while today

Confess means to disclose, acknowledge, or admit something. Both our English word, confess, and the Greek word behind it are used for confessing sin and also professing faith. Some English translations have adopted “acknowledge” for the confessing faith passages.

One of the great passages dealing with confessing faith is Romans 10:9: “that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved” (ESV). Some might ask us, “Doesn’t that exclude baptism?”

Many who might ask that question believe in unconditional election. Yet what is a sentence that states “if you confess and believe, you will be saved” but a condition. Further, Paul’s emphasis in this verse is on the resurrection, yet we know from all of Romans that the basis of salvation also included the atoning death of Christ. Paul mentions a part for the whole. Maybe the same is true for the conditions of salvation. We need to consider all that is said about salvation in the New Testament.

Paul is dealing with the problem of Jewish unbelief in Romans 9-11. Paul underscores that salvation is available to all with his use of the quotation from Joel 2:32, “For ‘everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved’” (Romans 10:13, ESV). The quote also explains Paul’s discussion of confession.

Interestingly, Joel 2:32, confession, and baptism intersect in a number of passages. Peter quotes Joel in his Pentecost sermon (Acts 2:21) but commands his listeners to repent and be baptized (Acts 2:38). When Paul recounts his own conversion in Acts 22, he quotes Ananias as saying, “And now why do you wait? Rise and be baptized and wash away your sins, calling on his name” (22:16, ESV), which obviously alludes to Joel 2:32. Peter writes, “Baptism, which corresponds to this, now saves you, not as a removal of dirt from the body but as an appeal to God for a good conscience, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ” (1 Peter 3:21, ESV). Confession and baptism are not at odds with one another, but seem to go together in the New Testament.

Confessing our faith in Jesus brings us out into the open. It makes our faith public. Jesus does not want secret disciples (see also Matthew 10:32-33). Clearly Jesus and Paul link confession to salvation.

Graduation is surrounded by many traditions. It is a human way of expressing the significance of the event. Graduates are most often dressed in a cap and gown (and there may be hoods and stoles involved too). This academic dress dates from the medieval universities of Europe when robes were the daily dress of those in the academy and not a special occasion attire.

Many of us will hear the strains of “Pomp and Circumstances” as graduates march in and out of the ceremony. This tradition is not nearly as old as caps and gowns. It dates back to 1905. Yale University bestowed an honorary doctorate on the composer, Sir Edward Elgar. In the ceremony, the New Haven Orchestra played a small part of his 1901 “March No. 1 in D Major.” The music caught on for graduations, and the rest is history.

Many will hear a commencement address. Such speeches celebrate the accomplishments of the graduates and often give advice for the next phase of life. Graduation is a transition. Graduation represents the closing of one phase of a person’s life and the beginning of a new phase. It is a time full of promise, even though transitions are not always easy. Graduates are often thinking and planning what’s next.

What message do I have for parents and graduates? Raising children is a gradual process of letting go. We train. We instruct. We discipline. But the goal is always for these lessons to be internalized, so that our children reflect Christian character as they make their way in the world. It is rewarding but never easy.

Youth is a time to follow dreams. As you get older responsibilities may increase and certain doors of opportunity may close or at least become harder to go through. Test your dreams by the will of God (see Ecclesiastes 11:9), but recognize that this is a unique time in your life to work towards what you will become.

Whatever else you pursue in life, my prayer is that you will seek first the kingdom of God. (See Matthew 6:33.) For those who are leaving home for the first time, there may be challenges to your faith. I want you to know that there are good answers to the skeptical questions people ask. Don’t be afraid to ask for help. If you seek God, you will find answers and your faith will be strengthened.

We are looking forward to our son’s graduation. We are proud of his accomplishments and look forward to celebrating this important event in his life. Congratulations to all of our graduates and their parents! It is an exciting and important time for you.

When Becky was born, I took 35 mm pictures and recorded the audio of her birth on a micro-cassette tape recorder. A few months ago, I dug up the recording to see if it still worked and transferred it to a digital recording.

I’m not totally certain it was a friendly act to send the audio to my then pregnant daughter, but she listened to it. It was interesting hearing it again. When time for the delivery came, things happened quickly. So quickly that Kathy wasn’t able to have a spinal block. It was all natural child birth whether she wanted it that way or not. When they wheeled Kathy out to the delivery room, I was told to change into my scrubs and wait. I told them I would change, but not wait. And it was a good thing I didn’t wait.

The recording has about 10 minutes of labor prior to the birth. Pain and stress are in Kathy’s voice. The doctor and nurse are business-like, and I’m trying to be calming and reassuring. Then the birth comes, and you hear that little cry, and the whole mood changes. Travail has become joy.

I recently confessed to Kathy that I felt more anxiety over the birth of our grandson than I did for our own children. I really hadn’t worried back then. I asked if I had been that naïve. With the reassurance that only wives can give, she assured me that I had indeed been that naïve. (Of course, it is easier being the breathing coach than the one actually going through the labor.)

Labor and delivery has a mixture of pain and joy, so does raising a child, although my experience has been that the joy far outweighs everything else. We may have a hard time realizing the pain and sacrifice parents make until we become parents. But we all have a debt of gratitude.

I’m looking forward to Mother’s Day 2011. Lord willing, I will spend it with my wife, daughter, son-in-law, and new grandson. I will be with my daughter on her first Mother’s Day as a new mom.

Mothers are special. They have experienced the travail of child birth and its joys.

Her children rise up and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praises her: “Many women have done excellently, but you surpass them all.” (Proverbs 31:28–29, ESV)

First published in 1611, the King James Version celebrates its 400th anniversary in 2011. The KJV had a number of important English Bible predecessors: the Tyndale New Testament (1525/26), the Coverdale Bible (1535), the Matthew-Tyndale Bible (1537), the “Great Bible” (1539), the Geneva Bible (1560), and the Bishop’s Bible (1568).

King James I, the king of England and earthly head of the Church of England, called the Hampton Conference of 1604. It was at this conference that a new translation of the Bible was proposed for use in the Church of England. One of the purposes of the new translation was to eliminate marginal notes that had become popular with the Geneva Bible. Those notes had become a battle ground of doctrinal differences.

Fifty-four translators worked on the KJV, although the names of only forty-seven have been preserved. The translators were divided into six committees. Three committees worked on the Old Testament, two on the New Testament, and one on the Apocrypha. (The Apocrypha was commonly printed in the KJV until the British and Foreign Bible Society adopted a policy of omitting it in 1826.) The draft translation from these six committees was then reviewed by a smaller group of 12 translators (two from each committee). The work of seeing the translation through the printing process was overseen by Miles Smith and Thomas Bilson. Smith wrote the preface, “The Translators to the Readers,” which is usually omitted in modern printings, although interesting to read.

In what sense is the King James Version the Authorized Version? The mention of authorized version is printed in the KJV, but unfortunately there is no historical record of its authorization. It is assumed to have come by Order in Council, but records have been lost. Such an order would only have meant that it was authorized by the Church of England to be read in their churches. It is not a reference to any divine authorization.

Why celebrate? I’ve decided to read the KJV in my daily Bible readings this year in honor of its 400th anniversary. The KJV made a profound effect on language, literature, and study of the Bible. For many, it is still their Bible of choice. The preface to the KJV remarks that they owed “everlasting remembrance” to the translators who went before them. I suspect we do owe an incredible debt to all who have translated the Bible for us. The KJV translators overcame a resistance to making the Bible available in the common language (an issue addressed in the KJV preface). Whatever translation you are reading, if it in English, you have an incredible debt to the KJV and the translations that preceded it. They made the Bible available to us all.

Last year I wrote about the claim that the Mayan calendar predicted the end of the world on December 21, 2012. Hollywood even released an escapist, disaster movie in 2009 to pick up on the hype.

As you may recall, the Mayans had a fairly accurate calendar which used the base 20 numbering system rather than our base 10. Think of it in this way. We count all our fingers (up to 10) and start the cycle again. They counted all their fingers and toes and started the cycle again. One of the units of their calendar is a B’ak’tun which is equivalent to 394 solar years. We have various cycles too like decade, century, and millennia. Those predicting the end of the world based on the Mayan calendar claimed that December 21, 2012 represents the end of one of these cycles, the end of the Mayan calendar, and thus the end of the world. Speculation on various planetary or solar system disasters were thrown in for good measure with this theory.

What is the latest word on the Mayan calendar and 2012? To compare two calendars you need some fixed points. The Mayan calendar was converted to our Gregorian calendar using a calculation call the GMT constant. The constant was named after the initials of the last names of three early Mayan researchers. Floyd Lounsbury, an American linguist and anthropologist, believed he had confirmed the GMT constant with his work on a Mayan almanac that had charted dates relative to the movements of Venus.

A chapter in a newly published textbook, Calendars and Years II: Astronomy and Time in the Ancient and Medieval World, calls into question the reliability of this GMT constant. The researcher, Gerardo Aldana, says the data supporting the conversion factor may be invalid. The end result is that the relationship between the Mayan calendar and our Gregorian calendar may be off by as much as 50 to 100 years.

Last year there were many reasons to suggest that the Mayan calendar did not predict the end of the world, but only the end of one of their major cycles. This year we can’t even be certain how the two calendars relate to one another and when the end of the Mayan cycle is supposed to be. In other words, it could have occurred 100 years ago or might not happen for another 100 years, whatever the end of that cycle means. Facts may not change the predictors of doomsday, but this new research points to a major flaw. In other words: “Oops!”

Speeches can be divided into two categories. Some speeches are given merely to entertain. When heard, they are in a sense consumed at that moment. Nothing lasting is expected from them. The after-dinner speech is a good example of this type. We enjoy it, but nothing further is expected from us as listeners.

The second kind of speech is the one that intends to make a lasting impression. This speech is designed to inform or motivate the listener. The lecture of a teacher is a good example of this type. The final exam always involves more than simply: were you there when the lecture was given.

It is perilous for the listener when he confuses the second kind of speech with the first. Merely consuming and enjoying a lesson intended to inform or motivate is to fail as a listener. The consequences depend on what kinds of lessons are being ignored.

Such was the situation in the days of Ezekiel. He ministered to the Jews in captivity in the years before and after the fall of Jerusalem in 586 BC. The people enjoyed hearing him, but they were approaching his words in the wrong way. God says to Ezekiel:

As for you, son of man, your countrymen are talking together about you by the walls and at the doors of the houses, saying to each other, ‘Come and hear the message that has come from the LORD.’ My people come to you, as they usually do, and sit before you to listen to your words, but they do not put them into practice. With their mouths they express devotion, but their hearts are greedy for unjust gain. Indeed, to them you are nothing more than one who sings love songs with a beautiful voice and plays an instrument well, for they hear your words but do not put them into practice. (Ezekiel 33:30-32, NIV)

The people could give Ezekiel compliments for the enjoyment of his lessons, but they failed as listeners. They failed to put into practice God’s message.

This raises an interesting question for the church. The goal of those who teach and preach is in the words of Peter: “whoever speaks, as one who utters oracles of God” (1 Peter 4:11, RSV). The goal for teachers and preachers is to make the content God’s message not their own. The question we must ask is: can we fall into the same trap as the people of Ezekiel’s day? Can we view those who speak to us as “singers of beautiful songs” and then fail to be doers of the word we have heard (see James 1:22-25)? Each must search his own heart, but the message from the book of Ezekiel is clear. As listeners, hearing God’s word must be more than entertainment.

Herod does violence to the church. He kills James, the Apostle. He imprisons Peter desiring to execute him. Reading it again (Acts 12:1-19) reminds me of my questions:

• Why, Lord, did you allow Herod Agrippa I to do violence to some of the church? Why those particular people and not others? 12:1
• Why did you allow James, the Apostle, to be killed by Herod?12:2
• Why did you allow Peter to be arrested? 12:3
• Why did you wait to rescue Peter until the night before he was to be executed? Why not sooner, and why didn’t you rescue James? 12:6
• Why, Lord, did you allow the sentries to be executed by Herod for their failure to keep an angel from rescuing Peter? (This one reminds me that even when God intervenes, bad things can follow from evil people.) 12:19

My questions do not arise from doubt. I understand the broad answers to the questions of evil and suffering. Evil occurs because in order for God to create beings with free will, sin has to be a possible choice. God didn’t immediately bring an end to sin and evil in order to mount a rescue – a plan of redemption. Sin’s entrance into the world brought about a curse that includes hardship and suffering as possibilities. Those are the broad brush strokes of an answer.

Yet, I can relate to Job asking, “Why me?” It seems that the answer Job received is the basic answer we receive for many of our whys. Knowledge of such things is beyond our pay grade. We don’t have the wisdom and power to run the universe. (See Job 38-41.)

But my whys go beyond the text of Acts 12. Rereading Acts 12 just reminds me of these unanswered questions. I ask why for cases in the lives of people I know and my own life. I’ve reached some conclusions. Good people suffer. Faith tested grows stronger. I believe God loves us enough to hear our whys and our faithful laments. Even when I don’t totally understand, I am convinced of God’s power and love and await the world to come when God will wipe away all tears.

The secret things belong to the Lord our God, but the things that are revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may do all the words of this law. (Deuteronomy 29:29, ESV)

I don’t have an answer for all my whys, but I trust God even when I don’t completely understand all the ways of God.

Maybe you read it in the news. A massive granite head was found in the sands of Egypt. The statue represented Amenhotep III. The eight foot tall head was intact except for the ceremonial beard which was broken off. Archaeologists hope to find it buried in the sands of Luxor.

I’ve had the privilege of seeing some of the great monuments of Egypt including colossus statues of pharaohs. They are impressive sights even when broken and lying on their sides.  But this find reminds me of the poem, Ozymandias, by Percy Bysshe Shelley.

I met a traveller from an antique land
Who said: “Two vast and trunkless legs of stone
Stand in the desert. Near them on the sand,
Half sunk, a shattered visage lies, whose frown
And wrinkled lip and sneer of cold command
Tell that its sculptor well those passions read
Which yet survive, stamped on these lifeless things,
The hand that mocked them and the heart that fed.
And on the pedestal these words appear:
`My name is Ozymandias, King of Kings:
Look on my works, ye mighty, and despair!’
Nothing beside remains. Round the decay
Of that colossal wreck, boundless and bare,
The lone and level sands stretch far away”.

Ozymandias is but another transliteration from Greek of the name Ramesses who was pharaoh of the nineteenth dynasty of Egypt. Both archaeologist and poet remind us of the decay of human endeavors even while attempting to leave a lasting name.

Is it worth it to build buildings, create art, to invent and strive? I think the answer must be yes. These impulses are God-given, but we must view such things through a lens of humility. The things of this world decay, and we must give glory to God. Otherwise, we are but attempting to build the Tower of Babel all over again crying out to one another, “Let us make a name for ourselves.” The Tower of Babel and the lines from Ozymandias are but different verses of the same rebellious song.

To have a lasting name is to have one’s name written in the book of life (Revelation 3:5). To build for eternity is to store up treasures in heaven (Matthew 6:19-21). If these things be true, then let us create and build. The decay of this world doesn’t matter, because it is God who gives us a lasting name.