Joe-Stud

My name is Joe-Stud
And I’m here to say,
I’ve got a great bod
And I like it that way.

I’ve got a great big pool
And a nice, sunny deck
And the girls can’t wait
‘Till I flex my pecks!

I lay out there
In the sun to tan.
And the girls won’t look
At any other man.

I’ve got a big broad chest
And a lot of muscle.
And when I call
All the girls sure hustle!

There are redheads, blonds
And many brunettes.
There isn’t a girl
That I can’t get.

I don’t have a big ego—
Just a good self-esteem.
But when the girls see me
They practically scream!

By Susan Elizabeth Thomas
© 1991

Names, Titles and Descriptions of the Holy Spirit

A deposit (earnest; 2 Cor. 5:5)
Another Counselor (John 14:16; 26)
Breath of the Almighty (Job 32:8)
Holy One (1 John 2:20)
Holy Spirit (John 1:33)
Holy Spirit of God (Eph. 4:30)
Seal (2 Cor. 1:22)
Spirit of Christ (1 Pet. 1:11)
Spirit of counsel and of power (Isa. 11:2)
Spirit of faith (2 Cor. 4:13)
Spirit of fire (Isa. 4:4)
Spirit of glory (1 Pet. 4:14)
Spirit grace and supplication (Zech. 12:10)
Spirit of his Son (Gal. 4:6)
Spirit of holiness (Rom. 1:4)
Spirit of Jesus Christ (Phil. 1:19)
Spirit of judgement (Isa. 4:4)
Spirit of justice (Isa. 28:6)
Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the LORD (Isa. 11:2)
Spirit of life (Rom. 8:2)
Spirit of our God (1 Cor. 6:11)
Spirit of sonship (adoption; Rom. 8:15)
Spirit of the living God (2 Cor. 3:3)
Spirit of the LORD (Isa. 63:14; Luke 4:18)
Spirit of the Soverign LORD (Isa. 61:1)
Spirit of truth (John 14:17; 1 John 4:6)
Spirit of wisdom and understanding (Isa. 11:2)
The gift (Acts. 2:38; 10:45)
The promised Holy Spirit (Acts 2:33)
The same gift (Acts 11:17)
Voice of the Almighty (Ezek. 1:24)
Voice of the LORD (Hag. 1:12; Isa. 30:31)

(Taken from Henry Blackaby's Experiencing God workbook.)

The Whistler

He roamed the world
to whistled tune.

He whistled morning,
evening, noon.

He whistled under
stars and moon.

He danced his dance
to whistled tune.

By Susan Elizabeth Thomas
© October 23, 1992

God of Love or God of Wrath?

[This topic was written and posted in response to a request made by a reader. Thanks, Vince! To ask a question or suggest a topic of your own, click here.]

 

Why do we so often think of the God of the New Testament as a God of LOVE and the God of the Old Testament as a God of WRATH, and yet insist they are one and the same? Going even further, doesn't the Bible claim that God never changes? ("I the LORD do not change." Malachi 3:6, and see also James 1:17.) So, why does a changeless God appear wrathful and angry in the Old Testament, but loving and patient in the New Testament? Is this the same God?

 

I think the answers to these questions lie in developing a better understanding of God's nature--not an easy or simple thing, but a very worthy pursuit, all the same. I don't have time to delineate ALL of God's characteristics--indeed, no one even knows all of them!--but for the purpose of answering this question, I think we can focus on five major ones: God's Holiness, God's Love, God's Justice, God's Mercy and God's Jealousy. (This post also assumes that God is also all-knowing, all-present and all-powerful, as well as the Creator of the universe and the Triune God--God the Father, God the Son [Jesus] and God the Holy Spirit.)

 

I will first briefly describe each characteristic individually and then I will compare the Old Testament with the New Testament to see if all three of these characteristics appear within them. Finally, I will address some of the major biblical examples for why God seems to have "gone soft" in the New Testament as compared to the Old and explain the real change that has taken place within how we now relate to God.

 

God's Holiness

Though some may disagree, I believe Holiness, not love is God's primary characteristic (if one could be chosen above the others). As defined by the Baker Encyclopedia of the Bible, Holiness is: "Chief attribute of God and a quality to be developed in his people. 'Holiness' and the adjective 'holy' occur more than 900 times in the Bible. The primary OT word for 'holiness' means 'to cut' or 'to separate'. Fundamentally, holiness is a cutting off or separation from what is unclean, and consecration to what is pure."

 

God's Love

Though God is primarily holy, it was His characteristic of love that motivated Him to create man and woman, to initiate an intimate relationship with them (and us) and then, even after they (and we) turned their backs on Him in favor of becoming enslaved to sin and forfeit to Satan, to offer a means by which they might be rescued and returned into a harmonious & pure relationship with Him--by coming as Jesus Christ to give His life as a ransom for them and bridge the gap between a holy God and a sinful people. Godly love is perhaps best described in I Corinthians 13, but there are many, many passages in both the Old and New Testaments that praise God's loving nature.

 

God's Justice

Webster says that "Just" means: 1. adhering to what is fair, honest and moral, 2. rational and informed, 3. in accordance with correct principles, 4. agreeable to truth or fact, 5. given or awarded rightly, and 6. proper or right. The Bible describes God's justice as the quality that causes Him to be a righteous judge--rewarding righteousness and never allowing evil to go unpunished. To understand, then, how we--who are evil--can ever be forgiven instead of simply receiving his just punishment, we need to understand God's mercy:

 

God's Mercy

Webster says of mercy: "1. compassion shown toward an offender or an enemy, 2. a disposition to forgive or forbear..." Though God's characteristics of holiness and justice require that all sin be punished, His love and His mercy caused Him to provide a way for us to escape destruction and be reunited with Him, while still dealing with the issue of our sinfulness. In the Old Testament this was done through the sacrifice of an animal or through a scapegoat. In the New Testament this was done once and for all by Jesus Christ--God in the flesh--who willingly allowed Himself to be crucified in our place and then rose from the grave, evidencing God's power over both sin and the death penalty sin demands.

 

God's Jealousy

Though we often think of jealousy as an unfavorable quality, God exhibits a righteous jealousy--and a very active one, at that. Webster says that jealous means: 1. resentful and envious, as of someone's attainments, 2. fearful of losing another's affection, 3. troubled by suspicions of rivalry, unfaithfulness, etc., and 4. vigilant in guarding something. My favorite is the last definition, though the others could apply as well. God, like a man desperately in love with his wife, becomes very jealous when our affection--due rightfully to Him--strays onto other things, people or gods. He responds by being "vigilant in guarding" us from those things that would draw our love from Him--through warnings, punishments and great displays of His love and power. Eventually, though, we must choose: God's salvation or our own lusts?

 

Characteristic	Old Testament Example*	New Testament Example*
Holiness	"...'Be holy because I, the Lord your God, am holy." (Lev. 19:2)	"...'Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord God Almighty, who was, and is, and is to come.'" (Rev. 4:8)
Love	"I have loved you with an everlasting love; I have drawn you with loving-kindness." (Jer. 31:3)	"Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love." (I John 4:8)
Justice	"Be sure of this: The wicked will not go unpunished, but those who are righteous will go free." (Prov. 11:21)	"God is just: He will pay back trouble to those who trouble you and give relief to you who are troubled, and to us as well." (2 Thes. 1:6-7a)
Mercy	"Remember, O LORD, your great mercy and love, for they are from old." (Psalm 25:6)	"But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved." (Eph. 2:4-5)
Jealousy	"You shall not bow down to them; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God...." (Exodus 20:5)	"You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of the demons too: you cannot have a part in both the Lord's table and the table of demons. Are you trying to arouse the Lord's jealousy?" (I Cor. 10:21-22a)

 

* There are many more references in both the Old and New Testaments for these characteristics. I am providing only one example of each, though some of these verses mention more than one of these characteristics.

 

Has the God of the Old Testament Gone Soft?

As you can see from the above comparisons of God's primary characteristics, both the Old and the New Testaments describe God in very similar terms. Obviously, this is the same God--so why does He seem to act differently in the Old Testament than He does in the New? It kind-of reminds me of parenting--with the first kid, you're on top of everything, but by the time you have the fourth or fifth, you tend to not care so much whether they eat a cookie before dinner or not. Is this what happened with God? Has He gotten tired and resigned Himself to "picking His battles"? Has God gone soft?

 

Here are some prime examples of God's wrath as displayed in the Old Testament:

 

The Flood:        

In Genesis 6-8, God got so fed up with mankind that He decided to wipe them all out and start over, sparing only one family. Everyone died--men, women, children and all the animals of the land or air. (If that's not wrath, I don't know what is!)

 

Sodom and Gomorrah Destroyed:

In Genesis 19, God got so sick of the stench of the sinfulness in these two cities that He rained down burning sulfur on them. (FYI: Burning sulfur will easily burn through metal. Yep! That would do it!)

 

The 10 Plagues on Egypt:

Exodus 7-11 describes some pretty horrible plagues God sent on the Egyptians to persuade them to free the Israelites from bondage, culminating in the deaths of all the firstborn sons of any family that didn't mark their door frames with the blood of a sacrificed lamb. But, wait... is this an example of His wrath toward the Egyptians or His great love and deliverance of the Hebrew people? Hmmm....

 

Destruction of the Canaanites:

Much of the Old Testament describes various ways the Canaanites and the other people groups of that region were attacked by the Hebrew people. In fact, God told them to wipe these people out completely—down to the last child and to even kill all their animals, though the Hebrews didn't completely obey this command.

 

After reading through all of that, anyone might tremble at the thought of this God who often seems content to heartlessly order the destruction of many. But, if one is willing to read further, he comes to the New Testament and it's like a breath of fresh air.

 

Here are some contrasting examples of how God appears loving in the New Testament:

 

Jesus' Miracles:

Jesus healed the sick, lame and the blind, fed hungry multitudes, cast out demons, and even raised the dead. (Ex.: man with leprosy: Matt. 8:1-4; sick and demon-possessed: Matt. 8:14-17 & 28-34; paralytic man: Matt. 9:1-8; a dead girl and a sick woman: Matt. 9:18-26; a two blind men and a mute/demon-possessed man: Matt. 9:27-33; fed 5,000: Matt. 14:13-21, etc.)

 

Jesus with the Children:

Jesus allowed the children to come to Him when the disciples were trying to shoo them away. (Matt. 19:14)

 

Jesus facing his enemies in the Garden of Gethsemane:

When Peter cut off a soldier's ear with his sword, Jesus told Peter to knock it off and healed the man. (Luke 22:49-51)

 

Jesus on the cross:

Not only did Jesus show mercy to one of the thieves being crucified along with him (despite His own enormous agony), He also asked God to forgive those who were crucifying Him. (Luke 23:26-43)

 

When recalling such stories to mind, the God of the Old Testament certainly seems much harsher than how God acted in the Person of Jesus Christ in the New Testament. However, I think we are forgetting two very important things. 1. There are some very fine, but often overlooked, examples of God's love in the Old Testament as well as His wrath in the New Testament (some of these are outlined below.) AND, 2. The way God interacted with those before Christ's death and resurrection was in accordance with the Old Covenant, while the way He interacted with them after Christ's resurrection was in accordance with the New Covenant--which we are currently enjoying. (Comparison to follow.)

 

God's Love in the Old Testament

Contrary to how we normally think of the Old Testament God, the most harmonious relationship God has ever had with man is described not in the New Testament, but in the Old. This was the relationship God had with man and woman (Adam and Eve) before they sinned. In that relationship, they actually walked in the Garden with God, spoke to Him face to face, conversed freely with Him and were naked before Him without feeling ashamed. (Genesis 2 & 3) Never again has man had such a free and open relationship with God. Not only does this picture show us something about humanity, but it shows us about God's original design--that of an intimate, open and free relationship between Himself and us--and of His inclination toward open revelation and communication, not the image of separation between God and man as shown through the rest of the Old Testament. In other words, God's natural inclination and desire is for an intimate, loving relationship with us--not a relationship of disunity, anger and wrath. Yet because of the Fall--the event in which dominion of this earth, first given to us by God, was handed over to Satan when in our free will we chose to disobey God--a chasm opened up between God and man. This chasm was not closed until Jesus came to pay the cost of our disobedience through His death and resurrection.

 

God's Wrath in the New Testament

Though Jesus has ushered in a new era of openness between God and man, we often make the mistake of thinking He has lightened up when it comes to the issue of sin. I can assure you that in this regard God has not changed! God is still holy! God is still just! Sin will still be punished! If you take a good look at Jesus and His teachings throughout the Gospels, you will find that never does He gloss over the issue of sin. In fact, He goes even deeper, requires even more and demands higher standards than even the religious zealots and legalists of the day. No, He does not require legalistic ritual, but rather purity of heart--something the Law cannot govern--something that is between God and man alone. For example, the Law said "Do not commit adultery", but Jesus said, "But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart." (Matt. 5:28) The Law requires action, but God requires a loving heart, for God knows that if you love Him, you will obey Him. (John 14:23-24) Another good example of God's wrath in the New Testament is in the story of Ananias and Sapphira in Acts 5:1-11 who were struck dead by God when they lied to God. So, no! God has certainly NOT gone soft!

 

NOTE: God's wrath, when shown in either New or Old Testaments, is always in response to at least one of the following: a form of idolatry (putting self or something else above God), willful sin or hypocrisy. His wrath is triggered when His desire for a love relationship with a pure people is thwarted by sin, thus igniting His righteous jealousy.     

 

Below is a very basic outline of the differences between the Old and New Covenants. (Hebrews 8-11 describes it better.)

	Old Covenant	New Covenant
Given Through	Abraham	Jesus Christ
When	Abraham to the Messiah	For all time.
What	The Law given to the Jews by God that told them how to set themselves apart in obedience to Him.	Grace given to men through the death and resurrection of Jesus through which they might be reconciled to God.
Ramifications	Was only for the Jews.	Was for all men.
	Had to make animal sacrifices.	Jesus was the ultimate, once and for all sacrifice for yesterday, today and forever.
	Life under the Law. (Cleanliness rituals, circumcision, etc.)	Live under grace. (Jesus didn't revoke the law; He fulfilled the Law.)
	Were separated from God while awaiting the Messiah to bridge the gap between them and God's presence.	Jesus, the Messiah, had come! He bridged the gap; the curtain was torn in two (symbolizing that man and God no longer had to remain separated. Mark 15:38)
	External influence only of the Holy Spirit.	The Holy Spirit actually indwells the believer, allowing Christ to live through him or her and granting them access to Christ's righteousness and power.

 

 

As you can see, the relationship between man and God seems much more strained in the Old Testament because they were still covered in their sin. God and man were still separated by the sinfulness--the uncovered impurity of their hearts. They were under the Old Covenant--under the Law, not under grace. Remember, God is holy--"separated" or "cut off" from anything impure. It is His nature--His primary characteristic and thus He cannot go against His own holiness or He wouldn't be God! But, because of His great love--described first and best in the Old Testament--He decided to make a way for us to again be reconciled to Him--through Jesus Christ.

 

The God of the Old Testament--complete with vengeful wrath and fists full of destruction--is the SAME God as the God of the New Testament, who laid His life down as a ransom for many. His holiness, love, justice, mercy and jealousy are fully intact today.

 

Perhaps the best picture of both God's holy wrath and His love is this one, which appears in the Old Testament:

 

"For this is what the high and lofty One says--he who lives forever, whose name is holy: 'I live in a high and holy place, but also with him who is contrite and lowly in spirit, to revive the spirit of the lowly and to revive the heart of the contrite. I will not accuse forever, nor will I always be angry, for then the spirit of man would grow faint before me--the breath of man that I have created. I was enraged by his sinful greed; I punished him, and hid my face in anger, yet he kept on in his willful ways. I have seen his ways, but I will heal him; I will guide him and restore comfort to him..." (Isaiah 57:15-18)

 

Taking A Chance

I walked along the narrow path
and saw yonder my goal,
a wooden bridge that stretched across
a silver stream of old.

I blinked my eyes as morning light
met me from ‘neath the trees.
I stood along the bank a bit
And felt the rustling breeze.

My hand reached out and touched the rail,
long since had been worn soft.
I contemplated at the brink,
this aged wood, still aloft.

How many had come through this place,
and on this bridge confide?
How many chanced to step across
to reach the other side?

Ancient temptation sapped my trust,
but could I stand and wait
until another came this way
to take the last safe gate?

And so I took a trembling step
with a hand upon the rail.
I crossed into the open space—
but paused at middle trail.

I was astonished by the sight
that chanced to meet my eyes.
The sunrise—a velvet masterpiece,
that God set in the skies.

I stood breathless—left in pure awe;
Such beauty had been shown.
But if I hadn’t crossed the bridge,
I would have never known.

By Susan Elizabeth Thomas
© November 12, 1992

Is Belief in Hell Damaging to Our Children’s Psyches?

Hell is not a popular topic today—not even among Christians. Nobody likes to consider this unsavory—even terrifying—prospect. Death is scary enough in its inevitability. Do we really have to add to it the fear of an eternity of burning damnation—to be the object of torture by demons without any possibility of release? In fact, such beliefs are not only unpopular, they are coming under serious attack. Some believe that religious freedom should be limited to only those beliefs which meet with a general, national consensus as to what is considered psychologically benign and beneficial (which, of course, is no religious freedom at all). In fact, some religious beliefs are considered psychological abuse and are being compared to some of the worst crimes against humanity ever committed. For example, Richard Dawkins, a well-known atheist, speaker and author said:

"Who will say with confidence that sexual abuse is more permanently damaging to children than threatening them with the eternal and unquenchable fires of hell?"

Let me respond with a true story:

Ken, a friend of mine, once told me that although he had grown up as a confirmed atheist and refused to even consider if Christ's life and death had any impact on today's reality, as a child he would often go to bed at night in absolute terror that he might die and go to hell. "What if?" he would ask himself in the dark recesses of his mind. "What if there is something horrible awaiting me after this life?" Ken said he often cried himself to sleep because of this terror that he simply couldn't avoid. When I heard that story (and although this man had long since become a Christian and was secure in his eternity with Christ) I felt such sorrow for that little boy. My heart ached for what he had experienced and my eyes were opened to the pain that so many people—young and old—face on a regular basis. What a horrible way to go to sleep at night! What a horrible thing it is to live in such fear!

Interestingly, though I was raised in a Christian home where the idea of hell was quite prevalent, I never experienced what Ken did. I never worried about going to hell. I never cried myself to sleep over it. I never really gave it much thought. Furthermore, my own children (ages 11, 8 & 5) have not once seemed the least bit concerned about hell. We've talked about it from time to time and they've heard about it at church and the older ones have even encountered it in the Bible, but I've never once been awakened in the night to deal with a nightmare about hell. I've dealt with nightmares about enemies, monsters and hurt feelings, but never have I heard, "Mom, I can't sleep because I'm scared I might die and go to hell." It's simply not something I've dealt with—and here's why: when you know you have been fully forgiven and are completely loved by Jesus Christ, hell has absolutely no power over you. The only people who fear hell are those who aren't secure in their relationship with Jesus Christ. Now, I'm not saying that this lack of security is only found in non-Christian homes or among non-Christians. There are many Christians who simply haven't come to the place in their faiths where they understand what Christ's mercy and grace really is. There may also exist some psychotic parents out there (though I've not personally come across any) who might tell their children horrible lies like, "if you don't obey me, God won't like you anymore and He'll send you to hell." This, in my opinion, would be very akin to child abuse, and Mr. Dawkins would undoubtedly agree. However, I've never heard of such things happening in a Christian home and I've spent my entire life around Christians.

The fact is, the kind of fear we're talking about is not, primarily, a problem Christians struggle with. What the atheists might, therefore, accuse us of, then, is spreading it to their children. Now, I certainly can't blame them for having a problem with this—I would if I were in their shoes; however, due to the nature of our basic disagreement (whether or not God exists and has a beneficial interest in our lives) we may not be able to find much more common ground. Still, let me provide an approximate example:

Let's say my child came home one day in near hysterics over something she had heard at school. "Teacher says that there is a meteorite heading for earth and if we don't get into a bomb shelter quick, we're all going to die!"

"Nonsense!" I tell her, trying to calm her fears—absolutely livid with that monster of a teacher for causing such trauma. "There is no meteorite heading for earth! That's just silly! Look up into the sky. Do you see a meteorite? No? Then, you don't have to worry about it. Run along and play."

Now… that would be fine, except for one small detail. What if there really was a meteorite heading for earth? What if I'd actually already heard about it on news reports and from friends, but had refused to listen? What if I had been offered a secure place in a bomb shelter with some friends, but had vehemently turned them down? Who is the monster now? Obviously, diagnosing "psychological damage" is dependent upon the reasons for its appearance. Some psychological stress is merited; some is not. What we need to determine, then, is this: "Is Hell real?" (See: Is There a Hell?)

Kneeling Roses

When I pass—
Ironic reverence—
Even the roses kneel.

Thorns bend up
Like the hands
Of a jester’s bow.

They die to me
As if in spite.
Each simple pleasure steal.

But as they go—
Deny me love—
As if I could know how.

By Susan Elizabeth Thomas

© November 18, 1992