'Til Death Do Us Part

We are so often encouraged to be faithful to the Lord, but I wonder what we think of when we consider what faithfulness is. Probably we imagine ourselves being more consistent in our Bible reading, spending more time in prayer, or deciding to resist temptation a little more vigorously. Maybe we offer up a prayer of commitment to 'surrender all'. Well, obviously there's nothing wrong with any of these actions, but I wonder if a better perspective on faithfulness wouldn't enrich our experience and deepen the sentiment behind our actions.

In the book of Hosea, we read that "the land is guilty of the vilest adultery in departing from the LORD" (1:2, emphasis mine). I read that and suddenly comprehended faithfulness from a whole new angle.

I am faithful to my wife. I pledged my life to her. We are raising children together. I work hard every day for her. My thoughts turn to her often during the course of a day. She really is my joy and delight. To think of living apart from her is a horrifying thought. I can't imagine putting asunder what God has joined together. The parallel to our relationship with God is obvious.

There is something valuable in considering faithfulness in a marital light (marriage is, after all, God's idea and patterned after His relationship with us). And the great thing is that this Groom is perfect. We've no reason to be upset, annoyed or unfaithful.

So faithfulness means living my moments with an awareness of deep affection and attachment to my loving God, to whom I have pledged my life. It means growing deeper in appreciation, affection and security as the years go by. It means being in constant wonder as the beauty of my Beloved unfolds with each passing day. It means becoming more and more like the Lover of my soul.

Being unfaithful to an earthly spouse is an awful thing, but departing from the LORD is the "vilest adultery."

Not A Chance

Naturalistic evolution is mathematically impossible. The basics of 'life' are not really basic, but mind-bogglingly complex. The tiny proteins, enzymes and amino acids that comprise 'life' are utterly dependent on precise structures and relationships in order to actually function. The odds of life springing up by chance are beyond staggering. In fact, the mathematical odds prove that, no matter how much time is allowed, life beginning by chance is statistically impossible.

And this is to say nothing of some so-called 'earliest life-form' going through multiplied millions of changes (and somehow acquiring information and the necessary instantaneous complexity) to become everything that now teems over the face of the earth. For the hard and fast numbers, please check out a book I've referenced before by someone who has already done the crunching for us.

In the meantime, I will reference another blog with an excellent visual illustration that plainly demonstrates there IS INDEED a Designer. The World As Seen Through An Atheist's (Irreducibly Complex) Eyes.

The 190 Pound Weakling

This weekend a very dear friend and his family were special guests at our church. Brett and Joan Nelson are missionaries to Burundi, and they are currently in the states itinerating. Joan spoke a few words that resonated with me and had me shaking my head in solemn agreement. She related how she had been a Christian "from the womb" but was recently taken aback by some of her nasty sinful nature popping up in her life when confronted with some frustrating circumstances. Arrogance, pride, selfishness and anger had seemed to come out of nowhere.

I was sitting there thinking how true it is that we are not as strong as we think we are. I had been thinking it was just me. Apparently not.

In "The Imitation of Christ" Thomas a Kempis wrote, "[t]his is that which oftentimes strikes me down, and confounds me in Thy sight, that I am so subject to fall, and weak in resisting my passions. And although I do not altogether consent, yet their continued assaulting is troublesome and grievous unto me; and it is exceedingly weary to live thus daily in conflict."

Like my friend Joan, I have been a believer since childhood. It's interesting though, (and often perplexing) how susceptible I am to sin. Yeah, I can look back over my life and attest to the sanctifying, purifying work of the Spirit in my life. I've come a long way with God's help. Yet, in spite of this, I remain weak. Hmm. This is not to say that I live each day in wild abandon to my passions. Not at all. What I am talking about is the ever-present awareness that I am indeed "subject to fall."

Maybe, just maybe, this is a sign of maturity. Not the weakness, but the awareness of weakness. Even Paul celebrated his weaknesses while exulting in God's strength. Which makes me think just now that we have no business seeking strength in ourselves anyway. The more cognizant I am of my own powerlessness, the more I have to joyfully surrender to God.

How Deep!

Two things have brought me wagon loads of encouragement this week.

The first is the serendipitous discovery of something one of my sons had written in the back of his Bible: "I love the Bible. You can really get connected [to God] by reading the Bible. I love my mom and my dad. I love Jesus."

This is the kind of thing a boy might never reveal to his parents, but would easily pen in the flyleaf of his Bible, pouring out his heart honestly. There's no guile there, no reason to "fluff" the words so others would be impressed; it was simply a young boy expressing his heart. And you have no idea what it did for this father's heart.

The second thing that encouraged me this week was the discovery of a new song, a modern day hymn, that I've heard before but never really "heard", if you get my drift. The song is "How Deep The Father's Love For Us" by Stuart Townend. Townend has also written "In Christ Alone", another modern hymn familiar to many. His melodies are simple yet stirring, and the lyrics are deep and full of Truth. Not a word is wasted in these hymns, there's no need to repeat a line several times to stir up emotion, for these songs deliver God's truth to the soul with the strength of ocean waves.

Jurassic Farce

"Over a decade ago, paleontologist Dr. Mary Schweitzer accidentally discovered soft tissues preserved inside dinosaur bone. [S]he came upon what appeared to be blood vessels and blood cells on her microscope slides. In an interview years later, she recalled, 'I looked at this and I thought, this can't be. Red blood cells don't preserve.'"*

Indeed they don't. That is scientific FACT. The evidence is that biomolecules should not last any longer than 100,00 years. Even this is a stretch. Collagen is a resilient biomolecule found in many fossils, but it has a "lifespan" of only 30,000 years or so. Even so, it is insisted that the creatures in which these soft tissues are found are at least 65 million years old.

So, would someone please tell me why we don't hear any of these FACTS discussed in the media or see them in textbooks? Oh, wait, I know why - because the facts militate against the paradigm of 'millions of years' that Darwinian philosophy needs to explain its theories and rule out any need for a Creator.

Evidence for the Creator and a young earth is all around. Science is on the side of the creationist perspective.

*Acts & Facts Magazine, October 2008, published by the Institute for Creation Research

300: In The Bible, They WIN!

The story of Gideon is fascinating. If you read carefully and really press the juice from the grapes in Judges 6 through 8, you see a man who is humble yet heroic, obedient yet reluctant, daring yet doubtful.

Gideon is asked to do an amazing thing by the LORD: rise up against an oppressive army and bring freedom to the land. So, he summons men of Israel in the vicinity and gathers a sizable force of 32,000 men. Now, at this point, can you imagine what Gideon might have been thinking . . .
"At first, I sure thought this was a crazy thing God asked me to do, but look at all the men He's brought me to fight against the Midianites. Cool. We should be able to handle this!"
However,
"The Lord said to Gideon, 'You have too many men for me to deliver MIdian into their hands.'" Judges 7:2
Then the LORD proceeds to whittle Gideon's fighting force down to 300 men. Overwhelming victory was the result. And, 300 or even just three, it didn't matter! It's all about God's glory anyway (SDG!) and victory rests with Him exclusively. I wonder if, in David's time of travail before the Lord when he presumptuously counted his army, he remembered Gideon and what God accomplished with 300 men. I wonder if Gideon's story was part of what pricked his heart at that time as he was reminded afresh that God doesn't esteem a vast army, only a heart that chases after His own.

Without any further exposition, I just want to shout: OK, God, remove all my props! Teach me to trust You and not the assets I perceive to be my source of confidence! Help me to see with spiritual eyes the "chariots of fire" that Elisha's servant saw!

I'm afraid I spend too much time each day analyzing and weighing the "size of my army", prognosticating success or failure based on inconsequential factors such as my (little) bank account, which car is at the shop this week, my own mood, a headache, personality conflicts, and the "madness of self-confidence."

Give me the high-spirited God-inspired confidence of Jonathan, for the Lord will save, whether by many or by few!

Reclaiming Science From Darwinism

I have begun reading "Reclaiming Science From Darwinism" by Kenneth Poppe. One of the first sentences in the book expands on the title: "Today's powerful scientific and mathematical challenges to Darwinism show it to be a failed theory, and it is time that science no longer be captive to its control."

For many years I have been utterly amazed that learned men and women continue to tout Darwinian evolution as the answer to the question of origins. And let me add here that being "learned" doesn't mean you become an evolutionist. There are many, many highly educated and trained people in all scientific disciplines who reject Darwinism in favor of Design and Creationism. Kenneth Poppe himself is a career biology instructor (more than 25 years) with a PhD in education and has assisted in DNA research of stream ecology.

I have made conclusions as to why the tenets of Darwinism are clung to so tightly, but that will have to be a subject for another post.

The point here is the one that Poppe makes, namely that:
"The processes and phenomena currently operating within the universe and on Earth are insufficient to produce themselves. No amount of natural evolutionary theory can account for the complexity and compatibility that are continually observed by science. Therefore, there must be a guiding intelligence repeatedly involved in creating the complexity, but not subjected to it. Such complexity must always be the result of intended information because there is a mathematical limit to what blind luck can accomplish."

Simply put, science and Darwinian evolution don't mix. As Poppe says, "Natural evolution must release its stranglehold on science." Regular folks like you and I (or maybe you aren't regular...) who oppose Darwinism must understand the we are not battling science when we confront evolution in our learning institutions and in the media, but that science is, in fact, on our side. Stay tuned.

Rebirthing

Skillet is a powerful band, and I love their music. So does my wife. So do my sons! Below is "Rebirthing". Caution - if you're older than I am, you may not enjoy this (of course, age is relative: this 38 year old moshed like a teenager at the concert...)

No Flung Prayers, Please

(Please accept my apologies for the tongue-twisting nature of the title for this post. Try it!)

A quote hanging my office:

"We cannot possibly flatter the Almighty by hurrying into His presence, flinging a song and a prayer at Him, and hurrying out of church back into our hassled lifestyles. God is never flattered by our sanctified exhaustion." ~Calvin Miller in Into the Depths of God

When we gather with the Body of Christ for Sunday service, we ought to be bringing with us what we've gained from our week of walking with God. A gathering of God's people should be a culmination of shared experiences with the Savior. Our joy in corporate worship should swell and fill the air! We should eagerly receive from the Word of God as it is delivered and earnestly respond to its message.

It is shameful the way God is treated as merely something penciled in to our weekly planner. If all you need is a Sunday pick-me-up, then stay home and drink an extra latte. A true faith is defined by a daily walk. We should follow Christ through rigors of our day to day life, not just plan on meeting up with Him Sunday morning.

And speaking of our daily lives, it's rather unChristian to run around hurried, harried, stressed out and stretched thin (some people really are, some just like to fake it for sympathy). Where is the Prince of Peace in a lifestyle that keeps us overworked, overfed, under-rested and spiritually undernourished?

If anything is worth spending ourselves completely for, it's the Gospel of Jesus Christ, but even then wisdom would recommend a balance. One must rest and recoup enough to work most effectively.

A lifestyle that is wearing us down physically, emotionally and spiritually when chosen and not forced upon us by extenuating circumstances is, well, wrong. Boundaries must be set in our lives and the excess trimmed off, if for no other reason than to make richer our relationship with Christ.

Bring On The Disaster!

And here is today's word of encouragement:

The Lord did not hesitate to bring the disaster upon us, for the Lord our God is righteous in everything He does. Daniel 9:14

Doesn't that just make you feel all warm and fuzzy? Yeah, me too.

This sentence is part of a lengthy prayer of repentance offered by Daniel while in Babylon during the rule of King Darius. The reason Daniel was there in the first place was that decades earlier, King Nebuchadnezzar tore through Judah like a firestorm and in a series of deportations moved many of the people of that land to Babylon as captives. Scripture teaches us that Nebuchadnezzar was used by the Lord to bring judgement on his people for their disobedience and rebellion.

So many folks, even "church" folks, think of God incorrectly; they don't understand the Truth about how He operates. Somewhere they missed that little life lesson that since God is a perfect Father, He disciplines us when necessary.

If God only did nice things for us, what would that produce but a bunch of spoiled brats: selfish, incorrigible and intolerable! We all know children that are out of control and haven't been brought up properly. These are the coddled and spoiled who should be experiencing more cuddling and spanking. :)

Like a good father, our Father disciplines those He loves. That's what that rod and staff in Psalm 23 are for! Sheep, I understand, are not the smartest critters on earth. The shepherd makes good use of his rod and staff to yank a sheep from danger or give them a quick rap to keep them in line.

If necessary, our God will allow us to experience exile as did the people of Israel and Judah, or to roam the "badlands", where we learn once again to thirst for Him.

One thing that brings me great assurance in life is God's faithfulness, and His faithfulness to discipline me. I have experienced it, and I love Him for it.

Welcome Home

The music video below was produced by some good 'ol Kansas boys. I saw it today and loved the simplicity and comfort of its message. The Almighty God is such a perfect Father. :)

Home is where we (if we follow Christ) belong, and home is safely in the Father's arms and under His roof.

To quote someone whose name I no longer remember: "There is a trend today that would put a new robe on the prodigal son while he is still feeding hogs. Some would put the ring on his finger while he is still in the pigsty. Others would paint the pigsty and advocate bigger and better hog pens."

Call it liberalism, the Emergent church, spiritual welfare or whatever, this kind of thinking is patently wrong. The prodigal doesn't need the new clothes, the ring or paint on the pigsty - the prodigal needs to be home, and that is where (and I'll just pick two camps here) political liberalism and Emergent "theology" miss the mark. They would forego the need for repentance and rescue and move right to the showering of affection, all in the name of "love" and "compassion." Well, that is not love, my friend.

What father worth his salt would see his son wallowing in destructive sinfulness and be satisfied? So satisfied that he gives him a new set of clothes and leaves him there? A real father longs to see his son (or daughter - excuse me) rescued from the things that harm them. A real father prays for, calls out to and waits for his stray children to come home.

The prodigal would have been content and relieved to just be home again - he didn't need the cloak, the ring and the welcome back party. Those were just gifts of grace. The Scriptural formula is repentance and then rest, not the other way around. Any "theology" or philosophy that handicaps people (souls) with welfare, spiritual or otherwise, opposes the Gospel.

Now, this is not to say that salvation is worked for; it has always been by grace alone, through faith alone in Christ alone as proscribed in Scripture alone for the glory of God alone. It is God's pursuit of us and His quickening of our darkened hearts that births faith in us and brings us "home" to Him. No amount of "goodies" showered on the sinner will make things right with his or her soul.

Wow! How did this little post end up so long? If you've read this far, congratulations!

Last October

Ahhhh October. My favorite month of the year. It's the time when the mornings are brisk and refreshing, the night sky is sparkling and fireplaces are lit once again. These signs of October are a harbinger of the quiet season that is coming: Winter, when we huddle indoors behind lit windows or venture out bundled into the crackling cold. I absolutely love it. :)

God established the seasons, and each one is beautiful in its diversity.

Well, enough waxing that elephant. Several years ago I wrote a poem one night after spending a few minutes staring at a sparkling starlit sky . . . so here it is:

There was a night, last October,

the starlight pierced - do you remember?

The air was clear and cool and still.

It made the music of the stars more delicate and fragile:

the crystal sound of a string plucked,

the sweet tremor of a stellar chord struck.

And, oh, the moon was the descant

high and beautiful and distant

that made me want to sing along

but my voice was not that strong.

So I just stood and listened with my eyes,

longingly gazing at that

shimmering sky.