JST on John 1, JST on John 2, JST on John 3, JST on John 4

 John 5:29 (JST)

And shall come forth; they that who have done good, unto in the resurrection of life just; and they that who have done evil, unto in the resurrection of damnation the unjust; and shall all be judged of the Son of man. 

How come Joseph didn’t like the word damnation in this text? 

John 5:31 (JST)

Therefore if I bear witness of myself, yet my witness is not true.

Did Joseph think John 3:31 (KJV) contained an error?  Looks like it.  But compare this with Isaiah 29 (JST).  What’s up with this?  Lots of ideas are swirling in my mind around the connected theme of witnesses.

 John 5:34 (JST)

But I receive And he received not his testimony from of man:  but these things I say, that ye might be saved of God.  And ye yourselves say that he is a prophet, therefore ye ought to receive his testimony.  These things I say that ye might be saved.

 Joseph saw another error in Jesus’ words?  Do you see the same alleged errors here in John 5?  Each textual revision that I discover by Joseph seeks to dethrone the very things that the Spirit has been teaching me through the written record.   The traditional text offers rich nuances of the absolutely unique character of Christ.  What about the inseparableness of the Father and Son in verse 31?  And in verse 34, it is we who need John the Baptist’s witness.  Jesus, the one with inseparable communion and absolute union with the Father, does not need John to remind him of who he is.  Makes me laugh just thinking about the utter contrast between Jesus and other men.  There are crucial distinctions being made in John 5 of the contrast between the God-man and mankind.  (more…)

Today, I have been working for my wife, as every good husband should do.  🙂  Slowly, I have been creating a masterpiece of patterned California gold slate and marble on the kitchen floor.  It is fit for a Greek goddess.  Only my wife by her union with Christ lives a more virtuous life than the ancient pagans.  She deserves my loving attention.  And knowing how long this floor has been torn up, it is about time I do some manual labor.

But to help me pass the time during this messy job, I decided to plug in to John’s Gospel.  I listened to the whole book on CD and then again up to John 6 where I will be preaching tomorrow.

Let me share with you something tonight in my joy.  John’s Gospel is like a freight train smashing through America’s atheism, agnosticism, and postmodernism.  In the midst of our pluralism that engulfs western thought, what are we to do with the message of this book?

Verily, the book explodes through all the Christianities of America, rising above the rancor and divisions, dominating with one central theme:  Jesus Christ is God.  He is absolutely unique in comparison to men on this earth.  He is infinitely superior to his creatures in every way.  He is supreme over all past prophets, human mediators, and present elders.  He is the Son of God.  The Son of Man.

Read the book this week.  Read it again next week.  And for whatever that might stand between you and the superhero of this book, get rid of it.  If need be, sell your house, quit your job, change your career, shelf your hobby, lay aside other demands, ignore your friends, lovingly confront your family, until you have things right in your heart with the main Person of John’s Gospel.  Will you believe Him?  Will you hang the entirety of your life on the living gospel words of the Savior in this book?

Tomorrow is the Lord’s Day.  Look for Him.  Blessed are those that hunger and thirst. 

Bob writes in the book A Twenty-Somethings’s Guide to Spirituality:  Questions You Hesitate to Ask, Answers You Rarely Hear (Deseret Book, 2007):

Many years ago on a Sunday morning I opened the door and reached down to pick up the morning newspaper when I saw beside the paper a plastic bag containing a paperback book.  I carried both inside and laid the newspaper aside as I browsed through the paper-back.  The cover was a lovely picture of a mountain stream, but the title of the book revealed to me what in fact the book was all about—it was an anti-Mormon treatise.  Many of the arguments in the book against The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints were old and worn-out ones, dead horses that have been beaten since the days of E. D. Howe.  Latter-day Saints had responded to the issues posed scores of times, but they continued to crop up. (more…)

The LDS living prophet, Gordon Hinckley, proclaims about his faith,

It is fundamentally different from every other body of religious doctrine of which I know.

I think we ought to discuss ‘fundamentals’.  So could the LDS living apostles in this new year formulate what are the fundamental differences between Mormon doctrine and all the other stripes of religious doctrine in America?  This should not be Governor Romney’s job; it falls squarely upon the shoulders of the LDS apostles and first presidency.

If the LDS leaders take the lead on this, it would be hugely beneficial to all the stripes of outsiders and all the stripes of Mormon insiders within the I-15 corridor as we discuss important heart issues.

Don’t you think?

TODD:  Pam Miller and her husband, Don, became members of our church family this summer.  I know Pam’s parents and respect them.  I tip my hat to them because they have reared a fine daughter.  With any interaction that I have had with them, I hope that all of Pam’s LDS family can see the Lord’s love in me.  But I have also come to rejoice with all my heart in Pam’s sincere faith in Christ as defined by Scripture.  Please listen to Pam’s story.

Pam, could you introduce our readers to just how far back in your family generations the LDS faith travels?

PAM:  Hi Pastor Todd.  Thank you for asking.  I am a 7^th generation (ex) Mormon.  My ancestors go all the way back to the days of Joseph Smith.  Though I am not related to Emma and Joseph Smith, my ancestors were very close to the Smiths:  one being his personal body guard.

TODD:  Pam, that is amazing.  So before we delve into the wonderful story of how you became an evangelical Christian, is there anything about your early LDS family and upbringing that you appreciated?  What can you look back on and be thankful for about your cultural heritage?  Or perhaps, there might not be much to suggest as good.  Feel free to share what you think. (more…)

I bought some local papers to keep up with the local news slant on the 177^th Semi-annual LDS General Conference.  And I couldn’t help read Dotson Rader’s article in PARADE (October 7, 2007) on Brad Pitt.  Listen to this excerpt: (more…)

I had to sneak out and make a snowman with the kids.  The snow is beautiful in Idaho Falls.

More later.

Last night, I stayed up reading half of a book, authored by a sister in our church family.  Marilyn Peters wrote Paw Prints of the Tiger (ACW Press, 2006).  Her latest is Stripes of the Tiger:  Paws for Reflection (Xulon Press, 2007).  Halfway into the first book and I confess to you – I’m hooked on Marilyn’s devotionals.  Of course, I am biased.  Marilyn is one of the most sensitive and tender sisters you will ever meet . . . and a crucial prayer intercessor in Idaho Falls. 

Gaining her permission this morning, I provide for you one of her devotional entries from Paw Prints of the Tiger:

 The Real Thing 

“Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God” (John 3:3)

Our Christmas tree in Bangladesh consisted of a cluster of branches from a casuarina tree.  Daddy tied the branches together on a center pole, stuck the pole in a pail of sand, and voila, it almost looked real!  He added a few lights and my sister and I decorated it with homemade paper chains and strung popcorn.  Our bearer chuckled, for he had found us the branches after seeing pictures of real trees on our Christmas cards.  He had solved for us the riddle of what to do, as there are no firs nor pines in this tropical country, and the ubiquitous banana trees didn’t lend themselves to the occasion.

The tree symbolizes for me artificial attempts to appear as Christians to the world.  We act the part, look like the real thing and so deceive ourselves with outward good deeds, church activities, and profession of faith. (more…)

“Yet he also is wise, and will bring evil” (Isaiah 31:2).

Can God create evil?  What about Isaiah 45:7?  Or is this verse considered among so many others just the words of a fallible redactor and not a true reflection of God?

Which leads me to this question; did God create a literal hell? (more…)

Late last night, I was looking at Isaiah 31.

Isaiah 31:3 is a thunderclap to God’s people to not trust in men.  And just thinking about this verse, I know why.  The contrasts between God and men is unfathomable.

On Sundays, I have had the privilege to teach an energetic group of 4th – 6th graders.  What an opportunity to minister!

This morning, I read to them some of the words that I penned last night: (more…)