Wood Chopping Trivia

1. The tiniest part of the axe blade in the wood can be most difficult to remove
2. A knot can be harder than the steel axe head
3. It is very difficult to hit the same spot of the wood twice
4. Likewise, the smaller the piece of wood the greater the challenge to hit it
5. Sometimes smaller pieces of wood move just before the axe head lands
6. I have been known to split the log beneath the wood I am chopping
7. There are times when great force is called for, other times let the axe head do the work

The battle over breasts

One morning, when we were in Santa Fe, while we were getting dressed to meet up with Erica and Dan, we saw a story about an exchange between Alyssa Milano and Wendy Williams concerning breastfeeding in public. Alyssa Milano is a proponent of breastfeeding and an advocate of breastfeeding in public. Wendy Williams is opposed to breastfeeding in public.

You can watch it here

Milano is said to have asked, “Why is it ok to show Miley Cyrus showing this but it’s not ok to see a woman nursing?”

And Williams answered, “I don’t know why I feel this way. I just feel like, I’m a mom also, and, but, you know . . . breastfeeding is only a particular amount of time. The rest of your life your breasts are sexual . . . things”

This issue of breastfeeding in public comes up from time to time, and there is a very vocal opposition to it. We live in America, so we know it’s not a question of modesty. So, why?

When I heard Wendy Williams, a light came on - this is about sex. We live in a sex-obsessed society. Everything is about sex and sex is everything. Women are pictured as sexual beings and breasts ought to be revealed as much as possible. Seeing a woman use her breasts for something other than sex messes up that picture and people don’t want this picture messed up.

Of course, there are those women who have made breastfeeding in public a cause, as the woman below

She is glaring at a woman who she said was staring at her, attempting to “shame her” for breastfeeding in public uncovered. Everybody is just so “in your face” about it all!

Yikes! I’ve written myself into a corner and don’t know where to go from here! I simply wanted to share my insight into why people are so upset by this. And I just now saw an article on Facebook about topless baristas in the state of Washington! We are a society obsessed with sex and exhibitionism. We need to get back to the Creator and His ways.

Is faith the gift of God?

Our small group recently began a study of the Gospel According to John. Our last meeting concluded with John 1:12-13, But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name: Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God. Some of the brethren were saying things like, “Salvation is a sovereign work of God... We do nothing at all...even faith is a gift from God.”

This emphasis on the sovereignty of God (election, predestination, and now faith as a gift from God) comes up from time to time. Since I do not accept this Reformed view, I naturally spoke up. (I often wonder if these brethren get tired of me.) I questioned this assertion that “faith is a gift from God” and we had a very brief discussion. I was mainly saying that such a view was illogical and inconsistent with the rest of Scripture - we are urged to have faith and reproached for lack of faith, how can this be if the required faith is a gift from God?

One saint asked, “What about Ephesians 2:8?” I gave a brief response and then we transitioned to the Lord’s Supper. That was a sweet time. But, what about Ephesians 2:8?

For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: not of works, lest any man should boast.

That is a pronoun. In Greek as well as in English, pronouns have to agree with their nouns. In Greek, every noun is assigned a gender: male, female, or neuter. With a few exceptions, every pronoun has to agree in number and gender with its noun. When we look at this verse in the Greek we see something interesting

τῇ  γὰρ  χάριτί  ἐστε  σεσῳσμένοι  διὰ  πίστεως·  καὶ  τοῦτο  οὐκ  ἐξ  ὑμῶν,  Θεοῦ  τὸ  δῶρον·

See how interesting that is? Ha! Seriously, the words for grace χάριτί and faith πίστεως are feminine while the pronoun that τοῦτο is neuter. It agrees with neither grace nor faith. Simply put, and that not of yourselves cannot have grace or faith as it’s antecedent. In other words, neither grace nor faith is the gift of God mentioned.

Adam Clarke
“The relative τουτο, this, which is in the neuter gender, cannot stand for πιστις, faith, which is the feminine; but it has the whole sentence that goes before for its antecedent… this salvation is in no sense of yourselves, but is the free gift of God; and not of any kind of works; so that no man can boast as having wrought out his own salvation…”

A.T. Robertson
"Grace is God's part, faith ours. And that (kai touto). Neuter, not feminine tautê, and so refers not to pistis (feminine) or to charis (feminine also), but to the act of being saved by grace conditioned on faith on our part. Paul shows that salvation does not have its source in men, but from God. Besides, it is God's gift and not the result of our work."

Apologetics Press
"However, when one examines Ephesians 2:8 in the language in which it was written originally (Greek), he finds that the pronoun that (touto) is neuter in gender, while the word faith (pistis) is feminine. Since the general rule in Greek grammar is for the gender and number of a relative pronoun to be the same as its antecedent, then some extenuating linguistic circumstance, special idiomatic use, or other mitigating factor would need to be demonstrated to justify linking “that” to “faith.” If such reasonable justification cannot be made, then one is compelled to continue studying the passage in order to know assuredly what “that” gift of God is.

When no clear antecedent is found within a text, Greek scholar William Mounce wisely recommends that the Bible student study the context of the passage in question in order to help determine to what a relative pronoun (like “that”) is referring. The overall context of the first three chapters of Ephesians is man’s salvation found in Christ.

“In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace” (1:7).
The heavenly “inheritance” is found in Christ (1:11).
After believing in the good news of salvation through Christ, the Ephesians were “sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise” (1:13).
Sinners are made “alive with Christ” and saved “by grace” (2:5).
Sinners are brought near to God “by the blood of Christ” (2:13).
Paul became a servant of Christ “according to the gift of the grace of God…by the effective working of His power” (3:7).

Not only is the theme of salvation the overall context of the first three chapters of Ephesians, but the immediate context of Ephesians 2:8-9 is of salvation, not of faith. These two verses thoroughly document how a person is saved, not how a person believes.

Salvation is by grace.
Salvation is through faith.
Salvation is not of yourselves.
Salvation is the gift of God.
Salvation is not of works.

Paul was not giving an exposition on faith in his letter to the Ephesians. Salvation was his focus. Faith is mentioned as the mode by which salvation is accepted. Salvation is through faith… The main focus of Paul’s message in Ephesians 2:8-9 was salvation…not the mode of salvation."


Obviously, this salvation is not my work. It is the gift of the most merciful God: God planned it, God promised it, God sent His Son who suffered on the tree, the Holy Spirit opened my heart so that I understood; but it was I who believed, who placed my faith in Christ. And the Scriptures everywhere invite us to believe in Jesus, to have faith in him. The Scriptures even warn us, he that believeth not shall be damned. If faith is a gift from God given to some but not others, then this makes a travesty of the Gospel which promises, He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved when in fact what it really means is, “He that is given the gift of faith shall be saved.”

In John chapter 9, Jesus healed a blind man, and this man was then cast out of the synagogue. Jesus heard that they had cast him out; and when he had found him, he said unto him, Dost thou believe on the Son of God?
He answered and said, Who is he, Lord, that I might believe on him?
And Jesus said unto him, Thou hast both seen him, and it is he that talketh with thee.
And he said, Lord, I believe. And he worshipped him.
You see how God works in us and woos us, but it is we who believe?

What then is the gift of God spoken of in Ephesians 2:8? Salvation, promised and now made manifest by the appearing of our Saviour Jesus Christ, who hath abolished death, and hath brought life and immortality to light through the gospel... For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men. Amen.

Do you believe on the Son of God?

Isaiah 49 Powerful Prophecy of Messiah

Isaiah 49 This is Messiah speaking to his Father, 1-6, and the Father answering, 7-13

1 Listen, O isles, unto me; and hearken, ye people, from far; The Lord hath called me from the womb; from the bowels of my mother hath he made mention of my name.

2 And he hath made my mouth like a sharp sword; in the shadow of his hand hath he hid me, and made me a polished shaft; in his quiver hath he hid me;

3 And said unto me, Thou art my servant, O Israel, in whom I will be glorified.

4 Then I said, I have laboured in vain, I have spent my strength for nought, and in vain: yet surely my judgment is with the Lord, and my work with my God.

5 And now, saith the Lord that formed me from the womb to be his servant, to bring Jacob again to him, Though Israel be not gathered, yet shall I be glorious in the eyes of the Lord, and my God shall be my strength.

6 And he said, It is a light thing that thou shouldest be my servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob, and to restore the preserved of Israel: I will also give thee for a light to the Gentiles, that thou mayest be my salvation unto the end of the earth.

7 Thus saith the Lord, the Redeemer of Israel, and his Holy One, to him whom man despiseth, to him whom the nation abhorreth, to a servant of rulers, Kings shall see and arise, princes also shall worship, because of the Lord that is faithful, and the Holy One of Israel, and he shall choose thee.

8 Thus saith the Lord, In an acceptable time have I heard thee, and in a day of salvation have I helped thee: and I will preserve thee, and give thee for a covenant of the people, to establish the earth, to cause to inherit the desolate heritages;

9 That thou mayest say to the prisoners, Go forth; to them that are in darkness, Shew yourselves. They shall feed in the ways, and their pastures shall be in all high places.

10 They shall not hunger nor thirst; neither shall the heat nor sun smite them: for he that hath mercy on them shall lead them, even by the springs of water shall he guide them.

11 And I will make all my mountains a way, and my highways shall be exalted.

12 Behold, these shall come from far: and, lo, these from the north and from the west; and these from the land of Sinim.

13 Sing, O heavens; and be joyful, O earth; and break forth into singing, O mountains: for the Lord hath comforted his people, and will have mercy upon his afflicted.

Jesus in Genesis: I have waited for thy salvation

In Genesis 49 Jacob prophesies over his sons and in verses 8-12 he reveals that Messiah will come from Judah: The sceptre shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh come; and unto him shall the gathering of the people be. Then, after he addresses Zebulun, Issachar, and Dan, he cries out, I have waited for thy salvation, O LORD (49:18).

I have waited for thy salvation, O LORD. What an interesting declaration! And, as I hope to point out, what an amazing declaration!

Jacob knew Messiah was coming, and he knew he would bring salvation. Salvation is coming when Messiah comes because Messiah is our salvation.

When the angel explained Mary’s pregnancy to Joseph he said, And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins. Jesus will save his people, he is a Savior - he is our salvation.

When Jesus was born, Joseph and Mary took him to the Temple to present him to the Lord and we read:

And, behold, there was a man in Jerusalem, whose name was Simeon; and the same man was just and devout, waiting for the consolation of Israel: and the Holy Ghost was upon him.  
And it was revealed unto him by the Holy Ghost, that he should not see death, before he had seen the Lord's Christ.  
And he came by the Spirit into the temple: and when the parents brought in the child Jesus, to do for him after the custom of the law,  
Then took he him up in his arms, and blessed God, and said,  
Lord, now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace, according to thy word:  
For mine eyes have seen thy salvation,  
Which thou hast prepared before the face of all people;  
A light to lighten the Gentiles, and the glory of thy people Israel. (Luke 2:25-32)

Wow! Simeon was told he would see the Lord’s Christ and when he saw Jesus he cried out, Mine eyes have seen thy salvation. Simeon saw what Jacob was waiting for! This is awesome. Thy salvation is the Lord’s Christ, and the Lord’s Christ is Jesus. Amen.

Jacob said, I have waited for thy salvation. Simeon said, Mine eyes have seen thy salvation. Jacob was waiting for Jesus. Simeon saw Jesus. And here is where it gets really interesting.

The Hebrew word for salvation in Genesis 49:18 is yeshuwah. Jesus’ name in Hebrew is formed from this very word. His name is actually, Yehoshuwa which in the English Old Testament is translated, Joshua. Yeshuwah means salvation, Yehoshuwa means Yahweh is salvation.

Joshua’s birth name was Oshea, a word that comes from the same root as yeshuwah and also means salvation. Moses added “a letter of the incommunicable name of God” to his name to form the new name Jehoshua. As I said, this is most often translated Joshua in our Bibles. It was probably pronounced, Yeshua, because when the Old Testament was translated into Greek, Joshua was translated Ἰησοῦς, in English this is Iesus, or as we spell it now, Jesus.

The salvation of God, thy yeshuwah, is not a thing, it is a person. Thy salvation, thy yeshuwah, is Yeshua - Ἰησοῦς, Jesus. Amen!

I have waited for thy salvation, O LORD. Jacob was waiting for Messiah and he knew the Lord’s Christ was salvation. And in an awesome move by God, the name of Christ the Savior is Yeshua, Ἰησοῦς, Jesus – Yahweh is salvation. Amen and Praise God!

Jesus in Genesis: Abraham

Abraham. A pivotal figure in the Bible and an extraordinary man. He is “father Abraham” – father of Israel, father of circumcision, father of all who believe in Christ. He had a remarkable walk with God, full of grace, faith, promises, and revelations of God. This week I want to consider two incidents in his life that reveal Jesus in Genesis. These two chapters are long and my blog is short, so I am only going to offer a cursory look at them and would therefore urge you to read them in their entirety.

Genesis 18
1  And the LORD appeared unto him in the plains of Mamre: and he sat in the tent door in the heat of the day; 2  And he lift up his eyes and looked, and, lo, three men stood by him: and when he saw them, he ran to meet them from the tent door, and bowed himself toward the ground,
This is amazing! We read, the Lord appeared unto him and that he saw three men. Did he see the Lord or did he see three men? Yes. Two of these men were angels (19:1), the other was the Lord. And the Scripture is very clear, this was Yahweh himself (whenever LORD appears in the Old Testament in all caps it is the name of God): the LORD appeared to him and ate a meal with him (1-8); the LORD spoke to him about Sarah his wife and the son she would have (9-15); the LORD told Abraham about his plans for Sodom and Gomorrah and Abraham made intercession for them (16-33). Wow!

No man hath seen God at any time - so how in the world did Abraham see Him, eat with Him, and intercede face to face with Him??? This is the Word of God, the Son of God, “a personal appearance of him who was afterwards incarnated for the salvation of mankind” (Adam Clarke). This is not merely an angel, this is Jesus, the Son of God. And Abraham saw him!

The reason for this visit was to confirm the promised of a son (9-15). This is a great story full of real human emotion: the Promised One reaffirms the promise of a son. Jesus is both the giver of the promise and the fulfillment of the promise. Amen!

16  And the men rose up from thence, and looked toward Sodom: and Abraham went with them to bring them on the way. 17  And the LORD said, Shall I hide from Abraham that thing which I do?
As the two men (angels) head toward Sodom, the Lord reveals to Abraham what He plans to do to Sodom.

22  And the men turned their faces from thence, and went toward Sodom: but Abraham stood yet before the LORD.
I realize that to “stand before the Lord” is often metaphorical, but the context indicates that this is physical, Abraham and Christ, the LORD, are standing together discussing the fate of Sodom.

23  And Abraham drew near, and said, Wilt thou also destroy the righteous with the wicked?
Abraham intercedes for Sodom (24-32). This is instructive, enlightening, powerful!

33  And the LORD went his way, as soon as he had left communing with Abraham: and Abraham returned unto his place.
What a day Abraham had! He met with the LORD face to face, shared a meal with Him, had a promise reaffirmed by Him, and secured Lot’s safety through Him. And in this he encountered Christ, the Son of God.

Genesis 22
Abraham’s faith was tested when God asked him to offer his son. When Isaac asked, where is the lamb for a burnt offering? Abraham replied with a declaration of faith and a prophetic word, My son, God will provide himself a lamb for a burnt offering. Amen!

As Abraham stood there with Isaac on the altar, the angel of the LORD called unto him out of heaven … And Abraham lifted up his eyes, and looked, and behold behind him a ram caught in a thicket by his horns: and Abraham went and took the ram, and offered him up for a burnt offering in the stead of his son.
Abraham offered a ram in the stead of his son. Such a picture of Christ and his death on the cross for us. And this is really cool: “the angel of the LORD” who directed Abraham to the ram was probably Christ himself! Many times in the Old Testament “the angel of the LORD” is Christ, the Son of God. So, the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world points out the type, the ram offered in the stead of his son. Amen!

14  And Abraham called the name of that place Jehovahjireh: as it is said to this day, In the mount of the LORD it shall be seen.
This is all a wonderful type of Christ: his death in our stead and his resurrection from the dead. Ah, but where is the resurrection in this? Abraham said, I and the lad will go and come again. The New Testament explains, By faith Abraham, when he was tried, offered up Isaac: and he that had received the promises offered up his only begotten son, Of whom it was said, That in Isaac shall thy seed be called: Accounting that God was able to raise him up, even from the dead; from whence also he received him in a figure.

“Jehovah - jireh (Yehovah-yireh), literally interpreted in the margin, The Lord will see; that is, God will take care that every thing shall be done that is necessary for the comfort and support of them who trust in him: hence the words are usually translated, The Lord will provide. On This Mount The Lord Shall Be Seen. Abraham offered Isaac on that very mountain on which, in the fullness of time, Jesus suffered.” ~Adam Clarke

Abraham lived in the early days of the Bible and yet he enjoyed such a rich revelation of Christ: the promised seed who would bless all the families of the earth, who would be offered in our stead, who would be raised from the dead. And he saw him and supped with him! Amen and amen! This is the very One “who for us men, and for our salvation, came down from heaven, and was incarnate by the Holy Spirit of the Virgin Mary, and was made man; he was crucified for us under Pontius Pilate, and suffered, and was buried, and the third day he rose again, according to the Scriptures”

Jesus in Genesis - The Promised Seed

I know the Old Testament can be a confusing book. It is actually 39 books, with so many stories a person can get lost. It is helpful to know that there is a theme running throughout the Old Testament. And what is this theme around which the Old Testament is centered? On the surface, the Old Testament is the story of Israel and her great king, David. But, since the Old Testament continues after the reign of David, there’s something else going on, and David is just a part of it - that greater theme is Messiah, the Promised Savior. And we find this theme running through Genesis

3:15  And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.
As soon as they were discovered in sin, God promised a Savior, who would destroy the adversary and restore the presence of the Lord. This is the first promise of Messiah and it tells us the Promised Savior will be a human.

“And just as through a disobedient virgin man was stricken down and fell into death, so through the Virgin who was obedient to the Word of God man was reanimated and received life”  ~Irenaeus, The Demonstration of the Apostolic Preaching

12:1  Now the LORD had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father's house, unto a land that I will show thee:
2  And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing:
3  And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed.
This is a signal event in the Bible, this is when salvation history kicks into gear. God calls Abram and promises him a land and to make of him a nation - that’s Israel and the “promised land”. Then He says, and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed. From the beginning, the plan and the promise was “all families of the earth.”

The Promised Savior would come from the family of Abraham. But Abraham had many sons, the two most prominent being Ishmael and Isaac. And God made it clear that his choice was Isaac: And God said, Sarah thy wife shall bear thee a son indeed; and thou shalt call his name Isaac: and I will establish my covenant with him for an everlasting covenant, and with his seed after him. (17:19; see also 17:15-21, 22:18)

The promise is then renewed with Isaac:
26:24  And the LORD appeared unto him the same night, and said, I am the God of Abraham thy father: fear not, for I am with thee, and will bless thee, and multiply thy seed for my servant Abraham's sake.
Isaac had two sons, Esau and Jacob. Esau was the firstborn and the one expected to receive the promise, but God chose Jacob instead.

In 28:10-15 God renewed the promise to Jacob
28:14  And thy seed shall be as the dust of the earth, and thou shalt spread abroad to the west, and to the east, and to the north, and to the south: and in thee and in thy seed shall all the families of the earth be blessed.
The Promised Savior will be from Jacob, who was later named Israel - Messiah will be from Israel.

But Jacob had 12 sons! As he was dying, Jacob gathered his sons around him and prophesied over them, and in so doing he revealed which tribe the Promised Savior would be from:

49:8  Judah, thou art he whom thy brethren shall praise: thy hand shall be in the neck of thine enemies; thy father's children shall bow down before thee.
9  Judah is a lion's whelp: from the prey, my son, thou art gone up: he stooped down, he couched as a lion, and as an old lion; who shall rouse him up?
10  The sceptre shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh come; and unto him shall the gathering of the people be.
11  Binding his foal unto the vine, and his ass's colt unto the choice vine; he washed his garments in wine, and his clothes in the blood of grapes:
12  His eyes shall be red with wine, and his teeth white with milk.

The sceptre shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh come; and unto him shall the gathering of the people be. Amen! The Promised Savior will be from the tribe of Judah.

Shiloh is the promised Savior, the Messiah, but what is Shiloh? As Adam Clarke explains:

“The duration of the power of this famous tribe is next determined: 'the scepter' or it’s civil government, was not to cease or depart from Judah until the birth or coming of Shiloh, signifying the Apostle, as Christ is styled, Hebrews 3:1 (the Apostle and High Priest of our profession, Christ Jesus); nor was the native lawgiver, or expounder of the law, teacher, or scribe, intimating their ecclesiastical polity, to cease, until Shiloh should have a congregation of peoples, or religious followers, attached to him. And how accurately was this fulfilled in both these respects!

Here then we find the true meaning and derivation of the much disputed term Shiloh in this prophecy of Jacob, which is fortunately preserved by the Vulgate, "The sceptre shall not be taken away from Juda, nor a ruler from his thigh, till he come that is to be sent, and he shall be the expectation of nations," and also by a rabbinical comment on Deu 22:7: 'If you keep this precept, you hasten the coming of the Messiah, who is called Sent.' " (commentary on Genesis)

This theme of the promised seed runs throughout Genesis. This book is not simply interesting stories about ancient people, or even the story of the beginning of Israel. Genesis is the story of the creation of man, the fall of man into sin and death, and the promise of God to send a Savior who will restore man to the presence of the Lord. The Promised Savior will be a human, of the family of Abraham, from the nation Israel, from the tribe of Judah.

And the New Testament makes it clear that Jesus of Nazareth was born of a woman, a son of Abraham, from the tribe of Judah.

Jesus is the promised seed, the Messiah.

Amen.