Looking Beyond the Familiar

"Blessed are the people to whom such blessings fall!

Blessed are the people whose God is the LORD!"

Psalm 144:15

Sometimes the ordinary events of our lives are ignored for what they truly are:   blessings from God.

Without hardly a thought, we trudge through our day performing the same menial tasks we've been doing for years or decades and take every bit of it for granted.  Even when our day includes a tidbit of a break from the mundane, we fail to acknowledge what is special about it.

I glance through the window into the yard outside and my eyes don't look beyond the landscape that surrounds me.  They remain focused on the immediate vicinity and the things I am familiar with.

How much are we missing by not refocusing our attention on the greater details of our lives and looking beyond the familiar?  I would surmise that we're missing out on a lot more than what is right in front of our eyes.  Even when that special something or someone is present, if we're not careful, we fail to look deeply into what's been placed there.

The tendency we have to begrudge the little things in our lives is robbing us of the realization that God's hand is in every bit of them.  Today, I am able to see with new eyes into the richness of His blessings that stretch beyond the familiar.  He's opened them to show me how much He loves me, even in the smallest of details.

In spite of my current trials and my unreached desires, God has surrounded me with the beauty of His creation and the love of my family.  He has reminded me of the endless bounties He's poured out upon me - not too much, but just enough.

The LORD has broadened my horizon so that I can see Him more clearly.

What more could I ask for?

Waiting For the Rapture

Harold Camping was wrong in 1994 and he was wrong last weekend.  And because his latest prediction proved to once again  be wrong, before publicly explaining his error, he needed a couple of days to "recalculate" his math in order to continue to deceive his foolish handful of followers that blindly trot after him and believe his nonsense.

Camping's latest calculation has been officially publicized as October 21, 2011 - and his math will be just as wrong as the sum of his first two predictions.

To be blunt without sounding harsh, I wish he'd just shut his mouth, (Titus 1:11) read his Bible, and believe the words the LORD spoke in Matthew 24:36:

"But concerning that day and hour NO ONE  knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father only." 

If Camping would take this sound advice, he would make our jobs a whole lot easier in presenting the Gospel and leading others to salvation.  But because he continues to ignore the above-cited verse and the truth behind it, the world laughs, the lost scoff, and belief in Christ and His imminent return to Rapture His church is rejected.

I don't know Harold Camping.  Nor do I care to hear him preach his position on Scripture.  To be so blatantly wrong about one teaching tells me he's most likely in error on the rest of the Gospel.  What is evident, however, is that he has a unhealthy curiosity about the Rapture of Christ's church coming to fruition.  Whether it's because he's one of those the LORD warned us about that would try to deceive, or he's just plain ignorant, I have no desire to know him.  I do, however, have deep concern for anyone who would follow after him and his craziness.

Because of men like Camping, this puts me in the position of being on the opposite side of the fence from him: a healthy and Biblical curiosity about the Rapture.  And because I do yearn  for that "twinkling of an eye" moment (1Cor. 15:52), I find myself asking whether it is wrong for me to long for the day that the LORD’S enemies are at last defeated; when all evil and wickedness is cast down into the pits of darkness and eternal condemnation; and when Jesus Christ reestablishes His righteous holiness and perfect justice upon this imperfect world and all is made whole again. 

To be honest, I don’t know if my occasional impatience and the answer to the question above  is right or wrong.  But I can certainly relate to King David as he penned the imprecatory Psalms that plead with the LORD to destroy his enemies. 

A friend recently wrote that she would give anything to wake in the morning to good news.  Because of all that is going on in the world and the fact that we witness it in a matter of minutes on television or the internet, her heart longs for the promise made by God of peace and brighter days to come.   We mustn’t fault her because to truly know and love the LORD Jesus Christ means that His children yearn for all that He is, all that He gives, and all that He will eventually bring.  His providence that He now graciously pours out upon us is evident.  But we know that far better things await us and, for most, the expressions of our desire to finally be at rest from all that the sinful world brings is often seen by others as improper utterances. 

There are souls that need saving.  There is a message of hope and salvation that needs to be given to the world.  All who the Father promised to the Son must be brought into His haven.  Unlike Harold Camping, the saint understands this.  Yet, while he toils to serve the LORD to help Him fulfill this work and battles against the Harold Campings of the world, his longing for it to be completed resides in the back of his mind and often comes spilling out in expressions of disgust, dismay, or despair. 

Our time spent for God can be clouded with the face of apostasy and heresy, and of persecution upon His faithful children who live in dark nations.  Unspeakable vile deeds performed by wicked men and women, and even evidence of apostates like Camping inside the doors of Christ's church, can overwhelm us.  As my friend knows all too well, the battle for God’s righteousness and the souls of men has never been more fierce.   Neither has the saint’s desire been greater to see the LORD’S victory come to fruition. 

While I wait for an answer to my question, I am unable to rely on my own strength.  Like King David, I must draw upon the LORD’S strength to see me through to the end.  Although I have family and friends who could be counted as His enemy, I must persevere in fervent prayer that they soon become His friend and His child.  Each saint, including my friend who wants to hear some good news reported, knows with all their hearts that the LORD stands ready at the door and that His return is imminent. 

At present, our hearts cry out with King David’s, “O LORD, return to us!  May Your enemies be put to “shame and confusion”! (Ps 35:26)  Restore this fallen world to its former glory!”

But we are assured that there is a time that has been predetermined when He will step through the door to conclude what He began (Rev 19-22).  Until that time comes, I must wait for what I long for.  His enemies will eventually be made "His footstool" (Heb 10:12-13).  Christ has assured me of that.  But while He tarries, my prayer for my brothers and sisters, and myself, is that we remain fit and ready for battle, to continue to bear witness to His salvation, and be able to endure through what may come in our lifetime  and the end of this world as we know it. 

When the Rapture finally arrives and our LORD at last catches us up to be with Him forever, I will join my friend and a multitude of others as we shout with upraised voices in eternal and everlasting praise that the Lamb of God has gathered His saints in preparation for His final return to overcome the world and to defeat His enemies. 

But until that time comes, men like Harold Camping should be ignored, counted as a false prophet, and he and his followers should be recipients of our prayers.  At his advanced age, he'll find out soon enough just how wrong he has been and when he does, he'll wish he had taken the opportunity while he had it to recant, repent, and join the rest of us while we patiently wait for the glorious Rapture of Christ's church.  At this juncture, that's the best we can hope for in men like Camping. 

"Then I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse! The One sitting on it is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and makes war.  His eyes are like a flame of fire, and on His head are many diadems, and He has a name written that no one knows but Himself.  He is clothed in a robe dipped in blood, and the name by which He is called is The Word of God.  And the armies of heaven, arrayed in fine linen, white and pure, were following Him on white horses.  From His mouth comes a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations, and He will rule them with a rod of iron.  He will tread the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God the Almighty.  On His robe and on His thigh  He has a name written,  KING OF kINGS AND LORD OF lORDS."  (Rev 19:11-16 - ESV)

In spite of men like Harold Camping, come quickly, LORD Jesus.

The Inerrant Word of God

Proverbs 30:5

There is a lot of buzz circulating throughout the church over certain men who, in the past, were regarded as those who could be trusted to correctly handle the Word of God, yet have strayed into the corridors of apostasy.

Many wonder how these men who once seemed firmly grounded upon the inerrancy of Scripture could now be preaching a blatantly false Gospel and/or doctrine.  After all, their former behavior seemed to reflect a desire to know Jesus Christ and further His kingdom as they acquired seminary degrees, doctorates, wrote books, and built their institutions into mega-church empires.  When notoriety such as this catches the eyes of Christians and fills the pews of their churches, it shouldn’t surprise any of us that, when they do stray from the path of God’s truth, some of us will take notice and find great offense.

History is replete with men who have perpetuated the belief that the  infallible Word of God has been corrupted by man and, therefore, needs to be changed back to what they perceive as its original translation and intent.  There is a certain amount of truth to this because the church has experienced it with men the likes of Joseph Smith who began the Mormon movement.  The Latter Day Saints tirelessly stand on the teaching that the Bible can be trusted “insofar as it has been correctly translated.”  (See the 8th Article of Faith) Others, like the Jehovah’s Witnesses, weren’t satisfied, either, and created their own interpretation.  The list is endless of heretics who were dissatisfied with God’s precepts and doctrines, thus creating their own and defiling the purity of Scripture.

However, it would have taken decades, if not hundreds of years of work to alter Scripture to substantiate claims that the Word of God has been changed to deceive mankind into believing a false doctrine.  One would have to believe there was a conspiracy from the beginning of time that the inerrant Word of God would be defiled by scheming men bent on destroying God’s truth.  Right?  Well, therein lays the problem to the whole mess the church is finding itself in.  It began in the garden and was whispered from the lips of the serpent that tempted Eve, and it continues even up to today.

The condition of the present church is in grave danger of falling prey to men and women who have motives and agendas born out of darkness.  They, like Eve, are being led by the first tempter, Satan and, in return, are leading a multitude of souls to destruction.  Because professing Christians are willing to follow them and have their "itching ears" tickled by their deception (2Tim 4:3), they are unable to see the greed and "passions" these men and women harbor and the grave danger their motives and agendas will bring (2Tim 3:6).  It isn’t necessary for these wolves to worm their way into the hearts and minds of the body of Christ.  Christians have opened wide the door to their hearts and minds to allow them entry and to present them with a more palatable Gospel to ease their guilty consciences.  They have become willing participants in a damning environment and they’re not even aware of it; or worse yet, they are feverishly embracing it.

Mankind is in a constant search for the truth and he will go to extraordinary lengths to gain it.  The problem, however, is that some stubbornly refuse to acknowledge that all truth has already been given and is readily available to them if they will only look outside themselves and fix their eyes on the One Who gave it.  Instead, they prefer to believe that truth is relative, insisting it is subjective to individual experience and perception.  When confronted with the truth of God’s Word, it assaults their ideal of fairness and insults their own sensibilities.  In the end, they create for themselves and, sadly, others, a more digestible doctrine that alleviates the guilt and shame that’s buried deep within them.

It is obvious that today’s church is being overtaken by deceivers who stand behind the pulpit.  The list of today’s false teachers is beginning to defy those from centuries past.  Although the Apostle Paul wasn’t afraid to name names, there is no need for me to name the present deceivers because true believers know who they are.  If they don’t, then they should do their homework in order to guard themselves from being led astray.  If we are approaching the day of our LORD’S return, as some of us believe, it would benefit us all to remember His words and those of His Apostles warning us of the multitude of antichrists that would infiltrate the church and attempt to lead us away from the truth of Scripture (Matt 15; Matt 16; 1Tim 1:3-7; 2Tim 2:15-18; 2Tim 3:1-9; 2Peter 2:1-22; Jude 3-25).

Paul, in his second letter to Timothy, exhorted him to guard himself against preying wolves that had slipped into the church.  He warned of the boastful and proud who had “a form of godliness but denying its power,” telling him to "avoid" them (2Tim 3:1-9).  Peter wrote the same warning in his second epistle, telling the people that false prophets and false teachers were, and would be, among them.  Both Apostles, as well as Jude, knew that there would be many who would follow after their destructive heresies and that God’s children must take extreme measures to keep themselves from being swept away by them.  Their warnings should also be heeded by us as today’s emergent climate of “feel good” theology creeps into the fibers of the church.

There is a clear and present danger to those who are seeking the truth and also for those who believe they may have found it.  Some will never look beyond their own nose.  Others will follow after men who delight in re-writing God’s Word to suit their own desires, greed, and arrogance.  But as there always has been, there will always remain a constant few who will remain faithful to the infallibility of Scripture and preach and teach it in its purest form.  They will never deviate from it or reinterpret it to fit a sinner’s need for an excuse for their depravity.  And we can be eternally grateful for this.

“Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will never pass away.”  (Matt 24:39)

The Word of God is eternal, inerrant, infallible, sovereign, trustworthy, good, and beyond reproach.  Man has and will continue to try, but he will never be able to change it...and that's a promise in which we can believe and find rest.

A Matter of Life or Death

My Dad was a man of conscience and conviction.  Although he struggled all but two years of his life over guilt for not having enough “faith” to live a life burdened with the legalism of his church, he was greatly respected and loved by family and friends.  On the day of his burial, my family and I were stunned at the number of people flowing onto the cemetery grounds.  The impact he had made on others’ lives was evident as they came forward to pay their last respects.

Through the tireless efforts of faithfulness from our Pastor who built a solid friendship with Dad, he came to know his LORD and Savior just two years before leaving this earth.  The guilt was washed away along with his sins as he came to understand that 68 years of works had “gained” him nothing.  Peace and joy over his rebirth overtook the lifetime of depression and despair.  And we rejoiced with him.

Dad remained that man of conscience and conviction, but in ways that defied the old man.  If he had been younger and in better health, the worthless works of his past would have been exchanged for righteous works for his God.  Mom once told me that he said he regretted wasting so much of his life.  We all experience that moment of regret; the moment of not having known Jesus Christ sooner and been given more time to serve Him with our new hearts of true faith.  But Dad grabbed what little time he had left with determination and gusto.  Because of his age, he had a newer and more vibrant understanding of how short life is and how vitally important the Gospel is to mankind.

Once during one of Dad’s weekly sessions with our Pastor, an issue that troubled Dad was raised.  It wasn’t that Dad didn’t have a sense of humor.  He just felt that the sanctuary was not the place for idle words.  Because of his own past experiences that spoke of the extreme opposite of this problem (a joyless, sober, weeping, hell-fire and damnation atmosphere) and a lifetime of deception that kept him from knowing his God and the truth of His grace, Dad needed to express his concern.  What he told our Pastor is one of those unforgettable things you hear and after having heard it, remains buried forever in your heart.  Unburdening his concern, he told our Pastor that the Gospel and its message was “a matter of life or death.”

Having had his heart opened by the LORD and delivered out of the bondage of a dead church at such a mature age, Dad knew this better than anyone.  Although he didn’t live long enough to see and understand the invasion into the church by the emergent, health/wealth/prosperity, and word-of-faith wolves, he knew all too well what he had been drawn out from.  He wanted to make sure that everyone knew the seriousness of not having a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ and sound Biblical teaching.

I, too, share Dad’s passion.  If I could have a conversation with him now, we would agree that there is no middle ground with God; not under the weight of what we once knew, but freed from that burden and our new-found understanding.  Dad could have just as easily rejected his old thinking and been swept into a universalist/free-will mindset if the LORD hadn’t intervened and placed men such as our Pastor before him.  But he knew that God never said, “Meet Me halfway.”  Instead, once Dad’s heart was opened to receive God’s Son and His Holy Spirit, he charged forward to the finish line where his old self ended and his new life began.

Although Dad can’t speak to us now, I will echo his words to those of you who might be foolishly looking upon your profession of Christ and what salvation means with far too much brevity and not enough gravity.  As he once expressed to our Pastor, I say to you:  knowing the truth of God and His plan of salvation through His Son Jesus Christ is a matter of life or death.  We would both agree that there is a time and a place for laughter.  My childhood was full of it.  But brevity should only come after we first understand the implications of it with or without Jesus Christ.

I hope that what my Dad once said also penetrates and remains in your hearts.  As King Solomon wrote in Ecclesiastes, there is a time for everything - even laughter.  If Dad had it to do over again, I think he would have impressed this in his conversation as a means to explain his discomfort.  His new-found relationship with Christ afforded Dad the freedom to laugh, but he wanted to make sure everyone else also understood the severity and vital importance of the Gospel and the new life it would bring.  Dad's simple statement of truth was one that spoke the most importance in determining this life or the next: an eternity of joy and laughter, or an eternity of sorrow and pain.

Dad was right.  It truly is a matter of life or death.

Go out and proclaim the Good News of Jesus Christ, of Him crucified and of Him risen from the grave, to all the world.  After you do, your laughter will have more meaning as He welcomes you home with smiles and rejoicing into His eternal kingdom.

"For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven:
 a time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up what is planted; a time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up; a time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance; a time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing; a time to seek, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to cast away; a time to tear, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak; a time to love, and a time to hate; a time for war, and a time for peace."

Ecclesiastes 3:1-8 (ESV) 

Learning to Swim One Stroke at a Time

Matthew 14:30

I don’t think Peter knew how to swim, or even tread water, for that matter.

Considering he was a fisherman and spent his days on the deep waters casting and pulling his nets, there is some irony behind that thought.  If you merely look at the verse at face value, that’s what it appears to be saying.  But one needs to dig deeper to find its hidden message.  Peter didn’t know how to swim and needed a immediate lesson or two as he felt himself sinking below the water’s stormy surface.  And the Hand that helped him up was just the one to teach him.

Today is one of those days where I, too, have forgotten how to swim.  I thought I had stepped out of the safety of my boat in faith Sunday and with my eyes fixed fast on my Savior, only to have them diverted away from Him for a brief moment.  And down I went.

All it took for me to start sinking was a comment made by another.  It may have been said in jest, I’m not sure, but it was uttered quickly with no attempt to reveal the story behind it. The 60 or more strangers who heard it and were not privy to the whole story were left to create their own ideas about my husband and myself.  Embarrassment flooded my face, I’m sure, as a a few laughed uncomfortably.

Later, while in the process of offering myself in service, the same person took another precise cut at my heart with his sharpened blade of self-perceived authority and abrupt approach.  I felt as though my lungs were taking on water, and I was only able to mumble a short reply of “Oh” as he turned his back on me a second time and walked away with no explanation.

Like a rock, I started sinking towards the bottom, and that's where I found myself this morning.  It was my turn to be given the Hand up and a lesson or two on the necessity of knowing how to swim through the storms of life.

It is moments like these in our lives where we are left bewildered and confused, especially in a setting that this type of circumstance should never occur.  Our eyes are fixed where they need to be and our hearts are being prepared for service.  Suddenly a person or circumstance throws us a heavy anchor on a long chain and draws our eyes briefly away from Jesus.  For a second or two, we dumbly look down at the terrible weight we’ve just been burdened with and wonder what to do with it.  Instead of instantly handing it over to the LORD to dispose of, we cling to it and let its weight begin to drag us to the dark and murky bottom of our insecurities.

We need to improve our reaction times.  Peter didn’t wait until he was up to his neck in water to gurgle out his cry for help.  The account in Matthew says that he was only “beginning to sink” when he cried out to Jesus, “LORD, save me!”

 Peter employed three words.  Jesus used one hand.  And up from the water of doubt and little faith Peter rose.

When we are unable to stay afloat by our own power, or when someone starts poking holes in our life raft, we need to pray those three simple words.  When we are faced with situations that demand a response, instead of attempting to explain for clarification or defend our character, we need to pray, “LORD, save me!”  If we wait until the problem begins to fester and allow the pain to build, it’s only wasted time and deeper depths into which we sink.

This morning, Jesus had to gently chastise me like He did Peter for my own “little faith” and “doubt” (Matt 14:31).  I’m thankful that He did.

In spite of the man, his careless words and attitude and the anchor he threw me yesterday in an attempt to drown me, I’ve handed the burden over to Jesus.  He’s much stronger and more capable of dealing with others' indiscretions than I am.  I'd only make a big mess of things.

My feet are now back on solid ground because I’m learning from the greatest Teacher how to swim through the trials my life throws at me  -  and I’m doing it one stroke at a time.

Yom HaShoah - Day of Remembrance

Are you aware that today (May 1), or the 27th day of Nissan according to the Jewish calendar, is one that bears an importance few of us knew about?  It is Yom HaShoah, or the Day of Remembrance, commemorating  the  victims of the Holocaust of Nazi Germany. I was not aware of it until I received an email last year at this time that spoke about it.   I would like to thank my cousin, Dale Brown, for bringing this very important date to my attention, and for giving me the ability to  once again bring it to yours.

On this day at a particular hour, sirens are blown all over the entire nation of Israel and six candles are lit  symbolizing the 6 million Jews, 1 million of them children, that died during that horrible time in history.  As the people are involved in their regular daily routines, they all stop what they are doing when they hear them.   They pause to remember the persecution and hatred, the cattle cars crammed with bodies, the concentration camps, the starvation, the medical experiments, the gas chambers, the ovens, and the mass graves.  They remember family members who silently went as sheep before the Nazi war machine that was bent on annihilating every Jew from the face of the earth.  To forget these atrocities would dishonor those who died.  To forget the past would place them in jeopardy of a repeat of the same thing in the future.  They remember because their very existence depends upon it.

I find it appalling that we have such short memories.  I am saddened that if it were not for a faithful few, our history books would be wiped clean of the monstrous and evil behavior that occurred and was perpetuated by the Germans and ignored by the world.  I am angered that our current government would forget the not-so-distant past and treat Israel's current leadership with such contempt and hatred over their desire, and right, to defend themselves.  I am disgusted that America is bending to the will of Israel's enemies, and turning a blind eye to the desire by lunatics like Ahmadinejad and other Arab leaders whose goal it is to once again attempt to "wipe them from the face of the earth."

But even more troubling is my confusion over the Christian community who harbor their own  misguided distrust and hatred for Israel, forgetting that they were a chosen people by God whom He would use to reveal Himself to the world.  Why would Christians not join Israel in their moment of remembrance?  Why would our shepherds not teach within the churches the importance of this day so that we could unite with Israel and bring it before God's throne in prayer?  The only answer I am able to arrive at is that there is a disturbing lack of desire within many Christian churches to encourage their congregants to support and defend them, and the importance of their role in God's ultimate plan and victory goes unnoticed or untaught.  I view it as a shameful thing that we so miserably fail in this regard.

From this point forward, there will never be another year that goes by that I will not join with the Jews and acknowledge Yom HaShoah.  There may not be sirens breaking the silence of the still air to remind me, but I will honor them with a moment to remember.  And I will pray for them.

The following video and song vividly, yet disturbingly, refreshed my memory of the horrible crimes that were committed against the Jewish people.  It is the purpose of this video to do so, and I hope it refreshes yours.