Difficult times are when your faith takes off its worship robe and put on thick socks, leather steel toe boots, thermals, jeans, leather chaps, t shirt, wool shirt, leather coat, leather gloves, glasses, ear plugs, and a helmet. Those times are when you find out whether you have faith or not.
Monthly Archives: August 2013
Life Eternal
The rich young man came to Jesus and asked how get eternal life. More pointedly, the young man wanted what specific things he needed to do to get eternal life.
He was considerably misguided. But I’ll hand him three badges of merit. He wanted the gift of eternal life after spending his time in this place of testing. He recognized that something more might have to be done. And he knew enough to recognize Jesus as a teacher who would know the answer he sought.
Unfortunately we are witnesses to the man’s great weakness before God. What great weakness does God witness in us?
The poor look down their noses at the rich. And the rich often do the same to the poor. But God’s eyes look straight into our very soul.
By His Grace
A reason we can all understand
George didn’t want go to go the family reunion with his parents this year. He was 18 now, and completely able to cook for himself. His dad thought it would be a good oportunity for his awesome son to prove himself before having to strike out on his own. Mom thought differently. Go figure.
Mom reminded George about all the wonderful people that would be there, no effect. She mentioned the zip lines, water park, and fishing boat. Still nuttin. She tried that ole mommy standby guilt trip. George just laughed. Then mom pulled out the big gun. “Your great uncle George will be there. He’s flying in from Russia tomorrow”. George had heard great stories about the man he was named after, but he had never met him. This announcement caused George to pause and consider. But, in the end of consideration, selfishness won. George waved goodbye as his parents the next day.
There’s no need to tell you about the things George experienced while his parents were gone. You see, George is determined to become “someone”. So his exploits alone would be quite bland to most. No headlines here folks. However, when mom and dad came home they had exploits enough to make up for George’s monotone life.
Seems uncle George was a massive hit at the reunion. He showed up in a limousine. He had 5 body guards, 2 male attendants, and a helicopter flew in just in case something pressing came up.
Uncle George split the darkness around the camp fire with tales of war, intrigue, customs of Russia, and all these tales were made to come alive by the man’s marvelous accent. What a time his parents had! And they talked about it for hours.
They told their son that “he” had asked about him. And when they explained about the need to go it alone, Uncle just got this weird little smile on his face. “I was in great hopes of meeting the boy. I have some gifts I wanted to give him personally. And I have purchased some land in his name. No matter. I will hopefully meet him some day”.
It didn’t take but a moment for the regret to sink into George’s heart. But it took some years to depart. His uncle was killed the next month in a political assassination. The gifts, gone. The land, gone. But, most of all, the great man George never met, gone.
What does this story mean? It means, simply, that we talk and talk about the glories of Jesus. But you’re intent on staying here. There is one twist, however, that can’t be made from the story. You will see Him. But you won’t be allowed to enter if you don’t accept His gift by faith now. Won’t you PLEASE come with us as we assend the Hill of the Lord!
By His Grace.
No one knows
I used to fish along the Kootnai river in Montana. I would scale down cliffs just to get where no one else goes. I loved the isolation when I fished like that. The boats would appear and disappear because I had taken their spot.
One fine beautiful day I found myself on my back with my head against a rock. I had slipped on wet grass and fallen. As I lay there staring up at the beautiful sky something occurred to me. No one would have known had I been killed by the fall. The rocks would not care if I had died on them, and the river would not notice my death. I was not in the habit of telling people where I was going, so it may have taken days for someone to find my corpse. That is if the river did not rise and carry my body away.
I have heard many men boast that they will have a party in hell because that’s where all their friends are. But the gospel holds bad news for you who say such things. The gospel simply says, “You will look for them but they will not be found”.
You think you will appear in Hell where you are welcome. The fact is sir you will die and no one will notice. None of those living with the Lord will morn you. You will be utterly taken away even your name will be remembered no longer.
Intelligence
Oh, you are smart you are wise. You turn rocks into this pod I hold in my hand. With it I write these things and give you praise for what you have.
You spend vast amounts of money and time to learn the things you know now to do. You turn things that were not into things that are, much like a god isn’t it. And while I give thanks that I can communicate like this in this little pod, I have a word for you, oh man of this world.
You did not make the dirt. You did not make space, time, substance, electricity, air, radiation, language, or the flesh you use to gain from the works of your hand. This is true. You have recieved these things. And so have I.
To what end have I taken the time to recount these things? I have raised this issue to draw a comparison between your god and The Living God.
Your god has become the work of your hands but the living God gave you your hands. You worship one another’s bodies and all the things that you can say and do among yourselves but you give no glory to the one who gave you this ability. You are like those who built the Tower of babble. You are like the leader of America, who said in his campaign in 2008, “Science will save us”.
Where, in your paraphernalia of technology, is the worship of the Most High God? Where is the humility that comes from understanding, with God’s wisdom, that you are created you are not the Creator? Where is the time that used to be Sunday? The time set apart for worship of the God who made us?
There is so much more to consider about this. But answer even this much and then we have something to speak of. You will say as you have said to me before, “There is no God therefore what we do is righteous”. Don’t you think it curious that you should kill God just so you can have what you already have? How convient for you that you can say words, and just like that, God is dead. Wow!
I will leave this matter for a while and see what comes of it. May God bless you in your quest for what is true.
By His Grace.
Got a need for a miracle?
Asking God to bend reality is to ask for the miraculous. Accepting horror or inconvenience because you trust Him is obedient faith. Decide for yourself which approach to life pleases God more.
Words From There 