IS THERE A CONFLICT BETWEEN SCIENCE AND FAITH? The Research Scientist Psalm. Psalm 111:2.

Do you think there is a conflict between science and faith? I have heard it discussed as though the two fields were opposites, and we must choose one or the other. You can be a science-person or a faith-person, but you cannot be both. However, many of the greatest minds of science do NOT believe science and faith to be mutually exclusive. The two fields can co-exist.

Can you be a scientist and a Christian? Absolutely.

Albert Einstein said the two fields of study must work together: “Religion and science go together. Science without religion is lame and religion without science is blind. They are interdependent and share a common goal—the search for truth … the soul given to each of us is moved by the same spirit that moves the universe.”

Speaking of the ‘spirit that moves the universe,’ Isaac Newton wrote that “gravity explains the movement of the planets, but it cannot explain who set the planets in motion.”

For centuries men observed the seemingly unpredictable, random acts of nature and assumed there was a random, unpredictable god or gods causing the tornadoes, earthquakes, hurricanes, and more. Then Christian thinkers like Sir Francis Bacon became convinced God was not a god of chaos but of order. These brilliant minds began with the premise that because God is a god of order, his creation is probably governed by laws, and we should be able to discover and prove the existence of those laws through experimentation.

“God is not a god of chaos but of order,” 1 Corinthians 14:33.  


There is not a conflict between science and faith. Yes, you can be a Christian and a scientist. My father was a physicist. He absolutely LOVED physics! But he loved Jesus too and read the Bible every day. The same is true of my brother who is a physician. If you believe true science and true faith to be in conflict, you may not have a deep enough understanding of either.

Science owes its creation to men of faith.

Are there tricky questions, areas where science and faith appear to conflict, such as evolution? Yes. Christians who work in science will have to wrestle with a few challenges. But there is not some fundamental division between faith and science. The two are not in conflict.

I recently saw a bulletin board in the science wing of a Christian school. In huge letters, the board highlighted “THE RESEARCH SCIENTIST PSALM” and in frames it displayed the words of Psalm 111.

“The works of the Lord are great, they are studied by those who delight in them” Psalm 111:2.

That is the essence of science: the study of the works of the Lord. What are the works of the Lord? His creation: nature, astronomy, geology, forestry, oceanography, biology, anatomy, zoology, physics.

To the Christian, I would say: NEVER BE AFRAID OF SCIENCE.

To the scientist: NEVER BE AFRAID OF FAITH.

As Einstein said, the two belong together.

Read Psalm 111.

ΑΩ

P.S. It is a mistake to believe that Einstein followed any organized religion. He was born Jewish, he once described himself as agnostic, and later wrote “I believe in Spinoza’s god,” an impersonal god who reveals himself through nature. He also wrote that he believed in a “lawgiver” who created the laws of nature. I quote Einstein not as an endorsement of the Christian faith, but as an endorsement of faith itself. This brilliant man of physics had the insight to recognize there is more to the universe than can be observed in nature.

Adam and Eve Sinned. Why Was Punishment Delayed? Genesis 5:5.

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God tells Adam and Eve not to eat from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil “for on the day that you eat from it, you shall surely die” Genesis 2:17. Next thing you know, the two sin. God shows up, pronounces judgment … and they do not die. In fact, they go on with their lives.

Adam lives another 900 years!

But I thought God said, “the day that you eat from it you shall surely die”? God gave the man nine centuries?

God is merciful.

He proved it here, the very first time he confronts the sins of man. God cures their shame by making them clothing. Then he banishes them from the garden, and even that is for their good:

“’Behold, the man has become like one of Us, knowing good and evil, and now, lest he stretch out his hand, and take also from the tree of life, and eat, and live forever’—therefore the Lord God sent him out of the garden of Eden” Genesis 3:22-23.

God is merciful.

If, after sinning, Adam had eaten of the tree of life, many believe he might have lived forever trapped in a state of alienation from God. Therefore God banished him from the garden so he might eventually be delivered from his sinful flesh through his own death. Death is a mercy in that way–do you see that? Death sets Adam free from the sin, guilt, sadness, and sicknesses of this life. Death is a merciful end.

Death is a heavy door and hard to unlock, but it opens to an eternal paradise.

But the Bible says Adam’s death did not come for nine centuries? Were these literal years? Did Adam actually experience 900 summers and 900 winters?

Did he ride the earth around the sun 900 times? Yes. How could he live that long? Let’s briefly discuss this side issue in two points:

First, the impact of sin on human health is cumulative. Many years would pass before the degrading impact of Adam’s sin would blossom into disease and death. It seems creation may not have “fallen” all at once, but instead began a decline that continues to this day (that is one explanation for the continual discovery of new diseases).

Second, the earth was protected from the sun’s rays by a canopy of water (Genesis 1:7) that was removed during Noah’s flood. Following the flood, men’s lives were shortened dramatically, soon resembling those of modern man, perhaps due to changes in our atmosphere caused by the removal of such a canopy.

By the way (if you’ll tolerate a third tangent), I’m not convinced Adam and the other patriarchs would consider themselves “lucky” to have lived so much longer than we do. The experience of time is relative. How many exciting things happened in those 900 years? I suspect Adam spent most of his 930 years wondering where his next meal was coming from. In some ways, modern people probably experience more adventures, more highs and lows, in 80 years than those known as “the Ten Patriarchs” experienced in lives that were ten times as long.

But to return to the main point—THEY ALL DIED. The fifth chapter of Genesis is the first of some 25 genealogies in the Bible. And it is unique. The family tree of Adam’s descendants begins as follows: “Then the days of Adam after he became the father of Seth were eight hundred years, and he had other sons and daughters. So all the days that Adam lived were nine hundred and thirty years, and he died” Genesis 5:4-5.

This genealogy is unique among all the Biblical genealogies because the report of each life ends with “and he died.” (Or at least it is unique in the NAS translation—only the genealogy in Genesis 5 uses this refrain.)

THE TEN PATRIARCHS:

Adam: “and he died” Genesis 5:5.

Seth: “and he died” Genesis 5:8.

Enosh: “and he died” Genesis 5:11.

Kenan: “and he died” Genesis 5:14.

Mahalel: “and he died” Genesis 5:17.

Jared: “and he died” Genesis 5:20.

Enoch: “Enoch walked with God, and he was not, for God took him” Genesis 5:24. (An Old Testament rapture, like Elijah—two amazing exceptions to the rule of death!)

Methusaleh: “and he died” Genesis 5:27.

Lamech: “and he died” Genesis 5:31.

Noah: “and he died” Genesis 9:29.

What is the point of all this?

Everyone dies.

Everyone, that is, but Enoch, Elijah, and a few Christians of the future who will be raptured. Everyone else dies.

Even Jesus experienced death.

Second, God is merciful! God made clothes for Adam and Eve, rescuing them from shame, and God removed them from the garden so they could experience death—a merciful end to the struggles of this life.

  1. Everyone dies.
  2. God is merciful.
  3. Even death itself is a mercy because it delivers us to a place so amazing, this life cannot be compared to the life to come, Romans 8:18.

God, thank you for your mercy! We bring you our sin, our shame, our guilt. We bring you our questions about creation and life and death. Give us a love for your word so we can learn your answers! May we be such committed students of the Bible that we even appreciate the genealogies! We love you.

AΩ

Policing the Police. Joshua 8:25.

Nations have long struggled with corruption in government. What if organized crime bosses are paying bribes to the police so officers will look the other way? Who will police the police? What do you do when the justice system is unjust? What can you do when men of God are ungodly? Peter says, “It is time for judgment to begin with the house of God” 1 Peter 4:17.

After using the wilderness to train his people, God sent the nation of Israel into the Promised Land. Their instructions were to rid the land of the idol worshippers who lived in it. When Israel captured Jericho, the Hebrews were to gather silver, gold, brass, and iron for the Lord’s treasury. Everything else was off-limits. Joshua 6:17-19. The battle of Jericho was a triumph for Joshua and his people. But when they attacked Ai, thirty-six were killed and the rest “ran away like a scalded dog.” Suddenly the nation was terrified “and the hearts of the people melted, and became as water” Joshua 7:5.

Where did they go wrong? Joshua cried out to God and God revealed to Joshua that Achan had stolen plunder from Jericho for himself:

“Achan … took of the accursed thing and the anger of the Lord was kindled against the children of Israel” Joshua 7:1.

What was the solution?

I’ll give you a clue: God will not tolerate corruption in police, in governments, in the halls of power. And particularly among his people. God told Joshua that Achan must be burned with fire, he and all that belongs to him.

“And all Israel stoned him with stones and burned them with fire … and the Lord turned from the fierceness of his anger” Joshua 7:25-26.

What happened after Achan’s sin was adjudicated?

Israel defeated Ai, Joshua 8:25. The nation went on to win thirty battles in a row, for a total of thirty-one victories under Joshua (including Jericho), Joshua 12:24.

But before Israel could attain those victories, the nation had to be purified. The sin of Achan had to be addressed.

Has God revealed sin to you that you must address? “It is time for judgment to begin with the house of God” 1 Peter 4:17.

Believers walk in grace, of course. I am not interested in shame, guilt, or condemnation. But God expects us to pursue holiness. May we do our best.

“Be holy as I am holy,” 1 Peter 1:16.

ΑΩ

God is the Revealer of Mysteries—But Not All Mysteries. Revelation 10:4.

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After God called me to law school, I immediately began asking WHY? I was excited, but it seemed important to know why God had sent me there. I prayed about it all the time. Twenty-odd years later, the Lord has not given me a clear answer. I can make educated guesses, as anyone would. But God has never spoken to me about it—certainly not in the clear voice with which he called me to law school. Oddly enough, I have come to appreciate the mystery.

The pagan King Nebuchadnezzar coined one of the names of God, calling him “the Revealer of Mysteries” Daniel 2:47. But God does not reveal all mysteries. Everyone wants to know what the future holds, and the Bible reveals many things. But not everything.

“And when the seven thunders had uttered their voices, I was about to write, and I heard a voice from heaven saying unto me: ‘Seal up those things which the seven thunders uttered and write them not” Revelation 10:4.

God gave the Apostle John an amazing series of visions indicating what would happen in the last days. But some things John saw were not to be repeated. Similarly, the Apostle Paul saw visions he was not allowed to reveal, 2 Corinthians 12:4. Likewise, Daniel was not to reveal certain things, Daniel 12:9. The Bible reveals a great deal–but it also keeps some things from us. And there is one mystery that was not revealed even to Jesus: he does not know when the Second Coming will happen:

“But about that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father” Matthew 24:36.

Can you believe that? God keeps some secrets, and there is one mystery that only God the Father can reveal.

Does that bother you? Do mysteries bother you?

I like Martha Stewart’s motto: “learn something new every day.” I love books, documentaries, research, you name it. I want to learn everything. But I have also learned to appreciate the things I cannot learn, the mysteries I cannot solve. I’m not sure I can explain what I like about mysteries. I think I just love knowing that when it comes to some topics, all I can do is rest in God. Just rest and leave it in His hands.

“The secret things belong to the Lord our God, but the things that are revealed belong to us and to our children forever” Deuteronomy 29:29.

God, thank you for being THE REVEALER OF MYSTERIES. Help us study your word and learn all we can! But thank you that we can rest in you and trust you with things we will never know. Thank you for secrets and mysteries. Give us the grace to enjoy knowing that “the secret things belong to God.”

ΑΩ

YOUR ENEMY IS ‘INFINITELY SMALL.’ 2 Thessalonians 2:8.

There’s an old story about an art contest in which competitors were challenged to paint a picture of peace. Most of the paintings were beautiful, idyllic: sunsets, a gentle snowfall, a field of flowers, smiling children. But the winning entry showed a bird against a cliff above a raging ocean. She was nestled in a hollow, her wings outstretched shielding her babies from the violent storm. Sometimes the unexpected picture proves to be the best.

Imagine an art contest in which competitors are challenged to portray the ultimate battle of good and evil. What would the paintings portray? I would expect something that makes the LORD OF THE RINGS look like a children’s book: storms and blood and death and darkness, armies of millions stretching from horizon to horizon, black clouds in the sky and smoke everywhere. Bombs, fires, swords, horses, tanks, missiles—just the busiest, scariest painting. The noise, the screams, the furious rage—how big would the canvas have to be to tell that story?

But here’s my entry: Sunshine. Birds singing in the trees. Green grass, flowers, a birdbath, maybe a swing nearby. And a tiny child blowing on a dandelion for all she’s worth.

How could such an image possibly capture the “ultimate battle of good and evil”? The figures involved in such a battle would be the God who created the universe and the angel he created who rebelled against God. People often imagine a battle between God and Satan as though the two sides were equal, like two cowboys having a gunfight in the unpaved streets of a western movie. But God is infinite. Satan is not. Compared to God, Satan is infinitely small. This is not a contest. This is God allowing Satan to mount an attack, and the attack will end the instant God chooses to end it. Satan will fire at God with all that he has. And God will blow on him like a dandelion–and the war will be over.

“The Lord Jesus will destroy him with the breath of his mouth and will bring him to nothingness with the brightness of his coming” 2 Thessalonians 2:8.

Are you under attack? Do you feel like the evils you face are too much for you? They are not too much for God! Ask him to blow on your circumstances. The wind of his breath is enough to right every wrong in your life!

ΑΩ

Consumables. Deuteronomy 29:5.

As a teen, I often had the soles of my boots repaired. For ten dollars, I could have the hole in a leather boot repaired and wear the boots until I outgrew them. Today having boots repaired has become almost as expensive as buying a new pair. For one pair that I loved, I simply duct-taped them and kept wearing them around the farm. They looked ridiculous, but I saved a lot of money.

Have you seen SHARK TANK? One of the things investors like to see is a business that produces “consumables.” A consumable is a product that is used up and quickly replaced. For example, a glucometer may last a few years, but a person with diabetes may use three or four “consumable” test strips every day. The construction business uses consumables like drill bits, nails, grinding wheels, gloves, goggles, hoses, rags, and more. There are consumables in every industry.

When God delivered the children of Israel from slavery in Egypt, they rushed into the wilderness with unleavened bread, a food supply “on the hoof,” and the portable household goods of a people on the run. Unlike some American pioneers, no one leaving Egypt put a piano or a china cabinet in the wagon. Everything was small and portable. Nearly everything was a consumable. How long would the journey take? A month? Three months?

The people of Israel may have been hoping for a quick trip, but it was not to be. The older generation refused to march into the Promised Land and God punished them by letting them wander in the wilderness for forty years.

Where would they get food? How would they live? What about all their stuff? Their clothes would wear out. Their shoes would come apart. But God took care of them. Not only did he provide food through the miracle of manna (Exodus 16:31; Psalm 78:24) but he miraculously made their clothes and shoes last for forty years! Moses reports the history:

“I took you through the wilderness for forty years and through all that time the clothes on your backs didn’t wear out, the sandals on your feet didn’t wear out, and you lived well without bread and wine and beer, proving to you that I am in fact God, your God” Deuteronomy 29:5-6 (MSG).

God blessed the clothes and shoes of his people. Nothing wore out.* Can you imagine that? My kids laugh when I pull out a shirt and tell them it is older than they are. But a shirt like that may have hung untouched in the closet for ten years. The Israelites would not have owned a dozen changes of clothes—and what they wore, they wore often. Yet nothing wore out. Only the food was a consumable, and considering the miracle of manna, God made sure the food supply never ran out either.

Do these miracles of God’s provision have anything to do with us? Yes! God can bless your stuff! Pray for your car to last. Pray for your house not to need a new roof. Pray for your shoes and your clothes to not wear out quickly. Does the thought of praying for your shoes sound silly? It was not silly to God. He knew his people needed shoes and clothing and he miraculously made those things last through years and years of rough use in the unforgiving desert. He can do the same for you.

God, show us how to pray about “stuff” and help us to be less wasteful consumers.

ΑΩ
* Not only did God miraculously preserve the clothes and sandals of a million Hebrew power-walkers, but he also preserved the aging body of Moses. Moses was eighty years old when the nation left Egypt. Forty years later they would enter the Promised Land and Moses would go to heaven after taking a peek from a mountaintop in the land of Moab. “And Moses was an hundred and twenty years old when he died. His eye was not dim, nor his natural force abated” Deuteronomy 34:7. Isn’t that amazing? The same God who made sandals last forty years also made the eyes of Moses last 120 years and his energy level remained high. God can do the same for you! Why not pray about it? God may say yes, or he may say no. But the Bible says “you do not have because you do not ask” James 4:2. JUST ASK!

LIFE IS FAIR, BUT LIFE IS NOT FAIR ALWAYS. 2 Thessalonians 1:6-8.

As a little junior philosopher, I looked up at my parents and said, “I think maybe everyone suffers the same amount in life, but it comes at different times—but in the end, it all evens out.”

My parents were outraged. “That’s the most ridiculous thing I’ve ever heard,” my dad said. “What about people born blind? Or children who have to use a wheelchair their whole lives? What about people who are mentally handicapped?” I looked at my mother. She agreed. “Life is not fair,” she said.

My mother would repeat that to me hundreds of times, because I could not accept it. I would come to her upset about my latest tragedy, and wail: “But it’s not fair!”

“Of course. I keep telling you, life is not fair!” She said that every day. Deep down, I believed her. How could I not? She had lost both her parents in childhood. I knew her young years were so much harder than mine. Life had not been fair to her.

Nevertheless, we try to make things as fair as possible. Parents, teachers, coaches, and managers try to be fair. We try to treat everyone equally and to provide justice to those who have a grievance. Our criminal and civil courts provide the complicated machinery of a formal justice system, balancing the scales for people in many ways.

The Bible teaches one thing the whole world believes in: the “fairness” of sowing and reaping: “You reap what you sow” Galatians 6:7. If you plant good seeds, you will harvest good plants. If a Texan plants winter rye and waters it in, he will be admiring his beautiful green fields all winter long. If you study more, your grades will improve. If you practice free throws for an hour a day, you will become a better free-throw shooter. If you lift weight, you will become stronger. By the same token, if you study less, you will do poorly. If you fail to practice, you will not play well. If you stop lifting weight, your muscles will not grow stronger.

Everyone understands the principle: life rewards effort and punishes laziness. Life is FAIR—in that way.

Until it isn’t.

What if you work out every day, then suffer an injury that ruins your athletic dreams? How is that fair? Every day unfair things happen—people are diagnosed with cancer. Spouses die. Hopeful parents suffer a miscarriage. Economic problems that began around the world in some other industry cause hard-working people to lose their jobs. These things and a thousand more are unfair.

As children, we are born with a passion for fairness and justice. And yet that passion is constantly frustrated. To make matters worse, the Bible actually seems to promise fairness. Not only is the principle of sowing and reaping repeated over and over. But God himself promises justice, both in dramatic Old Testament passages like Deuteronomy chapter 28, and again in the New Testament. Consider this:

“It is righteous for God to repay with affliction those who afflict you, and to reward with rest you who are afflicted” 2 Thessalonians 1:6-7.

That sounds fair: God should punish those who persecute his children and reward those who bless his children. But does he? God-fearing martyrs have been dying for their faith for 2,000 years. FOXE’S BOOK OF MARTYRS is filled with their stories. God’s people have been burned at the stake, sawn in two, fed to lions, and more, as Hebrews 11:38 says, these are “men of whom the world was not worthy.” And the suffering continues. Even today, the Voice of the Martyrs has a website* documenting the stories of thousands of Christians being persecuted around the world every day simply because they believe in Jesus. How is that fair? Why doesn’t God “repay with affliction those who afflict them, and reward with rest those who are afflicted”? It is not fair.

But Paul has more to say:

“It is righteous for God to repay with affliction those who afflict you, and to reward with rest you who are afflicted … This will take place at the revelation of the Lord Jesus from heaven with his powerful angels, taking vengeance with flaming fire on those who don’t know God and on those who don’t obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus” 2 Thessalonians 1:6-8.

By reading one additional verse, we discover that God is fair. Life is fair—or it is fair when you consider heaven. Things that seem unfair in this life will be balanced out in eternity. Those who are persecuted for their faith will be rewarded, but they will be rewarded in eternity. The persecutors will be punished, but they will be punished in eternity. So life is fair, but it is not fair at all times, in each individual moment. Life is not fair always.

What seems a cosmic injustice on earth will be made right in heaven. In fact, the Bible says your sufferings on earth will seem too minor to even be compared with the reward that you will receive in heaven.

“The sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which will be revealed in us” Romans 8:18.

God, thank you for your justice. Thank you that usually we reap what we sow and things are mostly fair. But when life on earth is unfair to us, remind us of the joys to come in heaven, where everything will be made right. We love you.

ΑΩ

*See https://www.persecution.com/

THE REASON YOU CAN FEAR NOT. Deuteronomy 20:1-4.

Young soldiers marching off to war for the first time are often more excited than fearful. When wars begin, soldiers kiss their sweethearts and board trains, excited about the chance to see the world, have adventures, and win glory. Sure, some won’t come back. But you never believe it will be you. Every young man is convinced he is invincible.

What happens next is interesting. Audie Murphy, America’s most-decorated soldier of WWII, describes the scene in his book, TO HELL AND BACK: Soldiers getting off the trains find themselves marching toward the front line and passing other soldiers who are retreating from the front line to take a much-needed break. One group is clean, fresh, and smiling, wearing pressed uniforms, with full stomachs and close shaves. The other group is dragging along, dirty and wet, too tired to smile, with unkempt hair, unshaven faces, and one or two have arms in slings or other injuries not serious enough to earn them a ride. As the two groups pass, the one is thrilled with excitement and adrenalin and has no idea what to expect. The other side has seen battle. The thrill is gone, but they know they can’t explain it. Each man must experience it for himself.

Is there fear on day one? Perhaps. But the real fear sets in the morning before a soldier’s SECOND battle. The first battle is fast and furious. But once you have time to reflect, you remember the injuries. The noise. How fast it all happened. The close calls. The medical teams. The horror. The blood and broken bodies. The screams. And you begin to feel less invincible. Yes, it can happen to you. Of course it can.

Before the Allies invaded Normandy, France on D-Day, General Eisenhower was told the paratroopers alone would face a casualty rate of 75 percent. Three out of four would be killed. Historians estimate there were 4,414 Allied deaths on the single day of June 6, 1944, including 2,501 Americans. “But they also know that the list isn’t complete and the project to count the dead continues.”[1]  (They still have not totaled-up the dead?!)

The Bible tells us to “fear not” Deuteronomy 20:3.

Seriously? “Fear not?” How am I supposed to “fear not” after what I have been through? As if I could snap my fingers and make fear go away? Have you ever been so terrified your teeth began to chatter? I have. I can’t remember why, but it must have been something! And I am supposed to simply blink and “fear not” and it will all go away?

The Question is:

HOW DO I “FEAR NOT”?

“When you go to war against your enemies and see horses, chariots, and an army larger than yours, do not be afraid of them, for the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt is with you … Do not be cowardly. Fear not. Do not be alarmed or terrified because of them. For the Lord your God is the One who goes with you to fight for you against your enemies to give you victory” Deuteronomy 20:1-4.

HOW DO I FEAR NOT?

I REMEMBER THAT THE LORD IS WITH ME.

“Do not be afraid for the Lord your God [who proved himself when he rescued you from Egypt] is with you!” Deuteronomy 20:1.

“Do not be terrified … for the Lord your God … goes with you to fight for you!” Deuteronomy 20:3-4.

Remember that: you can “fear not” because the God who created the universe is WITH YOU! Isn’t that incredible? One of his names is Jehovah Shammah, the One Who is Standing Near, Ezekiel 48:35.

Thank you, God, that no matter what fear we face, you are with us. Help those of us who struggle with worry, anxiety, and dread. Remind us that you are with us when we struggle with fear of things we imagine, things that could happen, but might not, and things we have been through before that we worry about even though we should not. Remind us that YOU ARE WITH US.

ΑΩ

[1] https://www.history.com/news/d-day-7-surprising-facts

The Big Tent. Acts 11:18.

Peter opened the door to his house and immediately felt tension in the room. His guests were not happy. He dropped his bag, kissed his wife, and began to greet the men who had gathered to see him. He hugged them, kissed their cheeks in ceremony, and sensed their cold, stiff anger. He knew what this was about. But they were going to spell it out anyway:

“You visited uncircumcised Romans!” one yelled.

“And you ate a meal in the man’s house!” another added. “A centurion, no less!”

Peter tried to answer, but the Jewish followers of the Way went on and on. Peter knew every man by name. They all worshipped Jesus, the long-awaited Messiah. But they were convinced Peter had lost his mind. In his zeal to share the gospel, he had crossed the line, not merely entering the home of an uncircumcised gentile—which is bad enough—but Peter had actually sat down and eaten the man’s food! What Jewish man would do such a thing?

Peter held up his hands and the crowd finally stopped shouting accusations. As they calmed down, he took a seat to tell them a story.

“Gentlemen. Recently I was in the town of Joppa. I had a quiet room by the sea in the home of Simon the Tanner. I was there praying one afternoon, when I saw a vision. I was outdoors and a huge sheet was coming down from the sky. As it came toward me, I could see animals standing around like sheep in a field. The sheet came to rest on the ground and it was covered in vermin and varmints. There were lizards and iguanas and camels and badgers and foxes and wolves and turtles. There were meat-eating birds, eagles, hawks, and vultures. Carrion birds and scavengers and every unclean pest you can imagine. Right in front of me, so close I could reach out and touch it, was a fat black and white hog, the biggest swine I’ve ever seen. The beast had tusks on either side of his face like a pair of spears.” Peter paused for a moment to let the image sink in. He waited.

“What did you do?” one man asked.

“Nothing. But then I heard a voice. A command. ‘Get up, Peter. Kill, and eat.’ Peter spoke slowly.

“I said, ‘No, Lord! For nothing common or ritually unclean has ever entered my mouth!’ I was horrified. As I know any of you would be. But then the voice spoke a second time. ‘What God has made clean, no longer consider unclean.’”

Peter paused again. Waiting. Finally someone spoke, prompting him for more.

“And then what happened?

Peter looked around the room at each of the men. “Then it happened a second time. The Lord said, ‘Kill and eat,’ and I objected, and he said, ‘What God has made clean, no longer consider unclean.’ And you know what? It happened a third time.” Peter spoke enthusiastically. “THREE TIMES God told me to ‘kill and eat,’ and three times he repeated, ‘What God has made clean no longer consider unclean!’ After the third time, the sheet and all the animals were drawn back up into heaven, and the vision ended.”

“And then, before I could even catch my breath, there came a knock at the door. Three men arrived at the house and suddenly the Holy Spirit told me to go with them without asking any questions or having any doubts. I answered the door, and they told me that a Centurion, a man named Cornelius, had been told by an angel to send to Joppa to find Peter who is also called Simon. I told them I was Peter, and they said the angel told Cornelius that I had a message for him. So I invited the men to spend the night and we set out early the next morning for Caesarea.”

“When we got to the house of Cornelius, the centurion fell at my feet as if to worship me. I stood him up and assured him I was a man, same as he. And then I raised with him the same issue you raise with me now: I said, ‘You know it’s forbidden for a Jewish man to associate with or visit a foreigner.” Peter paused, eyeing his guests to be sure they were following his point. Then he went on.

“But God has shown me that I must not call any person common or unclean. That’s why I came without objection when I was sent for. So now I ask: ‘Why did you send for me?’”

Peter looked at everyone in the room. He lowered his voice to a whisper. “And this is where the story gets crazy.” Peter grinned.

“Cornelius had been praying four days earlier and a man in a dazzling robe stood in front of him. An angel. The angel said, ‘Cornelius, your prayers have been answered. Send someone to Joppa to the seaside home of Simon the Tanner. Ask for Peter, who is also called Simon.’ So Cornelius looks at me and says, ‘here we are. I have gathered all my family and friends to hear what you have to say.’”

Peter looked around the room. There were so many important leaders of the faith. Peter’s wife was there. His children.

“What could I say? What could I do? God sent me the vision. The angel told them to send for me by name. I was astounded. I looked at Cornelius and said the only thing I could say: “Now I really understand that God doesn’t show favoritism.”

“That was it. Jewish. Gentile. Roman, even? God sent me to the home of this Roman centurion to talk about Jesus, the Messiah. So I told them the whole story of the gospel. And you know what? I never even finished. I talked about the crucifixion and resurrection and while I was still talking, the Holy Spirit came down on the whole house, and suddenly we heard Cornelius and all his family and friends speaking in other languages and declaring the greatness of God. And not only did I hear it, but the six believers with me heard it. After that, what more could I do, but have the new converts baptized in the name of Jesus Christ.”

Peter stopped speaking abruptly. He was overcome. He had seen God perform an amazing act of grace. God had opened the tent to welcome the Gentiles. This new faith, faith in Jesus, was a BIG TENT.

“Whosoever will may come” Revelation 22:17. Anyone can be saved! Everyone can be saved! People talk about a “Big Tent.” Christianity is a BIG TENT. Everyone is welcome! Everyone!

What God cleansed, no longer consider unclean.

Peter was excited. But what would Peter’s friends say? The room was silent. These men were devout, deeply committed to the belief that believers in Christ must be circumcised and follow the law of Moses.

The room was silent for a beat…

“When they heard this, they became silent. Then they glorified God, saying, ‘So God has granted repentance resulting in life even to the Gentiles!” Acts 11:18.

Indeed he has, Peter thought.

“God has granted repentance resulting in life even to the Gentiles.”

God, thank you for the BIG TENT of our faith. Show us how to love people from other cultures. Help us to welcome them into your kingdom!

ΑΩ

PROUD TO BE IGNORANT. Acts 7:22.

Have you noticed the way some Christians are proud to be uneducated? Preachers will say things like “well, I’m just a poor country preacher, but …” and you can tell they wear that badge with pride. Pride in your own ignorance is a classic example of anti-intellectualism, and it has deep roots in the American church.

We Americans have always taken pride in our common-sense and homespun wisdom. Perhaps it began with colonists who refused to be impressed by the English with their education and culture, then continued with frontiersmen and westerners who refused to kowtow to those from the finer schools “back East.” Being a Native Texan I absolutely get that. When it comes to on-screen manliness, the tough cowboy who can barely spell his name beats the absent-minded professor every time. But we don’t live on a movie screen; in the real world the balance of power is decidedly different.

Most Americans have a sort-of average education. Most of us completed high school and college but were not really paying attention. We may not remember much, but we are familiar with the broad strokes. We cannot perform calculus, but we remember the struggle to survive a difficult math class. We cannot name three works by Shakespeare, but we recognize the man’s portrait when we see it.

But what if you lacked even that? What if, instead of classes that you ignored and then forgot as quickly as possible, you had NO education?

My grandfather is a case in point. In 1905, Willie Wales, the oldest of what would become ten children, quit school at 8 years old to earn cash money driving mules out of the forest loaded with virgin timber. Paw Paw, as my generation called him, was a smart man with no education. When he was in his sixties, his bosses at the ESSO refinery in Baton Rouge told a reporter that old Willie was “able to cope with any situation, no matter how critical. He has a level head and a practical manner, and … is one of our most valuable employees.”

Willie may have had a level head and a practical manner, and he was certainly good in a crisis. But he was keenly aware that he had not completed his education. He read the newspaper and the Bible and was by no means illiterate. But he refused to teach Sunday school to even the smallest children, concerned that he would be handicapped by his lack of education. I think he simply believed there were so many others who WERE educated, that the children would be better off learning Bible stories from them.

Unwilling to teach, Paw Paw served the Lord by visiting those in the hospital. He was such a faithful visitor, the preacher joked that when he got a telephone call about a church member in the hospital, he would arrive only to find “Mr. Willie” had already been there.

I am proud of my grandfather’s faithfulness, and of his willingness to serve the Lord in whatever manner he could as an uneducated man. But I also know that he was painfully aware of the loss.

An education means something—and no one knows that like those who must do without. An education provides tools: tools with which to THINK, to REASON, to DEBATE, to DRAW CONCLUSIONS. Education will help you understand the Bible. Education will help you persuade others that the Bible is true. Education will help you dissect fact from fiction and truth from lies. Education is one of the most powerful tools we have. And yet many of us paid as little attention as possible in school, even in college. Others worked hard, but do not see much value in education, not our own, nor that possessed by others.

Where do you think Jesus stands on the subject? When it comes to education, WWJD: What Would Jesus Do? What does God have for you and me?

Would God prefer servants who are educated or servants who are not educated?

Consider these examples.

“Moses was educated in all the learning of the Egyptians, and he was a man of power in words and deeds” Acts 7:22.

Moses had all the advantages of Egyptian learning and Hebrew learning. Can you imagine ways in which God might have used this broad and deep education in the life of Moses?

Young Daniel and his three friends, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, arrived in Babylonian captivity “skillful in all wisdom and endowed with knowledge, understanding, and competence to stand in the king’s palace.” The four were already educated, and then were chosen to be part of a group of young Hebrews that would be educated for an additional three years (sounds like law school), so they might learn “the literature and language of the Babylonians” Daniel 1:3-5. God blessed the education of these four: “God gave these four young men knowledge and understanding in every kind of literature and wisdom” Daniel 1:17.

What about the Apostle Paul? His was an excellent education.

“I am a Jew, born in Tarsus of Cilicia, but raised in this city, educated under Gamaliel, strictly according to the law of our fathers” Acts 22:3.

Researchers believe Paul’s training began when Paul was fifteen and lasted EIGHTEEN years. Gamaliel was a leader among teachers (Acts 5:34) and Paul soon became a rising star among the Pharisees “I was advancing in Judaism beyond many of my own age” Galatians 1:14. Not only is Paul well educated in the scripture, but he knows the literature and cultures around him, quoting pagan and secular writers in Acts 17:28 and in Titus 1:12.

Finally, consider Ezra, whom the Bible repeatedly refers to as an “expert in the law” Ezra 7:21. Ezra was a scribe, which some describe as a PhD in the law of Moses. According to tradition, Ezra had memorized the entire law of Moses and could write it down from memory.

In fact, some historians believe that at the time of Jesus ALL Jewish children were expected to memorize the Torah by age 12. In other words, ALL Jewish children memorized Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy before age 12. That is five books, or 187 chapters, or 5,852 verses. Can you imagine? (No wonder the Jewish people to this day are an academic force to be reckoned with.)

Imagine this: you are excited about your Bar Mitzvah, the invitations have gone out, you are looking forward to the party and the gifts you will receive, but Mom reminds you, “You still have to memorize the last four chapters of Deuteronomy!”

Think about that. Everyone named above—Moses, Daniel and his friends, the Apostle Paul, Ezra, Jesus and the disciples—and EVERYONE ELSE that was raised Jewish in those days—memorized GENESIS, EXODUS, LEVITICUS, NUMBERS, and DEUTERONOMY. Well, let me make one correction. Moses did not memorize the five books of the Torah. Moses WROTE them. Everyone else memorized them.*

And most of us have not even read all five books.

God, help us appreciate the education you have provided for us. Show us how to strengthen our own education in areas that may be weak. Give us a deep appreciation for the Bible and help us become true scholars of the scriptures. May you be glorified by our minds!

ΑΩ

* P.S. A man I grew up with is now a rabbi in Jerusalem. Ross told me he is not convinced that all children memorized the Torah, “but the elites certainly did. In fact, many memorized the entire Hebrew Bible, and vast portions of the Talmud as well.” Memorized the entire Hebrew Bible? The Hebrew Bible is numbered and arranged differently than the Protestant Old Testament, but is essentially the same 39 books. And my rabbi friend reports that many of the most accomplished rabbis memorized the entire Hebrew Bible–the complete OLD TESTAMENT–and would then begin memorizing the rabbinic writings of the Talmud. Wow.