Month: September 2021

Thanks for Reading

Posted on by Michael Wine

For those who have been regularly reading this blog, thanks a lot for checking out what I’ve had to say. I am going to stop posting everyday for a few reasons:

  1. My personal goal was to write every day for at least sixth months. I’ve written a new post each day for seven months and change, so I’ve met the goal!
  2. Writing new, original posts each day (even if they are short) is quite a challenge. I’ve been struggling more and more to say things that I haven’t already said.
  3. Since it usually takes me about an hour on average to write each new post, I have decided to use that time to do other things. Perhaps this will allow me to publish fewer but more in depth articles. Who knows?

It’s been a great practice to write and share these posts with you all each day. Thanks again.

Why God Commands Love

Posted on by Michael Wine

Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. Deuteronomy 6:4-5

Every ruler wants to be loved by those he rules. But human rulers don’t usually make it a law that their people must love them. When they do, it is because they are evil and oppressive.

Instead, our rulers try to persuade us to love them in other ways. By doing good things, saying what people want to hear, giving handouts etc.

God, however, is not a man.

First of all, he is worthy of our love. He created the world, every human life, every beautiful thing that exists. In the context of the verse above, God had just saved Israel from slavery and was about to give them a lush land to live in. He is not like the liars we elect to lead us today; people who are about as worthy of love as we are.

Secondly, God is honest. He is not playing games with His people, trying to win them over so that He can stay in power. He is up front. If they are to be His people, reaping the benefits of His blessing and love, they are to love Him. That’s the deal.

Finally, God doesn’t seek the love of His people because he needs it, but because they do. Our politicians and leaders today only want us to like them because it helps them keep their jobs. God, on the other hand, is all-powerful. He doesn’t need a majority vote to stay in office.

God doesn’t need an army to keep His throne. He also does not need a community of followers as if He were lonely in heaven. No, the God who is one exists as a Trinity – Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Each person of the Trinity being fully God in essence. God has always existed in perfect loving relationship within the Trinity. Therefore, His command for His people to love Him cannot be for His own benefit, but for theirs.

How does this work? Why would loving God be good for us? Think about it, what you love gives you joy, meaning and purpose. I love my children. Because I love them, I feel a sense of purpose, and value. And not only that, but the more beautiful, pure, and good the object of love is, the more value, joy and meaning we receive from it.

For example, a person who loves money derives less that is truly valuable from money than the person who loves his family and friends.

God is the highest one you could ever love. He is the most beautiful, pure, and good. The command for His people to love Him was for their sake, not His.

In other words, God commands us to love Him because He loves us. God commands our love because God is love.

Just a provocative quote

Posted on by Michael Wine

“I missed one thing in the South — African slavery. That horror is gone, and permanently. Therefore, half the South is at last emancipated, half the South is free. But the white half is apparently as far from emancipated as ever.”

Samuel L. Clemens, Political Liberty in the South (The Suppressed Chapter of “Life on the Mississippi”)

In this is love.

Posted on by Michael Wine

And Jesus increased in wisdom and in stature and in favor with God and man. Luke 2:52

How can God become a man? How can the infinitely wise increase in wisdom?

The Son of God, the Word, God Himself, joined himself to human DNA strands, and wrapped himself up in the flesh and mind and frailty of a human baby.

The all-powerful became suddenly helpless. The invincible became vulnerable. The self-sufficient one became instantly dependent on his mother and father.

It strikes me as almost blasphemy if it did not actually take place – if it were not the most glorious, wondrous display of my Lord’s heart. Because I know he did it for me, a flawed and sinful human, whose only hope was for God to humble himself and save me.

In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. 1 John 4:10

God Meant the Evil for Good

Posted on by Michael Wine

As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive, as they are today. Genesis 50:20

The evil that the brothers meant against Joseph, was also meant by God to bring about good. The plans of Joseph’s brothers were to bring about evil. Rather than foil those plans or even begrudgingly accept those evil plans, the verse says that God “meant” for the evil to occur, to bring about the good.

The benefit of knowing everything is that you can see further than everyone else. Joseph’s brothers were happy with their plan because they could only see a few hours into the future (if that), to the pain they would bring to their brother.

God, though not pleased with the evil done by the brothers, was pleased to intend that the same evil be suffered by Joseph, because He could see every detail of the future laid out before him in high definition color.

The problem of evil is only a problem for those who do not trust God. For people who do trust God, we know that He will always take us through the paths that lead us to the best possible outcome.

Shame and Suffering Avoidance

Posted on by Michael Wine

…for God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control. Therefore do not be ashamed of the testimony about our Lord, nor of me his prisoner, but share in suffering for the gospel by the power of God, who saved us and called us to a holy calling, not because of our works but because of his own purpose and grace, which he gave us in Christ Jesus before the ages began, and which now has been manifested through the appearing of our Savior Christ Jesus, who abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel, for which I was appointed a preacher and apostle and teacher, which is why I suffer as I do. But I am not ashamed, for I know whom I have believed, and I am convinced that he is able to guard until that day what has been entrusted to me. 2 Timothy 1:7-12

This section from 2 Timothy shows a link between being ashamed of our fellow Christians and the avoidance of suffering. When we see our brothers and sisters in Christ being mistreated and suffering public scorn, if they are suffering righteously, we should embrace them instead of being ashamed of them.

Those who are ashamed of the believer who is going through suffering merely for following Christ are really just avoiding suffering themselves. And yet it is not presented that way is it? They puff out their chests and pretend to be above those of whom they are ashamed.

Like Peter when he denied Christ, they boast that they have nothing to do with them. They never knew the man. The outside is a mask of confidence, but inside is a scared soul, ashamed of what he believes.

But if we really believe in Jesus, if we believe He is coming again and will set everything right, suffering for Him now is a glorious thing. Instead of feeling ashamed of our fellow Christians who are being shamed in the world, we should feel honored to stand with them and share their so called shame for Jesus’ sake.

Be Wary of Explanations

Posted on by Michael Wine

I said in my alarm, ‘All mankind are liars.’ Psalm 116:11

When I was a boy I would play a game with my younger brother and sister. Or, really, it was a game to me. I’m not so sure that they liked it.

I would say something obviously false, and try to keep them from proving that I was lying. I know. I was an annoying child. I didn’t feel bad about lying though, because I knew they knew I didn’t really believe it.

For example, I would argue that when we drove in a car, it really wasn’t us that was moving, but that the streets were really an elaborate system of treadmills that carried all the cars wherever they went.

They tried many avenues of attack at first. But I was able to keep adding new lies to explain away their rebuttals. Eventually they just gave up, and stopped arguing with me. They, apparently, did not find the game as amusing as I did.

I often think about this experience, however, when I hear some people try to explain the way the world works without relying on God’s word. Their explanations claim to use ‘science’ and are backed by many other ‘experts.’ But I have been where they are. I know the tricks they use.

It is very easy for someone to make up a story that sounds more and more believable the more you think about it, the more you try (and fail) to disprove it.

Simply having an explanation for reality that has not yet been disproved, is not the same thing as having the truth. It actually isn’t even close.

Why I Believe The Bible

Posted on by Michael Wine

My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. John 10:27

Music is an example of knowing something without knowing why. Without any instruction a child can hear a musical chord played on the piano, and know whether or not the notes harmonize. Of course, the child would not know the word “harmonize.” She would say instead that it sounded good, or that she really liked it, or that it sounded bad.

Later on the child, if she studies music, will be able to explain in more detail what makes the notes harmonize and perhaps even compose some of her own music.

But really, deep down, there will always exist that primal sense, that heart-level knowledge, that the music sounds good.

To me, reading the Bible is like that. I know it is God’s word deep down on a heart level, just like music. I could tell you about evidence, about fulfilled prophecies, about manuscripts and textual variants, to try and prove it. But when we come to the end, the music of the Bible will either sound good to you or not.

You will either hear it, or not.

Christians and Government

Posted on by Michael Wine

First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people, for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way. 1 Timothy 2:1-2

Paul, who wrote during the reign of Rome, who had his personal freedoms taken away by the government, says we should pray and give thanks for people who hold powerful offices.

The aim is to live a ‘godly and dignified’ life, while at the same time being at peace with those around us. And what is the means to get there? Prayer for those in authority over us.

Note that Paul is not saying that our godly lives depend on the government. We must strive to obey God no matter what the government says. However, our ability to live a peaceful life, while at the same time being godly and obedient to Christ, does depend on the government.

When our obedience to Christ causes the government to persecute us, what is to be the response? Is it to stop obeying Christ? No. Is it to rise up in violent revolution? No. It is to pray.

Praying for God to change hearts, for God to give wisdom and insight, for God to keep them healthy, to forgive their sin. In short, it is to ask God to bless them.

The blessings of God have a way of changing the heart of the person blessed. They may not always seem like blessings at first. God knows what is truly good for those in authority over us. And what is truly good for them is also truly good for us.

Therefore, the Christian response to government, any government, is to wish it well without compromising obedience to Christ. It is to ask God to bless it according to what God calls blessing, not according to what man calls blessing. To ask God to keep it healthy enough to recognize that Christianity is a good thing for the country it governs, and to allow it to flourish.

Then, when the prayer is done, the Christian must rise up and live a godly life, pleasing to God, regardless of the mandates of powerful men.

Christian Boldness and Innovation

Posted on by Michael Wine

So David prevailed over the Philistine with a sling and with a stone, and struck the Philistine and killed him. There was no sword in the hand of David. 1 Samuel 17:50

As Malcolm Gladwell points out in his book, David and Goliath, it wasn’t as though God helped David prevail even though David had inferior weapons, armor, and tactics. In fact, to summarize Gladwell’s point, David was more mobile than Goliath and able to attack from a distance. These two advantages made David the favorite in the battle.

So what is the point of the story?

Backing up a bit in the story, we see that the entire Israelite army is quaking in their boots at the challenge of Goliath. No one wants to fight. They are all stuck in the old system. They envision a fight between two armored soldiers with swords. And in that scenario, Goliath would surely win.

Along comes David, who is quickly angered at the fear he sees. He is angry because the honor of God is at stake in this fight. Would the God of Israel triumph over the gods of the Philistines, or not? So David decides, even though he is no official soldier, to fight Goliath himself.

His courage came from his faith in God. It came from his love for his God and his desire to see God glorified.

After David tells King Saul of his decision to fight Goliath, the king begins to prepare David for the battle by giving him a suit of armor. But, David refuses because the armor makes him slow, just like the giant. Then, he innovates and changes the game.

The surprising victory came from the innovation of David (beating large, slow, melee fighters with small, fast, ranged, fighters). This innovation happened because David was good at using a sling. But, more importantly, it happened because he loved and believed in the power of his God. This unwavering trust gave him the confidence he needed to step out and do something that had never been tried before.

Christians should not be content with inferior tactics, technology and strategy as if that somehow proves their trust in God. Instead, Christians should prove their trust in God by refusing to play it safe and ineffective. Really trusting and loving God should, like it did David, lead us to bold innovation and new ways of doing things, because we have a desire to see God glorified.