2019 Archives

  These sad words have been uttered through the ages after costly failures in the most daring adventures, and most dangerous missions.  History is replete with stories of individuals and nations who have risked life and livelihood to reach their goals.  e.g. A husband and father might utter this phrase when his failed business venture ends in the loss of his home and savings.  A thief may spend months in planning, and invest all of his strength and resources to pull off a job, only to be nabbed in the act.  He might be heard saying, as he is helped into the back seat of a police car, “It was all for nothing.”

  The truth is that many who succeed in the ventures of this life will get to the end of their love, leisure, and lucrative endeavors, only to find that their celebrated success doesn’t compensate for the years of drudgery that were endured to get there. They will discover that their time on the top of the hill is short lived; their treasures are soon consumed by moths and rust.  At the end of life no one maintains their esteemed standing or takes their material gain to the abode of the dead.  It Was All For Nothing.

  The problem is that most people spend their lives majoring on the minors.  They never discover (or always reject) the knowledge that our Creator God has a purpose for their lives through which they can enjoy eternal reward for temporal labor.  It begins with a proper introduction to  the Almighty.  “But as many as received him (Jesus), to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name: (John 1:12)”

  For those who have established a relationship with God through His Son, Jesus Christ, there is a cause worth living for, …or dying for.  He tells His children,  “Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal: But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal: For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also. (Matthew 6:19–21)”

  It has occurred to me again recently that the battle is the Lord’s, that I can do nothing apart from Him, that “Except the LORD build the house, they labour in vain that build it. (Psalm 127:1a).” I am seeing more clearly that I don’t simply need His help, I need Him to do it for me, and in me, and through me. I am realizing anew that I am, and have always been, totally dependent upon the Lord in every aspect of life.

   One might think that in time I would learn to exercise a little independence, to accomplish something without bothering God for His help, but quite the opposite is true. I am learning that I was not made to function on my own. Some may laugh or call me lunatic, but I am actually enjoying my dependence. This is the result of revival, not laziness or a lack of zeal. It was God’s idea, not my own.

  He told me to, “Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths. (Prov. 3:5-6).” He has revealed to me that, “…As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me. (John 15:4).” I’m starting to see that while I am unqualified and unable to do anything of lasting value on my own, “I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me. (Php. 4:13).” I have discovered power in dependence, and peace in surrender. I feel closer to God and I like it.

  He is the Creator and Sustainer of the Universe; He is omnipotent, omniscient, and omnipresent. He is MY STRENGTH and MY GOD! “Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us, Unto him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without end. Amen. (Ephesians 3:20-21).”

  Christians talk about giving God thanks for everything, but some skeptical observers have asked, “How can one give thanks for things that are unpleasant or sorrowful?”  God’s word answers, “And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.” (Romans 8:28)

  Let me illustrate this promise by telling you of an artist who spent a long tedious evening setting up a very expensive canvas on which he intended to create a masterpiece.  All was ready; he would begin the next day.

  Curiously, the artist encountered a crew of house painters exiting as he entered his rented studio early the next morning.  With a quick glance around the room, he spied a large black spot on his new canvas that matched the trim color around his freshly painted windows.

  After a long gaze at the spotted canvas, the old master picked up his brush and began to paint.  Miraculously the black spot became the center of a beautiful flower as the artist spread the colors over the canvas.  At the end of the first day, no one would have imagined that the house painters had spoiled the new canvas the night before.

  The following day, this patient master was met with apologies from an electrician who was exiting the building.  He confessed that in the busyness of the morning, the easel holding the canvas was tipped over, causing the painting to slide across the wet paint pallet left on his stool from the night before.  A long green streak now lay across the beautiful flower.

  Again, he took his place in front of what would seem to be a lost cause and studied it for a while.  Finally he dipped his brush and began to paint.  At the end of the day, the green streak had become part of a lush green vine that had woven its way through the flower garden and bordered the edges of the canvas.  The mishaps had faded into the beauty of the picture.  And so it is, as God, the Master of the universe, paints on the canvas of your life or mine.

  As a pastor I am often amazed at the arrogance with which most parents offer advice about raising children.  Amazed because their boldness does not seem to be effected by the mental, social or spiritual development of their own offspring.  They may have children who have miserably failed in business ethics, the exercise of social graces, or in their walk with the Lord, but still as parents they boast their methods and motives as if they had turned out champions for the next generation.

  Please don’t misunderstand me; I’m not suggesting that the faults of every child are the result of parental failure, nor do I believe that good parenting skills are a guarantee that every child will turn out right.  But how is it that any mom or dad can be so naive as to think themselves sufficient for the task of molding a young man or woman for God.

  My children are raised now, and if there is one thing that raising children has taught my wife and me, it is that we are not sufficient for the task.  As we look back at our own experience, we can confidently say that every idea implemented in our home that originated with us, or with one of the self appointed professional parent authors, was a mistake.  On the other hand, it is equally obvious to us that every biblical principle and precept that was implemented in our home and tenaciously woven into the fabric of our children’s lives has proven itself to be beneficial to them.

  In short, parenting has taught me two things: (1) I don’t know how to raise kids. (2) God does!  The best manual on parenting comes from the One who formed the children in their mother’s womb.  From that manual I offer this advice: “And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart: And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up. (Deuteronomy 6:6-7).”

  It is foolish to keep doing the same things and expect different results.

 Recently, a man visited a local fast food restaurant and asked for a half dozen chicken nuggets.  “We don’t have half dozen nuggets,” said the teenager behind the counter;  “We only have six, nine, or twelve.”  “So I can’t order a half-dozen nuggets, but I can order six?”  “That’s right!”  So, he ordered six nuggets.  Though we smile, isn’t there something sad about this experience?  It serves as an example of the shallowness that pervades our generations, an unwillingness to think—to learn.  More sadly still, this cultural phenomenon has affected our ability to comprehend truth in the spiritual realm that lies just beyond the surface of what we see with our eyes.

  The Psalms reveal that individuals living in the days of old were not plagued with our mental lethargy.  It is convicting to notice how David’s meditations did not begin like mine.  The initial focus of the Psalm was not on the headlines of the day, nor on the events that kept his life “on the edge,” but on the condition of his own heart before God!  He prayed, “Judge me, O Lord; for I have walked in mine integrity: I have trusted also in the Lord; therefore I shall not slide. Examine me, O Lord, and prove me; Try my reins and my heart. (Psalms 26:1–2)”

  The King was asking the Lord to examine his integrity and uprightness.  He realized that the things that mattered most were his standing before God in uprightness, and standing for God while in the presence of his fellow man.

  Not until the end of the Psalm does David mention the lurking dangers that threatened His kingdom and his very life.  Interestingly, even then it was not to complain about his lot in life, or to play on the sympathy of the Almighty, but to acknowledge his dependency and express his confidence in his God.

  Perhaps our posterity will be shallow thinkers when it comes to ordering chicken nuggets or making change for a customer, but I pray that God would raise up generations who know Him and delight in His law.  Only then will we be certain of a bright future.  Think about it—no, learn about it.