There is a phrase in the beautiful carol that is of particular interest to me.

“made heaven and earth of naught . . . ”

The Dart has me thinking about beginnings.  I plan on a post in the future.  But lovely music is the first thing that comes to my mind. 

Now, I need to find out if the stirring voice of the Mormon Tabernacle Choir makes this hymn soar through the rafters.

Thinking of heart issues . . .

I just initiated this past Sunday morning in the church office a small group Sunday School study (four week series) on “How to Study the Bible.”  I have at least half a dozen books specifically carrying this title.  So I first picked up a volume written 50 years ago that had been included in the Laymans Theological Library.  In the book, Understanding the Bible (Philadelphia: Westminster Press, 1958), Fred J. Denbeaux writes on a particular theme of interest to LDS who are sensitive to the ideas of Greek philosophers corrupting Christianity.  I strongly disagree with some of his writings, but tell me what you think of this excerpt in the book:

Ancient Greece and Rome had created extraordinary high religious philosophies.  The most dedicated Christian could not hope to exceed the integrity of Socrates or the moral responsibility of Epictetus.  No one could surpass these pagans in their sense of high and holy living.

 

Paganism appealed to each man on the basis of the intelligence that resided within him.  The intelligence within each man was assumed to be identical with that larger intelligence which was directing the course of the universe.  If a man did not heed this “wisdom,” he wasted his life in confusion and error and he made wrong choices; instead of accentuating his mind he emphasized his flesh.  But if a man heeded the demands of intelligence, he would dedicate his life toward that which was pure and noble.

 

The religion of the Bible, by contrast, differed from this “high” view of paganism in two ways.  In the first place, the Biblical man was not so sure that the fulfillment of life came from going “higher.”  He rather thought that our life on earth was good, that it had to be fulfilled in the here and now.  Thus Jesus says,

 

“Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done, On earth as it is in heaven.” (Matt. 6:10)

 

In the second place, the Biblical man differed from the pagan man in that he could not bring himself to believe that either his intelligence or his spirit was a trustworthy road to God.  Indeed, he found it slightly inconceivable to believe that God was to be found at the end of a thought:

 

“For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.” (Isa. 55:9)

 

God could only be understood as One who was infinitely more than man, a transcendent being with whom man could never feel entirely familiar, a Holy Stranger with whom man could never be comfortable.

 

So the Hebrew did not attempt to find God through the logic of him mind.  Instead, he declared that God was grounded in a mystery that preceded all thought and understanding.  God could only be understood as the One who had brought a helpless group of slaves into freedom and purpose.  So each Hebrew child was taught, not to think his way up to God, but to remember that “we were Pharaoh’s slaves in Egypt; and the Lord brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand.”  (Deut. 6:21.)

 

Christendom has chosen to cast its lots with the faith of that Hebrew child and not with the wisdom of great philosophers.  We are also convinced that God is found, not in the mirror of our thoughts and feelings, but in that strange world of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.  The pagan felt that God was in continuity with man.  This meant that man could move directly out to the end of his thought and find – God.  Although Christianity has a deep appreciation for thinking, it is convinced that God lives beyond our thought and feeling and sense.

 

The Christian discovers that the strangeness of the exodus event breaks into every intellectual reverie.  The covenant event keeps us from getting lost in ourselves, from becoming intoxicated by the potency of our thoughts.  There is a thus always a tension between thought and the Bible.  Whenever we think, we find the Bible irritating.  Abraham, Moses, and an obscure Semitic people interrupt our love affair with ourselves.  We are drawn to One who is infinitely more than we are, before whom our thoughts are only broken bridges.  We are filled with foreboding.  Although, with the Greek philosophers, we feel intellectually confident before nature and logic, we feel different when we try to “think” our way to God.  Before him we feel fragile and uncertain.  Before him our logic collapses and, with Francis Thompson, we confess:

 

“I fled Him, down the nights and down the days; I fled Him, down the arches of the years; I fled Him, down the labyrinthine ways of my own mind, and in the midst of tears I hid from Him, and under running laughter.  Up vistaed hopes I sped; and shot, precipitated, adown Titantic glooms of chasmed fears, from those strong Feet that followed, followed after.” (71-73).

Of course, what bridged the gulf between the Holy Stranger and finite, fallen, creaturely mankind was the incarnation of Jesus Christ.

Last night, I did something radical.  For my Isaiah 40 study, I played a 46 second song sung by the MTC.

Powerful.  Do you know which song I am thinking that references a full verse in this text?

Sometime, we need to get into a big discussion over this text.

Ray is a young man serving the Lord in Victor, Idaho. 

Todd:  Brother Ray, could you share with our readers first about where you grew up and how you came to know Christ as Savior?

Ray:  I was born and raised in Buhl, Idaho.  I grew up attending Magic Valley Baptist Church all of my life.  I also attended the Clear Lakes Christian Academy which was a ministry of the church.  I remember attending church basically any time that the doors were open, whether I wanted to or not.  The older I got, the more in the way church got and kept me from doing the things I wanted to do.

In High School, I began to get further from the Lord with my attitude and some behavior.  I always had to be careful because Buhl is a small town and every one knows every one.  I had to play the part of the good kid around certain people, and fit in with the rougher crowd when that suited my desires.

The Lord began to get a hold of my heart the summer of my junior year.  A friend of mine, Les Lipskoch, wanted me to go to Red Cliff Bible Camp, but having been there before, and knowing what I would hear, I did not want to go again.  Finally, after much pressure, I went and the Lord convicted me of what I was doing with my life.  I believe God started the work there.

I decided that I wanted to study to be a Youth Pastor and help kids that were having problems.  After I graduated from High School, I went to Pensacola Christian College to study.  It was there that the Lord began to show me that I had not accepted Christ as my Savior.  I was living the life, but Christ was not alive in me.  In January of 1993, on the way back to college, we were in a car wreck.  No one got hurt, but I knew what could have happened.  The Lord used that to work on me, and finally on March 7, 1993, at 8:00 p.m. Central Time, I accepted Jesus Christ as my Savior.  I thank God that He used Pastor Colan Deatherage, now in Pocatello, Idaho, to lead me to the Lord that night.

Todd:  Before your current ministry in Victor, tell us about your time in Rexburg, Idaho.  What answer to prayer do you remember the most when you lived in this town?

Ray: I came to Rexburg and Grace Baptist Church, December 1, 1998, to work with Pastor Richard Hartman.  This was to be a one year internship with him through Northwest Baptist Missions.  Through a variety of circumstances, the one year extended until August 19, 2006; and had the opportunity to serve as the Youth Pastor, the Interim Pastor (of sorts), and the Assistant Pastor.

Probably the prayer request that I remember God answering most was when the Lord brought Pastor Joe Lacy in to be the Pastor.  I had been the Interim Pastor (of sorts) since Pastor Hartman had moved to Lander, Wyoming.  We had been looking for a REAL Pastor all during that time.  God led the members of Grace Baptist to call Pastor Lacy.  I am very thankful that he is there.  The ministry is growing and God is using Him.  I know that the Lord is using Pastor Lacy far more than He could have used me in the same situation.

Todd:  And now that you are serving in Victory, Idaho, what would be your central heartbeat for this place?

Ray:  My desire for Victor is to see an established Fundamental Bible Preaching Church here in the community.  Currently, there is not a Fundamental Church in the entire Teton Valley.  There have been several attempts at this, but as of yet, nothing is firmly established.

Even more important than see the church established, I desire that people learn of the love, grace, mercy, forgiveness, and even the judgment of God.  Most people here have a take it or leave it attitude about God, and I pray that God will use me to show them, from the Bible, that God is real, and must be real to them as well.

Todd:  What promises in the Bible encourage you in your endeavors?

Ray:  There is one promise that I go back to regularly.  First Thessalonians 5:24 says, “Faithful is he that calleth you, who also will do it.”  This promise means a lot to me because I know more and more every day that the Lord has called me to Victor.  The work here is progressing slowly; in fact, many times I am the only one who comes to the Bible Study.  The Lord uses this verse to help me remember that even though people might not come, He is still touching their lives.  I learn of that through comments made and conversations that I have with those I meet.  There is hardly a person in Victor that does not know of the Bible Study, so I know that God is working.  I am not sure how long it will take for God to establish His work in Victor, but I know He will. 

Todd:  Last of all, please tell everyone where you meet for services and what you are studying.

Ray:  This is a hard question because of the lack of consistency in the attendance.  When there are folks there, we focus on God establishing His work in Victor, and in changing our lives through the power of His Word.  I want people to understand that God can use His Word in us, and has a personal message for us all. 

When I am alone, I focus on the promises of God and the encouragement and direction He is giving me in my life.  I also spend a lot of time in prayer for the folks here in Victor.

Todd:  It is an honor to have you as my friend, Ray.  God is going to do great things in Victor, Idaho.

To my LDS friends and readers:  with you in my mind and heart, here are two of my ambitions for the new year. 

1.  I will read through the Book of Mormon alongside with you in the year long schedule.  I will utilize an authentic leather-bound reproduction of original 1830 edition of The Book of Mormon. (more…)

I have soberly learned by real life experience several things in 2007.

There are three biblical doctrines that make any earnest LDS friend shudder (especially when it is delivered from a Baptist preacher):

1. The Triune God

2. Creation ex nihilo

3. Divine sovereignty in man’s salvation

Moving beyond the general teachings of Christ which almost everyone universally would accept, some narrow and exclusive teachings by Jesus are scandalous to some of his professing disciples.  The stumbling can be so great that many disciples leave the Christ of the Bible, abandoning forever these sound, biblical truths which define God’s nature and work.  Having just finished as a church family, a line upon line study of this thick theological chapter, I related this past Sunday how the unforeseen response by the disciples at the end of John 6 is awful.  It is just plain awful.

But Jesus explains to Jews and disciples one of the reasons for the scandal.  Interwoven with the Bread of Life discourse, Jesus says some jolting truths to them about the Father’s necessary work of drawing people to the Son (John 6: 44, 65).  If God isn’t at work in hearts, people are not going to respond.  Period.

Joseph Smith saw these rough sayings by Jesus and clearly rejected them both.  I assume he concluded that they must have been corruptions to the text.

In the Joseph Smith Translation, he puts in print for all: his disbelief. (more…)

I just read this and this from the LDS newsroom.  Both are interesting articles.

And before I get too much further on this Rexburg temple series,  I want to know about the picketers.  Who are the groups and their sponsors?

I have been hearing some stories on yesterday Lord’s Day that some have not been nice.

Last week, I didn’t see any.  But if I get to Rexburg this week, I want to visit with some of them.

Let’s go live, today, with Pastor Joe, my brother-in-law.  He pastors Grace Baptist Church in Rexburg, Idaho.  In light of the Rexburg Temple open house, Joe is seizing the opportunity to speak on the temple.

Todd:  Joe, what text did you center on this morning? (more…)

Here are some snippets from the headline news in Southeastern Idaho. (more…)

With much more national and worldwide religious influence than any LDS apostle, young and vibrant Joel says it more clearly, loudly, and passionately for the new-year 2008: (more…)