An Unbelievable Offer!

1 Kings 3. It is one of those stories that is almost proverbial. Even many non-church-goers would be able to give at least a skeleton outline of the events. God gives Solomon a genie-in-a-bottle-like dream come true: “Ask what you wish me to give you” (v.5). What an offer! And this is no genie in a bottle! This is the Creator and sustainer of the universe making the offer! Now, amazingly, we find that Solomon – with such a no-strings-attached kind of offer on the table – does something remarkable: he does not ask for riches, or for fame, or for long life … but for wisdom to govern God’s people. Would that we all prayed like that! What a delightful example Solomon has set for us all! And how good of God to answer his prayer!

Now most of us begin and end our thinking about this vignette with admiration for, and the desire to be like Solomon in our praying – not inappropriate reactions by any means. But I want to show you that there is something much more amazing, much more heart-warming than Solomon’s selfless prayer in 1 Kings 3. Read the few verses that lead up to God’s unbelievable offer (1 Kings 3.3-5 – emphasis mine):

“Now Solomon loved the LORD, walking in the statutes of his father David, except he sacrificed and burned incense on the high places. The king went to Gibeon to sacrifice there, for that was the great high place; Solomon offered a thousand burnt offerings on that altar. In Gibeon the LORD appeared to Solomon in a dream at night; and God said, ‘Ask what you wish me to give you.’”

Solomon had one big sin problem – “he sacrificed and burned incense on the high places”, which was strictly forbidden by God. I say it was a big sin problem because, as we read, he didn’t do it occasionally, or half-heartedly. No, we read that in the high place “Gibeon … Solomon offered a thousand burnt offerings.” Let’s put Solomon’s sin problem into a modern metaphor. If the problem had been drinking, people would have said: ‘Oh no. Solomon is not a social drinker, he’s a real drunk.’ That is how committed Solomon was to his sin habit. He offered a thousand offerings on this one forbidden altar! Though he tried to mix them up with worship of the one true God, Solomon was intoxicated with the idolatrous rituals of the pagan nations around him.

So Solomon would go up to his favorite pagan shrine, the one in Gibeon, and do his thing. And well we might expect the LORD to meet him there – maybe with the same sword that quivered over Balaam and his donkey; perhaps with the angel of death that passed through the land of Egypt in times of old; perhaps at least with the promise of dysfunction which overtook his father after the affair with Bathsheba. O yes, after what Solomon has been doing, we certainly might expect God to meet him in Gibeon! And this God does … but not with a scourge! “In Gibeon the LORD appeared to Solomon in a dream at night; and God said, ‘Ask what you wish me to give you.’”

Wow! Just when we expect God to drop the gavel on Solomon … He grants him the greatest blessing of his life! And I am reminded that, in Christ, this is exactly how God has dealt with us. Before I knew Jesus, I was certainly dabbling in my own ‘high places’ – my own selfish pursuits and sinful desires. And it couldn’t even be said of me (as it was of Solomon) that I “loved the Lord.” So, somewhere along the line, it was inevitable that God would meet me, and have a few words with me. But, to the surprise of anyone who understands God’s justice, He didn’t meet me with a sword in his hand, but a nail-print; He didn’t meet me with a scourge, but with scourge marks on His back; He didn’t meet me with a death knell, but with an offer more unbelievable than the one He gave Solomon: “Whoever will call on the name of the Lord will be saved” (Romans 10.13).

It seems counter-intuitive – that God would meet us with blessings “in Gibeon.” The world calls it foolishness. But the Bible calls it “the wisdom of God” (1 Corinthians 1.21). And, even better than possessing the wisdom of Solomon, is knowing and trusting the wisdom of God in Jesus!

Introducing...

Silas ... Donovan ... Strassner
8lbs. 12 oz.
Born at 2:40pm, April 23

What Manner of Man is this?

The following is an evangelistic article I wrote last year some time and never published. I post it now because:

1. It might be helpful to some of you readers in organizing your thoughts...and praising the Savior.
2. You might want to bookmark it as a brief something you could send to friends who are asking questions about God and Christ.
3. Anthony is preaching on a similar theme at PRBC this weekend, and I thought this brief article might serve as a little appetizer to whet our appetites for the meal he is preparing.

A great teacher? Founder of the world’s largest organized religion? Prophet? Humanitarian? All of these descriptions have been attached to Jesus Christ of Nazareth through the years. And none of them without warrant. For Jesus did teach like no one ever taught. Millions of people world-wide do claim Him as the founder of their faith. And Jesus did care for humanity with a power and a compassion unparalleled in history. But none of these man-made descriptions fully captures the essence of the true man, Jesus.

So who, really, is Jesus? Let’s let Him answer the question Himself.

Jesus claimed to be God Himself. He took on prerogatives that belong only to God Himself (e.g. forgiving sins, Mark 2.5). He claimed to be one with God, the Father (John 10.30). He commended the apostle Thomas for calling Him “My Lord and my God” (John 20.28). And He was constantly referring to Himself by God’s personal name, “I AM” (John 4.26, 8.58, 18.6, etc.). Jesus was fully God. And yet…

Jesus also claimed to be fully human. Jesus slept, ate, drank, wept, and bled. There is no question that He was (and is) a real live man. Even after His resurrection, He made it clear that He was flesh and blood, just like us: “See My hands and feet…touch Me and see Me, for a spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see” (Luke 24.39). Jesus was fully man.

Now, how can a person be fully God and be, at the same time, a human being? The question is beyond full comprehension. But we get some clear insight when we read about the virgin birth of Jesus (Luke 1-2). Jesus was conceived by the Holy Spirit (and thus is fully God), and yet was born of Mary, a Jewish woman (and thus is fully human).

And why are these things important—and why is Jesus Himself so important? Because…

Jesus claimed to be the only hope for man’s salvation. He claimed that no one (no one!) can know God unless they come to God through Him (John 14.6)! Why? Because all of us are sinners—intentionally ignorant of God and rejecting the knowledge of Him that is obvious in the created world (Romans 1.20-21). God made us, loves, us, cares for us, and has made Himself plain to us. But we have been traitors.

Yet Christ came to bring sinners back to right relationship with God; to give His life as a ransom payment, absorbing the punishment that we deserve for our treason against God (Mark 10.45); and thus, to grant us eternal life (John 3.16) in place of the judgment we deserve. But to do so, He had to be the one and only God-man!

Being fully God, and having no sins of His own for which to die (Hebrews 4.15), Jesus was, therefore, spiritually capable to die for ours. And being fully human, Jesus was physically capable of entering into the physical, human death that our human sins deserve.

There have been numerous religious characters to come on the stage of the world—each of them claiming to have the solution for bring man together with ‘god.’ But no other character on the pages of human history ever even so much as claimed to be capable of dealing with the problem of mankind’s guilt. No one ever claimed to be able, single-handedly, to make man right with God. But Jesus Christ, fully God and fully man, not only claimed the ability, but demonstrated the willingness to do so by laying down His life on the cross. “For Christ died for sins once for all, the just for the unjust, so that he might bring us to God” (1 Peter 3.18).

Amazing claims! And Jesus not only made them, but proved them by raising Himself from the dead! Here is a life worthy of our consideration…and, more than that, our admiration and adoration!

Pastor's Training Institute - Ethiopia

PTI round 5 is quickly approaching - one month from this coming Monday. So I thought I'd post a brief reminder to be praying for myself, Anthony, and a few other men from his church as we travel May 21-30. I will be doing the majority of the teaching - first from from Genesis 1-11, and then from the book of Hebrews. Do pray for the Lord's help as we train 60+ men to take the everlasting gospel of Jesus to the unreached villages and towns of Ethiopia:

• For the message prep that still needs to be completed
• For the eagerness and openness of the trainees
• For adequate rest (jet-lag, long teaching hours, late night talks, etc.)
• For logistics (our travel, the trainees' travel, expenses, etc.)
• For Anthony, who returns 'home' with all sorts of new and unforeseen emotions, needs, and tasks
  
• For our walks with the Lord (Anthony, myself, plus Frank, Jamie, and Joseph who are going to be helping Anthony pack his belongings to bring back
  
• For long-term fruit - that many new and faithful Ethiopian churches might be birthed as a result of PTI

Thank you so much. Stay tuned for updates - pre, mid, and post-trip (theological pun intended). I lean toward post.


NOTICE:
If you are interested in sponsoring a pastor (or two, or ten) ... you can send a check to:

Christ Community Church
P.O. Box 795
New Albany, MS 38652

Earmark the check for PTI ETHIOPIA. After the men and their churches cover 25% of the expense, it costs roughly $40.00 to feed , transport, and house each trainee throughout the sessions. I think we are still in need of about $1000.00 (sponsorship of 25 men). Thank you, as always, for your generosity.

An Update from YFZ

Here is the latest from Texas Child Protection Services spokesperson Marleigh Meisner. My emphasis added:

"I believe we have ... children who are victims of physical abuse, and I think we have children who are victims of sexual abuse. I think we also have children who were at risk because of the environment they were in -- that they could be potential victims or they certainly could be witnessing abuse or neglect. And I believe and our department believes that this was not a safe environment for these children."

Again, without at all defending the FLDS, that seems like a lot of maybes. 416 children were taken from their mothers because Marleigh Meisner and her staff think and believe that the children could be in an unsafe environment. And the kids are gone. Who gets to decide this stuff? And again, what if the leaders of Child Protective Services in your state decide that Bible-believing Christian homes also aren't a "safe environment"?

O, let us pray that this turns out well.