There’s a lot of information online about biblical archaeology. Some good. Some – well, not so biblical!
But I would like to recommend a book which delves into history – specifically, moments when “God came down” – that is, when He appeared to and communicated with people in history. The book is called, appropriately, Where God Came Down: The Archaeological Evidence.
It’s a rare thing when a book is both a fairly easy read – with lots of pictures! – and yet still detailed enough to be useful. This book looks at 10 places “where God came down”, along with pictures and diagrams to help you picture what archaeologists have found. You’ll not only learn something about the Bible, but something about archaeology along the way.
The first chapter is arguably the most amazing. That we have so much evidence for something so ancient is mind-blowing. I mean, it looks like the famous trees were right there! But I’ll let you discover all that for yourself.
Another rare thing about this book is that the author actually seems to believe what the Bible says. Imagine! Sadly, that’s less common than you may think.
Part of the value of this book is that it’s new – it incorporates the latest research – but it also talks about older discoveries. Speaking personally, I often hear about some newly discovered item with a biblical connection. But it’s easy to miss the incredible modern discoveries that have rocked the world in the past 100-150 years. Putting it all together gives an amazing picture of these places that God blessed, and how that affected those places right up to today.
So whether you’re just curious, or looking to enrich your study of Scripture, or in a position where you can teach others, I recommend you go right now and grab yourself a copy of Where God Came Down!
Now these things happened to them as an example, and they were written for our instruction, upon whom the ends of the ages have arrived.
So last month a relative (we’re still not sure which one, but that’s another story!) asked us a question for a school assignment:
How are you following God’s will in Mexico?
That’s a good question. Of course, we still have a long way to go – we often fail. But what exactly are we aiming for?
So this is how I answered:
The Lord Jesus left us with these instructions:
“All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to keep all that I commanded you; and behold, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”
Matthew 28:18-20
The Lord asks His Church to reach out to other nations, sharing the good news of “repentance and forgiveness of sins . . . in His name” (Luke 24:47) from the Bible (Luke 24:44-48). So we invite everyone to come to Jesus for forgiveness, baptizing those who put their trust in Him (Acts 2:41) (we just saw nine people baptized earlier this month!) and going on to teach them Jesus’ commands – that is, helping them learn to be His disciples/followers/imitators.
We do this in many different ways, but that’s basically how we’re following God’s will in Mexico.
How would you answer? How are you following God’s will in _________________?
Earlier this week Shari and I were at a meeting with the leaders of the church and their wives. One of the challenges, probably in any church, is that we see needs of people in the congregation, and we see how the Word of God can meet those needs, and yet often people – I should say we – don’t take the time to learn from God’s Word.
Maybe this is a habit of skipping the Sunday service. Maybe it’s not prioritizing a Bible study that would do us good. Maybe it’s a lack of regular Bible reading.
And of course there’s a variety of reasons that this happens. Sometimes it’s just a lack of understanding of the importance of hearing from the Lord. Sometimes it’s family pressure, or financial pressure, or a lack of organization. We all have our reasons.
I shared with everyone something that I’ve been thinking about a lot lately – oddly enough, a medical case study published in the medical journal Annals of Internal Medicine in 2019.
So, there was a boy of 14 who went to the doctor complaining that he was tired. The doctor did some tests and found that his vitamin B12 (cobalamin) levels were low. So he was given injections. Knowing that he was a “fussy eater”, the doctor also gave him some diet advice. And things seemed better.
But then he found that his vision was getting worse. After another couple of years, at the age of 17, he went to another specialist. More tests were done, and it was found that he still had issues with vitamin B12. After more tests, it was discovered that it wasn’t just B12, but several other micronutrients as well.
He was prescribed some supplements, but he was now legally blind. His vision may never return.
So what happened? Well, since he had been a boy, he had been very picky about his food. He ended up living on processed meats, white bread, chips and french fries.
As you can see, this didn’t cause major problems at first, and he was content with his food (a great relief for Dad and Mom no doubt). A small and common problem turned up – fatigue – which was easily solved with some vitamin injections. But then something else turned up – genetic? disease? And then another problem. And gradually the problems became very serious.
Because, after all, your body doesn’t need regular huge amounts of micronutrients. That’s why they’re called “micro”. You just need a wee bit of this and that over time. And so it can take a long time to notice that there’s a problem.
The same can be true of our spiritual lives. And I think there are two common causes:
A neglect of the gatherings of the saints, a neglect of personal time with the Lord
A bland “diet”
Someone can eat all the time and still be malnourished – as was the case with this teen. If you go to your local church service, and the songs tell you that God loves you (a great truth!) but not much else. If you listen to sermons and learn that you should love others (a great truth!), and not much else. You read the Bible and gain a few facts, and that’s all. Your prayer life is limited to “God bless so-and-so” and “help so-and-so feel better”.
And soon, during the worship music time, you realize you’re always just thinking about the same few things (booooooring). And you’re listening to the same things in the sermons. And when hard times come – or when good times come! – you lack the spiritual treasures that you could be drawing from God’s Word in your heart (Psalm 119:11; Luke 6:45). You can’t handle the hard times, or truly rejoice in the good!
Sometimes these are the reasons we’re shallow, bored, and ill-equipped.
And yet God has given us so many treasures – spinach, beef, strawberries, walnuts … I mean, prayer, 66 books in the Bible, thousands of years of songs from the community of believers, a local church with all kinds of different people, various teachers – we have such treasure!
But are we enjoying the feast before us?
We miss a service. We don’t spend time with other believers for a while. We forget to pray. We hear the same few dozen worship songs. And everything goes on as it did before. The sky doesn’t fall. We don’t feel like we’re further away from God. Maybe we even feel more content. For a while.
But eventually we come to understand a little of what we’re missing. We feel a little weak in the battle. We don’t understand when we do read the Bible. We can’t see the real challenges before us, or the real blessings given to us. And a week of panic Bible study or a counselling session with the pastor may not be a lasting solution.
So I should ask – today – this week – am I getting my micronutrients?
In 1986, Jack W. Hayford took the Christmas hymn and wrote new words – making it a Resurrection Sunday hymn (Worship Christ the Risen King):
Rise, O Church, and life your voices; Christ has conquered death and hell. Sing as all the earth rejoices; Resurrection anthems swell. Come and worship, come and worship; Worship Christ the risen King!
Once we had a Christmas-Easter service at our church (something my Dad had done) halfway between the two dates – it would have been interesting to combine the two versions, or sing one at the beginning of the service and one at the end! Why not try it one Sunday in February?
But the final verse of Angels from the Realms of Glory, one not often sung, is pure praise:
All creation, join in praising God, the Father, Spirit, Son, Evermore your voices raising To th’eternal Three in One. Come and worship, come and worship, Worship Christ, the newborn king.
Certainly a fitting ending to a song either about creation, incarnation, or resurrection!
The Baby in the manger was God incarnate, God the Son (Isaiah 9:6; Colossians 2:9). The Father sent Him (John 17:25), the Spirit brought Him into the world (Matthew 1:18), and He accomplished the salvation of His people as a man (Matthew 1:21). Three Persons, One God, bringing salvation to a lost world. A Triune act of love.
The missions-minded author, James Montgomery, gives us a carol that in fact leads us through the Great Commission to the fulfillment of all things in the eternal Kingdom.
And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.
Matthew 28:18-20
With all His disciples worldwide we wait for His return. And we do what the first disciples did, after they had watched Him ascend into Heaven: “While he blessed them, he parted from them and was carried up into heaven. And they worshiped him…“ (Luke 24:51 (emphasis mine)).
So as you sing or listen to this Christmas carol – may you do the same! Come and worship! Worship Christ, eternal King!
