Papers and Essays Threads from Henry's Web

Obedience and Waiting

Have you ever had a dream and woke up truly hoping that it would come true? Maybe you have had a dream or a vision from God and knew it was a word of wisdom or knowledge for your life and/or even for the Church. Remember that God said: “I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your old men will dream dreams, your young men will see visions. Even on my servants, both men and women, I will pour out my Spirit in those days.” (Joel 2:28-29) Maybe you have meditated on this dream or vision and you brought it to your pastor. You shared with the church leadership what God has said. But you haven’t seen anything happen.

Make Education a Priority

Practically all of us live in places with budget conscious governments. How do we take care of the many problems we face, such as crime, poverty, and infrastructure maintenance. There is never enough money to deal fully with all of the problems. And I don't think there ever will be--as long as we continue to treat only the symptoms.

Of Trees and Saplings

Some years ago my wife had a vision, and she saw it again just recently. I think it is relevant to the whole church. She saw a wooded area with large trees, covered with branches with abundant foliage. The woods was beautiful to look at from the outside, and showed all the signs of life and growth. But on looking more closely, she saw that there were young shoots trying to come up, and saplings trying to find a place to grow, and that the luxuriant growth of the big trees was blocking out the light and taking up the water and nourishment that the young trees. She also noticed that there was no fruit on the big trees-they looked good and had lots of foliage, but they were not producing fruit. She heard God say that he was going to prune those larger trees, and make them let in the light so that the younger plants could grow. Maybe they would produce the fruit that the larger trees had not.

This vision isn't very hard to interpret. . . .

The Proverbs 31 Woman is Real!

More than a year ago I translated a portion of Proverbs 31 and wrote some notes on it for the lectionary. When I read that I started to get the idea that this passage had a somewhat different meaning than is often given it, that it is more in praise of real women than in challenge to new wives and mothers or in condemnation of the weak. Yet mother's day after mother's day we hear sermons taken from this passage, and usually it's the women that get beaten up.

Well, I'm taking this Valentine's Day to give another view.

Flavor-Full God

"From the days of John the Baptist until now, the kingdom of heaven has been forcefully advancing, and forceful men lay hold of it." -- Matthew 11:12

I recently came upon this passage during my study time. I have been told that this particular Scripture passage has been the subject of books and hours of debate among theologians for decades. I am not a theologian (praise God!) so I look at a passage like this and ask God what He would say to ME about it and I will leave the debate to others.

Construction for the New Year

I've been reading through the Torah (Pentateuch or the first five books of the Bible) during my devotional time, and as the year wound down, I was reading the portions of Exodus in which Moses receives instructions for the building of the Tabernacle, and then those instructions are implemented by Moses and the people. In the pattern Moses and the Israelites followed, I think I see some key principles of building that we can apply in our individual lives as well as in our communities.

God Does Things Backwards

⁵Mary was engaged to Joseph and traveled with him to Bethlehem. She was soon going to have a baby, ⁶and while they were there, ⁷she gave birth to her first-bornc son. She dressed him in baby clothesd and laid him on a bed of hay, because there was no room for them in the inn. - Luke 2:5-7 (CEV)

Some of you may thing that title is almost sacrilegious. But I want to ask you: "How would you choose to invade your enemy's kingdom and challenge his greatest weapons?" I don't know about you, but I expect that babies would have little part in my battle plan.

You Have Been Rebelling!

"You have been rebelling against the LORD from the day I came to know you."
-- Deuteronomy 9:24

Let me suggest that you read the passage from Deuteronomy 9:24-10:11 and get the picture that Moses presents after using these words. It's not pretty, and one can imagine the chagrin, perhaps even annoyance (though probably well-concealed) of the audience in hearing this recitation of their faults.

In teaching the Bible to Christian groups, I have heard a common modern response to this. "Why were the Israelites so rebellious? They had every evidence of God imaginable!" The same attitude extends to the disciples. "Why couldn't the disciples understand who Jesus was? Why couldn't they get it through their heads that he had to suffer?" These are attitudes that I would suggest come from 20/20 hindsight and 100% blindness in the present.

I Know my Redeemer Lives

I know my Redeemer lives.
I know my Redeemer lives.
All of creation testifies. This life within me cries -- I know my Redeemer lives.
           [Nicole C. Mullen, Word Entertainment, 2000]

I heard this song this Sunday morning with sunlight streaming in the windows. I sat there with my eyes closed and tears running down my face. Yes, I knew that my Redeemer LIVES! Are there tangible points to support that? These come to mind. Whether they are tangible or reason-able, well . . .

His Deeds Keep Following Him

I am in tears as I write this, a full six weeks after my step-son James passed away. He was a great joy to me. Those who say that the pain passes away must not have experienced this sort of loss. But I do know that James knew the Lord, and that he died in the full hope of the resurrection. I will see him once again. But that doesn't make me miss him any less. . . .

Election Day Devotional

Today is Election Day here in America. We vote every two years but every four years is a time for us to elect a single person who is seen as the leader of freedom in the world. I can’t imagine anyone wanting that job! Truly, it is a ‘call’ from God to the single person that God has given His hand to guide. And so I, too, seek the Lord’s knowledge to know where to put my vote. . . .

God Does It, But You Do It
April 21, 2004: "So know today that the LORD your God is crossing over before you, a devouring fire. He will destroy them, and he will subdue them before you. But you shall dispossess them and you shall wipe them out quickly as the LORD your God told you."

- Deuteronomy 9:3 (Author's translation and emphasis)

While studying through Deuteronomy, this verse struck me in particular. It summarizes some of the tension in the first several chapters (1-11 at least) of the speeches of Moses to the people of Israel on the border of the promised land. The people are camped very near to where they will cross the Jordan river and enter Canaan. They have wandered for 40 years in the desert. An entire generation has died, except for three people, and of those, Moses will die yet before they enter the land. The tension of these chapters is that God is completely in control, the people are totally dependent on Him, and yet success depends on obedience.

Was Paul an Exegete?
April 8, 2004: Paul is often held up as the prime example and the prime source of guidance for modern Christians. Often this is to the detriment of the teachings and writings of Jesus himself. I am not, however, interested in attacking Paul. I would rather simply suggest a balance in how we use the words of Jesus and how we understand Paul. Paul was an apostle, and apostles are human. Paul never thought he was writing scripture; rather, he was writing pastoral (or apostolic) letters to churches he had helped to found. His writings are extremely interesting and important.

In this essay I want to examine Paul as an exegete.

A Passion for the Passion
March 10, 2004: Yesterday afternoon I finally went to see "The Passion of the Christ" with my wife. (Since we had different, but complementary reactions, I'm including her e-mail devotion from this morning as part of this response.) I'm going to keep this fairly low key, even though the experience of the movie itself is quite emotional. That's a good reason to wait until the morning after to write my reaction! Please read to the end before responding to my response. You won't find the whole thing in any one paragraph.

Dance Floor Worship
January 13, 2004: A few days ago I attended a wedding reception. It was a very joyous occasion, celebrated by eating and drinking and yes, being merry! It should surprise nobody that much of the joy was expressed on the dance floor.

Live it!!
December 8, 2003: I had been told about Kaieteur Falls in Guyana. It's a 400 foot wide river plunging from a plateau to a gorge 822 feet below. The sound was said to be amazing, the view incredible. I could almost hear the sound and see the water plunging over the cliff. Almost!

Are Seventh-day Adventists Christians...
October 8, 2003: . . . ran the title of a web page I found today. I was innocently surfing looking for Seventh-day Adventist media outlets to publicize a book written by an SDA author (Thompson, Alden. Who's Afraid of the Old Testament God? Pensacola, FL: Pacesetters Bible School, Inc., 2003).

Monday Morning Devotion
September 8, 2003: Guest Essay by Jody Neufeld: I have been troubled by the choices we as Christians make for what we will stand up and be recognized as Christians. There are principles of Christ about which I must stand and not waver. I believe Jesus told me clearly what are the most important...

A Fruitful Faith
July 29, 2003: There are many views in Christianity on the details of salvation and the various terms, events or processes that go into it. I would like to survey some Biblical material which I believe suggests that one always becomes right with God through a relationship mediated by faith, i.e. by the grace of God, but that the faith must always be a faith that bears fruit. No simple set of words, no transaction, no non-productive faith will do. A few of the texts that I will quote go a little farther than that, but I am interested right now in a broad survey rather than the details.

The Danger of Assurance
July 21, 2003: As a general rule we like confident and decisive people. We often respond negatively to the person who is wishy-washy or is afraid to make decisions or to take decisive actions. In American politics, the one charge that one must avoid is the charge of inaction. In fact, it seems we can even change convictions, provided that we state the new convictions forcibly enough. "He sounds like he knows what he's talking about," is a standard comment on the person who expresses himself with confidence and assurance.

Evolution and Faith
June 26, 2003: In the current issue of Charisma magazine (June 2003), one of the lead articles is about Dr. Hugh Ross, who heads the ministry “Reasons to Believe” and is probably the single most famous proponent of old earth creationism. ... Now I personally have some disagreements with Dr. Ross.

Justice and Truth
June 9, 2003: I have wondered from time to time, as I watch the American justice system in action, whether we are truly concerned with facts - truth if you will - so much as we are in a process. If the process "works," then on the average we are happy, and assume that justice has been done. ... But what is it that guarantees that the process will actually work? How does one check on the process?

The Hand of God: Prayer
May 28, 2003: A hurricane was approaching the gulf coast, and thousands of Christians began to pray. "Lord, we need your protection," they said. "Let the hurricane not come ashore where we live. Bless our homes and businesses and protect them from destruction." And indeed, the hurricane moved back out to sea. Unfortunately, it went ashore further along the coast, where thousands of other Christians, who had also been praying, lost their homes and businesses.

The Hand of God: Miracles
May 12, 2003: In the previous “Threads” (The Hand of God) I discussed the idea of the supernatural, and concluded that everything is natural, and yet everything is an act of God. Does this leave any room for divine intervention? Is everything simply the result of general laws, or is there anything personal about the universe at all.

The Hand of God
April 24, 2003: It was a fine Easter Sunday morning, but my Sunday School class was focused on disaster. A week earlier, during Palm Sunday services, a church in neighboring Alabama had been hit by a tornado. A number of church members were killed, including the pastor’s four year old daughter. The expected questions were flying around the table. “Couldn’t God protect his church?” “Why would God allow such a thing to happen?”

Off-Switch Censorship
April 14, 2003: During a panel discussion I attended recently on the Iraq war, one of the speakers suggested that a problem with the war was that the extended, real-time coverage was making the war seem like entertainment. Contemplating people glued to their TV screens, the speaker described the war as the ultimate reality show.

Self-Deception
April 7, 2003: The battle in Baghdad recently provided a prime example of self-deception. As American tanks surrounded the building where he has his office, the Iraqi Information Minister appeared before TV cameras to announce that the Americans were nowhere near Baghdad. As my wife keeps telling me, denial is not just a river in Egypt!

Media Bias
March 24, 2003: I have heard for years that the media was biased. The claim is sometimes a liberal bias, sometimes conservative, sometimes pro-establishment, sometimes in favor of rebels. One might be led to think that if one is accused of bias in multiple directions, perhaps one is being balanced.

Holiness or Sanctimony
March 17, 2003: This is the season when people make a special effort to get closer to God. You might say it’s a time to try to get more holy; more spiritual, if you please. It’s also the time for those questions in the church hallway: “What are you giving up for Lent?”

Stand on the Mount Before the Lord
March 10, 2003: (Repeat Classic Essay: On prayer and listening to God.) I was reflecting recently after a powerful prayer meeting on how we can approach getting more people involved in prayer. The meeting was great, but my burden was for the empty seats, for those who were not there. Why are they not there? Are we doing something wrong?

Principle and Compromise
March 3, 2003: Recently there have been repeated calls for our political leaders to come together, to forget partisanship, and to work together for the good of the country. It sounds like a good idea. Who can possibly oppose togetherness? Who would object to politicians putting aside partisanship in order to work together on projects that would be for the good of the country?

Revenge!
February 22, 2003: What is the value of revenge? Revenge rarely achieves an improvement in a given situation. While giving a momentary relief to our frustration and rage, it solves little or nothing. So what is the alternative?

Bible, Biblical Inerrancy and Bible Translations

The Seals of Revelation
Another college paper, this time my first look at revising my views of how to understand the book of Revelation. Paper presented in 1979.

The Invisible War
A review and response to "The Invisible War" by the late Dr. Donald Grey Barnhouse. I discuss some serious issues of Biblical interpretation in looking at Dr. Barnhouse's approach to scripture.

Bible Translations FAQ - Early stages of an FAQ to answer the numerous questions I receive as a result of my strong opposition to, and even disdain for the KJV Only position. Expect expansion of this on a regular basis.

Biblical Inspiration - My statement on Biblical inspiration. For all those who wonder how I can be a Bible teacher and not believe that the Bible is the inerrant word of God, neither in translation nor in the autographs, this is my answer.

Revival - Benefits and Dangers - A thought paper on revivals with particular focus on Brownsville Assembly of God.

Short Historical Jesus Bibliography - Collected for the Pacesetters Bible School seminar Understanding the Search for the Historical Jesus.

Ezekiel 1
A college paper on Ezekiel 1.

Divine Being(s) in Ancient Israel A college paper on the development of monotheism in Hebrew Scripture.

Psalm 104 - God, Creator and Sustainer
A graduate school paper on the structure and imagery of Psalm 104.

Stand on the Mount Before the Lord
A short essay on prayer and listening to God.

Translation and Notes on the Two Creation Stories of Genesis
This is my translation along with some color coding and notes on the first two chapters of Genesis. This is not a complete exposition of those passages, but rather serves to illustrate some other material I have said and written on the topic.

The Two Flood Stories: A Comparison of the J and P Accounts
A translation of the hypothetical J and P sources for the flood story in Genesis 6-9.

What is Creation Science?
This is a book review written for my Energion Bookshelf site, but it also deals in some detail with certain points of my own beliefs regarding origins and with the weaknesses I see in young earth creationist arguments.

My Personal Testimony
This isn't a general, technical article, but rather my personal expression of religious faith. Fair warning!