A Fallen Angel, But Flying High!

In Switzerland, as one travels up the Engelberg valley, there is a place called "The End Of The World". A winding road suddenly stops...apparently one can go no further. But there at the "end of the world", there is a little Inn, a place to stop for refreshment before climbing the trail ahead.

This is symbolic of our lives. So many times, we come to barriers, pitfalls, tensions, and we are hemmed in on all sides. We have reached the end of our rope. We can go no further. And just at that point, we need the Inn of our Faith, a place to stop and consider.

Perhaps the New Year is just such a place and time. It has been said that "man's extremity is God's opportunity". And at the end of the old year, we still have our old anxieties, old fears, old sins. They are still with us. But when the children of God get at their wit's end, then God has a chance of making His will known to them. If there is an "old man", there is also a "new birth", and our spiritual life offers antibiotics for the soul, and spiritual penicillin for despair. The "end" also offers new beginnings.

There is a contemporary song that goes something like this: "I'm just a fallen angel, but I'm flying high!" There is little virtue in any of us. So many of us have sinned badly, fallen, "goofed up"...really messed up the old year, but through the new birth in Jesus Christ, we can once again, "fly high".

It was Susan Coolidge in her poem, "Begin Again" who said so beautifully:

Every day is a fresh beginning.
Listen, my soul, to the glad refrain.
And, spite of old sorrow, and older sinning,
And puzzles forecasted, and possible pain.
Take heart with the day, and begin again.

Dead End

There is a haunting fear of mankind, an almost universal uncertainty that asks the same question as Job, when he said, "If a man die, will he live again?" (Job 14:14)

In some ways, this fear runs deeper within us, than our love for money, or sex, or power. And Christians have something to share with this fear‑ridden world, for we have a significant break‑through. We know a man who conquered death, who went into the valley of the shadow...that terrible dead‑end of the centuries...and he walked right through!

There is a story called "Labyrinth" written by Gian‑Carlo Menotti. The action centers around a newly married couple who wander around in the endless corridors of an old hotel, looking for their room. Their search is futile. And even when they finally find the room, the door is locked, and they have lost the key. Menotti says that modern man has also lost the key to the labyrinth of life, and is searching for a way out. All too often, he simply resigns himself to a lifetime of restless wandering. In his story, however, Menotti decides that the solution is death. The groom is nailed up in a coffin, and wakes up in the after‑life holding the lost key. And so Menotti says: "Death is not the end of life, but its very happy solution!"

Surely we do not agree that death is the solution to life. It is not the way out of the problems we have, to simply end it all. But in death, there is an answer. And Jesus Christ, our risen Lord, holds the key that makes death not a dead end, but an open highway into something greater beyond. We think about the long winter with its ice‑covered trees. How dead they appear for those several months, but look at them in the Spring...budding forth more completely every day. The grass is barren in those frosty days of the year, but in its time of green‑ness, your mower struggles with it week after week!

There is not a farmer around who does not recognize that beneath the seemingly dead soil, are the seeds of that which will nurture the butterflies, and feed the birds, and fill his world with beauty and a good harvest. Why then are we so in sorrow about the thought of death? It is not a dead end. For those who have learned to live with Him who holds the key, it is a thoroughfare to a new type of existence on a higher plateau.

Power To Survive

In the fourth chapter of Philippians in the New Testament, Paul is giving us his prescription for victory. He never said it would be easy, but he did say it was possible. "Stand firm" he said. "Have no anxiety about anything", he went on to say. "Whatsoever things are true, honorable, just, pure, lovely, and gracious, think about these things", was his next advice, and finally, he shared his secret on how to be content.

How do we survive life's sadness, and sufferings, and trials? You think good, think victory, think health, and think peace.

The story is told about two men out in a boat on a stormy day when the waves were violent. The one man was swept over‑board. The other man grabbed for him, and caught hold of his hair. But the man's hair‑piece came off in his hands. And then he grabbed and caught hold of the man's arm, but his mechanical arm came off in the struggle. In desperation, the rescuer cried out, "My God, if you don't stick together, I'll never be able to save you!"

And so, we who name the name of Christ, must stick together, we must stand firm. More than that, we must face the future without anxiety, believing that "the Lord is at hand" and that He walks with us, and we are not alone. We have an anti‑dote for fear. We have a cure for the "butterflies in our stomach". It is the power of positive thinking. It is faith at work.

But there is no victory, if we allow our minds to get cluttered up with hateful and evil thoughts. "If there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, we are to think about these things." Unfortunately, our newspapers, our T.V., and the messengers of the secular world, flood our minds with violence, and immorality. The only way to reduce the garbage, is to increase the positive thrust of that which is good and honorable, and lovely and gracious.

There is a beautiful song that goes: "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."

And how does "contentment" come to us? Katherine Marshall gave the illustration of the great Clydesdale horses moving through their intricate paces, through the diligence of good trainers. These gigantic horses were called "gentle under the reigns" So also, Mrs. Marshall said we too must learn to become "gentle under (His) reigns." There are testings and difficult experiences. And we survive life's sadness, and sufferings, by somehow believing that "God will supply our every need, according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus." (Phil. 4:19)

We Have A Signal

The snow crystals and fog in the cold morning air, sometime give us miracles in an otherwise drab day.

One morning recently, I left early and going towards the east saw a great light in the sky, before the sun had risen. There to the east was a vertical shaft of light reaching up and pointing down. It was not the sun, but it was an early morning sign saying to all who beheld it: "it is still night, but here is where the sun will soon arise!"

That shaft of light, shimmering through the icy crystals in the early morning pre‑dawn moments, reminded me that when the world around us is still in darkness, we have a sign, and that sign is the cross reminding us that the "light of the world" has come, is always coming, and lo, is with us even now." Sure enough, by the time I had driven a few miles more, the sun was peeking out at exactly that spot. The sign was true...the light had come, and will always come, for those who are willing to believe.

No matter how dark our night of sorrow, or grief, or problem...we who name the name of Christ have a beautiful promise. There is light ahead! God has not forsaken us. Let us not give up hope!

What If You Missed Christmas?

If you were on an ocean liner between the Orient and Vancouver, British Columbia and came to the International Date Line on the evening of Dec. 24th...when you awoke in the morning, it would be Dec. 26th. You would have missed Christmas!

And so, we ask, "What if there were no Christmas?" But the real issue is not whether we had missed Christmas, but what if there were no incarnation? What if Jesus had not come as "God with us"?

The incarnation is an amazing paradox...a puzzle. A paradox is something, or a statement, that seems absolutely contradictory, and yet is true. Here is something that is opposed to common sense, and yet, we accept it as fact.

It is the fact that God who is divine, also in Jesus, became human. The angel said to Joseph, "you shall call his name 'Emmanuel' which means 'God with us.'" Can God be God and still be "with us"? Can Jesus Christ be man, and still be the "Word become flesh"?

Jesus was a man, wasn't he? And yet he was God too, wasn't he? Was He a God‑man? Or was he a man who became God? What a puzzle it is...what a paradox.

His birth is so amazing that it is almost unacceptable. When he was born in Bethlehem, only two classes of people found Him: the shepherds and the wise men...the simple and the learned...those who knew that they knew nothing, and those who knew that they did not know everything!

In order to fathom the depths of the "Incarnation", we must come to realize that we do not know everything. Only then, is there the proper humility to approach the Christmas season.

The God‑man Jesus Christ was, and is so extra‑ordinary, that we must either accept him completely, or we must reject Him absolutely.

Two candles upon the altar, symbolize the incarnation. One represents the fact that Jesus was truly human. The other represents the fact that He was truly God. "God with us"...the paradox of the Incarnation.

I could jump a day, and miss Christmas as a holiday, if I had to. But I could never give up the message that is there. The message that God has come to walk with us along life's dusty trails, and that Jesus Christ, my friend, my elder brother, is also God, my Savior. I do not understand the mystery of this paradox. But I glory in the certainty of it. Jesus Christ has come...is always coming. He is "God with us!" Hallelujah!

His Kingly Presence

Some years ago, in Time magazine, there was an article by a Mr. Von Hoerner stating that the only hope for our world was to listen intently for radioed advice from older civilizations out in space in order to avoid self‑annihilation.

A Christian clergyman, in the next issue, commented that actually this longed‑for‑advice had arrived. In fact, it came a little over 1900 years ago...loud and clear. Illiterate shepherds on Judean hills understood. A physician named Luke decoded the message, and no doubt that somewhere in Von Hoerner's library he would find a dust‑covered copy of this message from outer space. The clergyman said that the advice and directions for preventing human self‑destruction were there in black and white. More than that, a purpose for being and a hope which sees beyond the years, was all there too.

In the very enjoyable and classic musical production called "South Pacific" we find Mary Martin singing the song: "I'm stuck like a dope, with a thing called hope. I can't get it out of my mind."

And so the Old testament is a record of man's search for the Kingdom of God, and the everlasting hope that someday, there would come a Messiah who would put everything in perspective. It would be someone who would take this evil old world, and make it into a good one...someone who would stop the wars, and halt the injustice and reign as a king of peace.

Again and again, the Old Testament affirmed, "Behold, the days are coming!" But somehow, the King never came. They kept hoping, and kept looking, but the Messiah they looked for never came.

The story is told about a young lady who went to the dentist and after the dentist had worked on her for awhile, she said apprehensively: "Doctor, I think you've pulled the wrong tooth!" "Be patient," replied the doctor, "I'll get to it!"

Somehow the Hebrew people felt that kind of pain. They had been slaves in Egypt; they had wandered in the wilderness; they had begun to get power through the kingship of David, and then suddenly, they were over‑powered and taken into captivity. "Oh Lord, will it never end?" And all they seemed to hear was, "Be patient, I'll get around to it!"

Unfortunately, when the Messiah did come, they failed to recognize Him. But so do we! Too often, we live as though there was no King of love to surround us...no Kingly Presence to over‑ shadow us. But today, it is our distinct pleasure and responsibility to tell you that the King of Kings is in our midst. Not only is He coming, but He is already in our world today, and every day. The big question really is, "Will you recognize His Kingly Presence in your life and activities?" Will you go a‑walking and a‑serving Him from now on?

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It's Highly Irregular!

When singing from the hymn book, there are notations at the top of the page that sometimes give directions or comments about the singing. For example, "Onward Christian Soldiers" has the notation, "in unison". And as Christ's soldiers, we need that unity specified by the hymn. How sad that we are not! Or again, the hymn "Christ the Lord is Risen Today" has the notation, "with Alleluias"...very appropriate. And the hymn "Joy To The World" has the instruction, "with repeat". "Joy to the world, the Lord has come"...that's right, repeat it, repeat it, repeat it again and again.

But here is another:

"There's a song in the air, there's a star in the sky.
There's a mother's deep prayer, and a baby's low cry.
And the star rains its fire while the beautiful sing,
For the manger of Bethlehem cradles a King."

The notation at the top of the page says: "highly irregular". Well I should say so. The whole thing is "highly irregular"...a baby born in a barn. What could be more irregular than that? Shockingly so!

In Christianity, we have a most irregular religion. We worship a most irregular God. His ways are past finding out. Anything can happen. And the worst enemies of religion are those who try to regularize it, and make God into a sort of clock‑works.

My faith says that Jesus was a man...born as a baby, with flesh and blood, like us in all points, except without sin. But it also tells me that Jesus of Nazareth, was the Christ. He was the Word become flesh...very God of very God.

Because he was God, I can trust Him. Because he was a man, I can be like Him. Highly irregular to be sure. But then so is the love of God, and forgiveness, and mercy, and Christ's strange prayer upon the cross.

That's right. I am committed to a highly irregular faith. And my sin, is that I tend to allow it to regularize me out of an expectant faith. I have learned to do the regular things. I have argued like everyone else. I have shown mercy, but no more than others. I have hid within the crowds, and failed to take a stand for the least and the lost and the poor and the dispossessed of our world.

I think I may go looking for a Barn someplace. For we may expect God this Christmas to be found in the unexpected. I know, it's highly irregular...but that's where I need to be.

Are You Small Enough?

The story of Christmas is humility...humility in the presence of Majesty, and Divinity. The naturalist William Beabe used to visit Teddy Roosevelt at Sangamore Hill, and the two of them would spend many hours in conversation.

After an evening of talk, they would go out onto the lawn, where they took turns at an amusing little astronomical rite. They searched until they found, the faint, heavenly spot of light‑mist beyond the lower left‑hand corner of the Great Square of Pegasus, and then one or the other of them would recite:

"That is the Spiral Galaxy in Andromeda.
It is as large as our Milky Way.
It is one of a hundred million galaxies.
It is 750,000 light‑years away.
It consists of one hundred billion suns,
each larger than our own sun."

And then, after an interval, Colonel Roosevelt would grin at his friend, and say: "Now I think we are small enough: let's go to bed." (The book of Naturalists, P. 234 Alfred A. Knopt, New York, 1944)

In Bethlehem, at the Church of the Holy Nativity which is presumed to house the location of the birth of the Christ, there is a very low entrance door. At one time, it was a high, exalted entrance. But pagan, enemy forces used to ride into the church on horseback to disperse the worshipers gathered there. And so, the door was blocked in the upper areas, with stones, cemented into a low arch. No one can enter now, without first dismounting from whatever high‑horse he may be mounted upon, and must now enter on foot.

The Christ who is exalted, can be worshiped only by those who are willing to humble themselves.

A store during the Christmas season had advertised a novelty Christ‑child doll. It was an unbreakable, washable, 9 inch model of the Christ‑child, packaged in straw and a crib. The price was $8.00. A deluxe model with beautiful cathedral background cost $12.00.

A comparison shopper during the last few days before Christmas excitedly reported that the Jones' store had marked Jesus Christ down 50%.

Don't mark Him down! Don't ever cheapen the baby Jesus. Exalt Him! Lift Him up! For truly, the finest treasure ever presented was given, on Christmas night, so many years ago. And we must come humbly, to behold His glory, and to accept His Gift, given to us.

We're Being Invaded!

It came as a rumor the other day...we were being invaded, and I wondered what it meant. How could we be invaded? Should we alert the military? Should someone get on the hot‑line to the President?

Yes, the President should know...and a "hot‑line" to the whole world would be a great idea. But here was something unique, new, startlingly different. This was more like an invasion of the sun, or of the snow flakes, or of gravity itself. Armies cannot stop it. Radar cannot detect it. Love is coming down at Christmas, and God is invading His world!

It is hard to describe. It is sort of like standing out in the fields on a snowy day. You feel you are in the presence of magic. Something invades the world at Christmas, and before our very eyes, hard hearts become soft, and bleak souls become warm, and sinful people do strangely wonderful and holy things.

What is this strange magic that changes black to white and makes Scrooge‑like characters mellow and soften under the pressure of its power?

And the answer is "Love". For it was "love that came down at Christmas. Through the years, we have believed that only force can change the world, and we have mortgaged our children to have the strongest forces in the world. But about 2,000 years ago, God tried a new technique. He loved the world. Oh, of course, this wasn't new, for God had always loved His world, but it was something new about God that mankind had never really considered before.

Frankly, we are very slow to understand this kind of power. We touch it gingerly. We tend to drop it like a hot potato. It is like a power from another world. And we are not sure whether we can trust love to do the job.

We are spending trillions to experiment with every other kind of idea, and our science‑fiction stories are fantastic in their imaginations. But it is high time, that we as Christians really experiment with this thing called "Love", before something else comes in to destroy the world God has come to redeem.

Might be a good thing to have your home
invaded this year! Let it come...love, kindness,
forgiveness, good will, peace from on High!
Santa may have trouble getting here, but you
can be assured that if the invitation is extended,
the baby Jesus will arrive, and your life will
be happier, and more desirable to you and all
around you as you

Did You Start Soon Enough?

In a busy railroad station, a man was seen running to catch a train already leaving. He failed and a passer-by remarked, “Looks like you didn’t run fast enough!” “I ran fast enough” said the man…”but I just didn’t start running soon enough!”

You may be running fast at Christmas…but did you start soon enough? Christians are reminded in the season of Advent to begin early. It is so easy to get caught up in running, and end up nowhere!

The deeper meaning of Christmas is not in running, but in worshiping…not in spending treasures, but in finding one…not in buying gifts, but in receiving one…the greatest gift of all, the gift of peace, the gift of the Son of God.

When you come to Christmas in that spirit, even if you start late, you can still get there in time!

For Goodness Sake, Come In!

There is a beautiful prayer, often used at funeral services that contains these lines: "And while thou dost prepare a place for us, prepare us for that happy place, that where they are, and thou art, we too may be."

Although our Christian faith affirms that Jesus has gone to prepare a place for us some day, all too often, we are not prepared for that happy place, and some of us are not going to get in!

Some of us will not get in, not because God condemns us, but simply because we have done nothing to get ready...thus we condemn ourselves. How can we get someplace, if we are not ready to go there?

One little boy seemed always to be getting into mischief, and his mother asked him one day, "How do you ever expect to get into heaven?" The boy thought for a moment and then replied: "I'll just run in and out and keep slamming the door till they say, 'For goodness sake, come in or stay out!' And so, then I'll go in!"

To be prepared for that happy place, through the struggles in life is not easy, but apparently is necessary. The story is told about the emperor moth that struggled for hours, to get out of its cocoon, until a kindhearted person snipped the opening. The moth was saved the struggle, but it could never fly! The wings would not unfold...they were shriveled...useless. The struggle, forced strength into the wings.

At times, I don't want to go through the struggle, but I know that if I keep working at it...keep going in and out, and slamming the screen doors of friendliness and kindness, and make of my life a struggle of faithfulness, that eventually the wings will become strong enough, and finally a loving Heavenly Father will say, "For Goodness' sake, Come on in!"

Good-Bye Now

There is a fable about two brothers who had become sheep thieves. They were caught, and branded with the letters S.T. (Sheep Thief).

The one brother left town, but wherever he went, people asked about the letters, and sooner or later, they found out, and he moved from place to place, finally dying, without peace or friends. The other brother stayed...lived humbly, and supported himself honestly. He helped the needy and gradually, people hardly noticed the brand. One day, a stranger came, and asked one of the residents about the person with the strange brand. "I've forgotten the details", he said, "it happened a long time ago, but I think it stands for 'saint'!"

Now and then, thank God, sinners do become saints, and they do it by faithfully going on from one level of grace to another. Life is a process of saying "good‑bye". We say "good‑bye" to what was, and "hello" to that which is to come. We say "good‑bye" to mistakes and sins, and move on to victories and achievements. It is not easy to be good, but it is worth it. And whether we be 30 or 90, life is really the struggle of the soul to be born. If we try to short‑cut the process, by going the easy road of compromise, then we end in defeat.

We all remember the "good‑byes" of leaving for school, or watching our children getting married, or the agony of separation from those we love when death affirms its claim. But "good‑bye now" is always a necessary part of growth. Paul said, "I die daily" (I Cor. 15:31), and there is something that dies within us, when we leave one situation to go into something new or different. There is struggle, but without struggle, without the agony of separation, we have no new frontiers, and the heart cannot fly.

The poet has said, "Heaven is not reached by a single bound, but we build the ladder by which we rise, from the lowly earth, to the vaulted skies, and we mount to its summit, round upon round." (Gradatim‑‑Josiah Gilbert Holland)

The phrase "good‑bye now" is actually a perversion of the old farewell, "God by you now". You may find yourself in deep sorrow over the necessity of leaving someone, or something, or some special place in your heart, but if you can believe that God is by you now, you will have taken a significant stride in faith. And the victory is not so far away.

What's Your Excuse?

In the 14th chapter of Luke, Jesus tells the story about a man who held a banquet, and invited his friends to come, but they all made excuses. Said one, "I've bought some land, and must go look at it." Said another, "I've just bought several yoke of oxen, and must try them out." And a third said, "I just got married, and of course, you understand, I cannot come. I pray you, have me excused."

Do our excuses to God make any sense at all, or are they pure evasion...just plain selfishness? For one reason or another, we simply cannot give as much to the church, nor can we offer our time...because, well simply because we can't. After all, the Lord must know how tough things are.

In the record found in one old farmer's diary, were these entries: "Today we buried Jacob's only son, age three. Fourth death already from summer's complaint. Pray God this heat breaks soon." In a later record, we read, "a horde of grasshoppers swarmed onto the farm, methodically and monstrously devouring every green, growing thing." The effects of this were recorded in his final entry (Dec. 3l, 1874) for that year: "I harvested this year: from 8 acres of corn, nothing. From 36 acres of wheat, 350 bushels. From 6 acres of oats, feed only. From 2 acres vegetables and potatoes, seed only, scarce, and poor quality." Many farmers would quit after that. He didn't. And later that same night, he turned the page and wrote: Jan. 1, 1875. "A fresh new year, Thanks be to God!"

There are those who argue that the Lord may come again, sometime in the future. There are many of us who believe that, in a sense, He has already come...that He is here now! Do we believe that? The Lord of Hosts is here. The King of Kings is among us. The Owner of the Vineyard has returned, and He is calling us to service. Do we live with that kind of Presence upon us? If not, then what is your excuse?

The Player

The other day, I played chess. I had forgotten many of the moves. I didn't win, but I remembered something that I didn't want to be.

I thank God, I am not a pawn moved by irresistible forces. I am a person. I have a name. My name is Adam, meaning "mankind". I am subject to problems of the human family. But I am also inheritor of all the culture, and blessings brought to mankind as part of the human family.

Jesus once said to Peter, "You are Cephas, (meaning Peter, the Rock) and like Peter, I too have a name. Society may try to make me into a number, a Social Security number, a telephone number, a zip code number, an office number, an extension number, a tax number. But still I have a name. My name is Jo Smith, or Harriet White, or a million other names. And I am important in this world.

I am told, that if I have one child, and that child marries and has children, and these children marry, and have children, etc....that within 5 generations, I will have been responsible for 9,000 living souls. That's almost unbelievable, but that is certainly a part of what I am. I am family.

But not only this, when I take a breath...just one single breath, I am told that the whole world has to make a re‑adjustment...so dependent are we upon one another. This is me. I am a grain of sand upon the sea‑shore of the universe, but I count for something. There is importance given to me.

Somehow in the course of history, through His Son upon a cross, God made it clear that He loves us. Since that time, every Christian Church in the world, has been telling us about it, and I believe it.

And because we are loved, we must respond. My life must be lived, in worthiness, and in trust so that a deposit (a contribution) can be made. For some, life seems so futile. They live a routine existence, with never any thought of a holy relationship, any divine connection. But it is something like being on Candid Camera. I never realize that much of the world is being either shocked, or saddened, or amused, or challenged by my actions.

At times, I think that life is like a wheel. It goes around faster and faster. We are all upon this wheel of life. The faster it goes, the harder it is to stay on. Every day some folks slip off this wheel of sanity. But remember: at the center of the wheel is our Christian faith. All other forces may be trying to throw you off. But here, at the center is God, and like a magnet, He holds you on.

You are the player. You must make the moves, but if you are willing to let Him do so, God will keep you on course!

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How About "Compact" People?

We live in a day of miniaturization. We have mini‑cars, mini‑skirts, mini‑subs. Our new technology directs us towards smaller things...smaller cameras, smaller computers, tiny motors, so small they can be used for medical research and therapy in the blood stream of our bodies.

A man by the name of Donald Allen suggested that perhaps we ought to develop a race of mini‑people, and with tongue in cheek, suggested that with the shortages of food and energy and space, a race of people about 18" tall could help a lot...less food consumption, plenty of housing and living space, and maybe even abolish war. His theory was that we might not be able to hit one another, if we were so small!

There is a fascinating geological phenomenon of small fossils. In an outcropping of rock called the Macquoketa shale that shows up here and there all over the world, fossils are always miniatures...crinoids, trilobites, brachiopods, etc. They are not babies, but full‑grown mature adults. No one seems to know for sure why this is the case. It appeared to be a kind of Lilliputian stage in our world's history.

I don't know whether "compacting" people is the answer. In many ways, big or little is not the point. God did not make us Mini‑People, but we are a "Compact" people. It was not a miniaturizing process, but a covenanting one. God is our Father, and we are to be His children. This is what we are and this is the way we were made, and this makes a world of difference. It is not my size physically that matters, but the size of the man inside.

Counselors tell us that failure to know who we are is one of the primary causes of delinquency. Children and teenagers who do not really know themselves, who are not grounded in a knowledge of why they are here, and where they are going, are at the center of the crime problem.

Some children are in homes, like balls in a pool table, being knocked about in all directions. They are not loved, nor does anyone really seem to care. They think they must be a nuisance, a problem, so that is what they become.

I am a child of God, I was made in His image, and I belong to Him. Therefore, whether I live in "ticky tacky houses" in the suburbs or in a high‑rise apartment "filing cabinet for people", or whether I live in rural America, as long as I know that I am a child of God, and belong to Him, life can have meaning.

We do not need smaller people, but people who know that they have a God who is larger than any problem that may come. Years ago, God shook up this world to let us know who we are. He took a cross, and wrote a letter saying how much He loved us, and signed it with His blood. That's how I have the assurance that I am a "compact" person.

When Is A Person Strong?

The Bible tells us about the giant, Goliath. And yet little David felled him with his sling shot. We read about "giants in the earth" in those early days. But were they so very strong?

We read that Claudius Caesar had a 9 foot, strapping fellow, named Baggarus, and yet the details are pretty hazy. Most giants in history have not been especially strong.

One exception, perhaps, was a man named Angus McAskill, born in Scotland in 1825. At the age of 19, he was 7 feet, 9 inches. And he was powerful. When his father's horses gave out, Angus slipped into the harness and matched his strength with the other horse. He was a church‑going, peace‑loving giant, and he looked for trouble with no‑one. When a heavy‑weight champion fighter from the docks accused him of being a coward and challenged him to a fight, he accepted. With great excitement the crowds gathered. The two men went to the center of the ring to shake hands before the fight. Suddenly the professional fighter screamed and fell to his knees. The fight was over. Angus had crushed the man's hand with one mighty grip.

P.T. Barnum hired him for awhile, billed with Tom Thumb. At the conclusion of each program, Tom Thumb danced a jig on the giant's palm.

He was challenged to lift a ship's anchor weighing 2,200 lbs. He did so, but as he lowered the unusual shaped weight, one of the points struck his shoulder, and tore the muscles so badly that he soon drifted out of the news.

Such feats of strength thrill us...especially when they come from a good person. Here in America, we seem to worship bigness. We build bigger bombs, and bigger planes, and bigger skyscrapers. But is bigger better? Is bigger, stronger?

Strength is not measured in biceps, or size, or loudness of voice. Strength is a quiet thing, measured in inner integrity, and the power of love. Jesus was the strongest man in the world. He never pulled down pillars in the temple, or lifted giant anchors over his head. But he defeated the devil in the wilderness, he was too strong to stoop to unkindness, and even though his anger burned with scorching heat against the scribes and Pharisees, he forgave them all from the cross. No tomb could hold him, and three days after his death at the hands of evil men, he burst open the bonds of the grave. Twelve disciples couldn't keep him to themselves, and now he lives in the hearts of millions. No darkness has been so great that the light he has given could ever be put out.

The exercise videos are helpful...my walking and running and exercising certainly helps to build up my body, but when it comes to looking for giants, I'll turn to Jesus. The Prophet once said, "They that wait upon the Lord, shall renew their strength, they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint." (Isaiah 40:31)

The "Who" and the "Why"

Robert Raines in his little book "Creative Brooding" has penned this short prayer:

We struggle in separation,
with silent longing,
lonely, and alone.
Lord, help us to reach out to each other,
and say, "I love you."

One of the Jews who had survived four different concentration camps under the German prisoner program, told how people were going insane, and some were committing suicide, and many, did not survive the terrible rigors of these inhuman places.

And when asked, "how did you make it?" he answered, "When you have a "Who" and a "Why" for your living, you can survive any "How".

I have a mission here and now, and within my reach and grasp. It does not require more education than I can muster. It does not demand more time than I can give. It is the task of simply being human, and Christian, and available to those around me...to my own children, to my neighbors, and to older persons near‑by, or a friend.

To love, and be loved in return is a worthy goal. For did not Jesus say, "Love is the fulfilling of the law." (Romans 13:10)

Someone once said, that you and I are like violin strings stretched out between heaven and earth. If we are stretched too tight, of course, we will snap. If we are stretched too loosely, then we will wibble‑wabble with nothing but a twang and a discord. But if we are stretched out just right, then we make good music.

Here is the meaning of life...to be stretched out before God and before our fellow‑men in service, as a living sacrifice, trying to make the good, rich music of peace.

Our Holy Guest

There is a beautiful prayer to begin your meal that goes like this:
Lord Jesus, be our holy guest
Our morning joy
Our evening rest
And with our daily bread impart
Some love and peace to every heart.

It is a good thing to ask the Holy Son of God to come into our home and be our daily guest...to invite Him to our table, to our conversations, and to our daily business.

Having this special Guest, makes a combination of miracles and exciting fellowship. The ordinary becomes extra‑ordinary; the usual becomes unusual; and the common‑place becomes special. My friends begin to look different, and I can even put up with my enemies who make life miserable. The Biblical writer says, "casting all your cares upon Him..." and somehow my worries leave me, the tensions are less and the pressures are eased. Peace, like a mighty river, floods my soul.

The prayer says: "and with our daily bread impart, some love and peace to every heart." I discover that there is something more that I need beside food. I can put the meat and potatoes on the table and I have a collection of food. But if I let Christ be the head of my home, and the unseen guest at every meal, I have a banquet, a sacrament. I have access to the Healer of Souls. And the Healer of Souls has food to eat, of which we know nothing. He has nourishment that has no calories, adds no cholesterol, puts on no fat or blubber, but makes me lean and tough in the things of the spirit.

I need Christ as my Holy Guest. Without Him, I become just an animal in an animal‑like world. But with Him, I find myself walking on higher ground. With Him, I can do the impossible. I see the unseeable, climb the unclimbable, and miracles and magic become part of my living room.

When I was a child, my mother used to kiss the bruises and cuts. But now, Jesus, the Healer of my soul, gives me the kiss of peace and takes all the sickness of my heart away.

Life's A Lonely Journey

There's something lacking in my driving ability. Other people pass me, and they wave. All I seem to be able to see are the holes in the road, and the signs. I'm really not unfriendly, but I just never got the habit of peering through the windshield to see who is in the car coming at me. Lately, I've been trying.

About 32 of my 45 years of ministry were in the big cities. Country boy that I was, I learned quickly about city driving. You don't see people in cars. All you see are fenders, and bumpers. On the Outer Drive in Chicago, you see 2 or 4 or even 6 cars sneaking up behind you. They pass you on the left and they pass you on the right. They breathe down your tailgate. It's like being in the middle of a buffalo stampede. And for some reason, all the vehicles sound angry...tires screeching, mufflers belching out fumes, brakes squealing, horns honking, radiators hissing, and now and then a car comes by, a window rolls down, and what looks almost like a human face yells at you or "gives you the finger!"

Needless to say, I'm glad to be in an area, where there are real people in cars, and folks smile, and wave, and seem to notice you now and then. I've got a lot of re‑learning to do with my driving, but it occurred to me...what a wonderful thing that God doesn't overlook me, like I tend to overlook folks. God is not bothered by our mechanical problems. He knows my name. Even every hair of my head is numbered. He is not confused by what I drive, or the lumps on my fenders. He knows me. He cares for me. He loves me.

It's beautiful the way the Psalmist said it:
O Lord, thou hast searched me and known me
Thou knowest when I sit down and when I rise up
Thou discernest my thoughts from afar
Thou searchest out my path and my lying down,
and art acquainted with all my ways.
Even before a word is on my tongue,
lo, O Lord, thou knowest it altogether.
(Ps. 139:vs. 1‑4)

And then he goes on to say: "If I take the wings of the morning and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, even there thy hand shall lead me, and thy right hand shall hold me." (Ps. 139:9,10)

Life may be a lonely journey, but it's good to believe that along with the cars that honk, and the problems that hiss, there is also a God who cares and loves, and will never leave or forsake me.

Does Jesus Live Here?

The story is told about a rural area of our country, where one day a housewife received a call from a gentleman who asked, "Does Jesus live here?"

She replied that they were Christian people, and attended church regularly. But still he asked the question, "Does Jesus live here? When he saw the puzzled look on her face, he sadly turned and went away.

When her husband returned that evening, he said "That must have been the new minister. Did you tell him that we are the best givers in the church, that we always do our job well, and give a large gift to the church at Christmas, that we are charter members and pillars of the church? Did you..." "But John," she interrupted, "the man didn't ask all those things. All he asked was, 'Does Jesus live here?'"

That's really the heart of it, isn't it? All these other things are good, but is Christ in our hearts? Does He really live within us?

It happens only, if we first of all let him in. "Behold, I stand at the door and knock" (Rev. 3:20) are the repeated words of the Savior. How can Jesus live in us, if we keep him on the outside?

But he can come in, in the second place, only if we do some house‑cleaning. My bad temper, my racial prejudices, my unpleasant habits, my unforgiving spirit are part of the mess that has to go. He'll help me clean it up, but I have to be willing to get rid of the trash. "Create in me a clean heart, O God, and put a new and right spirit within me" (Ps. 51:10) must be my prayer. God and sin cannot walk hand in hand. Where one is, the other must go, and we must make the choice.

But a third requirement, is that I must turn over all the keys. There can be no Fibber McGee closets left locked and sealed. Christ becomes my Commander in Chief. If He needs my time, I must give it. If He needs my tithe, I must share it. If He needs my talents, I must use them to His glory.

Jesus one time said, "Why do you call me 'Lord, Lord' and not do what I tell you?" (Lk. 6:46) Christ on my lips may be enough to get me into a church , but Christ in my heart is the only way I can get into heaven. The answer to the riddle of life, and the mystery of the Universe is this: "Christ in you, the hope of glory." (Col. 1:27)

Got That Swiss Cheese Hole-iness?

I'm not much of a country music fan, but now and then I get some interesting ideas from their music and lyrics. The other day, I heard a tune with these words: "I've got a whole lot of holes in my life. If you could stack them all together, you could fall in them forever."

Sounds a bit like me. Sometimes my life is shot through with holes. Holes of inconsistency...holes that remind me of my mistakes and sins...holes that make what should be smooth‑sailing into a mighty bumpy life's ride.

And the "fall" is there. The Bible reminds me of a mighty "fall" that mankind took back in the days of our beginning, and which each of us continues to take. But that is part of our life, and that is part and parcel of our sinfulness, and our humanness. We are not perfect. But my Christian faith tells me that God sent Jesus into the world to take my hole‑iness and give me wholeness.

Living with Jesus in your life is a step not only towards holiness, but completeness. Thank God, I don't have to be perfect, but I do have to be open to receive the wholeness He offers.

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The Harvest Of Hate

At this very moment, a murder is being committed somewhere in our world. In New York City, there are several murders every day. We are a people of violence, and we live with violence and hate as a part of our daily diet of newspapers and T.V.

"The sign of Cain" is upon us. The old story of Cain and Abel in the Bible is a story of mankind.

"Am I my brother's keeper" is the taunting question we hurl at God. And in our killing, our hating, our jealousy is to be found the horrible, haunting symbol of our broken-ness. We hurt, we destroy, we kill, because we are out of relationship with both our neighbor and with God. Most of us have thought that our major issue is, "What do I have to live on?" Really, the issue is, "Who do I have to live with?" This is where the issue gets sticky.

Some have contended that man is by nature a violent person. Dr. Fredric Wertham says, however, "Violence is no more an integral part of human life than T.B., syphilis, or cancer." We study these afflictions to prevent them. Animals kill by and large, for survival. As far as we know, they do not hate, or have spite, or take revenge, or express sadism, or greed. Animals are generally averse to killing members of their own species or killing systematically large numbers. So when we speak of massacres, extermination camps, etc. we should not refer to the "bestial" in man, because the beasts of the field do not do that.

The story of Cain is a story of anger, hatred, and then violence and death. God has given us our brothers and sisters, and the only solution to alienation is love. Life calls for it. Jesus affirmed it..."Love one another", he said.

But the harvest of hate continues to take its toll. It is hard for us to think of the Cain story as applying to us, but it does. Cain’s problem began with resentment, and jealousy and anger. And that’s where many of us are. But Jesus said, that even if we are angry with our brothers, we are liable to judgment. (Matt. 5:22) It would seem that hatred itself is a form of murder, and is anathema to our Savior.

The total goal of the Christian Church is to be able, someday, to harvest the products of good will and love in our world. We may be a long way from that goal, but it must be the focus of every prayer, and the steadfast purpose of every one who has come to know the love and forgiveness of Jesus Christ.

The writer of I John says, “Do not be like Cain, who destroyed his brother.” “We know”, he says, “that we have passed out of death into life, because we love the brethren. He who does not love remains in death. Any one who hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him.” (I John 3:14-15)

Alliances Or Crocodile Tears

Today, we live in a world in which there are few absolutes...things seem to be neither black or white, and everything gets a kind of dirty gray.

Sometimes our politics and world government gets this way too. It all depends on which side you are on, as to whether something is right or wrong. In Biblical times, the prophet Isaiah spoke to King Ahaz about this. Israel was being pushed and taxed by powers from the East. The only solution the King saw was an alliance with Egypt to the south‑west.

To remain at risk did not seem absolutely right, but to deal with the foreign power Egypt, was not absolutely wrong either. Isaiah said the King's sin was not that he chose one or the other of two possible evils, but that he failed to consider a third alternative altogether, namely to ask, "What is the Lord's will?"

Ahaz was running scared. He was looking for security from somewhere. And Isaiah proclaimed, "Woe to those who go down to Egypt for help and rely on horses, who trust in chariots because they are many and in horsemen because they are very strong, but do not look to the Holy One of Israel or consult the Lord". (Is. 31:1)

In life, we have to ask the question, "Where can I place my trust? What is real?" But we have faith in the wrong things. We have tried to buy our safety with warfare, and military might. We have assumed that strong banks and Savings and Loans could save us. And suddenly we discover that we are under greater jeopardy than before. Who needs a good educational system? Just give our kids a good time, and they'll turn out O.K. Why worry about morality or Christian faith? You can't eat it. We are much like the business‑man with a sign on his back, that read: "My mind is made up, don't confuse me with the facts!" And so we claim to have our minds made up. We believe in Christianity and the ways of love, but we believe more in armies and in guns. We know that love is the will and the way of God, but we practice hatred and suspicion. Just don't "confuse me with the facts!"

We are making our secular alliances, but we are not placing our trust in God. And yet, God is the only Reality. Our alliances with money, and securities, and the morality of the movies, and the violence of the drug crowd, leaves us shedding great alligator tears.

With God, we need not fear. The depression can hurt us. The lack of jobs can break us. The wages of crime will haunt us. The enmity of nations will cause us distress. And yet, all of this will pass. But in God's great classroom of life, will you and I pass? This is the only question that really matters.

Just A Second, Please

There are times I wish the Lord would give me just a bit more time. I need to change. I need to be a better person. I need renovation, but I keep so busy, and there just isn't that much time for self‑improvement.

Once every four years, we get a leap year, and God does give us one entire new day. And yet, it doesn't seem that I make much use of that extra day. I keep on doing the same old things I've always done. In June of l992, we were told that we would be given an extra second. And all the world clocks had to move ahead just a little. This hadn't happened since l972 when we also had a Leap Year and got an extra day, but also got two additional seconds.

I suppose it doesn't help much to wait for any more seconds or Leap Years to get started on my personal needs. It's time I started now! "Now is the day of salvation" the Bible says. Today is the day I wished I had, yesterday. What will I do with it? Do I keep saying, "Just a minute, God!"? Or can I speak up like the great Christians of old and say, "Here am I, Lord, send me.

God has all the time in the world. He can wait. Indeed, He will wait, if we fail to come through. We may even destroy this old world God was good enough to give us. So...God will try again. Eventually "the kingdoms of this world shall become the Kingdom of our God". That's the gospel truth. But when we say, "wait a second, Lord", we're just digging our own grave.

The Lord needs us now. He wants us today. Heaven waits with bated breath for my commitment and for yours. It's hard for us to believe it, but Christ has no hands but ours. Christ is able to walk in love in this world, only through us. God with all His power and majesty, breathes His will into the world, but we must respond.

In Process

Many of us have wrong ideas about the book of Job in the Old Testament. We have always said it's primary theme was that of "suffering". And yet, more correctly, it seeks to help us decide "what is the meaning of faith?"

Also, we believed that Job represented the epitome of patience. In reality, he was at times a man of terrible impatience. We have declared that this book says if you trust in God, everything will come out all right, and that if you don't lose faith, your story will come out with a happy ending. But the "happy ending" people should not look here. For although the last 7 verses of the last chapter affirm that God made everything turn out O.K., the author is really saying, "I doubt that!"

His book uses an ancient legend about a great heavenly contest between God and Satan with Job as the innocent victim. The theme of a righteous man suffering because he is being tested by rival deities, or divine beings is an old one. It comes out of several of the ancient religions.

The author concludes the story as he does to keep intact the ancient material, but his basic question throughout the writing is "What is the meaning of faith?" "What is a man's relation to God?" "Does a man believe in God for nothing, or because it gets him something?"

It calls into question our reason for being Christians. Are we Christian because we think it will be good for us...good for our business...good for our standing in the community? Or, are we Christians simply because we believe this is the only relationship there ought to be between God as He is and people as they are? Are we Christians because we believe that what Jesus said is basic truth, whether it brings us prosperity or adversity? Are we able to say with Job, "Though he slay me, yet will I trust Him?" (Job 13:15)

Do we trust Him, because we believe He will protect us, and shelter us, and no evil will befall us? Do we trust Him, because we believe He will prosper us, and make us great? Doesn't the New Testament really teach, that if we trust Him and are faithful, that God may even reward us with suffering and persecution? Rewards? Yes, we will have our rewards. Jesus said, "Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so men persecuted the prophets who were before you." (Matt. 5:12) "In the world you have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world." (John 16:33) Our reward may be to take up a cross and follow Him. It looks to me like a lot of people are following for the wrong reasons. Perhaps that is why both Job and Jesus scare me a lot.

I am sometimes like the person who cried out in despair, "I wish I had never been made!" And a friend replied: "Just remember, you're not made yet, you're only being made. And this is the Maker's process!"

It's A Heavy Burden

The Beatitudes make a tremendous demand upon us. "Blessedness" is not an easy burden to carry. "Blessed are the merciful" Jesus said. "Blessed are the peacemakers" he continued. "Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness sake." he adds. (Matt. 5:7,9,10)

And the average Christian wails, "I thought a blessing was supposed to be a blessing, but instead it looks like something altogether different than that. We might even get hurt, while being 'blessed'. Blessedness is indeed a 'sticky wicket'!"

One of the great saints of the Church once said, "It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of Almighty God." It is much like having a tiger by the tail, you see. It can be a dangerous thing to commit yourself to the Lord's blessings.

In one of the Peanuts cartoons, Linus and Lucy are watching their baby sister crawl across the floor. Linus asks, "How long do you think it will be before Sally starts to walk? And Lucy in her cynical way answers: "Good grief. What's the hurry? Let her crawl around for awhile! Don't rush her! Once you stand up, and start to walk, you're committed for life!"

When we reach out in faith to God, He gives us the ability to walk. But then, there is no turning back. We're committed for life.

A Quilt Or A Comforter?

In Gen 17:10, the Lord talks to Abraham and says, "Walk before me, and be blameless." This was a major moment in his life, for from that time on, he would no longer be called Abram, but Abraham. It was to be a mark of new beginnings. He took on a new name. From this moment, Abraham was to walk in faith, not knowing for sure, where God would lead him, but assured that he had been in tune with the Almighty, and that this was the One who would call the tune from here on.

This did not mean that Abraham would not make any more mistakes, and in fact, he made some big ones. But it did mean that he had the assurance that the Lord would be with him.

A Seminary student while typing a class essay, used the phrase, "Jesus has taken away my guilt." His typewriter, however, typed a "q" for the "g". When the professor returned the paper, he had written alongside the student's sentence..."Jesus has taken away my quilt", the additional words, "It's O.K. He has promised to send us a comforter."

Yes, God can take away our mistakes, our guilts, as well as our quilts ("security blankets") and He gives to us something infinitely better...Himself, the Holy Comforter.

I know that I will not always be able to walk before the Lord, blameless...but with God's help, I'm surely going to try.

Brush Your Tongue

Many of the "body parts" are mentioned in Scripture, but none refers to the "tongue" quite as much as the New Testament writer, James.

"If any one thinks he is religious, and does not bridle his tongue...this man's religion is vain," he says. (James 1:26) And again, just two chapters later, he comments, "the tongue is a little member and boasts of great things. How great a forest is set ablaze by a small fire." (James 3:5) He then goes on to say, "the tongue is a fire. The tongue is an unrighteous world among our members, staining the whole body". He says, "every kind of beast and bird, of reptile and sea creature, can be tamed and has been tamed by humankind, but no human being can tame the tongue‑‑a restless evil, full of deadly poison. With it we bless the Lord and with it, we curse men." (James 3:6‑9)

Recently, I experienced some dental problems, and along with it, discovered that I had bad breath. The dental work was corrected, but the bad breath continued. What to do? The dentist asked, "Do you brush your tongue? In the grooves of the tongue, bacterial growth can take place." Strange as it felt, I tried it, and discovered that indeed the tongue can be a "restless evil, full of deadly poison."

How often do we take to heart the words of James and keep our tongue in discipline to the dictates of Christ's loving spirit? When was the last time, I spoke in anger, or with bitterness, or with scorn or malice? When was the last time I hurt someone needlessly by careless and hurting words? It happens, doesn't it? Why couldn't I have made those words helpful? Any reason why words of compliment, or words of encouragement, or words of love might have come from my tongue instead?

Our faith is in vain, James says, if we fail to bridle our tongue, and let it be a power for good rather than something that sets a "dangerous" fire.

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Do It Today

Someone once said, "Procrastinating is my sin, it brings me endless sorrow. I really must stop doing it‑‑in fact, I'll stop tomorrow." Does this sound like anyone you know?

Sometimes we say, "The Church must really go ahead. Now is the time for her to come alive." If everyone went out and brought in two neighbors to add to the congregation, it could happen very quickly.

Doesn't this sound exciting? What a great feeling it gives us to think of the Church growing and coming alive, and working for the Savior!

But, of course, I have other commitments too. I would like to get to church more often, but so many other things crowd in. I plan soon to get more serious about my prayer life, and reading the Bible, and talking to others about going to church. I wonder who those new people were in church last week? I didn't speak to them because I was sure Frank would do it. Why don't the young people come like they used to? Things sure aren't the same as they were when everyone was so faithful. Can't see why the Church keeps asking for more money? I've been giving my $5 a week for ages now!

O Lord, people are so careless these days about spiritual things. I wish the Church could do more for more people. People sure do need the Gospel and the good old‑time religion. Some day I plan to get back to Sunday School again. One of these days, we'll get more active!!!

P.S. What if God with‑held His love until "tomorrow"?

You're Taking Quite A Chance

I did some thinking today about people who take "chances". Chances on the highway, chances in the lottery, chances in the use of drugs! It's a risky business!

And then it occurred to me, that some of us are taking an awful chance with God.‑‑some church members haven't taken Communion for quite awhile...I wonder if the Lord has noticed?‑‑some folks just sleep in on Sunday mornings...too tired (they claim)...I wonder if the Lord cares?‑‑some folks haven't assumed their church responsibilities for quite awhile...I wonder what the Lord has written on their golden ledger books?

By what line of reasoning do we assume that we can stay away from worship, forget our prayer life, let someone else carry the load, and believe that God isn't going to hold us responsible?

This week, we received a catalog, with a letter stapled to the front. It said, "this may be the last catalog I can send you, unless you place an order."

What if this was the last worship service we could attend before the end of the world? What if the Lord held no promise of mercy for us, if we missed another Communion service? What if our church would no longer be available to us, when we got sick, or needed a funeral, or counseling from our pastor?

What if God invited us all to a party, and nobody came? You're right...God is inviting us all to come to His service of worship this week, and all through the year. Will we say "yes" or "no"?

The letter with the catalog, had this additional word, "I wanted to make sure that not one customer missed out on all the good things in this catalog..."

And that's the message of the Church...we just want to make sure that not one member or friend misses out on the good news of the Gospel. But don't take chances with the Eternal...you can miss some T.V....you can miss some basketball and hockey...you can miss a little sleep...but don't miss the invitation of the Lord of Hosts!