the Goodness of the Lord

As Christmas approaches each year, I have the hope that I will somehow sense the presence of the Lord more than usual. However, it never seems to happen the way that I would hope for. Perhaps it is the busy-ness of the season. Ironically, it is usually after Christmas that I seem to have renewal. Recently, I was touched as I read the Bible. Although I know intellectually that the Lord is good, there seems to be an ebb and flow of that reality in my heart. It is almost as though my heart forgets as I neglect prayer and Bible reading, only to be renewed by the power of the Spirit as I take time to listen to the Lord's voice.

I particularly found comfort and joy as I read Psalms 111 through 120. Here are some samples:

Psalm 113
7 He raises the poor from the dust
and lifts the needy from the ash heap;
8 he seats them with princes,
with the princes of their people.
9 He settles the barren woman in her home
as a happy mother of children.
Praise the LORD.

Psalm 115
1 Not to us, O LORD, not to us
but to your name be the glory,
because of your love and faithfulness.

Psalm 116
5 The LORD is gracious and righteous;
our God is full of compassion.
6 The LORD protects the simplehearted;
when I was in great need, he saved me.
7 Be at rest once more, O my soul,
for the LORD has been good to you.

Psalm 117
1 Praise the LORD, all you nations;
extol him, all you peoples.
2 For great is his love toward us,
and the faithfulness of the LORD endures forever.
Praise the LORD.

The foundation of faith is our belief that the Lord is good. Unbelief denies that. Those outside of Christ, outside of the faith, do not believe that He is really good. Otherwise they would become believers. The power of Satan, whom the world is under, is the deception that the Lord is not good.

O Lord, I rejoice in your goodness, your tender mercy, your loving kindness and your faithfulness that reaches to the skies. Forgive me when I neglect and forget your glory and renew me by the power of your Spirit.

John

Heavenly Minded and Earthly Good

There are a number of false dichotomies out there concerning the Christian faith. In the previous posting, I addressed the false dichotomy that you can't be loving and confront evil. Another false dichotomy is that if my focus is on heaven, I will disengage from the world and be no good to anyone. In other words, I will be too heavenly minded to be any earthly good.

I think that actually it is the opposite. I contend that the more heavenly focused the believer is, the more good fruit he will bear on earth. Jesus told us that if our treasure is in heaven, then our heart will be there as well (Matthew 6:21). And if our heart is heavenly, it is good. And, as Jesus said, A good tree bears good fuit (Matthew 7:17). Listen to what the apostle John says:

1 John 3:2 Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when he appears,we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. 3 Everyone who has this hope in him purifies himself, just as he is pure.

And listen to the Apostle Paul, who basically says the same thing:

Colossians 1:3 We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you, 4 because we have heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love you have for all the saints— 5 the faith and love that spring from the hope that is stored up for you in heaven and that you have already heard about in the word of truth, the gospel 6t hat has come to you. All over the world this gospel is bearing fruit and growing, just as it has been doing among you since the day you heard it and understood God's grace in all its truth.

The heavenly hope that we have in the gospel purifies our heart. And purity in the heart means more love and selflessness which means more fruit. On the contrary, the mind that is earthly focused moves toward impurity which means more unloving and selfish:

Philippians 3:18For, as I have often told you before and now say again even with tears, many live as enemies of the cross of Christ. 19Their destiny is destruction, their god is their stomach, and their glory is in their shame. Their mind is on earthly things.

We will move toward becoming that which we focus on. If our minds and hearts are on heavenly things, then we will become more heavenly. If we focus more on earthly things, than we become more worldly. We are told that the things of this world (cravings of sinful man, lust of the eyes and self-boasting) come not from God and will pass away (1 John 2:15-17).

I think this image of being too heavenly minded to be earthly good comes from those who act overly spiritual and condescending toward others. But spiritual pride is still pride which is of the world. Self-promotion is of the world, even if it is cloaked in spirituality. Condescension toward others is not heavenly but worldly. All of this is simply the worldly person, whose mind is on earthly things, putting on a mystical, spiritual facade. This was the spirit of the religious rulers in Jesus' day that he condemned. True heavenly focus of the heart will work in us love, gentleness and humility--fruits of the Holy Spirit.

How does love face evil?

Suppose I meet a profane person who is bad-mouthing people that I know don't deserve it. Suppose he slanders both God and man without hesitation. Is it loving for me to go along with him and give creedance to what he says so that he would feel accepted. I am being a good and kind person if I were in some way to bless him just to show him I am loving? What if the people he were slandering we right in front of me? Would it be loving to agree with him? No, it would be unloving toward the innocent who were being slandered.


Yet I hear this approach at times promoted within the church. More and more, in certain circles, the way to witness is to show that we are loving by accepting the ungodly as they are. I hear it preached that God accepts everyone just the way they are. Therefore, we are not to warn them of their error not oppose what they stand for. Rather, we are just to love them. We are told that we are being unloving and intolerant if we talk about the coming judgment of God or of the need to repent and turn from evil.

I believe there is a certain "unbelief" that is rearing its ugly head with Christian circles. It is the error of liberal thinkers who deny the truth of Christ and teach only partial truth. I propose the following is the biblical view of responding to evil:

The unbelieving world is under the wrath of God. For God has loved the world and been gracious to all people in abundance. Yet God is rebelled against. He is hated, spurned and ignored. His rightful authority over his creatures is rejected. Man erects idols of his own making and replaces the true God with them. The idols may be gods of his own making after his own image. His idol may be himself.

Yet our God is loving. He has so loved the world by sending His only Son to make atonement for sin. And he has commanded all people to repent and believe the good news. The message is that the worst of sinners are being freely forgiven in Christ, adopted into God's family as his children and given the gift of eternal life. This gift is offered by God graciously without regard to race, gender, age, circumstance. It is offered to whoever will believe. But the gift is not received if it is rejected. What else is left if the blood of Christ is treated as an unholy thing? If the Spirit of grace is rejected?

God is not accepting people as they are! He is offering His love, he is called for reconciliation with His enemies. In this way he is being loving. He is holding out Christ in love to unloving sinners who are his enemies. But he is not accepting them as they are. He is not winking at our evil. His wrath burns against our evil yet he calls for us to receive the free gift of forgiveness and love by faith.

Likewise, we are not to share Christ by saying God loves you without any warning of the consequences are rejecting that love. We can not leave out the truth that Christ died for sin to save us from hell and eternal condemnation. The good news is indeed good news. But the good news doesn't make sense without the context of the bad news. What good is forgiveness if there is nothing to be forgiven of? What is so good about the good news of salvation if there is nothing to be saved from? What is so awesome about being adopted into God's family if we are already God's children regardless of whether we believe or not?

It is a false dichotomy that we can not be both loving and oppose evil. We are being loving by opposing evil. We are being loving by offering the full gospel that Christ died for your sins to save you from eternal condemnation.

Let the light of his love shine!

John

Why is it by Faith?

Romans 5:1 Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.


I find it amazing that although the Bible says that love is greater than faith (1 Corinthians 13:13), it is faith through which a person becomes justified by God. Does it not seem strange that God does not look at how loving a person is in order to judge them as acceptable in his sight, but whether the person has faith? It is faith that makes the difference between eternal life and condemnation.

I have a couple thoughts on this. Faith is the one attribute that glorifies God in salvation instead of man. One truth that has helped me through the struggles with assurance of being accepted by God through my Christian life is that it is all about God's glory not mine. If God accepted me on the basis of how loving, righteous, holy, obedient, good, devoted I was, it would be to my glory. But God's purpose in salvation is to glorify his love, his mercy, his goodness, his righteousness. God doesn't save us because he is impressed with our goodness. He saves us so we can be impressed by his goodness.

If righteousness came by my goodness, then I would have to look to myself and have faith in myself. But faith through which we are justified looks at God's love and mercy and grace in Christ proclaimed in the message of the Bible and says I believe. It is an act of receiving a gift not of earning a reward. God wants to demonstrate His love to us in salvation.

Not that our love is not important. It is. But we don't have true spiritual love without faith. That kind of love comes with faith. We love because God first loved us. It is in comprehending the love of God through faith that we love back. He doesn't love us because we love him. We love him because he loves us.

How does he love us first? Well, while we were enemies and sinners, Christ died for us. And then he poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit that we could comprehend the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge. The same Spirit that brings us to faith is the same Spirit that pours out God's love into our hearts.

The spiritually reborn believer has faith and love at the same time to some degree. They are inseparable. You can't believe but not love God. And you can't love God without faith. They both come from the same Spirit who raises spiritually dead sons of Adam to new life.

In the Christian life, the Spirit works through faith. Our hearts are filled with love by the Spirit to more we fix our minds on the love of God in Christ. So our faith works through love. The heart that loves God because God is lovely also inherently trusts in Him because, being Love, he is faithful and trustworthy.

I sure would not want my eternity based on how loving I was. For although the love of God is poured out in my heart through faith, I still have the stain of selfishness and unloving-ness in my character. When my heart convicts me, it is not through trying to be more loving that I achieve progress in the life of love we are called to. But it is in focusing my heart and mind of the love of Jesus that the power to love will come.

For God so loved...

"For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life." (John 3:16)

I just saw the video, 3:16 by Max Lucado. He goes through this verse in a devotional sense looking at each part. What an amazing verse. It sums up the essense of the Christian faith. God is justified as good and righteous because he has so loved! He has not been cruel or mean. He is not like man that oppresses and does violence. He so loves. He has responded to our unloving ways with redeeming love. Love that brings forgiveness and eternal life. He has given for us that which is most valuable, his beloved and only divine Son.

When a perfect loving being encounters unloving, uncaring beings who hurt and cause pain, it is repulsive. He has the power to instantaneously do away with his sin-laden creatures. But love is patient and kind. It holds back and is longsuffering. Instead of reacting to the unholy with immediate destruction, he has given his only Son. The Holy meets the unholy and responds with giving love!

"Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God's one and only Son" (John 3:17)

What else is left for the one whom God has offered forgiveness and eternal life, giving his Son, yet who rejects this undeserved love? In the final judgement, God will be justified because he gave all in love yet was still rejected. He continues to call out to his enemies to be reconciled. But what remedy is left for those who refuse? God's enemies continually accuse him of cruelity because of the wrath to come. But it is not God who is cruel. For God is loving and gracious toward his enemies; it is they who are cruel and unloving. And love must conquer the enemies of love as is just and fitting.

But what a great and marvelous joy to have one's eyes opened to the beauty and goodness of our great Father in the face of Christ! His love endures forever to those who receive it freely by faith!

John

The Lord longs to be gracious

"Yet the LORD longs to be gracious to you; he rises to show you compassion. For the LORD is a God of justice. Blessed are all who wait for him!" (Isaiah 30:18)

What an inspirational verse this is to me. It always reminds that God is loving and that his very nature being love moves him to be gracious to me. I worship him because he is good. I will wait for him because good will come.

This message from the Lord was written to a nation who had become corrupt. They rejected the Lord's console and protection (vs 2-3). They had become rebellious, deceitful and unwilling to listen to the Lord's instruction (vs 9). They didn't want to hear the words of the prophets nor be told about the Lord (vs 10-11). Although they were being oppressed by a foreign nation, they did not seek the Lord for help.

How does Love respond to the antithesis of love? It must oppose it. Kindness is grieved by cruelty. Truth recoils at deception. The Giver seeks no communion with the selfish. Yet in all this God does not stop desiring to be gracious. He calls out patiently for reconciliation. To those who hate the Love he calls for repentance--the changing of the heart:

This is what the Sovereign LORD, the Holy One of Israel, says: "In repentance and rest is your salvation, in quietness and trust is your strength, but you would have none of it. You said, 'No, we will flee on horses.' Therefore you will flee! You said, 'We will ride off on swift horses.' Therefore your pursuers will be swift! " (Isaiah 30:15-16)

Though the obstinate want to flee from that which is good, The One who is Good still rises to show compassion. Just turn from fleeing away to fleeing toward. He will be gracious for that is what he longs to do.

Oh Lord, you give me comfort to know of you desire to be kind and good. You are patient with my selfishness and are ready to forgive and lead me on the path of love. Forgive me of my impatience, my quickness to anger, my lack of love. And lead me in the peace of Christ. Amen

The Love that Surpasses Knowledge

Ephesians 3:16-19

I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.

I feel as though recently I have been renewed and strengthened once again in that knowledge of the glorious love of Christ. And it reminds me of my conversion years ago when that knowledge was first impressed upon my heart and my eyes were opened. The only words suitable: glorious rapture! How awesome it was. And how awesome it is. It is the soul coming to life. It is new birth!

When I was lost, I found no beauty in Christ. Only indifference. Like so many, the love of God was foreign to me. But God is worthy of worship because God is love--true love. Love comes from him and love is the path that all who find him travel on. The more He is known, the more His love becomes clearer and the more He is loved.

Love is the essence of godliness and sin is the absence of love and the presence of hate, hostility and bitterness. The lost are hostile toward Jehovah God and are blinded toward the pureness of his love. They attribute cruelty to God because of His Judgment upon sin. They can not imagine nor accept that God is good. But love, though patient and forbearing in great measure, can not indefinetly endure hostile enmity toward it. It must either change it to love or separate itself.

Such is God: He is patient and forebearing, not wanting that any perish but come to repentence (turn from hostility toward him to love and belief). He continues to shine down his benefits upon all his enemies and restrain His judgment. But in eternity the soul must either move toward Love or be separated forever from Love.

This is love: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. While we were still enemies, Christ died for sinners. God sent His Son to be the eternal sacrifice for our sin.

O the deep, deep love of Jesus

Thi is one of my favorite hymns that we sing in church. It brings tear to my eyes:

O the deep, deep love of Jesus, vast, unmeasured, boundless, free!Rolling as a mighty ocean in its fullness over me!Underneath me, all around me, is the current of Thy loveLeading onward, leading homeward to Thy glorious rest above!

O the deep, deep love of Jesus, spread His praise from shore to shore!How He loveth, ever loveth, changeth never, nevermore!How He watches o'er His loved ones, died to call them all His own;How for them He intercedeth, watcheth o'er them from the throne!

O the deep, deep love of Jesus, love of every love the best!'Tis an ocean vast of blessing, 'tis a haven sweet of rest!O the deep, deep love of Jesus, 'tis a heaven of heavens to me;And it lifts me up to glory, for it lifts me up to Thee!

LISTEN

Can We Be Perfect?

Twice in the last couple months on two unrelated, separate occassions, I was with a group of believers having a discussion. On both occassions I said something one person unexpectedly objected to with strong conviction. I can't remember exactly what it was I said. But it had to do with my assertion that we are sinners and can not reach perfection in this life, even as born again Christians.

Both brothers in the Lord believed that in one way or another we could achieve perfection in this life. Both argued in effect that if we could not reach or taste perfection, we might not be motivated to reach for it but remain stagnant in our level of holiness.

I've learned is that it is always a mistake to assume every other believer shares the exact same beliefs I do. I must admit I was caught off guard both times. Although I don't particularly care for conflict, in the long run I've come to welcome challenges to my beliefs because it motivates me to evaluate more deeply why I believe what I do and what I am basing those beliefs upon. I really want to believe what is true and pray that my heart will receive the truth. If I am convinced that my beliefs are sound, that I can share my reasons and hope that I may convince my brother.

The gospel message, as I see it in the Bible, is one of grace. The grace spoken of is in reference to our standing before God. The gospel says that we are justified and saved by grace. Grace is likened to a gift that is undeserved and held up as the opposite of works by which we earn and are worthy. The gospel says that God declares a person as righteous, accepted and innocent not by what he does to become worthy of it, but through faith in Christ as a gift. Here are some verses from Scripture:

Romans 11:5 So too, at the present time there is a remnant chosen by grace. 6And if by grace, then it is no longer by works; if it were, grace would no longer be grace.

Ephesians 2:8 For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— 9 not by works, so that no one can boast.

Romans 4:4 Now when a man works, his wages are not credited to him as a gift, but as an obligation. 5 However, to the man who does not work but trusts God who justifies the wicked, his faith is credited as righteousness.

Galatians 2:16b So we, too, have put our faith in Christ Jesus that we may be justified by faith in Christ and not by observing the law, because by observing the law no one will be justified.

The reason why we are made acceptable to God through faith is that we are not able to meet God's standard of holiness because of sin, our sin:

Galatians 3:21b For if a law had been given that could impart life, then righteousness would certainly have come by the law. 22But the Scripture declares that the whole world is a prisoner of sin, so that what was promised, being given through faith in Jesus Christ, might be given to those who believe.

If we were able to reach perfection in this life, then we would be able to obtain righteousness (e.g. the meeting of God's standard). But the all people are bound by sin:

Galatians 2:21 I do not set aside the grace of God, for if righteousness could be gained through the law, Christ died for nothing!"

Some would argue that once we come to God through faith in Christ and are born again, that we can then reach perfection. Listen to what the Apostle Paul says comparing believers to non-believers:

Romans 3:9 What shall we conclude then? Are we any better? Not at all! We have already made the charge that Jews and Gentiles alike are all under sin. 10 As it is written: "There is no one righteous, not even one;"

Listen to what Paul says about first coming to Christ as sinners but believing we can then attain perfection:

Galatians 3:3 Are you so foolish? After beginning with the Spirit, are you now trying to attain your goal by human effort?

The point is that one of the reasons that Christ died for us and that we remain acceptable to God through faith alone is because of we are not able to free ourselves of sin. But more on this in my next posting.

Do I Believe in Heaven?

Over the last week or so, there have been a number of circumstances that have weighed me down. First, I've been following a story on the internet of a young 12 year old girl who has been struggling with neuroblastoma, the same cancer that took young Emily, Brent's former roomate in the hospital. Her family and friends have been praying for intensely for her. I read that she took a turn for the worse and is on her deathbed. Next, a coworker became suddenly ill and we had been on the edge of our seats, praying for his recovery. I am happy to say he is now on the road to recovery. Third, Susan's aunt Bea was down from Alaska getting treated for Parkinson's. The disease has ravaged her physically and it is heart-breaking to see it.


In all these cases, I have felt the burden as I've struggled in prayer for God's intervention. And will continue to. However, I have started to question myself. If I truly believe in heaven and that Jesus offers eternal life to all who believe, why should I be so distraught if one of his sheep enter into death? Why should I be so worried about my life? Did not the apostle Paul say that to depart and be with Christ is better by far than remaining here (Philippians 1:21-23)?

Imagine living in the most beautiful region of the world with the grandest home and the most awesome surroundings. Imagine your life full of peace and well-being and being around those you love and who love you. Now suppose you went out a trip to a far, far away land. There you found yourself in a turbulent environment filled with hardship and turmoil. However, you took comfort knowing that it was only temporary and you would be going home soon. Would you not look forward and rejoice at the thought of going home?

Why, then, do we so often live this life as though it were the only life? Why is our minds and hearts far from our heavenly home? Should not our attitude be one of expectancy and longing for our eternal dwelling? After all, our Lord has promised us, his people, to share in his heavenly glory. We will be perfected and delivered from pain and tears and live in the light of his presence with great eternal happiness.

Imagine how the world would be impacted if believers lived this way; how much courage we would exhibit to do what is right and good; how we would shun the ways of the world and live an uncompromising life for eternity.

King of kings

Revelation 19:11 I saw heaven standing open and there before me was a white horse, whose rider is called Faithful and True. With justice he judges and makes war. 12His eyes are like blazing fire, and on his head are many crowns. He has a name written on him that no one knows but he himself. 13He is dressed in a robe dipped in blood, and his name is the Word of God. 14The armies of heaven were following him, riding on white horses and dressed in fine linen, white and clean. 15Out of his mouth comes a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations. "He will rule them with an iron scepter." He treads the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God Almighty. 16On his robe and on his thigh he has this name written:

KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS.

The vision of this passage of Scripture is one that so inspires me. Sometimes it seems to me that the spirit of this world that is at work in the nations is so strong and relentless in its opposition to the Lord Jesus. It seems that the spiritual war against the saints is prevailing and that the forces against the gospel of Christ are like a flood ready to consume it. I know that though Jesus was humiliated and crucified by this spirit, he rose again from the dead and was crown with all glory, honor and authority. When I am tempted to think 'where is the victory of Christ?' this verse reminds me of the spectactular and glorious victory that the Lord will bring about.

He will come in great power and glory and with all authority crowning his head he will bring justice to the nations. He will strike down all the enemies that oppose his rule of righteousness and love and will rule over them with unrelenting power and strength. All the rulers of the world who boast against him with be humbled and put to shame. And all those who hope in Him with share in His glory and reign with him forever.

He is crowned with glory

You may need to click twice.

Crown Him

On my way back from vacation, I listened to one of my CD's that has inspired me throughout the years. Here is the lyrics to one of the songs entitled "Crown Him" by Michael Card:

Crown him, crown him
The angry people cried
Crown him, crown him
Let him be crucified

Crown him, crown him
Let him not remain alive
Crown him, crown him,
He must be crucified

So a circle of pain and love
came down upon his head
It was not for anything he'd done
Nor for anything he'd said
For all his life he sought to show
They were only living a lie
But they didn't care to hear or know
They just wanted him to die

Soon the circle of glory
Will be placed upon his brow
And he'll come to reign forever
Though it may not seem so now
And our time of tears and trouble
Will seem only like a dream
As we stand before the glory
Of our Savior and our King

Crown him, crown him
Holy angels sing
All glory, honor, power and praise
Will crown the King of kings

Crown him, crown him
Those redeemed and damned
Will bow the knee and humbly
Sing worthy is the Lamb

Surprised By Joy

There are objective facts that confirm the truth of Christ. Logical arguments for faith have been developed that are persuasive. However, there is also subjective proof that may not convince others of the reality of Jesus, but for the one who experiences it, maybe the most powerful.

For me, that was joy. As a new believer, the joy that accompanied His Presence came to me totally unexpected. And it came like an overwhelming flood. You see, I didn't expect it, because I didn't know it existed. That's right. I never experienced a pure joy like this before. Oh sure, I had a fair share of happy occasions in my life. But not joy--at least like this. What made this such a powerful testimony to me was that by nature I tend to be melancholic and serious. Even to this day, I still have these same tendencies. So when I find joy in the presence of the Lord, I know that it does not come from me.

When I read in the Bible that one of the fruits of the Holy Spirit is joy, I know this is true. I really believe the promises spoken by the Lord that the Holy Spirit is sent to dwell in those who believe in him. No, I am not joyful all the time. Quite the contrary. But when I seek the Lord, He does make his presence known and:

You have made known to me the path of life;
you will fill me with joy in your presence,
with eternal pleasures at your right hand.

-Psalm 16:11

Thank you Lord, that you are found when I seek you. Sometimes, I feel as though you hide yourself. But I know it is really I who am hiding from you. Because you love is better than life, I will praise you.

Arise and Shine

I just finished reading through the book of Isaiah. I was struck with hope as I read of God's promised blessing for His people. Here is a sampling from Isaiah 60:

"Arise, shine, for you light has come, and the glory of the LORD rises upon. See, darkness covers the earth, and thick darkness is over the peoples, but the LORD rises upon you and his glory appears over you.

I will make you the everlasting pride and the joy of all generations. Then you will know that I, the LORD, am your Savior, your Redeemer, the Mighty One of Jacob. Instead of bronze I will bring you gold, and silver in place of iron.

I will make peace you governor and righteousness your ruler.

The sun will no more be your light by day nor will the brightness of the moon shine on you, for the LORD will be your everlasting light, and your God will be your glory. Your sun will never set again, and your moon will wane no more; the Lord will be your everlasting light, and your days of sorrow will end."


O Lord, I believe. I believe in the hope you have set before your people; those who trust in you. I am encouraged by your word of promise. I look around and see thick darkness but I know that everlasting joy is the future prospect. Let me never turn away from such hope by following after other gods. For I know there I will only find darkness and gloom.

My heart is saddened by my imperfect faith. Lord, I don't want to lose the fleeting opportunity to share this hope with my children. Forgive my neglegence, for you are good and your light is the true light.

Both Christian and Muslim?

Here in Seattle, there is a certain female Episcopal priest who is the center of controversy. She has recently declared herself to be both a Christian and a Muslim. At noon on Fridays, the Rev. Ann Holmes Redding puts on her head scarf and prays with her Muslim friends. On Sundays, she puts on a white collar and participates in the Episcopal service.

I was reading through various responses to the issue on the internet and I noticed that some of those who shared similar views as Ms. Redding seemed to sincerely wonder how this could not be something that both Muslims and Christians should embrace.

To be fair, I try to understand where holders of this view come from. Perhaps they see conflict in the world that is religiously motivated, and see this as a step toward peace. Or maybe they observe adherents in each religion who exude devotion in their various acts of worship and are attracted to the "best" of each religion. I am convinced that this viewpoint sees the aim of religion as personal. It is more about what works for the individual. And it is inherently agnostic. In other words, it rejects the idea that any religion can be deemed to be true or not in the ultimate, absolute sense. Therefore, religion becomes pragmatic rather than truth.

From the view point of biblical faith, true religion is more than practice. It is worship--worship of God. That means it is not just religious rules and rituals. It is the heart that is pledged to love, honor and revere God. It is a pledge of allegiance and loyalty to Christ to follow him at all costs. It is the desire and drive to please him. Biblical religion is not primarily about us. It's purpose is not primarily to enhance our lives, although it does have that effect. Rather it is about honoring God in truth. God has revealed himself that we might glorify him and enjoy him forever. It's ultimately about Him. That is what our faith teaches.

We, as believers, have been throughly convinced that Jesus' claims are the truth. We claim to have be changed dramatically by the Spirit of God and are committed to Christ in loyalty and trust. To adopt the viewpoint of Rev. Redding would be to break our pledge to Christ, to reject His unique Lordship and disown Him. It would be to deny that He died necessarily to take away our sins. From what the Bible teaches about God, from his viewpoint this would be a paramount sin and the rejection of His truth.

Some in Ms. Reddings camp might read my response and conclude that such a viewpoint as mine are what foster conflict. Conflict only comes when one group tries to oppress the other by acts of coercion. I believe all religions should reside side by side and be allowed to make their case peacefully. In that way, the truth will win out. However, those who reject the truth are often hostile to truth and resort to various means to supress it.

The testimony of Christ as recorded in the Bible is beyond comparison in my view. It is first of all historical. Second it is confirmed many times and in many ways by miracles and supernatural acts of God. Islam did not start supernaturally nor was it confirmed by miracles and it started over 5 centuries after Christ.

The True Way

Deuteronomy 4:
32 Ask now about the former days, long before your time, from the day God created man on the earth; ask from one end of the heavens to the other. Has anything so great as this ever happened, or has anything like it ever been heard of? 33 Has any other people heard the voice of God speaking out of fire, as you have, and lived? 34 Has any god ever tried to take for himself one nation out of another nation, by testings, by miraculous signs and wonders, by war, by a mighty hand and an outstretched arm, or by great and awesome deeds, like all the things the LORD your God did for you in Egypt before your very eyes?

35 You were shown these things so that you might know that the LORD is God; besides him there is no other. 36 From heaven he made you hear his voice to discipline you. On earth he showed you his great fire, and you heard his words from out of the fire. 37 Because he loved your forefathers and chose their descendants after them, he brought you out of Egypt by his Presence and his great strength, 38 to drive out before you nations greater and stronger than you and to bring you into their land to give it to you for your inheritance, as it is today.

It struck me a I read this passage that the great and marvelous things God did for Moses and the people of Israel were written not just for them but for us as well. Search the religions, sects and faiths of the world. Where do we find a testimony of the truth so vivid as here? The children of Israel were assembled at the base of the mountain when the Ten Commandments were given to Moses by God. They heard the voice of God! The saw the miraculous judgements against their captors. They saw the water turn to blood. They saw the plagues. They saw the Red Sea split in two and walked through the middle. They saw Pharoah's army swallowed up when they tried to cross. And these are for us as well, so that we might know the true God and believe.

Then when Jesus came, he performed miracle after miracle, healing the blind, turning water into wine, curing multitudes of sick, feeding 5000 with a few loafs of bread, walking on water, raising the dead and himself rising from the dead. This is what he said:

John 15:24 If I had not done among them what no one else did, they would not be guilty of sin. But now they have seen these miracles, and yet they have hated both me and my Father.

He has done what no one else did. What I hear this saying is that there is no reason to choose any other religion or god. For the Truth has spoken and we are without cause to reject it or refuse to believe it.

John 20:30 Jesus did many other miraculous signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not recorded in this book. 31But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.

Do we live in a God-forsaken land?

The other day I was driving down the freeway and heard on the radio a message by John MacArthur spoken on the national day of prayer. It aired on the Focus on the Family radio program and can be heard online at the following links:

A Nation Abandoned by God, Part 1

A Nation Abandoned by God, Part 2

What he spoke of brought silence to his listening audience and myself as well as I listened. His message can be summed up with this one quote:

"I am going say something. You are going to have to hold on to your seat a little bit: I am convinced beyond doubt, that in the same sense, God has abandoned America. I know that is a strong thing to say and I am going to show you why I believe you can see that clearly in Scripture..."

He gave examples in the Bible of God abandoning nations who had forsaken him. But the focus of his talk centered around a passage of Scripture found in the first chapter of the book of Romans. In this passage it speaks of God giving up a people in his wrath. The passage outlines a progression of steps that occur when God has had enough and gives a culture over to their own devices and does not restrain them from evil:

Romans 1:24 Therefore God gave them over in the sinful desires of their hearts to sexual impurity for the degrading of their bodies with one another.

The first thing that happens when a nation is abandoned by God is a sexual revolution. We saw this begin in the 60's. Today our culture is obsessed with all kinds of sexual sin. There millions and millions of pornographic websites. It is a multi-billion dollar industry. Rape and child abuse are so common that most people have either been victimized or know someone who has. Adultery and other sex outside of marriage is so common that it is looked upon as normal behavior.

Romans 1:25 They exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator—who is forever praised. Amen.

Secondly, the sign of abandonment is the wholesale rejection of truth. Our culture has abandoned the faith that was originally central to it. Prayer and Scripture were first barred from schools. Today there is litigation going on that seeks to remove God from every area of public life. It is relentless. Lawsuits for saying "Merry Christmas". Lawsuits against student led prayer at graduation. Lawsuits for even using color schemes of red and green in December school events. Instead evolution and other alternate explanations are mandated upon all. In our colleges and universities, the Christian faith is routinely mocked and laughed at by professors. Secular scientists are vehemently intolerant of any scientific theory that posits the existence of the Creator.

Romans 1:26 Because of this, God gave them over to shameful lusts. Even their women exchanged natural relations for unnatural ones. 27In the same way the men also abandoned natural relations with women and were inflamed with lust for one another. Men committed indecent acts with other men, and received in themselves the due penalty for their perversion.

Third, the sexual revolution takes on unnatural deviations. The next step in abandonment is that following a sexual revolution is a homosexual revolution. Today the homosexual movement is growing and at very fast rate and the pressure to accept it as normal is immense. The entertainment, news and political media relentlessly promote homosexuality as normal. Our culture embraces and celebrates it.

Romans 1:28 Furthermore, since they did not think it worthwhile to retain the knowledge of God, he gave them over to a depraved mind, to do what ought not to be done.

The next step is the culture is given over to a depraved mind. MacArthur points out that the word depraved means "non-functioning". The mind of the culture no longer thinks clearly in the moral sense. It no longer functions how God created to. In other words, the cultures' morality is turned upside down and no longer functions reasonably. Not matter how much misery, grief and disease the morality may cause, it goes forward with full force. The list of behavior resulting from this is described:

Romans 1:29 They have become filled with every kind of wickedness, evil, greed and depravity. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit and malice. They are gossips, 30slanderers, God-haters, insolent, arrogant and boastful; they invent ways of doing evil; they disobey their parents; 31they are senseless, faithless, heartless, ruthless.

Sounds like the evening news. The result of abandonment is a decaying morality. Even non-religious people admit that our morality is going the wrong way. A depraved (non-functioning) morality is infested in every part of our culture from the government to corporate America to our campuses and workplaces and worst of all to our families. Crime, violence, hate and deceit are everywhere. Our political system is full of slander, deceit and arrogance. Our television is full of shows on celebrity gossip, violent images, talk shows that celebrate perversion. Our corporations and institutions are fully of corruption and dishonesty. We hear about it daily.

Romans 1:32 Although they know God's righteous decree that those who do such things deserve death, they not only continue to do these very things but also approve of those who practice them.

And finally, not only is the morality turned upside down, but it is heartedly accepted and promoted in the culture. What is right is deemed as wrong. What is wrong is deemed what is right. This will reach its culmination when the society starts punishing its people for doing right and excusing people for doing wrong. It will result in the persecution of those who hold to the righteous standards and beliefs of the Bible.

I know that with God all things are possible. I know that He can bring about a revival and turn our culture around. But what struck me is the stark claim of America's abondment. It is shocking because the unspoken assumption, even in the Church, is that God's blessing is upon America. This is the first time I have heard is such outspoken terms otherwise and it is making me think.

I leave it up to each one to search this out for themselves in their own hearts. But if God has abandoned this nation, then it will continue down the path it is heading UNTIL we acknowledge that God has abandoned us because of our evil; until we humble ourselves and confess it and call upon God for forgiveness and renewal:

2 Chronicles 7:14 if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land.

Memorial Day Thoughts

I watched an interesting DVD last night called "The Perfect Stranger". It is a story about an unbelieving lawyer who gets a mysterious invitation to dinner. The invitation is signed Jesus Christ. Thinking it was a prank, she decides to go. The man she met was supposedly Jesus. In the course of their conversation, the lawyer brought up many objections and posed many questions which the Jesus figure answered. They were on the topic of Jesus being the only way to God in light of other religions. She brought up the religion of Islam. The mysterious guest asked the woman what was a human's greatest need. The answer she gave was to be loved. Knowing that Islam is a religion of pure submission with no concept of love, he answered with a question (paraphrased): "Why would God create man with the greatest need to be loved and never fulfill that need?"

One witness to the truth of the message of Christ is that of love. Only in the suffering and sacrifice of Christ do we see a God that with a perfect love--a love that can meet that great need the human heart yearns for and is unable to find. We find love in this world, but it is always an imperfect love, a love that falls short. Our longing is to be loved perfectly.

On memorial day, we remember the fallen heroes. Those individuals who gave the greatest sacrifice to secure our freedom--their lives. Jesus said "Greater love has no one that this, than to lay down one's life for his friends" (John 15:13 NKJV). These men and women never got to live out the full span of their lives. Many of them barely reached adulthood. The very fabric of our being cries out "honorable" and "noble" and "virtuous".

Christ laid down his life for us so that all of our sin and rebellion against God could be laid upon him instead of us. "For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life." (John 3:16 NKJV).

That is why there is no other path to God. To choose another religion or no religion at all is to say no to the greatest love gift. It would be like going to the cemetery where the fallen soldiers lie and curse and deface the gravestones of those who gave their lives to secure your happiness. Such an act is so blatantly disrespectful and ungrateful that it cries out for comdemnation. Listen to the seriousness of rejecting the One who gave all to secure our eternal happiness:

Hebrews 10:29 How much more severely do you think a man deserves to be punished who has trampled the Son of God under foot, who has treated as an unholy thing the blood of the covenant that sanctified him, and who has insulted the Spirit of grace?

In the end the lawyer from that DVD saw the message of Christ in a new light that she had never seen before. When the love of Christ has clearly presented, it is not difficult to see why it is reasonable to believe and forsake all that tries to rival his love.

The Need of Strength

Why am I so often surprised when God intervenes?

Last week seemed to be especially stressful. Our life is normally filled with responsibility--four kids, one autistic, one a toddler recovering from cancer. Susan fell ill with a bad cold and sinus infection and work was particularly demanding as we were at a project deadline. Then the doctor told Susan she looked exhausted and might be fighting symptoms of depression as well. I felt helpless and overwhelmed.

As we were discussing these thing, I blurted out, "We need the strength of the Lord!" And then I spontaneously prayed out loud, "Lord, we need your strength." Soon after I was by myself and a peace came upon me and it seemed as though God spoke to my heart saying, "everything is going to be alright." I repeated the phrase to Susan.

What amazes me is how things can look helpless and hopeless at one moment and in the next "it is well with my soul." Nothing changed with my circumstance, but I was changed. The only explanation is that God intervenes. Here is a verse that I found that sums it up:

Psalm 29:11 The LORD gives strength to his people; the LORD blesses his people with peace.

What a heritage for people of the Lord! What a precious promise. After Jesus had risen and before he left, he told his disciples "Peace I leave with you."

Notice how the verse ties strength and peace together. I asked for strength and he gave me peace. The peace of the Lord is strength to the soul. I have found that some of the most amazing promises in the Bible deal with the peace of the Lord. There is the promise of perfect peace (Isaiah 26:3), a peace that passes understanding (Philippians 4:7), the peace of Christ (John 14:27) and a peace like nothing in this world (John 14:27).

Are Christians Intolerant?

With the passing of the reverend Jerry Falwell this week, I was reading a website where readers were able to leave comments. Many Christians who were associated with the reverend spoke with great admiration of the great example he left and things he accomplished for Christ. At the same time, there were others who felt quite the contrary. One fellow wrote of Mr. Falwell's "intolerance" in that he believed that all non-Christians were going to hell.

When I read this, I felt a sad pit in my stomach. It's the same feeling of grief I often get when I hear of people speaking the way this fellow did. Yes, it is true that we believers believe as Jerry Falwell does. But it is not out of intolerance. That is what is so frustrating. If we Christians decided that we wanted to make ourselves better than others so we made up this belief that everyone else was so much more worse than us that they are going to hell, then that would be intolerant. But we are not motivated that way. The Christian response to those who are apart from Christ is driven by love. We warn about the dangers of hell because we don't want anyone to go there. It is out of love that we share Christ.

The apostle Paul wrote, "Since we know what it is to fear the Lord, we try to persuade men...For the love of Christ compels us because we are convinced that one [Jesus] died for all..."

Christians are those whose lives have been turned upside down by the love of Jesus; who have had their eyes open to this "love that surpasses knowledge". Our message is that someone has suffered and died in your place to pay for a debt that wasn't his. Is that intolerant? No.

The unwillingness, or maybe just spiritual inability, of people to see Christian truth any other way than intolerant, is a sober reminder of what the Bible describes as the world under the deception and blindness of the prince of darkness. Of course, if such a soul were to read this, they would shout "intolerance".

Is it then just a matter of irreconcilable differences? I don't think so. With the Lord, nothing is impossible. I, as well as others believers, were all one time at odds with the faith. I remember my own feelings of hostility when confronted with the message of sin and forgiveness. It is an almost irrational sense of offense that responds in anger. It is what the Bible describes as being in a state of sin. Yet the Lord was able to make his light shine in my heart.

All we Christians can do is to show as much grace, kindness and love as possible. It opens the door so that even those who may be offended by the faith will at least listen. And it is by hearing the word of Christ that faith comes (Romans 10:17). Our attitude that we project should be one of inclusion. We are not going to heaven because we are better. We are not superior, but it is simply one beggar showing another where he may find bread.

Miracles and faith and unbelief

Our pastor is doing a series on miracles. This last sunday he contrasted the effect of belief and unbelief on miracles using two case studies from the gospels.

The first case was the people of Jesus' hometown. In Mark 6, Jesus came to Nazereth and began to teach the people. But they took offense at him. In their pride they could not accept that he was more than the son of Joseph and Mary. The text of Scripture says he was not able to do any miracles there and he was amazed at their lack of faith.

The second case is found in Luke 7. There was a centurion who heard Jesus was coming to town. The centurion's servant was sick and about to die. The centurion was so humbled before Jesus that he didn't even want to trouble Jesus to come to him. He sent elders in his place and told Jesus that all he had to do was to say the word and his servant would be healed. Jesus was amazed at his faith and his servant was healed from that hour.

Seems to me I see a couple of extremes in the church. On one extreme any unanswered prayer is attributed to a lack of faith. On the other extreme, an unanswered prayer is NEVER attributed to a lack of faith. The first extreme can be motivated by a judgmental spirit. The second tries so hard not to offend or make a person feel bad that the unbelief is never addressed.

I think I tend to err on the later side. But I can not avoid the inevitable conclusion that Scripture teaches that faith and unbelief do affect God's hand in answering prayer.

I think one of the problems is that faith is often misunderstood. It is sometimes seen as an entity in itself. As if it is the faith itself that works some type of magic and is some sort of sign of self righteousness. This is where faith is viewed as a force. So there is a direct correlation between the faith a person has and the power to see prayer answered.

I think this is a gross misunderstanding of faith. Faith is something that looks to another. Faith is when we consider another faithful and so we trust in them. The people of Nazereth did not lack some type of spiritual force. They just did not trust Jesus. They did not like him for claiming to be more than just a carpenter. The centurion on the other hand was in awe of the Lord, had heard of his miracles and was humbled before his greatness. He trusted that Jesus was who he said he was and could do miracles because of it.

So when dealing with prayer, either mine or another, my focus should not be whether or not enough faith is involved, but rather look to Jesus in awe and humility trusting in His authority. If my prayer is not answered, I have to trust that there is a good sovereign reason and if it pleases the Lord to make that reason known to me. But if indeed I am trusting in the name of Jesus, I will see amazing things happen!

More on Faith and Presumption

I rececently posted on this topic a couple postings ago. Soon afterwards, my Bible reading plan had me in Numbers. I got to the account where Moses sent spies into the land of Canaan. God had promised the people of Israel that He would give them the land. He had performed great miracles to bring them out of Egypt to prove that they could trust him.

When the spies came back, two of them, Joshua and Caleb, told the people that the LORD was with them and would deliver the people of Canaan into their hands. The other 10, however, gave a bad report, saying that the people were too strong for them and that they would not be able to take the land. The Israelites believed the bad report. God was very angry with the Israelites for treating Him with comtempt and refusing to believe in Him. In His displeasure, He vowed that they would not be able to enter the promised land for 40 years:

Number 14:11 The LORD said to Moses, "How long will these people treat me with contempt? How long will they refuse to believe in me, in spite of all the miraculous signs I have performed among them?...20 The LORD replied, "I have forgiven them, as you asked. 21 Nevertheless, as surely as I live and as surely as the glory of the LORD fills the whole earth, 22 not one of the men who saw my glory and the miraculous signs I performed in Egypt and in the desert but who disobeyed me and tested me ten times- 23 not one of them will ever see the land I promised on oath to their forefathers. No one who has treated me with contempt will ever see it.

Then the Israelites were grieved and decide they would go and try to take the land after the LORD told them not to because He would not go with them:

Numbers 14:39 When Moses reported this to all the Israelites, they mourned bitterly. 40 Early the next morning they went up toward the high hill country. "We have sinned," they said. "We will go up to the place the LORD promised."

41 But Moses said, "Why are you disobeying the LORD's command? This will not succeed! 42 Do not go up, because the LORD is not with you. You will be defeated by your enemies, 43 for the Amalekites and Canaanites will face you there. Because you have turned away from the LORD, he will not be with you and you will fall by the sword."

44 Nevertheless, in their presumption they went up toward the high hill country, though neither Moses nor the ark of the LORD's covenant moved from the camp. 45 Then the Amalekites and Canaanites who lived in that hill country came down and attacked them and beat them down all the way to Hormah.

Here's what I have learned: If the Lord has made a promise and I don't believe that He will keep it, it is sin--the sin of unbelief. However, if God has not promised to do something or warned that He won't do it and I assume He will, then it is presumption. So if I am convinced by reading Scripture that God promises something to me, I must not treat the Lord with comtempt and refuse to believe Him. Instead I must consider Him who promised faithful to fulfill His word.

Enjoy Life?

I mentioned in a previous post that I was currently reading in the book of Ecclesiastes using my Bible reading plan. I came across a peculiar verse:

Ecclesiastes 8:15 So I commend the enjoyment of life, because nothing is better for a man under the sun than to eat and drink and be glad. Then joy will accompany him in his work all the days of the life God has given him under the sun.

"What!?" I thought to myself. "That sounds more like advice from Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous than the Bible." In the New Testament, Paul argues that if Christ has not risen from the dead, then there is no hope beyond this life so we might as well "Eat and drink for tomorrow we die." This is the philosophy that you only live once so party hard. It conjures up an image of a person given over to hedonism, living to satisfy every selfish whim. What in the world is the verse from Ecclesiasted talking about then?

Have you ever listened in on a conversation and only heard a part? You have to listen to the whole conversation to really understand what is being talked about. This was the case here with me. As I read the entire book of Ecclesiastes, it started to paint a picture. The picture was that of a thoughtful advice to the individual who lives outside of the context of God and acts as though his life on earth will continue forever. Such a person strives to make a name for himself that will endure "under the sun" not realizing that "the wise man, like the fool, will not be long remembered; in days to come both will be forgotten" (Ecclesiastes 2:16). The person has forgotten the addage that you can't take it with you and strives and toils to store up "treasures on earth" whether it be possessions or some of great work of significance. The author responds:

Ecclesiastes 2:18 I hated all the things I had toiled for under the sun, because I must leave them to the one who comes after me. 19 And who knows whether he will be a wise man or a fool? Yet he will have control over all the work into which I have poured my effort and skill under the sun. This too is meaningless. 20 So my heart began to despair over all my toilsome labor under the sun. 21 For a man may do his work with wisdom, knowledge and skill, and then he must leave all he owns to someone who has not worked for it. This too is meaningless and a great misfortune. 22 What does a man get for all the toil and anxious striving with which he labors under the sun? 23 All his days his work is pain and grief; even at night his mind does not rest. This too is meaningless.

The advice: don't live life striving and toiling for some great utopia on earth because you will never achieve it. I will never be able to attain enough wealth to satisfy. I will never accomplish enough great feats to be convinced that my name will endure forever on the earth. I will never find enough pleasures and entertainment to make me happy because of them.

All blessings come from God who "who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment" (1 Timothy 6:17). But the person who is always striving for more will never be able to enjoy them, for God will not allow it:

Ecclesiastes 6:1 I have seen another evil under the sun, and it weighs heavily on men: 2 God gives a man wealth, possessions and honor, so that he lacks nothing his heart desires, but God does not enable him to enjoy them, and a stranger enjoys them instead.

I think the whole of the matter is to live a life of gratitude and appreciation for all that God has blessed us with whether much or little. It is a matter of contentment. Living life free of selfish striving for more and more and never obtaining enough:

Ecclesiastes 5:18 Then I realized that it is good and proper for a man to eat and drink, and to find satisfaction in his toilsome labor under the sun during the few days of life God has given him—for this is his lot. 19 Moreover, when God gives any man wealth and possessions, and enables him to enjoy them, to accept his lot and be happy in his work—this is a gift of God. 20 He seldom reflects on the days of his life, because God keeps him occupied with gladness of heart.

The book of Ecclesiastes warns that life has both blessing and hardship. So rejoice in the good that does come from the hand of God. Rejoice in the Lord always. Think on the good things. There is a time to mourn and grieve. But why be depressed or anxious or fearful and dissatisfied all the time? Seek the Lord and His kingdom first and he will give us joy in the journey.

Faith or Presumption?

I'm going to be honest here. I struggle trusting in God to do something big. Not in the way you are probably thinking though. You are probably thinking that it is referring to a lack of faith. Well, maybe it is, but maybe it isn't.

It usually deals with praying for someone who is in some kind of crisis that requires a major intervention on God's part. It could be me or a friend or a relative. Sure there is the struggle of doubt that God will answer. But then I may feel strengthened in faith after reading the Bible about some great deliverance or miracle or some promise of God to answer prayer. Or my faith increases after hearing a testimony of a miracle of God in someone's life.

Here is the dilemma. I want to rest in the confidence that God is going to deliver the person in need for whom I am praying. I see the many, many Scriptures promising God to deliver those who cry out to Him. Too many to ignore. And all the more in Jesus Name! I desire to believe that God WILL do it. But then I struggle with the question of presumption. Is it OK to believe that God will definitely deliver? That He will heal every time I pray? Is that presuming upon God as if I am telling him what to do? Can I be OVER-confident in god? Or am I usurping his sovereignty assuming he will answer?

There are different schools of thought in the Christian community. If you are part of the Word of Faith movement (which I once was), for instance, then you are taught to believe that God will always answer in response to our faith. Some other traditions within the Church believe that miracles have passed away for the most part. Some traditions are of the mind that you pray and then it's anyone's guess whether God will answer. The assumption is usually do not expect too much.

So what should I expect when I pray earnestly for someone? That is the big question. I know that there are unanswered prayers as well as answered ones. God has not healed every person I've prayed for. But I've seen a whole lot of answers to my prayers as well. And sometimes, the prayer is answered in a different way that ends up working out good. But what should my expectation be? Should I think about the times my prayers were not answered? Or someone else's prayers weren't answered? Or should I think about the answered prayers and the promises of Scripture?

Here is where I'm at right now: I believe that our Lord is glorified when I trust in Him to bring good out of evil in my life or someone elses. I believe He is delighted when I believe that He is good and powerful and I am waiting and depending upon Him. I believe He rewards those who are seeking His deliverance in faith. If this is so, then I feel that I must expect great and marvelous things when I pray. Even if, in His sovereignty, he may not answer or may answer differently, I am convinced that He is pleased with the prayer of faith and somehow good will come out of it, even if, in the extreme case, it is not in this life. However, I believe for the most part, if we pray with expecting faith, that majority of the time I will glorify him for His marvelous mercy in delivering the afflicted.

Sometimes there are hard lessons that are learned in God not answering. Sometimes it may be inexplicable why He doesn't answer, especially if it is the loss of someone dear. It may bring doubt and heartbreak and even feelings of anger that need to be healed by His powerful love. But I have to keep believing in His goodness and willingness to answer prayer. For I believe that God's deliverance of the afflicted in answer to prayer is the norm not the exception.

Some light in the darkness

Yesterday started out very melancholic for me. There is a wave of health issues surrounding us concerning friends and relatives. My father faces open heart surgery. My aunt who has muscular distrophy just had a tracheotomy and is under constant care. A young 17 year old that we know recently had an aggressive form a cancer return with a bad prognosis. The father of a friend we know was just diagnosed with cancer. Yikes!

My Bible reading plan is now in Ecclesiastes. It was talking about the meaninglessness of life under the sun and how so much of it is just chasing after the wind. However, the whole point is that life viewed apart from God doesn't make much sense. If we are born, live life and then die and are no more, what is the whole point! A friend recently emailed us a letter from a prominent minister with some interesting insight:

"People ask me, What is the purpose of life? And I respond : In a nutshell, life is preparation for eternity. We were made to last forever, and God wants us to be with Him in Heaven. One day my heart is going to stop, and that will be the end of my body -- but not the end of me. I may live 60 to 100 years on earth, but I am going to spend trillions of years in eternity. This is the warm-up act - the dress rehearsal. God wants us to practice on earth what we will do forever in eternity. We were made by God and for God, and until you figure that out, life isn't going to make sense.

Life is a series of problems : Either you are in one now, you're just coming out of one, or you're getting ready to go into another one. The reason for this is that God is more interested in your character than your comfort. God is more interested in making your life holy than He is in making your life happy.We can be reasonably happy here on earth, but that's not the goal of life. The goal is to grow in character, in Christ likeness.

[...] I used to think that life was hills and valleys - you go through a dark time, then you go to the mountaintop, back and forth. I don't believe that anymore. Rather than life being hills and valleys, I believe that it's kind of like two rails on a railroad track, and at all times you have something good and something bad in your life. No matter how good things are in your life, there is always something bad that needs to be worked on. And no matter how bad things are in your life, there is always something good you can thank God for. You can focus on your purposes, or you can focus on your problems. If you focus on your problems, you're going into self-centeredness, "which is my problem, my issues, my pain." But one of the easiest ways to get rid of pain is to get your focus off yourself and onto God and others."

With all that has been going on, I decided to check up on a precious little girl who was going through cancer treatment the same time as Brent. She is under the care of her grandparents. The cancer treatment did not work for he so she is under hospice care, pretty much waiting for things to take thier course. My heart has gone out to the Lord in prayer many times for her. I was assuming the worst news. However, the report I heard from her grandmother made my day, helping to lift me out of my melancholy. Her grandmother said that she just keeps going and going. The hospice workers can't figure it out. They are even considering having some tests run on her to see if the cancer is in remission or if it has miraculously disappeared.

Just like the pastor's words said, light shining in the darkness.

Partial Birth Abortion

This last wednesday, the Supreme Court voted 5-4 to uphold the Partial Birth Abortion Ban passed by Congress and signed into law by President Bush in 2003. I am truly thankful! This is a brutal procedure in which a child, usually at 5 or 6 months, is brutually killed when it is inches from being fully delivered.

http://www.nrlc.org/abortion/pba/

The procedure is barbaric and never necessary to save the mother's life. The fact that we even have to argue whether or not to allow this procedure is an alarming sign for our country in my opinion. It just underlines the point that human nature is able to justify great evil. We mistakedly imagine that the horrors of World War II shocked us enough that no civilized nation would ever allow such attrocities to occur again. To me this is a wake up call that no generation is ever far enough from evil to assume that we can rest safely without fear of society condoning and rationalizing the destruction of innoncent life.

I was greatly disturbed by some of the comments I have read in response to the victory over partial birth abortion:

click here to see Seattle Times article

The name of the Seattle Times article says it all: "Pro-choice advocates react with dismay." There are people, groups and organizations that are actually upset that it is still illegal to destroy a 6 month old fetus that is perfectly healthy and all but delivered except for his or her head.

Liberal pro-choice groups are accusing the courts and congress of playing politics. This is not about politics but about decency and civility. It is about life and death. We should not care which political party is involved. The shedding of a baby's blood is just wrong (understatement of the year).

We would do well to heed the wisdom of Proverbs:

Proverbs 6:16 There are six things the LORD hates, seven that are detestable to him: 17 haughty eyes, a lying tongue, hands that shed innocent blood, 18 a heart that devises wicked schemes, feet that are quick to rush into evil, 19 a false witness who pours out lies and a man who stirs up dissension among brothers.

God is holy and good and can not tolerate the shedding of innocent blood:

Exodus 23: 7 Have nothing to do with a false charge and do not put an innocent or honest person to death, for I will not acquit the guilty.

Especially abhorrent to Him is when it deals with the most needy and innocent amoung us, namely children:

Psalm 106:38 They shed innocent blood, the blood of their sons and daughters, whom they sacrificed to the idols of Canaan, and the land was desecrated by their blood. 39 They defiled themselves by what they did; by their deeds they prostituted themselves. 40 Therefore the LORD was angry with his people and abhorred his inheritance. 41 He handed them over to the nations, and their foes ruled over them. 42 Their enemies oppressed them and subjected them to their power.

May God have mercy and forgive us and deliver us from evil!

Man's Anger

In light of Monday’s campus massacre, I have found myself thinking a lot about anger. The gunman was described as filled with “seething rage”. And we see the destructive result that has left of stunned and shocked. This verse came to my mind:

James 1:19 My dear brothers, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry, 20 for man's anger does not bring about the righteous life that God desires.

The verse talks not of anger in general, but qualifies it as man’s anger. This must be to distinguish it from God’s anger which is altogether righteous. Since God is described as getting angry, anger can not be bad, in and of itself. It is man’s anger that is the problem and that leads to evil.

The problem, contrary to our culture worldview, is that mankind has a flawed nature resulting from being estranged from God. In biblical categories, this condition is called by names such as fallen, lost, depraved, corrupted. Therefore, man’s anger arises for invalid reasons. It comes from an inaccurate perception of justice. A proud man feels injustice resulting in anger if he is criticized, even fairly. A rebellious man feels he has been wronged and gets mad if he does not get his way, right or wrong. A selfish man believes he should have whatever he wants and becomes enraged if he can not get what he wants:

James 4:1 What causes fights and quarrels among you? Don't they come from your desires that battle within you? 2You want something but don't get it. You kill and covet, but you cannot have what you want. You quarrel and fight. You do not have, because you do not ask God.

Another perversion of justice is in the double standard. This happens when someone judges themselves by one standard, usually very lenient, and others by a different standard in which the slighest offense becomes worthy of severe punishment. So evil rage and violent intent bursts forth for nothing more than a car pulling in front of a person on the road.

Still a third way man’s anger in unrighteous is anger toward the innocent through association. This is when a person becomes angry at someone who belongs to a certain catetory (race, religion, gender, career, economic status, personality, position, you name it) and so is angry with every person in that category. It’s called prejudice.

The epitomy of man’s anger is when it is directed toward God. The greatest perversion of justice is to believe that God is unjust. Multitudes are enemies toward God because of this. It is one of the key reasons so many remain in unbelief. They feel that they are right and God is wrong. But who is wrong, God, who created man, or man, who was created. How can the lesser be greater than the Greater? It is God who gives man a sense of justice in the first place!

Ezekiel 18:25 "Yet you say, 'The way of the Lord is not just.' Hear, O house of Israel: Is my way unjust? Is it not your ways that are unjust?...30 Repent! Turn away from all your offenses; then sin will not be your downfall. 31 Rid yourselves of all the offenses you have committed, and get a new heart and a new spirit. Why will you die, O house of Israel? 32 For I take no pleasure in the death of anyone, declares the Sovereign LORD. Repent and live!

As cultural distances itself further and further from God, its sense of justice will also move further and further from God until what is right and good is seen and evil and what is evil is seen is good. As it moves further from God it comes more under the control and jurisdiction of Satan, becoming more demonic in nature:

Ephesians 2:1 As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, 2in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient.

We must humble ourselves before God, confess our sin of forsaking him and petition him to heal our land. Otherwise things will be worse before they get better. Such is the judgment on the nation who forsake the LORD.

As believers in the glorious Lord, we are to turn away from anger and bitterness and pursue peace, mercy and love:

James 3:13 Who is wise and understanding among you? Let him show it by his good life, by deeds done in the humility that comes from wisdom. 14But if you harbor bitter envy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast about it or deny the truth. 15Such "wisdom" does not come down from heaven but is earthly, unspiritual, of the devil. 16For where you have envy and selfish ambition, there you find disorder and every evil practice.
17But the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure; then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere. 18Peacemakers who sow in peace raise a harvest of righteousness.

Deliver Us From Evil

"...deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen." (Matthew 6:13)

After a tragedy like the one that befell us on monday, along with the grief and shock often a sense of fear follows. What about my kids in school? What about the workplace? What about the grocery store? We feel helpless, traumatized and terrorized.

Jesus uttered the words quoted above in response to his disciples request to teach them how to pray. I take comfort that the Lord tells us to pray for deliverance from evil. Jesus would not have told us to pray this if there were no hope that God would indeed hear our prayer and answer. Rather Jesus told us to pray this way because the kingdom, power and glory belong to God alone. That means the power to protect is in God's hand.

We do not understand why God has allowed this evil. And we know that evil occurs around us. But there is hope and there is comfort that in taking refuge in the Lord, trusting in him, committing our path to him and crying out to him for deliverance and protection that He is indeed a strong tower against the foe. He calls us to be strong and courageous; and not to shrink back from faith and trust. In times like this we need to run to Him and not away from Him.

Let us lift our prayers humbly before him to protect our loved ones.

Our prayers go out to the families of the victims in monday's massacre and all the students and faculty of Virginia Tech. We pray for comfort, love, peace and healing.

The Virginia Tech Massacre

A tragic day befell our nation yesterday. A fellow student gunned down over fifty students and faculty, killing 32 before ending his own life. The nation lies in shock and grief.

Like 9/11, Hurricane Katrina and the post-Christmas tsunami, great loss of life is inevitably followed by lingering questions. Where was God? Why did he allow such evil? Although we know that such tragedy and evil have been present in the world since recorded history, our hearts are pierced when we experience it anew.

Such questions can only be asked if we presuppose the existence of God. If there were no overarching moral authority and if there we no moral framework etched into our consciences, then these questions would be irrelevant. We would be left with a random world without moral order in which each person's actions and each natural occurrence were simply meaningless events. Our response to such events would consist only of personal opinion stemming from self-created philosophy. But our honest and stark crying out at such evil and tragedy only reinforce that universal moral consciousness that resides in us all.

My response of faith is that God sometimes allows things that He hates and that grieve him for reasons we may not fully understand. I find it undeniable in Scripture that God not only abhors the taking of innocent life, but he has set his law in concrete, so to speak, that strongly forbids it. God's revealed moral law reveals his moral character. We are to be kind and loving to our fellow man. We are to be merciful to the poor and needy. We are to be patient and forgiving toward our enemy. We are to be generous to our neighbor. God's law reveals His inherent goodness.

The big issue is how we ask "Why?" in light of evil and tragedy. One way is from faith the other from unbelief and disdain. The believer asks "Why, O Lord" because he sees a conflict between God's goodness and the evil that was allowed. He trusts that God is good so he earnestly desires to reconcile the conflict. To him God says, be patient, it will one day be reconciled. My purpose will be brought to light. There will be a day a reckoning. There will be a day when all wrong is righted. There will be a day when evil is conquered. There will be a day when God's goodness will be clearly and ultimately vindicated.

The question asked from unbelief is done so to justify that unbelief. It is done in a "see, I told you so" mindset. It is seen as yet another reason to distance oneself from God and embrace the meaninglessness of existence. It serves only to reinforce hostility and indifference toward the Creator.

Such tragedies as witnessed yesterday are a test of faith. Do we really trust that God is good in light on evil?

That's how I see it.

Debating with an Atheist

I heard a guest atheist on a local christian radio station last night. He answered questions and challenges from callers, the host and a guest pastor. There were lots of good arguments and evidences presented for the truth of Christ. I would hear one and think, "that's a good one" and wonder how the atheist would respond. He would inevitably explain it away or give a reason why it was not convincing. Then I would hear another argument in favor of the truth of Christ and think, surely this one will make him pause or think. I always ended up disappointed, however.

When I really think of it in a general sense, I see the Bible seeming to teach that unbelief, like belief, is more than merely intellectual. It is spiritual in nature--a matter not only of the mind but of the heart. "The man without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned"
(1 Corinthias 2:14).

I always forget this truth and somehow hope that I can see a skeptic won over by clever presentation of the evidences of Christ. But apart from the power of the Spirit of God, the unbeliever remains committed in his heart to unbelief. Like the atheist I heard on the radio, he will start out with the assumption that it is not true and when challenged with evidences to the contrary will take those arguments and use his intellectual faculties to explain them away.

What the Bible refers to as being lost or estranged from God is a state where the soul naturally does not like the God of the Bible. It is offended by the claims of God's transcental holiness and the corresponding obligations to worship, love and obey Him. It is hostile to the threat of judgment and assumes that God is cruely and falsely accussing people of being unrighteous instead of justly responding to men's sin.

Consequently, like the atheist on the radio show, the natural response of the unbeliever is to reject the love, mercy, forgiveness and eternal life offered through the cross of Christ. What is the use then, I think? But then I also have to remember that "with man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible". The gospel is called the power of God. It is through the message of Christ that the Spirit of God changes hearts from darkness to light, from unbelief to faith. No heart is beyond the reach of the strong arm of the Lord. My part is one of prayer and support of the preaching of the gospel of Jesus with the hope that God will grant repentance and salvation to those who hear. Then when they hear the many true evidences of Christ, they will be convinced.