You hear about the “next things” happening in the lives of friends from college - graduation, marriage, children. Today I learned that my friend, Scott Attebery, lost his wife to an auto accident in Pine Bluff. She passed away earlier this morning. His experience was documented here, and you can see who Scott is here.
Our hearts break for him and his family. We didn’t know Jill, but Scott was a leader among students at CBC and has been a great Pastor to his church in El Dorado. They are new parents - I cannot imagine it. Please pray for Scott and Bryce and their larger family as well.
At our wedding, Angie and I chose to have Louie Armstrong’s song played… What a Wonderful World. In light of yesterday’s shootings, and so many other monumental tragedies in recent years, is it really a wonderful world? We were driving to Fort Smith yesterday for the annual meeting of the BMA of America and were reflecting on some of the tragedies that have taken place at this same time of the year such as the Oklahoma City bombing (April, 1995), the Waco compound burning (April, 1993), and Columbine (April, 1999). Each of these tragedies evoked emotions of fear and trepidation about living in this present world.
Our daughter begins kindergarten this fall. She’s nearly five years old and we’re already speculating about the nature of the world in which she will grow up and go through school. The news media tackles subjects like campus security and the psychological reasons behind such an awful rampage. But the secular media can never fully comprehend the nature of human depravity. Evil men will do evil things, no matter our level of security. If not on a campus, then in a restaurant, an airport, or a World Trade Center. Is this really a wonderful world?
There are natural and supernatural factors that can only be seen through a God-centered world view. The depravity of man runs deep in the heart. Evil abounds in humankind and murder, war, and bloodshed will continue as long as lost mankind has some dominion over this present realm. Further, Satan is labeled in Scripture as the “prince of the power of the air… the god of this world.” We who live on earth, live in a time and place where darkness has dominion. Is it really a wonderful world?
My answer, surprisingly, is yes. Why? Because it is in this present realm that God is actively working to extend His saving and healing grace to a lost and depraved people. It is here that God moves. It was into this humanity that Jesus, the light, came into the world. The Word became flesh and dwelt among us. God’s glory was put on display through the life of Jesus Christ, through His atoning death, and through His miraculous resurrection. Do we live in a wonderful world? Only insomuch as Jesus makes the difference.
Last night, we were ministered to by a wonderful gospel singer who performed the old song Beulah Land. I love the lines… “Beulah land, I’m longing for thee, and someday on thee I’ll stand…” Our world, inundated with pain and loss and suffering, is merely a waiting room, a practice run, an incubation chamber for eternity. For those who believe in Jesus Christ as Savior, heaven is our real home. Hell awaits those who reject His free offer of grace.
Amazingly, we cannot forget that it is this world which will someday be renovated by fire. This world will be redeemed. It currently groans with birth pains, waiting to be delivered from its depraved lostness. It’s a wonderful world, plagued by the inherent sinfulness of humankind. It’s wracked with pain and evil. Yet everything on God’s time line is moving toward a great and triumphant finality. Jesus will rule and reign.
Our hearts are gripped, in times like this, with uncertainty and fear. Then Scripture speaks on behalf of its divine author… “For God hath not given us a spirit of fear; but of power, and of love and of a sound mind.” (2 Timothy 1:7) “Casting all your care upon him, for he careth for you.” (1 Peter 5:7) “Be careful (anxious) for nothing; but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 4:6-7)
Is this world your home, or do you seek a city to come, a home not made with human hands preserved in the eternities for you? Jesus Christ came to be the light and hope of a lost and dark world. He came to offer you peace, pardon, and eternal life if you’ll only trust fully in Him, even in the world’s darkest moments. More is to come. Scripture foretells that times will wax worse and worse. Yet Jesus’ hand is always extended toward you. Embrace Him who is ready to embrace you, and enjoy the unspeakable peace and confidence of God.
“Jesus wept…” -John 11:35
I found out this morning that a couple who belong to my church lost their son in an untimely death. I can’t imagine their pain or their loss and what they will be facing in the coming days. I only pray God’s Spirit will remind them moment-by-moment of God’s steadfast love for them and for their son who is now safe in His arms in heaven.
When I received the call, I was over three hundred miles away on a weekend vacation. On the drive home, my mind was overwhelmed with a sense of helplessness. I so wanted to be there for this family, but circumstances did not allow it. Jesus waited until Lazarus had died and arrived on the scene to find his dear loved ones weeping. Jesus’ reaction? He hung His head and wept with them. Then He showed them that He really is the resurrection and the life.
In my absence, some dear members of the Bethel family surrounded this hurting couple and I’m so thankful to belong to a church like that! But I’m even more thankful that in their time of hurting, Jesus is there. He is there as the resurrection and the life with a promise that their son will rise again and they will live together with Him in heaven for all of eternity.
The harsh truth of life is that we cannot always be in all of the places we’d like to be at all times. Unfortunately, we won’t be available everytime a loved one is hurting, as much as we’d like to be. But Jesus is there in our stead. His presence is overwhelming. This truth does not make loss easy to deal with for loss will always be difficult for human beings. Rather, His presence unveils the light at the end of the darkness of death.
It was Jesus, the Resurrection and the Life who rose again from the grave as a demonstration of the power of God to do the same for everyone who ever repents and believes on His precious name. Thank Jesus for His presence with the hurting today!
“Zebulun and Naphtali were a people that jeoparded their lives unto the death in the high places of the field.” -Judges 5:18
There are a lot of great songs in the Bible. The book of Psalms reads like a hymnbook without notes. There is the song of Moses and the song of Miriam. Judges, chapter five, contains the song of Deborah after she and Barak fought with Jabin and Sisera. The fight must have been hard fought and though God gave them victory, much loss must have been incurred.
At the end of the day’s fighting, Deborah composed a song in which she recounted the day’s battle. In the midst of the song, she points out that some of the tribes wanted to approach the situation with diplomacy, in writing. Others remained at home to mind their own business. Still others fought from ships or from stationary bunkers on the beach, but two tribes - Zebulun and Naphtali - put their very lives on the line. They fought in the high places of the fields, hand to hand.
The Hebrew word for “jeoparded” means that they exposed themselves to the elements of battle, risked reproach and even death for the cause of Israel. For the rest of the tribes, the bleakness of their plight was unconcerning. For Zebulun and Naphtali, however, Israel’s safety and future were at stake. Issachar was the third tribe involved directly in the battle. It is apparent that Issachar covered the main front while the other two tribes provided reinforcements.
When it comes to fighting spiritual battles today, many of us are like Benjamin and Ephraim. We’d like to make an agreement with evil that says, “You don’t bother me, and I won’t bother you.” Obviously evil forces don’t honor peace treaties! Others of us are willing to fight, but only from a safe spot such as a ship or a bunker. It’s much easier to look the part of a hero when your uniform doesn’t get messy. But how many of us will be like Zebulun and Naphtali who were willing to engage the enemy and risk everything believing that the Kingdom of God was worth it? The spiritual climate enjoyed by future generations hinges on our decisiveness in putting our lives on the line to prove that God is still on His throne!
What’s the spiritual battle from which you want to retreat today? Stand up and risk all to fight on the open plain, and God will be your greatest Defender! Whether we live or die, God’s name will be honored in the fight!
In my last blog, I explained that living in the name of Jesus means living with His approval. Today, we need to learn that living in the name of Jesus also means living under His authority, and also living in the power of His authority.
Jesus said to His church, “All power in heaven and in earth is given unto me… Go ye therefore…” We are commanded to go in the authority of Jesus. We can be victorious over life’s struggles only in the power of Jesus. This authority over evil and suffering only comes, however, when we are rightly related to the authority of God and others in our lives.
A quick study of Colossians 3:18-4:1 or Ephesians 5:18-31 for example, shows that wives are under the authority (servant-style leadership) of their husbands. Kids are under the authority of their parents. Employees (endentured servants) are under the authority of their bosses (masters). And Romans 13:1 teaches us that we are all to be under the authority of the governments God has ordained in the world.
There are times when obedience to God, our highest authority, requires that we act in disobedience to these other authorities in our lives, but on the whole God has placed these authorities in our lives for our own good. When we respond to them in obedience, we also respond to God in obedience. If we are not rightly under proper authorities, we cannot be over anything else with the authority of Jesus.
Walking in the name of Jesus means to live with His permission and approval. It also means to carry His authority as a police officer carries the authority of the government which has sworn him to enforce the law. Are you wearing the name of Jesus in such a way that you respond to and use authority properly in your life? Doing so brings glory to His name!
I, like many Christians, pray “in the name of Jesus.” At least I say the words before the almost mandatory finale, “Amen.” But what do those words mean… “in the name of Jesus?” Do we realize the impact of them? And do we realize that more than praying in the name of Jesus, we should live in the name of Jesus? Listen to the words of the Apostle Paul in Colossians 3:17, “And whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by him.”
To live in the name of Jesus means, first of all, to live with His approval or His permission. A few years ago, many Christian teens bought WWJD bracelets to remind them of a monumental question, “What would Jesus do?” As great a question as that is, it’s not quite specific enough. Anyone may ask that question without actually knowing Jesus personally. More specifically we should ask, “Do I have Jesus’ permission to make this decision? Would He grant His approval.
In my role as Pastor, many people come to me for “approval” of various decisions. It may be a teacher asking permission to use a particular curriculum or a youth leader asking for approval to stage a certain event. My nod gives the go-ahead. It says, “I agree that this is a good idea and I endorse your following through with it.” It also says, “I’ll back you up if there’s a concern.” Jesus’ approval is no different. As you live your life today and as you make decisions, big and small, ask yourself, “Am I living with Jesus’ approval right now?
”I will both lay me down in peace, and sleep: for thou, Lord, only makest me dwell in safety.” –Psalm 4:8
It seems that bedtime is the toughest time for us to cope with the reality of life. It is then that we begin to feel the anxiety of all that we must face the next morning. It is then that our losses are felt most deeply, in a dark and quiet place. It is there that loneliness sets in most heavy and where our fears are most striking.
David proclaimed that he could sleep comfortably because of the peace given him by God. More than a weapon of protection or a house full of family, God’s presence gives us real rest from all of the world’s burdens. When you go to bed tonight, think godly thoughts and pray godly prayers. You’ll be surprised at the difference in how you rest as well as in how you face the world tomorrow.
”Looking diligently lest any man fail of the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up trouble you, and thereby many be defiled; Lest there be any fornicator, or profane person, as Esau, who for one morsel of meat sold his birthright. For ye know that afterward, when he would have inherited the blessing, he was rejected: for he found no place of repentance, though he sought it carefully with tears.” –Hebrews 12:15-17
One of the hardest truths of Christianity to grasp is the teaching that there is a point of rejecting the will of God beyond which a man may never find repentance. Sin hardens the heart toward the things of God. When we are young, our hearts are tender, which explains in part why so many believers today came to Christ as children. As people progress through life without responding to God, His voice grows steadily silent to their souls. Eventually, through the deceitfulness of sin, their hearts are seared over and they will never repent.
The illustration of this is Esau, who made two decisions to reject God’s will for his life that he could never take back. Though he wept bitterly over his loss, he alone was to blame for losing his blessing and his birthright. God gives to us every moment of our lives in which to turn to Him in repentance and respond to Him by faith. But each time we say “no” to God, we inch our way closer to the point after which we will never say “yes.”
God’s door is always open and anyone who ever repents of sin and trusts Christ as Savior will be received by the Lord. But beware of the point at which the Spirit of God moves on to other hearts and the soul is so embittered that it will never again respond favorably to the gospel.
This truth is essential for Christians as well as unbelievers. Paul’s greatest fear was that he might preach to others but himself be a “castaway” or be put on the shelf by God. God is loving, gracious, and forgiving, but a vessel which may no longer be used effectively for His glory is cast to the side. We’ve all seen the wasted ruins of a man of God turned aside to immorality and given to indulgence of the flesh. Let us beware, lest the same end should come to us.
Keep your heart tender and soft to the will of God. Remain yielded. Seek His righteousness and holiness, and keep the communication lines open with the Holy Spirit within. Finally, allow repentance to be a daily, even moment-by-moment exercise of the soul before God.
“And all that believed were together, and had all things common; And sold their possessions and goods, and parted them to all men, as every man had need.” -Acts 2:44-45
Luke did not record the history of the beginning of godless communism but rather the beginning of a caring community. As can be seen in Acts 6, noone was forced into relinquishing their possessions, rather most of the people simply volunteered their wealth for the benefit of others. At the time Luke wrote the book of Acts, Israel was experiencing tremendous poverty. People were starving within the church, so those who had extra made provision for those who lacked.
The Church is and ought to be a caring community of devoted followers of Christ, looking out for the needs of one another. Perhaps a need is financial, perhaps one needs comfort during a loss or support during a crisis. The truth is, one of the great privileges of belonging to the church is that of belonging to a community of blood-bought believers. The Church is far more than a support group, it is a rescue mission for the lost and hopeless. It is an emergency room for the spiritually sick. No, it’s more, it’s a resurrection facility in which dead souls come to life with the promise of eternity with the risen Lord!
Who needs the Church today? Everyone! Do you value your community of believers? Do you belong to one? If not, unite yourself with a Bible-believing, Christ-honoring Church this Sunday and give all that you have for God’s glory and for the benefit of others and of His Kingdom’s work.
