Category Archives: God’s Word: The Bible

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May 22, 2017

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Challenges & Difficulty, God's Grace & Love, God's Word: The Bible, Knowing Him, Peace of God, Salvation: A New You, Spiritual Gifts, Thanks & Praise

TAG LINES AND CATCHPHRASES

sunset-naples FLThe heavens proclaim the glory of God. The skies display his craftsmanship. Day after day they continue to speak; night after night they make him known. They speak without a sound or word; their voice is never heard. Yet their message has gone throughout the earth, and their words to all the world. [Psalm 19:1-4 (NLT)]

In 1929, the Coca-Cola Company coined their famous catchphrase, “The pause that refreshes.” That also would be a great slogan to advertise the power of prayer. Just imagine what would have happened if God, like Coca-Cola, had used heavenly copywriters instead of prophets and disciples to publicize His word. Maybe Lazarus or Zacchaeus could have been hired for celebrity endorsements. If Moses had been given the slogan, “He’s the real thing!” along with those Ten Commandments, maybe the Israelites wouldn’t have worshiped Baal or erected Asherah poles. While dentists and dietitians probably disagree about things going better with Coke, Christians wouldn’t disagree if God’s ad men promoted our Lord with, “Things go better with Jesus!” If heaven’s version of Madison Avenue got to work, we’d be in good hands with God instead of Allstate, the Holy Spirit (and not gas) would be the tiger in our tanks, and we’d spell relief as “J-E-S-U-S.” The NY Times slogan, “All the news that’s fit to print,” would work perfectly to promote the Bible and, instead of a diamond, it would be salvation that is forever. Other possibilities include, “Like a good neighbor, Jesus is there,” and, “With a name like Jesus, it has to be good!” Rather than Alka Seltzer, “Try it! You’ll like it!” would promote Christianity and Visa’s slogan could be reworked as, “God’s everywhere you want to be.” To publicize heaven, the ad men could borrow Johnson & Johnson’s, “No more tears!” and revise Disney’s slogan to, ”The happiest place not on earth.” The one tag line that would never fly in God’s board room, however, is Burger King’s “Have it your way!” It will always be God’s way!

The thing is, God isn’t interested in pithy sayings and I’m not so sure He wants our complex relationship with him to depend on a couple of witty words or catchy phrases. Tag lines might catch our attention but God wants our hearts and souls. Moreover, unlike Madison Avenue’s copywriters, God won’t deceive or mislead, even to convince us to follow Him. Unlike those ads for drugs that insert the side effects in impossibly small print or speed through them at the end of the commercial, Jesus was explicit when he told his followers that life would not be easy. God has never sugar-coated the truth.

Unlike businesses, God doesn’t need to hire ad men or ask for anyone’s endorsement. One of his best advertisements is far better than the best ad campaign and is obvious to all—His spectacular and fantastic creation. Moreover, His word as revealed in the Bible tells us all we need to know and is far more meaningful than even the best catchphrase. “The Lord is my shepherd, I have all that I need,” and “For God loved the world so much that he gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal Life,” pretty much say it all! And, let’s never forget that our Heavenly Father really did care enough to send the very best!

You are my refuge and my shield; your word is my source of hope. … The teaching of your word gives light, so even the simple can understand. [Psalm 119:114,130 (NLT)]

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May 4, 2017

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Bible Stories, Challenges & Difficulty, Church & Worship, Faith & Hope, God's Word: The Bible, Holidays & Holy Days, Obedience, Prayer, Sorrow, Grief & Regrets

NATIONAL DAY OF PRAYER – 2017

Lord, you are great and deserve respect as the only God. You keep your promise and show mercy to those who love you and obey your commandments. We have sinned, done wrong, acted wickedly, rebelled, and turned away from your commandments and laws. We haven’t listened to your servants the prophets, who spoke in your name to our kings, leaders, ancestors, and all the common people. You, Lord, are righteous. But we—the men of Judah, the citizens of Jerusalem, and all the Israelites whom you scattered in countries near and far—are still ashamed because we have been unfaithful to you. [Daniel 9:4-7 (GW)]

National Day of Prayer - American flagThe book of Daniel was written during the Babylonian captivity. Nebuchadnezzar had assaulted Judah, destroyed Jerusalem and the temple and exiled the people of Judah to Babylon. Jeremiah had prophesized that Jerusalem’s desolation would last seventy years and Daniel realized that their time of exile was nearly complete. After fasting, donning sackcloth, and covering himself with ashes, Daniel passionately prayed and pled with God to return His people to their land.

Found in Daniel 9, his prayer starts with worship and praise but quickly moves into confession—admitting that the people were rebellious and disobedient and had ignored God’s prophets, abandoned his word, and disregarded his commandments. Admitting that they’d been warned time and time again, He acknowledges the justice of Jerusalem’s desolation and the righteousness of God’s severe judgment. He concludes with a plea to God to forgive them and restore Judah and Jerusalem.

Today, the first Thursday in May, is the National Day of Prayer, and many of us will meet in front of courthouses or in houses of worship and pray for our nation. If there ever was a time our nation needs prayer, it is now! This year’s theme is “Hear us…Forgive us…Heal us! For the Glory of Your Great Name” and is taken from Daniel 9:19. Today’s prayer was written by Anne Graham Lotz and, like Daniel’s prayer, clearly acknowledges the sins of our nation’s people. I have included just a few of the highlights (actually our low points) of her prayer, but I urge you to read and pray the entire prayer for yourselves.

We confess our foolishness of denying You as the one, true, living God, our Creator to whom we are accountable, living as though our lives are a cosmic accident with no eternal significance, purpose or meaning. … We confess we no longer fear You, and thus we have not even the beginning of wisdom with which to handle the vast knowledge we possess. … We confess our arrogance and pride that has led us to think we are sufficient in ourselves. … We confess to believing that the prosperity of our nation has been great because we are great while refusing to acknowledge that all blessings come from Your hand. … We confess that we have allowed the material blessings You have given us to deceive us into thinking we don’t need You. … We confess that we live as though material wealth and prosperity will bring happiness. [Anne Graham Lotz]

Unlike Judah, our nation is not yet in ruins and we haven’t been taken captive by a pagan army, but not much else is very different. Have we learned nothing in over 2,500 years? What will it take for God to get our attention? We still put ourselves before God, commit crimes against both God and people, defy and disobey our Lord, and have turned away from His word. We should be ashamed. The sole hope for us and our nation is found in God. Today’s prayer ends with these words:

Therefore, we turn to You with tears of shame and a heart of fear for the judgment we are provoking. We repent of our sin. Please, God of Our Fathers, do not back away from us. Do not remove Your hand of blessing on us. As we return to You with humility…With sincerity…Out of necessity…With a desperate sense of urgency.  Please! Return to us! Hear our prayer. Forgive our sin. Heal our land. … For the Glory of Your Great Name…JESUS. [Anne Graham Lotz]

Lord have mercy upon us!

We are not requesting this from you because we are righteous, but because you are very compassionate. Listen to us, Lord. Forgive us, Lord. Pay attention, and act. Don’t delay! Do this for your sake, my God, because your city and your people are called by your name. [Daniel 9:18b-19 (GW)]

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April 19, 2017

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Faith & Hope, God's Grace & Love, God's Word: The Bible, Knowing Him, Prayer, Trusting God, Wisdom & Guidance

WHAT’S YOUR QUESTION?

I pray that the glorious Father, the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, would give you a spirit of wisdom and revelation as you come to know Christ better. Then you will have deeper insight. You will know the confidence that he calls you to have and the glorious wealth that God’s people will inherit. [Ephesians 1:17-18 (ESV)]

I received an email regarding a not yet released Christian movie about a journalist who has the opportunity to interview someone who claims to be God. The email posed an interesting question: “If you could interview God, what would you ask?”

day lilyAn interview with God would appear to be a journalist’s dream opportunity! As I started thinking of questions, I realized I wouldn’t want to know the answers for many. I don’t want to know when or how I’ll die and I certainly wouldn’t want to be privy to that information about anyone else. I wouldn’t want to know exactly what will become of friends who don’t believe or who will go where at judgment. A friend said he might ask how he was doing but, fully aware of his failings, realized he probably wouldn’t want to hear God’s answer. Some friends in Chicago might want to ask Him about the Cubs but, unless they were gamblers, knowing the answer would be a season spoiler. There is much that God could tell me that I wouldn’t want to know because I could never live with the weight of His answers.

On the other hand, many of God’s answers would be amazingly profound in their simplicity. If I did ask when I would die, His answer would be “Never” since He’s already given me eternal life. If I asked how He could possibly love me, His answer would be, “Because I am love and you’re my child.” If I asked how he managed creation, He might answer, “With a word!” If I asked what proof there is of His existence, He’d remind me to open my eyes and see the proof in a sunrise, sunset, butterfly or flower. When asked how He came to be, He’d reply that He’s always been and forever will be. If I dared ask why people suffer, He would remind me that Job already asked that one. He’d probably add, “You wouldn’t understand!” which is correct, because I wouldn’t. Conceivably, many of His answers would consist of only one word—such as listen, sacrifice, love, obey, trust, believe, share, witness, care and forgive. If I asked what I should know, He’d tell me I already had everything I truly needed to know in the Bible, his love letter to us, and then remind me to spend more time reading it. Fortunately, there’s no need to make an appointment for a formal interview with God; we can interview Him every day in prayer!

Thank you, God, for the privilege of reading your word and coming to you in prayer.

Our supreme need, our only need, is to know God, the living God, and the power of His might. [Martyn Lloyd-Jones]

For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. [Romans 1:20 (ESV)]

Thus says the Lord: “Let not the wise man boast in his wisdom, let not the mighty man boast in his might, let not the rich man boast in his riches, but let him who boasts boast in this, that he understands and knows me, that I am the Lord who practices steadfast love, justice, and righteousness in the earth. For in these things I delight, declares the Lord.” [Jeremiah 9:23-24 (ESV)]

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April 7, 2017

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Attitudes & Behavior, Faith & Hope, Fear & Doubt, God's Grace & Love, God's Promises, God's Word: The Bible, Knowing Him, Trusting God

WHEN BELIEF BECOMES FAITH

trapeze
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 2:19-20 (NLT)]

When we visited our grandchildren in February, I had another opportunity to watch my granddaughter fly on the trapeze. As she practiced transferring from her fly bar into the catcher’s hands, I thought of promises. The catcher assured the flyers he’d catch them and they clearly believed him when they jumped off the platform, turned upside down and hung from their knees. Knowing his promise and believing it, however, isn’t enough to get someone from the fly bar into his hands. Once swinging through the air, my grand had to act on his promise by straightening her legs, flying off the bar and reaching into emptiness. In that moment, when she floated in the air between fly bar and catcher, her belief in the catcher became faith in him. The catcher can only make good on his promise when the flyer acts on it. Those flyers who professed to believe his words but never reached for him were left hanging upside down.

The word “promise” appears 364 times in my NLT Bible. Scholars usually say that God made more than 3,500 promises to man. In 1956, however, during his 27th reading of the Bible, Canadian schoolteacher Everett Storms catalogued 7,487 promises from God to mankind. Although I couldn’t even begin to list them all, I know that God promises provision, protection, direction, wisdom and a love that will never fail. He promises peace, forgiveness, an abundant life, salvation, Jesus’ 2nd coming, healing and eternal life. Nevertheless, even if I could recite every promise found in the Bible’s 31,173 verses and wholeheartedly professed my belief in each one of them, I still have not shown faith.

Faith requires action; it requires us to live our lives in reliance on each one of God’s glorious promises. It’s when we act on our belief, when we live our lives in dependence on God’s word, that faith is born. God can never make good on His promises if we never act on them! Of course, since my grand is still learning, she wears a safety harness in case her timing is off. When we take that leap of faith with God, however, we don’t need a harness—we can get it right the first time we do it. It’s always the right time to take our belief and act in faith on God. Without that leap of faith that propels us into God’s arms, however, we’re just hanging upside down from the fly bar!

But don’t just listen to God’s word. You must do what it says. Otherwise, you are only fooling yourselves. For if you listen to the word and don’t obey, it is like glancing at your face in a mirror. You see yourself, walk away, and forget what you look like. But if you look carefully into the perfect law that sets you free, and if you do what it says and don’t forget what you heard, then God will bless you for doing it. [James 1:22-25 (NLT)]

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March 20, 2017

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Bible Stories, Faith & Hope, Forgiveness, God's Grace & Love, God's Word: The Bible, Knowing Him, Salvation: A New You

THE WINNER

wild geranium
I find joy in the way shown by your written instructions more than I find joy in all kinds of riches. [Psalm 119:14 (GW)]

It’s March Madness time for basketball fans and my team is already out of the competition. Last year, however, my choice won—but not in basketball. After placing sixteen popular Bible stories in brackets, my preferred Bible resource site had its followers tweet votes for their favorite story to see which one moved forward. The choices were: Esther and the king, Jesus walking on water, the Good Samaritan, the Prodigal Son, Joseph and his coat, Jonah and the fish, Noah and the ark, the exodus from Egypt, David and Goliath, Ezekiel and the dry bones, Jericho’s walls, Balaam’s donkey, Daniel and the lion’s den, Jesus healing the blind, Rahab and the spies, and the burning bush. Which would you expect to be the final winner?

Ezekiel and the dry bones didn’t make it past the first round (which I understand since that one sort of creeps me out). Unfortunately, the lovely story of Esther, up against the more familiar parable of the Prodigal Son, was defeated in the first round. In the final round, on one side was the historical account of the young David defeating the giant Goliath. The story is exciting, has danger and violence, and illustrates the supernatural power of God. It’s a tale of a brave young man who demonstrates the power of God with just a sling and a few stones. It tells us that, when we step out in faith, the God we serve can defeat any of the giants in our lives. Everyone loves a story where faith in God beats brute strength and the little guy defeats the big one.

David’s underdog opponent was the parable of the Prodigal Son. It’s a moving story with a not totally happy ending. After the younger son insults his father and foolishly demands his inheritance, he squanders it all. In desperate circumstances, he returns home with his head hanging low and is welcomed by his father. The dark side to the story is that the older son, the one who faithfully remained at his father’s side, is indignant and can’t understand his father’s compassion and forgiveness.

At first glance, David’s defeat of the formidable Philistine would appear to be the favorite. Nevertheless, the undefeatable youth was trounced by the Prodigal Son. When we first meet David, even though he’s young, he seems larger than life. He’s handsome, a skilled musician, and described as having good judgment and being a brave warrior. Among all of Jesse’s sons, he is the one chosen by God to become king. Most of us don’t resemble David nor have we been anointed as a king. We’re not heroic future monarchs, but we are God’s troubled children. As much as we appreciate a story of good triumphing over evil, we can personally relate to Jesus’ parable because we all are God’s prodigal sons.

The parable is a story of hope (the father is waiting at the gate for his son), mercy (the boy is not punished), love (he is hugged and greeted with a kiss), forgiveness (he is welcomed as a son, not a slave) and joy (there’s to be a huge celebration). Like the son, we all disappointed our parents and, if we were blessed with children, they disappointed us at times. Moreover, just as the son misused his father’s money, we have misused the gift of free will and squandered the blessings given us by our heavenly Father. This story reassures us that no matter how immoral, unscrupulous, self-indulgent or corrupt we’ve been, God welcomes his children home when they come with humble and repentant hearts. Once dead because of sin, we can come alive again. Knowing what sinners we are, this demonstration of the Father’s love and forgiveness is reassuring. The parable reminds us that blessings aren’t earned and obedience is not what gives us eternal life. God’s grace is not something we deserve but something He freely gives. Thank you, Heavenly Father, for loving and forgiving your undeserving prodigal children.

He has not treated us as we deserve for our sins or paid us back for our wrongs. As high as the heavens are above the earth—that is how vast his mercy is toward those who fear him. As far as the east is from the west—that is how far he has removed our rebellious acts from himself. As a father has compassion for his children, so the Lord has compassion for those who fear him. [Psalm 103: 10-13 (GW)]

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February 15, 2017

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Attitudes & Behavior, Church & Worship, God's Word: The Bible, Knowing Him, Obedience, Prayer, Salvation: A New You, Temptation & Sin, Wisdom & Guidance

SAFETY NETS

bald python and florida cottomouth snakes
If you think you are standing strong, be careful not to fall. [1 Corinthians 10:12 (NLT)]

Our local zoo does a fascinating presentation called “Snakes Alive.” Two snake handlers stand in a walled area while the spectators stand on the other side of the waist-high wall. Using snake hooks and tongs, the keepers bring out their reptilian charges—including venomous snakes such as rattlers and cottonmouths. As the snakes roam freely around the enclosure, the keepers talk about each species. There may be as many as three snakes loose at once. Even though the keepers are speaking to the audience, they keep their eyes on the snakes at all times. Since they wear low-cut hiking boots, I wondered about their footwear and asked why they didn’t wear high boots. The keeper responded that they’ve found wearing high boots gives them a false sense of security. When trusting boots to keep them from harm (which they won’t), the keepers tend to become complacent and less vigilant, adding that lack of caution can have disastrous results.

I thought of that response when five of the famed Flying Wallendas fell over 30-feet while practicing an eight-man high-wire pyramid stunt earlier this month. Known for performing without a net, the Wallendas weren’t using a safety net that day. “We don’t train with a net. It’s been taught for generations a net can be a false sense of security,” said spokesman Nik Wallenda. “It’s all about training and preparing,” he added. Like high boots for zoo keepers, even a net cannot fully protect someone. In the 1930s, one of the troupe died when he fell into the net and bounced out of it.

While I don’t advocate performing on a high-wire without a net or sharing an enclosure with venomous snakes at any time, I think both the Wallendas and the zoo’s reptile handlers make a good point. High boots can’t prevent snake bites, nets can’t prevent falls, and being a Christian doesn’t mean the enemy won’t get his fangs in us or make us lose our balance.

Satan wants us to get so comfortable and relaxed in our lives that we start going through the motions rather than truly keeping the faith. We are so sure of heaven that we forget about hell. Being Christians it isn’t enough to protect us from the enemy—we must live as Christians. When life is going smoothly, we tend to get lax in Bible reading, prayer and even church attendance. Although we have the armor of God, we get too self-confident to put it on. We become self-reliant rather than God-dependent. When we stop bubbling over with heartfelt enthusiasm for God, we become tepid and lackadaisical and the enemy is ready to strike while we’re looking the other way. When our worship becomes perfunctory, our prayers are half-hearted and our good intentions regarding Bible study and service remain just intentions, Satan distracts us and we start wobbling! When we become spiritually apathetic and stop paying attention to God, Satan is right there waiting to attack. As well trained and prepared as both the snake handlers and the Wallendas are, they can’t allow themselves to let down their guard or become complacent and overly confident in their abilities; neither can we! A lack of caution can have disastrous results!

Not everyone who calls out to me, “Lord! Lord!” will enter the Kingdom of Heaven. Only those who actually do the will of my Father in heaven will enter. On judgment day many will say to me, “Lord! Lord! We prophesied in your name and cast out demons in your name and performed many miracles in your name.” But I will reply, “I never knew you. Get away from me, you who break God’s laws.” [Matthew 7:21-23 (NLT)]

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