The Man in Black

"How well I have learned that there is no fence to sit on between heaven and hell.
There is a deep, wide gulf, a chasm, and in that chasm is no place for any man."
- Johnny Cash

Help Me!

Lord--
I praise you-
Help me to praise you.
I worship you-
Help me to worship you.
I submit to you-
Help me to submit to you.
I release me life to you-
Help me to release my life to you.
I believe-
Help my unbelief.
I am weak-
Make me strong in you.
I am forgiven-
Help me to forgive myself.
I am content-
Help me discontent.
I love you-
Help me to love you!
Amen.

The Word

Today a group of my friends met and studied a bit of the book of Hebrews. The key thought of our discussion that I came away with was that God's word is very important. I should be in it daily. I should "dig" in it consistently for the "gems" revealed to me by God's Holy Spirit. Some verses to ponder:

As the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and do not return to it without watering the earth and making it bud and flourish, so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater, so is my word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.
Isaiah 55:10-11

For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.
Hebrews 4:12

God's word is alive, active and purposeful.

Do not let this Book of the Law depart from your mouth; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful.
Joshua 1:8

Whoever has my commands and obeys them, he is the one who loves me. He who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love him and show myself to him.
John 14:21

We are called to read, consider, meditate on and obey God's word. We cannot accomplish this without reading it over and over, memorizing it and studying it.

All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness.
2 Timothy 3:16

I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you.
Psalm 119:11

Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path.
Psalm 119:105

God guides us, protects us and sanctifies us through his word.

God Didn't Want It This Way.

I just spent a few minutes with a friend telling he and his wife he might have a brain tumor. My heart aches for them, not knowing what this means for the future. I long to make it go away but don't have the ability. I know they are sad and frustrated and are wrestling with what life is all about and why this is happening. Where is God in all this?

God doesn't want it this way. When he created the world it was very good (Genesis 1:31). I don't believe there was disease or suffering as we see everywhere today. But, God, for reasons that escape me, wanted a personal relationship with each individual of mankind....A relationship fostered on his love for us but also on our love for him. For us to love God, we had to have the ability to not love God. Love is voluntary, a choice, a decision. God gave Adam and Eve a choice, and they decided to resist his plan. Sin entered the world with all it's associated problems: illness, evil, selfishness, disaster and death. God is all powerful and could have prevented this. He could intervene and end it now. He chooses not to so that all who will accept him may accept him. We each individually have the chance to believe and love him. And I believe his heart aches for those that are suffering. His heart aches for my friend. Someday God will make things very good again for those that trust in Jesus Christ as their Lord and savior. Until then, all creation groans waiting in eager expectation for that time (Romans 8:19-22).

To Believe...

John Piper has an interesting comment on what it means to believe in Jesus Christ on his website (see here). Essentially, he notes that even Satan believes that God is real and that Jesus is the Son of God (James 2:19). To be a Christian implies that we cherish, value, love and honor Jesus, and that we long to spend time with him. Satan hates Christ. But what is in between these two opposing perspectives is the ambivalent person...the person who knows about Jesus but neither loves nor hates him. We cannot love, cherish, value and honor someone we do not spend time with, and we can only spend time with God through prayer, worship and in the reading of his word. O Lord help me to make the time to be with you, to not get caught up in the busyness of this world, to honor, glorify and love you.

Faith

What is faith and what does it mean to believe in God? There is a difference between knowing about Jesus and believing in Jesus. If I stand on the side of a cliff looking out over a deep gorge and I see a wood slat and rope bridge traversing that chasm, I know the bridge is there. My eyes can see it. Faith in the structural integrity of that bridge and it's ability to carry me to the other side of the gorge is only manifested as I walk across to the other side. There is no proof that the bridge will hold up under my weight. I must believe in my assessment of the sturdiness that is apparent to my mind through my vision or in the ability of those who constructed the bridge. Faith in God is like faith in the bridge. Knowing God is there is not enough by God's own definition. We are called to step out and put our weight on the words and promises of God. We are called to live our lives as God called us to because we believe in the structural integrity of his word. So, it is the man who walks across the bridge and the man who lives his life like he believes God's word is true that truly has faith. Which am I and which are you?

The Wind...

God is invisible right? Atleast, I haven't seen him. So, how can we believe there is a God if we cannot visualize him? These are questions some of my friends bring up in discussions about whether there is a "higher power." They imply that if God is invisible that he cannot be real. I then ask if they can see the wind. This usually leads to a blank stare and a glazed look without verbal response. The fact is that we can know about the existence of persons or things through nonvisual evidence of that existence. In the winds case, we can see the evidence in the swaying of tree branches, the movement of clouds in a thunder storm, or the white caps that develop on the water. God has given evidence of himself in multiple ways. Creation declares the glory of God. Who can look at the stars and not wonder about the existence of a transcendent creator. God's Spirit moves in people in ways that glorify God-ways that make no sense outside of his existence. The Spirit is like the wind. We cannot see him, but we can see the people he moves as the wind nudges a tree branch. God's ultimate revelation is in his son Jesus and his story which is written throughout scripture. We do not have an excuse for disbelief as God has revealed himself to all people in significant ways.

The heavens declare the glory of God;
the skies proclaim the work of his hands.
Day after day they pour forth speech;
night after night they display knowledge.
There is no speech or language
where their voice is not heard.
Their voice goes out into all the earth,
their words to the ends of the world.
Psalm 19:1-4.

For since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities-his eternal power and divine nature-have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so men are without excuse.
Romans 1:20.