Imagine hiking with a friend, the narrow treacherous paths to plunge the depths of the Grand Canyon.  It would be something to write home about—a true adventure.  Now imagine being at the bottom of the canyon trying out a new tool to start a campfire when all of a sudden, something goes wrong and a sudden flash of burning powder flies into your eyes and all is dark—you are totally blind.  There are no options; you will have to allow your friend to lead you step by step back up the long perilous path to get medical attention.  You will have to humble yourself and take your friend by the hand.  You will have to swallow your pride and follow his instructions about where to place your hands and feet to take the next step.  You, who have always felt capable of calling your own shots, will be totally dependent upon another, if you hope to live through this harrowing ordeal.  You MUST trust your friend!

  Life is much like the ascent from the canyon’s floor in total darkness.  It is not just a physical ascent, but a spiritual one as well.  One might imagine that our physical eyes are sufficient for the task, but obviously, you cannot be everywhere at once, and physical eyes are of no value in the realm of the “unseen.”  Perhaps you have lived long enough to know that without a Friend to help, too much of life is left to chance.  It is not worth the risk.

  The Bible speaks of such a Friend!  He is already acquainted with your plight, and longs to provide the assistance that you need to live an abundant life here on Earth, and in the eternal future.  He cares so much for you that He was willing to sacrifice His life’s blood to provide everything that you need to be victorious.  “Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. (John 15:13)”  “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house. (Acts 16:31)” 

  Jesus Christ,  God’s Son came to earth to die in order to pay the penalty for your sins.  He was buried and rose again from the dead.  He is alive to help you up the path that He has already travelled.  With Him by your side, you can be sure that, in the end, you will arrive safely to your eternal abode.  You MUST trust your Friend!

  As a child I can still remember being told, “Be Still!”  It may have been at church, or school, or sitting with my siblings in the back seat of our family’s car on a road trip.  Even at that young age, I knew I was being told to “Be Still” because I was breaking someone’s concentration, or irritating them with an annoying noise or action that I was performing in an endless loop.  I was told to “Be Still” because I was making a nuisance of myself. 

  In Mark 4:36-39, Jesus was in a boat with His disciples on the Sea of Galilee when a storm blew up.  He had fallen asleep and they chose to let their tired Master sleep while they manned the oars against the strong wind and waves.  As their situation worsened, they began to panic until one finally cried out, “Master, carest thou not that we perish?”  Jesus stood up in the boat and said, “Peace, Be Still!” and the storm immediately became a “great calm.”  He commanded the storm to “Be Still,” because it was making a nuisance of itself, but now, a holy hush fell across the surface of the water, and His Omnipotence  (infinite power) was on display in the stillness of the hour.

  In Psalm 46, we are invited to, “Come, behold the works of the LORD, what desolations he hath made in the earth. He maketh wars to cease unto the end of the earth; he breaketh the bow, and cutteth the spear in sunder; he burneth the chariot in the fire.” And so that we will not make a nuisance of ourselves while He displays Omnipotence, or miss the life changing point that He intends—He instructs us,  “Be Still, and know that I am God: I will be exalted among the heathen, I will be exalted in the earth. (Psalm 46:8–10)”

  We live in uncertain, perilous times.  Everyone has his own ideas about: What brought all of this upon us? Who is to blame? What chain of events might correct our course and restore a sense of order?  Certainly each of us can do his part in choosing right over wrong, helping our neighbors, raising our children with morals, a work ethic and respect for others, but our feeble efforts will not likely be enough.  In the end God must once again put Omnipotence on display.  “Be Still” and know that HE is God!

  If God were a philosophy, a legend, or the brainchild of a lunatic, one might argue, “He cramps my style.”  But if God is the living, all knowing, all powerful, eternal Being that the Bible describes, perhaps it would be more appropriate to concern ourselves with His style.

  One might counter, “You don’t expect me to believe that old book do you?” …but “that old book,” though sufficient in itself, is not the only evidence for God.  Science and reason require a beginning to life as we know it.  The world and outer space, to include every unexplored galaxy, is an infinitely complex design that requires a designer.  The realm of little things that lies beyond the gaze of the most powerful microscope is obviously not the product of chance, but of infinite wisdom and power.  The laws of nature, and the laws that govern probability and chance require more than a loosely fabricated, imaginative explanation for what we observe daily.  It is abundantly obvious that the complexity and order in our world are not the result of a chaotic explosion or the multiplicity of years that some claim (without evidence) were required for some pre-mortal ooze to evolve into every form of life.

  The material universe, and the unfathomable non-material (spiritual) universe, if you are able to comprehend it, were born in the mind, and produced by the will of Omnipotence.  And only, “The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God… (Psalms 53:1)”  But why would anyone deny the obvious?  Because they know that when they acknowledge God, they must make themselves accountable to Him, and “…men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. (John 3:19)” 

  “For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness; Because that which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God hath shewed it unto them. For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse: (Romans 1:18–20)”

  Several days ago, the United States Supreme Court reversed a prior decision  that had declared abortion a constitutional right.  Those who opposed the reversal argued that because we have been killing babies for forty-nine years, under the guise of “reproductive healthcare” for women, it is indeed a right.  Those who praise the decision of the five justices celebrate the demise of a convenient ruling that contributed to the deaths of over 60 million babies.  

  One group focuses on the life of mothers without morals, whose voices are amplified by the multi-billion dollar industry with a bottom line that can be tabulated in both innocent lives and dollars. The other side is composed of those who seek to defend the right to life for helpless innocence that resides and matures in its mother’s womb. There are those of their number who might argue that when we don’t want our pets to bear unwanted offspring, we have them spayed or neutered.  On both sides, emotions run high.  Who is right?

 The opinions of politicians, prelates, and just plain people have served only to fuel the fires.   Perhaps we should simply look to God, the Giver of Life and the Master of Morals:

  God says that sex outside of the bonds of marriage is forbidden fornication.

Marriage is honorable in all, and the bed undefiled: but whoremongers and adulterers God will judge. (Hebrews 13:4)

  God says that unborn babies are people.

Psalm 51:5; 139:13-16; Isaiah 49:1; Jeremiah 1:4-5; Luke 1:39-44

  God says that it is wrong to murder people.

Thou shalt not kill (Hebrew rāsah = murder) (Exodus 20:13)

  God says that children are His heritage and reward to faithful parents.

Lo, children are an heritage of the LORD:
and the fruit of the womb is his reward. (Psalm 127:3)

  Everyone has an opinion, but God has a moral law.  Let’s let God be God.

  In our zeal to promote Christianity, we believers sometimes have a tendency to focus on the physical rather than the spiritual.  Because it seems impossible to persuade men in this 21st century to attain unto God’s realm by faith, we offer an unofficial alternative.  As if we had authority to do so, we foolishly opt to convince them that in exchange for a simple prayer or some momentous mental assent to the gospel, God will join them in their own realm, making life a bed of ease.  Truth of the matter is, becoming a born again Christian could bring new trials and hardships into your life.  The salvation that God offers to mankind, does not obligate Him to run interference so that you can fulfill your self-gratifying ambitions.  It is important that you understand, when you accept God’s gift of forgiveness by faith in Jesus Christ, you do not become God’s prize—He becomes yours.

  God’s salvation is a new paternal relationship with Himself through faith, in which He adopts you into His spiritual family.  He commutes your sentence of condemnation, delivering you from the penalty, power, and eventually the presence of sin.  He offers a new perspective, allowing you to see everything as it really is rather than how it might appear in the limited understanding of your finite mind.  He offers peace in situations that are terrifying.  He offers joy that is unaffected by the circumstances of life or the absence of the “material treasures” that are the prize of the earthbound.  He offers purpose that reaps eternal rewards.  He offers power to step out of spiritual darkness and enter into eternal Life and Light.  He offers full time access to Himself through prayer.  He promises to place His Spirit in your heart to teach, guide and seal you until the day you stand in His presence.  He offers a future change of address from eternal Hell to eternal bliss, to be enjoyed in His very presence.  Jesus said it best, “And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent. (John 17:3).”

  Coming to God requires surrender and dependance upon Him.  Salvation is not something that you can hold in your hand; it is a possession of the heart.  A spiritual, eternal treasure to be enjoyed right now!