Is God Unfair by having a Chosen People?

Q. I have trouble with the whole idea of the “chosen people”. Isn’t that patently unfair to everyone else?

A. If it is an “end” in itself, then it does seem unfair to single out a particular group for special favors. However, if it is a “means” to an end, then it may not be showing favoritism as it appears on the surface. Let me elaborate.

The reason God chose Israel is given in Deut 7:8
• Deut 7:6-8 For you are a people holy to the LORD your God. The LORD your God has chosen you out of all the peoples on the face of the earth to be his people, his treasured possession. The LORD did not set his affection on you and choose you because you were more numerous than other peoples, for you were the fewest of all peoples. But it was because the LORD loved you and kept the oath he swore to your ancestors that he brought you out with a mighty hand and redeemed you from the land of slavery, from the power of Pharaoh king of Egypt.

It was not because the Jewish people had special qualities that commend themselves to God, but because God kept the promise He made to their ancestors. What promise was that? For that we have to go back to Gen 12
• Gen 12:1-3 The LORD had said to Abram, “Go from your country, your people and your father’s household to the land I will show you. I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.”

If all God did was to make Abram, grandfather of Israel, into a great nation, bless him, and make his name great, bless those who bless him, and curse those who curse him, then it does smack of favoritism. But that was only the means. That wasn’t the end. The end was so that he will be a blessing, and all peoples on earth will be blessed through him. In other words, Abram was blessed to be a blessing to others. Israel received all the privileges so that he can be God’s messenger to bring the good news to all peoples on earth. They were the conduit to bless all nations, the ultimate beneficiaries. Understood in this light, there is no unfairness on God’s part. The inequity is only apparent, not real. Hope this helps.

Contracting Lessons 1

Over the past 7 weeks we have engaged various contractors to fix things around the house, both externally and internally. The whole thing started last Fall when we had eavestrough problems, followed by ice dams due to the ice storm, then flooding in our garden because our neighbor raised his backyard. His landscaping resulted in our backyard becoming the lowest point among surrounding properties, and the gathering point of all surface water. It was one problem after another, on top of my mom’s health issues in Feb. and March.

You might say we were thrown into the deep end of the pool, and someone repeatedly pushed our heads down into the water when we emerged for air! Since Canadian summer is short, contractors are busy, and we have to be away on trips, scheduling problems multiplied. Plus, we had little time to prepare, which didn’t help matters. However, from our mistakes we learned a few things, which apply to other areas of life and our Christian walk as well.

First, before you launch a renovation project, be well prepared. By that I don’t just mean financially to have the funds available, but physically and psychologically. For example, before you commence work in a particular room, everything in that room need to be packed away in boxes, clearly labeled, or else you might never find it again. Don’t wait till the contractors come and you have to clear the space in a hurry so that they can start work. That’s a recipe for losing stuff. Contractors don’t care about the filing or organizing system you have. They just want the room to be as vacant as possible so as not to hinder their work. And if you don’t label things as they are put away, you’ll have difficulty locating them later on.

Psychologically, be prepared to put up with a lot of inconvenience and disruption to your routines, as the contractors first demolish the old before they build the new. We have to move from our bedroom to the guest room in the basement, and endure lots of dust, dirty floors and bathrooms, lack of privacy (as there’s always two to three contractors in your house from 9 AM to 7 PM), boxes all over the place etc.

The upside is we learned that our guest room is actually quite comfortable and the bathroom reasonably functional, something we wouldn’t know otherwise as we never stayed there ourselves. But the downside is that much of our well-planned routines are thrown out-the-door. The daily walk, for instance, has to give way to visiting supermarkets to pick up cartons to put away stuff, or running errands to Home Depot to get tools and supplies. Wholesome meals are replaced by fast food and greasy salty restaurant fare. The list goes on.

But it’s the same in Christian life. We have to be prepared in season and out of season, and always be ready to answer everyone who asks the reason for our hope. And before we build, there is a time to tear down. Whether you are reorganizing a company or a ministry, there are lots of old habits to break and procedures to uproot, before you can plant and be renewed.

• 2 Tim 4:2 Preach the word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage—with great patience and careful instruction.
• 1 Pet 3:15 But in your hearts revere Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect,
• Eccle 3:3 a time to kill and a time to heal, a time to tear down and a time to build,
• Jer 1:10 See, today I appoint you over nations and kingdoms to uproot and tear down, to destroy and overthrow, to build and to plant.”

Perhaps a renovation is like a woman getting ready for a night out. You need lots of preparation, maybe even more time than you’ll be out for the evening. You endure the curlers and face mask and other unsightly work-in-process before you have a presentable product. But that’s life. You can’t have one before the other.

Is Mary a Perpetual Virgin?

Q. A Catholic friend of mine asked me this question, she said if May had other children besides Jesus, why when Jesus was on the cross, he asked his disciple John to take care of Mary as his mother? I reminded her the Scripture that says one time while Jesus was teaching, his mother and brothers came looking for him, she said brothers could also mean disciples.

A. Mary was a virgin until the birth of Jesus, but not afterwards. The Perpetual Virginity of Mary is a Catholic doctrine, but it cannot be defended from Scripture:

• Mt 1:25 But he did not consummate their marriage until she gave birth to a son. And he gave him the name Jesus.
• Mt 12:46 While Jesus was still talking to the crowd, his mother and brothers stood outside, wanting to speak to him.
• Mt 13:55-56 “Isn’t this the carpenter’s son? Isn’t his mother’s name Mary, and aren’t his brothers James, Joseph, Simon and Judas? Aren’t all his sisters with us? Where then did this man get all these things?”
• Mk 3: 31 Then Jesus’ mother and brothers arrived. Standing outside, they sent someone in to call him.
• Mk 6:3 Isn’t this the carpenter? Isn’t this Mary’s son and the brother of James, Joseph, Judas and Simon? Aren’t his sisters here with us?” And they took offense at him.
• Lk 8:19 Now Jesus’ mother and brothers came to see him, but they were not able to get near him because of the crowd.
• Jn 2: 12 After this he went down to Capernaum with his mother and brothers and his disciples. There they stayed for a few days.
• Jn 7:3, 5 Jesus’ brothers said to him, “Leave Galilee and go to Judea, so that your disciples there may see the works you do. … For even his own brothers did not believe in him.
• Acts 1:14 They all joined together constantly in prayer, along with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with his brothers.
• Gal 1:19 I saw none of the other apostles—only James, the Lord’s brother.

First Joseph and Mary did not consummate their marriage until she gave birth to Jesus. They had normal conjugal relationship thereafter. And if they had husband and wife relationships afterwards, Mary could not have been a perpetual virgin.

Second, Jesus had younger brothers (James, Joseph, Simon and Judas) and sisters (at least two) according to Mt 13:55-56 and Mk 6:3. James is also known to Paul (Gal 1:19). Since Mary gave birth to at least six more children after Jesus, she could not be a perpetual virgin.

These brothers could not be His disciples, because the gospel writers made a clear distinction between His brothers and His disciples (Jn 2:12; 7:3, 5). Some Catholics say brothers and sisters could mean cousins or distant relatives. The Greek words for brothers and sisters are adelphos and adelphe. If cousins were meant, Matthew and Mark would have used anepsios (Col 4:10), but they didn’t.

Third, His mother and brothers waited outside to speak to Him (Mt 12:46, Mk 3:31, Lk 8:19). If the brothers were His disciples, they would have been listening inside.

Then why would Jesus entrust Mary to the apostle John instead of one of His brothers? For at least two reasons. One, they were not believers (Jn 7:5) until after His resurrection. Mary was at the crucifixion, but none of His brothers were. They all abandoned Him. Apparently James did not believe until Jesus appeared to him after His resurrection (1 Co 15:7). How can He entrust her to His brothers when they weren’t there?

Two, when Jesus was arrested, all His disciples deserted Him and fled (Mt 26:56). At the cross, there were a number of women (Jn 19:25). The only disciple there was John, whom He loved (v 26). If you have to entrust your mother to someone to care for her, would you entrust her to a disciple whom you loved and stood by you while everyone fled, or would you entrust her to a physical brother who wasn’t a believer yet and was absent? The answer is obvious. Hope this helps.

Grand-kids’ Antics

Some recent activities:

KSP practicing for show and tell:

SEL singing 16 Tons:

NCP dance moves:

ZML playing hide and seek:

Grand-kids Learning

Never grow tired of watching grand-children play:

KSP: The hokey pokey

SEL: Farewell Nova Scotia. How did she manage to memorize all the words?

NCP: Working with toy train.

ZML: Walking!

Fellow Soldiers

This morning we worshipped at a church pastored by our friends. We got to know them well after we visited them 12 years ago in Colon, Panama, where they spent four years building up a congregation from only a few families into a vibrant church of over 80, winning many young people to the Lord.

Their current church is located in a mall, with a sanctuary, fellowship hall and offices, plus a third unit which is rented out to another church. The sanctuary has 22 rows of pews divided into 3 banks, with an estimated seating capacity of about 130 people. The congregation stays for lunch every Sunday in the fellowship hall, which also doubles as a recreation room for ping-pong on Saturdays as an outreach to the community. The atmosphere is warm and our friends are people persons gifted in evangelism, so we expect them to grow this church over time as well. Blessed are God’s faithful servants.

Church is located on the third floor of mall.

Entrance to fellowship hall

Sanctuary

Fellowship Hall

Senior Pastor’s Office

De-clutter Your Life

When you’ve lived in the same house for thirty years, you collect a lot of stuff which you no longer or seldom use, but are reluctant to part with. For example, I wear shirts until the collars get worn, then replace them with new ones. My wife, however, never wear clothes long enough to wear them out. Party dresses would be worn once or twice, then she would not want to appear in them again. But because they still fit her even after many years, she wouldn’t throw them out. As a result, her clothes occupy four and a half closets in our house, not counting dressers, while I have half.

It’s the same with other stuff, books, magazines, CDs, DVDs, outdated gadgets (tape recorders, VCRs, TVs, cameras, computers etc.), anything you accumulate and are unwilling to discard because they still have some value, either real or sentimental. Over time they go the way of the law of increasing entropy and become clutter. Some might call them junk, but to hoarders they are valuable antiques.

The problem arises when eventually you have to downsize because it’s too much work to maintain the house, and you have to move from a three or four-bedroom house to a two-bedroom apartment with one-third the space. What do you do with all your treasures? De-clutter!

You start by getting a number of boxes for sorting out your holdings:
• Keep,
• Donate,
• Sell,
• Trash
Go through your house systematically one room at a time. For each article decide which category does it belong. Most out-of-fashion clothing and obsolete equipment are easy to determine.

What about paperwork? In Ontario the statute of limitations (SoL) for lesser law infringements is two years in most cases, but for federal civil law e.g. back taxes the SoL is ten years. So if you want to be safe, keep records for up to 10 years.

But the same principles apply when it comes to our lives. All too often we have activities, habits, and relationships built up over the years which are no longer contributing to our or other people’s growth and simply take up too much of our time and energy. They need to be pared back so you can redeploy your time to best or highest use. You can go through the same process to determine what you want to keep, add, or drop to re-purpose your life so that it is less cluttered and more focused.

This may not be your favorite activity, but it’s something all of us need to do periodically to have a simpler and more productive life. Try it. You’ll be glad you did.

Two Favorite Songs

I was searching in YouTube for a video clip to be used as introduction to my sermon, when I came across two old favorites.

The first one “Bridge over Troubled Water” is a secular pop song released in 1970 by Simon and Garfunkel, but can be thought of as the Lord’s words to His own who are wearied and troubled.

The second “You Raise Me Up” is originally also a secular song, but often sung as a contemporary hymn, with the singer offering praise to the Lord. I like the Josh Groban version (US) best but the Westlife version (UK) is also very good.

The two songs fit well together as a pair when you need strength. Enjoy!

Lamentations of a Bookworm

Eccle. 12:12 Of [reading] many books there is no end, and much study wearies the body. I must be one of the most foolish people I know. I have few hobbies. Many people enjoy sports, some like photography or hi-tech gadgets, others love gardening, or eating, but I’m none of the above, except reading. And I’m giving my away prized collection of books, something people normally don’t do unless they know their time is limited.

Over the years I’ve acquired thousands of books, mostly Christian, with some business when I was in secular employment. The latter I donated to the public library when I began full-time ministry as my second career, but the former kept piling up because of ministry! That wasn’t a problem until our house needed repairs and renovation. Just putting on a fresh coat of paint and changing the soiled carpet to hardwood floor meant every bookshelf had to be moved as each room was being made-over. For thousands of books stored in 6 different rooms that meant a huge headache, a logistics nightmare.

When I was a consultant I told my clients to always look at the downside risks, how to unwind a contract, if necessary, with minimal damage. In my enthusiasm in pursuit of knowledge, I forgot my own rule when buying books – what to do when I have to downsize! I am the only avid reader in our family, so none of the family members wanted my library. I could sell the books in a garage sale, on eBay or Kijiji, at a few cents a pound, but that would be a terrible waste. Besides I don’t have the time to run a second-hand book business on the side.

I offered to donate my holdings to my church when I left, but they did not have the space. My alma mater is moving, so they don’t want to take in thousands of books either. My brother contacted his church, a large one, but there was no response. I suppose I could use them for a few more years until we can no longer take care of the house and have to move to a condominium, but by then I may not have the strength to haul those boxes of books around!

In the end, a local Christian college came to the rescue. They are expanding their library and just added a new room. The librarian was glad to receive the book donations, and just wanted to make sure that they were sound theologically, which they were. So for the last eight days we had a new routine – picking up empty cartons from supermarkets and IKEA in the morning, packing them with books in the evening, and dropping them off at the bible college the following afternoon. Altogether we donated nearly 200 boxes containing over 7,000 books, leaving about 10% basic tools for my continuing ministry.

We are glad that we found a “nice home” for my collection, which will benefit generations of bible college students to come. Although few wanted it, to me it was a treasure. What if I had invested my time and money in something else other than books? That’s one of those “what might have been” questions that do not have answers. The only regret I have was not being able to make better use of the library due to lack of forward thinking and efficiency. Perhaps spending time digesting a smaller library would be better than spreading myself too thin by scanning many volumes for ideas. Quality is better than quantity. But that’s life management and another story altogether. You only live once, spend it wisely.

A New Perspective for Moms

I’ve watched several Mother’s Day videos over the past week and liked this one from Elevation Church the best:

Happy Mother’s Day!