How To Turn Yourself Inside Out

In the process of creation, God developed many different kinds of life. Some were formed with hard shells and armor on the outside, like the oyster, the crayfish, and the turtle. Some of the great pre historic monsters had massive armor plates.

These had great protection, but they were also slow, stupid creatures, doing little that was more brilliant than eating and fighting. Some of them lost out entirely in the drama of life.

In developing the higher forms, however, God did a very daring thing! Human beings were literally turned inside out. The bony structure, with its protection and armor, was situated deep in the middle, leaving the raw, exposed nerve endings and flesh exposed.

As a result, people cannot pull themselves into their shells (although some try). We have no protection from the elements around us. Thorns will tear the flesh, fire will burn us, we are bruised by a bump, and stunned by a blow. Humans are much more exposed to danger this way; but on the other hand, they are also more sensitive to the world around them. They are better able to adjust to it.

In the Chinese language, words are made up of several characters. The Chinese word for "crisis", for example, is made up of two characters, one which means "danger", and the other which means "opportunity". Put them together, and you have the word "crisis".

As humans appeared on the face of the earth, they literally moved into a crisis. Exposed on every hand to danger, they also were able to appreciate great music, enjoy fine art, and feel the tender touch of love and caring.

When we are not sensitive to human needs, we are much like the turtle. People who build walls around themselves, who have "chips on their shoulders" are doomed to oyster and turtle development. Unlike the oyster, we can be hurt very easily.
There is a difference between the hand of the human and the hoof of the ox. The hand can be mangled, but it can also handle a scalpel. If we had the choice, who would trade a human hand, however, for an ox's hoof? Hands can hold you, help and protect you. The hand, the body is vulnerable, but feelings, with all that is good and bad, make it worthwhile.

Jesus said our job as Christians was to turn tenderness out upon the world...to look, even if the view is bad; to feel, even though it hurts; to have compassion, even though it disturbs our composure. While the world is dying, let us not complain about sore toes. With our fat tummies, we must never argue that we are too poor to give or care. These are the privileges given us when God turned us inside out.

Scared To Die?

Although some people are afraid to die, there are perhaps even more persons who are literally afraid to live.

Life is scary at times. It has problems and nobody promised that it would be easy. But sometimes we discover that struggle and personal tragedy do add a whole new dimension to life. Without the struggle, there would be no victory.

Imagine, if you can, two unborn babies in the mother's womb. Each of them is talking about the uncertain prospects of what is just ahead.

The one twin says: "Leaving this womb can mean nothing but death. We are absolutely dependent upon this womb, which sustains and feeds us."

The other baby replies: "But nature has been developing us for 9 months. Nature is not utterly irrational. She is preparing us for something."

"But", the unbelieving twin answers: "Describe if you can, the kind of a world into which we are going to be born. What is it like?"

And that, of course, completely stumps the believing child. "I can't describe it," he replies, "I have no idea what it is like, but I am sure that nature would never do what she has been doing all these months, with no meaning or purpose in the process."

To which the unbelieving baby replies, "But that is just blind faith!"

Of course, the believing child is right. Unknown to us, there is a reason and purpose behind this life of toil and sorrow. Life is going someplace, and it is not just blind faith.

When these two children are born, they will discover that life is both good and bad. There is evil and there is good. There is struggle and there can be victory. There is sadness, but there is also joy.

And the same thing may be said when we approach the end of our lives here. To die may seem scary, but to be born is equally so. Some may say that it is just "blind faith" that causes us as Christians to believe that God has planned something more just ahead. But we say we believe we have spent these three score years and ten as part of God's great training program for what has been prepared, but is as yet unseen.

To be born, and to die are both fearful experiences, until we recognize the ongoing Presence of One who hasn't stopped loving us yet, and has promised that He will love and care for us, even to eternity.

Still Evolving?

What does it mean to be human? Does it mean that we are thinking beings? Does it mean that we make decisions? Does it mean that we have a conscience, a soul, a spirit that continues after the physical body dies?

We are more than animals, though we are listed as being of the animal kingdom. The Bible says that we were made "in the image of God". Surely this makes us "human" in the best sense of the word.

But some reject the "image". Daily news reports indicate that we are breeding crueler versions of "beasts". We are selfish and that's not the "image of God". Many are filled with hatred, and that's not the image. We have learned how to destroy and kill and maim our fellows. And surely this is not the "image of God".

Are we fooling ourselves? The potential for humanness is there. The possibilities of "soul" are there. But it happens only when the Lord "breathes into us of His Spirit." Only then, do we become truly human.

Look at the record of our inhumanity: Destruction of the Jews in the Christian crusades; Death to the American Indians as we settled and over ran this land; Destruction of thousands of Russians inside the U.S.S.R. during the last 50 years; Decimation of the Vietnamese by Pol Pot just a generation ago; Gassing and extermination of thousands and thousands of Jews by the Germans; Massacre of his own people in Sadaam Hussein's civil strife, and destruction of the Kurds; plus the enslavement of blacks in our country, and in South Africa, and the bloodshed of World and local wars all throughout history.

Where is the "humanity" in all of this? Are we not still animals? Maybe animal intelligence would rate higher than our own!

Although Adam was given the "image of God", did he not reject it along with so many of the rest who followed in his footsteps? But a second Adam (Jesus Christ) came, and people became new creatures in Him. Perhaps for the very first time, we began to experience real "humanity" as God meant it to be. We were designed to be like Jesus. His image is to be within us. His love, His forgiveness, and His mercy.

Our world is still evolving out of the swampy mists of bestiality, but thank God, there is a new life style coming through. The evolution of the flesh is going at a slow pace. We can build better, taller, and smarter beings than before. But the evolution of the spirit is creating an exciting new kind of person. Thank God, the news isn't all bad. There is still hope for humanity.

Rainbow Over Calvary

The Niagara River is only a few miles long, but what makes it of significance is that at Niagara Falls, there is a tragedy in the channel, a break in the even flow of the stream, so that the waters make a stupendous leap into the gorge below. As they are shattered and bruised on the rocks beneath the falls, however, there is cast up into the sunlight the exquisite rainbow of the Niagara, which even kings and queens come from the ends of the earth to see." (Wm. Ellis)

Here is a parable of life. There are tragic moments, when the earth shudders and the rocks split, and this little stream called life is convulsed.

The Old Testament is filled with the tragic record of Hebrew history...a convulsing of hopes and dreams, and a seeming frustration of everything for which they had looked. But it is not difficult to carry some of these illustrations over into our own lives. How often, we have said, "Lord, why?" Again and again, we have felt the pins being knocked out from under us. Our health, our business, our family situations seem to sicken and bring heartache.

Even our faith looks a bit bleak at times when we behold Christ upon the cross, the obvious victim of evil persons intent upon subverting goodness. Isaiah said of just such a person yet to come, "He was despised and rejected of men. A man of sorrows and acquainted with grief." His own people spurned such a Messiah, but Jesus said, "That's it! Only when life is poured out in love, can the dream be fulfilled. Here, let me demonstrate it for you, and he took bread, and broke it, and took the cup and said, 'this is my blood, poured out for many.'" And then he died.

Many saw it only as tragedy. But others saw it as fulfillment. Life is filled with many costly interruptions. Some people see them as cataclysmic. Others are able to see the rainbow over Calvary, and learn to walk on, and find peace.

Gabriel's Horn And Hell's Bells

In the delightful Negro production, "Green Pastures", Gabriel just can't wait to blow his horn. He keeps saying, "Is it time now, Lord? Can I blow my horn now, Lord?" And one of these times, I suppose the Lord is going to say: "Blow, Gabriel, blow".

Of course, none of us knows under just what circumstances this might take place. There is a day of judgment, and we are accountable.

Someone once said: We have a choice of ending the world in three different ways: "If the bomb doesn't get us, pollution will. And if pollution doesn't do it fast enough, the population explosion will." Suddenly the global squeeze is upon us.
In the days of Jesus, there were only 250 million people on the entire globe. It took 1850 years to get the 1st billion people. It took 100 years more to get to 2 l/2 billion. In 40 years more (1990), we reached 5 billion. All of this in spite of wars and plagues and famine. Scientists now predict that in another 40 years, we will double it again to 10 billion.

One authority says that 8 billion people is the absolute maximum the world can possibly support with food, water, air, and the means of life. Are we then talking about the "end of the world" for mankind in about 20 25 years?

The Biblical idea of the "end of the world" is probably one of the most misunderstood doctrines of the church. Someone once asked me if I was post millenialist or pre millenialist or a millenialist, and I said, "None of the above. I was just a humble Christian, trying to do my job. And if the Lord came for me in death tomorrow, I planned to be 'ready'."

Years ago, I cut my spiritual eye teeth on the book of Revelation and Daniel, and learned the vocabulary of the "mark of the Beast" and the "Rapture", and all those other strange and seemingly indecipherable calculations found in apocalyptic literature. As a child, I was fearful of the strange predictions of those who seemed so sure of the future.

I would lay awake at night, wondering if the Lord had already come, and left poor sinful me behind. And then a wonderful Christian said to me, "Francis, the Second Coming of the Lord has already taken place in your life, if you have accepted him into your heart." He is always coming, coming, coming, if we open our lives and hearts to Him.

The scientists' "end of the world" and the Biblical "end of the world" have one great thing in common: someone is going to be held responsible for our sins and grievous failures with this old world, and this short life. Since it could be me, I'm going to try hard to be part of the answer, rather than part of the problem.

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And Lazarus Laughed

Life is always bigger than we thought. We look at the starry heavens, and field glasses reveal what the naked eye cannot see. A powerful telescope shows us more than the field glasses. And then the scientists come up with more wonders: there are stars in the gaps. And then wonder of wonders, there are myriads of additional stars in the gaps beyond the gaps!

In the play, Our Town" by Thornton Wilder, a girl and a boy are talking about a letter addressed to "Grover's Corners, Sutton County, New Hampshire, the United States of America, Continent of North America, Western Hemisphere, the Earth, the Solar System, the Universe, the Mind of God..."And the boy whispers in awe, "Well what do you know...what do you know?"

Again and again in our world, we fail to realize how big life is and the greatness of the God who made it. Death comes to a friend, or a neighbor, or to thousands of tragic victims of war or plague, and we say to ourselves, "Why can't God stop the sorrow, the hurting, the tragedies?" "Isn't God big enough to stop it?"

Bad people seem to go around as they please, killing and hurting, and doing evil. They look for thorny crowns and purple robes. And they hurl a ghastly contradiction such as a cross in the face of God, and go around acting as though they had won.

But they have not won, because God says a thunderous "No" at every gleeful crucifixion. People reject God, they poke fun at His people, and His work in the world, and think they have the last word.

There is an interesting story by Eugene O'Neill called "Lazarus Laughed", and it says that the brother of Mary and Martha came forth bound hand and foot with the grave cloths. And as they unbound him, they heard him laughing softly, as out of a vision, a man in love with God, who knew that there was no death. And then the story goes on to say that when he heard about the death of Jesus upon the cross that he began to laugh a low musical laugh. Martha and Mary cursed him. They thought he was possessed.

You see, the world with all its pygmy people could not understand this Jesus. Indeed, they could not tolerate Him, and so they put him to death. And Lazarus laughed, because he had caught a glimpse of how God's ways are different than man's ways. And he saw how death was not victorious, and that the grave had no sting. Lazarus laughed at the absurdity of trying to box God and real "life" into an earthen grave.

People scoffed and mocked. They said, "If you are the Christ, come down from the cross." And today, people say: "If you are God, then stop the wars, stop the anguish. Lord, can't you see we are hurting? Can't you see that the end of the world is coming?"

But our end, seems to be His beginning. We see through a glass darkly. There is so much more, and Lazarus just laughs!

Where Are You Going?

You may remember in the story of Alice in Wonderland that Alice came to a fork in the road. She asked the Chesire Cat, who was sitting in a tree, "What road do I take?"

The cat asked, "Where do you want to go?"

"I don't know", Alice answered.

"Then," said the cat, "it really doesn't matter, does it?"

Some people are content to live in that kind of nether world, but once you have caught the vision of the truth that God has given to His people through Jesus Christ, anything less than that is unacceptable.

As someone once said, "Once you've seen a sunrise, you can get 'hooked' on it." So, living with Jesus in your life, and the power of truth in your heart, can become a delicious habit!

"Without a vision, the people perish" is the old proverb. So also, we can say that if you don't know where you are going, you are going to end up in the ditch. Without a worthy purpose to begin each day, you will soon find yourself like the proverbial dog chasing it's tail, and getting absolutely nowhere!

Like the plants of the field, we cease to live when we are no longer illumined by the SUN. As Christians, we cease to have life with meaning, when we are no longer illumined by the power of the SON, the Son of God.

Thanks God, I Needed That!

In a Reader's Digest article, the question was asked, "Have Astronomers Found God?" The writer, a scientist, said that although he was an agnostic himself, he felt that the astronomers were being forced to consider the possibility of a divine Creator. Because of the "Big Bang" theory, there seems no alternative but to believe that there had to be a beginning moment...and beyond that moment, there had to be One who did the beginning. "In the beginning...God". We've been saying that for a long time!

Personally, I don't really care whether the scientists are the ones who discover that, or the theologians...for I have discovered that not only is there a God who started everything, but One who continues to stay with His creation, to sustain it, and work with us in our problems, and love us in our sinful condition.

No matter where I go, this great God has gone first. It was the Psalmist who said: "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) That's a beautiful re assurance!

So, today I say: "Thanks God, I needed that!"

Love And Demons

A fascinating story is told in three of the Gospels about Jesus meeting a disturbed man ("a man from the city who had demons") Lk. 8:26 39, Matt.8:28 34, Mk. 5:1 20

Today, we would say this man had mental illness. Jesus came into this man's life, and the demons went out! What a wonder cure this is to our pressure filled world. When Jesus comes in...demons go out! When love comes in, demons must flee!

And here is a miracle cure just as real as penicillin, just as valid as insulin; just as real as any of the modern wonder working medical drugs. If only we realized the power of the love of Jesus! If only we believed the cure of His Presence in human life.

You and I have a power that we can give to those around us! It is the power of love...it is the saving presence of Jesus that is better than aspirin, more powerful than cobalt treatment or a laser beam. Demons go down by the bushel when love comes in!

Thank God, we don't have to wait years and years for any other wonder cure! It began in the heart of God; it became crystal clear on a hill side cross; it takes place any day, any time, in the human heart, when we accept the healing love of God through Jesus Christ.

How's Your Peace Maker Doing?

The story is told of a woman who in a conversation asked how a friends's "peacemaker"...no "pacemaker" was doing. After the slip of the tongue, she began to think about what she had said.

Truly, into the heart of every Christian, our Lord has implanted a "peacemaker", and the question is, "How is it doing?" Is it helping us overcome our bad tempers? Is it giving us a sweeter disposition? Or does it have long periods when it never functions? Are people within the church learning to be forgiving and accepting of one another? Could anyone tell, if he saw you at work, that you had a "peacemaker" implanted within you?

When we accepted Jesus Christ as our Savior and Lord, maybe we shorted out the wires so that the "peacemaker" would never work. If so, then life is running out for us fast. Anyone who puts on an exterior of piety, and does not seek to prove it through actions that back up his words, is no more than a hollow shell, and the life of the Savior is not in him.

Or, maybe we let the power go out of our "peacemaker" by failure to nurture the soul and cultivate the heart through worship and prayer. A phone call came to a certain church one day. The caller asked, "Is Rev. So and So preaching tomorrow?" The church secretary answered, "No, but we believe that God will be there, and that's good enough for us."

Get the power from the Source, and keep your "peacemaker" alive and strong. The slogan that says, "7 days without worship and prayer, makes one weak!" is absolutely true.

Because Christians have failed to respond to the implanting of God's Holy Spirit within them, the world grows increasingly evil; the Church grows increasingly weak; and the heart of the Savior bleeds again. Our society needs Christ in the heart, or peace in the world will never start.

Hope

There's more to life than complaining!...there's always HOPE! When it's hot outside, I'll think cool! When it's cold, I'll think warm. When there's nothing but trouble, I'll try to whistle. When people say it can't be done. I'll remember those who have worked miracles before. When evil seems to be in charge, I'll remember God!

The author of Lamentations gives us a good thought for each day: "The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases, His mercies never come to an end; They are new every morning; Great is thy faithfulness. The Lord is my portion, says my soul, Therefore I will hope in him." (Lamentations 3:22 24)

Without hope, life would be an impossible nightmare! With hope, life is a challenge and an act of praise! "Great is thy faithfulness" the author said of the Lord, "this I call to mind, and therefore I have hope." (vs. 21)

Accepting Failure

Are you a perfectionist? Many people are! And how could we get along, without those sincere, hard working, conscientious people who are forever "doing their best" and striving for "perfection".

And yet, sometimes we fool ourselves into thinking that "succeeding", and doing a "perfect" job is expected of us! Who do we think we are...God? Only God is perfect, and some of us are dangerously on the ragged edge of "playing God" in our perfectionism.

Better for us, if we accept from the beginning that we are imperfect, and that we cannot be a success in everything, and that we are going to fail sometimes; but that God loves us any- way, and (hopefully) others will too, even when we fail! We do not have value because we succeed or fail, but we have value in God's eyes, because we are human, and imperfect, and sinful creatures.

Someone once said, "Nothing fails like success!". In a sense, it is true. We learn only a very little from our successes; but it is from many failures, that we learn and grow.

I find this a great comfort, that I don't have to be perfect. I don't have to "succeed"! I just have to rejoice in my son-ship, with a heavenly Father who loves me just as I am in my human condition.

Romans 5:8 says, "God shows his love for us in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us."

I don't think anyone should be satisfied with a poor job, or sloppy workmanship, but I am grateful that the mess that I sometimes am, is still O.K. with God. Could I ask you to judge me kindly, and say that it's O.K. with you too?

Just Suppose

I was just thinking..."suppose God had waited until Moses was perfect before He called him to deliver his people?"

I recall in the Scriptures how Moses hemmed and hawed, finding every excuse in the books to let God know he couldn't do the job. But God didn't let something like stammering and a faltering speech get in the way. He used Moses anyway!

Suppose God had waited until Peter had been perfect before Jesus called him for a disciple. Peter had a lot of weaknesses. He was over confident, he had racial prejudice (which Paul pointed out later); he let Jesus down when he needed him most. What a poor selection! But God made good use of a poor prospect, anyway!

And just suppose God waited until you or I were perfect, before he allowed us to do the work of ministering in His Church. The church would fold up right now!
But, fortunately for all of us, God doesn't wait for perfect people. He can use weak, sinful, imperfect specimens to do the job. And that's what the Church of Jesus Christ is...a motley bunch of inadequate, imperfect folk (who realize what they are), but men and women who just do their best, knowing that God is working with them to join His perfect power with their stumbling weaknesses.

If you thought you needed to wait until you were better, to join the church, or to work in the Lord's Kingdom, put your mind at ease. The Lord has "in service" training for anyone who trusts Him enough to just take a chance with God, and jump in.

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Are You The Same Old You?

I talked with a woman once who said, "I go to church faithfully. I listen, I understand, I believe. But when I get home, I'm the same old me!"

How true! We are caught up with hopes and beliefs and faith during special moments of worship and inspiration. But when we go back to the grind of life, we feel like the same old person again.

And yet this is not quite true. I am not quite the same "me". Because every experience in life does change us! We cannot be exposed again and again to the Savior, and not be changed by Him. Here is the value of regular worship, and the attitude that seeks a blessing when we go.

Somebody asked a church member one day what the minister had said. She thought for a moment, and then said she didn't remember. "See" said her friend. "It doesn't do you any good. Why not stay at home?" The church member pointed at her wicker basket and asked, "What if I asked you to fill up that basket with water, and bring it to me?" Said the other, "why the water would all run out!" "That's right," said the other, "but it would be a cleaner basket, wouldn't it?"

Do you despair of growing in grace, of being better? Don't give up, just because you fail now and then. Do you sometimes wish you had never been made? Just remember: You're not made yet. You're just in the process of being made, and this is all part of the Maker's process.

Go to church. Keep growing in the faith. Eagerly seek Him, and that same old "you" will become a transformed “new you".

Try Writing Your Own Obituary

One morning in 1888, Nobel, inventor of dynamite, the man who had spent his life amassing a fortune from the manufacture and sale of weapons of destruction, awoke to read his own obituary. The obituary was printed as a result of a simple journalistic error...Alfred's brother had died, and a French reporter carelessly reported the death of the wrong brother.

Naturally any person would be disturbed to see his own obituary in the paper, but it was especially so to Alfred Nobel, because he saw himself as the world had seen him, "the dynamite king". As far as the public was concerned, the entire purpose of his life was to make money from destruction. He was a merchant of death.

As he read his obituary with horror, Nobel resolved to change his image before the world, and the result was that the most valued of all prizes is now given for one who works hardest for peace. It is called the "Nobel Prize".

What do you suppose the public would include in your obituary? It's a strange question, but makes us think whether we have made it clear to all what our central concern in life really is.

"Here is a man who loved the Lord" would be a good epitaph. Or "Here is one who loved all people" would be another. Or what about the phrase, "In kindness she moved, in mercy she walked, in humility she lived."? Why not write your own obituary? Make it the way you want it to sound, and then ask God to help you live so it can come true.

Nobody has to be a stinker! There is absolutely no reason anyone has to have a reputation for being evil, or a bully, or cruel. It is only as we will to do His will, that we achieve the great change in life that transforms our lives and makes it possible for our loved ones and even our enemies to say noble things about is in our passing.

I wouldn't want to be caught dead with some of the things folks might say about me. How about you? Maybe it's time, we started to make some changes right now while we still have time.

Try Kissing A Frog

Did you ever try to kiss a frog? Not easy, is it? Maybe not even much fun! But all around our neighborhoods are froggy people, feeling slow, and low, and ugly, and droopy, and down in the dumps! Maybe you feel that way too now and then. What is a person to do?

In the Church, when we talk about "the Priesthood of Believers", we mean quite literally that we are to be "priests" to one another...or to minister to one another...to be really caring folks!

So...down the great river of life, come froggy people, on drifting lily pads, feeling frightened and disgusted, and too froggy to budge.

Once upon a time, there was a frog. But he really wasn't a frog. He was a prince, who looked and felt like a frog. A wicked witch had cast a spell upon him, and only the kiss of a beautiful maiden could save him. But cute chicks don't really enjoy kissing frogs, and there he sat, un-kissed and unhappy. Miracles do happen now and then, however. One day, a beautiful young lady grabbed him up and gave him a big smack. And there he was, a handsome prince. Now, you know the rest...they lived happily ever after!

Bruce Larson, the author of this interesting illustration, asks the question, "What is the task of the church?" and he gives as his answer, "to kiss frogs, of course."

The apostle Paul said: "bear one another's burdens, and thus fulfill the law of Christ." (Galatians 6:2) Is it possible, that if we just looked around, we might find a prince or a princess in a froggy mood, who needed to be kissed? Sounds romantic, doesn't it? But it also sounds like one of the hardest things, and yet one of the most Christian things we could be doing!

Strike An "A"

Have you ever heard someone say, "That gives me good vibrations?" Have you ever considered that life, all of life is designed to move and vibrate according to a certain frequency?

After all, music is like that. So also is electricity, sound waves, and radio and T.V. The very chairs we sit on, the tables we work at, the pencils we hold, the telephones we speak through, all of them are seething movements of molecules, energy in motion!

Everything is moving, vibrating, according to the created principle of the Creator! What if my life is out of sequence? What if my sins have changed the harmonies? What if I am making a discord in God's amazing symphony?

Once upon a time, there was a sheep herder who wrote to a New York Radio station. He explained that he lived a simple life in the country, with only his dog and sheep for companions. "I get my greatest pleasure from my radio and my violin," he wrote. "But recently my violin has become badly out of tune. Would it be possible for someone there to strike the note 'A' on the piano so that I could hear it on my radio, and tune my violin by it?"

The disc jockey read the letter to his audience and announced that the program would be delayed for a few moments so that he could strike the note "A" on the piano for the man to tune his violin.

What happens when I get out of tune with my Creator? Then I need to "be still" and wait for that Some One to pluck the strings of my heart, and put me back in tune again.

My Church provides worship for me this week. I need that! I need the good vibrations of the Savior to start me moving right again. My life tends to get discordant, angry, out of shape, moving in the wrong direction! Study of the Scriptures, faithful attendance in worship, more time in prayer, and a new tuning of the strings of my heart puts me in sync with Eternal love, and the frequencies of the Savior.

The Psalmist was right..."the ungodly are not so, but are like the chaff which the wind drives away". "The Lord knows the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked shall perish." (Psalm 1:6) It's just a matter of logic: goodness works...evil does not! Vibrate in tune, or rattle away into oblivion!

What If God Sued Us?

I've been thinking about suing God! Everybody else is suing somebody...why not me? It seems to me that God really didn't make me as bright as some of the folks I know. I think He might have neglected me somewhat!

I heard once about a lady who sued God for letting lightning strike her home. As far as I know, God never showed up for the trial...As far as I know, the lady never collected either.

But on the other hand, I wonder if God shouldn't have a few law suits pending on His own? After all, we took His beautiful world, and turned it into a waste land. We burned up His fuel oils. We muddied up His beautiful rivers and streams. We allowed His children in many parts of the world, to go hungry, because we never cared enough to teach them to farm their barren lands.

Looks to me like God has a pretty strong case against us. We've taken the good bodies He gave us, and filled them with black coffee, and deadening alcoholic drinks. We've turned the noses He gave us into smoke stacks. We've eaten all the fat-producing desserts, and left the spinach behind.

How can God put up with us? We are law breakers, spoilers, destroyers, contaminators, offenders.

But there is good news. In spite of it all, He cares. He doesn't sue us...He saves us through His great love. He saves us for all eternity, if we come to Him. We are not worthy, but still He pours out His love. What a wonderful, marvelous God we have!

The King Is With Us

There is a story coming out of ancient England, that says that workers in a factory one day were amazed to discover that their king was working alongside them at a lathe, and had been doing so for a long time without being recognized.

When the news got out, it sent a thrill through the people. "The King is working with us," they said. "The King is working with us!"

Let us never forget that Jesus our King came to earth and walked the lowly problems of life with us. He did then, and our resurrected Lord is with us now.
Doesn't it change your daily routine to believe that "the King is working with you"? He is!

The Supreme Judgment

There is a strange story in the New Testament (John 8) about a woman brought to Jesus, accused of adultery. Her accusers wait for Jesus to do what the law says he must do...namely condemn her to stoning. Instead, he tells them, "He who is without sin, go ahead and throw the 1st stone." And then he stoops to write in the sand.
Did Jesus actually write something that day? We have no record of any writings by Jesus. Some say that he wrote each man's besetting sin in the sand, and as they saw it, they were stricken by guilt and left.

Perhaps he wrote in the sand simply to cool his anger against the Pharisees. How they irked him! But the sand was more than likely his way of letting them ponder a bit. But the woman too, saw the scribblings in the sand. Here she stood, condemned to die. At any moment, a stone could come hurtling through the air. The law was on their side. Who was this person before whom they had brought her?...a judge...and yet he wasn't judging her.

If Jesus had condemned her...had he said, "You sinful, unregenerate woman!", then she might have justified herself. "It wasn't my fault...he forced me into it. Why don't they bring him? A person has to live...you have to eat!."

But Jesus wasn't condemning her. Could she run away? And yet her sins would run with her. Sin does that! You can run away from the person you have sinned against, but you cannot run away from the sin itself.

What an amazing thing...the wages of sin for this woman, were death. The law said so. But Jesus insists that grace is always greater than the law, and that forgiveness of sins, brings a person from death into salvation.

Whereas others condemn, we who are Christian must learn to forgive. Forgiveness in our world is so limited, so partial, so arbitrary. But God does not dole out forgiveness by degrees, or piece meal, but through Christ, He blots out our whole debt.

Each of us stands before Christ, condemned. Our accusers are on every hand. Our own memories arise up to speak of our shortcomings. We are worthy of death. There is a spiritual law that says so. But what a marvelous release from the guilt which fills us as we look into the wonderful eyes of Jesus, and hear him say, "Neither do I condemn you...go and sin no more."

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Getting Your Magnitudes Mixed

In Matthew's gospel, Jesus told the story about those who were invited to the marriage feast, and he said: "but they made light of it and went off, one to his farm, another to his business," etc. (22:5)

We are prone to exaggerate the importance of our own problems. It is like holding a penny in front of your eye, and blotting out all that is beyond it. And yet, get that penny but a few feet away, and it is almost invisible.

Sometimes we make mountains out of mole hills...that spot on the rug, that broken plaster above the door, the blemish on the side of your face. Tiny things that upset us, and keep us from centering in on the really important things.

But there are also times when we minimize greatness...when we take mountains and turn them into mole hills. Such people never see the Lord, high and holy and lifted up. When they go to church, all they seem to notice are the mistakes of the organist. They are critical of the way the choir is dressed, and are disturbed by the cry of a small child.

Some do not ever find power in worship, because they surround themselves with little things that are of no consequence. They do not want to confront the enormity of the knowledge of God, because it will tax their imagination, it will stretch their spiritual grasp, it will tug at their heart strings, and they are much more content to grovel in their present condition of half hearted righteousness.

To know God and the greatness of fellowship with Him, is this not the Mt. Everest of human experience. And yet it is possible to make a mole hill out of it. So intent are we to consider the intricacies of our business, and the demands of our day by day activities, that God is lucky if He gets a passing "howdy" from some of His constituents.

And if we do this with God, we are likely to do it with other things as well...to hate instead of love...to speak lies instead of the truth...to see evil instead of good...to bend to iniquity, instead of walking in righteousness. Here are mountain peaks which some folks carve down to mole hills.

Some things we ought to minimize: our complaints, the slights that are cast our way, minimize our fears, and our worries. But don't cut your horizons down to your level...leave some big mountains in the landscape.

Jesus said that in the invitation from the King, some "made light of it, and went their way." What a commentary on crudeness...to make light of the invitation of the king. And yet is this not what some of us are doing as we lightly pass by the invitation of God to feast at His banquet table?

Bull Session Supreme At Nazareth

John the Baptist, before his death, pointed to Jesus and said to his disciples, "Behold the Lamb of God. Follow him."

Two of them...John, and Andrew, did. Together with Jesus, they walked and talked along the pathways and when they reached the home of Jesus in Nazareth, Jesus said, "Why don't you stay?" And they did.

I don't know what they talked about that night, but I can imagine...lying on mats, or seated in a circle about a fire. The Bible doesn't tell us, but it must have been vital talk, for as the result of this wonderful bull session, John said, "Surely this is the Messiah". And Andrew, filled with excitement, went and told his brother, "We have found the Christ."

What did they talk about?...surely they talked about God, for although every Jewish boy knew the law, and the prophets, questions of the sincere heart were still unanswered. God was still a mystery. Why doesn't God do something about his world? And Jesus answered, "God has done something...Into His world, He has spoken His Word. You know it. You have been familiar with it from your childhood. It is eternal. It was in the beginning. It is true. It was with God. It is authoritative. It is God. God's Word gave the light, and that light has shined into the world. It shines in the darkness and the darkness has never been able to put it out.

It would almost seem that the 1st chapter of John's Gospel may have come directly from that night time conversation.

What has God done in His world? What better way to save a world in darkness, than to send the Light of His truth? How better to relieve the icy atmosphere of suspicion and mistrust, than with the warm Gospel of love?

Perhaps we need to do more bull sessions about our belief in God. Too sacred you say? Too much chance of getting off on the wrong track? Too much likelihood of making God seem earthy and bringing Him down to our level?

The answer is that God is not on precarious footing. He will not be put down by our little thoughts. The anvil will not be spoiled by our insignificant hammers. Better to get a hazy glimpse than no glimpse at all. And God loves to be brought down to earth where He can walk with us and talk with us and tell us we are His own.
Christianity is real and is practical. It makes sense. It ought to be part of our every day language. It can be talked about over the coffee cups as well as over the theologian's table. Our faith is reasonable. Jesus Christ came to make the things of God real. But does the Word take on flesh through you and me? That's the real question for today's conversations.

Hitherto And Henceforth

If my mother were still living today, she would have a black board in her kitchen. And on it would be a favorite Bible verse, or a special thought for her day.

I remember two words she put there: "Hitherto" and "Henceforth". When I asked her the meaning, she said, "Hitherto the Lord has helped us" (I Sam. 7:12)...and "Henceforth he shall." That was the kind of God she believed in. And that became my faith as well.

I stand between the "Hitherto" and the "Henceforth". And my praise becomes the great "nevertheless"! No matter what happens, no matter how bad things may become...I will trust him, and I will praise His name. And give thanks to God that He is God.

We have a coffee cup we received from the Dr. Schuler T.V. program that on one side reads: "Life's not fair." And on the other side it reads, "but God is good." And sometimes life isn't fair...but that does not stop me from trusting, from praising, or giving thanks. "Hitherto" the Lord has helped me..."Henceforth" He shall. This I believe.

Our Church Has Filters

For years, smoking has been suspiciously alien to human needs and physical health. "There are dangers here," all reports have said. But the tobacco companies replied, "No danger. All the harmful things have been filtered out!"

Every preacher will sooner or later, preach a sermon on "Love". It is the theme behind every theme in every sermon. All the Gospel is summed up in it. "God so loved the world."

But in reality, the Church has often lived a life totally un-related to the kind of love Jesus talked about. So much of the time, we have gone around sputtering at, and spitting at, and clawing at each other, much like cats in the back alley.

Why is the Church at times devoid of love, when it is the proclaimer of love? Why is there more of a welcome sometimes, at the corner tavern, than in the Church pew? Why is there more sympathy from the man on the street, than from some committed church goers?

Perhaps we are dealing with people in a make believe world. We have heard the dynamite of the Gospel, but like the cigarette ads, we too have a built in filter. We filter out the really significant parts of the Gospel until what gets through is really kind of a sentimental, mushy, harmless emotional feeling. It is something that doesn't hurt us, but neither does it help us.

And so, Christianity becomes a kind of harmless thing that everybody believes in, but nobody does much about.

In Romans, Paul said that we are to be indebted to no one except the debt to love them. (Ro. 13:8) And we are to owe everyone more than we can possibly pay. Love is not only one duty to add to our other duties, it is the framework into which all other duties will fit.

Love is the most comprehensive of all principles. We need to bring everything we do and say before the bar of love!

There is a story about an old violinist. He was a poor man, but he possessed an instrument with the sweetest, mellow tones. As he played it, it always awakened responsive chords. When he was asked to explain it, he would hold his violin, tenderly caressing its graceful curves, and say: "Ah, a great deal of sunshine must have gone into this wood, and what goes in, must come out!"

Let us never forget that a great deal of love: the love of God, and the love of parents and friends, has been poured into these careless lives of ours. And we must let it come out!

The Power Of A Child

Today's news headlines again and again describe the plight of tiny children. The adult world takes such unfair advantage of them. They are often disregarded as insignificant in the world around them.

"Any news?" asked a villager one February morning. "Oh, nothing", another replied, "Only a boy baby was born at the Lincoln's last night"
.
In 1809 most people would have thought that the greatest thing happening that year, was that Napoleon was the master of all Europe. And yet, only God and a few mothers here and there realized the possible power of the new born in the births that year of Darwin, Lincoln, Gladstone, Tennyson, Edgar Allen Poe, Oliver Wendell Holmes, and Cyrus W. McCormick.

When the Boy Scout movement began in America, a big camp had been arranged which was to include the youngest boys...boys of eight years.

At seven o'clock on the first evening one of the little boys came to the officer who was chief of the camp and said, saluting,

"Please, sir, my mother said if I came to camp, I was to go to bed at seven o'clock."

"Very well," replied the chief, "go to bed!"

"And please, sir, my mother said that if I came to camp, I was to say my prayers."

"Very well, my boy, say your prayers!"

"Please sir," said the scout, with his hand still raised in salute,"I always say my prayers at my mother's knee; can I say them at yours?"

"The chief was so touched that he took the boy aside in the woods, and there they prayed together. From that time the Boy Scout movement became a religious movement, although it had not started along those lines." Taylor Smith

Who can measure the potential of one single life? Even a child might outweigh the strength of one modern Atlas.

How To Die Well

What is it like to die? Does it hurt? Can we do it? Do we need any help? Will we be scared? Many years ago, I asked those questions before going into surgery, not knowing what the end results might be. My life continues, and I am grateful.

A fellow pastor by the name of John Bouldin had the funeral service of a 38 year old man by the name of Jim McGlaughlin who had written his own funeral service.
In it, he said if he had life to live over again, he would want

"To love the unlovely...
To touch the untouchables...
To pray for those who had persecuted him...
To do good, especially to those who had done evil against him...
To be more concerned about mercy, and have less concern about money...
To pray more and play less...
To give himself to worship rather than to worry...
To be kind to all...
To be more generous with what God had given him...
To help lift the fallen...comfort the sorrowing...
heal the broken hearted...
To see that to live on a God standard is more important
than to live on a gold standard, and to
Put first things first."

"He then said:
You say you want peace of mind? You can have the Master's peace.
You say you want joy? You can have the Master's joy!
You say you want power? You can have the Master's power.
It's an exchange your little all for His great all. Try it."

And then, in conclusion, Jim added:
"I hope to clasp your hand and smile into your face,
when you too have come up higher
where one has only one true delight—
to share life with Jesus.
Do not think of your loss; think of my gain.
Do not be sad because I have died; truly, I've just begun to live.
Do not mourn because I died so young; I had five more years
than Jesus did on earth.
Do not just sit and weep for me; save your tears for those
who don't know Jesus.
Do not go into mourning for me; rise up and use your strength
and devotion so that the hearts of others may sing.
Do not think you have lost me; I have just moved a little higher
and I'll be here to smile and say 'welcome' when you pass
through the curtain.
And say...be sure to come or I'll be disappointed."

Thank God for Jim. Thank God for all who can look into God's marvelous future and simply trust. That's the way I hope to die.

Many of these thoughts come from
my book called "Pebbles On The
Pathway". If you like them, please
place an order with a free call to
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The Kingdom Is An Uphill Road

There is a statement in the Bible that reminds me that I must work out my own salvation "with fear and trembling."(Phil. 2:12) Why does it say that? I have confidence in my God. I have an assurance that all is well. Why should I have "fear and trembling"? Why this uncertainty?

Perhaps it is because finding the Lord, making Him part of our lives is always a progressive thing. When we are absolutely sure that we have all of Him, then we are most certain to lose Him. If we experience the Lord today, and then lie down in our spiritual endeavors, we discover upon arising that we may have lost Him.

This is the one thing that most of us lack...that insatiable, hungering and thirsting after righteousness. To want the Lord, with all of our mind and heart, and soul and strength. And not only to want it once, but to desire it forever...this is the acid test of the Christian.

The story is told that a man one time came to Gautama Buddha seeking the true way. Buddha led him down to the river. It was at bathing time, and the seeker assumed that he was to undergo a ritual of purification. When they were some distance out in the stream, Buddha suddenly grabbed the man and held his head under water. Finally, in a last gasp the fellow wrenched himself loose, and his head came above water. Quietly Buddha asked him, "When you thought you were drowning, what did you desire most?" The man gasped, "Air." Back came Buddha's reply, "When you want salvation as much as you wanted air, then you will get it." (Sockman The Higher Happiness)

When we are content with our faith. When we believe that all is well...when we are sure that we are a Christian and the gates of heaven are simply waiting to open up before us...then perhaps all is not well. Beware, lest the Lord come as a "thief in the night" and find us unprepared to deliver our souls for scrutiny before the Almighty.

And so, this comes as an unending task. Each morning, we must approach the Great Supervisor for new instructions; each evening, we must end our day by committing the solemn trust of life to Him who never sleeps. Each Sunday, we must enter the Holy of Holies to feed therein upon the Bread of Life, and to learn new lessons at the Master's feet. The Kingdom of God is reached on an uphill road, and he who falls asleep at the wheel is not wise. "My little children, how hard it is to enter the Kingdom of God."