With Christ in the school of prayer, by Andrew Murray, 74

This post continues a series of excerpts from With Christ in the School of Prayer, by Andrew Murray. I thank the Christian Classics Ethereal Library for making this public domain work available. To see their post of the book, go here. The previous post is here. As usual in this blog, long quotations are in this color. In the previous posts, Murray discussed Mark 11:24 (Therefore I tell you, all things whatever you pray and ask for, believe that you have received them, and you shall have them. World English Bible, public domain.) He continued: 

Blessed Lord! Thou didst come from the Father to show us all His love, and all the treasures of blessing that love is waiting to bestow. Lord! Thou hast this day again flung the gates so wide open, and given us such promises as to our liberty in prayer, that we must blush that our poor hearts have so little taken it in. It has been too large for us to believe. Lord! we now look up to Thee to teach us to take and keep and use this precious word of Thine: ‘All things whatsoever ye ask, believe that ye have received.’ Blessed Jesus! it is Thy self in whom our faith must be rooted if it is to grow strong. Thy work has freed us wholly from the power of sin, and opened the way to the Father; Thy Love is ever longing to bring us into the full fellowship of Thy glory and power; Thy Spirit is ever drawing us upward into a life of perfect faith and confidence; we are assured that in Thy teaching we shall learn to pray the prayer of faith. Thou wilt train us to pray so that we believe that we receive, to believe that we really have what we ask. Lord! teach me so to know and trust and love Thee, so to live and abide in Thee, that all my prayers rise up and come before God in Thee, and that my soul may have in Thee the assurance that I am heard. Amen.

Denis Lamoureux on the Bible and ancient science

Denis Lamoureux has written a good book. The title is The Bible & Ancient Science: Principles of Interpretation. (Note that there's an ampersand, not an "and" in the title.) The point, made over and over, by analyzing the original language of the Bible, is that the Bible was written from the standpoint of ancient science.

Lamoureux discusses the statement, by Jesus, that the mustard seed is the smallest seed (it isn't) in Mark 4:30-32. Jesus wasn't teaching botany, nor was He mistaken, or lying. He was speaking to the people of the day, using the knowledge that they had. The message, about the Kingdom, was far more important than the size of the seed.
 

The author also discusses the beliefs of Biblical writers on human reproduction. They thought that a woman was merely a sort of field, where the male implanted something which grew into a child. Infertility was always the "fault" of the woman. The Bible reflects that belief. Again, the Bible isn't a text on human reproduction. It's a text on God's plan of redemption, and false beliefs about peripheral issues are just that, peripheral.

Another item. The Biblical authors thought that the earth was circular and flat, surrounded by water, and that there was a solid firmament above it. But Genesis 1-2 isn't a textbook of astronomy, geology, meteorology or oceanography. It was written from the standpoint of the beliefs of the people of the day, and tells us that God is creator, that the creation was good, that humans sinned and need a Redeemer. There is no firmament, even though the Bible writers thought that there is. The earth is not flat -- careful study of the Hebrew of the Bible, which Lamoureux appears well-qualified to do, shows that the Bible does not teach that the earth is a globe, but describes it as if it was flat.

(The illustration above is not from the book)

Lamoureux, like many others, points out that the apparent sequences of events in Genesis 1 vs. 2 seem to be contradictory. But Genesis 1-2 was not meant to be taken as a literal, step-by-step account (or accounts) of what happened at the beginning, and it isn't that. Does this downgrade the Bible, or the Gospel? No, argues Lamoureux. The first part of Genesis was made to teach eternal truths, namely that one God created, without using stuff from some other entity, that creation was good, and that sin entered the world.

Although he doesn't mention Ken Ham and Answers in Genesis much, the book demonstrates that the AiG thesis, that the earth is only a few thousand years old, is not really based on scripture, in spite of what AiG believes  the Bible says. Lamoureux directly criticizes the writings of Henry Morris, the most important young-earth creationist of the 20th century, for the same reason -- he took Bible passages that were not meant to be taken literally, and not meant to describe the world in terms that we would use now, and took them literally, and as if they describe the world as we now understand it.

There's more serious, and good, thinking and teaching in the book.

I was pleased to be able to read this in Kindle format, using my Kindle Unlimited membership. But the Kindle version's type size was almost too small to read on my 9 inch tablet, and, unlike most books in Kindle format, the type size can't be changed on this one. 

Thanks for reading. Read Lamoureux.

sunspots 821

Things I have recently spotted that may be of interest to someone else:

Christianity: Relevant tells us why Lent matters.

Education: Listverse tells us about three-dimensional shapes.

Politics: Politico describes some case studies of QAnon believers.

Relevant debunks conspiracy theorists who claim that the snow in Texas was fake. (And that Bill Gates was responsible for it.)

Science: The Scientist reports that researchers in four countries have been able to communicate (in both directions) with subjects who are asleep and dreaming.

The Scientist also reports on experiments that show that dogs have awareness of their own bodies. This seems obvious, but isn't really.

DNA from a cave bear, about 360,000 years old, has been recovered, and usable sequence information has been found, according to Gizmodo. The cave was not in permafrost, from which much older DNA has been recovered.

The AP reports that an almost extinct ferret species has been given more potential genetic variety by a clone of an animal dead for a few decades.

The graphic used in these posts is from NASA, hence, it is free to use like this.

Thanks for looking!

With Christ in the school of prayer, by Andrew Murray, 73

This post continues a series of excerpts from With Christ in the School of Prayer, by Andrew Murray. I thank the Christian Classics Ethereal Library for making this public domain work available. To see their post of the book, go here. The previous post is here. As usual in this blog, long quotations are in this color. In the previous posts, Murray discussed Mark 11:24 (Therefore I tell you, all things whatever you pray and ask for, believe that you have received them, and you shall have them. World English Bible, public domain.) He continued: 

And now, remember one thing more: It is Jesus who said this. As we see heaven thus opened to us, and the Father on the Throne offering to give us whatsoever we ask in faith, our hearts feel full of shame that we have so little availed ourselves of our privilege, and full of fear lest our feeble faith still fail to grasp what is so clearly placed within our reach. There is one thing must make us strong and full of hope: it is Jesus who has brought us this message from the Father. He Himself, when He was on earth, lived the life of faith and prayer. It was when the disciples expressed their surprise at what He had done to the fig-tree, that He told them that the very same life He led could be theirs; that they could not only command the fig-tree, but the very mountain, and it must obey. And He is our life: all He was on earth He is in us now; all He teaches He really gives. He is Himself the Author and the Perfecter of our faith: He gives the spirit of faith; let us not be afraid that such faith is not meant for us. It is meant for every child of the Father; it is within reach of each one who will but be childlike, yielding himself to the Father’s Will and Love, trusting the Father’s Word and Power. Dear fellow-Christian! let the thought that this word comes through Jesus, the Son, our Brother, give us courage, and let our answer be: Yea, Blessed Lord, we do believe Thy Word, we do believe that we receive.

What to give up for Lent - complaining

 

What to give up for Lent? (if anything)

Our pastor suggested an idea. It's based on the Bible:

Philippians 2:14 Do all things without complaining and arguing, 15 that you may become blameless and harmless, children of God without defect in the middle of a crooked and perverse generation ...

1 Corinthians 10 has some severe warnings about four things that the Israelites did, and that we ought not to do:

7a Don’t be idolaters ...

8a Let’s not commit sexual immorality ...

9a Let’s not test Christ ...

10a Don’t grumble ...

Jude gives a warning about some dangerous people: 1:16a These are murmurers and complainers, walking after their lusts—and their mouth speaks proud things— ...

So what was her suggestion? Give up complaining for Lent. 

We love to complain, about COVID-19, the weather, politics, having to wait in line for something, how hard it is to get through a phone tree, how many robocalls we get, about what we have (or don't have) to eat, what's on (or not on) TV, you name it. But complaining is dangerous. It puts me, and what I want, first. It questions what God gives us, or what God allows. It's not a good example.

Here are the results of a search for "complain" in the Bible. It's clear that God allows complaining, with Job being a prime example -- although he was finally rebuked for his griping. But Job wasn't commended for his complaining, but in spite of it.

Thanks for reading!

Sunspots 820

 Things I have recently spotted that may be of interest to someone else:

The Arts: (And archaeology) A 17,000 year old conch shell, apparently modified for producing sound, has been found.

Christianity: Joel Duff examines the reach of the most important young-earth creationist outlets.

Computing: Gizmo's Freeware recommends a site where you can find out about abbreviations and acronyms.

Gizmo's also pointed to HotSymbol, from which lots of symbols and emojis may be easily copied: 🙄

Education: (or something) An 8-year-old complained to National Public Radio, saying that there weren't enough stories about dinosaurs on NPR's "All Things Considered."

Relevant has a post on black history in the US.

Finance: (or something) Amazon has a use for used cardboard boxes, according to Gizmodo.

Humor: (or something) Listverse shows us 10 kitchen gadgets that you don't need.

Politics: FiveThirtyEight on why it is unlikely that there will be a successful third (or fourth) party.

(And Christianity) Christianity Today reports on a survey that indicates that quite a few white evangelicals are believers in QAnon.

FiveThirtyEight on the power of Trump loyalists in state and local politics.

Science: Gizmodo on missions to Mars (The UAE, China, and the US are involved, separately), which are so active now, and what these missions hope to accomplish.

Gizmodo also reports on research on pigs that are able to play video games -- and win.

And Gizmodo reports on new types of living things, found under the Antarctic ice.

The graphic used in these posts is from NASA, hence, it is free to use like this.

Thanks for looking!

With Christ in the school of prayer, by Andrew Murray, 72

This post continues a series of excerpts from With Christ in the School of Prayer, by Andrew Murray. I thank the Christian Classics Ethereal Library for making this public domain work available. To see their post of the book, go here. The previous post is here. As usual in this blog, long quotations are in this color. In the previous posts, Murray discussed Mark 11:24 (Therefore I tell you, all things whatever you pray and ask for, believe that you have received them, and you shall have them. World English Bible, public domain.) He continued:

‘And ye shall have them.’ That is, the gift which we first hold in faith as bestowed upon us in heaven will also become ours in personal experience. But will it be needful to pray longer if once we know we have been heard and have received what we asked? There are cases in which such prayer will not be needful, in which the blessing is ready to break through at once, if we but hold fast our confidence, and prove our faith by praising for what we have received, in the face of our not yet having it in experience. There are other cases in which the faith that has received needs to be still further tried and strengthened in persevering prayer. God only knows when everything in and around us is fully ripe for the manifestation of the blessing that has been given to faith. Elijah knew for certain that rain would come; God had promised it; and yet he had to pray the seven times. And that prayer was no show or play; an intense spiritual reality in the heart of him who lay pleading there, and in the heaven above where it had its effectual work to do. It is ‘through faith and patience we inherit the promises.’ Faith says most confidently, I have received it. Patience perseveres in prayer until the gift bestowed in heaven is seen on earth. ‘Believe that ye have received, and ye shall have.’ Between the have received in heaven, and the shall have of earth, believe: believing praise and prayer is the link.
 

Sunspots 819

 Things I have recently spotted that may be of interest to someone else:

Christianity: (and politics) Relevant reports that the current President of the Southern Baptist Convention has attempted to stop some SBC pastors from calling Vice-President Kamala Harris a "Jezebel."

Christianity Today reports on congressional prayer meetings.

Computing: Gizmodo reports that iPhones are likely to prevent users from getting any meaningful results when their searches include the word "Asian." This was presumably done to prevent viewing pornography, but it also prevents looking for "Asian restaurant near me," and much more innocent material.

Education: (also health, science, and more) Gizmo's Freeware tells us about a site that connects to every kind of calculator you can think of.

Environment: Gizmodo reports on a book about various ways of engineering our way out of what we have done to the environment. (Example - speeding up evolution in corals, so they can survive in hotter ocean water.)

Food: Gizmodo reports on why food sticks to non-stick pans.

Listverse reports on 10 sausages that you've probably never eaten (and probably wouldn't want to).

Health: NPR reports that the infections from COVID-19 have probably been seriously undercounted.

NPR also reports on a patient who had COVID variants develop in his body, over a fairly short time.

And NPR discusses the question of whether it's safe to visit older relatives, if they have been vaccinated. Maybe, maybe not.

Science: The Scientist reports that Naked Mole Rats, which were interesting enough without this late study, have sound "dialects" different from other colonies of the animals.

The Scientist also reports that a mutation in fish activates other genes that cause the animals to add more bones to their fin structure.

And The Scientist (and other outlets) report that a WHO investigation indicates that the COVID-19 virus did not originate in a lab in China.

The graphic used in these posts is from NASA, hence, it is free to use like this.

Thanks for looking!

With Christ in the school of prayer, by Andrew Murray, 71

This post continues a series of excerpts from With Christ in the School of Prayer, by Andrew Murray. I thank the Christian Classics Ethereal Library for making this public domain work available. To see their post of the book, go here. The previous post is here. As usual in this blog, long quotations are in this color. In the previous posts, Murray discussed Mark 11:24 (Therefore I tell you, all things whatever you pray and ask for, believe that you have received them, and you shall have them. World English Bible, public domain.) He continued:

‘Believe that ye have received.’ This is the word of central importance, of which the meaning is too often misunderstood. Believe that you have received! now, while praying, the thing you ask for. It may only be later that you shall have it in personal experience, that you shall see what you believe; but now, without seeing, you are to believe that it has been given you of the Father in heaven. The receiving or accepting of an answer to prayer is just like the receiving or accepting of Jesus or of pardon, a spiritual thing, an act of faith apart from all feeling. When I come as a supplicant for pardon, I believe that Jesus in heaven is for me, and so I receive or take Him. When I come as a supplicant for any special gift, which is according to God’s word, I believe that what I ask is given me: I believe that I have it, I hold it in faith; I thank God that it is mine. ‘If we know that He heareth us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions which we have asked of Him.’

 

Sunspots 818

Things I have recently spotted that may be of interest to someone else:

Christianity: Relevant has a good article on who should take care of the poor.

Christianity Today reports that about half of Protestant pastors say that they have heard a conspiracy theory from one or more parishioners. Relevant reports on the same survey, but is not fully satisfied with the methodology of the survey.

Relevant on why we need Black History Month.

Health: NPR reports that a Corona virus variant strain found in Brazil may be able to evade vaccination doses currently in use.

Politics: FiveThirtyEight has posted an analysis of what adherents of QAnon are likely to do now.

Relevant tells us several things (or people) that (or who) are labeled "socialist" really aren't.

Science: The Scientist reports on all the known (so far) variants of the COVID-19 virus.

Tiny chameleons have been discovered in Madagascar, says Gizmodo.

Gizmodo also reports on organisms that could probably survive a nuclear attack. (Humans wouldn't)

(and race) The Wikipedia article on Kizzmekia Corbett, an African-American scientist who played a key role in the development of COVID vaccine.

The graphic used in these posts is from NASA, hence, it is free to use like this.

Thanks for looking!

Counted worthy

 I was struck, not for the first time, with the phrase, "counted worthy," in the New Testament. Here, from the World English Bible, are the occurrences of that phrase: 

Luke 21:36 Therefore be watchful all the time, praying that you may be counted worthy to escape all these things that will happen, and to stand before the Son of Man.” 

Acts 5:41 They therefore departed from the presence of the council, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer dishonor for Jesus’ name. 

2 Thessalonians 1:5 This is an obvious sign of the righteous judgment of God, to the end that you may be counted worthy of God’s Kingdom, for which you also suffer. 

1 Timothy 5:17 Let the elders who rule well be counted worthy of double honor, especially those who labor in the word and in teaching. 

Hebrews 3:3 For he has been counted worthy of more glory than Moses, because he who built the house has more honor than the house. 

I note that, in all five of these cases, it seems to be God, in the last case God the Father, but, probably, in the other cases, God the Trinity who is being counted worthy. What humans think about our situations don't matter much. In the last case, it is God the Son who is counted worthy of more glory than Moses.

Another thought. It isn't enough to try to serve God in our own strength, but it is enough to serve God in His strength, no matter what is accomplished. We can't receive greater reward than being reckoned as appropriate -- counted worthy -- to receive His favor and affirmation! 

Thanks for reading. May you and I be counted worthy of honor, by Him who counts infinitely more than any human entity.

With Christ in the school of prayer, by Andrew Murray, 70

This post continues a series of excerpts from With Christ in the School of Prayer, by Andrew Murray. I thank the Christian Classics Ethereal Library for making this public domain work available. To see their post of the book, go here. The previous post is here As usual in this blog, long quotations are in this color. In the previous posts, Murray discussed Mark 11:24 (Therefore I tell you, all things whatever you pray and ask for, believe that you have received them, and you shall have them. World English Bible, public domain.) He continued:

‘Believe that ye have received.’ It is clear that what we are to believe is, that we receive the very things we ask. The Saviour does not hint that because the Father knows what is best He may give us something else. The very mountain faith bids depart is cast into the sea. There is a prayer in which, in everything, we make known our requests with prayer and supplication, and the reward is the sweet peace of God keeping heart and mind. This is the prayer of trust. It has reference to things of which we cannot find out if God is going to give them. As children we make known our desires in the countless things of daily life, and leave it to the Father to give or not as He thinks best. But the prayer of faith of which Jesus speaks is something different, something higher. When, whether in the greater interests of the Master’s work, or in the lesser concerns of our daily life, the soul is led to see how there is nothing that so honours the Father as the faith that is assured that He will do what He has said in giving us whatsoever we ask for, and takes its stand on the promise as brought home by the Spirit, it may know most certainly that it does receive exactly what it asks. Just see how clearly the Lord sets this before us in verse 23: ‘Whosoever shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that what he saith cometh to pass, he shall have it.’ This is the blessing of the prayer of faith of which Jesus speaks.

Sunspots 817

 Things I have recently spotted that may be of interest to someone else:

The Arts: Speculative Faith has an article on Tolkien and fighting evil.

Christianity: (and politics) Christianity Today considers prophecies that Trump would win the 2020 election.

Computing: Gizmo's Freeware points us to a PDF reader that allows some editing, etc.

Environment: Gizmodo says that President Biden's environmental plans don't deal with the accumulation of plastic.

Gizmodo also reports that lots of gray whales are dying, perhaps from lack of food.

Politics: (and computing) Gizmodo has a piece, with sample posts, on how QAnon followers are taking the Biden inauguration.

Relevant reports that gun violence went up in 2020.

Science: Gizmodo reports that quieter Velcro has been produced.

Gizmodo also reports on the discovery of large holes made by prehistoric carnivorous worms.

Sports: FiveThirtyEight on how great recently deceased Henry Aaron was.

The graphic used in these posts is from NASA, hence, it is free to use like this.

Thanks for looking!

With Christ in the School of Prayer, by Andrew Murray, 69

This post continues a series of excerpts from With Christ in the School of Prayer, by Andrew Murray. I thank the Christian Classics Ethereal Library for making this public domain work available. To see their post of the book, go here. The previous post is here. As usual in this blog, long quotations are in this color. In the previous posts, Murray discussed Mark 11:24 (Therefore I tell you, all things whatever you pray and ask for, believe that you have received them, and you shall have them. World English Bible, public domain.)

‘All things whatsoever ye pray and ask for.’ It is in prayer that these ‘all things’ are to be brought to God, to be asked and received of Him. The faith that receives them is the fruit of the prayer. In one aspect there must be faith before there can be prayer; in another the faith is the outcome and the growth of prayer. It is in the personal presence of the Saviour, in intercourse with Him, that faith rises to grasp what at first appeared too high. It is in prayer that we hold up our desire to the light of God’s Holy Will, that our motives are tested, and proof given whether we ask indeed in the name of Jesus, and only for the glory of God. It is in prayer that we wait for the leading of the Spirit to show us whether we are asking the right thing and in the right spirit. It is in prayer that we become conscious of our want of faith, that we are led on to say to the Father that we do believe, and that we prove the reality of our faith by the confidence with which we persevere. It is in prayer that Jesus teaches and inspires faith. He that waits to pray, or loses heart in prayer, because he does not yet feel the faith needed to get the answer, will never learn to believe. He who begins to pray and ask will find the Spirit of faith is given nowhere so surely as at the foot of the Throne.

Sunspots 816

Things I have recently spotted that may be of interest to someone else:

Christianity: Russell Moore, a Southern Baptist official, on the insurrection at the Capitol last week.

He Lives says that Uzzah, Ananias and Sapphira were not punished. An interesting idea.

Christianity Today on the bible used in incoming President Biden's inauguration.

Computing: (And politics) Gizmodo reports on "industrialized information," in other words, pumping out what's usually false or misleading stuff  as a business, or using such entities. It's growing. One of the worst offenders: Michael Bloomberg's unsuccessful run for President.

Environment: The Trump administration has enacted a rule that makes it easier for fossil fuel companies to pollute, according to Gizmodo.

And they have rolled back regulations that expected more efficiency in water heaters and gas furnaces.

And they have given a green light to a company that wants to mine on land considered sacred by the Apaches.

On the good news side, Gizmodo reports that a wolverine was photographed in Yellowstone National Park, and wolverines have also been seen at Mount Rainier National Park, for the first time in 100 years.

Ethics: Christianity Today considers three ethical questions related to COVID vaccines, and concludes that these should be taken.

Politics: Politico has a thorough article on 30 things that the Trump administration accomplished. My view is that some of them were for the good, some not. Yours probably would be the same, although perhaps we might differ on specifics.

Science: LiveScience on why it's so hard to swat a fly.

Gizmodo reports on the discovery of electric eels hunting in groups, something like wolves.

The graphic used in these posts is from NASA, hence, it is free to use like this.

Thanks for looking!

With Christ in the school of prayer, by Andrew Murray, 68

 

This post continues a series of excerpts from With Christ in the School of Prayer, by Andrew Murray. I thank the Christian Classics Ethereal Library for making this public domain work available. To see their post of the book, go here. The previous post is here. As usual in this blog, long quotations are in this color. In the previous post, Murray was discussing Mark 11:24 (Therefore I tell you, all things whatever you pray and ask for, believe that you have received them, and you shall have them. World English Bible, public domain.)

‘All things whatsoever.’ At this first word our human wisdom at once begins to doubt and ask: This surely cannot be literally true? But if it be not, why did the Master speak it, using the very strongest expression He could find: ‘All things whatsoever.’ And it is not as if this were the only time He spoke thus; is it not He who also said, ‘If thou canst believe, ALL THINGS are possible to him that believeth;’ ‘If ye have faith, NOTHING shall be impossible to you.’ Faith is so wholly the work of God’s Spirit through His word in the prepared heart of the believing disciple, that it is impossible that the fulfilment should not come; faith is the pledge and forerunner of the coming answer. Yes, ‘ALL THINGS WHATSOEVER ye shall ask in prayer believing, ye receive.’ The tendency of human reason is to interpose here, and with certain qualifying clauses, ‘if expedient,’ ‘if according to God’s will,’ to break the force of a statement which appears dangerous. O let us beware of dealing thus with the Master’s words. His promise is most literally true. He wants His oft repeated ‘ALL THINGS’ to enter into our hearts, and reveal to us how mighty the power of faith is, how truly the Head calls the members to share with Him in His power, how wholly our Father places His power at the disposal of the child that wholly trusts Him. In this ‘all things’ faith is to have its food and strength: as we weaken it we weaken faith. The WHATSOEVER is unconditional: the only condition is what is implied in the believing. Ere we can believe we must find out and know what God’s will is[. Believing] is the exercise of a soul surrendered and given up to the influence of the Word and the Spirit; but when once we do believe nothing shall be impossible. God forbid that we should try and bring down His ALL THINGS to the level of what we think possible. Let us now simply take Christ’s ‘WHATSOEVER’ as the measure and the hope of our faith: it is a seed-word which, if taken just as He gives it, and kept in the heart, will unfold itself and strike root, fill our life with its fulness, and bring forth fruit abundantly.  
 

Sunspots 815

Things I have recently spotted that may be of interest to someone else:

Christianity: (and Politics) Relevant reports that Russell Moore, an important Southern Baptist official, has called for President Trump to step down.

Christianity Today has published an article entitled "Humoring the President was not Harmless," and one entitled "We Worship with the Magi, not MAGA." Both articles lay some of the blame for the recent events at the Capitol being on white evangelical Christians.

Education: Grammarphobia discusses the expression  "getting your (her, his, their) ducks in a row."

Science: Listverse shows us ten beautiful spiders.

The Scientist reports on a study of how identical twins are not completely alike, DNA-wise, because of mutations.

Gizmodo reports on the discovery of two dwarf giraffes (in separate populations).

Gizmodo also reports that a previously unknown method of climbing smooth poles has been discovered in some snakes.

Sports: FiveThirtyEight analyzes NFL quarterback draftees. The high majority of these have not done well.

The graphic used in these posts is from NASA, hence, it is free to use like this.

Thanks for looking!

With Christ in the school of prayer, by Andrew Murray, 67

This post continues a series of excerpts from With Christ in the School of Prayer, by Andrew Murray. I thank the Christian Classics Ethereal Library for making this public domain work available. To see their post of the book, go here. The previous post is here. As usual in this blog, long quotations are in this color.

‘Believe that ye have received;’ Or, The Faith that Takes.

‘Therefore I say unto you, All things whatsoever ye pray and ask for, believe that ye have received them, and ye shall have them.’—Mark xi. 24

WHAT a promise! so large, so Divine, that our little hearts cannot take it in, and in every possible way seek to limit it to what we think safe or probable; instead of allowing it, in its quickening power and energy, just as He gave it, to enter in, and to enlarge our hearts to the measure of what His love and power are really ready to do for us. Faith is very far from being a mere conviction of the truth of God’s word, or a conclusion drawn from certain premises. It is the ear which has heard God say what He will do, the eye which has seen Him doing it, and, therefore, where there is true faith, it is impossible but the answer must come. If we only see to it that we do the one thing that He asks of us as we pray: BELIEVE that ye have received; He will see to it that He does the thing He has promised: ‘Ye shall have them.’ The key-note of Solomon’s prayer (2 Chron. vi. 4), ‘Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, who hath with His hands fulfilled that which He spake with His mouth to my father David,’ is the key-note of all true prayer: the joyful adoration of a God whose hand always secures the fulfilment of what His mouth hath spoken. Let us in this spirit listen to the promise Jesus gives; each part of it has its Divine message.

What does the New Testament say about creation?

The following was in a post, recently:

“The creation story is essential to the Christian faith and is as important as the death and resurrection of Christ, the entire being of the Triune GOD, and the inerrancy of the Bible.”

For what it’s worth, the author said that she believed in the Gap Theory of creation.

My response to this statement was to assert that the New Testament says a lot more about the death and resurrection of Christ than it does about the creation story. This implies that it’s not as important as Christ’s death and resurrection. I decided to see just what the New Testament does say about the creation story, using digital searches of the Bible for create, created, creation, and made.

The New Testament emphasizes the Who of creation. The how and when aren’t mentioned. The why is alluded to in Revelation 4:11 “Worthy are you, our Lord and God, the Holy One, to receive the glory, the honor, and the power, for you created all things, and because of your desire they existed, and were created!” (Unless noted, all scripture is from the World English Bible, public domain.) Apparently the why is because God wanted to. We aren’t told why God wanted this, and probably wouldn’t understand it if we were told. For more on the Who of creation, in the New Testament, see this post.

There is evidence, in the creation story, and elsewhere, that God the Father and God the Holy Spirit were also involved in creation, but there’s little or no evidence for that in the New Testament.

The New Testament indicates that we can understand creation through faith: Hebrews 11:3 By faith, we understand that the universe has been framed by the word of God, so that what is seen has not been made out of things which are visible.

There are uses of the phrase “from the beginning of creation,” but they aren’t really about the events of creation:

Mark 10:6 But from the beginning of the creation, God made them male and female. [Referring to Genesis 1:27] Matthew 19:4 is similar.

Mark 13:19 For in those days there will be oppression, such as there has not been the like from the beginning of the creation which God created until now, and never will be.

Romans 1:20: For the invisible things of him since the creation of the world are clearly seen, being perceived through the things that are made, even his everlasting power and divinity, that they may be without excuse.

2 Peter 3:4 … and saying, “Where is the promise of his coming? For, from the day that the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation.”

The “whole creation” is mentioned, as is “all creation”:

Mark 16:15 He said to them, “Go into all the world, and preach the Good News to the whole creation.

Romans 8:19-22 For the creation waits with eager expectation for the children of God to be revealed. For the creation was subjected to vanity, not of its own will, but because of him who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself also will be delivered from the bondage of decay into the liberty of the glory of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation groans and travails in pain together until now.

Colossians 1:23 … if it is so that you continue in the faith, grounded and steadfast, and not moved away from the hope of the Good News which you heard, which is being proclaimed in all creation under heaven, of which I, Paul, was made a servant.

So is “new creation”:

2 Corinthians 5:17 Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old things have passed away. Behold, all things have become new.

Galatians 6:15 For in Christ Jesus neither is circumcision anything, nor uncircumcision, but a new creation.

Revelation 3:14 “To the angel of the assembly in Laodicea write: “The Amen, the Faithful and True Witness, the Beginning* of God’s creation, says these things:

*There is a text note in the World English Bible, indicating that “Beginning” may also be taken as Source, or Head. Some other versions have similar text notes. The same passage in Revelation, from the NIV, reads: 3:14 “To the angel of the church in Laodicea write: These are the words of the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the ruler of God’s creation. . .”

The Revelation 3:14 scripture may be about the events of creation. But it may also be about the renewal of the creation in the Final Kingdom, or mainly or entirely about that.

There are references to God’s creation which do not mention the Son:

Acts 4:24 When they heard it, they lifted up their voice to God with one accord, and said, “O Lord, you are God, who made the heaven, the earth, the sea, and all that is in them;

One aspect of creation is that humans are, somehow, in the image of God:

James 3:8 but nobody can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison. 9 With it we bless our God and Father, and with it we curse men who are made in the image of God.

There are some references to the creation of Adam, and of Adam and Eve, in the New Testament.

There are no direct references to the days of creation in the New Testament. There is a discussion of a “rest” for believers, in Hebrews. Hebrews 4:4: For he has said this somewhere about the seventh day, “God rested on the seventh day from all his works;” and mentions of not working on the Sabbath, such as Matthew 12, in which the Pharisees criticized Jesus, for healing on the Sabbath, and his followers for picking heads of grain on the Sabbath.

Ken Ham, of Answers in Genesis, claims that the New Testament does teach that there were six days of creation. Maybe, but I don’t think so. Ham’s analysis of what the New Testament says on the subject is a real stretch.

For more analysis of Mr. Ham’s view of the Bible, and its weakness, see this post, by Joel Edmund Anderson.

Where creation is not mentioned

Creation is not mentioned in Christ’s most significant teaching. It’s not in the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5-7), three discourses in Matthew (10, 13, and 18), or the Olivet Discourse (Matthew 24-25, also in Mark 13, Luke 21). None of the parables mention creation.

The creation story is seldom mentioned in the New Testament. If there’s anything about the origin of the stars and the solar system, or of animals and plants, I can’t find it. The role of Christ in creation, and in sustaining the creation now, is an important part of the New Testament, but not as important as His death and resurrection.

In summary, although what the Bible says about creation, including in the New Testament, is important, it isn’t as important as the death and resurrection of Christ. The events of Genesis 1 and 2 are not explicitly taught in the New Testament, by Christ or the other authors.

Thank you for reading!