In the Mail: A Letter From God?
By Ken Horn | April 7, 2008
We get lots of mail in the TPE office. We still get traditional snail mail, though a lot of people communicate via email or fax.
Today I got a six-page typewritten letter that was signed “YHWH.” Those four letters are what biblical scholars call the tetragrammaton, which simply means a four-letter word.
But the tetragrammaton is a specific four-letter word. It is the name of God in the Old Testament, the one revealed to Moses in the book of Exodus. We have to guess at the full word since ancient Hebrew did not include vowels (those were added later). We know Yahweh as the closest we can get to this word. It is translated “Jehovah” in older translations.
So did I get a letter from God? Of course not. I will accept that God can give words to people. What I will not accept, however, is the presumption of someone signing God’s name to his letter.
Actually, it turned out good for me that it was signed that way. I didn’t have to read the whole letter.
Topics: Mail, theology | No Comments »
Water
By Ken Horn | April 6, 2008
The AP recently reported:
A vast array of pharmaceuticals — including antibiotics, anti-convulsants, mood stabilizers and sex hormones — have been found in the drinking water supplies of at least 41 million Americans, an Associated Press investigation shows. To be sure, the concentrations of these pharmaceuticals are tiny, measured in quantities of parts per billion or trillion, far below the levels of a medical dose. Also, utilities insist their water is safe. But the presence of so many prescription drugs — and over-the-counter medicines like acetaminophen and ibuprofen — in so much of our drinking water is heightening worries among scientists of long-term consequences to human health.
Read the article here.
This may help to justify the millions of dollars that Americans are spending on bottled water, a practice I have found difficult to understand. I have been thankful to have bottled water available when I have taken international trips or reported on natural disasters in the U.S.
However, I still find it difficult to not be cynical about bottled water. How on earth does the consumer know that water is any better? Answer: There’s no way to know. Bottled water companies intentionally use misleading names to make you think their water was bottled in pristine mountain streams, for example, when the majority of them use purified water drawn from public systems.
I recall several years ago when a bottled water company that supplies the large water cooler bottles was caught filling those bottles from a local tap. We have no way to know that that is not also happening with Super-Duper Drinking Water from the Rockies.
When I was young I remember drinking freely from streams and springs in the mountains, only to discover how bad this practice can be. In my adult years I learned to purify water when on backpacking trips.
There’s only one kind of water you can be 100% certain about.
Read John 4:13-14 (NKJV):
Jesus answered and said to her, “Whoever drinks of this water will thirst again, but whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst. But the water that I shall give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life.”
(Kirk Noonan also wrote recently about how much water we should drink, at Simple Plan.)
Topics: Bible, news | No Comments »
Couple Stoned for Adultery
By Ken Horn | April 3, 2008
Monday Taliban militants stoned to death a couple they found guilty of adultery. Read the article.
Nearly two-thousand years ago Jesus made it clear that form of punishment was no longer appropriate.
Read the words of John 8:3-11 (NKJV):
John 8:3 Then the scribes and Pharisees brought to Him a woman caught in adultery. And when they had set her in the midst,
John 8:4 they said to Him, “Teacher, this woman was caught in adultery, in the very act.
John 8:5 Now Moses, in the law, commanded us that such should be stoned. But what do You say?”
John 8:6 This they said, testing Him, that they might have something of which to accuse Him. But Jesus stooped down and wrote on the ground with His finger, as though He did not hear.
John 8:7 ¶ So when they continued asking Him, He raised Himself up and said to them, “He who is without sin among you, let him throw a stone at her first.”
John 8:8 And again He stooped down and wrote on the ground.
John 8:9 Then those who heard it, being convicted by their conscience, went out one by one, beginning with the oldest even to the last. And Jesus was left alone, and the woman standing in the midst.
John 8:10 When Jesus had raised Himself up and saw no one but the woman, He said to her, “Woman, where are those accusers of yours? Has no one condemned you?”
John 8:11 ¶ She said, “No one, Lord.” ¶ And Jesus said to her, “Neither do I condemn you; go and sin no more.”
God in flesh obliterated this law. The resurrecting of it, plus the many other harse laws being enacted by anti-Christian regimes, makes it more clear than ever that the battle that is being waged today is spiritual.
Eph. 6:12 For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.
Eph. 6:13 Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.
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Scriptures to Live by: Colossians 3:23
By Ken Horn | April 2, 2008
This has been a life verse for me. “And whatever you do, do it heartily, as to the Lord and not to men” (Colossians 3:23, NKJV).
There have been times in my life when I did not excel because I did not give it my all. There are also times that I didn’t do too well simply because I was doing it for myself, not Jesus.
This verse will cure a multitude of sins. Christians can even do God’s work selfishly, for their own glory or even out of a sense of obligation to someone else.
As I get older I realize I need to pour every ounce of energy into everything. This means that even in the “non-religious” things you need to do them as unto Jesus. This soon eliminates some things. If it can’t be done as unto Him, it shouldn’t be done.
Recreation, time with friends and family … all of these things can be done as unto the Lord, just as much as the more spiritual things.
The key is, we need to give everything our all … and do it for Jesus.
Topics: Christian living, Jesus, Bible | No Comments »
So Long, Brother Bridges
By Ken Horn | March 31, 2008
Today was James K. Bridges’ final day as General Treasurer of the Assemblies of God, a post he has held since 1993. Here he is (on the right) with me at the going-away luncheon we threw for him in the TPE offices.
He returns to his native Texas where we wish him the best. The Assemblies of God has been privileged to have him in national leadership. I will miss him.
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Snake Bite! … in a Suitcase
By Ken Horn | March 31, 2008
Last week it was reported that a man was bitten by a rattlesnake … as he was unpacking his suitcase! The snake had slithered in on the other end of the trip. Though the surprised victim didn’t die, this kind of incident gives food for thought to those who are waiting to make their decision for Jesus Christ.
As a child I heard the now-considered-cliche “You could walk out the door of this church and be struck and killed by a car” altar call many times. Though oft-repeated it’s still true. Many people who know the truth seem to think they are guaranteed the time they need to make things right with God. Not so. Yes, some sudden tragedy could happen, like being struck by a vehicle … or being bitten by a snake in your luggage. But think of this: If you die in your sleep, you will not even have a split second of warning to call upon the name of the Lord. And the news does report incidents of younger people dying in their sleep for a surprising reason or even no apparent reason.
Those away from God as well as believers with unsaved friends or loved ones do well to remember 2 Corinthians 6:2 (NKJV): “Behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation.”
Waiting could prove eternally fatal.
Topics: death, salvation, news | No Comments »
6 Reasons for Delayed or Denied Healing
By Ken Horn | March 30, 2008
My article on “Divine Healing Fanatics” dealt primarily with suffering and treatable conditions. (Read it here.) But it raises a related issue. Here are my thoughts from a Vantage Point column of several years ago:
When God Doesn’t Heal
God still heals. Absolutely. Positively. I’ve seen it too often to believe anything else.
I used to take ministry trips to Mexico. Once, several of us were praying for people in a tiny village church. It was packed to overflowing. I stood behind a woman in her 60s. Suddenly she became excited and animated, shouting, laughing, and crying. The reason? She had been deaf for years—and suddenly she could hear.
My wife and I stood in a hospital corridor in the middle of the night. A church member had had a severe accident. None of us doubted the doctor’s diagnosis—a badly broken leg. It was bent abnormally and terribly swollen. As we waited for an x-ray tech to arrive, Peggy and I anointed him with oil and prayed. Then, before our eyes, we saw the leg straighten and the swelling decrease. The negative x-rays left the doctor perplexed, wondering if he’d still been half asleep when he made his first diagnosis.
I’ve seen—and heard of—many others. But what about those who aren’t healed? Is there something wrong with them? I have seen much damage done to people with illnesses or handicaps, by people who told them that it was their own fault they hadn’t been healed. They had sin in their lives—or not enough faith—or God would heal them. Unfortunately, that is far too common.
Why are so many Christians not healed? Though sin and lack of faith are possibilities, there are other reasons, such as:
•Time factor: Healing is awaiting the right conditions to give glory to God (see John 9:1-3).
•Lesson to learn: Affliction can be a tool in God’s hand (Psalm 119:67,71,75). In this case we do well to learn our lessons fast (Hebrews 12:11).
•Lack of common sense: I once prayed for a man in CCU who had had a severe heart attack and wasn’t expected to live. God touched him and his life returned to normal. But he didn’t quit smoking as his doctors told him he must. Two years later he suffered a massive attack and I did his funeral. Some people are praying for healing when what they need is wisdom. For these, God doesn’t just want to eliminate a symptom, He wants to change a lifestyle.
•Lack of pressing in and praying through. This is the responsibility of those who love the one who is sick (Galatians 6:2).
Certainly, there are times when it is not God’s will to heal (see 2 Corinthians 12:9-10, Paul’s thorn in flesh). But the picture painted in Scripture is of a God who desires to heal far more than we see today. We seem to be living far below our privileges.
As a rule, the church does need more faith. We should see more healings. But when confronted with the reality of godly people who are not healed, there must be a balance between believing the promises of God and trusting the sovereignty of God.
Promise: “If we ask anything according to His will, He hears us” (I John 5:14, NKJV). Sovereignty : “You ought to say, ‘If the Lord wills, we shall live and do this or that’ ” (James 4:15).
I personally believe you should pray for healing again and again. Our job is to be obedient in praying the prayer of faith—then trust God. If we spent as much time praying for healing as we do talking about why people aren’t healed, I’m convinced we’d see more healing.
Topics: prayer, Christian living | No Comments »
Some Compelling People From My Trips
By Ken Horn | March 29, 2008
Topics: Photos by Ken, missions | No Comments »
Divine Healing Fanatics
By Ken Horn | March 28, 2008
More than 172 children died between 1975 and 1995 because their parents refused them medical care. What does this have to do with religious freedom?
A time.com story included these statements:
At the center of controversy are Congregants of Church of Christ, Scientist, along with members of other, smaller sects, including the Followers of Christ Church and the General Assembly and Church of the First Born. All are staunchly opposed to medical intervention in the case of illness, preferring instead to depend upon prayer to do the healing. Their devotion to what they call “God’s will” has, according to their critics, led to the deaths of more than 172 children between 1975 and 1995 — all because their parents refused to seek medical treatment for their children’s illnesses. According to autopsy reports, many if not most of the children could have been saved easily with simple antibiotics.
…
Part of the answer lies in the ambiguity of the SCOTUS ruling: The Justices do not provide a compelling ruling for law enforcement agents looking for a prosecutorial green light. And for the rest of the answer we turn to the wonderful world of political action committees. The Church of Christ, Scientist, whose members are fiercely opposed to medical intervention, is a powerful voice on Capitol Hill as well as in local town halls; the church’s lobbying efforts have kept reforms at bay in most states for years. And even for the reform-minded, there are public relations hurdles to overcome; secular challenges to the autonomy of Church teachings are often successfully depicted as a threat to freedom of religion.
(Read the full article here.)
Freedom of religion, even by those who believe in divine healing, does not trifle with the lives of those too young to decide for themselves.
I believe firmly in divine healing — God’s ability to controvert the forces of nature to affect a miraculous healing. I have seen it happen. I also know that, for reasons known only to God, it does not always occur. But since “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning” (James 1:17, NKJV), that means that the curative properties of medicine and the abilities of competent medical professionals have been enabled by God.
James 5:13-14 can be followed without endangering young lives: “Is anyone among you suffering? Let him pray. Is anyone cheerful? Let him sing psalms. Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord.”
You can pray on your way to the hospital. The elders can pray at the hospital. It is cultic and wrong to watch anyone suffer because of some fanatical belief when medical attention could ease the pain and possibly cure the illness.
Look for a future post on this blog on “When God Doesn’t Heal.”
Topics: prayer, news | No Comments »
10 Church Growth Principles From the Book of Acts
By Ken Horn | March 27, 2008
My friend Fred Chilton blogged some interesting biblical principles for church growth. Take a look here, at The Ozark Oracle.
Topics: church growth, Bible | No Comments »
