Apr 15 2014

Surprised by a Greeting?

I was having lunch today in the hospital cafeteria with some other doctors when a lady passed by, looked at me, and said hello.  I remembered her as a radiology technologist in our hospital, and the last time I spoke to her was one or two years ago. I did not remember her name.  I smiled and said hello back, and I returned to my conversation.

A minute later she passed by again, looked at me again, and this time she said “He is risen!”

I looked up and she had a radiant smile on her face. Time slowed down for a few seconds and I remembered meeting her a few years ago in the interventional suite while she was setting up her equipment. To my surprise she was blasting Jesus music in that God-forsaken radiology room where no anesthesiologist ever wants to do a case.  I remembered telling her that it was a pleasure working with someone who loves Jesus and is not ashamed of his gospel. She seemed very happy that she found a brother in Christ who happened to be a physician, and the sentiment was mutual.

This time I made eye contact and said “Amen, Amen!”

I should have answered with the traditional eastern Christian salutation “Truly, He has risen!” I missed the opportunity, but such is the situation when one is surprised…

This greeting is not practiced as much here in the United States, but this wiki page shows the various countries where it is the norm around Easter.

This beautiful exchange was significant because it showed me once again that while we as believers are living in the world, we are not alone. We have other believers around us, and God uses them to encourage us.

Our love for God unites us.

The Resurrection unites us.

So let it ring… Christ  is risen!

Mar 21 2014

To Wear a Symbol

A wire coat hanger.

What do you do with one? Perhaps hang your shirt, your pants, or even a coat.

But to wear one on a chain around your neck? What reason could one possibly have to wear the symbol of a coat hanger around their neck or as a picture on their T-shirt?

First of all, let me tell you who these folks are, who wear these things. They are the same vitriolic militants who wear T-shirts with the phrase “I HAD AN ABORTION.”

The coat hanger has become a symbol of death they are proud of. They wear it to raise awareness of the “need” for abortion. Legal murder, that is. They consider the legal decision of two parties (mother and abortionist) to take away the life a third-party (baby) a triumph!

The pro-abortion militants of the pre-1973 decision to legalize abortion would go to such extremes to abort babies, that they would resort to inserting a hooked wire hanger into the uterus to pull out the baby. These are being billed as the “desperation” abortions for which we have no statistics, only rhetoric.

The Washington DC group called The DC Abortion Fund is pushing this craziness to support the continued practice of murdering babies before they are born.

They are proud of this.

They are proud they killed their own babies.

They promote a culture of death, while God-fearing people promote a culture of life. And yes, the Bible is definitely a pro-life book. Consider this passage:

 “Therefore choose life, that you and your offspring may live…” Deut 30:19

The reason why the militants of the DC Abortion Fund feel compelled to ensure that the practice of abortion continues is that they do not know the gospel. They do not understand the sanctity of life. They do not know the Author of Life as apostle Peter calls Him. They do not understand the value of life. They need to see that God gave Himself to die so that He may purchase life for us.

That is the heart of the gospel. The abortionist and mother who forsakes her baby need the gospel just like the rest of us.

Mar 10 2014

How Much Do You Love the Word of God?

I was at church last night and was seated behind an older gentlemen who, for lack of a better term, is very “lively” during church sermons.

He’s that guy that comments (fairly loudly) along with the sermon and finishing bible verses from memory that are being read from the pulpit. At one point there was a boy’s choir singing a song in English (I was in a Romanian church) and he celebrated and praised God throughout the entire song. At the end of the song he said to himself, but still out loud, “Praise God for you little men the song that you sang so beautifully. I have no clue what you said but I’m sure it was glorious!”

He was entertaining to say the least.

We stood for the reading of the word of God. That’s when I noticed his Bible. It looked to be easily 30 years old, housed in a ratty fo-leather zip case. His bible was open to Ephesians 2. As I glanced over his shoulder, I noticed that the pages themselves were almost smokey in color. Hmm. Old paper. There were small water stains on the open pages of what could only have been at one point tears. There were hectic highlights of pen and pencils of every color, and scribbles dotted the edges of the page. Sometimes the scribbled notes looked like they were trying to squeeze into a specific verse as they were carefully written in the small blank section between the lines.

The pages looked like they had been bent every which way at one point. The dog-eared corners appeared to be clinging to the rest of the page for dear life. One third of the page containing Ephesians 2 was held together by clear packaging tape. Through the tape I could see that a whole section the size of a half-dollar had at one point actually detached from the paper and was only held together by the shiny packaging tape.

The page edges were charcoal in color. Not by design as I’m sure they were once white, but by being handled with the dirty hands of a laborer who flipped through them after a day of hard work for years on end. The poor ribbon (if you can call it that) reminded me of thick, used dental floss. I’m sure at one point it was red, but now it was a dull pink, with intensely frayed edges that appeared to have endured one or two bouts with a scissor.

Through all of that, this man held that bible gently in both hands and looked at it as if it was made of silk and rubies. He delicately turned the pages as to not pull off a dog-eared page corner, and when he closed his bible for the night he did so with the utmost care.

As I was sitting behind him watching him, I glanced down at the brand new Allan bible laying in my lap. The pages were so white they almost sparkled. The regal art gilt with the gold on top of the red begged for attention. My 3 perfectly cut Allan ribbons shimmered as the light hit the royal blue fabric. My fingers melted into the soft highland goatskin leather as the bible shifted in my lap causing it to move in my hand. And through all that, the only thing I could think of was, “I hope one day you look like that ratty, tattered, well used bible”.

There is nothing wrong with enjoying the beauty in the design of all of the wondrous bibles available to us. But I was reminded of a valuable lesson last night. What is truly sacred in the bible is not the cover, the pages, the art gilting, or the ribbons but the unchanging words of the Creator. I for one would rather the words live in my heart, than on the pages on which they were printed.

“….my heart stands in awe of your words. I rejoice at your Word like one who finds a great spoil.” – Psalm 119: 161-162

written by Delight in Truth friend, Paul Tanca
Mar 1 2014

Statement of Faith of a Martyr

In 1980 a young man from Africa was forced by his tribe to either renounce Christ or face certain death. He was martyred. The night before he had written the following commitment which was found in his room:

“I’m a part of the fellowship of the unashamed. The die has been cast. I have stepped over the line. The decision has been made. I’m a disciple of His and I won’t look back, let up, slow down, back away, or be still.
My past is redeemed. My present makes sense. My future is secure. I’m done and finished with low living, sight walking, small planning, smooth knees, colorless dreams, tamed visions, mundane talking, cheap living, and dwarfed goals.

I no longer need preeminence, prosperity, position, promotions, plaudits, or popularity. I don’t have to be right, or first, or tops, or recognized, or praised, or rewarded. I live by faith, lean on His presence, walk by patience, lift by prayer, and labor by Holy Spirit power.

My face is set. My gait is fast. My goal is heaven. My road may be narrow, my way rough, my companions few, but my guide is reliable and my mission is clear.
I will not be bought, compromised, detoured, lured away, turned back, deluded or delayed.

I will not flinch in the face of sacrifice or hesitate in the presence of the adversary. I will not negotiate at the table of the enemy, ponder at the pool of popularity, or meander in the maze of mediocrity.
I won’t give up, shut up, or let up until I have stayed up, stored up, prayed up, paid up, and preached up for the cause of Christ.

I am a disciple of Jesus. I must give until I drop, preach until all know, and work until He comes. And when He does come for His own, He’ll have no problems recognizing me. My colors will be clear!”

via The Way of the Master
via Cornel P.
Feb 24 2014

Is it Possible to go to Heaven Without Hearing the Gospel of Jesus?

The debate between Christian progressives and fundamentalists rages over this question. The former say yes, the later say no.

Delight in Truth is with the fundamentalists on this one.  It is not possible for a human being to be saved without hearing and believing the gospel. The gospel states that every man is a sinner under the wrath of God and must be born again unto life by hearing and believing that Jesus died and rose again to atone for the sin of those who believe in Him.

So, here are the common issues brought up:

1. The people prior to Jesus’s public ministry certainly did not hear the name of Jesus. Are they all condemned? The answer is no. The saints of the Old Testament are saved through Jesus. They were looking forward to the Christ and His suffering. The Christ, or the Messiah, was a very common theme in Judaism and those faithfully waiting for the Christ to save them are certainly saved by faith. Here is the example of Moses looking forward to Jesus:

“He regarded disgrace for the sake of Christ as of greater value than the treasures of Egypt, because he was looking ahead to his reward.” Heb 11:26

2. What about those people who did not have access to the Moses and the Law and the Abrahamic covenant? There a few exceptions prior to Abraham where special revelation from God was given to certain people. Melchizedek and Job are examples of this.

3. Now, here is the big one. After the time of Christ, what about those people who by virtue of their geographic location could not have access to the gospel? Examples here include ancient Japanese, Chinese, Aztecs (see art above), Mayans, etc… Could any of them be saved?

If the bible is correct, the answer is no. Apostle Peter says of Jesus:

“Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved.” Acts 4:12

The progressives will now bring up the Romans 1 and 2 discourse regarding conscience being a guide and providing teaching between right and wrong:

“14 (Indeed, when Gentiles, who do not have the law, do by nature things required by the law, they are a law for themselves, even though they do not have the law. 15 They show that the requirements of the law are written on their hearts, their consciences also bearing witness, and their thoughts sometimes accusing them and at other times even defending them.) 16 This will take place on the day when God judges people’s secrets through Jesus Christ, as my gospel declares.” Rom 2:14-16

Too bad this is in the context of judgement. This is the judgement at the White Throne when God will judge all of condemned humanity. This is not a judgement for those who are saved.

The law that is embedded in everyone’s heart is there for condemnation, not for salvation. It does not have the power to save. It can only condemn.

This is what the Bible teaches. Complete exclusivity through Jesus. This is our impetus to evangelize the world! Jesus is the only Way!

Feb 3 2014

Superbowl Vs. Church Service

Delight in Truth has been a critic of Mars Hill pastor Mark Driscoll on select topics, but not today. Today I commend the Seattle  pastor for standing up to overwhelming pressure to cancel his church’s afternoon and evening services in favor of the Superbowl.

He decided to go ahead and hold AND preach the 4 pm (Pacific Time) service, smack in the middle of the Superbowl. What makes this even more noteworthy is the fact that Seattle’s favorite team, the Seahawks were playing.

Said Driscoll:

“I fully expect it will feel like we missed the rapture, as many saints will not be in the room.”

This is the sad reality. Many saints were not at church Sunday because many churches across the US have cancelled afternoon worship to make room for assisting at another kind of worship. The sanctuary for this type of worship is the football stadium, while the gods are the game, the athletes and the depraved performers of the halftime show. The worshipers are non other than the crazed fans in the stadium and living rooms across this country.

Proponents of service cancellation have their arguments. There are no Bible verses telling us that we have to attend every church service. There are no verses telling us what time we should worship. There is no Scripture telling us we will lose our reward for missing a church service.

True.

But there is a commandment saying “You shall have no other gods before me… You shall not bow down to them or serve them, for I the Lord your God am a jealous God” (Ex 20: 3,5)

Cancelling worship service in order to watch how others delight in the vices of this world says a lot about where the lukewarm Christian’s heart is.  It says that we love the things of this world and possibly love the world itself. If you love a thing of the world to the point that you are addicted to it, you love the world. It is a painful truth which may be difficult to accept.

But there is good news also.

We had youth night at church on Superbowl evening. And to my delight and surely, to the Lord’s delight the youth showed up to worship God. The true God.

And it was an opportunity to remember this Scripture:

“Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.” 1 John 2:15

Feb 1 2014

China – The Joy of Owning Their Own Bible

Check out this video and be amazed how much these Chinese Christians longed to have a Bible of their own. In many such places they have to share Bibles or portions of a Bible. Many do not have their own Bible, but today the people in the video finally get a copy of their own.

Jan 28 2014

Should the Baby Die Because the Mom Died?

Delight in Truth has closely followed the case of 33-year-old Marlise Munoz over the last couple months without weighing in on this complex ethical matter until now.

The 14 week-pregnant mom collapsed at home possibly due to a pulmonary embolism (clot to the lungs), and after resuscitation it was evident that she was brain-dead. But it appeared that her baby continued to have a normal heart beat after resuscitation.

In the aftermath of the diagnosis of brain death something paradoxical happened.

In such situations, the hospital and doctors are typically the ones who aggressively try to convince the family to take the patient off life support.  In this particular case, it was the other way around. The family argued that lack of oxygen during resuscitation may have damaged the baby significantly, and they aggressively pursued legal action to remove her from life support.  This action led to the baby’s demise at the gestational age of 22 weeks.

I agree that any life-sustaining treatment for the brain-dead mom was futile, but this was not the case for the baby.

Keeping the mom on life-support, keeps the baby alive. 

Even though the hospital ultimately agreed that the baby was unlikely to be born “normal,” it is worthwhile to consider that a baby with a normal heartbeat inside a mom whose heart, lungs, kidneys and liver are working has an excellent chance to grow to the point where a C-section can be performed.  This is because the baby’s development depends on a relatively low amount of oxygen delivered, and not the mother’s brain function.

Neonatologist Paul Bryne explains to Life Site News:

“The amount of oxygen a baby gets is much different than the amount of oxygen we get out here in the environment,” Byrne told LSN.  He said the blood supply to the baby is venous blood, which has already had most of the oxygen consumed by the mother’s body anyway.  “The baby’s body is used to living with a lower oxygen content. The baby is protected by the uterus more than the mother’s brain is protected, or the liver is protected, or the heart is protected [from lack of oxygen].”

 “A baby has all of his or her parts by eight weeks after conception,” Byrne told LSN.  “And so the susceptibility to medicines that could be toxic – and most of those that are used in resuscitation are not toxic – but even those that are toxic, the greater chance [of harm] is early in pregnancy, that’s when you have to be mostly concerned.”

These physiologic facts mattered not when the final decision was made. 

This case, however complex, illustrates that we do not live in a culture that will fight for the unborn. No one in the baby’s family stood up for the baby. In fact they did the opposite. It was the hospital and state who sided with keeping the baby alive until a judge ordered the life-support to be discontinued.

It would have been difficult to keep going 10 more weeks.  And so the chance to have beauty from ashes is gone.

This unfortunate situation resulted only in ashes.

Jan 25 2014

God Really is the Best, Mr. Brad Pitt

The famous actor grew up in a conservative Baptist family, but at some point he turned to apostasy (fall away from faith).  In an interview he said:

“There’s a point where you’re un-tethered from the beliefs of your childhood. That point came for me when it was finally clear my religion didn’t work for me.”

This is a common pathway for people who turn away from faith. Their conclusion portrays a misunderstanding of the gospel, of faith and of God. They believe that the aforementioned concepts are religion. But religion is merely a man-made system and not to be confused with a saving relationship with God.

So they become angry with the religious establishment, and project that anger on God. Here is how Brad Pitt does not understand God:

“I didn’t understand this idea of a God who says, ‘You have to acknowledge me. You have to say that I’m the best, and then I’ll give you eternal happiness. If you won’t, then you don’t get it!’ It seemed to be about ego. I can’t see God operating from ego, so it made no sense to me.”

Clearly, Brad Pitt does not understand the gospel. He thinks that he has to do something like satisfying God’s “ego” to get salvation.  There is no mention in there about the suffering and death of Jesus in the place of sinners. He conveniently left that part out, because surely he heard it hundreds of times in church while he was growing up.

Does the God who actually dies for his creation sound like the egotistical god portrayed by Pitt? Among His last words, Jesus said: Father, forgive them because they do not know what they are doing.

The ultimate act of love and unselfishness toward humanity is what illustrates the character of the biblical God.

But we must remember that God’s attributes of love and mercy cannot be separated from his divine wrath toward unrighteousness.

Ah, but it is this aspect that irks people like Brad Pitt.  They would love a god without the standards of holiness and therefore without consequence to sin. But this is not the God revealed in the Bible.

The biblical God became shame and died for humanity in order to save believers. But at the same time the evil born in the fall of creation must be punished, otherwise God would not be consistent in his attributes.

And yes Brad Pitt, God is the best.

Jan 20 2014

What Will It Take for an Atheist to Believe in God?

The real answer to this question, of course is the work of  conviction and renewal by the Holy Spirit in their heart.

But what do hardened atheists say when asked this question?

This is what atheist Peter Boghossian writes in his book A Manual for Creating Atheists:

“…if I walked outside at night and all of the stars were organized to read, “I am God communicating with you, believe in Me!” and every human being worldwide witnessed this in their native language, this would be suggestive (but far from conclusive as it’s a perception and could be a delusion).”

On Real Time with Bill Maher, Maher has a humorous response to what it would take for him to believe:

“Jesus Christ coming down from the sky during the halftime show at the Super Bowl and turning nachos into bread and fish.”

Silly atheists…

Delight in Truth would argue that some of these atheists would reject Jesus even if He came down during the Super Bowl and performed a physical miracle.  Follow the conversations Jesus has with His opponents in John 6 and John 8.  Despite the miracles He was doing in their midst, they still did not believe in Him. In fact, they wanted to kill Him.  In the same way we have hardened people today who hate God (even though they claim he does not exists).

Clearly pharaoh did not believe in God despite the exceptional miracles performed through Moses… and in our case, Maher would have us think that he would believe in Jesus if he saw nachos turn into bread… This is an abominable proposition in the very least.

Why do atheistic activists fight with such fervor against the concept of a monotheistic God, especially the God of the Bible? When was the last time you saw an anti-theist mock an eastern religion? They focus on Christianity and Jesus because that is where the truth is, and the truth bothers them. They have no problem with Buddhism and other polytheistic religions, but they go after the Judeo-Christian beliefs.

Why?

Because they love sin.

God’s moral standard is perfect and they reject it in favor of their own system of so-called morality. They do this in order to numb their God-given conscience and continue to sin.

The next time an atheist or anti-theist challenges you, ask him why he fights so hard against a God whom he claims does not exist…