Come, Thou Long-expected Jesus

This advent hymn, written by Charles Wesley (first and fourth verses) in 1744 and Mark Hunt (verses two and three) in 1978, captures the continuity of the Old Testament to the New Testament, with Jesus as the fulfillment of all covenants.  Israel was looking for the Messiah (the promised Rod of Jesse), and believers since His birth have the good news of redemptive salvation (Christ the Lord has come to earth – Redeemer, Shepherd, Friend).

“Come, though long-expected Jesus, born to set thy people free; from our fears and sins release us; let us find our rest in thee.  Israel’s strength and consolation, hope of all the earth thou art, dear Desire of every nation, joy of every longing heart.

Joy to those who long to see thee, Day-spring from on high, appear; come, thou promised Rod of Jesse, of thy birth we long to hear!  O’er the hills the angels singing news, glad tidings of a birth: “Go to him, your praises bringing; Christ the Lord has come to earth.”

Come to earth to taste our sadness, he whose glories knew no end; by his life he brings us gladness, our Redeemer, Shepherd, Friend.  Leaving riches without number, born within a cattle stall; this the everlasting wonder, Christ was born the Lord of all.

Born thy people to deliver, born a child and yet a king, born to reign in us forever, now thy gracious kingdom bring.  By thine own eternal Spirit rule in all our hearts alone; by thine all-sufficient merit, raise us to thy glorious throne.”

Indeed, Lord Jesus, bring in your kingdom and raise us to thy glorious throne. Amen.

Boston Birds

The CDC and environmentalists were worried about all the dead crows they were finding on the highways around Boston.  They ruled out Avian Flu when they found that the birds had all been crushed – hit by vehicles.

With paint specks and other evidence they determined that all but a few were hit by trucks.  They called in a bird behaviorist to figure what was happening.  She discovered that the scavenger crows, who eat roadkill, always have a scout in a nearby tree to warn of oncoming traffic.

The problem was that crows in Boston can say “Caw, Caw,” but they can’t say “Truck.”

Thanks, Tim!

Worldview

I’ve been having an ongoing conversation with a friend about God, Jesus, evolution, naturalism, and agnosticism. Our differences appear to be at the worldview level – the presuppositions and biases that affect the way someone thinks about the world. Long ago in German class (or maybe it was World Religions?) I learned the word ‘weltanschauung ’ – literally world view, made popular in the mid-19th century.

My worldview is encapsulated in the first two sentences of the Apostle’s Creed:  “I believe in God the Father almighty, creator of heaven and earth.  I believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin Mary.” The one true sovereign God is maker and sustainer of everything. He works supernatural miracles according to his almighty plan and purposes.

I believe the Old Testament and New Testament of the Bible as the authoritative self-revelation of the creator, providing (incomplete) information about the origins and purposes of life, the nature of man and evil, and the clear, miraculous, good news plan of redemption for mankind. There are many additional documents and much recorded history that support the facts presented in the Bible.  There are assertions in scripture that we cannot prove or disprove by observation; faith (… the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen – Hebrews 11.1) is required.

My understanding of a Naturalist worldview is that Darwin’s theory of evolution provides a basis for believing that all of creation occurred according to natural laws that can be observed through scientific methods.  I base this on quotes found in the initial chapters of Undeniable, Evolution and the Science of Creation, by Bill Nye.  “There is no way to make sense of these issues (cloning and genetic engineering) outside of an evolutionary context.” (p5)  “…natural selection is a means by which small changes can add complexity to an organism.  With each generation of offspring, the beneficial modifications can be retained.” (p23)  “You can see why people might think that these changes (small changes in DNA that occur during an organism’s developmental stage) result from conscious or willful acts, but they don’t.” (p27)  “Perhaps there is intelligence in charge of the universe, but Darwin’s theory shows no sign of it, and has no need of it.” (p46)

Darwin’s work On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection is central to Bill Nye’s worldview.  There are many scientific articles, cultural inferences, and much research that support Darwin’s theories.  Naturalists will agree there is no way to prove or disprove the existence of God.  It appears that especially on matters of the origin of life, the nature of evil, self-consciousness, and maybe the lack of a fossil record of the expected millions of creatures representing the small changes the theory talks about,  faith is required to hold a naturalist weltanschauung.

My friend sees the volume of support for Naturalism as greater than the support for a Christian worldview.  Stay tuned as we continue our discussion.

Animals

Anything unrelated to elephants is irrelephant

Do not meddle in the affairs of cats, for they are cunning and you sleep with your mouth open.

Why won’t hedgehogs share?

 

Where do you get whales weighed?

At the whale weigh station.

 

Conference Call Praying

This post is partly about what we prayed the other night, but the more unique part is the method we used – praying during our meeting being held via phone conference call.

The meeting itself was for a subcommittee’s quick review of next year’s budget.  We had already done the first appraisal and just needed to check a few updates before next week’s larger group discussion.  It seemed wise to use a little technology to save the time required for everyone to drive to the central meeting spot.

The budget is divided into some eleven sections – Campus Ministry, Missionaries, Staff, Office and Administration, Youth Ministries, etc. Each section has an appropriate number of line items.  We regularly pray that the Lord will bring along the funds needed for the people and ministries represented by the many numbers in the budget, that we would have the faith to allocate money needed to do His work well, and we would have the wisdom to be good stewards of what He has provided.

This night we took turns praying by section.  Each person lifted up the general purpose for the area and then offered specific requests for the staff and volunteers who support the ministries and the work of the Lord in the hearts of those who participate or are served.

We discovered a couple of things about the phone conference milieu.  First, you may have muted your phone while others prayed, but make sure you unmute when it is your turn!  Second, the printed instruction when we are in the same room to “take turns around the room” needs further clarification.  The alphabet is a helpful  tool – the leader assigns the first round based on names, and participants can take notes to remember their place in the rotation.

The prayers were just as rich as at a face-to-face meeting, although it was a little disconcerting when two of the meeting members have similar phone voices – not quite sure who was talking.  One option we will consider for the future is a video conference, where each person uses the camera on their computer and we could see the faces.

Bridge Names

A new bridge was built in the Ukraine, and they had a contest to name it.  The overwhelmingly popular choice was Chuck Norris.  The authorities decided not to use that name, “because no one crosses Chuck Norris.”

Walk and Talk

The book of Malachi is famous for (a) being the last book of the Old Testament and (b) predicting the coming of Elijah, the prophet (vs 4.5) and messenger (3.1) who will prepare the way for the coming of the LORD.  It is also known for its distinct format – a series of “disputations” that amount to a question and answer on ways the Israelites have failed to live up to their covenant with God.

The second disputation (verses 1.6-2.9) covers the dishonoring of God with lame (pun intended) offerings. They had polluted the altar with blind, sick, and blemished animals.  Much of the criticism is aimed at the priests who were responsible for guarding the sanctuary and inspecting the potential sacrificial animals.  A positive description of the proper role of the priests is summarized in verse 2.5: “My covenant with him (Levi) was one of life and peace, and I gave them to him.  It was a covenant of fear, and he feared me.  He stood in awe of my name.”

What did this fear and awe look like?  Two parts – truth was on his lips and righteousness in his walk.

  • “True instruction was in his mouth, and no wrong was found on his lips” (vs 6) – the priests were to guard the knowledge of God in such a way that the people would seek instruction from them. The priests were not only to understand the law but were to be the messengers of the LORD of hosts (vs 7).
  • “He walked with me in peace and uprightness” (vs 6). The combination of his good behavior and teaching “turned many from iniquity.”

The New Testament book of James (verse 3.1) echoes this weighty two-part responsibility for teachers: “we who teach will be judged with greater strictness.” The succeeding verses describe the perils of an uncontrolled tongue (2-12) and unwise conduct (13-16).  Just as God GAVE life and peace to the priests, the James passage reminds that the wisdom from above produces a harvest of righteousness and peace.