MINISTRY NOTES

Week of February 7, 2010

Hi Everyone,

God gave Mankind the Alphabet

The following is an article about how God gave us the alphabet in 1440 BC when God gave Moses the Ten Commandments. God told Abraham (Abram) in Genesis 12:3 (NKJV) "…in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed". Many Christians correctly consider that God was talking about Jesus. However long before Jesus walked the earth, God blessed all the people of the earth by introducing the alphabet through Moses. God used a new book "The Writing of God" which has a lot of archeological and scientific stuff in it, to make me aware of how God blessed us with the alphabet. The only fact that most scientists seem to agree upon is that the use of the alphabet started between 1500-1400 BC. Every thing we know is communicated by use of the alphabet, including numbers. Originally the alphabet was used for numbers and is still used that way with the original alphabet, the Hebrew alphabet. We have a remnant of this practice with what we call Roman Numerals, like XVIII is 18. If you consider any education area like Law, Medicine, History, Science, etc. and then imagine how much we would know without the alphabet, you might realize how important the introduction of the alphabet was to mankind. This email and your Bible would not be possible without the alphabet. Prior to the alphabet there were some types of pictorial writing, like hieroglyph and cuneiform, which Moses would have known, being educated in the Egyptian royal household. These old writing systems were clumsy and often involved hundreds of symbols compared to 20-30 in most alphabets.

Back in 1987 after feeling accomplished about learning Greek the previous school year, I was on an outdoor track at school and God said to me, "Now I want you to learn My language". God helped me with the Holy Spirit to know instantly that He was talking about Hebrew but today I understand more fully why God called it "My language". As I continue to learn more, it seems like I am just beginning to learn, I often feel like I am still a baby Christian or maybe a toddler. In the Hebrew text we used in school, I saw the association between the Hebrew letters and Greek and even English but I didn't realize then, that Hebrew was the first alphabet. Even the English word "alphabet" comes from the first 2 Greek letters "Alpha" "Beta" which come from the first 2 Hebrew letters "Aleph" "Beit". By contrast, Korean people who trace their history back to 2333 BC only developed their Korean alphabet in 1446 AD, which enabled them to be free from the clumsy Chinese characters.

In 1450/40 BC (see 1 Kings 6:1 to verify the date) God gave Moses the 10 Commandments written by God (Exodus 32:16) in Hebrew on the Mountain of God in Midian where Moses saw the burning bush (Exodus 3:1-4) and where God told Moses to return with the Israelites from Egypt (Exodus 3:11-12) to "worship God". Yes, it is possible that Moses created the alphabet and taught God how to write it. More likely the 40 days Moses spent with God on the mountain may be where Moses learned the alphabet from God and we know that during the next 40 years Moses is credited with writing the Torah or the first 5 books of the Bible, Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy. Only Genesis and the first part of Exodus would have been from oral tradition or directly communicated from God. Someone else would have written the last few verses of Deuteronomy, as it records Moses death. Also during the 40 years of wandering, apparently Moses was teaching the children of Israel how to read and write. Because in Deuteronomy 27: 1-4 (NIV), we discover that Moses and the elders of Israel commanded the people of Israel to obey all the commandments and to use large stones covered with plaster and "Write on them all the words of this law…" after they crossed the Jordan. Obviously if they told them to write the words of the Law, they knew how to read and write. Probably they normally used papyrus or skins as a writing surface, which would explain why we don't have copies today, as they deteriorate over the centuries. Writing on stones covered with plaster is easier than carving stones.

Understanding that God originated the alphabet with the Ten Commandments, doesn't explain how it spread to the rest of the world. Remember the Philistines who were frequently giving the Israelites a hard time in the Bible and even ruled them (Judges 13:1) at times? They are also called Sea People as they are ancestors of the Greeks and through their conquest were possibly able to spread the alphabet to the Phoenicians. Although this may appear to be a logical explanation, Eupolemus, (also mentioned in 1Maccabees 8:17) a Jewish historian is the most credible source who states in 158/7 BC that Moses "first wrote the laws for the Jews and then taught the alphabet to the Jews who passed it on to the Phoenicians who passed it on to the Greeks". As men and women of God it is easy to see from scripture that God originated the alphabet and the rest of the world will know it when the original stone tablets of the Ten Commandments that God wrote on "both sides" are recovered (Exodus 32:15-16).

Marriage Workshop Moment

To refresh what you have learned in our Workshop or entice you to experience our Workshop

"Remember, all marriages can be better, if you use what you learned."

There is a decrease in sensuality after marriage. Sensuality is like touching, hugging, snuggling, holding hands, light kissing, etc.. Sensuality can be some of what happens on your weekly date night. If you take a walk, hold hands. Encourage habits like hugging and kissing when leaving and coming home.

A kids idea when it is okay to kiss: Pam age 7 "When they are rich" Curt age 7 "The law says 18, so I would want to mess with that."

If you are watching TV together, a little cuddling is good. Communicate your desires and check what your partner likes. People change. Some people know how to please their pets better than they do their spouse, try asking. Protect your sensual time together by having a weekly couples meeting.

The Better Half "When your partner won't support your efforts to make your marriage better" Without your spouse's support to improve your marriage, you can still pray daily for God's will to be done in each of your lives and your marriage ("all things are possible with God", Mark 10:27 NIV). If you take a walk, hold hands. Encourage habits like hugging and kissing when leaving and coming home. If you are watching TV together, a little cuddling is good. Communicate your desires and check what your partner likes. People change. Some people know how to please their pets better than they do their spouse, try asking. Even the most selfish, self-center spouse will respond to what they like. Remember Jesus said, "Treat others the same way you want them to treat you." (Luke 6:31 NAS)

A Psalm for reflection "You save those who are not proud. But you make humble those who are proud." Psalm 18:27 (ICB)

Understanding the Message: What I share in the message is what I believe God wants me to share. All the direct quotes from God are highlighted in royal purple. Of course the words of Jesus are in red. Rather than follow some made up doctrine, remember that Jesus said that every thing He said (Jn 12:49) and everything He did (Jn 14:31) comes from God. All teachings and all opinions should be supported by what we learn from God or Jesus (see the scripture referred to in the footnote).

A Jesus Teaching:

Misguided Humility

In less than two months (April 4, 2010), many Christians will remember the day Jesus rose from the dead which is called Easter in English. In preparation for remembering the events of Easter, many Christians follow religious customs of preparations involving a period of fasting and repenting. These religious traditions have been around for over 1600 years and the period, which is associated with the 40 days Jesus spent in fasting, is often called Lent. Fasting is good and Jesus advocated fasting when Jesus said, "When you fast…" not "if" you fast1. He went on to encourage people who are fasting to not draw attention to themselves by looking or acting like they are fasting. If you are married, try fasting without your wife knowing. People who are trying to follow religious traditions by giving up something for Lent are sometimes inclined to tell what they are giving up. The purposing of fasting is to humble your self before God and focus on God, not to brag about what you are doing or to encourage pity. When people use fasting to show off or encourage people to feel sorry for them, Jesus says, "that is the only reward they will ever get"1(TLB). Being humble is not doing something to impress others. When you focus on God completely, you will discover you are putting aside your own desires and convenience including all the pleasures from eating. Fasting is a way of saying "no" to things you want, forgetting "about yourself"(CEV), enabling you to focus completely on God2.

Yes, many are thinking how they focus more on themselves and their feelings of hunger and weakness when they fast. Men's traditions like Lent have good intentions but only focusing this way on God one time a year may not be all that Jesus meant with the words "when you fast…"1. How often should you fast? Let God guide you just like He guided Jesus to fast over 1900 years ago by leading Him by the "Spirit"3. Feelings of hunger and weakness when fasting can be mental. Yes, Jesus felt hungry after 40 days of fasting and some people will say the initial feeling of hunger goes away after the first three days. In truth, if we are focusing on God, we may not feel hunger from the beginning until near the end of the fast period, if it is a long time. I have read many opinions about weakness when fasting. Weakness may be mental just like hunger. God tells me when to run and when to fast. At times they coincide. I remember the first time they coincided and I really wanted to wimp out of running but I ran in obedience to God and discovered I could run a few miles just as quickly when fasting as when I was not fasting. I found out later that even if you have a low amount of body fat, your body still has enough fat to use for energy when running. Yes, you do need to still drink water and there is no indication in scripture that Jesus went without water for 40 days. One thing that might help you, if God tells you to fast, is that God considers the day starts in the "evening"4,so remember to ask God the time of day He wants you to start. Also, fasting does not help you lose weight. We fast to humble ourselves before God by being obedient and focusing on God not misguided reasons like to lose weight, or show off or get pity.

Another aspect on preparation is repenting. One of the first things Jesus encouraged in His ministry was to "repent"5 or "…turn from sin and turn to God…" (TLB) or "…Change your hearts and lives…" (ICB). Just like in fasting, repenting should not be just a once a year focus. The ideal thing is to seek forgiveness immediately when we sin. Yes, that could take the fun out of sinning. It is humbling to admit you are wrong and ask for forgiveness.

Jesus tells us if anyone wants to follow Him he "… must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me" (NIV)2. When you follow Jesus you will discover that He will lead you to God. His main focus and emphasis through out His ministry was to proclaim "…the good news of the kingdom of God…"6. Some Christians are misguided by the words "…take up his cross…" and remember the suffering Jesus went through prior to his execution. Probably this expression can be best understood by God's words complimenting Christians who "…did not love their lives so much that they were afraid of death"7. Apparently there are some misguided Christians who view repentance as penitence and think they have to suffer for their sins or be punished. Jesus did not view going the cross as a desire to suffer or punishment. He did it out of obedience to God and in reality He asked to get out of doing it three times8. In the mental health field punishing one's self and inflicting pain on one's self is sometimes called masochism. Apparently some misguided Christians think they are more holy if the punish themselves or subject themselves to pain. Some even view fasting as punishment. When Jesus refers to Himself as "humble" it might be best understood when He encourages us to be "humble" like a little child9.

Let's pray:

"God help us to focus on You when we fast and help us to turn away from all our sins. Help us live our lives with humility and resist the temptation to promote our selves. Guide us when You want us to fast and when we need to repent. Thank You for helping us to forgive others enabling You to forgive us when we repent. Let our love, dedication and obedience to You be our only private source of pride. Thank You in Jesus name, amen."

1. Matthew 6:16-18

2. Luke 9:23

3. Matthew 4:1-11

4. Genesis 1:5

5. Matthew 4:17 (NIV)

6. Luke 4:43

7. Revelations 12:11(ICB)

8. Matthew 26:44

9. Matthew 11:29; 18:4