In the midst

In the midst of one of the most amazing chapters in the Bible is a small insight, but we will get to that in a moment.....

Daniel 11 recorded in detail the entire history of humanity to the very end of time.  It's an amazing chapter, but in the midst of it is what I want to focus on in these thoughts.  Instead of details of what will happen it is an invitation to a response, to actions by God's people.  As I read it this morning in a men's group I attend the words began to cascade over and over in my thoughts.  They are these short words,

"...but the people who know their God 

will display strength and take action." 

Daniel 11:32

I realized, as I read the words, that the outcome of the believers response to God were not clear in the midst of great clarity about governments and powers.  

It's as if this is an invitation to a response, a challenge to our faith and it begins with- a people who know God, a people who claim the God of the bible as their God.  It begins with a personal, intimate relationship before strength and action are even possible.

If we don't know God well, if he's not OUR God, our Father, our master, then action and strength are unlikely.  It seems, out of a relationship with the God of creation, his people will be able to find the strength to act in the midst of the most terrible days at the end of time. 

So, what does this action look like?  In the midst of the last days, in the midst of the human race, what would show us strong and people of action?  What would set us apart from the fear and chaos coming?

It would look like this- love the lost, care for the hurting, help the needy, protect the helpless, cloth the naked....why it would look like Jesus, wouldn't it?  In these last days we have a great opportunity, it's subtly hidden in Daniel 11,  "the people who know their God will display strength and take action."

Searching for peace

These are amazing and difficult days.  The world around us is changing daily.  Governments topple, wars break out, chaos seems to be waiting for us every morning when we wake.  For a world trying to simply find peace it seems we are missing something.

We all want peace.  Peace of mind, peace of heart, peace with others, peace in our marriages, peace in our country, our world.  The cry rings out, "Can't we all just get along?"

Searching for peace is a frustrating quest for this race of men.  We think if we had the right leader peace would come, but it doesn't. 

We search for peace but it eludes us.  How can we find this thing we all want so badly?  How can we discover peace in our lives?  

Where is it?

Here are two verses that offer insight into the problem and its solution, 

“There is no peace,” says the Lord, “for the wicked.” Isaiah 48:22

and,

"Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,"  Romans 5:1

I was surprised by these two verses and the contrast they present.  Peace is not possible with others until I have it with God.  I must settle accounts with Him or I will never find peace with those around me. 

It begins with him.  Until I'm willing to sign God's peace treaty written in the blood of Christ I will never have peace, never.

And if I can't find peace internally I will never have it as I live out my life with others.  

We live in a world filled with violence, trouble, anger, and fear.  We live in a world without peace because we refuse to sign God's peace treaty for our own lives....so how can we extend peace to others?

Searching for peace?  Looking for that calm that comes when all is right with you and the world?  God has made that possible, but it's only possible by trusting Christ and making peace with the one who made you.  

Until we do that we will never find peace.

Even in the storm

There is a truth that I am only beginning to understand even after more than 50 years of faith.  It's the truth and scope of God's sovereignty.  There is so much said about it, so much taught that we get overwhelmed with words and debates over what it means for our faith and freedom, but that's not what I'm focused on in my thinking.

I'm dwelling on a God who is ruler and sovereign of everything! Ruler of time, situations that happen to me, life, death, prosperity, lack, family, friends, housing, transportation, ETC!  I'm thinking about a God I can trust with all that happens...the friend with cancer, the child claiming to be an atheist after years of faith, the loss of job, changes in culture, a drug worn son, a wandering daughter, need I go on?

God is in charge!  He rules the affairs of men.  He directs the hearts of rulers as he would direct water.  He is Lord of everything.  Even when bad things happen in my life he's Lord of those too!  

When I fear I'm watching the wind and waves instead of the Lord who is right in front of me.  Here's what that looks like,

Matthew 14:5 And in the fourth watch of the night he came to them, walking on the sea. 26 But when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were terrified, and said, “It is a ghost!” and they cried out in fear. 27 But immediately Jesus spoke to them, saying, “Take heart; it is I. Do not be afraid.”

28 And Peter answered him, “Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water.” 29 He said, “Come.” So Peter got out of the boat and walked on the water and came to Jesus. 30 But when he saw the wind, he was afraid, and beginning to sink he cried out,  “Lord, save me.” 31 Jesus immediately reached out his hand and took hold of him, saying to him,  “O you of little faith, why did you doubt?”

In the midst of the storm one man felt bold enough to ask the impossible, to walk on water and he did!  But in the storm he got distracted and became afraid.  He forgot where he was and whose he was and began to sink.  In that moment he cried for help and Jesus, who was within arm's length, reached out and caught him.  

It seemed all was lost for Peter, but Jesus was with him on the water, in the storm, there to help, there to take care of him.  Even in our storms God is with us in the midst of it all....sovereign of everything...even the storms.

The first day

The first day anywhere new is difficult.  

Fear of the unknown, 

the uncertainty of an unfamiliar place.  

The first day is hard, 

but imagine it's your first day in eternity, 

your first day after this life is over.

A man I know just spent his first day in eternity.  

He was not a Christian.  

He wasn't interested.  

He and I talked months ago, 

when he was well, 

about life and death.  

We talked about eternity, 

about salvation 

about the cross,

and what God has provided for him.  

But he thought he had a better solution, 

he thought he had his answer and didn't want to hear it.

Today was his first day in eternity.  

His first day of billions more.

  As I think about him I grieve.  

Today, his first day, he faces eternity.

  An eternity without God.  

Quote of the day

"To a blind man no proof of light is adequate, 

but to a seeing man no proof of light is needed."

-Mike Messerli

Wagering eternity

What would you bet on?  

What odds would you risk for something you think is a "sure thing?"

Would you bet a million dollars with the chance to win ten?

It sounds like a foolish question and it is.  Who would risk a million dollars for the chance to win only $10 more?

But many around me wager billions of years for just a few here.

They risk losing everything on the odd chance they might be right about what awaits them after death.

Why would anyone risk millions to possibly gain only a few more?  Why would we wager eternity with a guess, a hope, a speculation?

And yet, most around you will risk it all for just one choice, only lust, one passion...hoping that the pleasure of a moment might be worth the wager of eternity.

Why would anyone risk everything for such a small payout?  The bookies would call you a fool.

Do you realize your wagering eternity with your choices?

Do you realize that nothing in this moment is worth the billions of years it will cost you. 

I know a man who is dying at this moment.  He won't be here for more than a few more days.  He has no idea what awaits him, only a hope that he made a good choice.  He's wagered eternity on a dream, a whim, a hope.  

I visited with him months ago and was grieved to see he had placed his bet.  He had made his choice, thrown the dice and hoped he would win.  I'm grieved that he has wagered eternity on a false hope.

The price is too high to not know for sure.  There is a sure thing, a promise of a win every time.  There is a transaction we can each make that will promised the ultimate return on the investment....

"For God loved you so much that he gave his only Son that if you will trust him you will have eternal life."  John 3:16

Who wouldn't bet on a sure thing?  

It's too important to not know for sure.

A strange God

Religion is an odd thing.  Every tribe on planet earth believes in a god of some kind, a deity who demands things of them, demands worship, gifts, obedience, and sacrifice.  

Religion seems to be woven into who we are as humans. We all believe there is a God, a creator, someone, something above us. Call him a higher power, Allah or Yahweh we all know there is someone, something we are accountable to, someone we must worship.

And yet, there is one very strange God worshipped on planet earth.  A God who comes and lives among us, who tells us he loves us and then shows it by giving his very best gift to us- the life he wanted us to have.

This strange God is a lover.  He loves his creation.  He loves us and proved it.  This strange God doesn't come with demands of worship, expectations of sacrifice, ready to kill us if we don't comply, but he comes to give, to love, to cry, to be part of the world he made and he says this,

"By this the love of God was manifested in us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world so that we might live through Him, in this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the payment for our sins."  1 John 4

What a strange God this is, a lover, a giver, a Father, who woos us, invites us into his family with a gift.....the gift of life, free of charge and all we have to do is receive it, believe in his Son and we have eternal life!

Why would the world reject this amazing God for lesser ones?  Why would we scorn the God who made us to serve petty gods who demand we earn our way into their good graces?  Why would we settle for anything less than this amazing God of love?

What a strange God this is....and I love him dearly!

Thinking.....

I know I've been missing in action.  It's a bit intentional.  I have needed some time to think, to reflect and to look at the world around me.  There is so much going on, so many voices screaming in our ears that the din can be overwhelming.

For my part in the great din I want to find a place of silence to really hear God and know his voice, see his face, sense his heart....so I've taken this time to get away.

I'll be back in a few days.  Thanks for your patience.

Experts

I've found myself reading comments on Facebook tonight.

It's quite amusing really.  

With the Internet and the ability to be anonymous everyone is suddenly an expert and, since we no longer believe in truth in our culture, the one who can bluster the most, act angry enough or overwhelm the discussion with confusion usually wins.  

Or do they?

It seems we waste a lot of time with opinions, words, rhetoric and anger that does nothing at all.  And in the end....after all is said...nothing changes.

We are a nation of experts without truth.  It's quite funny to watch as the bluster of words from someone I know nothing about is supposed to convince me they are right.

How about we start with truth, a foundation of some kind, and discuss issues from there?  Oh, wait, we can't....no one believes in absolute truth anymore.

So here we are.  A culture of experts about nothing. 

I'm sure God is smiling at how silly this all sounds as we waste hours discussing nothing at all.

Unless we start with "In the beginning God..."  nothing else will make sense.

Without God it's all just silly....but we sound like experts.

What a world!

Listen

Listen

Just for a few moments

Find a place to listen

A place of silence

a place where you 

can hear your heart beat

Find a quiet place

and listen

In that place you might

just hear

a still small voice

It's in those quiet places

when we really listen

that God can speak

Speak, Lord, your servant is listening

Quote of the day

"Why are you afraid? Do you still have no faith?"  -Jesus

Reflections

 "I now see that I spent most of my life in doing neither what I ought nor what I liked.” ~ C.S. Lewis, The Screwtape Letters

In this brilliant work by C.S. Lewis one of the demons quotes a man who finds himself in hell after a wasted life.  These are the words of his realization.

Profound words for our culture, for our day.  We find, if we think about it, that these words describe each of us as we rush about chasing money and success.

If you were to reflect on your life and make changes that make a difference what would those changes be?  

Life's short. It's easy to be miles down the wrong road before you realize you are not going where you wish.  

I think this is why so many completely change their lives to do what they most want to do.  But most of us will stay the course...going down the wrong road...unhappy, neither doing what we ought or what we like.

But God....

Have you ever said it?

Have you ever protested to God?

Have you ever cried out,

"BUT GOD!...."

It's a cry of protest, a call for action

It's an appeal to a higher authority

It's a cry for help.

In the Bible the phrase "but God"

is always connected to God's intervention

into the events of life to change them,

influence them, help his people,

to change the course of history.

When I read the words in the bible,

"but God..." I always stop

to see what is about to change

when God gets involved.

It appears 66 times in the bible.  

Once for each book.

God is involved in the affairs of men.

He's involved in each of our lives

In spite of what appears to be happening 

there will be a day when the events 

of life are interrupted with this staccato,

"But God...."

And your life will never be the same.

Year 10!

I just realized I am now into year 10 of this blog!  More than 3,400 posts, almost 500,000 visitors and who knows what has happened in lives because we have met here?  I know the blog format is old school now, but this still provides a vehicle for my thoughts. I hope those few who are still with me are blessed in some way by these words.

Shall we go another year?

Two mountains

Hebrews 12 talks of two mountains.

One, unapproachable.

The second, well....let me allow the passage to describe it,

No, you have come to Mount Zion, to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to countless thousands of angels in a joyful gathering.  You have come to the assembly of God’s firstborn children, whose names are written in heaven. You have come to God himself, who is the judge over all things. You have come to the spirits of the righteous ones in heaven who have now been made perfect.  You have come to Jesus, the one who mediates the new covenant between God and people, and to the sprinkled blood, which speaks of forgiveness instead of crying out for vengeance like the blood of Abel.

 Access to this second mountain is available to anyone, it's a glorious place with angels, joy, fellowship, family, God is there, those long dead who trusted Christ are there, Jesus is there.  

It's a mountain open to all, but the only access is by faith.

Many describe the world religions as people all climbing a mountain on different paths with God at the top. A destination all, no matter what they believe, will reach.

But the bible describes two mountains.  One no one could climb and the other, the one where God resides, available only by faith.

Could it be that many are simply climbing the wrong mountain?  Trying to reach God on their own only to find he's not there?

If you're looking for God make sure you are climbing the right mountain.