The Bible on Patience: 3 Lessons I Have Learned

May 23, 2023 by Mark Eckel

Maybe you’re like me: you want everything yesterday.

But life doesn’t work that way.

Find out why patience is an essential for life by watching our Truth in Two (full text below).

Support MarkEckel.com (here). Find the MarkEckel.com YouTube Channel (here). Mark is President of The Comenius Institute (webs ite). Dr. Eckel spends time with Christian young people in public university (1 minute video), teaching at Indiana University Purdue University at Indianapolis, and interprets culture from a Christian vantage point (1 minute video). Consider becoming a Comenius patron (here).

Pictures: Josh Collingwood, Snappy Goat

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I have a confession to make. I am very impatient. For example, please don’t pull out in front of me while driving on the road, then slow down. And whatever else you do, please, at the grocery checkout counter, do not take out your checkbook to pay the bill. I struggle with biblical commands in Galatians 5 to exhibit patience as the fruit of The Spirit or my responsibility to exhibit patient endurance during suffering according to 1 Peter 2.

My real problem is that as much as I believe in God’s sovereignty, I don’t always like it. I struggle with God’s plans, His wisdom, His ways, His schedule, His will for my life. In essence, my problem with patience is my problem with God. But what is ironic is how much God has been patient with me! Romans 2 says God has exhibited kindness, forbearance, and patience toward me. Jesus tells the story of the merciful, patient king in Matthew 18 who forgave his servant. But often, I find myself in the second half of that story where the one who is forgiven does not forgive another who owes him. Colossians 3 says that God’s forgiveness of my sin should result in me showing compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience toward others.

Patience for another, on behalf of another, takes time. Patience allows youth to age, ignorance to fade, and our desire for immediate recompense to be put on hold. Patience is longsuffering. The word “longsuffering” says it all: we are to suffer long, not retaliating when wronged. In our culture, people like the word “tolerance.” But tolerance only says we are putting up with another person. Longsuffering tells us we are in this for the long haul. For Christians, “longsuffering” is to be a fruit of The Spirit.

But if I could ask just one thing? Please don’t bring your checkbook to the grocery store. For Truth in Two, this is Dr. Mark Eckel, president of the Comenius Institute, personally seeking truth wherever it’s found.

Resurrection, No Doubt!

April 4, 2023April 4, 2023 by Mark Eckel

I will always respect doubt and doubters.

But the work of Dr. Gary Habermas puts the truth

about the resurrection beyond any reasonable doubt.

Watch our Truth in Two to find out why (full text below).

Pictures: Josh Collingwood, Room for Doubt (2018)

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I vividly remember the example he gave. The professor began a timeline of resurrection events by walking from the front to the back of the auditorium and then out the door to make his point. Gary Habermas came to the campus of IUPUI in the spring of 2018. Habermas is considered to be the authority on the historical veracity, the space-time truthfulness of the resurrection. Habermas’ numerous books, peer reviewed journal articles, and lectures are the standards by which, doubters must measure their questioning, of Jesus’ physically rising from the dead.

What was the point Habermas was making by walking out the door? Habermas contends that the resurrection accounts were written not decades later, not years later, not months later, not even days later but the accounts of Jesus rising from the dead were being written within hours of the event. What is so unique about Habermas’ approach to the historical resurrection of Jesus, is that he only allows himself the criteria his critics allow to be true. His approach has revolutionized both the apologetic field and all of religious studies. You can find a like to Gary’s approach at the end of this Truth in Two.

I have great respect for doubt and those who do not believe what I do about Jesus. But you cannot say that you have properly addressed the evidence until you have researched and read the copious work of Gary Habermas on the resurrection. Ultimately, it is the honesty of the apostle Paul in 1 Corinthians 15 that is so obvious: if Jesus is not risen from the dead our faith and preaching is in vain and we are of all people to be most pitied. But scholars such as Gary Habermas have taken the case and have shown beyond all reasonable doubt, He is Risen!

For Truth in Two, this is Dr. Mark Eckel, president of the Comenius Institute, repeating the Truth of Scripture with Christians around the world: He is Risen! He is Risen Indeed!

Habermas_ITQ-2015-Bergeron.pdf (garyhabermas.com)

You Don’t Know Anything Yet

March 14, 2023 by Mark Eckel

In education today, some will be aghast at what I say here.

But in their hearts, they will know it’s true.

And this one is for The Church too. Find out why. Watch our Truth in Two (full text and link below).

Pictures: Josh Collingwood, SnappyGoat

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During my high school teaching I would sometimes begin a unit of study with a freewheeling debate about a topic. The discussions were always lively. Students were excited to express their opinions, though they had little substantive knowledge about the subject. At some point during the proceedings, I would cut off the chatter so we could begin our study. Inevitably, one student would speak for the rest of the class, saying, “Why can’t we keep discussing this?” And every time, I would say the same thing, “Because you don’t know anything yet.”

I was reminded of these memories when I read Richard Osmer’s 1997 article, “The Case for Catechism.” A link to the essay can be found in this Truth in Two. [Below] A catechism is a teaching program designed to train church people to address fundamental beliefs, which would lead them to think Christianly about all things. As Osmer says,

“To put it simply, you cannot think, speak or act unless you have something to think, speak or act with. Unless explicit attention is given to the acquisition of biblical and theological knowledge, the members of the church will not be capable of using the faith, to interpret their lives or their world. They will employ concepts from other areas of life in which they do have competence.”

So important do I view Catechismal instruction, that in the 1990’s I wrote a catechism for my children which has been used in various venues since then. Christian parents and churches should commit themselves to the next generation by training them in biblical knowledge. The apostle Paul said it best in Colossians 1:28,

“Jesus we proclaim, warning everyone and teaching everyone with all wisdom, that we may present everyone mature in Christ.”

For Truth in Two, this is Dr. Mark Eckel, president of the Comenius Institute, personally seeking truth wherever it’s found.

The Case for Catechism – Religion Online (religion-online.org)

Love as Crucifixion?

February 14, 2023 by Mark Eckel

Imagine the phrase “Crucify Yourself,”

as a Valentine’s Day card.

Find out why that is the Christian message by watching our Truth in Two (full text below).

Pictures: Josh Collingwood, SnappyGoat

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My brother-in-law, Larry Renoe, has been a pastor for decades. In his many years of shepherding God’s people, Larry has performed scores of weddings. Of all his marriage homilies I have heard about, none ranks higher in my estimation than this one-of-a-kind tagline: “You know your marriage is working when it feels like a slow way to be crucified.”

Marriage as crucifixion. Wow. Why is that statement so unsettling? During the Roman era, crucifixion was used as a tool of torture and propaganda. A person was hung or nailed to a cross to die an excruciating, long, drawn out death. A victim could live for hours, days, or sometimes, weeks, often dying of dehydration, starvation, or asphyxia. Propaganda enters the crucifixion description because the soldiers would crucify people in public places. 6000 rebels were crucified along the Apian Way, for instance, after the famous Spartacus revolt. “If you don’t obey the Roman empire, this could happen to you!” was the visual reminder of dead and dying, crucified rebels, along one of the most public thoroughfares in the ancient world.

But still, marriage as crucifixion? The biblical record is clear. The Christian response to life should always be one of self-denial, death-to-self, and sacrifice on behalf of others. Jesus said it best, “If anyone wants to be my disciple, he must take up his cross and follow me.” For the Christian, relationships of any kind – marriage included – are a daily dying to self, our testimony to others of Christ’s love. So, on Valentine’s Day, perhaps we should not expect gifts of cards, candy, or flowers. Perhaps, we should remember that love is costly, love is a sacrifice, and love is the crucifixion of oneself.

For Truth in Two, this is Dr. Mark Eckel, president of the Comenius Institute, personally seeking truth wherever it’s found.

4 Reasons I Am Pro-Life

January 24, 2023 by Mark Eckel

Science and Scripture agree,

Life in the womb should be protected.

Discover the four reasons by watching our Truth in Two (full text below).

Pictures: Josh Collingwood, SnappyGoat

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I want to explain why we, at the Comenius Institute, have made a choice for a pro-life position.

(1) We choose science. Scientific evidence of human life beginning at conception in a woman’s womb is indisputable. Embryology declares that life begins at fertilization. Here are just two of many examples: the human person in the womb has distinctive DNA, separate from that of the parents; and the human heart begins beating after 22 days. Choice for life protects a beating heart.

(2) We choose life, not death. The American Association of Pediatricians gives at least seven criteria for life to exist: everything from cellular structure to stimuli response to the capacity for reproduction to unique genetic information for a lifetime of development. Simply, life in the womb is meant to live.

(3) We choose care. I once had students ask why pro-life people don’t care about the life of the child after birth. I immediately reached for my phone, and I identified six people that I know personally who care for children after birth. Some have fostered children whose biological parents are absent. Others have helped the adoption process for moms who know it is best for their baby to live with others. Still more offer physical and financial support for moms who need help raising their children, inside and outside of the uterus.

(4) We choose a God-centered response to human life. The Hebraic-Christian Scriptures are clearly pro-life. God’s procreation injunctions in Genesis 1 are obvious: human birth is God’s intention. Birth, not death, is celebrated in the lives of all Hebrew patriarchs, from Abram to Judah. In Jeremiah 1:5 the prophet acknowledges he was chosen in the womb for a purpose. Psalm 139 further declares our days were planned in the womb, human life being “fearfully and wonderfully made.”

For Truth in Two, this is Dr. Mark Eckel, president of The Comenius Institute, personally choosing life.

Common Sense

January 10, 2023 by Mark Eckel

God made His world to work

for human benefit.

Find out why by watching our Truth in Two (full text below).

Pictures: Josh Collingwood, SnappyGoat

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I have 169 mantras, statements my students have heard over and over from me in the classroom through my forty years of teaching. A mantra is just that – a repetitious statement. But a mantra is more than that. The word literally means “an instrument of thought.” Because I believe repetition is the mother of education, I use repetitive ideas because they stick in students’ minds.

But repetition by itself is not education. One also needs common sense. The phrase has come to mean the practice of right judgment in practical matters. But the phrase assumes two basic ideas. “Sense” is wisdom, a deep grounding in discernment; some might say a sensible person is quite perceptive or understanding. The individual then applies the accumulated insights from life to particular concerns. “Common” takes for granted that there is an assumed thinking for all people, places, times, and cultures. A universal ideal exists which is then applied in some local reality.

When we say a person has “common sense” we generally mean they are taking the best of what they have studied about humanity and human relations, then using it to make a decision. Hebraic-Christian thinking suggests that “common sense” is Wisdom embedded in world for the benefit of all humanity. According to Proverbs 8,

Wisdom “walks in the way of righteousness and the path of justice.”

We make sense of what is common from One who has our best interests at heart.

If you want to know more about my 169 educational mantras follow the link in this Truth in Two. And there are multiple links to teachings on biblical wisdom as well. It is common sense, the wisdom of God’s embedded truths in creation, that supplies the content for my communication, that allows ideas to stick in student’s minds. For Truth in Two, this is Dr. Mark Eckel, President of the Comenius Institute, personally seeking truth wherever it’s found.

The Bible on Wisdom: 169 Teaching Mantras

Santa is Coming to Town

December 23, 2022 by Mark Eckel

Can we “be good, for goodness’ sake?”

Why even Christmas songs need critique.

Find out why we should evaluate what we sing by watching our Truth in Two (full text below).

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“You better watch out, you better not cry / You better not pout, I’m telling you why / Santa Claus is coming to town.”

One of the most popular Christmas songs has and will be sung repeatedly this Christmas season. Decades before Amazon or Spotify, Santa Claus is Coming to Town became an overnight sensation in 1934, selling 500,000 copies of sheet music and 30,000 records within 24 hours.

But as a biblical theologian, I have to critique the song, not because of Ol’ Saint Nick, but because of human nature. The song continues,

“He’s making a list and checking it twice / He’s gonna find out who’s naughty and nice / He knows if you’ve been bad or good / So be good for goodness’ sake.”

So, is it possible to “be good for goodness’ sake?” I have lost count of the number of times I have heard the line “I’m a good person” from neighbors, associates, acquaintances, or from characters in a movie. The statement, “I’m a good person,” does four things for me.

One, I get to say what is good.

Two, I will evaluate myself by my own standard.

Three, my goodness assumes that bad must exist, though I’m not bad.

And, four, others outside cannot judge me.

Take for example, a Psychology Today article “How to Know if You’re a Good Person.” The suggestion is made to “define what a good person is in 3-5 words and rate yourself on this continuum.” Really? So, humans set the standard and get to evaluate whether or not they measure up by their own standard?

If you believe that you can be good for Santa, you have missed the reason for the season: Jesus is The Good News, the only way we can be good in God’s sight. For Truth in Two, this is Dr. Mark Eckel, President of the Comenius Institute, personally wishing everyone a Blessed Christmas.

1 Word that Defines Thanksgiving

November 22, 2022 by Mark Eckel

Thanksgiving is a time of confession.

Find out why by listening to (or reading!) this week’s Truth in Two.

Picture Credit: Josh Collingwood, Snappy Goat

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Every law-and-order streaming show has one idea in common. The ultimate end for every episode, every story, is to convict the wrongdoer or get the criminal to confess to their crime. Confession is an acceptance of wrongdoing in American jurisprudence. But confession in the Bible means something altogether different.

Confession is the essence of the word thankfulness in Hebrew. We tend to think of “going to confession” for the forgiveness of sin or giving a confession of guilt before a court of law. But in the First Testament the word “thankfulness” is a declaration of God’s greatness, to confess God’s supremacy. The Psalmists declare again and again that praise, exaltation, glorification, and remembering God’s works is a confession. Singing is the best way that God’s people, The Church, confesses God’s majesty. The Psalms also say that our confession of God’s greatness should be made before the nations. Confessional praise, according to the Psalms, was to be made with a right mind, wholeheartedly, continually. But ultimately, most importantly, our confession, our thankfulness should be for the result of Judah’s line.

And here’s the kicker. In Hebrew, Judah’s name means “to confess.” So, Jesus came from the line of Judah which means to confess or give thanks. He, Jesus, is the one for whom we are most grateful. The apostle Paul may well have had this idea in mind when he wrote in Second Corinthians 9:15 “Thanks be to God for His indescribable gift” namely, Jesus. So next time you watch a story about a prosecutor trying to get the criminal to confess, remember, our confession is our thankfulness that our wrongdoing has been forgiven, by Jesus. For Truth in Two, this is Dr. Mark Eckel, President of the Comenius Institute, personally offering a confession, a thanksgiving, at Thanksgiving, for Jesus.

BONUS Thanksgiving Video! Gratitude – Warp and Woof

5 Suffering Principles: Lament IV

September 27, 2022 by Mark Eckel

It’s not pretty

from our point of view.

Watch our Truth in Two video (full text below) to find out why Heaven’s view is the proper view.

Picture Credit: Josh Collingwood, Snappy Goat

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One picture I drew on the board in classes to explain God’s sovereignty – the biblical doctrine that teaches God controls all things – is a tapestry. I drew both sides of the tapestry. The bottom side represents our earthly view. The top side represents Heaven’s view. To us, what we see of God’s sovereignty is knots, loose threads, and a pattern-less mess. God’s plan, a view from the top, shows a perfect weaving. I then explain that chapters 1 and 2 in Job give us a snapshot of Heaven’s view. Take a few moments to read those chapters. If it were not for Job 1 and 2, we would have no assurance of someone in charge. We would only have random, chaotic suffering. Job 1 and 2 give credence to a Heaven-centered view of pain. As a human, I am not pleased by the hurt I bear. But I can live with an earth-view of the tapestry when I am assured Heaven’s view is a perfect pattern.

In The First Testament pagan peoples believed in fate, luck, chance, and accident much like unbelieving people do today. Impersonal forces are in charge. Humans are left to deal with the psychological aftershocks. But a God-centered view of the tapestry gives us at least five principles that may help us live with pain.

Answers to the “why” questions are not our domain.

We are justifiably outraged by suffering but should remember God’s presence in suffering.

Human sin created suffering; suffering cannot be prevented.

Lamenting our pain before God is a godly response.

If there is a beginning there will always be an end. If there is doubt, there is hope. If there is darkness, there is light. If there is pain, there is release from pain. If there is an underside to the suffering tapestry, be assured the top side is being woven by God.

My Truth in Two series during Fall 2022 is a tribute to our son Tyler Micah. We lament his death while desiring to give voice to all who suffer in any way.

[This material is drawn from a sermon I preached on Job 3 at Zionsville Fellowship (Indiana) the spring of 2008. A number of articles have used the same words and ideas since and can be found by searching for “lament” at MarkEckel.com where you can also find a tribute to my son.]

10 Renewed Resolutions

July 22, 2022 by Mark Eckel

Make no mistake. The awfulness of my son’s death has not hobbled my beliefs. No. It has made my thinking more vital, visceral, and vigorous. Prophets, those who speak God’s Words, are conditioned not with comfort or ease but with pain and hardship. Suffering I have endured in life, now exacerbated by Tyler’s homegoing, continues to shape my being. Chiseled by circumstances, Divinely ordained, my words will persist on behalf of biblical Truth. And so, in the spirit of Tyler’s encouragement and Jonathan Edwards’ resolutions, I renew these confessions.

1. Standing under the Authority of Heaven, I will continue to speak God’s Truth to my time and place.

2. My interpretive lens will be guided by Hebraic-Christian thinking, prompted by The Spirit.

3. Care for all people, no matter who, without condition, will be driven by the love of Jesus.

4. Loving people includes speaking the Truth in love without compromise or condition.

5. Words from pen or keyboard will be considerate of context and culture without compromising Truth.

6. Cultural communication will be spoken within the wisdom and warnings of Scripture.

7. Doing good for all people, as much as is possible, will be my daily undertaking.

8. Practicing benevolence and excellence will be my conduct through all my vocational endeavors.

9. As I have strength, I will endeavor to offer the gifts given to me to the benefit of The Church and culture.

10. And I will give myself more and more to Christian discipleship of any who desire to walk this road with me.