Thought Provoking

Beautiful Feet!!

Today’s guest post is from my friend, Missionary, Author, Bible Scholar and all around nice guy, Kyle Sutton.

Last week, I discovered something in preparation for my message on “A Full Proof Ministry” from 2 Timothy 4:5, and also today—something related that I saw in a shoe store. Now, stop and go make yourself a cup of coffee… … …Ok, you’re back now, so we can begin.

My findings are based on this prior established fact: In his book, Biblical Mathematics, Edward Vallowe only offers one proof for the number 26 as being representative of the Gospel, but that’s ok because once we know the number we can look for it at various times concerning the gospel of Christ. I have since discovered 2-3 other places in the Bible that confirm his standard. My first follow up on Vallowe’s biblical standard was about a month ago while writing an article for the International Board of Jewish Missions‘ December EN Magazine. It is as follows:

In the fullness of time Mary was found to be with child (Matthew 1:18). I decided to look up “with child” in my recently acquired Pure Bible Search Software and look what came up! The phrase “with child” appears exactly 26 times in the entire Bible. When Mary was found to be with child this became the beginning of the good news (i.e., the gospel) of man’s ultimate salvation! This is why two of the four gospels begin by recounting the miraculous gospel story with the story of a virgin being with child.

Moving on…

Then last week here’s what else I found on the subject. The word gospel appears 101x in the NT. Related tenses and uses of a word can also be included in a search if necessary, so… I looked up the the word gospels (sake) and it appears 3x in the NT. This brings the total number of appearances of the gospel to a total of 104x altogether, and 104 is divisible by 26! This teaches us that there is a definite correlation even though you have to search for the root number by division. It’s all the same in God’s Math book. * This is no accident! * You won’t find this in any other translation of the Bible except the King James Bible.

Now here’s the kicker! Are you smiling yet? Well, get your grin ready. Tell it to be on standby. Today I was in the orthopedic shoe store with John, this 75 year old man that helps me get out most of our church tracts and the Jewish ones, too. As we were standing at the check out counter I noticed a foot-skeleton display thingy—with all the bones-of-the-foot attached by stretchy strings. I picked it up and was playing with it, seeing how it moved. I immediately recounted the verse:

How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him that bringeth good tidings, that publisheth peace; that bringeth good tidings of good, that publisheth salvation; that saith unto Zion, Thy God reigneth!—Isaiah 52:7

Isaiah is clearly speaking of the gospel of Messiah coming to earth and announcing our salvation. The Bible pairs up the gospel with feet because the message [of the gospel of Christ] must be carried by some messenger. Well I just couldn’t help but ask the man how many bones were in the foot. I was just being hopeful. Well, hopeful paid off for sure! He came back quickly, “Twenty-Six!” I then quietly counted them myself; twice to be sure, because the very tips of the four smaller toes all have two very tiny bones on them, and the big toe was missing the tiny tip bone. That’s why I rang my wife Jamie and asked her to Google and verify the number for me. It’s true, 26 bones in the foot.

Do you think God likes numbers? First-hand discovery of what God has woven into the Bible is half the fun. Anyway I like to share and spread the excitement. If this type of stuff isn’t your cup of tea then I understand. But the Bible is anything but boring. You just have to decide how you want to look at it. God has got something in the Book for everyone. Stay tuned for part 2 as I share the next token of the gospel (#26) in the Bible.

What is the Opposite of Faith?

By Victor Font 1 Comment

The classic Biblical definition of “Faith” is found in Hebrews 11:1–3, which says, “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. For by it the elders obtained a good report. Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear.”

Faith

In the context of this article, the word “faith” as defined in Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary (Eleventh Edition) could mean one of the following:

Belief and trust in and loyalty to God
Belief in the traditional doctrines of a religion
Firm belief in something for which there is no proof
Complete trust

For me, faith is a combination of the 1st and 4th definitions. I belief in, have complete trust and loyalty to God our creator—our Lord Jesus Christ. As for the 3rd definition, believing in something (God) for which there is no proof, the Bible says something different. There is proof!

The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament sheweth his handywork.—Psalm 19:1

The Bible, in its entirety, is proof of God, but many don’t agree that the Bible is the true, living Word of God. Based on Psalm 19:1 alone, if you just look around at the creation, you can see God’s handiwork in its majesty!

I also don’t accept the 2nd definition, belief in the traditional doctrines of a religion. A religion is a personal set or institutionalized system of attitudes, beliefs, and practices. It is rituals and rites that may or may not eventually lead someone to a personal relationship with God. I have a personal relationship with our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ that began when I accepted Romans 10:9-10 as truth.

That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.

Notice that there’s no mention of religion in this verse. Salvation is a result of our belief, not the product of any good that we’ve done. Jesus is the object of our faith, and the Bible drives our practices and beliefs. True Bible-believing Christianity is a relationship with the Living God. It is not a religion.

Doubt

When you heard the question, “What is the opposite of faith?,” Your first thought may well have been “The opposite of faith is doubt.” Many people believe this. For sure, there is a type of doubt that is so completely negative it will jeopardize an individual’s faith. But there is also a more common type of doubt known as Socratic Doubt that causes people to question aspects of their faith. Socrates taught that belief in anything beyond a shadow of a doubt can be dangerous, and that clinging to what we thought we knew can trap us and keep us from truly knowing anything. He advocated questioning our beliefs until we could be sure of the truth.

Questioning our beliefs can be healthy and serve to strengthen our faith as we seek God’s will in our life and pursue a personal relationship with Him. Consider Mark 9:23–24:

Jesus said unto him, If thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth. And straightway the father of the child cried out, and said with tears, Lord, I believe; help thou mine unbelief.

The father in this story expressed his faith in the Lord and his doubt at the same time. At times, even the most faithful will struggle with their faith, but it doesn’t mean that they’ve lost it or never had it in the first place.

Certainty

Recently, I had the privilege of attending a luncheon with the North Carolina Executive Roundtable. The guest speaker was Sandy Costa, former President and Chief Operating Officer of Quintiles Transnational Corporation. His topic was The 4 Strategies Of Building Trust (In A World Where It’s Rapidly Disappearing). In one of his points, he said he believed the opposite of faith is certainty. After all, if we knew everything that was going to happen, we wouldn’t need faith at all.

It certainly requires no faith to know that we’ll all die someday and that each passing day brings us closer to that often feared event. It also takes no faith to know that our tax burdens are getting heavier and heavier and that there is no legal way for us to escape them. True faith, however, breeds certainty in a Savior who loves us unconditionally and welcomes us into His presence with open arms. Consider Hebrews 4:16:

Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.

Faith gives us the certainty that God welcomes our prayers, and that His mercy and grace are ever present in our time of need.

Reason

For those who think faith is an irrational belief without any supporting evidence, the opposite of faith is reason. The ancient Greek philosophies were largely based on reason. The Apostle Paul encountered this form of opposition from the Epicureans and Stoics.

Then certain philosophers of the Epicureans, and of the Stoicks, encountered him. And some said, What will this babbler say? other some, He seemeth to be a setter forth of strange gods: because he preached unto them Jesus, and the resurrection.

Today, there are no Epicureans and Stoics of whom I am aware, there are however, Atheists and Humanists who value reason over Biblical faith. Yet, in their belief system, they are still exercising the 3rd definition of faith, they have a firm belief in something for which there is no proof. Whether they think it highly unlikely that God exists, or whether they just have not been presented with proof they consider sufficient, they are doing the same thing as Christians. They are adopting a belief without certain proof. They are exercising faith.

Fear

Fear is the last opposite of faith we’ll discuss. Take a look at Mark 4:35-41:

And the same day, when the even was come, he saith unto them, Let us pass over unto the other side. And when they had sent away the multitude, they took him even as he was in the ship. And there were also with him other little ships. And there arose a great storm of wind, and the waves beat into the ship, so that it was now full. And he was in the hinder part of the ship, asleep on a pillow: and they awake him, and say unto him, Master, carest thou not that we perish? And he arose, and rebuked the wind, and said unto the sea, Peace, be still. And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm. And he said unto them, Why are ye so fearful? how is it that ye have no faith? And they feared exceedingly, and said one to another, What manner of man is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?

In this passage of Scripture, Christ clearly equates fear with a lack of faith. Faith then is courage and fear is cowardice! There is a lot of fear around us today. I don’t know too many Christians who don’t fear something, unemployment, sickness, death, taxes, not being politically correct, not being accepted by other people or whatever. Fear stunts our growth and renders us ineffective for Christ. Fear is never from God. 2 Timothy 1:7 says:

For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.

Overcome the oppositions to your faith today. Pray for courage and increased faith, and turn away from the things that render you ineffective for God.

The Dash of Life

By Victor Font Leave a Comment

Tombstone of Hope I recently enjoyed the privilege of hearing North Carolina Supreme Court Justice Paul Newby deliver the commencement address to the graduating class of 2012 at my daughter’s high school. Justice Newby is the only conservative on the North Carolina Supreme Court. He is a born-again Christian who reflects the sovereignty of Christ in all that he says and does. He and his family attend a local Baptist Church in Raleigh where he is an Elder, Sunday School teacher and youth leader.

Justice Newby reminded me of something with his speech. He spoke about how much you can learn by walking through a graveyard and looking at the headstones. Almost every headstone you see will have two numbers separated by a dash, the date of birth and the date of death separated by the lowly dash. That dash represents and punctuates the brevity of a person’s entire life. And should our Lord delay His return to us, I too will have my life represented by a dash; and so will you!

What will that dash represent of your life? Is it a life of self-fulfillment and excess, a life of comfort and ease, pain and trials, or a life of goodness and service to others? Whatever type of life you are living or faith you practice, there is one glaring, inescapable truth that we find in 2 Corinthians 5:10:

“For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad.”

All of us will one day appear before the judgment seat of Christ. Our great God and Savior Jesus Christ will judge us for what we have done in this world. Will your works stand up to God’s test?

“Now if any man build upon this foundation gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, stubble; Every man’s work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man’s work of what sort it is.”—1 Corinthians 3:12–13, (AV)

Charles Thomas Studd was an English evangelist and missionary born in 1860. He served in China, India and Africa. He is attributed as the author of the following poem:

Two little lines I heard one day,
Traveling along life’s busy way;
Bringing conviction to my heart,
And from my mind would not depart;
Only one life, ’twill soon be past,
Only what’s done for Christ will last.

Only one life, yes only one,
Soon will its fleeting hours be done;
Then, in ‘that day’ my Lord to meet,
And stand before His Judgment seat;
Only one life,’twill soon be past,
Only what’s done for Christ will last.

Only one life, the still small voice,
Gently pleads for a better choice
Bidding me selfish aims to leave,
And to God’s holy will to cleave;
Only one life, ’twill soon be past,
Only what’s done for Christ will last.

Only one life, a few brief years,
Each with its burdens, hopes, and fears;
Each with its clays I must fulfill,
living for self or in His will;
Only one life, ’twill soon be past,
Only what’s done for Christ will last.

When this bright world would tempt me sore,
When Satan would a victory score;
When self would seek to have its way,
Then help me Lord with joy to say;
Only one life, ’twill soon be past,
Only what’s done for Christ will last.

Give me Father, a purpose deep,
In joy or sorrow Thy word to keep;
Faithful and true what e’er the strife,
Pleasing Thee in my daily life;
Only one life, ’twill soon be past,
Only what’s done for Christ will last.

Oh let my love with fervor burn,
And from the world now let me turn;
Living for Thee, and Thee alone,
Bringing Thee pleasure on Thy throne;
Only one life, “twill soon be past,
Only what’s done for Christ will last.

Only one life, yes only one,
Now let me say,”Thy will be done”;
And when at last I’ll hear the call,
I know I’ll say “twas worth it all”;
Only one life,’twill soon be past,
Only what’s done for Christ will last. ”

— extra stanza —

Only one life, ’twill soon be past,
Only what’s done for Christ will last.
And when I am dying, how happy I’ll be,
If the lamp of my life has been burned out for Thee.”

Only what’s done for Christ will last. What have you done for Christ lately?

There’s No Catch!!

By Victor Font Leave a Comment

Earlier this week I received an email from a cynical woman. A cynical person is contemptuously distrustful of human nature and motives. This is a person who believes that human conduct is motivated primarily by self-interest. How do I know this woman is cynical? Let me explain the circumstance and see if you agree.

I frequently browse the different LinkedIn groups to which I belong. Wherever possible, I answer questions people post in those groups. On the day under discussion, I happened to be browsing questions in the WordPress group. A young woman (judging from her photo) asked a question about a source for WordPress training. From the tone of her post I perceived that she was frustrated by her search for quality training. Most of the answers prior to mine were book recommendations. I decided to answer privately.

Recently, as a service to my web patrons, I added high quality video training sessions for WordPress. I sell the training for $1.00 per module for a total of $17.00. Not a bad price, when you consider that you’re getting almost 78 minutes of excellent, easy to follow tutorials, right? So I took compassion on this woman’s plight and wrote her to offer a free training account. Her reply?

…although nothing is usually free, is there a catch?

This sounds like cynicism to me. Does it to you? She didn’t trust my free offer, perhaps wondering if I had some nefarious purpose behind it. This got me to thinking. Why don’t more people accept the free gift of salvation from Jesus Christ? The Bible clearly teaches that salvation—eternal life in heaven—is a free gift from Jesus. There’s nothing we can ever do to be good enough to earn it on our own accord. Jesus freely offers it to all who will accept it.

I believe it’s because as humans, we’ve grown accustomed to being cynics. By definition, cynicism is a contemptuous distrust of human nature and motives, not Godly nature and motives which are always Pure and Holy. But as humans, we extend our cynicism to God and treat him as though He were just another human being, which He is not. Even though Jesus is a perfect human being, He is still our perfect God. As such, He is beyond the temptation of human nature and motives. When He says something is free, He means it with no strings attached! There’s no catch involved!

It’s easy to understand why people are cynical of other people. Jeremiah 17:9 says, The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it? God’s Word is talking about the human heart in this passage, not God’s heart. Here are a couple of other verses to ponder:

As for God, his way is perfect: the word of the LORD is tried: he is a buckler to all those that trust in him.—Psalm 18:30, (AV)

Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.—James 1:17, (AV)

God’s gift of salvation is a perfect gift that comes from above. When you think about a gift, when does it actually become yours? Every year many of us celebrate some occasion where we might present a gift to another. As we search for the perfect gift, something that will be cherished by the other person, we put a lot of love and thought into its selection. Don’t we?

After you’ve done all this shopping and have selected the perfect gift, it’s time to give the gift to your loved one. You wrap it up nicely and make it look real pretty. Maybe you put a bow on it and express the perfect sentiment in the card. You actually experience a little excitement as you prepare to present your gift to its intended recipient and imagine the look on their face and the joy they will experience when they open it.

But something happens when you arrive at their house. You walk through the front door carrying this beautiful gift. You go to hand it to the celebrant and they turn and walk away, never acknowledging the present you’ve prepared for them. You follow them around for a little while and say, I have this gift for you. Again and again, they walk away from you, never accepting the gift that you’ve worked so hard and sacrificed for. They just don’t believe that something so wonderful could be theirs for free. How does that make you feel?

Isn’t it the same with God? He sent His only begotten son, Jesus Christ, to take the penalty of our sins onto Himself and die in our place on Calvary. Jesus is God’s gift to us. And God is sitting on His throne in Heaven offering this gift of Jesus Christ as the atonement for our sins. It’s completely free for the taking. There’s no catch!! How do you think it makes God feel when we turn our backs on the gift and refuse to accept it?

Don’t be cynical when it comes to God. His conduct is not motivated by self-interest. His conduct is motivated by His love interest in us. He wants us to receive the best He can offer. Accept His gift today. Tomorrow may never come.

A Trust Story

By Victor Font Leave a Comment

The word “trust” is interesting to me. The 11th edition of the Merriam-Webster Collegiate Dictionary defines trust this way:

1. a : assured reliance on the character, ability, strength, or truth of someone or something
b : one in which confidence is placed
2. a : dependence on something future or contingent : HOPE

I would love to be able to unconditionally trust people, but for the most part, I can’t. I’ve been stabbed in the back or thrown under the bus more times than I can count by people I trusted. Of course, my immediate family doesn’t count in this characterization. I categorically trust them. And even when that trust is somehow violated by a minor infraction, we talk things over, forgive one other, grow in grace, and move on. Yet, our families our human. The people we work with are human. The folks we fellowship with are human. Do you know what the Bible says about the human heart? Here’s what God inspired the prophet Jeremiah to write:

“The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?”—Jeremiah 17:9, (AV)

Can we ever place our trust in something so deceitful and desperately wicked? No, we can’t. There is One though, in Whom we can place our confidence, especially when it comes to planning our future. We can be totally assured and rely upon His character, ability, strength, and the truthfulness of His Word to guide us through our most difficult circumstances and the trials of life. In fact, again speaking through the prophet Jeremiah, God says,

“For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end.”—Jeremiah 29:11, (AV)

Only God can surely know what goes on in our human hearts. After all, he is our Creator. As humans, we can’t even trust ourselves at times, let alone trusting others. We’ve all had circumstances where we’ve thought more highly of ourselves than we ought.

The Bible is clear. There is only One who is worthy of our unconditional trust, God Himself, our Lord Jesus Christ.

“Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.”—Proverbs 3:5–6, (AV)

When I lost my job in December of 2009 because of the greatest recession to hit the United States since the Great Depression, I never in my wildest imagination thought that I’d still be unemployed in August of 2011. Yet, here I am, a great employee still seeking to partner with a great employer to experience my next role in life. No matter what the results of the job search, I trust God with all of my heart to bring about the outcome, and my income for that matter. He has never failed me in the past, (though I’ve failed Him plenty), nor shall He fail me this time around. God is always faithful, God is always good, and I trust Him completely.

To sum this up, I’m going to rely on Job to express my closing thoughts on the matter:

“Though He slay me, yet will I trust in Him: but I will maintain mine own ways before him.”—Job 13:15, (AV)

Speaking in Tongues—Conclusion

By Victor Font Leave a Comment

“Charity never faileth: but whether there be prophecies, they shall fail; whether there be tongues, they shall cease; whether there be knowledge, it shall vanish away. For we know in part, and we prophesy in part. But when that which is perfect is come, then that which is in part shall be done away. When I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child: but when I became a man, I put away childish things. For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known.”—1 Corinthians 13:8–12, (AV)

There’s no doubt that the sign gift of tongues was important to the early church. But I can’t think of an issue that creates more contention amongst believers than the discussion of whether or not tongues is a gift for today’s church. Those of you who have had an experience with tongues believe it is for today. Those who have been brought up in a fundamentalist background know its not for today. But we all can’t be right and truthfully, there’s no sense arguing over it.

As human beings we often let our experiences trump God’s Word. Experiences can be extremely powerful motivators. But God’s Word is supposed to be our ultimate authority, isn’t it? If not, then we are believing something that isn’t true no matter how real it is. We are believing what 2 Thessalonians 2:9, (AV) calls “signs and lying wonders.” “Even him, whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders,”

Our decision to believe that tongues are for today or not hinges upon our understanding of one single verse of Scripture. That’s 1 Corinthians 13:10, “But when that which is perfect is come, then that which is in part shall be done away.” Specifically, our decision hinges on the first part of that verse, “But when that which is perfect is come…” What is “that which is perfect?” It all boils down to what we believe the “that which is perfect” actually is.

Some believe “that which is perfect” is Jesus Christ Himself at His second coming. There are some problems with this. The word translated from the Greek as perfect is “teleion.” Teleion is an adjective that means” brought to its end, finished.” or “wanting nothing necessary to completeness.” The entire phrase translated “that which is perfect” is “To Teleion.” “To” (that which) is an definite article of neutral gender. This does not describe Jesus Christ, nor is Christ ever referred to in the Bible with the name “Perfect” even though we know He is.

“That which is perfect” cannot refer to the Holy Spirit either. When 1 Corinthians was written, the Holy Spirit had already entered the picture. The only safe conclusion that we can come to is that “that which is perfect” refers to something of neutral gender that is not yet complete but is anticipated by Paul to be completed in the indefinite future. What could that be?

I believe “that which is perfect” refers to the completed canon of Scripture. The Holy Bible. Here is why I believe this:

The early church had special needs
2. They did not have a complete New Testament
3. They needed authentication of these revelations by miracles and signs.

How shall we escape, if we neglect so great salvation; which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord, and was confirmed unto us by them that heard him; God also bearing them witness, both with signs and wonders, and with divers miracles, and gifts of the Holy Ghost, according to his own will?—Hebrews 2:3–4, (AV)
4. The New Testament was finally completed and is the “living and powerful” word of God.

“For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.”—Hebrews 4:12, (AV)

The gift of tongues was used only in the transitional period between Law and Grace and that the sign gifts continued through the time of the Apostles while the New Testament was in the process of being written and completed. So if this all true, what are people experiencing today? What is the source of the experiences often accompanied by feelings of euphoria and spiritual highs? Why are people not turning to God’s Word to understand the truth? Why are people allowing experience and emotion to trump the authority of God’s Word?

It all comes back to 2 Thessalonians 2:9, Even him, whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders, …. As I stated in Speaking in Tongues—Part 1, we are witnessing a growing phenomenon of satanic activity in the realm of the miraculous. Where the Devil does not succeed in taking the Bible from us, he works hard at taking us from the Bible. Sadly, when he succeeds in getting Christians to focus their attention on some supernatural experience, those seeking after the experience have neither the time nor interest in searching the Scriptures for God’s truth.

I do believe God is still in the miracle business today. But as for the sign gifts, the Bible speaks for itself, For the Jews require a sign, and the Greeks seek after wisdom:—1 Corinthians 1:22, (AV). “Greeks” here means gentiles.

And when speaking to the Pharisees and Sadducees, Jesus said, “A wicked and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign; and there shall no sign be given unto it, but the sign of the prophet Jonas. And he left them, and departed.”—Matthew 16:4, (AV)

So if you fall into the camp that believes experience and euphoria trump God’s Word, won’t you please seek God’s wisdom from His Word instead? I’ve known many great men of God, great soul winners who have led hundreds, maybe thousands to the Lord. Not one of them ever spoke in tongues.

<= Speaking in Tongues—Part 4