Living Water or Stagnant Pool?

Howard Hendricks shares this insight about the value of learning: When I
was a college student — I worked in the college dining hall, and on my way
to work at 5:30 every morning I walked past the home of one of my
professors. Through a window I could see the light on at his desk, morning
after morning.

At night I stayed late at the library to take advantage of evening study
hours, and returning home at 10:30 or 11 o’clock I would again see his desk
light on. He was always pouring over his books.
One day he invited me home for lunch, and after the meal I said to him,
“Would you mind if I asked you a question?”
“Of course not.”
“What keeps you studying? You never seem to stop.”
His answer, “Son, I would rather have my students drink from a running
stream than a stagnant pool.”

See:  Psa 1:1-3; Psa 119:97

A teacher is not there just to acquaint you with the tools of your
trade; a teacher is a tool of your trade, no matter what that trade is. You
never stop needing teachers. The great musicians never stop taking lessons,
never stop trying to improve. The great concert pianist, Arthur Rubinstein,
used to say that if he missed a day of practice, he noticed it in the
quality of his performance. If he missed two days, the critics noticed. And
if he missed three days, the audience noticed.

See:  Psa 25:4-5; Psa 143:8; Psa 143:10; 2 Tim 2:2

And Jesus Christ has provided us with the greatest of Teachers, the Spirit
of Truth who will lead us into all truth, one step at a time if we will but
open our hearts to him.  How often we are distracted by the cares of the
world and turn a deaf ear to the Holy Spirit?  Let us learn the lesson from
Arthur Rubinstein and practice hearing the Holy Spirit every day so that
the world can truly see we have been with the Master Teacher and have
learned our lessons. John 16:13

Does God Exist?

The fool has said in his heart, “There is no God.”

Discovery Channel is running a summer series entitled “Curiosity.” It is a forum for celebrity types to discuss their views on something about which they are curious. The initial program aired August 7, 2011 featuring famed physicist, Stephen Hawking asking, “Does God Exist?”

Anyone who recognizes Hawking’s name knows where he stands on the question. “Curiosity” gave him a television opportunity to discuss his views and why he holds them.

I watched the program with great curiosity to see how he would or could encapsulate a lifetime of work into a one-hour tv program. The program was designed (as are most) to reach a general audience whose education level was at least the eighth grade. The biggest and most difficult word used was “infinitesimally,” which goes quite beyond the average eighth-grade level of understanding.

He followed a logical course of continually asking, “Where, then, did that originate?” as he took us back through time to the beginning. That is ultimately the question that thinkers seek to answer. Those who follow a religious path answer with “God.” Those who do not believe in God answer with the current scientific explanation, “Big Bang.”

Hawking’s explanation of how the Big Bang occurred leaves much to be desired. His logical progressions are filled with major assumptions. This master of quantum physics made quantum leaps in logic that left me wondering if he had ever studied even the rudiments of logic.

His premise is that “laws can be understood by the human mind, and these laws tell us whether we need a god.”

The beginning of his presentation was a masterful deception designed to equate himself with other great scientists such as Aristarchus and Galileo. By association, he used his victim status of being persecuted by the church for his views as similar to the persecution of Galileo. It follows that since the church persecuted Galileo and he was later proven to be correct, then since the church has persecuted me, I must be correct. Subtle. Effective.

It appears that he has taken his great mind to argue against very weak religious views. Before he begins presenting his major assumptions, he makes one subtle assumption about God’s purpose. After his premise statement, his argument is that God’s purpose is only to set and reset natural law, but natural laws are universal and need no governance. Therefore, God is not necessary.

When he discusses black holes, we are led through a series of major assumptions that are posed as facts, but only after presenting some commonly known “facts” about black holes. Black holes are the result of extremely massive stars imploding upon themselves. (We have accepted that as fact, though no one has ever seen a star implode.) Nothing exists within black holes. (Though no one has ever gone into one to see. Just because we cannot see something, does not mean it doesn’t exist.) Time ceases within a black hole. (That has got to be a major assumption.)

We know, understand, and accept that scientific advances are made because of theories and propositions. No problem. But, please do not attempt to present a theory as a fact.

He states that it only takes three things to make a universe: matter, energy and space. Then Hawking brings in Einstein’s E=Mc², to show that only two ingredients are necessary: space and energy.

And, following the reasoning, he asks once again, “Where did space and energy come from?”

“We now know that space and energy were created by the Big Bang.”

Really? We know that? How? Were you there?

No, sir. You might theorize, postulate, propose, or assume that; but you do not KNOW that.

Hawking then follows with yet another assumption: “We know the universe was incredibly small.” This assumption is that the universe has always existed, which is similar to Carl Sagan’s assumptive statement: “The cosmos is all there is, all there ever was, and all that ever will be.”

Returning to the black holes, he states that these phenomena reveal “how the universe created itself.”

(In 1976, Hawking demonstrated under the rules of quantum physics that black holes begin to evaporate away taking all their information with them. But now, according to his latest revision (2004), Hawking argues that eventually some of the information about the black hole can be determined from what it emits.)

I realize that most of what I have presented so far can be reasonably argued against, expecially by those who have more knowledge and experience with these aspects of science. However, there was one glaring fallacy presented that even the weakest of minds could grasp.

In his initial explanation of black holes, Hawking stated that they were “massive” having come from massive stars much larger than our sun. Then, as he traced our knowledge backward to the beginning of time, and asked the question of where it all began, he boldly declared, “an infinitesimally small black hole.” The obvious contradiction should be more than most people can tolerate.

Mr. Hawking concluded, “We now know where the universe came from, and we are quite pleased with ourselves for having obtained this knowledge.”

Paul, Barnabas, Timothy—Are You?

There are four people mentioned in the title to this piece that come from the New Testament in the Bible. The last one you may question, but the first three almost everyone knows about.

The apostle Paul is the major contributor to the New Testament books of the Bible. We view him historically as the one who established the Gentile churches, and gave us clear instructions as to how to live the Christian life.

Barnabas, whose name means “Son of Encouragement” (Acts 4:36), was an associate of Paul. He travelled with Paul during his first venture out from Antioch to preach the Gospel in places where it had never been heard.

Timothy was a young disciple whom Paul trained (Phil. 2:22) to work with him in the ministry. We have the letters Paul wrote to Timothy after he left him in charge of the church in Ephesus.

Paul gives a fascinating instruction in 2Tim. 2:2 that many in the church have tried to incorporate into their lives. Books have been written on how to best fulfill this simple directive. Programs have been established, tried, and died as leaders sought to complete this master program of discipleship.

Paul writes: “and what you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses entrust to faithful men who will be able to teach others also.” (ESV) Notice that there are four generations mentioned here: Paul to Timothy; Timothy to faithful men; faithful men to others—Paul–>Timothy–>faithful men–>others = four.

This is obviously a good plan to spread the teachings of the gospel and how to live the Christian life. Why hasn’t it worked as planned?

There may be numerous reasons proffered for our consideration, but I would like to focus on only one which is not specifically mentioned in this passage.

Personal growth through accountability is often lacking in most programs that are established for the purposes of disciple-making.

Some of you may have quit reading at this point, because you know of systems where accountability is a given—built into the very fabric of the program. I, too, am aware of many such instances. But, I am not talking about a “top-down” type of accountability, which is the usual form, given our proclivity for hierarchical authoritarian structures.

I believe there is something much more powerful, something that is seldom done, something that cannot be mechanically orchestrated. It is one of those things that is simple, but not easy. It is a lifestyle that we choose to live for the sake of our own growth and the growth of the Kingdom of God. Ecclesiastes 4:12 states: And though a man might prevail against one who is alone, two will withstand him–a threefold cord is not quickly broken.

It is this three-fold cord to which I refer.

So, let’s consider again the three people we began with, and how that might relate to the fourth person—you.

Paul is a leader/teacher. Timothy is a student. Barnabas is a partner/encourager.

Before I try to explain it, I will simply state it. We each need to have a Paul, a Barnabas, and a Timothy in our life. Also, we each need to be a Paul, a Barnabas, and a Timothy to someone else.

We each need someone with whom we are close to be our teacher. Your pastor who delivers the Word of God to you each Sunday doesn’t count, unless you are with him/her on a regular basis as just the two of you—or possibly a couple more.

We also need someone close to us who is there for support and encouragement, not only when things get tough, but even when things are going well. We need that someone who is able to rejoice with our victories, be a shoulder to cry on in our defeats, and be with us to cheer us on to persevere during the doldrums of monotony.

And we need someone with whom we can share what we are learning in such a way that it helps them to grow. We need a student who wants to learn from us.

Plus, we need to BE each of these for someone else.

In this way, accountability is much more than someone superior to me asking if I got something done; or why I did such a thing. It is the type of accountability that provides a fullness of all that word means: answerability, responsibility, and liability.

When this is operating in our life, our own personal growth and the growth of those around us is ensured.