Christianity

On love and respect…and tone of voice

1 Comment / May 26, 2011

The other day, as I was shopping in the store, I heard a woman’s voice say, “You bring too much junk food into the house.  You have to stop it”.  Or something like that.  But her TONE of voice said “You stupid idiot, what is wrong with you?! ”  I turned to see who she was speaking to and found an older couple.  The woman was speaking in this condescending, holier-than-thou, tone to her husband, who was shuffling behind her with his head down.  What is wrong with this picture?  This is one of many times I have seen a person treat someone who should be…at one time probably was…the love of their life with condescension and unkindness.

Have you ever seen spouses treat each other like this?  Have you ever treated your spouse like this?  I know I have.  I recognized the tone of voice the woman was using, because, sadly, I have used it on occasion.   But if we get in the habit of treating our spouse this way, we are essentially adding bricks to a wall that will grow taller and stronger with each incident.  And, if we are not careful, it will end up casting a dark shadow over the relationship, eventually drowning out the light.  We need to constantly be on guard against treating our spouses in this way.

And this goes for your private moments, too–just because you are a model wife or husband in public does not mean you are treating them with love and respect at home.  Many is the couple who look so happy on the outside, but their true relationship is quite the opposite.   And, oftentimes, the breakdown in these relationships started when we stopped treating one another with respect and kindness.

The other day, I came across a couple I had never met.  The woman had to leave for a moment and the husband proceeded to spout off several unkind remarks about his wife, then rolled his eyes when he told me they had been married 50 years.  I got the impression that he felt like the last 50 years had been a mild form of torture.  The only thing that made him light up was when I asked about his grandkids.  When the woman returned, she gave me the impression that she was unpleasant and bossy.  From the outside, it looks as if this couple has lost all respect and love for one another.  It was heart-breaking.  I wonder if all of those years of treating one another with disrespect and unkindness had changed a couple who had pledged to love one another for eternity to two people that couldn’t stand one another?

If this is something you struggle with (and, if we are honest, many of us do, at least on occasion), why not sit down and have a heart to heart with your spouse and ask them if they feel like they are loved and respected?  And, if not, why not?  Find out if your words have degraded them…discouraged them…disheartened them.  And if they work up the courage to be completely honest with you, do not make excuses.   Do not grow defensive.   Listen carefully.  Apologize.

Treat your spouse with love and respect.  Honor them.  Be grateful for the way God made them.  Remember why you fell in love.  And, in the process, let’s be a shining example of marriage as God created it.  Let’s show the world that it is possible to be in love for a lifetime!

Ephesians 5:22-33

Idol Building

Leave a Comment / April 28, 2011

The other day I read the following verses in Isaiah 46.  As I read them, I found myself wondering how Isaiah might have worded them in modern day America–

Here is how it is written in Isaiah 46:5-7:

5 “ To whom will you liken Me, and make Me equal
      And compare Me, that we should be alike?
       6 They lavish gold out of the bag,
      And weigh silver on the scales;

They hire a goldsmith, and he makes it a god;
      They prostrate themselves, yes, they worship.
       7 They bear it on the shoulder, they carry it
      And set it in its place, and it stands;
      From its place it shall not move.
      Though one cries out to it, yet it cannot answer
      Nor save him out of his trouble.

Here is Leslie’s Modern American Translation–

 “ To whom will you liken Me, and make Me equal
      And compare Me, that we should be alike?
       They lavish gold to buy tickets for athletic events,
      And they spend oodles of time watching screens;

They hire a trainer, and he makes the care of his body a god;
      They miss church for their children’s sporting events, yes, they worship.
       7 They dwell on these things
      And set it in its place, and it stands;
      From its place it shall not move.
      Though one cries out to it, yet it cannot answer
      Nor save him out of his trouble.

Of course, I am not saying it is wrong to watch sporting events, TV, or our children on an occasional Sunday morning.  I am not saying it is a bad thing to take care of your body.   I am, however, concerned about the priority these things take in many of our lives.   They often start taking first place in our hearts.  Sometimes I think I am caught up in these things unawares…and, all of a sudden, I realize they have eaten up a ton of time.   And, yet, while these things are okay, and even good, in moderation, when we invest too much time in them, these things often become an idol for us.

When trouble comes, we cannot save ourselves with our TV, our sports, or our perfectly sculpted body.  God is our help in time of trouble.  He is our rock.  He is our shelter.  May we invest our lives in Him, so that we already know Him when trouble comes.  May the other things that we do in life take second place to the God that loves us.

The Implications of the Cross

Leave a Comment / April 3, 2015

cross-58376_1280

We lay out the plans for our own lives and say, “Now, Lord, it is nice to serve You and we love You, Lord, and let’s sing a chorus,” but we won’t change our plans in any way.  But, let me remind you, the cross of Jesus Christ always changes men’s plans. The cross of Christ is revolutionary, and if we are not ready to let it be revolutionary in us nor let it cost us anything or control us in any way, we are not going to like a church that takes the things of God seriously.  People want the benefits of the cross but yet they do not want to bow to the control of the cross. They want to take all the cross can offer but they don’t want to be under the lordship of Jesus.

The above is written by A.W. Tozer.  Again, I turn to him for wisdom.  This time regarding that most iconic of symbols in Christianity: The Cross.   Here are some further thoughts on the Cross and what it means for us as believers–

In every Christian’s heart there is a cross and a throne, and the Christian is on the throne till he puts himself on the cross; if he refuses the cross he remains on the throne. Perhaps this is at the bottom of the backsliding and worldliness among gospel believers today. We want to be saved but we insist that Christ do all the dying. No cross for us, no dethronement, no dying. We remain king within the little kingdom of Mansoul and wear our tinsel crown with all the pride of a Caesar; but we doom ourselves to shadows and weakness and spiritual sterility.

The old cross slew men; the new cross entertains them. The old cross condemned; the new cross amuses. The old cross destroyed confidence in the flesh; the new cross encourages it. The old cross brought tears and blood; the new cross brings laughter. The flesh, smiling and confident, preaches and sings about the cross; before that cross it bows and toward that cross it points with carefully staged histrionics—but upon that cross it will not die, and the reproach of that cross it stubbornly refuses to bear.

The cross stands high above the opinions of men and to that cross all opinions must come at last for judgment.

If we are wise we will do what Jesus did: endure the cross and despise its shame for the joy that is set before us. To do this is to submit the whole pattern of our lives to be destroyed and built again in the power of an endless life. And we shall find that it is more than poetry, more than sweet hymnody and elevated feeling. The cross will cut into our lives where it hurts worst, sparing neither us nor our carefully cultivated reputations. It will defeat us and bring our selfish lives to an end.

In coming to Christ we do not bring our old life up onto a higher plane; we leave it at the cross. The corn of wheat must fall into the ground and die.

The cross that ended the earthly life of Jesus now puts an end to the sinner; and the power that raised Christ from the dead now raises him to a new life along with Christ.

To any who may object to this [the cross] or count it merely a narrow and private view of truth, let me say God has set His hallmark of approval upon this message from Paul’s day to the present. Whether stated in these exact words or not, this has been the content of all preaching that has brought life and power to the world through the centuries.

Willingness to suffer for Jesus’ sake—this is what we have lost from the Christian church. We want our Easter to come without the necessity of a Good Friday. We forget that before the Redeemer could rise and sing among His brethren He must first bow His head and suffer among His brethren!  We forget so easily that in the spiritual life there must be the darkness of the night before there can be the radiance of the dawn. Before the life of resurrection can be known, there must be the death that ends the dominion of self. It is a serious but a blessed decision, this willingness to say, “I will follow Him no matter what the cost. I will take the cross no matter how it comes!”

At the heart of the Christian system lies the cross of Christ with its divine paradox. The power of Christianity appears in its antipathy toward, never in its agreement with, the ways of fallen men. The truth of the cross is revealed in its contradictions. The witness of the church is most effective when she declares rather than explains, for the gospel is addressed not to reason but to faith. What can be proved requires no faith to accept. Faith rests upon the character of God, not upon the demonstrations of laboratory or logic.  The cross stands in bold opposition to the natural man. Its philosophy runs contrary to the processes of the unregenerate mind, so that Paul could say bluntly that the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness. To try to find a common ground between the message of the cross and man’s fallen reason is to try the impossible, and if persisted in must result in an impaired reason, a meaningless cross and a powerless Christianity.

 

SVL

2 Comments / April 11, 2011

Sex. Violence. Language.  Do you care?  Do you even think about what you are putting before your eyes?  Or what is playing on your ipod?  Somehow there has grown a serious disconnect between our entertainment choices and our walk with God.  I am not sure how this happened, but I am certain it is connected to our taking some scripture very much out of context.   Something to do with not being under the law but under grace and skewing that to mean I can watch or listen to whatever I want.  It has gotten to the place that even pastors use films filled with things that God hates as examples to draw people in.   Again, I ask, how have we gotten to this place?  I cannot quite wrap by brain around it.

We have been subtly tricked into believing it doesn’t matter.   But it does matter!   So, maybe you are asking why does it matter?  Why can’t I do what I want, if I am free in Christ?   May I suggest a few reasons why it DOES matter–

~If we are Christians, we are beloved sons and daughters of Christ.   Just like a young child wants to please his earthly father, so we, too, should want to please our heavenly Father.

Ephesians 5 tells us:  1 Therefore be imitators of God as dear children. 2 And walk in love, as Christ also has loved us and given Himself for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling aroma. 3 But fornication and all uncleanness or covetousness, let it not even be named among you, as is fitting for saints; 4 neither filthiness, nor foolish talking, nor coarse jesting, which are not fitting, but rather giving of thanks. 5 For this you know,[a] that no fornicator, unclean person, nor covetous man, who is an idolater, has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God.

Read that list again:  fornication, uncleanness, covetousness, filthiness, foolish talking, coarse jesting.   Think about the last movie you watched.  Did it have any of those things in it?    It has been my experience that almost everything coming out of Hollywood is filled with these things.  Of course, there are some exceptions.  But not many.   The Bible says we are to be imitators of God as dear children.  I have a hard time believing that God would watch or listen to anything that is filled with the things He hates.   Let’s fill our minds with entertainment that is “fitting for saints”.

~We are to set nothing wicked before our eyes.  Psalm 101 says:

3 I will set nothing wicked before my eyes;
I hate the work of those who fall away;
It shall not cling to me.
4 A perverse heart shall depart from me;
I will not know wickedness.

On the other hand, we are to meditate on good things.  Philippians 4:8-9 says:

8 Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy—meditate on these things. 9 The things which you learned and received and heard and saw in me, these do, and the God of peace will be with you.

I know that when I watch a movie that is filled with things that are displeasing to God, my mind is not filled with good thoughts.  I am not leaving the theater praising my heavenly Father if I have filled my mind with filth.   Sometimes there are even movies that have great moral themes and yet they are still dotted with bikini-clad women that tempt men to lust or they are filled with unnecessary violence or bad language.  We truly need to be discerning in our entertainment choices.  We need to ask ourselves if this choice I am making will encourage me or hinder me in my walk with the Lord.

~Do you cringe when the character on the screen takes your Lord’s name in vain?  Or is dressed immodestly?  Or when there is a passionate, private moment between two unmarried people?  Or how about the blood and guts that horror films are filled with?  Do you cringe, if you choose to fill your mind with these things?  Or has your heart grown hardened?  You see, the more often we set unclean things before our eyes, the more hardened we become.  Perhaps, you don’t even think about it anymore.

Charles Finney says in regards to hardening hearts:

Sinners often harden their hearts by indulging appetite. For example: they are accustomed to the use of tobacco, or intoxicating drinks; or they are accustomed to indulge in the use of various luxuries. Now if the claims of God are presented to them, those claims come directly into competition with appetite. For example: I heard of a man, who, through the use of intoxicating drinks, was likely to lose his eye-sight. His physician told him that he must abandon the use of intoxicating drinks, or entirely lose the use of his eyes. Upon this information he girded himself instantly, and said, “Then fare you well, old eyes.” Thus he settled the question, hardened his heart, and probably lost his soul.

While we are not addressing the use of alcohol here, I think the same principle can be applied.  When we fill our minds with the things that God hates, we are basically saying we don’t care about what He thinks.   That we are going to do what we want.  And, all the while, we grow further and further from holiness and purity.

In conclusion, I leave you with these verses from Romans 12:1-2–

1 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. 2 And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.

Let’s run away from ungodly entertainment, instead of embracing it!  Let’s remember our high calling!  To present our bodies as a living sacrifice.  Pleasing God with ALL that we do.  Which includes how we spend our time and fill our minds.

May God bless you as you ponder these thoughts…

Spiritual Wisdom Worth Remembering

Leave a Comment / February 24, 2011

H.A. Ironside (1876-1951)
Holiness the False and the True
I have been learning all along my pilgrim journey that the more my heart is taken up with Christ, the more do I enjoy practical deliverance from sin’s power, and the more do I realize what it is to have the love of God shed abroad in that heart by the Holy Spirit given to me, as the earnest of the glory to come. I have found liberty and joy since being thus freed from bondage that I never thought it possible for a soul to know on earth, while I have a confidence in presenting this precious truth for the acceptance of others that contrasts with the uncertainty of the past (p. 33-34).

 

Robert Murray McCheyne (1813-1843)
Memoirs of McCheyne, edited by Andrew Bonar
The only way to be kept from falling is to grow. If you stand still, you will fall. Read Proverbs 11:28, ‘The righteous shall flourish as a branch.’ Remember you are not a tree, that can stand alone; you are only a branch, and it is only while you abide in Him, as a branch, that you will flourish. Keep clear your sense of justification; remember it is not your own natural goodness, nor your tears, nor your sanctification that will justify you before God. It is Christ’s sufferings and obedience alone. Seek to be made holier every day; pray, strive, wrestle for the Spirit, to make you like God. Be as much as you can with God. I declare to you that I had rather be one hour with God, than a thousand with the sweetest society on earth or in heaven. All other joys are but streams; God is the fountain: ‘all my springs are in Thee’ (p. 48).
Pray much for the Holy Spirit to open your eyes, to soften your heart, to make Christ lovely and precious, to come and dwell in your hearts, and fit you for glory (p. 99).
Let your soul be filled with a heart-ravishing sense of the sweetness and excellency of Christ and all that is in Him. Let the Holy Spirit fill every chamber of your heart; and so there will be no room for folly, or the world, or Satan, or the flesh (p. 110).
You know what true holiness is. It is Christ in you, the hope of glory. Let Him dwell in you, and so all His features will shine in your hearts and faces. Oh, to be like Jesus! (p. 112).

 

Charles Spurgeon (1834-1892)
Spurgeon on Leadership, Steve Miller
As I sat under a wide-spreading beech, I was pleased to mark with prying curiosity the singular habits of that most wonderful of trees, which seems to have an intelligence about it which other trees have not. I wondered and admired the beech, but I thought to myself, I do not think half as much of this beech as yonder squirrel does. I see him leap from bough to bough, and I feel sure that he dearly values the old beech tree, because he has his home somewhere inside it in a hollow place, these branches are his shelter, and those beechnuts are his food. He lives upon the tree. It is his world, his playground, his granary, his home; indeed, it is everything to him, and it is not so to me, for I find my rest and food elsewhere. With God’s Word it is well for us to be like squirrels, living in it and living on it. Let us exercise our minds by leaping from bough to bough of it, and find our rest and food in it, and make it our all in all. There are hiding places in it; comfort and protection are there (p. 107).

 

R.A. Torrey (1856-1928)
How to Bring Men to Christ
But how is one to get a love for souls? This question is easily answered. First of all, a love for souls like every other Christian grace of Christian character, is the work of the Holy Spirit. If then we are conscious that we do not have that love for souls that we should have, the first thing to do is to go to God and humbly confess this lack in our lives and ask Him by His Holy Spirit to supply that which we so sorely need, and expect Him to do it (1 Jn 5:14,15; Phil. 4:19). In the second place Jesus Christ had an intense love for souls (Matt 23:37; Lk 19:10), and intimate and constant companionship with Him will impart to our lives this grace which was so prominent in His (p. 9).

 
John Newton (1725-1807)
Letters of John Newton
But how then may the Lord’s guidance be expected? After what has been premised negatively, the question may be answered in a few words. In general, He guides and directs His people, by affording them in answer to prayer, the light of his Holy Spirit, which enables them to understand and to love the Scriptures. The Word of God is not to be used as a lottery; nor is it designed to instruct us by shreds and scraps, which detached from their proper places, have no determinate import; but it is to furnish us with just principles, right apprehensions to regulate our judgments and affections, and thereby to influence and direct our conduct. They who study the Scriptures, in a humble dependence upon divine teaching, are convinced of their own weakness, are taught to make a true estimate of everything around them, are gradually formed into a spirit of submission to the will of God, discover the nature and duties of their several situations and relations in life, and the snares and temptations to which they are exposed. The Word of God dwells richly in them, is a preservative from error, a light to their feet, and a spring of strength and conslotation. By treasuring up the doctrines, precepts, promises, examples, and exhortations of Scripture, in their minds, and daily comparing themselves with the rule by which they walk, they grow into a habitual frame of spiritual wisdom, and acquire a gracious taste, which enables them to judge of right and wrong with a degree of readiness and certainty, as a musical ear judges of sounds. And they are seldom mistaken, because they are influenced by the love of Christ, which rules in their hearts, and a regard to the glory of God, which is the great object they have in view (p. 81-82).


Anonymous
Sitting at the feet of Jesus, Where can mortal be more blest?
There I lay my sins and sorrows, And, when weary, find sweet rest.
Sitting at the feet of Jesus, There I love to weep and pray
While I from His fullness gather, Grace and comfort every day.
Bless me, O my Savior, bless me, As I sit low at Thy feet!
O look down in love upon me, Let me see Thy face so sweet!
Give me, Lord, the mind of Jesus, Make me holy as He is
May I prove I’ve been with Jesus, Who is all my righteousness.

Important Truths

2 Comments / July 27, 2014

lies

If we say we are a Christian and believe that God’s Word is inspired and infallible (For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.  Hebrews 4:12) then there are some of truths that we need to face.

I have just finished reading Nancy Leigh DeMoss’s book Lies Women Believe.  But wait! Before you say “I am not a woman so this doesn’t affect me”, listen to a few of these truths that she brings to light that affect every Christian, no matter if you are a man or woman, young or old–

1.  God is good (Psalm 119:68) . This is so easy to believe when the sun is shining and everything is going our way. But when the clouds come and life is hard, this is still true. It is so important to remember this at all times.

2. My past does not have to plague me (I Corinthians 6: 9-11). We are new creatures. We are not a victim of our “yesterday”. Yes, we need to suffer with the consequences of some of our choices. But the good news is that we can make good choices today. We can live for Jesus today. We can react and respond in a way that pleases God. We can’t go back and change how we were treated as a child or make a different decision. But we can choose to forgive today. We can make the right choice today.

“The Truth is that our past-our upbringing, the ways we have been wronged, and the ways we have wronged others-these things do not have to be hindrances.  In fact, by God’s grace, they can actually become stepping stones to greater victory and fruitfulness.” p. 258

3. I can do anything God asks of me, through the power of the Holy Spirit (I Thessalonians 5:23-24). As Nancy puts it on p. 259 There is no one we cannot forgive. There is no one we cannot love. We can give thanks in all things. We can be content in every circumstance. Those are pretty convicting words, aren’t they? Because it means that if I am struggling with any of those things, it has been my choice to struggle. I have chosen not to forgive. I have chosen to live a life of complaining, instead of the better way of gratitude.  God has provided the Holy Spirit to comfort and strengthen us. Why are we struggling so hard to live on our own power?

4. I will reap what I sow (Galatians 6:7-8). In this day of “instant everything”, we have a hard time thinking past the present moment. We fail to reflect on what consequences the choices we make today will have on our lives– and on the lives of those we love–tomorrow, or a week from now, or 5 years from now. Sometimes we focus on only the big “life” choices (who we marry, our careers, etc), but every choice we make–from failing to eat correctly to what entertainment we choose to spend our time on to the friends we choose to hang with–all have consequences.

5. The pathway to true joy is to relinquish control (I Peter 5:7) Oh, this is a tough one.  Especially for mothers! But how true. We can only control one thing. Ourselves. We can control our responses and reactions. We can control what we say and what we think. But we need to put the rest into God’s hands and rest in Him. Sometimes I find myself relinquishing control of the same situation multiple times a day. For some reason, I keep going back and picking up the burden!

6. Personal holiness is more important than temporal happiness (Ephesians 5:26-27).  This certainly flies in the face of a culture that says personal fulfillment is the ultimate goal, doesn’t it? My happiness is not all that important. God wants to mold and shape me into the likeness of His son. As I grow older, I should be more like Jesus. Does this mean I will be happy? Not necessarily by the world’s standards, although I will have more of the real joy and peace that comes when we follow Christ whole-heartedly. Happiness-that feeling that is so temporal and relies on shallow, external circumstances– is over-rated, anyway.

Those are just a few of the truths that challenged me when reading Nancy’s book. I know most of you will never read the book and so, I thought it might be helpful and challenging to highlight a few of these truths.

The other day, one of my kids asked me how I know this Christian stuff is real. And, while I don’t espouse relying on experience to prove my faith, it is amazing how, as we get older, we have seen God work in our hearts and lives, so that we can’t help but remember the marvelous ways He has worked through many of the truths listed above and dramatically brought about forgiveness in our hearts, or changed our thought processes, so that we knew that it was not us but the Holy Spirit working through us. God IS real. I feel humbled and blessed to be part of His family.

 

A Parallel

Leave a Comment / February 10, 2016

castle

A very long time ago, in a faraway land, there lived a young man. He was strong and brave and ready to take on the world. He lived in a forest with his sick, old mother. Every day he would go in to the forest to hunt for food. One very sad day his mother died. He had nothing left to live for and despondently wandered through the forest. He went further than he had ever been before. He was in the darkest part of the forest.  Things turned almost black under the dense cover and then–suddenly–he was in the sunlight. He found himself in a meadow full of blue sky and green grass. As his eyes adjusted to the bright sunlight, he saw little blue and white flowers in abundance and over to his left was a family of rabbits cavorting in the tall grass. As he looked out towards the horizon, he caught his breath. For there, far off into the distance, was a huge castle with dozens of turrets and towers gleaming white in the sunshine. The young man found himself embraced by a new sense of purpose.

He would go to that castle.

The young man was warmly welcomed at the castle and immediately accepted into the King’s army. He proved himself such an intelligent and diligent worker that within a few months he found himself one of the King’s personal servants. He was fully dedicated to the King and would do anything the King requested.

Now in this kingdom there was a Wicked Usurper. This usurper had been away for a long time doing his evil and dastardly deeds in other parts of the world. But a few months after the young man had become the King’s personal servant, the Wicked Usurper returned.

When the young man talked with the Wicked Usurper, he was captured by his charisma and his wonderful promises. Gradually, his fascination with the Wicked Usurper changed to allegiance and the young man left the Good King’s service to become the personal servant of the Wicked Usurper. He forgot about all that the Good King had done for him and decided to join the band of wicked thieves and robbers that served the Wicked Usurper.

The End.

WAIT!  What?!?  That is not how the story is supposed to go.  What happened to “happily ever after”?

If you call yourself a Christian, think with me for a moment. Have we turned away from serving The All-Powerful, Loving God, to instead serving–

Entertainment? Sports? Career? Personal Goals? Money? Beauty?

Have we left the safety, security, and peace of God’s Kingdom and instead turned to serving Satan’s dark and perilous Kingdom?

I am not talking about who we SAY we serve. Talk means nothing. What do our actions show? What do we spend our precious hours doing with our time? What do we think about?

We need to ask ourselves this very important question: Am I serving my King or am I serving something or someone else?

Exodus 20:1-4; Mark 12:30

Are All Religions the Same?

Leave a Comment / June 29, 2018

There was once a young man. We will call him Jack. Jack had a job. He needed to deliver a letter to the old man who lived at the top of the mountain. No one had ever climbed the mountain before. He wasn’t even sure the old man was there. Years before the old man had started to climb the mountain and that was the last anybody had heard of him.

Jack decided the easiest way to reach the top of this mountain would be to fly there. So he talked to Hampton, the only man who owned a helicopter for miles around. It was a beautiful day when Jack and Hampton climbed into the big whirlybird and took off for the far away mountain. But the strangest thing happened. As they neared the mountain, it was covered in clouds. Not just any clouds, either. These were thick, gray clouds. Clouds that covered the top of the mountain like an opaque blanket. Hampton was puzzled. It was a beautiful day. This didn’t make sense. We will return on another day, he said. The clouds can’t remain forever. So they returned the next day. And the next. They continued to try for two weeks. No matter what the weather was when they left, the clouds would always be covering the mountain when they flew over it. Jack decided that flying was not going to work.

The next option was taking a mule with a pack. It wouldn’t be easy. But that was really the only other option. He bought himself a good, sturdy mule and started out. He did fine. Until it started raining. It rained and rained. Deep gullies started to form. The mule lost his footing.  He went tumbling down over the cliff. Jack grabbed a branch and hung on for dear life–until slowly he was able to  inch his way forward to safety.

At this point, walking was his only option. He looked down at the cuts and bruises on his body. He was in some pain. But he decided to continue his journey. He did make it about halfway. At that point, wild creatures started appearing. There were venomous snakes. And huge, brown bears. And wild, frightful wolves. He contemplated turning around. But he knew this letter was a matter of life and death. He had to deliver it. He continued.

He thought he was making progress. Until he came to the crevice. A wide, wide crevice that surrounded the entire mountain top. There would be no way to cross it without losing his life. Dejectedly, he turned around.  There must be a way to reach the old man. But he couldn’t figure out what it was. He headed back down the mountain.

When he reached the bottom of the mountain, much to his surprise, the old man was waiting for him. The old man had heard about the letter, knew the one and only way down the mountain, and had come to meet him, so that Jack would be spared the dangerous trip up the mountain.

So what is the purpose of this story? I hear so many cries of “all roads lead to heaven”, “all religions are the same”, “you take your way to God, and I will take mine”. But did you realize that all world religions–except for Christianity–are like Jack trying to climb that mountain? There are things you must do in order to reach God. And yet, nothing we do makes it possible to reach God. We can do all the good in the world and still never reach Him. (Romans 3:23). Anytime you must DO something in order to reach God, it is a false religion. We can’t reach God. But the good news is that He has come to us by sending us His Son to die for our sins (John 3:16). I can’t do anything righteous in His sight (Isaiah 64:6).

You see, Christianity is the only world religion where God came down the mountain to us. Not to receive something from us. But to give something to us. Salvation. A free gift.

But what about all of those rules Christianity has? You see, there is great confusion about the holy lives genuine Christians seek to lead. I John 2:3&4 says “Now by this we know that we know Him, if we keep His commandments. 4 He who says, “I know Him,” and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him.”

A life honoring to God is the proof that we know Him. Not the requirement.

I do not look at my life like I am living a life of rules and regulations. I do not think I am missing out on the “good stuff”. I am so grateful to my Heavenly Father for sending His son to take on my sins so that I can stand righteous before God that I surrender my life and my will to His. At least that is the goal of every true believer. We are still human and we do still make lots of mistakes. But we are doing our best to live a life to please God because we love Him. It is the natural outcome of the praise and thanks in our hearts toward the God who has saved us from eternal damnation.

So, all roads do lead to the same place. All roads EXCEPT for Christianity. Christianity is not the same as all other religions. It is entirely different. You can be doing all you know to do to reach God, by doing good deeds, reciting whatever it is your religion requires you to recite, by proselytizing, by praying to the saints, or whatever else your religion “requires”. But God has already made a way. By sending His son to die on a cross and take on the sins of the world. By rising again in glorious splendor to show that there is power over death!

GPS vs. the Map

Leave a Comment / August 10, 2016

map

We were on our way to the beach. Attached to our truck was our 5th wheel camper. My husband decided to go a different way he had heard about from one of his customers–supposedly a more scenic route. We had traveled it twice before but were not really all that familiar with it. We did not have a map along. We had a GPS along. He figured he could figure it out with the little machine that talks.

Wrong.

As we turned off of our much traveled path, I expressed my hesitancy. I was comforted by his assurances that he would definitely be able to figure it out. However, as we traveled along the road, the landmarks became increasingly unfamiliar. We were drawn further and further into major suburbia– not the place you want to be with a 5th wheel attached to your truck!

The problem came when the GPS did not have the same directions in mind that my husband did. The GPS did not know we had a camper attached and was taking us through areas we did not really want to go; areas in which it was extremely difficult to maneuver with a camper attached to you.

Finally, we stopped and bought a map and tried to figure it out. In the meantime, it started to rain–and not just a few drops. It was a downpour of the most severe kind–the kind of rain that it’s hard enough to get where you need to go when you know where you’re going, much less when you have no idea where you are going! Put a couple of kids in the backseat with their accompanying comments, and you can start to imagine the situation. It was not good. (And we didn’t handle it real well…but we won’t discuss that here!)

We did eventually figure it out. After we had crossed the bridge over the Delaware River into familiar territory, I took a close look at the map to see where we had gone wrong. From that perspective I could see exactly what we had done and what the GPS was thinking.  And, we realized, that at one point, had we listened to the GPS, it would have gotten us out of the mess we were in. But we no longer trusted the little talking machine to guide us.

Sometimes it would be nice to have a map of our lives. From that perspective we could see the roads, rivers, mountains, and curves. We could see that, while we may have taken a detour, we are at least headed in the right direction. But, we don’t have a map, and just like we got stuck in the mire of traffic, rain, and confusion on our way to the beach, so we get stuck in the emotion, sin, and confusion in our own lives. Sometimes we feel like we have no idea where we are going. But God knows. He knows exactly the path in which He will lead us through our lives. He knows the sinful choices we will make and He knows the godly choices we will make. He knows the parents, the kids, the siblings, and the friends we will have before we are even born. He knows the jobs we will hold. He knows the vacations we will take. He knows the tragedies we will experience and He knows the moments of joy we will experience. Nothing is outside the border of God’s map of our lives. He knows what will happen even before it happens.

I don’t know about you, but I find that comforting. Sometimes when I am facing the unknown and my life is full of question marks, it is good to know that nothing is a question mark to God. If we have acknowledged we are sinners and saved by grace alone, if we are living according to His Word and commandments, and truly allowing Him to direct our paths, we can rest assured knowing that He will be there to guide us in every step. His word tells us that there is no place we can go that He won’t be with us. And His forgiveness awaits us when we cave to that familiar sin. What an amazing comfort to those of us who truly love the God who saved us!

Proverbs 3:5-6 Trust in the LORD with all your heart, And lean not on your own understanding; In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct your paths.

Romans 8:38  For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Ephesians 1: 6-8 to the praise of the glory of His grace, by which He made us accepted in the Beloved.  In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace which He made to abound toward us in all wisdom and prudence,

Humility = Flexibility

Leave a Comment / October 15, 2010

Elisabeth Elliot and her brother-in-law were having a discussion about what the most valuable quality is for a missionary.  One thought it was humility and one thought it was flexibility.  As they discussed further, they came to the conclusion that it really all comes down to the same thing.

“A missionary must be humble enough to be flexible.  Nowadays young candidates are often so highly trained they feel overqualified for the jobs that need to be done.  Most mission stations are in need of people who are willing to do anything that needs doing.  It is fine to offer oneself for service, but the form of service must not be too narrowly defined.  It is to minister to, not to be ministered to, that we are sent.” Discipline, The Glad Surrender p. 88-89

But, you say, I am NOT a missionary, nor will I ever be a missionary.  Let’s think for a moment.  Don’t we ALL feel overqualified for some of the tasks we have to do sometimes?   How have we defined the service we offer our families?  Our churches?  Our friends?  Do we have a narrow definition of what we are willing to do for them?   Yes, I will meet you for coffee, but no, I will not have you and your family over for dinner.  Yes, I will sing up front in the worship service, but I will not serve in the kitchen.   Yes, I will cook your meals and do your laundry, but don’t ask me to _______________…you fill in the blank.  Most of us have placed boundaries on how much we are willing to serve.  Don’t ask me to do that menial task.  We have our rights, too…our life to live.  Don’t ask me to re-do my schedule for you.  Who do you think you are, anyway?  And yet…

We see Jesus’s example of being a humble servant.  Matthew 14:13-14 says “When Jesus heard it, He departed from there by boat to a deserted place by Himself. But when the multitudes heard it, they followed Him on foot from the cities. 14 And when Jesus went out He saw a great multitude; and He was moved with compassion for them, and healed their sick.”

We all know how that feels, don’t we?    We are just sitting down with a nice cup of coffee and then a child yells for our help…or the phone rings…or our spouses want to talk…or the dog throws up.  It is in those moments that the rubber meets the road and we find of what stuff we are made.  We see that Jesus “had compassion for them”.

I wish I could say that I am moved by “compassion”.  More often I am moved by Leslie’s desires.  Yep, my own selfish agenda.  So when something gets in the way of my nice little agenda, I am not moved with compassion, I am moved with anger and frustration.

In those occasional moments when we can glimpse eternity and make the right choice of serving others selflessly…it is in that moment that we realize one of the greatest gifts in serving Jesus…the joy of serving others.  If we can respond correctly and have the right heart attitude, we are truly blessed by doing even the most menial tasks.

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