it in your pocket so that you have it. Note that five minutes of reading time is probably not enough to get through a whole chapter – don’t rush it, it’s ok if you just get a third of chapter in. As Henry Blackaby so rightly said, “God can speak to you on any page of this book.” And the goal of the 7 min is to encourage you to get closer to God, not speed through the pages. I’ve found that once I get back on track the thirst for the word grows and I’m better able to find time for more in-depth study.

I’d love to hear your comments.

Note that point F says, “Mood a bit gloomy in town of Jesus’ birth.” I’m sure that’s because Jesus has just officially been eclipsed in search engine popularity by Ubuntu.

It appears that press coverage of Jesus has still far exceeded that of Ubuntu, and that Jesus’ search traffic has remained generally stable while Ubuntu’s search traffic has grown sharply over the last few years.

So, the sabbath is the last day of the week. Traditionally, this has been Saturday. However, few people in the Christian community observe the ordinances of this special day, and those that do tend to observe it on Sunday, the first day of the week. What is the story with this?

I’ve spent quite a bit of time reading and researching it. It seems that by the time of Jesus, the laws for observing the sabbath were quite strict, comprising 26 chapters and 150 pages of very detailed rules outlining exactly what can and can’t be done and what is and isn’t work.

What did Jesus have to say on the matter? Apparently there are things more important than the sabbath law. But his answer to the pharisees is difficult to understand on its own. Fortunately, God provided a clarification elsewhere in the scriptures. Romans 6 (esp 14, but don’t take that without 15ff) says we are free from the law. Titus 3:9 re-enforces this idea. Hebrews 4:1-13 tells us that there is a sabbath, but it is not on the seventh day of the week for Christians. We will get that day of rest, but not until after we die.

So what should we do to observe the sabbath now? What is the intent of God’s word, is it to force us into strict rule following? No, remember the most important commandment as expressed by Jesus: Love the Lord your God with all of your heart, all of your soul and all of your strength, and likewise love your neighbor as your self. Also, remember the command taught throughout the old and new testaments to teach your children about God’s word. Spending time with friends and family and worshiping God in a Bible preaching church are all excellent applications of these commands.

However, I think that saying that we (Christians) should do no work on Sunday (or Saturday) is a gross misapplication of scriptures. I would love to have your comments on the issue.

34 “So now I am giving you a new commandment: Love each other. Just as I have loved you, you should love each other. 35 Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are my disciples.” John 13:34-35

So how do you “love each other?” Good question, but I think it’s being helpful, caring for others, being honest, being a hard worker. I think that you have to love people whom you disagree with and that even if you can’t accept a person’s actions or opinions, you can still be gentle and can still care for them. I could be wrong, but it certainly can’t hurt to try it.

The concept is that people, creatures, plants etc that have certain attributes that make them suitable for life in a certain environment thrive and reproduce, therefore passing on the characteristics to their offspring.

Therefore a rabbit that has a coloring allowing it to hide from predators is more likely to survive and breed than one who stands out.

This has been true with humans and animals since Adam and Eve left the Garden of Eden (when death first entered the world). However, there is a trend in today’s society that talented, successful, gifted people forgo having a family in order to pursue their success. Often times, those who are most successful have no kids. In such a case, those genes that may have given that person the edge needed to be successful are not passed on, therefore circumventing this natural law.

Now, I’ll quickly amend that I am adamantly opposed to eugenics or the classification of people by their genetic makeup. However, I find something wrong with the idea that people don’t want to pass on the heritage (both genetic and learned) that made them successful.

I continued the class by sharing a list of memory verses and the first two of five points that can be used to explain the gospel to an unbeliever. The five points have been adapted from the Evangelisim Explosion curriculum. My favorite part of the EE curric is that it explains things in a very precise order designed to answer common objections before they’re raised. It also offers some clear and easy to remember illustrations for explaining important biblical concepts. For example, the seriousness of sin is explained that if you sinned only three times per day, over the course of a lifetime that would be over 70,000 times. What would happen if you walked into a courtroom with 70,000 offenses? The judge would take it very seriously.”