Have you noticed how Thanksgiving seems to be on a slow demise in our society? I started noticing this in the last few years, but it didn’t really hit me until this year when I noticed the advertisers and the decorations jumping directly from Halloween to Christmas. Now, I am not saying there is anything wrong with getting people to focus on Christmas early, but I am concerned that there as Christians we will be swept up in the frenzy of the holidays, without taking the time to adequately celebrate this uniquely God-glorifying holiday.
Thanksgiving Day traces its roots back to 1621, when a group of Pilgrims and Native Americans in Plymouth, Massachusetts celebrated a bountiful harvest with several days of feasting and games. The Pilgrims recognized that God had blessed them in a unique way that year so they took the time to recognize God’s provision and express their gratitude to Him.
President George Washington officially proclaimed Thanksgiving as a national holiday in 1789. He said it would be recognized “as a day of public thanksgiving and prayer, to be observed by acknowledging with grateful hearts the many and signal favours of Almighty God.” He called on his fellow countrymen to “unite in most humbly offering our prayers and supplications to the great Lord and Ruler of Nations and beseech him to pardon our national and other transgressions.”
In the midst of the Civil War in 1863, president Abraham Lincoln set the final Thursday in November as day of thanksgiving. He said, “I do therefore invite my fellow citizens in every part of the United States, and also those who are at sea and those who are sojourning in foreign lands, to set apart and observe the last Thursday of November next, as a day of Thanksgiving and Praise to our beneficent Father who dwelleth in the Heavens. And I recommend to them that while offering up the ascriptions justly due to Him for such singular deliverances and blessings, they do also, with humble penitence for our national perverseness and disobedience, commend to His tender care all those who have become widows, orphans, mourners or sufferers in the lamentable civil strife in which we are unavoidably engaged, and fervently implore the interposition of the Almighty Hand to heal the wounds of the nation and to restore it as soon as may be consistent with the Divine purposes to the full enjoyment of peace, harmony, tranquillity and Union.”
Recently, my appreciation for the holiday increased because I came across a book by Eric Metaxas, which describes the back story to one of the guests who attended the original Thanksgiving celebration. The book is titled, “Squanto and the Miracle of Thanksgiving: A Harvest Story from Colonial America of How One Native American’s Friendship Saved the Pilgrims.” The book describes Tisquantum’s remarkable story of how he was kidnapped from his Patuxet tribe, learned Spanish and English, and then was able to return to his original village in Massachusetts. It just so happened that a group of Pilgrims had arrived at the same area of New England. They were in desperate need of someone with local expertise on hunting and farming. Tisquantum was already fluent in English and so when he walked into the Pilgrim’s camp he was able to help them learn how to thrive in that community. He was one of the reasons why the Pilgrim’s were able to celebrate that first Thanksgiving.
As I read the story, it reminded me of the account of Joseph’s trials and success in Egypt. Joseph experienced immense difficulty. He was also sold into slavery, but God was able to use it for good. Joseph put it so eloquently when he spoke to his brothers. He said, “As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive, as they are today.” (Genesis 50:20) The story of Tisquantum is a much more recent example of God sovereignly directing a remarkable outcome from what would otherwise be a tragic situation.
I would encourage you to reflect on the goodness of God this Thanksgiving season. As Lamentations 3:22-23 says, “The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.”
Ephesians 5:8-11 says, “Walk as children of light (for the fruit of light is found in all that is good and right and true), and try to discern what is pleasing to the Lord. Take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness, but instead expose them.” (English Standard Version) The longer I meditate on this passage the more convinced I am of the need to call Christians to rethink the ways we have let Halloween influence our homes and families.
One reason I know this is a needed reminder is because a few years ago I had to change my mindset about the holiday. My wife and I had just returned from working in Europe. We had been living in Albania and North Macedonia and we noticed that the people did not celebrate Halloween the way Americans do. People’s home’s were not covered in spiderwebs and spiders, witches and warlocks, tombstones and skeletons. We came back to the states in 2018 and we were shocked to see how much the culture had become infatuated with this holiday of death.
Before coming back, I was somewhat ambivalent about the holiday. I thought Christians could dress up and enjoy trick-or-treating as a fun, American tradition. Once we came back I began rethinking the holiday in light of Scripture. As Christians we are to “walk as children of light (for the fruit of light is found in all that is good and right and true).” It doesn’t take long to realize that the foundations of Halloween do not fit that criteria. All you need to do is to go into a local Halloween costume store and look for how many of the costumes are focused on dark themes of death and horror.
So what are Christians to do on Halloween? When I was young my parents turning the porch lights off and carving pumpkins and making candied apples. It was a fun way to pass the time, but it always felt like we were missing out. I started thinking about this and it became clear that my family needed something positive to replace the negative aspects of Halloween. That is one reason I was so glad to learn that there is a profound Christian event that is celebrated on the same day, October 31st.
Reformation Day is celebrated on October 31st to commemorate the day in the year 1517, when Martin Luther, a German priest, reportedly nailed a list of religious concerns to the door of the Wittenberg Castle Church in Wittenberg, Germany. One reason we believe he posted the list on October 31st was because he knew many people would be coming to the church the next day, which was All-Saints Day. Martin Luther knew the list, called the 95 Theses, would cause a stir, but he had no idea it would lead to a wide-spread religious movement referred to as the Protestant Reformation.
The Protestant Reformation started from a desire for Christians to see the Roman Catholic Church (RCC) reformed. At the time, the church allowed funds to be raised by selling something called an indulgence. In his book A Modern Guide to Indulgences, Edward Peters describes an indulgence as “a way to reduce the amount of punishment one has to undergo for sins.” The RCC taught that an individual could reduce the punishment for a specific sin by doing certain things, such as reciting a prayer, visiting a holy place, or performing an action the church declared could pay for sin. These indulgences were official documents that attested to the punishment for sins being reduced.
By the time Martin Luther served as a priest, there was wide-spread abuse of indulgences. They were being sold to the ignorant masses who were taught salvation came by works, not by faith. The indulges raised funds that helped build massive cathedrals. Martin Luther was keenly aware of these abuses and so in 1517 he decided to voice his concerns. While reading the 95 Theses, it becomes clear that Luther’s main concern was to show that the Bible did not teach salvation through buying indulgences. He wrote, “Those who believe that they can be certain of their salvation because they have indulgence letters will be eternally damned, together with their teachers.”
Martin Luther’s actions on October 31, 1517, are remembered today largely because of the printing press. Someone took Luther’s 95 Theses and began printing it on a press that was likely modeled after the Guttenberg press. Luther’s writing was circulated far and wide, and the Roman Catholic Church was compelled to address his complaints. The situation became more and more concerned with Martin Luther’s belief’s about salvation being by faith alone. This all culminated in a dramatic court case, called the Diet of Worms (a gathering that took place in the German city called Worms), where Luther was ordered to renounce all his writings. He refused, and as a result he was excommunicated by the Roman Catholic Church.
The story goes on to have a happy ending for Martin Luther. He realized the Bible does not forbid clergy to marry, and so in 1523 he married Katharina von Bora, a former nun, and had six children with her. He went on to do groundbreaking work in translating the New Testament from Greek into German, and with the help of the printing press distributed God’s word to the masses.
Our family has been celebrating Reformation Day for the last five years and it has come to be a fun, cherished family tradition. We usually recount the story of the Reformation and read some passages in the Bible that emphasize that salvation is by faith and not by works (Ephesians 2:8-10). We always include some games and the big finale is when we make a dessert called “Luther’s Rose”. It is a delicious snack that illustrates some of the most important parts of Luther’s beliefs in the Bible.
We always start with a strawberry shortcake shell that reveals a yellow ring, which symbolizes the joy of eternity with God in heaven. Next we fill the shell with white whipped cream, which symbolizes the purity of the angels and heaven. Then we use blueberries to make a ring that represents the sky and the future hope of heaven. A strawberry is sliced in half and placed in the middle of the dessert to represent a heart. We usually use chocolate syrup to draw a cross on the heart to show that faith is in the work of Christ alone.
As our kids grow and mature their understanding of the significance of the Reformation grows as well. Initially they just think about the fun games and the sweet dessert, but as time goes by their appreciation for God’s work in human history grows as well. I hope you will consider adding a Reformation Day celebration to your family traditions. Soli Deo Gloria! For the Glory of God Alone!
I have lived in many different places, but I’ve never lived in a place where so many people are preoccupied with haunted houses and supernatural superstitions. I’ve had several conversation with people here in Kings county who think there are many buildings that might be haunted. This is strange to me and I am sure there is some reason why it is such a common theme, but I still don’t know for sure what the reason is. I would be curious to hear from our readers what they think the reasoning is.
My hunch is that there is a connection between celebrating Dia de los Muertos and a fascination with death and the afterlife. Usually, I wouldn’t consider this topic worth mentioning except that we are now in October and I can tell that many in our community are looking forward to Halloween and the different traditions that surround it.
One of the traditions that seems particularly strange to me is that of haunted houses. Some Christians see no problem with going to haunted houses. They might justify them thinking there is nothing wrong with kids having fun walking through a scary home or a macabre maze. Some people say they enjoy being scared because of the adrenaline rush or the sensation of being in danger. The thoughtful Christian needs to take a moment to consider what the Bible says about the spirit world, so they can make informed decisions for themselves and their children.
There are many passages in the Bible that warn God’s people about dabbling in the occult. Leviticus 19:31 explains why, “Do not turn to mediums or necromancers; do not seek them out, and so make yourselves unclean by them: I am the LORD your God.” As believers, we are to seek the Lord, not be fascinated with darkness.
The term “haunted house” does not appear in the Bible, but there is a historical account of someone going to a home that was visited by the spirit of the prophet Samuel.1 Samuel 28:3-25 records how king Saul made the fateful decision to visit a witch who was located outside of ancient Israel, in the city of Endor. The king told his servants to find a spirit medium because he wanted to have her predict the outcome of the next day’s battle against the Philistines. He had to travel outside of Israel because he had made a decree that all witches be removed from the land.
The Bible records how king Saul disguised himself so that no one would know he was going to the witch. He and two other men made the trip to her home in the dead of night. Once they arrived they had to promise her that she would not be punished for connecting them with the spirit world. She asked them, “Who should I bring up for you?” And Saul said, “Bring up Samuel.” She did what they wanted and when the spirit of the Samuel came up king Saul fell facedown on the ground.
The Bible’s account goes on to reveal that the prophet Samuel was actually the one who spoke first. He said to Saul, “Why have you disturbed me by bringing me up?” Saul told him that he was in great distress and he needed to know what was going to happen in the battle. Samuel rebuked Saul for consulting him and he gave him news that completely terrified Saul. Samuel said, “The Lord will deliver both Israel and you into the hands of the Philistines, and tomorrow you and your sons will be with me. The Lord will also give the army of Israel into the hands of the Philistines.”
Saul’s response was one of abject horror. He realized that he had just heard his own death sentence. He and his sons would die on the battle field the very next day. 1 Samuel 31 records how Samuel’s prediction came true. The Philistines attacked the Israelites and were able to kill three of Saul’s sons. King Saul was wounded by an arrow and as the fighting grew fierce around him he decided to end his own life. His visit to the witch’s home in Endor led to him having his mind filled with terrifying thoughts that had a dramatic impact on his own life.
Whenever I read this story I wonder how Saul’s life would have been different if he hadn’t visited the witch’s haunted house. The Israelites would have still been defeated, but Saul wouldn’t have dreaded the outcome. He could have entered the battle with his head held high, trusting in God regardless of how the fighting ended. He never should have gone to the witch’s home because he knew it would fill his mind with evil and wickedness.
The Bible makes it abundantly clear that Christians need to be careful about what they fill their minds with. Philippians 4:8-9 says, “Whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.” Instead of being entertained by rooms full of evil and the occult, Christians should fill their minds with what is true and good.
From a spiritual perspective, nothing good will come from visiting a haunted house, whether it is filled with an actual spirit or fabricated fears created to scare people for a cheap thrill. The Bible gives a helpful contrast, “So put away all malice and all deceit and hypocrisy and envy and all slander. 2 Like newborn infants, long for the pure spiritual milk, that by it you may grow up into salvation— 3 if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is good.” Christians are to fill their minds with what is good and flee from what is evil.
The Bible encourages believers to honor the leaders of the local church. The apostle Paul encouraged the church in Ephesus by writing, “Let the elders who rule well be considered worthy of double honor, especially those who labor in preaching and teaching.” (1 Timothy 5:17 ESV) And in his letter to the church in Thessalonica Paul wrote, “We ask you, brothers, to respect those who labor among you and are over you in the Lord and admonish you, and to esteem them very highly in love because of their work. Be at peace among yourselves.” (1 Thess. 5:12-13) It is important to note that showing your appreciation for a pastor should never detract from a believer giving praise and glory to God for providing leadership for the church.
One way modern church families can show their gratitude to God for their pastors is by celebrating Pastor Appreciation Month. Starting in 1994, churches have been using the second Sunday in October as a special day to show their love and appreciation for members of the clergy. Focus on the Family is credited with initiating the tradition of celebrating pastors in a special way. Their goal was “that every pastor (including staff ministers) and his or her family would feel appreciated by those they serve.” Ideally, churches should be finding ways to show their appreciation to their leaders throughout the year.
Focus on the Family developed a guide to Pastor Appreciation Month that can be downloaded in English and Spanish at their website, https://www.focusonthefamily.com/church/celebrating-pastor-appreciation-month/. The guide includes some great ways to thoughtfully show your appreciation for those who serve the local church. I will use the rest of this article to mention some of the best ways to encourage your church leaders.
Praise God for good leadership
The main goal of pastor appreciation month should be to bring glory to God. He is the one who has created the church and he is the one who is guiding the leadership of the church to appoint pastors and elders. If a church chooses to announce pastor appreciation month, they should make sure that their praise is being directed to God. One way to maintain focus on God while thanking your pastors and elders is to say it in the context of giving glory to God. You can say, “We are grateful to God for calling you to serve our church family” or “We praise God for all the work that you do.” This will be a healthy safeguard against taking the focus away from God. James 1:17 says, “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.” Praising God should be the primary aim of showing appreciation for pastors.
Communicate with your pastor
This is a basic point, but since we live in such a busy, fast-paced society, it is important to slow down long enough to think about your church leaders and find a way to tell them how much you appreciate the way they serve your community. A great way to do this is by praising God for using your pastor in the life of the church. Writing a personal note or sending a Thank You card is a great way to show your appreciation. If you don’t have time for that then a quick email, text message or phone call will go a long way. Some pastors save their encouraging text messages and look at them throughout the year.
Bless your pastor
This is what many people think of when they think about pastor appreciation month. This is a nice way to show you appreciate your pastor, but it should not be an expectation. Your love for those who serve in the church should not be measured by the amount of gift cards or financial gifts he or she receives. If the church gives a financial gift, they should not announce the dollar amount when it is given because the amount is not as important as the purpose of the gift. If more than one person preaches at your church then you should consider giving a gift to everyone who teaches so that extra pressure is not placed on one individual. If there is a team of elders, you might want to consider finding a way to show your appreciation to all the elders and the staff.
These are just a few of the ways that you can praise God and show appreciation for our church leaders.
I have never heard of a pastor writing an open letter to the sitting governor of a state. I am sure it has happened in the past, but for a letter of this magnitude to be written is a historically significant event, if only because of how rarely it occurs. As such, I think it is important to make my readers aware of what has happened so they can be informed and pray accordingly.
The letter was published on September 29, 2022 at www.gracechurch.org/news/posts/3592. The following is a portion of an open letter from Pastor John MacArthur to Governor Gavin Newsom. The letter was written in “response to billboard advertisements placed across the country by Newsom’s campaign shamelessly misquoting Mark 12:31 in support of abortion.”
Almighty God says in His Word, “Righteousness exalts a nation, but sin is a disgrace to any people” (Proverbs 14:34). Scripture also teaches that it is the chief duty of any civic leader to reward those who do well and to punish evildoers (Romans 13:1–7). You have not only failed in that responsibility; you routinely turn it on its head, rewarding evildoers and punishing the righteous.
The Word of God pronounces judgment on those who call evil good and good evil (Isaiah 5:20), and yet many of your policies reflect this unholy, upside-down view of honor and morality. The diabolical effects of your worldview are evident in the statistics of California’s epidemics of crime, homelessness, sexual perversions (like homosexuality and transgenderism), and other malignant expressions of human misery that stem directly from corrupt public policy. I don’t need to itemize or elaborate on the many immoral decisions you have perpetrated against God and the people of our state, which have only exacerbated these problems. Nevertheless, my goal in writing is not to contend with your politics, but rather to plead with you to hear and heed what the Word of God says to men in your position.
“Let all kings bow down before Him, all nations serve Him” (Psalm 72:11).
“He who rules over men righteously, who rules in the fear of God, is as the light of the morning when the sun rises” (2 Samuel 23:3–4).
“It is an abomination for kings to commit wicked acts, for a throne is established on righteousness” (Proverbs 16:12).
What God said to Cyrus is a truth you should take to heart: “I am the Lord, and there is no other; besides Me there is no God. I will gird you, though you have not known Me; that men may know from the rising to the setting of the sun that there is no one besides Me. I am the Lord, and there is no other” (Isaiah 45:5–6).
“In mid-September, you revealed to the entire nation how thoroughly rebellious against God you are when you sponsored billboards across America promoting the slaughter of children, whom He creates in the womb (Psalm 139:13–16; Isaiah 45:9–12). You further compounded the wickedness of that murderous campaign with a reprehensible act of gross blasphemy, quoting the very words of Jesus from Mark 12:31 as if you could somehow twist His meaning and arrogate His name in favor of butchering unborn infants.
You used the name and the words of Christ to promote the credo of Molech (Leviticus 20:1–5). It would be hard to imagine a greater sacrilege.Furthermore, you chose words from the lips of Jesus without admitting that in the same moment He gave the greatest commandment: “You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength” (Mark 12:30). You cannot love God as He commands while aiding in the murder of His image-bearers.Psalm 50:16–19 speaks to people who pervert the Word of God for their own sinful ends: But to the wicked God says, “What right have you to recount My statutes And to take My covenant in your mouth? For you hate discipline, And you cast My words behind you. When you see a thief, you are pleased with him, And you associate with adulterers. You let your mouth loose in evil And you harness your tongue for deceit.”
My concern, Governor Newsom, is that your own soul lies in grave, eternal peril. “Each one of us will give an account of himself to God” (Romans 14:12). One day, not very long from now, you will face that reality. Nothing is more certain. “It is appointed for men to die once and after this comes judgment” (Hebrews 9:27). You will stand in the presence of the Holy God who created you, who is your Judge, and He will demand that you give an account for how you have flouted His authority in your governing, and how you have twisted His own Holy Word to rationalize it. As you look over the precipice of eternity, what will your answer be? When you look ahead of you and see that nothing awaits you but eternal misery—the just punishment for your sins—what will all the clever rationalizations and political talking points avail for you then? And by then it will be too late for any remedy or redemption. “It is a terrifying thing to fall into the hands of the living God” (Hebrews 10:31).
My plea to you, Sir, is that you would not let it come to that—that you would not go to that day of judgment apart from receiving forgiveness and righteousness through faith in Christ alone. In Psalm 50, after rebuking the wicked for uttering God’s words in a profane way, Scripture makes this promise: “Now consider this, you who forget God, lest I tear you in pieces, and there will be none to deliver. He who offers a sacrifice of thanksgiving glorifies Me; and he who orders his way, I shall show the salvation of God” (Psalm 50:22–23).So there is salvation for those who repent. Christ purchased full redemption for all who will turn from wickedness, forsake their evil thoughts and actions, and trust fully in Him as Lord and Savior.Our church, and countless Christians nationwide, are praying for your full repentance.
Please respond to the gospel, forsake the path of wickedness you have pursued all your life, turn to Christ, ask for forgiveness, and use your office to advance the cause of righteousness (as is your duty) instead of undermining it (as has been your pattern). “Seek the LORD while He may be found; call upon Him while He is near. Let the wicked forsake his way and the unrighteous man his thoughts; and let him return to the LORD, and He will have compassion on him, and to our God, for He will abundantly pardon.” (Isaiah 55:6–7)Governor Newsom, “now is the acceptable time, behold, now is the day of salvation” (2 Corinthians 6:2). For the Master, John MacArthur Pastor-Teacher
As I wrote earlier, this is a significant event. John MacArthur is not one to waste time pursuing political messages for personal gain. He is driven by his conviction and his belief in the sufficiency of Scripture. He is sounding the alarm and graciously calling the governor to repentance.
From my perspective this is a case of stolen valor. The governor has tried to drape himself and his campaign in a religious uniform by quoting scripture to support his view of abortion. This is an affront to God’s holy word and to the Catholic beliefs that the governor claims to support. Kathleen Domingo, the executive director of the California Catholic Conference said, “It is unconscionable that these ads distort Scripture to support abortion, specifically in states that have already dramatically limited abortion in favor of supporting life,” (https://www.catholicworldreport.com/2022/09/23/unconscionable-california-gov-newsom-cites-jesus-on-billboards-promoting-abortion/)
I will not be surprised if the governor does not reply to pastor John’s letter because technically the campaign posters he authorized only pertain to his reelection campaign, not his current role as governor. That is what I was told by the governor’s office when I called last week. The person who took my call ended the call abruptly after saying, “This conversation is no longer constructive.” Clearly she was referring to the governor’s office’s perspective. I disagree with her viewpoint. I believe the need to hold a sitting governor accountable is an important role for every citizen, especially if the governor has made the mistake of misquoting a religious document that many of his constituents hold in a higher regard than any civic document.
The apostle Paul gave a prediction that has proved true over and over again. He said, “The time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths.” (2 Timothy 4:3-4)
We are living in such a time. The world is full of false teachers who try to infiltrate churches. Many are successful and those who don’t disrupt churches internally, often start new churches that allow them to invent new ways to mislead people.
The need for discernment is great because now politicians are cutting in on the false teaching.
They are seeking to use God’s holy word to convince people to support their causes. It doesn’t matter if the causes are abhorrent and completely opposed to the teaching of Scripture. If they can find a verse and pull it out of context, then their hope is there will be some people who will be fooled by the veneer of spirituality and vote to support their “religious” cause.
One verse that has been ripped from it’s original context is Luke 12:48. This passage takes place at the Sermon on the Mount, when Jesus was talking to the crowds about the Kingdom of Heaven, not about the need to raise taxes. But that doesn’t stop some politicians from quoting the following words to justify the need for a tax increase, “Everyone to whom much was given, of him much will be required.” The original context is not referring to sacrificing for the local government. It is referring to sacrificing spiritually for God!
At the root of this problem, there seems to be the belief that governments can replace God’s influence in the world. While living in Albania I learned that one of the strategies of Enver Hoxha’s brutal regime was to replace the Ten Commandments of the Bible with the 10 Commandments of Communism. I talked to a pastor who remembered going to a room in a government building where he had to agree with the newly invented moral code. This type of false teaching is easy to discern for those who know Scripture, but for the generations that grew up in the atheistic society, they would have had nothing to compare it to.
Our society is becoming less moral and people are not only becoming less literate, but more importantly, they are becoming less Biblically literate. Once this happens their ability to discern between truth and error is considerably weakened. I believe this is one reason why we are seeing more politicians trying to use Scripture because they know less people understand it is being used out of context.
An example of this was when Nancy Pelosi tried to use Matthew 25:35 to support a massive $40 billion aid bill that included billions of dollars in weapons and security costs. She said, “So when you are home thinking, ‘What is what this is all about?’ – just think about ‘when I was hungry, you fed me’ in the Gospel of Matthew.” If people had actually stopped to find the quote and read what Jesus said, they would realize what a twisted use of Scripture that was.
More recently, the governor has decided to venture into the detestable practice of misusing Scripture for political gain. One of the political ads for his 2022 campaign for governor tries to use Mark 12:31 to support his view on abortion, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself. There is no greater commandment than these.”
The ad doesn’t even include the first commandment which states, “‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ The second is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.”
It is clear from the context that love is not defined by men or women in the passage. It is defined by God! How is someone supposed to love God? With all their heart and with all their soul and with all their mind and with all their strength. If someone is not doing the first part of the command, they will not be able to do the second, which is about loving others.
The context of the campaign ad is completely opposed to the message of Scripture because it implies that someone can love others by supporting abortion. Excuse me? How is it possible to
take a quote from a book that teaches that life begins at conception and use it to support abortion? Just read Psalm 139:13-16 the next time there is any confusion about the abortion debate, “For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well. My frame was not hidden from you, when I was being made in secret, intricately woven in the depths of the earth. Your eyes saw my unformed substance; in your book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for me, when as yet there was none of them.”
To the discerning Christian, using any Scripture to support abortion immediately signals the existence of false teaching. Not only that, it signals the need to pray for those who are misusing Scripture. In Matthew 18:5-6 Jesus gave a stern warning to those who would seek to mislead the children of God. It says, “Whoever receives one such child in my name receives me, but whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him to have a great millstone fastened around his neck and to be drowned in the depth of the sea.” Jesus’ harshest words were saved for those who knew the teaching of Scripture and yet chose to use it for personal gain. My prayer is that all who read this will recognize that we have been warned and if we must be honest with ourselves. If we have sinned, may we seek repentance and forgiveness. God is able to forgive. 1 John 1:9-10 says, “If we confess our sins he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”
This article is a continuation of last week’s story about my family’s trip to Kentucky to see two of Answers in Genesis (AiG) attractions: the Ark Encounter and the Creation Museum. We have already looked at the former so this week I will give a summary of the latter.
The Creation Museum is located less than an hour north of the Ark Encounter. I was expecting a smaller campus that would be made up of a parking lot and several buildings. I had no idea the grounds of the Creation Museum would be so nice. It reminded me of other botanical gardens I have visited in southern California and Europe. The different gardens, the lake, zip lines, and a large playground provide an enjoyable context to the actual museum.
The Creation Museum starts with an exhibit about dragons. This is somewhat surprising because the Bible has so little to say about them. Clearly someone at AiG is fascinated with these mythical beasts. Personally, I think it works as a creative way to draw visitors in to a museum which is like no other on the planet.
The main hallway has an impressive interior with a huge skeleton of a wooly mammoth. The entrance opens up to a planetarium, gift store, and a 3D theater. Someone at our church was kind enough to give us guest passes to the museum so we were able to see the exhibits and the planetarium for free.
The Planetarium is unlike anything I have ever experienced. It is a large room with a concave ceiling that doubles as a projector screen. Instead of hearing about a universe that is billions of years old, the planetarium show explains that God created all the stars and planets on the fourth day. The projector shows awe-inspiring images of galaxies and stars that exist all over the universe. The show ends with a dramatic depiction of a camera zooming in on the earth from the very farthest part of the universe. Watching the solar system stream past my eyes was a powerful reminder of how limitless l the creator of the universe is. There is no way to grasp how many stars exist, which is a fitting illustration of how there is no way to grasp the grandeur of our God. I wish every church could have a similar exhibit to show people just how small we are in comparison to the world that God has made.
After seeing the planetarium we started in on the exhibits. We saw some fascinating depictions of the six days of creation. I never get tired of trying to grasp how God could have created the world in such a remarkable way. The museum does an excellent job of giving a literal interpretation of Scripture. It highlights the importance of marriage as a supernatural institution that God gave to humanity from the very beginning. There is also a powerful exhibit that casts doubt on the evolutionary theory that humanity evolved from apes. The exhibit is done in a very tasteful way that does not lambast other theories. It reveals an alternate explanation that is much more positive and encouraging than the popular view that dehumanizes people into a type of animal.
My daughters really liked the exhibit called the “Miracle of Life”. It shows detailed images and models of how a human life comes into existence. Seeing high definition images of a baby boy or girl at 30 days after conception is incredibly powerful. The museum is planning on expanding that section in the coming months and I think it will become one of the most visited sections of the museum.
My sons really enjoyed the section on insects. It is remarkable to see beetles, bugs, and insects from all over the world. The amount of detail required to design each of them is difficult to grasp. Once again the glory of God is seen in his creation. I was especially impressed with the butterflies and moths. Some of the colors are so vibrant it seems impossible that they could come into existence naturally. The same is true with the camouflage of some of the insects. There is no way to explain the perfect complexity of the designs by saying it came from evolutionary changes over time. I much prefer the Creation Museum’s explanation of an infinitely powerful God who lovingly created an earth with unique qualities and colors.
After finishing the exhibits and viewing the gift store, we took time to walk around the garden. I was grateful that AiG has invested in top quality playgrounds at both locations because all of our kids spent a considerable amount of time running, jumping, and riding down the slides and zip lines. If we had more time I would have loved to go on the climbing courses and zip lines that are available about both locations.
Sola Deo Gloria
In summary, my main takeaway from both parks was that they exist to glorify God. The Ark Encounter is a dramatic landmark that shows a strong belief in a literal interpretation of Scripture. I agree with Ken Ham’s statement that the first eleven chapters in Genesis are foundational to the rest of Scripture. If a non-literal interpretation is chosen for the beginning of the Bible, then the confidence of the reader is quickly eroded. Visiting the Ark is an encouraging exercise in faith building. It reminds the visitor that Biblical faith is not blind. Those who believe in the Bible are not trusting in fairy tale depictions of the Flood. They are using scientific observation to study what has been revealed in the Bible to interpret what can be seen in the world around us.
The same thing is true at the Creation Museum. When the visitor sees the universe depicted on the screen there is no doubt that someone greater that humans had to create it. How else could something so expansive come out of nothing? The Creation Museum gives a reasonable case for how a creative God made the universe and that is not something that can easily be dismissed by believer and skeptic alike.
We just got back from a trip to Kentucky, where we saw the Answers in Genesis (AiG) Ark Encounter and Creation Museum. Visiting both museums has been on our wish list ever since we heard about them back in 2016. At the time we had just returned to the states from living in Europe for several years. We knew things had changed since we had been gone, but we had no idea someone had built a 510 foot ark in the middle of a forest in northern Kentucky. We weren’t sure how or when we would be able to go, but we knew it was something we needed to put on our bucket list.
Last year we learned that our family would be having a wedding and a family reunion in Missouri. Some people might have just flown in to St. Louis and returned home, but we decided we needed to tack on several days to our trip so we could make the trek out to both museums. Now that we are back, I am still trying to process all we saw and heard and I hope that this article will help give you a sense of what it was like visiting both places.
Answers In Genesis
Answers in Genesis is a unique organization because they are young earth creationists who believe the world was created in six twenty-four days. Their literal interpretation of Scripture emphasizes the first eleven chapters of Genesis as being foundational to understanding the entire bible. This is one reason why the organization has invested so much time and resources into creating two state-of-the-art educational venues for people from all over the world to visit.
The leader of the organization is Ken Ham. He is a former high school teacher from Australia who moved to the U.S. in 1978. His charismatic leadership is driven by a desire to show that a literal interpretation of the Bible can counter the secular teaching found in so many schools throughout the world today. He has written numerous books on a wide variety of topics that support a Biblical worldview. His passion for God and Scripture is a driving force behind everything that AiG produces.
When Ham moved to America, he originally worked with an organization called Institute for Creation Research (ICR), which was based out of San Diego. He became well known for his lecture series called “Back to Genesis” that focused on three major themes: evolutionary theory leads to cultural decay, the first eleven chapters of Genesis are foundational for a Christian worldview, and that Christians need to confront atheism and humanism in society. In 1994, he left ICR and started Creation Ministries International, which later became AiG.
The organization moved its headquarters to Florence, Kentucky and in 2005 Ham explained the move by saying, “One of the main reasons [AiG] moved [to Florence] was because we are within one hour’s flight of 69 percent of America’s population.” Paul Sheehan, “Onward the new Christian soldier“, The Sydney Morning Herald, Sydney, Australia, 17 January 2005. In 2007, AiG opened the Creation Museum, a 75,000 square foot museum, which includes an exhibit on the Flood, which was the brainchild of what would become the Ark Encounter. The Creation Museum cost $27 million to build, which was raised by private donations. The museum includes an impressive planetarium, animal exhibits, and a beautiful garden all around the campus.
After the success of the Creation Museum, AiG put the wheels in motion to develop what would become their main attraction, the Ark Encounter. In 2010, the organization chose an 800 parcel of land just outside Williamstown, which is about forty-five minutes south of the Creation Museum. In November, 2010 the governor of Kentucky, Steve Beshear, announced the attraction by saying, “We are excited to join with the Ark Encounter group as it seeks to provide this unique, family-friendly tourist attraction to the Commonwealth.” https://web.archive.org/web/20160918075624/http://www.wistv.com/story/13589609/religious-themed-amusement?clienttype=printable
The park was originally estimated to cost $150 million to create with the goal of generating 1.6 million visitors each year. The 800 acre parcel of land was purchased in 2014 and construction began in 2015. It took eighteen months to finish. The ark is said to be the largest timber-framed structure in the world, with over 3.1 million board feet of wood used in its construction. The final cost to build it came to $120 million, which was raised by private donors and the sale of bonds.
As might be expected, the development of a creationist theme park did not happen without controversy. The city council of Williamstown originally agreed to give the Ark Encounter considerable financial incentives, including tax breaks and a reduced price on 100 acres of land. They did so with the understanding that the theme park would bring in over a million visitors a year starting when the park opened in 2016. The ticket sales have not generated that amount of traffic yet, but Ken Ham has maintained the ticket sales are lower than the actual amount because children under 10 are free and annual passes are not counted in the daily ticket calculation. When I was there, I was told the average amount of people this summer has been 4,000 visitors on a week day and 14,000 for the weekend. Only time will tell whether the projected numbers will come to fruition, but from my perspective there were clear examples of local businesses being impacted. Our family tried to go to a nearby Cracker Barrel for dinner and we decided it wasn’t worth an hour wait for all the other Ark Encounter visitors to finish eating.
The Ark Encounter
Answers in Genesis chose a fitting name for the Ark Encounter. As soon as we drove into the parking lot, I realized we were in for an epic experience where we would be introduced to a story of Biblical proportions.
The parking lot is about a mile drive from the entrance of the park, but you can already make out the ark from that distance. Once you buy your tickets, the hosts usher you into air-conditioned buses that drive you through a lush valley up to the welcome center. The first thing that struck me about the park was the large rainbow gate at the entrance. I knew our family would have to take a picture there because it was such a powerful reminder of God’s covenant with humanity that he would never flood the earth again. In Genesis 9:15-17 God told Noah, “I will remember my covenant that is between me and you and every living creature of all flesh. And the waters shall never again become a flood to destroy all flesh. When the bow is in the clouds, I will see it and remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is on the earth.” God said to Noah, “This is the sign of the covenant that I have established between me and all flesh that is on the earth.”
After taking a picture at the rainbow gate we made our way to what has become the most popular photo shoot at the ark. As I got ready for our picture in front of the reflecting pool I was impressed at the scale of the Ark Encounter. It is hard to describe the magnitude of what you see there. You can’t help imagining what Noah must have thought when he had finished his life’s work. Imagine all the time and effort, the resources and organization needed to construct such a behemoth? Imagine what it would be like to prepare a ship that would saved human and animal life on the earth? Similar thoughts and questions were racing through my mind as we finished taking our group photo and started walking towards the entrance of the ship.
The ship has three levels that function as a progressively immersive educational experience about the Flood. It starts with an introduction to the different kinds of animals that were brought into the ark. This is a fascinating exhibit because it explains that ark didn’t have to contain every type of animal, but only the animal kind, which would be either the Order or Family of animals on the animal classification chart. For example, Noah only needed to have two of the prototypical dog on the ark, because that pair of animals contained the genes from which every type of wolf and dog on the earth today most likely came from.
Halfway through the animal kind exhibit you come to the bow of the ship. It is impressive to see the massive wooden beams that would have kept the ship safe during the worldwide storm that raged on the earth for forty days and forty nights. The museum emphasizes the Biblical account of steaming hot water coming from under the ground during the flood. This wasn’t a gradual deluge of tropical rain. The Flood was a cataclysmic event that changed the entire face of the earth and the makeup of the oceans and the atmosphere. The ark would have had to be a remarkably durable vehicle to survive such terrifying elements.
At the end of the first floor exhibit is a section that gives an explanation to how Noah and his family could have cared for the animals on the ark. The exhibit features a disclaimer that explains the need for creative license in recreating how the animals might have looked and been organized. The Bible doesn’t give details about how the animals lived on the ark, but it makes it clear that God brought them to Noah. Genesis 7:7 says, “And Noah and his sons and his wife and his sons’ wives with him went into the ark to escape the waters of the flood. Of clean animals, and of animals that are not clean, and of birds, and of everything that creeps on the ground, two and two, male and female, went into the ark with Noah, as God had commanded Noah.”
The second deck is titled Technology on the Ark and features a helpful exhibit on what the world was like before the Flood. I found this helpful because it is shocking to consider the world became so wicked that God actually had to destroy it. The Ark Encounter gives some sobering depictions of a world where men and women were constantly motived by evil thoughts and actions. Genesis 6 says this, “And the LORD regretted that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him to his heart. So the LORD said, “I will blot out man whom I have created from the face of the land, man and animals and creeping things and birds of the heavens, for I am sorry that I have made them.” But Noah found favor in the eyes of the LORD.”
At the bow of the second deck is an exhibit simply called the Door. It is a massive double doorway that stretches to the top of the ceiling. At the top of the door is a lighted impression of a cross, which is a fitting illustration of Jesus Christ who said, “I am the door. If anyone enters by me, he will be saved and will go in and out and find pasture.” (John 10:9 ESV) The Biblical account of the flood states that God shut the door to the ark. It was his idea to save humanity and it was his initiative that shut Noah and his family in safely from the flood.
The next exhibit is called the Fairy Tale Ark. This was surprisingly effective because it showed how often children are shown a version of the ark that is not tenable in the real world. The cute images of animals on the deck of a dingy-boat sized ark are not helpful because they encourage people to think of the Biblical account as child-like dream. The reality is much different. This was especially true when we arrived at the third deck and saw an exhibit that shows all the flood legends from around the world. Instead of dismissing the flood as an American fairytale it is important to realize that hundreds of cultures from around the world all have stories that collaborate many of the same facts about a global flood that destroyed the world, while saving humanity and a remnant of animals in a ship.
The rest of the second floor shows different ways that Noah’s family could have maintained the Ark and card for thousands of animals during the Flood. I especially liked the ingenious methods depicted to show how they could have fed and watered animals of all different shapes and sizes.
The third deck is called “After the Flood” and gives a beautiful depiction of what the living quarters could have looked like for Noah and his family. I appreciated how AiG spared no expense on the lifelike craftsmanship and realistic depictions of Noah and his family. The second and third deck also had two updated theaters that showed movies that explained different aspects of the flood and the ark’s construction. My favorite part of the last exhibit was the explanation on Flood Geology and the Ice Age. I have never bought into the evolutionary explanation of the world being shaped by billions of years of erosion. The Ark Encounter gives an impressive case for a young earth dating of the earth. Many people will find this to be the most paradigm shifting part of the museum and I would highly recommend planning to spend extra time in this section.
The last two exhibits are from the Museum of the Bible and Why the Bible is True. These were both helpful, but not as impactful as the other exhibits. There were so many people at the ark, we actually had to take a break and come back to finish the final exhibits. This proved to be a good choice because we didn’t realize how much we needed a break from all the walking. We went outside and had our lunches at one of the picnic tables that are all over the park. We could have gone to the all-you-can-eat buffet, but since we had already brought pack lunches we decided not to do that.
After finishing the ark’s three decks we went to the 1,000 person theater and listen to Ken Ham speak. He gave a powerful message about the need to teach about creation. Afterwards, we spent time visiting the Ararat zoo and the gift store. There is actually more than one place to buy merchandise and we couldn’t help purchasing a good selection of gifts and souvenirs while we were there. I didn’t realize the Creation Museum would have a completely different selection of gifts, which was a pleasant surprise when we went there the next day.
One of the most important teachings in the Bible is that people need to repent of their sin. If we deny that someone is living in sin, then we deny the power of the gospel to save the person from their sin. Do you remember when the Pharisees became upset at Jesus for attending a meal with tax collectors? They asked him, “Why do you eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners?” And Jesus answered them, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. I have not come to call the righteous but sinners to repentance.” (Luke 5:30-32).
What would you say to a physician who never told his patients the truth about their physical problems? Would you say the doctor was helping the situation or making it worse? Common sense tells us that there is great danger in withholding information from a patient. The patient is required to know the truth of the situation so they can understand the problem and look for a solution.
The same principle is true regarding someone’s spiritual health. If their soul is in danger of serious, eternal consequences for their sin, then they should be able to learn the truth of the situation and seek a solution. Hiding the reality of sin from people would put them in a serious disadvantage. The Bible lovingly communicates the reality of sin in the context of God’s holiness. The bible teaches that God is holy and just and thus he must judge all sin. Romans 3:23 says, “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” It only takes one sin for someone to become sinful. It doesn’t matter if it is lying or stealing or lustful thoughts. It is all sin in God’s sight and must be dealt with.
There has been a lot of discussion about homosexuality and I have noticed there is confusion about whether it is a sin. The Bible addresses the issue at the thought level (Matthew 5:27-28). It doesn’t matter if someone is having lustful thoughts in a heterosexual or homosexual way. If they are indulging in thoughts and actions that only belong inside of marriage between a husband and wife, then the person is in sin and needs to repent.
A person struggling with homosexual thoughts might convince himself or herself that everything is fine because they heard someone say the Bible allows for that behavior. Aside from that being a misunderstanding of the Bible, I would have to ask “How could the person be washed clean of their sin if they never admitted they are in sin?” Paul wrote, “Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. And such were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.” (1 Corinthians 6:9-11)
Jesus is referred to as the Great Physician because he is able to save people from their sin. One of the vital aspects of His saving work is that He requires that people acknowledge their sin and come to repentance. The word repentance is incredibly powerful! It means to feel a deep sense of remorse and to acknowledge you have done wrong and that you need to be saved from your sin. If you deny that you have sinned then you cannot be saved. It would be like a patient who is not willing to acknowledge the presence of a sickness. The patient cannot be helped until they admit there is a problem that needs to be cured.
Admitting that we have sinned is an important part of understanding the Gospel, the Good News, that Jesus Christ came to save sinners like you and me. If we deny that certain thoughts and actions are sinful, then we are denying the power of the gospel to save people from their sin. In fact, Scripture says “If we say we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.” (1 John 1:10) Those who reject the clear teaching of Scripture, will be punished for their folly. They will lose the moral foundation needed to navigate the trials and difficulties of this life and more importantly, they will be in danger of sealing their fate for eternal life as well.
May God give us the humility and honesty to recognize our sin so that we may cry out to God to be saved!
Last Friday’s Supreme Court ruling on Roe vs. Wade was a win for the life of the unborn and for common sense. It dealt a shattering blow to the fictional argument that a woman has a constitutional right to abortion. The court’s ruling was in agreement with what the Bible has been communicating for thousands of years, “For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well.” Psalm 139:13-14
The Christian response to the June 24, 2022 ruling can be one of praise and thanksgiving. We can praise God for creating human life in his image and for allowing justice to be upheld, and we can thank him for graciously allowing the series of events to transpire that made the ruling possible.
I have been reflecting on Proverbs 21:11 which says, “The king’s heart is a stream of water in the hand of the Lord; he turns it wherever he will.” Having closely watched the nomination and confirmation of justices Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh, and Amy Coney Barrett, I can give first-hand testimony to the fact that God was clearly involved in bringing a conservative majority to the court, which made this ruling possible. Soli Deo Gloria!
The court’s ruling reads as follows, “The Constitution does not confer a right to abortion. Roe and Casey are overruled, and the authority to regulate abortion is returned to the people and their elected representatives.” As a constitutional originalist, it is incredibly refreshing to read that the Supreme Court is referring to the constitution in this ruling. This should be a common practice, but for the last sixty years the activist mentality of many justices resulted in the court functioning like the legislative branch instead of the judicial branch. Friday’s majority opinion was a dramatic course-correction, effectively stating that the Supreme Court’s role is to interpret and apply the constitution and the law, not legislate on issues that oversteps their purview.
The ruling also states that Roe and Casey are overruled. The significance of that statement is hard to overstate. The ruling means the court’s conclusion on Roe and Casey were wrong! Christians have known this to be true for half a century, but it was finally confirmed by the Supreme Court.
Another key point of the ruling is that the question of abortion will now be returned to the courts of each individual state. It says, “The authority to regulate abortion is returned to the people and their elected representatives.” This has common sense written all over it. Each state has the constitutional authority to decide these issues, not the Supreme Court. This is how the question of abortion was addressed before Roe vs. Wade, and thankfully, this is how it will be addressed in the future. This means the battle against abortion will continue to be waged in each state. At this point the abortion debate has divided the states into three different groups: twenty states will activate some type of ban on abortion, ten other states are still uncertain on the outcome, and the remaining twenty states will work to protect abortion.
Dr. Al Mohler has been following the issue of abortion and the rights of the unborn for decades. I don’t agree with all his viewpoints, but when it comes to the issue of abortion I find his writing very helpful. This is what he said in last week’s podcast, “I have to tell you that another of my favorite sentences and sections from the Alito majority opinion is this, ‘Roe, however, was remarkably loose in its treatment of the constitutional text. It held that the abortion right, which is not mentioned in the constitution, is part of a right to privacy, which is also not mentioned.’ Now, that’s subtlety, but frankly, it’s not all that subtle. Here, you have Justice Alito saying that Roe v. Wade was built upon an artificial argument, that was built upon an artificial argument, that was built upon an artificial argument.”
The artificial arguments supporting abortion have been brought into the light by the Supreme Court’s ruling. I think this is what was the most shocking part of this entire story. Many people following this case were not alive when Roe vs. Wade was originally handed down. We have scratched our heads trying to understand how such a controversial practice could be said to be constitutionally protected. Now we can have clarity on this issue. It never was a constitutional right, and it never should have been supported in that way.
