Thoughts by Theophilus

[theophilus]

Nearly everyone knows how Moses freed the Israelites from Egyptian slavery. Not many know that Moses had made a previous attempt to free them and had failed.

One day, when Moses had grown up, he went out to his people and looked on their burdens, and he saw an Egyptian beating a Hebrew, one of his people. He looked this way and that, and seeing no one, he struck down the Egyptian and hid him in the sand.

When he went out the next day, behold, two Hebrews were struggling together. And he said to the man in the wrong, “Why do you strike your companion?”

He answered, “Who made you a prince and a judge over us? Do you mean to kill me as you killed the Egyptian?”

Then Moses was afraid, and thought, “Surely the thing is known.” When Pharaoh heard of it, he sought to kill Moses. But Moses fled from Pharaoh and stayed in the land of Midian.
Exodus 2:11-15 ESV

This appears to be nothing more than Moses seeing an act of cruelty and intervening but the New Testament gives more information.

By faith Moses, when he was grown up, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter, choosing rather to be mistreated with the people of God than to enjoy the fleeting pleasures of sin.
Hebrews 11:24-25 ESV

Moses had rejected his adopted family and their gods and chosen to identify himself with how own people and their God.

When he was forty years old, it came into his heart to visit his brothers, the children of Israel. And seeing one of them being wronged, he defended the oppressed man and avenged him by striking down the Egyptian. He supposed that his brothers would understand that God was giving them salvation by his hand, but they did not understand.

And on the following day he appeared to them as they were quarreling and tried to reconcile them, saying, “Men, you are brothers. Why do you wrong each other?”

But the man who was wronging his neighbor thrust him aside, saying, “Who made you a ruler and a judge over us? Do you want to kill me as you killed the Egyptian yesterday?” At this retort Moses fled and became an exile in the land of Midian.
Acts 7:23-29 ESV

He not only identified himself with the Israelites but believed that God wanted him to free them from their slavery. We aren’t told why he believed this. Perhaps God and appeared to him and told him; perhaps he believed God had caused him to be adopted into the royal family so he could acquire the skills he needed. After all, he had learned things he couldn’t have learned if he had grown up as a slave.

Regardless of why he believed this was his destiny the fact that his people rejected him convinced him that he was wrong. He fled to Midian where he acquired a wife and spent the next 40 years taking care of his father-in-law’s sheep.

It was while he was doing this job that God spoke to him out of the burning bush.

Now Moses was keeping the flock of his father-in-law, Jethro, the priest of Midian, and he led his flock to the west side of the wilderness and came to Horeb, the mountain of God.

And the angel of the LORD appeared to him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush. He looked, and behold, the bush was burning, yet it was not consumed. And Moses said, “I will turn aside to see this great sight, why the bush is not burned.”
Exodus 3:1-3 ESV

God commanded him to free his people and this time he succeeded.

One reason for his success is something that had happened after he left Egypt.

During those many days the king of Egypt died, and the people of Israel groaned because of their slavery and cried out for help. Their cry for rescue from slavery came up to God. And God heard their groaning, and God remembered his covenant with Abraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob. God saw the people of Israel—and God knew.
Exodus 2:23-25 ESV

Sometimes we don’t get what we want from God because we don’t ask. That seems to have been the case with the Israelites. But now they turned to God and God was getting ready to answer their prayer.

The second reason Moses succeeded this time was that he had changed during his time in exile. This change is shown in his responses to God.

But Moses said to God, “Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the children of Israel out of Egypt?”
Exodus 3:11 ESV

He would never have asked such a question when he made his first attempt. He knew exactly who he was.

Moses was instructed in all the wisdom of the Egyptians, and he was mighty in his words and deeds.
Acts 7:22 ESV

His failure had taught him that his abilities and accomplishments weren’t enough to enable him to do what he wanted to do.

Then Moses answered, “But behold, they will not believe me or listen to my voice, for they will say, ‘The LORD did not appear to you.’”
Exodus 4:1 ESV

Earlier he had expected others to simply accept his claim that he was carrying out God’s will. Now he knew he would need to prove to them that God had sent him.

But Moses said to the LORD, “Oh, my Lord, I am not eloquent, either in the past or since you have spoken to your servant, but I am slow of speech and of tongue.”
Exodus 4:10 ESV

This is a strange statement coming from someone who had been described as being mighty in his words. For 40 years he had spent much time with no one but sheep to talk to and he realized his verbal skills had become weak through disuse. On the other hand a shepherd has plenty of opportunity to pray and meditate and the close relationship to God that Moses demonstrated after this event show that he must have done this.

Moses failed when he relied on his own abilities. He succeeded when he finally learned to depend entirely on God and his power.

[theophilus]

There is an Irish blessing, “May you be in Heaven half an hour before the Devil knows you’re dead.”

The apostle Paul was someone whom God blessed very much. Do you suppose he was in Heaven half an hour before the Devil realized he was dead?

Then some of the itinerant Jewish exorcists undertook to invoke the name of the Lord Jesus over those who had evil spirits, saying, “I adjure you by the Jesus whom Paul proclaims.”

Seven sons of a Jewish high priest named Sceva were doing this. But the evil spirit answered them, “Jesus I know, and Paul I recognize, but who are you?”

And the man in whom was the evil spirit leaped on them, mastered all of them and overpowered them, so that they fled out of that house naked and wounded.
Acts 19:13-16 ESV

This evil spirit had never encountered Paul personally but he knew who he was. And Satan certainly knew who Paul was. Paul said,

A thorn was given me in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to harass me, to keep me from becoming conceited.
2 Corinthians 12:7 ESV

Because of his preaching Paul was a constant thorn in Satan’s side. Giving Paul a thorn in his flesh was his way of paying him back. He didn’t realize that God would use that thorn for Paul’s good.

When Paul was executed I am certain that the news was immediately spread throughout the demonic realm. Satan knew at once that Paul was no longer on earth to oppose him.

From a Christian point of view the blessing is actually a curse. We are engaged in a war against the Devil’s forces and if we are fighting effectively the Devil will be aware of us. When we die he will realize it at once.

On the other hand it is likely that he doesn’t pay much attention to Christians who aren’t serving God faithfully. What this “blessing” is really saying is, “May you live such an ineffective life that when you die it will be half an hour before the Devil even notices that you are gone.”

[theophilus]

Edgar Allan Poe is famous for his writing in several different fields. He is well known as an author of horror stories. He is famous as poet. He wrote detective stories that have had such an influence that the Mystery Writers of America honors him by calling its award for best mystery writer the Edgar. But I doubt if anyone associates him with religion or theology.

I recently came across a review he wrote of Incidents Of Travel In Egypt, Arabia Petræa, And The Holy Land by John Lloyd Stephens. You can read the review here:

http://www.eapoe.org/works/criticsm/wrks4002.htm

In this review he expressed his opinions about Bible prophecy.

During two thousand years prior to these predictions Egypt had never been without a prince of its own; and how oppressive was its tyranny over Judea and the neighboring nations! It, however, was distinctly foretold that this country of kings should no longer have one of its own — that it should be laid waste by the hand of strangers — that it should be a base kingdom, the basest of the base — that it should never again exalt itself among the nations — that it should be a desolation surrounded by desolation. Two thousand years have now afforded their testimony to the infallibility of the Divine word, and the evidence is still accumulative.

He believed that the Bible was inspired by God and that its prophecies will all be fulfilled. If he were still alive today he wouldn’t be wouldn’t be surprised by the existence of the nation of Israel because he knew the Bible foretells the return of the Jews to their homeland.

However base and degraded it might be throughout many generations, it would, notwithstanding, have strength sufficient to be looked to for aid or protection, even at the time of the restoration of the Jews to Judea, who will seek “to strengthen themselves in the strength of Pharaoh, and trust in the shadow of Egypt.”

He believed the Bible was true and he studied it but otherwise we know almost nothing about his beliefs. Two major questions are unanswered; did Poe understand the Bible’s message that salvation comes through faith in Jesus Christ and did he repent and trust in Christ to receive that salvation? His lifestyle doesn’t appear to be that of a born again Christian but only God knows for sure what was in his heart. We will never know the answers until we get to Heaven and find out whether or not he is there.

[theophilus]

Every year before Christmas we see many displays of the birth of Jesus. The display normally consists of a baby in a manger with Joseph, Mary, some shepherds, and the Wise Men gathered around him. The birth of Jesus was an important event in history and it is appropriate that we should remember it but our traditional picture of how it happened is inaccurate. The Wise Men were not there. They were probably still in their home country and hadn’t even started their journey to Bethlehem.

Most of the elements in the traditional manger scene are taken from Luke’s gospel. He tells us why Mary and Joseph had to travel to Bethlehem in the first place and that they had to lay Jesus in a manger because there was no room in the inn. He describes the visit of the shepherds to see the baby. But he never speaks of the Wise Men here or anyplace else.

Matthew is the one who tells us about the visit of the Wise Men and he says that it took place after Jesus had already been born.

Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the east came to Jerusalem, saying, “Where is he who has been born king of the Jews? For we saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.”
Matthew 2:1-2 ESV

When they did find Jesus he wasn’t in a manger but was living in a house.

And going into the house they saw the child with Mary his mother, and they fell down and worshiped him. Then, opening their treasures, they offered him gifts, gold and frankincense and myrrh.
Matthew 2:11 ESV

Mary and Joseph had decided to live in Bethlehem rather than return to Nazareth. It is likely that two years had elapsed since Jesus was born and the Wise Men saw the star that told of his birth.

Then Herod, when he saw that he had been tricked by the wise men, became furious, and he sent and killed all the male children in Bethlehem and in all that region who were two years old or under, according to the time that he had ascertained from the wise men.
Matthew 2:16 ESV

Luke tells us more about the childhood of Jesus than any of the other gospel writers. He obviously did a lot of research to find out all of the things he did tell us so he must have known about the visit of the Wise Men. It seems like he should have included it even if it didn’t happen at the time Jesus was born. But if you consider the circumstances under which he wrote his gospel it is apparent that he had a good reason not to mention it.

Inasmuch as many have undertaken to compile a narrative of the things that have been accomplished among us, just as those who from the beginning were eyewitnesses and ministers of the word have delivered them to us, it seemed good to me also, having followed all things closely for some time past, to write an orderly account for you, most excellent Theophilus, that you may have certainty concerning the things you have been taught.
Luke 1:1-4 ESV

In the first book, O Theophilus, I have dealt with all that Jesus began to do and teach, until the day when he was taken up, after he had given commands through the Holy Spirit to the apostles whom he had chosen.
Acts 1:1-2 ESV

Luke and Acts are a single work divided into two parts; they are addressed to the same person and were written at about the same time. At the end of Acts Paul was in Rome awaiting trial.

He lived there two whole years at his own expense, and welcomed all who came to him, proclaiming the kingdom of God and teaching about the Lord Jesus Christ with all boldness and without hindrance.
Acts 28:30-31 ESV

The fact that Acts ends this way without any resolution of the situation Paul was facing shows that this must be the time Luke wrote his books.

Any information Luke included in his book would be known to the judges who were to try Paul and could influence their judgment. If they knew that Jesus had been proclaimed the king of the Jews they might have responded the same way Herod did and considered him a threat. Herod held his office of king by the authority of the Roman Empire so any challenge to his rule was also a challenge to the Empire. This would mean that Paul’s proclamation of Jesus would have been seen as an act of rebellion and it is likely that he would have been found guilty and executed.

Luke omitted any mention of the Wise Men because of the effect it would have had on Paul’s trial.

[theophilus]

God told Adam he could eat the fruit of every tree in the garden of Eden except one, the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Of course everyone knows what happened next. The serpent persuaded Eve to eat the fruit of the tree; she gave some of the fruit to Adam and he ate it too. As a result they were expelled from the garden and eventually died, and all of their descendants experience suffering and death.

Not everyone believes that this was a bad thing. They think the knowledge the human race has acquired is enough to offset the harmful effects of the Fall. Also, the Bible does tell us that our final destiny is to inhabit a new earth that is free of any kind of evil. So aren’t we better off than Adam and Eve were when they were living in Eden?

Those who hold this belief overlook two important facts.

First, they overlook the fact that not everyone will enjoy the blessings of living in the new earth. The description of the new earth is found in chapters 21 and 22 of Revelation. The last part of chapter 20 shows that many people won’t be around to live in this perfect environment.

Then I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it. From his presence earth and sky fled away, and no place was found for them.

And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Then another book was opened, which is the book of life. And the dead were judged by what was written in the books, according to what they had done. And the sea gave up the dead who were in it, Death and Hades gave up the dead who were in them, and they were judged, each one of them, according to what they had done. Then Death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire.

This is the second death, the lake of fire. And if anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.
Revelation 20:11-15 ESV

The second fact they overlook the price that had to be paid in order for any of us to ever live in this new earth in the first place. It was necessary for the Son of God to become a man and to suffer and die to atone for our sins.

They also assume that if Adam and Eve hadn’t sinned life for them would have gone on just as it did before. God not only punishes disobedience but he also rewards obedience. We have no way of knowing what their reward would have been. Perhaps we would already be living the new earth and there would be no one condemned to Hell. Perhaps God would have blessed us in some other way that is beyond our comprehension. We can at least be sure we would all be better off than we are now.

If you enjoy speculating about how things might have turned out differently if Eve hadn’t eaten the forbidden fruit you might enjoy reading Perelandra, by C. S. Lewis. In this novel God created a man and a woman to start a new race of humans on Venus. Satan tempted the woman just as he did Eve but the outcome was very different.

[theophilus]

The stones used in Solomon’s temple were carved at the place from which they were taken, not at the place where the temple was being built.

When the house was built, it was with stone prepared at the quarry, so that neither hammer nor axe nor any tool of iron was heard in the house while it was being built.
1 Kings 6:7 ESV

Imagine that these stones were alive. How might they have felt about what was being done to them?

They were removed from a comfortable existence in the quarry and subjected to a painful process of having parts of themselves cut off. They had no idea why this was happening because they were too far from the construction site to see that a temple was being built. It would seem that they were being tortured for absolutely no reason.

After the work on them was finished they were taken to where the temple was being built and placed in the position they had been prepared for. They would discover that the fit exactly into their place in the temple. They would realize that the pain they had endured while still in the quarry had been intended for exactly this purpose.

The stones used in the temple were inanimate and had no feelings but today God is in the process of constructing a building out of stones that are living.

As you come to him, a living stone rejected by men but in the sight of God chosen and precious, you yourselves like living stones are being built up as a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.

1 Peter 2:4-5 ESV

If you are a believer in Jesus Christ you are one of these stones. As long as we are in this world we will experience suffering.

Through many tribulations we must enter the kingdom of God.
Acts 14:22 ESV

At times we all wonder why so many bad things happen to us. God reveals that the things that seem bad are really intended for our good.

Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.
Romans 5:3-5 ESV

Our sufferings are the tools God uses to shape us so that we will fit into our intended place in the spiritual house he is building. When his work is done we will understand that every bad thing that ever happened to us was necessary to prepare us for our final destiny.

[theophilus]

One technique used by evangelists is to ask those who respond to their message to pray what is called the “Sinner’s Prayer”. The wording of this prayer varies; here is one version.

Dear Lord Jesus, I know that I am a sinner, and I ask for Your forgiveness. I believe You died for my sins and rose from the dead. I turn from my sins and invite You to come into my heart and life. I want to trust and follow You as my Lord and Savior. In Your Name.
Amen.

This practice isn’t found in the Bible. There are several accounts of people believing the gospel and being saved but there is no record of any convert being asked to say this or any other prayer.

The Bible doesn’t say anything about this specific prayer but it does record prayers made by sinners and tells us what the results were. I would like to examine four of these prayers and try to learn from them what kind of prayer God answers.

The first two are found in the parable of the Pharisee and the tax collector.

Two men went up into the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee, standing by himself, prayed thus: “God, I thank you that I am not like other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I get.”
Luke 18:10-12 ESV

A good name for this prayer would be the Jack Horner prayer.

Little Jack Horner
Sat in the corner,
Eating a Christmas pie;
He put in his thumb,
And pulled out a plum,
And said “What a good boy am I!”

The Pharisee was doing what Jack Horner did, bragging about what a good boy he was.

The tax collector prayed.

But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even lift up his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, “God, be merciful to me, a sinner!”
Luke 18:13 ESV

Jesus gave his evaluation of the prayers.

I tell you, this man went down to his house justified, rather than the other. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted.
Luke 18:14 ESV

The prayer of the first sinner, the Pharisee, was rejected because he wouldn’t acknowledge that he was a sinner. The tax collector confessed that he was a sinner and his plea for mercy was granted.

The other two prayers were made by the criminals who were crucified with Jesus.

One of the criminals who were hanged railed at him, saying, “Are you not the Christ? Save yourself and us!”
Luke 23:39 ESV

He had no interest in anything beyond an end to his suffering and a continuation of his present life.

But the other rebuked him, saying, “Do you not fear God, since you are under the same sentence of condemnation? And we indeed justly, for we are receiving the due reward of our deeds; but this man has done nothing wrong.”

And he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.”
Luke 23:40-42 ESV

He knew that he and Jesus would both soon be dead and he didn’t ask Jesus to change that, but he also believed that Jesus was a king and wanted to be part of his kingdom.

And he said to him, “Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise.”
Luke 23:43 ESV

Jesus gave him more than he asked for; he would not only be part of Jesus’ kingdom but would be with Jesus in Paradise until the kingdom was established on earth.

Jesus came into Galilee, proclaiming the gospel of God, and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.”
Mark 1:14-15 ESV

Repentance and faith are essential for salvation. The only “sinner’s prayer” that God will listen to is one that expresses these elements.

[theophilus]

If you heard that someone you cared about was sick and was about to die wouldn’t you immediately go to see him if you could? And wouldn’t that be even more true if you were able to prevent him from dying? Jesus didn’t react this way when he heard that one of his friends was near death.

Now a certain man was ill, Lazarus of Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha. It was Mary who anointed the Lord with ointment and wiped his feet with her hair, whose brother Lazarus was ill. So the sisters sent to him, saying, “Lord, he whom you love is ill.”

But when Jesus heard it he said, “This illness does not lead to death. It is for the glory of God, so that the Son of God may be glorified through it.”

Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. So, when he heard that Lazarus was ill, he stayed two days longer in the place where he was.
John 11:1-6 ESV

Finally Jesus did go to Bethany. When he arrived Lazarus had died and been buried.

Then Jesus, deeply moved again, came to the tomb. It was a cave, and a stone lay against it. Jesus said, “Take away the stone.”

Martha, the sister of the dead man, said to him, “Lord, by this time there will be an odor, for he has been dead four days.”

Jesus said to her, “Did I not tell you that if you believed you would see the glory of God?”

So they took away the stone. And Jesus lifted up his eyes and said, “Father, I thank you that you have heard me. I knew that you always hear me, but I said this on account of the people standing around, that they may believe that you sent me.”

When he had said these things, he cried out with a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out.”

The man who had died came out, his hands and feet bound with linen strips, and his face wrapped with a cloth. Jesus said to them, “Unbind him, and let him go.”
John 11:38-44 ESV

Jesus waited two days before beginning the trip to Bethany. Lazarus had been dead four days. If Jesus had started immediately on hearing the news Lazarus would still have been dead two days when he arrived. If he had raised Lazarus then some skeptics might have questioned the resurrection and claimed that Lazarus had only been in a coma. Jesus eliminated the possibility of that explanation by waiting until the body had begun to decay.

The illness didn’t lead to death but it did lead through death. The resurrection brought greater glory to God than a healing would have.

All Christians experience what Mary and Martha did. We ask God for help and he seems to ignore us. The problem we are praying about gets worse and reaches a point where no solution seems possible. Then God intervenes and answers our prayers in a way that we could never have imagined. We sometimes forget just how powerful God is and need to be reminded.

[theophilus]

Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.
1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 ESV

How can we pray without ceasing? Do we have to stop all of our other activities and kneel down and spend the rest of our lives doing nothing but praying?

If you are someplace where there are a lot of people you will probably see some of them demonstrating how to obey this command. They are talking on a cell phone while going about their regular activities. You could say that when we were saved God gave each of us a cell phone that we could use to keep in touch with him all of the time no matter what else we might be doing.

This cell phone has many advantages over manmade phones. It doesn’t cost us anything to use. It doesn’t require batteries so we will never run out of power. Because God is omnipresent we can use it anywhere. It can’t be broken, lost, or stolen. It will never become obsolete because someone invents a better one.

The only thing that can block our access to God is sin. Whenever we sin our phone will be useless until we restore our service by confessing our sin and receiving forgiveness.

There will be times when we must focus our attention on other things so we can’t always be consciously talking to God. That isn’t a problem because communication with God involves listening as well as talking. (We should listen more than we talk; what God says to us is more important than what we say to him.) When someone speaks to us we hear him even if our attention is focused on something else; if we spend time communicating with God we will become so spiritually sensitive that we can hear him speak to us even when we are not consciously listening to him.

Cell phones can cause problems by distracting their users from what is going on around them. When we use our spiritual cell phone we are communicating with the one who has perfect knowledge of our circumstance and what we are doing. Instead of distracting us from our surroundings it will make us more aware of them. We are constantly surrounded by people who are in need; if we spend time in touch with God he will make us aware of those needs and show us what we can do to meet them.

The cell phone is a recent invention so in the past it was not possible to use it as an analogy for prayer but the concept of constantly communicating with God is not new. In the 17th century a monk named Brother Lawrence wrote an excellent book on this subject called The Practice of the Presence of God. I will end this post with a quote from that book.

To form a habit of conversing with GOD continually, and referring all we do to Him, we must at first apply to Him with some diligence: but after a little care we should find His love inwardly excite us to it without any difficulty.

[theophilus]

Imagine that you have to go somewhere at night on a road that has no lights on it. You will need to take a source of light with you and there are two available. One is a flashlight and the other is an oil lamp. The flashlight has fresh batteries and you can see a long distance by its light. The lamp only gives off enough light to illuminate the area immediately around you. Which one would you choose?

This question is a no-brainer. With the flashlight you could see a long way ahead and know what to expect as you travel. You wouldn’t be surprised by unexpected obstacles. When you use a lamp only the area immediately around is illuminated and you have no idea what lies further ahead. If there are obstacles you won’t know about them until you reach them.

All of us are in fact traveling on a dark road. We are living our lives in a world that is in darkness because of sin. God has given us a light to guide us but it isn’t the kind we would have chosen for ourselves.

Your word is a lamp to my feet
and a light to my path.
Psalm 119:105 ESV

God has not given us a choice between a lamp and a flashlight. He has given us the Bible to be our lamp and we must either walk by its light or walk in darkness.

If you think God is making a mistake you need to consider the fact that God gives us what we need rather than what we want and because he is omniscient he always know what we need even if we don’t. Each day is filled with things that God wants us to do and he wants us to keep our minds focused on these duties. If we knew what was in the future it is possible that we would be so excited over the good things ahead and so worried about the bad that we would overlook the things God wants us to do now.

A lamp reveals enough so that we know the next step we need to take. When we take that step we carry the lamp forward and its light reveals the next step. That is how God’s guidance works. He shows us what our present duty is and only after we carry out that duty does he reveal the next thing he wants us to do. We don’t need to know our future because God knows it and if we obey him he will prepare us for the dangers and opportunities that are ahead. He will give us the information we need when we need it.