Our Rebellion Leads to God's Grace.

 (credit to usatoday.com)

Deuteronomy Chapter 10: Moses Rehearses God’s Mercy

Deuteronomy 10:1-22 – Highlights of The Passage and Some Thoughts

When the people rebelled against God, He replied with mercy. He usually does. And Moses doesn’t want the sons of Israel to forget that. This chapter covers God’s mercy shown to Israel. Let’s cover the highlights.

In verses 1-3 we read that God told Moses who had smashed the first two tablets that the Ten Commandments were written on, to prepare another set as well as an ark or case of wood in which to put the tablets in after God wrote on them again. God knows how important these commandments are to life, and this time He didn’t want them broken.

In verse 10, Moses reminds the Israelites how he pleaded that God would not destroy them by staying on the mountain forty days and forty nights during which God listened to his pleas for the Israelites. And He relented and allowed them to go in and possess the land which He had “swore to their fathers to give them.” (vs. 11)

And in the next two verses Moses tells them what God requires of them. They (and we) are to:
-- fear Him (vs. 12)
-- to walk in all His ways
-- to love Him
-- to serve Him (with all their – our – heart and with all their – our – soul
-- to keep the Lord’s commandments and His statutes (vs. 13) for their – our – good.
Sounds pretty simple to me, but is it?

Now, let’s stop and think for a moment. Can you imagine a God like our God who created us and chose us to His children, NOT requiring anything of us? Honestly, what would be the point, of creating us? And how would we ever feel like His children? God has every right to demand things of us and not doing so, would have made life so much more futile in many ways. At least now, we have an opportunity to please God and serve Him. I’m not saying that doing so buys us salvation for it does not. But it gives us a purpose for living. So, we can say, as Moses does at the end of verse 13, “this is for your [our] good.” Can you believe that? You need to in order to get the full blessing of living for God.

In verses 14 and 15, Moses reminds them God owns everything in the universe, and He could have chosen to set His affection on whoever He wanted, yet He chose them (and you and I).

Our response is to “circumcise the foreskins of our hearts” and stop being a “stiff-necked people” (vs. 16) because God “does not show partiality, nor take a bribe.” (vs. 17) Circumcision of the body was a symbolic physical act representing what God really wanted from us – that of our cutting ourselves away from the desires of the flesh.  But the circumcising of our heart was what God wants of us spiritually.  In verse 18, Moses elaborates on that by declaring that God shows His justice by taking care of widows and orphans, and His love, by giving aliens food and clothing. And Moses advises that we do likewise, for we were once aliens – the Israelites in Egypt, and we in our sin. Both of us under slavery. (vs. 19)

And the last two verses of the chapter are most interesting. In verse 21, he says God is our praise. David Guzik says God is first and foremost the object of our praise. Secondly, “He is also the One who makes us praiseworthy. Any wisdom, beauty, or skill we show is not to our praise – but He is your praise.”

In verse 22, he reminds them that they started off with 70 people heading to Egypt and now they already were “as numerous as the stars of heaven.” What more do you want?

Wrap-up

This is a very complete chapter. 1) They (you and I) rebelled. 2) God showed great mercy. 3) Here’s what they (you and I) need to do. 4) And it’s good for them (us). It’s that simple, well, all except point 3.  So, let’s repeat it in detail.  Our job is to:

-- fear Him (vs. 12)
-- to walk in all His ways
-- to love Him
-- to serve Him (with all their – our – heart and with all their – our – soul
-- to keep the Lord’s commandments and His statutes (vs. 13) for their – our – good.

We could spend hours and pages on each one of these points.  We won’t because I know you get the point. The rewards of obedience in these five points are eternal starting right here and now.

It would be great if you would share your thoughts or questions on this blog in the comments section below or on social media.

Moses shares his heart, his personal regret, and his hope for Israel.

Deuteronomy Chapter 3: Conquest of Og; the Granting of Land; and the Transition of Leadership

The Passage and Some Thoughts

Verses 1-11 relate the story of the Israelites conquering Og. Once again it was utter destruction and killing, just as in the case of Sihon earlier. And again, the Israelites took the animals and other spoils, as well as the land. Great details are provided. Chuck Smith reminds us that enemy was made up of giants (the remnant of the Rephaim) – really big men, terrible men, giants. They first appeared in Genesis 14:5 and you can read their story here, The Rephaim. And Moses is saying, “and God delivered even them into your hands”.

Verses 12-17 describe the granting of land to two and a half tribes. The land was given to the Reubenites and the Gadites, and the half tribe of Manasseh. (This was a repeat of Numbers 32:32-38).

In verses 18-20 we have Moses reminding them how God had promised these tribes this land described above but they had to go to war with their brothers across the Jordan to gain possession of the Promised Land and only when that was all successfully accomplished, could they return to their wives and children on this side of the Jordan.

Verses 21-29 describe the transition of leadership from Moses to Joshua. In verse 22 he encourages Joshua not to fear the enemies, “for the Lord your God is the one fighting for you.” Besides Moses was saying, “Look at what He did for you at Sihon and Og (those giants you conquered).” We need that kind of advice today as we battle the Enemy of God and his agents. He is at work in the riots of America. He is at work in the shutting down of churches in China. He is at work in the persecution of Christians all over India and Africa. May we not fear these enemies.  The battle is God’s. HE is fighting for us. And while we may seem to be losing from a human perspective as our freedoms are eliminated, our churches destroyed, our pastors killed, and even our own lives being at stake – we are indeed winning, for God is fighting for us and our reward is in heaven.

Then in verses 23-26 Moses records how he pleaded with God to let him cross over Jordan to stand in the Promised Land and God would not for He was angry with Moses on account of the Israelites. But in his pleading to God, we note several things:
1. He is now seeing the greatness and strong hand of the Lord in delivering their enemies into the hands of the Isrealites. Sometimes it takes a long time for even a man like Moses to recognize how mighty God is. We lose out on so much because we, even though we are His, we fail to see His power and might as early as we may have otherwise.
2. It is God that shows that to him. Man is often blinded to God’s greatness. So, our prayer for ourselves, our loved ones, others, is that God would reveal Himself to them.
3. His recognition that no one in heaven or on earth, man or god, can do what God has done, is doing, and will do. We need to come to that understanding ourselves and then watch God and let God do what He needs to do. The earlier we get there in our thinking, the greater will be our ability to serve Him and others mightily.
4. Finally, in verse 26, Moses recognizes when God is angry with him and wants to hear no more of his pleading on the matter of being allowed to enter Canaan. We too need to recognize when God has had enough of our disobedience. We need to stop, especially if we have asked for forgiveness and He has forgiven us. Let it go. You missed out on something great, but God has more for you to do. Don’t miss out on that. We can appreciate how much this hurt Moses, and so God saying ‘No’ to us may also hurt us. But we need to believe, as Moses did, that there was a just reason for God’s response and the integrity of God’s character and being is more important than our disappointment in getting a ‘no’ answer.

In verses 27-29, we read of Moses being told to go to the top of Mount Pisgah and look in every direction, and see the Promised Land with his own eyes, though he was not allowed to cross over the Jordan to feel it under his feet. [When Moses actually gets to do this is the point where this book we are studying, Deuteronomy, will actually end.  So, hang in there.] Moses was actually told to replace himself with Joshua and to do all in his power to encourage him in crossing over the Jordan. The chapter ends with Moses saying, for now, “we remained in the valley opposite Beth-peor.”

Wrap-up

In this chapter, we see again God’s magnificent power (He defeated the greatest of enemies), His love for His people (He delivered the lands of the enemies into their hands), and His adherence to justice (He would not change His mind with respect to letting Moses enter the Promised Land).

Can we all learn those three lessons? We need to. God is almighty. God loves us. God is just and His word will be accomplished.

If there is anything that we need to convey to others it is those three characteristics of God and the fact that we can enjoy their benefits through His Son Jesus Christ. May that be so with each of us.

It would be great if you would share your thoughts or questions on this blog in the comments section below or on social media.

Add these 11 Commandments to the Ten You Know

Leviticus 19:11-18  – Social Order Basics Part III – Public Relationships

Day 13 of our 14-day self-quarantine. Can hardly wait. My study in the book of Leviticus continues and each day I’m finding it just happens to have more and more to say to us as we live through this Coronavirus situation.  Read on.

The Passage

¹¹ ‘You shall not steal, nor deal falsely, nor lie to one another. ¹² You shall not swear falsely by My name, so as to profane the name of your God; I am the Lord.

¹³ ‘You shall not oppress your neighbor, nor rob him. The wages of a hired man are not to remain with you all night until morning. ¹⁴ You shall not curse a deaf man, nor place a stumbling block before the blind, but you shall revere your God; I am the Lord.

¹⁵ ‘You shall do no injustice in judgment; you shall not be partial to the poor nor defer to the great, but you are to judge your neighbor fairly. ¹⁶ You shall not go about as a slanderer among your people, and you are not to act against the life of your neighbor; I am the Lord.

¹⁷ ‘You shall not hate your fellow countryman in your heart; you may surely reprove your neighbor but shall not incur sin because of him. ¹⁸ You shall not take vengeance, nor bear any grudge against the sons of your people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself; I am the Lord.

Thoughts on the Passage

Let’s summarize the orders that God is giving His people in this passage:

i.               Don’t steal from, cheat, or lie to, one another.

ii.             Don’t swear falsely by God’s name.

iii.            Don’t oppress your neighbor (or rob him).

iv.            Pay your hired help quickly.

v.              Don’t tease or abuse the deaf and the blind, etc.

vi.            Let your judgments be just and fair without partiality to the poor or the rich.

vii.          Don’t be a slanderer.

viii.         Don’t ‘act’ against the ‘life’ of your neighbor.

ix.            Don’t ‘hate’ your fellow countryman in your heart, but you may reprove him, as long as you don’t sin in doing so.

x.              Don’t take vengeance, or bear grudges.

xi.            Love your neighbor as yourself.

Most of these are self-explanatory, but let me comment on a few, especially as they relate to the Coronavirus situation:

If this social distancing and other measures we are all taking does not end soon, I can see a day coming when people will indeed be stealing from one another or cheating them in their purchases or lying to them. As God’s people, we are not to do that. We are to trust in Him to provide for own needs.

Although many of our businesses may be suffering during this time, we are to pay our employees what we owe them to the best of our abilities. We are also to try and help them get the financial support available to them from the government and other sources that they are entitled to. We are not to lie for them, however. We are to reduce our income in order to help them out. Under this commandment, as God’s people, we can also include the idea that we are to pay our bills to utilities and other organizations or people we owe money too, to the extent possible.

Chuck Smith has an interesting perspective on being cruel to the disadvantaged:

I'm amazed at how cruel people really are. I'm amazed how cruel children are to a handicapped child. What is that about our nature, that children are so cruel to a handicapped child?

Now in the animal realm, quite often a handicapped animal will be killed by another animal. But unfortunately, sometimes men aren't far from that. Taking advantage of the disadvantaged. How often we see it done, yet there's nothing more cruel in the world taking advantage of a disadvantaged person. There's nothing more dangerous in all the world, because God said He sticks up for the disadvantaged. God said He watches over the widow. Man, when you're doing it to one that God is watching over, you're in big trouble. But you see, man apart from Jesus Christ isn't far from the animal. For an animal has body and consciousness. Man, apart from Jesus Christ has body and consciousness, therefore he relates well to the animal kingdom; therefore, he is cruel to the handicapped or the disadvantaged.

I know I cringe whenever I see clips of men or husbands beating children or women; or anyone in a gang attacking another person who is alone. What cowards.

Some of us are going to be called upon to make some tough decisions in many aspects of life (perhaps in who we lay off and who we keep, etc.). In those decisions, we need at all times to apply justice and fairness, regardless of who is involved.

Here in verse 16 of the passage, God tells us not to be a slanderer. Many may ask what exactly does that mean? I looked it up for us – it is one who attacks the reputation of another by slander or libel. It refers to a backbiter, defamer, libeller, maligner, traducer, or vilifier. Matthew Henry believes this passage is primarily focusing on telling false “tales” about others. So, if we are to take issue with someone on social media, or elsewhere, we need to be sure that a) it is not a false statement and could stand any fact-check someone may apply to it and b) it is not done in a way that entails the attitudes described in the definition just given above.

I found the one about “don’t act against the life of your neighbor” most interesting. Not sure exactly what that means. Matthew Henry says the following which is very helpful:

In witness-bearing: Neither shalt thou stand as a witness against the blood of thy neighbor, if his blood be innocent, nor join in confederacy with such bloody men as those described,’ [Prov. 1:11,12]. The Jewish doctors put this further sense upon it: “Thou shalt not stand by and see thy brother in danger, but thou shalt come in to his relief and succour, though it be with the peril of thy own life or limb;” they add, “He that can by his testimony clear one that is accused is obliged by this law to do it;” [see Prov. 24:11,12].

That’s a tall order, but it is what we are to do even if we consider our neighbor an enemy.

And when it comes to our political differences (related to coronavirus or otherwise), God is very clear when He says don’t hate your fellow countrymen.  You can reprove them, but not in a way that causes you to sin – so reprove them in love. That too requires a lot of work for some of us. But if we do not hate them in our “heart”, then perhaps we may realize we really do not hate them.

We are not to take vengeance when we have been wronged. We know that God will take care of that as He tells us in Deuteronomy 32:35, “Vengeance is Mine; (He) will repay”.  And we are not to bear grudges. My second daughter always reminds me of that. Yes, we are not to bar grudges.  We are to be ready to forgive and to bring back into fellowship with us all who sincerely want to come back with a change of heart.

Finally, we are, to love our neighbor as ourselves.  So, today, think about how you would like to be treated amongst all this social-distancing and treat your neighbor in the same way.

Hang in there, folks. In Ontario, Canada where I am schools will continue to be closed at least until sometime in May.  Please pray for all parents locked at home with their children.  Love to have your comments on any of these thoughts.  

It would be great if you would share your thoughts or questions on this blog in the comments section below or on social media.

Laws, Lepers, and Love

 Leviticus 13:18-44 and 45-46 

[picture from American Leprosy Missions]

Verses 18 to 44 simply describe other possible scenarios that may have been leprosy and needed diagnosis. These included skin boils (vs. 18-23); burned skin (vs. 24-28); head or beard infections (vs. 29-37); bright skin spots (vs. 38-39); and baldness (vs. 40-44). All these could possibly be leprosy infection. Then the last two verses of the passage (vs. 45-46) give a general comment as follows:

“As for the leper who has the infection, his clothes shall be torn, and the hair of his head shall be uncovered, and he shall cover his mustache and cry, ‘Unclean! Unclean!’ He shall remain unclean all the days during which he has the infection; he is unclean. He shall live alone; his dwelling shall be outside the camp.”

Thoughts on the Passage

Currently, as I write this, the world is dealing with Coronavirus 19 and thousands of people are living their lives behind masks thinking they can avoid catching it. Millions of others are in quarantine in China where the whole thing broke out. It has the power of ruining nations as well as the global economy.  I find solace in the fact that I know my God is fully aware of the situation, He’s in control, and this is neither a surprise nor a snag for His plan for mankind.  We press on.

The images portrayed in the last two verses of the passage above certainly reminded me of the reality we face today with Covid-19 as the virus is referred to.

But what was God saying in these two verses? More importantly what can we glean from the passage for today?

Clearly, for the Jews of the O.T. and for Jews of Jesus’ days, leprosy was a big thing. We can read what was expected of them in the days of Moses in the passage above. However, in the first century A.D., David Guzik says the Jews and their rabbis went much further. He writes:

“Many Jews thought two things about a leper: You are the walking dead and you deserve this because this is the punishment of God against you. Jewish custom said that you should not even greet a leper, and you had to stay six feet away from a leper. One Rabbi bragged that we would not even buy an egg on a street where he saw a leper, and another boasted that he threw rocks at lepers to keep them far from him. Rabbis didn’t even allow a leper to wash his face.”

It sounds like the inhumanity of the clergy was alive and well in those days as it often is today.  But as Christians, we are not to stuck there. We don’t have to stick with the laws put in place for the Jews to keep them from being eliminated by sickness or a plague after they left Egypt.  Nor can we rely on what rabbis proposed in the days of Christ.  No, instead we must look at Jesus himself as the role model in how we treat those with such infirmities.  Guzik continues:

“But Jesus was different. He loved lepers; He touched them and healed them when they had no hope at all (Matthew 8:1-4 and Luke 17:11-19).”

Here’s the good news, at least for North Americans, according to Guzik:

“Because of modern drugs and treatments, leprosy is almost unknown in the western world – the United States’ only two leper colonies have been shut down. But worldwide there are some 15 million lepers, almost all of them in third-world nations.”

For an excellent more recent update than Guzik’s on leprosy (and yes there are still two places you can find some lepers in the U.S.), take a few moments to check out this clip: Leprosy Update 2016.

The lesson for us? While you and I may not be able to heal lepers unless the Holy Spirit wants us to, we still have a responsibility to behave like our Lord did towards them.  Think Mother Teresa.

It would be great if you would share your thoughts or questions on this blog in the comments section below or on social media.

Waiting For God(ot) -- No, I Mean It, It Seems Death is All that is Left

The day after American Thanksgiving my wife and I cut our visit to our daughter's family in the U.S. short.  Word had come back that my mother-in-law was not doing so well in her long-term care facility. And my wife felt she needed to be home.

I lost my mother when she was 64. I was 35 at the time. My dad died in his 91st year. I was 59.  My wife's father lived to be in his 97th year and died when my wife was 70.  And now we sit daily for a long stretch of time -- feeding and making comfortable her mom who is in her 96th year.

She has signed all the required papers. They are not to resuscitate her when the time comes. In the meanwhile she breathes with the help of oxygen. I understand that the amount of oxygen is significant enough that the portable containers can no longer be used.  It now comes directly from a much larger machine that is plugged into the wall.

And although this is also possible in the dining room, this resident is no longer able to sit up, let alone stand up. Thus getting her to meals in a wheelchair is not feasible. It's a struggle for two staff people to get her to the washroom or to take care of her in her bed.  They are angels.

I don't mind visiting as often as I can.  I do it because I love my wife.  And I want to be there for her. Fortunately, the home has excellent Wi-Fi and I can get a lot of work done (including writing this blog) when I'm here.

Today is not a particularly good day.  My mother-in-law does not want to eat a lot. She is hardly talking. She can barely keep her eyes open. This is no way to live. She wonders how long she has been like this and how much longer this condition will continue. We're not sure if she is hoping to get better or if she is ready to die. The verdict on that changes regularly.

For all of us, it's like waiting for Godot. You may have studied the famous but absurd play by Samuel Beckett performed first in 1953.  Godot never comes for the two main characters.

But get rid of "ot" and change it to waiting for God -- and that's exactly what we have here.  We tell Grandma that it's up to God now as to how long this state will continue.  We are doing nothing to cut it short and there is nothing we can do to prolong it in accordance wth her wishes.

But the wait is important.  Not so much for her, but more for us. Death has a way of strengthening the  living.

When a parent lives into his or her late nineties, their caregiver children often range into their seventies. The toll of daily visits, feeding and just sitting next to their loved day after day (especially if due to location one child is more likely to bear the majority of the burden) often with little or no response, or signs of real life, can be taxing. Yet, children do it because of the relationship and the bond (regardless of quality) that has been established over seven decades or more.

Somehow God gives them the strength to daily set aside their own responsibilities and make that visit. It's a duty they take on even though they have no idea of how long it will need to last. The staff at the long-term care facility my wife's mother is in told me this week that in 2019 they had to say goodbye to two 108 year olds. And then of course what happens when the caregiver themselves starts to have her or his own health issues?  Just imagine a parent living to 108 and the caregiver being 85.

Maybe our forefathers knew something when they all lived together in villages, taking care of their aged at home and sharing the responsibilities. Or did they?

So we wait for Godot.  We wait for our loved one to die. There are no other options -- recovery has succumbed to age. If a setback occurs, any medicine or treatment can only prolong life for a day, a week, month, maybe even a year. But what does that life look like and who wants it?  Does the elderly person themselves want it?  Does one dare to ask him or her?

I asked my mother-in-law today, "Did you sleep well last night?" Her barely audible reply was, "That's all I do."  She's right. I added, "Then you've mastered that.  Maybe you can teach some of us how to do it."  She smiled.

As we each take turns visiting and sitting quietly in the room, we cannot but think of our own future, our own old age, even our own last days.  Will we have mastered sleep, waiting for Godot, waiting for death?  I pray my personal experience will be characterized by a sense of wonderment because I will be waiting for God, not Beckett's Godot. And Love will have once again conquered all, even death.

-- Ken B. Godevenos writing from Toronto.

It would be great if you would share your thoughts or questions on this blog in the comments section below or on social media.

Young Lincoln of New Salem:A Historical Novel, Wonderfully Heavy on Fact

Young Lincoln of New Salem: Abraham Lincoln’s spiritual journey during his time at New Salem and beyond

Author: Sam Rawlins

Publisher: Yorkshire Publishing, Tulsa, Oklahoma, 2019

A Historical Novel, Wonderfully Heavy on Fact

Full disclosure: I love America and Abraham Lincoln. I have always thought of Lincoln as a man of faith, a regular reader of the Bible, and one who had a personal relationship with the Creator. However, I was lacking two pieces of the puzzle that portrayed the full life of the 16^thPresident of the United States.  First, I had no idea about his childhood experiences.  Second, I had no idea of how it was he became such a spiritual person.  Sam Rawlins’ book provided me those two pieces.

The author’s research is extensive, spanning three years of focusing on 121 different sources available to him.  From these, he paints for us a powerful image of what life was like for ‘young Lincoln’ and those who knew him best.

The story starts off with his arrival in New Salem where he catches a glimpse of the young woman who becomes the love of his life while she lived and the angel that guided him after she died. From there, through Lincoln’s memory, we are allowed to share his childhood, living with a man who had no right to be called a ‘father’ as he treated his son like a slave, or perhaps worse.

There are several themes throughout the book that Rawlins uses to drive home some key ideas about Lincoln: his devotion to Ann Rutledge; his honesty; his commitment to his friends; his losses; and his desire to do God’s will.

Lincoln became the man he ultimately was after he faced and conquered his past growing up under a drunken tyrant. He had to deal with his enemies slowly turning each one of them into a valued friend that stood by him to the very end.

Rawlins gives us a very intimate look into life for American settlers in the early 1830s. It wasn’t pretty in many respects.  Only the strong and the faithful could handle it. Lincoln seemed a natural for it.

He had to learn to accept opportunities to lead others in very difficult circumstances, when he felt he didn’t deserve them. He cared and attended to the needs of weaker or ill neighbors during the ‘Winter of the Deep Snow’ which hit the community hard. And then he enlisted in the great War against Chief Blackhawk who had had enough of the maltreatment that his people were receiving from white Americans. Through that he saw death and war like he had never imagined it before.  Many were lost including young men close to him. He hated war. And this experience served to mold his character into what was needed for him to later end slavery in the United States.

Another theme that Rawlins drives home is Abe’s thirst for knowledge. He devoured whatever book he could get his hands on. And soon, a dream emerged that was supported not only by his true love, but also some of the older, wiser men who came to see him as a young man of promise or a true brother, and also one who came to see him as his own ‘son’. Young Lincoln, who could hardly read or write his name when he arrived in New Salem, now wanted to become a lawyer someday.  And what a journey that was.

But as fate would have it, the loss of his mother as a young child, the loss of his sister, the loss of his friends in battle, was soon to be followed by the loss of his beloved. Could fate have served him a more bitter pill? Abe now had to fight extreme depression, no appetite, and a desire to end it all. But God had other plans for young Lincoln, and the friends He had arranged for Abe to have, helped him survive.

Resolving to do all he had promised his love before she died, Abraham Lincoln put his life together with the help of others and embarked on the necessary steps to accomplish their joint dream. How all of this came about makes this historically based account an incredible read.

Eventually, Lincoln becomes a famous attorney and through an unfortunate event ends up marrying someone who could never be what he had lost in losing his fiancée many years earlier. You’ll have to read about that for yourselves. Suffice it to say that his legal partner, William (Billy) Herndon wrote a book entitled, “Lincoln and Ann Rutledge and the Pioneers of New Salem” which positively exposes Abe’s true and only love for Ann, to the unending opposition of his wife, Mary Todd and her family. 

Rawlins uses real names of people and places as well as their accounts of what actually took place from other historical sources. The skill with which he does this, is alone worth the ‘price of admission’ to his book.  At the back of the volume, Sam Rawlins shares how the book came about, his sources, his appreciation of those that remained true to their word in writing about Abraham Lincoln as they knew him, and what today’s readers could actually experience themselves by visiting the actual sites that provide the setting for the book.

Personally, this is a book I wish many would read. It helps us understand Abraham Lincoln who was born just ten years after George Washington died (210 years ago). It helps us grasp how his life experiences made him who he was and enabled him to achieve what he did. It makes us reflect on what may be missing in the lives of our modern leaders – and perhaps our own.  It certainly made me more aware of the difference God can make in the lives of people and their life’s accomplishments for the good of others. Even ordinary folks like you, and me, and a mistreated young man, who felt he would be better off dead, named Abraham Lincoln.

Highly recommended for those who love history, those who enjoy a great romance story, and those who want to be challenged about how to live a productive life for God and for others. I intend to take it with me when I visit Springfield, Illinois, and Lincoln’s New Salem Historic State Park in Menard County, Illinois.

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n  Ken B. Godevenos, President, Accord Resolutions Services Inc., Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, April 13, 2019, www.accordconsulting.com

It would be great if you would share your thoughts or questions on this blog in the comments section below or on social media.

God’s Design Law of Love Changes One’s Major Tenets

The God-Shaped Heart: How Correctly Understanding God’s Love Transfoms Us Author: Timothy R. Jennings, MD

Publisher:Baker Books, Grand Rapids, Michigan, 2017

In some respects, this is the sequel to the author’s The God-Shaped Brain: How Changing Your View of God Transforms Your Life, which dealt with our brains, anatomy, and God. This time, he shows how our being wired to love is a result of our being created in God’s image – and thus, love gives us a great insight into God’s character, His true identity, and His plans for mankind. Once again, most interesting reading.

His opening premise is that Christianity has been marred, nay, seriously injured, by its focus on fear and punishment of those who don’t buy into it, lock, stock, and barrel. And just like his previous book, Jennings’ arguments and claims are based on solid interpretations of Scripture and supported with counselling examples from his counselling practice. You will find both most stimulating.

No one would argue with Jennings when he postulates that there is power in love. But if so, he asks, where is it?  What’s obstructing it in the lives of Christians? And thus, begins the pilgrimage to find out.

His journey leads him to contest that “the most distressing problem in Christianity is distorted ideas about God.” And to investigate this idea, he takes us to the “heart” – not that physical organ which pumps blood throughout the body, but rather “one’s core self, the inmost secret self, the place where one’s true desires, affections, longings, beliefs, and identity reside – the core elements of one’s individuality. It is our character, composed of all those elements, that make us the individuals we are.” And it is the brain that is the platform on which that ‘heart’ (our character) operates.

Decisions are made by the ‘mind’ which depends on the information it receives from the brain.  And then based on that, Jennings has us consider spiritual warfare from a different perspective.

For me, the highlight of the book is the author’s identification, explanation, and demonstration of the “Seven Levels of Moral Decision-Making”.  This is worth the price of the book itself. Master that and you can then start to consider what level people you know, including yourself, operate at. You’ll be very surprised.  He explains why rules and laws are no longer necessary when living at level five and above.

He does a great job of identifying a multitude of theological positions held by many segments of the Christian Body which we have interpreted and held too, in a way, which communicates the “infection of imposed law, with its false ideas that God is the problem that needs fixing.”

Of course, taking such ideas (that God’s ‘design law’ is all about ‘love’) to their ultimate conclusions, requires readers to challenge its application to some very controversial subjects.  Jennings beats us to the draw and voluntarily does that himself.  He deals with topics such as justice, hell, spousal abuse, worship, divorce, baptism, and more. He saves a lot of his disdain about how church leadership today has morphed into being protectors of the institution, rather doing what they can to help lead people to salvation. (That’s a most interesting and challenging chapter.) In another chapter, he explains how we might utilize the truth about God in our thinking with respect to homosexuality, complete with some very clearly described scientific explanations.

He provides some good advice as to why those of us in the church as well as non-believers are so willing to believe the various lies about God. He then identifies some of the ways to overcome that.

In his concluding chapter, Jennings addresses the issue of God’s judgment. It’s a most informative treatise of the subject. And in his Appendix A, he gives us a “Summary of God’s Design Laws”.

The book challenges our own thinking, attitude, and thus, behavior towards those in our personal relationships, in our church, in the Body, and the world as a whole. It deals with the present as well as the future. Like me, you may not always agree, one hundred percent with where Dr. Jennings ends up on some issues. Still, you will find the book most helpful in informing you of alternatives. And it just make you more like Jesus and perhaps even more useful to Him. 

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·     Ken B. Godevenos, President, Accord Resolutions Services Inc., Toronto, Ontario, May 21, 2018, www.accordconsulting.com

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