Monday, December 29, 2008

It Came To Pass

An interesting phrase that occurs in 179 verses in the Bible is "it came to pass." A dramatic instance in which the phrase occurs is in Genesis 8:13: "And it came to pass in the six hundred and first year, in the first month, the first day of the month, that the waters were dried up from the earth; and Noah removed the covering of the ark and looked, and indeed the surface of the ground was dry." This marked the end of a disastrous flood which had covered the earth for more than a year tragically bringing an end to all living creatures including mankind, except Noah, his wife, his sons and their wives, and selected pairs of living creatures, who were saved in an ark that floated on the flood waters. The flood was unleashed by God to put an end to a culture of evil and sin which increasingly pervaded humanity for centuries on the earth.

And so, at last, this monumental disaster came to pass and with it an era of gross ungodliness among mankind upon the earth. A new era of opportunity for godly change stood before Noah and his family as they disembarked from the ark which had borne them over that fateful flood of mass destruction.

In the world we live in, things come and go. And so, very few things remain permanent. Experiences and events come to pass. History is an account of events which came to pass.

For instance, in the US election in November last year, a presidential campaign for change resulted in the first black US president, Barack Obama, coming into office in the new year, 2009. That world acclaimed political event demonstrated the possibility of socially fundamental change. A long social history of institutionalized black discrimination in the USA came to pass, at least in our awareness of political possibilities.

The thought that things change - they come to pass - gives excitement and hope. It's like sometimes the proverbial light at the end of a tunnel. It's a comforting hope for those who are in the midst of the gloom of sorrow, the pain of affliction, the torment of injustice, or the calamity of misfortune. It comes to pass. It is interesting that the moment at which things come to pass is also the moment at which things come to begin.

David wrote: "Weeping may endure for a night, but joy comes in the morning" (Psalm 30:5). For those of us who toil burning the late night lamp as students, grinding our nails to give the best in our jobs and careers, faithfully nurturing and tutoring our children, serving humanity and God in selfless vocations and missions, and in myriad of other wearisome callings in this life, David also writes in Psalms 126:5-6: "Those who sow in tears shall reap in joy. He who continually goes forth weeping, bearing seed for sowing, shall doubtless come again with rejoicing, bringing his sheaves with him." Yes, indeed, times of tearful sowing give way to times of joyful reaping.

Another year has passed away. A new year is here. The events and experiences of last year are behind us. They came to pass. It's a relief. Let us embrace this timely opportunity of change and newness. However painful, shameful, and stressful it was last year, the New Year rings in with the declaration on the old year - it came to pass.

And so, with the dawning of the New Year, let us let the past pass away and let us press forward into the present New Year. Too often our experience or enjoyment of the new is impaired by our still preoccupation with the old. We must let go of the old and move on into the new.

According to Paul in Philippians 3:13-14: "One thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus."

May the blessing and grace of God abound in you throughout the New Year!

Wednesday, December 17, 2008

Our Excellence Is Of God

The awesome challenge that confronts us is how can we please God - to please one being to satisfy one's expectation standard.

God's standard is without dispute excellence in all dimensions. And to us on the other hand belong infirmities, weaknesses, and failures. But the Holy Spirit has constantly helped me to realize that in the face of this challenge and in the light of our frail humanity, we need not despair. Hallelujah! God who wants us to please Him - yes, to meet His standard of excellence - did not leave us in despair and frustration.

One of the Scripture passages that have brought great hope, faith, and comfort to me in this is Philippians 2:13: "It is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure." Another is Hebrews 13:20-21: "Now may the God of peace who brought up our Lord Jesus from the dead, that great Shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant, make you complete in every good work to do His will, working in you what is well pleasing in His sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen."

These Scripture passages tell us if only we can allow God to work in us, if only we can depend absolutely upon God, then God Himself will produce in us and through us what meets His good pleasure in His standard of excellence. This is amazing but it is true.

The philosophy of living and achieving of the world is one of self-reliance. It is ego-centric - self esteem, self actualization, self help, and so forth. It is good for the world which ignores and rejects the supernatural resources of God. And so, they turn to themselves. Unfortunately, much of that philosophy is laced into our presentation of the Gospel and into our Christian life-style. This makes it hard for many Christians to truly and actually live by faith, which is living in absolute dependence on God.

Many professing Christians do not seem to appeciate that Christianity is a "non-me" life. Christianity is the life of Christ being lived in "me" (Galatians 2:20). This is contrary to the ego-centric philosophy of living. And so the extent to which the worldly philosophy of living directs our life-style we find that the "Christian" life we live is filled with apologies for our failures in terms of our human weaknesses or sometimes boastings for our successes in terms of our self efforts and cleverness, or even adulations of human heroes and despising of failed humans.

Paul overcame this worldly philosophy when he sought God with agonising apologies for his own human infirmities and asking God to take away these infirmities or the challenges he confronted. Instead God brought the human-centred Paul to the startling realization that it is not his human infirmities being taken way that will cause him to produce God's excellence but by Christ living in Him. Here is Paul's inspiring testimony in 2 Corinthians 12:7-10: "And lest I should be exalted above measure by the abundance of the revelations, a thorn in the flesh was given to me, a messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I be exalted above measure. Concerning this thing I pleaded with the Lord three times that it might depart from me. And He said to me, 'My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.' Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ's sake. For when I am weak, then I am strong."

To know and do the good, acceptable and perfect will of God we will have to stop conforming to this world, especially in our mindset or philosophy of living, and let the Spirit renew our minds. Too many professing Christians accept and promote a humanist life-style of mediocrity and constant failing because their minds are hooked to the world's self-centred philosophy of achievement - I and Me and being just human. Salvation was designed by God as the answer to the cries and frustration of human failures and the solution to the sin or coming short characteristic of humanity. It was designed and presented by God in Christ to work effectively and it does if we will accept the mindset that God wants us to have of we being humbly and absolutely dependent upon the Christ who lives in us as Christians.

I love Paul's admonition along this line in Colossians 2:8-10: "Beware lest anyone cheat you through philosophy and empty deceit, according to the tradition of men, according to the basic principles of the world, and not according to Christ. For in Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily; and you are complete in Him, who is the head of all principality and power."

God wants us to please Him without Him compromising His standard of excellence. And He has given us the principle and power to do so. The divine working principle is faith in God practised as absolute dependence upon God. "For it is the God who commanded light to shine out of darkness, who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellence of the power may be of God and not of us" (2 Corinthians 4:6-7).

If we will live and function according to God's principle of absolute dependence on the Christ who lives in us, then we cannot but genuinely meet God's standard of excellence and give God the glory in everything we do. Our Christian life will not be characterized by dismal self-efforts but the triumph life of Christ who lives in us. May God help us all to actually please Him in the standard of His excellence and glorify Him as the norm of our Christian walk inspite of our human infirmities.

Friday, December 12, 2008

The Lord Gives and Takes Away

Stories of material success are often presented as the outcome of human cleverness, skill, and enterprise. At the same time, the less materially successful often are blamed or blame themselves for their lack of these human qualities and talents which are believed to produce material success. Arising out of these perspectives are usually boasting on one hand and scorn on the other hand. Without ignoring the importance of the virtues of human cleverness, skill, and enterprise in life here on earth, we must admit that the life's stories of men and women indicate material success is not consistently related to these admirable human qualities. There are many occasions when this sort of human philosophy does not explain earthly success and failure.


The dramatic account of Job's historic experience recorded in the Bible should convince us we should lay no personal claim on the material things of this life. Job was an icon of material success in his era. According to the Bible his material possessions were vast. The account boasts, "his possessions were seven thousand sheep, three thousand camels, five hundred yoke of oxen, five hundred female donkeys, and a very large household, so that this man was the greatest of all the people of the East" (Job 1:3). In addition, Job's character and reputation were impeccable. The Bible describes him as a man who "was blameless and upright, and one who feared God and shunned evil" (Job 1:1).

Yet with immense wealth for possession and an underlying human character capable of rightly holding on to his vast wealth, Job lost everything in one day. Disaster and misfortune suddenly struck and plunged Job immediately into dire poverty.

This was an unusual catastrophe that had happened to a hardworking godly man. Like it would be today, many in Job's day would have produced their explanations for Job's sudden misfortune. And certainly not missing in the case of this obviously unexplainable disaster would be the spiritualistic speculation that some 'powerful' curse cast by an envious neighbour had struck this good man.

But we thank God the Bible did not leave us to speculate the true cause behind Job's sudden calamity. According to the Bible's account, the devil in an attempt to destroy Job had found that God had placed around Job a hedge which effectively prevented the devil or anyone else from destroying Job and his possessions. The devil approached God and accused Job of maintaining a godly life only because of the vast wealth God had given Job. He proposed that if God would take away the hedge He had placed around Job to allow him to destroy Job's possessions, Job would blaspheme against God. And so, God, being confident of Job's unconditional integrity and faithfulness, took up the challenge. He shifted the hedge around Job to allow the devil limited access to Job. The devil quickly took the opportunity and in one day unleashed extensive havoc on Job's property resulting in total destruction of all Job's possession and the death of his seven sons and three daughters.

What is of significant interest to us in this dramatic account is Job's keen spiritual insight in the midst of his adversity of the actual source of the wealth he had amassed and the calamity that had befallen him. The Bible tells us Job worshipping God declared: "Naked I came from my mother's womb, and naked shall I return there. The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; Blessed be the name of the Lord" (Job 1:21).

This mindset displayed by Job in the midst of such personal disaster confounds all human philosophy of prosperity and calamity. Where can we fit there the principle of positive thoughts and actions for achieving material prosperity or preventing adversity? To Job, his prosperity was not the achievement of man nor was his present calamity the curse of enemies. His deep spiritual insight into what was happening to him excluded wicked men and demons. He saw only God.

Job saw God in his prosperity and God in his calamity. Yet God remained to him one who is consistently good in all He does. "In all this Job did not sin nor charge God with wrong" (Job 1:22).

This is the amazing essence of the Christian faith in relation to earthly prosperity and calamity. God gives and God takes away and in either way He remains blessed forever in the hearts of those who trust Him. The Christian's lot is maintained by God and is not left to the manipulations of men or devils. David affirms in Psalms 125:3: "For the rod of the wicked shall not rest upon the lot of the righteous; lest the righteous put forth their hands unto iniquity."

"The Lord gives and the Lord takes away; Blessed be the name of the Lord!"

Tuesday, December 02, 2008

Abominations of Nations

The occult may seem to be highly regarded throughout the nations of the world today. But in the Bible the Lord declares it to be among the abominations of nations.

The Lord made this pronouncement in Deuteronomy 18:9-14: "When you come into the land which the Lord your God is giving you, you shall not learn to follow the abominations of those nations. There shall not be found among you anyone who makes his son or his daughter pass through the fire, or one who practices witchcraft, or a soothsayer, or one who interprets omens, or a sorcerer, or one who conjures spells, or a medium, or a spiritist, or one who calls up the dead. For all who do these things are an abomination to the Lord, and because of these abominations the Lord your God drives them out from before you. You shall be blameless before the Lord your God. For these nations which you will dispossess listened to soothsayers and diviners; but as for you, the Lord your God has not appointed such for you."

The Lord plainly forbade the Israelites to adopt any of the occult practices of the nations around them. These occult practices are called abominations by God. The occult practices which the Lord calls abominations have not changed in modern times since the time they were identified as abominations in the Bible. A look at the list of the occult practices identified in the Bible as abominations by God shows the practices are similar today.

Eight forms of the occult practices are listed in Deuteronomy 18:9-14. They are: (1) one who practices witchcraft (a witch or a warlock), (2) a soothsayer (a seer; a false prophet; a psychic), (3) one who interprets omens (a palm-reader; a fortune-teller; an astrologer), (4) a sorcerer (a witchdoctor), (5) one who conjures spells (a wizard), (6) a medium (spirit medium), (7) a spiritist (a seance leader), and (8) one who calls up the dead (a necromancer). Some of these practices in the list overlap. They are common practices today as they were in ancient cultures and remain abominations in the sight of God.

Apart from some aspects of the occult practices which are tricks, magic, and deceit, the occult consists of dark, sinister realities which are deeply involved in satanism and demons. Its popularity today, especially in once so-called Christian nations, is astounding. And it indicates the pervading influence of apostasy in modern Christian cultures.

Paul predicted in 1 Timothy 4:1, "Now the Spirit expressly says that in latter times some will depart from the faith, giving heed to deceiving spirits and doctrines of demons."

Widespread interest in witchcraft, astrology, psychics, and other forms of sorcery has made the occult a rich industry in modern times. Few people will go through a day without consulting their horoscope, or deal with the issues of life without inquiring from their psychics. Increasing numbers are attending seances, or are seeking to communicate with deceased loved ones. Satanist groups are competing today with Christian and other religious assemblies in membership and immense interest in demons is being generated among both Christians and non-Christians.

These practices, like they were in ancient times, are abominations to God. Instead of helping anyone, the occult practices weaken people and plunge those who adhere to them into sinister darkness and corruption. The Lord forbids His people to participate in them. The Bible declares them plainly to be the abominations of nations.

Tuesday, November 25, 2008

The Occult Weakens

Anyone who thinks the occult brings help is deceived. According to the Bible, the occult weakens those who practise it. God made that plain to the children of Israel.

The Lord warned the nation of Israel in in Deuteronomy 18:9-12: "When you come into the land which the Lord your God is giving you, you shall not learn to follow the abominations of those nations. There shall not be found among you anyone who makes his son or his daughter pass through the fire, or one who practices witchcraft, or a soothsayer, or one who interprets omens, or a sorcerer, or one who conjures spells, or a medium, or a spiritist, or one who calls up the dead. For all who do these things are an abomination to the Lord, and because of these abominations the Lord your God drives them out from before you."

God made it quite clear to the people of Israel that the ruin and downfall of the Canaanites were the result of their involvement in the occult. "For all who do these things are an abomination to the Lord, and because of these abominations the Lord your God drives them out from before you."

The Canaanites had appeared to be a formidable people to the Israelites. In fact, an entire generation of Israelites ended up perishing in the wilderness instead of going up against the Canaanites because of fear. As a preparation for advancing into Canaan, Moses had sent out spies to obtain intelligence about the condition of the land and the people. Most of the spies returned with a frightening report. "And they gave the children of Israel a bad report of the land which they had spied out, saying, 'the land through which we have gone as spies is a land that devours its inhabitants, and all the people whom we saw in it are men of great stature. There we saw the giants (the descendants of Anak came from the giants); and we were like grasshoppers in our own sight, and so we were in their sight'" (Numbers 13:32-33). The report paralyzed the people of Israel with fear and they refused to go up against the Canaanites.

Now a generation after, the Israelites were about to embark on the conquest of Canaan and the general atmosphere in their midst was one of immense confidence and optimism. And already the Lord was instructing them about their conduct of life when they would occupy the land of Canaan. So victory was divinely assured.

However, it was important for the Israelites to know the basis on which they would over-run the Canaanites. It was not any superior military resources or strategies on their part. God was exposing to them the interestingly insidious destructive element which had already undermined the strength of the Canaanites. It had permeated the cultural sinews of the Canaanite society deceitfully weakening the people before the advancing Israelites. What had become the Canaanites' dominant traditions and culture, what the Canaanites had come to regard as instruments of mysterious power, were subtly a debilitating poison which had weakened them against their imminent conquerors. The occult was a dominant culture in Canaan but it had generated the Canaanites' eventual domination by a foreign nation.

And so, the Lord was solemnly admonishing the Israelites about the pervasive danger of such a culture and how important it was for them to keep extremely far from it, if they were to maintain their position of strength in the land they would conquer. "When you come into the land which the Lord your God is giving you, you shall not learn to follow the abominations of those nations.... For all who do these things are an abomination to the Lord, and because of these abominations the Lord your God drives them out from before you."

It is today a tragic reality that in our modern enlightened era this over 3, 000 year-old warning about the occult is as relevant as it was then. Many are today turning to the occult deceived, like the Canaanites were, that it is just culture and it provides power, protection, and fortune. But the fact is the occult remains a subtle infectious custom that will weaken and destroy any individual or people who get involved in its practices.

Wednesday, November 19, 2008

Voice of Truth

Jesus said this: "My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me" (John 10:27).

Whose voice are you hearing and believing in your present situation? There are many voices out there in this noisy world of diverse advices, opinions, and judgments. They call out to us everywhere we go, whatever we do or even don't do. They whisper, they request, they entice, they shout, they command.

They want to capture our attention. They want us to hear what they say we are; what they say we can or cannot be, and can or cannot do. They want us to hear what they say we must do and must not do, where we must go and must not go. Sometimes it is just incomprehensible noise, but there are times they catch our attention. And then we hear.

The danger is that not all voices that seek our attention tell us the truth. Many today are victims of hearing and believing voices of lies and deceits. Voices that have crippled them. Voices that have extinguished their ambition. Voices that have melted their true potential and discounted their esteem of who they really are. Voices that have dampened their joy and inflamed pain and sorrow. Voices that have disturbed their peace and kindled guilt, shame, and condemnation. Voices that have banished love and stirred up hatred and bitterness. These are evil voices which they should have never listened to. But these voices are out there and they are relentless. We all must beware.

Paul warns us, "Now the Spirit expressly says that in later times some will renounce the faith by paying attention to deceitful spirits and teachings of demons" (1 Timothy 4:1).

But among the negative voices of evil and danger is the voice of truth. It is really the voice of God. The voice of the Good Shepherd, Jesus Christ. It is good, positive, healing, comforting, and powerful. It makes us strong and bold.

This is the voice of truth. To hear it we must belong to God. We must be sheep of the Lord's fold. And when we hear it, we hear the truth of who we are, what we can be or do, and which way we must go. It dispels the cloud of depression and hopelessness. And it breaks the bondage of paralysis and sets us free with unlimited power and hope, giving us faith to believe we can do all things through Christ who strengthens us.

You will find the followiing words of Mark Hall in the song, Voice of Truth, very inspiring:

Oh what I would do to have
The kind of faith it takes to climb out of this boat I'm in
Onto the crashing waves
To step out of my comfort zone
Into the realm of the unknown where Jesus is
And He's holding out His hand.

But the waves are calling out my name and they laugh at me
Reminding me of all the times I've tried before and failed.
The waves they keep on telling me
Time and time again, "Boy, you'll never win!"
"You'll never win!"

But the voice of truth tells me a different story.
The voice of truth says, "Do not be afraid!"
And the voice of truth says, "This is for My glory."
Out of all the voices calling to me
I will choose to listen and believe the voice of truth.

Wednesday, November 12, 2008

Why the Idea of a Curse?

It's interesting how much influence our mindset has on our lives. Our mindset is the way we perceive or see things; what we believe. It is our entire process of reasoning. But is our mindset always true?

An important question in understanding our mindset is what informs or shapes our thinking. We need not dig into the depth of psychology to realize our mindset is shaped by ideas we have come to accept or believe. From the cradle to the grave we are loaded with information which we process and somehow come to accept or believe. And so it is necessary to examine or identify the nature and sources of the information and ideas we receive if we are to assess the soundness of our mindset.

Our mindset is usually framed by dominant ideas. Dominant ideas consist of information which has become established as truth or fact. They may be established as truth or fact not by our own personal examination of them but because others whose opinions we accept without question have accepted or declared them as truth or fact. Therefore, a dominant idea is generally a popularly accepted idea. This is why it is necessary for us not to be afraid or reluctant to examine the truthfulness of information which shapes our mindset.

Not all information that has become established as truth or fact is actually truth or fact. It may seem unbelievable to many today, but there was a period in time when the earth was considered flat. And it is even more unbelievable that with all the evidence now available about the earth being a sphere there are still people who will argue that the earth is flat.

The idea of a curse is a dominant idea which has existed in varying forms in nearly all the cultures of the world. With power and wealth being factors which have always been sought after universally, it can be understood why the idea of cursing which claims to offer both power and wealth has remained a dominant idea in most societies. But it can be argued the idea that any man can successfully invoke a curse on another is a real phenomenon begs for sound evidence and facts.

A curse is considered to be any kind of adversity thought to be inflicted by a supernatural power by means of a prayer, a spell, a spirit, witchcraft, or a god. Those who accept the idea of a curse use the idea to explain apparent misfortunes or adversities and to threaten their enemies. They believe that some people have power to impose adversities on others by invoking curses.

In most cultures the method used for invoking curses is the use of effigy, which is an image of the victim, or the person expected to be harmed. Effigies made with wax were common in ancient Europe, the USA, India, Africa, Persia and Egypt, and currently are still used. Effigies are also made of clay, wood and stuffed cloth (poppets). It is thought that the closer the effigy resembles the victim, the more the victim will suffer when the effigy is harmed or destroyed. The idea is as the effigy is harmed or destroyed, so the victim is harmed or destroyed.

It is clear that cursing involves some very weird practices with unproven success. Yet, there is no doubt that the concept of a curse is a dominant idea. But how real or true are curses invoked by man? In examining the truth of the concept of a curse, we need to ask if there is any evidence that anyone has successfully used curses to harm others. It is very unlikely that such evidence exists.

In a world where rich countries spend large sums of money to obtain weapons of destruction, and hatred among people is common, any such person with the power to do harm by means of a curse would be in high demand. And it is easy to imagine how swiftly hated dictators, unpopular political leaders, the disliked and even the envied would be eliminated.

Certainly, the nations of the world would have been showcasing their powerful witches rather than their military might. And in societies, sorcerers and not police would be dealing with criminals. People who claim to have power to inflict curses to do harm would not be operating in back alleys and dens but in lofty offices on main streets. And, of course, the inevitable problem would be to protect these evil practitioners against destroying each other.

Nonetheless, while there is a lack of evidence to support the idea that someone can do harm to another by the use of a curse, the evidence is those who believe in curses seem to be convinced about the effects of curses. What has shaped this unsubstantial mindset? Is this a case of turning a blind eye to contradicting evidence and focusing on mere coincidence to maintain one's belief?

Francis Bacon wrote: "It is the peculiar and perpetual error of the human understanding to be more moved and excited by affirmatives than by negatives." Psychologists refer to this error as confirmation bias. It is the tendency for people to take note of or look for what confirm their beliefs and ignore or set aside what contradict their beliefs.

For instance, one who believes in curses would ignore the many instances when people without being the object of curse rituals experience adversities, or people who are objects of curse rituals remain unscathed, but would take note of the relatively few coincidences when people who they know to be objects of curse rituals experience adversities. When we become blinded to evidence that refutes our beliefs, we become pitiful captives of superstition. This sort of selective thinking is the basis for most beliefs in psychic powers and the occult. And it is without doubt the basis for the idea one can do harm to another by a curse and the reason why the idea is a dominant idea in the mindset of so many people.

Since curses are thought to relate to the supernatural, the Bible should provide us sound information to frame our ideas about curses. The Bible contains numerous references to curses. But the Bible provides no reference to or support for the idea curses can be invoked by any one against another. What is clear in the Bible is no one can curse whom God does not curse.

Only God can curse. He reserves the power to curse to Himself. The evil and malicious intent of those who would use curses against others makes it obvious that God will not give such a power to any man over another, especially to evil, dark-minded people like sorcerers and witches. Balaam the sorcerer admitted: "How shall I curse whom God has not cursed? And how shall I denounce whom the Lord has not denounced" (Numbers 23:8)?

People will continue to practice and believe in cursing. But the fact is cursing someone is a vain practice. It is based on deceitful information and a misguided mindset. The only reality about it is the misery belief in it inflicts on people who think they are cursed.

The truth is adversities are not synonymous with curses. It is those who are misguided by the idea that man has power to curse see every sore spot in their and others' lives as a curse. If we will count our blessings it will surprise us how even apparent evils and misfortunes are blessings in disguise.

And so, it is really the mindset - how we see things. But we can't go wrong by allowing our mindset to be framed and shaped by God's truth. The word of God informs us to see the good in everything. "And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose" (Romans 8:28).

Furthermore, we are called upon to ponder and reckon properly and allow our mindset to be shaped by truth according to Romans 8:31-39: "What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? Truly He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things? Who shall lay anything to the charge of God's elect? It is God who justifies. Who is he condemning? It is Christ who has died, but rather also who is raised, who is also at the right hand of God, who also intercedes for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? As it is written, "For Your sake we are killed all the day long. We are counted as sheep of slaughter." But in all these things we more than conquer through Him who loved us. For I am persuaded that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord."

Whatever your lot today, why define it as a curse? Why the idea of a curse when God defines it all as blessings? If you are blessed by God, no man can curse you.

For all who have come to believe in Christ, we have the assurance God "has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ" (Ephesians 1:3).

Read the book, G.A.N. James, The Myth of the Generational Curse (Xulon Press, 2007).

Wednesday, November 05, 2008

The Election of Barack Obama Exposes the Myth of the Curse of Ham

In the last post, the question raised was whether the curse of Ham would prevent African American, Barack Obama, from becoming a US president. Well, we woke up this morning on Wednesday 5 November to see worldwide jubilation that Barack Obama won the election by a wide margin over white contender John Mc Cain to become the first US African American president elect.

What does that do to the curse of Ham idea? It exposes it as a myth. It demonstrates the so-called curse of Ham is a figment of vain human imagination fuelled by superstition and racial prejudice.

The so-called curse of Ham states all black people are destined to be slaves. This implies black people lack leadership qualities and are confined naturally to servitude. Of course, no evidence has ever supported the myth. But the myth was used to justify the inhumane enslavement of African people by whites in times past and exists today merely in the pitiful minds of bigots.

The election of Barack Obama to lead the US and the subsequent jubilation by the world citizens who welcome him as a world leader add to the indisputable evidence that blacks can be effective leaders. This is particularly so when, in terms of the US election, Barack Obama had to contend with several well-qualified white aspirants to win the election.

So we congratulate Barack Obama on his election to the US presidency. The American people overwhelmingly showed they recognize his leadership ability to be far above that of his white contenders as they observed him closely in the run of the two-year campaign leading to the election. In so doing, they have exposed once again the myth of the curse of Ham.

This is God's doing. It demonstrates that no man can curse whom God does not.

In David's words in Psalms 75:4-7: "I said to the boastful, 'Do not deal boastfully,' and to the wicked, 'Do not lift up the horn. Do not lift up your horn on high; Do not speak with a stiff neck.' " For exaltation comes neither from the east nor from the west nor from the south. But God is the Judge: He puts down one, and exalts another.

Read the book by G.A.N. James, The Myth of the Generational Curse (Xulon Press, 2007)

Wednesday, October 29, 2008

Barack Obama and the Curse of Ham

It is interesting that in our modern world of information technology that a web search on the topic, the curse of Ham, would bring up something like this: "The Curse of Ham: Why Barack Hussein Obama Will Never Be President." What is even more interesting is that this post is in a so-called "conservative Christian" blog which declares that "all people of dark skin carry the curse of Ham."

This demonstrates erroneous information, like the lack of information, perpetuates ignorance, and that the modern world's boast of the abundance of information made possible by phenomenal advances in information technology is not equally a boast of increase in enlightenment.

The myth of the curse of Ham states that according to the Bible Noah pronounced a curse on his son, Ham, whose descendants include all black people. The curse is said to have made Ham and his descendants black and confined them to perpetual slavery. The myth of the curse of Ham is a misinterpretation of a Biblical account of Noah pronouncing a curse on his grandson, Canaan.

According to the Bible, Noah once became drunk and lay naked in his tent. Ham, one of Noah's three sons, saw Noah drunk and naked and informed his two brothers Shem and Japheth, who went into the tent backwardly and covered Noah. When Noah awoke and was told what happened he made these pronouncements: "Cursed be Canaan; a servant of servants he shall be to his brethren.... Blessed be the Lord, the God of Shem, and may Canaan be his servant. May God enlarge Japheth, and may he dwell in the tents of Shem; and may Canaan be his servant" (Genesis 9:25-27).

From the Scriptural account, it is true that Noah for reasons not given in the account cursed Canaan, Ham's youngest son, but it is not true that Noah cursed Ham or Ham's three other sons. In addition, there is no evidence God sanctioned Noah's curse and Canaan and his descendants were enslaved by Canaan's brethren and their descendants, according to Noah's pronouncement. We must always remember that no man can curse whom God has not cursed. A fulfillment of Naoh's curse on Canaan would mean that Canaan including his descendants became enslaved to his "brethren" who would be his three brothers, Cush, Mizraim, and Put and their descendants. Nothing in anthropology and history provides such evidence.

Moreover, Noah's pronouncement in the rest of the Biblical account is ambiguous when examined closley. You need to review Genesis 9:26-27 to follow this argument. It is not plainly stated in Genesis 9:26 whether Noah's pronouncement meant Canaan and his descendants would be servants to "the Lord, the God of Shem" or to Shem and his descendants. The "his" in that passage may refer to either the Lord or Shem. Similarly, it is not plainly stated in Genesis 9:27 whether Naoh's pronouncement meant God would enlarge Japheth and "he" (God) would dwell in the tents of Shem, and Canaan and his descendants would be "his" (God's) servants, or Japheth would dwell in the tents of Shem and Canaan and his descendants would be "his" (Japheth's) servants. It is unclear to whom the personal pronouns refer in that part of the Scriptural account. And so, it is not plainly stated in the Bible if Noah was declaring that Canaan and his descendants would become servants to Shem and Japheth and their descendants in addition to their enslavement to Canaan's brothers and their descendants.

Anthropology and history seem to situate the descendants of Ham mainly in Egypt, Ethiopia, Lybia, and the rest of Africa. The Canaanites in particular settled in Palestine or Canaan and, according to the Bible, were subjugated by the Israelites who invaded Canaan killing and driving out most of the Canaanites. The Israelites who eventually subjugated the Canaanites were not descendants of Canaan's brothers but were descendants of Shem. And this happened after the Israelites themselves were enslaved in Egypt by descendants of Ham for about four centuries.

Clearly, the idea of the curse of Ham is not derived from a proper interpretation of the Biblical account. It is a myth which unfortunately was used to justify the brutal enslavement of African people and continues to be used in modern times to oppress and discriminate against black people.

The message of the Gospel presents God's salvation and equal entitlement to the blessings of God to all nations through Jesus Christ. It is a shameful contradiction to Christianity and a display of pitiable ignorance that so-called Christians would dare seek to cheat and rob black people of their human dignity and potential achievement on earth on the basis of the myth of the curse of Ham.

To introduce the myth of the curse of Ham into the politics of United States of America, the proclaimed standard bearer of democracy in the world, is embarrassing. Barack Obama, who has nobly distinguished himself for the past two years in his political campaign to become leader of the Democratic party and as of date a strong contender for the presidency of the US, celebrates the fact that good leadership is a potential which is not confined to any particular race of human beings. And this so-called "conservative Christian" group of people who dare to misguidedly propagate that Barack Obama is disqualified to become president of the US on the basis of the mythical curse of Ham shows how far backward we are from true enlightenment in America despite our information technology advances. They need the prayers of all sincere Christians everywhere.

Read the book by G.A.N. James, The Myth of the Generational Curse (Xulon Press, 2007).

Saturday, October 25, 2008

When God has blessed....

God's blessings always prevail. It is the light that dispels the darkness and the good that overcomes evil. Yet the idea of the power of cursing continues to seduce the minds of man everywhere.

It's perplexing that so many people find it so easy to resort to the powers of darkeness and evil for help. And somehow it seems so difficult to convince them that exceedingly greater is the security and safety God provides freely. It seems to be the tendency of humans to embrace illusions.

But it is even more daringly presumptuous when some think that they can conjure up curses that can diffuse the power of God's blessings.

The Bible tells of such a man who hired a sorcerer to curse a people God had blessed so that he could defeat them. He was Balak, king of the people of Moab. He became intimidated by the might of the people of Israel. He sent for Balaam a sorcerer, who was well known among the nations around. He urged Balaam, "Please come at once, curse this people for me, for they are too mighty for me. Perhaps I shall be able to defeat them and drive them out of the land, for I know that he whom you bless is blessed, and he whom you curse is cursed" (Numbers 22:6).

In this account the Bible gives us an interesting insight into who really has the authority and power to bless and curse. King Balak sent his emissaries to Balaam with "the diviner's fee" up front. When they got to Balaam's home they delivered the King's message. Balaam's immediate reply to them was "Lodge here tonight, and I will bring back word to you, as the Lord speaks to me" (Numbers 22:8).

Balaam was unashamedly acknowledging his helplessness in the craft that he was well-known for and was declaring only God indeed has the supreme power to bless and curse.

Balaam did not receive permission from the Lord to go to King Balak and he informed the King's emissaries. The King would not accept Balaam's refusal and sent more influential emissaries to persuade Balaam to come and curse the people of Israel. Balaam eventually conceded but not without informing Balak's emissaries that "though Balak were to give me his house full of silver and gold, I could not go beyond the word of the Lord my God, to do less or more" (Numbers 22:18). Balaam the sorcerer was admitting the truth that no man can curse.

Even when Balaam arrived in the city of Moab and was brought before the King he again asserted to the King "Look, I have come to you! Now, have I any power at all to say anything? The word that God puts in my mouth, that I must speak" (Numbers 22:38).

King Balak, however, convinced that Balaam the sorcerer could have cursed the people of Israel for him, insisted that Balaam proceed with the sorcery. Balaam complied with the King's request only to return to the King in despair afterwards with what became the well-known oracle declaring the futility of human sorcery: "Balak the king of Moab has brought me from Aram, from the mountains of the east. 'Come, curse Jacob for me, And come, denounce Israel!' How shall I curse whom God has not cursed? And how shall I denounce whom the Lord has not denounced" (Numbers 23:7-8)?

To the King's astonishment instead of cursing the people of Israel Balaam went on to pronounce blessings upon them. "What have you done to me? I took you to curse my enemies, and look, you have blessed them bountifully!" King Balak said. To this Balaam replied, "Must I not take heed to speak what the Lord has put in my mouth" (Numbers 23:11-12)? Yes, indeed! No man can curse.

But King Balak, like many today, still could not be convinced that no sorcerer, even one as prominent as Balaam, had power to curse. He therefore insisted that Balaam try again. Balaam did, but again came up with even a sterner statement of God's supreme power and authority to bless and curse. "Rise up, Balak, and hear! Listen to me, son of Zippor! God is not a man, that He should lie, nor a son of man, that He should repent. Has He said, and will He not do? Or has He spoken, and will He not make it good? Behold, I have received a command to bless; He has blessed, and I cannot reverse it.... For there is no sorcery against Jacob, nor any divination against Israel. It now must be said of Jacob and of Israel, 'Oh, what God has done!'" (Numbers 23:18-23).

Both Balaam and King Balak eventually gave up on the futility of the practice of sorcery against the people of Israel and realized that no man can curse whom God has not cursed. When God has blessed you, there is neither sorcery nor any divination that can prevail against you.

Read the book by G.A.N. James, The Myth of the Generational Curse (Xulon Press, 2007).