Dr Paul Allen

  Poor Zacharias. How like ourselves he was. His faith was not up to the standard of his prayers.   He has prayed for years; now his prayers are to be answered and he cannot believe it! ‘I am an old man’, he says to Gabriel. There is something sad and plaintive about it. ‘I am Gabriel’, the angel replies, and charges him with unbelief. From the very presence of God the holy messenger had come with the answer to his prayer and he will not believe. How many of us can see ourselves mirrored in it all. This is not just doubt on the part of Zacharias . It is unbelief, and for a God who desires the trust of His people unbelief is offensive. Zacharias is stricken dumb and verse 62 will indicate that he was deaf also. He tarried in the temple and the people waited. He then appeared to them, speechless.  They assumed a vision. He beckoned to them, unable to communicate, and eventually he returned to his home in the hill country. Now he would have nine long months to dwell in the silence, the c

Stone them until they are dead because they desired to lead you away from the  Lord  your God , the one who brought you out of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.   All Israel will hear about this and be afraid. They won’t do that sort of evil thing among you again.  ( Deuteronomy 13:10-11 ) In context, this “wickedness or evil” was the crime of rejecting and influencing others to reject the Lord. While this is not a capital crime in a Christian context, this passage does show how God feels about the sin of unbelief—especially trying to persuade others into unbelief—in the infinite love and sacrifice of Christ who suffered and died for their sins . “He that despised Moses ’ law died without mercy under two or three witnesses: Of how much sorer punishment, suppose ye, shall he be thought worthy, who hath trodden under foot the Son of God , and hath counted the blood of the covenant, wherewith he was sanctified, an unholy thing, and hath done despite unto the Spirit of grace?” ( H

When facing hard times, Christians sometimes discover that their faith is gradually being eroded by their circumstances. Though we are doing our best to stand upon the promises of God, we can sense that our feet are beginning to slip. Like the desperate father who met Jesus at the foot of the Mount of Transfiguration, we might find ourselves crying out, “I believe; help my unbelief” (Mark 9:24). There is an Old Testament echo of that cry in the life of Abraham, which can be of great help to us in dealing with our own struggles with unbelief while facing hard times. In Genesis 15, God appeared to Abram and spoke words of great promise and reassurance: “Fear not, Abram, I am your shield; your reward shall be very great” (v. 1). Since Genesis 16:16 lists Abram as eighty-six years old (having begun his journey at age seventy-five, 12:4), I would estimate that Abram had lived in Canaan about ten years and yet still possessed none of the land and did not have a single descendant. His fa

Old Synagogue in Korazim Israel. (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) Corazim_synagogue (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) Luke 11:20-24 Then He began to reproach the cities in which most of His miracles were done, because they did not repent. “Woe to you, Chorazin ! Woe to you, Bethsaida ! For if the miracles had occurred in Tyre and Sidon which occurred in you, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes . Nevertheless I say to you, it shall be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon in the day of judgment, than for you. And you, Capernaum , will not be exalted to heaven, will you? You shall descend to Hades; for if the miracles had occurred in Sodom which occurred in you, it would have remained to this day. Nevertheless I say to you that it shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom in the day of judgment, than for you.” Jesus ’ harsh reproach against the cities in which most of His miracles were done seems on the surface to be less justified than His comparatively mild rebuke of

Sea of Galilee near Tabgha (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) Capernaum, Sea of Galilee (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) English: Tomb of Hiram, King of Tyre (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) Mark Driscoll recently interviewed John Piper on the topic of advice for young bible teachers. In that discussion, John reflected personally on a troubling scripture namely, Luke 10:13-14. Piper states for Godly holy unknown reasons Jesus willingly withheld performing any miracles in Tyre and Sidon. Jesus infers the performance of such miracles would have brought the towns to salvation, yet Jesus chose not to perform miracles. Why? Ezekiel 28:11-18 says  "Son of Man, raise a lament over the king of Tyre and say to him: Thus says the Lord God: You were the seal of perfection, full of wisdom and flawless beauty. You were in Eden, in the Garden of God; every precious stone was your adornment... and gold beautifully wrought for you, mined for you, prepared the day you were created." This