Protection

Computer hackers are more clever and sneaky than ever. I don’t just have protection against viruses anymore. I also have malware protection. The last few days as I check my email account my cyber security program has been repeatedly flashing a notice that a malicious website is being blocked. That website continues to challenge my defenses and is continually blocked. Just to be sure nothing bad made it through I requested a scan of my computer to insure it is still safe from harm. The first thing that appeared on the screen was a question, “Do you want this program to make changes to your computer?” The default answer is no, but because I trust my security system I chose yes and my computer was scanned for anything suspicious that should be quarantined and deleted. The scan found nothing suspicious so I am confident that I’m still safe.

That experience reminded me how vulnerable we are to the attacks of the enemy. Satan wants access to our mind so he can influence our heart. He is more clever and sneaky than any computer hacker. We need protection. God has provided all the protection we need if we trust Him enough to allow Him to make changes to our mind. (Romans 12:2) The default response is always no, because we want to retain complete control of our thoughts and our lives. But trusting God with all of our heart, mind and soul we tearfully answer, “Yes, Lord!” Once we have accepted Jesus Christ as our savior, God gives us His Holy Spirit to mentor, comfort, guide and protect us. But to receive His full protection we must regularly allow Him to scan our mind and our heart; isolate anything that is harmful and then remove it. (Psalms 139:23)

Many years ago theaters experimented with subliminal advertising. They incorporated just one or two frames picturing popcorn or soda into their previews of coming attractions prompting the crowd to rush out to the snack bar. Their subconscious minds picked up the images that their conscious minds were unable to process. Experts disagree about the effectiveness of such advertising even though advertisers still use that technique in one form or another. The fact is, our minds recognize fleeting images and background noises we don’t consciously process. Our subconscious provides a back door into our mind that must be secured. Thankfully, the Holy Spirit has our back by guarding us from that blind side attack by the enemy.

 

Measuring Infinity

People love to measure things: time, distance, speed, temperature, wind velocity, rainfall and virtually everything else in our universe.  We love to see records set and then broken.  Guinness World Records is a great example.  Until 1998 it was called Guinness Book of World Records but now all of the records no longer fit into a book so they are found on a website instead.  The problem is that all of our measuring devises and measurements are finite – limited by our senses.  When we encounter the Creator of the universe who is infinite and not measurable our minds are blown.  We no longer feel in control.  I think that is one reason the enemy is able to get so many people to worship idols (things) because it gives them a sense of control.

Scripture writers record with awe and amazement God’s self-descriptions.  “From eternity to eternity I am God. No one can snatch anyone out of my hand. No one can undo what I have done.” (Isaiah 43:13)  “’Am I a God who is only close at hand?’ says the lord. ‘No, I am far away at the same time.  Can anyone hide from me in a secret place? Am I not everywhere in all the heavens and earth?’ says the lord.” (Jeremiah 23:23-24) In Isaiah 55:9 God tells us, “For just as the heavens are higher than the earth, so my ways are higher than your ways and my thoughts higher than your thoughts.”  God measures everything from His infinite perspective. How high are the heavens above the earth?  Even measuring in light years scientists have not discovered the full extent of the heavens.  God’s ways and thoughts are infinitely higher than ours, beyond comprehension or measurement.

We also find that same awe and amazement as scripture writers attempt to describe God.  “Yet God has made everything beautiful for its own time. He has planted eternity in the human heart, but even so, people cannot see the whole scope of God’s work from beginning to end.” (Ecclesiastes 3:11)  “All glory to him who alone is God, our Savior through Jesus Christ our Lord. All glory, majesty, power, and authority are his before all time, and in the present, and beyond all time! Amen.” (Jude 1:25)

One of my favorite examples of infinite distance is how far God has removed our sins from us.  The psalmist writes, “He has removed our sins as far from us as the east is from the west.” (Psalms 103:12)  Since the earth is round, the distance between east and west in infinite – it cannot be measured by man.  Corrie ten Boom described it this way, “God has taken our sin. He has thrown it into the sea of forgetfulness, and he has posted a sign that says, ‘No fishing allowed.'”

I am so thankful and amazed that I am able to worship God whose power and love are beyond my wildest imagination. I don’t need to be able to understand or measure them.  I only need to trust Him by faith and see them manifest.  Praise God for eternal life and unending love beyond measure!  Even more amazing is that He has planted His love and power in me through His Holy Spirit.  How awesome is that?  That love and power within me is beyond human understanding.  With His Spirit guiding my life, I no longer need to be in control, to measure and understand everything.  I walk by faith.  I worship and praise God constantly for all He has done for me and then I serve Him by serving others and sharing with them His awesome, amazing presence.

Seeing Is Not Believing

I lived in Missouri as a young man for a total of seven years (before and after my tour of duty in the Air Force). I discovered very quickly why they call it “the show me state”. I’m not saying everyone there is a sceptic, but Doubting Thomas would feel right at home. It was common to hear, “I’ll believe that when I see it”. But is what we see really a sound basis for our belief?

Magicians prefer to be called illusionists for a very good reason. They trick us into seeing what they want us to see instead of what is actually happening. (Some politicians are good at that too, but that’s a completely different topic.) We believe what the illusionist wants us to believe because we have seen it with our own eyes. Satan is not only the father of lies; he is a master of illusion. It’s no wonder that what many people believe will turn out to be an optical illusion; like a desert mirage drawing them in the wrong direction away from God. We simply cannot trust our eyes to lead us to true faith in God.

What about those things that exist even though they are not visible? There is a quote going around social media comparing God to oxygen. Even though we can’t see either of them, life is not possible without them both. If sight is our only proof, how could a blind person ever believe anything? You might be thinking, “For them, feeling is believing,” but that sense cannot always be trusted either. There is an old story about three blind men who touched different parts of an elephant and each had a completely different mental picture of that animal. Helen Keller, who was blind and deaf from birth, set things straight when she said, “The most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen or even touched; they must be felt with the heart.”

We believe in Jesus Christ as our Lord and savior because our hearts feel His presence, love, mercy and grace. It is only through Him that our faith is confirmed. Scripture is clear. 2 Corinthians 5:7 says of believers, “For we live by believing and not by seeing.” 1 Corinthians 13:12 tells us, “Now we see things imperfectly, like puzzling reflections in a mirror, but then we will see everything with perfect clarity. All that I know now is partial and incomplete, but then I will know everything completely, just as God now knows me completely.” I suppose it might be more accurate to title this post, “Seeing is not believing – yet”.

Praising God in the Storm

When times are good and the seas are calm, you would think it would be the perfect time to count our blessings and thank God for each and every one of them, then take some additional time to praise Him for all He is and all that He has done.  Sadly, during those peaceful times we often take His blessings for granted instead.  It isn’t until the storm begins to pick up again and we find ourselves in peril that we turn to Him once again for survival.

In the midst of the storm we are naturally gripped by fear and doubt. We are concentrating so much on our immediate needs that we urgently call on God for help instead of taking time to thank and praise Him.  We read  that the disciples had sailed without Jesus because He wanted some time alone to pray after learning of the death of John the Baptist. In the middle of the night they found themselves in a terrible storm at sea.  About 3am, Jesus appeared to them walking on the choppy water.  Once they realized it was Jesus, Peter asked Jesus if he could walk out to Him on the water and Jesus told him to come. Peter stepped out of the boat by faith but soon took his eyes off of Jesus to look around at the raging storm then fear overtook his faith and he began to sink.  Jesus reached out to Peter and they both climbed into the boat as the storm immediately subsided.(Matthew 14:24-33) If we want to praise God, whatever our circumstances, we must keep our focus on Him instead of the pleasures or perils that surround us.

I have learned many valuable lessons in my life from great men and women of God whom I have never had the privilege to meet.  Through their writings I have been blessed by not only their wisdom and faith but by their example.  Horacio Spafford is the supreme example of praising God in the storm.  The magnificent song of praise, “It is well with my soul” that he wrote while mourning the loss of his family at sea has blessed millions.  I am always drawn to this verse of his song:

My sin—oh, the bliss of this glorious thought!—
My sin, not in part but the whole,
Is nailed to the cross, and I bear it no more,
Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, O my soul!

Serving a Risen Lord

Today is Easter Sunday; the day believers celebrate the resurrection of our Lord. It is also the one day of the year when non-believers and those who don’t normally attend are most likely to accept an invitation to attend a church service. CLC added additional services this weekend to accommodate our guests.

The death and resurrection of Jesus Christ is a message of hope that calls unbelievers to seek and serve the risen Savior. Many people prayed to accept Christ into their hearts and lives this weekend. I share in their joy and praise God for each of them. Ironically, it is usually in a service during the year when a single person answers the call to receive eternal life that I shed the most tears of joy. I think it is because I can almost hear the angels rejoicing just as Jesus described.

In Luke chapter 15, Jesus tells three stories about seeking out and finding that which was lost to illustrate why He was associating with and sharing His message with sinners. We are most familiar with the stories of the lost sheep and the prodigal son. The second of the three stories is found in verses 8-10, “Or suppose a woman has ten silver coins and loses one. Won’t she light a lamp and sweep the entire house and search carefully until she finds it? And when she finds it, she will call in her friends and neighbors and say, ‘Rejoice with me because I have found my lost coin.’ In the same way, there is joy in the presence of God’s angels when even one sinner repents.” I praise God every day that when I was the lost sheep, the lost coin and the prodigal son God found me and then called for a joyful celebration in heaven.

It has been 53 years since I visited Jerusalem. I remember vividly the Garden Tomb. I can still relive that experience in my mind; feeling the strong presence of God as I peer into that empty tomb carved from stone in that garden setting. Let us rejoice at the entrance of the empty tomb of our risen Savior every day, not just on Easter Sunday.

 

 

God’s Voice

Over the years God has spoken to me through His word, through the words of other believers and through the promptings of the Holy Spirit within me, but I have never heard His voice audibly.  I now know two people, a man and a woman, who have actually heard the audible voice of God.  Each of them shared their story with humility, awe and thankfulness to God for an experience so personal they share it with their closest friends.

The first friend is now a strong believer and an ardent student of the Bible, but when he was a young man without Christ he was living the wild life and he became depressed because it wasn’t satisfying him.  He was driving alone on a highway and he decided to end it all by swerving his car in front of a semi.  Suddenly a voice from the back seat said, “You won’t die.” He looked back but no one was there.  As he realized he did not want to go through that kind of wreck and not die that suicidal thought left him.  When he became a Christian he realized that God had a plan for his life and had saved him for a reason.

The second friend is a wonderful Christian woman who has been through a lot of suffering and pain in her life.  She seemed to go from one severe problem to another.  She found herself in the middle of a divorce and being forced out of her home.  She lay on her bed filled with hatred for her abusive father whom she blamed for everything bad that happened in her life.  In her deep despair she stared up at the ceiling and cried out, “God, why did you give me such a horrible father, why me!” Suddenly a voice said, “He is not your father.  I am.”  It seemed to come from the pillow next to her but no one else was in the room.  The hatred in her heart melted away as she renewed her relationship with her heavenly Father.

Both of those stories touched me deeply because I know they are true experiences.  Both took place during extremely stressful situations.  Both people experienced life changing results.  In one case God spoke to a non-believer who He knew would eventually serve Him and in the other case He responded to the desperate plea of a believer in deep distress.  In a way, I’m glad I have not been in such dire circumstances that God felt it necessary to speak to me in such a miraculous way, but it is comforting for me to know that He will if it ever becomes necessary.

There is nothing more powerful than the firsthand testimony of a personal encounter with the Lord.  The mad man with a legion of demons, the Samaritan woman at the well, Andrew and countless others to whom Jesus spoke or touched with healing, all became evangelists when they shared with others the story of their personal encounter with Jesus.  As believers, we each have the most powerful story in the world to tell.  It is our personal encounter and relationship with Jesus Christ.  Our encounters may not be as dramatic as those two, but they all have the power of authenticity, gratefulness and awe.  Lord, help us to always be willing to share our story with others in order to draw them into their own personal encounter with you.

The Whole Truth

This post is not political, but I recently heard a United States Congressman quote scripture on the floor of the House of Representatives and it illustrated to me a very important spiritual pitfall. The scripture he quoted was an admonition for believers to care for the poor and needy. Ironically, the rest of his speech dealt with how government and not individuals should be responsible for the care of those in need. While listening to his speech at least three verses of scripture came to my mind that he would never even whisper on the floor of the House of Representatives because they refute policies he supports and promotes. I will not name the Congressman because I think it has become standard practice for politicians to “cherry pick” Bible verses that support their views to give the impression that God is with them without bothering to tell the whole truth found in God’s word. It would not be fair to single him out when that spiritual pitfall is also found all around us – sadly, even in some churches.

St. Augustine wrote, “If you believe what you like in the gospels, and reject what you don’t like, it is not the gospel you believe, but yourself.” Our opinions don’t matter. Only God and His word are of vital importance. The Apostle Paul wrote to Timothy, “All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right.” (2 Timothy 3:16) No wonder so many of us avoid studying all of scripture and instead concentrate only on those few verses that seem to validate our opinions and lifestyles. We don’t want to be corrected or admit being wrong. God knows what is wrong in our lives and if we let Him He will not only point to our faults but show us how to correct them through His word and His Spirit within us.

We have all heard people claim that their words have been taken “out of context”. Maybe you have also experienced that in your life. God rightfully makes that claim against us when we quote a verse without keeping it in the context of His entire message to us. Jesus said, “I am the way the truth and the life.” Lord, help us to speak the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth so help us God.

 

 

Human Connections

There is an old airline commercial that is lodged in my memory.  It depicts the owner of a company announcing to his employees, “An old friend just fired us today.  He says he doesn’t know us anymore.”  Then he hands out envelopes containing airline tickets and says, “We are going to pay a personal visit to every one of our clients,” sticking the last envelope in his back pocket. Someone asks, “Where are you going, Ben?” and he replies, “To visit that old friend.” In this world of texts, tweets, Face Book posts and emails, there is nothing that has the impact of connecting with someone through personal contact.

The most effective (and rewarding) personal contact is face to face conversation.  For years I taught pest control technicians how important they are to the success of their company.  In their personal contact with the customer they are the “face” of the company. The next most important contact is phone conversation.  I taught administrative assistants how important they are because they are the “voice” of the company.

When cell phones first became readily available everyone walked around with their phone to their ear.  Even if it took the place of some face to face meetings at least we were still talking to each other.  Now people just stare at the screen of their smart phone or IPad with their fingers manipulating apps or typing messages while missing the opportunity for personal contact with the people around them – often their family.

Today most companies are using automated answering systems and communicate with customers by email or through their website app.  It cuts down on their payroll costs, but human contact and connection are being sacrificed in the process.  I have found myself yelling at a “virtual assistant” when my question didn’t fit their programmed FAQs.  Now I just press zero when options are given and if I don’t get a person on the line I hang up.  What saddens me is that younger generations have learned to embrace these innovations.  I fear some of them may never take the opportunity to fully develop the personal communication skills that are so important in forming deep, lasting relationships. As a result, they may not fully experience the great satisfaction those relationships offer.

Now that I have exposed myself as the old fogy that I am, let me get to the point.  When we accept Jesus Christ as our savior we become His representatives/ambassadors.  We are His face and His voice to a lost world.  God could make His message known anyway He wants, but He chooses to use us to share with others our personal relationship with Him so that they may find that joy for themselves.  It is so important for us to have a personal, loving relationship with God, but it is just as important for us to develop personal, loving relationships with others.  Technology is amazing but we can’t let it interfere with or replace what is truly important in life.

The kind of love that only comes from God that He commands us to share with others can’t be spread by clicking hearts on Face Book.

Faith, Love and Obedience

I belong to a multicultural, non-denominational church for a very good reason. As a young believer I saw how denominational doctrine (human opinion) and racial tension segregates believers instead of uniting us. I do my best to avoid thinking (and writing) about church doctrine of any type. I prefer to stick directly to God’s word and His Spirit within me as my source of truth.

Lately I have heard about a movement where people are being taught by their church leaders that once they are saved through faith in Jesus Christ they are then set free from the law and can live their life without scriptural limitations or God’s continual guidance. They sincerely believe they can live in sin without consequences. I feel strongly prompted by the Holy Spirit to respond to that teaching.

It is both true and scriptural that it is by faith that we are saved from sin. Romans 10:10 is only one of a multitude of verses that make that perfectly clear, “For it is by believing in your heart that you are made right with God, and it is by openly declaring your faith that you are saved.” Eternal life is a gift of God’s mercy and grace that we accept by faith in Jesus Christ. Faith, however, does not travel alone. It is also true and scriptural that our faith leads us to love and obey God. In John 3:35-36 we read, “The Father loves his Son and has put everything into his hands. And anyone who believes in God’s Son has eternal life. Anyone who doesn’t obey the Son will never experience eternal life but remains under God’s angry judgment.” Some people would love to leave out that last sentence but when we put our faith in Jesus we will obey Him; faith and obedience are inseparable. Jesus also connects love with obedience, “If you love me, obey my commandments.”  (John 14:15) It isn’t that hard to understand. If I believe with all my heart that God loved me so much that He sent His Son to die to cleanse me of my sins and give me eternal life (John 3:16), my gratitude compels me to love and obey Him.

Jesus said, “Don’t misunderstand why I have come. I did not come to abolish the law of Moses or the writings of the prophets. No, I came to accomplish their purpose.” In Luke 6:46-49 Jesus admonishes those who call Him Lord but refuse to obey Him; then he gives a perfect illustration of what faith and obedience look like. Thanks to Jesus, being obedient to God is no longer a matter of carefully prescribed rites or ceremonies. Jesus connects obedience directly to our thoughts and the desires of our heart. (Matthew 5:20-22) We don’t have to guess what God expects of us because He provides the Holy Spirit to show us what true obedience will look like in our personal life. Jesus did not pay the penalty for our sins so that we can be free to live however we want. As he told the adulterous woman he had just saved from being stoned to death, “Go and sin no more.”