Category: faith

A friend sent me an encouraging note about the center of the Bible this week. Of course we know that the authors of the Old and New Testaments did not write chapters and verses, but it was interesting to discover that Psalm 118 has 594 chapters before it and 594 chapters after it. (I did not check the addition 🙂 ) Psalm 118 fits between the shortest chapter in the Bible (Ps 117) and the longest chapter in the Bible (Ps 119). In the New King James Version, Psalm 118:8 says: “It is better to trust in the Lord than to put confidence in man.”

In II Kings 1 we find a king of Israel putting his confidence in someone worse than man. After sustaining an injury in a fall, King Ahaziah gave messengers this assignment: “Go and consult Baal-Zebub, the god of Ekron, to see if I will recover from this injury.” God gave his prophet, Elijah, an interesting question to send the king: “Is it because there is no God in Israel that you are going off to consult Baal-Zebub, the god of Ekron?”

Some people never pray because they don’t believe there is a God. This was not Ahaziah’s problem. Other people fail to pray because they are living in opposition to God. “Ahaziah son of Ahab became king of Israel in Samaria… He did evil in the eyes of the Lord, because he walked in the way of his father and mother… He served and worshiped Baal and provoked the Lord, the God of Israel, to anger, just as his father had done.” The reason Ahaziah inquired of another god was that he didn’t want to face the True and Living One.

Parents know there is usually something wrong if their child will not look them in the eye. Children with something to hide try to avoid being around their parents. I have the greatest joy going home to little John in the afternoons. He starts running and squealing with delight when he sees me. (Susan feels this way too… she has just learned to conceal it 🙂 ) But I have already noticed something about this little boy who is not quite two years old. When he has done something he knows he shouldn’t have, he hangs his head and avoids my look. No one wants to get things right quicker than I do, but it takes a willing boy. Could God have forgiven a wayward king? Of course He could have! No one wanted things put right in Israel more than God, but there needed to be a willing king.

When I am walking with the Lord, I’ll want to ask Him first about everything. Why put my confidence in man if God is on my side? For those that trust Him, perhaps this is the most loved chapter in the Bible:

“The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not be in want. He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters, he restores my soul. He guides me in paths of righteousness for his name’s sake. Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. Surely goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.” (Psalm 23)

I had a good report last week after completing one round of chemotherapy. The unwanted protein has already dropped from 3.3 to 2.5. Since good responses with this type of chemo are usually seen early, this is a good sign… making the negative aspects of the treatment much more bearable. I am enjoying an ‘off week’ before starting the second round Monday. Again I thank you for continued prayers.

On the way home from the doctor Thursday, I thought I would call Taylor who has been gone a little more than a month. When he did not answer and I got his voice mail a strange thing happened: I started crying. Now I guess I could blame such emotions on drugs, but I don’t think they had quite kicked in. Somewhere deep in the heart, I think a father misses his son. I was warned by friends who have watched sons and daughters leave home. When these grown men told me of tears they had shed, I would think to myself, “I don’t think I’ll do that.” But there I drove Thursday afternoon with tears streaming down my face thinking of the son I’ve not seen in a while.

I know of one father who lived out in the country. He missed his son so much he made it a daily habit to walk out on his porch to look down the long driveway in search of his son. If he stood long enough, tears would come to his eyes too. One day he saw a little dot on the horizon and wondered who it might be. As a young man got closer and closer to the house, the father thought he looked familiar. Could it be? As the father climbed off the porch and saw that, indeed, it was his son, he started running toward him. Without shame, he hugged his son and welcomed him home.

You probably recognize the story Jesus told about His Father. My friend Harry in Jerusalem tells me that in that culture today, as in the time of Christ, an older man would never run. In fact, it would be shameful for a father to hike up his robe and run up the road to welcome a child… prodigal or not. But is that not the point of the story? A Father loved us so much, He endured shame to welcome us home.

Christian author, Ted Dekker, has written a novel entitled OBSESSED in which a man goes to incredible lengths to gain a buried treasure. At the end of the book, he writes the familiar parable that Jesus told about such a guy. “The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field. When a man found it, he hid it again, and then in his joy went and sold all he had and bought that field.” (Matthew 13:44) With the obvious lesson that we should be obsessed with true treasure, Ted Dekker also shares that God is obsessed with us. Such obsession causes a father to constantly look for a lost child. Such obsession causes a Shepherd to leave ninety-nine sheep to go search for one. Such obsession even causes One to lay down His life for those He loves.

I heard about a group of Jewish rabbis who put their faith in Christ and quickly reached some unusual conclusions about the Jewish writings we call the New Testament. The parable of the hidden treasure had a very obvious meaning to them. We are the treasure. God found us and with great joy gave everything He possessed to purchase us. (Technically, they understood that the Jews were represented by the hidden treasure and the Gentiles were represented by the pearl of great price – the next parable Jesus told.) Can it be we are worth that much to God?

So if the perfect Father is obsessed to the point that He would give His most precious Son for His children, I guess it’s OK for a dad (or a mom) to shed an occasional tear for one of his own 🙂

“But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him.” Luke 15:20

Each spring a friend who teaches at a private school in Atlanta invites a Hindu, a Muslim, a Buddhist, a Jew, and a Christian to speak to his World Religion class. Several times I have been invited as the final guest, always introduced as a born-again Christian. I look forward to speaking to quite a diverse group of intelligent kids from all types of religious backgrounds. The teacher asks that I take about twenty minutes to share anything I would like about my faith and then let the students ask questions the remaining half of the period. The questions are often penetrating: “If you Christians claim to follow Jesus, who gave up everything and taught sacrificial love, how do you justify living in gated communities in the suburbs far away from the poor and hurting of the world?”

Sometimes I feel I must apologize on behalf of ‘us Christians.’ Today’s generation of teenagers has a way of cutting straight to the heart of the matter and it does no good to try to make excuse for not living out the Life of our Savior. So many judge Jesus by what they see in His followers. How we all need to see and hear Him! When we do hear Him, we must decide what to do with His radical words… and we dare not apologize for His message. When the inevitable question comes at the end of class, I always share what our King said. “So do you believe Christians are the only ones going to Heaven and the rest of us are going to Hell?” “Jesus answered, ‘I am the Way and the Truth and the Life. No one comes to the Father except through me.’” I pray for courage to look straight into the eyes of these kids and share that a God of love provides one way to escape the wrath that will come because of sin.

As I watch the different religions of the world discuss the devastation in southeast Asia, I anticipate a familiar question to be asked this spring: “If your God is a God of love, how could He let thousands of people die in a storm?” In a strange way I feel I have an advantage discussing suffering, having been diagnosed with a terminal disease, but no quick answer satisfies. If we could grasp the suffering God endured as He gave His own Son to be brutally tortured and killed, we might understand the horror of sin. Oh that the One who suffered more than any of us can imagine would draw all men to Himself. His blood washes away sin and gives victory over death. One who receives Life from Him can face any storm. “‘Death has been swallowed up in victory.’ ‘Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?’ The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.” What greater news can there be?

“Therefore, my dear brothers, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.” I Corinthians 15:54-58

Who is ready to receive the Lord Jesus? Mary received the Son in a unique way and her example speaks to us today.

“I am the Lord’s servant,” Mary answered. “May it be to me as you have said.” Only the humble can make such a statement. The world despises humility, but Jesus modeled such an attitude. Those who would receive Him today must be humble.

“He called a little child and had him stand among them. And he said: ‘I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Therefore, whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.’” (Matt 18:3-4) “Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death – even death on a cross! Therefore God exalted him to the highest place…” (Phil 2:5-11)

The humble one has a heart ready to believe. “Blessed is she who has believed what the Lord has said to her will be accomplished!” Full of the Holy Spirit, Elizabeth praised Mary for what pleases God. The Father is pleased when we believe!

“But now a righteousness from God, apart from law, has been made known, to which the law and the Prophets testify. This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe.” (Rom 3:21-22)

Mary shows us a simple path: be humble, believe, and be blessed. May God bless you this Christmas season!

“And Mary said, ‘My soul glorifies the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, for he has been mindful of the humble state of his servant. From now on all generations will call me blessed, for the Mighty One has done great things for me – holy is his name. His mercy extends to those who fear him, from generation to generation. He has performed mighty deeds with his arm; he has scattered those who are proud in their inmost thoughts. He has brought down rulers from their thrones but has lifted up the humble. He has filled the hungry with good things but has sent the rich away empty. He has helped his servant Israel, remembering to be merciful to Abraham and his descendants forever, even as he said to our fathers.’” Luke 1:46-55

I told Susan last night how “grown-up” John was looking. He’s only six months old, but he has changed so much. I don’t think John has set too many goals at his young age, but he is maturing rapidly. I know the secret… it is the life the Father has put in him.

So what is the secret to my maturity? Do I need to work harder? Do I need to strive with more diligence? Do I need to pray more? Do I need to set higher goals? I think the secret to maturity for Christians is the same as John’s… it is the Life the Father has put in us.

“Abide in Me and I will abide in you.” “The Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My Name, will teach you all things…” “And I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Counselor to be with you forever – the Spirit of Truth. The world cannot accept Him, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him. But you know Him, for He lives with you and will be in you.”

The Spirit of the Living God, not my own effort, brings the maturity the Father desires. The mature in the Kingdom must remain child-like by depending on the One who aims to mold us into the image of Christ. As Jesus relied totally on His Father, so we are to rely on Him.

The Holy Spirit gives us our goal and reminds us where to keep our focus. “Let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the Author and Perfecter of our faith…” The Holy Spirit tells us there is a prize worth any cost. “But one thing I do: forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.” The Holy Spirit encourages us to constantly talk to the Father. “And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests.” The Holy Spirit gives us energy and power to do the work we are called to do. “To this end I labor, struggling with all His energy, which so powerfully works in me.”

‘Thank you, Lord, for Life.’

“If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!” Luke 11:13