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.
Thursday, April 26, 2007
Wednesday, April 25, 2007
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.
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.
Tuesday, April 24, 2007
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.
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.
Sunday, April 22, 2007
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!
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!
Thursday, April 19, 2007
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.
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.
Wednesday, April 18, 2007
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.
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.
Tuesday, April 17, 2007
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.
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.
Monday, April 16, 2007
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.
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.
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