The Shroud of Turin

Have you heard of the shroud of Turin?  Matthew 27:59 mentions the cloth that most people believe to be what is now called 'the shroud of Turin': "Joseph took the body, wrapped it in a clean linen cloth,...".   Basically, after Jesus was crucified, Joseph of Arimathea was able to take his body, and then he wrapped it in a burial cloth, and put it in the tomb.  This burial cloth is the shroud of Turin (so some believe, but no one has conclusive evidence).  It is so called because the shroud was found in Turin, Italy.  There are tons of website dedicated to this subject, http://www.shroudstory.com/ is just one of them.  Greg Koukl had a guest speaker, Gary Habermas, on his weekly radio show this past week, and Habermas talked about the shroud, so if you want to know more, that is also a resource to use.  Here is a picture of the shroud:

My point about the shroud is this: regardless of whether it is the burial cloth of Jesus or not, it should have no effect on our faith, nor should it become an object of worship.

God in the Old Testament

I was listening to Greg Koukl's radio show (via podcast) from this past Sunday, February 13.  In the last hour, he interviewed Paul Copan, who wrote Is God a Moral Monster?  Basically, Copan talks about how God is still righteous, gracious, and loving even though a lot of people misread the Old Testament and think that God is a big bully.  For instance, we read today in Deuteronomy about how God will rid the promised land of foreigners and the Israelites will triumph over their enemies.  The Israelites didn't participate in divine ethnic cleansing, however.  Deuteronomy 7:5 specifically states that the Israelite were to destroy the religious aspects of the other nations.  God was setting Israel up to be an example, a light, for all others; they were going to reflect the Lord's glory, and so they had to destroy the pagan relics.
Another interesting point Copan makes is that the laws Israel had to follow were mainly another way to remind them that God was involved in every aspect of their life, and that in every way, they were to remain set apart from the rest of the world and be different.  For instance, they weren't supposed to mix two different kinds of fabric together, nor were they to plant more than one type of crop in any given area.  They were to keep things pure and set apart, just as they were to remain pure and set apart from the pagans.
These are only a few examples, partially gleaned from today's reading in Deuteronomy, explaining why God is not the maniac some people think he is.  He didn't change from one testament to the other.  He is the same God in both the Old and New covenants.

Read Paul Copan's book to find out more about this issue.

A new take on the Christmas story

You must listen to Greg Koukl's podcast from December 20 (found on str.org or my redirect page).  He discusses the historical account of the Christmas story, and suggests that instead of the traditional village inn, Mary and Joseph stayed at a relative's house.  The Greek word that has been translated as 'inn' is actually the same term used for 'the upper room'.  Bethlehem was a tiny village and likely didn't even have an 'inn'.  Most guests would stay in the upper room of a relative's house, and the animals were kept in the lower area.  However, if Mary and Joseph were late in coming to Bethlehem, and their relative did not have room left in the upper room, they would have had to stay in the lower room of the house, not necessarily a cave.  The idea that they stayed in a stable cave didn't come up until the 3rd century, probably shortly after such caves came into existence.

Bearing fruit

Today's post is actually about yesterday's reading in John 15.  I was listening to a podcast on Stand to Reason earlier today, the show hosted by Greg Koukl.  He had an insight that I hadn't really thought of before.  You know how people will often say, "Lord, let this be all you and none of me. Take over this task and don't let me get in the way."  Well, this isn't actually the best idea because if you aren't in the way, that means you're sitting on the sidelines waiting for God to do all the work.  Instead, we should ask that whatever we do be 100% us and 100% God.  Just like Jesus was all God AND all man at the same time, God can work completely through us while we are still working completely as well.  It's like Jesus says in John 15:5 - “I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing."
"Apart from me you can do nothing" doesn't mean that we can't do anything ever.  If we are in Christ, we CAN do something!   Make sure that whatever you do, you give it your best, and then you can let God take care of the rest.  He'll take what you do and make it good, but you've got to do something first.