Jim Folk's Blog

Last week in the sermon I gave evidence for the reliability of the Bible, focusing mainly on manuscript evidence for the New Testament. Both in the date between the events and when the manuscripts are dated, and in the number of manuscripts we have, the Bible is the most well documented ancient text when compared with other ancient texts from sources our society would deem as historical. Even skeptical and atheist scholars admit this fact.

Another way the Bible is often confirmed as reliable is through archaeology. Here are three finds that confirm evidence for the Bible as both historical and truthful:

It always intruiges me when people in education debate the value of curving grades. I recently read a story of a school that proposed giving nothing lower than a 40 percent, to allow students--who would have failed with a few consecutive zeros-- a fighting chance to pass the semester!

As a former high school teacher I used to curve grades a lot- one year I curved an Algebra II exam about 30 points because no one had time to finish the test! I must admit I felt sorry for the students.

This week, four people from our local fellowship in Ocala will be traveling to San Estanislao, Paraguay for a short term mission with E3 Partners ministry. We will be assisting local churches in discipleship and evangelism, in order to plant a new church.

So why is it important for Americans to travel all the way to a foreign country and share the gospel in person? Aside from simply being obedient to the Lord's command to go into all the world (Matthew 28:19-20), a couple of ideas come to mind...

I think it was Mark Twain who said, "When I was 14 I thought my dad was the dumbest man around. When I turned 21 I realized how much he had learned in 7 years."

Well, What I wish I had known entering college! Here are 3 books that I think every Christian teenager should read upon entering any university:

1. Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis. This is one of my personal favorites. It lays out very simply and yet profoundly the intellectual defense behind a Christian worldview. Lewis is a master at taking complex philosophical concepts and using everyday analogies to illustrate the coherence of the Christian view versus the absurdity of an atheistic worldview. My advice- read this book many times!

Our president recently reversed the ban on embryonic stem cell research, saying in effect, that we should not be forced to choose between science and ideology. But is this really a helpful or logical distinction? Are scientists collecting stem cells somehow exempt from ideological assumptions and opinions?

I love reading Bible stoiries to my kids. We have three or four Children's Bibles to choose from. Often the kids ask to read the same stories over and over. One favorite is Jonah- maybe it's something about the ocean and the big fish.

Well, one night we are reading and we come to the end of Jonah's story and the Children's Bible concludes with, "And Jonah went and preached to Nineveh. The Ninevites repented. And God was pleased that Jonah obeyed."

What? God was pleased that Jonah obeyed? This is simplistic moralism! This is a complete misrepresentation of the end of Jonah! In the end, Jonah did obey God and preach to the Ninevites, and they repented. Jonah basically tells God, "I told you so".

While shopping recently I came across an "I pod emergency charger". A neat little gizmo that charges your I pod from some batteries, in case you are ever caught in a place where you don't have your AC adapter or your car charger.

This got me thinking..."What exactly qualifies as an Ipod emergency?" I guess the marketers behind this device want you to realize that if you are without your precious music for more than a few minutes, then you won't be able to survive. Now, I must admit, I have an Ipod. I download podcasts (especially sermons), and I like to take the Ipod in the car on trips. But I must draw the line at calling anything an "Ipod emergency"!

I was recently challenged at a men's retreat to "eat more Bible" for breakfast. Meaning- to read God's word daily to nourish my soul. Satan wants to eat your faith for breakfast- so you have to battle back with the word of God- which is the sword of the Spirit.

So- after surveying different reading plans, I came up with my own- which allows you to read through the whole Bible in a year with no more than 5 chapters per day.

Actually- this program allows you to read through ther gospels four times, the rest of the New Testament twice, Psalms and Proverbs twice, and the rest of the Old Testament once. So- if it is too much for you, just go slow and complete it in two years.

I hope you find this helpful and profitable to your soul.

In this season of financial turmoil and election fever, I'm often wondering, who can I trust? It seems the more I look into who is running for office, the more reason I have to think that no candidate is too high on the "trust" factor. (Although I am going to vote)

I've learned that I can't trust the like of Lehman Brothers, AIG, or other big firms who got greedy and left investors hanging.

These times call for radical trust. As a Christian, I continually realize I have to go back to trusting in God alone- no matter what the circumstances.

Psalm 20:7 says, "Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the LORD our God."

In Mark 8:34 Jesus tells his disciples, and anyone else who would follow to "deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me." What Jesus is referring to is the path of suffering and crucifixion he would endure.

Self-denial can be a powerful religious discipline. But here Jesus is not talking about self-denial for its own sake. He is talking about making him the center of our lives instead our ourselves. He wants us to put our selfish nature aside and embrace his ways.

One area in which I am constantly reminded to deny myself is in parenting. I have two daughters, and often when I come home from work I'd like to sort the mail, read the newspaper, or just sit down and relax. I would like some "me" time.