Sunday, October 26, 2014

The Beauty of Having a Heavenly Father

"For God is greater than our hearts, and he knows everything." 1 John 3:20

"Your Father knows what you need before you ask him." Matthew 6:8

     The hardest thing I ever had to do was to leave my dad at the rehab facility. He was brought from the hospital in the evening; I met the ambulance there to help my dad become acclimated with his new "home." He's 90 years old, blind in one eye, survivor of a stroke, has dementia and, now, a fracture in his spine. My heart went out to him, this hero of mine, now so feeble and lost. The very sum of the surroundings and the futility of the situation weighed heavily on my soul like a sinister fog.

     He won't be able to return to his home, the humble place that's been his since the 1950s. Will never again sit at the round, oak table he'd refinished, where our family had countless gatherings. He can no longer read the classics, research a topic in the encyclopedias or even go upstairs, for that matter.

     Now garbed in an ugly hospital gown and in need of a shave, I have to leave him in the care of complete strangers in this glaring, yellow room. The flourescent light outlined the homliness of the place and the direness of life. My heart sank.

     Then the fog lifted and the light of God shone through my depression as He reminded me: "I am your dad's Heavenly Father. This man is not lost to me; I know exactly where he is because he is my son. Therefore, do not worry about tomorrow. Your dad's name, Russell, is written on the palm of my hand - he is mine and I am his."

     I went home and slept like a child - a child of God.

Sunday, October 19, 2014

Did God Really Say That?

"Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, "Did God really say...?"
Genesis 3:1

    Satan's first technique used to deceive mankind was to plant a seed of doubt by asking Eve, "Did God really say?" He still uses that device today because, apparantly, it works.

     Take Adam Hamilton, for example. He is the founding pastor of the United Methodist Church of the Resurrection in Kansas City and author of the book, "Making Sense of the Bible." In chapter 21, he addresses the account of Noah's Ark. Here is what he has to say:

     "So, is the Noah story true or not? Great question. As many ask it - meaning, did it happen exactly as recorded in the Bible? - the answer is 'sort of.' Did Noah bring two of each of the millions of species on animals that otherwise would not have survived a global flood onto an ark? No, I don't believe so. Did water cover the earth to twenty feet above the highest mountains? Again, I don't think so...Could there have been a Noah who built a boat and brought his family and some animals on the boat...Did God destroy every animal and human being on the planet except Noah and those on his boat 4,300 years ago, or ever? I don't think so. The story seems to me to be anchored in historical events that happened at the end of the last Ice Age but it is not entirely historically accurate." (emphasis mine)

     Now, let's see. What did God really say about Noah?

     "And Noah and his sons and his wife and his sons' wives entered the ark to escape the waters of the flood. Pairs of clean and unclean animals, of birds and of all creatures that move along the ground, male and female, came to Noah and entered the ark as God had commanded Noah. And after the seven days, the floodwaters came on the earth. The waters rose and covered the mountains to a depth of more that twenty feet. Every living thing that moved on the earth perished - birds, livestock, wild animals and all creatures that swarm over the earth, and all mankind. Everything on dry land that had the breath of life in its nostrils died. Every living thing on the face of the earth was wiped out...Only Noah was left, and those with him in the ark." (Genesis 7: 7-10, 20-23)

     Why can't Mr. Hamilton believe what God has said? Remember that age-old question, "Which came first, the chicken or the egg?" Mr. Hamilton, as evidenced by what he says in previous chapters, believes in evolution. He thinks the earth is 4.57 billion years old and that a giant asteroid struck our planet, eliminating the dinosaurs. He believes prehuman hominids evolved through a process of genetic mutation long before Adam and Eve met the serpent, disregarding God's account of creation. He has placed his faith in the "chicken" of evolution, then tried to cram the "egg" of God into the puzzle somehow.

     This is all wrong! God is the consummate scientist, historian, creator of all who has told us how it all began and how it will end through the gift of his Holy Scriptures. To read, digest and believe man's account, then see how God might fit in, is Satan whispering in your ear, "Did God really say?"

     Yes, He did! And I will believe in every letter of the Bible before I'd listen to one word of Darwin's.

    God said it. I believe it. That settles it.

Wednesday, October 15, 2014

This Means War!

"Then the dragon (Satan) was enraged at the woman (the nation, Israel) and went off to make war against the rest of her offspring - those who obey God's commandments and hold to the testimony of Jesus."
Revelation 12:17

     Earlier in this chapter, it tells me that Satan is "filled with fury because he knows that his time is short." (vs. 12) Scary stuff! An enraged dragon is filled with fury and determined to make war. Good thing I know how this story ends.

     Have you ever watched one of those movies that has a really bad antagonist who perpetrates pure evil? He may have even started out as a nice guy who gained the trust of others, but as the movie gets closer to the end, the evil increases, like a Satanic creschendo. The viewer is on the edge of his seat wondering if the protagonist's strength will hold out just a little bit longer. After all, he must overcome evil and save the others!

     Satan is depicted in the Bible, aptly enough, as a foul, enraged dragon. Probably has yellow teeth, red beady eyes and rancid breath. Who does he attack with vengeance? Those who obey God and hold on tightly to the testimony of Jesus. That means me! The smelly dragon is waging war on me. Shall I quake in my boots? Run for my life? NO! By the power vested in me, infused by the Holy Spirit, I hold the cross of Christ high and remember: Greater is he that is in me than he that is in the world." With patient endurance and stalwart faith, I know that my Redeemer lives and he has overcome. He is my protagonist.

    

Thursday, October 9, 2014

The Bottom Line

"You shall have no other gods before me."
Exodus 20:3

     Perhaps one day, an Islamic terrorist will take me by the hair and demand I convert to Islam or die. This has already been happening in various parts of the world so I will not be naive enough to think, "It can't happen to me." How will I react?

     In the third chapter of Daniel, this type of persecution happened to Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego. They were ordered to worship the golden image of the king or be thrown into a fiery furnace which  meant certain death. I adore their courageous, faithful response when they said to the king:

     "We do not need to defend ourselves before you in this matter. If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to save us and he will rescue us from your hand, O king. But even if he does not, we want you to know, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up." (Daniel 3: 16-18)

     You see, this is not a question about your life; it's not about you. This is about the strength, the holiness, the absolute power of the God you serve. The bottom line is, Allah will never love me so much that he would send his son into the world, not to condemn, but to save me. Allah was not the fourth man in that fiery furnace, walking unbound and unscathed by the flames. Allah did not rouse from death by crucifixtion to sit at the right hand of God in all his glory, nor will he be coming back again to rapture his loved followers to eternal life in heaven. No sir!

     Whether I live or die, I gain because I have Christ, the Living One, reigning in my heart. He is able to save, to rescue me. I will not serve any other god. Amen.