Twisted Things

Posted on January 21, 2014 by Todd D. Nystrom

Acts 20:28-32 – Pay careful attention to yourselves and to all the flock, in which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to care for the church of God, which he obtained with his own blood. ²⁹ I know that after my departure fierce wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock; ³⁰ and from among your own selves will arise men speaking twisted things, to draw away the disciples after them. ³¹ Therefore be alert, remembering that for three years I did not cease night or day to admonish every one with tears. ³² And now I commend you to God and to the word of his grace, which is able to build you up and to give you the inheritance among all those who are sanctified.

Twisted tree roots at Jasmine Rocks, along Rough Trail, near Gray’s Arch. Red River Gorge Geological Area, Daniel Boone National Forest, Kentucky.

Today’s passage from the book of Acts is part of Paul’s admonition to the leaders in the church at Ephesus as he was preparing to depart for Jerusalem. And, although he was speaking specifically to church “overseers” in first century Ephesus, his warning is one that Christians, leaders and laity alike, of all generations would do well to heed.

Generally most of us are aware of the lies that abound in the world outside the doors of our churches. However, spotting the false teachings, the “twisted things,” within the walls of the church can often be a much more difficult endeavor. In Matthew 7:15 Jesus warns of this, “Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves.” The fact that they are disguised as sheep makes them that much harder to recognize. So what are we to do?

We need to follow Paul’s example and “commend [our leaders] to God and to the word of his grace,” that is, to pray for them and hold them accountable to the teachings found in the Bible. Not that we should eye every pastor with suspicion, or dissect every sermon with a fileting knife, but we do need to “be alert” for false teachings coming from within our churches, both locally and globally. Of course the only way we can do this is if we, ourselves, spend enough time studying the word so we are able to recognize something that is contrary to Scripture.

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The Rock That Is Higher Than I

Posted on January 20, 2014 by Todd D. Nystrom

Psalm 61:1-4 – Hear my cry, O God, listen to my prayer; ² from the end of the earth I call to you when my heart is faint. Lead me to the rock that is higher than I, ³ for you have been my refuge, a strong tower against the enemy. ⁴ Let me dwell in your tent forever! Let me take refuge under the shelter of your wings!

Some of the towering cliffs along the trail in the Cantwell Cliffs area. Hocking Hills State Park, Logan, Ohio.

If you have ever hiked in an area with towering cliffs you know just how small and insignificant you feel when you take the time to stop and look above you. The use of rock imagery to describe God is found throughout the Bible, particularly in the Old Testament. For centuries rock was the only available building material strong enough to build fortresses and walls to protect a city from an invading army. And, even though the weapons of modern warfare have made the stone fortress obsolete, many ancient examples still survive demonstrating their permanence, so that this imagery is easily understood even today.

Although we can appreciate this imagery, it is still just a literary tool used to describe some of the characteristics of God in terms that we can understand. Fortunately our God is much stronger and more permanent than any rock formation found in nature or stone fortress built by the hands of man. Far better, still, our God is a living God, one to whom we can cry out in our times of need, one to whom we can look for protection when we are under attack from the world, the flesh, or the devil. He is also the God to whom we commit our time, talent, and treasure, the God to whom we offer our devotion, praise, and worship. “Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in your sight, O LORD, my rock and my redeemer” (Psalm 19:14).

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They Are Without Excuse

Posted on January 19, 2014 by Todd D. Nystrom

Romans 1:18-23 – For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth. ¹⁹ For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. ²⁰ For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse. ²¹ For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. ²² Claiming to be wise, they became fools, ²³ and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things.

“Fire and Ice” – The sun sets over the icy shores of Caesar Creek Lake on a cold January evening. Caesar Creek State Park, Waynesville, Ohio.

I cannot look at a sunset like the one I was blessed to watch earlier this evening without giving thanks and praise to God for his magnificent creation. And yet, there are many who would say God does not exist, that this incredible, complex, and beautiful world we live in is merely the result of time and chance. We as Christians are seen as fools for denying the likes of Darwin, and actually believing that there is a God and Creator who spoke all of this into existence, a God who is sovereign over the universe and all that is in it.

“Great thinkers” of yesterday and today are lauded, nee idolized, for their theories that explain everything from the origins of the cosmos to the origins of the amazing diversity of life found here on earth, especially if their theories do not require the Creator’s hand. It is considered the height of scientific achievement to devise a newer and better explanation for how we came to exist on this random ball of water and rock orbiting a minor star on the outskirts of the Milky Way galaxy, but only if that explanation does not involve the God of the Bible.

They scoff at the notion of idols because they no longer bow down before carved images of stone, and yet their theories and reliance on their own supposed knowledge are no less idols than those of ancient man we now unearth on some archaeological dig. You see, anything that replaces the one true God as the sole object of our worship is an idol, whether a piece of wood or a prized scientific theory they are really no different.

Christian, take heart! They are the ones who “suppress the truth.” They are the ones who deny the overwhelming evidence that surrounds us, the evidence that cries out for no possible explanation other than our sovereign God and Creator. They are the ones who will be seen in the end as the fools and objects of God’s wrath, because the evidence is so obvious that there can be only one explanation, “So they are without excuse.”

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Break Forth Into Singing, O Mountains

Posted on January 18, 2014 by Todd D. Nystrom

Isaiah 44:22-24 – I have blotted out your transgressions like a cloud and your sins like mist; return to me, for I have redeemed you. ²³ Sing, O heavens, for the LORD has done it; shout, O depths of the earth; break forth into singing, O mountains, O forest, and every tree in it! For the LORD has redeemed Jacob, and will be glorified in Israel. ²⁴ Thus says the LORD, your Redeemer, who formed you from the womb: “I am the LORD, who made all things, who alone stretched out the heavens, who spread out the earth by myself.”

Liberty Cap and Nevada Fall. Yosemite National Park, California.

God is our Creator, Sustainer, Redeemer and Lord. Take some time today to gaze at the magnificent beauty of the world around you and remember that the God who formed you in your mother’s womb is also the God who created the universe and all that is in it. But best of all, he is also the one who died on the cross so that our sins could be forgiven!

“Sing, O heavens, for the LORD has done it; shout, O depths of the earth; break forth into singing, O mountains, O forest, and every tree in it!”

Read more about my “God is Revealed…“ category of posts