Sunday 24 April 2011

Where did Noah put the poop of the animals?

Wow. That is a very interesting question! The truth is that the Bible doesn’t really say. But, we do have a few ideas …

Prior to the Great Flood, there is no clear indication in the Bible that animals ate meat or were violent and vicious. In fact, God commanded Noah to load the ark with every kind of food which is edible for his family and for the animals (Genesis 6:21). Since they didn’t eat meat, they likely ate fruits and vegetables. Not everyone agrees about all this, but let’s go with it for this question.

It wasn’t after the flood that man apparently was allowed to eat meat (Genesis 9:2-3) And, God commanded that animals were then also allowed to meat. God warned the animals, however, that if they ate a human, they would have to answer to God for it (Genesis 9:5).

So, because animals and man did not eat meat prior to the flood, their poop wasn’t contaminated with blood (the Bible calls it “lifeblood “) and probably not any other biological impurities either.

So, having said that, (and I am completely guessing here) they probably did two things with the poop: 1) They threw the excess poop overboard into the water were it degraded naturally; or 2) they used it as fertilizer for their plants and crops to grow additional fruits and vegetables!

Saturday 23 April 2011

How can I love God and other people like God loves us?

That is a very awesome question! And the honest truth is, you can’t! I have to tell you that up front so that you don’t put so much pressure on yourself because the truth is NO ONE can love as unconditionally, immensely and infinitely as God can.

The reason is because God’s love is perfect. He can’t ever not love us! He can’t hate us. He can’t get sick of us. His love is unconditional. The Holy Bible uses a Greek word, “agape,” to describe God’s love for us. There isn’t even an English translation for it. It’s basically a deep, deep, unconditional love for us.

So, why can’t we love God or others like that? It’s because of our sin nature. This is the sin that was handed down from us from the time of Adam and Eve, Our sinful nature puts conditions on our love … sometimes even with God! We are imperfect beings so we can’t love perfectly. At some point will get mad or hurt and pull our love back just a bit. God doesn’t do that.

But, does that mean we shouldn’t love God or people? Absolutely not! In fact, when asked by His disciple s what the greatest commandment was, Jesus said:

“‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself. All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.” (Matthew 22:37-40)

Do you see what Jesus says? Not love the Lord with all His heart but our own! Our own imperfect hearts … the hearts that sometimes break, the hearts that sometimes grow tired of loving and the hearts that sometimes falter because of anger. So, we’re to love God with all our heart, with all our soul and with all our mind. We’re to love God as best we can. Then, we’re to love our neighbor as ourselves.

So, how can we do that? Through prayer. Through service. Through random acts of kindness. Remember what Jesus says:

“Whoever has my commands and keeps them is the one who loves me. The one who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love them and show myself to them.” (John 14:21)

“My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.” (John 15:12)

“This is my command: Love each other.” (John 15:17)

“Truly I tell you, whatever you did for the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.” (Matthew 25:40)

God bless you!

Thursday 21 April 2011

Who did Cain marry? And don’t you think it would be weird if Seth married his sister?

If Adam and Eve were the first people, then when Cain was banished, who did Cain marry? Wowee, what an awesome question!!! And, this question has been asked many times before by many different people in the past and was even part of the very important historical Scopes trial in Tennessee in 1925. Back then, poor William Jennings Bryan failed to answer the question adequately from the opposing lawyer, Clarence Darrow, which cast doubt on Christianity (A little history trivia for you!).

But, we know the answer because we can look to the Holy Bible for the answer. In order to do that, we must accept as true that Adam and Eve were the first people on this Earth, okay? We know it to be true because it says so in Genesis, the first book of the Old Testament. We also know that Adam lived to be 930 years old! During that time, Adam and Eve had a number of children. Even though the Bible only mentions Cain, Abel and Seth by name, it also says that he had many other children: “After Seth was born, Adam lived 800 years and had other sons and daughters.” (Genesis 5:4) Remember also that God commanded that Adam and Eve “be fruitful and multiply.” (Genesis 1:28)

So, Cain’s wife was probably either another daughter of Adam and Eve or a close relative. The Hebrew scholars believe that Cain’s wife was his sister, based on the Hebrew word ishshah. Remember, that back in those days it was not weird or uncommon to marry your sister or close relative. The same situation applies to Seth. He also, most likely, married his sister or niece. It wasn’t until Moses came along in the Book of Leviticus (Chapters 18-20) that God made the law forbidding close relatives to marry.

Of course, we look at it today and think, “Ewwwwww!” But, that’s because we live in a different time and with different standards and laws prohibiting such practices. We look at the beginning of the human race and we tend to apply today’s laws or today’s problems that are associated with close relatives marrying and try to interpret Genesis based on our present situation. But, we must look at it from a Biblical historical standpoint and the customs and practices of that time.

Remember, too, that back then Adam and Eve were created perfectly by God. There was no sin on Earth when they were created. There were no impurities in the gene pool, so to speak. So, the chances were that their children, and maybe even their grandchildren, were a purer race and could create a human population without fear of birth defects.

Monday 18 April 2011

Is Leviathan exaggerated? How does it have “fiery breath?”

It’s interesting that Leviathan, which is actually mentioned six times in the Holy Bible, is described in such vivid detail in the Book of Job (Job 41:1-35). But, Leviathan is also mentioned in the Psalms and in Isaiah. Many Bible scholars have argued over what Leviathan was. Some argue it was a crocodile, some argue that it may have been a type of dinosaur, and others have argued that it was, in fact, some sort of creature that we commonly refer to as a dragon. A dragon?? Is that even possible?

Did dragons exist? Well, hmmm … Satan has been described as “the dragon.” And, in the book of Isaiah, chapter 27, Isaiah declares that the Lord will punish and slay Leviathan. Isaiah calls him the “monster of the sea.” In the King James translation, Leviathan is described as that “crooked serpent” and that “dragon in the sea.”

Dragons, throughout history, have been described as “fire-breathing.” In this case, it may have been true fire or, and here’s where it gets tricky, it may have been a description of the evil speech coming from the mouth of the dragon. Remember, the dragon could be a representation of Satan - and Satan is the Prince of Lies and represents everything bad in this world. So, Leviathan’s “fiery breath” could be the lies, the hate and the anger that Satan spews from his mouth.

It could also, quite literally, be fire. Leviathan could have been a fire-breathing dragon that existed in the sea. We just don’t know for sure. Is the description of Leviathan literal? Is it descriptive? Is it exaggerated? Or is it spot on? Again, we truly don’t know for sure.

I do know one thing, when I get to Heaven I am going to ask Job (who clearly saw Leviathan) what in the world was he describing!

Saturday 16 April 2011

Is suicide a sin?

Wow. Thanks for a tough question! I believe the Bible is very clear on this matter: the answer is Yes. But, don’t forget, suicide is just one of a number of sins mankind has committed against God. To God, suicide is the same as stealing, worshipping false gods, not honoring your parents and even taking the Lord’s name in vain. He doesn’t make one sin worse than another. To God, sin is sin.

Let me explain why the Bible says it’s a sin. In the New Testament, there are two places in 1 Corinthians where I believe God speaks to this. First off, let me just say that the word “suicide” is not mentioned anywhere in the Bible. But, listen to these two verses:

“Don't you know that you yourselves are God's temple and that God's Spirit lives in you? If anyone destroys God's temple, God will destroy him; for God's temple is sacred, and you are that temple.” (1 Corinthians 3:16-17)

“Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body.” (1 Corinthians 6:19-20)

The Apostle Paul is telling the people of Corinth that their bodies are temples of the Lord and that the Holy Spirit lives in that temple. Basically, your body is sacred and God won’t take kindly to anyone who destroys His temple. Furthermore, God really stresses that we’re to honor Him with our bodies. Killing our own bodies does not honor God and also violates one of God’s original commandments:

“You shall not murder.” (Exodus 20:13)

Remember, God is the One who decides how long your life will be (Psalm 139: 15-16, Psalm 39:4). When a person decides to commit suicide, they are taking that decision away from God. Is that a sin? Absolutely. It also the ultimate waste of a life that Jesus gave His own life for! He didn’t suffer and die on the cross just to have a person throw away the life He gave everything for. So, yes, suicide is a sin.

But, also realize that we all sin and fall short of the glory of God. (Romans 3:23). The Bible also tells us that there is no one righteous, not one! (Romans 3:10) The only person who was completely perfect and lived without sin was Jesus Christ, who was crucified for all of our sins. He paid the price for all of us so that we could have eternal life with God, the Father. And it is through the power of His resurrection that we are saved! The Holy Bible is very clear on this:

“Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God.” (John 1:12)

So, if you admit your sins, believe that Jesus Christ died on the cross for your sins and then commit to repenting (or turning away from the sins) and following Jesus, then you become God’s child. And, because you are God’s child, you are an heir to the inheritance of eternal life with Him in Heaven!!! Isn’t that awesome???