Names - An Unexpected Argument for the Validity of the New Testament

  I just read this in a book called Why Believe? by Neil Shenvi and it is the first time I heard this argument and I'd like to share it with you. It isn't the best argument for the validity of scripture but it is just "piling on" which since this isn't football, it is allowed and encouraged. 

 Most common boy names 1800's -

 John, William, James, George, Charles, Frank, Joseph, Robert, Henry, Edward, Thomas, Harry, Walter, Arthur, Fred, Albert

  Most common girl names 1800's -

  Mary, Anna, Margaret, Elizabeth, Emma, Helen, Florence, Minnie, Ethel, Bertha, Clara, Alice, Annie, Bessie, Ida, Grace

   Most common boy names 2000's -

 Jacob, Michael, Joshua, Matthew, Daniel, Christopher, Andrew, Ethan, Joseph, William, Anthony, David, Alexander, Nicholas, Tyler, Ryan

    Most common girl names 2000's - 

  Emily, Madison, Emma, Olivia, Hannah, Abigail, Isabella, Samantha, Elizabeth, Ashley, Alexis, Sarah, Sophia, Alyssa, Grace, Ava

                  Notice how different today's names are from 200 years ago? Only 2 or 3 overlap out of the top 16. The top 5 boys names of 2023 aren't even found in this list - Noah, Liam, Elijah, Oliver, Lucas. Imagine in 2024 you were writing a fictional story that occured in the 1800's and you had to come up with character names. Would you even consider trying to use timely names? Maybe. If you did, where would you come up with them? Probably the internet like I did.

                 Critics of the Bible who say that the Bible is a bunch of legends written down hundreds of years afterwards might have a similar problem with names. If these were stories written 200 years later, what names might be used to be historically accurate? Would they even consider it? They didn't have the internet. You would expect a lot of names that weren't common in 1st century Palestine.

               Onomastics -  the study of the history and origin of names - strongly supports the reliability of the gospels. A few decades ago, historian Tal Ilan, put together a list of hundreds of proper names drawn from burial boxes of Jews born during the times of Jesus. The most common name for males was Simon and for females, Mary. How does that jive with the gospels? Simon and Mary are far and away the most common names in the gospels and Acts. The name Joseph occurs 8% of the time, John 6.4%, Ananias occurs 4% of the time in the New Testament. If you compare that to the Jewish equivalent of tombstone names in that same time period, you get Joseph at 10%, John at 5.7%, and Ananias once again at 4%. Mary and Salome, the top 2 New Testament names were #1 and #2 in ossuaries. Mary occurs 35% of female names in the gospels and Acts while Salome is at 6%. In Jewish "cemeteries" at that time, Mary was 25% and Salome at 23%.

     "It seems highly unlikely that the four authors of the gospels would have had the foresight, let alone the ability, to write fictional narratives that so accurately, yet subtly reflect their historical settings" *.The best explanation of this data is that the writings were done in the time period in which they happened.

    *Neil Shenvi pg.45 , Why Believe?

        

Stop Sinning!

 "In your struggle against sin, you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding blood." 

                                                                               Heb. 12:4

  " I'm only human"

  "I come from a dysfunctional family"

  " Please be patient with me, God's not finished with me yet"

  "It's hereditary"

   "I was born like this"

  "It's part of my personality"

  "Stop judging me"

  "You should see how far I've come"

  "You sin too"

  "God's grace is sufficient"

   "Everyone does it"

   "There are a lot of worse sins. It's not the unforgivable sin."

        What's your go to when you sin? Jesus said, "If your right hand causes you to sin cut it off", or "If your eye causes you to sin pluck it out". Jesus took sin seriously. Do you? Jesus had to die because of sin and for us to continue  to choose to sin, if nothing else, shows we are not on the same page as Him. Jesus tells the woman caught in adultery to go and sin no more and that was even before the indwelling of the Holy Spirit that gives us the power to say "no" to sin.

      If an angel came to you one night and said, "The next time you look at pornography your eye will fall out", I think you would never look at it again. If he told you, "The next time you gossip your tongue will shrivel up", I think you would get rid of your telephone.

      Have you struggled against sin to the point of shedding blood? I don't think so.

  

Being Filled With The Spirit

     "...understand what the Lord's will is. Do not get drunk on wine which leads to debauchery. Instead be filled with the Spirit."                                             Eph. 5:17,18

          Do you ever wonder what God's will for your life is? Here Paul makes it very clear - God's will for your life is to be filled with the Holy Spirit.

             What does that mean?

        Growing up in Church I heard the illustration of a jar filled with rocks getting water poured into it. The rocks were sin and the more rocks we took out, the more Holy Spirit could come in. The problem with that is that at salvation we don't get part of the Spirit, we get all of Him. According to Romans 8 Paul says you either have the Spirit (saved) or you don't (unsaved). As we are regenerated and receive the "seed" of God in us, just like Mary when she said,"may it be done unto me as you have said", we can't be partially pregnant - it's all or nothing.

         A better analogy might be a flask of perfume. When you take the cork off the top, eventually the fragrance would fill the whole room. Imagine then us receiving the Holy Spirit into our lives like a flask of perfume with a stopper on it. Our daily job is to pop that cork and let Him fill every nook and cranny of our lives. The degree to which we surrender is the degree to which we will be filled. Don't pop the cork of wine and be filled with fleshly indulgence but release the cork that says "not my will but thine be done so that He might increase and we might decrease.

 

Go After "Better"

 "...but only one thing is needed. Mary has chosen what is better and it will not be taken away from her." 

                                                                                                                    Luke 10:42

         Is your life characterized by seeking after what is better? Are you so in love with Jesus that in everything you seek the "summum bonum" - the highest good? Paul's prayer for the Philippians was that they may be able to discern "what is best." The disciples missed out on an opportunity to see a Samaritan woman and then much of the town come to faith because they were out getting food. How many disciples does it take to get food? It could be that's why He fed the 5000 shortly after with 5 loaves and 2 fish to show them that they should spend time with Jesus and all the other things will be added unto them.

        Often we determine our behavior and actions by "Is this a sin or not?" If the activity isn't a sin then it must be "OK". Shouldn't we be asking the question "Is there something better we should be doing?" Paul says, "everything is permissible but not everything is beneficial". If your 16 year old asked "How many accidents can I get in before you take away my driving privileges?", you would be inclined not to give him or her the car.

         The better thing to ask in our lives is "What glorifies God and what activity pleases Him the most?" What would Jesus do in my place? When these are our true intentions, like Mary, we will experience the presence of Christ in our midst.

O Ye of Little Faith

  That day when evening came, he said to his disciples, “Let us go over to the other side.” Leaving the crowd behind, they took him along, just as he was, in the boat. There were also other boats with him. A furious squall came up, and the waves broke over the boat, so that it was nearly swamped. Jesus was in the stern, sleeping on a cushion. The disciples woke him and said to him, “Teacher, don’t you care if we drown?” He got up, rebuked the wind and said to the waves, “Quiet! Be still!” Then the wind died down and it was completely calm. He said to his disciples, “Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?” They were terrified and asked each other, “Who is this? Even the wind and the waves obey him!”  Mark 4:35-41

        Why were the disciples rebuked for having little faith? This should matter to us because we want to please the Lord and according to Hebrews 11 we know that "without faith it is impossible to please God." Would Jesus be disappointed in us for our little faith? Let's look at the possible reasons in this passage.

 1) They didn't rebuke the storm themselves - Probably not. They hadn't been sent out yet so they had not experienced any personal supernatural powers. They had not been given the "move mountains" speech yet, also. I don't recall any power over storms in the Bible except for God. (Psalms 107:23). Elijah called for rain but he had to ask God and wait for 7 days. Paul never once rebuked the storm but endured a shipwreck. So if your outdoor wedding gets rained out and you tried to stop the rain or a loved one dies and you attempt to raise them from the dead but fail to succeed on both accounts, it isn't your lack of faith.

2) They didn't trust what Jesus had promised them - Doubtful. David had been promised he would be the next king so I imagine that he knew Goliath wouldn't kill him. Had they been promised invincibility?  What had the disciples been promised?  At this point only that they would be fishers of men and technically they were already experiencing that. If you felt God promised you that you would someday have a spouse and children or if you felt God promised you a platform to reach the nations and it looks like neither is going to happen, it wasn't your lack of faith. It was probably that you misheard God because God keeps his promises.

 3) They underestimated Jesus' power - Maybe. They had seen him cast out demons, heal lepers, raise the dead, turn water to wine, cure sicknesses and paralysis, make blind see, and call thousannds of fish into their nets - surely they should have known He could calm a storm, right? I have to give them a pass because this is all new territory they are exploring. We however are without excuse. We have these accounts recorded for us and we should never doubt God's power to do them. The problem is we doubt whether He will move on our behalf because...

  4) They doubted He cared about them. Bingo. When we are going through something and we are thinking Where is God? Why isn't He acting? Does He even care? Lack of Faith! We know things they didn't. He loves us so much that He died the death we deserved and bore our sins on the cross. Of course He cares! We know that He is interceding for us at the right hand of the Father as a faithful high priest and promises us not deliverence bur rather mercy and grace to help in our time of need. And we know He is preparing a place for us and is standing to welcome us into His eternal presence  when we leave this vaporious life.

    So many people struggle with their faith when they are going through a tough time on Earth. He still cares for you even though you have little faith but on the other hand He's not amused. Let's make it our goal to please God.

Milwaukee Brewers Top Prospects 2023

  So here goes my annual evaluation of all the Brewers farm systems based solely on the basic stats such as batting average ,on base percentage ,slugging percentage ,earned run average ,strikeouts, walks, win- loss, OPS , and WHIP. Also I have not seen these players play so I am basing it only on basic statistics. I don't have any fielding statistics either so take these for what they are worth but these are the players that I am excited about.

   SP - Eric Prado     17y/o   RH   DSL     41 IP     ERA  1.54   Avg..175   WHIP .92

           Enniel Cortez   17 y/o RH  DSL      45.2 IP  ERA  1.58  Avg.  .208   WHIP  .88  5BB  49K

           Logan Henderson  21 y/o RH  Low A  IP 92  ERA 2.92  Avg. .199  WHIP 1.05  129K

           Carlos Rodriguez 21 y/o RH AA  IP 123  ERA 2.77  Avg .183   WHIP 1.09  152K

           Robert Gasser    24 y/o RH   AAA  9-1 record ERA 3.79   135.1 IP   k 166

           Jacob Misiorowski   21 y/o RH  AA  ERA  3.41  IP 71  K 110  Avg. .169

           Coleman Crow  22 y/o RH  AA  ERA 1.88  Avg. .114  WHIP  .63

  RP    Tanner Shears  24 y/o RH  High A  IP 49  ERA 1.45  Avg.153  WHIP 1.37  K 77

           Shane Smith   23 y/o RH  High A   57IP  ERA 2.03   Avg .175  WHIP 0.98  K 88

           Ryan Brady   24y/o RH  AA  career  IP  78  ERA 2.76  Avg. 229 WHIP 1.11  K 78

          Sam Gardner 26 y/o RH High A   IP  44  ERA 2.22  Avg. .207  WHIP 1.32  K 55

          Blake Whiting 24 y/o RH  Low A  IP 5.1  WHIP 0   Avg. 0   K 9 

          Bryan Hudson  26y/o LH  AAA  IP 55  K 88   ERA  2.43

  IF   3B Demetrio Nadal  19 y/o  RH   DSL .342/.478/.525/1.003   24BB  19k  33SB

         SS  Pedro Ibarguen  17 y/o  RH   DSL  .311/.437/.447/.884

         2B  Cooper Pratt      19 y/o  RH    ROK  .356/.426/.444/.870

         3B  Juan Baez          18 y/o  RH    Low A    .351/.377/.527/.904

         3B  Brock Wilken    21 y/o RH   High A    .296/.433/.891

         3B  Tyler Black       23 y/o LH AAA   .310/.428/.514/.942  55SB

          1B  Abraham Toro   26 y/o SH  AAA   .291/.374/.471/.845

          2B  Jahmai Jones   26 y/o  RH  AAA   .268/.413/.466/.879

      Honorable mention Alvarez

 C  Satchell Norman     21 y/o  RH   ROK   .317/.430/.455/.885

       Honorable mention Quiero

  OF  Dylan O'Rae    19 y/o  LH   Low A  .349/.491/.394/.885  57BB  37K  44SB

         Jackson Chourio  19 y/o RH  AA  .280/.336/.567/.803   22Hr  89RBI  43 SB

         Isaac Collins   26 y/o SH  AA  .263/.419/.421/.840  77BB  55K  29SB

   From last year Rodriguez, Black, Orae, Chourio and Norman return. Peguero, Monasterio, and Frelick went to the bigs. A lot to be excited about.

What is Repentance? Luke 3

                He (John the Baptist) went into all the country around the Jordan, preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. 4 As it is written in the book of the words of Isaiah the prophet:

“A voice of one calling in the wilderness,
‘Prepare the way for the Lord,
    make straight paths for him.
5 Every valley shall be filled in,
    every mountain and hill made low.
The crooked roads shall become straight,
    the rough ways smooth.
6 And all people will see God’s salvation.’”

7 John said to the crowds coming out to be baptized by him, “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath? 8 Produce fruit in keeping with repentance.

                                                                                           Luke 3:3-8

             What is repentance? First of all what it's not is cleaning up your act and coming to Jesus. The change in behavior is called "the fruit of repentance". It's what results from repentance. To call unbelievers to stop sinning and start living Godly lives is like telling a cat to stop licking itself - it can't be done. It is their nature. This is why John's baptism was insufficient and needed to be supercharged with the baptism being brought by the Messiah, the One he was introducing. The message he was echoing from Isaiah gives us a clue to what repentance is. In days of old when a king was coming to an area he would be preceded by 2 things. First a herald would come announcing the good news that the king was coming. Of course if the people didn't want the king to come this would be bad news and if he wasn't welcomed it would bring judgment on that area. Secondly, a road crew would be sent out to make the road smooth for the king's travel.

            Isaiah's prophecy stated that the messiah, who is indeed God (Lord = Yahweh), was coming and the herald, John the Baptist was preceding Him and the roads needed to be leveled because He is the King. Repentance can be defined as a change of mind that results in a change of direction and behavior. What in the mind has to change? Who is my king needs to change. Are you going to allow God, your maker, your owner, to be king of your life or are you going to remain on the throne. Repentance is saying to God, "I'm sorry for being the king of my life and I surrender control to you."  Mike winger gives this illustration that I like.

When we yield control, the supercharged part of salvation, the baptism spoken of by John the Baptist that the Messiah would bring, the baptism of the Holy Spirit, immerses us and we now have a new nature that enables us to flee sin and live a life that pleases God.

         Have you surrendered control of your life to the King or are you still calling the shots. You need to answer that question because it's a matter of life and death.