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Jacob, age 92, and Rebecca, age 89, are all excited about their decision Jacob suggests they go in. Jacob addresses the man behind the counter: “Are you the owner?” Jacob: “We’re about to get married. Do you sell heart medication?” Jacob: “How about medicine for circulation?” Jacob: “Medicine for rheumatism, scoliosis? ” Jacob: “How about Viagra?” Jacob: “Medicine for memory problems, arthritis, Jaundice?” Jacob: “What about vitamins, sleeping pills, Geritol, antidotes for Jacob: “You sell wheelchairs and walkers?” Jacob says to the pharmacist: “We’d like to register here for our |
“What is Easter Sunday?”
There is a lot of confusion regarding what Easter Sunday is all about. For some, Easter Sunday is about the Easter Bunny, colorfully decorated Easter eggs, and Easter egg hunts. Most people understand that Easter Sunday has something to do with the resurrection of Jesus, but are confused as to how the resurrection is related to the Easter eggs and the Easter bunny.
Biblically speaking, there is absolutely no connection between the resurrection of Jesus Christ and the common modern traditions related to Easter Sunday. Essentially, what occurred is that in order to make Christianity more attractive to non-Christians, the ancient Roman Catholic Church mixed the celebration of Jesus’ resurrection with celebrations that involved spring fertility rituals. These spring fertility rituals are the source of the egg and bunny traditions.
The Bible makes it clear that Jesus was resurrected on the first day of the week, Sunday Matthew 28:1; Mark 16:2; Luke 24:1; John 20:1; 19). Jesus’ resurrection is most worthy of being celebrated (see 1 Corinthians 15). While it is appropriate for Jesus’ resurrection to be celebrated on a Sunday, the day on which Jesus’ resurrection is celebrated should not be referred to as Easter. Easter has nothing to do with Jesus’ resurrection on a Sunday.
As a result, many Christians feel strongly that the day on which we celebrate Jesus’ resurrection should not be referred to as “Easter Sunday.” Rather, something like “Resurrection Sunday” would be far more appropriate and biblical. For the Christian, it is unthinkable that we would allow the silliness of Easter eggs and the Easter bunny to be the focus of the day instead of Jesus’ resurrection.
By all means, celebrate Christ’s resurrection on Easter Sunday. Christ’s resurrection is something that should be celebrated every day, not just once a year. At the same time, if we choose to celebrate Easter Sunday, we should not allow the fun and games to distract our attention from what the day should truly be all about—the fact that Jesus was resurrected from the dead, and that His resurrection demonstrates that we can indeed be promised an eternal home in Heaven by receiving Jesus as our Savior.
GRIN AND SHARE IT: “The Miser”
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There was a man who worked and worked and saved all his money. Never For years he kept telling his wife, “when I die, I want you to put my The years passed and he kept idolizing his money and telling his wife “Do you promise to put my money in the casket with me when I die?… do One day the man died and at the funeral the wife sat holding a gift Just as the funeral director got ready to close the casket the wife jumped When she returned to her seat her friend asked, “what did you put in the The wife answered, “he made me promise that I would put all his The friend was astonished and said, “I KNOW you didn’t do that!!” The wife looked at her friend and said, “Well, you know I’m a Christian Her friend said, “girl, you are crazy!!” “I can’t believe you put all the The wife quietly dabbed the tears from her eyes and said…. |
“What did Jesus look like?”
The Bible never gives any physical description of Christ. The closest thing we get to a description is in Isaiah 53:2b, “He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to Him, nothing in His appearance that we should desire Him.” All this tells us is that Jesus’ appearance was just like any other man’s – He was ordinary-looking. Isaiah was here prophesying that the coming suffering Servant would arise in lowly conditions and wear none of the usual emblems of royalty, making His true identity visible only to the discerning eye of faith.
Isaiah further describes the appearance of Christ as He would appear as He was being scourged prior to His crucifixion. “His appearance was so disfigured beyond that of any man and his form marred beyond human likeness” (Isaiah 52:14). These words describe the inhuman cruelty He suffered to the point that He no longer looked like a human being (Matthew 26:67; 27:30; John 19:3). His appearance was so awful that people looked at Him in astonishment.
Most of the images we have of Jesus today are probably not accurate. Jesus was a Jew, so He likely had dark skin, dark eyes, and dark hair. This is a far cry from the blond-haired, blue-eyed, fair-skinned Jesus in many modern pictures. One thing is clear: if it were important for us to know what He really did look like, Matthew, Peter and John, who spent three years with Him, would certainly be able to give us an accurate description, as would His own brothers, James and Jude. Yet, these New Testament writers offer no details about His physical attributes.
“When did Jesus know that He was God?”
The Bible does not clearly state that there was a point at which He knew that He was the second Person of the Trinity. At some point, Jesus fully realized who He was from eternity past, expressing it this way: “Jesus said to them, “Most assuredly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I AM.” (John 8:58). “And now, O Father, glorify Me together with Yourself, with the glory which I had with You before the world was.” (John 17:5). But the pre-incarnate Christ always knew He was the second Person of the Trinity. He made the worlds: “(God) has in these last days spoken to us by His Son, whom He has appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the worlds” (Hebrews 1:2). Jesus knew from the foundation of the world that He would die for our sins: ” Between you and the woman, And between your seed and her Seed; He shall bruise your head, And you shall bruise His heel.” (Genesis 3:15), and “….. the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world” (Revelation 13:8).
While we do not have a clear scripture revealing the thoughts of Jesus as a baby, we can at least discover from Scripture that as a young child He was well aware of His work. Jesus was preparing even as a boy to finish the work His Father sent Him to do. When His parents were concerned about His being missing on a trip to Jerusalem, they found Him in the temple “sitting in the midst of the teachers, both listening to them and asking them questions.” (Luke 2:46). When asked why He would disappear and worry them so, He told His parents: “’Why did you seek Me? Did you not know that I must be about My Father’s business?’ But they did not understand the statement which He spoke to them.” (Luke 2:49-50). Joseph and Mary may not have understood, but Jesus certainly did understand at the age of twelve that He was the Son of God and that the Father had foreordained the work He was to do.
After the incident in the temple, we are told “And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men” (Luke 2:52). If at this point in Jesus’ experience He knew everything, it would not follow logically that He would need to “increase in wisdom.” We know He had to grow physically (in stature), but we must also believe the scripture where our understanding fails us, that is, that He also put Himself voluntarily in a position where He needed to assimilate knowledge as a man. He needed to be truly man. He was always God, but He needed to become in all ways, except for sin, a man as well. In theological terms we refer to this as the hypostatic union. In order for Him to have a legitimate experience of temptation, He needed to limit certain facets of divine advantage. In this He emptied Himself of all His observable physical characteristics of divinity such as described in Revelation: “His head and his hairs were white like wool, as white as snow; and his eyes were as a flame of fire; And his feet like unto fine brass, as if they burned in a furnace; and his voice as the sound of many waters” (Revelation 1:14-15). We know this to be true because Isaiah describes Him in this way: “For He shall grow up before Him as a tender plant, And as a root out of dry ground. He has no form or comeliness; And when we see Him, There is no beauty that we should desire Him. ” (Isaiah 53:2).
We can conclude that although the preincarnate Jesus knew from eternity past who He was and what His work in the world was to be, the incarnate Jesus came to that realization at some point in His earthly life. Just what that point was, we cannot know for sure.
GRIN AND SHARE IT: “Senior Citizens”
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At a nursing home in Florida, a group of senior citizens were sitting “I know what you mean. My cataracts are so bad I can’t even see “I can’t turn my head because of the arthritis in my neck,” said a third, “My blood pressure pills make me dizzy,” another contributed. “I guess that’s the price we pay for getting old,” winced an old man as he “Well, it’s not that bad,” said one woman cheerfully. “Thank God we can |
“Is it okay to get tattoos if they are of a Christian nature?”
As a background, please read our article on ” What does the Bible say about tattoos and body piercings”. Beyond the general theme of that article, there is the question of Christian tattoos. Do the same principles apply to tattoos that are of a Christian nature, such as a cross, a Christian slogan, or even a Bible verse? Some Christians have found that having tattoos gives them more credibility, and thereby more possibilities of evangelism, with some groups of people. So what about Christian tattoos?
Obviously, a tattoo of a cross is “better” than a tattoo of a flaming skull, naked woman, or demon. Having a tattoo saying “Jesus saves” could indeed be a conversation starter with some people who would never approach a preacher wearing a suit and tie. Some refer to Revelation 19:16 as an example of Jesus possibly having a tattoo on His thigh, “King of kings and Lord of lords.” The question is not necessarily “is getting a tattoo a sin?” The question is more “is getting a tattoo a good and necessary thing to do?”First Corinthians 10:23 declares, “Everything is permissible – but not everything is beneficial. Everything is permissible – but not everything is constructive.” Christian tattoos may be “permissible,” but are they beneficial and constructive?
In 1 Corinthians 9:22-23; Paul exclaims, “I have become all things to all men so that by all possible means I might save some. I do all this for the sake of the gospel.” Becoming all things to save some is perhaps the only good possible reason for getting a Christian tattoo. If having a tattoo genuinely opens doors for evangelism that would otherwise be closed, getting Christian tattoos would likely “qualify” under Paul’s “becoming all things” qualification. At the same time, it is frankly difficult to envision a scenario in which having a tattoo would enable a greater possibility of evangelism. If a person will not listen to you due to a lack of a tattoo, it is highly unlikely that such a person would genuinely listen due to the presence of a tattoo.
With that said, the biblically based conclusion would seem to be that Christian tattoos are permissible, but it is highly questionable whether they can be considered beneficial and constructive. A Christian considering getting a tattoo should pray for wisdom (James 1:5) and ask the Lord to provide pure motives and discernment.
“How do I survive trying to raise a teenager?”
Many Christian parents wonder if they will survive trying to raise a teenager. Teenagers typically share certain characteristics. First, they are going through the stage in life where they believe they know all there is to know and what they don’t know isn’t worth knowing. Second, the hormones and chemicals charging through their brains and bodies hinder them, often rendering them incapable of reasoning as rational adults. They want what they want when they want it, and often don’t have any clue that what they are asking for will hurt them. It is the job of the parents to keep their children safe from themselves as they negotiate this difficult time of life.
Jesus teaches us this is Matthew 7:9-10 when He says, “You parents – if your children ask for a loaf of bread, do you give them a stone instead? Or if they ask for a fish, do you give them a snake? Of course not!” Sometimes children ask for things that look good to them, but which will in fact harm them, so it is the responsibility of the parents to do what is best. We have the same rules—if we ask God for something we think is good, but which God knows is not, He will not give it to us.
Having Jesus in your household is the best way to raise children. “Train a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not turn from it” (Proverbs 22:6). If you have become a Christian by asking Jesus into your heart, then the Holy Spirit is living in you and will teach you all things (John 14:26; 1 John 2:27), and this includes the way we raise our children. Children learn by what they observe from us much more than what we say to them, so being a good example is very important.
The Bible teaches us the importance of discipline. “He who spares the rod hates his son, but he who loves him is careful to discipline him” (Proverbs 13:24). “Discipline your son, for in that there is hope; do not be a willing party to his death” (Proverbs 19:18). “Discipline your son, and he will give you peace; he will bring delight to your soul” (Proverbs 29:17). It is very important to lay down rules and enforce them. When children know that what they are doing is wrong, some sort of punishment should follow, but it should be appropriate for the “crime.” Lying shows that a child cannot be trusted, so maybe until that trust can be restored, time spent out of the house should be very limited. They will want you to trust them again, so they will learn from that. The worst thing we can do is try to become our children’s friend instead of parent.
Discipline should always be carried out with the best interests of the child as the motivation. Ephesians 6:4 says we are not to make our children angry by the way we treat them (this doesn’t mean don’t discipline; it means don’t discipline in anger or frustration), but raise them with the discipline and instruction approved by the Lord. Make sure you are telling your child why the behavior is wrong, why you disagree, and that you are doing it out of love for him/her. Hebrews 12:7 tells us that God disciplines all His children when we do wrong because He loves us and it wouldn’t be good for us if He didn’t. When children argue about being punished, which they inevitably will, the wise parent replies, “It’s my responsibility to discipline you, and if I don’t, I have to answer to God. And He’s a lot tougher than I am!”
Finally, several things are crucial to survive raising teenagers: a sense of humor, a sense of conviction that you are doing the right thing, reliance on God’s wisdom in His Word, and prayer, prayer, prayer! Not only will these things help parents “survive,” but will also help them model good parenting, which teens will eventually use when they become parents themselves.
THE WALL: a blog of Baptist Voice Ministries 