Pastor’s Ponderings
“Encouragement”
Hebrews is a book of warning and encouragement. The author sees Jewish Christians on the verge of stepping away from Christianity and going back to Judaism. These Christians experienced persecution and peril at every turn. Though none had been killed yet, they had land and possessions taken.
The author of Hebrews gave many warnings to keep them from straying, but he also encouraged them to keep them staying! And he told us to do the same.
“But exhort one another, while it is called Today” (Heb. 3:13). “Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching” (Heb 10:25)
That verse is so compelling today. We are told to keep assembling because some had quit the church meetings. Instead of forsaking the assembly, we are to encourage the assemblers. The closer we get to the return of Christ, the more we should encourage each other, and we are closer every single day.
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My greatest concern for Calvary Baptist Church is that we stay in God’s Word during these trying times. I did not know Bro. Payne’s article would be about the Bible. But I encourage you to read it.
To help with your Bible reading, I included Scripture reading on the calendar in the middle of this newsletter. I chose the 119th Psalm for us to read as a church this month.
It is the longest chapter in the Bible, 176 verses. It is divided into 22 sections of eight verses. Each section begins with a letter from the Hebrew alphabet (22 letters). Notice the first two letters are ALEPH and BETH. These became Alpha and Beta in the Greek language and gave us the word “alphabet.”
All but two verses contain a reference to the Word of God. The readings will be Monday thru Saturday with a couple of extra days in case you miss reading one day. Let’s stay in God’s Word so God’s Word will stay in us.
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They are skeptical about almost every Old Testament story before 850 BC (or so). They will tell you the Patriarchs are myths, the conquest under Joshua is a fairy tale, the book of Judges is made up, and King David is no more real than King Arthur.
For these minimalists to believe, they need absolute proof from outside to Bible that the Bible stories are real, but this is simply impossible. No 4000 year-old manuscript exists that mentions Abraham. Bible characters are not mentioned by the Egyptians, so they must not have existed. Most minimalists believe the nation of Israel was invented by some writers during the exile (after 600 BC) and the Bible stories are completely unreliable.
A few pieces of evidence are quite interesting. One scholar studying contracts from the ancient near east found the price of slaves increased through the centuries. The only time they were 20 shekels was the time of Joseph when he was sold for that exact amount.
The Merneptah Stela, an Egyptian stone monument written in honor of Pharaoh Merneptah (son of Rameses II) mentions Israel being in Canaan in about 1205 BC.
A stele written for King Mesha of Moab mentions King Omri and refers to the house of David. Archaeologists looking in villages from the 13th century BC were amazed to find something missing that they found in all the areas surrounding Canaan: pig bones. While they can be found along the coast where the Philistines lived, further east, and further north, they are not found in central Palestine.
Some final thoughts: Other ancient documents from the time of the patriarchs mention that a barren wife could give a slave girl to her husband so an heir would be born (Gen. 16), the preferential treatment of the eldest, and the association of the house gods with the inheritance of family property (Gen 31:34). This evidence clearly demonstrates that the OT stories are based in fact, not fiction!
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I have asked from the beginning for you to pray for me and my family in five areas. Thank you for doing so, and please continue to plead with God that I would have:
1) Courage
2) Wisdom
3) Strength
4) Victory
5) Vision