I'm referring to Isaiah 25:6, which in the KJV says, "And in this mountain shall the LORD of hosts make unto all people a feast of fat things, a feast of wines on the lees, of fat things full of marrow, of wines on the lees well refined." Lees? Let's try that again with the ESV: "On this mountain the Lord of hosts will make for all peoples a feast of rich food, a feast of well-aged wine, of rich food full of marrow, of aged wine well refined."

Wait! Did that say that the Lord of hosts would include well-aged wine in a feast? That's strong, fine wine. And "aged" can't help but mean fermented.

I suppose this shouldn't surprise anyone (although this next passage might surprise some of you), since God said in Deuteronomy:

“You shall tithe all the yield of your seed that comes from the field year by year. And before the Lord your God, in the place that he will choose, to make his name dwell there, you shall eat the tithe of your grain, of your wine, and of your oil, and the firstborn of your herd and flock, that you may learn to fear the Lord your God always. And if the way is too long for you, so that you are not able to carry the tithe, when the Lord your God blesses you, because the place is too far from you, which the Lord your God chooses, to set his name there, then you shall turn it into money and bind up the money in your hand and go to the place that the Lord your God chooses and spend the money for whatever you desire—oxen or sheep or wine or strong drink, whatever your appetite craves. And you shall eat there before the Lord your God and rejoice, you and your household. And you shall not neglect the Levite who is within your towns, for he has no portion or inheritance with you."

Deuteronomy 14:22-27

Yes, there it is. Right in the Mosaic law. God actually told the Israelites to buy and enjoy strong drink. You might try to re-interpret the wine as "grape juice." But the liquor is hard to get around.

Why do I bring this up? Well, as I've been reading through the Gospels each week, I've been rather amazed at all the references to wine. In fact, as I'm reading with an eye to better imitating Christ as His disciple, I can't escape that He "came eating and drinking" and was called "a glutton and a drunkard." How is it again that someone can be called a drunkard for drinking Kool-Aid? It seems to me that if He were a true teetotaler, no one could have called Him that without bringing mass ridicule on themselves.

One of my chief goals in "growing vertically" is that I shed away all those extrabiblical presuppositions that choke at modern Christianity. This is a strange one. It seems that at least in the issue of alcoholic beverages, American Christianity more strongly resembles the Pharisees than our Lord who rejoices in all the good gifts of God.

In studying the many passages of Scripture on wine/alcohol, I have found that all the "con" passages are pointed very clearly and specifically against drunkenness. Everything else points to a healthy enjoyment of wine in moderation. My wife pointed out that Psalm 104:15, God is praised for giving "wine to gladden the heart of man." If the wine is gladdening, it's having an effect.

Keith Mathison wrote an excellent thesis on "Protestant Transubstantiation." Strange title? Consider that the Catholics teach that the wine in the Eucharist becomes the blood of Christ. Keith suggests that many Protestants are teaching that their grape juice transubstantiates into the wine that the Bible actually tells us to use. If you want a very thorough treatment on the issue of alcohol and Christianity, I cannot recommend it enough.

Part One Biblical Witness
Part Two Historical Testimony
Part Three Reformed & Baptist Testimony
Part Four Reasons for the Rejection of Wine

The historical quotes which begin in Part Two and continue through to the end of Part Three are well worth the read.

Now, once you get a Biblical view of wine, let me encourage you with these principles from Ken Gentry, author of God Gave Wine:

• Remember that alcohol is part of God's creation, and as such, it can either be used well or abused. Just as people have abused the gifts of food, sex, and money, people have also abused alcohol, causing great destruction in the process. Alcohol itself is not intrinsically bad; the way in which it is often used is bad. Approach alcohol with an attitude of wise stewardship.
• Know that the Bible clearly and strongly condemns drunkenness.
• Know that alcohol can be used in beneficial ways, such as for communion during church and for medicinal purposes. Remember that Christ drank alcohol, and His first public miracle was turning water into wine at a wedding feast. Christians are free to enjoy alcoholic beverages, but choosing to do so may not prove beneficial to some people.
• Think and pray about whether you should choose to drink. Consider whether you have a family history of alcoholism, whether you suffer from health problems that would be exacerbated by consuming alcohol, whether you might lead someone close to you astray by indulging in alcohol, and whatever other issues God brings to your mind.
• If you do decide to drink, ask the Holy Spirit to reveal to you exactly what limits you should place on your drinking, since every person's tolerance for alcohol is different. Then pray for the grace to remain faithful to those limits.

Since Yom Kippur begins tonight at sundown, I wanted to write a little more on atonement.

You can read about the Day of Atonement in Leviticus 16 here. (I won't paste all of it here). But notice:

“Aaron shall offer the bull as a sin offering for himself and shall make atonement for himself and for his house." (v. 6, 11)

In verses 15-19, he kills the goat of the sin offering and sprinkles its blood over and in front of the mercy seat to make atonement for the Holy Place. He makes atonement for the tent of meeting and the altar. Then he confesses all of Israel's sins onto the live goat and releases it into the wilderness. After a ritual bathing, he makes atonement for himself and Israel. So, all in all, there was a whole lot of atoning going on. Or was there?

For since the law has but a shadow of the good things to come instead of the true form of these realities, it can never, by the same sacrifices that are continually offered every year, make perfect those who draw near. Otherwise, would they not have ceased to be offered, since the worshipers, having once been cleansed, would no longer have any consciousness of sin? But in these sacrifices there is a reminder of sin every year. For it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins.

Hebrews 10:1-4

Leviticus said it did. Hebrews said it didn't. If it did forgive sins, then Hebrews is wrong. So what happened?

The day of atonement was a shadow, a type, a picture. Think of it as a government pardon (after all, we are dealing with Law here). The government can offer you a pardon for a crime you have committed. It can clear your criminal record. But does that make you right with God? No, it doesn't. That's what the day of atonement did: it cleared you in a societal sense.

So, how did anyone get forgiven or saved? They were saved by grace through faith alone in the promises of God alone.

But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law, although the Law and the Prophets bear witness to it— the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction: for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God's righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins. It was to show his righteousness at the present time, so that he might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.

Romans 3:21-26

You've got to realize that God's mercy in the Old Covenant was a massive violation of His justice. David sinned, but God forgave him. That was a major, major problem. How could God possibly be just and allow David to be forgiven? Christ had to be sacrificed to satisfy this violation of justice. In Christ, God is both supremely just and supremely merciful. Now we can look back, through Christ, and see that God was indeed righteous for forgiving those who believed in Him. They were not forgiven by the blood of bulls or goats. Those who believed in the promises of God were forgiven through the once-for-all sacrifice of Jesus Christ.

Read Hebrews 9:11-10:18 today and remember our once-for-all day of atonement.

The system I'm referring to is the one I detailed on Monday, and, yes, I do believe that He did. I believe this is a great source of encouragement for students and disciples everywhere.

Consider this. In the 2nd century A.D., the oral traditions of the rabbis were collected in the Mishnah. Scholars believe these would have been the same oral traditions from the time of Jesus' earthly ministry. According to the Mishnah,

At five years old [one is fit] for the Scripture, at ten years the Mishnah (oral Torah, interpretations) at thirteen for the fulfilling of the commandments, at fifteen the Talmud (making Rabbinic interpretations), at eighteen the bride-chamber, at twenty pursuing a vocation, at thirty for authority (able to teach others)...

Now compare what we know about Jesus during these ages:. (I am quoting from the Jewish New Testmant).

Jesus as a boy:

And Yeshua [Jesus] grew both in wisdom and in stature, gaining favor both with other people and with God.

Luke 2:52

His first Passover at age 12:

Every year Yeshua's parents went to Yerushalayim [Jerusalem] for the festival of Pesach [Passover]. When he was twelve years old, they went up for the festival, as custom required. But after the festival was over, when his parents returned, Yeshua remained in Yerushalayim. They didn't realize this; supposing that he was somewhere in the caravan, they spent a whole day on the road before they began searching for him among their relatives and friends. Failing to find him, they returned to Yerushalayim to look for him. On the third day they found him -- he was sitting in the Temple court among the rabbis, not only listening to them but questioning what they said; and everyone who heard him was astonished at his insight and his responses.

Luke 2:41-47

Jesus learned a trade:

Then Yeshua left and went to his home town, and his talmidim [disciples] followed him. On Shabbat [Sabbath] he started to teach in the synagogue, and many who heard him were astounded. They asked, "Where did this man get all this? What is this wisdom he has been given? What are these miracles worked through him? Isn't he just the carpenter? the son of Miryam [Mary]? the brother of Ya`akov [James] and Yosi [Joses] and Y'hudah [Judas] and Shim`on [Simon]? Aren't his sisters here with us?" And they took offense at him.

Mark 6:1-3

Jesus spent time with John the Baptist:

While all the people were being immersed, Yeshua too was immersed.

Luke 3:21

After this, Yeshua and his talmidim went out into the countryside of Y'hudah [Judea], where he stayed awhile with them and immersed people. Yochanan [John] too was immersing at Einayim [Aenon], near Shalem [Salim], because there was plenty of water there; and people kept coming to be immersed. (This was before Yochanan's imprisonment.)

A discussion arose between some of Yochanan's talmidim and a Judean about ceremonial washing; and they came to Yochanan and said to him, "Rabbi, you know the man who was with you on the other side of the Yarden [Jordan], the one you spoke about? Well, here he is, immersing; and everyone is going to him!"

John 3:22-26

Jesus began His ministry at 30:

Yeshua was about thirty years old when he began his public ministry.

Luke 3:23

That's a pretty close parallel to the account in the Mishnah. So how does that encourage us?

Luke 2 says that He grew in wisdom. How does the Omniscient grow in wisdom? I think we find the answer in Philippians 2:

Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus, who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men. (NASB)

There's much debate as to what it means that Jesus "emptied Himself." Let me state very clearly that I believe that Jesus is 100% God and 100% human. Jesus is omnipotent, omnipresent, omniscient, etc. My friend Ben and I tried to come up with an illustration for this, and he came up with vacation. When you go on vacation, you are still employed, you still have your job and all of its benefits, but you are no longer sitting at your desk doing work. In His earthly ministry, Jesus was still omnipotent, omnipresent, omniscient, etc., but He chose not to take advantage of those, so that, in the words of the author of Hebrews, He could be "tempted in all things as we are, yet without sin."

So, I do believe that as a boy, Jesus entered school. Jesus studied. In His humanity, He did the work to read, copy, and memorize the Torah. When He sat at the feet of the rabbis in the Temple when He was twelve, he astonished them because He had studied and learned the Torah so well.

He continued to apply Himself diligently to study and memorize the remainder of the Tanakh, so that He could become a rabbi s'mikeh. And, as I've been reading through the Gospels, I have seen over and over again the great periods of time He spent in prayer with His Father and how He relied on the Holy Spirit's power.

So, He can sympathize with our weaknesses. He has been tempted in all things as we are. And, yet, He has never sinned.

We can take great encouragement from our Lord's example. We, too, can spend great time in prayer with our Father. We too can rely on the power of the Holy Spirit. We too can diligently apply ourselves to study and memorize God's Word.

So, let us go and do likewise.

Are you a student or a disciple?

What's the difference?

A student wants to know what his teacher knows. A disciple wants to be who his rabbi is.

I wanted to take a quick break to present this to you as it opens up a lot of Scripture for our Americanized 21st-century minds.

In Jesus' day, most of Judea was not that educated. Girls did not go to school. Many boys did not go to school and were illiterate. However, Galilee, where Jesus spent most of His earthly ministry, was very educated. Both boys and girls went to school.

Boys were to memorize the Torah (the first five books of the Old Testament) by the age of 12. Girls were to memorize Psalms, Proverbs, and Deuteronomy. Some, probably most, of you have a lot of catching up to do. If a boy had successfully memorized the Torah by 12, he continued studying the Hebrew Scriptures until he was 15. During this time, he also learned his family's trade. Girls were expected to be married during this period.

Once a boy reached 15, he would seek out a rabbi and ask, "May I follow you?" He was really asking, "Do I have what it takes to become like you?" If the rabbi approved of him, he would accept him and the boy would become his talmid, or disciple. He would follow the rabbi everywhere, very carefully observing everything the rabbi did, so he could be just like him. The rabbi would teach him how to interpret the Scriptures. If the boy progressed, then when he turned 30, he could become a rabbi himself.

Now, there were two types of rabbis. Most of our translations refer to the first type as "teachers of the Law." These were the Torah teachers and they had students. Torah teachers towed the party line, so to speak. They could not introduce new teaching, and relied on the other type of rabbi.

The other type of rabbi was a rabbi s'mikeh. We find this in Matthew 7. The people said that Jesus did not teach like the other teachers of the Law, Torah teachers, but as one "having authority", s'mikeh. A rabbi s'mikeh had the entire Tanakh memorized. He could introduce new teachings, "you have heard it said... but I say unto you..." He also was the only rabbi with disciples. This is the type of rabbi that young men sought out when they wanted to become disciples. S'mikeh had to be given to such a rabbi by two other rabbis with s'mikeh.

How did Jesus get s'mikeh? He was the Son of God, of course. But, remember, that according to Philippians 2, He emptied Himself. He was fully God, but He was fully man. In His humanity, He did the work to memorize the Tanakh. From whom did he get s'mikeh? Who else had disciples?

John the Baptist also had s'mikeh. What did John say when he saw Jesus coming to the Jordan? "Hey, look! God's Lamb! For the world's sins!" (literal Greek) He baptized Jesus, and then Mark's gospel records, "immediately, coming out of the water, He saw the heavens parting and the Spirit descending upon Him like a dove. Then a voice came from heaven, 'You are My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.'" Jesus received s'mikeh from John and from God. Jesus is the only rabbi s'mikeh in all of history to ever get His s'mikeh directly from God.

Also different, Jesus chose His own disciples.

Consider what this means about the age of the disciples. They weren't old, bearded men like you see in the movies. They were teenagers:

When they came to Caper'na-um, the collectors of the half-shekel tax went up to Peter and said, "Does not your teacher pay the tax?" He said, "Yes." And when he came home, Jesus spoke to him first, saying, "What do you think, Simon? From whom do kings of the earth take toll or tribute? From their sons or from others?" And when he said, "From others," Jesus said to him, "Then the sons are free. However, not to give offense to them, go to the sea and cast a hook, and take the first fish that comes up, and when you open its mouth you will find a shekel; take that and give it to them for me and for yourself."

Matthew 17:24-27

What is this half-shekel tax? It's from Exodus 30:13-14:

Each who is numbered in the census shall give this: half a shekel according to the shekel of the sanctuary (the shekel is twenty gerahs), half a shekel as an offering to the LORD. Every one who is numbered in the census, from twenty years old and upward, shall give the LORD's offering.

Jesus provided the tax for Himself and Peter. Why not the other disciples? Why did only Jesus and Peter have to pay? Only Jesus and Peter were over twenty years old!

Read through the gospels again and you'll notice, over and over, Jesus calls His disciples children. I find this particularly beautiful: After the resurrection, the disciples are out fishing all night and haven't caught anything. John 21 depicts it this way:

Just as day was breaking, Jesus stood on the beach; yet the disciples did not know that it was Jesus. Jesus said to them, "Children, have you any fish?" They answered him, "No." He said to them, "Cast the net on the right side of the boat, and you will find some."

If you look at it in the Greek, the word is for "sons, little children." So, what He in essence said was, "Boys! Got any fish?"

A modern rabbi has level this criticism at Christianity, "Christians like to speak of being disciples of Jesus, but they are ignorant. How can they be like Jesus if they do not know Jesus. Any Christian who claims to be a disciple and does not read through the Gospels at least once a week is a liar."

There's your challenge.

Today is the 220th anniversary of the signing of the U.S. Constitution.

If I say the word revelation, what comes to mind? Maybe an epiphany? A startling idea? Eureka! Right?

The American Heritage Dictionary defines revelation as "the act of revealing or disclosing; something revealed, especially a dramatic disclosure of something not previously known or realized." There is also the theological definition of "a manifestation of divine will or truth."

Now, what does the word apocalypse mean to you? Nuclear war? Armageddon? Holocaust? End of the world?

My wife and I really enjoy the show "Heroes". But I cringe every time they talk about stopping the big explosion that was coming at the end of the first season. Inevitably, they say an apocalypse is coming. They're trying to stop the apocalypse.

Apocalypse is just a transliteration of the Greek word apokalupsis, which is also the original name of the last book of the New Testament. Revelation is from the Latin revelatio. It's the same word! According to Thayer's Lexicon, apokalupsis means a "laying bear, making naked; a disclosure of truth, instruction; manifestation, appearance."

Now, with that in mind, let's look at where this word appears in Scripture:

"Then Saul's anger was kindled against Jonathan, and he said to him, 'You son of a perverse, rebellious woman, do I not know that you have chosen the son of Jesse to your own shame, and to the shame of your mother's nakedness [apokalupsis]?'"

1 Samuel 20:30

"A light to bring revelation [apokalupsis] to the Gentiles, And the glory of Your people Israel."

Luke 2:32

"But in accordance with your hardness and your impenitent heart you are treasuring up for yourself wrath in the day of wrath and revelation [apokalupsis] of the righteous judgment of God..."

Romans 2:5

"For the earnest expectation of the creation eagerly waits for the revealing [apokalupsis] of the sons of God."

Romans 8:19

"Now to Him who is able to establish you according to my gospel and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation [apokalupsis] of the mystery kept secret since the world began..."

Romans 16:25

"So that you come short in no gift, eagerly waiting for the revelation [apokalupsis] of our Lord Jesus Christ..."

1 Corinthians 1:7

"But now, brethren, if I come to you speaking with tongues, what shall I profit you unless I speak to you either by revelation [apokalupsis], by knowledge, by prophesying, or by teaching?"

1 Corinthians 14:6

"How is it then, brethren? Whenever you come together, each of you has a psalm, has a teaching, has a tongue, has a revelation [apokalupsis], has an interpretation. Let all things be done for edification."

1 Corinthians 14:26

"It is necessary, though not profitable, to boast. I will come to visions and revelations [apokalupsis] of the Lord..."

2 Corinthians 12:1

"And lest I should be exalted above measure by the abundance of the revelations [apokalupsis], a thorn in the flesh was given to me, a messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I be exalted above measure."

2 Corinthians 12:7

"For I neither received it from man, nor was I taught it, but it came through the revelation [apokalupsis] of Jesus Christ."

Galatians 1:12

"And I went up by revelation [apokalupsis], and communicated to them that gospel which I preach among the Gentiles, but privately to those who were of reputation, lest by any means I might run, or had run, in vain."

Galatians 2:2

"That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you the spirit of wisdom and revelation [apokalupsis] in the knowledge of Him..."

Ephesians 1:17

"How that by revelation [apokalupsis] He made known to me the mystery (as I have briefly written already..."

Ephesians 3:3

"And to give you who are troubled rest with us when the Lord Jesus is revealed [apokalupsis] from heaven with His mighty angels..."

2 Thessalonians 1:7

"That the genuineness of your faith, being much more precious than gold that perishes, though it is tested by fire, may be found to praise, honor, and glory at the revelation [apokalupsis] of Jesus Christ..."

1 Peter 1:7

"Therefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and rest your hope fully upon the grace that is to be brought to you at the revelation [apokalupsis] of Jesus Christ..."

1 Peter 1:13

"But rejoice to the extent that you partake of Christ's sufferings, that when His glory is revealed [apokalupsis], you may also be glad with exceeding joy."

1 Peter 4:13

"The Revelation [Apokalupsis] of Jesus Christ, which God gave Him to show His servants--things which must shortly take place. And He sent and signified it by His angel to His servant John..."

Revelation 1:1

So, I've completely belabored the point to bring you to this: if Revelation is about a "dramatic disclosure," an uncovering, the righteous judgment of God, making mysteries known, a bringing of grace, the revelation of the glory of Jesus Christ, a thing of praise, honor, and glory, then why do we look upon the book as some dark, mysterious tome of nuclear holocaust and black helicopters and bad acting? (Frankly, this guy comes about as close as most bestsellers in finding proof that David Hasselhoff is actually the Antichrist. As soon as Tyndale House finds out about him, I'm sure a book deal will follow.)

Did it really take 1,762 years for Darby, Scofield, Pentecost, Ryrie, LaHaye, Lindsey, and Van Impe to finally explain this mysterious book to us? Or, is it just possible that John, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, wrote to seven actual churches in Asia in the first century and they knew and understood exactly what he was saying - and they found in it praise, honor, and glory as they read about "things which must shortly take place"?

Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of His saints.

Psalm 116:15

Dr. D. James Kennedy entered heaven yesterday. An internet memorial has been set up at http://www.djameskennedy.org

Luciano Pavarotti passed away this morning at his home.

"Smile, God loves you."

Well, does He or doesn't He? We read that "God so loved the world," so He loves everyone equally, right?

Where did you get that idea?

Let's take a look at one of Jesus' parables. In Matthew 13:24-30, Jesus tells the parable of the wheat and the tares:

Another parable He put forth to them, saying: "The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field; but while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat and went his way. But when the grain had sprouted and produced a crop, then the tares also appeared. So the servants of the owner came and said to him, "Sir, did you not sow good seed in your field? How then does it have tares?' He said to them, "An enemy has done this.' The servants said to him, "Do you want us then to go and gather them up?' But he said, "No, lest while you gather up the tares you also uproot the wheat with them. Let both grow together until the harvest, and at the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, "First gather together the tares and bind them in bundles to burn them, but gather the wheat into my barn.""'

Later, in verses 36-43, He explains:

Then Jesus sent the multitude away and went into the house. And His disciples came to Him, saying, "Explain to us the parable of the tares of the field."

He answered and said to them: "He who sows the good seed is the Son of Man. The field is the world, the good seeds are the sons of the kingdom, but the tares are the sons of the wicked one. The enemy who sowed them is the devil, the harvest is the end of the age, and the reapers are the angels. Therefore as the tares are gathered and burned in the fire, so it will be at the end of this age. The Son of Man will send out His angels, and they will gather out of His kingdom all things that offend, and those who practice lawlessness, and will cast them into the furnace of fire. There will be wailing and gnashing of teeth. Then the righteous will shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. He who has ears to hear, let him hear!

Have you ever grown a garden? Got some flowers at your house? You might say you love your garden. Do you love everything in it? Do you love the weeds as much as the roses? Of course not!

Does this parable give you the impression that God loves the tares as He loves the wheat? Does this give you the impression that He loves the tares at all?

I've been studying Genesis in my personal Bible study lately. Remember in chapter 3, God said, "I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her seed; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel." Who are the seeds?

In Galatians 3, Paul explains, "Now to Abraham and his Seed were the promises made. He does not say, 'And to seeds,' as of many, but as of one, 'And to your Seed,' who is Christ." So, the "seed of the woman" is Christ.

So, who is the seed of the Devil? Does he have sons and daughters? Jesus told His enemies, "You are of your father the devil, and the desires of your father you want to do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own resources, for he is a liar and the father of it." (John 8:44)

When Elymas the sorcerer opposed Paul and Barnabas, Paul said, "O full of all deceit and all fraud, you son of the devil, you enemy of all righteousness, will you not cease perverting the straight ways of the Lord?"

Some wonder whether Judas ever believed and was saved. I think Jesus cleared that up pretty well when He said, "Did I not choose you, the twelve, and one of you is a devil?" (John 6:70). John adds to this that Jesus spoke of Judas.

There is enmity between Christ and the seed of the devil. Believers are branches in the vine of Christ, so that enmity is between us and the seed of the devil as well. So, if God put that enmity between the elect and the non-elect, how can we say He loves everyone equally?

The high priest offered sacrifices on the day of atonement. For whom did he offer them? Wasn't the whole world guilty? Did he offer sacrifices for the whole world? He offered them only for the twelve tribes of Israel. So Christ also has made atonement for His people.

I used to be taught that sinners who reject Christ who died for them would be punished even more severely because they were rejecting His sacrifice. The majority of adults through time have rejected Christ. If Christ really died for all of them, what an amazing failure He has been. And if they are getting double or triple punishment for rejecting His sacrifice, it really would have been better if He had never died at all. What a horrible picture! What a dishonoring view of Christ!

Look instead at this Christ who knew exactly for whom He died. Look at His victorious sacrifice! He has not lost one for whom He died! Look at this infinite mercy! Look at how He through His sacrifice has brought them from incredible misery to incredible glory!

Amen!

Then Jesus called a little child to Him, set him in the midst of them, and said, "Assuredly, I say to you, unless you are converted and become as little children, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven. Therefore whoever humbles himself as this little child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. Whoever receives one little child like this in My name receives Me. "

Matthew 18:2-4

I've heard many things about this passage. I've heard some say that a childlike faith never questions. That's ridiculous. I have three children and they never stop questioning. "Why?" "What's that?" "How does this work?"

But I want to share something I've observed about myself in my own Bible study. The more I study my Bible the more I realize that when I was a child, I was right. In other words, I think when I was six years old, I was closer to Biblical doctrine than when I was in Bible Doctrines class in college trying to proof text my way through someone else's extra-biblical presuppositions.

When I was six (and no significance to that age, just an arbitrary pick), I might have been in an independent fundamental Baptist church, but I was pretty much a midget Calvinist. At six, I knew God was in control. I believed that everything happened for a reason and that God was the primary cause behind that reason. I remember as a kid, regularly praying and thanking God that I had good parents, was born in America, that my dad had a job, etc. When my dad lost his job, I prayed, genuinely believing that God had the power and would intervene and get my dad a new job. God was my provider.

When I wanted to see my uncle get saved, I prayed. I didn't pray that God would arrange things so that my uncle might choose to accept Him. I prayed that God would change my uncle's heart, and I fully believed that God would intervene and do just that. I hadn't heard of free will, or if I had, I hadn't paid any attention to it, and didn't have any such notion cluttering my thoughts on God.

I have to admit that even when a new toy came out that I wanted, I went to God in prayer for it.
You can argue about praying and "spending on your passions" from James, but I've observed little children getting a lot of yes's. Yesterday our son wanted to get home quickly and started praying for Jesus to turn the traffic lights green. We were about to correct him when the the lights turned green. Every light we came to on the way home was green, changing as we approached it. No, I don't think God is there to do "magic" for you, but I knew as a child that God was very real, because I had prayed and gotten answers. My son has the same unshakable faith. I think it might be something God does in young hearts as their growing and developing. As they get older and more mature, they'll understand better how to pray.

Theology was simple at six. Read your Bible and pray. And prayer wasn't by wrote. I was just a kid talking to God. I actually believed He wanted to talk to me and He wanted me to talk to Him. I believed He really wanted to hear what I was thinking about or worried about or just wondering about. I would ask Him a question and many times just sit there wondering if I might hear Him say something back.

It didn't matter to me that Elijah had lived almost three thousand years ago. I figured I had the same relationship with God and expected to talk and interact with God in the same way.

I wasn't afraid to do wrong because I was afraid of judgment. I didn't want to do wrong because Jesus was my friend and I wouldn't want to do wrong by any of my friends.

The more I study my Bible the more I realize we could learn a lot from a six year old.

September means many things. Cooler weather for one. That's a relief. The return of autumn and the expectation of all that brings: brilliant hues, apple cider, pumpkin pie, hayrides, etc.

For me, and to my wife's dismay, September means stubble. Every year at this time a miracle occurs as my face ages five years in less than two weeks. The previously boyish face sprouts a permanent shadow that deepens daily.

"My heroes have always been cowboys." True enough. Although I was born eighty years too late to have experienced them firsthand, and twenty years too late to experience them on the silver screen with cap guns at my side, I've always felt they were a part of me somehow. I did manage to get my picture taken with Fred Kirby at Tweetsie Railroad when I was just a lad and spent a summer as a horse wrangler in Colorado, but never caught up with Gene or Roy before they rode off into their final sunsets.

All that to say that I suppose even my "facial" heroes have been cowboys. Whether Tom Selleck or Sam Elliott, these guys know how to grow whiskers. But, alas, my chaparral of the chin will have to vamoose come Spring. That's when the greater miracle occurs and I lose five years in less than two minutes.

The man is restless while he misses the rib that was taken out of his side; and the woman is also restless until she gets under the man’s arm, whence she was taken.