Che

Recently, I finished a 730 page biography about Ernesto “Che” Guevara (1928-1967) in order to gain a better understanding of the Latin American landscape of the last fifty years. Che was an Argentinean Marxist who was instrumental in Fidel Castro’s seizure of Cuba in the late 1950s. His desire was to liberate the poor people of the Americas from their rich oppressors, and he sought to accomplish this purpose through violence. In a letter to his mother, Che explained in unmistakable terms that he despised Christianity and its founder: “I am not Christ or a philanthropist, old lady. I am all of the contrary of a Christ.”

I strongly disagree with virtually every aspect of Che’s philosophy. However, it is clear from a study of his life that he was a principled man in that he was wholeheartedly devoted to his cause. Che explained on multiple occasions that he was willing to give his life for his cause, and ultimately he did just that.

How sad that Che was willing to sacrifice everything for a false and destructive cause, yet many believers are unwilling to give themselves fully to Christ even though His cause is perfectly just and true. May we reject the shallow half-heartedness of nominal Christianity and devote ourselves fully, and irrevocably to the Lord Jesus so that we might effectively build His kingdom through evangelism and discipleship!

But Jesus said to him, "No one, after putting his hand to the plow and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God." (Luke 9:62)

If anyone serves Me, he must follow Me; and where I am, there My servant will be also; if anyone serves Me, the Father will honor him. (John 12:26)

Lessons from Mary's Anointing of Jesus

7:36 Now one of the Pharisees was requesting Him to dine with him, and He entered the Pharisee's house and reclined at the table. 7:37 And there was a woman in the city who was a sinner; and when she learned that He was reclining at the table in the Pharisee's house, she brought an alabaster vial of perfume,             

7:38 and standing behind Him at His feet, weeping, she began to wet His feet with her tears, and kept wiping them with the hair of her head, and kissing His feet and anointing them with the perfume.  (Lucas 7:36-38)

The week before Jesus’ crucifixion, He spent time in Bethany, a village near Jerusalem. At a supper honoring Him, He and the disciples feasted on a home-cooked meal. Present at the banquet was Lazarus, the man who Jesus had raised from the dead (John 11:43-44).

As Jesus reclined at the table, a woman anointed Jesus’ head with an expensive perfume that cost the equivalent of what a working man would earn in a year (Matt. 26:7; John 12:6). John 11:2 identifies the woman as Mary, the sister of Lazarus. Mary had been a prostitute (Luke 7:37), but she made a break with her past in order to follow Jesus. We can learn several things from her touching act:

1. Even though someone has a checkered past, Jesus offers forgiveness

And He said to the woman, “Your faith has saved you; go in peace” (Luke 7:50).

2. To follow Jesus, we must make a break with the wickedness of our past

Mary used her expensive perfume in her profession as a prostitute, and most likely she had purchased it with the earnings from her less than honorable profession. By pouring all of the perfume on Jesus’ head, essentially she was declaring that she would never return to her previous lifestyle. To follow Jesus, we must purpose to burn the bridges to our sinful past with no intention of never returning.

3. Jesus is worthy of our best

The most expensive item that Mary owned was her perfume. By pouring it on Jesus’ head, she declared that He was worthy of the best that she had to offer. Jesus is worthy of our very best as well, which means that we cannot half-heartedly follow Him if we seek to please Him. Following Jesus is an “all or nothing” proposition.

Mary’s story is so powerful that God chose to preserve her act of adoration in all four of the Gospel accounts. Jesus truly is worthy of our worship as well as our complete devotion!

Misplaced Trust

In 1 Samuel 4:1-2, Israel’s army suffered a devastating blow. When they faced Philistia, their most dangerous enemy, the Philistines killed 4,000 Israelites on the battlefield. The massacre caused the nation to search for some means to secure a quick victory. Then they remembered that in an earlier generation their ancestors marched the Ark of the Covenant around Jericho, causing the walls of the city to come tumbling down.

The Israelites brought the Ark into battle, confident that they could not lose. Surprisingly, however, this time they lost 30,000 soldiers (4:10). How could it be that they suffered greater losses with the Ark than without it? The reason is simple: They trusted in the Ark of the Covenant for deliverance rather than God. Furthermore, they were more interested in what God could do for them rather than honoring Him as their worthy King.

Any time that we allow religion, tradition, status, economic stability or anything else to substitute for trusting in Jesus Christ for all of our needs, we get into trouble. He is sufficient!

91:1 He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High
         Will abide in the shadow of the Almighty.
91:2 I will say to the LORD, "My refuge and my fortress,
         My God, in whom I trust!"
 91:3 For it is He who delivers you from the snare of the trapper
         And from the deadly pestilence.
 91:4 He will cover you with His pinions,
         And under His wings you may seek refuge;
         His faithfulness is a shield and bulwark. (Psalm 91:1-4)

A Note on the Length of Days in Genesis 1

God saw all that He had made, and behold, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day. (Genesis 1:31)

According to Genesis 1-2, God created the heavens and the earth in six days, ceasing from His activities on the seventh day. For the last few centuries, scholars have debated the meaning of the word “day” in the first few chapters of Genesis. Does “day” refer to a literal, 24 hour period, or perhaps a symbolic allusion to lengthy epochs of time? 

Below is a list of the five most common views of the meaning of the term “day”:

1) Literal Approach: Genesis 1 is treated as sequential and literal, twenty-four hour days

2) Day-Age Approach: Genesis 1 is understood as taking place over six eras. Each day of creation is an epoch of time.

3) Literary Approach: Genesis 1 refers not to time at all, but rather is a literary structure that is oriented toward sabbath theology.

4) Prior Creation Approach: Genesis 1 is a record of a previous created world prior to the one that exists today. This view also is known as the “Gap Theory.”

5) Two-Phase Approach: Genesis 1 and 2 contain two distinct phases of creation, with a long period of time between them.

In order to arrive at the proper conclusion, we must consider the biblical evidence.

 

First, biblical passages outside of the book of Genesis treat the days of creation as 24 hour periods:

20:10 but the seventh day is a sabbath of the LORD your God; in it you shall not do any work, you or your son or your daughter, your male or your female servant or your cattle or your sojourner who stays with you                    

20:11"For in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth, the sea and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh day; therefore the LORD blessed the sabbath day and made it holy. (Exodus 20:10-11) 

"It is a sign between Me and the sons of Israel forever; for in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, but on the seventh day He ceased from labor, and was refreshed." (Exod. 31:17)

Second, the Hebrew word “day” (yom) must be considered: "The Hebrew word yom and its plural form yamim are used over 1900 times in the Old Testament . . . . Outside of the Genesis 1 case in question, the two-hundred plus occurrences of yom preceded by ordinals all refer to a normal twenty-four hour day. Furthermore, the seven-hundred plus appearances of yamim always refer to a regular day. Thus, it is argued that the Exodus 20:11 reference to the six yamim of creation must also refer to six regular days."[1]

Third, one must note the order in which God created matter. On the third day, God created vegetation, but the sun did not come into existence until the fourth day. If each day really is an eon of time, how did plants survive for so long without light and heat?

In conclusion, the Bible supports the view that each day of creation is a literal, 24 hour period. When one realizes that God indeed is all-powerful, His fashioning of the universe in 6 days is no problem!

The heavens are telling of the glory of God; And their expanse is declaring the work of His hands. (Psalm 19:1)

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[1] Walter L. Bradley and Roger Olsen, "The Trustworthiness of Scripture in Areas Relating to Natural Science," in Hermeneutics, Inerrancy and the Bible, ed. Earl D. Radmacher and Robert D. Preuss (Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing House, 1984), 299.

X-Mas?

As you know “X-Mas” has become shorthand for “Christmas.” A common question during the holiday season is whether or not “X-Mas” is an acceptable way to refer to the celebration of Jesus’ birth.

The origin of the term stems from the Greek language. In Greek, “chi” is the name of the first letter in the words “Christ,” and it looks like our English “X.” Hence, “X” is short for Christ and  “X-Mas” originally had no negative connotation.

In recent times, however, the tendency has been for "X-Mas" to be used instead of “Christmas” for two reasons: 1) so as not to offend those who are not Christians; and 2) because those who are antagonistic toward Christ do not want to acknowledge His name. Although "X-Mas" has a harmless origin, I am reluctant to use the term because many have hijacked the terminology in order to employ it in a negative way. For this reason, we would do well to keep Christ in Christmas!