2018 Archives

  Catholics, Jehovah’s Witnesses, Baptists, Muslims, Methodists, Hindus, Mormons… Everybody claims to have a monopoly on TRUTH, so how does one know that he has actually discovered THE truth?  

  First, a couple of ways that obviously don’t work:  You cannot simply ask a friend or scholar, because every one has an opinion, and truth, by definition, is exclusive – all cannot be right. One man’s opinion is just not sufficient.

  Church is not the answer either; it is becoming hard to find two churches that believe alike, and many have changed their beliefs over the years because they are made up of fickle men.  The proverbial band wagon could be going the wrong direction.

  We could ask our public officials (politicians) …O never mind.

  Let’s face it, what we need is “built in” proof – truth that is self evident.  Fortunately, there is such a source of pure, unadulterated, undeniable truth.  The Bible is the revelation of truth, inspired by God.

  The proof?  For starters, how about fulfilled prophecy?  There are hundreds of predictions that are recorded in the Bible, sometimes a few thousand years before the event actually took place.  History acknowledges that they were fulfilled just as the Bible predicted.  Only God could know the future!

  And then there is the preservation of the Word – a modern day miracle.  The Bible has been both the most loved and most hated book of all times.  Powerful men have spent themselves to destroy it, but the Bible stands and they are dead.  Only God could preserve His Word against such hatred.

  Perhaps one of the greatest evidences that the Bible is undeniable truth, is how it changes lives.  But the only way you will ever know for sure is to experience its life changing power for yourself.  You might begin reading in the Gospel of John.  Jesus said, And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free. (John 8:32).

  In Acts 26, Paul had been arrested in Jerusalem for preaching the gospel of Jesus Christ and was being held by Festus, the procurator of Judea, in Caesarea of Israel.  He was awaiting transport across the sea to Rome, because he had appealed to Caesar when the Jewish leaders sought his life.  In the meanwhile, Festus entertained a guest who was much acquainted with the ways of the Jews and he was anxious to have him meet Paul and hear his story.

  Paul gave a testimony concerning his experience on the road to Damascus, where the risen Christ had appeared to him, and where Paul came to know Him as Savior and Lord.  His story was so convincing that when Festus’ guest, King Agrippa, heard it, he said, “Paul, Almost thou persuadest me to be a Christian. (Acts 26:28).”  There is diversity of opinion as to what Agrippa meant by these words, whether he was answering Paul in jest to side step the conviction in his heart, or whether he was admitting to being near a decision for Christ himself.  Either way, Paul responded with, “I would to God, that not only thou, but also all that hear me this day, were both almost, and altogether such as I am, except these bonds. (Acts 26:29).”

  I meet people quite often who have heard the story of God’s love: how He gave Christ to die and purchase their redemption, how He rose from the grave to be the Captain of their souls today and forever.  Many of these individuals have been so close to placing their trust in Christ for forgiveness, but at the last moment have pulled back, desiring to live in their sins rather than be saved from them.

  Imagine for a moment that individual standing before our holy God trying to explain what happened.  Imagine for a moment that scene where the eternal Judge says to them, “I tell you, I know you not… depart from me, all ye workers of iniquity. (Luke 13:27).”  Imagine being without God or His influence forever.

   Distraction is defined as “A thing that prevents someone from giving full attention to something else.”  The thesaurus offers these synonyms: interruption, disturbance, interference, and hindrance.  We generally think of distraction as being altogether undesirable, but wait, there is another nuance of this word.  The same thesaurus says that distraction can also be described with the words: amusement, entertainment, diversion, recreation and leisure pursuit.  While no one likes to be interrupted or disturbed, most consider it quite enjoyable to be distracted by the likes of amusement or entertainment – but these enjoyable diversions may not be so good for us.

   Perhaps it would be helpful at some point to consider the damage that enjoyable distraction causes in the realms of education or employment, but the most dangerous effect of distraction is in the realm of the spiritual.  People who have no relationship to God can become so distracted by these pleasurable experiences that they never find His truth.  Paul speaking to the church at Corinth writes, In whom the god of this world [Satan] hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them. (2Corinthians 4:4).

   Those of us who know the Lord can get so distracted that we take our eyes off of Him.  Remember Peter whose faith allowed him to walk on water? Matthew 14:29b-30 tells us, “…when Peter was come down out of the ship, he walked on the water, to go to Jesus. But when he saw the wind boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink, he cried, saying, Lord, save me.”  He was doing so well – but got distracted.

   Dear friend, it is easy to fill our minds with the things that this world has to offer and miss the essential life changing truths of God.  We should take the advice of the hymn writer who said, Turn your eyes upon Jesus, look full in His wonderful face, and the things of earth will grow strangely dim, in the light of His glory and grace.

  What is it about going to the doctor or dentist that makes it such a foreboding experience?  Is it the words, “Okay, lie back on the table and I’ll…”?  Or how about when the dentist asks, “Are you comfortable?” just before he thrusts the auger in your mouth.  Doesn’t the thought of it all cause your blood to run cold?  But let’s not be too hard on them; they do try to make us relax a bit in the Waiting Room.  This is where all of the victims patients gather before their procedures.  TVs, aquariums, magazines, books and life insurance pamphlets are strategically placed to take our minds off of the little procedure that awaits us just around the corner in the last room on the left.  Perhaps it is the Waiting Room that presents the greatest struggle for me.  I sit there thinking: If this has to happen, why do I have to wait for it?  Would it not make more sense to use the time to escape?

  Waiting is never fun, but interestingly, we are commanded to “wait on the Lord” three times in the scriptures.  e.g. Wait on the LORD: be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart: wait, I say, on the LORD. (Psalm 27:14).  The phrase is also found in Psalm 37:34 and Proverbs 20:22.  The Hebrew word wait used in these verses is similar to our word wait.  It means, to delay action until a particular time, or until something else happens.  But the Bible word seems to suggest a confident expectancy while we wait on Him.  Take for instance the example cited above from Psalm 27.  While we wait on the Lord, we can be of good courage.  Why? because He shall strengthen thine heart.  Anticipation of His promises makes the wait much more bearable.

  God, who could give us instant everything, has ordained rather that we should wait.  He knows that in waiting, our faith will be exercised, and when faith is exercised, it grows stronger.

  You’ll have to excuse me now, my doctor is waiting patiently for me!

  Ours is a day in which people are willing to take chances.  An increasing number of men and women are involved in something called Extreme Sports.  These thrill seekers perform unbelievable, death defying stunts on skis, bicycles, snowmobiles, and such.  They might appear to have little regard for life, but many of them would argue that their stunts are more than nerve and ignorance.  They think of each event as a “calculated risk,” an exercise of faith in their equipment and the collective experience and expertise of their support team.  Faith has been defined as belief or trust in something or someone.  These athletes prove that faith can push them over the top, making it possible to accomplish the impossible.

  Faith is also a Bible word, and God is its object.  The Bible says that God “…is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think.”   Sounds a little like the terminology used to describe extreme sports, doesn’t it?  But by faith we can accomplish things even more impressive than the most amazing stunt ever performed at a sporting event.

  Hebrews 11:6 says, “But without faith it is impossible to please Him: for he that cometh to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him.”  It is by faith that a sinful man becomes a child of God.  It is by faith that he finds peace and contentment in the promises of God.  By faith nations rise from ashes, and by faith the widow finds solace at the graveside of her husband of 53 years.   Hebrews 11 records numerous examples of what can be accomplished in the realms of the extreme, with a thimble full of faith.

  While I would not be interested in jumping out of a helicopter onto a mountain peak with a tricycle, I would like to experience the extreme power of God in my life.  How about you?  “So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God. (Romans 10:17).”  Let’s get in the Word and find something new and over the top to believe God for!