Improving My Prayers’ Signal to Noise Ratio

In radio communications, the signal to noise ratio (SNR) is a measure of how well the information can be understood. When I pray, perhaps I can improve my understanding of what God is saying to me. So I can think about specific actions in this paradigm. For example, God often speaks through Scripture, so if I study the Bible more intently, this might help me hear Him better. If I take seriously things He has said in the past, and do what He told me, this also could strengthen His voice to me. Personal worship opens my heart to Him. On the noise side, there are the distractions of daily life that I need to set aside. Unconfessed or unrepented sin makes His voice fainter. Struggling with temptation is more like spiritual warfare, since Satan will find very clever ways to compromise my heart and drown out God’s voice. The triad of the world, the flesh, and the devil often work in concert to try to drown out that heavenly voice.

If someone is in the room speaking to me, it is much easier to focus and also hear what they say. SNR is not a factor. And so if I am in the same room with Jesus, His voice is unmistakeable. How often do I leave that room because I don’t want to hear what He is saying? Not the physical room, but the spiritual room of communion with Him.

Fasting is a potential step to hearing God better. But if I were to fast, would I be trying to earn His favor, or focus myself on Him and His? Would I think I can overcome my lukewarmness with self-denial and self-discipline? Even though not trying to impress others, would I be trying to impress Him? To persuade Him to do something? Jesus said, “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me and for the gospel will save it.” (Matthew 16:24, Mark 8:34, Luke 9:23) This is His prescription for the abundant life!

 But there is another step that I fear I fall far short of. On occasion I have had profound experiences of His presence. These are divine intersections of my seeking Him fervently, and His eager response to my ardor. SNR is not a consideration in a lovers embrace. If I truly, sincerely want to know His voice by experience, I need to have that level of desire for Him. Desire that is heartfelt and not ritual or rule-based. It is a choice, but more than that, a choice to want Him and His kingdom presence above all else.

 As we receive God’s blessings, perhaps we become used to them and take them for granted.  For example, Solomon’s prayer of dedication for the temple was answered in power. (2 Chronicles 7:1) That was followed by a warning (2 Chronicles 7:12-22). In his old age, Solomon reflected on the consequences of having riches (Ecclesiastes  5:13-20). He does not explicitly say that when the blessing of God is wealth, it creates lukewarmness in one’s relationship to God, but probably is a reflection on the events recorded in 1 Kings 11. This type of test is probably quite common for believers who the Lord prospers and blesses with success over the long term. The temptation to formal religion and rote prayers, trusting in the rewards of faith as signs of God’s favor, can lead to lukewarmness. Whether that is perceived as a low SNR prayer life, or as distance from God, the real challenge is to rekindle the fervor of our first conversion. Both Rehoboam and Jeroboam were blessed but drifted away from God. (Jeroboam actually went immediately to syncretism in setting up golden calves). The challenge is that effective prayer is a two-way conversation with God. We can only pray with effect when we agree with God on what He wants, praying specifics of His will into a context or situation, which means we have to really hear Him.

 Returning to the practical challenge of hearing and recognizing the voice of Jesus, perhaps the most important factor is that of responding in obedience when we do hear Him.  (John 2:5) We worship Him, praise His name, recognize Scriptural truths. Do we worship His name (hashem) as a euphemism because we know that if He is really present, then we experience His holiness and cannot but fall in worship? (Leviticus 9:23-24) But most important, when He offers to share His holiness with us, will we receive it? (1 Peter 1:16) That will improve our SNR.

Israel, Hamas, the World Central Kitchen - Where is Jesus when we need Him?

Benjamin Netanyahu rightfully labels the Hamas assault on Israeli civilians on October 7, 2023 as evil. Unfortunately, in the attack on the relief convoy on April 1, 2024 the IDF has fallen for the demonic temptation to imitate the level of depravity that they experienced. As a military tactic to deter other aid workers from helping the Palestinian civilians who are on the verge of starvation, it may succeed. But although Gaza civilians might disown Hamas to get food, they will more likely hate Israel even more for stooping to such depths of immorality.

 Perspectives:

•      Hamas comes from the Islamic perspective under which the Islamic empire was first established, that violence in defense of, or to advance the faith is justified. That goes back to the sixth century after Christ. The crusades of the tenth and eleventh centuries shared the same perspective, that victory in battle would demonstrate who had the true understanding of God. Hamas apparently sees kidnapping and murder of civilians, and using the cover of aid workers to conceal their whereabouts and activities, or as human shields as just part of war.

•      It appears that Israel has a perspective from the reign of King David, approximately one thousand years before Christ, seeing the Palestinians as indistinguishable from the Philistines of three thousand years ago. In this paradigm, military force was used by David to complete the charge given to Joshua to purge the land of pagan idolaters.

•      The modern world’s perspective is of two ethnic groups fighting for the same land, with varying degrees of ethical and moral constraints, or lack thereof. Why can’t they get along, find a compromise they can live with? In fighting a war, the Geneva convention is cited, but ignored when military necessity dictates.

•      Jesus’ perspective was articulated in the Sermon on the Mount. To say that His view has been rejected by the world is to implicitly admit that both Israel and Hamas have the world’s perspective thoroughly embedded in theirs. How does Jesus view this situation in the present? Most likely, He grieves that people on all sides of the conflict use His revelation and twist it to justify worldly and depraved actions, distorting His Word to advance their own self interest instead of building His kingdom.

 Until Jesus returns as promised, He is not going to sovereignly end the conflict, but only plead with us through His Word and His Spirit. Instead of pleading with Him to intervene, we need to receive what He has already given us; we need to be about His parting words, the Great Commission (Matthew 24:14; 28:19-20) bringing it to completion.

War in the heavenlies, Peace on Earth - Easter?

 Daniel 10:13 & 20-21, and 11:1, allude to conflict between spiritual beings in heavenly realms, and the wars described next that are the earthly component of these battles in other dimensions. This passage gives us a hint that gruesome conflicts in Ukraine and Gaza are neither new nor inexplicable.   Why does war continue? Why does God not sovereignly end these conflicts?

•      Perhaps because although Jesus did His part on the cross to bring peace on earth, He told us to take the good news to every nation. (Matthew 28:19-20) We humans have not yet completed the Great Commission. Simply put, the ball is in our court.

•      Another thought is that God uses earthly trials to test and refine His people. Our sins are forgiven and our eternal home secured when we receive Christ, but His work in shaping us takes place when we must deal with adversity. Our moral character and our trust in Him become aligned with His plan for us as we suffer as a result of sin (our own sin or those of others).

•      Another possibility is that God is using His grand plan and eternal events to visibly demonstrate the superiority of His nature and character for all to see. For Satan (née Lucifer) and those who follow him, it is a convincing proof that sacrificial love is a better paradigm for existence than self-love. For those who have allegiance to God, this shows us how He manifests His nature and character. The incarnation, death, and resurrection of the Son of God to rescue fallen humans is inextricably the manifestation of His very essence, so that we can learn to emulate Him. And it shows the fundamental, eternal emptiness of Satan’s approach.

 How and why the light-bringer (Lucifer) became Satan (the accuser) is a mystery. The life of God, in Christ, brings light to men. (John 1:4) This suggests that originally Lucifer had a calling to participate (somehow) in bringing God’s life to humankind. But the accusatory nature of his current behavior shows that instead of an approach of ‘you made a mistake here, this is how to make it right’, Satan chose the path of saying ‘you are a bad person, guilty before a holy God’. (Job 1:9-11; 2:4-5).

 The reason for Satan’s rebellion is really irrelevant to us, except for the temptation for us to follow his footsteps. It’s not just that Satan lies to deceive people into rebelling against God, but that he cleverly and carefully tailors the lies to appeal to our human nature, and we buy into them and hold onto them even when God reveals Truth to us. Jesus emptied Himself to take on the form of man and show us the path to eternal life, not just by teaching and preaching, but by living and dying. The  consequences of that life choice are eternal life and peace, as opposed to endless self-serving battles to get what we think is rightfully ours. Zoe (God’s eternal life) trumps bios (biological life) just as eternity trumps time. 

Although war continues now, one day the essence of Jesus’ resurrection will bring peace, not just to our soul, but ultimately to the heavenly realms and to our planet. It is sad that although Israel and Russia have vastly different value systems, they have this in common: both have rejected Jesus Christ as Lord, and will reap the fruit of choosing the world’s ways.

Theology: Worship, Physics, and Holiness

Is the essence of worship seeking an emotional response, or. saying what is right about God, life, the universe, etc. recognizing reality. Singing psalms goes back to the time of David (and David himself), but the content of the words is the worship. Voices and instruments are really tools or means. Recognizing that the uncreated creator of all things, the essence of existence, the perfectly holy and uncompromising love incarnate is a Father, is worship.

Theology should be the queen of philosophy and the sciences, because to have a correct understanding of God is foundational to understanding cause and effect. This eliminates magic from the operation of the universe, understanding how spiritual causation is different from magic, and why miracles from God aren’t magic, by putting everything in context. We need to understand

•      How spiritual understanding relates to human reasoning, since God’s ways are above our ways;

•      How to discern God’s voice from our own mind and from the evil one’s voice.

Theology starts with foundational truths about God’s nature and character, and what Jesus did for us on the cross. All the rest of nature, humankind, knowledge & reason, evidence & experience, values & virtue flow from this foundation like an artesian well. This foundation is not theology about God’s nature and character, but the reality of His essence, His essential existence. Theology is the instrument, the channel, by which we can see and understand Him, and thereby understand these other derivative things like nature, humankind, knowledge and reason, evidence and experience, values, and virtue. Doing theology is a form of worship.

An example from the realm of physics. How do laws and behaviors of physics flow from God’s nature and character? There are at least three broad categories of behavior in physics. Simple laws like universal gravitation, electromagnetic field theory, and nuclear strong and weak forces; complex behaviors that are understood by complexity theory in various realms as the result of the interactions of a very large number of things, deterministically; and chaotic behavior such as the random motion of molecules in a gas, that are understood and modeled in aggregate such as ideal gas law, the second law of thermodynamics, and so on.

From our perspective, we cannot derive these from God’s nature, but we can learn from them about Him. The basic, large-scale universality of existence is simple and straightforward, and God is at His core straightforward: He is holy and He loves. But there is also implicit complexity in Him, that is structured but not simple, as different parts of existence interact according to seemingly simple law at a lower level: DNA that defines our biological life; the human brain that is able to reason, control our body, and is conscious. And finally, there are limits to this structured complexity at the nanoscopic level, in which 6.023 x10²³ atoms bounce off of or interact with each other, the best of which we can do is describe by statistical averages. Heisenberg’s uncertainty principle describes how things at the atomic level are unknowable below a certain level. Thus, God allows not everything to be deterministic. Otherwise, we would be robots and the universe would not achieve His ultimate goal (described below).

I am certain there are similar insights to be gleaned from other fields of study. We can learn about God from all of them, because He is the fountainhead of all existence. The core of our faith is not ultimately justified by these studies, because we are limited and fallen creatures and make mistakes in our process of reasoning, analysis, experimentation, both in the sciences and in theology. God has given us freedom to learn about Him and His creation.

A peaceful, just, and prosperous society is based on shared values of civil order, respect for laws, justice, work, and the dignity of others, all in appropriate relationship. The so-called seven deadly sins, for example, degrade society but foremost they make us less like God. Whether a degraded society becomes anarchy in the constant turmoil of gang warfare, or a dictatorship in which every action is controlled by an unforgiving ruler and judge, neither is the rich social fabric the founding fathers had a glimpse of because of their understanding of God. God is at peace with Himself because all aspects of His nature and character are in appropriate balance and relationship. We would likewise have inner peace if we were able to put all aspects of our nature thusly.

God created the universe with a vision that He tries to communicate to us. Humans have imagined fictional universes such as those of Star Wars, Harry Potter, Middle Earth, Narnia, Dr. Who, and Star Trek. But God’s universe is real. The diverse kinds of things that can happen reflect the depth and complexity of His essence. There is space for love in many forms, and also space for self, and space for either of these to go astray. There is space for relationships and society, group activity, leadership and loyalty, betrayal and exploitation. There is space for good and bad ideas, logic, philosophy, truth and lies.

Where does holiness fit in all this? Holiness is for a positive purpose, to set apart for a divine commission with glory and blessing. We learn about God from direct contact with Him, but also by seeing cause and effect and the results of obeying or disobeying Him. Holiness in God is partly understood as being so devoted to what is good, right, and just that He does not want any resources to go towards its opposites, and dedicates the best of the best to be used for good, righteous, and just ends. In Leviticus He told Moses that the Israelites should do the same.

Why are certain animals identified as clean or unclean in Leviticus? Only animals that chew the cud and have cloven hoofs are clean. (Leviticus 11:3-7)   What does this mean? Perhaps there is symbolism if we interpret chewing the cud as a type of meditating on or studying God’s word. Cows chew their cud because it aids in digestion, and digesting God’s word requires time, focus, and thought. What is the significance of cloven hooves? Perhaps these are a crude representation of the stigmata. We are cleansed by the blood of Christ, which is symbolized clearly by the Passover Lamb’s blood being sprinkled on the doorway.  (Exodus 12:7,22-23) But Jesus’ body is also symbolically represented in the Holy Communion celebration by the bread, as Jesus said, just before He was crucified. (Luke 22:19) So eating clean animals symbolizes a combination of both digesting the Word of God by meditating on it, and partaking vicariously in the crucifixion of Christ, identifying with His pierced hands and feet.

In a sense the laws of physics exhibit this devotion of resources to an end. In gravitation, electromagnetic forces, strong and weak nuclear forces, there are mechanisms that are straightforward and efficient. But, when Jesus was on the earth, He did not shun things we might think superfluous, like parties and celebrations, but He turned them to the glory of God, the revelation of His nature and character.

God so wants the things He has created to be employed for the good for which He created them that He grieves when they are used for lesser purposes. There was a hint of that in Judas complaint about Jesus’ anointing - he said the money would have been better used to give to the poor (although he really just wanted to pilfer from the moneybox).  (Matthew 26:9, Mark 14:5, John 12:5) But Judas did not recognize Jesus as who He really was, or that the Presence of the essence of God is of more value than good works. The real tragedy was that Judas did not want to use His life for the Lord’s good purposes. He lacked understanding of God.

Using God’s creation for other than God’s intended purpose is like taking part of God Himself and turning it against His essential core. Perhaps this is why some of the punishments in the Pentateuch for disobedience seem to us severe. God showed Himself, as close as He could without killing those near Him, and they wanted to pervert His nature, His essence, into something else. God did not create this universe for it to be a place of self-centeredness and selfishness, but rather a place of agape, self-sacrificial love, self-giving for the sake of another. Is He selfish for wanting this for His creation, when it would not exist apart from His exercising these traits? Most likely, since the holy Trinity the exchange of love, devotion, and self-giving is so wonderful, He wanted (wants) to share and create more of it. But it only exists when it is freely chosen, in the presence of real alternatives.

We come back to worship in recognizing that God created all of this – the universe and humankind – to create more opportunities to display this essential characteristic - agape in action. Ultimately, worship occurs when we recognize God’s nature and character in thought, word, and deed, in our lives, in human relationship, and in all of creation.

Book Review: The Risk of Education - Discovering Our Ultimate Destiny, by Luigi Giussani

Luigi Giussani’s harsh critique of modern secular education: it produces adults who are not equipped to deal with conflicting value systems and evaluate and apply ultimate values to their own lives. This leaves them either  (1) uncommitted to any particular paradigm, (2) rebelling against existing value systems, or (3) resigning themselves to the status quo. This results from not having been properly prepared to make wise decisions in this realm of life. The public schools, in particular, teach about ideas, but do not challenge students to learn how to evaluate them. Predating the explosion of online and virtual learning by a few decades (written in 1995), Giussani points out that a student listening to a lecture that is like a videotape, i.e. without back and forth interaction with the teacher, will not learn how to evaluate claims and counterclaims or even learn anything beyond rote facts.

Giussani proposes a different paradigm, so that students (adolescents) will mature into fully functioning adults. Education is an introduction to reality, and we do not affirm reality unless we affirm its meaning. This meaning is ultimately based on absolutes, but the adolescent must decides which ones: is tradition to be embraced without question, or accepted after a period of questioning and the basis of tradition understood, or is tradition rejected based on the student’s freedom? The teacher’s role is to guide the student through the process. The adolescent will best learn to use tools with which to process these options - competing sets of value systems -  in concert with a mentor who advises and encourages. Otherwise skepticism and cynicism are likely to be the student’s destination. The student needs personal experience  as the  ultimate verification methodology leading to true conviction about ultimate values. 

The crisis of Christian education is that Christianity is not ultimately about tradition, theology, church activities, or creeds; Jesus is a Person, the Son of God. He interjects Himself into peoples’ lives with an encounter. When the adolescent or young adult encounters Christ, how will he or she respond? The problem of faith is that the things that are taught lack verifiability, until we meet Christ. We can read the Church fathers, study apologetics, engage in good works, but that does not verify the truth of Christianity. That is the crisis! It is the personal interaction with the Savior, the Truth incarnate, that verifies Christianity. The educator’s goal is therefore to prepare the student to dialog openly and honestly with the other, that is, with Christ. 

The final chapter is frankly hard to understand, as the author attempts to deal with epistemology. The role of experience, tradition, community, and authority are to be woven together into the fabric of faith. How this is to happen is the educator’s challenge.

Christmas Seriously - How does the Nativity of Jesus affect our daily lives?

We take so much of the nativity story for granted that we often don’t catch the subtleties of specific events that connect directly to the entire Biblical narrative, and then fail to see their implication for our own lives. Consider the various parts of the Christmas story that are linked to the intersection of God’s sovereignty with humankind through history.

• Zachariah and Elizabeth conceived and bore a son miraculously in their old age, which was announced by a messenger from God. (Luke 1:5-25) This paralleled the announcement to and miraculous conception and birth of Isaac by Abraham and Sarah. (Genesis 18:1-15; 21:1-7) God brings life, even when nature says it’s impossible.
• Zechariah prophesied that the coming one would raise up a horn of salvation, so that God’s people could serve Him in holiness and righteousness. (Luke 1:68-75)  Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life. (John 14:6)
• Zachariah's prophesy spoke specifically to protecting God’s people from their enemies (Luke 1:71 & 74) When Jesus spoke that He was the door of the sheep he focused on protecting His sheep as  well as guiding them. (John 10:7 & 9)
• Jesus is the lamb slain from the foundation of the world. (Revelation 13:8) What more appropriate place for the Lamb of God to be born than a stable, and laid in a manger? (Luke 2:7) God works in unexpected and humble ways and places, but always true to His nature and character. 
• Jesus said “I am the good shepherd.” (John 10:11 & 14) The scribes and priests in answering Herod’s question about Jesus’ birthplace quoted the prophet who said the ruler to come would shepherd God’s people. (Matthew 2:6, quoting Micah 5:2) Who better to be among the first to see and recognize Him than other shepherds, on the night of his birth? (Luke 2:8-17) Jesus shows us how to live right, and shepherds us to do so. He is the Good Shepherd.
• Jesus was wrapped in swaddling cloths, which was a sign to the shepherds. (Luke 2:12) When Lazarus came out of the tomb he was wrapped in cloths and napkins, but he had been raised from the dead. (Luke 11:44) Jesus is the resurrection and the life. (John 11:25)
• Jesus said “I am the bread of life.”  (John 6:35, 48, 51)  He was born in the village of Bethlehem, which translated from Hebrew is the house of bread. Jesus is, and will provide both earthly and spiritual sustenance.
• Micah had prophesied that Messiah would be born in Bethlehem. (Micah 5:2) Mary lived in Nazareth. (Matthew 1:26) In order to get Mary to Bethlehem for Jesus’ birth, God arranged for a census of the entire Roman Empire to require everyone to return to his ancestral home to be taxed. Joseph and Mary had to go to Bethlehem because he was of the house and lineage of David. (Luke 2:1-4) God will organize events in the whole world in order to accomplish His purposes.
• Wise men (magi) came from the east to worship Him. (Matthew 2:1-12) Jesus later contrasted His generation  to the Queen of the South who came to hear the wisdom of Solomon. (Matthew 12:42, Luke 11:31) The magi came to worship because they were wise. But Jesus was greater than Solomon. The wise men knew it, presumably because they knew the prophecies. Divine visitation transcends human wisdom. The magi knew that, too.
• The magi asked Herod, “where is the one who is born King of the Jews?” (Matthew 2:2) The genealogy of  Joseph and Mary is delineated in Matthew 1 and Luke 3. Generations of natural descendants of David had not produced one born king of the Jews. But Jesus’ title as king of the Jews is derived from Him being the son of God. Therefore, Jesus is the true vine. (John 15:1 & 5) He is King of Kings and Lord of Lords. 
• A star guided the magi to find Jesus. (Matthew 2:2, 9-10)  Whether this was a supernatural occurrence or a providential sign is a secondary issue.  Zechariah prophesied that John the Baptist would prepare the way for the sunrise from on high. (Luke 1:78) Jesus lights everyone’s path, showing the way to Him if we follow His light.  Jesus is the light of the world. (John 1:9, 8:12; 10:5)
• Herod killed a large number of children to try to get rid of Jesus. (Luke 2:16-18) This is reminiscent of Pharaoh’s attempt to eliminate Moses with the Hebrew newborn males. (Exodus 1:16-22) Although Herod the Great died shortly after this event, his son had the opportunity to judge Jesus. (Luke 23:6-12) Curiously, he did not pass judgment on Jesus, but sent Him back to Pilate, who on behalf of the Roman Empire had Jesus killed.  Evil will try to destroy good, but God will defeat it. God directed Joseph to protect Jesus, and rendered justice to Herod. God protects His people from evil. 

What is the point? The recorded details of Jesus birth are intimately tied to various aspects of God’s work with the Jews, and to the life, ministry, and the redemption of mankind achieved by Jesus. They are not incidental to the story. When we celebrate the nativity, we are (or should be) joyous to celebrate all of the dimensions of God’s interactions with humankind. We can’t ultimately resolve the tension between God’s foreknowledge and our free will, accepting that both are partial perspectives on a greater reality that we don’t understand. But what we see in these threads of spiritual truth is that God’s sovereign will will be accomplished in all of the facets of life which come into contact with it throughout time and human history. God’s plan of redemption and Jesus’ incarnation demonstrates the interaction of these threads with human history. The key question for us is how is God’s sovereignty intersecting our personal lives in these dimensions, and do we recognize it, outside of the Bible’s Christmas narrative?

• God brings life supernaturally.
• Jesus is the resurrection and the life.
• Jesus is the Good Shepherd.
• Jesus is the light of the world.
• Jesus protects His people from evil. 
• God works in unexpected and humble ways and places, always true to His nature and character. 
• Jesus is the Bread of Life.
• God will organize events in the whole world in order to accomplish His purposes. 
• Wise men recognize that God’s presence transcends human wisdom.
• Jesus Christ is rightfully King of Kings and Lord of Lords. 

The real challenge of Christmas is how we will respond to the intersection of these threads of God’s sovereignty with our own lives.