Bright Spot on the Horizon

I love to come across articles like the one I found on CNN's Belief blog. It is called, "Rabbi: Why evangelical Christians give millions to Israel". It is completely refreshing to hear a Rabbi state that the main reason he sees Christians reaching out to Israel is because of their genuine love for them. WOW!!! What a great testimony to the power of our Lord Jesus to change lives (1 John 3:10). Join me in thanking God for the work He is doing. Pray that it will continue until we are known by our love by everyone in the world.

Not seeing the big point because of all the little points

There is a great article by Steven Crowder on Foxnews.com about, "Why NOT Having Sex Might be Good for You". I really like the article. He makes some great points. But (and for me this is a really big but) he misses the main reason why not having sex before marriage is good for you. Are you ready...its because that is the way that God designed it to work. God is not a cosmic killjoy (as many believe). After all He is the one who created sex in the first place. It was His idea. It was such an awesome thing that He designed the best way for it to be used so that it would be beneficial in multiple ways to both men and women. When we deviate from God's plan we are saying that we know better than the creator of these things what it is for and how to use it. Newsflash...the designer of something knows more about it than most users. In this case God gave us guidelines for the best use of sex and that best and proper use of sex within the sanctity of marriage should cause us to truly marvel at the greatness of our Lord Jesus the creator of all things (1 Corinthians 10:31). A proper perspective on all of God's creation will continually drive us to live a more God focused life.

Man can't even understand himself

Sometimes I file articles away and stew on them for a while. In the middle of July CNN posted an article titled, "How can a smart species be so dumb?". Richard Galant reflects on a couple of questions asked by Laurie Santos in Oxford, England.

Was last year's financial crisis a chance event? Or was it the product of 35 million years of evolution?

These questions are posed in an either or type of presentation. Yet the answer to both of these questions from the perspective of a Christian would be decidedly different from the author of the article. First of all, "Was last year's financial crisis a chance event?" No, it was brought about by God for the sake of His glory.

Was it the product of 35 million years of evolution? No, it was part of God's plan and we have yet to see how it will play out entirely. You see man makes bad decisions because man has a fallen nature. He is prone to do evil (Genesis 6:5). Secondly there is no 35 million years of evolution Genesis 1:1 clearly tells us that in the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. We serve a God who has the entire world in His hands. He has made plans that will bring about the establishment of His kingdom and the glorification of Jesus. Because these plans are certain, the things leading up to these plans are orchestrated and certain as well. The financial crisis should not shake a God fearing God focused Christian. Why? Because the God focused Christian will see the financial crisis as a means of depending on God more and as one more step toward the final revealing of Jesus Christ. For the questions raised by CNN there really ought to be one more, "Was last years financial crisis an act of God?" If they asked this they might be getting a little closer to the truth.

Why followers of God know peace

In Philippians 4:11-13 Paul bears witness to the fact that God has given him the grace to be content in any situation. What is the key to that contentment? A clear focus and dependence upon God. Paul faced times of plenty and abundance and realized that they were a gift to him from God. Paul faced hunger and need and realized that these too were a gift from God. How can hunger and need be a gift from God? Hunger and need are a gift to the believer who like Paul has a clear focus and dependence on God. Hunger and need are blessed reminders of how much we truly need God to sustain us. By thrusting us into the barren desert of need God helps us to let go of our dependence on things of this earth. We are put in a place where we truly must depend on God. When Paul says, "that he can do all things through Christ who strengthens him" he is talking about being able to walk through adversity as well as plenty.

Paul's admonition earlier in the same chapter rings with greater force when we understand his personal heartbeat that follows it (Philippians 4:4-7). Paul started that earlier section with a call to rejoice in the Lord always. The only way you can rejoice ALWAYS is if you see everything that is coming to you as a gift. These are all gifts given to us by God for our own benefit. Paul continues with a call to be gentle with everyone. Even those who are not good to us? In a word yes! Why? Because the Lord is at hand.

He tells us not to worry. What should we do with the things that come our way? We communicate everything to God by prayer and supplication with one unusual thing thrown in - Thanksgiving. Paul wants us to make our request but in the midst of making them to be thankful for these same things because they are truly a gift from God. When your heart is tuned to being thankful and rejoicing in all the things that come our way we will gain something that is astounding. Peace! Not just any peace but the peace of God that surpasses all understanding.

1. Rejoice always - because you see everything coming to you as a gift
2. Be gentle with everyone - because the Lord is at hand and He will make things right
3. Don't worry - take everything to God by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving

Do these things and rivet your eyes on the Lord Jesus and an amazing peace from God that passes understanding will fill our hearts. Not only that but He will guard our hearts and our minds in Christ Jesus. As we rejoice in Him He will secure our hearts so that they can continue to rejoice in Him. This is why the true followers of Jesus in the midst of persecution and a life devoid of external peace will exhibit a heart filled with supernatural peace that cannot be taken away. Join me as I try to follow Paul's plan for living a life completely focused on God.

The gift of sleeplessness

We read the Bible, stories from Christian history and usually a good book to our children each evening. We are currently reading a book titled, "Prisoners of the Sea" by Florence M. Kingsley. It was initially published in 1897 and it is an exciting cast away and adventure on the high seas story. Tonight chapter thirty-eight held our attention as an escaped convict planned to kill some of the stories heros while they slept. One of our heros is a Huguenot Pastor. In the story he could not sleep. What he says was a really great perspective on sleeplessness.

But the Huguenot pastor, Constantin Dinant, was not asleep. He had not slept during the night; he had beguiled the long hours with prayers, none the less fervent because they were inaudible.

"Why bemoan a sleepless night?" he was wont to say. "These are the hours that God snatches for us out of the thirsty waste of our lives, wherein to give us the living water. Rejoice then, when sleep forsakes thine eyes, for it is a sign of favor. Surely communion with the King of king is better than the unconsciousness of sleep."

To see sleeplessness as a gift from God (James 1:17). A gift of sweet communion with Jesus the King of kings. Now there is a perspective that strikes at the very core of living a life focused on our great God, Jesus the Christ.

 

...to become like a child

This last Sunday we celebrated our 3 year old son's 4th birthday a couple of days early. He told us that he wanted lots of presents. Of course to a soon to be 4 year old the number of presents is more important than the type of presents. So balls and cars and bubble's and little planes were all the order of the day. Lots of activity preceded the gift giving part of the day as more and more of his older siblings slipped away to wrap something or slip an item into a gift bag neatly concealing it with tissue paper. Our two year old daughter watched in silent wonder at the energy being expended creating colorful boxes and bags for her closest brother. The excitement mounted until we gathered in the living room to begin the process of discovering what was inside those wonderful boxes and bags. As the gift giving proceeded our two year old slipped away. She soon returned with a bag of her own. We all watched in anticipation and she beamed with excitement as her brother began to take the tissue paper out of her bag. Piece after piece of tissue come billowing out of the container as our son proceeded to liberate one paper after the other from its secret hiding place. Our two year old had managed to stuff an amazing amount of colorful tissue paper into her gift. She pumped her little legs up and down with excitement as one piece after another hit the floor. Finally he got to the bottom of the bag and there was nothing in it but tissue paper. He turned to the next gift to look for something of more value to him. But what he failed to realize is that he had received the best possible gift from his little sister. Our two year old in an amazing moment of selflessness took the time to try and bring joy to her brother. She had nothing to give but her effort at building a better relationship with him. I'm sure she did not think of it this way she just loved her brother and wanted to be a part so she made herself a part. Her Dad saw the best gift in the empty bag. You see what she gave was her. She gave the attempt at bringing joy to him, and it totally came from her. No one helped. She did it all on her own, and it was beautiful. I believe Jesus was thinking of things like this that little children do when He told the disciples that they needed to become like a little child (Matthew 18:3-4). You see God calls us to come to him just as we are. If we bring our good works we are not acceptable. If we bring our intellect and understanding that will not do. We must come empty handed depending entirely on the great work of Jesus on our behalf to make us perfect and acceptable in God's eyes. We must come to Him and rejoice in Him empty handed because that is the thing that will bring us and Him the greatest joy. You see He did not die for the works that we do...He died to take the penalty for our sins and make us righteous. Jesus died to found and perfect our faith (Hebrews 12:2). Jesus died so that we might know Him. So when we embrace Him with all that we are that is the best thing we could possibly do.

Taking God for granted

I am sitting here in my living room with my wife. We had twins a little over three weeks ago. It's late and as I sit here it suddenly struck me how much of God's grace has been poured out on us that we take for granted. We are not wealthy by the world's standards but we have a comfrotable couch and a recliner that would have been the envy of the wealthy 100 years ago. A color TV hangs on my wall and 100 years ago that sort of thing was not even thought of. Electricity powers lights that let me see what I type. A fish aquarium churnes away in the corner maintaining a fish habitat for our viewing pleasure. Color photographs in frames crowd the top of our piano. Some of them were captured with a digital camera. Our newborn daughters rest comfortably in warm clothes that were acquired from virtually limitless choices at an abundance of stores. What we experience is truly amazing, and especially so when we remember John 1:3, "All things were made by Him (Jesus...God)." That puts an amazing perspective on it all. There is not one thing that we have that is not derived from something that God made. The life that we experience comes from God and all that we have comes from God. All the things that I see in my home exist because God allowed someone somewhere to have the mental capacity to figure out how to make it. 1 Corinthians 8:6 reminds us that all things are God's. All the things we take for granted are actually little signpost that should cause our hearts to cry out to God in wonder at His mercy and grace. We really deserve God's wrath because of our corruption and sinfulness. What we have received even in the common things of life is truly astounding. Because of Jesus one day I will dwell in Heaven with my God. But on the journey to that celestial city God has surrounded me and you with signpost to point out His abundant mercy and grace. So whether we eat or drink or whatsoever we do we could do all to the glory of God (1 Corinthians 10:31). May God grant us the grace to not take Him for granted but to live a more God focused life than ever.

Happiness: SELF focused vs. God focused - Part 3

This is a continuation of a post I started 2 days ago. The other day Lucy Danziger published an article called, "4 Simple Secrets to Feeling Happier Every Day." Lucy is the Editor-in-Chief of SELF magazine. I will continue addressing the points of her article until they are covered. Point 3 in her article is, "Find your 'mouse hole!'" Basically the gist of it is to get away and recharge. There is a basic seed of good advice here. But being a Christian we can take it to a whole new level. Jesus in the sermon on the mount said, “But when you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.” (Matthew 6:6) We could say that Jesus is saying sure go ahead get alone somewhere. Since your Father is there and you are not really alone pray. Embrace Him. Talk to Him. Commune with your God. Jesus promises that God will reward us. Sometimes we get some preconceived idea of what we want for a reward. Perhaps we want an answer to our prayer. Perhaps we want God to do things the way we think is best. But if we are really seeking God and not asking Him for things then what is the best reward we could get? The greatest possible reward we could be given in all the universe would be God. Learn to seek God. Learn to want God, and you will find God as your reward when you consistently pursue a God focused life.