Resurrection

      As I write this, it is March 31, 2024--Easter Sunday.  Resurrection Day.  The most holy day on the Christian calendar.  The whole story of the Bible is God's redemption story, and Christ's death and resurrection are the focal point.  It is the way we can be saved!  That is why we celebrate!  Jesus purchased our salvation with his death, and proved it with His resurrection!  

     I hope you enjoyed your Easter with family and church friends.  We had a wonderful service at our church, and even got this family picture taken...

     Have you ever had doubts about Christianity, or more specifically, the resurrection of Christ?  Or maybe you don't have doubts, but have been challenged by skeptics.  First Peter 3:15 tells us to be ready to make a defense to everyone who asks you to give an account for the hope that is in you... Here are some faith-building responses in defense of the resurrection.  

     Jesus Said He Would Rise Again!  Matthew 28:6 records the angel's words at the tomb, He is not here, for He has risen, just as He said.  Jesus had told them He would die and rise again, but nobody had really grsped it.  Peter had even tried to stop Jesus from talking about it (Matthew 16:22).  Jesus had said it, and it happened!  

     The Tomb Was Empty!  Matthew 28:6 continues, Come, see the place where He lay.  Jesus' tomb was empty!  Some have accused the disciples of stealing the body, but that idea is preposterous.  The tomb was guarded by Roman soldiers, and covered with a heavy stone (probably weighing a ton or two!).  The disciples couldn't have accomplished a body snatch.  The tomb really was empty.  If it wasn't, and the disciples wanted to make up such a story, they would have gone as far from Jerusalem as they could get, where people couldn't conveniently get to the tomb to verify the story.  But they stayed right there in Jerusalem, and when Peter preached the Gospel at Pentecost (Acts 2), no one challenged the resurrection story, or said, "Wait a minute.  The body is still in the tomb.  What are you talking about, saying He rose?"  This is because the tomb was empty!

     The Old Testament Said He Would Rise from the Dead!  In Luke 24, the risen Christ appeared to Cleopas and another man on the road to Emmaus, about a 7 mile walk from Jerusalem.  They did not recognize Him, but shared with Him that they didn't believe the accounts of the resurrection.  Jesus told them in verse 25 that they were, slow of heart to believe in all that the prophets have spoken!  In verse 27, we are told that Then beginning with Moses and with all the prophets, He explained to them the things concerning Himself in all the Scriptures.  The whole Old Testament was set up to point people to Jesus, and what He would do for us in dying for our sins and rising again.  

     Hundreds of Eye Witnesses!  More than 500 people saw Jesus after the resurrection (First Corinthians 15:6).  Some of these eye-witnesses died for their testimony of Jesus, but still wouldn't recant (which is another reason we know the disciples couldn't have stolen the body--they would never be willing to die for a hoax).  Even non-Christian historians, such as Josephus, acknowledged Jesus' existence and crucifixion. 

     The Story Doesn't Fit the Narrative Man Would Concoct!  Just like the rest of the Bible, the Gospels are brutally honest about people's flaws and mistakes.  They give the dirt.  If these stories were of human origin, their own egos wouldn't allow them to come up with a story that makes them look bad.  Human ego would never paint a picture of man as inherently sinful and only redeemable from an outside Savior, and yet that is the story of scripture.  Just like other places in the Bible, the Gospel accounts share about Peter's denial, the other disciples running when Jesus was arrested, their quarrels, Thomas' doubts, or the women being the first to discover the empty tomb (women were not considered credible eye-witnesses at that time, and yet God saw to it that they got to be the first witnesses to the resurrection!).  This story doesn't jive with First-Century human ego.  This is a divinely-orchestrated story, truthfully told on the pages of scripture.   

     The Change in Jesus' Followers!  The story continues after the resurrection, after the eleven remaining disciples had received the Holy Spirit, that they bravely and boldly proclaimed the Gospel, facing imprisonment, threats, and ultimately death.  What could change these men from cowards who fled at Jesus' arrest (one of whom denied Him three times) to courageous martyrs?  Only the Resurrection could accomplish this!  

     The next time you hear someone challenge the truth of the resurrection, consider these proofs!  He is Risen!  He is Risen Indeed!  

All the world

     How precious to me are your thoughts, O God!   How vast is the sum of them! If I would count them, they are more than the sand.  -Psalm 139:17-18a.  God thinks about each individual constantly.  He can do it.  He is God!  But not only is He watching out for everyone in the world, but He is working out His will for all of us as relates to history, and future generations.  The influence you have, the impact you make, the people you meet, the places you go.  All of that is orchestrated by God, and even things that are not in His perfect will (such as situations where someone knowingly sins and goes somewhere or is involved with someone they shouldn't be), God uses the results of that to accomplish His will.  I'll return to that.

     I recently did a DNA test with ancestry (where you spit in a tube and send it in, and they analyze it and determine your background).  My maiden name, Heiden, is German, and I had always thought I was primarily German.  I knew there was a lot of English in there too.  As the picture below shows, English and German are my two biggest ancestries, only in opposite order from what I had thought, with English being the highest, followed by German.  However, I was surprised by a number of other nationalities, including (in order) Scotland, Norway, Ireland, Benin and Togo, Sweden and Demnark, Wales, and Nigeria!  I must add that English and German combined are by far a majority, and everything after Scotland is single digits percentage of my ancestry (Scotland is only 13% itself).  But still, every one of these nations had people in them who contributed to who I am--even African countries!  That was a very interesting surprise, considering my fare complexion--but I am very excited about it!  I don't know all their stories.  Maybe tragedies and sin played a part in some of these relationships. Maybe a deep relationship of seeking God played a part in others,  Maybe beautiful loves stories are among them.  But one thing is sure--God orchestrated each and every person from all these nations.  One way or another, their families made it to North America, and continued onward, until one day, I was born!  I'm not a product of random chance--and neither are you!  Ephesians 1:4 clearly tells us that God chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him.  God made it all work out according to His purpoises!

My ancestry breakdown!

     This has made me more in awe of God than ever.  He orchestrated history, and people from many places, to facilitate my existence.  And He did the same for everyone!  He has a plan!  Even someone with a less diverse bloodline, maybe someone whose family has stayed within their own nationality, is still a product of God's plans working out over the years.  Think of a great-great grandma somewhere years ago as a young woman, with two marriage proposals.  God worked to ensure that the right thing happened, and even in cases where it didn't, He was able to use it to make the right thing happen!  On our side of it, there are sins, mistakes, and consequences, but from God's vantage point, He just keeps working out His will.  It's like what Joseph told his brothers in Genesis 50:20, As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good...  A favorite verse of mine is Romans 8:28, And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.  I chose this as my life verse when I was in sixth grade.  It gives so much hope and encouragement.  We can't ruin God's purposes.  It was His plan to create you, and nothing could stop it!  If God is for you, who can be against you (Romans 8:31)?  

 

     We serve a very big, amazing, awesome God!  Praise Him today, and then, live your life as an important part of history, because you are!  Live His plans for you!

   

Almost but not Quite

      I was recently going through some change I had in my purse, and came across this Canadian quarter.  Here are the heads and tails pictures of it.

     

     This quarter feels exactly like a US quarter.  It is exactly the same size as a US quarter.  Without looking closely, it would be very easy to think it is a US quarter.  Somehow, it made it into circulation in the US, and somehow was given to me as change somewhere, and I didn't notice and accepted it (and probably the person who gave it to me didn't notice it and had accepted it, maybe all the way back to its original circulation in the US).  But guess what?  In spite of the fact that this coin has been used, and was given to me in a transaction, it isn't American money.  It isn't backed up by the United States government.  And yet functionally, it has been used as an American quarter.  In actuality, it is worth about 19 cents in American money, not the 25 cents it was being used to pay.  

     This is not my first time getting Canadian money, although it isn't something I've experienced terribly often.  I've even gotten British money a time or two.  I think most times foreign coins enter circulation in our country (or any country) it is probably an accident.  It would be interesting to know the stories behind all these coins that got into US usage.  But as relatively harmless as this is, it gives way to a deeper thought.  How do we let wrong things get into our lives?  Into our churches?  Into our homes?  Things that seem right, but aren't?  Wrong teachings make their way into Biblically-established churches.  Wolves in sheep's clothing make their way into positions of leadership.  How do we let that happen?  How can we prevent it?  

     Jude verse 4 (Jude only has one chapter) says, For certain people have crept in unnoticed who long ago were designated for this condemnation, ungodly people, who pervert the grace of our God into sensuality and deny our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ.  The previous verse tells us to contend for the faith.  This is what we must do if we discover these false believers.  But how do we prevent their infiltration to begin with?  Like Canadian quarters, they look like the real thing.  They feel like the real thing.  But they aren't.  

     How do you determine a quarter is an American or Canadian quarter?  You look at it.  Look at the inscription.  Look at whose likeness is on it.  If you take a moment to do that, it's simple.  As Christians, we need to put that same effort in looking at people and teachings coming into our churches as we'd take to look at money to determine its origin.  How does this person's words line up with the Bible?  What fruit is he or she bearing?  

     About 20 years ago, when I was finishing up Bible college, a man rose to prominence in the Christian community.  His name was Rob Bell, and he was known for his Nooma videos.  To get our reactions, our Bible college made us watch these short videos weekly (they were each about 10 minutes or so).  This man went on to rise up the ladder of Christian fame.  Several periodicals predicted that Rob Bell would become the next Billy Graham.  He was praised all over the place. Until one day, he went too far.  In 2011, he wrote the book Love Wins, which seemed to promote a universalist view that there is no hell, and no need of salvation.   And like that, he was no longer an evangelical hero.  Many felt let down.  Not me.  Not in 2011.  My letdown with him had come much earlier, back when we had watched his Nooma videos my senior year of Bible college (and I guess he continued making them for some years after I graduated, so I haven't seen them all).  

     While Rob Bell was a rising Christian star, I already saw that what he was promoting was about as real as a Canadian quarter in US circulation.  His videos didn't say anything outrightly heretical, but several of them criticized evangelism, and said we should focus on just making this world a better place, and not focus on eternity.  This is so contrary to the Bible, which urges us to evangelize (Matthew 28:19-20, Mark 16:15, Acts 1:8) and focus on the eternal (First John 2:17, And the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever.  Second Corinthians 4:18, as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal.). 

     Rob Bell used verses here and there to support what he was saying, but he used them out of context to give a wrong message.  For example, in his most anti-evangelism video, Bullhorn, he uses John 3:17, which states, God sent not his son into the world to condemn the world... and he used it to say we should never share anything negative about sin or separation from God, or even a need of a savior, because it's too condemning.  His conclusion was that we should just be kind to everyone and that was enough.  This is not what Jesus was saying at all in John chapter 3.  In that chapter, He said that unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.  Rob Bell conveniently left that part out.  In fact, he left off the last half of John 3:17, which says, ...but that the world through Him might be saved.  The Gospel is the Good News, not the Bad News!  But there has to be bad news in order to get to the solution we all need.  Would you rather have a doctor who says, "The tests show you have cancer, but we have a 100% guaranteed treatment plan for you, and you're going to be fine if you let us help you," or a doctor who sees your tests reveal that you have cancer, but tells you, "You're fine, just as you are!  Don't worry about it." It seemed to me Rob Bell was advocating the latter response. 

     I saw he was wrong, but nobody at the time listened to me.  They heard the verses he quoted.  They heard some things he said that made sense (for example, in the Bullhorn video, he is making fun of street preachers who shout the Gospel through a bullhorn, as if it's this big problem in our society. I agree it makes sense that that isn't the best type of witnessing technique, and people saw that and just agreed with him).  I have seen very few of these types of evangelists in my life.  While they may not be doing the most effective form of evangelism, that doesn't nix all evangelism.  Rob Bell used an extreme to preach against something Jesus commanded.  Nobody was picking up on that.  Rob Bell had to get to the point of heresy before the Christian world at large started to question him.  They should have questioned him much sooner.  He was making evangelists his enemy, instead of Satan.  He was making friends with the world, another thing warned against in scripture (James 4:4, Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God?). Once his heresy was evident, the Christians did right and contended for the faith.  But it could have been prevented, and it requires us to carefully compare what is said to God's word, and listening to other Christians who might have a concern.  My concern was ignored by everyone, because they took him at face value.  We can't take anyone at face value!  We need to be asking questions.  What are the implications of what this person is saying?  What heart attitude are they pressing on us?  Is the Bible being used rightly, or ignored altogether--or even misused?  

     The Holy Spirit can give us discernment to distinguish truth from error.  When we find ourselves face to face with outright evil, we need to contend, just like I found myself in possession of a Canadian quarter, and I choose to remove it from circulation and just keep it as a reminder.  But before it ever comes to that, we need to be focused so much on the Word of God that when something doesn't quite line up, we can spot it and contend much earlier, before more damage is done!  

     This Canadian coin will serve as a reminder to me, and I hope to always use discernment to distinguish what is real from what isn't quite.  Almost but not quite isn't good enough.  

The Faith of Laura Ingalls Wilder

      Jesus said in Matthew 12:37,  for by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.  This verse used to scare me when I was younger.  I thought it was saying that you could lose your salvation if you said something you shouldn't.  However, that is not what this passage means.  In context, Jesus was saying that what people say really reflects what they believe inside.  A few verses earlier, verse 34, states, ...For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.  We can determine what someone really believes based on what comes out of their heart, and that can be determined by what they say.  If you want to study this passage more in-depth, I recommend the Enduring Word online Commentary (link at the end of this post).  

     It follows, then, if we can determine beliefs based on what someone says, let's examine the faith one of American history's most beloved authors, Laura Ingalls Wilder.  What did Laura's faith consist of?  

     Laura Ingalls was born in 1867 in Wisconsin.  In her 90-year sojourn on this planet, she went from the pioneer days of covered wagons, wood stoves, log cabins, dugouts, and one-room schoolhouses to a modern world of automobiles, radios, movies, television, credit cards, and fast food.  Another way to look at it is, her lifetime took America from President Andrew Johnson (one President after Lincoln) to Dwight D. Eisenhower.  To give still more context, the hit TV show Leave it to Beaver aired a few months after her passing.  That's right.  Laura Ingalls and Eddie Haskell could have met!  All joking aside, as the 20th century came and moved forward, Laura worried that modern children wouldn't know what life had been like for her generation, which led her to write her famous and beloved Little House series.  I, myself, read these books in elementary school.  Laura was able to bring back another time, another America even, that had been buried.  We can treasure her stories and what they teach us about life in the second half of the 19th century. 

     Possibly equally as enduring as the books, the television program Little House on the Prairie aired from 1974-1983, and continued in syndication.  It is still one of my favorite shows.  Because of the books and show, decades of readers and viewers are familiar with the Ingalls family and their friends.  There are 5 museums and/or markers that serve as tourist destinations for fans of Laura Ingalls Wilder (these are in Pepin, Wisconsin; De Smet, South Dakota; Walnut Grove, Minnesota; Mansfield, Missouri; and Independence, Kansas).  

     It is important to note that the books are fiction, though based on Laura's real life.  The TV show is based loosely on the books, and is even further from the reality from which it was taken.  To know the real truth about Laura Ingalls Wilder, we need to dig a little deeper. 

     So what did this interesting woman believe?  Was Laura Ingalls Wilder a Christian?  Will we see her in Heaven?  She isn't here to ask, but the words she said in her lifetime can tell us a lot about her faith.  

     I recently read the book A Prairie Faith, The Religious Life of Laura Ingalls Wilder, by John J. Fry.  Fry attempts to ascertain what Laura really believed about God, faith, Christianity, the Bible, and religion in general.  I'll put a link to this very interesting book at the end of this post.  I'm not going to give away everything from the book, so I still encourage you to read it.  I enjoyed it.  

     Charles and Caroline Ingalls, Laura's parents, were devout.  A book they especially treasured was Persuasives to Early Piety, an evangelistic book written by Baptist minister John Gregory Pike.  This book was given to them by Caroline's mother as a wedding present.  They kept it throughout their lives and moves, and eventually passed it on to Laura, who also kept it.  This book talks about sin, and need of salvation, and how to place one's faith in Christ alone for salvation.  It is encouraging that Charles and Caroline (and later Laura) held this book as important.  Perhaps it is an indication of their own faith.

     When Charles and Caroline Ingalls lived in community, they were church members.  During Laura's early years, they lived far from any worship services, but they observed Sunday as a sacred day at home.  Charles played hymns on his fiddle.  Praise for the Fountain Opened was a family favorite (many of us are more familiar with this song as being titled There is a Fountain Filled with Blood).  This hymn's lyrics are biblical and evangelistic, with a clear presentation of Christ's shed blood and death on behalf of believers, and salvation being possible through Him.  Again, the importance of this and other hymns to the Ingalls family could be an indication of saving faith.  

     As the Ingalls family lived in town as Laura got a little bit older, church became a bigger part of her life.  Their family mostly attended the Congregational church, though as a young teen in Walnut Grove, Laura also attended the Methodist youth group, which met at a different time than her family's Congregational church.  She participated in a scripture memory competition, in which she memorized 100 verses, and was given a study Bible.  Faith, church, and Christianity appear to be more central to her during this period than at any other point in her entire life.  During this time, she prayed, internalized scripture through memorization, and attended two different churches, including revival services both had.  

     While Charles, Caroline, and Laura's older sister Mary all joined their Congregational church, Laura was never a member.  She never joined any church during her lifetime, though she remained a regular attender always.  She seemed to prefer Congregational and Methodist churches throughout her life.  As an older teenager, Laura boarded with some Presbyterians, and when they shared their Calvinistic faith with her, Laura was said to respond that if this were true, she was already saved or not saved, so why bother?  It appears her words were received humorously, and would be replied to, "Oh! My! My! That Laura Ingalls!"  It seems she didn't think much of Presbyterian theology.  Her answer could be seen as sarcasm toward Calvinism specifically, or an outright indication of taking eternal truths in general lightly.  

L-R, Carrie, Mary and Laura Ingalls

     Laura appeared to have a quiet faith.  She seems to have been uncomfortable with overt evangelism or those who spoke outwardly about their Christianity.  A particular man who joined their church after a revival often testified in Wednesday night prayer meetings about what God had done for him, and his walk with God.  Laura wrote about this: It somewhat offended my sense of privacy.  It seems to me that the things between one and God should be between him and God like loving ones mother.  One didn't go around saying 'I love my mother, she has been so good to me.'  One just loved her and did things she liked one to do.  I find this personally discouraging.  This means Laura would have had a problem with the Great Commission, and the Apostles' undying stand for the Gospel.  Maybe as a 19th Century American, she was able to quietly practice her faith, but the early church was anything but quiet in their practice of Christianity!  It makes me wonder how real it was to Laura, if she could keep it quiet.  I think Laura would have had a problem with me, personally.  I share the Gospel, and have gotten into trouble at times from other "quiet" Christians who didn't approve of sharing their faith openly.  This is an unbiblical way to view evangelism, since we are commanded to preach the Gospel to all creation (Mark 16:15).  The Holy Spirit empowers evangelism (Acts 1:8).  Being against speaking of God openly is to be against a work of the Spirit, and Christ's command.  Not everyone is outgoing, and God wouldn't want someone to try to be someone they're not.  Not everyone has the overt gift of evangelism.  But to be offended by those who do is a problem.  We can't hide our faith under a bushel.  This does not mean Laura was not a born-again Christian, but it is uncomfortable to me, in light of some experiences I have had.  

     While Laura never joined a church as a member, she and her eventual husband Almanzo Wilder were active members of the Eastern Star, a Masonic group.  Masons must believe in a higher power, but are not required to commit to a particular religion.  There is a lot about Freemasonry that is unknown to me, and I have been led by some accounts to wonder if this is a group all Christians should avoid.  I do not know what Laura's involvement in the Eastern Star indicates.  I will not comment further on this information.  

     Laura and Almanzo's only living child, Rose Wilder Lane, did not adopt the Christian faith for herself.  This is not their fault, again, only an observation.  

     Laura wrote for their local paper for many years, and only a handful of articles mention God or spiritual themes, and even those are pretty surface-level Christianity.  God-fearing themes fill Laura's Little House books.  Stories of attending Sunday school, saying prayers, and honoring the Sabbath fill their pages.  I think I agree with John Fry, who concludes that Christianity was important to Laura Ingalls Wilder, but not central to her life.  Was she a born-again Christian?  I'll put it this way.  If she wasn't, she was without excuse, because she was surrounded by it.  If she was, then it had that effect on her eternity.  

     The big takeaway for me, and my challenge to you, is to live in such as way that, after you die, no one will have to guess or speculate whether or not you were saved.  Share the Gospel.  Make a stand for Christ, however God has led and gifted you for that.  We're all different, and it's okay to be you!  Just don't leave any question about what you believe about Jesus!  As for you, always be sober-minded, endure suffering, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry. (Second Timothy 4:5).

     

To read Enduring Word Commentary on Matthew 12, click here.

To view A Prairie Faith, The Religious Life of Laura Ingalls Wilder click here.