Category Archives: Faith & Hope

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June 25, 2020

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Bible Stories, Challenges & Difficulty, Faith & Hope, Knowing Him

DO WE WANT THE TRUTH?

Jesus answered, “You say that I am a king. For this I was born, and for this I have come into the world, to bear witness to the truth. Every one who is of the truth hears my voice.” Pilate said to him, “What is truth?” [John 18:37-38b (RSV)]

loretto - pilate washing his hands

In the movie A Few Good Men, while being questioned in court, Colonel Jessep asks, “You want answers?” When Lt. Kaffee answers, “I want the truth!” Jessep responds, “You can’t handle the truth.” What eventually follows, while revealing the facts, is really just the colonel’s version of the truth. So, what exactly is truth?

The question of truth has fascinated philosophers for centuries. We know that truth isn’t falsehood or lies but defining it is harder, especially since some people believe truth can be subjective: truth is what things seem to be, involves preference and opinion, can be arrived at by consensus, or that no ultimate standards exist. We’ve all heard of alternative facts and know that even the most accurate statistics can be manipulated, massaged, and misstated to say just about anything. Tyler Vigen illustrated that by finding correlations between totally unrelated things such as a 99.26% correlation between the divorce rate in Maine and the per capita consumption of margarine and a 98.51% correlation between total arcade revenue and the number of computer science doctorates awarded each year in the U.S.

Truth in Scripture, however, is absolute. Pastor John MacArthur explains that, “Truth is that which is consistent with the mind, will, character, glory, and being of God….Truth is the self-expression of God.” Since truth is related to the character of God, something eternal and unchanging, the nature of truth is fixed. It has no expiration date and, unlike a computer program, it’s not up for revision, correction or updating. Author Josh McDowell defines truth as, “That which is true at all times in all places for all people.”

Pilate asked Jesus, “What is truth?” Wouldn’t you love to have heard His answer to this profound question? Pilate, however, never waited for an answer because his was just a rhetorical question. Pilate didn’t care about the truth once he knew Jesus hadn’t incited rebellion against Rome. Wanting to do the expedient thing, he went back outside to tell the people that Jesus wasn’t guilty of a crime. Thinking the crowd that had welcomed Jesus’ arrival less than a week earlier would call for His release, the governor offered to free Him. Pilate ended up trading the life of the man he’d already found innocent for that of Barabbas, an insurrectionist and murderer! The truth was swapped for a lie!

In Latin, Pilate’s question would have been, “Quid est veritas?” Samuel Johnson, one of the greatest literary figures of the 18th century, made an anagram of Pilate’s question and came up with the answer: “Est vir qui adest,” meaning, “It is the man before you!” Indeed, truth stood right in front of Pilate and he never recognized it.

Perhaps, instead of asking Jesus what truth was, Pilate would have been better served to have asked Jesus who truth was!

Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father, but by me. [John 14:6 (RSV)]

Jesus then said to the Jews who had believed in him, “If you continue in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free.” [John 8:31-32 (RSV)]

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June 2, 2020

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Attitudes & Behavior, Faith & Hope, Family, Friends & Fellowship, Peace of God, Prayer, Trusting God, Worry

PROTECT THEM, LORD

I love you, Lord; you are my strength. The Lord is my rock, my fortress, and my savior; my God is my rock, in whom I find protection. He is my shield, the power that saves me, and my place of safety. I called on the Lord, who is worthy of praise, and he saved me from my enemies. [Psalm 18:1-3 (NLT)]

mockingbird chick

Back when parks were open and the world seemed a safer place, we witnessed a parent’s nightmare. While the father was changing his toddler’s diaper, his four-year old daughter wandered away and disappeared in the zoo! We saw him frantically asking people, “Did you see a little girl in a pink bike helmet?” As he went racing down the path toward the alligators and lions, we went toward the lemurs and play area. Fortunately that pink helmet made her easy to spot as she stood watching the black bears lumber through their enclosure. While walking her back to her father, I said a prayer of thanksgiving that she would return safely home that day.

I thought of that anxious father the following day when reading Pearls Before Swine, a comic drawn by Stephan Pastis. Goat was extending sympathy to Pig for his grandma’s death when Pig carried him off. In the next few frames, Pig carted off his friends Duck and Cat. All of Pig’s friends were stuffed in a box labeled “Bad things stay away!” A sign above them read, “SAFE PLACE WHERE I CAN KEEP AN EYE ON EVERYONE I LOVE SO NOTHING BAD CAN HAPPEN TO THEM.” In the last frame, Goat tried to explain that life doesn’t work that way but Pig said, “Don’t distract me. I’m standing guard.”

Like Pig, I wish I could keep bad things from happening to those I love. Of course, if parents and grandparents could, we’d erect a wall of protection around our loved ones to shield them, not just from death, but also from pandemics, heartache, injury, disappointment, and pain.

It would be a miracle if the worst that happens to that little girl is getting lost at the zoo. While her pink bike helmet may protect her when she falls off her trike, it’s of little use elsewhere! We live in a fallen world: a world with disease, defiance, pain, sorrow, falseness, mistakes, greed, betrayal, loss, violence, malice, and death. Chances are that our children and grands will wander further astray than to the bears’ enclosure at the local zoo.

We protect our gates, are cautious of what we allow into our homes, wear masks, sanitize, wash our hands, and stay alert to the dangers around us but what about when our loved ones leave home to lead their own lives? Unlike Pig, we can’t stuff those we love in a box and stand guard over them night and day. Instead, we teach, encourage, warn, guide, lead, love, discipline, forgive, pray, equip them, and then let them go. Although we provide them with God’s armor, we can’t make them accept or wear it. Sadly, there is no fool-proof way to protect our loved ones from Columbines or Sandy Hooks any more than we can from pandemics, disappointment, grief, cancer, mental illness, rejection, failure, or death.

I used to ask God to be with my children and grands until I realized how silly my request was; He’s with them always! I now ask God to guard them from evil by making His presence known to them and His voice heard by them. As I pray God’s blessing of protection over my loved ones, I give them to Him, trusting that He will bring them safely home, if not in this world, then in the next!

But let all who take refuge in you rejoice; let them sing joyful praises forever. Spread your protection over them, that all who love your name may be filled with joy. For you bless the godly, O Lord; you surround them with your shield of love. [Psalm 5:11-12 (NLT)]

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May 29, 2020

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Attitudes & Behavior, Faith & Hope, God's Grace & Love, God's Plan, God's Promises, Joy, Miracles, Peace of God, Salvation: A New You, Trusting God

PERPETUAL

I tell you the truth, those who listen to my message and believe in God who sent me have eternal life. They will never be condemned for their sins, but they have already passed from death into life. [John 5:24 (NLT)]

monarch - caterpillar - butterflyDeath is the consequence of sin—of living in a fallen world—but Jesus promised that all believers have eternal life. In the Apostles’ Creed, we affirm our belief in this “life everlasting.” Eternal life, life in perpetuity, life forever and ever: how can that be? For centuries thousands of inventors have attempted to make a perpetual motion machine that will run indefinitely with no input of energy and have failed every time. Apparently perpetual motion violates the first and second laws of thermodynamics. If perpetual motion is an impossibility, perpetual life seems improbable, as well. It seems to violate all sorts of natural laws let alone human logic. God, however, isn’t limited by thermodynamics, any other law of nature, or human understanding; after all, He’s the author of them all!

The Greek word translated as “eternal” is aiónios which means eternal, forever, everlasting or perpetual. When combined with the Greek zoe (meaning life), it focuses not just on quantity of time but also on the quality of that time! The eternal life promised in the gospel isn’t just about the number of years; it is about the fullness of that unending life. Independent of time as we know it, eternal life is not something for which we need to hope. Jesus didn’t promise eternal life at some point in the future. Using the present tense, He said that “anyone who believes has eternal life” [John 6:47] For Christians, eternal life starts when we first believe in Christ. It has begun!

When our heart stops beating, our brain ceases functioning, and life has ebbed out of our body, we won’t stop existing. We will, however, change form. The caterpillar that wriggles along leaves and branches with its sixteen legs looks nothing like the butterfly whose beautiful wings enable it to flit from flower to flower. Nevertheless, they are the same creature with the same DNA. It will be much like that for us when we leave this dimension and enter into the next. While our bodies as we knew them will cease to exist in this world, our spirit or soul will continue into the next and (unlike a butterfly) last forever!

As a believer who is closer to the end of her years than the beginning, I find comfort in knowing that Jesus has already made good on His promise of eternal life. It’s mine already! When the time comes for my last breath, it simply will be like going to sleep as a caterpillar and awakening as a perpetual butterfly.

For you have been born again, but not to a life that will quickly end. Your new life will last forever because it comes from the eternal, living word of God. [1 Peter 1:23 (NLT)]

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May 27, 2020

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Attitudes & Behavior, Bible Stories, Challenges & Difficulty, Faith & Hope, Fear & Doubt, God's Promises, Nature, Trusting God

THE LEIDENFROST EFFECT

I praise God for what he has promised. I trust in God, so why should I be afraid? What can mere mortals do to me? [Psalm 56:4 (NLT)]

leidenfrost effect

Two businessmen were touring a foundry. When they entered the smelting area with its vats of molten metal, their guide said it was possible to safely pour that hot metal over someone’s hand if the hand was first dipped into water. When he asked if either gentleman cared to give it a try, the first man said, “I’ll just take your word for it.” The second man agreed and dipped his hand in a tub of water. When the molten metal was poured over the wet hand, it streamed off without causing him pain or injury. Although the first man said he believed the guide, the second one showed his faith in the man by acting on his belief.

Because of something called the Leidenfrost Effect, you really can dip your hand into water and then pour a stream of molten metal over it without pain or injury; a tiny layer of steam would insulate and protect your damp hand from the hot metal. Just because we could do it, however, doesn’t mean we should. The effect is short lived and I don’t suggest trying it at home!

I understand the Leidenfrost Effect and have seen it demonstrated; in theory, I believe in it. In actuality, however, I’d never trust it enough to give it a try! I’m like the Israelites during the Exodus. Although they witnessed God’s power over and over again in the plagues God visited on Egypt and when they safely crossed the Red Sea, saw the defeat of Pharaoh’s army, drank sweet water that once was bitter, gathered both quail and manna from heaven, and saw water spring from a rock, they continued to doubt. In spite of God demonstrating the truth of His promises throughout their journey, the Israelites spurned the God of miraculous provision while camped at Kadesh by refusing to enter Canaan, the land He’d promised to them. How much proof did they need that God would be true to them? Sometimes, even seeing isn’t enough to truly believe and trust.

It’s easy to have faith when the outcome is known. Our challenge is to believe and trust when the outcome is unknown or there is an element of risk, such as third degree burns or formidable foes. Because the power to believe a promise depends on our faith in the one who makes the promise, I wouldn’t have trusted the factory guide enough to put my wet hand under molten metal and, without trusting that God would be true to His promises, the Israelites wouldn’t obey Him!

Unlike the Israelites, do we have faith in the One who guides us through life? In the end, the difference between intellectual belief and actual faith is a willingness to take action: to step out in obedience. We have more proof of God’s faith, love, and power in Scripture than all the YouTube videos about the Leidenfrost Effect. Yet, there are many who probably would place their damp hands under molten metal before trusting their unknown fate to a known God! Isaac Watts said, “I believe the promises of God enough to venture an eternity on them.” What about you? Who do you trust? In whose hands have you rested your fate?

God never made a promise that was too good to be true. [Dwight L. Moody]

For the word of the Lord holds true, and we can trust everything he does. [Psalm 33:4 (NLT)]

Let us hold tightly without wavering to the hope we affirm, for God can be trusted to keep his promise. [Hebrews 10:23 (NLT)]

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May 20, 2020

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Bible Stories, Challenges & Difficulty, Faith & Hope, Fruit of the Spirit, God's Word: The Bible, Obedience, Temptation & Sin, Wisdom & Guidance

THORNS AND THISTLES (Soil – Part 3)

Other seed fell among thorns that grew up and choked out the tender plants so they produced no grain. [Mark 4:7]

nodding - musk thistleSome of the farmer’s seeds fell among the thorns (probably what we’d call thistles). Prolific seed producers, thorny plants like thistles can grow in the harshest environment. While they may have been cut down and no longer were visible to the farmer, their seeds and roots remained. With their deep roots, thistles are masters of survival and can flourish in adverse conditions. Stealing the moisture and sunlight from the plants around them, they stunt their growth and, if allowed to grow, can overtake a field.

The farmer’s seed was good, it took root, and started to grow but, because of the thistles, it never developed into maturity. The thistles represent the material concerns of the world—the cares, riches and pleasures that distract us from God’s word and, like a thistle’s roots, are deeply seated in our hearts. Rather than robbing us of water, sunlight, and nutrients, they stunt our growth by keeping us from God’s living water, the light of Christ, and the nourishment of His church. The busyness, distractions, and cares of life; the challenges of work and tending a family; the pursuit of wealth; the desire for possessions, status, amusement, contentment, and even revenge: all of these distract us from letting God’s Word bear fruit in our lives.

The faith of Judas was like a field with thistles. He heard the word and followed Jesus as a faithful disciple and yet he betrayed our Lord. We never know exactly why. Perhaps, it was simply for riches. John tells us he was a thief who stole from the disciples’ purse and we know he received money for his betrayal. Judas also may have been distracted by politics and a desire to be among the elite when Jesus defeated the Romans. Disillusionment may have set in when he realized that wouldn’t happen. Whatever it was, like a field of thistles, those distractions allowed Satan to enter him

In God’s perfect plan, there were no weeds and He didn’t mean for thorns or thistles to be in hearts, either. Weeds and sin both came with the fall. Ridding a field of thistles and other weeds is nearly impossible but, with diligence and hard work, it can be done. It takes continual inspection of the field and, once spotted, the weeds must be eradicated. The questions we must ask are simple ones. What are the thistles or thorns in my life? What is holding me back? What is keeping me from bearing His fruit? Is my faith genuine?

Examine yourselves to see if your faith is genuine. Test yourselves. Surely you know that Jesus Christ is among you; if not, you have failed the test of genuine faith. [2 Corinthians 13:5 (NLT)]

When the ground soaks up the falling rain and bears a good crop for the farmer, it has God’s blessing. But if a field bears thorns and thistles, it is useless. The farmer will soon condemn that field and burn it. [Hebrews 6:7-8 (NLT)]

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May 19, 2020

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Bible Stories, Faith & Hope, Obedience, Salvation: A New You, Trusting God

ROCKY SOIL (Soil – Part 2)

rocky soilOther seed fell among rocks. It began to grow, but the plant soon wilted and died for lack of moisture. [Luke 8:6 (NLT)]

If sinners take up religion in a fair day, they will lay it down in a foul day. They are willing to go to seas, but on condition there are no storms. They think too much of wearing a thorn, though it is borrowed from Christ’s crown. [D.L. Moody]

In the parable of the four soils, some of the farmer’s seed falls among the rocks. Again, this is not the farmer’s fault. Much of the soil of Israel and Judah was rocky and only a thin layer of topsoil covered the limestone base. While seeds might germinate, the seedlings would have weak root systems. Any moisture falling on such shallow soil evaporates quickly and, with roots unable to penetrate the stone, the sprouts soon wither and die. Just as the seed that fell on the pathway could be snatched away, it’s easy for the enemy to pull such weak seedlings out of the soil.

The rocky soil represents a shallow and impulsive faith—a faith based on emotions rather than a conscious decision to trust God with all things. We must never mistake outward fervor (in others or ourselves) as evidence of conversion. This is a “fair-weather faith” that answers the altar call with joy but disappears at the first sign of difficulty, service, or sacrifice. Superficial, it’s more about being religious than being obedient or devoted to God. This shallow response is what Dietrich Bonhoeffer might call “cheap grace…forgiveness without repentance, baptism without discipline, communion without confession, and grace without discipleship or the cross.” The Apostle James called it “dead” or “useless” faith because it goes through the motions without growing or producing fruit. With no depth of understanding, it is vulnerable and easily deceived.

Although human emotion can’t sustain our faith, with enough effort rocky soil can be broken up and shallow faith can deepen. When we deliberately choose to yield our lives to God’s plow and allow His Word to penetrate deep into our hearts, our faith can flourish and survive both drought and flood!

So you see, faith by itself isn’t enough. Unless it produces good deeds, it is dead and useless. … You say you have faith, for you believe that there is one God. Good for you! Even the demons believe this, and they tremble in terror. How foolish! Can’t you see that faith without good deeds is useless? [James 2:17,19-20 (NLT)]

But blessed are those who trust in the Lord and have made the Lord their hope and confidence. They are like trees planted along a riverbank, with roots that reach deep into the water. Such trees are not bothered by the heat or worried by long months of drought. Their leaves stay green, and they never stop producing fruit. [Jeremiah 17:7-8 (NLT)]

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